#can't believe I officially found the one person I'm willing to give free hate to 😭

[boyapologist]

not to be mean on main but c******* r*** entire career aesthetic and honestly just her looks in general are so goddamn UGLY

[draystersden]

K so, the pixiv page thing I found.

There's some interesting tidbits on there about Drayton that I wasn't aware of. I'll be focusing on the points of interest to me, you're free to follow the link and check out the page yourself!

I'm using a translator that ofc isn't perfect (and machine-based Japanese to English is always jank). It gets the general idea of things well enough for commentary to work. I can't verify if a lot of the information given here IS from in-game Japanese dialogue or text, but for the sake of enjoyment, I'm gonna go along with it.

(This is very long, but it was fun to make and I hope it's fun to read! It's all Drayton brainrot rambling.)

"Star Dan" = Team Star

"Ish" = "Issyu" (I think), Unova

"Four Heavenly Kings" = Elite Four

I never made an association with Drayton and Team Star, but tbh I do see it! He's basically doing the same things they did in terms of being a delinquent via skipping class, but his reasons for doing so are less....virtuous you could say.

Drayton essentially comes off as a flippant, crafty guy, which I don't think people would disagree with. He 100% hides his true character by not giving his true feelings space to breath, I will always stick to that belief.

I'm not sure what "Corsa" or "Hindunjim" is referring to, but Indigo Disk (ScarVio as a whole I bet) taking place after B2W2 in the timeline is neat to think about. I've personally believed it does, but if this is an official fact, all the better.

"Zeille" = "Seille", Carmine

So, Drayton is generally distrusted by people INCLUDING school staff. Big oof. My boy, you play with people too much.

"Taro" = Lacey

"Kakitsubata" = Drayton

"Nerine" = Amarys

This one's a little hard to piece together, but I think it says that Drayton wonders why Lacey addresses him more harshly in particular. Yet, other students even in lower classes also treat him that way, so Lacey isn't special in that regard.

LMAO over Lacey, Amarys, and Carmine hesitating to lend Dray their notebooks (I assume to help him study or catch up on work) because he mishandles them - likely by stuffing them haphazardly into his backpack or not flattening pages before closing them. Carmine having been willing to help him at least is cute, and I guess that implies she doesn't hate him as much as she makes it seem...or he pesters her enough until she relents and offers her notes.

EDIT: I was told that this info comes up in English too through Drayton and Carmine's clubroom interaction, but I legit had no idea it existed because I don't think I've seen that moment ever?? Or I've forgotten all about it. Gonna try to see if I can activate it in-game, or find a video showing it off.

"Suguri" = Kieran

Kieran gets special notebook privileges though (this is displayed in English too during Lacey & Kieran's clubroom interaction I believe).

Not sure what the "spoon feeding" line is about... Maybe that teachers have actively tried to help Drayton out more?

Uhh Drayton being Champion was such a big deal because the League Club is filled with strong trainers, yet he went undefeated for so long, even against Lacey who uses Fairy-types. So as a result, Kieran taking the title was a massive deal. I can get behind that story.

The students around the school who DO like him, primarily only do so because he's a strong trainer. That, plus how unreliable or emotionally distant he is, leads me to believe that most people in the school don't really care about Drayton as a person. Which I did already suspect and headcanoned, but still. I wonder if he deals with feelings of loneliness...

Drayton and Kieran (post Teal Mask & pre Area Zero trip I imagine) being opposites in terms of motivation & attitude is so true. They for sure get into spats or arguments, leading observes to think they hate each other.

I've ALWAYS believed Drayton in reality doesn't hate Kieran and treats him the way he does as basically a way to brush off his behavior. Returning the same energy, if you will. He, despite everything that happened, still wanting to resume some kind of friendship with Kieran at the end of the story heavily implies that.

Hm... Drayton was on guard when Kieran came back with the others from Area Zero? But he still apologized, and the two made up. Nevertheless, Drayton calls Kieran "ex champ" to mess with him - canon. This does get on Kieran's nerves, but not enough for him to get genuinely upset. Figures, because he has more important things to dedicate energy to.

Uh, Drayton messing with Kieran also comes out of a place of happiness that he's off his destructive path. Cute, and I can see it.

This all basically is a rundown of Drayton's part in Indigo Disk in pushing for the protag to join the club. Highlighting the third paragraph there: Drayton figured that the protag was the key for Kieran's power hunger getting dispelled. Fact, though Drayton didn't understand the context surrounding Kieran's obsession, which did come back to bite him and everyone else in the ass.

The paragraph above this one was talking about Hassel and Drayton's clubroom interaction. BIG interest in this one. People who've been following my posts here & on my archive now that one of my biggest Drayton headcanons is that he deliberately fails his classes so he won't have to go home.

Drayton being callous with Kieran and wanting him off the throne because he related to the power obsession and learned firsthand that it's self-destructive? That's implied in the English dialogue too, but it's still so gooood, and gives even more depth to Drayton's actions.

"Omodaka" = Geeta

"Souryu" = "Soryu", Opelucid

"Shaga" = Drayden

"Hassaku" = Hassel

Yeah Drayton without a doubt just wants to say in school and not think about the far future. The illusion he's clinging to is not gonna last, but you know.

"Akamatsu" = Crispin

Drayton appears as a friendly guy, but he basically has hella walls up and as a result, struggles to genuinely form connections with others. He has good intentions, but because of how he comes across, others regard him as a trickster who's up to something and thusly don't trust him (or trust in his intentions actually being good).

Even though he put effort into his plan, it was still a bad plan at the end of the day. He's intelligent and can be sharp, but he's just as capable of being a dumbass. Yep yep.

Crispin was so right to call Drayton out and tell him to knock the devious shit off, unless he wants people to legit start hating him. If he's gonna cook up a plot like "Operation help Kieran lose" again, he should communicate it with his friends so they can all help one another. This calls back to how Drayton struggles to connect with others; it really seems like he just can't fully TRUST other people.

Why? His upbringing and how he's obviously unhappy at home could be to blame. Perhaps he feels he can't truly rely on other people because of how conditional the love & care from others can be. Damn... At least Drayton's aware of his own mistakes, and admits that he didn't want the fallout of Kieran's defeat to have happened the way it did.

"Orachif" = "Orachifu", Maschiff

General stuff about Drayton's appearance. I think the "appearance of Zoroa's jade" references how his pompadour with the purple streak kinda resembles the petal of some Iris flower. I remember reading about that somewhere.

He's definitely taller than Kieran and Crispin. The underage label attached to those two give off the impression that thusly, Drayton's older than them. Which I feel is heavily implied, in how he presents himself as a whole. He being a bit shorter than Carmine is funny, either she's a tall girl or she's even older than Drayton.

So this basically talks more in depth about the complicated aspect of Drayton's intentions for Kieran.

To me, to put it simply: Drayton was acting out of genuine care AND spite - the want to knock him down a peg or two. Kieran was behaving poorly, but Drayton was also upset at how Kieran was treating everyone in the club. Should he have let his bitterness have a hand in his actions? No. Was he in the wrong there? Yes. But can you blame him for being upset? No, if we're being honest with ourselves.

Even if you want to throw in the "Drayton wanted revenge for losing to him" angle, do you really think Kieran was a good sport about winning? I highly doubt it, if he's kicking club members out for being unable to train because they're having family problems. Let's just be real here. There was toxicity on both sides.

People talk about this with Kieran, but don't forget Drayton is also a teenage boy. He is not a saint. Emotions can play a huge part in a teen's actions, and all of those emotions aren't going to be good / selfless. No matter how much Drayton fucked up, none of it was egregious nor warrants him being labeled as a scumbag. (Especially because ultimately, he WAS the only one *actively* trying to help Kieran.)

The lines about everyone at BBA, including Drayton, having no context on Kieran's change and thusly misunderstanding him is SO important. Because it's true. Y'all think Carmine would've told him the truth? Hell no, because she doesn't trust him as previously established.

I personally believe Drayton wouldn't have went about what he did in the same ways if he knew the full context, on how Carmine and the protag initiated this change. This doesn't excuse him of course, but again. Nuance.

You know, I noticed how Drayton's the only one of the E4 that has his mons in ordinary pokeballs, but I didn't stop to think about it until now.

If you consider how Quick Balls (Crispin), Nest Balls (Lacey), and Heavy Balls (Amarys) each make pokemon easier to catch upon specific criteria being met.... Drayton using regular ones means he on paper had higher difficulty. Yet, he still succeeded. Maybe an environmental storytelling detail that contrary to how lazy he acts, he is capable of working hard? I completely believe it.

There's also how regular pokeballs are traditionally the symbol of pokeballs and pokemon as a whole, which could also reference his traditional roots in Opelucid. I'm probably reaching extra far, but hey, I don't think it's unreasonable!

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That's about it! Everything else on the page is info I already knew and didn't feel the need to elaborate on, or supplemental stuff that applies to what I already touched upon here.

This post is likely riddled with spelling errors, but I don't feel like proofreading so take it as it is! And THANK YOU for reading all of it, if you did. Join me in the Drayton Enthusiast club if you aren't in it <3

[caticornsrreal]

Fighting Dragons with You

After twelve years, I'm finally telling the internet why I love Taylor Swift🖤 

Hello, internet using world. I’d like to introduce myself to the few people who followed me. Hi! My name is Christa and I am a Taylor Swift fan with every fiber of my being. Full disclosure, this is a short novel so now is your chance to make an exit, but I hope you stay.

Taylor and my ridiculously furry cat, Lyle

(affectionately nicknamed “rent-free”), are the only two beings made of flesh and bone who have been consistent in my life for the last 12 years. With a close second being my son, Gauge, who just turned 10. I won’t get into the details (in this post) as to why that is, but let’s just say there were a lot of ups and downs growing up.

The last 12 years have been an evolution for Taylor,

and subsequently, for me. At (dare I say it) 

38 years old, I’ve found that a lot of things happen in a decade. Like, A LOT. Now, I don’t feel 38. I guess I owe that to humor, singing, dancing, sarcasm, and launching a successful career that didn’t exist 15 years ago —something that has made me always push harder to set new goals and stay humble. But one thing I didn’t do over these last 12 years that I deeply regret was starting a fan page for Taylor. I mean, ESPECIALLY since I’m a professional travel blogger who makes her full time living from digital content!

There’s been a lot of momentum over the last 12 years

—demands which left me with little to no free time. But I can’t blame my absence from the Swiftie family entirely on that. In fact, I’d have to say, I blame much of it on fear.

Fear,

of being misunderstood, fear of judgment or writing something lame. I’ve had over 2,000 articles published online and in print as well as countless social posts, but the thought of Taylor seeing something I wrote and thinking it’s totally weird (or cough, too long for the internet), well let’s just say I’d be less afraid of walking into a burning building.

Fear,

of being called a fake because the financial demands as a single mom left me little money to spend on myself or Taylor merchandise, much less tickets to a show. I’ve always placed my son’s needs before mine.

Fear,

that I was too old to be a Taylor Swift fan. I mean, I was 26 when she hit the music scene and she was what, 16? I’ve been afraid. Afraid I would be rejected by other Swifties who really are the only people who understand this love we have for her  —which is basically like being rejected by your own people. Also, it’s super weird to be following teens/young adults on social, much less engaging with them.

Fear.

Along with my fear, a perfect storm of entrepreneurial demands, single motherhood, failed relationships (one of which was a marriage), and family matters have served as a constant reminder that my dream of ever meeting Taylor takes residence on another planet. An actual trip to Mars seemed more attainable. 

I feel like there is a whole demographic of women, “Swiftie Moms” who echo my story,

having watched Taylor grow into the strong beautiful woman she's become. Women my age who love her from behind the wheel of their SUV, on the way to drop their kids off to school, on the way back from a milk run, in the dark hours of the mornings when they’re dancing in the kitchen with a full on hair bun singing into a coffee spoon. Unnoticed fans who haven’t had the time to dive head first into the Swiftie Universe. But here I am. After all the fear and all the years...

So, why?

This is a hard one to answer. I guess you can say that after many years of challenges, judgment from others, and doing the complete opposite of what logic and reason said I should  —divorce, single motherhood, a second degree in my late twenties... risking it all to start a blog (which by the way in 2013 wasn’t even considered a side job much less a career), I kind of got to a point where I became

fearless.

I had to be. I had this tiny living, breathing human being who was counting on me at the very least, to give him a life a notch above the shit show I had growing up. Not to mention parenting —which is basically wandless wizardry pulled directly from the asses of parents. It demands that your mini human grows up to be a better human than you.

Yeah, unpack that.

Take all your collective shit, figure it out, and then teach your mini to do it better —to BE better than you at love, kindness, respect for others (especially boys respecting girls), integrity, money, and to be fearless. All while giving them the comfort of knowing that you, mom, have it all figured out... even when that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Top that with the pressures of working in the public eye

—which, while on a microscopic level compared to a full-on celebrity such as Taylor, is still very much a juggling act with none of the entourage to lighten the workload. Add to it the demands of working with national brands, and the unwavering ability for other bloggers to tear you down at any opportunity, or even worse, try to get close to you so they can raid your success like a Black Friday sale.

I found myself at the peak of my blogging career

but I was consumed by fear, AGAIN! Fear of shady AF bloggers and publicists, and so much to lose. And fear that now, thousands of people would have an opinion of me formed by jealous bloggers, and they didn’t even know who I really was. 

That’s when letting go of toxic people in my life became essential

—when, no matter who they were, or how I was tied to them, I had to realize that surrounding myself with the ones who lifted me took precedence over the ones who dragged me down. 

After all that..... I learned to give zero f***s about what people thought, or what they said behind my back. 

And I had to start caring about what made my heart happy, what made my family and friends smile, and what inspired me to do better. BE BETTER. Be the example of fearless, with the hope that I was lucky enough to stay that way. But I'm a vulnerable human made of heart and soul and sometimes people can still take the best from me.

I had to be fearless.

In August of 2017 when "Look What You Made Me Do” blessed my ears for the first time, I felt it pierce my skin and course through my veins. And to the very bones of this young 38-year-old Swiftie mom, I was shook AF! I sang, I danced and I drowned out the haters in the blogging world. She had a very clear message,

She had zero f***s to give, Taylor broke the internet.

After watching the seemingly endless myriad of shade thrown at Taylor over the years, my heart erupted with happiness as her flawless first single from Reputation revealed one BADASS BITCH. And with every music video release of her new era, she became a mythical Goddess with bullshit evaporating superpowers. Like, I legit think she’s an actual unicorn. After all, she does ride a caticorn named Olivia.

She got harder, she got smarter in the nick of time

One single post on my Facebook page praising her new era and new single she brought with it attracted a slew of hate speech, white people bashing, claims of Taylor ripping off Beyonce... I couldn’t believe the things I was reading from fellow bloggers. I even had a GLOBAL BRAND threaten my business relationship in their ambassador program because I stood up for Taylor and spoke out about the hate speech which was placed on my own personal Facebook page. But I stood by my words.

Fearless.

Over the following months into early 2018, and to the tune of, “This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things”, I, along with a slew of about 20 other bloggers, ended up taking down said global brand’s publicist who was using his budget and power to demean and sexually harass female bloggers (which would later reveal that blacklisting me was more about not buying into that bullshit rather than my voice on hate speech).

Zero f***s given to those haters.

Mythical Goddess with bullshit evaporating superpowers level officially achieved for Taylor, and even for me. Although I wouldn’t call myself a Goddess. That's all Tay. 🖤

She found love through the noise

And so did I. In November of 2017, I had approached the year anniversary of the greatest love I'd ever known. My last stop. And as the tracks played on, my heart was full. We both found happiness through a seemingly endless sea of anguish.

Taylor is truly doing better than she ever was, and so am I.

Her resilience up against the media and the demands of the industry are perfectly fearless. And her decision to keep her beautifully growing relationship with Joe private is wise. I’ve spent the last year at home, which has been incredible. I’ve had a lot of time to think about what’s most important to me, what has shaped me into the mom, partner and entrepreneur that I am, and it all comes back to Taylor. That’s why it’s time for me to be fearless again and officially join the Swiftie universe.

I’ve spent 12 years fighting dragons with Taylor

and growing a canyon of respect and adoration for her charm, wit, business savvy, musical talent, feminism, compassion, tenacity, love for animals, and of course her lovely, lovely, words. I’ve raised my son from birth with her. There isn't a single day that is spent where Taylor doesn't exist in our lives. For 12 years straight.

That’s a long time to love someone who has no idea you exist.

I play her music videos and YouTube uploads just so I can feel like she’s with us. And so my son knows that she’s one of the finest examples of a human being in his lifetime. I use Taylor’s kindness to teach my son how to be considerate and give back to others while sharing her fearless story with him so she can be a positive role model in his life. Taylor has essentially been part of our family all along. 

My son Gauge has a running joke that Taylor is the only person that can make me cry

(which happens more than I'm willing to admit). And it’s not because I’m weak, or on the verge of a mental breakdown (although I challenge you to try parenting, you might argue that), it’s because I truly love her like a best friend. When I see her happy it makes me happy, when I feel her sadness, it makes me sad. It’s visceral.

I don't believe the human connection is meant to be one-sided.

I feel in my heart, as weird as this may sound, that we will meet Taylor one day, even against all odds. Existing in the same lifetime as Taylor without at least trying to meet her doesn't feel right. I won't look at my son and teach him to let fear and doubt win, or that defying the odds is an impossible task.

Over the years I’ve been a spectator to her outreach to fans. She’s invited them to sessions in her homes, sent them gifts, invited them backstage, surprised them in their homes, made hospital visits, and Lord knows what else she has up her sleeve. And it’s all been done with pure excitement and love for her Swifties. With each outreach she extends, tears of joy are shed for fellow Swifties, and a ray of hope inspires me.

So, I’m starting a personal blog

which tells a very personal story of all the dragons I’ve fought with Taylor over the years. From living in a car at 15 years old to getting invited to LA premieres for Walt Disney and Marvel films. And I'll have no apologies for the truths that will be told (but will change names for privacy). It will be very personal and some of it won’t be pretty. Because life isn’t always pretty.

Taylor is releasing another album this year... we hope,

and she’ll be on yet another tour in 2020. After 12 years I’m finally ready for it. I’ve given my son everything he could possibly want or need. I’ve bought him a beautiful home in Northern Georgia. He’s been able to travel the world and do things most adults haven’t even done. And I owe much of that to Taylor for giving me the strength to take major risks, the courage to face my demons, the balls to cut people out of my life who were toxic and the self-confidence to defy the odds and do things my way.

2019 is our year to show @taylorswift how much we love her.

I’ll let the universe do the rest. Till then, I’ll be fighting dragons with her as I always have and writing my journal for her and anyone else who wants to read the memoirs of an OG Swiftie mom who keeps it real AF, full-on hair bun and all.