#her favs are definitely XY. Just a feeling

[maybe-a-gatto-or-a-catto]

pov: you're playing Pokémon at work and everyone gets annoying about it

[tigerwolfproductions]

You’re challenged by Bookworm Becky!

Superheroine Wordgirl wants to battle!

My “as close as I can get to Pokemon” style is back! ... and just as confused as before.

Ah, the official Pokemon style. It changes with every generation, has confusing shading techniques in some gens, and I just kinda had to go with “the best I could manage” again XP (pretty proud of Bob���s tail flame though! That was tricky to do).

Moving on from my artist woes, it’s Becky and Bob Botsford and their secret identities of Wordgirl and Captain Huggyface! Been on a Wordgirl kick recently and since it came directly after a Pokemon kick, well, my brain inevitably crossed the two over. My brain also decided that it was enough of a masochist to want to take another crack at Pokemon style(ish), so here we are! I think the lineart has improved for the most part for human characters; I definitely felt more confident making Becky/Wordgirl! I actually based her off Shauna from XY... Not sure what urged me to do so, but I guess it worked so I ain’t complaining, haha.

Posing was actually tricky. I was originally going to put Becky in a bit more of a cutesy pose, but actually decided against it. She’s Becky Botsford, mild mannered ten year old. I figured, why not make the contrast between her and the Wordgirl pose all the more apparent? Ya know, put all her energy into the bold super-identity! So that I did, though I will say hands pointing at the screen is not a fav of mine to do at the moment, lol

As for Bob, I honestly didn’t really think of many difference there’d be between him and a regular Monferno, but I did add a couple of extra hair tufts to the back of his head. They’re there to represent the front hair tufts he has in the show :3 And of course he’s gotta be eating something, so I looked around and found a berry that would work for him. Not that he’d discriminate against most other berries, but I wanted one that made sense in some way, so a Shuca berry it was! They halve the damage from a super-effective ground-type attack, and have a “spicy-sweet-smooth” flavor chart and with Monferno being a fire type, I figured that spicy part worked out.

Speaking of, it actually took a moment of my time to brainstorm through what Pokemon to make Bob. It had to be a monkey, but what kind? First, there was the point of what type to make him, so I watched a few Wordgirl episodes and happened across a fight between him and Leslie and basically slapped my forehead because a doi- Fighting type for his ability to do Karate! So with that narrowed down, I tried to go through my memories for what monkey Pokemon were fighting types. Passiman came first, but they’re a bit too big for Bob to be. The Mankey line doesn’t quite fit in with his body type or nature, so I had to forgo that too. Then I remembered the fire-fighting starter monkey that made an obvious fit: Monferno! Which also works out because of course a ten year old would have a starter Pokemon as a main partner, and Monferno also shares the blue and red that Captain Huggyface’s uniform has.

Becky/Wordgirl wasn’t too hard to redesign outside of doing it in (the as close as I can get to) Pokemon style. The hardest part of Becky was the skirt thanks to shading, but I think I managed something decent. Second place actually goes to her book bag though. That main button was harder to nail down than I thought it’d be... As for the charms, I thought they could be a cute nod to two main things about her- the secret identity and her love of unicorns, which I figured would translate into a love of Ponyta/Rapidash in the Pokemon universe. Especially the Galarian forms, haha.

On the Wordgirl side, there was a bit more I decided to add. Most of it was dedicated to making her uniform feel a little bit more Pokemon-y, so I added some extra details to the boots and gloves then added pouches to her belt. The goggles were technically a part of that too, but also just because I like the idea of her one day adding them to her uniform (maybe one too many times of getting random goop in her eyes would make her consider it lol). I definitely like the results- I think it makes her look a bit like she’s wearing some sort of space hero outfit :D

As for what exactly this AU would entail, I’d like to think it wouldn’t change much from the main show. Becky lives in a city somewhere in Unova, living her daily life as a regular trainer that goes to a quaint little school with her partner Pokemon, Bob the Monferno (that’s totally normal to have as a starter in Unova; please ignore the part where she should have a Unovian starter). But in her secret double life, she takes on the odd supervillains in her city as Wordgirl, alien superheroine with a perfect vocabulary! But I do imagine Captain Huggyface would get to do more with his moveset of Ember, Close Combat, Mach Punch, and Focus Energy, (Becky unfortunately slacks a little on Pokemon training) as well as an appetite that rivals a Snorlax.

... Wow I rambled about my process. Well, thanks to anyone who read through it all; y’all have a nice day/evening!

[turboacek-blog]

I do like XY #xy10thanniversary

Saw it was the 10th anniversary today (or yesterday by the time I posted this) and saw people decided to talk nicely about it so figured I should as well lol

I do genuinely like the series despite the discourse online about it being one of the most annoying things to me

XY I think unlike a majority of the series as I think about it had one of the strongest openings in the anime, as the whole Lumiose City-Garchomp-Froakie stuff was genuinely captivating and I feel that you will always have people hooked on XY just because of that as it’s to me on par with the first episode of the whole series with Ash and Pikachu which is also generally seen as one of the best episodes

And on a similar note, as I have issues with the team flare finale it also has one of the stronger ends to a series as well

So you have a series with a strong opening and, relatively strong ending, then you sprinkle in other generally accepted great moments in between like Ash vs Clemont it’s no surprise people love this series

And I think that’s the success of the XY, when it hits those highs it’s some of the best the anime ever has given us

——————————————————————————————————————————————

Other thoughts

I think of the six formulaic series (OS-XY) I think I like XY’s pacing the best, and that’s part of the reduced number of episodes compared to earlier series but also didn’t have the random side island adventure like BW, for the most part, the gap between gym badges and princess keys were not bad at all and I think we did spend a decent amount of time with characters that would end up recurring such as the rivals, the family members, mentors, etc

I already made a post about it but I think Clemont is my favorite male companion of Ash’s as I think he fills that sweet spot of being a smarter intelligent member of the group to explain things not only for the audience but the rest of the group but he’s also not so smart that Ash Serena and Bonnie can’t give their intelligence about subjects, and also the balance of since Clemont is close in age to Ash we get to see a Psuedo brotherly bond, rivalry and friendship between them where other companions lack at least one of those aspects, and I think he’s also a nice balance between each two members as he’s not as fit and adventurous as Serena which plays off of Ash and Bonnie, but he’s also more battle-ready like Ash contrasting Serena and Bonnie, yet has the sibling dynamic with Bonnie that Ash and Serena don’t relate to

Serena is this weird mix of I definitely see why people like her and she’s not my fav girl companion but I’m not going to say that her story wasn’t handled well at all, as any non super positive feelings about her is my personal feelings and nothing with her, I think tiring her and Ash together via camp was a That brilliant move without it being too soul-cross lovers, the crush added a unique aspect to the show that hasn’t really been touched on since maybe OS, I enjoyed each of her three Pokémon, and the sister's bond with Bonnie was adorable as we never really got something like that excluding maybe the SM girls

Bonnie grew on me a lot, when I was first watching it it’s hard to relate to the kid character but over time I appreciate the nice story work they did for her while also not shoving her to the front until kinda the Team Flare finale stuff, I think while I did like Max Bonnie was able to be a lot more likable as a character and it’s interesting because I think in a lot of ways she’s like the little girl Ash

Ash is the controversial one I noticed and while I see where both sides are coming from I am neutral on this Ash but he’s not the boring Ash but he’s also not the badass Ash I think he’s the Ash that was finally able to relax, early on we see that fire in him to get stronger and go things head first and through XY we see him slow down and be more at peace with what’s going on around him which is why I think people say he’s the most mature Ash, which he’s definitely more mature than OS Ash for sure but I think the maturity gets confused with lack of childishness, Ash while having his moments wasn’t as goofy here which I think is what I missed here as I think a “core” part of Ash is his fun side which was nonexistent was less here it felt like which obviously has the pros of viewers getting what seems to be a more grown-up Ash also I think loses a crucial part of him

Side characters

While not my favorite batch of side characters I think to say they were bad would be a disservice as they all played their role well, I think the standouts are Tierno Shauna and Korinna

Battles

I know there’s discourse about the animation and art style and just general battle decisions but I do think that the battles looked great and I think visually wise they peaked gym battle-wise here, each battle felt like each person had some experience to them as even the more rookie trainers were using moves that you never see from a previous series early on or even later in that journey

As I can (I’m not) be in the camp that thinks Pikachu losing to Surskit was stupid but I think the battle did show that Surskit was a problem and to be taken seriously despite it being a Surskit

Pokémon

Despite some personal feelings, I do think this was maybe the most solid cast of Pokémon (as in Ash and companions) only behind a few like maybe an OS and SM

I think despite some losses that you can argue about this is one of the most consistent Pikachu’s as no electric “reset”, I think Ash’s other five had distinct personalities and traits, same with Serena’s and Clemont's and Dedenne

And should point out that you can’t convince me Ash-Greninja isn’t the most fanfiction thing the show has done, but it is admittedly very cool, I even used one for my Pokémon Moon play-through as I just thought it would be cool to use

Mega Evolution Specials

I never got the same attachment to these specials as I watched them much later but they were very good specials and I’m glad they did the thing of making them in the same universe and tiring them into Ash and the gang's storylines

As I’m not an Alain fan I do like him as a second protagonist and of the few that probably think that him being the one to beat Ash in the league was acceptable (more thoughts on that in a separate post maybe lol)

Marron and Chespy were cute, Steven was cool, Team Flare was a big upgrade over their game counterparts, etc

Overall not my favorite series definitely one of the series where I can just put a gym battle on or see certain things over without it feeling dated

[smilingperformer]

Ok but like, spoilers under the cut about JN105.

JN105 is absolutely my absolute favourite episode in all of 2019/Journeys series because it did everything right, everything I wanted, AND MORE, like oh my god Serena's return was done so right! SO RIGHT!

It focused on her, as her own character (which she's always been mind you), giving relatable advice to Koharu who's experiencing the same struggle she used to experience, as in not knowing which path of dreams to go for. IT'S EXACTLY THE SCENARIO I WISHED FOR! It shows how confident she's become, how she's no longer on the receiving end as she once explained herself to be, and is fully and full-on a "giver" now, someone who can inspire and help others. I love that.

Her first scene in the episode also just, fricking broke me, because I WAS NOT SPOILED ON HER RETURN! Only speculated hard on! I was nerve-wrecked the whole week, the worst arriving right as the episode started, and upon hearing her call out "Fairy Wind" I fricking lost it. I knew it was Serena's voice. And then it proceeded to show her in this "surprise reveal" kind of scene. I love it. So so much. I cried for half the episode because of how beautifully done it was. All of that nervous air turning into sigh of relief and crying my emotions out because my favourite character was back.

And the way she keeps referencing the lessons she learned from Satoshi is just, chef's kiss. It shows how much Satoshi inspired her, and she's definitely grown in so many levels. And yes. She quotes Satoshi on many occasions. She took those little wisdoms to heart, and I love her for that.

Oh, and I fricking love her new design. Totally called her being character customisation representation!! Her whole outfit is doable in XY games! Well, the shoes aren't available in brown, but otherwise fully! And I love that! The grey + red combo looks so good on Serena ♥ And the way her hair's more puffed up than before, aaah. I love Serena so much guys.

Might talk more later because this IS my absolute favourite episodes (so much to love on how it elavated Koharu's character, made Mikuri a fun return, debuted Lutia, my fav Hoenn character). Subtle nods of Amourshipping also hit close to heart, as they did them so perfectly. Never over-the-top, never too hidden, never taking the spotlight in the episode, the two are on equal level and Serena no longer feels the need to feel embarrased around the one she loves.

One can feel her feeling sad about seeing Satoshi after so long and having to say goodbye so soon again. It's not really told through Serena, outside of watching the ship go by for so long, but through Sylveon who looks at her in such a sad tone.

They did it so well and I'm so happy with how this episode re-introduced Serena, as someone who becomes Koharu's mentor in the episode, and as someone fans from years ago will recognize as having grown from a receiver to a giver. She's become such a strong person. Love it.

Ah. I am so gonna rewatch this episode multiple times ♥

[sneakydraws]

Well, here it is - a lengthy explanation of each card in my mdzs major arcana deck and what I meant to convey/what i would have changed in retrospect/what alternatives i considered! It’s a bit messy and my typing style is lazy but hopefully it will be an interesting read to some of you :)

And so you don’t say I didn’t warn you - jiang cheng’s section (11 justice) is absurdly long lmao

0 the fool  I elaborated on this in the post itself but yeah basically jin ling is kind of representative of all the damage and trauma caused by the past, and there’s a kind of danger there of him falling victim to the same vices as the older characters and repeating the same mistakes and perpetuating the cycle of war and misery (the cycle that we already see with how the jin sect became the new wen sect, and later with how jgy became the new wwx) and he has a lot of room to grow! He grows so much over the course of the novel, comes to realise the complexities of the past and gets a harsh life lesson in how nothing is as black and white as it seems. But ill save talking about his progress for the end, for now whats important is that he has room to grow and also a dog. I don’t really have a justification for the sun, i mostly just thought it looked sick? It made its way to the next card as well, where it makes a bit more sense, but then i realised it was a dumb motif to include 1 the magician I still very much like wwx for the role, and that illustration would have probably had him raising a corpse on his left and pointing threateningly to the sun on his right. I considered including the table as well, with some mdzs relevant items replacing the card suits. Anyway, like i said wwx got a few cards to himself already so i went with the alternative wq design, since i think she fits the card as well. Both she and wwx are highly skilled people, extremely driven once they set their mind to something. The card to me symbolises the creative mind as well as a general drive for action, which fits them both - wwx was famously a prolific inventor, and wq came up with a previously unheard of surgery, after all. This card strays pretty far from the rider-waite deck design, largely because i was still figuring out how i wanted to approach this series, but you can still see the influence. 2 the high priestess I was actually going to skip this card at first because I couldn’t think of a fitting character, but once i considered a qings character post death, it all fit pretty well. She was already a highly intuitive person in life, and in sharing her memories with wwx she is, in a way, relaying a kind of secret knowledge. Anyway she’s one of my fav characters so im glad i got a chance to include her. The coffins could be interpreted to be xxc and sl or xxc and xy 3 the empress Theres other mother figures in mdzs who got to be mothers for a longer time, but jyl definitely embodies the positive aspects of this card the best. She’s nurturing, kind, emotionally supportive, she already mothered wwx and jc quite a bit when she was young. Plus i liked that the rw card had both water and flowers, making an easy lotus connection. In retrospect the stars look kind of out of place and i should have replaced them with something more relevant... Also, i should have had her hold a lotus seed pod instead of a flower, haha 4 the emperor Like i said I considered jc for the role but hoching bullied me into admitting that nmj was better… they’re both more of an inverted emperor than an upright one but then again theres hardly any character in mdzs who would fit upright emperor so. Jgs was also considered but he’s even uglier than nmj so i couldn’t bear to draw him 5 the hierophant It was pointed out to me that lqr would have fit this card better and the truth if that statement haunts me to this day. Unfortunately I have no space in my brain for lqr so lxc got the role instead. My main reason was his role during the wen destruction of gusu lan, when he ran away with the contents of the library - this is why there’s bookshelves behind him. The keys, take, from the rider-waite deck, are meant to represent the gusu pendants that allow you to enter 6 the lovers Im sure many people would have chosen wangxian here but I uhh don’t really care abt wangxian personally? And also their love story is so convoluted that jyl and jzx seem idyllic by comparison lol. Also i didnt really have an idea for who to put in the angel’s place for wangxian… mme jin certainly did not get these two together in the end but undeniably she and mme yu did initially give them a chance to fall for each other so. Thats something i guess. Anyway the trees became their sects’ flowers and the mountain became the burial grounds - an omen of their tragic fate, basically 7 the chariot There might have been other characters who fit this card better but i couldn’t really think of another card for lwj and i thought it would be weird to not include him… anyway i don’t really care for current timeline lwj BUT i do like that he was clearly influenced by wwx to walk his own path in life based on his moral convictions rather than follow his sect’s rules blindly. The chariot is to me a card of self control, self determination and focused action, so it seemed fitting. The composition felt kind of empty without the actual chariot so i padded it out with the guqin, the cloud recess in the bg (it doesn’t look great but i tried to replicate the drama design….) and the bunnies which conveniently fit the colour scheme of the sphinxes in the rider-waite design 8 strength Like i said before, my interpretation of this card is more… morally ambiguous than the quote unquote official meaning, so i thought about manipulative or duplicitous characters more than kind characters whose strength is expressed through gentleness (though i did consider jyl briefly for the latter interpretation). As such, i considered both jgy and nhs, but ended up going with jgy largely because i couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put the nie sect’s beast as the lion. 9 the hermit My thoughts immediately went to bssr lol. It may be an overly literal interpretation but whatever, i like it just fine. And i like that i managed to echo the rider-waite silhouette in the mountain and the tree (and even in bssr herself) 10 wheel of fortune God i love the parallels between these 2… this card to me is about how you cant trust your current situation, good or bad, to last forever, and these 2 embody that perfectly imo. Wwx went from son of a well off servant and a powerful cultivator, to street rat orphan, to adopted son of sect leader jiang, to double orphan, to MIA, to terrifying but admired warrior, to terrifying and despised traitor, to dead, to, at the very end, suddenly respected and trusted again. The dishonesty and cheapness of whatever the public’s current opinion of him is is portrayed beautifully as far as im concerned. And jgy of course claws his way up to power only to instantaneously become public enemy number one, to the point that he’s probably blamed for stuff there’s no reason to believe he had a hand in. Wei wuxian’s silent astonishment at how quickly the cultivation world turns against jgy and towards him again is a delicious moment of thematic resonance.  11 justice I settled on this card for jc after he got booted from the emperor seat but i do think it fits, in a somewhat convoluted way. I turned both the sword and the scales into visual representations of the golden core transfer (can you tell im obsessed with it). According to biddy tarot, the justice card is partly about searching for the truth, and the scene where jc finds out about the transfer is of course a big deal. I was also very influenced by the reversed meaning again - which is about being reluctant or unwilling to face or accept the consequences of your actions. I feel on an intuitive level that this fits jc but I’m not sure how well i can explain it - it’s something about how he’s a little too comfortable scapegoating wwx for things that were also, if much less so, influenced by his actions, and also something about the way he keeps wwx at an arm’s length emotionally but still leans on him and accepts his support when he really needs it, and somewhat hypocritically expects wwx to put the needs of him and the jiang sect before the needs of others. And also something about the core exchange is the consequence and proof of wwx’s deep - terrifyingly deep, even - love and care for him, which is something jc doesn’t seem to let himself acknowledge. Maybe even something about how you could argue that the way all of the jiangs acted around wwx - jfm’s favouritism that left him with the feeling of a debt he needs to repay, mme yus insistence that he be a servant more than a brother to jc, prepared to give his life for jc, and jc’s own unwillingness - or inability, he was a child after all - to clearly acknowledge wwx as an equal to himself, enabling wwx’s self sacrificial and protective tendencies - that all of this was what caused wwx’s complete and unquestioning willingness to do whatever it took to protect jc, and therefore paved the way to the golden core transfer. And i don’t mean this to be scapegoating jc - especially considering how young he was when this all went down, it wouldn’t be fair to expect this level of emotional perceptiveness, awareness and maturity of him - but i think adult jc has to grapple with the fact that the chain of cause and effect was not as simple as wwx fucking everyone’s lives up to be a martyr, and that both jc and his parents had a role in that story as well. I don’t even necessarily think this is something that jc only realised in the current timeline - i think it’s something he felt on some level this whole time, and it probably led to a lot of feelings of guilt - but the suibian reveal definitely puts it in sharp focus, and i think he’s now better equipped to handle this introspection than he was as a recently orphaned, traumatised teenager, lol. ANYWAY the window with the fabric is both a nod to the rider-waite design and a reference to the destruction of lanling - i actually did some basic ass research for this, and it seems that in ancient china fabric would indeed be hanged in a window if the normally used paper was damaged. The design of the window, as well as the very idea to use it to imply the reconstruction of lanling, was taken from this great piece of jc angst by my pal moroll1! Oh yeah also the covered window kind of works as a denial of forgiveness for jc because it’s like a halo but covered up... Also I completely forgot to put a blindfold over his eyes which would be perfectttt because blind justice and the core exchange......... ok moving on 12 the hanged man I always have issues with this card because i cant find a satisfactory summary of what it’s really about. Best i can tell it symbolises a need to hit pause, surrender or let go of something… ive also seen it tied to sacrifice? So mo xuanyu doesn’t fit perfectly, but sacrifice is definitely there in a surface level reading kind of way, and the idea that you have to surrender or let go in order to achieve your goal does fit the whole deal of getting revenge but giving up your life in exchange and not being there to see it 13 death This is probably one of my favourite cards, definitely not because I have huge issues with change or anything…. I see this card as signalling the necessity of change or putting an end to something / leaving something in the past in order to start anew? At first i considered putting past wwx, mxy and current wwx here as a kind of transformation and one cycle flowing into the next... But firstly, I’d already used mxy in the very previous card, so putting him in again would feel like overkill, and secondly, the longer I thought about it the less convinced I was that this would even fit with the card’s meaning? Because coming back from the dead doesn’t like... trigger an internal transformation within wwx or anything? Anyway, fun fact: the design I ended up going with was actually originally intended for judgement! I thought I was being very clever with the whole “figure plays an instrument and the dead rise” parallel, but apparently I’d just completely forgotten that the judgement card had a completely different composition... Truly I was boo boo the fool... But yeah anyway at the end of the day I figured the design would kind of work for death as well, with Wen Ning and the theme of transformation, (since in his case coming back as a fierce corpse does actually mark a certain transformation in behaviour) and Wei Wuxian’s protection of the Wen people essentially signifying an attempt to break the cycle of oppression if that makes any sense? Like, wwx is trying to revolutionise the way the world works a bit, if you catch my drift 14 temperance  The centrist card! Again this is probably going off track from the “official” interpretation, but to me this card has a certain “don’t commit fully; do everything in moderation; don’t take either side” flavour to it that i personally find infuriating irl and that i very much assign to lxc. It’s entirely possible that I’m misinterpreting his character because i didn’t really pay him (and the 3zun in general) much mind while reading, but hell, I’m allowed to pick favourites and choose who i want to interpret deeply vs shallowly. Again, i wish id chosen lqr for hierophant because its so annoying for a character i don’t care about to get two cards…. But oh well 15 the devil My alternative idea for this was jgy as the devil and lxc plus nmj as the figures, but since all three had been featured already (multiple times, even!) i figured I’d go with xy instead, especially since he’s among my faves lol. I think the devil signifies something along the lines of unhealthy attachment, obsession or addiction, which isn’t 100% accurate in the case of xxc and a-qing, but if i stretch it a bit to cover toxic relationships in general, and especially manipulation or negative influence, i don’t think it’s half bad. My main struggle here was to choose who amongst the xxc/sl/aq trio to choose for the human figures. 16 the tower Arguably jin zixuans death and the following massacre of nightless city were the final and most direct reason for the siege of burial mounds, and the tiger seal is good shorthand for wwx’s loss of control over his powers, which led to the deaths of jzx and jyl. When reimagining major arcana i like to feature some kind of building in this card (spoilers for a possible future project but in my rose of versailles major arcana set the tower is bastille) and even if it’s not a tower, the image of wwx looming over the gathered crowd from atop a rooftop is so good i couldn’t resist 17 the star Struggled with this one - considered both jin ling and lsz for it, as symbolising a hope for the future, but that was kind of covered by the world so it wouldn’t make sense to include here as well... As usual when I struggle with interpreting a card (as opposed to understanding it but struggling with matching a character to it, like with death or moon) I went to biddy tarot and read all the details about its meaning. What i got was that this card signifies an incoming period of introspection and inner peace following a time of turmoil, as well as a general moving on into a new, better phase of one’s life or finding new meaning and purpose. The figure also suggests someone vulnerable, but possessing a keen sense of intuition as well as a good degree of practicality and common sense. Given all those, I settled for mianmian because IM LOVE HER..... I also kind of see her as a prelude to the “just one person is enough” theme present in tgcf!! And i think her decision to abandon her sect because she saw the toxicity and corruption in it is a very inspiring action - even if it didn’t make a large visible impact, i think the appearance of her and her idyllic family at the very end of the novel - paralleling and mirroring wangxian - implies that at the end of the day, it was a meaningful one 18 the moon Another card i ALWAYS fuxking struggle with - this time less because i can’t grasp its meaning and more because I can never find a character that fits it well. I usually get fixated on the “dreams and subconscious” part, but if i lean more on the “disguise, deceit, anxiety and fear” part, i eventually figured the whole yi city arc wouldn’t be a bad fit. I say the entire arc because it really does encompass all those themes if you include both the past and the present - xue yang’s disguise, his tricks with the villagers, a-qing’s lies and even xxc’s reluctance to talk about his past as well as xue yang pretending to be xxc all fit the disguise and deceit angle, and the general mystery and creepiness of the current timeline yi city work well with the anxiety and fear - the mist, the slow uncovering of the past, even a-qing being revealed to be an ally after scaring the shit out of the protags. I definitely struggled with including all the elements and characters, and even moreso with making them vaguely fit the rider-waite composition, but i think it ended up okay ish. OH and i completely forgot to draw mist swirling around them :( 19 the sun I was considering mianmian’s family for this one, but since I used her for star, I ended up with wwx and his parents instead. Once again I’m reinterpreting the card a bit - normally I think it symbolises incoming times of pure happiness and abundance, as well as a connection with the inner child, but I gave it more of a nostalgic or sentimental twist - wwx looking back at the brief glimpse of his happy childhood. 20 judgement another card that i struggle to interpret a bit... Here i actually used the tgcf tarot zine as a reference! In it judgement is summarised as “rebirth, following duty, absolution” SO i figured that nhs, mxy and wwx all together would fit pretty neatly... wwx achieving (public) absolution through clearing his own name after being reborn, and nhs sort of calling on wwx to expose jgy’s crimes... It’s a bit messy but not bad I think! 21 the world This ties very closely to my read on mdzs as a story - which is that it’s, at the end of the day, largely about cycles, and about how hard it is to break them, but how we gotta keep trying and have hope anyway. Or maybe more precisely, that the people directly involved with and influenced by the trauma of the past might not be able to get over said trauma and that the hope for healing from it will be shouldered by the new generation. Or something like that… Basically what i mean is that jc and wwx and lwj and lxc and nhs and jgy and all these people who were in the thick of the sunshot campaign and the siege are so profoundly affected by it that it genuinely feels by the end of the story like there is little hope for them to ever truly overcome that trauma and build a better future without repeating the same old mistakes - but there is a glimmer of hope in the new generation, specifically in jl and lsz. And it’s a bit paradoxical, because they have also been directly impacted by the past tragedies - lsz having his entire clan wiped out after wwx failed to protect them, jl losing both his parents to wwx’s mistakes - but despite that loss, and despite coming from arguably the two opposing sides of the past conflicts, they are both, in the end, capable of moving past that tragedy, of recognising the complicated nature of those conflicts (jl’s moment of clarity at the end is both heartbreaking and hopeful) and forging friendships between clans in the process. I honestly think that the extra where jl is struggling to assert his authority as sect leader, to treat his subjects well and to cooperate with other sects in a truly amicable way is the single hopeful ending note for the larger themes of the novel - it allows us to imagine that maybe these kids can learn from the mistakes of their elders rather than getting sucked in by resentment at those mistakes, and actually build a brighter future for the cultivation world. And sidenote, this is also why i have a soft spot for jin ling and lan sizhui as a ship... speaking of which their poses were directly referenced from the lovers card ehehe

Looking back, I’d like to add some symbol of jin ling’s trauma so that it mirrors baby wen yuan in the tree stump... maybe his father’s sword? 

[nikosomething]

Heyyyy! I'm back again. Sorry it took a while to send this ask! Mmm I'd choose the lan sect cuz I need some form of structure in my life lol. I'm not too bad with rules either. But I'd definitely hate their food. I eat wwx levels of spicy and hence I'd like to join the jiang sect haha. Also, their sword forms look nice? YASSS We'd LOOK SO GOOD! 💙🖤 ooh I like what you read. I like reading pining, arranged marriage aus, crack fics, post canon fics, missing scenes, I like canon divergence aus that concentrate on characters other than wwx and lwj. I also like fics with sad endings haha. (1/4)

I'm a big multishipper, too! There's no ship that I don't like? My favorites would be wangxian and sangcheng though. I'm always up to reading these two ships, but I'd read anything really. I feel yah, I do. I can't pick a junior either. I love them all dearly but I tend to get bored if lan jingyi isn't there in junior fics? I need Jingyi to be a major part of the fic if I'm to like it haha. (2/4)

I loooooove Asian cuisine. My favorite is Indian! All that spice, you know? I hope you ate good food since you made yourself hungry answering that lol. Your answer about the seasons is so detailed and beautiful? I love?? Mmmm my favorite season is the rainy season. It's the best. I love the melancholy, the cold and the sound of water tapping against the windows. I'd rather stay at home than venture outside in the rain tho! Winter is the most comfortable time for me, really. I hate the summer! I love the cold and end of the year is my favorite time! (3/4)

Now questions! Have you read any other mxtx works? Also, if you could change one thing is mdzs, what would it be? Do you have any post canon wangxian headcanons? Oooh, what's your favorite wangxian moment in CQL? General questions- do you celebrate Christmas? If you do, are you excited and how do you celebrate? Do you drink coffee or tea or neither or something else? What other shows have you watched except CQL this year? Aight, that's so many questions haha. (4/4) See you soon- 🐰

_______

Heyyyy my dear bunny! I missed ya! But don’t worry, life gets busy sometimes, so take all the time you need <3

Whoahhhh so cool that you can eat intensely spicy food!! I am trying to get used to spicy stuff, but I got a looong way to go haha I detect every gain of pepper or chili or whatever so I am only making slow progress, but I do enjoy spice - up to the level I can take without ending up all red and teary-eyed haha I enjoy good food a lot, too. I like to have some variation so I’d probably be unhappy if I had to only ever eat the Lan cuisine, too hahaha

Ohhhh arranged marriage, people keep recommending it to me - I shoudl really give it a go at some point! Any good fics you wanna recommend? And omggg sad endings!!! Whoah, I bow to you! I’s always pick a happy ending but then again the ending has to fit the need of the story, so I suppose if a happy ending would feel forced then pls gimme a sad one, perhaps even one we can all learn from And yessss, there are so many amazing characters in MDZS I totally get why you’d wanna read about them!! <3

Ah Sangcheng! It’s quite the popular ship I feel. I think it’s cute and a close friend of mine really loves them, too. I bet they’d be excited if I got into that ship as well haha What do you love about Sangcheng? (sell it to meh hahaha, get me hooked) JINGYI!! Yes, he’d the spice we need in the junior fics! He is just so much fun! I think all of them together make such a perfect and well-balanced mix! Perf flavour hahaha What’s it with all the food references here. Am I mildly thinking about food again? Whaaaat Ohhhh Indian!!! (here we go again w the food hahaha) Damn I love Indian food! I cant take the spice so I always go for the noob dished, but they are amazing,t oo! What makes you hate the summer? Do you dislike sweating? You make it sound so cozy ahhh, I am happy we get to spend your fav season together, then, my dear bunny!! I love these timeless days between christmas and the beginning of the new year. It feels like everything is catching its breath and makes whatever you can think of become a bit more possibe

MXTX-related Questions

So far I haven’t read any other works of MXTX, but I think I wanna get to the one with the demonic guy in red and the white soft one next. What was it called? Heaven something? Now TMI tells me ‘City of Heavenly Fire’ which is absolutely not helpful. Uhm.. I could look it up, but then u wouldn’t witness my absolutely entertaining struggle of trying to make my brain work. The Scumbag Self Serving System (did I get that one right) is the first novel if I am correct. And then there is the Heavenly Helper... No... uhm Mysteries of Heaven... Heaven’s Helping Hand... I don’t think it’s getting any better here. I even watched the Donghua trailer wtf why can’t I remember hahaha... Voices of Heaven (that sounds like an American Singing Contest) Okay... imma look it up now.  HEAVEN’S OFFICIAL BLESSING! that one. I was so close Have you read any other works? <3

If I could change one thing in MDZS, what would it be? I would want for XXC and XY to not die, thank you. But then again how about non of my baes die? Okay, lemme try again, to get an impressive and seemingly deep reply... Have Meng Yao realise what kind of a horrible butt his dad is early enough to prevent most of the bad things that happen. I am not sure - but what’s your idea on this one?

My favourite WangXian moment? In CQL it’s the one where they are both at the Cloud Recesses, watching the snowflakes dance through the air. Their bond feels so deep there! Or the one where they are at the lantern thing and WWX get’s LWJ the bunny lantern. Just... the pure happiness. Or the one where they are bold husbands and run away from Carp Tower. Is it even humanly possible to pick just one moment?? Which one is it for you?

General Questions

Do I celebrate Xmas? Yes, I do! I go to my mom’s place for Xmas, where we have dinner and then her boyfriend puts on his super old, super old and worn-out Santa clothes (which is very endearing, cause he is always having the time of his life). Then he hands us our presents which are gathered under the decorated Xmas tree and we have to cite a poem or sing to earn each present. Afterwards we all unpack together, excitedly thanking each other, have dessert and then watch a movie or a video of our past christmasses someone put together It’s all very wholesome. How about you?

Coffee, tea or something else? I like Moccachino, cause it’s an amazing hybrid of coffee and cocoa!! It’s best with coconut milk! That kind of coffee makes me feel all cozy and comfy, but I handle it like a treat. I only drink one, while a close friend of mine drinks several cups of milky coffee a day. I also love cocoa, but I drink it like others drink espresso. I tiny highly concentrated cup. No more. Like a shot of chocolate hahaha I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but sometimes I crave it. As for tea, I looove herbal tea! Peppermint and Fennel Caraway Anise are amazing. Also freshly brewed ginger tea. And green tea with jasmine/flower blossoms or white tea. Big love for these. All of which without sugar so the flavour comes out to speak of its very own beauty I also like mate tea to keep me awake! Otherwise I love water or - omg - freshly pressed apple juice! The! best! Try it if you aren’t allergic! AHHHH that is honestly THE TREAT for me. Rare treat. I don’t even have it once a year. More like every four years or so. But dang. The. best. How about you? <3

Which shows have I watched this year? Many. Lots of cooking shows (on Netflix), cause, you know, food. xD By now I probably know almost all of them. There was a time when I was thoroughly up to date with ALL cooking shows on Netflix. One of my big dreams is being wealthy enough to hire a cook. To cook for me every day. Yes, yes. Otherwise lots of Asian shows. I can recommend:

Hotel Del Luna (omg, do urself a favour, judging from what I know about your taste I think you will like it a lot) also The King Eternal Monarch (good one, very good one)

I also watched Eternal Love and Eternal Love The Pillowbook, which were okay, but they aren’t my favourites Cinderella and the Four Knights was sweet Accidentally in Love was fun but has some major plot holes in my opinion I enjoyed She-Ra Who Are You moved me quite a bit ahhhh Extraordinary You was quite the ride, too!

What are your 2020 shows?

[pkmnjesus]

P J a shipper? SHIP-A-THON ‘18

𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒱𝐼𝐼

My case with the others:

Now the ships I like listed here are uncategorized by any series of the main-core anime series, such as QuestShipping. This pairing between Jimmy/Kenta (Trainer Gold’s anime counterpart) and Marina (Trainer Kris’s anime counterpart) can only be seen in the Legend of Thunder anime special. While their feelings for each other are flat out obvious, it’s nice to see a main protagonist that actually responds to a girl’s feelings for him *cough* *cough*

Other examples of unlisted pairings are Flint and Lola, Brock’s parents. They’re weird bunch if you’ve seen the anime specials they were in, but their love is definitely strong as a rock. Not even redesigning the Pewter gym to a water type gym with streamers around could break this marriage. And speaking about their son... 

The case with Brock/Takeshi: Now Brock deserves a special mention for this ship-a-thon post he is always finding for new love every day with every girl his age or older he meets. Unfortunately 95% of that he gets reject and gets his ear pulled, or poison jabbed. But there is that 5% of females that do like him (he didn’t really like the younger ones back though). And out of all that liked him back, Pike Queen Lucy from Battle Frontier was my favorite one (LuckShipping). I really got mad at Max for dragging him out in the end of that episode, where we clearly see Lucy blush. What’s funny about all of this is that she probably only liked Brock because most of the Pokémon she had at home had the same eyes (e.g. Skitty, Swinub, Snorlax) as he did xD I bursted out laughing because of that scene. On the friends side of things, he was Ash’s first big bro and chef. It’s amazing to see how close they were traveling for 3 series straight (the only companion to do so). GymShipping (Brock and Misty) had some cute moments too, but mostly goofy ones (like with Max’s ear-pulling lol). Big bro Brock also applies with May when she helps him buy for traveling supplies in Hoenn, or with Dawn giving her advice to lighten up during her times of depression. WE <3 YOU BROCK, screw all the girls that rejected you!

RocketShipping / KojiMusa (Jessie/Musashi & James/Kojirō): The favorite villain ship of the series definitely has a special place here in the others section since they were basically in every series! Take that Butch & Cassidy (I kinda ship them too) with your unoriginal motto! Along with PokéShipping, this is one of the most respected older ships in the community (as it SHOULD BE for being the longest running one TO THIS DAY). I feel like they’re already a married couple discussing plans every night before going to bed on how to catch Pikachu. This also the first adult pairing I grew up loving whether they eat, argue, cheer (in Jessie’s contests and performances), or blast off together, it’s really nice to see a mature (not really if you think about it lol) pairing over the course of 20 years in this show. Favorite moment - All the episodes with Jessebelle/Rumika (James’s childhood “friend”) in it. I remember watching the first one where they introduced James parents, and actually seeing a good side of James for the very first time outside of Team Rocket. At the end of that episode is really when the ship was sold to me. James pulls Jessie aboard the Meowth balloon, and they look into each other's eyes promising to continue to live without anymore personal commitments and resume Team Rocket operations. I’m sure hardcore RocketShippers loved that scene as much as I did. Unfortunately because of that sweet moment, they forgot about Meowth who was still in the ground running to the balloon as the episode ended xD

Meowth’s/Nyarth’s loves: Meowth has had its fair share of romances too that deserves a bit of mentioning. Meowzie was the first one he fell for, and in fact was the reason why he can talk and walk like a human! Too bad she had preferred to be with the Persian :( That episode broke my heart too because I was rooting for Meowth to succeed. After that we saw multiple occasion where he was infatuated with other Pokémon, such as Skitty, Glameow, Purrloin, and others I might be forgetting. KrazyShipping is the cat and mouse relationship he has with Ash’s Pikachu, although I really wouldn’t say there’s that much love in this relationship (gets shocked like every time they meet lol). In the end, his one true love is helping and aiding Team Rocket with Jessie and James (he loves them each of them you know it)...or fetishes with Giovanni fantasies. 

Inter-region interactions: There are some fantasy shippings people would like to see happen because of region barriers (I NEED MAX AND BONNIE TO MEET), however some came true in the form of cameos like Misty and May, May and Dawn, Brock and Cilan (FAV!! Gotta love the experienced chefs), Brock and Kiawe, or even Piplup and Oshawott (best Pokémon meeting/rivaly ever). But I would have to say that Misty and Lana’s recent interaction is worthy of praise. The two trainer specialists showcased their love and passion for water type Pokémon when they swam together finding the Gyarados that startled their group. There’s a bit of a watery rivalry in this cool and clean wet relationship (okay I’ll stop the water puns). I would definitely pay to watch a spin-off just between these two sailing the oceans of the Pokémon world together, and diving into the deepest part of the sea just to see more Pokémon. 

Movie shippings: There are a couple of movie shippings to take into account over the past 20 years, especially with the movie exclusive characters. I would have to say one of my favorite ones (besides AccordShipping that I explained in a prior post) is in Pokémon Heroes with Ash and Latias (AltoShipping...though MareShipping is the Bianca alternative term of the ship). This human Pokémon relationship is just so unique since Latias could transform to the human form of the movie’s Bianca (kind of creepy if you take advantage of that). Another one worth mentioning is CarnivalShipping in the Jirachi movie. I don’t remember much, but I know that Butler and Diane were an awesome magician & assistant dynamic...too bad Butler had evil intensions with Jirachi that made me (and Diane) lose respect for him a bit (he later redeemed himself but cmon man).

Game ships: Like with the movies there’s a lot of game shippings to take into account, but my favorites would have to be from Gen. V! I do like the pairing of Dawn and Lucas from Gen. IV and the player with Lille/Hau OR Lillie and Hau themselves from Gen. VII. A lot of obvious hints too! But the Gen. V games had AgencyShipping, FerrisWheelShipping, SequelShipping (FAV!!!) and VisorShipping. I don’t know why but the character designs stuck out to me and really enjoyed its characters emotionally. But I would definitely have to say TransceiverShipping is my favorite game ship simply because it is the first time where you can actually have a DATE OPTION IN A POKÉMON GAME. Whether if it was the male player and Yancy, or the female player and Curtis, the mysterious conversations you have with the Xtransceiver build up to the eventual date you’ll have with them. Some very, very cute stuff if you haven’t experienced it yourself. Go play Pokémon Black or White Version 2 NOW!!!

Shippings from Pokémon Adventures manga/PokéSpe: We gotta show some love to the manga side of things too! One of my favorite PokéSpe shipping include LuckyShipping (the flirting in here IS REAL), FranticShipping, ChessShipping (manga counterpart of AgencyShipping), and the pairing of X and Y (don’t know the name for that one). But SpecialShipping to me takes the cake on my favorite manga ship simply because of Yellow’s shy feelings for Red. It’s kind of like AmourShipping in a way, since Red is a bit dense in his own right to notice Yellow’s feelings AND Red and Yellow had their own childhood history before the Adventures storyline. It’s just very very adorable, and full of blushes! If you aren’t into PokéSpe, but love shipping cute characters together, you should definitely give it a read! 

KetchupShipping (Pikachu & Ketchup/Kechappu): BEST. SHIP. EVER. Favorite moment - The moment where Pikachu first laid eyes on that delicious bottle of ketchup at the Dark City episode, and licked it with cute pleasure :p

.....okay in seriousness what I really want to be talking about is PikaShipping

Of course the final Pokémon shipping I have to showcase here is between Ash/Satoshi and Pikachu of all people and Pokémon! I can’t really say favorite moment because almost every time these two interact, it is always a great moment in my book! RocketShipping maybe the longest, but this beats it by an inch because there isn’t a single episode where we don’t see Ash with Pikachu by his side. They made this show work ever since it started, and everyone around the world knows this dynamic duo since 1997! Ash leaves every Pokémon behind after Johto, BUT NEVER HIM. Everyone in the anime has had their one special Pokémon partner (Dawn and Piplup, Iris and Axew, Bonnie and Dedenne, Sophocles and Togedemaru, etc...), but it is not quite like the courageous and close bond that Ash and Pikachu share. Nothing will ever beat their Pokémon partnership...NOTHING!!!

P J’s ship-a-thon: OS | AG | DP | BW | XY | SM | Others | Non-Pkmn ships

[all-these-larrythings]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

*All answers should be about works published in 2017.

Thanks @allwaswell16 for the unofficial tag!

1. List of works published this year: In the order that they were posted

The Reason Is You 

Safe and Sound (You'll Always Be)

Sticks and Stones

Falling For Me Won't Be A Mistake

When It's Late At Night

Give It A Little Time

For Reasons Unknown

Keeping You Forever and For Always

Every Story Has Its Scars, Ours Is a Brand New Start

You Might Want to Marry My Husband

KIWI KIWI KIWI

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

I love them all and I definitely have a few favorites, but have to say either Falling For Me Won't Be A Mistake and part two of the series, Give It A Little Time. I’m most proud of them because it was my first time writing mpreg and I was super intimidated going in, but by the end I had fallen in love with that universe and now it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Also, part two was part of the 1000 Feelings Challenge which I also loved being a part of!

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

Probably the first one form this year, The Reason Is You, but not because I didn’t love it. It’s more because the request was to make Harry sort of unlikeable and that was super hard for me to commit to lol.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

He fucking knew that was a bad idea. When Harry asked if he was okay Louis had half a mind to say no, except he doesn’t know why that was. Louis has never had an issue with meaningless sex before. Hell, he has slept with men he’s known for a lot less time, but he guesses that’s the big problem because what they shared this morning wasn’t meaningless. At least, it wasn’t for Louis.

The springs of the sofa creak when Louis flips over to bury his face in its cushions. He can’t believe he went and fell for fucking Harry Styles. It’s probably the dumbest thing he’s ever done because him leaving at the end of his commitment was the only way this was ever going to end. He honestly has no idea how this happened. One minute he was trying to ditch him in his dressing room and the next he’s letting Harry slow fuck him in his hotel while Louis counts the flecks of gold in his stupid rare green eyes.

-When It's Late At Night

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

“A fucking bookmark?!” wins hands down. A comment left by several highly offended individuals who read You Might Want to Marry My Husband. XD

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

I took a break for a few months at the end of summer to study and apply to grad school when all I wanted to do was write, so that was really hard. Thankfully, I’m all applied now so I’ve been able to get back to it :)

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Mmm, I’m not sure that he really surprised me, but writing Louis’ abusive and manipulative husband in Every Story Has Its Scars, Ours Is a Brand New Start was quite interesting. I was really surprised by just how far he would go.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I think I grew by writing things that I was really passionate about. Like the Kyle XY fic lol. Nobody asked for that, I just fucking wanted it and I had so much fun with it XD

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

I honestly have no idea. I didn’t really have a goal last year around this time either, but I’m excited for whatever happens!

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

My fav people ever of course @suddenclarityharry who is always there for me and Laura who lets me scream at her about fics at all hours of the night <3

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

Not really. A lot of the abusive fic hit close to home from when I was a kid, but beyond that not much of my life made it into my writing.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

I think the most important thing is to make sure you’re having fun with what you’re doing. If it’s not making you happy then what’s the point, right :)

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I’m currently working on a Butterfly Effect au that I’m almost finished with so that’s exciting. Other than that, I have a whole sticky note page full of things I want to write on my desktop so I’m looking forward to starting them all at some point.

14. Tag three writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read.

I’m tagging��any writer who wants to share their year!