Latest Posts by goneau2xr - Page 2

Wufei: I swear to God, the next person that says “weird flex but okay” is going to lose their kneecaps

Heero:

Duo:

Trowa:

Quatre: Preposterous boast but alas

Wufei:

Without a doubt my favorite part of the opening. I love how she looks up into the light, then to the side with her hair billowing behind her. I don’t know what it is about the animation, but I adore it. My fondness for elaborate uniforms may also factor in.

On a more meta level, this part with Relena and Heero also gives us a glimpse of the upcoming Cinq arc. Relena takes up the Peacecraft name to promote Total Pacifism and Quatre and Heero join her to protect Cinq. The above displays Relena’s duality as a Peacecraft and Darlian beautifully with her wearing her Cinq uniform, but sporting her “Relena Darlian” hairdo. She is still Relena, as the hair shows, but she will begin using the Peacecraft name from now on and act as the kingdom’s monarch, as we see from the uniform.

With Mrs. Noventa’s plea in her letter to build a better future in mind, Relena will take center stage in this arc and become a new hope for peace for many people, which is reflected in the animation by her facing upward in a hopeful manner while bathing in light.

Contrasting that is Heero, who is sitting in the shadows, almost brooding, facing the other way and having a blue Cinq uniform draped over his shoulders.

We learn in the final episodes from Relena herself that Heero was the one who gave her the strength to carry on, and even during the Cinq arc we see Relena ask his advice and try to understand his reasoning for fighting. So it makes sense that Relena, while facing the sky first, turns her head and glances at him. Heero doesn’t, reflecting his initial rejection of the Peacecraft’s ideals.

Heero facing the other way also makes sense because where Relena is promoting Total Pacifism, he is fighting on the battlefield. I take him sitting down and being somewhat slumped as a nod to him being down in the dumps during this arc, too. The colonies betrayed him and he is fighting petty battles as a mercenary to get back at Romefeller, knowing full well that his resistance is futile and that he is just too sore to let it go. In contrast, Relena is standing tall and confidently, reflecting her approach in this arc.

This is also reflected by the background. The ground is full of rubble from the destruction from previous battles, which is why Heero is sitting, being on that lower part of the frame, too. Relena stands, just like the ornate, intact structures that rise from the rubble.

Last thing is Heero’s blue Cinq uniform. Noin has a blue uniform and she is an Imperial Guard, protecting the country. Heero takes a similar position to Noin’s fighting for Cinq on various occasions, but unlike Noin or Quatre he is not as devoted. Hence why the uniform is only draped over his shoulders as opposed to him wearing it.

…Man, even I never noticed how much thought went into this short part of the opening until I sat down and typed this. Gundam Wing does subtlety amazingly well and this is just another instance of it. The whole arc is explained in 13 seconds! Hats off.

[babysitting Mariemaia]

Quatre: What are you guys up to?

Mariemaia, pouring tea: Playing tea party.

Quatre: Oh how nice!

Duo, throwing the teapot into the pool: I’m not paying these fucking taxes!

Duo and Hilde having a conversation about cause and effect, and about being allowed freedom to choose their own fate. She said that the beginning of colony people losing their smile is Operation Meteor when the actions of the gundam pilots dragged them all into direct confrontation with the earth government, the reason why colonies are about to be attacked. The gundam pilots were never be chosen by the majority of the colony dwellers, they actually self-appointed to do 'missions for the sake of the colonies'. In a way not only they're stealing the colony people's agency about how to deal with the Alliance's threat but also dragging-forcing many people in the colonies, civilians included, to become directly involved with the war.

Sometimes overprotectiveness could be perceived as patronizing arrogance and playing God with other people's life. This bring into question about the actual motivations of the gundam pilots, something that not might not even themselves fully realized or dared to examine closely. If this is real life scenario then there would be a tangle between selfishness and unselfishness no matter how the motivations be verbalized.

Tea time

Trowa (5'3''), Wufei (5'1'') , Quatre (5'1''), Duo (5'1''), Heero (5'1''), Relena (5'0''), Zechs (5'10''), Treize (5'11'")

(Heights are according to settei and art book accounts.)

Edit: thanks @lagrange-pts for pointing out Zechs is actually 184cm (6'0)

Duo, innocently: Please let me go. I’m just a naive young boy who got caught up with the wrong crowd.

Hilde: How did you get out of the handcuffs?!

Duo, back in his normal voice: Ah, just a trick I learned in juvie.

Duo: We dream of the summertime during winter. We yearn for the winter during summer. What fatal flaw has god injected the human psyche with? Why must we always strive for the things furthest away from us?

Wufei: …are you okay?

Duo: My feet are cold as fuck, dude.

Trowa: I made a remix of Wufei’s “I’m Disappointed” post-mission lecture. Wanna hear it?

Duo: You are my new favorite person. Absolutely, yes.

Wufei: Could you be any more annoying?

Duo: Easily.

What Hollywood gets wrong (and right!) about protecting the Earth from asteroids

In the 1998 movie, “Armageddon,” an asteroid the width of Texas is about to hit Earth. The heroes who stop it in just the nick of time are a group of orange-suited Americans, all men.

Life isn’t always like the movies.

Not that an asteroid couldn’t slam into Earth, mind you. Asteroids — mostly tiny ones — pass by our planet virtually every second. But the people charged with stopping the big ones aren’t reaching for their spacesuits with mere hours to spare.

And spoiler alert: They also aren’t all men.

“I would say the number one question I get when I tell people what I work on, is ‘Oh, like ‘Armageddon?’’ And it’s nothing like ‘Armageddon,’” says Lawrence Livermore National Lab physicist Kirsten Howley, whose day job includes defending our planet from asteroids.

Howley doesn’t have an orange jumpsuit at hand, but her job is serious business. She and her team of planetary defenders specialize in how we might deflect an asteroid that poses a threat to Earth.

Read more

Duo’s body language

Look at that slouchy, little dude. The above scenes are from Quatre’s and Duo’s first meeting and from when Duo tries to persuade Hilde into not joining White Fang when she suggests it. And what never fails to draw my attention in the latter is Duo’s peculiar choice of stance while doing so. While I understand his lowering himself to Quatre’s height when first meeting him to make himself more approachable, the Duo and Hilde scene is odd. Here he is, trying to convince her of something and when people usually do that, they tend to adopt a more assertive stance by standing to their full height and, if possible, looking down at their opposite, to add to their dominance and sway the other person more easily.

But what does Duo do? The complete opposite. While vehement in his statements, he makes himself physically smaller, slouching down to not just Hilde’s height, but actually dropping lower than her line of sight, so that he is now looking up to her.

Look at the framing of these shots. Duo’s face may look intimidating, but because Hilde is now looking down at him, it takes the edge off. One would think this is a habit of Duo’s, but it is actually a very deliberately choice and reveals an interesting facet about his personality.

I’m sure anyone will agree with me when I say that Duo is easily the most approachable of the Gundam pilots. He is friendly, he is laid-back and from what you can see, he likes to make himself very non-threatening physically when talking to people.

We can take this further though.

Keep reading

Ikuze gets paid to watch Gundam Wing - Relena’s initial interest in Heero

This happened in English class. Since it’s an analysis, I decided to share.

Ikuze: What reason do you think Relena has to be so interested in Heero during these first episodes?

Student: I think she is bored in her life. Like at that party. And he is mysterious and the first exciting thing to happen to her, so that’s why she is so interested. She may also have a bit of a crush on him?

Ikuze: …Goodness, quoted verbatim! Some things don’t change, huh? xD

Student: ?

Ikuze: You just said the exact same thing the majority of the fandom has said as well. But okay. Can you think of any other reason he piqued her interest?

Student: Um……..

Ikuze: Where did she find him initially?

Student: On the beach.

Ikuze: And what was he wearing?

Student: A military spacesuit.

Ikuze: Correct. What happened next?

Student: Heero pulled a GTA with the ambulance.

Ikuze: lmao Yup. What do you think Relena thought of him at that moment?

Student: That he is weird?

Ikuze: That would stand to reason. Now, when’s the next time she sees him?

Student: In her school, when he enrolled.

Ikuze: What do you think was going through her mind when she saw him?

Student: That he followed her? Or at least that he wasn’t just a normal student. And then he also threatens to kill her. And she later also says that in the car, that he wants to kill her because she discovered his secret!

Ikuze: Very good! So… do you think she found him exciting?

Student: No, I’d rather say he was suspicious.

Ikuze: Ah! Now there’s a statement. Let’s fast-forward to her party. What happens?

Student: The party starts and her friends are there, but she is thinking about Heero-

Ikuze: Wait, you missed the radio announcement.

Student: The radio announcement?

Ikuze: Yes, the one where the newsperson says that the rumors about rebels descending to Earth were false and that it was just trash.

Student: Right! And Relena knows it’s a lie because she saw Heero!

Ikuze: Yes! So what does she think Heero is?

Student: A rebel?

Ikuze: Yes! And what happens next?

Student: She hears he is at the harbor from that boy and goes to him.

Ikuze: What kind of harbor is it?

Student: Uh…

Ikuze: A military one.

Student: Oh.

Ikuze: What would Heero be doing at a military harbor?

Student: Blowing things up and killing people. Which is what he ends up doing.

Ikuze: Do you think Relena would expect that, too, given what she knows about him?

Student: …Yes.

Ikuze: So do you think she followed him to the harbor because her party was boring her?

Student: No, she wanted to stop him. ^^;

Ikuze: Exactly. She is the VFM’s daughter who just got out of a meeting about the possibility of impending rebel attacks from the colonies. To which she accompanied him. What she is doing is the same thing as her father: she is trying to stop the start of a war. Not hunt for a boyfriend. xD

Student: Right. xD

Ikuze: So, if I asked you again now what the reason for Relena’s initial interest in Heero is..?

Student: I’d say it’s because he is sus. But she may also have a crush on him and find him exciting..!

Ikuze: Hey, could be. I’m not arguing it’s not, especially if you look at the final episodes, I’m just saying it wouldn’t be the main reason. But let me ask you an interesting question: why was your first thought that she was attracted to him and his mystery?

Student: Well, it’s what always happens in movies. He is a boy, she is a girl, they’re the protagonists… Every spy movie is like that.

Ikuze: *nods* And this is the lesson we learned today: stereotypes and how little it takes to invoke them.

ANYA TAYLOR-JOY 26th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards › March 7, 2021

Wufei: I’m Heero Yuy’s emergency contact.

Nurse: You’re here to pick him up?

Wufei: I’m here to be removed as his emergency contact.

Favourite Designs: Hussein Bazaza ‘Amal’ Fall 2019 Haute Couture Collection

♡ costumes in the sissi trilogy  –  38/50 ♡

sissi’s hungarian ballgown

Chris Evans & Evan Rachel Wood  for Gucci 

Is It Too Early for This?…. Probably 

Jennifer Lawrence by Peter Lindbergh for Vanity Fair Holiday 2016/2017

Height Difference

Gundam Wing tried to break pretty much every tradition that existed back then with shounen anime. The “heroes” are terrorists, the bad guys aren’t all that evil, the women are badass, the guys are all pretty boys and a whole slew of other birthday invitation-ripping choices that differentiated it from the rest.

Those apparently include making the lead guy shorter than the lead girl.

Look at them. Heero is almost half a head shorter than Relena here. Like, how comical is that? To have your killer look up to you? *snicker*

As you see, the previous pic is not an animation goof. Relena is consistently drawn to be quite a bit taller than Heero in the beginning. What I love about the above pic by the way is the correct anatomy. Heero may be shorter, but he is still male, so his hands are larger than Relena’s.

(Ballroom e Youkoso has greatly sensitized me to this sort of stuff.)

But does this height difference even make sense or did the creators just want to mess with norms?

Thing is, it does. Zechs is one of the tallest guys in the series, barring giants like Rashid or Gwinter Septem. Look at how he dwarfs Noin:

The dude is seriously tall. So it makes sense that his little sister, who shares his genes, would grow to be pretty tall herself. Plus, they’re from a country that is supposedly located somewhere in Denmark. Have you ever met people from there? Most people end up looking like Noin when they speak to them.

But wait. Heero doesn’t stay that short, some of you will say. He grows taller.

And he does. If we look at the end of the series, Heero has gained some height.

He is not so blatantly shorter than Relena anymore. But if you look closely, he still is a tiny bit shorter. Due to his spiky hair he may look taller, but the height of their chins and eyes betray their actual height difference.

Personally, I’m all over this. I love that the creators let the Scandinavian character be tall, even if she is a girl and the hero’s love interest. Because in all the shoujo and shounen anime I’ve seen so far, the dudes are at least a full head taller than their girl. And I’m always wondering why they all dig neck pain.

I’m also tired of the whole tall, dominant guy/short, meek girl dynamic.

This is where Heero and Relena break another tradition. Heero never controlled Relena, aside from that one scene in episode 47 which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. She is her own character and actually influences Heero a lot. But they never force the other to do what they want.

And this is remarkable because they are both insanely strong-willed/stubborn, yet have vastly different approaches to things. She is a pacifist, he is a soldier and the whole time it’s a question between two sides of a concept between them, be it war and peace or ruthlessness and compassion. Never mind the whole symbolism with Earth and space.

The show spends a lot of time painting them as the two sides of a coin and like those two sides, Heero and Relena, too, are equal. And that their height difference, in which Heero grows to literally see eye to eye with her, further reflects that, is a beautiful and oh so subtle addition to the concept.

Now, I know that pretty much all of fan art featuring Heero and Relena have Heero be taller than her. So don’t take the following as me knocking the artists. I’m not.

But stuff like the lovely pic in Blind Target?

So traditional. The creators tend to be more for this:

Exact same height. And I can see why.

Favourite Designs: Marchesa Fall 2018 Ready-to-Wear Collection

Duo, to Trowa: Are you trying to hurt my feelings? Because if so, you are succeeding.

Duo: Fortunately, my feelings regenerate at twice the speed of a normal man’s.

Duo: This was fun, but that’s something you wouldn’t understand because you’re not programmed to feel joy.

Heero: Yes, but my software is due for an exuberance upgrade.

Duo: You know, when you play along with the robot jokes, it kind of ruins my enjoyment of them.

Catherine: [takes a swig out of flask] You want some of this?

Trowa: Sure

Trowa: [takes a sip] …is this soup?!

Hey, to anyone writing historical, sci-fi or fantasy fiction: Consider the universal and unchanging things of humanity that will always be relatable to readers. So consider incorporating:

Depictions of how a certain kind of weather feels to the human body

The discomfort that people experience towards ageing, and how especially those who have built their whole identity around being beautiful will handle growing old and losing their looks.

The unpleasant choice between doing what looks good now, and doing what will be seen as more moral in the long run.

Teenagers making unspeakably embarrassing choices with the sole goal of impressing potential romantic partners, with next to no reward.

Observing animals and wondering whether they, too, have an intelligence, emotions, and a soul.

Parents being exhausted with the bullshit of infants and toddlers.

Teenagers incorporating whatever they observe as being Important And Culturally Valued into their new identity, and if none are presented, adopting the traits of another, different culture into their identity.

Parents fearing that their teenagers will disregard the valued traits of their own identity in exchange for a foreign influence.

Picky eaters trying to survive their way through a world of people who care less about taste than they do.

Disabled people making do in a world mainly designed for able-bodied people.

LGBT+ people making the best of what they can do, doing the best they are culturally allowed to communicate to other queer people that they exist, and want to know whether anyone at all exists as well.

Old people who simply inform you that they are too old to give a fuck. Being the oldest people around, it’s not like you can fact-check them. can you?

Stone age, iron age, internet age, spacefaring age, interstellar age, perhaps these are things to consider.

Duo: Why do Bigfoot hunters try to lure him with a mating call? Do they have a game plan for if a sasquatch comes barreling towards them out of the woods full tilt with a raging boner?

Trowa: What the fuck do you think the point of finding Bigfoot is?

Wufei, the unfortunate one on the same comm channel as them, internally:

Gundam Wing Original Design - Other Characters

Original character designs from the Gundam Wing Character’s Collection Art Book