#he is like. 30 something. we talk about pokemon sometimes its fun. its also fun to call him old even tho hes very young

[sunbedo]

sometimes I'll randomly walk into the bandroom. and theres a little whiteboard thing thats like. a tournament bracket thats filled out with names, and they mostly do it for like silly random things. today i walked in and my name was 2nd place on the bracket. and everyone was trying to figure out what it was for. it was for most likely to get framed for murder 😭😭😭

[vulgrados-best]

OFFSCREEN POST

I'll Show You the Stars

Place: Zapapico

Date: September 3rd, 2024

Time: 7:30 PM

The sun had just begun to set, leaving the evening sky tinted with an edge of lilac. Miguel had insisted on heading back home before their little expedition because they had a "surprise" they wanted to grab.

Aspen had just started to watch the few clouds in the sky when Miguel threw open the door. "Okay! All set! I got us a couple of flashlights, some potions, aaannnddd some pokeballs!" They flashed a winning smile before seeming to remember something. "Oh! And also some snacks and water if we get lost but I think we'll be okay!"

Aspen takes in a deep breath and blows it out through his mouth, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them and smiling slightly. Miguel thinks he must be preparing himself.

"Sounds good," Aspen says, flexing his fingers slightly, if only to have something to do with his hands, "Do you have like, a favorite cave or something for us to explore or are we just picking one, or-?" he asked, sounding almost nervous from Miguel's point of view.

Best to reassure him. "I've been slowly mapping out and getting a feel for the mining caves around here! Some of them aren't even carved by humans they're carved by the Orthworm if you'd believe it!" Their excitement seeps into their fun fact. They continue to gesticulate with their hands as they speak. "There's a cave that I've found has some remnants of terra shards left by I think some pokemon in parts of its walls, so it might be easier for you to traverse overall because there will be at least a bit of light!"

Aspen's interest seems to piqued at the mention of tera crystals, "Oh, for real? That's so cool actually, holy shit-!"

"Yeah it is," Miguel nods and then holds out a flashlight to Aspen. "But either way… I'm here. And I'm gonna show you something special."

Aspen takes the flashlight with a gracious smile, "Thank you," he says, "Seriously, you didn't have to like, go out of your way for me."

Miguel elbows Aspen. "I promise it's fine. Honestly I want people to share these things with. You seem like a perfect person to do so," ze gives Aspen a warm smile, emphasizing hir point.

Aspen blinks, just looking at Miguel for a moment, but smiles back. "I'm looking forward to sharing it to you," he says, elbowing them back, "Tera shards, though, huh? Ever find any wild Teras in there?"

"I've gotten close but…"

--++--

The two had made their way to a set of caves about 20 minutes by Cyclizar out from Town, they hadn't exactly been in a rush, but they had ridden their cyclizar to make the trip more effecient.

Place: East Province (Area Three)

Date: September 3rd, 2024

Time: 7:55 PM

The two pause in front of one, and Miguel hops off Celcity. They decide to keep their helmet on (sometimes bits of grit fall down due to pokemon), and turn to Aspen. "You feeling ready?"

Aspen takes a moment, glancing up at the sky, then at his watch; he peers into the cave, then into Miguel's eyes. He hops off of Spitfire, rubbing her head, more for his own sake than hers. "I'm ready," he says, grinning.

Miguel gives a signal for Celcity to wait for them outside the cave, and the two (plus Spitfire) step into the gaping maw. The sunset light stretches only so far into the deep suffocating dark… yet… far into the distance of the tunnel… they can see faint lights.

Miguel clicks on their flashlight. "Okay so what pokemon do you guess there is around these parts? Because let me tell you there's at least one very strange one I've seen." Best to make small talk to ease nerves.

Aspen pauses, clicking his own flashlight on, "Hm, well, if I had to guess-"

He looks up in thought, trying to remember what Pokemon he'd seen before, "I remember a lotta Rolycoly and the like when I came here for that work thing… And obviously the Orthworm, and then there's also theeee… The fuckinnnnn'…" He snapped his fingers a few times before he gets it, "I think there are some Dreepy here too, but the population's smaller."

Miguel watches the way Aspen's eyes are drawn to the faint lights. Ze intertwines the fingers of hir freehand with his. "Yep. There's been Larvitar too, and Deino, and Gabite. Lots of guys that can bite you… There's Cufant too so maybe Spitfire will feel at home!" Miguel barks out a laugh and it echoes down the length of the abandoned mine shaft.

Aspen laughs as well, readily taking Miguel's hand in his own.

Directly behind the two Spitfire perks up at the sound of her name, trilling happily despite not having been paying attention to the conversation, or really understanding it either. She is just happy to be here.

Miguel then considers Spitfire. "I think Spitfire could make the distance… Seems like quite the sturdy girl."

"Lotsa guys that could bite you, but I bite back," he grinned, canines sparkling in the (flash)light.

"OOohhh! Scary!" Miguel pipes up.

Aspen rolls his eyes fondly and continues, "But yeah, maybe! I actually caught her on the other side of Levincia, but who knows, maybe she just ran all the way there. That's kinda your whole thing, huh, girl?" He reaches back with the hand holding the flashlight and uses his fingers to rub under Spitfire's head, chuckling to himself.

Aspen glances at Miguel, his smile growing, "Oh, but yeah, she's pretty damn tough. She's not quiiite as fast as a racing-bred Cyclie, but she makes up for it with stamina. She could totally manage that distance."

Miguel lets out a chuckle and then a rather contented noise. Hanging out in a cave and talking about Cyclizar. What's better than this?

But they should be returning to the topic, "The real pokemon to watch out for are the Glimmet that have taken up residence here." Miguel shrugs.

Aspen nodded, "Oh, for sure- Had a nasty run-in with a Glimmet back in freshman year, worst week of my life, honestly. Didn't realize there were Glimmet down here though," he mumbled, "Neat!"

He paused for a moment, before asking Miguel, "Hey, how'd you find this cave anyway? You just pick one to explore when you feel like it?"

"Preetttyyyy much! There's tons of tunnels and Terrainity helps me find my way out. He actually used to be super bad at directions but we trained our way into him being really good at it" Miguel smiles, then something catches their eye. "Oh! Look! Tera shards on the wall!!"

Aspen follows Miguel's gaze, lighting up at the sight of the Tera shards; he maneuvers the flashlight in his hand, nearly touching the crystal and barely ghosting over it's surface as the light it gives off baths his face in its glow.

"They really are prettier in the dark," he says, glancing back at Miguel.

"I know right!? Those crystals outside have nothing on these bad boys! My theory is the Orthworms are responsible for the shards and the shards are responsible for the Glimmet." Miguel likes seeing Aspen so thrilled despite the cramped space.

"Ohh, I see where you're coming from," he nods, "That makes a lot of sense; so I guess the Glimmet are deeper inside then, where there're more crystals?"

"I'd assume so… Or they're clustered by the Tera Umbreon that lives around here!" Miguel grins mischievously. "Okay c'mon we just gotta get a bit further in then I can show you what I wanna show you!"

Aspen holds on tighter to Miguel's hand, taking in another breath like he had earlier, brimming with anticipation.

Aspen raises a brow at the mention of a Tera Umbreon, but grins back, "And I'm only hearing of this Tera Umbreon now?" Then Aspen shakes his head realizing that Miguel has no intention of elaborating. "Alright, alright, lead the way, Miguel."

"You'll get to see it later I promise!!" Miguel giggles and pulls Aspen along.

--++--

The two banter and riff off eachother until they get to a larger space than the cramped tunnel. It's an opening in the cave system with a ceiling that isn't terribly high but still has a comfortable enough room for them both to stand under.

"We're here!!" Miguel exclaims. They seem really excited now and let go of Aspen's hand. "Okay okay give me a minute." They start fishing through their backpack.

Miguel fishes out something that looks like a toy Torkoal without steam coming out of it.

Aspen looks back for a moment, barely having noticed just how cramped the tunnel was until now; he looks around, trying to figure out what's in the opening before looking back at Miguel.

He tilts his head with a tentative smile, asking, "Whatcha lookin' for?"

They look up at Aspen. "This! You said you were nervous in here without the stars… so I wanted to show you they can be everywhere… even down here." Miguel places the toy Torkoal on the ground and flicks a button.

It lights up a brilliant red and suddenly there are stars splayed across the ceiling in a show of dim light. Miguel starts playing with the colors. Green. Purple. Yellow. Then Miguel settles on that color. They smile expectantly at Aspen, hoping that their gesture is welcomed.

Aspen gazes up at the ceiling of the cave, mouth slightly open in a shocked smile, before his expression melts into a softer one.

He sighs quietly, his face bathed in that soft yellow glow as he turns back to Miguel. He doesn't know what to say, so he shows it instead, grabbing Miguel in a short, but tight hug.

"You didn't have to do all this," he whispers, "But you did."

He adds on, "This has been really nice, Miguel."

Maybe these dark, cramped caves weren't as bad as he thought; Miguel had made it amazing, after all. More than amazing, actually.

Breathtaking.

Scene End

[Aspen Sharma belongs to @aspens-dragons ]

[frosted-night]

Jack Frost Designs Review

Yes it’s finally his time. This is going to include his book designs including previous incarnations in said books. There are more movie concept designs than book so, let’s dig in shall we?

This was in fact the first ever Jack Joyce designed while he came up with The Guardians Of Childhood. He even comes with his own backstory! (Which was cut. Sorry Joyce posts walls of text so it’s a girthy read.)

So instead of a young mischievous trickster, we got a much more depressing story of Jack. (Jack by default is sad obviously) but this one... It kind of hits differently and almost reminds me of the story he crafted for Pitch. A dad who tried to defend his family but through tragic events was ripped from them and changed completely. Design wise, he’s a lot more tree than snow. There doesn’t exist a colored version of this so we’ll never know if he sported winter and dull dead leaf colors rather than grassy greens.This Jack has a weird presence to him, I can’t put my finger on it. Rating: 6/10 He’s really neat! Just a little too Autumn feeling rather than a blend of both Autumn and Winter.

Nightlight feels like the baby evolution if Jack was a pokemon and that's what I’m gonna stick with. Below is a more recent version of him colored.

In all honesty that one is easier on the eyes proportion wise because sometimes Joyce has ‘interesting’ anatomy choices but we aint going into that today. It’s interesting how his hair somehow looks shorter and longer than Jack’s at the same time. Could be because the longer strands float seamlessly but star boy hair physics what can ya do. It’s a little hard to tell what is his skin and what is his armor, so that is a casuality in making a character only have one or two colors in their color scheme. I love other artist’s depictions of Nightlight but the canon one feels a little weak color wise. Rating: 5/10 Sorry, get some better LEDs and then come back.

Here we have a book Jack but I can’t entirely recall if this was used in the books or not. I digress. This design looks like him still wearing very Nightlight-esque armor/clothing and slowly growing into his new persona as Jack Frost. The intricacies are hard to make out but we’ll work with it. This one is very interesting to me because he very much looks like an older teen close to young adult. His hair looks very fluffy too. Not many complaints about this one but not much praise either.

Rating: 6/10 Not great but doesn’t stand out that much.

Remember when I said Joyce had ‘interesting’ anatomy decisions? Jack looks like he has half a head here and it bothers me GREATLY. This is the adult Jack design he went with. Supposedly he likes the opera and he sure looks it. This! Exists!! Kind of wish it didn’t. The outfit is nice but it just doesn’t fit Jack as a whole. This just screams to me that it’s someone else with a similar-ish hairstyle.

Rating: 3/10 Guess he’d be the...Phantom Of The Opera. (I’ll go home and so should he.)

And finally the final Jack. This is the one that almost exactly resembles the Jack we got in the movies(Probably because it was made after the movie but w/e) but just add a cape on him. I can’t really tell if hes got a hoodie and a cape, or just a cloak+hood on top of a sweatshirt. It isn’t too important because my thoughts on this one are obvious. Rating: 10/10 Edna Mode would have a field day with you boy.

MOVIE DESIGN TIME

Joyce claims this is a design he drafted when Leonardo DiCaprio was considered to voice Jack and I can kind of see that with how his face is drawn here. This Jack looks a lot more like a warrior and less of that trickster look. I can’t say I’m a fan of the weird antenna his hood has but his sword is really cool looking.

Rating: 4/10 Nice bow and sword but it can’t save your fashion choices.

This looks like a lanky 11-13 year old who would put rocks or slugs in my shoes and relish in my disgust. He has the exact look of a snot nose kid and I’m unsure how to feel about it.

His various hairstyles drafted here sort of make him softer looking or just more of a snot nose, no in between. Maybe even an Anime Protagonist.

The top right one almost looks like Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon if you squint. It’ll be a little hard to rate them all as one individual but why not.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate them but they aren’t my cup of tea.

AH- IS THAT A FUCKIN GREMLIN?

Oh wait no it isn’t he looks like a 10 year old. Whatever don’t feed him after midnight. The staff’s design of not being shaped like a G is an interesting tidbit but the whole design looks like he’s really young or like a troll etc. This Jack looks like he thinks girls have cooties uses outdated slang.

Rating: 4/10 This is me being generous.

It honestly looks like he hiked his pants up all the way to his chest. A late teen with horrid fashion choices once again. Not many other thoughts here.

Rating: 2/10 Get a sweater on or something.

This is one is very interesting looking to me. His clothes looked a lot more leather based and very human-like. The tatters, tears and frays all make him look like he was a victim of an accident that never changed his clothes. It makes me wonder if this Jack had the same death as the final movie Jack or something else entirely. Either way, this one looks like hes a mid to late teen which really adds to my intrigue.

This was another image that greatly resembled the design so I included it here. It almost looks like his skin is blue here which is pretty neat to me at least. He’s also got leaf motifs here, which from the first Jack design Joyce made, we can see a pattern here.

Rating: 8 /10 I was originally weirded out by his head but now its not so bad.

This Jack is definitely dressed more like a nature boy rather than him having human influenced fashion and it’s an appealing touch. The tiny leaf sprouting from his staff is also kind of cute since the designers seemed to want to put leafs somewhere on his designs. His hairstyle is also very cute but it reminds me of Sasuke Uchiha in a sense. (Not a setback for me at least)

Rating: 7/10 13 year old Jack is going thru a phase.

I thought this Jack didn’t show up again in story boards but I was wrong!

They look a little different from each other but just similar enough to pair together, so bare with me. The first one obviously has looser pants, slightly longer sleeves and got his leaf motif going. This second Jack is a VERY green. It gives the impression that this Jack made his clothes out of plants and natural materials. Again I’m not wholly sure if greens fit his color scheme but they sure went for it for a while. I can’t say I’m a fan of it because it heavily reminds me of Peter Pan.

However a very similar looking Jack could be found in this storyboard. It doesn’t look as green as the other storyboards made it out to be and looks more like dead grass. Which is a pretty nice touch.

Rating: 5/10 I don’t hate it but it just doesn’t vibe yknow.

Speaking of a vibe...hoo this certainly has one.  This Jack isn’t old but certainly doesn’t look very young, maybe in the 20-30 range, thats just me. He has facial features that remind me of Pitch but resembles the Jack Frost of Santa Clause 3

That being said, I wondered if him looking similar to Pitch was in the storyline of them being brothers.(Which was a scrapped thing, who knew.) He’s a bit more menacing in this design but certainly seems like he relishes in his work.

Rating: 4/10 I’d make it a lower score but I gotta give it props

NOW THIS JACK IS KINDA INTERESTING. This one looks like he’s 16 and going through a grunge phase. He’s gonna play Nirvana loudly and not turn it down even if you tell him too. His staff itself has mini icicles hanging off of it and leafs look stuck to his shirt. Did you glue or staple those on Jack? His hair also looks much longer than his other designs and I kind of dig it( Shut up I’m bias.) I’m not wholly sure why else this design has stuck with me but it just has something about it that I just love. I wish there was a full body drawing of it.

(He also kinda has the same hair as the Jack Frost in Runescape but I wont go on about that hoo hoo)

Rating: 9/10 *Bad Boy by Cascada plays in the distance*

This one definitely feels like middleschooler trying to be in a band. His sticks just resemble drumsticks to me what can I say. I’m a big fan of his shoes and his color scheme screams a hibernating tree in winter. His hair also looks like it’s covered in frost rather than it being wholly white, which is very neat!! He looks like he wants to fight but has slight hesitance. Overall a very balanced Jack.

Rating: 8/10 He’s ready for band practice

Not many thoughts here, I just found these tiny Jack designs cute. His hoodie being a jacket instead just adds to the charm of this one.

No talk to him he angy.

Rating: 6/10 fun sized boi

Now this Jack resembles the one earlier that dressed entirely in leather brown colors, however he clearly is different than that one. I’m gonna say it, he looks like a zombie or undead in this design and its pretty fucking gnarly. I don’t know whats going on with his hair but I’m gonna assume it’s just the wind making it look like that. He just has the vibe that he was once human but was turned into something else entirely. It isnt in uncanny territory but borders that. This version of Jack meeting Pitch and the others would have been *very* interesting. Rating: 7/10 Eat a twinkie Jack you’ll feel better.

The final design! I can’t complain much about this one. The way his staff subtly has a G shape and a hexagon(his signature shape) is a wonderful touch. Additionally, the way the frost is gathered mostly where his hand is such an intricate detail. His signature hoodie is iconic at this point so I can’t bad mouth that either.(I can’t anyway because there's no complaints from me here.) Although, I never understood the leather straps that his pants had or their functions. I couldn’t find any colonial outfits that resembled Jack’s pants so its a total mystery to me at least.

And I can’t go on about this design until I mention the snowflake pattern in his eyes

Pure beauty. It’s at a hue of blue that almost looks impossible to have, combined with the electric blue color of the snowflake in his eyes. The amount of detail in this movie amazes me to this day. Rating: One Great Blizzard <3/10

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Andy on Asian Animation or SYAC: The Master Review 2

Let’s talk a bit about anime and Dobson’s work relation with it.

I think we can all agree, that starting from the late 90s and early 2000s on, anime and manga became extremely popular in the western world. Sure, Japanese animation was nothing completely new to us (Speed Racer, Nadia-Secret of Blue Water, Samurai Pizza Cats, Sailor Moon, Kimba and Akira e.g. come to my mind as properties already known in the west before 1995) but it really was around this time that thanks to “mainstream” stuff like Dragon Ball and Pokemon people became aware of how different Japanese animation was from western. Eventually resulting in the really good shit (like Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Kenshin and Heat Guy J) coming over and enriching nerd culture for more than just a few people who knew of it as an obscurity at that point. Now, if you know anything about Dobson, you likely know that his relationship with anime is rather… complicated to say the least. Or, to let him explain it with his own words…

Dobson essentially likes silly and wacky 90s anime. But later on he hated anime in general, because it got too popular and a bad experience with an anime club in college soured his enjoyment of it. Furthermore, he put the blame on his lackluster art style and storytelling capabilities as seen in the likes of Formera, Patty and Alex ze Pirate, on anime in general, while also claiming that Disney pulling the plug on 2D animation is the result of the “anime inspired” Treasure Planet, meaning anime in a sense deprived him of his chance at working at his dream job and “ruining” western animation.

Which to me has always been ignorant as fuck. For starters, I can understand not liking certain stories or genres, either for objective or subjective reasons. But to hate on an entire nation’s form of entertainment (not just individual shows or genres), depriving yourself of the chance of potentially watching a lot of good stuff while also being rather insulting to these other works and people enjoying them? Especially when the stuff you can supposedly “stomach” has been rather simplistic compared to other things?

 Second, blaming Japan for “poisoning” your art style? What, did the ghost of Osamu Tezuka possess you and FORCE you to put sweatdrops on your characters forehead while also going for the rather simplistic character style of Rumiko Takahashi, as well as emulating the slapstick of the likes as Slayers and Ranma ½?

 Next, if he had emulated them successfully, I say he would have actually managed to tell decent enough stories worth to read online. Not create Uncle Peggy aka “Discount Happosai” or the bland proto-Isekai known as Formera.

I mean, let’s give some context here: There have been people who successfully managed to emulate certain anime and manga aesthetics into western animation and make it work. Otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten the likes of Avatar-The last Airbender, Samurai Jack, the Animatrix, Thundercats 2011, Super Robot Monkey Hyperforce Go, Kim Possible, W.I.T.C.H, Megas XLR and Wakfu. You know, shows that are actually awesome as hell.

Heck, Dobson’s favorite animated show of the last decade, Steven Universe, is heavily inspired by anime aesthetics to the point of being embarrassing.

 But Dobson… well, he emulated anime aesthetics in his work the same way as these crimes against animation did.

Combined with his general shortcomings as a storyteller it is no wonder his initial comics did not do well.

 Lastly, and sorry for digressing here a bit, but if the Wikipedia entry on Treasure Planet is something to go by, there was no real inspiration by anime involved in making this movie.

Supposedly the idea of making an animated Treasure Planet in outer space movie was already pitched by Ron Clements WAY BACK in 1985 but only came to be after Michael Eisner greenlighted stuff in the late 90s. Design wise the movie was supposed to look 70% traditional and 30% sci-fi inspired and people took inspiration for the art style by illustrators associated with the Brandywine School of Illustration. A western style of illustration established in the 19th century, that had a big impact on the illustration styles for many 19th and early 20th century adventure novels and short stories.

What, is anime supposed to be the only form of animation allowed to have sci fi elements or steampunk in it? Fucks sake, The Lion King and Atlantis, which came out one year earlier to Treasure Planet, were likely more inspired by anime. Don’t believe me? Watch Atlantis and then a certain anime by Studio Gainax called “Nadia-Secret of Blue Water”. Or read up on the controversy surrounding the two.

The truth is, it is not entirely clear what caused Disney to shut down 2D feature film animation in the early 2000s. In fact, if anything, most people put the blame on Michael Eisner and a certain change in the publics taste in movies in general, combined with Disney trying to turn almost every movie they had into a franchise via cheap follow up movies on video and DVD.

And even if Disney did not shut down, are we really supposed to believe that a certain guy with fedora would have made it big at Disney to the point Alex ze Pirate would have been made into a feature film?

But Dobson could never quite understand this and instead of “reinventing” himself properly, he would rant about anime and its fans in one form or another…

 And on the peak of his hissy fit create this little art piece he baptized Anime Sux. Alternatively “West vs East”. Or as I like to call it, slap a jap.

Now, the pic was done in 2008 and Dobson claimed sometimes in the last decade, that he no longer holds his old opinions. Unfortunately, by that point he would also more or less use the chance to vent in his webcomic about anime (or rather its fans), which brings us finally back to SYAC.

 While Dobson never outright thematized in more detail WHY he hates anime and manga in SYAC (likely cause if his comic reasoning was even slightly like his reasoning in his blogs, people would have torn him apart like a bag of paper) he did use the format to punch down on anime fans and their preferences.

 For example, for someone who has a 4chan story going around of having been rather arrogant towards others in college for not liking Ranma ½, Dobson has THIS little college related comic to show off, where he portrays an aspiring manga artist as a delusional jackass.

Then in this strip titled manga, his manga fan is essentially portrayed as a young woman dressing up like a very stereotypical high school anime girl, who is in the wrong for even just DARING to draw her comics in the direction manga are read.

On one hand, I get Dobson’s point. She could be at risk of alienating a market of readers as she is obviously drawing for a western audience. Then again, if she doesn’t draw a traditional western comic but a manga, why shouldn’t she? I mean, as long as she enjoys it, which I assume she does as she seems genuinely just happy when stating that she likes manga, why not let her? Plus, this comic was drawn in the late 2000s. I think by then most people kinda knew how to read from right to left, so Dobson’s claim she would alienate or confuse people is kinda redundant. If anything I find a) Dobson getting angry at her just very petty (just let her have fun) and b) portraying a western manga fan as someone who would be confused by the sheer idea of reading stuff from right to left is also in itself just really dumb and insulting. What is Dobson trying to imply? That anime fans are so stuck in the way they consume certain media, they can’t act according to “western standards” again?

Then there is this strip where yet another female anime fan is essentially portrayed as the embodiment of how “ignorant” manga fans are of the idea of different art styles...

Which becomes rather laughable once Dobson describes his style as a mixture of European, American and  Japanese. Why? Because he is the one oversimplifying things, rather than the anime fan.

You see while anime and manga of all sorts do share certain aesthetics (like the black and white art style, emphasize on the eyes of characters, the way hair is drawn, recurring tropes within certain genres and so on) style wise (both in art and storytelling) there can be severe differences, depending on the artist alone. Akira Toriyama’s style differentiates significantly from the likes of Eichiro Oda, Rumiko Takahashi, Kentaro Miura, Tezuka, Kaori Yuki and so forth.

The same also goes for many western artists. Herge had a significantly different style from Uderzo and Goscinny. Don Rosa has a different style in which he drew Scrooge McDuck than Carl Barks did. Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee draw mainstream superheroes differently compared to how Jack Kirby, George Perez and others did. Heck, Ethan Van Sciver and Jim Lee were closely associated with Green Lantern in the 2000s and look how they differentiate.

 Which btw is the kind of skill level Dobson would have needed to have, to make it in the mainstream industry

So when Dobson says “I draw in a combination of American, Western and Japanese” all I can think is the following: THAT DOESN’T NARROW IT DOWN! WHAT THE HECK HAVE YOU LEARNT IN COLLEGE ABOUT COMICS? WHICH ARTISTS, WORKS AND STORYTELLERS DO YOU TRY TO EITHER EMULATE OR HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY?

Then there is this little thing…

Where do I even begin? How about the fact that Dobson’s hand in the last panel looks like he has lost a thumb? The fact that the little boy, anime fan or not, is aware of Sae Sawanoguchi, a character from a short lived OVA and anime series from the 90s, which considering his age, I kinda doubt he would be aware off. Unlike Dobson, who got into anime in the 90s and admits in fact within the posts I loaded up earlier, that he had watched the anime in particular, known in the west as Magic User Club.

Then there is the implication by Dobson, that anime is so “corruptive” as a medium, little kids don’t even know the most basic characters in western animation because of it. I expect in a next panel, that all of sudden some 50s PSA guy comes along and lectures me that if I want this kind of thing not to happen at MY convention, I need to teach little kids more about the GOOD western animation, instead of the BAD eastern one. Then there is this rather unflattering portrayal of a shonen ai/shojou ai fangirl…

 Which makes me laugh cause honestly, even some of the worst shonen ai and shojou ai can do better in portraying a “realistic” gay relationship than Patty if you ask me.

Also, as much as I think fangirls can be extremely thirsty (I have read my fair share of extremely stupid yaoi and yuri fanfics) I think that in hindsight Dobson is really not anyone to complain about shipping obsession and sex when he himself has KorraSami, the Ladybug fandom and a certain rat pirate under his floppy belt.

As you can imagine, Dobson would get heat for those comics, considering how he himself has been greatly inspired by anime and manga for his major comics. And while I don’t have any explicit deviantart posts of him reacting to criticism in that regard, I do have this comic which addresses it directly.

 And yeah, if I were schoolgirl number 4, I would just sigh and walk away after telling Dobson that his mistakes and shortcomings are not related to having consumed anime, but rather by what sort of anime (and other stories) he had consumed and the amount of effort he had put in creating his stories instead of emulating just something more popular. Plus, if you really want people to draw more from life, how about drawing more from life yourself down the line? And no, tracing Star Wars movie frames does not count.

Finally, Dobson, considering how very little most people think of your work, I say mission accomplished: People have learnt from your mistakes and know not to be a Dobson.

And at last, there is this comic, which kinda wraps up Dobson’s “vendetta” with anime and manga fans within the pages of SYAC.

By trying to mock anime fans and make them look just as shallow as he is. I at least suppose. Honestly, the message of this comic is rather muddled. On one hand, I would say the strawman accusing Dobson hates anime just because it is popular is very simplified. After all, Dobson has made his reasons for not liking anime clear in a few more details. It’s just that the details in and on themselves in real life are still rather shallow and boil down to a lot of personal bias rather than an objective criticism of actual flaws. Which I think is worth pointing out.

But frankly, what is Dobson trying to say or point out here? That the strawman is not so different or even dumber than him, because he hates Justin Bieber for “shallow” and superficial reasons too?

Okay, this doesn’t quite work as well as Dobson wants. First, the argument Dobson’s strawman makes is in huge parts based on some verified statements Dobson made for not liking anime. Second, he just says a name and that triggers the guy to express his hatred for Bieber. We don’t know why the guy hates Bieber and you could make in fact the case, that he hates him not because he is popular, but because he has a genuine issue with the artist, his work or his behavior as a human being. Third, if you want to make yourself look like the better person Dobson, try to argue with the guy and make solid arguments why you don’t like anime. Instead you just deflect the criticism by changing the subject and then try to make yourself look like the “smarter” person in the room by mocking your critic in the most condescending manner.

Which as I think about it, sounds like your modus operandi on twitter and tumblr.

Weirdly enough, that more or less marks the “end” of Dobson tackling anime fans and the beef he has with them within the pages of SYAC. Despite how much Dobson’s negative reputation especially in early years was build around him hating on anime and belittling its fans, he didn’t really do more afterwards in the Dobson focused pages of SYAC. And mind you, those strips were also separated by other strips in-between, focused on Dobson just being at conventions.

Unfortunately for him, the strips didn’t really help in any way to diminish that negative reputation and instead just confirmed for many, that Dobson can’t handle criticism about his flawed opinion on anime. If anything, it just made people think even less of Dobson, as the strips just painted him as someone who would rather portray his critics as strawman he can be “rightfully” annoyed at, instead of fellow humans with slightly different tastes in entertainment, who are still worth listening to.

So, now that we have the anime fan related “annoyances” out of the way, what other sort of silly problems in making webcomics would Dobson cover in his strips and are “relatable” to everyone?

Lets see some of these examples in the next part.

[ruby-dear]

all of them except 77, 78, 81, 92 and 96

Ember, I know this was you. I’m doing it, but that’s 93 questions you’re asking for so they’re going under a cut. 

1. Talk about your first love. There have been a lot of those, so let me talk about the first one I really remember. I was in eighth grade, at the time, and she wasn’t exactly a great person looking back but she was cool and confident and she liked me, and she called me her best friend, and probably the best school-related memory I’ve ever had was her tackle-hugging me from across a classroom. I didn’t even realize I liked girls until she’d pretty much left my life completely. Maybe I’m looking at it through rose-tinted glasses now, but I think that’s okay, sometimes.  2. What’s the most beautiful songs you’ve ever heard in your opinion? Most of my favorite songs are Owl City, especially the older stuff. It has a soft, dreamlike vibe to it that I find really pretty even when it’s depressing. 3. How’s your heart feeling right now? Pretty good, I think? 4. What kind of self care is your favorite to do? The fun stuff. Bath bombs, makeup, fancy shampoo. Retail therapy actually works pretty well for me, even if a lot of the time I don’t even buy anything. 5. What’s your skincare routine? Um... Shower? 6. How did you get to be so beautiful? Natural talent and carefully learned confidence. 7. Do you have any stuffed animals? Oh, do I. I have like, seventy Webkinz, and that’s without getting into anything else. You could say I collect plushes, even if I don’t do it as actively now. I have a couple of Eevee plushes, too - I’d say I want to own all of them one day, but I’m like, 95% sure that’s not possible. 8. Best trip you’ve ever been on? Once, we went to Prince Edward Island for a week, and my mom surprised me by meeting up with my best friend’s family, who happened to have gotten a room at our hotel for one night. I think that probably wins. 9. Favorite thing about your room? That it’s starting to look like it belongs to me, even if I want to move somewhere else. 10. Opinion on love? It takes work, but it’s worth it.

11. Are you affectionate? Around people I’m comfortable with, definitely. 12. Who do you look up to? The people who have enough confidence to be unapologetically be themselves.

13. Favorite poet? Robert Frost. When I was eleven, I found a book of his poems, and I loved that book so much I didn’t pay any attention in English class at all.

14. Song that makes you happy? How about one that calms you down when you’re in a bad place? There’s a lot of songs that make me happy. Hard to go wrong with the Pokemon theme, though. As for things that calm me down... It’s Alright by Mother Mother and Misguided Ghosts by Paramore have both got me through a lot.

15. Do you play an instrument? No. I was supposed to learn piano in seventh grade, but I couldn’t read the sheet music so they never let me play, and I tried to learn guitar multiple times but it never stuck for the same reason.

16. Do you do art? Using what (pencil, watercolor, etc)? I paint, though not as often as I’d like to! Using acrylics, usually, but watercolors sometimes.

17. Do you dance? What style of dance? I took ballet as a child, til they kicked me out of class, and I still enjoy dancing but I don’t remember any of what I learned.

18. What’s your zodiac sign? Do you believe in astrology? Gemini. I think it might have some kind of truth behind it, but I’m not really one of those all-or-nothing people. It’s just for fun, you know?

19. Favorite old film? I don’t watch a lot of them. Does The Aristocats count?

20. What’s your hairstyle? It’s long and wavy. I’m getting blue highlights soon.

21. What weather is the most beautiful, in your opinion? Light rain. The kind that dries off before you get inside, when the sky is perfectly clear, but it starts falling anyway and it stops just as quickly.

22. What upsets you most about the world? That however hard we try to fix it, we’re unlikely to get very far.

23. Are you in love right now? Yes. At least, I think so.

24. Do you have a crush? If so, talk about them! I have a girlfriend. Is that the same thing? She’s cute and funny and she thinks the same things about me for some reason, and she knows exactly how much of a disaster I can be and hasn’t run away yet.

25. Do you have pets? Talk about something sweet about them! I have a cat, Little Prince. His sister died about a month ago, and she was the one who usually kept me company (total lap-cat), but ever since he’s usually either close to where I am or comes when I call him over.

26. Do you have a lucky number? Any multiple of seven, but especially fourteen. They’re my favorite numbers for the same reason.

27. Have you ever wished on a star? What about on a fallen eyelash? I try to wish on stars, when I see them. Eyelashes I’m usually more annoyed about than anything.

28. Do you believe emoji spells to work? I think anything has the potential to work, given the right amount of effort and intent. That said, I don’t think you’re going to accomplish anything drastic.

29. Do you believe in magic in general? Oh, definitely. Just look at the world we live in. How can you not believe in magic when it’s all around you? The night sky without air pollution, the sunlight dancing on the water, candy cane white hot chocolate - it’s everywhere, in everything.

30. What’s the most beautiful thing in life, In your opinion? Everything. There’s something beautiful in everything, if you look for it. Today, let’s say the feeling of sliding around on a hardwood floor in fluffy socks, dancing along to one of your favorite songs.

31. Opinion on the color pink? What about baby blue? As a kid, I hated pink. I like it now, though. Blue is my color, light blue especially (particularly with star patterns), so I’ve always liked it.

32. What instrumental sound is your favorite? Am I alloawed to say wind chimes? I’ve always thought they sounded super pretty.

33. Do you like the sound of wind? What about the sound of rain? I love them both.

34.Who makes you happy? My friends. All of them, in different ways, the people who are still in my life for various reasons. I love them.

35. What makes you happy? Light rain, strong wind, good music. My cat’s soft meow when I wake him up by accident. White peppermint hot chocolate. Fall colors, string lights, Halloween and winter holidays. Ice and snow and skating, dressing up for no apparent reason. The trick to it all is finding new things every day.

36. Imagine your ideal life, the life you wish to make, what will that look like? A house big enough for a family. A degree of some kind hanging on the wall. A life where I’m making things because that’s what I love, and I can try new things just for fun, where I don’t have to worry about money so much. The chance to get married someday, maybe.

37. Do you wear makeup? If so what’s your favorite type of makeup or specific makeup product? Favorite store to buy makeup? I do! Unless someone else is doing it for me, I generally keep to lipstick and eyeshadow. I’ve never been especially picky about what brands I use, but I usually go to Nyx because it’s on my usual route when I go on shopping trips, and I’m kind of attached now. Plus, nowhere else I’ve been in person has as many bold colours.

38. Do you wear dresses? If so what’s your favorite dress you own? I like wearing dresses. My favorite that I still have is a longer black dress, and it’s in serious need of either repair of retirement, but I got it for $20 as a cosplay outfit last year and it served its purpose. I wear it around still, sometimes, because it’s generally an easy fix.

39. Ever been heartbroken? How do you deal with it? Yeah, a few times. I vent to my friends, usually, and then I eat ice cream and listen to gnash for a while and eventually I start to feel better.

40. Who’s your closest friend? What do you love about them?

41. Introvert or extrovert? Kinda both? It’s complicated.

42. Do you like MBTI? What’s your MBTI? Is that... Fuck, is that the one with the letters? I think I got ENFP last time, and when I was younger it was INFP.

43. Would you be a fairy, a mermaid, a vampire, a siren, a or an angel? I’ve had people tell me I have ���fae vibes’ before, so let’s go with that and hope it’s not offensive.

44. What’s the best song a friend has ever introduced to you? I don’t remember enough of them to feel good about picking one. I basically only listen to music I’m recommended now.

45. Parlez-vous français? A little, by virtue of being Canadian and having driven through Quebec. Not enough to carry on a conversation.

46. Most beautiful place you’ve been to? Prince Edward Island, hands down. It’s gorgeous.

47. Where/when do you truly feel at home? When there’s a light breeze, and the perfect song is playing, and the people I love are there. When we’re laughing with each other.

48. Does smiling put you in a better mood? Try it right now, you’re smile is gorgeous! I don’t think it does, honestly? But it does tend to happen when I’m happy.

49. Favorite shoe you own? These ankle boots I got secondhand that have little metal stars on them. I’m gonna be so upset when they finally wear out and I need new ones.

50. Can you walk in stilettos? Do you like them? God, no, I’ve tried. Any heel that’s too sharp or pointy or tall is a major problem for me. It’s part of what makes finding shoes such a pain.

51. Do you feel loved? Not always, but yeah. When I remember, or when I ask, or when I’m reminded.

52. How do you express love to those you care about? I try to tell them, but I’m also the type to engage in constant teasing. I’m the friend that punches you in the arm as a show of affection.

53. Favorite term(s) of endearment? The more creative ones. The basics don’t do much for me, honestly, but it’s more about the person saying them anyway.

54. Most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you? Make me feel like I don’t have to try so hard to feel like myself.

55. When is the happiest you’ve ever been? Walking the downtown city streets in winter. It was cold, sure, but it was gorgeous and I finally felt independent for a while.

56. Are you happy right now? Yeah, I’d say so.

57. What makes you smile? Bad jokes, among other things.

58. Do you laugh a lot? Yeah. A lot more than I used to.

59. What’s your favorite kind of aesthetic? Punk/scenecore. They’ve really influenced my more recent style choices.

60. Do you want to marry for love or for some other reason (like money)? Love, definitely.

61. What would your dream wedding look like? Do you want to get married? With someone I love, and the other people I love there too. Somewhere beautiful. I think I do, someday, but it’s not something I’m so worried about.

62. Favorite flower? Roses. Blue Moon Hybrid Tea Roses, in particular, are especially pretty.

63. Favorite artist? I don’t really have one. I do enjoy looking at art, though.

64. Favorite music artist? Owl City.

65. How kind do you think you are? Is kindness important to you? I don’t know. People seem to think I’m kinder than I believe I am. It’s important to me, yeah, to try and help people and to do nice things.

66. Ever made a playlist for someone? A few times. They were never anything special, as far as I’m concerned.

67. Do you have anything you do to physically comfort you when your sad? Such as a favorite blanket? Or a relaxing bath? Long, warm baths and cuddling with my cat. Warm blankets and stories with happy endings.

68. Early bird or night owl? Night owl. I’m a night person.

69. Morning routine? Wake up, do nothing for a while, actually get out of bed and figure out breakfast. While that’s going on, try and figure out if anything important is happening today.

70. Night routine? Get comfortable, then write or daydream til I fall asleep.

71. What is the most lovely quality a person could have in your opinion? Self-confidence and a willingness to help others.

72. Do you cry often? Does crying help you get the emotions out? Do you feel better after? I tend to hold back my feelings til they all fall out. So I end up crying at least twice a month, usually. It helps, yeah.

73. Do you like hugs? From people I feel comfortable with.

74. When was the last time you kissed someone? On the lips? Never.

75. Are you small or tall? Small. I’m 5′0.

76. Do you like wholesome memes? Yes. They’re cute.

79. Have you ever lived in a different country than you currently live in? Nope. I’ve never lived outside this city, only been on trips.

80. Do you like plane flights? Airports? I’ve only flown once, and I was two, so I don’t remember it very well.

82. The beach or a forest? Sand or bugs? Depends on the day. Today, though, forest.

83. What time of day do you tend to be in the best mood? Evening, usually.

84. Do you push yourself to act together and in a good mood even when you aren’t? Yeah, when I’m stressed.

85. Favorite kind of tree? Either maple or pine. I’m Canadian, what can I say?

86. Do you care about the health of the Earth? Yes, but there’s only so much one person can do.

87. What did you like most about your childhood, if anything? Field trips. Adulthood is sorely lacking in field trips.

88. Do you read a lot? What’s your favorite book? I used to. These days I still read, but it’s mostly fanfiction. My favorite books, though, are Tamora Pierce’s Emelan series and the first two books of Kenneth Oppel’s Silverwing trilogy.

89. What are you most nostalgic for at the moment? Trick-or-treating.

90. What’s your favorite personality trait you have? I try to let the people I love know that I love them.

91. List at least ONE thing you love about your appearance. I have pretty great hair.

93. Do you worry a lot? Constantly.

94. The dazzling lights of the city or the relaxing countryside? The city. The countryside’s nice, but the streetlights and the city skyline are what make me feel at home.

95. Ever changed the shoelaces on one of your shoes? For what reason? I actually don’t know how to tie laces, so no. I’ve never been able to pick it up. I might get someone sense to, if I could find cool enough laces.

97. Do you like doing little acts of kindness? Yeah. It feels good to make people happy, you know?

98. How’s your day/night going? Pretty good! I did just spend over an hour on this, but I finished it, so that’s an accomplishment of its own.

[recentanimenews]

Licensing of the Monsters: How Pokémon Ignited An Anime Arms Race

  "Hey, what do ya' got there? A rabbit?" Batman asks his mentor, staring at a video of Pikachu on a massive underground computer screen.

  "It's a Pokémon," Bruce Wayne replies.

  Five seconds later, Batman is shocked so hard by the tiny yellow creature that he ends up flying headfirst through another computer monitor (Using a clip from the "Blackout" episode of Batman Beyond, an episode that would've aired for the first time just days earlier.) It doesn't make much physical sense, but this bizarre 1999 crossover promo did establish two things: 1) Pokémon was coming to Kids' WB, and 2) Pokémon was important. So important that Batman actually took time away from obsessing over crime and vengeance to care about it.

  Echoing a 1997 promo where the comedic Bugs Bunny let us in on the "secret" that the serious, dark Batman was coming to Kids' WB, it almost seems like a passing of the torch. Kids' WB, up until then, was a programming service chock full of classic Warner Bros. cartoon properties like Bugs, Daffy, Pinky, Brain, and various members of the Justice League — all animated Americana. 

Pokémon wasn't a huge risk as the 4Kids Entertainment dub of the show had done well in broadcast syndication, they had plenty of episodes to work with (sometimes airing three in a row), and it was based on a game series that was already a worldwide smash hit.

  But the show was ... different.

  And it would end up changing cartoons as we knew them.

  Part 1: Batman Jumps Ship

  It's hard to think of a better scenario when it comes to appealing to kids than the one Fox Kids had with Batman: The Animated Series. Debuting in September 1992 and airing on weekdays just after school let out, it received immediate acclaim due to its moody, beautiful animation and storytelling that didn't talk down to anyone. Little kids could get into Batman throwing crooks around and adults could marvel at plots like the one where a former child actress with a medical condition that keeps her from aging takes her former co-stars hostage and ends up holding a gun, hallucinating, and sobbing into Batman's arms.

  It did so well that Fox tried to air it on prime-time Sundays and though this was short-lived — turns out, Batman was no match for Ed Bradley on CBS's 60 Minutes — it solidified the show as "cool." This was a show that could hang with the big boys. You couldn't say the same of something like Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

  And then, in 1997, it was gone. A five-year contract ran out and Batman leapt completely to Kids' WB, where a continuation of the show (the often even grimmer The New Batman Adventures) aired later that year. There, it joined Superman: The Animated Series in a one-two punch of programming called The New Batman/Superman Adventures. When it came to Kids' WB, competitors not only had to deal with the Merry Melodies crowd, they now had to face the World's Finest Heroes.

  This, along with a departing Animaniacs, left Fox Kids with a gap in flagship programming. Sure it had various incarnations of the Power Rangers (which was still holding strong) and Spider-Man, but if you look back on 1998 programming, little of it would survive the year. Silver Surfer? Gone by May. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation? Out by December. Casper? Dead in October. By May of 1999, Warner Media would announce record ratings thanks to Pokémon, while its competitors, including the Disney-led ABC, Fox, and even Nickelodeon, would suffer losses in the Saturday morning area. Pokemon would have the best ever series premiere numbers for Kids' WB at the time.

    A chunk of that has to do with 4Kids Entertainment's (or to be more specific, 4Kids Productions) handling of the show. Again, Pokémon was a proven concept. If you love monsters, adventure, and collecting things, you'll probably find something to enjoy in the franchise. But the dub was particularly strong. For years, dubbing was seen as an inherently laughable thing in America, full of exasperated voice actors trying desperately to convince you that they weren't portraying three different characters, and lips that didn't match the dialogue. Entire Japanese series were reduced to laughing stocks in the U.S. because why focus on the lovingly created miniatures and top-notch tokusatsu action in Godzilla if one of the actors sounds weird?

  But while Pokémon wasn't the first great dub, it was a remarkably underrated one. Veronica Taylor's work as Ash Ketchum was relatable, funny, and consistent. And Racheal Lillis, Eric Stuart, and Maddie Blaustein's turns as Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth gave us villains that could've easily been the most repetitive parts of the show  — you can only try to capture Pikachu so many times before you should logically find a second hobby — but instead were one of the most entertaining aspects.

  Aside from some easily meme-able bits — Brock's drying pan and jelly donuts, for example — Pokemon became a seamless addition to the Kids' WB lineup and would end up giving many fans a lifelong love of anime. And it was great for 4Kids, too, as in 2000, they would be number one on Fortune's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies.

  Fox Kids wanted an answer to this. And it would soon find one.

  Well, two.

  Part 2: Monsters Rule

  Saban Entertainment was no stranger to Fox Kids. They'd been the one to adapt Toei's Super Sentai into The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers for American and international audiences, creating an unexpected sensation that combined monsters and martial arts. And in 1999, they nabbed Digimon Adventure, a series about kids that gain "digital" monster partners when transported to a "digital world," which had begun airing earlier that year in Japan. Based on a fighting virtual pet that had already been around for a few years, Digimon was a natural fit for an anime series and also a natural fit for a climate that was desperately trying to find the next Pokémon.

  Renamed Digimon: Digital Monsters, it premiered in August of 1999. Of course, accusations followed that it was a Pokémon rip-off, considering that they were both about befriending terrifying laser critters, but they offered fairly different things. While Pokémon was more episodic, Digimon gave viewers a more Dragon Ball Z-esque experience (they were both Toei productions, too) with the titular monsters evolving and gaining "power-ups" due to fighting increasingly powerful villains.

  Almost two months later, Monster Rancher would join the Fox Kids lineup, airing on Saturdays at 8:30 AM after Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (a Fox Kids lost relic if there ever was one). Together, Monster Rancher and Digimon would cover the programming block with monster action, sometimes airing twice each. Meanwhile, Pokémon would do the same for Kids' WB, and if you look at their Saturday morning schedules from 1999 and 2000, it appears they just shoved Pikachu in whenever possible.

  Looking back on Monster Rancher is always odd, though, because it's so specifically trapped in the time period where it originated. The video games used metadata from readable discs to create new monsters for the player, meaning that as soon as people gained the ability to download or stream media online without having to travel to their local Circuit City, the game would look absolutely archaic in comparison to its peers.

  Monster Rancher is a very fun show based on some very fun games, and the dynamic array of personalities and their particular squabbles in the core group actually reminds me a lot of One Piece. But even the show itself deals with reviving monsters on giant stone discs — a prehistoric-looking adaptation of a video game gimmick that would, a decade later, appear prehistoric itself.

  The Monster War was waged across 2000 and 2001. And though it appears Pokémon was the clear winner — in 2020, it's the most popular franchise with the widest reach, even if Digimon does produce some stellar shows and movies — the ratings tell a different story. In the May sweeps of 2000, Pokémon (and Kids' WB) took the prize among kids 6-11, but in the end, Fox Kids would score a victory of a 3.1 rating to Kids' WB's 3.0 (the first sweeps win since 1997, the year that Batman left.)

    Early the following year, Fox Kids would score again, narrowly beating Pokémon on Saturday morning in the same timeslot and even coming ahead of properties like X-Men. And what would propel this February 10th victory? The first appearance of BlackWarGreymon, the Shadow the Hedgehog to WarGreymon's Sonic.

  However, Pokémon would still help create ratings records for Kids' WB, even though late 2000/early 2001 saw a slide that would often cede dominance to Nickelodeon. Jed Patrick, who was president of The WB at the time said: "I didn't think Pokémon would fall off as much as it did ... every fire cools down a little, but that doesn't mean it doesn't stay hot."

  Even though, in retrospect, claims that "Pokemania" had died seem a little ridiculous — the latest games, Pokémon Sword and Shield, just became the highest-selling entries in seventeen years — big changes were ahead.

  Part 3: It's Time To Duel ... Or Not

  In early 2001, Joel Andryc, executive VP of kids' programming and development for Fox Kids, was looking for a "Digimon companion series to create an hour-long anime block." He felt they were too reliant on Digimon, as they were airing it three times in a single morning. Likely not coincidentally, that summer Fox Kids Fridays were dubbed "anime invasion," advertising Flint The Time Detective, Dinozaurs, Escaflowne, and Digimon. In one commercial, a single quote zips across the bottom of the screen: "Anime Rocks!" Nicole, TX

  That it does, Nicole from Texas.

  Meanwhile, 4Kids Entertainment would provide Kids' WB with another monster show: Yu-Gi-Oh! Known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters in Japan, this anime adaptation absconded from retelling the stories found in the early chapters of the manga — which were mostly devoted to Yugi running into jerks, only to have his Egyptian spirit "alter ego" deal karmic retribution on them — and instead focused on the parts that involved the cool monster fights. So basically the parts that were the most like Pokémon.

  But how would this be received? In 2000, Canadian studio Nelvana had licensed the anime Cardcaptor Sakura and turned it simply into Cardcaptors — an extremely edited version that removed many important relationships and plotlines and tried to streamline the show into a pseudo-Pokémon story. It's gone down in history as one of the most questionable dubs ever, and never really made a splash on Kids' WB. So they wouldn't want a repeat of that.

  But would kids be into a card game? The cards did summon monsters, but in Pokémon and Digimon, the monsters are just there, moving around and not relegated to a glorified checkers board arena. It turned out, yes, kids would be REALLY into that. Yu-Gi-Oh! debuted at number one in multiple demographics in September 2001, and would remain a steady part of its lineup for years to come.

    And how did Fox Kids respond? Did the "anime invasion" work out? Well, sort of, but not in the way they were hoping.

  In 2001, due to diminishing ratings and audiences, Fox Kids Worldwide (along with Fox Family Worldwide) were sold to The Walt Disney Company. By November 7th, they'd canceled their weekly afternoon blocks, and the next year, they'd end up selling their entire Saturday morning block to a company that had provided their rivals with the very same TV shows that aided in sinking them: 4Kids Entertainment. The final show to premiere on the original Fox Kids was Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension, a live action series that stood beside Alienators: Evolution Continues (a cartoon sequel to the mediocre 2001 comedy Evolution) and the underrated Medabots as the block's last gasp. 

  Renamed FoxBox in late 2002 (and later 4KidsTV in 2005), the 4Kids run schedule would, over the years, include anime like Kirby! Right Back At Ya!, Ultimate Muscle, Fighting Foodons, Sonic X, Shaman King, and eventually, in 2004, the infamous One Piece dub. The first Saturday of the new FoxBox lineup would also outdo the previous Saturday's Fox Kids lineup. Disney would acquire the rights to Digimon and it showed up on ABC Family in late 2001 (eighteen years later, a reboot of the original series would air, which can be watched on Crunchyroll).

  Eventually, in 2007, the Monster War would come full circle. 4Kids Entertainment announced they would be taking over the Kids' WB Saturday morning block entirely, renaming it the "CW4KIDS," as The CW had been born after UPN and The WB had ceased to be. Pokémon was long gone by this point, having been dropped by Kids' WB in 2006, and was now overseen by The Pokémon Company International on Cartoon Network.

  "We wish Pokémon USA much success going forward," the CEO of 4Kids Entertainment said. Later sued over "illegal agreements" regarding the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, the company would eventually file for bankruptcy in 2016. Pokémon Journeys, the latest installment in the franchise, launches on Netflix on June 12th. 

      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[hayesit]

matt’s 2019 year in review

here it is! and it’s late because i had other/better things to do (and procrastinating), was recovering from hangovers (also procrastinating), and recovering from being sick (procrastinating).

i’ve been doing these year in review posts since 2016, so here is my fourth installment. every year i look back through my google calendar, my camera roll, and my bullet journal as a gratitude exercise and to chart my own development as an adult. 

here is my spotify wrapped 2019!

the beginning of this year was off to a good start: i met two friends that i know through the internet! i met my friend riley when she visited boston (i met her through a mutual friend and through overwatch league twitter) and my friend jimmy that i’ve known for…. 6 or 7 years (?!) through tumblr and designed the logo for me and alex’s late podcast, hardly tea, may she rest in peace. 

i moved dorm rooms in between the fall and spring semester, and once again i was not happy with where i lived. i lived with 4 rando’s that i was placed with and the 5 of us barely even talked with each other. my direct roommate i saw for only two weeks, and for the nights he slept over in the bed (that he was paying room and board for) and had the worst snoring humanly possible that not even earplugs could kill (video below). i hardly slept while he was there and roamed the halls of riverview suites like a ghost due to the anxiety i felt about my lack of sleep (we love a vicious circle)! he disappeared after those two weeks without notice and i lived in fear of him returning for the rest of the semester (which he didn’t), but returned to my normal sleep schedule. 

that semester was my first semester of full-time grad school. i got a poor grade on an assignment that had a note from the professor that said she knew i could do better and it hit me how much different grad school is from undergrad and how much more effort and dedication it requires. after crying in my professor’s office, my work ethic has improved since then, but it’s not anywhere near where i’d like it to be (more on that later). 

now to more positive things for the spring semester: i met some friends that semester both ~on and offline~ that made the semester far more bearable AND i did however truly pop off in every last one of my powerpoint presentations for class. i looooove making powerpoints and just fuckin telling jokes about my research topic and have ppl tell me that they are looking forward to my presentation & that i should teach college classes :)!

me and 4 friends had a social group in which we’d drink and play board games and forget about the board game and drunkenly talk shit called cabam after all our first initials! i always looked forward to that and dug the group chemistry a lot.

during this semester i grew a   “ beard “, otherwise known as i chose not to shave just to  “ see what would happen “ (praythatitfilledin). sorry about that!

the overwatch league was something that i had to look forward to watch every week and i had my experience enhanced through sideshow and avast’s unofficial companion streams, which guaranteed lots of laughs. i have bought tickets to two boston home games in 2020 which i am very excited about! analysts have predicted boston to be in 20th place this year (there are 20 teams) but i’m still excited for the 2020 season anyway!!

i can’t have a year-in-review of 2019 without mentioning game of thrones. due to the show’s final season being undeniably weak, i enjoyed the camaraderie with the other people that watched thrones during those six weeks. i haven’t thought about the show or its universe for quite a while, unfortunately. i truly was quite into the world of westeros, but the weakness of the end of the story cheapened the journey of each of the characters, in a way. such a shame.

while i got my diploma in december 2018, i walked across the stage of umass lowell’s tsongas arena with my bachelor of arts in psychology (and minor in theatre arts). it wasn’t as emotional or triumphant of an experience and just felt weird, considering i had already gotten my diploma and was going to remain in the clutches of rowdy the riverhawk as i am staying for my masters degree in applied behavior analysis/autism studies. i brought a ceramic monkey to graduation. it didn’t have any symbolism, but i just wanted to see if they’d stop me (which they didn’t)

 this summer was better than most summers of mine go, i hung out with alex nearly every weekend, got my very first iphone, and got a data plan. the combination of these three things got me back into playing pokemon go, an unexpectedly fun pastime! went on lots of walks!

my favorite day of summer was going to a lake with alex and our friend gianna, who i grew closer to after meeting her during macbeth last year. fond 2019 memories with gianna include: doing simulation patients with her, watching movies with her and alex, and the halloween party. what a great gd person and a great gd friend! big fan and eternally rooting for her. 

fire emblem: three houses came out on the switch in august and is, without a doubt, my game of the year. there’s truly so much to love about the game: the world, the characters, new changes made to the series, things that were gone but returned, interesting micromanaging, and best of all, how huge my brain feels when playing it. 

i got a 6-week summer job as a paraprofessional at an extended-school-year program for children with developmental disabilities at a preschool in haverhill which taught me a lot of lessons, such as: i hate cleaning shit off of children.

then i had feelings that didn’t make much sense for about a month! whoops!

my full-time job i currently have is working at my old high school as a behavior specialist. i provide consultation and work on programs to lead to more appropriate behavior in students, primarily ones with developmental disabilities. so far it’s been fairly rewarding, some days are more challenging than others, some days are a lot of sitting in meetings, and some days are a lot of running around. some days there is not much to do at all, which has its obvious upsides and downsides. working at the high school isn’t something that i want to do forever, but it’s a good place to start with. i’m definitely learning a lot and there are a lot of benefits to working here. sometimes i can work on my grad school work (which is all online until the 2020 summer semester) which is definitely huge. and my commute is either a 15 minute walk or 3 minutes if my mom drives me! 

a ~complex~ thing about working in my hometown is that it makes the most financial sense to live at home because it’s so close to work. this is my first time living at home full-time since high school and i’m not enjoying that part too much. most weekends i visit alex in lowell, but being stuck at home with no car (going to retake the license test in the spring when the ice melts!) and having to go to bed so early definitely hurts. sure, i have what is likely the lowest amount of expenses i’ll ever have in my life (no car-related payments, no rent, no groceries), but i feel landlocked. i feel like a teenager with minimal freedom, which is in part because my mom doesn’t quite understand yet that i’m a 22 year-old that should have a lot more freedom than i do now. the most i really do on weekdays after work gets out (2:30p) is go to savers with my mom if it’s tuesday (senior citizen day), maybe go for a walk if it’s nice out (which for most of the school year, it isn’t), or be on the computer watching bon appetit videos and playing overwatch, fire emblem, or pokemon, eat a bland dinner at 6, go to bed at around 9:30. sad! truly not a situation that i want to be trapped in that much that much longer!

i think the best and most important part of this year was becoming closer with alex. as i mentioned before, we see each other most weekends, to our great benefit. our living situations have flip-flopped, with me living at home and alex living in an apartment near campus, which in both similar and different ways have taken their respective tolls on us. having each other while going through changes and stagnations in our lives has been immeasurably important. thank you alex for providing a place to be myself other than my own head. thank you for being my best friend. 

now i come to the thing that i’m most excited about for 2020. not 2 suck my own horn but i have cobbled together a fuckin dream team of five friends (me, alex, chris, kelly, and molly). the two times we have all gotten together it has been so satisfying in such a wonderful and otherworldly way that i am filled to the brim of happiness being around them. the craziest thing is that i met chris and kelly through twitter! TWITTER. and they’re real-ass people and my real-ass friends! i haven’t been so pleased with something in my life like this for so long and it feels so good to have adult friends that i have chosen rather than friends by circumstance. it’s truly a crime that we can’t see each other more often, but we already have a day picked out for the next time we all do something together. feeling emotional writing this paragraph bc i love me gd friends so much!

there is a lot of uncertainty about this new year for me. i sure as fuck don’t want to live at home more than i have to but don’t know where to go, my practicum class starts for me this summer which means i’ll most likely have to change jobs (fine by me, but will be exhausting), i recently began my search for therapists and hope to find one soon to help me ~unpack things~, my thesis begins in the fall semester and i don’t know what to do for it, and i’m not 100% dead-set on working in special education. it’s been hard transitioning from living on campus and going to school full-time to the life i have now. 

[oswednesday]

i thought about at first like having that town they share have two gym leaders ala older gens where a town might have an unofficial underdoggish type and a Big Fancy official type

 totally aside i think lateral town is in reference to event horizon where time is believed to “split” in a blackhole? so does this suggest like multiple timelines, i like  pkmn game theories like that! 

anyway it was first like allister is just doing his thing in a boarded up run down haunted house ride where a cart goes through but thats sorta less fun then giving him his own thing, i like his design well enough and what little personality we get i want to run with it! i Cannot begin to express that the Most creepiest card in the game is not canon in this nuzlocke,

(in fact its like impossible to get clear photo of him at all, there's always orbs or mist around him, sometimes even his face blurs out and theres always some sort of technical difficulties during his matches) 

(ability: disguise, moves: curse, wood hammer, shadow sneak, mimic)

(while he's still painfully shy, the mask is also a functioning prosthetic, he'll change up the story of the accident and why he has the mask when he is cornered long enough for an interview, an autographed card of his is the rarest of all but the resell value of his cards average less than other trainers, he has fans of course,)

(ability: mummy, moves: protect, memento, crafty shield, night shade)

(he entered the league at 18 and is the youngest gym leader at 22, most believe, even direhard fans of leon and raihan, that allister could take the cup and their rank if he wanted to, only he doesnt, every year he strategically keeps his rank #4 in the region)

(ability: flame body, moves: will-o-wisp, hex, inferno, giga impact)

(he’ll only use this one in the gym battle)

(in the town he reps in, ill figure out a name later, come kind of pun on funeral marches and maybe more nods to his namesake, he lives in in a grand manor along side a massive historic cemetery)

(ability: levitate, moves: shadow sneak, confuse ray, astonish, haze)

(the accident that injured his face also left him without parents and his older sister, he moved in with his great aunt and uncle, who are the title owners of the land and have been keeping care of the cemetery like milo's home town, the residents are mostly older but unlike milo allister doesnt appear interested in bringing new blood into the town)

(ability: disguise, moves: curse, pain split, draining kiss, grudge)

(this is actually the same mimikyu from the gym! he only ever uses four pkmn, i thought id just break the text up by seeing them again, in the gym battle he doesnt dynamax tho the gym supports capabilities to do so)

(he's often absent from league business due to his fears so its not terribly surprising when he doesnt show up)

(his sponsor is biggest provider of funerary services in the region, its actually against the law to use any others, because this provider is the only one with approved sanitation licenses but that doesnt stop citizens of galar in smaller communities from practicing cultural burial practices or from bigger cities to body dump in parks and the like)

(ability: magic bounce, moves: metal burst, dazzling gleam, reflect, mirror coat)

(this is a cup pkmn! im really pro the idea of gym leaders having impossible in regular game play pkmn)

(much less flashy than other gyms, his challenge is basically a self guided ghost tour! with  many locked doors, winding mazes, invisible paths with pit traps, and deep galarian lore; all throughout the city! on the way you may encounter ghost pokemon and just straight up ghosts! when you do get to the end of the city wide maze, the key you find will let you into the manor, before you can claim the key there’s a gangar that dynamaxes on its own that you can find off the beaten path, weird right?? better send it to the prof! )

(allister will be locked in his bedroom, you have to talk with him a while for him to agree to meet you in the study, there might be an item sliding under the door involved? like a hand written note of encouragement on his fave stationary in invisible ink, all of which involves a fetch quest)

(ability: pressure, moves: shadow punch, lick, darkest lariat , conversion 2)

(its the same duskull just all evo’d up now! who’d he even trade with?? fun fact, i use to really really really hate the evo line, but now i have an appreciation the concept and design work! like ancient concepts meet new era imo the dusk stone should be used to get a dusklops, yea i know its a c im ignoring and then having dusklop On The Net somehow to become like a grim reaper for a digital age, like i just dig it so much more)

(they really focused on this thing having fists and not that its a techno reaper with a mouth belly huh)

(by time you get to the study hes already there! he'll show you a secret passage way behind the fire place that lets you two out to the stadium, avoiding meeting any paparazzi and fans on the way) 

(the field is a graveyard! a fake one,,,maybe! your pkmn might flinch or be too scared to move! rattled and other abilities that take effect when hit by a ghost move are triggered by the field, the air is cold which reduces the speed of water moves, reduces water moves by 30%, with a 50% of the move becoming an ice type! fire moves do 30% more damage, dragon type pkmn may randomly fall asleep, ice attacks do 30% more damage and ice type pkmn are faster, grass type pkmn without ice or ghost or fire as a secondary type may lose a small amount of hit points, ghost type pkmn may gain a small amount of hit points)

(ability: mummy, moves: shadow claw, phantom force, destiny bond, cure)

(he dynamax’s this pkmn in the cup, he’ll probs say something like sorry about this, it has a special attack because i said so that’s mummy’s curse which makes the terrain poison type so pkmn take heavy poison damage at the every turn until this pkmn undynamaxs or is knocked out)

[wildfangz]

@liliithvatore tagged me in that simself thing thats been goin around DAYS ago but here it finally is! also thank you for the tag this was fun :-]

I tag @slythersim @thelurgoyf @seoulchii @weicyn @solitasims @daisydezem @raha-plays-the-sims if they want to do it & anyone that just wants to do it in general! message me and I’ll even @ u directly if u want. 

anyway lets DO THIS shitload of questions under the cut u’ve been warned!!!

1. what is your name?

julian

2. what is your nickname?

jewel, jules

3. birthday?

oct 26th

4. what is your favorite book series?

percy jackson and the olympians will probably always own my heart & soul

5. do you believe in aliens or ghosts?

yes & yes. tho i do think a lot of alien sightings and conspiracy theories and what not are bullshit

6. who is your favorite author?

maggie stiefvater probably? also cornelia funke but its been years since ive read anything by her so i cant be sure BUT i loved inkheart & the thief lord so much

7. what is your favorite radio station?

ummm when i listen to the radio at all i kinda just switch between two rock stations and our popular music station.

8. what is your favorite flavor of anything?

blue raspberry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tasty and i love a blue tongue

9. what word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful?

cool. or bitchin’.  i play it simple

10. what is your current favorite song?

hands like houses - revive

11. what is your favorite word?

roulette and inhibition which i never get to use either as much as i want !

12. what was the last song you listened to?

emarosa - givin’ up ! its a bop!

13. what tv show would you recommend for everybody to watch?

the new she-ra on netflix its so good. and gay

14. what is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down?

moana. its also like the only movie i dont have trouble getting thru despite how many times ive already seen it

15. do you play video games?

16. what is your biggest fear?

idk... being inherently unlovable i guess n ending up alone? also spiders !

17. what is your best quality, in your opinion?

im fairly open-minded and laid back. Unless someones being like, purposely nasty or something I generally don’t get defensive or aggressive. also a lot of little quirks that piss others off dont bother me im very u do u as long as its not actually harming anyone and ive had people tell me this makes it easier to open up to me so thats probably my best quality....

18. what is your worst quality, in your opinion?

....at the same time though i do get very sensitive when faced w/ criticism even if its of the fair variety when its not phrased really gently for various reasons and i dont like that. especially since I have a tendency to not even talk to people about it. I’ll just immediately start distancing myself. also other than that i think overall I have a really high tolerance lvl but if you cross that line I hold a grudge like a motherfucker

9. do you like cats or dogs better?

cats! dogs are good too but cats are a lot easier for me to handle...and quieter generally but even when they’re loud cat sounds dont get to me quite as much as barks do

20. what is your favorite season?

autumn but im starting to really like summer for some reason? wack :/

21. are you in a relationship?

nope

22. what is something you miss from your childhood?

the lack of responsibility, probably. that sounds real bad lmao but for me its like...I know I’ve grown in various ways over the years but I also feel like so many of my experiences, my trauma, my mental health has held me back and I don’t think I’m mentally where I should be for my age. so all the responsibility of adulthood is just..really overwhelming for me sometimes, even though ive been given a pass from certain aspects of it and the rest is pretty simple its the idea!!!!

23. who is your best friend?

my ex

24. what is your eye color?

25. what is your hair color?

26. who is someone you love?

my mom

27. who is someone you trust?

not really anyone rn unfortunately...would like 2 work on that

28. who is someone you think about often?

are my OCs a fair answer because i am always thinking about my babies.....

29. are you currently excited about/for something?

my favorite webcomic (that also has two of my all time favorite characters in it) just came back!! the artist disappeared back in 2015 like the day after I binge-read the whole fucking thing & i was so disappointed but its BACK and 2018 has been redeemed

30. what is your biggest obsession?

sims probably! i could talk about anything relating to it for hours

31. what was your favorite tv show as a child?

there were so damn many its hard to even think and figure out the most notable ones...i really, really liked teen titans though?

32. who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone?

my ex, again

33. are you superstitious?

not terribly so but somewhat. I take certain things as signs and I mean I do believe in astrology & such to a degree

34. do you have any unusual phobias?

i used to be afraid of mirrors but thats all i can think of and its not even a thing anymore...the only other thing is tornadoes but i dont think its unusual. but it definitely sucks for me ‘cause i live in tornado alley!

35. do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?

behind it....like taking pretty pictures and dont like ppl capturing my image 2 film

36. what is your favorite hobby?

sims.....also singing!!! and drawing!!!! video editing!!!!!!!!! the works

37. what was the last book you read?

The Dream Thieves....havent finished it though because last time i went to read it a spider was lying in wait and im traumatized

38. what was the last movie you watched?

coco i think???

39. what musical instruments do you play, if any?

drums, various other percussion instruments, and violin mainly

40. what is your favorite animal?

ferrets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

41. what are your top 5 favorite tumblr blogs that you follow?

uhhhhh @bratsims @liliithvatore @cabsim @wildlyminiaturesandwich @keysims pls dont feel bad if i didnt include u these were just the first to pop into my head and ive been following some of them since I first made my blog!! and have kept up with their stories completely and enjoy them etc check them OUT !

42. what superpower do you wish you had?

shapeshifting!!! dysphoria? gone. ugliness? gone. want to morph into a fucked up clown and scare people when they realize all the classic clown features are a real actual part of my face? possible!

43. when and where do you feel most at peace?

chillin’ at the pool in summer during the part of the day when no ones there.... swimming is always relaxing 2 me then i love just resting under the sun and drying off afterwards especially since we have a little pond nearby and i can hear the water! its nice

44. what makes you smile?

always and without fail? interacting with anyone i have a crush on. i’ll look like a dope the whole time

45. what sports do you play, if any?

i used 2 play basketball a lot. Like not seriously but it was a thing

46. what is your favorite drink?

dr pepper and monster energy (original flavor) pumps through my veins at this point. we love a carbonated beverage

47. when was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody?

two years ago for my ex and I’s first year anniversary... I never got it mailed but I did at least take a picture of it (with included caption because my handwriting is atrocious). i was very up front about being a romantic and see heres the PROOF

48. are you afraid of heights?

nope! very excited by them actually

49. what is your biggest pet peeve?

i cant stand passive aggressive behavior. my stance is either get over it or quit acting like a bitch because otherwise im just going to ignore you thats the scorpio way (in all seriousness I really, really do recommend not putting up with it and ignoring it until they decide to be up front with you. it can be exhausting constantly reading into conversations and its not healthy for you or them. if they have something to say they need to learn to talk about it properly, and that lack of social skills is not ever on you)

50. have you ever been to a concert?

yep! i think about....six or so? i love them...which is really funny im autistic and EVERYTHING about them should freak me out and they do in other circumstances but at a show i just live for it

51. are you vegan/vegetarian?

nope! ive thought before id like to go vegetarian...but i couldnt do it with my health problems. also i love shrimp too much

52. when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

ive always wanted to do something creative! when i was rlly young I thought a lot about singing and acting and writing in particular...all things im still interested in.... also i wanted to be a dictator ages 4-7 because i told my mom i wanted to be president of the world and make people do what i say and she said “honey thats a dictator not a president”. i then made that known at school and that turned into a situation!

53. what fictional world would you like to live in?

pokemon universe or bust. 

54. what is something you worry about?

never being able to do things i want to do or catching up with others because of my disabilities

55. are you scared of the dark?

yes but a reasonable amount i think

56. do you like to sing?

yes :]

57. have you ever skipped school?

yes i used to play sick a LOT and as my parents caught onto it id even go all out to convince them. i was good at school but i hated it so much

58. what is your favorite place on the planet?

dunno! malls maybe i love shopping and looking at material objects i wish to own

59. where would you like to live?

oregon! portland in particular thats been my dream for a few years now

60. do you have any pets?

a cat! he lives with my dad & grandma though...hes grown up there and likes going outside so I felt bad about taking him with me when i moved out but anyway this is him hes fat and stupid and i love him his name is coffee

61. are you more of an early bird or a night owl?

night owl because my rhythm is all fucked up but in my heart....an early bird...if i get a good nights sleep i’ll be up early yacking your ear off and so excited for the day

62. do you like sunrises or sunsets better?

sunsets are prettier...but sunrises feel more refreshing

63. do you know how to drive?

nope ! im gay !

64. do you prefer earbuds or headphones?

headphones. better sound quality also discourages people from talking to me slightly more

65. have you ever had braces?

nope! but i need them

66. what is your favorite genre of music?

post-hardcore maybe?

67. who is your hero?

every trans person living their truth and being open and loud about who they are past present & future. the worlds not particularly kind to us and our existence alone is considered a radical act, so its always given me hope to see others refusing to pretend to be someone they’re not in this environment and I’ll always have mad respect for that

68. do you read comic books?

i read manga and webcomics...ive always wanted to get into superhero comics but the amount of issues and different versions is ridiculous and makes it inaccessible 2 me 

69. what makes you the most angry?

i mean its hard to pinpoint what makes me angry the MOST...but a contender is definitely how some people feel free to treat others with cruelty and think its their god given right to deny or attack someones existence in some way, & how acts of kindness, even the most basic are branded as liberal bullshit or whatever....it goes against everything i was taught growing up

70. do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book?

real book! electronic device can be easier but....rough on the eyes after a while and nothing beats the real thing for me

71. what was your favorite subject in school?

language arts...at least when we did creative writing stuff

72. do you have any siblings?

two older sisters & an older brother that passed away years ago but. still my brother u kno

73. what was the last thing you bought?

mocha frappe baby!!!!!

74. how tall are you?

5′4″

75. can you cook?

a little bit....not as much as id like to though but im learning

76. what are three things that you love?

storms, cheesy breadsticks, and cat purrs

77. what are three things that you hate?

unnecessary rudeness, being talked down to or generally treated like im stupid, grapefruit which is the worst thing on this list

78. do you have more female friends or more male friends?

female i think?

79. what is your sexual orientation?

im the big bad promiscuous bisexual your parents warned you about

80. where do you currently live?

oklahoma. gofundme campaign to get me out

81. who was the last person you texted?

my friend jojo! just Now!

82. when was the last time you cried?

yesterday afternoon but im a changed man now thats behind me. i will cry about different things soon

83. who is your favorite youtuber?

the mcelroy brothers. also super best friends play. matt, pat & woolie are all great tbh

84. do you like to take selfies?

depends on whether i feel ugly or terribly dysphoric that day or not

85. what is your favorite app?

ummmm....love live school idol festival ive been playin for years its an addiction

86. what is your relationship with your parent(s) like?

dad = bad mom = okay. theres some issues that strain it but its not too bad

87. what is your favorite foreign accent?

i have no idea what the fuck australians are talking about half the time but i dig it anyway 

88. what is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit?

Italy, Greece, Germany, Japan, Mexico, various other states (ive only been out of state three times. twice to texas and then once to kansas. for five minutes)

89. what is your favorite number?

6!! 26 also

90. can you juggle?

ive always wanted to but alas.... :-[

91. are you religious?

i suppose...but im rlly not into organized religion

92. do you find outer space of the deep ocean to be more interesting?

space probably theres so fucking much of it man!

93. do you consider yourself to be a daredevil?

not to brag but sometimes i eat my mcdonalds hamburgers cold from the fridge so you can figure that one out yourself B)

94. are you allergic to anything?

pecans. not deathly allergic though so catch me eating turtle pie anyway! 

95. can you curl your tongue?

nope :[

96. can you wiggle your ears?

nope :[

97. how often do you admit that you were wrong about something?

usually as soon as i realize....unless someones being real smug and annoying then i might be stubborn about it

98. do you prefer the forest or the beach?

ive never been to the beach but i love her!!!

99. what is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you?

probably that you have to look at your accomplishments differently when you’re disabled or just struggling, to not be so down on yourself because its a fact that what might be a mole hill to someone else is a mountain to you and you have to judge yourself accordingly. Like maybe you weren’t able to clean the whole house, but washing the dishes and tidying your desk doesn’t usually get done but you did it. That that should be celebrated because while it would also feel good if you did more, you still did something and thats great all things considered.

100. are you a good liar?

sometimes, really depends what im lying about and if im like....into it at all. If my guts against it for whatever reason I’ll have trouble

101. what is your hogwarts house?

i always get slytherin or hufflepuff! usually with like 1 point difference

102. do you talk to yourself?

i am talking to myself right now as i fill this out

103. are you an introvert or an extrovert?

extrovert mainly! i used to think i was more introverted but now i think a lot of exhaustion when theres any comes from me just going the extra mile and actively trying to read people and pick up on social ques.... if I just chill im fine

104. do you keep a journal/diary?

nope...ive tried but i just cant keep up with it so i do the next best thing. shouting into the void on the internet to a bunch of strangers

105. do you believe in second chances?

depends on what you did the first time. Some people just don’t deserve taking that risk imo...but i can be a little guarded so maybe thats a bit too harsh

106. if you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do?

turn it in, unless there was no identifying things in it & it was found somewhere kinda random. Then I’d maybe hold onto it unless my gut challenged that

107. do you believe that people are capable of change?

absolutely. i mean thats all we do throughout our lives is change and evolve...that being said I think extremely drastic changes are maybe not entirely impossible, but extremely rare, and the residue of the former self usually sticks around in some form

108. are you ticklish?

yes, dangerously so

109. have you ever been on a plane?

nope

110. do you have any piercings?

one day hopefully!

111. what fictional character do you wish was real?

asra from the arcana.....even if he wasn’t my boyfriend thats just a dude u could chill and eat some pomegranates with u know. Before I downloaded the app my friends kept telling me he was made for me and he really was he ticks like everything on my Favorite Characters Feature List except villain but he has that particular allure & attitude i like so much in villains so thats not a single point off hes perfect

112. do you have any tattoos?

nope...one day! hopefully!

113. what is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far?

accepting my genderqueerness and bisexuality definitely. Self Love hasn’t been perfected just yet but that was such a huge step in the right direction

114. do you believe in karma?

yes! she doesn’t get shit done as much as id like however

115. do you wear glasses or contacts?

glasses. not contacts yet because my eye doctor is a bitch

116. do you want children?

I do....just not sure if id be a good parent. Its really important to me if I had a child itd be for the right reason and I could raise them well in a healthy environment & be able to take care of all their needs yknow

117. who is the smartest person you know?

probably my friend jojo

118. what is your most embarrassing memory?

one time i looked outside and the sunset was really pretty and i wanted to get a photo of it so i walked out.....and stood like right by the street so there weren’t trees in my way...and then i realized mid-pic 1) i am not wearing pants & my shirt is full of holes 2) id been depressed for days so my hair was a tangled mess. I tailed it back inside so i didnt even get a nice pic it was blurry!

119. have you ever pulled an all-nighter?

120. what colour are most of you clothes?

black i didnt even have to think about that one

121. do you like adventures?

they are pretty swell

122. have you ever been on tv?

a few times when i was little. always photobombing the news reporters 4 what i thought would eventually lead 2 fame & fortune

123. how old are you?

21

124. what is your favorite movie quote?

this is technically lyrics to that lil song in moana at the end but

“ They have stolen the heart from inside you. But this does not define you.”

hits me hard every time! emotional impact? i know her

125. sweet or savory?

sweet!!!!!!!! gotta balance out my bitter somehow

[thekaijux]

Fandom ask thing: Godzilla

Whew boy, I’ve beenputting this off for too long…

Let’s be real here: thisone HAD to be asked eventually. XD Since my Godzilla knowledge stems prettydeep, I’m going to do something akin to the Pokemon Ask where I’ll havemultiple answers per sector. So… Let’s begin!

Favorite Male Character

THE MATTHEW BRODERICKCHARAC– XD Nah, I’m just pulling legs here. Though truth be told, I think I’mgoing to emphasize more of the humans / aliens here as opposed to the monsters,if only because I feel like there are some very strong characters littered throughoutthe franchise that I feel need / deserve more recognition. But for anyone curious about the monsters, just know that Iabsolutely love all monsters from the Godzilla series and the greater Tohouniverse.

While a lot ofrightful praise goes to Dr. Serizawa from the 1954 classic Gojira for his complexity and torn humanity of what’s right (a la,keep the Oxygen Destroyer a secret or use it to kill Godzilla), I’d actuallylike to point to his quote-unquote “counterpart” from 1984′s The Return of Godzilla, Dr. Hayashida.He’s a man who went into the scientific field to exact his revenge on Godzilla,only to mature over the course of 30 years and let it go. Honestly, the dudehas complexity, and it’s a nice subversion to the whole “obsessiverevenge” trope. There’s wisdom and mystique to Hayashida that I don’t think hasbeen recaptured, and part of that can be attributed to the late YosukeNatsuki’s performance. Stellar work.

Likewise, for thealiens, a ton of rightful praise goes to the Xilien Controller from Invasion of Astro-Monster (or, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero). I think inmany ways, if he didn’t blatantly state that they were using magnetic waves andif humanity didn’t have the ability to pull a new weapon out of its arse, hewould have conquered Earth. While it’s still obvious he’s the villain, there’sa certain calculative, methodical cunningness to his personality (at least forbeing a 1960s Sci-Fi alien from a script that was written on the fly) that I thoroughlyenjoy each time I watch Astro-Monster. 

Favorite Female Character

Personal favorite ofthe G-series’ ladies goes to the Xilien agent Miss Namikawa from Astro-Monster.She’s a stellar femme fatale who, in many respects, helps save the world at theend of the day. Being played by the beautiful Kumi Mizuno really helps, haha.

Additionally, KatsuraMafune is another great addition to the Godzilla series. While the executionwasn’t perfect, I do enjoy the melodrama of Terrorof Mechagodzilla, and Katsura’s arc was easily one of the highlights.

Least Favorite Character

Out of these… Myleast favorite I’m sadly giving to the Kilaaks. Granted, I think the Nebulansare also kinda on the low-ranking scale for me, but the Kilaaks are a biggerdisappointment to me because they felt like carbon copies of the Xiliens. Andunlike the Nebulans, the Kilaaks don’t have any new monsters! Well, there’s theFire Dragon, but that’s only a Kilaak UFO. Ghidorah reaaaaaally could’ve used the help there! Now that’s not to say I absolutely loathe themor despise them; but then comes the issue that they’re too bland to even beangry about. XD

Favorite Ship

Glenn and Namikawa,easily. ;) Even if the screentime for their relationship is sparse, you do geta feeling from those two, especially when Namikawa’s killed. Glenn’s reactionis damn well genuine and leads toprobably one of my favorite lines from the movie. An alternative, if I had togive any, would be Miki and Godzilla. :P

Favorite Friendship

JET JAGUAR IS EVERYONE’SBEST FRIEND SHUT UP.

Okay, whew… Stillstrictly speaking humans, this one is generally harder for me to pin down whatmy favorite friendship would be. If I had to go off the top of my head, thesibling relationship between Shindo and Naoko in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a lot of fun. Dare I say, Ithink the good guys from Ebirah, Horrorof the Deep (or, Godzilla vs. the SeaMonster) are a treat to watch interact. Same could be said for theprotagonists of Godzilla vs.SpaceGodzilla, even if the movie is rough on the edges.

Favorite Quote

For the sake of my ownsanity, I’m only going to roll with one—and I think everyone can take a goodguess to what it is.

“Nature has a way sometimes of reminding Manof just how small he is. She occasionally throws up terrible offspring’s of ourpride and carelessness to remind us of how puny we really are in the face of atornado, an earthquake, or a Godzilla. The reckless ambitions of Man are oftendwarfed by their dangerous consequences. For now, Godzilla - that strangelyinnocent and tragic monster - has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, oris never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us remain…”

Worst Character Death (if any)

Katagiri’s death, nodoubt. Being the personal target to the King of the Monsters himself? You knowyou’ve done goofed. It’s even worse in the manga adaptation.

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment

It’s hard for me toimmediately recall a moment with the human characters that made me flee gleefuland excited… Though a moment that immediately comes to mind is Yuko’s speechfrom Mothra vs. Godzilla (the ’64 film).Ya’ll should know what I’m talking about.

Saddest Moment

OH LORDIE, SEEING MIKISAD MAKES ME SAD. ;_; I also have to point out Akane Yashiro (even if she’sjust a bit angsty) and Sara Yuhara from GodzillaAgainst Mechagodzilla are incredibly depressing, especially Sara. She losther mother, with only a little plant serving as her last connection, and shewonders why she couldn’t be brought back with the same technology used forKiryu. Katsura’s suicide and Namikawa’s execution are also heavy hitters.

Favorite Location

Okay,so I’ll be honest, I’ve put this one off for so long, I can’t remember what Iwas originally going to say. Darn you past self for not leaving any notes! XDSo I’m just going to pull one straight from the top of my head: Birth Island.From SpaceGodzilla. Because that had a REALLY pretty and romantic sunset.

There,I’m done. XD Sorry it took this long to respond, just been BUSY. Ugh. But I hope ya’ll enjoy it! :)

[the-blissful-one]

1 - 5, 9,11, 13, 20,22-30,34

Thank you, thank you. I generally thought I wouldn't get anything on the ask meme, so you made my day when I noticed the ask :3 I will do 30-34 in another ask, since it was asked there too! Hope you enjoy and never be too shy to send a message if you feel like it <3

1) name three things (internal and or external) that you like about yourself ohhhh, this one is hard....I will try, but I generally do not find things about myself I don’t like but I know it’s import for self image and confidence.  1): I do have thick eyebrows and long eyelashes that curl naturally upwards. I don’t have to wear make up. I don’t to that regularly, but its pretty nice to get that for free  2) I build muscle pretty easily.  3) I have a genetic skin disorder that controls my life in milds ways, but I try to not let it get to me too much. 

2) what do you like to do when you’re sad? When I’m sad, I usually just lie down on the bed or the floor and listen to some instrumental music on repeat. I lie there until I fell ready to face the world again. Sometimes I also fall asleep.

3) what is the cutest animal? This is hard one. But hedgehogs are pretty cute and I think snakes are too. Generally speaking, house pets are all too cute too. And also turtles and frogs....plus like every animal walking on earth. 

4) talk about your crush/significant other. Neither have a crush or a significant other, sorry, can't do this one!

5) rant about something that makes you happy. Generally, I could talk about astrophysics all day long. or pokemon or whatever game i’m currently into.  But I also want to talk about haikyuu. I wish I had someone to talk to it about on a regular basis. The anime and manga is incredible. It’s so deeper than just volleyball. It’s about friendship, figuring out what you want in your young adult years and spending a little bit of each day doing something you love. It’s about compassion and hunger for life. It’s about building bridges with people you never guessed to meet and working on yourself to become abetter version of yesterday. It was the reason I started to play volleyball. Its about loss and picking yourself off the ground when your down. 

9) what is a positive coping mechanism you use when you’re sad (ex: drawing, cooking, exercise, listening to music, ect.)? I listen to music when I’m sad, but I have a thing going where I only listen to that kind of music when Im really sad and depressed. If I do tha on the way to uni for example: I’m scared of getting sad. 

11) what is a random act of kindness someone did that you’ll never forget? Well, I kind of fall in love with anyone that is nice to me bc I expect people to get tired of me (note that I’m joking). But I remember when I was in the military, during basic training. I had broken my foot, but we didn’t know that yet. We first thought I had only sprained it. So I hopped around on crutches when the others were marching, in the woods and outside of it. Every night since that happened  in the first week, I couldn’t sleep because of the pain. I didn’t want to eat because I felt awful and was in pain. On the 5th day of feeling shitty, the crutches and I, managed to hop up to the second floor of the barrack we slept in. I was going to talk to the sergeant on call for help. He wasn’t there, but there was another private there that noticed that I was in distress. I asked him where the sergeant was and he just said he didn’t know. I sat down on the staircase, feeling so exhausted from the week prior. He asked me kindly if I was okay, and I started crying. It had been a shitty week with a lot of pain and little food, and little of sleep and finally it caught up to me. Another one notice me and him (since he was a friend) and the guy that asked me if I was okay asked his friend if he could find the sergeant on call. While the friend went on a little search, the guy sat down with me  and talked to me to calm me down until the sergeant came and helped me. He was really sweet towards me and it’s too bad I don’t remember his name. 

13) whats a happy memory you have? Lots, I do have lots. I like easy memories. Those that are simple to make, but rare to happen. I have a memory of me an my friend sitting at the bar counter in my kitchen and my mother is making waffles for us. I have a memory of my best friend and I sitting on the veranda, eating chocolate and strawberries in the midnight sun. I have a memory of my and my friend playing mario kart until 03.00 in the morning. I have a good memory of last summer when my gran parents, my cousin and I was at the beach and having a bonfire to celebrate the summer. I have memories of me and my friends driving on road trips I have a good memory of me and my friend deciding to go on a small mountain hike in the middle of the night. 

20) show me a stupid picture you have saved that makes you smile In my study group we are four. Three out of us as have a moomin bottle, so regularly, I draw a moomin character on a sticky-note so she can also have a moomin bottle. Sorry the bad picture :<

22) what is/was your favourite subject in school and why? I’m a math and physics nerd. I do like physics a tad bit better, since then i can learn about space and starts and stuff like that. I did also like sport.

23) what is your go to feel good song? Queen- Don’t stop me now. The chainsmokers: Don’t say Bag Raiders- Shooting stars (the meme song, don’t judge me) 

24) what never fails to lighten up your day? I don’t really know. I do have things that makes me a little bit of happy throughout the day, but noting that can turn a bad day to a good day. 

25) favourite plants? I have like 40 plants in my room! I love plants too much. My absolute favourite must be sunflowers. Yellow is my favourite and I just think they are so pretty. I always want to buy myself a bouquet in the summer, but I always just skip it. I also like plants that hang over their pots. 

26) rainy days or sunny days? Depends on what I want to do. Sometimes a rainy day comes in handy, sometimes a sunny day. Sometimes a rainy day can feel energising and sometimes a sunny day is what’s needed. I can't decide, sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, people should also ask if snowy weather is preferred, because when it’s snowing- I am thriving!!!!

27) perfect rainy day activities? Lie on the floor with the veranda door open and listen to the rain. Also, jumping in poodles. When I walk to university on rainy days, i purposely walk into the poodles when I’m walking home just for the fun of it. 

28) favorite craft? Drawing and painting. Usually don’t have the energy for it, but I do really love it when I do it. 

29) favorite vine/tiktok/short video? Vine: That guy that almost dropped his croissant! Tiktok: There is this one I found in the start of march last year. It’s too long down for me to look at it, but it’s generally this inceptions thing and its just about a guys that is tripping kind of. And it’s really funny and not that serious.  Video: There is a dog edit. Were the dog sneezes a lot of times and then the dog explodes. It last like under 10 seconds, but it’s just a description on what the internet is really about. Animal edits in general is pretty high up on my list. 

[demonlordbiker]

UR GONNA HAVE FUN DEEBS. 1-49. HOHOH

NERVOUS DEMON SCREAMING“Its ok Deebs, we’ll get through this”

1: What does their bedroom look like?“Well I share a bedroom with my Tamer, I don’t like to sleep without her... some of the other Digis call me a baby because of this but I can’t seem to get comfortable without knowing she’s safe....”He scratches the back of his head and his tamer steps in.“Lots of videogame merch, pusheen themed bedding. Posters on the walls of things I like, Pokemon ect. Lots of collectables and soft toys around. I’m 22 but it looks like a childs room!”

2: Do they have any daily rituals?

“Chocolate... every day, especially on an afternoon. Curling around my tamer while we sleep or nap.” Deebs looks over at the time. “Yeah he can’t go a day without his chocolate” Neon shrugs

3: Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?

“Well, I like to keep my bulkiness so I work out a little each day, and well, a certain someone loooooves to watch me. “ Deebs smirks. Neon hides her face.

4: What would they do if they needed to make dinner but the kitchen was busy?

“We have a store around the corner, there’s been multiple times I’ve caught him getting stuck in the window trying to go out and buy something...” Neon shakes her head recalling how many times Deebs got stuck. Deebs nervously laughs.

5: Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.)

“I shower or bathe the same time my tamer does.” He smiles with a toothy grin. “Uh, Deebs, I don’t think they’d want to know that.” Neon tries to hide her face again. “Well, I like washing you and making sure you’re all healthy and clean. I mean, we only just got out of a bath about half an hour ago...” Deebs throws a towel over his tamers head. 

6: Eating habits and sample daily menu

“I’ll eat anything my tamer eats, but mostly, chocolate.” His tamer steps in again. “Yeah he’ll eat anything I make and we usually share meals. But he doesn’t like anything with a really slimy texture. I have to make things like noodles and pasta for him in a certain way. He just really hates the slimy texture.”Deebs waggles his eyebrows, despite the fact you can’t see them under his helmet but his eyes say it all. “I mean, I like SOME slimy things.” 

“DEEBS” his tamer reacts, red faced and looking like she’s gonna give him a good slap for being cheeky.

7: Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time

“Probably sitting arguing with my friends Digimon because I beat him at Mario Kart 8″

“Oh come on, you both LOVE Mario Kart, but there’s no need to get so worked up.” Neon shrugs. “Demons...”

8: Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulging

“CHOCOLATE” Deebs yells exitedly. “Ok, calm down there for a moment Deebs.”“Well, it reminds me of when I met my tamer, its the first thing she gave me as an Impmon. It tastes nice and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and makes me remember some great memories of meeting Neon”

9: Makeup?“None”“Nope”

10: Neuroses? Do they recognize them as such?

“Whats a Neroses?” Deebs looks at his tamer confused. 

“Its a fancy name for mental illness. I myself have Anxiety and Depression and Deebs has been showing signs of Anxiety recently.”

11: Intellectual pursuits?

“I want to know more about humans. So I can look after my tamer, her friends and the world the best I can when it comes to it. A lot of other Digimon seem to think I’m stupid or easily influenced so sometimes I feel like they may treat me differently to as they usually should??? I’m not sure. I just want to be smarter and seem worthy to the people around me.” He looks down, rubbing a finger against his chin in thought. “Aaaaand there’s the anxiety.” Neon reaches up and gives Deebs a comforting pat. 

12: Favorite book genre?

“I’m not a bookworm, but Neon’s Renamon Sapphire is a HUGE bookworm. Maybe you should ask her?”

13: Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?

“I’m attracted to my tamer” Deebs says with a smug grin. “He’s straight.”

14: Physical abnormalities? (Both visible and not, including injuries/disabilities, long-term illnesses, food-intolerances, etc.)

“I’m bulkier and a bit more physically stronger than Beelzemon should be, I also have the longest Beelzemon tail in recorded history... I don’t know what happened during evolution, I just seem larger then average build wise and I’m taller than the average Beelzemon, but I have a friend who’s skinnier and slightly taller than me and has a shorter tail. So he’s more the norm” While talking he had stood up and did a little turn around to show you his tail length.“He’s a big boy”. 

15: Biggest and smallest short term goal?

“Well, I don’t really have ones. I just like to make sure everyone around me is happy...” he closes his eyes and smiles. “Being this cute of a demon is illegal, Deebs”

16: Biggest and smallest long term goal?

“Long term goals.... Well, to protect my tamer and everyone I love now and in the future, to become strong enough to protect those I care about from anything.” 

17: Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress

“He wears his biker garb all the time, unless he wears his pyjamas which is rare. Or when his clothes need washing he’ll wear a baggy shirt and his boxers, he keeps his helmet on 24/7, very very rarely takes it off, he’ll even shower with it on. He also has countless biker coats he keeps making for him. Yeah he can just re-evolve his clothes back but he quite likes being domestic.”Deebs drops a coat on his tamers head after she finishes speaking.“DEEBS!”

18: Favorite beverage?Both chime in at the same time. “Hot chocolate.”

19: What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

“Usually what me and my friends or tamer have been talking about before going to bed.”

20: Childhood illnesses? Any interesting stories behind them?

“Nope.”

21: Turn-ons? Turn-offs?Waggles his eyebrows at his tamer and sticks his tongue out, Neon then points to him. “YOU STOP THAT”

22: Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?

“Draw!” he starts scribbling on the paper. “He likes drawing bikes and planes. Meanwhile I’m more likely to draw him.”

23: How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?

“Not much, Neon does most of it. But I at least know how to cook and put my chocolate wrappers in the bin.”

24: Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all?

“He doesn’t really care much outside wanting to learn more about the world he’s in.”

25: How do they see themselves 5 years from today?

“Still here, loving and protecting my tamer and her many friends”

26: Do they have any plans for the future? Any contingency plans if things don’t workout?

Deeps closes his eyes and covers them with his hands, looking unhappy upon hearing the question. “I don’t want to think about things like that.”

27: What is their biggest regret?

“Being easily influenced and persuaded by the people around me...” Deebs looks away nervously. “You mean like that time your friend convinced you to go fight the storm that was coming and you went out and almost got yourself killed?” his tamer looks unamused. Deebs nods quietly.

28: Who do they see as their best friend? Their worst enemy?

“Oh I think a certain friend of mine knows who’s is Deebs’ best friend AND worst enemy sometimes” Neon smirks.

29: Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?)

“I’d save everyone first and then see what we can do. If nothing, call the fire brigade.” “Deebs is a smart boy”

30: Reaction to sudden intrapersonal disaster (eg close family member suddenly dies)

“Oh, if I got hurt, Deebs would go NUTS and destroy whatever person or thing that hurt me or my friends, he’s INSANELY protective, and doesn’t really like to think about these kinda things.

31: Most prized possession?

“My half of the ‘best friends’ necklace Neon gave me shortly after I evolved into Beelzemon, it means a lot to me and it allows me to evolve into Burst Mode, which is the mode I like to stay in the most.”

32: Thoughts on material possessions in general?

“If an item is important to you, then keep it and take care of it with all your heart. May it be garbage or worth a lot, you don’t know the story behind someones prized possession and you have no right to judge.”

33: Concept of home and family?

“My friends are my family!” Deebs smiles proudly, thinking of them.

34: Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?)

“He can be a little suggestive and TMI in front of my friends with me.” Neon looks to one side awkwardly.Deeb licks his lips with a smug look. “But we are pretty private about what goes on behind closed doors.”Neon goes red. “DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT”

35: What activities do they enjoy, but consider to be a waste of time?

“Wait... didn’t we already answer this?”

36: What makes them feel guilty?

“...” Deebs goes silent.“He still gets convinced to do stupid things even though I tell him not to.”

37: Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?

“...emotional”Neon rolls her eyes. “Deffo emotional.”

38: What recharges them when they’re feeling drained?

“Sleep, and lots of it.” Deebs yawns. “He sounds worse than his bike engine when he snores.”

39: Would you say that they have a superiority-complex? Inferiority-complex? Neither?

“Neither, sometimes I feel like I’m kinda below others because some think I’m pretty stupid for a Beelzemon”“Oh Deebs, don’t say that...”

40: How misanthropic are they?

“Hoo... thats a big one. He’ll growl and sometimes hiss at people he doesn’t know. When they get to close to me physically. I know he means no harm and is being protective, he’s really social amongst those who know him but on an outside perspective? He looks very very anti-social. But he’s really a big softy.”

41: Hobbies?“He does the occasional biking with his other digi friends. He likes to go out for flights and play videogames when he isn’t glued to me.”

42: How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education?

“I haven’t been in any formal education, Neon and instinct along with my friends has taught me everything I know.”

43: Religion?“None”

44: Superstitions or views on the occult?

“She’s my tamer and I’m a Digimon, what haven’t we seen?”

45: Do they express their thoughts through words or deeds?

“A bit of both, I’m guilty of just tackling and picking up my tamer a lot without question.”

46: If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?“Ah, I’m already in love, and she’s my ideal.” He smiles warmly. “DEEEBS”

47: How do they express love?

“Lots of... ngh” Neon wriggles in Deeb’s grip as he holds and nuzzles his head against her with a smile on his face and a slight purr. “Physical attention.”“Well, she’s not complaining, is she?”

48: If this person were to get into a fist fight, what is their fighting style like?

Have you seen his claws? 

49: Is this person afraid of dying? Why or why not?“I wouldn’t want to die... I wouldn’t like to think of me not being around to protect my loved ones...”So uh, there we have it, I hope it helped you get to know Deebs a little more!

[chickenfetus]

all moongan

thank you for asking falen tbh i love u sm and i love doing these 

omg is this ask for this ask meme i literally almost posted this along with the wrong ask fml

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

more cereal than mik because.. i dont eat cereal with milk……… i love the crunch

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?

as someone who lives in a tropical country is that what its called idk we dont have seasons and it never gets lower than 25 degrees so yes that would be ideal

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

hrmmmmm… i just remember the page number?? or try to lmao if i dont remember i just skim through the pages and try to recognise where i left off

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

with at least 2 packets of sugar tbh…. i dont drink coffee

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?

omg story time i went 2 get my braces removed and the dentist wanted to take pics so he was like “smile with your teeth!” and i was like ok! but then he kept saying i wasnt doing it right lmao… guess whos never smiled b4… (me) so he told me 2 practice my smile lol i didnt answer the qn but ya,,, i am probably

6: do you keep plants?

i used 2 be very against plants… now theyre okay i guess i dont rly keep any

7: do you name your plants?

refer 2 6

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

art??? i havent drawn in awhile

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

no LOL

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

on my side!!!! i cant sleep on my back bc i gotta hug smth.. and my stomach is out of the qn

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends?

🅱️… and .. same brainwaves…. poor mans ____…. this is all from the shady hq im so sorry my other pals

12: what’s your favorite planet?

the moon for no real reason

13: what’s something that made you smile today?

hMMm, watching astro and mx perform??? and just being shady with bell lmao

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

this… question,,,..so im thinking of a bright place with white walls and translucent curtains so the light call fill the (living) room perfectly and everythings really ??? sunny and shit idk its warm… the floor’s made of (fake?) wood and theres a small kitchen bc i cant cook and idk if my friend would be able to lol.. theres 2 bed rooms both are painfully small but it works.. theres one other room with a closet for clothes… the bathroom is just a shower, sink and toilet… theres no washing machine rip and ?? thats about it poor mens life

i watchd the like we used mv again and i realized ...... that is literally where i got this imagery from thanks the rose i love a relatable band

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

heres a fact (?) from me first: it rains diamonds on one planet ?? mecury maybe?? mars??? whomst.. this isnt even a fact its ,me trying to recall shit

ok real fact: There are thousands of other planets out there. sorry lads this website doesnt wanna have fun

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish?

is spaghetti bolognese a pasta dish

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

im chill with my current hair colour??? bc its brown sometimes idk shitty hair

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

i asked my irl friends (group name: panic support group) and this is what they said

K: everything

E: when u were one hour late (i dont remember this happening but i do know im always late but never for an hour past me wyd)

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

goDD i dont but i sure want to

20: what’s your favorite eye color?

this is strange but every eye colour is my favourite although ppl with two or more colours in their eyes are so cool

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.

its just my school bag lmao i got it 4 years ago and i take it everywhere even if the event is “small” and they ask us to bring “smaller bags” ill bring my big ass school bag anyway it looks like this (i dont have to but linking stuff is so fun)

22: are you a morning person?

technically.???its the holidays but i still manage to get up before 10 (most of the time) and … even if i have like 5 hours of sleep i manage to feel awake really easily????

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?

tf i just use my phone lmao this is what ive been doing for like a month now… i could watch every vlive i havent watched yet, i could make video compilations i could practice my art but… even though im out of school im still procrastinating.. legends only

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

mmmm falens the closest to that

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into?

my classroom

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit?

white converse??  i have 2 get new ones every like 2 years since theyre also my school shoes and break easily….. other than those i have my blueblack converse too (i dont wear them as much so theyre still in one piece)

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?

i dont eat bubblegum bc im always afraid ill swallow it and die and im p sure its illegal here

28: sunrise or sunset?

sunset but i dont look outside enough for either

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?

hm……… with jen its when she sends me asks on anon despite it being super obvious like im not a Fan when my friends send me asks on anon bc sometimes i cant tell and i get a sense of false hope but w/ jen its okay but i know its her

with bell its when they reply to my keyboard smashes with their own keyboard smashes lmao and when they just??//?? say smth cute abt their faves (lately its been sanha thank u sh)

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared?

ya lmao when i have 2 sleep alone and its completely dark i have half a mind 2 believe some random supernatural being is out for me

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.

hmM. socks are great i always wear them bc i wear shoes almost every time i go outside… i dont have any weird socks bc im Boring but i have 3 pkmn songs and 1 gudetama socks/.. bUT I DID buy my friend those socks with individual toe pockets… it was so funny when my other friend saw it she choked on her drink and almost spat it out. we laughed so hard we hit our heads against each other i love friendship.. i have 2 wear white socks for sch bc… aesthetic? god if i know lmao….. i only ever wear ankle socks bc….. socks any higher than that? cancelled.

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends.

listen ive never stayed up later than like 1am ok maybe 2am??? but i was working on like a project that was due the next day for school with my groupmates (friends) so does that count lmao

33: what’s your fave pastry?

bread………. sugar donuts…….. i am Aware that thats not how u spell it but wtv

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?

why does this ask so many qns in 1 qn……. i had a cat?? it had pink stripes and it didnt have a name bc i dont name my stuff… even my pokemon.. and yeah i still have it except its in a big dusty bag where all my other toys are kept

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?

i kinda have to use stationary for school so ya.. p often is correct… pretty pens??? i dont rly see the point whoopS!!! in exams u can only use black or blue so

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now?

im listening 2 day6 so like day6

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?

my room isnt even my room i just go there to sleep .. the place im always at is like a study area except its open?? so everyone can see me lol and . its not messy?? if u look at it from far but the shit on the desk and shelves are so fucking messy god i need to pack those

38: tell us about your pet peeves!

aLRIGHT LADS welcome 2 megans ted talk

(skip this if ur not fond of drama)

so something (refer to the song he said suits myday) happened with jae recently and ive seen fans trying to defend him by @ing him and saying that they love him which is fine - great even! but what i dont approve is how everyone’s basically forgotten about the whole matter because they had concerts so instead of @-ing him and asking him to explain himself, they tell him what a great concert it was which is also great bc their concerts are honestly amazing. basically my pet peeve is when ppl dismiss the problematic action of some people just bc they like them.

another thing is that there were some fans who started guilting others for wanting to drop day6 completely because of what jae did and in my opinion i think it is totally cool to want to drop a group if they did smth bad like??? its ur life???? u can choose who you want to like. what is not cool is pulling out all the good things the person has ever done in their entire life and try to remind others about the positive sides of the person. yes. they’re an encouraging person, etc. but that does not cancel out the bad things they’ve done until they explain/apologise. what is infuriating is just the manner some people took it?? they literally went ahead and tweeted shit like “would your parents drop you if you did smth wrong?” and “you’re seriously gonna drop someone whos been nothing been nice because of one incident?” yes. people will and you dont have any fucking right to stop them? so dont go pulling out receipts.

another thing. its also okay to want to stan the whole group even if someone has done smth problematic. like? to me youre cool if youre able to see and acknowledge the bad shit someone has done and still stand by their side while educating them at the same time its nice to have faith in your idols. however, i wont say much when your idols dont respond and/or respond in a way that shows absolutely no remorse. its cool if you want to support them too, despite that.

tldr; dont fucking excuse someone’s behaviour/action just because youre so far up their fucking ass. dont pull out shit from before either, be it good or bad. and lastly, its okay to want to drop/continue supporting them, its your life.

i just wanted to talk about this tbh,, it was nice to see a few mydays trying to urge jae to explain the whole situation but seeing as he still hasnt and couldve it really irks me :-/

okay update its been a day and i havent really thought about this but im kinda conflicted now bc jae still hasnt talked about the song and im probably just making a big deal out of smth that will never happen again but it really doesnt sit right with me knowing that jae recommended that song to his fans and said it suited mydays?? bc looking at the lyrics... i SURE hope not... idk i have neither forgiven or forgotten but he’s okay now.? i cant stay mad at someone for that long anyway ill never forgive him 4 it though lmao petty ppl only

another thing... jae’s still an amazing person to me with all the encouraging words he says to mydays but this one incident is just soOOOOO hrm and i did go off tangent with the question as usual lol

39: what color do you wear the most?

i wear a lot of colours tbh??? but bc its rly hot out ive just been wearing the same shirt every time i leave the house and its black so

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you?

i dont wear jewelry rip

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?

challenger deep

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it!

hm,, ive only ever visited this coffee shop like more than once bc the girl i used 2 like showed it to me b4 like 2 years ago and it was nice i liked their mocha frappe and its cozy i guess??? sometimes i go there with friends to study/just eat but i havent gone in awhile.., its two stories and it has an open air sitting area too i prefer sitting inside bc the sun is a big no thanks.. the ceiling is kind of like?? going downward?? like the kind iin attics???? idk man it was nice

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?

u cant see shit here sorry

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?

cant relate

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?

yea?? sometimes i just gotta bc my brain wont shut the fuck up

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

suddenly all of the puns i know have left my mind thanks @ me

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

vegetables

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today?

the dark and whats basically in it???? like ghosts zombies and shit u kno the scary shit

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?

i like buying albums?? theres a CD in those so it counts lmao i bought sunrise by day6

50: what’s an odd thing you collect?

boxes??? like containers????

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

boxy and letting go by day6

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far?

YOU KNOW I HAD TO DO IT TO THEM and oh worm

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?

me: rocky.. ?????? from astro.. /?? no ive never heard of any of those and i saw the word horror so u wont hear abt those from me any time soon

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?

i literally havent been outside for 2 days

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point?

be petty aka yesterday i changed my twitter icon from jae 2 brian bc jae’s being a child rn so hes out

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?

when they ramble abt smth they like thanksk buds

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?

is this the song from p!atd i have it in my playlist lmao oh i fucing hate this song i always skip it im not listening

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?

idk what either of those are but bell and boxy

59: what’s your favorite myth?

idk any

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?

anything that eunwoo has ever written

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?

ive given eggs for karissa’s birthday b4 and i got a kermit its not stupid tho its just the closest thign i could think of

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?

i drink water juice everyday every minute every hour

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?

my books are all in shelves lads i just  heard the fucking keys rattle im not doing this shit im logging off night

ok day 3 and im back like i said previously my books are on shelves i tried rearranging them by series b4 but my housekeeper rearrnaged them randomly the next day so i gave up

i make playlists for songs that i like, really like (i still skip them sometimes rip) and songs that my friend recommends me i have a seperate playlist for the songs i like in japanese 2

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?

light blue?? like its actually p white bc its cloudy

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with?

m not rly

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

just. leaves maybe??

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?

Horror Movie

68: what’s winter like where you live?

oh winter is fucking fantastic it never gets colder than 25 degrees celsius here and if it does rain it lasts for like 10 minutes

69: what are your favorite board games?

i used to rly like snake and ladders and monopoly :-o

70: have you ever used a ouija board?

im not ready for that kinda death

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea?

english breakfast or earl gray??? those r like the standard right

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it?

ya but i never do bc i either forget to or am just 2 lazy

73: what are some of your worst habits?

being lazy + procrastinating :-D

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

okie :-o ..

they’re great ok ive talked abt them like 10 times in the span of 2 months but whatever folks

they’re super nice, kind and just all of the positive adjectives out there in the dictionary ...... they’ve helped me multiple times and they’re always there 2 lend me a listening ear (or in our case, eye lmao) idk??? im just super comfortable around them always and im honestly so thankful we became mutuals (and subsequently friends) last year!!!! i cant say a lot bc ill just get v repetitive but overall they’re an awesome friend and im glad we still communicate daily via twitter and sometimes our skype sessions even if they’re kinda awkward bc i never know when 2 talk bc im scared ill speak and theyll say smth and itll turn into a MESS which actually happened lmao  

im looking forward to the day our skype sessions become super smooth and easy going!!!

75: tell us about your pets!

i have none but id die for boxys cats

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?

well yeah always tbh but its not smth i have to do but more like want to do im just 2 lazy to get around doing it

77: pink or yellow lemonade?

?? i almost said lemons arent pink but i Remembered...... yellow lemonade

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?

i feel like this is an Attack? okay LISTEN so story time again.

on the flight back from japan i watched the alien covenant and i couldnt even get past the scene where the baby alien was gonna kill the poor guy who ended up being locked up with the infected dude as soon as i saw the blood and the alien emerge from the guy’s back i bolted lmao

so to calm myself down nd block that memory from my mind i went ahead and watched despicable me 3.. which HONESTLY im the worst critic ever but in my humble opinion.... the movie was good????????? idk i didnt watch minions the movie though i got lazy again whooopS!

anwyay i sidetracked but im neutral im not a fan but i wouldnt go out of my way to call minions annoying?? bc they really arent? i feel like its only seen that way bc of how people make posts abt how annoying minions are even tho.. they arent??

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

my memory hates me so every specific thing my friends have ever done for me has left my mind but .

the cutest thing? everything my friends do for me

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?

theyre yellow and no i didnt theyve been there ever since i could remember

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.

lava cake

82: are/were you good in school?

yeah i was good in school for like the first three years and this year i just flopped so badly lmao and its my important year too oh well my exams r over and i still dont have a backup plan in mind

83: what’s some of your favorite album art?

all of dance gavin dance’s albums have awesome art

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?

back when i was really into 5sos i thought of getting a tally since that was their logo at that time but now no not really unless i decide to get lance’s face tattooed onto my forehead on impulse

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?

im keeping up with hq, bnha and tg manga!!!!

86: do you like concept albums? which ones?

idk what those r but sure

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

big hero 6

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy?

who wrote this whats up with these questions

i googled and.. not really?? they all look nice

89: are you close to your parents?

close enough to stand being in the same room as them but not close enough to want to initiate conversations

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.

tokyo was really cool (literally) and if i ever go again id love to go with friends so we can explore more??

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?

japan was supposed to be the only plan for this year but my grandad passed away so i had to go to malaysia multiple times earlier this year ik this wasnt the qn but ive already went to the planned destination tm so

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch?

BARELY SPRINKLES A PINCH im anti cheese

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most?

um. like?? i tie the sides of my hair that cover my face back??? bc i dont like hair in my face

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday?

bell

95: what are your plans for this weekend?

hopefully something useful

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot?

i also click remind me tomorrow lmao

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?

infp-t, capricorn, hufflepuff (same as falen nd jen yay)

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?

uh ive never been hiking and i dont plan on it sorry body

99: list some five (or id never shut up) songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

currently......

when you love someone - day6

like we used to - the rose

crazy sexy cool - astro

death of a strawberry - dance gavin dance

if it means a lot to you - a day to remember

idk if these actually “resonate to my soul” they just sound nice

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?

oh worm.. i wouldnt miind either???

i know i have 2 choose but like

if i go back into the past i could be less annoying?? but the past has actually helped me be the way i am today and i think im learning to be a better person?? im definitely way better than how i was previously 5 years ago and im just grateful i was able to learn from my mistakes???

so i wouldnt go back to the past.

if its in the future i can see how ill end up and if its not good i might end up being able to change myself so i dont get my “bad end”..???? maybe or i can just see what happens in the future and i can look forward to it

itll also give me a chnace to have the most fun while i can if its not too nice

so my decision is to go to the future

thank you so much for asking falen god this got so long lmao

[drewxmay]

Contestshipping Review - Part Ten - Hi Ho Silver Wind!

Previous

Next

Index

-The Title-

"Now, not only do we do episode titles that are jokes about Pokemon and character names, we do jokes about Pokemon attacks!!! Look at how great we are!!!"

-Episode Link-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQsX-qiro20

-The Review-

Episode starts out with the gang looking at the Grand Festive building, commenting out awesome it is.

I mean it really is an awesome building.

0:20

NOSTALGIA!!!

or not...

I know why this person cuts the theme song out but I need to listen to it.

skip to 0:30 to skip the small fragment of the theme song.

0:45

Front desk lady: :scans ID: I'll need to see your contest ribbons too.

I remember making a post about this before, but something has been bothering me about this. The front desk lady shouldn't need to scan her ribbons becuase they should be on make's record. One thing that makes me think this even more is becuase when Ash enters into the Pokemon league his badges are already on the system, and he doesn't seem to scan them.

Also how do you can a fucking ribbon?

1:03

is that where you sleep?

The rooms seem so closely packed together... wonder how small those rooms are.

1:09

Mays mom, Caroline: Guess who!

I love Caroline tbh. I almost wish she was my mom.

1:19

May: Did you come to watch me compete?

What else would she be here for? To see Max?

Caroline: I sure did! I wouldn't miss my daughter compete ion the Grand Festival!

Ya but her Dad would apparently...

1:30

May: I don't see did is he here too?

Caroline: no... I'm sorry May but Dad was too busy at the gym to come.

So Misty can go for two years to adventure off with some ransom 10-year-old and leave her three sisters in charge and everything is fine but Norman can't come over for his daughters chance at winning the Grand Festival. He could just close the gym for a while if he can't find anybody capable enough to be in charge...

Caroline: But I know that he will be watching you on TV!

So he isn't even busy with gym battles he can watch May on TV. I'm sure it isn't that long of a trip, especially considering the gym is in Hoenn...

1:49

So apparently the dorm room is pretty big.

3:00

Brock: It says here that in the contest 200 people will be entering and will be able to go to the preliminary rounds, and out of those 200 only sixty-four of them will be able to enter.

Okay, so in the first round the judges have to give you a score out of 0-30, decimals included, meaning they can give up to 300 scores, but all of these people have won five ribbons, and most of them will be getting into the twenty's. Many people will get ties. If a lot of people got a twenty-two, and that was the bottom score for them being able to get into the next round,  then some of the people who got a twenty-two some won’t be able to get into the next round, even though a lot of people with the same score were able to. How would they be able to choose which people with 22 are able to get in? Do they re-watch clips and decide even more skeptical scores like "well this person would get a 22.12 and this person would get a 22.56".

How do they decide this?

3:29

And now foe the Team Rocket scene of the episode.  skip to 5:02 if you don't want to here it. Here is the summary:

Jessie and James try to get money by acting as famous people. Today, James is dressing up like Norman. Other than getting money they are also trying to get people to join this club where "Norman" gives you expert advice on how to train your Pokemon...  actually no their probably just going to steal the Pokemon.

I honestly think that you cannot tell this picture and the year normal apart if I didn't tell you, or if you didn’t know what eye color either of them had:

Also sorry for doing this again.. I seem to do this every other episode and it is also starting to get on my nerves.

The boy who tries to talk to James is voiced by the same guy who voices Chris in Sonic X...

Yes 4Kids reuses voice actors a lot, at one point Max is voiced by Charming the Bee. If I had to review Sonic X I would do this same thing "Oh that background character is voice by Ash" and "That woman is Jessie".

Also I feel as if I need to clarify this becuase some people are getting confused... No I am not part of the sonic fandom I just watched Sonic X when I was like 8-10 years old and I mention it sometimes.

5:02

Everybody here is getting ready for the Festival and I'm just wondering where Robert is, or the Espeon.

5:15

May: Mom do you want to see my Pokemon?

Caroline: Of course!

May: :releases Pokemon. If you were wondering the Pokemon she has now is Cumbuskin, Skitty, Bulbasour, Munchlax, and Beautifly:

Caroline: What a wonderful collection you have here May!

May: Thank you!

Caroline: :walks up to beautifly: I especially like this one.

And later you're going to hate it for a while becuase you think Norman is cheating on you.

There was literally an episode about that and they never said "cheating" once in the entire episode they just implied that she thought that. They tiny kids were so confused and then they watch the episode when they are older and are like "ooooohhhhh".

5:45

Ash: Maybe I should practice a bit! :sends out Snowrunt and the Snowrunt comes out of the Pokeball like he wants to be beautiful for its first contest:

that Snowrunt is pretty.

6:50

Then what happens is while May is talking to her mom about Munchlax and how hard it is to feed him, Drew is walking from quite a distance with his Rosellia. He stops walking and Rosellia looks confused at why he has done this. Then Rosellia turns to see what has made her trainer so interested that he stopped walking, and May is talking to her mom about Munchlax.

Watching these episode makes me find so many contestshipping scenes the fandom has forgotten about.

Everybody stops talking and May looks around wondering what has made the Gang so quiet. She turns around to see Drew standing there in the distance.

I wish I could make gifs with a PC so here just have this instead:

May: Drew! Hey!

So you are here after all!

7:04

Caroline: So. That's the Drew I've heard about.

Implying that May has told her Mom about him at one point. Why I mean that isn't too surprising, he is a recurring rival to her.

7:11

May: Bet you're surprised I'm here! I bet you thought I wouldn't make it!

Drew: I have to say I had my doubts.

Last time we saw Drew May only had four ribbons and there was one more contest left before the Grand Festival. In that episode he just gave her that knowledge, he didn't discourage her or verbally encourage her, not directly at least. It the same with the teaching I keep rambling about >May wants to prove to Drew that she is as good at him, that she is an equal. If she knows everything Drew knows, that that makes her an equal. if she gets into the Grand Festival, then she is an equal. Drew encouraged her but he did it in a way that isn't the traditional "i hope you can do it!" and more like "I've already done it so you should be able to" type of thing.

Goddammit if I don't write three more paragraphs it makes no sense.

I should just write a 7 paragragh essay on it in a different post.

May: You ask have to admit that even though youv'e never given me credit for it  I'm ever good a bit of a trainer as you are!

THIS

RIGHT HERE.

THIS IS THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE.

MAY WANTS TO BE HIS EQUAL AND TRIES TO ACHIEVE AS MUCH AS HIM TO SHOW HIM THAT HE IS HIS EQUAL.

IF SHE FUCKING SAYING ISN’T PROOF ENOUGH-

FUCK ANYBODY WHO DOESN'T AGREE WITH ME.

Drew: :flicks hair: Just saying doesn't make it so.

In other words, "May pls improve becuase that is good."

May: Well I'm here and if that's not proof enough-:Drew sticks big af rose in her face:

Drew: I do respect you for your enthusiasm. And of course, congratulations on getting this far. But hey, enthusiasm can only take you so far.

May: That's it!

MAY DON'T KILL I-

May why...

Not is is tiny...

That was like the biggest fucking rose ever it was 3/4ths the size of Drew's face.

May: You’ll be singing a different tune once I win the ribbon cup!

7:45

Harley: May is the you???

Oh no.

He's come.

Harley: Oh I thought I saw you!

Nobody trust him

Even though this is like your 3rd encounter with him.

You should learn by the second.

8:06

Harley: So May how are you???

May trying to be polite but obviously being unhappy: Oh- uhhh... just fine! Just fi-

(k so

this screenshot from when May was responding:

Like wtf were the animators thinking when they drew Harley's ass so large)

Harley: Glad to hear it. Made the grand festival, couldn’t be happier.

And now for the shit Harley is known for. The "Oh I was such a terrible person I feel awful for cheating like that pls trust me so I can screw you off again."

And he acts like that so well I'd fall for it tbh.

9:40

Here, have another fun screenshot:

8:50

Harley: What a beautiful red rose you have there!

(v credit to @idrewmay for making this post v)

9:25

Harley: Of that can't be true if he'd given you a rose! Come to think of it, there's something romantic going on here!

Because all Harley wants to do is upset May.

Well there is another thing I'd like to say here about this, and It might not be that important but it is something notable. This was originally pointed out to me in one of the posts made by @itstimetodrew (I seem to tag her a lot in these posts).

May's reaction? She is very flustered, like how any normal 10-year-old would be about this, and it fits May's character. Drew's reaction?

He doesn't care, he doesn't get upset. There are a few reasons for this but the reason that @itstimetodrew pointed out is that he has already accepted his feelings for May. Here is the exact quote:

"but nah, being 10 years old and having some real feelings for a girl that you cant hide worth shit is fair game and doesn’t bother you. you have fully accepted your feelings. ok."

Just interesting for me at least.

9:42

:Harley leaves:

Drew, bitterly: Let's go Rosellia.

Ye I know Harley is irritating. Can't blame you.

10:18

Back to team Rocket scam. skip 11:25 to if you don't want to hear it.

So Jessie and James are at their stand trying to pretend to give advice, and are going to steal the Pokemon.

Also I'd like to point out this continuity:

Same two from earlier:

We also get to hear the girl's voice! I am obsessed with this unnamed character lol.

So Harley walks by and sees the crowed of people near the stand, he's  obviously curious what is going on (Also some more proof that Harley is gay).

James says that if she gives him her Espeon then he will train it for her. She accepts and then everybody else just gives their Pokemon to them.

They literally just hand them over.

11:25

So now May is training with Beautifly. It's actually very pretty.

I love contests.

May: Beautifly use Silver Wind!

:uses and it turns into spirals going downwards:

That was perty.

Harley: What an incredible display that was!

Now say it like you mean it.

Now say it and genuinely mean it.

May: Oh... Hi again.

Harley: Really that was beautiful your talent in bringing out Pokemon's beauty is really amazing!

May: Really?

Even though he has never spoken with Harley and has only been around him for about a minuet, he can tell what is going on, and he does not trust Harley. Drew has been seen watching May many times this episode, just standing there not saying anything. First time he was interested, now he is worried. This is a recurring theme, and I am just more or less shocked that the Contestshipping fandom has almost completely forgot about a lot of these.

12:06

Harley: You should use that silver wind all through the preliminaries and the contest battles! Just think about how cool it would be to just use that one attack?

May: I guess but... what happens if you and i have to compete and you already know what I'm going to use?

Harley: Oh! Oh dear I had hoped you know me better than that! I'd never take advantage of you!

"I'd never take advantage of you!"

The only reason May falls for this is becuase she is too trusting, even when she should know that using only one attack would make her loose she decides to do it anyways becuase the person who has tricked her like... four times now? said that he is sorry, and May is just the all to forgiving sweetheart and that is her downfall.

13:00

May: I'll take your advice and go all through the rounds with only using silver wind!

Drew: Bad Idea.

Oh so now you're talking.

Drew: It's hard enough getting through the preliminaries and into the finals without limiting yourself to one attack. Flexibility and stradigy are more important than just showing off one move.

Harley: You're just trying to confuse her becuase you're jealous! Don't listen to his nonsense May he doesn't even know what he is talking about!

May listen to Drew he is trying to help and if you weren't so trusting you wouldn't believe his stupid fucking bullshit.

Harley: in fact I'll just take you to somebody who knows what they are doing!

May: Who?

Harley: Norman from the Petalberge gym of course!

May: But dad's back at home.

Harley: Dad???

Hahahaha

Ya now y'all have to go defeat this rip-off becuase if course you do.

Now I shall predict what happens:

They go over confront James. James tries to cover himself up then they accidentally reveal themselves, try to fight, fail miserably, and then blast off.

Now to watch the episode!

14:10

They all go over to the counter and see Norman taking some sort of Pokemon. Caroline easily spots that that isn't Norman and Ash confronts James about not being Norman, James tried to cover themselves up and then when they try to dodge the silver wind they fail and are revealed to be team rocket.

15:00

Now they are trying to escape, but then Pikachu uses thunderbolt, all of the Pokemon escape, and Team Rocket blasts off.

Damn I was close!

15:50

Espeon girl: Thank you!

Other Bystander: You saved the day!

Ash: Well-

Harley: They sure did! May that silver wind was stronger than I though!

That startle tho

16:00

May: I'll use it!

Drew you are invited to go slap Harley in the face and call him a lying bitch if you want.

16:08

GRAND FESTIVAL STARTING TIIIIIIME!!!

17:00

PRELIMINARY ROUNDS TIIIIIIME!!!

This time it is Drew's turn, we only see a small fraction but Drew is shown using Rosellia. He tells it to use Petal dance and it jumps up into the air ad starts spinning rapidly while using petal dance, making the petals around her spin in circles instead of their normal pattern. The audience is amazed and the score he gets is a 95.

WAIT

THERE IS A DIFFERENT POINT SYSTEM???

100 SCORES INSTEAD OF 300. GREAT IDEA FUCKERS.

Wait what if they also include decimals?

Then there is 1000 scores...

That's a lot.

17:12

Now Harley's turn!

Harley sends out Cacturn and it rapid fire spits seeds all over the entire stadium, and this somehow earns Harley an 84.

17:50

Great it's May's turn...

Also fuck Harley.

May's Beautifly exits the Pokeball in the most excellent way, going in front of the sun to make her shine and then making sparkles go everywhere. The beautifly is high above the stadium. May calls for a silver wind, and she flies it towards the direction of the sun, and when the silver wind is no longer seen becuase the light of the sun made it dissapear, a pretty white aura surround the sun, but only for a few moments. Then, after it is gone the sun has a much, much bigger aura and it has the sparkles from earlier.

HEY HALEY YOU SON OF A BITCH THAT SILVER WIND DIDN'T SEEM TO LIMIT MAY YOU FAILED FUCKER!!!

Then May only gets an 88.

She should get higher than the petal dance that was way more appealing.

18:43

Harley under his breath: 88 points? How should she have beaten me!

:Drew walks into the room, Harley looks over at him:

Harley: Oh hiiiii! How are you Drew??? I knew you'd get a high score!

Drew: Ya. Right. :looks away from Harley:

:impatiently waits to write the conclusion for the episode:

18:51

Well sadly the camera has been taken off of Drew and Harley. May is running over to her friend and her friends are congratulating her about getting through the grand festival.

Then Harley continues being a bitch and

Startles everybody again.

Harley: You and your silver wind! You'll go all the way!

May: We don't know that yet and besides your score was high too!

Harley: Oh stop please I have no change of beating you in the long run!

"I'd never take advantage of you!"

19:15

And Drew is there watching them again lol

And sadly we don't get to see the full board we just see that those three got in.

20:00

And so the episode ends, Drew still hates Harley.

-Conclusion-

I feel like even though the contestshipping fandom remembers a few scenes from this episode, they forgot a lot. I pointed some out, but not all of them. I like this episode a lot, and there isn't really anything here that makes me upset.

Now for me to ramble about the actual episode like I've been waiting to this whole review.

Only after a few moments of watching Harley, Drew immediately didn't trust him, later when he heard that he was attempting to make May only use the one attack, he spoke up about how that wouldn't work, and how she should use different thing and that strategy and flexibility are better then just showing off one move. At this, Harley immediately tried to make May follow his plan, and Drew could tell that she was still following what Harley says. Drew keeps worrying, and continues to follow May around. He is genuinely worried, and obviously hates Harley for tricking May like this, and despite Harley's best attempts, he won't change Drew's mind about that.

Drew can see right through Harley, and there is nothing Harley can do to change it.

[basilitron]

do multiples of 10

phew ok lets see what we got there.

10-   What is your hair color? dark blond

20- Left or right handed? right

30- What do you think you’re really good at?  imagining concepts and letting people feel loved

40- What do you think about the most?  guys probably........i know thats boring. pokemon is a close second.

50- Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/therapist?  yes and i wish it had been for longer but insurance only covers a years worth or so

60- Do you have a facebook? If so, would you add the person who sent you this? i do have facebook but its hardly worth it cus i only use the messenger, i dont post there anymore

70- What is your favorite quote and why? "Thats hot!” lol but srsly i dont have one actually

80- What is your favorite season?  everything that isnt winter. spring is so hopeful, summer is so embracing, autumn is somber yet calm. winter can suck my dick.

90- Say 9 facts about your family: 9? uhm. i have parents. and siblings. its complicated with my parents. i ADORE my siblings above all and i would literally kill for them. my family is very liberal and supportive of all sexualities and lifestyles. 9 facts is a lot, i think 6 is enough.

100- Top three places to visit: of the places i have visited myself, i especially loved Barcelona, Amsterdam and southern France.

110- Say 5 facts about your bestfriend(s): im not a person who has a single best friend. i have a few very close friends, who mostly happen to be girls. one of them is a cute nerd with a hint of hippie and punk. the next one is a fun mix of self ironic white girl and a chicken ( i hope you read this!). the third one is a guy actually and i met him through uni. hes a true nerd but such a good guy!

120- Based on past relationships or crushes, describe your perfect boyfriend/girlfriend: well, just speaking hypothetically and not naming any names, he would have to be very communicative when it comes to both our feelings, he would have to be self aware, mature but also able to be childish at times. I dont care for specific body types as long as somebody SELLS is right.

130- If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say? “well thats a shame, have fun and good luck! do you need help talking to them?” cus im not an egoistical bitch

140- Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you? id think so

150- What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone? i think it was pretty sweet when i dedicated a good month to a painting i made for my mother for christmas :o

160- Future names of your children: in primary school i was obsessed with the name ERIKA because of the pokemon gym leader. also when i was an edgy 11 year old i thought a lot about the name SERAPHIM

170- If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept? no. i have a wonderful partner now and im very happy. also, ive only every had one boyfriend before , and i wouldnt want to get back together with him.

180- Share a song that takes you to a certain memory in the past:“This Boy” by James Morrison reminds me of my time at the boarding school, pretty dark time.... 

190- If you could be any character, from any literary work, who would you choose to be? I dont have an answer to this

200- What are you supposed to be doing right now? studying physics for my exam in october

210- Do you believe in aliens or life on other planets?  yes who wouldnt? i mean, from a statistical point its just unrealistic that we are the only living beings, and from a spiritual point, its very calming and reassuring to believe in it.

220- Are you a procrastinator or do you get things done early?.....................sorry i was busy hacking a pokemon rom instead of answering this question

230- Something/someone that you miss: my sense of self and “Urvertrauen”also the time when beyblades and yugioh was the shit!

240- If you could take something back that you said or did, what would it be?oh my god so many things. but i think first of all i would not take my expensive watch to sports and lose it when i was like 11. sometimes it feels like that was the point of no return in my life lmao

250- How you hope your future will be like? HAH! productive. and constructive. and determined. not PREdetermined, i meant it more in a way that I as a person woudl be determined. to just...something. idk.thanks for the questions. you didnt handpick them, but they kept me busy and i had fun answering them.

[team-skull-admin]

My favorite 40 games of all-time

Made an arbitrary list of my favorite games of all-time cause I wanted to figure out where Breath of the Wild is on it. It’s, uh, pretty high. Assload of text below the break.

40: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow I'm not the world's biggest Symphony of the Night fan (outside of the incredible soundtrack) and I think this is where Iga's seamless platformers found their footing.

39: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger I love goofy, experimental games like this and Far Cry: Blood Dragon, but I think the schtick in this (an unreliable narrator bragging about their heroic exploits) works better than Blood Dragon's dorky 80s nostalgia.

38: Rayman Origins A beautiful platformer with incredible level design. The music for the diabolical secret level is seared into my memory.

37: Cibele A short, story-centric indie game that captures the essence of playing MMOs in the mid-2000s and long-distance relationships. The awkward conversations in this game made me think about my WoW years for an entire weekend.

36: Mario Kart Wii It's not technically the "best" Mario Kart, but I actually enjoyed the motorcycles and I have fond memories of crushing my brother while we downed beers and talked shit.

35: Guild of Dungeoneering I'm usually not super into "We made X game, but added CARDS!" even though I love card games, but they nailed the loop here. I vaguely remember one of the decks being super busted, though.

34: Tropico 4 Adding a political slant to Sim City by making you the leader of a banana republic was just the slant to that formula I was looking for, and I lost a weekend circa New Year's '13 just delving into this hard.

33: Gran Turismo 2 My brother bought a PS1 off a friend when they upgraded to a PS2, and I grabbed a copy of this cheaply at the local EB Games. Once I wrapped my mind around the simulation, upgrading cars and havin fun with them here might have more to do with me being somewhat of a car person than anything else.

32: Metal Gear Solid 4 I should really put the whole series on here, but MGS4 deserves special note for making the core stealth actually fun and somehow tying all the loose ends of the insane plot together while dialing up the insanity even further.

31: Sim City 2000 I figured out how to make a 50,000 person city when I was like, 8. I still have no fucking idea how I did this. It took me till my 20s to crack 100k.

30: Pokemon Black/White People are torn on this game, but the contentious design decision to hide the old Pokemon in the postgame made every new encounter incredibly exciting in a way the series hadn't been since the orignals. The writing also shows signs of the maturity that Sun/Moon would follow through with.

29: Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 I think most would deride this series as a soulless Pokemon cash-grab on the surface, but they're actually roguelikes with a crazy monster breeding system and the most rote of stories to get you into the core loop of exploring new keys to breed ever crazier monsters.

28: Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Diablo 3 vanilla's reliance on the auction house created design issues that were hard to look past, but Blizzard abandoning it for the expansion made the game into an incredible dungeon crawler. I never laddered, but had fun for hundreds of hours chasing loot with friends.

27: Fallout 3 I'll never forget the feeling of walking out of the vault for the first time, and feeling like I could go anywhere. I also think this is the only Bethesda game that regularly pays off when exploring - weird shit like the Republic of Dave or the man stuck in the tree are fantastic rewards for poking at the less inhabited edges of the map.

26: Bassin's Black Bass featuring Hank Parker I'm honestly wondering if the rest of the world has picked up on this game's low-key genius since I saw it for 15 bucks at a retro game store recently, but this game's arcadey fishing is incredibly satisfying and snappy. It has some major, obvious, irritating mechanical issues, but the core gameplay loop is so good I don't care.

25: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor I still remember my nemesis. This motherfucker was right at the beginning of the game, inside the first quest area, and was like level 5 or 6, but had a defensive ability that made it harder for me to gank him easily. So he killed me. Twice. And leveled up each time, becoming a level 12 badass who could literally sniff me out when I hid. But he was weak to fire, and I lured him to a campfire and set him ablaze, getting my revenge.

24: Super Metroid I feel like most people would have this game higher on the list, but I think the controls are floaty and Meridia is overly confusing. The rest of the game is incredible and I can't believe they pulled it off on a Super Nintendo.

23: Pokemon Sun/Moon After XY and ORAS were disapointments I was cool on Pokemon, but Sun/Moon challenged a ton of series conventions and got a lot right in the process. I can't believe how deftly this game handles dysfunctional families.

22: A Link Between Worlds This was Nintendo's hit at what was to come with Zelda - a smart, experimental take on the franchise that's easily its best 2d outing.

21: Muramasa: The Demon Blade Vanillaware's magnum opus, a gorgeous Metroidvania where everything is hand-painted. The combat's loop of mixing launchers with sword management is also incredibly fun, if not particularly deep. But fuck I loved looking at it so much and it felt good.

20: The Walking Dead Only time a video game made me cry.

19: Banjo-Kazooie The only 3d collect-a-thon platformer from that era that still holds up, it combines cheeky humor and an incredible soundtrack to craft a world that's always surprising.

18: Borderlands 2 is better crafted, but I enjoyed the dry wit and more grounded guns of the first. I've replayed this like 4 times and I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a blast each time.

17: Doom (2016) Apparently the secret to making this license work in a modern context is to give Halo combat arenas a healthy dose of cocaine and play Meshuggah riffs over it. It so fucking works.

16: Saints Row: The Third I think the writing in GTA is usually sophomoric at best and its attempts at commentary are eye-roll worthy, but having a game say "FUCK IT" and just Mel Brooks that experience is such a wonderful idea. It's also hard to pull off, and SR3 totally sticks the landing (unlike the sequel).

15: Super Mario World The best traditional Mario game. I replayed it recently, and it struck me how much secret exits add to the level design versus 3, and how freed Koji Kondo is by the new hardware. The castle music's classical overture sticks out.

14: Monster Hunter 4 I liked Monster Hunter 3's various iterations but I hated swimming. Taking out swimming and replacing it  with mounting was enough for me to sink hundreds of hours. I actively avoided getting Generations because I knew it would interfere with school.

13: Mario Golf (GBC) The perfect portable game. Golf works well on the platform, and adding basic RPG hooks was enough to make a rote story totally engaging.

12: Super Mario Maker I think the real triumph of Mario Maker isn't the levels (which are usually terrible), it's how Nintendo imparted the feeling of being creative in such an easily digestible and satisfying way. It's an achievement that ascends past Mario design (which still works here) into something greater and more profound.

11: Hearthstone I fucking hate this game and I keep playing it because the Arena is like literal fucking crack and every time I have an opponent at 1 life and they beat me they can eat fucking dicks.

10: Super Mario RPG Clever writing and a strange world grabbed me way harder than Intelligent System's later Paper Mario games. It's too easy and doesn't look as slick now, but the writing still holds up.

09: Mass Effect Trilogy You can't really separate these, as the experience that makes Mass Effect great was carrying your Shepard and their decisions from one game to the next. Everyone will remember Garrus, Wrex, and co. Shame about the ending.

08: Tetris I am weirdly good at Tetris. I know what a T-Spin is. I sank hundreds of hours into it on Facebook. I don't regret it.

07: Persona 4 Describe a game to me as a mix of a J-RPG and a slice-of-life anime and I'll run to the hills, so the fact this game's sharp, mature writing and "just one more day" calendar mechanic combined into one of my favorite games of all-time is a shock. They also put in Pokemon with fucking demons, how cool is that shit?

06: Ocarina of Time I can't believe this game came out in 1998. The world is still fun to traverse, and the dungeon design (especially as an adult) still holds up at the top of action-adventure puzzle design.

05: Magic: the Gathering I wish it was less expensive otherwise it'd be higher.

04: Breath of the Wild I can't believe Nintendo reinvented the wheel so well that I'm putting the game so high on the list. Every design decision in this game is carefully considered to make exploring this iteration of Hyrule that much more satisfying. And its incredibly clever chemistry engine, where every object in the game has chemical properties that can be manipulated as well as physics, creates a ton of emergent gameplay scenarios where you're constantly asking "Can I do that?" and the game almost never lets you down.

03: World of Warcraft Sometimes I regret the 4000 hours I spent in Azeroth, but I'd have a hard time giving up the friends I made there. I could probably shred and like, speak another language though.

02: Pokemon Red I was the perfect age for Pokemon mania, and the fact that the core game was literally designed to appeal to me didn't help. I still love collecting the things and min/maxing ways to beat the Elite 4 with minimal grinding.

01: Mega Man X I think this is literally the perfect platformer. Moving X feels incredible. There's nothing in any of the levels I think is out of place. The soundtrack is a masterpiece. And the game's hidden secret is so insane you'd probably call bullshit on any kid who told it to you at recess. I'm really glad the rest of the world picked up on it after Arin Hanson did a Sequelitis about it, because I've been beating this drum for decades.