#and he would have like a turtonator or something

[supermarine-silvally]

haha yara if you are a dragon trainer and ace would be a fire trainer and the two of you would be unstoppable xD (your garchomp is cute!)

Ace: "The only thing hotter than my Fire Pokémon is my wife! ...Sorry, couldn't resist."

Yara: "We would indeed be unstoppable. And my Garchomp appreciates that you called her cute."

Ask Yara (or any of my OCs) anything!

[eroguron0nsense]

Straw Hats Pokemon League AU Part 2

Part 1 : Gym Leaders (Usopp, Chopper, Nami, Brook, Franky, Robin, Jinbe, Sanji) I thought of making the elite 4 yonko or former yonko, warlords etc but it got a bit weird figuring out who would qualify for it so I figured I'd just choose four of my favourite characters and run with it. As stated in the previous post, everyone is alive and well and it's all very wholesome; I'm not making an evil team either because there's too many goddamn antagonists to establish something coherent. All elite 4 members get full teams off the bat because I can

Ground Specialist Nefertari Vivi: Vivi is part of a tradition of ground type elite 4 members including her dad and Crocodile and she’s thriving! Cobra is doing just fine and both of them have mentored her to varying degrees, although she still maintains (justifiably) that Crocodile is an asshole. I like the idea of her wearing her coronation outfit in the official league battles and switching to more casual stuff when you actually see her in her hometown. Golduck is there as a tribute to Karoo, and the Sandaconda is a nod to Cobra. Hippowdon would help set up sand streams but also per the first post it’s implied that she gave Nami a hippopotas egg that hatched from her own. Cobra has a Nidoking and Crocowani has a Krookodile. Team: Golduck, Garchomp, Sandaconda, Gastrodon, Hippowdown, Nidoqueen

Fire Specialists Portgas D. Ace and Sabo: Ace is the successor to Whitebeard’s old elite 4 position, and *dealing with some stuff* after a lifetime of inferiority complex knowing he’s the son of a former GOAT champion. After you clear the league, he decides to take a bit of a mental health break and Sabo fills in for him, although you can still find him for rematches. I almost almost gave Brook the Skeledirge because I wanted him to have more musical Pokemon, but I thought it’d be funny to give Ace a ghost type (wink wink nudge nudge) His team’s not the most balanced in that it has a lot of sweepers and is very offence oriented, but I think that suits his character and there’s some thought behind it (lots of drought and heat rocks to nerf water as much as possible and boost the team, probably an air balloon here and there to help balance out the ground weakness, and give the Incineroar and Armarouge some fighting moves to counter rock types). Sabo is also kind of a fire specialist, but he gets lots of dragon types as a tribute to his mentor and signature attacks in canon. He also gets a Charizard to kind of link the two brothers since the Mera Mera doesn’t exist in this world. Ace’s Team: Volcarona, Mega Charizard-Y, Drought Torkoal, Armarouge, Skeledirge, Incineroar Sabo’s Team: Mega Charizard X, Haxorus, Ceruledge, Chandelure, Turtonator, Salamence

Mixed Dark/Fairy Specialist Charlotte Katakuri: I was caught between having either him or Kidd as the third elite 4 member but I ended up choosing Katakuri just because I personally enjoy him more. I thought of giving him a dessert team at first but there’s no donut Pokemon as of yet and I figured that would suit Linlin better in the event that I do make a team for her, so I’m giving him a lot of dark and fairy types. Mismagius and Hatterene are both there as tributes to Brûlée and I wanted to give the bitey boy something known mostly for its extremely prominent hidden jaw as his ace/signature Pokemon  Team: Grimmsnarl, Obstagoon, Clefable, Mismagius, Hatterene, Mega Mawile

Ice/Water Specialist Trafalgar D. Water Law: Law still has his submarine, although he uses it a bit more for research purposes; you run into him in the Polar Tang while you’re being dragged around doing underwater side quests at Jinbei’s behest. The Beartic, Cetitan and Empoleon are there mostly as tributes to Bepo, Shachi/Hakugan, and Penguin, and he leans toward ice/water specialization because of his crew and their polar theming. I thought about giving him an Eiscue, but I figured Empoleon would help balance the team a bit more and generally feels slightly more sword-fighty. Alolan Ninetales is the exception to the polar marine animal theme (although ig it could technically be an arctic fox) but it’s mainly just there to set up hail and I don’t think Aurorus suits Law any better. I thought of giving him an arctozolt to match the colour scheme of the Polar Tang but I ended up choosing Weavile just because it seemed more aesthetically suited to him.  Team: Beartic, Cloyster, Cetitan, Empoleon, Alolan Ninetales (snow warning), Weavile

Champion Roronoa Zoro: Zoro is, at present, the champion of the region although he doesn’t really think it suits him, and straight up tells the player that someone else who’s stronger and who he’s deeply loyal to should really be in his place right now. His team is annoyingly, almost detrimentally sword-themed and painfully unbalanced. He’s basically the Wallace of this world, in that he’s got the chops to be where he is but he’s still basically filling in for the real champion/final boss (Luffy) It’s implied that he and Sanji had a massive fight over who should take the seat after Luffy stepped away from being the Champion; Sanji claims he chose his current job so that he could focus more on his cooking but keeps insisting he totally could have beaten Zoro is he really wanted to and it remains a major point of contention. The rest of their friend group is sick of it.   Team: Samurott, Scizor, Lucario, Mega Gallade, Absol, Kingambit

Final Boss: Pokemon Trainer Monkey D. Luffy This one’s a bit weird; Luffy’s team isn’t meant to be especially balanced or well thought out because Luffy isn’t a strategist and chooses his companions on pure instinct, but he still needs to have those mythical Zoan attributes, a monkey theme, and stand head and shoulders above all the other bosses, so I slapped a bunch of legendaries/mythical Pokemon that had Luffy vibes onto his team and let him approach battles with a “hit hard, ask questions later” kind of attitude. The Infernape was his starter and given to him by Ace, who obviously raises little fire types in his free time, and it’s there for the obvious Wukong connection. Annihilape kind of reminds me of gear 5, the Tauros is a tribute to Ucy/Moocy, Hoopa has chaos vibes, and Victini is there as a symbol of victory and liberation. Pokemon Trainer Luffy's Team: Paldean Tauros (Combat Breed), Infernape, Zarude, Annihilape, Hoopa, Victini

I figure other Yonko, Warlords, Supernovas, or major antagonists could be frontier brains or something along those lines but I have spent enough time coming up with Pokemon teams for now. 

[tricogarfield]

Ninjago Pokemon AU!!

So, I've been talking to my furrend about a Ninjago Pokemon AU. In all honesty, it's nothing more than the Ninja's Teams so far xD I don't know if I ever want to flesh it out or even do something with it, nor am I sure if I want it to be Pokemon in the Ninjago World or the Ninjago characters in a Pokemon World, buuuut, I thought I'd share the teams I have for the Ninja + some other characters that I gave a team! If anyone would be interested in seeing fanart or would want to know more about this AU, let me know and I'll try to deliver!:D

There's a little theme I had going on when deciding all these Teams. Of course, the type of the pokemon they have would match the person's element, but I also gave all of them at least one dragon type, to represent the elemental dragons! On top of that, I also added Pokemon that should represent animals and creatures the ninja befriended in the show (for example, Cole befriended Krag so I gave him a Yeti Pokemon) And lastly, I also gave them Pokemon that they may share with someone else or that was gifted to them by someone! Kai -Pancham -Rapidash -Turtonator -Incineroar -Mudsdale Soo, while my furrendo and I were talking, they mentioned how Nya and Kai seem like horse lovers and, I don't know how to explain it, but I loved it a lot xD Sooo, what better thing to do than to give Kai two horse Pokemon? Well, to explain my thoughts on his other team members, I like to think Pancham would be his first Pokemon! There's not that much of an explanation for this one other than me wanting to give him one ngl. Turtonator is his dragon type to represent his elemental dragon! I COULD have given him a Charizard, buuuut I think Turtonator is low-key cooler and fits him more. Incineroar may seem a bit random, but I gave it to him to represent him becoming a wrestler after Season 3! Though chances are, that he wouldn't have it on his team as much probably...eh, I'll think about that some more And for Mudsdale, it was a gift from Cole actually. Not sure when or why, buuuut yeah :D Nya -Coalossal -Kingdra -Dewott -Pawniard -Zebstrika I think the Theme I was going for here is showing now xD Coalossal may be the pokemon of Ray or Maya that was passed down onto her after the two disappeared. So perhaps it kind of functioned as a guardian when Kai and Nya had to look after themselves? And well, Kingdra is her dragon type! Though I'm honestly thinking about switching Kindra out for Dracovish...oh well Samurott and Pawniard represent her having been Samurai X :D The Zebstrika was a gift from Jay! My friend also said that Kai and Nya share a Salamence and, while I love that idea, I'm a bit unsure Cole -Flygon -Camerupt -Abomasnow -Banette -Sandslash -Lurantis Listen. I could have given Cole Garchomp for his dragon type. But like. I love Flygon man TAT Also, had to give him a Camerupt to mirror his Lava powers! Perhaps it's also a gift from Kai? Krag is also very dear to me, so I had to represent that glorbo somehow with Abomasnow. The Pokédex states Banette is a vengeful doll that was thrown away and forgotten by it's previous owner, so I think it's a nice nod to how Cole was starting to fade away in Day of the Departed AND how he landed in the Land of Lost things in Dragons Rising! And Sandslash and Lurantis represent the Blades of Deliverance, with Lurantis also representing Lilly a bit! I think either Lurantis or Camerupt would be his first pokemon! I'll put a stop to it at this point and post the team's of the rest of the Ninja in a seperate Post!

[mha-quotes-and-such]

Hey! Do you have any more cool headcanons for the Trainer Bakugo AU? I'm really invested!

Im glad to hear that people are interested in it! Here's a few bits I've been kicking around:

Midoriya is the only one of Bakugou's rival with a typical starter (I mentioned previously I'd give him Meganium to pair with Bakugou's Typhlosion) and the two of them received their starters together. Kirishima's starter I think would be Turtonator, and in a game-based scenario you/Bakugou wouldnt fight him until a little while into the game. Todoroki has two starters, Alolan and Kantonian Vulpix, and would be battled sooner/more frequently, however most of his battles would be optional

On the topic of Todoroki, in a game he would act as the introduction to a lot of different things. Having two starters, hes the intro to double battles. On top of that, he kind of doesnt know what he wants to do, or if he really wants to become champion. As such, he's the one to introduce Bakugou to the gyms and whatever their region's equivalent of contests are

Bakugou first encounters the league as a roadblock. Some lower-tier villains (grunts in this scenario) are harassing Midoriya, and Bakugou helps take them down

Less of a head canon and more something Ive been thinking about: I'm not 100% if/where the rest of 1A would fit in. 20 characters is more than most pokemon games, and thats not even counting teachers, villains, pro heroes, etc. Maybe their region has a school system like Scarlet/Violet, and most of 1A/1B/1C are encountered there?

[bitletsanddrabbles]

How The Boyfriends Would Describe Thomas

Since I did a breakdown of how Thomas would describe the boyfriends to someone, I figured it was only fair to return the favor. So, here are the boys from the Poly!Thomas-verse describing their lover boy, or at least waxing poetic about why they love him. Line got a bit blurred there.

...for the record, Richard Ellis is a little brat...

Chris: Thomas Barrow is one enormous puzzle. A sexy puzzle, I grant you, but still a puzzle. He’s gay, obviously, and for the most part he’s completely comfortable with the fact. At the same time, when I met him he’d never been in a gay bar? What thirty six year old queer man in the twenty first century has never been in a gay bar? And when I asked him about it, he said he’d been past Turton’s before, of course he had, but he’d just...never thought to go in. Said it was because he didn’t have anyone to go with, but he could have gone to meet people. Watching him, the first time I got him in there and started dancing with him...you’d have thought we’d fallen down a rabbit hole! And it was wonderful, watching him come alive and discover new things he could do, you know? I love that. I could spend my entire life just watching Thomas discover new things that he loves.

Richard: Thomas spent his past nine lives as a cat, and it shows. You know how much I love cats.

Guy: You know those dreadful car commercials that start out with ‘the following are real people, not actors’? Well, dehumanizing as they are, there’s something to it. No matter how many interviews you do, the public never really knows you as a person. They know you as an actor, as this larger than life celebrity who’s got it made and lives on easy street. It’s flattering, of course, all of the praise and proclamations of adoration, and a bit terrifying if you’re like me and keep waiting for them to figure out you’re not really that grand. The thing is, Thomas never cared about any of that. From the moment we walked into Downton Abbey, we were just people doing our jobs...and perhaps getting in the way a little. Or a lot, I was never quite certain. And when I talked to him, he seemed more interested in me, myself than in Guy Dexter, Hollywood’s Heartthrob. I could look for a hundred years and I doubt I’d find someone less interested in the public persona and more interested in the man, and I love him so much for that.

[incorrectshantaequotes]

Shantae Pokemon Teams...2!

So, when Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were released, I did a special crossover post to celebrate. So, now that the last of the SV DLC has released...I decided to do it again!

Like last time, spoilers for Pokemon from The Indigo Disk, though only like...ONE minor thing that wasn't in the trailers. I'm mostly just mentioning it for people who want to go in blind

Before we do anything, I'm going to make some quick alterations to my teams from last time, starting with:

Vera - Grass Type Specialist

Lilligant

Exeggutor

Roserade

Ferrothorn

Appletun -> Hydrapple

Leavanny

...I mean. Come on. Multi-headed apple dragon. I kinda had to make the alteration. Anyway, next and final one:

Harmony - Ground Type Specialist -> All-Rounder/No Specialty

Mudsdale

Garganacl

Conkeldurr

Archaludon

Blissey

Mamoswine

I still stand by the fact that Harmony would be a champion rather than an Elite Four member...and, well, they tend to have a more generalized team than a specific specialty. So! Adjusted Harmony's team to properly reflect this.

Now, to characters I HAVEN'T covered before...

Twitch and Vinegar - Fire/Poison Type Specialists

Turtonator

Dragalge

Darmanitan

Toxicroak

Scovillain

Vileplume

I put these two together because I figured they would be a dual battle Gym Leader type of situation - Twitch with the fire Pokemon, Vinegar with the poison Pokemon.

Squid Baron - Water Type Specialist

Octillery

Crawdaunt

Seismitoad

Quagsire

Tentacruel

Barbaracle

I mean. I feel like this one should be fairly obvious

Ammo Baron - Fighting Type Specialist

Machamp

Falinks

Crabominable

Annihilape

Pangoro

Sawk

Unfortunately there is not an explosion type (and if the closest one to it is, well. gestures to Twitch), so I went with the next best thing and chose Fighting

Hypno Baron - Ghost Type Specialist

Spiritomb

Banette

Mismagius

Dusknoir

Chandelure

Golurk

The nice thing about Rottytops being a Pokemon Coordinator rather than a Gym Leader is that I can have Type overlap with Hypno Baron, who is the ACTUAL Ghost Gym Leader.

Techno Baron - Dark Type Specialist

Honchkrow

Weavile

Scrafty

Malamar

Bombirdier

Krookodile

Techno Baron was...a tough one, to say the least, considering I AM saying he's a Gym Leader and Steel and Electric were already taken on the Gym Leader front, so! Had to improvise! Something of a stretch, but: Techno Baron is a capitalist, with all the dubious morality that implies. He really is suited to the dark type

Holly Lingerbean - Bug Type Specialist

Scolipede

Orbeetle

Masquerain

Volcarona

Vespiquen

Scizor

Would have gone for Psychic but, ah, that one's being used by someone a tiny bit more important, so...going the Wilbur route it was! I may be the only dedicated Holly Lingerbean fan here but I had to try on some level. Speaking of - we're out of gym leader spots and I can't figure out where to place who, so just imagine one of the characters from here or last time being part of the Elite Four instead. That's all

With this I've covered...mostly everyone with a few exceptions. If you want to see this through to the end, feel free to tell me so and I'll consider it!

[kimium]

I saw one of Vil's lesson lines mentions he likes reading, and that sparked my curiousity. What do you think is the favourite book of each Housewarden? (can be novel, novella, nonfictional, anthology, comic book, etc., just as long as it is some sort of book!) I love reading and I know you love reading, so I eagerly await your answer!!!

Oh, what a good ask for me! I certainly love books (I know, shocker), so I am very excited to answer this.

For everyone else note that I am going to pick books that I've personally read, so I can actually talk about the book in depth. Also, since we're picking books I've personally read they're going to be all fiction books. I'm sorry everyone, but I don't usually read non-fiction.

Each of the Housewarden's Favourite Book/Story

Riddle - Howl's Moving Castle by: Diana Wynne Jones

I picked this book for Riddle because it has what I think Riddle deserves: some whimsy and magic with fun, silly characters. He probably grew up forced to read boring textbooks or "classics" from his mother. Thus, I think Riddle deserves something that she would have never allowed him to read.

Leona - "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

A classic short story and one of my favourites from Shirley Jackson. I picked this one because I think Leona would like one of the main themes of the story: the questioning of tradition and the blind following of it. I also think he'd like the tone of the story and how it leads the reader on a journey before revealing the ending. I also picked this for Leona because it's not a novel, since I think Leona generally reads non-fiction/isn't a big reader.

(Note: My runner up for Leona was "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe. I think Leona would enjoy the story of revenge and murder.)

PS: I know "The Lottery" is a short story and not exactly a "novel" or even a "novella" but it could be in a collection, so I counted it.

Azul - The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Easily one of my top ten favourite books of all time, I think The Night Circus suits Azul. We have: magicians with their apprentices pitted against one another due to a bet, magic is real but the apprentices are doing their best to pretend they don't have magic as they "fake" their acts, and a sprinkle of romance. This book is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it.

Kalim - The House in the Cerulean Sea by: TK Klune

For Kalim I think he'd enjoy a light, breezy book. For me this is the most recent book I've read that fits that description. I also think Kalim would love seeing someone who is closed off and lonely (the narrator, Linus Baker) discovering love with Arthur as he navigates between fulfilling his job duties and opening his heart.

Vil - Clytemnestra by: Costanza Casati

A spin/retelling of the Greek myth in a similar vein to The Song of Achilles, I think Vil would love this book because we have a female character who has many grey areas to her. The reader can understand her plight and dilemma. However, her actions could also be read as villainous, making people question and have doubts. I think that vibe perfectly suits Vil.

(Note: My runner up for Vil was The Great Gatsby because it's a classic and I think classics suit Vil.)

Idia - Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

The sheer willpower to not just pick a light novel was astonishing. However, I decided to stick to books mostly because I don't read light novels often and so my knowledge of them is limited. I also considered sci-fi novels, but in the end I think Thistlefoot is a good pick. I picked this for two reasons: one, it has folklore at the core (Baba Yaga) and two it has siblings (brother and sister) unwillingly inheriting a family heirloom and that sort of vibes in my brain with Idia.

Malleus - The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

My favourite murder mystery novel, I picked this one for Malleus because of all the moving parts. There is not just the mystery of Evelyn's death, but the narrator stuck in a timeloop as well as switching bodies every reset which adds to the complexity of the story. I think this would intrigue Malleus and keep him hooked in the world of the story.

And there you go, friend! My pick for the housewardens' favourite books. I hope you like my answer! Let me know what you think and what your picks are!

[butterbeerandlemoncakes]

Books of 2023

The ABC Murders, Agatha Christie--This is probably one of my favorite Poirot novels. It keeps you on your toes and as always with Agatha Christie, there’s a surprise twist (or two!)

1984, George Orwell--I feel like this is another book that has been lost to the times. When it first came out, I’m sure it was a phenomenal read--it predicts a dystopian future in a surveillance state, which, at this point, maybe hits a little too close to home for some. The ‘big bad’ and scary suggestions for the future in this book are, at this point in our lives, fairly normal feeling, or things that we’ve since in more recent sci-fi novels and tv shows, done bigger and scarier. So, while I’m sure it set up the foundation for which many of these new things were based on, I was fairly bored reading this book, and did not finish it.

Finn Fancy Necromancy, Randy Henderson--This was a fun, light read. It follows the story of a boy who was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and his journey of discovery after completing his sentence. 

The Diviners, Libba Bray--A supernatural-esque mystery story set in New York in the 1920s? What else can you ask for? This book was actually really good, it had a well rounded set of diverse and interesting characters, and was a good mix of a scary read and a fun read. 

The City We Became, NK Jemisin--This was a really interesting book--it’s hard to explain without giving too much away, but it was a very unique writing style overall, with subtle shifts in narration for when a different character was telling their part of the story. It explored a new concept, I think, in writing and storytelling, which I really enjoyed.

Shadow and Bone, Leigh Bardugo--I’m a bit biased because I saw the show first, but that and a friend convinced me enough to read the book, and I loved it! The TV show stays pretty accurate to this book, at least (I’ve heard it strays from some of the later ones). Although it has some of the typical fantasy YA romance tropes, I still really enjoyed this book, and it had enough new and interesting ideas to keep me hooked and interested in the book. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Moby Dick, Herman Melville--It’s taken me literal years to finish this one because I was reading it on my phone so would read it while riding to work and then forget about it for months on end and then pick it up again. BUT regardless, I really enjoyed it! I can see why a lot of high schoolers hate it, she’s DENSE. There’s a lot of explanation and things that aren’t necessarily plot-related going on in the book, which I enjoy, but I can see why others wouldn’t. Another one that I’d maybe recommend reading the abridged version of, but I really liked it!

Dune, Frank Herbert--Having watched the newest movie beforehand really helped me with this one. It’s a FANTASTIC book, but there are a lot of moving parts, politics, and characters with similar names, that I definitely would have gotten confused and frustrated if I hadn’t have had the movie to base things off of. That being said, would highly recommend reading. A lot times with old sci-fi books like this, they don’t live up to the hype because like, they may have been groundbreaking at the time they came out, but our expectations have risen so much since then. However, for a book that came out in 1965, this one still holds up. It definitely kept me interested throughout the book, which is saying something, because she’s THICK.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Eveyln Hardcastle, Stuart Turton--This was a really good book with a fresh new take on murder mystery/whodunits. Essentially, the narrator wakes up each day as a new person, reliving the events of the same day over and over again until he can solve the murder. It was a really interesting concept and I thought very well executed.

[meteor752]

Dsmp Pokémon AU: Scarlet and Violet update

Yep we’re doing this

Just gonna go through the ol’ teams and see if there’s any updates I can make now that there’s some new guys, plus any changes I would make. Also I’m not adding any Pokémon to all the new people, I don’t even think I have a team to everyone on the server in the first place

Younguns

Tommy still has a good team. Okay not like good good, but it’s very Tommy. Wouldn’t change it

There’s some like, possible changes I would like to Tubbo’s team. Like, I gave him a Xatu and a Grookey for like no reason. I don’t know what if replace it with tho. Maybe a Galar Weezing? Or a Gumshoos? Idk. Tell me if you have any ideas yourself

Well we’re evolving Ranboo’s Girafarig to a Farigiraf. Other wise it’s still good

Gonna make a change to Purpled as well. Instead of Ambipom we’re adding Houndstone, cause it’s like purple-ish and that’s all I need. Dogchamp

Tommy Innit - Camerupt, Scorbunny, Galvantula, Shiny Galar Linoone, Exploud, Snom

Tubbo Schlatt - Beedrill, Mareep, Alola Vulpix, Ribombee, Xatu, Grookey (????)

Ranboo Beloved - Male Meowstic, Farigiraf, Zorua, Buneary, Axew, Umbreon

Purpled Bedwars - Mienshao, Espeon, Noibat, Shiny Gourgeist, Drapion, Houndstone

Feral three, or something

Okay so Dream’s team fucking suck. I intended for him to first have all green Pokémon, but then I gave him a Drifblim for some fucking reason. So yeah we’re changing this quite a bit. Removing the Breloom, Serperior and Manetric, we’re instead adding Tatsugiri, Shiny Espeon, and Scovillain

George’s team is still pretty good. I still like it

I didn’t give Karl a fucking Spinda, I’m disappointed in myself. Replacing the Furret

Dream Wataken - Sceptile, Tyranitar, Drifblim, Tatsugiri, Shiny Espeon, Scovillain

George Notfound - Quagsire, Komala, Walrein, Snorlax, Foongus, Munna

Karl Jacobs - Poliwag, Spinda, Tangela, Croagunk, Noctowl, Stufful

Puffychu

Puffy’s team is still pretty good. No real gripes here honestly

I’m gonna remove Niki’s Fennekin and Vaporeon, and evolve her Cottonee to a Whimsicott. I’m giving Niki a Flamigo cause it’s just sorta funny, and a Dachsbun as a throwback to her bakery days

Puffy Schlatt- Flaaffy, Dubwool, Altaria, Dhelmise, Empoleon, Archeops

Nikki Nihachu - Female Pyroar, Dachsbun, Milotic, Mimikyu, Whimsicott, Flamigo

Prank duo or smt

We’re gonna evolve the Fennekin to a Delphox and give it to Fundy in exchange for his Bronzong. Partly cause fox, and partly cause it’s Furry bait! Which is funny! The rest remains the same

Replacing Eret’s Gothitelle to instead have Kingambit, cause it’s a king Pokémon that evolved through the betrayal and massacre of their fellow kind. Sorry queen

Fundy Soot - Thievul, Vulpix, Delphox, Mienfoo, Scizor , Marowak

Eret King, - Mawhile, Salazzle, Garchomp, Meowstic female, Kingambit, Seviper

Foolsamponk

Immediately giving Foolish a Garganacl, cause it kinda looks like building blocks. We’re replacing Cubone for it.

Giving Sam a Mabosstiff instead of Elgyem, cause it kinda has that guard dog vibe, and I can see it t training up his Lillipup

Ponk gets a Grafaiai instead of their Slakoth

Foolish Gamrs - Gofagrigus, M Arodactyl, Shieldon, Sharpedo, Sensu Oricorio, Garganacl

Sam Awedude - Fran the Lillipup, Ferrothorn, Golurk, Magnezone, Turtonator, Mabosstiff

Ponk Obsby, Medic in training - Tropius, Blissey, Bounsweet, M Pidgeot, Grafaiai, Bellsprout

Jack Manifold only

Sad little man

Jack’s team are just…good Pokémon. Diverse team. He’s been at the gym challenge for ten years, he’s built up a good team

Not changing anything

Jack Manifold- Druddigon, Raichu, Pyroar male, Talonflame, Aggron, Samurott

Skephalo

We’re changing Rat from being a Rockruff to being a Fidough, mostly cause it’s the most Bad Pokémon ever lol.

Skeppy’s team is either pranksters, Gem related, tounge users, or a combination of the three. We’re keeping it that way

Bad. B. Halo - Shroomish (Muffin), Walrein (Mr Squee Gee), Chansey (Eggsy), Blitzle (Roberto), Hydreigon (Snappy), Fidough (Rat)

Skeppy Halo- M Sableye, Carbink, Impidimp, Gigalith, Lickitung, Gengar

Velvetfrost

(See I say that but I’ve only given Velvet one Pokémon sooooo…yeah)

Antfrost needs to have the fucking weed cat. We’re getting rid of Sneasel, not even a real cat, and giving him Sprigatitio. The moment I saw this cat I knew Ant was getting it

Velvet has a Cherubi. This is because I don’t know much about Velvet. I’m adding on a Milcery, because baking/cake related and it sorta looks like cu-*Gunshot*

(If someone has any suggestions for a Velvet team I’ll gladly take ‘em)

Antfrost Cake, - Purugly, Delcatty, Liepard, Persian, Sprigatito, Torracat

R.Velvet Cake - Cherubi, Milcery

Punzie

Punz is the same as Jack in that his Pokémon are mainly just…good Pokémon. I am changing his Dewott to a Lokix tho

Punz Bedwars - Absol, Greninja, Lucario, Zangoose, Bisharp, Lokix

Human man

I’m giving Charlie a Clodsire. Don’t care if it ain’t really goo, it’s goo enough and it has zero braincells. It’s perfect

Charlie Slimesicle, - Muk, Goodra, Ditto, Slugma, Clodsire, Gulpin

Fast as fuck boiiii

Connor has fast boys. The fastest Pokémon added were like, the box art legendaries and I’m not giving him those. He keeps his team

Connor Eapans - Togudemaru, Rapidash, Ninjask, Accelgor, Jolteon, Sandshrew

Shady business man

Out of the originals, Schlatt was the only one I didn’t give a full team. We’re changing that today. Mans getting a Wooloo from his sister, a Paldean Tauros, and a Gholdengo

J. Schlatt, -Gogoat, Combee, Wooloo, Purrloin, Paldean Tauros, Gholdengo

ᓭℸ ̣ ∷ᔑリ⊣ᒷ ᒲᔑリ

Callahan keeps his Sawsbuck

Gym leaders

We’re switching Hannah’s steenee for a dolliv. I would give her Arboliva but she’s the first gym aight.

HBomb gets a Tinkatuff cause I think it’s funny. We’re removing Sylveon

New duck Pokémon means new Duckie for Quackie! I’d love to give him a Quaquaval, but he’s gym three so like, damn boy. Quaxwell it is, swapped out with Golduck

Wilbur keeps his team. Was thinking of giving him Annihilape, but it’s too strong.

Switching Sapnap’s Infernape for Armarouge

Philza keeps his team, but switching his extra Tepic for Lechonk

Drista keeps her team (I’d give her Roaring Moon if I could but it’s like from 3000 years ago or smt, she ain’t that powerful)

Switching Techno’s Abomasnow for Baxcalibur

Hannah X. Rose, - Roserade, Dolliv, Petilil (Venusaur, Bellossom, Gossifleur)

Haitch Bomb- Fairy Terra Skitty, Spritze, Tinkatuff (Mime Jr, Granbull, Gardevoir)

Alex Quackity - Ludicolo, Ducklett, Quaxwell (Hawlucha, Politoed, Tepig)

Wilbur Soot - Banette, Froslass, Mismagius (Jigglypuff, Wooloo, Krookodile)

Sapnap Halo - Armarouge , Alola Marowak, Houndoom (Pancham, Chimchar, Charizard)

Philza Minecraft - Honchcrow, Corviknight, Male Unfezant (Lechonk, Pluzle, Phantump)

Drista Wataken - Flygon, Haxorus, Salamence (Lopunny, Kadabra, Mareanie)

Techno Blade - Mamoswine, Baxcalibur, Beartic (Steve) (Doublade, Emboar, Beldum)

[okilokiwithpurpose]

9 books

Thank you @cha-melodius for tagging me 💗

Here come 9 books (among so many) I really like. I now realise I probably wrote too long comments about them. Sorry for that!

The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb (as well as the following series, including the Liveship Traders and the Realm of the Elderlings) It took my sister months to convince me to start reading this series (not that I wasn't interested, but it represents a big chunk of reading and therefore a big commitment) but, well, it was definitely worth it! Love the worldbuilding, the different sorts of magic, the different cultures... And yes, even if he sometimes makes the dumbest decisions, I do like Fitz a lot too!

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie I love whodunit mysteries! I could basically have chosen any other of Hercule Poirot's many investigations. In this one, he reinvestigates a murder that was supposedly solved 16 years ago. All he has to work with are the accounts of the five main witnesses... who of course each tell him their personal version of the story!

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton A whodunit mystery in an old English manor with a side dish of time loop... I was expecting to like this book but I ended up loving it (and kind of made all of my family read it).

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke I'm not sure how to describe this book. It is fantasy, yes but there's something strangely eatheral, atmospheric about it. The poetry of Piranesi's house itself, with its endless corridors, it's statues and the tides... and the mystery surrounding the "other"... Loved it a lot!

The Time Patrol Series by Poul Anderson Yay for a bit of sci fi! Time patrollers are appointed to protect the course of history (and thus preserving a future in which men's far fetched descendants can create the Time Patrol!). It may remember something to my fellow Loki fans (watching Loki s1 sure made my mind race back to the Time Patrol). Though here, there are no time branches, and most missions consist in stopping other time travellers from making a mess. The first novels date back to the 60s and, though it aged a bit, the worldbuilding is nice, the stories play nicely with the possibilities of time travel and you can feel the author made research about the (past) periods we visit.

Brutus: The Noble Conspirator by Kathryn Tempest This one is a biography (well, as much of a biography it is possible to make using the scarce and often biased ancient sources available, as the author explains very well). I have a thing for history and the end of the Roman Republic is such an interesting period to read about - such his the figure of Brutus (yes, that Brutus) who doesn't always get a lot of attention! (also, I happen to have bought that book in the Coliseum's bookshop during that trip to Rome I had wanted to do for almost 15 years!!)

L'Eau des collines [The Water of the Hills] by Marcel Pagnol I had to read the first novel ("Jean de Florette") for school as a teenager and, well, I used to dislike compulsory readings out of principle and was not sure the story would passionate me anyway (it is about Jean, a clerk who inherits a farm and decides to start a new life there, while the locals keep seeing him as "a stranger from the city"). And yet, once I finished it, I had to go on and read the second novel ("Manon des Sources", about Jean's daughter).

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles First, I loved the cover (the one with lovely plant and animal illustrations), then I loved the book! What's not to love about a stiff barronet and a chief smuggler falling in love (after having been sex buddies) in the early 1800s? Somehow, it gave me some warm and cosy feelings - and I learned a few things about gold trafficking during the Napoleonic wars too...

The Scholomance Series by Naomi Novik Ok, I only recently finished the first book in this series ("A Deadly Education") but...I am in love?! The Scholomance is a magical school build to protect young wizards from all the lovely creatures who want to devour them. There are no teachers, no holidays, barley any contacts with the outside world - which doesn't prevent a few hungry creatures from getting in, and every students know better than to let their guard down... ok, my summary is not doing it justice (and doesn't convey how fun it can be thanks to El, the narrator) but, well, this is good and I can't wait to read the rest of the series! I also learned that the author is one of the founders of AO3 so thank you queen!!!

No pressure tag: @bebx @dewdropreader @faylights @im-not-corrupted @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @magiclovingdragon @mirilyawrites@samsalami66 @wolfpup026

[just-two-blokes]

Hugs - A "Barris" Drabble

Comfortember day 1 - Hugs

There are many moments when Thomas Barrow would have liked a person to hug him.

When he watched his and Philip's love letters burn to ash in the lambent flames of the fireplace.

When Edward Courtenay's blood dripped silently onto the bare floor of the hospital.

That night when, in the pouring rain, he could still hear Mister Carson's words echoing in his head.

"Disgusting" "Revolting"

In those moments when the shockwaves of the electric strokes of "Choose your own Path" shot through his veins.

The bathtub filled with cold water in the minutes before he cut his wrists.

All the hugs he has received so far have always felt wrong in some way.

His hug with Phyllis Baxter at his farewell has been short. Far too short.

His embrace with Chris Webster in the dark halls of Turtons turned from a safe haven to a nightmare in seconds as night fell over them like a black veil.

But now lying here, in their double bed of their own cottage, Richard's arms wrapped around his back, Thomas realises something he has longed for for many years.

This embrace, in the strong arms of Richard Ellis, his gentle hands on his back and his warm breath on his neck, feels finally, finally right.

When Thomas lifts his head and his gaze bores directly into the valet's blue eyes as he buries his hands in Richard's soft hair, he feels more secure and at home in this embrace than he ever has in his life.

[plantdad-dante]

Book #127 - The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

(first time read; full spoilers, but also, why would you waste your precious Earth time on this book)

On the one side... The body hopping time loop could have been really interesting. It really could. A nice, tight murder mystery (which, the murder was a bit convoluted and relied a little to much on "oh, this person is just evil, has always been evil, how did you not guess that this kid (that was murdered nineteen years ago) was killed by a ten-year old in a weirdly elaborate murder plan for a ten-year old to develop", but once it actually got going (which... two thirds of the way through is no time to kickstart your plot) it was fine? Even interesting at times? Shame I had to wait for Aiden to bodysnatch a cop for it, but at that point, I was willing to just take what I could get).

And on the other side of things... The mindwipe time loop murder solving prison thing could have been so cool, too? There is a cyberpunk takedown of the prison industrial complex waiting inside this book and I am so frustrated that it barely gets any attention at all??? Like. Either commit to this bonkers insane idea and fucking say someting with it, or do your Agatha Christie imitation and don't bother with world building. Why would you want to do both?

... And on the third side, this is literally all I can to say about this book without sounding off the walls insane. I tried. In conversations with friends, I really tried. But I couldn't do it.

What the fuck was going on with Anna? Was she a terrorist? A supervillain? What the fuck do you mean, she tortured the sister and made the world watch? Did she livestream it? How did no one manage to arrest her during that? What the fuck is going on?

Also, why would you completely kill your own point like this? Yes, Blackheath is horrible and bad and torture and cannot produce anything good. But also, Anna and Aiden are defenitely 100% better people now, and get a nice redemption sticker and a new life. Are you kidding me? Or are you mad? Why are they friends, how did any of this happen, why is she constantly kissing him, is this a joke?? Are you taking the piss? Or is this book just a stupid prank, like the literary equivalent of 52 pick-up? How can something so boring leave so many questions unanswered. I am very sure that Gold says "ah yes, I prepared this and this off-page" multiple times in the end and I just yelled "bitch, when" every time, because... ??????

Also, Aiden was one of the mosty hypocritical, holier-than-thou, self-absorbed assholes I ever had the displeasure of inhabiting the mind of (yes, I know, ironic given what I'm going to complain about but still). He could not stop nagging his hosts for completely human behaviour and feelings and bodies. To be honest, I had dnfed this book a few years back, because I had gotten to Day Four and Aiden was just relentless in fat-shaming Ravencourt, spending literal pages on how disgusted with him he was, and I just couldn't do it. I picked it up again now in the vain hope that maybe at least the murder was good, once the book would finally get to it, but by the time it did it the tension was so used to eating ground dirt that it just kinda stayed there - flat at zero for the rest of the book.

Also, any book where you learn the protagonist's name either 120 pages in, or from the blurb on the back, deserves to be thrown into a time machine to assemble back into a tiny tree and some printer toner, for the crime of annoying the shit out of me.

In summary: no tension, every plottwist until about pg 350 delivers itself as an anticlimax, the world building sucked, the characters sucked, Aiden especially I want to throw into a woodchipper, and The Plague Doctor may at some point have sounded like a good idea, but his anachronism (this book is set in... the 1920s?? maybe??) and his "cryptic overseer, but make him cringefail" vibe just killed the tone stone dead any time he appeared.

Just read Christie.

[fdlvh]

Really wanted to start something new on here so, since I read a lot and fast, like really fast I thought, why not make book reviews? And here we are.

No spoilers

Book review: 5/5

The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I didn't know anything when I started reading this book, I hadn't read the description, I hadn't heard of it, and no one had invited me to read it. I had only noticed an interesting title among many others. Who could die seven times? Who is Evelyn? A question I would've surprisingly carried with me until the end.

At a party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed - again. She's been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. 

Description:

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed. But Evelyn will not die just once. Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked-room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.

Actual thoughts:

Unexpected is the first word coming to mind when I think of this book. It's immersive, I could see scenes happening in front of my eyes, and I could feel the character's frustration, fear, the reasoning behind every little detail as nothing and I really mean nothing in the book is left unsolved or unclear or happens without motive. I loved each personality, and each character as the plot unveiled more and more information, more and more enigmas.

The book perfectly grasps what means to be human in all its shades, from the darkest to it's most compassionate. Truly a whirlwind of emotions, of different standpoints and opposite inferences on the same happenings of a same day and events.

The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle truly captured my attention to the point I couldn't put the book down, I had to know and when knowledge was given I found it in abundance, the same couldn't be said for the truth as it evades the reader skillfully leaving one wondering, questioning his own morals and putting themselves in the shoes of the main character. I often found myself thinking if violence wouldn't have been the answer myself, if there could've been a shortcut, a way to dodge the foretold which only raised additional surprises and actual reprimands from the main character himself who feels strongly on the subject.

I loved it, it was refreshing, brilliant.

I honestly cannot capacitate myself with how the hell someone could've come up with such a convoluted and emotional journey which only makes me strive to better myself and gifted me an unparalleled experience I couldn't experience twice only by chance.

[fiftytwotwentytwo]

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Author: Stuart Turton

Murder Mystery / Magical Realism

Page Count: 458

How did I come across this book?:

A friend sent me an invite to a Q&A session with Stuart Turton, the author. I asked my friend how he liked the book and they turned the question around and asked me how I liked it... I them told I've never read the book or even heard of it.

My friend was taken aback - adamant that I had... upon further "investigation" they confused the title of this book with Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (which is a decent book).

After a short, mild chuckle at the error - as a goof - I ordered the book off Amazon.

Review:

Just a tidal wave of thoughts.

Right out of the gate - the story took a while to settle in to and I was not thrilled with initial perceived plot - but - chapters later the book picked up - suddenly the book is not what seemed, attaboy Turton! - but - the plot device grew tiresome - then became bit confusing - then back to being tedious and tiresome - but pretty soon you are 300 pages in saying when is something going to happen then - BANG - a nice little jolt - and then you get back on the same rollercoaster you've been riding on...

The book has a lot of moving parts, can be repetitive, and is full of side tangents.

The author, in my opinion, withholds an absurd amount information/secrets to build suspense - they constantly dangle a gift bags of information but never share any dirt but make trudge through pages and pages forcing the reader to wait chapters later to have the information revealed - sometimes it is truly shocking - other times seemed like wasted potential.

On the other hand. It kept me guessing and it had cool premise.

I am on the fence about re-reading this book. I mean the ending is blown - the only point of the re-read would be to pickup on things I missed.

Upon further split-second thought...

Nah, this book is a one and done.

Personal Rating: 5/10

Yearly Book Total: 43

Total Page Count: 15,813 pages

[sixty-silver-wishes]

so I finished the 7 1/2 deaths of evelyn hardcastle today and thought I'd share my thoughts since it's decently popular and I don't usually read modern fiction

overall, I liked the book a lot. the concept was original, and the prose was definitely a high point. as a writer myself, there were many moments where I had to put down the book because there were so many clever descriptions and turns of phrase that I kept feeling inspired to write. I thought it was interesting how each character was so layered, and as someone who loves fictional rich people family drama, the prospect of uncovering all the secrets of the hardcastles definitely kept me turning pages. for a first novel, I found it really impressive how turton was able to balance so many characters and plot points and keep a consistent story, although his editors of course deserve credit as well for that. I thought the hardcastles were the most interesting part of the book, and I wish we were able to spend more time with them, especially evelyn herself.

[spoilers ahead]

in terms of issues with the book, sometimes the story felt too complicated. I found myself constantly flipping back to the page at the beginning to remind myself who was who, and keeping track of every character's motivations could be a headache, as I was also trying to follow the complex plot. I felt that the final act could have been paced better; a lot of big twists were revealed, one after the other, without a lot of room for the characters to process them; for instance, I felt like the story should have dwelt on the fact that anna was originally aiden's nemesis much longer than it did. the part where evelyn reveals her motivations at the end also felt very unsatisfying; we just had this big dump of important information all in one high-stakes scene, and I wish it was something that could have been revealed more gradually, at least in the latter half. helena hardcastle was a very unconvincing red herring in my opinion, but I did like the twist where she was dead pretty much the entire time.

as for aiden himself, I found him to be the least interesting part of the book. I was intrigued by all the guests at blackheath and their secrets, but aiden just felt like a boring do-good protagonist, with little to no flaws (aside, as many people have criticized, his contempt for overweight people, which isn't really addressed by the story, and, if anything, only really served the plot in the sense that it illustrated how aiden underestimated ravencourt's usefulness as a host). If aiden was apparently corrupt enough to be trapped in blackheath, we never get an explanation why; he just seems like some guy who always does the right thing because it's the right thing, and he's not given a lot of depth beyond that. the opposite is true of the footman; he just came across as a bland villain who was evil for the sake of it. characters like anna, the plague doctor, and michael hardcastle were all very interesting to me because we saw how their unexpected actions were guided by their respective moral compasses, but we didn't really get a lot from aiden, which was a shame; I would have liked to see how his natural personality conflicted with each of his hosts, aside from him just wanting to do the right thing. I felt like there were times where either I missed details, or he'd just figure things out with no reasoning as to how he'd know those things, and I found myself a bit frustrated with him as a character and narrative device.

the twist with evelyn being the ultimate mastermind was unexpected, but again, it sort of felt frustrating. everything was rushed toward us at the very end, and I wish we were able to spend more time with her character before the reveal. pretty much the only hint we got that something was off about her was when she was dismissive of seeing gregory gold strung up, but I think I would have liked to see her build up a friendship with aiden and some of his hosts, but for the audience to increasingly become conflicted about her, and whether aiden was doing the right thing by trying to save her life. having her go from seeming kind and brave to Suddenly Very Evil felt disappointing, and I think more time with her would have made that reveal feel more earned.

tl;dr- I'd rate this book maybe a 7.5 out of 10. great prose and concept, and some strong characters, but rushed pacing when combined with a complex plot, as well as a bland protagonist, could sometimes make it a bit of a headache.

[metfell]

the thing with pokemon aus is you gotta consider how much training everyone would actually put in for their teams or if theyd even have a full team of 6.

ranboo is known for having maxed out armor, so you can bet he’s rockin a full team with some switch-outs, whereas i feel like tommy only would have a max of around 4 pokemon that hes really attached to. tubbo probably goes from only having 1 or 2, to having a full team of 6 to mimic the showchester arc. 

tommy absolutely has a pikachu i just. it fits him so well. ranboo WAS gonna have an umbreon but that felt a little too self indulgent to give him my alltime fave, so instead im giving him both forms of meowstic. tubbo would of course have a skiddo but more importantly tubbo is rockin’ the swampert with the megastone i think. i want him to have a lapras. i just want it he deserves a lapras.

for characters like sam we did just decide he has a turtonator, but i also feel like hes rockin the kommo-o or a similarly tough land-bound dragon type. 

sapnap has a typhlosion. pure fire type. he has less than 6 pokemon but theyre all a way higher level than others to compensate. 

dream’s lineup is only classic kanto pokemon to represent being the start of the server, and some of the first few people will only use mainly gen 1-3 pokemon. hes got both a charizard and a blastoise. 

george is the one with the venusaur, and i feel like he has around 3-5 pokemon.

wilbur does something similar to tubbo where he starts off with some small pokemon but then as he spirals, he ends up with probably some kind of pseudo. im thinking maybe altaria because despite how strong it is, it mainly uses its voice like perish song and stuff, and i think that could apply in a fun way

i rlly like that one person’s techno team but techno is strategic. and his house is full of animals in canon, so i wanna have him have a shit ton of pokemon he brings to any situation, and on doomsday he disregards the 6 team rule altogether. some other pokemon are a classic dragonite, a zoroark (thats edward), and a couple pokemon with megas. 

idk thats just some of the thoughts for a pokemon au LMAO