#but 80 is a more realistic number

[friendrat]

Wow... RUM is old... like... really old. Older than Agasa. 😆

[room-surprise]

How Old Is Thistle?

(EDIT: I've made a follow-up post to this one that goes deeper into the math and additional evidence that the 5:1 ratio is correct. You can read it here!)

I've seen people debating this and a lot of folks insisting that Thistle is a child, and since Thistle just debuted in the anime, I wanted to do a full write-up to help myself and others figure this out.

We don't know how old any of the Merini family members are exactly, so the best we can do is guess based on the information we have, but after carefully studying the manga, I think Thistle is at least a teenager, but much more likely a young adult, and definitely not a prepubescent child.

Here's what we know:

EDIT: Depending on what translation you read of some of the extra materials, Freinag implies that Thistle is the same age as some of his advisors.

Here's a detailed translation of this panel from my friend Fumi:

Elves age 5 times slower than tall-men.

16 year old tall-men in Dungeon Meshi's medieval time period are adults, they commonly join the military, get married, have children, etc.

An 80 year old elf is an adult. Pattadol is 82 and she's a lieutenant in a military unit. It's her first job and she's obviously a rookie, but Captain Flamela tells Pattadol to accomplish her mission or die trying.

Many fully adult elves look like what we might consider children or young teens, because they're short, petite, and have androgynous features.

An average elven adult is around 150-155cm tall (5 ft), meaning some are shorter than that, and some are taller. Thistle is 130 cm, which is short, but not unheard of.

Fleki is 130 (26) years old and she's 140 cm tall (4'7")

Otta is 137 (27) years old and she's 130 cm (4'5") tall, the same height as Thistle!

They are both women, but there's probably plenty of elven men in their height range.

Just so we can compare Thistle to some adult elven men, Mithrun and his brother are probably adults (or close to it) in the panel on the left.

Mithrun (in this image) is somewhere between 75 and 144 (probably in his 80's), and his brother is older than him (so he could be in his late 80s or 90s). As you can see, they don't look that different from Thistle, Otta or Fleki.

So, how old is Thistle?

(Spoilers below the cut)

Thistle was brought to the royal court as a child (found on the street, stolen or purchased, we don't know how they got him). At the absolute youngest I'd guess Thistle is 25 years old here (so about 5 years old for a tall-man.) He can already play the flute, and possibly the lute, and most children that aren't prodigies can't handle playing an instrument (physically or mentally) until they're around 5.

EDIT: We now know that Thistle is the same age as Freinag, the king that takes him in! So Thistle must be at least 25 years old in this comic, though realistically he could be anywhere from 25 to 40 based on how Kui drew Freinag.

He lived in the court for an unknown amount of time, Freinag hasn't changed much but Thistle appears to have aged a little, so let's say it's been 5 years and Thistle is 30 (6) when Delgal is born. More than 5 years could have passed, but I'm trying to keep the numbers low.

Delgal gets married and has a child. Delgal should be at least 15 at this point, but since he has a full mustache before his wedding, I think he's in his 20's, since teenagers tend to not be the best at growing robust facial hair.

(He has a full beard by the time Eodio's a young child.)

Thistle puts the kingdom inside the dungeon around this point, however, people are still aging: Delgal's grandson Yaad is born, and Eodio is clearly a young adult here, probably in his 20's. Therefore, there is NO REASON to assume Thistle stopped aging. "The dungeon lords don't age" is a common fan headcanon I've seen people spreading, but it has no clear canon basis.

Yaad ages until he looks about 13-15 years old, and at this point all of the people of the kingdom and Thistle appear to stop aging, and 1,000 years pass.

So, the youngest Thistle could possibly be, if he was 30 (6) when Delgal was born, if Delgal was 15 when he had Eodio, and Eodio was 15 when he had Yaad, and Yaad is 13 years old...

Is 73 years old, which would make Thistle about 14.6 years old by tall-man standards.

HOWEVER, I think it's VERY unlikely that all the characters are that young.

I think it's clear from Kui's drawings that Delgal and Eodio are not 15 years old when they become fathers, and that Freinag is at least 25 when he takes in Thistle.

If we assume Thistle was 30 when Delgal was born, and Delgal and Eodio were both at least 20 when they had children, even if Yaad is only 13 years old, that makes Thistle at least 83 years old (16.6), and makes him older than Pattadol, who is an adult at 82.

However, I think it's entirely possible that Thistle was anywhere from 40-50 when Delgal was born, and Delgal could have been anywhere from 20 to 30 when he had Eodio, and Eodio could have been anywhere from 20-25 when he had Yaad. If you use the maximum ages, and assume Yaad is 15, then Thistle could be as old as 120 (24).

I think a reasonable middle ground is assuming Thistle was 30 (6) when Delgal was born, Delgal had Eodio at 25, Eodio had Yaad at 20, and Yaad is 15... Which would make Thistle 90 (18) years old.

This of course says nothing about Thistle's emotional maturity or sanity, he's obviously stunted in some ways, but the point I want to make here is:

Thistle's age could be anywhere from 14.6 to 24 at the most extreme, but more realistically he's somewhere between 16.6 and 18.

And that's not even counting the thousand years that he's lived since then!

And that's all I've got to say about that 🙏🙏🙏🙏

(EDIT: Follow-up post with additional evidence here.) EDIT 2: I've seen a lot of people talking about the page Kui drew talking about elven earmuffs. It's considered just barely okay for Pattadol to wear them, but it's ok for Thistle to wear them... In which case I'd say Thistle could be any age younger than 83. That's handy as it knocks out some of the older ages!

So in that case Thistle's age is between 73 years old and 82, which makes him developmentally between 14.6 and 16.4!

[hawkatana]

So, given everything that's happened in recent hours, I thought I might give people who don't know about Gundam some stuff to learn about. Hopefully I can give a balanced and not-racist take like some people.

What is Gundam?

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino with help by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and animated by the studio Sunrise (currently Bandai Namco Animation, though I refuse to call them that), the original Mobile Suit Gundam released in 1979 to initially-limited success, though would gain popularity through a combination of fujoshis shipping the characters, the sale of plastic model kits referred to as "Gunpla" and a recut of the series into three compilation movies throughout the early 80's. And as of 2024 is the 66th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, beating out Scooby Doo, Minecraft and the Simpsons.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's what sparked Japanese sci-fi's obsession with O'Neill Cylinders.

The original anime takes place in the year 0079 of the Universal Century, where the Principality of Zeon: a nation composed of orbital space colonies declares a war of independence against the Earth Federation. This "One Year War" has already claimed half the human population by series start and is waged through the use of "Mobile Suits": bipedal mecha powered by a fusion reactor capable of effectively fighting out in the reaches of space.

Main character Amuro Ray is the son of a Federation engineer who lives in an out-of-the-way space colony, though soon finds his home under attack by a Zeon infiltration. After finding the secret Mobile Suit project his father was working on: the RX-78-2 Gundam, he fights off the Zeon invaders, though finds himself and a bunch of other kids conscripted by the Federation to fight the forces of Zeon aboard the ship the White Base. Throughout his journey, Amuro and the Gundam fight many battles against Zeon, including against their mysterious masked ace pilot Char Aznable.

The series was responsible for the codification (but not creation, people get this wrong all the time) of the "Real Robot" subgenre of mecha, where the robots were relatively more realistic and used as weapons of war as opposed to the more fantastical "Super Robot" subgenre pioneered by Mazinger Z and Getter Robo.

A major theme of the show, and the franchise as a whole is "War is bad", as demonstrated through this meme:

Yes, this is the original version of this meme format.

Anyway, Tomino, a renowned pacifist who grew up in the shadow of Japan's involvement in WW2 tried to use his platform as an anime director to try and tell a story that would get people to realise war's futility and brutality.

So I hear you asking, "That's nice and all, but what about the space lesbians who beat Destiel on their home turf?" Well, let's get into that.

What is the Witch From Mercury?

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, or "G-Witch" for short is one of the more recent entries in the Gundam Franchise and a (very) loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Set in the year 122 Ad Stella, the solar system is under the de facto control of the Benerit Group: a megacorporation with borderline-medieval internal politics that maintains a system of capitalism that benefits Spacians at the expense of those who live on Earth.

Main heroine Suletta Mercury enrolls at Asticassia School of Technology owned by the Benrit Group at the behest of her mother: CEO Prospera Mercury of the Mercury-based Shin Sei Development Corporation, and wins a Mobile Suit duel against a bully in her own MS: the Gundam Aerial. This however means she has now won the hand in marriage of daughter of the Benerit Group CEO: Miorine Rembran, beginning a series of consequences that shape the very political landscape of the solar system.

G-Witch was a massive hit, both critically and commercially. The first episode: the Witch and the Bride attracting record numbers for the studio and the Gunpla kit for the Aerial is currently the best-selling Gunpla kit ever.

Contrary to popular belief, G-Witch is not the first piece of Gundam media to feature a female protagonist. That honour would go to the 2002 Japan-only manga École du Ciel, nor would it have the first queer main character, which goes to 1999's Turn-A Gundam (and if you were to ask any fan of the series, they'd so it goes back to the very beginning). But it became notable for its lesbian representation in anime (in spite of Sunrise's attempts to downplay it, to the anger of the director, writer, producer, artists, animators, cast, fans and even their own parent company Bandai Namco who forced them to back off).

One thing I need to clarify: You don't need to have watched the original series to enjoy G-Witch. They're not even in the same continuity.

So if you're interested in the series and you've only watched G-Witch, I'll give out three recommendations for you all to enjoy:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Gundam 00 takes place in the year 2307 (the only series to use our own calendar), where the world is divided between three global superpowers: The Union of Free & Solar Nations (The Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Japan), the Human Reform League (China, South, East, Southeast and Central Asia) and the Advanced European Union (all of Europe, including all of Russia west of the Urals) who each control a space elevator near the equator and wage proxy-wars in Africa and the Middle-East over Earth's dwindling resources. This eventually culminates in the emergence of Celestial Being: a terrorist group consisting of Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tierria Erde, all of whom use powerful "Gundam" Mobile Suits and try to forcefully impose global peace on the Earth.

00 is pretty slow-paced and is more about the world than the individual characters, but said characters are really well-written, especially the characters from the three power blocs who are the de facto protagonists as they try to stop what are in their eyes a bunch of crazed terrorists preaching a hypocritical and incoherent ideology of "peace through force".

And to address the elephant in the room, this series is VERY post-9/11. Constant talks about terrorism, proxy-conflicts in the global south (especially the Middle-East), religious extremism, dwindling resources and the wars fought over them. While the franchise has always been political and of-its-time, you can just tell 00 was made in the mid-2000's. Again, it's good. But just something to keep in mind.

Turn-A Gundam

Turn-A Gundam is one of the weirder elements of the franchise for a myriad of reasons. Not the least of which being its unique setting taking inspiration from the famous sci-fi novel War of the Worlds.

In the Year 2345 of the Correct Century, human civilisation is at a level of technology reminiscent of the late-19th/early 20th centuries, save for the Moonrace on... well, the moon. As part of their queen Diana Soreil's plan to reintegrate both Lunar and Terran societies, several scouts are sent to the planet to set up their return to the planet. One such scout: Loran Cehack integrates into Terran society as a driver for the wealthy Heim family, though at a coming of age ceremony for the family's second daughter, a member of the Moonrace attacks the technologically-inferior Terrans. However, a mysterious mustached statue breaks apart to reveal a "White Doll": the Turn-A Gundam, allowing Loran to fend off the invaders. rest of the series becomes more of a mystery to how the supposedly-peace loving Moonrace could allow of such brutality.

The setting of the Correct Century timeline alone is one of the draws of Turn-A, though its excellent characters and compelling mystery also help a lot.

I do however have two warnings for people interested in watching it. The first is that this series was never dubbed. While it did receive an official sub in 2015, there still isn't a dub for the series. So if that bothers you, there's your warning.

The other is that there's a pretty big twist in the latter part of the series that while I will not spoil it here, it's such a big deal that I can't not mention it. It doesn't make any sense, and it actively detracts from not just the series, but the whole franchise. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't ruin my enjoyment, but a lot of people don't like Turn-A for that alone.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Favourite entry. Don't care. It's peak.

In the Year 60 of the Future Century, war has been abandoned by the nations of humanity in favour of the Gundam fight: a quad-annual fighting tournament between Gundams representative of the countries of the world where the winner rules space until the next Gundam fight, all while leaving the Earth ecologically devastated in the fighting. Neo-Japan's Gundam Fighter: Domon Kasshu arrives on Earth seeking information on his older brother Kyoji, who killed their mother and led to their father's arrest before stealing the experimental Devil Gundam to Earth, beating up every Gundam Fighter in his way. However, he eventually learns of far more dangerous revelations about the incident.

G Gundam is to put it bluntly: bat-shit insane. And I love it. It basically took a look at the then-stagnating franchise in the wake of the wet fart that was Victory Gundam and said "I know what can save this franchise, Bruce Lee movies!" And it somehow worked.

Word of advice: watch it dubbed. Mark Gatha absolutely kills it as Domon every time, and puts just the right amount of ham into every line.

So yeah, that's some stuff on Gundam. This was a long post to write out. I'm gonna take a break now.

[cadejos]

MEASURING NANAMI'S CRITICAL HIT POWER

i'm going to take a few liberties here, and make some assumptions based on characters' dialogues. however, i'll still try to be as realistic as possible with this assessment.

it all starts with this panel from chapter 231.

nanami in the panel says quite plainly that the critical hits he works hard to pull off are equal to gojo's average, no-effort punches. we can make the reasonable guess that gojo's "average punch" are his punches that are enhanced with blue. why? because those are the punches kusakabe talks about.

these are also the punches gojo himself brings up in chapter 256, as for why it's less likely (less necessary) for him to perform black flashes.

hese punches are intense enough that they make heavy hitters like hakari and yuuta nauseus. they're clearly not happy to have been on the receiving end.

... so we can draw the conclusion that if nanami were to do a critical hit with his full strength, the same effect would be achieved.

the problem now is clarifying what nanami means by a "critical hit". in chapter 20 of the manga when he is describing his technique, critical hit is exactly the term he uses, so we could assume that he means his base power with his CT in chapter 231. right? but i don't think its that simple.

i think there's levels to the critical hits, and not all of them are made equal. in order to meet the criteria for "full power critical hit", nanami needs to do a certain number of things. it can't just be his average jab, since he says that he needs to put great effort to match the likes of gojo's baseline strength.

one of those things may be "revealing his hand", a binding vow which increases the effectiveness of a technique in exchange for letting the enemy know what's up, and it's something he uses in that very chapter. (casually, it uses gojo as an example too)

nanami reveals his hand mainly for yuuji's benefit (and for us as readers), we don't know if he really needed it for this curse. after all, he still only hit it with the blunt side, implying that he can regulate the level of his blows through the use of his tool vs other things, like his fists (which may be more powerful, perhaps because the cursed energy does not have to flow into his cleaver)

average hits may be enough for weak curses, but stronger opponents require stronger measures. in his fight with mahito, he both reveals his hand and employs his overtime binding vow. even nanami's average punches merely represent 80% of his baseline capacity, making analysis a little blurry.

this is also the chapter that introduces us to ratio technique: collapse, an expansion of nnmi's 7:3 technique. it's enough to pulverize everything in a specific area, and it feels like a "minor earthquake" even from a distance.

nanami's technique is all about buffs and debuffs, both inherent and self imposed. the fact that he engages successfully in so many battles with curses at only 80% of his CE capacity is something that is quite noteworthy and oftentimes overlooked. i doubt that collapse would be as powerful at 80%, but that's why he only uses it after overtime is in place. it probably would still be pretty formidable with 100% capacity.

we are not even taking black flashes into account, an area where nanami excels. a critical hit buff stacked on top of a critical hit that is already buffed? that sounds borderline excessive. but that's something that nanami has been shown to be capable of.

so, all of this to come to the conclusion that the upper range of nanami's punches, given the proper conditions, are homologous with gojo's middle range blue enhanced punches. all of this is not to talk down on gojo's punches, but quite the opposite.

nanami needs to be precise in order to hit the weak spot his technique has forcibly created. gojo doesn't have that limitation. while nanami needs to actively think and measure his blows, gojo barely has to think, as it comes like second nature through the use of his six eyes.

still, the fact that level of power is even reachable for him is not insignificant.

[fantastic-nonsense]

Is it possible for Jason and Roy to actually be friends? I know RHATO is terrible and I've seen a lot of people say there's no real reason for Jason and Roy to have any sort of friendship and I was just wondering if that's the case?

Technically it's possible for anyone in comics to become friends (or at least be on friendly terms with each other) if the circumstances align the correct way. In the case of Roy and Jason, I think there's two things that people need to understand:

Jason and Roy were canonically on friendly terms prior to Jason's death. Jason had a short stint on the Teen Titans in the mid-80s and all of the Titans—including Roy—were pretty friendly with him. However, Jason and Roy's relationship during that arc is based around the fact that they only know about and interact with each other via their relationships with Dick Grayson. Roy is one of Dick's best friends, and Jason is Dick's younger brother. That directly impacts how they interact.

Roy and Jason are only friends in current canon due to a substantial number of retcons to Roy's life, personality, and friendships. These retcons have made it impossible to treat Roy and Jason's friendship as anything remotely reasonable for either character, because if you have to completely twist a character into something they're not for a friendship with another character to work…there's generally an insurmountable gap there that would be better filled by other people.

Given those two things, there's clearly a theoretical canon path forward for making Jason and Roy friends on their own terms rather than "being friendly to each other because they both love Dick Grayson." It wouldn't be super hard, though I personally struggle to see a lot of connection points for what would realistically make Jason and Roy become friends in the way that New 52 canon wanted to portray them.

The problem is that modern comics did not and still have not put in the work to make that friendship happen in a way that actually makes sense. Instead, they effectively just erased Dick from Roy's life and inserted Jason into it instead. And because the writers of that era (particularly Scott Lobdell, who wrote RHATO) did not actually care about any of the non-Bat characters they were randomly throwing together, that friendship and the circumstances under which it exists are pretty much the Ground Zero reason for why Roy Harper was fucked over so badly in the New 52 and Rebirth eras.

So the general fandom anger around Jason and Roy is less about there being "no reason" for their friendship to exist (though that's also true given how canon has portrayed it) and more about how the canon reasoning given for their friendship has done nothing but hurt Roy as a character. Hope that answers your question?

[alexthesillybilly]

Take my springtrap x reader angst hurt/comfort idk

You'd been checking on this...thing... for about a week now. It hadn't moved while you were there, but you'd been taking pictures of it before you left, and in every picture, it was in a different position. This thing was moving. And today you were going to figure out why.

Walking up to it and slowly crouching down beside it was the same as always. It stayed perfectly still, no sign of life or movement. But you knew it moved when you weren't there. This time, you were going to trick it. You spent the amount of time you usually did, taking notes, then taking your picture of it. You left the room shut the door, and stood by it.

Around fifteen minutes later, you were already losing your patience wondering if maybe someone else had been moving it, when you heard a noise from inside the room. A mechanical creaking sort of noise.

Perfect.

You opened the door as quickly as you could.

The animatronic was standing up. Its head whipped around towards you, its ears perking up. It made a sort of grunt noise and went perfectly still.

"I know you can move. D'you think I haven't noticed you're never in the same position?"

It looks at you, standing up taller and tilting its head, letting its ears flop to the side slightly. You took in how tall it was - inhumanly tall, even close to seven feet.

"Why wouldn't you move when I was in here?"

Its posture changed again and it looked around. It slowly motioned for you to come closer, as it sat down in the spot it usually sat. You wanted answers, so you did.

It seemed confused for a moment.

"Can you talk?"

It looked at you and tilted its head again. Sitting up a bit straighter, it lifted its head, giving a bit of a cough, followed by a sort of hum, and then nodded.

"You just don't want to?"

It nodded again. It gave a shaky robotic sounding breath, and spoke. "Hurts."

You stared at him for a second. "Oh. I'm sorry. You don't have to, then." He slumped back to the wall and relaxed.

"Should I just ask yes or no questions, or..."

He pointed at your notebook. "Write." He managed to choke out.

"Oh! Sure." You hand him your notebook and a pen. "Uh, do you mind if I ask some questions? I'm just... A little confused as to how you're so... Human-like, I guess. Behavior wise."

He threw his head back, shoulders shaking as if he was laughing.

"You didn't notice?" He writes, before setting the notebook down and lowering his legs, pointing at a rip in the suit.

There were clearly human organs in there.

"I- okay, yeah. I mean, I noticed, but I thought they were just... Really realistic fake parts."

Still laughing, he shook his head, and wrote again. "No, I'm a human inside here. Used to be."

"Used to be." You repeat. "How'd you get stuck in there?"

He paused for a moment. "Ever heard of the Springlock Failure Incidents?"

You'd heard of the accident a few times, but you'd never bothered to research it. You shrugged. "Kind of, I don't know much."

He nodded, and kept writing. "Imagine being in a mascot costume made of metal, but you move too fast and suddenly 500 tiny wires and gears and sharp metal parts puncture and crush your entire body."

You stare at him for a moment, eyes wide. "Holy shit. I'm- I'm so sorry. That's what happened to you?"

He nodded. "Twice. I escaped the suit the first time. I wasn't so lucky this time. I've been sitting in this room since it happened."

"Didn't those failures happen in, like the 80s and 90s, though?"

He tilted his head, confused. "Yes."

You stared at him again.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up with realization. "Wait," he paused, looking around, back at you, then got back to writing, "isn't it 1993?"

Oh no.

You slowly shake your head.

"19...94?"

You hold out your hand and he gives you the pen. On his paper, you write the year.

2023.

He stares at the number for a minute.

He speaks out loud again. "It's been thirty years. I-" he sets the notebook down and stands up. Talking seems to pain him even more, but he does it anyways. "I've been trapped in here for 30 years?" He stumbles and balances himself on the wall.

"Do you want me to leave?" You ask.

He shakes his head quickly, causing himself even more pain. "No- No, please-" he coughs, falling against the wall again, this time not on purpose. He covers his face with his hands. "Please don't go- not... Not yet."

"I won't, I promise." You cautiously step back towards him, and when he doesn't react, you sit down beside him.

"What was your name? I mean, when you weren't in here?" You asked, hoping to ground him again.

He shook his head and looked away.

"I wasn't a good man," he muttered.

"I doubt that. Just... Tell me. Or give me something to call you, at least. Give me a nickname you used."

He shut his eyes and laid his hands on the ground beside him. "Uh... Will." He sighed. He hesitated, and then added, "for, uh, for William."

William.

Oh.

"I... I know who you are, William."

He nodded slowly, then sunk into his corner more, head on his knees.

"You've really been in here for 30 years?"

He didn't respond.

Nervously, you softly placed your hand over his. His posture relaxed a bit. He made a sort of humming noise again.

"Talk to me. I want to know more about you."

He slightly opened his eyes, glancing at you. You started to pull your hand away, but he quickly raised his to touch you again.

"I'm sorry-" he coughed, moving his hand away. "I'm not used to contact. Not anymore."

"Hey, it's alright. Don't worry." You put your hand up against his again, this time letting your fingers intertwine with his a bit.

He leaned slightly closer, relaxing completely and shutting his eyes again.

"It's... It's gonna be okay, Will." You gently placed a hand on his face, getting a soft robotic, almost purring noise out of him. "It's okay. I've got you- I'm here now. I'm here."

That was all it took. He quickly wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a hug, and cried.

You did the same.

[tobernaut]

Did you like the first chapter? I'm pretty intrigued so far, though I have to say Ratau's personality was quite surprising considering how he is in the game. I have a feeling that maybe he will be the one to betray the Lamb considering that change. I can't wait for the next chapter!

Spoilers for COTL comic chapter one below! I will be tagging "cotl comic spoilers" from now on. Please block this tag if you don't want to be spoiled!

Spoilers include plot/character talk and a singular image.

Did I like the first chapter???? Did I LIKE THE FIRST CHAPTER??? I've been going through it with a fine toothed comb and loving EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!

Ahem.

So, I love this characterization of Ratau.

In the game we already saw hints that he maybe had a little bit of trouble letting go of the red crown. The fact he wears one made of paper is weird enough, but the fact he has the same paper crowns filling his house and on his shrine hints at this imo. I know game cannon ≠ comic cannon, but I had the idea Ratau may hold a little jealousy even before the comic because of this, so I was really excited to see the idea play out.

But if you look at it from his point of view, it kind of makes sense.

At least in the comic so far, it seems that Ratau is incredibly devoted to TOWW. He's offended that The Lamb is taking Narinder's mission so lightly, that they are seemingly attempting to ignore his orders in order to go on their own revenge quest.

This makes sense, because as a past vessel, Ratau is bound to know well the honor that that sort of job brings. Seemingly, he would be eager to take The Lamb's place, but knows he can not. He's managing someone doing his dream job, and they're just there for the paycheck. It's got to be infuriating!

Especially since he's seemingly older and wiser than the lamb (Though I don't think his or TOWW's use of the word "child" is literal. I think it's more in the same way The Mystic Seller calls The Lamb an infant god.) I can definitely see his frustration. I think that The Lamb is going to kind of "sober up" after Leshy's defeat and finally gain sight of the mission.

Speaking of The Lamb, I really like how they were characterized! A lot of us, including myself, were pretty sceptical of turning a silent protagonist into a fully fledged character, but in my opinion all is looking really very well so far!

I especially the love the sort of cognitive dissonance they have in the beginning. It sets them up to be this wimpy pushover. I know a lot of people may find it hard to believe that someone in those circumstances would be so calm, but as someone who's had a number of near death experiences I thought it was pretty realistic! A sort of humorous disassociation sprinkled with a confusing mix of denial and acceptance. (Though, please note it's been a few years since the last time I've nearly died. My data is a bit outdated.)

Regardless, I like how they are now. It makes a lot of sense, after all, to be a bit peeved at the circumstances. Their dialogue is super witty, though really sad if you think about it, and I have a feeling that when they stop focusing on revenge they're going to crash and feel a lot of things they've suppressed since their death.

But all in all I'm super excited to see where this little lamb goes!

Finally, can we get some Nana appreciation?? Sure she had a small role, but for a first non-game character, she made a really good first impression!

She seems fleshed out with her own little past, backstory, and personality. The traumatized sceptic in me is a bit worried she'll end up as a love interest, but I doubt it. If it does happen, I doubt it'll be in a typical way. This is a game where you're encouraged to marry with multiple people, after all. I don't think that's the case, though. I think I'm just used to old 80's comics where the first female introduced was the main love interest and nothing more 99.999% of the time.

Whatever is done with her, I'm eager for it. So far the writing seems really really good and she made a great first impression as a follower. She makes me EXCITED to see future follower interactions. If they're all written like her, then it's going to be a super enjoyable part of the comic. We love Nana here.

Finally I have some other random thoughts and things I noticed but can't really format in a way that works, so here's a bullet point list.

Apparently wool is very valuable. Now it's not said weather this is because of the lambs becoming less and less or if it was always valuable. Either way, it's and interesting little fact. I wonder if it'll be important later or if it's just trivia. I like to think things like that aren't added for no reason.

I like that they used the real term, 'Endling,' to describe the last of a soon to be extinct species. This knowledge, though, and the discussion with the cultist, implies this has happened many times before with other species. I wonder if they were always driven to extinction through genocide, or if natural factors ever play a role.

The Lamb was sold out for 30 gold coins. This is apparently a lot. It costs almost that much (converting coins to Dollars. Not perfect, I know.) to buy the ingredients for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich where I live in the US. Either there's not much inflation, or The Lamb was sold out for some PB and J.

I believe the thirty gold coins is a reference to the 30 silver coins Judas was given in exchange for selling out Jesus in Christian lore. If so, I like that detail! Very neat.

It's implied that the bishops are making life hell for EVERYONE while they drive off the lambs. This is interesting, and also a reflection of real life. Bonus points.

Does The Lamb really count as a non believer if they clearly believe in the bishops existence?? I mean they see them right there with no surprise.

Kallamar is shiny. Knew it. He also has tentacles.

It could just be the perspective, but Leshy seems taller than the other bishops.

BAAL AND AYM!

Let's all appreciate how well TOWW's chains and restraints were drawn. All those different perspectives must have been hell but it looks so good.

Chubby cheeks Narinder :)

Sharp teeth lamb! Possibly due to the crown??

So no head??

You. Me.

So no head?? x2

The lamb has guilt and second thoughts about the killing they must do to achieve their goals. Nice.

Cultist roles have hierarchy to them. Neat.

The Lamb's eyes water upon seeing light for the first time in who knows how long...sob.

Again, beautiful art.

There's lots of focus on The Lamb's fangs. Are they important or just stylistic, I wonder??

The crown seemingly has a mind of its own or is watching.

It's implied The Lamb has some sort of death powers already

So no head?? x3

CLAUNECK. MY BE FUCKING LOVED.

Needless to say I have so many THOUGHTS and can't wait for the next chapter. Happy reading, you guys!

[pinturas-sgm-aviacion]

1940 Malta Savoia Marchetti SM79 - Mark Postlethwaite

During the morning on 17 August, the Mediterranean Fleet was out for a raid in support of the Army. The battleships HMS Warspite, HMS Ramilles and HMS Malaya, supported by the cruiser HMS Kent and three flotillas of destroyers bombarded Bardia harbour and Fort Capuzzo, starting at 06:45 and continuing for 22 minutes. As the vessels headed back towards Alexandria a series of bombing attacks were launched against them by the Regia Aeronautica.The RAF and the FAA provided escort for the fleet. HMS Eagle's Fighter Flight of three Sea Gladiators had been flown to Sidi Barrani airfield in Libya, and from here patrolled over the Fleet. 'B' and 'C' Flights of 80 Squadron provided air support with flights of four Gladiators over the ships from dawn to dusk. ‘A’ Flight of 112 Squadron was positioned at Z Landing Ground (Matruh West) while ‘C’ Flight of 112 Squadron was based at Y LG about 18 kilometres further west and they also took part in the covering missions.The attacks on the Royal Navy began when, at 10:40 five SM 79s were seen at 12,000 feet, heading in from the north-east. Over the fleet there were, on standing patrol, at least the Gladiators of ‘A’ Flight 112 Squadron (probably six of them), the three Sea Gladiators of HMS Eagle’s Fighter Flight and a single Hurricane from ‘A’ Flight 80 Squadron flown by Flying Officer John Lapsley (P2641). They intercepted the Italian bombers and altogether claimed six of them (…)

John Lapsley told a newspaper about this combat:“I arrived just as five S 79’s had dropped their bombs, all well astern of the fleet, and were making off. One immediately went down in flames – evidently hit by anti-aircraft fire from the battleships. I picked on the leader and gave him about eight short bursts. He fell away, obviously in difficulties. Actually he landed his aircraft in our lines – there were six hundred bullet holes in it [probably ’56-9’ flown by Tenente Lauchard of the 56a Squadriglia].Then I picked on another and had just got a second burst into him he went up in flames. I was about one hundred yards away and the planes were much too close for comfort so I swerved away just as the crew of the S 79 ‘baled out’.The third remaining S 79 by this time was quite close to the coast and he was diving like mad for a cloud. I gave him three or four long bursts, and with one engine smoking he disappeared. I think he went into ‘the drink’.These Italian aircraft seem to be built of ply-wood. At any rate you have to dodge the pieces that come flying back at you when you fire your guns.There didn’t seem to be much more doing, so I came home. Even then I had some ammunition left.(…

) The third to be shot down was ’56-9’ flown by Tenente Arturo Lauchard of the 56a Squadriglia, which was seriously damaged. With all the crew dead inside the second pilot Tenente Vittorio Cèard (Lauchard was wounded) made a forced landing on a beach. The beach was in Egyptian territory and the two pilots were taken prisoners. The plane of Lauchard was later recovered and, taken to Alexandria, was exposed as a war prize on Ismailia Square. Lauchard left a realistic narration of his capture where he told that he was transported to the airport of Sidi Barrani where he was taken to the Officer’s Mess where an Intelligence Officer examined him. Lauchard told him only his name and rank and the amused British Officer showed him a chart where all the units of Regia Aeronautica were recorded with airbase, number of planes and names of the crew chiefs. There his name already was, written on a tag that the Intelligence Officer removed. Later the RAF officers offered a drink to him and he met a young Flight Lieutenant that around ten days before had been shot down by Italian fighters and obliged to bale out. The British pilot told Lauchard that while descending in his parachute an Italian fighter pointed on him but instead of opening fire he passed near him weaving with his arm. It seems that the pilot was almost surely Flight Lieutenant 'Pat' Pattle.

source:

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET FOURTEEN - ROUND ONE - MATCH SEVEN

"Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks" (1880–1891 - Ilya Repin) / "Garden of Earthly Delights" (1490-1510 - Hieronymus Bosch)

REPLY OF THE ZAPOROZHIAN COSSACKS: Uuuuuuooo I’m pretty sure somebody has submitted the world famous Repin with the fella holding his dead son, and yeah that one is truly harrowing and I think it should be in the final bracket cause it would sweep but Repin has such a range and it’s all very deeply felt and sensitive stuff. For this one he did a couple of versions - you could pick either because they’re both rich in a really immediate sense of humanity. Again on the technical side this is a truly bonkers piece of work because he stitched its elements together from countless studies of people he knew and the result is still somehow a Realist masterpiece rather than the patchwork amalgamation you’d expect.

And each figure isn’t just irresistibly human - he gives all of them so much tangible warmth (the riotous laughter! The attention paid to detail in their clothes! The irritated dog in the bottom left corner) and the fact that theyre all his friends and colleagues is really charming. Dunno if its like “molten lava” kind of evocation of emotion but it certainly makes me feel something. ( @idiotpalespiral )

GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS: think it's one of the greatest odes to human imagination and it's insane that it was painted around 1500. it's hard to overstate how innovate and unique bosch's art is. besides, he probably hadn't even ever taken acid in his life, so i don't know how he did that (@cuties-in-codices)

(The "Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks" is an oil on canvas painting by Ukranian born Russian artist Ilya Repin. A large number of the "Cossacks" are modelled after either friends of Repin or people he saw around him, including the bald head belonging to the Grand Chamberlain of the court of the Russian Emperor who declined to be added and Repin painted in anyway. This painting measures 203 cm × 358 cm (80 in × 141 in) and is located at the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. The submitter originally submitted the preliminary version of the piece.

"The Garden of Earthly Delights" is a triptych oil painting by Hieronymus Bosch. It measures 205.5 cm × 384.9 cm (81 in × 152 in) and is located in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.)

[physics-of-one-piece]

Hello Physics! I can’t get enough of our feathered friend and would love to request Doffys Leg to torso ratio!

Thanks so much xo

I have been waiting for THIS ONE! Same here, I can never get enough of our pink feathered menace friend.

First, disclaimer. His size varies based on the panels he is in, but the most accurate ones are those from afar rather than the up-close ones.

I got a LOT of results since I used 3 panels, 2 from manga, 1 from anime.

Okay, for this we need (groans) pixels. Ugh. Ugh.

I’m not on PC right now so we’ll do it the more basic way of cutting the image into the height to fit Doffy.

Beware, most images I found of him are very very traumatic pages of the manga.

Like this one! 😊

Haha…ha… aaaaaa 😭😭😭😭

He is 254 pixels tall here. So that means 254 pixels = 305cm here.

Now we cut his torso off.

(Wheezes) Oda really fckn drew him 100% flamingo dear god.

His legs are 171 pixels. Ooh boy.

So his legs are 171 pixels tall, his upper body = 83 pixels

Hm, I can already do the ratio with this. I tried to do pixels to cm but it just wasn’t working out, even though it should have. I was getting too small numbers for his leg height in cm. So we’ll stick to pixels and then when we get the ratio & percentages, we’ll go into the cm to get his torso+leg length.

Ratio, basic one, we go:

171/83 = 2.06

83/83 = 1

So his legs to upper body ratio is 2:1.

For his torso, we gotta do his TORSO, that means waistline to shoulders.

Torso = 59 px.

So, we do same thing for legs to torso ratio.

171/59 = 2.89

Legs - Torso ratio = 2.89:1

Now we’ll go into percentages bcs I do not like ratios.

171/254 = 0.67 × 100 = 67%

Legs = 67%

Upper Body = 32.68%

For his body, it fits. The average torso length is 26-30% of a male’s height.

And NOW WE CAN GO INTO CM HALLELUYAH!

Legs = 205.36 cm

Upper Body = 109 cm

This fits. It fits for how tall Law is compared to Doflamingo, and it fits to how tall Smoker is compared to Doflamingo. Smoker’s head is reaching to Doflamingo’s stomach, and Smoker is 209 cm tall. It fits.

YES! YES! YES! HAHA! YES.

Sorry. I wanted to know how much LEGS this man has for AAAAGES. I always circled it to be 60% but by Oda… it’s a bit more.

Let's do North Blue Doffy in his Red Suit 😍

Here is North Blue Doffy. This image is a bit bigger since the panel itself was bigger. He’s 503 px tall. Yeah, I lowered his hair, he ain’t fooling his height with that updo.

Let’s see his leggies.

Legs = 301 px

(Spits out my hot chocolate) HOLY ONE PIECE.

301/503 = 59.8 %

Aaa, see here his legs are 60%. This is a more realistic proportion while still keeping his legs tall as fuck. And this was my initial guess.

Okay, 60% of 305cm is… also, before anyone says, "oh only 6% difference"… 1% of 305 is 3.05 cm. Each percent is 3.05 cm taller. Within only 3% he’s reaching 10 cm taller, and that’s nothing to scoff at — HE’S ALREADY HUGE WE DON’T NEED HIM HUGER!

183 cm

Maybe... Too short? Luffy (174cm) would then… wait.

Oh.

Hmmm…

Huh.

HUH.

HUH?!

This is getting too accurate regarding body proportions. Not surprising, since Oda uses different distances in panels to get different vibes.

This… actually fits, then? Huh.

I think Luffy needs about 10-20 cm more to be at waist height, so we should add that amount for the legs…

194-197 cm

You know what, we’ll round it up to 183 (60%)-200 cm for his leg height. My bet? Somewhere in the high 80s. Mostly because from what I think, Law (191cm) should be at his waist, Smoker (209 cm) above his waist. Did we seriously, in all of Dressrosa, NEVER get Law standing in front of Doffy with Doffy also standing? 😭🤧 If Doffy’s proportions were normal, his leg would be 50% of his height but since he has flamingo ass legs…

We gotta find Law. We gotta. (Opens my Dressrosa manga folder)

I am so sorry, Law. I am so sorry.

Final verdict.

Doffy's Leg Length: 185-205 cm

60 - 67% legs

My take… 195 cm (63% legs)

Makes Law just a tiny bit shorter and feeling small cus he could never get over Doffy’s waist - how about that trauma and feeling like he is still a kid being scolded by his captain. Haha. Ha…

I really like suffering, huh? Prob why Dressrosa is my favourite arc.

It really depends how long you wanna understand his upper body is, but I think the 2:1 ratio is fine for that.

I’m done. Doffy has huge limbs and is too tall, someone shrink him.

Wait. Wait.

FOUND YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT. THIS PIC. WE’RE USING THIS ONE.

1978 pixels tall. This time we’ll do upper body first cus big boy can’t stand normally.

His waistband is drawn taller here for the intimidation factor so we’ll follow the length of his shirt. It’s longer than his upper body so we shorten it slightly to get to the waist

Upper body = 541 px

😭😭😭 THAT GIVES HIS LEGGIES 1000+ PX 😭😭🤧🤧🤧

Legs = 1430 px

Nah, this is too much at this point. This is exaggeration. This is… (wipes nosebleed)

72% legs!

HAHAHAHA. HAHA. NO. NO. NO NO NO NO NO. NO!

I’m done! I’ll bleed out from my nosebleed. I need to get some bandages! Bye! Thank you for the ask!

Taglist: @fanaticsnail @ohnomyhooves (bcs I think you'll be interested)

[nanaminokanojo]

ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE | Sukuna X You | CHAPTER INDEX II (Part 69 onwards | Ongoing)

-meet cute? a cheesy musical number? forget it! love makes itself known to you through a minor car accident, a broken arm, and a treacherously charming temporary chauffeur

CHARACTERS: sukuna x you/reader | jjk characters (uraume, gojo, geto, shoko, nanami, choso, maki, nobara, mei-mei, etc.)

GENRE: full-length smau + prose | bad boy x good girl | college au | a lot of firsts | aged-up characters | strangers to lovers | smut | fluff | angst | ooc depictions - soft sukuna ftw

TW/CW: strong/mature language | adult content so mdni on some parts | mentions of alcohol and/or smoking | mentions of injury, promiscuity and bullying | pet names because they're cute with 2D men | toxic behavior | will add more if something arises

MASTERLIST | CHAPTER INDEX I

CHAPTERS: 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80

81 | 82

ADDITIONAL NOTES: i will be using pics and other media which would fit situations and make the smau-ness of this piece a little more realistic and entertaining when i believe it’s appropriate/fitting to the plot (as i've done with my other smau). having said that, with regard to inclusivity, i just want to put it out there that they will not necessarily be aimed as the exact descriptions to fit a supposedly generic reader nor will they be representative of a specific race or color. it’s all for the simple fact of media availability, for funsies and the fact that i don’t exclusively write in consideration of those aspects when using reader-insert characters unless i specify it. thank you for understanding.

TAG LIST: CLOSED

[brw]

Do you think Sentry is interesting?

Hmm. I'll be honest, I don't find Sentry himself to be terribly interesting; he is, ultimately, a prime example of an Evil Superman, and that trope doesn't really do it for me (2k essay about Simon technically fufilling the role of an Evil Superman nonwithstanding, although Simon is more of a mediocre Superman as opposed to an evil one).

What he is interesting is that he's sort of a precursor to the whole trope. Evil Supermen have existed before 2000, but in the last 20 years they've become unavoidable; Omniman from Invincible, Homelander from The Boys, Plutonian from Irredeemable, Superior from Superior, Hyperion from Marvel, and a number of Superman variants from DC including characters from Watchmen and The Authority all fill this trope in their own ways and have become especially prominent in the past 20 years.

I think Sentry really marks the beginning of 2000s comics becoming edgier, grittier, sort of acting against the fun levity and camp that defined the 60s. You can see this especially with the 60s-themed pages in the original Sentry limited, which are portrayed as being delusional, childish, the ramblings of a madman compared to the more visceral and realist (although it's Jae Lee, so still stylised) early 2000s art. It's interesting, because I usually hold that to 9/11 and the impact it had on the general American psyche and the way the Iraq war caused a lot of disillisionment with "Truth, Justice, and the American Way", which is definitely why Evil Superman became such a big thing in the 2000s and onwards, but Sentry predates that. He's sort of an odd duck that way, and maybe points towards a changing cultural shift even if 9/11 never happened.

But as a character himself, Sentry is kind of one-dimensional, in part because the trope he helped popularise and turn into the mainstream has become so saturated it isn't interesting anymore. Superman, but he's insane and evil, but thinks he's a hero. We've seen it before. There's two different Amazon television series' with that concept. And as a character, he doesn't really work long-term in Marvel Comics either. He's not really popular to have an ongoing series, and his being a Superman where Marvel doesn't really have an awful lot of Supermen makes him difficult to fit into a team. He was designed to be one of the most powerful beings on the planet, which makes it a little odd if you put him next to Black Widow on the Avengers. Superman has the benefit of being a core part of DC lore, and having various weaknesses that have been added to and developed for over 80 years of consistent publication history; Sentry doesn't. He doesn't hold the same narrative or thematic importance that other characters do, other than being one of many instances of the Avengers being really bad when it comes to looking after their teammates mental health and faculties. Of course, it becomes increasingly dangerous of them when you have such instances of him and Wanda causing massive reprocussions when they fail to adequately support them, but unlike Wanda, you can't have a Sentry with all his marbles, otherwise you just have Superman, and we don't need or particularly want that.

So, TLDR; he is interesting as an example of a larger cultural shift in the landscape of American superhero comics, and represents one of the first in the new wave of Evil Supermen and gritty, realist comics in general that have defined the 2000s, 2010s, and now going into the 2020s with popular media such as Invincible and The Boys. As a character himself, he suffers from the oversaturation of the trope he helped bring into prominence, and is sort of inherently a bit of an ableist mess, so he leaves a lot to be desired.

[varteeny1234]

Why You Should Watch Marma1ade!

All about my favorite MCYTer :D

Introduction

Marma1ade is a small Minecraft Youtuber, currently with about 8.6k subscribers, and only 75* videos. She doesn't have a lot of series, but she has been uploading regularly for about two years now! Most of her videos are single-player, but she is a part of the Skyblock Kingdoms SMP (link to her channel playlist) and has been a part of two collaborative videos, one a hardcore luckyblock video (her video) with AnimusJ (his video) and one with AvidMC (on his channel). She does not, as of currently, have any inter-series lore or storytelling, so you don't need to worry about having to catch up on any of that.

*the number of videos is listed as 80, but only 75 of them are full-length, 5 are yt shorts

Video/Editing Style

She has chill, relatively slow-paced videos. She doesn't yell loudly, narrating her videos in a quiet but clear voice. She DOES use a lot of background music, especially in her earlier videos, but it doesn't feel like she over-uses it, and she matches the beat of the song to in-game actions (particularly in her chunklock miniseries). She uses B-Roll in building montages (various 2-3 second clips of different stages of building- if you've seen any of Ethoslab's videos, you probably know what this is) as well as timelapses. She tells a story for everything she builds!

Series

Survival Let's Play Season One: Magical theme to her builds, stories about a world with connecting civilizations. Starts out living in a mangrove swamp! 32 episodes, finished (MC version 1.19)

Survival Let's Play Season Two: Builds and lives in a cherry grove valley village, with a story about how time has passed and changed the buildings, and new places have been built. 14 episodes, likely finished* (MC version 1.20)

Chunklock miniseries: Starts out in a forest biome, explores nearby areas, does not have an overarching story. Her main goal is to beat the Ender Dragon- because the chunklock datapack is the way that it is, a long-term series with big builds just wasn't a realistic goal. That's ok though- the sacrificial shrine is worth it! 5 episodes plus a combined movie, finished (MC version 1.20)

1.20 Hardcore: Lives in between a cherry biome and a plains village! Has built a lot of farms, but no large builds yet- smaller builds yes, but nothing really MASSIVE. 5 episodes, ongoing** (MC version 1.20)

Skyblock Kingdoms Season One: SMP series with 19 other creators, all playing on Skyblock, in teams of two each with their own island and tree type! Marm is one of the Mangrove witches, and she has a lot of involvement in the OSSHA arc. 13 episodes (as of 19 Sept. 2024), ongoing (MC version 1.20-1.21)

*Marm has not confirmed the series is finished. However, it has not been continued in 9 months, and she has since started two new series.

**Marm has not started any new SINGLEPLAYER series, and she stated in-episode that she has plans for builds later on, but she is currently busy with SBK. She may return to Hardcore in the future.

Series Lore

While Marm has lore in her Skyblock Kingdoms series, she does not have any canon* lore connecting to her other series. In SBK lore, she has magical powers, and is connected to the void through her magic. Her character is connected to AvidMC's character/lore. On her Tumblr (@/marma1adee) she has made comments about possible connections to other series' lore (specifically LP S1) but nothing has been confirmed or even mentioned in-episode.

Why She Is Awesome

Marma1ade is very talented at both playing Minecraft and editing videos, and her videos are always fun to watch. She's a very friendly person, and cares a lot about sharing her ideas with the world!

She has a good sense of humor, which adds a lighthearted air to her storytelling. Also, she cares less about perfection and more about the experience, so she likes to ask her viewers what they think she could do to improve!

One funny quirk I've noticed is that Minecraft mobs seem to always be in the wrong place for her. If you think, "oh, that's normal!", then you have NO IDEA just how bad this curse is. Not a SINGLE mob is in the right place the first time! In fact, I believe that her frogs from LP S1 are still stuck underneath their lily pad :P

IN SHORT: MARMA1ADE FOR LIFE!!!! :D

[blazehedgehog]

Let's assume Metal Sonic has some degree of personal agency. Do you think he has any attachment to Robotnik as his creator? Like they potentially made amends after Heroes? Would he share Sage's sentiment about being "siblings" in a sense?

I think to some degree the canonical Metal Sonic has a very primitive idea of what a "relationship" looks like and is. I think some elements of Sonic's personality leak through as a natural product of the data Metal Sonic contains, but Metal himself doesn't always understand how or why his programming comes to those results. The data is very complex and analyzing its own processes takes resources away from the rest of his computational systems, something he doesn't often spare.

I imagine Eggman probably gave him some kind of boost to whatever he considers "loyalty", or at least tried to, so Metal has some inherent appreciation of his creator. But again, it's the kind of thing he doesn't really understand -- it comes from somewhere, but it doesn't come from him. It's a programming directive, something that adjusts the data as it executes, so if Metal Sonic feels anything at all, he can probably feel like he's being pushed and pulled internally.

The Sonic part of his personality is like "Eggman is bad and must be stopped" and Eggman's programming is trying to override that with "Eggman is your creator and you must be loyal to him." Metal Sonic himself sits somewhere in the middle of those two.

Presumably Eggman's censors win out in the end, but Eggman also strikes me as a guy who thinks "80% is good enough." That last 20% is where the hardest work is, it's where all the smallest, most pointless fringes are, and there's too much other stuff that needs to be done, after all.

So Metal Sonic still occasionally receives a valid "Sonic Thought." And he doesn't really know what to do with it, because so much of his programming has been rewired to block that. Part of his programming is definitely "error correction", so mostly it gets discarded without examination, but maybe it doesn't always. And that's how we end up with weird situations like Metal Overlord; Metal Sonic is acting on his "Eggman must be stopped" but it's getting filtered and redirected through all of this Eggman propaganda programming. So Metal Sonic stops Eggman by trying to replace Eggman.

After Sonic Heroes, I imagine Eggman "punished" Metal Sonic by increasing his filtering, censoring, and redirection programming. Like if Metal Sonic is 80% "good enough" now, I imagine before Sonic Heroes he was probably 70% or even 60%. Good enough that Metal Sonic did not immediately try to fight Eggman on activation, basically. But, obviously, Metal Sonic was just playing a longer game.

Eggman would see the whole incident as a programming bug and would simply seek to reinforce his control and suppress more of Sonic's natural tendencies. But again, never 100%. He'd probably see 100% as some impossible number. Metal Sonic is probably running on some neural network type code, something deliberately made to be unpredictable on some level, so plugging all of the personality "holes" isn't something that can be realistically done because the range of output is too vast. Plus, blocking them all starts to negate the benefits of having Metal operate on a copy of Sonic's brain in the first place. You need that wiggle room.

So in most cases I think Metal Sonic understands and acts upon an intrinsic loyalty to Eggman, which Eggman himself put there as part of Metal's programming. But it's possible (difficult, but possible) to poke and prod to get him to question that loyalty and himself.

[knightotoc]

Just finished IWTV book, so now I can say the differences between the book, movie, and show. The movie is quite accurate to the book, while the show is more original. I love them all quite a lot, but I think the show is my favorite since it's the most romantic. Long post with spoilers below the cut.

book:

The depth of Louis' interiority, especially his thoughts about religion, can only be found in the book. I am also ex-Catholic so this is high-key my shit. Especially knowing Anne Rice went back and forth later in life. I can relate. Louis wants to talk about his feelings with other vampires, but Lestat and Claudia aren't interested, which is the main reason Louis is attracted to Armand. Where is the Brideshead Revisited crossover?? Louis get in a bisexual love triangle with the Flytes for me🙏

I learned in the Matt Baume video on Anne Rice that she wrote IWTV while grieving her daughter, who died of leukemia just before her sixth birthday. This feeling of grief, reflected so clearly in Claudia, is the most moving and unique aspect of the book, far more than anything between the adult characters.

One reason this feeling is watered-down in both adaptations is that in the book, Claudia is only 5/6, the age of Anne's real daughter. In the movie she is 10 and in the show 14. Of course it would be impossible to find a 6 year old actress who could act with the maturity of an 80-year-old woman. But the character is even more pitiful and bizarre as a little child than as one nearing puberty.

In the book, Lestat is shown to have survived the murder attempt pretty early on, and he keeps jump-scaring Louis and Claudia on their adventures. I prefer the movie's version where they hold off on this reveal. Though of course I always love to see him, lol

In the book, I got the impression that Lestat and Louis are both bi, but Lestat prefers men and Louis prefers women. Still, their motivations aren't driven by sexuality in a straightforward way. For example, Lestat's ideal prey is a young man, because he loves to destroy their potential. Louis feels something like love for a few women characters, because he feels empathy for their misfortunes.

The adaptations soften/change Louis' status as a slave-owner; in the movie, he frees his slaves, and in the book he just flees. As much as Louis is a soft-hearted quasi-feminist, defined by his guilt and regret, he is still racist and close-minded in most ways. This seems realistic to me.

I did think it was interesting and cool that the enslaved people can tell Louis and Lestat aren't human, while the other plantation owners and even Lestat's dad have no idea. But we don't get their perspective, just Louis' racist assumptions.

Yeah in the book Lestat has a dad! It is rather confusing since Lestat explains nothing, but it creates some great melodrama. I guess I have to read the next one and hope for a backstory reveal.

Fun spooky detour into Eastern Europe! I hope the show goes there in season 2.

Louis and Armand's discussions are really cool. I especially loved Louis' monologues after Claudia's death. There wasn't room for these discussions in the movie, but I feel like it'll be a main focus in season 2 of the show.

movie:

Like I said, the movie is impressively accurate, and a beautiful work of art on its own. The best innovation is holding off on the Lestat reveal until almost the very end. This makes it look like their murder attempt really did a number on him, and it took decades and decades of rat-eating to even drag himself out of the swamp. I like that.

The movie also has a more exciting and ridiculous ending, in which Lestat attacks the reporter in his car and drives away to Guns N' Roses. The book ends with the reporter hurrying off to find Lestat himself. It's funnier and more awesome if Lestat is the one driving the plot and the car. Pleased to meet you :D

"How avant-garde." Best line in the movie, and it's not from the book!

Since the movie cut out most of the minor characters, there isn't as much evidence for Louis' bisexuality. Louis seems more like, gay but closeted. And Lestat seems more like, gay but misogynist, so he'll prey on women just for sport lol.

I'm a Fight Club guy so I love that this is, like, a reverse companion movie (this time, Brad Pitt is the pushover in a dangerous gay duo)

show:

This is the only version that is clearly gay. But this dynamic is the same: Louis wants to talk about things, and Lestat does not. In this case, the focus of these discussions is not vampirism or religion but their relationship. Louis points out that he is gay and Lestat is bi. Perhaps it's just because I saw this version first, but this is my favorite version of their sexualities. The show simply spends more time with this dynamic, and how it affects everything, including their interracial relationship and openness in society.

In the book, Lestat is a talented but soulless musician. He can play anything, but without heart. In the show, music is Lestat's one genuine connection to humanity (even if this connection just leads him to kill musicians who don't impress him). I believe later books go more into Lestat as a musician, so I'll have more thoughts on this later.

Since the reporter is cynical, old, and dying, this creates a much more compelling conversation within the framing device. He holds Louis to task with a forcefulness that rivals Lestat. It is a clever way of modernizing the story, since Daniel references their last interview in the 70s (when the book was published), and you are meant to wonder which version is more truthful.

Since Claudia is 14, she can pass as an adult, and she is able to go on her own rather disastrous adventure. It is exciting, terrifying, and sad, and a welcome addition for this character, though it is much different than the book's helpless, heartless Claudia.

The Catholicism in the show is flashier, but not as interesting as the book. For example, in the book, Louis is haunted not just by Paul's death, but Louis' failure to meet Paul's faith-driven monetary demands. In the show, Paul's ideas seem like more of an annoyance. Maybe there will be more religious doubt in season 2, but I don't really expect it.

In the book, it seems like Louis and Claudia throw Lestat in the swamp since it's faster and more thorough than fire. In the show, the oven they use is a major plot point, and Louis can't bear to put Lestat's body in it because he still loves him. Instead they throw Lestat in the trash, which is one of my favorite tropes (see: Maul in The Clone Wars, Soldier 1998). This is just one of the many ways the show complicates and deepens Louis and Lestat's bond.

I feel like the show is more believable and has more deepness in general, since it's a smart retrospective on an old franchise and a response to decades of vampire fun in pop culture. For example, in the show Louis has volunteer humans to feast upon, and it's very "safe, sane, and consensual," versus the universally predatory relationships in the book and movie. Because we all know now that if vampires were real, and they were hot and rich, they could get all the blood they want without hurting anyone. An ethical vampire like Louis isn't impossible anymore. Compared to other billionaires, he's a pretty decent guy.

So, I'd say the book has the most profound perspective on grief, the movie has better structure, and the show has the most complex romance.

[camlannpod]

Yet another re-listen, yet more questions:

1) Did Gwaine have to *walk* back from the Alps?

2) Was Gwen winding a heavy worsted or bulky weight yarn, or is she just really fast at winding? (The last yarn I wound for my own knitting was a fingering weight (also known as sock yarn, if you are unfamiliar), and that took a fair chunk of time)

3) Is that how CB radios work, or is it story logic in play?

4) On the topic of story logic: is food governed by story logic of it's fine unless it needs to not be or is it more that I, being American, have no idea what a supermarket in Wales is likely to have or not have regarding perishables?

5) Did the Cataclysm happen during a specific time of year or just a nebulous nine months before episode one?

5a) How long *were* they in Anwn in episode 7?

Feel free to cherry-pick or ignore as needed, especially if I've accidentally landed on something plot-relevant, I am mostly just full of happy babble.

Thank you!

Hi! Omg!! No it makes me SO happy people are still relistening and caring enough to ask these questions! I know it's quiet on our end right now, but it's always a nerve-wracking kinda period of quiet where you just really hope people still care and are still finding the show.

SO in answer to your questions:

Great question, which raises the other one: did he walk to the Alps? There's a bit where Gwaine says the Green Man led him through a moss-covered old stone arch, and then he was in deep snow and mountains. Gwaine says he thinks he's in the French Alps but he doesn't actually know exactly what happened. Realistically there's no way he could've gotten there through ordinary means - as Gwen alludes to, London is a mess and he'd have had to backtrack past Glastonbury and the knights. The mechanics of this are supposed to be an open question for you, the listener - though I can say the trick to it is something important that will come up in season 2.

Straight up this one is mostly just cinema magic - in that we couldn't spend too long on her doing it but I wanted the intimacy at the start of her telling Morgan what to do. I do think there's an element where it probably is a bulky yarn though! She wants / needs to make four (and after Gwaine arrives, five) jumpers really fast - she's got about 3 months before they're in deep winter. To my, admittedly amateur, knitting knowledge - using a heavier yarn would let you make something much quicker, if of a lower quality, and in this case Gwen wants speed.

It is how CB radios work! I have an older gay friend (who presents the LGBTQ+ non-fiction podcast, ShoutOut Radio, check it out) who told me about how he and other gay people used to use this as a way to find each other in the 70s and 80s. So basically you'd give a location, like a high street, and agree on a frequency, then drive in circles in your car with the radio on trying to find where the signal was stronger until eventually you found who you were looking for. The problem is that, as Morgan says, it only works at like 2-3 miles away at most, so it wouldn't have worked with Gwaine. That was just Dai pulling them to try anyway.

Food is going to become a bigger and bigger plot issue as the story goes on. Right now, the gang are in the first nine months - so the supermarket didn't have any edible fruit or vegetables etc, but did still have canned and some dry goods that were workable. The big things for Camlann are a) the apparently tiny number of survivors, which means most places have been left untouched and not raided by anyone, and b) the cottage itself - which had an unusually high amount of canned and dry goods, which has helped the gang a lot.

Uh, it's kind of nebulous (I want to leave it open for myself for plot reasons) - but I've got a pretty strong idea the series starts in Autumn. If we put the beginning somewhere in September, then we're talking January, maybe December for the Cataclysm.

/ 5a. Similarly left nebulous for plot reasons, but if the series starts in November and we assume the first few episodes take just over a month, then they're there for about 4-8 weeks. The leave in mid-October and come back in late December (skipping Samhain, luckily for them).

Again, sincerely, your happy babble gives me so much joy, thank you so much for caring about the show enough to ask so many questions! <3