#Spring 2018 Anime

[anisongoftheday]

Megalo Box Ending

Kakatte Koi yo by NakamuraEmi

[rabbitcruiser]

World Tapir Day

Learn about the highly endangered creature known as the tapir, and educate others, volunteer, or donate to help preserve these fascinating mammals.

Let’s dive into the fascinating world of tapirs with World Tapir Day! Celebrated every year on April 27, this day is all about shining a spotlight on these unique creatures. Since its start in 2008, the event has aimed to increase awareness and support for tapir conservation​​.

Why celebrate tapirs, you ask? Well, many people don’t even know these animals exist. They’re often mistaken for other species, even in places where they naturally live.

Tapirs are crucial for their ecosystems, helping forests grow by spreading seeds. But they’re in danger due to habitat loss and other human activities. World Tapir Day is here to change that by educating people and rallying support for these shy giants​​.

How can we make a difference? Simple acts like learning more about tapirs, sharing information, and supporting conservation efforts can have a big impact.

You can also donate to organizations working to protect tapir habitats or take part in local events and activities. Together, we can help ensure tapirs thrive for generations to come​​.

History of World Tapir Day

World Tapir Day is a unique celebration dedicated to raising awareness about tapirs, those curious creatures that have roamed the Earth for millions of years.

This special day was officially launched in 2008 and is celebrated annually on April 27. It wasn’t until 2011, however, that the celebration really took off, thanks to the passionate efforts of tapir enthusiasts and conservationists who recognized the need to highlight these lesser-known animals.

Their goal was to educate the public about the critical role tapirs play in their ecosystems and the threats they face, such as habitat loss and hunting​​​​.

The founding of World Tapir Day marked the beginning of a concerted effort to put tapirs on the global conservation agenda.

By drawing attention to their plight, the day aims to inspire actions that help ensure their survival. Zoos, wildlife organizations, and conservation groups around the world participate by hosting events, educational programs, and social media campaigns to spread the word.

Activities range from visiting tapirs at local zoos to engaging in conservation fundraising efforts​​​​​​.

The significance of World Tapir Day has grown over the years, reflecting the increasing urgency of protecting these animals and their habitats. All four recognized species of tapirs are currently listed as vulnerable or endangered.

The day serves as a reminder of the beauty and diversity of wildlife and the importance of conservation efforts to protect our planet’s biodiversity for future generations​​.

How to Celebrate World Tapir Day

Celebrating World Tapir Day can be both fun and meaningful with a sprinkle of creativity. Here are some playful suggestions that don’t just stick to the script:

Dress Up as a Tapir: Grab some grey or black clothes, fashion a snout, and maybe even some spots and stripes. Walk around your neighborhood or park, sparking curiosity and conversations about tapirs.

Tapir-Themed Art Day: Gather your friends or family and create tapir-inspired artwork. Paint, draw, or even create digital art—let your imagination run wild. Share your masterpieces online to spread the love for these unique creatures.

Movie Night with a Twist: Host a movie night featuring documentaries or films about tapirs and their habitats. It’s a cozy way to learn about these animals and the challenges they face.

“Adopt” a Tapir: Many conservation organizations offer symbolic adoption programs. Adopting a tapir can be a great way to support its protection and learn more about the specific animal.

Tapir Trivia Night: Organize a trivia night with facts about tapirs. It’s a fun way to educate and challenge your friends and family about tapir knowledge.

Visit a Zoo Virtually or In-Person: If you can’t make it to a zoo, many offer virtual tours where you can see tapirs. For those who can visit in person, it’s a great opportunity to learn firsthand about these animals.

Tapir Treats Bake-off: Get creative in the kitchen by baking cookies or cakes shaped like tapirs. Share your creations with friends or on social media to spread awareness in the sweetest way possible.

These ideas make sure the spotlight is on these fascinating creatures and the efforts to conserve them.

Source

[hardworkandguts]

Amanchu!

あまんちゅ！

(Anime)

Slice of life by Kozue Amano

Era: 2010s

Rating: C (1, A; Advance: D)

Plot: Futaba Ooki, a very introverted and shy girl moves from Tokyo to a seaside city in Shizuoka. Missing her friends, she fears not making new ones and end up alone again, naturally, but on the first day of class she happens to meet Hikari Kohinata, a strange and incredibly enthusiastic girl who is into scuba diving.

Length: 24 + 1 episodes

Thoughts: Weird this is not the first time within the first seconds of a show I thought to myself "this sounds like GONTITI" just before the credits roll confirming it and am greeted by a girl with green hair. Perhaps the second better known work by Kozue Amano after ARIA, it fits in both the "show about an hobby one of the main characters acts as a surrogate being pulled into a world they never considered" and the mood of a relaxed, quasi-iyashikei slice of life. Nobody is going to hear the Sonic drowning music in their mind here. Did it make me think of taking up scuba diving? No, but that's mostly to shitty lungs, hating having my face under water and fear of Eldritch horrors lurking under the waves, not because it doesn't do a great job of explaining the basics and how awesome it probably is. Would that also go against the spirit of the show? Yes, but what you can't win them all, can you?

First season deals with Futaba arriving at to her new life completely at a loss where to begin, chronicling her life with her phone camera, until she meets this odd and quirky puppet-looking girl blowing a whistle and vocalising strange noises who gives her the "Teko" nickname based on her eyebrows, convinces her to sneak into the diving club and borrow a couple of diving suits to check them in the pool, enough to get her hooked and challenging herself into trying into the trial period at the club itself, where they meet Katori Mayo, one of their teachers and also a diving enthusiast who serves as the club councillor, and later their seniors, the Nimomiya siblings. Until the end, it's small stories leading to Futaba earning her diving license and shedding some of her baggage and grow as a person thanks to Hikari, an unstoppable force of positivity who will literally go out of her way something to brighten her day, and the rest of the diving club. Second season (in between there's an extra episode about Futaba's friends coming to visit her and witness her growth as a person) continues shortly after that, but Futaba getting her advance license doesn't feel it quietly nudges the narrative as well, it was mostly spinning wheels in place for most of 12 episodes. Doesn't help expanding the cast just meant less time of the core characters interacting, and it's often a tricky proposition if not handled well or the characters add very little, Kokoro is just annoying and a wrench on the what powers the show (Teko and Pikari's friendship) and Towano just enters for a scene, his presence justified in getting this off the rails. The dream sequences feel out of place, considering there was a full season without them, kind of gives the idea Futaba was always going through some psychological issues, Hikari was never real and now it's turning into full hallucinations, and if we're talking dreams and the supernatural, the Peter Pan three episode arc at the school festival is... just what are we doing here, man, it feels like a something that ran for too long and ran out of stories to tell with just two seasons. ARIA also had a bit of that dreamlike mystery, magical realism aspect to it, but even if it's the equivalent of Las Vegas landmarks on Mars, you can handwave that to being a copy of a city that itself looks very dreamlike, here... It just feels off. There are maybe three or four solid episodes in the while season (ending and grandmother's story are very good), but for the most part that's it, it just feels off.

One last thing, and while it's not a topic I'm the right person to talk about, I've seen people complain about the manga being a terrible example of queerbaiting, the author even allegedly adding a male love interest to Hikari as a reaction to people seeing Amanchu! as yuri. Judging from the adaptation, assuming it is a faithful one, if people looking at many of Futaba and Hiroki scenes and think "couple" surprises you, sorry, that is very much a "yeah you lie on the bed you made" situation. I think it's ridiculous when people burn down a show because it went through other shipping route, but this was basically an author burning down her own thing because she accidentally laid it down a bit too thick, didn't notice it and (once again, allegedly) tried to dial it back. It's one of those shows I would check the source material, but you know what, if you're going to be this much of a dick about it, don't think I will, no, and the second season killed my whole interest even before hearing about this.

Rating kinda reflects a first season on pair with ARIA (still to come), but the second season it's a show I would have dropped almost instantly. Don't think I've seen something with such a drop in quality yet, to the point it makes me question if some very good shows are indeed better left alone at 12 episodes.

Recommended to: First season, vibes.

Plus:

First season is excellent.

It's lovingly animated, although the underwater scenes could have used a bit more ooooomph.

GONTITI with the tunes

Minus:

Second season is a *notorious* drop in quality

[latvian-spider]

Gar Daugavu 3

Originally Uploaded on DeviantArt as WinxPossible on May 31, 2018

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Original Description:

Still pretty.

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No comment.

[sashayed]

I Knew I Loved You When You Showed Me Your Minecraft World

It wasn’t the upside-down crosses in your mansion or even the lone, giant cigarette burning in the sky. You walked me around and I watched the back of your head suddenly overcome by the feeling of knowing I was beyond what could be recovered from the dark pixels of the forest vibrating in a virtual wind distant panpipe music blowing through your speakers It’s not that I didn’t love you before it is just – there are some things which cannot be said and some feelings which, if articulated too early and forced towards the surface go blind & it’s better to hold them off, or wait them out & never say their name aloud until the pressure of what is unspoken becomes impossible to hold back and articulates itself within the body like mice, running wild through a field of burning grass. The train disappears underground and comes back up again The cigarette distributes its vague cancers into the sky Outside the sky is firing navy shadows like a T-shirt gun And spring is on the wind like wifi ​ When I was miserable you came and showed me card tricks When the moon was full we pissed into the bushes like animals I watch you sleep, like a security guard looking at a famous painting with a searchlight walk me to the graveyard on the edge of your map nothing must hurt you, not even me

Hera Lindsay Bird Pamper Me to Hell and Back, 2018

[wirewitchviolet]

Let's talk about how Ranma is trans in the 2024 anime, part 1

Way the hell back in 2018, after a random exchange with a friend, I sat down and wrote a series of four blog posts where I looked at the manga Ranma ½, which ran from 1988 to 1996, explicitly through a lens where I assumed the protagonist is in fact a trans girl. A major component of the series being that Ranma and several other characters fell into various pools in a cursed set of natural springs causing them to magically change into whatever tragically drowned in one when hit with cold water, then back to their original body with hot, and Ranma fell in the girl one, so it was bound to be a series that would crack a lot of eggs regardless, but my memory of reading it years before transitioning was that it worked on a mundane level too, particularly later. I did somehow forget a bit towards the end where Ranma honestly just kinda straight up comes out of the closet, but I'm not going to link to that panel yet again for the sake of preview links not blending together. Anyway, those posts were already the most popular things I ever put on this blog and have never stopped circulating, despite it being a pretty old and largely forgotten series at the time.

I had always had the idea that I really should go back and also watch the anime adaptation(s) of Ranma, which deviates a good bit from the manga, but that is 161 episodes, 3 movies, and 11 OAVs which are terribly terribly paced, and I don't actually get paid for this. But then lo and behold, here's a brand new anime adaptation coming out decades later, looking really nice, and surely that will deviate even more from the source material, so here I am diving in to find all new bits of gender stuff to talk about, under the fold here and-

Oh. Turns out the new anime series is actually an EXTREMELY faithful adaptation of the original manga and the only deviations I've actually noticed are that there's a little bit less nudity and the one scene with Ranma's breasts fully on display goes the route of not drawing nipples. And really that's only significant because the original anime adaptation somehow got away with that one. Speaking of the original anime run, this adaptation brings back the entire surviving voice cast, and continues the tradition of coloring Ranma's hair red in cold-water form as an extra tell for the audience. And speaking of color, one thing this adaptation does now and then that I really appreciate is punctuating certain scenes with the sort of cool pastel palettes (see above) that were used for the cover illustrations of the original manga.

Another thing the 2024 anime does is throw in a quick little vignette before the opening credits of each episode to restate that Ranma and Akane are engaged, and the feminizing water thing, which mostly feels like it's there as just a little extra emphasis that regardless of all the other shenanigans going on, those two are the one actual couple and making it clear that the rest of the tangled web of crushes and obsessions don't really matter. Something I feel like this adapatation is keen to emphasize in general. In fact, being as nearly 1 to 1 an adaptation as it is, the title of every episode is directly lifted from the chapter names of the manga, so we can just slap together a little infographic and see what's getting compressed a bit and what's getting the time it needs to breathe!

We're chewing through the extended fight scenes pretty quick and slowing down any time Akane's having an emotional moment or some time in the spotlight basically. Which makes sense since the action scenes in the manga are like all full page splash images with a word of text and need to be flowing quickly, and because we have the benefit of hindsight knowing that the Kunos become irrelevant real quick. We're also squeezing out a little early identity crisis stuff for Ranma in the process (there's an early dream sequence after first meeting Kuno, coming to grips with the whole "since I'm a girl, dudes want to sleep with me" realization that barely makes it in and a few early moments of internalized misogyny that get dropped), and we really give Shampoo's debut some space (not QUITE as much as the above suggests, most of episode 10 is wrapping up a three parter on the ice skating with her just punching through the wall as a cliffhanger at the end).

The whole thing is also paced out to nicely cover the first four volumes of the manga, out of 38. They might up the compression rate a little, but as it stands, it's going to take another 8 or 9 seasons to get through everything at this rate. In comparison, my first blog post got through three times this much of it, but the original anime covered only the first half of this in the same episode count (and then for some reason introduced Shampoo and Mousse early and didn't get through the ice skating until episode 27).

Anyway, like I said, this doesn't really change things up enough to have a lot to say about how clearly Ranma is trans. Jumping back to the start though yet again, it really cannot be emphasized enough though just how clearly, even from the very first episode, she is SO much more comfortable presenting as a girl, not at all nervous meeting Akane's family like that, then suddenly super tense and awkward and closed off when interacting with... really anyone while boy-moding. So I guess it's time to bust out some of these other lenses to look at this...

Let's talk about how Akane is gay, part 1

I mean, we've established she's into Ranma, with extra emphasis in this adaptation, and we've established that Ranma is in fact a girl, but that's just the one data point. What else do we have? Well, she's quite explicitly not a fan of guys, particularly guys who are attracted to her, and we're keeping plenty of a focus on that while not wasting time trying to pretend Kuno matters at all in the grand scheme of things. The closest she ever comes to showing interest in a guy is Dr. Kuno, and the anime here is strongly emphasizing how that's less of a real crush and more just emulating her oldest sister (Nabiki of course is also some flavor of queer, and I don't think anyone has ever questioned that) since that's kinda what you do, right? She also gets intensely jealous of the idea of Shampoo kissing Ranma while assuming Ranma is a girl, talks about how hot she is, and hell, at the start of things when everyone's assuming they've somehow gotten into a situation where one of the three sisters has to marry a cis girl, Nabiki points out how that works out perfectly for her. Because she is extremely gay.

Let's talk about how Ryoga is trans, part 1

OK so this isn't the same absolute slam dunk as Ranma turned out to be, but there is a surprisingly strong case to argue that Ryoga is also a trans girl. What do we know about Ryoga after all? Real real socially awkward. Only has one sorta-friend from childhood, who turned out to be trans later. Can we call Ryoga a furry? I'm not even talking about the pig curse, but there's this whole feral wolf vibe before that's even established. In a series where basically every guy who is ever introduced is a horny creep obsessed with rigid gender roles, Ryoga does not bat an eye at seeing women naked (which comes up oddly often), spends a lot of these early arcs hanging out with the gal pals to help practice gymnastics and skating, deals well enough with the pink heart collar and being called Charlotte, and like so many of us, Ryoga is introduced to the series indignantly sputtering about how Ranma's situation shouldn't really be called a curse and is a situation we'd be happy to be in. You could argue that Ryoga's saying this just relative to the pig curse, I guess, but I do at least get the vibe that Ryoga wouldn't be too super worried about finding hot water with that one.

Speaking of the pig curse, I feel like every time I revisit Ranma I have a different perspective on the whole "P-Chan" situation. With this adaptation, it does feel significantly closer to "it's really just this super awkward situation where I've been looking for a good moment to explain and at this point it's been so long she'll probably kill me" than "I am a loathsome sex offender using a disguise to snuggle up with this girl who thinks I am a small animal" and Ranma is doing an appropriate amount of "I'm not going to blurt it out, but you should seriously come clean already" so, glad to know we're downplaying that.

Also, the emphasis on Ranma and Akane as The Couple in this adaptation really makes it clear that Ryoga isn't so much into Akane as just kinda... incapable of conceiving of any sort of existence that doesn't involve being Ranma's rival/friend/polycule member.

Anyway, I guess that's where I have to leave this until the second season drops? Have a patreon link?

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Okay folk, I need advice regarding navigating Tumblr policies circa 2018. Specifically, I need input on how to not get nerfed by the platforms for posting animal photos.

My problem is baboons.

Male baboons, specifically.

See, this spring, I spent a couple days at the Oakland Zoo, which happens to currently have an infant hamadryas baboon. He's adorable, and I took a lot of photos.

An interesting thing you might not know about hamadryas baboons is that they have a pretty unique social structure - when it comes to baby care, the young males in the troop actually do a ton of the work.

Another thing you might not be aware of regarding hamadryas baboons is that their junk is strawberry, stop-sign, "word processor thinks you spelled that word wrong" neon red.

I have a lot of photos of a bunch of different ages of very amped up male baboons chasing around a very enthusiastic miscreant of a male infant.

They're great, dynamic photos showing really fantastic social dynamics in a group-living primate. I'm also worried that I'll get thrown off any platform I post them on for obscenity.

Does anyone have experience with navigating this? I don't know exactly how accurate the human/non-human AI flagging algorithm is and I'd really rather not get this blog set to NSFW accidentally. Worst case I can like... add some eggplant emojis over the photos... but goddammit it, it's just nature photography.

A rare safe photo of said child and his mother for tax.

[animefeminist]

Crunchyroll fails to meet industry standards for Closed Captioning

In 2017, Sony Pictures Entertainment bought a 95% majority share of Funimation Entertainment for $143 million. Four years later, Sony completed its acquisition of Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion, bringing the two companies back together after their partnership break in 2018. The decision cements Crunchyroll-qua-Sony’s place as the largest monopoly in the English-language anime streaming space.

The merger has included the gradual sunsetting of Funimation’s streaming site; all titles that aired after Spring 2022 will be uploaded exclusively to Crunchyroll; while any Funimation-exclusive titles have either been transferred over to Crunchyroll or will leave streaming, and dubbing projects are now carried out under the Crunchyroll umbrella. All of this makes one of the biggest issues with the site even more glaring: with a few exceptions, Crunchyroll does not offer closed captioning for its English dubs.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[anisongoftheday]

Hinamatsuri Ending

Sake to Ikura to 893 to Musume by Yoshifumi Nitta (CV: Yoshiki Nakajima)

[rabbitcruiser]

Hug an Australian Day

Spread a little love around the world by participating in Hug an Australian Day. Show some appreciation to an Aussie in your life, or plan a trip!

In hindsight, Men at Work’s Down Under was a pretty average song. Thankfully, the country has provided so much more over the years. Hug an Australian Day is a perfect time to show gratitude and appreciation while simultaneously spreading a little love across the world. In a world where people are often made to feel more divided than ever, the simple gesture can make a huge impact.

Like throwing a boomerang, the good vibes will return very quickly. Aside from participants living or vacationing in Perth, Melbourne et al. Hug an Australian Day needn’t impact the entire day either. It’s fun, simple, and an event that everyone can join regardless of where they are.

It’s certain to be a g’day for everyone involved.

Learn about Hug an Australian Day

The concept of Hug an Australian Day is truly as simple as it sounds. Hugs are a friendly signal of affection that is scientifically shown to have a positive psychological effect on both parties. Whether from a loved one or a stranger, a quick and kind embrace can significantly enhance a person’s day. Hug an Australian Day allows participants to enjoy those rewards while also feeling that they are taking part of a social event. And, let’s not ignore the fact that it’s great social media content too.

Hug an Australian Day isn’t limited to Australians by birth and current Australian citizens. Australians that have emigrated count. Individuals with Australian heritage count. Even people that have married into an Australian family tick the box. Ultimately, the annual celebration is just a bit of fun that encourages people to connect with each other while simultaneously promoting positive vibes and a little gratitude towards the country that provided so many great pop culture icons.

Every hug is a step towards repairing the damage that Bart Simpson caused when dropping his pants to the Aussie government anyway…

Hugs are ultimately a physically symbolic gesture that represents love for Australia’s culture and people. Those sentiments can quickly grow by showing an interest. Talking about kangaroos and koala bears is great. Meanwhile, it’s a great opportunity to enjoy a little banter by explaining that Tim Tams will never reach the standards of Twinkies.

Hug an Australian Day could equally be known as “Show Some Love and Appreciation to Australian Friends Day”. Wouldn’t like quite as good on a t-shirt, though, would it? Likewise, very few people would be interested in typing out that URL.

History of Hug an Australian Day

Despite being a fun and lighthearted celebration, Hug an Australian Day is actually a copyrighted holiday. The annual event was launched by Thomas and Ruth Roy, who are the co-founders of Wellcat.com too. The couple are behind dozens of fun and crazy events and vacation ideas like The Monitor Liberation Day, Answer Your Cat’s Question Day, Yell ‘Fudge’ at the Cobras in North America Day, Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day, and more. So, the Australian-hugging day is actually a pretty tame idea by their standards.

The day was launched by the pair simply with the humble goal “to show our great appreciation for all the love and support the Aussies have given us over the years” and has grown at a rapid rate in conjunction with one of the most popular times in the year for visiting the land Down Under. It started out relatively small scale but has gained major press in recent years while the word has spread particularly fast on social media and other online channels.

Participants of the annual event are advised to spoil Australian friends with Koala bear or kangaroo toys and imported snacks. However, it’s a great excuse for individuals to stock up on those items for themselves. As well as a day of appreciation, it can be a day of discovery. The day is also a family-friendly event that enables kids to teach their kid about all things Australia too – thank the internet gods for YouTube.

The day is now celebrated by millions of people across several countries and continents while it additionally gains a fair level of interest in Australia too. The history of the celebration is still in its infancy, but there’s no doubt that people are increasingly aware of everything the day stands for.

How to celebrate Hug an Australian Day

There’s no prizes for guessing the answer to this one. The clue is in the title; hugging an Australian is the best way to celebrate by far. Anyone thinking it’ll be Kylie should be so Lucky, Lucky, Lucky, but it shouldn’t take long to find a friend, colleague, or distant relative that fits the bill.

Anyone wanting to capture the magic of the Australian fixation of the 1980s can build their day’s activities around all things Australian. Whack on the Kylie CD, watch Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin, open a tin of Foster’s or Castlemaine XXXX, and go play with a boomerang in the garden. Hug an Australian Day does require an Ozzie to complete the obvious task. However, it is possible to celebrate the people and culture of the land Down Under all alone if preferred – or with non-Australian friends.

Others will create artistic homages to Australia or wear the flag, potentially as a face paint design. Whichever way it is celebrated, the #HuganAustralianDay hashtag will trend on social media throughout the day.

Australia is a highly popular once-in-a-lifetime holiday destination too. When combined with the pleasant climate and off-peak pricing, an increasing number of people plan their visits to Australia around the event. The atmosphere on the day itself is certain to be a winner, while the memories created during that time exploring the Outback are incredible.

There’s no one right or wrong way to celebrate the annual event. However, it is important to take the feelings of the recipients into account. The universally accepted protocol is to say “happy Hug an Australian Day” before asking whether they’re happy to be hugged. Simple.

Source

[bisexualmcqueen]

may i offer this thought for the feral racers hc

racecars are like loyal little guard dogs (not little at all. those are metal beasts) with the people they love. they just kinda like. imprint on people and its like an immediate switch to feral mode when they perceive threat and danger to loved one. and they do that thing where they try and make themselves bigger to intimidate enemies.

idk if its something similar like this has posted about or discussed before but uh yeah. the feral racers hc just kinda read to me as racecars being like dogs. wolves. instinctually wild animals. i like how strip and doc being particularly old veterans translates into them being Extra Dangerous or Extra Feral, something like that. though i dont even think racecars get normaller the newer/younger. i think the next gens are just a different flavor of freak (i.e. chewing, zoomies) like they're domesticated sort of in a way

YES YES exactly

ok many thoughts. lets see here

so ive been thinking about this and. the thing is. that part of what makes this headcanon so fun is that theres actually canon precedent, in a way.

Lightning for example. is crazy protective. like instantaneously. zero forethought, action only, putting himself between the Danger and the Friend.

some examples:

in cars TVG, Chick hires the DRH to rob Mack so Lightning will be without supplies for the upcoming race. when Lightning hears that Mack was very upset about it from Sheriff, he gets so pissed off he takes to the streets, tracks the DRH down, and proceeds to spend all night chasing and beating the shit out of them until they drop his stuff. not because he was Robbed, but because they Upset Mack.

i think its funny that Sheriff doesnt say Anything. he just nods in agreement. ...not that i think Sheriff could have stopped him though. Lightning is sort of Insane about Mack. Mack is the greatest. [two quality versions. one oldschool for nostalgia and one more HD]

in the comics (admittedly ive only read in sections), Mater was beefing with Bubba, Lightning also started to get pissed off at Bubba being rude + protective of Mater:

i dont know if Lightning would be good at fighting or get his ass beat terribly. either way, i want to watch.

next up is my favorite example: the thunder hollow crazy 8 race. Lightning LEAPS in to help Cruz several times. it is my fucking Favorite.

HERDS HER BACK OUT ONTO THE TRACK

and then he jumps in front of a speeding attack-bus and takes a metal sawblade to the drivewheel for her. NO thoughts, head empty, protect Cruz. love this man. apparently, type-c school busses can be between 10-20,000 pounds. crunch.

and my last example on this topic: the radiator springs 500 1/2:

these racers show up in town looking for trouble. its supposed to be a silly little western parody, but in terms of this headcanon it comes off as territorial as hell imo. wdym other racecars show up at his house to fight him. hello. and then they insult Stanley, which deeply upsets Lizzie:

cue getting their asses kicked by mcqueen. that is HIS freaky old woman.

[i love this short]

so yeah. my terrible guard-dog-horse-thing-car.

Doc is largely The Same:

14 billion KEEP OUT signs. shooing Lightning away from his friends family because he is A Perceived Danger. another racecar standing in his lawn barking. yeah. you territorial old wet rag.

I agree with what you said its very in line with the vibes of the headcanon yes. true and real. def like dogs/wolves, and i personally try to throw some cat/horse stuff in there too. again, i blame being an x-men/wolverine fan.

a few other tidbits from source material for funsies:

^that ones wallpaper, apparently. for like a Room. in a house. my cars wallpaper merch thats 2018 xrs drag racing diecast merchandise.

Doc was so amped to do racecar stuff again he wakes Lightning up in the middle of the fucking night to run around in circles with him the moment he shows back up in town.

they lost Guido in the fucking sand.

Cars Origins: Struck By Lightning quick aside: "everyone's going to think something is wrong with me" Lightning these are not mentally stable thoughts im so sorry.

second topic: generational/evolutionary differences.

first of all i would like to point out that my basis for strip especially being some sort of craazzy toothy freak is entirely the headcanon of @youhavehitawall that i adopted out of coolness. non has some lore about the weathers that explains it, but basically it boils down to a repeated expression of racecar genes getting more pronounced the more generations it travels down (so long as its an expressed gene).

now for the nextgens (funny calling them that in 2025. theyre all in their 30's lmfao. not saying thats 'old', but they arent rookies anymore, damn does time fly). [disclaimer: dont quote me on this, my knowledge is an approximation] in real life NASCAR, they used very old technologies right up until about 2012. carburetors, leaded gasoline, 4-gear h-box frontend transaxles, reticulating ball steering, etc. most of these things vanished from the dealership road cars between the 60's and the 90's. Meanwhile cars like Lightning and Cal are still running this stuff in the mid-aughts. so when the nextgens came along, they showed up with fuel injection, e85 15% ethanol fuel, 5-speed sequential rear-mounted transaxels, rack-and-pinion steering, bigger aluminum wheels, bigger calipers, and less ground clearance/more areo, there was a very sudden and massive shift in what sort of technology was being run in the piston cup. tech-wise, Lightning +co were very similar to cars like Chick and even Strip. the change in tech could be a good marker for other genetic shifts too. cars change much, muuuch faster generation-to-generation than mammals. its Moore's Law in a way: theyre machines. add that to the incredible 12-week turnaround in which every team booted their driver and replaced them with a 'nextgen', and ive had to spend some time wondering Why? why??? thats brutal! Doc certainly warned us, but goddamn. imagine if that happened mid-season in any real sport! holy shit! (i still want to know more about the fan's reactions to this...) in the context of this headcanon, i Also wonder about what you said, the nextgens being feral in a little bit of a 'different' way. maybe theyve got easier-to-handle temperaments; an added bonus to their overall higher speeds+better track times. uhm. Jackson being the temperament-outlier here, maybe.

to be fair, he did get fired after throwing too many fits.

Cars Origins: Storm Chasing

But yes... racecars!! they are a lottt to handle. the driver AND the incredibly powerful machine mashed into one?? hooo boy. honestly i am a bit fearful of racecars irl. very loud, very fast, smell bad, they breathe fire, etc. why not reconcile that by making the talking ones into Beasts. theyre already crazy, already quadruped, my brain just starts assigning horse/wolf to them. and some of it comes down to me loving logan-wolverine tropes. protective growly little guy with pointy teeth. yeah can i get 5 more of these little fanged bitches.

ok i have to stop yapping now this turned out quite long, but i still have Things to Say about this headcanon/worldbuilding. i didnt even get into the amazing bonds racecars seem to have with their teams/families (the 'imprinting' thing you mentioned!). very fun!!

thanks for the ask!!

[hardworkandguts]

Space Battleship Tiramisu

宇宙戦艦ティラミス

(Anime)

Sci-fi Parody by Satoshi Miyakawa

Era: 2010s

Rating: C

Plot: After humanity expanded into space, those colonies are now a threat to Earth. To keep it safe, they build in secret a new battleship, the Tiramisu. Aboard it is ace pilot Subaru Ichinose, who has a tough time getting along the other pilots and crew and prefers to stay inside the cockpit of his mecha as much as possible.

Length: 26 episodes +3 bonus (~ 7 minutes)

Thoughts: Well, if you are into gag comedy, you're in for a treat. While something like Martian Sucessor Nadesico, is a serious show with oddball characters, Tiramisu never goes past the gag angle, throwing one bizarre situation after another. Episodes are short (just around 7 minutes, including a short OP and ED), and for the most part feature two scenarios, involving things such as eating breaded pork skewers in a zero G environment, talking to pubic hair, putting Christmas decorations in you battle Mecha, dealing with really dumb clones, going over the speed limit in space, and someone dealing with the family court in the worst way possible. Plus, you don't really have much in character development beyond learning about Subaru and his brother's Isuzu (I think you've noticed a pattern in characters' names) odd quirks, like caring about bubbles under a protective screen and ripped seams during an emergency atmospheric re-entry, and there's little in development in that front because our boy Subaru goes to great lengths to not interact with anyone. I guess that's where the 15 minutes missing from each episode went, you can't say he's anything but efficient with his time. There's some more of a plot in the second season, but (pointing at episode length) you know what to expect.

This was a difficult show to grade because I don't have any major faults to point at. Also had to rewatch it after maybe a year or so to be able to write a single meaningful sentence about it, which I feel shouldn't happen with gag anime, but at least it made me realise rewatching some shows is better than half-assing a post with stuff I kinda remember. At the same time, if you are into parody and / or mecha/sci-fi anime, it's hard not to recommend it, the whole series can be watched in little over 3 hours, after all, and has some incredibly bizarre moments.

Recommended to: Gag anime and Mecha / sci-fi fans

Plus:

It looks surprisingly good for a gag anime, visually it plays straight until they start bringing out the props.

Minus:

It's the same issue mentioned in the last paragraph, I think it may lack "it", for lack of a better way to put it.

[latvian-spider]

Sakuras of May 123

Originally Uploaded on DeviantArt as WinxPossible on May 5, 2018

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Original Description:

More like 'Ducks in the Park', but, eh.

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No comment.

[april-is]

April 12, 2025: Instead of Depression, Andrea Gibson

Instead of Depression Andrea Gibson

try calling it hibernation. Imagine the darkness is a cave in which you will be nurtured by doing absolutely nothing. Hibernating animals don’t even dream. It’s okay if you can’t imagine Spring. Sleep through the alarm of the world. Name your hopelessness a quiet hollow, a place you go to heal, a den you dug, Sweetheart, instead of a grave.

==

Also:  + Bathing, Allison Seay + To Myself, Franz Wright

Today in: 

2024: A Small Psalm, Catherine Wing 2023: How to Do Absolutely Nothing, Barbara Kingsolver 2022: Miss you. Would like to take a walk with you., Gabrielle Calvocoressi 2021: I saw Emmett Till this week at the grocery store, Eve L. Ewing 2020: Day Beginning with Seeing the International Space Station And a Full Moon Over the Gulf of Mexico and All its Invisible Fishes, Jane Hirshfield 2019: Flores Woman, Tracy K. Smith 2018: The Universe as Primal Scream, Tracy K. Smith 2017: Soul, David Ferry 2016: Turkeys, Galway Kinnell 2015: He Said Turn Here, Dean Young 2014: I Don’t Miss It, Tracy K. Smith 2013: Hotel Orpheus, Jason Myers 2012: Emily Dickinson’s To-Do List, Andrea Carlisle 2011: Now That I Am in Madrid and Can Think, Frank O’Hara 2010: The Impossible Marriage, Donald Hall 2009: The Rider, Naomi Shihab Nye 2008: from Homage to Mistress Bradstreet, John Berryman 2007: This Heavy Craft, P.K. Page 2006: Late Ripeness, Czeslaw Milosz 2005: A Martian Sends A Postcard Home, Craig Raine

[docgold13]

The Folks behind the Toons

Rebecca Sugar

Rebecca Rea Sugar was born in July 9 of 1987 in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Sugar was raised in the Sligo Park Hills area of Silver Springs where she simultaneously attended Montgomery Blair High School and the Visual Arts Center at Albert Einstein High School.  

Following graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York where she majored in animation, Sugar landed a job as a storyboard revisionist on the animated series, Adventure Time.  Her talent and quality of her work quickly led to Sugar being promoted to storyboard artist, making her debut during the production of the second season. Her first episode was ‘It Came from the Nightosphere.’  Whist working on the show, Sugar was encouraged by the creative team to put her ‘own life experiences into the character of Marceline.’

A talented musician and song-writer, Sugar write a number of the songs that appeared in Adventure Time.  This included ‘Everything Stays’ for the seventh season miniseries Stakes, the song ‘Time Adventure' for the series finale. Sugar returned for the Adventure Time spin-off Fionna & Cake to write the songs ‘Part of the Madness’ and ‘Cake on the Loose.’  

With encouragement from Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward and fellow animator  Ian Jones-Quartey, Sugar began developing her own animated series entitled Steven Universe.  The project was picked up by Cartoon Network while Sugar was still working on Adventure Time.  She left the show in its fifth season to work exclusively on Steven Universe.

At the series conclusion, Sugar directed the full-length television movie, called Steven Universe: The Movie.  The movie premiered on Cartoon Network in September of 2019 and was followed by an epilogue limited series entitled Steven Universe Future (also with Sugar as executive producer).  Sugar created several original songs for Steven Universe.   

Sugar acted as the executive producer for Steven Universe for its entire run, and a storyboard artist for several of its episodes.  The series premiered in November of 2013 and was a huge hit, running for five seasons. 

Along with being a fun, imaginative and much-loved adventure series, Steven Universe is notable for its emphasis on inclusivity and embracing of LBGTQ+ themes.  The show earned numerous accolades, including a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids & Family Program, as well as the 2019 Peabody Award for Children's & Youth Programming (the first animated series to win the award).  

At a panel at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, Sugar noted that the LBGTQ+ themes in Steven Universe are in large part based on her own experience as a bisexual woman. In a interview on NPR in 2018 Sugar said that she created the series' ‘Gem’ characters as non-binary women in order to express herself through them. 

In an interview for Paper Magazine in 2020, Sugar expanded that she does not specifically identify as a woman yet had felt pressure to conceal this due to being known as the first woman to create a Cartoon Network series.  In truth, Sugar identifies as non-binary and utilizes both "she/her" and "they/them" pronouns.  

In June 2024, it was announced that Sugar would write a new Adventure Time movie alongside fellow franchise alums Adam Muto and Patrick McHale, marking her return to the franchise.  She is additionally working on a fantasy-adventure film directed by Matt Braly, with the script written by Sugar and Braly.  

Sugar married her colleague Ian Jones-Quartey in 2019.