#that gundam model has Seen Things

[bidonicart]

Is this anything

where else to find me

[markbandanawitts]

A Full English Translation of Mine Yoshizaki’s 47 Question QnA 🔥🔥

— Near the end of the 11.5 Guidebook, Yoshizaki sat down for an exclusive interview with Shonen Ace (The magazine that serialized Keroro Gunso), where he answered some personalized questions about himself

I’ve translated all of them along with giving some context to certain media references in this w attached links. he’s talks exactly how you’d expect lmao

Q1: Yoshizaki-sensei, people often seem to think you’re a woman.

I guess it’s because my name reads as “Mine.” When I chose it, I only had the image of Ryuta Mine in my head. But judging by Keroro’s behavior, I think it’s pretty clear I’m not a woman (laugh)

Q2: What was the first manga you bought?

I had my uncle buy me one copy each of Kiteretsu Encyclopedia and Obake Q-Taro. I used to borrow Doraemon from a rental bookstore.

Q3: Do you still have them?

Nah, even if I did, they’d be unreadable by now. I reread them so much they fell apart.

Q4: Do you have a favorite place to read?

I haven’t been reading too much lately, but I love to in a quiet, cozy café.

Q5: Has anything recently made you feel like you’ve been tricked?

Actually, yeah. Not too long ago, a friend took me on a small trip. We hopped on the highway and drove quite a bit, and I had no idea why we were going where we were; but it was fun, so I didn’t think much of it. Later, when I got home and watched the episode of Kamen Rider Hibiki that I’d recorded that morning, I realized the episode was filmed in the exact spot we had visited! My friend hadn’t said a word! It caught me completely off guard, but honestly, it kind of made me pretty happy too.

Q6: Is there a character you look up to?

Oh, definitely Saeki-san (laugh)

Q7: Keroro’s gotten really popular. Anything about that make you happy?

Hearing that everyone involved with Keroro is having fun working on it is what makes me happy.

Q8: On the flip side, anything tough about it?

It seems like working on Keroro is also kind of exhausting (laugh)

Q9: If you could be any character in Keroro, who would you choose?

Maybe Poyon-chan. She seems so nice and fluffy.

Q10: Who would you like to live with?

I’d say the new characters, Alisa-chan and Nevula.

Q11: Why them in particular?

I feel like we could have a nice, quiet time in an old Western-style mansion.

Q12: Is there any invention from Kururu that you’d want?

Oh, definitely that one thing for making Gundam models!

Q13: What’s your favorite part of the manga drawing process?

Definitely when it’s finally completed (laugh)

Q14: What’s the toughest part?

Getting started (laugh)

Q15: What do you think of the illustrations in the first volume of Keroro?

What do I think? Well, it was my best effort seven years ago. There's something beyond just thinking "it's bad." Especially for Keroro, since I challenged myself to break my previous style and start from scratch, so there are definitely some awkward parts in there.

Q16: When do you draw the cover illustrations? At the beginning, in the middle, or at the end?

The inking is random, so it varies every time.

Q17: Do you pay attention to differentiating characters?

Sometimes I intentionally try not to differentiate them visually. I make their personalities distinct, so that can create a sense of difference. I’ve even tried going against silhouette theory a bit, which is directly reflected in characters like Keroro.

Q18: Which is more fun to draw, Keronians or Earthlings?

Keronians’ round eyes are a hassle, and Earthlings have too many lines... It’s a toss-up (laugh)

Q19: What about secondary characters? Which ones are fun to draw?

Every character becomes lively as soon as I draw them, so it's fun. To me, they’re all waiting in line to be drawn!

Q20: Any tips for drawing something you’ve never seen before?

Draw with your eyes closed!

Q21: Do you do anything to improve your drawing skills?

Since I started working, not really. I draw every day, so whatever I’m bad at stays bad, which can be a bit of an issue.

Q22: When creating a manga, do you start with the characters, story, or setting?

The theme. Something that instinctively feels like "that's it!" The rest comes after that.

Q23: When do you come up with story ideas?

I thrash my ideas around, trying to come up with something, and eventually, once I reach the mandatory state of resignation, it comes to me (laugh)

Q24: Which takes more time, storyboarding or drawing?

Storyboarding!

Q25: If you had to sum up the feeling of struggling to come up with storyboards in one word?

Ugh.

Q26: What’s something essential while you work?

Coffee, probably.

Q27: You’ve never taken a break from publishing, but do you ever want to? If so, when?

I always feel like I want to! Every single time, no matter what!

Q28: When do you usually draw your manga—morning, afternoon, or night?

My schedule is all over the place. I live on a 25-26 hour cycle, so when my timing is off, it tends to mess things up for a lot of people. It makes planning pretty difficult too.

Q29: What’s your favorite manga that you’ve drawn so far?

Definitely Keroro Gunso.

Q30: Do you think you’re better suited for one-shot manga or long series?

Considering the amount of ideas on my brain when working on Keroro storyboards, I think I’m better suited for long series.

Q31: Are you currently thinking about your next manga project?

Ideas come and go, honestly. Right now, I’m putting all my effort into Keroro!

Q32: Do you like your own manga?

When it comes to Keroro, I like it without hesitation.

Q33: If you were an editor, what would you tell yourself?

“You can take a three month break if you want.”

Q34: Are you comfortable with drawing manga in front of people?

I’m totally fine with it! But in reality, I usually work alone, holed up in my workspace.

Q35: Do you do anything for your health?

Not really… It’s bad… I feel like I’ve been sending out SOS signals lately (laugh)

Q36: Do you have any stress relief methods?

I never considered myself to be stressed, but recently my eye started twitching, and apparently, that’s a sign of stress. I was kind of surprised when I found that out!

Q31: There are 24 hours in a day, but how many hours would you really want?

48 hours would be great!!

Q38: Is there anything that influences your manga drawing?

I’m most influenced by the general atmosphere of the world around me.

Q39: How would you describe the feeling of racing through Okutama on your bike?

Yahoo!

Q40: Anything that’s stuck with you or left a strong impression recently?

The insurance commercial with soccer commentator Matsuki has really stuck with me… As for things, I’m obsessed with the NSF100 motorcycle— I want it so bad!

Q41: A memorable quote that’s stuck with you?

“Ramen is long and delicious!” (I have literally no idea what he’s referencing here my bad guys)

Q42: Since getting your cat, Mac, has your life changed?

My lifestyle hasn’t really changed, but it feels like my heart’s OS has been upgraded by about three versions!

Q46: Do you like traveling?

I like it, but I haven’t gone anywhere recently. If I could, I’d love to go with all my friends.

Q43: What’s the most wasteful thing you’ve ever spent royalties on?

Royalties, huh... (laugh) The other day, I saw a Keroro bath towel in a UFO catcher machine, and I had to get it. I ended up blowing ¥2,000* and still didn’t win it. I wonder if my royalties will cover that…

*this is like $14 😭

Q45: What are the things you love the most?

The Earth, my wife, and Mac (my cat).

Q46: What’s the most shocking thing you’ve experienced?

When I first moved to Tokyo, I saw an elementary school kid at Yotsuya Station wearing a backpack and smoking a cigarette. I thought, “Wow, Tokyo’s scary. Maybe I should just go home.” But I’m glad I didn’t because I became a manga artist (laugh)

Q47: What does drawing manga mean to you?

It’s about making people happy. That concept hasn’t changed since I was a kid making hand-drawn manga for my friends in elementary school.

Anddd heres my impressively terrible scans of those pages just in case anyone wanted the source

[dirtreally]

The ideal toy/action figure is

1) a robot: even if its a really good action figure of like a person or whatever theres always gonna be some disconnect because you cant fucking hide the joints man. And even if you can people just do not articulate like that. If you move your arm your body stretches too. If your toy is a robot it becomes way more convincing as a gestalt being

2)poseable as fuck: rheres so many insanely detailed figurines of like batman or whatever the fuck and hes got bulge definition and kevlar and whatever the fuck but hes a-posingand you can only rotate the arms. Whats the fucking point at that point man.

2.5) it should specifically also have an ab crunch. Ive seen third party transformers that can do an ab crunch while rotating the upper and middle body sections independently and that shit is crazyyyyyyy. It for real adds so much life and presence to poses. The bastard thing about normal hasbro transformers is that they will never ever ever ever make one that has an ab crunch and it makes me so so sad

3) it should transform and/or combine: u gotta give me something to do with it man. Tangentially related but city/base transformers suuuuuck.

Uh huh yeah man thats a city

3.5) it cant be too big or small: if its too big then playing with it becomes insanely unwieldy. The big transformer toys have also had historically awful articulation because of their size. If the toy is too small Its Fine but like deluxe - voyager - leader class ones always feel the best in hand ino. This is why i do not fuck with diaclone.

4) it has to come preassembled it cant be some model kit shit. Sorry im not a real one. Im not about that life. I built a cool (NON GUNDAM!!!!) robot earlier this year and i attached his arm wrong and didnt realise until after i cemented it together and im still recovering. Generally speaking model kits are also mostly hollow inside so theyre less weighty and feel less good to play with.

5) it cant be TOO stylised. This is probably the most contentious one since this is more just a result of me not being The Target Audience but like. Transformers animated optimus prime should not fucking exist in the material realm.

This thing doesnt want to exist. Of course theres the inverse of this where they try way too hard to make it realistic and its like a hypergreebled thing but like thats basically a problem only a specific genre of third party figurines have. The bayformers toys were really good imo cuz they had a lot of detail but still felt very much like A Touy

FINAL THOTS

Every night i see them in my dreams

I know one of them doesnt have an ab crunch but squeezeplay more than makes up for it with the headmaster gimmick and the insane fucking alt mode. Sometimes Just Balling Out Works. This is why i have injector and hes one of my favourite designs transformers has ever done. They for real need to do more shit like him and less Another Guy That Transforms Into A Car But This Time Its 2% More Show Accurate. Its not like i deliberately only fuck with transformers that transform into animals BUT they gotta start finding weirder vehicles to make these from. A helicopter made out of rocks does not count.

I know theres other transforming toy franchises but theyre always either some boutique shit where each toy is 200 dollars or sentai. Which has the problem of not having a lot of articulation (this is fine because these are meant for like 8 year olds but also i straight up dropped boonboomger because every combination theyve given the robot has sucked ass and not even in a fun way like zyuohger). I know theyre doing smp minipla versions that are way more poseable now but again. I dont want to do model kits.

I also really fucking love it when a mecha has like an insane number of guys combining into it. Probably the one time where i will forgive a lack of poseability. Shout outs to go-onger engine oh g12 and boukenger ultimate daibouken (though i feel like this one kind of has a lot less visual impact than the has-1-less-guy super daibouken). The kingohger mecha was a huge disappointment because they wanted to make him one of those guys but by the time they actually combine all 20 bugs literally like a third of them are attached to the back. I feel like relegating a bunch of your guys to Backpack Duty is super cheating. Also the regular nonsupercombined kingohger mecha has spiders on his dick.

[magicalswordgirls]

Heh, I’ll draw a better Aerial next time. The important thing is that I got over my fear of drawing mecha and also over my fear of building plastic models of robots, so thanks, Okouchi! Some headcanons and ranting under the cut. (With spoilers)

For some reason most of my WfM fanfiction has been centered around Aerial/Ericht ever since the theory about Aerial being Eri started circulating during the first season. I’ve been thinking about AU’s where she doesn’t lose her body and instead is an older teenager/young adult who has to deal with a mother obsessed with revenge while also trying to protect her little sister from the consequences of said revenge (and precisely because of that, she ends up questioning herself wether following her mother’s path is worth it or not).

I think that Eri was a character with a lot of potential in the story. She’s this girl who lost absolutely everything, who might be sad and angry about it but can’t do much on her own. She loves her family and even if she also wants to help her mom get revenge, she knows that it’s wrong and she doesn’t want her clone/little sister to get involved in any of it but, yet again, she can’t prevent the fact that her sister is used as a pawn, and she’s also being used, even if her mom doesn’t want to admit it. The dilemma of wanting to help her mom while simultaneously wanting to protect her sister’s innocence is a very compelling part of the story. Also the relationship between the sisters had a lot of potential. Eri could’ve seen Suletta as everything that she wasn’t able to become and that could’ve lead to very complicated feelings. There were a lot of elements that would have turned Ericht into a very interesting and nuanced character and I’m not even mentioning the transhumanism angle, there was a lot that could be explored in that area.

However, as we know, there wasn’t much about this character in canon (even if she was important for both the protagonist and the antagonist of the show). She remained a mysterious figure throughout most of the story and we didn’t get to know much about her motivations. In fact, most of what we know about her comes from the short novel “Cradle Planet”, the anime didn’t bother to put that information in the story and that’s why for most viewers she’s this creepy girl haunting a Gundam who’s almost as big as a jerk as Prospera. To be honest, I was expecting her to be more conflicted during her battle with Suletta or at least I wanted to kow why she was so convinced to follow her mother’s plan. At the end we didn’t get any of that, and she remained as an underdeveloped character.

So yeah, I have the impression that in my head I made up this nuanced and tragic character out of someone that ended up being a Funny Little Guy inside a keychain. Well, I guess this is very common when one starts liking a secondary character from a show. (I always wondered how people would make long essays and fafics about characters that didn't do much in a show... guess I'm that kind of person now).

Well, I suppose that I’ll have to stick to my fanfics and headcanons, at least I know that nothing I could write’s gonna be more wild than what actually happened in canon. So there’s that.

…Thanks Okouchi :/.

P.S: I like to speculate what kind of teen/young adult she would’ve been, specially in slightly less tragic AU’s, maybe she’s more like she was in the Prologue or she’s a little bit messed up because she’s shielding her sister from everything that’s wrong with their family. Idk, I just find her very fun to write (although I’m always aware that I might be creating some sort of pseudo OC, man I really wish that canon had given us more material to work with!)

[ryunumber]

Does Misa Satsukino (Gundam Breaker 3) have a Ryu number? [I don't know if this is against the rules because while it is a game it's very much based on an anime.]

Misa Satsukino has a (Limited) Ryu Number of 3/does not have a Ryu Number.

(explanation below)

Gundam characters usually aren't too difficult to link given the series's long history with Super Robot Wars, but the key point here is that moreso than being a Gundam game, Gundam Breakers is more accurately a Gunpla game.

Gunpla, of course, being the wildly popular model kits based on the titular mecha, and most importantly for this blog's purposes, not actually the mecha themselves.

To that end, while the likes of Amuro are technically present in the recently shut down Gundam Breaker Mobile, they appeared as AI pilots you could assign to your Gunpla while participating in Gunpla battles, instead of the in-universe flesh-and-blood Gunpla nerds the game was ostensibly about.

So in a sense, these pilots all "appear" in whatever game-like system the Gunpla battles take place in. But does that count as an appearance in Gundam Breaker Mobile alongside the actual Gunpla battlers?

While I'm generally pretty hard-nosed about not counting depictions that are fictional in-universe, which kinda comes part and parcel with the Gunpla conceit, the Twitter account's judgment on in-universe media appearances is "How lazy is it?". In that sense, you could make a decent case that this is worth carving out an exception for. They all came with their own set of stats and characteristics, they were all voiced, and while this is personal speculation, if the primary appeal of Gundam Breaker as a series is playing with Gundam models by assembling and battling with them, the secondary appeal of Gundam Breaker Mobile was getting your favorite characters to pilot said Gundam models. So in a sense, you could assert the in-universe Gunpla battles were the actual core of Gundam Breaker Mobile, and the story with the "real" characters were little more than periphery flavor.

Now, my gut is to keep being a hard-nose about the in-universe depiction thing separating the two levels of fictionality at play, but complicating matters is that the game also added its own story characters as AI pilots.

So now there's characters that exist in both the fictional universe of Gundam Breaker Mobile and the artificial Gunpla battle system that exists within the fictional universe of Gundam Breaker Mobile. Are those the same character and character appearance within Gundam Breaker Mobile? I don't know, this is the exact situation I try to avoid with Extended Ryu Numbers and real ass people, just wrapped around another layer of fictionality. (Which itself could imply that, if you take the dubious step of extending the Gundam Breaker Mobile universe by asserting that other fiction beyond Gundam exists almost exactly as it does in real life, these characters have in-universe Ryu Numbers, which has to be by far the most ridiculous phrase I have ever seen fit to post.)

Not complicated enough for you? There's also AI pilots from Gundam Breaker Battlogue, the tie-in ONA for Gundam Breaker, which naturally includes Misa herself.

Honestly, if I'm twisting myself into this many Gordian knots just to establish some basic ground truths, I may as well cut it myself by saying that yeah, sure, she can have a Ryu Number if you want. It might even be Limited, going by when the Misa AI pilot was available. I don't know. Embrace and reject nuance simultaneously.

(Also, there's multiple Haros don't fucking @ me)

[shinoposting]

You are one of the few quality Shino blogs on here and I just wanted to get this off my chest (since he’s my fav character)! Everyone seems to think Shino’s favorite animated movie would be Disney’s A Bug’s Life but I honestly see him liking Roald Dahl’s/Henry Selick’s James and the Giant Peach or Ghibli’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind much MUCH more. Do you have any HC’s for the types of media content Shino would like to watch/read in a more modern setting?

The Bug's Life jokes are classic flanderization. Happens to side characters all the time, I just try to ignore it now.

Honestly bug boy has VERY gothic sensibilities. I see him liking a lot of tech-noir media. Naruto is a bit anachronistic but for the most part the setting is based on Kishi's 80s childhood, meaning that Shino could have easily seen early tech-noir movies. I think Shibi is into classic noir films, so it sort of fits in with this theme of...wanting to be like his dad, but also his own person. If that makes sense.

As for KIDS' media? Before finding his niche I think he would be drawn to underrated and strange, dark fantasy, things that other kids might find too scary like The Black Cauldron. Ironically though, not a fan of Nightmare Before Christmas. Come on, why's the guy who's full of bugs gotta be the villain? For that reason a lot of media involving insects or arachnids are off the table; he's quite easily offended when it comes to bugs.

I have not seen Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind myself but on a cursory google search these bugs definitely look like something he would be interested in. I can imagine him filling a whole notebook with ideas and diagrams....

Printed media...we know he likes shonen manga, and western comics are also implied. It seems like Shino preferred Marvel and Torune preferred DC?

I can't talk much on books really, I haven't been able to enjoy a book for many many years (personal reasons) so outside of YouTube reviews of known trash fires I really have no idea what's going on in the world of words on paper.

And for shows, Nat Geo and the like are a given, but I also have a longstanding headcanon that Shino really likes Gundam. We've never gotten to see his room, but I think he would have a whole glass case of custom-painted models. My only basis for this is that it was popular at the time and Shino is a big fucking nerd, detail-oriented, content to work with forceps...and robots are a lot like bugs, if you think about it (but not too hard). Maybe he watched the show with Torune when they were little.

Oops. That was longer than I intended it to be. Well, I hope that answered your question!

[gremoria411]

The poor decisions don’t stop, since I decided to start Gundam Ibo Urdr Hunt while watching 0079. (Though realistically, it seems I’ll just end up putting 0079 on the back burner for a bit). This was motivated by Four Factors:

The announcement that they’re actually going to do something with the series going forward (I’m *hoping* for a full series or compilation movie, but I can’t guess at how practical that’d be, since I don’t know what the series is like yet). Regardless, I felt I should at least watch the series so I have an opinion on it. EDIT: I’m betting a compilation movie, there’s a lot of reused animation, and a lot of the parts lacking animation are conversations.

I already bought the model kits of both the Marchosias and the Asmoday purely on the strength of their designs, and I kinda want to decide if the Hajiroboshi or Cyclase’s Schwalbe Graze are similarly worthwhile (I’m slowly coming around to the Graze), since now’s probably the best time to go for them.

I kinda really want to know what’s going on with Cyclase Mayer. I really liked Mcgillis, and so I’m interested in seeing what a similarly designed character is going to be like in Post Disaster (plus, he’s a serious-faced man in a business suit, so he’s probably going to be fun to watch just from a broader perspective, given what characters in this universe typically have to deal with).

I haven’t actually been that excited about it, which annoys me. Maybe I didn’t see much hype, maybe it’s too close to Witch from Mercury/ the SEED Movie, or maybe I’d just gotten a little too settled in Post Disaster

Also, I just watched the opening for the first time and feel like I should jot something down;

Do each of the rings come with a maid? And Cyclase has two of them? Is he just trying to put a maid household together by collecting all the rings?….…….is this a Gundam harem anime? (I mean I know they’ve been trying to diversify lately, but still….)

Obviously it isn’t, but the thought did briefly cross my mind as I watched the opening.

*the following contains spoilers for the first four episodes of Gundam Ibo: Urdr Hunt*

I’ve watched the first four episodes, as of writing, so I’m just going to jot down a few thoughts;

I like how each of the maids is shown to be different in personality. Berose’s so obviously unhappy with her posting and Parstai actively manipulates things to get a better owner for the Urdr hunt ring (granted it didn’t take much). And then Korunaru’s just cheery by comparison.

I kinda expected the Zan Brothers to be a comedy side-act - a duo of bumblers pursuing the Urdr hunt, based on their aesthetics (very flashy). As such, Rome murdering a human debris for failure and Aiko barely concealing his hostility toward his idiot brother were both very surprising, and a welcome addition.

I didn’t expect I’d like Range’s suit, the Enzo, as much as I did. It feels like someone took the Hexa Frame used by the Hugo and made an actually solid mobile suit out of it - Range loses because he’s outclassed, not because the design is lacking in any particular way. It’s balanced, well armed and has a neat aesthetic. Good job guys.

Similarly, I really like the design of the Monkey Rodi’s. So sleek.

Alright, so I’m assuming the Chairman of the Board for the Omden Colony Company is Torrado Omden? Regardless, absolute peak character design. Man looks like an overgrown toddler and I hate him for it. It really sells him throwing away resources and lives on this thing as…… sorta casually despicable? Like it’s a bad financial quarter?

Overall, I’m really enjoying it. But I do have two criticisms I want to note at this juncture. Though I’m reasonably certain that it gets addressed later, Wistario Afram (is it Afram or Afam? I think it’s Afam, but Afram just rolls off the tongue better) is just kind of the least interesting of the Urdr Hunt participants we’ve seen so far. Like, he wants to use the money to rebuild the Venus Colony into a major tourist attraction. That’s a solid, achievable goal, and the way he talks and acts makes me feel like it’s less about “can he do it” and more about “how will he do it”. I don’t mind that angle, but it’s very different from everyone else around him. Range is trapped working for a company that will cut him off for any perceived failure, and he’s grappling with the fact that it’s not the solution he thought it would be and that he’s got more in common with Afam than his employers. It’s a good angle, as he slowly re-examines what his place in the world, and the crushing pressure exerted by both the Colony Company - a very powerful organisation, as evidenced by the fact that they consider the grand prize of Urdr hunt to be pocket change; and that exerted by the Hajiroboshi itself, a Gundam from the Calamity War. Meanwhile, 598 is enamoured with the idea of becoming like Tekkadan, showing the far-reaching influence they have, however, he’s forced to re-evaluate his own actions and who they’re truly for - in doing so, he can realise who his enemies are and actually take steps to free himself from their control, and from there take’s the first step to becoming like his idols in Tekkadan. They’re both very compelling characters, and it’s just unfortunate that Wistario can’t seem to eclipse that. It could be that we were just told how bad the situation is in Venus, rather than shown - a few shots of the prison’s might have helped, or showing how they affect the populace.

That said, now that I come to write this all down, both of their origins are somewhat similar to Tekkadan (598’s for obvious reasons) - it’s possible that I’m only rating them as highly as I am due to the familiar elements. With that in mind, it is possible that Wistario may offer a fresher perspective on the world of Post Disaster.

My second criticism is one I’ve mention before, regarding Noisy Fairy; Don’t call someone “character A” it’s stupid, because the message it sends to me is “this person isn’t worth caring about”. If a character is worth caring about, they’re always called “mysterious girl” or “???”, so “Girl B”, “Mercenary A” and “Board Member C” are just worthless. Does it cost more to give them names? Do named characters denote different rates for their voice actors or something? It’s just really immersion-breaking, because it creates the sense that named characters are the only ones that matter.

(Also Radonitsa Colony being essentially a prison colony is great, because it roughly parallels the real- life British Empire’s treatment of Australia, though granted without any natives).

[furtiveseal]

Gunpla was totally a perfect storm for me. Picture this. It's late last year. I have been spending most of my hobby money buying MtG booster packs (I know, bad idea, not my point). WotC gets into the whole OGL debacle and I decide I don't want to give them money anymore. This also incidentally frees up some time in the evening for me, and I'm mostly spending it on YouTube. Not great.

Now one piece of advice I'd seen a lot was that you should get a hobby where you make physical stuff, and I wanted to try that. Here's the thing though: I have dyspraxia, which means I have very bad fine motor skills, making many manual hobbies frustrating. I have an unfortunate Warhammer pile of shame that I may or may not get to because while I love the idea of having models, building them has been very frustrating: plastic glue melts them so every time I mess up it makes them look worse, and I didn't even have a hobby knife for a long time, so my models look bad. And that's not even mentioning painting. It takes me three hours to paint a single Space Marine intercessor, badly. I can't seem to thin my paints correctly no matter how I do it, and so I'm never satisfied with how my models look in the end.

Enter Gunpla. A friend introduces me to Gundam Witch, I get obsessed, and look into Gunpla. It's basically big Lego sets of giant robots. They snap together, no glue required. They're already in the right colors, no need to paint anything if you don't want to. The kits are WAY less expensive than Warhammer, at least for the entry ones.

I'm lucky, because my local game store happens to have a random 30 Minute Missions kit lying around. I get a set of three hobby knives for 3€, and I start building as soon as I get home. I have a bit of trouble here and there, I have to hurt my hands pushing some of the pieces to fit, but I end up building the whole thing in a few days and it looks... Good!

And I understand why people say to get a hobby which lets you create physical stuff. I love getting home every day and seeing the kits I built on my shelves. Figurines are cool, but it just hits different when you're the one who built them. I have a little family of 7 mechs now! And unlike figurines, I'm not afraid of handling them. Even if an arm falls off, I know I can just put it back.

Best part is, it's making me more confident about tackling my Warhammer pile of shame too. Maybe I'll even manage to paint tiny toy soldiers I'm actually happy with!

[justjacob19]

Stuff I Watched This Past Week Or So

Completed- 

FLCL: This show rules, love the characters, plot was interesting and didn't explain much but also, you never needed to explain every last detail when its arguably more fun to speculate on that stuff. 9/10

Karas: The Prophecy- Watch for the action, npt the plot. Characters are meh and the plot goes no where, hints of one but I couldn't really find any overall themes or really interesting things it did. Expected more gore tbh. I heard this was released as two movies in the states and the other one has a better plot, but just watch the fights online, there is barely any story to be told here lol. 5.5/10

Anyone But You: "The Straights Are At It Again: The Movie" . Had some funny bits I guess but really stunk overall, kinda hated it by the end despite thinking the set up had a fun concept behind it. 4/10

Kamen Rider W: One of the best tokusatsu's I have seen, one of the best shows I have seen period. Its themes of memory, vengeance, death and loss are covered perfectly. It has amazing music, fight scenes, characters, it has everything. If you like tokusatsu, detective shows, crime shows, whatever it is, GIVE IT A WATCH! 10/10

The Iron Claw:  A powerful tragedy that was depressing as fuck to watch at points but so interesting to see. A bit goofy acting at points and WOW those wigs, plus it isn't that historically accurate, but I dont think it entirely brings the film down, especially with wrestling being more or less a backdrop to, you know, the tragedy at hand and how shitty Fritz Von Erich is. 7.5/10

Godzilla Minus One- GOSEEITGOSEEITGOSEEIT AAAAAA. Seriously, its amazing and best if you go in blind, take my word for it please. 10/10

Continued-

Futurama (Current Season/Episode S4EP4): Love this show! Where was it when I was in high school! Why did I watch south Park over this??

Ultraman Tiga (Current Episode 39):watching this as I type it, every episode is pretty fun, either being really visually and aesthetically cool or giving us what, to me at least, is interesting to see for a Ultra show (mainly talking about episodes 37 and 38 here, 37 is really trippy and beautiful, while 38's plot is "hey lets create mass panic for research purposes and also just lie to the people we have to protect, because we are the good guys!" and thankfully its not presented as a good thing lol)

Started

Gundam Seed- Watched the first two episodes and, eh, its ok so far. but im interested to see where it goes. its my first time watching a gundum show so hopefully its good

Kamen Rider Faiz- Creepy fantasy sci fi with fun tech modeled after the peak of society, the early 2000s.

[sakurarisen]

⚡ : What typically leads to inspiration for you when it comes to writing? 💔 : What kinds of characters do you have the most trouble writing for? 💕 : When it comes to shipping do you prefer to draw things out and let them develop slowly, or do you prefer to jump right into them and skip the developmental stage?

Monday Malarkey!

⚡ : What typically leads to inspiration for you when it comes to writing?

Just about anything, honestly? But for the vast majority of it, it's music and whatever game or book I'm into at the moment, three times as much if it's the source material for the verse I'm writing. It's rare that I can pick up Genshin or the Remake games and not walk away with some kind of inspiration or plot related thought by the end of my play session, and the light novels I'm reading now have sparked up a ton of it in regards to things like Sera's health and worldbuilding. Music often makes me sit and daydream out plots, too, so it brings its own form of inspiration - Heck, the Halcyon Era storyline/Sera's full backstory was inspired by a gorgeous mecha figure promoted in an email from one of the shops I buy Gundam model kits from, though I wasn't expecting the colorscheme and words 'Snow Phoenix' that inspired me to create to turn into the massive story it has!

Tl;dr? Never let me read or play games, I make things happen after. XD

💔 : What kinds of characters do you have the most trouble writing for?

The asshole, in your face, stuck up, only here to be a jerk types. The ones whose personality is "I'm here to be a problem and have nothing else going for me". I love a good antagonist and I have a few more blunt, serious, will fight you for fun muses (Leandros, Kalistratos, and Kagota over on @thundertide being primary examples of this XD), but I really struggle when their entire personality is abrasive jerk and they don't ever act like anything but, or they're just the scheming type constantly trying to cause issues - Even just a straight antagonist who would cause problems and smirk and leave is difficult for me to grasp, regardless of if they have more to their character or not? Like I could never write Rufus Shinra even though he's a pretty well rounded character 'cause I just can't get my head around that character, and it'll never not impress me others can and write him and characters like him so well. <3

I'm also not very good with writing canon characters. I have a handful, both on @shinrarisen and Thundertide, but unless they're characters like Kunsel or Cissnei, who have more open to interpretation storylines and big gaps to fill in, I end up feeling suffocated and struggling to match what canon gives. Basically, I didn't create them, so trying to match what the creator made gets hard because I can't just step into their mind and know everything about the character, if that makes sense? It's why the canons I do have end up being at least somewhat divergent in their portrayals - Because I love them and click with them enough to write them, but I don't feel like I do a straight, fully canon compliant take any kind of justice. ...Or I just don't agree with part of their story, looking at you old Yu-Gi-Oh multimuse of mine-

💕 : When it comes to shipping do you prefer to draw things out and let them develop slowly, or do you prefer to jump right into them and skip the developmental stage?

Both, but I will say the later requires heavy trust in my partner, and isn't really exactly a 'we ship now' and go. I have maybe three incredibly close friends I trust to skip the developmental phases in a ship and the ship still work out, but we have years of friendship and rp'ing partnership behind us for that to happen; this is seen best in my Genshin multimuse, where new characters get added and already have a ship tag - But to be fair, too, it's not exactly an insta-ship, either. While Kasa ( @honorisen ) and I jump into them pretty quick, what people don't see is the behind the scenes discussion on it, deciding if the muses even get along, letting them meet in short, one off things off-dash, let the muses flirt, really talking out how things worked out... We're jumping right into it and avoiding writing out the buildup (which gets usually drabbled or even a flashback thread much later on - It's avoided at the start but ends up happening eventually anyway to flesh out the characters and their relationship(s)), but we're still in heavy talks beforehand to make sure what we're really eager to do for a ship will even work, first - And if we actually like it when it's more than just a thought, even though our muses generally always just... Click.

For the most part, thought, I LOVE developing a ship! I love the buildup, I love the working things out and getting on the same page, the seeing if the muses get along, the figuring out of "how do we navigate this" - It's a big part of why even with close friends I can just skip into the ship with, we eventually come back and develop an entire story with them and even rp or drabble out those developmental stages. Sera and Zack had years of buildup even though their blogs were launched with their ship already in place, both on dash and off, but over on Thundertide and @yoroiis, Childe and Kagota swandived into a ship, yet we've gone back and worked out not only the developmental stages, but have a couple of ideas from those stages waiting in the wings to rp out and are constantly learning more about their backstory together, both as a ship and as old, childhood best friends.

I can't just 'okay, we ship now' with most partners - I can't even do it with you, Knight, OR with Kasa, even though you're both two of the three previously mentioned friends. I can launch blogs with ships in place, I can skip the developmental stages and go right into a ship when the muses click as well as we have - But I can't just cast it aside completely. Even when a ship is decided, we're still discussing how they met, how the ship happened, how they got where they are. We still go back and rp that out, or write it up. The development may be skipped in one verse, but it's very much present in another, and mimics the first regardless. In my personal opinion, ships that don't have any development, even discussed, feel shallow to me? And I mean that as in my muses and my ships and my experiences - Everyone else's varies and it may not feel that way to someone else, and that's totally awesome! <3 I'm glad other people can pick up two characters, tell them to kiss, and it works! But me personally... I can't. I have to have something, somewhere, and I have the best partners in the world who do the same. <3

[hibiscus-ships]

🐚☀️ and 🍧 for Date! (Happy Birthday, Jenni!🥳💜)

Thank you so much!

Seashells 🐚 - What hobbies do you and your f/o partake in together?

There are modelling kits for classic cars at my hobby store, we can get this man into some nerd shit yet. Jenni and Date both like to cook, and they both like going to the beach with each other. Sometimes Date does try to get into some of the anime she watches. He has concluded that Castlevania is good, Gundam is okay (why are there so many timelines? How do you keep track of the different factions?) and YuGiOh gives him a headache.

Sunlit sea☀️ - What nicknames or terms of endearment does your f/o use for you, and which are your favorites?

Date calls Jenni "baby" as a genuine term of endearment a loooooot, and "dear" (i.e. "yes dear?") if he's being sarcastic. Jenni isn't much of a pet names person, but she thinks its cute.

Shaved ice 🍧- What are things your f/o does that you find particularly/oddly attractive, that are usually unconventional or perhaps are strange to find attractive? (Or vice versa)

I know its because of the fanart I've seen, but

Listen. When this sprite shows up you are about to hear some of the dumbest shit ever. But he is cute :3 🌺

[ryuuka-balaen]

okok new pinned post time lets go

My name's Ryuuka! not the real legal one im not japanese but thats what ive been using online at least, internet safety 101 etc.

I'm a weird, tired, trans girl and have a habit of making a fool of myself on the internet, mostly here but also often on twitch.

I made this blog with the initial intent to talk about My Hobbying (3dprinting, warhammering, gunpla building), buuutt I lost the other places I used to use for stream-of-consciousness babbling, so that migrated here too and now this is just a place for babbling Nonsense.

All the places i can be found and have accounts are in the linktree in my bio but like nobody likes to click those things so imma list a couple here;

My Discord server, for more personal Yelling:

https://discord.com/invite/2HtTgJj7kC

My friend Jerry's Discord server, for WarhammeringTalking:

https://discord.gg/2htcnHgUbF

My Twitter, if you for some reason want to see me being Weirder:

https://twitter.com/ryuuka_balaen

My Twitch; for video of whalegirlScreaming:

https://www.twitch.tv/ryuuka_balaen

and a little taste of what goes on with the twitchstreaming, so u know what ur getting into before going there:

couldnt find any clips i really wanted to use here so this one will have to do......

sadly cant twitchstreaming half as much as i want to at the moment bc college has me by the tail but we'll get there.,

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post update 20/02/24

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in a move that anyone except me couldve seen coming, Ive pivoted from being a catgirl and nosedived off the deep end and become WhaleGirl! my tags on this blog are well-used though and i like calling myself a kitties catte so they'll remain unchanged :)

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and finally: the tags i use to organize my blog :)

#/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\ : anything I post that isn't hobbying stuff like this blog was initially intended for

#catnaps : for writing out my weird little dreams

#kittyface : any pictures that include me or my cute face :>

#halfbrat priscilla : my beloved dummy kitty baby. named after Half-breed Priscilla of dark souls

#hobbying : posts about my hobbies!! this is actual Content instead of just goofin and has like, painted models and fun things I do with my hobbies

#warhammer40k : one of The Hobbies. perhaps even Hobby of All Time. mostly painted minis

#gunpla : ough. pretty lil Gundam plastic model kits

#battletech : the cool lil mech guyssss

#catstreaming : for when the cat be streamin

#nyask : ask tag! anon asks make me happy so please send if you like :)

#replies : for a conversational thread, so things with this tag will probably show up a buncha times in a row

[hattiestgal]

Finally free from model kit hell, you know what that means!!!

This absolute beast (built in 1/100 scale instead of 1/144 scale due to being a master grade) is the 00 Gundam! The second mobile suit of the main protagonist of Gundam 00 (that isn't just like a rebuild of the Exia lol)! It rocks the twin drive system - as seen mounted on the shoulders - which made it the most powerful suit by a long shot when first introduced!

Up next, the aircraft companion machine, the 0 Raiser! This is basically a fighter jet that can be piloted separately from the 00, or dock with it to make-

The 00 Raiser!! Which as the name suggests, is the two machines combined to make basically the ultimate gundam. When fully powered up, this thing has some absolutely absurd practically reality warping properties that make it pretty much completely unmatched.

And finally, the two pilots of their appropriate machines, Saji Crossroad in the 0 Raiser (on the left), and Setsuna F. Seiei in 00 Gundam (on the right) to scale with the mobile suit in question!

Gosh, all in all, a real good kit! Master grade is definitely not something I can do all the time, but MAN, is it fun to build and see all the cool little intricate details! Especially when you build the whole inner frame of these beasts, it's certainly an up in how much time it consumes to build 'em. Really good stuff, though!

I'll be returning to drawing tomorrow, and I have a really fun idea since we're getting closer to a certain holiday... >:3c

But yeah! Hiatus over!

[alectoperdita]

What creative hobbies does your interpretation of Joey and Kaiba (in general) have or do? Like for example, drawing, creative writing, 3D modelling, sculpting, woodworking, etc

I do remember reading one of your chapters from the gundam crossover series where joey did sketches lol

I don't think I really have a consistent view of creative hobbies for these two. In fact I don't seem to write a lot about them having creative hobbies unless it's directly plot relevant. Ironic, given 90% of my life outside of work revolves around my creative hobby.

Canonically in the manga, Jounouchi is mentioned as enjoying plamos. Which makes a lot of sense to me that he likes making stuff with your hand. It's also hard to have a lot of creative hobbies when growing up poor. So I can see Jounouchi wanting to make a lot of stuff like plamos and kits, but that shit gets expensive fast if you do the whole painting bit too. One of the pleasures of growing up and making your own money for Jounouchi will be getting to explore those hobbies he might have always wanted to but couldn't because of financial reason. That opens the door to related hobbies like painting/sculpting/woodworking.

(Related, I love making Jounouchi a carpenter. I think it's an excellent trade for him to pick up, giving him both room to grow and decent financial security).

Conversely, traditional sketch art/doodling is relatively inexpensive and a much lower barrier to entry re: tools. So that's why I think drawing/sketching is a nice hobby that Jounouchi could pick up and enjoy earlier on. In the Gundam crossover, that combination of a love for plamo and sketching definitely informed his career choice.

I think Jounouchi enjoys singing too, but he probably thinks of it less as a hobby than as a way to goof around. He's pretty good too when we take into account his Japanese VA's singing career.

Kaiba, on the other hand, lived a life of (relative) financial security. However, given how strict his education was, I dunno if he was ever given much of the mental space to explore creative hobbies. Art might have been seen a frivolous waste of time within his home schooled education. The one exception to that might be music. I can see Gozaburo insisting on Kaiba learning an instrument or two. But at that point it's more about developing a skill set to show off (and maybe me projecting the Asian experience of your parent forcing you to pick up an instrument because that's classically considered part of a well-rounded education in many East Asian cultures). Violin or piano are the most likely candidates here. Kaiba is good at them, because he has to be. He can't not learn it well if Gozaburo is invested in that part of his education.

How much he personally enjoys it is up for debate.

Definitely one of those things that I imagine falls quickly to the wayside once he's out from under Gozaburo's control. But that also offers opportunities for him to maybe rediscover it later in life, after his skill set had rusted a bit from lack of practice, and learn to enjoy the hobby for itself while relearning the ropes.

A lot of the creative hobbies I've written for Kaiba follow the same development model, including tea ceremony and calligraphy.

I guess that makes them both kinda comparable, because they've each lived a life of scarcity in their youths (more financial for Jounouchi, and emotional deprivation for Kaiba) that robbed them of opportunities to explore their creative sides. As they heal and grow, they can begin to explore those possibilities for themselves.

[madhattersez]

Model Kit Build: "GF13-050NSW Nobell Gundam (Berserker Mode)" by Bandai

You may remember the last Nobell Gundam I built, who had a beam weapon that was a rhythmic gymnastics ribbon... Haha. Well, it's time for another installment of "Lady Gundams!"

This is another Nobell, which is basically the Gundam version of Sailor Moon. Unabashedly.

This model's different from the last one for a few reasons:

This one has a different color scheme, including soft pink pieces of main armor rather than white, purple and pink armor colors instead of blue and red, and orange hair instead of yellow.

You'll also notice a completely different hairstyle - This one is huge and fans way out behind her. In the anime, this is a system that lets the heat dissipate better than the standard configuration.

If you were around a few weeks ago, I actually built this much on Tumblr Live! It was pretty fun to share the building steps with folks that have never put models like this together.

Also, this shows just how tiny she is.

There is just something so fancy about these hands compared to other Gundams, haha.

Wow, I really, really love this color scheme.

And here is that crazy-ass hair I was talking about. It's a really good thing this model comes with a stand, or she'd be doing backflips all day.

It's attached to her head with one vertical and two horizontal joints, connected together at three different points itself, and is held up by two more pieces just to make it work.

I only mentioned this before, but didn't illustrate it - The Nobell Gundams feature a unique hip and chest swivel not seen in other Gundams, just to pull off cute and sexy poses... Yes, it's ridiculous, and yes, I'm here for it.

The final results? Wonderful!

Again, I absolutely love the garter. Cracks me up.

I went with the very-Sailor-Moon peace sign hand on this one, and a saber in place of a "Moon Stick."

I'm really happy with how these Nobells turned out, and it seems like they're helping turn my (now second) model shelf into a lady's night:

Hell of a party.

For more of my model kit builds on Tumblr, click here:

[wordsandrobots]

IBO reference notes on . . . actual, proper original characters

Someone asked if I had a cheat-sheet for the OCs in Wishing on Space Hardware and I realised I did not, but it would be an extremely good thing to have. So here we are.

This covers the characters who are wholly original and not based (even inadvertently) on extras in the series itself – you can find those here instead. Though, saying that, I have included Gabriela here as well because the character model I used is a literal baby, so doesn’t really count.

I didn’t cover absolutely everyone, but all the main recurring OCs are covered plus a couple I’m just rather fond of.

One note – I'm writing these for the time period extending from The Ares Affair onward, which is P.D. 333, ten years on from the start of Iron-Blooded Orphans proper. Since my stories cover a lot of the intervening time, their ages will vary depending on which one you're reading.

Now for a spoiler-preventing cut in case you want to go into the the fics blind!

Civilians

Sri Chaifin

AKA Eugene's Awful Girlfriend (according to Yamagi)

Profession: Treasure hunter Archaeologist

At 27-28ish, she's older than most of Tekkadan would be at this point. Of Indonesian descent, with straight black hair worn in a bob-cut, palish skin, twinkling brown eyes (Eugene's description) and dimples. Generally quite mischievous, sly or sarcastic of expression. Pretty tall: she's on the edge of six foot, only a little shorter than Eugene. Slim and leggy. Usually dresses in practical, hard-wearing clothes; can be persuaded into a suit to schmooze with potential contacts but will not like it.

Primary distinguishing mark is the failed Alaya-Vijnana at the base of her neck. Caused by a loss of nano-machine cohesion rather than outright rejection, it's left her with a vestigial whisker – a series of hook-like protrusions mingling skin and metal – an extreme nerve damage. Reprogramming the nano-machines and infusing more restored her mobility, however, and she can use the not-quite-a-whisker as a machine interface albeit in a more limited sense than a functional A-V system.

Definitely not as mercenary and selfish as she behaves. Genuinely cares about the history she's dedicated her life to uncovering. Probably smart enough not to unleash killer robots on everybody.

Eldin 'Doc' Chaifin

Profession: Medical cyberneticist

In eir fifties, as tall as eir adopted daughter and twice as broad. Golden brown skin that's seen a lot of Martian weather. Gey dreadlocks worn wound up on eir head. Utterly unflappable. Projects an aura of not giving a shit, but has an excellent bedside manner, especially for kids who've had important limbs blown off.

Some skeletons in the closet, and not just the unethical experimentation on people who've had bad reactions to Alaya-Vijnana surgery. Widely trusted to give care to any who need it, background, affiliation or convictions be damned. Religiously observant: ey attend temple services weekly. Possibly started out in a wealthy family but if so, ey haven't had anything to do with them for years.

Principled, blunt and fair. Loves Sri deeply, which is reciprocated despite a lot of mutual exasperation. Accent tends vaguely Scottish. 'Chaifin' is a made up name, in grand Gundam tradition.

Victor Handa

Profession: Plumber, community organiser, workers' rights activist

One of the many people to lose family in the Dort Riots, Victor exemplifies the colony inhabitants' resilience in the face of the massacre. Taking it as a sign that things need to change drastically and hyper-aware of the backsliding by the Dort Company since the initial awarding of increased rights, he has fought for improvements ever since.

Stocky, of mixed Japanese and Moroccan heritage, and perpetually unable to grow a decent beard, he is a mainstay of efforts to build a sustainable alternative to Company control. While generally softly-spoken, he is driven by a great deal of righteous anger at the injustice of the world as it currently stands. Reliably found at the forefront of strikes and marches, and if not there, then doing work behind the scenes to make such collective action possible.

A staunch pacifist, he is sharply at odds with Otta, his adoptive sister. That said, he holds no ill-will towards her and appreciates the lengths she goes to in order to keep her activities away from his.

Ilyana Sevenstark

Profession: Technically a PA?

A short woman of Indian descent with light brown skin and black hair, which is usually held back with a silver clasp of plain design. Holds herself stiff and awkwardly. Often gives the impression that she'd prefer to be elsewhere, mostly because she would, especially if elsewhere involves less human interaction.

A child of misfortune. Having lost her parents in a debris zone, she was left in the care of one of their old shipmates, scraping a living on Jupiter Gamma. With only an ancient drone to call friend, she dreamed of striking it rich and escaping to a better life. Eventually taking destiny into her own hands, she snuck aboard the Saisei in search of a job with one of the big-time salvage crews, but only narrowly avoided serious harm at the hands of the worst Teiwaz has to offer. Following this, she was taken in by Nikolai Critchlow – one of the conglomerate's financial chiefs – and was set to work managing his collection of ancient relics.

While not the worst use for her eidetic memory and technical skill, she chafes at living as Critchlow's indentured assistant and still hopes for a big score that will set her free.

Rachida Phiri

Profession: Member of the African Union ruling council

A very tall and grand Nigerian lady, I introduced her with long black hair done in box braids but she certainly changes styles often. This is not personal vanity; she is an adroit politic operator and tailors her appearance precisely to whatever it is required for her position, be that following the latest trend or adhering to a long-standing tradition.

Charming, sociable and warm, her family has been in politics for decades. Has at least one uncle who was in a position of power during the Dort Riots and likely a whole heap more relatives among the movers and shakers of her bloc. Takes her position very seriously, being a 'good' councillor in the sense of always putting the African Union's interests first.

A consummate player of the game of geopolitics.

Oliver Tang

Profession: Martian Union representative for the Noachis Region; Minister for Science

A crusty, craggy gentleman. Middle-aged, extremely experienced with politics, cynical as all get-out but with a strain of optimism running through it that aligns well with Kudelia's aims for Mars. Not always strictly an ally, he has nevertheless acted as a mentor and advisor to her.

Oliver greatly admires Kudelia, considering her to be hope for the future of the system he's helping build. Has been part of the independence movement since at least the Noachis July Assembly and helped push for greater autonomy within his home region. Following the formation of the Union, he continues to represent that region's interests and has garnered a reputation of being stubborn, obstinate, but ultimately reasonable when it comes to matters of the public good.

One of the few fellow politicians who can sincerely be counted among Kudelia's friends.

The Turbines/Arca Defence Solutions

Claire Metz

Profession: Mobile suit pilot

Formerly a crewmember on one of the Turbines' many freighters, Claire transferred to work directly under Azee's command following the restructuring of the group after Naze's death. Initially a trainee pilot, she is coming into her own as an active combatant.

A slim black woman of about thirty-five, slightly above average height, she has a somewhat downcast personality but can be relied upon to keep her head in a crisis. A competitive streak means she has strong feelings about family board-game nights.

Gabriela Turbine

Profession: Wannabe mobile suit pilot

At sixteen, Gabriela is one of Naze's oldest children. A frizzy-haired ball of chaos hiding behind a very unconvincing sweet-and-innocent act, she wants nothing more than to follow in Amida's footsteps and fly mobile suits for a living. Puts most of her brothers to shame in terms of work-ethic, and probably a bit too brave for her own good.

The loss of her father and so much of her immediate family casts a shadow over her life. As much as she tries to ignore it, there's no denying a lot of her actions are driven by wanting to live up to those who are no longer around.

Barrett 'Barry' Turbine

Profession: Teenager

The splitting image of Naze, which is about where the resemblance stops. Absent-minded, non-confrontational and shy, Barry would far rather spend his time painting his nails (or indeed anyone else's) than on the family business. While he doesn't resent pitching in, it's clear he's far from a born spacer and even his mother, Ria, isn't sure there's a place for him in Teiwaz's transport divison.

One day he'll figure out what he wants to do with his life. Until then, it's probably best not to let him loose on any heavy machinery.

The Colonial Liberation Movement

Otta

Profession: Freedom fighter/terrorist (delete as applicable)

Otta would be unremarkable in appearance if she didn't shave her hair down to show off the constellation patterns tattooed on the sides of her head (these reflect stars visible from her home colony of Dort Four). Also the perpetual air of restrained violence sets her apart from the crowd.

Of medium height and build, with fairly dark brown skin (darker than Victor, at least) and a piercing stare, Otta is a blunt and forthright. Having lost her parents to police violence during the Dort Riots, she is dedicated to freeing the space colonies and prepared to use any means necessary to achieve that goal.

In the absence of the firepower necessary to challenge Earth directly, she seeks to chip away at Gjallarhorn's control of outer-space, wrecking both their reputation and public support with acts of terrorism. To this end, she's been building alliances with other groups, including a certain set of Martian radicals.

Saji Watts

Profession: Freedom fighter/terrorist (delete as applicable), mobile suit pilot

A scrawny space-rat who worked for a private military company on Mars before it suffered unexpected losses while running security on an archaeological dig, Saji was paid to infiltrate the Martian Union Military to facilitate a mobile suit theft. Though he didn't initially believe that strongly in the cause of the dissidents who hired him, he has come to enjoy fighting alongside them.

Serves as a backup combat pilot for Ride's group, using one of the Leopard-type 'suits that he helped steal. Cheerful and prone to bragging, he fits in well with the ex-Tekkadan members.

Joshua Riva

Profession: Freedom fighter/terrorist (delete as applicable), hacker

Small, slight, pretty, with blonde ringlets and big eyes, Joshua looks like he wouldn't say boo to a goose. Actually, he'd probably scream if confronted with live poultry of any kind. But his strengths show when he's behind a keyboard, hacking his way through cyber-security measures like there's no tomorrow.

Fell in with Otta several years ago, as a fellow orphan of the Riots and hater of the status quo. His skills have been invaluable to her cause, as have his connections to other like-minded hackers across the Earth-sphere.

Gjallarhorn

Almandi Iverson

Rank: Resource Major

Profession: Manipulative bastard Mobile suit engineer

Honestly could be mistaken for Yamagi if you squinted really hard while their hair was dyed blonde. But where Yamagi's looks trend more, um, Japanese pop star (seriously, have you seen his original concept art??), Iverson is overtly Nordic in appearance. Medium height, wavy hair (naturally brunet), narrow features, pale white skin, a sharp nose, thin mouth, ice-blue eyes. Also pin-point perfect make-up at all times: Iverson aims deliberately for androgyny, the better to meet expectations.

Age-wise, they're approaching their forties, if not already there. Physically, they are never an imposing presence but can project authority when required. Their rank of 'resource major' is a lesser one than that of a Regulatory Bureau major or an Inspection Bureau specialist major, but they are take care to be indispensable to their superiors, to even out the difference. Recklessly brave when it comes to things they're interested in.

A friendly veneer and a professional attitude cover a deeply cynical personality. Iverson cares only about fulfilling their own objectives and will do and say anything to get their way. When they don't, expect their temper to show, quick, nasty and vindictive.

Atticus Briar

Profession: Power systems engineer

A big, jolly man, Mediterranean in appearance – possibly Greek? A friendly presence and a people person, enthusiastically working his project teams as ridiculously hard as he works himself. Something of a prodigy in his youth. Continued down the pure research track while Iverson – his peer and someone he assumed to be his friend – went into project management.

Also, Briar is trans. I don't know if that came through in Of Obsessions and Erotemes, but I'm planning to make it explicit later. This is one of the reasons he thought he'd made a genuine connection with Iverson. Sadly, he wasn't politically savvy enough to realise they were just using him.

Was genuinely crushed by the betrayal, having believed he'd found a kindred spirit. There are too few of those in Gjallarhorn.

Pelle Torvalds

Rank: First Lieutenant

Profession: Test pilot

Looks like a retired Viking. Burly, bearded and gruff. Dirty-blonde hair turning iron-grey. Good belly laugh. Excellent drinking buddy. A very pleasant person to be around, if you're in the same kind of military culture.

Also has absolutely done lots of shady shit on behalf of Gjallarhorn, some of which haunts him to this day and some of which is shrugged off as just being part of the The Job. No, those categories do not map neatly on to the things he should, ethically speaking, feel bad about. Less tormented by his past than thoroughly tired of it. Chose to be a test pilot in order to try something new that wouldn't send him back into old patterns.

Cares a lot about his comrades, without being overly expressive about it.

Ahmed Fahim

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Profession: Test pilot

A young Turkish man of medium height and indifferent build, who insists on wearing a cap at all times unless ordered not to. He frequently gives the impression of being bored by everything or actively asleep. Then he gets behind the controls of a mobile suit and turns into hell on legs.

Ahmed is one of the most naturally talented pilots in a generation. By rights he should be serving in the Arianrhod Fleet or another of the elite units. But his father was implicated as responsible for the shuttle crash that killed the old Lord Kujan (Iok's dad) and his family's honour and reputation were irrevocably tarnished. He was relegated to a regional support base until Iverson recruited him.

At this point, his ambitions don't extend far beyond doing what he's good at for as long as possible.

Mackenzie Croft

Rank: Captain

Profession: Test pilot

An English-descended bruiser, basically distaff-Dante? She's from Jupiter and I head-canon he is as well so . . . yeah. A big, muscly women with close-cropped red hair, square features, and a deep-seated brittleness to her personality. Her self-worth is bound up with having gotten a place in Gjallarhorn after being born out of an affair between an officer and a Jupiter 'commoner'. She was allowed in, like Ein, on the basis of the family connection and has struggled with prejudice and her own hot temper getting her into trouble.

Iversion pulled strings to get her assigned, making her captain of the test pilots because they assumed she'd be easy to control. Her fear over losing her privileged position makes her quick to turn on anyone who threatens the stability of the operation.

She should be more sympathetic than she is, but sadly she is more likely to lash out than understand she's being used against people she should be making common cause with. So it goes.

Lowri Lin

Rank: First Lieutenant

Profession: Test pilot

Short, compact, slightly sallow-featured, with mid-length black hair she keeps tied back, in her late thirties. The fundamental joke regarding the case of mistaken identity between her and Sri is that there is absolutely no way they could be confused for one another if you stood them side by side. Her name (which I realise I have previously been misspelling) is Welsh and so she probably is as well.

Rather quiet even before events caused her to become disillusioned with Gjallarhorn, she prefers to play with cards than engage in conversion. Bonding with the other Goibniu pilots has brought her a little out of her shell and allowed her to revisit her true passion in life: being a teacher. She tends to use unexpected tactics for mobile suit combat, which puts her ahead of the rest in mock-battles.

There is a lot going on under the surface. The displacement card-playing and Lin's quiet compliance with Iverson masks a growing resentment that is gradually blossoming into full-blown rebellion.

Kipchoge Ordsley

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Profession: Test pilot

A few years younger than Shino and looks younger still. His mother is Kenyan and his dad was African-American; has very dark skin, very gangly limbs, and generally resembles an enthusiastic scarecrow. Possessed of a sweet, open face on account of being a sweet, open kid. Keeps his hair cut short though never totally shaven off.

Eager to please, happy to be here, talks way too loud, way too much. Underneath that, though, he's acutely aware of his shortcomings as a member of Gjallarhorn and, increasingly, of Gjallarhorn's shortcomings. Has wanted to fly mobile suits since he was very little and is low-key willing to do anything to keep hold of the chance at doing so. His conscience and empathy put hard limits on that attitude, however (along with some other things hardly worth mentioning here).

The goof of the bunch before Shino came along. Then there were two goofs.