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redd956 · 1 month

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Worldbuilding Food: More than meets the eye

So, you want to world build food but maybe you don't know where to start, have hit a roadblock, or are just looking for some interesting places to addon to. I've got your back.

Vegetables, Fruits, Grain, Nuts, & Fungi

One of the first things I think of when it comes to food is fruits and vegetables, and the line between them is surprisingly small.

Like tomatoes are vegetables? Pumpkins are fruits but other gourds are not? When does a herb become a vegetable? Although important to classify, don't let it be your main focus.

Start with

How the produce grows

What it looks like throughout different stages of its life

What parts are edible

How most people consume the produce

How the product is harvested

Is it seasonal

What about the produce that makes its growable environment habitable

How it spreads/reproduces

There's many different unique ways fruits and vegetables grow in just our real world, but that doesn't mean you can stop there.

Cranberries grow on vines that actually float on the surface of soggy ground and water in wetlands. Cashews actually grow on the bottom of cashew apple, which is it's own edible product. There's lots of different ways plants can grow, and what they even need to do so.

Some produce even have their own defense mechanisms (which often which becomes a form of flavor to us). Don't think these defense mechanisms stop at protection from predators. Strawberries are an aggressive plant, fighting, killing, and taking over any nearby plant neighbors. Some plants have thistles and thorns, and others are the hard shell or peel we end up effortlessly cutting through.

Try to think of some environmental things in the world your working with that the produce would have adapted to.

I think my favor example of this IRL is sunflowers. They change directions to face the sun, and when they can't find the sun they face each other. Eventually their seeds weigh them down, and which they'll always face east.

Don't forget fungi is edible too, and has it's very own unique properties.

(Don't forget yeast -> bread, you can make up whatever food you want)

Meats & Agricultural Animals

I myself am not a meat-eater, but I understand the importance of animal products to a society. If you world doesn't have it, don't fret. This sector won't just be about meat products, but it will contain a lot of it.

Food and what animals are considered for consumption changes from culture to culture. The same can be said for treatment leading up to their role in society as the food on people's plates. Often times a culture cannot imagining eating an animal they see as part of the family, such as dogs or cats IRL, but other times it's seen part of a religious practice such as cows.

There's a lot of cultural stuff that goes into our agricultural animals, both for work, dairy, textiles, and food.

Here's some ideas to start with

What parts of them are edible and used for food

Do they produce any dairy or egg products

How old do they have to be before becoming a produce animal

Are the animals used for other resources too i.e. bones, fur, skins, skulls, blood, etc.

How much food does one animal make

Typically how are they are killed, if they are

What conditions are these animals kept in and are they viewed humane

What environments allow these animals to thrive alongside the people of your world

What does the animal eat

Now... Let's into some culture and religion

Religion and culture has a major impact on what we eat. Take for instance Kosher, Halal, and more. Historical shortages in food even to this day affect what foods we eat. Culture also affects our tastes. The corn line of the United States is drowning in corn, and yet corn is seen as a sweet treat over seas in many nations.

Harvesting

How the harvesting goes changes a lot about a society, big and small. Think about how terrible a year would go in medieval times if harvest came up incredibly poor, or how wealthy our modern day world would look to those people due to mass production.

Here's some things to think about

What time of year are the biggest and most important harvest(s)

How common are agricultural workers

What would the average person see if they watched people work

What technology/tools are used

What happens if the harvest goes wrong

Do farmers/harvesters get special rights for their role in society

In older societies harvesting and how that went completely shaped how the next year would look. In some cultures the harvesters have been revered, while in other if crossed to far would be expected to tear the country to pieces. Think about the role harvesting plays in your society. What would happen if they striked? Or if a disaster swept the land?

The environment itself will change a lot about what harvesting look likes. Why does this environment work? What are the environmental risk to both the crop and workers?

Are we farming in the water, in the middle of the arctic, underground, high up in the trees?

Exotic Food & Immigration

While establish what the everyday food in the area is, don't forget to pay mine to the opposites. Immigration and trade play a major role in what foods end up on our plate. As cultures combine and mingle so do their food.

Take one look at the United States, infamous for it's large potions, fatty foods, and immigrant culture cuisine. A lot of foods in the United States are the results of cultures meeting to improve and add onto one another's foods, that includes American styles of pizza, tacos, and more.

Even major cities around the world have styles of foods unique to them.

Let's think

What locally seen foods count as exotic

What foods are nearly impossible to get

Is there access to foreign brands/produce

How expensive is most exotic foods

What styles of cooking are being brought in by foreigners

How do people get exotic foods

What foods would the locals not be able to eat due to not being used to it

Try to think about what makes this food exotic in the local area. Maybe it cannot grow in the local environment. Maybe the quality of the food is simply better overseas. Maybe the animal or plant is far too aggressively invasive for locals.

Trade & Transport

Food is both a very important export and import, especially in time of devastation.

Don't forget about exports too, what is your society giving out to the world, and getting back. Not all trade has to be capital based. Perhaps your world simply trades on good or service for another.

Here's some things to think about

What's being exported and imported

Are whole animals imported/exported

How is the trade being done i.e. trains, boats, aircraft, teleportation, etc.

Are there any obstacles to trade

What places are all involved in trading

How is the trade brought to where it needs to be inland

In what ways do these trades improve the lives of locals

Transportation is also super important to where food ends up, and more so in what volumes. How do people get all these produce or animals relocated? What kinds of storage are we seeing to keep things fresh (if health standards are even up to code in your worldbuilding)?

What poses a threat to things in storage? i.e. mold, foxes, animal thieves, disease, etc.

Restrictions

With supply and demand, comes outages, taxes, and restrictions. Unfortunately not everything in the food world goes right. There's natural disasters to come and destroy crops, hostile settlements to block trade, and especially that person who is really bad at cooking but they love doing it so you don't have the heart to say no....

Anyway let's talk restrictions and where they can come from

Wartime

Wartime can cause a lot of original farmers and workers to become soldiers. It also can lead to the large scale destruction of precious farm land, crops, animals, and overall places to cook.

Laws

Perhaps there's a particularly poisonous food, and way too many suspiciously poisoned people. That's when law comes in. There's many reasons for food and drink to become outlawed. Religious reasons, danger, regulations, inebriation, etc.

Siege/Embargo/Thievery

Knock knock! It's the United States here to embargo your random country. Outside factions can always become an obstacle, leading to loss of traveling cargo or straight up missing farmers too. Nothing comes in, and sometimes nothing comes out.

Endangered

Perhaps a common plant or favored animal is running low on populous. Now locals are more so focused on reanimating a dwindling population, more so on eating it.

Sickness

Whether it be hoards of invasive bugs, prion disease caused by cannibalistic animal feed, or sudden inexplicable field of dead corn sickness happens. Maybe something has swept over the land, and no one ever bothered to try to plant said crop again.

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters can not only cause the elimination of entire villages, but accidentally bring in lots of invasive creatures too. Catfish is off the menu for as long as carp is intown.

Straight Up Difficulty

Sometimes a fruit appears once a year, or a tasty creature is a dangerous one to take on in order to eat. It can be difficult getting the right ingredient sometimes. Other times it's new to the market. So much can happen when food is involved.

Preparation & Flavor

Finally all the food in the world is available, but what are we going to do with it.

Make it even better!

I personally find preparation to be the best part of worldbuilding. Now I get to imagine my fictional little people stewing their pots, and kindling their fires. Reflect off of real world recipes, and maybe even write down exact fantasy recipes of your own.

Don't forget about herbs and spices (I see you British people).

You have five basic taste receptors in your mouth: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory. They make great descriptors and fun places to explore when looking into what your foods taste like. Smell can play an important role too.

Does it smell awful and taste great, smell sweet and taste bitter, perhaps it doesn't have anything at all going on.

Happy worldbuilding!

#food #world building #worldbuilding #worldbuilding food #writing #writing food #world builder #writing tips and tricks #fantasy writing #fantasy worldbuilding #long post

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alpaca-clouds · 9 months

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About Nucear Permanent Disposal Sites

So, a couple of days ago someone commented under my one blog about nuclear energy what boiled down to: "But what about the waste? We need to take responsibility for the next thousands of years of humanity!" And yes, that is very much the favorite argument for the anti-nuclear lobby... and it is pretty much based on the science of the 1980s.

What a lot of people do not understand is:

How little nuclear waste we actually have.

How little of that waste is actually the highly radiating stuff.

How well we can contain this stuff.

That we actually have figured out a solution for permanent disposal.

First need about nuclear waste you have to understand that most of it is not that dangerous. Most of the waste we get out of the nuclear facilities is actually just stuff that was around the radiation and got slightly radiated. 90% of all nuclear waste is stuff like items that just happened to be within the nuclear facilities for a long while. Tools, wortk clothing and so on. This stuff radiates, yes, but it is technically not dangerous levels AND it will stop doing so within 100 years max. We literally do not need to worry about it. Those yellow barrels you will keep seeing in old media that somehow end up mutating people? Yeah, those are used for this kind of waste. And to be quite frank, we are super extra that we store this either way. Because we have waste from other types of facilities (like coal power, but also from places like airport) where this kinda waste also happens and we... just throw it away normally.

Then there is about 7% of nuclear waste that is a bit more radiated. This is mostly metal parts and such that were in direct contact with the nuclear elements. This gets more radiated and as such will radiate for a longer time. But, this, too, is radation that will be gone or down to safe levels within a few centuries.

Only 3% is waste, that is high-level radiating and even from this not all will radiate for millennia! In fact we have gotten real good with recycling this high-level waste and if we are now talking SciFi scenarios like Solarpunk, we could actually just switch to thorium based reactors, where almost all of it is recyclable.

But... Even with the high level radiating stuff that we cannot recycle and need to permanently store, we... actually long have a solution for it.

You have to realize that those fuel cells are actually pretty small. And that we have materials that can basically protect you from the radiation. So, we basically just take those small spend fuel cells, put them into glass, put that into several layers of metal, put all of that into a deep, deep hole the ground and then fill everything up with clay. And... done.

Chances are: Nobody is gonna find it. Because it is gonna be so deep underground. Even if they did: It is protected enough that nobody is gonna die of radiation poisoning directly. Not only that: But the best rock material to burry this stuff in, is already radiating. So... Like, duh. We already have super radiactive stuff in nature.

And even if someone got radiation poisoning... Unless you suppose that humans of the future are dumber than most animals... They will learn: "Dude died. Area bad. Do not dig there."

Scientifically speaking... The entire nuclear waste thing is such a fucking non-issue, that keeps getting pushed up mostly by fossil fuels (that, again, also produce radiating waste!) to keep folks from going for a full renewable + nuclear energy mix. Aka: The clean option.

The reason why so many politicians do not just agree to those disposal options is that a) they do not understand it themselves and b) nor do their constituents and there is sooooo much fearmongering about this going on.

Again, I am not saying that we should go full nuclear energy. But rather for an energy mix of renewables and nuclear. Be CO2 neutral. Because I can tell you one thing: If we do not do that, there are not gonna be humans in 3023 we have to worry about. Because they are all fucking dead, with the planet being inhospitable to life.

#nuclear #nuclear energy #nuclear power #science #science communication #fearmongering #science fiction #better future #going green

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meguwumibear · 1 day

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small writing warm up: also a continuation of this

You do make it out of the narrow alleyway, one hair-raising, ear-splitting scratch and scrape at a time.

The man you’ve accidentally abducted seems amused by your actions. Though he’d chided you for them earlier, he failed to produce an alternative solution to dislodge the car. The damage to the driver’s side door is extensive, but judging by the man’s clothing and accessories, he can afford to replace it.

You shimmy your way out of the car, planning to disappear among the throng of people that have gathered around to shop and eat and chat and fuck. This street is always packed with people this time of night. It’s why you chose it. There’s nothing you like more than a crowd large enough to be anonymous in.

What you don’t expect is the mysterious man to follow you out of the vehicle. He doesn’t say anything at first, so you assume the two of you are just coincidentally heading the same way, however after a few blocks it becomes obvious he’s tailing you.

You bring yourself to a stop, turning to face him.

“We traveling companions now or something?” you demand.

He blinks at you, a frown tugging at his bottom lip, “I don’t know where I am or how to get home.”

And that, that simply cannot be true. The dude looks like he’s pushing thirty. Where are his street smarts? His common sense? His survival instinct?

“Not my problem. Use your GPS. Subway station’s that way,” you add, gesturing vaguely to your right.

“I don’t have one,” he says plainly. “Didn’t think I’d need it.”

You let out an exacerbated sigh and jam your fingers into your temples to stave off an impending migraine.

“I know you have a phone on you. Your goons called you like five minutes ago. There should be an app on the phone you can use as a map.”

“It’s a burner. Its only function is to send and receive calls.”

Of fucking course.

“There’s like a million street signs. Pick one and send them your address. I’m sure your white knights will be here to rescue you in no time, princess.”

The man properly pouts now, an expression unbecoming of his stature. His dopey eyes and puckering lips make him look like a kicked fucking dog. A pretty kicked dog. Like a purebred or some shit, but a kicked dog all the same.

“I don’t like to be called that,” he deadpans, “and, anyway, they can’t come get me. You stole their car.”

This dude’s as thick as they get.

“You look like you come from a family full of lush cars that sit idling in a garage somewhere. I’m sure daddy dearest can spare a second car to rescue his precious son.”

He cocks his head to the side, considering you. “You’d really leave me here? Alone? It’s your fault I’m stranded in the first place. The least you could do is see I get home safely. If you’re worried about your own, you have my word no harm will come to you.”

“Look, dude, this has been fun and all, but I’m confident you can take care of yourself so drop the wounded animal act. Of the two of us only one is packing a-”

A cool, smooth hand slaps itself over your mouth while the man uses his body weight to push your back flush against the grimy brick wall of the ramen shop you’ve stopped outside of. Your biting words die easily in your mouth as your throat dries up.

When the man speaks, it’s as calm as ever, despite his outburst, “I’d appreciate if you could keep that bit of knowledge between the two of us. Tools like that aren’t exactly legal and I’d hate to have to use it.”

Unable to form words, you nod at him, hoping he understands what the movement is meant to convey. You figure you’ve got a 50/50 shot of him interpreting the motion accurately given his communication track record thus far.

A sharp, piercing gaze holds your own for a moment longer, then his hand falls away.

“I live in Musutafu. I’m not sure how far that is from here. You seem familiar with the subway system. Lead the way.”

You suck down a steadying deep breath. There’s a part of you that’s frightened of this dangerous stranger you’ve managed to saddle yourself with. You mostly just feel pissed. You consider your options, remembering an old platitude your mother used to sigh whenever you were in a rage: better to be pissed off that pissed on.

“Hope you’ve got cash,” you acquiesce. “I’m not shelling out for your subway fare.”

#shouto x reader #shouto x you #shouto todoroki x reader #shouto todoroki x you #bnha x reader #bnha x you #mha x reader #mha x you

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poisonousquinzel · 4 months

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okay at this point we're gonna have to accept that any attempts of a live action ATLA will always be cursed and will never be a good alternative to just watching (pirating cause fuck nickelodeon) the cartoon because what the fuck do you mean they're taking out gigantic chunks of Sokka, Katara and Aang's arcs/development/characteristics, showing the genocide at the Southern Air air temple and more of the Agni Kai between Zuko and Ozai while simultaneously having the gall to say "I mean, the characters, we had to dimensionalize them-"

The Big Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender Producer Interview: 'This Is a Remix, Not a Cover'

There are certain scenes that you never saw in the original, whether it's the attack on the Southern Air Temple or the Agni Kai between Ozai and Zuko. And those are things that I knew we needed to see in order to make it feel much more grounded as a live-action show. So it was about feeling your way throughout the process. Where can we take the story into the new directions that still feels true to the spirit of the original? And that's what it all comes down to, making sure it feels like it was Avatar in spirit.

Bending the Rules

And going back to those narrative liberties, was there anything in particular where you were like, “no, this is set in stone. This can’t change”?

AK: There's a lot of things like that, starting with the characters. I mean, the characters, we had to dimensionalize them, but there are certain core ... I would say there's a core DNA to the characters that you don't want to mess with, whether it's Aang, like I said, his childlike goofiness, his sense of humor, the burden of his responsibility, Sokka and his humor and his pragmatic outlook on life, Katara's warmth and her optimism. Those things had to carry through into our version. So you start with the characters, and you say, "What's the essence of the characters that got a big change? And what's the room where we can expand it a little more?" The cartoon, for as great as it was, was 15 years ago. And so, things have changed. There are certain roles I think that Katara did in the cartoon that we didn't necessarily also do here. I mean, I don't want to really get into a lot of that, but some gender issues that didn't quite translate.

My friend just watched it for the first time, and she's like, "Sokka's an asshole." I was like, "Yeah, no, he kind of is."

JR: Yeah, especially in the first season.

AK: Yeah. So we had to guard against that kind of stuff. And so, those are things that aren't really changing a character as so much as updating them a little bit.

I think one of the big questions is, despite all the remixing, is the point A and the point B still the same as the original?

AK: Pretty much. Yeah, I mean, I think the state of the world and the stakes of the world are still the same. So we decided to make Aang's narrative drive a little clearer. In the first season of the animated series, he's kind of going from place to place looking for adventures. He even says, "First, we've got to go and ride the elephant koi." It's a little looser as befits a cartoon. We needed to make sure that he had that drive from the start. And so, that's a change that we made. We essentially give him this vision of what's going to happen and he says, "I have to get to the Northern Water Tribe to stop this from happening." That gives him much more narrative compulsion going forward, as opposed to, "Let's make a detour and go ride the elephant koi," that type of thing. So that's something, again, that's part of the process of going from a Nickelodeon cartoon to a Netflix serialized drama.

And they say in regards to the original creators leaving: "But sure, having them leave was a blow. And we had to think about whether or not the vision that we had set forward really reflects and honors the spirit of what they had created. And we felt like it did, so we went forward with it. " idk y'all should've taken the hint goddamn ...

AK: But sure, having them leave was a blow. And we had to think about whether or not the vision that we had set forward really reflects and honors the spirit of what they had created. And we felt like it did, so we went forward with it.

If you could send fans who are anxious about the live-action show any message, what would it be?

JR: I think, as a fan of the show, they're going to get the live-action version of the show they've always hoped they would get.

Albert, anything to add?

AK: This is the version of Avatar that I would want to see as a fan.

- Netflix ATLA Showrunner Albert Kim & Executive Producer/Director/VFX Supervisor Jabbar Raisani

Source

like this ain't coming across like a remix, this is just empty meaningless noise

#wtf else could they even show of the agni kai WE SAW IT DID YOU NOT WATCH THE FUCKING SHOW????????#the camera staying on them when he gets burned by his father isnt needed thats literally the only thing we didn't see #AND WE DONT NEED TO FUCK OFF #not dc #avatar the last airbender #atla #netflix atla #idk how they can have such a clear cut example of What Not To Do and seem to be trying to do it WORSE #like the movie's reputation is openly garbage its so abundantly clear what fans want #and theyre like :))) what if we uh update these one dimensional characters cause sokka's obnoxious at first :))) yeah no shit #its not as if its not called out either???? its not played for laughs katara literally calls him sexist IN THE LIKE FIRST 5 MINUTES OF EP 1 #he's in the wrong and you know it yall just didn't watch the show or have ZERO ability to comprehend media literacy its so sad wtf

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siberiascaravan · 1 year

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Holiday Celebration with Quaritch

Human Quaritch:

(if you don’t celebrate Christmas) While on the inside he is more than willing to celebrate whatever you celebrate, he is going to be the ‘typical’ patriot and state: We celebrate Christmas here in the great ol’ USA.. So, just know you’ll be returning the favor. Now, stop with that look, tell me about your tradition.

He will make Christmas candy with you. Except you’ll be the one making it while he stands behind you kissing your neck and feeling you all over.

Absolutely will snag up treats as they are produced. And smile that: cocky little smile we all love and hate, at you when you get upset with him doing so.

Says he won’t spend a shit ton of money on you because: you have him, what more could you want?

When Christmas Day comes you’ll wake up to the tree full of presents. All from him. Making what little you could afford for him look pitiful in comparison

He can tell it bothers you. So he pulls you in close and reminds you that his statement previously goes both ways. He doesn’t need much. He has his good looks and his lover.

Absolutely ends the night in passionate fucking.

Followed by his best attempt at aftercare as you fall asleep before he heads back to work.

Na’Vi Quaritch:

Doesn’t remember much about celebrating his way, so, you may have to help him remember how.

Slowly it would come back to him but he doesn’t have the same burning passion for it that he once did. Now it holds more of a: Spoil you - meaning to it.

He tries to help make treats. Despite the painful difficulty in using human kitchen utensils and Na’vi finger size.

Still steals treats as they are produced and still very grabby.

Uses his tail to distract you to acquire said treats.

More playful in the kitchen this time.

Quaritch proposes at the end of the night.

In front of a fire place on a rug of some animal he killed.

“I died once without being your husband. I won’t make that same mistake twice.”

Obviously the same ensues as last Christmas. However, he is gentle at first since- you’re tiny compared to him. Regardless of what race you are.

#avatar #avatar quaritch #avatar 2009 #avatar way of water #colonel quaritch #colonel miles quaritch #quaritch Christmas #quaritch holidays #quaritch x reader #miles quaritch

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letstalktea · 1 year

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Prized Heifer part 1

Series Pairings: Remy x Reader, Wren x Reader, Remy x Wren

Series content: Farmer!Reader, amab!Bull!Remy, amab!Bull!Wren, random extra characters, role reversal, hybrids are treated like animals, breeding (functional and kink), Wren fucks a cow!girl, voyeurism, vaginal sex (extra cow!girl receiving), anal sex (reader receiving), noncon turned dubcon, blood as lube

"Boss? We have a problem."

Your fingers stopped tapping at the keyboard in front of you as you glared up at the sun-reddened face of the man who had dared to bother you. He was new to your staff and clearly hadn't learned when it was inappropriate to disturb your work.

"What's so important that you're bothering me?" you barked with a sneer.

The portly man flinched back before composing himself. "It's the bull. Remy."

You desperately wished that he would just get to the point rather than playing 20 questions when it came to the linchpin of your entire operation. If something happened to him, it would be expensive to get a new breeding bull of his quality this close to breeding season. That would make everything harder since you already had clients interested in whatever calves he managed to father this year.

The most pressing concern at the moment was, "Did he get injured?"

The assistant shook his head. "Not exactly."

"Then what is it?" You raised your voice as you slammed your open palm against the desk.

The newbie opened and shut his mouth like a fish, incomprehensible sounds dribbling out as sweat began to drip down his forehead in bullets.

"Spit it out before I throw you in that field like the dumb cow you are!"

"The bull ain't mounting any of the cows," he finally managed to stammer out.

"Oh."

Was that all? That was a pain, but it wasn't the end of your business. One day of one of your bulls being stubborn wasn't going to affect anything much. The others would still be doing their thing with their own cows.

That didn't mean you could just ignore it though. A day lost was still a day lost and one less chance you'd make profit from any of the high quality calves he'd produce.

"Wrangle him up and put him in one of the small pens if he won't do his job. I'm sure a day of isolation will teach him to enjoy his freedom while he has it."

If he couldn't be bothered to do the one thing you kept him around for, then you didn't need to keep him around at all. Maybe spending a day in one of the more claustrophobic pens would fix his disobedience and remind him of the only reason you kept him around instead of sending him to a butcher.

"That's the thing…" his voice got quiet. "We tried and he nearly gored the foreman for his troubles."

You were going to kill this newbie.

"Start with that next time!"

You quickly stood from your desk and hurriedly marched out of your front door, grabbing one of your spare tranquilizer guns on the way out.

The sky was bright and clear overhead. The wind offered a gentle cooling breeze to nullify the sun's hot rays. In the distance, you could faintly hear the beautiful sound of birds chirping being drowned out by the manic screaming of whatever idiot decided to crawl past the fence to tangle with a raging breeding bull.

It was a lanky bastard who was clearly the anchor on his high school track team back in his heyday; the kind that was just barely managing to outpace the bull chasing him down by the skin of his teeth. Outside the fence, another assistant with dark shadows around his eyes was giving first aid to the foreman whose shirt was drenched in blood from a hole in the side of his stomach. And then there was the one waddling after you.

You ran up to the side of the fence, raised your gun, and focused on the stampeding bull. You placed your finger on the trigger and pulled back to shoot a dark straight into the bull's back shoulder.

He howled in a way unbecoming of prey before turning his head in your direction, his eyes bulging and nostrils flared. As soon as he noticed you, he wailed and stamped his feet before charging in your direction. Thankfully, you didn't skimp on the quality of the fence or pens that held your cattle, so his charging did nothing other than give him a headache for his troubles.

It was almost adorable how desperately he seemed to want to break through the fence to get to you. You wished he'd use that same energy on mounting the cows sharing the field with him.

While you waited for the anesthetic to take effect, you went over to the idiots huddled around your foreman.

"Why didn't any of you bother to put him to sleep before bothering me?"

The guy giving first aid was the one to answer. "We tried. We got two darts in him but he wouldn't go down. We managed to slow him, but…" His eyes traveled to the field and you more or less caught his meaning.

"Whatever. Just get ready to move him as soon as he's out."

"But the foreman-"

You interrupted. "Is he still bleeding?"

"It's stopped for now."

"Then he'll be fine while you move that giant mass of muscles and hormones."

From there, it was only a matter of waiting for the drugs to kick in and for the bull to go down on his tired, wobbling legs. As soon as he was on the ground, you put the tranquilizer gun at your hip and slipped through two of the bars in the fence – a gap wide enough for a human if they angled themselves right, but not a brainless cattle – to go examine him.

His green eyes were half hidden behind his closing lids and the pale brown fur covering his head fell to one side. His chest rose and fell steadily as his arms weakly pushed against the ground to try (and fail) to lift himself up. There was still rage in those eyes, but his body was no longer listening to him. That was for the best because, between his muscles and the still bloody horns protruding from his head, he could do some real damage to you if he wanted to.

While he still had a spark of consciousness in his eyes, you grabbed his blood covered horn and yanked his head back so he was looking straight up at you.

"Hey, Remy," you sang in mockery. "I hear you've been a naughty bull today; won't mount a cow and giving my men a hard time. I thought my number one knew better than that, especially after all the lessons you got last year." Like the one that left a nasty gash across his lower back or the one that left him unable to feed himself for a couple of days.

You placed a cynical kiss against his forehead and laughed when you felt him angrily twitch against the anesthetic one last time.

You patted his cheek. "We'll talk again tomorrow after you've had time to think about your actions. Now go ahead and take a nap before you have to deal with the consequences of your bad behavior."

When his eyes finally closed and he went completely limp, you called over your assistants and directed them to carry him to the smallest pen he could fit in without damaging the goods and make sure he was chained so he couldn't break out. Then you told them not to feed him until the next morning, where you expected a quarter of his feed to be aphrodisiacs and stimulants; if he didn't want to breed on his own, you would make him.

While they all struggled to roll him onto a cart to move him more easily, you made your way back over to the injured foreman.

He was sweating as he clutched his side.

You kneeled down to look him over, finding it was a deep, nasty-looking wound but it didn't seem to be life-threatening unless it got infected. A quick visit to the doctor and a few days of rest to let it close up properly, and he would be good as new.

"Are you the one who got two darts in him before I showed up?" you asked.

He wasn't carrying his gun, but he was the only one you trusted out of the lot of them to do anything even remotely productive.

He gave a small smirk before letting out a painful groan. "Yeah."

You reached into the front pocket of his pants, pulling out the box of cigarettes you knew he kept there and slipping one into his mouth. You lit it with the lighter he also carried and let him take a long drag.

You told him, "Remind me to give you a raise when you get back, assuming I don't have to pay to cover up your untimely passing."

They gave one hearty laugh. "I'll hold you to that, Boss."

When one of the other stooges got back, you had them drive him to the nearest clinic in town and went back to managing the rest of your farm and accounts for the day. If anyone came to complain about your bull after he finally woke back up, you told them to toss a bucket of cold water over his head to cool his hot tempter. After all, he was just a stubborn bull and you had no time to waste on his tantrums.

#h2ho #a cool drink of water #degrees of lewdity #remy the farmer #nsft post #tw hybrids

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animebw · 9 months

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So the live action One Piece is really, really good.

I know, far from the first person to say it. But it really must be stressed how absolutely bonkers it is that One Piece, of all anime properties, is what breaks the live-action adaptation curse in the West. So many attempts at adapting far more live-action friendly stories like Death Note and Cowboy Bebop ended up complete disasters, and yet it's perhaps the most unabashedly cartoonish anime franchise, the one defined by how it takes advantage of drawing and animation to portray people, places and things that would be completely unfeasable in the real world, that shows how to translate this medium to live action without losing what makes it special in the first place. It's not a perfect adaptation, but it pretty much nails everything it needs to, capturing the heart of this story in all its most important moments and making smart changes that serve its new form as a binge-worthy Netflix drop. So let's talk about the things I liked, the few areas I think it fell short, and how I think future seasons should play out! Spoilers, obviously.

The Good:

-The most important thing to get right was the casting, and they nailed it: all the Straw Hats and their supporting cast are just about perfect. Inaki Godoy just is Luffy, Emily Rudd does a fantastic job shouldering the season's core emotional weight as Nami, Vincent Regan steals the show every time Garp is on screen, and Jeff Ward is an absolute riot as Buggy. Special shout-out as well to Morgan Davies for nailing Koby's expanded screen time.

-Speaking of, I love how Koby and Helmeppo's title-card story is fleshed out into a proper B-plot throughout this season. Following their journey under Garp's command is a perfect way to introduce us to the Navy's inner workings and the more explicitly political side of the story up front, as well as foreshadowing plenty of future story beats to come.

-The action. Is. So. Good. Thank god we're finally remembering how to film proper hand-to-hand brawls, cause every punch-up is a blast to watch.

-Luffy actually has more of an arc here than he does in the manga! Manga Luffy can be a pretty static character a lot of the time, which I know is kind of his appeal, but this adaptation gives him a bit more to work with as he grapples with the responsibility of being a captain and the consequences his mistakes can have for his crew.

-Seriously Buggy is so fucking funny they nailed him so perfectly

-Putting more of a focus on Nami's struggles throughout the season was a great way to give it more structure for a binge format. Her emotional journey is really the heart of this adaptation as we watch her go from a paraniod recluse to fully embracing the Straw Hats as her new family.

-One benefit to being live action and produced in America? Way, way less casual sexism. Dare I hope that future seasons will avoid ruining Sanji's character among other pitfalls Oda fell into? Fingers crossed!

-The production design is immaculate. It strikes the perfect balance between the wacky cartoonishness of One Piece's world and the demands of filming in live action.

-Fantastic soundtrack too! It knows just where to deploy instrumental renditions of We Are while charting its own musical identity.

The Bad

-Some of the dialogue is a liiiiiiittle cringey? I know dialogue has never been OP's strongest suit, but there are definitely a few moments that feel overly anachronistic and "how do you do fellow kids?" There's a moment Buggy jokes about toxic fandom that really made me roll my eyes (especially since the OP fandom has by and large really embraced this adaptation, so it comes off like a cheap shot at a demographic of haters that doesn't even really exist).

-While the camerawork and editing are pretty great, the color grading is very much... not. Can we please stop shooting everything in boring desaturated yellows and greys and start lighting our night scenes so we can actually see what's going on?

-Shockingly, it's the strongest parts from the manga- the backstories- that I feel suffered the most here. Some of that's due to most of the child actors not being that great, which, well, that's a risk you take with child actors. But it also cuts out a lot of the personal culpability that made a lot of those backstories so compelling? Like how Sanji used to be pretty wasteful with food until his experience stranded on an island taught him how important it was to respect every bite? That aspect of his character is completely missing in his flashback here.

-Hoo boy, they made some... choices with how they depicted Arlong's crew. I know the Fishmen are a big racism/discrimination metaphor, but between the trap music that plays whenever they show up, their overall "urban gangsta" fashion aesthetic and the design of Arlong Park, the fact Arlong himself is played by a black actor... there is some coding going on here, is my point. And considering how much I hated the direction this story arc went in Fishman Island, that does not give me confidence in this adaptation's ability to escape sucking just as much on that front.

Future Season Wish List:

Season 2: The Alabasta saga, starting with the arrival at Roguetown and ending with Vivi's send-off

Season 3: The Water Seven saga, maybe with a brief stop in Skypiea beforehand but not long enough to get bogged down in there like the manga did

Season 4: Possibly controversial, but I think this should take us to the timeskip. Spend an episode or two in Thriller Bark but cut out all the bullshit, one episode in Sabaody for the Shit Gets Real(tm) section, one episode in Amazon Lily, then onto Impel Down and the Marineford showdown, with one episode dedicated to the fallout of that battle and getting us to the timeskip.

Season 5: Big focus here should be Dressrosa IMO. If you must spend some time in Fishman Island then do it, probably don't need that much time in Punk Hazard since barely anything happens there, then get into the thick of Dressrosa.

Season 6: This should be the Wano season. One episode in Zou, maybe a couple in Whole Cake Island to set up Big Mom, (honestly we might not even need the extra Sanji backstory if this adaptation gets rid of his worst traits), then get straight into Wano so you have all the time you need for all those moving parts. Also, Gear 5 Luffy in live-action should just be him turning into his anime self Roger Rabbit style. Tell me that wouldn't rule.

#anime #tabw #the anime binge watcher #one piece #one piece live action #one piece netflix

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dweemeister · 6 months

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November 15, 2023

By Jonathan Mahler, James B. Stewart, and Benjamin Mullin

(The New York Times Magazine) — It was April 2022, and David Zaslav had just closed the deal of a lifetime. From the helm of his relatively small and unglamorous cable company, Discovery, he had taken control of a sprawling entertainment conglomerate that included perhaps the most storied movie studio on the planet, Warner Brothers. The longtime New Yorker had always loved movies, and against the advice of several media peers, he had moved to Hollywood and taken over Jack Warner’s historic office, hauling the old mogul’s desk out of storage and topping it off with an old-time handset telephone. So far things were going great. He had met all the stars and players, was widely feted as the next in line to save the eternally struggling industry and was well into the process of renovating a landmark house in Beverly Hills. “You’re the dog that caught the bus,” the billionaire octogenarian cable pioneer John Malone, one of Discovery’s largest shareholders, told him. All he needed to do now was pay back the $56 billion in debt that he piled onto the new company to make the deal happen.

Money is never just lying around Hollywood, and the town was still reeling from the pandemic. But that was OK. Zaslav had set a “synergy target” — cost cuts, essentially — of $3 billion in the next two years, and now, with the clock ticking, he got to work. To help, he had brought along his chief financial officer from Discovery, an amateur pilot and former McKinsey consultant named Gunnar Wiedenfels. As spring turned to summer, they laid off hundreds of workers, shuttered or reorganized divisions and suspended or canceled hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of programming. Anything we don’t think is awesome, Zaslav told executives, stop production right now. Turn the cameras off.

Cuts are the norm after a merger, but Zaslav and Wiedenfels were pushing things hard, and in sometimes unorthodox directions. By shelving several nearly completed projects — including the animated, direct-to-streaming movie “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt,” and the fourth season of the postapocalyptic TV series “Snowpiercer” — they saved millions in postproduction and marketing costs, as well as residuals down the line, and they locked in hefty tax breaks up front. Like so much of what happened in Hollywood, all this was reminiscent of a Hollywood production — in this case, the beloved 1967 Mel Brooks comedy “The Producers.” There, the producers, Max Bialystock and Leopold Bloom, realized that under the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than a hit. For Zaslav and Wiedenfels, the money would come from making sure that no one would get to see the shows in the first place.

Then they came for “Batgirl.” The big-ticket streaming project had just finished filming in Scotland when Zaslav took over, and he and Wiedenfels had immediately identified it as a target — a “free ball,” as Zaslav described it to several colleagues. The audience test scores for a very early cut were not encouraging. Still, a number of executives warned him not to shelve it. “Batgirl” was a $90 million entry in a multibillion-dollar universe of movies and television shows based on DC Comics. Michael Keaton was reprising his role as Batman, and sequels were already in the works. Plenty of movies had tested poorly but still earned millions. Killing an all-but-completed movie would alienate the people Zaslav — or at least Hollywood — needed most: the people who made the movies. It was to no avail. On Aug. 2, the word came down: “Batgirl” was dead.

As predicted, the backlash was immediate and emotional. Stunned, the film’s up-and-coming directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, tried to look at their footage, but their access to the production server was denied. The head of the DC unit, Walter Hamada, who was not consulted on the decision, asked to be released from his contract and would leave before the end of the year. Courtenay Valenti, one of the most respected development executives at Warner Brothers, was equally devastated and would be gone in a matter of weeks, ending a 33-year run at the studio. The news dominated the Hollywood trades for days. Under fire, Zaslav defended the decision in an earnings call with analysts, saying he shelved “Batgirl” to protect the DC brand. More quietly, Zaslav also sought cover in the authority of Bryan Lourd, the powerful co-chairman of Creative Artists Agency and a leading arbiter of Hollywood mores. As Zaslav told it to several associates, Lourd had supported the decision, observing that it wasn’t in the interest of C.A.A. clients, like the film’s star, Leslie Grace, to be associated with a bad movie. But a C.A.A. spokeswoman denied that. “Bryan Lourd was not consulted in advance of the studio’s move to cancel ‘Batgirl,’” she said.

At Discovery, producers referred to having their budgets slashed as “getting Gunnared,” and Wiedenfels maintains a hard-boiled, McKinsey-esque attitude toward the bottom line. “It’s hard work,” he says. “You don’t make friends.” Zaslav, a born salesman who would prefer to make friends, is more reflective. “You do sometimes get bloodied,” he said in a wide-ranging interview at Warner Brothers Discovery’s corporate headquarters in New York. But business is business. “We have made unpopular decisions because they were necessary.”

That joke about selling to Saudi Arabia in the end. Just... no.

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slotumn · 5 days

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Some additional thoughts on a post I made before, on how to make Deer and Leicester eviler™:

On top of profitting off of selling weapons and supplies during the war, Leicester can absolutely use that position to sabotage the other two factions even more. Like, in addition to "make them fight each other to death (and make money off of it)" As in, they can purposefully sell shittier quality weapons and supplies to the other two, while keeping all the better ones for themselves. Adrestia and Faerghus may be able to act finnicky at first because they can produce their own... but what happens as the war goes on for longer and they both keep bleeding money and people and production capabilities? Leicester can literally go "yeah we're gonna sell you shitty weapons and expired food and you're gonna buy it because there are no other options."

Even scummier if at first Leicester does do quality control if only to make sure their products are competitive with the domestically produced Adrestian and Faerghan products, then over the years the quality lowers while the prices get higher. The popular resentment for Leicester in other regions would be through the roof even (especially) if they win lmao

And speaking of resentment, following from the above it would be great if Byleth has to rein in and beat the Leicester nobles' ass to maintain the unity as much as they have to crush anyone trying to revolt under Adrestian/Faerghan banner. There's absolutely no way the greedy Leicester nobles who profiteered off war wouldn't try to divide up and exploit the rest of the continent as their colony once they win, and Byleth would have to fight for their life to stop that from happening, even if (or especially because) Leicester was their ally in the war.

I just generally like the idea of postwar rebuilding in Fódlan being even more difficult and a headache than just winning battles in the war, no matter who wins; everything's not magically better, people are bitter and hateful and that doesn't automatically go away, as a matter of fact the repercussions will probably hang around for the next few generations, and nobody is fully satisfied with anything, but they still have to do it because the other option is eternal kill-or-be-killed animal kingdom shit. Byleth, who grew up a mercenary in those exact conditions even before the war, would definitely be committed to rebuilding.

...Also all this really makes Claude sound like even more of an asshole for just taking off to Almyra right after the war ends huh (he's my fave)

But honestly, Almyra, a neighboring nation that's presumably stronger than the newly united Fódlan militarily and economically, not deciding to invade and take over right after is already a ridiculously nice scenario compared to what tends to happen in real life lol. And if Almyra gives Fódlan economic support and good trade terms to help with the rebuilding, without severe internal meddling in exchange even, Fódlan will have to be Almyra's staunch ally for the next few centuries at least! Plus aside from the direct threat by Almyra being gone, having a bigger stronger country as your ally is a good deterrence for places like Sreng or Brigid invading in a "hit 'em while they're down (so they can't attack us again)" way.

(However I'd fully support a non-recruited Petra attacking Fódlan post-VW to warn them they shouldn't try anything funny to Brigid again lmao. Also I think Petra should try to annex Albinea post-war just to have more shores to launch attacks/counterattacks from + be able to exert more economic pressure on Fódlan as needed since Dominic trades with Albinea. Morality of it aside, it could be a decent political strategy)

That aside, I don't actually see Fódlan-Almyra normalization going something like

Almyra: Sorry about invading and shit

Fódlan: I forgive you it's cool let's start over

or even

Fódlan: Sorry we were extremely uncommunicative and called you guys savages without trying to get to know you, we were prejudiced.

Almyra: Honestly we called you guys savages too and kept invading, we're sorry too. There now it's even, we can start over as friends now!

It probably goes more like

Fódlan: thank you sooooo much for the money and help big bwother almywa :333 we will never try to act like hot shit in front of you or call you bad names again :33333

Almyra: Haha no prob. You're gonna send us lots of troops and money if we ever get in a war too, right?

Fódlan: yes yes anything you say big bwo almywa :3333

Like regardless of how personally friendly and on equal terms the monarchs are, or whether Fódlan manages to get strong enough in the future that it doesn't need to do that towards Almyra anymore, this is probably the angle they'd have to go for when it comes to the politics of it lmao.

First one would probably be seen as humiliating to Almyra (why the fuck are they apologizing when they haven't lost/what makes Fódlan think they're in the high position to be "granting forgiveness"), second one would probably make Almyrans and Fódlanis mad (again, "why are we apologizing, we haven't done anything wrong!"), third one is... like yeah it's probably embarrassing for the Fódlanis but that's diplomacy and international politics when you're a weak country just getting up from the shambles of war.

Tl;dr once again Golden Deer and Leicester deserve to be eviller, postwar rebuilding should bust Byleth's balls (metaphorical or literal), and Petra should get to threaten and intimidate Fódlan juuuust a little.

#fe3h #fire emblem three houses #fe3h meta #meta #fe3h worldbuilding #golden deer #leicester alliance #claude von riegan #byleth eisner #petra macneary #slotalks

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andmaybegayer · 2 years

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How did Europe achieve this impressive recovery of mammal populations?

In short, stopping the activities that were killing mammals off in the first place. Effective protection against hunting, overexploitation, and the destruction of habitats have been key.

Agricultural land use has declined across Europe over the last 50 years. This allowed natural habitats to return where agriculture had previously taken them over. It is a point that I’ve made before: high agricultural productivity is key to protecting wildlife. We need to produce more from less so that we can leave wild spaces for the world’s animals to flourish.

Another essential development was to stop hunting them. Countries brought in effective protection policies such as complete bans on hunting or hunting quotas; designated areas with legal protections; patrols to catch illegal poachers; and compensation schemes for the reproduction of certain species.

Most mammals are now listed under various region-wide protection schemes with strict regulations such as the EU Habitats and Species Directive; the Bern Convention and CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

In 1981 Sweden introduced hunting quotas on brown bears. This is thought to be the main driver of the recovery of this species. There has also been a European-wide ban on the hunting of Harbour seals, with the exception of Iceland and Norway. Sweden established a compensation scheme with financial rewards for the reproduction of wolverines. Most impressive of all, the Eurasian Beaver has not only had legal protection, it has also been reintroduced in more than 25 countries across Eurasia.

The European bison made its comeback as the result of more than 50 years of breeding and reintroduction programs. In the 1930s, after going extinct in the wild, conservationists published the first edition of the European Bison Pedigree Book. It records the full genealogical history of all surviving bison. It was the first conservation program of its kind and it has been updated every year since.

The bison has come a long way since its first reintroduction to the wild in 1952. A century after going extinct in the wild, the IUCN Red List moved it from the classification of Vulnerable to Near Threatened thanks to continued conservation efforts.

What these promising trends show is that the recovery of wildlife is possible. Improvements in agricultural productivity not only halted the expansion of agriculture, but eventually reversed it. Farmland was given back to nature. Importantly, Europe achieved this while producing more food at the same time.

The state of European wild spaces in general, especially the megafauna, always felt pretty distressing so I'm glad to see hard data that there are significant improvements, and the measures required to manage wildlife are not even particularly extreme as wildlife conservation in the modern day goes.

(this is not intended to directly relate to this last week's hunting discourse: hunting in the North America and in Europe are pretty different due to differences in land use and the history of human-wildlife interactions, however it should be noted that land use in food production tends to directly impact on survival of wildlife in general.)

#ecology #european wildlife #rewilding #our world in data

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i-heart-hxh · 2 months

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Hello again! In your opinion, how much more of the manga would need to be completed for a new anime to be produced picking up from the 2011 anime? Not until HxH officially ends? Or do you think the odds are if they ever do produce another show, they reboot it again from the beginning? Has there ever been any rumblings in the Japanese media about wanting to reboot/continue the anime? Thanks for taking the time to answer all these questions!

Hello!

At the very bare minimum, I think the current arc would have to end in order for there to be any consideration of the anime continuing. It simply wouldn't make sense to start adapting an unfinished arc with no fulfilling place to leave off, especially with how unpredictable Togashi's pace is with releasing new chapters.

With Togashi's pace in mind and the uncertainty about how much more of the series remains, I do think there's a chance they would consider adapting the next arc, if it leaves off with a reasonable stopping place.

I'm sure the Madhouse (2011 anime) team would be happy to continue the series if they have the opportunity; with how enduringly popular Hunter x Hunter is, it's guaranteed to be a success, and the 2011 team seems to absolutely adore the series so I'm sure they'd jump at the chance to continue working on it. It's just a matter of actually having at least an arc completed to work with, which the manga in its current state can't provide.

I think a reboot of the series any time in the near future is highly, highly unlikely. The 2011 anime licensing seems to be quite active, there are still events related to the 2011 anime happening and lots and lots of merchandise being released. With that in mind, another studio obtaining permission and licensing to re-adapt it within the next decade is probably nearly impossible and wouldn't make much sense, especially with how extensive the series is up until this point and how much already got adapted in the 2011 anime. Making a long series, even a popular one, is a huge investment, and having a pretty well-done and satisfying one done recently enough that people are still watching it and merchandising is still active means it would be highly unusual and strange for a reboot to happen so soon.

(I actually think the odds of a Yu Yu Hakusho anime reboot are pretty high within the next ~5-10 years, with the current popularity of re-adapting older series and the age of YYH's anime.)

I wouldn't entirely rule out HxH getting a reboot someday, though I think a continuation is more likely, but it depends on a lot of factors (like what happens with the manga and Togashi and whether an anime continuation happens or not) and a reboot would likely have to be quite a few years down the line. 15-20+ years from now, maybe...?

In short, the situation with the anime continuing is very complicated right now. If you hear anyone spreading news about the anime starting back up again, there's like a 99.99% chance it's fake. There's always the chance something unconventional will happen, like Togashi working directly with an anime crew to continue the series, but I wouldn't count on something unusual like that happening. There's also some small possibility of things like new original anime movies, but TBH without Togashi's heavy input, I'd have mixed feelings on seeing more of those.

All we can do for now is continue to be patient with the manga coming out and hope that someday it'll reach a point where more can be adapted. I would love to see the anime continued someday or even rebooted, but my first priority is seeing what happens with the manga.

Thanks for asking!

#hxh #hunter x hunter #asks #ive-bean-boozled #my posts #as a note I don't have any special insider knowledge or anything here BUT #I do know more about anime production than your average anime fan #due to going to lots of industry panels at anime conventions over the last 20+ years

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mlmxreader · 29 days

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What is your most controversial unpopular opinion?

oh, I have so many lmfao but I'll say the ones that won't get me anon hate 💀

1. outdoor cats

the animal welfare act in the UK dictates that EVERYONE has a legal obligation and responsibility from protecting animals within their care against "pain, injury, suffering and disease". you cannot do that if you're letting your cat out for hours on end; you're also responsible for causing the massive ecological damage that the invasive species does by killing birds and small mammals and reptiles. keep your fucking cats indoors.

2. if you're white, you DON'T get to "make jokes" about racism, even if it's to "subvert" them

it's not your place AT ALL. stop it. be normal. and in the same breadth, you do NOT get to "accept" an apology from someone who has been racist. shut the fuck up & listen to the people who are effected by it.

3. fandom isn't a "safe space" unless you're a white cishet woman

from saneism/ableism, through to racism and homophobia, fandom has lost its ability to call itself a "safe space"; given the amount of fanfic produced by white cishet women, predominantly, that relies on harmful tropes or something like 50 Shades, it's clear that if you're Black, you're not welcome. if you're queer, you're not welcome. if you're not a woman, you're not welcome. if you're Muslim, Sikh, or Jewish, you aren't welcome. fandom isn't a "safe space".

4. if you want to own reptiles, you should have a licence

I've seen it EVERYWHERE, and although the reasons range from live feeding (which is a cruel & unneeded thing!) all through to not giving animals the proper enrichment, people shouldn't be allowed to own a reptile w/o a licence as PROOF of being competent first. an animal isn't a "right", and ik from my experience w Ace in particular, that some people just want these animals for the aesthetic or for the bragging rights - NOT because they genuinely care.

5. if you haven't done any form of activism OFFLINE, then you're a cunt tbh

if your only form of activism is retweeting or reblogging stuff, then im sorry, but you NEED to do better; you should be protesting one way or another. if you're unable to attend proper protests, you should be campaigning for your local politicians to stand w you - whether that's for Hawaii, Congo, Palestine, or Armenia. whether that's for trans rights, homeless rights, or better mental health services. you should be raising awareness to the people around you in real life, you should be campaigning OUTSIDE of online. there's ALWAYS something that you can do. there's no excuse to do NOTHING but online activism. no excuse.

6. if you won't speak up abt bigotry bc of "fandom drama", you're not an actual ally.

more or less self explanatory, but like, if someone says "hey X fandom has a really big issue with saneism" and your automatic response is to NEVER speak about it, then you're not an ally! bc how is anyone from a marginalised community supposed to feel safe around you when you WON'T speak up when you can; online, you have the anonymity and the ability to walk away. you SHOULD be speaking up abt bigotry, bc if you WON'T do it online, then how can we expect you to do it OFFLINE when you WONT be able to walk away? when you WONT have anonymity?

#asks #gayaristocrat

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nadziejastar · 5 months

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When did Kh go to complete shit in your opinion

The short answer is that the series experienced a gradual decline after the release of BBS. I think it officially went to shit with Union X, particularly the story arc that started after the Keyblade War. The longer answer will be under the cut.

KH2FM/Days/BBS (2007-2010)

Since Birth by Sleep is the first part of the Kingdom Hearts storyline, I'd like if you considered it as Kingdom Hearts, "Episode 0". This title isn't placed as a side story, with its storyline and battle system, it is substantial like that of a numbered title.

During this time, the series was extremely healthy and at its peak of popularity, with a bright future. KH2 was a beloved JRPG classic (and still is). The Final Mix introduced interesting new mysteries surrounding Xemnas and solid gameplay extras like the Lingering Will. Days was a side game, but it gave more development to fan favorites Roxas and Axel. The PSP wasn't the most popular system in the West, but BBS still sold quite well. It was a bit of a downgrade from KH2 due to the lesser hardware, but it was still a true mainline numbered sequel in the spirit of KH2 and was well received by fans. Tbh, I'd consider BBS the last truly great game in the series.

Re:Coded (2010)

After BBS the next new installment was...a filler game in the spirit of CoM. Recycled Disney plots, and an even more nonsense story with the datascape stuff. But it was just a DS port of a Japanese flip-phone game. It was a title that you could completely ignore and not really lose out on anything. Still, it is a low-quality title that didn't need to exist and wasn't doing the reputation of the series any favors.

Birth By Sleep Final Mix+ (2011)

[D]uring that movie there were the words ‘A fragmentary passage’, weren’t there? That means a ‘bits and pieces of something whole’. In short, a story for ‘Volume Two’ exists that ought to be told, but the story cuts off with those scenes. Because of that, I won’t say there is absolutely no chance that we will produce a title to follow KHBBS, but there are no plans as of now.

This game had an interesting playable secret ending and video. Volume 2 was supposed to be a numbered game (KH0.5), a mainline title that would fill in important gaps from across the timeline. But BBSFM didn't sell well in Japan. Which isn't surprising. Final mixes made sense in the PS2 era. But the extra content for BBS could have been released as DLC. Not many people want to buy the same game again for some new content.

Dream, Drop, Distance (2012)

KH3D was put together relatively quickly, I was still concepting the story when I brought it to the table.

This is when the series started going to shit. It started gaining quite a bad reputation and articles like this began to pop up. Re:Coded could easily be dismissed as filler, but 3D was advertised as more of a mainline game. People were eager for KH3, or at least a game with the same quality as BBS. DDD isn't terrible or anything. But you could tell that it didn't have as much thought put into it as BBS.

It was originally just the beginning part of KH3 that got stretched out into a full game and it shows. The Disney worlds don't fit into the normal timeline, there's fewer of them, Disney party members were replaced with animals, and the drop gimmick was controversial. There's weird time travel stuff that is convoluted and not explained very well. This didn't help with the story's reputation.

I originally planned to make that [a mystery KH title] after KHBBS, but we ended up making KH3D and the project was stopped. It’s a shame, but we won’t be starting that project again.

BBSV2 was planned after BBS. Production stopped to make DDD. The secret ending of DDD showed Young Xehanort on the beach of Destiny Islands, which was one of the events shown during "A Fragmentary Passage". There may have still been plans to start production of BBSV2 again after KH3D finished. But Square changed their minds. I suspect the reason for that has to do with Versus XIII.

Versus was being developed by the Tokyo team which made KH2. BBS was made by the Osaka team, which also made DDD. The original plan was for the Tokyo team to finish Versus and then make KH3. But things were a mess with Versus and eventually it was decided that the Osaka team would make KH3. So, if the Osaka team was busy on KH3, then they wouldn't be able to make BBSV2.

X (2013)

To tell the story about the Keyblade War we need the capacity of hi-spec hardware and we need to accumulate all of our knowledge on this hardware. And in telling this story, we will need to tell it in separate episodes, and how specifically to tell it has yet to be figured out.

There is evidence that X was probably intended to be an MMO on high-spec hardware. Square had a lot of trouble with the transition to HD consoles, so it was downgraded to a minor release on browser. It's an okay title. Interesting lore that expands on the fairy tale of Kairi's grandma. But it's got the typical recycled Disney plots and low-budget gameplay. Not exactly lighting the world on fire for the core audience.

If you do know, then you will enjoy the world of KH all the more, make no mistake. However, you don't have to know everything. The protagonist himself, Sora, doesn't know everything. That said, I'd be happiest if you did play it (laughs). If you do give it a try, I think you'll be surprised at what a rich experience you get for free.

But X was not meant to be a title with an emphasis on story. It was a spin-off, totally separate from the main plot thread. It was written alongside KH3 and the two were intimately related. If you played X, it would enhance your enjoyment (Ephemer cameo), but it was not essential.

X was rebranded as Unchained X and rereleased for mobile in 2015. X was also remade into Back Cover, which was included in the 2.8 HD Remaster collection. People would naturally assume that Back Cover told you everything you needed to know about the X story in preparation for KH3. And maybe at one point, that was the plan...

0.2 A Fragmentary Passage (2017)

As far as content goes, we can’t include a full volume of content to play with like the second chapter of KHBbS, so it’s just a “fragment,” and we left that part of the subtitle. 0.5 is one of the letters and numbers that appeared in the secret episode of KHBbS FM, and that meant full volume, so we decided on 0.2 this time, to indicate that there will be more content to come.

IMO, this is the first high-quality release since BBS. But it's still just a 3-hour prologue instead of a complete game. The events with Aqua are interesting, but they are just one "fragment" of the whole 0.5.

Actually, this was what I worried about the most. We showed this for a bit in the secret episode of [KHBbS FM], but the concept for two chapters of [BbS] is something we've had for a while, and because of problems with time, it's become just a morceau.

Releasing it as a full game on consoles would have delayed progress of KH3. And after nearly a decade of nothing but remasters and low-quality spin-offs, that was the last thing Square wanted. Despite how important 0.5 was, fans would be upset if the next mainline game wasn't KH3.

Union X (2017)

As a gacha with a worldwide audience, X was extremely profitable, so its storyline was extended past its natural ending. Even though X was a complete story that was meant to lead directly into KH3, Nomura retconned the ending, allowing the story of Ephemer and friends to continue in a new story arc called Union X which began in 2017. UX was...strange. It took place in the afterlife? Or the datascape? It had tons of filler, very infrequent story updates that barely progressed anything, and weird retcons, like character backstories that felt like they were in the wrong game (Why tf are Ventus and Marluxia here???).

Unlike X, the story of UX felt like it was being made up on the fly. Also, UX did not directly tie in with KH3 anymore. Its run actually continued past KH3. It was as if Nomura knew there were going to be too many plot holes for KH3 to properly resolve. So, he began using UX to set up the plot of KH4. People who only played the remasters were going to be completely blindsided when they played KH3. It wouldn't conclude anything that was set up in Back Cover, like the black box. KH3 would actually just be one big "to be continued" for KH4 with UX acting a band-aid. IMO, this is the point when the series had officially gone to shit.

KH3 (2019)

I had quite a tough time writing the story this time around. So many characters appear in this game, with each of them having their own set of problems and needing to choose their own fate. [...] I believe that KINGDOM HEARTS III is truly completed when the two thoughts - whatever you feel from playing the game, and my thoughts that I’ve secretly placed in the game - match up together. I hope that everyone playing the game will complete the game for us.

The long-awaited big budget mainline title on home console was a decent game, but it just wasn't a complete experience like KH2 was. 0.5 should have properly developed the relationships of Lea/Isa, Ansem the Wise/Ienzo, and Xehanort/Eraqus. Instead, these backstories only get lightly touched on in the Secret Reports and then one cutscene was given to "resolve" their problems. The new original world that was shown off in a private trailer in 2014 dubbed "Cable Town" was completely absent from the final game, except as the final battle stage.

KH3 had beautiful production values, solid gameplay, and vastly improved level design. But it didn't capture people's hearts like KH2 did. More incomprehensible time travel, rushed unsatisfying reunions for the trios, plot holes galore, and a cliffhanger ending only made things worse for the reputation of the series. The story is infamous in the gaming community now. A meme. KH4 doesn't have anywhere near as much hype as KH3 did.

Fans all have different favorite characters, so I thought I should give each of them their own time to shine, but because the amount of things needed to be explained was too large, I had to find a way to have Sora move forward, at the very least. Actually, when the scenarios were being written, the Keyblade Graveyard part was the most difficult. If I focused on each character at a time, the progression of events would be quite slow, and the battles involving Sora were necessary to be shown, so making allowances for everything was difficult. The way I imagined it, all of the characters tied to each other should fight in order and put an end to everything [themselves], but if I did that, the explanations would end up being too long.

Re:Mind was content that should have been in the main game, but was removed due to time constraints. For instance, the Final Fantasy characters from RG. Also, being able to play as the various guardians of light in their respective battles, rather than just Sora. Roxas and Xion weren't even supposed to be revived in the middle of Lea and Kairi's fight, but were included to please fans. The focus of the DLC is on Yozora, a new OC reminiscent of Noctis, showing that KH4 will be an attempt to revive the cancelled Versus XIII. The series is just...a hot mess at this point.

Melody of Memory (2020)

Another budget side game nobody wanted. Only has a tiny bit of story at the very end. Similar to Re:Mind, the plot felt like cut content from KH3. Stuff like Kairi's childhood flashbacks of Apprentice Xehanort, her arrival in the Final World to look for Sora's soul, then having a confrontation with old man Xehanort. All stuff that should have been in KH3. Ya know, when Xehanort was still alive...

Dark Road (2020)

I know what you're probably thinking: the Dark Seeker Saga, which depicted the battle against Xehanort, finished with KINGDOM HEARTS III, didn't it? Well, it's a grey area, but I wouldn't call this title part of the Dark Seeker Saga. Why? Because this isn't about battling against Xehanort—it's about the battles of Xehanort. And maybe you're thinking that's a bit of a reach, but… okay, maybe it's a bit of a reach. However, I had the concept in my head for many years. It got shelved because it never really fitted what our team wanted. But around then, I heard from the Union X team that they'd like to do a parallel title with a new protagonist. And, since it seemed there was an unexpected number of Xehanort fans out there, it all came together like it was destined to be.

This story was no doubt one of the missing "fragments" of 0.5. Unlike many KH games, DR has a very solid premise and an interesting storyline. It's just a story that should have been told in a mainline game before the Xehanort saga ended. Because it was rebranded as part of the X series, there were weird retcons like Xehanort being the reincarnation of the UX Player. However, the main problem was the VERY low budget. The chibi pop-up book graphics fit the childish fairy tale story of X, but don't fit this story. Story updates were slow and gameplay was trash. Didn't even last a year. The scenario was truncated, and we got an abrupt ending that didn't even delve into Master Odin, how Xehanort fell to darkness, or how he and Eraqus grew apart. At this point, the state of the series is just pitiful.

Missing Link (2024)

"Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link" is a work that fills in the blanks between the two arcs and acts as a bridge, so it doesn't belong to either the "Dark Seeker" or "Lost Masters" arcs.

When UX finally ended, the Player, who was already dead, dies again. Only, instead of going to the Final World (X's ending) it's implied that they're reborn. This is because Square wanted to make a new UX with a parallel protagonist. But DR flopped. So, they retconned things yet again. No, no. Xehanort wasn't the reincarnation of Player-kun. Rather, it's this new robed person and Xehanort just absorbed their memories. ML is the REAL mobile follow-up to UX.

Honestly, ML doesn't look too bad. Unlike UX, it will be able to deliver a console-like experience (yay controller support!) and the story seems like it will be closer to a mainline game. I imagine most of the unused "fragments" from 0.5 will be included as "missing links" this time around. Better late than never. But fans are definitely burned out from the vast amount of side games and most just want KH4. Fortunately, mobile games only need a few dedicated whales to stay funded. ML won't delay progress of KH4 and it can dole out its story gradually, and it won't have to be rushed or shortened like KH0.2.

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thatmilkshakedragon · 10 months

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Gonna talk about this guy for a second because I genuinely feel like no one is talking about this/ not enough coverage about the Deku headcannons made in the bnha/mha fandom.

I'm gonna spit it out now, I think Bakudeku is the most overrated ship I have ever seen, in any fandom, period. I also think that Deku is one of the most shit on characters by a fandom that doesn't really deserve to get shit on. There is so much I can say about this, but for the purposes of you, the reader, I'll try and keep this as short as I can.

ALSO GONNA SAY THIS NOW, MY OPINION IS NOT GOSPEL. SHIP BAKUDEKU IF YOU WANT, MAKE DEKU SAD EMO BOY IF YOU WISH, THATS YOUR CHOICE. IM JUST NOT GONNA WATCH YOUR CONTENT AND IM SIMPLY SAYING THE REASONS WHY.

OFFICIAL CONTENT WARNING FROM HERE : I will be talking about alot of sensitive topics in this post but the main ones I will be covering are Underage Sex, SH, depression etc. Also there will be slight spoilers for the show ( I haven't watched it so don't expect anything massive )

So let's talk about Boku no Hero Academia/ My Hero Academia. Alot of you know about this show already, but for those who don't :

Boku No Hero Academia/ My Hero Academia is an Manga Series turned anime, originally illustrated and written by Kōhei Horikoshi. In the series, we follow a Teenager called Izuku Midoriya (Deku for short) , who is a "quirkless" boy lives in a world of "quirks" (superpowers). He still dreams of being a superhero, and he gets scouted by his hero, "All might", who bestows his powers onto him after seeing his potential, and also helps to get him into a prestigious high school for superheroes in training.

Now in this anime, there is another boy called Katsuki Bakugo, who has bullied Deku ever since he was a child. When they were in middle school, the bullying did not stop, and now in high school they continued to be rivals/ Deku being bullied by Bakugo.

Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with headcannons/au's, in fact, I think headcannons/au's are one of the building blocks of fandom. But there is a certain point in which these Au's can cross a line, and unfortunately in the Bnha/Mha fandom, that line is crossed a fair bit.

Let's start with bakudeku, the thing that sparked this whole post in the first place. At the start of this post I said it was overrated, and I stand by that. The amount of hype I see of these two getting in a relationship fills me with absolute agony. THESE TWO AREN'T COMPATIBLE IN THE SLIGHTEST. Yes, Katsuki may have character development that I have not seen, since I do not watch this show ( the reasons why can get a post on its own ), but from the clips I've seen of Katsuki, he just seems like a huge jackass towards EVERYONE. The only people he does respect are adults who can beat the shit out of him, and that's really sad. Now let's get to Izuku. I'm not very sure but personally I don't think he will be shipped with anyone, at least not for the time being. Izuku seems focused on becoming a hero at the moment in the series, so I'd highly doubt that he will be getting into a relationship.

Now lets get into another reason for why Izuku is shit upon. The amount of Batsuit insane stuff that the Bnha/Mha fandom has produced. This segment doesn't just run for deku either, this can be for arguably every character in the show (besides grape guy everyone agrees he is a dick) Fanfiction is in my opinion, the core part of a thriving fandom, alongside Fanart and Headcannons, but the amount of fanfiction that has Izuku as a cat maid for todoroki or some shit along the lines of that IS INSANE. A bunch of these characters aren't aged up either, which makes it even more fucking gross. Like youre writing 2 teenagers fucking each other in their rooms which they still have like stuff up from when they were 10 or some shit. I do know about Japan's fucked up sex culture quite a bit, and how the age of consent is lowered there, but this is still a huge problem regardless.

Let's stop with the CP, and now go onto depressed Deku. I also see in the Bnha/Mha fandom, that there is a lot of content about Deku being depressed or like not mentally ok. In alot of these headcannons, there's usually an event where a character will find Deku's arms with giant slits on them, or they will find blood on Deku's clothes, and Deku will try and deny that he is depressed, or go into a massive breakdown. These headcannons usually involve Deku going to a mental institution to seek help, and along the way fall in love with a character ( I lied there's more ship content ) . My personal opinion, these are disgusting headcannons. Yet again, this guy is still in his teens, and you're putting him into crazy scenarios not many teens have.

The last point I have to make is the plague that this character made upon fandom. From Gacha, to Ao3 to Tumblr, the shittyfied Deku has taken over fandom spaces like these. The amount of gacha content surrounding Deku (usually in a relationship with a character) is fucking insane. For every 20 videos you can find on YouTube of Bnha/Mha, at least 15 will be bakudeku. There's not much normal content anymore on the fandom, because the shitty deku has taken over, and I find that really sad.

It's a genuine shame that Deku has been tested like this, because he seems like suck a great character for this anime, but the fandom has just betrayed him. It's saddening seeing the showrunners get harassed for not shipping Deku with anyone, rather then actually critiquing things wrong with the show ( like directing, writing, comedy etc ). Idk man, this whole thing just makes me really sad.

if you do need some guidance for your mental health, you're under 18, and you live in Ireland or the UK, then call ChildLine, they are a brilliant organisation who listens and lets you vent and lets you be heard. To find out more go to www.childline.co.uk for more info.

Please for the love of God reblog this I spent over an hour on it and it's 20 past 1 in the morning kill me 🤠

#bnha #mha #deku #fucked up fandom #its 1 am #tw #anti bakudeku #blood #tw depressing stuff #tw sh related

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