me holding a gun to a mushroom: tell me the name of god you fungal piece of shit
mushroom: can you feel your heart burning? can you feel the struggle within? the fear within me is beyond anything your soul can make. you cannot kill me in a way that matters
me cocking the gun, tears streaming down my face: I’M NOT FUCKING SCARED OF YOU
Prism and Fry are definitely being lazy bums due to the Blaze and Praise weekend, but-
This is one of our most requested to-dos, and we feel like @itsafckingsnickersbar just nailed it. There is literally nothing we could do to make it better. We’re folks who rarely tread where others have been (yeah, there’s exceptions), but look at this. It’s perfect.
Fry thinks she spooked the OP on Facebook a little, whoops, apologies (we 100% lurk in a lot of the snark based cross stitch groups) … But! You can get the border wreath here on Etsy, and insert whatever font makes you happy.
Today I cried a little bit because I remembered that when Beethoven conducted his ninth symphony for the first time he got a standing ovation and one of the sopranos had to turn him around to see the audience.
Please keep interacting with this post because when I come to tumblr to procrastinate, this shows up again in my notifications and guilts me into writing again
the club moss I got for my terrarium is dying, despite being lovingly packed into organic soil with oven-fried leaf litter and bioactive springtails and isopods, and meanwhile in my fridge my fuck ass onions are sending out bright green shoots as happy as could be in their cold dark box of fucking nothing
generally speaking when it comes to mental and physical health, if you're asked "do you struggle with this" and your answer is "no, Because I Have A System," then your answer is actually yes
Also, for ADHD symptoms specifically, if they ask something like, "Do you have trouble waiting your turn in conversations?" and your answer is, "No I'm a grown up I don't interrupt people," but you are constantly finishing sentences for people in your head and have formulated three replies before they finish talking.... the answer is yes, yes you do.
And if you can stay in your seat but are constantly bouncing a leg, clicking a pen, tapping out a rhythm on your thigh, or otherwise fidgeting, the answer is, yes, you do have trouble staying in your seat.
Neurotypicals do not require iron clad self control and three coping techniques to sit still during a meeting.
babe it's me i'm just covered in dirt and blood because i had to claw my way up into the light and crawl on my hands and knees back home to you stop screaming
Graceful degradation is the ability of a computer, machine, electronic system or network to maintain limited functionality even when a large portion of it has been destroyed or rendered inoperative. The purpose of graceful degradation is to prevent catastrophic failure. (Tech Target, first result on the search engine)
Oh neat the first time I heard of the concept the guy described it to me as "catastrophic functionality".
He was talking about it in the context of designing robots that would go in and stop nuclear reactor meltdowns, something that would 100% destroy the robot, but they would be designed to keep functioning and fighting the meltdown for as long as possible. He had some designs where over 80% of the robot has died and it was functionally dragging its corpse around by its one working arm because one more minute of functionality might save thousands.
I've been having a few bad years mental health wise, and thinking about those robots a lot .
This is also why NASA missions usually keep going so long after schedule. They are *masters* of graceful degradation, able to keep machines limping along on minimal power and after sustaining heavy damage
okay so my grandma had this friend and he was late to everything, but he didn’t really mind, as he would always joke around and say ‘oh well, as long as i’m not late to my own funeral’.
he recently passed away and last week at his funeral, everyone was in the church waiting for it to begin. they waited for more than 30 minutes past the set time and then came the news:
the hearse had gotten stuck in traffic. the hearse with his body in it.
You wouldn’t think that flamingoes are extremophiles just from looking at them. It’s like somebody tried to build the vertebrate equivalent of that fungus that lives inside nuclear reactors, and ended up with a gangly pink dinosaur with a spoon for a face.
For everyone in the comments asking how flamingos are extremophiles:
Flamingos can survive in low oxygen, high altitude, high temperatures, low temperatures, high alkaline, they can and will drink boiling water and they can be completely frozen at night and still get up the next morning
Oh yeah, this leaves out what I *did* know about them–they can also survive hypersalinity. That is, water so salty it kills practically everything else–water so salty it burns your skin.
(animal death) this is a real undoctored photograph (*though the body was stood up for the shot) of a dead flamingo on the surface of lake natron, a lake so salty and so alkaline that it’s naturally carbonated like soda and would eat through your stomach lining if you drank from it.
When this photo went viral years ago, most people assumed this poor flamingo must have been killed by the lake.
It is actually the lake where 75% of its global population are hatched. This is a photo from the same lake:
So, me and the ever-wonderful Raven @whitebeakedraven have been discussing the twins (S)DT forms, and quite a number of details were noticed by us over the course of that conversation, plus some worrying headcanons were born! I felt the need to compose them into a tumblr post for mutuals, especially since I have not seen them be discussed by the fandom at large.
To start off on a high and very shaky note: I believe Vergil’s horns were broken!
The coolness factor and the amount of ‘exhaust pipe horns’ jokes kind of desensitized me a little, but if you look closer at the horns’ model - it is clear they suffered a lot of damage. The ‘exhaust pipe’ itself is my primary evidence for this - the horn structure around the power-flames looks sponge-y. That kind of bone structure is found in the innermost layers of the bone, right around the marrow. It is not built for sustaining pressure, but instead to support the living tissue of the bone and to allow for its growth.
It is not built to sustain pressure or forces of any kind, it should not be the outer layer of any bone. Yet, Vergil’s Final Form shows it clearly on display!
If we go back to the previous DT models we have of Vergil’s trigger - namely his triggers in DMC3 and DMC4 - we can see that his horns…have not changed since then. At all.
(the growth sizes are very approximate, but I think the pictures convey my meaning here)
Now look at how much Dante’s horn crown has changed from his original DT - that is a very, very sizeable growth spurt right there, his horn crown pretty much grew three or so times the size it was, plus he got the neck-/gill-guard second set of horns, same as Vergil. What I’m saying here is - it is mighty suspicious that Vergil’s horns remain unchanged since his teenagehood. Also, as Raven lovely pointed out - the damage done to horns is too symmetrical to be a natural occurrence or a simple mistake.
And where did Vergil spend his time in between his last appearance in DMC3 and his return in DMC5? In the hands of a professional demon torturer. I’ll just quote Raven here:
Horns seem to me like a point of pride for demons, which could be the reason Mundus targeted them and Vergil internalized that targeting. So his horns didn't develop much further except cracking open to show his power and having extra defenses in case they are targeted again.
Some other supporting evidence for this theory:
- uneven ‘cut’: the horns look curved a little, the inner layer having died off and unable to grow out, while the outer layer tried it’s best to grow out again after the damage was done, but with limited success
- the DMC5 DT Vergil concept art horns have a small inner part growing out - which I would interpret as the damage fully healing and the horns beginning to grow properly again. you can also see that the ‘powerline’ in the horns is straight, and not uneven as in SDT render in-game, plus they look more sleek and elegant.
- from the front the horn crown looks very, very rough. If we compare to Dante, his horns are long, smooth, and the ‘powerlines’* of the horns can only be found on the inner side and are glowing.
[* btw Dante having long thin appendages around his head that exert a lot of heat makes me think of long-eared animal adaptation to hot climates, which are used to let the animal cool down faster. in demonic biology terms, I imagine having a ‘powerline’ being rerouted around the head like that to the horn crown instead might allow twins to remain in SDT without constantly frying and regenerating their brains back]
Vergil’s horns from the front look to be cracking from the power that is fed into them, like they should be able to contain it but cannot and it is ‘leaking’ out of the front cracks and result in the ‘side flamethrowers’ he got instead.
I admit, this theory is very SSDP (Syndrome of Search for Deeper Meaning - СПГС, an extremely handy term in ru), and can be explained in two simple words - Stylistic Choice, plus, as Raven pointed out - any damage should have been healed during Vergil’s resurrection... However, I had fun figuring this out, and the details align way too neatly into a single picture for it to be simply coincidence in my opinion. An alternate explanation for this - or a counterargument, provided by the lovely Raven - would be that Vergil chose this current form, one way or the other. He did not evolve a huge horn crown ‘cause that’s an easy grab appendage, and instead he influenced them to be more practical with smaller horns, getting himself some sick flamethrowers as a bonus. The ‘exhaust pipe’ design being either an intentional or a more subconscious display of Vergil remembering the torture and reacting accordingly to protect his horns from further damage, by making them literally untouchable.
Another interesting part of Vergil’s SDT design is his tail and wings. I admit, I was quite salty that Vergil got four wings and a tail, while Dante only has wings, but we might have found an explanation for that.
First, let’s take a look at Vergil’s SDT back…. It’s a goddamn mess!
He has a full-range-of-motion shoulder girdle (1.) , plus, five additional limbs sprouting from his back (tail (2.) plus four wings (3.)). The tail making it all even worse, because it is placed between the upper wingset shoulder blades!
If you know anything even remotely about birds or flying, you know that the wings need a lot of space to rotate and function properly, and having a tail right in between them is not a good idea at all. This is a mess, but let’s start simple - wings.
Interesting bit about Vergil’s wings is that, aside from one extremely stupid flying freight lizard attack (seriously, what was Vergil thinking, making a big show and parading like he did, only to have an attack itself be telegraphed miles ahead and very easy to dodge?...makes you think...), Vergil does not fly. Actually, he doesn’t use his wings at all, except as a flourish/added hit at the end of some big combos, so only when he knows he is safe and ready to deliver maximum pain. You can argue he prefers instantly teleporting around as his main movement tech, but still, it’s weird that even his jump doesn’t have at least *some* wing movement involved - he doesn’t even instinctively try to slow his fall or anything with them!
(here is a screenshot of a fall part of jump animation - wings are kept low and close to the body, just as they are when Vergil is standing normally or attacking)
Another look at his back might provide the answer to that. Here we see that the bones connecting the wingset to the chest are protruding out of the body so much, they are, anatomically speaking, tapered on, and very poorly at that. If not for demonic resilience, those wings should have been torn off from the body by their own generated take-off force.
So, the twins' wings are not built very well, mayhaps this is why Vergil is so protective of them and doesn’t use them too much, except for situations when he is sure it’s safe.
His tail in that case, is a great addition to offer protection for his wings! The tail is long enough to be an effective counter from all sides (imagine if Vergil’s parry was not with the sheathed Yamato, but with his tail… that pointy end does not look friendly at all), and its placement between the wings now makes sense, because the tail is actually a guard for his back.
During my previous photomode experiments, I found out that Urizen’s multitude of eyes track the camera movement. Even in photomode Urizen does not feel safe enough to be still, apparently. Raven interpreted that as a clear manifestation of Vergil’s paranoia and trust issues, and I completely agree... The tail then, is another feature that reflects this. Also, y’know, Vergil did spent a few decades in hell, where he had a very bad, no good, absolutely horrible time… and I’ll just quote Raven here:
And I mean, what better way to enforce the fact that escape, that freedom, is impossible towards a prisoner, than by ripping their literal wings off…
The poor connection of the wings to the main body could in that case also be a reaction to this trauma. If someone gets to them, they're easily removed without too much further damage, so that they can start regenerating immediately. But before that, any attacker will have to get by the tail that’s got a sharp enough end to provide ample amounts of protection.
Another reason why the tail fits Vergil so nicely is because of the speed and balance it provides.
DMC5 introduced us to lovely lizard demons like Riots, Chaoses and Furies, all of which are known for having a tail. Interesting bit here is that the higher back attachment makes the tail act as a great balancing tool for bipedals. All of the lizors mentioned above sure do love their speedy attacks, so it makes sense they developed the tail to counteract their erratic and swift movements. And Vergil’s SDT seems to have adopted that feature too.
As for Dante, as much as I would have loved for him to get a tail as well, Raven pointed out another detail here. If Dante had any control whatsoever over the SDT evolution... he definitely wouldn’t want any more demonic features. The four-winged and big horned flying form is probably the inherited template from Sparda that neither Vergil nor Dante would have been able to stray away from too much, but the tail is clearly a Vergil-only development. Dante might have gone ‘minimalistic’ in that sense, since he has no additional features of his own (anatomically speaking... technically speaking you might count his Luce, Ombra and Demolition ranged magic moves as special features)
Now, since we’re already on the topic of Dante, we have found another interesting tidbit - his DT face evolution.
We know that in DMC3 Vergil helps his brother unlock his demonic heritage, finally giving Dante his Trigger. The detail that made me curious here is that the DMC3 face is very similar to the face the SDT form has - specifically the lack of human features and the demonic jaws. Let’s have a look here at the evolution of Dante’s DT faces over time (in more ways than one…):
In DMC3 his DT face is pretty much the template from which the SDT form will later evolve, since it lacks any human features that are present in other forms (save for SDT). This DT form is adaptable and changes depending on the Devil Arm Dante is using, showing that he clearly doesn’t have too much control over it yet. The most noticeable example would be the horns - they change form significantly... Also the horns Dante has sprouting here from the back of his head might be the neck-guard horns and the main crown he will fully develop later on. Unlike Dante, Vergil’s form seems much more stable in the sense that his horn shape changes as well, but not nearly as much, and nothing else is affected by the Devil Arms in his appearance.
DMC1, now THIS I almost overlooked, and I sure am glad that I didn’t. The DMC1 DT forms are also affected a lot by the Devil Arms Dante is using in the moment. The weapons seem to ‘overwrite’ Dante’s innate form a lot here, and without their induced features, his face in DT is actually…blank. There is just a blank head until the Devil Arms give him some additions… I have a feeling this might be connected to Dante’s twin-related trauma in the game, they have the same face, after all…
In contrast to everything that comes before, the DMC2 form is a mix of both Dante’s strive for humanity and his ever-growing powers, because his face in DT is - for the first time in the series - completely human. He can’t however, escape the transformation entirely unchanged, and the dark scales and skin color... they make him look a lot like Nelo, or at least to me it seems that way. This is also the game where the SDT makes its first appearance as a Majin form, which is a low-health DT transformation. The Majin form has all the classic features of an SDT - four wings, developed horn crown and even arm-blades like the ones SDT Vergil has. The Majin form is also my big evidence for the ‘SDT forms have a template twins were always supposed to evolve into’ argument.
DMC4 is the ‘mature’ phase where Dante’s DT finally stabilizes and stopped evolving (before SDT was thrown on the table). None of the Devil Arms alter his appearance anymore, the horn crown is finally developed properly, and his facial features are demonic, but the face as a whole still reads as human.
Additional stuff I have noticed but have nowhere else to place:
- Vergil had undergone extensive torture in his time as Mundus’ captive. His horns were broken, wings - ripped out, and if we keep going down that route the V-cut on the SDT chest bears quite a similarity to a badly done dissection scar.
- Alternatively, the V-shape could be seen as the V signature Vergil used to mark his things. In DMC5 he is pretty much picking up the torn and scattered pieces of himself, so that characteristic shape might also be him Reclaiming his name, as one well-known song might have said
- Meanwhile, Dante’s ‘chest rupture’ shape reminds me simultaneously of the numerous stab wounds Dante has been subjected over time, but also a literal bleeding heart pattern, speaking of the heartbreak physical, and the metaphorical one he suffered and never recovered from. This is made worse, if you remember that Dante got his SDT form before the final battle with Urizen in mission 17, so it is also a manifestation of his inner conflict and hurt at that moment in time and story, as he had yet to kill his brother. Again.
- to end on, at least somewhat positive note - the twins’ scales are iridescent!!! Some scales make this more apparent than others, but ultimately all scales have this quality and it brings me much joy)))
Aaaaand the final piece of wisdom I have for today. It is no secret that the DT wings mimic the series-standard leather coats the twins love so much, but I have not seen much of a reverse read on this connection - the twins loving their long leather coats because they mimic the feel of DT wings. The wings have an intricate swirl pattern on the inside and there is a lot of power going through them, so they should be warm, and the pose the twins normally have their wings around - the coats might give them a similar feeling. They are, obviously, leather, they should be good at reflecting warmth, the coats cover the same ‘forward hug’ area like the wings, they are heavy, and they whirl around the back and legs like the wind one would be feeling if they were to move.
This, just might damn be, why V(ergil) stuck to wearing that horrific goth clothing for the entirety of the almost two months he was alive (I say this because I don’t like that outfit, also because V is Vergil and I hope we can all agree Vergil himself would never wear that).He was alone on the street, had no power, no weapons, no money or anything on him and was painfully human, only to have a leather coat thrown his way in a merciful turn of fate. Vergil did not care how passable he looked at that moment, he stated that multiple times himself.What he cared about was the feeling of comfort the leather coat gave him. It reminded him of his better days, of days where his own wings were just one trigger away. And that might be why he didn’t change his clothing from literally the first stuff that was handed to him.
Sooo, that would be it for the post. This one was in the works for a while xD. Again, immense thanks to Raven for rambling about this with me, it was super fun and her contributions to that conversation have been ginormous. Thank you dear reader, for finishing this monster of a post too! Text your family you love them to avoid ending up as these losers here please.
p.s. the DT different forms over the series photos were taken from the dmc wiki, everything else was captured by me in-game
1.Incredible deep and detailed narrative themes. The parallels that seem to hit just right, the narrative foils that they can be to each other, the intricate dynamic that's both extremely complex and easily understood. The juxtaposition between something that's harsh and undoubtedly toxic, with the softer undertones, the parts where you read in-between the lines and find a mutual feeling of loneliness from both parts, their intrinsic understanding of each other comes from the mere fact that they're each others mirrored reflections and shadows. In the end both sides will be together forever, and you as an audience can clearly see their tragedy laid out before in a path that blurs pure anguish and tender romance
some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.
