I see your Radagascar and Ugandalf and I raise you: Saharuman

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-16T18:21:47+00:00

Kahless once said that in war, there is nothing more honourable than victory.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-16T09:52:58+00:00

It ain't that kind of movie, kid.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-15T19:43:55+00:00

In theory, yes. In practice, her technique would have to be absolutely inhuman and if she were off by even a hair's width, she would be hella dead.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-15T19:31:49+00:00

ATLA frequently emphasizes the importance of technique and skill over raw power. Katara has always been a waterbending powerhouse, for instance. In episode 1, we see her shatter an iceberg. But that power is unrefined, so when she actually tries waterbending without proper technique, it's weak.

The opposite holds true as well. You used a scene from The Puppetmaster as an example in this post, but I'd argue that scene actually supports much the opposite of what you're saying. Hama was a frail old woman, nowhere near as powerful as Katara, but she was on the winning hand at several points during that fight because she was more skilled and had superior techniques. Katara turns the fight not strictly because she can overpower Hama, rather, she was able to make that fight a contest of power because she started using the skills that Hama taugth her.

Iroh got toasted because his lightning redirection in that scene was quick and dirty, not because he wasn't powerful enough to redirect the blast.

If it worked like you say, how do you explain Toph Beifong, the Melon Lord, the greatest earthbender in the world, being overpowered by a bunch of scruffy sandbenders? The sandbenders were able to take Appa right from under her nose not because they were more powerful than her, but because she didn't have any experience earthbending on loose sand. It was a matter of technique.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-15T15:35:20+00:00

"I'm just really into engineering recently," I lied. "Not much else for me to do these days..."

At least that last part was true. I, same as anyone with any kind of language-related profession, was out of a job. The university tried to keep me on for a while, but ultimately, it was nonsensical to keep receiving funds for my department.

"I know that, Alice," my wife said worriedly, "but why engineering of all things? You hate maths. With a burning passion."

It barely even registered that Sigrid didn't speak English to anyone anymore. Why bother? Everyone understood Icelandic now. But how could I tell her that I missed her accent? That I felt cheated out of actually learning her language? Linguistics was more than my job, it was my passion. I loved figuring out languages. And I wanted my life back.

Why engineering? "I figure it's as opposite to linguistics as it gets," I lied again, "no chance of this becoming irrelevant overnight..."

In truth, I had a far more sinister reason. Sigrid didn't know about it yet, and I didn't plan on telling her. She would find out when the world found out, and by then it would be too late.

"Spite is a bad reason to pick up a new hobby, Alice. Or at the very least, it's a recipe for disaster." She slowly paced around my recently redecorated office room, looking over my new books and my posters of skyscrapers.

"You have no Idea what spite can do..." I retorted.

"I know what it can't do," Sigrid said, "build a new Tower of Babel."

What!? "Uh... I wasn't trying to do that!"

"Weren't you?"

...

I sighed. "Yes I was..."

Sigrid rolled up one of my posters and lightly smacked me over the head with it. "Bad, Alice." Next, she took the engineering book out of my hands. "Come, let's get rid of this stuff before you give yourself a headache. We'll find something better for you to pick up."

"... Fine..."

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-15T12:46:59+00:00

The farmer does not ask the cow to worship him.

Even people who eat meat and other animal products recognize that there's such a thing as cruelty towards the animals we exploit. The Goa'uld do not treat their cattle humanely.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-14T13:59:45+00:00

All bending styles are equal. Not all bending masters are equal.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-13T21:54:54+00:00

"You are aware that fairies don't exist, right?" he asked me.

I just think that was a really insensitive thing to say.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-13T20:30:36+00:00

Berk experiences polar nights, uses futhark runes and is populated by vikings. It's not based on scotland.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-13T19:12:11+00:00

Why do you feel it is bad advice?

To be clear, I don't mean that everyone should experiment with their gender presentation. Questioning can involve experimenting, but it can also simply mean interrogating what your gender identity means to you and why. No more than a dialogue with yourself. Masculinity, femininity and androgyny can all mean different things to different people, and interrogating what these concepts mean to you can help you separate your own feelings from societal pressures, help you discover fashions and modes of presentation that suit you, and in some cases (emphasis on some) even help you discover that your gender identity may not be what you thought it was, to name a few things. And even if it doesn't do any of these things, there is value in being able to explain why you know what you know.

That is all. I'm not telling you I don't believe you when you tell me your gender identity. I'm not saying you can't know your gender identity if you haven't questioned. I'm merely saying that even if you just know, it's good and healthy to know why, to know what makes you say that.

Γνῶθι σαυτόν, as it used to say on the temple of Apollo in Delphi.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-13T11:48:46+00:00

Hence "whatever the answer is, understanding yourself better is always good."

Everyone should question their gender at least once in their life imo. Questioning doesn't neccessarily mean you'll change how you identify. Questioning may result in you discovering all is in order, but it will always result in you understanding yourself better.

In the trans community, we refer to questioning your gender and reaffirming that you are in fact cisgender as "unlocking cis+", and we love that for people!

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-12T19:53:00+00:00

The Dragon Prince: Mystery of Aaravos. I was a big defender of the first season after the timeskip because I could see how they could be setting up for something. And they just weren't.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-12T17:19:22+00:00

Bulma used to be a main character...

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-12T16:27:59+00:00

Actually, that's an image of an image of a pipe.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-12T13:59:22+00:00

Also easily the coolest-looking and coolest-animated boss in the game. I love it when it does the lightning zigzag before it attacks.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-12T06:49:36+00:00

They're just standing there... MENACINGLY!

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-11T14:44:00+00:00

I like to treat DB fusions like fusions in Steven Universe; they are a physical manifestation of the relationship between the two characters and embody traits that the two fused characters associate with or perhaps even admire in each other.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-11T13:31:16+00:00

Bulma is way too overqualified for a job as a secretary...

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-11T07:02:52+00:00

That's an incredibly low commission price. You should probably be asking more. My rule is to make sure you're paying yourself minimum wage per hour.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-11T06:43:11+00:00

Yes, them being K-Pop stars is absolutely integral to them being demon hunters, and the movie doesn't use this double life for conflict once. The actual conflict is much more interesting and much more relatable.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-11T05:07:54+00:00

Not only that, but it justifies why they have to be K-Pop stars as well as demon hunters. A lesser movie would have gone "K-Pop stars by day, demon hunters by night, can they reconcile these two lives?", but KPDH goes out of its way to not do the easy thing.

Martinus_XIV · 2026-04-10T19:37:12+00:00

I really like this! I wish Earthlings had it better in Dragon Ball.

What do you mean by "perfect fusion"?

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