#Viz??? Viz what on Earth

[obnoxiousselfdiagnosedneurosis]

Girl who the fuck is Emeritus

#send post #Viz??? Viz what on Earth #reached #by the way did u guys know that looking for potential Madara appearances outside of the chapters where I know he's in is very difficult #what did I do to myself

[jpitha]

The Oxygen Breathers: With one hand tied behind my back!

The human sat on the bench in the common area for at least one of their hours before the children worked up the courage to approach.

"You're a human right?" One of the children - an Innari - said as they approached the human. They were taller than the human, and seemed to have barely any bones. They moved and undulated like an octopus that was used to being out of the water.

The human's helmet flashed an cartoon icon of its face and smiled - without their teeth - broadly. "That's right! My name is Harold, but everyone calls me Harry. What's your name?"

"I'm Opian, this is Downward Draft, and standing in the back is Vizxxian." They gestured with their tentacle-like appendage. It had manipulators on the end which could be seen a little like fingers. Good for fine detail work.

Harry put up his gauntleted hand and spread his fingers. A wave. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. What can I help with?"

"Downward Draft says humans are the strongest of the Coalition peoples. Is that true?"

Harry sat up slightly. His icon continued to speak while he did. "Well, I don't rightly know if that's true, Downward Draft. I haven't met everyone. Of the ones I did meet, I have a hunch I might be stronger, but you also have to remember, we come from a heavier world than most of the other Coalition species. Earth's gravitational pull is half again what it is here on this station. There were gasps and noises of surprises from the kids. "That's so heavy!" Downward Draft rustled their feathers they caught the light and sparkled. "This station is already heavy for us; our homeworld's gravity is even less. I bet I couldn't' even walk on your planet!"

Harry's icon nodded. "You might be right, Downward Draft. But, gravity aside, it's nice here. I like the colors you use to decorate, and I like your plants. Everything back home is just different shades of green."

Vizxxian was working themselves up for something. Harry peered over Opian's head. "How about you? Do you have a question?"

Viz's eye slits squeezed shut and they blurted out "My parent says you're all a bunch of 'rock throwers' and that we should have never let you into the Coalition. They say that outside of your suits and ships, you're not so tough."

Downward Draft nudged Viz. "Don't be mean Viz! Harry is a guest here. You know how to treat guests."

Harry chuckled. "It's all right Downward Draft. We learn things from our parents. Part of growing up is trying to figure out what is true and what isn't. Now, I'm not mad, but you know that 'rock throwers' is a slur, and not a nice thing to say, right?"

Viz's ears wiggled in assent. "Yes, but that's the word father used. I know it's a bad word though."

Harry nodded. "Context is important though. I could say 'I picked up this rock and threw it' and that's not a slur, but if I said 'those rock throwers always go back on their deals' that is a slur. It's all right though, I'm not angry." Harry's helmet cleared. The kids looked across as his face became visible for the first time. Opian's eyes dilated in surprise. "So your dad thinks that we're not so tough outside of our suits? How about we place a little wager? I'll get out of my suit, and if any of you can touch my arm, I'll buy you a snack."

Opian shrinked back. Downward Draft raised their feathered arms in a gesture of dismissial. "You can't breath the atmostphere here! You'll die!"

Harry put up a hand. "It'll be all right. I'll wear a breathing mask, and the pressure and atmosphere difference won't hurt me for the time I'll be out of the suit."

"Oh we couldn't-"

"I'll do it!" Opian and Downward Draft turned in shock to Viz. They had stood to their full height, just a little taller than Harry and bent their legs just a little. "I can touch your arm."

Harry grinned. "Good. Let's see." Harry stood up, and touched the pad on his suit's arm. There was orange light that illuminated his face and he frowned and pressed more buttons on his suit. After a moment, it turned green, and lines appeared all over the suit. Joints. With a hiss of pressure and a whine of servos, his suit unfolded like a flower, and Harry stepped out.

He was much shorter than the kids. Just two meters tall if that. On the top of his head was a dark fur that was closely cropped, and he had fur all over the lower part of his face that was the same color. Under the outer, armored suit he wore a tight body suit that connected to the outer suit with thin wires. Harry reached down and unplugged them and they slid up into the suit he was wearing and disappeared. Opian was impressed. Their suits seemed to be far more advanced than ones of Innari make.

"There." Harry's voice was much lower than his translator made it sound. Maybe it was the difference in breathing gas? It was also a little muffled by his mask. "Okay Viz. Whenever you're ready."

Opian and Draft stood back and watched. Viz stood stock still and seemed like they were trying to decide what to do. Suddenly, Viz howled and ran towards Harry. Their long legs consumed the distance between them relentlessly. At the last half meter, Viz spun and in one fluid motion bend down and lashed out with one of their legs. Opian gasped. He was attacking Harry! That's a lethal kick if it connects.

Before Opian could react any further, Harry... wasn't were he was before. He was standing a meter to the side, and Viz was flying backwards into the bench. Viz jumped up, and roared again. This was a roar of frustration as well as a battle cry, and charged Harry. Once again, Harry stood there watching, and as Viz turned to kick him, he wasn't were Viz expected, and they went skittering across the smooth floor.

Harry stood with his hands on his hips. His eyes flicked to Opian and Draft. "Remember, strength isn't everything. Know your opponent. Know how they attack, watch for signs, paying attention and then you can move out of the way and dodge." Harry was grinning and put his hand out and curled his fingers towards himself. "Come on, Opian, Downward Draft, you try too!"

Downward Draft bent low and leapt towards Harry, using their legs to absorb as much potential energy as possible, releasing it as they sprung towards him with arms outstretched. Quicker than Opian could follow, Harry ducked underneath the Avar, and Draft sailed harmlessly overhead.

Harry, looked at Opian and raised one of the small lines of hair above his eyes. "What about you, Opian? Give it a try?"

"No, thank you Harry. I concede. There's no way I could touch you."

Harry's nodded. "That's all right. Mayb-"

Harry looked over and Downward Draft was standing mere centimeters away, with his arm out, and the barest edge of one of his iridescent feathers brushed against Harry's arm.

"Got you." Draft whispered.

Harry tipped his head back and laughed. The kids all took a step back in fear. "No, no, it's all right. that's a fair touch. You win, Downward Draft. I'll buy you snacks. Just let me get back into my suit. My skin is starting to itch."

It only took a moment for Harry's suit to climb onto him and fit around him as he stood there. "I have to say Downward Draft, you can move quietly."

They ruffled their feathers in pride. "Thank you Harry. On my world, moving without noise is a prized skill."

Harry darkened his helmet and his icon re-appeared. "Harry?"

He turned, "Yes, Viz?"

"You don't have to darken your helmet. We don't think you're scary anymore."

Harry's helmet cleared. He smiled without showing his teeth. "I'm glad to hear that Vizxxian. I'm glad to hear that."

#humans are deathworlders #writing #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #jpitha #sci fi writing #humans and aliens #humans are space capybaras #humans are space australians #The Oxygen Breathers

[tobiasdrake]

FUN FACT: Did you know that Vegeta wasn't blowing smoke on Namek when he claimed to have become a Super Saiyan?

Well. Not entirely, anyway.

And also the process of becoming a Super Saiyan is kind of complicated, and Goku is an enlightened martial arts master.

The process of becoming a Super Saiyan is complicated. The English dub got a bit confused on this point while they were frantically erasing as much spirituality and also martial arts and general power levels talk as they could from the series.

The dub was bad. I don't think that's a surprise to anyone. It was a 90's anime dub. It scrubbed the source material of a lot of stuff.

But specifically here, the dub confused matters when it said that to become a Super Saiyan, you have to be pure of heart. This confused matters, because being purehearted is a thing in Dragon Ball. You have to be purehearted to ride the Nimbus.

This concept of pureheartedness exists in Dragon Ball. But it has nothing to do with the Super Saiyan.

This isn't the same as that. To become a Super Saiyan, you need something else. Notably, the Viz manga also translates this idea as "pure of heart"....

But the idea being translated here is more along the lines of tranquility than innocent goodness.

Becoming a Super Saiyan is a bit of a process. To understand the Super Saiyan, we need to talk about limit-breaking. This is a concept that's expressed repeatedly throughout Dragon Ball. In order to become Dragon Ball Powerful, you have to break your limits. You hit a ceiling and that's as far as you can go, until you find some new way to push through and break that ceiling. The series is big on this idea.

As an example, Mr. Satan is an incredibly formidable martial artist. He is peak. Top-tier fighter. ...within human limits. But he doesn't hold a candle to Krillin because Krillin broke the human limit in childhood.

Mr. Satan is basically Panput from the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai.

Saiyans are in a different league from humans, and they have different set limits. Different norms, different standards, and different potentials. But, like humans, there's a ceiling. The first step to becoming a Super Saiyan is breaking the Saiyan limit.

Goku, as a low-class Saiyan trained on Earth in martial arts, was able to break through the Saiyan limit during his gravity training in space. This wasn't the goal of his training, mind; Goku had a particular goal in mind. He was subjecting himself to intense gravity so that he could acclimate his body to withstanding higher levels of Kaioken.

Not even realizing that was what he was doing, Goku was the first to shatter his Saiyan boundary and take the first step to becoming a Super Saiyan.

That Goku has transcended Saiyan abilities isn't lost on either Vegeta or Captain Ginyu, both of whom peg him as a Super Saiyan... before walking it back because Goku lacks the overwhelming bloodthirst and battle hunger that characterizes the legend.

Poor Goku has no idea what any of these people are on about. He might as well be listening to Game of Thrones fans infodump about the Lannisters.

But he wasn't alone. During his fight with Jeice following his third Zenkai of the arc, Vegeta finds himself trashing Jeice. Vegeta's as surprised as Jeice is, to be honest. Even with a Zenkai, he should not be doing this well.

Vegeta's last Zenkai wasn't just a Zenkai. It pushed him through the Saiyan limit.

You see, something happens to a Saiyan as they cross that boundary. Their ki begins to swell astronomically in preparation for becoming a Super Saiyan. Both Goku and Vegeta at this point have entered a sort of proto-Super Saiyan state. Their powers are passively being inflated.

Goku, too, eventually realizes that his power is growing at an astronomical rate that cannot be explained by his training or his Zenkai boosts or any phenomenon he's aware of. He's just. Swelling with power for reasons he can't fathom.

Neither of them are Super Saiyans yet. They still need the right spark to ignite it - and, despite knowing more about the Super Saiyan legend than Goku, Vegeta has no idea what that spark is. But they're both inflating like balloons in preparation for ignition.

Vegeta brings up the proto-Super Saiyan again in his first showdown with Frieza.

He recognizes that he is not yet the Super Saiyan. But he is a proto-Super Saiyan. He still feels it, still feels his power inflating within himself. He just. Needs. That. Spark.

But he won't find it. He said it himself: He doesn't think Goku and his "soft heart" can become the Super Saiyan. The Super Saiyan is supposed to be filled with rage and battle hunger.

But breaking the Saiyan limit isn't enough. You need the spark: A tranquil heart awakened by rage.

There are two pieces to that. The first is a tranquil heart. What does that mean? It means tranquility. Stillness. Peace. Becoming one with yourself and the cosmic universe.

During his training in space, with nothing to concern himself with and no distractions, Goku found tranquility. Alone in the void of space with only his beloved art, he achieved a measure of serenity and peace that he's never known before.

When Goku steps off that ship, he's different. He's entirely focused on the task at hand. He doesn't even want to fight the Ginyus, which is a stark departure for his character. He has no interest in the joy of battle; Only in doing what he came for and going home.

Goku asks the Ginyu Force multiple times to just go away. He does not care about this. He is thoroughly disinterested in fighting.

He's not even mad. They beat up his son and his best friend, and Goku does not care. Also, he can read minds now. Because he is the Heavenly Buddha, I guess.

This is a super weird moment, but its main purpose is to demonstrate that Goku has become... something else. He's not just "Goku but stronger"; he's changed on a fundamental level.

Goku is no longer a rash, impulsive student. He has become a master of his art. Do you see that kanji on his back? Kaio presented Goku with this new dogi after he got out of the hospital... uh... somehow.

You. Uh. You gonna elaborate on where the fuck that came from, Goku? No? Okay, man. You do you.

In any case, Goku's new dogi is distinctive because it erases the sigils of both the Kame school and Kaio. Originally, he would wear the Kame sigils on both front and back to reflect his status as a student of Kame-senryu.

Even if he did only technically study Kame-senryu for less than a year. It's fine; the Muten-Roshi filled him with a lot of philosophy that's guided him over the years so it still counts.

After he trained under Kaio, the sigil on his back was replaced with Kaio's sigil, to reflect that he is Kaio's student now as much as he is the Muten-Roshi's. Though he left the Kame-senryu sigil on Goku's front, because he is a student of both.

But from the moment Goku steps off that ship, both Kaio and the Kame sigils have been replaced by this new one.

This new sigil serves two purposes. First is that it's the first kanji of Goku's name. Both of his masters are now gone from Goku's expression, replaced by Goku himself; This symbolizes that Goku has, himself, become the master. His art is now fully his own.

Goku is at the peak of his journey. There is nothing more for him to learn. It falls to him now to cultivate, develop, and evolve his art for himself, using the knowledge and mastery he's acquired. And, as we'll see in the next arc, to ultimately pass it on to the next generation to come.

But, bringing this back to the tranquil heart thing: The kanji for 'Go' also represents enlightenment. Goku has found peace with himself and his place in the cosmic universe. That is why he, and not Vegeta, is ready to have his spark ignited.

He's broken the Saiyan limit. He has a tranquil heart. All he needs now is to snap, and have his tranquil heart awakened by rage.

But Vegeta still has a ways to go. Because his heart is far from tranquil.

The best he can come up with is "I Zenkai'd into this, I can Zenkai out of it!" Vegeta is very fettered, especially in conflict with Frieza. He is not one with the cosmic universe. He is a nervous wreck of emotions and wants and distractions. He was so close, but he could never have ignited here. Not under these circumstances.

No, Vegeta would only find his tranquility after becoming stranded on Earth. (No, anime, Vegeta did not have a spare spaceship on hand to leave immediately.)

Three years, living at Capsule Corp until he moved out and got his own place. Free from the yoke of Frieza and able to pursue nothing more than his own self-improvement. Driven by a desire to surpass Goku but in a low-stress environment...

...and apparently hanging out with Bulma in his downtime.

That's where Vegeta found his tranquility. And the spark of rage that ignited his tranquil heart? His own inadequacies, of course.

Never change, Vegeta. XD

#dragon ball #dragon ball z #son goku #vegeta #super saiyans

[officialinuyasha]

What areas did Taishou and Sesshoumaru rule over?

Unfortunately there is no official map that shows for what's owned in the series but there are some for real life!

The dog demon clan hailed from Saigoku. That's the "Western lands" of Japan. Kaede's Village is where Tokyo is to this day.

Ironically now for modern times there's something called the "Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage" they go through the 33 Buddhist temples on the Kansai region of Japan. Saigoku was really an old term that was also sometimes pronounced as "Saikoku" but today it is called "Kansai" ! "Saigoku" is Kansai (関西), the area of western Japan centering on Kyoto https://www.thetempleguy.org/p/saigoku-33-kannon-route.html Those areas are Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga, Osaka, Nara and Wakayama

www.travel-around-japan.com/k60-00-kansai-reg.html

Just to note there's a Mistranslation in the Viz media English version of the Yashahime manga that said Taishou came from China but it's actually Saigoku, which is Western lands of Japan it was even addressed on Takashi Shiina's Twitter page. Incase people were confused. https://twitter.com/Takashi_Shiina/status/1542931034517700608 一カ所、「西国」が「Ancient China（古代中国）」と訳されてたので、「これは＜日本の西にある国＞ではなく、＜日本国の西地方＞という意味です」と伝言をお願いしておいた。電子版では近日直してもらえるかも。 In one place, ``Saigoku'' was translated as ``Ancient China,'' so I sent a message saying, ``This does not mean ``the country to the west of Japan,'' but ``the western region of Japan.'' I asked for it. The digital version may be fixed soon.

You can see very good maps for history here:

https://timemaps.com/history/japan-1453ad/

For reference on what era you want to look at for InuYasha it's during the 1540s, this was mentioned in InuYasha wide edition #4

In Yashahime manga chapter 23 they're at Sakai. In feudal Japan Sakai is the center of commerce.

Taishou died in the Kamakura period within a castle in Kamakura city. That's 1185-1333 There's been many changes on the earth since those times as well as tsunamis and even seasonal cycles because of tilts. Japan has certainly shrunk over the years because these situations. We also know he's been alive since the Heian period 794-1185 because of how he uses the Dono honorific when talking to Zero and also within the timeline. Midoriko and the Jewel was created in the Heian period according to the InuYasha profiles book timeline.

Kirinmaru, Riku and Rion are from mainland China, yes. In fact Kirinmaru is based on the Qilin of myths and legends which originate from China which were first attested in 5th century BCE which ironically lines up with what Katsuyuki Sumisawas said in Animage May 2021 about him being alive since the era of myth and that he may have seen Buddha or Jesus Christ in the Flesh but not Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit.

There are some maps within the series, like Mount Hakurei, Horai Island from the fourth movie. Also the video game counterparts which were all supervised by Rumiko-sensei. - Admin

#inuyasha #犬夜叉 #inu yasha #anime #manga #rumiko takahashi #yashahime #hanyou no yashahime #inulysis #inu meta #inumeta

[animesavior]

"The Earth just draw the attention of some of the most despicable beings the universe has to offer. If something isn't done soon, we could find ourselves in a lot of trouble. what can we do? We could try to wish our enemies away, but even the great Shenron might be powerless against their tremendous strength. Goku is the greatest Warrior the Earth has ever known. Yet to these Saiyans, he's nothing more than an inconvenience. I wonder if King Kai's instruction will even help? Until Goku returns, it seems Gohan is our best hope. He's young though, and there's so little time." -          Kami, Dragon Ball Z Kai (Ep. 04)

The Toonami Trending Rundown for March 2-4, 9-10, and 16-17, 2024. The 27th anniversary of the better cartoon came on a somber note, as it was reported on March 8th that Akira Toriyama, the creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, had passed away on March 1st at the age of 68 due to acute subdural hematoma. Dragon Ball is considered to be Toonami’s greatest success story, as since DBZ first aired in the lineup back in 1999, the show led the charge to bring about the 90’s-2000’s anime boom and the overall popularity of anime in the west today.

And as the anime world paid their respects to a legend, Toonami fans celebrated the life and legacy of Toriyama the best way they knew how, by enjoying Dragon Ball Z on Toonami.

Toonami made a quick tribute to Toriyama during the night of March 9 as the news came on short notice for the Toonami staff. But for the following week on the night of March 16-17, following the regular schedule (save for One Piece and Naruto which took the night off), Toonami aired a marathon of the first eight episodes of DBZ Kai.

In regards to social media buzz, For the night of March 2-3, #Toonami trended in the United States on Twitter alongside Ninja Kamui, Demon Slayer, and Lycoris Recoil. #Toonami also trended on Tumblr alongside Naruto Shippuden. Later, on the night of March 9-10, #Toonami also trended alongside Ninja Kamui, Demon Slayer, and Lycoris Recoil; with #Toonami and Demon Slayer trending alongside the late Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Z, and DBZ. And on the night of March 16-17, #Toonami trended on Twitter alongside Ninja Kamui, Lycoris Recoil and DBZ Kai. #Toonami also trended on Tumblr.

As a bonus, this rundown includes a list of trends that occurred when we got the news of Toriyama’s passing to showcase his impact to the world. Besides Akira Toriyama, #Toonami and other Dragon Ball related content trended as fans made their tributes to Toriyama.

On a more positive note, on March 8, Viz Media and Toonami announced that Zom 100, the hit new anime series by Haro Aso and Kotaro Takata, will be airing on Toonami beginning this March 30, 2024 at 12:30 a.m. Zom 100 will be replacing Demon Slayer on the lineup, which will be going on hiatus from the block after completing the Entertainment District Arc the week before on March 23. There is no word when Toonami and Aniplex plan on airing the show’s next season, the Swordsmith Village Arc, at this time.

In an interview with Variety released on March 22, James Gibbons, President of Warner Bros Discovery’s Asia-Pacific division, revealed that WBD plans on increasing its anime output for 2024 and beyond, saying “We have a Japanese anime studio, which has been producing five or ten anime series per year, over the last few years. [...] We’ve approved expansion to take that to more than ten series per year.” How many of those titles Toonami itself will get to broadcast is yet to be seen, but it's a good sign that WBD remains committed to anime overall.

Tune in tonight for the finale of Demon Slayer’s Entertainment District Arc, among other great moments. Do note that as the season finale of Demon Slayer is 45 minutes long, every show after will air 15 minutes later than usual tonight. Stay gold as always, and Toriyama-san, may you rest in peace in the Other World and thank you for everything. Until we meet again.

Legend: The shows listed are ordered based on their appearance on the schedule. Show trends are listed in bold. The number next to the listed trend represents the highest it trended on the list (not counting the promoted trend), judging only by the images placed in the rundown. For the Twitter tweet counts, the listed number of tweets are also sorely based on the highest number shown based on the images on the rundown.

March 2-3, 2024 Trends

United States Trends:

#Toonami [#6]

#NinjaKamui [#3]

#DemonSlayer [#11]

#LycorisRecoil [#10]

Tweet Counts:

#Toonami [3,490 tweets]

#DemonSlayer [3,256 tweets]

#LycorisRecoil [1,812 tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

#toonami [#4]

#naruto shippuden [Trended with #toonami]

March 9-10, 2024 Trends

United States Trends:

#Toonami [#9]

#NinjaKamui [#10]

#DemonSlayer [Trended with #NinjaKamui]

#LycorisRecoil [#9]

Tweet Counts:

#Toonami [4,435 tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

#toonami [#1]

#DemonSlayer [#6]

#akira toriyama [#7]

#dragon ball z [Trended with #akira toriyama]

#dbz [Trended with #akira toriyama]

March 16-17, 2024 Trends

United States Trends:

#Toonami [#5]

#NinjaKamui [#8]

#LycorisRecoil [#Toonami]

#DBZKai [#Toonami]

Tumblr Trends:

#toonami [#2]

If you wish to send me a tip for the work on the trending rundown, donations can be sent to PayPal.Me/DanielLimjoco.

Until we meet again…Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.

#toonami #cartoon network #adult swim #toonami trending rundown #dragon ball z #dbz #dbz kai #akira toriyama #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #lycoris recoil #naruto #shippuden #ninja kamui #Youtube

[davekat-sucks]

Can they just stop producing this series already? The epilogues were terrible, from shit like Gamzee licking Vriskas dirty shoe to Jade futa dog penis, who would want more of this garbage? Homestuck^2 is not even "funny bad" it's just bad, why do they even bother trying to salvage any of this? Just let it die already, what even happen to Hiveswap? I remember some concept art for part 3 dropping awhile ago but nothing since.

The art concepts for Act 3 were shown only a year ago, but yeah, no other news about it. They might as well admit the Hiveswap game is a Kickstarter scam if it's taking this long to finish it. It's been over 10 years since the campaign had started and funded. They should just let Homestuck end only after the Credits. No Epilogues or HS2/Beyond Canon, just the base webcomic as it is. Let the audiences decide their ending. If people want Davekat as endgame, then that's good. If people want JohnRose and DaveJade as endgame, that's good. If people want Blue Team trolls be brought back to life on Earth C, Lord English destroyed for good and no Calliope, that's fine too. Everything anybody wants is canon. Andrew Hussie, Whatpumpkin, Viz Media, or James Roach should focus more on trying to make the series accessible to other people. Things like translating Homestuck in other languages, show off fanventure content, fan works, fan merch, something for people to engage like it was back then. Some have already translated Homestuck into other languages, it just needs publicity to spread to wider audiences. You can even try to bring back Toberlone wishes as a special little thing where people can request certain stuff from Hussie as their own special treat. It doesn't effect the base webcomic, but it is nice for someone to get a thing from the author himself. Start out small in selling merch with the Beta Kids. Then you can work your way up to the other cast members like the trolls and Alpha. James Roach and HICU are doing it right by at least starting with talks of Homestuck vinyls. So I can give credit for them on that.

#Homestuck #Homestuck fandom #Andrew Hussie #WhatPumpkin #What Pumpkin #James Roach #Homestuck Independent Creative Union #HICU #Homestuck Epilogues #Homestuck2 #HS2 #HS^2 #Homestuck 2 #Homestuck^2 #Homestuck Beyond Canon #HSBC #Viz Media #MSPFA #mspfanventures #Hiveswap #Kickstarter

[vizionaskblog]

Do you guys use emoticons? Whats your national language from your home planet if you have one?:3

Also, do you guys have a music taste?

wow! three questions in one. i can answer for the rest of us, i suppose.

*i* certainly do. i use :) and :3 and :P sometimes but never in front of anyone

i would say what planet we come from, but viz doesn’t let us. he’s afraid that we might be identified. i think it’s a little stupid, but whatever. all i’ll say is that, no, we don’t have a universal language. everyone on our home planet speaks different languages from different galaxies , and we just use translators all the time to understand. it’s actually how i’m talking to you right now!

i’ve heard that earth has a lot of languages, too. though, from what i’ve seen, the translation technology isn’t as caught up. poor things, you are.

as for music, i believe we’ve answered this in the past. viz is not a big fan of music. diz listens to a lot of loud, bassy songs, which just makes him even more upset. i think he has sensitive ears - 🌀

#riddle school #vizion #ask blog #newgrounds #jonbro #jonochrome #quiz #viz #diz

[triflesandparsnips]

My gf is doing a research project on sixteenth century recipe books (building a tool to help people read/understand them) and this weekend she was telling me about an ingredient that showed up in one of them that she could not figure out what it was. I have read the soap post (which is SO COOL, btw, I am so excited to see how the wash balls turn out) and I’m wondering if you might know what it actually is.

She first saw it written as venus bolearmonack, but we found several different spellings for it when we both went down internet rabbit holes: bolearmonack, bolarmonack, bolarmonicke. We think it’s maybe some sort of dirt or clay? But it keeps bothering me that we couldn’t figure it out, and reading your post made me wonder if you would know.

OKAY SO:

From Charas's The Royal Pharmacopœea, we know that:

By Minerals I understand all Metals, Half-metals, and what belongs to Metals. All sorts of Earths, and Bole-Armoniack; all Stones, Marbles, Flints, Porphyries, Jaspers, Chrystals, Jacinths, Emraulds, Saphirs, Granats, Blood-stones, Diamonds, and all sorts of Jewels: Sulphurs, Vitriols, Allums, Sal Gem, Bay-salt, Water, Rain, Snow, Ice, Hail, Thunder-bolts, Dew, Manna of several sorts, Morter, Lime, Brick, Oyl of Naphta Amber-griece white and yellow; Jet, Sea-coal and all Bitumens. Talk, Chalk, Bismuth, Zink, and all Marcasites, the ordinary Earth, Sand, Clay; and in general whatever is drawn out of the Bowels of the Earth, or Sea; or descends from the Air, being without Life.

This is Moyse Charas telling us what a shorthand (Minerals) means -- so apparently, Bole-Armoniack (another spelling!) wasn't a shorthand for something else the way, say, "the four greater Cold seeds" are. I also included the full paragraph because that also gives a hint as to what Bole-Armoniack isn't -- or at least, they didn't think it was... which means nope, not clay or dirt.

Later we find out in the same book that it's something you gotta crush the shit outta in a mortar before you can use it, but when you do it'll reduce to an extremely fine powder the way precious stones and amber will.

Lémery's A Course of Chemistry clarifies for a recipe for, ta da, gonorrhea, that:

Litharge, which is a Lead Calcined [a heated lead], Alom, and Bole-Armenick, are so many considerable Astringents, that do no hurt in this composition.

Which is to say, bole-armenick (ANOTHER SPELLING), when powdered, can be heated up to be used in this mix and was added because it was thought to draw together or contract skin tissue. It's also interesting that Lémery bothered to define litharge (which is fairly common in recipes I've seen), but, again, not the bole-armenick.

Finally, on a hunch, I did a search for just "armenick", and hit enough paydirt that I suspect y'all can dig further using it to confirm the results-- Pettus's 1683 glossary supplement to Ercker's Fleta Minor lists the following:

ARMENICK▪ See Armoniack.

ARMONIACK, T. gives it the Latine Name, Bolus Armeni, and we Bole Armoniack, and I find these words of kin, both in their Orthography and Pronuntiation, viz. Amoniack Armenick and Armoniack. The first Pliny tell us, is a Gum which he calls Gumma Amoniaci, of a glutinous nature (like other Gums) and so may be used for Metallick Vessels. The second viz. Armenick; I find the word Sal always joyned with it, and so called Sal Armenicus, and this Salt was antiently accounted a natural Salt, but that being now unknown to us, we use the Armenicus, which is made of the Urine of Elephants or Camels (as 'tis said) boyled to a Lixivium or Salt, and called Sal Armenius or Armeniacus, and this is of great use for purifying and refining of Metals. To the third Armoniacus the word Bole is added, I suppose for distinction sake: Pliny, c. 35. mentions a Stone, which he calls Lapis Armeni, of which he counts several sorts, but the best of those he saith, are of a blew colour, and calls it verd de Azure (being of great price and esteem with Painters, but the common Armoniack he calls Synoper (and we Synople) from a City of that name, where it was plentiful, and 'tis probable this is the same which we call Bole Armoniack, being of a reddish colour, and this is oft used by our Author, and for distinction the word Gum is put to the first, Salt to the other, and Bolus to this: which I write to prevent Errors in Medicines or Metallick Experiments.

So with Pettus's definitions, triangulated with Charas's shorthand notes and Lémery's preparation instructions, we arrive at your "venus bolearmonack" probably being sinople, a "ferruginous quartz that is blood-red or brownish red sometimes with a tinge of yellow" which "occurs in small but very perfect crystals, and in masses that resemble some varieties of jasper."

All that being said, though: always try and get at least one other source to confirm a definition. My beloved Simon Barbe says that benzoin is also myrrh, and that's... that's not right, babe. So double-check, but-- here's a reasonable direction!

#history #linguistics #trifles the amateur history enthusiast strikes again

[yyh4ever]

Yoshihiro Togashi Exhibition - GOODS (Part I)

Official Site: togashi-ten

Part 2 (Goods)

Part 3 (Goods)

Part 4 (Goods)

Cafe Menu

According to the japanese media, more than 90 original goods related to Togashi's works will be sold at the official shop of Yoshihiro Togashi's Exhibition - Puzzle. The exhibition will have 5 main areas, called: "Prologue", "Yu Yu Hakusho", "Level E", "Hunter x Hunter", and "Yoshihiro Togashi" areas.

The "Yu Yu Hakusho" area will display manuscripts with famous scenes and unforgettable lines. The highlight is the carefully selected action scenes of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama gathered in the center of the area.

The design of the "Yu Yu Hakusho" area, at the Yoshihiro Togashi Exhibition.

Some of the merch have already been unveiled on the official site, let's take a look:

Accessories

Sliding Keychain (Alien Hiei)

"That person, was he … an alien?" …I don't blame you if you think so! A famous scene on a double slide keychain!

Price: 1,100 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

The scenes are from chapter 172. "Special Day".

The back side of Alien Hiei illustration says: "Emergency Bulletin: A new alien aims to invade the Earth!!".

Sliding Keychain わ!!!!! (wa!!!!!)

Price: 1,100 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

The famous scenes are from chapter 116. "The Taboo is One Letter!!".

2. Hobbies

Emotional Acrylic Diorama - In the Demon World -

The stage of the decisive battle is the Demon World. What does Sensui think when he receives the will reflected in the eyes of Yusuke and his friends? One of the most famous scenes in the work is reproduced in this acrylic diorama…!

Price: 1,870 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

The scenes are from chapter 149. "Mano a Mano, Again!!".

When Sensui sees Koenma with Yusuke and the others, he thinks: "You've found some good guys" (いい奴等を見つけたな).

Famous Scene Diorama Figure (Yusuke Urameshi)

The "strength" that Younger Toguro talks about, it was strength gained by "abandoning everything". Understanding the crucial difference between himself and Younger Toguro, the difference in the strength they seek, the moment when Yusuke's hesitation is gone and he counterattacks is turned into a diorama figure!

Price: 1,650 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

The scenes are from chapter 109. "The Crucial Difference!!".

Yusuke says: "I won't abandon anything!! I'll protect (my friends) even if I have to cling on to you!!"

Famous Scene Diorama Figure (Hiei)

It was decided that Hiei would confront Shigure, the Demon World Osteopath, a warrior who works under the direct command of Mukuro. Losing his purpose and seeking a way to die, Hiei doesn't use his flame youki, and faces a sword-only battle. The moment of confrontation, depicting Hiei's emptiness and resolution, is reproduced in this diorama figure.

Price: 1,650 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

The scenes are from chapter 160. "How They Spent Their Year: Hiei, Part 2".

Mukuro touches Hiei's memories and finds out that "His expression softened only when he was face to face with the stone."

Famous Scene Diorama Figure (Kurama)

A momentary decision. The anger and passion that lurks in the heart of the always calm and collected Kurama resides in the Rose Whip! I hope you will enjoy the diorama figure of the beautifully cool-headedness he showed in the VS Makihara (Elder Toguro) battle.

Price: 1,650 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

The scenes are from chapter 138. "His True Identity?!".

Kurama calls Elder Toguro a "low-life" (ゲスめ). It's a very vulgar expression in japanese to say that a person is disgusting. I think VIZ adapted it to "soulless fuck".

Three-way Stalemate Mascots:

Yusuke & Raizen

Father and son, 44 generations apart. Since they met, they've only been fist-fighting, but they are somewhat alike. The strongest parent and child have been made into mascots!

Price: 3,300 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

Hiei & Mukuro

One of the three great youkai of the Demon World, and her immediate warrior. However, they came in contact with each other's pasts, a strange and precious connection. Such two people were made into mascots!

Price: 3,300 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

Kurama & Yomi

Once, the leader and vice-leader of mere bandits in the Demon World. About a thousand years later, the man who had been the leader mingled with humans, and the vice, who lost his sight, is almost in a position to take control of the Demon World.

The steps of those whose paths should no longer cross, intersect once again … and the two appear as mascots!

Price: 3,300 yen (tax included)

Purchase limit: 5

3. Miscellaneous Goods

Magnet Sticker Collection

The battles, encounters, and feelings of those times are revived. The fascinating illustrations of Yusuke and his friends are combined with vivid designs to create magnetic stickers.

Prices:

2 pieces/package (30 types in total / 2 types at random): 660 yen (tax included). Purchase limit: 10

BOX ~ a set with all types (30 types in total): 9,900 yen (tax included). Purchase limit: 1

Many side characters are included:

Edit: more goods were announced on the official site. Please, have a look on Part 2.

A collaboration café will also be open for a limited time on the 52F of Roppongi Hills (located next to the exhibition site). Details will be announced at a later date. (Edit: check the Cafe Menu)

The exhibition will be held at the Mori Arts Center Gallery (Roppongi, Tokyo) from October 28th, 2022 to January 9th, 2023. More than 350 rare original drawings and production materials such as manuscripts and color illustrations will be featured. The exhibition will also take place in Osaka and Fukuoka at future dates.

#Yoshihiro Togashi's Exhibition - Puzzle #Yu Yu Hakusho goods #yusuke urameshi #kazuma kuwabara #hiei #kurama #koenma #botan #Raizen #Mukuro #Yomi #Sensui #Itsuki #Kaname Hagiri #Youko Kurama #Karasu #Elder Toguro #Younger Toguro #Shishiwakamaru #Jin #Touya #Yukina #Keiko Yukimura #Genkai

[recurring-polynya]

I'm sorry if this comes off weird, but I wanted to ask why you seem to not want to know about Can't Fear Your Own World? Do you dislike it, or it's nature as a post-series work?

So I've read a couple of the light novels and they simply do not spark joy. The plots sort of wander around, the characterization has very little to say, and they are full of what I'll call "lore dumps", where there will be a paragraph of exposition that's not integrated into the story in any sort of natural way and is frequently of the "thanks, I hate it" variety. Even though they may be "Kubo approved", or include stuff that he came up with, they completely lack his storytelling skill or the charm of his character voices. There are usually about 3-5 bits that I find charming per light novel, and about five to ten times as many that I find aggravating or off-putting (or just plain tedious or boring).

I think that a big part of it for me is that I read a lot of fanfiction and while there is an awful lot of mediocre fanfic, I have also read a lot of brilliant stories written by people who have given a ton of thought to the characters and the worldbuilding and out-of-canon adventures that these characters might go on. To me, the light novels I have read feel like finding a story on AO3 that has all my favorite tags and a cool story description, and then it turns out that I absolutely hate the writing style and direction. It feels like adding insult to injury that on top of that, I am somehow obligated to consider them canon.

To address CFYOW specifically, it does not contain any of the characters I care about. I mean, I like Shuuhei, but what I like about Shuuhei is his relationship with Izuru, Momo, and Renji. I like his job at the Seireitei Communication. I like his guitar playing and boring cooking and the goofy outfits he wears in splash pages. I could not care less about him getting bankai. I've said this before, but I would like relatively very few characters to get bankai, and he is not on my shortlist. It feels very shoehorned to me.

The plot sounds convoluted and tedious as hell. I already found the Fullbringers tedious enough when I had to read about them in the manga, I do not want to spend one more minute of my life thinking about Fullbringers.

Tokinada seems mildly interesting, but I'm pretty sure I got as much as I care to know about him from reading thru some BBS screenshots.

I hate literally every piece of Soul King-related lore I have heard come out of CFYOW. It makes me literally enjoy Bleach less.

I read a fan translation of the first couple of chapters when they came out and it barely kept my attention. I briefly considered that maybe the professional translation might be a little more readable (I say this with all love and respect for the translation I read, which was trying to keep it very close to the original), but then I have heard that Viz butchered the translation, so I feel like there's no winning there.

It's just not for me. If it were a fanfiction, I would look at the tags and description and simply keep scrolling. I wish peace and love on planet Earth to everyone who enjoyed it and any of the other light novels, but it's not something I wish to spend my time and energy on. There are so many parts and pieces of Bleach--the manga, the anime, the movies, the filler arcs, the novels, databooks, random facts Kubo spills in interviews, fanworks, etc, and I've always been of the opinion that as fans, we all have the right to pick and choose which ones we want to consume and what we want to include in our own personal canons. Further, because CFYOW is post-canon, it literally affects nothing if I ignore it. Yeah, there are a few interesting crumbs in there, like the stuff about Ikkaku and his sister and I think there's an off-hand mention of the Six Hearts gang going to the beach, but it's simply not worth it to me to read through over a thousand pages of something that I am otherwise just not interested in.

#if i have to read a thousand pages about hisagi he better be spending a significant part of it kissing kira on the mouth #and it is my understanding that this doesn't happen even once in CFYOW

[silvermoon424]

I know you said you love horror manga. have you ever read the drifting classroom?

OMG YESSSSSSSSSS WHAT A CLASSIC

For those who don't know, The Drifting Classroom is a horror manga by Kazou Umezu. Umezu is one of the fathers of horror manga; before there was Junji Ito, there was Kazou Umezu (Junji Ito himself credits Umezu as a huge inspiration for him, even making an entire manga oneshot dedicated to him).

Anyway, The Drifting Classroom is about an entire Japanese elementary school that somehow slips through the cracks of time and space during an earthquake. The kids and teachers suddenly find themselves stranded in a barren, hostile wasteland that seems to be devoid of all life (at least at first). After the adults succumb to the pressure, the older kids have to band together to protect the younger ones and eke out a living in this hell.

Meanwhile, the main character- a boy named Sho- manages to establish a telepathic link with his frantic mother back home. It soon becomes clear that the kids are trapped on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the distant future- an Earth that has been ravaged by nuclear war, pollution, and environmental disasters. Although it seems bleak and hopeless, Sho's connection to his mother in the past allows her to do things that will benefit the children in the future.

If that synopsis interests you at all, I highly recommend reading The Drifting Classroom! You can find it online, or Viz republished the entire manga in a set of 3 omnibus volumes not too long ago (which made me VERY happy, as I had been wanting to add the series to my manga collection for a long time!).

Just a warning, there are depictions of children being hurt/killed and the story can get pretty dark, but it ultimately ends on a hopeful note.

#the drifting classroom #horror manga #horror #halloween #kazuo umezu

[yumi-tamura-fan]

My top 3 90's shojo manga reccomendations (I'll try to keep them spoiler free as possible)

1.Basara by Yumi Tamura (27 volumes)

Synopsis from Viz: Basara is a post-apocalyptic fantasy adventure series and one of the most popular shôjo manga of the 90s in Japan. It is the story of how a young girl becomes "the child of destiny" and finds the strength to free her people and seek revenge for the death of her brother.

Basara is a story that can't be classified into just one genre. It's a romance of course, but it could fit also fit into other genres such as fantasy or adventure, as well as tragedy. There's bloody battles throughout the manga, as well as political corruption and even pirate fights! It might sound like a shonen manga but we also get romance, forbidden romance at that. Think Romeo and Juliet. We get to see star crossed lovers fight for what they think is right all the while not knowing each others identities. Everyone in the series is fleshed out, with motivations, wants and needs. By the time you reach the end of the series, even the smallest characters will have you feeling for them.

The only criticism I can give is the art at the beginning of the series is subpar, but the quality of it picks up quickly and by the end of the series the author's art is undeniably gorgeous. My all time favorite shojo manga and whether you can hunt down all the out of print series like me (it took forever) or read the scans online, I think almost anyone would be drawn in to this series.

Red River by Chie Shinohara (28 volumes)

Synopsis from Viz: Yuri, a pretty Japanese girl, is ecstatic after passing her college entrance exam and having her first kiss with her childhood friend-turned boyfriend. However, her luck soon changes. She starts to notice that water becomes agitated whenever she goes near it. One night, hands appear out of a puddle on the street and drag her into the water! Transported to an ancient village in the Middle East, she is then captured by armed troops and taken to the Queen's palace for a human sacrifice. Adventure and good-looking boys fill this great first volume!

I've always been fascinated by Ancient Egypt so this manga was right up my ally. It has beautiful art, an intriguing story, and unique side characters. I also didn't hate the fact that the author dropped details and facts about history into the manga.

Overall it's an amazing historal manga, with just enough action as there is romance. I would encourage anyone who enjoys history to check out this title (most likely through online scans as it is out of print).

Angel Sanctuary by Kaori Yuki (20 volumes)

Synopsis from Viz: Why is Setsuna so mixed up? Despite his attempts to be noble, he'll fight anyone anytime; he ignores all authority; and he harbors feelings for his sister that can only be described as "incestuous." Why is he such a mess? The reason may be found with two demons from the underworld and their enemy, an insane angel who is distributing an insidious computer game called Angel Sanctuary.

Angel Sanctuary is about a female angel who rebelled against God, and in turn had her soul separated from her body, and sent to earth to endure tragic human lives until the end of time. The female angel currently inhabits the body of a teenage boy who is troubled by the love he has for his sister. Like Flowers in the Attic, incest is a common theme throughout it, however, it is never fetishized nor glamorized, and we don't see that much of the physical side of it (just go with it and it will all make sense in the end). The sinful love isn't the only focus, as there are also demons, sword battles, even angels with guns, as well as plenty of interesting side characters that add to the story.

I will say that the first few volumes are slightly mediocre, but Kaori Yuki quickly picks up in the later volumes, and by the time I finished the series, I could say it was one of the best ones I've ever read. I've never read a 20 volume manga series as fast as I have this one.

I wouldn't recommend Angel Sanctuary to everyone, since it has a warped view on religion, as well as incest, drugs, murder and genocide. But all in all, it's a excellent series for those with an open mind who enjoy beautifully drawn series with a complicated plot.

#angel sanctuary #legend of basara #red river #kaori yuki #yumi tamura #chie shinohara #shoujo manga #90s manga #90s shoujo #book recommendations #manga reccomendation

[tobiasdrake]

(Re: The Ginyu Post) 1. If Ginyu had only ever body changed with other mutants, then that might explain why he hadn't encountered the same problem he did with Goku. Goku's power requires a lot more skill to access. 2. Not really relevent to anything but I just want to note that we also see someone who may be a Namekian Mutant: Nail, who Friexa clocks at about 42,000. Though he's also the personal guard of the Grand elder, so it's also possible he reaped the benefits of unlocked potential like Krillin did

Yeah, Nail is pretty amazing for such a short-lived character.

Vegeta should be grateful that the Ginyus showed up because this was probably about to end badly for him.

Jeice's line here has been through some fixing. The original version had him astonishedly reading that Vegeta's battle power is coming up to 20k. This, of course, doesn't seem that impressive since he was said to have been 18k on Earth and, in fact, read at 24k earlier in this very arc.

The line was later revised to set Vegeta's current BP at 30k, following his zenkai from Zarbon.

Viz hedges their bets here by using the original 20k number, but adding "And still rising!" Which is still kinda janky because now Burter's reacting with astonishment to an explicitly lowball estimate of Vegeta's ki.

Either way, uh.

Yeah, if Vegeta had succeeded in starting shit back there, he was about to find out real fast and in a hurry why you don't fuck with the Grand Elder's bodyguard. Nail was about to happen to Vegeta in very much the same way that Recoome later did.

Pictured: An approximate estimation of what Vegeta didn't realize he was volunteering for back at Saichoro's home.

It is a pretty popular theory that the reason Nail is this powerful is because he's already had his dormant power drawn out by Saichoro. It is the logical conclusion. Saichoro can draw out a person's dormant ability from someone and there doesn't seem to be any reason he wouldn't do that for his personal bodyguard and attendant. He does it for Krillin, Gohan, and even Dende.

This is never confirmed nor refuted in the manga. The only explanation ever offered for Nail's power is that he's Senshi Taipu or a "Warrior-Type Namekian". This sets him apart from those earlier 3k BP Namekian fighters, as Saichoro notes that he's the only Senshi Taipu on Namek.

Viz says "true warrior" in place of Senshi Taipu which is kind of a slap in the face to those other guys. Now it just sounds like he's shit-talking the dead. Rude.

But the idea is that Senshi Taipu is the other special class of Namekian. The other being Ryuzoku or "Dragon Clan", the sorts of Namekian mystics who do things like create Dragon Balls. The Nameless Namekian was Ryuzoku - and a prodigy Ryuzoku, at that.

It's weird to me that one is a "Taipu" and the other is a "-zoku". We have Ryuzoku, the corrupted Mazoku, and Senshi Taipu. Why isn't that one a -zoku? But I digress.

Something interesting to note about this is that it retroactively implies explanation for how Piccolo was able to reincarnate himself stronger.

"He broke off a piece of himself that's even more powerful than he is because, uh, of reasons." Kind of a weird thing for him to be able to do, right? Why doesn't our Piccolo ever spit out an egg and make Piccolo III who's 8x more powerful than Piccolo? If spawning copies of himself that are superior to the original is a thing he can do then that implies some brand new options.

The Namek arc implies some explanations. During the Frieza battle, Dende explains to Piccolo that he's Senshi Taipu, so he can't learn mystical arts like healing magic.

But the Nameless Namekian and by extension God and PIccolo were Ryuzoku like Dende. So the implied retroactive explanation for how Piccolo was able to make his new self more powerful is because he reincarnated as Senshi Taipu, trading in the mystical package for pure battle power.

#dragon ball #dragon ball z #piccolo #nail

[battleangelaelita]

Haman Karn and audience reception of female antagonists

I am not just an Azula fan, I have a broad and healthy appreciation of girlbosses in all their forms, and one of my favorites of the archetype is Haman Karn from Zeta and ZZ Gundam. Seriously, she walked so the rest of our faves could fly. More under the cut.

Now, this little blog post is going to be at least partly speculative. I don’t know for sure how how Haman Karn was received during the initial broadcast of Zeta in 1986 and ZZ in 1987. But I do know as a longtime Gundam fan that the second and third outings in the Gundam franchise were a high-water mark for female characters in Gundam, and the franchise has, at best, stagnated and usually backslid since. The Origin fleshed out parts of Sayla Mass’s story that were left on the cutting room floor so that’s really the only notable exception prior to this fall’s forthcoming Witch from Mercury, which will have the franchise’s first female protagonist.

People usually have one of two opinions on Zeta in the English speaking anime world: “best of the franchise” or “i have never heard of this.” It got its localization contracted just before Toonami decided to pull the plug on Gundam broadcasts after the one-two punch of the original having disappointing ratings and September 11 made the violence of the series less palatable--the background of the opening narration depicts the use of city-killing WMDs in the form of deorbited space colonies.

So Zeta survived on DVD sales only, while the immediate sequel didn’t get an official localization, finally releasing as a subtitle only BD/DVD in 2015, and only getting put on CrunchyRoll this year (2022).

So the only people who watched are people who were already Gundam fans, and people who were likely to be older to pay for what was at the time a niche product, or something they’d have to acquire a fansub for.

So who is Haman Karn? She’s a Neo-Zeon warlord who assumed control of a remote mining colony and military base, and returned to the Earth sphere in the middle of a ongoing colonial uprising against the despotic Earth Federation emergency regime. Seven years after the end of the One Year War, the world is still a huge mess, with many of the heros from the original forced to fight against their own government by the tyrannical Titans state security force, the Zeon-hunting organization that has become the small gear turning the large gear in the Federation.

And into this mess, which has seen magnificent bastard Char (under a pseudonym) fighting with the heroes, on the same side as his rival Amuro, Haman shows up bound and determined to make this mess worse.

Look at this demon baby...she even has a knife!

Haman has a lot of the qualities people love (and love to hate) in characters like Azula. She is a young and extremely competent female antagonist with a deep personal relationship with a previous fan favorite (Char). She is often smug and manipulative. In spite of her general sense of duty towards her people and their cause, that cause is a deeply destructive and evil one (Zeon in Gundam is a pastiche of currents of Japanese right-wing futurism viz the Kodoha clique and the pseudo-left anti-imperialism of Kita Ikki and some elements of the student movement).

In Zeta Haman is a spanner in the works, a sometimes ally, sometimes adversary of the protagonists who ends up maneuvering for supremacy in a three-way conflict with both the heroes and the series big bad Paptimus Sirocco, who is Jupiterian in both the Emmanuel Macron personalist/Bonapartist political sense as well as literally from Jupiter. Haman is the ultimate victor of this battle; she not only defeats Char in a one-on-one, possibly killing him (his fate was left ambiguous), but her forces come out in the best shape. Zeta’s protagonist Kamille Bidan beats Sirocco, but is left catatonic from the psychic resonance (it’s Newtypes, I don’t have time to explain...)

Haman goes on to be the big bad in Gundam ZZ (it’s usually pronounced Gundam Double-Zeta). Not only does the general trend of gaslight, gatekeep, girlbossing continue, she intensifies and double-downs on it. War crimes ensue. And not the silly sense that fandom talks about characters like Azula being war criminals because they don’t like them, I mean actual violations of the laws of armed conflict like the use of WMDs on open cities. She does get somewhat chickified because one of the long-running subplots is her attraction to Double Zeta’s protagonist Judau Ashta (it’s another Newtype thing...just think of it like their souls touching through some psychic stuff), but it’s played more for tragedy. In the end she cannot let go of her pride, and chooses to die when defeated rather than accept Judau’s alternate perspective.

Haman in sum has all the hallmarks of the villainous woman in the traditionally male sphere. She’s stoic, manipulative, hypercompetent, but also emotionally closed off. She can’t femme fatale, and her few romantic overtures are clumsy. Nonetheless, she has complicated, multi-faceted relationships with multiple male characters, including a series fave, and often beats them at their own game.

Yet she’s also consistently a pretty well liked character in both the English and Japanese fandoms. There is no shortage of moeified fanart of her, and she’s showed up as a cameo in several other series like the Build Fighters one.

So what went wrong elsewhere? Perhaps it’s because Haman was intended to be a sympathetic character from the start by Tomino, unlike Bryke’s relative disinterest towards Azula’s internality, for example. It’s long been a pet theory of mine that Haman began conceptually as the next arc for Sayla Mass, another fave in the Gundam franchise. Perhaps I’ll do a whole post on that subject someday, but in brief, Sayla is Char’s estranged sister, both of whom have been living under assumed names in exile from their home colony after their father’s assassination. Sayla’s plotline in the original got slightly truncated due to the episode count being slashed, but in the original outline she was supposed to lead a soldier mutiny in Zeon in the final part, taking off the character masque of Sayla and becoming Artesia Deikun again (this was restored in the expanded The Origin manga by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu, who was Tomino’s right-hand man on the original series).

There may be a slight resemblance...

Sayla unfortunately had to be cut from Zeta because the voice actress was on a year long Safari in Africa (it was the 80s, I guess people just did that sort of thing). So somewhere in development, a character who also has a complicated personal relationship with Char, a stoic and serious female character who looks like if Sayla decided to dye her hair and cut her bangs, shows up again on the opposite side of the conflict from Char, who’s doing his best at trying to be a hero...really gets the old noggin joggin’.

It could also be a matter of audience. Gundam is aimed more towards a slightly older demographic than many western animated shows, particularly one like Avatar, and it’s also a pre-internet show. People had time to grow up and form more nuanced opinions and weren’t dumped unvarnished into a fandom space very early. Or they were American adults experiencing the show for the first time as adults, with some background for nuance.

But there’s plenty of people who first watched Avatar the Last Airbender as adults who also have extremely hyperbolic opinions about Azula. The reception towards Rey from the Star Wars sequels, who let’s be honest here, is neither overpowered compared to her male counterparts nor does she have a strong, domineering personality, also points to the fact that older fans are far from immune to knee-jerk toxicity. If anything, they were worse with Rey.

In fact I find the audience reception of Rey even more baffling, because from the very start Rey is clearly communicated in terms that make her relatable to the audience of Star Wars fans. She is, after all, a fangirl in-universe, living in her mundane world dreaming of the big adventures outside of the meager existence salvaging scrap on Jakku, keenly interested in the old ‘legends’ about people like Luke Skywalker or Han Solo.

What then is the answer? Fandom I guess is an often toxic space, and I can’t find any clear answers. Sometimes villainous female characters get generally well liked and appreciated, and other times they’re treated with such comically hyperbolic disdain it would be funny if it weren’t so damn stupid. I am interested in hearing what you have to think.

#Haman Karn #Azula #gundam #ATLA #meta

[beneaththetangles]

Transformers or Demon King housekeepers? Youth doing romance “wrong” or boys that turn into monsters at night? Boys that turn into monsters PERIOD or a wizard cursing a young woman? We absolutely run the gamut this week with the releases we’re covering, including a host of works coming out this week or next. Let us know what you think of these releases and series!

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The Art and Making of Transformers: War for Cybertron, Art Book

In the opening foreword of The Art and Making of Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy, F.J. DeSanto mentioned how the series Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy was a love letter to “both the robots of Cybertron and their fans on Earth.” I could not help but feel that this art book captured that love letter to its fullest. From the opening pages, I was already in awe of how this truly is a behind-the-scenes-look at the Netflix Transformers trilogy. I don’t know which was my favorite part: seeing the initial sketches of iconic Transformers, or hearing the love that so many people have for Transformers in general. While this book focuses that love specifically toward the series, it is a precious gift that also reaches out to other Transformers fans. I shared this with my ten-year-old, who is a huge Transformers fan, and his excitement was so transparent and almost tangible that I could not help but be thankful this book exists. He deeply loved the numerous character profiles, the screenshots from the show, the comprehensive breakdowns of locations and ships, and a whole section dedicated to toys. It was one of the most satisfying things to see my son’s face light up as he and my husband had in-depth and excited conversations about the full-page art spreads and random facts they did not know beforehand. This is an impressive and engaging art book that I think any Transformer fan can appreciate, whether casual onlooker or obsessed watcher. However, it will be most appreciated by fans of the War for Cybertron series and those wanting to learn even more about its characters, whether all-time favorites or brand new. ~ Laura A. Grace

The Art and Making of Transformers: War for Cybertron is published by VIZ Media.

My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected, Manga Vol. 18

The cover of volume 18 of Oregairu looks way too epic for a story about three high school kids trying to toss aside their weaknesses and just grow up, but it’s kind of fitting for this arc of the series, which itself is overblown and confusing. Yukino is trying to help Iroha plan for a prom, but the former’s mother, who leads the school’s parents, opposes it on moral grounds. Yet, they continue to plan and try to convince the parents. Hikki, who Yukino will not allow to help her because she doesn’t want to be dependent on him, decides to create a rival prom, intending that when judged against the true prom, it will look so bad that the parents will pick Yukino’s. Meanwhile, Yui is just heartbroken and along for the ride. Make sense? Yeah, I didn’t think so, either. I’ve watched and read this arc multiple times in other versions of Oregairu, and have always been disappointed in it as the concluding and unfortunately weakest story for what is my favorite franchise. The manga handles the arc better in some cases, though: it’s able to build up panels toward jokes, almost as if the mangaka is trying to distract us from the actual goings-on in the melodramatic plot; and the illustrations are killer, having matured over the course of the series, much like the protagonists. It also made a few changes to the source material, including one that I find fascinating, effectively switching Yui’s scene where she falls asleep against Hikki to Yukino doing the same. I also appreciated a couple of the cute inserts, including a pretty challenging “find the 10 differences between the drawings” page. While none of this is enough to divert attention away from the flaccid story, just like the service club trio, we’ll still make it to a conclusion even though the ride is bumpy. Some rides are just bumpier than others. ~ Twwk

My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected is published by Yen Press.

His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper, Manga Vol. 1

I keep finding myself picking up manga titles that either I don’t know anyone talking about or I’m unsure if I’ll love. Thankfully, I have continued to find success because my latest “blind buy” was His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper, and I really enjoyed it! Sakura is a young high schooler who is obsessed with cleanliness and loves to clean. When she unexpectedly finds herself in another world that is filthy from a curse that doesn’t allow cleaning magic, her “cleaning powers” and passion lead her to become the housekeeper of a lazy demon king. Not only that, but she suddenly finds herself being called a Saint thanks to her magical abilities! I’m not sure I had any expectations when starting this new series, and I’m glad I didn’t because it was simply a fun and unique read. Sakura was a really fun heroine to follow along with, and I enjoyed seeing her cause some “chaos” by asking people to put a conversation on hold so she could go clean. Ha! I also found the concept of the curse intriguing, and I’m curious as to what the “cure” will be; but for now I am enjoying Sakura showing the people of this world what real cleaning magic is. I definitely plan to pick up more volumes of this series despite the fact that I didn’t super love the beginning. I very much want to see if Sakura can find out how to break the curse, how the citizens will admire her “cleaning magic” next time, and the romance that I hope blooms soon! ~ Laura A. Grace

His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper is published by Seven Seas.

At Night, I Become a Monster, One-Shot Light Novel

There are some authors who try to make their points artistically, carefully, slowly, elegantly. And then there are authors who don’t care about any of that and just say whatever they want to say with little concern for subtlety or literary conventions. Yoru Sumino is the second. Case in point: At Night, I Become a Monster. I mean, the school nurse is literally reading No Longer Human as Adachi (the male lead, who becomes a monster every night for unexplained reasons) walks into her office! But as much as Sumino’s blunt, self-aware style irked me last time, I wasn’t as annoyed here. Maybe it’s because I felt more sympathy for Yano, the female lead, who tries desperately to be kind despite her classmates’ bullying. Maybe it’s because the whole book rails against an all-too familiar culture where vicious barbs are concealed beneath subtle language. Maybe it’s because of the book’s point: that we all might be more monstrous at heart than we would dare to think. At Night, I Become a Monster spins an unsettling tale about social life—but one that’s also filled with hope. Even while ushering us into the dark depths of the ways we hurt each other throughout the book, Sumino also points us towards the light at the end of the tunnel. The book ends on a bittersweet but reassuring tone, a reminder that it’s scary to take off our masks and reveal our true, ugly selves, but that doing so can also lead to redemption, for us and for others. I’ll be spending several nights awake thinking about this book. Hopefully I won’t be turning into a monster like Adachi, though. Or maybe that’s been Sumino’s goal all along… ~ sleepminusminus

At Night, I Become a Monster is published by Seven Seas.

Dandadan, Manga Vol. 1

Dandadan is an action romcom that links the sci-fi and the supernatural as it pits an oddly coupled teenage duo against evil forces. Volume one is frenetic and unrelenting in its plot, humor, and fanservice. The pacing and assertive content gives this volume an interesting tone, but it’s all a bit too much. It’s a shame, too, because the two central characters—Momo (the granddaughter of a shrine priestess) and the nerdy boy she refers to as “Okarun”—are easy to root for, both as individuals and as a potential romantic pairing. But they get lost among too many ecchi scenes and genitalia jokes—lots and lots of jokes about genitalia, because you see, both the alien creatures that they meet first and the spiritual one that takes center stage later are interested primarily in “organs.” It’s meant to add to a wild and funny atmosphere, but comes across more as awkward and puerile. This is a Shonen Jump series and so is aimed at adolescent boys, after all. The question is, with lovely drawings and two characters that immediately have great chemistry on the manga page, why couldn’t it be something more? ~ Twwk

Dandadan is published by Viz Media. Volume one releases on October 11th.

Romantic Killer, Manga Vol. 1

In the Twitter shojo community, Romantic Killer has been a hot topic of discussion due to it being a shonen title published under Shojo Beat, an imprint that publishes shojo manga. Due to this controversy, I was deeply curious how this new title would “hold up” to its genuine shojo predecessors. Anzu is a high schooler who loves video games, chocolate, and her pet cat, but she suddenly loses all these things because of Riri the wizard! The wizard assures her that she can get it all back if she falls in love with any of the hot guys around her, but Anzu doesn’t care about falling in love or being surrounded by hot guys. She just wants her favorite things back! I won’t deny that I had a pretty good time reading because our main character is hilarious. I found her instantly engaging from the very beginning and think she is definitely part of this series’ charm: she really isn’t okay just going along with this imp’s plans to make her fall in love. Yet, whether or not the community influenced my own views, I confess I did feel conflicted after reading Romantic Killer. My biggest issues came first with her parents basically abandoning her in Japan and later with the imp forcing a random person to be part of this “experiment.” I know this is a comedy, but I found both those issues to be quite unsettling. Yet with that said, I do want to see what happens next. I really liked the “main guy” in this volume and found myself wanting Anzu to cave in and develop feelings for him. I’m on the fence if I’ll purchase the next volume or only watch the anime, but either way, I do want to see what Hoshino will do next. ~ Laura A. Grace

Romantic Killer is published by Shojo Beat.

Shortcake Cake, Manga Vol. 10

Before I share my thoughts, I will just say this: Do not be deceived by this gorgeous cover. It is by far my favorite in the series and when I picked it up, I was hoping we have a nice reprieve or turn of events where things started looking up for Riku, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Well, maybe not super wrong because this volume did have a turning moment in that Riku willingly goes to sleepover at Chiaki’s house, which is extremely shocking given their “one-sided” friendship! It’s there I definitely think Chiaki shines the most since the series began and was deeply touched in his love for Riku and how much he wants to help him. I think it was in these pages of seeing Riku truly open himself up that I could no longer stop tears from falling. They only continued to fall more when Riku makes a decision that was extremely heartbreaking, only for that scene to be followed by hearing Rei’s story and why he acts the way he does. (I sort of felt my heart couldn’t get a break!) I admire Ten that despite the sadness and heartache she is personally feeling, never once did she give up in doing what she could to help the Mizuhara brothers. The ending felt surreal and was so thankful she was there to push a certain character into action because it indeed feels like the ending is critical in what will happen next.  ~ Laura A. Grace

READ: Shortcake Cake Reviews (Vol.1 // Vol. 2 // Vol. 3 // Vol. 4 //Vol. 5 // Vol. 6 // Vol 7 // Vol. 8 // Vol. 9)

Shortcake Cake is published by VIZ Media.

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“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

#Manga #Light Novels #Art Books #The Art and Making of Transformers: War for Cybertron #Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. #My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected #Oregairu #His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper #Maou Heika no Osouji gakari #At Night I Become a Monster #Yoru no Bakemono #Romantic Killer #Dandadan #Shortcake Cake #Short Cake Cake #Reader's Corner #Articles #Author: Laura A. Grace #Author: TWWK #Author: sleepminusminus

[blessed1neha]

What is the difference between Vedic and Western Astrology

Both the type of astrology are is primarily individual choice but some major differences are as under Different historical background Vedic Astrology came about through “rishis” who lived many thousands of years ago. The origins of Vedic Astrology can be traced back to the Rig Veda , Atharva Veda which is the oldest part of the Vedas, containing the spiritual knowledge of India. Western Astrology goes back to the intellectual life of ancient Greece and Rome where it was a powerful force. But was reawakened in the Middle Ages and once again came to permeate philosophy, literature, and art Different methods are used to calculate the position of the planets: The Vedic system of astrology is basically a fixed zodiac as used by astronomers against the background of certain fixed stars (Nakshatra). It is called the “sidereal zodiac”. Hence, in the past, the term Astronomy covered astrology as well as the study of the physical heavens.

Western astrology is a movable zodiac, as it is based on the orientation of the Earth to the Sun, and applies the “Tropical zodiac”. It “assumes” that every year, the Sun at the spring and autumnal equinoxes is at the first degree of Aries and Libra respectively, and at the first degree of Cancer and Capricorn at the summer and winter solstices. As a result of this fundamental assumption, the tropical zodiac ignores an astronomical event called the Precession of the Equinoxes (that is as the Sun moves along its apparent path as viewed from the Earth, it does not return to the same position against the background of the fixed stars at the spring equinox on 21 March, where it was at the same time one year earlier. It is short by 50.29 seconds of one degree, and this builds up to a difference of one degree every 71.585 years and over a period of 2,148 years the gap between the sidereal and tropical positions of the planets grows to 30 degrees, or one whole sign of the zodiac. The time span required for a new precessional cycle (when sidereal and tropical zodiac meets) would take approximately 25,800 years.)

Different number of planets are used Nine planets are used in Vedic Astrology viz. Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and the two nodes of the Moon called Rahu and Ketu. The nodes, as recognised by astronomers, are points on the ecliptic path of the Sun where Moon cuts every month as it circles the Earth at a 5° inclination to the Earth’s orbit.

Western Astrology also use the all the above mentioned planets. but in addition the outer planets – Uranus, Neptune and Pluto – as well as their moons and some of the largest asteroids are also used in interpreting horoscopes. Different primary focus Tropical astrology is largely “Sun” based and may more accurately be called “solar houses” as it directly interprets results based on the sign in which sun is posited according to the month ( 21 March to 20- April = Aries, 21 April to 20 May = Taurus etc) . Thus Western Astrology is primarily concerned with psychology, the personality and character, or the “solar” side of our life and nature. Sidereal astrology can be called “Cosmic astrology” as it is moon based astrology. Moon revolves around earth in 27.3 days. during its revolution it crosses all fixed stars (Nakshatra). As moon is the closest to earth can influence to a large extent. In Vedic system results are based on measures the relationship between the fixed stars and the solar system to ourselves. Vedic Astrology covers all areas of life – our desires, talents, responsibilities, financial resources, creativity, likelihood of marrying and having children, and the potential for spiritual growth. It can also indicate times of ill-health, failures, emotional and physical difficulties; and confinement in a hospital, prison or monastery, etc. Ayurveda is the medical branch of Vedic Astrology; whilst Vastu is its architectural branch. Different use of the Fixed Stars Besides using the 12 signs, Vedic Astrology breaks down the 360º circle into 27 lunar constellations, called Nakshatras, which were originally identified with particular stars, but these days each one is deemed to cover a span of 13 degrees 20 minutes thus creating a full circle. These Nakshatras are used for indicating the quality of a person’s mind-set as well as ascertaining subtle qualities of the nine planets specific to each natal chart. They can be used for determining personality types; the starting points of the planetary periods, favorable times for beginning important actions in electional astrology

In Western Astrology there are Millions of stars available, but out of these 26 zodiacal latitudes are selected and interpretation of horoscopes is done on the basis of transit of the planets over these specific latitudes. Thus out of 360 degrees available only few (26 specific positions ) are taken in to account. Different systems to determine the timing of events In timing major events or changes in our lives, Western Astrology uses progressions (any method of advancing the planets and house cusps of a natal horoscope to a particular time after birth) and transits (the position and movement of the planets on a given day; used in reference to planets passing over a natal planet or crossing a natal house). Vedic astrology may also apply these systems, but their primary system is the use of planetary periods, called dashas. There are 32 such systems outlined by Parashara in his treatise. Under the most commonly used Vimshottari Dasha system, each of the nine planets is given a particular time span, periods varying from 6 to 20 years, giving a total of 120 years, when their particular influence will have a predominant effect on an individual’s life. These periods can be divided into sub-periods and sub-sub periods to show the planetary influences operating on a particular day.

#astrology #vastu #vedic astrology #astro notes #aries astrology #vastu shastra expert #astro chart #vedic astro observations #predictive astrology