#I do love the Latis a lot and have for as long as I've know about them.

[loupy-mongoose]

Last night, despite getting done with a week-long subbing stint at work and finally arriving at that sweet SWEET weekend... I lost my drawing drive. X3

So, I decided to play some Pokemon.

And I went on a Lati spree.

I brought up that Jamie knows a Latias and Latios on her blog. I've had the LatiAs in question for a few years now, but as far as the LatiOs... I had nothing to work with. XD

So, I started an Omega Ruby (accidentally started Alpha Sapphire first, thankfully realized my mistake early on) and binge played to the point that I could get the boi~

And now that I have him... I thought I'd dive into their characters and some small Lati lore!

And my current idea for how I'd draw them~

Playingaroundwiththeirnameshehe~

Mention of death and injury ahead, but nothing graphic.

Areth and Thusa are siblings--Older sister and younger brother. I'm leaning toward having Latis be laid in twin pairs. However, due to unfortunate circumstances, these two both lost their respective twins, and they come from separate clutches.

Their parents were also lost when Thusa was young, so Areth took up the role of raising her little brother.

One day, Areth was attacked and badly wounded by Sharpedos, so her devoted little brother went to find help. That help was in the form of Jamie's eventual sister-in-law, Rose, who was in the midst of her own trainer journey through Hoenn. Rose took Areth to the Pokemon Center and provided comfort for Thusa as she recovered. Although wary of her, Areth came to trust the human and became a loyal member of her team. Thusa himself never battled, but tagged along and had a jolly old time~

In Scarlet, Areth is a good sight larger than normal, while Thusa is a little bit smaller. I was kinda hoping he'd be smaller than that, but I adore the dynamic I have going with these two! ^w^

[kafus]

i just went on a 2 hour long adventure to find out obscure pokemon information. again. normal tuesday for me at this point

one of the secondhand japanese emeralds i purchased, i noticed had the MysticTicket and Eon Ticket in the bag, the items to go to navel rock for ho-oh/lugia and to southern island to get one of the latis, latias or latios, respectively. i went to go check the wonder card on the save (gen 3 can only hold one at a time) and it's for the mysticticket (しんぴのチケット)!

of course i was curious about the event that distributed this mysticticket so i looked up the japanese title and managed to find an archive.org link for the event from the original, official pokemon website. but i was surprised to see the eon ticket and latias/latios prominently also displayed on the page, and with emerald listed as a possible game for it to be distributed to, no less!

it's relatively common knowledge that international versions of emerald can't receive the eon ticket because they don't have the original mystery event system in ruby/sapphire which allow it to be received, simply replaced by the new wireless mystery gift system. the only way to get the eon ticket in international emerald is through record mixing with a ruby or sapphire game with the ticket. i assumed this is how the eon ticket on this emerald was received, if it wasn't straight up hacked, but now i wasn't sure since if the previous owner truly went to this japanese event in 2006/2007, they could have also picked up the eon ticket according to the webpage...?

well i talked to some folk over at project pokemon and it turns out the mystery event system is still present in japanese emerald specifically, and not only that, they likely had a custom ROM they used in store to distribute the eon ticket to both RS and emerald! there's no photos and certainly no dump of it online, but it's likely there was a menu where they could pick what kind of game they were distributing to, similar to the custom ROM used for international RS eon ticket distributions that had language selection, which we DO surprisingly have a picture of, from a 2004 event in germany:

this event is really obscure for some reason? i had to talk to experts on the subject for more information on it, the serebii eventdex page for the eon ticket doesn't list it, and the bulbapedia page for the eon ticket doesn't mention it either, which may be remedied now that i've talked to some people about it in the near future. but yeah this was a fun deep dive

it should be noted that even though it would make a whole lot of sense through environmental storytelling that the events are fully legitimate, considering the rest of the file is fully legitimate (checked through multiple softwares), well-played and well-loved, and if they went to this event they would have gotten both tickets at the same time, but i have no way of knowing for sure since i wasn't there! however miraculously they never actually traveled to either island and all the legendaries are still up for grabs... so just for the sake of my own fun i'm going to believe these are real and not injected onto the cart, and go and catch navel rock ho-oh/lugia and one of the southern island latis for myself! :]

thank you Z.Z whoever you are!! you have a really cool file by the way, the random shiny zubat from granite cave and the ev trained alakazam that you obviously put a shitton of time into breeding considering the numerous boxes of abra and dittos in your PC are super cool!

[mxstball]

Heidi nodded. Seeing what could have been different if Izanami had stayed alive would take a lot of time to process, but to see that Hera was happy -- happy with her life and her husband and her trainer -- it was a sight to see.

"I can start with my life. The world I live in is a bit messy, but we can compare and contrast different versions of ourselves, right?"

Heidi looked off to the side. She wasn't looking at any of the three, but of the expanse of the high altitude of the Hoenn Region. She's given her tale so many times, though not to the extent that she's about to do.

"I was born... by a Rayquaza father and a Latias mother. Jörmungandr and Meredith. An over 1,000 year-long war broke out sometime before my birth called the Weather Wars -- a 3-way war between Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza. Meredith did her best to protect me and participate in the war, but she was felled by humans. After her death, Jörmungandr took me in and I enlisted in the army. For 700 years of my life, I've only known war -- battles, death, victories, defeats.... and I was never able to reap the rewards of doing what I could to stop the war as, soon before it ended, I was taken by an Ultra Wormhole, attacked, and nearly killed by Izanagi, an Ultra Necrozma."

"Ended up in a new world. Lauren and Lati took me in, but... I lost all of my memories and knowledge of who I was. I was also constantly ill and weak for strange reasons. So, for another 1,000 years, they took care of me and did whatever they could to make me feel wanted, even though the rest of the Legendary Pokémon hated me just because I wasn't from that world. I made peace with humans eventually and was starting to make friends that way, but... well... guess who was sucked through ANOTHER Ultra Wormhole with her sister this time?"

"Not all bad, though. The Zinnia and Rayquaza of my current world took me in and Lauren joined Team Magma. For a while, things were going great. Rayquaza and I even started dating and eventually were married with a child on the way. I loved him and my Zinnia a ton, and when I eventually got my memories back, they were there for me even more. Unfortunately, we had to deal with a lot of problems. Friede -- my All-Mother -- destroyed my home world 100 years ago and is going on a crusade to destroy worlds with traces of humanity, including the one I'm currently in. Several Legendary Pokémon, including Dialga and Palkia, have attacked the region in their own way to prevent problems. Izanami's ex-husband, Izanagi, attacked our world in an attempt to destroy us. Even Team Rocket from another world tried to take over ours. And yet, despite all of this, we've stood strong, working to gather our world's Legendary Pokémon and the Legendary Pokémon in other worlds together to make one large family."

"Sadly, I think this is where we differ. Izanami passed away in the beginning of the year and had me inherit it. I unfortunately didn't know about this plan ahead of time, so it took a while for me to figure things out. Since then, Rayquaza and I are divorced, I've started a new relationship with my current girlfriend, Zinnia's no longer my trainer, and I now live in the Hall of Origin as the Arceus of my world. I... have not fought Friede yet, but I want to make sure that I'm as ready as I can be for when that day comes. Does that... cover everything?"

"C--Current... Arceus?" Oh, Zinnia didn't like that at all.

"It appears that we need not speculate on what would occur should Mother pass, my dear. It seems that our answer came to us instead."

He knew there was something going on with Heidi. The two of them were just talking about this very possibility.

"I'm... sorry to hear about your predecessor, Heidi. It must have been really hard on you." Hera shook her head. "Honestly, I don't know how I'd feel if Helen passed, though we're doing everything we can to prevent that possibility."

Hera listened to Heidi's question about being the sucessor. "Oh, uh... Maybe it's better to show you what I mean."

RKS FORME - UNLOCKED

"That's better." Hera's power was heightened, and her aura was altered. "Helen and I worked together to help me reach this form. As far as the world's concerned, I'm considered an Arceus of this world in this state, even though I'm still a Latias in many other senses. That does also mean that, should anything happen to Helen, then I'll have to inherit this world as it stands per the rules of this place."

RKS FORME - DEACTIVATED

"So, I guess what I mean is that, even though she's my mother-in-law, the rules of this world treat me like her direct daughter as long as she's alive and, should something happen to her, then I'd be just like you, I guess." She nodded. "Although now that Freya has been defeated, I don't foresee anything thus far to risk that."

Zinnia was hoping that would be the case, too. Unfortunately, knowing this world, it wouldn't surprise her that something else would make its appearance known eventually. "So, Heidi. Just so we can compare how much your world compares to our own, do you wanna give us the basics of either your world or your life? We can compare and contrast that way."

Both Rayquaza and Hera nodded.

[latimeria-fell-from-heaven]

lati I remember you mentioned reading hentai. has there been any works of your that involve some of your favorite hentai, if you have any?

hi hi anon!

so sometimes i actually do read hentai's to get inspiration, especially for the plots, and also the sex scenes as well, since that's something i still struggle with as well. my favorite is the tentacle shop series, and any of my long-term followers know exactly why i favor that series so much lmao.

i've recently gotten in lady k and the sick man, and i was pretty surprised by both the art and the actual storyline. i find it pretty cute that the guy is so willing to do all that for her, while also just going at it like crazy lmao.

but i definitely reference summer and innocence a lot in my more wholesome smut works, since this work literally just makes my heart go wild. love me some wholesome hentai that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy,,

but a majority of the time, i'm just skimming through some of my randomized favorites and using some parts for help and inspiration. it does help, especially for certain sex scenes or when they bust a nut lol,,

[latibulesims]

Hello, Lati! So, since I'm "new" to the Sims 2 Filming Community, I mean, I've always played the Sims 2 since 2005, but I've always had stories in my head that I wanted to film, and now I'm ready to make it happen, but my actual question is, since I'm thinking of making a VO Series, should I start with subtitles since I don't have any subscribers yet? I love your series, The Rivers and Foundings, and I love your filming style a lot. I hope that I can film like you one day too! But I also wanted to ask you, did you start with subtitles too? And since I literally have no subscribers, I don't know if anyone would be interested in being a part of a new series, so yeah, what would you advise me? 🤔

Plus My series has a lot of characters since my series is inspired by many series, mainly Game of Thrones, so that's another "problem" I guess 😪

Hiii <3

First of all, welcome!! It's always so nice to meet up-and-coming sims 2 directors, especially in 2022!!

DISCLIAMER: This is just my experience with everything! I don't think that's how everyone feels (many people still do subtitle series, and they do a FANTASTIC job at it, this is just my advise to you as someone who wants to do VO series from the get go).

I don't think it's absolutely necessary to start with a subtitle series! I did start off making subtitle series, and it did not exactly ease me into making a voice over series for the first time. I'll explain why:

Basically, a subtitle series is very different from a VO series. Sure, filming subtitle series before I did a VO helped make sure I knew how to FILM (how to manage the parameters, camera movement, how to pose the sims, what animations to use, etc), but it didn't make my transition to a VO series any easier in terms of SOUND EDITING. Which, really, is what makes or breaks a VO series!

MY EXPERIENCE WITH GOING FROM SUBTITLE TO VO: When I first started The Rivers, my first VO series, the sound quality was (to me) just God awful. I have a hard time rewatching the first couple of episodes because of it. The audio of my VAs were botched because I didn't know how to edit their background noises, the sound effects/ambience were off or too low, and the music was WAY too high. It probably doesn't bother viewers much, but as a director who's been doing VO for 6 years now, it bothers me a LOT. And back in 2016, I had already been doing subtitle series for 6 years, so I can honestly say from experience that, where sound editing is concerned, having previously worked on subtitle series didn't really do anything for me when it came to creating a VO series.

TIPS IF YOU'RE JUST STARTING: If, like you said, you've never started filming, I would advise that you start off making short machinimas instead of jumping head first into a VO series, especially a fantasy series with a lot of characters. Filming short machinimas (under 5 minutes long) is great because you can practice filming, pacing, sims making, set/world building, coloring, etc... Without it being a super large commitment. I definitely recommend them, ESPECIALLY if you don't plan on starting off with a subtitle series.

Like I said, having a subtitle series before a VO series did nothing for me in terms of sound editing, but it helped make sure I start off my VO series with decent(ish) filming and pacing (though it has evolved a lot from that, but we're always evolving)! I used to make SO many short machinimas before and during my transition to VO, and they helped a lot. I don't do them anymore, because I don't think I need to since I found my style, but they were a lot of fun.

It'll also help a lot with your engagement, because it's a perfect way to introduce people to your series. Not everyone will be inclined to sit down and watch a full episode without knowing much about your filming and writing style, but people will always have time to watch a quick, short video. That's how I made my first friends in the community, that gave me to push to transition to VO!

SUBSCRIBER COUNT AND VOICE ACTORS: When I first announced The Rivers, I actually announced it as a subtitle series. Like you, I barely had any subscribers (would get maybe 4-6 likes on a video, despite having done it for a few years), and did not think anyone would be interested in auditioning.

I don't think the subtitle series I was publishing at that time was what helped me gain enough fraction to decide to make the switch to VO. It was actually a mix of both machinima shorts I was putting out, and me trying to become more involved in the community. I would comment on people's stuff, engage with them on twitter and other socials, and just try to make friends. The sims machinima community, especially the sims 2 machinima community, is VERY tiny. Which has its perks, because we're quick to welcome each other since there's so few of us left. I would advise that you get on Twitter (if you do, let me know so I can follow you there, hehe). From there, you can post a casting call whenever you're ready, and I (and i'm sure other directors in the community) will be happy to RT to give it some engagement!

ON A SIDE NOTE, Don't be afraid to request voice actors! When I was holding auditions for The Rivers, I barely had any male voice actors auditioning for my series, so I ended up requesting most of them (like Jonah and Noah's VAs). I also ended up requesting VAs for The Foundlings (like Alec's VA), even though I had subscribers at that point! There's no shame in requesting VAs when you haven't found the perfect voice for the characters you had in mind :)

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS It is difficult to gain engagement as a sims 2 director. I don't want to pretend that it isn't. It's very rare to have the numbers that Sims 4 directors make, because people don't want to give a game as old as The Sims 2 a shot. But if you're looking to share your story with a group of passionate bunch, then don't be afraid to give it a shot :) And i'm happy to help with rt-ing or reblogging! x

Hope this helps!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I know it took me some time to reply to this one, but I always enjoy answering these asks, especially if it means making the way for more Sims 2 directors lol <3

[latibulesims]

Hello Lati! I really love your series. I love The Rivers so much, and I'm always mesmerized by how realistic everything looks! I wanted to ask you, since I want to start a series as well, how do you decorate your neighborhood? Do you only decorate the lot where you film, or do you decorate your entire neighborhood with Neighbourhood Deco? :)

Hiii!! Thank you so much! That means a lot ❤️

I usually only decorate where I film! A heavily decorated neighborhood increases the chances of it going corrupt, so I usually just decorate around the lot Im filming with. I've attached pictures of my gameplay neighborhood vs. my filming neighborhood, you can tell the difference is huge :')

I do make an exception for the outdoor scenes I need to film, where I spend a little more on decoration just so I can get the open world feel that gives the series some realism. But if its a mostly interior scene where the neighborhood is only seen through windows, I just focus on the view outside of those windows.

Also, a tip: I have multiple neighborhoods per episode! This may be because my episodes are really long (1+ hour long), but I've found the longer you take to film an episode/the more sets you need, the more likely your neighborhood goes corrupt. So I create multiple neighborhoods for a single episode, usually designated for every character, especially when I know they won't clash (for example Raign's neighborhood would include Bellamy/Isla's dorms, the college campus, etc... While Noah's neighborhood would include Faye's apartment, the diner, etc).

Hope that makes sense and helps! Thanks so much for watching ❤️❤️

[mxstball]

"The fact that you just said that Yukin's probably fine with Nergal showing up to help with this without you wanting to shit yourself is concerning." Anyone that actively works well with Nergal is a red flag. No, Heidi's not an exception. She's been worried about her little sister for over a year.

Nonetheless, Heidi and Lauren listened to Hisao's tale. To think that there was another Hoopa going around... one that was directly imprisoned by the bottle and required trickery to switch places with them... that wasn't anything like the Hoopa that they shared a world with. Though, that Hoopa was a lot more childish than others so there's that.

Still, to think that a human could become a Legendary Pokémon... it was hard for either of them to fathom. Imagine if something happened to Zinnia or Kathy or Cynthia to make them Legendary Pokémon? It would be maddening to think about for them--

--and that's probably exactly why Lauren pulled out her Interstellar Dex and started writing this all down, including the quote. It was something that she'll have to think about for later, as even that may help with her research.

"I've... never been human myself but.... But I know what it's like -- to suddenly have everything change... to have everything that you knew -- or didn't know in my case -- changed and lost before your eyes. I don't talk much about it now, but back when I lived with Lauren and Lati in Morrigan's world, whenever I wasn't falling ill from Mega Evolution Rejection--"

"--wait, we're actually going with that name for the illness born from your Mega Evolution energy being incompatible with the world?"

"Yeah. I think it fits. Though, you always had a good ways with names." Heidi chuckled.

"Anyway, when I wasn't falling ill, I was constantly depressed. I was so obsessed with finding my past self that it ate me inside. I thought that maybe if I found who I once was that the Legendary Pokémon there would accept me... that maybe I can grow strong and challenge them for their respect... that I would be loved--" Heidi shook her head. "By that point, it was eating at me for 900 years. I thought I lost my sense of agency, sense of self, and even my future. Desperate, I tried to challenge Morrigan with my guns and inventions at the time. I wanted to show her that I could be useful... that I can help in my own way. I thought that if I could gain her favor then the hole in my heart would be healed.... I was wrong. She broke all of my items, beat me badly, and sent me back bloody and broken. Said that I'll never be one of hers with my 'cheap gimmicks'."

"...To be fair, you're not the only one to feel betrayed by Morrigan...."

Heidi immediately knew what Lauren was referring to, but decided to keep going.

"...when Lauren and Lati were away on a mission, they left me by myself, recovering from what Morrigan did to me. There, in Southern Island, I met someone. She appeared and helped me with my wounds, kindly talking with me and teaching me how to recover physically, but I was still a wreck emotionally. Long story short, we started dating, but it was moreso that I was in love with the idea of someone being there for me than her specifically, though she knew -- and knows -- that. She cared more about helping me than anything."

"..." Lauren turned to Heidi and glared a little. She knew exactly who this was talking about.

"During our time together, when I finally opened up about suffering, about how I felt so lost and forced to just... roll over and die.... She said something to me. 'Life at time may find you feeling that you have lost all agency. You become swept up in it. Even with the most amount of strength, you feel powerless as you become lost in the throes of forced action. However, as long as you remain true to yourself and act on the agency that you do have, then you will never lose yourself.' For a while, I didn't quite understand it, even after she and I broke up... but it stuck with me... and it wasn't until I was interacting with humans that I understood it. While humans do not have the luxury as us Legendary Pokémon, they use what ability they do have to make a life out of themselves... to find purpose and identity and community.... They found people that would lift them up and become better versions of themselves, whether it be another person, a Pokémon, or even a Legendary Pokémon... and they were happy -- well, not all of them but many of them were... many of the ones that I admired and got to know were. It... felt like an epiphany to me, so much so that it helped free me from my trauma and grow to love humans as much as I do today... and what inspires me to push for a better future."

"...." Wow. Did... Dinah really help to kick Heidi off on her recovery like that? She wasn't aware of that fact -- though maybe it had to do with how hostile about Dinah she gets....

"Anyway, I uh... kinda lost the overall point to this, but your story and your conclusion made me feel like I wished to share it with you to show that many of us struggle with our identity but that working towards being who we want to be in the present is the best way to overcome it." Heidi nodded.

"Pretty sure you don't have to ask Dad if it's okay for Nergal to help Hisao make that poison--Yukin's probably already given the go-ahead." Aesen remarked. Then again, he knew that Yukin tended to sign off on anything Nergal did when it came to him, so why would it be any different for Hisao?

Well, it would be different for Hisao because Hisao wasn't going to be dragged off for who-knows-what. Gene wouldn't allow it, due to Hisao's position.

Speaking of Hisao, he would sit in the chair opposite Aesen before turning to look at Heidi and Lauren. This was going to be a lengthy explanation.

"That is because of Gene's previous Hoopa--Athanase. He'd been locked in his Prison Bottle for being a completely unrepentant asshole, so when I arrived to help Kalos in their rebuilding efforts after AZ fired the Ultimate Weapon so long ago, I came across that Prison Bottle.

Athanase claimed that he was trapped in his Prison Bottle by a 'wicked human', and tricked me into wishing for his freedom. That little bastard deceived me and trapped me in that Prison Bottle instead while he escaped.I will tell you that being trapped in the Prison Bottle is a surefire way to lose your humanity, because it was how I lost mine.

Gene eventually came back to that Prison Bottle and let me out, but he was the one to drop the bad news about my lost humanity on me. I'll be the first to admit that I was at a loss for what to do with my life from that point... but I'm also someone of honor. Gene saved my life, so I'm in his debt. That's why I willingly became part of his Pantheon and help out when he asks things of me.

As for Athanase... Gene had supposedly killed the little cretin, but he somehow found a way to survive. That's why I want to deal with Morrigan's Hoopa personally--as a practice run for the day that I personally kill Athanase myself for what he did to me."

It was rare to hear Hisao speak with such conviction in his voice, but it was on full display here. To think that he had been through so much yet didn't let his misfortunes change his outlook much spoke volumes.

Of course, there was more that Hisao had to add, and it was something that could potentially resonate with Lauren and Heidi in terms of the overall subject matter--and it could even possibly resonate with little Lati as well.

"You know, after I became a Hoopa, I struggled a lot with my sense of identity--I'd spent so long being human that, the moment it was gone, I felt lost. Being human was all that I knew, so to suddenly become something else was jarring. But I heard something repeated to me a lot over the years after my training finished that stuck with me: 'you don't have to be human to be human'."

Well, that was definitely a powerful message, and Hisao was intent on clarifying.

"For the longest time, I couldn't grasp what that meant... but during a return trip to Kalos many centuries later, everything suddenly made sense. Just because something about your life changes doesn't mean that you should allow yourself to change because of it.

Sudden knowledge that you never had before, a shift in rank that you never planned for... none of that should be what changes what makes you 'you'. That has to be something that you change for yourself, outside influences be damned. So long as you keep a strong hold of the core of what makes you who you are as an individual--your personal values and beliefs, you can stand firm against whatever life decides to throw at you."