#ula ula arc

[justineportraits]

Ula Mos & Richard Ortiz Joan of Arc #3

[acronym-chaos]

Celestial Being ID Pack

[PT: Celestial Being ID Pack].

[ID: A purple thin line diivder shaded at the bottom. End ID].

Names

[PT: Names].

Andromeda, Antares, Aether, Aurora, Astra, Astraeus, Azura, Betelgeuse, Callisto, Cassiopeia, Celeste, Celestine, Cepheus, Chara, Chroma, Cosma, Cygnus, Deneb, Eclipse, Elara, Electra, Elysia, Empyrean, Estella, Ethereal, Galaxia, Helia, Hespera, Illumine, Luminara, Lyra, Maia, Mira, Nebula, Nocturne, Nova, Nyx, Ophelia, Orin, Orion, Perseus, Phos, Polaris, Proxima, Radiance, Rigel, Selene, Seraphina, Sirius, Solara, Solstice, Starlia, Starlight, Tauri, Tempest, Ursa, Uriel, Vega, Vela, Vespera, Yvaine, Zephyr, Zenith, Zaniah, Zorya

Pronouns

[PT: Pronouns].

Ae / Aeth / Er [Aether]; Astro / Astros / Astros; Au / Aura / Auras; Bea / Beam / Beams; Cele / Celes / Celests; Co / Con / Const [Constellation]; Co / Cos / Cosmos; Com / Come / Comet; Fli / Flick / Flicker; Ga / Gala / Galax; Glea / Gleam / Gleams; Glo / Glow / Glows; Li / Light / Lights; Lu / Lum / Lumin [Luminary]; Ne / Neb / Ula [Nebula]; No / Nov / Nova; Or / Orbi / Orbits; Pho / Phot / Photon; Po / Polar / Polaris; Ra / Ray / Rays; Shim / Shimm / Shimmer; Spar / Spark / Sparks; Spect / Spectr / Spectrum; Star / Star / Stars; Ste / Stell / Stellar; Twi / Twink / Twinkle; Voi / Void / Voids

Titles

[PT: Titles].

The Astral Entity, The Beacon of Light, The Celestial Conduit, The Cosmic Herald, The Ethereal Luminary, The Flickering Spirit, The Guide of Galaxies, The Infinite Essence, The Light of Stars, The Luminous Enigma, The Manifestation of Harmony, The Nebula Weaver, The Radiant Whisper, The Shimmering Presence, The Soul of the Cosmos, The Spirit of Starlight, The Voice of the Void, The Warden of Light, [Pronoun] Who Flickers in the Night, [Pronoun] Who Guides the Galaxies, [Pronoun] Who Illuminates the Darkness, [Pronoun] Who Radiates Eternity, [Pronoun] Who Weaves the Nebulae, [Pronoun] Who Whispers Through the Stars

[ID: A purple thin line divider shaded at the bottom. End ID].

Made for @rwuffles' 700 followers event!

Day 5: free day

Also tagging @pronoun-arc @id-pack-archive

[adultswim2021]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force #74: “Hoppy Bunny” | February 17, 2008 - 11:45PM | S06E05

Hey, some of these fucking episodes have DVD commentaries for them. I am mostly watching these on HBOMax for this blog, and I popped in the DVD to check to see if a moment in this episode was censored on both versions (it is). Imagine my surprise when I clicked the episode title and it asked if I wanted to watch it with commentary! When I was getting ready to cover this season, I checked the DVD to see if there were commentaries. Nothing on the packaging or the menus advertised that they did. Squidbillies volume two on DVD also suffers from this issue. Contemporary DVD reviews fail to mention the fact that select episodes have commentary tracks, probably because the person reviewing them opted to “Play All” and would not ever know the option was on the table.

I’ll start off this as a way to play catch-up: Reedickyoulus also has a commentary track. Dave Willis says that he got the idea for not featuring the Aqua Teens in the first few episodes by riffing during an interview that in the upcoming season the Aqua Teens move out because they realize the house was somehow causing all the strange things to happen, and that the show was just going to be about the empty house. So that’s what got them going down the path of the Marcula arc-ula.

The commentary for this episode features two writers, Thom Nicolette and Ted Murphy. They cop to the fact that they were the ones who wrote the scene where Shake microwaves cats in Reedickyoulus. It was in their first draft, and it was never changed. Dave Willis muses that he found other examples of on-cat violence in the show to go to far, but for some reason found the microwaved cats to be funny, so maybe his barometer is off for that kind of thing. 

This episode is Hoppy Bunny, which is a reasonably funny but not terribly memorable episode. I’m saying that because I really didn’t remember this one much at all. In fact, most of the episodes from here on out are ones I saw once, MAYBE twice. I remembered the character of Hoppy Bunny, but that might be because I saw the screengrab from the episode that accompanies it on episode guide sites and on various streaming platforms. It’d be like if you remembered what Bugs Bunny looked like, but didn’t remember him clearly being Jewish.

The plot! Carl buys yet another sexually-charged product; this time it’s a pied-piper program that includes a recorder that can summon turned-on broads. When he finally gets it, wires begin making their way into Carl’s body, eventually turning him into an elfin flutist, playing for the benefit of Hoppy Bunny, a man in a round bunny costume. He’s voiced by Scott Adsit, and the episode makes sure you know that he’s just some dude. In fact he’s a surgeon. 

A bunch of other furries show up. I don’t recall the episode calling them furries specifically. I was hyper aware of furries at the time because I was extremely online, and I wonder how much furrydom was in the zeitgeist in 2008. It was 5 years after CSI did an episode about them, which I remember a co-worker complaining about. He’s the only furry I specifically knew, and he balked at the inaccuracies of the episode. I pray CSI never comes for the middle-aged Adult Swim bloggers. It sorta seems like the episode was playing it safe by not using “furries” as shorthand, but if you know, you know. 

The moment in question that I was wondering if it was censored? Remember, from before? One of the furries (a unicorn) has a wet spot on his crotch, I think implied to be a cumstain. It’s pixelated out, which seems silly to me.

Frylock tries to solve the problem using science, but Shake torpedoes this by offering to give Frylock a massage and ripping off the diamond on his back. Shake gleefully celebrates obtaining the diamond. Dana Snyder highlights this moment on the commentary; how funny it is that Shake’s ultimate goal seemed to be to steal the diamond for the entire series and he’s spent this many episodes biding his time. Shake, even after experiencing the power of the diamond by taking flight and feeling it’s power, is so unimaginative that his plan culminates in him taking it to a pawn shop to try and get 20 dollars for it. 

I definitely like this show better than Squidbillies, but this uses the same formula as the “Wing Nut” with a plot that is specifically unresolved and given an ending that flaunts how little this all matters. I liked this episode fine, but it benefits mostly from the fact that I’ve seen it fewer times than “classic” Aqua Teen episodes. I am perfectly pleased with these characters and these settings! I am glad to have watched this! What more do you want from me?

Stray things I haven’t mentioned yet:

Matt M stars in the commercial that Carl is watching. It’s live-action!

There’s a part where he shows sheet music and the writers claimed that it was the Communist Manifesto transcribed into music notes. 

The shot of Cars jammed into Flylocks room is funny. Shake was using it as a parking lot for the furries.

The original ending was Frylock getting seduced by Hoppy Bunny, and Carl evolving into a griffin who slaughters the furries.

That’s it! STOP READING THIS

EPHEMERA CORNER

[artforiasenibudayajepang]

Mari Kita Ulas Kemampuan Buah Iblis Jewelry Bonney Toshi Toshi no Mi

Berita Anime Jepang – Jewelry Bonney pertama kali diperkenalkan dalam cerita One Piece sebagai salah satu dari sebelas Supernova. Namun, dia baru menjadi karakter utama saat Arc Egghead dimulai. Arc ini mengungkap banyak hal tentang Bonney, termasuk latar belakangnya dan akhirnya nama Buah Iblisnya. Buah Iblis Jewelry Bonney Toshi Toshi no Mi juga diperkenalkan pada Arc Sabaody Archipelago,…

[musicarenagh]

Uncommon Addiction's "Setting The Night On Fire": A Cathartic Blaze of Sound There’s nothing quite like the smell of molten guitar riffs in the morning. You don’t get that from a perfume bottle; you get it from “Setting The Night On Fire,” the latest release from Uncommon Addiction. This isn’t just music—it feels more like a meteor about to crash into a lake of gasoline. The sky’s the limit, right? Well, Santiago Abad wants you to look through the clouds and realize that it’s raining grief and anger, and it’s not stopping anytime soon. https://open.spotify.com/album/3tIHKpOOMKJwqyJgP9VEba?si=NEOFeOvXT1ueZhO85CE6lA The instrumental rock/electronic fusion here reminds me more of a burning cathedral than a song; towering and jagged, yet eerily empty, like there are ghosts in the reverb. Pablo Amador’s drums pulse erratically, as if keeping time with a broken heart, while his bass growls beneath like the murmur of old regrets. You can practically hear the heavy breath of frustration between the rolls. [caption id="attachment_57203" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Uncommon Addiction's "Setting The Night On Fire": A Cathartic Blaze of Sound[/caption] It’s obvious that grief is the petrol fueling the engine of this track—grief, loss, and all the emotional road rage that comes with it. Anger, at first sharp and fiery, mellows into sorrow through dynamic shifts that feel like emotional weather patterns. One moment you're caught in a storm of distorted guitars, and the next you're floating in space, haunted by Ula Wordaz’s sleek production that lets the guitars wail like a widow at midnight. The song doesn’t seem to offer answers—only catharsis. Is this release about letting go or burning down the memories? Maybe both? It's like Joan of Arc with a distortion pedal: blurring the line between destruction and salvation. In the end, “Setting The Night On Fire” doesn’t burn out—it smolders in the back of your mind long after it ends. A flicker of fury. A spark of release.

[turtlemagnum]

star wars names im coming up with because im bored:

the ones ive had for a while have been Maxim Gunner and Darth Glacius. i have an idea for a story to use these names in but that's gonna wait a while.

names i just came up with: ula ulahn. sock jindo. MK-23. J0-N3. FN-74. M1-A4. CZ-XZ. frik embar. arc wudu. pike fireon. dai atanna. darth ignatius. vent hatto. darth pikus. darth deus. darth falcus. slip dippo. luna tideturner. jade tyrus. jen centerfire. christine lightspeed. bun sunrunner. jandra ipsum. kat yuppie. dash shellshock. dick gamer. shaun apollyon. mag cinder. jōhana tontine. mal praxis. gen jendo (hard g). dessk switch. Darth Tortus. shiro wolf. aya corellia. zant plexis. ai slugthrower. dxun jimmy. sop modder. odysseus vape. darth ultimax. bulbus wren. dieloff taurus. aider, gren. vex slinkus. sage magus. ash slasher. koda jett. scout tendo. robin airspeed. moss ploktoo. bo skringly. rumi lago. aster blaster. ben vespa. artemis argent. sasha intaris. stormy headphones. river titanium. nova icarius. juniper fren. hillside windar. sappho oshus. erebus starguy. nyx sixer. eris junta. ulysses fendar. christine lightbringer. jess chesst. bug ungo. trunt runtor.

[misty-egg]

Do you have a favorite episode and if it’s too hard to narrow it down, a favorite arc or season?

anon you test me with this question (playful) god there's a lot of eps and arcs that i enjoy and bc i'm That Guy i'm gonna list a few :)

the ones that come to mind arrrrre:

-the goomy arc in XY, including when they return to the marshlands. god these episodes have me bawling literally everytime it's so wonderful to see ash encouraging his pokemon and pushing their limits, and also inspiring them. seeing goomy taking ash's bravery and using it to evolve, and then later save her friends??? that entire middle of the series is definitely my favourite!!

-also loved the segment of ash and greninja struggling with their synchronicity and finally reaching their peak with the wulfric rematch. i know some people have gripes about how cliche ash-greninja is but i do not care i'm here for it. imo they wrote it in a very ash way so im happy. the diantha battle was fantastic and i wholeheartedly believe he could've beat her if they hadn't fainted. i will die on this hill

-THE LAKE ACUITY BATTLE OUGHHHRGBNFGJBNGFBKNGFBKNGFBKJGNFJBFN yeah loved that. ash being desperate to prove himself, disagreeing with paul's training style and hating that it works and that he loses, but his pokemon not giving up on him??? mwah. chefs kiss

-infernape evolving infernape evolving infernape- look ok i'm exactly like every other DP stan i love infernape sue me

-i absolutely loved and continue to love ash's trial with olivia in SM!!! tbh i love any battle in which ash uses his unique battling styles to impress other ppl. like yeah boy ur autistic (positive) show ur stuff

-THE NANU BATTLE???? YEAHHHHHH THAT WAS GREAT. i love ash's lycanroc to pieces she's such a good girl so seeing ash working on their battling together was so nice. also that whole ula ula island segment was a nice break from the school dynamic; i love the sun moon's unique take on ash's journey but it was nice to see him thrive

ok that's all i'm afraid i'll keep going LOL

[gadgetsforusesblog]

Click to read ULA targets May 4 for the inaugural flight of the Vulcan Centaur rocket

United Launch Alliance has set a target date for the inaugural flight of the Vulcan Centaur rocket: May 4, 2023. Company CEO Tory Bruno announced the four-day launch window beginning May 4 in a conversation with reporters, where he explained the factors driving the company to come up with the schedule. According to Parabolic arc, the main launch “tempo item” is Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine, which…

[hostor-infotech]

ULA targets May 4th for Vulcan Centaur rocket's inaugural flight

United Launch Alliance has a target date for its Vulcan Centaur rocket’s inaugural flight: May 4th, 2023. Company chief Tory Bruno has announced the four-day launch window starting on May 4th in a call with reporters, where he explained the factors that prompted the company to come up with the schedule.  According to Parabolic Arc, the primary “pacing item” for the launch is Blue Origin’s BE-4…

[smilingperformer]

I love one Lugarugan too much 😭

[theinsanecrayonbox]

KP watches MH s1e1 and e2

oh i was watching FOP-athon-block on nicktoons when suddenly MH series is on. i recorded it to watch later, but hey i guess i’ll watch it now

Episode 1: The Monstering

Deena is human and lives as a human, yes. she loves monsters, cool. and hey we get human characters. also, she has her purple hair; it’s cosmetic not genetic like the movie made it seem to be (which was dumb) momma Wolf is MIA? ok, that’s more explanation than the movie gave. oh we already have a musical number...uh...

ok theory time; i think the series gang and the movie gang were given the same basic “hit these bullet points” for what to do, that’s why they are independent but kinda clearly just repeating each other slightly.

was that Spectra? yay class puns are here!

Deuce’s snakes talk? O.o and we just have Frankie blurt the pronouns thing again...i mean i guess it makes sense  for them cause 15 days old, doesn’t know any different the kids are all already friendly? so...no real internal friend group drama? cause Cleo’s not ruffling any feathers...

wait Deena’s surname is “Wolf” not “Wolffe” or something more human-y? and hey they explain why they don’t imprison people to hide the school’s existence; there’s a forgetful thing...wouldn’t make the halfbreeds forget, cause it only works on humans, but ok, it’s better than the movie’s “eh we kick you out but feel free to expose us to the  humans while you’re out there”

points for BatB referencing. also, could they use that later for some EAH-ness??

oh ok Cleo does get to be a bit ruffly i guess

oh there’s the anti-witch craft. and hey...does Deena room with Ula and Frankie cause she crashes and there’s no free room? that why they’re a threesome while everyone else is twosome roomies?

Dr Snarls Darkwin? so...Boolittle can stay, but Moreau does have to be monsterfied...

i just remembered MCU!Flash is Deuce and yes that is his voice lol ^^;

is the musical number going to be a regular thing in an episode? i’ll give you Deena’s magical girl transformation is cute...and why didn’t anyone think werewolf?? you got a human with powers and found your place unassisted AND the surname wolf??

anyways, Tora’s accent really does sound fake to me. here’s hoping that is her character arc, to reveal her trueself

wait the monster world has DNA testing? and Dad has no ideas about the monster world at all...so why is his surname Wolf? (oh please be my dating app mixup theory) oh wait Dad DOES know? and never told her? oh geeze, they’re pulling Jackson’s retconned terrible backstory aren’t they...

so that is Spectra. she kinda looks like a fusion of Spectra and Ari...

well over all, that was not a bad start to a series, i will give you that. again, it feels like it expects you to walk in with familiarity to all the characters, so it’s not setting up characters but just the new status quo. so that’s...disappointing. BUT it’s only e1

------

Episode 2: Unfinished Brain-ness/Food Fight

the opening makes it seem like Deena, Ula, Frankie, and Deuce are the main characters

first the A-story; oh Ula doing a presentation on irony. hehe “iBall” Cleo...you shouldn’t just dump body parts (especially your own) on random surfaces

how is Lagoona more of a ditzy blonde when he’s not a blonde anymore? i’ll give you though, the “witches don’t belong even if we upcycle them” joke was wonderfully funny and dark

how can you have the frontal lobe from a poltergeist? they’re not physical in nature...did you get their brain from their body BEFORE they were a poltergeist? spectral species can die and leave remains??

Frankie...i feel if your parts are that easily removeable, your joints should be far less tight. and you know, you shouldn’t be filled with blood and gooey bits if parts can fall off and break seals that easily...i’m just not supposed to think about that am i?

heh brain muffin. why did no one say that?

wait, why is Drac in a movie? an 80s movie? that’s not digital film...is silver not used in movie film? i admit, idk that myself, but they got vamps showing up on phones because it’s digital so good there. but the reasons vamps don’t show up in old photos or in mirrors is because of the silver used in development and the silver backing. now these days, yo can make mirrors without silver, so they show up in those fine. but yeah...that’s an 80s film... but Drac as a movie star does make me chuckle, since wasn’t part of Elissa’s deal that her being an actress was a thing that wasn’t compatible with her high rank? or was that fanon...might’ve been fanon...

and Tora getting ready to cause problems. well you know Ula, if you didn’t record your secrets out loud, this wouldn’t have happened...

onto B-story; Mrs o’Shirek? your art teacher is a banshee? and vamp selfies are a thing now! see my vampires and silver paragraph above

pft ancient 70s, what children XD but Frankie’s parts are all monsters...ok. and they Jimmy Neutron brain blast

pft dumpster fire. ok you got me with that joke.

wait Watzit was made by one of Frankie’s parts? huh...ok, that’s kinda interesting actually. oh srry it’s “what-zee” not “whats-it” i guess. that is less interesting.

anyways, was the Ms Frizzle/Ms Grundy hybrid Mrs o’Shirek? huh

so for e2...it feels so short. idk, i know it was the full 22 min, but it just felt like we had the same amount if content as a 5 min webisode? again we’re starting off. e1 was world intro and Deena, e2a was Ula, e2b was Frankie. our lessons have been “believe in yourself”, “don’t self hate yourself”, and “everyone makes mistakes”. all fair enough...and all these points were hit in the movie...huh...

anyways, despite feeling super short it was a fun enough watch i guess. i’ll keep up with it. the animation is looking good and i do like it much more than the g1 or g2 cgi models.

[sanguisfulgur]

What Tarot Card Is Your Character?

What would you do to ensure justice? You know full well I don’t speak of lofty ideals and courts and magistrates, dearest. What would you do to those that hurt you? If I dropped them in your lap, what would you do? What kind of pain could you possibly inflict upon them? You are right to do so. You are right to want to do so. Ignore the screaming, dearest, you are the hand of justice now, and they hurt you. Do not look too closely at their faces, dearest. You are within your rights. You spell out your own rights, now. Are you happy about it? Are you certain that this is the right person you hold by the hair? Does your anger hurt less now?

Tagged by: @kcshaku Tagging: @umbrclflame (Arc?), @madeherchoices, @spiriitum (Trevor?), @destinybitten (Ula?), @themanwiththecrown​ & anyone else who wants to!

[spooky-space-kook]

Goddammit. Okay. Things I am obsessed with from In The Flesh. (NOTE: I am a dumbass who knows jackall about anything I'm talking about. If I'm ever insensitive about a topic, please just tell me. I only do my best, ok?)

Amy is a gift and every moment she's on screen I fall in love that little bit more. This isn't a deep assessment I just fucking love Amy.

I could be completely off base, but each of our main "PDS Sufferers" feel as though they represent different ways mental illness is expressed. I know fuckall about most mental illnesses and so will leave it at that. I just think it's interesting.

I also like how they use characters to show the many different responses to oppression. Keiran's initial go-along-to-get-along becoming awareness and resentment. Freddy insisting he's not like the others. Simon finding purpose. Keiran's parent's blind ignorance and total faith in the system. Ken Burton becoming fervently anti-undead to hide the fact his wife is undead and returned home. Bill and Rick acting as though it isn't real, and crumbling the moment the thin veil is torn away. And Amy being the treasure she is and just leaning way the fuck in.

Everyone dressed in Amy's style at the end. Especially Sue and Shirley. Even more that Keiran's idea of "moregeous" is Old Man Hat.

The contrast between Rick and Simon's room. The former clearly hiding under so much masculine hooplah. Sexy half naked women, army crap. And at odds with the character we get glimpses of when in Keiren's presence. The latter's room is very much... well, gay. And young. Walls covered in boyband posters and race car drivers. I know the director said he left home as a teen, and honestly I'm surprised it wasn't earlier. The space is very much a pre-teen's. It says so much about Simon's character. That even if he left in his mid-teens, he must've started drifting away much earlier.

Simon's many, many layers and huge shirts. To me it ties strongly with what we learn in s2 ep5. It comes off as dressing to hide oneself.

The village's characters all interact like people who have known one another for years. Even the bad guys. When Keiran is in a very dire situation and being threatened by Gary in the last episode, he still talks to him like you would any schmuck you've known since elementary days. And all the interactions are this way. Personal and understanding in a way that's specific to a community where everyone has always known everyone. Fuck I love it so much.

I just appreciate the consistent characterization so much. It's so fucking good. Even when they started having to rush things along, they did it well. Characters grew without becoming totally different people.

S2 Ep5. Ignoring revoked consent. It was a very interesting moment to me. The whole episode made me re-evaluate a lot of aspects of the character, but this in particular stood out as impactful.

Even through it all, I sympathize with Jem and Gary and every other poor soul who lived through the Rising. I don't know if I'm supposed to, but I do. What they went through was awful. And traumatizing. They have every reason to be afraid. It is not an invalid fear. I love that they never showed us the human's experiences, because we've likely seen it enough times to understand and sympathize.

AND FURTHERMORE every PDS Sufferer is as much a victim! Because they really weren't in control, and had no way to be besides.

And along with that note, I love the moment when Jem makes The Big Mistake. Because I agreed with her. I thought she should go to the authorities. It was an accident, but the consequences were huge. And immediately after thinking this, I asked myself why I feel our PDS souls should get a pass due to trauma and lack of control, when Jem essentially had the same experience as a result of PTSD. I love that so much. The show constantly has me comparing and contrasting the experiences of the living and undead.

The very deliberate staging of Weston and Halperin. First working together, eventually split, and finally... no Weston at all. The moment where they are standing separate, Halperin with their benefactor on one side, Weston on the other, divided by a column, is very interesting. Halperin is friendly and welcoming to Weir, the representative of their funding source. Weston is clearly hostile. After that moment, we never see Weston again. So much said with so little! Ugh! So good! I want to know more about that divide. What it lead to. Why was Weston gone later?

I like Gary. There I said it. He's a horrible person but a damn good character. I simultaneously sympathize with him and want to slap the absolute shit out of him. We get glimpses into his total inability to cope (the story at lunch, coping with humor. Terrorizing people. Refusing to move on.) But it's interesting. When we see him with the living he seems like a fairlu nice, empathetic person. Were this the Walking Dead, Gary would be the Good Guy. He'd maybe even be our protagonist. And in a lot of ways the show treats him appropriately. We see many facets to his personality, both good and bad. We see him in a sympathetic light occassionally. He's never quite a 2 dimensional nut job or monster. It's great.

Every shot in Simon's former home. Every. Single. Shot where they are together? Empty chair. The emphasis on a missing figure is so lovely and clever. And sad.

This is the world's smallest thing but no two actors look more like mother and son than Sue and Keiran. Same big fuck-off doe eyes.

There'll be more, just you fuckin' wait. I've been rewatching the shit out of this show and need to get my thoughts out.

ADDITIONALLY. SPOILERS BTW.

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If Keiran is the first risen I will eat every left sock I fucking own. I went back to s1 ep2 and there were about a zillion other legs walking around when he crawled his lazy ass out of that coffin! Which is even more infuriatingly intriguing.

I'm also not surprised that literally zero fic can imagine our main pair being together outside of small moments near the show's timeline. Simon has an addictive personality and only just found purpose. I think domesticity wouldn't suit him. Meanwhile Keiran craves it. That and normalcy, simplicity... I wish there had been more time to see that conflict.

I wish we could've seen more of Gary. I want to know if they ever planned redemption for him. The way they treat him, it feels like they were going to. His portrayal felt too sympathetic, otherwise.

I wish we could have seen Jem grow. She was such a good character and I genuinely felt for her. Simultaneously called a badass and a coward. Maybe feeling that way too. She deserved the rest of the arc she never got.

ALSO. I NEED TO KNOW. WHO THE LEADER OF THE ULA IS. I NEED TO. My suspicions: John Weston. But we'll never know now T_T

[elbdot]

Aight I have to know- we know Guzma hangs with El a lot, but where’s plumeria? Does she ever follow to see what big bro Guz is up to??

Plumeria is still on Ula Ula island! Guzma more or less  “disbanded” the team after the ultra-space incident (it’s...it’s complicated) and returned back to Melemele island and...that’s pretty much the last time they saw each other. Guzma feels very guilty about how he left things off with Team Skull and Plumeria, but feels like he can’t face them anymore. Or...at least not right now. After the Nihilegos made him feel nothing but pure fear and traumatized him through their possession, he doesn’t want to let his old team see that he isn’t the invincible “big bad Guzma” anymore that he made himself out to be.

Plumeria is currently still looking out for her “lil’ brothers and sisters”, at least for those who haven’t found their way yet. When Guzma has found the courage, Im sure he’ll reunite with Plums again and make sure they’re on good terms again. I’m not sure when or if I get to draw this at all at some point, but it sure would be great to tackle this arc!Though knowing my current upload schedule this probably won’t happen for a vERY long time...

[daisukoth]

Honestly my biggest problem with €ula is that i KNOW this bitch aint gonna have a character arc until like 10 years so like whats the point

[famous-aces]

Zenobia of Palmyra

Who: Septimia Zenobia Augusta (born Septimia Btzby [Bat-Zabbai], changed it to Septimia Zenobia, the name I gave as her "full name" is the name she chose as her regnal name. The name "Zenobia" basically means "child of Zeus" so just by meeting her she made her divine origins and importance clear.)

What: Empress

Where: Palmyrene (modern day Syria, potentially Arabic, Aramean, or Jewish. Active throughout the Middle East and Turkey)

When: c. 240 CE - c. 274 CE

[Image Description: coins from Emesa (now Ḥimṣ, Syria) from 272 CE. The front of the coin shows shows a portrait of Zenobia from the shoulders-up, surrounded by Greek letters.  She has a stern sharp profile with a long large nose and round chin. She has extremely curly hair that seems to be braided in the back. She is wearing a diadem. On the left (the back of the coin) it shows a full body portrait of the goddess Juno is holding a scepter.  She has her peacock and a star beside her There are more Greek letters around her. End ID] 

The coolest conqueror you have never heard of.  The asexual Alexander the Great. Warrior queen. Rebel against Rome.  Badass. In under two years Zenobia swept through the Roman East, took over, and set up her high culture court, a place where diversity and intellectualism were highly valued.

Zenobia came onto the historical stage as queen consort to the Ras Odaenathus. But then he was until assassinated, at which point his throne passed to their son, Vaballathus. Vaballathus was too young for the crown so Zenobia was appointed regent. And she pretty much took over. She had big plans for the Palmyrene Empire.

This is going to be a longish bio, like with Bessie Coleman and Joan of Arc I have been totally taken in by Zenobia's story. And I had never heard of her before a follower recommended looking into her! (Thank you whoever you were!  I didn't write down your name I am so sorry!) 

Zenobia's origins are extremely mysterious and there are a bunch of different versions of her story. She has fascinated people since her lifetime. Many different cultures, historians, and writers have given her bio/life their own unique cultural quirks. Plus there's the whole being an enemy of Rome thing, that never ends well for your legacy. I am going to try to stick to the facts rather than the legend, either the one attributed to her or the one she concocted for herself (she was very good at propaganda, too).

She has been linked to Cleopatra and the Queen of Sheba, but probably wasn't related to either of them.  She was the one who claimed to be descended from the Ptolemaic dynasty, specifically Cleopatra, of course. But odds are not even she actually believed it. The claim was a political maneuver to make her Egypian takeover look legitimate, she was a ruler coming home rather than an invader. Her actual ethnicity/ancestry is unknown. All of the ethnicities I mentioned -- Jewish, Arabic, Aramean -- have all been floated by various scholars over the centuries.

We don't even know what she looked like, really. The images that remain are idealized portraiture from her own coins. No statues or portraits have survived, potentially destroyed by the Romans. Everything else has been made long after the fact. She has been adopted as a patriotic symbol of Syria and was used as a symbol of Syrian and Arabic pride, she has been made both valiant hero and tragic damsel in the West, some say she was an idol of Catherine the Great, thanks to Egyptian magazines in the early 20th century she has become the quintessential female ruler. Some describe her as unbelievably beautiful, others describe her as a mannish tomboy. She is sometimes described as stereotypically emperor than empress in behavior, which really just means she was a very good ruler because women were supposed to be too frivolous and stupid for the crown.

[Image Description: a S£500 note from 1998. It has a green creasant on one side and a profile portrait of Zenobia on the other. She is shown with a long straight nose, curly hair pinned up, a square chin, wearing a diadem and a robe. There is a faded drawing of ruins in the middle. The bill is mostly in a green pallet. End ID]

But, what follows is the most likely story.

She was a well educated polyglot, highly intellectual, enjoyed hunting, and was probably of some noble origin, especially if she had those hobbies before marrying Odaenathus. She was apparently also fond of wrestling, less high class than the hunting thing. We know little about her family aside from the fact that she was the result of a second marriage. During this time she is often described as taking part in more male activities, like the aforementioned hunting and wrestling against boys, as well as enjoying a far better education than most, which seems reflected in her rule.

As a teenager she became the second wife of Odaenathus marrying him around 255.  Odaenathus was a loyal subordinate of Rome, and was created King of Kings and Corrector Totius Orientis (Governor of All the East) by the Roman Empire in addition to his royal titles within his own domain. He went to battle for Rome, and although the record on Zenobia is vague, at this point there are accounts that she joined her husband on campaign where she became familiar with the troops.  This friendly relationship would help her later on when she took command. It would also mean she was knowledgeable of battle and strategy and familiar with the battlefield.

Ultimately in 267 her husband and his elder son (from his previous marriage) while away from the capital. The story goes that within the day the crown went to Zenobia and Odaenathus's 10-year-old son, Vaballathus. The fact it happened so quickly would suggest she was nearby, helping her husband on the battlefield. Zenobia had no objections to her son being King and she herself remaining Queen Mother/Regent, but his title was nominal, she was the power behind the throne and everyone knew it.

She was a huge fan/patron of the arts, learning, and philosophy. Her court was one of high culture and discussion.  Zenobia was a fair and tolerant ruler, she maintained a steady, stable, and safe multi-religious, multiethnic, and multicultural kingdom and eventually that extended to her Empire. This included protections for minorities, religious or otherwise. The leaders she interacted with never objected to or were hostile toward her person, reign, rule, or court. People, including the military and her governors, liked and/or trusted her.  Any complaint about her reign comes from later sources. 

In 269 Vaballathus got the title of Persicus Maximus (Victor of Persia), implying a military victory there (certainly actually Zenobia's since the "King" was only 12 at the time and she was well known as a strategic mind, she may have even marched with her troops). And that was the beginning of the end of Zenobia's Roman loyalty.  That year she began expanding out of Vaballathus's allotted lands and into Roman territory. She wouldn't formally secede for quite some time, but she started attacking the Hell out of the fringes of the Roman Empire and Zenbodia had made it increasingly clear to her Roman connections in the East they would need to pick a side (ahem, hers) even before her campaign began.

Rome was, at the time, stretched thin and weakening.  The Emperor was fighting off Germanic threats in Italy and the Balkans, closer to the Roman center. Her reasons for ultimately just going for it in 269 are not really recorded. Or a lot of them have been put forward. It may have been she wanted more direct control over the lands she had been promised. It may have been that she felt encroached upon and undermined by Rome. It may have been concern for her country's trade routes as Rome made diplomacy sticky.  It may have been that she saw the Pax Romana weakening as the centralized Roman authority did. In the absence of direct Roman leadership she wanted to keep the region stable and prosperous. 

In the spring of 270 she marched into Provincia Arabia (Rome's Arabic Province). Between 270 and 272 she took over much of the Roman East with domains extending from Palmyra up to Antioch (Ankara, Turkey), over to Dura-Europos (Salhiyé, Syria), down to Mada'in Salih (Al-`Ula, Saudi Arabia), over to Centralish Egypt, down to the Red Sea. This encompassed important historical cities such as Aleppo, Tyre, Tripoli, Jerusalem, Petra, Memphis, Alexandria, and Baranis.  Really, conquest was a matter of months. A little over a year after she entered the Provincia Arabia, in August 271, the year was counted as "Vaballathus V" all the way in Alexandria, Egypt. In a year she had taken over most of the Roman East through brilliant military strategy, loyal followers, and a well implemented propaganda campaign.

[Image Description: the Palmyrene Empire at its height. End ID]

It was also in August of 271 that she started printing coins with her face on them throughout her Empire and she began using the title of Empresses, including adding on some Roman titles she hadn't been given. This was very open rebellion and Rome wouldn't ignore her anymore. The fairly newly crowned Emperor Aurelian had settled things enough in the West that he could afford to turn his full attention to the Empress in the East. Now, fresh from military victories of his own, Autelian marched the full might of Rome Eastward.

Faced with one of the largest and best trained armies in the ancient world, plus Rome's many loyal subordinates, it is unsurprising her Empire fell as quickly as it rose.  

In May 272 she was defeated at Emesa. She had been on that battlefield leading her troops, away from the capital, but managed to escape to it. This was the beginning of the end, however, the Romans marched on Palmyra, but Zenobia had prepared for the siege. After negotiations broke down she and Vaballathus snuck out of the city and attempted to escape to Persia to try to assemble some kind of alliance. She didn't get that far. A year after she declared herself Empress, August 272, she was in Roman captivity.

Her fate is told a few different ways from there.  She may have killed herself enroute to Rome so her captors would not be able to do what Romans always did, publicly display and humiliate her.  She may have been taken to Rome, displayed as a traitor, marched through the streets, and humiliated. From there she was either executed by the Romans or married a Roman nobleman, retiring to a villa with an as of that point unrecorded daughter. 

Her most likely end is probably the most tragic one: humiliated in Rome and then executed. It is unlikely Emperor Aurelian would have allowed her to live seeing as she committed treason, unlikely she would have married one of her captors, unlikely she had this random daughter only mentioned in this epilogue. Also damning, she doesn't turn up in the record again. Her son, Vaballathus, the only one of her children we know existed, also disappears from the record in 274, which doesn't look good for either of them. Although Aurelian occasionally went easy on his opponents, allowing them to survive in defeat and humiliation, considering that he completely obliterated Palmyra -- razing the holy sites, smashing government buildings, burning it to the ground, and literally massacring civilians -- odds are he was similarly unkind to its leaders. So, while her fate is unknown, my bet is that Zenobia and Vaballathus were executed or at least imprisoned. 

[Image Description: Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra by Harriet Hosmer (you may remember her as one of the artists Edomonia Lewis hung out with), carved after 1859. It is a marble bust showing a woman with a stern expression, maybe a little judging. She wears a crown and her hair is mostly pulled back except for two strands hanging down her shoulders. She wears a robe. Her features are definitely too Caucasian given her actual ancestry but this is unfortunately largely the case. Any ancient images of her besides her coins were destroyed. End ID.] 

Probable Orientation: Asexual (unknown romantic orientation) 

Zenobia's story has been told over and over and over again through the centuries from many different perspectives, many of them telling us as much about the historian's society as it does about Zenobia. There is one thing that remains consistent however, Zenobia didn't have much sex. Likewise Zenobia was a propagandist. She crafted her image. She could be anything, but that one detail stood out enough that everyone takes note of it.

We don't know her ancestry. We do know she avoided sex whenever possible.

She did get married, this is obviously true, but she was a noble. As I expounded upon with Elizabeth I nobility has obligations and this stretches back to the establishment of an aristocracy. If your continued power relies on blood relationships, making a baby is vital. Even if she wasn't a noble before marriage she was wanted by a monarch, that is not something anyone could turn down. If she wanted more power or authority marrying a king is a great way to do it and that means babies. 

But it was said at the time and onward that she had no interest in sex. She kept her room separate from his. After marrying she said she would only sleep with her husband for procreation, some say that she only had as much sex as she did children, which may be as few as once.

There are some who say she had other kids, but we only know one of them for sure, Vaballathus. Some other kids have been attributed to her because they have no recorded mother others, like that daughter who supposedly integrated into Rome, exist in only one account and may have been fabricated. There are modern historians who argue that her chastity is just sexism, robbing powerful women of sexuality. I would argue that is just aphobia. An allosexual woman is not more powerful than an ace one and the historical record is consistent on her disdain for sex. Some say this may have been for propaganda's sake, but I don't see any evidence of that. It seems she really just didn't want to have sex. Many male historians have turned it into a focal point. People refuse to just allow her to be ace, there must be some reason, some point to it.

Once she took over she ruled alone. It doesn't seem she was looking for anyone to rule with her nor did she have anyone on the side. No Antony to her Cleopatra.

"She would not even know her own husband, except for the purpose of conception. For when she had lain with him, she would refrain until the time of the month to see if she was pregnant; if not she would again grant an opportunity of begetting children."

-Trebellius Pollio

[image description: Queen Zenobia Addressing Her Soldiers by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo c.1725. A bright painting showing (again a very white) Zenobia on the battlefield and in armor directing her troops who listen intently. End ID]