Essay - Blog Posts

The Ultimate Form, Its Evolutions, And How It Lives Up To Its Name (DBS: Super Hero Spoilers Ahead)

Dragon Ball is a show with many different power altering techniques and transformations, from Kaioken to Super Saiyan to even fusion. Knowing this, many characters use these different forms and techniques in their goal of attaining further strength. But which is the best and why is it the best? If you were to ask me, that honor would go to the Ultimate form.

The Ultimate form has been and is known as many things throughout Dragon Ball’s lifespan: Potential Unleashed, the Mystic form, Power Unleashed, Power Awakening, and obviously Ultimate. Essentially, the form draws out all of a person’s hidden potential and even heightens a person's senses, as Gohan was able to see without his glasses after transforming in Super Hero, but his eyesight reverted to being poor once he powered back down into his base form. As if that wasn’t enough, the form seemingly doesn’t take any stamina away from the wielder to use. The form is typically gained through enduring Elder Kai’s ritual, but Piccolo showcased the ability to be granted the form from Shenron via a wish.

In no uncertain terms, the power that this transformation can grant its user is absurd. Gohan was able to outclass Super Saiyan 3 Goku’s power as soon as he received the form, beat Super Buu before he absorbed Gotenks, and after further training in Dragon Ball Super it was shown to be able to keep up with Super Saiyan Blue.

As if the form wasn’t crazy enough, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero gave us the fun information that just like Super Saiyan, the Ultimate form can evolve into separate, more powerful transformations. While this has caused some confusion in the fanbase, as the Ultimate form is already supposed to draw out all of a person’s latent potential, episode 90 of the DBS anime implies that Super Saiyan can be combined with the Ultimate form.

My point being that just because the Ultimate form brings out all of your latent potential doesn’t mean that your power can’t be further amplified. That being said, I think that’s what these evolved forms are doing: simply amplifying the user’s power after bringing forth their latent potential.

But that’s not all these evolved forms have to offer. When I said “just like Super Saiyan, the Ultimate form can evolve into separate, more powerful transformations”, I didn’t mean something like an Ultimate 2, Ultimate 3, etc etc, I meant that everyone who evolves their Ultimate form gets a transformation (seemingly) entirely unique to them. While it’s never directly stated why in Super Hero, I think the reason is pretty obvious: the transformations are themed around the sources of the character’s potential, and different character’s potentials come from different places. Gohan’s Beast form is unlocked in a moment of rage at seeing Piccolo hurt by Cell Max, just like the rage boosts he would experience as a child.

Piccolo’s potential comes from his Namekian heritage, but more specifically, his fusions with Nail and Kami. Think about it: his Orange form was granted to him by Shenron, the eternal dragon originally created by the Nameless Namekian who would eventually split into Piccolo and Kami. By fusing back with Kami, that means that Piccolo has returned to being the Nameless Namekian, so Shenron helping out his creator with a new transformation makes sense. You could also argue that Piccolo’s fusions not only made him stronger in the moment, but increased his potential, allowing him to grow further and faster than he would have been able to without undergoing them, but that’s a discussion for another time.

It should come as a shock to no-one reading that these transformations are ridiculously powerful. Given how Gohan’s Ultimate form allowed him to keep pace with Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue, amping the power of the form beyond that is insane to think about, and it’s no small amp either. Before Gohan obtained the form, he seemed pitiful in comparison to Cell Max, but once he transformed he was able to tank a punch from Cell Max without even flinching. I think it’s safe to say that the amp in power provided by Gohan’s Beast form outclasses the amp that Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken x20 amp gives him, which putting it simply means that I think that Beast’s amp is greater than x20 the power Gohan’s Ultimate form provides him.

Orange Piccolo isn’t as powerful as Gohan, but that doesn’t mean he’s a slouch either. The Orange form gives Piccolo enough power to easily defeat Gamma 2, who was stronger than him in his Ultimate state. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the Gammas are stronger than Android 17 who, get this, was also able to fight evenly with Goku’s Super Saiyan Blue form. Given how Orange Piccolo knocked out Gamma 2 with one punch, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that Piccolo’s Orange form gives him a similar amp to Gohan’s Beast form. I’m not saying that Orange Piccolo and Beast Gohan are equal in power, just that the amp their forms provide are similar.

So let’s summarize the main points just to make sure we got everything nice and tidy: the Ultimate form draws out all of the user’s latent potential with minimal to no stamina usage which can be further amplified by other powers, such as Super Saiyan. The form can also evolve into a new, unique form depending on the source of your potential, and these evolved states amplifies the user’s already drawn out power to ludicrous levels.

And that does it, really. That’s why I think Ultimate is the, well, ultimate form to strive for to increase your power in the world of Dragon Ball. I don’t really know how to end this other than saying that this is just my interpretation of the forms based on the information I know about Dragon Ball and that if you have a different interpretation then more power to you. I’m not trying to convince anyone that they have to agree with me, just sharing my own personal thoughts and ideas. I plan to write more short essay stuff like this as well, I think my next one will be talking about the human Z-Fighters!

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much! This is the first time I’ve ever sat down and wrote something like this and while I’m not expecting it to do super well, it’s cool knowing that maybe someone will read it and agree with me. If you see this, have a great day!

I feel as if I don't know myself.

I feel as if I don't know myself. 

        Not really, like I look in the mirror and see myself. Blond hair, mismatched coloured eyes, head to toe in yellow. But I also see a 15-year-old whose life is still being decided for them. Even with all the freedom, they could dream of. A world full of beautiful people and my soul decided this body, this life. I already came to terms with this though. 

I’d like to believe I chose this as some sort of afterlife where I was good in my past life. Or maybe I was bad. I feel like I would be a worm or something if I were bad but, being a worm would be significantly better than going to school every day. Only 8 months left though. Doesn't seem that long before college, which I know will be heaven. Less annoying people. I can focus more, have a usable library, have less social pressure, wearing my own clothes! The whole gist of it is so much better. Being a worm would be so simple, dig, eat? Get eaten by the early bird? Drink water? 

Okay, being a worm might not be that easy. I'm overthinking it a bit. A cat maybe? I like cats they are soft… well most of them. But they get fleas and into cat fights and the thought of licking myself so much, as well as annoying kids that would still bother me. I could be one of those indoor cats that are pampered their whole life, but the inbreeding and annoying fur and smothering old people. If I was a cat I would probably be a cat of a young college girl. 

College will be heaven. Well, at least my description of it. Worrying about the future but having most of it sorted, deciding in high school is the hard bit. And I bet the work would be fun. High school work sucks, it's all in books and all my notes are messy and confusing and I don't ever use them. ever. There is no point in writing them in the first place. I can have food at more practical times, better food in college for sure as well as free days when no work is required. The homework just seems nicer. 

Back to the main point, I don't know myself. Maybe I will in college. I already go on Fridays and am known for my overall confident fashion choices. Constantly showered in compliments. I think there would be more people like me. (Whoever ‘me’ is.) Someone with no set fashion sense, pescatarian, lesbian. Yea probably more lesbians. 

In the UK college isn't this big thing, I'm not moving away from my family or anything or getting a whole new friendship group, everyone is the same. I just like it more. More diverse people in my opinion, somehow, considering they are basically the same people. I guess in vogueing in them finding themselves like how I’m finding myself. Guessing people can change over an extended summer or just the annoying ones not doing my course. Yea I feel like it would be better if they just stayed away from me. 

Currently, all I know about myself while writing this is 1. I don't want to be a worm. 

2. I want to be a college cat in my next life 

3. COLLGE WILL BE BETTER THSN HIGHSCHOOL. 

4. I don't like annoying school kids. 

5. I’m someone with no set fashion sense, pescatarian, lesbian. 

Yet, not closer to finding out who I am. I guess it takes more figuring out than a short essay on random topics to figure that out. Shame. Guess ill have to wait for college.

Obscure Hero Essays?

Hi, I feel bad for my poor followers and my lack of posting. Some of you may not know I’m a HUGE superhero and comic book nerd. Ive been thinking about writing an essay about my all time fave obscure super hero Guy Gardner and how not only is he the best and most underutilized Green Lantern but there’s a ton of interesting angels and storylines not being utilitized.

Also, Tora aka Ice of DC Comics deserves to be written about beyond her relationship with Guy and her Best friend and potential love interest Fire. I want to do an essay on how Tora became a symbol of women fighting against stuffed in a refrigerator syndrome and how nodboy recognizes it.

Would anybody be interested in me writing it?

Princess Tutu and Grand Narrative

Once upon a time, there was a clumsy school girl granted the power to transform into the magical ballerina Princess Tutu.

“Once upon a time” is a familiar phrase used to connect stories that take place in lands distant and times different from one another into the same fairytale world. Each episode of the anime Princess Tutu begins with this familiar phrase and then proceeds to tell a story both known and new, where Hans Christian Anderson’s Ugly Ducking becomes Odette, the Swan Queen, from Swan Lake, thanks to the magic of the mysterious Drosselmeyer, who bares a striking resemblance to the character of the same name from The Nutcracker. Princess Tutu is not just a retelling of a handful of fairy tales, it’s an adaptation of stories across literature, ballet, opera, and of course, anime. Each piece of Princess Tutu’s narrative belongs to worlds larger than its own. The series challenges paradigms about typical narrative creation by weaving together multiple “grand narratives”.

While working as an editor for Kadokawa Shoten in the late 80s, Otsuka Eiji wrote a paper called “World and Variation: The Reproduction and Consumption of Narrative” in which he explains the idea of the grand narrative. An individual story only gives the audience a small glimpse into that wider world that the story is set in. This wider world is full of countless narratives told from countless perspectives that make up the grand narrative. Eiji uses the Gundam franchise to illustrate this concept where any given episode of the anime is a small snapshot of narrative within the larger universe(s) Gundam takes place in. Eiji explains, “Countless other [stories] could exist if someone else were the main character.”

Everyone is the main character of their own story. But most of these stories that make up the grand narrative of a world are hidden from view. It’s impossible to tell every story at once and have it be comprehensible. Instead we can only consume small bite-sized narratives that give us a snapshot of the (hopefully) interesting parts of a protagonist’s life. But who, exactly, is controlling these smaller narratives? This is a question faced by the characters of Princess Tutu.

The concept of shifting protagonists and expanding the audience’s view into the grand narrative heavily ties into Princess Tutu’s premise. The anime’s story is catalyzed by Drosselmeyer, the author of a fictitious book called The Prince and The Raven. The book’s ending is a stalemate between the titular characters so Drosselmeyer decides to promote the minor character of Princess Tutu to the role of main character to help the story move forward.

As you can probably tell by the name, Princess Tutu is heavily influenced by ballet. One of the show’s more significant influences is Swan Lake. Through the anime’s re-purposing of Swan Lake’s Odette as a magical girl, Princess Tutu continues to uphold ballet’s tradition of adapting the story for its own purposes.

Princess Tutu and Odette

The basic story of Swan Lake is about a prince falling in love with a girl cursed to be a swan from sunrise to sunset by an evil sorcerer. The sorcerer tricks the prince into confessing his love for his daughter, Odile, instead of the swan girl thus dooming the swan girl’s chance at true love and breaking the curse.

Amanda Kennell, an American scholar, outlines in her paper “Origin and Ownership from Ballet to Anime” Swan Lake’s production history and the evolution of the ballet’s narrative. The original staging in 1877 had the story end with the villain going unpunished and the two lovers drowning in a flood. In a revival staging from 1895 the villain was defeated and the two lovers reunited in heaven after throwing themselves into a lake. In a single scene production called The Magic Swan from the 1940s, the iconic “black swan” was introduced setting the precedent for the same ballerina to play the role of Odette and Odile in striking white and black costumes. And finally, another staging in 2006, not only adopted the White and Black Swan motif, but also changed the ending once again so that the prince kills the villain and he and Odette live happily ever after.

Despite each staging of the classic having significant differences, none of the variations are cast away as counterfeits. The value of the production isn’t in how close it is to the original Swan Lake but instead in the relative merit of each variation. In fact, it doesn’t really matter which you consider “the original” where the additions made by each carry their own merit and add to Swan Lake’s grand narrative. In this same regard, it would be acceptable to consider Princess Tutu another variation on the world of Swan Lake’s grand narrative.

There is terminology for this phenomenon in Kabuki theater. Eiji points out in his paper the similarities between the concepts of Sekai (world) and Shukou (plot) from Kabuki theater and his ideas of the grand narrative and the smaller narratives.

In Kabuki, Sekai represents the world a story takes place in and Shukou represents the story that is a product of that world. Each staging of a Kabuki play is its own Shukou derived from either a single Sekai or the mixing of Sekai. What matters in creating a good performance is not necessarily conveying the Sekai but instead the relative merit of the Shukou’s take on things. No performance is exactly the same and different actors bring different strengths to a performance and in turn provide a different experience for the audience’s entertainment. This of course carries over to more art forms than just Kabuki, classic ballet is in a similar position where entire songs are sometimes re-choreographed just to match the strengths of an individual ballerina. Ballet in particular has a long tradition of making minor and major changes to suit an individual performance. Whether it be tweaking choreography or straight up giving the story a different ending. The evolution of Swan Lake’s production is an excellent example of how productions of what are considered to be the same story can dramatically vary.

But Princess Tutu borrows from more stories than just Swan Lake. This brings us back to Kabuki and the idea of mixing Sekai in order to create another Shukou.

Princess Tutu takes pieces of classic stories and rearranges them to create something simultaneously familiar and completely new. Princess Tutu is not forging a new Shukou from only Swan Lake’s Sekai, but instead is connecting the canon of European literature and performing arts together into an even more extensive grand narrative.

Just look at the series’ opening for example, where Swan Lake and The Nutcracker are intertwined with one another as the anime’s titular character is dressed in the ballet costume of Odette and dances to The Nutcracker’s Flower Waltz to simultaneously combine the worlds of two ballets while producing an entirely new moment unique to the Princess Tutu anime.

The anime ends on the implication that if one person tries to control a story and the grand narrative it’s connected to, that person will fail. Princess Tutu is an excellent reminder of how stories are dynamic. Stories end up taking on a life of their own evolving, expanding and being reworked by both creators and consumers.

Eiji explains that once the consumers feel they have a grasp on the grand narrative they are free to produce their own small narratives from it. This is exactly how its creators forged Princess Tutu from the grand narrative of classic literature and performing arts. Just as mangaka can’t help it if a doujinshi adds to the narrative of their original story, Travosky can’t control the new life his ballets have taken on in Princess Tutu. Stories will take on a life of their own, abandon the need for an original and become a part to a larger grand narrative to be consumed and reworked over and over.

i'm sorry for the awful audio of the spoken word, i am not sorry for my emotion.

Rebloging for personal reasons

It’s essay writing season for tons of students!

After being a college writing tutor for over a year, I thought I would share my advice with all you awesome people on tumblr. This is how I write essays, but if you’ve got more tips, feel free to add them below. 

Happy writing. You can do it!

Hi guys!

So, for my high school English class(not disclosing my grade), we're currently writing a 5 page essay.. :/ I'm in the deepest shit ever when it comes to motivation for school writing, and I'm not even sure how to start or transition certain areas.

If some of you guys could leave tips on;

• How to get more motivated?

• What writing style teachers appreciate more?

• How to make paragraphs longer?

• Word choices, and tips surrounding that?

• Anything else you think would help!

Thanks, :))

Did I have to rush my essay? Yes. Did I turn it in 10 minutes before midnight when it was due? Yes. Did I proofread it? No. Did I probably fuck it up at least a bit? Yeah. Did I get a good grade? We'll see.

But at least I didn't use AI. I wrote a good, genuine, shitty essay, instead of getting a program to write a shitty essay for me that would probably be easily flagged as AI.

WRITE SHITTY ESSAYS!!! A BAD GRADE FROM TRYING IS BETTER THAN A ZERO FROM GETTING CAUGHT USING AI!!!

Quick essay that no one asked for on the ship of Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho. I see this pairing being commonly compared to the likes of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, and while I definitely see the similarities, to me, the (oddly enough, heterosexual) couple they remind me the most of is Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia.

These characters are from the television show The Great, and long story short, Catherine the Great begins as a naive and optimistic young woman who marries Peter III, and her optimism shatters upon realizing how cruel and spiteful her husband is, and she decides to overthrow him. However, despite everything they do to each other over the course of the series, including attempting to kill and overthrow each other and murdering one another's loved ones, they somehow fall in love.

Their love is so powerful and all-consuming that even those around them, closest to them, cannot fathom it after all that they have done to one another and to me that is how Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho are. Often people argue that Gi-hun would never in actuality love In-ho after what he did to countless players and Jung-bae, but that is the point: like Peter and Catherine, their twisted love transcends the violence and betrayal, showing a deeper connection that defies logic and reason.

Specifically, there is one scene played out between Peter and Catherine that I could easily see happening between Gi-hun and In-ho. In a fit of rage, Catherine finally stabs Peter (who is actually a body double of him), and she thinks she has killed him, and upon realizing what she has done, she breaks down in sobs and falls to her knees. Then the real Peter appears, and Catherine, realizing he is alive and how she felt when she thought she had killed him, realizes her feelings, and he holds her while she cries. I can totally see Gi-hun somehow managing to shoot The Frontman (who is actually a double as well, let us say) only to similarly break down in tears and feel utter devastation over what he thought he had done. Then In-ho appears, revealing that the individual in the Frontman outfit was a double, and Gi-hun is overcome with a multitude of feelings like relief, shock, and love, and cries before going to the other man and embracing him.

had a fascinating english class that resulted in the notes header “the forcefeminization of victor frankenstein”

I've been writing a thing about the connection between fiber arts and activism throughout history for the past couple days

Which one of you bitches was gonna tell me that it can actually be enjoyable to write like this when you aren't being marked for it???

Completed Chapter 3! My heart isn't ready for what's coming 💀

I am finding so many little details about Henry's personality!

Conclusion: bitch is crazy 😧

I hope I complete the re-read anyhow in June, cuz Pride Month y'all, this book is so gay 🌈

Read from page 90 to 112 ☠️

I wish I could read for longer but my habit is dying away~~~

There are so many details in this one book that it makes complete sense why Donna Tartt took a decade to write it

I can analyse it for a decade and still not understand everything and know every detail 😭😭😭😭

My exams are going to be OVER tomorrow. Gonna finally start on the essays!

Since Henry won, "The Obsession With Morally Grey" will be done in a few weeks after the re-read!

Just felt like I haven't re-read TSH in a while. So I wondered if I could write a full blown essay (not really, more like a brief analysis) on the characters from TSH.

I might not even end up writing them but I would like to know which characters people are most interested in learning in-depth about.

There's so much to say about this story that no one can ever stop analysing it. If Donna took 10 years to complete it, there must be so much we can discuss about it!!!

I will try to write a detailed analysis when I have the time to re-read TSH (studying for exams, writing a book and reading "The Bell Jar" and "Pet Sematary" for the 1st time lol)

I hope this will inspire people to make more post abt TSH theories/analysis/thoughts (been tired with the regular mood boards and quotes)

(PS: "Looking Through The Male Gaze" for Camilla is about Richard's gaze, not Donna Tartt's)

Just felt like I haven't re-read TSH in a while. So I wondered if I could write a full blown essay (not really, more like a brief analysis) on the characters from TSH.

I might not even end up writing them but I would like to know which characters people are most interested in learning in-depth about.

There's so much to say about this story that no one can ever stop analysing it. If Donna took 10 years to complete it, there must be so much we can discuss about it!!!

I will try to write a detailed analysis when I have the time to re-read TSH (studying for exams, writing a book and reading "The Bell Jar" and "Pet Sematary" for the 1st time lol)

I hope this will inspire people to make more post abt TSH theories/analysis/thoughts (been tired with the regular mood boards and quotes)

(PS: "Looking Through The Male Gaze" for Camilla is about Richard's gaze, not Donna Tartt's)

Crippling loneliness in the age of the internet:

"Why do people have to be this lonely? What's the point of it all? Millions of people in this world, all of them yearning, looking to others to satisfy them, yet isolating themselves. Why? Was the earth put here just to nourish human loneliness?"

~Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart (1999)

Let me set the scene:

In a dark room, the only light is coming from the phone of a girl laying on the bed, as she mindlessly scrolls for hours on end. She is typing fast, she is running multiple apps in the background, she is listening to the latest hits while doing all of this, her earphones never leave her ears; even when she closes her eyes, she is still listening to a podcast. Despite all these activities happening around her. The girl looks bored and apathetic, her eyes are blank, no emotions, no thoughts. And for hours to come she stays in that state, waiting for something to happen, even if it doesn't, she doesn't care.

This could be the opening lines of a sci-fi novel but this is actually how I act when I am alone. This is how my life has become. And while people like to blame this on the internet that has made Gen Z mindless zombies; I think the only reason I haven't died is because of the internet. To normal people it's a curse that makes humanity fall to its lowest. To me it gave a purpose, a want and a direction to live for.

The Internet isn't the evil mastermind to me, it's a necessity that has kept me alive and not succumbing to the fact I have no one to talk with.

Internet to me isn't Instagram, Snapchat, Discord,Twi--X (someone stop Elon Musk from cooking), it's the "quirky" apps like Pinterest, Tumblr and Reddit as well as the depths of content that is YouTube. It's the places where I found "my" people who understood me, who accepted me, who appreciated me. Growing up I had no one to talk with, even my own family wasn't understanding, let alone my friends.

During my school life I had always been surrounded by friends or as I like to put it, people I can talk to and have lunch with during school hours. That's what it was, nothing more than that. My idea of friends was just different from others, I didn't want emotional connection or people to hang out with. I wanted friends who would listen to my ramblings and be able to debate and discuss things with.

I don't want to seem pretentious or snobbish and definitely not above others in any way. But....when I am surrounded by so many frustratingly stupid people, I don't have any other words to describe them than "not good enough for me". They may be wonderful people, who are warm and lively. I do not care about being around such people. I am someone that watches video essays on morality, ethics, philosophy and analysis of movies and TV, in comparison to the people I know I am just more perceptive and thoughtful and that alone makes me seem like a stranger to them (INTPs are weird in short form). My dad told me smart people have it hard to make friends because of this exact nature, I wouldn't call myself incredibly intelligent but I know I am far more capable in thinking than my classmates who watch reality TV shows and Tiktok dances. Sometimes I cannot even comprehend how people can even get satisfaction and happiness from something as simple as that and that's when I understand: it's okay to be different than that and it's okay that they are "normal".

I feel like I am Lain from "Serial Experiments Lain", as if my existence is given meaning by the internet and I was born from it. My lack of social interactions in person can be explained by that, but it's the thought of talking with other people that often scares me. I am used to being silent, so much so that even on the internet, I remain quiet, not interacting with people who might understand me. Being afraid of not being understood has stopped me from even trying to make connections when there's people ready to do that.

I don't even reply to comments on my posts, unless I have to and I don't talk with anyone on the internet itself. I just watch and be happy at other people's interactions and feel a sense of belonging.

For some days I decided to stop doing that, to stop the vow of silence. To let people approach me and approach others myself. I want to be friends and it's the only thing that I have ever considered as something I couldn't achieve.

Loneliness isn't as pretty as the movies and books tell you. It's more of a psychological thriller than a show like Euphoria and Skins where these stylised depictions make my depression and loneliness appear cool. It's cool to be alone, to have my own space and not cross boundaries but it's not cool to let the loneliness that shields me, devour me.

Im writing an expanded essay from my post about Love, Vulnerability and Blindfolds in jjk.

I need help answering these questions

Love

What is love?

How is love seen in (mainstream) society?

How is love thought of by allo people (people who're not a-spec)?

How is love thought of by a-spec people?

How is love represented in jjk?

What do the characters of jjk think of love?

What do they say about it?

Blindfolds

What is a blindfold?

What does it do?

How is it used?

Who wears them?

Why are they important?

Who do the characters of jjk associate blindfolds with?

Why is it/that character important?

Vulnerability

What does it mean to be vulnerable?

How does mainstream society see vulnerability?

Who seems to be (the most) vulnerable in society/jjk?

What does the protag/mento Gojo Satoru think of vulnerability?

What does Ryomen Sukuna think if vulnerability?

What does he do when faced with vulnerability?

Has he ever been vulnerable before?

Answer any and all questions youd like. I'm just gonna write an extended essay on the topic

I think it's really interesting how people try to say that Saiura is a much better ship than Saiteru...because their only reasoning is that "they're soulmates" yet we never got a full elaboration on what soulmates could define for Aiura.

And even then, Saiki and Aiura are not close, even aiura herself doesn't consider to be friends with Saiki and claims that "we end up being more like strangers" when talking about her and Saiki. They never talk, and all Aiura does is try to corner him every time, to which Saiki is uncomfortable with and annoyed by reasonably too.

Aiura has a very wrong and flawed perspective on who Saiki really is. She literally assumes he's some sadistic guy playing hard to get.. or whatever her words were, she thinks that he would enjoy sexual things (he would not 😭) because all she's doing is that she's projecting on to him. Lied about her and Saiki dating and doing..... things to which made Saiki uncomfortable and awkward visibly. Idek what to call this.

Did not want mention this either but in the manga, she tried to SA saiki, with some so called "lucky feel moment" (when two people get into a inherently sexual situation, one knowing and one not knowing of this.) That's literally weird AF.

Anyways....

She has no idea or concept on who Saiki is. It's so far off from him that it's an entirely new person. Not to mention, she does not like Saiki at all romantically, though. The only thing that has her invested with him is that he might be "Sadistic", oh Aiura... 😭...

It proves further on that she has never had feelings romantically at all and still does not, she is only "fascinated " with this idea of Saiki.

We also need to talk about how uncomfortable saiki is from aiura by a lot. She doesn't respect his boundaries at all, thinks knowing his secret is something she owns

(I'm pretty sure her and Toritsuka also thought this, which is odd because what?)

and tries to use to her advantage, tried to make saiki do some weird favor (obviously inappropriate implications to which Saiki said no to immediately before she could add anything).

Yikes..

and is very selfish and pushy about saiki 😭 yet she calls saiki selfish?

this is what I'm talking about. She still doesn't understand saiki and still has a five hundred million perspective on who saiki is. That shouldn't be good in a relationship.

Ship them all you want, but the chemistry is absolutely nowhere

Although yes, they have some good moments, I can not see this going further romantically. Friendship, yes, anything else, NO!

Underrated opinion, but Saiki x Mera is better than this ship. I'm just saying.... I think Mera and Saiki are very cute and wished for more interactions with them. Obviously, Saiteru is much better than this as well from Teruhashi's side.

Must've been the wind...

This isn't supposed to be hate, this is just what I gathered from one of the bad aspects of their relationship. I wish they were much closer and that Aiura didn't do.. that 😭

i really enjoyed writting random stuff about cars 2006 and now i wanna write more stuff but like better and deeper and now I'm scared and frozen

Cars Headlights

Cars is a 2006 animated Disney Pixar movie that follows the race car Lightning McQueen through his journey of self-discovery and getting over his ego. The movie has two sequels (creatively named Cars 2 and Cars 3), as well as a short mini-series and two non-Pixar Disney movies, Planes (2013) and Planes: Fire & Rescue(2014), that focus on the planes in this universe. In this essay(?), I will be focusing primarily on the first movie, and there will be mentions of the sequels. 

As a child born in the 2000s, I have seen Cars and Cars 2 more times than I can count, and these movies have consequently burned themselves into my mind. Despite the place they hold in my memory, they do not share a similar place in my heart. In my effort to gain a sort of love for these movies, I am going to add feminism and gender politics. I am not really answering questions but just proposing them.

PART 1: Miatas and their tatas

At the beginning of the first Cars movie, a pair of Lightning McQueen superfan Miatas flash their headlights at Lightning. When they do this, the implication is that they are flashing their tits at mcqueen, a joke aimed at the adults watching the movie with their children. While the moment is brief and no more than a throwaway gag, it provokes many questions for me in regard to gender and sexuality in the Cars universe. While it is scandalous for these cars to show their headlights, it is normal and expected for the vast majority of cars to always have their headlights out. What separates these groups is whether they choose immodesty or have no choice but immodesty. Cars with no covering for their headlights lack a natural choice for modesty and are allowed to be immodest in a way the other group, through no fault of their own, cannot. By the nature of their birth, blinky light cars are forced to conform to a set of morals and modesty that those around them do not. This makes me think of the difference in treatment of men’s tits versus women’s tits. Men can walk around shirtless all they want with no repercussions. It is normal for men to go full frontal at the beach or pool in a way that would be shocking and illegal for women. If anything, efforts to cover men’s tits will be seen as more immodest and more taboo than it is not to cover them. This matches the cars that do not have blinky headlights in the world of cars. In this logic, cars without winky headlights are men, and those with them are women. Women are expected and forced to coverup their boobs because of their average relative size compared to men and social conditioning that sexualizes women’s tits. Like the cars with headlights that can be hidden, the fat deposits granted to cis women at birth (more accurately puberty) cause them to be othered by the other half of society. Women have more there than men most of the time and are motivated to cover up. If you have DDD boobs, you’re gonna to want to support them and consequently cover them. This natural feature of a person leads to them being naturally drawn to a place of modesty. On the winky eye cars, their natural state draws them towards modesty as, at rest, their headlights are closed. While they might not always want their headlights out, like how women don’t always want their tits out, headlights are an important bodily function for these cars. Do these cars face oppression for their natural traits like women do in our society? If these cars are driving at night, is there the risk that those around them will be distracted by the usage of a stigmatized and sexualized part the same way we stigmatize breastfeeding mothers? 

PART 2: big tits or little, that is the question 

The cars all generally have small headlights, and the more attractive a car is, the smaller their headlights tend to be. The character Flo (see Flo’s Diner) is a character with noticeably small/missing headlights. Flo’s headlights are tiny, disguised as dimples. Does minimizing a body part that can be associated with femininity make a car more attractive, like how society rejects femininity in favor of masculinity? 

Side note: they could be nipple piercings

Another such car is the background character Kori Turbowitz's, a 2005 Luxomobile Animatic. Kori noticeably has headlight indents but no headlights. While it is not outright stated that she is attractive, I am going to assume that the female sports reporter is attractive, as is often seen in real life. She presents as female and makes me wonder if her lack of headlights is an attempt to conform to the high-speed racing culture she has dedicated her life to.

Now, the character Sally throws a big old wrench in my argument with her bigger and noticeable headlights. I think that this issue is explained by analyzing Sally as a character. Itty bitty titty headlight girlies are trying to conform to the popular beauty standards with their small head lights. Sally has put that all behind her, though, moving to a small town. I believe she is a canonically attractive car. I had trouble finding places that stated what cars were canonically attractive. I am leaning towards she is due to the tramp stamp and Lightning’s reaction to seeing her. Sally is attractive, but in a different way from the other girl cars. She’s not like the other girls, and she’s like the girl next door. Her objectively huge headlights(tits) are a reflection of how she ignores/rejects the popular mini headlight look. Shes a real woman(car) with real tits(headlights). In a move that can be seen as either sexist or feminist, I’m leaning towards sexist, Sally is rewarded for her rejection of popular beauty standards with Lightning McQueen. From a feminist perspective, she is rejecting the restricting standards of society. From a sexist perspective, Sally is rewarded for rejecting femininity and being “not like other girls”.

PART 3: Transformers?

While we do not meet any canonically trans or non-binary cars over the course of the series, it can be assumed that these cars do exist based on the gender parallels already shown between our world and their world. If we had male and female presenting cars, it is reasonable to assume there are also trans and non-binary cars. 

 Cosmetic care in the movies includes treatments such as paint, stickers, tires, and headlight covers. Is this as far as cosmetic care can go, or is it possible to sharpen or round out angles for gender affirming care? In the real world, you can change the shell of a car, although with much fuss, and it’s probably not a good idea for most people. For trans cars, is it possible for them to change their entire shell? If they can, gender confirming surgery would have amazing outcomes in their world. 

Side note: if they can change shells, is identity theft a bigger issue?

CONCLUSION:

Overall, the cars live in a society far too similar to ours out with their beauty standards and sexism, and I think we should blow them all up with gas and a laser. 

Works Cited

My brain

If you actually read this whole thing I'm so sorry and thank you so much I wanna hear what other people have to say on this

I just wrote a 3-4 ish page essay on Pixar cars and their headlights/tits what do I do with this

I just wrote a 3-4 ish page essay on Pixar cars and their headlights/tits what do I do with this

an analogical analysis from an intrulogical idiot

as a newly converted analogical enjoyer and orange side/dark side logan truther i feel the need to mention that their arcs FUCKING MIRROR EACHOTHER. I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM. so because i have absolutely nNO life i am going to give you, unlucky scroller, unwitting follower or one of the folks who followed me for invader zim, the play-by-play of these emo nerds.

so

in the beginning (only going from the start of the series) they were admittedly at odds, but not as much as say, virgil and princey or logan and patton. the first time (to my recollection) that they interact outside of the group setting is the negative thinking episode where they debate, in which virgil (to my recollection) receives the first positive feedback from any of the lightsides. now, at this point in the series, logan is still relatively respected and listened to by the lightsides and thomas while virgil isnt, given he's a darkside its not that surprising. in this period logan gets progressively more and more ignored and brushed off, slowly but still, an important piece in this timeline that i dont think is recognized enough is mind vs heart in which is the first of MANY times he is forced to compromise or back down to keep the peace. in the same time however, more and more virgils points are heard out and taken into account and compromised with (dark side of disney, alone on valentines day, etc) for virgil being compromised with is a step towards being heard, for logan being forced to compromise is a means to shut him up.

then excepting/accepting anxiety happens. OH BOY! i feel the need to point out that our bespectacled boy very much does his best to help the situation by providing hard facts that "no anxiety=bad". but the consequences of this episode should also be mentioned, that being, when virgil gains a seat at the metaphorical-but-also-probably-literal-given-this-series table, logan's is all but ripped out from under him. this is shown in the episodes immediately following, in which patton copies logans logo (minor but should still be said), being forced to be stage hand in can lying be good, etc BUT something i skipped over on purpose so i could talk about it here

THE FUCKING NOSTALGIA 2 PARTER (aka 38:33 seconds of why patton is my 2nd least favourite side) now before i continue, do note i am relentlessly biased about how based logan is in this episode because his advice in it prevented my own anxiety spiral SO BE WARNED. so, in this episode logan suggests that partaking in recreational nostalgia could help thomas cope with being reminded of his breakup, this leads to the whole crew (+ janus who was probably in disguise as roman but i digress) going on a field trip to pattons room. this causes virgil to freak out and logan likely blaming himself for hurting his anxious associate because of his mistake (likely associating this with his other mistake of misdefining infinitesimal and that might be why he doesnt like to be reminded of it but thats just a theory A FILM THEO-) so logan leaves and lets everyone else sort shit out, starting a pattern in which instead of causing what he perceives as unnecessary conflict logan attempts to remove himself from the situation at all costs, while virgil becomes more vocal when he's uncomfortable with an idea or plan.

then a bit later things continue going downhill for logan with his contributions being more ignored and solutions dismissed, becoming more vocal, confrontational, aggressive and frustrated when he is pushed aside (sound like a certain early arc anxious side anyone?) this period also features an odd 2 episode alliance between logan and roman that i still dont quite understand but feel like it is worth noting. also during this time virgil generally doesnt show up in an imprtant role for a while for whatever reason (truly the episodes, why do we wake up through learning about ourselves fundamentally confound me) also during the period of crofters the musical going forward logan fixates on being taken seriously more than usual. now one of my least favourite and simultaneously favourite episode.....

LEARNING NEW THINGS ABOUT OURSELVES!!!! MY BELOATHED!!!!!! THIS IS THE EPISODE THAT STARTED MY 3 MONTH LONG PUPPET OBSESSION (DONT ASK)!!!!!!!!! now while i will gladly go into more detail about my thoughts on this episode at a later date i'll do a quick run down. thomas calls out that logan has a temper in the overlap bit (orange side probably= anger temper= logan therefore anger= logan and logan probably= orange), logan rebounds like a goddamn kickball from the prior episode into desperately trying to prove that he is serious, logan is a LOT more resistant to compromise than usual, while virgil just rolls with it when earlier in the series the opposite would be true, logan and roman are back to fighting as usual, and thomas says that virgil doesnt have to go puppet if he doesnt want to but literally everyone peer pressures logan to. i will go more in depth on this episode later, mark my words fam(ILY).

now, the next several episodes (besides are there healthy distractions, which has some adorable analogical btw) follow the format of "darkside pulls up/patton in the plushie episode, puts logan in their crosshairs, silences him for the episode, problem eventually fixes" (listen as much as i ADORE svs: redux, the amount of disrespect for logan in it is lethal to my system)

to summarize

1 for virgil being compromised with is a step towards being heard, for logan being forced to compromise is a means to shut him up.

2 when virgil gains a seat at the metaphorical-but-also-probably-literal-given-this-series table, logan's is all but ripped out from under him.

3 a pattern starts in which instead of causing what he perceives as unnecessary conflict logan attempts to remove himself from the situation at all costs, while virgil becomes more vocal when he's uncomfortable with an idea or plan.

4 logan becomes a LOT more resistant to compromise than usual, while virgil just rolls with it when earlier in the series the opposite would be true

5 thomas says that virgil doesnt have to go puppet if he doesnt want to but literally everyone peer pressures logan to

... am i the only one who sees this??? their character arcs are going in opposite directions!!!!!!!! if we analyze this trend, we might be able to gleam where logans arc is going next!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!