#the ship of Theseus is strong with this one

[thejoobiestnerd]

So I may have binged the entirety of the Houseki no Kuni manga. Anyways, have some memes I made:

And a non-inverse colour version of the second meme:

[waterbearable]

like i am going to try and be less apologetic when i ramble about personal project on here bc while it’s absolutely not the same as it originally was it has been an idea that has been a little worm in my head for probably ten fucking years. and life has gone on around me and i have changed as a person and gotten involved in some many other things yadda yadda but it has stayed! perhaps it’s something that should have been over and created ages ago but despite that it is still there, which feels like it means something.

[instantdoodlez]

Jashtober days 1-20

Alright, it's a while later than I was hoping to post it, but here it is. Same deal as the warmups, moving my art and commentary over from Twitter, because that site sucks ass <3

Day 1: Single. Didn't realize it meant like.. a music single until the day of, so it's pretty basic. Got a Mr Jash Like ™️ though, so that was a strong start to the project.

Day 2, Astral. Space themed Soul drawing. Soul is the Stars in my hc (the way that Mind is the sun and Heart is the moon in canon), so I figured it would fit well enough.

Day 4, Light. Nothing to really say on this one. (skipped day 3 since it was a duplicate prompt, 'power hour')

Day 5, Angel. My best try at what the angel at the gates in Chonny's inferno looks like. Biblically accurate because it's just cooler. Meant to add a normal-ass clipboard in their hand for the funny, but I forgot.

Day 6, Forest. Dear god, the background on this one killed me. Took many layers and overuse of the blend tool. On another note Mr Jash liked the post on twitter and that, yet again, jumpscared me (This is a pattern /lh)

Day 7, Moss. The little mushrooms were my favorite part to do. Didn't know I would ever call fungi cute, but the little mushrooms were my favorite part to do. Proud of this one overall. And it got Jash liked as well, so! 🎉

Day 8, Tidal. Jesus, did all my ship of theseus drawings do relatively bad in the algorithm. Anyways, this one was based on the fifth ship of theseus. Very pretty color pallete, cool colors.

Day 9, Cruisin'. This one was posted late because I couldn't get the shading right and just left it for the next day. Looks much better now.

Day 11, 8-bit. Dug out my old pixilart account to make this one. (Skipped day 10 because "apathy, haha funny". Also to help stave off burnout)

Day 12, Haiku. Heart coming up with his magnum opus (that line from Haiku/lh). This one's background took forever. Many different layers.

Day 13, Encore. Drew The Announcer, everyone's favorite eldritch horror story narrator. Props to GW for making me actually like Monster Mash, I don't even mind the original one now. Mr Jash liked this one too, so that's nice :]

Day 14, Reflection. Whole with a scribbled out face… cool design, and pretty visually interesting. Happy with this one. It also got jash liked.

Day 15, Momento. Had a hard time drafting this one before I realized "oh.. momento.. like.. momento mori.. I am very dumb". Regardless, very happy with this one. It's probably my favorite out of all the jashtober drawings I've done.

Day 17, Theseus. Based on the first Ship of Theseus song, a drawing of the shipmaker. (Skipped day 16 because it was another repeat prompt, Hindsight)

Day 18, Sunset. Based on the lines "When I woke it was daylight, and the clouds were pink / The sun was coming up or going down, I think" from Drink to Death.

Day 19, Savages. The crowd sure does love an upset.

Day 20, Crowned. Mind. Wanted to add a nightlight in the shape of the sun but the composition got too crowded, so I compromised with the lamp chain.

And, that's it! All 17 prompts I've done so far. I'll continue posting the rest of the Jashtober prompts one by one on here. Have a good day/night, and thank you for reading this far if you have!

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

Are you familiar with the 2005, Teen Titians show?

If so then my ask is about how the TFA Autobots would react to meeting someone similar to Cyborg?

A human whose had most of their body converted to tech and robotic parts, using his enhanced strength and abilities to keep people safe as a hero.

-Optimus initially feels awkward around them, mainly because their situation reminds him of what happened to Elita except the reverse. Though maybe they are more bio-mechanical than techno organic? Anyway, the similarities make him feel wary until he gets to know them better. After that he slowly opens up until he eventually admits to them why he's been acting so standoffish with them and apologizes for that. Promises to work on his feelings and asks to start over, wanting to genuinely be friends with them.

-Ratchet wonders if the cybernetic implants and parts cause them any pain. Whereas Blackarachnia is an apparently seamless blend of organic and technological components, this person is clearly pieced together. If they admit that yes, their cybernetics cause them pain/discomfort then Ratchet will try to help them. He may not be a human doctor but when it comes to the mechanics of a frame he's second to none.

-Bumblebee thinks they're cool, though he also feels a bit of a rivalry with them. They are the little guy (at least when compared to cybertronians) yet they willingly face off with some real heavy hitters. That's some real bravery right there. But at the same time he can't help but feel a bit envious of how they seem to be more well suited for combat than he is, with all their integrated weaponry and such.

-Bulkhead kinda sees them like a half cybertronian since their mechanical parts make it easy to forget that they are actually fully human. This sometimes makes it so that he mentions stuff from back home that they have no clue about. It always makes him feel silly once he catches himself but otherwise he treats them like he would any other person. Thinks they are a very brave and strong person.

-Prowl is fascinated by how, despite their extensive cybernetics, this person is still fully human. It makes him wonder, just what is the nature of the human spirit? It brings to mind this story he recently heard, the ship of Theseus. How much of ones body can be replaced before it can no longer be considered the same person? Will it ever reach that point or is the thought of personhood what really matters?

[gatheredfates]

a homecoming | koret swan

Do you want to read all my FFXIV prompts? You can do that here! The master document also contains any misc. notes and information. 🌊

HORIZON: the line at which the earth's surface and the sky appear to meet. for example, the sun rose above the horizon.

A calloused hand thumbed the familiar notch of the king spoke; an irony of primals, a living metaphor for the concept of a ship of theseus, and the source of Koret Swan’s contemplation.

When was a ship no longer a ship? When all its parts were reforged—when its captain was replaced or displaced? A familiar groove affixed to unfamiliar bronze, barely in her hand before she had to hand it over.

Yet, as she stood in that familiar place against an unfamiliar backdrop, it felt like a homecoming.

“I do not mind the excuse for a holiday,” teased a familiar voice from behind. The captain rolled her eye (did it have the same effect as the plural? She supposed it didn’t matter—supposed he’d understand it all the same) and canted her head back to look at her first mate, ever stuffy in his fitted coat with curly-black hair mussed from the breeze.

“You’re fucking stupid,” she answered in turn, prompting Robince to laugh. He watched as the Wolfsbane went over its final checks: supplies for the voyage, people to account for, tallies to be counted. He’d be busier than he ever was, handing over his own captaincy for the voyage, but she’d accept no other vessel—no other crew. They’d gone to a hundred ‘new’ places, why would this new world be any different?

It did not. A ship was still a ship, a woman was still a leader, and the sea still an abyss.

When the signal was given he stood to point, rapt attention given to the deck and the men and women under their charge. They looked to him and awaited his signal—awaited her permission and her initiation.

“By your leave then, Madame,” he said, glancing at her for just a second. His lips pulled upwards, a smile to match her confident smirk. “You know which way to go?”

“Yeah.” Her thumb passed the notch one final time before she turned the wheel, feeling the rudder shudder beneath them. “To that horizon.”

Robince’s voice was loud and strong, cutting over the din.

“You heard the captain, men! To that horizon!”

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

I'm currently suffering from my own hubris so what better time to delve deep into horror concepts I want to see the Flash series explore???

1. The Speedforce

Yeah, so this thing is insane. It isn't really talked about much in canon but when it 'bonds' to a person it permanently changes their body. This isn't always readily apparent and sometimes it doesn't even happen. But it's a necessity. Because if the person's body doesn't change they will die. The power will be too much for them and they will literally burn up and keel over.

Now, the actual change itself isn't much better than that. The speedster experiences a tremendous amount of pain and their entire body explodes into energy. If their bond is strong enough then the speedforce will replenish and replace each cell in their body as they explode. (As seen with Wally West, Bart Allen, Barry Allen, Irey West... Oof, you get the point) Bit of a 'Ship of Theseus' moment there. If your entire body is replaced by speedforce are you really the same person you started out as? Who knows! Anyway, after that they are permanently bonded to the speedforce and their bodies, essentially, belong to it.

What does that mean? Well, for starters? They can't die. Their bodies are no longer mortal. If they die then the speedforce just reclaims its material. If the speedster is strong enough then they can gather up enough speedforce energy from within the speedforce to create a new body. If the speedster is especially skilled they might even be able to escape the speedforce with said new body.

But their minds? That's a different matter. Their soul, their essence, everything that is 'them' resides within their minds. Its the only thing that separates 'their' speedforce energy bodies from the rest of the speedforce. If they lose that... then they become nothing but energy, permanently. It's what happened to Johnny Quick and you can see it start to happen almost immediately whenever they enter the speedforce. They start forgetting everything. Their names, their loved ones, their personalities, everything. They can't escape unless they know who they are, unless they can separate their sense of self from the energy around them. (As seen in any Flash story ever)

Because that energy? It's all just processed speedsters. The entire speedforce is made up of speedsters who lost that fight and forgot who they were. Every iota of energy the speedsters draw from the speedforce is just recycled speedsters from across the multiverse. And they know that.

So, yeah, there's definitely a horror element there. There will be no relief of death for them. Their souls have been sold off and all they have is borrowed time until they eventually give in and become semi-living fuel for the next generation. (As seen in DC Rebirth) Not a very comforting thought but they can't exactly do anything about it.

Their speedster states cannot be undone. You can put an inhibitor collar on them but that only stops their bodies from using the speedforce. It doesn't sever their connection. It just pools in their bodies, unused and agitated. (as seen with Wally West in Flash Forward) You can attempt to drain all the speedforce out of them but even that has proved to be impossible. You can drain them enough that they don't have the energy to run but their cells can never be completely drained of speedforce. (As seen with Barry Allen in Williamson's run)

Really the only way to sever the bond is to do so before it changes their body. (As seen with Jai West in Flash Rebirth)

Which leads me to my next point!

2. Body horror!

Yo, they don't have fucking bodies.

I'm serious, do you know how often they turn into pure energy? It's all the time. You know how they can just snap their fingers and create clothes? Or how they can create energy clones? Or how they don't age? Or how they can regrow severed limbs? Or how they don't really need to eat, breath or sleep after their body changes???

They don't have bodies.

Not really. They think they do but what they have is energy that they have shaped into a body form. Because their brains can't really handle the fact that they no longer possess human bodies.

But you know what a human body can't do? It can't be crammed into a metal wand like a genie, Bart. And it can't run through space without oxygen, Barry. And it certainly can't be stabbed through the heart without dying or bleeding and then start leaking energy, Wally.

These guys are literally just energy in human wrapping paper because they live in a state of denial. And it'd be really fucking wild to actually explore that as a concept.

3. Timelines!

Time is weird and nobody knows that better than the speedsters. Why not have fun with it? Do some cool existential horror stuff with the timeline. Some moral quandaries and ethical dilemmas. Jazz it up a bit. Idk there is a lot that could be done with this one.

[flockofdoves]

ive always just thought that black sails was kind of a nothing title for a show that has so much to it (and also didnt really make sense to me bc their sails literally arent black, thats their flags??)

but yesterday i happened across a summary of some of the founding myths of athens, and in that, crete had been taking 14 young people from athens every year to get sacrificed to the minotaur. theseus and his crew set out on a journey to stop this, and his father king aegeus knew that with how strong theseus was that this was what needed to be done to put an end to this.

but still he was scared of the idea of his son dying in the process, so he asked theseus to put black sails on his ship, and change them to white sails on his way back if he was still alive so he could know before the ship reached shore.

theseus did survive, but forgot to change his sails to white. in seeing the black sails as theseus’s ship came back to shore, aegeus didn’t wait to see, and jumped off a cliff into the sea to kill himself in his grief. the aegean sea was named after him.

so like well. thinking about this in more abstract terms in the context of black sails’s themes of the power of hegemony vs the need for revolutionary optimism. the questions of how much of one's own domesticity they're willing to sacrifice in the face of the fight for a better world and the leaps of faith and hope required to still work towards that better world in the face of that and. Um.

[tricksterdraws]

Are you really couple cooking with wine if the bottle, the next bottle and half the box the wine came in isn't empty by the end of it, after only needing 150ml for the recipe? my piece for the @hprecipe-recfest. Thank you so much for hosting, this was so much fun to do :) Recipe is below the cut also featuring a live demonstration of me playing ship of Theseus with it

Tartiflette (For 6 people) the * marks stuff you can easily replace with something else see end of recipe for that

Recipe takes about: 50-60 minutes in total - 30-40 min in preparation, 20min in baking You'll need: 900g potatos (hard boiling) 400g bacon* 5 shalotts* 2 gloves of garlic salt and pepper 150ml wine (white, dry)* 1 Reblochon (400g-500g)* how to prepare: Wash the potatos and cook them without peeling them first until completely cooked (~20 minutes). While the potatos are on the stove, dice bacon, garlic and onions and fry all with a bit of oil on medium heat until everything is cooked. Once the potatos are finished peel them and slice them finely.* Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F. Save yourself a headache later and oil the baking pan. For the next steps it helps if you know how salty your bacon is! Put half of the potato slices into the pan and salt and pepper it. Then put half of the onion, bacon, garlic mix down, salt and pepper that too. Repeat with the other halves, so you have 4 layers in total. Pour your wine over the layers and slice your cheese so it can cover the entire casserole while melting. Put it onto the middle level of your oven and bake for 20 minutes. Note: If you have leftovers you can just freeze them and reheat them in the oven. (personally wouldn't recommend microwave it gives the soft cheese a funny bytaste) Alteration suggestions: bacon: if you don't eat pork just use chicken or beef optimal would be an air dried one but really it's whatever, personally I use this recipe to use up kinda dry leftovers shallots: just use whatever onion is in season wine: also alcoholic: if you already have an open white wine honestly just use that one up if it's a dessert one just add a bit of vinegar if you want the tardness to be strong but otherwise you'll be fine non-alcoholic: use veggie stock with a bit of vinegar instead the recipe needs some sourness that'd otherwise come from the wine so I wouldn't recommend using only stock Reblochon: you need a camenbert-like soft cheese if you don't like spicy ones use a mild one, if you have leftovers use these If you have sensory issues or the potatos you have shouldn't be boiled in the skin just peel them before cooking honestly. You'll lose some of the earthy taste the recipe is going for but it's a pretty subplimental taste here.

[no-gram]

Itoho

Once upon a time, a girl who was wimpy and shy, who loved to stand out but hated being the center of attention, became a butterfly in a dream. She was happy and fluttered freely, enjoying her beauty and catching everyone's attention. Forgetting her original form, she continued to flutter and flutter. The girl woke up. Ah, it was the same old me.

Tsuguha?

Tsuguha: First

Another time, a girl who was not good at talking to people, who had family discord, who was an alien being who did not understand legitimate love, wished she could dream of a butterfly.

Jun?

Victimhood is an escape from love

We are not normal. There are only anti-love people here, maybe.

Jun: Hmm, I like that way of calling you that. But I would call myself an alien. And you are the non-human.

I like Venus the best, but I can't live there.

Another time, a butterfly with a quiet but dignified charm sat quietly next to the girl and prayed for her wish to come true.

Tsuduri?

I was sure you didn't, but you seemed to really like Vega. I wanted to support you, if that was what made you happy.

It could be these three because Itoho doesn't interact with them as much, she's plotting something together with Kizuna and Rinne, it's highlighted in the voice drama too.

Ai: Originally, I wanted to talk about you to make the most of this time…why are Kizuna and Rinne so attached to you? Itoho: Are you asking me that? I don't know how they feel about each other. If I'm a factor, isn't it because I'm older than the other three?

The butterfly is awake, no longer discernible. Now it just has to do its part. There are more bodies, along with pieces of glass.

Maybe these two parts reference Ai and Rinne, if we assume that everyone is referenced:

The butterfly wakes up. This is a dream. Otherwise, you would have… The butterfly wakes up. It's a dream, too. Otherwise, you can't explain why she's crying. There are several dead bodies.

The butterfly is awake, it doesn't matter what it is. I just want everyone to be happy now. Hey there. Nice to meet you. Are you the administrator?

Q.1 What would you like me to ration? I'm not in need, so you can bring in some cake for everyone.

Q.9 If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I don't have a specific one, so let's go where everyone wants to go. We have a chance to meet each other. I know Kizuna and Tsuduri like to travel.

Q.16 What do you strive for in life? To live. Happiness.

That is me. Strong and the ideal for everyone to aspire to.

An actor in a dream

Itoho: Oh, I see. Then, a suggestion. There is a game that I like that has a theme of philosophy and thought experimentation. Let's talk about it in the same way. Right, well… yes. How about Ship of Theseus?

Itoho: Well, to sum up. I think that if all the parts are changed, it might not be Theseus' ship.

Because all the bad parts were cut off and pretended to have never existed. Because it was never there.

Once upon a time, a girl who was wimpy and shy, who loved to stand out but hated being the center of attention, became a butterfly in a dream. She was happy and fluttered freely, enjoying her beauty and catching everyone's attention. Forgetting her original form, she continued to flutter and flutter. The girl woke up. Ah, it was the same old me.

Another time, a girl who was not good at talking to people, who had family discord, who was an alien being who did not understand legitimate love, wished she could dream of a butterfly. Once she had the form of a butterfly, she once again forgot her own form and flew around the free world. The next time she woke up, she would not regret it. The girl woke up and realized that this was, after all, a dream.

[x] <...> a story tells that Zhuang Zhou once dreamed he was a butterfly <...> But then he did not know whether he was Zhuang Zhou dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou. <...> The constant flux between dreams and awakening leads the ‘self’ to change from being unaware of the distinction of things to being aware of the definite distinction between and among things.

The butterfly is awake, no longer discernible. I just want everyone to be happy now.

Itoho: I don't know… It will take me a hundred years to get to know I perfectly.

Itoho: I know that. It's natural that you don't remember anything. Basically. So you're working as a guard without knowing much about yourself?

Itoho: Then you are free to do whatever you want. Puppet Admin?

That is me. Strong and the ideal for everyone to aspire to. From birth, I was perfect at being normal. I was good at being ordinary in my own way. There is nothing wrong with me. Because all the bad parts were cut off and pretended to have never existed. Because it was never there.

Itoho's novel-style name is "Reverse", and the English words "rebirth" and "reverse" are pronounced the same in katakana: リバース. Also Itoho on the cover art is positioned kind of like a fetus, and she's naked like a newborn baby.

これをするために生きている２

[jupiter049]

Theory about why The 14th Doctor has the same face as The 10th Doctor

Ok, this was something I really had no explanation for at first but after Wild Blue Yonder I think I have a strong case for it.

I don't think there's a 'special' reason as to why The Doctor got an old face again, this happened as a natural regeneration. I think just like with The 12th Doctor, this is regeneration giving The Doctor an old familiar face as a message.

The 14th Doctor despite having a previous face, is very clearly a continuation of The 13th Doctor. A Doctor who tried to hid information about herself and her past all the time, trying to escape from it. A goodbye to "The Doctor Of War" as referred to in Twice Upon A Time. full blown restart as a completely new Doctor.

The last words of The 12th Doctor are what would go to define The 13th Doctor's entire life.

Sadly, this was something she would never be able to do. From The Master, to the Daleks, to the Cybermen, to enemies from a regeneration she can't even remember, to even old companions. The past would always catch up to her. No one can escape their past of course, but someone who has done so much for so long like The Doctor could not even dream in doing so.

This face is a message for The Doctor so he can finally comes to term with this. Just like The Moment made him come to terms with being The War Doctor, this regeneration is making him come to terms with being The 10th-13th Doctors (maybe even ALL his incarnations in general).

Ok, it makes for a cool story, but how is it possible from a lore sense? Well, it's because it IS a new face in a way.

The 14th Doctor looks older, dresses differently, acts differently, expresses differently, etc. He is clearly not The 10th Doctor. Just like the ship of theseus, is this really the same face when so much has been changed? When so much is affected by The Doctor's new memories?

This loophole allows The 14th Doctor to be a "natural" regeneration. A never before seen phenomenon of regeneration that only a Time Lord as emotional and messy as The Doctor can cause.

[enby-denby]

Note that I will probably write most if not all of these at some point (I have already started a few of them, feel free to guess which in comments I guess) and this is more me determining which order I should focus on getting them AO3-ready. So don't worry about throwing away your vote on a strange topic-- there are no wrong answers.

[twig-gy]

me and @echoesofaheart made ship names for The Everything cause we’re insane

canon heart/mind: solar eclipse

canon heart/mind/soul: polytrident

> both of these are the usual names for them

canon heart/soul: night sky

canon mind/soul: the lights

> both of these are based on heart being the moon, mind being the sun, and soul being the star(s)

canon soul/whole: right angle

> two lines meet at a RIGHT ANGLE and then never touch, ever again.

apostasy heart/mind: 56 & 1/2 feet

> this is a house of leaves reference, and also a reference to a shadow is not cast by nothing. 56 & 1/2 feet is (house of leaves says) the distance required for sound to start echoing. if you don’t know why that’s significant read my fic

apostasy heart/soul: lunar eclipse

> “Lunar eclipses occur at the full moon phase. When Earth is positioned precisely between the Moon and Sun, Earth’s shadow falls upon the surface of the Moon, dimming it and sometimes turning the lunar surface a striking red over the course of a few hours.” - NASA website on lunar eclipses. the Earth (soul) dims the Moon (heart).

apostasy mind/soul: negative space

> “it’s a wound where a ship should be: a nothing that is significant in its emptiness: dead silence where you can hear yourself breathe and hear yourself stop.” - me

creature heart/mind: the lovers

> “The primary meaning within the Lovers is harmony, attractiveness, and perfection in a relationship. The trust and the unity that the lovers have gives each of them confidence and strength, empowering the other. The bond that they have created is very strong, and it can indicate that the two are joined in marriage, and other close and intimate relationships.” - (labyrinthos.co) [NOTE: i don’t actually care about tarot or if this meaning is accurate i just like Symbolism] [this was thought of AFTER the lovers reversed]

creature heart/whole: moonlight / full moon

> heart sees whole as his light and calls him that. his guiding light… this is also the explanation for sunlight

creature mind/whole: sunlight

creature soul/whole: absorbed light

> “something something the light of the stars and whole being the light something something light refracting, reflecting onto mirrors / but also. something something the fog steals away soul’s light something something they become more like each other, taking bits of the other, absorbing it” “absorbed light matches with sunlight and moonlight / but it’s less one gets the first half and whole gets the second, more they’re both all of it. they are the same, or that’s all they really care to think”

desire and design harmonia/apostate: paired hearts

> slight reference to “do you see it when i let mind sleep in my bed? do you see us leaning into each other like an attempt to pair our false hearts? do you see me burying my face into his hair?” from an occasionallycjshipping draft i wrote

desire and design harmonia/apostate/atlas: suicide prevention hotline (sph)

> they’re trying to stop whole and devotee from killing themselves

desire and design apostate/atlas: <6 feet

> based off of 56 & 1/2 feet. they’re close.

desire and design apostate/devotee: revival

longing and distance eurydice/devotee: second chances

longing and distance eurydice/devotee/whole: evil suicide prevention hotline (esph)

> it’s like sph but flipped. eurydice is the opposite guy of theseus, and then everyone sph doesn’t include

longing and distance eurydice/whole: reflection

longing and distance harmonia/atlas/eurydice: the lovers reversed (tlr)

> “REVERSED: Self-love, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values” - (biddytarot.com) [same note about tarot meanings applies here]

> self love as in selfcest :D also disharmony. making harmonia the opposite of himself.

> eurydice is literally reversing them.

plural apostasy juno/blaspheme: selfcest solar eclipse

plural apostasy juno/apostate: selfcest^2

plural apostasy juno/apostate/blaspheme/prophet: hhms

[reddy-reads]

moon day books (books for 7/20/24)

Moon Day* is coming up, and that sounds like as good an excuse as any for talking about some books

Here's my list, rationale is below the jump

The Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal

by Becky Chambers, Record of a Spaceborn Few (or The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. Or Psalm for the Wild-Built)

The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett

So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

Martha Wells's Murderbot Diaries series

*Moon Day is the anniversary of the first Moon Landing, July 20 :) I'm aware it's not really a holiday but I love the idea

The Lady Astronaut series by Mary Robinette Kowal This is a really excellent series. It's an alternative history of space travel. It has lots of women, and there are characters of colors (although they're thus far limited to the supporting cast). They're exciting, emotional, and gripping. I loved these books.

SUMMARY: A meteor decimates the U.S. government and paves the way for a climate cataclysm that will eventually render the earth inhospitable to humanity. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated timeline in the earth’s efforts to colonize space, as well as an unprecedented opportunity for a much larger share of humanity to take part. One of these new entrants in the space race is Elma York, whose experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too—aside from some pesky barriers like thousands of years of history and a host of expectations about the proper place of the fairer sex. And yet, Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions may not stand a chance.

2. One of Becky Chamber's books, probably Record of a Spaceborn Few or perhaps the Galaxy, and the Ground Within.

These are both standalone set in the same series. Record of a Spaceborn Few follows multiple characters whose lives intersect but are not especially intertwined. All these characters live on or are visiting the Human Fleet, which is the uh the… vessels that humans left the Earth on, as we jettisoned ourselves into space? I mentioned this one a little while back in conjunction with the waves hands Ship of Theseus and museology thing. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within like… doesn't have humans in it? It's basically a book-long bottle episodes, and it has themes of what is the significance art, what does it mean to negotiate one's identity as an individual and with respect to one's group identity. (By this I mostly mean like. the characters are all nonhuman alien species, and several of them negotiate their relationship between being a "typical" whatever vs being themselves.) One thing I love about Becky Chambers's books is that the aliens actually feel alien to me. They don't just feel like a different kind of human, they feel like they have meaningfully different biology and this affects their worldview.

Also on my Becky Chambers thoughts is her book Psalm for the Wild Built. I love how she spins the setting, presenting a very rosy concept of how humans could renegotiate our use of the planet we live on. One of the appeals of the Lady Astronaut series (above) is the realism. For the Psalm for the Wild Built, it's kind of the opposite; I love the… almost courage of imagining "what if we collectively did do better? What might that look like?" In a world where cynicism seems like a pragmatic form of self-protection, this sort of imagining almost seems brave.

3. For a slightly off the wall book idea, how about Sir Terry Pratchett's The Last Hero?

I love this book, it's a relatively quick read due to its format. The art is gorgeous. The story is wry and warm in that special Discworld way, and altitude is a factor in the story :) So that's the moon connection.

Cohen the Barbarian. He's been a legend in his own lifetime. He can remember the good old days of high adventure, when being a Hero meant one didn't have to worry about aching backs and lawyers and civilization. But these days, he can't always remember just where he put his teeth… So now, with his ancient (yet still trusty) sword and new walking stick in hand, Cohen gathers a group of his old -- very old -- friends to embark on one final quest. He's going to climb the highest mountain of Discworld and meet the gods. It's time the Last Hero in the world returns what the first hero stole. Trouble is, that'll mean the end of the world, if no one stops him in time.

4. As a YA lover, I have to include a shout-out for So You Want to be a Wizard by Diane Duane. This is the first of the Young Wizards series, which I love, and the characters (and I believe Ms Duane) LOVE the moon. It's really heartwarming, it reminds me of those videos of the astronaut talking about what going to the moon means to him.

Nita Callahan is at the end of her rope because of the bullies who've been hounding her at school… until she discovers a mysterious library book that promises her the chance to become a wizard. But she has no idea of the difference that taking the Wizard's Oath is going to make in her life. Shortly, in company with fellow beginner-wizard Kit Rodriguez, Nita's catapulted into what will be the adventure of a lifetime—if she and Kit can both live through it. For every wizard's career starts with an Ordeal in which he or she must challenge the one power in the universe that hates wizardry more than anything else: the Lone Power that invented death and turned it loose in the worlds. Plunged into a dark and deadly alternate New York full of the Lone One's creatures, Kit and Nita must venture into the very heart of darkness to find the stolen, legendary Book of Night with Moon. Only with the dangerous power of the wizardly Book do they have a chance to save not just their own lives, but their world…

5. Not to be cheeky, but if that's too wholesome, perhaps The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin will hit the spot? :D

This is the way the world ends. Again. Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries. Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

6. Final one. Why not use Moon Day as an excuse to reread Martha Well's Murderbot Diaries books? (Paper-thin excuse: MB's favorite TV show is… sanctuary moon!)

In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.

[I said I wasn't going to add Andy Weir's The Martian because it's a gimme, but I'm a liar! I also love The Martian. Yes I know it's on Mars, not the moon, but! Humans! In! Spaaaaace!]

If you made it this far, what do you think? What books does "moon day" make you think of? Which books are on YOUR list?

[bnesszai]

Jouno Saigiku hates mirrors.

It doesn’t matter that he is physically blind. It doesn’t matter that he navigates by heartbeat, and that everytime he has to sneak into some club for his job he nearly throws up because the noise is so loud. It doesn’t matter that touch grounds him as much as it hurts him. It doesn’t matter that the map he’s formed of the world around him is defined by pain that has long since dulled out into a faint ache in his bones.

Maybe it’s the way glass feels on his skin when he punches the mirror in front of him. It’s mockery really. It fills their head incessantly, laughing at the thought that Jouno cannot take his own reflection.

Maybe it’s the way every single mirror knows he doesn’t feel regret. He can’t bring himself to. Everything he does is for a reason. You don’t go emotional in war. Jouno’s body was always in a war.

Maybe it’s the way each and every surgery he had to undergo as a hunting dog stretched his skin and snapped it right and carved him like marble into the perfect boy. A soldier. A machine. A criminal ‘reformed’ into the government- a mouthful for usefulness. Maybe those surgeries made him the ship of Theseus. What if those hands weren’t his own?

Maybe it’s the way that everytime Jouno is reminded there are people out there like him, people who have given up on sainthood, walking the world. That every mirror he faces will show everyone what he cannot see and conceal. That they will look in the mirror he is facing and pry open through the cracks.

And the greatest mirror he could find was the one that made the skin on his arms go cold with a burning so hot it felt like ice. A mirror that grazed his jaw on the regular and slid hands against the scars tracing his spine, reminding him of the inconveniencing truth that he had one.

That same mirror, wearing Jouno’s vices on a sleeve and having the audacity to whisper his name, slid in next to him without a word. A pair of eyes that he heard were filled with honey and ambrosia for some and poison or whisky for the rest. Lips that said Jouno’s name in a way he wouldn’t dare ask anyone to attempt, like it was a revelation. Like Jouno wasn’t a soldier scared of some piece of reflective glass.

And sometimes this mirror of his, the one that would grin and laugh and bite and scrape at his lungs like there were butterflies in his chest, would catch Jouno taking a little too long contemplating shattering another mirror, replacing the unease with the familiar feeling of shards digging into his fingers. Pain was safety. Pain was controllable. Jouno cannot control a mirror.

And so the one that could walk would wrap thin yet strong arms around his torso, not letting go until he pulled back. Not letting go until Jouno was completely enveloped in the abyss he called Dazai. Until the thought of his reflection was replaced by the thought of finally being swallowed whole by the dark.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

[bluebeerg]

Feed me, Illie. Feed me all night long.

A little Halloween treat for our beloved Illie, and it comes with a singing blood-thirsty Portfish - It's her own Little Shop of Horrors!

I watched the movie the first time in October and got a little into it. Thought of Illie and her... one out of five lines of dialogue, but I think it's fun to imagine songs from the musical with adapted lyrics - "The guy sure looks like Portfood to me. The guy sure looks like Portfood to me!" - though I wouldn't know who to make the other characters

Below the cut are things that managed to stick around on the canvas, so I'm just going to explain both MSPaint thangs and adaptation AU things down there ... It's, uh... It's awfully long-winded.

Here's something rare. Because layers don't exist on MSPaint (I don't care for Windows 11 and AI image generation), you'll have to settle for other methods. One of them is just drawing over with another colour, since MSPaint has that cool eraser trick, and this is the other that makes use of MSPaint's faux-transparency. I'd always think of them like. "save states". Drawing in this program always was like the Ship of Theseus anyway.

The purpose of these were to, for whatever reason - whether it's making a mistake or erasing/drawing over too much or because of MSPaint's sometimes short undo memory, they're there to copy sections (or the whole thing if you want) and paste unto the one you're working on, like a bandaid. Or, if you've messed the whole thing up, you've got the back-up right there. It's the save state! For this, the arm and the shape of the Portfish gave me some trouble - which is why the sketch and just the lined part was put aside. It helps that MSPaint is so pixels and you're able to move the selected thing with the arrow keys.

This is kind of a big example, where the whole drawing is put to the side, but it can be smaller things too. For this, it was cases of arms and her glasses and buckets and Portfish (as seen later below) etc.

Here's a example that I managed to dig up from Artfight of Binx that shows both drawing with different colours and the scattered bits put to the side.

Obviously the right was a WIP. These things never stick around when getting to the final product, so having all of these Illies stick around after was great to write this much about. Moving on...

When drawing Find Everything, I do try to stick to the art style (while incorporating my own elements) - but I feel as if Illie is much more realistic compared to, say, Capri or Mayor Majig who's emphasis is on silhouette and strong poses. For example, hands. Hands in Find Everything can be varied, but are always consistent and usually simple or cartoonish. Capri has circles for hands, Mayor Majig has mitten for hands. But I look at Illie and her four-fingered hand (not uncommon, Orsten and Ratthew have them too), the subtle distinction between her shoulder and her arm, the roundness of her elbow (which has inconveniently been erased...), the single fabric fold on her dress, the shape of her hand against her hip...

What was I talking about? Oh, right, somewhat adhering to Find Everything's art style where possible. I always like to keep in mind other characters when drawing. Seymour Illie's (Illie Krelborn's?) fly specifically call back to Chatti, while her collar and cuffs nod to Mayor Majig (although his coat's cuffs are only sometimes seen, and I would've liked to have Illie's collar flared out more to match Seymour's) - though, I did briefly think to have a triangular neckline, but a rounder one is a nice connection to Illie's original sprite. Another was placing Seymour's iconic glasses on top of Illie's head instead of it being in her hair - a big part of it being because of how the bridge of the glasses blending into Illie's hair, but the other being because I think Illie is needing of a top-of-the-head accessory as a stand-in for her sunhat. After all, both drawing and seeing her without the accessory was a bit odd. But I did look to other glasses-wearing NPCs for that and, I suppose fun fact, I guess Purrtrude and Bouncer (and I suppose Radical Duck) are the only characters who have a gap between the lenses of their glasses to have a bridge- despite the number of NPCs that wear sunglasses. I did also think of Lennard, who has those solid white glasses lens, which Purrtrude does have also.

I did worry a little about the cream of the vest outlining the zipper line breaking the art style (only Ratthew really has the line of his zipped-up jacket showing), which is why you see the three of them showing a difference there - but I decided to hell with it. The Find Everything NPC art style is versatile and changing anyhow, and the back of Seymour's vest is that same colour. I felt the same with the pants pockets, but I wasn't too worried about it since... It was plausible enough, and Seymour puts his hands in his pockets enough for it to matter. To me, at least (I call back to his little bridge in Feed Me where he wanders over to the mirror). It kind of went similarly with the pattern on her dress shirt - Seymour's subtly patterned shirts were important to me, and I think it just looked better.

The Illie on the right shows the original idea for her expressed in the sketch above, where she has the glasses in her hair, none of that beige in the middle or pant decoration.

You would think it would be a bit of pre/mid-sketch, but I drew these in the middle of lineart (or colouring, I don't remember) out of boredom or need of change, and out of the possible need to have an obstructed look at Illie in her Little Shop outfit. It did help regardless in terms of messing with colours though, and quickly redrawing Illie's sprite was fun.

Speaking on colours, the left one uses altered default MSPaint colours, the right uses altered colours picked from Illie's sprite - with the browns coming from Illie's dress, the beige coming from her yellow accents (which just turned into a sad yellow-green), and the shirt coming from her sunhat. The middle, of which is the final and accepted Seymour Illie, uses a combination of the two.

Portfish things! It was a bit of a struggle to make Portfish look less like a goofy little guy and more like a living, intelligent, and conniving creature.

Its walleyes were a bit of a problem, before I realised when drawing it that wait... Portfish doesn't need eyes. Especially if Illie gets to look more like Seymour, then it being without eyes makes it look closer to Audrey II. It also reminds me of the Flappy Fish in Bloohoo Beach. If they can be without mouths, who's to say Portfish can't be without eyes!

I did want to keep it's iconic gaping mouth, but it never did sit right - kind of looks like a leech, no? - and the Portfish can close its mouth anyway (thus a different shape), so its wicked smile was a fine excuse enough.

There was also something about the state of the bucket, whether it would be lined or lineless. Originally, I wanted the bucket to be lineless to imitate the 3D word and objects of Find Everything, but it clearly looked better for it to be cohesive to Illie. It's not like it's entirely unheard of for NPCs to use temporary 2D props either (see: Epic Monkey signing the Celebrity Autograph).

Some other variations to the water bucket I had thought of was adding a state of rust or wear to it, with it being alike to the dinky used can that Seymour first puts Audrey II in, or having it be a beach toy-like bucket as Illie is found in Bloohoo Beach (and it could be a little nod to the Sandcastle Thing, with it's toy spade), but ultimately these were left only as brainstorms for time, as I wanted to finish drawing this in time for Halloween fhsdkh (which it was, this whole spiel is what took it so long to be uploaded here)

And yeah... That's it! Something about the water having that wavy pattern to resemble the water texture of Find Everything, and yep! There's that for you! The End. Don't Feed the Ports or something.

[gobblinhours]

So is 4 traumatized from being parallel cannon? And if so does 3 help or sympathize with her? Since they know what it feels like to be controlled

My Four is separate from Parallel Canon so this turned into a word vomit dump about how it works sorry (also i've been working on this since i got the ask since i actually have Motivation for once and im scared to see how long this took)

I'm interpreting Parallel Canon as a modification of the initial security system that was based off of data collected from Four.

My current concept is that the security system was created by Four fighting an incredibly basic simulation of an inkfish enemy that when splatted, respawned with recorded data from a mask that Four was wearing (along with the basic starting data extracted from a bunch of videos of Four going through Octo Canyon) which allowed the simulation to learn, making it get a little better at combat each time. The reason it was done like this and not just copying Four's soul is because Marina has Ethics and didn't want to Ship-of-Theseus her security system.

The end result is something weaker than the original, due to a slew of different factors (primarily worse improvisational skills.). Though the numbers difference should (in theory) make the difference negligible. After all, quantity is a quality in itself.

Parallel Canon differs from the original security system in that instead of a team of equals, it's a hierarchical system, with one "alpha" and a slew of lesser copies, each with the added abilities to summon Jelletons and mimic the color chips of the enemy's palette. The Alpha itself is derived from the original system and combined with a copy of the "soul data" from Four's palette for an extra boost, which is then copied again for the drones. Though each time the data is copied, it loses "potency", meaning that a drone with soul data straight from the palette would be 3-4 times as strong as a drone copied from the alpha. This is done to save processing power, as instead of a bunch of power-sucking supersoldiers, there's one and a bunch of less annoying scraps. (This is also why they are sent out in waves, to save processing power)

To maintain effectiveness, the lesser drones function similar to the Geth from Mass Effect, meaning that the more there are on the field, the sharper their mental faculties become. By doing this, it allows the drones to each be of similar competency to the Alpha when in large enough numbers, while making it less strenuous on the system by having them support eachother. (Don't @ me about the logic Marina made a full-dive VR that eats souls)

While the Parallel Canon are an overall improvement on the original security system in nearly every way, it shares a weakness with the original: the age-old strategy of "divide and conquer." Individually, the Canon soldiers are about on-par with a standard inkfish, so while it would be a toss-up against a normal invader, against someone like Eight, it's a bloodbath, and it only gets worse as more fall due to the Geth-like modification made by Order.

Back to the soul data, luckily the palette isn't enough to make an actual copy of Four, only making the Alpha like a Four-based chatbot. Emulating her behaviors the best it can with the restrictions put upon it by Order and its environment, though it's not actually alive, just responding to stimuli in a Four-like manner without any thought or intention behind the behaviors. (The drones also have an amount of variation due to imperfections in the copying process, as the initial copy was modified to learn towards combat skills, but a small error remained in the process that made subsequent copies lean towards random personality traits (the copy preference no longer had a target due to the battle data already being maxed out, so it defaulted to random), though they are even less "alive" than the Alpha)

TL;DR: The original security system was a machine learning algorithm that was based off of and fought Four to advance in skill, which was then modified and subsequently copied into the current form of Parallel Canon, meaning that Agent Four and the Alpha Canon are two separate entities.

TL;DRTTL;DR: Four fought a robot a bunch and doesn't even know what a "Parallel Canon" is.