Mini Essay - Tumblr Posts

Canon trans Leo? More likely than you think

I'm going to preface this by saying this is all for fun. I don't really care one way or another :P

A little turtle biology

The thing is, traits that are unique to telling apart sexes of red eared sliders just aren't in his design. The longer claws in males, something that only red eared sliders have differentiated in sex, isn't there. Other things, like bigger size in females and longer tails in males, just aren’t there. So that leaves us with plastron shape.

Male red eared sliders have a concave plastron. There is a slight indent around their lower abdomen. Females lack this and have a flat or convex plastron.

Leo’s design

There are scenes where it tends to be obvious what his plastron shape is. Following the lines, it’s concave to his body, matching the plastron shape of a female red eared slider. And boom, there you have it transmasc Leo is canon, everyone can go home now. This is very consistent throughout the show and there is nothing that ever could affect this argument.

Or is there?

There are also scenes where his plastron is shown parallel, which doesn’t disprove the previous statement. So, why mention this at all if my point still stands. Because it brings up the question, ‘How consistent is his plaster shape throughout the show?’

Stand up straight king, your crown is falling

It’s hard to tell whether the midline is indicative of his actual plastron shape, follows the line of action, or if it follows the taper line. While there is some consistency, due to his shell and dynamic posing, leo never really is standing straight up. And there is a lot of change in the plaster’s placement due to movement and how the show is animated. While this makes the show very fluid, it makes it difficult to accurately determine the plastron shape.

There are also plenty of scenes where his plastron appears convex, but this also means nothing because his shell doesn't tuck back in. With male turtles, their plastron is concave because of the dent, but, for increased movement, leo’s plastron isn't shown to tuck back in, therefore not causing a dent.

And that leaves one answer: You just cant tell. 

Getting rid of almost all sex determining factors of red eared sliders, in addition to having inconsistent plastron shape because animation is cool like that, you can’t determine Leo’s sex based off of his characteristics. That’s it. Everything has failed. My hours of research come to no avail.

Future!Leo

Why even mention him at all, theres nothing left to even prove. There are no mare sex based traits to apply. AND NEVER MIND BECAUSE THOSE ARE ONLY THE DIFFERENCES IN NON-ADULT TURTLES. This point relies on Future!Leo's design, sooo movie ref time :]

In his future design, he is significantly older and you can properly decern his sex by his basic design concepts. As male red eared sliders get older, their colours will start to fade and will grow darker in colour (melanin distribution). Females don't go through that colour change. In Future!Leo's design, while his colour is less saturated, he doesn't grow darker in colour and stays his original lighter green. Now could it be from a recognition standpoint? As long as his stripes are there, his design could grow darker and he would still be recognisable. While male red eared sliders can lose their stripes, it doesn't always happen. The markings could stay, and he would still be a male turtle. So recognition isn’t a viable factor. Trans Leo is back, baby.

Where does this actually get us?

Future!Leo isn't the same as Rise!Leo because he's from a different timeline. Well, Future!Leo is trans. Honestly, the rest you can take with a grain of salt lol. In all seriousness, in Future!Leo's timeline, they were very similar as teens. In addition to what I've said already about Rise!Leo, there is a chance that he could grow up the same as Future!Leo. Other than that, this is just a fun little essay about a hc that could be real.

TL,DR: Future!Leo is trans and Rise!Leo might be too

Link’s Champion Ability

Pre-note; I wrote this essay for my English class and really liked how it turned out so I thought I’d share! I’m open to constructive criticism and any things y’all would like to point out.

In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the player takes on the role of Link, the current hero chosen by the master sword tasked with saving the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil known as Calamity Ganon. Along his journey he ventured into large machines taking on forms of mechanical animals called divine beasts, each one piloted by powerful warriors known as the Champions, who each possess a unique ability either gifted to them at birth or created through hard work. Each of the Champion's abilities portray their personality, yet there's one that no one talks about; Link’s Champion ability. 

Firstly, to get an understanding of Champion abilities we’ll need to look at the set Champions and their abilities. These warriors are the most powerful of each race in the vast lands of Hyrule; Urbosa of the Gerudo, Mipha of the Zora, Daruk of the Goron, Revali of the Rito, and finally Link of the Hylains. Four of these Champions possess abilities that are, from a lore point of view, interconnected with their personalities. As you play and come to understand each character it becomes apparent why they were chosen to have these abilities.

Urbosa’s ability is dubbed “Urbosa’s Fury” which creates a dome of lightning that strikes any enemies with it, which is particularly useful against enemies that are weak to electricity. Urbosa is a proud Gerudo warrior and chief to her people, it was very obvious why she should be chosen to have the ability most useful in a fight as she is no stranger to one and does everything she can to protect her loved ones and people.

Mipha’s is dubbed “Mipha’s Grace” which is a healing ability that restores Link’s health when he falls in battle, which is useful when facing enemies that deal heavy damage and when he runs out of healing items. Mipha is a soft and caring princess of the Zora, her being chosen to have the ability most helpful in health and healing was the best choice here.

Daruk’s ability is dubbed “Daruk’s Protection” that creates a small bubble-like dome around Link that deflects any and all attacks, which is useful when facing multiple enemies that can attack from any direction. Daruk is the loud Goron chief who sometimes can be oblivious to the mood of a room, he’s a fast and great leader who is ready to do anything to protect his friend and people so he was the best fitting choice for this ability. Unlike the previous two Daruk’s ability is spectacled to be genetic as he has a descendant with the same ability.

Finally Revali’s is dubbed “Revali’s Gale” which creates an updraft anywhere necessary that launches Link into the air, allowing him to reach high places hard to climb to and evade oncoming attacks, which is most useful for exploration and mobility. Revali can be arrogant and sometimes down right mean but he’s a proud Rito warrior, his behavior stems from a jealousy of Link getting the lead role in defeating the evil instead of himself. He is a Rito warrior most skilled in aerial archery, which he says that not many can achieve mastery of the sky’s, so it’s obvious that he would be chosen for the ability related to the sky’s. Unlike the rest of the Champions it is said in a cutscene that Revali developed his ability himself, creating and working the air to make an updraft at will.

Secondly, now that we’ve taken a look at the Champion’s abilities you’ll have noticed one isn’t mentioned; Link. Although it is not explicitly expressed or stated that he has one, it is believed that as being a champion he would have one. That is where the theory of Link having one is formed.

The theory suggests that Link has the ability to manipulate time. This stems from the many game mechanics in the game that have something to do with time. Firstly, when engaging in aerial combat Link is able to move into something called “bullet time” which slows down everything. This is very useful in being able to have more time in aiming and catching enemies before hitting the ground, there is a drawback to this though that provides further evidence that this could be his ability, the more time spent in bullet time the more of Link’s stamina is used. Suggesting that it takes a lot of Link’s stamina and strength to maintain bullet time for long amounts of time.

Another game mechanic almost similar to bullet time is called “flurry rush”, which is able to be used when Link dodges an attack at the correct time, with some enemies' range for it being larger than others. When in action time slows down allowing players to flurry rush an enemy as many time before a certain time limit, unlike the previous evidence there are no drawbacks to this ability as taking large amounts of stamina, though to be able to flurry rush the player would need to evade the attack at the right timing.

Additionally, Link is able to pause or at least slow time when opening the sheikah slate. This is more of a game mechanics thing than a story aspect, since opening the sheikah slate is opening the players menus. Though when doing so the player is able to look through healing items, weapons, arrows, and even armor. From a story perspective it would seem Link is able to heal, change weapons, arrows, and armor in an instant.

Link having a Champion ability would make sense within the story of the game, as Link is a Champion himself. Being the hylian champion he is chosen by the goddess to be the hero of his time to stop Calamity Ganon, in being so he is the holder of the Triforce of Courage with the spirit of the hero. As it stands he was chosen by the goddess, Hylia, to be a champion unlike the others who were chosen by Princess Zelda and King Rhoam, providing that Link would be chosen to have this ability unlike the champions.

Therefore, it would make sense for Link to have a champion ability like the others since he is also one. Although this is just a theory, there is strong evidence that helps prove it, and nothing has been expressed or stated about whether it is true or not. Meaning everyone is entitled to their opinion, and it would be cool to think of Link having a champion ability like the other champions.

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

As a writer, I frequently struggle with concluding a piece; I can never seem to arrive at a conclusion or a point where I feel satisfied.

Chronically, I add onto the piece, and the word count inflates, as do my worries.

Chronically, I edit and rewrite, never quite reaching a point of eureka. It is so, that I often catch myself delaying publication until the piece reaches perfection. It never does, and as you may predict, I never publish.

I just wanted to take a moment to remind myself that done does not equate to perfection. Sometimes, being done is better than being perfect.

Perfect might just be an illusion, which, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, a subjective truth.

What might seem flawed to you may be perceived as beautiful to another set of eyes.

So, publish that thing! You can always come back and edit parts you don't like or you've outgrown.

I feel like all artists, regardless of their medium of preference, are troubled by this greedy pursuit of IT - this idealized quality in our psyche.

We long to capture it entirely, and do it justice, but it comes out with different faces each time, all masks. They are never quite accurate representations of that which abides within us, and which we intimately know though we've never seen, only felt and palpated in the dark.

This dilemma reminds me of an oil on canvas piece by Anne-Louis Girodet entitled 'Pygmalion et Galatée' (depicted above). The artist attempted to capture the obsession of a creator with achieving perfection in form and aestheticism. The myth goes that Pygmalion fell enamored with his creation when a deity personified/humanized it. She represents everything the creator has sought to achieve; every frustration and choked-out idea fulfilled.

Rant or Trauma Dump: Overblot Leona is Relatable as a Student in American Public School

Will keep this short as possible

Abstract: Leona's trauma = shared trauma but (American) 12th grader student edition. I share my experience. Am I allowed to say it's my trauma when it's just resentment?

Work count: 585

Leona expressed strong resentment at the idea of birth > skill so why r bother trying? Nobody cares. I understood it from a story writing standpoint at first then this came to me and I felt things.

Not sure how common this is around the globe but I went to an American public school for high school/secondary school education (why do I sound like a foreign exchange student haha) and every week of/before homecoming or winter break or some major event, there’s spirit week in which each grade level compete with themed outfits, lunch time activity\games, and assembly games. Win enough points to beat the other grade.

Off topic but my school’s Assembled Student Body have zero creativity for lip sync and themes because why do they keep doing Marvel and Disney? I might as well think we’re sponsored by Disney because we could’ve had HTTYD or Wonder Woman for crying out loud. Also there was a spirit day for “hype beast” in which you wear the high end stuff like Supreme. Well, I was bullied in elementary school for being NOT high income so I held resentment for those things.

Freshman year (9th grade), I did my best but we came in last place. Seniors won. Sophomore year, I felt bad for the freshmen who tried harder than us last year and they lost. Their side was decked out in white, it looked like Big Bear. Seniors won. Junior year, I figured it out it was pointless. Seniors won. Then came our turn. I noticed it. My fellow seniors would not bother trying because they knew they’d win anyway or would cheat the system like raising their hands for points even though they’re not wearing anything spirit (sometimes they be counting shoes). I hated it. I hated it more when the senior favoritism happens before your eyes.

Every winter assembly, there should be a sled race where one player is in a cardboard box and another pulls. Seniors never pull because their box has a giant hole so they can stand up and run to the finish line like a Grinch. I never saw that my senior year. Every assembly ever, there’s supposed to be a clapping game similar to Simon Says. The freshman are always duped on the first “clap” and the seniors don’t even play the game, it’s an applause! A standing ovation even! Even the seniors get to win the lip sync battle every time. Makes me wonder if they could stand in the corner then still win first place. In elective and math (above Algebra 1) classes, you would find mixed grade levels so not sure how much the point-counters scrutinize. They are not nit picky with seniors. If you raise your hand, we don’t check. Below seniors? They check. Yet, I think the cronyism is the main problem.

Seniors don’t need any skill set. They just need to be that class and bam, easy win. Any other class could try as they might and never win. I hated it more when people say, “let them win, they’re graduating.” Might as well give them all passing grades, senior year is the easiest anyways. No worries about senioritis. All the teachers love you because you’re mature baby-adults and about to leave. Hate the freshmen because they’re the hooligans. Let’s bully the freshmen.

Conclusion: Leona is relatable in the birth order > skill set resentment and not trying hard if nobody cares, because of the high school seniors favouritism I witnessed during spirit week.

So I had an epiphany when I was trying to sleep two nights ago so here's my essay

Santa Claus is Batman

During this analysis of whatever the fuck I was thinking in my bed two nights ago, I will attempt to explain my realisation that Santa Claus is in fact the fairytale and/or myth answer to Batman in the superhero genre.

Powers

When one thinks of superheroes, something that might quickly come to mind are people and aliens with superpowers such as flying and the ability to perform extraordinary feats through heightened strength, speed and intelligence. It does not take a lot intellect to know that Batman is not one of these individuals. Batman can neither fly or shoot lasers from his palms or eyes. He relies on the power of technology and sometimes the powers of others. Similarly, Santa is commonly considered a normal man, looking away from his abnormal age. He neither flies, but relies on his reindeer, or shoots lasers.

Identity

Being a superhero comes with many dangers. The loved ones of the person or the cover allowing these heroes to live in peace might become endangered if their true identities gets revealed. Batman is not an exception from this. During the day he takes on the role of Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy. During the night when he is not out fighting crime, he is in his bat-cave, a secret hideout. Santas identity is similarly hidden from the world. Have you ever seen Santas face? Have you seen where he lives? At the North Pole? Sure but have you SEEEEEEN it? Exactly.

Wealth

When one lacks the power to fly and fight with magic, one must acquire the ability to do so through other means. In the case of Batman this means to use his immense wealth to develop and make powerful weaponry, vehicles and armour. Santa Claus is a mystical entity that annually at Christmas Eve delivers probably up to billions of presents. This grand quest is one that would require immeasurable amounts of logistic administration and of course the extreme costs for labour and resources for the production and distribution of the gifts.

In conclusion...

In conclusion, Santa Claus is the fairytale equivalent of Batman. I have collected immense evidence to support this, and it leads me to announce woefully that Santa vs Batman would be a great movie. Thanks for reading my manic essay.

That feeling when you have to write an essay but you don't fuck with the topic