#Even though I chose them for the Capsule

[nasa]

Zero Gravity Indicators: Plushies in Space!

What are zero gravity indicators?

Did you know that some astronauts bring stuffed animals with them on their journeys to space? A zero gravity indicator (ZGI) is a plushie that is brought aboard spacecraft to demonstrate when the astronauts have reached the weightlessness of space. Even though the astronauts are strapped in their seats, the plushie will float — and viewers of the livestream will know they’ve reached space! Read on to learn about some of the plushies astronauts have taken with them to space.

Giraffiti

NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman brought a very special ZGI to the International Space Station: a toy giraffe named Giraffiti. Wiseman’s mother gifted Giraffiti to his oldest daughter when she was born. When Wiseman embarked on his first mission to space, his kids gave him Giraffiti to take with him to space.

Dinosaur

NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg made a stuffed dinosaur toy by sewing together scraps of food-packaging liners and a T-shirt. Although this dinosaur toy was not an official zero gravity indicator that didn’t stop it from floating around the International Space Station and being very cute for the cameras!

8-Ball

NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch brought a plush 8-ball toy with her during her stay aboard the International Space Station in 2019. The toy represented the Astronaut Class of 2013, which was affectionately called the “8-balls” because of its eight members. Both NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Jessica Meir, pictured here, were members of this class.

Crane

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission astronauts chose a plush origami crane as their zero gravity indicator because they are all pilots and grew up building paper airplanes. The crane is also a symbol of peace.

Cheburashka and Chimpo

English captions are available for the video.

When NASA astronaut Frank Rubio flew to the International Space Station in 2022, his cosmonaut crewmates brought aboard a stuffed animal named Cheburashka. Rubio also carried a small stuffed animal in his pocket named Chimpo. Chimpo was a stuffed animal that Rubio’s children had for almost 20 years before giving it to Rubio for him to bring aboard his flight.

Snoopy

Snoopy hitched a ride around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission in 2022. Although this mission didn’t have astronauts, Snoopy was joined by a manikin named Moonikin Campos who was used to measure vibrations inside the capsule. NASA has shared an association with Snoopy since the Apollo era, when Charles M. Schulz Schulz created comic strips of Snoopy on the Moon, capturing public excitement about America’s achievements in space.

What would you take with you to space?

Now it’s your turn! People of all ages from all over the world have the opportunity to design the zero gravity indicator for the Artemis II mission around the Moon. Should the astronauts’ plush companion have wings? Scales? What would you like to see floating around the Orion spacecraft? Check out the Moon Mascot challenge to learn more! Submissions are due June 16, 2025.

[evilminji]

My ONGOING "SI-OC Ponderings that my Muse is haunting me with but I may never get around to write" Series!

Because, fuck it, might as well. Maybe it will inspire somebody?

Jedi Youngling! Staring down that double barrel Order 66! FUCK.

Now, see, they don't blame the Clones. They don't even blame the Jedi. Whole lot of "victims of circumstance and our Wrong Place Wrong Time environment" going on. But? Are they gonna lay down and take it? Fffffuck no!

They JUST got this body!

Also?

THESE ARE BABIES.

They, An ADULT, have a god damned MORAL OBLIGATION to save as many of this itty bitty alien babies as they can. They warn the adults, obviously. But they FULLY expect? And are unsurprised? When they DON'T LISTEN.

There is a Force Damned PRECEDENT for that. (May you finally rest in peace now, Master Sifo-Dyas.)

The younglings though? THEY didn't get to make a choice. THEY are innocents. And as the only ADULT with knowledge of what's to come? It's HER moral, ethical, and Force given obligation to PROTECT them until they can do so themselves.

As a Jedi... she has to PICK.

Try to save the adults? Those who willfully chose ignorance AND have the ability to defend themselves? To fight and flee under their own power? Or... save the younglings, the infants and babies. Those whose ignorance is that of the young and still learning? Who CAN NOT fight. Can Not run?

It's no choice at all. And if they truely understood? She can only hope they would command her to do EXACTLY as she is doing. Would demand no less. Consider it UNTHINKABLE to ever choose them.

She searches out the hidden passages. Practices lifting things instead of sword stances. She will need to carry so much. Move so quickly. She KNOWS where the attack will come from... Force willing, if she plans well? The Creches will be EMPTY by the time the soilders arrive.

But for that? She must steal. Redirect. Take things from where they should be. It is easier then it should be. First because no expects true mischief from a child, then? Because a war has begun.

Restriction Bolts of the Temple droids and a simple explanation is enough to gain their assistance. It's illogical not to have a plan, even if you never use it. And through them? "Liberated" data jewels. Already plumbed for all the information they're good for. High end, too.

Perfect.

She wipes them all. Fashion's a belt that, one day, Force willing she might wear as a necklace. Then sets to work coping EVERYTHING about the Jedi. When the temple is lost? Their history should not be.

So long as this string of jewels alone survives.

The Jedi are remembered. Luke with not have to start over from half memories and hearsay. They can learn from the past AND still have it. She puts diaries, prophecies, books the jedi wrote for fun. Various Force sects both past and still alive. Teaching methods. Anything. Everything.

A time capsule.

It HAS to be enough.

She fears it's not. Sneaks into the hall of retired Sabers. Sits. And opens her mind to them all. Please. Please! She knows. She's so, SO sorry. You were done. You EARNED your rest. She would not ask this if youngling were not on the line. If Illum might not become to dangerous to travel too.

....if she did not fear what would become of you, should you stay.

The Sith is coming. He WILL take the temple.

Will you come with me now?

Some do, some promise to die, and die VICIOUS. Swear to blow to deadly shrapnel in the hands of any who dare come for them. Others leave their casings. Willing to come, but not as they were. She apologizes for the indignity, as she stuffs them all in the hidden paths.

Honestly? They muse. They've seen worse. Remember that-? WE DO NOT SPEAK OF THAT. HE WAS TRYING HIS BEST, OKAY?!

And all throughout? One must wonder. What do the other younglings think? That OC is strange? Mad? To be ostracized? No, of course not. She is nice. Listens when they're upset. Does not judge or make every emotion a test. Hugs come readily and her mind FEELS older. Like the Creche Master.

And? If Master YODA can be short? Why not OC? She just lives with them. The other Knights and Master's don't listen to her because she Sees things. It scares them. They SAY they do. But children know the difference, don't they? Between what you promise you'll do... and what you'll ACTUALLY do?

But see, the Creche Master's? Increasingly distracted. Preparing the eldest of their charges for WAR ZONES. It's stressful. The fact that the youngers are quiet? SHOULD raise alarm bells. They KNOW better. But they are distracted.

The ones who DO notice? Are the orphan Padawan. The older initiates. People assigned to "help out".

There aren't enough mind healers. Not enough hands to help around the Creche. It was considered a good idea. Young children are full of uncomplicated Light! Yes, Yoda. They are. But as with Obi-Wan, so too with the Crechelings? Children are NOT here to mend the hurts of their elders. That is NOT their purpose.

They are exposing the youngers to Fear and Grief. Broken bonds and the echos of war. This is NOT good for young force sensitives.

Yet... are THEY not young Force Sensitives? Children too? OC knows they are. And it is a bitterness on her tounge. She does what she can. Because SHE is and adult. They notice too. How can they not? The other children turn to her, she guides them through their day. She gives "projects" and listens to concerns. Walks everyone through meditation.

......runs everyone through the Evacuation Plan? WHAT Evacuation Plan?

Oh.

It... it helps. Having something they are PART of. Doing TOGETHER. Something to combat the growing, creeping, darkness that is not violence and death. This? This is planning. Preparation. It... it feels like have some sense of control again, after everything has become senseless and OUT of control. Yet? It is not DARK. Not seeking to force control on others.

It is just... quietly stepping back.

One foot, then another. Calmly and with grief. Letting go, knowing you have tried, as you leave those who have made their choices to the fates they chose. Silently slipping out the door before the building begins to burn. Just as you warned them. Just as they refused to hear.

It's okay to grieve.

Even those who are still alive.

Of course, Shadows ARE supposed to notice unusual movements. Spies and Falling are a concern. Heeey, little youngling! How's things? Just swinging byyyy~☆ soft interrogation tactics~! Gonna admit to any of the Blatant Theft?

Yes, actually. Good you are here. Saves OC the trouble of trying to figure out who is and isn't a Shadow. Kinda convenient, Master Vos, that it's you. What's the fastest set of ships you could stash at the exit to this and THIS hidden path? By this date?

He's sorry, what?

You heard her.

Tiny youngling, unflinching, staring him down and asking for ships like that's a thing she has any right to do? Why? Well... that depends. Are you actually going to listen, Master Vos, or do you want an answer that will comfort you?

Excuse me.

Do you remember? Master Vos, the suffering of Sifo-Dyas? A temple full of Jedi, a seat upon it's council, yet not a single soul would hear him. Would truely listen. How many Knights? How many Masters? Tell me, Master Vos, exactly how many have DIED for willful ignorance and attachment to peaceful days?

There could not POSSIBLY be Sith. So we will not train or prepare. There can not POSSIBLY be a war, Sifo-Dyas, so be consumed by your fear alone. Die, alone. Let Padawan and peacekeepers be Generals. Because what the Force has shown you? It is happening today.

So we refuse to see it. Cling to the present, Master Vos.

Isn't it so COMFORTING here?

You don't have to know what might be. Don't have to ACT. Can be blind and choose ignorance.

A vision then? He surely concludes. For he is no fool. And the Youngling just looks tired. Eats their meal. Answer the question, Master Vos. Do you remember? Was Master Kenobi's suffering also ignored? How well did that work out. Will you LISTEN or have you already come to your conclusions, and now simply seek information to support them?

....he wants to. He does. But you're like, four.

OC nods. Fair. She can see the genuine conflict on his face. He HEARD her. But can not let go of what his eyes tell him. The Force is too muddled here. She too, would have a hard time trusting a small child with something so serious. But.... she can not change her path. And neither can he.

May the Force Be With You, Master Vos.

Plan Besh it is.

She is a small adorable child. The Coruscant gaurd are overworked and filled with spite. Who wants caff and bribery~? Do they clock her immediately? Yes. Is this hilarious. Also yes. Who did you kill, small child? We promise not to be mad.

No one, yet. Could change. She would prefere it not. But who knows. Anyway~☆! Do any of YOU caff loving (here have a refill) gentleman happen to know of any asshole Goverment Officals with REALLY fast ships that run primarily of droid piloting? With potentially easily disabled trackers? Not that she, a small child, would be DOING anything with this information!

It's just neat information to know! *innocent blinking of innocence*

Uh huh. And they were decanted yesterday.

That SAID.... they have a list. Oh noooo! They dropped the list! So much effort to pick it up. Hey, kid, could pick that up and definitely not steal it for us? Good baby Jedi. Thanks for the Caff. Tell Vos to stop haunting the lower levels. It's OUR job to hunt criminals for sport, not his.

Yes, sir o7

Of she goes? To the Senatorial Garage. It's mostly droids. Of LOOK! I have this handy little tool! Pop. Pop, pop, pop~! Hey? Wanna fuck over the asshole who doesn't appreciate you, steal this ship, AND save the lives of small children?

BOY WOULD THEY! Says local every droid in the Ship pool.

Great! Just figure out where the trackers are, how to turn them off, and when it's time? Meet a one of these locations for pick up. We're gonna NEED you. Like... actually NEED. Not "I'm throwing my money around on the latest and greatest then not USING THEM FOR ANYTHING" supposedly need. You'll have SO MUCH WORK.

(They're gonna cry in Binary. Omg? Fuckin FINALLY???)

And so... inevitably. The clock ticks down. The drama of adults ramps up. They smuggle a few clone troopers through surgery. Try to warn the others. Know it won't be enough. The momentum is too great. The gears of War will grind over everything.

Like a forest fire... the old has to burn away for new growth.

But like hell is she letting that come at the cost of tiny bodies. Clones trapped in their minds forced to fire upon children. There will be enough horrors this day. This can be on less. They WILL be ready. And... they are.

She sees the council running out. Knows what it means. And she does NOT hesitate. Her signal goes out. Her Padawan helpers dropping everything to BOLT for the Creche and the go bags stored there. They are followed by friends. Who do not understand, but trust them. Who's Master's do not understand, but assume this is some plan they were not told off.

It certainly seems so, when in the distance? They hear the temple gaurds fighting to hold the line. Hear blasterfire. They race down the hidden paths. Are met with droids, loading up food and medicine, leave as soon as each ship has the assigned numbers. Again and again. Senatorial chips mean instant pass into space. Important business, you understand.

The droids will follow, with everything. Including what was nailed down. Probably the nails too.

Might steal the hammers while they're at it.

Next stop? Wild Space.

Explorcorps newest finds. FRESHLY deleted. All points warning already being sent. A Fuck You Very MUCH, Sith-y Pants. You'll not be getting ANY of the Corps workers if THEY can help it. And hey... the Masters and a few knights were a pleasant suprise. Them and their squad of rescue troopers? Almost make enough adults to take care of everybody!

Now all they have to do? Is hide, rebuild, and regrow.

Return when Luke has down his Luke thing.

Who knows... not her. She made a plan and she DID it. Some one else can decide for a while. She's just a kid. Tell her when they get there, okay?

[aurelion-solar]

An Update on Hextech Chests

In the dev update released today, Riot Meddler & Pabro confirmed that Hextech Chests will NOT be returning despite the backlash from players.

"When we initially added them, we wanted to offer additional reward for time spent using something we knew many of you really cared about earning: skins. Over time, though, free chests unintentionally became the primary way to unlock skins and an increasing number of players ended up with substantial skin collections for free. This meant that purchasing skins directly didn't make sense anymore to a lot of players, because they were happy just waiting to get something eventually. That did lead to a great player experience, but it was not sustainable for League in the long term."

This is just insane to me. "Not sustainable"? Hextech chests have been in the game since March 2016 - you'd think Riot would've flagged this sooner, rather than taking almost 9 years to figure out it wasn't sustainable.

They're acting as if it's now a ridiculous concept that players are earning free skins for spending hundreds of hours playing their game. "They were happy just waiting to get something eventually" - you mean they were just playing the game normally as a free-to-play player and not buying skins? Skin shards are completely random, and there are over 1700 skins in the game, so the chances that you actually get the skin you want, or a skin for a champion you play, might not even be that high. Like I definitely wasn't planning on buying Mad Hatter Shaco but that's what I got by rerolling skin shards so it's not like they were losing out on that purchase?

It's just crazy that they admit that it was a great player experience that they have now taken away. Just like the Amazon Prime loot capsules (update: it was actually Amazon who chose not to renew this promotion from March 2024), the League Partner Program skin and chroma giveaways, and the free event pass tokens that you could spend on an event orb, skin border or chroma. Riot didn't mention this aspect, but I suppose with the new Battle Pass, most skins will not be getting an icon, border, and event chroma now. For example, Mythmaker Jhin received an icon and border, possibly because it was a legendary, but Nami and Jarvan IV did not. In the past, all skins in the event skinline would've gotten one.

Not to mention that this vastly reduces the availability of Mythic Essence, as there was a small chance to get it from chests. Now it's only possible to obtain it through their gacha system, meaning all the content in the recently revamped Mythic Shop is even more difficult to get. I thought this was strange because I thought Riot wanted to introduce the gacha system because mythic and prestige skins were becoming more common, so the gacha system would be for ultra-exclusive content. But then they've just made it harder for the average player to obtain mythic/prestige skins, and also the standard tiers of skins.

I could go on and talk about how legendaries have fallen off in quality, possibly to make the more expensive skins seem better in comparison, how the Battle Pass skins are mostly not even 1350 RP skin quality, and how exalted skins are just ultimate skins for ten times the price, and how Sett's exalted skin doesn't fulfil any kind of unique champion fantasy. But I'm too frustrated right now lol

TL;DR - Riot Games' monetisation sucks and they're causing a worse player experience for the average player

[evermarch]

Hi. Do you think Peeta finds it easy or challenging to read Katniss?

hi!! that’s a great question. i think that peeta pre-hijacking would probably find katniss quite difficult to read purely because of her inconsistency with herself. he tries to find patterns in places that just…don’t exist. i think he views her in a certain light and doesn’t anticipate deviation from that perspective.

for example, he doesn’t anticipate her reaction to the interview reveal in thg, and he’s shocked by her anger (which makes sense because they hardly know each other). but he doesn’t seem to fully comprehend the source of her anger even a year later because, in catching fire, after the baby reveal, he asks if there’s anything he needs to apologize for. before that, he’s shocked she’s mad at being perceived as “pure.” and later, he tries to use her family and gale as a means to get her to let him die in her place. these are moments that katniss herself can’t fully explain her feelings in her own head (at least, strategically, in the way she’d been so bent on thinking in other circumstances), so no wonder he’s confused!

however, i think he develops a strong instinct about her throughout their time together in the first two books that comes out more clearly post-hijacking. that’s not to say that it doesn’t exist pre-hijacking—the fact that he tries to have that “piece of their games” conversation on the rooftop, the nights on the train, and his uncertainty that the beach kiss is “for the cameras” (an uncertainty which even pushes through the hijacking state) demonstrates his instinct for her true emotions and thoughts. but i think it takes him until post-hijacking to truly *get* her and how she thinks.

the remarks he makes while recovering from the hijacking (telling her she’s not big or pretty, flirting with annie in front of her, implying they did more on the train than they did, etc.) are all sharp and devastating comments that hit katniss severely BECAUSE of the nature of their relationship. and i think he makes them to test her limits and get her to react. as gale says, the way he hates her is “so familiar.”

by the time they’re in the capitol, he’s able to get through to her in a way no one else can when she admits her plan was based on a lie. i personally subscribe to the belief that he is responsible for saving her from the worst of the burns in prim’s bombing because he anticipated her actions (though that’s not officially canon, it’s just subtly suggested). then, of course, there’s the fact that he knew she was going for her nightlock capsule after shooting snow and put his hand out to block her.

post-hijacking peeta can read katniss like a BOOK. that’s not to say she can’t surprise him—i truly don’t think he knew how she’d react to the primroses outside her house. but i think that, once the admission at the end of thg that she had been acting stripped him of his rose-colored glasses, and the shiny, animus-filled fog from the hijacking cleared, he was probably able to see her more plainly than he ever had.

by the time they reach “so after,” there’s no doubt that he knows every inch of who she is. and he loves every single part. when he asks her if she loves him, real or not real, i personally believe that he’s not asking because he doesn’t know that she chose him, that she wants him, and that she loves him. he asks less because he wants validation (although that is certainly part of it), but because he wants to know that she is healed enough to admit to herself, and to him that she loves him before they dive into forever.

[upsidedowndreamland]

You gotta appreciate villains like Fecto Elfilis/Forgo. Throughout the Kumazaki Era (but specifically the well-known RTDL-TD-PR-SA tetralogy) Kirby has been leaning heavily into tragic villains who only became so cruel because of circumstances beyond their control. Magolor is a bit of an exception—he deceived Kirby and co. and used them as pawns to get what he wanted after failing to defeat the innocent dragon guarding said thing he wanted on his own—but his heightened cruelty and villainous actions afterward are implied to be a result of the Master Crown messing with his head. Obviously there’s a lot of gray area here—did he originally plan to conquer the universe with the Crown or were his intentions originally different and it just got its claws into him? But I digress; in the end, his fate was ultimately treated as tragic—his soul nearly consumed by the Crown and his body reshaped into a hollow, remorseful vessel that could only watch as it was forced to attack the people he still saw as friends, deep down.

Elfilis, though, is just unambiguously, unapologetically, a jackass.

They were an unfathomably powerful person whose own power went to their head (metaphorically, unlike with Magolor) and caused them to develop a god complex. They began to view their own capacity for mercy and compassion as weakness and deliberately suppressed it. With every planet they invaded they willfully ignored the voice of their conscience and pushed aside whatever guilt they may have felt. They compartmentalized and ignored their own ability to not be a jackass to such an extent that when it was torn from them and personified, it was physically dwarved by the rest of them—their petulant, childish entitlement, their god complex, and their bloodlust.

Even as Forgo did everything in their power to reclaim Elfilin, their goal was never to become whole. They didn’t want to be able to feel love or have friends. They weren’t lonely like Dark Matter. They didn’t want their heart back. They just wanted back the piece of their essence that would restore them to power, allow them to live independent of the Eternal Capsule’s life support systems, and pick right back up where they left off. Presuming Elfilis retained all the memories Forgo and Elfilin made in their time apart, all the fun Elfilin had with Kirby meant nothing to them. Every time Kirby saved Elfilin meant nothing to them. The eons Forgo spent rotting in that jar—bled dry, used as a tourist attraction and then abandoned to continue rotting for God knows how many hundreds of thousands of years—meant nothing to them. They learned nothing from it. They could’ve flown back off into space and enjoyed their newfound freedom in peace, and instead they chose to resume the very same activities that had caused them so much trauma and mental agony for so long as if nothing had ever happened—despite literally just regaining their ability to not be an asshole.

While tragic villains who never really meant any harm like Sectonia, Haltmann, and Hyness will always be classics who are fun to discuss and analyze in their own right, there’s something incredibly compelling and real about someone who has every ability and opportunity to change for the better—and simply refuses to. In the real world, you don’t come across formerly pleasant—if a bit vain, greedy, or overzealous—people who only became murderous assholes after being driven insane by ancient magical or technological artifacts and dark gods. But you do see people like Elfilis.

Elfilis is a narcissist. And that hits way closer to home.

[scribble-dribble-writes]

The password

Gunpowder>>>

Pairing: Buggy x female mermaid!reader

Word count: 1500

Warnings: none, just a bit of angst and fluff

Content: Your his spy but he's your Captain, would he tell you to stay if you chose to leave?

Note: I've only watched the live action and not the anime, so the world building is just pure delusion and a little bit of the storyline from the Netflix show. Kindly excuse any errors but this man has infiltrated my mind, I had to write him 😩

---

You were part of the circus but your captain had made sure you did not take part in it. You weren’t included for the shows or given an act to perform. It wasn’t endearing anymore, it felt as though Buggy was set against you being near him. He wasn’t even allowing you to earn your stay here.

You held the metal capsule in your hands and closed your fingers around it. You will always be the only freak on this ship that no one was comfortable enough to get to know. You were his eyes and ears, being a mermaid meant you could effortlessly spy on other ships, use your tail for the seas and legs when on land.

But even with this rare quality, it only felt like you were here to do a job. So you had decided, to break away and hide away in the depths of the sea for a while even though it wasn’t as favourable. The sea wasn’t your home even though your body craved it. It never kept you safe, you were always exposed to danger and the only place that felt like home wasn’t welcoming you. He wasn't welcoming you anymore.

As part of the deal to be his spy, Buggy offered you protection and that was good enough. As long as you were on his ship, you were given peace but to think you had to lose it again, it wasn’t making you feel any better.

You knocked on his door, the moon was beginning to rise, in a short while the water will be dark enough for you to escape into. No one on this ship could then track you.

You heard him hum from within his quarters and so you entered. It was unusual, for the past few days he had been obsessed over this new kid. You held the coordinates to where they were headed next. He sat in his seat, perusing over a map of the sea. He didn’t acknowledge your presence, as usual.

So you walked up to his table and placed the metal capsule but his eyes caught the edge of a bloody cut on your arm that you tried to hide with your long sleeves. He didn’t care for the capsule as he caught your arm, his sudden act making your wince as you tried to pull away from his hold.

“Please don’t.”, you warned him. But his fingers pulled back your sleeve to reveal the length of your cut. Starting from the tip of your finger to the start of your arm.

“Who did this?”, he seethed, his black dye rimmed eyes finding yours. It was perplexing.

Why did he care?

“No one.”, you responded curtly.

“Just a fishing line.”, you tugged your wrist out of his hold and he let your arm slip from his hand till he caught your fingers instead.

You weren’t confident about your fingers, you always had to keep them covered. Although you could transform between your human form and mermaid form, your fingers were always webbed together. It was an insecurity but when he held your hand, it didn't feel like one.

He ran his fingers over the ridges, his eyes marveling are your uniqueness before he let go.

“Thank you for the information.”, he took the metal capsule in his hands but one thing was evident tonight. He lacked his humour and lightness.

Something was bothering him.

But before you could ask, he pushed away from his desk to grab pitcher of water he had next to him and made his way to you. Guiding you to the middle of the room and away from the carpets, he poured the fresh water over the cut and your eyes widened.

“You knew?”, you asked quietly, you were certain no one else knew of this potential of yours.

He nodded his head quietly before his eyes found yours again. He held your arm steady and even under the dim light you could see the cut disappear, the wound healing itself. But now that you were taken care of, he didn’t step away. He was as tall as you were, so his gaze that had hidden hints of affection in it was entrancing to be caught it, the only net you wanted to be in.

He tilted your chin towards him, his eyes hovering over your features and somehow his face was much closer than before.

“Any other injuries?”, he asked.

“No.”, you whispered, letting yourself enjoy the few seconds you received his attention.

“I know you don’t like damaged goods, so I made sure to escape the net without further cuts.”, the next sentence slipped out on its own and his brows furrowed.

He stepped away, his eyes now reflecting something else. Hurt.

“Right.”, he said as he turned away. His body now more tense than before.

“You know you’re not on a contract like the rest of the crew. You can leave when you wish to.”, he looked up at you, his hands fiddling with a miniature boat.

“You have made that very clear.”, you folded your arms, looking away because hearing him say it was making your heart ache. The moonlight grew faint from out the window and your choice solidified.

“Then I will do you the courtesy of letting you know, that I am leaving.”, you told him and watched as his eyes fixated on you, his lips parting as though he had more to say but then pursing it as he accepted your decision.

It frustrated you, how effortlessly he resumed his Captain duties, his eyes not once looking at you. So that was it. You were just his spy, just another asset he could use and trade.

Something in you willed you closer to him.

“So that’s it, I can just leave and you won’t tell me to stay?”, you asked sitting at the edge of his table.

All the nights he had said you were his only friend now did not exist. All those soft whispers of his life from before he ate the devil fruit of when he was a boy mesmerized by the magic of the circus, all of it now lost beneath the waves. So it didn’t matter that you had told him he looked beautiful just as he was, that he was the only one you held your hand despite what you were.

“As your Captain, it is my duty to let you go. That was our deal.”, he said coldly. His eyes focused on the map in front of him.

You had to soak up in your tank and the tiredness was getting to you, so you didn’t want to play games. You slid the hat from his head that he looked up at you in protest. You placed the captain’s hat to the side, his blue hair now covered with his bandana.

“Now as my friend, what answer would you have to give me?”, you asked, to which it was as though you were peeling away the layers behind which he hid himself.

“Pirates don’t have friends. It’s either a crew or a lonely ship. And even if I did have friends, I know well enough that they wouldn’t abandon me.”, he placed his hands around you as he got closer to your face, his anger now stemming from something real.

“You already knew of my plans.”, you said softly gazing into his eyes.

“And I knew I couldn’t stop you.”, he said, the pain he felt seeping onto his features.

“Make me a part of your crew.”, you placed your forehead on his, how could you leave the only person that made you feel understood. He didn’t pull away, you felt the warmth of his skin on yours, his warm breath cascaded over your lips.

“I can’t do that.”, he said tenderly.

“Why not?”, you argued as you pushed away.

He ran his fingers over his head and pulled away his bandana in frustration, setting lose his blue hair that strands of it fell across his forehead.

“I do not wish to own you, I will not have you on a contract. My crew is not my weakness but you…”, he trailed not willing to finish the sentence but it was easy to understand what he meant.

Your eyes widened. He saw you as an equal, but there was more behind the affection he held for you. He loved you and was afraid of saying it because in these deadly seas anything could be used against you.

“You love – you began to say what he couldn’t but his hand clasped over your mouth to prevent you from saying it. In the silence, he smiled as he shook his head, to let you know that he did. He loved you.

He was always aware of his surroundings, afraid that no place was safe, that whatever he said could be held against him.

“I would love it if you can stay with me, for the sake of the crew’s happiness and comfort.”, he said as he loosened his grip.

“For the crew?”, you asked as you smiled.

“Yes, for the crew.”, he pushed you gently till you laid on top of his map on the table, his body pressing into you as his arms encased you.

“I can work with that.”, you mumbled to which his grin grew.

“Now about the debrief regarding the information your collected.”, he stated but you watched as his hand ran free from his body to go lock the door while the other was busy undoing the buttons to your shirt, all while he made sure you didn’t run off.

You weren’t going to run. You placed your hands on the sides of his face and he leaned into it, not fussing about the tip of your nails or the gritty scales on top of your hand. A clown and a mermaid, who would have thought.

“Oh yes, but you need to say the password first.”, you smiled and it seemed to fill him with joy, his eyes beginning to glimmer with that sense of fun.

You drew his face closer and his lips found yours, the password was the silence in which he proved he loved you, the constancy in which he was vehement to let you be your own person. That the true fact of you being each other’s safe place a secret he had crossed his heart and made sure was a secret kept between you and him. It was the password that undid you walls and unlocked your heart. Now it was only his.

There was no place to run, not when he kissed you like you were the cure to his madness, with how you held onto him like he was your hiding place, his hands held you tight while your fingers got lost in his hair. Neither had to say it, neither had to prove. This love existed just the way the sea rocked the ship gently and how the stars were a constant guide.

[taruth3mighty]

I was rambling and decided to put it into text,

She specifically mentions her first doodle after her saying that her plan changed. Which made me think back to the Icywood Forest cutscene. The place where it truly began. Where Quincy and Suzie started to really get close. Because in every other timeline, Suzie likely never managed to get her first doodle. And if she did, she'd likely catch it with her own capsule. When Player got the Miracle Key, she probably realized how much she deeply cared about the group. How much she valued them above her tastebuds. Which for her who chose her tastebuds every time in previous iteration, is a major step.

She says this right before saying that her planned changed. She probably wanted to be a tamer like Quincy, TJ and Player that way she can do more for them all. Because Player had essentially done everything in Oasis. The whole change of plans explains why she wanted to help Quincy so much in Route 8 and wants to help him open up more. I feel like she doesn't want to be a burden to the others. Why do I think that? Because she offers to pay Quincy back, even though she doesn't need to. (Like it's Quincy we're talking about here, a gold capsule is probably just a regular capsule to the guy considering he just carries one around like nothing.)

She's not lying when she says any of this. Based on what we can see from the previous cutscenes, she really has changed and abandoned the plan. She probably just said it like that to reassure Quincy. Also, that Doodle that she keeps mentioning but like doesn't tell us what it is. That Doodle in that gold capsule is an anomaly, because Suzie was never meant to be so close with Quincy even up until that point in Icyridge. That doodle is a symbol of Suzie and Quincy's friendship and how much the timeline has really changed.

[crimsononsnow]

Letters Never Sent

after the war is over, rita finds a letter from bellatrix.

part two of "The Worth of Wasted Time" ( can be read as two standalones)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻

The war was over, and so were a hundred other things Rita never had the time to mourn properly. She’d kept working. That helped. Reporting, revising, filing stacks of old parchment until her eyes blurred. The archive room at the Daily Prophet was always a little too cold, always smelled faintly of ink and mildew and tiredness. She told herself she liked it here. It was quiet. Predictable. Nothing unexpected ever stirred.

Dead things stayed where you left them. Usually.

She was sorting old columns from the war—her own work, mostly, though half of it didn’t sound like her anymore—when she found the letter.

Not a draft. Not even addressed to her.

Just a thin, soft envelope, yellow with age, tucked inside a hollowed-out copy of Advanced Potion-Making. A hiding place. A time capsule.

Rita didn’t open it right away.

She stared at the handwriting on the envelope—sharp, deliberate. Slanted just slightly left, like it was resisting something.

"For Rita"

She read her name twice. Then again. She knew this handwriting. It made her chest ache in that strange, specific way old names do—like something half-healed tearing again.

She didn’t open it at first. Just held it there in her lap, thinking about the girl with the raven black hair and her equally dark eyes. About how reckless they’d both been. About how carefully they’d never said what they meant.

Eventually, she slipped the letter free and unfolded it.

There was no greeting. No date. Just this:

I shouldn’t be writing this. It shouldn’t exist—I know that. But it has to. Because it’s the only way I can leave something behind that won’t rot away with time.

There’s something I never told you. I know you know it anyway, even though I never said the words. I showed you, in all the ways I tried to hide it.

I love you.

And I don’t mean the kind of love that softens. I mean the kind that burns. The kind that destroys. I would burn the whole world for you. You were always the one I wanted—and the one I knew I could never truly have. Not without unraveling something essential in myself.

Still, I wanted you. I wanted the almosts, the what-ifs, the dance we kept avoiding naming for years.

And even when I dreamed of you—and Merlin, I did—I knew deep down there could be no future.

Not for us. Not for me.

The path I’ve chosen doesn’t leave room for softness. It doesn’t make space for someone like you—someone who asks too many questions, who won’t ever follow quietly. You were always too brilliant to belong to anyone. Especially me.

I’m not asking you to understand. You won’t. And that’s all right.

But you need to know this: If the world had been different—if I had been different— You would have been it for me. The only one.

Remember me however you must. As a coward. As a fanatic. As a girl who chose darkness because it felt like home.

But never doubt this: You were the only thing I ever wanted that didn’t make sense. And I loved you for it.

—B

Rita folded the letter again, slowly. Her hands were shaking a little. Not enough for anyone to notice, if someone had been watching—but enough for her to feel it.

Outside the archive room, the world was still spinning. Typewriters chattered down the hall. Someone was laughing in the breakroom. Life, noisy and ordinary.

She pressed the letter flat and, without fully realizing what she was doing, slid it behind a photograph on her desk. The one no one asked about. Two girls in their last year at Hogwarts—robes a little crooked, hair undone, grins sharper than they should’ve been. One with curls like gold thread. One with fire behind her eyes.

For a long time, Rita just sat there.

Later, when her next article went to press—a war retrospective, crisp and carefully neutral—she let one line slip past her editor. Just one.

Some villains never stopped being girls in velvet chairs, waiting for someone to see them.

She didn’t footnote it. She didn’t need to.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻

[94erz]

what type of music do you hope bts makes when they come back ? it seems like they’ve been hinting at hyyh type music for the anniversary? but i also have a bad feeling. that we’re going to get dynabutterptd 2.0. maybe not that extreme but maybe more english pop songs. which is not the end of the world, i’m sure there will be good some parts, but still. i get the sense that bts (and if not them directly then hybe for sure) really want a grammy. i think we’re not going to see the end of it until they do

imo it’d be so much cooler for them to get one based on a korean song than an english one

I think they'll continue to do what they've been doing and release both. I know they'll keep trying for a Grammy, even if at this point the guys seem to not give a fuck anymore it would STILL be huge if they got one, and they'll keep trying until they do that's a given. But whether they get it with a Korean song or an English one depends entirely on BigHit/HYBE and their willingness to invest in huge-scale promotion, because they need to hit the general public like Dynamite did in 2020 for it to be nearly as successful. My main concern now though is not what language it's in but if it'll be by themselves or dependent on some huge-name Western artist(s)...

Not to be a petty bitch and name any names but more and more k-pop acts are relying on global western acts to get their foot into mainstream (western) success and while BTS' name is big enough not to need it to be famous the Grammy's are still xenophobic and might not let BTS get a foot in otherwise. They tried with Coldplay, and while Coldplay is popular, they aren't nearly as (chart) successful these days as in the past, they were never gonna get a Grammy with My Universe and they were genuinely fooling themselves (HYBE, BigHit, whoever) if they thought that would work. It's like how Bang thought a collab between TXT and the Jonas Brothers would get them a top 10 Billboard hit without looking at the fact they haven't had a top 10 hit since Sucker and that was only because it was their first song together in YEARS after breaking up, they have not touched it since. Like they think some of these artists are more successful than they actually are, and just by tacking a popular k-pop group to them will make it better? It's just a dumb way to go about it IMO.

The HYYH thing, I dunno what that entails yet but if they make some new music in that same vein it'll be well received amongst fans probably. But I doubt they can ever recapture that same magic, both the music and the feeling of that time are a capsule, they aren't those people anymore, they aren't that age anymore, they aren't experiencing life in that way anymore, so I doubt they can tap into that mindset again and do it all over but 'new'. I'm genuinely interested to see what they decided to do for it though, I'm open to being wrong.

BTS need more songs like MIC DROP IMO, they need songs that are hype as fuck again. Run BTS got close to that vibe, but they just barely missed it. They didn't go hard enough to promote it because they chose a softer, more emotional song to prioritize instead, and again, as well as it did WITHIN the fandom, no one gave a fuck about it, and by the time they decided to do dance challenges and bring more attention to Run BTS to meet the energy OTHER people were bringing to it, its time was over. But if people are attracted to a song they need to go all in on it, ride that wave and embrace it, rather than try and force a hit that has low energy and only means something to a collection of established fans, that's not how charts work long-term and that's not what's gonna win them a Grammy.

[hemlockalope]

ok ok im curious. sunday wanderer comparison?? that sounds cool. free pass to talk abt it if you want :O

Hi hi yes!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about them!! Also spoilers for 2.2 Penacony quest and Genshin's Wanderer quest

Also under cut because it ended up a little long-

To start i want to say that while im comparing them their stories definitely aren’t one to one, i just love thinking about Wanderer’s story in every occasion since i’ve obsessed over him for too long(and sunday is quickly joining him in my obsessions) But basically the main thing is how they both tried sacrificing themselves to godhood for completely different reasons and both failed, falling (Sunday was caught, Scaramouche was not)

Yes, both were sacrifices Sundays is a obvious one as Robin was supposed to be the sacrifice but Sunday did it instead of her, not letting his sister get hurt on beliefs she doesn’t even believe in(The Dreammaster always knew he would be the one to be sacrificed anyways) His sacrifice was selfless, he would go through eternal loneliness if it means everybody else could be happy

Meanwhile Scaramouche was sacrificing himself for selfish reasons He wants to achieve godhood because he isn’t human, and while it isn’t explicitly said(i think?) i very much believe he was trying to one up Raiden Ei in becoming a god(If you play as Ei and die in his boss fight he mocks her) But it’s still a sacrifice of his body, as they explained in the quest that if the sages completed their quest in getting the wisdom capsules into Scaramouche’s god form he would no longer be able to move for himself, he would fully become a puppet god for the grand sage

I just couldn’t stop thinking about how both of them tried ascending to godhood for completely different reasons yet both failed and yknow, both almost did it if it wasn’t for a factor they didn’t account for (Nahida’s Samsara abilities and Acheron and Black Swan waking trailblazer up plus Robin waking herself up)

Also!!! comparing Gopher Wood to Dottore Dottore obvs was not a father to Scara AT ALL but he was indeed extremely manipulative (Before Sumeru came out i questioned if Scaramouche ever saw Dottore as a father figure or not, and with Wanderer we know now that he hates him and even when he was Scaramouche he never liked him but working with him was a necessity) But also did Sunday even ever see Gopher Wood as a father figure? we know he took Sunday and Robin in, but the two never calls Gopher “father” or anything from what i remember Also the fact Sunday’s second suspect for Robin’s murderer to be Gopher Wood??? how fucked up is that???

The main thing i think a lot about is the selfish vs selfless sacrificed they did, also the fact that people think Sunday will get a redesign before he releases and he's gonna be released a lot later then when he first showed up plus going from a villain to companion is all things Wanderer went through After realizing all that I jokingly thought why not just let him change his name too, and while it started as a crack theory i kinda just kept thinking about it I saw someone say that Sunday isn't his actual name? I haven't seen any in game evidence though, but maybe Sunday is the name he chose for the family, or maybe he didn't even choose it maybe Gopher Wood did, and after everything that happened in the final he doesn't want to continue going by that name, nor does he want to go back to his old name, so he chooses to use a new one and I can't stop thinking of how Robin probably doesn't like the name Sunday, the family being the one giving it to him, so instead she just called him brother because she knows he doesn't go by his old name anymore either and after Sunday's fall, she talks to him about it. Asking if he's still okay with the name, and when he doesn't respond she hugs him and reassures him he'll always be her brother no matter what

The last bit just ended up me talking about a crack theory/ headcanon lol sorry this just ended up me rambling! Hopefully i covered everythign i wanted? I've been thinking about this for the past few days without writing anything down and I also have awful memory, and with that I'm sorry if I forgot something or remembered a scene wrong!!

[ellsieee]

I'm really going to miss SWM despite the sad ending. The actors really did a great job with what they had and could do. I knew the accident was going to hurt me, and that it would be a OE, but I did not expect it to be more like a BE. More about that later. At least we got a whole episode of happy boys before all the shit hit the fan.

This scene really touched me. Su Yu pushes Wu Bi to achieve his dreams and is there to support him all the way. We also get another hint of what Wu Bi's time capsule wish is. My guess is that he wished for he, Su Yu and Doudou to always be together. Normally it's Wu Bi who is always saying he doesn't want to be separated from Su Yu, but this time, it's Su Yu telling Wu Bi not to leave him, pulling on Wu Bi's heartstrings. 🥹

Why does Wu Bi have a picture of his and Su Yu's epic bike ride framed? Did his mother draw that? Did he get the idea from her? Wu Bi, I have so many questions...

Su Yu wrote a wish card for Wu Bi too. 🥹 I am not ok. 😭

One last shout out to the shipper girl. She knows. 🤭 I'm glad they didn't write her as a crazy person, inserting herself into Wu Bi and Su Yu's relationship and doing a bunch of weird stuff to get them together.

Arghhhh the foreshadowing! When Su Yu said that, my heart filled with dread even though I already knew what was coming. No. They're going to ride their bike together forever ok. 😭

Wu Bi is so completely smitten with Su Yu. It's all heart eyes, all the time. They are so cute. Was this the reward Su Yu was talking about? I thought it would be something 🔞, but taking Wu Bi on a date might motivate him even more. I mean what kind of equestrian center has prince charming equestrian outfits? 🤭 I think they look great, but this totally looks like a date (Doudou is just there to make it look less gay).

Wait a minute... that's not what the director demonstrated! I wanted to see that peck on the lips! Please tell me they shot two versions and we'll see the uncut version later. 🙏

Psycho alert! 🚨 Mo Yi was hella creepy here. I was a bit scared he would actually hurt Su Yu. You can feel all the resentment he has for Su Yu. First his ex-gf wanted to be with Su Yu rather than him. Second, Wu Bi has chosen Su Yu over him and is acting like a little bitch towards him. Not defending him, but I honestly don't think Mo Yi would have felt such hatred and resentment if Wu Bi hadn't started being really rude and bratty towards him after falling in love with Su Yu.

The ultimate sacrifice. 😭 Wu Bi knew there was no way to stop the car safely so he chose to protect Su Yu by crashing the car on the driver's side. Even though I knew the accident was going to happen, it still hurt so much. Wu Bi will always protect Su Yu no matter what. I read some comments scolding Su Yu for sleeping even though he knew something was wrong with the car. My interpretation is that Su Yu wasn't sleeping, he was worried too, but he trusted Wu Bi completely, and Wu Bi told him to rest because he can handle it, so he did. The level of trust and confidence you need to have in your partner for that is just...

I didn't notice this the first time watching because I was too busy wailing, but Wu Bi hugged Su Yu to protect him. FUCK. 😭😭😭😭 For all the unreasonable jealousy and temper tantrums, Wu Bi really is the best boy.

This is so painful, I can't screencap bloody Wu Bi anymore. It killed me that Wu Bi woke up for a second to stare into Su Yu's eyes when Doudou called to complete their OT3, only to fall into a comma again.

Argh this ending! Is Wu Bi alive or dead? I didn't notice that the doctor nods a little when speaking to Su Yu the first time around. Doctors usually only nod when the operation was successful, so I guess Wu Bi is alive but what about the empty house? Only Wu Bi's stuff is still there, meaning that everyone left him? How is this not a BE? 😭

Of course this makes sense as a set up for a season 2 but I feel like they still could have given us a conclusion. Something like Wu Bi lives, but Su Yu left because he knew Mo Yi was crazy and he wanted to protect Wu Bi. Then the new season would be about how the boys find their way back to each other. It wasn't necessary to leave viewers hanging and heartbroken. 😢 And with 24 episodes of 30+ minutes runtime, I felt the team had enough time to tell a complete story. It shouldn't matter that book 1 of the novel ended like the series because the drama should stand on its own outside of the novel. Besides, wouldn't it have been safer just to film the whole thing at once to avoid the risk of not being allowed to film part 2?

There's a lot of doubt that S2 will actually happen, but someone asked Mo Yi's actor if there will be a 2nd season and he said that there should be. I'm not going to get my hopes up too much before there is official news that everyone is shooting again to spare myself any disappointment, but of course I am hoping for a second season. In the meantime, I hope cjd will release the uncut version of the series that she teased about before. I really do love this series so much even though I was disappointed with the ending. I'll have to treat SWM like MODC and skip the end. SWM only has 22 episodes. Yup. 🤡

[saiyanmazen]

Sneak Attack - a Vegebul ficlet.

As part of the D&D event hosted by @vegebulocracy, I have written a ficlet for the 1st day. The prompts were character sheet, sneak attack and dice. I chose the second.

It can also be read on AO3 here.

-----------

Vegeta did not like sneak attacks.

It wasn't just that they reminded him of the times in his youth where the Ginyu Force and others from Frieza’s band of sadistic warriors would sneak up on him and attack him with no chance to defend himself. He'd taken to wearing a scouter at all times from an early age.

Nor was it because he'd been ambushed countless times on his purge missions where the attackers’ low ki had made him miss them coming up behind him. It had earned him many wounds, most of them scarring because they healed before he got to a regeneration pod. But he easily obliterated his assailants with ease every time, something that didn't make him worry too much about these occurrences.

It wasn't even the nightmares about his past that would plague him on the nights where she stayed up late to walk and he went to bed alone because he kept to his routine. Those bad dreams were horrific, but he knew they would come.

No, his true dislike for being snuck up on started with the woman; as did many of the things that ruffled him on a daily basis.

At first, she had managed to sneak up on him when he'd found residence at the Capsule Cooperation compound. Her ki was ridiculously low, comparable to that of her father’s house cat, and he was therefore often unprepared when she suddenly showed up out of nowhere. And he didn't like to be unprepared for her because she was so utterly disarming that he would begin to stammer and bluster if he wasn't ready for the insults - or worse: her innuendos and flirtation - she threw at him.

He'd quickly learned to keep tabs on her location at all time, but this had quickly turned into a disadvantage as well. Because his awareness of her only fueled his unwilling yearning for her presence and he began to seek her out rather than avoid her.

Eventually, it was his own feelings for her that snuck up on him. It hit him harder than a coward's knife to his back and had caused him to flee into space to escape her metaphorical grasp on his heart.

Of course, he'd come back. He would have, whether or not the Androids had appeared; no matter if Kakarot was there for him to defeat. He came back because he wanted to be near him, even though he resolved to self denial to block out this apparent weakness.

But the feelings had returned at full force when she approached him after their future son left - fearlessly as the day of his resurrection where she had invited him to live with her - and reassured him that he had a place to stay if he decided to do so.

This turn of events shocked him more than any of her previous actions. He'd ignored her and their son, left them after an explosion to let them fall to their death and nearly caused the destruction of their planet because of his egotistical nature.

She kept her distance after the Cell Games and Kakarot’s death, at least emotionally, and his own longing to return to their past affair was a surprise to him. He pursued her - she made him pursue her - and her constant rebuffs threw him off course.

Until he one day woke to find his shivering body wrapped in her arms after a nightmare. She'd once again snuck up on him, this time to embrace and comfort him as she molted herself to his back. And he relished it.

Her intentional sneak attacks had started thereafter. She would hug or kiss him when he was entirely unprepared, sometimes even instigating more if the mood struck her.

For his sake, she kept it hidden from view. He was still uneasy in his life on earth and - despite his marriage to her, both by Saiyan and human traditions - he could now see that he never fully allowed himself to give in to her love, no matter how much he reciprocated it.

However, after his betrayal of her trust and his second chance to win her love - third if he was honest with himself - he relaxed more in their relationship and the affection she gave him.

And that's when the sneak attacks slowly began to weave their way into the life they led outside of their little private bubble. It irked him and he reprimanded her every time, even though his tantrums had no effect on her.

But what he disliked the most about her sneak attacks was that he didn't hate them or despise them. He actually did like them as much as they flustered him with intense embarrassment. And he enjoyed it when she openly gave him small affectionate gestures, unafraid of anyone's opinion on it, including his.

He also heavily disliked the natural aversive reaction he had to them. First nstilled by his father and later Nappa, he knew now from the Saiyans he'd since met that it wasn't normal for them to live apart from others. In fact, they were social creatures who needed the support from their fellow warriors. But he - and Raditz - had been taught differently, likely to harden them as preparation for the horrors of living under Frieza’s thumb. He could've used their attachments against them, had they had any.

Vegeta wished he could return the gestures of love that Bulma gave him without hesitation. He wished he could show the intense feelings he had for his children. But he could not, not fully.

Luckily, they accepted him and embraced him for who he was: a broken prince with nothing but his pride and his quiet affection for the family - yes, even friends - he'd formed on earth.

He'd never stop being thrown off balance when Bulma snuck up on him and touched him softly or even kissed him. He might even shy away as an instinctual reaction. But he would still cherish every time.

And in private, he would make his own sneak attacks; pulling Trunks into a sudden hug or throw Bra playfully into the air.

But Bulma? He would throw her over his shoulder and head to their bedroom, showing exactly how much he loved her.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 18/01/2024

MAGFest 2019: SiIvaGunner Presents - High Quality Ripping

Season 3 Featured on: MAGFest 2019

Presented by Nape Mango, Omknee, ShonicTH, Chaze the Chat, Harmony Friends, Trofflesby, Craz Xexe, Agent

Yeah, okay, this is cheating in a lot of ways - this is not on the SiIvaGunner channel, and its obviously not even a rip. But I felt it necessary to commemorate, as I mentioned briefly in Because I Love You, its finally time for MAGFest once again, and the SiIvaGunner team is to host their own panel there tomorrow! And in the spirit of that, I want to just...talk about SiIvaGunner and MAGFest, at least for a little bit. Because the first two panels in particular, the ones that marked the beginning and end of Season 3, are some of my all-time favorite videos associated with the SiIvaGunner channel.

A big part of the identity and gimmick of the channel itself, as you're likely well aware, is the bait-and-switch - to present it as a faceless entity simply uploading video game music, only to instead feature jokes, shitposts, edits, and so forth. Part of maintaining that kayfabe, then, is to intentionally obscure who makes what behind the scenes, to keep the real people under wraps for those who aren't going to dig deeper, in order to further sell the illusion of being an official VGM upload. The team does of course still give credit when its relevant, as any rip can be featured on an album be given full credits there, but just that degree of separation alone between casual fans and ones willing to download an album has probably led to a few too many people being unaware of who made their favorite rips. Back then, I typically fell somewhere in the middle - I wasn't actively using music listening software and thus missed out on listening to albums for a long time, but was still aware of some of the big names you'd see in comments sections, saw some shoutouts from Twitter, the works.

Yet with the two MAGFest panels of 2018 and 2019 respectively, it felt like the first time that the magnitude of what SiIvaGunner is and how much it means to people was revealed to me for the first time ever. The uploaded recording of the 2018 panel, posted by Chaze's own account, features a shot about seven minutes in that turns the camera to the crowd - and it's an absolutely packed-full room of nerds just like me. And even though I've never been able to go to any of these MAGFest panels due to travel costs and complications...just seeing how many people truly do care about SiivaGunner, in such a tangible way, something more than a number...it resonated with me, yknow?

Beyond that, these panels are just such fascinating pieces of history for the channel, such good time capsules in so many ways - and that's in a lot of ways why I chose to highlight the 2019 panel in particular. Rather than discussing the upbringings of the channel, it features members of the team reminiscing and going through Season 3's timeline of events in particular, going into surprising detail into the thought process and direction the various pieces of the year took - while also giving insights into the production of the Christmas Comeback Crisis, King for a Day Tournament, and more. I feel like with the turn from Season 3 to Season 4 Episode 1, you can really notice that the idea of "hype" for SiIvaGunner content becoming so much more prominent, so much more deliberately handled by the team, which is made all the more evident by the King for Another Day Tournament reveal live on stage.

Man, look, it's an hour-long panel, and there's so many small things that I still remember from it, despite last having seen it five years ago. The members talking about their favorite rips, giving a round of applause to all the rippers who couldn't come join them at the panel or on-stage, the very funny last-minute rips made to "celebrate" the channel being terminated a day earlier (one of which I've embedded as the Bandcamp link), and even some slight discussions on what SiIvaGunner as a channel means to the team, what it represents, and what their goals have been overtime. And, of course, the fucking incredible PowerPoint hijinx with Inspector Gadget, which I am 100% going to take as confirmed canon that Gadget's level of sentience and awareness of the real world is just the same as Woodman's and The Voice.

I have, of course, been told a number of times that I overanalyze SiIvaGunner, that I'm uncovering depth that's clearly not intentional, looking too much into a silly meme channel. And sure, I'd admit that I do overthink things to a degree, anyone who read Vote Responsibly!! should be able to tell you as much. Yet its stuff like these in-depth behind-the-scenes looks, these moments of getting a face and a voice to attach to the works, that really just felt super validating to me even back then - that the intentions and goals of the channel that I myself had picked up on were in fact some sort of direction that the team itself were steering toward. And though Nape Mango does indeed declare in this very panel that "Everything is a coincidence with SiIvaGunner", I'm forever in awe at just how good the team has been at lining those coincidences up into something genuinely incredible.

We SilvaGunner, We Rip.

[eurydykakaput]

You know what's insane to me? That people hate on Dori so much that they don't even notice how suspicious she actually is.

Let's start with her age. She's an adult, not a child or a teenager. Notice how in an event she called a 26 year old a young man. And if you watched her trailer, you know that Alice says she met her long before she became a merchant. Alice is thousands years old, a long time for her could be a couple of life times for humans. (And don't even get me started on the "child model", she has hips and breast on her splash art, she's just short. Adults her height exist in the real world.)

She has Khaenri'ah star on her broach. As we already know she's friends with Alice, and if you've read her dialogues, you'll notice that instead of describing her past in the usual way, she uses a fairy tail like story to describe it. Which is a tactic used by the Hexenzirkel to protect information from being erased from the Irminsul. And she tried to buy the Sanctuary Of Surasthana from Nahida, which is the easiest way to get to the Irminsul. That would be the perfect deal for the Hexenzirkel, as they would be now able to control Teyvat's history. So it's safe to say that Dori is connected to the Hexenzirkel, if she's not a part of it.

It really wouldn't be that far fetched to call Dori a witch. She's a catalyst user, while her Jinn uses claymore. She's known to be sighted in multiple places at once and somehow always knows what her clients are looking for. And if you listen to npc you'll know that she helps out smaller merchants for a price, you could say she's guiding them, just like she guided the Traveler. And she's able to keep up with Alice's location, something even Jean isn't able to do.

If Miko wasn't there during the fungi event, the information Dori gave us would be crucial for dealing with the fatui.

The subtle connections between her and the Goddess of Flowers that people just chose to ignore...

Let's look at Nabu Malikata's titles:

-Lord of Flowers,

-Mistress of Dreams,

-Queen of All Oases,

-Queen of the Garden,

-Mistress of the Orchard,

-Mistress of Pushpavatika.

She was also the creator of Jinn.

Dori's character title is Treasure Of The Dream Garden, she has a Jinn, she's from the Desert (hinted in her story). Her outfit having flower motives, as well as her sharing ascension material with Nahida.

While we're at it, did you know that Dori never made a traditional contract with her Jinn? Normally a Jinn would reveal their true name to bond with their master, but Dori preferred to treat the Jin as an employee.

I've already mentioned it in a different post, but in glitches you can see that the eye under Kaeya's eye patch looks the same as Dori's eyes. They have the same talents pose too.

(And I swear to gods, every time I see Dori described as a scammer, I feel like questioning if people even read the lore. Just read Kaveh's story. She didn't scam him, in fact he even almost scammed her by accident, because he couldn't listen to basic instructions as "I don't want my house built on a cliff near the withering". And we know Kaveh, even if she told him not to pay back his deabt he'd still do so for his moral principles, just like he pays rent to Alhaitham even though he doesn't have to. Traveler could have picked any other Knowledge Capsule, that would give them better results, like Alhaitham said in the Archon Quest. Her goods cost so much because they are excellent quality, many of them are rare, and she's a brand in Sumeru.)

[xanderxciv]

Part XI(Finale) - Evolution

(Gohan & Sym Part XI[Finale])

Part IX(Finale) - Sym's Evolution:

In Sym's mind, only one bit of Cell remained, who is back to his Perfect Cell form because Sym was born from him, not Almighty Cell who had his memories & was created with the remains of the Larve & Cell Jr pieces. Perfect Cell aimed to take over his body & tried to use Sym's Obsidian form to fight him, but Sym is beyond that.

There was no fight. Sym had 2 choices, either destroy Cell once & for all, or absorb him. Either way he'd be completely gone from his consciousness. Sym chose to absorb him, telling his father that he'll never be like him.

Meanwhile, Sym's body starts to be covered in an orb(like Frieza during his transformations in Budokai 3), it cracks & he emerges. Sym evolved.

Just like Omni-Cell, no more insect features, Sym looks more like a Saiyan but with his father's resemblance, but he has bird-like features(because of Toriyama. His last name partly means bird). The battle is done, Sym is a new ally to the Z-Fighters & the battle inspired Gohan to keep up with his training.

Sym does the same under Piccolo, their dynamic truly becomes like father & son. Sym took on the purple Gi, but Piccolo gave him the weighted armor. Sym wants to gain his own power. He still has SSJ, but forms after that are similar, but with bird puns(including Platinum, which he currently can't use again). He even sparred with Tien & Yamcha, seeing Ultra Riyō for the 2nd time and realized they couldve jumped & killed him if he was evil.

Before that, he feels like he owes 17 & 18. He went to Capsule Corp, asked(politely. Uub & Cabba are polite & Gohan before them, that seems to be a thing with these students) Bulma for a place to rebuild 16.

Sym has Cell's memories & Gero's but partly. One ability that stood out was Sym reading minds far beyond what Goku could do. He sees memories, which is how he was caught up on the Earth's DB Super events(up to the Moro Saga) & God Ki. He saw Andriod 21's memories when she was Vomi, and he saw 17 & 18's memories of 16.

So Sym pieced together 16's memories enough. The body he made for him is BioMechanical like him, Cell and 17 & 18. Not fully machine like before & it also has Sym's Saiyan & Namekian genes.

It took 2 days for 16 to wake up & he was pissed because he remembers everything. Including the Cell Jrs. Sym had to talk him down & stop a fight from happening in Bulma's lab. After everything's explained, 16 calms down & let Sym finish making his new armor. Which comes from data on Vegeta's RoF armor that Bulma made.

Sym gives 16 an actual name, Shin Gevo. They go to see 18, Gevo's reunited with Krillin & 18, and he basically becomes an Uncle to Marron. The two visit MVP 17 next, and Gevo's proud of 17 becoming a Park Ranger, which he intends to help him with. But he definitely has to train, test his new strengths.

(Also, when it comes to this What-If, Super Hero doesn't change much. Except Cell Max had more time to cook, Sym didn't know Gero had other Kin, Sym & Gevo meet Dr Hado, see that he isn't evil, and Cell Max whoops Sym, who tried to use his Platinum form again but cant. And Sym called Cell Max a cheap knock-off of his father).

Sym will return in Rakshasa's Reincarnation(where Cell & 21 will also return, in Hell), and after that, The Cold King's Fury.

No joke, I got other What-Ifs planned. Earthlings Rise will keep going, and I'll finish Namek Prime first. Just three characters though, not tons of transformations. So that shouldnt be a huge project like this one, but it might.

Until Next Time.

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 231 Trivia

"Aaaaaaaah primitive technology noooooooooooo!"

This is definitely worth looking at closely: we have post-America-arc Chrome shedding a tear, young Suika again, Ishigami Village, the Soyuz capsule…

Oddly, Senku's chest piece is missing and Byakuya's name may be incorrectly spelled in Cyrillic (Б НШНГАМН vs Б ИШИГАМИ)

We get some insight into how the Medusas see things: we already know they can sense EM waves from chapter 229, and especially radio waves, but they may be able to selectively filter which wavelengths they see.

If they could only see radio, then it'd be impossible to see bones as the waves pass right through us. Given the image, it's very likely they're using x-rays to examine the people, but if that's true then the gun would appear as a bright white rather than partially transparent.

It's possible that they can see all wavelengths at once, and they're able to parse what would be "pure white" to us in such a way that they can selectively see the "layer" they want, but even picking a specific wavelength to view would result in the gun blocking the bones.

Alternatively, they only emit a specific range of waves at once and see what gets returned (like radar), but they'd have to know which wavelengths to use without knowing anything first. This echolocation seems slightly more likely since we have panels of them emitting waves.

It's possible that that's why they interpreted the humans as skeletons: they chose to see in x-rays rather than in the visible spectrum (=our vision) and thus only saw bones.

Maybe they assumed both the space suit and "meat suit" (skin, muscle, organs) were the same thing?

It's amusing how the Medusas scanned Senku, but then didn't bother making a perfect copy: the skull is more realistic/less manga, and his hair is upright, despite it being flattened against his head because of the helmet.

Not even they can make his hair look good though…

By mimicking Senku here, the Medusas effectively fulfilled all the previous depictions of Whyman.

Senku uses "me" and "us" here, but he does only mean "me"— the time between his revival in April 5738 and this date* is 10 years, not counting the 7.5 years he spent petrified. Apart from maybe Xeno, no one else shares the same timeline.

*(~Sept 5755, if it's exactly 10.)

List of weapons on the moon:

Grenade-net launcher.

Stone axe.

And the latter was the one that drove them away, haha!

Xeno was one of the ones most excited about what the Medusa tech could mean for humanity, which is why he looks especially grim when they decided to call humans pea-brained one last time before fleeing the solar system.

I have no idea how they retrieved the capsule since it and the Medusa inside seemed to disappear into the swarm, and the one that chose to stay didn't bring it back. It's also definitely the same capsule (with a few new additions) because the broken string is the same.

The capsule got a little upgrade to make it easier for the Medusa to communicate: the speaker was moved to the outside, and was replaced with a tiny Yagi–Uda antenna!

The antenna type is mostly for clarity, because at that range a monopole would have worked, or even none at all.

I'd like to think this Medusa has an affinity for Kohaku, since it chose to give itself up to her. They also had a nice conversation together! :)

(I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact the other two were holding things at the time & Kohaku is the least busy one onboard…)

This piece coming off the main rocket is the ascent stage of the lunar lander. Similar to how parts of the rocket come off when leaving Earth, the ascent stage only gets the astronauts back to the rocket before it is discarded, destined to fall back to the surface of the moon.

The moon bunnies have a little 'x' for a mouth, and the capsule's face has a mouth shaped like that too… Coincidence?

I wonder who drew the face:

Senku, because he had a marker and likes drawing faces on things?

Kohaku, for fun?

Stanley, for the gap moe/Xeno 'x' (and because it seems like something he'd do somehow)?

Ryusui, to welcome his new crewmate?

If we'd gotten a name/species as an answer, then fans would inevitably be disappointed by not meeting them after they'd been hinted at, or been angry at how "unrealistic" whatever they got was.

This may not be a satisfying answer for some, but the alternatives are much less so.

I love this admission of Kohaku's, does she not have anything to think about!?