#will tag the gundam names later

[kaxtwenty]

Hello???????????

[kuromi-hoemie]

i just finished iron blooded orphans and need to lay down for a bit

[cosmicstarlatte]

Coffee Shop (Obey Me!)

━━━━━━━━━━ ✦ ━━━━━━━━━━

You start a new job at a coffee shop in a popular plaza. You can't help but look forward to a certain regular. ♡

»Characters: Demon Bros + Dia + Barb

»Tags: Fluff, Bulleted Style, GN Reader, LeviLeviLevi-

»Notes: lol when was the last time I made a bulleted fic that wasn't a shitpost???🤯 Just simple short fluff lol, reblogs are appreciated + motivating ♡

Lucifer:

Always orders a cafe con leche every morning

Keeps interactions short but you learned his name

Always so serious but he does look like a business man

A very very handsome business man cough

After working there for a little bit he admits he likes the way you make his drink & hates when you guys miss each other on days off

One day he comes in normal clothes & you got caught off guard when he made it to the register

"It's my day off but I was craving my usual. I'm glad to see you're here."

Pleaseee you gotta be blushing right now alalfkfldk

You notice the record store bag he's holding & start a fun conversation while its slow

It does get busier & unfortunately have to cut the conversation to both your disappointments

"We can continue this later...maybe over dinner if you're available?"

Mammon:

Usually gets an icy blended drink, the flavor changes frequently

You see him every other day, it looks like he works at a retail store in the plaza

You thought he was cute & funny despite how loud he could be

One day he defends you against a really rude customer

You say your thank yous & give him his drink for free that day

"Yeah I guess I am a hero. Heroes get free drinks all the time though, ya?"

You couldn't help but laugh & accidentally let slip "you're really cute!"

He starts choking on his drink, stuttering & blushing

He goes silent for a moment before asking, "whaddaya say to a date one of these days?"

Levi:

Usually orders sweet drinks & likes trying seasonal/limited time things

You've seen him at his job at the anime store in the plaza, since you visit there sometimes

You two are on friendly terms even though he can be awkward

You think he's very cute though, especially when he talks about his passions

You felt like you two were dancing around eachother so you decide to make a move

You drew a Gundam robot on his drink & wrote 'Gun-DAM you're cute!'

You nervously handed the drink & he took it without noticing the drawing on it

You watched as he left the shop,took another sip, then stop as he looked at his drink

You could see he was happily freaking out but then abruptly stop

He looked back to the shop & you waved a shy hello

He ran back inside to make sure, "S-sorry is this a mistake? W-was this for someone else??"

"Look on the bottom"

He raised the cup & looked under

Levi, AkuCon this weekend?

Satan:

Usually orders a simple cappuccino but will add a flavored syrup occasionally

Comes in often on his breaks

You've seen him working at the bookstore in the plaza

He looks like a simple guy yet very charming

You always notice a book on him & one day you decide to ask what he's reading

You learn you read the same things & start having fun conversations every time he stops by

Eventually he asks you if you'd be able to give your thoughts on his writing

"Sure, I'd be happy to read it if you bring it!"

He gave you a flirty smile

"Actually I was thinking maybe we could hang out...like somewhere that's not here?"

Asmo:

Always orders an iced vanilla oat milk latte

You see him every few days, really friendly customer that loves to chat & you become friends quick even though you want more

You find out he works at a nearby agency & is an up & coming model

You felt a little intimidated, he could be really famous one day!

Nevertheless you treat him just the same even as those around him changed, he lets you know how grateful he is

One day he comes in upset & tells you the agency is moving across town to a bigger location so he won't be able to see you there anymore

At the same time both of you blurt out

"I still wanna see you!"

Beel:

You never know with this guy

He works in the sports store across from the cafe

He's always indecisive with the menu & one day just tells you to make whatever

You're his fave barista, he thinks you make the best drinks either way

Doesn't realize he just likes everything & has a crush on you

You can't help but get excited when he looks excited to see you golden retriever energy

You find out he's a foodie type & you guys talk about the local spots around town

"Would you like to check out the new sandwich store that opened a few doors down? Uh...like, maybe a date?"

Belphie:

Usually orders a hot regular latte but occasionally orders hot chocolate

He appears to be a student as he comes in often to study & always looks tired

One day on your break you decide to chat him up & offer help on the subject he was struggling with

He thought you were cute & was thankful for your help

After a few weeks of tutoring (+some heavy flirting), he passed his exam flawlessly

"Actually can you help me with one other thing?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Would you like to go on a date sometime?"

Diavolo:

Has a new favorite every week but really likes lattes/teas

You can tell he's important with his assistant present

You wonder why the assistant doesnt just get his order though

Anyway hes hot really friendly & chatty & can tell a few good jokes, you appreciate them!

He always seems reluctant to leave the shop which makes your heart flip

Always leaves a big tip! ... I want him to give me a big tip 😔

The two of you find out you have a lot more in common than you thought

One day he admits that these coffee runs are the things he looks forward to the most since his day is usually very busy & doesn't get much else normalcy

He lets slip that it's mainly seeing you that adds to his joy so he goes all in

"If you're interested, care to join me for dinner this weekend?"

Barbatos:

Always large orders of a few different drinks (part of his job)

Though you notice he always orders tea for himself & likes to buy different tea blends

He's a very (cute) polite customer, one of the few

You two usually chat as you make his large order & you can't help but fall for him

Knowing he loves to buy limited release tea blends, you usually save him one before the cafe sells out

You never tell anyone about it but:

"I appreciate you always saving me one."

"Oh? How did you know!?"

"I have a friend who stopped by earlier & said it was one of those times they missed out. Yet, there always appears to be one for me even after sell-out. Thank you kindly."

You blush at being found out, "seems I've been caught!"

He chuckles & gives you another shock:

"I've been meaning to ask...will you allow me to take you out one of these days?"

⬦You might also like: Customer Service︱Devil-Mart ⭐️︱You Are The Father︱MC feeling Insecure

[jumpstreamer]

MASK MONDAYS EPISODE 2: PROSPERA MERCURY

Welcome back to week 2 of Mask Mondays! You thought I wouldn't do it, but I did. And when I say "you" here, I mean "me."

For any tag browsers, I have recently resolved to analyze a different mask, helmet, or headgear-adorned fictional character every Monday until I quit this website forever. I'll be real: Returning to Tumblr after two years' break has been quite the balancing act. It's addictive in a particularly draining way, and reconciling that has taken a lot of energy I would rather have spent on research. Therefore, this week I'll be discussing a character who I already have strong and well-informed opinions about: Prospera Mercury, the principal antagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury.

Okay, folks, let's be on the level here. What the fuck? Why does no one ever talk about Prospera? I know the show is popular here, it's what pushed me to watch it in the first place. Everyone loves posting fanart and talking about how endearing the protagonists are. But there's NO ATTENTION PAID to Prospera Mercury? Compelling arc and presence of character aside, I would've assumed the tall evil lady in the business suit would've been enough for a ton of people. Something is certainly amiss.

What bothers me most about this situation is that Prospera Mercury is arguably the most well-realized character in her show. As a text, the Witch From Mercury has strong opinions about Gundam, The Tempest, and the world at large, and all of them are brought together by its antagonist. Prospera Mercury is an absolute well of material, far more than can be covered in a single post. So while I'll be returning to her later, I want to spend this week laying down foundations: If you'll allow me, I'll be trying to prove once and for all that The Witch From Mercury isn't just using The Tempest as set dressing.

Named after Gundam 0079 antagonist Char Aznable, the "Char clone" is perhaps the most ubiquitous concept in its franchise. Almost every Gundam show, film, and OVA contains a morally ambiguous masked antagonist who challenges the hero's moral principles while maintaining a complex and terse relationship with the villainous faction. The Witch from Mercury too adopts this concept, but twists it to say something truly controversial. Prospera Mercury, the text argues, is not a Char Aznable clone. Char Aznable is a Prospero of Milan clone.

It's no revelation that The Witch From Mercury is loosely based off William Shakespeare's "The Tempest," but understanding why this choice is so important requires a summary of its principal antagonist. The antivillainous sorcerer Prospero is a natural talent and skilled manipulator unjustly exiled from his place of birth. As he grows in ability, he is overtaken by resentment and dedicates himself to exacting revenge. He executes a grand plan that goes off nearly perfectly, but when on the verge of total success, Prospero has a change of heart. Realizing that bettering the future is more important than staying in the past, he steps down, relinquishing his power to the new generation.

To dispose with subtlety, Char's character arc in the original Gundam series is nearly identical to Prospero's. There's a reason Prospera is closer to Char in terms of motivation and role than any other Char clone before her: She's channeling the primordial Char from which they all descend!

Insane as this sentence sounds, Prospera Mercury's position as Char clone manifests Prospero's flaws in ways other adaptations couldn't possibly emulate. Take Prospera's willingness to shatter personal bonds in service of pointless revenge, a quality unmistakable in Char, but quite well-hidden in Prospero. Prospero treats Ariel (yes, telling the names apart will get annoying) as an equal all throughout The Tempest, yet takes for granted that Ariel's freedom comes second to punishing Antonio and Alonso. Similarly, despite the two sharing a strong platonic bond if not a romantic one, Char is more than willing to send Garma to die if it means twisting the knife in the Zabi family's side. Robert Egan's "This Rough Magic: Perspectives of Art and Morality in The Tempest," a woefully undercited article despite being over fifty years old, summarizes the magician's moral perspective as follows:

"[A]n acknowledgement of evil as part of the natural condition of man is unacceptable to Prospero. His years of seclusion in his library have instilled in him a moral perspective rooted not in the real world but in the ideals of his art... In short, he rejects the sinner with the sin" (176)

In this lens, the actions of both Prospera and Char make perfect sense; any who divert from their morality deserves punishment by default, and any who agree would readily give their all to strike back at the wickedness in the world.

Prospero, Prospera, and Char all also share a deep hypocrisy that is literally worn on the latter two parties' faces. Yes, after who knows how many paragraphs, it's finally time to talk about the mask. Despite being well aware that the system she participated in does not value human life, Prospera rebels against it not by joining forces with its opponents, but by acting as a model citizen with the goal of dismantling it from the inside. Char, obviously, embraces an identical practice, as does, I wish to argue, Prospero.

Intriguingly, Gundam's interpretation of "working within the system" does not hinge upon a pragmatic argument, as so many real-world political treatises have done, but an ethical one. Char and Prospera successfully co-opt Zeon and the Benerit group to suit their needs, but in doing so, adopt the practices that made these so abhorrent in the first place. When given the chance to ally with the Earthians or the Mercurian working class that took her in, Prospera instead embraces the mask of the corporate elite and becomes the usurper she despises.

After so bluntly accentuating Prospera's hypocritical and egotistical tendencies, The Witch From Mercury almost demands the viewer to interrogate its source material in search of parallels. And indeed, Prospero's most academically well-treaded moral failings (most of which involve Caliban) without exception find their origin in his resolve to serve as a king and judge on the island where he could not in Milan.

I have a lot more to talk about with Prospera (I have been intentionally avoiding discussing her relationships with Eri and Suletta), but my ass is running out of time and I'm not risking another three-paragraph tangent. I probably won't make another Monday post for Prospera anytime soon, but the Mask Mondays exercise will continue, whether I like it or not!

Link to "This Rough Magic:" https://www.jstor.org/stable/2868575

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing 26 October 2023 - 13 January 2024

Here’s the roundup for October 26th, 2023 - January 13th, 2024!

Remember to give your content creators some love! Be sure to join in on the events at the bottom! And remember to send in any new works you see or make this next week!

~Mod Hel

(Look, we’re just going to ignore the fact that I keep reminding myself to do this and then forgetting about it 10 minutes later.)

Fanfiction/Ideas/Snippets:

@lifeaftermeteor

The Pageant (a LAM sidefic) https://archiveofourown.org/works/52557262

M/M, Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy

General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Kid Fic, Post-Canon, Christmas Fluff, Post-Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Author Is Not Religious, Christmas, Not Beta Read

Christmas was always a big deal—even in the colonies—perhaps all the more so following the Eve Wars. This year’s holiday was especially important for their little family, however: Sousuke was going to be an angel.

@noirangetrois

A Not So Tropical Vacation https://archiveofourown.org/works/51336205

M/M, Chang Wufei/Heero Yuy

Teen And Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Alcohol, Broken Bones, Major Character Injury, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Heero being sweeter than Wufei deserves, Post-Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

When an injury prevents Heero and Wufei from going on their long-awaited vacation, Heero tries to bring the vacation to Wufei.

@vegalume

Vendredi https://archiveofourown.org/works/51237895

Gen, Duo Maxwell & Heero Yuy

Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Sally Po, Zechs Merquise, Quatre Raberba Winner, Trowa Barton

Teen And Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Supernatural Elements, Possibly Pre-Slash, Angst, no happy ending, Ambiguous/Open Ending, mentions of other characters from the series, only tagged those who appear 'on screen', little OOC-ness, Horror-ish, multiple uses of the 'F' word

Duo's friends are vanishing, and no one else notices or even remembers. Only Heero believes him and together they try to discover what is happening.

@zaganthi @tzigane

How L2 Learned to Cope with Werewolves https://archiveofourown.org/works/52676311

F/M, M/M, Multi, Chang Wufei/Treize Khushrenada, Chang Wufei/Long Meilan, Chang Wufei/Treize Khushrenada/Long Meilan

Chang Wufei, Treize Khushrenada, Long Meilan, Lady Une, Chilias Catalonia, Vingt Khushrenada

Explicit, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Failed Arranged Marriages, Biological Weapons, Psychological Warfare, Werewolves in Space, Cameos

It was remarkable how many people assumed that being from L5 made him deaf. Possibly it was the security badge that gave them that impression, or maybe they just thought that allowing Treize to nail him meant he was on their side.

Overall, it was pretty stupid. No one paid attention to him lingering with a cup of coffee, they just went about their day and spoke where they normally would. He wondered if being able to fade into the background might be some form of magical camouflage. He supposed that was a realistic option, and there was no reason for them to expect otherwise. Not really. They didn't know him. So he was free to wander and listen and just exist for a while before he went up to the secured swipe card room to try to get a little rest and personal time.

Pleased to Meet You, Hope You Guess My Name https://archiveofourown.org/works/52675717

M/M, Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy

Explicit, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Meet-Cute, Assassination Attempt(s), The combination meet-cute and assassination attempt, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

A third shot rang out, and then footsteps, and he wasn't trying to get away, no, not at all. He was coming closer.

Hell yes. It was a shame the guy was working for L1 or whoever had hired him because he would've been amazing back home. "Hey, hey! Don't fucking shoot! I wanna talk!"

That felt like a purely audible pause, followed by a nasal voice that was more a statement than a question. "About what." Like they had the time to have a discussion here. Somebody would have heard the shots by now.

Arts/Crafts/Photo Manips:

@artnijna

https://www.tumblr.com/artnijna/737927884519489536/rewatching-gundam-wing-and-thinking-about-the-2x5

WuFei/Duo, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/artnijna/738980133321523200/baby-ive-been-to-spacebut-at-the-end-of-the-day

WuFei/Duo, fanart

https://www.tumblr.com/artnijna/738194483104153600/wufei-regrets-his-crush-some-what

Duo/WuFei, fanart

@duomaxwellandducks

https://www.tumblr.com/duomaxwellandducks/732635364086497280/both-gundam-wing-intros-are-iconic-and-anyone-who

Iconic intros, comic

@enelo

https://www.tumblr.com/enelo/739422142192631808

Relena Darlian-Peacecraft, fanart

@ghost-proof

https://www.tumblr.com/ghost-proof/730963271303233536/love-a-good-meme-thought-it-was-perfect-for-these

Heero/Duo, fanart

@idrawprettyboys

https://www.tumblr.com/idrawprettyboys/734925341882286080/i-drew-this-gorgeous-boy-on-a-cheap-supermarket

Duo Maxwell, fanart

@imperviousmelodrama

https://www.tumblr.com/imperviousmelodrama/736263532669190144/did-someone-say-pigtail-duo-pretty-certain-i

Duo/Heero, fanart

@incaseofart

https://www.tumblr.com/incaseofart/733362202305822720/treize-khushrenada-but-casual-clothes-perhaps

Treize Khushrenada, fanart

@lila-oh

https://www.tumblr.com/lila-oh/732714555363459072/happy-halloween-yes-my-participation-is

WuFei/Heero, kissing, comic

Mashiro Andy

https://www.tumblr.com/cruelangel94/733193774949384192/artist-by-mashiro-andy

Relena Darlian-Peacecraft, fanart

@nullphysics

https://www.tumblr.com/nullphysics/735275196278325248

Trowa/Heero, fanart

@sweet-rabbit

https://www.tumblr.com/sweet-rabbit/738637581503315968/i-came-up-with-this-randomly-today-like-15-minutes

Quatre/Heero, comic

Photosets/Gifsets/Screenshots/Manga Pages:

@tinyozlion

https://www.tumblr.com/tinyozlion/733873353488744448/i-love-when-people-put-together-frame-stitches

Clowns, frame stitching

@vegalume

https://www.tumblr.com/vegalume/735006366851334144/tis-the-season

Christmas tree decor

Fandom Discourse:

@lifeaftermeteor

https://www.tumblr.com/lifeaftermeteor/735089951081955328/i-would-swear-there-was-a-gundam-tumblr-floating

LAMs Lost and Found - find great info/world building here

https://www.tumblr.com/lifeaftermeteor/735699559547879424/with-the-power-of-friendship

@prettyboysdontlookatexplosions WuFei being ‘normal’.

https://www.tumblr.com/lifeaftermeteor/736341502701256704/lifeaftermeteors-holiday-card-exchange

Obviously late for this one, but know that LAM does this pretty much every year if they get people who want them. ^_^

@prettyboysdontlookatexplosions

https://www.tumblr.com/prettyboysdontlookatexplosions/734934388226326528/its-also-very-funny-that-we-get-an-episode-called

episode naming things

https://www.tumblr.com/prettyboysdontlookatexplosions/735022245112643584/watching-gundam-wing-as-an-adult-opens-you-up-to

how age affects how you view GW

https://www.tumblr.com/prettyboysdontlookatexplosions/735373187192422400/i-dont-like-ship-it-in-that-i-dont-care-about

Trieze & Zechs

@tinyozlion

https://www.tumblr.com/tinyozlion/736669800741421056/my-beloved-redsixwing-has-found-and-resurrected-a

A GW Archive should people need it.

gwpromptmeme

GW Prompt Meme event

Rules: https://gwpromptmeme.dreamwidth.org/408.html

Main Page: https://gwpromptmeme.dreamwidth.org/

Quotes:

@incorrectgundamwingquotes

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/733281547591024640/on-libra-howard-theres-a-spy-leaking-all-of

Howare, Quatre, & WuFei

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/734821642313793537/incorrectgundamwingquotes-heero-dont-even

Heero & Trowa

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/734912407622844416/cathy-are-you-busy-trowa-no-cathy-wanna-do

Cathy & Trowa

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/733372201867362304/trowa-the-power-came-back-on-when-i-was-asleep

Trowa

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/733734724284088320/wufei-maxwell-just-pissed-me-off-heero-why-what

WuFei & Heero

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/736089974256058368/at-preventers-hq-heero-were-doing-secret-santa

Heero, Trowa, & WuFei

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/735908793762922496/wufei-reading-book-duo-wufei-duo-wufei

WuFei & Duo

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/736271216205283328/wufei-visibly-annoyed-duo-whats-the

WuFei & Duo

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/736724242945671168/dorothy-recording-on-her-phone-so-im-building-a

Dorothy, Relena, & Sally

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/736633591231037440/in-the-groupchat-quatre-good-morning-we

Quatre, Heero, WuFei, Trowa, & Duo

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/737901948172402688/circus-owner-whats-this-gap-in-your-employment

Circus Owner & Trowa

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/736814824240152576/texting-heero-what-should-i-get-at-ihop-duo

Heero, Duo, Trowa, & WuFei

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/736905574207422464/relena-are-you-going-to-be-part-of-the-problem-or

Relena, Heero, & Duo

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/737358389752070144/incorrectgundamwingquotes-wufei-trowa-can

WuFei, Trowa, & Quatre

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/737539619983376384/incorrectgundamwingquotes-heero-duo-duo-yes

Heero, Duo, & Quatre

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/735818328096047104/duo-and-wufei-arguing-wufei-makes-an

Duo & WuFei

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/738083194163822592/incorrectgundamwingquotes-zechs-you-know-who-i

Zechs, Duo, & Trowa

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/737992573856169984/heero-some-days-all-i-care-about-is-the-mission

Heero & Duo

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/738173868991217664/on-a-mission-oz-soldiers-come-out-duo-im

OZ Soldiers, Duo, & Trowa

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/738445694732484609/sharing-a-safehouse-duo-whats-for

Duo & Trowa

https://www.tumblr.com/incorrectgundamwingquotes/739351620230512640/duo-maybe-hes-born-with-it-or-maybe-its

Duo, WuFei, & Trowa

Calendar Events:

@gwcocktailfriday

Cocktail Fridays!

Post responses on Friday, during Happy Hour between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone.

Here’s the prompts for Friday, January 19th! https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/739456744765505536/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-january

In need of prompts!

@gwlemonyshenanigans

There’s nothing for it posted yet... but sign-ups are open. >_> Though the events calendar says they’ll be open next month... so I dunno. I just know I’m signed up already. *flails*

@thisweekingundamevents

Events Calendar https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/730188053636841472/updated-events-calendar

If you are hosting an event currently, or are planning on one, hit us up with links and dates! We’ll add them to the Calendar and reblog your notices to get the word out!

GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2023

Gift Roundup is here: https://thisweekingundamevents.tumblr.com/post/739404313112297472/alright-wingers-here-is-the-gw-holiday-gift

GW Valentine’s Event 2024 goes live the 18th! Be on the lookout for it!

???

GW Gift Exchange

There is another exchange being done now... I *think* it’s on dreamwidth, but I can’t find the convo with the person running it to save my life, but it’s on the events calendar with all the info I had...

Jan 15th - 21st is Nominations

Jan 16th - 28th is Sign-ups

Posting and whatnot will be in April.

Not sure if something will be posted anywhere on tumblr or not, but hoping I can get y’all the info for where and how when it goes.

[splashinkling]

Another Get to Know Me

thanks @sleepy-night-child for the tag!

a band that you don't like that many others do:

I'm pretty amicable for music. it'd take a song I really hate for me to not like a band. on the other hand, I will like any song that will get me to sing along with it

least favourite animal and why:

bees. when I was a kid, someone told me to not move around bees so that they wouldn't bother you. outside during recess, I froze still cause a couple of bees landed on my shoulders/neck. the bell rang for us to go inside and I had to make a mad dash for the doors despite the fear I'd get stung. hindsight and common sense now tell me bees are generally harmless and wasps are the enemy, but I'm traumatized now and treat them the same

hot fandom take:

head empty, I don't really have any takes, especially ones that aren't already out there. also not really in fandom land, I'm just on my own island.

do you wear any jewellery, if so, what's your favourite piece:

not super devout, but I've got this necklace from elementary school that's a cross with a dove on it that I still wear. otherwise, the owl ring I got a couple years back that I wear as a necklace is the one

a movie others liked but you didn't:

honestly I watch so many movies with my friends nowadays and a lot of them are really bad lmao. I think a recent movie we watched was The Killer and I didn't like it, but it's rated highly for who-knows-why. like it's not even a comedic mess-up, the assassin was just bad at his job and it's not entertaining

three things you love about yourself:

I'm a relatively positive person, or more like I don't have that much hate in my soul. will try to be the best supportive friend you've ever had. and I've got a lot of creative outlets to use!

a place you hope to visit in the future and why:

Japan! I wanna see so many gamer things there. plus the tourist-y landmarks/activities. life-sized gundam is also on the list, if that's still around. and the food! (that I've been seeing because I follow this one guy on YouTube)

an actor that gets on your nerves and why:

the first name that came to mind was Dwayne Johnson for whatever reason, but he's doesn't actually get on my nerves that much

things you're excited about in the near future:

(slowly and surely) getting back to writing!! reviewing some of these games that I've been playing recently, because I've got Opinions on some of them. and getting used to this fancy new limited edition 8BitDo controller that I got. if this was a week ago, I could've said watching my friend finish the main story of Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but that's already happened

least favourite ship in a fandom you're in:

again, not really in fandom land so I have no idea about what ships go around.

what's the most toxic fandom you've been in:

as a gamer and basketball fan, those are wildly toxic fanbases. gamers are so mean to the devs (sometimes rightfully so, other times not so much) and to other players. like literal death threats sometimes, it's insane. and then fans of basketball would literally boo their own players at times, like what.

list three things you find beautiful about life:

Space science (thanks Kurzgesagt)! Other people's works (art, writing, games, or otherwise)! Family, friends, and pets!

any dreams for the future:

finishing and publishing any of my works so that people can (hopefully) enjoy the experience I made for them

how are you feeling today?

another day of writing, gaming, etc. but it's grey and gloomy outside and it's sucking like half of my energy away, especially because I need to walk the dog later. and the NBA Trade Deadline is at 3pm so I might be spending more time than usual paying attention to player movement/trades between teams, especially because my team is Not Good and I'm expecting them to make moves this deadline.

no pressure tagging @talesfromaurea, @moonluringfrost, @ettawritesnstudies, and sleepy friend already tagged @oh-no-another-idea and @drippingmoon, but I'll tag as well if you'd like :)

[moriavis]

Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

I was tagged in this by @incorrectcoldflashblog on May 6th. /o\

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I'm absolutely about to age myself, but I had watched Gundam Wing and went searching for fic, only to find nothing written for the pairing I wanted. So I thought: Fine, guess I'll do it myself.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

IDK, 16? I think?

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

I released my first fic in August of 2002. So 22 years now?

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I definitely read more fic than I write.

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

Uhhhh. I think I've definitely improved my use of body language in stories. I've noticed a tendency to rely more on body language now than what the characters are actually thinking, and I can't decide if I like that development or not.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

What haven't I researched at this point? I've researched the grotesque things, like murder and cannibalism, and I've also researched pirates and the Golden Age of Islam, which which was happening at the same time as Europe's Dark Ages. I've also read an incredible amount about poisons and diseases.

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

My favorite comments are when people pick up on foreshadowing and clues for something I have planned in a later chapter--especially if they're following along with each chapter and updating their guesses! It's for real the best thing about releasing long fic.

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

I genuinely have no idea. I don't think I've ever written anything particularly fringe? Correct me if I'm wrong and you know better@

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Long fic, for sure. If I start a story and I don't know how long it's going to be, I can handle it. If I start a project and know intrinsically that it's going to take a long time to finish? I get overwhelmed by how much work I have to do and start avoiding it. (Shout out to Resonance!)

10. What is the easiest type?

Prompts that involve a single scene or a single moment. That way I can create all the backstory in my head and I don't have to write it all down. LOL

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

I do my fastest writing on my laptop, but the screen hurts my eyes and my cats always get curious about what I'm doing and knock things over. If I'm trying to get something down on a page, I'll grab one of my notebooks and handwrite. Doesn't give me a headache and I can at least get a basic idea down.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I don't think there's anything I've been too nervous to write. Resonance definitely intimidates me, but that's the only one.

13. What made you choose your username?

When I was a teenager, I was naming a character for a story... I think the name I chose was Autumn? And my mom was like: Why don't you name her something cooler, like Moriavis?

Which I loved. It was a long time before I realized I had basically named the character (and myself, once I got a livejournal) Dead Bird in Latin.

Tagging: @scheherezhad @saekhwa @kisahawklin @qlala @sproutwings

[nukenai]

Today on "I guess if you wanna hear about my fuckin Build Divers fanfic"

So I have a Force Nest by myself and it's just Lacroa Castle because I'm the world's most special girl. For unknown reasons I've become favored by the Game Master so he just gives me stuff. My outfit is like I'm cosplaying a human Zero and my main gunpla is my uncustomized GP04.

I used to be on Force Avalon but I quit because Kyoya and I were dating but I broke up with him because depression is a bitch and I got sick of the pressure of being The Champion's Girlfriend. He is not over it.

I am depressed and sad because I love SD Gundam Force so much but all my friends who liked it all left and stopped caring about it and/or don't play GBN. So yes of course I have a borderline identical backstory to Koichi and Ayame lol. We're all #damaged but will be healed by friendship it's fine.

The Game Master sends the Build Divers to be my friends bc he's worried about me. Koichi is like "Wow, the GP04, I have one!" and Ayame extremely quickly catches on that I have a Fucking Problem and is like "well you don't need to be sad because look, he has his white colors" and everyone else on the planet is like "????????????" and I kick them out when Ayame jokingly asks if I'm trying to be a Princess or a Knight.

Later Koichi tries to learn more about SDGF and when he realizes what my outfit is, he says to me, "Your clothes are nice, but wouldn't you rather dress like yourself instead of someone else?"

Later I wind up changing my outfit when Kyoya calls me for the 90th time that week to beg me to unbreak up with him join the Coalition of Volunteers to help with all the (vague gesturing) yknow, the shit.

The shit. There I am gary:

I'm ignoring that that GP04 uses the colors from that one art of it instead of the Real Colors.... in my fanfic it has the Real Colors.

Anyways I figure there's some point where Kyoya starts noticing Koichi trying to learn about SD Gundam (he even builds me an SD Wing to try to win my affection friendship) so Kyoya does this insane thing where he attacks Koichi (like, you know, in Gundams) to draw me out and I show up in my GP04 and fucking beat his ass and he's like ":) it's good to see you fighting again" and logs out like a fucking freak

Eventually I start using other things besides my GP04 like my BuCue Chevalier and LaGowe Rachat (real gunpla I have built/customized check out my gunpla tag). Thinking maybe I'll have my Sakura Freedom eventually too.

Yeah so my entire thing is that I'm depressed that GBN has so much SDGF stuff but nobody seems to care about the show so all the fucking Build Divers watch it at Ayame's house and then Koichi shows up to my castle again saying things like "I know how you feel, but you have to trust me!" And when I respond "Why should I trust you?" he interjects with, "Are you going to say, You know nothing of my misery?" and then my GP04 steps on him and kills him in real life

but I become very good friends with Ayame because of course I do. I ask her with deep suspicion why her gundam is named Zeromaru. She refuses to answer the question.

I fucking rock Kokoru Odoru at karaoke and everyone is confused. I meet Magee and I am extremely startled when he opens his mouth and then the world collapses. The end.

Kyoya dies single.

[canondanganronpaheadcanons]

DANGANRONPA V4: the game where everything gets determined by YOU in the polls!

V4 CAST AUDITIONS DAY 2 RESULTS:

Wow! 106 votes! If you’re new here, my name is Canon and all of these posts are gonna be tagged under #canonronpa. I’ll probably make a pinned post with a few of my guidelines.

This was a much closer round.

Gundam Tanaka took 1st place with 18.9% of the votes.

Mondo Oowada took 2nd place with 15.1% of the votes.

And Leon Kuwata took 3rd place with 14.2% of the votes.

These three will be in the V4 cast, alongside Korekiyo, the Ultimate Imposter, and Teruteru.

Unfortunately, that means Angie Yonaga, Kokichi Oma, Gonta Gokuhara, Kaito Momota, and Miu Iruma won’t be in this game.

Moving onto the third batch of Ultimates.

(there will be 6 casting rounds total. If you do the math, you’ll find that means 18 ultimates will get cast. We’ll need that number to get cut down to 16, but more on that later…)

[sorakazeno]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Nominated by @iwrestledavongonce

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2 Full stories and 14 shorts for writing events for a total of 16.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

765,503 but it is going to go up around 15,000 tomorrow with a new chapter ^_^

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Sailor Moon. In the past I also wrote Slayers, Gundam Wing, and Power Rangers. Started a Inu Yasha one but I'm not sure what happened to the first chapter and meh. I don't even remember what it was going to be about.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Chaos Theory

Rebirth

Let Them Wait

Our Last Night

Dating a Teen Idol

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love interacting with readers. I have made some truly wonderful friendships this way.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Is This the End? Is currently posted. I am currently working on Act 71 of Chaos Theory.... the act where Seiya and Usagi have a really nasty fight. That one will win out when it is posted at the end of June.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Runaway Date. I had so much fun writing a short silly fic featuring Minako and Yaten.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes. The story is tagged Mamoru/Usagi and Usagi/Seiya. Some of the MamoUsa die hard shippers are umm.... passionate about their ship and will not accept anything else. If a story features both typically one will win out. Then there are the random ones on FF.net.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No. I have a hard enough time trying to writing any scene that is remotely steamy. So much editing to get to what it looks like by the time it is posted.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have never done a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. I have contacted FF.net multiple times and have never received a response. A person stole my first ever fan fic I posted on A Sailor Moon Romance and changed the name to their own. They posted part of the story. The posting stopped right around the time ASR crashed. I still have the original that I wrote when I was 13. It is staying on my computer and will not see the light of day. It is so bad with so many mistakes. However, I do like the re-write of it, Rebirth.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I received a request earlier this year to translate Rebirth into Russian. One chapter was posted on a Russian fanfiction site and then it disappeared. I don't know what happened.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sorta? When I was in high school. SailorStars Awakening. I floated an idea to a friend what would it be like if Usagi was consumed by Chaos? It started as one idea and the co-author kind of took it and ran with it. Decades later we have Chaos Theory, how I originally pictured the concept.

Then there is the What if the Starlights Appeared in the R Season of Sailor Moon fic on FF.net. I have debated about re-writing that one but I realllly like the world I've built with Chaos Theory.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Is it shocking to read Sei/Usa for the 90s anime?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I finish all the fics I post on-line. Might take years or decades, but it will have an ending!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I used to hate battle scenes but over the years I feel like I've gotten a lot better writing them.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The steamy scenes... so I'm trying to work on them.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Hinted at in this story at best. I don't mind seeing dialogue in other languages. Google Translate!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

When I was ten I wrote a Power Rangers story but didn't know it was called fan fiction at the time. First story I wrote that knew it was fan fiction was the stolen Sailor Moon one mentioned above.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Chaos Theory. I keep coming back to the story even though I think I'm done because I realize I have more I want to write.

Other amazing writers: @kaleidodreams, @chemicalfairyx, @speak-mnemosyne1

[wordsandrobots]

Has it been two weeks already? It would seem so, because here's @trafalgarlog's next round of Urdr Hunt fansubs!

This time, Katya is thoroughly fed up with everything, Londo Bron's quest to restore the honour of the Issue Family takes a shocking turn, and Cyclase . . . ? Well, Cyclase has really done it now.

Hajiroboshi  (Part 1, Part 2)

Departure (Part 1, Part 2)

598 (Part 1, Part 2)

Corridor of Betrayal (Part 1, Part 2)

Holder of the Ring (Part 1, Part 2)  

Unexpected Encounter (Part 1, Part 2)

Venus’ Worth (Part 1, Part 2)

Brothers’ Ship (Part 1, Part 2)

Horn and Flower’s Shadow (Part 1, Part 2)

Family Bonds (Part 1, Part 2)

Beyond Outstretched Hands (Part 1, Part 2)

Flashing Sky (Part 1, Part 2)

With probably only three episodes left (in six parts), it's perhaps no wonder that we open on a rather apocalyptic scene: the giant microwave power transmission station, Ratatoskr, hanging in space surrounded by asteroids and lit by lightning. Aboard a launch moving through this extremely hazardous area, Londo Bron cheerfully informs Katya that there's something he wants to show her.

Further up the microwave beam, the Erda II is rocked by a lightning strike. Via a comm channel Mendou explains that Ratatoskr uses Ahab reactors as part of a power generation system, with Parstai noting that its still-active beam is electrifying the nearby dust and debris, hence the storm.

(I'm going to be quite grumpy later on so I want to say here that I really love this; it's exactly the kind of Calamity War leftover I like, hinting at a far more obviously 'advanced' society that once conquered the solar system. Presumably this was how a lot of space-based human settlements were powered, possibly via bouncing the beam between relay points. And now it's just . . . there, abandoned and not even turned off.)

Wistario spots lights up and ahead and Sinister zooms in to show Cyclase's Halfbeaks launching mobile suits. It's clear the gang has arrived in the very nick of time.

With Korunaru cautioning them to be careful, Wistario and Range head out to intercept their old nemesis.

Said nemesis is ostensibly here to take out Londo and retrieve Katya on Lord Okina's orders. He has a squad of standard Issue Grazes on hand, as well as Tagging's Scharfrichter -- inside which Batch has hitched a somewhat cramped ride (the Gundam Wiki still lists her as Bana but I'm switching to TrafalgarLog's version for now).

Batch is the first to spot the Afam Equipment forces approaching from the rear. Cyclase divides his forces, sending some of the Grazes to take care of Asmoday and Hajiroboshi while he continues to the station.

Range is not impressed with the mook welcoming committee and is all for cutting through them in one go, but this proves unnecessary. 598 leads Foundling's Monkey Rodis to take care of the Gjallarhorn mobile suits, freeing the other two to get a-heroing.

Aboard Ratatoskr, Londo leads Katya to a massive set of doors, explaining that with Carta's death, she is the only person who's allowed to open them. Even he has never seen inside. Mutely, Katya goes along with him and the doors slide aside to reveal. of course, Gundam Zagan -- the mobile suit used by Arzona Issue, founder of the Issue Family.

(I *think* this is the first explicit in-story statement to the effect that the Seven Star families began with the Gundam pilots. This has always been the heavy implication, but previously there was wiggle room to suppose they came out of pre-existing nobility. However, this more firmly indicates that the heraldry we've seen on the other Urdr Hunt waypoints dates from after the War was over.)

Anyway, yes, that's six of the Seven Star Gundams named and numbered, and apparently the Issues disdained to lock it away in the vault on Vingolf but rather left it stored up here. Londo asks Katya to give him permission to use Zagan to usher her into her rightful place as head of the family. She tells him to do whatever he wants, which is not really the full-throated blessing he takes it as.

His good mood is spoiled regardless as a soldier rushes up to inform him of Cyclase's unit's arrival. Moreover (the man adds, soto-voice), Wistario is right behind.

Overhearing, Katya silently implores Wistario to let her be. She's decided the blood of the Issues makes her too much trouble for her friends.

Batch informs Cyclase that Wistario and Range are approaching, while at the same time, Katya's launch is starting back for Londo's ship. He sends the remaining three Grazes to fetch Katya then heads in another direction, drawing a vengeful Range after him.

The Gjallarhorn mobile suits arrive at the exit from Ratatoskr right as the launch emerges, trapping it in the docking tunnel. Katya spots Hajiroboshi heading towards them but her craft is nearly grabbed by the lead Graze.

Just in time, however, Londo leaps into action, using Zagan to shield her and then unfolding the Gundam's wings into giant crab claws with which to utterly pulverise his unlucky enemies. It's a pretty thorough demonstration of the power of a Gundam frame, as he rapidly kills the entire squad, even spin-punching one of them clean through the wall of the tunnel before kicking it into space.

Wistario catches the disabled 'suit as it comes flying out and throws it aside. Zagan emerges from the smoke and it's a face-off, Londo offering him one last chance to withdraw, Wistario determined to rescue his would-be fiance. Naturally neither will back down. And the battle is on!

Things don't go great for our Wiz at first. But 598's mob quickly join in and their combined strength turns the tide. Plus, 598 has a cunning plan to use the environment against Londo . . .

Londo himself realises he cannot't control Zagan as well as Arzona did (because, of course, he doesn't have an Alaya-Vijnana system), but ploughs on, insisting it's Katya's will to stay with the Issues. Wistario retorts that people like him forced her to be somewhere she doesn't want to be.

Some more smack is talked and blows exchanged, and things do not look rosy for our good captain. With ye traditional 'there should not be that many electrical arcs in a cockpit' visuals, he rallies for one last effort, rushing Wistario headlong, breaking Hajiroboshi's crest with a well-aimed claw.

But Wiz has whatever operational weirdness is going on to give him A-V level moves and he drives his giant chain-sword-thingy in hard, smashing one of Zagan's wings off. Infuriated, Londo drags his Gundam directly along the blade, smashing Wistario off his feet.

As a panicked 598 rushes to help, Londo rips loose his remaining wing and prepares to impale Wistario with the claw, insisting that he'll protect Katya.

Unfortunately, that's when physics catches up to the situation and, um, you know that thing about holding up a long metal object in the middle of a thunderstorm? Yeah. Yeeeeeah.

598 is able to whisk Wistario out of danger at the last second but Zagan takes the full force of a lightning strike. While I wouldn't entirely rule out a well-timed revival later, it sure does look like Londo just got thoroughly toasted.

There's no time to dwell on his fate, however, as Katya still needs saving and, perhaps more pressingly, Cyclase is Up To Something.

Inside Ratatoskr, Batch slips out of Tagging's mobile suit to go do stuff while Cyclase turns to face the 'fly buzzing in his ear'. Range has caught up with them and is here to take revenge for Andy and Bito's deaths. Cue the soundtrack switching to 'In a Fury' and our resident would-be-godking meeting Range's anger with icy sarcasm.

As the fight ensures, Cyclase asks Range why he thinks this place was designated a sanctuary and people kept away? Range of course doesn't give a fuck, but that doesn't stop Cyclase elaborating that it is a cage. The lightning is not intended to repel intruders; rather it is meant to keep something inside.

(I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.)

Honestly, Cyclase is having a moment here and very little of what Range is shouting at him is getting through. It's like how Gaelio spends the back half of Season 2 yelling for attention only, unlike McGillis, Cyclase genuinely does not care, at all.

Just then the ground shakes. Batch, it seems, has done her work well (Tagging assures Cyclase they are very good at what they do). As Range looks on in disbelief, Cyclase declares that his freedom is about to begin.

Over on the Erda II, Dexter informs everyone that the microwave output from the station is increasing, bringing with it more violent lightning flashes. Nobody has any idea what's going on -- and to add to the confusion, the Urdr Hunt ring picks that moment to light up.

It appears to be reading data, as it has at every other waypoint. Parstai and Mendou report the same thing. This is the sixth point, despite no instructions having been received from 'N' to direct them there. Ratatoskr is the Issue's entry on this magical mystery tour and this proves the data wasn't put here by 'N' but rather, has lain there for 300 years.

If that's the case, Korunaru asks, why is the ring only responding now? Mendou's first thought is that it's because they've gotten closer -- but sadly it would seem it's nothing so mundane.

As Londo's forces hurry the launch over to their Halfbeak, ahead of Wistario and 598's pursuit, cracks start appearing in a nearby asteroid (one of those visibly tethered to Ratatoskr's core), closely followed by an absolutely gigantic blast of energy. The biggest beam weapon we've yet seen in IBO canon slams into the Halfbeak before deflecting off to slice a massive gash through the rock. Everyone scatters as something emerges from the rubble, loosing off dozens of the most adorable little guys imaginable.

Just look at them! I can only assume Dr Robotnik had a hand in designing this particular batch of plumas.

Because, oh yes, as Mendou realises to his utter horror, what's happening here is that a mobile armour has just reactivated and broken out of its prison within the Issue Family's sanctuary.

Oh, and it's the size of a battlecruiser.

OK, so first off, somebody has clearly been hitting the Gundam 79 juice. I see distinct traces of Elmeth in this thing, and in general it's aesthetics trend 'rockets and ray-guns' ala the Universal Century's Zeon stylings. Quite a departure from what we've seen before. I think I'll need to see it in action before I decide if I like it or not.

Secondly, Gundam Zagan makes quite the impression, albeit a surprisingly brief one. It's definitely in the 'freak' section of the number sequence (61) and showcases a lot of impressively brutal potential the leaves little doubt as to how the Issues ended up with the top seat at the table. Additionally, its proportions are distinctly broader compared to normal, hinting at the same adjustment of the frame that we see in Gusion's first in-series appearance. Nice to see that's not just a one-off.

Thirdly, everything has gone distinctly endgamey. Londo is off the board, Range is throwing himself bodily at his collection of death-flags, and Cyclase has begun his apotheosis (I do have a few notes regarding step #1). Even if this isn't quite the home stretch of the story, it's certainly got that 'exciting climax' feeling.

And here's the point where I grumble because bringing the Calamity War stuff this far to the forefront really doesn't do anything for me.

I feel bad for picking on this because I understand why you'd want it from a game mechanic point of view. The mobile armours are boss material, through and through, with very impressive visuals. However, this marks two activations in the months prior to Hashmal waking up on Mars (possibly two and a half, depending on how we count Mendou's encounter with plumas in the ice field), which seems excessive. Obviously this is going to be parcelled off from the main IBO plot such that nobody will look like a complete moron for being poleaxed when the world's most deadly Porygon tries to wipe Chryse off the map (except Iok who is, well, Iok). But it still feels like it should be a mite harder to trip over a mobile armour, even accounting for Gjallarhorn forgetting its original purpose.

It's also playing into my firm conviction that any hypothetical Calamity War prequel series would be 'standard Gundam fare' in ways Iron-Blooded Orphans largely eschews. Neither the show nor the Moon Steel manga deal with global wars or threats to the entirety of humanity. Hashmal is the outlier in that regard, deliberately out of context for the story. Mostly, the focus remains relatively small-scale and the mecha battles aren't solutions to the problems the story presents so much as messy, cruel consequences of an unjust system.

The mobile armours, by contrast, are robot monsters from the dawn of time that 100% need to die for the sake of the human race. I'm not opposed to that as a story hook in general, but it's less interesting compared to the things IBO has done before. Maybe it'll shake out into something engaging with Cyclase as a human component to the threat but I don't think I'll hold my breath on that: he's been a fairly straightforward sort of antagonist so far.

[aldermos]

Hi guys :]

(I lowkey just realized I never made an intro post)

———

, / My name is Alex! I’m 19, go by any pronouns, and I’m an ace lesbian 🏳️‍🌈

, / this will mostly be a sapphic sonic-centered blog but some other media i‘m into are: tdlc, toh, amphibia, jjk, and gundam

, / i (might) post oc’s later in the future but I’m mostly delving into wlw sonic ships like surgamy

// and occasionally whispangle / blazamy

, / I really enjoy making spotify playlists and art :] ! feel free to interact/comment on anything I post ^^ (apologizing in advance: my activity/interactions can be very inconsistent, please bear with me)

---

This is a strictly sfw space 👍 dni nsfw/pr0ship/racists

All in all, just a little safe space; looking forward to interacting with the fandom here more ^^

tags:

general: # alex :]

music: # alex :] musi

art: # alex :] rtz

life updates: ​# alex :] lf updt

———————————

[kholran]

Fic Writer Interview

Thanks for the tag @lucientelrunya!

name/nicknames: Kholran or Khol. I don’t use my real name online much.

fandoms: I’ve written for DMBJ, Les Mis, and The Hobbit fandoms, but I’ve created things Black Sails, Outlander, LotR, Person of Interest, and a handful of anime (Gundam Wing, Hellsing) fandoms. The ones I follow but haven’t created for yet are too many to list here.

two shots?: Wild Fire was supposed to be a one-shot that got away from me and ended up as two chapters, but everything else is actually either a one-shot or an absurdly long multi-chapter.

most popular multi-chapter fic: Pyre, hands down.

actual worst part of writing: DIALOGUE. Look, I’m barely functional in social situations as it is, and now I have to write two (or more) sides of a conversation, while making it sound natural, AND keeping character voices instead of just my own? RIDICULOUS.

how do you choose your titles: They usually end up being quotes or song titles/lyrics. I try to incorporate some form of light/fire in my Pyreverse titles so they fit the overall theme.

do you outline?: I usually have a few set plot points that I want to get to, like stepping stones. And then I have to connect those points into a full story. I don’t actually write any of it down, though. It all lives in my head until I get to that point of the story. With varying levels of success at remembering what they all were.

ideas you probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?: It’s been ages since I worked on my Weilan Mermaid AU,but I do hope that I’ll write it some day. I don’t actually get very many ideas, so I’d like to try and get to all of them eventually. But we’ll see.

callouts @ me: Just do it. It doesn’t have to be perfect from the start. You can fix it later. Just put some words on the page first.

best writing traits: I’ve been told people like the way I write a character’s perspective of the setting and events so I guess that?

spicy tangential opinion: Do I have any? IDK. I mean there are some ships I don’t get and some popular characterizations I don’t agree with but that’s not very spicy, I don’t think. Everyone has opinions.

tagging: @merinnan @alxina @xantissa @foxofninetales @amidalogicdive

[gremoria411]

I kinda want to do a post about my feelings on Mobile Suit Gundam Code: Fairy, but I’m just gonna start off with the MS designs, since I’ve got a lot to say on those relative to everything else.

First up: the Earth Federation Forces

I do like the Black and White Riders. Of course, they’re pale rider variants (prototypes in-universe), but I think they do a good job of looking and acting good. They both continue in the theme of the early rider units being patterned after the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse, being pestilence (the white rider with a bow and crown) and famine (the black rider with a set of scales). Though I don’t really have a favourite of the two, (the white rider has a wonderfully Gundam-like face and the crown is gorgeous, while the black rider actually kinda nails the whole “tacticool” look with its faceplate and arms) I will admit that the black rider opens up a whole can of worms because it has an actual stealth system. Not like, just weapons suited for stealth or sloped armour to reduce visibility like the Efreet Nacht, a genuine cloaking field.

For context, those (to the best of my knowledge) just straight-up are not really a thing in Universal Century. Minovsky particles kinda nix most long-range weaponry, hence why mobile suits are a thing. If you want to be stealthy, you typically go the route of removing emissions (as the Efreet nacht does with its lack of heat weapons) or having camouflage to reduce the chances of visual detection. Spotters are a big thing in lots of UC works. So the Black Rider being able to just “*poof* invisible” is a really odd thing in context. I can only assume (in-universe) it wasn’t practical at all, or it only worked early on, and improvements in technology eventually made it infeasible.

Even putting that aside, they’re not perfect. Heat weaponry is…. Basically nonexistent on Federation suits, so it’s inclusion here is a little odd. But the main flaw with the suits is that they’re just not well utilised. They essentially function as expendable grunts for the main villain. They don’t even have named pilots. Furthermore, Rider units are kind of a big deal, being very rare and quite powerful. So this one random force just having them - even if they are former prototypes - is just kinda odd, and it’s never addressed why they have them.

Note: I am aware that the Manga has put a face to the pilot of the white rider. But that and the fact that the manga exists are literally the only facts I know, so I’m not counting it.

The GM Spartan’s then.

Honestly, they’re nice, but they’re not really my thing. I do love a lot of the Fukuchi Mobile Suit Station designs, but I honestly prefer the original artwork (below) to the design they went with here. It’s not bad, but it’s obviously taking just as much influence from the GM Sniper II (if not more) than it is from the original artwork. It’s not equipped with any specialist weaponry in-game however. The unit on the left is the RG version, customised by use of the Game’s villain, Renato Germi (I would spoiler-tag that, but it’s very obvious). I actually like this design, since it could’ve been a very effective use of visual storytelling - Gundam-style parts are higher-quality than regular ones, so could have been used to signify that Renato has friends in high places that can get him fancier equipment. Or it could’ve been used as an effective contrast to the other Gundam pilot in the game. However, unfortunately, neither opportunity was used. It does however, remain a nice design.

The Gundam Pixy/Pixie is, has and always will be, one of my favourite designs in Gundam. Granted, I have a lot of favourites (as I’ll get to later), but the Pixy is just wonderful. Something about a close-quarters focused, lightweight, light cost version of the RX-78-2 with a decent weapons loadout just appeals to me.

The problem with variations on your favourite designs is that you tend to be a lot harsher on them, since they’re trying to improve on perfection. The Gundam Pixy Lilith Aiden Custom is very very good. I wouldn’t say I prefer it to the original, and I do think it’s a smidge overarmed, but the design of the mech itself I think was handled very well. It’s easier to see when comparing them in-game, but the entire chest and head area has been remodelled and a small shield has been added to the arm. It’s really very well-done, giving the impression of adding armour to something that was originally lacking it. The fact that it makes it look slightly closer to the original art is a bonus in my book.

The original Pixy is armed with Vulcans, two beam daggers, then either a bullpup machinegun or two 90mm machine guns that look like Uzis. It’s a very light armament for a suit that specialises in getting in close. The Pixy LA is armed with Vulcans, two beam Sabers, a twin beam spear (shown in the above image), a rocket bazooka and a handheld beam gun. Two of those weapons are quite large and unwieldy, so I don’t really think such a machine can still be called lightweight. This is the first of a trend of taking established, specialised designs and making them more generalised, which I’m personally none too fond of.

I don’t really think it needed to be red, since honestly the pilot has very little in common with char, so it only serves as a “rival” unit.

And with all the unique Earth Federation units out of the way, let’s move on to our protagonists in Zeon in the next post, because I ran out of pictures.

[j0ekw]

We gotta talk about Shaddiq

Hey long time lurker in the gwitch tag, I wanna change that. So Episode 20 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury dropped and, amongst the continued death and destruction, it seems like Shaddiq Zenelli’s plan has been cut short, with him being incapacitated in his mobile suit and last seen surrounded by a dozen Demi Garrisons. With that I wanted to look at his character and see if he was actually any good morally speaking, since in this episode he laid his entire motive bare, and I’ve seen a lot of discussion on it.

To recap, Shaddiq Zenelli, Sabina Fardin, and the rest of the named Grassley Cohort are earthians, brought to the Asticassia school of technology via Grasley’s child-rearing academy

We don’t really know where they all came from specifically, I’m of the opinion that Shaddiq was not a member of Dawn of Fold prior to going to the academy since A) he does not seem to be able to call them on his own, B) does not seem to have a connection with them like Nika does,

and C) I don’t think the academy would take in someone from the Dawn of Fold, considering Nika is more than capable as a student but used a fake company made by Shaddiq to get her in, although that is my conjecture. That being said he may have been aware of them and certainly made contact during the academy somehow.

He’s also said to be “Half-Earthian”, whether this is Sarius Zenelli conflating his adoption of Shaddiq as making him Half-Earthian or that Shaddiq’s original parents were and Earthian and a Spacian, we’re not sure. But speaking of, during the academy he was adopted by Sarius Zenelli, one of the members of the “Mobile Suit Development Council”  we see in the prologue (which seems like a sort of proto-benerit group) who decided stop gundam development and seize the assets of Ochs Earth, probably the most lucrative mobile suit company earth had. Of course what actually happened was Delling took a far more violent approach, something that Sarius was apparently not aware of at the time. At some point after the academy and before Suletta shows up, he creates a fake company to get Nika into the school, and has been using her connections to contact Dawn of Fold as seen before. This isn’t what she wants, but Shaddiq does hold dirt on her that could get her sent back to earth, so she has to comply. Conjecture again, but he seems to enjoy reminding her of what she’s had to do for him.

Also at some point before the show starts, he develops an affection (or, in the latest episodes, obsession) for Miorine, but has never acted on it, something he comes to regret.

For the start of the show he’s typically being a witness to the duels, however he starts taking action later on in the first cour, namely;  - He blocks the formation of GUND-ARM, with the intention of taking the gundam and the company from Miorine  - He partakes in a duel to own GUND-ARM, although it wasn’t his choic  - He sets up the Dawn of Fold attack on Plant Quessa, with the intention of killing Vim Jeturk and Delling Rembran, managing to kill one and severely injure the other. He is aware that Miorine is there  - Gets Sophie and Norea into the school, along with their gundams, with the same method he used for Nika - Organises an attack on Asticassia with the Dawn of Fold as a distraction so he can kidnap his dad  - Hides Norea, El5n and Nika - Run for presidency on behalf of Grassley, whilst partnering with Peil with the promise that he will transfer GUND-ARM to them.  - Tries to get GUND-ARM’s support through Prospera  - Tries to kill Guel before he can find Darius  - Releases El5n, Nika and Norea from custody, leading to Norea making another attack on Asticassia It is also revealed that he’s been working with the higher ups of the Space Assembly League, who’ve been supporting the still active Ochs Earth on earth, in the production of Gundams and pilots for them.

Whilst no specific death count was given, many people have been killed through these actions directly, and the three attacks on spacian colonies has increased tensions between earthians and spacians. Furthermore he’s consistently undermined Miorine’s desires as well as manipulating and using eathians and spacians alike for his goals. So, what are they exactly, and do they justify any of this?

His two major goals are two dissolve the Benerit group and sell the assets of the companies in it to earth, in the hopes of creating a cold war scenario where neither will attack each other, and stopping the continued earthian oppression, which is a continuous issue with the “security operations”

This is why removed the three heads of the group, inciting a presidential run, and then moves to gain the approval of as many companies as he can. I think this is also why he tries to seize GUND-ARM at several points.

So given that aim and what he’s done, where does Shaddiq stand?

The ultimate goal of “the oppression of earthians is bad, I must stop it” is good, but “stopping” it can get contentious. For Norea, it’s kill everyone she deems a Spacian.

Furthermore I’m not sure about his more direct goals. For instance, he would have to convince all the companies to let go of their assets. The Mobile Suit Development Council were able to get Ochs Earth to let go because it was one company and a majority vote. I don’t see a company like Peil “child microwaving” technologies for instance willing to let go of assets because it’s the right thing to do.

Dissolving the Benerit group may not be as much a challenge, but only so companies would want the freedom to develop any kind of technology they want. Or perhaps the implication is that groups like the Space Assembly League can better regulate companies individually? That is ultimately changing one spacian authority for another spacian authority however.

Also even if all the companies hand over their assets and the Benerit group is disbanded, Earth and Space are still on uneven footing. Spacians have the means of production, as we saw with Plant Quessa, as well as 20 years of experience doing so (perhaps longer, earthian oppression doesn’t seem to start from the prologue). It’d take a decade or so for earth to start producing their own (and politically they’d want mobile suit construction to be local, not in space) in which they are still extremely vulnerable. He’d no doubt do some good as president, iirc the Benerit group is responsible for the “security operations” so he can stop them, again IF he can convince everyone. And again, if he’s dissolving it, the companies would be free to carry out “security operations”, as the Space Assembly League doesn’t seem to take issue with it.

Then there’s the means to the end, which I’m hoping shouldn’t need much explanation. He’s gotten so many people killed and made the earthian situation worse.

There’s also just him as a character. Like, above all else, he’s an entitled prick who thinks he’s the only one who knows what he’s doing, and if everyone JUST got in line everyone would be happy. He says as much in the fight with Guel. No doubt his days in the academy got to his head, being the best at everything and getting the name “The Prince”. But it leads to him foregoing what people may actually want and how his actions may be making things worse. For instance, the rulers of earth seek to prevent on earth conflicts by banning Spacians, rather than seeking a cold war.

GUND-ARM, whilst initially created to protect Aerial and Suletta bc Miorine has such a “very big friendship” with her, has become a medical company which would represent, from what we’ve seen, the first earthian company to operate at a large scale. The earthians there want to establish themselves and help those at home.

However if Shaddiq’s plan succeeded, Earth would still see conflict for some time, and I doubt GUND-ARM would be particularly welcome in space due to its Earthian ties (granted the earth’s desires and GUND-ARM’s desires are also in conflict, at least initially)

Again, operating on some unknowns, but I doubt Shaddiq would let go of the power he has. Whilst he says he would disband the Benerit group, he’s still tied with the League, Ochs Earth, Grassley and Peil atleast. He would still have a monumental amount of sway in the affairs of the earth sphere. Given his propensity of taking his own advice over anyone elses, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to lead the earth in the cold war.

Which leads to another detail, that being his Earthian status. I feel the show is making an effort to show that the Earthian Spacian divide is arbitrary. Suletta, a spacian, is treated lesser than other Spacians because she’s from Mercury. Sabina has let go of her Earthian heritage, and Norea belives the earthians of Asticassia are traitors. Meanwhile we see Earthian and Spacian students slowly shedding the prejudices of their forebears, such as with members of Jeturk and members of Earth House.

This is something I feel Shaddiq weaponises. When confronting his father and Guel, he’s full Earthian, talking about taking the power from those above him. However he blackmails Nika into submission, he works with Ochs Earth who seem to be carrying out Permet experiments on kids like Peil, as well as endangering the earth house students on a regular basis, between the direct attacks, heightened earthian hatred, and blocking their company. He doesn’t seem to mind hurting earthians if its for his goals.

He’s also a massive creep, mostly around Miorine. Even after being ultimately rejected, he still can’t stop thinking about her, which even gets on Sabine’s nerves. He also seems to think she has no autonomy, “it’s Guel’s fault her hands got dirty”. It’s as Mio said, she’s an ornament to him, another prize he feels he’s deserved, or rather he’s the only one who knows how to treat her right. And if she disagrees?

Obviously she’s crazy, just like everyone else who’s ever disagreed with him.

In short, I think Guel highlighted it quite well in the latest episode

A part of me kind of wishes that he’d succeeded, bc I get the impression that if he actually got what he wanted, he’d start floundering as these other companies wouldn’t be willing to listen to him and he’d have to deal with the irony of becoming a new Delling. Having gone to find info for this, its interesting seeing how his personality was formed through his past and how his actions reflect that. That being said no, I don’t think he’s a good person, even if he has good aims.

Anyways I kinda ran out of steam writing this, let me know what you think. PLEASE note that this isn’t meant to imply Guel is a saint, that could probably be its own post

[whiskyrivers]

Part One since it won't let me post the whole thing. 🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats. User Subscriptions: 53 Kudos: 7,001 Comment Threads: 175 Bookmarks: 1,238 Subscriptions: 101 Word Count: 112,998 Hits: 133,832 🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction?  I honestly don't remember lol. I just remember writing some Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing at some point, which were my starter series' for writing. 🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love. My Vashwood Playlist 🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? It takes forever and I'm not that good at it. 🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis. ;A; I don't have five. 🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help? I don't know, I don't know any of my mutuals, if I have any lol. 🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love: Takara Phoenix and SnailorBee 💌 ⇢ how many unread emails do you have right now? None 🌻 ⇢ tag someone you appreciate but don't talk to on a regular basis. takaraphoenix I've never spoken to them, but I appreciate them. 🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both? Neither, I prefer writing for fandom and fandom characters only. 🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before. I have a Guinness World Record and a star named after me from the International Star Registry. 🎲 ⇢ what stops you from writing more in your free time? Motivation and Depression. 🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings. Peter/Stiles; That Peter recognized (and recognizes) how brilliant Stiles is as a person and not just a pawn. Which is why he offered the bite instead of just forcing it on him, and why, years later (in S6A), is still all for Stiles being a wolf. 🧸 ⇢ what's the fastest way to become your mutual? Uh, talk to me I guess? lol 🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now. Damn, had to throw a hard one at me, huh? I guess anime and gaming. I don't have 3. 📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? I don't use the notes app. 🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character. I can't think of anything right now.