#Presentation screen

[davidcreator]

Scratch: Criando Jogo Pong

Início > Cursos > Desenvolvimento > Scracth > Scratch: Criando Jogo Pong Introdução Pong é um excelente projeto para iniciantes, pois envolve conceitos básicos de programação como movimentação, detecção de colisão e variáveis. Pong é um dos jogos mais icônicos e influentes da história dos videogames. Lançado em 1972 pela Atari, é frequentemente considerado o primeiro jogo eletrônico popular e…

[mirensiart]

Do you ever feel a strange heartache sadness when dusk falls?

continuation of my pain sharing curse au :) feat emotional pain this time lol

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THE BEGINNING

[aquanutart]

I was talking and I mentioned that I have my old Game Boy and original Pokemon cartridge. I said, "I think they still work."

I was told, "The internal batteries on the Game Boy cartridges have run out. They're all dead."

"Oh," I said, trying not to show how crestfallen I was. I felt like I was losing nerd cred for not knowing that, although I never kept up with that type of info anyway. I'm here for the fantasy and imaginative aspects of games, and tend not to follow the competitive or technical details.

I tried not to feel anything as I went home. If they were real animals, I reminded myself, I would have had to say goodbye long ago.

But like so many other people, Pokemon was my childhood. It was all I thought about and dreamed about, and the closest thing I could imagine to heartbreak was the knowledge that they weren't real. I spent nearly all my time writing longhand self-insert Pokemon fanfiction--far more than I spent actually playing the game. My Pokemon were with me in my imagination wherever I went. I started playing Pokemon Blue when I was 5, and the last time I had played it was probably when I was 9 or 10. I remembered I had turned it on again one more time after that, not to play it, but to look at my childhood Pokemon.

It was during high school, after a move overseas that completely upended my life, and I was struggling with the crushing blow of being taken away from everything I knew and trying to make sense of anything (least of all adolescence) in another language. All I wanted was to go back to childhood and have everything go back to how it was before.

Seeing my Pokemon, just as I'd left them, had comforted me. I had looked at their stats pages, taken photos of them with my digital camera (that I don't even know if I still have), and then turned it off without doing anything.

That was probably 9 or 10 years after the games came out. It had been a long time since then. I had long since taken the AA batteries out of my Game Boy Color and left it untouched. I didn't even have AA batteries anymore.

It had worked then. But now it had been 27 years... I thought about not trying to turn my cartridge back on. As long as I didn't turn it on, I could believe my Pokemon were still there, the way I remembered them.

On my day off, which happened to be Pokemon Day, I googled and read that some people on forums and Reddit were still able to play their original Pokemon games.

Then... it was possible. I went out to buy toothpaste. At the store, I asked where I could find AA batteries.

It was a big thing for me to be able to go to the store and buy things myself. When I moved at age 13, I felt like something went wrong with growing up. It was difficult to follow what people were saying, and people didn't always understand what I said either. I had been introverted even in English, but now I had enough negative experiences that I became afraid and stopped trying to talk to people altogether.

I threw myself into video games and reliving childhood memories. The internet was where I could communicate in my first language and understand. I lived online and didn't interact with the real world. On the internet I felt like I was understood and could find people who shared my interests the way I did, but in the real world it always felt like I could get hurt if anyone knew me.

I realize now that I could have had a better experience overseas if I'd known how to adapt and socialize, but this was not something I knew even in English, and trying to learn in another language made it ten times harder. I'm sorry now for missing out on interactions that I know I could have had, but I just didn't know how. I wouldn't know how until I learned, and it took me a long time to learn.

I grew up online, in the company of others who had trouble fitting in with the real world, even in their own language. Those experiences shaped me, and the friendships I've made and support I've received online are invaluable to me. The internet gave me a way to live, and through it I learned how to interact with others. But in many ways, for many years, it felt like my life was put on hold and I stopped growing up.

Several years ago I moved back, to not far from where I was born, and I was able to work for the first time. I began to interact with people and feel like I had a place in the real world.

After shutting myself away for so many years, every little step I made out in the world felt terrifying. But every little thing I did on my own made me feel like I was living for the first time.

Even something as little as going to the store and buying a pack of batteries.

I was directed to a shelf at the end of an aisle, and found myself looking at a rack of lithium AA batteries. Did they not sell the old kind anymore?

I walked around to the other side and was relieved to find the familiar black and brown Duracell batteries I'd known from my childhood. I felt more confident about putting in a battery that looked the same as I remembered. The smallest pack they sold was an 8-pack for $12.99. I really didn't need 8 batteries. I didn't have any other devices that used them.

I thought, what if I turn it on and it doesn't work and I'll have wasted $12.99?

I also thought we might already have batteries. I might be able to say, "Mom, do we have any batteries?" and she'd pull out two AAs from a drawer somewhere and I'd save my money.

But somehow I felt like part of what was important about this was being an adult and being able to buy my own batteries.

Yet... what if it just ended up making me sad? Was it better not to know?

I went to the checkout with just the toothpaste and stood hesitating at the edge of the checkout line.

If I didn't get the batteries now, and it turned out we didn't have any batteries, I wouldn't try it. I knew I would just put it off until even more time passed, and then... "Are you in line?" someone asked me.

"No," I said, and I turned around and went back to the shelf.

I bought the batteries.

At home, I took out my original Game Boy Color from the drawer where I left it, the one my dad had surprised me with when I was 5 years old and that I had brought overseas and back.

I put the batteries in and turned it on without a cartridge first to make sure the batteries were inserted correctly. The Game Boy logo scrolled across the screen and it made the familiar blinging Game Boy startup noise. I turned it off again, satisfied.

I took out my original Pokemon Blue cartridge, momentarily having to remember which way it went in, and slotted it in.

I turned it on, watched the whole Pokemon Blue intro out of nostalgia, and then pressed START.

My heart leaped for joy.

MY POKEMON!!!! MY POKEMON ARE ALIVE!!! 🥺🥺🥺

My original Pokemon, that were with me in 1998 when I was 5-6 years old, are still with me 27 years later. I want to cry!!! I love the old sprites, I'm SO happy to see them again 😭😭😭 the Pokemon look so little and cheerful at the same time, which I love 🥺🥺🥺 I know there are people with many more hours on their games, who have leveled all their Pokemon to 100. But these are my Pokemon who were with me through my childhood, and I spent many more hours making up stories about them than actually playing the game. I'm so happy to see them again 😭😭😭

All I want is to see my Pokemon. My other Pokemon are in boxes. Now, how do I get to the nearest PC? Where am I?

Oh... Oh. I have to confess something. When I was a kid, I was scared of the dark cave areas, and whenever I got to them, I stopped playing for a while. (I was stuck at Mt. Moon until I was like, 7.) So I never actually beat the game.

And here I am on Victory Road, with the team of Pokemon I was taking to the Elite Four, without an Escape Rope.

The only way for me to see my other Pokemon is... to finally make it through Victory Road, after 27 years?!

[p4nishers]

can we talk about how much queer and trans joy was this season? maggie and nina. they/them muriel, saraquel, beelzebub, even GOD. "you're a good lad" "im not actually, either". that one shopkeeper and his non binary spouse, played by a non binary actor. beelzebub and gabriel. shax, nina and maggie all thinking azi and crowley were together. also yes i'm gonna mention: crowley and aziraphale's kiss. it's just, i get that everyone's hurt and so am i but can we please focus on how beautiful this season was to us? we got so much and i'm so happy, despite the ending.

[ifyoucandaniel]

ummm so have y’all seen that GQ photo shoot…?

this is sort of a joke for @bluelotuswrites fic The Hellblazer’s Apprentice on a fun way for bruce to find out jason is in fact alive and well. it’s also just an excuse to draw all blades jason shirtless bc i’m a hoe 😔

edit: now with fic!!! please go check out blues fun fic about model jason!

[zorangezest]

gliss✨my gorjus girl who will do anything it takes to stay alive.

[rochenn]

Today on "is that the Force or a panic attack" oh god oh fuck

[black-and-yellow]

Little Mic doodle since I just posted chapter 15 of Inside.

[chiarrara]

quote from my friend who brought me to see sinners:

"you'd think vampires, literal supernatural beings, are gonna be the worst thing you'll have to deal with, but then the sun comes up and you still gotta deal with the goddamn klan"

[eyelixir]

Another cool if not unusual detail to think about; there is a new photograph of P that can pop up from time to time in the DLC's loading screens 🔍👀

I haven't been able to figure out where exactly this photograph was taken though. All the locations I've checked don't seem to match up, so I'm not even sure where or when this was implied to be taken. Thoughts?

(Side note, it's pretty interesting that this implies the boss fog is a visible phenomena to other people and devices though lmao.)

[whatudottu]

Introducing to you - made over the course of a few months - a visual guide to cybertronian pedipalps and proboscis!

The general gist and inspiration for such being of course the episode Thirst and the fact that, up until that point, dark energon did not have any mutagenic properties only (in the show) being utilitised to revive the dead. What if, instead of being a side effect of dark synth energon, dark energon just... reactivated dormant pedipalps (remnants of a more buggy pre-metamorphosis sparkling/protoform lifestage)?

A more comprehensive look is down below- and don't mind how it's exclusively 'Cons lmao :P

Starting off, I referenced CYLAS' canonical pedipalps to try and understand the shapes being used which resembles a lapping type mouth that bees have (so considering there is a tranformers character named Bumblebee it feels appropriate but he ISN'T HERE), let alone the flexible proboscis which I just made as a siphoning type from butterflies which; this is the wikipedia image I used to understand mouth parts :P

Breakdown himself wouldn't need to open his whole face in order to consume energon, given that he has an opening and closing jaw in addition to having the dexterity and power of limbs and a neck to not require lapping, but energon is still drunk through the proboscis like a straw.

Continuing onto characters that would NEED their pedipalps, vehicons and other faceless cold constructs (whether you have the belief every cold construct is faceless or they recently shifted to facelessness to save on costs) by technically did not metamorphose like forged mecha and thus their mouth parts have not gone dormant. Instead, their construction means they have not known anything other than pedipalps and proboscis, having no experience at all with facial expressions and thus not susceptible to phantom sensations.

Though their jaws do not have joints or at least do not have an opening to function like an enclosed mouth, vehicons still do have one on the basis of having a neck and a location to store their coiled proboscis when not in use.

Unlike other cybertronians - forged or constructed - empurata survivors have their heads and/or faces completely remolded and restructured where they do not have a functioning jaw. They have in it's stead a reconstruction of the original pedipalps formatted appropriately to the new head mould.

Monoptics like Shockwave do not have enough room in their helms to have a mouth-like structure at all, instead the neck is reconstructed to open with the pedipalps; the proboscis when fully extended appears longer in monoptics but that is due to the fact the opening is lower and closer to it's base. Nulloptics like Soundwave have their entire face replaced by their mouth, often covered up in seamless panels that give the appearance of a screen, up until the nulloptic actually replaces the panels to include the electronics necessary to protect and display visuals.

In average adult cybertronians however, the pedipalps remain dormant - at least in their use for eating - and are instead used to produce vocalisations alongside the proboscis (which still remains in use by function of the liquid energon diet), in addition to being used in expression in conjuction with the many servos operating within the faceplate. The reason why, despite the variety of things pedipalps can do now that they aren't being used to consume fuel, that empuratas and constructs cannot re/gain a face with the same ability and level of complexity of the average cybertronian is because of the hyperactive function of those very pedipalps.

Vehicons can - if they so choose - express visually through the exclusive use of their pedipalps, but factoring in a faceplate with all of it's own complicated servos intricately woven into each other, the faceplate lacks the ability to split along the seams of the pedipalps and would restrain their mobility and prevent the cold construct from refueling. Empurata have a similar issue with the addition of their lack of functioning jaws and their modified head structure preventing the synergy of a faceplate. Nulloptics' heads are functionally all mouth so the corresponding faceplate cannot have features for optics or ridges, and monoptics' pedipalp expression is on their neck and thus a faceplate that matches where the mouth in their case would be a very bizarre choker-

And that's all folks, hope you love my cybertronian pedipalps post :P

[cursedtulip]

This was my splatfest post 🫡

...now kiss!

[wordsandrobots]

Let's talk about Haman Karn and presentation.

(This post contains a lot of images, including some stitched frames that would have been a lot easier to put together if the animators hadn't gone wild with overlay effects.)

When first introduced in the back half of Zeta Gundam, Haman is presented as the wicked witch in the Neo Zeon court, a powerful, dangerous 'newtype' who plays the conscientious regent to girl-queen Mineva Zabi while in truth calling all the shots. What is most striking about Haman's initial design is how simple it is. A funereal black tunic and grey leggings is almost laughably at odds with the rich, golden-threaded uniforms of the Zeon military officers, as worn in miniature by Mineva herself. Haman displays no rank and you could almost think, in isolation, that she had no official position.

But she isn't presented in isolation. That she is the axis (pun intended) around which Neo Zeon revolves is shown by how her appearance actually interacts with the scenes she's in. For one thing, pink hair and a red inner lining to her cape combined with an otherwise excessively sombre colour scheme draw the eye when contrasted with the rest of her forces, making her appear far more significant. For another, the cape grants her the outline of other important Zeon characters like Char Aznable and Kycilia Zabi, something further emphasised when she takes to the battlefield.

As with Char before her, she opts against wearing a spacesuit, a show of utter confidence in her abilities that proves well-founded. She emerges triumphant in battle, overpowering her predecessor with greater psychic abilities. There is thus a strong element of performative humility to her costume. It places her outside the military hierarchy, in a fashion distantly akin to Mineva's other attendants, yet there is never any question as to where the power behind the resurgent Zeon lies.

Complicating this picture is a vision shared with Zeta's protagonist, Kamile Bidan. When their minds link during combat, he catches a glimpse of Haman's prior relationship with Char, implied to have been romantic in nature. I don't believe we ever get confirmation as to whether this is a recollection or a fantasy; Haman states the visions are both dreams and memories. Certainly Haman and Char know and despise one another in the present, so nothing that happened between them ended well.

In this moment we catch a glimpse of an 'innocent' version of Haman, dressed casually, her overall palette matched to her hair rather than counterpointing it. Aside from establishing more of the history gestured to by her interactions with Char, it demonstrates that there is purpose to her current mode of dress. Ostentatiously plain black is not the default for a happy, contented Haman Karn.

Haman's next chronological appearance, several episodes into sequel series Gundam ZZ, comes after several (literally rose-tinted) flashbacks that show her still in her 'witch's blacks'. However when she finally comes on screen in the flesh, it is in very different ensemble: a tightly-buttoned charcoal dress and white scarf that appear to be a form of 'back-stage' attire

It's the least made-up we ever see her, with rather bedraggled hair in place of her normal sweeping coiffure, as if co-villain Glemy Toto and later protagonist Judau Ashta have caught her right after stepping out of the shower - the one to give a report hinting at a later arc, the other to sneak in by mistake and trigger a series-long rivalry.

The roses in over-the-top imaginings of brainwashed minion Mashymre Cello are reduced to balcony decorations and Haman possesses none of the glow he ascribes to her. This is the truth behind the delusions, canny and hard-faced. It is a grounding moment for the character, removing the implicit theatre of her previous appearances. Mineva is nowhere to be seen and without her, there is no need for Haman to pretend.

These scenes also establishes Haman's newtype credentials, as Judau sees her starkly overlaid upon cosmic fog and then projecting a monstrous apparition that shows the danger lying under her presently unassuming surface. The theatrics may be absent; the threat she poses very much is not.

Having in this manner brought us up to speed on the character, the show proceeds to roll out a second performance from Haman. We watch as she is dressed ahead of taking charge of a battle-fleet. In tight close-up, an attendant helps her into a flamboyant outfit featuring projecting epaulettes and a much longer cape, then presents her with a spiked, crown-like headpiece.

There is only one word to adequately describe the result: regal.

Gone is any pretence of being subordinate to someone else. When Haman steps on to the bridge of her flagship, it is as the true queen of Neo Zeon, ready to crush all who oppose her. Projected as a hologram above the Earth, this new costume's purpose as a propaganda tool becomes crystal clear. Haman has taken the place of Zeon's previous rulers, the Zabi family, replicating their flare for dramatic rhetoric and dressing herself in their flag.

It is in this guise that Haman makes her attempt to 'seduce' Judau (canonically 14) and to get up on my soapbox again, this is very obviously an act. We can see the calculation in her facial expressions as she exerts psychic 'pressure' and generates a starry vision to entreat him to join her cause, even when the assault on his senses culminates in a near-kiss.

These are means of control comparable to the chivalric romance fantasy via which she manipulates Mashymre. She is lying and once snapped out of the trance, Judau sees that - much to Haman's annoyance. Another powerful newtype is a wildcard she can ill-afford to let run free and her easy solution to the problem has been foiled. This sets the tone for their interactions from here on out.

Haman next appears at a reception in the Federation capital of Dakar, which Neo Zeon have occupied, effectively signalling their triumph over Earth's official forces. This is an extremely key scene in terms of ZZ's overall themes, as it starkly illuminates the craven, greedy nature of the supposed authorities. As Leina Ashta, Judau's sister, observes via her empathic abilities, everybody in the ballroom is pretending, buttering up the Zeon leaders in anticipation of their victory. We see multiple Federation officials bowing politely to Mineva and to Haman, for entirely self-serving reasons. Cynicism, manners and social convention are turned into a source of horror, an ersatz world of fake smiles and hollow laughter.

Within this, Haman is dressed to the nines, putting a new twist on her original presentation. Once again, she is the sole member of Neo Zeon wearing civilian clothes, standing out from a wall of elaborate ceremonial uniforms. Moreover, her superficially restrained black and white dress is enhanced with a smattering of jewellery befitting the occasion, and she has donned visible make-up, something she otherwise does not use to any great degree. These mark out her social standing, emphasising that those present should pay attention to her and her alone.

One thing I do think this dress highlights is the way in which ZZ does not go out of its way to sexualise Haman. The show generally commits to bawdy comedy far more than its predecessors, featuring as it does Chara Soon, a woman who gets *ahem* excited by mobile suit combat and is dubbed 'Boobazilla' for her antics with respect to the male members of the cast. But although Haman is depicted as pretty and not above attempting seduction, her costuming never really leans into that. If anything, the reverse: she favours restrained, formal looks that rarely display her skin in suggestive ways. [Please see a correction/addition on this point here.]

Her Dakar attire is the most daring she gets and intentionally striking in comparison to the other attendees at the ball. She still remains an aloof, intimidating figure, defined by sharp angles and a wide-shouldered outline.

Proceedings are naturally interrupted by non-Federation resistance groups and Judau breaks into the mansion to rescue his sister (Leina's arc through the first half of the show has her kidnapped and subjected to Neo Zeon attempts to 'civilise' her). Sensing his presence, Haman moves to confront him, only to end up talking unexpectedly openly about her motivations for conquering Earth. After expressing rage at having returned from the depths of space to discover an Earth-bound elite continuing to wreak ecological ruin on the planet, she notes what an odd feeling honesty is.

Judau is unimpressed and rejects again the idea of joining forces against the Federation. Restating that she cannot therefore allow him to live, Haman attempts to shoot him, only for Leina to be injured in the struggle. This sends her brother into a rage, his newtype powers manifesting at full blast.

Now it is Haman who sees a monstrous vision overlaid upon her opponent and, putting a nasty twist on the idea of being able to speak her mind around Judau, her composure cracks entirely. All at once, Haman is reduced to abject terror, firing blindly then outright fleeing the anger directed at her.

Intriguingly, Haman's sense of Judau is as a bestial force yet Judau's friends pick up only a gigantic version of the boy they know. It is as if what they experience as a normal if exaggerated emotional reaction is, to Haman, utterly horrific, reducing her to hiding in her bedroom, appalled that anyone could exert such pressure upon her.

With the reception disrupted and her propaganda coup in tatters, Haman retreats both to her flagship and to her warrior queen attire. While it makes sense for her to change into something more suited to taking command, there is something compelling in the idea this represents an attempt to reinforce her authority after the shock of confronting Judau. Perhaps this is Haman taking comfort in her authority over Neo Zeon, as embodied by the crown she wears into battle.

Moreover, her next major action is to order a colony drop (literally displacing an orbital space colony so it crashes to Earth) on Dublin, a hideously destructive war crime designed specifically to "demonstrate [Zeon's] power through terror!" Coming hard on the heels of her brush with Judau's fury, it is tempting to draw a straight line from discovering something capable of scaring her to wanting to remind the whole world why it should be scared of her.

Between Dakar and Dublin are a couple of brief asides with Haman that underline again how conscientious she is about how she presents herself. During another meeting with Glemy - indicated over the course of ZZ to be a bastard son of the Zabi family - she reverts to her black tunic, as in Mashymre's visions, trying to exert control over this wayward heir. The ploy is a failure since Glemy shortly thereafter makes an angry break with her, unconvinced by her shows of deference to his heritage.

In the following episode, Haman resumes her battledress, only sans crown for the simple reason that she is back in the same room as Mineva. She makes a point of maintaining appearances, irrespective of how much she overshadows her supposed superior. At the tail end of this scene, her inner monologue reflects on her older sister's death in service to the Zabis and on Char's abandonment of the cause named for his father, Zeon Zum Deikun. Haman concludes that she has always been alone, a sentiment deserving sympathy but overshadowed by her upcoming decision to effectively nuke Ireland. Regardless, there is a telling novelty about seeing Haman dressed as the war-queen but without the masking structure of the crown. Thanks to the way her collar is cut, this renders her more visibly open than any of her other costumes, a visual blending nicely with the reveal of some context for this most singular villainess.

Now is a good time to reflect on that, on Haman being Gundam's first major female villain (Kycilia Zabi, though striking in her own right, cannot claim the status of arch foe for an entire series). That Haman Karn is a woman is important to how she works as a character. I hope I have covered sufficient ground to demonstrate how she is conceptualised in terms of appearance and the manipulation of social forces. Her attempt to seduce the hero alone marks her out from her male counterparts - Zeta's main antagonist, Paptimus Scirocco, displayed the power to entice women via the force of his personality, but this did not take the form of allure or leaning in for a kiss, and was never applied to Kamile.

Surprising I think no one, Gundam ZZ is as committed to a distinction between male and female signifiers as its predecessors. The very fact I am writing an essay about how Haman controls and changes her appearance depending on the situation should be ample demonstration of how specifically feminine villainy is portrayed. Glemy doesn't have nearly so vast a wardrobe.

Even so, something ZZ has over its predecessor is a shift in how masculinity and feminity are discussed. No longer is this part of the diegetic content: we are spared characters philosophising over the nature of womanhood in the context of war. More than that, Glemy's attempts to mould Leina into a (fascist) vision of a perfect lady are oppressive and quite literally an act of imprisonment. This casts Haman's own position in a somewhat more nuanced light. She is navigating a sexist society with intent, and her own flaws are not presented as anything so gauche as 'needing a good man in her life'. Char, the subject of that vision from Zeta, left Haman to shoulder the burden of leadership, rather than being merely guilty of jilting her. The thrust of her self-reflection is a combination of hating the Zabis for her sister's death, determination never to be that kind of victim, and the conclusion she alone must build her future. It's as worthy a motivation for Gundam villain as we might find anywhere else.

Nevertheless, we now have to turn our attention to Haman's next major arc, which sees her donning a disguise in order to sneak closer to Judau.

The Tigerbaum arc sees sexism and the objectification of women profoundly muddled between something the show is highlighting with a critical eye and something it is itself engaged in. Minor villain Stampa's lecherous abuse of his position as colony governor to prey on young women is presented as deplorable. At the same time, these episodes give us yet another entry on Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino's long list of female characters killed to provide an air of tragedy and motivate male members of the cast, this iteration so badly animated, it isn't even clear *why* or *how* the poor woman is mortally injured.

Haman's choice to personally infiltrate the situation by donning a blonde wig and an unassuming red skirt and jacket combination marks renewed emphasis on her two-faced nature. Her obsession with Judau has developed such that this is mission is entirely in service of trying once more to recruit him to her side. Not incidentally, this results in her dropping the ball on the Glemy situation, providing him the room to start a full-blown coup.

It is established in the characters' minds over the course of this arc that Judau and Haman are on some level calling to one another. When they come face to face, Haman entreats her young foe to help build a world for newtypes and to stop being held back by his emotions and his attachment to others. Meanwhile, a convenient psychic priest clues us in to a sadness hidden behind this standard villainous pitch. Sarasa even explicitly tells Haman that, at their core, her feelings are no different from Judau's.

Haman rejects this assessment. Her spycraft is defined by an inability to play the part of anything other than the haughty aristocrat. The red disguise, while distinct enough to hide her at first, quickly proves to have a silhouette close to her original costume, broad sleeves tapering elegantly to thin wrists, and her briefly expressed interest in seeing "how the common people live" is an exercise in contempt. She has no time for those who don't serve her goals or share her vision.

From the first, Haman has been - seemingly by her own design - the singular figure at the heart of Neo Zeon. This is how she chose to cloak her loneliness, aiming to take total control of the world and punish those she deems to have been inexcusably careless towards Earth. She is bad at disguising what she truly is, even when it would be to her advantage. Judau senses who she is from a touch and only doesn't realise what it means until later because circumstances distract him. Glemy's disillusionment stems precisely from Haman's failure to convincingly appear to serve the Zabi bloodline. As I said at the start, she draws the eye.

Events race towards a head and as the Neo Zeon civil war heats up, we get a last outing for the black costume. Haman returns to Core 3, the old heart of Zabi power, where Mineva is being kept, and adopts the old theatre. Except, it is wearing very thin by now. Breaking into the huge palace, Judau encounters Mineva on her own and she states outright that while Haman claims to care for her, she doesn't believe it any more. We'll later learn this isn't the real Mineva Zabi but a double, a girl saved by the Haman and used to safely hold people's focus, lending these words an extra layer of pathos. This false Mineva is a prop: Haman has reduced the focus of Neo Zeon belief - the righteous of the Zabi's cause - to empty puppetry.

Where this sequence sings is in the continued interplay between Judau and Haman. Judau, partly at the 'Mineva's' insistence, attempts to steal the child away. Haman catches him and is delighted when he threatens Mineva to ensure safe passage, since it means he no longer holds the moral high ground over her (insofar as using others to get what she wants). A small victory, suggesting to her mind that he has started to see things her way.

Judau is not willing to actually harm a child and returns Mineva, over the double's protests since she can no longer stand being trapped as a tool for Haman's ambitions. Surprisingly, Haman keeps her word, allowing Judau and fellow pilot Roux to leave the palace grounds in exchange for surrendering their 'captive' and ordering her men not to 'disgrace her honour'. It's a hollow promise since she immediately tries to trap the escapees inside the colony and have them killed, but it's significant, since we've not been given any indication before that Haman has a sense of honour.

This said, we certainly have every reason to believe she has a sense of pride.

The civil war kicks into high gear, Glemy and Haman's forces tear each other apart, and eventually the would-be usurper meets his doom at Roux's hands. This leaves Haman the victor on paper but with she and Judau orbiting one another closer and closer, they both accept a final duel is inevitable. Over the protests of her remaining subordinates, she boards her Qubeley, the mobile suit she used to beat Char all the way back at the end of Zeta, claiming aloud that Judau is already subject to her will.

This is a last bit of acting. Safe in the privacy of the Qubeley's cockpit, she expresses frustration that Judau has driven her to don a normal suit, a beat recapitulating the end of the original Gundam series. Char, who habitually declineed to wear a spacesuit out of a belief it would make little difference were he to suffer defeat, agrees to do so in order to soothe another character's worries. Here, it is Haman's fear, of a "mere child", that drives her to take the same precaution.

For once, her mode of dress has nothing to do with furthering her goals. This choice is made out of concern for her life, which perhaps above all explains exactly why she should have become so obsessed with conquering Judau in particular.

He scares her. He will not be controlled and he sent her running, overwhelmed by his presence. How could she possibly let him live after that?

Haman is an extremely proud woman. She will not suffer to be seen publicly breaking her word and doesn't - cannot - hide her ambitions. Where another leader might have delegated spy-work at a crucial time, she goes herself. She does not trust others to act of their own free will, manipulating and brainwashing them into extensions of herself. She does not trust other people full stop. That's the irreconcilable difference between her and Judau, who loves those around him and retains faith in ordinary human beings.

So they fight, screaming their philosophies at one another, each stubborn and defiant and convinced they're right, Haman proving as emotionally driven as the boy she laughed at for still possessing mercy. There is nothing logical about fighting him fair and square but this is precisely what she does, refraining from using the full extent of the Qubeley's abilities so she might match Judau one on one, pilot to pilot.

If she couldn't beat him on her own, what would be the point?

But Judau doesn't fight alone. The souls of newtypes fallen in battles Haman shares the blame for starting come to his aid, driving her back and giving him the power to overcome her. When the final blows are struck, she is left the loser and though he reaches for her, true to his nature, trying to save her life, she defies his compassion, proud to the very end.

At the same time, she says she is glad to have met this "strong child" who has beaten her. She proceeded on the basis that everyone was alone and the hope of greater understanding promised by newtype abilities was, in essence, a lie. If there existed no possibility harmonious cooperation would overturn the Federation's indifference, then of course the only way to prosper was to seize control of everything and everyone. Yet Judau proves the chance of a different path remains.

As she choses death over living with defeat, Haman looks the most content we ever see her. Her spirit, blasted loose as the Qubeley is destroyed, smiles joyfully. Her helmet, opened moments prior, is gone, leaving her hair to billow wild. The embellishments to her normal suit are likewise loosened, lines softened by the implied force of the explosion.

Haman Karn dies undone, no longer the carefully composed centre of a lonely universe, not even the posed teenager seen in flashback, but instead freed from her own stage-management.

And at last she is happy.

[bmissyb]

guys what if el bought the ring by herself and was wearing it for herself because she likes the ring

[poirott]

Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter at Wimbledon men's singles final → July 14 2024

(Recorded via BBC iPlayer)