nillia

[nillia]

Y’all are both right!! I’ll add:

Suletta is an Amazing Pilot

I still see this idea floating around that Suletta is NOT a good pilot. That this is even a somewhat accepted opinion is WILD to me, because the show makes it clear she is a fantastic pilot. I shouldn't even have to write this article, because one can simply see it by watching the series with their eyes open. To claim Suletta is not a good pilot is to jump through way more mental gymnastics to make that claim than to simply accept what G-Witch is literally showing you.

1) Cradle Planet

At age 6, Suletta has already been training to fly mobile suits. By age 11, she's the best pilot on Mercury. Eri states that Suletta handles her beam sabers with surgical precision and calmly pilots her mobile suit through dangerous terrain that would terrify any normal person. Prospera raised Suletta with the purpose of her piloting the Aerial in mind. She raised her to be the best.

2) Episode 3

So, I'll give reigning Holder Guel the benefit of the doubt and say he only lost the first duel because he dicked around and then got caught with his pants completely down. Surely he'll do better in round 2. Except, even though Guel knows what's coming AND he's in a better suit, Suletta would have ended this duel in about 20 seconds were it not for the Darilbalde's AI saving Guel from a head shot. That this 2nd duel lasts as long as it does is only due to Vim's interference, and even with that Guel couldn't win. Suletta doesn't even use the Gundbits for the final strike of the match, the decisive blow she scored against Guel was all her own piloting.

3) Episode 4

This is the episode most people continue to cite as evidence that Suletta is a bad pilot. But the facts are clear: Suletta was doing just fine in that test and would have passed with flying colors of not for bullies blinding her mobile suit. At that point she was piloting an unfamiliar MS, not allowed to use backup cameras, and needing to navigate using only someone else's word. Anyone would struggle. Imagine trying to drive a car through an obstacle course at full speed while blind with only an outside spotter. And that completely ignores that she was having an emotional breakdown the entire time because she was being bullied. And even then, with each successive attempt, she was improving! Would a "better" pilot have adjusted faster? Sure, maybe, but this wasn't the heat of battle; this was a high school test, and Suletta is using an unfamiliar machine. And Suletta's emotional state was compromised, leading to her struggles. Because that was what this scene was about: Suletta's emotional state, not her piloting skills.

4) Episode 6

Suletta holds up incredibly well considering she's using a cobbled-together-in-a-week thruster pack and still at a heavy disadvantage against the Pharact. Not to mention this time her pilot also has a Gundam with the benefit of the Gund Format. And while Eri's data storm resonance may have opened up the final blow for her, it was Suletta’s piloting that pushed Elan to go to Permet Score 4 despite his advantage. And even at Score 4, Suletta was pushing Elan into a corner.

5) Episode 9

This pretty much speaks for itself. Suletta holds off multiple mobile suits at once, eventually finding herself alone against 6 of the best pilots at Asticassia and none of them can take her down. She survives even through her self doubt, even through the GUND format being disabled and having to pilot normally. And then she activates Score 6 and it's all Suletta. Suletta was the one completely outmaneuvering the entire Grassley team, piloting the Aerial AND manually controlling the Gundbits the entire time. While also processing all the information the Gundbits were feeding her about the battlefield. Suletta survived that 1v6 and may have even won it if she was forced to. We'll never know because ultimately Shaddiq fell into Miorine's trap.

6) Episode 12

Gundam vs Two Gundams! Suletta has a new ride and it's arguably the strongest MS in Ad Stella. Still the best mobile suit means little without a good pilot. And Suletta takes on two Gundam pilots actively trying to kill her. Two Gundam pilots that just wiped the floor with Plant Quetta's professional security forces and also have the Gund Format. And yet Suletta fights them both off.

7) Episode 13

Okay, this isn't really fair. Suletta and the Rebuild are far and away superior to anything the lesser Benerit companies can throw at them. But it's still impressive she went through a gauntlet of what presumably the best of the rest could throw at her w/o breaking a sweat.

8) Episode 14

Sophie is ultimately killed by the Gund Format before there could be a conclusive resolution to their fight, but again, Suletta did not struggle against a trained child soldier using a Gundam trying to kill her.

9) Episode 17

Suletta does not lose this duel unless Miorine and Ericht betray her. In fact, it's not even a contest if Guel doesn't use the Darilbalde's AI. He even admits he's not a match for her without it. And to top it all off, the Aerial starts this duel still damaged from it’s battle against Sophie. Guel has some success this duel, and thanks to the AI piloting is able to put Suletta on the defensive, but despite having multiple shots at taking her antenna, he still couldn't close the deal, and once Suletta got serious, it was over. It took one of the best pilots in Asticassia piloting a top of the line new model MS using a top of the line learning and piloting AI just to get a solid shot at defeating Suletta 1-on-1 and he still couldn't beat her.

10) Episode 18

A short scene of Suletta easily passing one of her Demi Trainer tests. All while she's suffering from severe depression due to the divorce.

Calibarn

Her piloting the Calibarn as a whole is a testament to Suletta’s superb piloting skills. Suletta takes on Quiet Zero and Aerial all by herself, and she comes out of the battle with only some superficial damage. Before this battle, Ericht took on an entire SAL fleet of professional soldiers and was wiping the floor with them using her Gundnodes, before even engaging the override. The story establishes that Ericht + Quiet Zero > A fleet of trained soldiers. And Suletta takes her on all by herself and comes out on top. You can't even use the excuse that she benefited from an advantage with the Gund format and piloting a Gundam because so is Eri. And Ericht is perfectly synchronized with the data storm.

And yes, they weren't trying to kill each other, but that is actually more difficult in the heat of battle. In fact, you can see Suletta making the fight more difficult for herself by punching and kicking away the Aerial’s Gundbits instead of simply destroying them because she doesn't want to kill the coven. It's a testament to Suletta incredible skills that she's able to dodge all the incoming fire without accidentally dodging into it, all while dueling her sister without killing her.

And of course, she's doing this all while the Calibarn is trying to kill her. Even with her permet resistance, she is still under constant strain while piloting the Calibarn, you can hear it in her voice the entire time.

The only other argument I see made against Suletta’s skill as a pilot that isn't a double standard rooted in sexism is that the Gund Format elevates her from a terrible pilot to a good one. Which is pretty ridiculous because we don't see that with any other Gundam pilot in the show. Yes, they have a tech advantage being in a Gundam, but the format is not enough to turn a terrible pilot into a one-woman army. Otherwise Suletta would have been easily overwhelmed by Sophie and Norea at Plant Quetta. Would Lauda struggle against an AI-less Guel in a Dilanza, needing Guel to let Lauda score the finishing blow to win, if the Gund Format made every pilot as good as Suletta?

If your only other arguments are that Suletta isn't a good pilot because she pilots a Gundam, she's some form of enhanced human and/or she doesn't directly control the bits for most of the series, those can all be dismissed. Every Gundam MC pilots a Gundam, usually carrying with them a significant tech advantage over their opponents, does that make every Gundam pilot less skilled by virtue of piloting a Gundam? Nearly every well regarded pilot in the series is some sort of enhanced human depending on the setting. Newtypes, Coordinators, Innovators, X-Rounders, etc. Nearly every main series MC has some sort of supernatural and/or super human ability. Are you going to argue that Amuro, Char, Kamille, Judau, etc are all bad pilots being carried by Newtype powers alone? And regarding the bits, not every Gundam series has telepathically or directly controlled bits. Many are controlled by advanced onboard quantum computing systems. Suletta’s situation with Aerial is no different than many famous pilots over the years. No one argues that Lockon is a bad pilot because he's assisted by a Haro.

Every single one of the above arguments is rooted in misogynistic double standards. The things that people argue that prove Suletta must not be a good pilot are things virtually every male Gundam MC has, but are basically never used as an argument against their skills: it's just part of their skill set.

Ultimately you have to jump through more mental gymnastics to argue that Suletta is a bad pilot than simply watching the show and seeing what it's showing you: that Suletta is a tremendously skilled pilot with no peer except Ericht herself and maybe Shaddiq. Someone in Discord mentioned that Suletta as a pilot is very much the equivalent to an endgame Amuro or Kira. She was already raised to be an elite pilot before setting foot in Asticassia, and her only defeat in the entire show was not to another pilot with better skills or a better mobile suit. It was to Miorine, who attacked her heart and betrayed her at a critical moment. The show was not about her growth as a pilot because unlike a lot of young Gundam protagonists, she's already starting with elite piloting skills because she's been training in harsh environments since she was a child. Her only struggles piloting in the show are entirely due to people attacking her emotionally, something she was not equipped to handle due to her upbringing on Mercury. And that is where Suletta’s character growth lies.

I don't like comparing pilots across the different Gundam universes because there are way too many different variables to take into account. But I think the only reason the fandom in general doesn't consider Suletta among the elite pilots of the franchise is because she's a woman. Instead, I see her compared against other female pilots that fans will say are "average-to-bad" and then make the claim Suletta is worse because of some of the above arguments that they don't make for male pilots.

[nillia]

Pride month’s over…so now it’s

🏳️‍🌈🔥 WRATH MONTH! 🔥🏳️‍🌈

As well as Disability Pride Month! We’re excited to reveal our next project that celebrates both communities’ fierce solidarity—365.

As queer neurodivergent disabled artists, we wanted our first plush to be a Proud and Portable outlet our own fidget and stress relief needs.

Please check out & follow our

🔪🏳️‍🌈Gay Crime Goose Gang🏳️‍🌈🔪

prelaunch to be notified at launch!

💌Reblogs and 📣comments help queer indie artists like us! Thank you!💙❤️

[nillia]

It’s a super cute story, just be sure you don’t draw it. Even if given credit as inspiration, this couple gets really really angry when they get fan-art, because it seems they see it as theft.

Honestly after they got mad at a friend of mine, I self-defense blocked them so that they can’t see my art or imagine I got any of the more generic ideas from them.

cute story from the couple that cosplayed sulemio

[nillia]

Being queer doesn’t negate the possibility of acting phobic towards one or more segments of LGBTQ+.

I’m a smidge tired of people talking about sapphics “f/f writers” with derision and then acting like their remarks are Extra True because of their “I’m queer too actually” shield.

It’s less of a great shield and more an extra bad look imho. It makes me wonder “how did a queer person come to be this bigoted, perhaps they may be empathy-deficient and/or willfully ignorant? ”

Every sapphic person has to navigate through life at the intersection of both misogyny and queerphobia. Those two things combined make it so that even fandom spaces (meant to be a respite from daily marginalization) are are still heavily dominated by ships which include men. It makes sense that “f/f writers” (seems like a dogwhistle for sapphics) are protective of what little content we get and produce. It strikes me as intellectually dishonest to act like we are just “unfriendly” because of some moral failing on our part.

In 2018 non-canon slash beat canon-married sapphics for tags on the week the wedding aired. The pulse of this website prioritized a slash ship over acknowledging or celebrating a historic moment for LGBTQ rep. And we all knew it was because the married ship was not made of men.

It makes sense that this poll represents a refreshing paradigm shift for sapphics who have felt marginalized on this website over the last 15 years. Now, at last, maybe queer ships can also be graded on their canon rep quality instead of just on having cute men in them.

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[nillia]

Thank you so much for picking up the CD! So excited!

English subtitled clip from the "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" special drama CD episode "The Witch at the Closing Party"

(bonus content included with the MajoFes Asticassia School Assembly Blu-ray)

After the Asticassia School Assembly, the students get together on the beach for a closing party. The donning of festival coats, barbeque emergencies, and running away from corporate obligations ensue...

Part 1 of 3

[nillia]

Trust

[nillia]

did you know you can watch all of gundam: the witch from mercury on youtube for free?

with subs OR with the english dub

you can find out why sulemio is so special :)

[nillia]

history repeats itself

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[nillia]

Since I've heard you issued an apology on the fandom history aspect, I'll go ahead and attempt to reach across the aisle to explain the racism bit.

Oxford dictionary's definition is generously broad and colloquial, suitable for a dictionary historically by and for white colonizers. Civil rights organizations and scholars understand there to be a difference between racial prejudice and racism. Racial prejudice can be an individual's dislike or distrust for any race. Racism is systemic--it's a culmination of stereotypes, media messaging, policies, and structural inequalities that discriminate against folks who are racially marginalized.

When a white person has prejudice against POC, it contributes to racism because white folks are coming from a privileged place in society, and their prejudices are reinforcing systems of oppression and baseless messaging.

When POC feel resentment towards white folks, that is informed by experiences of being oppressed by white society. If POC express those feelings, they aren't contributing to systems of oppression because white people are not systemically oppressed.

It is absolutely NOT racism if somebody says, "I'm tired of white people getting the most attention," because that is literally just somebody saying they're tired of the white privilege to dominate fandom enthusiasm. It is valid for folks to be tired of seeing representation and fandom spaces overwhelmingly dominated by the most privileged demographics within queer fandom. It may be especially tiring to see that even when canon engages in bury-your-gays, these ships' depictions of otherwise privileged demographics (male, white) seemed to help them get prioretized over canon content of sapphics and POC.

It's okay if your favorite is Destiel! Nobody said they can't be your favorite, or that you are individually bad for enjoying them. You do not need to cry "reverse racism" or "misandry" when people say they're tired of white male rep dominating these spaces-- because you can still like your favs even if other folks don't.

I'm a huge LoTR enjoyer--However it's also full of white men and has very little in the way of women or respectful POC rep. I totally understand that's a dealbreaker for folks who feel too inundated by white men in media already. I can like my thing and still acknowledge its shortcomings, other folks valid issues with that, and that my capacity to look past that is rooted in my privilege. I absolutely don't need to yell at them about it, or invalidate them.

I hope this helps. If not--well I suggest you do a bit more reading on "systemic racism" and " the myth of reverse racism."

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[nillia]

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[nillia]

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[nillia]

Holographic Sulemio Prints to celebrate their historic sweep.

[nillia]

I’m really rusty!

My “sensory art” 1/2hr is back, where people supported just vibe while I draw for 30 minutes.

So I snuck in some SuleMio.

It’s messy and loose but I am glad I could get time to draw them even a little!

[nillia]

How about that! I’m pleasantly surprised. I guess being canonically married does count for something on Tumblr now!

Sulemio sweep! Let’s take it home

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[nillia]

Remember when Rupphire got married and Klance still won the fandom metrics tag total for that week?

On Tumblr, canonically married sapphics struggle to compete with slash of ~boys~. Honestly Sulemio is doing better than I expected.

Please watch Gundam Witch From Mercury! I love it just as much as I love SU and Rupphire.

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - Round 1 Side 1

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[nillia]

Gonna premiere this print at Magfest! Or you can preorder one here.

[nillia]

We worked so hard on this, please signal boost. Thank you!

Please signal boost this social media stretch goal! Your support will free these Unicorns from the “sea of ideas” into reality!

2000 reblogs to unlock LGBTQ, Lesbian, Bi, and Trans

10000 likes to unlock Ace/Demi, Aro/Demiro, AroAce, and Genderfluid

It was fun to make a design that works for the Ace & Aro umbrella and Demi versions simultaneously.

The design is based on both the IRL Unicorn Nebula, as well as the Unicorn Tapestry.

Celestial Pride has less than a week left so please take a look. Thank you!