#section 144 in up

[ladysophiebeckett]

a pair of wide calf boots cost as much as (1) coldplay ticket. and for some reason (1) coldplay ticket costs more than the (2) nosebleed beyonce tickets. do u think that's fair? do u think that's just?

[athena-gunpla]

HG 1/144 Earth Free Army Captured Demi Trainer (GBWC project)

Another Demi Trainer?? This weekend, a bunch of Sydney university-based anime clubs were sponsored by a local hobby shop for a collaborative build to generate submissions for the Gunpla World Builder's Cup.

With the event only lasting 4 hours, I needed a kit I was already familiar with to customize and kitbash, and so I went with another HG Demi Trainer. The HG Demi Barding I built a few months ago came with a lot of extra sprue parts for both Chuchu's custom Demi Trainer as well as the base model. I've previously build both of these kits, and given that all three have the same basic structure I felt very confident I could spend extra time on customisation and painting instead.

I used the shoulder shield, kneepads, blade antenna, and base Demi Trainer head spares from the Demi Garrison in the deep blue/grey, and clipped these onto the base kit. I also used the Bandai HD Sight Lens Green and the 30MM/MS Customize Material - Pipe Parts to add some extra detail. I was able to use an extra large gun that was also included in the Demi Garrison kit.

This was my first time weathering a gunpla kit using rust-effects. I was lucky to get Tamiya Weathering effects kit D, which includes a metallic blue for heat blueing as well as a really good brown for oil and rust stains. I also sponged on some rust orange and brown to give the kit a nice used look. I also added some graffiti and other custom markings to make the suit look more unique.

My made-up backstory for this kit is that it's a Demi Trainer captured by freedom fighters on Earth to fight against the corporations. I chose a vibrant bright blue to contrast with the deep blue from the Demi Garrison parts, which makes the kit somewhat resemble Nika Nanaura's hair.

Overall I had a lot of fun customising this kit, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs in the Australian section of the GWBC.

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Volume 29 Covers and Illustrations

Outer covers

Inner covers

Inner material

All translations in this section courtesy of u/Diego-Aguilar35

Translations:

Author page: "I'm currently undergoing special training to get used to working on several works in parallel."

Disclaimer page

Volume title: Rejuvenated Offence

Synopsis: The leader of the Monster Association, Gyoro Gyoro, is revealed to be a female psychic named Psykos. Psykos fuses with Monster King Orochi and gains even more power, gaining the upper hand on Tatsumaki... At that time, Drive Knight and Genos join the battle and support Tatsumaki. Seeing this, the other S-class heroes became inspired and began to fight in a coordinated manner for the first time to make up for their inferiority. Meanwhile, Saitama and Flash discover a huge dark space in the underground labyrinth...

Index: Ch. 144: Abyss Ch. 145: Stones and Diamonds Ch. 146: Rejuvenated Offence Ch. 147: How to Behave. Ch. 148: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity. Ch. 149: Silver Fang. Ch. 150: The Black Shine

Bonus images

[3rddimension]

fun question: do you have a favorite part in the shourtney stream compilation? if so, which one? personally i love part 18 and part 25 <3

Here's my quick fav list! (In no particular order tho)

Part 5: Halloween Karaoke. This is around super early relationship and they're being soft as hell when Court ask Shayne when they want to sit on the sofa together but there's a baby doll hanging around them. Also the general vibe of that stream is super fun and they're cheering each other on their turn to sing.

Part 18: Donner Dinner Party. The origami saga start around this time and they're teasing each other in the level that we've never seen before.

Part 24: Star Wars Day. It's basically double date live stream. LMFAO

Part 26: SSSS Revival. Probably one of the first big clue pop up around this time. The morning breakfast talk and the way both of them caring for each other the whole stream. Espcially around the end when Shayne bracelet is not working and Court with pouty face went to him with the replacement one. It's super cute.

Part 31: Stan vs Internet Summer Fun Edition & Wii Bowling Night 2. The start of broken ankle saga. Court basically admit that she can't go to the gym (because she need to taking care of Shayne) also the boba slip up. She's also trying to get attention from him the whole time on both stream.

Part 33: Ring Fit one. The instant iconic & classic smoothie incident. Enough said tbh.

Part 36: The whole video especially God Hates Charades part. This is after they went back from visiting Shayne's family in Colorado. So you get a big slip up when they were playing charade and Court let out that it's remind of Shayne's dad with a significant details about his dad history.

Part 41: That soft voice to tell Court to put goggles on is basically why this one is on the list. The best moment out of all imo.

Part 42: What are Those Gamer Gear. I loveddddd the part when Shayne accident hit her face. lmfao

[paganimagevault]

Female Europid Mummy from the Necropolis of Subexi III, Grave M6, Turfan District, Xinjiang. 5th-3rd C. BCE. Source: Baumer, Christoph.The history of Central Asia. Vol.1. The age of the steppe warriors. London : I.B. Tauris, 2012. pg. 218 left DS329.4 .B38 2012. Image via University of Pennsylvania. See maps in the post before this one for a better understanding of the geography discussed.

"Section 26 – The Kingdom of Nearer [i.e. Southern] Jushi 車師前 (Turfan)

1. ‘Nearer Jushi’ 車師前 refers to the kingdom or state centered in the Turfan oasis or, sometimes, to the tribe which controlled it. There can be no question that Nearer Jushi refers here to the Turfan Oasis. See for example: CICA, p. 183, n. 618; also note 1.5 above. For the etymology of the name Turfan see Bailey (1985), pp. 99-100, which is summed up in his sentence: “The name turpana- is then from *druva-pāna- ‘having safe protection’, a name suitable for a walled place.”

“One other oasis town is currently under excavation. At Yarghul (Jiaohe), 10 km (16 miles) [sic – this should read 10 miles (16 km)] west of Turpan, archaeologists have been excavating remains of the old Jushi capital, a long (1,700 m (5,580 ft)) but narrow (200 m (656 ft)) town between two rivers. From the Han period they uncovered vast collective shaft tombs (one was nearly 10 m (33 ft) deep). The bodies had apparently already been removed from these tombs but accompanying them were other pits containing form one to four horse sacrifices, with tens of horses for each of the larger burials.” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 165 and 167.

“Some 300 km (186 miles) to the west of Qumul [Hami] lie [mummy] sites in the vicinity of the Turpan oasis that have been assigned to the Ayding Lake (Aidinghu) culture. The lake itself occupies the lowest point in the Turpan region (at 156 m (512 ft) below sea level it is the lowest spot on earth after the Dead Sea). According to accounts of the historical period, this was later the territory of the Gushi, a people who ‘lived in tents, followed the grasses and waters, and had considerable knowledge of agriculture. They owned cattle, horses, camels, sheep and goats. They were proficient with bows and arrows.’ They were also noted for harassing travellers moving northwards along the Silk Road from Krorän, and the territories of the Gushi and the kingdom of Krorän were linked in the account of Zhang Qian, presumably because both were under the control of the Xiongnu. In the years around 60 BC, Gushi fell to the Chinese and was subsequently known as Jushi (a different transcription of the same name).” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 143-144.

“History records that in 108 BC Turpan was inhabited by farmers and traders of Indo-European stock who spoke a language belonging to the Tokharian group, an extinct Indo-Persian language [actually more closely related to Celtic languages]. Whoever occupied the oasis commanded the northern trade route and the rich caravans that passed through annually. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) control over the route see-sawed between Xiongnu and Han. Until the fifth century, the capital of this kingdom was Jiaohe.” Bonavia (1988), p. 131.

“Turpan is principally an agricultural oasis, famed for its grape products – seedless white raisins (which are exported internationally) and wines (mostly sweet). It is some 80 metres (260 feet) below sea level, and nearby Aiding Lake, at 154 metres (505 feet) below sea level, is the lowest continental point in the world.” Ibid. p. 137.

“The toponym Turfan is also a variation of Tuharan. Along the routes of Eurasia there are many other place names recorded in various Chinese forms that are actually variations of Tuharan.” Liu (2001), p. 268."

-Notes to The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Second Edition (Extensively Revised and Expanded). John E. Hill. University of Washington.

[cursedvibes]

My JJK Arc Ranking

Culling Game (ch 159-221) + Baka Survivor (ch 239-243)

Perfect Preparation (ch 144-158)

Itadori's Extermination (ch 137-143)

Death Painting (ch 55-64)

Shibuya Incident (ch 79-136)

Vs Mahito (ch 19-31)

Fearsome Womb (ch 1-18)

Hidden Inventory (ch 65-79)

Shinjuku Showdown (ch 222-262+)

Kyoto Goodwill Event (ch 32-54)

Cursed Child (Vol 0)

Note that this is my personal ranking of which arcs I like the most and least, not any objective statement. Like for example, I think Hidden Inventory is well-written, but it doesn't interest me much, that's why it's further towards the bottom.

With the manga drawing to a close, I thought I'd write down my thoughts about what we've gotten so far and what I like or don't like in the different arcs.

Culling Game

Starting at #1 with the Culling Game Arc. It's where my interest in the story really picked up and I got invested to the point of bothering to write analyses, dig into the lore and historical background and even start writing fanfiction. Culling Game is the meat of the story, where we got introduced to new important lore of characters, further explored their themes and connected dots that had been set up before. It is sort of a lul after the big climax of the Shibuya Incident, but I think that's also what was needed here, since this is more of a section where Gege takes time to explore concepts and characters further. Shibuya is a big payoff for the first part of the story and Culling Game builds on that, it establishes a level ground for the last part of the story. Characters like Yuuji and Maki for example found themselves fundamentally changed after Shibuya and used this time to find their footing again and try to create a new way for themselves to move forward. In Yuuji's case he had to do it twice even with the massive turn of not being Sukuna's vessel anymore aka having his role, purpose and ideal death taken from him. He catches himself relatively quickly though.

Also this arc just had a lot of moments I really like, actually most of my favourite moments in jjk happen here. Like Kenjaku calling Yuuji their son, Yuuji's fight against Higuruma, Maki's awakening, Noritoshi reconciling with his mother having a new family, Kenjaku & Uraume rolling up to the White House, the Yuki vs Kenjaku fight, the Heian trio spa day, Yorozu's backstory, Kenjaku and Tengen getting Sukuna's mummy and much more. The fights were for the most part also great. You always took something new away and I liked how we were slowly spoon-fed information about the Culling Game and Kenjaku's plans. Almost every chapter had something to pick apart and even with the cycle through the colonies there was always tension because you didn't know what this would all lead to. Even when the protagonists were doing well, things could change at the drop of a dime. There was a false sense of security. The main group got a little bit of control only to have it ripped away when they least expected it.

Baka Survivor

I put the Baka Survivor arc up here as well because while it might technically be during the Shinjuku Showdown, I thought it was so far removed from the fight against Sukuna that it's reasonable to see it as its own mini-arc. Plus, I think this section is a lot better than the majority of the Shinjuku Showdown. It's like Gege took some time to play around and write what was fun to them, the stuff they actually want to write. The end was a bit...meh. Mainly because of the context of this fight and Kenjaku's larger role in the story, especially what Kenjaku's death this early would mean (or not mean...) for Yuuji. Yuuta's integration here was also very weak because while he might have reasons to go after Kenjaku that were a little bit explored (although I think you could've done way more with it than just "wants to do it for Gojo" after all a big theme of this fight was connecting with other people and building friendships/partnerships, which is something closely related to Yuuta's character), he was absolutely irrelevant from Kenjaku's perspective. You could've put anyone in his place and it wouldn't have changed anything from Kenjaku's point of view. Well, maybe if you put Yuuji there, but Gege was clearly not interested in exploring their relationship like that....

Anyway, I have raved about this arc a lot on my blog already, but in summary I absolutely love how we explore both Kenjaku and Takaba further, compare them and their understanding of comedy/curiosity and how both of them struggle to open up to others, show their real self and make themselves vulnerable. I especially think that this was actually thematically a very nice end for Kenjaku. They indulge in what they really want, have fun without the need of excessive cruelty (although there was violence from both of them) and they allowed themselves to connect with someone else again and make a friend. Chasing after their superficial goals of merging humanity they lost their closest friend, Tengen, were thrown into doubt and Takaba both offered himself as an alternative and pulled them further away from their insane ideas. Best thing about it is that Kenjaku went for it! They got caught up in the comedy with Takaba, they paid the price for allowing themselves such a close relationship with someone else and lowering their guard, and they still didn't regret it. In fact they were glad they spend their time before their death with Takaba and finally having fun. Of course the merger plan continues, they can't just let Tengen die with them or fall into the protagonists hands and it is too late for Tengen to change back anyway, but I absolutely love Kenjaku's character development here. Just remains to be seen how Takaba will leave this fight and how he will react to having once again lost a partner.

Perfect Preparation

Really like this arc for all the new lore we get as well as emotional chapters like the Zenin massacre and Yaga's death. The introduction of Hakari and Kirara was fun too, but the highlight for me is definitely the meeting with Tengen and Maki's massacre. Ch 145 and 146 might be in the top 5 of the chapters I have reread most often. You always find something new there and there's so much about the relationship between Tengen, the Star Plasma Vessels and the six eyes to take apart, particularly with later reveals like Yuki also being a Star Plasma Vessel. Those two chapters were also what first really got me more interested in Kenjaku and their history with Tengen. It's when it becomes apparent just how much Kenjaku has planned and arranged over the past millennium and it also raises even more questions of why Tengen never mentioned them before and how Kenjaku could stay undercover for so long.

Then we of course also have the Zenin massacre. I like how it starts with giving us some clan politics. I love that shit. Wish we got something similar for the Kamo and Gojo, but oh well. Maki's meeting with her mother when she goes for the weapon storage is already pretty chilling, but it's even better when you see her mother go from "why can't you make me proud of you for once?" to "I'm glad I gave birth to you". Shows how much she suffered under the Zenin as well, despite playing by their rules. Too bad she only came to the conclusion to treat her kids decently when it was already too late. Maki also only found out her mother did care about her and was the one to finish off Naoya when she was already dead. Just like her reunion and clearing conversation with Mai, it all happens just a little too late and that's what makes it so wonderfully tragic.

Also shout-out to Yaga's death scene. I've come to appreciate it much more recently and I particularly like seeing him together with all the other autonomous cursed corpses he keeps hidden away and the hints of the friendship he has with Kusakabe.

Itadori's Extermination

Honestly, I mostly like this arc for its atmosphere. It's one of the instances where you feel the most just how much destruction, chaos and desolation Shibuya and the start of the Culling Game caused. The main characters roaming the streets all split up and sleeping by campfires, the broken buildings and civilians hunting for scraps of food, curses praying on desperate humans...it's great. Wish we got more of that later on, but I only really got a similar feeling when the foreign armies attacked.

And of course we get the fateful Itadori flashback here. I don't know how many hours I spend looking at those two pages and taking the dialogue apart. Just two pages and I've become utterly obsessed by this weird family. Also the first time we see Kenjaku in a vessel that is not Geto, so that's extra nice.

I remember also really liking Yuuta's reintroduction when the chapters first came out. He looked so much worse than in Vol 0, so that was really intriguing. Bit disappointed there wasn't more conflict and it turned out he looks like shit because...well, that's just his look now. Still good arc.

Death Painting

I like this one because it's where Yuuji, Nobara and Megumi feel most like a team going on a mission and solving a mystery. Especially the opening of it, with weird paranormal events that remind you of classic Japanese horror stories is really nice and always manages to draw me in. Kinda wish there were more missions like that just for the sake of atmosphere, even though I don't think the story necessarily needs it. Seeing Mahito and Kenjaku capture a civilian man, strip him, nail him to a wall and then feed him a cursed fetus was also insane. Never get tired of watching/reading that no matter if it's the manga or anime. Vol 7 was the first jjk volume I ever bought and I remember how striking it was to open the book and start with that scene. Gave me chills.

I also love the entire fight with Eso and Kechizu. One because I just like their characters and getting introduced to the background of the Death Painting's existence was interesting, but I also really enjoyed Yuuji and Nobara's dynamic here and their talk about what it means to kill.

Shibuya Incident

Really good arc and what made me more interest in how jjk would continue when I first read the manga, but rereading it there are definitely some fights and scenes that really drag for me and I end up skipping whenever I read it again or when I watched S2. Like all the curse users working for Kenjaku that ended up being entirely irrelevant. The backstory of Ogami and the guy with the big eyes was nice because it gave us an insight into what the life of regular curse users (not big hitters like Geto or Kenjaku) is actually like and how society changed when Gojo was born. That's some world building I very much appreciate. Aside from that all the curse users are very forgettable though. There's a reason I only remember Ogami's name and none of the others'. Some other stuff also just comes down to character preferences like I'm not that interested in what Nanami or Ino were up to and Toji was also...eh. Nice, but I'm not losing my mind over it. Nanami's death scene is great though. I mostly love Shibuya for its later stages. Yuuji's fight against Mahito, how seeing his friends and civilians die through his inaction makes him breakdown, how his world view changes over the course of fighting Mahito and their scene at the end when the roles of predator and prey are reversed. Kenjaku's entrance and explanation of their plan and what was to come is also very interesting and probably the part I reread most in this arc.

Vs Mahito

I gotta say I do really like Junpei's story and his developing friendship with Yuuji. Yuuji's first few encounters with Mahito are great as well. It's nice seeing them get to know each other and seeing the inciting incidents that cause both of them to gradually get more and more obsessed with killing the other. I also really appreciate this arc for giving us some of those slower scenes that are just focused on Mahito, the curse family or Mahito & Junpei talking philosophy. Mahito is a quite fascinating character even in his simplistic cruelty and here you can also see the most just how horrific, but also intriguing, Idle Transfiguration is. This arc has one of the best horror in jjk and I appreciate the anime for emphasizing the comparisons to the Human Centipede movies and human experimentation even further. It's really close between this and Shibuya Incident. I just ended up putting Shibuya higher because when it hits, it hits hard and I still like the high points it has more than the Vs Mahito arc. Still appreciate the groundwork this arc laid for Shibuya to be as impactful as it was.

Hidden Inventory

Like I said in the beginning, I do think this arc is well-written and I think it's a great way to flesh out Gojo and Geto's characters as well as give us more world building and establish the background presence of Tengen and the connection of the Star Plasma Vessel and six eyes to her. I'm also convinced that what we learn here about the Time Vessel Association and the cults that build around Tengen will become relevant again when we get to the Heian flashback and Sukuna's/Tengen's/Kenjaku's backstory. Still have that "Kenjaku created the Time Vessel Association in the Nara period" theory in the back of my mind. This lore is also the main thing I like about this arc. Don't get me wrong, Gojo and Geto's struggles and change in mindset is nice too, but I don't care much about Gojo and don't like Geto, so I ended up focusing more on everything around them. Including Riko. I find her story, the way she grew up and her inevitable death very interesting. Episode 3 of season 2 is still my favourite episode of the season of maybe even the entire anime because it's just that beautiful and I love how they added to the themes of her character by connecting her to the ocean. The inside of the Tomb of Stars is also so eery and entrancing, I could soak in that atmosphere forever. The only reason it's so low is because a lot of this arc is dedicated to Gojo and Geto and their relationship etc. While that is absolutely necessary and was very well done, it's not something I'm much interested in.

Fearsome Womb

Start of the series. It's really those first few chapters and the mission at the detention centre I like about it. It's where you see Yuuji still quite naive and ready to play the hero. I am very interested in his life before joining Jujutsu Tech and when he first got introduced to jujutsu, so this is always nice to revisit and see how he acted before he was forced to become a seasoned sorcerer very quickly. Those glimpses of how Yuuji was always a bit of a loner and also extraordinary from the start due to Kenjaku's meddling. Knowing his family background makes these scenes now even more interesting. His mentality back then is also what makes the moment in the detention centre so special, where he realizes Sukuna isn't Kurama and won't be a convenient power source for him. He could die if he is careless (which he is, of course, he never dealt with anything like this before) and he is scared of it.

Besides that, I also like the introduction of Kenjaku and the curses, how chill it is and how you see them walking among regular citizens undetected by anyone. I think that's especially a fitting introduction to Kenjaku's character. They are unassuming in the beginning of the series, easy to overlook next to flashy Mahito and Jogo, but that's how they have always been throughout history and it's part of the reason for why they never drew much attention besides the Death Painting experiment, which wasn't directly linked to them. Of course Tengen covering for them was the other big reason.

Overall, nice start into the series, even if some parts are a bit slow and don't animate me much to reread them.

Shinjuku Showdown

Shinjuku Showdown fights on a reread do merge well into each other, but it's undeniable that they are very formulaic. Yuuta starts out the same way Higuruma does. Talking about regrets, giving his all, how he has to end everything with a technique only he can use and then he gets cut down. Same with Maki, Kusakabe, Miguel and Larue. It is all the same. We are currently literally watching a slight reshuffle of the fight that started this arc.

Parallel we learn more about Yuuji's new abilities and Sukuna has to gradually exert more force. Technically a good thing, but it's all so repetitive that it loses more and more of it's emotional impact for me. If there is any emotional impact at all. Eventually it just becomes explaining of cursed technique after cursed technique that won't work anyway with minimal depth otherwise. Things get a bit better when most people have been cut away and we start focusing on Yuuji and Sukuna, but by that point I'm already so tired by everything that came before that I can't get that hyped about it and just want a complete change of pace that breaks all rules that have been set up and introduces something completely new. Like the merger for example... Although I have to say, Kashimo's fight might be my favourite still out of the bunch. Has a lot to do with my particular interest and what I'm looking for in a fight. It was short, but we got a nice wrap-up for Kashimo's character, learned more about the Heian era, explored the theme of love and strength and got what is so far one of the deepest looks at Sukuna's philosophy and mindset.

Besides that, on the reread, by the time Kusakabe's fight happens I'm catching myself only skimming the pages. It doesn't help that there's not much initiative happening from Sukuna's side besides the very recent chapters. He's just waiting for others to do something, which lowers the perception of any imminent threat from him. The later half (before Yuuta showed up again) isn't as bad as the Gojo vs Sukuna fight, but I'm still having a hard time staying invested while reading it. Gojo vs Sukuna 2.0 pretty much tanked my interest again. Every week I'm shaking Sukuna to just spit out his backstory already and release Tengen because that's the only thing I care about at this point and I'm bored of this fight. But again, my opinion, others likely feel otherwise.

Kyoto Goodwill Event

Was a bit tempted to put it above Shinjuku Showdown, but at the end of it Shinjuku Showdown still has some scenes I really like, like Kashimo's fight, Yuuji fighting Sukuna and the Sukuna, Uraume and Kenjaku scenes in ch 222. That's more than what I could say for Kyoto Goodwill Event. I don't necessarily dislike it. It doesn't really have any moments that bother me as much as the ones in Shinjuku Showdown, but at the same time nothing in this arc really stands out to me or catches my interest. Often I end up forgetting about it entirely. There's not really much to say about it because I don't have any strong feelings about this one. Not really something I reread unless I'm looking for some very specific information.

Cursed Child

When I first read Vol 0 (right before the Death Painting arc) I thought it was a concept story for jjk. The infant stage of it before Gege made the proper story. Sort of like the original chapter of Naruto where he's actually a fox spirit. Interesting to read to see where jjk started, but not tied to canon. That's also why I didn't question Geto acting very different here. I just though "wow, they made his character way less aggravating". So yeah, Vol 0 is really not something I find interesting or enjoy and I think the writing in it is quite rough. I didn't find Yuuta very compelling. He's an obvious Shinji rip-off, which wouldn't be that bad in itself except I don't find his personality that interesting and him pulling powers out of his ass without any of them being set up prior made me really dislike him. He can just copy techniques now and use them much better than the original person because he's just that overpowered. Who knows how he learned about any of this, who knows what the limitations to any of his powers are, he can apparently just do anything and that makes his fights not very thrilling because there aren't really any stakes. He also has barely any connection to the villain of this arc except that he happens to kill people Yuuta cares about. Geto's ideology is entirely irrelevant. Geto could've said he's killing people because he wants to turn them into Christmas decoration and the fight would've happened the same way. I think putting an ideologically-driven villain against someone whose only care is that his friends are alive and who has also not even the experience to judge if anything Geto says is justified wasn't a very good move. Centring Gojo and Geto's conflict would've been better and also showing us literally anything that would make it possible for us to judge if any of Geto's complaints are justified, if he's talking about real problems. Just going by Vol 0, we don't know that. We can only tell that the bullshit he spouts is an allegory for white supremacy/racism, which obviously is bad. But on it's own it seems like he's just spouting bigotry for bigotry's sake, which doesn't make for a very compelling villain, especially if the rest of the characters and setting don't fit his attitude. Nobody can ever even bring themselves to say something like "genocide bad, eugenics bad". They just don't engage with what he's saying and if that's the case, then why bring it up in the first case. It makes Geto's antics even more unnecessary. On its own it's really not that good of a story and since it's a oneshot with initially no guaranteed sequel, I would expect a bit more.

All that being said, the first time I read Vol 0 I was very annoyed and glad I followed it up with the Death Painting arc, something which is much better written and more up my alley. If Vol 0 was my first exposure to jjk, I don't think I would've continued reading. Having more context from Hidden Inventory fleshes at least out what Gojo and Geto have going on, but my complaints about Yuuta and his lack of meaningful relation to Geto and what he stands for still makes me dislike this arc.

[wutheringmights]

please please please explain how the bullshit military death cult in Fourth Wing is unsustainable. I need more Iron Flame slander in my life lol

I may have chosen the wrong phrasing last night. It’s less about the sustainability of the magical dragon country’s military college, and more about how much Yarros’s tendency to use specific numbers riles me up. Very specifically, a graphic at the beginning of Iron Flame. 

(Note: I only got a little bit over 200 pages into Iron Flame before I had to return it to the library; if there is an universe rebuttal to any of this, I may not have reached it yet; I also do not have the book in front of my to double check specific numbers, but luckily Yarros’s Specific Numbers have rustled my jimmies so much that I have been spamming my group chats about them so I inevitably wrote them all down.)

The graphic in question is this:

It illustrates the structure of the titular Fourth Wing. As you can see, it is made out of 3 sections that are then divided into 3 squads. You will notice two important notes on this graphic:

Each squad contains 15-20 people

Each of the four wings that make up the dragon rider cadets in the military academy has the same layout

With this information, I should be able to more or less calculate the number of dragon riders attending the military academy. 

In theory, the fourth wing has 8 people in leadership positions, and 136 to 180 squad members. That’s a total of 144 to 188 people in the fourth wing. 

If the fourth wing is identical to the other three wings, that means that there are anywhere from 576 to 752 dragon rider cadets across three grade levels. That’s already a pretty small number, but this is an exclusive military program. It’s not an unreasonable.

Except it’s actually impossible for there to be 576 to 752 dragon rider cadets. Why do I know that? Because Yarros already gave us a Specific Number.

Let’s rewind. In Fourth Wing, it’s established that you cannot advance beyond your first year unless you bond with a dragon. If you do not bond with a dragon, you repeat the year until you either bond or die trying. There are also only a select few dragons who are willing to bond each year. 

Yarros, of course, told us specifically how many dragons were willing to bond not only for that current freshman class, but for the two years previous:

1st year: 100 dragons*

2nd year: 137 dragons

3rd year: 163 dragons

(*actually, it was 101 but two dragons, in a super special unprecedented move, bonded with the same person; I’m trying to count the cadets, not the dragons so this really does not matter)

That means that there are around 400 dragon rider cadets, which is way less than what the info graphic implied. You can argue that the missing 176 cadets are those who did not bond with any dragons, but I highly doubt they would make much of a difference. Why? Because dragon rider cadets keep dying. 

I kept track of how many people were dying in Fourth Wing. By the end of that book, there were less than 80 bonded cadets still alive. Yarros then contradicted herself in Iron Flame by stating that there were 89 cadets in the second year. This isn’t because a bunch of cadets suddenly bonded with dragons and advanced a year; that only happens in a one a year ceremony. Yarros is just bad with numbers, which shows how silly I am for going to this much trouble trying to prove her wrong.

All that’s to say that I’ll split the difference and say that 85 cadets were still alive at the end of the first year. That means that there is a 15% death rate between bonding with a dragon and getting to the end of the first year. 

That means that by the time each class ended their first year, this about how many dragon rider cadets there should be:

1st year 85 cadets

2nd year: 117 cadets

3rd year: 139 cadets

That’s 341 people across all four wings. That means each wing has about 85 people. 

But wait! People die beyond their first year. There’s an ever decreasing number of cadets each year. If we assume that 15% death rate is consistent each year, that means that by graduation day, each year has: 

1st year: 85 cadets

2nd year: 100 cadets

3rd year: 102 cadets

That’s 287 cadets across all four wings, or 71 people a wing. I need not remind you how that is far below our predicted 144 to 188 per a wing. 

And I haven’t even mentioned that not every dragon available to bond even bonds. So those starting numbers are already the best case scenario where every possible dragon selects a cadet. Our actual class numbers are probably 10 to 20 people smaller, and that’s before the numerous deaths. 

When I started Fourth Wing, I inferred that the incoming freshman class started with about 700 people. (Each of the freshman dorm floors hold 156 people; there are at least three but it makes more sense for there to be a floor for each wing. Sixty-seven freshman died on the parapets. That’s a total of 691 freshmen, which I rounded up to 700.) 

Xaden (terrible name) has a speech where he claims that 1/2 of the incoming class will die by the end of the first year, 1/3 by the second, and 1/3 by the third. He’s probably just trying to scare the newbies, but let’s take him at his word anyway. 

According to his estimation, by the time the freshman class graduation, 172 people should still be alive. That’s a 21% survival rate, according to Xaden. That is somehow less severe than what is actually happening in the books.

There's never a point in time in the story where we acknowledge that the class sizes are this small. Everyone is dying, and there always seems to be more nameless faces than not. Yet, as all evidence suggests, there's not even enough people in the entire dragon rider curriculum to fill up a movie theater.

Ultimately, the numbers don’t really matter. What matters is that this fantasy military system is wildly inefficient. I understand on a trope-level why it has to be deadly. New Adult, the gangly older sister of YA, loves a good deadly game of wits and wile. Yarros was commissioned to write a romantasy story, and by god she was going to write the most marketable one possible. But you would also assume that Rebecca “second generation army brat who loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to her for over twenty years” would have a better understanding of how the military works. 

On the most basic of levels, you win a war by having the most people still alive at the end. Everyone knows this. It’s not that hard. It’s in the best interest of the brass to keep your soldiers alive. When that best interest gets screwed over, it’s usually because of economic issues (like being able to afford the supplies needed to keep your troops alive), or prejudice (soldiers from persecuted demographics being less worthy of better food/ammo/missions, under qualified officials earning their jobs via privilege, etc.). 

That is in itself another gross simplification. My point is that there’s no good reason why you would kill your own troops before they can even reach the battlefield. That’s a waste of resources! I don’t care if the dragons demand a blood sacrifice, or whatever. A practical military leadership would find some way to reroute failed rider cadets to a different career track before they needlessly died in training. The training can be as dangerous as you want, but for world building sake, be practical about how wars work. At least acknowledge that the military’s favorite canon fodder aren’t soldiers, but foreign civilians. 

Believe it or not, but I actually don’t really care that the worldbuilding is nonsense. Can I write a needlessly long essay about how the numbers don’t add up? Sure, but who cares? It’s just bad in a normal way. I’m more than happy to let other people harp on it. 

What is interesting is the way that Yarros views the morality of the military. It’s one thing for something to be pro-military. It’s another when your book’s thesis comes down to “it’s morally wrong for the big, powerful, totally not American, country  to not provide military intervention to smaller, poorer foreign countries that are being viciously attacked by a seemingly unbeatable, dehumanized enemy.” Yarros doesn’t even try to cover it up; Xaden makes a giant, righteous speech about how they have a moral duty to protect citizens, to actually quote the book, “beyond our borders.”

As I said when I first read this: what the fuck? 

Rebecca “second generation army brat who loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years” Yarros claims she is writing a series about the dangers of censorship. See how callous we are for letting other people die, and then covering it up? Yet, she mindlessly reproduces that idealized justification we’ve been fed for decades. Yarros, it’s never about helping civilians. I know you’re a biased army wife, but you know about the oil and the military industrial complex. You know America is not the good guy. 

Moreso, the in-book movement to wage a war “beyond our borders” is labeled as a rebellion. According to this series, it’s counterculture to want military intervention overseas. Yes, Yarros is writing the world’s most marketable book. In a post Hunger Games society, there must be a little rebellion sprinkled in there. But to frame the desire to fight a war as any form of counterculture is downright insidious. 

Fourth Wing is a book that looks you in the eye and tells you that the government is lying to you-- the war beyond our borders is necessary, that if we do not send the army to fight our inhuman enemies, they will hurt not only our poorer, less fortunate allies but also our homeland. War is a morale imperative.

I haven’t finished Iron Flame yet. Perhaps this rant is premature. Maybe the series turns itself around. But as one can imagine, I don’t trust Rebecca “second generation army brat who loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for over twenty years” Yarros to have thought it through all the way. Just a gut feeling. Who can say? If I am wrong, I would be more than happy to eat my words, though. I would love to be wrong. 

Me being wrong means that the most compelling reasons why Fourth Wing is bad really is the bad worldbuilding, prose, romance, characters, action, lore, smut, dialogue, editing, and everything else. There’s already a hundred big brained book reviewers who are making a video essay career off of telling you that in five hours or less. I respect the hustle. Personally, I never want to hear about this series again unless it’s about how Yarros built her blockbuster book series on conservative ideals of militarism and foreign policy, and then had the audacity to tell you that’s what it means to be a rebel. 

[wordsandrobots]

Decided to make some progress with the mobile worker model before I start on the Shiden, since this is also an exercise in scaling up from a 1/144 model.

Apparently these things can detach the central section as an escape toboggan. Not quite sure how that works, if I'm honest, since none of the images I've seen so far really indicate where the extra wheels should go . . .

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 199. brb x oc

a/n: god he's so cute. one year later and i still am in l o v e with you sir. (comments and reblogs are super welcome and encouraged!! they make my nights they really do<3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: pregnancy, it's baby popping time ( part 2 the electric bugaloo )

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139/140/141/142/143/144/145/146/147

/164/165/166/167/168/169/170/171/172/173/174/175/176/177/178/179/180/181/182/183/184/185/186/187/188/189/190/191/192/193/194/195/196/197/198

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

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-

When she was pregnant with Nikki, they were prepared. Things were done with around the sixth month, which was the plan for the twins as well, they’d get things ready by the sixth month and then worry forward…which when he checked his phone,  he noticed that right now, past midnight, she was already in the six months area.

But it was still early.

He inhales shakily while holding Nicole to his chest, eyes forward, face blank of any emotion as he tried to understand what just happened. The doctors,while surprised to hear about the labor, reassured Rooster that she’d be fine…except she’d be alone this time.

It’d be a c-section, its what they told him, and his eyes met Beatrice’s who just stared back up at him horrified, so scared and still feeling small. He reached for her hand, holding her fingers only for her touch to slip away from his when they rolled her into the room. He’d be able to get in there once it was safe.

He called everyone, the guys,Mav,Bea’s parents, her siblings…everyone was aware. Bea’s mother almost fainted over the phone and Maverick did end up breaking something, he heard it…and now he was in the room, with Nikki,waiting for Beatrice’s mother to come because he wasn’t allowed in the room with Bea.

It was an emergency c-section after all.

He looks up when he hears footsteps approaching, soon enough Maverick’s panting face appears on the door, “Rooster.” he breathes out, “Sorry,I came as fast as I could, how’s Bea?”

“She’s having the c-section now.”

He nods, looking to his nephew and grand-niece, “And you?”

Rooster looked away from Maverick, the weight of what was happening clinging on his shoulders, “...I’m fuckin’ terrified.” he whispers, “It’s too early,Mav.”

Maverick puts a comforting hand on Rooster's shoulder, understanding the fear and worry that must be consuming him. "I know, Rooster," he says softly, "But the doctors are doing everything they can to take care of Bea and the babies. She's in good hands."

Rooster nods, his grip on Nicole tightening slightly as he tries to keep himself together. "I know," he says, his voice trembling, "It's just...it's too early. I thought we had more time, you know?"

Maverick squeezes his shoulder reassuringly, "I know." he says, holding back the ‘so am I’ "It's a scary situation, but you have to trust the doctors. They know what they're doing, and they'll do everything they can to make sure Bea and the babies are safe."

"I know," Rooster repeats, taking a deep breath, "I just wish I could be in there with her." he looks at the door she’d roll in any second now, “...I know I have to stay with Nikki,” if his daughter could sense the uneasiness,she wasn’t showing it, too busy with her teething ring.

"I know you do," Maverick says, "But sometimes, all we can do is wait and trust that things will be okay. Bea is strong, and so are those babies. They'll get through this." he sighed, sitting down on the other chair in the room,clasping his hands together, “You called anyone else?”

“I called everyone.”

“Hm,alright…am I the first one here?” Rooster nods, “Alright.”

“I thought Penny was with you.” his nephew says, looking back at Maverick, “You two are living together after all.”

Maverick smiles while holding Nicole’s little hand, his eyes on her, “She was at the bar tonight.” he explains, making Rooster give him a confused look, “She thinks something is off, so she was checking the cameras with Jessie and Shells.”

“Oh,I see.” Rooster was glad they could have this conversation, he was glad he could ease his brain the best he could. He had no idea how long she’d be inside, they got in the hospital about ten minutes ago and since then it’s been radio silence. “...we didn’t even finish the nursery?”

“Hm?”

“The twins’ nursery.” he whispers, “She finished painting it, but…the cribs, everything, it’s still empty.”

Maverick reaches over to pat Rooster's shoulder, offering a comforting gesture once he lets go of Nicole’s hand. "Don't worry about that right now," he says gently, "The nursery can wait, and we'll all pitch in to help you get it ready when the time is right."

Rooster furrows his brows, “You don’t have to do that." he says, but his uncle just smirks, patting his shoulder again. Rooster,knowing he can’t win this, ends up taking a deep breath, "I just can't help but feel like I should have been more prepared."

"You are prepared," Maverick reassures him, "You and Bea have been preparing for this moment since you found out she was pregnant again. You've been taking great care of her and Nikki, and you'll do the same for the twins." he pauses, “So they came a bit early, that’s fine. They’d still be here, even now.”

“...do you know how big five month babies are?” Rooster asks, holding his hands apart while holding Nicole with the inside of his arm against his chest, “This big…hell they can be smaller than my hands.” he clenches his fists, then closes his eyes, burying his nose on Nicole’s hair, trying to find comfort with the little toddler, “I…”

“It’s okay,Rooster.”

He was going on a spiral. He was feeling guilty and angry with himself, and Nicole was noticing it. She was looking back at him, her tiny hands touching his face, “Dada?’ she calls, “Woops?” and that makes a smile appear on his face, even if his heart feels so immensely heavy.

“Dada is fine,” he kisses her tiny palm, then nuzzles her cheek, “Dada is worried about mama.” and he sighs into her hair, then arches his brows before muttering, “I need some coffee,can you hold her for a bit?” As if he needed to ask, his uncle immediately grabbed Nicole from his lap and walked around the room,showing the different things there enough to keep her distracted.

Rooster stands up and inhales. Deeply. He rolls his neck, then his shoulders as if to break the ‘ick’ that was on his body,digging his hands into his pockets as he walks out of the room to the hospital’s cafeteria. He sees a few patients coming in, a few other mothers and some couples, as he walks slowly on the hallway.

He feels heavy.

And every step echoes.

It’s like he’s moving in slow motion in a movie, but he knows he’s not. This was real life and his wife was undergoing an emergency c-section and he has no idea if she’s okay or not. When he reaches the cafeteria, which honestly felt like a blink of an eye, he looks around until he finds the coffee machine, tucked in the corner, almost hidden. He doesn’t know why, but hospital coffee was always delicious to him.

Whenever he came with his mother, he’d go through four cups of these while chewing on some biscuits. His mother’s treatment lasted a few minutes, so when he was done, he’d walk around the hospital and see the surroundings…it helped his mind and his heart. As he fills his cup, he wonders if that’s what he’s feeling right now: the shadow of a memory, the fear of entering the hospital and waiting for news.

Rooster takes a moment to collect himself, taking slow, deep breaths as he sips his coffee. He knows he needs to stay strong for Beatrice and their babies, but he can't help the overwhelming emotions that are swirling inside him. 

He glances at his phone, checking the time, “...only thirty minutes? Fuck.”. The wait feels excruciating, and he can't help but feel helpless at this moment. He wishes he could do more, but all he can do now is wait and hope for the best.

As he stands in the cafeteria, he recalls the words of Maverick, reminding him that he and Beatrice have been preparing for this moment. He knows they have a strong support system, and he takes some comfort in that thought. He knows they are not alone in this journey, and they have family and friends who care deeply about them.

With his coffee in hand, he takes a deep breath and starts walking back towards the recovery room. He shouldn’t be surprised when he hears the loud voices in the hallway, his smile widening because he knows that everyone else is there.

And indeed everyone was. Bea’s siblings and her parents, alongside the Dagger Squad, all of them sitting outside the room as he sees Maverick talking to them from the door. It was Evelyn who notices hims first, doing a double take then touching Jake’s shoulder to warn him, “Rooster–”

“Bradley!” Claudia walks through the group and meets him, wrapping him into a tight,motherly hug that only his mother in law could give. She cups the back of his head, he has to lower himself a bit so it’s comfortable for her to touch him, “Oh my bambino, is she okay? What happened?”

“I…honestly,Claudia I don’t know, they just…” he shrugged, “Wanted to come out?”

His mother in law eased out a gentle laugh, it was tense and he could see it in her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless. When she met his eyes, her eyebrows lowered and her hands cupped his cheeks, “Bambino, you know neither of you are at fault because of this,right?”

Rooster takes a moment to process Claudia's words, feeling the weight of her reassurance and support. He nods slowly, smiling at her  "I know," he says softly, "But it's just...hard not to feel guilty, you know? I keep thinking maybe I missed something, or I should have done something differently."

Claudia smiles warmly at him, her hands still holding his cheeks. "It's natural to feel that way," she says, "But you have been doing everything you can for Beatrice and the babies. Sometimes, things happen that are beyond our control. What's important now is that we support each other and stay strong as a family. Okay?"

Rooster's eyes welled up with tears as he looked into Claudia's caring gaze. "Thank you," he says, his voice choked with emotion, "I uh…she went into surgery thirty minutes ago."

“When we had Beatrice, it lasted a bit more than that.” Rafael’s deep voice says from behind Claudia and the Schiavoni patriarch hugs his son-in-law just like Claudia did, “She’ll be okay.” he says softly, shaking his shoulder with a small grin, “They’ll be fine,Bradley.”

“I…I know.” he says quietly, clearing his throat before looking behind his in-laws, “Did you all…come here together?”

“Sort of,” Phoenix replies, “Jake called all of us and we just rushed over…so yes?”

“We’ll be here for you guys.” Payback smiles, giving his friend a thumbs up, “Don’t worry about it,Rooster.

And for a brief second, the weight lifted completely.

-

She comes back an hour later, sleeping and quietly snoring as she’s rolled back into the room. Rooster stands up to look at the nurses, his mouth parting as he follow Beatrice with his eyes, “...is…are they all okay?”

The nurse smiles at Rooster, fixing Beatrice’s covers once she’s back into the room. "Yes, they're all doing well," she says, "The twins are in the neonatal intensive care unit, but they are stable and receiving the best care. Your wife did great during the surgery, and she's in recovery now."

Rooster lets out a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you," he says, "Thank you for taking care of them."

The nurse nods, "Of course, it's our job. And we'll make sure to keep you updated on their progress."

Rooster looks over at Beatrice, sleeping soundly, and then back at the nurse. "Thank you,I…I’ll be with her a bit but can I see them after?” she smiles more, nodding at him and cooing at Nicole when she followed the nurse with her eyes, saying ‘bye bye’ once she was out of the room.

And Rooster dropped on the chair after a few seconds trying to remain upright, with his left hand covering his eyes. He allowed the silence to take over, his family and friends had to leave since it was already late - not after Claudia got him a change of clothes, of course and taking Nicole to stay with her and Rafael for the time being - and Beatrice’s quiet breathing was the only thing he could hear.

He didn’t know if he wanted to cry or he wanted to laugh…or both. His body was still tense from everything, his shoulder muscles hurt immensely, like when you sleep in a bad position for hours and wake up feeling like you were run over by a car. Except he didn’t sleep.

Rooster takes a deep, shuddering breath, trying to release some of the tension in his body. He knows he needs to stay strong for Beatrice and the twins, but it's hard to keep his emotions in check after such an intense and emotional day.

He feels a mix of exhaustion, fear, and overwhelming love for his family. He reaches out and gently takes Beatrice's hand in his, giving it a light squeeze, rubbing her knuckles. "I love you,gorgeous." he whispers softly, though he knows she can't hear him.

He stays by her side, keeping a watchful eye on her as she rests, waiting for any news from the medical staff about their twins. The minutes feel like hours, and he finds himself drifting in and out of anxious thoughts, that and the obvious need to sleep.

After what seems like an eternity, a nurse comes into the room to check on Beatrice. She smiles warmly at Rooster, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Did she wake up?” he shakes his head negatively, “Ah,it’s alright, it was a long surgery, she needs the rest.” and she leans over to check her vitals, all the while Rooster watches from a few inches away, crossing his arms over his chest since he doesn’t know what to do with his hands.

The nurse finishes her check-up and nods approvingly. "Her vitals look good," she says, "She's just in a deep sleep right now, which is completely normal after surgery. She'll wake up when her body is ready."

Rooster nods, chewing his lower lip as his hand comes up to rub his neck. He knows Beatrice needs her rest, but he can't help but worry about her and the twins. “That’s good…that’s good.”

The nurse smiles at the tender moment and gives Rooster a reassuring pat on the back. "You're doing great," she says, "Both of you are. The twins are receiving excellent care in the NICU and let me tell you, your little girl? I think she’s the spunky one of the bunch."

"Oh," Rooster says softly, his voice choked with emotion, "Really?"

The nurse chuckles softly, "Oh yes, she's got quite the personality already. I had the pleasure of checking on both of them earlier, and she’s a little wriggly worm. Your little boy is a bit quieter, but he’s still moving."

Rooster can't help but smile at the image the nurse paints of his babies. His heart feels so much lighter. They are moving, god they are moving already. "And…they are okay? Healthy wise,I mean.”

“Well,” she fixes Beatrice’s gown before looking back at him, “They are preemies, which means we need to keep an eye on them until they can leave. Five month preemies are rare, but not uncommon.” she smiles, “Honestly, your twins are the most active ones I’ve seen in a while and I’ve worked here for over twenty years now.”

“Oh,huh,that’s.” a fucking relief, “That’s great. So nothing out of the ordinary?”

“Nothing we could see,” she says while sliding her hands into her scrubs’ pants, “They are asleep now, so they are mimicking their mama.” she smiles back at Beatrice, then turns her head to Rooster, “Would you like to see them?”

He opens his mouth to say yes, he wants to say yes, but his eyes slowly drop to Beatrice. If she wakes up and he’s not there, he’s scared she might not be okay with it…plus,he’d want to see the twins with her, if he was able to do so. 

"Thank you for offering," Rooster says to the nurse, "But I want to wait until Beatrice wakes up. It's important for both of us to see them together."

The nurse smiled understandingly, "Of course, that's completely understandable. Take your time, and when you're both ready, I'll be happy to take you to the NICU to see them."

Rooster nods again, giving the nurse a thankful little grin as he watches as she leaves the room. Rooster, once alone again, falls back on the chair and holds his head on his hands, breathing into his palms, “...they are okay.” he mumbles, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “They are okay,god, they are okay.” Beatrice makes a little noise in her throat and turns her head towards him, her fingers twitching and he could swear he heard her soft whisper of ‘Brad…’

“Are you awake?” He questions but he gets no reply, only seeing her chest move up and down, eyelids fluttering as she dreams. No, she’s still fast asleep. He reaches out and gently brushes a strand of hair away from her face, his touch light and tender.

He leans in closer, speaking softly to her, "I'm right here, Bea," he murmurs, "You did great, and the twins are doing well too. I love you so much." He places a gentle kiss on her forehead, the little smile on her face - even in her sleep - was the confirmation she heard him. He sighs, now he was the one feeling sleep take over him, he knows he has to sleep so he could be there for Bea when she wakes up…so he pulls the chair closer to the bed, lets his eyes flutter shut and holds her hand as he, much like Bea, fall on a deep slumber.

[argumentalist]

The RX-75 Guntank!

I'm honestly not a huge fan of the original Mobile Suit Gundam. The animation, characters, story, designs... It all feels awfully dated today. But it's undeniably iconic.

The RX-75 is the last of the Operation V trio that I hadn't built. So I picked up the old HG kit.

This is a very small, simple kit as far as High Grade gunpla goes. It's a small box without a lot of plastic in it. The parts are all very simple without a lot of details. The instructions are very short. The whole build only took me a few hours.

I don't like painting models and miniatures much... My eyes are bad, my hands shake, I hate waiting for the paint to dry, and then I get frustrated when it doesn't turn out the way I want.

And 1/144 figures are so tiny! And this thing barely qualifies as a pilot figure... There's hardly any detail there at all.

But it's very visible up in the Guntank's head, so I couldn't leave it completely unpainted. That would've looked terrible.

I debated just painting the inside of the canopy silver so you couldn't see the pilot at all... But, ultimately, I threw some basic paints on the pilot figure and I think it turned out pretty well.

This bottom/hull section is very, very simple. Just a few very large parts to snap together. But they don't really fit together great... There's some wiggly, creaky bits.

I'm honestly not sure how much they could do with the Guntank in the first place... It's a very, very simple design. There's not a lot of accessories or options to build.

This thing is just barely articulated. The arms are poseable, but that's about it. The waist can turn a tiny bit, but there's no ab-crunch at all. There's no articulation in the hull section - the treads don't move or anything. The head kind of wiggles around a little bit. But, really, the arms and shoulder guns are about the only things that really move.

I can't say I expected a lot out of a this kit... The wiki says it was originally designed in 2000, and it shows. It's very simple. Building this thing reminded me more of the car models I've built than gunpla.

But it still looks pretty good up on the shelf.

[nilyaradoesgunpla]

First post - my first real grade kit (that is, a more detailed 1/144 scale kit) and so of course it is the classic Gundam, the RX-78-2 Gundam piloted by Amuro Ray (and occasionally Sayla Mass) in the anime. The internal frame took a little careful work to ease up (top tip, when freeing up joints between parts that come fixed together do not attempt to rotate anything until you have the joint moving easily back and forth) but includes some really nice sliding joints made by having cantilevered sections onto which the armour plates attach - I've included a photo with the knee bent to show this. It also includes partly articulated hands, something I hadn't previously thought possible on this scale. It also comes with the core fighter (which I will put in another post) and can actually fit this into the middle of the Gundam as shown in the anime though it includes parts to keep the core fighter separate (which I have done).

I did have issues with a couple of the stickers, especially on the inner elbows where the sticker has to be bent several times and so due to it being so narrow I couldn't get it to stay on and just painted the golden colouring on the inner arm instead. Most were easy to apply and I've spray-varnished the model (with Mr Hobby topcoat, if you're curious) to avoid any of them coming off, though the decals are a nice quality and go on well. Owing to their size, I would recommend using tweezers to apply them though.

A bit challenging to make but a very rewarding kit if you have the patience for it - certainly not one for beginners but a strong recommendation on this one. The only real issue I've found is that the display stand attaches onto the storage hook for the bazooka, so you can't really display it flying with the bazooka stowed and it can be a little awkward to attach a display stand.

[sawyersorbet]

Just remembered that my previous post about my Obey Me Madoka Magica AU won’t show up in the tags cause its a reblog . So I'm copy pasting it here so it shows up.

Total Word Count: 702

SPOILERS for Madoka Magica and Rebellion

Notes; I'm not really a writer so this isn't worded great, My MC uses primarily he/him so that's how I will be referring to him. This will be expanded on more later.

This AU somewhat follows the story beats of Madoka Magica and Rebellion, with some changes. Theres also a few elements taken from Magia Record.

Roles;

The demon brothers (And Lilith but we’ll get to that) take the role of Madoka. In every timeline they either die fighting Walpurgisnacht, or some other way.

MC takes the role of Homura, giving up his soul to wish for the ability to go back in time to try and save everyone over and over.

Lilith also technically takes the role of Madoka, however in a different way. After around 144 or so timelines of reliving the same time frame over and over, MC attempts to go back even further to try and convince Lilith not to try and save her lover. This back fires when she wishes to save them with Kyubey, turning them into a magical duo. In the final timeline; Lilith wishes to become the Law of Cycles, erasing her from everyone’s memory except MC’s.

(I have some ocs that take the role of the rest of the Holy quintet and Nagisa, but i’ll save them for later since they’re a little underdeveloped.)

Story Things;

The main plot is mostly the same. Walpurgisnacht is discovered in the devildom and causes havoc; Diavolo, Barbatos, the brothers, Solomon, and MC try to scope out what’s happening and help the residents of the area. The Brothers attempt to fight Walpurgisnacht directly and lose, ending with their deaths and the reason MC makes his wish.

Kyubey shows up and turns MC into a magical boy via MC (unknowingly) trading his soul for his wish. As mentioned above MC goes through a lot of timelines to try and save them, failing everytime. Normal Madoka Magica stuff really.

I sort of have the story separated into 4 main sections, with a Pre-Canon story and a Post-Canon story.

Phase 1 - The Beginning

Phase 2 - The Mid Point

Phase 3 - Witch (MC realizes that he’s a witch and the resulting consequences of that.)

Phase 4 - Labyrinth (After MC pulls Lilith (Law of Cycles) back into existence and becomes the Concept of Evil, he traps the world in a Labyrinth where he no longer exists to make sure everyone is happy.)

As for the Pre and Post canon stories, i have those labeled currently as Scene 0 and Scene END.

Scene 0 takes place in between seasons 1 and 2 of the OG game, but with the focus on MC’s teammates and what they were up to prior to his wish.

Scene END takes place after the end of Phase 4, when MC is “defeated” and everyone is free of the labyrinth. (Obviously the movie Walpurgisnacht Rising isn’t out at the time of this post, so i will probably add another phase to the story for the events in that.) Scene END follows Lilith as the protagonist as she begins to fade from existence (as she is the law of cycles and shouldn’t exist to anyone else) so she seeks out help from MC to be able to stay with her brothers and everyone else.

Other Notes;

In reference to the “MC being beheaded” thing, to signify the (sort of) destruction of his labyrinth he’s put to the guillotine by his familiars. This doesn’t kill him obviously, at this point in the story he would be a literal Concept. However; that doesn’t mean he can’t feel pain. (no matter how hard he tries to pretend nothing affects him anymore.)

For the Kyubey thing; MC forces Kyubey into a human ish form when Kyubey is in the labyrinth. While MC cannot be seen or heard by anyone (minus Lilith but only occasionally) Kyubey essentially acts as MC’s way of making sure people don’t mess with his plans, although Kyubey is doing this against his will.

One smaller thing about concept MC; he can physically never stop smiling. Ever. He’s forced to smile through everything after becoming a concept. Mainly cause i felt like it and i thought it would be even more fun to play around with his expressions this way.

Okay that's everything for now. Again once I flesh out MC’s teammates more I'll make another post for them.

[athena-gunpla]

RG 1/144 S.N.R.I Prototype Mobile Suit XM-X1 "Crossbone Gundam"

RG Crossbone!!!! This is the 2015 remake of the kit under Gunpla Evolution Project, and it's one of the most detailed gunpla in terms of features that I've build so far!

The Crossbone was a bit of a tricky build, due to its much smaller size and large amount of small moving parts. This can make assembly pretty fiddly. Furthermore, being a newer RG it lacks the pre-built inner frame, apart from a specialized piece for the X-shaped booster unit/core fighter, which made it take a lot longer than I was expecting.

The set builds the X1 Crossbone Gundam, as well as the accompanying and iconic Jupiter core fighter.

This little fighter slots in neatly to the Crossbone's chest cavity by folding down the nose and folding up the vulcan cannons. A neat feature is that despite the absolute miniscule size of the fighter, the cockpit opens and you can even see a little headrest and console! You can even see the core fighter cockpit when you open up the cockpit access hatch from the front.

The kit also comes with a large number of optional parts, including 8 pre-moulded hands and a number of weapons.

There's a plastic moulded anti-beam coat, as well as a really neat beam rifle (the Zanbuster) that can split apart into the Buster Gun (modeled after a flintlock pistol) and the high powered beam saber, the Beam Zanber. This comes with a really nicely molded effect part that is UV reactive.

There are also parts on the arms that swing forwards to either produce a beam weapon called the Brand Marker, or alternatively a Beam Shield (both also moulded in the same UV reactive trans-pink plastic).

One of the most fiddly sections of this build was the front-skirt, as this piece can transform into a scissor-anchor (similar to the shoulder mounted ones from SEED). A neat detail is the plastic moulded chain that attaches to the anchor, however, the use of this instead of the more common malleable wire makes it difficult to pose the part in anything other than a rather stiff position.

The kit even includes the hidden leg-daggers, although unfortunately only the handle fits into the calves, with the blade being a separate piece.

Overall this is one of the most impressively detailed RGs I've even built, especially in terms of the included gimmicks and optional parts.

The kit itself is pretty impressively posable, with extra forearm rotation, although the kit does have trouble raising its shoulders too far, and like a lot of RGs it can feel a little unbalanced.

Despite these issues I definitely recommend this kit, although probably for more experienced builders due to the more complex techniques.

[megumi-fm]

12th to 19th Dec || 137-144 of 150dop

hi. i've been gone a long time. I wasn't doing really well for the past week, so i just put up my progress on Notion to update it here later.

📋 Tasks

📂 Notion Setup ↳ for daily journalling (yes it's ponyo themes xD) ✅ ↳ tv/movies tracker 📝English Proficiency Test ↳ apply for exam ✅ ↳ sample practice (listening and reading sections) ✅ ↳ check writing samples ✅  ↳ write exam!! ✅ 🩺 Radiomics Projects ↳ read BCR base paper ✅ ↳ check out automatic segmentation options ✅ ↳ check out radiomics extensions and pyradiomics ✅ ↳ lots and lots of voice calls and meetings xD

🎨Personal

⛲ Going Out ↳ visited an Art Museum with my best friend ↳ went for brunch to an art cafe with a friend (and tried key lime pie for the first time! it was very good) ↳ got boba with a friend and visited an indie bookstore with a friend and bought a book 📺 Shows this week ↳ Cherry Magic JP ✅ ↳ My Demon 🔽 ↳ Last Twilight 🔽 ↳ Perfect Marriage Revenge ✅ 📟 Cool Links and Videos ↳ The best explanation on the Monty Hall Problem ↳ Sleeping Beauty Problem(i am so confused) ↳ Dan Ariely and data manipulation in psychology studies ↳ Anwn Ddu, the Wikipedia King that doesn’t exist ↳ Korea’s King, a 2 Part Documentary ↳ An Inverse Turing Test: How Random Chance is not really random 👟 Lots of walking

29-36/final42 // so close! just another week!!! let's go!!

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 157

I'm— I just. SOB BLAINE AND FREDERICK??

Ooh!! I should've expected this room to show up in her dream. I'm guessing that it has something to do with the reflections in the sugars?? In the chapter where Frederick and Gwen was in this room, their sweet moment was interrupted by Gwen seeing her reflection in one of the sugar. Maybe the reflections will tell her something regarding her view of herself? Or maybe they will instead warn her about what's happening at the Palace's hall? (By that I mean the war)

Or perhaps...We will see Frederick?

Okay, moving on to the war—

Bruh they gotta STOP finishing each other's sentence it's driving me crazy and slowly taking my hope away from Blaine T_T

I still have my hopes on Blaine, but it's fading away veryyyy slowly. I'm trying hard to believe in him tho. Good thing I have fanfics and my imagination to help me cope through this :')

Also HECK YEAH IT'S SHOWDOWN TIME!!!

May I just say, I love Jamie speaking in Wingdings XD. I tried to translate it but weirdly it didn't translate into an understandable sentence/word. It's just gibberish.

Curtis with a broom...HE'S SO COOL?? Never underestimate butlers real (Curtis, Alfred)

Lorzanna moment!! They are adorable :D Also they are soooo gonna kick Leland's butt.

Also everyone should just use Laverne as a defense strategy here, just saying. It seems to be really effective.

Leland's threat kinda takes my interest here. What do you mean "or else I will"? Do you mean you can just literally stop what's going on right here right now? Then why not just do it now? Or by that does he mean he's going to punish the Plaid Princes in the dungeon again...or worse? Uh well at the very least all I know is LELAND SUCKS.

GO, LANCE, GO!! Betray your bs of a father and stop your big brother from succumbing to the dark side!! I have faith in you :') Honestly even though Lorena don't really understand Lance's fear of Leland and calling him a coward kinda stung, but at the same time it's kinda a wake up call for him? I guess??

Oh yeah, sorry for ruining the moment here but I've been thinking about how sick his new scars would be like it would be shapes like an X and that's so cool?!

Yeah I gotta agree with Lorena here, that was kinda creepy Leland... But Lorena's throw was amazing. Like dang..that spear must be heavy as frick and she throws it with a huge strength?? Lorena = Undyne confirmed?

Beckett to the rescue!! :D love that guy. Hopefully the misunderstanding between Maria and Gwen will clear up though :')

And lastly...the one I'm ejwnsuehw about the most...

Blaine c'mon man Blaine wait listen to me dude wait wait wait. Stop okay stop don't do this 😭😭 Literally go meditating with Whitney bro THIS IS NOT YOU. I don't think i can change you at this point but literally you don't even want to change. And this is the most difficult part because no matter how much you want to help someone, it's pointless if they don't even wanna help themselves. I'm really hoping he would get redemption arc especially because of what Isolde told him in chapter 144.

Oh! I almost forgot. Let's look into the fast pass section!

So first of all we have Blaine vs. Frederick :') but what takes my interest the most is.. The Prince vs. The Prez... Obviously the prince is Blaine, since it uses singular noun and in the thumbnail we see Blaine and Prez. But what caught my attention is "the Prez..." the prez what? The prez club? This could be something regarding cpc, or maybe Prez creates a new group? I can't wait for it to upload :D

Well that it's for today, now let me just sob on the floor while holding my plaid clothes in front of my cats again.

Mono out! (But still in to hear your thoughts)

[bukiverse]

Posted by OmniscientAuthor • September 28, 2024

On September 24th, PARAGON COMPANY announced that it is now the largest shareholder of UPLIFT ENTERTAINMENT, thereby making ULE the newest subsidiary of PARACO.

The process has not been easy, to say the least. Starting all the way back in June of last year, PARAGON COMPANY begun a hostile takeover which many higher ups at UPLIFT opposed. Representatives at ULE have claimed that the acquisition will ‘go against what ULE stands for’ and ‘end the company’s individualism’.

In their most recent pre-acquisition interview, Chairman Seok seemed to be a leader against the change, he- along with two other chairmen- have since left their positions. Whether that was by choice or ‘strongly recommended’, we do not know.

What we do know, however, is that the current CEO, Bong Jiyoon, will continue with her role as ULE transfers leadership to PARAGON COMPANY. The contracts of pre-existing artists and staff will also remain as normal.

In other recent news, PARAGON COMPANY acquired indie label HORIZEN RECORDS just earlier this year, showing their growing desire to take over the South Korean Entertainment industry by force.

───

[COMMENT SECTION]

[+1906/-144] claiming they have values after silencing artists who are clearly distressed?

[+1504/-34] maybe ule can spend some of that paraco money on getting syj’s first full album out

[+5066/-2527] lila drug scandal soon 😍

[+4973 / -134] pls dont touch lila pls dont touch lila pls dont touch lila pls dont touch lila

[+6684 / -1655] BIG COMPANIES ARE RUINING KPOP !!!

[+7494 / -55] OLIV AND HYOJIN LABELMATES ?!?!

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!

A/N: i spent several hours researching the difference between a CEO and a chairman the other day so no i do not know how any of this works wikipedia could only help so much :)