#either would cure a lot of things on this planet

[youchangedmedestiel]

I need to say it. Art and gifs of Destiel/Cockles kissing as gorgeous, amazing, incredible, any other adjective like those as they are (I'll be honest I wouldn't be able to create one as good as those I saw here on Tumblr and without them we have nothing), I think deeply inside of me that they don't even come close to what that kiss would be, given the insane chemistry that these two men have.

And it's the same about fanfic, as good of a writer as some are, and there are incredible writers out there whose fics I love to read again and again, hell I even write Destiel fics myself, but it's the same that for the art and gifs, describing a kiss as good as you can do it with a language limited by words can't do enough justice to how the real kiss would happen.

I only wish I could be able to see them kiss for real, because I'm sure if it happens one day, it will catch my heart, rip it out of my chest, hug it tight and put it back in there (even to describe what I would feel, words aren't enough).

[ohfugecannada]

I was thinking about Grootfall (derogatory) and suddenly realised this parallel.

[boltdrake]

Ok about moral greyness in elden ring fandom

I feel like it’s mostly treated as either some kind of badass cosmetics for a GoodGuy (like “my blorbo is cool and good and kind but you know they kill people - bad people, so it’s not bad but it’s not also your Jesus guy which is normal bc who would give their second cheek”) or some kind of euphemism used by bad/problematic/pseudo intellectual people to erase morality

I’m bad problematic pseudo intellectual person so take my opinion with grain of salt, but I think it’s a great misunderstanding or what a morally grey character is in ER especially

It’s usually based on the that understanding of goodness that to be good you just need to do good things and don’t do bad things (which is of course extremely vague and not defined but anyways). It’s seems pretty straightforward and because of that brings a lot of confusion

It’s quite easy for a character to be GoodGood (even with murders but I digress), you can see it in many fix-it fanworks where often every trouble finds its own, well, fixing, and there’s always a way to set things right, maybe just with some sad deaths along the way, but characters often will find this correct way because in these universes there’s always at least one

(It’s not a rant on fanfiction I like it and I like fix-its very VERY much)

And when same logic is applied to the game itself, often arises treatment of characters as GoodGood, MisleadedGood and BadBad ones

But in the stories we see in Elden Ring context is usually such that when a character wants to get something, even something good, like for example make people live forever or cure their own sister, there’s sometimes no way of resolving their trouble without facing some kind of moral choice, even if you’re a literal half-god. You either get what you want with a price, or don’t get it… also with a price. Because fromsoftware stories are build on conflict, tragedy and irony

That’s what makes character grey, the fact there’s no third option or that you don’t have third option just because world is that way and you’re unlucky. And not choosing to get what you want can be as bad as choosing opposite. And that’s what usually makes situation complex and twisted and inherently grey

I don’t want to say that like every person in fandom should treat all the characters as mostly good ones without making some way less sympathetic than others. Making characters twisted and horrible is fun! I’m just tired of the way how people 1) don’t realise there’s often HUGE room for interpretation and make it problem of others 2) hate characters with such a passion as they were real humans who live in your neighbourhood on planet earth 2024 3) sanitise characters into strictly Good and Bad ones etc etc etc

My whole vent on Miquella’s hatebase is in fact divided into two parts, one being me thinking many people just lack understanding of the DLC/base game ideas and plot, but that’s ok we all have different opinions (I’m just the only one who is correct. LIVE WITH THAT.), and second being that vague ??rudeness?? and hatred which accompanies division on Morally Good and Morally Bad, because there’s this subtle idea like. Oh if you like Godrick/Rykard/Post-DLC Miquella / Seluvis then you’re moral pervert/ lover of Dark. Which is rarely true and really annoys me

I also have no trouble with GoodGood characters being GoodGood because, well. it’s comforting and cozy stuff. But often it turns into token of moral superiority, like look I love GoodGood guy because I’m good too and also not stupid. This is also annoying and I wish we had less of this in fandom.

It’s often also a lie to oneself, because even if we approach elden ring from I Can Simp Only Morally Pure ones (which is very boring and butchers the whole thing in my opinion) then we would probably be left with only Boc, Hewg and maybe Roderika. What do you mean you want to simp LITERAL murderers?? What do you mean you want to simp those assholes demigods who think that people are just dolls for their games, who turned the land into land of the dead because they just couldn’t stop war after war after war to decide who will make new order? What do you mean you want to simp the demigod who quit the war to do literally nothing to stop it???? CRINGE

Also GoodGood character headcanon making without self-awareness often results in very weird moral twists of its own, because in this logic character is allowed to make only GoodGood decisions, therefore all the stuff character made in canon MUST be good and morally justified. This leads to something like Marika fans writing essays on the topic You Can In Fact Deserve Genocide

Enough for today have a good day fellow dlc lovers 💪

Upd posted this on main by accident got jumpscared it’s so hard to copy past on mobile for some reason. No edgy on main I promised!!

[aphrmoosun]

What can we expect from the upcoming apes movies??

The success of the new Planet of the Apes movie is obvious, it far exceeds what was expected at the box office and the critics are very positive. The only thing missing is the official confirmation of the fifth installment of the saga but seeing the numbers it has done, we should trust that we are going to have apes for a while.

So we can create our own ideas of what we think will come in the future of the saga.

Noa's first film in the saga opens up endless possibilities, we can also follow the clues given during the Caesar triology. And it is obvious that the new saga is not only inspired by the original saga from the 70s but also presents stories and ideas that were made known to us in those films. It was Cornelius himself who told us the story about Caesar who at that time called Aldo. So it is unreasonable for us to expect that, as happened in the Caesar films, the main ideas that were implemented in the films of the 70s will continue.

In the films of the 2010s we were already introduced to the idea of astronauts and although I think that the second film would be too hasty to present them, I do think that they could appear at the end of this film or in a kind of post-credits for the third film of Noah. Travels in the time? World's End? Humans destroying the planet? These are arguments that I still see as feasible in the movies. If the casting team is looking for an actor to be human in the next film, it gives me to understand that he could be the villain of the second film. And not Mae as many theorize.

It is true that she was the first human that is introduced to us in the new story and that her ideals direct her to be an antagonist. I don't doubt that that could be the case, but that Mae is a gray character is clear from the final scene of the movie. At one point Mae is going to lose her way and will surely find herself against Noa, but she is a character who screams to redeem herself. Noa and Mae are going to work together in the future, as an ape and a human.

Noa and Mae are clearly the same. They follow the same path: Noa does not know what the Echos are until Raka tells him about them. And Mae? She probably hasn't met an ape before either. Ignorance is mostly what separates us from ideals. And they both take the same path of getting to know each other. But just because they understood that, doesn't mean that everyone does. We already saw Proximus Caesar in the first film, who represents an ideal contrary to what Caesar represented. And very likely in the next movie we will see the humans in the bunkers who can take two arguments. The war against the apes or the search for a cure or becoming immune to the ape virus.

That's why we can theorize about the second movie. It has already been made clear to us that Noa and Mae are the protagonists of this story, and so far we have seen a lot of Noa and very little of Mae. If we come to any conclusion with the end of the movie, it is that Noa wants to follow Caesar's ideal and the one that Raka taught him when he hands the necklace to Mae. Because Raka gives him the necklace so that Noa remembers in the worst moments what was important. And now it's time for Mae to understand it too. I know that the next movie will be difficult for her and that she will also have to make difficult decisions, and that is the reason why Noa gives her the necklace.

I would especially like to mention Tim Burton's film from the 2000s. It is the film with the worst reviews in the saga and yet I see a lot of similarity between that film and the new one from 2024. I don't think they dare as much as in that film or that have some creative freedom to do some of the things they did in that one. And I'm talking about the romance within the movie. In the 2024 movie it is not very important and presents us with relationships that go beyond that interest but the relationship between Ari and Leo in that movie has been highly criticized by the general public and that could affect any attempt at a human/ape relationship that they would like to experience. So I don't see intermediate points, either they give us a story of enemies to lovers between Noa and Mae or I don't think it is very important for the story, because if they end up putting Noa and Soona together (which I doubt) it will not be important in the plot.

I don't want to make it longer so at another time I will develop it because I think they have thrown the stone into the river of a possible relationship between Noa and Mae hoping to see the public's reaction and because I think it would be a good idea to continue developing it.

To summarize, I think that the next movie will introduce us to a human villain and it will be the first time that Noa has to face one.

Human culture and how they have been living until now is also important and the reason why Mae lives isolated and away from humans. If she is immune but can still infect humans, no one will want to get close to her unless she is immune too. How does Noa and Mae's story continue to develop? Noa's clan taking a more leading role and getting to know Anaya and Soona more deeply. etc

I'm excited to see how it continues.

[nobedofroses]

October 25th

pairing: Din Djarin x gn!reader

warnings: fluff

words: 769

a/n: Prompt for today is "go apple picking" from this list by @rubymemes. Last one with the autumnal activities family!

Directory, previous Din blurb, Day 24

🎃🎃🎃

The last day before you left your possible new favorite planet, you and Din decided to stock up on supplies because you weren’t sure how easy it would be to get supplies on the next planet you were heading to. You went to the market and got cured meats, cheeses, dried fruits, canned vegetables, and then some fresh things to have in the next week or two. Then you heard about the apple orchards. You weren’t sure how you had done so many things on this planet and there was still more you hadn’t heard about, but you knew you had to go. 

Din was right next to you this time, carrying all of the food bags. He sighed, “Where is it? We can go after the kid’s nap.” 

You squealed happily, reaching over to put your hand over his briefly. Then you got the directions on how to get there and what to do. 

After lunch, Grogu’s nap, and some quality time for you and Din, the three of you headed out for the short speeder ride to the orchard. It was a beautiful ride, and all three of you were very interested when you came upon the orchard. For some reason, you had been expecting a few trees with fruit on them, but this was seemingly endless rows of abundantly-filled trees.  

Grogu cooed in excitement and you said, “Wooow,” feeling Din hum in agreement behind you. 

“Okay. Grogu, honey, we can get a lot of apples, but we can’t get more than we can take back with us, okay? We have to leave a lot so a lot of other people can come here and pick them too,” You reminded him, knowing that sometimes he went overboard when there was so much to choose from. 

Grogu babbled and then jumped off of the speeder, running over to the first tree. 

“We have to check in first,” Din called over your shoulder and the two of you rushed after him so he wouldn’t start knocking apples off trees for the fun of it. 

It turned out apple picking was super easy when you had the abilities Grogu had. Three apples seemed to fly off the branches as soon as you were set up with baskets, with somewhat alarming speed. Especially since you had wanted to pick some on your own. 

“Grogu, let’s figure out how we want to pick the apples,” you gestured for him to come close and then picked him up. You pointed up to two apples right next to each other, “See those two? Are they the same?” 

Grogu shook his head. 

“Right, one is shiny and smooth and one looks bumpy and dull. So let’s use our eyes to pick the apples we want,” you suggested. 

Grogu nodded and made sounds of agreement. 

“And then I want you to see what it feels like when you use your hand to pick an apple. Din, can you lift him up to that shiny, smooth one we like?” you asked, handing Grogu over to his dad, who had been paying close attention to your conversation. 

Din took Grogu readily and lifted him up to the apple, so his little hands could go on either side of the apple and pull. As the apple came free, Grogu squealed with excitement and you smiled broadly. 

“There, great job!” you told him. “Do you want to work together to choose and pick our apples?” 

Grogu nodded excitedly and started pointing to another apple in the next tree. Din carried him over and you expected Grogu to reach up again, but he turned around and pointed at Din. You grinned as you watched Din reach up and pick it and how happy it made Grogu to watch him do it. Next, Din chose and you picked the apple. The three of you continued until you filled your basket to the  brim. You and Grogu would probably have to eat an apple each before you could carry it all on the speeder. 

Afterwards, Grogu was climbing a tree while you and Din watched him. 

“Thank you,” Din said quietly. 

“For what?” you asked, turning to him with a smile from watching Grogu’s abilities. 

“For choosing us. For being in our lives,” Din said quietly, to make sure it was just for you. 

Your heart caught in your chest, “Oh Din, I always would, I always will. And thank you, for choosing me too.” 

Din reached out and grabbed your hand and squeezed it. You squeezed back and promised yourself to love them even better tomorrow, just like you knew they would.

🎃🎃🎃

[moonpoolcat]

Looks to the Moon (Safe version)

Due to the votes on a pole I created here is a sfw version that is safe to repost. I learned from my slight error so any posts going forward will be using this version while the not so safe version is spoiled. I know the majority voted for they don't give a fuck however it's tumblir folks in the rainworld community are younger then me- by a lot sheesh some of you are still in school... An I'd rather stay on the safe side. (Headphone\ volume warning!!!!)

Quick Backstory (Short version)

Lttm is a gen 1 iterator an current senior to the Twilight local group. After the death of SOS, Moon was left feeling compelled to pick up where she left off the best she could. In this timeline Moon would not collapse like in game but instead be saved by an iterator who's can that is the first of it's kind was mobile. Along with NSH and Hunter. She could forgive Pebbles desire to escape, but she could never forgive his act of purposely ignoring her please for mercy, therefore Pebbles was exiled from the local group till further notice for not only attempted murder but the infection of the rot towards himself but her apprentice Unparalleled Innocence was affected as well. Later on she was secretly relieved the both of them had been cured by SRS an was happy to find out her brother was being looked after by Chasing Winds. This event forever tarnish, destroying everything she had ever believed in her entire life.

With a new perspective LTTM began to suspect her local group members were working against her? At first she didn't want to believe such accusations were true until NSH had hacked into their private group chat revealing they were part of the anti sliverists orchestrated by an unknown admin. Someone had premeditated this... In retaliation Moon would gather up these traitors an behead them in front of thousands of iterators during gathering, setting an example for anyone else who dared to harm her again. But the admins were not safe either for it was also discovered they to had planned her downfall so they had met the same fate essentially turning this even into the blood moon genocide.

As if it couldn't get any worse. Her UI had been the one responsible for Pebbles rot. For that, she was beheaded as well then was forced to carry out the rest of Pebbles sentence as punishment. With the weight of being admin, her lover gone, her brother traumatized, and anti- sliverists at war with each other- Something within Moon snapped! She became forever cold, merciless, relentless, and vengeful showing no remorse for anyone. Not even her own local group is safe from this iterators eternal wrath. Those below an only loyal to Moon shall not have to fear the queens endless quest for vengeance. The only goal this Moon has is to be rid the planet of anti sliverists that threaten everything she an Sliver worked so hard to create vowing to hunt down her killer if it's the last thing she'll do. Even if it means hurting the ones she cares about. For the ones that tread on stained waters will be the first to drown.

Explanation behind the design:

Look I like pogo legs but I needed this au to make sense if I'm going to be able to explain everything else. There were exactly 3 redraws of her dress as I attempted to go for a regal look but it had failed so I went for an egyptian look instead to set myself apart from the other Moons. Someone said she looked like a genie so I just rolled with it. The antlers were my attempt at matriarchy as I felt that it fit her since she is the oldest of iterators. The tail is for esthetics and for anyone wanting to draw her idrc if you don't draw it or not. The tattoo on her face on the mini casual is just a mark that only appears when she's not walking around trying to look professional.

Relations

Five Pebbles: Cares very much for him. He is recovering from cycles of isolation. Is slightly traumatized from Moon beheading UI. Has forgiven SRS.

SRS: Moon has little to no trust in Suns, she denied him admin role because of their poor mental health after exiling their abusive mentor. To her he is merely used as a means of brute force during situations where she does not want to spill blood. But on the inside she cares deeply for them nonethless worried whenever they have an explosive episode or any form of metal psychosis.

NSH: They use to be lovers before she half collapsed. Annoying as he may be Sig is the only iterator who she had given admin privileges to. However does not accept him as her equal because of memory loss. His speed is useful in keeping tabs on all the territories so nothing goes unnoticed. His two face nature and super speed makes it perfect to infiltrate places an come out unscathed.

Chasing Winds: He was the apprentice to SOS. He left the group after she died. Moon doesn't get along with him because he does not enjoy her violent tendacies creating fear setting a bad influence on the younger group members.

UI: Moon wants nothing to do with her. A lost cause and a waste of time thinking she could ever raise an iterator to one day take her role as admin.

Enlightened overturned silk: Wants dead immediately. (Keep an eye on this guy he's important)

Other local groups

Oasis local group: Allies

Zodius local group: Allies

Jaded local group: Not on good terms. Moon would rather see them dead.

Stormfall local group: Neutral due to Chasing Winds being Admin Moon wants no conflict with them.

Sliverist group: The only group she trusts to protect Slivers can. She took it upon herself to train them personally into the most lethal local group in the area an heads to Moons calls as they trust her enough to obey orders only because she was with Sliver the longest.

Anti-Sliverists: Wanta dead at all cost. Anyone who spots one are to kill them on site with no hesitation. Failure to report an a siting or incident are to be reported to Moon immediately.

Extra

The colored pearls on her antlers are her way of keeping up with who's in her local group, they're personal keepsakes that she forbids anyone from touching.

Neuron flies will forever circle her when she is wearing clothing. Otherwise they vanish when taken off. She keeps them around in case something happens an it is a means of a last resort of staying alive. They can be used an shaped into a projectile and will take one minute to reproduce a new one.

Weapon of choice: Scythe; It carries the weight of 100 leviathans. Only SOS, SRS an NSH have been the only ones known to be able to lift it off the ground.

Moon ironically can camouflage when it's dark, the downside being the ability is most weak during the day.

Morph form: Should have been obvious it's a deer.

Moon has a sister named Illuminated diamond Twilight, they're cycles older than Pebbles. Funny that her local group was named after her. Not on good terms when mentioned though.

Her antlers can retract at will, although she has to take every pearl off which is time consuming but worth it since it's just used as presentation.

If angered for to long Moon will enter a wendigo like state an will not stop until whatever had angered is either dead or has fled the area. It is recommended to not annoy her at all.

Moons lore is out go read it.

[ben-101-rewrite]

So how did the other Ben's deal with their respective Zy'Skayrs? Like has Ben 23 dealt with him?

For all the Alt Bens their story with Zs'skayr depends on what Zs'skayr is up to in their timeline. I can sum up ideas I would have for alt Zs'skayr in each timeline

-Gwen 10- He's basically the same as the prime timeline, but now Gwen has to deal with him, sadly.

-Ben 23- Zy'skayr 23 never got into the omnitrix, instead he's been in a constant war/fight with Vilgax and his empire. I mentioned elsewhere that Vilgax 23 is just a dude trying to run his kingdom, so here he is expanding his empire against someone no one really likes, hoping to take control of the Anur System and help it in his own way. Of course, Zy'skayr does not like that one bit.

-Ben 10k- Similar to his Vilgax, he killed Zy'skayr a long while ago, another situation where a villain pushed things too far. Though thankfully not to the same degree as Vilgax had.

-No Watch- With no omnitrix, Zs'skayr mostly spent his time trying to cure his boredom elsewhere, and partly running his kingdom. He did have an encounter with this timeline's version of Azmuth, and loves to bring it up to rub it in his face.

-Omni Ben- Zs'skayr's escape from the watch was a little more complicated, and he knows he can't exactly possess Ben easily due to him being the omnitrix itself. But he finds Omni Ben to be fascinating, seeing how even a piece of tech can become so alive. He loves to see how Ben ticks, even via unpleasant means.

-Jen 10- The same as his prime counterpart, but now a female called Zs'feear. Still an awful being.

-Julie 10- Being that his timeline from escaping the watch happens during their version of the hybrid war, he tries to turn the tables in his favor by corrupting some DNAs and even a couple of highbreeds with corrodium. He also loves to torment Julie regarding her kindness and soft side.

-Sentient Omnitrix & Ben- Zs'skayr finds the whole thing interesting, and finds entertainment having discussions with the Omnitrix, finding ways to push her buttons. He knows very well she would be willing to kill him, but enjoys walking on the thin line.

-Rooters Ben- There was an entire situation where Zs'skayr infiltrated the Rooters, and it has left him as being high on the Rooters' hunting list. But he always finds a way to escape, living out in the Null Void to spread his own influence.

-Eon- Like everyone in his timeline, dead.

-Bad Ben- A soft, kind, and wandering ectonurite, having never fit in his monstrous planet of people, failing to keep them under his ruling as he didn't have it in him. He tried to possess Ben and the watch in hopes to gain power to do the right thing.

-Mad Ben- The Anur System got taken over by Vilgax a long while ago, but Zs'skayr slipped through the cracks and now wanders, doing his own thing, engaging with the chaos around him. While he does miss being king, he's not burdened enough to do much about it beyond screwing with Vilgax wherever he goes.

-Negative Ben- He decided to help Azmuth, becoming one of his assistance during the creation of the omnitrix, though it was clear he wasn't a great person either. Something sinister with him going behind the scenes, seeming to prefer using words to mentally mess with people, including Ben.

-Benzarro- Fused with Ben during a possession attempted gone wrong. He still calls himself Zs'skayr, but it's clear it's not exactly him anymore. Having a mix of him and Ben's personalizes.

-Malware Ben- Ben went to Zs'skayr once in a desperate attempt to try and get help removing Malware, and while Zs'skayr decided to give it a go due to being amused by Ben's pleading, he didn't calculate on Malware just storing him back into the omnitrix with high security measures in place.

-Forever Knight Ben- He watches the Knights and Vilgax's empire at war with each other, along with others involved, and does a lot of puppeting behind the scenes. He rarely shows himself, and people didn't know how involved he was for a long while.

-Fusion Ben- He is stuck within Ben's fusion, and has been trying to escape for a long while, however it seems his background influence makes things worse for him and Ben.

-Ultra Ben- It seems he's gone into hiding since catching word of Ben killing many of his villains, no one knows where he went, though there have Ben rumors and people thinking they see him, with Ben often investigating.

-Light Magic Ben- Something old, something clearly not a normal alien, Zs'skayr seems to be something similar to Dagon, but strangely there are no books or writing on him anywhere. He just merely exists, living in the shadows of Ledgerdomain.

[nekropsii]

Ask Game Speed Round!!

[For the Unpopular Opinion Ask Game!!]

These are all a bunch of smaller ones I thought would be too cumbersome and spammy to post on their own... Enjoy!!

Content Warning: Long.

While I do really like Dave's character as it exists in the comic- no clue what version of Dave most of the fandom is talking about, but I don't know him- I kind of like the themes in Davesprite's character more than I do Dave's. It's another Hal situation.

Dave's character tackled a lot of things very personally relatable to me in ways I'd never seen illustrated before, but Davesprite is more interesting to think about, and seems a little more fun to write. Dave was great representation for me, as someone who grew up in a very bad home, but Davesprite just has that extra oomph with his talk of humanity and individuality. Really like that guy.

---

@lupinecalibrator

This may come across as crass, or stepping out of my own lane, but I don't think giving them either multiple sets of pronouns, neopronouns, or both actually rids them of the bigotry in their characters. Lipstick on a pig situation. It just seems like a lazy, incurious fix. Yes, trans headcanons are great, but more and more often I see people use it as a cure-all to the issues a character has, either in a Doylist or Watsonian way. Queer friendliness does not eliminate racism. If a character is a bigoted caricature of a specific group of people, then slapping on a leftist layer of paint by saying "actually they're a minority icon in this other way" doesn't actually... Get rid of the problem. It's just kind of... Tone deaf.

We see this often with Transmisogynistic Caricatures getting claimed as Gay Icons, and people just saying that because they've just claimed them as a campy gay queen, the transmisogyny has been nullified- you can't talk about it anymore, they're the real good leftist in the room, you're a killjoy, and they've defeated bigotry. Not how it works.

---

Kind of tired of how some act like her only character traits are Silly Ditzy Furry Girl. Jade is an incredibly, incredibly intelligent young girl, an excellent marksman, and so, so deeply lonely. We need to talk about Jade's chronic loneliness more.

Also, I think she's some kind of Psychotic. One of the flavors. It just feels right to me. It feels canon-adjacent. Or, at least, a textually valid way to read her character. I have a whole post about it somewhere. Mituna and Jade shaking hands on the Psychosis.

---

Taking this opportunity to defend Aranea. Some people really need to stop acting like she's worse than Vriska. We all know what Aranea did was justified. Maybe not correct, but justified. And fucking awesome to watch.

Like, look. She spent an unfathomable amount of years being shot down and ignored and belittled by people who were supposed to be her friends... Aranea had to literally pay Meenah, her own best friend, to listen to her infodump, and even then Meenah couldn't afford to give her own best friend enough respect to just listen to her talk about something she's passionate about for 5 minutes.

I need you to think to yourself, genuinely. If you spent thousands- and I mean thousands upon thousands- of years getting ignored and walked on by everyone around you, even your own friends... If you spent thousands upon thousands of years getting called boring and a doormat to your face by even your own friends... Wouldn't you go crazy, too? Wouldn't you snap? Wouldn't you want to do something drastic just to get people to look at you? Just to be seen as something other than weak and boring? Just to be seen as worth even an iota of interest, a shred of someone's time? Wouldn't you? Because I think any normal person wouldn't take thousands upon thousands of years. I don't think you would last a decade. I wouldn't either, and I'm a pretty patient person.

Y'all are just jealous you can't play billiards with planets using your mind when you're mad. That shit was so awesome.

---

@searedtroutpeacharugula

This is not an Unpopular Opinion, or even an Opinion, I'm just pointing this out. Do you ever think about the fact that we hardly got any conversations between Rose and Jade? I do. This haunts me. This fucks me up so bad. We get plenty between John and Dave, and Dave and Jade, and Dave and Rose, and Rose and John, and Jade and John... But hardly anything between Rose and Jade!! This is so fucked up. We were robbed. I need to watch them hang out.

---

Okay, this is less of an Unpopular Opinion, and more of an Unpopular Fact, but... Mituna doesn't just throw slurs at people. That's one of the things people jump to when they're talking about Defanging Mituna- they always say something about how he "calls people slurs every two seconds". He literally doesn't. That is legitimately not a thing he does. If you heard that before and believed it, you were literally lied to. That is straight up demonstrably not true.

Like, if you're trying to think of something Mituna does every two seconds unprompted, it's either sex jokes or apologizing. Slurs aren't a thing he just slings around casually. He said a grand total of one slur... To Meenah... And it's a fake troll slur. And then we get it defined to us... Aaaand it's the troll equivalent to "Cracker". That's it. That's the crime he's committed- calling someone a word that is immediately after defined to us as "Someone who is at the top of and benefits from the furthering of the oppressive Fuchsia-Down power structure, and the Lowbloods that help enforce it." That's the slur he used. That's what made people start declaring that "he would totally say the N Word" with full and complete confidence. Absolutely ridiculous. He's called no one else any kind of genuine slur. He just called Meenah a Wader once, and then she and Kankri got upset about it, because they are both, by definition, Waders.

---

Leijon Hot Take Party Pack: If you think Nepeta shipping her friends together is fine, or even adorable, but then sneer at or get grossed out by Meulin doing the same thing, you're a hypocrite. I don't care if you say "Meulin's writing Friend Fic, though, that's weird!!" the problem with Shipping Your Friends and Writing Romantic Fanfiction Of Your Friends is at the same root.

The problem with these things isn't the presence of writing, it's the presence of, you know, shipping your friends? If you're fine with Nepeta doing it, you've gotta be fine with Meulin doing it. Be fine with both or neither. It's the same damn thing. I'm pretty sure both friend groups are fine with it, too, so it's not like this is a boundaries issue or anything. Both or neither. Pick one.

---

Observation: I do think it's cool how Jane and Jake are related and have similarly opposing relationships with their gender. Jake's oft presented with Feminine themes and imagery, and Jane with Masculine themes and imagery. Very cool. Wish more people made that correlation.

---

Okay, that's all for now!! Thank you for reading, if you did. Have a nice rest of your day. :)

[cookietrains]

Some more Killer Klowns headcanons

These goofy silly guys have me in a choke hold send help Might Delete Later~

Tw: Discussion of sickness (serious sickness - rabies), Klown weaponry / death, and NSFW at the very end.

- Klowns CAN get sick. Regular flu and cold symptoms can easily be taken care of (like the day they get sick), but they have a version of Rabies, and it's spread just like how human rabies is spread (being bitten by an infected animal). It's incurable, and it makes them Supreme Frantic ™️. They sweat a lot, getting extremely warm within a few minutes of getting bitten. They vomit a lot, and their eyes water really badly/ they'll have a deep purple hue to their eyes (basically bleeding from the eyes). The final form of this is cannibalism, where they go completely nuts and try to bite every living thing that comes near them (including other Klowns) with the intention to kill them and eat them. This is not a common occurrence, and it's always noticed far before it gets too wild. But just like with humans, it's terrifying for Klowns, too. This is the ONE sickness that brings Klown doctors to tears. The Klown that gets infected, depending on when they're caught, is either mercy killed (bc this illness is also super painful for the subject) or they're studied. Klowns are desperate for a cure for this, even if it's not too common.

- Klowns are super buoyant in water. Water rolls right off of them, so it's near impossible for them to drown. If they're put in water, their skin releases an oily substance that keeps water away from them. They still can't swim for shit. They just flail and float. They love the beach, though, because they take little dust baths like chinchillas. If, for some reason, they're put in water and they get wet (oil deficiency), water can be super harmful to their skin.

- Some Klowns, for research purposes (Rudy would probably do something like this), will sneak over to Earth during the fall and pretend to be a scare clown at a haunted house. They go in small groups to take notes on what scares humans and how they react to being scared. They learned very quickly: Fall is for scares, Winter is for jollier clowns dressed in reds and white, and any other time, regular circus clowns are more common. They could go during any time to research humans, but they find it easier to fit in when everything is centered around scary. It's more of a safe than sorry thing.

- Klowns make their own weapons and can make weapons out of. Literally anything. There are specific Klowns who specialize in rerouting weaponry and teaching others how to use it. One way to know it's a Klown weapon is how colorful it is ☺️ they also really like being creative with their weapons. *Klowns using a weapon against another Klown is a death sentence, UNLESS it can be proven it was an accident* if it was an accident, however, said Klown gets banned from using weaponry permanently. They also can't go out in the field if they choose to go on another invasion. They'll be in charge of looking after the popkorn on the ship, probably forced to stay close to either another Klown or the big boss.

- Klowns do have holidays. They have a holiday that celebrates when the invaders come back to their planet (like a one day event, but it celebrates the invaders). They have one kind of like Halloween, except it's a half year long celebration. They have one that is about the older Klowns, and they have one celebrating new/ younger Klowns. These are all separate days (sometimes months long), and sometimes their holidays are random. Just a huge party on their planet for the most mundane things.

- Klowns have movies and televisions. They're more advanced than human tvs, being incredibly thin, lightweight, and can adjust to light. Their version of entertainment mostly comes from Klown drama, Klown circus acts, and Klown made horror films.

- All Klowns like having their nails painted. Whether they're male or female, it's a form of bonding to them. Their nails are so tiny, though, so ya gotta be careful. They take dust baths, though, so a full-on spa day might not be ideal. I like to think Klowns take dust baths to clean them from other planet parasites and to help them not get sunburned during the day.

‼️ Another NSFW Section ;; 18+ ONLY‼️

- Klowns hide their penises in a pouch under their lower belly area when not in use, so it looks like they don't have genitals on a regular basis. They can inflate and deflate like the female Klown breasts to impress mates. When they're erect, Klown penises look thicker than human penises, and a tad bit bigger than human penises (because Klowns compared to humans are bigger anyways, being 7+ ft tall). Their penis are covered in light (non-harmful) barbs to help them stimulate their mates, helping in reproduction. Males can control their erections and the females can control when their breasts inflate.

- Male Klown cum sticks inside the female. It still has a watery slime texture, but the way the females are built, it hardens and sticks when ejected. Also helping in reproduction. Human mates are a bit harder for this to happen, and it's the reason it's a bit harder for them to mate. If a Klown stays inside for a bit afterwards, the cum will eventually harden after a few minutes, whereas female Klowns - it's immediate. If a male Klowns cum is exposed to air, it keeps the watery appearance and they cum a good amount each time. It looks and feels just like watery slime.

- Until Klowns have mates, they don't really engage in sexual activities (with other Klowns or themselves).

- Because of the last point, when Klowns do mate, they drool uncontrollably. Part of the reason is to use their saliva as a lubricant, and the other reason is because they can't handle their pleasure levels. Expect lots of drooling, guttural throat noises (growling, hissing, grunting, exct.), and aggressive behavior. They can't help it. They're gonna scratch and bite, and they're gonna be a fountain of saliva. Klowns in general are pretty drooly, but during..the ✨️ act ✨️ it's excessive.

- If a Klown male successfully reproduces with a human female and they make a child, Klown males and females are equally involved in their mate and child's life. Klowns insist their pregnant mate stay in the home the majority of the pregnancy, and they bring things to them. Things that would make them more comfortable (like soft blankets and fun games or puzzles to keep them busy) and TONS of food. Female Klowns might bring their pregnant lover toys for the baby and flowers or balloons for their mate.

- It's possible for Klowns to change their sex. They can easily go from male to female and vice versa. Some Klowns even opted to have both genitals (not as common, but it's possible)

[razorblade180]

You know what's funny? Ruan Mei is the only one likely able to cure Firefly of her Entropy Loss Syndrome (because Tingyun) ... and yet she dabbles in experimenting and researching Swarm bugs.

Firefly is a war criminal that is a former soldier that fought said Swarm Bugs across planets, and if the implications of her trailer are to be true, literally destroyed said planets.

When the two officially meet, chances are that SAM will utterly trash and destroy Ruan Mei's lab and kill her.... or Firefly will wait to be cured before doing the destruction.

Either way, there's an explosion and fight happening, and I'm all for it. You?

I don’t think Firefly’s that vindictive considering it’s not like Ruan Mei is the reason The Swarm exists in the first place. I also don’t think she’d ruin the lab that just cured her. Not only would it be a backhanded deal on her part, but that lab most definitely has things that would cure a lot of problems for people.

I think the only way we’d get Firefly crashing out is if she sees Ruan Mei actively making another emanator of Propagation, or Ruan Mei actually becomes an aeon with those properties. Other than that, I think Firefly would just have a level of contempt for that woman.

[pinkprettycure]

precure seasons and whether or not i can see a sequel/special where a cure is straight married and has kids:

Futari wa: no also it's illegal they're under no circumstances letting them get straight married

Splash Star: we already saw this Saki has an off screen fiancé that nobody gives a shit about

Yes 5: we already established this one

Fresh: Maybe? but if it's either Love or Setsuna it doesn't matter at all and this man is completely irrelevant and gets mentioned once before they forget he exists which is funny like why mention him at all

Heartcatch: idk but Erika doesn't get married she just alludes to having a lot of boyfriends and none of them are serious. Tsubomi probably scolds her for this. Yuri gets confessions that she ignores and I can see Itsuki mentioning handsome guys but she's not dating anyone

Suite: no lol there's no room for men in this one at all like even an offscreen unimportant man can't worm his way into being mentioned. Kanade might talk about a handsome guy she met but like it's not a relationship he's just good looking.

Smile: Miyuki i can see having a kid, Yayoi could have an offscreen husband, Reika gets confessions that she turns down or straight up misinterprets but she's staying single. Nao is giving "i wish i could find a cool man" energy and i could see her having kids even later in the future but for now she's single. I believe in true love so Akane and Brian end up getting together during the story

Doki: Mana stays single but mentions wanting to be married and meet the right person but this isn't a plot point she just mentions it and she's perfectly happy single, Rikka vows celibacy because she's still in love with Mana for some mysterious reason. Alice... maybe she has an arranged thing... I could see her dating a lot of people unseriously but that's it she's not actually married though and probably breaks off the arrangement. Makopi lmaoo no she's got a job she doesn't care about that right now. Aguri I could see being randomly married/engaged tho lmao

Hacha: I believe in true love and Megumi and Seiji end up getting together during the story but NOT before i would be unhappy if it was off screen. Hime? no unless it's the alternate she gets with Seiji instead ending in my head but otherwise she's giving "dates a lot of handsome guys but none of them are her prince charming" energy. Iona... nah i don't see her caring either lol. Yuyu has "married in the sequel with a kid" energy though.

GoPri: I don't really see any of them getting married off screen but maybe Haruka mentions wanting to and that she just hasn't found the right guy. Wait Yui is married though like she's the one i see being randomly straight married lol

Maho Girls: LMAO NO. Mirai and Riko are self explanatory there's no room for men here so they just leave them as "gal pals". but nobody is good enough for Haa who is a goddess and Mofu is a teddy bear :3. like maybe? she gets teddy bear married? ? which would be funny

Kirapre: lmao no absolutely not. Cute guys might be mentioned, and maybe Ciel has dated a few of them, but otherwise nobody is het married here they're serving more ChocoMaca romantic tension

Hug: we literally know Hana gets married but i think they would never show the guys face. Also Homare is still single, Emiru is a rockstar and doesn't have time for that, and Saaya has a guy at work who's really into her and everyone keeps saying shit like ooohhhh so and so seems into you ;) and she either gives him a chance and decides she's not into him or just turns him down right off the bat because she's busy with work

Star Twinkle: Elena has married with kids energy, Madoka feels like her family would try to pressure her into a marriage but she's ultimately standing firm that she'll do it when she's ready. Lala is an adult on her planet if she was going to be married she already would be lsknfosijfrw, Hikaru doesn't care about it and is perfectly happy single. Yuni has like 3 kids she's not married they're just Rascals that started following her around and she can't get rid of them, when characters talk about the struggles of motherhood she's involved in this because she adopted these kids at this point.

Healin good: uhhhh I can see Nodoka being married with a kid idrc. Hinata dates guys but doesn't get married. Chiyu has guys crushing on her but she turns them all down, and Asumi gets frequent confessions but she doesn't know what the fuck is going on and misinterprets them in various comedic ways

Tropical Rouge: the thing here is i think nobody here is getting married at all. Asuka is also already divorced, she still has that weird exes thing with her ex-not-wife

Delipa: i didn't really watch this idk maybe Yui marries Takumi tho

Hero Girl: Nobody in this one is giving married energy either like Elle is probably still dreaming of marriage now that she knows what marriage actually means. Maybe Mashiron mentions wanting a husband though

Wonderful: Iroha and Satoru are married duh but also Mayu mentions wanting to find Mr Right and get married and gets a guy pining for her but they ultimately can't be together anyways cuz he's not that into cats which is a deal breaker but it's like Mayu is more just in love with love anyways so it's fine. Komugi is still a doggy dog and doesn't understand so she asks what marriage means and they tell her it means when you love someone a lot you vow to be with them forever and Komugi proudly proclaims that she's married to Iroha

[fightabear]

Hi. I know ur very into Dirge (ff7) and wanted to know ur thoughts on the ending as i was confused. How did Wiess die, how long was he dead for and what was his and Nero’s plan? Ur a art account so don’t answer this if you don’t want to post not art content

HAHA oh anon, oh anon.

i'm always happy to blather about dirge but this... this goes into the deep lore. the forgotten lore. the lore of ancient bygone times.

by which i mean playonline.

playonline was a short lived multiplayer mode set in deepground where the player character is a tsviet. it lasted for about eight months and then went offline, and with it - went basically all of the lore surrounding deepground.

we're still missing a lot of information. but, we have a vague understanding of what's going on thanks to the cutscenes (which we also never got stateside) translated by grimoire valentine. you can watch that here and it explains a little bit.

the tl;dr is that Weiss had a virus in him and if he killed the Restrictors (DeepGround's jailers, there's a whole mess of lore there) then the time-release virus would be let loose and Weiss would be damning himself to die.

Now, this is sort of where things get shaky as we don't know how long it took the virus to kill Weiss, nor are we entirely certain when PlayOnline took place in the grand scheme of things. Rosso said that they killed their jailers three years ago, and at some point Weiss died and Nero started pretending to be Weiss to keep DeepGround in line, and then Hojo made contact with Nero and proposed the whole Omega deal.

But we don't know when any of these beats take place. Weiss could have been dead the full three years and Nero was just hanging out by his corpse in full delululand until Hojo found a perfectly good body just waiting to be inhabited. I think it's a safe bet to say that even if Weiss had died, Nero would have found a way to perserve the body in hopes of finding some kind of cure.

( There's also the possibility that Weiss' death was more a brain death and his body kept breathing / he was experiencing some kind of 'locked in' syndrome - again, we don't know!)

He also could have just been battling the illness and may have only died recently.

I believe it was said somewhere that he died while using his SND abilities to hunt for a cure, which probably only could have happened once the networks came back online. I was under the impression for years that Hojo possessed Weiss and told the plan to Nero, but after reading the Japanese script it seems that Nero knew it was Hojo the whole time and just went with it.

Again, shit is shaky. Hojo Jojo apparently needed the networks to come online in order to make contact with DeepGround again. We know that's fairly recent, as if I am remembering correctly, that's what the festival in Kalm is celebrating.

We also aren't sure if Weiss was involved in the plan, or if Nero had just lost his fucking mind at this point and was agreeing to do what Hojo proposed without considering that it was - y'know, Hojo. We do have Weiss' speech so it's entirely possible Weiss was still alive during this hunk of it and then died as things went on.

As for the plan - I gotta be honest, I don't think either of them were spearheading this thing. I'm pretty sure this whole hysterical idea came about because Hojo took advantage of Nero's intense grief and Nero was just doing shit without thinking too hard about it. He probably thought he was doing what Lucrecia did for Vincent, because I sure as shit don't think Nero would think destroying the entire planet to get his brother back would solve his problem of 'well fuck, we're separated by death'. So I'm not sure Nero even fully understood what would happen when Omega ascended until Hojo monologued about it and pissed him off enough to come back from the dead.

Nero and Weiss only really got a plan when Nero ( who, I'm still shaky on what's happening with Nero in those final moments. My best guess is his physical body finally gave out and due to Circumstances /gestures vaguely at chapter 9 of rebirth/ his soul can't go into the lifestream for Reasons) wrested control back from Hojo and fused with Weiss. They did intend to just give the middle finger to the planet and soar the stars, because at that point - what else can they do? But Omega was corrupted because Nero is as impure as things in the lifestream can get, and so they manifested a fucked up version of it.

My personal take is the brother's didn't fully fuse and that the "omega" weiss rides around in the Omega Weiss fight is what's left of Nero / is basically what Chaos would look like if Chaos wasn't using Vincent as a host? And the reason why Chaos "goes back to the planet" is because Chaos fucks off into Nero's body and Omega is still sort of chilling out in Weiss.

[paigemathews]

When three planets burn as one over a sky of dancing light, Magic will rest on a holy day to welcome a twice blessed child. 

I'm never not fascinated by Wyatt Halliwell and the prophecy surrounding him. But let's investigate the second half, shall we?

Magic will rest on a holy day to welcome a twice blessed child

Magic itself, good and evil, completely ceases. What power has done this before? The closest that I can think of is the Hollow, but that consumes magic. This is magic itself pausing just to welcome Wyatt's arrival. This has never happened before, nor do we get any indication that it'll happen again. And while there's a lot that you could do with this, this post specifically is going to be a theory for an AU, similar to that post about the impact being conceived on the ghostly plane had on Chris. This does goes significantly more hardcore on powers, however, because, well. It's Wyatt.

What if Wyatt wields control over magic itself? Magic rests to prepare to be wielded be a child, which is why everyone is so desperate to either stop him from being born or be able to wield him as a weapon. (And, of course, no one wants to tell the sisters about any of this.)

And none of the Halliwells really know about it. Because evil has no intention of empowering the sisters with that knowledge and the last thing that the Elders need the sisters to know is that the baby can control literally all of their magic.

With Wyatt being how he is, and the tentative settling of the Underworld post-finale, it's not like they'd stumble across it very easily. And Wyatt is so hesitant when it comes to using his powers, struggles to deal with the power that he thinks he has without knowing how much stronger he truly is.

And his spells and potions are so much stronger than everyone else's, even his mother's. They don't always go the way that he wants them to, but everyone quickly learns that if Wyatt casts a spell or brews a potion, it'll do something big. Which is great for demon vanquishes, not so much for hangover cures.

Still though, no one realizes this. Until, until, until... well, what could possibly drive Wyatt to a point that he realizes?

May I offer a possibility? (that also inspired this.)

Wyatt, under a demon's control - and have you seen a dog in a cage with the door pushed to but unlocked? how they think themselves trapped, despite all it takes is a push to be free? - and turned against his family. And soon enough, even the Elders drop in, lightning at their fingertips, because an out of control Twice-Blessed isn't a threat. It's the apocalypse waiting to happen -

And the unchanged future, a world that a haunted-eyed brunette witchlighter came back to change but never breathed a word of his brother's real power for fear of what everyone'd do (of what the giggling baby would do if he perceived him as a threat). What it must be like to feel your magic, an element of your essence, something that travels with you throughout lifetimes, a part of your soul, be twisted out from underneath your grip in the midst of a battle? To look up to see a malevolent smile across the battle field as your powers slowly falter and fail before turning against you? What witch could possibly remain?

- and the Elders cannot risk it, no matter how useful the asset. But Warrens are loyal beyond the bone, to the very soul, and not willing to let the Elders destroy one of their own because they're a threat (aren't they all threats, anyways?) (and none notice the moment of hesitation that Piper and Phoebe have, a single look and memory of five strangers vs. one sister, except for Paige, who doesn't know that lesson (who would've never learned it) but says with ferocity that they're the Charmed Ones and they're bringing him home.)

And they initially think to reason with them, until it's too late and they realize that it's a trick after Wyatt, eyes hazy and unfocused, is surrounded. Chris and Melinda, the only two left in the circle trying to convince Wyatt to break free, deflect attacks for as long as they can until even they go down, not prepared to fight a battle on two fronts. And it's a pity to lose them with Wyatt, but two witches aren't worth the risk to the world, so they don't stop, even as Piper is screaming and the two realize what's about to happen.

But here's the trick: Wyatt is a Halliwell and an older brother. They'd never do it, but here's the trick: he'd drop anything the moment they call for him. Here's the trick: there is no trick but loyalty and family and devotion stamped across his heart and soul and magic that hears his brother and sister scream for him and acts.

Lighting arches towards them on all sides, towards two injured and desperate witches and Magic himself. The moment before it hits, the lightning hits a shield, glowing and sparking with electricity.

Chris and Melinda, wrapped around each other in a futile attempt to get the other out alive, look up to see their brother, eyes glowing neon blue and murderous, standing over them. When he drops his hands, every sign of magic from every being in the room - bar one - dissipates like it was never there.

His voice couldn't be more than a whisper but is heard by every being inside.

"Touch them, and I'll destroy you."

[lady-sci-fi]

There’s an extra layer to “DS9: Statistical Probabilities” that is kind of hidden, but adds a lot to it.

Julian and the Jack Pack’s plan of surrender to the Dominion relies upon one thing to make it in any way positive (other than possibly immediately saving lives through not fighting back). The idea that 200-ish years along the line after the Federation or the entire Alpha/Beta Quadrants are taken over, a rebellion will start with Earth as the main gathering point.

BASHIR: If we fight, there will be over nine hundred billion casualties. If we surrender, no one dies. Either way we're in for five generations of Dominion rule. Eventually a rebellion will form, centering on Earth. It'll spread, and within another generation, they'll succeed in conquering the Dominion. The Alpha Quadrant will unite and a new, stronger Federation will rule for thousands of years. Since we can't win this war, why don't we save as many lives as we can? I know it's difficult to accept. SISKO: I don't accept it. Your entire argument is based on a series of statistical probabilities and assumptions. BASHIR: They're not just assumptions.

But this assumption that there would be an opportunity for a rebellious uprising like that is a completely wrong one. This exact scenario is something we see Weyoun and Dukat discuss a few episodes before in “Sacrifice of Angels.”

DUKAT: We didn't defeat the Federation by being cautious. WEYOUN: We haven't defeated it yet. And even if we do, it's only the beginning. Holding on to a prize as vast as the Federation isn't going to be easy. It's going to require an enormous number of ships, a massive occupation army and constant vigilance. DUKAT: I look forward to it. WEYOUN: If you ask me, the key to holding the Federation is Earth. If there's going to be an organized resistance against us, its birthplace will be there. DUKAT: You could be right. WEYOUN: Then our first step is to eradicate its population. It's the only way. DUKAT: You can't do that. WEYOUN: Why not? DUKAT: Because! A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness. WEYOUN: Then you kill them? DUKAT: Only if it's necessary. WEYOUN: I had no idea.

If the Dominion wins, however they do it, they know Earth is very important. It wouldn’t matter if Dukat and the Cardassians want to make everyone grovel at their feet and not kill them. The Dominion viewpoint would win out and Weyoun knows exactly what that means. In fact, he didn’t even realize being the “benevolent dictator” like Dukat wants could be an option, because that’s not how the Dominion works. To Weyoun and the Founders, either you join them without resistance or they deal with you with brutality and little mercy.

Near the end of Season 4 in “The Quickening”, Julian spent a month trying to cure a disease engineered by the Dominion to punish one planet of people who defied them. (And remember, Julian did not cure the disease for everyone, he only made it possible for future babies to not be born with it).

BASHIR: I'm a doctor, and I have access to sophisticated diagnostic equipment. TREVEAN: We had sophisticated equipment once. Do you think our world was always this way? Two centuries ago, we were no different from you. We built vast cities, travelled to neighbouring worlds. We believed nothing was beyond our abilities. We even thought we could resist the Dominion. I see you've heard of them. Then take care not to defy them or your people will pay the same price we did. The Jem'Hadar destroyed our world as an example to others. More than anything, the Dominion wanted my people to bear the mark of their defiance. So they brought us the Blight.

Julian saw first-hand what defeat or surrender to the Dominion would mean.  While we don’t know exactly what those people did to get that wrath, surely the Dominion would view the Federation and other Alpha and Beta Powers as much worse defiance.

If they were willing to kill a bunch of this planet’s population, then destroy them physically and mentally for all generations afterwards, imagine what else they have absolutely no moral problems with doing. I also doubt this treatment would only be used on Earth. The Dominion would know that other places are important, like Vulcan, Qonos, Romulus... any former major positions of power that they’ve defeated where a potential big uprising could happen.

While I can’t fault Julian and the Jack Pack for not having full understanding of the Dominion’s set of morality or what they do when it comes to defeated enemies while running the numbers and thinking of plans, Julian did have some practical experience with it. Julian got so caught up in it that he forgot that or didn’t think that would happen to them.

But that assumption that the Dominion would take over and essentially leave them alone enough for a successful rebellion to occur in 5-6 generations was a very dangerous one, and one we know was wrong.

(For further proof of this Dominion brutality, in “What You Leave Behind”, what’s their response to Damar’s rebellion going on a little too long for their liking? Bomb an entire city of Cardassians, who are as a majority group their allies, to the ground and threaten to do it again for punishment and motivation).

(Dialogue source: Chakoteya’s Transcripts)

[bergeronprocess]

My Favorites of the Year 2024: Anime Review and Selection of Favorite Anime

This is a long one, lol, so it is definitely going below a cut. I review every anime I watched this year and choose my favorite. Please note that I may discuss a show in a spoiler-y manner! Look at the tags!

According to my custom 2024 list I made on Anime Planet, I watched 26 shows this year, but that doesn’t tell the entire story. There’s more nuance. Let me get right into it by reviewing the anime I watched this year and making a selection of My Favorite Anime of 2024! I am going to go in order by my list.

Winter Season

A Sign of Affection: I wanted to like this more than I did! I did like the concept of having a deaf protagonist who uses sign language, and it was a very pretty looking show and I understand they did a lot of research to make sure they were portraying deafness and sign language use accurately, but I just did not really gel with the love interest. He felt very pushy and insistent. That sort of thing appealed to our lass Yuki, but just not to me, and I think that “vibing with the love interest” is a pretty important aspect of enjoying a romance anime. 

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: On the other hand, this one was cute! What an interesting concept - remaining a virgin until age 30 gives you the ability to read the mind of anyone you’re touching. The two leads were cute and worked well together. I definitely vibed with them. I also enjoyed the B-plot with the novelist friend and the delivery man he falls for. The end WAS way rushed, though - but that’s just endemic to the state of the anime industry as it is lol.

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable: This was a fun show too. I loved the snowy Hokkaido scenery - definitely lived vicariously through it, since I live in a southern city that almost never receives snow anymore. There didn’t even feel like that much fanservicey stuff considering the lead gal’s looks, either. At its core it was a sweet story about a guy learning more about himself and making friends in a new place. All three of the girls were sweet and relatable characters. The theme song is catchy too!

The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash: I ended up dropping this one at episode 6. Something about the pacing was just not enjoyable for me. I wanted to like it, though! The lead was played by the same actress who played Mari in Love Live Sunshine, the idea that she could “hear” the thoughts of her previous self guiding her along was interesting and the little blue slime companion was cute. Oh well.

Wonderful Precure: Still ongoing and won’t end before the end of the year, so ultimately I can’t give my final thoughts yet. But it’s…fine. Just fine. Doesn’t blow me away the way Hirogaru Sky did. I don’t think I would be as deep into Precure now if I had started with Wonderful instead of Hirogaru. First of all, the show clearly wants Mayu to be the protagonist the way she’s received so much more character growth and development than Iroha. It’s introduced some high-concept ideas with the baddies but has been content to just not really see them through or to just kinda half-ass them. And the fact that we will probably never properly get Pyonderful Precure with Satoru and Daifuku becoming Cures is frankly unforgivable. (No, the movie does not count.) Looking forward to You and Idol Precure, though! 

Spring Season

Nijiyon Animation 2: Nijigasaki is my favorite flavor of Love Live and I will always be here for any Niji storytelling. Nijiyon is a silly little short anime based on a 4-panel comic series, so it’s just a little bit of fun, like eating a colorful cupcake. I am pretty much always gonna be up for eating a colorful cupcake. Very much looking forward to the Niji movies being available with English subtitles - and to the Niji video game, also with English, coming next year!

Tonari no Yokai-san: Very interesting concept - what if yokai and humans lived together, and lived together pretty well? It was fun to see the different kinds of yokai and how they adapt to their surroundings. In the end, the big climactic issue of “suddenly the world is inverted and all the yokai disappear” is resolved pretty quickly thanks to the power of love and friendship. Once again, that rushed resolution is probably due to the limitations of seasonal anime. Oh well!

Spy x Family Movie Code White: My husband likes to watch Spy x Family with me, which is very exciting to me as he does not usually go in on anime with me, so we went to see the movie when it came out in theaters. It was fun! It was very clearly meant to premiere in the winter and thus it was a bit strange to see all this snowy goodness when it was already getting warm and flowery outside for us, but overall a good time. Gloriously, Yor got to do a lot of work in this one, unlike in the show when she sometimes takes the back seat. She’s my girl!

Summer Season

Narenare: Cheer for You!: I previously wrote about how I enjoyed this one in spite of some story weaknesses and in spite of the Anime News Network reviewer hating it so much he named it his worst anime of summer. Ouch. So I won’t really repeat myself here, but like - I enjoyed it! It’s not THAT bad! It has fun characters, fun ideas and even shows things like accessibility for a character who uses a wheelchair and shows another character literally going to a therapist for her twisties! It’s fun!

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies: Gorgeous show. So pretty. The episodes are not full length, but they’re not as short as Nijiyon. Loved the characters, except for the lecherous familiar assigned to Byakuya, who I want to drop-kick into a dumpster. I do wish Byakuya and Mira had officially gotten together and we could’ve seen a kiss or something, but unfortunately the manga this is based on will never be finished because its artist has passed away.

Shy 2nd Season: Ended up not finishing this one due to a combination of the Olympics eating my brain for a few weeks and also not really being wowed by the story. Hope they saved Tokyo tho. 

Twilight Out of Focus: This one was also a DNF due to the Olympics. I did enjoy what I saw, which was through episode 4. After I decided to drop it, I learned that my thinking “Jeez, these two sure are moving fast” was actually because the show is an anthology show and was not going to follow the first couple all the way through. 

Fall Season (still in progress)

Magilumiere Co. Ltd.: This show is well worth getting Amazon Prime for, and the commercial breaks are inserted at reasonable times - right at the start and then right in the middle. Amazon also famously does not take political ads, so I DEFINITELY appreciated that. It does annoyingly want to get you away from the end credits despite the fact that many (if not all) episodes have a post-credits scene, so be vigilant with that remote control. I’m having a great time with this one so far. Great music, great characters, really great opening credits, great concept. Sometimes I do wish they’d do a bit more worldbuilding because they’ve built a very interesting world. Hopefully, though, this will get a second cour and we can eventually spend more time in the world of Magilumiere!

The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Be Magicians: Ooh, this one is just so cozy and interesting. It literally looks like a watercolor storybook and all the characters are cute and quirky. It has some pretty interesting stuff to say about the value of knowing how to do things by hand instead of just relying on tech for everything - something that we could all certainly stand to think about in this age of apps and AI. Plus, there are lots of cute animals. There’s definitely something big going on here, what with the way that dodgy teacher is suddenly willing to offer Kurumi, Yuzu and Aniku a chance to test back into the Magumi. Especially since Kurumi and Yuzu just managed to successfully do ancient magic, he clearly sees these three kids as a threat and wants to get them out of the way. Very interested to see where this goes. Ms. Suzuki’s whole look is so adorable, too, I wish I could cosplay as her lol.

Acro Trip: This show has made me genuinely, truly laugh out loud multiple times. Something about its ridiculous guyfail and girlfail characters being silly just tickles my funny bone big time. I did have to get used to the unusual design of the eyes, but I’m glad I did. I don’t know where, if anywhere, this show is going yet, but I’m having so much fun enjoying the ride. (I literally don’t even care about the Saudi funding and Stu Levy aspects of it all. Even that cannot dampen my enthusiasm.) Chrome’s voice actor should win every award because he is always doing the most and doing it so well. He even sings some of his dialogue in the latest episode I’ve watched! But this is still his funniest moment so far. Just go watch it a few times, ok? 

Non-Seasonal Anime I Watched in 2024

It looks like I did a lot of my non-seasonal anime watching during spring and summer. Makes sense - those are traditionally a bit quieter for me in terms of seasonal things I am watching, so it gives me time to stretch out!

Magic Users Club! OVA: Way, way back in the day when I first got into anime, I remember renting the first volume of this on tape from Blockbuster. That sentence alone should tell you my age. I really enjoyed what I saw, but never got to see the rest of it - until now. It has a lot of the same people who worked on the 90s Sailor Moon anime, so that same iconic character style is there. The way the magic works is very interesting and all of the characters are so colorful, though Akane feels a bit one-note - she’s genius at magic but she’s too busy going out with men who are WAY too damn old for her, girl what are you doing, you are a CHILD, I am going to call Chris Hansen on these men. Anyway, this is a fun and lovely little OVA with great opening and ending themes. I am so glad I finally saw the rest of it.

Magic Users Club! TV: There’s a TV series too! It’s a sequel! I’ve watched one episode so far! It’s good! I will probably get back to it in winter and spring 2025 seasons!

Love Live Nijigasaki Next Sky: This is a fun, too-short OVA that’s meant to bridge the gap between the second season of the anime and the upcoming movie trilogy that will (sniff, sniff) bring an end to the Nijigasaki saga. It centers around Shioriko feeling self-doubt (girl SO relatable) and Isla, the British girl that Ayumu went over to visit in London. Once again, I will ALWAYS go in for anything Nijigasaki because I love seeing these gals again. But I wish Isla had been able to perform with everyone!

Video Girl Ai: I remember reading some of the manga for this one in Animerica Extra magazine way back in the day. I may have even had a volume or two of the manga. Again, I’m old, lol. But then I found the anime OVA on Youtube and started watching it! I am actually not done yet - I have about half of episode 5 and all of episode 6 yet to watch - but I have enjoyed it so far. Such great music and art and characters, except for Takashi, who is a fuckboy of the highest order. Moemi, girl, stop pining over him, he ain’t shit. 

Gunsmith Cats: Continuing with my “I am old”ness, I would often see a sick-ass trailer for this one at the start of videos made by ADV, and it always piqued my interest but I was never able to find it anywhere at that time. Well, it’s a 3-episode OVA and it’s on Youtube! And what impressed me the very most about this was the absolute attention to detail. It was crystal clear that they actually went to Chicago for research - some of the scenery truly looked like photographs! There are definitely some Blues Brothers vibes for me and I love that movie. The only issue is the length and the fact that it kind of steers away from its main plot to a subplot involving a Russian enemy at the end. But overall it’s a really fun time and, again, pretty short, so go watch it!

Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team: My husband and I like to listen to the podcast Get Played, which is about video games. The hosts of that show also do a side show called Get Anime’d that is a Patreon exclusive. When they mentioned that they would be watching 08th MS Team, I decided to briefly get Patreon and hop in - and, thrillingly, husband joined me again! I like Gundam and I have only ever watched Wing and Witch from Mercury, but I’ve always enjoyed the opening theme for 08th MS Team. It also has a bit less of the space opera aspect than Wing or Mercury, which I think helped to make it appeal to my husband, who isn’t much for sci-fi. It’s a bit more of an earth-focused “war is hell” story. Great characters and story, although the final episode is tonally very strange, to the point that it was literally never dubbed into English. I’m glad the Get Played Gang decided to do this. Plus, it’s a relatively short OVA, so it’s a quick watch. Hulu doesn’t always time the commercial breaks very well, though.

Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!: I set a 2024 goal for myself to finish Star Twinkle Pretty Cure, and I accomplished that goal! This meant I was free to move to the next Precure I wanted to watch, Happiness Charge. I am only 4 episodes in right now, but I like it a whole lot. Love the characters, the designs, the mechanics of the transformations and attacks, the music…love it all. I am looking forward to watching more of this.

Pretty Cure Movie: Miracle Universe: Finishing Star Twinkle means I also feel free to watch its two movies. I have not yet watched the other one, but I did watch and enjoy Miracle Universe. I loved seeing the Kira Kira gang again because I really enjoyed watching their season last year. I am not as familiar with the Hugtto crew, but they’re nice as well based on what I saw here. A fun little crossover movie. I pretended my phone was a Miracle Light. Good times!

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos Movies 1 and 2: GOD, FINALLY. FINALLY. FINALLY. I used to think we were somehow never going to get official releases of this in the West. I really thought Toei could have gotten a bag by just commissioning someone to do English subtitles and include those on the Blu-Ray releases. But finally, Netflix came through and we finally got the conclusion to Sailor Moon Crystal. Once again, as with the Eternal movies, this is a case of the first movie being absolutelycramjampacked with story and plot and then the second movie being almost entirely about a climactic battle. Congratulations to Sailor Cosmos for finally getting an anime adaptation. Truly used to think it just would never happen back in the time before Cosmos was a thing. Insert that meme of Michael Jordan crying while holding the NBA trophy captioned to “I used to pray for times like this” here.

Saber Marionette J: The music for this show is amazing - Megumi Hayashibara is the queen of 90s anime songs and she simply does not miss. This is another show I always wanted to watch back in the day but never had access to. Now I have access to it on YouTube and I’m catching up. It’s got a lot of silly slapstick, but the characters are fun and the story is interesting. I just know it’s working up to something big. There’s a reason why Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry are built different. I’m looking forward to finding out.

Favorite Anime of 2024

I am going to just choose from the new, seasonal shows for this one. This is a tough call, and as a show currently in progress I am going to just have to hope it keeps going well, but…folks…it’s Acro Trip. I’m having so much fun with this one and laughing so much. Take me down to Naniga City, where the grass is green and the folks are silly.

[dvandom]

Isekai I'm not qualified to write

High concept: an entire rehab/support group is portaled to a fantasy world, and if any of them want to get home they need to figure out a way to get to the planet's moon.

So, right off the bat, I am not really qualified to write about a lot of the issues the cast would be dealing with. And this would definitely be on the darker side, since even if they arrive on a world at (relative) peace, the real struggles are internal.

I figure it'd start in a small enough community that the support group would be kinda mixed. Addiction, PTSD, maybe a few other things. If that's implausible (again, I am Not Qualified), perhaps the portal catches the protagonists while one group is finishing up and another is waiting in the hallway. The main idea would be to explore different kinds of problem.

Despite a fairly large cast for an isekai, the focus would mostly be on two of them. One is seeking help, the other has court-mandated treatment. The first few chapters would follow them through mundane life and its struggles. Both would stay on the Good Guy side, but at least one of the group members would heel turn.

Their facilitator would not arrive with them, so no natural leader or professional support. Either the portal missed the facilitator, or spat them out elsewhere, or the facilitator dies in the first volume (only to be revealed to be alive in the grip of a mid-series boss, rescued only after the group has proven they can do this on their own now).

Fairly early on, a magical purgative would be found that could remove the physical addiction from those who were in rehab for that. But it won't be the end of their problems, because addiction isn't just a chemical thing, it's mental. And there is no magical cure for that, any more than there was in the world they left.

The group would have a variety of useful skills (especially any soldiers there for PTSD), but no "the portal process gave you magic" stuff, this is meant to be a struggle. Perhaps some have magic aptitude, but they'd have to learn the hard way.

At least one of the group would flourish. Their addiction was driven by a crappy life in some way that is not an issue in the new world. Now they're getting enrichment, they're away from their stressors and actually like the new stresses. Anyone in this category may not want to go home, which provides a heel turn motive if the group is told that it's all or nothing on the return ticket.

It's very important that most of the characters have well-defined motives for wanting to get back home, even if this new world seems like a better place. Family's the usual hook, and any oaths taken to the military might be a motive as well. The fantasy world is going to be on the dark and scary side in general, so many of them won't want to stick around either. Some may just never get over the culture shock and be homesick.