#i'm watching battleship

[pseudolife-archived2]

so. i've had a day. my period, one cat in the vet's office for an abscess, another cat had a seizure... i have a full inbox, but i am tired and am instead going to be pestering inboxes. if you want something, lemme kno.

[v-thinks-on]

[kanonkitastuff]

Original from @writersmorgue

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

do you want to come over to teach me your favourite card/board game so we can play it together orrr

[judeswhore]

kiss me underneath the mistletoe

summary: “friends” can kiss underneath the mistletoe, right?

pairing: fwb!levi x fem!reader

word count: 1.9k

warnings: suggestive language towards the end

notes: you can find my masterlist here.

"what're you doing?" levi's soft voice startled you, the warmth of his breath against your ear sending a scatter of goosebumps over the back of your neck. the palm of his hand skirted teasingly over your hip as he pressed a chaste kiss to your cheek which subsequently earned him an elbow in the ribs and an unamused glare.

"minding my own business," you swatted his hand away, eyes darting to the kitchen door to make sure no one was loitering and nosying in on the two of you. levi seemed unbothered, a smile curving his lips as he let his gaze trail the length of your body, a slow caress from head to toe and back. "what're you doing?"

"wondering why you're hovering over the wine while everyone plays monopoly." his fingers found one of the pompoms on your ridiculous christmas jumper and tugged playfully, his smile growing. "y'look cute." again you whacked his hand away.

"stop it."

"stop what?"

"trying to flirt. you agreed to be on your best behaviour today." you sent him a pointed look, ignoring the hook in your tummy that tried to draw you to him. he looked stupidly pretty in his grinch christmas jumper and you hated him for pulling it off so well, pushing the growing desperation for him to the back of your mind.

"i said i'd keep my hands to myself. i didn't say anything about not flirting with you." he stated, smug smile set on his face. the complicated relationship you had with levi had made spending christmas with both of your families a little awkward, the need to keep whatever it was between you a secret difficult in a house full of nosy people. what the two of you had was far from a relationship and you didn't think either of your parents would appreciate finding out your once innocent friendship had been tainted by casual, no strings sex.

"you promised you'd be good." you reminded him, reaching for the glass of wine you'd poured before being interrupted, bringing it up to your lips just for something to do. there was an itch in your fingers, a deep rooted need to dig them into levi's shoulders while he kissed you senseless. he hadn't kissed you in days and you worried you were starting to have withdrawals.

over the top of your glass you caught the boy's lips tilting even further into that filthy smirk that always managed to have you falling at his feet. "sweetheart, i can be really good if you let me." the low drawl of his voice sent heat skittering up your spine, cheeks warming under his heavy gaze and the flutter in your tummy felt like you'd taken a dive in a rollercoaster. years of friendship and months of sex and levi still managed to send you spinning. 

"you're ridiculous." you mumbled and he simply hummed in reply, stepping away from you to make his way over to the kitchen island, his gaze wandering along the platter of food your mum had set out. you watched him silently, took in the way his jeans hugged tight around his ass and the christmas jumper stretched just slightly over his shoulders. he popped a mini sausage roll into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"y'gonna let me in your room tonight?"

"we're not sixteen, i'm not sneaking around with you."

"you're no fun." he grumbled, grabbing a bowl of crisps in one hand before nodding his head towards the door leading to the hallway. "if you're not gonna let me have my own fun tonight, you at least have to be on my team to help me beat your dad at battleships." that had you snorting a laugh, feet automatically following him towards the loud noise coming from the living room.

"i don't know why you still bother, you know he cheats."

"i'm a determined man, what can i say?" he stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, so suddenly you almost slammed into his back, your grumble of complaint going unheard as he turned towards the door leading to the dining room rather than the living room. "we'll go through this way." he stated.

a frown tugged your brows together, face twisting in confusion because levi was suggesting you go through the dining room to get to the living room rather than just continuing a little further down the hall. it was pointless to go that way and his words had suspicion twisting in your gut. he raised his eyebrows at your expression.

"why're you looking at me like that?"

"because you're being weird." levi rolled his eyes and pushed the dining room door open, held it with his foot while he waited for you to follow him. the room was empty of other people, the christmas tree twinkling in the corner, a small pile of fake presents sitting underneath. taking a step forward, more than a little curious about the boy's behaviour but came to a quick stop when you spotted his reason for wanting to take the long way. "you're unbelievable. stop trying to get me to walk under mistletoe!"

he couldn't stop his dramatic pout, dark eyes sparkling playfully despite the look on his face. "c'mon, i haven't gotten to kiss you in days and this is the perfect excuse. anyone sees us, it's bad luck not to kiss under the mistletoe."

"i'm not kissing you."

"you're being mean."

"i'm following the rules. we agreed no touching of any kind while our families are around." you started moving away from him, heading towards the living room and away from the offending flower. levi followed quickly, disappointment heavy in the droop of his shoulders.

"those rules are stupid and you know it."

levi sulked for almost a whole hour before he suddenly perked up, a mischievous smile pulling the corners of his mouth each time you caught his eye and you knew him well enough to know he was up to something. you also knew him well enough to know that something was definitely linked to kissing you. and it wasn't that you didn't want him to kiss you, you'd been thinking about his mouth and all the things he could do with it since he'd arrived with his family four days ago but getting caught was something you most definitely didn't want. you weren't dating levi and you were afraid your families would simply get the wrong idea and their happiness over thoughts the two of you had finally got together would ruin whatever it was you actually had. them thinking you were still just friends was all you needed.

it was a little after 8pm when you found levi hovering in your childhood bedroom, the tips of his fingers brushing lightly over the spines of the books on the white shelf. he had his back to you but you knew he knew you were there, his shoulders straightening a little higher.

"your dad really is a cheat."

"i warned you but you never wanna listen." you teased, watching the way his fingers danced over the little snow globe on your desk. he picked it up and shook it, both of you momentarily fixated on the flutter of the fake snow inside.

"i would've won if you'd just helped me."

"i help you every year and you never win." you pointed out, taking a step closer to him, curious as to why he was nosying around in the things on your desk. for a few moments he stayed quiet while he picked up various items and studied them, then he paused and turned to face you, gaze a little heavy.

"i miss you." his words were quiet, so soft they sent a flutter through your tummy and had your palms going a little damp.

"we've been together for the past few days."

"that's not- i miss you." the obvious emphasis on his words made your heart thump, throat running a little dry with the way he was looking at you. it felt like forever since the last time he'd touched you, since you'd felt his hands on your skin and his lips on yours and it was hell sitting opposite him at the dining table and pretending you didn't know what it felt like to have his body against yours. but you'd both agreed that whatever "relationship" the two of you had was too casual to have your families know about it and you wouldn't get caught because you couldn't go a couple of days without sex.

"levi.." you trailed off, voice low as he stepped just a little bit closer to you. he tipped his head to keep his eyes on yours, his throat working when he swallowed and you watched the movement half in a daze.

"look up." he muttered and automatically your head fell back, gaze lifting to catch sight of the mistletoe he was holding above your heads. there was a sly grin on his face when you looked back at him, your own face twisting into a half scowl.

"that's cheating, colwill."

"you can't cheat with mistletoe."

"it's supposed to randomly hang. it's supposed to be spontaneous. this is cheating."

"you've made me resort to drastic measures so stop being a brat and just kiss me, would you." your scowl deepened at the half insult but levi only sent you a pointed look and crushed the final few inches between your bodies. "you're ruining the christmas spirit, sweetheart."

"god, you're so irritating." whatever retort had been on the boy's tongue was cut off when you lifted your head and slotted your mouth carefully over his. the second your lips met a satisfied hum of approval vibrated in levi's chest, his arms circling tight around your waist as he pressed one palm flat against your lower back and pulled you firmly into his chest.

he kissed you slowly, lazy drags of his lips against yours, the soft way he licked into your mouth making your legs wobble, arms curling around his neck to pull him a little closer. it had only been a few days since you'd last been together but it was ridiculous how much you'd missed the way he tasted and the skilful way he could have you breathless and weak in seconds. a moan bubbled up inside of you and levi swallowed it eagerly, tilted his head and kissed you a little harder.

taking a couple of steps backward he landed on your bed with a heavy thump, gripped your hips to pull you into his lap and grinned at the surprised gasp you let out. he left a light kiss against the corner of your mouth, trailed a row of them over your jaw until he met your ear. he nipped playfully.

"we have about fifteen minutes till someone comes looking for us."

"levi..."

"c'mon, pretty girl. let me give you an early gift, yeah?" he whispered, the tip of his nose nudging at your jaw before he dropped a few wet kisses against your neck. silence filled the room for a few seconds as you contemplated the offer. everyone else was downstairs and there was a lock on your door to keep them out but you were worried someone would notice the two of you were missing and would come looking. you’re not sure you could find an innocent explanation for being locked in your room with him. “we’ll be quick, i promise.”

“what if someone hears us?” you asked but your fingers were already tugging at the buttons on his trousers, levi’s lips tipping into a smug smirk because he knew he had you. his hand came up to cup your cheek, thumb brushing soft over your bottom lip.

“then you’ll just have to be quiet for me.”

[rhiaarrow]

With Bad joking about preparing to go live as a hermit if the eggs are gone for a long time it really got me thinking about how important the eggs and their eggy actors have been to him.

Not that they haven't been important to everyone, the eggs are such a huge part of the server but tonights ramble is about Bad.

To the shock of absolutely no one! I'm a Ghostie first and foremost, with a hyperfixation and a penchant for writing novel length rambles. This is just the usual atp :')

Before the Qsmp Bad was not a daily streamer, not even close, just check his vods channel. Hell, even when he joined the QSMP he didn't stream every day of the start of the server. He only streamed one or two days for a handful of hours...but then he got Dapper.

And with him being a single parent Bad had to log on every day to do Dapper's tasks.

(Yes, Q was also a single parent but he had ppl babysit Tilin, also she died within the first 2 weeks of her being around soooo yeah, different circumstance)

Then because Bad was on every single day he took up a position of babysitter for most of the eggs since their parents couldn't be on as frequently.

To begin with it was mostly just Tallulah, she could've been taken care of by Philza but her schedule didn't originally line up with Phil's so it was easier for her to wake up for Bad to do her tasks.

Then Ramon started joining them some nights so he could hang out with Dapper.

Then Bad became closer with the French and started to watch Pomme for them when they logged off for the night since Pomme was a night owl.

Then Vegetta stopped logging in as often and Leo kept barely missing Foolish so Bad started taking care of Leo's tasks when Foolish couldn't and she started spending time with him as well.

Then Richas started hanging out with Dapper and Pomme, so they formed the late night trio and hung out almost every night which eventually became Richas just hanging out with Bad whenever he felt like it.

Then Pepito arrived and since Roier wasn't on as often late last year Pepito would hang out with Bad and Foolish most days.

Then Em immediately decided that Bad was her favorite Uncle and would hang out with him when Bagi went to bed if she wanted to stay up.

When the eggs disappeared, rather than his usual 6-10 hour streams Bad was streaming 3-5 hours because his entire time on the server was usually spent hanging out with the eggs.

I've rambled before about how qBad and Tio Bad are two separate things because Tio Bad isn't rp, it's just ccBad atp but I feel like some people don't realize the extent to which ccBad spends time with the Eggy actors.

Every single stream, from 5-12 hours, he's only ever without an eggy companion for a couple of hours maximum.

I mean there's the probability of each egg just showing up to hang out with Bad at any point in the day,

Obviously you've got these 3;

Dapper, Pomme, Richas - highest probability

Then these 3;

Empanada, Pepito,Tallulah, - high probability

Then these 5;

Ramon, Chunsik, Sunny - low probability

Chayanne, Leo - lowest probability

There is no egg that has never shown up randomly to hang out with their Tio Bad (and yes I am counting the Ghostie streams in this, it was still ccBad so yknow)

ccBad spends so much time with them.

Not counting all the stuff he's done on stream with all the eggs, he has;

built the snowman with Talluladmin and Pommin,

played battleship with Pommin and Ricardão,

worked on create farms with Dappmin,

worked on the signs with Pommin and Ricardão,

built decorations with Empanadmin and Pommin

Just to name a couple of the stuff we know, not even mentioning the nights they just spend together after stream doing nothing important

The server feels especially empty as a Ghostie because ccBad himself is just so used to hanging out with not just the eggs but the eggy actors as well.

His days are usually dictated by what one of the eggs wants to do, not even necessarily his kid.

If an egg wants to go on an adventure to find a particular thing but knows it's rare or could take a while, they know that the easiest thing to do (if they don't want to drag their parents to do it) is probably ask Tio Bad to take them to look for it. Em's done it, Tallulah's done it, Sunny's done it, Pepito's done it, Leo's done it, literally every egg except Chay and Chun.

His ass is always online and always willing to do anything for the eggs, unless it's ridiculously dangerous, then he draws the line.

If that man does go live as a hermit due to everything reminding him of the fact that the eggy actors are temporarily on break I will not be shocked.

ccBad spends so much of his time with them, not just their little eggy characters.

[druidwolf21]

Leman russ x f reader

Return

Ugh I had to, I love him so much

I need this man carnally

Everyone Please lemme know your thoughts!!

Warning for LEWD NSFW

I tried to include some (what Google says) Norse words but they could be wrong please don't yell!

Drottning-queen

Feilan-little wolf

Ástin min-my love

@moodymisty @beckyninja @cosmic-cryptid-from-beyond @lemon-russ

I'm tagging you guys because I love you from afar and need your opinion 🥺

You carried yourself high, head raised and back straight as you walked along the halls of the Hrafnkel. The iron walls of the battleship were sporadically peppered with tapestries of great battles, wolves and glory, but they were of little interest to you as you strode onward, your hand gently gripping the dense fur of the fenrisian wolf who prowled beside you.

Astartes nodded to you as you walked, some muttering "Feilan" as you passed.

You shook your head slightly and slowed. "little wolf" you muttered to yourself "A fitting name I suppose, don't you agree, Frenki?"

You looked to the large wolf and cocked your head. It's large amber eyes stared back at you as you as you scratched its shoulder before setting off again.

No time to dawdle

"let us go to our Lord then, shall we?" You smile picking up the pace as you draw closer to the ebony doors. You reach out a hand to grasp the silvered handle when the wood swings open and you are faced with the fur and steel armour of a marine.

"Dróttning" he greeted, slamming a ceremite fist to his chest in greeting, the noise ringing down the hall.

"chapter master Grimnar, it does me well to see you" you smiled in return at the man towering over you "I assume your business with my lord is concluded? I have urgent matters to discuss"

The grizzled warrior raised a brow before speaking "indeed my lady, I now have other duties to attend" He dippes his chin and passed by, roughly scratching Frenki's head as he did so. "I shall advise our brothers Lord Russ will be indisposed until further notice"

"my thanks, chapter master" you flitted through the gap in the door and closed it softly behind you.

Frenki lapped a long wet tongue against your arm before bolting past you to leap at his brother, rolling in the pile of furs as he rejoice at the reunion.

Your eye however, was drawn somewhere much different.

You watched as leman slugged off his heavy furs and dropped his leather tunic to the floor, the muscles under his skin working as he stretched, running a callused hand through his hair, stood only in his woolen trousers, he knelt to remove a boot.

Walking over you ran a hand over his back, following the line of his muscle and scars up his back until your hand found his hair.

You gently began untwisting one of the braids in his hair as your lips met his ear.

"my wolf" you whispered, gently biting at his lobe.

You gasp as you are suddenly lifted into the air, feet dangling as lips meet yours, arms wrapped around your waist holding you close. You feel a tongue run across your lips, tasting you. You moan into the touch and pull away, panting slightly as eyes the colour of ice stare into you before dropping you onto a bed of soft sheets and furs.

"I have missed you, my lord" you sigh, pulling gently at his hair. Leman grins at you, large canines bared as he looks down at you. Heat rises up your neck and into your cheeks, feeling like a hare caught by the wolf, you sigh again as he presses his face into your neck, biting and sucking at your skin.

A hand snakes it's way up your dress, following the soft skin of your thigh before stopping at your core and you moan at the contact, pressing yourself into his hand.

"I can tell" he smirks "so wet for me, before I have even touched you" He presses a finger slowly inside you and you moan, arching into him as he slowly moves in and out. "So eager to please, such a good girl"

His other hand find the front of you dress and pulls the fabric down, your skin prickles as the sudden chill, until he brings his mouth down and drags his tongue across a sensitive nipple.

"p.please" you gasp, reaching for him, only to have both of your wrists grasped and pressed down to the mattress above your head

"please what?"

Again with that throne damned smirk

You feel a familiar sensation rising as he continues to finger in and out of you, his thumb circling your clit as your heart beat is like a hammer in your ears and you cry out as pleasure washes over you

"you sing so sweetly when you cum" he sighed, releasing your wrists and stripping his trousers, before leaning over you again

"russ please" you beg, breathless "I need you.."

Your begging is silenced as He bites into your shoulder, easing himself between your wet folds. You gasp, feeling yourself being filled to your limit as he slides inside you.

"such a good girl, your pretty little cunt takes every inch" he growls, fully sheathing himself in you. You moan and arch into him again, hands clawing at his back before falling back to grasp the sheets as he begins pumping into you.

His arms are either side of your head as he gazes down at you, his thighs hitting your ass as he drives himself deep inside you, you turn your head to the side, only for him to grasp your chin and turn you back to him.

"look at me" he panted "I want to see your pretty little face as you cum"

You feel the heat rising in your core again and whimper, trying to keep your head unclouded, but God's, he's so big, and the way he looks at you, the moans as he fuck you...

Leman spits a curse as feels you tighten around him, cumming.

"already?" he grumbled, thrusting into you more erratically " you must've been so lonely if you cum for me so easily" he grunted as he leans closer, lifting your thighs up and grabbing your ass roughly to hit deeper, if that was even possible.

"only for you my wolf" you cry, feeling as though all sense is being fucked from your brain "I am only yours"

Leman snarled and pounded into you harder, fucking you into the mattress, his eyes wild and he tangled a hand in your hair, pulling your head up so he could run his tongue along your throat.

"mine, all mine, little wolf" he moaned as you felt him cum inside you, his breath erratic and his hips thrust to drive it as deep inside you as he could before he finally stopped, resting in his forearms above your flushed body, his blonde hair tickling your skin as he slowly raised himself off you, pulling himself out of your warmth and you sighed at the suddenly empty feeling, wishing already to be filled again. You sit up and feel a heavy fur being pulled across your shoulders to shield you from any chill.

"I have missed you, my sweet" you smile tiredly, staring up at the Primark as he adjusted the pelt.

"Ástin min" he smiled sweetly, sweeping a hand across your face " would that I never have to leave your side" he winked at you "or your bed"

You rolled your eyes and laughed, before standing and reaching for him

"come my lord, let me finish your braids"

[canmom]

Do you think Hideaki Anno is right-wing or is it too difficult to tell from his works?

Haha that's a question.

I'll focus on nationalism rather than trying to get into, say, gender politics here, since that's the accusation that most seems to follow Anno around.

Anno's politics are... hard to pin down from his work alone, I think. He's like... a prototypical case of that generation of 'apolitical' otaku that followed after the Anpo generation, with Eva pretty much the definitive statement of the 90s psychological turn. But that said... I can definitely see the argument that there are nationalist themes in some of his works like Gunbuster, though I definitely don't buy every reading in this series (lots of dubious kanji reading). He definitely has that otaku fascination with war machinery and war media (apparently he's a big fan of The Battle for Okinawa and watched it over 100 times), which can easily blend into imperialist ideology.

But there's complications here. For example, the Animekritik series cites the setting of Gunbuster in Okinawa as something formative to the nationalist ideology they are trying to illustrate - in part in relation to the ongoing controversy over American military bases in Okinawa. Anno has at least been on record as saying he's disinterested in Western culture, and I can see the reading of Jung-Freud as an external Other who is shown up by the Japanese girls, somehow simultaneously representing the USSR, Europe and the States. But anti-Americanism in Japan can come in both left and right wing flavours (c.f. Anpo). Communists want the Americans out too! Portraying Okinawa as a military training camp in a Japan-led military coalition certainly comes across as a more nationalist take on that whole matter, but I feel like it's got about the same level of serious nationalist commitment as Doctor Who putting random British people all over space.

When Gainax has played around with nationalist imagery it's usually been in a kind of ironic sendup way - see Ash's writeup about the Aikoku Sentai Dai Nippon controversy, in which Daicon Film staff were disdainful at the accusation that their goofy toku film reflected a genuine nationalist sentiment. While Imaishi takes it further, a lot of Anno's work is also about playfully reappropriating past works. In Anno's case a lot of that is classic tokusatsu, Ultraman in particular, and also Leiji Matsumoto's scifi, notably Space Battleship Yamato, which, well... you know the deal there lol. But it's not so simple to go from that to 'Anno is a nationalist'.

Eva doesn't tend to attract these accusations, but I recall the controversy came back around with Shin Godzilla, though to my mind it's hard to find a straightforwardly nationalist reading of that movie. (It's a film about the experience of the earthquake and Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown, and it's critical of Japan's bureaucracy, but equally one where the JSDF repeatedly get their shit handed to them and civilian infrastructure is what actually stops Godzilla - not to mention Godzilla is painted as quite a tragic figure here!) It all feels pretty tenuous.

I haven't seen as many of Anno's live action films as I'd like, so I can't comment as much on the more recent Shin films, Love & Pop, Shiki-Jitsu etc. And it's always possible for subtler allusions to slip by the anglophone viewer. Still, I don't personally think Anno's post-Gunbuster work is particularly nationalist in outlook. I certainly haven't seen any evidence of him favouring, say, war crime denial, anti-Korean sentiment, remilitarisation, etc etc. - he's definitely not as dubious a figure as someone like Hajime Isayama. But it's not like, anti-nationalist either! It's just kind of hard to read in those terms.

So I lean towards your second option, I'm not convinced he's a nationalist or particularly right wing. He happily associates with Hayao Miyazaki, who's definitely not a right wing guy. But Anno'll also let hilariously cooked stuff like whatever On A Gloomy Night was supposed to be into the Animator Expo. So I don't think he's particularly left wing either, he's no Ikuni! But Anno's fiction is very individual focused, full of psychoanalytic themes and internal conflict. He can vividly portray trauma and complex power dynamics. There's a lot to appreciate in works like Eva from a left-wing angle. I don't really know why this association of nationalism follows him around.

Idk, maybe there's a bunch of interviews I'm missing! Presumably you have a reason for asking this question...

[atac-agent]

Game Night With The Crows

so @padfoot-lupin77 i am still a bit confused about the whole re-blogging thing (since i joined Tumblr, quite recently-) but the idea caught me and grew in me like the most resilient disease *starts blabbering about Inception* *please ignore* ... well, anyways .... here i am!

Hope you like it!!

.•°☆°•.

Summary: The Crows take a break from their usual schemes to play a game of Monopoly, in which without a doubt, Kaz dominates.

***

The Slat was unusually quiet. The kind of quiet that always put Jesper on edge. Kaz was in his office, working through a stack of papers, while Inej sharpened her knives at the corner table. Wylan and Nina were huddled over some new schematics for a job, and Matthias stood guard by the door, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of trouble.

Jesper, unable to sit still any longer, wandered over to Kaz's office and knocked on the open door. "Kaz, we need a break."

Kaz didn't look up from his work. "A break?" he repeated, his tone flat.

"Yes, a break. You know, something to take our minds off the constant scheming and plotting." Jesper leaned against the doorframe, his usual grin in place, "how about a game night?"

"Yes! Monopoly, to be precise. Let's see who really knows how to make a fortune," Jesper suggested with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Kaz glanced at the papers on his desk, then back at Jesper. After a long moment, he sighed. "Fine. But only for a couple of hours."

Jesper's grin widened. "Perfect. I'll get the others."

Jesper practically bounced back into the main room, where the others looked up curiously. "Guess what? Kaz agreed to a game night!"

Nina laughed. "You actually convinced him? This I have to see."

Matthias looked skeptical. "The demjin playing a game? I’ll believe it when I see it."

Wylan lan's eyes lit up at the mention of Monopoly. "I’m in. It’ll be nice to do something normal for once."

Inej smiled softly, her curiosity piqued. "I’ll play."

With everyone in agreement, they gathered around the largest table in the Slat, clearing off maps and blueprints to make room for the game. Jesper spread out the Monopoly board while Nina and Matthias brought waffles from the kitchen.

Kaz emerged from his office, looking slightly bemused but not entirely displeased. He took a seat at the head of the table, watching as the others chose their pieces.

"I'll be the thimble," Inej said, picking up the small metal piece.

Jesper grabbed the race car, of course. "Vroom vroom, here comes the winner!"

Nina picked the dog, Matthias took the hat, and Wylan chose the boot. Kaz, with a resigned air, took the battleship.

"Let's get this over with," Kaz muttered, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

The game began with its usual mix of excitement and strategy. Jesper was the first to land on Boardwalk, a broad grin spreading across his face. "Looks like I'm building an empire!"

"Not if I can help it," Wylan said, eyeing the other properties strategically.

Nina and Matthias engaged in playful banter as they moved their pieces around the board. "You always pick the dog," Matthias observed.

"It brings me luck," Nina replied with a wink.

Kaz played with the same ruthless efficiency he brought to everything else, quickly accumulating properties and planning his moves several turns in advance. "Luck is for amateurs," he said as he landed on Park Place, solidifying his hold on the board.

At one point, Kaz bought up a whole block of properties, and Jesper couldn’t resist a comment. "Looks like Brekker’s Investments are expanding."

Kaz glanced up, "It's all about knowing where to invest your resources," he said, his gaze briefly flickering to Inej, who rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

His eyes lingered on to Inej...

Inej...

Her quiet strength, the way she held herself with such grace and confidence, always struck him. Her dark hair fell in soft waves, framing her face perfectly. When she smiled, even the most hardened part of him seemed to soften.

She was more than just an investment.

Her eyes caught his, and for a fleeting second, the world outside of their little circle ceased to exist.

Her smile was like a rare glimpse of sunlight in the dreary streets of Ketterdam, and Kaz found himself caught in its warmth. He wondered —

Nina’s voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. "Kaz, are you daydreaming about Inej’s strategy or just imagining your next romantic move? It's your turn," she teased, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Kaz blinked, realizing he had almost missed a crucial move. He quickly rolled the dice and made his play, landing on a property he had been eyeing for several turns. With swift precision, he bought it up, adding another piece to his growing empire.

As the night wore on, the board became a battlefield of hotels and houses. Kaz, unsurprisingly, was in the lead, but the others put up a valiant fight. Jesper, true to form, made a few reckless moves, much to Wylan’s dismay.

"You’re supposed to be good at this!" Wylan exclaimed as Jesper handed over another stack of cash to Kaz.

"I’m good at making things exciting, merchling" Jesper replied with his usual grin.

As Kaz placed his final hotel on Boardwalk, sealing his victory, Jesper groaned.

"Next time, we’re playing something that doesn’t involve you bankrupting us all."

"We’ll see about that."

Even in victory, Kaz allowed himself a rare moment of relaxation, knowing that sometimes, even the sharpest minds needed a break.

[westiec]

Okay, after a couple times watching this, I'm jumping in this year! Join me!

Battleship 2024

aka What if a fanwork exchange was also chaotic team-based PvP?

Rules and FAQ:

Schedule:

Tag suggestions: Tuesday June 18–Saturday June 22

Nominations: Thursday June 20–Saturday July 6

Sign-ups: Thursday June 27–Saturday July 6

Team assignments: no later than Monday July 8

You can submit Freeform Tag Suggestions & Fandoms and Ships here!

[enviedear]

anakin being touch starved baby boy that he is. just listen to me. he comes back from whatever activities of the day he had and just wants to snuggle with the reader and never let them go but he finds the reader still finishing her (theirs if u prefer gn) work stuff so he gets very pouty and touchy and starts snuggling to her like a little stray cat/ following her everywhere she goes just to stay close to her. (u can make it spicy at the end if u want to but it is not necessary) ❤️‍🩹🤌🏼 i am hungry for some fluff as i am drowning in my own work + hormones are killing me

love u xo

no this is so real and this fueled me into a spiral abt anakin being with a student girlie— like yeah he totally would go for a hottie with brains from the ISE. like yeah he no doubt can pull someone capable of making a starship out of nothing.

wc— 1.5k | tw— nsfw minors dni i will block you, fingering, piv, unprotected sex, anakin finishing inside of you, mentions of food and eating

you're trying your hardest to study for your upcoming exam, cups upon cups of finished caff's litter your desk. you're only halfway finished with your newest battleship render when anakin comes home.

his eyes are tired but when they meet yours he smiles, "hi baby, i missed you." he's quick to walk over to where you're seated, strong arms coming to wrap around your shoulders.

you lean back, inhaling his smell, "i missed you too, ani," you give him a pout, "but i really need to finish this before tomorrow."

he looks down at your holopad, "i could make dinner, do you think you'll be done by then?"

you smile, "i'll try my hardest."

he lingers for a moment, letting his head drop down to your neck. he leaves a trail of soft kisses in his wake, stopping at the side of your face before placing one finger under your chin and drawing you in.

his kiss is hungry, wanting— and you so badly want to indulge him, but before he can take it any further you break away.

"i'm serious, anakin. if i don't get this done i'm going to feel the wrath of every single one of my professors." your voice is stern, but the way he looks at you illicts a small smile.

he groans, pulling away, "okay, okay. but please try to be done in time for dinner. i've missed you so bad all day."

you nod and watch as he heads into the kitchen, the sound of pots and pans clattering filling the air. letting out a sigh, you go back to your work, but you can't help the thoughts that linger in your mind.

as you try to focus on your work, thoughts of him keep creeping into your mind. the way his lips feel on yours and the way he holds you close, making you feel safe and loved.

you shake your head, trying to clear your mind, but the more you try to push it away, the stronger the desire becomes. your project floats into the background of your mind as you work on it, fueled now by thoughts of your beautiful boyfriend.

glancing at the clock, you realize that an hour has already passed. you rub your eyes and stretch your arms before looking over your nearly finished work. as if on cue, anakin walks in with two plates of food.

"hey," he says, placing the plate in front of you. "i made your favorite."

you look up at him and smile. "thank you, ani. it smells amazing."

he leans down to give you a quick kiss on top of your head before grabbing his own plate and sitting across from you.

as you eat, small talk fills the air. you rant about your looming deadlines, while anakin shares stories about recent council meetings at the temple.

however, he's mostly relegated to mentioning how much he's missed you, "i thought about stopping by for lunch, but then master yoda asked me to step in for one of the youngling classes."

you give him a sorry look, "i wouldn't have been very good company anyway— i've been working on this since you left this morning." you can't help but feel guilty about being so busy lately, but with exams just around the corner, it's been hard for you.

anakin reaches out, massaging your tense shoulders, "i'm sorry baby, why don't you take a break?"

you bite your lip, "ani… i can't. i'm almost done though, i promise," you turn in your seat to face him, hands cupping his cheeks, "and then i'll be all yours for the rest of the night."

he has a challenging expression on his face, "i think a break would help," he leans in so that your lips brush, "let me ease up some of your stress, baby."

you groan, "ani, i don't know, i really need to—"

he cuts you off, leaving a lingering kiss on your lips before pulling away, "ise gets all of your time now, i'm getting jealous."

you laugh, "oh, don't be jealous, ani. you know i love you more than anything."

he smirks and begins to massage your shoulders again. you close your eyes and let out a sigh of relief. the tension starts to melt away under his strong hands.

"you're too good at this," you say, leaning back into him.

"i have my ways of making my you feel better," he says, lips brushing against your neck.

you try and stifle a moan as he nibbles at your earlobe. his hands starting to wander down your back and you can feel his body heat beaming off of him.

"ani, i really need to finish this," you say, but your tone is starting to sound less convincing.

he pulls back, cupping your face and forcing you to look into his eyes. "i know you do, baby. but can't it wait for a little bit, hm?"

you nod slowly, feeling yourself giving in to his touch. he leans in again and kisses you deeply. his tongue brushes against yours and you feel a surge of desire wash over you.

he's quick to lift you from your seat, and you instinctively wrap your legs around him. he groans into the kiss, laying you down on the bed, hands exploring your body needily.

before you know it, your clothes are off and anakin is lying on top of you. he has a way of being able to get what he wants, most of the time that being you.

it was hard not to indulge him though, not when he felt so good.

he kisses you all over your body, igniting every inch of skin that he touches.

"ani," you moan his name as his hand drifts lower, toying with your sex.

you can't help but grind your hips against his hand, desperately trying to elicit more pleasure from him. you're greedy for touch.

he teases you lightly with his fingers before parting your lips, only to thrust a single digit into your slickness. your hands grip at his free arm, feeling his veins.

he teases you relentlessly, sending you into a spiral of pure bliss, until all at once, you're writhing beneath his touch, "ah! oh ani!"

he continues on, not stopping as you draw closer to yout climax. your body quivers, and you look down at him wantonly, wanting him more than ever. he smirks at the sight of you trying to regain some semblance of control.

"what do you want, pretty girl?" his questions drips with lust, eyes dark and enticing.

you choke back a moan at his words, "you, ani. i want you."

he presses his lips against yours once more before positioning himself between your legs. pressing his bulge against your opening, groaning as he sinks himself slowly into you.

you close your eyes, focusing on how good it feels— how perfectly he fits inside of you.

as he sets a steady pace with his hips, fucking you deeper and deeper with each stroke, the familiar tug building inside of you once again.

"oh god! you feel so good ani," you moan loudly, unabashed as her ruts deeper into you.

his head drops down to your neck, lips brushing against your ear, "that's my girl, just letting me make her feel good."

with each thrust now comes an increasing sense of euphoria that plagues your mind and body with waves of pleasure that wash over every inch of flesh; sensitizing everything around it. all at once it becomes too much.

you're nails drill deep into his back, and he grunts at the feeling. his hands dig into your hips, pulling you into him even closer.

"fuck, sweetheart—" he cuts off as you bite down onto his shoulder desperately, groaning loudly as you come in pulses around him.

your breaths are short and your head is swimming, the need for oxygen becoming a necessity.

your fingers finally begin to relax as your breathe evens out. "dammit," you exhale, exhausted from the sudden rush of pleasure flowing through every fiber of your body. anakin lets out a grunt of his own as your walls tightly clamp around him. you can barely keep up with his erratic thrusts, and he leans down to kiss you before finishing inside of you.

you moan loudly into his mouth as he cums, a stream of warmth flowing into you as your inner walls clamp tight around his cock. you feel him twitch and spasm inside of you, and his muscles momentarily lock up before you both relax into each other's arms.

you run your hands through his hair lightly before pulling apart from him. "i love you so much."

he turns to press a soft kiss against your cheek, before rolling off of you, grabbing for a towel, "and i love you."

you watch as he cleans you up, his face still reddened from his work, "you're such a good distraction."

he hums, looking at you, "you like it,"

you roll your eyes, "i know and it's a problem, i let you do it every time."

he grins in response. "it's not my fault you enjoy my distractions so much." and before another retort is made, he presses his lips onto yours momentarily before sliding into bed beside you.

[sjax001]

When Guilliman and the Lion finally reunite in the story; how do you think that'll go? Do you propose it'll be like your comic - a series of misunderstandings seeded by Chaos to pit them against each other? Or perhaps one shall swoop in to pull off a valiant rescue for the other?

Personally, I wouldn't mind a callback to Unremembered Empire but on the opposite side. The Macragge's Honour translates into a system, a heavily fortified system, bombarded by challenges of every possible kind by ships we later learn are Dark Angels. Maybe its because I've been watching the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series lately, but I have the vibe of when Galactica meets the Pegasus.

I anticipate the reunion between Guilliman and the Lion to be a multifaceted affair. I don't think it will follow the common trope of misunderstandings and tragic conflicts, as seen in my comic, nor do I expect a simple, heartwarming reunion. Instead, I hope for a narrative that delves deep into their individual characters and the ways they have evolved. I envision a scenario where their initial joy at being reunited is tempered by growing tensions arising from their differing personalities and approaches. However, I believe they will ultimately find a way to reconcile these differences.There’s a Chinese saying, “相濡以沫（xiang ru yi mo)”Imagine two fish trapped in a drying puddle. If these two fish lived in the sea, their relationship would become distant and cold, or even become enemies.But now, to survive, they lick each other to stay moist.I think that applies to Guilliman and the Lion. Given their personalities, it’s inevitable that they’ll clash. In a different situation, they might never have been able to get along. But now, as the only family and brothers they have left, they need to learn to support and depend on each other.

The reunion, I believe, will begin with a dramatic and unexpected event. I've seen many fan creations where Guilliman is in danger and the Lion swoops in to save him😂 but I find this too predictable. I know Guilliman isn't as skilled in close combat as his brothers, but this plotline makes him seem more like a damsel in distress.While a plot like that could be exciting, I'm hoping for something that truly surprises me.

That said, the Battlestar Galactica and Pegasus-style reunion would also be a powerful and hopeful moment! Even if the two brothers don't meet face-to-face, simply knowing that the other is alive and nearby, perhaps on their ancient Gloriana-class battleships or just a glimpse across the battlefield, would be a beacon of hope and warmth in a this grimdark future.

[lensman-arms-race]

Episode 77 part 3 and 4

(I was going to make a post with parts 3 and 4, but ran into the Tumblr image limit! I'll make another post about part 4.)

Previously: Episode 77 part 1, Episode 77 part 2

DFB has given us TV-simps some delicious food!! And I had five asks about this! Spoilers under the cut.

Pile of asks:

Anonymous:

Now that episode 77 is done what do you think is the 'plot twist'? I found 'hardware heads were human' from part 2 to be a lot more shocking than G-Man helping The Alliance.

@some-girl-i-guess-1

Did you see the new episode? What are your thoughts about it?

@gamie99

I love reading your episode reviews because you always have so much to say! And I'm sure you have SO many thoughts about this one, because HOLY COW.

Anonymous:

The latest part of the episode was pretty crazy what did you think about it? What do you think will occur in the full episode?

@love-draw-fanart

After watching 77 part 4, I started imagining Titan-TV fighting with his ghost if his body was destroyed 🤣🤣🤣🤣 very, veryyyyyy "you can't kill the death"

Part 3:

I'm a little disappointed that Cam Matriarch appears to have lost her tortoise mode + flechette cannon, because that was what made me love her in the first place! The flying cannon replacement is pretty cool... but it's sad how all the cute robots are becoming badass rather than cute.

Wonder what the 'there are 3 Polycephalies' crowd will have to say about this? Will they think there are 2 Cam Matriarchs?

The distant 'hee hee' at this point was funny as hell! I do love how Boom breaks up tension with funny parts like this.

Not only has Cam Matriarch inherited Plunk's weapons, but also his idiot ball, apparently. Mate, you can't defeat that bastard, he's like a fucking battleship.

See, TV Matriarch agrees with me... Wait... there's absolutely no need for TV Matriarch to put her hand on Cam Matriarch's boob - she's copping a feel!

Also, holy crap, how have I only just noticed Cam Matriarch's goth boots?

Polycephaly, my beloved! And what an entrance! I swoon!

My earlier point about robots becoming badass but losing some of their cute appeal still stands. The head upgrades make sense tactically but they're uncute. And my boy's lost his cuddly tendrils! Now he's got Ass-tro tech bolted on him.

Also he looks goofy with his tie tucked into his trousers instead of his waistcoat. Boo.

There was a visual glitch at this point in which Buzzsaw's helmet temporarily despawned, but Boom appears to have fixed it.

"Someone is dying... and it's not me." OUGGGHHH HOLY CRAP!! Titan TV, my beloved!!

Also he flares out his back-spikes at this point and it's so good, hnnnngh.

Fuckin' no-sells the Astro projectiles.

Interestingly, Titan TV now appears to have the ability to fire off little 'pellets' of energy from his core instead of just a huge-ass blast (note hyphen position; that's huge-ass blast, not huge ass-blast).

After swiping away the Astro projectiles, Titan TV proceeds to get one of his monitor extensions chewed off. Oops. He seems strangely unbothered by this! It almost looks as though he turns his head towards the Astro to let it happen.

Excellent Astro grump face:

"Look at me!" (Okay, but why didn't you do that before Matey Boy bit your screen off?)

Goddamn, I love what Boom does with Toilet expressions; they're hilarious!

Decapitation!

Unfortunately, some other fucker arrives and manages to both deplete the Titan's back-spikes and smash his main screen.

The Astro strider appears to break the Titan's screen by getting behind his head and then suddenly pushing his head forward. Did the Titan's screen break on his own core-spikes? Or just from the stress on his head-casing?

The Titan does appear to catch the Astro in his back-spikes (and then fling the Astro away), which presumably is how the Astro breaks some of the spikes off.

"Your Titan wouldn't want you to die meaninglessly. Leave, while you still can." TVs are rude fuckers but they do still care about their comrades! That's why I love them best.

This prick shows up. I get the feeling they were muttering 'If you want something done right, do it yourself'. This Astro fights more competently than the last two.

Fortunately, Titan TV is saved from total annihilation by the Cams firing a shot from their tank, which buys the Titan enough time to counter-attack... and say a very curious line.

"You can't kill the dead!"

Is this just trash-talking, or an actual lore drop?? "I'll show you what the other side looks like!"

Is this an implication that TVs come from dead humans (or believe that they do)? Maybe TVs believe that they're already dead, because the state of the world is so shitty that it must be already Hell?

Or maybe this is just like Pete Weber, who got so excited bowling that he ended up saying "Who do you think you are? I am! Dammit right!"

Either way, we're treated to one of the most brutal deaths in the series, in which Titan TV crushes the Astro's head in his bare hands.

Polycephaly comforts the dying Cam who managed to fire the distracting shot. "You did well, lil bro." My heart!

"We teleported everyone to base." Except POV Cam, because they smell.

Also where's your head-turrets? (I hope Boom puts them back in the full episode.)

Titan TV is wrecked but is still spoiling for a rumble. Part 3 ends with him calling out the arriving Astros as 'pathetic trash' and demanding to fight Juggernaut. (One detail I liked here is that we hear the rhythmic clanking sound of Titan TV's core claws, rotating but no longer smoothly. It's rather like the ominous ticking of a clock signalling impending doom.)

Wait... if he has no working TV screens, he's not Titan TV Man. He's just Titan Man. Ehehe.

It's a little surprising how 2-dimensional these fights are - as in the characters stay in one plane close to the ground, even though they can all fly. I suppose we'd have to wait even longer between episodes if Boom had to choreograph swooping aerial fights!

[yukiokami]

my tears ricochet

treech x female 7th district reader

warnings: no use of y/n, third-person narrative, angst, headcanons (9th hunger games winner, treech's family), l-bombs, violence, deaths.

summary: she did everything to prevent him from losing her too, eventually losing him herself.

word count: 859

author's note: my first time writing on tumblr, i had a huge wave of inspiration after listening to sad songs and watching edits of treech. english is not my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes. this is a songfic to my tears ricochet by taylor swift. enjoy, loves.

her name was pulled. among hundreds of others. everything around her is in slow motion, she doesn't hear anything, doesn't see her mother's frightened eyes. she only notices treech's hand rising, he is now ready to volunteer, so she wouldn't be taken to the games. she manages to grab him with both hands and whispers, calming herself rather than him.

"it's going to be okay, i'll be fine, treech."

he shakes his head in disbelief. she can't leave him, leave her mom. die.

and she doesn't understand how she can cope. this is not a self-preservation instinct. it's an instinct to save those she cares about.

"listen, aspen is going to be with me. you can't come with me, please, i can't stand it if you die."

"i can't stand it if you die!" he repeats after her. "i can't lose you!" treech breaks down, despite the huge crowd.

burning tears flow down her cheeks, blurring the dirt on her face, and leaving long streaks.

"that's why i'm not going to die," she looks at him, reassuring. "i'm not going to die, treech. please take care of mom," she says when the peacekeepers grab her when they hold on to each other with the last of their strength.

cause I loved you, I swear I loved you

till my dying day

"i love you, okay? forever," their hands separate and soldiers drag the girl to the stage.

"let her go!" treech hisses, trying to fight the soldiers who are holding him tightly from running after her.

the doors close and she hears him scream.

we gather here, we line up,

weepin' in a sunlit room

when the counter counts down the seconds before the games begin, she can't think, there's a white noise in her head. there are no places to hide in the huge arena. here you can only fight and try to survive. she needs to survive because they are waiting for her at home. treech has no one but her. his parents died in a forest fire, as did her father.

and if I'm on fire,

you'll be made of ashes, too

she starts running towards the center with all her strength and grabs an axe, while two tributes attack two more. they die in seconds. she backs away and a guy from district 4 grazes her arm with a sword, trying to pierce it. she turns around and stabs him in the head with an axe.

the games lasted for several hours, the remaining three tributes, including her, are sitting on opposite sides of the arena, exhausted. aspen was killed by a girl from district 9.

and she's just waiting for the attack.

and so the battleships will sink beneath the waves

you had to kill me, but it killed you just the same

this is not a victory, but a simple accident. but it doesn't matter now, because she's going home.

we gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean

some to throw, some to make a diamond ring

they are sitting by a small lake, throwing stones into it, which leaves circles, a month after the hunger games. they devote all their time to each other, and treech is insanely happy that she is with him, that she is alive. she didn't leave him.

"soon I'll earn a lot of money and buy us a house, and we will live there. just the two of us. and then I'll buy you a diamond ring and we'll get married," treech often voiced his thoughts, to which she always laughed and said that they would have to work very hard.

and when you can't sleep at night

(you hear my stolen lullabies)

at night, she was tormented by terrible nightmares that she was back in the arena, she was shaking and nothing could help but funny songs sung to her by her beloved lumberjack in a hat, wrapping her in a warm blanket by his embrace and words about how brave she is.

when his name is pulled at the next reaping, she can't breathe. this just can't be happening. they've been through so much together that they've been torn apart again. she's broken up by games. killed by the reaping. at that carefree time, treech guessed that such an outcome could take place, so he was ready. as much as it was possible.

"you were able to come back to me, and i will do everything to come back to you," he strokes her cheek with one hand, and with the other he puts a ring in her deathly cold ones. "i love you."

the peacekeepers take him away.

she falls to her knees and a frantic scream pierces the entire square.

when the neighbors talk about tributes returning, she joyfully runs to meet treech, confident of his victory. there are two coffins at the square, in one of which lies lamina, and in the other her brave beautiful boy. he didn't come back to her.

you know I didn't want to have to haunt you

but what a ghostly scene

you wear the same jewels that I gave you

as you bury me

[wanderersrest]

Mecha's "I'm Not Like the Other Girls" Problem

Preface: I'd like to apologize to everyone who reads this post. Normally, my posts are pretty lighthearted and informative. This one, however, is not lighthearted.

I feel it is important to talk about this topic though, as this is a problem that has been plaguing mecha shows for a long time now. It bothers me when people dismiss the things that I like *gestures at G Gundam*, so it should be of no surprise that I have strong feelings about this topic. It's pretty adjacent to the reason why I don't like the "Real vs Super Robot" dick-measuring contests that happen between fans, especially as someone whose favorite mecha show gets a lot of heat because of that stupid debate.

Part of what makes it worse is that I don't dislike these shows a whole lot. Okay, two of them I don't like a whole lot, but one is because its second season really drops the ball on things while the other is, in my opinion, a pretty mediocre show that is being propped up as the hottest thing since sliced bread by its fans.

I'm also going to be talking about gen:Lock, a show that I hate from pure pop cultural osmosis. So content warning: suicide, children getting killed, and gen:Lock, among other things.

Stop me if you've heard this one before:

"Evangelion's not like other mecha shows because it focuses on the character drama instead of the robots."

If you've ever watched any mecha show ever, you'd realize just how bizarre this line really is. There's always some variation where it'll be the favorite series of the person saying this and, when confronted, will bare their ass out for the world to see by showing that they have not watched any other mecha show. If you're lucky, they might have watched one or two other mecha shows, and chances are likely that it will be one of the other "Not Like the Other Girl" shows.

So today, for something a bit lighter in comparison to my soul-crushing Abbreviated History of Mecha, I'm going to take my turn dismantling this braindead take. Really take my turn at this dead horse, because it is something that plagues this genre of stories.

Context: Evangelion's Legacy Is Exaggerated

Thank you, cast of the hit anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. I felt brave just saying that.

Jokes aside, I feel it is important to get this out of the way now. And, to be fair, Evangelion is critically acclaimed for a reason. Eva's success did leave an impact on the rest of the industry. A whole generation of anime shows have tried to capture the same energy that Eva had, leading to the rise of the extremely nebulous sekai-kei trend. This isn't even touching on the fact that Eva is also one of the most popular mecha franchises of all time.

That being said, the problem with Eva's legacy is that people in the west exaggerated its legacy. So instead of it being an important series that builds off of the legacy of the shows it was inspired by in order to create something new and just as noteworthy as its forebears, it is now this transgressive series that brutally deconstructs mecha on top of everything mentioned prior. Evangelion became a series that was more than most mecha shows, since it really spends a lot of its time with its characters, particularly the Eva pilots and their handler. Evangelion was different because it was about the characters and not the giant robots.

...Except, that's not true.

This is Ideon Erasure

One of the shows that inspired Evangelion, Space Runaway Ideon, is about as serious as they come. It's a story about the horrors of war, and the characters have to contend with this and press on. And while it might not be as introspective as say Evangelion, the difference is what both had as inspiration: Ideon only had shows like Space Battleship Yamato, Voltes V, Zambot 3, and Mobile Suit Gundam as reference points. Evangelion has all four of those shows as well as other shows like Fang of the Sun Dougram, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes among other shows to reference

I'm not saying that those shows also influenced Evangelion. I'm just pointing out that, in the history of mecha, Eva has more things to be compared to. And to be fair to the people who kickstarted the "Eva's not like the other girls" mentality, the west's experience with mecha prior to Eva was either shows like Transformers, which existed largely to sell toys, or shows like Gundam Wing, where a lot of the show can be seen as "Wow, cool robot." So along comes Evangelion with its esoteric Christian imagery, brooding protagonists, and eldritch antagonists. It's really nothing anyone in the west has seen before, and so the "Not Like the Other Girls" meme is born.

And now, I'd like to go into debunking this line of thinking with a lot of the big offenders. Because it turns out that Evangelion is not the only show to get this treatment. And if you thought Eva was a bad example of "Not Being Like the Other Girls," then oh boy are these examples somehow worse.

Case Study 1 - Code Geass: Casval Lelouch of the Rebellion

Code Geass is probably the closest example to in terms of being "Not Like the Other Girls" that isn't Evagenlion itself. Like Evangelion before it, Code Geass has more of a focus on its characters than its mech action. A fair bit of screen time is spent focused on the politicking and strategizing and brainwashing (with actual, factual magic) of our main character, Lelouch Code Geass Lamperouge, with all of the shenanigans that ensue. It's a series with a unique spin on the military robot shows of old due to its inclusion of magic (namely the titular Geass) and advanced super materials like Sakuradite (based off of the mythical metal hi'hiirokane or scarletite).

The problem with Code Geass being a "Not Like the Other Girls" show is twofold:

The robots of Code Geass, here known as Knightmare Frames, play a pivotal part in the story. The Knightmare Frames are what allow Britannia to take over the world as well as they do, and a big focus on the series is just how advanced the latest Knightmare Frame, Lancelot, is compared to the other Knightmare Frames. Season 2 exacerbates this problem when the elite Knightmare Frames like Lancelot are constantly getting exponentially more upgrades throughout the season.

It's also hard not to ignore the similarities between this show and Mobile Suit Gundam (the original, not the franchise as a whole). Consider that Code Geass' main character is, for lack of a better word, a Char clone. He wears a mask and oftentimes hides his true motives, which helps when it comes time for politics. He's even got a special power that helps him with his core skills. The only thing Lelouch is lacking is the piloting skill, which is where Kallen Kouzuki comes in (and fun fact: her signature Knightmare Frame, the Guren MK II, is red).

Oh, I should also mention this here: before working on Code Geass, Goro Taniguchi worked on Gun x Sword, which is unabashedly a giant robot anime. Does this really add anything to my point? Not really. I just think it's interesting to point this out due to Gun x Sword's proximity to Code Geass in terms of release dates.

Case Study 2 - Tengen Toppa Getter Robo Gurren Lagann

Probably the single most insane version of this is when people treat Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann as being "Not Like the Other Girls."

Y'know... Gurren Lagann. The show where the giant robots grow as large as the known universe. A show where one of the major thematic elements is a celebration of giant robot shows that's reflected in the four major story arcs representing a distillation of the four decades of giant robot shows from as early as Mazinger Z. A show where the main character draws a lot of his self worth from, among other things, how well he pilots his mini robot (a gender-swapped Noa Izumi, if you will).

Oh, and most important of all: this is also the show written by, and I'm not making this up, a man who refers to himself as Getter Robo's number one fan.

This doesn't even touch on other shows that one could argue also had a hand in influencing Gurren Lagann like Mobile Fighter G Gundam and The King of Braves, GaoGaiGar. Look me in the eye and tell me that Kamina wasn't written with characters like Domon Kasshu and Guy Shishioh in mind. Or the fact that Simon the Digger is less Ryouma Nagare and more Domon Kasshu by way of Guy Shishioh.

In the case of Gurren Lagann, though, it should also be of no surprise that this is the series brought up the least amongst the "Not Like the Other Girls" shows. A big part of this stems from, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that Gurren Lagann is a celebration of giant robots.

...What's that? Why does it sound like an axe is being sharpened in the background? No, reader, you're hearing things. I clearly don't have an axe to grind with the next show.

Case Study 3 - Armored Trooper 86: Eighty Six

Part of what I hate about the modern seasonal anime release schedule is that it's created an entire generation of anime fans who refuse to watch any series that released before 2010. This line of thinking can be pretty dangerous, and this is coming from a guy who's always saying the newer Pokemon games are generally better than the older ones. The difference is twofold:

Pokemon isn't anywhere near as old as all of anime. Like it's not even close to being that old.

This only really applies to core game mechanics in the mainline non-Legends games. It doesn't really take into account things like story elements, Pokemon rosters, or generation design differences (read as: is the game pre- or post-Physical/Special split).

I'm bringing this up because I feel like the seasonal anime format is the reason why 86: Eighty Six became a "Not Like the Other Girl" show. As someone who watches a lot of mecha shows, 86 is just...

...it's there. It exists. In my opinion, 86 doesn't really have a whole to say outside of racism is bad and look at how much Shin and company suffer because of it. Everything 86 does has been done before in some fashion by literally every military robot series that existed prior to 86's first publication in 2017. Heck, two years prior to it's publication was the first airing of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, the then-latest entry in the Gundam franchise. And that series is all about how unfettered capitalism makes it almost impossible for the marginalized to survive without having to resort to violence.

But I think it's folly to suggest fans of 86 to go watch Iron-Blooded Orphans. Not because it's bad, which I'd argue that it's not. No, it's more because IBO is too recent. Part of the problem with the "Not Like the Other Girls" mentality is that people will limit themselves into only watching one show, oftentimes failing to see that part of what makes their favorite show so special is the fact that it is inspired by other works. For people who like 86, it would be better to recommend shows like Armored Trooper VOTOMs, Fang of the Sun Dougram (or really any military robot series directed by Ryousuke Takahashi), or even the original Gundam from 1979. But as harsh as I may be on 86, it's not the worst offender. I'd even go so far as to say that 86 is, at worst, a symptom. I think the real problem lies with the next series I'm going to talk about.

The Worst Offender - gen:Lock

If you thought I disliked 86 because of how its fans hype it up as being better and so much different than the rest of the canon, at least 86 is a pretty entertaining watch.

gen:Lock makes me turn into AM from I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. To describe the enmity I have towards gen:Lock is not something I want to fully unload on this blog, as it is this series that really kicked the "Not Like the Other Girls" mentality into overdrive. gen:Lock was once described by one of its executive producers as being about the characters and not the robots. Which kind of spits in the face of the canon of mecha in its entirety, as the entire genre has almost never really frontlined the machines as being the main character. And when mecha stories are about the machines, the machine tends to be a character in its own right.

And if I'm being honest, part of what makes me so livid about gen:Lock is how this series basically funneled away funds from other projects at Rooster Teeth. That's what got series creator Gray Haddock fired, after all. So you can't even say that season one, which I've been told is a pretty decent season, is okay in comparison. So even if the "It's not about the mecha" line is supposed to be marketing speak, the behind-the-scenes nonsense still sullies the show. I don't even think I need to touch on the mess that is gen:Lock season 2; between the poorly animated sex scene, the sudden killing of a recently-outed queer character, and the fact that one of the main characters, and later the entire main cast, get rewarded for committing suicide... Yeah. Let's just move on before a blow a fuse.

Magic Knight Rayearth Is Actually Not Like the Other Girls

I think part of what makes all of this so absurd is that there is a series that can actually be considered "Not Like the Other Girls."

It's Magic Knight Rayearth.

A lot of what helps in this case is that Rayearth is, primarily, a magical girl series. That is not to say that Rayearth is not a mecha show though, as the Rune Gods play a pivotal role in the series. Not helping things is the fact that the Rune Gods are literally an extension of their magic knight's personalities, which is true of pretty much every giant robot ever. But, by being a magical girl series first and foremost, Rayearth approaches giant robots from a unique angle due to the world of Cephiro being similar to that of a fantasy JRPG setting where willpower determines everything. So the Rune Gods end up being real, living creatures that take the form of giant robots, as opposed to just being giant robots that exist in the setting.

Except it's still a giant robot series. Everything I just said doesn't suddenly mean that Magic Knight Rayearth is no longer a mecha show.

Conclusion

Look. I get it. These shows are great. Okay, gen:Lock isn't, but the other four are. I get it. The people who trot out this line do it because they love the series they're putting up on a pedestal. My issue comes with the putting it up on a pedestal part. It has a tendency to displace other shows that are just as worthy of praise, and in some cases maybe even better depending on the viewer, than the "Not Like the Other Girl" shows. So, to close this rant out, I'd like to suggest some shows for people whose only experience with mecha are one of the "Not Like the Other Girls" shows.

If you like...

...Neon Genesis Evangelion, you might be interested in checking out Ultraman, Mobile Suit Gundam, Space Runaway Ideon, Aura Battler Dunbine, Patlabor (either the TV or OVA timeline), or Gargantia on the Verduous Planet.

...Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, you might be interested in checking out Mobile Suit Gundam (again), Fang of the Sun Dougram, Patlabor (the OVA timeline this time), Gun x Sword, or Psalm of Planets Eureka Seven.

...Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, you might like Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Gunbuster, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, Back Arrow, SSSS.Gridman, SSSS.Dynazenon, and Gridman Universe.

...86: Eighty Six or gen:Lock, you might like Mobile Suit Gundam (pretty much any series that isn't G or Build), Armored Trooper VOTOMs (or really anything related to Ryousuke Takahashi), Metal Armor Dragonar, Patlabor (See Evangelion above), or Full Metal Panic!.

...Magic Knight Rayearth, you might be interested in Aura Battler Dunbine, Panzer World Galient, Patlabor (the TV timeline), Mobile Fighter G Gundam (yes really), or The Vision of Escaflowne.

And thanks for reading my rant. Next time, something else!

[sweetmoons]

I'm just trying to watch Bads pov and the cutest shit is happening on screen with the Racoons being like "we're a family and proud of each other and love each other so much!" the I glance at chat and Twitter for 2 seconds and it's just "I CANT BELIEVE BADBOYHALO KILLED MY FAMILY IN 2004 AND KICKED MY FUCKING DOG" because dudes good at battleship???