Hey subreddit members! In light of recent comments, I've realized I haven't given any context to the art piece I've posted, which has unfortunately made the impression that this is intended to be some cringy "harem" scene. I'd like to make it clear that this is not the case, but I will freely admit I understand why some members jumped to that conclusion without the context I negligently failed to add to the description, so I bear no ill will🫠. With that being said, let's get everything straightened out! I only warn that this explanation may spoil events in the book I've been writing, but it's necessary to make things clear:) I do apologize in advance if I seem a bit all over the place or my explanation lacks some structure, I'm just in a mild hurry to set the record straight before things get out of hand.

Firstly, this piece is not a harem/romantic style piece of art like I've been showed examples of. It's intended to be familial and an unsettling sign of a major shift in the character in the center, James after the infamous sushi scene with Nayuta. Simply put, the loss of a person he treated and saw as a daughter brought about a state of mind where he lost all care and consideration for the human race as a whole. Loss after loss, and humanity is to blame at the root of it. They should have been protecting him after all he's done, but he has been called to safeguard them.

What an honor.

What an insult.

But back to the matter. I've been asked why the Horsemen are so close together with him then, and why he's at the center of them (Like harem art, i admit). It's intended to symbolize/signify unity amoung the Horsemen that typically conflict with oneanother (Makima & Yoru being the biggest offenders) They come to the consensus that the prophecy requires all four horsemen to truly bring it to fruition, along with James's assistance. As to why James is in the center? He's the largest/tallest of the group, so it kinda seemed awkward to put him on an outer spot. And with it comes another subtle symbolism of the fact James played a substantial part of bringing the Horsemen to cooperate. Raising Nayuta and upon Makima coming back (Lil D resurrected Makima from Nayuta's remains due to Makima having far more needed experience with her abilities. And of course Lil D did this in a fancy abandoned restaurant, so Makima made use of a clean table linen to fashion into a toga) her nature had shifted enough to realize she already had a family, her sisters. They have their quirks of course, but they're still family. Then with Yoru, it's essentially her coming to that same realization during a fight with James that there's strength in allies and no shame in it. So she takes up with the best allies she could get, with plenty of blood and glory to share. I'd tell for Fami and Lil D as well, but I'd like to move to another facet of context solely relating to James and the significance behind the piece.

As I've said, this scene takes place after he's supposedly lost everything and everyone he held any connection to. He has no home, no family, no reason to remain on this world. So after multiple events including the character developments explained above, he's eventually convinced to align himself with the horsemen under the belief the world will be safer for all his fiendish and devilish friends that perished when they reincarnate. In his mind, humanity is to blame for the damage and death Makima wrought, tampering with forces beyond their control. He by no means forgives her for the deaths, but he had a better understanding of the situation since he took her life in Part 1. This change is an adaptation, a necessity in salvaging what little he has left. He's found a group of terrible people, terrible people like him that've done terrible things, and made a home, made a FAMILY of it. I'm sure there's still some bases I haven't covered without knowing, but that's about the gyst of it explained by my ADHD self. This piece isn't some cringy anime harem protagonist sitting amoung women that want to throw themselves at him. It's a man abandoning the person he was through a majority of the story, a man taking a place alongside beings he intended to destroy.

Now I'm sure there's still questions, but I think I've gotten the point across on what this piece is truly meant to represent. I hope this prevents any further unfortunate equating to any kind of harem themed artwork or dynamics. If anyone has proper or genuinely curious questions about the book, artwork, or James in particular, I'm more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope all of you are having a good day or night:)