#this wasn't originally about steve irwin

[rockatanskette]

One of the running themes in "humans are space orcs" circles is the idea that humans will bond with anything. I can think of plenty of stories of humans making friends with wild animals, alligators, predators, creatures that aliens would immediately recognize as too dangerous for contact. But I was reading a story about two orangutans released back into the wild today and there's a certain element to that story I haven't seen so often: humans will bond with animals regardless of whether the bond is reciprocal.

For every story of a human making friends with some unlikely creature, there are dozens of stories of conservation specialists tranquilizing animals, tending to their wounds or illness, and releasing them because they're too dangerous to handle consciously. Stories of tagging birds of prey and timber wolves and Siberian tigers. Fat Bear Week? Any of those bears would rip your face off without hesitation. But they're round and fluffy and intimidating and beautiful and we love them even though they hate us. We make an effort to protect our monsters, because we love our monsters.

Imagine an alien planet that's experiencing ecological degradation. Their flora is dying, and they can't figure out why. And, offhandedly, in a diplomatic mission, an allied planet mentions that humans have successfully reversed similar devastation on Earth. So they reach out and Earth sends some experts to check it out. And what do they suggest? Reintroducing an apex predator that used to be a scourge against alien settlements. The species still exists in other regions of the planet, but it is slowly disappearing outside of its native habitat.

The aliens are askance. They've told bedtime stories to their young of these creatures: how they tear apart their prey, how they've eaten their organs and rip apart their homes. Some suggest that it's a trick—that the humans are trying to prompt them into destroying themselves.

But there are many alien cultures on this planet, with many different stories and some of them agree. The world watches in anticipation as the humans help their predators. They seek them out, these fearless otherworlders, putting them to sleep and tending their wounds. They keep track of the beasts, not to harm them, but to protect them.

At first the doomsayers' prophecy seems to come true. The predators devour prey animals like a feast, like a slaughter to people who have never been so close to the circle of life. But then, slowly, not over months but over years, comes change. The prey no longer eat the leaves and buds of every tree; some are left to bloom and fall. The refuse rots in the dirt, and the floods cease as the soil grows thick with compost and rotted bone, thick enough to hold water. The shapes of rivers change to protect their surroundings from the rain. The pollinators rebound.

Decades later, other cities and nations begin to accept this human myth of "conservation." Champions arise, alien champions, now, who go into the depths of the wilderness and the seas to protect those predators from the apathy of time.

Not all of them make it. This is something else the humans teach. Sometimes the tranquilizers are not enough. Sometimes the timing is wrong. Sometimes accidents happen. And when they do, the aliens look to humans for an answer for why they should protect these creatures who have killed those they love?

"Because they knew the risks," the humans say. "Because they would be the first to speak to save them. Because they taught you to see the beauty in the wild and you must not close your eyes."

So, despite themselves, they don't.

[spotsupstuff]

actually ey fuck it. list of personal headcanons for the main six iterators some of which i might illustrate properly at some point:

Moon: • one of the first 10 iterators ever built. she is grandma as HELL and totally forgot she is that old • Pebbles sometimes asks her to tell him about the older times, because history nerd. he writes everything she says onto a pearl • in the post i've made talkin bout her and pebs' voice, saying that she sounded like Miku, somebody said that they like to think the ancients made Moon a vocaloid. to that i absolutely agree: she has NO fucking clue what do when it comes to putting a certain emotion into a song but god DAMMIT shes so good at singing • she can add effects to her voice, including a glitch effect. she likes that one the least • -HITS DESK- THE DISAPPEARANCE OF HATSUNE MOON. • she doesn't particularly like to sing, especially not to herself. but she does know that pebbles likes music- the first week after the mass ascension was rough and he was working mostly on autopilot, not answering DMs or anything. she called him up and told him they could sing together, if he wants to. he felt much better afterwards • MOON'S SECRET RAP CAREER • i'll put it here too so it's all in one place: her AI isn't developed enough to understand the emotional quality of any form of art • Moon was upgraded a few times in her function. most of the time it was because her citizens loved her too much to let her go too out of date (specifically in the physical sense. they made sure she wouldn't fall too easily) • one of the first memories she designated as a "core memory" was her first upgrade that was a result of her citizens' riot against the Houses- to keep her safe. she noted it down as "Kindness is effortlessly repaid" • she remembers when iterator comms were connected by a cable rather than radio waves • she also remembers when two of the first 10 collapsed and went into coma, with their citizens of course perishing in the fall and crash. she's still terrified of those days and doesn't like recalling them even for Pebbles • Nish was her first little sib and she feels like she can talk with him about anything. she hates it, but she's distant with Suns- they are always so damn polite and skittish around her... and she absolutely adores the other three. her tiny little wonderful siblings • she didn't like to admit that maybe her hardwave wasn't keeping up with her citizens anymore. at that point she did start to emotionally care less for them, but she still didn't want to admit she wasn't able to provide and protect those she was responsible for • i can't get the image of her being the one to actually ensure the family is gonna financially survive in a more chill au where the iterators r just sorta kinda people. Miss Moon From Accounting... • her overseers were originally blue. she swapped colors with Pebbles all on her own accord. having yellow overseers, seeing them, made her feel even more connected to Pebs • this is basically canon but she fuckin Loves animals. she's the iterator version of Steve Irwin. she also don't kno jack shit about the vegetation • city's representative instrument Evolved- first it was a harp, then it went to a nyckelharpa and then to a violin

Nish: • he is built over marshes to the south-west from Moon and she helped with his blueprints! the Gen 1s had their blueprints checked over by the already built iterators to make sure something wouldn't go wrong. she was so so excited to have a neighbour • the scarf is from his main programmer. the Ancient wrapped it around his puppet's neck before he was even turned online so for the longest time he had no idea that the thing wasn't originally in his design. Moon had to tell him • he became a jokester Entirely because the first time he made Moon laugh he absolutely fell in love with it. he told her and she recommended him looking into jokes. baby boy had no idea what the fuck a joke was so Moon had to explain • when the middle gen started being created, the Ancients noticed that these new iterators didn't have... much of emotional skills. so they turned to the older gens to look for the most emotional and empathetic ones. Nish scored Really High on that survey- his empathy and emotion modules were studied and each time they found something new and better, they upgraded him in that one aspect. so now Sig is one of the biggest crybabies ever. you show him a sad movie and this supercomputer will be lyin on the ground wailing like a newborn. oh and also he makes for a great therapist because he can now just Get It • as the most emotionally... mature? capable? he decided he will be the one to keep a real close eye on everyone in the Local Group after the mass ascension • thanks to all that emotion business he gets along with Suns swimmingly. when Suns needs assistence with figuring out their own emotions or what would be appropriate and not too cold towards someone, they go to him • if he could he'd give everyone younger than him a noogie and you cannot convince me otherwise • the Hunter was a sickly pup that was left behind on his roof by a family that came to him which he directed towards the void sea. they were far too weak for the family to keep them, basically on the death's door. Nish took them in, operated on them, enhanced genes and raised them from there • Is half a medical facility. mister veterinarian, baybeee • since he's a sap, he started to view the Hunter like his own kid at some point. he was also the one who pitched to Suns the idea of sending Spearmaster over to him for visits. Spear tried its best to help raise and train Hunter • the whole rot thing happened because Nish did a stupid and forgot that neurons are quite the fuckin reactive things and continual exposure to what is essentially extra macho giga neuron Can and Will fuck up cells. his and Moon's cans have a long distance between them. it was enough time for Hunter to develop the big owie cancer. he noticed it only when they were too far away and it was already too bad • he felt absolutely Terrible about it. again he loses someone so so very close to him. but this time around? there is no one to be angry at for this but himself • Hunter manages to ascend. Nish watched them leave, silently, in subterranean • he used to do his best to play with his citizens. when a kid came to his chamber, he gave them rides on his puppet's shoulders or the umbilical arm. same went for Hunter • his city is called Risio • city's representative instrument was EITHER a PVC instrument or suona i can't decide for the life of me

Suns: • they were built much further away from the planet's equator than most of the Local Group, meaning they experience polar days and nights • the "Seven" in their name refers to the amount of months the unusually timed sunsets and sunrises last for. for seven whole months, the locality gets only about four hours of Somewhat darkness • in return, they have three full months of relatively strong darkness. their city used to shine bright, during this time. post mass ascension those months are terribly lonely and depressing • because of the warmth they produce, there's an oasis for wildlife underneath them • the warmth was also sung about a lot by their citizens. they've seen it as an incredible blessing- Suns used to run hotter than other iterators just for them. nowadays they are mostly normal though • the outside of their can is tinted blue- frostbitten. that much warmer their yellow, orange and red city feels • their and Moon's personalities clash so hard that they sometimes go out of their way to avoid her. they do appreciate her but talking with her is exhausting. she's a stranger to them, almost • the iterators can project/send their emotions through messages/broadcasts. Suns' messages always sound flat, unless they use the ~ • one of their biggest dreams is to sit with Pebbles leaning against their side, all the while listening to old music of their cities • once Spearmaster returns, the walls of their puppet chamber become completely covered in doodles and masterpieces • they end up standing the longest out of the whole Local Group. bright and warm even after everyone else dies • their city is called Solis • city's representative instrument was an armonica (look that shit up its sick)

Wind: • Wind's can stands in this giant plain. there's like nothing as far as the eye can see and even further Except her. she just stands there like fucking Slanderman XXL version • the plains are absolutely prime location for a spawning grounds of tornadoes and shit like that. the wind is Constantly strong so most of the rain clouds they exhale are immediately blown away • instead of rain they deal with ginormous tornadoes at the end of each cycle. while their superstructure can take it, the comms can't. so Wind is often absent from iterator chats as a result. after the mass ascension these connection knock-outs become a great source of stress and worry for the others cuz they never know if Wind will come back or not this time • because of these comm blackouts, Innocence took it upon herself to catch Wind up on everything they've missed when they come back online. Innocence started doing this all by herself out of seemingly nowhere. she just cares. silently. • the strangest thing about her is that her city is half built within her structure instead of on top of her. the winds can get sometimes so bad that they manage to affect even the top of her can. so the solution was to put half of the city under her skin as a sort of giant bunker • the ancients, not being ones to waste much space, made sure the city can still be used by Wind's processes, in a way. their neurons fly through the streets, completely unbothered, working as makeshift streetlights. the kids used to love chasing after them- never catching any though • sometimes when the wind storms outside got real bad, the kids that were scared of them were sent to Wind's puppet chamber. she used to tell them all kinds of stories or about what she was currently working on • it was often that their puppet chamber would be full of pillows, blankets and sleeping children. they loved their citizens so so much • nicknamed themself "Chasing" Wind in chats because, just like Moon, they are also quite the dreamer • closest with Moon, too. Wind looks up to Moon Immensely. they really wanna be like her one day • Wind is what some people think of Moon- a too kind pushover that doesn't know how to get angry and defend herself. Wind is the kindest, most sensitive and softest person they have in The Local Group. Nish takes care to keep his jabs and jokes about Wind very mild • has a really beautiful voice • likes flowers :) • her city is called Procella • city's representative instrument was a fujara cuz god DAMMIT i love that instrument i Have to slap it on Someone in here. it fits their vibe in my heart either way

Innocence: • she really wishes her surrounding circumstances were in some kind of way special but actually she's built at the least unique place with basically nothing neat happening nearby. there are strange giant cherry trees nearby, but that's about it • fuckin LOVES lizards. she's the one who made the Cyans and sent some over to Pebbles to fuck him up. thankfully, as we all know, Cyans are kinda stupid and since they launch themselves over edges of cliffs they haven't managed to destroy the local ecosystem • her citizens used to keep lizards as pets. most of the time just for the joy of having 0 braincells creature follow you around but some had 'em as sort of hunting dogs • was the one who created The Rivulet. she was mumbling to herself and a friend smth about how boys only screw things up while engineering Riv's genome • she BASICALLY packed Riv into a cannon and shot them over right into the middle of a scav toll cuz "come on, it's not that far away. this will make your journey shorter and shit". i don't care how goofy it sounds, this is how it went in my heart • in possession of probably the most durable comms ever made • claims she's purple! she's actually fake out purple which means homegirl is Deceptive Blue. she CONSTANTLY fights over this with Pebbles • despite their squabbles she did care for Pebbles. she was very excited to not be the youngest anymore and getting to baby someone • her and Nish always start verbal sparring matches, often consisting of threats that more often than not range on impossible to actually commit. they constantly lead their mock wars in #general. Moon's gonna kill 'em one of these days • trusts Moon the most- which is why she outed Pebbles' rot and sent Rivulet with the instructions to extract the rarefaction cell • her city is called Sermo • city's representative instrument was a shamisen. she absolutely knows how to play it and loves to threaten people with the bachi

Pebbles: • the only people he enjoyed doing group projects with were Suns and Wind. he Could do group projects with Moon and Nish but Only if he could race them. rascal found it fun to challenge the nokias 😔 • now with Innocence though? Never. if they were forced to, they could do a great job with minimal communication but they were not going to be happy about it • latched onto Suns exactly because Moon was overbearingly protective and Suns always seems like they couldn't give less of a shit about anyone. sometimes they'd have a videochat open and not say anything for hours as they worked • with Nish he used to like inventing new things. a lot of times the things turned out to be silly or kind of useless which would normally frustrate him, but surprisingly enough Nish made the time spent worth it • Wind's favorite activity was comparing notes with him and then talking about the differences in their research. they'd hum to him happily while the both of them would be sorting through their stuff • i sometimes imagine him having a slight chinese accent and i blame Steven He for this so hard • second most emotional fuck in the group. his emotions mostly rotate around anger, though • he won't admit this to anyone but he really liked it when his and Moon's cans were connected by bridges. it felt like holding hands. he felt more stable. now all he can do is just miss it quietly • was legit surprised when he found out not every iterator has a build in older sister right at their side • his city is called Literally just Metropolis cuz the ancients didn't bother with properly naming it. depeshioumn. • city's representative instrument was adopted straight from Moon since Pebs' citizens were honestly just hers, so- violin it is • Pebbles HAS attempted to learn how to play a violin himself. certainly was a test of patience and puppet dexterity/camera-to-digits control. almost broke the poor thing a few times from nerves

either way, Wind, at the end of each fucking cycle from day 1 of their life:

[refra1004-blog]

Original characters concept art

Sketches for an idea I had for a while now, I made some designs a while ago but I wasn't fully convinced with those so I redesigned them

Now these ones, I really liked them. So these guys would debut on a one shot story about a herpetologist rabbit called George working on aboriginal territory in Australia (or whatever is called in this alt universe, it's on the same world as Northwind only much much later) and getting teased by his local guide Tidda. This started when my roo brainrot happened and while I never intend to give an accurate representation of any culture I really enjoy researching and designing characters based on other cultures.

Also George was based on 3 things, Haru from Beastars for the general silouette but his design is mostly based on Hol Horse and Steve Irwin

[nsomniacsdream]

Some Like it Hot

Grott the gargoyle was enjoying the luxurious sun pouring down into his grotto (A convenience store back lot) when the call to adventure came. A letter, to be specific. A letter from a woman he knew as a child, Jerrica, who had become a schoolteacher for a local kindergarten. Jerrica had been a cool kid, didn't try to pull his tail or whine about his wings meant he should be able to fly her around. They hadn't so much kept in touch as she did occasionally drop by to get him a box of donuts and help him pull an iguana out of the storm drain (they did that all the time, something about that stormdrain was like iguana catnip). Jerrica was very politely asking his assistance in providing some animal learning for her class. After he chewed it over with a pizza crust, He was sure he knew exactly what he should do. So he started a lap of his grotto, talking to each of the best behaved animals that lived in the lot. An iguana named Gene, a python named Pit, and a baby gator that just wouldn't stay in the canals, Kevin. The next morning, he packed them all in a radio flyer wagon and started down the block wearing his nicest vest (he stuck with vests because they wouldn't bind down his wings after he ripped the armpit seams.) This particular one was khaki and made him think of steve irwin.

Jerrica greeted Grott at the door, and pet his cowlick down and kissed the sides of his snout. "Thank you so much for coming! The kids were so excited when I told them I knew an actual gargoyle!" Grott handed Gene to Jerrica with an admonition to behave himself. Pit and Kevin curled around Grotts arms and all three were set down on a table in front of the classroom. Grott an Jerrica split a box of mixed donuts and some coffee. Before you knew it, the kids were filing in, all flapping signed permission slips at Ms. Benton. They couldn't help themselves from oohing and aahing over the first gargoyle they had ever met. Grott felt glad that he could meet all these kids and leave a good impression. Ambassadorial status was a priviledge and a burden sometimes. In the meantime, Kevin had made his way onto Ms. Bentons desk and gotten into a threat display fight with a staple remover after already losing one with the stapler. Gene had slid down on a sun puddle at the corner of the table and was basking. Pit had managed to snag a donut and gotten it stuck behind his head after he wiggled thru the donut's hole. It wasn't a problem yet, but he kept sneezing from all the powdered sugar on it. As all the kids had arrived and been settled into their beanbags, Grott loosed Kevin on the floor and told him to stay out of trouble. Gene wokeup with a start as Grott scooped him up and carried him draped along his arm up to the first row of children. "Do you kids know what this animal is?" There were several timid voices that said "lizard" or "florida puppy". "This is a green iguana, even tho you can see he's not all green. This is Gene. He lives near me, he's a good guy. But the green iguana is an invasive species here. They're originally from central and south america, but came here on boats full of food. Iguanas are cold blooded, which means he can't keep his own body warm, so you'll usually see them laying out in the sun. Gene is a nice guy, but he gets excited, so I'm not gonna pass him around or anything." Grott handed Gene the Iguana to Jerrica, who placed him gently back into the sunlight coming through the window. Gene blinked a few times then huffed and laid on his tail, falling asleep. "The next animal is one that a lot of people find scary, so I'm going to tell you about him first. Burmese pythons are a kind of snake. They started living here in the late 70s, but they're also invasive. They've spread throughout almost the entire state. Burmese pythons can be very big, and that scares people, but they're almost never a threat to people. They only attack if they don't have any other options. So don't approach them in the wild, if they get cornered, they might attack to be able to escape. Pit here is a really good guy, look how big his eyes are! they hunt at twilight so they see really well in the dark. And do you see these little pits along his mouth? He can see heat with those. So when a warm food is in a cold shadow, he can still see them!" Pit was winding himself back and forth between ms. Benton's arms behind Grott, and the kids were mesmerized. Pit was enjoying all the attention but he was also getting a little wiggly because he was excited. "Pythons are also cold blooded! They like to curl up where it's warm. Don't bother them, because they can be jumpy if you spook them." Grott turned and found Pit even with his face. Pit slid forward and curled himself around Grott's horns, which were cooler than the surrounding room and would help him cool down and calm himself. Grott looked like a Gorgon a little bit, with his stony looking skin and snake on his head.

"I have one last friend here to meet you today. Kevin is a little alligator. Alligators are some of the Oldest species in the world, and they haven't changed a whole lot in the whole time. They're very well adapted to their environment (shallow water with low visibility)." Kevin, hearing Grott talk about him, had run from under the table and was strutting back and forth in front of the kids. Kevin loved when people talked about him, since he loved himself so much. Grott stepped forward and swept Kevin back a little bit from the kids. "Alligators can be Very dangerous. Even Kevin here will get much larger and will try to eat anything that he can catch that fits in his mouth. So never approach an alligator. Kevin is super cute and has a nice singing voice" and at this point Keven started squeakign at the top of his little lungs "but he is still full of teeth and bites without really thinking about it." The kids all lined up, and got to pet Gene's back, tickle Pit's chin (if they wanted to), and scratch Kevin's back and tail while he squeaked his happiest squeaks. Some of the kids tried to squeak along and it got really loud, with all the squeaking and laughing. Kevin got overstimulated and started barking at kids who got too close, so Grott felt it was about time for everyone to pack up and head home. Jerrica helped, and the kids were asking questions the entire time, and some of them asked to touch his wings, and were surprised that he was softer than he looked. Grott was pretty worn out, after the wagon pull here, and talking in front of an audience is never easy, althought Grott preferred children, they were more open about learning about things before they judged them. Pit had slid himself down into a groove in Grott's vest adn was pressed up against his ribs, keeping himself warm. Gene was dead asleep, and Kevin was still trying to get another chorus of squeaking going. Jerrica offered Grott a hug, being careful not to squish Pit, and a lot of the kids lined up for hugs too. By the time Grott was able to get back on his way to the Grotto, the sun was already going down. There was no traffic on the sidewalks, so they made good time, and Kevin jumped out of the wagon at one point when a pigeon was strutting by. But finally he made it back to the brightly lit lot and slid Pit around the Power Transformer for warmth, and Gene went on top, fo rhe same reason. Kevin wasn't ready to settle down, so he ran around the lot croaking and trying to catch any birds that landed (he managed to snag a seagull, but it was too big and pulled itself free and flew away). Grott went inside and got a beef jerky and cheese stick pack, and settled into the hammock he had strung between a tree and a light pole. Listening to Kevin sing about how scary and big he was, Grott fell asleep.

[sixthwater]

Okay. A buttload of celebrities in my catalog later.

I am so certain that there's no way to verify whether a celebrities' chart is right based on whether a certain hemisphere is full or not, but off of what vocational energies are being activated. I wanted to see if maybe certain influencer energy would be found more in the southern hemisphere because I am not a one trick pony, but even THEY had the northern hemisphere full most of the time, however heavy air energy was present. So let's go through what I've found (charts attached at bottom)

EXAMPLE SEC. A

River Phoenix: Southern Hemisphere is full, typical. However it speaks to someone who isn't allowed to sit in their own skin, and that can represent being a celebrity whos job is to give to others and not allowed to be themselves -- that will not bring them income. Fire houses sit on the 2nd, 6th & 10th houses, Leo being his midheaven with Mars in there? While also being the chart ruler? Sag can give for income based on their philosophy and aries will want to be independent in their workplace, meanwhile leo ends up shining in their workplace regardless of where they are. If I remember, people were attracted to him for his cool/bad guy aura despite seeming gentle, something like that? Please correct me I'm definitely off.

Prince: I wanted to pick him because people always pointed him out as being shady when he just. Reacted. Or minded his business. For the most part. I find it super interesting that most of his personal planets are within the eighth house or are in water signs, meanwhile what is presented to us are basically the result of that. So we get that creative output of his emotions or his inner dialogue after the creative process has toyed around with it and he can communicate it effectively. Having Saturn fighting with Sagittarius over the Second means that he will be picky with what project to go all out on and which one to put to the side. If it's not worth the push then he will sacrifice the budget for it. Mars in the sixth can show that he is dedicated to his art and his process. He gives his all and he wants his art to be damn good. It's not like mars in virgo but after the Second house touches it and it's time to put it into action, he's going to do the work for it.

EXAMPLE SEC B.

Whitney Houston: It's pretty balanced? Most of it is in the Northern Hemisphere, but there's a good bit in the Southern. However there's still fire on the material houses. I won't lie, this one definitely speaks more to being of artistic nature. It's a mix of being trapped to what your job will request of you, but also not being happy in a career that doesn't call to you. It has to be your 'destined' career that lets you express yourself and let you be free. Not necessarily having their emotions on their sleeve, but you can see it in their actions, and they're very proud of their work because it reflects them. Also a very bubbly image in a sense. When you think of their work it makes you happy or you'll miss the emotions they gave you.

Kylie Jennier & Steve Irwin: Double feature, because they both have the same ascendant and same impact, but different paths (...or not?)

Kylie has a full southern hemisphere whereas steve has a nothern one (which is insane because everyone knows steve, and you could say that everyone knows kylie but we're talking about a generational impact). This brings me back to my original point: Steve wasn't aiming to be an icon but to inform and make change, Kylie is in a family that's set up to be socialites or famous. They both have jupiter in aquarius in the second house, which would be gaining income through something new and unconventional. It's a new approach to something that draws people in. Obviously Steve's was getting people to understand that animals are to be understood and putting himself in various situations to get people to understand. Kylie's? They both have planets in the ninth house. Steve's would've been an attachment to getting to the bottom of things and sharing that knowledge with others. Kylie has venus and mercury so...fashion? It's like learning about something old, and then revamping it or uncovering something to show it in a new light. You'll notice Steve does Not have Mars in the tenth, but instead the Second; because he was never violent with his work. Instead he utilized it. For Kylie, considering the rest of her chart, I think this speaks more to making a name for herself or making her own 'empire/brand/whatever'.

This is a rough generalized explanation of what I saw. You have to take a good amount of the chart in which I didn't include in this breakdown because it. Is already long lmao. Hopefully this made sense though, this experiment was very interesting, I accidentally stumbled upon a Lot I want to erase and pretend I didn't see goodbyyyeeee

GONNA DO A TEST REAL QUICK

[unknown-lifeform]

Please… please I would love to hear about your ygo gx thoughts bc I’ve missed hearing about that show…

GX was so good so fucking good, it's my favorite out of the ygo spinoffs that I've watched (5d's and ArcV), it's got so many good characters and it even has a good and satisfying ending, I'm about to be so incoherent in these ramblings

Judai is a great character, he's not my favorite character out of the show but I still love him. Good boy who was so hopeful and friendly (to hide all the trauma) and then ended up having more horrific trauma and having to relearn how to be hopeful and friendly (but in a more genuine way, not simply repressing things as he used to). 10/10 would hug

With my fave being Yubel which you might guess. They were the og problematic fave. I remember being 10 and watching this dragon ruining things for everyone else like hm. I think this may awake a lot of things in me. And I watched the dub as a kid, where they are depicted as a woman, then I found out they are genderqueer in the original version and I was like even more in love. They just have all the things I love. Queer. Dramatic. Obsessive evil bastard. Mental health issue. Dragon.

And there's so many other quality characters. Steve Irwin with a whole crocodile and a magic eye whose powers are never actually elaborated upon at any point. Burned out former straight A student who did what everyone in academia eventually wishes aka become a BDSM emo and start electrocuting people. A dude who is also a dinosaur through a plot twist even Jurassic Park would never dream of. This show was throwing all the wildest concepts at us and it was fucking beautiful

But like. The thing is. Yes the character concepts were wild. Yes you had to employ a lot of suspension of disbelief at times even for a ygo show. But the character development was also so so good? And not just for the main character and maybe one or two other guys, but so many got their development! Manjoume, Shou and Kaiser, Asuka, they all got their season four spotlight to see their new goals, and even side characters like O'Brian got their small moments. Seeing them all go their ways was so beautiful

Ships are also damn good. Judai/Yubel/Johan polycule is very good. Also I can't get over the fact that this gay throuple is technically kind of canon in a very fucked up way. Most of the couples ygo wants you to ship are the hint hint nudge nudge flavor of straight shonen couples that never gets too explicit, but then GX season 3 gives you love triangle between two guys and one's guy genderqueer jealous ex who is also a dragon. Insane

Other good ships: Judai/Manjoume (hell yeah rivals), Edo/Kaiser (hell YEAH rivals), O'Brian/Jim (hunk boyfriends), Jim/Kenzan (fossil boyfriends), actually can we go for the ultimate muscle and ship O'Brian/Jim/Kenzan? But yes lots of shipping potential

Anyways it's kind of annoying there isn't a lot for GX on ao3, or at least there wasn't last I checked. There is so much fic potential. Maybe ffnet might have more, it usually does for old fandoms, but ffnet's interface frustrates me. Plus the fact that GX was kind of badly received, what with being the first spinoff, might have just cut out the number of fanworks even later on

It really is a pity tho that GX was unpopular at first. It's a really good series, it's almost a bit too goofy at first but the change in tone in later seasons is great, plus fitting too considering that it is a kind of coming age thing, all these high schoolers starting out full of hope and naivety and then getting trauma for it. The fact that it's also the only spinoff that has strong ties to DM gives it so much potential. I mean, does Manjoume's family have any particular ties to Kaiba corp? Which and how many of the GX kids would one day meet Yugi, or the rest of the DM gang? What if Judai on his travels ends up meeting people like the Ishtars? For that matter, did the Ishtars know about the multiple dimensions or the Supreme King? Because if anyone from DM was going to be aware of all the things we discover in GX, it would have been them

What if Seto Kaiba and Hell Kaiser got in a fist fight what then

I just love GX so much