#i said it was my favorite pokemon like one time but now its a Core Trait Of My Tumblr

[ifbench]

Gates to Infinity

During my initial PMD playthroughs, I was considering skipping Gates altogether, as I had heard almost nothing but negative things about it up until that point.

However, my friend who I was liveblogging my PMD playthroughs to, she said that Gates to Infinity was good, too.

And so, after completing Rescue Team DX and Explorers, I acquired Gates to Infinity.

Quite possibly the best decision to get a game I've ever made.

As while Gates to Infinity is not my favorite game of all time, it's the game that brought the most to me, that affected me for the better the most.

As while games like Mario and Luigi Dream Team are amazing fun experiences that I treasure dearly…they didn't change my life like Gates to Infinity did.

It was Gates to Infinity that caused me to stick with PMD. It's what inspired me to start writing Eternal Shadows. It's what led me to meet so many amazing people. It's why I'm still talking about PMD today.

No other game has brought me so much happiness in the long term as Gates to Infinity has.

It's a bit silly why I started Eternal Shadows in the first place, really. I was playing through Gates to Infinity's opening, and it was so different from both Rescue Team DX's and Explorers'. It had an air to it that neither of those had.

2020 me thought it felt a lot like Kingdom Hearts, and I decided to write a PMD opening with very heavy Kingdom Hearts inspiration as a proof of concept.

That "proof of concept" is what is now known as Eternal Shadows.

Beyond how it personally shaped me, though…Gates to Infinity is a truly wonderful game.

Some may say it's a downgrade over Explorers. That it took things away from what made Explorers so great.

And…I would agree with that second sentence, in a way.

Gates to Infinity does remove a lot of stuff from Explorers. No personality quiz, severely limited Pokemon roster, no Spinda's Cafe, no IQ, no long second story in the postgame, and no purple Kecleon or Kangaskhan.

But Gates to Infinity doesn't need to be Explorers. It's not Explorers. And much of what it removes, it adds something new in its place.

While there's no personality quiz, for the first time, you can choose your protagonist's species, a feature that would remain in newer games.

IQ is gone, replaced by the much less grindy Team Skills system. No longer do you have to grind for gummis so your partner won't walk over exposed traps.

There's no Spinda's Cafe, but you build something similar through Paradise. You can build your own facilities, talk to your recruits in the town you have built, and it even serves as a hub.

There's no postgame story to the magnitude of Explorers', but what is there, is something unlike anything Explorers or Rescue Team gives you. It might not be as long, but a story doesn't need to be long to be good.

And while the loss of the purple Kecleon, Kangaskhan, and the large Pokemon roster could be considered objective downgrades…they don't ruin the experience at all, at least for me.

There's other flaws, too, like the slow text speed, and inability to choose gender, but I digress, and don't mind them at all.

Gates to Infinity doesn't carry over the letter of Explorers. It isn't a sequel to it in the way that Explorers is one to Rescue Team. But it carries over the spirit of it.

Like Adventure Squad, it still has the heart of PMD.

Yet unlike Adventure Squad, it's not afraid to show it.

Gates to Infinity still tells a heartfelt story about a former human who winds up in a world of Pokemon.

It has well-developed characters, amazing music that uses motifs wonderfully, and a touching farewell scene.

What does being a PMD game mean, really?

Does it mean pixel graphics, macguffins to collect, and guilds?

Or is it the story of a former human, who partners up with a Pokemon, eventually saving the world, before having to say goodbye?

Of course, some might just say "PMD gameplay". And there's nothing wrong with that answer!

The dungeon-delving gameplay is a core part of the experience, too. And sometimes, it makes the majority of the experience, like with Adventure Squad.

And yes, Gates to Infinity has some problems with the mystery dungeons. Repetitive room generation, party members wandering off, and that small Pokemon roster.

But it also has things Explorers doesn't.

It introduces the reunion cape item, my favorite item in all of PMD, and very useful for reuniting with lost party members.

It has outside areas to mystery dungeons, a first for the series, and even sometimes has small puzzles with them.

And without the IQ system, your party members have much better navigation and combat skills by default.

But the gameplay isn't what I love about Gates to Infinity so much. It's its story, characters, and the emotions it instilled in me.

I cried not even 15 minutes into Gates to Infinity, when I heard Ragged Mountain for the first time. I recognized it from Oddity Cave from Rescue Team DX, and…yeah.

I initially thought I wasn't going to be able to name my Snivy partner, but then we get to the future site of Paradise, and he lets me give him a name, in-universe.

Virizion's character arc is wonderful, and I love how she and Keldeo reconcile.

I love Dunsparce's bravery, and how Emolga gives up his spot on the Great Glacier expedition so Dunsparce can go.

One of my favorite moments in the entire game, and even just thinking about it right now is making me start to cry.

I love the first-person perspectives with Umbreon seeking shelter in Post Town, and how Espeon just wanted to do the right thing and feels so guilty for putting Swadloon in danger.

And Emolga!

Emolga my absolute beloved.

I love his friendship with Umbreon, I love his reconciliation and developing relationship with Virizion, I love his goofiness! He's my favorite canon Pokemon character ever!

And not to skip over Hydreigon, either. The Voice of Life is such a cool title and concept, and I love how you think they'll be the villain, only for them to come and save you, and be an absolute dork.

Even the protagonist! Even they have some character to them, and actually talk!

And then the story. Oh, the story of Gates to Infinity.

For a bit of context, I was…not feeling very well mentally when I started playing the PMD games.

It's a bit cliche, but, well…I was feeling pretty hopeless.

And Gates to Infinity took that hopelessness and melted it away.

Its theme of how hope can be found even in the darkest of times, how you can find friends even when you feel like you're all alone…it meant a lot to me. It still means a lot to me.

And the ending…I have never cried harder at a story in my life.

Everyone's final messages to you through the frism, how they remembered you, how even if you may never meet again, how they wanted you to have a good life…it broke me, in a good way.

My second favorite moment in all of PMD, and part of what led me to writing A Way to Reunite.

Gates to Infinity may not be Explorers. It may lack stuff, even important stuff that Explorers has.

But Gates to Infinity has heart. So, so much heart.

It's not soulless, it's the farthest thing from soulless.

Gates to Infinity is a true PMD game, and I'll always love it with all my heart.

I've also compiled my liveblog notes from when I played Gates to Infinity for the very first time, if anyone is interested in reading that, but unfortunately it'll have to be on Discord, as I initially wrote them on Discord, and porting around 5000 words of liveblogging to here does not sound like fun to me.

So, if you want to read it, hit me up on Discord! My username is @ifbench, just like on here.

I hope you've all enjoyed this, and I hope to have my Super retrospective ready soon.

[jaredthebc]

For the character ask thing, N Pokemon, Ingrid Fire Emblem, and or Ashe Fire Emblem. :3c

I already got more than one N in my ask box so I’ll just do the fire emblems

Ashe

First impresson

For the very little I played of Three Houses in 2019, I remember liking Ashe when I briefly talked to him while he was in the greenhouse, and continued to think he was nice afterwards, which says a *lot* if you remember just how fucking much I blindly hated Fire Emblem for a while lol

Impression now

DONNY ITS YOUR FAULT HES MY NEW BLORBO. I love him so fucking much I’d do anything for him he makes me happy when I feel down and I’m so fucking glad I gave Three houses a second chance just because of him

Favorite moment

There are so many moments. From him supporting Ingrid by gifting her that book, to him facing his fear for Annette when he was not asked to do so for the sake of her memories, to him eating Dedue’s meal and remembering his family, and how he learned to cope with his many family deaths with Cathrine’s support. I can include Three Hopes here too with him screaming at Yuri to stop stealing cause he hates seeing a friend in danger

…that was way more than I expected I probably should have just said “all of him” lol

Idea for a story

There’s definitely the supports I wanna write for him and my oc you know of, as well as more general stuff like his life post war, him remembering his passed loved ones years after they passed, and silly scenarios of him in the academy during the pre timeskip

Unpopular opinion

Idk if it’s a hot take, but Cathrine does not make a good romance ending with Ashe. Just feels unhealthy as hell (though I can ignore it thankfully)

Favorite relationship

Him and the bitch below his list/affectionate

Also I don’t mention them enough, but Dimiashe is criminally underrated, AsheDue is god tier too

And ig my oc that is very much borderline oc x canon at this point

Favorite headcanon

*slaps transmasc onto him and also smacks on autism*

Ingrid

First impression

Considering my hatred of fire emblem for a few years, if I did see her it would have been spiteful for a while lol. I’m mature now I promise

Impression now

DONNY THIS IS ALSO YOUR FAULT I love her sm, if there are no more Ingrid fans then I’m dead I’d never give up on her and I refuse to let her die

Favorite moment

Might be a strange one…but her death line, I actually heard it for the first time today, and not only does the line destroy me, but her VA. God her VA crushed it. When a piece of media actually gets me to cry you KNOW its good (I’m good dw lol)

Also obligatory mentioning her and Ashe supports

Idea for a story

100 gay things with Ashe, as well as stuff with helping her land prosper and sibling activities with Felix (since they are very sibling core to me)

Unpopular opinion

Ingrid haters don’t know how to read, that’s all ill say so I don’t get torn to shreds by elaborating

Favorite relationship

Her and the bitch above. Also something between her and Sylvain must have happened even if it went nowhere

Favorite headcanon

GENDER-FLUID/GENDERQUEER INGRID 4EVER. Also raw beef enjoyer

[turboacek-blog]

My Ash SV anime team prediction

Spoilers for Paldea Dex and Scarlet and Violet

Just putting it out there so if/when it’s revealed I can look back at how close or far I was

My explanation

Pikachu: Self-explanatory

As for the Flying Tera type, just the flying Pikachu they were promoting and distributed, possible to be electric as they may not do the “wow this Pikachu is special” again but I think they would given GMax Pikachu, small possibility for a completely different type like water for surfing Pikachu, plus would most likely have to replace Electroweb for Tera Blast

Armarouge: This is the starter/ace replacement as I don’t think he's getting the starters again, even stat wide it's like a starter,

I think Ceruledge doesn't fit Ash as much even though its the fan fav between the two, and arguably fits Ash’s fighting style more, but i think the Scarlet Pokémon seems like the one they would give him,

Ghost Tera type as a homage to Ceruledge otherwise can see just fire

Tinkaton: was mostly because of the Sirfetch’s success as weapon users,

But now Tinkaton is becoming a fan favorite so can see Ash getting just on that now, plus a fairy type that isn't Mr. Mime seems due

Dark tera type to play into the little gremlin menace it is lol, plus I can see it having brutal swing before it gets Gigaton Hammer so will boost that

Dudunsparce: Ash wanted a Dunsparce since BW, and now it has an evolution so now is a good time,

Dragon Tera type mostly for the fun “wow it's a dragon now” moment plus a nod to the fan arts that thought it would evolve into a dragon for generations now

Palafin: the zero to hero concept is fun and the hero form seems like an Ash mon to me,

Plus the most likely water type for Ash, and one of the Pokémon no one seems to have in the games despite its power

Tera fighting type as it seems to be the most fighting-like and could know Focus punch, but can see it being something else like water, ice, or something

Lokix: just seems like the bug type Ash would catch,

Spidops is a contender but Lokix seems to be the pick from what I've seen via the fans and that one fanart that had people thinking he was 18 now and is the most normal mon that Ash could battle with as everyone else needs some adjustment battle wise, as it is fast agile and can fight up close

Grass Tera type just so he can have the starter three type core without actually having a grass type but can probably stay as a bug or dark tera type as I think this will be one of the early ones he catches so can keep it simple

So through the main and Tera typing it covers 14 types and the other types that aren’t touched at all (Rock, Ground, Poison, Ice) can be moves on the Pokémon like Ice Punch for Palafin, and Dig on Dudunsparce

Honorable mentions/swaps

If one of these goes to a companion and in Dudunsparce case is a Nemona Pokemon these are the others I had in mind

Meowscarda (starter): think it’s the most likely of the three but can see any of them

Annihilate (his Primeape evolved): if he gets to reunite with it of course

Spidops (Lokix swap): like I said either as I do think he could make either bug work, and Spidops fits the more recurring bug types Ash has had like Leavanny and Butterfree

Tauros (either form): just a Pokémon I can see the giving him because he has the 30 Tauros, and this could be the new leader or something

Cyclizar/Miraidon/Koraidon: don’t know how they’ll tackle that story but as a protagonist good chance this would be 7th member

Gimmighoul: its evolution seems like the silly Ash Mon they would give him

Nacli line: just fun as it’s more defense and Nacli is such a Mario nod I can see them giving it to a main character just for that

Farigiraf: was promoted and can see a companion having it

Wooper: similar ^

Flamigo: Ash could make it work lol

Paradox Pokémon: decent chance he’ll get one don’t really know which ones tho,

If I had to pick, Iron Valiant for the future and Slither Wing for the past as Gallade/Gardevoir and Volcorona are Mons that Ash could have and this could be a good workaround

Not Gen 9

Eevee (fan fav for Ash to catch): and can now be “two” types covering multiple branches or something else

Tyranitar: similar reasoning to his Gengar in JN (can see being filled by Iron Thorns)

[adobe-outdesign]

So, what's your opinion on the lake trio? Could Gamefreak do anything to fix them, or are they good the way they are?

I like the lake trio the way they are, yeah. It's just that I honestly want to hear someone else's opinion on them.

(Screw posting anonymously, btw)

I will start off by saying that I love these guys from a conceptual standpoint. The idea of Pokemon representing various aspects of humanity (knowledge, emotions, and willpower) is legitimately fascinating and a great concept for legendaries. There's also some neat mythology in the 'dex as well, such as them all hatching from the same egg.

While I have issues with the designs, which I'll get into momentarily, I don't particularly dislike these guys; the core design is fine enough, if not a little Mew-derivative. My big thing is that the legs look tacked on and the tails are weirdly detailed, with a shape that doesn't connect back to anything else. Also, the forehead gems are very overused in psychic types and probably could've been dropped completely here.

(Uxie's my favorite of these three, as the yellow works well with the grey and red, and the shape of the hat(?) flows really nicely with the shape of the head. Plus, as I'll get into later, it's really the only one that leans into its theme in any notable way.)

But the main problem with these guys is this: They are way too similar to each other.

To me, the best way to do a trio of legendaries is to have them share some similarities while mostly being different designs. For example, the legendary birds may be a bit bland, but they all have different designs; the only similarity is that they're birds.

Likewise, the legendary beasts are quadrupeds, the musketeers are ungulates, ect ect. Alternatively, a trio can have different body shapes while sharing some patterns for cohesion, like Rayquaza and co. do.

But with these three? They all have the exact same body; the only thing that changes are the colors and shapes of the heads. This makes them feel both bland and repetitive, as it feels like these all could've just been different forms for one Pokemon.

And because of this similarity, they don't represent their themes that well. Which one is knowledge? Which one is willpower? I only know right now because I'm looking at the 'dex entries for them, but you could swap them around and nothing would really be impacted. The only one who comes close to representing its theme is Uxie, with its perpetual Abra-style sleeping, and even then it's vague enough to still be swappable. Why not give Azelf a fiercer expression, or Mesprit a chest gem because the heart also plays a role in emotions?

Additionally, the way they all have the same typing also doesn't help with this. They live in a lake, so you couldn't toss some water typing in there? Or retcon in some fairy? If Palkia can be half water type for no reason surely one of these guys could've.

With that said though, you don't even have to add secondary typings or change the designs all that drastically to make them more individualized. Change the body colors, change the shape and number of the tails, give the body markings that match the head colors, move the placement of the gems! Very minor things, all of which would've helped them stand out individually.

One way to add in these kind of changes would be to give them different forms. I don't think they need a power boost or anything, but it would provide a chance to redesign them in a way that emphasizes their unique traits.

So overall, the core design for the lake trio is fine, and the concepts behind them are fantastic. It's just that once you've seen that same design three times, it kind of loses its punch.

Also, please tell me I'm not the only one who finds their entries on Bulbapedia funny solely for the whiplash:

[r0-boat]

vampire dark type users is a great concept tbh but also piers is already pale enough to be one.

and there isn't enough piers thirst! that is an entire snack right there.

- Vampire Anon

Piers is so pale he would burn in like 10 seconds

You're right about not having enough piers thirst

Here's a drabble

This drabble was a little all over the place so I apologize

You never thought that tonight when you agreed to go with your friend when she got to VIP tickets to a concert from her favorite band in Spikemuth, To have its lead singer back you into a corner trapping you between him and the wall.

Now thinking about it, when your friend freaked out that.... what's his name, Piers? Was looking at them her...when he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at you.

Your friend dragged you into the back so they could meet the band members however the lead singer was nowhere to be found your friend beg you to go and find him for her while she talks to the rest of the members.

"Oi!" His voice snapped you out of your thoughts " I'm talking to you... I said What brings you to Spikemuth..."

You didn't say anything couldn't get the words out of your mouth Piers clicked his tongue at your slow reply "Shy one? It's not like I mind. especially when prey is as cute as you." He mumbled that last sentence.

Before you could say anything Piers continued

"... last week I saw ya... helped my sister against some buffoon with a grimmsnarl."

Something clicked you remember this young girl with a morpeko was getting bullied by some douchebag with a stronger Pokemon. You stepped in with you're lycanroc tearing through the person's Pokemon and scaring him away.

Piers put his hand on your chin smirking "I should give ya a little reward" he gave you a toothy gri- F-Fangs?! Piers tilted your head to the side doing a full view of your neck.

You probably need to get your priorities in check later because you are feeling things you probably shouldn't be feeling when an attractive man corners you and touches you like that.

Piers steps closer to your body you felt his tongue gliding across your neck and fangs against your skin threatening to break through...

Then he stops, steps back "meh... not really hungry tonight"

He walks away throwing a card behind him. Instinctively you catch it and looked at the card revealing a set of numbers "My number, text me later"

Still regaining from what the fuck happened you met back with your friend who is quite angry at you for not getting the lead singer for a picture.

So here you lie in bed staring at his phone number and then it just hits you immediately all at once

How dare this man corner you into the back of the building shake you to your core and then leave you?!

But at the same time...You're debating on texting this guy

[viophyr]

17, 23 and 27 for the pkmn ask game:)

17. 3 favorite pokemon

TOP THREE.... i love a lot tbis is. Hard.. but i love lucario a lot :D it's genuinely my number one fave if i had to pick from all of them. i've always made sure i had a lucario in my playthroughs if it's catchable in the region !!!!

mudkip is also one of my favorites!!!!!! i used to have a plushie of it when we went to japan but it got lost :( he accompanied me all throughout the night when i didn't have any other pillows to hug and WAAA i miss him

and for third,,,,,, i don't know if i can choose between either the popplio line or the cosmog line because both of them mean sooooo so much to me. the generation i probably have the most hours in is Definitely gen 7, and i just have so many fond memories with my team T____T and obviously that includes those two evolution lines So. ehehe

BUT ITS HARD TO BOIL IT DOWN TO TOP THREE i love a lot of pokemon T_____T shoutout to scizor i still have the scizor carrd url in my possession LMFAO

23. favorite music track from a pokemon game

i can't pick just one...... ouawwwwaaaa it changes a lot but Right Now my fave is gladion's theme ! both his encounter and battle are really good. i guess by extension i also really love run away, fugitives from pmd (both og and remaster) but gladion's theme..... [heart eyes]

i love how its motif is taken from run away, fugitives. when you make the connection after finding out gladion's little Backstory it just makes the theme soooo much more emotional. plus the bass line goes crazy it's so WAAAA it fits him so well! one of the best tracks in the alola games tbh!!!!!

27. overall favorite generation of pokemon

based on this post alone you'd probably assume it's gen 7 xD and you're Absolutely right

gen seven definitely has its own flaws (such as how slow the start is + how hand-holdy it can be, alola feeling so much smaller than all the other regions...) but i love it a lot!!!! the story the pokemon the characters IT HAS EVERYTHING. alola felt like my home for the past four almost five years and i would do anything to experience sm/usum for the first time again.

that being said i Know let's go is also considered a gen 7 core game.... and i actually like it? LMFAO

it was super chill and was my first Finished playthrough of the kanto region because i always got too bored of rby/frlg..... oops. but, as much as i do bash it to my friends, i enjoyed lgpe a lot and still replay it when i wish to battle any of the kanto trio. it's a cute game

and technically pokemas is a gen 7 game so what else am i to say LMFAO gen seven is sooooooo so good. i get sad when i see people bash it for being forgettable. i would've said gen 5 but naur it has to be gen 7,,,, my comfort zone :]

[yue-muffin]

For @mejomonster, here’s my overly long analysis of the way I approach studying language while playing video games. I thought this was going to be a relatively short answer, but there are actually a lot of factors involved.

The games I have played in Japanese, fall into two categories: 1) do not have a localization, and 2) have a localization but I still purchased and play the Japanese version.

The games that did not have a localization when I picked them up were: Fire Emblem: If, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino, and Taisho Mebiusline.

Fire Emblem If (FE: If) was a special case because this was my transcription/translation project in which I had to look up every single word I did not know, which was excruciating but the game that improved my Japanese the most. There was no crutch available, just me, one year of formal language lessons that mostly focused on conversation, and an online dictionary (jisho.org is the best j-dictionary I’ve found). No game since has really helped me develop my language skills more than FE: if. It helped that I had a translation partner, so I could later skim and see if I had gotten the right impression from the text. I didn’t really read her translations that deeply though. I still play this game in Japanese and never once looked up the localization. Even if I don’t know a word, I just infer or if I’m super curious, I look it up in the dictionary.

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem is the sort of story where I would definitely have played it right alongside the translation, if a (complete) translation existed at the time I played it. This storyline is really simple and to me, not worth the effort of having the dictionary at my side. I powered through the lines I didn’t know, only looking up a word if it appeared often. Now that a fan translation exists, I would probably play it alongside the English because this game has so much text and none of it is really that intriguing that I feel compelled to pull the dictionary out.

Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino is a visual novel. It has a fan translation, but it’s a game that I feel is best experienced in its original language due to its themes. It’s a lovely game. I ignored the existence of the translation and just read it with a dictionary at my side. Very hard to get through visual novels though, especially if you aren’t that good at the language yet.

Taisho Mebiusline is…a notoriously difficult visual novel for native Japanese readers. A fan translation exists of the common route. I do read the translation first before playing this game. After reading the translation, I then try to tackle the game myself without the translation at my side. I do play this with a dictionary to get most out of my learning (but keeping in mind that this game is really, REALLY literary). I might not look up every word, but I can follow along with the game just fine using this method and I rely on the dictionary more if I’m looking to turn it into a study session rather than just playing the game. I could kind of play it without the translation now, but I’d miss a lot of the nice nuance (the MC is well read and literary, and his narration definitely suits that; I feel like glossing it over and skim reading will give me and understanding of what is said but will make the narrative lose its charm).

The games that I played in Japanese that did have localizations were: Final Fantasy: Type-0, Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, and Pokemon: Sun.

Let’s get it out of the way now: I gave up playing Pokemon Sun in Japanese after like 15 minutes. It was too hard to get used to all of the attack names and Pokemon is NOT a game I want to spend my time lugging around a dictionary for (figuratively). Pokemon also gets good localizations, there’s not much to mess up, and the game took place in a Hawaii setting. It felt weird experiencing it in Japanese, tbh.

Final Fantasy: Type-0 is my baby. I originally got interested in this game from seeing gameplay on YouTube, so I actually experienced the entire game in English first. The cost of the PS4 was too high for me, so I decided to buy the Japanese version on the PSP. I was not really looking to practice my Japanese, I just wanted to play this game lol. Anyways, people made some really helpful guides for the PSP version, so those were the only “translations” I referred to from there on out. I did know the basic story beats from the gameplay videos but it had been several months since I saw them. I also looked up some old translations from back when the PSP was the only version, and it helped me learn some stuff since the fan translations are always more literal and less localized. I only picked up a dictionary occasionally.

Type-0 led me to another translation project which helped my language skills immensely but…that’s a story for another time.

Final Fantasy: Crisis Core is a game I also watched all of the cutscenes of before playing it in Japanese. Honestly this game is really fun and I wish I could have played it in English instead because Final Fantasy games have good localizations...but I played it with a mix of dictionary, my own brain doing the work, and looking up English gameplay because lazy.

Finally, we have the latest game: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. I love this game. When it game out, I knew I was going to get the Japanese version even though it was a simultaneous release and you can toggle Japanese voices in the English version. Mainly because FE: If had a sketchy localization (and I wasn’t fond of Fire Emblem Awakening’s changes either) and I was afraid for this game. I also wanted to practice my Japanese, which got rusty, and this was the PERFECT game to do so since it was fully voiced.

Turns out, Echoes has an excellent localization and I’m happy to hear it. But I never looked it up, I just relied on my own skills and the dictionary. This one would have really helped me not Suffer so much if it came out when I was starting to study the language because it’s really, really nice to have voiced lines with the Japanese scrolling. Japanese media doesn’t really give Japanese subs unless it’s like…a variety show or something, which I don’t watch. This is why my reading ability has always lagged behind my listening ability.

So yeah LONG STORY SHORT: it heavily depends on the game. If I love it, I will sit there with a dictionary and comb through every line of dialogue even if a localization exists for it. If its language is special in some way - literary, strong shinto influences - then I’ll also experience it without a translation to the best of my ability. If the language is beyond my ability to understand, I’ll grudgingly rely on a translation. If I’m lazy, if the story isn’t that engaging and the amount of text is too much, I will just play it without attempting to look anything up (and if it HAD a localization…I would buy it without hesitation). Voiced games are a god-send and I wish I had more of them.

Fire Emblem games are some of my favorite of all time, but I do have to say, if I had access to both English + Japanese scripts, I would actually read the English first and skim read the Japanese out of curiosity to see if anything changed. They just have too much text. I can play any of them in Japanese just fine, but I actually prefer to play them in English IF the English localization doesn’t infuriate me.

[ranma-rewatch]

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Hey, it’s Ranma Rewatch, I’m on episode 7, and I don’t want to waste too much time with the preamble. I am super excited for this episode, my boi is here, I really hope it holds up, see you after I watch it again!

That wasn’t exactly how I remembered it, but not in a bad way. The episode starts with a short scene that has become pretty freaking iconic, and has been sampled in dozens, if not hundreds, of AMV’s: A man cloaked from head to toe, walking through a desert, his eyes barely visible under goggles. It is a really cool shot that catches the eye right away.

We cut from that to that same person approaching a small village, deciding to throw off his concealing clothes to reveal his typical yellow and green outfit, with a bandanna around his head and an umbrella on his back, which he takes out to slow down his descent when he jumps off a cliff. This village happens to be being attacked by a huge wild boar, wrecking everything in its way, but this fellow is able to stop the animal with little effort and send it flying. When the grateful villagers approach, he only has one question for them: where is Furinkan High School?

At first they don’t understand the question, until they look at what he has for a map and realize it’s of Tokyo. The problem is, this young man is on Shikoku, a completely different island in the archipelago. They point him in the right general direction, and he reveals before the scene ends that he is specifically trying to find Ranma Saotome.

Speaking of the show’s titular character, we get a small scene of him in his cursed form being blackmailed by Nabiki into wearing women’s clothes because all of his stuff is in the wash. After that, we get another scene of the mysterious umbrella-wielding stranger asking someone for directions to Furinkan High School, but this time he’s in Hokkaido. Once again a completely different island, only this time on the opposite end. Fun fact: Hokkaido was the inspiration for Sinnoh in Pokemon!

We get another small cut-away to Ranma in various outfits, then another of our new character somehow ending up back in that village he was in earlier. The point is being made clear to us: he is terrible at getting where he wants to go, but is also so inhumanly strong and resilient that he has no trouble surviving in the wilderness in the process.

What seems to be the next day, he finally gets to where he’s going, just as school is letting out for the day. Ranma is being chased by Akane for something, though we don’t know exactly what. (Of course, we know their dynamic well enough by now to know it’s almost certainly something Ranma did to annoy her.) The newcomer slams into the ground where Ranma is landing at the same time, leaving a crater in the cement from the force of his landing, all while screaming how Ranma has to die.

The problem is, Ranma has no clue who this guy is, which pisses him off to know end. Even after he brings up that his vendetta has something to do with Ranma never showing up for a duel, Ranma still struggles (and fails) to remember this guys name, but luckily he gives it to Ranma anyway: Ryoga Hibiki. They went to Junior High together, and they’d agreed upon a duel, but it never happened because Ranma wasn’t there when Ryoga arrived.

Now, Ranma protests that he waited in the agreed upon empty lot for three days before taking off for China with his dad, which is honestly more time than most people would have waited. As we already know though, Ryoga can’t seem to get anywhere quickly, so he got there on the fourth day. Oh, and the lot was right behind his house.

The crowd of students who only moments before considered him with awe over his fantastic martial arts abilities are now looking at him like a buffoon, and Ryoga is ready to get his revenge on Ranma already. But Ranma puts a pause on that, runs out, and comes back with a bunch of different kinds of bread. Why? Because bread was the reason for their duel in the first place. Their school was only for boys, and getting food at lunch was a nightmare. Ranma ended up snatching the last piece of bread just before Ryoga could get it time and time again, and all the bread he brought was one of each type he’d taken years before.

But Ryoga doesn’t care about that, making it clear that the bread isn’t something he cares about anymore, that Ranma has put him through hell, even if Ranma has no clue what he’s talking about. But before they can get a proper fight going, Ranma runs away, losing Ryoga enough that when he starts busting up the school looking for him, he ends up going the wrong way and out of the area entirely, leaving Ranma and Akane to wonder where he went. We do get to see where before the episode ends: once again back in that village that had the boar problem, where he gets a meal before running out into the evening to find Ranma once more.

Like I said before, this episode wasn’t entirely how I remembered it. Namely, there was a lot more humor than I remembered. For the most part, that’s not a bad thing, there was actually some really good comedy, and I don’t feel like it trampled over the more serious parts of the episode.

If it isn’t clear, I am going to say right now that I did still love this episode. The animation was really on-point, some of the visuals of Ranma darting around people or the brief combat he gets with Ryoga just looks beautiful. Also, even though we don’t get a fight between the two just yet, it’s already solidly communicated, through Ryoga easily beating the boar, barreling through steel barriers, and hitting the ground so hard it destroys concrete, that he is strong as hell.

As much as I love the opening desert shot, I actually think my favorite part of the episode is some of the conversation between Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga. Ranma straining his brain to remember who Ryoga is killed me. It was weirdly relatable too, I’m sure many of us have run into someone who obviously knows us, while we can’t even remember how we know them, let alone their name. The fact Ranma actually specifically bought one of each bread he’d taken from Ryoga before was kind of cute, more than I expected of the usually flippant martial artist.

There’s also an exchange I’ve seen on Tumblr a few times in screencaps and gifs, and there’s a reason people love to share it. When Ryoga says he’s going to destroy Ranma’s happiness, there’s this shot of him freaking out, only to turn to Akane and blankly ask if he is happy, to which Akane doesn’t understand why he’s asking her. They take such a trope-y line from a character seeking revenge and turn it around into a really good joke.

There was also a really interesting thing I noted in terms of translation. After hearing about the string of times Ranma stole bread from Ryoga, Akane makes an analogy to why it mattered so much, but it’s different from dub to sub. In the English Dub, she says the straws broke the camel’s back, a common phrase that seems to fit the situation. But in the English Sub, she says (loosely remembering) “enough dust can make a mountain”, and I think that actually fits much better. After all, we soon learned that the bread isn’t really why Ryoga is angry, but once you do know everything that happened that led to Ryoga’s rage, that analogy fits perfect: it isn’t so much one specific event, as a collection of small events that collected into an enormous vendetta.

All my compliments aside, I did have some issues with the episode. Some of the comedy didn’t really work for me, and that was most true with the early scenes of the Tendo girls trying to dress Ranma in Akane’s clothes. Some parts did make me chuckle, but on the whole the mini-plot made me uncomfortable. Primarily because, as I’ve said before, I feel like the best way to look at Ranma’s cursed form is as a trans man. Even though his body has changed, his gender hasn’t, he’s still a man. The scene has Ranma protesting again and again that he is a man, even as they try to dress him as a woman. The idea of some cisgender folks trying to force a trans man into women’s clothes just...isn’t very funny to me. It’s kind of terrible, at least from a more queer perspective. That complaint done, let’s do the character spotlight.

Oh come on, who else did you think I was going to do? If it isn’t clear yet, Ryoga Hibiki is my favorite character in the series, and he has been since I was a teenager. Who knows if that will remain true this entire watch-through, but so far I’m not liking him any less. I’ll get into why, but first let’s talk about his voice actors.

The voice actor I’m more familiar with, his English one, is Michael Donovan. Like most of the actors for this dub, he’s someone who worked with the Ocean Group for a lot of series around this time period. That said, if you’re a fan of the Fate franchise, he has done some voices in Ufotable’s recent anime adaptations, playing Risei Kotomine and Zouken Matou. In Japanese, his voice actor is one Kōichi Yamadera, and he continued the pattern of voice actors who are well-known in Japan for dubbing English works. He’s most well-known for dubbing over Jim Carrey in a lot of movies, but he’s done a ton of others as well. In anime, some of his notable roles include Spike Spiegel, Beerus in all the recent Dragon Ball movies and anime, and Gentle Criminal in My Hero Academia. Seriously, diving into this guy’s list of roles is like swimming in an ocean of great roles.

So, how do they do? Well, so far I’d say I like both of them a lot, but they do play Ryoga differently. At his core, Ryoga is actually kind of a perfect microcosm of the tone of the series itself. Ranma 1/2 is simultaneously a shonen battle anime, a romantic harem series, and a wacky comedy. Ryoga is someone who takes himself very, very seriously. His desire for vengeance against Ranma isn’t a joke, and neither is his ability as a martial artist. But he’s also a doofus who ends up crossing the length of Japan several times because he can’t follow directions properly and the reasons (so far) for his hatred of Ranma are completely laughable.

I wouldn’t say that Michael Donovan’s performance lacks seriousness, in fact when he wants Ryoga to sound menacing I think he does it well, but on the whole he leans more heavily towards the comedic parts of the character. Meanwhile, Yamadera’s Ryoga hasn’t really sounded silly once to me. He plays the character dead straight, and let’s the comedy come through in the contrast between that demeanor and the circumstances around him. We’ll have to see as we go, but I actually might be preferring the Japanese performance so far, a rarity for me.

Okay, so, why do I love Ryoga so much? There are SO many reasons, many of which I won’t go into just yet because I’ll save them for when they appear in-series. But there is still a lot shown in this episode that I feel I can discuss. To start with, I adore his design. I don’t mean the cloak and goggles, though those are absolutely awesome, I’m referring to his standard mode of dress. The yellow and green as a color scheme, with accents of black to top it off, is something really unique. I don’t know enough about art to really articulate why, but I just love every touch of his design. My favorite small touch has to be the yellow strands wrapping around his lower legs, clashing with his otherwise dark green lower half. I have no clue what they’re supposed to be for, but they just add something, almost making him look more rooted to the spot of wherever he’s standing, more solid.

That is a good word to use for Ryoga in general. Even though we haven’t gotten to see him in a proper fight just yet, we’ve seen quite a lot of evidence of his main attributes. In Dungeons & Dragons terms, Ryoga is making out his Strength and Constitution. He hits like a truck and he can be hit by a truck without slowing down. I love that because it contrasts so perfectly with Ranma’s strength: his speed and precision. I adore it when rival characters actually have qualities that make the fights between them more interesting from the contrast, and Ryoga fits the bill there quite well. He’s also a good foil in terms of personality: Ranma is easy going, likes screwing with people, and is quite quick-witted; Ryoga has a hot temper and a long memory for grudges, hates it when people trick him, and tends to let his emotions do the thinking for him.

I will say it feels like his character has some classic Early Installment Weirdness, as he uses his umbrella quite a bit in this episode. If I remember correctly, after his introductory arc, he doesn’t use his umbrella much at all for the rest of the show, preferring to rely on his fists. It definitely feels like they hadn’t quite nailed the character completely yet, if that makes any sense.

Ryoga is also doing that thing where he’s seeking revenge and really angry, but refuses to talk about why, drawing out the mystery as long as possible. While that trope can become annoying, I don’t really mind it in this case. This isn’t a situation like Godot from Ace Attorney, where Ryoga is purposefully hiding it for some grand plan or something, or to teach a lesson. Ryoga doesn’t go into specifics because A) he thinks Ranma should already know; B) Ryoga is very mad; and C) he doesn’t want anyone else to know his secret. I’m not saying it isn’t stupid that he doesn’t tell Ranma why he’s mad, but I am saying that it’s in-character.

Are you surprised that I adore this episode? You shouldn’t be, I’ve been gushing about it this whole time. Even with the parts I found more rough to watch, this is still my favorite episode of the series thus far, putting the rankings at:

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

The big question is: will the next episode of this four episode Ryoga arc be even better? We’ll find out next time with Episode 8: “School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga”. See you then!

[ofieugogyshz]

🖊️🖊️ one for your husband and one for any of your kids!!

okay so the original meme is buried somewhere in my blog, but i very distinctly recall this one being something to do with favorite f/o quotes and talking/gushing about them?

even if it wasn’t that latter part, that’s what i’m doing, because i’ve had it on my mind for the last several times (”times for what?” shut up, language is all made up, i can unmake it if i damn well please.)

Unfortunately I won’t be able to answer for any of my kids, because I can’t think of anything of theirs that sticks out to me, after all this time this has been in my inbox. More importantly, this is already going to be a long post; I’m not about to make it longer.

Lance:  "I never give up, no matter what. You must be the same?"

so.

This quote.... hits. A lot. Like, OHKO level. Handful of reasons for that but namely it all shifts down to timing. 

(Head’s up, this is gonna be some heavy stuff, including depression, life frustrations, and parental death mention.)

The year is some fuckass year like 2011 or 2012, maybe even 2013. I’m pretty sure it was still the year that BW2 came out, or the spring quarter in the year right after. I’m in my college/university’s small food court, sitting in a quiet fume near the section that normally housed that college’s anime club that I could never quite integrate myself into as seamlessly as I could my community college’s anime club. Mostly on my part, as I was going through a lot at the time. I don’t even know if this was right before the calm of the storm or its aftermath, but it’s all a very shitty, shitty time for me.

I’m just trying to, very angrily, depressedly, distract myself from everything in my life at the time. College is already hard, but I like learning, I’m getting a BA in English, and I had a lot of fun at my community college, and could probably easily find friends here if I tried. There certainly were a few other people I ran into from high school. Even some classmates somehow managed to like me in some classes. I’m here by sheer luck of the financial draw, as FAFSA and my CalGrant level are both taking care of things like tuition and books, and I haven’t needed to get a job yet.  Things, with regards to college, are going pretty well. I should be happy. Happy about that, at least.

Outside of that wonderful, fun, interesting and amazing bubble that was college? Life. My mom is dying. Maybe she’s already dead by this point; I don’t really remember, because I made it a point to rely on my shitty memory to get through that time and not have to remember every single day of those years. I’m not sure if I regret that, but it was the only coping tool I had available to me other than video games, since drugs and alcohol were not things I was interested in, even if I could have afforded it. Books were normally also an escape, but the downside of English Major is that you have to read so many large texts and sometimes dense stories, that you can’t really squeeze much fun reading in-between. If my mom died/was dying, I was having to prepare for moving on top of her death finally striking, after a long, slow battle with cancer that I knew she’d lose all along. (That’s an entirely different, albeit shorter, story). I didn’t want to move, was hoping I could stay, but I think, if this was after her death, I had to uproot my life for the first time. I had moved to a mobile home trailer park to live with an old woman who was very critical of some things and I just didn’t feel comfortable staying there for anything other than sleep or a shower. So I felt out of place, removed and detached from everything, because I had to uproot my entire life in a manner of days, because my dad had sold the house I grew up in, for reasons that felt entirely shitty at the time. And, maybe, a little shitty, but were somewhat good reasons, if they had been given or explained more properly (or from anyone other than my dad, aunt, and grandmother).

I kind of lost myself just now, so I’mma try this again. Mother, dead or dying. House, sold before I could move out, and forcibly moved out in a manner of days. Everything I’ve ever known for a, at the time, lukewarm but familiar life, taken from after years of expecting it, and hoping it’d be just a little bit later, just a little further on, when I could maybe financially support myself. Income? Nonexistent. Barely lucking out on tuition fees by only the good grace of my state’s grants, FAFSA, and going to two of the cheapest schools in the state and maybe the nation (at the time). So I’m just feeling shitty, pissy, angry, depressed, just, so much all at once, everything happening all at once, and I’m taking on extra units to make sure I graduate in a spring semester rather than take 2-3 classes and graduate in the fall of a sixth year. I’ve felt lied to about the time it takes to get a degree, and even though I’m the first in my family to actually do all of the education on time, it just sucks. 

I’m trying to escape it. And what else do I turn to, but Pokemon?

And I’ve already beaten bw2 by this point, and I’m just trying to do the Champions Tournament, because I was a shameless fangirl and eager to fight against Lance. And win (Note: I did not win as often as I’d’ve liked in the PWT or was used to throughout normal gameplay). I’ve seen the phrase he says when you lose against him about 5 or 6 times now, so I know what it says. I know what he says. I’m forgetful, however, so while I’m sitting in that busy corner of the food court, fuming about life and existing and everything happening all at once, mindlessly pressing the A buttong while playing a game to escape it all for just a little bit until I can come back and deal, his words strike a chord within me for once, that it made me want to cry.

"I never give up, no matter what. You must be the same?"

Like, I think I had made his rp blog about this time, and I had used a variant of that quote as the sidebar header/quote. Maybe. But I knew that he said that, and it didn’t affect me those times before-- outside of general fangirling for getting to him. But at that moment, on that day, it just made me burst into tears that I had to close my ds and move away. Because I grew up on too much anime, too much power of friendship and hope and not ever giving up. Of course I was the same, or I had been for the longest time. But at that point, I was just so tired, I just wanted a break for so long already, that it cut me to the core.

It was like a reminder that, no matter how shitty things got, to not give up.

That’s why it’s my favorite quote of his. It means so much to me. He means a lot to me, but not nearly as much as this quote did at that moment. 

[wysteriadelights]

Royal Apology

I’d like to personally blame each and every single one of my children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren in the pokenimagines discord. If it weren’t for your screams of terror this would of never happened. I’ve never wrote smut before and here it is, it will haunt me until my dying day, I will be breathing my last, and as my life flashes I’ll remember that I made this, and my last words on this earth will be “god fucking damnit” and I have only my need to make others suffer to blame. We do not proofread in this house because we suffered enough the first time. A Swordword x Shielbert fic, WARNING, VERY VERY NSFW. DONT READ UNDER THE CUT IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF AND OR YOU’S A BABY, DON’T DO IT!!!!

You wondered for a brief second, if anyone could have foreseen this turn of events. This tiny flash of self-reflection would be swiftly cast out, as another rough thrust from behind left you dazed. A low whine soon followed it, as the voice of Sordward carried over the wet smacks resounding all around you, “I think I’m nearing my limit, Younger brother!” A high-pitched groan escaped the man in front of you in response. Your jaw was currently wrapped around his member, Shielbert’s hands grasping your hair firmly as he pistoled himself erratically in and out of your mouth. Judging by the fact that Sordword’s own thrusts into your honeypot were just as careless, his claim was as good as a warning as you were going to get. Gripping Shielbert’s thighs for support, your back arched as you felt the crest of your own orgasm start. It seems you wouldn’t come alone however, as both brothers in near perfect sync tore themselves from your cores, only to slam back in one last time to deposit the reward for all your efforts. 

“I-I’m-” “Arriving!” Such was all that they could choke out before their voices devolved into sloppy moans, your own unable to be heard as Shieldbert’s seed poured down into the depths of your throat. Sordword’s hot load blasting into your womb, putting out the fire that had been raging within for what felt like an eternity. How had this began? Well, it was quite simple, after the two had tried and failed to prove the two legendary pokemon, that had bravely aided you in ending the darkest day, were little more than beasts. Learning the errors of their ways after you had saved them from getting a last minute face rearrangement from the rightfully pissed off recipient of their efforts, they had come to apologize. However you soon learned their apology was something a little more… if you were up for the challenge, which, you of course were. You had proven yourself more royal than they were, and what better way than to have them give you some tribute? Treat yourself. So it was that you found yourself in quite the luxurious hotel room, being undressed by the two reverently. After all, why should a queen stoop to doing something so mundane? Their fingers ghosting over your skin as they peeled off your layer one by one. Shielbert leaving gentle kisses down your leg as he slowly pulled your pants off. Sordward at your back nibbling at your neck as he worked your bra off. Once you were completely exposed you cleared your throat, stopping them in their tracks as two pairs of light blue eyes twinkled up at you with piety. “Boys, I believe you’re overdressed for the occasion,” you said in a slight pouty tone, dragging your finger over Shielbert’s collar, who hummed amusedly. No doubt you could have helped them out of those stuffy suits, but a part of you took great joy in the show, not expecting them to be rather well-built. Which spoke nothing compared to what they were hiding under their boxers, your breath hitched in your chest before it released as a soft chuckle, one might call it a feast for kings. It was no good to get too excited over the main course, when you hadn’t even tasted the appetizer. Only with your beckon did they approach you once more, using your hands to direct them to where exactly you wanted them to appreciate you most. Shielbert was granted the honour of being allowed to put his face between your thighs, as much as you tried to not think about it, his hairstyle was at less risk of bobbing between your eyes during it. Whilst Sordward busied himself with your chest, his erection ever so subtly prodding against your back, you had to give the two some credit. Their mouths could get a lot done when they weren’t running them off with cheap banter, it was a mercy you could educate them better now. It seemed in no time you were balling your hands into fists, impatient as you were for your need for release, you weren’t happy with going down like this. With a throaty moan you clenched your fist in Shielbert’s hair and gave a commanding tug, his tongue removing itself regretfully from your core where it had been thrashing about. You grabbed Sordward’s hand that had been giving a final squeeze to your breast, and pulled him forward so you could hiss into his ear. It was time for a change in positions, your idea leading to you now hovering over Sordward’s twitching cock. “Eager, aren’t we Elder brother?” Shielbert mused, hovering behind you for support as you began your slow descent. You shushed Sordward with a finger as he opened his mouth to reply to his brother, just as the crown of his member kissed your slick folds. The heat was nearly enough to make you moan whoreishly, having to bite your tongue to keep yourself silent, as you let him enter you properly. You allowed just a moment to bask in the fact that he filled you in every way, before you started moving, eagerly enjoying the royal rod you had been so graciously given. Practically bouncing on his cock, you reached up to dig your hands into hair, messing it up as he groaned in your ear. Shielbert’s whine reminded you that you shouldn’t show too much favoritism, and you used one of your hands to reach around to grasp his length. If they were paying close attention they could have noticed how you timed the pump of your fist with that of your hips, and all too soon you reached the peak again. Letting out the moan you had been fighting, you felt Sordward’s head curl into the crook of your neck, as Shielbert took the other side. You felt Shieldbert’s semen spill over and around your hand first, before you pulled off of Swordward, his seed being painted over your torso not even a second too soon. It had been quite fun, but now came the main event, where Sworward and Shielbert had given you the royal spitroast you so rightfully deserved. Squeezing down on them with all of your might as the throws of your orgasm clouded your mind entirely. Never had your brain leaving the room felt so wonderful, you would think later, as Shielbert pulled himself from your mouth just as you had hit the limit your oxygen deprived lungs would allow. Taking in gulpfuls of air, your mind slowly oozed its way back to normalcy. Swordward carefully extracting his cockmeat from your cum-stained muff, your walls attempting to milk him for every last drop made it somewhat difficult. Shielbert carefully wiped at your mouth, cleaning away his leftover seed as Swordward rushed to grab warm towels. Perhaps it was a little selfish then, to bring up when they’d “apologize” for going inside so brazeningly. But could they blame you? It was easy to get addicted to such royal treatment.

[princesssarisa]

22 questions

Thanks, @cinefantastiquemitho!

01. The book that transformed your life. Freak the Mighty. It traumatized me so much in middle school, I think it singlehandedly changed me from a mostly happy (if quiet and overemotional) child into a moody, anxious teenager. The same goes for it’s ‘90s movie adaptation, The Mighty, starring a young Elden Henson and Kieran Culkin. It’s about the unlikely friendship between two misfit middle school boys: Max, the big, hulking, “stupid,” somewhat mentally disabled protagonist with a traumatic past, and “Freak,” an intelligent yet small, severely crippled, and (spoiler alert) terminally ill boy who rides on Max’s shoulders and serves as his “brain,” leading him in modeling their lives after the knights in the Arthurian legends he reads. Basically, it’s like Bridge to Terabithia meets a PG-rated Midnight Cowboy with Arthurian themes. I was forced to read it and watch the movie in school and it shook me to the core because I identified too much with Max. Not that I ever thought I was stupid, but since I was also a physically heavy, intellectually disabled, socially awkward, often teased, withdrawn misfit, I saw myself in him, very, very much. So to watch his struggles, and then in the end to see him devastated by his only friend’s death, hit hard. If that spirit medium I recently talked to was telling the truth about my past life as Emily Brontë’s best and possibly only friend, then maybe subconsciously I saw her in Freak (since she was also a “freakish” misfit who nonetheless was highly intelligent, witty and imaginative) and relived her illness and death in his. At any rate, it plunged me into a long depression that must have seemed inexplicable to the adults around me.

02. The movie that changed your way of seeing the world. The 1983 telecast of Madama Butterfly from the Arena di Verona, starring Raina Kabaivanska as Cio-Cio-San. In hindsight, it was a flawed production. Kabaivanska was a 49-year-old Bulgarian grand dame, not the least bit convincing as a 15-year-old Japanese girl. The tenor, who was supposed to be her worldly seducer, was young enough to be her son. There wasn’t a single Japanese person in either the cast or the creative team – it was all a European fantasy of Japan. For that matter, Madama Butterfly is inherently problematic with its racial and gender issues (in other news, water is wet). But watching this old telecast on VHS, out of curiosity about Miss Saigon’s source material, was the real beginning of my passion for opera. I was already familiar with The Magic Flute, but this was the start of my love for opera beyond that one. The tragic romance of the story, the visual beauty of the sets and costumes, and Puccini’s sumptuous musical score captivated my fourteen-year-old self. It led me to VHSs of La Traviata, Carmen, La Bohéme, Tosca, Rigoletto, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, L’Orfeo and Turandot, as well as other videos of Butterfly, and then to opera performances onstage. It gave me a new passion and gave me something beautiful to share with other people through “Opera Quest,” the program I’ve created to introduce opera to elementary school students. I’m so, so grateful to it!

03. The music that makes part of the soundtrack of your life. Opera, Broadway/West End show tunes, and Disney songs.

04. Define longing. It’s wanting, but deeper and stronger. It’s constant wanting, painful wanting, wanting that almost becomes obsession.

05. If you got back in time, which scene would you visit of your life? Any of my Thanksgiving visits to my grandma in Mesa, Arizona. Of course I’d love to see her again – she died 12 years ago – but I also loved wandering around the pretty retirement community where she lived, listening to Les Misérables or to Andrew Lloyd Webber on my headphones, and then sometimes swimming in the outdoor pool. I also loved the restaurant we always went to for Thanksgiving dinner, and if possible, going to see the lavish Christmas lights at the Mormon Temple a day or two later.

06. The place where your heart is. Los Angeles. Even though I wasn’t born there, it’s the earliest place I remember. I grew up there and it’s only been four years since I moved away. Every time I’ve gone back to visit since, I I’ve had the overwhelming feeling of “I’m home!” Even though I’m glad not to be living in a big city right now, I wish I lived closer and could visit more often.

07. The travel of your life. I haven’t travelled very much outside the US, though I have been to Canada, London and Ireland. Within the US, I was born in Connecticut, I’ve lived most of my life in California, and I’ve spent a lot of time in New York (relatives live there), Washington State (more relatives live there), Arizona (my grandma lived there), Florida (other grandparents, plus Walt Disney World), Montana (still more relatives), North Carolina (still more), and Minnesota (family friends). Once each I’ve been to Chicago, Boston, Cape Cod, and small towns in Vermont and New Hampshire, and I’d love to go back to each of them one day. I’ve also been to North Dakota, but don’t remember it very well, and I’ve spent at least a few hours each in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, but not long enough to do much of anything.

08. An author that you have met recently, and whose works you want to continue to read. Not too long ago I took a writing class taught by April Halprin Wayland, who wrote the beautiful Jewish children’s book New Year at the Pier about the tradition of Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah. I’d definitely like to read more of her books, especially her Passover children’s book, More Than Enough. I’d love buy them for my little cousins on the Jewish side of my family.

09. Coffee or tea? Herbal tea. Rooibos chai is my favorite.

10. Who's your Doctor (if you don't watch Doctor Who, who's your favorite character from a TV series)? I couldn’t say. I don’t watch Doctor Who or much TV at all anymore. Let’s just say I love the main characters from all the TV shows I watched when I was little.

11. If you could just throw everything away and live your dream, what would you do? I’d buy a safe and luxurious self-driving RV (this is a fantasy, after all) and travel all over the US, living in a different place for a week, two weeks, or a month at a time. In this fantasy, there’s no pandemic going on, so I have the freedom to go anywhere. I’d visit every big city, every cozy small town, and every notable place of natural beauty, I’d go to the opera and see local productions of Les Misérables wherever I could. I’d visit my relatives whenever I liked. I’d present “Opera Quest” at a local school in each place I visited. But I’d also spend plenty of alone time in my RV, or in whatever hotel or inn I chose to stay in for a little while, and work on the books I’m writing, listen to music and meditate. There would be no pressure on me from anyone to do anything. That would be amazing.

12. If you could choose to be a character from a book, TV series or movie, who you would be? None. Some of them have nice lives, but they all have their problems too, and I’d rather keep my own problems than take on theirs.

13. What makes you not like a story? Characters we’re supposed to like being cruel and spiteful to each other and neither regretting it nor being properly called out for it. If their behavior is clearly supposed to be bad and treated as such within the story, it’s one thing. Even if they never regret their own behavior, that’s fine as long as the other characters call it out as bad. But when they don’t, I feel like the author is saying that anyone would be just as cruel and spiteful in that situation. That it’s no big deal, it’s just human nature and anything better would be unrealistic. I hate that.

14. Do you like romance in stories? Why? Yes, I do like it. Not if it’s badly written, but when it’s well written, I love it. I love watching two characters come to care so deeply for each other, fill each other’s deepest needs and bring each other happiness. Of course that happens with platonic love too, but romance is the way it most often happens in stories.

15. Which book did you hate having read? Well, I didn’t like having to read Candide as a college freshman, because despite all its humor, it’s cynicism depressed me. I was going through a stage where I was feeling overwhelmed by the world’s problems and had turned to idealistic spiritual beliefs to comfort myself, so I hated having to read a book that essentially said “Optimism is stupid, the world is a terrible place, there is no God and no good reason for anything, and all we can do is try to make the best of our individual lives.” (Yes, I know that’s a vast oversimplification of Voltaire’s philosophy – it just came across that way to me at the time.)

16. Which movie did you hate having watched? I’ve already mentioned The Mighty, above, so... another one... When I was seven or eight, I saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for the first time, and I was very disturbed at the end by Wonka’s angry outburst about Charlie and Grandpa Joe stealing the Fizzy Lifting Drinks. Of course everyone can agree about how scary and mean Gene Wilder acts in that scene. But imagine how much worse it would be to an ultra-sensitive little kid on the autism spectrum, especially since I wasn’t expecting it. I had read the original book already, so the fates of the four bratty kids and the infamous boat scene didn’t phase me because I knew to expect them. But movie-Wonka’s final test is a movie-only addition, so I had no idea he was going to start screaming at poor Charlie, and to me at that age, an adult suddenly screaming in rage at a child was scarier than a child turning into a blueberry any day. Yes, it’s only a test, Charlie passes it and all ends happily, but it still upset me.

17. Do you like anime/manga? Any favorite? It all looks very nice, but apart from seeing Kiki’s Delivery Service and a few episodes of Pokemon as a kid, I haven’t experienced much of it. Maybe I should explore it more.

18. Who is the best villain you saw in a story? I don’t think I can choose just one from all the stories I know. For the best villain from Shakespeare and opera, I’d probably have to say Iago, because of how thoroughly effective his scheming and manipulation are. For the best Disney villain, I’d have to say Frollo, because of how horribly realistic he is: as an abuser of power, a racist, a religious bigot, a sexual predator, a psychologically abusive foster parent, and in the way he believes everything he does is holy and right. But there are so many good villains in all genres of fiction, choosing just one favorite is impossible.

19. If you could do an interview with any person, alive or dead, from our world, who would you choose and why? William Shakespeare. I have so many questions about his plays. They’ve all been interpreted in hundreds of different ways and I’d like to hear what his real intentions were when he wrote them. And for that matter, if he really did write all of them or if there’s any truth in the anti-Stratfordian theories.

20. If you could meet and and befriend a writer, who would it be? I just said Shakespeare, but I don’t want to repeat the same answer twice... Well, if that spirit medium was right, then I’ve already met and befriended three famous writers in a past life: Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. Supposedly I spent “many hours” with all three of them, but was especially close to Emily. If that’s true, then I’d love to meet them again, do some catching up, and talk with them about the modern controversies surrounding their books... especially Wuthering Heights, which seems to defy easy interpretations of its characters and themes.

21. Cats or dogs? Dogs. I just adore them!

22. If you could choose any time period or society to live, which it would be? A year ago, I would have said “right here, right now.” But with this global pandemic taking place and the future of the world and of America in particular feeling so uncertain, I’ve changed my mind. I’d rather live in one of the fantasy worlds I’ve created: either the Sisterhood of Nira’s valley (the setting of my completed but unpublished novel An Eternal Crown) or Zalina Island (the setting of the Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid retellings I’m working on). Those places might have flaws of their own, but at least they’ve made social progress that this country hasn’t made, and they have magic too. If I could I’d move to one of them, at least until the pandemic is over and we have a new president.

I tag @simone-boccanegra, @astrangechoiceoffavourites, @nitrateglow, @thatvermilionflycatcher, @sunlit-music, @theheightsthatwuthered, @fairychamber, @wuthering-valleys

[crystalelemental]

alphakuriboh replied to your post: “Because I’m a bastard, my favorite part of the new Animal Crossing...”

Yes, the people being outraged because of time traveling should chill the heck out. No, the real time aspect should not be removed because it’s a core aspect of Animal Crossing and plenty of people (especially right now) like having a daily routine to go through. The ones who don’t can just time travel and skip it. But removing the real time negates that option, so that is definitely not the right answer. If the mechanic of real time was actually so painful, the franchise would’ve died years ago.

That’s a fair point, and certainly there is a little charm to doing basic upkeep things day to day.  But allow me to present the counterpoint on that last statement that it would’ve died if it were bad:

Gacha games continue to exist, despite being the gaming equivalent of slowly pushing nails into your eyes.  Yes, I realize I say this as an avid FEH player, but I have a gambling addiction now, what are the F2P players’ excuses?

Zelda games went from being pretty straight-forward and fun, to Skyward Sword introducing droppable and collectible materials for potions and the like, to BotW making the entire game centered around arbitrary consumables.  It’s not only going strong, BotW was so popular it’s getting a direct sequel.

Pokemon.  Motherfucking Pokemon has existed for over 20 goddamn years, and has not only refused to acknowledge how much better the games would be and how much easier competitive would be to access if they stopped with BP and incredibly tedious bullshit, but they actually doubled down on it in Gen 8 by making you fucking save before doing anything with an element of chance, so you can’t re-roll the odds.  The game would be unplayable from a competitive angle if it weren’t for the time skip glitch.  It’s the best selling mainline game ever, from what I remember.

There’s not a mechanic shitty enough to kill a series.  Presumably, it’s because the positives outweigh the negatives, but a refusal to acknowledge what’s negative because everyone likes the positives well enough is why shitty mechanics persist.  And it’s why cheating will never die out.  Because the developers don’t see any need to fix that particular issue, they make enough money as it is.  Even and especially for matters of opinion.  A game can’t please every single person.  Maybe some people like the sensation of pointy iron in their eyes.  Maybe the tedium is somehow relaxing, I don’t know.  But that’s exactly why cheating should be considered an essential part of any game, because without it, you’re losing out on a potential market.

Now, that said, there is an argument against cheating that I’ve never heard but should have by now.  If people constantly route around undesirable mechanics this way, the developers have no idea that it should be removed or adjusted.  This means every game moving forward has to deal with it, until we reach present day where you can’t really hack the Pokemon games to make them tolerable for finding Hidden Abilities anymore.  Arguably, with an entire removal of cheating, the games and its profits would suffer, leading to consideration of where it went wrong.  Not that I buy this, of course.  But it’s surprising I’ve never heard the argument before.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Stories with Fandoms

bocajinsurgenc1

Hello there’  I decided to post a new post, given all the extra time I have! 

Let’s stay with quick things about myself!  -I am 23 years old and live in EST time-zone. -Usually, I have a part time job. Which is really part-time right now considering everything. -I ask that my partner and I write in 3rd Person, Past tense. -Reply/Post length can be set. As a bare minimum, I write a paragraph. More than happy to write more. 

-I am looking more than just having a ship together in a Roleplay. I want a plot. If that makes sense?  Not just romance.   Now onto the Fandoms.  Anything mentioned under, is a suggestion of thought I may Have on said Fandom. Of course, nothing here is needed to be used to build upon. We can build from the ground up.

Open to all sorts of genre themes like:

-Canon divergent,

-Canon-Rewrite/Rework,

-AU’s. What-If’s.

-Timey-Whimey problems. Groundhog Day,

and so much more.  Also, any Fandom with a *, is higher up on the list right now! All are open! *Star Wars: Considering (as time of writing this, May the Fourth two days ago), this is very fresh on my mind! I have seen all Nine-Saga Films, the Side Stories, and all the animated series of date. Not too caught on comics, thought. And my Knowledge, of the ‘Legends’ is very limited. So, ideally, I would want to stick to Disney’s Canon.  Open for all eras, to write with. Or, taking some of the Scrapped Battlefront IV art work of the What-If stuff and basing a story around them. Like Sith Luke and Leia, Redeemed Vader, etc. Or! I really liked the idea of a Imperial Navy Six like team, of Inferno Squad (Dice’s BFII). But, not have them jumps hip. Have them be Empire, ya know? *Final Fantas VII/Remake/Crisis Core:  I have finished the Remake and rather love it! I kinda hate seeing and hearing people on Youtube and online saying: Oh, its just Noruma adding his Kingdom Hearts logic to FF.  First, I don’t think KH is that hard to follow, and second. A HD remake of a story people already know, might not be so well received. Why not just play the original than? However! I love it! So, if we want anything to deal with the Remake, or the Crisis Core characters, I am so game. My good-boy Zack~ Kingdom Hearts: ‘None of this, makes any sense to me’ -Sora, Yozora.  Ahh, Kingdom Hearts. A series I love. Its precious to me. But, despite my love of all the games, and the story, I am more than happy to Re-work or Rewrite anything. Personally, I’d change up KHII alittle. Maybe go in a slightly more somber/dark route. Or, we can have our favorite characters in some AU, or Non-Canon adventure! Xion is my precious favorite character. Who is yours?  DC: First, I would mention I am a big fan of the CW shows. And, part of me (while I did enjoy Crisis on Infinite Earths, wanted a little more.) So, my first thought, would be to Re-write Crisis. One thing that really disappointed me, was the lack of Reverse Flash. He claimed, last Cross-over we would see him. And then just doesn't show up.  I would also, like more work in the fights and such. There wasn't much. Maybe more time with the Seven, who are stuck after they fail the first time around.  Another bit I wouldn't mind working with, would be the forgotten Synder Verse. I rather liked Batman V Superman, despite everything. It is one of those guilty pleasure type things. So, why not expand further where that universe was left off on? Power Rangers:  For this series, I have two major wants. (Of course, we can go in completely different route, too.) First, being a continuation of the 2017 Movie universe. I loved everything about that movie, and am heartbroken it will never go on. (Officially). Do what the cast suggested, and have a Female T.Oliver join the gang. Adapt more from MMPR.  The Second, would be a reWrite of Super Mega-Force (first by workshopping that name,) I am a fan of the Super Sentai Source of the season, and felt PR dropped the ball. We could create a new team for the pirate suits, have more Legendary Cameos and stories, and what not!  *Dragon Ball: From DB, to Z, Super, GT and Xeno-verse, I love most things Dragon Ball. I quite fancy the SSJ4 look, and Xeno style of Goku and Vegeta.  Though, in terms of plot ideas, I saw this Fan art of the Goku Black stuff from Super. However, Future Gohan was with Trunks, rather than Vegeta or Goku. I thought that could be a fun story! Or, we can play around with the Universe Six Saiynas. I rather enjoy them, so why not dive deep with Cabba, Caulifla and Kale? Persona 5/Royal:  The only Persona I have properly played; though, I am not fully done with Royal. (Aware of some spoilers, so no worries there). I love the world and characters quite a bit, so I felt the need to put this on the list, as the next entry as well.  Fire Emblem: Three Houses: I won’t lie, I haven’t finished all playthroughs yet. I was failing hard when the game came out, but given all the time I have had, I’ve been playing more! Another case of loving the characters and wouldn’t be against working out an idea!  *Pokemon: I know the games more, than anything else. Though, I have liked the concept of Re-Working Colosseum’s story. Give Wes a personality, actually. Not just the Silent-Protag trait. Maybe adapt some of the newer Pokemon into the region, as well. Explore what caused Wes to betray the Organization he worked for, what was the line they pushed that caused him to say, ‘I’m done, I can’t do this anymore,’ Perhaps we can even given him a reluctant attitude towards it. Not trying to stop Snag’Em, rather trying to keep his head down low at first.  Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Quick note, I am not fully caught up with Part-8. Thank you.  That’s it for now! Again, anything here is not needed. We can build from the ground up!  My contact stuff, as I do like using Email first, before maybe moving to a different platform, is: onesplendidbubble@gmail.com.  If interested in anything, let’s get in touch! Thanks for reading!

[ladykf-writes]

Fanfic Writer Appreciation (and a little self love)

Sooooo, as talked about I wanted to do a little promo. I may not always be my favorite writer, but I try to be one of my cheerleaders. And well, if you’re here you obviously have some interest in what I’m up to.

SO! Here’s a list of my currently-published WIPs and some info about them, in the order that I’ve updated them, most recent to oldest. 

Feel free to ask questions about any of them!

Dog Whistle (Ao3 || FFN) - started off as a prompt from @snackarey​ when I reblogged some Soulmate AUs. This one was a prompt for soulmates (Zack/Kunsel) who felt what each other felt - like pain. Needless to say, this went into a canon divergent AU where Kunsel felt some of what Zack was going through when Hojo got a hold of him after Nibelheim. And saved him, setting off an ever-increasing list of revolutionary consequences. It’s nearly 58K, and though I’m a little stuck I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Dewprism: Journey to the [Relic] (Ao3 || FFN) - this actually has a lot more written than I’ve posted, I just got a little frustrated because well... the fandom is teeny tiny and there’s no real feedback. But! It’s an interesting piece. It’s a semi-novelization where I’m taking the old PS1 Classic from Squaresoft, Threads of Fate/Dewprism and merging the two storylines. Basically... you can’t play the game anymore unless you got it from the PSN for your PSP or... PS2, I think? Or emulate it, of course, you can do that. And I wanted to bring the experience to more people, because it’s got such a great story.

It’s Not a Game (Ao3 || FFN) - this is my Avengers/FF7 crossover, and funny story, it was actually born out of a comment back on my old Genesis RP blog about how Genesis would totally be Tony Stark’s favorite character if he played Crisis Core. It’s turned into a full blown fixit I have a type and I actually have like, 90% of the next chapter done, it just doesn’t feel quite right so I haven’t posted it. And am, of course, stuck. There’s a case of choice paralysis here; the premise is that, in the MCU, FF7 is a series like it is in our world, and Tony is a fan. So he goes to make a simulation to do a self-insert... only he somehow transports himself (and Bruce) to a dimension where it’s real. A “Stark-insert” someone called it; and it does use a lot of “Self-Insert” tropes, actually. There’s just so many ways it could go that I’m stuck on choosing exactly how to progress here.

Party of Five (Ao3 || FFN) - the MMO AU! This was actually originally a prompt @up-sideand-down​ got, that I got permission to take off with. It’s a modern AU AGSZC where they meet online playing this MMO I made up that’s based off of FF7 and modeled after a mashup of like, me studying WoW and my experiences playing SWTOR. I’ve actually got some ideas of where it’s going, I just got too caught up in technicalities and need to reroute it back to the relationships going on.

Welcome to FF7 (series link, Ao3) - this is me hashing out basically what I think went down pre-games. Most of it is headcanon, I cannot stress that enough. It’s based off of the little we know, of course, but there’s just so much we don’t that it’s mostly headcanon. Tons of OCs. It’s a whole series, and they overlap - different sections that follow different departments, mostly. The base story is Welcome to ShinRa (Ao3 || FFN) and that follows the man who will become President Shinra from back when they first discover mako energy. I’ve also got Welcome to the Science Department (Ao3 || FFN) which starts off with college students Gast and Grimoire and how they get drawn into the beginnings of what becomes ShinRa Electric.

And last but not least, honorable mention to Times of Change (Ao3) - this was actually a piece inspired by @deadcatwithaflamethrower‘s Re-Entry series. I desperately need to reread that before I can hope to continue this, but... one day. One day.... I don’t suggest reading it right now, my headcanons have changed and it needs an overhaul. But you’ll see eventually.

And now... the WIPs you haven’t seen. (Under a cut)

By fandom, just to keep things straight, but in no particular order otherwise.

Compilation of FF7

The Snowball Effect (Ao3 || FFN) ... sequel? continuation? - as one of the gift exchange presents I’ve just done this past month, it is definitely standalone as is, but if I ever figure out where I want to take it, I’ll continue that one. It was just far too much fun.

The Price of Freedom - the sequel to To Be Human, which... I’m looking forward to, but I really burnt myself out on TBH so it’s going to be longer than anticipated before I approach this one. TBH definitely stands on its own, but there were some loose ends left to tie up, so we’ll see how that goes. And when it goes, when I’m ready to approach that again. TBH needs some editing, too... lots of work there.

The Unnamed Pokemon/FF7 crossover that I’ve talked about for... a couple years now (yikes) but now actually have a plot for. It’s very interesting to me, putting Pokemon on Gaia, and seeing how that changes everything. Because like, they’d have presumably used Mew’s DNA since there’s no Jenova (I can’t see them using Deoxys, which would be the closer parallel) and since there’s no Chaos, Grimoire is still alive. Which means no extra Drama between Lucrecia and Vincent - and really, there shouldn’t be the stress between Vincent and Hojo over her being sick because Mew would theoretically be much more compatible with humans than Jenova was.

What I’m saying is Seph has three parents and at least one set of grandparents and a much more stable Sephiroth (and Genesis and Angeal, thanks to Lucrecia teaming up with Gillian) leads to some very interesting changes. Like deciding they don’t want to fight the Wutai war anymore. >_>

Hold My Flower - a timetravel fic featuring our one and only flowergirl, who has had enough of people messing up her planet and refuses to just... let it die. She is, unquestionably, a force of nature. No fragile flower to be found here, this is the gal you see in the OG who threatened a mob boss and meant it. Heaven help anyone who gets in her way. She’s going to save the world. Possibly in a Turk Suit, don’t look at me.

The Long Game - Reeve goes back in time, and holy crap this one is a monster I am truly intimidated by so it’s gonna take a while for me to get going on that. XD But basically, similar premise to the above - the world isn’t healing and someone has to do something, so Reeve is nominated due to his position in ShinRa and potential to... he’d say “influence” but let’s call a spade a spade - manipulate people and events to a more favorable outcome.

A third BIT fic is one that I started writing with my friend @askshivanulegacy back in... damn, somewhere between 2011-2013, before we switched to writing SWTOR fic together. It’s one where Zack is sent back in time, and the differences in him post-Hojo change things even before he can start deliberately changing anything. But I got permission to take and remake that, so I intend to, one day. It was Good Stuff. And you can never have too much timetravel.

Dragon Ball Z

So, this is an oooooold fandom of mine - the first fanfics I ever wrote (under a different name, no I’m not telling XD it was ten years ago) were for DBZ, and definitely the first ones I ever read, back in the days of dial up. And I read a couple interesting takes on Chichi/Vegeta fic... and I was talking with @vorpalgirl about it and said I’d love to try my hand at something with that one day. I think they have the potential to be a really great pair (don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the canon pairings but those two have a lot of potential) so... yeah someday I might dip my toes back into Z. It’s on the wishlist, as well as reviving and cleaning up an old unfinished work of mine. Someday~

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Seven Years Lost - this one I’ve been debating a long time, and even did a little on! It’s basically how I rationalize what happens when Link pulls the Master Sword out and - well, spoilers but it’s a really old game so - when he comes out as a teenager and is immediately able to handle a nearly-adult body. It involves a dreamscape scenario where he communicates with his past incarnations and learns from them, and from sharing dreams with Zelda due to their bond.

Sailor Moon (manga/Crystal based)

Second Chances - I read a lot of SM fanfic back in the day, and my favorite ones were... more real? Like, there were more consequences to these 14 year old kids out there fighting for their lives and sometimes losing them. I’d like to tell a story through Minako/Venus’ eyes primarily, covering what that’s like, and then I also just really want a happy ending for the senshi/shittenou? So... yay canon divergence, lol. You guys know the deal by now. XD

Star Wars: Legends Era

United We Stand - SWTOR fanfic, baby! Basically, I’m just dying to see the eight classes cross over each other, and I will bend canon to do it. For anyone that’s played the original class story lines, there is some cross over but believe me when I say there were huge opportunities that were let drop by nature of the game. Just with the two Jedi stories alone... but that’s #spoilers for a not-as-old game so I’ll leave that be and only elaborate if asked.

(And do feel free to ask about any of these! I’d love to hash them out more.)

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Pokemon, Episodes 24-27

In which Ash really needs to show off his stuff, Brock grows ever cooler, and it’s time for Meme Review.

Ashes in the Wind

You know, it’s sort of noteworthy that for as much of an everytrainer as Ash is supposed to be, he’s taking a very nontraditional route to the Pokemon League. He’s now got five Gym Badges, but only one of them was earned in a proper Pokemon showdown. The rest were the result of his showing True Pokemon Spirit to overcome his lack of innate talent; showing he cares about Pokemon, saving the gym from a Team Rocket assault, saving the Gym Leader herself from a decades-long evil trance, that sort of thing. And it’s getting sort of silly at this point, because Ash has proven himself very capable of holding his own in a proper battle by now. He manages to tough out the assault of a very angry Primeape to properly add it to his team, and he charges back into a goddamn inferno to save the Gloom he was just in combat against. The kid’s genuinely coming into his own as a proper Pokemon trainer, even if his head could really use a deflation once in a while (I don’t know how you turn hating perfume into a microaggression but this ponce somehow managed it), and it would be nice to see him get to show those skills off a bit more often as opposed to muddling through unconventional shortcuts. Maybe it’s time to get Gary back in the picture; as much as he’s been built up as an endgame rival, I don’t think we’ve actually seen that jackass at all since the first episode. Why not use him to give us a taste of what Ash is really going up against? I dunno, just a thought; I’d hate for us to miss out on a good grudge match when all is said and done.

Brocking Out

Y’all know Team Rocket will always hold a special place in my heart, but if there’s one member from the main squad who’s really elevating himself in a similar way, it’s Brock. Like I mentioned a while back, it’s refreshing to have such a (relatively) mature Team Dad to balance out Ash and Misty’s brattiness. But what I’m really coming to appreciate about Brock is how genuine he is. Everything he does, he does with heart firmly on sleeve and arms wide open, with a sincere love for the passions he pursues and respect for the good those passions represent. Say what you will about his many failed romances- I swear, how does someone both drink too much and too little Respect Women Juice at the same time?- but he clearly cares deeply about doing right by his endless parade of crushes. He respects the work they do and stands up for their beliefs, using his clout to offer a helping hand and inspire others to see that same passion in them. He’s what characters like Miroku should be, if that makes sense; harmless enough that his affections never cross over into gross territory and with his heart firmly in the right place, even if he goes a little too far expressing it. He even manages to summarize the entire outer/inner beauty debate in a single powerful quote: ”If they’re gonna put style over substance, we’re gonna give out substance with style!” Because it���s totally fine to give your work a little pizzazz to juice it up, as long as that flashiness is still in service of the meaning at its core. Bottom line, Brock’s a really good egg with a good head on his shoulders, and I appreciate him more and more as time goes on.

Donuts from Heaven

And speaking of Brock Appreciation, we’ve finally gotten to perhaps the most famous moment from the OG Pokemon anime. Roll the clip!

*ahem*

“These donuts are amazing! Jelly-filled’s my favorite. Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut!”

I cannot begin to describe how much this moment delights me. Sure, it’s just a dopey translation choice that figured 90s kids wouldn’t be culturally aware enough to understand seaweed-filled rice balls (and let’s be real, that’s not an unfair assumption to make), but with how much it’s been memed into oblivion, it’s also kind of the perfect encapsulation of the Pokemon anime’s goofy charm. It’s rough and awkward around the edges, but it’s clearly having so much goddamn fun with its own inherent silliness, and it’s impossible not to get swept up in the infectious joy at least a little bit. Why not let them be jelly donuts after all? It only makes it that much more a uniquely charming experience. Plus, it gives the team the opportunity to just go hog-wild with the concept: ”You should have let it finish that donut! Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners?” ”Your homemade donuts are our only hope!” ”Oh no, I wasted a donut!” Sometimes, it’s okay to let the world be as goofy as it needs to be, and it doesn’t get much goofier than jelly donuts in the middle of a Pokemon episode. Let the good times roll, folks.

Best of Team Rocket

-”Team Rocket always puts beauty before duty!”

-”Nothing like digging a hole when you want to play dirty!”

-”Oh yeah, I almost forgot, the cartoonists never gave me a nose!”

-THEY EXPLODED THEIR OWN MOTTO MIDSTREAM ASJDHADSK

-”Meowth, that’s flight!”

-”I don’t get it, why didn’t we just do this from the beginning?” “We have to fill a half-hour!” Well, at least they have the courage to admit it.

-”Did he just say Salon Roquet?”

-”To protect the world from boring fashion!” “To dress all people with flash and passion!”

-I just realized Jessie and James are doing a genderswapped Rose of Versailles cosplay and oh my god HOW ARE YOU SO PERFECT

Odds and Ends

-”Professor, I don’t know much about poetry.” Sooner or later, Professor Oak’s evil is going to grow too big to ignore.

-”It’s not the hat, it’s the principle!” Wow, that cuts close to home.

-”I’m having a major hat crisis, could you try to steal Pikachu some other time?” Can we just appreciate how little a fuck Ash gives about Team Rocket nowadays? He’ll even disguise himself as their daughter to sneak into the gym with them, that’s how little a threat he sees them as.

-Not every day we see Team Rocket land after blasting off. Cool!

-That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Gloom with its eyes open. Me no likey.

-”I wish Ash could’ve heard that story.” “I heard it!” ajsdhakjsdhasd you fucking numbskull

-Man, Erica’s great. Takes no shit from haters, but always offers a helping hand to those in need.

-”Actually, I’m her cousin’s cousin!” “It figures.” At this point, I just assume the Jennys and Joys are one big lesbian cult.

-”Looks like it’s ready for the deli counter.” WOW, that’s dark.

-Is it just me, or does Drowzee have a Russian accent?

-”Congratulations!” “Don’t congratulate me!” Oh my god, is that how Misty got her Psyduck? That’s kind of perfect.

I think we’re halfway through the first season at this point? Looking forward to what comes next. See you next time!

[galaxiasus-a]

otomates said: "I'm sorry I waited so long." Raihan's smile, uncharacteristically self-deprecating, wanes as he stares down at their hands, fingers laced through in a loose hold between them. He shifts so that he isn't fully facing Piers, but pulls his hand with him so that he's holding it against his chest, staring up at the ceiling. "To apologize for being a arsehole, I mean. We both know it's always been there." He closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh. "It should've come before I told you I loved you."

↪ SELECT: Unprompted ( @selfietake​ )

His apologies was met with silence. Piers wasn’t looking at him, doesn’t stir when Raihan shifts and takes his hand in his. He was staring staring at one spot of the fabric of his blanket, eyes shifting from one to another as he allowed Raihan’s words to really sink in. He had already gotten emotional the last time they had this conversation, where the first ‘I’m sorry’ came out. He shed his tears then, he doubts he has anymore, but the pool that started to form in his eyes said something different. 

It should've come before I told you I loved you. Raihan’s attitude runs deeper than his snarky behavior and phone addiction, like Pier’s own went deeper than being the lonely goth kid hiding in the corner of the region. He knew this, far before Raihan got into the habit of telling him he loves him more than once a day. “Maybe it should’ve.” He mumbled, his voice flat as he raises a hand to wipe the corner of his eyes with his palm. 

He remembers back then, how at his core, Raihan was nothing more than an arrogant man who spoke pedestals above others. How he clearly needed to be put into his place, something Leon thankfully didn’t hesitate to do just that. 

“...It did hurt.” Especially when he was already an outcast at the time. A style that was unpar with anyone in Galar; both in terms of clothing and in battling. Despite him being one of the more powerful gym leaders, himself and his ‘gym’ in its entirety was not generally favored by anyone else. He’s sure his personality didn’t help with his already struggling reputation; his music was more of a saving grace to hide the fact he was the more quiet of the gym leaders, the one who didn’t stick too long during the afterparties. The one people only could describe him as ‘shady.’

Piers knew everything that was said. The subtle insults, the whispers that questioned why he was even considered part of Galar’s history every time he walked past, the reminders that he could never be what everyone else. Someone that legitimately mattered. 

Of all the people that was a ball of it all, the one who had to put it in front of his face every time he was brought up in one of his special interviews, it was Raihan. Anything Piers heard strangers say about him, Raihan was the one who repeated it, whether it was in a way that was worse than what they said or not.

Piers finally blinks up at him. He notices Raihan’s changed expression, as if he didn’t expect to hear that Piers knew his old intentions for doing what he did. Piers was quick to give a reassuring smile, leaning up to leave a small kiss on the corner of Raihan’s lips. “It doesn’t as much anymore.” He promises, freeing his hand and taking one of Raihan’s instead, putting the dragon user’s palm again Piers’ cheek so he can rest his head. “I got used to it.”

Just like how he knew of people gossiping behind his back, he knew that he used to not be favorite on Raihan’s list. He took quick notice that he preferred to be in a different room than him, the displeasured look in his eyes whenever they were forced to work together for one thing or another. Granted, that was his default attitude when it came to the other gym leaders as well, but in Piers’ eyes it seemed to be a lot worse for him. Raihan never spoke proudly of Spikemuth, much less to be placed in the rank right above Piers. He never had pleasant things to say about him, about anyone else, about how he doesn’t follow tradition in Dynamaxing his own Pokemon. He remembers Raihan admitting he thought he was annoying, and Arceus knows Piers picked up that fact the moment they laid eyes on each other. 

At some point, it stopped being something to be hurt over. After this sort of treatment from everyone, the treatment that still continued even now, it became more something he put into his daily life. The taunts and looks were things he had to force himself to not care about. The easiest way to accomplish this was simply to avoid. To not spend too much time around people more than he was required to do. It became his usual routine, to simply not care anymore, to not look at Raihan whenever he tried to get his attention and to do his own thing. His more important goal was to keep Spikemuth from sinking, to do what he could to prove to himself and to others that he was capable of taking care of himself and saving his name. If it was something he had to do alone, to keep Marnie away from the talk he had to face, then so be it.

“For the longest time, I thought you hated me.” Much longer than it should have been. “Even during… the almost two years you say you had feelings for me, I thought you hated me. I had already accepted that I wasn’t going to be anything more than competition, and now I had to deal with you stopping to say hi to me in the lobby?” He snorts, tilting his head just slightly to kiss Raihan’s palm to show he was only half joking. It certainly was a surprising change in his eyes at least. To go from someone that had talked big and stayed big for so long, to now the man who tried to act like a friend you can joke with whenever they got any sort of break. “I feel kind of bad, honestly. For ignoring you for as long as I did. For not saying hi back whenever you tried to make small talk with me. I simply thought it was near impossible for you to like me, much less see me as someone you wanted to spend time with. I’ll be honest, I thought you were trying to be nice out of pity for me. And then…” He genuinely laughs now, a small smile as he thinks back fondly at the memory. “You.. stopped mid interview because you saw me. You just stepped away from the spotlight.. Because you wanted to talk to me.”

He pauses, letting go of Raihan’s hand when he felt his hair getting tugged. Turning around, he saw the Deino attempting to make trouble again, her blindness proving to not be in her favor when the only way she could find her trainer was by biting into his long hair. “I guess in that moment is when I realized you really were trying to make peace.” He continues, shifting so he could pick up the gifted Pokemon and place her securely in his lap. Already she was trying to find things to put in her jaws by snapping at the air, Piers’ only option was to finish what he wanted to say in a hushed voice so he could keep the Deino calm. 

“I gave you a chance after that. Because I saw you were trying, and there was something.. different about you. I guess those beat downs from Leon really proved to do their job, hm?” He teases, watching the Deino make herself comfortable by curling up in his lap. “I never wanted to bring up how you used to treat me, never really felt like asking why the sudden change happened, simply because it was things I wanted to put behind me now that you were genuinely making the change, and… well, because I didn’t see the point to it. I didn’t care for it anymore, sad to say or not; there was never a revenge plan. Never something to use for blackmail. I figured maybe the both of us wanted to ignore it ever happened.”

He says it, yet knows of the inner turmoil he felt during that time. He can’t fully blame Raihan for it, not when there was some percentage of it remaining because of current different factors. It was easier for him to say that he wanted to ignore that it ever happened, but as his bright eyes darkened the more he spoke showed that his past self held a stone in his heart that was hard to explain.

He thought back to that day. The usual routine of having to wait in the sidelines, the gym leaders’ losses not in full vain as a gym challenger made their way towards fighting the most powerful trainer in the whole region. It was going to be a normal fight, until Raihan for some reason stepped into the field. Where he declared his love, he later learns that its more than a year’s worth, for Piers in front of Galar in a way that was impossible to fly over his head.

Much to everyone’s surprise, he accepted his confession that day.

He doesn’t know what he signed up for when he did it. He wasn’t prepared to be the subject of Raihan’s extreme acts of affection. Or to finally be able to sit back and breathe when it came to defending a town he so deeply called home, because there was no need to try and do it on his own anymore. The person that spoke negatively about his gym for so long now became its biggest supporter. The man he never dreamed he would see himself as a friend towards was now the one that held him in his arms almost every night just so he could get some proper sleep. Now he was the one he doesn’t mind kissing in the privacy of his room until too much time has passed. He doesn’t know where the same loving feelings towards him came from, or when those feelings came to be, but… “I guess I liked you back, despite it all, because I saw who you really are. Someone with a heart, someone more than just the popular guy.”

Doing his best to remain careful not to wake the now sleeping Deino, he shifted so he could sit closer to Raihan, enough so he can rest his head against his shoulder. “I knew you were sorry because you said you loved me. I know you’re sorry because you send me good morning letters every day, no matter how much you like to complain about having to write letters just to talk to me. Everything you’ve done for me… the fact you still want to be with me, from you treating Marnie with respect and from you being the loudest out of all my Team Yell members whenever I have a match with a trainer, that's what I saw as your apologies for everything you did. I already knew. I already felt better about anything and everything because I’m around you.. You finally doing this, it just makes me find more reasons to love you.” He trails off, his hand holding onto Raihan’s as his thumb drew circles at the back of his hand. He can’t remember the last time he had been this open, Arceus knew even Marnie doesn’t know half of the things he had just admitted, but he’s grateful that he was talking to him. “I waited a long time to hear those words, Raihan, not just because I wanted to see you own up to it, but also simply so it gives me a reason to say… I forgive you.”

He lets out a soft sigh, sitting up so he could fumble with gifted scrunchies and undo the mess that was his hair, casually getting ready to turn in for the night. They had a long history together, one that wasn’t filled with many happy memories as one would assume. He can only hope having this conversation reassured Raihan enough, that he held no ill will against him for everything he had done. More than anything right now, Piers simply wanted to make more memories with him. Memories with the two of them as a couple, that he can look back on years from now and smile over it.

With the peaceful Deino now nudged off his lap and onto her corner of the bed, he gently places his hand on the side of Raihan’s face and turns him so he can fully look at him. He stares at him for a brief moment, only to lean in for the kiss he’s been dying for the entire time. It was his usual softer one’s compared to the ones Raihan loved to deliver, breaking away so he could nuzzle into the side of his neck. “You’re not the guy I want to avoid anymore, my beloved, now you’re a person I don’t want to live without.”