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reversemoon255 · 3 years

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(This is the second of a three-part series chronicling the story, concepts, and original Pokémon that appeared in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I worked on for several months. This entry will be more focused on a lot of my original designs and how their encounters would play out, rather than concrete story. Also, much of the art was done by @extyrannomon on Twitter, and I suggest you check them out.)

Dungeons ‘n’ Dragonites - Phase 2: Ultra City

The Queen Durant would prove to be a difficult foe, able to use all manner of elemental attacks to strike from a distance to compensate for her low speed. Furthermore, she would have full command of the Duranthill, using her followers to guard herself. As the battle rages, the team slowly begin to evolve, and their newfound strength and Types, along with the aid of the Princess, would have them see victory.

I was unsure as to the ultimate fate of the Queen. Either having it disappear into the tunnels alone, or be sucked into another Ultra Wormhole like the Poipole. And with the Queen vanquished, the Princess would choose to become partner to whoever she felt most worthy (a combination of good role playing and damage dealt).

I designed every Pokémon in this campaign under the pretense that it could actually exist. The Queen and Princess fall under the category of “Rare Variants.” There’s only one queen in a colony of thousands of ants, so it makes sense for it to be rarely seen. They’re still Bug/Steel, but special attackers, with the three spheres on each of their abdomens made to mimic the pattern of Tri-Attack, symbolizing their ability to use those Types.

As for the Starter evos, Flymph has evolved into Epipesis, gained the Electric-Type, and become a full Dragonfly. Calfyre into Steared, staying mono-Fire, but growing considerably (4 feet at the shoulder, the largest mid-stage Starter). Squisque into Knaval who’s now Rock, because he’s a rock lobster! And Utaw into Uteteo who may still be pure Fairy, but has gained some gold adornments.

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My working title for this campaign was “Ultra City.” Hinted at by the appearance of the Poipole early in the game, my intentions would come into full swing during this portion, with boss encounters against many of the known and some unknown Ultra Beasts. I had a few encounters planned, from a pickpocket Pheramosa that they’d fight in a mall store room full of mannequins, to a Blacephalon that had kidnapped several children, hypnotized them, and had them watching his performances, to a beach episode where there’s just a Buzzwole hanging out and not causing trouble.

Things would take a twist when a Guzzlord would take over the abandoned district, raining destruction down from its highest building. The crew would have to climb a multi-floor dungeon in order to battle it, many scared and aggravated Pokémon blocking their paths. After reaching the top however, after initiative had been rolled, a mysterious Pokémon would descend from the sky, felling Guzzlord in a single strike...

Majra, the Dragoon Pokémon (a slurred portmanteau of Magic and Dragon). A Dragon hunter with a unique ability, “Hunter of Evil,” that removes all its resistances but makes it immune to Dragon, Dark, and Ghost. This Pokémon came about as I was trying to create a dramatic encounter that would interrupt an expected one. As I was thumbing through DnD and fantasy ideas, the idea of a Dragoon who furiously hunts Dragon-Types came to mind. Ice/Fairy seemed the perfect combination, and the sentient suit of ice armor fell into place soon after. As Pokémon don’t typically hold weapons, I made him part scorpion, having him hold his tail as a workaround, and also informed how his extremities would look. The Haxorus skull buckler also helped drive the Dragon hunter aspect home.

Ultra Beasts were the second category of original Pokémon in my campaign, and encompass all purely original Pokémon (including the Starters). However, I didn’t want to just haphazardly make a ton (as commissions cost money), so I gave myself the condition that if I made an Ultra Beast it had to play with weaknesses and resistances in a way to trip up experienced players, hence Majra’s ability.

Majra would not attack our players in their first encounter, unless someone was using a Type he hunts. He would be a reoccurring boss character, helping or hindering the players depending on their enemies or allies.

The next unique encounter would have been a tutorial battle against another Rare Variant, a Shiinotic possessed Parasect. Every boss encounter is technically 4-on-1, so I wanted to give a Pokémon a reason to have multiple turns, and fused or symbiotic Pokémon felt like a naturally occurring way to have that happen. I created this Shiinotic as a way to teach the players how these Pokémon work.

As Shiinotic is a bio-luminescent mushroom, I wanted to have Parasect faded in color from its light. I also thought it’d be a nice touch to have Shiinotic’s spindly fingers act as puppet strings to move Parasect’s arms around. It would have been encountered after a swarm of scared Paras started flooding out of the sewers near everyone’s school.

Then would be Fortifiend, who would be encountered a few times as an easily circumventable castle wall in the middle of the street before Majra would eventually attack it, forcing our players to take a side in the battle (with Fortifiend possibly joining them if they help it). His ability would make all attacks not very effective while it had over 50% HP, and the opposite when under 50%. Despite the name, I pictured him being very nice, and giggle whenever he heard someone compliment his stone structure.

I imagined that the world he came from had naturally occurring stone structures similar to him, and his folded castle form was a sort of net to help him catch large prey; partly why he doesn’t attack the smaller people and Pokémon of the game’s dimension (he’s around 30ft tall). He could be encountered anywhere, so he wasn’t a full quest; just a fun “what the heck is this” moment to confuse players.

Also, while it wasn’t purposeful, Fortifiend and Majra both also matched the DnD aesthetic. That definitely helped them stand out as some of my favorites, and Fortifiend barely missed the final pass for the last round of commissions.

Then was the twin encounter of Feyerre, a Fire-Type igloo and snowmobile Pokémon, and Eyescse, an Ice-Type pyramid and four-wheeler Pokémon (probably the most Ultra Beast-esque concepts I came up with). They would be messing with the weather across the city, causing disturbances until the players eventually found one of them, in when the other would appear. Their ability would flip their weaknesses and resistances, and they would have an attack that could do the same to a target. And fun fact: there’s meaning to the color and number of their eyes! Feyerre’s are F.I.R.E (Fire=Red, Ice=L.Blue, Rock=Brown, Electric=Yellow), and Eyescse’s are I.C.E (Ice=L.Blue, Sea=D.Blue, Electric=Yellow).

But their defeat would incur the wrath of a mysterious Pokémon they had encountered a few times:

“As you turn around, you see a grey Charizard standing there. It stares at you for a moment, wide-eyed and unblinking. Then it begins to open its mouth, wide, wider, and wider still, stretching beyond what should be possible. Then a hand reaches out of it...

“Suddenly you’re falling. The lights and sounds of countless unknown worlds whir past you incomprehensibly as you plummet through time and space. You try to close your eyes to shut out the flurry of stimuli, but it’s impossible to drown out as your minds begin to feel the strain of the void. Then, after what feels like hours, time seems to stand still as the heavy rain of an unknown world hits your face. For a brief moment you are able to take in the desert that surrounds you before a flash of lightning illuminates the sky, revealing a titanic silhouette looming above you before you are once again thrown into darkness. And as you come to outside the warehouse (where you encountered Feyerre and Eyescse), in the distance, you hear what sounds like laughing.

“Fofofofofo...”

The final original encounter I had planned for Stage 2 was Meadew. It would have been wandering the city, spawning grasses and flowers wherever it went. However, while beautiful, the sudden growth would be causing havoc and destruction to all the buildings and vehicles it could root into.

Unlike the other Ultra Beasts, Meadew’s ability didn’t affect its weaknesses, but instead created Substitutes since I wanted a way for it to form its own adds (the concept behind its inception). However, it wasn’t without a Type gimmick; rather than an ability it has a signature status move called “Radiance” that raises its attack and special, as well as give it the Fire-Type, making it Grass/Water/Fire (the 3 Starter Types). It would invoke this after its adds were defeated, but could be talked down through diplomacy, unlike some of the other encounters.

=====

I’ve mentioned Rare Variants and Ultra Beasts, but there was a third Type of original Pokémon that could appear: Mutant Evolutions. Essentially, evolutions like Probopass or Leafeon where being in an energy charged area or coming into contact with a huge ore deposit (what I interpreted the Mossy and Icy Rocks as, since they became Leaf and Ice Stones in later Gens) could force an unusual evolution in a Pokémon already shown to be susceptible to unique evolutionary conditions. Due to a future encounter, I already knew there would be large Metal Coat and Ice Stone Ore deposits in the mountains to the north, so I wanted to do some test prototyping using each of those items, whether I used those evolutions or not.

Poliwhirl is already shown to be capable of multiple evolutions, all of which use items, so I thought having it come into contact with a massive amount of Ice Stone Ore (since it should be chemically similar to Water Stones) could force a Mutant Evolution. This is Policuti, from the Latin Cutis meaning skin, and Poli-Cutis would mean “multiple skins,” as it wears the shed skin of preevolution. And being freshly shed is why its skin lacks pigment. It’s just a cute little frog in a raincoat! Also, the swirl on its jaw is actually its tongue.

Since Magneton evolves into Magnezone through being electrically charged, I thought about how it might evolve if charged with Steel energy. I imagined it being magnetically attracted to the Metal Coat Ore, fiercely trying to pull itself away, being stretched and elongated in the process, resulting in the bullet train Pokémon Magneline. The Mutant Evolutions weren’t supposed to be anything important to the story or that they’d run into in the wild. They were more so surprises to excite the players who would be expecting something, well, expected. I had considered doing at least one for each player if they caught a compatible Pokémon, but as no teams were filled out, I was merely left with my prototypes. The only reason I had these two commissioned was because I was very happy with their designs.

=====

As we reach the end of Stage 2, the reoccurring group of rowdy Onix would return once more. Following them deep into their tunnels, our heroes would come across a massive chamber with a giant metal stalagmite and frozen stalactite in the center of it. The Onix would then appear, twisting around them, forcing their evolutions. One into Steelix, and the other into Glacix...

#Pokemon #dungeons and dungeons #DND #dnd homebrew #durant #shiinotic #parasect #poliwhirl #magneton #onix

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namelessskies · 3 years

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BNHA crack - ? I guess...?

A new fic idea where an OC is reborn in BNHA universe. No, I'd prefer no romance between the OC and BNHA characters. She's younger than the BNHA characters and adores them, in a platonic way, of course. Top favourites are Shinsou, Aizawa, Monoma, and the Second One For All user.

For starters, she dies after choking on a plum pit. I got this idea after reading a fic where Yoichi dies for the same reason. OC is a very big anime fan and reads fanfics when she has spare time. Additionally, she is also an artist - but mostly digital - as well as a writer.

She was eating plums while reading the fanfic and found it absolutely hilarious. Because of this, the pit gets lodged in her throat and she suffers the same fate as Yoichi in the fanfic.

OC is reborn into the BNHA world. She's happy and sad and scared in this new life because holy hell, she doesn't find it normal that villains just pop left and right to take a swing at you.

Her Quirk isn't offensive and defensive, but it greatly helps her in the one thing she loves the most - art. I guess it's something that allows digital drawing and making animatics a lot lot faster? Lol, help me out here.

Growing up, she also becomes a sensation in social media because of her pieces and animatics. You see those anime tiktok dances? Yeah, she does it. Hawks and Mirko see an animatic of them doing those dances and is amused.

Endeavor is not. He takes one look at himself doing the cat dance, and twerks, and nearly blows his office up after looking at himself dressed in a skimpy maid outfit. In the end, OC is forced to take down her Endeavor animatics that aren't downright obscene.

OC's account is secretly followed by many Pro-Heroes - some, just because for the shits and giggles to see their fellow Pros doing ridiculous stuff. OC doesn't want to do commissions at first, but there is an auction pool in the comment section where Pro's - with a lot of money to spare - make requests. OC does traditional art from time to time, but has no money to buy the materials. Her parents are normal people, making enough just to pay the bills and have savings, and she doesn't like asking for money either, so she does commissions. Also, she's extremely picky about her materials, so she can't just go and pick the cheapest ones, so yeah.

OC has secret NSFW works of the villains stashed in a different device or in a locked drawer, which she laments not being able to present to the world. It includes the League of Villains, Villain AU Izuku - whom she simps for when in a villainous suit. This also includes everything that has Aizawa - because she knows he's an underground hero and more exposure in his part would result to much more trouble for him, and anything that has the main characters of BNHA.

Timeskip, and OC enters the Gen Ed curriculum in UA. No, she doesn't want to be a hero - she doesn't have the stamina or the strength, and doing patrols sounds like a pain in the ass, and honestly, she doesn't want to lose her life prematurely. Having UA as her school would look really damn good in her resume anyway. Plus, she already has a writing gig, and her commissions to keep her afloat.

Fun fact, her stories are actually just fanfics, but it seems like they're original characters since they've never heard of those before. OC's a huge anime nerd before she got reborn and still is, y'all. In fact, everyone thinks that Hatake Kakashi was inspired by Edgeshot, but only she knows the truth.

For convenience's sake, the League starts to make their move when the main characters are in their second year, so they're mostly 16-year-olds while OC is 14 years old. BTW, she absolutely salivates at the sight of Monoma and Shinsou because holy hell, reality is so much better than 2D. Shinsou has already transferred to the Heroics course by this time.

Mineta Minoru, who? We don't know who that is in here.

OC gains a new freedom upon Class 1-A becoming famous. Slowly, her artworks containing them starts to be released one by one. Bakugou is the first victim for the 'Nya! Ichi! Ni! San! Nya, Arigatou' song and he is absolutely livid. The others mostly take it on good sport, since OC (her online persona) drawing someone is translated as her being that person's fan.

OC also does lives, where she talks with a voice modulator on while she gives a commentary on her drawing choice. Obviously, her descriptions of her faves - Monoma and Shinsou - are much more flowery and descriptive.

It makes the teachers worry since they're not sure if she was a pedo, considering she was already active in this social media for several years. Eventually, she apologizes in public for creeping out her subjects. She clarifies that she's a student at UA which is why she knows their anatomical features so well, and no, she doesn't take pictures, she watches the Heroics students train sometimes to get references.

Kaminari and Mina become absolutely invested, because they're hardcore fans, wanting to crack the mystery that was morality_ERROR - her username - while Katsuki just wants to hunt her down for that whole cat dance and twerking. Shoto wants to get a copy of the whole Endeavour shenanigans that were taken down in his insistence.

Sometime later in a time where morality_ERROR's identity is uncovered, there will be a scenario like this:

OC: Aizawa-sensei, you know that I absolutely respect you, right? *while she sweats, looking at Midnight's laptop which is playing her new uploads* (OC's laptop and tablet were stolen and her accounts were hacked)

Aizawa: *confused, but does agree since he considers her a child close to his heart since OC has the same eyebags as his and can stomach a death concoction coffee* yes?

OC: *in tears as Midnight's laptop plays Aizawa in a maid outfit, doing the cat dance* please don't hate me.

Or another like this:

OC: *watching with belated horror as an animatic of Dabi twerking in a skirt and knee-high schoolgirl socks plays in her newly hacked account*

Dabi: *already concocting 50 different ways on how to grill her with his fire and feed her to the noumus afterwards*

morality_ERROR is OC's username in social media. As for OC's appearance, it's a very simple design. Long black hair with horrendously cut bangs - the ones that use the same cutting techniques that you see in Tiktok - but still keeps it that way. Girl keeps her hair long so it's easy to style, and because she feels pretty in it. Hair is parted smack dab in the middle, and most of the time has her hair in a half-updo looped twintails.

Aside from this, she has a slightly pale colouring and dark eyebags and super duper chapped lips - really low on Vitamin C since she forgets to take it, and keeps on peeling her lips, also doesn't use chapstick since she forgets anyway. 153 cm height and 45 kg weight. Wears glasses not because it is damaged but because it is habitual - the glasses are anti-rad to protect her eyes since she's mostly just staring at her screen due to her hobby.

#bnha fanfiction #bnha #midoriya izuku #class 1a #mha oc #crack au #bakugou katsuki #naruto #naruto uzumaki #sakura haruno #sasuke uchiha #aizawa shouta #digitalart #class 1b #monoma neito #uraraka ochako #todoroki shouto #shinsou hitoshi

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hopeymchope · 3 years

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Godzilla Singular Point

I came into Singular Point with some trepidation because Godzilla’s history in anime is both very recent and extremely bad. The three anime movies released between 2017 and 2019 are easily the worst work of famed writer Gen Urobuchi and honestly contain more bullshit than I can even get into here. Those movies and this series were both Godzilla anime properties commissioned by Netflix, which didn’t get my hopes up very much. Thankfully, Singular Point is a very different beast from the anime trilogy. One could argue it’s very different from most Godzilla media, actually — at least from my perspective. And I’m still a pretty entry-level fan of Toho’s Big G, all things considered.

Let me just warn you right up front: This smartphone-based virtual assistant is basically the breakout star of the series.

When you think “Godzilla,” you probably don’t think “incredibly dense sci-fi concepts,” but with the big G’s first-ever anime series, the writers clearly set out to change that perception. Before the first kaiju even appears, the lead characters are plucked from obscurity and dropped into a mystery that involves fourth-dimensional time travel, physical objects that look different from all sides, theoretical math concepts, self-propagating A.I., and a whole lot more. And it’s NEVER made clear how all of it connects to the rampaging kaiju! Although we spend a lot of time investigating a red dust or sand that is very obviously tied to the monsters in SOME way, no one ever makes a connection that explains the relationship. Maybe we’re supposed to wait for a later season to connect the threads... but let’s get into the idea of “another season” later.

I like to think of myself as someone who typically enjoys hard sci-fi, but even with the characters spending loads of time trying to explain the high concepts driving the story, I was never able to fully wrap my head around what was going on in the mystery at the center of GSP. I rewound and rewatched a few explanations, but I still walked away feeling lost. I eventually settled on some vague, loose understandings of most of the ideas mentioned, but those understandings were subject to being ripped apart in subsequent scenes when I was shown or told something completely at odds with what I thought I knew. I can’t say I was ever bored with the thick, dense scientific concepts on offer — trying to find purchase with these far-out ideas kept me glued to the screen — but damn, I sure wish I was able to comprehend them.

What do we want?! DENSE SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION AND DEBATE! When do we want it?! AFTER THOROUGH RESEARCH, TESTING, AND PEER REVIEW!

Another weird thing about this show is that the lead characters remain in separate locations and on separate tracks for the entire duration. We have Yun — a mechanical engineer and programmer who has an amazing grasp on physics and human behavior. And we have Mei — a grad student who is deeply invested in theoretical science, UMAs, cryptids and other far-flung concepts. Both of them are basically geniuses in their fields, and even though they take opposing views of just how flexible reality is, their shared ability to think “outside the box” becomes the crucial component in solving the mystery at the core of the series. Because they don’t even know one another (despite being separated by like, ONE degree), they only ever interact via text messages and behind screen names, which feels pretty damn weird. At least I immediately liked both of them, with Yun being the standout to me because of how his lowkey reactions to crazy shit generates a lot of humor.

This soundtrack cover LIES; you will never see these characters in a room together like this.

Alas, we don’t get to know the characters a whole lot beyond what we learned of them in the first two episodes. It’s not long before they’re trapped in a series of complicated exposition dumps, endlessly attempting to explain the high concepts of the show to other characters as well as my dumb ass in the audience. The fact that I liked them in the first couple of episodes carried me through more than half of the show, but I was always hoping to see them share more of themselves or just display more emotion. Anime as a medium excels at emotional storytelling. But despite the major, world-altering events the characters are constantly warning us about, none of them seem to have many emotions about said events.

Further complicating matters is how, when major events finally occur in this show, they are often kept off-screen. One character shockingly dies, but the portrayal of that death is so piss-poor that I didn’t even realize it’d happened until someone mentioned their death in the next episode. After that vague death, I was particularly sensitive to anything that looked like it might possibly be lethal. Yet a later event that is played up as a tragic, fatal occurrence ends up... fine, somehow? It’s not clear how the character survives, because — even after one of our heroes is left screaming their name in despair as they seemingly die — nobody ever talks about or explains how he’s just fine a couple of scenes later. And near the end of the series, there’s a major transformation that occurs for one of the characters, and we never see it happen nor do we understand HOW it happened. It’s just that suddenly, this character is extremely different due to off-screen reasons that are only vaguely verbalized.

I guess these two really bonded at some point for some reason? And what you are seeing here is literally the height of emotion shown in the entire show.

Even though the overarching story of the series so far pretty clearly wraps up in episode 13, we then get a post-credits tease for a potential second season. So the question becomes: Would I watch that?

Well... Godzilla Singular Point is a series with a lot of issues that kept me at arms’ length from it — tons of extremely confusing dialogue, highly frustrating choices in direction that lead to baffling storytelling, characters who are mostly exposition-dumping — and yet there’s still some foundational work here that I appreciated a lot. When the action occurs, it’s pretty cool/fun. And when urban destruction occurs, it can be awe-inspiring. The human characters, though little-explored, have likable and interesting foundations to them that could be expanded upon. And I didn’t even mention the soundtrack, which features a variety of musical styles combined with the classic Ifukube theme music and an OP that is an absolute banger. (I have a weakness when it comes to music; a good soundtrack can carry me through even the blandest series sometimes.) Even the core idea of centering a Godzilla series around hard science and mathematical concepts is a compelling one, I think! I just hated the execution of it; they went waaaaay too far on poorly explaining incredibly complex, mind-bending concepts for my pea brain to handle it. They spend so much time trying to explain things, yet somehow they never succeeded for me.

Ultimately, I’d probably give the show another chance. But if I do give another season a chance, it’ll be on probation. I wouldn’t watch the entire season unless I could see within four episodes that they’d definitely improved things.

Would I recommend that anyone watch the series as it currently stands? I mean... not really? I guess if you really dig complex math, hard theoretical science, and/or Toho’s stable of monsters, then maaaaaaaaaaybe give it a shot. But otherwise? Naaaahh. It’s not good enough at anything to make it stand out from the anime crowd. I didn’t hate it like I hated the Godzilla anime films, but Singular Point is still something that both casual viewers and most fans can comfortably ignore for the time being. It’s not a complete disaster, and it’s not without its highlights... but it’s definitely disappointing in my opinion.

OKAYOKAYOKAY, so let’s talk about the kaiju for a bit!

Below will be SPOILERS revealing all of the kaiju that appear in Godzilla Singular Point and giving my feelings on them.

Godzilla — It’s interesting to see a version of Godzilla that borrows some ideas from Shin Godzilla. Shin G has been incredibly unique until now, but this Godzilla manages to fold some of Shin’s distinctive aspects in with the more classic/typical versions to build a fun new depiction. Be forewarned that Godzilla doesn’t show up until the series is halfway over, and he doesn’t get a ton of screen time, either. He’s used quite sparingly and kept in hazy settings, often framed from the neck-up when they show him. It’s a little frustrating that they felt the need to shroud him so much, but I respect the fact that whenever Godzilla is shown, the destruction he causes is on a scale far beyond anything that the rest of the kaiju ever do. He is pure devastation.

Rodan — He’s easily the biological kaiju with the most screen time in Singular Point. Rodan is first introduced as one gigantic pterosaur, but if you’ve seen ANY trailers for this show then you already know that his depiction transitions into an asston of smaller pterosaurs, all of whom are also called “Rodan.” (Apparently the word Rodan is both singular and plural, like the word “buffalo.”) Although he looks kind of cool at first, pretty soon Rodan showing up isn’t special or threatening anymore. Rodan appearances go from “a big goddamn deal” to “some bland background noise” before the series is even 1/3 finished. The design might be a little too far removed from the original for my own taste, but even if I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t be able to care for this Rodan simply because he’s rendered so unimportant and unimpressive.

If you go out in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise...

Anguirus — Now check this guy out! Anguirus gets one of the coolest fights in the show and also demonstrates some powers that are well beyond anything we’ve seen him do before. Because he sticks to unpopulated areas, we never see him do much damage to Japan, but he is definitely holding all the attention when he’s on-screen. He’s a highlight for me — a total badass who is very unique in his abilities. And the stated origin for his name is goddamn adorable.

Manda — Yup, Manda is in this series... but I don’t have much to say for him. It seems like the creators of the anime didn’t have much to say about him either. His role amounts to little more than a repeated cameo, and in most of those cameos you only ever see his tail. When we finally see his full body, it’s done so briefly and kept at a distance, leaving me with no real impression. I had to look up his design online and... yup, that sure looks like Manda. Final score: MEEEEHH.

Kumonga — I definitely did not see this appearance coming! Kumonga is much smaller here than you may be used to, but she gets to star in the most suspenseful sequence in the series and easily earns the most exciting cliffhanger moment at the end of an episode. I was utterly glued to the show during her screen time, which comes with a lot of icky twists. Good ones! I honestly like Kumonga here more than I ever have previously.

NEW PHONE WHO DIS

Salunga — Uh, who? This is the one monster that isn’t based on a classic Toho kaiju but instead is a brand-new creation. I suppose that everybody who touches the Toho Kaiju franchise wants to make their own mark on it in some regard. But a big part of the fun of this series for me personally was the anticipation of seeing new interpretations and designs of classic Toho monsters. And so, given that he kind of resembles both Baragon and Gabara, I never stopped wishing they’d just used one of those guys as the basis and namesake. Taken on his own, however? He’s... pretty neat. Not unique or exciting, but solidly above par. He resembles a cross between a lizard/dinosaur and an ape, plus his head has some nifty coloration.

Our Jaguar!

Jet Jaguar — I guess Jet Jaguar isn’t exactly a kaiju in the traditional sense because he’s a Giant Robot. However, if you want to consider him one, then I wager he probably gets even more screen time than Rodan! We meet him almost immediately when the series begins. Initially an odd pilot-driven robot that was constructed at the whim of a quirky old factory-owner with too much disposable income, Jet Jaguar grows and changes over the course of the show, ultimately undergoing a transition in episode 7 that makes him pretty damn impossible to dislike. In fact, I utterly adored him by then. This is definitely the best Jet Jaguar I’ve ever seen. His design is recognizably similar to the original yet utterly distinct, too. Like many of the other kaiju here, he’s not nearly as big as he was when he was first introduced to the movies, but his size is ideal for battling the smaller-scale monsters that we spend most of the series on.

#godzilla #godzilla singular point #anime #anime reviews #kaiju

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fencecollapsed · 4 years

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OOo ooc?????? y e s , I oc CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC saM?? Al ien frie nd S????? ye ssss, ., ., ., ., le a R NM OR E- excite ? ?? ? ? ? friend sh op S?? quirks ????? gen e r a l funnnnnnn fffffacts ????Y E SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS l ea r n mo re i like peoples OC SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS they ne E A T

ah okay okay I can tell you about Sam and their alien roomies!

Sam has two alien roommates, John (real name Jhodzin) and Holly (real name H202-60). they're both on Earth disguised as humans for completely different reasons and they all found each other by accident, that's the setup.

so! Sam's a good kid. tries their best. backstory's a bit of a mystery, but John found them when they needed him, and took them in. Sam and John's relationship is very sibling-esque, John's like a great older brother. cares a lot about Sam, exceedingly loving and affectionate from a human perspective because where he's from its customary to just be unconditionally Like That

upon Sam moving in with John, Holly was already there. Sam and Holly took a little longer to warm up to each other, Holly's a little standoffish by nature but once she trusts them she adores Sam. besties 100%, she will kill for them and that is a threat. they meditate together. for Very different reasons, but it's bonding. they like it

as for quirks and fun facts umm,, Sam likes crafts, they make jewelry and little novelty things on commission. they're enrolled in online classes, majoring in lit. they love to write! poetry mostly, but they'd like to write a children's book series someday. they have bouts of going nonverbal (they are autistic) and they're learning to communicate through sign language

John has Funky Eyes, they're all pink and he's got three pupils in both. gotta wear shades to keep 'em covered cuz they give him away real easy. he's,, basically on Earth for a year abroad hfnjskdbf he's studying human culture but humans don't know about the outerworlds yet so instead of living with a host family he's the one hosting. this boy is...very trusting and he's lucky it hasn't bit him in the ass yet

Holly's a shapeshifter. it reacts with her mood, you can tell when she's upset because she grows spikes and subtly morphs closer to her true form. she also wears a spoon on a chain around her neck that John gave her when they first met. it was meaningless really, they were just having ice cream and she was eating it wrong, but her planet is massively non-materialistic and gifts of any kind are extremely meaningful. the spoon is important to her, and once Sam gives her something that will be too. she loves them both very much but shhhhh dont tell-

#love u anon i hope ur havin a good night hnfjsjhfd #i've been doing some quiet remastering of these three recently theyre kinda old and i don't like a lot of what i did with them originally #fixing them up a bit while keeping the spirit of their origins yknow #describing it is helpful thank u #into the mailbox #anonymous #fence ocs #sam tag #john tag #holly tag #long post

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sweetwriting · 4 years

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TimKon Week 2020 Day 4: Happy Birthday to You!

Category: Gen or Pre-slash

Genre: Angst/Fluff, mostly fluff

Fandoms: DC Comics, Teamverse

Continuity: Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint Future AU

Summary: What kind of birthday party do you give a kid who was abused by her parents when your own birthdays were already outside of the norm?

Word Count: 1840

AN: Hola everyone. This was inspired by an old WIP of mine. it's kind of a plot bunny of a different fic. Anyway enjoy

Prompt: Raising A Child - Fluff

Can be read on AO3

October 16th

It was Helena’s first birthday with them. Tim didn’t know what to do. To be fair he wasn’t familiar with children’s birthdays. Most of his had been spent with his parents being brought to shows he liked or that they’d thought he’d like. And then they forgot it one year and the next they were out of commission.

Helena came from an abusive home and he didn’t want to overwhelm her too much as she had been prone to having panic attacks when he didn’t pay attention and did something that was apparently outrageously nice. So he wanted her to have a great birthday but not so outrageous she’d faint.

Conner had made fun of him because he was apparently over worrying over “normal stuff”, but Conner was the last person allowed to talk to him about that. Partly because he hadn’t celebrated a normal birthday of his….ever, but also because the only kid’s birthdays he had gone to were Traya’s and Jon’s.

Still Conner had been there since the beginning so he kind of had a say in what they’d be doing for her birthday.

Speaking of which, they were supposed to meet for lunch for that exact purpose and Conner was late. For the 3rd time this week. It was getting real annoying real fast.

He looked at his phone to see if he had received any new message. And he had. Apparently Conner was late because he was walking with a classmate of his and couldn’t use his powers. So Tim waited.

Ten minutes later, Conner finally appeared around the corner. With a very pretty girl on his arm. Tim couldn’t believe Conner was late because he was flirting...Actually he could…He probably would have been too if he were in his place…If it was just a normal lunch but they were supposed to talk about Helena’s birthday! It was not a normal lunch.

Conner waved goodbye after the pretty girl kissed his cheek and then “sprinted” toward Tim who was crossing his arms in annoyance. As he arrived next to him Conner looked sheepish.

“Look I know what it looked like but she started talking about a school project at first and I couldn’t blow her off and then she said we were walking in the same direction so I had to….and then I used the opportunity, I wasn’t gonna miss that but still!”

Tim raised an eyebrow, just to mess with him but Conner saw right through him, untangled his arms by taking one of his hand and dragging him toward the restaurant Tim had been waiting in front of.

They settled down and started having their lunch when Tim received a new email notification. Which he showed to Conner. Now that could be a nice present.

- - - - - - - -

October 21st

Helena had had a fairly good day so far. Tim and Kon had woke her up with a cup of sweet tea and croissant while wishing her a happy birthday, Kon had even decided to accompany her alongside Tim this morning (even if he was gonna be late to class). Ana and Alois had also wished her a happy birthday and none of their teachers had given them any test.

Now it was time to go home and wait for Tim and Kon to come back home (well…Technically Kon already had his own apartment but he was there so rarely she hadn’t known about it for 7 months, when he talked about being with his girlfriend which had brought a new surprise as she had also thought he was in love with Tim. Even if they had told her immediately they weren’t).

Whatever. She hoped her da they wouldn’t be too long to get home as she usually was one her own for about three hours on her own before Kon would be there. And it had been so nice up until now.

But when she got out of the school, both Tim and Kon were waiting for her? Along with Bart, Cassie, Rose and Kiran.

She ran toward them and hugged Tim and Kon at the same time…kind of, she was way too small to manage but she tried and she considered that it was what mattered. She then went to hug the other four. Apparently they were gonna celebrate her birthday together. The only things missing were her Tim and Kon’s families. And a few others. Granted too many of them might be a bit too much for her. Family dinners at Wayne Manor were already too much even if there was never the full family roster at once.

When they arrived home however Anita and Cissie were waiting for them along with Donald and Oshi who lived with Anita and Cissie’s parents. Helena liked them, well…mostly Oshi. Most of the time Donald was not fun. They were a bit older than her but always nice.

They all ate very small pieces of cake (but her par Tim and Kon prevented her from eating more than two small pieces) and celebrated (with presents and everything). However at 4:30PM they had to leave though Bart promised he’d come back later. Only to be replaced by Jon, Ma, Lois and Clark. Who celebrated with a different, but still small, cake. At 6PM, they left too, only to be replaced by Dick, Alfred, Barbara, Bruce and Cass. With another cake. Now she understood why Tim and Kon had refused to let her eat more than two pieces every time.

So far this was the best birthday ever!

Her fath Tim and Kon had basically allowed her to celebrate her birthday with her favorite people without getting overwhelmed. She was getting tired though and nodding off on Dick’s lap. That was their cue to start leaving. Though Cass was staying with them for the night as would Bart.

Once they were all gone Tim and Kon had asked Cass if they could leave them alone. Once they did, they all sat down on the carpet. They both looked pretty serious. Oh no. She should have known it was too good to be true. But she had started getting used to this life. Was this whole birthday thing just there to butter her up? They were never this serious with her unless they were talking about her parents and her stay here with her foster dad, Tim.

Oh nononononononono. Did her parents get the right to get her back? No. Last she’d seen them they were trash talking the Court assigned parenting classes they were supposed to take. They shouldn’t be able to take her back.

Suddenly she felt a familiar weight on her shoulders and she heard Tim say “it’s okay, it’s not bad news, it’s simply important”.

The next few minutes were spent with Kon tracing circles against her back and Tim guiding her breathing until she calmed down.

Once that was done she was slowly being glided on Kon’s lap, probably by the hands on her shoulders, even if she felt like she was in a warm cocoon, she loved his TTK so much. Kon kept tracing small circles on her back while Tim was patting her head slowly.

That was actually rather nice. The only good part about her panicking way too easily.

But then Tim pulled away and got papers out of his bag. That was the cue to return to the conversation that hadn’t even started yet.

Tim took a big gulp of air. He seemed nervous. Which was making her nervous, but then Kon was hugging her and she felt better. She felt him nod against her.

“Ok so, it’s been a bit more than a year since you were found in the street and we hadn’t been able to celebrate your birthday back then aside from getting you actual clothes and furniture and a cake, so I wasn’t sure how to do this but I think up until now we managed pretty well. Now since your parents never made an effort to go to the court mandated parenting classes during that time, It’s actually possible for you to be adopted as of last week.”

She could feel her heart start shrinking. They were going to make her go away.

“Which is why I sent a form as soon as I was allowed to do so. Now of course it’ll depend on whether or not you also want to become officially my kid. I merely sent the form so that I could have the papers ready when we talked about it so here goes.

Helena, would you like to officially become my child and live with me until you decide you’re too good for me and move out to live your life even if you’ll always have a room here ? We had already kind of talked about it but it always seemed too soon for that. It’s nothing to feel pressurized about. I won’t be mad if you don’t want to and we just won’t sign the papers. It won’t change the fact that I love you and you’ll always have a home here if you want to”

Helena froze. She had been staying here for a year. Tim and Kon had taken care of her so much. But what if it was like with her previous adopted parents? They had loved her very much before her dad decided to close his shop. On the other hand Tim and Kon had Cass and Bart and Dick and everyone else also looking after her. She knew she could talk to them and be listened to. At least Bart and Cass would listen to her (Dick tended to be a bit blind about Tim’s shortcomings which was pretty cute most of the time but could be irritating at others). She could feel her eyes start to well up when she heard a voice from behind her.

“Maybe it was too much. We should probably wait before telling her the other news”.

She turned to Kon and asked him in the most polite way she could muster what he meant.

“What? What is it? Kon? You can’t just say that and not tell me! That’s no fair!”

He looked above her head at Tim and he probably received a positive answer because he smiled and explained.

“Tim and I signed a Co-Parenting agreement. Of course it’s only if you accept his adoption and want me to be involved too but…yeah, I’d like to be your official parent too”.

She was crying now.

They wanted her too.

They really did.

It wasn’t just wishful thinking. It wasn’t them just being nice to her because she was sad. It’s not like they had never told her they loved her but it was always so hard to believe, even if they showed it every day.

“As if I’d say no to that !”

And she launched herself at Tim with Kon right behind him who scooped them in a hug.

This was the best birthday ever.

AN: - Alright so here Donald and Oshi are Anita's parents who returned to an infant state in YJ. As such they’re like a couple years older than Helena.

- Helena is, in fact, Helena Kyle (her favorite color is obviously Red, that's why she imprinted on Tim). Basically her parents were nice at first but life became hard and they ended up moving to try their chance in Cali and it didn't work out so they took it on her. Red Robin now Flamebird found her right after she ran away and took her to the emergencies where she met Conner who was waiting for them (Tim had called on the way) so Tim could disappear and change. So until she learned their secret IDs, she thought the first one she had met was Conner even if only by a few minutes. Also she calls him Kon 'cause she doesn't like Conner as a name. She writes it "Con" to people who don't know about the secret (because that's how she wrote it when she thought it was just a nickname). She just turned 8 - Jon was born a year after Canon ended for the Pre Flashpoint universe so he's a year and a half - two years younger than Helena. - Bart, Conner and Cass have their own room because of how often they come. - Tim and Kon live in California. They moved there a couple of months before finding Helena. Kon needs sun ok. Tim's working fo the police station as a civilian working his way up so he can have his two years of work in law enforcement so he can open his detective agency with KOn. Kon's a double major of Law and Psychology (with a minor in international Law)

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comicgeekscomicgeek · 4 years

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Their Hero Academia – Chapter 51: Aftermath Part 1

Presenting the next raw and unedited chapter of my on-going, next-gen, My Hero Academia fic, Their Hero Academia!

Portions of this installment were written by @msalliepants (the Katsumi and Shota Shinso portions).

Earlier chapters can be found here

“…greater Tokyo area and surrounding wards still reeling from the Villain attack that occurred earlier this morning. A representative from Hero Public Safety Commission identified the attackers as Nomu, monsters last seen more than twenty years ago, used by the original League of Villains. When asked about whether or not this indicated a new League of Villains was suspected, the representative said the matter was still under investigation.

Though Pro Heroes responded quickly—in many cases, were already on scene at the time of the attacks—damage is still expected to be in the billions of yen, if not greater. Rebuilding efforts are already underway, with several firms specializing in reconstruction following Villain attacks already under contract.

Thanks to the fast action of the Pro Heroes and by Deku in particular, civilian casualties were kept to a minimum, with no reported deaths. Various injuries were taken to multiple hospitals and are all expected to be discharged within the next few days.

Unfortunately, multiple Pro Heroes are now being reported as injured. While many sustained only minor injuries and were treated in the field or discharged after emergency medicine, others were not so lucky. Lemillion, Chargebolt, Grape Juice, Can’t Stop Twinkling, Tentacole, Tailman, and Phantom Thief were all admitted with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to be discharged sometime today. Suneater, Nejire-Chan, Kestrel, Cellophane, Uravity, and others sustained more serious injuries and are being kept for observation.

The only Hero casualty was the Number Ninety-Seven Hero, Road Rocket, who gave his life to protect a group of school children.

We also have received reports that the Number Four Hero, Ground Zero, was critically injured and is currently undergoing emergency surgery…”

***

Shota is three years old and he’s just gotten his Quirk. He laughed at something funny that Mommy said to him,and he shattered a window. He doesn’t know exactly what happened, just that in that moment, he was completely and utterly terrified. Why did his Quirk have to be so scary? Mommy and Daddy didn’t have scary Quirks! Well, there were some people that would think that Daddy’s Quirk was scary, but those people were usually bad guys.

Shota is normally quiet, but now he doesn’t even want to talk. If he does talk, he whispers, and usually to only his parents, Toshi, or Shinji. How was he supposed to be a hero like Daddy if he was so afraid of his Quirk?

***

Shota stared up at the ceiling from his hospital bed. He didn’t have any broken bones or anything, but the hospital staff wanted to keep him over night because they were worried about his mental state. He’d been crying so hard when he came into the hospital with Uncle Deku and Ground Zero, he had started hyperventilating.

He was still having a hard time just processing what had happened. His internship had been so much fun! Under Ground Zero, he was learning a lot, he really learned a lot, and got a lot of one-on-one time with him (Ground Zero had started paying a lot more attention to him and asking his opinion after he’d helped crack that case). Ground Zero had even let him stay at his house instead of sleeping at the Agency, which meant that he got to hang out with Red Riot, too! Their son Tai was adorable, too. Yeah, Red Riot had been letting Monoma from Class 1-B, who was his Intern stay at the house too, but he wasn’t that bad. And it was funny when their dog, a growly Pomeranian named Lord Explosion, had chased Monoma around.

And then, just like that, everything had gone horribly wrong. Ground Zero had talked about them going for ice cream at Herotopia Ice Cream that just opened. He’d told Shota that he was proud of him and that he’d come so far in just a week. Ground Zero had been tough on him, too, so Shota knew that coming from him, it was high praise.

Then the Nomu had come almost out of nowhere. They had fought it, and then…

Shota shook his head, trying to get the image of Ground Zero bleeding on the ground in front of him, his leg lying detached from his knee on the street. In that moment, Shota had never felt so terrified in his entire life. Ground Zero had been bleeding in front of him, trying to tell him it was okay, even though Shota knew that it wasn’t. He knew that it was all his fault. Ground Zero had lost his leg because Shota decided that he had to play hero and try and fight the Nomu. Sure, he had been afraid that the Nomu would kill Ground Zero, but what else was he supposed to do?! He couldn’t just stand there.

Except he was useless when he tried to save Ground Zero. All of his knowledge of first aid, gone. All he could do was blubber about how it was his fault. What kind of hero did that? What kind of hero just broke down crying like that? Even when Uncle Izuku showed up, he couldn’t do anything. All he could do was cry and tell Uncle Izuku that it was all his fault and how horrible he felt. And Uncle Izuku couldn’t just leave him there. No, instead, he’d held onto his back as he went with him to the hospital.

And when they’d gotten to the hospital...that had been even worse. All of those doctors running around, trying to handle everyone coming in. And it was Shota’s fault that they were even there in the first place. He’d never seen Uncle Izuku look so upset.

That was his fault, too. Everything that was going on with Ground Zero right now was his fault. No one could convince him otherwise. But was really the worst feeling was when he locked eyes with Kirishima-Bakugo. In that moment, Shota felt extremely guilty, and wished that the ground right there would just swallow him whole.

She’d had already gone through this once when they were younger with Red Riot when he’d nearly been beaten to death by Strongarm, and now she might lose her dad, too? And Tai. The sweet, smiling, upbeat little boy who had given him a hug just that morning and told him he loved him. If they lost Ground Zero right now, it would be entirely Shota’s fault for tearing their family apart.

How could he be a Hero after this? How could he possibly save people if he couldn’t even save Ground Zero? He was a sham. Everything that he’d excitedly talked about to Toshi and his friends, everything that he had told his parents that he was going to accomplish, how could he possibly do that now if his Internship was going to be that much of a disaster? What if he got someone else hurt like this again? Shota was the reason that Ground Zero’s career as a Hero was likely over, what if something like this happened to someone else he was working with? Did he really want to be responsible again for ending another Hero’s career?

His friends would tell him that everything would be okay, that things like this were bound to happen in his Hero career. But Shota couldn’t help but shake the feeling that he’d failed. Completely and utterly. Even when his parents had come int o try and reassure him, all he could do was just think of how he failed.

Shota sunk back into the pillows in his hospital bed, letting the covers engulf his face. Could he stay here? Because he felt like he didn’t want to move at all.

***

Katsumi was angry. She was also terrified. She honestly wasn’t sure which one is better to be right now. But she was going to go with angry. Angry was better than the feeling of dread that had festering in the pit of her stomach.

She and Shinji had gotten Aunt Ochaco to the hospital as fast as they could, where the doctors had insisted that they check over her injuries as well. Katsumi tried shrugging them off but Shinji stood in front of her and wouldn’t let her move. She let them check her out, but booked it as soon as they said they didn't have to keep her. And even if they said they'd keep her, they would have probably had to restrain her to get her to stay. And she’d have decked Windbag if he’d tried.

The doctors were all running around like chickens with their heads caught off. Katsumi's stomach churned, reminded of the feeling of when she five years old, running into the hospital with Dad, after he'd gotten the call that Papa had been beaten within an inch of his life. She felt so dizzy. She looked around, trying to see if she could spot at least one of her classmates. Hell, she'd even settle for Mineta or Monoma right now. She just needed to see that someone was okay.

And then she saw it, that familiar sight. It was Uncle Deku. But something about him was... different. He didn’t look like himself. One thing about Uncle Deku is even when things look like the worst, he's always smiling.

Uncle Deku wasn't smiling this time. Which was very wrong. In times of crisis, Uncle Deku was always smiling, trying to make people feel safer. In fact, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. Which, granted, Uncle Deku cried a LOT, but these seemed different. These weren't his usual overjoyed, could barely contain himself tears. These looked like he failed. Katsumi had never seen her godfather with such a face. In looking closer, it looked like he was holding someone in his arms, and they were bleeding heavily, staining his white cape. And on his other side, Loud Kid was with him, his face tearstained, snot running down his face, his eyes bloodshot, his hands and arms covered with blood.

Why was Loud Kid with him? He was supposed to be with...

Dad.

No no no no no no.

Katsumi pushed through the room to the hallway, where Uncle Deku was shouting for a doctor.

"Uncle Deku?" Fear rang through her voice, and Katsumi couldn't even hide it. She didn't want to look at who he was holding.

Uncle Deku didn't seem to notice her at first, until Loud Kid gasped, and grabbed his arm. He turned to look at her, an agonized look on his face. She could see him trying to cover up who was in his arms. "Katsumi!"

But he couldn't cover up the gauntlets. She'd know them anywhere.

Katsumi gulped. No. Not Dad. That was so much blood. Oh God. Did Papa know yet? What about Tai? How would they tell him?

And then, she saw the spot from his knee where the bloody stump was. Katsumi could feel her heart beating louder than anything else around her, a solid hollow thumping in her chest. His leg...where was his leg? This wasn't happening, was it?

"Dad?" Tears welled in her eyes, as she tried stepping forward. It was getting hot in here. Her head was spinning faster by the second.

"Katsumi," Uncl Deku began. He started to say more, but she didn't focus on it. She just focused on her Dad, stepping closer to him still.

It wasn't real. She refused to believe it was real.

"Daddy?" Her eyesight started to blur in front of her, the room spinning, and she could see the ground rushing to meet her.

The last thing Katsumi felt was a sudden gust of wind and her entire world went black.

***

It was a bad dream. That's what it had to be. None of this was real. She was going to wake up and everything would be okay.

Except, when she sat up, Katsumi wasn't in her bed in the spare bedroom at Uncle Deku and Aunt Ochaco's house, where Aunt Ochaco had insisted she stay instead of the Agency. No, she was still in the hospital. Papa was sitting by her bed, Tai in his lap. Her little brother’s normally smiling face was flushed with tears, and he was clinging to Papa for dear life. Shinji stood in the corner, a worried but relieved look on his face. Uncle Deku wasstanding behind Papa, his hand on his shoulder. Aunt Ochaco was there, too, better than what she'd seen her earlier, bandages wrapped around her head.

"What...what happened?" Her voice sounded groggy and horse, like she'd been yelling.

Papa reached out, holding her hand. "You passed out, sweetie. Shinji was nice enough to catch you."

She passed out. Why did she pass out? What could have caused her to-

She sat up with a start. "Dad!"

Papa looked down at his lap. Tai started crying again.

"Papa." She locked eyes with him. "Is Dad...is he..."

"No," Papa said, squeezing her hand. "He's in surgery. He's lost a lot of blood, but the doctors said he should pull through."

Thank goodness. Then Katsumi remembered why she passed out.

"Papa, I saw his leg."

Wrong words. Tai howled, burying his face in Papa's shirt. Everyone else looked down. No. She hadn't dreamed it up.

Papa sighed, passing the still crying Tai to Uncle Deku. "Would you mind taking Tai out and giving us some privacy? Katsumi and I have lot to talk about."

Uncle Deku nodded, taking Tai, who continued crying into his shirt. Uncle Deku, Aunt Ochaco, Shinji, and Tai all filed out of the room. Papa looked at her, taking her hand.

"Katsumi, about your Dad..."

***

Consciousness returned slowly to Katsuki, dragging him up through the depths of darkness. He’s been injured often enough and had enough surgeries to know he must have been operated on. Damn Nomu must have hit him harder than he thought. Broke something, maybe? Or could have been internal injuries. Those things punched like a fucking truck.

Who the hell had brought those nightmares back to life? As soon as he was out of here, he was going to have to get Deku and IcyHot and Tintin and put a stop this bullshit right now. Trying to restart crap like that when he was on the job, who did those morons think they were…

He looked up and to his right, looking over the IVs they had him on. Damn good painkillers and antibiotics. Consistent with the beating he’d taken. He shifted uncomfortably on his pillow; probably taken a blow to the head too.

Looking around the room, he saw no signs of Shitty Hair or Katsumi. He trusted Round Face to have kept his daughter safe during all of this, but if that Idiot Husband of his had gotten himself hurt doing something reckless, they were going to have words. Loud words. Words like “you idiot” and “How could you be so reckless?” and “What the hell were you thinking?”

His lips twitched in a smile. Yelling did always put him in a good mood.

The door to the room opened and a doctor entered. Black hair that looked like he’d skipped a haircut and pure black eyes. Aoyama’s husband. Shit. What was his name? He’d been Katsuki’s personal surgeon for years. His Quirk protected him and others against any accidental explosions while he was under anesthesia or having emergency procedures done. Shima. Right. Haru Shima.

Katsuki liked him. Well, as much as he liked anyone, anyway. Shima was always straight with him, didn’t pussyfoot around. Didn’t get into yelling matches with him, but was firm and direct about what kind of care he needed every time he got hurt. And he had more patience than just about anyone Katsuki had ever seen. Anyone who put up with Aoyama enough to marry him would have to.

“You’re awake,” Shima said. Same damn thing doctors always said when they came to check on him. Always with the damn obvious stuff. “Good. Right about when I figured you would be.”

“How’s,” Katsuki began.

“Your husband’s fine,” Shima said, anticipating the question. “One of the Heroes out there without any injuries.”

He shook his head. He remembered screams. A face framed by purple hair twisted up in terror. “Not him. Loud Kid. Shota.”

For all his reputation as being destructive and wild in his fighting style, Katsuiki had a keen eye for detail. Shima’s lips started to twitch downward when he asked the question. Was the kid okay? He’d told Sleepy he was going to look out for him… Next to him, the heart rate monitor started beeping faster.

“He’s fine. You saved his life.” Shima went on. “He was pretty shaken up when Deku brought you both here, so they admitted him for observation.”

“Good,” he said. He’d been brought in by Deku? Shit. Deku was never going to let him live that down. No, actually, Deku would probably never bring it up. Instead of lording it over him like a normal person, he’d be polite about it, never mention it. He’d come to visit, all genuinely concerned. You couldn’t even be angry about it!

His heart rate settled. Still a pretty good buzz from the drugs though. Or he was just getting old. He normally would have thrown himself from the bed and would have had to sedated. The number of times he’d nearly popped stiches over the years was significant.

“What about Katsumi?”

At that, Shima did almost smile. “Your daughter’s quite the budding Hero. She brought Ochaco in, with help from that Shiketsu boy. She did mention he saved her life. They admitted her for observation, just so she could get some rest.”

…what the hell was Shinji doing there? Katsuki honestly wished he could say he was surprised, but Yoarashi’s boy was just as nuts as he was. Still, if he’d saved Katsumi, then perhaps he ought to simply be grateful. And proud of his little girl too. Maybe he could lord that one over Deku. Deku saves him, Katsumi saves Round Face, one of those had to at least cancel the other out.

“Great,” he said. He slapped the railing of the bed. He was wearing gloves, he noticed. The kind they usually fit him with when he was hospitalized. They helped his hands not to sweat. “So how bad did I get hit? When am I getting out of here?”

“You did take a significant blow to the head,” Shima said. “You had a concussion, though we were able to relieve the swelling.”

“Hard head comes in handy, huh?” he asked, letting just a little irritation creep into his voice. Shima was hesitating. Why?

“Unfortunately, there were other injuries. I’m afraid…”

Katsuki cut him off. “Afraid of what?” He said it so fiercely that Shima actually took a step back.

He followed the doctor’s eyes down his body, to the white sheet covering him.

A sheet that didn’t have quite enough lumps under it.

***

Consciousness returned to Katsuki again. Why had he lost it this time? Ah, right. He’d threatened to blow Shima’s fucking head off after calling him a butcher. He’d been angry enough to even explode his way through the gloves that were supposed to prevent that. He remembered the heart rate monitor going crazy, his explosions stopping just short of touching Shima, stopped by that damn Quirk of his… And then the quack given him a damn sedative!

He became aware he wasn’t the only person in the room. Shima again. Eri. Throw in that annoying kid, Katsuma, and it’d be the whole damn parade of medical people in his life. And Shitty Hair, who looked like five kilometers of bad road. Great. His Idiot Husband had probably been crying. He did that. A lot.

“Bakubabe!” Shitty Hair said, rushing over to his side. He grabbed one of Katsuki’s hands in his, squeezing it tightly. “I was so worried about you,” he said. “Everything was so nuts after Deku smashed his way through everything, and then I finally got the call about you and…”

With every word, he’d been leaning in closer. Katsuki shoved his face away. “Okay, okay, we get it, you were worried about me. Stop blubbering. I’m alive.”

Or most of him was, anyway. He looked down at his legs. Leg. So he hadn’t imagined that. “…Fuck.”

Wait, Eri was here. That weird Quirk of hers that had fixed All Might. For a second, hope flared up within him.

“I had Eri look at your chart,” Shima began.

“I’m sorry,” Eri said, shaking her head. Her horn was smaller, he noticed. “I was at a different hospital when you were brought in. Spent the whole morning treating different injuries. It’ll be a day or two before I’ve stored up enough power to heal anyone. By which point we’ll be long past where I could Rewind you.”

“Those people hurt worse than me?” he asked. The small bit of hope that had flared within him died just as quickly as it had arisen. He hadn’t really expected it to be true anyway. No, he lived in the real world, where people got hurt and stayed hurt.

“I can’t give details… but yes.”

“Fine then,” he said. It snapped out, really. But he meant it. He wasn’t some crybaby who needed her to patch up all his scrapes like Deku or that Sidekick of his. It was better if somebody who really needed it got her help.

Katsuki fixed Shima with a look. “You get Glasses’ wife on the phone then? Get me fitted for some robot leg?”

Shitty Hair and Shima exchanged a worried look. “Katsuki,” Shitty Hair started. That wasn’t a good sign. Shitty Hair almost never used his real name, unless something was really serious.

Fuck.

“While there are many Heroes out there operating with prosthetics,” Shima said, “your situation is… a bit unique. Between the stresses your Quirk places on your entire skeletal system, along with the fact that all your sweat, not just the sweat from your palms, contains trace amounts of your explosive agent… I’m afraid there isn’t a prosthetic that currently exists or is in development that can handle your Quirk. We can fit you with an everyday model, but…”

The words entered his ears, but didn’t quite make it as far as his brain. “So, what’re you saying?”

“I’m,” Shima began, but Shitty Hair interrupted him.

“Katsuki,” Shitty Hair said, a tear trailing down his face, “he’s saying that your Hero career’s probably over.”

No. No, it couldn’t be. It couldn’t be true. He wasn’t the Number One Hero yet. He still had to beat out IcyHot and Tintin and Deku! Still had to show all of them that he was the best there ever was or ever would be! To go out at being Number Four? What the hell kind of loser talk was that?!

“Get out.”

“Katsuki…” Shitty Hair started.

“I said get out! All of you! Get out!” Explosions popped and crackled from his hands, setting off the smoke detectors.

***

Katsumi's lungs were raw from screaming. She'd blown up several things and set off the smoke alarms. She still couldn't believe what her Papa had told her.

Her Dad, the Number Four Hero (though ALWAYS Number One to her and Tai, no matter what the official rankings said), and probably the toughest person she knew, had lost his leg in a fight with one of the Nomus. His Hero career, even if he managed to get a cybernetic leg, was likely over. Just like that.

It wasn't fair! Her Dad didn't deserve this. Sure, he'd been a jerk in his younger days, but he was open and honest about all the work and therapy he’d gone through to become a Hero, husband, and father that his family could be proud of. He deserved to go back out in the field, and be the best Hero in the world. Which to Katsumi, he always was.

She'd yelled at Doc Clock when she'd come to check on her. Her Quirk could be spent healing her Dad. After all, she’d healed other heroes from horrible injuries in the past, so why couldn't she Rewind Dad?

When Doc Clock tried to explain herself (Something about expending too much power, the injury having been too long ago now, trauma from Rewinding back to the injury… She’d really stopped listening after “I can’t.”), Katsumi had yelled at her. She called her selfish. And then, with every ounce of venom she could muster, she’d shouted that she hated her. Papa had yelled at her for that one. Yelling at someone like that wasn't very Womanly. And no, Katsumi knew she didn't really hate Eri. But she was angry and not thinking.

Papa left her alone when she asked, despite not wanting her to. Good. She didn't want him to see her crying like this.

***

In retrospective, yelling everyone out of the room might not have been the best idea. He can’t get out of the bed on his own, he needs a damn bedpan to go to the damn bathroom. He hasn’t felt this helpless in years. Not since Shitty Hair… since Eijiro…

Not since he nearly lost him. Not since he wasn’t sure if his husband was ever going to wake up again. At least he didn’t do that to him. No, all he’s done if left him with a useless, broken husband.

Anyone with brain cells would have stayed out of the room. Fortunately for him, Shitty Hair didn’t have many of those. But he did have many heart cells. The door opened and he saw Eijiro walk in.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked.

Katsuki just glared at him.

“Okay, dumb question. But are you in any pain? I can get them to give you some more painkillers or…”

He shook his head. “Nah. They got me on the good shit.”

“That’s something,” Shitty Hair replied. He pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and took Katsuki’s hand. Katsuki didn’t pull it away. He’s not… great about demonstrations of affection, even in private like this. But it maked his husband happy. So he could put up with it.

“You been to see Katsumi?” he asked instead.

Eijiro nodded. “She’s worried about you,” he said. “But she’s fine. She saw you, Katsuki. When Izuku brought you in.”

Fuck.

“…Nice to know we’re both contributing to her childhood trauma.”

A small, sharp-toothed grin briefly flashed across Eijiro’s face. “There’s my husband.”

“Tai know?”

Eijiro sucked in a breath. “…Yeah. I had to tell him. Izuku’s watching him now.”

Fuck.

Katsuki didn’t say anything. The silence settled over the room like a shroud. He could see the wheels turning behind Shitty Hair’s eyes, the urge to say something, anything, building slowly, but surely. His Idiot Husband never did know when to shut up. Always trying to say something cheerful or reassuring. Biggest damn cheerleader in his life.

“We’re going to get through this,” Shitty Hair said. “I know we will.”

It was meant to be reassuring. For most people, it probably would have been. For Katsuki, it just made him angry. Getting through things was for regular people. He got past things. He beat things.

“How?” he demanded. “How the fuck are we gonna do that?”

“I don’t know! But we’ll figure it out. Together.” Dammit. Shitty Hair was so damn sincere. He really meant it.

A broken failure like him didn’t deserve it.

Katsuiki hadn’t cried many times in his life. When he’d had the breakdown after the Licensing Exam. When he’d gotten married. When his children were born. When he thought he was going to lose Shitty Hair.

Now.

“This was all I ever wanted to do, Shitty Hair. From the time I was four years old. If I ain’t a Hero anymore… then what the hell am I?”

Eijiro squeezed his hand. “My husband. Our children’s father. A friend. An inspiration to millions of kids. You fought hard, Bakubabe. Manliest man I’ve ever known. And you’re going to need every bit of that Manliness to get through this.

“But I’m not going anywhere. The kids, your friends, none of us are going anywhere. You’ve had the backs of so many people, for so many years. Now it’s our turn to have yours.”

“When the hell did you start making sense?” Katsuki demanded. Still… Shitty Hair… may… have… had… a point. Moping? Feeling sorry for his shitty self?

No.

That wasn’t who he was. Wasn’t what he believed in.

Once upon a time, Katsuki had believed himself to be the center of the world. Unbeatable, unstoppable, a protagonist in a world full of extras meant to highlight how awesome his story was.

A lot of fights and a lot of therapy had changed that.

If he could overcome the shithead he used to be, he could overcome this. He could overcome anything.

“You let me in there to see my son or I’ll have your intestines for a scarf! I’m not scared of you! LET ME IN!”

Eijiro had the decency to look guilty. “I, ah, may have called your parents.”

“Dammit, Shitty Hair…”

***

Katsumi didn't want to see anyone. Several people had tried, and she'd pushed them all away. Even Izzy. Granted, she was a lot nicer to Izzy, but she didn't want her to see her like this.

Katsumi laid on the side of her bed, staring out her window that looked at the hospital window. Observation, they said, since she’d gone through an exhausting day and fainted. She was angry, sad, and scared all at once. She hated it. She almost didn't hear the door open at first.

"Go away, Papa," she said, not bothering to turn over.

"It's not Papa."

Her eyes, widened, and she turned over, sitting up in bed. Dad was in front of her, in a wheelchair, having been wheeled in by a nurse.

"Give us a second, okay?" He asked the nurse, who left the room, telling him she'd be right outside, and not to stay too long. She didn't sound too happy with him. Dad was a poor patient in the best of times, and these were far from that.

"Dad..." He looked beat up, but mostly the same. Still tough. How could he do that after everything he went through? "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Resting? How the hell am I supposed to rest when my daughter's in the hospital?" He said, managing a small smile at her.

"Yeah, but, Dad, you..." Katsumi trailed off, looking at his leg.

Dad sighed. "I know. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Firecracker." He probably hadn't called her that since she was ten, when she declared she was too old for silly nicknames. But right now, it was comforting.

"I just..." she began, tears swelling in her eyes. "Aren't you angry?"

"Am I angry? Of course I am. When I woke up, the first thing I did was scream and blow something up." His tone was still calm. "I had to be sedated." He looked at her, a small smile like he expected her to laugh.

Katsumi managed a small chuckle. "But you've worked so hard and you lost everything."

"I don't think I did. I still have you. I didn't lose you or Tai, or Papa. Loud Kid is okay. I had to tell him it's not his fault two hundred times, but he's breathing. A leg is a small price to pay for knowing that I kept people safe."

Katsumi nodded, choking back tears. "What're you going to do?"

"I'll figure it out. But for now, I'm going to make sure my family is safe." He leaned forward in his chair, pulling her down to his, locking her in a tight embrace. Katsumi relaxed in his arms, feeling safe for the first time that day.

"I love you, Firecracker."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

***

Shota didn’t know how much time had passed. He was pretty sure that he had fallen asleep at some point, but everything since he showed up at the hospital with Uncle Izuku had felt like a giant blur. The doctors and nurses had drifted in and out, asking him if he needed anything. Every time he opened his mouth, his tone was monotone and emotionless. None of his usual enthusiasm when he was usually addressed.

Shota didn’t even feel sad anymore. He just kinda felt...numb. Was this how someone was supposed to feel after experiencing something so terrible? Should he still just be constantly crying? Shota wasn’t sure if he could even cry anymore. The doctors had told him that he was likely dehydrated from crying, something Shota didn’t even think was remotely possible. Would he ever even feel happy again? His friends expected him to be the one who was always smiling, and Shota was pretty sure that the only person who smiled more that he did was Uncle Izuku. And even Uncle Izuku liked to joke that Shota gave him a bad name with how much smiling he did.

They’d wheeled Ground Zero in at one point. He’d told Shota it wasn’t his fault, that the loss of a leg was better than being dead. He’d even thanked him for saving his life. Ground Zero had said he didn’t want Shota blaming himself. Shota had nodded and said thank you in a quiet voice.

He didn’t believe any of it.

“Hey kid,” a familiar voice came from the side of his bed.

Shota turned over. He didn’t even hear the door open, or his Uncle Shota come in. He’d never seen his godfather look so tired. Well, he always looked tired, even more tired than Dad, but this was a different kind of tired. Uncle Shota looked like he had been kicked down.

Shota pulled the covers of his bed up to his face. He didn’t like letting people see him like this, especially not his parents and Uncle Shota.

“Hi, Uncle Shota.”

“I’m not going to ask how you're feeling,” his godfather said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in originally. “I know you’ve been through a lot, and you’re feeling pretty defeated right now. Like you failed.”

Shota sat up a little bit. Uncle Shota just always had this ability to know what he was feeling. He told Shota that it was “godfather’s intution.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “I know Ground Zero’s told you this, but it’s not your fault. It might feel like that, but it’s not.”

Shota stared up at the ceiling. “Ground Zero can’t be a Hero anymore. That’s my fault. I did that. He was trying to save me and…”

His godfather placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to tell you something very important, I’ve known Ground Zero since he was your age. And I know him well enough that losing his leg isn’t going to stop him from being a Hero. A Hero is all that Katsuki Bakugo has ever wanted to be. And I know that he’s stubborn enough to keep trying, even if he did just lose a limb. If he can’t go out in the field, he’ll try something else, something that keeps him doing good.”

Uncle Shota locked eyes with him.

“And I know Ground Zero well enough to know that seeing you beating yourself up and blaming yourself would make him very angry.”

Shota knew that he was just trying to help. His godfather always looked out for him, even with him joining his class, and trying to not show a bias for him.

“I don’t think I’m meant to be a Hero, Uncle Shota.”

“Why? You’ve always wanted to be a Hero.”

“Yeah but….maybe I’m not supposed to be.”

Uncle Shota touched underneath his chin, so his eyes were locked into his.

“You listen to me, Shota Shinso. You were meant to be a Hero. If anyone in this class was meant to be a Hero, it was you. More than anyone else. More than Midoriya, more than Kirishima-Bakugo, anyone. I know they want it, you all want to be Heroes. But Shota, you were meant to be a Hero. And if you give up, you’re going to go your whole life wondering what would happen if you stayed.”

Shota sighed. His godfather was right. He always knew him so well. He did want to be a Hero. More than anything in the world. He wanted to save people like Uncle Izuku, and do good like Mom and Dad. “Okay...I’ll stay. I just...I feel like I failed. Am I ever going to smile again?”

Uncle Shota nodded. “You will. It might take some time, but you will. Failures like this are going to happen. Unfortunately, as much I want to keep you sheltered and safe, the job had drawbacks. Knowing that you might face something like that is something that you’re going to come across. Not all the time, but there’s going to be days like what just happened.”

Shota nodded, feeling tears well up in his eyes again.

Uncle Shota gave him a small smile. “That being said, you’re going to go to therapy sessions with Hound Dog before I can clear you for active Hero classes today, okay? I know it can be tough, but I can go with you for the first couple of sessions, okay?”

Shota nodded.

“I know today was rough, but I’m proud of you.”

Shota smiled, managing some words. “Thank you, Uncle Shota.”

“I love you. Now get some rest.”

***

“Very good, Shota!” Uncle Shota is helping him with his Quirk now. Having his godfather near him makes it a little less scary, as he knows that Uncle Shota can erase his Quirk if he gets too bad.

Shota is grinning from ear to ear. “Did you see that Uncle Shota?! Did you see that?! I used my Quirk and I didn’t break anything this time!”

Uncle Shota smiled. “I did. I’m very proud of you!”

Shota smiles, wrapping his arms around his godfather’s legs. “That was so cool! Do you really think I could be a Hero someday just like you, Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Izuku?”

His godfather smiles down at him, ruffling his hair. “I do.”

#my hero academia #their hero academia #fan fic #fan fiction #my writing #katsuki bakugo #eijiro kirishima #shouta aizawa #katsumi kirishima-bakugo #shota shinso

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ladala99 · 5 years

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Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION Review

So, I watched Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION today. As someone who only knows the 4Kids dub but read a comparison to the Japanese version, it was certainly an interesting experience.

Warning: unmarked spoilers below!

The 3D

First of all, the CGI is beautiful. Each Pokemon has specific textures that make sense for it, and there’s so much movement and liveliness that it’s easy to get immersed.

But that’s the Pokemon, and even the environments. The humans are a lot more hit-or-miss.

I think it’s mainly that they decided to keep the long eye style from the anime and that doesn’t translate well to 3D. Even then, though, because they added noses and changed the rest of the proportions, it doesn’t even look all that accurate.

Fortunately, this isn’t that distracting. And the Pokemon (that do look good) are almost always on-screen too, so you can look at those instead.

But then there’s also Pikachu. It doesn’t look bad, but for something based on Gen I, it’s way too thin. Gigantamax Pikachu in the main series shows they aren’t afraid of acknowledging Fatkachu, and with how accurate most of the movie is to the original, it’s very glaring that Pikachu has been slimmed-down.

Additional/Extended Scenes

This movie is actually 20 minutes longer than the original! Nothing’s really new, however. They put part of the “The Origin of Mewtwo” short in, but only the part that was a bonus feature in the Mewtwo Strikes Back DVD rather than the whole Ambertwo plot. Other than that, it’s all making scenes slightly longer by, for the most part, showcasing each individual Pokemon a bit more.

On one hand, it’s not necessary for the story. These Pokemon, and even the three additional trainers, had basically zero relevance to the overarching story, and they still don’t.

On the other, this is the only time we’re going to see these 3D models, and it’s great to see them in action a bit longer. it made sure each one had a good amount of screentime.

Since this movie’s main deal is the CGI, I think it’s a good thing these scenes were extended this way. It isn’t distracting from the story and it’s fun to see these Pokemon move around. Like really: some of them move in really funny ways. Hint: watch Seadra.

The Music

...Yeah.

It’s not bad. In fact, it’s very, very fitting. Probably because it’s the original music.

For those who don’t know, when 4Kids dubbed the movies, they commissioned an entirely new score for them, replacing the original music in its entirety.

This time, The Pokemon Company opted to use mostly the original music rather than the 4Kids score. And this makes me conflicted.

You see, this movie thrives on nostalgia. And I felt it exactly three times while watching it.

1) When Ash battled the pirate dude and Pokemon Theme played.

2) Right before the credits when World of Pokemon played.

3) Right after the credits where an instrumental of Pokemon Theme played.

And I have to imagine that these three parts are the three parts where the Pokemon Company changed the music.

Music is such a huge part of how I experience nostalgia, that the fact that it’s completely different makes the nostalgia not hit.

In addition, so much of this movie has no background music at all. Since the dub of Pokemon is never like that, with something always in the background, it’s eerie. It feels incomplete.

At the same time, though, ever since I’d heard that the Japanese version of the first movie had a completely different score, I always wanted to hear it. And here, we do.

The Dub Script

I’ve seen a review from someone who has the original Japanese version practically memorized, and they said that the Japanese version of the script is near-identical to the original, with some very small modernizations.

The dub is very much not even close to the original, aside from a few lines here and there. You know what it does match? Everything I’ve read about the Japanese version!

Yep, they’ve re-dubbed and de-4Kids’d it. And again, I’m conflicted.

They kept like, three lines that I noticed: Ash’s “You can’t do that, I won’t let you” when he comes out with the originals, Mew’s “the real power of a Pokemon comes from the heart” that prompts Mewtwo to seal off the Pokemon’s attacks, and Mewtwo’s “I see now” speech at the end.

You know what’s missing? Meowth’s “Maybe if we started looking at what’s the same, instead of what’s different, well who knows?” And practically every other line in the movie, but that one’s glaring. Especially since it was replaced by the two Meowth speculating whether the moon will be full, which just doesn’t have the same impact. Or any impact at all, for that matter.

There’s a few things that the 4Kids dub did better, like that and actually introducing the fact that Pokemon tears could bring people back to life, making the scene at the end a lot less inexplicable.

In some cases, yeah, it’s cool to have a more accurate translation of this movie. Others, though, it’s just a rephrasing and they should have kept the original translation.

The Dub Actors

Did a good job, actually. They’re not the originals, but it was hardly distracting. Probably the fact that the characters look so different let me accept them a lot easier.

Except Team Rocket, especially Meowth. But even if they did track down the original actors, they wouldn’t have been able to fix that. RIP Maddie Blaustein, you are missed.

Later-Gen References

Wingull appear in the credits, and in the fights between the Kanto starters and their clones, the Venusaur used moves from later generations.

It bothered me, really. Everything’s Gen I-Gen II, and then there’s these out-of-place later-gen things. It took me out of the immersion.

Conclusion

Like Mewtwo is to Mew, this movie is a heavily-altered clone of the original Mewtwo Strikes Back.

Like Mewtwo, in some ways it’s objectively superior to the original: in length, in technological advancement, in accuracy to the Japanese version.

Mew, however, is not made obsolete by Mewtwo, and the original Mewtwo Strikes Back is similarly not made obsolete by this version. The animation might be stiff, but it’s still impressive and beautiful. The 4Kids dub is quirky and error-ridden, but it’s fun and nostalgic.

Neither is truly better than the other, and all things considered I’m glad the Pokemon Company decided to dub it the way they did.

#pokemon #mewtwo strikes back #mewtwo strikes back evolution #movie review

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hakuyamazakisensei · 6 years

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52 Weeks of Prompts

Week Eight, I think! Prompt: "Don't think too much. You're going to get a headache." Sent in by @lescahiersdesable An Okita/Hijikata non-romance

NOTE: This is a continuation of my OkiSai AU. Most of the 52 weeks of prompts will be for that AU. I hope you enjoy! You can also read it over at AO3 and get a sneak peek of the next one!

Hijikata pinched the bridge of his nose and attempted to ignore the headache that was growing more pronounced with each passing minute. Time was wasting, and he wanted to be out there looking for the son of a bitch who put Saito out of commission. He hated waiting. He glanced around the waiting room and watched Kondo pull Heisuke aside. Hijikata’s eyes moved past them to Harada as he guided Chizuru to one of the empty seats and gently forced her to sit.

Hijikata studied the girl for a moment, torn between demanding she go home and allowing her to help. She had earned the right to stay —had fought hard to prove herself— and she had succeeded. And yet, Hijikata was loath to send her out in the field. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was female, or even that she was so terribly young. No, it was because she was so damned trusting, assuming people spoke the truth because she spoke the truth. She was naïve and that made sending her out dangerous. He glanced back toward Kondo and saw that he was standing by himself, watching Hijikata with knowing eyes and a gentle smile. Kondo slowly made his way over to stand beside him.

“Toshi, I sent Heisuke-kun home to rest. I want him guarding Saito-kun’s door tonight.” He paused and then asked, “How would you like to proceed?”

Hijikata gave Kondo a sidelong glance before looking back over the sea of faces that had turned to watch them speak. He moved his eyes from one face to another as he considered his options. It was just like Kondo-san to hand him the reins and, though he would never admit it aloud, he appreciated the level of trust. He shook his head and gave himself a small, rueful smile; he was feeling far too sentimental all of a sudden.

“Kondo-san, I think you should head to the office. Take Gen-san and Yukimura. Look at Saito’s records and see if you can come up with a list of names —people who might have it out for him personally.” Hijikata turned to Chizuru as she rose and moved closer to the two men. “Yukimura, as reports come in, it will fall to you to keep that information organized and passed along. Gen-san can assist you if you need help.”

“Hai, Hijikata-san!” Chizuru said, squaring her shoulders.

Hijikata sighed inwardly and moved his attention to Gen. “Gen-san, call Sannan-san. Have him go over Saito’s computer with a fine tooth comb; search for any hidden or encrypted files.”

“Of course.”

Hijikata thought for moment before speaking to Kondo once more. “I know you aren’t crazy about doing this, but we’re going to need to use your ties with the police department to stay in the loop on this one.”

“I’ll do whatever needs to be done, Toshi. Now,” he added, turning to smile at Chizuru and Gen, “I suggest we head over there right away.” As the trio headed toward the exit, Kondo turned back, his eyes piercing Hijikata’s. “We will find who did this, Toshi. We won’t rest until we do!”

Hijikata nodded, a tight smile playing across his lips. He kept his eyes on Kondo until he disappeared through the door, followed silently by Chizuru and Gen. When they were gone, Hijikata turned and faced the remaining members of the team.

“Yamazaki, Shimada...take Saito’s apartment. Go over it top to bottom. Yamazaki, you handle his laptop. Report anything to HQ.”

“Sir!” Yamazaki gave a slight bow, and took his leave with Shimada.

“What about us?” Harada asked as he and Nagakura stepped forward.

“You’re with me,” Hijikata said. “We’re going back to the scene of the accident. There won’t be much left by way of evidence; I’m sure the police have had it sectioned off and cleaned up. But I want a fresh pair of eyes on the layout.”

“Didn’t I hear something about a witness?” Nagakura asked.

“Two, actually. We’ll have to wait on the reports, if Kondo can get them. His contact at the department should be able to do that easily enough.”

Satisfied with that, Nagakura nodded and the three men headed toward the parking lot.

***

Shiranui Kyo watched the police officers from a distance, a disdainful scowl on his face. He was more disgusted with himself than the moronic humans he watched scurrying across the asphalt like ants. His hesitation had caused him to lose the men he was tailing, and now he was stuck trying to piece together where they might have gone and why they had tried to kill this man, Saito.

He moved in closer, making sure to keep himself hidden. It wasn’t difficult--hiding from humans--they only saw what they expected to see. But he wasn’t taking any chances. After all, every once in a while, a human surprised him —noticed him when he was trying to go unseen.

The crowd was beginning to disperse and only the cops remained, along with a few die-hard gawkers. Shiranui mixed in with the latter group, peeking over the shoulder of a rather short, dumpy man who was snapping pictures with his cell phone. Shiranui rolled his eyes and nudged the man out of the way.

“Hey! Watch where you going, punk!” the man said, staggering to the side.

Shiranui ignored him, instead focusing on the large, black SUV pulling up next to the police sedan on the far side of the taped off area. Three men exited the vehicle, and Shiranui knew instantly that they weren’t officers. These men were something else entirely. He moved a bit closer and halted as three pairs of eyes swung his way immediately. Shiranui instantly turned to the picture-happy man behind him and shouted with feigned belligerence.

“What the hell, man? Quit your damn shoving!”

The man, flustered at being accused of something he didn’t do, spluttered angrily before shoving back into the crowd and disappearing from view. Shiranui chuckled and glanced back at the trio who were now walking the scene. He saw that he was no longer of interest to them and smiled, glad that his ruse worked — and bonus points for getting rid of the idiot with the camera.

He watched the men as they studied the roadway: a muscled buffoon, a pretty boy and...well, another pretty boy, but the scowl on that one’s face looked to be permanent. Even with those amethyst eyes, Shiranui was certain he wouldn’t be any fun. He turned his gaze back to the lanky red-head. The man was gorgeous and moved like a cat; like he was comfortable in his own skin. Shiranui grinned. This just got a bit more interesting. If he was going to have to deal with humans, he might as well make the most of it.

Putting on his best smile, Shiranui sauntered around the taped-off crime scene to get closer to the men. He made sure to leave his hands in sight, certain that his movements were already being tracked by at least one of the newcomers, if not all of them.

“Heeeeey,” he drawled, brightening his smile as he moved in closer to the red-head. “Did you catch the dudes that did it?”

Three pairs of eyes looked to him immediately —angry purple ones, shrewd blue ones, and thoughtful golden ones.

“You know something about what happened here?” Golden Eyes asked him, striding forward.

Shiranui let his gaze travel up the length of the man, not bothering to hide his interest. When he finally reached the face, Shiranui chuckled. Those eyes —at first widened in shock and then narrowed in suspicion— were so emotive! He loved it. He looked to the men behind pretty boy and found both were watching him. He flashed a grin and gave a small wave before focusing on Golden Eyes once again.

“I might,” he drawled, “but I don’t think it was what you would call an accident.”

“Is that so? Were you here? Did you see it go down? What makes you think it wasn’t an accident?”

“Woah, slow down man. I’ll answer your questions...if you answer mine. What’s your name?” After a brief silence during which Shiranui was scrutinized through narrowed eyes, he finally received a response.

“Harada,” was the clipped answer. “No games, you hear? What do you know? Did you see what happened?”

“Shiranui...remember the name, ne? And yeah, I was here. I was behind the car that hit the bike. It didn’t slow down,” Shiranui said with a shrug. “I think it might have even sped up.”

Harada watched Shiranui carefully, trying to determine what was setting warning bells off in his head. For one thing, Shiranui looked out of place here —skin-tight black jeans, a mesh top that did little to protect him from the cold, boots and belt covered in silver studs. He had to be some sort of entertainer —either a dancer from one of the nearby bars, or a prostitute. That latter didn’t seem quite right, at least not for this section of the city. He was too clean.

“You liking what you see?” Shiranui asked, an eyebrow raised and a definite smirk on his lips.

“Hardly,” Harada responded. Perhaps he was wrong about the prostitution. “Wait here a minute,” he added before turning and jogging toward Hijikata and Nagakura.

“What the hell does he want?” Hijikata asked the moment Harada was near.

“He saw the whole thing...so he claims.”

“You don’t believe him?” Nagakura asked.

“I don’t know. There’s something off about him, but I can’t really pinpoint it. Maybe he’s just an odd duck."

“Mnm...get what information you can. We’ll decide what’s worth keeping later.”

Harada nodded and moved back toward Shiranui, trying to analyze what bothered him about the man. It was more than his look, though that was pretty memorable. It was his attitude. He was far too aloof. He frowned at Shiranui as the man grinned at him almost predatorily. Harada was beginning to feel like the women Shin went after.

“Alright...Shiranui, was it? Why don’t you follow me? I have some questions I’d like to ask.”

***

Souji sat on the stool next to Saito’s bed and, for the first time in a very long while, second-guessed himself. Of course, he wouldn’t even be considering a fault in his choices if Hijikata-san had bothered to reply to even one of the numerous texts Souji had sent his way, asking for updates on what they had found out, if anything. But he hadn’t responded, and now Souji questioned his decision to stay behind and leave the investigation to the others.

Frustrated, he surged to his feet and paced the length of the room. A glance at the clock on the wall told him two hours had passed since anybody had contacted him. He dug the phone out of his back pocket and punched in Kondo-san’s number.

“Souji! Is everything alright? Has something happened to Saito-kun?” Kondo asked immediately.

“No, no, nothing like that. Hajime-kun is sleeping. I was hoping to get an update, Kondo-san. Hijikata-san hasn’t returned any of my calls.”

“Ah, I see. Toshi is probably busy, then. I’m sure he will let us know the moment he finds anything. I’ll call you the moment I hear something.”

Souji muttered under his breath —a small jibe at Hijikata— but kept the comment to himself. Kondo-san wouldn’t appreciate the sentiment. He spoke for a few more minutes, then said his goodbyes and hung up. He tucked the phone back in his pocket and resumed his pacing. He hated staying still when there was so much to be done. He glanced over to Saito, who slept on, oblivious to the world around him. Souji moved back to his stool and sat, his eyes scouring Saito’s face for any trace of pain.

“Hajime-kun, I wish you could tell us what happened here. That would save us a lot of trouble, you know?” Saito was so pale —more so than usual. Seeing him like that reminded Souji of why he had stayed at the hospital in the first place. He reached up and swept a lock of hair off of Saito’s forehead.

Ove the past year, Souji had begun to realize that his feelings for Hajime Saito had grown into something...more. He no longer thought of him as a best friend, though he wasn’t clear about how he did feel for the man. He was fairly certain Saito’s feelings had changed as well, but to what? And to what end?

His thoughts were interrupted by the pinging of his cell. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Hijikata had finally sent a message. Souji opened it with a slight sneer, certain that Kondo-san had contacted him.

He read the message and scoffed aloud.

H: I told you I would let you know if I learned anything.

S: What’s the matter? Did Kondo-san call you?

H: You know damn well he did. That was what you wanted, wasn’t it?

S: You should have answered my texts. So what have you learned?

H: Not a damn thing. Harada might have something. He’s talking to a possible witness now.

S: Is that so?

H: Guy doesn’t seem very reliable. We’ll have to see.

S: I want to be kept in the loop.

H: You will be.

S: I haven’t been so far. Not until Kondo-san stepped in.

H: That’s bullshit! I think I told you I would let you know what we found out. And we’ve found nothing.

S: Yeah yeah. Don’t think too much. You’re going to give yourself a headache.

Chuckling to himself, Souji put the phone away and leaned forward, resting his elbows on Saito’s bed. He considered contacting Harada, but decided to wait. Not for long, though. He would give him time to question this witness first. Shouldn’t take more than an hour. Then Souji would find out what was learned. Until then, he’d keep Hajime-kun company.

#52 weeks sentence prompts #hijikata toshizo #harada sanosuke #okita souji #saito hajime #shiranui kyo #kondo isami

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ada254 · 7 years

Text

Five Things Tag!!!!!

Tagged by: @catchthespade!!!!! And thank you so so so so so much for doing so ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

5 Things You’ll Find In My Bag

2 cold water bottles (my weak alternative to coffee)!

portable charger!!

portable hair brush!!!

lots and lots of loose leaf/flashcards!!!!

a pack of tissues!!!!! (i have spring allergies.....)

5 Things You’ll Find In My Bedroom

A bunch of my friends’ fanart I’ve commissioned/been lucky enough to be gifted with on my birthday!!!!! (i love looking at them when i wake up because they make me smile.......:) )

2 idol figurines!!!! (both of my muse best girl Hanayo!!!!!!!)

A couple of drawings/special moment pictures done of me!!! (....and one picture of Itaru Yuikawa from Liar! but shhhhh)

Pokemon plushies!! (a giant pika named Elly, an Axew named Pascal, and a Mimikyu named Marshmallow!!!!!!)

A giant Rinharu calendar hung in the center of my room.....(shhh.....)

5 Things I’ve Always Wanted To Do

GO TO JAPAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe even study abroad there....................:)

Actually finish a short story/novel I HAVE started but then stopped?????...

.....Go on an actual date......? (embarrassing but I really do want to and I still haven’t yet but bhjesgbesihkj yEA THAT..!!)

Have a giant sleepover with friends!!!!! (something I’ve also never done yet but still would love to do!!!!!)

Group trip to Disney with all of my internet friends together!!!!! (especially since I haven’t gone back there since I was like 7....)

5 Things That Make Me Happy

My dog Oreo!!!!! (he’s turning 5 in a couple of weeks :’))

My friends!!!!! (from internet to real life!!!!!!!)

VANILLA ICE CREAM!!!!!

Voltage love interests (beCAUSE I /AM/ TRASH!!!!! and I mean like from KBTBB to FLD to the Amemix series just......I can’t help it; they honestly make me SO happy)

MY SHIPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With special regards to Rinharu, Tomoe x Nanami, Wishfulshipping, Contestshipping, and JR (but honestly just all of them; they all make happy when I see them being happy....)

5 Things I’m Currently Into

Saitama and Genos from One Punch Man (both romantically/platonically and also just as characters liKE YEA!!) (and also in general since I just got around to watching this finally!!)

RACHEL AND JUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (LIKE OKAY SO I JUST FOUND THEIR YOUTUBE CHANNEL THE OTHER DAY AGO AND FUSYJFHIEUKFJSH I LOVE THEM!!!!!! IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JAPAN WHILE ALSO WATCHING THE CUTEST MARRIED GOALS TM EVER THEN PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT!!!!!!! THEY ALSO HAVE CUTE CATS AND JUN HAS A B E A U TI FU L BOMBASS COOKING CHANNEL!!!! SO PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT IF YOU’RE EVEN A LITTLE INTERESTED!!!!!!)

Club Crackers (not even joking like I seriously forgot I used to love them and now I re-obsessed again)

rESEARCHING JAPAN AND POSSIBLE STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS!!!!!!!! (I went to a study abroad seminar a week ago and got hooked to possibly doing this but regardless I’m really getting into learning about Japan in depth!!!)

Mystic Messenger (primarily JUMIN HAN because I just finished his route and I love him) and being more involved with Voltage in gen.!!!!!!! (particularly Liar! and Irresistible Mistakes recently!!!)

5 Things On My To-Do List

Study for my second to last Music test for the semester!

Write my last paper for Global History before my birthday!!

Find possible volunteer/part time work for the summer!!!

Finish watching/reading a bunch of animes/fanfiction I’ve started all at once but never finished!!!!

Create a concrete plan for study abroad for either next year or in my third year!!!!! (and oh yea study for finals first maybe ahahaha oops)

5 Things People May Not Know About Me

My birthday’s next Monday and I’m stressing over the fact I’m going to be 19 and then 20 next year and then-

I don’t know how to swim or ride a bike or drive or basically very essential things I will try to learn in the future.....

I like watching “really OUT THERE”/trashy/weird animes/dramas and I either generally tend to genuinely like them in the end or have a giant love/hate relationship with it but usually either way I’ll have fun with it!!! (like if there’s a romance drama about a girl who turns into a pig and her love interest must kiss her as the pig to break the spell, then yea I’m probably saving it to watch later)

I can rEALLY be salty/mean spirited about people I don’t like (mainly like ex friends who betrayed me or treated my friends horribly)

I put too much thought and details into tag/ask memes which is why this took forever but mAYBE MOST PEOPLE KNOW THAT I DON’T KNOW...

Tagging!!!!! (which you obviously don’t have to do if you don’t want to!): @noodlerama, @toasty-coconut, @kasuria, @karikamiya, @viktorsyuurii, @espeonsweetie, @pkmncoordinators, @ikarikari, @mooites, and really anyone else who wants to do this!!!!!!! (SORRY FOR TAGGING YOU IF YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE!!)

#ada's adventures #tag meme #anyways thAT TOOK LONGER THAN I EXPECTED BUT I AM A RAMBLER AND OVERLY DETAILED PERSON SO #THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAGGING ME THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#IT REALLY BRIGHTENED UP MY NIGHT BECAUSE THIS ENDED UP BEING A LOT OF FUN TO DO AND READ ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#i relate with the roller-coaster thing.........so MUCH SO.........#good luck with your to-do list btw!!!!!!!!!!#i feel the college struggle......#ANYWAYS AGAIN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THIS THEN FEEL FREE NOT TO!!!!!#:)#i haven't done one of this in forever so it's honestly really nice to do!!!#long post #personal #the more you know

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unifiedsocialblog · 6 years

Text

22 YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2019

If the internet is a galaxy of strange worlds, then YouTube is one of the biggest by population and popularity. But it’s not exactly like other social platforms, or search engines, or video providers—though it could be mistaken for any one of them.

We’ve compiled this round-up of the latest YouTube statistics to help you own your place on the platform—whether you’re managing a channel as part of your brand’s YouTube marketing strategy, or fine-tuning a crescendo of perfectly-placed bumper ads.

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals the exact steps one entrepreneur took to gain more than 23,000,000 views on YouTube with no budget and no expensive gear.

YouTube user statistics

1. 1.9 billion logged-in users visit YouTube every month

That’s half the internet. And every day, they watch a billion hours of video.

(For context, Cisco predicts that video will be 82 percent of all internet traffic by 2022.)

2. 96 percent of 18- to 24-year-old American internet users use YouTube

Essentially every Gen Zer with an internet connection is on the platform. This is not so surprising, given that historically YouTube has been very, very free.

Meanwhile, traditional TV is still on the decline: weekly watch time dropped 12 percent among 18- to 34-year-olds in 2018; and in 2017 it dropped 13 percent.

3. Half of American internet users aged 75 and over use YouTube

YouTube’s low barrier to entry also makes it attractive to the analog generations. These folks might not see the point of a Spotify Premium account, or even a Facebook account, but free, on-demand Beach Boys concert footage is right up their alley.

For your reference, this is the percentage of every American age demographic using YouTube, as of January 2018:

Source: Statista

(And yes, these numbers are better than Facebook’s.).

4. YouTube works in 80 different languages

And has local versions in 91 different countries, meaning it reaches 95 percent of the internet, worldwide.

We can always count on YouTube’s parent company Alphabet to not miss any opportunities to be ubiquitous. It’s no surprise that YouTube likes to keep its potential reach as high as possible.

5. Only 15.8 percent of YouTube’s visitors are American

Americans visit the site in the largest numbers, followed by residents of India, Japan, Russia and China.

Source: Alexa

YouTube usage statistics

6. YouTube is the 2nd most-visited website in existence, according to Alexa

On average, people spend eight minutes and 41 seconds each day on YouTube.

Relatedly, this report also found that “youtube” was the second most popular search term in 2017, according to Google. (The number one spot went to Facebook.)

7. 70 percent of views are on mobile

Entertainment and information have transcended the couch. (Although, given the rise of smart TVs, they may also return to the couch.)

Still, much of YouTube’s value is its portability: your audience might be coping with their commute using a meditation video, or panicking because their mom’s car’s battery is dead.

Wherever your audience needs you, like Mariah Carey, you’ll be there.

8. YouTube is the top iOS app of 2018

According to Apple, YouTube rose from third spot in 2017 to first spot in 2018. It beat out Snapchat and Facebook as the free app with the most downloads of the year.

Meanwhile, YouTube sits at third for Android by reach, according to Statista.

9. YouTube reaches more American 18- to 34-year-olds than any TV network

And that doesn’t even include browser views, just mobile.

For context: as of mid-2018, traditional TV only reaches 76 percent of people in that age range, according to Nielsen.

10. 59 percent of Gen Zers increased their YouTube usage last year

People between 16 and 24 say they’re increasingly using YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram (in that order).

Meanwhile, 46 percent of millennials are increasing their usage.

If you’ve been losing sleep wondering which social network to invest in to reach the cool kids, YouTube might be the non-network to bet on.

Source: Emarketer

11. YouTube provides almost half of all on-demand music

On-demand music streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, et cetera) is how 86 percent of consumers listened to music in 2018. And YouTube was responsible for providing 47 percent of that music content.

While these numbers speak to YouTube’s huge attractiveness to audiences, the music industry is maybe a little less excited about it:

Source: IFPI’s Music Consumer Insight Report 2018

YouTube’s 2018 launch of YouTube Music Premium could be seen as a music-industry-friendly rival to Spotify. Or, you know, a bid to get people to buy the cow when they’ve been getting the milk for free. Or at least pay the cow a reasonable monthly fee?

What remains to be seen is how the introduction of the “new” subscription model (YouTube Red is dead, long live YouTube Premium) will affect advertisers. So far, seems like the plan might be to frustrate listeners into paying by programming a lot of ads.

12. Relaxation videos are up 70 percent

Speaking of frustration: between July 2017 and June 2018, YouTube reports that yoga, meditation, and slime ASMR videos—in fact any video related to “relaxing”— have been trending.

The hot new consumer trend is simplifying, decluttering, and relaxing.

On the other hand, 1.3 million people have taken their frustration in another direction by watching this guy make fun of bad YouTube ads.

13. 70 percent of millennial YouTube users watched a video to learn how to do something new last year

According to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, millions of people turn to YouTube to learn. Google announced in October 2018 that it’s investing 20 million into its YouTube Learning initiative, which will pay creators like The Verge and TED-Ed and John Green’s brother to make even more educational content—explainers, how tos, lectures, et cetera—than they already do.

If your brand has knowledge that it’s burning to share with the world, YouTube is saying that now is the time to start packaging it and sending it out.

YouTube for business statistics

14. The top ten YouTube stars earned 42 percent more money in 2018

Forbes estimates that these ten men (ok, nine men and one little boy) earned $180.5 million in 2018.

With YouTube growing its own species of celebrity, the potential for non-traditional marketing with macro- or micro-influencers also expands. And that’s on top of potential audience reach.

15. Five of 2018’s top ten YouTube stars are gamers

When it comes to influence, it might be worth examining if or how your brand can lock in on the rising tsunami of gaming culture.

According to YouTube, members of the gaming community turn to YouTube videos to feel less lonely, to unwind from gaming, and to improve their craft.

16. People have watched 50,000 years of product review videos

That’s in the last two years on mobile alone. Whether they’re window shopping or in the final stages of product comparison, consumers are turning to video to figure out what they want to consume.

Source: YouTube

YouTube also says that three times as many people would prefer to watch a YouTube video than read an instruction manual, meaning your YouTube audience may be sliding through the sales funnel straight into the welcoming embrace of customer care.

The more information your brand can provide about your products and services on YouTube, the happier your customers are.

17. Since 2016, twice as many small- and medium-sized businesses are advertising on YouTube

Like Facebook or Google itself, YouTube offers robust and granular advertising tools that can analyze your target audience.

For more on the nitty-gritty, check out our ultimate guide to advertising on YouTube.

18. LEGO has almost twice as many views as any other brand on YouTube

With 7 million subscribers, LEGO’s YouTube channel is killing it with both original content (or semi-original: LEGO Star Wars? How about LEGO Disney Princesses?) and user-generated content. (FYI: AFOL stands for “adult fan of LEGO.”)

LEGO operates channels in multiple languages to broaden their reach. They also work with their rabid fan base (even their fan channels have hundreds of thousands of subscribers) to capitalize on existing engagement levels.

Source: Statista

YouTube ad statistics

19. YouTube mobile ads receive viewer attention 83 percent of the time

This is a startling amount, given that TV ads average around 45 percent.

Google commissioned Ipsos Reid to study how people watch (or ignore) ads, and they concluded that TV commercials last for so long that the audience just… walks away. Good break activities include: using the washroom, letting the dog in/out, concocting a snack, or speaking to a human being.

Oh, and watching YouTube. 80 percent of sports fans switch between TV and a second screen while watching live games, and we all know they aren’t the only ones multi-tasking.

20. 95 percent of YouTube ads are audible

For comparison: 15 percent of Facebook video ads are audible.

When ads are audible and viewable, Google documents a sizeable lift in brand awareness, ad recall, and consideration.

Source: Google

21. YouTube’s video ad revenue was predicted to go up 17 percent in 2018

And 73 percent of that income came from American video ads, specifically, according to eMarketer.

For context, eMarketer also predicts video ad spending will go up 30 percent overall to $27.8 billion, putting video at 25 percent of overall digital ad spend in America.

22. YouTube doubled the number of pre-roll ads it shows

As of November 2018, YouTube is feeding audiences “ad pods”: two commercials per break at the beginning and/or middle of a video. This will initially apply only to browser viewing, but will be rolled out to mobile in 2019.

But what about that Ipsos Reid TV ad study that Google commissioned? Didn’t they find that the amount of TV ads annoyed 73 percent of viewers?

And with 39 percent of media consumers saying they’re willing to pay for ad-free content, should marketers be concerned that we’re setting ourselves up for a backlash against digital video advertising?

It remains to be seen. But one thing will stay the same for your YouTube marketing strategy in the coming year: quality is the only way to rise above the noise.

Grow your YouTube audience faster with Hootsuite. From one dashboard, you can manage and schedule YouTube videos alongside content from all your other social channels. Try it free today.

Get Started

The post 22 YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2019 appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

22 YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2019 published first on https://getfblike.tumblr.com/

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bizmediaweb · 6 years

Text

22 YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2019

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals the exact steps one entrepreneur took to gain more than 23,000,000 views on YouTube with no budget and no expensive gear.

YouTube user statistics

1. 1.9 billion logged-in users visit YouTube every month

That’s half the internet. And every day, they watch a billion hours of video.

(For context, Cisco predicts that video will be 82 percent of all internet traffic by 2022.)

2. 96 percent of 18- to 24-year-old American internet users use YouTube

Essentially every Gen Zer with an internet connection is on the platform. This is not so surprising, given that historically YouTube has been very, very free.

Meanwhile, traditional TV is still on the decline: weekly watch time dropped 12 percent among 18- to 34-year-olds in 2018; and in 2017 it dropped 13 percent.

3. Half of American internet users aged 75 and over use YouTube

For your reference, this is the percentage of every American age demographic using YouTube, as of January 2018:

Source: Statista

(And yes, these numbers are better than Facebook’s.).

4. YouTube works in 80 different languages

And has local versions in 91 different countries, meaning it reaches 95 percent of the internet, worldwide.

We can always count on YouTube’s parent company Alphabet to not miss any opportunities to be ubiquitous. It’s no surprise that YouTube likes to keep its potential reach as high as possible.

5. Only 15.8 percent of YouTube’s visitors are American

Americans visit the site in the largest numbers, followed by residents of India, Japan, Russia and China.

Source: Alexa

YouTube usage statistics

6. YouTube is the 2nd most-visited website in existence, according to Alexa

On average, people spend eight minutes and 41 seconds each day on YouTube.

Relatedly, this report also found that “youtube” was the second most popular search term in 2017, according to Google. (The number one spot went to Facebook.)

7. 70 percent of views are on mobile

Entertainment and information have transcended the couch. (Although, given the rise of smart TVs, they may also return to the couch.)

Still, much of YouTube’s value is its portability: your audience might be coping with their commute using a meditation video, or panicking because their mom’s car’s battery is dead.

Wherever your audience needs you, like Mariah Carey, you’ll be there.

8. YouTube is the top iOS app of 2018

According to Apple, YouTube rose from third spot in 2017 to first spot in 2018. It beat out Snapchat and Facebook as the free app with the most downloads of the year.

Meanwhile, YouTube sits at third for Android by reach, according to Statista.

9. YouTube reaches more American 18- to 34-year-olds than any TV network

And that doesn’t even include browser views, just mobile.

For context: as of mid-2018, traditional TV only reaches 76 percent of people in that age range, according to Nielsen.

10. 59 percent of Gen Zers increased their YouTube usage last year

People between 16 and 24 say they’re increasingly using YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram (in that order).

Meanwhile, 46 percent of millennials are increasing their usage.

If you’ve been losing sleep wondering which social network to invest in to reach the cool kids, YouTube might be the non-network to bet on.

Source: Emarketer

11. YouTube provides almost half of all on-demand music

On-demand music streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, et cetera) is how 86 percent of consumers listened to music in 2018. And YouTube was responsible for providing 47 percent of that music content.

While these numbers speak to YouTube’s huge attractiveness to audiences, the music industry is maybe a little less excited about it:

Source: IFPI’s Music Consumer Insight Report 2018

12. Relaxation videos are up 70 percent

Speaking of frustration: between July 2017 and June 2018, YouTube reports that yoga, meditation, and slime ASMR videos—in fact any video related to “relaxing”— have been trending.

The hot new consumer trend is simplifying, decluttering, and relaxing.

On the other hand, 1.3 million people have taken their frustration in another direction by watching this guy make fun of bad YouTube ads.

13. 70 percent of millennial YouTube users watched a video to learn how to do something new last year

If your brand has knowledge that it’s burning to share with the world, YouTube is saying that now is the time to start packaging it and sending it out.

YouTube for business statistics

14. The top ten YouTube stars earned 42 percent more money in 2018

Forbes estimates that these ten men (ok, nine men and one little boy) earned $180.5 million in 2018.

With YouTube growing its own species of celebrity, the potential for non-traditional marketing with macro- or micro-influencers also expands. And that’s on top of potential audience reach.

15. Five of 2018’s top ten YouTube stars are gamers

When it comes to influence, it might be worth examining if or how your brand can lock in on the rising tsunami of gaming culture.

According to YouTube, members of the gaming community turn to YouTube videos to feel less lonely, to unwind from gaming, and to improve their craft.

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals the exact steps one entrepreneur took to gain more than 23,000,000 views on YouTube with no budget and no expensive gear.

Get the free guide right now!

16. People have watched 50,000 years of product review videos

That’s in the last two years on mobile alone. Whether they’re window shopping or in the final stages of product comparison, consumers are turning to video to figure out what they want to consume.

Source: YouTube

The more information your brand can provide about your products and services on YouTube, the happier your customers are.

17. Since 2016, twice as many small- and medium-sized businesses are advertising on YouTube

Like Facebook or Google itself, YouTube offers robust and granular advertising tools that can analyze your target audience.

For more on the nitty-gritty, check out our ultimate guide to advertising on YouTube.

18. LEGO has almost twice as many views as any other brand on YouTube

Source: Statista

YouTube ad statistics

19. YouTube mobile ads receive viewer attention 83 percent of the time

This is a startling amount, given that TV ads average around 45 percent.

Oh, and watching YouTube. 80 percent of sports fans switch between TV and a second screen while watching live games, and we all know they aren’t the only ones multi-tasking.

20. 95 percent of YouTube ads are audible

For comparison: 15 percent of Facebook video ads are audible.

When ads are audible and viewable, Google documents a sizeable lift in brand awareness, ad recall, and consideration.

Source: Google

21. YouTube’s video ad revenue was predicted to go up 17 percent in 2018

And 73 percent of that income came from American video ads, specifically, according to eMarketer.

For context, eMarketer also predicts video ad spending will go up 30 percent overall to $27.8 billion, putting video at 25 percent of overall digital ad spend in America.

22. YouTube doubled the number of pre-roll ads it shows

But what about that Ipsos Reid TV ad study that Google commissioned? Didn’t they find that the amount of TV ads annoyed 73 percent of viewers?

It remains to be seen. But one thing will stay the same for your YouTube marketing strategy in the coming year: quality is the only way to rise above the noise.

Grow your YouTube audience faster with Hootsuite. From one dashboard, you can manage and schedule YouTube videos alongside content from all your other social channels. Try it free today.

Get Started

The post 22 YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2019 appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

22 YouTube Stats That Matter to Marketers in 2019 published first on https://themarketingheaven.tumblr.com/

0 notes