#might make a proper post at some point but I have an animation to work on so

[treahollow]

I've had these rats far a week and I would die for them

(Dialog in alt text)

[sims-himbo]

THE SIMS 4: BARBIE Legacy Challenge!

oh hi there! i haven't posted here in a while, but i just watched the barbie movie a few days ago and needless to say, it is now my entire personality. so here's my first ever legacy challenge based on barbie's many, many careers and achievements!

apologies in advance, this challenge uses a lot of packs! i'm sorry! i might try to make a base game version at some point

BASE GAME version

portuguese translation by @demaciana-sims

sims 3 version by @appaloosawhims

challenge rules below the cut

All heirs must be female and named Barbie. (non-heir children may have any name)

You may use the freerealestate cheat for your first house, but try not to use money cheats after that!

You are allowed and encouraged to use lot traits and rewards to boost skill gain, anything that’s in-game is fair game.

Packs you will need:

EPs: Get To Work, City Living, Cats & Dogs, Get Famous, Island Living, High School Years

GPs: Spa Day*, Parenthood

Optional packs (for the optional generations):

EPs: University, Cottage Living, Horse Ranch

GPs: Strangerville

*You only need Spa Day for the High Maintenance trait in one of the generations and nothing else, so it's fine to skip out on it.

You've been raised with traditional values: find a good man, start a family, be a homemaker... But you want your children to aim higher, so you'll make sure to set them up for success.

Complete Successful Lineage aspiration

Max Parenting and Cooking skills

Have at least 3 kids and 1 pet, each child must complete at least one child aspiration and they must all max out their grades in school

Must have Family-Oriented trait

Your mother was happy staying at home, but not you. You're ready to fight your way to the top and make enough money to support your family for generations to come.

Complete Fabulously Wealthy aspiration

Max Charisma and Logic skills

Max Business career (Investor branch)

Must have Ambitious trait

Your family is pretty wealthy, so you've used your funds to open up your very own vet clinic and follow your dreams of being surrounded by furry little guys all day! But it might be more difficult than you thought...

Complete Friend of the Animals aspiration

Max Veterinarian skill

Run a 5-star vet clinic

Have at least 3 pets and be good friends with all of them

Must have either Cat Lover or Dog Lover trait

You grew up surrounded by pets, and you now want to explore even more of the animal kingdom... So you're going underwater! What magical secrets will you discover on your journey?

Must live in Sulani

Complete Beach Life aspiration

Max Conservationist career (Marine Biologist branch)

Become a mermaid

Max Logic and Fitness skills

Must have Child of the Ocean trait

Your mother had an almost supernatural level of fitness at sea, so now you've been inspired to master fitness on land! You're determined to reach your full potential in physical performance and become a world class champion.

Join Cheer or Football team as a teenager and reach highest level

Complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Max Fitness and Charisma skills

Max Athlete career (Athlete branch)

Must have Active trait

Your family has achieved many, many accolades, and you've set out to capture all of it in an epic Tell-All novel that you spend your entire life writing!

Complete Bestselling Author aspiration

Max Writing skill

Write Book Of Life and bind it to your parent, use it to successfully bring them back from a premature death

Must have Creative trait

Movie stardom is the next logical step for your lineage, so you set out to conquer the silver screen. Will you catapult the family name into even greater heights, or will it now be associated with infamy?

Complete Master Actress aspiration

Max Acting skill

Must reach at least Proper Celebrity status

Must have a secret affair with a fellow Actor!

Must have High Maintenance trait

As the child of a successful actress, people may roll their eyes and immediately write you off as yet another nepo-baby trying to start a music career... So you must prove them all wrong by becoming a proper rockstar!

Complete World Famous Celebrity aspiration

Max Singing skill

Max skill in at least 2 instruments

Max Entertainer career (Musician branch)

Must have Music Lover trait

What's next after conquering so many careers and reaching worldwide fame for the family name? World domination, of course! Become the greatest Leader this nation has ever seen!

Complete Mansion Baron aspiration

Max Politician career (Politician branch)

Max Charisma skill

Must have Self-Assured trait

Now that you've conquered the world, it's time to venture out into Space! There's so much to explore out there, and Barbie must leave her mark all across the galaxy.

Complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Max Astronaut career (Either branch)

Max Logic and Rocket Science skills

Go to SIXAM at least once and bring a souvenir

Must have Genius trait

Still want more? Here's some extra Barbies that you can play with!

Secret Agent Barbie

Complete Bodybuilder aspiration

Must have Active and Geek traits

Complete Secret Agent career (Diamond Agent branch)

Max Logic, Fitness and Charisma skills

Become enemies with a Sim in the Villain branch of the Secret Agent career! (You may need to cheat this career level for sims outside your household)

Countryside Barbie

Complete Country Caretaker aspiration

Max Gardening skill

Must make all money from gardening, farming, wine making, etc. No day job!

Must own a horse and have it max every skill

Must have Animal Enthusiast trait

Army General Barbie

Must live in Strangerville

Complete Strangerville Mystery aspiration

Max Logic and Charisma skills

Max Military career (Either branch)

Must have Erratic trait

Scientist Barbie

Complete Nerd Brain aspiration

Max Scientist Career

Be abducted by Aliens at least once

Must have Genius trait

Ultimate Barbie

Set lifespan to long

Complete at least 2 child aspirations

Complete Renaissance Sim AND Academic aspirations

Max 10 skills

Have 12 or more traits

Graduate from college

Reach the top of any career

Have a house worth 1 Million Simoleons

Have at least 5 kids and max your relationship with all of them

that's about it! if you play this, please use #sims barbie legacy

have fun:)

[imustbenuts]

nuts reading trigun in japanese 3 - "weirdo" and vash's pronoun switching

disclaimer: my jp reading posts are all for triangulation purposes and nothing else. scanlating mangas is tough work. @-@ i know this.

"Weirdo"

the word 'weirdo' in 2024 english carries connotations of neutral-bad or positive depending on the context of the speaker. depending on how one curates their internet space, weirdo often leans more positively with the same meaning as eccentric, but not always.

however, but in JP, "weird" is more specific and often negative. there's the well known, hentai 変態 (ie. deviant, pervert, freak, extremely negative in tone), and in this case, kimochi warui 気持ち悪い (gross, off-putting, bad vibes). eccentrics are more as 変人 henjin and carries a more neutral tone.

in this panel here papa nebreska uses 気持ち悪い in katakana キモチワルイ in reaction to vash busting his ass saving people and putting out of harms' way. vash's vibes are so off putting to this wanted man he's actually creeped out.

this is particularly interesting to me bc the english translation didn't end up portraying how utterly weird vash's mindset is fully. it wasnt until wolfwood points out how flawed vash's pacifist mindset do i get a proper frame of reference of norms in this world, but i might be having skill issues in english comprehension. ;w;

Pronoun switching

quick. 俺 Ore! 僕 Boku! 私 Watashi! they all mean "I", and there's 2 spectrum of expressions going on here thats commonly believed. 1st being Masculinity to Femininity. what's the 2nd?

the answer is... Rudeness/Assertiveness to Politeness. and gosh does vash switch a lot between Boku and Ore in the first 4 chapters of this manga lmao.

(to be clear, while i am aware of trans hc thats very popular in the fandom, im not at all diminishing or talking about gender expression specifically. im talking about what vash is presenting himself as in context.)

so to perhaps oversimplify this, in JP the idea of politeness and hierarchy is so super duper important, its very built into the language itself. and Japanese is a very high context language. if someone of a higher or equal standing uses "Ore", its totally fine. but if someone of a lower standing uses "Ore", they've committed a social faux pas.

as an obvious example, if a fresh new employee approaches his Boss with "Ore", he's potentially getting dressing down in the company. maybe in front of his coworkers. if this employee forgoes polite speech (keigo) and uses a too Assertive and Casual speech, they've Really Fucked Up and are one foot out the door.

this is also tied up in gender to some extent, hence why girls using Ore is incredibly uncommon, but guys would use Watashi in certain contexts such as talking to their Boss. (woo woo the forces of hierarchy/patriarchy... or something.)

so. vash switches his pronouns for the same effect. when he uses Ore, he's making himself sound more assertive and confident. when he uses Boku, he's often making himself sound less threatening, smaller, open, and trying to avoid conflict.

sound familiar?

bc if you translated all of that into a character design instead of relying on just jp pronouns, we'd get TriStamp Vash.

slight spoilers, but this is even true in one of the tensest moments between vash and wolfwood, where the latter provokes vash and tears into his pacifism ideology. vash sticks with boku in this scene as he says his piece.

if he ever uses watashi, it's bc he wants to be polite straight out of the gate with an air of formality. (this is japanese manners and the proper approach to talking to strangers. mainly to get a feel for each others standing without offense until context changes.)

i also wanna point out maybe something obvious here but.

real life pronoun switching in japanese is a COMMON thing. no one ever really sticks to 1 pronoun bc of Good Manners and the aforementioned hierarchical systems in place. it is only mostly in anime/manga and video games where characters overly prefer 1 due to this being a good shorthand for characterization. this being how rude or polite they are, and in some cases, Gender.

[strawberry-cowmilk]

cooking with the brothers

mc's gender is not mentioned, not proof read

content warnings: none

-----

Lucifer

it doesn't matter what culinary level you're at, lucifer is basically your average masterchef winner and he acts like it

maybe he likes to brag a little, maybe he's wondering if you're impressed by his cooking skill

he also uses ingredients like devildom olive oil that looks like it costs 50 grimm per drop

he is kind of controlling when you're cooking together though

but whatever meal you make, it looks smells and tastes amazing

Mammon

sometimes when you're on cooking duty together you end up having to get akudonald's to serve dinner on time

because you get distracted together

like mammon starts a play fight with spoons, which you join in on meanwhile the food is burning

and mammon kind of never follows a recipe, he mostly does what feels right

he opens the cupboards too and goes 'okay what do we got here' and improvises a meal

Leviathan

he mostly wants to make meals he's seen in anime cafes, or recreate food from his favorite shows and tsl

if you don't got the ingredients he'll improvise a meal with whatever is left, since he doesn't want to go grocery shopping

and while he's cooking he likes to blast really loud music, if you love it he'll blast it even louder

one time satan was trying to read and the music was bothering him, so he stole levi's speaker which made levi chase him and you were in charge of the food alone for a while (average day with the brothers)

Satan

he has a cooking book full of recipes, he gives it to you so you can choose something to make

satan has multiple cooking books actually, one of them is all cat-themed and if anyone would find it in his room he'd get embarrassed and angry at the same time

and one of them is a cooking book with recipes you can make for your cat

anyways, satan goes grocery shopping on time for the ingredients and he's a pretty good cook

he's also very focussed so everything goes smoothly and dinner gets served well on time

Asmodeus

on the day you're on cooking duty together, asmo sends you a ton of devilgram posts with recipes you can make

sometimes he does change the recipes though, like if somebody doesn't like raisins he'll take them out

asmo gets distracted sometimes though, there have been times where he wanted to change the song and took 5 minutes to pick a new one

speaking of music sometimes cooking with him turns into a karaoke and dance party but at some point the food gets finished

Beelzebub

he brings a big bag of chips with him so he can eat those instead of the ingredients for the meal if he gets too hungry

do not let beel sample anything though because there have been times where he's sampled the whole thing (he even warns you about this himself)

he does like to watch you sample the food and tell him what you think of the flavors and all

when the food is finally done and served, he eats it in a whole minute

he's been waiting and you made it together so it's special

Belphegor

he cooks like your average college student during exam season

belphie goes 'hey mc I got some stuff, put it in the microwave and three minutes later we got a meal'

if it's not microwavable it's probably something boxed that's done in under ten minutes

but he's capable of cooking something proper with you, just know you might end up doing more work than him

and when he actually puts in effort, he finds out that cooking together is honestly really fun and relaxing

[fortunelowtier]

I was gonna reblog my original post but I didn't wanna spam people with a long ass post (this post is already long enough) so instead I'll just link the previous post here and if yall wanna go look at it you can, but the short version is that a few days ago I made a post talking about HBs incredibly high turnover rate, and apparently within a few days it got enough traction to where it started spreading to the higher-ups of Spindlehorse, including Viv herself. I decided to make this update post just as a way to debunk what I can and as clearly as I can. 

First tweet:

So for starters, they say this as if IMDB's numbers aren't publically available, it's not like I pulled these numbers out of my ass without merit, these are numbers I got off of IMDB. And I know some people might pull the high school English teacher card of “Anyone can edit that!!” and to be honest I dont feel like going into the semantics of one of the most non-arguments you can possibly use so all I’ll say is that the process of editing a Wikipedia or IMDB page is not as easy as your English teachers taught you to think it is. Sure you can edit it but it's another story if the edit will be saved. There's moderation, it's not a free-for-all.

Also, I find it interesting how this tweet was made (and subsequently deleted) mere days after their promotion to Animation Director, and if there's anything I've learned from Spindlehorse controversies it is that if someone is in any real position at the top of the companies proverbial food chain they shouldn't be allowed to speak for the experiences of employees lower on the ladder than them, especially when a lot of them seem to have a habit of denying certain claims despite the public availability of numerous pieces of evidence pointing toward the contrary

It's like if you visited a bunch of former employees of a restaurant with a high turnover rate with proof that they had worked there and for exactly how long they worked there and then the manager comes along and tries to basically say “NUH UH” despite information proving the contrary being publicly available (maybe not the best analogy but you get what I mean)

—

Ok now onto the second one by Viv herself:

There’s a lot to dissect here so I’m gonna break it down bit by bit.

Firstly:

"They’re listing every single credited person in EVERY art department"

So the way I got my numbers was by going to the Series Animation Department section of HB's IMDB, highlighting every name from the beginning of the section to the end, and then pasting them into this website which gave me the line count of 444. Was that the most optimal way of doing so? No, especially after I learned after the fact that there's a way to just see the numbers straight up, but that hardly matters considering the fact that there are allegedly more people in the animation dept who were uncredited, however, I'm still waiting on some more info from my source as to the validity and the scale of these claims (How many people were uncredited, how little were they paid for their work, etc etc) to make a proper post about it, so until then ill just leave it at that as to not make accusations without merit.

So, humoring Viv, I added up the total IMDB credits for the Art Dept and Visual Effects Dept, as well as the Sound Dept since I qualify sound as a form of art and because I wanted to give Viv as fair a chance as possible and actually tally the total credits of “every art department” as Viv claims I did, and it still only equals 155 total credits, a little over a third of the credits in the Animation Dept

Secondly:

“That includes the TC and Chaos credits”

So these are in reference to Toon City and Chaos Emporium, 2 companies known as a source for outsourcing animation, and just to humor Viv I decided to go onto IMDB and tally up all of the Chaos and TC credits since according to her that's where I got most of my final number.

After doing so, Chaos Emporium had a total of 15 credits, and Toon City had a total of 45

So Viv is making it seem like the TC and CE credits make up a large majority of them, which is why I got the number I did, when in reality when combined they only equal 60 credits. 14% of the total (technically it’s 13.5% but I’m rounding to the nearest whole for the sake of convenience)

Thirdly:

“We dont even have 400 people. Simply Misinformation.”

You’re right Viv, you dont have 400 people, because I never said you did, nor did I imply you did. I said you've had 400. Of course you dont have 400 current employees, your company burns through them like paper because you underpay them while you go burning your Amazon and merch money on cruises and vacations and continuously post photos of you buying from zionist companies knowing full well that they're part of an active boycott.

—

So yeah, that's my 2 cents. Sorry if this sounded like some shit you'd see on a Twitlonger but after Viv was made aware of the posts I made about the turnover rate (and subsequently blocked me within the hour after seeing it) I knew that it wasn't gonna be long before I had people DMing me about how wrong I was because “Viv said it was wrong so it must be wrong”. 

One more thing I wanna add because I've gotten a lot of angry messages/asks about this, a lot of Viv stans seem to think I have this bizarre hate boner for Viv when I really don’t. I don’t hate Viv, I hate what she’s become. I hate how ever since the HH pilot she’s become a bully who can’t take criticism. And not just on the surface level of “criticism makes her upset”, because yea no shit, criticism makes everyone upset at least a little, and it's why I hate it when people see someone being upset at criticism and going “ERMM, CANT TAKE CRITICISM?”

When I say “Viv can’t take criticism” I mean she actively tries to shut down any convo about it without trying to learn from it. She blocks anyone who talks poorly about her or her company and makes baseless claims knowing full well her fans will follow her to the ends of Hell regardless of whether or not what she’s saying is even correct.

That’s all I got for now

[myvillainacademiafan]

Bones Studio Screwed Over The Meta Liberation Army So I’m Doing An Analysis To Complain:

(Slight Spoilers: Mentions of Season 7 and the Manga)

So, As the title suggests, I’m going to be complaining about Bones Studio and how they handle my favorite arc and my favorite characters and how basically they water them down where it’s kind of lame. As I have written this, This could change after written/posted. We’re on Season 7 and while they showed the very important battle of certain hackers. They missed an important part...

That is Geten and Mr. Compress talking in prison about Geten’s family being toxic. This was an important part to not only Dabi’s backstory to reveal the harmful ways the Himura family bred for improved and better quirks, but also important to Geten’s story as well since this revealed, Geten is related to Dabi. They removed that scene even though this involved Dabi is loved by fans. This is truly beyond me since I believe it was a crucial part of the story. In my personal opinion, I believe it’s a personal hatred of the Meta Liberation Army on Bones’s part…

Which is why… I’m making this post, talking about everything Bones Studio did wrong with the MLA Arc and the Meta Liberation Army, why this makes me angry, and the created differences between the Manga to Anime.

——————————

How Bones Studio Handled The Meta Liberation Army Arc:

This is an arc I absolutely love and is one of my favorites, Even in the anime it’s still my favorite. HOWEVER, I can’t forgive them for what they done to it. I personally believe that if the arc was animated properly and included the scenes missing, The MLA would have been almost as popular as the other villain groups and a lot more fans would be on board with them. Have you seen the merch for the MLA it is very little and usually exclusive to Japan. Now you must be thinking but “Myvillainacademiafan, They cut a lot of those scenes out to make it work for the anime!” I’m aware you gotta make room for time and other purposes. I’m aware some scenes don’t seem relevant. And yes, I’m aware some scenes might be inappropriate for a TV-14 rating. I “MAY” have forgiven them if it was only like a couple of times. BUT THERE WAS OVER A DOZEN SCENES CUT OUT, CHANGED, CENSORED, AND MORE. At that point, you might as well either create a new story with the amount of changes and bonuses made. Now let’s get to the changes…

——————————-

Re-Destro’s Introduction And The Proper Introduction Of The Army:

In the Manga, instead of the introduction of the Meta Liberation Army being the call with the League of Villains in the episode “My Villain Academia”. It’s actually when the UA students are hanging out and a certain commercial comes on the tv. It’s Re-Destro advertising for his company Detnerat. The commercial shows how the company is to help people in society with mutant like quirks or abilities live in the world easier with the help of their items. (I would also say that in a way, whether his company or the army, he wants citizens to live freely with their powers and this commercial was a perfect way to show that). After the commercial plays, it turns out it was being watched by Re-Destro and his assistant as well. (they don’t even reveal his assistant in the anime. Rip Miyashita for not getting an anime adaptation…)

The two talk for a bit when suddenly Re-Destro lets the word “Meta Ability” slip. Miyashita questions this and this was a perfect time to advertise Destro’s book “Meta Liberation War”. While he was hoping the assistant would be on board of the Meta Liberation Army, Miyashita however wasn’t convinced and saw this book as harmful and Destro nothing but a “Ranting Criminal” So with a slight uncomfortable and chilling scene, Re-Destro makes sure the man didn’t have any close loved ones before cracking his neck. After doing so, He expressed not only disappointment in Miyashita disliking the book and insulting Destro, but mourned the loss of the life taken…

After this we get the familiar scene we got with Re-Destro walking in to the lieutenants of the army to talk about their updates of the league in the episode “Revival Party”…

Why Removing This Scene Was Wrong And Makes No Sense:

While starting with the call for the League Of Villains is good at giving Re-Destro a mysterious feel to him, I believe you still would have gotten the same even if you included the original scene. Not only that, but it gives Re-Destro some unpredictably with how he’s going to react when you insult basically his lively hood. The commercial was a smooth and charming introduction of the character himself and having him talk and introduce the book was an excellent way to introduce the reader/viewer to the next arc. The murder of Miyashita was also an excellent way to introduce the threat and uneasiness of the Meta Liberation Army and what’s to come, Especially since it perfectly transitions to the fight with the ice villain fighting Shoto and Bakugo and that the villain was using Detnerat products. (Revealing panels later that Detnerat also helps villains in the black market as well)

In the anime, nobody is going to understand the ice villain and why his weapon was destroyed after he was caught because the manga explains better with the context. People were confused at first on Slidin Go’s sudden appearance and relevance to the story, (however, that could be a fault on both ends). When you go straight to the phone call for the introduction and appearance of the army. A lot of people were confused on who the hell those guys were anyways. So, instead of seeing them along the story and getting excited to see them finally go into action when the League of Villains do fight in Deika City. You’re left a bit confused with the anime…

AND SPEAKING OF CONFUSION, Is anyone going to talk about Giran in this?…

————————————

Giran’s Sudden Kidnapping In The Anime:

While both the anime and the Manga don’t reveal how Giran got captured in the first place. The Manga added a bit more understanding compared to the anime. Before they show Giran in the Manga, We cut to the Meta Liberation Army talking with each other about Re-Destro’s black market items. (Which was played exactly after the ice villain was arrested. Literally a perfect transition and explanation on to the MLA as a threat and why everything happened the way it did) To which Skeptic told Re-Destro their “Guest” has arrived. We see Giran being dragged in by two body guards. And while the army has tried to beat and threaten the information out of Giran. He refuses to sell out his clients/League… And then after that we cut to the introduction of Gigantomachia like how we have in the anime.

…For the Anime, He’s just already there… He’s already Kidnapped, tortured, and had his stuff recovered while looking sad… Where’s the stubborn refusal and where’s the context on the anime’s part? While I guess it could be forgiven, they went easier on Giran in the anime given that his bruises are a lot more tame compared to the manga. It’s just confusing to have him suddenly there with not really any context. BTW, in the manga, they LITERALLY showed Giran’s fingers being placed around the areas the League has been. The anime really cut down the gore for that. (Not to mention the small dialogue revealing Skeptic got the information from Giran’s files after he thought he deleted them) Anyways, It’s just giving me earlier Mario games where you hear Princess Peach is kidnapped but they don’t show it. At this point, I feel like Re-Destro is going to tell the League “Their Broker is in another castle.”

The Mistakes With The Beginning Fight Of Deika City:

——————————

I’m not going to go over the missing details with the League of Villains and such because this post is talking about the Meta Liberation Army. So here’s a list of missing mistakes until we get to the major big con of the anime again (While these are not really a big deal, I felt it would have been more cool if they kept these)

*After Trumpet welcomes them to the Revival Party and the fight begins. We see several shots of security cameras around the city. In the anime, They usually show the security cameras like once or twice. (While I can understand this being cut out. It’s a way that not only shows this is being recorded and that the citizens of Deika City are constantly watched. But it is also implying the incoming threat of Skeptic)

*Theres a shot of a hero trying to stop a worker from heading in Deika City area and Re-Destro talks about how it’s a city in a far away place covered with trees, Explaining it’s a perfect place to lay low in. (This one is understandable too and anime fans may already get the point. It’s still a way to show how the MLA haven’t got caught yet)

*The small dialogue removed from citizens/soldiers defending the army (Personally. I like them all to have a word. It just makes it more lively).

*The gore and violence being toned down. (I’ll talk more about, this but Bones Studio tends to have this thing where they either tone down certain things, Go off screen, they even clean them of blood. I understand it’s for TV-14 but if you’re going to develop the manga. Develop it right.)

And Finally, How they handled Curious’s Death which is my next topic…

—————————————-

Curious’s Death And How It Had Much More Effect In The Manga:

From what I described in the little difference above after Trumpet introduces the army and the fight with Curious, There wasn’t a lot of major changes to complain about (I still will though) However, one thing I found specifically interesting is Curious’s death and how it was almost completely brushed away in the anime…

In the Manga, When Curious fell down it was brutal. They did not shy away from hiding the bodies dropping to the ground. After her death and Toga finding the shed to hide in. We cut to Re-Destro talking about Curious’s death and mourning her as Skeptic comes in. We see Re-Destro actually cry at the loss of Curious. Which brings me to the next part of this topic…

How The Lieutenants Handled Curious’s Death In The Manga:

While neither the Manga or anime showed Geten’s reaction to the news, The Manga showed how Re-Destro, Skeptic, And Trumpet handled the news of their comrade.

As I mention, we seen Re-Destro cry. He has cried TWICE. And yet, Bones Studio decided to cut those scenes out! (It’s like they don’t want Re-Destro to show emotion) But removing this was such a huge waste to his character because having a villain that cares so much about his subordinates is so rare to see these days and while we know he cares, It’s good to see this.

Now back on subject, Skeptic then talks about how they can’t use the footage of Curious’s death because “Toga isn’t a good fit for the tragic lead of narrative they’re pushing” Giran asks about the footage and Skeptic lectures and nags Giran about being stupid and to ask properly. Just like with Re-Destro’s scenes, Removing this is also a waste since it shows Skeptic’s character and behavior that could have been entertaining in the anime. (I will go over how they toned down Skeptic’s character in the next topic)

After, Skeptic goes on his tirade, Giran questions the MLA, and Re-Destro remains determined, We cut to the scene of the league fighting (It’s the same scene we see after Toga kills Curious however with a twist) Trumpet comes in on his political van and announces some tragic news. He announces the death of Curious and the soldiers/citizens are distraught. Trumpet uses his words to let them know of Re-Destro’s wishes and to fight harder making the crowd even more determined and angry, A harder challenge for the League of Villains.

Obviously with the anime, Curious just dies and nobody says anything about it. Removing those scenes is also a wasted opportunity because Bones isn’t showing how the lieutenants value one another, They don’t show the effect on everyone and how it would make the MLA fight harder after the league killed a valued member. It also makes it look like they just don’t care that she was killed to begin with. She just dies and we’re done. If Anime!Curious was in the afterlife watching them move on just like that, I bet you she would be fuming…

While Geten’s and Dabi’s fight remains the same, As we move on. There is some slight differences we notice with one Lieutenant with the Manga compared to the anime…

—————————————

Skeptic Being Toned Down In The Anime:

(Btw we never got this scene with the manga, Below is merch. While I love the art, I find it frustrating he was never seen animated like this) Anyways, while I’m aware this one isn’t really too much of a big deal and I’m happy to see Skeptic anyway I could since he is my favorite character, I believe Bones Studio toning down Skeptic really effects his character and removes the charm from it. It’s like Bones studio shoved chill pills down his throat.

For the manga, we get almost the same scenes we have from the end of “Revival Party” and the Beginning of “Sad Man’s Parade” Despite some subtle and not too much of big deal things, it’s a bit noticeable that Skeptic’s attitude is toned down. We talked about the reactions of Curious’s death, there was a scene cut out between Giran and Skeptic. Bones Studio has removed his nagging moments. (They removed another scene with him nagging at Slidin Go after the war so it just seems like Skeptic was always watching and collected. Interesting way to go at it but where’s the spice, You know)

But throughout his thing with Twice in the manga, Skeptic’s movements and behavior was slightly more chaotic. His poses were more backbreaking and animated yet his dialogue stayed similar to his character (And how it is in the anime). It was a way of showing that Skeptic doesn’t care how he acts, he’ll do whatever he wants and get the job done.

One more scene was cut out and as a Skeptic fan, It really frustrated me and that’s when he uses his quirk in action. After we get Twice becoming stronger, Skeptic telling Re-Destro he didn’t fail, the League fighting hard, and Dabi and Geten fighting (All which we have in the anime) We cut to Twice trying to clone Toga to do a blood transfusion. One of the Twice clones gets knocked back and they see that it’s one of Skeptic’s anthropomorphs to which soon… More start appearing! We see Skeptic looking insane and determined as he began to make multiple clones, commanding them all to go after Twice and capture him as he began to run after him. He was determined to capture himself because Skeptic “did not” fail.

Bones removing that scene was ridiculous because not only would that given Twice more of a challenge and show that the MLA will get their hands in there if it means success, but it also takes away showing how Skeptic’s quirk works in action. Having the scene removed and he’s just out in battle is a little strange, Like he’s just roaming and standing around? That isn’t like his character at all, he would take action! We finally got to see how his quirk works in season 7, however it was a little late when it should have been included in Season 5 to begin with… It would have been so cool to see the animation of the anthropomorphs forming and Skeptic running through the city madly and it would have been so cool to see the nagging scenes animated. (Think of it like Deku’s mutter scenes. But instead, It’s an a slight creepy nag with a dark background and the words “Nag” popping up haha)

And there is several times where Anime!Skeptic was toned down more compared to Manga!Skeptic however this is talking about the MLA arc so that’s a complain for another time probably…

Before we got that scene with Skeptic running after Twice, Most of the scenes are pretty much similar to the anime (With a scene from Hawk being placed in the middle of the MLA fight instead of earlier in the anime. That’s the only thing I will agree with for the anime’s decisions.) But one detail was also changed strangely that I also can’t help but notice…

—————————————

Regards Of Re-Destro’s Relationship With Destro In The Manga Vs Anime:

I don’t know what Bones Studio was thinking when they decided to make this choice, But in the anime Re-Destro claimed and was heavily hinted to be Destro’s son, when all actuality and in the manga, Destro is just his ancestor. There is so many reasons wrong with this and why this couldn’t work.

First of all, the time of Destro being alive wouldn’t work with Re-Destro’s because this was a time quirks were starting to appear and this was a time All For One was starting to make his ways in the world of villainy and All For One is confirmed to be over a hundred years old. (If Re-Destro was Destro’s son then he would be so old and wrinkly at this point of time… Or dead because how?)

Second, It’s just incorrect. It’s not true. Destro is just an ancestor to Re-Destro, Not his father. And when you talk about Re-Destro and Destro to fans who only seen the anime, They get confused when told Destro is actually an ancestor to him and not a father. At this point, If Bones Studio is mixing up the characters’s information. We should too, why not make AFO Shigaraki’s Biological father or make All Might related to Mineta. Because it’s fun ig!?! (Obviously people can have their headcanons, I have mine too! But when a whole studio is just getting information wrong, It’s just annoying)

@Stillness-in-green made a very good post talking about this and explains it much better then I could. So definitely check that out!

—————————-

More Minor Mistakes Before We Talk About The Final One:

*More dialogue from citizens/soldiers missing. (I already explained why this annoys me)

*Some dialogue between Trumpet and Spinner was removed. (Especially since it helps with Spinner’s character development and trimming while still works in the anime in terms of understanding and plot is still frustrating to manga readers)

*A scene of Slidin Go blocking a van from entering at the outside of Deika City when suddenly loud booming noises are heard and the hero mistakes it for earthquakes (While not really a big deal or a must have scene. This would have given Slidin Go more on screen moments… Maybe where he wouldn’t be forgotten).

*A scene/panel of a page from a children’s book talking about being kind to those with Mutant based quirks. (While also not a must, It would have been cute animated. Plus it would have been very funny if that plays after Trumpet gets offended to be compared to Spinner).

*Even though I said I wasn’t going to talk about the scenes missing with the league, this one I will. There’s a scene/panel with young Shigaraki looking on at a mysterious man leaving as his mother bows in apology. (If you’re caught up in the manga, You would know why removing that scene was a big mistake. Once again, Bones Studio picking and choosing what they want to add or not. I had to point this out because that’s what they did with this whole arc.)

*They removed Spinner clinging on Trumpet’s political van as Trumpet tries to reach Re-Destro, Basically clinging on to the van as it drives. (Suppose Spinner just ran over there quick in the anime)

*Re-Destro’s Claustro slowly breaks down in the manga. (Not much to complain. It just would have been cooler animated like that)

*And finally the last thing to complain about is the gore… Or less gore in the anime…

————————————

Bones Studio Censoring The Gore Of The Meta Liberation Army Arc:

When people complain and talk about the comparison of censorship between the manga and anime of My Hero Academia, it’s this arc that has a lot of examples… A lot. While I’m aware and understand that this is a TV-14 rated show, it’s still in the manga and it should be represented to keep it faithful. The violence was toned more down with Giran’s bruises, to Toga’s bloody face from Curious, Shigaraki getting his fingers snapped off, and finally to the one picture above where Re-Destro’s legs were chopped off to save himself from decaying from Shigaraki’s quirk. The final scene with Re-Destro bowing to Shigaraki as his new leader was so chilling yet so cool in the Manga. It’s cool in the anime, But we could have had much more of it if it wasn’t toned down. It just feel like a cop out and lazy on Bone’s part…

————————————

In Conclusion:

After the scenes I talked about, Everything is almost pretty much the same in the anime as in the manga as well, leaving my talk of the Meta Liberation Army Arc closing.

While I’m thankful for Bones Studio animating the anime I love, I feel frustration with how they handle not only the Meta Liberation Army but characters that are not as popular to fans or the main characters, Villains or not. Bones Studio usually will focus on characters that are more popular and give them as much screen time as they can while depriving others who aren’t as popular with scraps. (If you also notice, Throughout my talk, I had no complains of Geten’s scenes because he was usually seen with Dabi who is considered a popular character. So Geten’s scenes remain in tact because Bones knows Dabi is popular)

What caused them to do what they did to the Meta Liberation Army in the anime adaptation is beyond me? Whether it’s simply not caring about them, putting more focus, time, and money on characters that are more popular, Someone even theorized it was to put the budget of animation on the filler episodes or the movie that was coming up at the time. Whether it was, the fact that the characters I love were discarded and basically fans either don’t know or don’t like/care about the MLA and/or Arc, Hurts because THIS IS MY FAVORITE ARC. And I’ll be damned if I lie and say it isn’t because a lot of people say otherwise.

Whether anime or not, The MLA and the arc will still remain my favorite even if the studio working on doesn’t think so. These are characters I love and value a lot when it comes to My Hero Academia. But with how the Meta Liberation Army was handled and continued to be handled in the anime to this day is just frustrating. In Conclusion, Bones Studio do better…

——————————————-

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

The concept of Lilia raising fem Silver is so cute and endearing. Imagine Lilia and fem Silver having a tea party together surrounded by silver's animal friends while Lilia is dressed up in a pink tutu dress and ROCKING it.

Raising a human child is a lot more different than raising a fae child, but get this; Lilia would have to learn that at a certain age, fem humans get their periods (Assuming fem fae don't have periods?!). Either way, he would panic or be chill about it. He would also have to explain what menstruation is, lol.

Period cramps can be so bad. Luckily for Silver, Lilia knows how to wash blood stains with COLD water (considering he saw a lot of blood in war). He would bring her snacks and comfort her best to his abilities, and he would make sure to keep menstrual products in the house or carry some with him for emergencies. I know, I'm just rambling at this point, but idk it's really cute to think how Lilia would raise fem Silver.

So, while i agree with you that Lilia would raise normally just like how he raised Silver in Canon, i do think there are quite a few differences, especially when it comes to such things such as Periods, buying bras and so on.

[Other Lilia raising fem!Silver posts here and here!]

In my original post, I was speaking only from a socialization angle since a lot of what we see as "gender norms" are the result of how we were raised and taught. On that front, I don't really see Lilia changing one way or another. Of course there would also be biological differences that Lilia would have to become accustomed to, and those he would have to tackle differently.

I imagine he would mainly ask the Zigvolts for assistance in this regard, since they already help with watching Silver while he's busy with other matters in canon. Even if we assume that female fae do not menstruate, Mr. Zigvolt is a medical professional who would have some understanding of menstruation (due to taking A&P classes), even if his specialty is teeth. He could at least refer Lilia to the proper resources or a medical professional with more relevant knowledge. If we assume that female fae do menstruate, then Mrs. Zigvolt could be comforting and understanding of Silver's situation. Maybe even Sebek's older sister could pitch in as well!

Either the Zigvolts could explain menstruation to fem!Silver or Lilia could? Knowing how… tactless… Lilia was when dealing with Silver learning he was adopted though, it might be a mixed bag. Lilia might go for a silly explanation, an actually wise one, or he might pull out all the stops and try to reenact the story of an egg cell being expelled from the body via hand puppets. When fem!Silver isn't feeling well, Lilia can sit by her bedside and sing (screamo) lullabies or recount tales of his travels until she's soothed off to sleep.

Imagine Lilia having to take Malleus aside to explain how menstruation works to him too (when Malleus shows confusion at fem!Silver kneeling over mid-training). Maybe Sebek would already know about it because he has a decent sized family and he expresses his concern in the typical Sebek way. "Hmph! If you find yourself faint, it shall be an easy victory for me—but there is no glory in that. Sit this one out, and once you’ve collected yourself then you shall be a worthy opponent!”

... But it would be sort of funny if Lilia asks the QUEEN of Briar Valley for help on this 🤡 "Your majesty!! My little human child is gushing out blood from down there, does she have a wound? Will she bleed out? Should I be concerned") I also find it really ironic that Lilia, an infamous retired general, probably already has knowledge of how to wash blood out of fabrics due to his experience in war. Now he can repurpose that skill to help out his daughter 😂 Just don’t trust Lilia to make snacks for fem!Silver cramping up, he’ll only make the cramps worse with his cooking…

Anyway, I enjoy the idea of Lilia being a father that supports both Silver's (traditionally) feminine and (traditionally) masculine interests and is secure enough in his own identity to engage with them. He'd have so much fun dressing up with Silver and having those tea parties with the animals out in their yard.

[howlingdemon13]

Betelgeuse I was hugely inspired by a bunch of artists and fic writers in the fandom, as well as a few monster artists who specialize in combining different creatures into beasts that actually look cohesive. I’m not sure how well I was able to execute the vision here, but I’m really proud of it regardless! DiamondZ, nonbinary-arsonist, stinkyhorsebitch, and arbuzyansky were the main catalysts for this, so definitely take a peek at their work or give them a follow. I was initially going to submit this guy for a staff art show, but I don't want to rush the rest of it, so I'm just going to post what I have finished here. Design notes are under the cut.

In earlier drafts, I was looking into more serpentine-looking designs since Beetlejuice turns into a snake in the film. Some of the concepts I was leaning towards looked like either a lindworm or centipede, but I think mammalian fits Musicaljuice since he’s “softer” in a lot of aspects compared to his film counterpart. I may look into playing with a more snake/bug-like design in the future. Beetlejuice’s overall look is heavily inspired by Chalicotherium goldfussi, which were huge Miocene ungulates that are distantly related to things like rhinos and tapirs. Given that Beetlejuice is super old, I felt like an extinct animal was a proper fit. On a more personal level, I really like the way these guys look and it was easier to rework their body plan into something that looks carnivorous. That, and I wasn’t really vibing with other mammalian body plans, especially because I wanted something that was close in shape to a human without being apelike. Huge herbivores also have larger stomachs, which I feel is a better analogue to Beetlejuice’s body type. You’ll have to pry that man’s curves from my cold, dead hands. All his forms are chubby and soft, and I’ll fight you over it in the Denny’s parking lot. I also added some hyaenid traits, especially for the head shape and teeth. Hyenas are very social animals (like Beej, except no one can see him), and striped hyenas and aardwolves specifically have these tall crests of fur that run down their backs and back legs that they can raise and lower to communicate. I’d argue it’s fitting since Beetlejuice’s hair sticks up at odd angles and communicates his mood (intentional or not). And hyenas laugh. Granted they giggle when they’re stressed, but it still fits. I modeled his stripes off of both species as well. His hind paws, ears, and tail are all based off of those of opossums. Beej is very “trash animal”-coded, and I felt like the opossum traits would fit better with the Chalicotherium body than something like a raccoon or skunk. I felt a little bad about not giving him a ton of bug traits, so I tried to add mandibles, but they just weren’t looking right in earlier design drafts. I gave him a bunch of small eyes to compensate, but making him look buggy wasn’t the only reason for the extra eyes. We know from early drafts of the musical script that Beetlejuice’s last name is Shoggoth. These creatures are mentioned by Lovecraft in Fungi from Yuggoth and At the Mountains of Madness, but I’m not sure if this implies that Beej is a shoggoth, or if it more so refers to him being able to manifest multiple limbs/shapeshift/warp reality like one. In that same vein, the mouth in his chest is mostly to look scary and is just another fun little Lovecraftian trait that I felt was needed. Same to the tendrils, but that’s also a common fandom trait that is pretty much canon (to me) at this point. I might rb this with headcanons later on.

[lune-dreams]

Murder Drones Episode 8 and its Issues

It's been a hot sec since I've last posted, but I'm back!! Today's post actually concerns episode 8 and people's issues with it and I'll be doing my best to address every claim against it that has been made with negative connotations! #1 The runtime is terribly short, glitch should've made it longer

First of all, I feel like the murder drones community has a habit of forgetting that glitch is an indie animation studio and we can't expect them to give us amazing long content! On top of that, the writing was finished by Liam awhile ago so this was all already pre-planned and it was clear that murder drones had a very specific ending in mind! Finally the animation quality, was just amazing in this episode and I can't imagine the amount of work it must've taken them to animate such a detailed episode and it's 20 minutes on top of all of that, and not many indie animations have the ability to do all that within a year!! #2 The story didn't give us proper closure

I know that in the story there were a lot of loose ends that weren't tied up, however we did still get an ending. Liam is known for often dropping projects early on and we got very lucky that we managed to get some form of an ending!

See with this story the whole point of it was that they were trying to defeat Cyn and they pretty much accomplished that which essentially means the story comes to a close since there's no reason to drag on what is done!

#3 V coming back was bad

Okay I can see why you might say that, considering all her development lead up to her death which was a good wrap for her story, however keep in mind we finally got some form of closure between N and V! The hallway scene when V apologizes to N, I think that was definitely one of her biggest points of development and I think we owe Liam for that amazing writing, not only did he manage to give her a purpose in the new episode, but he was also able to tie up some loose ends with her issues and give her the final development that she really needed!

#4 Uzi was so cringey during this ep and that just sucks

Okay firstly, I understand that some people might view being cringy as weird and that's okay, but I don't see an issue with it whatsoever, people can be as cringey as they want if it makes them happy and doesn't hurt anyone! Now addressing Uzi's cringeyness, it's quite literally in character for her! If you've been watching the series since the beginning, her whole character has had this whole cringe thing going on and I'm not sure why you would hate on a character for just being themselves, she's just being her normal self when she calls herself a "damaged oc"!

Conclusion: I know that there's a lot of reasons why some people might've not enjoyed episode 8 of murder drones and that's completely okay, these are just my personal thoughts on all this and it's mainly to address all the hate against glitch for the episode, which btw they do not deserve! Please do not send hate to glitch, criticisms are okay, but hate is not. Anyways I hope that this post reaches those who have been looking for it or need it! Thank you for reading!

[inkspiredwriting]

Royal Tea Time

Five Hargreeves x reader

A/N: surprise! Today I'm posting another one shot because I won't be able to do it tomorrow. I had so much fun writing this one shot ^^

Warnings: none

Five Hargreeves, the no-nonsense, time-traveling genius, was in uncharted territory. Not a future apocalypse, not a past disaster, but a royal tea party with his daughter, Maddie. She was four, imaginative, and determined that today her daddy would join her in an elegant, if not somewhat unconventional, afternoon tea.

Maddie had planned every detail meticulously. The living room was transformed into a whimsical fairyland. An old table, now draped in a pink lace cloth, was set with plastic cups, saucers, and a pretend teapot. Stuffed animals occupied the other chairs, their plush faces turned toward the table as if awaiting the first sip of invisible tea.

Five sat at the head of the table, his usual stern expression softened by the absurdity of his current situation. Maddie had insisted on a full royal ensemble for him: a plastic crown on his head, his hair festooned with colorful clips, and his nails painted a vibrant pink by Maddie’s chubby, enthusiastic fingers.

“Daddy, you have to hold your teacup like this,” Maddie instructed, demonstrating with exaggerated elegance, her small fingers extending delicately as she lifted her cup.

Five, taking his cues from his daughter, mimicked her gesture. “Like this?” he asked, raising his pinky in a manner that would befit any royal tea party.

Maddie nodded, her face lighting up with pride. “Yes, Daddy! Just like that! Now you’re ready for the tea party.”

Five couldn’t help but smile, his heart warmed by Maddie’s joy. “Well then, Princess Maddie, shall we begin?”

Meanwhile, Y/n Hargreeves had just pulled into the driveway after a long day at work. She juggled bags of groceries as she unlocked the front door, mentally preparing for whatever chaos might await her inside. She was used to the unpredictable nature of life with Five and their energetic daughter, Maddie.

Stepping into the house, Y/n was greeted by an unexpected sight: Five, her stern and serious husband, seated at a tiny table in the living room. He was adorned with a pink plastic crown, his hair festooned with colorful clips, and his fingernails painted a cheerful pink. Across from him, Maddie was instructing him on the finer points of proper tea etiquette.

Y/n's eyes widened in surprise, her mouth twitching with the urge to laugh. She closed the door softly, trying not to disturb the royal gathering.

Five noticed her presence first, his eyes meeting hers with a mixture of amusement and mock-seriousness. “Ah, welcome, my dear,” he said, adopting a posh accent. “We’re having tea. Would you care to join us?”

Maddie turned to see her mother and waved enthusiastically. “Mommy! Come sit! Daddy’s being a princess with me!”

Y/n couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer. “Well, it looks like you two are having quite the royal meeting!” she said, setting down the groceries and approaching the table. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Y/n sat down beside Five, who gave her a wry smile. “Would you like some tea, Your Majesty?” he asked, holding out a cup of imaginary tea.

Y/n took the cup with a playful nod. “Why, thank you, Your Highness. This looks absolutely delightful.”

Maddie, now the official hostess of the tea party, beamed with pride as she poured more pretend tea into their cups. “We’re having a very important meeting,” she explained solemnly. “About, um, teddy bear adventures and how to make the best cookies.”

Five raised an eyebrow, glancing at Y/n. “Ah, crucial matters indeed.”

Y/n played along, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “Absolutely. I’m sure it requires all our attention.”

As the tea party continued, Five and Y/n exchanged bemused glances, their love for Maddie shining through their playful banter. Five, ever the dedicated father, even began to entertain Maddie’s stuffed animals with exaggerated stories of his ‘royal’ escapades.

After several rounds of pretend tea, teddy bear adventures, and royal decrees, the tea party began to wind down. Maddie, satisfied with the day’s events, declared the tea party a great success and gave each of her parents a hug. “Thank you, Daddy. You’re the best princess ever,” she said, her arms wrapped around Five.

Five smiled, pressing a kiss to Maddie’s forehead. “Anything for you, Princess Maddie.”

As Y/n helped Maddie gather the tea set and clean up, she couldn’t resist one more teasing remark. “You know, Five, pink really suits you.”

Five rolled his eyes good-naturedly, looking at his pink nails and the clips in his hair. “Just wait until I wear the tiara to bed.”

Y/n laughed, giving him a warm hug. “I love you, even in a tiara.”

“Likewise,” Five replied, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Though I’m not sure pink nail polish is quite my color.”

Y/n grinned, brushing a strand of hair from his face. “I think it’s perfect.”

With their hearts full and the living room tidied up, Five and Y/n watched as Maddie happily skipped off to play with her toys. They shared a knowing smile, both grateful for the simple, joyful moments that made their family so special.

In the chaos of their extraordinary lives, it was these quiet, whimsical afternoons that reminded them what truly mattered: love, laughter, and the magic of spending time together.

[seven-gill]

Hiya!!!! Just wanted to pop in and say I LOVE your art!! You're an incredibly skilled artist, and I desperately wish I had better connection on tumblr so I could look more closely at your designs

I actually had a couple questions! Feel free to not answer if you don't wanna, but they popped into my head as I was scrolling through your art ^^

What's your design process like?

I've noticed a very high interest in SeaWings and especially with your Moray and Shark designs, I was wondering if there were any fish you really want to incorporate into a design but haven't had a chance to yet?

Your pinned post mentions a long list of marine life - could you explain that list a bit more? What leads you to putting something on the list? Is it in a specific order? What are a couple of your favorite entries and why?

Thanks for sharing your exquisite art with the world - I look forward to seeing more!!!

Urgh I wish I could say I had a proper process but I'm a little all over the place. Generally I tend to follow these steps when conceptualizing WoF characters:

a. Read up on that specific character, usually by skimming through the books/reading the wiki. What is the most basal information I can work with. For Listener, I know she is tall, curvy, and looks like a successful hunter. She's got some spunk and spontaneity to her character, although she's occasionally ignorant and air-headed. In the end, she's a devoted friend with a strong sense of justice and empathy. At least, that's my reading of her.

b. Start sketching! Play around with shapes and motifs. What does this character feel like to me? What color are they if that's never been specified? What shape are they? What sort of theme do I want them to have? Can I incorporate their name into their design? How does their personality reflect their visual appearance? Translating personality traits into physical ones is a "whatever feels right" sort of deal for me. Listener felt loose and round to me and I wanted to give her a tom-boyish look with some little quirks that I felt made her endearing and lively. This is also where personal headcanons come in. Now Listener has the equivalent of a dragon bob-cut. Now she has buckteeth, a snub nose, and hey- her name is Listener, so why not give her big ears?

c. Clarify and refine. The original sketch is typically a huge mess of gestural drawing so I'll go over it/redraw it a few times and clarify any details I might have skipped. Sometimes I try a different pose or expression to see if it still looks alright under different conditions. Maybe I flip the canvas lol. I might end up changing minor aspects of the design at this point, or scrapping it entirely if it isn't working. For Listener's design I clarified the shape of her snout, ears, and shrunk her earrings.

*

2. Yeah I've drawn a lot of SeaWings by this point, lol. I'd like to say it was a coincidence, but maybe my subconscious would argue otherwise. I think it's because all the SeaWings have such large named families consisting of prominent characters, so if I draw one, then I feel compelled to draw their mother, or brother, etc... As for what fish I'd like to base a SeaWing on, I have no idea! I tend to, rather uncreatively, base a character's design off their name. Although, I've been working on a Indigo design with betta fish inspiration.

*

3. OH BOY, the List. The List is actually a Google slideshow I've been working on and off of for the last five years. It's a list compiling aquatic organisms (extant or extinct) that I find strange, whether it be due to their appearance or behavior. Think animals like cookie cutter sharks, giant isopods, stoplight loose jaws, and siphonophores. If it looks weird or does weird things, it's going on the List. I've always had a fondness for unusual sea creatures, and I love to make organized lists! The List serves no actual purpose beyond my own amusement. It's arranged alphabetically and each slide consists of a name (common and scientific), a photo or two, and a brief description of the species and any explanation for their unusual appearances or habits. It's very informal, but I'm working on tidying it up and adding actual scientific information rather than a funny quip from me. Most slides only feature a picture and have yet to receive a thorough description. There's currently 346 entries so it's hard to pick a favorite, but here's some highlights:

Fried Egg Jellyfish (Phacellophora camtschatica) It looks like an egg. It's great.

Predatory Tunicate (Megalodicopia hians) Most of it's relatives are vase-shaped filter feeders, whereas this one is anything but.

Red-lipped Batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini) Just look at this thing. Who put lipstick on it.

*

Annnnd that's about it. Sorry for the long posts, I have no idea how to be concise! Thank you so much for the kind words! It's honestly surreal to be here.

[the-bigger-fish]

You know, I'm not normally the type of guy to post this sort of thing but I really want to get it off my chest....

I really enjoy Viv's shows and general works. Like, for some weird reason Helluva Boss (and to a lesser extent, Viv's body of work as a whole) has become a show i hyper fixate on the likes of which haven't been seen since I was a Transformers Prime and MLP fan back in 2010.... BUT that being said, I also find myself also very critical of her works for a lot of reasons as well. (Not as a hater, but as someone who loves the show and wants to see it improve.)

Which then leads to the reason why I wanted to get this off my chest... Stolas is a good character, heck he might even be a GREAT character..... On paper, that is.... Like, he has all the elements for what could be a really interesting and nuanced character and antagonist of the show (Antagonist meaning "Someone who contends with or opposes the Protagonist, not necessarily meaning he's evil...) Like, having a well meaning, but sheltered, privileged, and ignorant man make a mistake in the throws of passion that causes not just turmoil in his family whom he loves dearly, but also with his friends and many others as well and thus tries to make things up to everyone? That's genuinely an incredibly arc for a guy to go through and honestly quite fitting for a show that aspires to ape plays and theater so much, too. It's just that... The show never really seems to be interested/able to show him going through this arc it seems? Like, I'm not sure if it's a production issue given that animation is hard, a monthly-ish web animation is probably even harder and you can't cover everything you would want to realistically in the show proper. (Which honestly makes me wish we had side comics or prose to compliment the episodes and shorts as well, because it genuinely feels that we missed a chapter or three at times...) But like, it feels like we're told Stolas is one thing (Kind, loving father, ignorant and delusional yes, but does try his best to make things up when he realizes he's screwed up.) and then shown an entirely different character instead. (Coercive, airheaded and easily distracted to the point of forgetting important things like his daughter and the like, classist, and more than a bit obsessive towards Blitzo and way to stuck in his own world to actually be able to right his own wrongs.) And as we all know what Rule 1 of storytelling is, ESPECIALLY visual storytelling like animation:

SHOW, DON'T TELL

Now, I'm not saying Stolas has to be perfect (in all honesty, the fact he's so deeply flawed makes him farm ore engaging in a "Greek Tragedy/Shakespearian type of way fittingly enough) it's just, it feels like the show wants us to view characters and plots in general as one way, while showing us something completely different from what we've been told. (And honestly, that just might be the result of general teething issues regarding the show's hard switch from "Dark comedy where Logic and consistency need not matter as long as the joke lands" to "More serious character drama where actions do have consequences, no matter how far fetched they might be.")

Which isn't to say I'm blindly bashing the show or hating on Stolas or Viv, I think both the show and him has a lot going for it and that some of the more vocal critics take things way too far when it comes to criticizing Stolas and the show, it's just I'm saying this from the bottom of my heart as a fan what my biggest problem with some of my favorite aspects of the show are and hope they can be improved upon because dang it, I really wanna see this show be as great as i know it can be! Same with my birdy boi, too!

(P.S. Stolas totally got his fortune paving the entirety of Hell's roads with his good intentions. That's just facts right there.)

(P.P.S. If this does well enough, maybe I might write more writing critiques and general thoughts as a whole. Let me know what you guys think.)

[hey-august]

That last post is basically one of the ways I differentiate OPLA vs Manganime Buggy in my head

Live action Buggy FUCKS and he continues to FUCK and he has some new bedfellow on basically every new island, then wakes up the next morning alone or his date already leaves in the night prior, sometimes because they went on their own sometimes because Buggy had already made it clear this was a sex only thing. Continues to stare at the ceiling for a good half hour and ignore how desperately lonely he feels. Keeps going with his sexual escapades and becomes more and more suave with his techniques and skills till “Casanova Clown” is just another name he can refer to himself as, another feather in his cap so to speak. Will be completely at his wits ends when he actually falls for someone tough, wether he gets to know someone over a longer time or he hits it off with someone and beds them immediately, if they STAY after the initial fun romp he doesn’t really know what to do because he didn’t ever really expect to ever get to that point.

Animanga Buggy is still waiting on his first proper kiss and gets nervous at the idea of even getting naked with someone. Oddly enough he’s not really self conscious about it for the most part, although he would get embarrassed if someone found out and mocked him for it, he’s still very self defensive after all. For the most part he doesn’t care about his virginal status that much, not when there’s treasure to be found and beers to be drunk and parties to be hold, so he’s actually happier than his live action counterpart in that regard. Will turn into an absolute mess when the chance of sex with someone he loves is actually on the table though. Type of man who’ll try to find a book on the subject and bullshit his way through without fessing up to anything. Fails upward because you easily figure out what’s going on but god if that’s not fucking endearing.

I love how this post is resonating with people!!

And I completely subscribe to what you have here, anon! 😤

To add on... OPLA Buggy is hot shit and knows how to wink and charm his way into anyone's pants. It was a flex at first - how quickly can he pick up someone, how many stands can one night hold, how many nights in a row can he end with someone new.

Once the novelty wore off, he didn't know what to do but stay committed to the bit. Keep sleeping around, keep up with that persona, keep burying his feelings in messy bedsheets that are empty at the end of the night.

It'll change one day and he won't handle it well. Buggy might try to push them away or think they're messing with him. But the right person will see through that tough, sexy exterior and break through to the soft and lonely clown who just wants to be held as he falls asleep.

With anime/manga Buggy, I think he might have had a few kisses throughout the years, but none of them came with fireworks. His foot didn't pop. He wasn't left breathless. They don't count, though, so he hasn't had his first real kiss.

Sometimes he feels weird when he sees happy couples. Or couples that bicker and make up. But whatever those sharp achy feelings are, they're easily pushed away when Buggy looks at the life he has. Would he really want to share all of his treasure with someone else? Of course not, that would be less for him. Obviously.

Those answers come so quickly that he doesn't need to think about the real answer - that he might want to share his life with the right person. And when that right person shows up, Buggy is at a complete loss. He is smitten. Head over heels. And heels over head, because he can't control himself. All of his eagerness and sincerity work out very very well for him.

[watercolorsam-arts]

Why the Minecraft Movie looks so bad

Okay, let’s see if I can make this work

Hi, I’m Watercolor, currently a student learning animation and visual effects. I’ve got some more technical explanations for why exactly the trailer looks god awful

I’m gonna do my best to explain this in simple terms, but if I don’t explain something very good, let me know and I’ll explain more. Alright, this is gonna be a long post

Starting off with the obsession with backlighting. See how it doesn’t really match the environmental lighting? That’s one of the major things that makes it look so weird to a lot of people. It could have been done to better distinguish the actors from the background, but it does that a little too well and makes them look way too out of place. The environment has a very nice constant (most likely singular) light source, which is most likely an HDRI.

An HDRI (or high dynamic range image) informs the animation software on how the scene should be lit, and is often a weird panoramic image of whatever physical area you want to replicate.

In a reverse case, adding a CG character into a real set, you could take an HDRI of the physical set, and use it to apply similar lighting. Adjustment will most likely have to be hand adjusted by the lighting team (and tbh they add a lot of extra lights in anyway. It just needs to look right) but it’s a fantastic starting point for the compositing and lighting teams.

However, the McM’s live set has way different lights set up then what is seen in the environment.

Here, for example, the live set is most likely being lit by standard 3 point lighting, which are not only the wrong color (the lighting on the environment is much more yellow) but also washes out any shadows that would help define the actors. If this movie wasn’t obsessed with backlighting, you could fix that by lighting the actors and environment from the front, but because the sun is in the back, they have to make the front of the actors unnaturally brighter to see them more properly. I have a slight idea on why the kid in red looks especially “photoshopped” in, and it’s mostly because his hoodie doesn’t have a similar reflectiveness to everyone else’s outfit, and his hair is a more neutral color, causing the highlight to be even more washed out. Also, while we’re here, the cube is a physical prop, but it was not lit up during filming, and all the light output was tossed on after. And it’s really inconsistent and honestly, lazy. For the most part they just hit it with a blue blur effect in post, it doesn’t actually cast any light.

Another major issue is the color difference between the actors and the environment. The color balancing on the actors is particularly garbage, they’re somehow desaturated while also being too saturated, I don’t know how they managed that. But the technical issue on why it looks odd, is because the physical camera cannot physically pick up the same vibrancy as the “camera” in the CG world. You might have seen an example of this when trying to take a photo with your phone, especially of a very colorful event like the sunset. It’s also why “ugly sonic” looked particularly out of place, he was 10x more saturated than anything else around him.

Having the actors on a very low effort green screen stage also completely ruins any chance of getting the proper ambient light or ambient occlusion.

Ambient occlusion is basically the bounce light from other objects in your scene, gamers might know this as a form of ray tracing (ray tracing is live changes in ambient occlusion, games without ray tracing bake in ambient occlusion to get a similar result)

When everything is CG, (again art style aside) looks pretty darn good actually!

I attempted some edits to see if anything could make it look better (left is original, right is mine), and I don’t think proper lighting or anything could actually fix what this movie has wrong with it. They should have made the whole thing animated, I don’t think any amount of bullying would fix this, the studio basically has to scrap the actors, and make new CG characters from scratch in the same style as the rest of the world.

All of this is not the fault f the animators, or any of the vfx team, they did their absolute best with what they had, this is 100% the fault of the higher ups on this project. I have no idea how this good this far into production without ANYONE saying that it was a bad idea (Either that, or a lot of people got fired, which is unfortunately a likely possibility)

[hanafubukki]

So Hana; I came across a post talking about unpopular twst opinions and was wondering if you had any.

Hello Violet 🌸💚🌷

I hope it’s okay for me to call you Violet 💚🌷

This is a rather interesting question 🤔 and I had to think on it a bit. I honestly don’t know if some of what I say is unpopular or not, so I guess I’ll express a few of my opinions that I have. ☺️🌺

I guess before I list them I should say that this is my opinion only. I don’t mean to hurt anyone by expressing them nor am I calling out anyone. Literally just my thoughts. You’re allowed to agree or disagree✨✨

Normally, I would assume I wouldn’t have to put a disclaimer such as this because everyone has their own opinions and we should all have an open mind but I’ve seen the internet lol and wowza on how some act to such things lol 🌺🙏

I hate the guest room. Personally, I’m not into that kind of mechanics in gaming. It’s not for me. The fact that we have to do it to level up friendship levels irks me. And it’s a complicated system too which is another annoying aspect. I also kind of blame the guest room function for personal stories being lowered since those have been replaced with furniture. It’s just an extra chore that I’m not really into.

Event wise: I think we have too many octa (+ ortho and ace) in them. My diasomnia bias aside, I don’t think the other characters get enough spotlight. When was the last time Ruggie was in an event? Cater? Riddle? Jack? Kalim? Rook? Deuce? I know octa make them money but still, give the others more spotlight? I don’t count the beach or Halloween event either. Because Halloween, half the cast is in it and beach event was similar. Even New years I don’t count, because eventually, we will get them all in new years outfit. The usually four character events is what I’m speaking of because that’s when you get proper screen time and development for each character. I can literally go on lolol

I don’t know why this would be unpopular but it seems it might be? But I don’t hate RSA. They have a lot of potential story telling wise and their side of things. And I know there’s biasness with NRC and we wanting them to win, but I feel there’s more to RSA than we know. Like how we shouldn’t judge villains, we shouldn’t judge the “heroes” either.

Jp schedule wise I don’t think they are too slow as many believe. I think for the working female class, which the game is aimed at, the scheduling is perfect since it was made for them after all. It gives them time for daily life and twst gaming. Doesn’t mean I don’t get impatient either lolol

On the other spectrum, EN is going too quick. With events and main story. Slow down. What are you trying to accomplish except burn out your fanbase?

I don’t want an anime. We will get one. There’s a high chance and I’ll watch it obviously. But I honestly don’t care for one. The issues that an anime will bring…is a lot.

I don’t think the gameplay is boring. As mentioned before, the game was made for the female working class. So the gameplay is to the point, and depending on the event, can be challenging. But grinding wise and all that? It’s pretty working class friendly. If I didn’t have the auto lessons and battles, I wouldn’t be playing it. It’s because of those mechanics that I am. Thats what stops me from playing many mobile games. The constant forced to play and keep track. Hence part of why I’m not into Hoyoverse games.

I don’t really care for “this place in twst = this place in IRL.” to me, it’s a game in a fantasy world. Is it interesting to see some of the influences? Yes, of course. But that’s it. I’m playing this game for the fantasy setting, the magic, the story, and the characters. I don’t really care to add, realism, I guess you could say? (I’m trying to escape reality okay? Why would I want it in my games?? 🤣🤣)

I wish we had more magic in my magic world. And I think it mainly applies for book 7 for me personally and how “wow, tech is going to beat malleus and save the day” but I kind of wish that isn’t the case. Yes, it makes for fun story telling and memes. But, for a magic based dorm, I want a magic based solution. That and the fact, I don’t care for the implication how magic is slowly being taken over by technology. Kind of hits close to home you know?? With all the AI shenanigans.

I hope two certain popular theories aren’t true and I’ll leave it there. My personally thoughts on them is, I hope it’s not that predictable and I had hoped for a different route for such characters/events.

I’ll stop there before I make a whole essay for you to read lmao 🤣🤣 I have more thoughts that I could share but this is already so long 😆

I don’t know if this was a “unpopular opinion” or more me rambling but I’ll let you decide that Violet 🙏💞☺️

What about you? What are some of your thoughts?

Would love to hear other’s opinions as well ☺️🌺

[noperopesaredope]

Clones Post War AU (An Order 66 Didn't Happen AU)

(I made a sideblog for this)

At the end of the Umbara Arc in Clone Wars, Rex said “We’re clones. If the war is over, what then?” I thought this was interesting, and I love me a good “Order 66 Never Happens AU” where the clones get a happy ending. So this is my take on not just what the clones might do after the war if it didn’t go the way it did, but also a speculative AU focused on what a potential post-war clone culture and society would look like. Might also add a bit of an overarching plot, but this is mainly focused on worldbuilding. Still, I did make an underlying plot, so I’ll share it at some point during the write outs.

It kind of became a bit of a beast and I’ll likely be adding new stuff all the time, so it might explore a lot more than what I initially planned and have a lot more plot/story stuff under the surface.

Part 1 (this post) will be covering the main plot of the AU/set-up the premise.

(This Post is Long, Ya'll)

Set-Up

The Discovery of Retteyo (or New Kamino)

So basically, at a certain point in the war, possibly a year or 2 in, an Acclamator-class assault ship with 15,000 clone troopers, a Jedi Master, their padawan, and 170 regular personnel crashed on a small, remote and unpopulated planet that was rarely visited: Retteyo. The Jedi Master perished in the crash, alongside 2,500 clone troopers and 150 of the regular personnel. This left the padawan, 12,500 clone troopers, and 20 regular personnel completely stranded on an unfamiliar planet. The vast majority of those on board may have survived, but most of the ship (or at least the most important parts) did not. They had no way of communicating with the Republic, no way of calling for help, nothing. It was a somewhat bleak situation with little hope for escape.

Still, they were all determined to survive, and so the padawan and a few of the higher ranking clones held an emergency “meeting” together and decided to prepare for a long term encampment. Retteyo was far from safe, with 17 of the regular personnel and 45 clone troopers all perishing in the first few weeks, but it wasn’t completely uninhabitable. In fact, it was quite habitable, just about as dangerous as some of the less safe locations on Earth. There weren’t a huge amount of dangerous animals or extreme climate/weather, unlike most other planets we see in canon.

Most of those who perished died of either infected wounds that hadn’t gotten treated soon enough, and others died while exploring unfamiliar and more dangerous terrain on foot. The group did not make the same mistakes twice, and eventually began to figure which areas were safe and which weren’t. The battalion managed to organize themselves enough to make plans for what they were going to do, and got to work on making a good liveable environment.

While a lot of the flying vehicles were unusable, many of the ground terrain vehicles still worked well enough, they just needed a bit of fixing up, which happened over the course of about a month or so as they gathered materials from the ship’s remains. This really helped them better navigate and settle on Retteyo, and they made a pretty well functioning camp, all things considered.

After the first year, the leaders of the group realized that this might be a permanent situation that could last years, and they started planning out a permanent settlement. They began taking apart the ship properly, and used both it and some of Retteyo’s natural resources to construct buildings.

A Plot Device

Due to the nature of this AU, I wanted to create a reason that clones would keep getting made even after the end of the war, since I want to make them a proper society and their own species in a way. So, here comes the big, dumb “this is purely for the plot and not important right now” thing. One day, during Year 2 of being on Retteyo, two clone trooper scouts ended up in some unfamiliar territory and discovered a field of strange, giant flowers about the size of a basket.

One of the clones ended up cutting himself on something, and the blood dropped into the center of one of the flowers. It closed, and began to glow, pulsing with energy, before opening up again, and a small baby was inside. It looked exactly like the clone trooper when they were a baby, and they showed it to their fellow trooper, who was shocked and amazed by this. They marked the field down on a map, and went back to base, where they showed everyone the baby and privately explained the situation to their commander.

Fast forward 3 years, and the war is nearing a close. Recently, the Republic has been having a bit of a problem. Well, a few problems. And all of them are centered around the clone troopers.

To explain the biggest problem, let’s talk numbers for a bit (I spent way too long on this).

Mama Mia, That’s a Lot of Clones!

It’s highly debated how many clones were created during the war, as they stated at the start of the war there were about 3 million units. This at first appears to be the amount of clone troopers, but then you realize it said units, not soldiers. We don’t know how big a unit is. Some say that it refers to a single squad, which is 5 soldiers. Others say that a “unit” is equivalent to the size of a company (US military), so about 250 soldiers or so. If it refers to the first option, the war would start with 15 million. If it refers to the second option, it would be 750 million, which is far too much in my opinion, so the first option is more likely. 

3 million is still on the table, since perhaps units could honestly just refer to individual clones, but they did say that 200,000 units were ready when Obi Wan arrived, and that’s not nearly enough for this particular war. So I’m going with 15 million.

We also know that the Senate ends up paying for 5 million more units, which is apparently extremely expensive and could push them into debt (then again, 5 million is a lot more than 3 million when you really think about it). If we go with the idea that a unit is 5 soldiers, then that’s 25 million soldiers.

It’s likely that they have also ordered more clones before, so let’s go on the lower end and say they’ve already ordered about 2 million units in total (1 million to 5 million would be too big of a jump). They probably wouldn’t order that many more clones after the 5 million units, or at least would order very few compared to that.

If we go with the idea that a unit is one soldier, that means that about 10 million clones were made during the course of the war (still feels like too few for me). If we go with the idea that a unit was 5 clones, that is 50 million clones in total, which feels a little big, but considering that the Republic controlled more than 1 million planets, I think that’s actually a pretty reasonable amount. If every planet had an equal number of clone troopers on it to protect it, they would only have about 50 soldiers for the entire goddamn planet. Taking into consideration that there would be plenty of planets that had no clone troopers due to not needing them, and other planets who had thousands of clone troopers, as well as the clones not guarding planets and actually just fighting the war, 50 million is pretty reasonable.

In many wars, less than 1% of soldiers die. One of the deadliest wars killed about 2% of soldiers. However, I will be EXTREMELY generous and say that 3% died in combat since this was such a crazy war and the clones were seen as very expendable. I’ll continue to be generous by saying 3% died of causes outside of combat, like disease or getting eaten by a giant worm, since we tend to see a lot of clones die in really weird/random ways and I feel like a lot of them died that way. This means that 5% of clone troopers died during the war. This isn’t even considering how many clones were still too young to be in combat. I’ll still count all of them as soldiers, which will still prove my point.

5% of 10 million is 500,000, so that would be 500,000 clone casualties (which feels WAY too small despite being on the bigger end of the spectrum) and 9.5 million clone survivors by the end of the war. 5% of 50 million is 2.5 million, so that would be 2.5 million clone casualties (feels about right) and 47.5 million clone survivors by the end of the war. I believe it’s the latter.

That is a fuck ton of people. Like, that is bigger than the population of Argentina. That is almost the population of the world in 1000 BCE. That is 14% of the population of the USA, which might not seem like much, but it’s still a lot. If you replaced 47.5 million people with clones, then 1 in every 168 people on Earth would be a clone. 47.5 million is probably bigger than the population of some planets in the Republic. It’s big.

And in this AU, since the Republic wasn’t exactly sure when the war would end, they ordered 500,000 more units a few months ago, so there are about 2.5 million more clones on the way, making the population of clones 50 million again, almost the size of Sudan and bigger than Spain. Again, a massive population. Also, since this is an AU, I could make it so the war lasted for a lot longer and a lot more clones were made, but I’m still going with the idea of the war lasting for 3 years (unless I want to change that up a little bit).

So now, the Republic has millions of clones who will have basically nowhere to go/nothing to do when the war ends. Some suggested they keep the clones as the official Republic army and spread them out to do stuff for the Republic, but that’s still not the best solution, and the biggest problem is that these mf will grow old at some point and not be able to fight anymore. And since they aren’t even dying in battle anymore (even when they were, it still kept their population pretty big), most of them will grow old. And they still have all these younger clones who might not get to fight in the war at all.

So they basically have a ton of clone troopers who they will have no use or place for unless they figure something out soon before the war ends.

The Whole Clone Thing is Weird

But this isn’t their only issue. I saw a post a while back wondering why nobody in the entire Senate questioned the ethics behind the existence/use of clone troopers and how they are essentially property of the Republic. I thought that was interesting, so I decided to implement that into the AU. While not many questioned the concept of clone troopers early on in the war, overtime, some civilians began raising concerns. 

One civilization (an original creation of mine) whose people were considered non-sentient only a couple of decades ago and used to be enslaved was deeply disturbed by the concept of creating living beings in order to force them to fight, conditioning them into serving the Republic and even altering their DNA to make them loyal.

A few other civilizations (also original creations) who are hiveminds (based on bees and ants and whatnot) ended up fighting alongside some clones, and quickly realized that they were individuals who saw each other as family and shared a deep connection with their fellow clones as a whole. Many of the bee and ant people saw themselves in the clones, and became almost offended at the way clones were talked about and treated as mindless robots just because they had the same DNA and looked the same.

There were also at least 2 civilizations who were disturbed on principle and disliked the use of clones not for personal reasons, but for general philosophical reasons and the basic fact that they think slavery is weird and gross, especially this kind.

These civilizations all ended up having multiple meetings together discussing the issue and their reservations, with a few even somewhat wanting to back out of the Republic out of disgust with the Republic’s actions and okay-ness with this. This was an underlying point of contention that could get extremely problematic soon.

Overtime, a movement around the rights of clone troopers began to pop up, and while it wasn't a huge problem for the Republic, it was becoming one, and they wouldn't be able to ignore it forever.

Clones Are Dissatisfied

On a related note, some clones have begun questioning their place in the Republic, especially after many heard about the Umbara incident. While it wasn't a conversation that was had out loud, some clones were becoming concerned and secretly wanted more autonomy. They weren't questioning their loyalty to the Republic by any means. Almost all of them, including the ones who were dissatisfied with things, were willing to fight and die for the Republic. They simply felt that perhaps they would like to be treated like people whose lives matter.

After all, while they were protected by most of the same laws as other sentient beings, they were still the legal property of the Republic. It’s also hard to say if they really had a choice to leave. While one might point to the episode The Deserter as proof they couldn’t leave, Rex did say that they took an oath, and real world militaries do hold similar standards once you’ve joined. However, it’s unclear whether this oath was truly voluntary, or just out of formality. 

Did any of the clones truly volunteer to join, or were they signed up at birth? While it would be extremely unlikely due to their programming, if a clone was in training and wanted to leave, could he? When is this oath taken? They start training from childhood, after all. They likely took it then, because when else would they? Can you really hold an oath like that against someone when they were essentially manipulated into taking it as a young child who probably didn’t know any better?

While the clone troopers appear to be held to the same standards as US military members, which isn’t quite as big of an issue, they are still property, and are essentially enslaved. They aren’t even paid for their work, merely provided for, and being given basic essentials is literally the bare minimum. We basically all know just how messed up the treatment of clone troopers is, and the clones agree. This is a problem for the Republic.

So, as a whole, the Republic is having some clone problems.

Retteyo Becomes a Thing

Around this point, a fleet of Republic ships end up going to Retteyo, and there, they discover the blossoming civilization of (mostly) clones. They are all shocked, the fleet admiral quickly contacts the important Republic people, explaining the situation. At first, this doesn't seem great. But the Senate realizes that this could solve their issues regarding the remaining clones. So they decide to let the formerly-stranded group remain there and prepare the planet for a bigger colonization. While the main focus right now is the war, they shall be making plans to turn the planet into a new home for the clones once the war ends.

Eventually, as the war comes to a close, the Senate announces the new plan with Retteyo to the whole Republic. It’s a bit controversial, but I’ll get into all that in another post. Because the Jedi were once peacekeepers/ambassadors and they worked closely with the clones, they were designated to help with this operation. They would help this new society develop/prepare it for the arrival of new clones while also helping all the rest of the clones transition to this new planet. 

Due to pressure from the clone rights planets, the Senate eventually decided to give the clones rights and declared them no longer property of the Republic. Now, they were free sentients and citizens of the Republic.

At a certain point in the process, as many of the clones arrived on Retteyo and settled in, certain discussions were had amongst the clones as a whole, and the major clones in charge created a proposal: Retteyo becoming a sovereign nation. This was a bit controversial, but after a lot of tense discussion and complications and political BS, the Republic Senate agreed.

It would be a pretty big process and the Retteyans would need to start actually forming a government and their own society. It was a pretty big task in the grand scheme, but the clones eventually became more self-sufficient at creating their society. They did need help with creating new buildings and having everyone settle in, but the clones didn't actually need much help with developing things like systems of government and bureaucracy. Not every clone was good at that stuff, but some clones managed to put something together everyone could agree on.

Overtime, this society flourished, gaining its own spot in the Senate after a few years and becoming a fully recognized society.

As younger generations of clones grew older (basically while some of this stuff was going on), they began to realize that one day, all the clones might die out, especially since Kamino kind of cut them off and Retteyo probably could afford it anyway. The idea of losing their entire civilization was horrifying, and the whole Prox Flower was revealed. While it wasn't the same as Kaminoan cloning stuff, it would be able to keep their population afloat. So a massive program/government branch was started to continue populating Retteyo and keeping their culture/civilization alive.

Underlying Plot

While this AU mainly focuses on just describing the evolving culture of the clones and their new planet, I think there is definitely an underlying plot within it that I mention in subtle ways. I may even use OCs to tell more about this plot as a whole, especially in case I want to make a fanfic for it all. It’s hard to leave out this plotline, so I decided to write it out as part of all this.

One of the major underlying conflicts in this AU is the generational gap between clones. In a way, there are sub-generations, but there are 3 primary generations covered in this AU. 

Gen Vet

Gen 1, also known as the “Gen Vet”, is the generation of clones who were actually able to fight in the war and see the conflict, or were at least old enough to do so. This generation is split into two primary parts: The oldest gen, who were made and trained before the war even began, and the younger gen, who received training from the Jedi and thus have a slightly different perspective on personhood. It’s like that post where

Gen Trainee

Gen 2, also known as “Gen Trainee”, is the generation of clones born on Kamino who never got the chance to participate in the war. There’s also a slight split in the generation as a whole. 3 splits, in fact. For example, the older Gen 2 are slightly more likely to side with Gen 1 and relate to younger Gen 1, since they were almost a part of Gen 1. 

The middle Gen 2 are more rebellious and have unique opinions on the whole situation, and while they grew up with Kamino training and were raised under that type of environment, they are able to stray from the mindset more and have opinions slightly similar to that of Fives, where they hold certain loyalties and a militant mindset, but also believe in standing up for themselves and being their own people. 

The youngest Gen 2 are those who were toddlers/babies when the war ended and don’t remember much of anything about Kamino or have that particular militant mindset, but are aware that they were the last clones created by Kamino, and thus have a small superiority complex over Gen 3. Most of Gen 3 does not care, though.

Gen 2 is probably the most diverse and unique of the 3 primary generations, having a variety of different perspectives on things, but many are more progressive.

Gen Rebirth

Gen 3, aka “Gen Rebirth”, is the generation of clones born on Retteyo. Some are technically the same age as the youngest clones of Gen 2, but are considered different as a generation. They are the older of Gen 3. The younger of Gen 3 are all born after Retteyo becomes independent.

Gen 3 is the most distant from the war era of the Retteyans, and thus may not have the same values and beliefs as them, but various values have been passed down nonetheless.

~~~~~

I may add more details on the plot later, particularly the underlying plot, but that's all I have for now. Next post will be out some point soon!