#super dimension convention

[vulcan-moon]

Bro...inhibitor ring Amy...ur mind bro....

Seriously though, while I'm of the personal opinion that her bracelets are weights like they are in the GBA games, I ALSO am a diehard fan of chaos-user!Amy.  In fact, ice been saying for years now that she IS a chaos user—she just gives her more supernatural combative abilities cutesy or simplified names as opposed to Shadow's more technical naming conventions. 

Storming Heart is a derivative form of Chaos Spear, which in the games looks slower and more concussive like a bomb might be.  Rose Typhoon is just a Chaos Blast supplemented by the shockwaves she generates using her hammer. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the more technical terms for her Invisibility and Precognitive abilities—referring to her tarot readings, accurate intuition, etc.—were something along the lines of "Chaos Shroud" and "Chaos Divination" respectively.  Then there's her pocket dimension where she keeps things like her hammer and cards, so that could just be accessing her own personal "Chaos Space".  Hells, she even has a uniquely strong capacity to sense the energy of other people and things, which is what makes her such a great tracker in canon, and if the energy she's sensing is actually just the chaos energy all living things naturally possess in varying strengths and signatures, then maybe she also employs a sort of "Chaos Dowsing" technique. 

Idk if you can tell, but I'm a big Amy fan lol.  I usually just love all-arounder characters like her—seeing how she's faster than Tails and Knuckles but not Sonic, stronger than Sonic and Tails but not Knuckles, and smarter than Sonic and Knuckles but not Tails.  Also, a sweet, peppy magical girl who's greatest traits are her passion and kindness?  Sign me tf up. 

Would be funny for her to ask Shadow to teach her Chaos abilities now that she knows to take off the inhibitors and for him to be all ???? "What are you talking about? You use them all the time??" lol. My shadamy shipper heart would also just love to see them grow closer over this, but that's neither here nor there

i love amyyyy i love her so much. her abilities are so wild and all over the place and the moment you think deeper abt them youre like,,,, how tf does she do what she does actually why tf does she have a pocket dimension. and you're so right abt the naming thing!!

to me it just makes sense her being a chaos energy user. all the other hedgehogs can do it, she's got abilities that are very similar to theirs, it makes sense that she channels chaos energy too. if sega weren't cowards, she'd have a super form by now 😔

also hilariously enough im in the middle of drawing a short lil follow up comic to my last one w that premise :3c sneak peek

[emmasmoke8]

Been thinking about a Sonic movieverse swap, so you guys will have to listen to it:

First movie - Shadow’s asteroid crashes on Earth in the present. Instead of farmers and G.U.N., Maria Robotnik finds Shadow. Her grandfather is currently at a convention in San Francisco, leaving her home alone. She and Shadow bond until G.U.N. comes to investigate the asteroid drop. Maria and Shadow escape, deciding to get to Maria’s grandfather since he’ll either be able to protect Shadow or send him back to space. They road trip.

They’re pursued by Agent Stone, a high-ranking agent in G.U.N., and Stone’s assistant, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (which confuses Maria b/c Gerald never told her she had other family). Ivo makes robots, and Stone commands them like a general. Although Ivo’s the assistant, he’s still very egotistical about his position and how robots are superior. Stone, for his part, is so military-minded that he doesn’t even realize he puts up with Ivo’s BS because he loves—I mean, whatever Paramount says Stone feels about Ivo (they’re not fooling anyone)

The plot from there is mostly the same (tho Maria’s the reason they end up at the bar lmao). Shadow is allowed to stay with Gerald and Maria at the end, and they banish Stone to the mushroom dimension using a machine that Gerald made that repurposes Shadow’s chaos abilities (since they don’t have rings)

Second movie - Stone is rescued by the time traveler, Silver, who wants to defeat Shadow since he believes the Black Arms stole the (Master Emerald? But for the Time Stones). Silver and Stone go after Shadow while the hedgehog is home alone because Maria and Gerald went to somewhere for some reason (maybe a wedding still?). Shadow is rescued by Amy, someone who also came in search of the Time Stones in order to fix Little Planet. The plot also goes the same way, tho Shadow doesn’t so super, he goes… whatever the Time Stones make someone (which I actually have ideas for)

Amy and Silver fix their planet/future. They stay with the Robotniks, becoming the protectors of the Time Stones together

Third movie - Fifty years ago, Sonic escaped from Longclaw getting killed. He was immediately found by G.U.N. Still a young hoglet, he naturally gravitated toward Agent Tom and Dr. Maddie, a guard and scientist, respectively, at the blacksite. Sonic grew up with them as his parents. Eventually, he caused a universe blackout that made G.U.N. deem the project too dangerous. He tried escaping with Tom and Maddie, but Tom was killed. Maddie was imprisoned. Sonic was, too, and put in stasis per Director Rockwell’s orders (she’s switching with Walters)

Once Maddie’s freed, she frees Sonic and they plan to take out G.U.N., the rest of the world be damned by the crossfire. His freedom makes G.U.N. contact Shadow, Amy, and Silver for assistance

Maddie and Stone are not family, but Maddie does get into his head, first by appealing to his militaristic senses and then by learning part of him does want a family. She’s motherly to Stone up until they fight in the Eclipse Cannon

Sonic and Shadow have their Time Stone-powered fight and reconcile. Sonic and Stone sacrifice their lives to stop the Eclipse Cannon

Mid credit scene, I guess Shadow Androids show up, and Tails arrives to help Shadow stop them

Post credit, Sonic picks up his glove

[liquid-clear]

Stanley Pines. My favorite antihero. I love him so much.

We have all seen the concept that being in a relationship with a villain is better than a hero. The hero will sacrifice you to save the world versus the villain who will sacrifice the world to save you.

Sanley Pines decides to do that for his Estranged Brother. He decides to risk the entire dimension so that he could get his brother back. His brother who

Stanley assumed hated him.

Had already not spoken to Stanley for 10 years.

upon speaking to him for the first time in 10 years, tries to send Stanley away permanently.

Stanley will always blame himself for losing in the first place. Even tho both times it was an accident.

And to do so Stanley who

has been considered by everybody, including himself, to be "the dumb twin"

was written off by his high school as a FUTURE FAILURE,

was disowned by his family for his mistake,

spends 30 years learning quantum mechanics, welding, circuitry, and numerous other academic/trade fields to bring his brother home. All things that were originally done by Tech Genius Fiddleford McGucket or GT kid Stanford who still had help from a literal actual God/demon. And STANLEY IS SUCCESSFUL.

Stanley SUCCESSFULY fakes his own death to make sure that nobody questions the disappearance of his brother in order to buy himself enough time to get his brother back. He did this so effectively that his own family bought it.

To be incredibly clear, Stanley does become a traditional hero when he sacrifices himself to save the world. But also, Stanley didn't do it to save the world. He did it to save his family, spesificaly his brother, niece and nephew. And he does it by perfectly impersonating the brother that He hasn't known in 40 years. He impersonates him so well that he TRICKS THE LITERAL ACTUAL DEITY THAT HIS BROTHER HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH. Because as dumb and aloof and unbothered as Stanley Pines tries to appear, he is genuinely one of the smartest and most caring characters in gravity falls. It's just not the book smarts and conventional love that everybody typically looks for. (Stanley censoring himself in front of the kids while also letting them break the law is hilarious and I love him)

This is not to say that Mr mystery did nothing wrong. There are a lot of things that he did wrong and a lot of things that he could have handled better but. That being said he is still my favorite because he is so human and still tries so hard. I don't know, man, there is something super endearing about the amount of effort he puts into his family. He's an incredibly well written character. And listen I understand that 30 years is a long time and if I was Stanford I would be mad but also, but if my supposed screw-up sibling managed to understand and rebuild a portal But I needed help from a literal actual god/demon to create I would be impressed as hell. And Ford only said thank you because he felt obligated to. (Which again is the hero mindset of all sacrifice you to save the world because Ford is sacrificing his relationship with Stanley again to save the world)(and Stanley just wants his brother back so even though Ford doesn't mean the apology Stan still takes it because at least it was said)

I know this comes off anti Ford, which is not how it's intended, I love Ford so much and I'll do a post for him later. (If I remember) I just feel like Stanley is slept on so much for being such a wonderful character. And gahhhhh this show is so good and I love these old men.

[vintagerobin]

On the one hand Dick is definitely super hypervigilant and "I'd know if Bruce was dead" 100% has something to do with that. On the other there are comics where he has literal visions in his brain of exactly how Bruce is currently dying, sometimes in other fucking dimensions or outside of conventional time and space.

[hololucent]

after all this time... i'm finally brave enough to make a post on tumblr...!

✦ hi! i'm robin! i wear a lot of hats, but currently i'm a postgrad student researcher, a freelance artist, and an occasional vendor at local artists' markets and conventions here in australia :)

✦ i love ttrpg actual play shows and podcasts! my favourites are worlds beyond number, burnt cook book party, dimension 20 (especially fantasy high) and naddpod (especially eldermourne)

✦ other media i'm into includes severance, knives out, the locked tomb, zero escape, ace attorney, game changer and splatoon. and my ocs/personal projects which may eventually leak onto this blog too :)

✦ i like sharks. and most aquatic life but especially sharks. you are always allowed to send me a cool shark

✦ i'm a busy guy and probably won't be super active here but who knows! you can find me under the same username on instagram (most active currently), bluesky, and twitter (for now)

[ecl1psical]

Why The Narrator from The Stanley Parable could, by all technicalities, be a Void Deity (my original species!)

I will start by saying none of this was intentional; I did not make Void Deities with The Narrator in mind. I made them ages ago while I wasn't even in a phase of being super into TSP, so this is all coincidental!!!

Part 1; Naming Conventions

Void Deities are not named; they are granted titles. While some will give themselves human names to be more appealing or otherwise less scary to humans, every Void Deity's real name is a title.

"The Narrator" fits perfectly into the naming conventions of Void Deities, as all of them are given a "The…" title (The Overseer, The Adversary, The Muted, to name a few!).

Part 2; Physiology

Void Deities feast on the misery of sentient mortal beings; they have no desire or requirement for human food. Often, Void Deities pick a human and make their life a living hell. Void Deities are not omniscient, but humans believe them omnipotent because they have many powers that humans don't. One of these powers is to create and bring humans into a pocket dimension, of which they can completely and wholly control/manipulate, effectively making The Narrator able to kidnap Stanley and put him into a fake time loop with almost one-to-one replicas of places he's been in his life.

This would make the world of The Stanley Parable all a fabrication made to torment Stanley in a never-ending loop, the end is never the end is never the end, so on and so forth. You can imagine being in a loop being followed by a disembodied voice would be quite taxing on the old mental health. However, while a Void Deity can make just about anything in their own pocket dimension… They're not always in control of said things. Some items, let's say for example, The Skip Button, may end up outside the Void Deity's control, should they make some sort of mistake while creating it.

While this would effectively mean that a lot of the things that The Narrator say are lies, such as Stanley being a creation made by The Narrator, or his coworkers being Erased by him; this does create an interesting dynamic between the two. Leading us into….

Part 3; Personality

Void Deities come in all shapes and sizes, all of them think and act differently just as humans do, despite being a mostly antisocial species who only interacts with others for the sake of sating their needs. However, in The Stanley Parable, we see The Narrator get extremely attached to Stanley. Wouldn't a god with almost omnipotent power have no reason to get attached to it's prey? Well, it's more common than you'd think. Some Void Deities become influenced by humans, no matter their age, and will opt to seek misery instead of causing it, becoming effectively harmless to humans outside of apparent sadism.

A Void Deity falling in love with a mortal, even a mortal it intended to be prey, is not unheard of. You can see this in how different The Narrator can be in different endings, or loops. From coercing Stanley to Kill Himself when he lets the lift go to begging Stanley to stay with him when he sees even the slightest semblance of hope that maybe the two of them can experience some form of peace together, or even losing his mind when The Skip Button traps them both in a small sector of his pocket dimension, it tells a story of a Void Deity that loses control of his own dimension. It tells the story of a human who went from the puppet, to the puppet master. Stanley becomes the teller of his own story, which wins over The Narrator and leads him to admire Stanley and his strength.

So to make a long fuckin story short,

[benny-the-spaceman]

one of these days im going to release my tlm drafting headcanons from my notes app purgatory and that day is Today.

HERE'S HOW I THINK LEGO MOVIE CHARACTERS WOULD PREPARE AND MAKE DRAFTS

...under the cut

Batman

• Fairly good at drawing. Somehow able to draw straight lines without a ruler perfectly fine every single time but otherwise nothing super noteworthy (he does brag about this constantly however)

• Drafts in white and yellow posca pen??? will use white colored pencil for finer detail however, specifically one of those mechanical colored pencils

• Drafts on black paper because he thinks it makes his designs cooler (it doesn't)

• Dimensions in imperial and would be annoyed if you dare even *insinuate* he use metric. no justification here

• Doodles around his drafts, specifically likes to doodle bats and himself because he, once again, thanks it makes his drafts cooler (the bats kinda do)

• Refuses to leave notes on his designs. you either know what to do or you don't

• Does however write his drawing title obnoxiously large

• Used autocad for like a day, hated it, switched to solidworks and never went back

• Buys autodesk licenses for the rest of the masterbuilders. unwillingly, mind you, wyldstyle just knows his credit card information and abuses it

Benny

• Good at drawing exclusively spaceships. big shock i know

• The king of eyeballing a line or an angle and then labelling it however the fuck he wants. proper measurements take time he could spend drafting or making more spaceships, he'll save measuring and straightedges for drafts he deems important enough

• Uses blueprinting paper. there's no practical purpose for this, he just digs it

• Drafts with whatever writing utensil is on hand

• He gets inspired quite often so he usually keeps a drafting notepad on him just in case

• Leaves a *lot* of notes. Most of them are completely unnecessary and are a funny contrast to his haphazard dimensioning

• Pretty dang good at autocad! Usually reserves it for projects that require a lot more collaboration however

• Usually drafts in metric, can dimension in imperial but prefers not to

• 100% sets autocad to the light background like a monster

• Do not give him any 3d modelling software, he might blow up the computer

Emmet

• Either really good or really bad at drawings (obvs leaning towards bad. we remember the break in plans)

• Dimensions in imperial. I cant justify this one he just does. god bless america or something idk

• Owns a couple drafting pencils but rarely uses them, most of the time he drafts in marker or pen much to the chagrin of anyone who needs to read his drafts (or delight if you're unikitty)

• Started learning how to use autocad after taco tuesday and he's actually pretty good at it! he does use an architectural dimstyle for everything though which is particularly annoying when he's quite often not drafting buildings now

• Has labelled and colored layers 👍 enough said

• Uses disgustingly thick lineweights. horrible.

• Rarely if ever 3d models so he's not good at it, he mostly works on things that 2d conveys better anyways

• Although he's not the best drafter of the master builders, his construction background makes him the best at reading drafts, give him a unikitty draft and he can decipher it like it's nothing

Metalbeard

• Probably the best at drafting of the master builders, he's got the age advantage and lots of practice from making ships

• Drafts in pencil, quill, or charcoal depending

• Who needs straightedges or angle stencils when youre basically a pirate cyborg, expect robot like precision

• Doesn't use standard measuring conventions, instead opts to use the dumbest things possible. The Sea cow's units of measurement were seagulls. It isnt that he cant do normal units of measurement, he just prefers his made up ones

• Makes his drafting paper by himself

• Pretty good with 2d and 3d modelling surprisingly. He doesn't like either, however, he much prefers drafting on paper

• Leaves an average amount of notes on his drafts but has the most disgustingly fancy cursive and writes in his piratey english. Often a nightmare to read if you aren't used to his writing

• Will sometimes do blueprint swaps with Benny wherein they critique each other's work. not sure when they started doing it, but it's become a weekly activity for them

Unikitty

• Worst drafter of the main masterbuilder crew. Most people think it's because she's a cat but no she just doesnt take drafting seriously in the slightest

• Drafts like she's making an arts and crafts project. She has put several bottles of glitter on singular drafts and she will do it again

• Dimensions in rainbows, no knows what this means other than emmet

• Gives the longest, most complicated titles possible

• No such thing as straight lines

• Is entirely capable of drafting properly, just refuses to

• Leaves notes that are entirely unrelated to the draft. she wont tell you how youre supposed to connect two objects but she *will* tell you about the sandwich she ate while making the draft

• Doesnt use autocad, looks too boring

• Didnt use any 3d modelling softwares until she realized you can change the appearance of materials. that was a game changer. still much prefers drafting on paper though

• Likes drafting with emmet sometimes since he seems to be the only person who understands her drawings. to this day no one understands how he does it

Vitruvius

• Going blind has, surprisingly, not made him much worse at drafting, just changed his process a bit

• Drafts in pencil

• Probably the person who least frequently drafts of the main masterbuilders. On account of just not needing to and also on account of being dead

• Dimensions in the old anglo-saxon units of measurement

• Doesn't title his drafts and doesnt see a point in doing so

• Leaves the most vague, utterly confusing notes on his drawings. theyre still related to the drawings unlike unikitty's notes, but theyre very odd

• Doesn't use autocad or 3d modelling softwares, partially because he wouldnt really be able to on account of being blind but also partially because he doesn't really know what they are

• There isnt really much to say about his drafting skills he's about as normal of a drafter as a masterbuilder can be

Wyldstyle

• An engineering teacher's dream student. She may not have the amount of experience metalbeard has but she's still very skilled

• Doesn't like drafting on paper and won't if she doesn't have to

• When she does draft on paper she uses a drafting mechanical pencils. she also 100% collects them

• dimensions in metric to exactly 3 decimal places

• leaves very few if any notes (always very concise ones if included)

• has a case of staedtler stencils that she bought 4 years ago and never uses

• picked up a habit of doodling on drafts from batman but will never admit she got the habit from him

• Autocad PRO. Also really damn good at solidworks and fusion. Give this girl a computer and she'll give you a motorcycle assembly within the hour

• Specializes in automotives

• Spends time with Emmet on the weekends teaching him how to use digital drafting softwares (this process was incredibly frusturating at first but gets easier with time)

[kairiscorner]

Hello po! Can I request Bodyguard! Noir with a famous cosplayer s/o? The s/o is doing a fan signing and theres this one fan whos acting pretty creepy and starts flirting with em. The thing is, their relationship with Noir is private and the media hasn't found out.

HELLO PO :DD OH SURE !!! i hope you like this >:))

respectfully, back off. – bodyguard!spider noir x cosplayer!gn!reader

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

peter loved everything about your dimension, earth-1218–it was so full of color and was so vivacious; especially during events that you frequented, such as the very one you brought him to, a cosplay convention where you were going to do a fan signing. peter wasn't very familiar with this whole 'cosplaying' gig you had going on–he didn't understand what all the hype was about, but if it made you happy, he'd support you a 110%.

he was taken aback by all the colorful and lively people and merchandise there was everywhere, the lights were his favorite part because they were all of different colors. he got a little giddy inside but was also super confuses when a bunch of people in both costumes, casual attire, and uniforms all stared at him and took their phones out. some asked for pictures with him, and you encouraged him to do it, but he was disoriented after the first few picture takings that you had to sit him down behind your booth for the fan signing.

though when he came back out, he was greeted to the sight of this... creepy person smiling a little too eagerly at the sight of you. you laughed at their 'jokes', but peter could tell that you were extremely uncomfortable. he came out from the back of the booth and confronted the person, towering over them and glaring down at them. "this guy bothering you, dearest?" he asked you with a low voice, and as you tried telling peter no so the situation could de-escalate, the creepy person smiled up at peter. "woah... no way, awesome spider noir cosplay, man!" they exclaimed as they pointed out all the little details he had on his costume.

the creepy guy's attention shifted from peter to you, however, as he tried grabbing both of your hands–begging you to go out and get some dinner with them. they told you they bought all your merch, liked and shared all your posts–the least they deserve is your affection in return, right...? of course not, you aren't indebted to their feelings–you didn't even know their name! as you backed away from them, they got frustrated with you and tried lunging at you to get you to come with them–but peter beat them to it and clutched their hands with his own and clenched them. hard.

"ow! what the hell? now... i-i don't care if you look awesome or sound like... like nick cage, you gotta let g- ah!" they exclaimed in pain as peter ball his fist up, with the creepy person's hand in his own. a series of pops and crunches were heard coming from the person's hand, and peter let go after they were wailing in pain. "i don't know who your 'nick cage' is, but i'm not that guy–i'm not just somebody to them." he said as he gently wrapped his arm around your shoulders, surprising you and your fans.

tags !! @thecoolerdor @miguelswifey04 @sabcandoit @binibinileonara @luvstarrstruck @maxoloqy @k4tsu3 @thee-fantastic-mrfox @arachnoia @ophanimgold

peter looked at them all as some of your fans were snapping photos and filming this very moment, with them all asking themselves: who the he was this guy and what was his relationship with you? you got all embarrassed and a little frightened because you knew some of your fans were a bit... extreme like that stalker guy, whose hand peter crushed earlier. as you tried explaining yourself and apologizing for peter's actions, security was soon coming and were going to see the wailing stalker with their swollen, broken hand.

you took peter by the hand and ran off with him, hurriedly announcing your fan signing was now over, much to your fans' dismay. they tried chasing you down, and so did security after they hurried over to the stalker and asked what happened, who hurt them. as you and peter ran down the halls and stairs of the convention, peter was more than satisfied at having made his statement clear earlier: nobody was allowed to mess with you... not when he's with you.

[wordsandrobots]

Say what you will about Yoshiyuki Tomino, he hasn't yet inflicted a beauty pageant on me in the middle of a lethal game of cat-and-mouse with an alien armada. Good grief.

As I mentioned previously, watching Super Dimension Fortress Macross, I struggled to maintain a clean distinction between 'this sucks' and 'I hate it'. Certainly, I don't think it's fair to lay into the highly variable animation quality (a quick glance at Wikipedia confirms the production was somewhat troubled) or the particular type of song chosen to centre the show around (this is a matter of taste and while I could get very snobbish about hinging everything on a pop song with the refrain 'zoom zoom zoom zoom', that definitionally goes against treating something on its own terms). I won't even attempt to lay out why I found the love triangle centred on protagonist Hikaru Ichijyo so incredibly tedious, because there's a point at which one just has to accept one is not suited to a particular set of conventions and tropes.

Conversely, when I say the action is overall rather dull, I mean that as a substantive complaint and a direct comparison to the original run of Gundam shows, of which several key creative figures here were fans. I'm not sure if it's simply there being less visual variety, since the bulk of the focus is on the same two or three mecha designs, or just that there's a trick to making jet fighter combat sing they haven't quite cracked yet. I've seen later pieces of Macross animation that hold up better in terms of storyboarding, so it's not inherent to the idea, merely this initial execution. Where this series does manage interesting visuals, it's in the juxtaposition of giants with human-sized environments or vise versa, and the persistence of changes in the world. About a third of the way through, it's established the alien Zentradi can't keep their spaceships in good repair, so when our heroes smash up an enemy command centre on their way out of being taken prisoner, it stays damaged for the next third of the show. I found that a lovely touch.

There end the nice things I have to say. Beyond this, I have three serious critiques I think are worth making about SDF Macross. Let's take a cut for spoilers and for me getting frankly quite ratty about a major anime franchise.

First point: fairly early on I found myself thinking, "so this is what straight mecha anime looks like." By that, I don't mean it is sexist, although to be clear, this is one of the most irredeemably sexist things I have watched in a while. Every female character is defined by how acceptably 'feminine' they are and their actions revolve solely around the male cast. The few instances where it looks like we might break from this pattern are swiftly walked back (I'm particularly smarting about Lap Lamiz, introduced as a high-ranking and formidable commander, ending up playing second fiddle to Kravshera, who while one of the most consistently entertaining antagonists is still little more than a belligerent, thuggish drunk).

Nor do I mean SDF Macross is meaningfully homophobic. We have one cross-dressing joke of the 'aliens misunderstand human gender roles' variety and one instance of protagonist Hikaru being called a pervert for mistakenly stumbling into a lingerie display in public. Compared to, say, the comedy eked out of disgust-at-queerness in Gurren Lagen, it comes across as quaintly oblivious.

No, what I'm getting at is that I have never before encountered a plot you could shatter so thoroughly with the very concept of same-sex attraction. The Zentradi, you see, are a warlike race of bio-engineered giants who possess 'no culture'. This means their lives are entirely devoted to combat, with art, creativity and love all unknown to them, to the point Zentradi men and women live completely separately from one another (in the movie adaptation, this is changed to a full-on war of between the two genders). Regardless of this, they respond on a primeval level when exposed to songs, music, and most of all, the sight of men and women kissing. Somehow, despite being hundreds of thousands of years removed from 'culture' – treated as a general encapsulation of anything outside warfare – they still get the hots for blue-haired pretty boys and sixteen-year-old pop-idols. That is to say, they're fully capable of attraction and all it entails, emotionally and socially speaking; it's just that the segregation of the sexes meant they were oblivious to this fact.

What a damn shame there were no gay Zentradi or this whole thing could have been sorted out eons ago.

You might think this is making a lot of a ridiculous plot conceit in a show that not only has giant alien but presupposes they can size-shift via techno-biological means and are otherwise functionally identical to humans. This isn't any less daft. But it is a reminder of how people like me aren't considered part of 'culture' despite having existed for as long as there have been people, and that's hard to overlook.

Second point: the inherent meaninglessness to how the conflict is portrayed.

SDF Macross opens with a brutal attack on the island city built up as part of an effort to restore the titular warship after it crashed on Earth. This forms the first in a series of exceptionally destructive incidents, including the island itself getting teleported to Pluto, a nuclear-level detonation that demolishes 50 square miles of inhabited landscape, and Zentradi bombardment leaving the Earth's surface a desolate desert. Over the course of this carnage, a grand total of three voiced characters are killed, the death of only one of whom is given any emotional weight, since Minmay's parents are presented as unlikeable and unreasonable. Theoretically, we are talking about an inconceivable level of loss, so some numbness is expected. But it's striking how utterly insignificant it all is in relation to the main cast.

Nobody spends much time reflecting on the destruction. The city destroyed at the start is rebuilt inside the Macross (several times). The Macross' crew lead a reconstruction effort to restore the damaged Earth that swiftly restores a 'normal' suburban environment with only token gestures towards the hardship resulting from the utter ecological collapse of the entire planet. True, there is mention that Earth's technology advanced rapidly as a result of encountering alien machinery. Yet all the same: nobody is markedly changed as a result of living through any of this.

To contrast with Gundam again, there are a lot of traumatic events in those shows that do not quite have the enduring impact they perhaps should. Nevertheless, such things usually mark turning points, the loss of people the main characters care for or the sight of the harm caused by war changing and reinforcing their arcs. And Macross is certainly trying to present its equivalent moments as traumatic, lushly rendering the devastation and humanising it by, for instance, showing a soldier throwing his body over a child in the seconds before both are atomised. It arguably does a better job of depicting this sort of thing, while astronomically upping the scale.

I couldn't, however, tell you why they bothered when the actual core of the show – the aforementioned tedious love triangle – remains entirely unaltered as a result. Ichijyo, Minmay and Hayase bumble through their failure to communicate without the slightest reference to the scale of the loss they have endured. Oh, it structures the plot in a nominal sense, A to B to C. But for all the difference it makes, nobody might have died, certainly not the parents of two of the three in the same apocalypse. You might at least think that would induce some significant progression in the relationship(s) or their maturity, but nope! Two years into rebuilding human civilisation and the misunderstandings continue as usual.

(The movie makes an attempt to actually connect the dots, the exploration of the dead Earth becoming the point Ichijyo and Hayase form a romance. In doing so, though, they cut out the meat of the two's interactions from the original, raising more questions about what the hell she sees in him. I therefore can't give it too much credit. Although it does manage to make the death of Roy Föcker [Ichijyo's mentor figure] even less impactful than it is in the series, which is at least funny. Oh, I should be clear, I don't count Roy in the above discussion because his death is in run-of-the-mill armed conflict not, you know, the end of the flipping world.)

This wouldn't irk me if not for the conscious centring of spectacular grand-scale violence every few episodes, where you're abruptly reminded you're technically watching a war story. If they'd spent less effort on the harrowing scenes, the whole might work more seamlessly, but clearly they wanted to show exactly how horrible the war was, for the maybe ten seconds at a time in which it got to be the emotional focus. The tonal shift from there to whatever way Ichijyo is failing to decide which of these two women he actually gives a shit about this week is basically the Jeremy Clarkson "Oh no. Anyway" gif, repeatedly, for thirteen hours.

Anyway, needless to say this whole debacle is an exercise in imperialist storytelling.

Right. OK, this is point three and it's me getting pissed-off enough to indulge in the bleakest reading possible. I feel bad about it, because this is the big dumb 'pop music saves the word' mecha franchise, who could be mean over that, etc, etc. But look: we are talking about a series where the antagonists are a people 'without culture' who are pole-axed and converted by exposure to the delights of a heterosexual, consumerist, celebrity-centric society, who then prove troublesome to actually integrate into the greater whole. It is very notable that while we get a brief demonstration of human resistance toward welcoming aliens to the Macross, post time-skip all the trouble is caused by Zentradi who cannot give up their belligerent ways. All of it. Everything would be absolutely fine if they just went along with the majority who are happy working to restore the Earth, but oh no, these few are just too barbaric and angry. They want to return to warring and won't let us take them out non-lethally even when we want to. How sad.

(No one seriously gives a fuck about this. The Macross firing its cannon to obliterate the angry Zentradi is a heroic moment of final victory, capping off the series.)

The Zentradi are desirous of 'human' culture. They covert the pretty pop-princess. They are, after defeat in battle, flattered into instant feminity by the affection of a 'gentleman' (sod me, that's how the Macross wiki describes Max, the man whose reaction on first meeting Milia is to estimate her bust size and remark how she's perfectly his type). They make crude attempts to emulate 'culture' for themselves, that they sometimes turn against humanity, when they aren't perfectly happy to live lives functionally indistinguishable from 'normal' people.

There is a token attempt to copy the Gundam play-book by having dubious military higher-ups who theoretically act to make the situation worse despite our heroes' attempts at peaceful solutions, plus repeated references to the 'Unification Wars' that leave me undecided as to whether the series thinks forcibly annexing the entire world under a single authority is a bad thing or not. We do get the usual 'humans have also made war for as long as we have existed' line to show how we aren't so different.

Even so, it's not significantly less imperialistic to write tales about alien enemies who lack the things that go into a 'proper' society and who will become acceptable citizens if they just embrace those things than it is to simply render them a homogenous mass of acceptable targets in need of extermination. To return to my first point, Macross' idea of culture is one where people like me – and people of non-heterosexual orientations in the original audience – do not belong. The story presupposes that a 20th Century 'developed' lifestyle can (and should) be replicated ad nauseam, regardless of whatever level of upheaval is inflicted upon it. Also (human) military personnel are nearly always in the right and anyone criticising them is being churlish. Seriously, we never get the reason why Minmay's cousin has such contempt for soldiers, beyond his being a jerk, to say nothing of Ichijyo's own initial dislike of the military evaporating like snow on a hotplate.

I do not like Super Dimension Fortress Macross. It is a mediocre piece of animated art, its action empty spectacle and its characters largely shallow. While I am, unlike what you might think, not averse to things being dumb fun, the precise configuration of the setting and what it is intentionally or otherwise implying about 'culture' with respect to other societies means I quite simply can't have fun here. Perhaps you will not have these issues with it, but I still cannot in good conscience recommend this series to anyone else.

You can enjoy the Valkyrie as one of the best mecha designs ever committed to screen perfectly well detached from this drivel. Who knows, maybe that's what most people do?

I wouldn't blame them.

[spicy-universe]

Gecko-Man character profile

Gecko-Man

Aka: Miguel O'Hara

Earth: 777

Regular guy who was bitten by a radioactive spider while asleep one night. He woke up one morning with the ability to climb walls, hyper awareness, and the proportional strength of a small animal, and connected the dots from there. He's never lost anyone close to him. He never knew his parents, has no relatives, and hates cops. Fights low level street villains. Hates being compared to Gex. Once got into a fistfight with William Shatner at a sci-fi convention. Really good at wall crawling and has developed a super jump ability.

Allies: none in home dimension, but becomes close with Spiderman EC74, Spider Cube, and Takuya Yamashiro.

Arch Nemesis: Asbestos Man

Theme Music: I Wanna Lose Control by Death Ray

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for accidentally starting an apocalyptic-like event to get back at my friends?

I’m aware the title sounds bad, but you don’t know my half of the story yet. I (M, Old man coded) used to be in an adventuring group with my friends, who I will call G (M, Ageless), S (M, Ageless), M (M, Ageless) and E (F, Ageless). We traveled all across the world, even into different dimensions! One day, we sent out on a quest to kill a dragon allegedly tormenting another dimension (the inhabitants seemed very neutral on their whole predicament). We eventually defeated the dragon but not by…conventional means. E invented a device that would allow us, among other things, to delete the dragon from existence. Seems weird but we rolled with it. But then, days later, I find out that all of my friends were planning to lie to the general public, saying that we bravely slayed the dragon in a combined effort with our super cool combat abilities! I was angry. I rightfully complained to them but they kicked me out of the group and erased my entire existence from their story in response! I was furious! They ended up becoming extremely famous off of their lies, three of them even going on to found towns all across the world. They were regarded as “heroes” and “living legends”. I, of course, became extremely resentful of them and writhed in my anger, so much so that I began to devise a plan. I would created a creature with the device E had made and sic it on a crowd of people at a convention in G’s town. I took some precautions, of course. The device allowed me to have full control over the creature and, in case of something going totally, horribly wrong, I crafted an elixir to immediately stop it. Everything was going according to plan. I scammed my way into getting all the ingredients I needed, built an evil lair underneath the main stage of the convention, and practice my grand speech to that bastard! That was until a band of idiot, naive fools (M, M, F, F, X, Young people coded) snuck into my evil lab and stole the elixir and replaced it with a fake bottle!! Apparently they were mad about me scamming their friend or whatever. Anyways, I sicced another creature on them and made my way up to the main stage, where G was having a QnA panel. I made my grand speech, brought my creation to life and continued on with my plan. G was standing there like a coward, barely doing anything as people fled in horror. After a while, I decided I had humiliated him enough and ordered my creature to retreat. But the creature refused and started mutating right before my eyes. I told it to retreat again, thinking it didn’t hear me, before going for my emergency elixir. But, as mentioned before, one of the idiots swapped it with a fake bottle and I didn’t notice because I wasn’t expecting them to do something so greedy and stupid. I threw the bottle at the creature�� and, surprise surprise, it did nothing! One of the other idiots still had the real thing on their hand but, at that point, the creature had too much time to react and managed to protect itself from the elixir’s effects. It began to mutate into this giant, three headed monster and started sucking people inside of itself with multiple tractor beams. I had no idea it could even do that, mind you!

Fortunately, none of the people inside the monster were seriously hurt and the whole ordeal was dealt with. The only lasting effects of the monster’s attack were some major property damage and the death of one of my friends and one of the idiots’ pet. The truth had a 50/50 chance of being revealed to the public and I was forgiven for my crimes and invited to live amongst the townsfolk in G’s town.

Do I regret my actions? Everyday, yes. Would I have done them if I knew what it would lead to? Absolutely not. I’m trying my best to better myself now and open up to a few of the aforementioned idiots, but I can’t stop myself from feeling exceptional amounts of guilt for everything. So, AITA?

[hirocimacruiser]

REGAMASTER

Combat power with ultimate lightness and strength

On the street and on winding roads, you'll experience an exciting feeling of acceleration and excellent braking performance. A revolution in weight reduction brought about by super forging and high precision. I want you to experience the difference in dimension in all of them. Experience the joy of running. Regamaster. The ultimate response-enhancing parts that continue to accelerate to new dimensions.

World's lightest at 6.8kg - 1.4 times more tensile strength and 1.9 times more elongation than conventional forged materials. (17×8.0JJ +45)

(Material: From JIS standard H4140 tensile strength test)

[erintaj]

Super Specific Composite Aspects

Bi-quintiles + Quintiles

The Nature of Quintiles and Bi-quintiles: "Magic with a small 'm'"

The bi-quintile/quintile suggests a special talent or ability, often related to creativity and self-expression. It's a subtle but potent aspect that encourages you to explore your unique gifts and develop your creative potential. While it might not be as prominent as major aspects, it adds a unique flavor and potential to the areas of life represented by the planets involved.

Unique Abilities: The biquintile is often associated with hidden talents, special skills, or unique abilities that may not be immediately obvious. It suggests a natural inclination towards creativity and self-expression.  

Artistic Expression: This aspect is frequently linked to artistic talents, such as music, writing, painting, or any form of creative expression. It can indicate a natural flow of inspiration and a knack for finding unique solutions.  

Conscious Development: While the talent is there, it often requires conscious effort and development to fully realize its potential. It's like a seed that needs nurturing and attention to blossom.

Saturn Bi-quintile Venus

This aspect suggests that the relationship can be a source of artistic inspiration and creative expression. The couple may enjoy shared artistic interests or find that their relationship itself becomes a work of art, carefully crafted and refined over time.

However, Saturn's influence adds an element of seriousness and responsibility. The couple may need to work through issues related to commitment, emotional restraint, or differences in values. There might be a tendency to be overly critical or to hold back affection.

Shared creative pursuits: The couple may enjoy making art, music, or engaging in other creative activities together.

A strong aesthetic sense: They may have a shared appreciation for beauty and create a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing environment.

Challenges with emotional expression: Saturn's influence can create a sense of reserve or difficulty in expressing affection openly.

A need for structure and commitment: The relationship may thrive with clear boundaries and a shared understanding of commitment.

Growth through challenges: Overcoming obstacles and working through limitations can deepen the bond and lead to greater emotional maturity.

2. Jupiter bi-quintile Uranus

This aspect suggests a relationship that encourages both individuals to step outside their comfort zones and embrace new experiences. There's a shared love of learning, exploring new ideas, and challenging conventional thinking. This could manifest as a mutual interest in travel, philosophy, spirituality, or any pursuit that expands their horizons.

The couple may inspire each other to think in unconventional ways and to pursue their dreams fearlessly. They may be drawn to humanitarian causes or have a strong desire to make a positive impact on the world.

Potential manifestations of this aspect:

Intellectual stimulation: The couple enjoys deep conversations, exploring new ideas, and challenging each other's perspectives.

Shared adventures: They may love to travel, try new things, and embark on exciting adventures together.

Support for individual growth: They encourage each other to pursue their dreams and express their individuality.

A progressive outlook: The couple may be open to unconventional ideas and embrace change with enthusiasm.

Humanitarian values: They may share a passion for social justice and making a positive difference in the world.

3. Mars bi-quintile Neptune

Mars biquintile Neptune in a composite chart suggests a relationship with a strong spiritual, creative, and imaginative dimension. This combination blends Mars' assertive and driven energy with Neptune's dreamy, intuitive, and compassionate nature.

Shared spiritual or creative pursuits: The couple may find deep satisfaction in exploring spiritual practices, artistic expression, or other activities that connect them to something larger than themselves. This could involve meditation, yoga, painting, music, dance, or even humanitarian work.

Idealization and romanticism: Neptune's influence can create a sense of idealism and romanticism in the relationship. The couple may see each other through rose-tinted glasses, which can be both beautiful and challenging. It's important to maintain a balance of realism alongside the dreamy, imaginative qualities.

Sensitivity and empathy: There's likely a deep level of empathy and sensitivity between the partners. They may be very attuned to each other's emotions and needs, and they may have a strong desire to help and support each other.

Subtle communication: This aspect can also indicate a strong nonverbal connection. The couple may communicate through subtle cues and gestures, and they may have a deep understanding of each other without needing to say much.

Challenges with boundaries and assertiveness: Mars' assertive energy can be softened by Neptune's dreamy influence. This can lead to challenges with setting boundaries or asserting needs directly. It's important for the couple to find healthy ways to express their individual needs and desires while maintaining compassion and understanding.

[bugeyedfreaks]

1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 12 for HIM please

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

He’s fun! He’s evil! He’s fabulous! Who can’t like Him? It’s cool that, as a villain of Townsville, he’s the most serious kind that you can get, and it’s neat that the girls have a villain that’s dedicated to basically just screwing with their brains instead of pulling heists for material possessions like the rest usually do… but I do appreciate when he’s less, like… ~dark and edgy~ evil and more just messing around with the girls’ minds in ultra kooky, goofy ways for his own amusement (like making them take the SATs or conducting choo-choo trains or threatening to drop their teacher into a vat of boiling sharks, all while smiling… you can tell that my fave episode with Him is Him Diddle Riddle, haha).

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

I really like how mysterious and foreboding he is, specifically in the earliest episodes. The show used to air late at night, so sometimes when I rewatch episodes like Octi Evil and Tough Love (and it’s not a Him episode but I feel this BIG TIME with Abracadaver) I can remember being in the family room with all the lights off, sitting in front of the TV, watching them for the first time, and the whole nighttime ambiance made the episodes (and Him in particular) just all the more creepy and evil in my kid mind. He’s got a special unsettling feeling to him that feels lost later on in the last two seasons that aired (they also got rid of his obscure pink house/lair/hell realm that I always held a fondness for… the Dadaesque dimension they designed later kind of sucks and isn’t nearly as creepy).

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

He brought back the Rowdyruff Boys… why? Couldn’t he think of anything original? People think he’s so evil for resurrecting them (and in a way… true, because they’re not great characters) but I think he was just lazy. 🥱 He should have opened a mirror nightmare portal to unleash the Powerpunk Girls instead!

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

His hellish theme music!

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

There have been loooooooooots of super cool fanart and cosplays of Him! It’s always fun to see how people interpret him in different styles, and when I see a Him at a convention it’s always magical. 🔥✨

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Hmm… well, I have my headcanon that he and Sedusa and Mojo are all best frenemies that like to go have self care days and chill out at the mall with each other, if that counts? 😆

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Unveiling oxidation-induced super-elasticity in metallic glass nanotubes

Oxidation can degrade the properties and functionality of metals. However, a research team co-led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently discovered that severely oxidized metallic glass nanotubes can attain an ultrahigh recoverable elastic strain, outperforming most conventional super-elastic metals. They also discovered the physical mechanisms underpinning this super-elasticity. Their discovery implies that oxidation in low-dimension metallic glass can result in unique properties for applications in sensors, medical devices and other nanodevices. The findings were published in Nature Materials under the title "Oxidation-induced superelasticity in metallic glass nanotubes." In recent years, the functional and mechanical properties of low-dimensional metals, including nanoparticles, nanotubes and nanosheets, have garnered attention for their potential applications in small-scale devices, such as sensors, nano-robots and metamaterials. However, most metals are electrochemically active and susceptible to oxidation in ambient environments, which often degrades their properties and functionalities.

Read more.

[captainnavia]

I got this beautiful commission done by _skhema! I'm so so incredibly happy with the results, she did an absolutely wonderful job of bringing my boy to life! I've first met her at a convention and I was STUNNED by her beautiful artwork and her OCs and she was super nice and had some incredibly unique merch of her OCs. Definitely check out her work and also her shop!

Also, this is going to be turned into a charm, I will show that off when it arrives :D

Since this isn't the usual look for Max (as seen in my pinned post), I think I got some explaining to do.

This is actually an AU version, in a way. It's a bit complicated, but he stepped over the border into some kind of alternate dimension (The Carnival) bubble which kinda acts like a funhouse mirror. It changes you into a worse version of yourself. While other people in his team got more selfish, manipulative, angry etc. I thought it would be fun to make him more melancholic.

Outside the Carnival, Max values freedom and, despite going slowly insane through constant visions and just the sheer amount of suffering enacted on my boy, he pushes through and follows his own goals to return back home and save the people that are important to him.

In the Carnival, he has been broken in The Farm™ and reduced to a subjugated, sad shadow of his former self. He is heavily reliant on his teammates for comfort and orders and is plagued by not just constant, but now also blinding visions. He has to really push through his will to see the outside world, even if it's just for a little bit. Max mellowed out and is not as head strong as he was before. But, it's not all bad and he will get better throughout the Carnival (at least I hope he will lol). And he got his pigeons that he lovingly takes care of!

Since Max got more of a demonic look to him outside the Carnival, my GM suggested turning that upside down, since As Above So Below is a core theme throughout our little tabletop. So now he is an angel! And a total poser, in the way he dresses. He might look like a punk, but he is anything but one. The pentagrams are important to him, because of Mephisto, a certain someone that plays a big role in his life.

_skhema suggested adding the chains to the wings and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Thanks for listening to my rambles :)