#but it is also more of a title. though i can't think of another region that does a thing like that

[ravenwolfie97]

okay i Finally feel like i have the time and energy to get back to genshin

it’s a small thing early on in the tcg grand prix thing but i thought it was interesting

so when kaeya greets charlotte, he says “enchantée”

which is initially in line with him being a smooth talking kind of guy

but since charlotte is from fontaine, which is mostly based on france, he’s probably just greeting her in her national language, which is really thoughtful and respectful of him

i just thought that was neat :0

[krowlovesinazuma]

Alright, first request of mine on this blog:

Working from the prologue, how would Yae Miko, Ei, and Kirara react when they first see you?

(Non-related to the request, but I bet I'm gonna be the only one here that's not an Anon haha)

Oh nice, my first request! I'll do these separately, and in headcanons! Also, perhaps, but we'll see if this blog becomes popular or not hehe :3

Read this prologue for context!

Scenario: Meeting reader after he appears in Teyvat

Characters: Yae Miko, Ei, Kirara

Once she catches sight of someone without clothes from Teyvat out of nowhere, she's the first to make a logical connection to the divine, and take you somewhere safe. She won't ask many questions, not until she can ensure that the two of you are nice and private.

While in the outside she might look composed and serious, inside she's definitely nervous. She hasn't been in the presence of someone of such divine nature apart from Ei in so long, and she needs to ensure both your safety and well-being.

Once she sees you being receptive to her commands though, and calm once you're in the safety of her closed off shrine however, she relaxes, and begins asking questions, to ensure her assumptions of course. She can't get too carried away yet, even if you do know her name, and recognized her at first sight...

You've never seen Miko with such a serious glint in her eye apart from the archon quest, and seeing it up close is, frankly, a little terrifying. You don't know how it happened, or why you're here at all, so you can't help but worry.

That's when she catches sight of your golden blood, and you can see her eyes starting to sparkle with excitement, her shoulders relaxing from their tense posture, and her tail starting to sway more freely...

"... I'm sorry, oh divine one... Hm, no titles? Very well. I couldn't be sure of what I saw, not when I've seen my fair share of trickery and deceit through the centuries... I promise, you have my full trust now. Now, let's put that stuffy atmosphere behind us."

Let's be honest, Ei hasn't seen much of the present Teyvat, and as such has lost a grip on the culture, especially foreign culture. So when she sees your clothing, she imagines that you're just a traveler. Perhaps she should make a proper first appearance...

As soon as she approaches however, you exclaim her name with happiness, which she immediately causes her to do a second take. How did you know about her name, and not her title? Her eyes shrink, and her mind becomes easily confused.

That's when you show the golden drops of blood, and Ei's mind explodes. All this time, she believed that she would never get a chance to see you in a physical form, and you can see her eyes shaking with so many emotions...

She takes you away to the Plane of Euthymia, for your own safety she says, but as there's the tiniest shaking in her voice, you can't help but suspect it's actually to help her calm down and have some private time with you.

You have to be a little patient with her. There's so much going on in her mind from all those years she's been alive and has only been able to confide in Miko, and she knows you've learnt about it through the others. You wait for her to calm down, and sometimes, even tell her to take deep breaths before continuing.

Once she's calm though, she'll get right to business, thinking about a way to keep you safe, and cared for, while ensuring that the rest of Inazuma is aware of your descent. After all, what better way to revitalize her region than showing her the truth in their beliefs?

"You... Are alright with these arrangements, correct? Very well, then it's settled. Once again, welcome to Inazuma, the land that has never once forgotten you... I'm glad you show such enthusiasm, and frankly, I think I am just as excited."

Kirara probably caught sight of you as she was stretching herself before another delivery. She's quite busy, so it's easier for her to focus on others once off the clock. Once she sees you though, she can't help but be a little cautious, yet curious.

In all of the regions she's visited for deliveries, she's never seen clothing like yours... Soon enough, she's slowly creeping up on you, eager to see who exactly you were! Her steps are quite silent, so it isn't exactly hard to do so.

Much like Ei, she starts talking to you as if you were just a foreigner, but just like Miko, she starts asking a lot of questions! Hers are more casual than the kitsune's however, with an excited pep to her voice.

When you show her the golden drops of blood, at first she's confused, and doesn't make the immediate connection to the rumors of the creator, thanks to them being only present in Inazuma, and her not spending much time there thanks to work.

Once she does however, she lets out the loudest gasp you've heard ever, and her eyes sparkle intensely! Her questions immediately double in speed and amount, and you have to calm her down, which can be a little complicated once she gets into another tangent.

Once she stops, she realizes that since you're from another realm, you must not have a home in Inazuma! So she decides to take you back to her home for the time being, so you may feel free to leave anytime!

"Ah, I wasn't really expecting any guests anytime soon, but you can have the spare room! Now, I won't be here much, but I promise I'll try to take less orders for now!... Unless you want me to take a vacation for you?"

[pokemon-my-beloved]

my thoughts on pokemon legends za: what we know so far

i'm back!!!! sorry for not posting in over a year, the hyperfixation has shifted and i started uni which has kept me VERY busy. regardless! i'm super excited for the new game! this post will be based primarily on the trailer that dropped earlier today, though i will be taking info from the official site into account.

analysis under the readmore!

general

i think this game is going to be a launch title for the switch 2. i know the trailer and website both said it would be for the switch, but considering a. that the switch 2 is coming out later this year, we just don't know when yet and b. how godawful sv's performance was (and how the visuals seem to be pretty similar to sv's), i think that would make the most sense. if this is true, both will probably be releasing in november, because that's when pokemon games come out (except pla lmao), but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we'll see!

since pla took place like... idk, 300 or so? years before dpp, i'm betting that plza will take place roughly 300 years after xy. given the amount of development and improved technology (and, from what i can tell, a lack of sycamore, clemont, and other characters from lumiose (though this is only the first trailer)), it would have to be at least 100 years in the future. i just think the time difference is roughly the same for parallel reasons. i'll elaborate more on this later, though

OBSESSED with the new battle system. finally, we can truly live out the anime and have our pokemon fucking dodge attacks without relying on evasion boosting moves. the ui is also really neat, i LOVE the info (chikorita used razor leaf, it's super effective, etc) being on the side, it feels a lot less obtrusive. also love that you can see your whole party at all times, i think that's great

speaking of ui, the minimap is fantastic. desperately needed that sooner, thank you gamefreak

the architecture and stuff looks AMAZING, i adore the style

pokemon

starters are chikorita, tepig, and totodile! definitely gives johto favoritism, but you know what, that's fair, johto has not gotten appreciation like this in years

unsure if the starters will get kalosian(?) forms or mega evolutions, i've seen speculation for both. i think it'll probably be forms, because it doesn't feel like there's any way they could give these three mega evolutions but not the others from those regions, plus samurott and typhlosion already have hisuian forms

relatedly, snivy is definitely going to be the grass starter in the next legends game (assuming we get another one, at least, which we probably will)

regardless, regional variants seem more likely to me, which gives more credence to my theory that this is a good few hundred years post xy, even if this is pokemon, changes like that take a while. fairly confident we won't get mega evolutions for the starters, but it would be cool if we did!

speaking of, mega evolution is BACK!!!!! i'm SO excited, mega evolution is EASILY my favorite mid-battle... mechanic? change? idk, but z moves, dynamaxing, and terastilization don't even come CLOSE

the currently confirmed returning mega evolutions are charizard, kangaskhan, gyarados, ampharos, gardevoir, sableye, altaria, absol, and lucario: a solid mix of mega evolutions introduced in both xy and oras. i imagine all of the old mega evolutions will return (except maybe mega rayquaza and mega mewtwo, given that i can't think of any reason for them to be there)

relatedly, the returning pokemon (in general and not counting the ones already mentioned) are sliggoo, clauncher, furfrou, sandile, bunnelby, pyroar, zygarde (obviously), budew, vivillon, eevee, patrat, pikachu (duh), larvitar, bagon, aegislash, trubbish, weepinbell, chandelure, fletchling, swirlix, spritzee, hippowdon, pidgeot, skiddo, onix, florges, dragalge, dedenne, and inkay, plus obviously all pre-evolutions and evolutions thereof

didn't see any regional variants, but i'm fairly confident they'll show up considering they've been in every game since sm (even though kalos was before that). hopefully we'll get more variants than we did in sv!

characters

not a lot to say about the rivals, tbh. they're fine enough, i don't have enough info to make much of a judgement

i do not trust jett and vinnie. mostly jett. they're leaders of a megacorporation, and i know how that goes in pokemon games (plus jett's design gives HUGE r*se and oleana vibes, both of whom i hate with a passion). the only thing that makes me doubt they're the antags is how early in the promotional cycle they've shown up, but if they're villains i will have called it on sight. stop designing characters like this, gamefreak, you've made a reputation for yourselves now

and finally, AZ!!!!!!!!! i'm super super SUPER excited about him being here, i think that's INCREDIBLE and i'm so happy he and floette are thriving now. he's running a hotel, good for him

SPEAKING OF, this is probably the main reason i think plza will be so far in the future. we've established that az..... can't die, and he didn't reconnect with floette until post xy, so there's no way this game can take place before then (unless it was way way WAY long ago, but he wouldn't be able to run a hotel then cause he would be busy being king. also all the technological improvements and stuff). given that it he's established a hotel and it seems he has been running it for a while, based on the fact that the rivals live and work there, this game has to take place long enough after xy that he would 1, not be an emotional wreck 2, get himself cleaned up and presentable 3, get enough money to buy a building in lumiose city, which i imagine would be pretty expensive 4, buy a building in lumiose city that he can turn into a hotel 5, establish it as a business to the point where people live there and the player character chooses to stay there, and 6, the events of the game occur. step 1 alone had to take years (half joking), so i'm positive that given the other steps this game has to be at minimum a century after xy

also, he uses a cane now. arguably he should've had that a long time ago, but still (i was also gonna mention the knee brace, but i checked and he had that in the official artwork for xy)

EDIT: i know there’s no fucking way this will happen but i kinda really really hope the lumiose ghost girl comes back and fucking explains literally anything. i want to know what the fuck she’s talking about but also i hope it’s a mystery forever and she stays a cryptid queen. idk, just thoughts, it’s like 2:30 am and insomnia’s kicking my ass, there are no coherent thoughts rn

that's it for now, i think. super excited for this game, i can't wait!!!!

[jisuto]

On the topic of game reception, what are your thoughts on the current state of pokemon?

OK THIS ASK WAS SENT BEFORE THE HUGE LEAK LOL but I have a lot to say:

I watched VHS tapes, played the games, and owned merch since a young age so the series is very special to me. But I don't like the current direction at all and it's not because of the designs or nostalgia. The quality and game performance plummeted so how can I enjoy playing when there's mad lag or low frame rate that hinders my progress and worsen the experience??

It took too many years for them to realize they need to put quality over quantity after the SWSH mess, seeing that they can get away with pretty much ANYTHING and still make huge profit. You see people say that Pokemon should've never went 3D and stay 2D but tbh, it's a series that improves it's graphics as technology advances so it's not a surprise for them to finally go 3D and personally I think that's fine but just keep it looking good and fun (though I would love a 2D/3D hybrid). XY introduced a lot of new features but still lacked in some aspects that still haven't really been solved or added.

Reusing assets is common in the industry but only to a certain extent. They claimed that SWSH was taking a while to make because they were making brand new models which turned out to be a lie and they look like bootleg figures with the new lighting. The 3DS models were ripped from Pokepark, including some animations, but a lot of them still barely have any character. They have their own in-house team (Creatures Inc) so they made the decision NOT to have pokemon properly animated or look alive.... Also they made spin-offs like Ranger, Colosseum, Pokepark, and Pokken which look AMAZING

FRLG took only one year while HGSS was being developed at the same time as Platinum and took 3 years to finish that turned into one of the best games and remakes ever made. As the franchise expands, the team also needs to add more manpower but Game Freak can definitely afford to get more resources to help them?? They can't continue having a ragtag team of like 20 people to make a game back then and do the same now then expect good results... Hire more people who know how create with current gen consoles IT'S COMMON SENSE PLS also I can't believe they had a different company create BDSP knowing how beloved and groundbreaking DPPT was?? No redesigns like the previous remakes and thought it was a good idea to keep it looking a carbon copy to the DS style...

Also it's shocking to see how fan reception can change how the devs direct the next gen ESPECIALLY when it's not even real constructive criticism?? When Unova came out, I remember seeing all the online outcry about "OH THEY HAVE AN ICE CREAM CONE POKEMON AND A TRASH BAG, THEY'RE RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS EW" then actually hear it being repeated at school.... I WAS TRYING TO SURVIVE SINCE DAY 1 IN THE TRENCHES DEFENDING THIS GAME IT WAS ALWAYS GOOD AND DIDN'T NEED 10 YEARS TO AGE WELL. It's crazy how these are the same people who want another Kanto when Trubbish is Grimer (garbage waste) and Vanillite is Voltorb (based on literal items) then you could not catch any other pokemon from different regions in the main game. And the leak confirmed that the disgruntled hate from the west made the devs not release new pokemon in B2W2 and move them over to XY instead AND NOT GIVE A SINGLE GEN 5 MEGA EVOLUTION. So we were robbed because of genwunners who were fixated on the wrong things and ignored all the great content Unova brought us. It's strange how players keep complaining they want a different and fresh game, but want it to continue being super formulaic and binary like wtf do you want make up your mind

None of the switch titles really got me invested and I always end up replaying the older games but hopefully PLZA will break the curse and finally give us a nice game. Also why don't we have more spin-offs on the switch if there's so many of them floating around like the DS had a bunch??? STOP BEING COWARDS I WANT A POKEMON NINTENDOGS GAME OR THAT FIRE EMBLEM CROSSOVER WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET. I JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN AGAIN ;w;

[csolarstorm]

Legends Z-A: Lumiose City Life Simulator

I'm really ambivalent about the new Z-A trailer. The quality looks great and I love the new characters and it hints at a good story but on the other hand...that's it. I can't wait to play it, definitely. But as a trailer...it certainly was a choice to leave out any new Pokemon, megas, or any hint about what the conflict might be.

Or, should I say, any dramatic hint. There's no stinger about a brewing conflict. We already know the story is about Quasartico's Redevelopment Plan. (Love the name Quasartico, btw. It sounds Spanish!) And Jett and Vinny are clearly either antagonists or red herrings. There are no innocent CEOs in the Pokemon world. Just like real life!

But I love Jett and her cosmic aesthetic. I hope there's a new regional Pokemon form that goes with her aesthetic, otherwise I'd think Rayquaza, especially since she's the CEO of Quasartico, but she doesn't seem like a dragon lady, and Rayquaza's kind of busy with Pokemon Horizons.

Oh, wait, Purugly actually would work well! One of the Purugly design elements is their moon-shaped head. I could see her with a big fluffy cat.

I suspect that if the main character does clash with Quasartico, it'll be a more nuanced clash of perspectives like in Legends: Arceus, and also Scarlet and Violet. It'll probably be you and Zygarde vs Quasartico for some reason, though I'm not sure why welcoming wild Pokemon into the city would anger Zygarde. Or maybe Quasartico are the good guys, and we're fighting another faction that doesn't want wild Pokemon disrupting city life.

Or, maybe Quasartico is gathering Pokemon into the city in order to drain Pokemon of their life energy!

Anyway.

What does a guy do with himself after finally earning forgiveness for his atrocities after roaming the earth for 3,000 years? Live in a human zoo? No, I'm not talking about Simon Petrikov!

The thing to do is open a hotel, of course!

It's bizarrely perfect. AZ is like an unsettling cryptid bellhop crossed with a nice old grandpa that could tell you the most epic stories about his life. And I'm sure some of those stories will play a role in the game! AZ and Eternal Flower Floette even look like they should run an aging, gothic hotel. I can imagine a bouquet of Eternal Flowers in a painting in the lobby.

Another reason this fits is because X and Y were filled with Hotels, even though you couldn't do a lot with them. I think in development they were originally they were supposed to take the place of Pokemon Centers, but when that didn't happen they just kept them anyway. But don't quote me on that.

Z-A is not at all what I expected. I was expecting Haussmann's renovation of France, not "AZ and Eternal Flower Floette are friendly characters here to help you at your home base".

Beyond that, there's not much else to say. Taunie-Urbaine is cute. They remind me of someone, but I can't put my finger on it. Wait, are they maybe related to Viola?

I really want to be more excited about Pokemon Champions, but without the National Dex (at least on Day 1, it might happen eventually) I just don't see a point in getting excited over a battle simulator, even if you can use all the various gimmicks against each other.

Although, I admit it would be cool to use my Pokemon from Switch for battles on my phone. It's ironic because the big advantage of battle simulators used to be that you could use your GBA/DS Pokemon on TV, and now that Pokemon games are on TV, here's a game that will let you battle with your TV Pokemon on your phone.

You know, the other weird thing about the trailer was that it didn't even feature Zygarde that much. (Yes, parts of it were briefly in the trailer.) The website at least says that Zygarde has "taken an interest in you". Such a tiny hint. Does Hotel Z and its new owner have more to do with the title than Zygarde itself?

Look at the Super Mario Odyssey style city parkour, lol.

I'm nervous that the game doesn't have Ride Pokemon. Otherwise, why would they show the player character teleporting up buildings or double-jumping buildings with their Rotom Phones? It would be an odd choice for the region that introduced Ride Pokemon! Gogoat was basically made for that gimmick, solely in Lumiose City not to mention!

I hope we can at least ride %10 Zygarde or Gogoat down the street!

All in all, this game feels like Pokemon Legends meets Detective Pikachu. Not a comparison I thought I'd make. We'll see how it compares to Legends: Arceus when Z-A comes out later this year, but for now, I'm just looking forward to that comfy Parisian city life and the parkour that comes with it!

[alicepao13]

I think if at any point John Reardon couldn’t come back to the show, they’d just have to cancel it << That’s why I thought as well.

Like you said, the name of the show is literally Hudson & Rex. The show doesn’t work without Charlie long term. And I believe that fans would also not get behind any other character as some kind of replacement for Charlie. It’s just not possible (I mean some people are already freaking out about Mark, I do think it was unnecessary to add him on this late in the season though, because there’s only 2? 3? episodes left).

Also I while I don’t think they ever intended on starting some kind of love triangle (it’s thankfully not that kind of show), I really just would’ve wanted for Sarah to clarify that Charlie’s not just her “work partner”.

I think Mark was added to take a bit of the load off our main characters. And I think I wrote this before(?) but the reason for the production getting someone later in the season is that you can't just immediately find an actor who can work with dogs, is willing to work with dogs, is willing to travel to Newfoundland to work with dogs and is also good at it. I believe that the reason for bringing him has more to do with the fact that the rest of the actors might not always be available for as many scenes as this season demands of them, we should remember that in most of the seasons it was John Reardon and Diesel that had the most scenes. Depending on how much of the situation the cast knew before the start of filming which I can't know, it's possible they had even scheduled other acting jobs in-between the time they had estimated they had available. Also, the weight of all the action scenes for this season has so far fallen solely on the dogs. That might have been an extra factor for getting someone else. But I honestly think it had to do more with filming the episodes on time.

I give a love triangle zero percent chance of happening. There is no easier way to get the audience to hate a character than have them show any sort of feelings for another character while the character they're in a relationship with is away. Now, add to this the fact that Sarah is a woman. But I do understand why Sarah didn't say, "by the way Charlie's my boyfriend" to a man she'd just met. It was too much to say that Charlie is in Belize, really, and he didn't ask. That was more for the audience's benefit because not everyone catches every episode, so the general audience needs to be reminded of where Charlie is. Also, people who are freaking out about Mark need to chill the fuck down. It's one thing to joke about it and I certainly hope in my own posts what I've written has come off as a joke and not actual hostility towards the character or the actor (I never actually talked about the actor so I guess the character, and I don't really use gifs when I'm trying to make a serious point), and it's another to truly feel threatened by this guy.

I don't want to be dismissive of the fact that more than a hundred people are working on Hudson and Rex, by the way. I feel I should mention this, and that a cancellation would mean loss of jobs for all this cast and crew, in a region that is not famous for its filming industry, to my knowledge at least, so filming jobs must be hard to find. But I just can't find a way for a show to proceed when its named Hudson and Rex if you remove Hudson. It would require major rebranding, and even a change in title (let's assume for a moment that could work) would be of dubious success.

What most procedurals strive to do is to avoid rocking the boat. That means as few changes as possible, lest the audience don't like them and change the channel. So, I can't say with 100% certainty what their plans were in case John Reardon wasn't available, but now that he is, it makes no sense to replace him. Also, the guy is playing basketball on ice. I think he's ready to come back, if there is an eighth season.

[moons-epiphany]

clancy album review

i have finally listened to clancy and watched all the music videos so i thought it'd give a little album review

okay first i'll give each song a star rating out of 5 which will mean:

1 star = i didn't like it

2 stars = it was okay

3 stars = i liked it

4 stars = i really liked it

5 stars = i loved it

(also disclaimer in case anyone tries to come for me lmao - i've been a clikkie since 2016 back when i was a young cringefail teen so just bc i'm not a massive fan of all of their songs does not mean that i hate the band or that i'm not a true fan or anything. fans can be critical of the bands/media they like and in fact i encourage it. okay anyway, let's go.)

album rankings

and, because why not, here's my ranking of all of the top albums so far:

trench (5 stars): you can take this album from my cold dead hands. i firmly believe that this was top's best album music wise. (also the bandito tour was an overwordly experience that i'm grateful i saw twice so i'm very biased towards this album).

vessel (5 stars): my favourite album (despite being second). it's very nostalgic for me. when i think of twenty one pilots i usually think of guns for hands first as both the song and music video are peak.

blurryface (5 stars): i love every song from this album :) also tear in my heart was the first ever twenty one pilots song that i listened to <3

self-titled (5 stars): every song is a banger. ate no crumbs.

regional at best (5 stars): again every song is a banger.

clancy (4 stars): some songs will have to grow on me but i largely like most of it.

scaled and icy (4 stars): i did really like this album and i did like the sound but only after listening to it a few times (and the live stream experience really helped me to like it even more because that slapped).

track rankings

alrighty now for the actual songs themselves. also another disclaimer, i'm not a musician, i don't know a lot of the terms lmao i'm just a sensory seeking autistic and listen to music a lot. also i listened to all the songs first and then watched the music videos (not including the singles - overcompensate, next semester and backslide - though) if that adds anything at all.

1. overcompensate (4.9 stars): okay the reason why i put my album ranking is because you need to know how much i love trench lmao. the bandito sample at the start was the peak of the album for me. the rest of the song is why it's a 4.9 (i'm being kinda petty with this lmao) and not a 5 star song but i have listened to it a bunch of times and it is a banger. also the muscial video created the perfect level of hype for the album, it made me very excited for the rest. a strong opener indeed!

2. midwest indigo (5 stars): now i know it might be silly to have a 5 star song below a 4.9 star song but listen this is my ranking list and i can do what i want ;3*. when this song first played it reminded me of what i call my "don't stop believeing" song. essentially, songs like these make me react like how every white person, like myself, reacts to don't stop believing when it comes on. that song for me is magnolia by gang of youths. as soon as the first note is heard, i am up. midwest indigo is a close second to magnolia. this is the highest praise i can ever give to a song lmao. also the music video is very twenty one pilots to me seen by tyler tweaking on the ice and dancing - remember when i said that guns for hands is the first thing i think of when i think of twenty one pilots and have you seen how weird he dances in that music video? /pos (dw this is a compliment) [*it's second and not first because overcompensate is a certified twenty one pilots song, if you don't know what that means, i can't help you just trust me on this.]

3. at the risk of feeling dumb (5 stars): okay so this song just makes me want to cry because 1) it hits close to home and 2) i'm going through some shit right now and this song just perfectly describes it. i also love the music video, it may be simple** but i really like it. the way that at the end it gives like classic band vibes? like i can think of a lot bands that have had that same shot of very close up to the camera stood on top of a building lmao. [**in comparison to some of their higher production music videos with the special effects and what not]

4. vignette (5 stars): as soon as this song started i liked it. it gave me gang of youths vibes (one of my fav bands, listen to magnolia linked above!!) tyler's vocals in the chorus come throughhh (this means that i loved them). such a groovy and cool song, how can you not like it is the real question. i also love the shouted (or at least in top terms just a slight volume rise lmao) "where do i go from here?". and don't get me started on that little music break oooooh so stimmy. the "(denial)" part after "no-no, not me, it's for a friend" is also hilarious in a way i can't describe. the music video: what was that red piece of paper??? that's a lovely portrait of josh, but tyler, what is that paper????

5. navigating (5 stars): loved this song as soon as it started, i loved the groovy retro almost 80s vibes to it?? and in typical top fashion i thought "oh this song sounds groovy the lyrics must be really sad" and then bro started saying "disassociate" in the chorus lmao. but anyway yes, i instantly adored this song. the song is just so stimmy, i was stimming pretty much the whole time this song was playing. obsessed with the music playing in the background of the verses. also obsessed with the way tyler sings "navigating" idk he just says it in a way that's fun. further, obsessed with the bridge and the bass. so the music video. first of all, why did the aspect ratio change, was that just me? secondly i'm welsh so i loved the daffodil cameo <3 thirdly, WHAT??? WHY IS MY BLOOD HERE? WHAT'S WITH THE MY BLOOD SAMPLE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE MY BLOOD SAMPLE??? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN???? HUH???

6. the craving (both versions): listen i'm not rating this, it's a cute wholesome sweet love song for his wife. it would be evil to say anything bad about this and it doesn't really feel like my place to say anything about it in the first place, yk? the song isn't for me. however, the music video... what? there was me thinking they were making a cute music box for their family or something only for it be a box for a bullet??? huh???

7. backslide (4 stars): we now enter the songs that i didn't instantly love, but i'm sure they'll grow on me. i really like backslide but what's stopping me from giving it 5 stars is the chorus, which is complicated. i love the sound paired with the vocals but i just feel weird about it??? idk how to explain it. the music video also doesn't help bc i don't really like the part where he rides his bike through the wind and rain. i get it. i get why. but i just don't really vibe with it??? i'm being really petty about this but i just can't get over it. apart from all that i really liked it. i loved the references in the music video but justice for that meat patty damn.

8. next semester (4 stars): okay not an instant hit for me. it sounded very pop punnky 5sos-y??? which isn't a bad thing but it's not my usual taste. however, i loved the chorus. the vocals and the sound are peak, i love it. also the ukulele part, love love love. also the "oh-whoa-oh" part is amazing too, i'm a massive fan of "oh-whoa-ohs" and i also love it when vocals overlap. i alsoooo love it when there's a group of people singing together :) it's also so catchy? i find myself humming and singing it a lot. the music video was very sweet, having members of the clique there singing along was a lovely detail. the bow at the end too :')

9. lavish (4 stars): this song took me by surprise. it still sounds like the classic top sound but in a way i never expected they'd go, yk? and i think it worked! honestly, there's no reason why this is a 4 star rather than a 5 star, i just feel like the 5 stars are in a different catergory if that makes sense? i loved those better. also the music video for lavish is my favourite out of all of them. it's so fun. the suits and sunglasses. the weird ass dancing from tyler and josh just being there. it's groofy, it's got charm. i love it so much.

10. routines in the night (3 stars): okay i know a three doesn't look great but this song isn't my usual taste in music, nothing necessarily bad on the song or anything. i loved the vocals on this track and i find it catchy because i will sing along to it. i also found it was too cool for top if that makes sense?? like it's very different from the ukulele emo band yk? again, not a bad thing, just not *my* thing though i can see this growing on me for sure. also i see those references in the music video.

11. paladin strait (3 stars): this song is confusing. i like it but there are parts where i don't like it so i averaged it to a 3. i feel like those vocals don't really match the song? i'm not sure. i know i just talked about the good old emo ukulele days but i feel like the ukulele doesn't really fit here?? i did like the "here's my chance" bit, though i still felt like something was wrong about it?? idk. i also really liked the lyrics, they were very sweet and encouraging :) i've listened to this song a bunch of times and still the random ukulele that starts playing jumpscares me T^T it happens so suddenly lmaooo but that part is nice :) then the rest... the fpe???? hello clancy??????? hello???? clancy is still in the thick of it, huh? finally showdown vibes, i'm ready let's go. i've also seen theories about how this relates to the isle of flightless birds which is very interesting and i mean they did play it recently sooooo.

12. oldies station (3 stars): okay when this first started playing it gave me children's song vibes, you know? like it was a kids song or even a song in the background of youtube videos or something. that is to say, i didn't really like it. however, the lyrics were sweet and i liked the line "your favourite song was on the oldies station" :') yeah that hits oof. i also liked the "you don't quite mind" part! it saved the song for me i won't lie. it was very sweet and nice :) nothing really bad to say about it. also the lyric "you're in the crowd at her first dance recital" was very sweet :') as for the music video: yo homies you just killed someone. anyone gonna comment on that at all? and the white pole things moving was really trippy T^T i hated it, it hurt my eyes.

13. snap back (2.5 stars): honestly when this first started playing it gave me like txt / kpop vibes??? not a bad thing as such but just surprised me. however... i gave it a 2 so i wasn't really a fan of this song. though i did like the "i've been praying for my elasticity..." part. that was really vibey :) if we wanna get personal real quick then i'm someone who becomes quite angry and quick to irritation when i'm not doing well mentally and can lash out at people as a result so normally i relate a lot to lyrics like the ones in this but something just felt off about them??? it kinda felt like 'oh i hurt people when i was mentally unwell the other day but why haven't they forgiven me?' type of vibes??? (i got this largely from the lyric "blacklisted from forgiveness") essentially it sounds like an excuse for doing something shitty to someone when you're mentally unwell which doesn't sit right with me.* which i know is referenced in the song itself -> "i have seemed to run out of excuses of why i am this way" which yeah i relate to that because i have said those exact words to myself before, so i get it. i have first hand experience. it's something that i have done before but deeply regretted and don't really want to be reminded by a song. in short, "i am in this and i don't like it." the music video itself was fine i guess but didn't really change my opinion of the song at all. [*also remember that music is up to interpretation, so just bc this is how i see it does not mean that this is the actual meaning, reasoning or the thought process behind tyler's writing. art is subjective and we're all allowed our own opinions and all that jazz. i mean no hate or disrespect when i voice my opinions and only ask for mature responses that contribute to a healthy discussion.]

anyway we got deep at the end there but please don't jump on me bc my opinion is different from yours i beg T^T i left twitter to avoid that, please don't disappoint me tumblr clique :') but i was being serious innit, feel free to add your own opinions onto this :) i'd love to know what everyone else thought!

[once1upon1a1wonderland]

Character Name Analysis

~ Night Raven Staff

Been awhile since I've done one of these. Okay, first up is.......

Sam

Okay, so clearly we don't have the full name of this mystery man. Here are some of the results that came up from Google when just looking

Essentially, his name could be about anything.... (maybe his name's not even sam) Am I giving up on analyzing this as his name?... Sort of... kind of... yeah... but!

The name Samuel means: God has heard. (Hebrew)

Samson: Sun child (hebrew)

Of course, his name doesn't have to be a shortened version of those names. Over the years, the name "sam" has become a name in its own right.

Moving on....

Mozus Trein

Here's everybody's favorite history teacher.

Apparently, his first name is a rare variation of the Hebrew name Moses. (meaning Drawn out of the water or savior.) Which, yeah, I sort of figured that... Now for the last name!

Did you know his last name is Dutch for train? And then, of course, he is twisted from Lady Tremaine.

I think it's likely they wanted his name to have some call back to hers, without it being the exact same name, so we get Trein.

Divus Crewel

For his first name, it sounds a lot like the word Diva. And well, we know what Diva means... If we look more into his name Divus though, we see that from a Roman language context the name means deified or divine. Interestingly enough, that word or name was used as a title for deceased emperors granted a divine status by the Roman senate. The more you know. 🤷‍♂️

For his last name, do I really need to explain it?

Yes, yes I do. Not only does his last name evoke a similar sound to cruella,

But apparently, crewel is a type of embroidery.

I find this interesting as his character is interested in fashion and he knows how the making of clothes is done.

Ashton Vargas

Apparently, Ashton means from the ash tree or ash tree town. His last name, Vargas seems to be of Spanish origin and can mean steep slope or fenced pastureland which becomes waterlogged in winter.

The name can also be habitational of someone from Vargas in Cantabria Spain.

And last but not least...

Dire Crowley

Warning, threat, coming disaster....

When a character is named from an actual word like this.... something may be up with them... or else, it's a red herring. I find the character of Dire Crowley interesting. Seeing as this is a name analysis and not a character analysis, I'll keep my viewpoints put away for now. For his last name, Crowley... it literally means a meadow of crows.

Also googles AI Overview gave me this info.

Now I can't help but find his, first and last name both complimentary and contradicting at the same time. Depending upon which meaning for the last name you wish to go with of course. For now, I'll say, why not both!

I do intend to do more character name analysis, as I find this fun. I want to extend these to other characters. Like Chenya, Rollo, ect. I dont know if I want to organize those ones by association with characters in order of the dorms (Heartslabyul-Diasomnia) in order of the events coming/ that have come out in English.... Alphabetically by region of where they come from... I'm not sure yet. Oh! That does give me another idea though... why not do name analysis of the different countries of Twst? I don't know... I might do something like that.

[hobbysognodilibri]

HAIABIAVSKA

I just finished playing through Camellya’s story quest. And like-

I’m not big on Camellya, but like-

????

She makes me soooo curious- the implications that something big happened in her life prior to Petalfall village, the idea she’s had multiple rounds of memory loss-

The way her constant Overclocking Lowkey reminds me of Calcharo (whom I do not have but will one day:3)

It makes me wonder if Petalfall village will be an explicable area at some point. OH

AND ALSO ANOTHER TITLE FOR THE ROVER WITH THE SOMNOIRE QUEST

We’ve got so many names:

Rover

Lord Arbiter

Astral Modulator

And now Dreamwalker.

The implications that we made Somnoire like we made the sentinels and how we made Shorekeeper???

Also cat :3

Anyways- that’s enough midnight rambling for me

Yesss omg all this lore teasing really got me with this update!!!!

And about Camellya... WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER??? Like yes Petalfall Village (where is it please make it a region I'm curious.. so far the name would only make me think of the New Federation but only by exclusion of it not being in chinese so not Jinzhou nor italian so not Rinascita), yes her high tendency to overclocking but like- I'm actually quite happy with not knowing too much about her

Though I'll continue using her to see what comes up in her friendship given stories

OMG THE SOMNOIRE

I don't know how I survived the entirety of 1.3 without it it's really one of my favorite things of the game

PLUS THE STORY

I love it when they tamper with dreams and such in videogames (hence why in hsr Penacony was my favorite storiline)

I'm so curious going forward with the story what Rover's actual motives for supposedly ereasing their own memory are... And also how it connects to the cutscene at the beginning of the game (which btw I really gotta watch again bc I wasn't 100% on board with the game when I started playing bc I wasn't sure the hyperfixation would last)

Ngl every update of this game makes me more and more curious about what's gonna come for the story

ALSO CHANGLI!!! The conversation with her right before exiting the dream at the end of the quest!!! I already posted about finishing it and then she dropped a potential lore bomb so huge I had to go back bc WTF do you mean you put this in a post quest dialogue people can very easily skip????

Dev's insane for that I'm glad I read every dialogue possible

(also what do you think aero rover is gonna be like?? I'm kinda hoping for some sort of cc, though I heard that Rococo will have something like that in her kit so idk... maybe something with er or concerto regeneration... or a support, it'd be nice to have an mc that's both a good dps and a good support)

I'm so waiting for the drip marketing for 2.0 omg I can't wait to overanalyze the design (my mom has a book on the history of clothings in Italy so it's gonna be a fun game to find the references)

(lol not me using your rambling asks for rambles of my own)

[a-tale-of-legends]

No real title, just wanted to write the SV friends. This isn't a set ordering of events, as in this scene could play out differently as I think on it more, but I thought the idea was cute. Truthfully, I'm not super confident in my portrayal of the SV friends, but hopefully this is still enjoyable!

________

“ Wait. Wait. Pause. Kieran? ” Penny raises a brow, “ As in ‘ public enemy number one’ Kieran? As in ‘ guy you wouldn't stop talking about all summer' Kieran? That Kieran.”

Luca looks bashfully to the side, the letter in his hands tight in his hands. He then looks back at his friends, who are all on the opposite couch. Of all of them, the only ones who look remotely happy about the news is Nemona and R.B. And even that was a stretch since R.B was munching on a snack his mom have her. Really she looks unbothered by the whole thing. The same can't be said for Arven, who has his arms crossed pouting, or Penny who just looks utterly confused.

“ Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh. Yeah,” Luca gives them his best smile. Arven's eye twitched, Penny brows furrowed, Nemona’s own smile grew wider and R.B continued to munch on her snack, unbothered.

“ ……Okay. What the f-”

“ Penny!” Nemona and Arven say at the same time. From the kitchen, Luca's mom’s voice rang out a “ language!”. Penny flushed, adjusting her glasses.

“ What the….heck?” she glances over everyone to garner any reaction. When she got nothing, she continued, “ What happened? How did we go for lover boy drama-”

“ Hey!” Luca exclaims.

“ - to suddenly getting a letter to come to - what's the called place again?”

“ Kitakami” R.B answers, still munching away.

“ Kitakami, right. Also, more importantly. Who the f- heck writes letters?! In today's society?!”

“ I dunno Penny….” R.B mumbles, though there's a clear tease in her voice, “ Seems pretty romantic if you ask me,”

“ Hey. ” Luca shoots R.B a soft glare, who just looks away innocently,” You know he don't have a phone-”

“ He doesn't have a phone?!” Penny gasps in horror. Before she can continue, Nemona jumps up, looking down at Luca excitedly.

“ Free tickets to a new region that holds a champion?! Heck yes, we have to go!!” She turns around to Penny and Arven,” Come on guys, it's like another adventure! Doesn't that sound fun?!”

“ I’ve had enough adventures for a lifetime, thanks” Penny replied dryly. Luca sighs at his friends banter, then looking at Arven, who's been quiet the whole time.

“ Arven?” he questions shyly. Arven doesn't say anything at all, his eyes closed thinking. Luca shoots R.B a look, only for her to shrug.

“ ….. Actually. You know what? Yeah, let's go.”

Luca’s smile shines, “ Really?!”

R.B, however, squints at Arven, “ Really? ”

“Yep!” Arven nods surely, “ It sounds fun! Plus…” he looks down, turning bashful, “ it….would be nice to go on a trip with friends. I…. don't think I've done that before. S-so. Yeah,”

“ Oh, Arven!!!” Nemona squeals, “ Me too! Aaaaaah, it’ll be our first friendship road trip! Pluuuuuuus, I'm Luca said Kieran was really strong right? We get to have an awesome trip AND awesome battles! What more can you ask for?!”

“ Peace and quiet,” Penny mumbles under her breath, not that it saved her from Nemona's infectious grin.

“ Pennnyyyyyy! You gotta come with us, it wouldn't be the same without you!” Nemona beams, before immediately taking a step back, “ Of course, only if you want to! I didn't mean to-”

“ Relax,” Penny interrupts before Nemona starts to spiral. Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink as the light from her glasses hide her eyes, “ I, uh. Wouldn't mind going with you guys. It's seems……fun,”

Luca and Nemona share the same reaction: wide eyes with a bigger smile.

“ Really? Aw, thanks Penny!” Luca cheers, causing Penny to turn away a little, as if trying to hide.

“ Yeah, yeah….”

With 4 out of 5 of the group at a consensus, everyone looks at R.B, who just shrugs.

“Yeah I'm down. Would be nice to see Kitakami again,”

Nemona and Luca cheered.

~~~~~~~

“ Okay,” R.B starts the minute they leave Luca's home, “ What's up with you,” She looks at Arven, who tilts his head.

“ Huh? What are you talking about?”

“ Don't play coy,” Penny says, “ Everyone knows that you get awfully protective of Luca when things go wrong,”

“ As if you guys aren't the same,” Arven huffs.

“ Yeah, but I wasn't the one saying we should fly over to Unova to give Kieran a “talk”. “ R.B made sure to use air quotes over talk.

“ He was clearly giving Luca a lot of emotional distress!” Arven defends, “ You can't blame me for being a bit protective!”

“ Well, yeah, but…” Nemona pipes up, “ Luca and Kieran are all good now! So there's no need to go all Big Bro mode ……right?” She gives R.B a quizzical look.

“ I believe so. I remember Kieran saying he wants to start over, but things went by pretty fast after we got back to B.B academy. Though if they weren't fine, Kieran wouldn't have sent a letter, now would he?”

“ I still can't believe he sent a letter…” Penny mumbles once more.

“ Well whatever!” Arven exclaims, “ We get to go on a fun trip, and I get to show Kieran who Luca’s best buddy is!”

“ We're all Luca’s best buddy, Arven.” R.B points out with a smirk. Arven pays her no mind,already heading off in his own direction.

“ I’ll see you three tomorrow!” He tells, then turns around and points a finger at the three of them, “ Don't be late!”

“ Whatever you say grandpa,” R.B snorts. Arven flips her off before running off.

“ Welp!” Nemona stretches, “ It's getting late, so I better go home too!” She waves at Penny and R.B, “ ¡Buenas noches, chicos!” she says, running off.

“ And then there were two.” R.B jests. Penny gives her a dour look.

“ Please tell me that Miraidon is safe to ride on,”

“ For me? Probably. For you? Nah,” she starts to walk towards Mesagoza, “ We’re walking Penny”

“ Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh”

~~~~~

Luca stares up at the ceiling, his mind buzzing. It was similar to how he was the night before leaving for BB Academy. But instead of his fears and worries taking hold of him, his mind could only think of seeing Kieran again as his friend. They were friends again. The thought made Luca smile wide.

Sleep calls for him, he slowly closes his eyes with a final thought.

“ See you soon, Kiki! “

[thisselflovecamebacktome]

I've been meaning to make a post on the new legends game since the announcement, but have continuously had stuff come up so finally getting around to it now. Noting now that I've only seen very little (I'll mention what beneath the cut) about it so if any of this has been proven/disproven, my bad I guess lmao. But yeah, with that in mind, these are my very late night thoughts/predictions for the game.

So starting off I want to say that the only things I have seen on this game is the trailer and that apparently the whole game happens within Lumiose City. My kneejerk reaction to it happening purely in Lumiose was disappointment but then I took a step back and remembered that this will be Lumiose before it becomes the city we know from X and Y. Realistically I cannot see them making the areas of the game either 1. any smaller than Legends Arceus or 2. if they are smaller, have any less areas than Legends Arceus. Like with all the work they've done since Sword and Shield with bigger areas, I have faith that the sizing won't be an issue here.

Plot wise I am a little nervous, but I think a lot of that is just because there's so much that is unknown for now. Like tbh we don't even know if it'll have the same elements as Legends Arceus. Like for all we know it's a level by level game that once you finish a level, you can't go back because that part of Lumiose will have been built. Like I doubt that's the case, I imagine it'll be similar to Legends Arceus because they know that works, but we just don't know for sure yet.

Much like everyone else, I do hope Zygarde gets a proper story and tbh I don't want the A in the title to be another legendary (I do have a theory that instead of a new one, it may be Arceus but we'll see), but as long as it's written well, I will be happy. I also do wonder if the swords of justice will play a role given them being based on the 3 musketeers and feeling like they should be in Kalos.

More broadly plotwise, I am also super happy that Kalos was picked because tbh it's one of my least favourite games given how many missed opportunities I felt it had (likely due to the lack of a 3rd game) so I am excited to hopefully see those gaps be filled.

But yeah, overall I will say though, with Legends Arceus being my favourite pokemon game, it does have a lot to live up to, and that makes me anxious.

As I'm sure is the case with most people, my main hope for this game is that there are new mega pokemon (and regional forms). And tbh, I hope that any pokemon that already has a mega doesn't get a new one... maybe with the exception of Blastoise and Venusaur because it'd be nice for Charizard to not have the special treatment lmao. I don't really have any hopes for specific pokemon to get a new form or mega, maybe something I wouldn't usually use. Like I had never used Muk before Sun and Moon and now Alolan Muk is a top 10 pokemon ever for me.

Starter wise, my first guess is that they will pick all 3 from ones that aren't generation 6 or generations that were picked for Legends Arceus. Sprigatito, Sobble and Torchic were the first to come to mind, but I also have a nagging (affectionate) feeling that Squirtle may also be picked. If I'm right, I will likely pick Sobble because I've never done a runthrough with it, but if it is Squirtle and not Sobble, I really don't know because I've used all three of those pretty evenly. Then again, Lavender specifically came from another region iirc (did we ever talk about the implications of this? Like the 'Hisuian' starter forms may not actually be from Hisui if he brought them along from where he was from. Like I know pokemon says it's the area that determines the form but it takes years/generations to adjust so there's likely another region that had at least similar if not the same final forms as the Hisuian starters) so they could use that as a reason to finally give the generation 6 starters a mega and/or new final form.

And there is probably more but it's 1am here so those thoughts will have to wait for another time.

[theoldaeroplane]

jouwnaling

had a really, really nice day yesterday, was just in a lovely mood all day. I think it may have been related to the fact I did not get high the night before, so I'm going to try to test that theory and dial my usage down. I really enjoy weed and think it has a lot of benefits, especially for neurodivergent folk, but I'm recognizing that I used it as a way to cope with my situations last year. I'd like to wean myself off it a bit and be more present now that my life is starting to not suck. Still gonna keep it around for fun and really bad ruminating though. Weed makes it so much easier for me to hang out with people in person for a long time, and to go into overstimulating spaces.

Been having tons of fun rotating my version of Link in my brain for Antebellum (the WIP name of my LoZ fic). He has so many problems. He is a dumb motherfucker. I'm also consciously putting a lot of things I've been struggling with into this story, both to process them for myself and to give the fic, you know, that extra layer of authenticity, relatability? It's nice, I'm excited to be excited again. I'm gonna fuck up that elf boy so bad.

Had my second yoga class last night, it was nice. I'm not sure if I can afford to keep going but I'm going to try to. In a way it feels silly to pay for something I could technically do for free at home with a YouTube video, but I think the atmosphere makes a significant enough difference to be worth paying for.

Finally made a vet appointment for the dog. She needs her shots and I can't put off the fact she needs dental surgery any longer.

I really, really need to reopen commissions, but I still feel burned out on art. I'm trying to make some adoptables and YCHs as a middle ground. Haven't had a lot of success there yet. That said, I've been putting a lot of my energy into cleaning up my house and taking care of myself. The house is coming along really well, and hopefully soon I'll have it leveled out enough to make it a nicer space for my creative endeavors.

I applied for another job this week, one totally out of my field and experience: house cleaning. It's not something I'd ever considered, but I found the listing by chance and it occurred to me that a job where I just clean and listen to podcasts sounds like heaven. Especially for my autistic ass. No constant stream of customers. No dress shirts. No repeatedly explaining terms and price sheets. Just show up and clean. I'm sure such a job has its own frustrations (hard on the body, exceptionally gross houses, telling people when something is not in my job description, driving a lot), but, like. My current job---while I genuinely like a lot of the work, and I really love my boss and coworkers---the customer service aspect is killing me, the dress code brings back bad memories, and even though I'm working full time (over full time, even, I'm there 8:30-5 because I take a thirty minute lunch break) I'm not making enough to fully support myself. I keep getting sent home early because there's nothing for me to do, and my boss is only a regional manager and has been very forthcoming with the fact I am already at the absolute highest end of the payscale for my position without taking on more responsibilities.

The fact that I can be working full time and still have to rely on a side hustle, and even THEN can't put anything aside for savings, is awful. I can't do more hours, I can't take on more responsibilities, and I can't get a second job. Any of those things would seriously compromise my mental health and I have to take care of myself. I've always dreaded it when I'm asked to take on more responsibilities at my jobs. I don't want advancement, I don't want to manage anyone (I can barely manage myself!), I don't give a shit what my title is. I want to do my work really well, get paid, and go home.

And the cleaning job, at the absolute lowest end, still pays about 5k more per year than my current position.

So, currently, yeah, housecleaning sounds like a dream job. Show up. Clean. Leave. Repeat. The company in question also has glowing employee reviews on Glassdoor, with the worst things being "could pay better" and "sometimes there's favoritism." I don't have any qualms about """being a maid""" on like a social level or whatever. I like the idea that I would be making a tangible difference for individuals, instead of printing out hundreds of advertising mailers that are going to go directly into the trash. I finding cleaning very satisfying. I like the idea of not sitting around bored because there's no customers and nothing to do and I'm not allowed to have my phone out, and then getting sent home early so I miss out on half my pay for that day. And so much less masking! My god! It sounds like paradise!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but sometimes that's because it really is better grass.

So. Hoping to hear back about that soon. I filled out a questionnaire thing for them yesterday that seemed like it was basically checking to see if I was a narcissistic sociopath or not. I have a weekend without any Special Events happening for the first time in like a month, just my tabletop games and my volunteer work. My clothes and bedding are all washed, I got most of the dog piss smell out of the carpet from when I was too exhausted to take her out often enough, and I cut my hair. I have a writing project again. I've been making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. I adore going out to the barn every saturday. My therapist says I'm doing really, really well. Everything's coming up Corgi, for now. Fingers crossed :)

[ohthehypocrisy]

What if Pokemon Unite was an Anime? Part 5: The Episodes (Finale)

<< Previous

As we discussed in the very first post, the best chance we've got at greenlighting a Pokemon Unite anime is to pitch it as a short, action filled miniseries meant to promote the game and bring in players with too much money in their pockets. That is the ultimate goal of all animation based on profitable IPs, but it'd be nice if the show was fun to watch as well.

The question is, how long should each episode be, and how many episodes should there be in total? To answer that question, we have to look at how much money it costs to fund a normal 30 minute episode from your average anime. According to Google, the average budget of animation, voicework, editing, and materials for production are between $140k to $180k, in US dollars, though the broader spectrum of funding is between $100k to $300k. Since the whole point of a Pokemon Unite anime would be to promote the game and for players to download it and spend money on it, less is more here, which is why a shorter runtime is profitable for us here.

As such, bite-sized episodic releases work favorably for a Pokemon Unite anime. And while I can't comment on whether or not 2D is cheaper than 3D, I think it would look much nicer if it were produced traditionally, especially when the studio is very experienced in making 2D animated shorts.

With all of that out of the way, let's get down to the episode listings. Each episode will be listed in order of episode title, estimated runtime, a short synopsis for the episode, and my own additional comments on the story itself. As a fanfic writer, you'd think this'd be the normal process for developing any story, but I find it much more fun to just go with the flow. It keeps my readers guessing if even I don't know what's gonna happen next, eh heh...

Ahem, onto the episode listing.

-

Welcome to Aeos Island! (3:35) Join Aurma and Pikachu as they touch down on Aeos Island and join the Unite Committee as Unite Trainers and partake in Unite Battles! Could this be the start of Aurma's big breakout? (The first episode shows the trainer's point of view of joining and signing up for Unite Battles on Aeos Island. Aurma, the 'main character' from the previous post is introduced to all the Unite Committee Staff like Professor Phorus and Erbie, as well as the shopkeepers Zirco and Jasper. Aurma is also taught how life on Aeos Island works.) -

Beginner Class 3 (3:24) Before her very first Unite Battle, Aurma must synchronize with her partner Pikachu in a series of test runs. Can she and Pikachu fully trust each other enough to clinch a victory? (Normally in the game, trainers run through bot games after bot games before their first match with real people. I figured we'd cut out the excessive tutorial battles and show how a human and pokemon would synchronize for Unite Battles. It also gives us a chance to show of Aurma's character and motivation, as her backstory unfolds here and shows the audience how she couldn't cut it in the competitive circuit of her home region so she sought a different avenue here. I feel like that's something we could all relate to, good enough at pokemon to beat the main story, not being good enough for VGC or Worlds.) -

Beginner Class 2 (2:12) Aurma's tests continue as she and Pikachu deepen their bond in battle. But there is more to Unite Battles than just combat. Can Aurma and Pikachu score high and pass the test? (A short episode meant to highlight the importance of scoring points in addition to winning fights. Aurma knows what it takes to win, but Pikachu likes to fight and these differing mindsets will cause the two some friction when they have to score a lot of points in order to pass.) -

Beginner Class 1 (2:35) Aurma and Pikachu have overcome every challenge thrown their way, but now they must face their biggest obstacle yet. Can the two overcome the lord of the thunderous skies by themselves? (Another short episode featuring Zapdos as an Objective. We can take the opportunity to add some extra flair to what is essentially an animated boss battle, with Zapdos flying around slinging thunderbolts and little Pikachu running around to avoid them.) -

Great Class 5 (2:44) Having passed her trial battles, Aurma and Pikachu enter their first Unite Battle with other players, but a lack of direction leads them astray. Can Aurma and Pikachu pick up the slack? (If you remember your first Unite Battle, you know that this episode would contain all the casual and feckless horseplay you and your teammates engaged in when playing for the first time. It'll show Aurma struggling to keep her team on point but also to remind the viewers that Unite Battles are supposed to be fun.) -

Great Class 4 (3:10) Pokemon Unite has many items for you to buy to improve your performance in battle. Learn what each one does and if it's right for you and your partner pokemon. (A sort of 'filler episode' where Aurma and Pikachu go shopping for Battle Items and Held Items. The episode will take the opportunity to go over what the items do and how to use them. Also we'll take a quick jab at trainers who mismatch their items with their pokemon, you know, the Choice Specs Greninja players...) -

Great Class 3 (2:40) The first rule of Pokemon Unite is to never give up! Anything can happen up to the last minute of a game! (This episode has Aurma and Pikachu struggle in a losing battle until the last hit of Zapdos is taken from the enemy team. The rest of the episode is a mad dash to score points by the ally team, resulting in victory.) -

Great Class 2 (3:25) Sometimes the best play in a match is one made in service to the team. It's selfless versus selfish in the heart of battle. (Aurma and Pikachu go up against Caurpa and Machamp in this episode where Aurma and Pikachu struggle to make any headway against the enemy team due to Caurpa's overwhelming offensive pressure. Aurma and Pikachu make a ploy to distract the enemy team in order to allow their teammate to score points, securing their victory. This episode teaches the viewers that not all game-winning maneuvers are explosive 5 KO streaks or skillful steal snipes of Objectives. Sometimes, it's about being a team player.) -

Great Class 1 (4:33) An opponent of overwhelming skill is encountered during a Unite Battle! Can Aurma and Pikachu overcome the experience difference? (This episode debuts Lithus, the quiet but ferocious Garchomp trainer. Aurma and Pikachu have to contend with him during a rank promotion battle, but Lithus is far more experienced in Unite Battles than expected, and the match quickly becomes one-sided. Aurma and Pikachu have to unite their teammates against this overpowered opponent in order to have any chance of breaking into Expert rank.) -

I think that'll do it for now. There would be more episodes than this, obviously, but I don't want to lay out the entire series in one post. Since each episode is titled after a Unite rank, you can expect the series to end at 'Masters 1200' or something similar, with a total of 25, maybe 26, episodes.

I also feel like these shorts would best be consumed on a weekly basis, with maybe 2 episodes released once a week, but that'd be ambitious. I mean, the short 8 second animation from Worlds is the most we'll get at the moment, unless Pokemon Unite wants to shell out a bit of extra money for a promotional animated series.

As for me? The best I can do is write a fanfic about it. That's another reason I'm listing only a fraction of the episode synopsis here, I might just go ahead and write it all out myself. Been a while since I've published anything, but if the chapters are gonna be short like the miniseries proposed here, it shouldn't be too much work. A nice, fun little exercise in transcribing my own Pokemon Unite experience for everyone to read, sounds exciting.

But this'll be it for now. Thank you all for reading up to this point. I got something more planned for release next week, so stay tuned.

[novelmonger]

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West - Alas! So few have even heard of this game! But I guess that makes sense, because...I think it never made it to the States? I don't remember the details, just that the only reason I was able to play it is that the DS isn't region-restricted. But anyway, this is the sequel to Hotel Dusk. Yeah, you can't tell from the title. But if you like Hotel Dusk, you'll probably like this one too. More Kyle Hyde solving mysteries, just in his own apartment building instead of a random hotel.

Myst - What a classic! The game I always loved because it's all about books! It's a game where you spend half your time reading books, and then you put your hand on the page and it literally transports you to another world! I can't thank my uncle enough for giving us his old copy of the game, which my brother and I attempted to play on our grandparents' ancient computer that didn't even have speakers. We couldn't understand half of the story and had no hope of solving any of the puzzles on the Selenitic Age (since the clues are all audio-based), but I still loved it. I could tell, at the time, that it was way too hard of a game for me to figure out, but after I waited a few years and discovered the existence of walkthroughs, I tried it again and fell head-over-heels in love with the franchise. Even now, it's really impressive what they were able to do with so little and so few people.

Life Is Strange - Ugh, I have such mixed feelings about this game DX The story really grabbed me - a high-school girl goes back to her childhood hometown for her senior year and reunites with her old best friend, but suddenly discovers she's developed the power to rewind time, as well as getting visions of a horrible storm that will destroy the whole town. I fell in love with the characters, who brought me to tears multiple times, and the choices you have to make can really be gut-wrenching - which is why I actually went back and got 100% completion, something I rarely do. I just wanted to see every outcome. I was also really impressed by what a good job they did with the one Christian character in the game. She was actually believable, and you even have to quote Bible verses to her in one conversation to get the best outcome for the scene. That's not something I've done in any other game besides Captain Bible! XD But unfortunately, there were a lot of frustrating things about the game - plot holes, choices the characters make that you don't have control over that made me want to smack them all, an overall stance about drugs and rebellion and teen sex as if those are positive or at least neutral things without any voices to the contrary that weren't just strawmen, and just...way more negative content than I prefer in the media I consume. So I'm really glad I played it, but also don't feel great about recommending it to anyone :/

Mirror's Edge - I love this game <3 Understandable that it almost won! I never would have thought a first-person parkour game would be viable, let alone fun and not nausea-inducing, but it really works! (Granted, I haven't tried playing it on my HD monitor, so I don't know how my motion sickness would handle that.) The story is kind of whatever to me, but the style and the gameplay more than make up for it. I'm not sure I can adequately explain what it is I love so much about this game, but it's just so satisfying to play. It's challenging, and you might fall down over and over again, but there's something about it that makes you want to keep trying, and that's the most important thing. Also...more than just about any other game I've played, Mirror's Edge captures the feeling of being in a city, and that just feels...comfortable. Even though I've never run across rooftops and leapt to a drainpipe, I have heard the ambient sounds of traffic and the way sounds echo off skyscrapers built close together, and I can almost smell the smells of the city. I know a lot of people probably wouldn't like that, but it makes me feel at home. What I'm trying to say is, the sound design and level design of this game is excellent.

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy - Just like the first LEGO Star Wars game, this is just so fun and whimsical, poking fun at one of my favorite childhood movie series. I love the style of these games so much.

Osu! Tatakae! Oendan! - Basically, the Japanese Elite Beat Agents game. As previously mentioned, you can play games from any region on a DS, so I borrowed a friend's copy of this and played it during one Christmas break in college. I couldn't read any of the words, but the storylines are so simple it wasn't hard to understand what was going on. It was really interesting to see the differences in what kinds of stories are in this game compared to Elite Beat Agents (like the final level, where in this game you're dancing to save the world from being crushed by an asteroid, while in Elite Beat Agents you're fighting off an alien invasion), and it was fun to hear a lot of unfamiliar songs. The main draw for me, though, was that one of the songs was actually "Ready Steady Go" from FMA!

Little Nightmares - Oooh, this barely beat out Mirror's Edge! I'm happy to see this one win - it's my favorite horror game ^_^ Legitimately creepy, fun to play, the puzzles can be challenging but not insurmountable, and I love the overall aesthetic and art style. The inspiration from Spirited Away is palpable, and I am there for it. I also really like how there are no words in the game, so you just have to slowly pick up on what's happening as you guide this little girl through the bowels of a huge cruise ship where everyone wants to slice her up and eat her. Aaaah, now I really wanna play the second game! :(

Limbo - A striking little platformer that's all in silhouette, where you play as a boy running through a forest filled with danger (which leads to some very violent deaths). This is one of those games where I got a strong sense that there was some deep metaphor going on, but unfortunately I played it in a very rushed fashion during some school break and couldn't spare the time to really dig into it. I should probably play it again sometime - especially considering the meta message of Inside, which was made by the same people.

Arbitrarily-Chosen Video Game Tournament, Round 1.21

Welcome to the Arbitrarily-Chosen Video Game Tournament, where we will find out which of the games I've played is the best game of all time!

Why? Don't ask. Just vote and reblog!

[komehyappyou]

Senju's Family Crest: Deeper meaning

金剛杵kongousho/vajra, an important buddhist symbol. 金剛 is hardest material, diamond, indestructible.

Indra, his rivals, Asura, and his weapon Vajra

Indra/Asura/Vajra are a bit different in Hinduism vs jp, mainly esoteric, Buddhism... So i want to learn, write, discuss.

Obviously, Religions, esp Hinduism, very diverse(diff groups/sects/regions say diff things, across diff time periods), this is general/simplified idea. if want correct/add.

Hinduism

Indra, said to be "title", rather than "name", king of Svarga, king of devas, associated with rain/storms. Known to wield Vajra, unstoppable, indestructible thunderbolt to vanquish evil spirits/sinners. A legend says that Indra has 1000 eyes, which used to be ?????? which he was cursed with due to his lust for women.

A legend says that Indra's Vajra originated a spinal column of Sage Dhadhichi, bones blessed by Lord Shiva earlier, who offered it, sacrificing himself, to help Indra defeat a powerful asura, Vritra.

Devas are rivals of Asuras, which are sometimes demonlike, power hungry, associated with drought/famine. Indra killing Vritra symbolizes drought/rain cycle.

Param Vir Chakra, designed by Savitribai Khanolkar, India's highest military medal has Indra's Vajra, symbolizing Sage Dhadhichi's great, selfless sacrifice.

Random: In Hindi indradhanush-> Indra's bow, rainbow. eng/hindi, look/sound different but think similar. rain, indra(rain/storms god) + bow(weapon) =rainbow.

indo-european heritage? There's also many other languages of India. I wonder how common "rain/god+ bow" is?

jp/chinese, 虹niji/rainbow = 虫/creature + 工/strike because think as living dragon/snake which ran through the sky. So 虹"male" and 蜺/霓"female" rainbows, top/dimmer one in double rainbow. Unsure about the kunyomi(native japanese pronunciation, not chinese) origin though.

Japanese Buddhism

三十三間堂sanjuusangendo/33 forms hall, in Kyoto, has famous 28 group of statues/gods who are protectors of main idol, SenjuKannon considered servants/protectors of Buddhist Teachings. link. 大梵天daibonten/Brahman, In Hinduism more like concept of ultimate reality, existence, but In Buddhism more like god said to spread the teachings of Buddhism. 帝釈天Taishakuten, King of Tendou/Deva realm, and 天部tenbu/devas race. often seen next to Oobonten. Center/commander of the 四天王/4 heavenly kings, who monitor/judge humans. Connected to warding evil, healing illness. 阿修羅王Ashuraou, King of Shuradou/Asura realm, and Ashuras race, sometimes rivals to Tenbu. In some interpretations seen as a sun god. in particular, main purpose is "protection of Buddhist teachings".

六道rikudou/6 paths of reincarnation, are said to be tendou, ningendou/human, shuradou, chikushoudou/animal, gakidou/hungry spirit, jigokudou/naraka, hell. They live/die/reborn.

外道gedo(in relation to rikudou)/outer path, is outside the circle of reincarnation, such as tengudou, because tengu(former monk died with pride) knows buddhist teachings, can't reincarnate as a human, but is immortal as a tengu so can't continue. 解脱gedasu/moksha, enlightment, is another example.

五鈷杵gokusho is type of Kongosho has four prongs pointed to center one. One side said to represent 5 buddhas, 5 wisdoms, while the other 5 greeds to mean indestructible truth of Buddhism. (Butsuma + 4 children adds up to 5?)

A legend says Vajra had multiple prongs pointed outward to showing it's use as a weapon to harm. However, Buddha desires end suffering/harm for all , so he took and pushed prongs inward to turn weapon into an equally powerful tool for self improvement, destroying inner desires, greeds, etc.

In Naruto

Shintou Kami sometimes seen as manifestations of Buddhas/Tenbu(本地垂迹), so I think it fits to see OotsutsukiIndra's Uchiha use Kami(Amaterasu, etc) from creation story as the name of their doujutsu.

Senju's family crest is a vajra with inward prongs, in a sense, a former unstoppable/indestructible weapon of Indra turned into a peaceful staff -> A symbol of OotsutsukiAsura's desire or prophecy to change OotsutsukiIndra.

Hashirama not wearing Senju headband, is kind of like giving up changing Madara. Or changing priorities, gokusho(desires to change OotsutsukiIndra) -> leaf(village protection).

But there's one that does not give up.

[taffywabbit]

ok story time let's go

(i guess CW// religious baggage? vaguely cult-y stuff? Mormons?)

so i was laughing at that (presumably bait) tweet that got screenshotted and reposted on here, with the person claiming that y'all is a problematic term used by "bigoted southerners" and someone else dunking on them, because I'm Canadian and I say y'all ALL the time. and like, that by itself wouldn't be too notable - there ARE rural areas of Canada, particularly over in Alberta/Saskatchewan, where the local accent and slang have convergently evolved into something very similar to Texas (and I DID actually grow up in a town like that, though i never picked up the accent myself).

what makes my adoption of y'all particularly odd is that I picked it up in the Caribbean of all places. if you are familiar with my Not-So-Secret Tragic Backstory then you MIGHT know where this is going already.

I was raised in a Mormon family, so when I was 18 i was basically required to go do the missionary thing with the white shirts and ties and nametags. (this is very funny considering my current status as a gay trans furry artist and leftist, but this story isn't really about that.) I got assigned a random location in the world, and was shipped off to the Eastern Caribbean for 2 years. it was very hot and sweaty and overall not a very good time for me, the world's blondest palest scrawniest teen who would have to walk around all day every day in office attire.

ANYWAYS a few months after my mission began, we got a new mission president (the old guy assigned by the church to be in charge of all the missionaries in a region, along with his wife). while he was generally a pretty jovial friendly guy, he also had an occasional tendency to powertrip and institute random arbitrary rule changes whenever he felt that the missionaries weren't performing as well as he'd like and the numbers were down. with missionaries, there's a huge focus on "exact obedience" and "consecration" - this idea that the more single-mindedly devoted you are to Doing Missionary Stuff and Thinking About Jesus and Never Having A Single Fucking Independent Thought In Your Head Or Taking Care Of Your Personal Wellbeing Or Enjoying Yourself, the more god will bless you with like. charisma superpowers or something. to just change people's minds on the spot as you blast them with your Conversion Beam. and therefore anytime that ISN'T happening (y'know, because people have free will, and also because being Mormon is wildly unappealing to any reasonable outsider), it clearly MUST be because those darn young punk missionaries are probably thinking too much about their partners back home or drawing Pokemon fanart or collecting distractingly colourful neckties. can't have that!

so with all that context, I can finally get to the point, which is that one day our mission president decided the reason nobody was knocking on our apartment door begging to get baptized was probably because we, as missionaries, were too casual in our interactions with one another. specifically, he took issue with missionaries calling each other "dude" or "bro" or "man", or referring to each other collectively as "you guys". he insisted that this was "eroding the dignity of our sacred calling as missionaries" and that we should instead strive to call each other "Elder" and "Sister" (the titles used for male and female missionaries respectively) as much as humanly possible.

specifically as an alternative to "you guys", he suggested we start saying "Elders and Sisters" every time we addressed a mixed group of missionaries. which OBVIOUSLY sounds really fucking stupid. and I was in a leadership position at the time, so I had to deliver instruction/training to the missionaries in my area every week AND call them to check-in every night. being a missionary and constantly being commanded to do incredibly stupid arbitrary things really brought out my latent rebellious streak, and there was NO fucking way I was going to say "Elders and Sisters" if i could avoid it - the only people who actually complied with the new rule were immediately identifiable as goody-two-shoes and suck-ups and everyone wanted to push them into the ocean.

so INSTEAD, i and several other missionaries quickly realized that we could simply get away with saying "you all" or just plural "you" with like, a hand gesture to show we meant the group. which naturally just evolved into y'all pretty quickly because it's an incredibly natural contraction of words and it just feels good to say. and the mission president never complained about it, because we weren't using cool youngster slang like "guys" or "dudes" and instead it just sounded like a fun twangy rural affectation. and then i just kinda kept saying it for the rest of my mission, and continued saying it after i returned home and went off to college in the city and all that jazz.

...absolutely no clue where I picked up saying "howdy" all the time tho. i don't have an excuse or backstory for that one lol, it's just fun to say