#of which there is an incredible amount of for a show which currently contains no actual incest

[yokohamapound]

If you have enough time, could you please write about Fyodor, Dazai, chuuya, and tecchou (You could add more if you want) reacting to their s/o pinching, squeezing, and kissing their both cheeks with a slight nibbling on them? If you don't mind, ty.

This request is so cute and sweet that Ranpo is going to try and steal it. For which I am also adding him to the headcanons~

Characters: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Dazai Osamu, Nakahara Chuuya, Suehiro Tetchou, Edogawa Ranpo

Contains: Smoochies

Fyodor Dostoevsky 

I imagine it takes a little while for you to gather the courage to do this. While Fyodor has a very pretty face, his aloof demeanour and sinister edge don’t encourage people to touch him casually. Obviously, as his partner you have much more freedom in this sense, but it was probably still a while before you reached out and pinched his cheek.

Fyodor’s surprise is fascinating to see. He lets out a small, throaty laugh, raising an eyebrow at you for your impulsive gesture. 

“What prompted that, may I ask?”

His amusement is only compounded when you follow your pinching up with kisses. He’ll allow you to get away with it for a moment or two before he takes your chin and asks if you’re so terribly in need of his attention. If you ask ever so sweetly, he might just give it to you. 

Dazai Osamu

No matter how gently you pinch his cheek, Dazai will overplay it. He’ll widen his eyes into big chocolate brown pools and pout, clutching his cheek (conveniently trapping your hand against the side of his face).

“You’re so cruel, bella!” he proclaims. 

He’ll require you to kiss it better, and will not stop at just one. It’ll take multiple kisses to stop “the pain”.

Despite all his whining, Dazai enjoys your soft, playful affection. Just be warned that he’ll repay you tenfold, and probably in public, too. He has no shame, (which is incredibly ironic when you consider the first line of No Longer Human). 

Nakahara Chuuya

Chuuya cleaves very tightly to his “tough guy” reputation. He’s slick, he’s cool, he’s a dangerous executive from the Port Mafia. He can’t be having you pinching his cheeks and cooing at him over how cute he is. Even if he is pretty cute. 

It’s a little bit hypocritical, since one of his favourite “cool guy” ways to greet you is to pinch your cheek and be like, “Hey, dollface.” 

If you do it, be prepared for him to sputter and turn his face away, his ears burning red and starting to blend in with his hair. 

“Tch, the hell was that for?!”

He’s a little mollified if you follow it up with a kiss, but only moderately. He frowns at you in that grumpy way of his and rolls his eyes. “Fine, you’re forgiven. Just don’t ever do that in front of the guys, you got it?”

Suehiro Tetchou

Tetchou’s face doesn’t show much reaction the first time you reach out and pinch his cheek, squishing the flesh of his face between your thumb and forefinger. His eyes slide toward you, but apart from a blink, he seems stoic.

“Are you testing the strength of my facial muscles?” he asks, quite serious. “I can make them stronger. I will.”

You have to explain to the dolt that it’s just an expression of affection. You’ve also developed a habit of kissing those three little markings under his left eye. He normally shuts that eye and lets you get away with it. 

Edogawa Ranpo 

I feel like this request was made for Ranpo. Amongst the right people, this young man inspires such a prodigious amount of cute aggression that you’re practically shaking with the need to pinch his cheeks. 

Depending on his mood and current snack level, Ranpo might placidly accept it as you tug on his cheek like it’s made of playdoh, or he might bat your hand away like a cat, or he might try to nip at your fingers. 

He might pout a little when you grab his face in your hands and start covering his cheeks in kisses, muttering that he is a grown man, you know. That said, he doesn’t mind being considered cute and adorable, so long as you recognise he’s the World’s Greatest Detective. 

“If I’m so cute, why aren’t you spoiling me more?”

#yokohama pound #bungo stray dogs #bsd headcanons #fyodor dostoevsky #dazai osamu #nakahara chuuya #suehiro tetchou #edogawa ranpo #fyodor x reader #dazai x reader #chuuya x reader #tetchou x reader #ranpo x reader

[reasonsforhope]

"It may sound surprising, but when times are tough and there is no other food available, some soil bacteria can consume traces of hydrogen in the air as an energy source.

In fact, bacteria remove a staggering 70 million tonnes of hydrogen yearly from the atmosphere, a process that literally shapes the composition of the air we breathe.

We have isolated an enzyme that enables some bacteria to consume hydrogen and extract energy from it, and found it can produce an electric current directly when exposed to even minute amounts of hydrogen.

As we report in a new paper in Nature, the enzyme may have considerable potential to power small, sustainable air-powered devices in future.

Bacterial genes contain the secret for turning air into electricity

Prompted by this discovery, we analysed the genetic code of a soil bacterium called Mycobacterium smegmatis, which consumes hydrogen from air.

Written into these genes is the blueprint for producing the molecular machine responsible for consuming hydrogen and converting it into energy for the bacterium. This machine is an enzyme called a “hydrogenase”, and we named it Huc for short.

Hydrogen is the simplest molecule, made of two positively charged protons held together by a bond formed by two negatively charged electrons. Huc breaks this bond, the protons part ways, and the electrons are released...

The molecular blueprint for extracting hydrogen from air

With Huc isolated, we set about studying it in earnest, to discover what exactly the enzyme is capable of. How can it turn the hydrogen in the air into a sustainable source of electricity?

Remarkably, we found that even when isolated from the bacteria, Huc can consume hydrogen at concentrations far lower even than the tiny traces in the air. In fact, Huc still consumed whiffs of hydrogen too faint to be detected by our gas chromatograph, a highly sensitive instrument we use to measure gas concentrations...

Enzymes could use air to power the devices of tomorrow

It’s early days for this research, and several technical challenges need to be overcome to realise the potential of Huc.

For one thing, we will need to significantly increase the scale of Huc production. In the lab we produce Huc in milligram quantities, but we want to scale this up to grams and ultimately kilograms.

However, our work demonstrates that Huc functions like a “natural battery” producing a sustained electrical current from air or added hydrogen.

As a result, Huc has considerable potential in developing small, sustainable air-powered devices as an alternative to solar power.

The amount of energy provided by hydrogen in the air would be small, but likely sufficient to power a biometric monitor, clock, LED globe or simple computer. With more hydrogen, Huc produces more electricity and could potentially power larger devices.

Another application would be the development of Huc-based bioelectric sensors for detecting hydrogen, which could be incredibly sensitive. Huc could be invaluable for detecting leaks in the infrastructure of our burgeoning hydrogen economy or in a medical setting.

In short, this research shows how a fundamental discovery about how bacteria in soils feed themselves can lead to a reimagining of the chemistry of life. Ultimately it may also lead to the development of technologies for the future."

-via The Conversation, March 8, 2023. Article written by the authors of the study.

#hydrogen #huc #renewable energy #clean energy #electricity #science and technology #physics #chemistry #good news #hope

[yeowangies]

Ambition

❧

PAIRING: Vegeta/F!Reader RATING: Explicit CONTENTS: Planet Vegeta AU, Saiyan Reader, Explicit Sexual Content. WARNINGS: DUBCON, Anal Sex. WORDCOUNT: 1675

Summary:

You weren’t royalty, but you still got recognition, and that was as powerful as you could get. You couldn’t have more unless you joined the royal family, and that meant marriage. To Prince Vegeta.

Notes:

For kinktober! I had this idea in mind for a while, I'm glad to be using this for this event 😈 @vegeta-bananabluish enjoy it, honey!

Day 6: Dubcon

Being one of the strongest Saiyan women was a benefit you wanted to exploit to the best of your ability. You had participated in every public battle, every tournament, and every battle royale there ever was, made yourself from the bottom, until your own name had been made. You weren’t royalty, but you still got recognition, and that was as powerful as you could get. 

But you wanted more, more strength, more power, more everything. Your ambition was insatiable.

That was it, however. You couldn’t have more unless you joined the royal family, and that meant marriage. To Prince Vegeta. 

While it didn’t thrill you to think about such a thing, King Vegeta, on the other hand, saw you as the best suitable partner for his son. Obviously, the lineage had to be only with the strongest warriors, and you were one of them. Which was the reason why you were currently at the palace, standing in front of the prince, with his father by your side. 

“Your offspring would be incredibly powerful.” The king’s voice resonated loudly in the room as he casually looked at you like he had caught the most precious gem in the universe. 

You tried to contain your expression, but your grimace must have been obvious, especially because the prince kept his eyes on you. 

The conversation was one of the most awkward ones for you, but King Vegeta seemed mostly interested in trying to convince the both of you that your union would be the most beneficial (for the Kingdom or whatever). You didn’t necessarily disagree; if you both were the most powerful Saiyans, your children should be just as strong, or even more. 

But if the snorts and glares the prince was giving you was any indication, he seemed as thrilled about the idea as you were. 

“You seem too feeble to be as strong as my father says you are.” The prince commented casually once the king had left to leave you both alone to ‘get to know each other’.

“I could say the same thing about you.” You arched an eyebrow, scanning him quickly. 

Prince Vegeta was actually fierce when it came to power levels, but his appearance didn’t give it away. He was just about your height, short for a Saiyan man. 

“Aren’t you rude?” Vegeta snorted, and you caught the twitch in his eye, but he otherwise seemed unbothered. 

“Just the right amount.”

“Why does the king even want me to mix with you?”

“This isn’t that great for me either, I know you have a lot of whores you can fuck instead of me.” You rolled your eyes, averting your gaze to the wall on your right.

“Watch your tongue.” Vegeta’s tone was hard, but you paid it no mind. “If you must know, I don’t have whores. I don’t invest my time in such a frivolous and pointless activity.”

“Ah, that explains it.” You sneered, smirking.

“Excuse me?”

“Rumor has it that you’re kind of a prude, and you just confirmed it to me.”

“Not just rude, but also nosy. You have some guts to say all that to my face.”

“Well, it does look like you need it.”

“Need what, exactly?” Vegeta practically growled, and you had to contain your laugh. 

“You know, a good lay.”

“And you’re suggesting you’re the best at it?”

“I wasn’t, but I have nothing to lose.” You shrugged your shoulders, smiling cheekily. “After all, it might be frivolous and pointless, but it can be so much fun.”

“I can think of doing something else that could be more fun, which involves me beating you to the ground.” Vegeta grinned, showing off his teeth. 

Your excitement was bubbling inside, making the tail wrapped around your waist bristle. Now you were talking. 

“You think you can beat me?” You taunted him with a smirk, staring directly into his eyes. “I think I trained more than you have in your lifetime, my prince.”

“Prove it, then,” Vegeta replied with a cocky grin on his face. 

You were confident in your abilities, but the fight that ensued on the training grounds moments later had caught you off guard. Vegeta was strong, incredibly so, and you had been positive you could be a match for him when it came to one on one combat, but not only did he outclass you, but he was literally beating you to the ground, like he said he would. 

And you were pissed. Which only made you much more sloppy. 

Vegeta had you pressed face first into the ground, with a hand on your head and pinning one of your wrists to the dirt. You were both covered in bruises and cuts by then, but the humiliation you felt for being so clearly overpowered hurt more. 

Squirming underneath him, you unsuccessfully tried to free yourself from his hold, earning a scornful laugh in return. 

“Didn’t you say you had trained more than I had? Is this the fruit of your efforts?”

You growled, angry at him and yourself, using the little strength you had to free yourself, but it was pointless.

“This wasn’t nearly as fun as I expected it to be.” Vegeta mocked you, and even when you couldn’t see him, you knew there was a shit-eating smirk on his face. “Maybe you were actually right before. Fucking you would be have been fun.”

Your mind froze when his words reached your ears, in disbelief of what you had actually heard. 

There wasn’t much time to think when Vegeta pinned your arm behind your back, making it easier for him to keep his hold on you as he shifted, reaching for the hem of your pants with his free hand. 

“Get off me!” You groaned, attempting to move your legs to kick him off.

Vegeta had completely subdued you, and you could barely even move as he crouched down, pressing his knees on your legs. You gasped loudly when he pulled down your pants and underwear in one move, but it was even worse when you felt his eyes fixed on your behind, simply staring for what felt like ages. 

You hated it to admit it, but as much as you despised losing, this situation was turning you on more than you would have ever expected. But you hoped to God it wasn’t noticeable, and that by some miracle, his sense of smell was failing him too. 

His glove was off in an instant, and you flinched when his hot fingers glided over the skin between your legs, dipping in just a little inside your folds. 

So much for hoping it wasn’t obvious how aroused you were; the wet sound from his touch was obscene. 

“What a lewd little creature, this wet from being thrown to the ground?” Vegeta teased you, and you didn’t have it in you to even reply. Why even deny it?

He slid three fingers in at once, and you practically jumped, taken aback by the sudden fullness. You tried to keep as quiet as you could, biting your lips so as not to moan, or worse, whimper. He was clearly toying with you, his touch was vague, soft, slipping in and out absentmindedly. 

“Are you actually going to do something?” You finally asked, once you felt your clit throb with want after being ignored the whole time. 

“Shut up, I’ll do what I want, when I want to.”

You grumbled resentfully, until you felt his fingers slip out and up, making you gasp and jump when his digits pressed against your asshole. 

“Wh-What are you doing?!” You growled, attempting to fight him off once more. 

“I’m going to fuck you here, stay still unless you want this to actually hurt.” Vegeta said, voice low with lust and dominance. 

“No! I don’t-I don’t want that!” You protested, still squirming to get rid of him, but knowing it was pointless. 

“Who said this was about what you wanted?” He sneered, tightening the grip he held on your wrist, making you wince. “You’re not in any position to demand shit.”

Resisting all you could with the little strength you had left, you flinched when you felt one of his fingers slid inside your rear entrance. 

Vegeta was actually doing that. In the training grounds of all places. 

It was one of the most humiliating things you had to endure, and you hoped to God no one would actually walk in and see what he was doing to you. What hurt the most was how aroused you were at being in such a helpless position. Even after he got three fingers in, you couldn’t help but be dripping wet, and he must have known. 

You couldn’t help the moan that slipped out when Vegeta finally pushed his cock in, making him laugh hoarsely once he was pressed flush to your ass. 

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want this? Your body is saying otherwise.”

Once he started pounding into you, the noises coming from your lips were inevitable. Gasps, whimpers and moans spilled out incessantly. You didn’t want to admit that you were enjoying the way his hips snapped against yours; even when he let go of your arm, you didn’t even dare to try and get away like you had before, completely submitting to him instead, digging your hands into the dirt to get some kind of hold as your body was dragged with each harsh thrust. 

When Vegeta grabbed your tail, tugging at it hard as means to keep you in place while he rammed into you, you were too far gone to even care, lifting your butt as best as you could to offer yourself more to him, like a cat in heat. It didn’t really hurt when he held your appendage, but it left you even much more sensitive to his ministrations. 

Any shame you could have felt was forgotten as he kept pummeling you into the ground, and his dark chuckle mixed in with your whimpers as you quickly sneaked a hand under your body to touch yourself. 

#dbz imagine #dbz fics #dbz fanfiction #vegeta x you #vegeta x reader #dbz #vegeta #kinktober #kinktober 2023 #k2023 #my writing

[worrywrite]

In the month I've been offline, I've read a fair bit more Discworld. Namely Going Postal and Equal Rites (currently working my way very slowly through Small God's).

These are my thoughts on Going Postal.

Going Postal, like much of Pratchett's work, is a lot of things. Most succinctly, and most prominently, it's a good story.

Less succinctly, and less prominently, it's a story about stories that need to be told by people who don't have the words to tell them. It is also about one man with only words and no story.

I find Moist to be an incredible character. Not because he is a good character--though he is very well written and I can only imagine the precision it takes to write the actions of Moist in one line and any other character in the next. Moist, is by all accounts, a man who is good at lying; and throughout all of the book, that is about as much as we know or need to know about him. And it is spectacular that the story balances on the wings of his hat when he is so nondescript beneath it. He has a history, sure, and it shows it's face in a few moments. But his charm and his skill is in being a nobody. In this way, he is the perfect everyman who is both nobody and everybody--whoever he needs to be and whoever he can be. It is an excellent way to write a conman and it is surprisingly difficult to do.

What is more beautiful, however, than characterization is the work of words. Letters are stories that must be told. The mail must be delivered. But it is not the letters themselves that matter and this is not some self congratulatory remark about the work of an author acting as the conduit for their contrived narrative. There are several groups of persons whose stories must be told. There are the postmen themselves, a tradition of people left behind by the developing world after they themselves were carried away in what they did. There are the golems, which I have many thoughts about and a great deal of love for, many of which literally have no voice but an immense amount of history to convey. And there are the dead men in the overhead, who are kept alive in name only.

And that last part, I think, is the most important. It is where the story begins, it is where the heart of Going Postal's narrative lies, and it is where the plot hinges. It is, also, perhaps what few people really think about when they inevitably type GNU into the tags or in their header or at the bottom of any post or web page.

The dead men in the overhead are, by all accounts, *there*. We don't see Death come for John Dearheart. I don't think Pratchett would have included that scene at the start of the book, but I think it's worth seeing it that way; it's worth thinking about it in that way, that Death didn't show up. John is murdered, in the prologue, and in such a way that we understand exactly what happens by the end of the book. But we only see Death come for Anghammarad in the novel. And while Death does not, necessarily, come for every dead character in a book (not even all the "important" ones), he appears only once in Going Postal. I'm getting carried away.

The story begins with two people. Anghammarad first, many years before, and then John Dearheart. Both are dead before the end of the novel, and Death comes only to one of them. Because John is still in the overhead. How literal that is is up to you, but I think it's actually pretty literal.

And while John and the rest are in there, constantly traveling along the clacks with their names and becoming one with the cryptics that make up the function of a telecommunications network, no one is telling their stories. Their lives and, perhaps more importantly, their deaths must be told. Their names are a message in the system, but the message is never truly delivered. It just goes on, just as much in storage as the letters in the post office. A letter must be delivered, it contains a story that must be told.

And so, Moist must tell the story. He is the storyteller, by trade and function in the novel. He plays his winning gambit in the standoff with Gilt by telling the story of the dead men in the overhead and signs it with their name. And while he sees this as a horrible betrayal of their memories, it really isn't. It's not a lie. The only lie in Moist's message is who signed it, and it works because no one could bear it if it was a lie. And in a way, it isn't.

I would like to carry on, but everything else I want to talk about for this book is about the golems or how cool I think Adora Belle is, and I don't think I've seen enough of them to really articulate what it is about them that is so beautiful. So more on them later probably.

#discworld #gnu terry pratchett #gnu #going postal

[butterfluffy]

Hey fluff! Can I request Zoro for the msa special?

“my strange addiction”

⠀⠀ੈ♡˳· this swordsman is addicted to alcohol, and you. so it's definitely a huge win for him when you asked him to go out and drink..

⠀⠀➧ is this still considered fluff? | yandere!r. zoro × gn!reader | oneshot

⠀⠀➧ warnings — contains yandere themes, alcohol use, (slight) violence, and kidnapping. get out of this fic if you're uncomfortable with these. mistakes and swearing are present too.

⠀⠀➧ requests are closed until further notice!

⠀⠀꒰ 🍨 ꒱ notes: welcome to “my strange addiction,” which is a writing special i made to celebrate this account reaching 500+ followers.

requested by: anonymous — i do hope this moss head doesn't get the both of you lost, ahsahshahaha.

by continuing, you consent into reading this oneshot fanfic which contains yandere themes, alcohol use, violence, and kidnapping. if uncomfortable, please don't read this fic. also, don't go blaming me, i warned you.

“Hey, hey, hey! Zoro!” You chimed, slinging your arm over the moss head's shoulder, causing him to look up at you with a raised brow.

“What?” Zoro mutters with his usual blank expression, masking the joy, and butterflies he's feeling in his stomach by your small, innocent action.

“Wanna go out and drink? My treat~” You offered with a coo, a big grin on your face as Zoro hummed, nodding his head.

“Sure. You better keep your word on it being your treat though, 'cause you'd be spending a lot tonight.” Chuckles the moss head, immediately standing up and dragging you with him to buy drinks...

“.....Man, I hope my wallet's still good after gettin' all these beer and sake.” You said with a breathy laugh, pouring yourself a glass of sake as Zoro chugged a bottle of beer in one go.

“Ah! I told ya you'd be spending a lot, heh.” He says with a smirk, causing you to sigh, comical tears streaming down your face as you thought of the amount you had spent.

“But don't worry about that now, let's drink. Savour these drinks that you bought with your money.” Passing you a beer bottle, Zoro grinned, enjoying himself completely...

I mean, how can he not enjoy this?

He's drinking, and he's with you.

Two of his favorites, so how can he not enjoy himself to the max?

“Guhh.... Hey, Zoro..” You called, looking up the man, showing your flushed face that got him smiling like an idiot.

He loves how you look right now, he admits. You look incredibly cute to him—and oh how he wish he's able to take a picture of your current state.

But unfortunately, he couldn't, so he'd just engrave this memory in his mind for himself forever.

Though he wants you to be with him forever instead.

“..I'm—hic, I'm going home, am drunk, bye.” You babbled, standing up, taking small, shaky steps away from the swordsman who slightly frowned, following you and taking your arm, pulling you back to him.

“Oi, don't go yet, we're not done drinkin' up, Y/n.” He grumbles, having you sit back down the table with him.

“But I don't wanna drink up anymoreee! I wanna go home!” You whined, pushing your lips forward to a pout, causing Zoro to sigh heavily. Falling into your plead, that he calls a trap.

“Fine. Let's go home, to my house.” He stated, standing up once again after finishing another bottle of beer.

“Eh? Your house? No, no, I wanna go home to mine. And—and, I'm going home, not you too. You can stay here and—hic, drink up all you want, since there's still some—some drinks here, yeah?”

Tilting his head to the side by your words, Zoro shook his head, taking your hand and dragging you with him.

“Z..Zoro! Let me go, I'm gonna go home to my houseee!” You shout, trying to get away from his grip that didn't dare let you go.

“Stop dragging me—damn it, moss head! I said, stooopp!!” You growled, getting annoyed by the moss head, your unwillingness also annoying him.

“Y/n just—fuck it, sorry for this, I guess....!”

He's taking you home, he definitely is.

Hitting your head with the empty beer bottle in his hand, Zoro groans, brows stitched to a frown.

He never really wanted to have things result into this, it's just—you left him no choice.

“If you just had been compliant, I wouldn't have done this, stupid..” Zoro whispers, carrying your now unconscious self in his arms, the frown in his face disappearing, turning into a victorious look.

Tonight's a big win for him.

He's got to satisfy his addiction—drinking, and you who's now in his arms, all to himself until who-knows-how-long...

© butterfluffy 2022

⠀⠀ʚїɞ · likes, comments, reblogs, and/or feedbacks are highly appreciated!

#ੈ♡˳· butterfluffy #ੈ♡˳· fluff's mini event! #ੈ♡˳· “my strange addiction” · mini event #roronoa zoro x reader #zoro x reader #roronoa zoro #zoro #one piece #one piece x reader #one piece fanfiction #one piece oneshot #one piece scenario

[nerdalmighty]

Make me choose between two things:

Ok if you insist. 😈

Only one of these can exist, which do you choose? Good Omens season 2 or Baldur's Gate 3?

-anntickwittee

What an absolutely vile question (affectionate).

To be honest? I know I'm currently obsessed with BG3 so I'm probably biased, but I think I'd rather keep BG3 over GO2. AND I HATE SAYING THAT!!!

My reason being: We were all super content with GO S1. It followed the book pretty closely and added elements that I think made it even more enjoyable than the book (In my opinion! I know it's beloved in its book form and I love it too, I just love how the show expanded on things). I truly didn't know what to expect from S2 because S1 was so well self contained and that's all fans thought we were ever going to get. I am THRILLED we got an S2. It's gorgeous and perfect and I'm beyond excited for S3 (which starts filming in January!!!!)

With BG3, it's really gotten me out of my comfort zone in terms of gaming and storytelling. In the past, I steered clear of big open world games because I was way too overwhelmed and prefer straightforward paths in games like Pokemon and Deltarune (I know there are multiple endings and ways to play, but for the most part there's an order in which to do things). With BG3, there are truly so many options that each gaming experience can feel brand new and pan out incredibly differently from a previous game. I love that there's replayability and that I'll be able to keep replaying it for years to come.

It's also helped push me in terms of playing and understanding dnd. I've been playing for a little over a year now and watching actual plays for longer, but I understand even more now having played this game. There's always a little feeling of excitement when the DM or people I'm watching play mention something that I learned because I've played BG3.

Additionally, something I've been struggling with recently is feeling motivated to be creative. I love my job and the people I work with, but there can be a monotony that creeps in since I work from home and have a fairly regimented schedule (animation production is NO JOKE! And it RULES!). Baldur's Gate has consistently inspired me to create (mainly write, which is what I've always wanted to do) and I'm so grateful for that after feeling lost for a long time.

Granted, I'm still feeling lost and unsure of my abilities, but getting to practice storytelling with characters I love and settings and elements I find interesting is really amazing. Yes, Good Omens 2 could have inspired something like this in me, but for whatever reason, it was BG3 that did. I read (and continue to read) a good amount of GO fics, but I was never inspired enough to create my own (though it DID inspire me to make some fun gifsets which I loved making). With BG3, not only have other fics inspired me, but there are moments between cutscenes and story beats that I've wanted to write and expand on since the game is so huge and the writers and developers could only expand on so much themselves. Ultimately, I want to be able to create those fantastical worlds and lovable characters and I'm really thankful BG3 reminded me of that.

Do I have any big ideas currently? No. But the intent is there and that's huge! So I'll keep persisting :)

POINT IS: I love both pieces of media and they're both deeply special to me, but since BG3 has helped reawaken a part of myself that's been snoozing for a long time, I'll pick that FOR NOW.

#does THAT answer your question? #i hate making choices like this because they truly are both so special to me #and i know people with disagree with my choice #but hey! #that's showbiz! #i'm really grateful to have both in my life and IDEALLY i'd be able to keep both #so thank god this is all hypothetical #also neil gaiman was very helpful in writing motivation as well but BG3 gave me the kick in the ass i needed to get started #thanks for the ask #anntickwittee #answered #mine #emma blabs #long post #ask game #baldur's gate 3 #good omens #great game #great show #about me

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 7)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 7: That Which is Manmade/A HUMAN WORK”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, "Episode 7: That Which is Manmade/A HUMAN WORK"! For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

I’ve gotta be honest... I always remembered this being my personal least favorite episode in the entire series. While it’s NOT a bad episode by any stretch of the imagination, since it still contains a lot of incredibly entertaining action and character beats, it always felt the most filler-y due to now detached the plot feels from the overarching Angel attacks and NERV versus SEELE storylines. Honestly, this episode left less of a lasting impression on me than even Episode 14, (of which the first half is a literal clip show) or the fan-maligned Episode 10 (I actually really love that episode and feel the amount of hate it gets is heavily unwarranted).

With all of that out of the way however, let's dig in!

Something interesting to note about Gendo’s office in this opening scene. The Sefirot, or “Tree of Life” pattern (which is an important religious symbol within Kabbalhaism, or Jewish mysticism) present on both the floor and ceiling here was completely absent in the previous episode when Misato received approval for Operation Yashima. I initially would have guessed that the absence of the Sefirot pattern was simply because of the scene in Episode 6 taking place at daytime instead of night like the current scene is, but in a later episode the Sefirot pattern is present during the daytime lighting as well. So it seems like a legitimate animation goof there! Whoops!

Secondly, many other fans have pointed out that the shadow formed by the silhouette formed by Gendo sitting at his desk heavily resembles that of a Star of David, leading to many fans pondering exactly what meaning this usage of religious symbolism is meant to convey, especially since Anno and other members of EVA’s staff have publicly denied there being any real depth behind all the religious iconography lifted from Christian, Judaic, Kabbalist, Buddhist Hindu & Shintoistic folklore outside of aesthetic purposes to distinguish the series from other mecha-anime at the time.

Except, I personally do feel that there is legitimate meaning to be derived from the symbols utilized in scenes like this one.

For instance, the silhouette of Gendo’s desk is placed directly above the Sephirah on the Tree of Life known as “Keter,” which within the context of the Kabbalah specifically refers to Hebrew term for “crown.” Additionally, the hexagram shape of the Star of David is meant to represent divine creation through the unification of both the contrasting elements of fire & water as well as the masculine & feminine powers. This imagery is supported by Margaret Starbird in her article “The Archetypal Mandala of the Star of David” for the blog The Book of Threes, wherein the author states: “The mandala of the hexagram, also known as the ‘Star of David’ is much older than Judaism, older even than history! As an archetypal symbol for the sacred union of the opposite energies, it is the ‘yin-yang’ of western civilization. Formed by the intertwining of the ‘fire’ and ‘water’ triangles (the male ‘blade’ and the female ‘chalice’) this symbiol represents the masculine and feminine principles in perfect union, the ‘sacred marriage’ or ‘hieros gamous’ of the ancient world. [And] in India the symbol represents the ‘cosmic dance’ of Shiva and Shakti, and the Jewish Kaballah suggests that the Ark of the Covenant contains, in addition to the tables of the Ten Commandments, ‘a regular hexagram representing a man and woman in intimate embrace.’”

The gendered symbolism of the hexagram becomes significantly more evident as the show progresses, particualrly in-relation to the both the logo of Gendo's employeers, SEELE, as well as the mask worn by humanity's progenitor Lilith. Both share the exact same single inverted-triangle design, signifying the feminine without the presence of the masculine.

This not only serves to convey humanity's state of incompleteness as percieved by both SEELE and the Angels (who are the descendants of Lilith's male counterpart Adam), but it is also reflective of both the patriarchal gender roles that are deeply interwoven into the Kabbalistic creation (i.e. Eve being born from Adam's rib instead of the same soil that God constructed both Adam & his first wife Lilith from, as well as Lilith being banished from the Garden of Eden and forever cursed to live as the "Mother of All Demons" after she refused to be sexually submissive to Adam).

Therefore, an individual can interpret the hexagram-shape of the silhouette of Gendo’s desk in-conjunction with its placement towards the "Keter" sephriah on Tree of Life diagram symbolizing a "complete" unification with God through the elevation humanity to Adam Kadmon, a Kabbalhistic figure that according to Medium writer James William Hollibush, refers to, "the 'primordial man' or the 'celestial man.' Adam Kadmon is said to be the first emanation of God, and he is the archetype of all humanity."

In large measure, these theological symbols are indicative of both SEELE's overarching plan of evolving both Lilith and humanity as a whole to a similar plane of god-like existence comparable to that of Adam and the Angels, as well as Gendo’s personal god-complex and selfish desire to initiate his own version of Human Instrumentality that is separate from SEELE's vision in order to reunite with the soul of his dead wife Yui.

Plus, the hexagramic dichotomy between the masculine and feminine is heavily reflective of Shinji’s struggles and failures to connect with and respect the women in his life as part of his psychosexual Oedipus complex. As the series progresses, both Shinji & his father Gendo will function as avatars for the "original sin" in the EVA universe. That "original sin" being misogyny, or man's distrust & mistreatment of women that originated with the conflict between Adam & Lilith (which again parallels Kabbalistic folklore).

Lol! While I stated earlier that this episode was the least memorable for me, I’ve never forgotten the image of Shinji & Pen Pen respectively simultaneously eating their toast and fish for breakfast while arching their heads backward! It’s such an iconic image in my head!

Sigh… Misato here is totally me when first waking up in the morning… well… with the exception of drinking beer for breakfast since I personally don’t drink at all (alcohol just tastes terrible IMO)! Also, in the ADV dub Misato called her beverage “sake” when that’s clearly a Yebisu Beer can… lol!

The contrast between how Shinji perceives Misato and how his classmates Toji & Kensuke perceive her is incredibly interesting. While Shinji views Misato as a lazy slob due to him living under her roof and witnessing just how messy and unprofessional her home life is, Toji & Kensuke instead view Misato as this smoking hot babe who acts like a composed government agent. This dichotomy is likely an intentional act on Misato’s part, as she presents herself the exact opposite way in her professional life and in public than how she actually lives in her own private quarters.

It’s this element of Misato’s character which makes her relatable to many fans despite her flaws, since she heavily reflects a kind of realistic contrast between how people behave and present themselves in public and private settings. Just how much of our true selves do we feel comfortable sharing with the rest of the world? How much are we willing to open the walls of our hearts and souls to others? Which parts of ourselves to we express in public are genuinely reflective of who we truly are as a person, or just a facade to shield our own private insecurities from the rest of the world?

Oh boy! Some important info drops in this scene where Shinji’s testing EVA Unit-01’s cooling systems! In addition to remembering Unit-01’s creepy v*gina-eyeball from Episode 2 and questioning just what exactly is an Evangelion, Shinji comments on how the LCL liquid in the Entry-Plug smells like blood but is comforting, which is reflective of the Freudian symbolism of returning to the mother’s womb that’s fully on display with the EVAs. Also, Ritsuko briefly mentions the shipment of EVA Unit-02 from Germany, as well as NERV HQ receiving severe defense budget cuts, foreshadowing both the appearance of a certain red-haired pilot in the very next episode, as well as SEELE and the JSSFD’s invasion of NERV in The End of Evangelion!

Even more important info drops! Geez… I guess this episode isn’t as much of a filler episode as I originally remembered it to be now that I think of it…

So in addition to Gendo discussing the Human Instrumentality Committee’s plans to construct Evangelion Units-06 & 08 overseas (foreshadowing the Mass-Production Evangelions we later see in The End of Evangelion), Ritsuko partially reveals to Shinji the truth behind Second Impact 15-years earlier. Namely that contrary to publicly available information, the Second Impact was caused not by a meteorite colliding with Antarctica, but rather by a research expedition team uncovering the frozen remains of the 1st Angel, only for said-Angel reawaken and cause a near-apocalyptic explosion that obliterated the entire southern continent and wiped out half of the Earth’s population. Additionally, Ritsuko elaborates that the purpose of the Evangelions is to prevent a potential Third Impact which would fully eradicate humanity, now that the Angels have returned.

Nice bit of visual contrast to the first breakfast scene with Misato now presenting herself in a much more serious and professional manner in her own apartment as she prepares to attend an important conference meeting being held at the ruins of “old” Tokyo!

Now this is very interesting! A private Japanese industrial corporation has actually developed its own version of the Evangelion known as “Jet Alone,” which overcompensates for the EVA Units limited battery supply without an umbilical cable by retrofitting a literal nuclear reactor onto its back!

What I find so fascinating about this scene at the conference is the back-and-forth exchange between Ritsuko and the company’s executive as both of them raise equally valid arguments: while Ritsuko points out the very obvious safety risk of attaching a nuclear reactor to a giant robot designed to engage in hand-to-hand combat, the executive points out how NERV’s budgetary spending on the previous EVA vs. Angel fights has resulted in the depletion o financial and food resources of entire nations (plus the machines being operated by fallible human pilots).

However, the executive can’t help but undermine his position by making misogynistic remarks by comparing EVA Unit-01’s berserker rampage back in Episode 2 to a “hysterical woman.” Yeesh! While this does serve as an unintentional double entendre considering that Unit-01 possesses the soul of Shinji’s dead mother Yui Ikari, that executive’s sexism was completely uncalled for and I can’t help but share Ritsuko’s frustration and offense to the executive’s remarks here (especially given her own tragic background with her late mother).

Lol! Misato’s such a hypocrite! As much as she previously criticized Ritsuko and the executive’s back-&-forth arguments as being “childish,” Misato’s acting pretty dang childish herself by kicking a locker in frustration while cursing up a storm about how much she wants to kick said-executive’s ass! Also, I can’t help but agree with Ritsuko’s takeaway that the executive is, “Just a show-off begging for praise and adulation, petty and not worthy of attention,” given how he resorted to juvenile sexism in order dismiss NERV’s efficiency, severely undermining any reasonable arguments he might have had. Also also, her burning the Jet Alone plans is simultaneously a nice touch whilst also highlighting her own juvenile hypocrisy! She and Misato truly are alike despite being so different, Lol!

And of course something goes horribly wrong during Jet Alone’s activation test, as the mecha refuses to accept any computer commands and begins walking aimlessly as it’s nuclear rods and cooling vents begin to overhear, transforming this robot into a literal walking nuclear meltdown!

Also, while I can’t help but laugh at Misato’s snarky jab of, “It looks like this robot is as badly behaved as the idiot who built it,” since it does serve the sexist executive right, I simultaneously feel dirty for laughing since said-sexist executive’s failure is at risk of causing a nuclear fallout, which isn’t a laughing matter at all…

Also also, Ritsuko seems strangely unmoved by the seriousness of this situation. Suspicious?

Misato’s response to the statement that it would take, "An act of God," to stop Jet Alone’s forward momentum before it inevitably melts down is very intriguing: “Acts of men are better than acts of God.”

While this line serves as a lead-in to Misato planning to utilize the Evangelions to stop Jet Alone, Allison Keith delivers said-line with such strong conviction that I can’t help but wonder if this is also meant to further foreshadow Misato’s traumatic past with the Angels during Second Impact, just like the uncomfortable look she gives in the earlier scene when Ritsuko is explaining the events of Second Impact to Shinji?

Also, nice bit of extra detail there with the dirt on Misato’s dress, face, and hair there! Kudos to the animator’s over at Gainax!

Lol! Not only is the company President golfing during a time of serious crisis, but his voice acting in the ADV dub makes him sound suspiciously like George W. Bush. So the president of the company which produced Jet Alone is essentially two infamously terrible U.S. Republican presidents merged together (i.e. Trump and Bush Jr.)!

Yet again Ritsuko seems to be taking the Jet Alone crisis unusually calmly… definitely suspicious…

Also, I’m curious as to what the significance behind the shut-down password to Jet Alone’s nuclear reactor being “Hope” is.

Also also, dang does Misato look great in that futuristic radiation suit!

Aww… while Shinji might not pilot the EVA for selfless altruistic reasons, and while he might berate Misato for her lazy and unhygienic lifestyle at home, he does legitimately care for her safety when she announces her intention to deactivate Jet Alone’s reactor from the inside!

And Misato gives a more sincere peace-sign to Shinji here than the one she previously gave to his class during the parent-teacher day scene earlier!

This entire chase sequence between Unit-01 and Jet Alone is FREAKING epic, although I can’t help but chuckle at how funny Jet Alone’s arms look when they move as Shinji struggles to prevent it from walking towards a populated area!

Lol! Misato pulls a George Lucas by stating, “I have a bad feeling about this,” when she opens the reactor! And Shinji also adds some humor to the scene with Spike Spencer’s line delivery of, “Stop running you bastard!” Double lol!

Dang! The sequence of Misato desperately struggling to manually push the control rods back into place upon realizing that the fail-safe password and program was deliberately sabatoged, along with a Shinji struggling to contain the increasing radiation heat leaks as Jet Alone is about to enter nuclear meltdown before suddenly shutting down operations was absolutely intense! And yeah it’s obvious that Ritsuko was involved with the sabatoge given her earlier suspicious reactions to the crisis as well as her thinking to herself that Misato was a “crazy fool” to try and play the hero and stop Jet Alone on her own. This is explicitly confirmed when Ristuko is later meeting with Gendo in his office to inform him that aside from Misato’s intervention, that their plan worked.

This goes to show that NERV is not exactly the benevolent peacekeeping organization that Shinji and even Misato believe it to be, as Gendo & Ritsuko we’re willing to risk a literal nuclear meltdown (presumably they would have stopped the meltdown at the last minute even if Misato hadn’t interfered, but still!) simply as a means of reinforcing NERV’s position of power by sabotaging any and all competition from foreign parties in their defense of humanity against the Angels. These events, combined with the covering up of the true events of the Second Impact to the general public, as well as the seedy mass production of future EVA units, definitely indicates that there is something incredibly shady occurring beneath the surface with NERV. That there’s far more to this organization’s agenda than simply defeating the Angels…

Huh… Kensuke just provided a level of meaningful insight to Shinji that I never would have expected to have heard from him. Even though Shinji expresses continued annoyance and embarrassment at Misato’s messy home-life (the exact same behavior she previously demonstrated at the start of the episode), Kensuke states that it simply means that Misato considers Shinji a part of her family because she’s willing to show him a side of her life that she’s unwilling to show anyone else.

That’s actually a really profound observation on Kensuke’s part! It harkens back to my previous analysis about Misato hiding specific characteristics of her personality in public and in the workplace, only expressing her true feelings in private and in the presence of those she legitimately cares for. In this regard, Misato truly does view herself as a surrogate mother figure to Shinji despite her shortcomings, and this only serves to strengthen the bond she and Shinji share as a found family, further providing meaning to both of their existences.

What a neat note to end the episode on!

So that was NGE, "Episode 7: That Which is Manmade/A HUMAN WORK," and overall it was actually a lot better than I remember it being! While still probably not one of my personal favorites from the series, this episode was incredibly important in regards to further fleshing out Shinji & Misato’s relationship as well as beginning to expose the shady corruption underlying NERV as an organization, as well as providing some important information and foreshadowing concerning Second Impact, EVA Unit-02 and its ginger-haired pilot, and the Mass-Production Evangelions! So definitely NOT a filler episode like I previously wrote it off as!

Next time will be Episode 8, meaning that it’s finally time to meet the Second Child... Asuka Langley Soryu!

#Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon #neon genesis evangelion #evangelion #nge #eva #hideaki anno #shinji ikari #misato katsuragi #gendo ikari #ritsuko akagi #jet alone #90s anime #anime and manga #marathon #pen pen #toji suzuhara #kensuke aida #eva unit 01 #yui ikari #NERV #second impact

[strykingback]

EVENT: Rescue Mission Phase Two Part 3. The Cybernetic Demon

Warning this drabble will contain vomitting, Reader Discretion is advised.

________________________________________

OST: Realization

The strike team stood outside of the base watching over every individual as they were being checked out by the medical team with reinforcements arriving as well. Made even worse by the fact that some of the brains that were found needed to be cartwheeled out carefully onto cargo ships. Some of them containing Zek's friends that he made when he was younger.

"I cant believe this. Why would someone go as far as to literally harvest the brains of innocent people who had done nothing wrong?" Eros said holding his helmet looking at the waves of civilians being treated for their injuries, any side-effects of the experimentation, and furthermore.

"Made worse by the fact that we we're planning to set charges and get rid of any evidence related with Project Immortalis... but the good news is that the successful serum was replicated when those scientists came to....all that now matters is if the mark we're chasing has it injected into himself..." Leonidas said, with Eros nodding. "Add salt to the injury mate, because most of those people were either Zek's own allies from before he joined up with us." He continued.

"Still.. it gladdens me to see that command had also sent Merlinda and Twilight here to help. Add that with Krieg and we should create an alternate version of Immortalis that should easily take out our foe.... the only problem is that we have a long way to go." Guangxian said, which the trio noticed Hermes, Krieg, Twilight, and Zek would walk towards them.

"Hows everything with your mum, Zek? All-clear? No side effects?" Eros asked.

"Ms. Atya is doing incredibly well, so far as per the disturbing videos that Guangxian had to send me which resulted in five days loss of beauty sleep. She has no signs of the aforementioned side-effects as I theorized which would happen. Albeit something else was wrong but its quite major.." Merlinda said, with Zek moving back to the trio to listen to what the professionals had else to say.

"What I noticed through my semblance was that her genetic cells were breaking down much slower than originally expected through a lifetime of faunus' or humans. After I took a blood sample and observed the sample... her blood was showing signs of symbiosis with Project Immortalis.. meaning one thing. Her body is aging slowly and any damage she may take might heal up rapidly... but I assume it is with a certain amount of dosages of it..... that Ms. Atya would have became psuedo immortal....." Twilight said.

"An Immortal Army . . . ." Eros said with awe, thinking for a minute. "And Ace how about him? Will he be able to pilot the Liberation still?" He asked while Krieg and Hermes looked at Eros.

"Ace is sadly suffering from some effects from Fusion Poisoning which thankfully the medical teams got to him in time to administer the antidote. As for the Liberation... it is currently being repaired... if Ace does come to he'll be using the Atelius' Railgun cannon in order to fire at any large targets should the time come.....

"As for me and Krieg we may have to remain here in order to help with ensuring that none of the civilians are suffering from the side-effects of Project Immortalis... sorry. at this point you may be the final four or five if Ace gets back up." Hermes said putting his hands behind his back.

"It' aint gonna be easy. But I do like a challenge...." Eros would say. "Alright. We'll leave things to you. Everyone else lets get back to work." He said putting on his helmet and thus him, Zek, Guangxian, and Leonidas would re-enter the base... of the Solitas Liberation LLC.

Back inside the base..

The small strike team led by Eros would move through the enemy base carefully keeping their wits about and their minds focused on the endgame at hand. As they all entered an elevator with just nothing more but calming music playing....

Finally... a voice would come through.

"Well Well! Gentlemen! I do must say so myself.. I congratulate you for catching us offguard like that...! Really, it takes a lot to do that ever since the last time... Mr. Sunna-Simo....." A voice would say with a southern accent added to it.

"Blyat.... I thought they would forget about that... guess they didnt." Zek said softly.

"After all, that time we were just about to complete our plans and even not harm those civvies. But after that.... we had to improvise on some things especially after losing our funding because of that Blizzard Sniper incident. I knew you had a killer instinct Zekkie-boy. However, turns out that killer instinct was focused on us instead of the enemies when we hired you..." The voice continued.

"When I get my hands on you, I'm going to make sure those bones of yours will be broken!!!!" Leonidas growled.

"Broken? Hahaha... After all, I think I can't call myself human anymore.Why not enter the main room and lets all talk face to face! Mano A Mano! Enemy of My Enemy is my friend!" The voice continued with the elevator ringing with the doors opening up as everyone walked through noticing the large cylinder towers.... with little blue rings of light.

"Those things can't be holding brains right?" Eros said with a light glare...

"I thought the room upstairs had all the brains there...."

"WRONG! All those towers are holdin' nice, juicy, flesh-meat brains!!!!" The southern voice spoke once more with everyone pointing their weapons at the railing in front of them as heavy footsteps were leading straight to them...with a large man wearing an equally large trenchcoat as he opened up one of tower lights with him picking up a brain as it trilled and twitched in terror.

"I definitely must say..... the alternative program to Project Immortalis... is effective!!!"

COMMANDER OF CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS ________________________________________ BARBATOS

"Alternative program? I know for a fact you just committed a huge human and faunus rights violation crime. I'm certain the Grand Council of Remnant would love to slam dunk you into the death penalty!" Eros said keeping Pequod and Ishmael on the burly man.

"You just aint gettin' it arent ya? Yeah, the brains are being put underneath active combat situations, but at the same time.... they are also being brainwashed as well into becoming perfect soldiers that will listen to the people in command aka. The successorts who managed to survive and thrive with Immortalis!!!" Barbatos continued with an evil grin on his face.

"You're telling me if my mother did not survive she would have been turned into a soldier!!!" Zek growled.

"After all.... I was the one who killed your first mama! And then beat the other one down! Trust me... her screams were sublime!!!!" He continued placing the brain back in its pod with an evil grin on his face making Zek point Hayha directly at Barbatos head and fired. With the man simply stepping to the side in a flash. "Not here... can't damage the goods now. I'll lead you boys to my office.... we can talk there!!!" He said turning around and walking away which everyone else didnt wait... they followed... into a room of stairs leading to another part of the building where Barbatos stood in a large room without his trenchcoat on turning around revealing his mechanical body

"Welcome gentlemen!! To your deaths! Cause after I'm done with you.... Imma slaughter all those civilians...and make sure they all get turned into perfect soldiers!!!!" He shouted pulling out his heavy machine gun. "Cause guess what." He said with his visor activating on his mouth and face.

OST: Cybernetic Destruction

"I'm going to tear off the flesh from all of your bodies and turn into perfect cyborgs like me..." He said with a menacing voice as he aimed for Zek first as he started firing with everyone scrambling around for cover. While Eros would shoot at him to get his attention.

"Then. I'm sending you back to the scrap heap then!" Eros shouted shooting at him to which Barbatos turned his attention toEros and began to shoot at him which the commander would throw a grenade at him while Leonidas used his 300, Interchangable plasma rifle in its grenade launcher state to further faze the cyborg with both making contact and exploding...

"Damn.... that was somethin.... my turn." He said with a glow being emitted from his back while Leonidas and Eros prepared themselves but in a blink, Barbatos was already in front of them both and swung both his fists at their guts hitting them and making them both cough in pain as they both keeled over.

"Bloody... hell....what...was that..." Eros said taking off his helmet to vomit, while Leonidas kept his on to and looked up at Barbatos who was chuckling at his work. "Why dont you live long enough to find out and-" Barbatos spoke noticing his HUD was showing up with an attempted hacking symbol on it as he turned around to look at Guangxian who was busy hacking into his systems. "Nice try..." He said initiating the counter measures and locking him out.

"What!?!" Guangxian said before his signaler popped making the hacker stumble a bit with the same thing happening to him..getting flash stepped and knocked out by the cyborg.

With the Cyborg ready to revel in his possible victory he looked around for Zek who in fact was just a slight distraction... which the sniper threw his knife... as Barbatos knocked it away. And right before he was going to do a fusion rush. Bang.....

His the light was emitted from his back was destroyed by a well placed grenade launched shot from Leonidas. Who stood up and roared charging at the Cyborg swinging a kinetic punch making him stumble with a groan from the charged semblance, then came Eros who stood up in time throwing his plasma knife at the rocket launcher, the Guangxian quickly came to and started hacking again... this time managing to counterhack Barbatos counter hacking measures...

And finally Zek would slide in to snipe the head of Barbatos off ... as the Cyborg fell down.... dead...

"Thats... for making me vomit... arsehole..."

"Actually... wasnt this fight meant to be a bit longer...? "

"The writer of this has things to do tomorrow, plus it was a holiday today." Guangxian said. while Leonidas facepalmed.

"Lets get back on track people. We aren't out of the woods just yet. " Leonidas would say with the speakers coming to life.

"I didnt think Brumel of all things would send a strike force to interrupt my plans!"

#[The Honored One- Hermes] #[The Technologist Hacker- Hermes] #[The Visionary Genius- Krieg] #[The Deadliest Sniper- Zek] #[An Army Of One- Leonidas] #[The Genius Of Many Things- Merlinda] #[A Commander Never Surrenders- Eros] #[The Cybernetic Demon- Barbatos] #[Event: Rescue Mission] #[Every Hero Has Its Story- Drabble] #[Random Talking In The HQ- Dash Commentary] #tw: vomit #tw: beating mention #//Sorry about the length of this post including with the fight #//Gotta head to bed soon and not to mention its Black Friday tomorrow...

[kenobster]

At this point, I think it's common knowledge that I've been having a Time™, so I thought I'd take a second to appreciate the outpouring of support I've gotten from such wildly unexpected places. T_T <3

Quick sob story for context lol: my depression/anxiety often manifests as cynicism, paranoia, and resentment. I contain a vast amount of flaws, and when I'm pushed to my limits (as I have been lately), my flaws will fester and bleed and probably maim someone if I'm not careful. Therapy helps, but it's never been a cure. Unfortunately, the nature of this current depressive episode has caused an unusual (and largely self-imposed :/) inability to confide in my offline friends... meaning that I've sought a majority of support from here... a place of previously great unknown... And I'm so grateful... Because, in doing so, I came face-to-face with the world's Best, instead of the world's Worst, which probably saved me from some extremely ill-thought out feelings/decisions (I mean, not that I ever was or ever will be a saint lol... but I could have so easily become an even more massive bitch).

And like... I really do try to thank people individually, but I also feel that the sum of these individual thank-yous fails to capture their whole: an ordeal during which I've been reassured, again and again, that the world isn't entirely hostile... that human nature is, most often, compassionate and supportive and forgiving and kind... and that maybe I'm allowed to be loved, even by strangers.

So, in the interest of cycling these feelings forward: thank you all so very very much. For everything. <3 From the smallest act of kindness (i.e. comments on my self-pitying posts, even if only an emoji).... to the larger shows of compassion (i.e. directly messaged well wishes and/or patience when I don't respond for days). From an incredibly altruistic act of service (i.e. a job hunt for a stranger purely by virtual of a mutual friend T_T).... to quite possibly the most committed act of care I've ever been lucky enough to receive (i.e. a month-long campaign of comforting me through my daily and increasingly bitter complaints about life <3 <3). Anyway, y'all know who you are, and I could thank you again and again and it still wouldn't be enough.

I hope everyone (especially everyone who supported me) gets a little extra boost in their step from knowing their kindness mattered/matters. And from knowing that there really is a lot of good in the world and that you all are a big part of it. :) <3

#am i being sappy? yes #but idk it all really meant a lot #i'm just like #T_T <3 #melted by it all #personal #not SW related

[gilligould]

Congratulations on submitting your thesis!!! That’s an incredible amount of work that goes into that, it’s quite an accomplishment!! If you don’t mind sharing, what did you do your thesis over? (I know you mentioned it was an animation; if you also talked about the subject previously and I just forgot, my apologies!) If you don’t feel comfortable sharing details, I totally understand! I really enjoy your edits and your thoughts here and was just curious what you were working on in your thesis XP

thank youuu, this is so kind! 🥺

the focus of my thesis was on creating spaces for lovers of film to engage with others and educate themselves about the medium, in order to further enhance their experience. through my research, i discovered that the vast majority of young adult viewers are actively seeking out opportunities to supplement their viewing experience. as a design major, i have the abilities and resources to meet potential users where they are to help make these opportunities accessible.

my thesis is predominantly project-based and comprised of four main components.

01: a mobile app that fosters connection between its users and allows them to document viewing habits and experiences. not unlike letterboxd or imdb, users can rate and review films, manage their collection (watched) + watchlist (to watch), browse recent and upcoming releases in their area, and access information related to favorite films—including but not limited to cast / crew, plot summaries, production details, trivia, and so so SO much more.

02: a pop-up exhibit (in theory, these would be available at participating theater locations) that is optimized for interaction and user engagement. visitors to exhibit have the option to hand-write a brief review to be pinned to a gallery wall, in turn contributing to an ever-growing collage of original feelings, takeaways, and analyses. also available are pamphlets that correspond to films currently showing at the theater in question, containing information and resources related to these films. a tool for education, these pamphlets can also serve to commemorate a particularly enjoyable cinematic experience.

side note—ideally, this exhibit would be located in a lounge (some theaters have them, though not nearly enough, imo), where viewers can relax and unwind, and discuss what they’ve just watched with friends.

03: a brand identity system that unifies these elements, and guides the visual look and feel of the project. i named my system “coda,” which, as i discovered, is a filmmaking term that refers to part of a film (usually at the end) that provides audiences with closure! :)

04: a video communicating the design system and potential user experience, consolidating all of the above components (aka, the animation i have been agonizing over for weeks on end now).

of everything that’s gone into making this project a reality, the video was by FAR the most difficult. i had a vision and set pretty high expectations for myself, and i ended up working on it for nearly five weeks nonstop (this may or may have more to do with after effects than anything else), but believe me when i say that i did genuinely enjoy myself and am SO proud of the results.

as someone who is constantly in awe of cinema both as an art for and a storytelling medium, and with dreams of working in the industry myself someday, this project was a blast. and thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about it! :)

#tigerseyeiris #asks

[buddy-arc]

// officially introducing: Aro and Dupliss! they are two teenage boys who are of the Skiekan (sky-eek-ahn), a species that’s near-extinct after an apocalyptic and destructive event in its native world. luckily, these two have found refuge in the town of Valeflow, and they work at the Interdimensional Mail & Message Network! their jobs tend to take them to different worlds frequently.

more info on Valeflow, the IMMN, and the Skiekan under the cut! :] also bonus sketches down there

Valeflow & the IMMN

Valeflow and the IMMN central building are on a floating island. Said island usually plants itself in or above the oceans of worlds. It has a magifuel engine in a room underneath the IMMN building that allows it to travel through dimensions; the engine also makes the atmosphere around the island breathable, sustainable and habitable.

The IMMN is a very small company that operates on a per-individual basis. It focuses on getting items to people that need them. It can be letters from a lost loved one, communications between residents of different worlds, sometimes it's useful items that show up and can't otherwise be explained, sometimes it's replenishing goods in an area to make sure things thrive, and sometimes it's just regular mail.

Since the IMMN is small, it doesn't have stations on a per world basis. It dispenses handheld portal devices to its employees to get them into general locations/worlds, that way the island doesn't have to switch worlds every time a new delievery order comes in. Said portal devices are recognized to possibly be misused, so they are connected to the central building and can be individually and remotely decommissioned if need be.

the town of Valeflow isn’t very large either. there’s roughly 1000-1200 people living there, so it’s enough to establish a community and various services, but not enough to be a super huge city.

the island itself is pretty big, adorned with multiple rivers and lush forests. it has a thriving ecosystem as well. Valeflow is stationed in the center of the island, on top of one of the rivers, so the town gets most of its power from hydroelectric.

On The Skiekan

the Skiekan were an aerial species that were noted for their flexibility. they could hover and soar with ease, and there were many different wing and tail types that allowed for incredible diversity in flight means. they could be diurnal or nocturnal, and they adapted to most environments pretty quickly.

one of the Skiekan’s glaring weaknesses is that they have a degree of ingrained claustrophobia. being in enclosed spaces for a long amount of time is known the cause anxiety.

each Skiekan produces a powder from their wings which is known as “shed”. shed is incredibly diverse. some shed could be used for offensive means, like poisonous shed, sleep/paralysis powder shed, blinding powder shed, etc. other shed could be used for common daily means. some Skiekans that specialize in cooking tended to have freshness shed, a kind of salty powder that preserves food well. blacksmiths would commonly have shed that repels heat. rarer still were “elemental” shed types, like ones that could ignite fire or electrical currents in the air when concentrated.

shed is naturally stored in the wings and can be released or contained by choice; the powder only “activates” when certain chemicals are released in the wing veins.

buildup of shed is prevented by brushing and gently cleaning the wings regularly. this gets rid of the inactive powder buildup, which could encumber flight if left unchecked.

water and most kinds of shed don’t mix because water can wash away an unhealthy amount of shed. certain kinds of shed are compatible with water, though, and can even help with swimming by coating the wings.

Skiekans have enhanced hearing and sharp vision. their peripheral vision and focus is actually quite impressive compared to humans’.

Skiekans can produce clicking sounds to echolocate, although it isn’t always the most accurate. devices and means to help with echolocation were common in their society, especially among the nocturnal folk.

bonus Aro & Dupliss sketches

if you see this, thanks for reading to the end :] i’ve been working on this for a while and i’m very excited to write my silly little guys here

#I’ve been working on this for a few days #i hope y’all like my boys!!! I wish to write them here often #✉️ | aro / studies. #✉️ | aro / vis. #🛠 | dupliss / studies. #🛠 | dupliss / vis.

[dojimakaichou]

SENT FROM @stingslikeabee​​​​​​​ ―         ( Daigo’s birthday 2023 / accepting )

The day of Daigo’s birthday was always eventful around the Addams’ home; with the passing of each year, the rituals grew longer and more chaotic as the children got older and started procuring their own gifts for their father, banking on their specific abilities to please their adored parent. Kazuya started the festivities with a song - a tune of his own, composed in the privacy of his bedroom and which he had not shared with anyone else (but for his mother) and which sought to emulate the environment of Kamurocho. Next, Yayoi showed Daigo a move that she had created from scratch for her MMA classes, tentatively named ‘Daigo Solution’ (a working title) and which involved applying pressure to certain vital points of the body in a way that evoked the impact of a bullet. Hikari came next - her culinary gifts were used for an incredible elaborate cake, using most of her dad's favorite ingredients (with her own grandmother helping in spirit, whenever necessary) and the top of the dessert illustrating one of his favorite kills, strawberry syrup used with abandon to emulate the blood spatters that were akin to art under the assassin’s hands. Edgar was the first one who bought his father something - a very ornate and expensive-looking cigarette case, fashioned out of silver, and which was supposed to have belonged to a hitman under the employment of the famous mobsters of the prohibition era (a claim that was likely false, but Edgar’s smile was incredibly cute while handing Daigo the present). The girls had a joint gift - as every other year. This time, it was a beautiful tapestry, depicting a graveyard under the moonlight and with two figures kneeling on the ground over a surprising bundle - a homage to the very evening where Daigo and Melissa had found the triplets and decided to adopt them. Osamu finished it off with a project of his own - a scrapbook filled with a lot of news articles and printouts associated to jobs that the hitman had carried during his life... And which were never traced to his name. The only reason that the youngest of the spiderlings knew of these was because the tales of Daigo’s former work life tended to be his favorite bedtime stories. Melissa watched the exchanges with a fond look on her honey-colored eyes, heart impossibly tight for the show of affection and dedication of her children. With the exception of some assistance here and there, they had managed the gifts on their own, somehow combining their personalities with something that would be meaningful to their beloved father. Oh, she was proud - the witch had raised these little monsters perfectly, and it was also due to Daigo’s parenting skills in no small amount. It was only late at night, when they were both alone, that the brunette chose to disclose her own present for her husband and soulmate. Melissa had been sitting at the vanity in their suite, brushing her long hair - and then paused when Daigo walked behind her, beckoning him over and linking their hands over a shoulder, conversing with the man through their reflections on the mirror. “I haven’t yet given you my gift, anata,” she tested the Japanese word on her tongue; in addition to the French that she had always favored with family, Melissa had been trying to learn some basic Japanese with the aid of Yayoi (both of them). Smirking with barely contained mischief, the witch elaborated, “Your brother is currently handling the affairs of this collector who passed recently - you may have heard of him; he was focused on torture devices. He has a guillotine that was actually manufactured at the time of the French Revolution.” Her voice was colored with excitement then; the pressure on Daigo’s digits increased as she narrated the other antiques the man possessed, as well as the actual dungeons built and a few other clever additions, “Well, I have managed to secure a weekend at his estate while Gomez works on the legal documents. Two days away - our siblings have agreed to come check on the girls if necessary, so have Shun and Azumi. We are cleared to go and explore each and every of his prized trophies ourselves, my love.” It was only then that the witch placed the brush used for her hair down, and turned around on the seat, facing Daigo. The woman picked up his hands with hers, enjoying their warmth as she always did, and inhaling deeply before kissing the back of his beautifully skilled and blood-stained digits in a reverse of the gesture he usually bestowed her with. Melissa then looked up at him, eyes filled with love and undying devotion to the assassin in the room with her. “Two days of old fashioned torture, just the two of us. I hope it is to your liking, chéri - you deserve the most beautiful screams for your birthday.”

★. ―

Daigo stretched leisurely as he stepped back into their grand home. The gray - colored sky and thick snow outside were his favorite weather, and he had gone out to enjoy shooting blanks in the crisp morning air. His pistols’ muffled noises in the snowy landscape made the assassin grin every time. Daigo sat gingerly and started to remove his boots. Halfway through the process of unlacing them, he gathered that someone else was in the room. Watching.

          As the king of the castle looked up, its princess beamed with pride. Her pink - colored lips curved into a smile. “Hello, Hikki - chan,” Daigo said, raising a brow.

          Hikari extended her hand for her father to take. “C’mon  ―  we’re all ready for you.”

          Though there were clearly questions on his tongue, the assassin got to his feet. He used to table to help him up : it was no secret that the cold made his poor, battered joints ache ( but he loved it too much to stay inside where it was warm ). Hikari waited patiently for his coarse digits to wrap around hers. She took him into the sitting room, where the rest of their family was waiting.

          Daigo grinned as soon as he crossed the threshold. His children stopped their various conversations ( and preparations ) in order to welcome the Addams patriarch. The assassin squeezed Hikari’s hand and sat beside his wife on the couch. He slipped his arm around Melissa’s waist, drew her into his side, and kissed her in greeting.

          “How did you get even more beautiful since this morning?” he breathed lovingly after, a bit of pink on his cheeks.

          Melissa leaned into her husband. “Our spiderlings have gifts for you,” she murmured, lips brushing his cheek. With a pleasant hum, she redirect her beloved’s attention back to the room at large. 

          Kazuya took that as his invitation to begin the festivities. Daigo nestled into the sofa with Melissa as their beautiful and numerous family started to honor their father. Some of the displays required Daigo’s participation ( such as Yayoi’s, who could only call on him in her search for a sparring partner that would not be afraid of her ), and he joined in enthusiastically at every request. His love for them shone in his wide, crooked smile and shining dark eyes.

          By the end of the affair, the father’s cheeks were wet. He scrubbed at them obstinately with the back of his hand, clearly moved by his children’s thoughtfulness. Melissa’s fingers rubbed soothing circles into the assassin’s arm. Their spiderlings exchanged proud looks. Daigo was the sort of man who claimed to have everything. The best gifts for him, their mother taught them early, were the ones that simply showed how much they loved him ; Daigo’s tears were a sign that their fond message made it through.

          After a moment, he cleared his throat and stood. Daigo laughed brightly at the sudden rush of his daughters, who hugged him readily. Edgar joined in, as well. Kazuya and Osamu hung back, opting instead to pat Daigo’s arms affectionately. The assassin sighed gratefully into the dark hair of one of the girls. He loved their family  ―  more than anything in this life or the next. 

          The next few hours were a delightful blur. With the taste of strawberries on his tongue, Daigo pulled a cigarette from his new case. He watched their home’s ghostly residents hang the girls’ tapestry in the main hall with their other important pieces of art and framed photographs. Inevitably, he was welcomed into the kitchen by his wife with the promise of chocolate. She stole his half - finished smoke for herself, kissed his lips, and gave him a generous slice of the sickeningly sweet dessert. Daigo chuckled and moved away to eat with their spiderlings.

          Soon, everyone drifted off to sleep or rest. The assassin followed Melissa into their suite to get ready for the night. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and promptly stripped out of his clothing. Daigo stretched, mindful of old scars that pinched with the cool, dry air of the season, before he returned to the main room. He moved toward the large bed at the center with the intention of turning down the blankets for them ; as he went, however, the witch silently asked him to pause. Daigo complied without question.

          As he listened to Melissa describe her present for him  .    .    .  it was impossible to hide his excitement. Daigo tried to imagine the score of fantastic devices that would be at their disposal, but he was sure what he thought was even less than what reality had to offer. A collector of that measure surely possessed pieces they never enjoyed prior, too.  ―  and, of course, his wife was entirely prepared. The assassin’s only worry would have been their precious girls, who did so poorly when their parents were away from them.

          Daigo inhaled sharply at the sight of Melissa kissing his hands. Long strands of hair slipped over his shoulders as his head tilted to the side. As the witch finished her gesture, Daigo sank to one knee ( not unlike the pose he once used to ask her to be his forever ). He gazed at her, awe - struck, fingers turned to clutch her own. 

          “I love it, Melissa,” Daigo said softly. With an additional squeeze of her hands, he released her digits and instead snaked his arms loosely around her perfect figure. Time seemed unable to touch her dark beauty. “You know me so well. I can’t wait to see what horrors we face in those walls. A pity that we can’t invite death inside of it  .    .    .  the triplets’ black hearts would shatter.” 

          He smiled as a bit of delicious red coloring pooled at the top of his cheeks. “Would you care to practice now, darling?”

#ooc. Bday floof 2. <3 #stingslikeabee #⤿ ❤. ✕ WORLD ✕ MELISSA & DAIGO #⤿ VERSE. ✕ ADDAMS FAMILY 01 ✕ FATHER OF SPIDERS #food tw #nudity tw #( sort of. ) #suggestive tw

[decodad]

“Argument - “Artists will just need to focus on telling stories through video games, animations, and comics.”

I have already mentioned the biggest problem with this argument–the AIs will be very capable of running on autopilot, and they will get just as good at telling stories as they are at making images and videos. They will produce novels, essays, and scripts in amounts that can fill the library-of-babel, each piece a composite of half quotations and unattributed swipings. All this auto-generated text can be processed by the image and video AIs to generate long-format media, and the cycle will be complete, self-contained, and human-free. 

[...]

This will completely flood the realm of story and the future will find itself overwhelmingly ghost-written. The “anime” that you’ve been dreaming of making since you were 8, which you are willing to forsake all of art to produce, will get the attention it deserves in this environment–none. And when your dream project, regurgitated in moments by an AI, receives no attention, no clout, and no money, you will rest well knowing you earned it. Not even your mother will be able to find it in the unending surge of the Mega Feed. This wouldn’t be a problem on its own- you were otherwise never going to make the thing anyway- except that you will be ruining the market for everyone who is positioned to pull something off by their own efforts. You will gain nothing and hurt your friends and peers.

The idea that everyone will be empowered to tell their story is one of the few arguments for AI art that compels me, there’s a nuanced discussion to be had here, but I believe it is ultimately bankrupt. It is a nice sentiment, and I can empathize with the frustrations of being an artist who feels their skills do not measure up to the scope of their vision– but we’re overlooking something very important here. You don’t just want to tell your story, and you don’t just want to tell it well–you want it to matter that you told your story. The AIs will rob you, and everyone else, of this. 

The execution of your petulant “vision” by the AIs will ensure that no one cares about your story, and that it is washed away in the heaving sea of AI dross. Your art already doesn’t get attention. It’s not going to get any more attention when it’s competing with the unending stream of self-generated and highly targeted comics, novels, images, films, games, and songs. As I’ve said, these AIs will not need to be prompted by humans for very long and will instead auto-respond to the ebb and flow of the internet, current news, real time sales, and even private conversations. After all, we have already readied these inputs for them. We all feel a little uncomfortable when our phone shows us an ad for something we mentioned to our friend over dinner, but what happens when it shows you a movie it made just for you about your break up? A song about that careless word from your mother? A finished version of that comic idea you started researching? You’ll start getting notifications saying- “Hey! Check out one thousand finished versions of your dream!” Our ambient digital systems already have intimate access to so many of the inputs that define our taste- in some sense we sold our souls long ago.

So, you may be able to tell your story, but at the cost of its complete irrelevancy, which will likely have the effect of making you resent that you ever had the idea in the first place. Stories don’t achieve their incredible effect simply by existing. They live and die on human connection and intellect. AI will not “democratize art”--that’s just one of the copy-pasted platitudes of those vapid marketing execs spoon-feeding you your own doom. In a democracy, your voice matters. In a world flooded by AI media, your voice has no chance of being heard.

I also want to point out here that the people making these things will depend on you thinking they hold the silver key to your artistic vision. They need you to feel worthless and like you missed your chance to tell your story. That you got too old, or don’t have the time or resources or ability or what-have-you; that way you will need their product. This way you will support them monetarily and, most importantly, you will help them change the laws and sway the culture to allow their rapacious strip mining of all creative labor. They will always be incentivized to make you feel lowly, dependent, incapable, and slave to their kaiju whims. 

And when they’re done, they’ll pull the rug out from under you, of course. They have no actual reason to let you have this stuff for free- they don’t care about you. They can say they do but that means nothing. Once they’ve made it impossible for you to make a living as an artist, and you’ve helped them change the laws, and they’ve ostracized you from your peers by turning you against them, they’ll just take it away and sell it to Google and Facebook and YouTube and the rest- because they stand to make billions from them and nothing from you.”

— excerpt from “The End of Art: An Argument Against Image AIs”

#this is maybe the best argument for non-artists against ai art ive ever heard #like why else would people be so secretive about the prompts they feed ais #if they did not in the end aspire to create great works of art themselves? #the whole video is great but this is maybe the most compelling argument for folks who are not 'artists' in the traditional sense #moon's thoughts

[turtlethon]

“The Ice Creature Cometh”

Season 5, Episode 14 First US Airdate: October 19, 1991

Bebop and Rocksteady accidentally create a mutant ice monster.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season five rolls on with “The Ice Creature Cometh”. David Wise returns as writer here, for an adventure which first aired on the same morning as “Leonardo Cuts Loose”.

Today’s show opens with each of the Turtles engaged in their favourite activities as Michaelangelo heads to the kitchen to retrieve some frozen pizza. He discovers that the fridge is entombed in a giant block of ice, and so the team waste no time in chipping away at it using their weapons.

In the Technodrome, Shredder complains about the broken heating system to Krang, who’s more interested in adding the finishing touches to a new batch of mutagen. The alien brain is insistent that creating a new group of mutants will help them to free the Technodrome from the ice it’s currently wedged in, an idea similar to a previous plan where the captured Turtles would do the same thing. The two villains leave the lab, ordering Bebop and Rocksteady to make themselves useful by cleaning the place up.

The Boys survey the damage, bemoaning the fact that this is shaping up to be “another mutant story” and suggesting that everyone must be sick of those by this point. Not keen on the idea of Shredder having new underlings that could overshadow them, the pair decide to tip the vat of mutagen out the side of the Technodrome into the ice below.

Leo, Mikey and Raph continue to whack the frozen fridge with their weapons until Donatello steps in with a new invention, a cobbled-together heat ray built using a trash can. The contraption soon begins to malfunction, firing off in all directions and setting the Lair’s kitchen on fire. The Turtles act quicky, using damp sheets and buckets of water to extinguish the blaze.

We bounce back to the Technodrome, where Krang shrieks in horror upon seeing the vat containing his mutagen has been emptied. Rocksteady and Bebop insist that it was spilled by accident. The bodiless warlord picks up each of the mutants by the throat and is about to dispense punishment when a tremor knocks him off his feet. Outside, a giant ice monster is looming over the fortress.

Krang explains that the mutagen must have reacted with millions of micro-organisms present in the ice. The giant batters the exterior of the Technodrome, reaching inside and pulling Bebop out. Shredder unleashes a missile that wedges in the monster’s hand, causing it to howl in agony. Feeling sorry for his creation, Bebop rushes to pull the missile out, getting covered in snow from the resulting explosion after he tosses it away.

After Bebop is able to dissuade the monster from attacking the Technodrome, the other villains realise it seems to obey his commands. The warthog asks his new friend to help them by pushing the fortress out of the ice, but his gigantic hands end up tearing through the walls instead. With that idea off the table, Shredder instead suggests they use the creature to steal newly-developed thermal explosives from a defence base “outside the city”. You’d think he’d be more specific about which city this is happening in given that he currently resides in the Arctic, but these are the lengths we’re going to at this point in the show’s run to avoid explicitly stating the Turtles live in New York City. Bebop is seen setting sail, floating on a giant block of ice with his new companion, “Frosty”, in addition to Rocksteady.

The Turtles have spent the first act of today’s show handling an errant fridge, and continue to chip away at the ice before finally realising they could wash their hands of the problem by simply unplugging it. While they wait for it to defrost, they watch April report from the harbour on the arrival of a giant ice creature. (Either the Turtles have invested an inordinate amount of their time on the fridge problem, or Frosty has made the 2,700-mile journey from the Arctic to the United States of America incredibly quickly.)

Act two opens with April filming the arrival of Frosty, who’s led through the streets of New York by Rocksteady and Bebop. The Turtles emerge to confront this new threat, only to have a meat truck thrown in their direction. They counter attack by utilising Michaelangelo’s grappling hook to restrain one of the monster’s ankles, working as a group to try and pull him off his feet. This proves unsuccessful, with the team sent flying across the street.  Our heroes reconvene and decide to focus their attacks on Rocksteady and Bebop instead. This also turns out to be ineffective, as Bebop has Frosty use his breath to create a snowstorm which pins them down.

With the Turtles temporarily taken care of, Bebop and Rocksteady return to their original mission of stealing the “thermal gizmos”. April overhears this and tracks the villains in her news van. The mutants become distracted again when their path leads them to the Channel 6 building. Seeing the potential for causing chaos, Bebop has Frosty attack the station’s premises, smashing the windows and creating an internal blizzard. April declares that she needs to “warn the staff”, which in reality amounts to her attempting to get Vernon and Irma out of the building. The trio somehow end up sliding through the premises and into a pile of snow; above them are ice glaciers which threaten to fall at any time.

April is able to reach the Turtles, who have only just managed to free themselves from their own snowy encumberment. After learning of the current situation, they decide to split up, with Michaelangelo returning to the Lair to retrieve Donatello’s makeshift heat ray while the others head for Channel 6. Meanwhile Bebop and Rocksteady continue on their path to the defence base, becoming distracted by the potential for a snowball fight.

The Turtles step in to save their friends at Channel 6 moments before the ice glaciers come crashing down. After learning about Bebop and Rocksteady’s plan from April, our heroes reunite with Mikey and prepare to implement their counter attack. From atop a nearby roof, the team hook the heat ray up to a broadcast antenna and begin taunting Frosty. Things backfire when the remote control for the device is frozen by the monster’s ice breath. A further complication follows when it becomes apparent that the barrage of cold weather is causing the transmission tower to bend. All of this is lost on Bebop and Rocksteady, who are busy making snowmen modelled after Krang and Shredder. It’s only after the duo kick down the snowmen for making them “look for stupid things like thermal explosives” that they remember their mission, and realise they’ve lost track of Frosty.

Frosty is about to finish off the Turtles when Bebop inadvertently saves them, having the monster drop what he’s doing to join them in finally attacking the defence base. The henchmen use their new ally to intimidate a scientist into revealing the location of the explosives. Shredder arrives on the scene and has his henchmen load the stolen goods into a transport module. Bebop is despondent upon learning that Frosty will be left behind, but Shredder insists they’ll come back to get him later.

Devastated by the loss of Bebop, Frosty cries tears of ice before flying into a rage, easily disposing of a group of laser gun-wielding soldiers by trapping them in a snowstorm. Donatello hatches a plan after spotting a nearby NASA rocket. He has the other Turtles lure the ice monster onto it, before sending it on a path back to the Arctic.

Outside the Technodrome, Shredder, Rocksteady and Bebop finish placing the stolen explosives. The villains regroup, completing the detonation process and successfully freeing the rolling fortress. This moment of triumph turns out to be incredibly brief, as the rocket arrives directly in front of the headquarters. Frosty is now rapidly melting as he lumbers toward the Technodrome, casing it in ice once more. Krang laments that they’re stuck once again, “even deeper than before”. A tearful Bebop laments that “some people thought [Frosty] was cold... but to me, he was the warmest guy in the whole world!”

The Turtles are on their way back to the Lair, figuring that after everything else that has happened today, at least they won’t have to worry about the now-defrosted fridge. Michaelangelo reveals that he actually plugged it back in to prevent their frozen pizza from spoiling. As a result, the team arrive home to find the entire place covered in ice; when Mikey suggests they could have a figure-eight contest, he soon finds himself getting pelted with snowballs.

I tend to hold David Wise’s output to a higher standard than the other TMNT writers, but there’s definitely something a little off about “The Ice Creature Cometh”. Self-aware gags and nods to the viewer that the show can sometimes be repetitive are nothing new at this point, but they’ve never been as sustained or as scathing as they are here, with the characters bemoaning how tiresome and hackneyed the story is throughout. It’s enough to make me question what was going on behind the scenes – was Wise demotivated and burned out, simply going through the motions, or was the concept for this story foisted upon him? (By this point he was no longer serving as co-Story Editor for the show, that responsibility being handled in season five exclusively by Jack Mendelsohn.) Whatever the motivations were, there’s definitely a sense throughout that the demands of coming up with new ways to tell the same stories about Mutants of the Week and powering up the Technodrome are beginning to wear on everyone involved.

The most interesting aspect of this episode, in my view, is that it furthers the idea that Bebop and Rocksteady aren’t genuinely evil, something that came up previously in “The Foot Soldiers Are Revolting” where when freed from Shredder and Krang’s influence, they seemed to have little genuine animosity toward the Turtles. Here, Bebop’s empathy is on display when he sees Frosty in pain after getting hit by the missile. Later, we see how upset he is when Shredder has him leave the giant behind. Finally, when Frosty melts, Bebop is inconsolable, allowing Rocksteady to also demonstrate empathy by offering words of comfort to his friend. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this kind of behaviour from them – Rocksteady feeling sorry for the Grybyx back in season three springs to mind – but it’s something explored in greater detail here, and The Boys wind up feeling like more three-dimensional characters as a result.

This particular weekend’s TMNT double bill is unusual as it consists of two adventures back-to-back by the same writer, although Shredder and his associates won’t feature in the next one. Instead, the Turtles will face a new villain as we move on to “Leonardo Cuts Loose”.

#Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #TMNT #TMNT 1987 #Ninja Turtles #1991 #Turtlethon #The Ice Creature Cometh #bebop tmnt #bebop and rocksteady #bebop & rocksteady

[robinsarm]

After the Bridge has Burned (part 3)

Warnings: none 

Words: ~2.2k

POV: Élodie

“There’s a good reason why I don’t come in here.”

Élodie jumped upon hearing Ursula’s voice at the door behind her. She turned around to find the woman staring up at each nearly full bookshelf that spanned each wall of the room. Élodie dropped another folder into the discard pile that didn’t contain, or have anything to do with, Ace’s phone number.

“I completely understand why,” Élodie responded with a defeated sigh. 

Considering the sheer amount of folders, books, shelves, drawers, cabinets, and random papers strewn about Felix’s office, Élodie didn’t feel too confident about finding anything other than how far her patience could be tested. Grabbing another folder, Élodie watched Ursula out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t move from the doorway, just stood and stared at Élodie. 

“Are you silently telling me to run while I can?” Élodie questioned with a chuckle. 

“I’m telling you now not to waste your time in here. Find this man another way,” Ursula told her while moving the laundry basket to her other hip.

Élodie exhaled, her mouth twisting in thought. “He’s not that simple to find, Ursula.”

“You mean to tell me, not one of you knows where this man is?” Ursula asked, pointing to her chest just below her left collarbone. The gesture was her way of referring to the other survivors without explicitly saying so. She'd picked up the habit when Felix started growing short with her any time she brought up their collective past. 

“Well, no. He’s currently visiting other friends in Canada,” Élodie answered. 

“And you don’t have contact with them either? They can’t ask for you?” 

The obvious realization made Élodie go stiff. She closed her eyes while a smile dug across her cheeks. She felt like an idiot for not thinking about it sooner. Yes, she could easily direct message a few people and get a hold of Ace in a matter of minutes—if any of them were quick to reply

“You make me feel incredibly stupid sometimes, Ursula,” Élodie said with a smile, dropping an unopened folder from her hand. 

“I’m a mother. It’s what I do best.” Ursula said, matching Élodie’s smile and bumping the basket higher up on her hip. “Let me know if you need me again.”

“Will do.” Élodie laughed and followed Ursula out the door. 

While Ursula made her way down the stairs, Élodie hooked a left and hop-stepped over to Felix’s bedroom door. She planned to check on Felix for two reasons. One, to make damn sure he was actually taking a shower, and two, to let him in on what she planned to do. 

Warm, humid air wafted into Élodie’s face the moment she stepped foot into the large room. Felix’s bed sat unmade to the left, a large central window on the wall across from the door with a desk underneath, his dresser to the wall right of that and the doorway leading to his bathroom. Élodie tiptoed across the carpet to the bathroom, leaning past the doorway only so far as to give Felix some privacy. The shower hugged the wall to the left of her, not glass but still covered by a normal shower curtain which Élodie was silently grateful about. 

“Hey!” Élodie shouted into the sprawling space.

Felix yelped in surprise followed by the sound of multiple bottles crashing against the porcelain. Felix yanked back the curtain enough so only half his torso showed. “What the hell?” 

Holding back a laugh, Élodie pointed behind her. “I’m going to grab my laptop from my car.”

Felix's eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Because Ace may still be in Canada with Claudette and them right now. If I can message Claudette, maybe she has his number to give out.”

Felix nodded while she explained, an approving smile lightening his expression. “That’s really smart, actually.”

“Your mom made me think of it. I fully planned on staying in your office all day.”

Felix nodded swiftly again. “She does that. Let me know how it goes.”

“Will do,” Élodie said before strutting out of his room. 

After a swift trip out to her car then a prolonged lingering in the kitchen, Élodie nestled into the corner of Felix’s couch in the living room. The large, gray horseshoe sectional was Élodie’s second favorite place in the manor, the library just barely stealing first place simply because of the bean bag chair up there that she also loved.

Élodie sipped on her glass of wine (the bottle had already been opened in the fridge) before setting it on the coffee table and opening her laptop. Navigating to Instagram through a desktop always filled Élodie’s head with a sense of wrongness. Her brain, so used to the habit of opening her phone, tapping two icons, and having the app open in five seconds flat, didn’t like that she was now going through the troubleshooting process of trying every password she could think of to log into the same app. 

After the seventh password, Instagram finally relented and opened her feed. Élodie skipped all of it and clicked on her profile, then her friends list. She’d never talked directly to Claudette through Instagram’s private messages, always quick comments and replies on hers or Claudette’s posts. Finding the botanist’s profile didn’t take long. What gave Élodie pause was opening that blank DM and trying to decide what to say.

She could go the blunt route:

“Hey Claudette! I’ve been trying to get a hold of Ace. Do you have his number by chance?”

Élodie deleted that block of text immediately. It felt so harsh to text someone you hadn’t talked to in ages just to get to someone else. But a vague, “Hey girl!”? That would only start a conversation that wouldn’t end, let alone be able to redirect towards the topic of Ace. Élodie took another long sip of wine before deciding on what to do.

Instead of typing anything at all, Élodie clicked the camera button and waited as the video request chimed on Claudette’s side. She’d almost forgotten Instagram had that feature. 

Four rings in, Élodie's screen was suddenly filled with Claudette’s amused but skeptical face. Claudette was also on her laptop it seemed as she was able to step back after accepting the video request. 

“Hello?” Claudette said, a smile unable to stop from spreading across her face. 

Claudette looked a lot livelier than Élodie remembered of their time in the realm. Sure, she was the one in the group that always tried to keep spirits high. But now, even over slightly pixelated video chat, she looked better. Healthier. Like life had finally eased up and let her have a good time. Her outfit reflected that; a light purple blouse with hair tossed up into a firm bun, and pink rimmed glasses framing her face. 

“Hi!” Élodie smiled. “And before you ask, no I didn’t call you on accident.”

“Well I was hoping not.” Claudette approached the camera again, pulling out a stool to sit on. “How are you?”

“I’ve been good. Been busy with work out here in Germany,” Élodie said and reached for her wine again.

“Wait, you’re in Germany?” Claudette questioned, head tilting in confusion. 

Élodie nodded while sipping the last of her wine. “Been here for well over a year now. Beautiful place.”

“I bet!” 

“How’s life with you, girlie?” Élodie asked while guiding her laptop and wine glass back down to the coffee table. 

“Great! Did you see my post about buying the flower shop?” Claudette asked, practically shaking from her excitement. 

“No! You got it?”

For anyone who followed Claudette in the past year, they knew she’d gotten a full time job at a family owned flower shop. She did such a good job tending to every plant in that place, the owners let the rest of the crew go other than two grandkids. Seeing how much of a pain the shop was to handle at their age, Claudette continuously offered to buy the business off them, keeping the family name and anything else they may have wished for the shop. The owners never seemed interested as far as what her posts said. And yet…

“Yes! They changed the offer so they still own half the place, but exciting right!” Claudette explained.

“Hell yeah it is. Congratulations honey!” Élodie celebrated with her. 

“Thanks!” Claudette said, all smiles. A moment later she looked over her laptop at something Élodie couldn’t see. “Hey! Meg! Come here!”

Claudette slipped off screen then came back a second later, dragging a freshly showered Meg into a frame. A twisted towel up on top of her head and a black tank top hugging her torso was all Élodie could see as far as an outfit. The redhead’s face of confusion quickly morphed into excitement upon seeing Élodie. 

“Hi!” Meg exclaimed then turned to Claudette, silently asking if she was seeing things right.

“How are you Meg?” Élodie asked with a small, amused laugh. 

“Awesome!” Meg answered. Both her and Claudette looked above the camera again before she could continue, a voice resonating through the call a moment later. 

“Is that Élodie I hear?”

Élodie’s heart seized and plummeted into her stomach. The smile on her face shifted to shock at hearing his voice. He was there? Still? Élodie wasn’t expecting to find him this quickly and assumed she’d have to dig his phone number out of Claudette or Meg somehow. 

A few anxious seconds later, Ace entered the video wearing that signature silver chain with pastel pink button up with the top two buttons undone. His hair had silvered more from the last time Élodie saw him along with new smile lines around his eyes. 

Élodie forced a smile, burying her previous shock and anxiety the best she could. “Well hello!” Élodie greeted while quickly turning down the volume on her laptop. She didn’t want Felix upstairs hearing Ace just yet.

“Hello yourself,” Ace greeted with his signature smirk. “Did you actually manage to get prettier?” 

Ace received two playful, but firm, slaps on the shoulder from both girls next to him. He laughed but rubbed at the spot where he’d been assaulted.

“Ignore him, he said the same thing to me,” Meg commented while pushing Ace out of the frame. 

“Well he’s right,” Élodie said, meaning every word. Meg truly did look great, ready for the day or not. 

“And, actually,” Élodie continued, nerves taking over her system once again. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Ace. I’ve been meaning to get a hold of you.”

Both Meg and Claudette tilted their heads while Ace tentatively shifted back into view. Even he seemed confused but flattered at the statement. 

“Why?” Meg asked. 

“Ouch,” Ace said, eyeing the girl from the corner of the screen.

Meg waved Ace off but remained focused on Élodie. Meg had a stare that made Élodie feel like a spotlight just caught her trying to escape prison. When it came to lying to her friends, it was really hard for her to even get the words. The addition of Meg silently trying to pry the truth out of Élodie wasn't helping.

Élodie cleared her throat. “I just need to speak with him. I didn’t have his number—”

“So, did you call Claudette to get it?” Meg interjected. 

“I also wanted to talk with all of you.” Élodie kept her cool under control, barely. It was very easy for Élodie to get snappy when someone assumed something distasteful about her, even if they were right. Regardless, she knew Meg had a point. 

“What did you need to talk to me about?” Ace asked, his hands in his pockets. She was grateful he pulled the conversation away from her, but also didn’t immediately know how to phrase what she wanted to say gently. So, she let out the first thought that came to mind that could work as an answer.

“Something in private,” Élodie said with a tense smile. 

In that moment, just for a fraction of a second, Élodie saw Ace’s expression change. She couldn’t describe it other than Ace regretting ever stepping foot into the room. At that moment, she knew he understood what she wanted to talk about and it looked like that was the last thing he ever wanted to consider acknowledging. 

“Do you want to use the guest room down here, Ace?” Claudette offered, not hesitating for a second to allow them some privacy. Always the accommodator, she didn’t seem hurt by Élodie’s attention wanting to be somewhere other than her. For that, Élodie was grateful she called Claudette instead of Meg first. 

“Um,” Ace’s lighthearted expression was back while he considered her offer. “Sure, if it’s alright with you.”

“I don’t mind,” Claudette said. The camera shook for a moment as she picked up the laptop and handed it to Ace. “Remember breakfast is in thirty minutes or so. Do you want coffee?” 

“Yes please. Thanks Claud,” Ace called back as he carried the laptop away from the space and down a hallway. 

“It was nice talking, Élodie! Call again sometime!” Claudette shouted. 

“I will!” Élodie shouted close to her microphone. 

This was it, Élodie realized as Ace walked further and further down Claudette's dark hallway. She’d done what Felix hadn’t been able to in years. She’d gotten an explanation from Felix, now she was going to (hopefully) get answers out of Ace as well. Answers about what really happened. Sure she believed Felix about him ending things, but she wanted to know more. What was the straw that broke their relationship’s back? How did Ace still feel about it? If nothing else, Élodie needed an answer to one question:

Is there any hope for the two of them?

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#dbd fic #riconti #ace visconti #felix richter #elodie rakoto #dbd #dead by daylight fanfic

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Discovery changes understanding of water's history on the moon

New research from a Western University postdoctoral fellow shows the early lunar crust, which makes up the surface of the moon, was considerably enriched in water more than 4 billion years ago, counter to previously held understanding. The discovery is outlined in a study published today (Jan. 15) in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Working with a meteorite she classified as one that came from the moon while a graduate student at The Open University (U.K.), Tara Hayden identified, for the first time, the mineral apatite (the most common phosphate) in a sample of early lunar crust.

The research offers exciting new evidence that the moon's early crust contained more water than was originally thought, opening new doors into the study of lunar history.

"The discovery of apatite in the moon's early crust for the first time is incredibly exciting—as we can finally start to piece together this unknown stage of lunar history. We find the moon's early crust was richer in water than we expected, and its volatile stable isotopes reveal an even more complex history than we knew before," said Hayden, currently working as a cosmochemist with renowned planetary geologist Gordon "Oz" Osinski in Western's department of Earth sciences.

"Lunar meteorites are revealing new, exciting parts of the moon's evolution and expanding our knowledge beyond the samples collected during the Apollo missions. As the new stage of lunar exploration begins, I am eager to see what we will learn from the lunar far side," said Hayden.

The Apollo samples were first assumed to be "volatile-poor" upon their return from the moon, leading to the wide-known description of the moon as "bone dry."

In 2008, Alberto Saal and other researchers discovered the presence of significant amounts of water and other volatiles in glass beads from the Apollo sample collection. This set forth fifteen years of re-analysis of the Apollo samples while newly found lunar meteorites have revealed the moon had much more water across its surface.

"We know most about the history of water on the moon from the Apollo samples, but those samples are thought to only represent about five percent of the entire moon surface," said Hayden. "Until we get more samples back in the upcoming Artemis missions, the only other samples from the surface we have are meteorites."

Hayden made the discovery at The Open University during her Ph.D. studies while verifying a rock sample for a collector as a lunar meteorite. Beyond its identification, the sample proved to be holding a key piece of data about water on the moon.

"I was so lucky the meteorite not only came from the moon but remarkably, featured chemistry so vital to our understanding about lunar water-bearing minerals," said Hayden.

This work was focused primarily on the mineral apatite, which contains volatile elements in its mineral structure. Apatite was found in all lunar rock types except glass beads and ferroan anorthosites, the latter representing the moon's early crust. The Ferroan Anorthosite group is known to be incredibly old (4.5–4.3 billion years old) and is the only rock type known to have formed directly from the Lunar Magma Ocean—when the moon was almost entirely molten.

The discovery of apatite in this rock type has allowed for the direct examination of this unknown stage in lunar evolution for the first time.

"Unraveling the history of water in the earliest-formed lunar crust approximately 4.5 billion years ago is important for improving our understanding of the origin of water in the solar system. Ancient rock samples from the moon in the form of lunar meteorites provide an excellent opportunity for undertaking such investigations," said Mahesh Anand, professor of planetary science and exploration at The Open University and Hayden's formal lead supervisor.

Future Artemis missions

Hayden says the timing of the discovery is perfect as the NASA Artemis missions are preparing for launch and researchers, including her current supervisor, are developing programming and targets for the astronauts.

"It has been long believed the lunar surface has been dried out for thousands and even millions of years, but maybe there might be more water available than we thought on the surface of the moon and we just need to find a way to extract it," said Hayden.

Osinski is equally excited for the potential opportunities of this new discovery.

Last year, Osinski was selected for the NASA geology team that is developing the surface science plan for the first crewed lunar landing mission in more than 50 years. He will join his colleagues in mission control's science backroom at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston providing support throughout the Artemis III mission.

"Tara's discoveries are super exciting and will feed into our sampling strategy for the Artemis III mission where we hope to identify and sample some of the earliest crust on the moon," said Osinski.

IMAGE....The lunar meteorite sample Tara Hayden investigated and successfully discovered the water-bearing mineral apatite. Credit: Tara Hayden

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #astrophysics