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ggyuwwoo · 3 years ago

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heaven's cloud : Paradise

- in the afterlife where we get to choose our own paradise, two souls unexpectedly meet.

genre: soulmates!au, but also involves idolverse, kinda fantasy whimsical, afterlife-paradise world; fem!reader x lee chan warnings: mentions of death, magical creatures, not really sure what else i guess word count: 2.4k + i generally am not good at making these infos, bear with me sorry! also not really fond of the fic picture, but i also suck and still is learning,,,,

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Lee Chan, for your exemplary journey in life, you are hereby bestowed a place in Paradise.

"I'll take the clouds if I may,"

Then to the clouds you shall ascend, Heaven's Cloud.

Eleven months of (not) living in paradise, Chan had adapted well into his afterlife. The Guides had placed him in his own haven of his choosing, the Clouds. Fluffy white and softer than cashmere, the touch is cooling and healing, peace and quiet were also a given. To Chan, it's his very definition of heaven.

Despite being the only soul - apparently, no one has chosen the Clouds for centuries - Chan has been never alone. He had the little fairies and spirits to keep him company while wandering around the forests. Stars often appear in his nights to cast a light show for the boy. Cancer loves to see Chan's awe-stricken face as the constellation shows him a few tricks.

The Clouds inhabitants and surrounding astronomical beings grew fond of the boy. Hence, Lee Chan never felt alone.

Though it was a blissful experience and a beautiful memory, there was only one month left. One month until the end of his livelihood above the world.

You will be given twelve months of afterlife until your next life begins.

Chan still doesn't understand why they must be sent back to Earth, living another full life that may or may not be 'great'. Though the thought of living on Earth, whatever their life might be, is already a disappointing thought. After having to exist in a paradise of your own, nothing else would come close.

But apparently, the universe believes differently.

The fairies and spirits told him once, 'Universe sought in a cycle, to them it's the perfect way as it does not end, leading to the continuation of life and its purposes.'

"But what exactly do those purposes serve if there is no end to it?"

'There is none silly, if there was to be an end to it, then life itself would cease to exist. It serves to preserve life as we know it, and well - the Universe.'

Chan pondered the thought for a while, "What if, just really hypothetically, someone happens to break the cycle, what happens then?"

The fairies' expression saddened, 'Hopefully it never happens.' Some of them flew to sit on Chan's shoulder, a calming place for them. 'But if it were to happen somehow, life wouldn't perish instantly, but the Universe and everything in it will meet its end, including the afterlife.'

The boy nodded before noticing the frowns on the beautiful faces of the winged creatures, the atmosphere had taken a drop turn. Choosing to lighten the somber mood, Chan raised another question. "Well then, um, what about aliens? Do they exist?”

Throughout the time he was there, Chan spent it listening to the stories of the creatures, exploring the cloud haven that seemingly doesn't end, and conversing every now and then with the astronomical beings -- when they so happened to be passing by.

It didn't get boring for the boy as the stories that the fairies had been plenty and new, never losing the interest of Chan, and the beings were more than happy to talk with him about almost anything.

Of course, all this was okay and fine, revealing the Universe's secrets and whatnot, Chan wouldn't remember this anyway when he enters his next life.

On the first day of his twelfth month, Chan woke up from his sleeping quarters in the usual well-rested sleep. Walking out to do his routine of visiting the forest and later on relaxing by the Serenity Sky Lake. But before he could reach the outlines of White Forest, he saw a figure walking through the field, he couldn't see clearly who it was, but what he registered in his mind was enough to make him gasp.

It was another soul. A human.

As quickly as his feet could take him, Chan sped through the flurry landscape of clouds, wanting to figure out this stranger.

"Hey you! Hey!"

The figure turned to the general direction of where Chan was coming from, revealing its appearance. Upon view, Chan stumbled over nothing, causing him to fall forward into a roll and tumbling on the ground until he laid flat on his back. Luckily, there were clouds under him.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" He heard the figure shout before rustling and someone appeared by his side. Chan scrunched his eyes trying to block the light coming from above while identifying the person looming over him. The first thing he noticed was long brown hair, the strands were flowing almost magically. As if hypnotized by it, Chan could only stare. Until finally, he saw the stranger's face.

She’s ethereal.

You were quite confused as to why you were where you were. All you could see for miles were… white? Your body was standing on nothing, or at least that was how it looked. A sudden voice interrupted your wonders.

Welcome _____, you are in Paradise.

You turned back to find the source of the voice but all you found was a blinding light that caused you to squint your eyes.

“Wh-what? Where?”

Paradise dear, the afterlife.

Your mind went blank, the afterlife? No way. Your brain tried remembering the last thing before waking up in this weird place.

There’s no use child, your memories are long gone. But I can tell you this, you went in peace. You weren’t in pain.

Were the voices capable of reading minds? And who were they? You were a bit frightened.

To answer your question, yes we can read minds. We are the Guides, here to assist the souls in the afterlife. There’s no need to be afraid.

“Uh, okay, ...thank you?” You voiced out, still a little overwhelmed with whatever was going on.

Well then, perhaps we should take you to your choice. Please, follow the green path.

Just as the voices finished speaking, a sudden green line appeared in front of you. You couldn’t see what was ahead, just the green line until the end. You decided to follow through, whatever this was.

As you walked on the path, you were gradually transported to a different place. When you were finally able to understand your surroundings, there were screens that had different landscapes and writings in different colors under them. The scenes displayed were (what you could only describe as) heavenly. Each of them has its own set of vibe and warmth to it. Unconsciously your hand moved itself to touch one of the screens, but then the voices returned prompting you to pull it back.

What you see in front of you are the places in Paradise, according to how one lives their life on Earth, you have a series of options that you may choose from. I shall provide you a look-through.

The screens suddenly disappeared and now you were standing in what looked like those busy city streets, only not so busy.

First is the Silver City. Its appearance resembles the metropolitan areas down on Earth but without all the pollution, noises, and busy traffic. Many people who had used to live in these areas usually choose them, sensing a familiarity to it, they say.

As the Guides explained its landscapes, you were admiring the tall buildings and skyscrapers around you. The architectural designs were marvelous and even if you didn’t remember if you had studied such things, you can’t help but stare in admiration.

Aside from the buildings, the streets looked beautiful as well. The sidewalks were arranged perfectly as if it was placed with the most proper city planning. But one building stuck out to you most, it was majestic. A silver mansion, with tall gates and filled with all kinds of trees and plants. Before you could step towards it, the Guides were already finished explaining the Silver City and had transported you instead to another location.

Second, the Golden Countryside. As the name states, this place is best likely your ultimate countryside farm paradise. A quaint farmhouse with animal livestock to nurture and many forests to explore and spend time in. Families often choose this place for their resting, it’s quite homey.

True to their words, you couldn’t believe what you were seeing. It was a vast field of grass with a simple two-story house that looked like it could fit six bedrooms. Beside it was a giant farmhouse and animals roaming around it. The view itself was doubled in beauty as the sun (or whatever source of light that existed here) sets from behind, casting a soft orange glow over it. Somehow the silver mansion from earlier was placed way aside in your head. Yet again, before you could ask any questions, you were immediately transported once more.

The third is Cosmic Space. Ever wondered how it is to live in Space child?

You heard the voice give out a sound that was similar to a laugh, but somehow not quite.

More people than you’d expect actually dream of this. It may not be as simple as the City or the Countryside, but it’s nonetheless paradise. To them.

Now you were most definitely floating, though despite floating in the middle of random space, you could breathe easily and see easily as well. You thought that space may be too wild for you but as you were looking around, you saw one of the most magical things you have ever seen.

“A comet shower…”

The Guides seemed to have heard you as they projected the shower closer, now holographic space comets were right above you, shining as they continued the rain of them. Mesmerized was all you could feel, the meteors were almost hypnotizing you.

“Whoa…”

Beautiful isn’t it?

Was the last thing you heard before you felt the sudden pull of transport again, at this point you were no longer fazed with the continuous changing of locations, though you did wish to have been able to watch the shower longer.

Number four, the Pearl Waters. For those who favor the deep sea and vast oceans. Of course, many souls who felt close to the waves chose this. The afterlife here is often intriguing, staying with the many creatures and traveling wherever paradise takes you.

You found yourself standing on a deck of a ship, it was modernized though some parts resemble that of an older version. Heading to the flanks you watched the blue ocean as the waves sloshed around the sides. As if welcoming you, dolphins suddenly jumped above the sea, whalebacks spurting water, and schools of fish could be seen from the clear water. You were most surely amazed. As the sea creatures displayed a water show, you felt something touching your arm on the railing. You looked to find a woman with green-blue hair, her cheeks had features similar to scales, and as you peered further you realized it wasn’t a woman at all.

“A...mermaid?”

Ah yes, indeed. Each paradise also has guardians that help care and maintain the afterlife. Mermaids are the Pearl Waters guardians. As for the Silver City, we have the Elves. Golden Countryside has the Shapeshifters while Cosmic Space has Angels.

“Wait what?” You were pretty much confused all together, mythical creatures? Well, then again, it is the afterlife, who knows what actually exists here. But still, you found yourself in confusion and quite the shock.

Not to worry dear, you’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted. Now for our last destination.

The mermaid who was staring at your side gave you a small smile before disappearing back into the ocean. You continued to stare at her general direction before your view changed into that of...clouds?

Last but not the least, Heaven’s Cloud. It’s truly magical here. Not many people find it appealing though, but of course it always depends on who’s choosing. Essentially, it's the skies. The guardians here are the fairies and spirits. Quite the peculiar and very friendly creatures.

As your eyes set on the landscape, you couldn’t help but let out a gasp. It was breathtaking. It was as if you were standing right in front of the Sun but at the same time, you weren’t. You knew for one you’ve never been in a place like this yet all you could feel from the surroundings was home. You leaned down to touch the fluffy ground and it was the softest thing you’ve ever felt. As quickly as the previous location visits, the surroundings changed again back to their original place with screens.

Now _____, because of the well-lived life that you have gone through. You, _____, are given the choice of one of the five Paradises that you have just seen. Speak now for your choice.

You didn’t know if it was your own voice and mind that spoke, or your conscience, because the sound that erupted from your body sounded firm and almost unbreakable. You didn’t even realize that you had spoken your choice after it was said.

“Heaven’s Cloud if I may,”

The Guides paused for a moment as if they were thinking about something, before continuing.

Very well then, your heart has spoken. To Heaven’s Cloud, you shall go.

One last time, you were again transported to a field with white clouds, similar to the earlier landscape you visited. This time without the voices. Somehow you suddenly felt alone, scared, and unsure of what to do. Wandering aimlessly, you tried looking for the guardians - the fairies and spirits. Then you suddenly heard someone shout.

“Hey you! Hey!”

You turned back to see a man, brown fluffy hair swaying atop his head, running towards you. Well, was running, until he stumbled down and started rolling across the field.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” you shouted before heading towards the boy. As you reached his side, you saw he was unhurt and fine, just squinting his eyes. You sighed in relief, although it should make sense, after all, it was clouds underneath them. Before you could say anything to the stranger, you caught him staring right at you, and somehow you stared back as well.

The boy looked mesmerizing.

#heaven's cloud #lee chan scenario #dino scenario #seventeen imagines #em;writes #your choice based stories #svt fanfic

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zaph1337 · 4 years ago

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Monster Hunter Rating 23: Plesioth, the Water Wyvern

Hey, guys. Sorry for not posting yesterday, but that day was stressful for a couple of reasons I’d rather not get into, and I couldn’t start writing this until close to midnight, so I decided to finish it today (which is why I’m going off the Monster List order rather than the Quest List, as an anon suggested). But don’t worry, ‘cause a shark dragon’s worth the wait. Let’s see what Plesioth has to offer!

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Generations)

Appearance: Plesioth is an interesting take on the “shark dragon” concept; unlike Cephalos/drome, which had a clear divide between head and neck, the head of Plesioth, which is more in line with sharks like the great white, is the same width as the neck, which has the same width as most of the body. This gives Plesioth a body type closer to a fish like some kinds of koi or carp than a dragon. Speaking of carps, despite being a shark dragon, Plesioth has carp-like scales and even colors, which seems weird, but according to Wang Fu, a Chinese scholar from the Han dynasty, Chinese dragons, which influenced descriptions of dragons in Japan, had features reminiscent of several animals, including scales like those of a carp. Now, this could be a coincidence, but even if it is, it’s a pretty cool detail.

Plesioth also have a lot of spiny fins, which are similar to those of several species of bass, though the Plesioth’s have spines which extend beyond their membranes. Their wings are also modeled after these fins, but their greater size means that it’s easier to see the gradient on the membranes, which, by the way, looks really nice and complements the colors on the main body really well. I really like this design! It nails the water dragon look really well and has some nice touches that accentuate that. It’s definitely my favorite design out of all the monsters I’ve talked about so far, so y’know what? 10/10.

Behavior: Plesioth are ambush hunters that feed on both under- and above-water prey; for the latter, they prefer to wait until the landlubbers get too close to the water’s edge, just like a crocodile. Their sensitive hearing means that they’re likely to hear the footsteps of anything coming for a drink, but it also means that really loud sounds can frighten them and cause them to flail wildly. They’re territorial enough to regularly patrol their “turf,” but they also fear confrontation due to having weak defenses, and will avoid picking fights if at all possible. Once a Plesioth decides to fight, though, it can be rather persistent, even coming out of the water to attack its target.

Now, that’s not to say they’re uncomfortable on land; they may not be the apex predators that they are underwater, but they’re still a force to be reckoned with. Not many predators will try to feed on something that’s 65 feet long at its smallest and 127 feet long at its largest. Oh, yeah, did I not mention that this thing’s the largest monster I’ve talked about so far? My bad. There are larger monsters that pose a threat to Plesioth, though, which is why these wyverns never like to be far from a body of water. They have to surface at some point, though, because for some reason, they don’t have gills, meaning that they can’t breathe underwater. This a dragon that’s so devoted to an underwater life, it gave up wings that could be used to fly for wings that act as fins, and it still needs to breathe air!? Get your act together, evolution! Okay, it kinda did; they can breathe air both through their mouths and, like amphibians, through their skin, but I don’t see how considering they have scales.

Finally, I should probably point out that like real sharks, Plesioth are viviparous, meaning that they have wombs, rather than lay eggs. And also like real sharks, the babies in the womb will fight and eat each other. Ah, the majesty of nature can be so nauseating at times. The concept of a monster that’s the top of the food chain underwater and still formidable on land is pretty cool, but the fact that Plesioth can’t breathe water is ridiculous. I guess they needed an explanation for why it would ever spend time out of the water? Well, whatever the reason, it’s not like Plesioth are likely to be in danger of something attacking them when they stick their heads out to breathe, so it’s not that big of a deal. 7/10.

Abilities: Those spines aren’t for show; they contain a sleep-inducing neurotoxin that’ll put you to sleep after a single scratch. The wiki also says that Plesioth can inject the toxin through bites, but it only specifies the neurotoxin being in their fins, so I dunno what’s going on here. Speaking of biting, Plesioth have powerful jaws that can crush the armor of some monsters, such as Carapaceon, so you know that getting bit by it has got to suck. They also utilize their size for attacks such as tail swipes, hip checks, and charges. The most notable attack Plesioth have, however, is their ability to fire a stream of highly pressurized water that they previously swallowed while swimming. In real life, pressurized water is used industrially to cut and shape steel, so that tells you what kind of pain you’re in for if you get hit by that. Plus, if it’s anything like the stream fired by Mizutsune, it inflicts Waterblight, a status condition which temporarily decreases the speed at which your stamina recharges, and take it from an Insect Glaive main, that’s not fun. 8/10.

Equipment: So, several Plesioth weapons have Cephalos parts in them, and the weapons as a whole have a similar aesthetic, but they’re still distinct, at least in my opinion. Let’s start off with the Great Sword called the Finblade:

I like how the membrane has the gradient on it to show that it’s from the edge of the fin. I also like the handguard next to the handle; the curve makes it fit the water aesthetic. Next, we have a Lance called the Aqua Spear:

Hey, gotta have a trident in here somewhere, right? Having a membrane between the trident’s points and the shield’s spikes is a nice touch, and I like how the shield looks with that ring of green surrounding its core. But I gotta have a weird weapon somewhere in here, so here’s a Bow called the Dragonhead Harp:

Yes, this is a Plesioth weapon. No, there are no other monster materials used in it that could say otherwise. I honestly don’t know why it looks like this, but it has the Outset Island aesthetic from LoZ: Wind Waker. It even looks like it could be a cannon for your ship in Phantom Hourglass. There is one thing linking this with Plesioth, though: the “feathers” on the arrows in the quiver are made from Plesioth fins. It’s a small detail that really brings the weapon together. As for the armor, there’s unfortunately not any pictures of normal Plesioth armor on its equipment page, and I don’t wanna scrounge around the wiki, so here’s the Gunner version of the “G” armor from MHFG:

I mean, I get it; it’s a diver’s wetsuit with Plesioth fins. The problem I have with it is that there’s not much Plesioth there; the only things here that I can confirm to be from Plesioth are the fins that serve as details, not the main makeup. But there’s another armor set that...look, I had to show it, all right? It’s called the “Apukaru” armor, and while it’s made from both Plesioth and Hermitaur parts, I think there’s enough Plesioth there to warrant showing it here:

Is this armor for hunting monsters or going for a leisurely dive in the Bahamas? Okay, the diving suit the female set is based off of is most certainly not used for leisure, but you get my point, right? This is straight up diving gear made for war! The red parts match up with Hermitaur, but the fins and scales are all Plesioth, and they’ve done some really clever things with the former. First, both suits have the fin membranes as the membranes on their flippers, which is to be expected, but then you look at the female set and realize that the crown on top of the diving helmet is made of the fin membrane. That’s kinda gross, but also hilarious. Also, why is there a princess crown on top of the diving helmet!? It’s such an unnecessary detail, but it adds so much. This equipment gets a 9/10 for being both aesthetically pleasing and goofy as all get-out.

Final Thoughts and Tally: I knew I was gonna like this monster as long as they did it right, and they did it so well that it’s probably my favorite monster in the series (not that I know of many, but semantics). The little details in its design, the fact that it’s dangerous on land and king in the water, the battle prowess, the equipment, and the fact that it’s a freaking shark dragon all make Plesioth the biggest fish in the pond. I’d say that it’s probably gonna go downhill from here, but oh, don’t worry. We’ve got some special guests coming soon. 8/10.

#monster hunter #monster hunter rating #zaph1337

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askkrenko · 4 years ago

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Krenko’s Guide to Pokemon: Farfetch’d line

Sometimes a Pokemon is designed to be a playable thing, but just doesn’t mesh right and so winds up a bit weak. Sometimes a Pokemon’s designed to be an interesting early game choice that caps out fast and stops being useful late game. And sometimes some jackass in Vermillion City scams you into trading a perfectly usable Spearow for a useless duck that’s only useful as dinner that you can’t even eat.

DESIGN:

Paradoxically, the worst part of Farfetch’d is that is design is SO COOL. Farfetch’d has huge wing-hands and a leek weapon so despite just being a duck it looks like it’ll kick your ass. Farfetch’d looks like something that would stare down a Legendary and insist he’s got this, and then somehow actually pull it off. Farfetch’d is awesome. So why is this a problem? Because it can’t put its money where its mouth is. It looks badass, but it sucks. Usually you can tell how strong a Pokemon is roughly by how it looks. Farfetch’d looks like the hero, but it’s a total zero. Galarian Farfetch’d is basically the same design, but with an even bigger leek. Also it’s darker. On the one hand, I’m disappointed that there’s not much more interesting about it, but on the other hand, why mess with a good thing? Galarian Farfetch’d just looks like a slower, stronger Farfetch’d using a big two-handed weapon.

And then we’ve got Sirfetch’d. Now, overall, I do like Sirfetch’d’s design. Its leek is grown larger, cut into sword and shield, and it wields them as a proper knight. It stands upright straight and tall, and is pure white, looking less like a scrappy badass and now like a proper hero. My big problem with Sirfetch’d is actually a symptom of my problem with the line as a whole: its coloration and stance make it look like an evolution for the Johtonian Farfetch’d (not Kantonian- there’s no wild population there), not the Galarian one. Galar’s Farfetch’d are clearly two-handed power attack builds, while Johtonian Farfetch’d could easily go from one-handed sword to sword and board.

EVOLUTIONS:

Johtonian Farfetch’d doesn’t evolve at all. Its a single form Pokemon. Single form Pokemon are really only interesting late game. Otherwise they’re picked up and quickly discarded. Farfetch’d is the poster child for this. In Red and Blue, you have to trade a Spearow for it. The issue is, it’s worse than Fearow, and by the time you get the opportunity to trade for it, you can easily just have a Fearow. Farfetch’d really needed an evolution. There was one in an early version of Gold and Silver called Madame, but honestly, it’s stupid looking and I’m not unhappy it got cut. Here’s an artist’s rendering of Madame thanks to Dr. Lava. I get it, but it’s not worth it.

Galarian Farfetch’d evolves into Sirfetch’d after landing three critical hits in a single battle. This is... weird and silly, but actually entirely reasonable to do. If you equip a Leek and use an attack with a heightened critical hit chance, the real difficulty’s just finding something that survives the three crits. My big issue here is that, as far as I know, nowhere in the game do they TELL you this is how to do it. I get that some pokemon evolutions are more mysterious than others, but as things tend to die from being critically hit multiple times, it’s unlikely for someone to find this without looking it up online. Pokemon’s got a lot of evolution methods like this, and frankly, it just needs to stop.

But my biggest issue is that I don’t see why we even needed Galarian Farfetch’d. Farfetch’d could’ve just evolved into Sirfetch’d. Maybe make it Normal/Fighting to suggest that it can no longer fly because it’s got its big weapons now but it’s still the same bird. Instead, it feels like they gave us a new Farfetch’d just to justify its evolution, but we didn’t need a new Farfetch’d and now this just means the old one STILL can’t evolve. Now, this isn’t to say I don’t like it when forms get their own evolutions. Cursola’s a really cool thing that wouldn’t have made sense coming from a classic Corsola, and Obstagoon coming from Galarian Zigzagoon feels more like “what if we do this instead of making its pre-evolutions” and less like “Hey, let’s make a new final Zigzagoon form.” And of course Perrserker and Runerigus are just too heavy variant from the classics to share a name. But Sirfetch’d here feels like Johtonian Farfetch’d is getting cheated out of the evolution it deserves.

I’ve got mixed feelings on Mr. Rime, too, but we’ll get there when we get there.

TYPING: Farfetch’d is a Normal/Flying, which is too common, especially in Red and Blue. With two immunities, two resistances, and three weaknesses, it’s fine, but Normal’s not supereffective against anything and Flying only hits three types and is resisted by three, so it’s not very useful offensively. Also, there’s just way too many straight up better Normal/Flying Pokemon. Like the Fearow you had to give up to get a Farfetch’d. Sirfetch’d is pure fighting, so three weakensses, three resistances, and a lot of interactions offensively. On the plus side, five things are weak to fighting. On the minus, five resist and one’s immune. This is a problem for pure fighting type Pokemon. It’s not really a great type to be. STATS: Farfetch’d suuuuuuucks.

We’re looking at a FULLY EVOLVED Pokemon here with a stat total of 377. Its highest is 90 attack which, sure, is pretty alright, but the rest of its stats range from 52-62. And that’s after a later generation buff. In the early games its attack was only 65. Let me remind you that Fearow, which you had to not get to get a Farfetch’d, has its lowest stat at 61 and the same 90 attack. It’s just better.

I don’t want to too often discuss how a Pokemon’s problem is another overshadowing it, but it’s so important with Farfetch’d because it was originally an in-game trade, and it was an in-game trade that was just a bad deal. But even otherwise, Farfetch’d is pretty rare in any game its in, wheras Spearow are a dime a dozen. And Fearow’s still got three Normal/Flying types in gen 1 that are just better than it. Farfetch’d is really, really bad and deserves an evolution. Galarian Farfetched has near identical stats (+5 attack, -5 speed) but... it evolves. And SIrfetch’d has 135 attack. The rest of its stats aren’t great- its speed is a bit low, and its defenses average out to about average, but 135 more attack than a Machamp, and 65 Speed is still faster than one. It’s more fragile, sure, but it’s a tradeoff.

ABILITIES: Farfetch’d has the usless Keen Eye, but both Defiant and Inner Focus are solid abilities, and both of them prevent the effects of Intimidate, which is helpful on a physical attacker. If Farfetch’d had an evolution, I could see suggesting either, with Defiant better for higher speeds. But Farfetch’d is just a useless waste of space, so moving on. Sirfetch’d has Steadfast and Scrappy. Steadfast increases its speed when an opponent makes it flinch, which is fine but not what we care about. Scrappy allows Sirfetch’d to use Fighting (and Normal) attacks on Ghost Pokemon, which gets rid of its easiest potential roadblock. Sure, there’s still plenty of things that resist Fighting type, but getting rid of an immunity is useful... even if Sirfetch’d learns plenty of Dark moves to cover that anyway. ITEMS: Most of the time I’m not going to talk about items, but it’s important to note that the Leek item raises the Farfetch’d line’s critical hit ratio by two stages. That means a 50% chance to score a critical hit on all attacks, or a 100% chance to crit with any high-crit move. As a critical hit deals 1.5x damage and normally has a 4% chance to fire, this is roughly a 23% damage boost on all your moves. It’s not as much as a Life Orb or Choice Band, but it doesn’t come with a drawback, and critical hits ignore Light Screen, Reflect, +Defense, and -Attack, with the last one meaning Leek gives some Intimidate resistance.

MOVES:

I’m not really going to talk about Farfetch’d’s moves here. There’s no reason to use Farfetched in a real battle.

Sirfetch’d signature move, Meteor Assault, is as strong as Hyper Beam, but is a physical fighting move. ... But Sirfetch’d can also learn Close Combat and despite the lower damage, taking a defense hit is far less terrifying than skipping a turn in a competetive battle. Killing something with Meteor Assault is an invitation to be taken down by a Psychic attack. With Close Combat you can at least switch out. After that is the question of coverage, of which Sirfetch’d doesn’t really have many options. With STAB Meteor Assault having a base power of effectively 180, it’s generally ‘fine’ even when the opponent is resistant. Still, Sirfetch’d has options for other moves, such as... First Impression: One of very few Pokemon that learn this, First Impression is a powerful, high-priority Bug move. Its primary purpose is to kill fast but fragile Pokemon that could revenge-kill Sirfetch’d, especially psychic types like Alakazam. Knock Off: Almost every competitive Pokemon uses an item, so if you’re not about to get your day ruined by Acrobatics, Knock Off is a 97 power move that messes with your opponent’s strategy.

Defog: Sirfetch’d just learns Defog. It doesn’t do much with it’s strategy and it’s a slow pokemon, but sometimes you just need to Defog. Swords Dance: You all know I love Sword’s Dance. It’s not as good on Sirfetch’d as it doesn’t have the defenses to set up or the speed to sweep, but it’s still worth noting. Leaf Blade: I really want to recommend this as a 90 power attack that always crits if used with a Leek, but... it only hits two of the things that resist Close Combat, and First Impression is just better for Psychic opponents. Brave Bird: Not single type resists both Close Combat and Brave Bird, and Brave Bird is very strong. Yes, it hits you back with a lot of recoil, but you can afford recoil if the other Pokemon’s down. Poison Jab: Poison Jab is supereffective against Bug and Fairy types, both of which resist Close Combat. Sirfetch’d can also learn Sunny Day and Solar Blade, but that’s basically just being cute and not something I’d recommend except for fun. An ideal moveset for Sirfetch’d probably includes Close Combat, Brave Bird, and First Impression, with the last move based on the needs of your team. OVERALL: Sirfetch’d fills me with the same annoyance that I’ve gotten from Pokemons Crystal, Emerald, Platinum, and Ultra Sun/Moon. Yes, I love that they added an evolution to Farfetch’d. I appreciate everything about Sirfetch’d as a Pokemon... but MY Farfetch’d can’t evolve? I have to go out and get an entirely new Farfetch’d that’s 90% the same so I can get this expanded better version? You can’t just sell me some Farfetch’d DLC like an item that makes Farfetch’d evolve when you trade it, or make it so Farfetch’d could just evolve the whole time? And Sword and Shield’s willing to do that- Leafeon is just Leaf Stone now, and I could get an Eevee and a Leaf Stone back in Blue.

Is Sirfetch’d good content? Sure. He’s got solid stats, some interesting moves that can be hard to come by, and the ability to hit ghosts. But for a game where you can trade Pokemon from generation to generation, it feels like a huge cop out that Sirfetch’d comes from this new, not-actually-interesting “Galarian Farfetch’d” and our classic Farfetch’d is STILL a useless pile of junk that I traded a perfectly good Spearow for.

Have I mentioned before that I love how Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra are just DLC instead of a brand new version of the game? Because that’s the best. Anyway, the point is, I want my Spearow back. It’s not like I was going to use it, but it’s the principle of the thing.

#Krenko's Pokemon Guide #farfetch'd #sirfetch'd

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unproduciblesmackdown · 5 years ago

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weird to think back on things like the funky experience of being The All A’s/B’s gang and then The All A’s person during middle school and the Smart Kid designation cuz we all have a godawful time within the k-12 education system and also in Higher Education / academia as well and the setup isn’t like, good for anyone though natch between the “lack of attention / occasional positive attention” and “frequent / negative attention” ends of the experience the former is preferable; apparently weird to have been Good Student passing b/c again idk i have good retention and could memorize shit in homeroom for a quiz that day and that was great b/c actually i had godawful / nonexistent study habits and actually basically hated school and did anything last minute and all but like whatever, i could figure out / understand and remember shit more efficiently / faster than usual so like, idk, i’d get wild results ig. and anyways yeah Smart Kid throughout all of k-12 but like, although i don’t think i’m Not smart in any way, it’s like, but no i hated school and never really tried, that inferred correlation wasn’t there but like also there’s the weird Presumed Identity for you. and it Was weird b/c idk i was like, okay? “perpetually nebulous / imprecise / uncertain sense of identity” gang out here and i’m like hmm okay Am i “the good grades getter?” and then apparently you are cuz like welp that’s the Expectation, and also in my case i was also in the “oops let’s minimize ptsd party” gang of Gotta Get As/Bs motivation..............the point is like, it’s funny how despite that concept of what The A’s Getter is, by now i’m like oh but that’s not even like, my Main Thing, much less my Whole thing. my main thing is that i get wildly interested and passionate about stuff and when i’m really about shit i’m So about it and into it and all that yknow. and it’s like, would be cool if i hadn’t had to like, first fight past this arbitrary Assigned Box to even start to figure out what i’m Really like. but Schools aren’t out here about like allowing for people to be varied individuals and shit. plus, weirdly i’m not sure if i hadn’t had that “Positive” Label to supplant any others that my autistic ass would’ve been largely left alone as much as it generally was............even I didn’t get through middle school w/o some light bullying peppered in there but hey for the most part i got by. and like, i remember 15 was a time for a wild Agonizing Spike cuz that was the point i was having to try to settle on a college major and i was like bitch i don’t know!!! for starters how is every 19 / 20 y.o supposed to know!!! but like litchrelly a year and a half ago my ass was in middle school and barely had any opportunities to individually choose what to pursue, and even if i Had an interest i would sometimes assume if it didn’t seem like The Smart Kid choice i would just assume that like, my interest would only be Allowed to go so far. so yeah i’m 14-15 for the first time having a little breathing room and allowed to pick out my own shit and investigate various stuff (cuz of the luck of getting to live on campus aka parents are Not around and i can be around for more than just Classes) and yet like, that wasn’t enough time to suddenly Fully Realize The Whole Of My Own Identity And What My Actual Passions And Life Goals And Etc Are. plus i kinda remember that i figured i’d flunk out and so was kinda Not spending freshman year expecting to actually be able to do this college thing.....so yeah i always distinctly remember the Stress of sophomore year with this Timer counting down of “gotta declare a major oh god” and trying somehow to Realize What I’m Even Like (i did partially lmao outside of the Academic aspect of it) and obviously like, that’s a Lot.......................plus it was kind of doomed anyways cuz i do remember that when i even mentioned the fact of like “hey what if i majored in ______ [cuz i’m evidently actually like thinking social issues are what i’m thinking i could dedicate my attention to, i’m 15 idk trying to figure this shit out]” and it got immediately brushed off cuz of my mom’s assumptions about what i was like based on my being Smart(tm) and my not wanting to tell my parents about anything Actually about myself by that point so that was like..........well cool to know that that’s not an option for me anymore thanks to immediate dismissal........................like i totally remember that by sophomore year i was def Swiss Idol and “i don’t have a clue what to major in” was a big part of that 9_9...............and like, doing college early is kinda crazy but also Not having high school to mayyyybe figure things out for a bit before hurtling towards Declare Major at 92384 mph is like, would it have helped? who can say. but for example, i know Now i’m a theatre gay, and the limited number of friends-ish i made at college was basically all theatre gays what a surprise, but i myself didn’t ever touch that because i had No direct experience with it, because middle school didn’t have that extracurricular, and then being dropped into hs with people who did? i was like fuck i’m not auditioning for shit i really don’t know how to do. i’m not even Supposed To Be Here goddamn!! i can karaoke avpm in the first floor lounge that’s IT!! fuckin r.i.p. but i mean also i Know high school is it’s own fuckin mess that’s hardly like “flourish as individuals!!” all a sudden. like how i don’t know if i’d’ve been “solid B’s” gang if i would’ve had more room to just figure out my own shit earlier, or if things would’ve been even More miserable cuz of my replacement Type being something more frowned upon cuz weird loser was def waiting in the wings............and then of course Smart Kid expectation constraints wasn’t hardly the only issue in holding back that “oh wait but what am i like *Actually*” process cuz if i was in high school i would’ve been around my parents every day and That was just as much if not more a hindrance in figuring myself out. like going to college may have been useful in that yes i did learn shit but if nothing else i am glad for it b/c the strides i made in “god damn i have to get away from these people (my parents lmfao)” and knowing at least that i’m not Like what THEY thought i was like was E ssen tial Knowledge..........but anyhow like the point of looking back on this shit isn’t to figure out How To Have Run The Perfect Course cuz obviously what’s the point in imagining as broad a what-if, but it’s good for Understanding shit currently..........like oh yeah this crap probably Affected me!! and you gotta know the history to understand the present...............it’s just really wild how like, Passion and (rarely activated) Energy And Intense Interest is like, what i consider my Thing now, and that was like. not what i ever heard anyone else tell me that’s what i’m Like, like, ever basically. i mean not that i don’t think i’m Not smart. it’s just like, not my whole thing and it just kinda feels more incidental, right. What If the whole time i’d been able to pursue whatever i felt like is a wiiiiiiiild question i don’t even know. there’s been so Little of that that’s its absolutely off the shits to be able to put together “oh right i’ve been a theatre gay all along” and “actually i Have performed on stage a decent number of times and supremely thrived in those experiences and i Know i was interested cuz i wished like (@ my family: dni)” and have this very simple (and thus far unusable) Knowledge about something i actually like and am interested in, cuz for the most part it’s [??? ?? ? ?? ???]

on a shorter but related note: the Camaraderie i feel with everyone in the “either has or wants to or would even seriously consider Cutting Ties with parent/s" gang and like, always very Interested in the various experiences within this v broad category. cuz there are so many factors playing into Why you’re in this group and then there’s so many factors in regards to whether someone actually feels able to ditch a ‘rent or two, and then beyond that, all the factors in whether someone’s actually able to............like, knowing that it’s never “lucky” to have to be in this group in the first place, i fairly am Lucky about it in many ways cuz, first of all, lucky to have been able to actually execute [eff off from parents] maneuver, and lucky to get to Know that’s what i totally needed to do........we are all Valide in how we try to deal with relations w/ parents that are so bad you even have to think about “maybe i have to Not Have This Person In My Life At All” and like, when people are dealing with that but Don’t feel they have the option to truly cut that parent or two out of their life, that’s like, well as someone who once felt that way and can Empathize and yet also had these Factors Line Up which let me peace out which aren’t factors that are in play for everyone (as well as a lack of other factors which Are relevant for others and which might mean Leaving Behind Parent/s 5eva isn’t an option they’d consider) it’s like Oh wow, let me hear more about that experience. tldr the camaraderie

oh and ps. it’s funny how like, in my post-being-in-school life, i thiiiiiiiink people usually probably assume i’m Kinda Dumb if anything. cuz the Grades don’t exist anymore but i’m still autistic!!!!! which is another wild factor in thinking about like “well what if [some aspect of my life] had been entirely different, hmmm” cuz it’s like. well i’d’ve still been autistic lmao..............the Social shit has like, been an issue even before the other usual shit in school cuz i Knew i wasn’t fitting in at preschool when all we were doing was like, learning colors and going outside. and it always was a bit distressing to me Never really having more than a couple friends and even then not that close or anything, right? and also how i’d try to Fix this with various strategies and trying out different situations like “oh well i’m not putting myself out there i’ll put myself out there” [tries it and it half-backfires] or “well if i’m spending a weekend with people who know me from Online they’re gonna like me for sure” [majority of ppl in a sub Friend Group i’m peripheral to and i’m intermittently stressed the whole time] “Ah Fuck” lmao and honestly only recently am i like oh right..............when you’re autistic socializing just in a very fundamental way is really like That*.................(*a way i can’t easily explain lmao)............like really just in mad recent times kind of realizing like, oh, okay, i don’t think i can ever Adjust My Approach and just suddenly become good at Easily Makes Friends and that kind of shit..............finally just kinda realizing like ohh right okay i really just do Not do “normal good conversation” like you’re supposed to and that’s just chill The Way It Is not necessarily “not good enough at it” way but It Just Is Different way like........yeah it can be Not Pointless to try to modify your social approach and that’s true for absolutely anyone, but like say, if i’m like oh if i simply get Better at [social interaction task] i will then finally be Good at it, it’s like, shit well that’s honestly just not how it works for me. like, #getting how after a point it’s like “okay learning to do [task] in a way that’s more [like this] is maybe gonna be better for Masking / seeming allistic but like, not for Actually giving me a social experience that’s more fulfilling for Me.” Plus, it’s like, i’m also way more (or okay at least As Much) socially limited by external factors, probably.

pps oh and also, tangentially related b/c Autistique, it’s wild how every time you delve into (something At All specific about autism) you’ll probably learn something Utterly new about autism which is like god damn this isn’t That niche why haven’t i heard this!! why do i have to know there are 538 other would-be “i should already know this” revelations waiting for me about this topic cuz you have to manage to dig up this stuff on your own and dodge all the unhelpful bullshit types of sites where it’s Not about info from people / for people who are autistic? please. it’s almost like this is a constant and important part of my identity that affects p much every aspect of my life and is helpful to hear others’ info about the collective experience of it b/c like, it’s literally all in your own head and you can’t just somehow Know the ways you’re different in that realm just from emergent traits you can pick up on and figure out. ugh!!!! anyways

this is LONG but NO readmore b/c eh. who am i if not [i hope everyone hates my blog this week.jpg] every week

#NOTHING could make me a ''good student'' lmfao low effort and procrastination FOREVER!!!!#i studied a little bit the night before for my driving exam AND the sats........did gr8 on both b/c the devil's watching out for me #I Shouldn't Be Alive title card #but anyways i WILL tag this #long post ///#oh and you KNOW the same source got me thinking abt all this these past couple days......u_u #anyways at this point i am like lmao oh yeah i'm Not easy to interact with! and i usually don't find it easy to interact w/ everyone!#that's how it be on this bitch of an earth..

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danny-phantump · 7 years ago

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and i thought to myself: what if the other swords were the bases for fern instead of the grass sword?

(names, personalities, and how they came to be under the cut)

Tinn (because tin is a metal, and the sword is metal. not... my best work but it holds)

Created when Scarlet got thrown into the 4D rift in combination with Finn. No one know why both Tinn and Finn came out, but they did. Tinn was created back in Finn’s younger days, so he’s pretty upbeat, though his naturally neutral and stiff face could fool anyone. He’s a little beat up, but he doesn’t mind. He doesn’t mind a lot- or at least, he won’t say. His face doesn’t have a whole lot of movement capabilities, despite the rest of him working fine, to PB’s bafflement. Because of this, he mostly stays quiet, though he hums a lot. He sometimes ‘freaks out’, parts of him reverting to 4 dimensions and flipping out all over 3D space. There’s not much to do but wait it out, despite it possibly being world-endingly catastrophic, much the the chagrin of... everyone.

Design notes: his sword rusts away when he dismisses it, and seems to be built from that same dust when he summons it. his core is made of one massive ruby, but the rest of him is just made of the same gold-alloy as scarlet.

Fig (like a fig tree)

Created via life magic (why would you throw your sword at Life Giving Magus’s weird glowing orb Finn, he’s not even doing anything he’s just making an ominous orb), Fig for some reason doesn’t have all of Finn’s memories- they stop at about age 11. The physically smallest of the swords, as well as mentally youngest, he is the little brother. Not just of the Finns- everyone. You thought you were just saying hi? No, you’re telling him you’ll beat up the kids pushing him around on the playground. He doesn’t go to school. You’re playing tag with him. You don’t know how you got to the park. On a darker note though... Fig was lost deep in a dungeon while adventuring. He waited for someone to come find him but... he had snuck out after being grounded by Jake for being reckless and getting hurt. They didn’t know where he was. And slowly, as the weeks went by, he petrified. They finally found him months later but.... Princess Bubblegum, despite her best efforts, can’t revive him. She hasn’t given up hope, but everyone is terrified they were far, far too late.

Design notes: Fig’s limbs are roots twisted together, and his fingers are smaller roots. He has three fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot. His face has a muppet-like mouth, split all the way from ear to ear, but he doesn’t usually open it that far.

Finnalor (Focalor is a demon in Christian mythology who looks like a man with the wings of a griffon)

Created when Kee Oth tried to fix the demon sword with Finn’s blood, Finnalor is cranky. He’s grumpy. He’s hangry. He’s- have you ever watched Gravity Falls? He’s Robbie. A little obsessive over old crushes, mostly snarky and needlessly rude. He’s got a good heart, it’s just a little.... buried. In demon blood. He left after about two days to go live alone on a mountain where no one can hurt him and he cant hurt anyone. Finn knows his summoning and banishing spells and we don’t know why.

Design notes: big. large. long. Finnalor is not a small demon, and hes got the teeth and claws to prove it. He’s wearing a hat Finn washed with red socks three years ago and never threw out.

Fern (thats our boy)

You know who Fern is!

Design notes: round

Finn.2 (i was This Close to making him tiny and calling him miniFinn)

He just sort of... popped out of the Finn Sword when it broke. He’s just... Finn. Point two. He left to go help the humans off their island and hang out with his mom, but he calls sometimes to check up on everybody. There’s something.... fragile about him though. Like he survived something he wasn’t meant to, and he’s waiting to pay the price...

Design notes: that sword is actually a part of him. If he loses it, he can sense it to find it, but if it gets destroyed he goes with it. Its missing the blue orb.

F.I.N.N (Fully Integrated Neural Network, pronounced Finn, but he calls himself RoboFinn when Finn OG is around to avoid confusion)

Hey Finn, can you find the other arm for this cool robot im building? nnnno, a sword is not close eno- what did you do. how did you- what? what????

He’s pretty cool! pretty chill. a neat dude. generally laid back, but very graceful and good at Fighting and Swords. despite having all of Finn’s memories in even better detail than anybody else cause hes a robot, he probably cares the least about being Finn. Or at least, hes Finn enough for him. He works full time at the castle, partly for guard purposes and partly so Princess Bubblegum can do maintenance on him when he falls off the wall again because he was trying to do a Sweet Flip. Also though, because a thing used to kill a fragment of the Lich, who is now a robot with Lich horns, seems.... suspicious. As Fun and Cool as FINN is, we’re keeping an eye on him....

Design notes: The black lines through his body are segments- hes an armored endoskeleton. his feet are actually just sharp points, though he gets around fine on them (not on smooth surfaces though. its like a deer on ice). He’s holding up a peace sign up there.

Sinn (sin + finn)

Hunson Abadeer makes weird plans. We don’t know much about this kid, or why Hunson threw the Night Sword into a vat of goo and it made a magic Finn, but that happened and now we have to deal with the consequences. He’s got a weird magic eye stump that makes magic hands. his whole face flips up like a lid and its filled with teeth. He doesn’t bend right and doesn’t speak. He’s weird, this is weird, i dont trust like that.

Design notes: he has devil horns.

General notes: i didnt originally mean for all of them to be in the same world, but the thought of finn just. continually spawning more finns via swords is hilarious to me. “maybe i should switch to bows and arrows. or axes or something.” you poor bastard.

I do actually have a sort-of explanation- fucking around with multiverse shit makes your genes+memories+essence go nuts and try and smear themselves on everything important to you. its sort of a built in self-preservation mechanism- of you die out there, some piece of you can survive in some way or another. Finn’s just tremendously unlucky.

also almost every color used i lifted directly from the wiki. i gotta say yall use a lot of ‘saddle brown’.

#fucko #adventure time #finn mertens #finn the human #fern the human

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bwprowl · 7 years ago

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I’m back with a big bevy of brand-new toys spied at this year’s SDCC! The pop-culture ‘con’s media ubiquity means that all sorts of stuff could catch my eye, with standbys like Transformers, Marvel, and Star Wars showing up next to obscure old license homages and weird new Ninja Turtles crossovers. Aside from that, the toys from the next Kamen Rider series have started surfacing, and more Machine Robo remakes are up for pre-order. Plus some clearanced old fashions you might want to snap up now. Welcome back to Tuesday Night Toys!

New Stuff: Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con

It’s weird to think that San Diego Comic-Con is a regular hotspot of new toy reveals nowadays, but that’s just the world we live in. Virtually everyone from NECA to Funko had stuff on display, so here I go with the big stuff that really caught my eye.

We’ll start, as usual, with the Transformers. After months of speculation with no leaks or hints or anything, the new Power of the Primes line was finally shown to the world, and it’s kind of a doozy. Titan Masters are now Prime Masters, turning into little armor emblems for larger figures, and they ride around in little remade Pretender suits, a great way to bring that concept back. I just want to line up an army of these little dudes, particularly any from the Masterforce end of things.

Legends class is the same as it has been, mostly recreating Mini-Bots, a new Beachcomber being the one they showed off. Deluxes and Voyagers seem to include components to be Combiners again, but Hasbro didn’t say anything about that so everyone be sure to act surprised when they confirm it later. These include really neat-looking new little Darkwing and Dreadwind, a new Jazz (with no door-wings!) and a deliciously thick Starscream (whose proportions were what really prompted everyone to conclude that he’s a secret Combiner torso).

And the biggest one of course was the Leader Class Rodimus Prime, who actually features a full Deluxe Hot Rod toy that folds up and combines with the trailer to form the big guy. It’s a sweet-looking return for a character who hasn’t really gotten his due until now, and it turns out ALL the PotP Leaders are going to utilize that type of gimmick. It’s pretty well my jam, and I look forward to seeing all of them, including the fan-voted Optimus Primal who was confirmed as well.

(also a metric shitload of the rest of the line was leaked just a few days later but we are definitely not supposed to talk about those yet)

On Hasbro’s Marvel side, there was plenty to like too. Spider-Man continues to be a force, seeing the rad-looking Spider-Punk variant from Spider-Verse get a Legends release, along with a pretty sweet new Mysterio (check out the effects on that fishbowl) and a very nice-looking Lizard BAF. There are other really appreciated entries including Songbird, a new Namor, friggin’ Deathlok of all people, and even Gwenpool! Yeah, my flavor-of-the-month fan-favorite may be looking a bit more Beyruth than Gurihiru in this version, but she does have her phone and penguin backpack, which makes for a pretty good effort in my book. Maybe now I’ll keep an eye out for Marvel Select or Figure Complex to take a shot at her.

And they had a decent amount of Star Wars Black Series figures on deck as well. Though I suspect they’re waiting ‘til we know more about Episode VIII to show off stuff from that one, there’re still a few stragglers from VII that need toys, and they had those here with Maz Kanata and General Leia! I still need a Maz toy for how much I enjoyed her in the movie, maybe I’ll pick this one up.

A surprise reveal Playmates had was another Ninja Turtles crossover entry, this time with the boys cosplaying as the Ghostbusters. They look like a neat enough idea, though the most amusement so far has been all the people who think, with the exception of Donatello as Egon, that different Turtles should be different characters, but being unable to decide on *who*.

Four Horsemen had more of their ongoing Power Lords remake line on display. Now here’s a line I’ll never be able to get into properly, but these designs are all just way too cool not to show off. There isn’t nearly enough plain-crazy alien toy stuff these days, but at least Four Horsemen can always be counted on for impressive sculpts.

And as I’ve already loudly shown off, Bandai confirmed that they’ll be doing the Psycho Rangers in their Power Rangers Legacy line. Given that these were some of the first things I asked for when the line started coming out, and that they’ll be including their individual weapons PLUS parts for a BAF Alpha 5, these are pretty much must-own for me. And I really gotta get on tracking down the remaining Space Rangers. At least the Silver Ranger was also confirmed for the line. I really can’t wait for 2018 now.

Finally, this wasn’t at SDCC, but a couple weeks back new pics of the toys for Kamen Rider Build (that’s the guy comin’ up after Ex-Aid) started making the rounds. The belt has this hand-crank thing going, and it uses trinkets called FullBottles to transform, which appear to have actual liquid of sorts in them. What this means in the long run for these things is uncertain, as is if Bandai actually wants us to drink these little things.

The gimmick action figures were also seen, showing off the neo-W-style half-n-half combination feature. They actually work about how I expected them too, and look pretty good doing it. I’m already excited about this series based on the slick aesthetics alone, so this’ll be another one I keep my eye on.

Wishlist: Spacy Jones

It’s always nice when another set of Action Toys’ Machine Robo figures goes up for pre-order. Relief, almost. “Oh good,” you think, “Those surreptitious GoBots remakes are still going on.” Up this go-around are Shuttle Robo and Missile Tank Robo, or Spay-C and Blaster to yours and mine. Spay-C was a pretty popular character from the ol’ GoBots series, so I predict she’ll do well (she’s the one I want most). Blaster is mainly known for sharing a name with a much more popular Transformer and for coming in a couple different-color variants. This version recreates the orange version, and I can’t tell you if they’ll do a quick repaint into the green version later. I at least appreciate Blaster in the same way I do, say, DC superheroes that have the same name as Marvel superheroes, or vice-versa.

You might also want to know that Target is making moves to reset their toy aisles again, so that means clearancing of old stuff. Of particular note is the ever-rotating Star Wars section, and Rogue One being old hat means the Black Series figures of its heroes Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor have been knocked down to less than five dollars, with the intent of clearing them out as effectively as the end of that movie did. Dark? Maybe, but hey, at least it was enough for me to finally grab that Jyn I’ve been waffling on for nearly a year.

On Desk: That Jyn I’ve been waffling on for nearly a year

I mean, I didn’t MEAN to neglect a decent-looking SW toy for so long. But as much as I enjoyed it, all the things I did pick up from Force Awakens left me with a bit of Star Wars burnout, and while Jyn certainly *looked* really really cool, actually seeing the movie left me just kinda eh on her character (I…didn’t latch onto any of the R1 crew the way a lot of others did. No, not even K-2S0). But hey, for five bucks I’ll take a sweet-looking Rebel spy gal.

She is a cool toy, with a layered, well-sculpted outfit that captures the grounded grittiness I enjoyed about Rogue One. The optional hood-scarf-thing is a nice touch, and if her face-sculpt maybe looks a little too…Ellen Paige for the character, it still rounds out the design well enough in toy form. Plus I’ll always love that pistol.

I don’t really have any desire to pick up the rest of the R1 crew in Black Series form (not even the similarly-clearanced Cassian). But Jyn shall make a solid addition to the little corner of a Star Wars display I’ve got going. She can party with my myriad Captain Phasmas.

And you can party with all that SDCC knowledge, everyone! I’m sure there was other stuff there that you thought was cool that I didn’t manage to think to cover, but whatever your favorite was, I hope you have fun with it. I’ll see you next time!

#sdcc #transformers #marvel #star wars #ninja turtles #ghostbusters #power lords #power rangers #machine robo #gobots #toys #tuesday night toys

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real-life-pine-tree · 8 years ago

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Arc-V Aftermath: A Duelist’s Skill (10/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

"And then he had the nerve to call my Speedroids weak toys!"

"Can you hand me a wrench?"

"That swirly-haired jerk thinks he's sooo great with Ancient Gear cards! They don't even look like Ancient Gear monsters!"

"Are you gonna help me, or...?"

"I swear, the next time I see him, I'll shove my fist into his face! That outta show him!"

"Yugo, wre-"

"Cardfighters are the wor-"

Fed up with Yugo's rant, Rin leaned over and kissed his lips without taking her eyes off the Duel Runner. With the Team Duel Tournament approaching, Cardfighters have been showing up more frequently across the Original Dimension. In a way, it was understandable why the Clear Wing-eyed Synchro user was upset. His squabble with one of said Cardfighters really put him in a bad mood. Good thing he had something else on his mind thanks to Rin.

Ultimately the two parted. "Now will you shut up?" Rin asked.

But Yugo was love-struck. "That was our first kiss..." he realized.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Just hand me the wrench, you moron," she repeated.

Now sidetracked from ranting, Yugo handed the wrench to Rin, using it to tighten the bolts. After the mishap with the engine, she and the rest of the Synchro crew wasted no time with fixing the Duel Runner and adding modifications to make it battle-proof. Crow and Shinji were looking at the blueprints and the constructing Runner to see if there were any more parts that may be included. Rin soon wiped off any sweat that may have formed on her forehead after she finished tightening the last bolt.

"Not bad!" Shinji remarked. "It looks just like Yugo's previous Duel Runner."

"Then what are these blueprints for?" Crow asked, revealing blueprints for a completely different Duel Runner.

"Oh, those?" Rin asked. "They're for my own Duel Runner."

She explained how her Duel Runner will look different from Yugo's and how it have a design based off of Crystal Bell. So far, its color scheme will be white and purple with purple crystals. She planned on drawing out and listing more parts to deduce which ones will work best for the design before finalizing the blueprints. Despite Crystal Bell being a corrupted version of Winter Bell, Rin knows there is true beauty within the card, so using it as inspiration for her Duel Runner was an indicator. She also figured that she should build one of her own since she won't have to share one with Yugo.

"This looks pretty cool," Yugo complimented, looking at the blueprints. "You really know how to bring out the best in everything."

"Yep," Rin agreed. "Even hot-headed Turbo Duelists with loud and rude behaviors."

It took Yugo a few seconds to realize who Rin was referring to. "Hey, wait a minute!"

Rin let out a small laugh and gave Yugo another kiss. "But I still love you," she said.

Yugo blushed at Rin's second kiss. Usually, he would say that he prefers being called "energetic and short-tempered", but not this time. Ever since his sleepover with Rin, he was gradually improving on his behavior… Well, he still has his moments here and there, such as his rant, but at least he's trying his hardest to take Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri's advice seriously. Obviously not become a different version of himself like last time, but applying it to good use. It was actually quite amazing to be in love with a tomboy… Is she a tomboy?

A few moments later, the Synchro crew went on their break. They decided to pass the time by playing a couple rounds of Duel Monsters. Right now, Yugo and Crow were spectating Shinji's duel against Rin, who was about to start her turn.

"Nice Battle Wasps," Rin said. "But let's see if you can face my icy spells!" She drew a card. "Since I summoned Windwitch - Ice Bell on my previous turn, I think I'll summon a second one to join her on my field! So you lose another 500 life points!"

Ice Bell's effect deducted Shinji's LP by 500 before Rin continued with her turn.

"Now that I have my two Ice Bells, I can bring out Windwitch - Snow Bell to tune them together!" Rin continued. "Midwinter wind, make ice and snow my power and appear in all your wintertime glory! I Synchro Summon Windwitch - Winter Be- What the?!"

Rin noticed her En Winds marking starting to glow on her left hand just as she was about to Synchro Summon Winter Bell. She wasn't the only one because Shinji, Crow, and Yugo also saw the light green glow, leaving them a little shocked. Unlike her counterparts, who didn't quickly learn what their markings did when they performed a distinct special summon since they were on body parts they easily can't see, she was the only one who caught on to her marking reacting during a duel. At least they all managed to get a bit of an understanding of what was going on.

"Why is my hand glowing?!" Rin asked, alarmed. "Why is my hand glowing?!"

Shinji was concerned about Rin's freak out. "Should we call it a draw?" he asked, ready to take his deck out of his Duel Disk.

"No!" Rin blurted out. "I-I Synchro Summon Windwitch - Winter Bell!"

Winter Bell appeared on Rin's side of the field while the apple green-haired girl was still alarmed by the current situation. Her ace has two effects that either can be used once per turn. By targeting one of her Windwitches from her Graveyard, she can inflict damage to her opponent equal to the target's level x 200. She can also target a Windwitch she controls to special summon a monster with a Level less than or equal to the target's Level, but it isn't allowed to attack during that turn. Desperately trying to find a way to get rid of the glowing marking, Rin chose Winter Bell's first effect.

"I activate Winter Bell's special ability!" Rin announced. "By targeting one of my two Ice Bells, you lose 600 life points!"

Winter Bell took out 600 of Shinji's LP thanks to her first ability; Rin checked her marking, only to find it still glowing. She would declare an attack, but she figured he endured enough damage for this turn. Besides, it would only prolong the glow if she doesn't figure out a way to stop it. For now, she stated she'll end her turn, which caused the light green luminosity to fade away. She was slightly confused as to why ending her turn was the solution to this dilemma, but mostly glad that it was over as she let out a sigh of relief. Shinji and Crow had to ask what that was all about.

"I don't know!" Rin admitted, looking at her marking. "But it seemed to happen when I Synchro Summoned Winter Bell!"

"Wait... I think I know what's going on!" Yugo asked.

"Really?" Rin happily asked.

Yugo proceeded to run over to Rin and tightly hug her. "You must be growing out your hair!"

"What?!" Rin asked, surprised at Yugo's suddenly statement.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Yugo said, separating from the hug. "Last time I checked, your hair was a half inch shorter. You're already cute with short hair, but you'll probably look extra cuter with long hair!"

Where the heck did that idea come from? And how did Yugo spot Rin's slightly longer hair? Regardless, it had nothing to do with her marking, but Crow and Shinji also remembered seeing her hair shorter. They never noticed until now although their reactions were slightly delayed than Yugo's. Rin was pleased that her friends were thrilled with her growing hair, but she needed to figure out why her marking glowed when she Synchro Summoned.

After calming down, she looked at her marking on her left hand, deducing the cause of what happened less than a minute ago. She knows she's one of Ray's four reincarnations, specifically her Synchro reincarnation, "created" by the En Winds Natural Energy Card. A theorization quickly struck her; when Ray was split a second time, she was given her respective Natural Energy marking, with the same applying to her counterparts, on a certain body part to help symbolize their main personality trait. Maybe that's what the reason behind the light green glow during her turn.

Rin clenched her left fist. "That's why my marking is on my hand," she realized.

"What?" Shinji asked as he drew a card to indicate he was starting his turn.

"I'll explain later!" Rin said.

With that said, everyone focused back to the duel as Shinji began his turn. Although he lost Life Points thanks to Rin's Windwitches' effects, she didn't attack him. This was perfect for him to swarm his side of the field with his Battlewasps to Synchro Summon his ace, decrease Winter Bell's ATK/DEF, and use his burn strategy. Looking at his cards, he made his move.

"I'll activate the Spell card Revival Swarm to recover Azura the Spirit Bow from your attack!" Shinji said. "Beat your wings, bring your sting, unite and fight! I Synchro Summon Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow!"

Hama has an effect where it can attack a second time during each Battle Phase, which can be determined if Shinji activates its other two effects: if battle damage was inflicted, he can target one of his opponent's monster to make it lose ATK equal to the battle damage until the end of the Battle Phase; however, if no battle damage was inflicted, he can deal damage for every Battlewasp in his Graveyard x 300 to his opponent. He knew what he will do for this turn.

Shinji used Hama to attack Winter Bell, causing Rin to use her ace's second ability. Since Hama was Synchro Summoned, she can target Winter Bell to special summon a monster from her hand with a Level less than or equal to the target's Level, but the summoned monster can't attack; in other words, she special summoned Windwitch - Glass Bell. Shinji knew she would do that; after Winter Bell was destroyed and Rin lost 400 LP, he activated one of Hama's effects, resulting in Glass Bell to decrease her ATK from 1500 to 1100. Now he can attack a second time as his ace sent his target to the Graveyard, making Rin lose 1700 LP.

"Hopefully that shouldn't case too much of a problem," Shinji said as he concluded his turn.

"It won't," Rin said. "During the end of your turn, I activate the Trap card Miracle's Wake to bring back Winter Bell!"

A portal opened up from the Graveyard as Winter Bell flew out of it and landed on Rin's side of the field. She then drew a card to indicate the start of her turn.

"And since I have my Winter Bell back, now I can unleash the full power of my icy spells!" Rin continued. "So I'll start things off with Polymerization, fusing Winter Bell with my Glass Bell! Maiden of snow and ice, become one with the magic of crystals and shed your ragged disguise to reveal the princess within! I Fusion Summon Windwitch - Crystal Bell!"

But the Fusion Summoning was different than the last time Yugo remembered. Instead of emerging from a block of ice, Glass Bell sprinkled Winter Bell with magic, causing her to transform into Crystal Bell in a sparkly display. "RinRin..." the banana-banged Duelist said, completely in awe.

Rin looked what was in her hand while reading Crystal Bell's effects, in which each can be used once per turn. Her Fusion ace can target a monster in either her Graveyard or Shinji's, resulting in her gaining the target's name and effects until her End Phase. If she was destroyed, Rin can special summon Winter Bell and a Level 4 or less Windwitch. After some strategizing, she figured out how to turn the duel in her favor.

Rin raised her left fist. "Now, with the power of the great Northern winds, I will strengthen my Crystal Bell!" she announced.

With a strong wind appearing on Rin's field, her marking began to glow light green once again as the En Winds symbol appeared on Crystal Bell's forehead, giving her a 500 ATK boost. Shinji, Crow, and Yugo were left confused on what Rin did and how it even worked on her first try. With the power boost granted, she proceeded to carry out the rest of her strategy for this turn.

"I activate Crystal Bell's special ability!" Rin said. "With Winter Bell lending her power from the Graveyard, you lose 800 more life points thanks to Glass Bell!"

Crystal Bell, now under the name Winter Bell, dealt 800 points of damage to Shinji. She them initiated her Battle Phase; normally, both her monster and Battlewasp - Hama the Conquering Bow would both be destroyed, but with the ATK boost, Hama gets sent to the Graveyard as Shinji loses 500 more Life Points.

Shinji was baffled. "How did you even do that?!" he asked.

"Through the power of my marking," Rin answered, showing Shinji the glowing marking on her left fist. "I figured the previous time it glowed meant it has some kind of special power that only triggers when I first Synchro Summon. And since the glowing stopped at the end of my previous turn, it probably works during only my turns."

A couple minutes after ending her turn, Rin ended up winning the duel. The plans of having a couple duels were dimmed down to one because of her marking, so with their break nearing its end, the Synchro crew discussed about its abilities. They were determining if what happened to her also happens to Zuzu, Lulu, and Celina. Yugo interrupted because he was wondering if his Clear Wing eye color also has a unique special power and if it's similar to Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri.

"Excuse me?" Rin asked.

"That has to be it!" Yugo insisted. "After Zarc separated, me and the guys had our eye colors changed. And since you and the other girls have special powers connected to the Natural Energy Cards, I probably have a cool power connected to my dragon!" He proceeded to activate his Duel Disk.

"What do you think you're doing?" Crow asked.

"Just unleashing my cool new dragon powers!" Yugo answered. He proceeded to summon the needed Speedroids for the Synchro Summon. "Beat your wings to whip up a whirlwind of destruction! I Synchro Summon Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Clear Wing flew into the field, bellowing out her roar. Once the Synchro Summon was complete, Yugo suddenly fell to the ground, passing out in the process. A startled Rin, Crow, and Shinji ran over to him; Rin shook his body to help him regain consciousness, but there was no response. She resorted to CPR to revive him; with each failed attempt, the Synchro crew grew more concerned, especially Rin. She didn't want to end up suddenly losing him…until something else unexpected surprisingly happened.

"Uh... Guys?" Crow asked. "Is it me, or did Clear Wing become more sluggish?"

Shinji and Rin turned around to see that Crow was right. Clear Wing seemed to have gained a sluggish posture; she also rose her head up and looked at her surrounding to get an understanding of what happened. Rin was about to ask the dragon if something was wrong when she stopped moving, almost as if she heard something. With a slight glance over her shoulder, her became happy to see her and flew over to nuzzle her as she growled softly. This left Rin a bit speechless and Crow and Shinji stunned about what Clear Wing was doing.

Rin's eyes widened. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Shinji asked.

"It sounded like Clear Wing said 'RinRin'," the mint green-haired girl said. She looked at the dragon. "Yugo?!"

Clear Wing nodded her head, confirming that she was indeed Yugo. Rin, Shinji, and Crow were stupefied at what their Speedroid user did. She placed her hand on her forehead in order to try and comprehend everything. How on earth can a simple Synchro Summon result in something bizarre like that?! Was it due to him having his ace dragon's eye colors? Was Yugo also given a special power too?

So many questions were flying into Rin's head that she may needed a moment. Shinji and Crow tried to ask their companion how he ended up in Clear Wing the moment he passed out, but their answer was in growls. Apparently, he can't speak like a human and can only respond with dragon sounds.

"Hold on," Crow said. "We can't understand what you're saying." He proceeded to remove Yugo's deck from the Duel Disk, causing the dragon to disappear as Yugo bolted awake.

"What the heck was that?!" Yugo asked. "How did I end up in Clear Wing's body?!"

"We're not sure," Crow replied. "But apparently you and the other guys can somehow become one with your dragons."

Yugo became dumbstruck at this revelation. He was having difficulty finding the right words to express how ecstatic he is about having an ability of his own. Rin had to remind him to relax with a smack at the back of his head. He quickly apologized as he rubbed his head, but he knew what he was going to say. He said he's enthusiastic about discovering his ability, which soon turned into another thought and question. Does Yugo being able to become one with Clear Wing have something to do with Zarc?

"Wait a minute..." Yugo said. "Since Zarc was able to become one with his dragons..." He smiled wide. "Does that mean my new power is the same way?!"

"Probably," Rin answered.

"This is so cool!" Yugo exclaimed. "I have to tell the others! They're gonna be so happy!"

It was clear that the powers of both dragon-colored eyes and the Natural Energy markings were becoming the main focus for the Synchro crew. Right as Yugo was about to find his counterparts, he quickly realized their break was over and that they needed to continue with Duel Runner construction. He yelled out a "Dang it" before heading back in the apartment/garage to help out.

Several hours later, the gang decided they were done for today and will continue tomorrow. Crow asked what time is was and Rin answered, after taking a glimpse at the clock, that it was 5:40 PM. It was evening already? Yugo looked outside the window to see the sun was starting to set. He remarked on how time can move so fast when they were busy working. Just then, the sound of a microphone was heard across the city; an important announcement was about to be made.

"Attention all Duelists. There will be a festival tonight at Heartland Park to promote the upcoming Team Duel Tournament. All Duelists are welcomed to attend and the festival will allow teams to register."

Rin's eyes lit up in utter delight. "A festival?"

"Sweet!" Yugo exclaimed. "We can register our team!"

Yugo and Rin were both excited about the Heartland Park festival tonight. From the sounds of things, it was going to be a more casual event than a formal one, so it makes picking out clothes easier. Crow asked Yugo what he'll be wearing, with the latter replying he's fine with what he has on right now…right after mentioning that he needs to wash up. He does have a point; after all the hard work everyone did, they needed to get clean for the festival. As for Rin, she said she'll shower once she finds nice and comfortable clothes to wear at the city's local donation center.

"Aww, you don't have to dress fancy, RinRin," Yugo said, hugging her from behind. "You're already adorable."

"I appreciate the compliment, but I smell like Duel Runner oil," Rin insisted, but Yugo proceeded to give her multiple cheek kisses.

As Yugo's kisses made Rin giggle, Crow and Shinji were surprised at her behavior. From what they have seen, she is always tough, hangs out with boys, and typically does stuff guys do. This was the first time they saw her act rather girly. They also could have sworn Yugo said something about shopping and her being a fashionista, but they weren't sure that was what they heard. They wondered if she really was a tomboy, but they also don't want to be rude about it; besides, they recently met her. Maybe her boyfriend may know if she's a tomboy or not.

Shinji cleared his throat, causing the two lovebirds to look at him and Crow. "What?" Rin asked. "Can't a girl have a moment with her boyfriend?"

"Yeah, but..." Shinji started to say. "Who are you and what have you done with Rin?"

"I've known Rin my whole life," Yugo said, snuggling close to her from behind. "Sure she's tough, but she's the cutest and most adorable girl I know."

Rin let out a small laugh as she pulled away from Yugo. "Okay, that's enough," she said, turning to face her boyfriend. "We need to get ready for tonight, so you should go shower."

"Sure thing, RinRin," Yugo said. He gave Rin one last kiss before he headed for the bathroom.

While Yugo was taking his shower, Rin visited the donation center. Even after the Original Dimension returned, it was still there. She always went there to get a variety of clothes because she didn't had a lot of money when she was growing up as an orphan. She and her boyfriend were also saving up to purchase parts for their first Duel Runner. As she was browsing the clothes that were either in boxes or on hangers, she stumbled across a blue-pink strapless sundress. She instantly knew this was perfect to wear for tonight's festival, but a good outfit isn't complete without shoes. She headed over to the shoe section to see which goes well with the dress until she spotted a pair of pale pink sandals. Her attire for the Heartland Park festival was found.

"Rin? Is that you?"

Rin knew that voice anywhere. She turned around to see Akiza Izinski, the owner of the donation center. She always loved the days when the Windwitch user stopped by to shop. This was the first time seeing her since the night Yuri abducted her.

"Akiza!" Rin happily exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Where have you been?" Akiza asked. "I haven't seen you in months."

"I'll explain another time when I'm not busy," Rin said. "Right now I'm getting ready for tonight's festival."

"The one at Heartland Park?" Akiza asked. "Say no more. I already have the right accessories for you."

"Really?" Rin asked.

"Sure," Akiza answered, bringing her over to the jewelry section. "I got these in this morning and I had a feeling you would like them."

Rin stared at a pair of light blue rose earrings and a pink rose necklace that were in Akiza's hand. These were perfect to wear for the festival; she had a little feeling she was forgetting something, so it was a good thing Akiza was there to help.

"Thank you so much, Akiza," Rin said.

"You're quite welcome," Akiza replied. "So why did you chose such a lovely dress?"

"Well, I'm meeting Yugo and-" Rin began.

"Hold on, did you say Yugo?" Akiza asked. "Did you two finally hooked up."

Rin simply grinned in response, happily nodding. "Then you're going to need some help," Akiza said. "Since you're a great customer, how about I help you with hair and makeup?"

"You would?" Rin happily asked.

"Of course," Akiza answered. "Anything for a friend."

As Akiza was preparing to do Rin's hair and makeup, Crow, Shinji, and Yugo arrived at Heartland Park where the festival was taking place. Booths were all set up—games, food, shopping stands, you name it. The park was also decorated with lights, streamers, balloons, and banners. Yugo commented on how amazing everything looked and how it was going to be a fun night. Crow reminded his Clear Wing-eyed friend that their first order of business was to register for the Team Duel Tournament. Yugo reassured the Blackwing user that he still remembers what they have to do. As they waited, he spotted his counterparts and ran up to tell them about his newfound ability.

"Hey guys!" Yugo exclaimed, running over to his other-dimensional twins. "Glad you could make it. Although..." He paused to muffle a laugh. "Nice monkey suit, Yoot."

Yuto simply glared at Yugo. "I finished my work at ObsidianCorp before coming here," the eggplant-haired teen said, explaining why he was wearing his dark grey business suit. "I work there now. Remember?"

"Oh..." Yugo realized. "Right..."

"So what did you want to tell us?" Yuya asked.

"I figured out why our eyes match the eye colors of our dragons," Yugo explained. "Turns out we can transfer our minds into their bodies, allowing us to actually fight in duels!"

Yuri was intrigued. "Are you saying we become our dragons?" he asked.

"Yep," Yugo answered.

"So...we can't speak when we're in our dragons' bodies," Yuri realized.

"Guess not," Yugo said.

A familiar yet oddly creepy face appeared on Yuri's face. His eyes went wide and he made an eerily big grin, complete with a rather amusing chuckle. Yuya looked at his Fusion counterpart to see what was so funny when he was stunned silent at his face. It was the exact same face the tomato-haired teen made when his initial plan to register for the Arc League Championship was to duel Zuzu, Frederick, Allie, and Tate. No doubt Yuri was scheming something…

"Alright, what's going on?" Yuya asked.

"Oh, nothing," Yuri answered. "I just figured out a loophole in Sora's ridiculous training methods."

"What training methods?" Yuto asked.

"He has been taking Dennis and I to someone named Ricardo Soprano for training," Yuri explained. "Unfortunately part of this training involves me taking part in 'Opera Duels' in which I am forced to sing all of my moves. Dennis doesn't seem to mind, but as for me... Well..." He cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed.

Yugo grew curious about why Yuri was embarrassed, which made him slightly annoyed in the process. Yuya and Yuto looked at each other, then back at each other to see their Fusion counterpart increasing in annoyance and embarrassment, and asked if it had anything to do with his voice. Letting out a sigh, he responded "Yes"; he explained that he has a high, "flamboyant" voice, so him trying to sing results in it cracking.

Yugo laughed hysterically. "It's not funny!" Yuri exclaimed.

Yuto let out a deep chuckle. "It kind of is," he replied. "If you want, I can give you some vocal lessons."

"No way!" Yuya exclaimed. "You can sing?"

"Sort of," Yuto answered. "I often sing to Lulu in private."

The eggplant-haired blushed a little after finishing that sentence. Whenever he and Lulu were alone at the Obsidian residence, he would sing softly in her ears during cuddles, with a majority of songs being sweet and romantic.

"You sing love ballads to Lulu?" Yuya asked.

"Of course," Yuto answered, smiling as he adjusted his glasses. "She's my girl. I'm proud to have fallen in love with her."

As if on cue, Lulu had showed up and surprised Yuto with a hug from behind. "Guess who?" she playfully asked.

Yuto chuckled as his girlfriend moved to face him, his hands on her waist. "Hey there, beautiful," he said. He gave her a quick yet loving kiss on the lips.

Yugo scoffed. "So what?" he asked. "I would never act like that with RinRin. She's cute, but there's no way I would-"

His sentence was cut off when he saw Rin entering the festival. She wore the sundress and sandals she got at the donation store along with the necklace and earrings Akiza got her. She even had her apple green hair brushed nicely with her mint green side tails clipped back, as well as mascara on her eyelashes and nude lipstick on her lips. In Yugo's eyes, she looked absolutely adorable.

Feeling a burst of adrenaline, Yugo rushed over to Rin and placed his hand on her hip. "Hey everyone!" he called out, pulling her close. "I'm proud to say this lovely lady is my girlfriend!"

Yugo wasn't exactly the romantic type, but when he's in love, he just has to announce it to the whole world, which he just did. After all, he was, how you say, impulsive about his actions; he goes right for it without any thought whatsoever. Everyone looked over at him after he made the announcement, much to Rin's embarrassment.

Crow and Shinji were both surprised. "Rin?" Shinji asked. "You look different."

"'Course she's different," Yugo said. "This is the real Rin. Just an adorable girl with pretty hair and a cute face."

Rin blushed heavily. "That's great..." she said. "But we should really sign up for the tournament."

"Oh, right," Yugo said. "Oopsie..."

The Yu-Salad, Lulu, Rin, Crow, and Shinji walked around the festival to find out where the registrations were. They were given directions about its location, and pretty soon, they managed to arrive at the Team Duel Tournament registration booth. They also found their other companions, whom some of them already signed up. Zuzu, Gong, Shay, Sora, and Dennis were waiting for Yuya, Yuto, Lulu, and Yuri respectively so that they can sign their teams up.

"There you guys are," Shay told Yuto and Lulu. "Did you sneak off somewhere?"

Yuto froze up, but Lulu rolled her eyes. "He's joking," she explained.

"'Bout time you got here!" Sora said. "I hope you're ready for tomorrow's training."

"Of course I am," Yuri said, smiling wide.

"Great!" Dennis said. "Because I finished working on the costumes."

"What took ya so long, Yuya?" Gong asked.

"Well let's just say Yugo helped me figure out how to improve my performances," Yuya replied.

"That's good to here," Zuzu said. "Hopefully what he said also helped improve your self-esteem."

With all that said and done, everyone else began signing up for the tournament. They soon realized that Celina wasn't here; Zuzu asked where she was until her Fusion counterpart showed up with Sylvio and Aura. Talk about an example of "speak of the devil". The pink-haired girl wasn't thrilled to see Aura, mostly because she also had feelings for Yuya ever since her defeat during the Arc League Championship qualifications.

"Oh, quit pouting," Aura told Zuzu. "Did you think I wouldn't find out about the truth behind this world? You and Yuya are obviously fated for each other, so that prediction I made must have been a little hiccup."

Zuzu was surprised to hear that. "What?"

"Declan told me everything that happened," Aura explained. "If your past selves were destined to meet again in another life, who am I to argue with that kind of fate?"

"She's not wrong," Lulu agreed, snuggling close to Yuto. "If it wasn't for the tiny bit of Zarc and Ray who were in love with each other, I wouldn't have found true love."

Was this Aura's way of accepting Zuzu and Yuya's relationship with each other? It sure sounded that way; besides, what she and Lulu said about Zarc and Ray was true. Zarc was a huge Ray fanboy and even developed feelings for her, resulting in those feelings being passed down to Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo. There was also an emotion deep down within Ray's small ego that was in love with the former champion, leading to Zuzu, Lulu, and Rin sharing that same trait. The pink-haired girl learned about this information the Ritual user was telling her and how right she and Declan were. With a nod of her head, it officially meant the two girls were now on good terms with each other.

Rin suddenly remembered the duel she had earlier and how Yugo told his counterparts about their new abilities. She asked Zuzu, Lulu, and Celina if their markings ended up glowing during their duels, with all of them saying "Yes". The Bracelet Girls mentioned how they ended up glowing whenever they perform a Synchro, Pendulum, XYZ, and Fusion Summon with their archetypes accordingly, but Rin indicated that there's more. She discovered during her duel with Shinji that she can give her monsters an ATK boost through her En Winds marking during her turns, which fascinated the other three girls.

"That sounds pretty cool!" Zuzu said.

"I'm not sure..." Celina admitted. "That sounds a bit like cheating."

A newly-discovered power and Celina may have pointed out its biggest flaw. The other girls wondered if they'll get accused of cheating for making their monsters stronger like when Yuya was initially called a cheater for using his Pendulum cards. Rin glanced over at Yugo, who was with the others, and thought about his ability. If the Yu-Salad Boys merged their minds with their dragons, would they be accused of cheating too? She then recalled the discussion she had with the Synchro boys and how Crow pieced together what her marking can do. From the sound of things, he described it as her "Skill". They never heard of a Skill before, but Rin said that it was basically an ability that can either be used once per turn. If that's the case, then could the boys' mind merges with their dragons be their Skill too? Regardless, they may have to tell Declan about it to see what he thinks.

Speaking of Declan, he overheard the girls' conversation. "What's this about Skills?" he asked.

"I think that's what this is," Rin guessed as she and the other Bracelet Girls showed Declan their markings. "We got them when Ray separated a second time."

Declan looked at Rin's marking. "The symbol for En Winds," he recalled. "And it seems you got them in place of your bracelets."

The four girls all agreed that this was their bracelets' replacement. At the same time, they wondered if Declan has seen and heard of Skills before, so they explained to him what their markings can do. They even mentioned the Yu-Salad's ability to become one with their summoned dragons if they concentrated hard enough. These bits of information intrigued the gray-haired teen.

"Fascinating..." Declan said. "So it seems that when Zarc and Ray left this world, they gave each of you a special power. Perhaps these powers are to serve as reminders for who you once were and how you are connected to one another."

"But is it cheating?" Celina asked.

"It isn't as long as you use your powers as basic Skills," Declan explained. "A lot of Duelists have started to use Skills of their own, so you should be able to fit in."

They were relieved to hear that. From the power boosts to the mind merges, the eight boys and girls now had the opportunity to practice their skills starting tomorrow. With the signs up complete, the Yu-Salad, the now called Energy Girls, and their friends spent the rest of the night enjoying the festival. Declan asked the person at the registration booth how the sign up went, with him responding that it went well and a total of 36 Duelists and a stand-in have signed up to participate. That means there will be 12 teams competing, 7 of which are known: Team Smiles (Yuya, Zuzu, and Gong), Team Noble (Yuto, Lulu, and Shay), Team Turbo (Yugo, Rin, and Crow with Shinji as the stand-in), Team Obelisk (Yuri, Sora, and Dennis), Team Lancer (Celina, Sylvio, and Aura), Team You Show (Frederick, Allie, and Tate), and Team Ace (Dipper, Julia, and Kit). Even though the tournament is in a few weeks, each day brings everyone one step closer to the big event, so they'll have to practice their strategies and learn how the Team Duel rules work in order to prepare themselves for the grand day.

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #Zuzu Boyle #Yuzu Hiragi #FruitShipping #Yuto (arc v)#Lulu Obsidian #Ruri Kurosaki #FallenAngelShipping #Yugo (arc v)#Rin (arc v)#AppleShipping #Yuri (arc v)#Celina (arc v)#Serena (arc v)#PredatorShipping

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adobe-outdesign · 1 year ago

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Will you review the Maraquan pets? I think Buzz is my favorite based on design, and there are so many really creative/punny ones. Personally, I’ve never liked Wocky.

Maraqua is probably one of Neopets' most distinct lands given that it's, you know, underwater. The idea of making a color that fits with the Atlantis-esq aesthetic just makes logical sense, and the actual designs tend to be pretty cool. I like how there's actual thought put into how [X] Neopet would function if it was adapted to life underwater, with the bubbling pit area vaguely implying it might be a natural mutation (given the amount of "painted" Maraquan pets we see in Maraqua).

Maraquan also didn't do too badly with customization, mostly because they're not compatible with normal clothing anyway so the poses are at least somewhat distinct. That said, it is weird that they changed the poses at all; they already have to have clothing drawn specifically for them, so why force things like fists onto some of them? It's so weird.

Even weirder is the seemingly arbitrary decisions regarding which ones got UC versions; Maraquan Chombys barely changed at all yet somehow got a UC, while Maraquan Zafaras changed drastically but never got a UC. What gives?

(I can't count it on the favorites list because there are too many good still-obtainable Maraquan pets, but shoutout to the unconverted Maraquan Zafara for being one of my favorite Maraquan pets. Shame it's no more.)

Favorite Species:

Gelert: While the unconverted Maraquan Zafara is my all-time favorite Maraquan pet, the Maraquan Gelert is a very close second, and is definitely my fav if we're talking pets that are still obtainable. I love Maraquan pets where the design is just abstract, taking cues from various sea creatures without being a 1:1 parallel of them, and the Gelert is particularly beautiful in this respect. It plays with the Gelert's long ears and tails by making it vaguely eel-ish—adding in a back fin, a few spots, and a lovely green and purple color scheme.

The UC version is particularly gorgeous, having this lovely flow that curves back from the head and leads straight into the curled tail. The converted version is still fine, as it's a fairly accurate recreation all things considered, but the pose is much more awkward (the body suggests an S shape, but the paws and ears are going opposite directions and the chest sticks out too much).

It does, however, at least fix the shading; for some reason the UC Maraquan Gelert has one layer of shading with no highlights or shadows to speak of, which is really weird. (See the above, which is an edit I made years ago that just adds the layers of shading that the actual UC is missing. The lineart should also probably be thinner but I digress.) Anyway, the point is that both are beautiful designs.

Uni: Maraquan Uni are also really beautiful. Similar to a Peophin (arguably too much so, but hey, there's no Maraquan Peophin at the time of writing anyway), they've swapped their legs for a tail and their wings and mane have become fins themselves, with a pretty curved horn and some subtle striping to boot. Even better, the converted version is basically the same as the old art, so there's no difficulty in obtaining one (other than the PB cost, of course).

Lutari: While there are still a lot of great abstract Maraquan designs that I love (Eyrie, Draik, etc.), I have to give a shoutout to the Lutari for being a really great design based off of an obvious animal (in this case, an axolotl). The cream and pink color scheme is lovely, and I love the subtle mottle gradients on its limbs. The multiple sets of ears forming the gills is fantastic, the tail is pretty, the black claws add contrast, and it still reads really clearly as a Lutari despite the animal influence. Really good stuff.

Least Favorite Species:

Kacheek: The Maraquan Kacheek just looks incredibly uncanny to me. The best Maraquan pets are either ambiguous or choose an animal that fits the Neopet, but here they just... took a Kacheek head and slapped it on a goldfish body??? Don't like that at all. The head in isolation isn't terrible and I could see it working on a more Kacheek-ish torso, but this... no. At least it's nicely drawn on a technical level, I suppose?

#neopets #neotag #maraquan #gelert #uni #lutari #kacheek #neopet reviews

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kansasxklass · 8 years ago

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APRIL 2017 ipsy Glam Bag Review

Yay! My favorite time of the month, subscription unboxings!

I am a huge fan of monthly subscription services, therefore I plan to post a detailed review of each subscription that I receive throughout the month so you can see the products that I received and hopefully these posts will help you in choosing which subscription is right for you! Ipsy is one of my all time favorite subscription services because you ALWAYS get a 2-3 full sized products/tools. The overall value of each bag is well over what you will pay for it. And for only $10 a month you honestly can't go wrong with it. ipsy Glam Bag: April 2017

Theme: sideshow

This month is all about "being bold and shattering the mold". Encouraging subscribers to be themselves and embrace their uniqueness.

GLAM BAG

Okay, first of all let's talk about this month's glam bag. I'm underwhelmed. I normally love the bag designs but this is by far my least favorite and I have almost two years worth of bags. It's just tacky. When I saw the first glimpse of the bag online, I immediately assumed it would be bad quality, but I have to admit the bag actually feels and looks nicer than I had expected. Either way, I just do not like the look of this bag. Not to mention, it had an extremely strong chemical, plastic smell which I have never encountered before with an ipsy bag. Either way, I am sure some people love this bag, it's just not for me. My overall thoughts on the products in this months bag were mainly positive, however. I feel like with any subscription you are going to have hits and misses. But I would say this month deserves a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

Product 1: Hanalei Aloe Soothing Gel

Okay, so this was honestly my least favorite item in the bag. The sample size is pretty small and it smells terrible, which probably means that its pretty good for your skin. I have tried a few products by this company in the past and have been pleasantly surprised with all of them. This is obviously not a full size product. The sample I received was 10 g, on the Hanalei website you can purchase the full size at 100 g for $30. I am wearing it as a primer today and it is holding up fine. Not sure I will be replacing my Smashbox Photo Finish Primer anytime soon but it may be a good option for others, and I can definitely see it being great for moisturizing and refreshing the skin! Here are some details about this product according to Hanalei and ipsy:

Aloe Vera is traditionally known to contain naturally regenerative properties that help balance the appearance of redness and uneven skin tone. Our proprietary blend of aloe and papaya enzyme, infused with vitamins A, C, and E, cools and moisturizes skin without making it greasy. This lightweight formula can also be used as a makeup base, and will help maintain supple skin throughout the day. This product is cruelty free.

Directions: Massage aloe gel onto face and body to cool and refresh skin. Apply throughout the day or as needed.

Why You'll Love It

The gel texture also makes a killer makeup primer.

Have you ever used aloe beyond sunburn season? We hadn’t either. But now we can’t live without it.

It’s cooling, refreshing, smoothing, and it feels ahhhh-mayyyy-zing.

Aloe is naturally regenerative, so it will help balance out any redness or uneven skin tone.

If you would like to look into purchasing this full size product you can get it here: https://www.hanaleicompany.com/products/Aloe-Soothing-Gel/?src=0417gr

Product 2: ColourPop Cosmetics Crème Gel Pencil in the shade Show Me

YESSS! I love getting Colourpop items in my glam bag! And I was so excited to see that this was a product that I didn't already own! Let me start off by saying that all of the Colourpop Crème Gel Pencils are super creamy and pigmented and they glide on like a freakin' dream. This pencil was no different and, THIS IS A FULL SIZED PRODUCT!!!!! You cannot go wrong with that! This metallic shade is a vivid true copper that can elevate any look and it stays in place all day! Here are some details about this product according to Colourpop and ipsy:

The Deets:

Crème Gel Liner

Colour glides on smoothly for comfortable application in the waterline. Creamy formula makes blending super easy and formula dries down for long-lasting wear.

Why You'll Love It

We wore this to our bestie’s wedding, sobbed like a baby, and didn’t need to touch up.

The formula is super creamy, making application a total breeze without any tugging or pulling.

Our Creators use these babies for hundreds of crazy-cool eye looks (think: double winged, colored smoky, or negative space graphic).

Even if you’re not ready to go super advanced, you can pop this on your waterline or swipe it along your lashes to add instant dramz.

This full size eyeliner is super affordable at just $5, and you can purchase it here: https://colourpop.com/products/show-me-liner

Product 3: Hey Honey Bésame Mucho Shea Butter and Propolis Lip Balm

Are you asking yourself: "What in the world do Bésame Mucho and Propolis mean?" I am one step ahead of you thanks to Google, Bésame Mucho literally translates to "Kiss me a lot" and Propolis is a compound produced by bees thought to fight infections, heal wounds, and more. (Hey Honey.... Bees, get it?) Anyway, I love this product. It is almost like a whipped creamy texture, but it is super smooth and soft. It leaves my lips feeling extra silky and moisturized. You know, it's like one of those products that you will easily get addicted to and use the entire tube in one day, anybody? No? Just Me? Alright moving on then.. it has a very light scent. At first I thought it was unscented but it does have an ever-so-slight sweet/honey smell to it which I love. Another important factor is that it doesn't have a horrible taste like many other lip products do, in fact it doesn't really have a taste at all. This isn't quite the full size product but it is a deluxe sample size. The sample I received was 8 ml, with the full size coming in at 15 ml for just $14. Worth it? I think so! This formula is perfect for dry and chapped lips, and it is already working wonders on mine! Here are a few details according to the Hey Honey and ipsy websites:

WHY USE IT: Designed to care for and protect dry, chapped lips with nourishing emollients such as Shea Butter, squalane, and triglycerides. Absorbs well, leaving the lips feeling soft and hydrated. The antibacterial and antiseptic properties of the Propolis extract helps to keep your lips clean and hydrated to promote smoother texture.

Why You'll Love It

Lips feeling parched? Slather on a super thick coat to turn this into an overnight lip mask.

When a product name translates to “kiss me a lot,” you know it’s going to work wonders for your lips.

Heard of propolis? We hadn’t either. It’s an extract from beehives that both hydrates and is antibacterial. This balm has loads of it, plus shea butter.

Currently on the Hey Honey website you can receive 20% off of your purchase sitewide by using the code 'KissMeHoney'. You can get this product here: https://www.heyhoney.com/besame-mucho-shea-butter-propolis-lip-balm/

Product 4: Naked Cosmetics loose pigment in the shade Heavy Metal #04

Oh boy, was I excited for this. I have been hearing more and more about this brand and have been dying to try out one of their products so imagine my excitement when I realized that I was getting this little beauty this month! YEEEEEE! This gorgeous rusty/copper metallic shade is STUNNING. The pigmentation is insane, a little bit goes a long way. I can't wait for a night out so I can mix this babe with a little fix plus and rock it all over the lid! *note- definitely recommend doing eyes before foundation with this product as the powder tends to get everywhere*. Also, I went on their website to check out what other colors they had and I was kind of overwhelmed, partially by all of the super cool products they have and partially because their website is weird and kind of hard to navigate. I think this is a full size product at 1.5 gm, if not it is a wonderful sized sample. I think this will last me literally forever. I went on the website to compare sizing but I couldn't find a size listed... soooo idk. But the full size product costs $14.99 on their site. Here are some more details about this product according to ipsy:

Why You'll Love It

It’s not just an eye shadow! You can use it as a liner, lipstick, nail polish…you name it. Just blend it with water, lip balm, or clear top coat to see all the possibilities.

Naked Cosmetics uses only high grade 100% oxidized mica in their pigments. In real talk, this mean you’ll get crazy vibrant color.

We’re obsessed with metallic anything right now, but this rich rust shade is especially gorg (and especially wearable).

*note: i think i just died a little when I saw all of the possibilities ^^^ for this pigment. Shout out to ipsy for keeping me creative.*

If you would like to purchase this full size product you can get it here: http://www.nakedcos.com/Heavy-Metal-04_p_137.html

Product 5: Luxie Beauty Dreamcatcher Precision Foundation Brush 660

Oh man, do i LOVE a Luxie brush! These are some of my very favorite brushes. I own so many of them yet I have none from thee Luxie X ipsy collection, UNTIL NOW. This brush is amazing. It is so pretty to look at I almost didn't want to use it at all. It says this is a foundation brush, but honestly, I am going to use it for either baking or highlighting. It is the perfect size for up under the eyes and it applies highlight to the cheekbones flawlessly. The bristles are so soft, giving you that pretty, airbrushed finish. There isn't anything bad to say about this brush or this brand. They are perfect in my eyes. Did i mention they are a vegan and cruelty free brand? So yeah, that's amazing. And obviously it is full sized ($23 value)!!! Here are some more details about this brush according to Luxie Beauty and ipsy:

Give our 660 Precision Foundation brush a GO! It's round shape allows you to apply your liquid foundation smoother and quicker. Gives a PRECISE application to the areas you want to focus on, I mean its in the NAME! Give it a try if you want some controlled foundation application in your life!

What it is: A larger traditional foundation brush designed to help you apply your foundation more efficiently while still maintaining an airbrushed finish with the coverage of your liking.

Recommended Use: Use with your favorite liquid or cream foundation for best results.

Why You'll Love It

Have a brush with kindness! This fluffy beauty is 100% vegan and cruelty-free.

We wish we were as good at multitasking as this genius brush! You can use it for all your liquid, cream, or powder foundations, concealers, highlighters AND bronzers. NBD.

Earn brush bragging rights. The pretty periwinkle handle looks amazing in your kit, but even better on your vanity.

Pssst! We think we know why it’s called “dreamcatcher.” (It’s because it makes all our makeup application dreams come true!)

You can purchase this gorgeous brush here: https://www.luxiebeauty.com/luxie-dreamcatcher-precision-foundation-face-brush-660/

#ipsy #subscriptionbox #subscriptionaddiction #beauty #makeup #beautyreview #review #beautyblog

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