#inspired by new ovas

[marshmallowgoop]

No matter how special it is, a kid's lunch is still just a kid's lunch.

I dunno, I liked "The Genius Restaurant" (Episode 1,089).

Happy (belated) birthday, Jimjam.

[Song link] [YouTube link]

[owlyflufff]

haikyu's dumpster batte is only going to be around 1 hour and 24 minutes, oh it's genuinely bokuakaover

[ocreoart]

Fallout New Vegas: OVA

Really loved that inspirational speech part at the Hoover Dam, what was your favorite part of the OVA?

[coolfireguy73]

I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with the 90's effect but :/

Took inspiration from the OVA (my beloved JoJo OVA) that's why the colors are a bit different, tho I kept Kakyoin's hair and eyes the same as the anime.

Trying some new things with the colors and shading.

Hope you'll like it :)

[my-plastic-life]

Inspiring Women: Rumiko Takahashi

New custom doll is here! I'm sure we all know about the Mattel Barbie Inspiring Women doll line, right? Well, I took it upon myself to create one of my own because I'm sure Mattel will never make one lol. Click here for behind the scenes on how I made this doll!

I opted to create an Inspiring Woman Barbie based off Rumiko Takahashi, the Japanese manga artist who created my all-time favorite manga and anime, Inuyasha. But that isn't the sole reason she's deserving of this title. Yes, that creation got me into all things Japan and introduced me to the entire anime genre, but this mangaka has excelled in her career for 45 years - a profession that has been primarily male-dominated since its inception.

I also created a box for her designed after the official Mattel Inspiring Women boxes. The outfit she's wearing is inspired by the one she wore during the 2023 knighthood honor she received. Accessories include her most recent book, Rumiko Takahashi: Colors 1978-2024, as well as her 35th anniversary book that comes with removable genuine sketches, plus the first volume of the Inuyasha manga (original Japanese version). The doll I used was the Asian sister of Ariel from the live action Little Mermaid, but I cut her hair and styled it differently, painted some age lines on her face, removed her pink eyeshadow, and gave her some glasses. I also gave her a curvy body with the same articulation that dolls in this series have - movement at the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, and knee. Because I'm that much of a perfectionist. :D

Doll in the Inspiring Women box. The scene behind her is an actual photo of Rumiko Takahashi's studio.

Back of the box, all made by me based on actual Inspiring Women boxes.

Fun facts: Takahashi has never been married, and she has stated in interviews that she doesn't plan to. In addition, she works with women exclusively as she writes and creates. She has specifically said that she wouldn't hire a male assistant because he would be "troublesome." She prefers the atmosphere of a studio of women working together without distraction. Her work stands out among other shonen pieces because of its creativity, complex characters, and nuanced romances. Her woman and girl characters are never accessories to the guy hero, which was often the case in early shonen stories, especially. Takahashi often likes to implement strong, independent, multi-facetted female characters in leading roles into her stories. Talk about girl power!

Now for more information as to why she's so deserving of having her own doll in my collection. :D Strap in, because this post is a doozy!

BIO: Rumiko Takahashi (born Oct. 10, 1957) is the best-selling female comic artist of all time, selling more than 170 million copies of her work in Japan alone, and one of the names by which to reckon the evolution of anime. She is one of the wealthiest women in Japan, all of her longer running manga have become TV series, and nearly everything she has written has been adapted into animation (OVA or TV). Perhaps more importantly, her influence and the nature of her series since 1980 have been cited as large contributors to the perception and acceptance of anime as a medium today.

Rumiko with her new Colors book. Outfit inspired by the one she wore when receiving her knighthood.

All of Takahashi’s work has become popular throughout the world, and with more than 20 years of publishing her manga art, she earned the title of The Princess of Manga.

Takahashi's professional career began in 1978 when she was a university student. That year, she worked on her first full-length series entitled Urusei Yatsura. It became one of the most loved manga and anime comedies in Japan. In 1980, when she began to publish regularly, she began her second major series, Maison Ikkoku. This series is now considered to be one of the all-time best manga romances.

As her stories appeared and attracted many fans, Takahashi grew in popularity as an artist while improving her writing and artistic abilities. In 1987, a huge year for her career success, three of her most well-known stories ended and she began work on Ranma ½. The series continued for nearly a decade until 1996, when it ended at 38 volumes. Ranma ½ and its anime adaptation are cited as some of the first of their mediums to have become popular in the United States. While publishing Ranma ½, Takahashi was hospitalized several times for peritonitis. But even during her second hospital stay, the series did not stop.

35th anniversary book has removable sketches - real photos actually drawn by the artist. The background is an actual photo of her basement (note all her figures!)

During the latter half of the 1990s, Takahashi began her fourth major work, Inuyasha. With this series, Takahashi is also often said to be the first woman to successfully set foot in the Shōnen genre and leave a lasting impact on it. To date, Inuyasha is her longest-running series, ending in 2008. In 2020, it received a sequel series titled Yashahime: Princess Half Demon.

In the basement library (actually in her home) with the first volume of the Inuyasha manga.

On July 30, 2008, Takahashi noted her 30th anniversary as a mangaka, and on July 8, 2009, during Shonen Sunday's 50th anniversary celebration, characters from three of her most popular series (Urusei Yatsura, Ranma ½, and Inuyasha) joined together in a short crossover to welcome everyone to the celebratory milestone. That same year, VIZ Media, one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announced the launch of a brand new imprint, Shonen Sunday, featuring the works of some of the top shonen manga creators in the world today. Takahashi's series RIN-NE was the first to be featured in the new imprint, and was the first manga novel ever to be published simultaneously in Japan and North America.

In her studio showing off genuine sketches. Featured here: Featured here: Lum from Urusei Yatsura, the Tendo house from Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha character heights. This outfit is inspired by the one she wore at the Rumic World 30th anniversary ribbon-cutting.

Early in her career, Takahashi expressed that though she doesn't write love stories often, she loves a good love story. While none of her works are straightforward romances, many of her works early and later on have compelling romance subplots that are integral to the characters and world. Her works like Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2 are known for their romances. Takahashi's romances are varied, and they are trendsetting. They set the standard for popular romance tropes like slow-burn romances and love triangles. The love triangle between Kagome, Kikyo, and Inuyasha is one of the most iconic in all anime.

In her studio showing off genuine sketches. Featured here: Ranma from Ranma 1/2, Lum from Urusei Yatsura, and Mao and Kiba from Mao.

In her studio showing off genuine sketches. Featured here: Yashahime, Inuyasha 20th anniversary, and Inuyasha, Kagome, and Moroha.

Outfit inspired by the one worn during the Rumic World 30th anniversary ribbon cutting.

HONORS: * Takahashi won the New Comic Artist Award in 1978. * Winner of the 1994 Inkpot Award at The San Diego Comic Con in America. *In 2016, ComicsAlliance listed Takahashi as one of 12 women cartoonists deserving of lifetime achievement recognition, stating that "any one of her projects would be the career highlight of another talent." In 2017, Takahashi was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame as part of the 2016 class. *In July 2018, Takahashi was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame. She was previously nominated for entry in 2014, 2016 and 2017. *In January 2019, Takahashi won the grand prize at the prestigious Angouleme International Comics Festival in France, becoming the second woman and second Japanese manga artist to win the award at the festival. * In 2020, Takahashi was awarded Japan's Medal with Purple Ribbon. First awarded in 1955, this honor is awarded to individuals who have contributed to academic and artistic developments, improvements, and accomplishments. * Takahashi was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame in October 2021. The Harvey Awards are one of the comic industry's oldest and most prestigious awards. Recognizing outstanding achievement in multiple categories, the Harvey's have been a fixture of the comic industry since 1988. * In April 2023, Takahashi was conferred the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government. She is the first female mangaka to receive this honor.

Books: 35th anniversary (with removable genuine sketches inside), Colors: 1978-2024, and volume 1 of the Inuyasha manga.

Genuine sketches, all fit inside the 35th anniversary book.

Source photos (first is from being bestowed a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, second is from the Rumic World 30th anniversary ribbon cutting in 2008):

[spacepajamas956]

New Headcanon: Teru started working out after meeting Mob partially because he was inspired by his motivation and stuff but also because he saw that his club was full of buff guys and thought that if he worked out too, Mob might find him more appealing.

Evidence: In episode 5 when his clothes ripped away, he wasn't as ripped as he is later in the show. AND in the Spirits and Such outing OVA, Teru asks Mob if he likes anyone from his club. It's important to note that Teru KNOWS his club is full of buff dudes. He KNOWS.

[kerubimcrepin]

Wakfu OVA - Book 1, The Throne of Ice [PART 1]

"Finally, we have arrived to one of my most favorite parts of Wakfu... The OVAs!" <- If I said this, I would be locked up in a psyhiatric ward forever, however, there is some truth to that.

I am a big fan of uhh the bits of the second OVA that have Joris, Kerubim, and Atcham in them. Sadly, Book 1 is not that OVA. It will have Sipho posing as Joris, and, well... that's the next best thing, ain't it? At least we'll get to analyse if he's doing a good job or not.

Ecaflip demigod memory retention deniers will be like "Ush being a core member of a powerful cult at 9-10yo for multiple reincarnations is normal".

Anyway, group chats are real in this setting. And Harebourg is their discord mod I think.

Tot I'm begging you to elaborate on this, what do you MEAN by this, what do you—

STOP USING GRIMALKINE SISTERS BEING A PART OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE FORGOTTEN AS A FLEX ON THE HATERS! I'M SCARED!

Them in the Great Wave manga when they show up and say they're at fault for Jahash and Julith's whole shtick or whatever.

Ughh.

Le meilleur journal qu'il est -

boufboul

[cant make out the rest]

little text in the corner: fji de ij

Ngl considering the fact that the King of Bonta dies within the next two years, he might have a legitimate reason not to come: being in the process of dying.

They LOVE Joris in this kingdom.

I bet real Joris would like to remain silent because, uh., lying is bad? If he tries to say the situation isn't as shitty as it seems, it might seem condescending.

So, Sipho fails at being in-character moment counter: 1. Joris would not say shitfuck here.

Oh my god... His fangs... His blush... His eyes...

One of the things I really like about the OVAs are the changes to Joris's design. While yes, like most people I miss the finer details of the previous seasons — but his new design is more sleek, and a bit more... catlike. It takes a lot of inspiration from his Aux Tresors design.

It is not the intention of the authors, but the fact that he is drawn with a mouth makes sense on a character level: he is more understandable and human than he was in the first two seasons. While he used to be a mystery back then, now he is a friend to the Brotherhood of Tofu, — and, to us, the viewers, he's just a guy.

Anyway, there is a big question here — while it seems obvious that other nations are involved — Sadida wouldn't invite other politicians to this meeting, if them seizing the Eliatrope Dofus was a secret, — just how involved were other nations? Was it mainly a Bonta-Sadida project which they let others know about? Were others interested up until the moment the Dofus were stolen, and is it the reason nobody showed up?

It seems kinda too obvious to state, however: Guys, this confirms that Joris and Harebourg are enemies.

Though, let's be real, all three of the Crepin-Jurgens are kind of opposed to the Brotherhood of The Forgotten. The trio is very... god-neutral? The outlook those three have is more of optimistic-nihilism — "the gods suck sometimes, life does too, but whatever. I need to restock the store and eat a soup, why should I ruminate on this." instead of "WE NEED TO KILL AND DETHRONE GODS IMMEDIATELY", which... creates a bit of friction.

Something to note is that Joris and the Kingdom of Bonta were involved with hiding the Dofus.

So, the Dofus disappearing, the proposition, and the condition that Amalia should be accompanied only by the Brotherhood of Tofu, are already both a political incident in on themselves, and a bunch of red flags stacked together.

Just listen: the property of a nation (the Eliatropes), which was in custody of a different nation, and can be used to save a kingdom, was stolen by a different kingdom to unlawfully demand marriage and unification of two kingdoms.

If real Joris was here, I'm sure he would be quietly having a panic attack about the fact that there may be spies in Bonta, and that Harebourg was able to do this without, let's say, knocking him out after he got all the Dofus and stealing them.

So, Sipho fails at being in-character moment counter: 2. Joris would be having a quiet panic attack, and pointing out just how fucked this is. just how fucked this is.

Sipho fails at being in-character moment counter: 3. At this moment, real Joris would come in, and say "YUGO THIS IS FUCKED!! Anyway we are going to beat Harebourg to death when we get there. I didn't want to say anything objectionable because Amalia would be sad."

He already did that in the manga. When Amalia and Eva asked him about his real opinion on Jiva getting the six Dofus.

While I think that Joris is someone who very much believes that the leaders of this world make hard decisions — and for this reason he MUST keep doing war crimes in Waven times to keep Bonta afloat, he MUST keep eating pig people and using slave labour and making explosive devices out of crackler babies, because really, 90% of war criminals quit just before true peace and prosperity—-

But, Joris is canonically enough of a feminist to be 100% pro-"pregnant women on a ship during a dangerous adventure across the world", so I think that outweighs his sense of "greater good".

In my opinion, he is more likely to think "very evil of you Harebourg, to force a woman into a relationship using the lives of her subjects. You're SICK, you're SICK, you have NO sense of romance or how a person should be treated!" and say "ughh we need to beat him up for this, Yugo. This isn't a very good deal for the Sadida. He's holding them hostage, Yugo. My main concerns are definitely not the way Amalia is being treated as an object but the political implications of that, Yugo."

Sipho literally committing character assassination out here. I will count this as the 4th time he does that.

Adamai is still very pissed off about Joris not asking before taking the Dofus. I think Joris deserves this quip very much. I wish Joris could hear Adamai be a hater towards him.

Sipho fails at being in-character moment counter: 5.

At this moment, instead of ignoring Adamai and continuing to talk, real Joris would make a funny face that implied he is in mortal pain due to someone he likes making a snide remark about him.

He is shown to be very much ashamed and worried about the fallout this will bring to his relationship with Yugo and Adamai in OVA 2.

Huppermages already did this, and it kind of failed when Ogrest's Chaos hit.

[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Fic: Mulder, Scully, and Courthouse Weddings

Mulder and Scully and weddings-- do they or don't they? In this case they do and they don't.

Tagging @pookie-mulder, who inspired this idea!

Loose chronological order below~

@ghostbustermelanieking/skuls’s

in another world - Chapter 22

it happens in vegas, of course, and it happens because of langly and melissa.... it’s directly following mulder’s breakup with diana, and he’s been moping around the hotel room the entire time; dana is in the midst of stressing over a big test for medical school, and has refused to leave the hotel room so that she can study to the point of driving melissa crazy. 

AU-- Pre-S1 Mulder and Scully meet and marry in Las Vegas.

I wish you would write a fic where Mulder and Scully are married and domestic af. AU, obviously.

...Mulder and Scully are married on August 16, at a courthouse in Virginia. The date has no significance, no probable reason to get married then—and that, Mulder says, is why it's perfect.

AU S7 Scully is appalled at her and Mulder's shamelessly gooey "married" behavior.

#32: It looks good on you.

He says, “Wanna get married today?”

She lifts her head to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise and maybe an ounce of caution. She says, “You're kidding.”

“Dead serious, Scully.”

AU S7 Mulder and Scully get hitched on a spur-of-the-moment October day.

Five Moments Mulder and Scully Shared (And One They Didn't) (Tumblr)

The new weight is unfamiliar on her hand, but not in a bad way. She grabs his hand and presses a kiss half against his finger and half against his own ring as they huddle together on the steps of the courthouse. 

AU Post S11 Mulder and Scully get a second chance at their entire lives; and determine to make better choices with each other.

@silhouetteofacedar/SilhouetteOfACedar's Pearl, Ch. 1 (Ao3)

Scully shakes her head. “Sorry, no. I’m just nervous.”

“We can keep holding hands, if you want,” he says quietly. “Play the part of a happy couple for a few minutes.”

She glances at him to see if he’s joking. He’s not; his face is strangely serious.

He should be joking, she thinks.

AU-- Mulder and Scully wed after her cancer diagnosis.

@mchalowitz's (Ao3) chain reaction, part 5

Mulder doesn’t bring up the proposal for three days. He figures he should mention it before the weekend because after two days apart, the seriousness of it will wear off. It’ll just be an awkward occurrence, not a real offer. 

“Should we get you a ring?” 

Scully coughs out a laugh and glances at him briefly from the filing cabinet.

AU-- Between Scully's cancer and Teena Mulder's drama, Mulder and his partner are able to find a brief, bright spot: their marriage.

@leiascully's (Ao3) Mulder told Scully he would do whatever he could

They get married.  It’s a quickie courthouse wedding with Maggie and Tara as their witnesses.  Bill refuses to be any part of it.  

AU-- Mulder and Scully get married and leave the FBI to adopt and raise Emily.

@myownsuperintendent/MyOwnSuperintendent’s

All a Family

They get married at the courthouse. They bring her mom.... But she smiles during the ceremony, at least, and Scully does too, a little shyly, and Mulder knows he does, in a way he can’t contain.

AU-- Mulder tells Scully about her ova after her remission; and the two have successfully begun an IVF pregnancy and started the adoption process for Emily when they decide to wed for better chances.

Ficlet: “Marry Me” (Ao3)

She stops where she is.  “Are you serious?”

He pauses a moment to consider, and then he says, “I’m serious.” 

...She’s next to the bed now.  “Yes, then.”

AU-- Post Requiem Mulder asks Scully to marry him.

Readjustment

She feels a little bit guilty that she can’t give her mom what she wants, when there’s so much she’s missed out on. Maybe she would have wanted it herself once, but not anymore, now. “We just…we don’t want to wait, Mom,” she says, and maybe that’s silly, since they’ve already waited quite a while. Since they already have a child together, a life, love. But that is how they feel.

AU-- Mulder, Scully, and William are readjusting to life as free citizens no longer on the run... well, Mulder and Scully are, anyway.

@scully-loves-ruthie's Better Call Scully

“Mulder, look at me.  He faces downward eyes locked on hers.  “Do you really believe that you’ll never stake someone thinking they’re a vampire only to find out too late you were wrong... again?”

He stares at her weighing his response before offering a playful smile as he pulls her toward the courthouse

“That’s what I thought.”  She mutters quickening her pace to remain in step with him.

AU-- Post Bad Blood Mulder and Scully get married for "practical" reasons (of course.)

@cauldronoflove/thegoodthebadandthenerdy's All I Need's a Fraction of Your Happy Heart

(Mulder had meant his proposal, sure, but in the end it was Scully who proposed. Neatly and to the point, but so full of an unrestrained want and sincerity that Mulder had covered her hand across the crayon-scribbled tabletop without even checking left or right.)

AU-- S7 Scully reflects on the journey from her recent marriage to Mulder while she and her partner are on a case.

AU/Married/ISTJ reflects how banter had turned to serious convo/duo both proposed/courthouse/giddy together on case-- All I Need's a Fraction of Your Happy Heart - [Archive]

@msrafterdark's (Ao3) MSR // Ficmas Day 30 - Fireworks

Their belongings are all in storage save for a few toiletries and some clothes for their honeymoon next week. They're signing for a house next month. A simple but beautifully elegant wedding dress hangs on the back of the door of Scully's childhood bedroom. A bundle of wedding presents from relatives and friends--including a rather suspiciously-wrapped gift with the initials "TLG" scrawled on it--sit on Maggie's kitchen table. Even AD Skinner is stopping by for the courthouse appointment tomorrow.

AU-- S7 Mulder and Scully enjoy the night before their wedding together.

beduini/Beduini's Legitimate

The baby moves again and he smiles, a wide, cheek-splitting smile. After a few more minutes, he raises up on his forearm once more and looks down at her with eyes shining, as if he'd just solved a case. "Hey Scully, we got married today."

Her lips turn up in a slight, amused smile. "Yes, Mulder, we did."

AU-- Post Vienen Mulder and Scully hit up the courthouse.

Vickie Moseley’s (Ao3, Gossamer)

Mother of the Bride

"Dana," I whispered, holding my breath and hoping my suspicions about this 'appointment' were correct. "Can you tell me what this is all about?"

Suddenly, Fox was on the phone. "Call it an early birthday present, Mrs. Scully. And maybe a late Mother's Day Present, as well."

Post Existence Mulder and Scully wed at the courthouse.

@aloysiavirgata’s (Ao3, WBM, Gossamer, LJ, Alt. LJ) A Tent of Shelter (Ao3)

She smiles at him, her lopsided grin. “Mulder, what can change, really? The taxes. The health insurance. But I think we’ve reached some point of terminal commitment, don’t you think? And you can hardly imagine I’ll be Doctor Mulder. So do I like the idea? I do, very much. But it’s hardly shocking.”

“Scully my love, you need to read more romance novels.”

Post IWTB Mulder wants to get married for his birthday.

@agentscully/agent_scully2084's Important Traditions

With minimal protest, Scully allowed Mulder to carry her over the threshold, laughing as Mulder explained the symbolism of the ancient tradition and appeared to take seriously his duty to protect his new bride from evil spirits.

Post IWTB Mulder and Scully get married in khakis and blue.

@scully/humancredentials's "Did you just call me 'baby' in front of my mother?"

She looks like she’s about to say that yes, something is wrong and that he shouldn’t antagonize her brother that way and even though they’re living together now, even though they’re ink on the paper official, sworn to each other in a courthouse in rural Virginia in front of her mother, her God, and all of their ghosts, it still makes her anxious when it’s on display.

But she doesn’t, doesn’t say any of those things, realizes she doesn’t even really want to.

Post IWTB Mulder is prone to slipping up with pet names after he and Scully tied the knot.

amorfati3215/Amorfati32’s (FFN) AU head canon - Mulder and Scully never separated...

Mulder and Scully marry two months later in a small service at the county courthouse. Scully’s mother gives the bride away while Skinner agrees to be Mulder’s best man. It’s a quiet affair, formal too but it’s exactly what they wanted. 

AU-- Post IWTB Mulder and Scully vacay, wed, and stay together during the hard times.

@broadcastnews1987/audries/@kennedyandheidi/inkspl0tchess's (WBM 1/ 2/ 3) Unnamed

“you’re my wife,” he says, over and over. her fingers are tugging at the tie she’d made him wear to the courthouse. he hadn’t really minded. “you’re my wife, scully.”

Post IWTB-- Three moments are Mulder and Scully tied the knot.

@m0lderitsme's Just a post MSIV fluff piece.

A big wedding was most definitely not for either of them. Plus, they didn’t really have anyone to invited anymore. Sure, Scully could have asked her brother Bill and his wife and son, but she didn’t really want them there. They decided that they’d get married in a very, very quick ceremony with a Justice of the Peace.

Post Revival Mulder and Scully marry with Skinner as their witness.

@flukemen/@pinebluffvariants/pinebluffvariant's Barrows

On a Friday afternoon, Mulder and Scully get out of a cab just a few blocks from the basement where they used to eat hotdogs at midnight and argue over evidence, when they were young. The streets are cleaner than they used to be, back then. The air is too. At least it feels that way today.

Post Revival Mulder and Scully wait in line outside the courthouse... and watch Skinner skip right on through.

@kateyes224's (Ao3)

Unchained Melody

Scully wiggled her small toes on the hard-wood floor, glad to be barefoot.  Her pale ecru dress shimmered in the darkened kitchen, her face half shadowed. She looked up at Mulder, and something in the way she was sitting, staring up at him, her cerulean eyes luminous in the dark, niggled at his brain like deja vu.

After the courthouse ceremony, Mulder remembers one moment when his parents looked really, truly happy with each other.

Honorable mentions:

amorfati3215/Amorfati32’s The Proposal (Parts 1/, 2/, 3/, 4/)

jeri’s (Gossamer) Vulpecula (Gossamer 1/ 2/) (post here)

@rationalcashew/RationalCashew's Dark is the Way; Light is the Place (Tumblr)

Vickie Moseley’s "My Dearest Son"

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 3.1: Do You Remember Love? (1980-1985)

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time, we covered a small smattering of shows from the 70's. I tried to cover the big names, with a focus on the Holy Trinity (Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and Mobile Suit Gundam). While the latter of the three will be showing up throughout this series, the other two will largely fade into the background. Do not mistake this for them no longer being relevant though, as there is a very good reason why they are part of the Trinity. Besides, they'll show up again in some capacity towards the end. This also ignores the fact that both Mazinger Z and Getter Robo would constantly get updates throughout the years, so to say that the other two were somehow lesser than Gundam is foolish.

What we DO see in the 80's though are mecha shows popping up left, right, and center. A lot of this is helped by the fact that the 80's are also a time in Japanese history where the economy was booming. OVAs also become a major thing in this time period, as do a lot of surprisingly influential series. As such, I will be covering 80's (and later the 90's) in multiple parts due to how many series come up in this time period:

Part one (this part) will cover the time period from 1980-1985

Part two will cover 1986-1990

Part three will cover pretty much everything directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino from 1981 to 1993 and will serve as a bridge between the 80's and the 90's

Oh, and let me reiterate something about Mobile Suit Gundam from the last point: Gundam wouldn't become successful until the 80's with the release of the compilation movies.

With that out of the way, let's transform and ROLL OUT!

Space Runaway Ideon (1980)

Coming off the heels of Mobile Suit Gundam, Yoshiyuki Tomino would follow it up with Space Runaway Ideon. Think of it as a classic giant robot series mixed with the style of war stories that would be more in line with Space Battleship Yamato or Mobile Suit Gundam. Do not let the brightly-colored giant robot fool you. Ideon is, to my understanding, one of the darkest entries in the canon of mecha. Ideon is also where the Itano Circus came from, so that's another reason to be aware of this series. More importantly, Space Runaway Ideon specifically would be the inspiration for one Hideaki Anno when he made a certain series that I will talk about in the future. Something about a young man needing to get into a robot something, I don't know.

Diaclone (1980) & Transformers (1985)

Remember when I brought up Microman (the toy, not the wrestler)? This is why.

In 1980, Takara would release the Diaclone line of toys as a spinoff to Microman. This series would be noteworthy due to its inclusion of transforming machines designed by one Shoji Kawamori (more on him soon). One of these machines would be the eighteen-wheeler known as Convoy.

In 1985, Hasbro would license out the Diaclone line among other Takara licenses for the surprisingly ambitious series known today as Transformers. The story would follow the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (who Diaclone fans would recognize as Convoy), as they fight against Megatron and the Decepticons. Chances are very likely that if you're not thinking of the RX-78-2 Gundam when you hear the word "mecha," chances are likely you're imagining Optimus Prime.

Transformers' success in America and beyond would be so great that, in the 90's, Takara would end the Diaclone line and create a new line of toys, complete with accompanying TV series. That's another story for when we get to the 90's though, so stay tuned for that.

Beast King GoLion (1981) & Voltron (1984)

In 1981, the anime Beast King GoLion would air in Japan. GoLion itself would be pretty run-of-the-mill as far as mecha shows in the early 80's would be concerned. However, GoLion is worth mentioning as it would be one of the first anime properties that US showrunners would splice with other shows like it in order to make something for syndication.

In 1984, World Event Productions would splice Beast King GoLion with another mecha series, Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (1982), to create Voltron. And when it comes to combining robots, chances are very likely that one would think of Lion Voltron (or GoLion for those more familiar with the original) over something like Getter Robo or Voltes V. Voltron is an icon of the 80's, so much so that Voltron (specifically the lion version) would get multiple adaptations over the years, including but not limited to Voltron Force in the 2000's and Voltron: Legendary Defender in the 2010's, the latter of which I am told is a big part of Tumblr history. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if people considered GoLion/Voltron to be more of a US creation than a Japanese one.

Fang of the Sun Dougram (1981)

Starting in 1981, Ryousuke Takahashi and company would create Fang of the Sun Dougram. Building off the themes of Mobile Suit Gundam, Takahashi would begin to push the envelope in terms of what one could present with a military mecha series. Whereas Gundam's relative realism comes from how the One Year War affects the soldiers, Dougram would go further and show us just how the parties involved plan out their attacks and political machinations.

If you want to learn more about Dougram, I'd highly recommend Pyramid Inu's video on Dougram, as they're a big Takahashi nut.

Also, Dougram is of vital importance to a certain tabletop RPG coming up.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982) & Robotech (1984)

In 1982, Shoji Kawamori and the people at Studio Nue would release Super Dimension Fortress Macross, a series that would explode in terms of popularity. Like Gundam and Dougram before it, Macross would give us a war story featuring giant robots. But unlike Gundam and how war has its tolls on soldiers, or Dougram with its focus on political machinations and realistic strategy, Macross would focus more on how love and culture can overcome conflict. Macross is notable not just for popularizing transforming robots, it would also bring idol singers into vogue.

In 1984, Carl Macek would be tasked by Harmony Gold to make Macross eligible for syndication. Doing the best he could, Macek would fuse Macross with two other series, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada, to create the controversial Robotech.

Why is Robotech controversial? To put it very shortly: Robotech would be the reason why the original Macross has never been brought over to the west, for reasons that we will see later. It's a shame too, since Macross is one of the biggest mecha franchises after Gundam. But, it should also be worth noting that Robotech, while controversial, is still important due to it being a major introduction point into mecha stories and anime as a whole for a whole generation of people.

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu/Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1982)

In 1982, Yoshiki Tanaka's Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, or Legend of the Galactic Heroes for us westerners, would be published. Over the course of ten volumes, the series would follow the exploits of the so-called Galactic Heroes, Reinhardt von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-Li, as the factions the two belonged to fought for control of the galaxy, with all of the politics and strategizing that ensues. Galactic Heroes is such a large and sprawling story that, when it came time to adapt it into an animated original video animation (OVA) series in 1988, it ended up becoming the longest-running OVA series of all time, clocking in at about a whopping 108 episodes in total. The series would also get another animated adaptation in 2018, Die Neue Theiss.

Armored Trooper VOTOMs (1983)

Following up on the success of Dougram, Ryousuke Takahashi would release the extremely iconic Armored Trooper VOTOMs in 1983. While Dougram was already a pretty grounded military robot in its own right, VOTOMs would take that concept to its logical conclusion. Here, VOTOMs were 4-meter tall machines that acted more like humanoid jeeps, and not only were they expendable, they were easily replaced. When mecha heads talk about realistic mecha series, VOTOMs is oftentimes brought up as the gold standard for this.

Panzer World Galient (1984)

Galient gif courtesy of Sakugabooru

Following up from VOTOMs, Takahashi would then follow that up with Panzer World Galient, a series that would trade out the military robots in favor for fantasy-flavored mecha. What's interesting to note here is that this would come out a year after a series called Aura Battler Dunbine, and I'd argue that both series would be the bases for later fantasy-inspired mecha series such as Magic Knight Rayearth and Break Blade.

Battletech (1984)

1984 would also see FASA Corporation release the first edition of its BattleTech ruleset. Rumored to have taken inspiration from series like Fang of the Sun Dougram, Macross, and Crusher Joe, BattleTech would become the poster child of the western giant robot aesthetic, that of the walking tank.

Also due to a messy copyright situation, BattleTech would also get tied up with Harmony Gold due to stolen designs. This legal back and forth would eventually be the reason why Macross would be unavailable outside of Robotech to this very day, though at one point the legal nonsense got so out of hand that, if I remember correctly, they tried to also bar FASA and their successors from using mechanical designs from Dougram and Crusher Joe (even though they did not have the rights to either series).

Blue Comet SPT Layzner (1985)

Blue Comet SPT Layzner is a 1985 series created by Ryousuke Takahashi. The series, from my superficial glancing of the series, would be the first major Gundam-like series to come out. It should be noted that, prior to this, the only major Gundam series to exist prior to 1985 was the original Gundam. Unfortunately for Layzner, 1985 would be the year that Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam would air, which is generally considered to be the most popular Gundam series in the franchise.

Conclusion

As we get further into the 80's, we will begin to see more and more stories show up that would be a part of the mecha canon. The latter half of the 80's is where we see the rise of the OVA which, as I mentioned briefly with Legend of the Galactic Heroes, will be where we see a lot of OVA series pop up. We'll also see couple more western productions, along with an appearance by a certain Blue Bomber.

This is a work of fiction, but in ten years? Who knows?

[melishade]

thoroughly enjoyed the chapter, getting a good time table on events I thought It was linear but him jump around makes it interesting. Interesting choice in making vector as a vehicle of being all knowing instead of Primus and wow all the problems could have been resolved if they kept cool with the Frieda and Grisha situation. Wonder what the what if for that. Primus being inspired by both grisha and armin was a nice touch.

also this chapter being a solution for the repeated ‘ask’ you get like Optimus 2.0 form and shockwave disappear. Like ha! Made it to lore! Deal with it

Over all looking forward to the end

Chapter 98

I figured that I'd use this chapter to answer some of the questions that people have been asking me for years.

But this chapter was also fun because it allowed me to expand upon my own interpretations of Primus and the Primes. How they act, how they handle and respond to certain situations. I knew that I wanted to write this OVA out of sequence, making Primus go out of order in these memories because it's a new environment, he just woke up, etc.

And Primus is still an all-knowing deity, but in the OVA, I wanted to emphasize how Primus valued unity, cooperation, and kindness. If he wanted to, he could just do everything himself. He has the power to, especially since he and Unicron come from the same entity, but he values the input of his creation and teamwork because he believes that different minds and different people can lead to more progress. Not to mention, Vector has been isolating himself in his own pocket dimension, monitoring the flow of time and making alterations wherever they need to be. Of course he would have more knowledge compared to the other Primes. Compared to Primus? Maybe because he was out for a good portion of the war.

That doesn't mean that Primus isn't without flaws, as he and the other Primes let their anger get to the best of them and inadvertently cause Grisha to kill the royal family. So oof.

In regards to the conversation between Armin and Primus, and Armin's ultimate influence on Primus, was something that I've had planned for a while. I've brought it up in conversation with @justawannabearchaeologist and @echoblaze5 that out of all the AOT cast, Armin would be the one who is the most qualified to be a Prime. And I knew that it had to be Armin that called out Primus for his own failings and ideology. It was the only one that made sense. All the others snapped at Primus because of their hatred for him, or because they were backed into a corner. Armin did it because he genuinely believed in the world that he was fighting for. Armin, who's been compared to Orion Pax. Armin, who's somehow managed to influence Megatron to become a better person. Armin, who despite seeing the cruelty of the world, still believes that there can be peace. Armin, who despite seeing the destruction of the Rumbling, still believes in a sight beyond the hell.

Because no matter how many times Armin has stared darkness in the face, he didn't blink. He didn't waiver. He didn't buckle. He still continued to push forward to find a better future. Armin chooses to rise above his station and become more while also considering the freewill of others. It is Armin's words and Primus' willingness to listen that allow for Primus to take such a drastic leap and integrate himself into Cybertronian society.

Grisha's role is more indirect if anything. Primus saw how much Grisha had changed and applauded him for it. He regrets letting his emotions get the better of him and causing Grisha to kill that family, and makes it up to him by granting him a moment with Zeke. But Primus has seen Grisha's memories and how he's helped the Walls through medicine, never once using his knowledge to kill but to help, while trying to complete the mission of the Jaegerists. Grisha gives Primus a solution as to how he can help his children without causing damage to their free will.

It was still very fun to write the OVA, and I'm glad I was able to get to it.

[crim50n-r8er]

Hmm…I guess with myself talking about Sonic from my Fursona. I think I should let you all know about an AU I made for it while I was gone.

The AU is called “Blockbuster,” and no, it has nothing to deal with the Sonic movie, given that term is normally used for such things. No, Blockbuster is a roleswap AU. I’ll write down the premise of it in a new paragraph.

Blockbuster is a roleswap for all the Echidnas being swapped with the Hedgehogs (Sonic and Knuckles, Amy and Tikal, Silver with Shade, and Shadow with Imperator Ix) along with other swaps and some symbolism and inspiration over cults, religions, and mythologies

If you wish to know what I swapped with what. I shall post them under the cut.

Sonic 🔁 Knuckles

Everything’s the same for Knuckles, but he doesn’t have the aspects of his personality that were due to being reclusive all his life, that being a bit shy and socially awkward…at least I think that’s something that would be caused by being a recluse.

Sonic is the same, but due to being the ME Guardian, he can’t leave the island for adventure. So he explores every nook and cranny on Angel island until Towers arrives, meaning anything from the future games such as the Ancients with their cyberspace portals, he has knowledge of that from the get-go.

Eggman role = G.U.N. Commander Towers

G.U.N. Commander Towers Role = Maria Robotnik

Maria Robotnik Role: Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik

Commsnder Abraham Towers goes by Commander Noah and wants to be dictator of the world as he sees it as too corrupt and sinful.

Maria in this AU no longer has NIDS and is able to live to the age of 62 (yes, going by Sonic X ages, sue me). Maria is very caring for her troops, even with a militaristic discipline, and she would be smart enough not to blame Knuckles in the events of my SA2 adaption.

You see that correctly. Eggman is now the one with NIDS and is the one to hang aboard the ARK with his grandfather to find a cure through “The Chaos Cure Project” (I would acronym this, but I don’t think that would be wise as it could get confused with a…party of sorts.) He would also meet the same fate as Maria in canon, that being shot down by G.U.N. Agents while saving Ix, all at the age of 9 years old.

Tails 🔁 Ray

Ray: Ray is the sidekick to Knuckles, but he’s not a mechanic, so the two would meet by Ray finding Knuckles gliding across West-side Island and admiring his gliding skills.

Tails: Due to Ray going silent after SegaSonic and Knuckles Chaotix, I had to improvise with Tails, so I decided on him being a nurtured and/or brainwashed personal scientist and researcher for Commander Noah, giving him all his mechs, robots, and studies into ancient history.

Vector 🔁 Vanilla

I only swapped the two to have Vanilla simp for Vector like how the latter does to the former in Sonic X lol

Vanilla is a member of the “Chaotix Adventure Group” (the CAG for short) along with her daughter, Cream, and their leader, Mighty.

Vector is just a calm, cottagecore man living out in the wilderness with his found family younger daughter, Marine the Raccoon.

Espio 🔁 Mighty

Mighty: Due to not being trained in stealth like Espio, The Chaotix would now be the an exploration group instead of a detective agency. He would behave like normal as he adopts Knuckles’s hat from the OVA and uses a reusable warp ring that can duplicate itself for great blitzing in his ball form.

Espio: He will just be a normal dude on the sidelines until the events of Heroes where he gets killed by Neo Mecha Knuckles for his camouflage bio-data.

Amy Rose 🔁 Tikal

Tikal: A more mellow fan of Knuckles and his accomplishments as a hero, but still finds her way to Little Planet to be kidnapped by Mecha Knuckles. She has a crush on him as well but is a bit more mellow about it. She also wields a giant Kendama instead of Amy’s Piko-Piko Hammer

Amy is now the daughter of Pachacamac (yes he still exists. I just changed him from an echidna to a hedgehog) and is the one who guides Knuckles and friends through the events of my SA1 adaptation. She still keeps her personality, so things might get a bit hectic between her and her father, probably a fight, even.

Metal Sonic 🔁 Mecha Knuckles

I don’t think I need to explain this 😅

.

I’m not sure if I want to put ALLL of my swaps into one post, so I’ll split it into parts to make it more…digestible, I guess. So I’ll be back in a bit with a few more. I won’t say that it’ll be the rest of them, but it will be a significant portion.

Anyway. Have a good morning everyone!

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

[any-sk8-s2-news-yet]

news for the ova inspired me to go back to writing my matchablossom fic thanks for the inspiration bro 🙏🙏

F U C K yeah!!!! That is what I’m TALKING about!!!!!! (God I really need to finish my renga fic smh) This series is so motivating we love to see it. May the inspiration flow through you and your word doc never go idle 🛐🛐🛐🛐🛐🛐🛐🛐🛐🛐

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 3/5/2024

really fucking around in Breath of the Wild and not defeating Ganon, even though i think i am fairly well prepared, which is probably indicative of something or a metaphor for some larger issue. oh well! guess we'll never know!

listening

Rock the Jungle by The Daniel Pemberton TV Orchestra, off an album of music from and inspired by LittleBigPlanet, a video game i have never played. Daniel Pemberton is a remarkably prolific british composer who mostly does film these days but also does a lot of BBC stuff.

this is the kind of scrubby pad to the brain electronica i need sometimes. i think these are heavily filtered and processed kookaburra sounds? at about the minute fifteen mark it adds a rolling, rollicking bassline that is, as im sure we all know by now, fucking catnip to me. at about 2:20 it adds alarm blares that fade in and out of a sort of disco-y organ? it uses its five minute runtime pretty well imo. i think this was off the spotify discover weekly.

-

reading

T Kingfisher's The Clockwork Boys, recced by @rae-being-naughty lo these many months ago, and my library hold finally came in. the goodreads blurb is a remarkably accurate sales pitch so let's yoink that

A paladin, an assassin, a forger, and a scholar ride out of town. It’s not the start of a joke, but rather an espionage mission with deadly serious stakes. T. Kingfisher’s new novel begins the tale of a murderous band of criminals (and a scholar), thrown together in an attempt to unravel the secret of the Clockwork Boys, mechanical soldiers from a neighboring kingdom that promise ruin to the Dowager’s city. If they succeed, rewards and pardons await, but that requires a long journey through enemy territory, directly into the capital. It also requires them to refrain from killing each other along the way! At turns darkly comic and touching, Clockwork Boys puts together a broken group of people trying to make the most of the rest of their lives as they drive forward on their suicide mission.

i had a lot of fun with this! very pratchett-esque in its imperial critique through bureaucratic loopholes thereof, which is catnip to me, but i do think Kingfisher is simply better at writing women. the forger is an only child and it fucking shows.

i think if it were 5% more devoted to Humorous Bits and didn't have some nice character work between the forging accountant and the big sad blond paladin man, i would have gotten frustrated with it. i think it is simply more of a comedy than any of its blurbs suggest, and it can be difficult to ride that line between comedy and character growth through desperate acts without getting a little bit of whiplash. this is me being very depressed and a bit nitpicky though. the line "Time passed, like a kidney stone" is going to stick in my brain for a while. i already have the sequel on hold

-

watching

if you do nothing else today could you please watch this car chase for me? ok thanks

Gunsmith Cats is a three-episode OVA that's a fancam of the american city of chicago and the cool girls that live and shoot and drive there, but let's just yank the MyAnimeList description

In the dangerous suburbs of Chicago, skilled bounty hunters Irene "Rally" Vincent and "Minnie" May Hopkins run Gunsmith Cats, a firearms store of questionable legality. One day, Bill Collins, an agent for the Chicago branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, blackmails Rally and May into working with him on a case. The stakes are high, but Rally’s gunmanship and May’s knowledge of explosives are unmatched. As Rally and May unravel the secrets of the case, the two will need to use guns and grenades while being faster, stronger, and better than everyone else in order to stay alive.

all three episodes are free (in really nice quality) on youtube. i pitched this to wendy as "rally is jigen lupinthethird's little sister" and her driving skills and marksmanship... i'm not sure who would win between them but i wouldn't like to live on the difference.

animators, historically, hate animating guns and cars, except for the masochistic ones who use it to flex. there are at least three shots in each episode where i want to stand up and hold my cat above my head and hoot like a fuckin tusken raider. in the first episode, there's a raid on a smuggling warehouse (you know, a warehouse) where the BATF agent and Rally throw each other their guns and have a really cool FALLING OFF A CATWALK back to back shootout. it's hard to describe. watch the episode. i wish there were more than three episodes.

this is an OVA that, aside from the requisite panty shot and WHOOPS my whole shirt tore (one of each per episode per girl) is fairly normal about women? rally and minnie are...roommates. that bicker and eat pizza. they have a cool network of other slightly shady women they interact with a lot, and the big bad for most of the episodes is also a woman. this isn't like a bastion of feminism or anything it's just neat. sort of middling on the ass portion of the Weeb Ass Shit scale. low on the weeb and shit parts too. again this is a fancam of chicago with cool girls

i watched this bc i was trying to use up kanopy credits and came across the precursor to this, Riding Bean, which i did not love for several reasons (the big one being the legitimately pedophilic lesbian relationship) but the creator took the concept of Rally out of that forty minute...experiment? and that led me to Gunsmith Cats. thank u ppl who put free anime on youtube

-

playing

still futzing about in breath of the wild. fucking around with sidequests and a sudden need to at least discover all the shrines.

for example, i did all the labyrinth shrines. underneath the akkala labyrinth is the scariest room in the world, bc six of those fuckers are alive and they will all target you the instant you open that chest.

cannot be bothered with the eventide island shrine yet (the roguelike) bc it frustrates the hell out of me. did the thyplo forest one, which was extremely annoying bc it dimmed my whole TV screen (including the UI) instead of just dimming the game itself. im sure someone thought that would be such a cool detail but instead i found it extremely annoying and vey difficult to swap weapons or start campfires.

and then i trundled through a list of shrine quests, bc i apparently had TWELVE missing?? three were korok trials, one was eventide (apparently it only shows up as a quest if you are on the island or have finished it, bc if u die on the island it kicks you back to a pre-island save lmao) so for the others: three i just had to talk to people to officially start and then immediately complete the quest. remember when i was anxious about softlocking myself out of the jungle dragon shrine quest bc i went right there instead of talking to Kass? never fear, nintendo's got my back

"kay how did you possibly miss reading the giant stone tablet to start this quest--" i am not a clever woman. i go "oh i know what to do!!!" when i see the Orb and hare off without looking around further.

A Brother's Roast i missed bc i forgot to talk to everyone in Goron City after defeating rudania, didn't run across Test of Will (the Goron challenge in the Gerudo highlands) bc i forgot to look off that side of the tower and was very focused on gliding into the labyrinth at the right spot, and didn't run across Guardian Slideshow on the far south beaches bc i hadn't explored there yet.

A Stolen Heirloom was deeply annoying. i had four out of five quests complete to unlock this, but there is an unmarked side quest where you have to go into this lady's house at night to figure out she wants fireflies. maybe she has some ambient daytime barks about this? i have never heard them. this was a little obtuse. also i don't love the stealth in this game. this game's stealth really works when you are well out of detection range bc u have a sniper bow, and i find it works less well for me when i have to follow a target. no i haven't finished the korok stealth trial either.

non-shrine nonsense:

ive been using Stasis as a sort of VATS equivalent. in fallout, i like to hit VATS every once in a while just to see who's out there. how many radroaches are nearby. this also highlights most interactable things which i think is nice of the game

gerudo town stuff: i missed this sand seal racing challenge by SO little the first time which annoyed me so much, it took me six more tries to beat the damn thing. i am very charmed that they actually put in a garden for the kid who was trying to grow a garden!

some beach vegetation mysteries: im really baffled by this singular hearty radish growing in full sun in what is essentially sand with a dusting of palm bark. all the other hearty radishes i have seen are in deep forests with partial sun and lots of leaf litter. what the hell is this then. plus a neat little unique sea wrack? korok circle instead of the usual lilypads.

i didn't know this game knew how to do rainbows at all, let alone double ones!

i will leave you with my many attempts to make stamina potions.

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making

making things requires both the perfect levels of anxiety (too little anxiety and im out doing normal people things, too much anxiety and i shut down, a medium level means im frantically making things to distract myself. we are at the high end of medium) and some level of income bc i inevitably need one or two things to finish projects. eg we are at the level of anxiety where i am only able to do simple things like repainting a whole bunch of big frames for my maps (procured when i had money) but i need more matboard. so they are sitting, 90% finished, in my office closet.

garden update: more than half my bush beans came up with no leaves and promptly died, which could be due to any number of things but im choosing to believe it's bc my bestie's five year old planted them a little too deeply. so it goes. all the sweet peas are fine, all my normal peas and most of my regular climbing beans came up. a little annoyed bc only a third of my nasturtiums came up even after soaking them for 24h as recommended. the shit i Bought (tomatoes, marigolds, mint, rosemary) is doing fine. the spinach and dill i planted are doing fine too, although the spinach also had about a 50% germination rate. this does mean i don't need to thin them but. Hm. yanno?

[lilenui]

Some thoughts on Yamagi in the epilogue of Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.

Yamagi didn't get much in terms of the epilogue: a single still shot flashing on screen unceremoniously and being mentioned in a conversation. We get no insight into his feelings, but we can gather a few hints from said image.

I was unable to 100% confirm that Yamagi's new look was designed by the series' original character designer Itou Yu. From her comments I only got that she loved it and thought it's impressive how much of Yamagi's feelings were conveyed in a single still image. Which inspired me to try and look a bit deeper into it. It's possible that the instructions came directly from director Nagai, who, according to the series' composer, was pretty hands-on with Shino and Yamagi's relationship (including inviting an animator whose speciality is hands animation for the hand hold in ep 7, or personally overlooking all of their scenes). If there was supposed to be a deeper meaning to the epilogue Yamagi then Nagai would be the one behind it, because shinoyama is /his/ thing.

I know my shinoyama by heart, throughout the entire series Yamagi's left eye is ONLY ever visible in his scenes with Shino, or in scenes pertaining to Shino in some fashion (ex. Yamagi reacting to Shino brawling with Eugene in OP #1*). It was a conscious decision to show Yamagi from his left side, where *only* his left eye is visible, as he's looking at the blue skye above him. Just as he did right after the escape from the tunnel. He was also thinking of Shino in that scene, as suggested by the closeup on the bandages in his hand. I think that the suggestion is here as well by focusing on the eye which only Shino ever got to see clearly. The angle of his head, looking up and slightly back (direct symbolism of looking in the past), all of it just speaks to me that Yamagi's love for Shino is still present, he’s still thinking about him in this very moment. In my own personal delusion I like to think Yamagi showing his entire face to the world is also how he's trying to communicate with Shino: "Wherever you are, if you're watching over me like you promised (the ryusei letter), even for a briefest moment, you can see all of me clearly."

Next are Yamagi's pink overalls. I do not believe this is a standard issue uniform available to anyone else. I think this uniform was custom made for Yamagi exclusively. For a while I even held a belief he dyed the material himself. The color is an obvious yet subtle callback to Shino's signature magenta color scheme. There's more to it though, because according supplemental materials Shino doesn't just put that color on anything, but the objects he considers closest to him, his own. Why did Yamagi then decide to put the color on *himself* and not, say, his tools? To me personally Yamagi draping himself in the color Shino used to mark his closest belongings can only speak of his devotion, almost as if he wanted to communicate that he wants to belong to Shino, that he belongs with him. And why wouldn't he still want to be with Shino? Yamagi loved Shino more than life itself, if his words to Eugene in episode 46 are to be taken at their value. That kind of love wouldn't just go away just because the other person weren't there anymore (hell, IBO ended seven years ago and /I'm/ not over Shino.)

These are my general thoughts. The presence of Shino in Yamagi's heart is mant to be seen and felt, and his confident posture signifies that he carries that love with pride. The ryuseigo insignia speaks for itself, if there's any doubt left. It couldn't have been anyone else but Yamagi to suggest it to Yukinojo.

I wish sunrise would release an ova or a cd drama removing any and all plausible deniability left from Shino's intentions regarding Yamagi in episode 45. It's been years, and if we have to continue living in a world without Shino, it would be more bearable if we at least had that.

*This trend continued into the special OP for the abridged version of the series, which aired on TV in '22, wherein Shino dramatically pulls Yamagi close as the latter started to float away just as the boys were about to eat lunch together atop the Ryuseigo II:

[mama-qwerty]

The Knucklesverse Guide

Updated December 15, 2023

A group of us on our Knuckles-centric discord server kind of accidentally created an au inspired by the Spiderverse movies. The Master Emerald—who loves her guardian something fierce—creates a special place where all the versions of her guardian from across different universes can come and socialize, be safe, and not feel so all alone anymore. This place exists in a little pocket dimension the ME created, and is called The Sanctuary.

While at the Sanctuary, the different Knuckles are called by what media or au they come from. Movie Knux is called Wachowski, Sonic Boom Knux is Boom, etc. There are a few au Knuckles that were created in that server that we play with as well, so I figured it would be a good idea to make a kind of cheat sheet so readers will know who these other Knux’s are. I’ll update this if/when I add more to whatever bits of writing I do for the Knucklesverse.

I have done A LOT of writing for this au in the server. They’re a lot of fun to play with.

There are more Knux in the Sanctuary—Archie, OVA, and Underground, for example—whom I will probably not include, mainly because I am not familiar with their backstories and personalities well enough. My main group is the Shatter Triplets, Boom, Wachowski, and a few of the new aus.

Anyway. Here we go!

~~~~~

Boom – age 16-18

from Sonic Boom tv show

the most emotionally aware Knux

the tallest of the batch – stands close to 5 feet tall

acts as the “big brother” to the others, because of his size and emotional intelligence

is very open with physical affection, giving hugs and forehead presses whenever one of the others need it – he’s the only one some of the more stoic Knux’s will accept this from

he’s less stupid in the Sanctuary, because the lack of a ME in his world is what contributed to his spacey thinking

Wachowski – age 16

from the live action Sonic movies

he knew his tribe, so can pass on customs and traditions and the language to the others

lost his tribe at age 6 and wandered the galaxy searching for the ME shortly after, being caught and forced to fight in arenas and such at a young age

typically has the calmest head of all the Knux

Dread – age 22-25

from Sonic Prime tv show – the shatterspace No Place

he, Gawain, and Sinbad are the three eldest out of the rest of the Knux

the shortest of the Shatter triplets, and has a bit of a belly

has a special bond with Boom, and is protective of his brother Gnarly

being in the Sanctuary helps calm the madness within him – his lack of a ME in his world is what made him go kinda bonkers and the Prism Shard didn’t help matters

over time he becomes less selfish and more protective of the others – but he’s still him and will turn to violence if he deems it the best course of action

Renegade (aka Ren) – age 18-20

from Sonic Prime tv show – the shatterspace New Yoke City

no-nonsense and blunt – he’s Prime Knuckles’ sense of duty and protection ramped up to 11

the most responsible of the Shatter triplets, but still gets pulled into shenanigans by Dread and Gnarly (mostly Dread)

gets ‘bad vibes’ when something’s wrong

doesn’t really like Dread all that much, but will step up to help if Dread needs it

Gnarly – age 15ish

from Sonic Prime tv show – the shatterspace Boscage Maze

grew up anxious and paranoid, thinking the trees were talking to him – he’s Prime Knuckles’ chaos sensitivity, and was ‘hearing/seeing’ the chaos energy in all the living things around him

while in the Sanctuary, the ME calms his mind

he’s still fidgety and a little jumpy with anxiety issues

tall and lanky, like a gangly teenager – always hungry and isn’t picky about what he eats

Dark – age 47

from the Dark Mobius storyline in Archie comics

became Enerjak, almost conquered the planet

arrogant and cruel – sucked out people’s souls to make them his minions

when he lost his power he became this old and wrinkly lump of nastiness

none of the other Knux like him, but the ME pulled him in because he’s a Knux and she believes everyone is worthy of redemption (spoiler alert, he doesn’t want redemption, he wants his power back)

he constantly tries to play on the others’ weaknesses and insecurities, to manipulate them into giving him back the power he so desperately wants again

Gawain – age 22-25

from Sonic and the Black Knight video game

essentially forced to be king when Sonic noped out

very protective of his country and people

has strong sense of duty and honor and failing at any mission or task is NOT an option

Sinbad – age 22-25

from Sonic and the Secret Rings video game

a sailor who butts heads with Dread

can use his World Ring to control storms

treasure hunter, but doesn’t have the best luck

X – age 16

from Sonic X anime

shortest temper, easy to rile up

most gullible, but still has the Knuckles heart of gold

always believes in second chances, even for enemies who were trying to kill him a moment before

can be very rude, but cares deeply about his friends

From the various Knuckles aus created by folks on the Echidna's Parade discord server

Cyber - age N/A

created by folks on the Echidna's Parade server

he was made into an A.I by getting assimilated into cyberspace 

was saved from cyberspace but ended up with many ai behaviors

is cold but feels bad about it

more logical than other Knuckles’

can summon Holographic screen he can display information on

Jax – 20ish

created by folks on the Echidna’s Parade server

a storybook au that follows along the lines of Black Knight and Secret Rings, based on Alice in Wonderland

ex-knight to the Queen of Hearts (Rouge)

she abused him for much of his life – he put himself in harms way to keep others safe, especially his world’s version of Tails

suffered much of his life due to this mindset of self-sacrifice

the queen cut his quills short – in his world quills are held in high honor and cutting them is a sign of shame and cowardice

one of the more quiet and reserved Knuckles and can have panic attacks

Quetzal (aka Q) – age 16ish

created by folks on the Echidna’s Parade server

a shapeshifter, who can transform into a large dragon, or a mid-size form between the dragon and echidna

has abandonment issues – his parents were killed as they protected his egg and their hoard, and when he hatched he instinctively began to protect the hoard as he waited for their return

adopts his friends and loved ones into his ‘hoard’ and is fiercely protective of them

was prophesied to bring death and destruction in his world, but he simply doesn’t want to so avoided that whole mess

communicates in chirps, whistles, growls and trills while in dragon form

behaves a lot like a lazy cat – loves to nap and force others to nap if he thinks they need it

gives off golden retriever energy when excited

typically not a fighter

Zombie/Zombby (aka Z or Little Z) – age 12

created by folks on the Echidna’s parade server

he was raised by his tribe to be the guardian of the ME, taught and groomed by the priests since he was barely hatched

they betrayed his trust, wanting to use the ME’s power for themselves

when he came of age at 12, they attempted to connect him to the ME but were overzealous and flooded his little body with so much chaos energy it killed him

they tried to hide their crime by burying him in a small grave, but the ME worked her magic and over the course of thousands of years, she ‘marinated’ him in her energy, reviving him

he’s technically still dead, but the abundance of chaos energy within him reanimated him

he can detach his limbs for comedic effects

classic baby of the family – can do just about anything and the others can’t stay mad at him for long

he has a bit of a limp – the others tend to carry him on their backs or shoulders because of this

doesn’t remember much of his life

Nile (aka Mummy Knuckles) – age unknown

personality created by the folks on Echidna’s Parade server

the Mummy skin from the game Sonic Forces: Speed Battle

holds himself in a regal manner

can be cold and distant, but has special soft spot for Zombby

is usually followed by at least 3 ghosts, but can conjure others at his command

very blunt and to the point

went through the mummification process for reasons (I don’t think we’ve hammered those out yet) – it was his choice to do so and he feels very proud for the honor

didn’t retain much memory from when he was alive, so pieced together who he was from the murals on the walls of his tomb – which depicted him as this stiff, regal person

Metzli and Yunuen (aka ‘the twins’) – age 17ish

created by the folks on Echidna’s Parade server

the twins are fundamentally Knuckles split in two

Yunuen was a body-less eldritch being, billions of years old, who wandered the galaxy and inhabited the bodies of mortals to give himself something to do

he would seep into the body of a mortal, copy their mind and memories and personality, and eject the soul of that body, dooming it to roam endlessly or vanish into the ether without that mortal tether

he did this time and time again, sending countless souls to their damnation

one day he came upon a lone figure on a floating island, and decided to inhabit him

Knuckles was copied, and his soul was ejected (after a bit of a struggle, which was unusual) and the being moved in and assumed Knuckles’ life

Knuckles’ soul refused to give up and stuck around, using his new ghost-like abilities to try and contact his friends

after some time, the eldritch being was ‘reverse corrupted’ due to Knuckles’ pure heart and overwhelmingly self-sacrificing nature

wracked with guilt, the being begged for forgiveness, his past atrocities weighing heavily on his mind

the ME recognized true remorse, and refused to let the now changed being leave forever, so she constructed a new body for Knuckles’ soul to inhabit

to avoid confusion the two adopted new names – Yunuen for the eldritch being in Knuckles’ original body, and Metzli for the new body created for Knuckles’ soul

Yunuen is anxious and fearful, his past haunting him

Metzli is very protective of his brother – he holds no ill will toward the being he was

they each retain some powers from their previous forms – Metzli has the ability to astral project, and Yunuen can alter matter and tap into his eldritch form when necessary (I’m not sure what that entails – don’t think we’ve really hammered that all out, either)

Okay, I think that’s all the Knux I typically work with. I’ll update this with more if/when I get more writing out that includes someone new I forgot.

Check out my Knucklesverse bits under snippets!

[pabsterthelobster]

The Cymond Cluster

This is a list of the many universal streams within the Cymond universal cluster (its name a reference to the Diaclone franchise that preceded Transformers, whose name comes from a merger of the words "diamond" and "cyclone"), one of the many clusters of different universes that make up the Transformers multiverse as documented by the TransTechs. The Cymond cluster mainly consists of worlds from other franchises that either precede the franchise itself, or some miscellaneous TakaraTomy franchises that are somewhat related to the franchise.

Cymond MMYY.DD - Example

Canon streams

Cymond 772.00 Beta - the Henshin Cyborg, Diakron, and Kronoform toylines

Cymond 381.00 Beta - the New Microman toyline (includes Micro Change subline)

Cymond 1184.00 Gamma - the Zoids: Starriors comic miniseries

Cymond 290.03 Alpha - the Brave Exkaiser anime

Cymond 999.04 Alpha - the Zoids: Chaotic Century anime (includes New Century sequel anime)

Possible streams

Cymond 1082.03 Alpha - the Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime (origin of Jetfire)

Cymond 1083.07 Alpha - the Special Armored Battalion Dorvack anime (origins of Autobot Deluxe Vehicles)

Cymond 384.00 Gamma - the Armored Insect Corps Beetras manga (origins of Decepticon Deluxe Insecticons)

Cymond 484.15 Alpha - the Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross anime (associated with Macross and Orguss as part of Super Dimension anime trilogy)

Cymond 885.22 Gamma - the Commandrons comic miniseries (Commandron faction appears in Beast Wars: Uprising; likely due to merger of original parent Tomy with Transformers parent Takara)

Cymond 493.03 Delta - the Gridman the Hyper Fighter live-action series (collaboration between Takara and Tsuburaya; God Zenon resembles Optimus Prime; includes Gridman Universe anime franchise which references Shattered Glass)

Cymond 401.06 Alpha - the Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver anime

Cymond 402.05 Alpha - the Daigunder anime

Associated via GoBots toyline (Hasbro owns GoBots after buying out Tonka)

Cymond 1083.02 Alpha - the Genesis Climber MOSPEADA anime (connected via model kits sold by Monogram)

Associated via Convertors toyline (created by Select using models by Takatoku, MARK, Gakken, and EXCITE; Maladroid faction and characters Zark and Zardak used in Transformers media, implying ownership)

Cymond 1081.06 Alpha - the J9 Series anime trilogy (consists of Galaxy Cyclone Braiger, Galactic Gale Baxingar, and Galactic Whirlwind Sasuraiger)

Cymond 783.03 Alpha - the Super Dimension Century Orguss anime

Cymond 284.03 Alpha - the Super High Speed Galvion anime

Brave series streams (robot designs reused from Transformers)

Cymond 291.02 Alpha - The Brave of the Sun Fighbird

Cymond 292.07 Alpha - The Brave of Legend Da-Garn

Cymond 193.30 Alpha - The Brave Express Might Gaine

Cymond 294.05 Alpha - The Brave Police J-Decker

Cymond 295.04 Alpha - The Brave of Gold Goldran

Cymond 296.03 Alpha - Brave Command Dagwon

Cymond 297.01 Alpha - The King of Braves GaoGaiGar (includes Betterman)

Cymond 1298.17 Kappa - The Saint of Braves Baan Gaan (coordinates drawn from Brave Saga release date)

Cymond 101.26 Kappa - the Brave Saga Astaria video game

Cymond 205.17 Kappa - Quantum Leap Layzelber (coordinates drawn from New Century Brave Wars release date)

Cymond 491.03 Alpha - the Eldran series (Tomy series that has crossed over with Brave)

Zoids series streams

Cymond 1185.09 Gamma - the Marvel UK Zoids comics

Cymond 1291.30 Alpha - the Soukou Kyoshin Z-Knight OVA

Cymond 1003.04 Alpha - the Zoids: Fuzors anime

Cymond 405.10 Alpha - the Zoids: Genesis anime

Cymond 717.07 Alpha - the Zoids: Wild anime

I'd like to thank portarmy on Twitter for inspiring this post with their own Cymond headcanons. I know I'm hardly scratching the surface on this little thought experiment of mind, but I thought it was fun to do.