#( LOOK AT THIS STUFF ISN'T IT NEAT? promos. )

[toainatreehouse]

Finally built all the 2006 combiners:

Botar - 11/10. This made me realize *why* Axonn was built so weird while Brutaka was a killer solo set; it's in order to meld them both fully into Botar. If you only have time/budget for a single combiner in your collection, this is the one you want to get. How small the pile of unused pieces is when your done is *shocking,* it might be the smallest ratio ever amongst combiners. I don't want to spoil it too much, but it's great.

Kardas - 3/10. Points mainly come from an interesting chest and wing build, but *all* the limbs feel wrong. Wrong to look at, purposeless and spindly vibes as you build it, squandered use of the piston pieces. I've table scrapped better arms and legs. The neck barely stays upright, and falls over from a stiff breeze. Loses points because of: how annoying it is to need to rebuild Vezon from the waist up and the Fenrakk skull; I lost a 3Long pin in the Kardas skull when rebuilding it into Fenrakk, truly bad design there; it doesn't conserve pieces in order to provide pins for Vezon to stand on, he's just hanging off the chain in the promo pictures even.

Whereas Brutaka and Axonn combine beautifully, Kardas needs another draft to incorporate V&F. I think an opportunity to make the axes the hands of the dragon exists, but serious work would need to be done on the legs and neck. Not worth your time, unless you're the kind of mad lad who wants to rebuild it better AND you have the budget to buy three titan sets, or already have some of them. (Tangentially, I have a vague memory of OnuaNut doing this on BZP with the Mata Nui titan set but I don't know how to find it again, anyone seen that thread?)

Lava Hawk - 9/10. Similar to Botar, I now get that the matoran looked That Way to accomodate this satisfying build. Also just a great looking bird. If your combiner budget isn't super high, this one is an easy second to Botar.

Dagger Spider - 7/10. Body build is neat, but another spider? After all that visorak stuff? C'mon man. The Matoran look That Way for this again. Solid little build, slap it together if you have the sets but you don't need to seek out another four legged spider, there's already a dozen of those.

Jovan - 5.5/10. It's... Nuparu but bristling with metal. Totally devoid of the blue or yellow from Hewkii and Hahli. Iunno. Maybe this'll be good for people who buy the Batman or evil Star Wars sets made of only black and grey. It's not doing anything for me. Neat use of Hewkii's chain but it is, truly, just another Inika build, if slightly wider. Bonus half point for staying upright, unlike Kardas. But it's also unsalvageable, unlike Kardas - I don't see a way to nullify the problems here. Skip this one, even if he's the only non-Takanuva Toa set to control an element that's not one of the main six.

Irnakk - 8.5/10. Honestly, this is as good as the Lava Hawk, but I'm docking half a point because you can't build it with just the sets, you technically need five extra pieces. Still looks *really* good without them, and the build is even fun unlike some on this list. Next to Zaktan, it does look like something that would fuck him up. Give it a whirl.

Protodax - 7.5/10. Bahahaha. This one was made for me specifically. It's goofy and silly AND it looks better than most of the 2005 rahi combiners. YMMV but I loved it. Good use of a piraka spine. The build isn't anything to write home about, but I looks like a blorbo, if a blorbo had three heads. Adding a half point purely because of the out-of-the-box design that may be the most unhinged *while-still-cohesive* build I've seen simultaneously. This is the anti-Jovan in a lot of ways. Look, just build it for me so you can have a good laugh as well, okay? Great.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

This is the type of thing that is impossible to really show in a photo blog but its a neat discovery now that my decks are stable and I can pick up a few collector treats. I was like this with Yugioh too, there's a certain appeal to a secret rare (the highest before alt arts) that's cheap because it isn't good. Magic's lead designer Mark Rosewater talked about this concept in his Making Magic series which is such a cool open book about TCG design. High rarity is sometimes used for cards tailored to players that want to try and "break" a unique effect. Corazon & this Vivi are like that. I'm kind of one of those players, filtered through being competitive. Finding the obscure card that shores up a bad matchup is my holy grail.

Forget that though, that's why I'm learning something cool now. Secret rares are mildly textured. Look closely at where the cord crosses Vivi's wrist. Some of the sparkles and locks of her hair. It's cool. Never seen that before! Some games have used a generic texture foil effect but I haven't seen specific details like this before. The circle of smoke around Cora is the same too. Stuff like that, cool promos that aren't super hard to find, good quality cardstock...that's what makes it fun to collect a little on the side. Also I got a Vivi! And while this was in the queue I got another great example from a lucky booster!

Its cool. The buttons on her jacket feel like little rhinestones and the flagpole is super smooth. Not to mention...I've only opened six packs of this set and got two Alt Arts. What a pleasant little run of luck.

[starlight-phantom]

How do you feel about Erina so far?

Personally I'm super excited to get to know her! She seems really fun!

I assume you mean the new character for Persona 5 Tactica? If that is the case, I honestly don't have any opinions yet. I dunno I'm just not particularly interested in Tactica... I'm watching all the promo stuff to see if I'll change my mind but it really isn't leaving any kind of impression on me.

But I will say, it honestly feels like Tactica is being fucked over by Atlus. I mean it gets announced on the same day as a remake of one of their most beloved titles? And it only comes out a few months beforehand? And a fan favourite character is relegated to dlc instead of the main game? I dunno, all of it just makes it kinda hard for me to care about Tactica. Not to mention, I suck at strategy games so that's decreasing my interest even more.

But yeah, Erina... I dunno, she exists. Her hairstyle makes her look like chibi bootleg Sae. Her outfit's kinda neat, I suppose. Like I said I don't really have any opinions, I don't have enough to work on.

[sparkysynth]

Track 4 of transition fundraiser self promo spam! I'm honestly looking for an audience for my tunes to farm some pennies of royalties.

More sample based stuff. A wack attempt at lo-fi. But still kinda neat? If Bandcamp isn't your thing find my playlist on Spotify or Youtube.

Thanks for listening <3

[shatterproofed]

I moved Allie to her own blog. Find her here!

[mixestapes]

             GOT NOWHERE TO RUN TO, BABY                                                                              GOT NOWHERE TO HIDE

[forbidding-souda]

I saw ur research post and got inspired hehe

can we get some yasuhiro x m reader hcs where the reader just moved to japan and is still learning japanese?

Yasuhiro Hagakure with a boyfriend who recently moved to Japan and is still learning Japanese headcanons

Hi hib hi hi hi hi hello

I am once again using your request to self promo but omg guys look at my bestie poo poo kun! He has subscribed to my 5 dollar a month tip thing meaning all of his requests are first priority. And also he has my instagram and now he's my lil stink stink

-Mod Souda

❤ There is speaking as well as reading and writing. He puts a lot of effort into helping you with writing, and it works out since out of anybody, he's the best teacher: he has surprisingly neat handwriting.

❤ He might have a lot of like, those remember-cheat-sheet tunes and similarity spottings that people do to help remember the lines and such. Those can help for sure.

❤ You wording things wrong is so cute to him, and you can tell whenever you do it because a small smile with grow on his face.

❤ You learn a lot of casual words and expressions from being around him, too. You've even picked up the "-chi" thing he does.

❤ ^ Chronic casual Japanese.

❤ ^ You try to practice formal Japanese with him and he's like stop it feels weird.

❤ He can read you some of his clairvoyant books. He uses teaching you as an excuse for him to actually finish reading them, too. He both never tried to sit down and read as well as, not remembering he had the books in the first place.

❤ You learning was what drew him closer to you, he almost felt special that decided to learn the language, no matter how common it may be. Your everything was perfect.

❤ Hiro learning more English for you, too. His cute accent.

❤ After meeting you for the first time, you stuck in his head. You were the cute boy who had the foreign accent. It was as if you were straight out of a movie.

❤ Japan is a beautiful place! When you move to Japan and get together with him, your house is going to become his house too (whether you like it or not). He's wiggling his way into your living space.

❤ ^ Your house is going to suddenly have house plants and crystals on shelves and tables.

❤ Buys you flashcards even if they're elementary level stuff.

❤ The first date the two of you go on is quite a fun one, especially since your vocabulary wasn't wide enough to understand a lot of the casual words he uses.

❤ Sometimes you can get him into museums for you to practice reading, and plus, you learn about a lot things regarding history and art.

❤ ^ Hiro learns things, too, but he'll often start getting bored and, instead of looking at the artifacts and their descriptions, he'll start looking at you.

❤ He unironically recommends some manga's he knows are popular.

❤ The main problem you encounter when it comes to learning Japanese is trying to find something that isn't so rigid. Therefore, being with Hiro is a good thing, as he can just casually teach you random vocabulary, and he will do it over and over again, not minding if you don't remember some of it.

❤ ^ This includes walking around the kitchen with him pointing at things.

❤ He helps you with the complicated words! Some might be tongue-twisters for you.

❤ He will hold your hand to lead you around outside as he drags you from place to place, letting you read signs and menus, testing your knowledge in such a way that the challenges are easy, making you all the more happy when you get something right.

❤ Watching the cogs turn in your head is his favorite.

❤ Imagine a build-a-bear where he does the little voice box with a romantic Japanese phrase.

❤ Him breaking into the school to give you a tour just because you're new to Japan and he wants to show you his favorite places.

❤ His mom being impressed by your language skills and thinking the fact that you're new to Japan is soooo adorable. She might pinch your cheeks teasingly just because of how cute you are.

❤ ^ You can see how similar they talk (and it makes it much more contagious).

❤ She invites you over all the time, and the two of you make the trip over to her. It's a very good environment, the energy is a very kind one.

❤ "Which one is this?" He holds the paper in front of you, having written a character on it with sharpie. Parts of the character are a little unclear from the paper that was on top of it, which he also wrote on with sharpie.

❤ You suck in a breath, staring at it and running words through your head.

❤ He watches you with soft eyes.

❤ You say, "I don't know which one that is."

❤ "I thought so," he puts the paper down, "since I just made it up." The smile on his face stops you from groaning.

[barb-l]

Chairs and Benches: A Ridiculous Loonaverse Theory

Something I noticed in some of Loona's promo stuff is their use of chairs to establish each member's place in the group. Like when YYXY debuted with an intro of them sitting on chairs and looking at eight more that were vacant...

... or the Cinema Theory intro where First Girl Heejin expectantly looks at eleven vacant chairs...

... then the whole group's debut stage where the chairs are finally filled because they're complete.

Back when I noticed this, I just thought, "Oh hey! What a neat way to remind us that there are twelve members in the whole group to hype up the debut."

But then my friend watched the mv for Around You and went "What's up with all the chairs in Hyunjin's house? She's just putting random stuff on them too instead of just putting them on a table..."

So I got to thinking, if the chairs were used to represent the absence of a member -- or just a person -- in the lore, then all the chairs in Hyunjin's place could be there to symbolize her character's notable loneliness. She's very aware that there are people missing in her life, and she wants them to be filled, so she puts random things on them, whether it's her potted plants or some crate or her clothes.

Then at the end of Around You's short film version, she finally meets Heejin, as they're seated on matching benches that are meant to be shared with another person.

Well, not quite matching. For some reason Heejin's bench looks to be newly painted blue, as if it was specifically done just for that video. Could just be because Heejin's thing is all about living a much more vivid and colorful world, and she's bringing that to Hyunjin too, but eh--

ANYWAY. Their meet cute looks familiar though, right?

Something something cinematic parallels...

Just like 2jin, Yves and Vivi's first meeting involves them sitting on matching benches. If a vacant chair is used to represent a missing person, then maybe matching benches are used to represent girls who are meant to share their lives together?

(I am cringing as I type that, god--)

There's another instance where I spotted matching benches; Haseul in The Carol, waiting for Heejin and Hyunjin to find her.

It always gets a bemused giggle out of me whenever I remember that this is Haseul's B-Side love song but the only likely romance we can see is 2jin's. There hasn't been any love interest explicitly shown for Haseul, which is why she's seated on her bench alone, just waiting. But it's not like her match doesn't exist, or isn't there. Another bench stands beside hers, peaking a tiny bit into the frame. The "white snow" she's waiting for will be there soon, she just hasn't been introduced yet.

Then lo and behold, seven more girls later, Haseul finds Chuu covered in snow, just a little bit after her shopping spree in The Carol

In conclusion: Matching benches are the Loonaverse equivalent of soulmate marks lmfao

[herthingamabobs-blog]

tag dump.  general . 

[wickedchoices]

OOC and Misc tag drop

[gaycey-sketchit]

(Gary anon) When the Legends Arceus animated series drops, there will be even more fuel. (Pretty much everyone expected a "Z" version; how ever that was going to work with two games. And it just didn't happen for some reason. It deserves a 2nd chance to fully tell its story) Somehow I feel we're not done with Gary in posters; would like to see one with his full team or a promo Project Mew one when the missions are over. (I'm still wondering if Paul or Greninja is going to be on next month's)

.

(Part 2) Looks like some were right about the Cilan reference at the end of this week's episode; and my "Goh not catching Pansage means something" might check out sooner than we think. (I guess we'll know which is next this week; heard it could be a break) It still exists, but definitely feels like most people jumped ship. (I think I got worn out by them by mid-AG; they blasted off enough times that by now I wouldn't be surprised if a compilation of that goes over 20-30 minutes)

(Part 3)They appeared just enough to not feel foreign in previous series, that vibe feels very different in Journeys where we could go weeks to over a month without them. Made longer when you're watching this weekly. (Filling in the desire to [finally] see Ash as a respected, renowned figure isn't new in fanon, but I can definitely foresee some falling into the phase that plagued Red for a while after the results of Leon)

(Part 4) Not that I think Ash will refuge at Mt. Silver; but ascending into a different existence or becoming a undefeatable demigod? Sadly, doesn't sound that silly. But what the anime does and what fandom does is two different things though. (Keeping charge of your fandom experience does wonders. It doesn't keep everything out, but keeps out enough to stay happy and sane) It's arguably the best outcome and hopefully Anipoke can deliver it in a way that satisfies most

(Part 5) (I feel official subs could happen eventually; I can buy the idea of there being with a LOT of stuff to cover and that they want to drop one big package when everything is finished. Or at least release full series in spades) Who knows, with there being an anniversary this year, they could surprise us. (Though I would feel sorry for fans who did all this work that's not released or finished yet)

Yeah, should be interesting.

I remember that. We were all so sure there'd be a third version that'd expand on some things and tie up some loose ends but then it just... didn't happen. I'm sure we'll eventually get Kalos remakes or something, though I don't expect that for at least a few more years.

Yeah, that'd be neat.

Could be! Wouldn't surprise me if either of them were.

So we'll probably be seeing Cilan at some point! And after that, the only companions we haven't seen (counting little cameos like Tracey's and May's, due to the circumstances with their Japanese VAs making proper appearances unlikely) will be Misty and Max, I think? Wild. I guess we'll see what the future holds!

Yeah, that's about what I figured happened.

Fair. As a kid I remember disliking them not because they were the bad guys, but because I got annoyed with their motto-ing in every single episode. I was an impatient kid who recognized padding and didn't like it, I guess. I warmed up to them with time, of course (and they're the reason I have such a soft spot for ineffectual sympathetic villains in general these days) but. Yeah.

Still, yeah, there sometimes being like... multiple consecutive episodes where we don't see them just doesn't feel right. And with one of their very few Pokemon in Journeys being a Morpeko that eats all their food and rarely does anything helpful, I just feel really bad for them (and for the people who are bigger fans of them than I am, because this is probably the hardest it's been to be a TRio fan since BW).

Yeah. He at least has some canon cred in Alola now because the people there know about his champion title, but defeating Leon would take things to a new level. Sometimes I think about how his current PWC rank indicates that he's in like, the top ten strongest trainers in the world and that is insane to me when I look back and realize this is the kid who once struggled to catch a Pidgey. He's come so far and having watched it happen... I feel a little like a proud parent.

But anyway, yeah, what the fandom will do with him post-Leon (and also what canon will do with him) should be something to see.

Yeah. I've been active on Twitter for almost five years and Tumblr for four and I've had to learn to block and mute pretty liberally. Being able to blacklist tags on Tumblr and mute words/phrases/hashtags on Twitter does wonders too.

Yeah. When the time comes for them to depart I'll miss them so much, but... as long as they get the best ending possible, I think I'll be okay.

Yeah, there is so much and it'd definitely take a while, but it's possible. And yeah, this being the 25th anniversary year for Pokeani is a big deal, so something like that could happen. But yeah, I'd feel bad for the people who worked so hard on fansubs that hadn't been finished/released yet. Though their work definitely still wouldn't be for nothing if official subs happened, since what they had put out gave people the means to watch subbed in the time before that. (Though I myself... still haven't. Maybe someday I'll figure out a VPN and stop being so worried.)

[hesurvived]

tag drop pt 1

[shatterproofed]

give my new canon multi a follow??