#and ive got the rules of continuous functions

[bugmistake]

ough i have the pre-exam jitters majorly

[mutedeclipse]

I got really inspired to list off some basic bomberman anatomy headcanons that ive picked up from 2022-2023 so i introduce to you...

BOMBERMAN BASICS, a blanket guide to understanding whatever the fuck mutedeclipse has going on

By lunar myth.

Before i proceed i need to preface and clarify i function on a loose, but still grounded logic of the biomechanical. This is fantasy alien tech it doesnt have to all make sense, and konami disregards consistency in their own series anyway so this is MY way. They have biosynthetic components, like skin and they have mechanical components, like a screen, but they also have mouths inside those screens and can eat to recover energy like any other being of flesh and bone (i will explain this LATER. we'll get to it dear friend it will not make sense to most ontill we get there)

As a robotic 'species' their creation is a rather individual process, while components are standard they come in many shapes, sizes and colours! But the main thing is what goes on inside that makes a bomber a bomber. Aside from those there are exceptions and rules commonly broken. (I do whatever but this is my baseline, as an example my own sona works on extremely nonsensical logic by design)

Internally they have a ribcage, a flexible spine, pelvis.. ish and a 'skull' in order to protect their core and other delicate parts. with soft, flexible joints and limbs with hands that vary from bomber to bomber, although the standard tend to have rather malleable, flexible fingers that are gloved with mittens or regular old gloves.. either way theyre typically covered, If exposed they resemble human hands, although finger count is a resounding 4 including an opposing thumb (ive decided its not a stylistic choice actually its cuter if they only have 4 fingers on average per hand) and 0 toes, with malliable, adaptable feet

i believe that bombermen as a whole, classic, R or any other continuity run on a sort of small-scale hyper-efficient combustion engine which burns consumed fuel. (while food is typical basically anything that can be blown up and burned can be consumed to refuel) which not only is a partial reason for their name as bombers and a big distinguishing factor from just any ordinary bio machine. Their Engine resides neatly in their chest and it almost sounds like a heartbeat if you lay your ear to their synth-flesh, their bodies have a lifelike warmth due to their fuel source. The engine also produces light that may faintly shine through as body blushing

Now onto the head... difficult to tackle but ill try to make this make as much sense as i can... their head is exactly what you see is what we're working with. They have a 'screen' that for the purpose of expression have lights for the purpose of expression. that screen is also rather flexible, as it is a Non-Newtonian fluid. Bear with me here this is about to get insane.

Typically a flexible/malleable sheet of glass-like material it may become liquid through some sort of reaction not quite understood past "these specific components make this sheet of glass become permeable when used as stimuli", the material only sticks to itself, allowing objects to freely pass through creating small ripples in a bomber's face as they eat, or sticking out their tongue. (Yes They have tongues because i really want them to know the pleasures of good food ok? I want them to enjoy good meals with eachother and bond over that. Its a lovely thought to me.) They have artificial tastebuds there that mimic the capabilities of any normal tongue. They may also have teeth. I havent decided on that being standard yet because they either swallow things whole like snakes (horrifying) or chew things up (also weirdly horrifying but makes more sense considering itd help with combustion).

Inside the aforementioned 'skull' like structure, which mainly consists of a component refered to as a core, this contains the personality, memory and other things that revolve around individualistic abilities of a given bomber, it acts as a brain for these little guys and can be just as delicate as one, a faulty core can spell a whole host of problems for a bomber, such as memory issues and faulty power regulation. Touch receptors run down from the core through the body in order to aid in a sense of touch (most sensative in the hands (palms), antenna, face, etc. Normal places youd expect)

The antenna work like whiskers as it aids in the balance of a bomberman along with a general receptor of data around them, they respond to many different kinds of stimuli, typically sound and signals sent by other bombers. (theyre kinda like bugs in that isnt that neat) the standard antenna has a rather gummy like quality and is at least a little translucent, if you look inside sometimes you can notice a little light of the receptor inside. The standard ball antenna may irregularly spike up in response to strong emotions. Despite seeming like a defense mechanism, this is an unintended effect of the structure.

As theyre mechanical body modification (one of my oldest hcs and one of my favorites) and cybernetics tend to be a sight thats not too uncommon, stay tuned and i might tackle those next. In the meantime i can awnser questions about this because Im barely sure if this makes sense and im bad at articulating.

[ofthenoseclan]

@bakugames ty for asking i owe you my soul

if were talking about long running arcs my favourite has to be the religious war saga that spans from 10-13.5, ive talked about it at length before but i think its a perfect encapsulation of touhous skill at satire and commentary.

if i need to choose one single title in the series as the best self-contained plot point though, id have to say the 17th touhou project, touhou kikeijuu ~ wily beast and weakest creature., has a fantastic freestanding story, one that took a lot of risks with how tonally bleak it got in comparison to the rest of the series, and i respect it immensely for that (shame about the gameplay side of things). ive seen it described as touhous take on cyberpunk, or as zun using his enjoyment of shin megami tensei to make a better shin megami tensei plot than the franchise itself has, and that tracks.

17 introduces a setting of animal youkai in the middle of a resource war, with different organized factions vying for control of property in the form of human spirits, rendered an oppressed class in this realm. these factions all have contrasting, equally morally dubious ideals, ranging from an autocrat that promises peacetime under totalitarian rule to a cutthroat anarcho-capitalist. in a series without truly immoral antagonists most of the time, choosing to introduce multiple characters who are the closest to villains the series has seen yet is a decision that i think payed off big-time, and its still continuing to do so in future titles seeing as this arc of the series hasnt yet concluded in full.

worldbuilding-wise, my favourite aspect of the lore of the setting has to be the corrupt, barely-functional bureaucracy of the afterlife. the way that tenkai is a gated community, rejecting people they dont think deserve the privilege of ascending to its high-class lifestyle, so they rig the system to pretend as if its population is full despite clearly still accepting nepotism babies like tenshi into the gates. the way this backfires and raises the population density of jigoku so much that they have to downsize and move to a new location. the way the budget of jigoku is so unsustainable that they have to set up stands along the road of liminality to raise funding. its hilarious and i love every bit of it. theres so much irony to dig into in this aspect of gensoukyou and i love it whenever zun expands on it.

as for the one i think is most mischaracterized i would absolutely say komachi, for reasons explained in that post and here

[katvaramell]

Ive just caught up to the JJK manga (chapter 249) and its insane 😭

I started reading it after watching the anime and oh my god I did not expect it to continue this way!!!

One I was quite disappointed that the amazing „I am you“ sequence between mahito and Yuji was only a few panels. I really loved the way they did it in the anime and I think it gave the moment the gravitas it needed.

Yuta is actually helping Yuji??? I got spoiled about quite a few things but this didn’t register at all. I loved their work together though :,) especially now in the fight against sukuna I’m very curious how it’ll go

The amount of information at once about the culling games is very disorienting. It’s such a complicated magic system and now all these new people and rules all at once really take some focus to understand!! (Which I’m not used to after starting with one piece…)

I love how Yuji manages to unintentionally get an adult to adopt him every two weeks it’s so cute

This scene was such a gut punch!! Having it spelled out and then yuji saying he’s guilty just shows again how hard the shibuya incident hit him. And they had no breaks to mourn since then. I think it’s so heartbreaking how yuji only sees himself as a cog with a function and puts himself in this role he can’t escape. I genuinely appreciate that they basically redid the scene, but this time explicitly said that it was sukunas fault and that Yuji agreed!

When megumi killed that guy and it was announced that he got 5 points I absolutely couldn’t believe it. I know that they weren’t disillusioned to killing but still seeing them do it willingly really surprised me and also hurt :(( they’re just babies

It’s very overwhelming to be introduced to so many techniques after each other, but I think it’s very interesting how they work and develop!!

Also I love Maki so much. Absolute icon behavior. I love that she is as strong as Toji now!!!! Gege is not great at writing women, but here he really popped off

I’m very interested how the whole angel plot line will continue. Because after it turned out that she was someone that megumi saved, and she wants to help him in return for that I think some surprises will still come up (also I loved the flashback with gojo ruffling megumis hair 😭 it really showed how involved in each others lives they were :(( )

Poor megumi😭😭 I got spoiled for it but the panel at the end of a chapter where megumis soul is just lying in the dark all miserable made me cry :(( they’re just babies your honor

I’m also quite curious to see if he is still alive and how his cursed technique is faring. I didn’t quite get what is going on with him currently, so I guess we’ll see

There is a totally straight explanation for this I’m sure 🤡

I love and hate that gojo got a little flashback scene to his dead friends. I’m glad they’re reunited again, even if they’re still burdened by what happened to them - but it still hurts that they died here. Even though they were so strong.

I don’t think that Gege will bring gojo back. I do think he’s dead, because the way things look now they don’t genuinely need him to win. And it would take away the severity of the plot, if they could just do take backsies

I love that yuji has a voice as a sorcerer even without being sukunas vessel. He seems to still think that he is just a cog but I do think he starts to value himself more

It is also very interesting to see more of higurumas development and I was so surprised to find out that he is just as powerful as gojo! It truly seems to be a second golden age of jujutsu with all these powerful players assembling

I guess that even though Yuta beheaded Getos body, it doesn’t seem like kenjaku is dead because he is just the brain. I can’t quite tell if he will return in Getos body or a new one. It seems like the body is finally dead for sure, because all the curses escaped. But I’m sure we haven’t seen him for the last time

All in all it seems like the series is coming to an end in the near future. Everything starts to funnel down to a last show down, but I can’t quite tell how that will go.

[kaidatheghostdragon]

Reblogging instead of commenting cause ive got several points to talk about.

Personally, i see liminality as an 'au defines the rules' concept. I love seeing all of the different definitions people suggest and the ramifications of each. For any given story, the author is free to pick whichever definition that fits the vibe of the plot, but if you need a stricter definition, then overall its a term that appears to fill the "not quite fully living, but not a halfa" gap.

The definitions of liminality that ive seen, in order of most exclusive to most inclusive:

1. Danny is the only true halfa, and vlad and ellie (possibly jason) are pseudo-halfas, therefore liminal. No-one else is liminal.

2. Danny, vlad, ellie (and possibly jason) are halfas (generally defined as having a human and ghost form), liminality is a catch all term for all other forms of undead, of which in the dcu are many. If jason isnt a halfa, then he's liminal.

3. Same as two, but jazz is liminal for being raised in an ecto contaminated environment. She has a touch of otherness but nothing strictly beyond human baseline. On dc side, damian is now liminal.

4. Same as 3, but sam and tucker are liminal for being so close to danny's accident, again, otherness but still reasonably baseline human. On dc side, everyone in the batfamily that has died or been exposed to the pits is liminal (with some variations).

5. Same as 4, but extended interaction with ghost kind increases liminality. At this point, sam, tucker, jazz and sometimes valerie are given minor abilities or a single specialized ability (usually, jazz: empathy, sam: plant powers, tucker: technopathy). On dc side, entire batfam is liminal because those that arent included in 3 interact with those that are

6. Logical extension of 5, in that random civilians in amity that have been exposed to ghosts are liminal, usually Paulina has dragon abilities, Wes (fanon character) is a modern day cassandra, various students retain limited access to symptoms they had in the episode 'doctors disorders,' etc. On dc side, reserrection=liminality treatment is applied to any dc character that fits the bill, which includes many members of the justice league

7. Same as 6, but the open portal has flooded amity park with enough ambient ectoplasm that everyone in town is a low level liminal. Interacting with ghosts is not necessary but speeds up the process and/or makes you more liminal, however the spectrum is defined. On dc side, any character thats close to a character that fits 5 is now liminal

8. Logical extension of 7, in that the amity treatment extends to DC locations. Gotham and lazarus pits first, then other 'supernatural leaning' places. On dc side, we're getting to a point where liminality represents 1-5% of earth's entire 'human' population, and is basically a normal everyday thing (which makes the GIW all the more horrifying).

9. ectoplasm is a naturally created substance and necessary for continued existence. All lifeforms that exhibit emotions have trace levels of ectoplasm and the author might even associate that ectoplasm with the concept of a spirit or soul. Removing even this trace ectoplasm could eithrr cause death or leave the entity braindead. This entry on the scale is unique as it can be tacked on as an extension no matter what number on the scale the fic is set at.

-

Same goes for ecto-contamination, of which ive seen a few different treatments:

1. No functional difference, used interchangably without any thought, or liminality is used for simply being a shorter and more convenient word, or liminality is a slang term for ecto-contamination

2. no functional difference, but liminality is the term used by ghosts/ecto-culture/anyone who sees liminality as a genuine state of being (to be nurtured and supported), and ecto-contamination is used by giw/bad fenton parents/anyone who views ecto-entities as evil (do be decontaminated and destroyed).

2.5. Another possible split is the supernatural vs science divide - someone like the flash would insist on using the term ecto-contaminated because it has a rigid scientific definition, over the term liminality which has a squishy social/cultural definition.

3. Functional difference: ecto contamination is a build-up of latent/ambient ectoplasm without any side-effects, liminality is when a threshold (to be defined) of contamination has been passed and it causes changes that would have the person defined as a meta if a metagene had been involved

4. Extension of 3, where if the au defines liminality as a specific number on the liminality scale i defined above, ecto-contamination defines the groups included in the 1-2 numbers beyond that.

-

I hope that makes sense. I really enjoy trying to wrestle debated/explored concepts into definable tropes.

Edit: fixed the numbers

Question for the DPxDC crowd

what do you guys actually consider liminal? Like, I genuinely don't know anymore

because early on it was pretty much just Jazz having grown up with ectoplasm in the house for years and in her food, which makes sense, and it was an extremely rare thing

then it got expanded to Sam and Tucker

Then members of the Bat crew that got resurrected by a Lazarus pit(and Dick for some reason? He's never canonically died guys...)

Now it seems to be the entirety of Amity Parkers, All the Bat clan, half of Gotham, Half the Justice Leage, the entirety of the League of Assassins

is it just having come into contact with ectoplasm/Lazarus Pits? Prolonged exposure? Because it's starting to feel like everyone is liminal besides the guys in white for some reason

Like you guys have started using Liminal to basically replace the word "Ecto-contaminated" There is a canon word for the thing you guys have started using liminal to describe

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

My DC Cinematic Universe: Superman (Part IV)

Chapter Four: Nature and Nurture

Look, we all know the origin of Superman. It's Moses, but in space. James Gunn's got the right idea for his movie; the origin's been done. No reason to beat a dead Krypton, y'know? But even then, that doesn't mean Krypton should be ignored in this theoretical Superman film. And if we're going to talk Krypton and its residents, as well as the El family as a whole, then...well, we have some work to do.

Here's the summary on Krypton, far as I'm concerned: Krypton is a planet orbiting a red sun, Rao, and is the home of the Kryptonians, a scientifically-advanced species in various states of conflict throughout the centuries, usually with the military complex warring against the scientocracy that rules the planet. It is destroyed either by Kryptonians themselves, or by their negligence, depending on who you ask.

Everybody has a different idea of what Krypton looked like, usually fueled by changing ideas of future technology. In the '40s and '50s, it was basically just the Jetsons. After the '80s reboot, it turned into a cold alien society really reminiscent of something like Vulcan, mostly devoid of emotional (and sometimes physical) contact, and with a dark history full of clones, genocides, wars, conquest, and a LOT of other shit. You can thank John Byrne for the complex Kryptonian mythology that came out after Crisis. It is pretty neat.

That form of mythology definitely affected future depictions of Krypton, with Superman: The Animated Series being inspired by the aesthetics, and Smallville and Man of Steel being inspired by the attitudes and history established by Byrne. Even then, of course, these interpretations of Krypton still had their eccentricities and differences, with a lot of other influences brought in. No idea why, for example, Snyder seems to have turned his Krypton into a canyon-filled fantasyscape with rideable four-winged steeds and shit, but...eh, it kinda worked. A little.

There was also a TV prequel series, called Krypton, that came out in 2017. It was pretty decent, honestly, taking place 200 years before Kal-El is born, and centered around the ancestors of the El family, and of the Zods. More on them later. As I said, though, it was a pretty good show, for what it was, and did flesh out an interesting version of Krypton. But before we move on to what my version of Krypton is, it's important talk about its people: the Kryptonians.

In almost every incarnation of Krypton, the people of Krypton are split up into major families, or houses, with Clark being the last living member of the House of El. Each house tends to fall within specific lanes or roles throughout Kryptonian history, with the Els usually serving a major function. Each house also has a specific symbol, with the "S"-like symbol that Superman wears being the symbol for the House of El.

This House, full of scientists and leaders throughout Kryptonian history, tends to find itself in conflict with the House of Zod, which is a military house, best known for its last living member, General Dru-Zod. He'll be a huge focus of a future post, but not right now. And as much as I want to continue talking about Krypton and Kryptonians (especially Tyroc; if you know, you know), I really should move on to the main event. For now, let's put in what I think are the core aspects of Krypton.

Krypton is a scientocracy. As a scientifically advanced society, far beyond Earth's technology, Krypton has put a large focus upon the sciences as a part of their society. Because of this, scientists represent some of Krypton's most preeminent citizens, with most iterations of Krypton outright having a ruling science council. This is also why Kryptonian technology is all over the place, and keeps appearing throughout the Superman mythos. These include the Phantom Zone and Phantom Zone projector, the Eradicator, Kal-El's ship, and the crystal-based tech introduced by the 1978 film, and maintained in the lore since that point.

Kryptonians have a long and complex sociopolitical history. From creating Doomsday to destroying a moon, a lot of crazy-ass shit has happened in Krypton's history, all the way up to its destruction. Obviously having a history is something to expect of every planetary civilization, but...well, actually, that's a point. Krypton essentially has one-world government, which has cuased a myriad of political, military, and...well, even racial issues. Yeah, uh, they shoved all the black people onto an island once. We don't ask questions here. Or, y'know, we do and heavily criticize, but maybe later on that front. But speaking of that...

Krypton wasn't great, not gonna lie. In more recent years, it's become more and more apparent that Krypton had a fuckton of problems. I mean, there was an island with only black people, so that already hints at racial segregation. But outside of that, you have wars, conquests, indignance and corruption, cults, and somehow a complete lack of emotional connection amidst all of these things. Like, one of their scientists literally blew up a fucking MOON. And then there's the whole cloning thing, the predetermination of roles in some adaptations...look, Krypton may have looked like a paradise to some, but it's really not a great place when you look at it.

Krypton blew up, and its destruction may have been preventable. A common refrain when it comes to Krypton is the idea that only one man knew Krypton was going to be destroyed, and nobody listened to him except his wife and brother. More on that guy later. Still, the reasons for Krypton's destruction are myriad. It's been sucked into the sun Rao, blown up by an ancient nuclear weapon at the planet's core, overharvested to the point of geological instability, destroyed indirectly and directly by Brainiac, conspired against by the space Illuminati (yes, actually), and just collapsed due to a natural instability. There's never been a real concrete reason, and to be honest, it doesn't really matter too much. Krypton dies. And for most, 'nuff said.

So, with that put into place, let's talk about the two most important people in the story: Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van.

Lara Lor-Van: The Forgotten Parent

I feel like Lara has gotten the short end of the stick, especially as compared to her husband, Jor-El. So, to give her some much-needed attention, here's a short history of Lara Lor-Van-El. An astronaut/librarian/laborer/martial artist/military officer/scientist, depending on whom you ask, Lara's been a character that's worn a lot of different hats. And by "worn a lot of different hats", I mean that she's such a non-character that writers keep reinventing her, which only makes that problem worse. After all, Jor-El is basically always a scientist, and people remember him. So show some goddamn consistency, writers!

Anyway, Lara loved her son deeply, and didn't want to give him up to a primitive world, but agreed to do so for his sake. And...that's it. That's basically everything about her. So, uh...she's a caring mother. Yikes. That's basically nothing, but to be fair, she is gonna DIE pretty fast, so that makes some sense. However, she should get the same amount of focus as Jor-El, since they're BOTH the parents.

She's gotten it only a little better in adaptations, but not much. My personal favorite version of the character is in Superman: The Animated Series, where she's voiced by Finola Hughes, but...well, she's in it for maybe about 7 minutes altogether. So, y'know, not much there. In live-action, though, she's been a bit luckier.

In fact, in Superman II and IV, she actually replaces Jor-El as the mentor to Clark, which is great! I mean, it's only because Marlon Brando fucked off because...well, to be frank, he's Marlon Brando and kinda weird in general, but it's still a victory in my book. Played by Susannah York, she still seems like the secondary parent compared to Jor-El, but again, there's never been enough to the character to change that.

Smallville did something neat and cast Helen Slater, who played Supergirl in the eponymous and forgotten 1984 film, to play Lara. Here, we meet her in flashbacks, and also see her as a...holographic copy of herself or something? It's been a really long time since I've seen Smallville, forgive me. But this version of Lara is...Superman's mom. Yeah. Moving on.

Superman and Lois actually gives Lara a LOT more depth and detail as a character. Not only is she a scientist who created the Eradicator (more on that...eventually), and not only do we get to see her meet Clark via holographic copy of herself (played by Mariana Klaveno), but we also find out that she had a family prior to Clark, having been arranged to do so by the restrictive governmental systems that ruled Krypton, and having a son (Tal-Rho) from an engineered birth, while choosing to have Clark with Jor-El via natural birth. Nice! We actually turned her into a character here! And what exactly prompted this...

...shift? Oh...oh, shit, is this something Snyder actually did right? I mean, kind of, yeah. Ayelet Zurer plays Lara in Man of Steel, and while she's absurdly shafted in place of Jor-El (only made the holographic intelligence for yourself, huh, buddy? Didn't even think to ask Lara, did you, you dick?), she's still given a semblance of character. Like the later Superman and Lois version, she chose to illegally conceive Clark via natural means with Jor-El, rather than using engineered external birthing systems. And while this version is far more restrained than any other version of the character...she honestly works pretty goddamn well. In fact, she's the one who launches Kal-El into space, while Jor-El is busy getting stabbed by Zod. So, yeah, I guess Snyder of all people tried to give her a bit more detail. Credit where credit's due.

I'll get into what I think Lara should be later. I'll be handling her alongside her husband, since we'll get to know equal amounts of the two in this theoretical film of mine. Speaking of her husband...

Jor-El: Krypton's Cassandra

So, fun fact. I wrote this section on the Text Editor, and literally ALL of it got spontaneously deleted. And instead of going back, I wrote the next section, which made this post...SO fucking long, goddamn. So, A SUMMARY OF JOR-EL!

Jor-El is one of Krypton's top scientific minds and inventors. He invented the Phantom Zone projector, amongst other things, and comes from a family of Science Council members and prominent citizens. Because of this skill and prowess, he's also the first person, usually, to realize that Krypton is fucked. He's the doomed oracle, the scientific Cassandra, the perennial pariah of Krypton. He keeps fucking TRYING to tell the Science Council, Zod, anybody that'll listen that Krypton is gonna blow up. And nobody ever listens. So, he takes matters into his own hands, builds a ship for his kid, shove some crystals in there and sends him off, bingo bongo bango.

Now, Jor-El mostly sticks to that description throughout his incarnation. Although, recently, it was revealed that he actually survived, thanks to Doctor Manhattan (don't ask), and was responsible for one of DC's WORST FUCKING MOVES when it comes to Superman, which involved taking Jonathan Kent away from Clark and aging him up, largely removing Clark's role as a father. Pisses me the fuck off, DO NOT GET ME STARTED

The most famous incarnation of Jor-El is, of course, Marlon Brando in Superman: The Movie. He takes the role of holographic mentor from beyond for a young Clark, and his essence remains as a guardian of the Fortress of Solitude. Basically, he's the prototypical Jor-El for most incarnations. Terence Stamp basically did this in Smallville, but took a MUCH mor antagonistic role through much of the series, trying to push Clark to his perceived "destiny". However, his actions also technically killed Jonathan Kent, caused Martha Kent to miscarry (please don't ask), took away or otherwise fucked with Clark's powers on multiple occasions, and did various other shitty things "for the good of his son." I guess it correctly predicted how much of a dick Jor-El would eventually become in the comics, though.

And then, of course, there's Russell Crowe in Man of Steel. Not too much different here, save for the fact that he and Zod were once good friends, that he has an actual action sequence in this movie, and that...well, yeah, that's about it. He also does the whole "recorded consciousness" thing for Clark, and AGAIN doesn't consider letting Lara do the same, like an asshole. Oh, actually, there is one difference: he dies way before Krypton explodes, stabbed by Zod as his son is sent to Earth. But other than that...yeah, he's basically Jor-El once again.

Yeah, honestly, there isn't a whole lot to say about Jor-El, either. And in truth, maybe there doesn't need to be. After all, both he and Lara are super dead by the time the true story begins, and that'll be the case for the movie too. We really don't need to talk about Krypton, and what happens to Krypton, or who Jor-El and Lara are, or the sociopolitical conflicts that lead to my version of Krypton's destruction, or-

My Krypton

By the time the movie begins, Clark really shouldn't know anything about Krypton. He knows he's an alien, he knows that his true parents haven't come for him (and so assumes that they couldn't), but he doesn't know much else. This question should somewhat haunt Clark, but shouldn't take over his everyday life by any means. So, when his parents come to visit him in Metropolis, they bring with them a crystal that they had found with the crashed ship. As Clark is injured from the attack of the villains of the piece, the crystal will measure his physiological signs, and send a distress beacon to his ship. That will cause the Zeta drives in the ship to activate, bringing the ship to Clark almost instantaneously. Because of its Caretaker programs, the ship will actually surround Clark in order to create a healing environment, bathing him in ultraviolet radiation to help him heal his wounds.

As this is happening, we go back to the crystal. Now surrounded by the ship, the damaged crystal transmits a somewhat broken message into the unconscious Clark's mind. It's alien technology, we can play around a bit here. With this broken message, we see glimpses of Krypton exploding, as well as a look at Jor-El and Lara, who give a message of love and hope to their cast-off child. Nothing big, nothing too long, but something heartfelt. And more importantly, it supplies Clark with a few answers about his past and parents, including their names and the fate of Krypton.

Which brings up the question...what happened? The short answer is a lot, and the even shorter answer is that it doesn't matter, because that mystery won't be solved in this film. But the long answer is...complicated.

Well, the whole thing starts with Brainiac, AKA Vril Dox. An alien conqueror and synthetic being from the far-off planet Colu, Brainiac is a collector of worlds and information, using shrinking technology to miniaturize and transport cities in a misguided attempt to store their culture. About 450 years prior to the events of the film, Krypton was fairly close to a utopian society, with war and conquest largely in the civilization's history. However, the planet's life would likely die off within the next several millennia, due to the instability of the sun Rao. And so, Brainiac made a decision: take the city of Kandor.

Brainiac takes Kandor and its people, with the goal of protecting its knowledge. In reality, all he does is doom Krypton. Without its jewel city, Krypton is forced to restructure itself, both economically and politically. Doing so causes a lot of strife amongst its citizens, and challenges the long-ruling scientocracy of the planet with alternate systems. A cult of Rao develops, prophesying the end-times when the Collector of Worlds returns. Meanwhile, some houses, especially the House of Zod, attempt to reroute the planet's future into a military powerhouse. This is opposed by the House of El, leaders of the Science Council in Kryptonopolis, the new capital of the planet. And over the centuries, this strife and conflict builds to a boiling point.

War. The House of Zod gathers more allies, chief amongst them being the houses of Hu-Ul, Ek, Ur, Ul-Ar, and Kor-Onn. This group of houses, calling themselves the Sword of Rao, conspire together over the years to overthrow and oppose the scientocracy. Establishing a capital in the city of Xan, the Hand outstretched to encompass nearly half of the planet. However, a tentative peace was reached between the two factions of Krypton, but only after the safety of a planet as a whole was threatened by the building arms race.

See, at this point, the Science Council had developed a revolutionary technology: transdimensional teleportation. Two of their head scientists, astrophysicist Jor-El and engineer Lara Lor-Van, accidentally discovered an alternate dimension when experimenting with a mysterious form of electromagnetic radiation that they believed could be used to communicate over seemingly impossible distances. However, too much of this energy opened up a window into a desolate and empty realm directly overlapping our own. They called this place the Phantom Zone.

Simultaneously, the Sword's scientist Jax-Ur developed a powerful weapon called the Destroyer. During an accident of his own, he discharged the weapon into the moon Wegthor, destroying it and endangering the planet. This event prompted a deal between the Sword and the Council, where Jax-Ur was turned over to the Council and imprisoned in the Phantom Zone (against Jor-El's will) in exchange for peace. But peace doesn't last forever.

A decade passed. Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van fell in love and married, and formed an alliance of their own with the leader of the Sword, General Dru-Zod. Zod and his wife, Ursa, became famed leaders of their people, and of the military. But while they played the game of peace with the Science Council, they secretly plotted to take over the planet as a whole, as well as the nearby colonies of the planet Daxam. This was with the help of Jax-Ur, whose clone had been turned over to the Science Council all those years ago. Jax-Ur began to work on his own form of the Phantom Zone technology, turning it into a dangerous weapon that could displace atoms of any object or person to unknown distances. The energies utilized by this technology will one day be harnessed as a method of teleportation known as the Zeta beam.

But once Jax-Ur is discovered, war is back on. The Science Council has Zor-El, Jor-El's brother, weaponize their own Phantom Zone technology to continue the Cold War between the two halves. This is because Jor-El refuses, as the Phantom technology is unpredictable and untested. Jor and Lara resign from the Science Council, and leave to study the true effects of the technology. When Jor-El realizes that too much of this energy could actively destroy the planet, he pleads with the Science Council to stop its development. When this fails, he pleads the same to Zod. Realizing that Jor-El has sided against him, Zod disowns his former friends and turns them away. Doesn't declare vengeance on them or anything like that, just calls them Science Council flunkies and weaklings and turns them away.

Dejected, Jor-El and Lara continue their work, building a small exploration vessel so that they could take measurements from above the planet's atmosphere. But as they were readying to begin their observations, disaster struck. Unbeknownst to them, their visit prompted Zod to order Jax-Ur to speed up development, without proper testing, which is something Jax-Ur was more than happy to do. But again: this is unstable technology. And on a related note: Jax-Ur is a mite unstable himself.

Things come to a head on the battlefront. The Science Council resorts to destroying the island of Vathlo as a warning shot, using Zor-El's weaponization of the dimensional engines to disintegrate it. This prompts a similar destruction of cities by the Sword in retaliation, using Jax-Ur's weapon as a powerful beam of energy for destruction. But both sides make a fatal error, which Jor-El has realized.

See, considering that this is a science-based civilization, it comes to reason that they'd use certain forms of energy. Specifically, in this case, geothermal energy is used to fuel much of Krypton. So, when the teleportation technology is used as a weapon, a large amount of power is drawn out of Krypton itself. What Jor-El discovers is that there's a massive feedback effect that occurs as a result of using so much power. Radiation from the technology is fed back into the ground of Krypton itself, irradiating it and making it brittle. And as the war has waged on, this has only gotten worse.

As a final gambit, the Sword and the Council unleash their full might on each other. Jax-Ur's weapon destroys Kryptonopolis, and weakens the ground beneath it as a result. This creates the final catalyst of Krypton's destruction. Realizing the end, a desperate Jor-El and Lara see no option for escape, except for their exploratory craft. But as it was never meant for anyone to fit inside, the two realize it's too small for everyone EXCEPT their infant son. And so, as Krypton is nearing its destruction, the two mournfully plan send Kal-El out. However, they don't know where to send him, and have no way to know if he'd make it out. So, Lara retrofits a Zeta-drive to the ship to allow it to move through dimensional transportation somewhere, while Jor-El does his best to direct the ship's coordinates to a safe location. Again, they have no idea where it's going at this point. They just hope Kal-El will land somewhere safe, where another people can raise him and care for him.

In a last ditch effort, Zor-El does something similar for himself and his family. In three separate ships, he attempts to plot a course through the Phantom Zone to get to an inhabited planet somewhere. Unfortunately, only his daughter Kara Zora-El manages to escape, flung into the Phantom Zone while in stasis, while her parents are both killed as Kryptonopolis falls.

This is only the beginning of the end, however. Zod and company finally sees the end, as the ground beneath them and all of Krypton begins to shake. See, here's the fun thing about planets: they can't just spontaneously explode. Scientifically, that makes no sense. So instead, this is a disaster caused by the war between factions. And also realizing no escape, Zod and the highest ranking members of the Sword of Rao (Ursa, Faora Hu-Ul, Non Kor-Onn, and Jax-Ur) also escape into the Phantom Zone, where they'll be imprisoned until they find a way out. And at that point, with everybody off world...well, you know what happens next.

Now, will ALL OF THAT make it into the movie? FUCK no. This is just backstory. But that's the Krypton that we're working with, setting the stage for conflicts and characters to come, and for Clark to discover over the course of several movies. Because we're plotting for a series here, and this is a story that can be unfurled over time, especially if and when Zod or Supergirl show up.

But there's one more unsolved question here: how did Clark get so injured in this theoretical film? He's fucking Superman. Well...what do you think happened? It's a McGuffin, but an important one. So, just for a second...let's talk about Kryptonite in this universe.

Remember how I said the weaponized Zeta-beam technology irradiated the ground of Krypton itself. Well, that radiation actually makes Krypton pretty toxic, ESPECIALLY when the planet collapses in on itself due to the same energies. So, Kryptonite is the irradiated remains of the planet Krypton. But it doesn't actually go anywhere. I mean, let's be honest, it makes NO SENSE for Kryptonite to travel that fair to get to Earth, so where did it come from?

Well, theoretically, maybe an alien civilization or individual discovered Kryptonite, and decided to use it as a radioactive power source, or even as a crystalline nuclear weapon. So, if Superman, who reads as Kryptonian, shows up in a city on Earth and disrupts your plans for the city/planet, you'd want a way to get rid of him. And maybe you have a way to travel to Krypton and discover it's destruction, as well as the crystals themselves. And maybe you have some human patsies that will use technology that utilizes Kryptonite to take out Superman. So you grab the radioactive crystal, give it to these guys, and they work to take out Superman. And who are these guys? Let's not jump the gun. For now, we have some more people to talk about first, before we talk villains.

Index: Superman

Part I: Why I Love Superman

Part II: On Lois Lane

Part III: The Kents

Part IV: The 'Rents

Part V: The...Frendts?

Part VI: Lex Luthor

Part VII: The Real Villains

Part VIII: Superman's Rogues Gallery

Part IX: The Story - Act One

Part X: The Story (Acts Two and Three)

Part XI: The Story - Climax

Part XII: Epilogue (Part One)

Part XIII: Epilogue (Part Two)

[yayspring]

today-

 i packed 3 wigs and did a bunch of work + i feel like ive got much better at the job the last few months weirdly - it only took 5y i guess! i am in the slightly alarming position tho of having a rainbow wig in stock that im sure i sold, but i’ve checked my records and the only things on there in that colourway are already accounted for, so i am gonna have to go through all my messages later + check who the fuck bought it lol :| also i brushed out the new alpaca that i was slightly annoyed about bc of its being blonde instead of white - but i actually love the natural blonde colour a lot, so i’m not mad at all now. link to the pretty colour next to some actual white that colour on the left is much whiter than it appears but it’s from the same batch as the blonde, so it’s def a yellow-toned white at best + well, clearly just ...beige... at darkest. this is fine tho, i think it’s lighter / more versatile than i was worried about

also spoke to the lawyer about the (probable / potential) new position for me - i am v curious how much they’d pay me but i dont think it’s at a stage yet where i can ask bc it’s still early days, bc the pace the org moves at is  - god love them - glacial at best

as i said earlier i did eat bagged salad + i think it was the hardest one so far. didn’t cry but just felt very exhausted and drained. i did not do a brilliant job of it: i opened the bag and inspected each individual leaves, and then chose individual leaves i liked the look of. which i did eat w/ no additional washing, bc the package said “washed and ready to eat”. i then was filled w/ the urge (very reminiscent of the self-starvation days actually) to leave some on my plate, for safety. i did go against this urge tho and ate all the leaves - but i am aware i did this task in a way that sort of followed the letter of it but not exactly the spirit - i feel like i fought it a lot this week. i dunno, i dont like the whole thing of therapy at all really but i definitely think it’s correct to be doing these things so like, i know i need to be doing it so i dont continue to live in this isolating and restricted way but im definitely at a point where it feels much easier to just retreat back into the safety of my rules. i will try and not do this. i wish i had more support while im trying to dismantle my entire framework and rebuild it into something that i actually like, but that feels very greedy bc i already HAVE a lot of support!! i think that bc i come across on the whole very functional no one really realises how much of my life is consumed by the thought of rules + danger etc. but like i am much much better than previously, and i didn’t really feel that i wanted more support then (partly bc i was not interested in engaging w/ anything/anyone) but i feel like it’s harder making changes than just like being generally distressed so idk also idk where id even find like More Support bc w/o wanting to sound very cruel i fucking cannot stand “mental health” communities, they are, in my experience, almost without exception an absolute scourge, and i don’t particularly want to put any more on ana/ben bc they are already v supportive honestly, and i don’t want to force them into carer-type roles bc like NONE of us wants that. obviously my family is out. my discord friends are honestly the main presence in my life atm other than ana and ben bc all my old friends live so many hours away and i feel too self conscious to visit them anyway lol boooooo

[wisteria-lodge]

exploded badger primary + bird secondary

Hi! I love the sorting hat system as a tool for better understanding yourself, and ive narrowed down my primary (exploded badger, but working on it) but Im lost on my secondary. I know the question it answers is "how do you do things" but when I try to write down how I do things it doesn't line up with any of the types. It might be badger or bird? But Ill explain it in more detail and I hope you can help narrow it down more.

So firstly my tactics in emergency situations is to follow the plan I have pre-prepared in my head. If I dont have a plan and dont know what to do I panic Badly (but that has only happened like. Once with a physical problem and a few times with Emotional problems). Like once before the pandemic I was in a train and this elderly man, his leg started bleeding really badly. So I know in these situations you have to 

Call 911

Tend to the wound.

Contact the train driver

 Keep others calm. 

And there was one person in the train who was a nurse so she could tend to the wound, two people stood up to check with the driver on both sides of the train, and this other dude was calling 911 but he didnt know much about trains and I Do so I could help by looking up which train we were in and where & when it would stop next so the ambulance knew where to go. 

I mean... okay. I joke about Bird secondaries always writing in with numbered lists... but come ON. Could this be any more Bird? Could this possibly be any more bird. Even solving the problem with existing knowledge of trains...

I’m a Badger. In a situation like that, I’d be keeping others calm. I’d be keeping the patient calm, and seeing if the nurse needed a second pair of hands. You didn’t even mention the emotional mood in that train car. The inside of your head looks neutral to you, of course it does. But to me it looks so Bird. 

Or this other time when I was Tiny and we had soldering lessons, and the teacher told us if we got injured we had to go to him first. So I burned my hand pretty badly, but didnt panic and went to the teacher, waited until he was done explaining things to another student and then said I burned my hand. And he thought it wasnt serious because I was calm but then he saw my hand and panicked and immediately brought me to the tap for the water. And I knew proper burn protocol.

You probably had a numbered list in your head when you were tiny too.

I could have gone to the water myself and sent someone else to fetch the teacher when my hand was cooling, but that wasnt how I was Supposed to do it so I followed protocol.

That’s probably more a function of your primary than your secondary. You’re an Exploded Badger? As a young Badger you probably followed ALL the rules. 

One time things went badly was when I was sailing with friends, and the wind was blowing pretty strong, and I know Nothing about sailing, and my only job was Sit in the boat and Move to the correct side when turning. But on a big turn water got in the boat, and I didnt understand how much water could get in the boat before it sank, and how diagonal we could go before we drowned, and then I completely shut down and only responded when people explicitly Told Me What To Do because I didnt know what was happening.

Panic responses happen. I’ve been so scared before that suddenly I’m just hiding behind a couch and at no point was conscious thought involved. Not my finest hour, I wish it hadn’t happened that way. But the whole thing is just a much older part of your brain. Nothing to do with your secondary. 

This doesnt mean I cant improvise! I can improvise pretty well, and if I start working on something without a plan it usually turns out great! I just have a lot of Base Knowledge that I can apply to those improvisation situations.

You are the definition of a Rapid-Fire Bird. 

The other question I've seen associated with secondaries is "how do you learn new stuff"? I usually learn stuff by starting to do it, failing, getting frustrated, stopping the thing and taking a break, and when I have calmed down Continuing The Thing until I am done. 

That’s just... an excellent strategy. And I think a Badger secondary would be WAY more tempted to just push though the pain. 

Which is really funny to write down because now I realize that my problem with a lot of my university work is that I started something, failed, and didnt pick it up again until just before the deadline because I was afraid for more failure or that I was too Inherently Flawed to successfully finish the thing, instead of taking a quick break and then Continuing.

That’s the language of an exploded Badger primary. 

Which all leaves me a bit confused about secondaries. The first part seems bird to me since I collect methods and apply them to situations, but the second part more badger since that's the hard work and when you fail work more bit. 

The ability to pick yourself up when you fail is probably more a primary thing, since it’s tied to motivation. 

Or maybe the first part is lion because I have a Plan and I will complete that Plan in the exact same way as I want and if I cannot do that I get unhappy.

See, I think you are so much a Bird, and so loudly a bird, that you conceptualize the other Secondaries as... Bird. Slightly different flavors of Bird maybe, but Bird. You’re comparing the battering ram nature of a Lion secondary to a Bird who wants to go down their checklist, when checklists make Lion secondaries anxious, constricted, and ineffectual. 

Thanks in advance for your time! Your blog is great and really interesting and it's a great way to figure out your own thoughts!

[significantlylesschill]

Please infodump about Raymond he's the most oc ever 👀

OH, WELL ! if you insist!!

(for anyone who is unclear!! raymond hashimoto is my [bmc fanon] Creator Of Squips and current head of the organization who manages their creation and distribution)

god we were just talkin abt this yesterday, but my guy raymond got his start as a character bc we wanted an Antagonist and i was the first one to mention i had a character concept on a backburner already; this wassss, three, four years ago-ish and turns out i really liked him so ive been lovingly developing his character since lmao

im preemptively adding a readmore bc i already know im gonna ramble FHKSDJF so buckle up raymond enjoyers!!

THEMATICALLY SPEAKING hes a little bit The Villain Has Some Points But Is Going About It The Wrong Way type beat . i mean. he went the 'use ai to fix everyone' route, yall know how it is; [see Be More Chill for examples]; raymond has always had trouble connecting to other people, fully understanding social cues--stuff like that doesnt come naturally to him, yknow? and the people around him growing up didnt respond well to this, and he understandably grew frustrated, and then that anger just.............ddddidnt go anywhere for like twenty years, and oops! my guy started taking some drastic measures

to provide a loose timeline, SQUIPs first came into fruition as the passion project slash college independent study project of one young adult ray--a chatbot type thing you could talk to, and in turn it would learn more about human social behavior, and help its user to become more comfortable navigating such!

every following iteration of this little bot was both more impressive and less noble in concept. for a while raymond fixated on making them ~*marketable*~ [party blower noises] but that didnt go over well in the long run, and long story short, this project hed poured his heart and soul into continued in more underground and MUCH less legal ways, until we reach in-universe present day, where something like the Mess That Happens In Be More Chill Musical Canon is not only probable, but expected

the world is full of people who dont listen, after all. its a squips job to figure out how to make them listen

raymond has an absurd amount of power, and he has little problem with exerting it for the purpose of keeping himself entertained. raymond likes sour candy and energy drinks and all manner of sugary sodas, and doesnt have anything resembling a sleep schedule. raymond has seven squip units of his own, three of which are no longer functional, and he tests all new major iterations on himself. raymond thinks he has it all figured out. raymond has an enormous personal stake in the success of his squip project. raymond never tells an outright lie because the ramifications of such are annoying and confusing and take way too much mental energy to bother.

raymond has a DEEP appreciation for the natural world; astronomy especially, he's been fascinated with it since he was young. there are things mankind can only barely touch, catch merely a glimpse of, things that will never fully be understood--not because mankind does not try, no, far from it--but because their perspective will simply never be large enough. also he names all his squip units after planets lol

his employees are treated with care and respect; given they play by his rules, of course. the professional world is where raymond is at his most capable; it's a world of rules and wages and agreements, and these are things that can be studied and mastered

raymond is a villain. he came to the conclusion once that mankind is flawed, and he felt as though hes the only one willing to act in a drastic enough manner to change things. he took drastic measures, spent years clawing into a position of power, and decided once he got there that he rather likes having power, actually. why shouldnt he indulge himself a little bit? why not get comfortable while hes here, hm? and at the top is where he plans on staying for as long as he possibly can.

i do also associate him with Every Single Track In The Album Spirit Phone By Lemon Demon . thank you for your time <3

[radramblog]

On the origins of Shiny Pokémon

Shiny Pokémon are a quirk of the franchise that has blossomed into a huge part of the Pokémon fandom, to the point where content creators (streamers, mostly) have built careers on spending hours and hours hunting for them.

Considering the humble origins of the concept, it’s kind of a surprise how we got here, frankly.

Shiny Pokémon were introduced in the series' second generation, in Gold and Silver. These were the first games in the series to be in colour, basic as the palettes were, and the developers thought that having variations in a species’ colour, kind of like albinism, would be an interesting idea to use this new technology. At least, I assume that’s what happened, I obviously wasn’t there. There wasn’t originally an official term for Shinies, though “Alternate colour” or “rare” were in some of the earlier games- the first official use of “Shiny” was in a promotional TCG card in 2009. Interestingly, Gold and Silver (but not Crystal) were actually playable on an original Game Boy, albeit in greyscale, which is why the twinkle animation and sound effect that gives the phenomenon its name were added in the first place.

The addition of the Red Gyarados plotline was kind of a genius way of introducing the concept to the player and fanbase. After all, the phenomena are typically extremely rare at 1/8192 per Pokémon encounter, and I believe only one very missable NPC alludes to them in the entire game. It’s quite possible that without all the fuss about the Red Gyarados and the Lake of Rage plot in general, Shinies would have been the subject of the same schoolyard rumours that surrounded the early generations, like “Pikablu” (Marill leaking before its official introduction) or the Pokegods.

I know I didn’t know what a Shiny was when I first encountered one. Sure didn’t catch it either, though I know I was trying to. It was a Ponyta, in Fire Red, and it was on the path up to Mt. Ember who’s name I’ve forgotten. I definitely spent a long time running around after accidentally KO’ing it in order to find this “Blue flame Ponyta” again, to no luck.

The introduction of shinies in Gen II led to some interesting quirks in their original iteration, considering the jank of early gen Pokémon. Shininess, like many other things that generation, were determined by IVs, a calculation that would later be replaced by an individualized “personality value” for each Pokémon. A Gen II (or Gen I, if trading is used) Pokémon will be Shiny if its IVs are all 10 except for Attack (2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, or 15) and HP (which is calculated from the remainder), which ironically means the aesthetic bonus that’s not supposed to have an in-game function actually is a result of largely above-average stats. This calculation comes with a few other quirks resulting from other things attached to IV calculations- they can only have a Hidden Power of Grass or Dragon with 49 or 69 power, any species that has a 7:1 male:female ratio such as the starters or Eevee cannot produce a female shiny (Gender is determined by Attack IV, and those species only are female with a 0 or 1 Attack), and, perhaps ironically, only the I and V Unown variants can be Shiny.

That’s a lot of bullshit trivia, isn’t it!

Both in and out of the actual games, it would be a while before Shinies were properly recognized and further integrated into the canon of Pokémon. A few TCG cards featured them, along with a rule in which you could only have one in your deck- I’m not sure how powerful they actually were, but the rarity was at least accurately represented. A handful of trainers in Firered/Leafgreen’s Trainer Tower have them by default, the first (and, I think, only? (nope just checked there’s one guy in Gen VII)) NPC trainers guaranteed to have a Shiny in the games. As well, the Celebi event in Heartgold/Soulsilver would feature a Shiny Pichu, the first guaranteed Shiny since the original Gold/Silver (it also has the Red Gyarados, being a remake), and that generation would feature the series’s first method of increasing the encounter rate with the Poké Radar (as well as the Masuda breeding method), but beyond this, the odds were still and always 1/8192.

It wasn’t until Generation V and Black and White that more effort was taken in the games to acknowledge Shiny Pokémon. This was the first time that the term was actually used inside the game, for one, and Shiny Hunters were given their first real tool in the Shiny Charm- a passive item available by completing the entire Pokédex that effectively triples the encounter rate and stacks with the aforementioned Masuda method (which was also slightly buffed).

This came at a cost, however- the Shiny Lock mechanic. This is an inbuilt feature in the encounter code that prevents certain species of Pokémon from ever generating as Shiny- in this game, that applies to Reshiram and Zekrom, the games’ cover legendaries, as well as the Mythical event Pokémon Victini and anything obtained through the Dream World feature. Shiny sprites for these species still existed in the game, effectively as failsafes, but nothing you could do in the game short of cheating/hacking would let you actually access them. This Lock feature would continue for every main series game that followed, though it would almost exclusively apply to Legendary Pokémon, and would often be taken off of them the generation later- and while I understand the inconsistency between a Pokémon's appearance in story cutscenes and actual battle would be awkward, it is still frustrating that such cool designs like Shiny Victini are completely unavailable.

It wasn’t all bad, though, since through some of these mechanics and the growing popularity of the franchise, more players were exposed to the idea of Shiny Pokémon. Black 2 and White 2 also had the games’ second and third Guaranteed Shinies in the form of a gift Gible or Dratini (depending on version) available through a postgame challenge and a Haxorus catchable in an area unlocked by completing the regional Pokédex. This was also when they were more exposed in other media- more TCG cards, their appearance in one of the movies (and the associated in-game events), etcetera.

Were it not for Generation V’s changes and additions, it’s very likely that Shiny Pokémon would be substantially more obscure than the popular huntable prize they are now. For better or for worse, I suppose. Probably better, ultimately, because they are pretty much just a fun thing to have around? I’m not sure how I feel about people spending hours upon hours for a slightly differently coloured mon (though I have done it a couple times), but it’s just a nice thing that exists for people. A little mystery to a series that’s so utterly picked apart, as it were.

[detectiveidiotboy]

His Time In The Commonwealth IV: Danse

so as my beloved fanfiction, The Black Widow’s Waltz, comes to an end, i’ve decided that i am going to re-release the backstory chapters as their own stand-alone fic, since they read well as their own story. before that, i thought i might do a fun little thing where i release each of the companions backstories as their own post here on tumblr under the tag #his time in the commonwealth.

i had to take a break from posting for mental health and to deal with some things in my home life, but i'm back now! and with me comes the continuation of this mini-series. now, on to part 4!!! Danse's story.

The walk from Listening Post Bravo to Nordhagen Beach took three days. Had Danse been in top shape and traveling in his power armor, he was certain he could have made the trip in less than two, but speed wasn’t a priority in this mission; this was a pilgrimage.

It had been twelve weeks since his banishment, eighteen days since he’d last had contact with Nate, and seven since the Prydwen had been destroyed.

Danse had only learned about the attack the day before his journey began as he was attempting to trade with a nearby settlement. Nate had been his only source of supplies since he’d begun his self-imposed isolation, and since Nate had stopped showing up to visit, Danse had been left to ration his dwindling supplies until there wasn’t anything left to eat. He had considered allowing himself to starve to death down beneath the earth - continuing his existence was a waste of resources now that he wasn’t even able to serve Nate or the Brotherhood - but that plan only lasted two days after his last meal.

Nate had told Danse to stay alive. Nate had given him orders to care for himself until he returned because Danse was special to him. Danse understood what he was: he was a tool, a synth, a man-made creation meant to serve and obey humankind. If he could not be of use to the Brotherhood directly, then the next best thing he could do was dedicate himself to serving one of their best. Really, if he were honest, the idea of being Nate's personal synth wasn't unappealing to Danse. If anything, it wasn't fair to Nate that Danse be kept around to tempt him into violating Brotherhood rules. Sexual relations with machines was strictly prohibited, as was homosexuality, but Nate carelessly disregard both rules when it came to Danse, and Danse couldn't be more grateful. He was an abomination, therefore it wasn't his place to question a human such as Nate; Nate wanted him alive, and in good health, and because of that Danse had packed a bag with the few things he had to trade and walked to Tenpines Bluff.

As soon as Danse arrived, he was met with guns and suspicion.

“Stay back,” The settler warned, warding Danse back with the barrel of a rifle. “We don’t want nothin’ to do with you or your freak of a friend.”

Danse had been aware that Nate had a… reputation around the Commonwealth. He’d been a witness to several violent (bordering on psychotic) outbursts from the man. However, he had accompanied Nate several times to this particular settlement, and the people there had never been hostile before.

“I… am sorry for any confusion,” Danse said, licking his lips. He was severely out of practice after two weeks of near-total solitude, “Paladin Nate is not accompanying me at this time.”

The settler narrowed their eyes at Danse. “You…  don’t know where he is, do you?”

“I have not had contact with Nate in weeks,” He confirmed. The sights came down after a moment of deliberation and the settler sighed.

“Jesus, I’m sorry,” They stretched their head with a hand. “Look. You just missed your buddies, but you should probably keep clear of them - they seemed to think you might have teamed up with Nate when the ship was attacked.”

“Ship? Which ship?” Danse felt his stomach drop, the pieces of the puzzle having presented themselves yet he dare not assemble them.

“The big one you lot got up by Nordhagen,” They said, expression turning from tired to something almost pitying. “You really don’t know what happened? The whole ship was blasted out of the sky. Damn near everyone in Boston had to have seen it - what, have you been livin’ under a rock for the past week?”

“There was an attack on the Prydwen?” Danse asked, taking a panicked step forward. The settler adjusted their grip on the rifle and Danse reminded himself that even without power armor, he was a large and unfamiliar man to these people. “When? Who?”

“About five days ago, I think,” The settler said. “We just heard about it when the survivors came through and raided our supplies - grilled me and my wife for hours about everything we knew about Nate.”

Danse’s heart stopped beating, he was certain of it. Why would the remaining Brotherhood want to know about Nate? The answer was obvious, blindingly so, but Danse couldn’t bring himself to even think it. Nate was Brotherhood, through and through - it was not the place of an Institute machine to question the loyalty of a flesh-and-blood human dedicated to the betterment of humanity.

Swallowing, Danse forced himself to put on a brave face and ask his question. “Was Paladin Nate there at the time of the attack?”

The settler actually laughed, though the question wasn’t funny and neither was his answer. “Was he there? I’m sorry but if what your pals said was true, he was the one that blew the damn thing up.”

Danse had ended up leaving his supplies with the settlers. There was at least 250 caps worth of ammo and scrap in the sack, but it would just weigh him down on his journey. The settlers insisted that he at least stay for dinner and leave in the morning, but Danse saw the state of their garden after the Brotherhood had been through and politely declined. It would be a waste to force humans to part with anything valuable to sustain the functionality of an obsolete machine. He had completely forgotten his hunger anyways; all that mattered to Danse was finding out if what he’d been told was true.

By the time he was close enough to see the empty spot in the sky where the Prydwen should be, he had his answer. Travelers, settlers and raiders alike had confirmed the story with identical depictions of events. According to the few witnesses left, Nate had walked onto the bridge of the ship with a gun and, without speaking to anyone, began assassinating high-ranking members of the Brotherhood, starting with Elder Maxson. The bloody massacre ended with Nate walking into the engine room and detonating an explosion - one that most likely came from the very mini-nukes that Danse had helped Nate secure.

Danse had tried to withhold judgment - he should wait to hear what Nate had to say. The descriptions all came second hand, after all. The Brotherhood survivors had all either retreated or were being treated in what was left of the major settlements. And the description of Nate that he was being given didn’t sound like his friend, his trainee, his partner one bit.

Except…

When Paladin Danse first met Nate, he had been backed against the wall by several hundred feral ghouls threatening the lives of his scouting team. While he would likely be fine so long as the fusion core in his armor held, Hayen and Rhys were vulnerable. He’d already watched the ghouls descend on Keane, tackling the knight in waves. Danse had shot them down, but it was too late. Keane never came back up.

So when Nate walked into the scene, rocket launcher in hand, and blew half of the mob to dust before Danse could finish warning his team to check their fire, he had been inclined to ignore the sinister, psychotic look of glee that Nate wore as he ripped apart the ghouls. Hell, Danse had delighted in it, feeling his men had been avenged. The moment the battle was over and those steel-blue eyes locked onto his, Danse knew he had found someone special.

Nate’s reputation hadn’t quite formed yet, but from the handful of missions that Danse accompanied him on it was clear to tell he would make a fine soldier. He was resilient and a fast shot; anything that stood in his way he took down. It was as if the man was made for the Brotherhood.

Danse offered Nate knight-ship several times before he was taken up on his offer. Nate rarely came to visit when he was in Cambridge, and when he did it was almost always to trade or ask for spare jobs to make a few extra caps. It was only when the Prydwen came rolling through that Nate seemed to seriously consider Danse’s offer. It was strange - Danse feeling honored for Nate to join his ranks rather than the other way around.

Nate made him feel a certain way, something he hadn’t felt since Cutler. Danse could watch Nate fight for hours, muscles flexed under his vaultsuit as he clubbed in the head of a ghoul or gunning down a cluster of synths. His nights were often spent imagining exactly what it would look like if it was his neck that Nate was crushing between those smooth hands and not some random raider. It was foolish, and wildly inappropriate behavior as Nate’s sponsor.

Maybe that was what made him overlook some of the man’s more obvious flaws.

By the time Nate was inducted into the Brotherhood, his reputation as a ruthless and cunning man had become fairly well known. Maxson was willing to overlook Nate’s violent past thanks to a combination of Danse’s vouching and the fact that most of Nate’s targets were shared with the Brotherhood. He had infiltrated and collapsed the Railroad, dismantled the Institute's hold over Diamond City, and struck down the mayor of a mostly-ghoul city in east Boston. His methods were harsh, but they were necessary - at least, that’s what Danse told the Elder.

“Still,” Elder Maxson had said. “It’s best we keep an eye on him. I’m not sure if our new recruit’s heart is in the right place.”

“Believe me, sir,” Danse had told him, “I would trust Knight Nate with my life.”

“That may be so…” Maxson said, “but I still have my doubts. It’s best not to take the word of a known liar at face value, and Nate has quite the reputation of betrayal.”

The truth had been there the entire time. Danse recalled the first time he had met someone who knew Nate outside of the Brotherhood, a young woman by the name of Curie. It had been shortly after the destruction of the Railroad and just before his induction into the Brotherhood. She had seemed nervous around Nate, agreeing a little too quickly to what he said and keeping her eyes on him the entire time. Haylen had taken to her rather quickly, both girls having bonded over shared medical knowledge, and Danse remembered well what she had to say when asked if she liked traveling with Nate.

“Oh- o-oui… I mean…” Her fingers tightened around the cup of tea she had been sipping at. “Monsieur is… complicated, in his motives. I am sure he has good reasons for what he is doing… I simply must trust him. He has done so much for me already.”

Danse had felt her words were foolish. She was lucky to have so much of the man’s attention, and it seemed strange that she didn’t recognize that. Less than a week later Danse watched as Nate dragged her into an abandoned shack, barred the door, and set the house on fire. Later, Nate informed Danse that the girl had been a synth and that he was only doing as the Brotherhood instructed of him. Danse had been forced to agree - despite the vast wealth of knowledge that Curie held, her existence was far too dangerous to be tolerated.

The screams that came from the house as the woman burned alive haunted Danse no matter how many times he reminded himself they were from an artificial being. For a while he wondered if synths could simulate humanity so closely as to feel pain; he had his answer now, he supposed. That girl had died in agony.

The Nate described to Danse during his expedition to the beach was far closer to the Nate in those memories than the idealized soldier that Danse had stuck in his head. The Nate who had eyes like Cutlers and spoke to him as if he were human, even after his synthetic nature was revealed. The Nate who had kissed him in the center of the old radio station on their first official mission into the Commonwealth. The Nate who would disappear for months at a time and then reappear at a moment’s notice, ready to drag Danse along on whatever new quest had taken his fancy. The Nate who never slept in the same bed as Danse after he came around for a quick fuck. The Nate who was rumored to have murdered his girlfriend a year prior. The Nate who had set his previous partner on fire when he was done with her, then walked across the field to press a loving kiss to Danse’s lips as she died. The Nate who had promised Danse to be there for him after his exile only to leave him to waste away in solitude. The Nate who had destroyed the Prydwen.

They were all the same Nate.

When Danse finally made it to the airport, he was surprised by just how familiar it seemed. The carnage had been mostly scraped away by local settlers, leaving behind only the hollowed out remains of training camps and supply stations. The opportunity for a new settlement hadn't been lost on the local population; by the time Danse arrived there were already the makings of several homes under construction. Upon arrival Danse was recognized by his uniform and a handful of the new settlers offered him their condolences. He was shown the way to the resting place for those who had been recovered - little more than a mass grave dug behind the airport marked with scattered crosses and hung holo-tags. It was more than Danse had been expecting. The locals he had met in this area before had despised the Brotherhood with a passion - the fact that they hadn’t just left the bodies to rot while looting everything they could hold from the abandoned stores was a genuine surprise. He walked along the grave sights, checking the tags for names he recognized. He found several, but Haylen and Rhys weren't among them. Whether that meant they were still alive or among the hundreds of nameless casualties, Danse would never know.

Danse turned away gifts of food and offers for a place to rest. His body was at its limit, exhausted and starving, but anything put into it now would be a waste. All of this destruction and death was because of him; he was not the victim, but rather the perpetrator. Danse intended to answer for his sins against humanity.

After politely asking for a moment alone from the concerned settlers, Danse left to walk through the empty airport. He had hoped that there would be something left of the Prydwen on land for him to do this in, but the majestic ship was resting with many of her inhabitants at the bottom of the bay. So Danse found the next best place - the first-story storage area that had been cleared out. He retrieved his pistol from his jacket pocket and knelt down before pressing the end of the barrel to the hollow of his temple.

“I am asking for you to do the human thing here, Knight,” Danse pleaded, knees on the cold, damp ground of the listening post.

“And I’m telling you I don’t want to,” Nate had argued, stubborn as ever. “I like you, Danse, synth or not. I’m not ready to give you up just yet. I need you to stay alive.”

The words had felt so kind at the time. Danse, who was nothing more than a machine lamenting the loss of what it had never really owned, had leaned into those words. They became his anchor, his world, his reason- no- his excuse to keep on living. Looking back on them after seeing the graves of his fellow soldiers - some hung with the hats of squires who were too young to have been given tags yet - he saw those words for what they were: selfishness. Nate acted for his own sake. He served no one but himself, and he had used Danse in every conceivable way. What else should Danse have expected? It was the nature of a machine to be useful to those who took advantage of it.

Danse was a foolish, treacherous, malfunctioning thing, but the very last act he would commit would be a human one. If reincarnation was something that existed for synths, he hoped he would get a chance someday to be more than just a cheap imitation of humanity.

“You know, I’m not an expert with pistols or anything, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to put that end there.”

The gun dropped from Danse’s forehead. He unclenched his eyes and turned to face the newcomer.

“Mind your own business, Scavver,” Danse said wearily, though still managing to push through some of his commanding tone from a previous life, if only so he didn’t prolong this longer than necessary. He could already feel his resolve wavering.

“Aw, come on, man,” The person in the doorway stepped into the room, arms stretched out behind his head in a relaxed pose. A pair of mirrored sunglasses reflected Danse’s haggard appearance back at him. “Haven’t the guys around here had to bury enough bodies this week? Why add to the trauma?”

Danse’s eyes narrowed, but he did stand up and put this pistol back in his pocket. “You make an excellent point,” He said, headed for the door. “I will relocate myself to a more remote location as not to disturb the population.”

“Thaaaat’s not quite what I meant,” The man blocked the exit with an arm and refused to stand down, even as Danse towered over him. “Actually, I have a proposition for you - nothing weird - I promise-” He said, holding out his hands in a show of good faith. Danse used the opportunity to sidestep the stranger and walk out of the old hanger and into the hallway. The man scurried behind him. “So, I can imagine what is going through your mind right now - who is this guy? How did he get to be so handsome? Why doesn’t he want me to blow my brains out in an old-world aircraft hangar?”

Danse ignored the man, which did nothing to stop his ranting.

“In order - My name is Deacon, I moisturize daily, and I want you to join my super awesome resistance movement to take down the rat bastard known as the Sole Survivor of Vault 111-” Danse stopped dead in his tracks. “-though I suppose you were close enough to know him as Nate, right?”

Danse turned to look over the man - Deacon, as he claimed to be. He was bald, as evidenced by his ill-fitting wig sagging just enough to show his absent hairline. He was dressed like a civilian, but up close Danse could see the ballistic armor plates hidden under his flannel shirt. There was a look about him that Danse recognized from some of the scribes, specifically the ones who had been tasked with recon. His eyes twitched at Danse's every movement, and the slight tremor in Deacon's fingers pointed him in the direction of a pistol tucked into the stranger's pants line. In short - Danse’s summary of the man was that there was more to him than just a scavenger with delusions of grandeur.

Still, he turned back around.

“Even if what you are saying is true, I cannot in good conscience accept your offer,” Danse said, continuing his long walk. Deacon kept up pace beside him.

“Really? You’re still loyal to him even after he turned half of your buddies into flaming corpses?”

Danse felt rage hit him in a wave, but years of emotional control stayed his hand. Still, he faltered in his gait. “Nate is dead to me," He said with all the contempt he had left in him. "Should I have the opportunity I would gladly put that monster down myself. My issue is not with your cause, but rather with myself. I am a synth. Taking me into your organization would be too great of a security risk.

“Oh, right, that. Yeah, I already know about that, don’t worry,” Deacon said flippantly. Danse pushed open the double doors leading to the exterior of the airport, and despite letting the doors fall back on Deacon, the man kept following. “I asked a whole bunch of the Brotherhood guys if they wanted to join up, but most of them turned tail and headed back to the capital. But there was always this one guy who they kept mentioning, yeah? A pal of Nate's who turned out to be a synth. The guy was supposedly still running around in the Commonwealth, one M7-97.” Danse took a deep breath, hating every second he spent listening to this man speak. “That’s you right? See, I figured if I hung around here long enough I’d see you. Nate isn’t exactly… good to his friends when he’s done with them. And I’d say blowing up the Prydwen was about as done as done gets.”

“As stated, I am no longer affiliated with him,” Danse said, pausing at the water’s edge when he realized there was no shaking the persistent little pest. “If you are looking for intel on his current location, I have nothing to offer you. Last contact was precisely eighteen days ago at Listening Point Bravo.”

“Oh nah, I didn’t expect anything like that,” Deacon said, coming up beside Danse. He reached down for a rock in the sand and skipped it along the bay. “I just figured joining up with us might be a decent enough alternative to suicide.”

“It is not suicide, it is turning off a broken machine,” Danse clarified. He couldn’t see the man’s eyes, but he was almost certain that Deacon rolled them behind his glasses.

“Well, when that machine is sentient, we call it suicide,” He said with a sigh. “Look, man, I know what you’re going through, believe me.”

Danse’s eyes narrowed, no longer able to keep his contempt from his face. “How could you possibly know that? The Brotherhood was humanity’s best hope for a better future, and because of my malfunction its ranks have been compromised, possibly irreparably.”

Deacon fell down onto his ass, stretching out so his bare feet were caught by the waves as they lapped the shore. “I know 'cause you’re not the only one he’s stabbed in the back,” Deacon said, looking out across the water. “I was part of the Railroad.”

Danse’s neck snapped to the side, looking down at the man. His mouth opened in a prepared lecture about the folly of mistaking synths for human beings and the role of the Railroad in humanity’s doom, but he saw Deacon remove the sunglasses from his face and for the first time he was looking into the other man’s eyes.

“Nate took us out in the dead of night. No one saw it coming,” Deacon continued. “He was a new agent, but the higher-ups put a lot of faith in him, because someone they trusted had recommended him - me.” Deacon looked back towards the waves, propped up with his hands behind him. “Look, I’m not gonna sit around and babysit you. If you want out, there isn’t much I can do to stop you. But right now, I’ll be honest, the only thing keeping me going is revenge, and that’s a hell of a lot better than being dead.”

Silence fell between them. Danse had no idea what to say to all that. On the one hand, he was perfectly happy with the destruction of a dangerous underground movement such as the Railroad, and on the other, the parallels between his and Deacon’s story were not lost on him. Danse knew that the right thing to do was to decline Deacon’s offer - possibly even take the synth sympathizer down with him before he caused any more harm - and continue with his plan to terminate his existence.

But Danse didn’t want to die, or whatever one would call it when a synth ceased to be. And more than that, he didn’t want Nate to keep on living. There were hundreds of people on that ship - men, women, children . Not all of them were good, Danse was well aware of the unsavory types that were often attracted to the military lifestyle, but none of them deserved to die the way they did only to end up buried hundreds of miles from home in a mass grave.

Maybe it was selfishness, maybe it was revenge, maybe it was raw, human (or at least human-like) emotion, but Danse finally came to his decision with a decisive nod of his head.

“Okay.” He said. “Tell me what you need me to do.”

[davidmann95]

Thoughts (if any) on DC's April 2021 solicitations?

Let’s take ‘em in order! I should be able to muster up a comment on just about everything one way or another.

Green Lantern #1: Oh this is gonna be bad. Heard only the worst about Thorne’s Future State: Green Lantern, and I assume Jo Mullein’s DCU debut will be wasted here to either function as some kind of ridiculous ‘popularity contest’ with Teen Lantern for who gets the bigger push, or as a way to put TL over with a few “good work kid, you got a future” comments. Also, and granted I don’t know how Morrison will end or this will begin, is the New Guardians angle being immediately dropped?

Robin #1: Dope suit, art, and premise, but it’s Williamson so I don’t care.

Batman: The Dark Knight #1: I’ll read this and I expect to like it, but between this being Kubert’s first big Batman project since Master Race, the ‘old but not quite retirement age yet’ angle, and the title, I’m concerned the shock ending here is that it’s actually a stealth DKR prequel.

The Next Batman: Second Son #1: So they really are committing here, though weird that this kinda makes Ridley’s Future State book basically a longform teaser for this. And I’ll get it as it comes out since it turns out this won’t be in that John Ridley’s Batman collection after all - sorry Dustin Nguyen, I love your stuff but I won’t buy an entire trade of material I otherwise already own just for one new story by you.

The Batman & Scooby Doo Mysteries #1: I got that whole great-looking Scooby Doo Team-Up run by Fisch for free on Comixology, I should read that sometime and see if this’ll be worth getting too as well, because it sounds like a hoot.

Challenge of the Super Sons #1: Glad people who want it are getting it, I do not care.

RWBY/Justice League #1: WILL BE GETTING A POST ALL ITS OWN

Action Comics #1030: His powers waning definitely won’t help the standard pre-run fuming by a lot of Superman fandom, but it’s an interesting pairing with PKJ apparently doing mainly cosmic Superman adventures so I’m curious where he’ll go with it. That it’s particularly cited as being tied to Death Metal might validate my suspicion that the new ‘everyone remembers their entire mainstream publishing histories’ thing will play into Johnson’s description of Clark really feeling his age at the start of the run. And Janin on covers even before he gets in on the book proper! And that Midnighter description!

Superman #30: This sounds like where Johnson’s gonna start with that worldbuilding he touted, and I’m curious; definitely reads in this instance like him shoving Clark and Jon into some swords-and-sorcery-esque territory he’s familiar with.

American Vampire 1976 #7: Not reading, don’t care.

Batman #107: I assume ‘the events at Arkham Asylum’ are the ‘A-Day’ ominously brought up in Future State solicits. Tynion Batman, Jimenez as the regular artist now, whatever the Unsanity Collective is, all entirely my shit. More importantly than any of that though, GHOSTMAKER BACKUPS. And drawn by Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, artist on Steve Orlando’s excellent The Pull! Dope!

Batman: Black & White #5: Any other issue and ‘Jamal Campbell doing a life story of Nightwing’ would probably be the highlight, but in case you somehow hadn’t heard Gillen/McKelvie are making their DC debut on a Batman vs. Riddler story here, absolutely wild.

Batman: Urban Legends #2: Even more excited for this now that I’m onboard for the Grifter and Outsiders stuff given how much those features pleasantly surprised me in Future State.

Batman/Superman #17: Injecting it isn’t enough anymore, I need to be on some kind of constant IV drip with this book. I was wondering whether it’d take the premise to further generational riffs or follow a history of mass-media Supermen and Batmen, but instead it’s veering off in a direction I never could have guessed and I couldn’t be more excited.

Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul #6: NOTHING CAN STOP THE ADAMSVERSE. NONE MAY DARE TRY.

Batman/Catwoman #5: Wondering how this Harley involvement plays in - I don’t imagine it’s quite what it seems given how King’s written her before. And love that Joker by Mann on the cover, major Clown at Midnight vibes.

Catwoman #30: No reason to assume this run won’t continue to rule.

Crime Syndicate #2: Dammit, I don’t think this book is going to be good, but I’m kinda tempted.

Detective Comics #1035: Wouldn’t be psyched, but Dark Detective was another pleasant surprise so I’ll give this a chance.

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #9: Again, not reading.

Far Sector #11: Sucks a little knowing we’ll never see that little ‘Young Animal’ label in the corner again after this wraps. At least it’s going out on its highest note.

The Flash #769: In a vacuum this would sound dope but I have less than no faith in this, and goddamn that’s a terrible cover.

Harley Quinn #2: I’m sure it’ll be fine, no interest.

The Joker #2: I wanna believe Tynion will be able to make this work, he keeps talking like he has more freedom on this than he has some other books, but everything about this reads like the price he has to pay for relative post-Joker War freedom on Batman.

Justice League #60: It’s Bendis/Marquez on Justice League, lots of people will complain but I’ll mostly dig it. More interested in Ram V briefly getting to write the main crew in the JLD backup.

Man-Bat #3: I’d ask why this exists - and as a matter of fact I still do - but checking out some of DC’s digital-first output recently I see Dave Wielgosz has something on the ball, so maybe he’ll be able to make this work? Perhaps I’ll check it out in trade someday if worth-of-mouth is on its side.

Nightwing #79: I maintain, this is gonna be huge. And clever move to make for how to justify Nightwing keeping up his standard way of business after Bruce loses most of his money.

Rorschach #7: A comic I will purchase and let’s continue leaving it at that.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #109: DC’s highest-numbered comic (that hasn’t gone through an interim renumbering), astonishing. Not getting it myself, but respect.

Sensational Wonder Woman #2: Can’t say this sounds like my thing.

Suicide Squad #2: I’ve been swayed into checking out the Future State debut, but that’d have to really blow me away for me to follow into the main book.

Superman: Red & Blue #2: Sadly if unsurprisingly DC’s clearly not stacking this with AAA attention-grabbing names in the same way as this latest version of Batman: Black & White, but there do seem to be some interesting names from outside the usual big two roster here. And the main and Bolland cover may disappoint but holy cow that David Choe variant.

The Swamp Thing #2: I have no doubt it’ll be incredible but time and again I learn I simply don’t have it in me to care about Swamp Thing regardless of the objective quality of the effort put into him.

Sweet Tooth: The Return #6: Another one I’m not interested in.

Titans Academy #2: Oh lord so this is where they stuck Billy Batson.

Truth & Justice #3: I continue to have no idea what if anything the unifying idea of this anthology is supposed to be.

Wonder Woman #771: Wonder Woman as troubleshooter for mythological mishaps isn’t a permanently sustainable or desirable status quo but I’m down for it for as long as it lasts if it’s any good (though that Immortal Wonder Woman preview...concerned me, in spite of Jen Bartel’s jaw-dropping art).

So that’s 19-23 out of 37 I’ll be getting - if DC’s standard for success with Infinite Frontier is the proportion of their line people will be checking out, I guess it’s winning with me.

[mitsuhasnolifebutwatchesanime]

Cells at Work!/Cells at Work!!/Cells at Work Black

(Don't mind me reviewing technically three shows at once!)

Hmm, 2018, when I sorta fell off the seasonal anime binge. Anyway, I DID watch Cells at Work when it came out in 2018...just...like four eps tho. It was cute, it was educational, and I just had so much other shit going on at the time. The manga for Cells at Work Black which sounded a lot cooler was going on and I heard about it and was like “well if that gets an anime I’ll be sure to watch.” Well it got its anime! And Cells at Work got it’s second season! I’m so behind.

I actually spent a good chunk of the end of 2020 watching Grey's Anatomy thanks to my fiancee’s mother watching it while I was visiting. So, somehow I sorta learned a lot about medicine and health. My mother was a medical transcriptionist for about ten years, so I absorbed some info from her-- anyway, I’m not into the sciences as hardcore as some of my friends. While I will continue to call this Osmosis Jones the anime, I mean it in the most endearing way, because it is very cute. It’s not a new concept, but it’s a good execution of a tried and true concept of “the inner workings of the human body.” I mean, I grew up on School House Rock as well, so sometimes I just sing the Body Machine song (among others from Science House Rock) to myself Just Because.

What I want to do here is compare the two series. Both go places, and for sure from the get-go of Cells at Work Black, you KNOW it’s going bad places. So it depends: do you want something light hearted, slice of life with a little sprinkling of education? Cells at Work is great.

If you don’t know the story already just by the title and my brief, unoriginal joke, it follows the story of a new Red Blood Cell throughout the body, introducing the viewer to different cells and functions of the human body, showing off the immune system, cardiovascular system, and much much more, all while the body deals with threats of the viral, bacterial, and even external injuries and such. The first Cells at Work and it’s sequel Cells at Work!! (the 2 exclamation points= two) focus on one body, while Cells at Work Black focuses on another body which is doing significantly worse health-wise.

We all get sick, there are constantly bacteria and viruses going through the human body which is what your immune system fights, but the body in the first cells at work? Aside from maybe being a little allergen-ridden and maybe suffering from some immunodeficiencies, is much healthier than the body featured in Cells at Work Black. That body is dealing with smoking, insomnia, just, any bad thing you can think of, it’s happening to them. Also the Black is Cells at Work Black is in reference to “Black Factories” in Japan, which are factories/companies with such shitty work ethic and such they literally work their employees to death. This could refer to the state of the body as a whole, or maybe the person’s body is in this sort of situation where they’re being so overworked their body and health are suffering because of it.

I suppose sometimes I wish that the show would show outside of the body, but that would be no fun. It is fun, with what limited medical knowledge I have, trying to guess the solution to each situation. I.E. the body loses a ton of blood and I’m just yelling “BLOOD TRANSFUSION” at the screen and then bam, blood transfusion, or in another case, severe dehydration “FLUIDS!” and fluids.

Unrelated I was super sick at the beginning of last year and went to the ER and knew for a fact I just needed fluids. Well they had to rule everything else out so I got dragged from test to test and I was like PLEASE JUST FILL ME WITH THE HYDRATION JUICE. Anyway my nurse said “oops” as she was putting in my IV (something a medical professional should never say) and I glanced over and got to see my own blood and fainted, which I never do lmao. Take care of your body! It’s already been proven these shows have made people really want to take care of their bodies.

Whether you want it lighter or darker, both anime are pretty enjoyable and so episodic, you can enjoy them whenever and in no particular order, just know that Cells at Work Black is a LOT darker and more depressing. Either way, please give either of these shows a try for yourself!

[ask-mortarion-the-death-lord]

Some other interesting things to note in the old rogue trader 1st edition 40k book

The book itself has a fascinating structure to it because its actually frontloaded with the game rules, equipment and the like first [including a mutants table] and backloaded with the 40k setting details. Partly because unlike the modern 40k which is about playing games within the setting, the old rules seem more so geared towards creating rules to play a game of your choice. That is, well im not sure how well it would actually work the book does seem to encourage you to make shit up or even use a completely different setting like star wars instead.

some space marine chapter symbols on one of the opening pages. you can see chapter symbols for 7 of the modern big 9 of the loyalist chapters [blood angels, imperial fists, iron hands, space wolves, ultramarines, white scars] but they seem to be placed alongside the blood drinkers, flesh eaters, flesh tearers, and the... i think the rainbow warriors and silver skulls chapter symbols as well. Best guess is that they were originally suppose to be a lot more important then they ended up being. Also interesting to note but of the 7 of the big 9 here, only the iron hands symbol seems to get any major modification later on [if it is the iron hands anyways]. the early dark angels symbol has a thin in the middle fat on the end shaped sword in early versions and the space wolves symbol gets more bestial in modern versions, but the iron hands logo in modern 40k is flipped with pointier finger tips compared to here.

an interesting note here, since the modern 40k setting has a tendency to make the imperium seem and feel so monolithic and all encompassing on the galactic stage. Here its more so emphasized that even with the imperium being fairly large its only a blip in terms of the actual galactic scale of things. Something i wish was more carried through into modern 40k.

a little blurb on how warp space/travel worked in 1st edition. You could arguably still apply this to modern 40k too, that in terms of practical application its like using river systems to travel rather then going by sea

the section on warp drives and how they work, im not sure how accurate or effecctive 1-4 light years per jump is but it is the most detailed explanation ive seen as to how it actually works [as opposed to warp travel being random as fuck]. i also rather like the explanation as to why you can’t exit out of warp space right next to suns [and likely planets as well though thats conjuncture on my part] as youll just fuck up your ship if you do. On a side note, it says navigational drive instead of machine spirit/servitor or the like here cause 1st edition 40k imperium utilized robots instead [im guessing the men of iron and their rebellion wasn’t a thing yet].

Warp gates were also a thing and seemed to be implied as a common method of warp travel, and likely the main method of going long distance in a practical length of time.

they were aliens alll alonnnng! kidding aside, i like the idea that the dangers of the warp was more so psychic predatory alien species just chillin there rather then it just being a one to one copy of fantasy battles chaos gods. gives the setting a more unique flavour ya know.

some early info on warp storms with a 10% stastic of all solar systems cut off by warp storms to highlight the frequency of them.

early navigator info, seems their appearance was a lot less strictly defined and the third eye doesnt seem to be a thing yet. some info that explains why their so useful as well to keeping the imperium together despite it being “so thinly spread” compared to other space empires.

early figures on the astronomicans range. it not covering the eastern fringe at all i find fairly interesting cause ultramar in modern 40k is positioned firmly in the eastern fringe of the galaxy. 

for reference, heres what i assume is a map showing the effective range of the astronomican

nothing particularly notable outside of the weird implication that the emperor was far less of a vegtable here then he is now.

seems the imperium was far less monotheistic then as it is in modern 40k. Makes me wonder what other gods an imperial pantheon might have.

1st edition emperor was far less of a punk then modern emperor it seems, since it doesnt look like he needed 1000 psykers a day just to keep him goin. 1st edition emperor kept himself alive through sheer force of will. Also the ecchlisiarch didn’t exist back then and instead seemed to function in place of what the high lords do now. Though arguably a lot more effectively since they also seem to cover the ecchlisiarchs duties as well.

the direct subdivisions of the adeptus terra, which in this context gives a much more religious connotations to their jobs. Early custodes were just warrior priests i guess? and the arbites were priest judges? maintaining the astronomica also seems to have originally been a more voluntary effort then the other 1000 psykers sacrificed a day to keep the thing running it is in modern 40k.

the administratum also falls under the direct control of the adeptus terra.

the inquisition is basically the same then as it is now though it seems master of the inquisiton used to be a much more desirable job then it is now.

imperial governers were also basically the same despite in 1st edition being appointed by a religious priesthood administratum.

the adeptus astartes originally called legiones astartes cause space rome. Note the effective origin of the continuing space marine problem of scale of numbers cause this effectively means that in 1st edition 40k there are only one million marines in total spread out across the entire imperium. Though the imperium is also implied to be smaller then it is in modern 40k that still seems... insufficient for fighting across an entire galaxy. Also chapter masters were commanders back in the day and like governors not strictly speaking religious just taking orders from the priesthood.

even back then these guys got no respect. Though from the sounds of it the imperial army was closer to the pdf back then well the imperial fleet and space marines were more so responsible for the conquering.

we need more rogue traders with space marine squads under their command in modern 40k, cause that sounds a lot more interesting then deathwatch.

the officio assassinorum was a lot smaller back in the day that they didnt even deserve a proper mention it seems.

some classic imperial infighting here, with people willing to kill each other over grain quotas. Which sounds like a hell of a basis to make a scenario around let me tell you

civilized worlds, aka hive worlds light/modern earth transplantations are the most common planet type here. I do like the note however of imperial citizens being the usual imperial citizens.

feral worlds are basically the same though i find the early setting pieces on the legion astartes and the imperial commanders fascinating for all the implications it provides.

some hive world stuff, most notable is the implication of routine purges to maintain manageable population levels. Which is something you dont surprisingly see very often in modern 40k [usually its just rebellions that have to be put down that call for ‘purges’] and also implies that despite the misery of living in overcrowded hive cities people are still banging like crazy.

as i said, robots were much more of a thing for the imperium then as opposed to now.

apparently grabbing medieval peasants, stuffing them in space suits and telling them to go murder jibbering orks with hand cannons was considered a worse idea then grabbing a caveman to do the same thing? Guess you could consider a medieval world a developmental stage before reaching civilized status.

paradise worlds were space marines do tai chi and yoga i guess and research stations, aka what can we exploit out of this planet.

cappin it there for now, let me know if ya wanna see some more stuff from this fascinating book.

[castrumtocastle]

EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE OF WALES

Also known as ‘Edward of Woodstock’, Edward the Black Prince was the eldest son of King III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Although he never became the king, he was the heir apparent to the English throne. His limited years did not limit his power and he made a name for himself through his military brilliance and achievements. Of all the battles he fought, his victories against the French in the Battle of Crécy and the Battle of Poitiers are notorious.

There is no clear evidence as to why he became to be known as Edward The Black Prince Of Wales but some historians suggest that it was referred to his black shield and body armour while others argued that it referred to his cruelty to the French people. Moreover, he was given this name after about one hundred and fifty years after his death. In his life, he was only known as ‘Edward of Woodstock’.

Early Life

Born on the 15th of June 1330 at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire, Edward of Woodstock was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and was the heir to the English throne. Since he died a year before his father at the age of 45, his son Richard II succeeded the throne. Edward was given the following titles:

Earl of Chester

Duke of Cornwell

Prince of Wales

Prince of Aquitaine

Knight of the Garter

Marriage

The negotiations for Edward began when he was only 7 years old. He was married to his father’s cousin who was the divorced and widowed countess of Kent in October 1361 at Windsor castle. They had two sons, Edward and Richard. The eldest son Edward died of plague at the mere age of six, whereas the younger son Richard grew up to inherit the throne after his Grandfather and become to be known as King Richard II.

He also became the step-father to his wife Joan’s children from her previous marriage which included Thomas and John Holland. Apart from his two legitimate sons, he also had several illegitimate children which were not considered unusual at that time. His illegitimate children included Sir Roger Clarendon whom he had with Edith de Willesford and three other sons called Edward, Sir Charles FitzEdward, and Sir John Sounder.

Titles and achievements

He received his first suit of armour at the age of seven. Soon afterward he was granted revenue from the newly created Duchy of Cornwell by his father King Edward. However, if the future monarch did not have a son then the revenue from the Duchy would be reverted to the crown. Hence, eventually, Prince Edward was made theDuke of Cornwell.

At the age of 13, Edward was made the Prince of Wales and he proved his position 3 years later at the Battle of Crécy in North-Eastern France in August 1346. The English had a total victory over the French. During the Hundred Years’ War, Edward often fought with the French. Another major achievement for him came from the Battle of Poitiers when he defeated the French and even captured the French King as a prisoner.

After his achievements in the Hundred Years’ War against the French, Edward’s reputation got stained in September 1370 due to the French town of Limoges. A friend of Edward and the godfather to his son, Johan De dross who was also the Bishop of Limoges betrayed Edward and defected to the french by welcoming a garrison into a part of the town.

A massacre followed upon Edward hearing the news where he put 3,000 men, women, and children to death. Despite them pleading for mercy, Edward listened to none and almost destroyed the entire population of Limoges. This cruelty shown by him is also suggested to be one of the reasons he is termed as the Black Prince of Wales.

After his military success in France, he turned towards Spain where he helped the deposed King Pedro the Cruel of Castile defeat his illegitimate brother known as the henry of Trastamara. He was defeated at Najera in Castile and hence Edward was awarded the Black Prince’s Ruby by the Spanish King. Moreover, Edward was also among the 25 founding knights of the Order of the Garter.

Hundred Years’ War

In 1337 CE, King Edward decided to expand his lands in France. Moreover, the King’s mother Isabella being from France (the daughter of Philip IV of France) gave him an excuse to have a right to claim the French throne. However, the king of France at the time, Philip VI refused to step down from his throne. Hence, the Hundred Years’ War between France and England began in which Prince Edward played a major role starting from the Battle of Crécy in 1346.

Battle Of Crécy

Edward was known to use the strategy chevauchée which was a common part of medieval warfare and is known to be used as far as back in 1066 CE by William the Conqueror. The strategy aimed to perform multiple functions such as instilling fear and terror in the locals, provide free food for an invading army, get booty and ransom for noble prisoners, and to ensure that the opposite army had a weak economic base.

Moreover, ordinary troops also caused mayhem and executed raids on the opponent’s army whenever they could get a chance. The potential outcome of this strategy was brutal economic warfare and provoking the enemy to attack. This is exactly what happened with the King of France and hence on the 26th of August, the two armies met when King Phillip of France decided to invade England’s army.

Prince Edward who was only 16 at the time led the English army with his right-wing and Sir Godfrey Harcourt. Although the prince fought with great bravery there came a point when the French seemed to be winning. Sir Godfrey called for reinforcements however the King upon hearing the news stated that if his son could extricate himself from the battle then he would win his spurs which was a sign of knighthood and were awarded in a full knighting ceremony.

Eventually, Edward the Black Prince’s army overcame their numerical disadvantage by taking a defensive position on the River Maie. The French army retracted after getting into a muddle. King Edward won the battle with only 300 casualties whereas the French had a great number of casualties of around 14,000. Not only that but the battle also resulted in their fallen reputation. The King John of Bohemia, the Count of Blois, and the Count of Flanders were also eliminated in the Battle of Crécy. Afterward, Prince Edward adopted the emblem and motto of the fallen king of Bohemia.

After the success at the battle of Crécy, England’s success continued when Edward the Black Prince backed an army of around 26,000 men and captured Calais after a year-long siege in July 1347 CE. The Black Prince’s reputation further grew when after three years, in January 1350 CE, along with his selected unit of knights, he protected the city against a French plot that Involved Italian mercenaries.

Chivalry and Garters

To celebrate the Prince’s medieval tournaments, he and his father participated in the great 15-day tournament in 1344 CE at Windsor Castle. The prince’s father, Edward III found the exclusive Knights club and epitome of medieval Chivalry of which the prince was also the founding member and was given the Order of the Garter in 1348 CE.

This order is known to be one of England’s most oldest and prestigious and included only 24 chosen knights, the King, and the Black Prince. The chosen knights had all fought in the battle of Crécy. The symbol of the order was a garter and its motto read, “evil on him who thinks it” referring to anyone who had doubted the king’s right to rule France. Moreover, The garter on the order had the royal colours of France; blue and gold.

Battle of Poitiers

The new King of France, John II was not any different from the previous one. He continued to war with England. Hence, in 1355 CE Gascony was raided and Bordeaux was captured by Edward the Black Prince which he used as his base. The Prince used the same strategy he used in the Battle of Crécy and torched cities and farmlands.

Again just as the previous king, this strategy also provoked the new French King to take the same steps, and hence, the French surprised the English army on the 18th of September 1356 CE. A mighty battle started the next day 4 miles from Poitiers. Once again the French army outnumbered the English army (35,000 vs 7,000). However, they could not handle the power and accuracy of the English longbow. Eventually, England won and the King John of France himself was captured along with 2,000 other French knights.

Edward gained further reputation because of the chivalrous behavior he showed to the King of France after capturing him as a prisoner and while escorting him back to England. Moreover, he also distributed gold and titles to his commanders and donated huge sums to churches such as the Canterbury Cathedral.

Although King Edward marched to Rheims and made himself the King of France, the harsh winters there reduced his army. Hence, he signed a peace treaty in 1360 CE between England and France which is called the Treaty of Bretigny. In 1362 CE, King Edward III, who was the Lord of Aquitaine, made his son, the Black Prince, the Prince of Aquitaine.

Castile and Najera

After the treaty of peace, the Black Prince turned to Castile in Spain. The fallen king of Spain Pedro wanted to reclaim the throne from his half-brother HenryII of Castile who had the support of the French. On 3rd April 1367 CE, Prince Edward won the Battle of Najera against the French at the Najerilla river. He even managed to sell one of the prisoners for a massive ransom.

Hence, he was titled the greatest knight ever, Bertrand du Guesclin, the ‘Eagle of Brittany’. He also received a memento from Pedro that became to be known as Black Prince’s Ruby. Although the Battle of Najera was a great military feat, it also proved to be a financial disaster for the Black Prince.

Death

Due to his ill health, the Prince returned to England in 1371. He resigned from his principality next year and started taking a more active part in England’s internal politics where he was known for the constitutional policy of the commons against the corrupt court and the party of Lancastrians.

Edward the Balck Prince of Wales died at the age of 46 on 8th June 1376 CE. The exact cause of his death is unknown but it is said that he suffered from many illnesses from dysentery to old war wounds and even cancer. Although the cause of his death might never be known, it is known that he died before ascending the throne.

A year after his death, his father, King Edward III also passed away and Edward the black prince’s son Richard inherited the throne. Moreover, due to his death, his work in the parliament remained undone and the year following his death, the parliament itself was resolved.

He is buried in Canterbury Cathedral where his black helmet, shield, and gauntlets are hung above. The space beside him was kept for his wife. However, she was buried next to her first husband. According to some theories, the prince chose Canterbury Cathedral as his burial place as his confession of his sins. This was because the Canterbury Cathedral was considered a place of penance and repentance. Moreover, The black prince also ordered the following French poem to be Inscribed around his tomb at Canterbury:

Such as you are, Sometimes was I.

Such as I am, So you shall be.

I thought little of Death

So long as I enjoyed life.

On earth, I had great riches…

Land, houses, great treasure, horses, money, gold…

But now I am a poor captive,

Deep in the ground, I lie…

My great beauty is all gone,

My flesh is wasted to the bone…

[gauchebistro]

Yugioh 1000

Zexal was probably the most controversial series at the time. Sure 5D's had cards on bikes but Zexal had Zexal, like just look at it once and you'll probably be turned off. Don't bother giving the emotional story of many characters a chance, or the unique feel of the characters and settings, mixed in with nostalgia. No just hate it before even watching it. That's the way.

Needless to say, Zexal gets unwarranted hate. Is it perfect?(Yes) No. But nothing ever is and that's not what these shows are ever about. It's about entertainment, and Zexal was VERY entertaining.

Start with Yuma, probably the protag with the most growth and development. He didn't start as some pro at the game, he had to learn throughout and by the end(Even without Astral) he became one of the greatest duelist. Yuma goes through a lot but never ends up letting it really affecting him. He's a cheerful guy that enjoys life. Sure he got depressed at times because his boyfriend died but that's pretty normal. But if we look at the betrayal he faced he never let it affect him. He continued on. He did eventually lose his enjoyment of the game(Probably because 90% of his duels were death duels), but he regained that. He's also the kind of guy that wants to be friends with anyone and everyone, even a trash can. He has a ton of friends, all of which would pretty much put themselves in any danger to help Yuma out. Can't blame then, Yuma is great, guarantee you'll be happier around him, if not then you probably just have a very sad life and even Yuma can't perform those kind of miracles.

There's a lot of noteworthy characters, pretty much all of them. Astral, Kaito, Shark, Vector, Tron, iii, iv, and v, barains, etc...etc...I could write essays about them all.

The duels did get a little bit stale later on, but were nice for the most part. Zexal is the only series to not have a unique format throughout the series(Duel Carnival was only a part), and the first to actually follow the rules as close as possible(You can not normal summon in defense). Heck it's the most realistic to what duel could be like right now. We're never gonna ride bikes, boards, or monsters and duel, and duel disks probably would never be greatly functional. But an ar lens is feasible.

People like to make note of the designs and hair of characters but it's a futuristic world, the style is logical. Plus hair...it's anime and even more important, yugioh. The designs draw people in regardless if you like them or not. They stand out.

It's funny that I have such high praise for the series because I was like many to judge it on a glance and dismissed it(Even after doing the same 5D's). But after watching the first episode I was hooked. And it's probably my favorite out of the franchise. Zexal is just great.

So as always with any of the series, watch Zexal.