#like. at times this feels less like a gen 8 series and more like a pokemon go anime series

[perenlop]

ok i switched to netflix so image is from google but the worst thing jn did actually was redesigning the eggs to look like the games. that was literally like one of the things the anime did that everyone agreed was really cute and cool and accepted as the usual canon, why on EARTH would you ruin that

[ryescapades]

❝ [ expert third-wheeler ] ╰┈➤ of the same thread (kaiju no. 8)

— ii. apparently intruding on your dates with hoshina is one of your brother's favorite past times.

genre/warning: narumi gen x lil sis!reader, bf!hoshina soshiro, fluff a/n: wet and soggy stray sewer cat narumi up for adoption (affectionate) mini series masterlist

the first time it happened, you didn't think much of it.

it wasn't often that you and your boyfriend get to spend some time together with how tachikawa and the ariake maritime base being a good two hours away, more or less.

the only time that's possible is whenever hoshina is tasked to visit the first division due to the recent events involving the anti-no.9 conference and the making of his numbers weapon suit.

you're beyond grateful, really. even just the lingering eye contacts during formal meetings are enough to satisfy your soshiro-deprived self for some time, at least. take all you can get, you'd compromised with yourself. you couldn't be too picky in this line of work, after all.

hence, every time you were given the chance to finally sit down and properly have some quality time with hoshina, you'd planned on milking every loving second of it. in the world where only the two of you exist, you feel like nothing bad could ever happen.

"have you always had fangs, or have i just not been paying attention? wait, who am i kidding? my attention is too valuable to be paid on you, fox eyes."

okay, maybe you spoke too soon.

"didn't think we'd be having a third party today. and here i thought i agreed to a lunch date, not a family bonding time." hoshina hummed, shrugging off the earlier comment about him. swallowing a bite of rice, you let ouf a huff. "it is a date. that was just my inner demon talking."

irritated at the lack of attention, narumi clicked his tongue. "hey, stop being childish! i'm literally sitting right here!" he chided, snapping his chopsticks towards your boyfriend as you deadpanned at your brother. "speak for yourself. and you're not even supposed to be here, gen. did you run away from vice-captain hasegawa again?" you shot back, grabbing the game console your brother had brought along and smacking him with it, which earned you a pained yelp.

"ya know this can be considered as a breach of privacy, no? although this is a temporary space, you're here in my office without my permission, captain narumi." hoshina chuckled, leaning back against his seat behind the desk.

your brother snickered on the chair he had pulled up beside yours in front of the said desk. "exactly what you said, buddy. i'm a captain, so i can do whatever i want in a subordinate's office."

technically that's power abuse, you thought as you quietly eat your lunch, deciding to let the two men verbally argue back and forth about whatever it was they found unpleasing about the other.

oh well. surely this was a one time thing, right? your brother couldn't— shouldn't be bothered to disturb you and your boyfriend every single time... right?

∘₊✧─────────────✧₊∘

or so you thought.

the second time it happened was when you were on one of your most romantic nights ever; you were stargazing with your beloved soshiro. and in the night sky they were shining so bright, as if whatever deities above had painted them so vividly upon the most perfect of black canvases.

at that time you genuinely believed nothing could ever interfere with how the night was turning out.

if only you didn't agree to accompany your brother on one of his many game nights. though it might've been partially your fault that you didn't specify which night he could pick. and unfortunately for you, date night seemed to be the perfect choice for gen.

you clicked your tongue in annoyance when your phone dinged for the nth time. "don't ya want to check that?" soshiro laughed, clearly amused at how distraught you looked.

you shook your head, taking out the device before putting it on dnd. "it's just gen. he wants me to play games with him," you grunted. "right now?" your boyfriend asked, which you nodded at. he contemplated for a moment, before turning to you with a feline grin. "say you're comin' over,"

you almost choke on your saliva. "what?" you squeaked. soshiro stated the same thing, causing your eyebrows to raise even higher. "are you sure? we're on a date, soshiro. which we rarely get to do these days," you remarked.

the man sitting beside you hummed, the slants of his eyes giving him the ever so crafty image. "technically, it can still be one if i'm there too," he stated, smirking.

and that was how you found yourself in gen's room, watching your brother and boyfriend go at it on the former's bs5 as they sat on the laid out futon while you made yourself comfortable at gen's work chair, the sound of a two-player fighting game filling the room.

"dammit, dammit! yeah, take that, bowl-cut bastard! wait, shit— NOOO!!" the big red KO appeared on gen's side of the screen, causing you to sigh almost pitifully.

"wanna go again? i can try goin' easy on ya this time," soshiro quipped, making the man in question grit his teeth. "okay, why did i agree to this again?! why did you bring him here, kid?!" gen snapped his head towards you, pointing an accusing finger at your direction.

you threw him an innocent smile. "you asked for a game buddy, right? i just gave you one on a silver platter, nii-chan. i'm considering this as compensation for crashing my date with soshiro by the way," you drawled, lazily spinning around in the chair. at that point, you'd have been convinced that you grew up with a grumpy cat as a brother with how ferally ruffled he looked.

gen blanched in disgust, "eugh, hate it when you say his name in front of my face. you owe me a new figurine for this," he muttered. "you're a sore loser, aint'cha, captain?" your boyfriend piped in, not bothering to hide how entertained he was from this whole situation. gen sent him a death glare before he angrily plopped his ass back down, picking up the controller that he had hurled away during his outburst.

"alright, you're on, fox eyes!" he sneered before the two of them start another game, leaving you to once again enjoy the spectacle that was narumi gen losing rounds upon rounds of video games to soshiro (he did win some but you just couldn't ignore the significant difference between his victory and defeat scores).

guess a crashed date wasn't such a bad thing sometimes...

©🅁🅈🄴🅂🄲🄰🄿🄰🄳🄴🅂. do not steal, translate or repost my work anywhere else !

[echidnapower]

Now that Ash's series is over, how do you feel about the decision to write Misty out of the main cast at the end of Johto in 2002? As we know besides brief cameos and the last few eps of MPM, she really did stay off the show for 20 years, 6 series, and somewhere over 850+ or something episodes. Once Hoenn started and May was introduced, the writers likely decided sometime in 2003 they weren't going to bring misty back to the cast (her cameos with Togetic aired this year), and then that was basically it.

I always assumed the writers would have brought Misty back like how the Brock/Tracey switch was reversed after Orange, but I guess May became too popular it convinced the writers they had no reason to bring Misty back to the cast. So they slowly started phasing her out over AG as her cameos/specials started to dwindle, then by the time we got into 2005/2006 she got her final episode for over a decade. Then by the time DP started and they decided to bring Dawn in, that was basically it. They brought in a second new female companion for a second full gen, and Misty didn't get to appear in DP at all.

People tend to forget that long before the modern pokemon era (XY, SM, Journey's, etc), the writers seem to already decide back in the early 2000's from 2002-2010 during the Hoenn/DP era that they weren't going to bring Misty back full time. And as we know, they didn't. It's just kind of ironic to me when you stop to realize how long ago that was, 2002 was the beginning of the millenium, it over 22 years ago now, and Misty left at Gen 2 of the franchise whereas Ash's series went through Gen 8. She basically was only there for like 20% of Ash's series, and missed 80% of the anime.

Do you believe the writers were in the right to remove her? Since you write fanfics with Misty staying, did her departure shock you or did you think the anime couldn't go on without her? In the end I guess it doesn't matter now, but it says a lot so many original fans decided to continue to watch without her year after year.

Well as someone who considers Misty "best girl" I would never condone the decision to have Misty leave the group. What I will say though is that it was clear to me that the writers for the anime back in those early days had no idea what to do with Misty since her "goal" as it were was to become a water-Pokemon Master, but they never took any steps to have Misty actually try to BECOME that. She was playing a support role for Ash and that I feel like was an extreme disservice to her character.

What we did get though was an evolution of her personality over time, as she became less violent with her actions and started seeing Ash more as an equal rather than someone who needed her coaching to become a good trainer, and in that change, the ship started to solidify for me. There were plenty of "shippy moments" during Indigo, but the more Ash grew as a trainer the more it felt like there was room for their relationship to grow.

By the end of her tenure, it was clear to everyone (or me at least) that the very thought of leaving Ash to go take over the gym because of her irresponsible sisters was a source of emotional pain for her. In her mind, Ash wasn't just some brat that stole her bike, he had become her very best friend and (depending on how you choose to interpret it) she'd fallen in love with his passion and devotion to Pokémon, because that's what made him stand out from all the other trainers out there. The lengths he was willing to go to in order to make sure that his Pokémon became the best they could possibly be and the love that he showed them, it even trickled over to his human friends as well, which of course included her.

And even with all the other girls that came along after Misty's departure, you could tell that there was a special bond between her and Ash that was never replicated with anyone else. In my mind, Serena kissing Ash before she left isn't the most impactful scene in the anime, it's the fact that Ash shed tears over Misty leaving because he knew how much he was going to miss her. To my knowledge, aside from her and Brock, Ash didn't cry over anyone else's departure. It was always "until we meet again" and then off he went on his new journey. Even Serena didn't get a tear from Ash over saying goodbye. That honor falls only to Misty (and Brock).

All this being a long-winded explanation for what makes their relationship so special, I'll address the other part of the question. Do I think the writers were right to remove her? Of course not. I think they should have given Misty something to do rather than just stand there with Togepi and cheer Ash on, and in an anime where character growth coincided with aging (yes, aging as in getting older and more mature, something Pokémon is notoriously allergic to), eventually Misty would've had to be given something to do. Their solution I suppose was to give Misty a new goal, one that was separate from her travels with Ash. I don't like it, but I get it.

May and Dawn were the main characters for the next two generations of games and they were made into coordinators so that they wouldn't overlap with Ash's goals. Contests weren't available in B/W I don't think so having Ash travel with Hilda would've been redundant, so they gave Iris to Ash since she was the most...rambunctious character in those games, and Cilan took on the Brock role now that he was finally off pursuing his new path. Back to the old dynamic but it wasn't the same. Iris wasn't Misty, and neither was any of the other girls he went with, Serena included. That BOND just wasn't there. The closest one who got there IMO was Dawn, and ironically aside from Misty herself, I think Dawn got the most returns to the anime out of all the Pokegirls.

I started writing my story over a decade ago with the mindset of "fixing" the anime, by putting Misty back where she wanted to be all along, but now by aging them up a few years (which is what they should have been in the first place) I opened the door for Ash to actually see Misty as more than a friend, paying off all those little moments they'd previously shared where Misty caught his attention when they were traveling together and he saw her as more than just "Misty," she was also "girl" which bizarrely Ash understood better early on in the show and forgot later on somehow with any other male/female interactions. I made Ash and Misty finally get together, strengthening their bond even more as now the titles boyfriend and girlfriend make it so that Ash AND Misty get something out of the relationship. She hasn't done much in the way of training for herself, I'll admit, but the way I write her, Misty doesn't just stand there and support Ash, she's his go-to for companionship, a partner he can count on when the going gets tough, more than the others. She's put on a pedestal as someone special to him, which she already was but now the role is more defined. And Misty now gets to be a big sister to Dawn as their relationship has grown throughout my story. Dawn looks up to Misty now, seeing her as someone she also can turn to when she's struggling with something. Ash is her mentor with training, but in a world where human interactions are more than just "Let's battle," Dawn needs someone to help her navigate those turbulent waters, and that's big sister Misty.

I rambled for a long time and for that I apologize. The anime could and did go on without Misty, and other characters who took her place have their own roles and their own merits. I won't take that away from them. But Misty is special I believe because there's just that bond that is difficult to define in words between her and Ash. They can push each other to their limits unlike any other characters in the show can, and undoubtedly Ash sees her as his very best human friend aside from Brock. If the anime had allowed him to age and grow, there's no doubt in my mind that they would have gotten together anyway, because a bond like that can't be broken by distance. If anything, it would just inevitably bring them together again.

[romancomicsblog]

My Top 10 Anticipated Superhero Projects for 2025

After a year with very few projects from both Marvel & DC Comics, 2025 is set to be an action packed year full of some of the weirdest and most fun Superhero projects we've seen in awhile.

Don't get me wrong, I loved The Penguin & Agatha All Along, but both felt like nice surprises as opposed to projects I was looking forward to.

With DC in a rebuilding phase, and Marvel in a retooling phase, I'm eager to see who will come out on top at the end of the year. While Marvel has way more projects, DC has a few that can easily be among the best, if not THEE best of 2025.

Here are my Top 10 projects to look forward to in 2025.

10. Wonder Man

Yayha Abdul Mateen II returns for his third major comic book role in the upcoming Disney+ series, Wonder Man.

Simon Williams is entering the MCU in a big way, that seems to be leaning into the more acting part of his character. Very little is known about this project besides Ben Kingsley will be returning as Trevor Slattery and "Wonder Man" is a role within the universe.

Wonder Man is a superman like character, who is typically an Avenger and more often than not is a B-list actor in universe. This gives Marvel a lot of room for some Hollywood fun and to take some liberties with the character.

I'm a big fan of Wonder Man, Yayha, and it seems like a big swing for Marvel. If it's anything like WandaVision or Agatha All Along, I will be watching.

9. Marvel Zombies

A spin-off of Marvel's What If, Marvel Zombies is set to bring back some of my favorite MCU characters, including Yelena Belova, Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel, Shang-Chi, and even our first look at Blade.

First look images even include a look at Zombie Ikaris, Abomination, and Dora Milage.

What If episodes have been a little hit or miss for me, but even so I'm still excited for this miniseries.

I'm not sure what to expect from this show yet, but if it is anything like the comics from Robert Kirkman, I am pumped and ready.

8. Gen V - Season 2

While it is yet to compare to it's original, The Boys spin-off Gen-V has set up quite a few storylines and proved it's a show worth watching and standing on it's own.

Set in a college for Supes, several students have to uncover a mystery at the heart of Godolkin University and discover what it means to be a hero.

With interesting characters, powers and just enough connections to The Boys, it's a show worth watching that many more people need to checkout. With that cliff hanger, the ending of Season 4 of The Boys, and unfortunate passing of Chance Perdomo, I'm interested in seeing how they move the story forward.

7. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

It's about time we got another Spider-Man animated show huh?

In a universe where Peter is mentored by Norman Osborn, Peter Parker must become Spider-Man in this homage to 60s comics, and take on a myriad of his classic villains, with heroes like Nico Minoru, Daredevil & Doctor Strange.

I'm a huge fan of Spider-Man and all the animated Marvel projects on Disney+ so far. While I am patiently waiting for a trailer, I am very optimistic for this.

In a less stacked year this would be higher on the list, but until we get a look it can't break the top 5.

6. Thunderbolts*

The first major film on my list, Thunderbolts feels like Captain America: Winter Soldier meets The Avengers, both films I love.

After several of the antiheroes of the MCU get framed by an unknown entity, they must team up to find what they are missing and become the Thunderbolts.

This is one of the few MCU teams up that have been built up over different projects, so I'm hoping this is a satisfying conclusion and good set up for Avengers: Doomsday.

While I wish the team was different, the cast looks great and the direction looks very fun. And with The Void as most likely the main bad guy, we are likely gonna get a very emotional ending.

Here's hoping it is a winner.

5. Peacemaker Season 2

Even though the DCU starts this year with Creature Commandos, the live action starts with a certain film and Peacemaker.

Peacemaker season 1 revolves around a team of agents looking to stop a mysterious alien invasion and save the world.

With the show now taking place in a connected universe, and Rick Flag Sr out for revenge, we're up for some excellent television.

The first season was some of the best of James Gunn's genius, and with the budget and the stakes rising, I'm excited to see the performance John Cena brings to this one.

4. Fantastic Four: First Steps

I didn't put it fourth on purpose, I swear.

After decades of waiting, we are finally getting a proper Fantastic Four film.

Little is known about this film, but with Galactus as the main villain, and retro futuristic 60s vibe, this film feels like a huge distinct swing, and nothing get's me more excited than that.

The cast looks phenomenal, the costumes look perfect, and I am just giddy thinking of them joining the Avengers in the next Avengers film.

3. Superman

My most anticipated film of next year, James Gunn will be taking on the Man of Steel himself Superman in 2026.

With an incredible cast, director, and several ties to the Justice League, Authority, and hopefully more, this film is crucial in setting the tone for the DCU moving forward, and maybe superhero films in general.

Whether this is a success or failure, this will be a turning point.

2. Daredevil Born Again

My boy has returned.

A sequel to Daredevil, Daredevil Born Again finds Matt Murdock back in NY city, with new enemies and old looking to take over Hell's Kitchen.

Daredevil is one of my favorite television series, and with so many characters returning from the original, including Kingpin, Punisher, Bullseye, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson, this season is going to be explosive.

I'm hoping it has direct connections to Echo, Moon Knight, and other street level heroes, perhaps leading up to another crack at Defenders. Whatever the case, this could be the best show of the year. And it would be my number 1, if it wasn't for...

1. Invincible Season 3

He's in for the fight of his life.

With the stakes higher than ever, an incredible voice cast, animation to beat and a performance unlike any other from Steven Yeun, Invincible has continued to surprise and top itself.

After Mark Grayson gains his Viltrumite powers, he must become Invincible, and find out the ups and the massive downs of being the worlds most powerful hero.

With _______ coming for a huge one on one, a massive war on the rise, and massive repercussions from the finale, this season is all I can think of for next year.

And thank god there will be no massive breaks in-between the season.

Thank you for reading! If you like this, be sure to follow me on all my socials here! And let me know what you think: What is your most anticipated superhero project of 2025?

[rriavian]

7 and 8 for Love Your Fandom asks :)

Bobbole! <3 thank you so much for these questions! I really enjoyed having a little think about them :)

7 your favorite tropes to read/write/draw

What a great question! There are so many but I've narrowed it down to a few :) I am very much a fan of ‘there was only one bed’ trope, or any other iteration of ‘forced to interact by Circumstances’ — just pure gold every single time!! It’s a tragedy that I haven’t written anything like that for Corintheus.

Truly I am suffering, but one day I’ll do it! The closest I think I’ve gotten is there’s a lot of uneasy allies/enemy tension in a lot of my fics.

Tbh if there was only one bed I really think both Dream and the Corinthian would be like ‘well you can sleep on the floor’ and probably only end up sharing because the other one refused to give it up. Dream could make another one with his fancy Endless powers, but I do feel like he’d stubbornly dig his heels in, or make a really comfy bed and the Corinthian would be outraged that it’s better and so try and kick him out of it (ok that’s enough of me work shopping scenarios!)

A well done fix it fic is definitely my kryptonite, as I’m sure it is for a lot of people!, because they can be very comforting as well as ways to resolve frustrations with canon material. Deliverance is probably my version of a comforting fix it :) 

Another trope that makes me go insane is the whole ‘I see you as you are and I want all of it’ — which again you’ve probably seen a lot of in my writing. I love when a character looks at another one and accepts and loves all that they are, good and bad, without reservation. Not necessarily in a toxic way, more in a ‘I fell in love with the real you not a you I want you to be’ way. They see what the other hides/is ashamed of/has been rejected for and are like…no, other people are fools actually.

That probably says a lot about me as a person—so let’s not look too closely haha—but I just love relationships that affirm identity.

8 you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

I can't help but say Corinthiel! There is so much to love about it as a ship, and I hope it will become less of a rare pair in future.

Definitely platonic/gen relationships too! They’ve always been a favourite of mine (your Dream & Orpheus prompts were so amazing to write for!) and I love explorations of character/themes outside of romantic relationships. I was actually far more used to writing gen before I started Baiting the Trap.

Those types of relationships/themes are still present in that series, and in all my other work, because even when I’m writing something shippy it’s never in isolation. The ship will always slot into a network of other relationships/themes outside of a ‘main’ pairing, and I love seeing that explored and appreciated in fics. I really hope it has been able to shine through in my own writing because it’s very important to me :)

[mob-choir]

hi! just wondering if u have any mp100 fic recs particularly nonromantic ones? i read “A Breach of Trust” already and that one went straight to the Fics of All Time for me!!

hello! here's some stuff from my bookmarks that is non-romantic, or where if there is any romance, it's not the main focus:

Issho by @toastytoaster22: a canon divergence AU where teru meets shigeo and ritsu when he's 8 years old, and things go from there. this is THE go-to fic if you liked A Breach of Trust imo - not for the genre and tone, those are different (though admittedly it's been years since I reread Abot so my memory of it is a bit fuzzy - will need to reread it soon!), but the key aspects are the same: it's a very well-written, long fic, with a gripping plot, excellent characterisation and introspection (the pov is absolutely fantastic), and heart-warming familial bonds that will make you cry. this fic will break your heart and then lovingly put it back together.

Butterfly Effect by Frecklefrog: similar concept to the above, also a fantastic execution. reigen and mob meet teru while out on a job, when the kids are around 11, and the plot evolves from there. again this has great characterisation and the relationships are very well-written, especially teru and reigen's.

Hiding His Horns (an orphaned work): this one is listed in ao3 as terumob but in my opinion this fic is plot-heavy more than anything else, and gives equal weight to reigen and mob's and mob and ritsu's relationship (in addition to teru and mob's), so i wouldn't say it's about romance. but it IS written in teru's pov, and his feelings for mob are not exactly subtle, so if that's not your cup of tea, i'd skip this one. but if that doesn't bother you, then i really recommend it. it's a witches and demons AU where teru, a promising young witch/exorcist, really really wants reigen, an incredibly famous exorcist, to take him on as an apprentice. he's less than pleased when he discovers reigen in fact already has a student, and that student is a demon of all things.

The Joy of Cooking (for a Family You Didn't Know You Had) by pepperfield: a 5 + 1 collection about reigen treating the people in his life to meals. this one is just great if you're looking for something about reigen and the gaggle of kids he ended up pretty much adopting. very very heartwarming, and the crazy conversations the kids have always make me laugh. each of their voices is spot-on. this fic does have some serirei, especially one of the later chapters, but it's not the overall focus of the fic at all.

The Destiny of Those Around You by @fightmemogami: this one is a series containing two fics, both equally great. both are missing moments from s1, after the seventh division arc. one is about shigeo visiting kamuro, the student council president (as he mentions to ritsu in the last ep of s1), and the other is about a conversation that may have happened between mob and onigawara (based on that comment he gave ritsu about how "your brother was worried about you"). both these fics are very good, i especially enjoy the way shigeo is written.

Color in a Monochrome World by Sifl: i have to be honest, i haven't reread this collection yet since i first did back in 2016, but it's in my bookmarks and i remember really enjoying it. it's a collection of gen fics, about different characters and different relationships, and while they can be read as stand-alones, they are subtly interconnected. the details are a bit fuzzy in my memory but it's very well-written, so i do recommend it. i will be rereading it soon myself.

Port in a Storm by W3LTERW8: this is a short character study set right after the separation arc. contains some good angst, as well as a great conversation between reigen and mob in the aftermath of what was a turning point for both of them.

Signed Up For It by @turning-the-kaleidoscope: heart-warming fic that takes place both before and after canon, focused on reigen's pov of the sort of world shigeo, as a born esper, lives in, and how different that world is from reigen's own. and how despite all that, reigen still wants to stay. has some great dialogue that really stuck with me, and the hurt/comfort is fantastic.

tomorrow isn't always another day by suitablyskippy (tumblr won't let me @ them, but they're also on here with the same username, I believe): hilarious fic, made me laugh out loud multiple times with how clever and quick-witted the writing is. reigen is caught in a time loop, is apparently the only person to be aware of it, and can't seem to find the cause, no matter how many times he asks mob to check if he's got a curse on him. excellent writing that casually drops some of the best-written, funniest lines like it's nothing.

Pull Up The Weeds to Grow Back Stronger by @spiritusrex: we are now entering what I'm calling the Mogami section of this post. this one is a great fic about minori in mogamiland, and how she slowly but surely manages to rebel against the role she is being made to play. great depiction of the start of a redemption arc.

I know who I am when I'm alone by RedWritingHood: mogami arc fic where reigen is also stuck in mogamiland as another random inhabitant of this world. really really great fic about how your thoughts and feelings don't determine the sort of person you are, your actions do. you can still do good by someone no matter how many intrusive thoughts try to get you to be a horrible person.

Come Morning Light by NotHereForIt: this one deals with the fallout of the mogami arc. reigen finds himself in a dream that isn't his, where mob is being haunted by the six months that never happened. some darker themes, as expected from anything dealing with the mogami arc, but great hurt/comfort.

since you asked for non-romantic stuff particularly, I will put the following two recs on their own. they're both terumob, and the romance is pretty central in both (especially in the second one), so they may not be your cup of tea, but they both have some of the best redemption arcs i've ever read, both in this fandom and outside of it. if you don't mind the romance, i wholeheartedly recommend them, i've read both multiple times:

Tunnel Vision (orphaned): a canon divergence AU (set before the two of them meet) where mob's school is undergoing some renovations and he and his friends are temporarily relocated to teru's school. teru senses there's another esper at his school and does NOT take it well. he makes a lot of mistakes. roughly follows the events of season 1. written in teru's pov so his feelings for mob are always prominent as they slowly shift from animosity to something else, but i don't know if i would even call this a love story. it's about teru's redemption first and foremost. excellent writing and characterisation, and i have to give a special shoutout to tsubomi, i really loved the way she was written in this fic.

Sword of Damocles (also orphaned): cannot describe in words the impact this fic has had on me. it's a no powers AU set when the kids are 16. teru is, to put it bluntly, a complete asshole, and so are his friends. when he brags to them that he'd be able to charm anyone and get them to kiss him (without being the one to make the first move), they dare him to prove it, and point to a random guy walking by (shigeo) as his target. now teru just needs to charm him and get his kiss so he can go back to his life, but it may not be as easy as it seems. obviously this fic has a lot of romance in it since teru is trying to charm mob into going out with him since the start, but the slow burn is one of the best i've ever read. teru starts off as highly unlikable, and he's not very charitable (in his head) towards mob at all, but slowly, very slowly, he starts to change. it's incredibly well-written, and as the title implies, you spend the whole time reading it with a sense of anticipation and dread, wondering when things are gonna come crashing down and how bad the fallout will be. a really, really great fic, i wish i could reread it as if it was the first time.

that's all i've got for you! i hope at least some of these can pique your interest, and that you enjoy them. would love to hear your thoughts on the ones you do read, if you like! i'm always open to talk about great fics.

[ao3-tag-statistics]

25% of fanfictions tagged with Data from Star Trek are Data/Geordi fics. 8% are Data & Geordi (yay for friendship!), and 5% are Data/Reader.

I can definitely tell who the favorite ship is LMAO. I kind of thought I'd see the level of xReader fics that I saw with Spencer Criminalminds because I feel like I see them get blorbofied the same way on my dash and my Pinterest homepage, but I guess people are less horny for Data than Spencer Reid statistically! The more you know.

Only 4 fics have the tag "Data is Fully Functional" (e.g. can have the sex) and I'm sad about that. I think that line is hilarious. All four of those fics have appropriately hilarious tag lists and summaries IMO.

The longest fanfiction about Data currently posted to AO3 is The Complication by CharlieFenwick at 1,701,705 words. That is on the level of THE ENTIRE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE SERIES at 1,690,000ish. It's also got companion fics and if you count those it's over 2 million words??!?! (sounds like there are multiple authors if you count the companion works but that's still SO MUCH) It's mostly Data/Tasha Yar. I had to look her up - damn she's had a rough life. She deserves some fun android romance. As a treat. Also what the FUCK is anti-time and why does it keep coming up when I look her up.

I'm just gonna keep looking for weird shit related to robot sex until I run out of interesting research questions.

2,946 Works in Data (Star Trek)

Explicit (394)

M/M (1131)

Gen (979)

F/M (859)

Data/Geordi La Forge (734)

Data & Geordi La Forge (234)

Data (Star Trek)/Original Female Character(s) (184)

Data/Tasha Yar (167)

Data/William Riker (74) - i only know this guy from memes where he looks like he has no thoughts and throws rocks at spaceships (large rocks, i think it worked?). no notes.

Data/Lore (59) - had to look this up, Lore is Data's evil "brother" but they're both androids so i don't really consider this incest. it's weird that they're nearly identical though.

Data (Star Trek)/Reader (149)

[mangatxt]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @creativenicocorner; thanks nico!!

tagging @kreauxlighe @tomezeme @mosshook @carriecmoney and anyone else who wants to do this. no pressure!

answers under the cut

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

23

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

489k. i want that half-million by year's end.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently, i only write mp100 fics. my ao3 has some older fics from hq!! and a couple other fandoms I used to write for.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i'm not gonna list them out because they're all older stuff i'm less enthusiastic about recommending now. the top four are daisuga (hq!!) fics I wrote in college, and the fifth is an inukoko fic I wrote before tokrev ended.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to keep up with them. It means a lot to me when people take time out of their day to send me their thoughts, and I've made a lot of friends from it! But I get overwhelmed and behind on it sometimes, and then I'm like... I probably shouldn't respond to this until I post a new chapter. oops.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hands down, weekly consultation (mp100, gen, mcd).

second place goes to the one for the road (tr, kokoinu), which ends in a breakup.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

most of my fics have happy endings.

the parachute candidate (mp100, serirei) has a pretty happy ending. so do halo effect (mp100, serirei) and phototropic (mp100, gen).

but i think the happiest ending is probably the twelfth annual rising sun spiritual union holiday decoration contest (mp100, serirei), because reigen wins money instead of more time with roshuuto.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i've been super lucky to have overwhelmingly positive reception to my fics. i didn't love all the foot commentary on that one tokrev fic, but it is what it is.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do. very serious smut only, like dick hanahaki and schrödinger's office smut and slow-motion trainwreck sex column

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i wrote a short haikyuu!! x fullmetal alchemist fic for daisuga week a long time ago. that's probably the craziest one.

in medias res (mp100, gen) is the little match girl isekai, so that probably counts too. reigen literally crosses over.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

a few offers, but i'm not sure if they were completed

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have been responsible for the prose output of all of my fics, but i've had a lot of help for various plots. for example, i feel that half the blame credit for bringing flora obscura into being should go to @crownorclover

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

serirei (mp100). it has two characters i adore individually, a setting with so much canonical room for shenanigans, and a lot of open-endedness to the development of the relationship that makes it fun to speculate over.

i'm still partial to kokoinu (tokrev) too. both kokoinu and serirei have that bodyguard/loyalty trope to them and are often written within a greater found family. it's good stuff.

i also like the inherent appalling messiness of reishuuto but it's not that serious

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

that novelist!hawks fic i started once. rip.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i like an off-the-wall premise, and i am incredibly committed to the bit.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i tend to overwrite things. need to work on brevity.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

for the manga series i write for, i try to write in scanlation/fansub language for the most part. that's how i interacted with them originally, so that's how the character voices sound in my head. not everything in one language has a 1:1 translation into another.

mp100 has a lot of cultural/wordplay jokes that don't translate well into english. i have a lot of wordplay in my fics to match the tone, but i've only managed to make a wordplay joke that translates both ways once. so much respect for translators who figure out how to make that work on a regular basis.

i try to do as much research as possible to get things right, but i know i'll make mistakes. for that reason, i really appreciate people who beta read for me, who put together writing resources and other research materials, or who are kind enough to leave constructive feedback.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

pokémon.

i can't find it anymore but at one point, my 12-year-old ass wrote a fic where gym leader chuck's wife is like "chuck you spend all your time with the waterfall. i want a divorce." laksjdlkasj

i'd totally write it again.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

the parachute candidate.

(i think i'll like sage advice a lot more when i finish it)

[nell0-0]

Accidentally turned on anonymous; I’m the one who posted that champion talk.I’m glad you love that route too! I can actually see them doing that(and not just because every like four months Gamefreak Twitter decides to remind people of Ingo’s current fate.

For one, Unova’s legend is built on two twin brothers, older one truth and younger ideals. We got the differences with Alder and Iris for that(and the rivals having Cherrim as Ideals, Bianca as truth, and Hugh as balance) but the twins are literally black and white twin brothers. A third champion can round out the truth, ideals, and balance and Emmet feels perfect for it storywise with Unova starting with twins and ending with twins(bonus if Emmet incorporates grey in his outfit since it’s the mix of his and Ingo’s color scheme).

Secondly, it feels that the regions go in real time. Red and Blue aging matching up with how old Gen 1 was to both Johto and the Unova sequel having that timeskip matching up with their releases. Ingo’s concept art of him being found in Hisui also is listed as “XX years ago” which implies he been there for at least a decade which lines up with Black and White 2 age(excuse me as I crumple to dust-) and also is plenty of time for Emmet to take everything in for better coping skills. ALSO, the constant mentions to Unova and seeing the changes outside of the region. Unova was mentioned multiple times in Kalos, specifically the Subway and Coleress research. In the Ultra Games Grimsley is revealed to have retired from being the dark type elite four member while Coleress is revealed to have been traveling regions to pursue his totally not illegal research. Several Unovan Pokémon received love in Gen 8 with evolutions and the nobles. And of course Ingo was sent hundreds of years into the past(side note: almost every Gen has a ghost. Marowak, the little girl in Pheobe gym, Old Chateau and the abandoned house, the strange house girl, the elevator girl, the trainer school girl, the love letter girl, and vessa. But we never got to fight one besides Marowak. If ghost Ingo comes true, please have a fight and some true closure with Emmet) and wasn’t sent back afterwards. This means so much has changed since the sequel and since many things weren’t answered already like what the original dragon looked like, they could totally do a third and final game as a send off. Having a fan favorite like Emmet be the champion(since the twins are adored in Japan) be a fitting way to conclude their story.

As for Emmet himself, he is possibly the strongest double fighter in the series. The twins are basically champion level fighters and there are even headcanons they wanted to be champions until realizing only one of them could be. Emmet runs a competitive team and in all the media, he’s implied to have only lost to the protagonist and Ingo(in the Manga Hilda merely tied with Ingo. In Masters Emmet reveals he and Ingo practice fights with each other where Ingo hardly loses matches. And in the anime no one could beat them to the point of someone lying that he did to seem impressive) so he’s definitely strong enough to be one. Being champion and thus in the spotlight could also give us more info on the Unova myths, Emmet’s backstory(I have sad headcanons with that), or his relationships with the other people in Unova. But also…Emmet is a double battler, and including Gurdurr and Boldore, the two have twelve Pokémon. We could possibly have our first ever double battle champion, and given Pokémon been adding harder challenges(Ultra Necrozma, BDSP Cynthia, Volo, and final boss of Scarlet and Violet) this could be something they could do at a stand out final fight. In conclusion, less evil Emmet, more champion Emmet(and please Gamefreak! You’ve been building up something for Unova for years, please be good-)

I would love for Emmet to be the first ever double battler champion! He's a beloved character with a lot of potential. I wouldn't get my hopes up since the pokemon franchise has a lot of ongoing stories in world that never seem to progress, or at least we have to wait a long time to get a glimpse of it (pointedly looking at Looker and Anabel, for example). And even when we do get progress, closing the story line seems like wishful thinking. Not that I complain much since it allows for a lot of content creators to go wild, although it would be nice to get some closure in some of them. Gamefreak better let the twins reunite at some point. Acknowledge what you did to those two poor twins, cowards.

On the other hand, I love all your thoughts about this. But but BUT-

Did you really have to go there. Omg. My heart.

[acetonitril]

@topguncommentbingo

I made it! Excuse me for not posting a bingo before my blackout, I have literally no idea when my first bingo happened. The last two days have been a little crazy. But so much fun!

I also for the life of me can't figure out how to add the fics to the picture when I've only got my phone with me. So here's a casual list under the cut (I might actually link the fics at a later time but that too was too stressful with only my phone and half an hour to spare (in my timezone)). Go read them yourself!

1. fic tagged Porn Without Plot

pulling down back streets, deep in your head - thegeckbros

2. WIP

he loves me, i love him not - hey_its_me88

3. fic that's the first part of a series

I Couldn’t Help It, It Had to Be You - mackwinnon

4. art rated gen / teen

western sunset - enthyrea

5. crossover / fusion

Cyrano - arami_d004

6. fic completed between March - May 2023

The Penguin Agenda - greenstuff

7. fic where the last comment was 5+ months ago

Kiss me, baby - julie_sailorway

8. fic completed in July or Aug 2022

Feel the Heat, See the Light - ForASecondThereWedWon

9. fic tagged first time / getting together

You got me stuck on the thought of you - Popstar

10. fic set post TGM canon

that summer (when your shadow merged with the shadows of the leaves) - deuceofgears

11. fic with fewer than 5 comments

take you like a drug - callsignvalley

12. fic with a ship you haven't read

Sleeper Hit - goldcranes

13. FREE CHOICE

Homesick - theinsouciantknitter

14. fic completed in June 2023 or later

bare - Saturn

15. fic less than 3k words

I’ll Kneel for You - ReformedTsundere

16. fic from a fandom event

hot as a fever, rattling bones - Notchka88

17. canon divergent fic

Song #86 - LadyLanera

18. fic rated mature

bad idea, right? - ok_thanks

19. fic with more than 15k words

the whole time, under the lights - teacupivy

20. fic focused on a POC

no need to take it slow - boasamishipper

21. fic you already commented on

Rack ‘Em Up, Big Blonde - Earthangel_44

22. fic from an author you haven't read

Spare - wordsonamission

23. fic rated teen

get your head in the game - abliafina

24. fic tagged fluff

Cravin’ You - Jeston17

25. fic with a trope you love

can you see me glowing - dracculaura

[blackdigitalrose]

Digimon Series Rankings!

Because I can and because I've really done nothing but comment about Ghost Game, it does give a slight misleading impression on where it stands. So in brief, I may go into more detail down the line, we'll see how I feel out the blue one day. Worst to Best of all 10 Digimon series.

(got to keep up that suspense XD)

And yes, Dubs are going to be a factor, I haven't watched both Sub/Dub of all shows.

10 - Xros Wars This is solely by default because it is the only series I haven't watched, I don't have much inclination to either. Digivolution method really can make or break a show and Digimon lego sets with no actual way to gauge power besides from more sets you stick together the stronger you apparently seem to be, does not hold much appeal. Plus what I've seen of X7/X8, it just looks so messy. Although, I'd like to be able to weigh in on the Taiki debate, some say he's one of the franchises best Goggle boys, others say he's too perfect he's not interesting.

9 -Digimon 2020 For a modern day reboot it had all the action, zero the charm or personality. Those snazzy, action filled fight scenes mean nothing, when there's no story, no characters and just flat out laziness all-round. The Diaboramon movie got rehashed 3 times. The significance of the crests forgotten until a rag tag added on arc at the end and even then they weren't really earned. Izzy just ruined everything, unless you were Matt and Tai, you were basically useless and Tai… I could rant about this series all day, it ticks me off so much!

8 - Frontier This is one of many examples of Digimon not being to do the long run story, a tolerable first half, an unbearable second half full of holes and flaws, it makes you wonder if multiple teams were writing eps apart from each other. This series wrote itself into a corner it could have wrote itself easily out of but chose not to and suffers greatly for it. There is so little to actually talk about in Frontier, none of the cast are actually likeable, not to the extent that you can really get behind them. The only one you feel for slightly is twin 2 but they don't do alot with him after. The only thing it has going for it is the Intro's both sub and dub are amazing!

7 -Tri Such a strong first half, first 3 vols, amazing! Stakes, emotion, understandable dilemma's occurring from being so much older and once more they fail the landing. Tai never got is pay off over his fears. Matt's future plans literally come out of nowhere. Mei and Meicoomon out stayed their welcome so quickly they got in the way in the second half. However, the biggest crim is Daigo and Maki and what we could have had as the first Digidestined team… their partners being the four sovereigns actually makes so much sense! They won but failed, there was an amazing story set up to be told there and they just went, nah, bin it -.-'' Abridged Daigo though is the most relatable character ever and hilarious to boot

6 -02 Let's be honest, this series, I couldn't care less for and some one punch Davis! (He's not so special anymore mind you.) However, despite the not so exciting team, it had it's moments, the Wizardmon ep was very touching, the idea of passing to the next gen, with the originals to help guide them, nicely done with the right mix of original and new but what really gives it, it's place and you all saw it coming. The Digimon Emperor arc! Such a good villain, the contrast against the team, against Wormon, the ongoing subplot over Chimeramon and then our Digimon Emperor gets turned back to normal and show becomes so boring and with more holes in it than swiss cheese.

5 - Appli Monsters I did put this off, I was one of those people… however, I was pleasantly surprised. This show is quite solid, all the characters get their own arcs, the story actually has progress from start to finish, the end boss narratively is good as an actual end boss, it couldn't have made a stupider play if it tried. With social commentary right on the nose, it was a show definitely released before it's time, if they tried it now, I think it would have done a lot better as it would be so much more relatable to people. Why only 5… well, there's nothing that overly stood out; like a moment or ep that is a must re-watch. I watched it the once and haven't gone back to it.

4 - Savers Savers has so many of my faves, my fave digivice in the IC, digivolve style with Digisoul, fave rivals with Masaru/Tohma (love me some two halves of the same coin), some of the best looking Megas you'll ever see, even my fave mon is from this series! Looking at you, you double agent, traitorous, snarky scarf! This series even has the best villain, well human anyway out of all series and the best part, he remains a prick and gets no cheap redemption! Just a guy you love to hate. The downside, like so many others, the doesn't stick the second half. I mean it's alright, no where near as good as the first half and becomes too much of the Masaru show for my liking. (And no, I don't dislike the Digimon punching gimmick per se but it is overused and gets ott in parts that kind of takes you away from it.)

3 - Ghost Game This actually took some serious debating and the bottom line, what do I just openly go and re-watch and despite it's many, many flaws; Ghost Game was just so much fun! It lived up to it's reputation, it gave you horror, surprise, creepiness, you did run through the emotions with it. The major selling point though, it has to be the cast. Tamer and Digimon alike, all 6 are just so likeable with great dynamics and you don't get to say that about many. I also like how Hiro, Ruli and Kiyo represent the three common reactions to the paranormal, the sceptic, the enthusiast and the fearful.

2 - 01 Surprise! Or not potentially and yes, this is heavily the dub, fight me, it's amazing! No bad will be said about dub Apocylamon. Nostalgia likely plays a part in it to but all our digidestined team a great, they all get little arcs and for the most part, all get to play a part, even at the end where only two get megas, however, narratively this works. The story has good progression, in character and difficulty, there's obstacles which don't seem to impossible for kids to tackle, stuff actually feels earned and the villains are just as memorable as the heroes. To top it all, it's such an easy series to just re-watch from any point.

1 - Tamers Ha, yes, I am one of those to. I stand by it, this is peak storytelling for Digimon. What starts off quite light, becomes mature, gritty and a real good coming of age story despite still being kids. Our main trio all get good character arcs, they bounce of each other well and a bonus point for at least trying with the card game. why yes, I do consider Rika as the rival in Tamers, it just makes more sense due to conflicting beliefs about digimon with Takato On the other hand, it's End boss is by far the worse on so many levels but also contains one of Digimon's best character arcs with Impmon. With Tamers, I could only plan to watch one or two eps but before I know it, I'm half way into the series again and still not bored of it.

And this really didn't stay as short as I initially intended ^^;

[kanto-jhoto]

So out of curiosity I played a little bit of "Pokemon Crystal Clear" today... I don't normally emulate pokemon games since it makes it feel less personal and you can't use your pokemon in things like pokemon stadium and such. But when I was looking for info on game boy romhacks, this kept getting mentioned as one of the best.

I am very intrigued. Very customizable, it has a lot of features I really want in the main series as well... namely the ability to choose from more than just three starters, follower pokemon, the ability to customize your battle music to be music from other regions, and the pokedex is insanely detailed compared to the games. I'm pretty blown away and haven't even strayed far from my starting town yet.

I'd be half tempted to buy a repro cart of this, especially since this is said to be compatible with Pokemon Stadium 2, and therefore you actually CAN transfer your pokemon out of the game... but the problem is that this appears to be a project that is constantly being updated, so you'd have to buy a new repro every time you wanted to play with new features unless you have the means to reflash a gameboy cartridge, and I don't have the money or equipment for that.

But yeah, you should look into this one guys. Could be the best 8-bit pokemon game ever... That being said, I am not going to play this one for a long time... I paid a lot of money for my copies of G/S/C, I feel guilty for spending so much, so if I don't even finish a run of those games, then i'll feel like it really was a waste. So if I play gen 2 again, it's gonna be the real thing. And I might even get to it soon, trying out Crystal Clear has me itching or some pokemon. And I still gotta get that Eevee to complete my living dex for gen 1. I'd like to do a gen 2 living dex as well... BUT, when I get finished with those then i'll definitely add Crystal Clear to my queue. And I'm gonna follow the project a little closely so I can keep tabs on a possible "final version" so I can consider getting a repro some day.

[dotthings]

The idea that a 23 episode season is necessary to flesh out characters and show different, fun situations, to pause and let the story and characters breathe and develop has no connection to my direct experience watching tv shows.

Speaking from the pov of intaking the story, “reader” pov.

The quality of the writing, choices on pacing, the size of the cast, the budget are all factors that can impact story, but I’ve seen large ensembles do deeper character more satisfying character interactions in 8-13 eps a season than some smaller ensembles do in 22.

Shows with 8-13 eps a season can make their worlds feel real and deep and rich in ways some 22-23 ep shows of the traditional era couldn’t. Maybe that richness in part is a by-product of seasons where the budgets aren’t stretched thin—if 22 ep season and a 13 ep season cost the same overall, the 13 ep season will have more money to deploy per episode, so there’s a richer, deeper feel to it.

Some shows are shorter because in fact their budgets are so high, and the results are beautiful but it’s expensive to make. A 22 ep season would be prohibitive costs and each episode would suffer for it.

Most of this pertains to the streaming model. Linear broadcast is a different model, an linear broadcast is gasping to keep its life.

It’s not great news when linear broadcast series get episode orders cut. It means budgets have been cut. It means danger of cancellation. It’s rarer on linear broadcast still. But since linear broadcast stories are practically an endangered species now anyway (and genre is almost completely extinct on linear broadcast) it’s almost moot. More change is going to come. Full length seasons are turning into unicorns even on linear.

But in the overall, TV shows as a storytelling format have evolved over time. “Filler” eps are over-rated. Or my definition of “filler” is very different than other people’s. Short seasons do eps that break their format. Long seasons do eps that break their format. That’s not “filler” that’s called doing something innovative.

“Filler” to me is oh not this again and low stakes episode I feel like I’ve seen before, it’s just a different dead body/monster/planet/threat. Something has to fill those 22 hours for ad time slots.

Length isn’t the determiner of brilliance and when I think about the incredible 8-13 ep season shows I’ve enjoyed, some of which have been wildly innovative, outside the box, or doing outside the box things playing with a box formula, this popularized nostalgia for the supposedly inherently creatively superior in all ways 22-26 season era starts to rankle. Saying this as a fan of many shows of that era.

Maybe it’s because I’m gen X and so I watched a lot of 22-26 ep season glory days series as they aired instead of inhaling a whole series in 2 weeks on streaming and experienced the frustrations of the longer season format live.

Fun fact, the reason traditional linear broadcast (which is different than cable network or streaming business models) had such long seasons was ad revenue. Networks wanted to fill up the broadcast hours slots during a traditional tv season time period. (A scheduling model that’s fading before our eyes).

Now, with streaming having to cry uncle and moving back to an ad revenue model, maybe longer seasons will return someday. I don’t know. But they can probably make more money capping seasons at 13 and it’s a completely different world and business model than it was in the 90’s and 00’s. (And the 80’s was an extra bloated era full of filler eps. I love many of those shows too but the formula wore out and styles moved on).

Seeing some really beautiful work on shows get trashed solely because people claim short seasons made them trash, it’s gotten old.

It’s dumping on the work of creatives who are having to work harder and be more innovative to tell their stories effectively in a shorter format for less salary (because fewer eps to write and they’re paid per ep). And it’s dumping all over TV as a format, period. If you no longer enjoy TV that’s valid. It doesn’t mean it’s a universal truth that longer seasons = better storytelling.

How is it people can understand that a film with bloated runtime is not necessarily creatively superior to a brilliant tightly plotted 90 minute masterpiece but not get this about TV seasons?

[lori0018]

10 Fics

I was tagged by @nyxelestia

Rules: Post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to AO3. (Sort by date posted.) If you have less than 10 fics posted, post what you have!

They are all for KinnPorsche the series. (I don't have an obsession, I don't know what you mean *nudges her WIP folder out of sight*)

1) Owner’s Manual

(KimChay, with some KinnPorsche in chapter 2, holiday fluff, 2k words)

It’s almost Christmas and Chay is scrambling for gifts. Online shopping and his new and improved wallet contents have helped a lot but there are so many more gifts to get than he is used to that it feels like a daunting task. So daunting that he’s left it to the week before the Christmas Eve party where they will be exchanging said gifts. So now he’s scrambling.

2) Family, Extended

(Implied Chan/Nampeung, part 3 of That's My Family series, 1k words)

The first time Chan sees her, he's a fresh-faced nineteen years old, still clinging to some of his idealism. He is one of two bodyguards accompanying Khun Korn to his foster sister's wedding.

3) Family means…

(Mostly Gen, with some minor KimChay, very minor VegaPete, and implied future KinnPorsche, was supposed to be Kim & Porsche centric but turned into "Kinn has a lot of feelings about this" instead 😆, part 2 of That's My Family series, 9k words)

There is a universe in which Kim, battered and bleeding, falls unconscious in the back of a dark alley, out of sight from the street, and isn’t found until many days later. By then, he’s bled out on the dirty alley floor and there is nothing to be done. The funeral is lavish and his brothers mourn him.

(I'm realizing that the 1st paragraph makes this story look a lot darker than it is 😅)

4) Memento Mori, Memento Vivere

(Fix-it retelling of the show, Porsche-centric, based on the premise that Porsche remembers what happened to his parents, 34k words)

Porsche remembers. He remembers bright sunny days and bright warm laughter. He remembers running up to Mom and holding out a flower for her. He remembers her smile and baby Porchay’s bright giggle as the flower tickled his nose.

5) Game of Survival

(Arm & Tankhun backstory, 2.5k words)

The screaming from downstairs starts anew and his shoulders hunch, head dropping between them as if it would block out the sound. He wishes he could put headphones on and tune out the world but his old, shitty ones stopped working weeks ago now and there has been no barrier between the world and him since. He wishes there was a bit of money for new ones but any money mom earns goes to the few groceries she manages to buy on the way or to the liquor store as soon as she gets home and he gets his hands on it.

6) if ever I could make it back for us

(KimChay, part 8 of need you to believe series, 11.5k words)

In the first few weeks after reaching his decision, Chay tries to go to the club again. He gets turned back at the door, apparently on some sort of blacklist. He’s not sure if it’s just him or if Kim (if that was even his real name) does that to all the people he sleeps with. He doesn’t have anything else to go on, no last name, no phone number, no address, so he tries a few times, without luck. Alright then. At least, he can say he tried.

7) Kissing You

(KimChay, fluff, 5+1 times, 1.5k words)

WiꞰ is doing a live stream. Chay has never been happier that Porsche is working late because it means he can stream it on the TV and watch WiꞰ talk to his fan in high-def glory. The stream has been going on for a while now and WiꞰ is starting to wrap it up. He’s been reading comments aloud throughout the stream and responding to a lot of them. He had even read two of Chay’s and one of them made him laugh and it makes Chay feel braver than he might usually be. So when WiꞰ announces he’s going to read one last comment, Chay types something and waits, fingers crossed and heart hammering in his chest.

[Skipped 2 works which aren't fics.]

8) "That's my family"

(Kittisawats + Kim, written for the KinnPorsche week 2022, part 1 of That's My Family series, 1.5k words)

Kim grunts as the blow lands but he pushes the pain away, taking advantage of the temporary opening to land a blow of his own. His opponent slumps, unconscious, and Kim tries to catch his breath, as much as he can with what he is pretty sure are broken ribs, while he takes in the situation. All the men who attacked him are down. Dead or unconscious, he doesn't know and he's not going to take the time to find out. He needs to get out before more of them show up.

(The 1st paragraph, once again, makes the story look darker than it is 🤷‍♀️)

9) “Can I try?”

(Kittisawat brothers feels, fluff, >1k words)

It starts when Chay learns to talk.

10) It just all goes to hell

(KimChay, Nampeung, part 5 of need you to believe series, 2k words)

The gunshot echoes in the room and Chay flinches, tightening his hold on Kira, who whimpers in his arms.

The 10 people I’m tagging are @accal1a @bisexualbard @coleslaww @cloudburst-ink @cristalknife @highpriestessofjogan @mightymightygnomepriest @staykimchay @vani-ash @xxatlasxx (And anyone else who wants to do this!)

[doubleddenden]

Okay. I'm gonna do it. A full review of Scarlet and Violet where I break down everything good and bad I found with it. I'm not gonna hold back on either fronts, so there might be ranting and nitpicking and praise over the dumbest things.

If you disagree just scroll. I'm just a nobody and not worth arguing with. I'm making this, however, because we need real people's thoughts on this game since game reviewers are being paid to give it 8 or 9/10 while millions of players are pointing out the game crashing and game breaking glitches and rating as low as 3/10.

If a random nobody's opinion influences you, read on.

Now, more under the cut, and this may just be my lengthiest review yet:

I'm going to preface this by saying I have been a fan since gen 1, my first pokemon was Cyndaquil in Silver, my favorite game is Black 2, my least favorite game is BDSP, and my favorite pokemon is Corviknight. I loved pretty much every single pokemon game up until the Switch, where LGPE, base SwSh, and BDSP brought the franchise to absolute pathetic, soulless new lows- yet, Isle of Armor, Crown Tundra, and Legends Arceus renewed my love for the franchise.

That should tell you about the type of fan I am. You can trust I know what I'm talking about.

So how do I rate Scarlet and Violet? Basically I'd say that the best game in the franchise is being held back by... well, not being fucking finished. Bugs, glitches, clipping, slow downs- that's just on the programming angle btw. I still have things I dislike about it outside of those aspects.

Basically if it weren't for the glitches and if it were an actually finished game and not an over glorified beta/ desperate attempt to make that holiday cash, I could give it an easy and deserved 8 out of 10. But because of the very preventable errors that came from several companies deciding that the integrity of a game series much beloved by MILLIONS the world over was less important than lining their pockets, I have to give it a 5 until it's fixed.

That being said: I truly do enjoy the game. I really do. I think these truly could gave been my favorite games EVER if they just... just cared a little more.

Let's focus on the positives first:

The new Pokémon this gen are pretty great looking. Something I really disliked about Sword and Shield was that too many of their new Pokémon looked like canceled cartoons (Eiscue), scrapped Sly Cooper characters (Inteleon), non Pokémon like in general (Stonjourner), or just WAY TOO FUCKING HUMAN (Cinderace). Scarlet and Violet has designs that stretch across the board of being cool, cute, animal like, humanoid, and overall it's a very nice mix this go around. Even the humanoid ones look great because theyre just better designed and cool looking, and I can forgive the lack of natural or Pokémon aesthetics as long as it looks good- such as the case of Ceruledge, which looks so amazing to me despite definitely fitting in better in Megaman NT Warrior.

The starters I feel are way better than last gen and are just overall better quality than we've had in a long time- even though I didn't pick it, Skeledirge is the BEST fire starter we've had since Infernape, unless you count Hisuian Typhlosion. They're also way better balanced the likes we haven't seen since gen 4 with secondary types that actually allow them some wiggle room against their "stronger" rivals.

Not to mention the Pokémon have actual textures this go around that help make them look less plastic compared to past games. You'll see it in terms of fur or scales on some Pokémon- it's not perfect mind you, but it's a start! I think my favorite textures though are the Terrastilized textures. I LOVE Terrastilizing my Ceruledge to see that gorgeous red crystal wrap around it's ghostly blue flames.

Terrastilizing is also a pretty neat mechanic that doesn't really do too much besides change a Poke's type. I do miss some of the hyped designs of Megas and some Gmaxes, but we also didn't really need anything as complicated as those either. It works. It's not really my favorite and I'm not really a fan of silly hats, but I do like that it's pretty balanced overall.

Onto other things, let's get into the main draw: open world. Fans kept saying SwSh was open world- one Wild Area and several hallways in a very cramped and forced rail road progression do not make an open world. They said Legends Arceus was open world: a definite improvement, but you were still bound by progression to open sandboxes rather than them being a singular area.

This game is the real deal this time. Sure, levels aren't scaled with the player and you have to progress in the story to unlock certain Koraidon and Miraidon traversal abilities, but it really is a chance to do things how you want without annoying losers like Hop or Team Yell stopping you every 5 minutes to tell you you have to go left. I literally made my way to an area about level 40 to 45 while my team was around level 20 just so I could get items required to evolve my Ceruledge with just 2 badges- and I had more amazing times like this where I stumbled onto areas that were 10 to 15 levels higher than me and gave me thrilling challenges because of it.

An ice type gym leader, Grusha, actually gave me my first defeat in game in several years. Ice type. The glass cannons that go down if a feather touches them. And it was so satisfying to beat him not just by spamming A, but by actually requiring strategy and effective team work.

I encountered and CAUGHT a level 70 Terra Dragonite when I was still level 40 something, and definitely didn't have the badges to control it. But it was rewarding to just let me have a thrill like that! In SwSh, I could be 1 level shy and not be able to catch a Pokémon I can easily defeat because of its stupid system.

I think that the open world could have been done better and made more interesting, but for what it did, it did so, so fucking good. I love being hilariously unprepared for fights- it makes my victory much sweeter! I love being in areas I'm clearly not ready for and discovering weird things- I still am! And I'm in post game! I also love being presented with multiple routes I can take rather than 1 narrow hallway path- I could have gone to the Psychic gym town after getting the proper power ups for Miraidon, OR I could carefully map out and find a detour that let's me go another more accessible way.

It really does give me a sense of freedom I haven't felt from the games ever in my life like this. I sincerely hope that they don't abandon this style of world traversal, because this, I feel, is close to what I've always dreamed my ideal "BotW" Pokémon game would be. Close anyway. There's still leaps and bounds needed before I'm fully satisfied on that front, but it's a good start.

The stories in the game are also really fun and actually have effort put into them- I know I bash on SwSh a lot (and this won't be the last time because it was the last gen), but the fact they NAILED the ending and did not pull whatever tf Rose was up to was such a relief. Sure the gym challenge is pretty standard fair, but the Titan and Star stories were actually pretty neat. I genuinely thought Arven was going to be my least favorite character, but he ended up becoming one of my favorites because his motivations are very pure and understandable, and his background actually made me sympathize with him. I thought Team Star was just going to be another annoying Team Yell, but the fact that it wasn't even an evil team at all and the build up to the boss and reasonings for everything was actually very interesting and well handled- for Pokemon, anyway. And the final story? Suspenseful. I was literally on the edge of my seat. I actually cried a few times throughout Arven's story and the final one too.

And you know what? They somehow made me like an ass kissing weaker starter rival. All they had to do was sprinkle just enough yandere on Nemona to make her just a tad creepy and hilarious, and the dialogue options were GOLD. I even got attached to certain Pokémon like Miraidon, who really is just a large metal motorcycle doggo. It felt amazing watching him regain his strength and courage, and I finally care about a legendary as much as I do Nebby.

The photos of the badges are really fun, and I love that there's something for every type too. Maybe the gym leader was kinda eh, but the photos I have help keep it a memorable experience. The ending one especially had me smiling ear to ear.

As far as other things, I am glad to see they kept the move remember function from LA. It's so much simpler and easier than having to find a guy to do it for you, and that and the nicknames make sense anyway from an adventure stand point.

Another neat feature that isn't explained is the dex rewards. Not just from Jacq, but the pokedex itself will reward you for catching em all with more balls, items, etc. It's incredibly useful and motivating, and gives me a reason to capture all of those 300 Pokémon I already have

Lastly, the music- oh my god the music. Dynamic, diverse, fun! Explosive! Experimenting! I don't think there's a single track I dislike, and I still have Team Star's and the final boss battle stuck on loop in my head. The instruments sound like actual instruments this time and not just DS or 3ds holdover soundfonts like SwSh. Fuck it, I don't even like Ed Sheeran, but the song was still a lovely addition- still unclear how the lyrics fit, but it still sounded nice. Plus there's multiple fun wild pokemon themes.

And now that I've sung high praises... yep, time to absolutely tear the bitch apart. No mercy.

First, let's start with the things a patch will not fix:

Just like SwSh, a lot of things were removed.

Two options- Set and Battle Animations- were removed. I personally play with Set because I don't like having an unfair advantage, and I like the thrill of not knowing what's coming next. You could argue "lol just press B, stupid" but this is exactly the same issue that came with the forced EXP share in SwSh. "Just rotate your team" was the common phrase even by Ohmori, ignoring the bigger complaints- and although the EXP share is now somewhat balanced, I don't see how removing Set will ever benefit anyone, because now I always know what's coming next no matter what. I can't just ignore it either because my eyes do not work that way. Although I don't touch Battle Animations, I know plenty of people that like them off since battles can drag on with them on, and that's no exception here.

Although those are just two things so far, these things are just basic options in the settings menu. Now, most of Pokémon has been using the same system since around XY, with the biggest changes coming from LGPE and SwSh that bake in exp share. Moves are pretty much the same with a few exceptions, which means that the battle system is about the same too.

Why this matters is this: they *purposely* removed these features. This wasn't something just left out by accident, this was literally a purposeful choice. I can't personally see any reason this was done except to give a middle finger to certain people. I mean, SET especially. That's been a setting- not a feature, a SETTING since the gameboy days, and all it does is press B automatically on that front.

Now onto other things, they also removed a bunch of moves, abilities, and forms. Scald is now a signature move just for Volcanion instead of a convenient surf alternative. Greninja, while in the files, still has Battle Bonds, but the Ash Greninja transformation is gone. I really do not understand that because now it means the only games you can use it in are the Alola games. There's more obviously but I'd rather not list a book.

A big change was definitely the removal of actually being able to dress how we want. Disguise it as "lore appropriate" if you want, that doesn't really justify them SEVERELY limiting us to just 4 uniforms. Imo, only 1 looks good, and if you have Scarlet then you're stuck in that ATROCIOUS orange and white color scheme. Legends Arceus may not have had that much in terms of character customization besides period appropriate clothes, but there were options to experiment at the least. I'm just saying, it would have been nice to be able to mix and match and sort of defy dress code a little like Team Star does. Plus... I'm gonna be honest, I need someone to inform game freak that full length pants still exist and most of the world still has them. I hate exposed ankles and preppy shoes. It makes me look like a hipster dweeb.

As far as the rest, the "accessories" are pretty lukewarm tbh. I was expecting "accessories" to be like a hoodie underneath the uniform, some hair accessories, patches for clothes, etc, but it's really just an expanded gloves, shoes, hats, bags, and glasses option, like what SwSh had. Sure there's more on that front, like helmets, but with the four uniforms our options are still HARDLY unique.

I'm not going to forget the "most options we've ever had" for the face and hair, and honestly it still sucks. I found it very hard to find something that didn't outright make me look like a femboy or a small business lesbian. Nothing wrong if that's your vibe, but I prefer a vibe closer to the messy hair and boy options in SwSh. And don't get me wrong, it's great to be able to have all the same options girls do, but inclusion by omission isn't the way to go and more should be done on that front. Let boys wear skirts and short shorts and let girls have full length pants and boy hair cuts, and ffs let us have hair styles that aren't so... samey and plain. More eye options too, because I really do not like how our eyes look so big just to make us look even younger.

Imo the most likely reasons character customization is like this is either a time issue, a "lol its school so lore," issue they purposely set up to do less work, or they really, REALLY want to do away with CC all together and are using this as sort of a "soft" excuse to do it. "Oh, everyone hates it so they must not want it anymore lol" basically.

I have my nitpicks with the character design as well, but this is no longer about "things removed," and will be addressed in my nitpicks.

Now as for other things removed that affect actual gameplay, they removed the Shiny sparkle noise that was introduced in LA and made Shiny hunting much easier. I really don't understand this, especially considering some shinies like Cuphant and Garchomp are very hard to tell if they are shiny or not at a glance. This is doubly hard for Pokemon that are very small and hard to see without squinting. Another middle finger to fans of it? I really can't think of a reason except to artificially inflate the rarity of shinies again, and that's just shitty either way. One could argue that because of two separate teams, LA was the one that thought of it while it didn't come to the SV team- and yet the move relearning and free battle camera are exactly the same as LA. Therefore, there was a conscious decision, like Set, to remove it for reasons that are probably very stupid, dumb, and shouldn't have mattered when the jingle helped to identify one Garchomp from a shiny Garchomp and more.

Something else removed is the ability to just catch without having to initiate battle. Maybe it's just a Legends thing, but I somehow find it tedious to have to initiate battle with every single Pokémon I want to catch now. It's not entirely unforgivable, but it does slog on having to toss, battle, toss, battle instead of having to battle when you're caught.

Lastly, and definitely the biggest thing to me: the removal of the permanent TM. Sword and Shield (if I have to praise that pile of shit ONE MORE FUCKING TIME) at least had permanent TMs AND TRs that function as old 1 use TMs. The TM system they have now, imo, is just tedious. I have absolutely better luck just finding a random TM on the ground or just going by my team's natural moveset than I do actually saving up for these TMs that hardly benefit any of my team. LA had a better system of just being able to purchase the move to be tutored without the bs materials required. Plus just... it's pretty brutal when you think about it. Disgusting in others. Why tf do I need an entire bag pocket dedicated to carrying Shinx fangs, Drowzee fur, Etc? Why am I hitting these poor creatures hard enough to knock out teeth? If anything, I fucking hate that we've regressed from Gen 5's BEST contribution to the franchise. The simpler solution would have been to have TRs of any move you've seen be made into a single use TR for a reduced price OR a permanent TM for a higher price.

Let's move away from things removed. Let's just talk about things that aren't right or that i just don't like or find slightly annoying. We're not hitting bug territory yet.

Wtf is this game's obsession with SANDWICHES??? Sandwich stores, sandwich ingredients, sandwich mini game, your dragon loves sandwiches, your school sells sandwiches, your friends and teachers and NPCs talk about sandwiches so often, even the last photo in the game HAS A SANDWICH STICKER! And the thing is, there are other dishes in the game such as rice balls or ice cream- but MOTHER FUCKING SANDWICHES ARE THE END ALL BE ALL IN PALDEA! EAT SANDWICH! CONSUME SANDWICH! INTAKE THE SANDWICH!

On a mechanics note, I think the food mechanic is okay I guess, but they don't explain that you're selecting ONE SERVING and not just that many pieces of ingredients to put on the sandwich. This ends with a sandwich that's like BRICKS OF BACON BACON BACON CHORRITO BACON HAM HAM HAM BACON CHEESE CHEESE BACON CHEESE BACON. Plus, as my friend pointed out, WHY are we dropping these pieces onto the bread instead of carefully placing them? Why is an ingredient lost to the god damn void if it lands ON OUR PLATE??? Do our pokemon snatch it like untrained dogs? And the bonuses are hardly worth it in the end- least of all for wonky and very low effort animation that sometimes just doesn't work!

Speaking of picnics, I hate that they delegated the breeding mechanics to the picnic. I'm guessing GF is wanting to get away from it because they don't want to admit pokemon fuck or something, but they lay eggs, that's a thing that's been around for over 20 years at this point, and it's time to just accept it. But anyway, what's in the game sucks because of the WAITING. At least with past iterations of Nursuries, I could just ride my bike around and see the NPC make a gesture to tell me my pokemon laid an egg, and if it's taking a while, I could just leave them for a while while I fucked off to do something else for a bit. Here, you gotta make a picnic and wait for that to load, you probably should box your other 4 pokemon so they don't breed by accident (btw you don't just deposit the two you want to breed, you have to make room yourself for it), then you have to WAIT in the very small confines of your picnic table. This is so tedious and BORING. I could have hatched several eggs in the time it took to get ONE egg.

How would I fix this? JUST COPY AND PASTE THE NURSURY! They copied and pasted attacks and stuff, so they can do it. Why do we have to reinvent the god damn wheel? Just slap it in there! OR! Better yet, stream line it to have it delegated to a menu in a special box in the PC. Sort of like a battle box, but just for breeding. You could also go so far as to include incubator space for your eggs so you don't have to rearrange your team every time it's time to hatch. Put a Flame Body pokemon or something in there with it to help them hatch faster or something and to allow multiple, seamless hatches.

Moving on, the day and night cycle. I don't particularly hate the idea of in game days and nights going by faster, but I think it's just inconvenient as of right now. LA once again did it best by having the option to sleep through certain parts of the day so you don't have to wait for nightfall. Oh hey, another pointlessly removed feature.

Now for some nitpicks:

I do not like the camera. It cannot decide where tf it wants to be in battle and zooms way too close while traveling.

This game is in DESPERATE need of voice acting. There's so many cutscenes that are awkward lip flapping and especially towards the end where the gang is just talking- I almost missed some of what they said because I didn't see the text pop up.

I hate how boring most of the gym leaders are here. I was hoping for some shenanigans at least with Iono outside her gym battle but nope

The character art style in 3d particularly is okay but I'd rather us go back to less Detective Pikachu and New Snap and more LA

I don't like how most buildings and shops are just menus now instead of letting us explore little areas

I still hate this inferior trading system. Stop trying to push Pokémon Home on us and bring back in game GTS dammit, you block heads. It wasn't good in LGPE, it wasn't good in SwSh, it wasn't good in BDSP, just give us back the fucking GTS so I can stop asking random people online for help. Trying to find a Quaxly is a nightmare (I am aware of the Austin John codes, that's not a good solution and although I appreciate his efforts, an artificial solution does not work). Everyone is offering Sprigatito for Sprigatito and it's annoying. The surprise Trade is also somehow slower and more tedious.

The main character design overall just feels weird, especially the default boy that looks like someone shoved their shota fetish in. Even then, they describe the academy as a place for all ages, but we're 12? Or something? You'd think this would be the prime of all times to allow us different body types to customize or something. Theres clearly older students as well going as far as grandmas.

The weather is just irritating tbh. Why is it raining in the canyon area constantly? Why does it always rain in the central city during import cutscenes and make the game lag more? Fuck you if you want to use fire types I guess, because it rains every 5 minutes

Some of the "new" Pokémon should just be new forms. Regional variants, Paradox forms- I'm sorry but I don't care that convergent evolution is a thing, that applies to Pokémon like Tauros and Bouffalant or Heracross and Pinser- white Diglett is just white Diglett and the Paradox Donphans are just Donphans. Also, Pawmo is a useless design because it's just Pawmi but slightly taller. Stop padding your dex with bullshit to meet a quota. The designs are cool mind you, implementation is not.

The map design could use work. There's some interesting locations but most are pretty plain looking. Some sprucing up by adding palm trees at beaches, beach goers, some areas with glowing pokemon and lights, flowers- more work needs done in the future.

Gliding does not need a timer. I want to glide for long distances without falling. I really don't understand why this was added because even Braviary didn't have this issue in LA.

Perhaps the biggest nitpick I have that is ultimately of no consequence whatsoever is the choice of ending song. Don't get me wrong, I think Celestial is a decent jingle and I personally have no beef with Ed Sheeran, but what does the song have ANYTHING to do with the game? Was it "written for Pokemon" or did Pokemon just so happen to buy a song that just so happened to be finished but not published at the time? I feel like reception would have been better if it were sung by singers with actual connections to the series, like the anime openings in general, or by well known poketubers or singers in general from YouTube that need way more exposure. Instead they paid out way more for a mid singer to make a decent song that doesn't match the theme of the game at all. Like seriously, why not have a song about the past and future or something? For that matter why Ed? Why not a Spanish singer for the Spain region? It just seems pretty fake for Pokemon as a company to keep getting these random celebrities that have nothing to do or say about the series at all until they're being paid to say OMG I LOVE POKÉMON PIKACHU IS MY FAVORITE. It's disingenuous basically. If Ed were like "oh yes I like pokemon, my favorite game is Platinum and my favorite Pokémon is Lucario" or "My favorite game is Black 2 and my favorite Pokémon is Slowpoke" or something, I'd be more inclined to believe the hype, but as it stands alongside all the other celebrities, it just screams fake fan.

Anyway, back to the game, I think that covers most of what I dislike that has nothing to do with glitches or performance. There's probably more, but for now this seems enough. Reminder that I still like the game, but I'm not going to hold back on what bothers me.

And now I talk about glitches and performance. Pretty much everyone and their grandma have, but it needs to be pointed out until it's fixed.

I'm going to list everything I HAVE PERSONALLY encountered. If you somehow haven't encountered a single thing anyone else is talking about, 1. You're lying, 2. You have and just don't realize it, and 3. You're some special miracle child that needs to go buy a lotto ticket because that is highly unlikely.

Now, what I have personally encountered while playing:

Slow downs- slowdowns to the point that it takes 20 seconds to finish a jump. Slow downs to the point that I feel like I'm trying to emulate X on my laptop. Slowdowns that drag on and on to the point that it's 3x slower than it should be.

Somehow the game works better in hand held- not by a lot, but better. This tells me that they probably didn't spend a lot of time optimizing it for docked mode and literally developed it for hand held.

The world flickers. You notice it a lot for far away locations but even indie games don't have this issue. Sometimes it flickers black or it flickers blue. It's so frequent that I really am convinced that the game wasn't finished.

Wall clipping. Pokémon sometimes spawn INSIDE walls. This makes hunting a specific one annoying or avoiding them annoying, as you're hugging a cave wall to get around a Diglett and WHOA WALL SALANDIT. It's jarring to say the least and is not only immersion breaking but super, super low quality. You'll especially notice it in those tube caves around the mines. If you're not careful you're liable to fall through the entire world.

Landmass... swelling??? I really don't know how to describe it, but there's areas where I guess land doesn't load in until you're RIGHT THERE like 20 yards away, and it makes rocks, islands, and mountains feel like they're inflating right before your eyes.

Falling forever. This... idk how this happens but it's happened a few times. You fall off a mountain or into a river, and instead of landing, your animation is locked into falling. You can't open any menus btw so you can't warp away. You just have to sit there and wait or restart and lose progress.

Black screen. My friend also experienced this, and it's just when the game won't load. No indication that it's loading, no timer or bar to indicate how far along we are, and it might just not load. I waited 8 minutes for a single cutscene to load one time out of curiosity when this happened to me. My friend ended up having to quit and reload.

The eating animations just don't work sometimes

My pokemon sometimes takes on the texture of a nearby building. It'd be cool if it were intentional, but it's not.

Pokemon clipping through the floor- especially noticeable in gym fights

Sometimes my pokemon won't fight in LG mode. It's not a shiny, because I swapped to a different pokemon and suddenly it's killing and mayhem again.

The PC. Just. Yeah. Takes forever to load one box, then if you go to another it has to load that one, and if you go back it has to load that one again. It makes organizing so fucking tedious.

Picnics take forever to load

Massive stuttering, especially while capturing. Yall know that clip of Psyduck being captured and the whole background unloads and reloads? Happened to me but in a different area all together.

And of course, game crashes. I had 3, one of which was after a HEAVY slow down.

And there's more of course out there. I personally haven't done co op yet, so I'm just curious how bad that is after everything I've seen online of Dick Wigletts and models just going crazy.

As far as non game breaking performance stuff I hate:

Draw distance is still stupidly low. Higher than SwSh, but I should not be seeing grass and trees growing before my eyes.

Low frame rate for objects in the same area. I'm sure we all know about our 10fps classmates, but this also affects Pokémon that are clearly loaded in but jutting around like action figures. Windmills are especially noticeable, not winding or just having abysmally low fps when very close to them. Honestly how do you fuck up a WINDMILL? Thats SUPPOSED to spin and be visible from a distance.

Reflections. Just... Game Freak, do you not know how reflections work? Because that's not it sweeties. At all. It's especially noticeable at the very pit of Area Zero.

My Switch gets VERY hot running this game. It has no issues with BotW or XBC2. It's not a model issue because of the low draw distance, and again, those games rendered way more complex objects at a distance in comparison. I'm reminded of how SwSh apparently fucked up Roku tvs at launch. Like wow, I was actually concerned for a bit. Game Freak just does not know how to optimize.

That's about all I can think of right now but I feel like I'm forgetting something.

All I can think of is what this game could of been. It could have been my favorite next to LA and BW2 if stupid fucking rich people in suits gave a damn about the game beyond their holiday cash in.

You can observe this from various angles, but this is my take on the issues present in the game:

The game reportedly took about 3 and a half years to make, starting production close to LA according to leaks and datamines. Most of us can agree that they should probably get about 5 or 6 years per game. We know GF works with multiple teams on a project: I theorize roughly 3. Team A is for new gens, Team B is for enhancements, and Team C is more of a fuck around team for games like Arceus or remakes. That's just on the Pokémon angle, because we know they have the Gear Project and like to work on other projects despite not having the manpower- because they really thought Little Town Heroes would be bigger than Pokémon. At the very least, it doesn't appear that we had a side project to blame for detracting from the main game like LTH did to SwSh.

But I'm going on a tangent. SV and LA clearly needed more time in the oven (and I'd argue more time debugging).

However, the belief is that GF is being bullied around by TPC and Nintendo to produce a new game every year and a new gen every 3 years to keep up with everything else going on around the franchise.

TCG

Anime

Manga

Plushies

Toys

Clothes

Merch

Music videos

And way more.

Each new gen serves as the spearhead for everything else the franchise does until the next gen- which for the last 9 years as of writing this has been consistently every 3 years.

In other words, the belief is that if Game Freak has to delay, TPC and Nintendo loses a LOT of money in delaying everything else and pisses off shareholders.

I somewhat buy into this theory, but I refuse to believe the people in charge of GF are being bullied into it. It's much more likely that someone in management, producing, and directing are writing checks their teams are struggling to cash. GF has a big turnover rate, and employees have described the environment as basically not being able to move up by merit alone while promotions go to people the higher ups like personally instead.

In other words, too many "yes men" are saying "yes we can make a huge game like Legends Arceus in 3 years. Oh, we also have to release a new mainline title? Yes, we can do that! No no no, don't worry, it'll be done by then!"

And again, this is just me guessing and theorizing and I by no means have inside information. However, this seems the most likely answer to me. Imo there was a significant drop in quality from one game to the next when we hit 3d, and especially in games directed by Ohmori where there's so many corners cut, he may as well be the antithesis to a Wendy's hamburger (their motto is no cut corners, hence the square patties- get the joke? Okay moving on). He's most likely not the sole person to blame here, but rather one of many "yes men" that do not want to give their higher ups a wrong answer.

I will say that LA (directed by Iwao of USUM fame) and SV are absolutely progressive for the franchise in so many ways, but most of the community agrees that they are not living up to their potential- and the sad thing is, they're probably already planning a Let's Go Johto game (like USUM, the words Let's Go! are directly in the game and there are many gold and silver items to buy) and eventually gen 10 to come out within the next 3 years already.

I could sit here and talk about or theorize all the ways they could give themselves more time, but the reality of it is this: pokemon is a product, not your neighbor you grew up with or the mom and pop shop you go to to support them, and they are definitely not indie (hasn't been since gen 3 I'd argue but I'm willing to push as far as gen 6). New gens especially are just commercials for merch for the rest of the franchise. No matter what, the games will make about 5 times their initial investments back- it literally sold 10 million copies in Japan in the first 3 days alone. Boycots don't work because it's literally too big to fail. Seriously, I saw a guy who literally went out of his way to collect multiple copies of each game from around the world for collection purposes- that alone gave TPC about $1k probably. Not to mention scalpers.

So the best thing people can do, imo, and especially reviewers, is to grade HARSHER on the games. The only way they'll learn is if there's enough back lash- remember dexit? That's how we got 250 pokemon added back in after the initial 400. Even if you love it, point out what could be better, no matter how small, and point out every glitch you encounter. They have to do something different for the next gen, because at this point the next gen will be even buggier on the next Nintendo console.

And again, I know nobody from GF reads this, but I'll say it anyway: NOW is the time to negotiate for more time. Not 2 months before release, NOW is while gen 10 is still in development. Push for 5 years minimum, and let some other studios fill in the gaps in the mean time. I know for damn sure a Colosseum 3 or a side game in a similar vein developed by another studio would more than keep me and the super fans occupied for a while.

But. Reviewing SV as they are now... 5/10 seems fair. Listen, I love the game and I think it is super duper ambitious and fun when it works- but the glitches and performance are so distracting that it breaks my immersion. The graphics are close to being good but NEED so much polish. Even with all of my nitpicks, I would have gladly given this an 8/10 if only it were FUCKING FINISHED.

But alas, it's not. It's released and I'm more than sure some business men who couldn't give a shit about the actual game or fans are saying it's perfect, but it's not finished. Several million people basically got a glorified beta game thinking they'd patch it day 1.

That being said, and I fully acknowledge I am a pessimistic POS that assumes the worst in everything, so this is surprising coming from me: a patch is most likely coming. This is THE new gen game, meaning this is what's going to go for competitive and World tournaments. Rn there's exploits to make OKO moves like Sheer Cold have 100% accuracy and it's not due to an ability like No Gaurd. That, and it's pretty much guaranteed that they're going to add DLC to expand on the story- too much in the game is pointing to that. Nintendo also has been forced to give out refunds- pokemon seemingly being one of the few games that make them break their no refund policy, something I'm sure they're unhappy about as publisher. It is within their best interest and ours that, especially for gameplay and tournament purposes, they patch and finish on the performance end. Visuals will probably still be fucked, but even SwSh got patched eventually. This isn't a situation they can run from like LA, it's something they are probably required to fix. Hell, a sound designer from the game found out about the E4 music glitch, so I think they have to be aware.

But pessimism aside, I do want to thank the people at Game Freak that tried their best to create something incredible. Behind all the business politics and corners cut by higher ups, there are solid ideas all around, and an amazing, heart felt attempt at a story and pokemon designs once more. This is by no means directed at the assholes that inflicted crunch times or approved of releasing the game in this state mind you. Those people deserve to be fired and never allowed near the franchise again.

So yes. 5 out of 10 for now, fix the performance and it'd be an easy 8.

Hopes for the next game: I know I said that the open world was a good "start" for the franchise, but GF has this issue where every game has a mediocre but good "start" to something they hardly improve on.

Oh, the graphics in LGPE were bland but its a good start for the next game!

The Wild Area is boring and lifeless- but it's a good start for the next game!

The DLCs vastly improved on the exploration- it's a great start for the next game!

LA gave us so much freedom to explore- it's a great start for-

You see my point. SV gave a great start for open world exploration, but I just really want them to NAIL it for once. There's clearly someone on the inside that gives a shit- maybe not the higher ups, but there is someone that does. I want them to keep trying their best to improve on what we have.

That's another thing: let's try to not regress and try not to come up with another useless gimmick. I say the next gen or next game just needs to focus on improving what we have now instead of trying to come up with what comes after Terrastilizing.

Seriously, just polish the graphics, no new gimmicks, get the game working and prioritize optimization. Do what went right with SV and LA again. That's all we need.

As far as other things, maybe base the next region in Australia? Prime candidate for open world with lots and lots and LOTS of unique pokemon species. I don't want to see it for 5 years though because I want it to be rich with diverse biomes and exploration and better graphics.

And ffs just give us better character customization. This was piss poor.

And for the next game- which I sincerely hope isn't just LG Johto because I HATED LGPE- just go ahead and delay. We know you want to come out in 2 years, make it 3 instead.

Honestly just optimize SV, add updates and FREE DLC to it (seriously, they owe us), expand the story, maybe add in a couple of new quests and pokemon, do something with that unused area in the NE area of the map or add in something like the Canary Islands, or hell, past and future versions of the region we have now, and that will keep us occupied.

Just. Finish your god damn games. This is inexcusable of the world's richest franchise. Finish your fucking games. SV were so fun but they aren't finished. FINISH THE FUCKING GAME.

[govindhtech]

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23 – Upgrade Insights!

Techies are raving over Samsung’s Galaxy S24 top smartphone. This happened during Samsung Galaxy Unpacked on January 19, 2024.

We like telephones and are constantly inquisitive about new features. This article will compare the Galaxy S24’s specifications against the Galaxy S23 to determine whether the upgrade is worthwhile. Please begin!

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23 : Technical Details The Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23 vary in numerous ways that decide whether an upgrade is worthwhile.

Galaxy S24 and S23 have fantastic screens, however S24 has higher brightness and clarity. Both variants include Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus for scratch resistance and durability. Titanium on the Galaxy S24 feels tougher and more luxurious than aluminum on the S23.

Life of the batteries One important factor to consider is battery life, where the Galaxy S24 exhibits a little improvement. While the S24’s enhanced hardware and software integration lead to somewhat improved energy management, both versions provide all-day battery life.

The Galaxy S24 includes a titanium frame, better optical zoom, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, and longer battery life than the Galaxy S23. The Galaxy S23 is still a reliable smartphone, but these changes appeal to techies.

Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23: Specifications Design, display, camera, and software enhancements distinguish the Samsung Galaxy S24 from its predecessor, the S23.

Dimensions and style The new design of the Galaxy S24, which has flat edges, gives it a sleek and modern appearance. The actual size is still pleasantly small in spite of this change. Both versions include an aluminum frame, however the matte-finished Armor Aluminum of the Galaxy S24 is more durable and fashionable. Though slight, the S24’s design modifications signal a move toward a more stylish and long-lasting look.

Show variations Samsung is committed to producing high-quality displays, as the Galaxy S24 demonstrates. The screen size has been slightly increased to 6.17 inches, and there has been a notable boost in peak brightness to 2,600 nits. When compared to the Galaxy S23, this improvement greatly enhances visibility outside. A 1Hz–120Hz variable refresh rate, another first for the Galaxy S series, allows the Galaxy S24 to combine energy efficiency with fluid images.

Camera Although the Galaxy S24 and S23 have identical camera setups, the S24 has access to “Galaxy AI,” which offers more sophisticated picture processing. The quality of the photos is noticeably improved as a consequence, with more accurate color reproduction and less oversharpening. Thanks to these software improvements, the camera on the Galaxy S24 is able to capture photographs that are more visually appealing and realistic.

Both software and performance With 8GB of RAM, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU powers the Galaxy S24. The S23’s RAM doesn’t change, but the new CPU promises increased speed and economy. But software integration is where the Galaxy S24 really excels. Real-time phone call translation in the Phone app and Chat Assist, a tool that offers message translations and tone recommendations in the Samsung keyboard, are among the new capabilities introduced by the One UI 6.1 enhanced by Galaxy AI. The user experience is improved by these AI-driven features, which also make the Galaxy S24 a more intelligent and approachable gadget.

Furthermore, the Galaxy S24 is capable of wireless charging, making cordless power-ups easier. With generative AI elements integrated into a number of applications, it has AI capabilities beyond productivity and provides a window into the future of smartphone interaction.

Samsung Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23 : Cost Difference The cost is a significant consideration when Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23. Commencing at $800, the Galaxy S24 asserts its status as a high-end gadget within Samsung’s portfolio. The Galaxy S23, on the other hand, is a little more reasonably priced at $717 and is renowned for its strong performance and features.

Although at first look this price difference may not appear significant, it matters for consumers who are debating whether the upgrade is worth the additional expense. For Android users, durability is of utmost importance, and both phones provide years of security updates.

The Galaxy S24 is directly competitive with other high-end Android smartphones, such the Google Pixel series, due to its lower price point. The remaining Galaxy S23’s cost savings must be balanced against the Galaxy S24’s additional features and enhancements.

Should I upgrade to Galaxy S24 or S23? Several major enhancements and your love of cutting-edge technology will determine whether you go from the Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23. The Galaxy S24 stands out for its strength and beauty because to its sleek, contemporary design that has flat sides and a sturdy Armor Aluminum frame. With more realistic and well-resolved photos, Samsung’s integration of “Galaxy AI” into the camera system takes photography to new levels.

The Samsung One UI 6.1’s Galaxy AI capabilities, which are new for the Galaxy S24, represent a major software innovation step forward. These features like intelligent message support and real-time translation showcase Samsung’s commitment to improving user engagement with AI.

The Galaxy S24’s improvements make it an alluring option, even if the Galaxy S23 already has a strong feature set that includes Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus for screen protection and a sturdy metal frame. A new and futuristic smartphone experience is provided by the S24’s emphasis on AI integration and small but significant design changes.

Galaxy S24 release is likely to be well-publicized, appealing to general customers and tech enthusiasts. Its performance, design, and AI-powered features make it a strong smartphone rival.

Choosing between the Galaxy S24 vs Galaxy S23 depends on your needs and desire for new technology. If you value AI-driven features, enhanced camera and display performance, and a sleek appearance, the Galaxy S24 upgrade is worth it.

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