#dutiful zeon

[thaisibir]

Kevesi and Agnian Heroes living in the City headcanons

-Ethel and Cammuravi make literally everything a competition (who can run the most laps around the entire City, who can eat the most torpedo wraps in one sitting, good ol' fashioned brawls at the wrestling ring, etc)

-Alexandria tried to enroll in university but was turned away for being too young. High school quickly bored her to tears. It begged the university to get Aionios's resident smartass off their hands. The university finally caved in and let her enroll to study business and IT.

-Valdi is everyone's go-to guy for fixing Levnises, of course. He insists on bunking in the tech quarter, forgoing actual furnished rooms in the residential quarters.

-Cammuravi was initially treated as a walking fire hazard until Ethel and the Ouroboros gang convinced people that he will not in fact burn down the entire City, by accident or otherwise.

-Fiona regards the park as her favorite spot in the City. She's the City kids' favorite playmate.

-Isurd is a new member of the City's tabletop and board game club. He got Zeon to join when he mentioned that some games are farming sims.

-Miyabi joins the City street performers, alternating between her flute and fans to entertain folks with music and dance.

-Not wanting to steal Ethel and Cammuravi's thunder as already established sparring instructors, Teach spends much of his time at the university to learn how gentler arts are being taught.

-Zeon is absolutely enthralled by the concept of greenhouses and balcony gardens.

-Ethel's second home is the City library. The senior librarian is practically her adopted mother.

-Juniper spends more time outside the City than in it, patrolling and exploring the wilderness outskirts to their heart's content.

-Ashera is the resident terror among Lost Number recruits and soldiers. She's always showing up to the training facility uninvited, joking about eating them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depending on the time of day. Ethel swatting her off like a fly is a daily occurrence. ("Ash please go away, I already fought you yesterday, you're scaring the poor recruits")

-Isurd becomes a regular at the City's most popular massage parlor and acupuncture clinic. It's very hard for Taion to hold a proper conversation with him there when he's emitting satisfied "oohs" and "aahs" every five seconds.

-Despite stating precautions and giving warnings to discourage any derring-do, Juniper is not popular among parents for being a "bad influence" on their children, who want to slide down ziplines willy nilly. They have to limit their sliding to nighttime, when the kids are in bed.

-It was Fiona's idea to grow more flowers around the Remembrance Stones. City folks backed the project and believe the place has become even more lovely and precious for it.

-Valdi has his own names for all the City Automatons. Half the Lost Numbers think it's endearing and the other half think it's downright annoying.

-One day Hollis gathered all of them at the medical facility to sit down for The Talk. Alexandria and Teach took meticulous notes. Zeon, who had just grasped mastering how to grow potatoes, was hopelessly confused. Juniper, a veteran at growing potatoes, was just as confused. Ashera kept making faces like something had died in the room. Valdi nodded along politely, but really couldn't care less about something that's not at all like making Levnises. Fiona and Miyabi thought the whole thing was simply magical. Isurd stared off into space, mulling over that kind of possibility with a certain someone who loves saffronias. Ethel and Cammuravi looked around everywhere but at each other, their faces red as Noah's jacket.

[kazsartcorner]

Developed for the Jupiter Energy Fleet just after the One Year War in response to the increase in piracy from Zeon remnants with more sophisticated weapons, the CSS-08-80D Halo Late type bears a beam rifle unlike it's older counterpart. A pair of targeting lasers are mounted on the beam rifle in order to assist with long range shooting and preventing friendly fire incidents. The smaller shield of the older model was replace with the much larger "Paddle shield" which featured a single shot canister chaff launcher. The Halo and particularly it's late type served in duty until 0085 U.C. where during the rise of the Titans, many of these old units were pressed into service by the people of Callisto, the subsequent rebellion was crushed by the forces of Paptimus Sirocco and after that the Jupiter Energy Fleet's mobile suits were overseen by Sirocco and the Earth Federation.

[kachikirby]

SD Gundam Ultimate Battle: The Story Summary Part 1

Ok, I'm going to start writing summaries about SD Gundam stuff because I know at least a couple of people are interested in me rattling off about stuff.

But before I get into the stuff about Saddrac Knight Saga, which I think most people are interested in, I have to write about SD Gundam Ultimate Battle, and I'm splitting it into parts like the actual work did.

Side note, I do like that the binder cover for the cards is Knight Unicorn Gundam's emblem.

Yeah, this is a work where Knight Unicorn Gundam debuts in. It's also the debut of another character in Saddrac Knight Saga who I will talk about a lot. (Veterans of my page will recognize the name "Vassal Duke Strike Freedom", his younger self appears in this under the name "Crown Knight Gundam III")

The story starts out after the events of "The Legendary Giant", the second arc of the original SD Gundam Gaiden work, Sieg Zeon Hen.

The protagonist, Knight Gundam, is shocked to see a bunch of Gundams appear in the kingdom of Lacroa and break out in a fight. But the most shocking of these people is Black Dragon, an enemy who he had previously defeated. During this fight, he is suddenly assisted by a mysterious Gundam.

This is Knight Unicorn Gundam, a knight at conflict with a person named Musha Sinanju who had appeared as well. Using the summoning magic "Call", Unicorn and Sinanju start their Ultimate Battle, summoning characters from other SD Gundam worlds to fight each other.

Knight Gundam is conflicted about this and yells for the fight to stop, as they are all Gundams and should not fight in his eyes. He is critiqued by the pilot of the machine soldier Legend Vatras, Crown Knight Gundam III.

"We were summoned by Unicorn's magic only to fight!"

During this, he is targeted by Black Dragon and Knight Gundam protects him, to his surprise. Knight simply explains that it is a knight's duty to protect whoever is in front of them.

Hearing these words, Knight Unicorn decides to bestow an upgrade upon Knight Gundam in order to end this battle: The Pheonix Armor.

With assistance from Crown Knight Gundam III, Knight Gundam is able to overwhelm Musha Sinanju.

However... Musha Sinanju then turned into a card upon being defeated.

But that isn't all, something isn't right with Knight Gundam either...

Crown III: He's also a card...!? But then who...!?

Knight: Uuu.... GAAAAHHHHH!

Crown III: Knight Gundam!?

Crown III: Wait! What's wrong!? Knight Gundam!?

Knight Gundam had turned into a card, and the person who picked it up was, of course...

"With this, finally all of the binder's cards have been gathered..."

"From now on, the era of a new god has begun!"

Knight Unicorn Gundam.

-

Part Two

[daydreamycrustacean]

The Origin and 0079 show slightly different versions of this but it always makes me a bit crazy how it´s kept vague whether it's true the Zabis caused the death of Zeon Deikun or not. We never actually see them admit to or talk about this and honestly? I was never under the impression that Dewin Zabi actually did it, he took the chance to become the ruler of Side 3 sure, but well its never made clear if he actually poisoned Zeon Deikun to take his throne like this is a Shakespeare play or something.

So thinking about the fact that maybe Zeon died of natural causes and not poisoned (or maybe just not by the Zabis) in relation to Char is crazy because...this is everything right?

It doesn't exactly make his "revenge" empty and useless bc yeah the Zabis were still a fascist monarchy that was twisting his father´s ideals and they had to be taken down but...Getting revenge on his father´s supposed death at their hands was not only his entire motivation, it's the reason he killed the only person that ever considered him his friend. The reason he separated himself from his sister, the last member of his family, and became something she could no longer recognize. The reason he stopped being Casval and became Char in the first place, an identity that even though he tried to kill in order to become a better person he could never truly escape.

This is getting embarrassingly long and emotional for a "isn't it fucked up that char may have done all of this based on nothing" post but!! I haven't even gotten into what growing up seeing himself as this conduit for revenge, having this One Purpose to accomplish because it was His Duty as his father´s son has done to him because it's everything!! It´s why he is this way!! Why he does what he does in cca after apparently getting better in zeta!! just...*gesture vaguely at all of his issues*

And yeah maybe it doesn't matter whether the Zabis killed his father or not bc what matters is that this is what Char believes, this is what Casval was told as a child. but. I don't know. fucked up if true. Maybe none of this had to happen.

[deebyfeeby]

Dutiful Zeon

[battleangelaelita]

Haman Karn and audience reception of female antagonists

I am not just an Azula fan, I have a broad and healthy appreciation of girlbosses in all their forms, and one of my favorites of the archetype is Haman Karn from Zeta and ZZ Gundam. Seriously, she walked so the rest of our faves could fly. More under the cut.

Now, this little blog post is going to be at least partly speculative. I don’t know for sure how how Haman Karn was received during the initial broadcast of Zeta in 1986 and ZZ in 1987. But I do know as a longtime Gundam fan that the second and third outings in the Gundam franchise were a high-water mark for female characters in Gundam, and the franchise has, at best, stagnated and usually backslid since. The Origin fleshed out parts of Sayla Mass’s story that were left on the cutting room floor so that’s really the only notable exception prior to this fall’s forthcoming Witch from Mercury, which will have the franchise’s first female protagonist.

People usually have one of two opinions on Zeta in the English speaking anime world: “best of the franchise” or “i have never heard of this.” It got its localization contracted just before Toonami decided to pull the plug on Gundam broadcasts after the one-two punch of the original having disappointing ratings and September 11 made the violence of the series less palatable--the background of the opening narration depicts the use of city-killing WMDs in the form of deorbited space colonies.

So Zeta survived on DVD sales only, while the immediate sequel didn’t get an official localization, finally releasing as a subtitle only BD/DVD in 2015, and only getting put on CrunchyRoll this year (2022).

So the only people who watched are people who were already Gundam fans, and people who were likely to be older to pay for what was at the time a niche product, or something they’d have to acquire a fansub for.

So who is Haman Karn? She’s a Neo-Zeon warlord who assumed control of a remote mining colony and military base, and returned to the Earth sphere in the middle of a ongoing colonial uprising against the despotic Earth Federation emergency regime. Seven years after the end of the One Year War, the world is still a huge mess, with many of the heros from the original forced to fight against their own government by the tyrannical Titans state security force, the Zeon-hunting organization that has become the small gear turning the large gear in the Federation.

And into this mess, which has seen magnificent bastard Char (under a pseudonym) fighting with the heroes, on the same side as his rival Amuro, Haman shows up bound and determined to make this mess worse.

Look at this demon baby...she even has a knife!

Haman has a lot of the qualities people love (and love to hate) in characters like Azula. She is a young and extremely competent female antagonist with a deep personal relationship with a previous fan favorite (Char). She is often smug and manipulative. In spite of her general sense of duty towards her people and their cause, that cause is a deeply destructive and evil one (Zeon in Gundam is a pastiche of currents of Japanese right-wing futurism viz the Kodoha clique and the pseudo-left anti-imperialism of Kita Ikki and some elements of the student movement).

In Zeta Haman is a spanner in the works, a sometimes ally, sometimes adversary of the protagonists who ends up maneuvering for supremacy in a three-way conflict with both the heroes and the series big bad Paptimus Sirocco, who is Jupiterian in both the Emmanuel Macron personalist/Bonapartist political sense as well as literally from Jupiter. Haman is the ultimate victor of this battle; she not only defeats Char in a one-on-one, possibly killing him (his fate was left ambiguous), but her forces come out in the best shape. Zeta’s protagonist Kamille Bidan beats Sirocco, but is left catatonic from the psychic resonance (it’s Newtypes, I don’t have time to explain...)

Haman goes on to be the big bad in Gundam ZZ (it’s usually pronounced Gundam Double-Zeta). Not only does the general trend of gaslight, gatekeep, girlbossing continue, she intensifies and double-downs on it. War crimes ensue. And not the silly sense that fandom talks about characters like Azula being war criminals because they don’t like them, I mean actual violations of the laws of armed conflict like the use of WMDs on open cities. She does get somewhat chickified because one of the long-running subplots is her attraction to Double Zeta’s protagonist Judau Ashta (it’s another Newtype thing...just think of it like their souls touching through some psychic stuff), but it’s played more for tragedy. In the end she cannot let go of her pride, and chooses to die when defeated rather than accept Judau’s alternate perspective.

Haman in sum has all the hallmarks of the villainous woman in the traditionally male sphere. She’s stoic, manipulative, hypercompetent, but also emotionally closed off. She can’t femme fatale, and her few romantic overtures are clumsy. Nonetheless, she has complicated, multi-faceted relationships with multiple male characters, including a series fave, and often beats them at their own game.

Yet she’s also consistently a pretty well liked character in both the English and Japanese fandoms. There is no shortage of moeified fanart of her, and she’s showed up as a cameo in several other series like the Build Fighters one.

So what went wrong elsewhere? Perhaps it’s because Haman was intended to be a sympathetic character from the start by Tomino, unlike Bryke’s relative disinterest towards Azula’s internality, for example. It’s long been a pet theory of mine that Haman began conceptually as the next arc for Sayla Mass, another fave in the Gundam franchise. Perhaps I’ll do a whole post on that subject someday, but in brief, Sayla is Char’s estranged sister, both of whom have been living under assumed names in exile from their home colony after their father’s assassination. Sayla’s plotline in the original got slightly truncated due to the episode count being slashed, but in the original outline she was supposed to lead a soldier mutiny in Zeon in the final part, taking off the character masque of Sayla and becoming Artesia Deikun again (this was restored in the expanded The Origin manga by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu, who was Tomino’s right-hand man on the original series).

There may be a slight resemblance...

Sayla unfortunately had to be cut from Zeta because the voice actress was on a year long Safari in Africa (it was the 80s, I guess people just did that sort of thing). So somewhere in development, a character who also has a complicated personal relationship with Char, a stoic and serious female character who looks like if Sayla decided to dye her hair and cut her bangs, shows up again on the opposite side of the conflict from Char, who’s doing his best at trying to be a hero...really gets the old noggin joggin’.

It could also be a matter of audience. Gundam is aimed more towards a slightly older demographic than many western animated shows, particularly one like Avatar, and it’s also a pre-internet show. People had time to grow up and form more nuanced opinions and weren’t dumped unvarnished into a fandom space very early. Or they were American adults experiencing the show for the first time as adults, with some background for nuance.

But there’s plenty of people who first watched Avatar the Last Airbender as adults who also have extremely hyperbolic opinions about Azula. The reception towards Rey from the Star Wars sequels, who let’s be honest here, is neither overpowered compared to her male counterparts nor does she have a strong, domineering personality, also points to the fact that older fans are far from immune to knee-jerk toxicity. If anything, they were worse with Rey.

In fact I find the audience reception of Rey even more baffling, because from the very start Rey is clearly communicated in terms that make her relatable to the audience of Star Wars fans. She is, after all, a fangirl in-universe, living in her mundane world dreaming of the big adventures outside of the meager existence salvaging scrap on Jakku, keenly interested in the old ‘legends’ about people like Luke Skywalker or Han Solo.

What then is the answer? Fandom I guess is an often toxic space, and I can’t find any clear answers. Sometimes villainous female characters get generally well liked and appreciated, and other times they’re treated with such comically hyperbolic disdain it would be funny if it weren’t so damn stupid. I am interested in hearing what you have to think.

[sixpillarsofgenesis]

OKAY SO:

Some XBC3 thoughts because my brain will NOT LEAVE ME ALONE about them.

LANZ

I think, given Lanz’s aptitude for being assigned TWO healer classes (plus Soulhacker, which can turn into a healing class if you’re determined to), could have been a healer had he not decided to barrel headlong into sacrificial tank mode.

What would that have meant? Healer Tank! To the best of my knowledge, none of the healers in the game are particularly durable combatants, and at least one character does have the ability to manifest a shield that heals upon impact. (Zeon’s Deflector Shield, to be specific)

As such, it’s entirely possible that Lanz could have gone full ham into Guardian Healer if he wanted to, a niche specialty that could have still fed into his sacrificial tendencies. (High aggro, constant use of Regen to restore lost health, consistent abuse of blocking, etc.) I do hope that we see that someday, if not in Lanz, then in another character through the DLC.

EUNIE

A late-game sidequest actually mentions that Eunie only ever learned enough healing to ‘get by’, which implies that Healing, unlike most other roles, does not have to be determined by the weapon that they use. (This does make sense, since Eunie is shown working as an Attacker early on, and in her previous life, she was a sniper like Mwamba.)

But, what if Eunie had gone all in on healing? What would she have looked like? Would she have gone into strong debuffs like Taion? Would she DPS heal on hit similar to Teach? She learned Field Skills, similar to Joran, but she has more affinity to Tanks like Monica and Ashera, both of whom have various skills that are useful for Eunie.

But what if Eunie was a Defender instead? This is mostly based on the fact that Eunie has two classes that encourage counterattacking - Ashera’s Returning the Favor, and Monica’s Come an’ Get Me, both of which return damage to the enemy.

Ironically, this actually makes Sena the better Oroboros candidate for Eunie.

NOAH

Turns him upside down; shakes him.

What the hell do we do with you, sunshine? Noah, of all three Kevesi teams, seems to be the most suited to being an Attacker. He could probably do just fine as a Healer, or a Defender, but for him, it’s not really a priority, not in the way it was for Eunie or Lanz. Noah fits in his niche as an Attacker, and not in the conventional way. He’s a tactician, a planner. He’s fast enough to come up with plans on the fly, and he has the ability to maintain his cool even under fire.

Additionally, he’s capable of restraint of firepower, an option neither Healers nor Defenders have, being focused on Healing and Defense, obviously. Option and recommendation: Defender evasion tank, if he had to pick an alternate.

MIO

Why is this girl not a healer? Answer me Monolith Soft, you cowards. Yes, Nia is probably her mother. NO I DON’T GIVE A SNUFF MAKE HER A HEALER YOU COWARDS.

I will not be taking criticism.

TAION

Taion tanks more than actual tanks in his cutscenes. Explain to me that, you cowards. Also, Taion holds heavy responsibility towards other people, to the point that he blamed himself for a plan of another person’s making. Also, a Defender has a good idea of everyone’s status, despite Taion’s quote of how healing duty is the best monitor of a battlefield.

Defender Taion you cowards.

SENA

The Girl With The Gall! … I will never understand why she did not pick up a flute in Miyabi’s absence. Given Sena’s tendencies to mimic that of the people she often envies and considers to be more worthy of Mio’s attention, I’m genuinely surprised she didn’t try, given how hard she tries to seek approval in all the wrong ways. If not an offseer, Sena’s desire to protect at the cost of her own life fits the Attacker Profile, especially since she is so reckless in defending herself.

[burdenedreverance]

Gundam HC #2

Commendation Type: VALOR AWARD

At approx. 0445 hours on 16JAN0079 Strike Team SHINIGAMI now led by Lieutenant Hayden was tasked with the pursuit of Federation's II and V Fleets. While performing these duties the Magellan-Class Battleship Nereid under command of Admiral Rodney Cunninghan, the Acting Fleet Commander, would turn to engage LT Hayden and his command.

For twenty minutes Strike Team Shinigami engaged the Battleship, sustaining heavy damage. Eye witness reports of the Nereid's barrels melting. Even so, LT Hayden demonstrated valor beyond the call of duty once he received a Chassis shot which narrow avoided his core while shoving a Team Member from the line of fine. He then advanced upon the Battleship with a Beam Cannon.

Witnesses report LT Hayden's voice through the communication channels shouting 'Sieg Zeon' as he advanced. While moving into range, he received yet another shot removing the leg of his suit. At this time he was able to fire the cannon striking the battleship directly. At 0514 hours the Nereid was sank due to the actions of LT Hayden, killing Admiral Rodney Cunninghan.

For actions rendered he is HEREBY AWARDED THE NAVY CROSS.

End of Citation 2.

[awpollar]

Dutiful dude put in a position where he’s obviously very unprepared but still doing his best?? embodiment of the ‘he must be thinking of other girls’ meme????? Of course, Zeon would be my favorite Xenoblade 3 hero

[over-the-time-flow]

Nobody seems to be having a good time right now, as Rakan gets scolded by Glemy Toto, his superior, for letting Amuro and Tiffa get away. He had ONE job! But Rakan assures him that not all is lost; he can still get them back.

With the call over, Shagia reports in that he and Olba still have no clue about Kamille's whereabouts, further souring his mood.

The brothers pay no attention to Rakan's scolding, however, and instead get excited over the Satellite Cannon in their twin mind link psychic DMs.

i ADORE how this game handles these two btw. this is the funniest the frost brothers have ever been and they were hilarious in their source material to begin with

Meanwhile, Jamil thanks Raul and the trio for their help in Amuro and Tiffa's rescue. The trio, conversely, is just as thankful for being rescued along with them, and for getting the chance to join up with the Frieden crew; they'll need all the help they can get, considering their circumstances.

However, Noin and Kid (the Frieden's chief mechanic, and a child prodigy at that) wonder if it's really fine to take the trio along, and not due to distrust, but due to logistics; see, the Excellence looks mighty advanced, and specialized at that. Won't they need to make it back to whatever facility they got snatched up from?

Raj saves us with his quick wit, however; he says that there's nowhere to return to, as the Zeon troops completely trashed the facility during their assault.

Jamil then moves onto proper introductions, which makes Mizuho realize that she's heard of him before. Isn't he some sort of war hero? Jamil is not fond of such titles, however, and dismisses it offhand.

The rest of the crew introduces themselves as well. Sara Tyrell is the Frieden's chief operator, Tonya Marm is the helmswoman, and Kid is the chief mechanic. srw r moves sara from the vice-captain post to operating duty and tonya from operating duty to the helm, thus erasing poor ol' shingo, the frieden's original helmsman

While introducing himself, Kid makes sure to tell the trio that he's more than willing to aid with any modifications or remodeling they ever plan to do on that Excellence of theirs.

Raul appreciates the sentiment, but understandably a bit cagey about letting other people work on the Excellence, he says that they do already have Mizuho as a dedicated mechanic. Kid can't hide his disappointment, but does hope he and Mizuho can work together in the future... though he doubts she's as skilled as he considers himself.

Next up are Roybea and Witz, who in this game's universe seem to just be regular ESUN pilots who got assigned to the Frieden rather than freelance mercs. Witz plays tough and says he's not too sure about our skills, but he'll be fine as long as we don't get in his way... and Roybea shuts him down by mentioning the crew seemed more than capable this last fight.

Fa introduces herself with just her name, and Jamil wants to introduce Garrod next, but he's not there; he hasn't left Tiffa's side since the battle ended... understandable, since she was taken straight to the medbay to get some rest. in any case, he's Garrod Ran, and they met him when he snuck in to rescue Amuro and Tiffa.

Speaking of, right now Amuro's explaining to him what happened as they watch over a sleeping Tiffa. It seems that when he fired, Tiffa couldn't help but sense the final thoughts of all the people they had just killed. Amuro warns Garrod to be mindful of the immense power of the Satellite Cannon. haha yeah im totally not gonna be using it every single mission dont worry bro

With personal introductions done, we move to organizational introductions; the Frieden works for the Earth Sphere United Nation (ESUN)'s specialized taskforce, the Preventers. Despite being total pacifists, even they had to take up arms to deal with the sheer barrage of threats that pounced upon the Earth Sphere in recent times.

With this, Noin finally properly introduces herself; she's not just a pilot, but also a direct contact between the crew and the Preventer chain of command. I think this means she's technically the highest-ranked member of the cast? In any case, Fa takes the chance to ask Noin if she's gotten any news about Kamille, but the Preventers seem to have had just as much luck with that as the Frost Brothers, and she has nothing new for Fa.

With Amuro and Tiffa rescued, they're all out of newtypes with known whereabouts, so they're going to be put on standby as they merge with another ESUN-run organization, GEAR (Guard Earth and Advanced Reconnaissance) thanks fukuda. Specifically, they'll be stationed at their japanese branch.

Roybea is already looking forward to some quality time with japanese girls, but Jamil and Sara remind him that it's not unlikely that Neo Zeon troops will give chase; Amuro and Tiffa are high priority targets of theirs, and they won't give up on them so easily. They can't let their guard down until they've made it to their destination...

[soufre-de-paris]

we watched the first few episodes of the original gundam from 1979.

it is absolutely brilliant. thoughts under the cut.

this is a truly different experience from watching later media of any sort. the story continues from episode to episode, without the soft-reset we are used to in nearly all episodic television outside of select prestige series, especially these days. the character designs vary so wildly one might reasonably assume they all come from different properties:

this feels so very 70s (in '79!) but when's the last time you saw any anime with such diverse style of character design? modern anime suffers from such extreme sameface syndrome that this is such a breath of fresh air.

(also bright, baby, why are you with the girls in this clearly gender segregated split? A's suggestion is that it's to separate the serious characters from the slapstick. pretty sure y'all can guess my interpretation 😏)

even though obviously the "heroic"' machines are those with brighter colors, the designs of the machines themselves are wild; they aren't just color-changed variations to tell the "good guys" from the "bad guys":

which is another point.

caveat that we are only on episode three, and i have consumed absolutely nothing of gundam ever prior to this.

so far what we know of the zeon (i'll use the canonized name instead of what they're actually saying, which is jion, likely better transcribed as zion) is that they started a war of independence, and in the ensuing war, half of humanity was killed. we are told this outright in the opening.

in a doylist sense, we know they have some pretty clear indications of "evil" (nearly all their machines are military green, we have seen exactly zero zeon women, everything is dark, one renegade zeon eagerly kills civilians, etc) but in-story, there is so far no reason to believe the entire movement or whatever is evil, at least not compared to the "heroic" side.

in the text, char (main "villain") is presented with steadfast determination and drive and dedication. he praises his men freely, makes decisions quickly, and isn't afraid to enter the fray himself to turn the tides. he mourns the loss of men, while working towards ensuring future successes won't mean they died in vain. he works hard, and despite his worse equipment, regularly runs circles around those with better tech. he's valiant, clever, thoughtful, and just generally traditionally hero-coded.

comparing him to amuro (main "hero") and his wishywashy inadequacy? his wrong motives of "i'll do it because i'm ordered to do so"? his selfishness? his bleeding heart that leads him to fail to do his duty, resulting in worse outcomes for all? the only thing amuro has going for him is that he's a genius and he learns quickly, and does occasionally rise to the challenge.

i'm very eager to see the trajectory of both these characters! from the time period i'd expect the two to invert—amuro becoming more traditionally heroic while char descends into selfishness—but we'll see!

very compelling storytelling so far!

[mathcs]

🌟 SRW Jude leggo

🌟 Drop one of my characters’ names in my inbox and I’ll tell you 10 facts about them / aka this turned into facts from srw!jude's side, really REALLY long version. PART I: turbulence

the dbd occurrence. in the cockpit, jude wakes up in a cold sweat, shocked over one sudden fact: i'm still alive. he quickly realizes that he doesn't know where he is (briefly wondering if it's somewhere on earth for some reason). but right before he's about to remember more, the forces of zanscare and neo zeon suddenly ambush him, completely catching him off guard. to jude's own surprise, his survival and newtype instincts take over. when the murasame activates, he realizes: this machine... it's mine? in his weakened and barely conscious state, he struggles during the battle- when the pilots of the dreisstrager fly in to save him, they're not a moment too soon. jude is even more shocked, and seeing the vessel briefly reminds him of the "yamato", though he isn't sure what that is. as the assist draws the battle to a close, he tries to thank one of the pilots, and faints. however, jude is still alive thanks to them, and unbeknownst to anyone (soon to include himself), he's just escaped death… again.

aboard the dreisstrager. jude finds himself in a hospital bed, and remembers being saved by the pilots. however, the stress of all that's occurred is too much, and he's unable to recall his earlier shock of being alive, including what he was doing before the ambush (a blocked memory due to traumatic stress and the mysterious nature of the dbd occurrence itself). unsettled, jude strains himself to remember everything, but a sudden nausea and bad feeling overpower him. as it passes, he manages to recall his own name. after jude physically recovers and stabilizes, the crew of the dreisstrager are able to formally welcome him at the hangar, and he thanks them properly this time while introducing himself, despite feeling a deep discomfort at the location. due to that feeling, he calmly excuses himself for a moment, looking guilty.

meeting law. jude hears law before he sees him. mixed among others, law's lively voice stands out. suddenly, a deep emotional pain and longing overwhelm jude, and he freezes. everything feels inexplicable until the moment he sees law's face. as he does, jude finally realizes who law is when all memories of his friend come back in an instant, namely— law's death a year ago. and yet law is in front of him now. in a disbelieved daze, jude walks towards him as everyone watches in confusion, and hugs law in a desperate stagger. unable to say or explain anything to the befuddled law, jude can only apologize to him, and begs him to let them stay like this for a little longer, afraid of everything being a dream— until law gently pats his head. the surprise and warmth of it calms jude down as law introduces him to the others. after a long moment, jude slowly releases his friend, taking a polite step back while staring at the ground. when jude lifts his head, law and the others only see an awkward smile. with a laugh, jude says, "sorry about that. the truth is... i just had the worst dream earlier."

closeness and anxiety. the happiness from seeing law again and his presence anchors jude for a while, and he stops worrying about the rest of his forgotten memories. still, time passes as jude grows more accustomed to being on the ship, though missions come easier to him compared to off-duty days. having remembered law and given enough time to process the unthinkable (that law is somehow alive and well), jude begins to struggles emotionally as he recalls and compares the turbulent law that died because of him, and the carefree law he’s able to see every day now. jude knows that the latter law is from a different world (a world with an alternative phase outcome: where law is alive), but doesn’t mind, as law’s cheerfulness reminds jude of how the two of them were years ago. he remembers their shared dorm room from when they were students, and wonders if they could be that way here, too. despite that, jude continues to live alone in his quarters, deciding against asking law. in the meantime, jude spends time with law whenever he can, hoping to make up for the “lost time” with the law he remembers. he thinks about how this law's hairstyle is the way it once was, still wearing his mother's beads, unlike the law who cut his hair. unsettling questions form in jude's mind: why is law still alive? does he come from a 'safe' point in his timeline, before the day that he's 'supposed' to die? if law returns to his own world, will it happen? or here? however, jude is unable to tell this law the truth of 'his' death (and even another “copy” of law who met a similar fate), and instead asks about law's dbd occurrence, and other things about him during their every day conversations. however as the days go by even without change, jude’s silent and growing fear of losing law a third time gradually overshadows their days together.

growing suspicions, destiny’s showdown. more of jude’s memories and nightmares return to him, but he still decides not to tell anyone anything. he starts to miss haro as well, who hasn’t been with him since he first awoke to the dbd occurrence. one night as jude lies in bed alone, he wonders how he and law are supposed to return to their worlds. he suddenly realizes that he doesn’t want that, and that he’s afraid of his missing memories. eventually, jude insists on accompanying law whenever law sorties. meanwhile, jude begins seeing law less, and instead keeps watch over him in secret, often eavesdropping on law’s conversations with others, and slipping out of sight. jude’s actions leads to the rumour, “the ghost of dreisstrager” and also cause morale issues for the crew, with law’s friends noticing the change. among them is kamille, who takes matters into his own hands. his attempt to reason with jude escalates into a confrontation, as jude wants to “save” law no matter what. kamille, seeing the severity of jude’s emotional state and needing to know the whole truth, challenges him to a fight. he knows that jude is in no condition to protect law in the upcoming mission, and due to that, will likely endanger for law, himself, and everyone if he sortiesー or worse. kamille refuses to let the self fulfilling prophecy come true. during the fight, jude loses control, kamille learns the truth about law, and the relationship between him and jude. as jude's attacks become more desperate, his repressed feelings continue to overflow, reaching a breaking point. he screams that law was everything, explaining how law befriended him when they were kids, even though jude felt himself to be so uninteresting and lonely, with his parents always away and working. yet, he then cries out in anger, "so why did it turn out like this? why did he leave after? why'd he have to die for me when he hated me so much?! and i'll never, ever know...!!" still, jude confesses that he can't ever forget about law, and that he still needs him, no matter what happens.

PART II: forwards

beginning of realization. as the dust settles, jude is in complete disbelief, having lost. as his fighting strength leaves him, he’s stunned into silence, only able to utter "… take care of law. please." after kamille reassures him and leaves. alone, jude takes time to reflect on everything he’s been doing. tiredly placing a hand on his face, he can only hope for the best. as the adrenaline wears off, jude barely stops himself from collapsing. as he sees his hand shake, he realizes how weak he is, and how he can't help law if he doesn't change.

newfound trust. jude is relieved when law, kamille, and the others return safely. however, his gratitude is mixed with guilt and realizations. shortly afterwards, he apologizes to kamille and uso alone for his actions. jude confesses that he still hasn't told law the truth because he doesn't want to burden him with any worries or fears since the beginning, taking them on alone because, "those were my mistakes, not anyone else's." jude sees it as a way to atone for law's death, already failing to save him twice. he says that didn't want to get kamille or anyone else involved when he first lied to everyone, out of fear of them getting hurt, as well as being envious of them and their bonds with law as jude struggled to genuinely open up to anyone. however, all this time, law has remained concerned for jude's well being without even knowing why. jude says that he understands that it's unfair to still keep the truth from law, and confesses that he's afraid that law will see him differently and reject him 'again' if he tells him the truth now. however, hearing what uso has to say, jude takes a long moment to think, and decides that he does needs to talk with law. jude thanks uso and kamille for their help, realizing that he should have opened up to everyone much sooner.

confession. jude talks with law, and after apologizing for everything, sombrely tells him the truth. law is understandably shocked at this revelation, never expecting 'himself' to have died... twice, and how different he was in jude's world. law asks for space to gather his thoughts. feeling anxiety well up inside him, jude gently nods, saying that it's okay. as he and law leave in opposite directions, jude turns around to stare at law's back with a forlorn expression. when jude begins walking again with both fear and relief in his chest, he decides to confide in kamille and uso again, as well as to tell them that he's now told law. later, the two tell jude to have more faith in law, and jude chooses to believe.

"you were wrong, i've always believed in you." later, jude and law meet up again, and have a heart-to-heart. at some point in the conversation, jude tells law that he couldn't hear the last words of the law he knew before he died, to due static. jude says he still doesn't understand what law was trying to say to him. but, when law answers with 'his' last words, jude realizes that law didn't hate him until the end, and that law died to save him- this was the real truth, all along. suddenly, jude realizes that he did know this fact once, but forgot it when he arrived in this world. overcome with emotions, the rest of his memories return, and he thanks law. jude remembers that he has to return home, everyone counting on him there, and the reason he has to fight. surprising jude, law gives him a crafted metal bead as proof of their friendship, and as a memento for the other law. jude accepts, promising that he'll keep it forever. with a smile, he then tells law that he's happy to 'meet' him and is looking forward to being friends again, finally seeing law as his own person.

bonds, resuming. jude's change feels awkward at first, having left a unsettling and bad impression most recently. somehow, this occasionally results in comical misunderstandings, as many are surprised by the more affable, docile, surprised, and smiling jude. still, jude hardly minds, and even talks with amuro about everything that's transpired. with the dreisstrager still having missions and tasks to complete, jude works together with everyone, meanwhile helping with off-duty tasks and lending an ear to anyone that needs it. his attitude is reminiscent of his positive time aboard the yamato one year ago, but with newfound confidence. meanwhile, jude makes friends with kamille, uso, amuro, and even quattro, who causes jude to reflect on buer. amazed by their skills, jude decides to learn from them all, wanting to improve his own skills as pilot. jude and law also create a special attack together, powered by their friendship, jude's changed heart, and the metal bead. meanwhile, as the day for them to return to their own worlds draws closer, jude prepares himself emotionally, even though he knows that returningー and parting from law is the right thing to do. on the night before jude leaves, he wonders where he'll wake up again in his world, and that thought pushes him to have one last conversation with law, who also has to leave the next day. jude decides to tell law as much as he can about the current threats he and ludger are facing, and what law should watch out for when he goes back, and in the near future. jude says that he's counting on law to take care of himself, and to say hello to the other jude of law's world. despite jude doing his best to be calm, law still senses his friend's worries, taking his story to heart, and knows that jude wants to help and warn him. as jude tries to remark casually, "i can't go with you, but, i... wanted to tell you that." his sadness begins to show. sensing that, law suddenly says he has a feeling that he and jude (and the other pilots) will meet here again one day, surprising him. grinning, law explains, "yep! it's happened tons of times before, actually. so, you'd better believe i'll stay alive for next time. you think i'd wanna miss out on all this again? same goes for you!" jude feels embarrassed, and says that law should've told him that way earlier, which makes both of them laugh. law tells jude to stop losing sleep over him already, especially since tomorrow is the day. smiling, jude agrees. the next day, when the moment arrives, jude holds the metal bead to his chestー then, he and law fist bump, smiling. jude confidently tells him, "well... i'll see you later." with those words, he leaves. when jude returns to his world, he wakes up gently, remembering everything.

[kateywritinganalysis]

2/2 Blog Post

This week’s episodes of Mobile Suit Gundam seemed to have a running theme of the downsides of war. With the first episode we had to watch, we could see how Amuro’s mother felt about him engaging in the war. While I understand his mother’s sentiment, I found her reaction to be unfair. When Amuro had shot the other soldier, he had done it out of self-defense or they would have taken him away. For her to reprimand him for becoming “more violent”, I believe, shows that she does not have a full grasp of the battles going on around her. In the second episode, we saw the sacrifice of Ryu to give the federation the upper hand against the Zeons. It was interesting to see for the show had handled it, each of the characters feeling some sort of guilt towards his death, but it is an inevitable part of the battle. In the last episode we watched, there was a couple who had to part ways due to a difference in opinion of the war. One couldn’t understand the duties that the other had committed herself to and they had fallen through. These episodes link great with the reading connected to it on war narratives. With the episodes that we have seen so far in Gundam, war isn’t necessarily glorified. Both sides are shown to have their faults, but also their morals. While the series shows us that the Federation are the “good guys” it still shows that there is some suspicious activity going on and that there are good people who exist amongst the Zeons. It does not paint a completely black-and-white picture.

[jamyaahhh]

1/31 Post

I enjoyed watching Mobile Suit Gundam, and it does a great job portraying war, while also adding comedy here and there. Episode one starts with an evacuation, which Hayato does not tell Amuro about, because of his ill feelings toward military engineers (Amuro’s dad). This is one example of how war negatively affects civilians and how they feel about the authoritative powers. There is also a little bit of family conflict when Amuro is talking to his dad and asks him, are the suits more important than people. Amuro himself shows a strong sense of duty as he chooses to operate the suit, rather than group up with the Fraw Bow and the others. Even though it made me laugh, I also do not condone Amuro’s decision to slap Fraw Bow after she lost her entire family, that’s the wrong type of encouragement. In episode two, a sense of duty is shown again; the man who didn’t look for survivors (I think it was Kai) and prioritized his safety, was slapped and called a coward. Going back to Amuro, while he was fighting in the suit, he hesitated because he felt bad about having to kill humans. During WWII, many soldiers probably felt the same way, but unfortunately, they were not in a position to stop fighting for the sake of their morality. This relates to what is said at the beginning of the episodes, ��humanity was horrified by its own actions”. Although, when fighting people in mechanical suits, Amuro was more relaxed and said something along the lines of, “It's not human, I can fight it”. This is only partially true because there are people fighting in the mechanical suits just as he is. I also noticed that when Kai and Amuro were fighting, their faces gave off the impression that they were, scared, in disbelief, regretful, and relieved all at the same time. I felt like I could not determine how they actually felt while fighting. In episode eight, the scene that touched my heart was when the Zeon soldiers went back to help the woman and her child, and they wondered who would win the war. The woman said that it did not matter and that there would just be more widows like herself. The people who are fighting in the war don’t actually have enemies and are strangers to one another, yet they have to lose so much in the war because it is their “duty”.

[zeonlifesciences]

The Evolution of Motherhood: From traditional roles to modern parenting practices 

As we approach Mother's Day 2023, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the evolution of motherhood and how it has changed over time. Motherhood is one of the most rewarding experiences in life, but it has also evolved significantly over time.

From traditional roles to modern parenting practices, the concept of motherhood has changed in many ways. At Zeon Lifesciences, we recognize the importance of understanding these changes, and how they impact the health and wellness of mothers and their children.

Over the past few decades, the role of mothers has undergone a significant transformation. While traditional roles often placed mothers in charge of child-rearing and household duties, modern parenting practices have shifted to a more collaborative approach between mothers and fathers. As a result, mothers now have more freedom to pursue careers and personal goals while still fulfilling their responsibilities as caregivers.

Another major shift in the evolution of motherhood has been the rise of technology and social media. Mothers today have access to a wealth of information and resources that were not available to previous generations. From online support groups to parenting blogs, social media platforms have provided a new way for mothers to connect and share information about their experiences.

In the section below, we go into more detail on how motherhood has evolved.

Women are less likely to die while becoming mothers than ever before, thanks to advancements in medical technology and healthcare. This has allowed mothers to focus more on enjoying their experience of motherhood, rather than worrying about their health and wellbeing.

Now, women become mothers by choice, not chance. Mothers are more likely to have a support system in place, which can make the journey of motherhood more manageable and fulfilling.

One significant shift in the evolution of motherhood has been the trend of having fewer children. With modern birth control methods widely available, women are now more in control of their reproductive choices. This has allowed them to plan their families based on their needs and goals, rather than societal pressures.

Finally, it is less common for women to become moms when they are still in their teens. With greater access to education and birth control, young women are now more equipped to make informed decisions about their reproductive choices. This has allowed them to focus on their education and personal goals before starting a family.

Despite these changes, the core of motherhood remains the same - “the unconditional love and support that mothers provide for their kids”

Being a mother is a challenging and rewarding experience that requires a lot of love, patience, and hard work. Raising another little human can be scary, especially for first-time mothers who are not sure what to expect. The responsibility of raising a child can be overwhelming, as mothers are responsible for providing for their child's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. However, despite the challenges, being a mother is also one of the most fulfilling roles in life. The love, joy, and pride that come with watching a child grow and develop into their own unique person is immeasurable.

The evolution of motherhood has been a remarkable journey, and we are proud to support mothers through all of their challenges and achievements.

As we celebrate Mother's Day 2023, we want to express our gratitude and appreciation to all mothers, and we wish all mothers a happy and healthy Mother's Day!

We at Zeon Lifesciences aim to nurture life with well-researched health and wellness products. We are committed to providing products and resources that help mothers navigate the challenges of motherhood. From prenatal vitamins to stress-reducing supplements, we offer a range of products that support the health and wellbeing of mothers and their children.

[kachikirby]

SD Gundam Gaiden Knight Gundam Kikoushin Densetsu: Chapter 7

Chapter title: The Last Survivor of the Moon World

Neo wonders what happened to Rose Knight, who vanished, and the group finds GP02 laying on the ground. GP02 says the monster has disappeared, referring to Sieg Zeon. GP01 is surprised and acknowledges that Saddrac is now in danger.

GP02 is incapacitated and won't respond to any healing magic. Gerbera uses magic on him, saying he must wake up or the Knights of Destiny will not be completed. Roux tells GP01 to look out the window, where Elgaia is leaving the castle. They are worried Neo will go fight Delaz by himself.

In reality, Neo is being guided by a telepathic voice to an island where another Armor God sleeps. The voice is suddenly cut off at one point with a strange sound, leaving Neo to question who it is to himself.

The voice is Masked Knight, who was slammed against a wall by Aigiulle-Zeon and questioned who he is communicating with. Masked Knight comments he isn't human to have noticed that and reiterates the plot twist from the last chapter. (Masked Knight and Rose Knight are the same person)

Aigiulle-Zeon grumbles about how the willpower of the Moon World's Selenis Clan is stronger than a brainwashing mask, revealing Masked Knight's true identity: Luna Gundam. Luna responds that his and Neo's duty is to keep the Armor Gods from evil.

Annoyed by Luna's conceited response, Aigullue-Zeon brainwashes him once more, seemingly succeeding this time. Luna is conscious long enough to give Neo the name of the Armor God. With this complete, he is given the title of Crescent Knight and sent to fight Neo.

As a side effect, the shocks transfer to Neo.

"W-what's this shock..! M-my head's about to break...!" "Gi...GIGANTIS-!!"

The telepathy suddenly cuts off again.

The ground rumbles and Gigantis appears. Neo complains about how violent the Armor Gods are when they awaken and summons Elgaia to communist telepathically. It seems to go smoothly until a dark energy claims he is Gigantis's master, turning it dark.

The source is Chaosgaia, the dark Armor God. Neo fights and struggles, to his surprise, when the pilot explains that Chaosgaia is a direct copy down to the pilot, unlike Gazelbaiya. The pilot is similar to Neo.

The pilot is, of course, Luna, a pilot of the Selenis Clan.

"But if I'm of the Selenis Clan, why am I here on the Saddrac world?"

Luna explains that they came to destroy this foreign land, to Neo's shock and taunts his hesitancy.

"The Armor Gods should've told you!!"

"PATHOS GRANGE!!"

"BAK PATHOS GRANGE!!"

The two techniques cause the island to explode. Chaosgaia looms over, saying that the world will follow the fate of this island once the Armor Gods are gathered. Elgaia is trapped on the ocean's bottom.

"N-Neo is..."

"Gerbera, why are you trembling?"

"QUICKLY GP01!! IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING, THE THREE KNIGHTS OF DESTINY CAN'T PROTECT THE SADDRAC WORLD!!"

"The Three Knights...of Destiny? What are you talking about, Gerbera...?"

End of Chapter 7. This is also the end of Part A.

<- Previous | Table of Contents | Next ->

~~~~~~~~~~

Extra 1: Card for Masked Knight's reveal.

"Neo...I can't help you anymore.."

Extra 2: In the Carddas series and Seikihei to Kikoushin (the cell phone-only vidoe game adaption of Seikihei Monogatari and Kikoushin Densetsu), Psycho Converter Psycho Doga did the brainwashing.

"Luna, forget everything and live for the sake of Sieg Zeon-sama!!"

There will be a more in-depth and informative thread after the second half, since the manga did leave some things out...