#telling of gravity of the offense as well as the credibility of this person

[wejustvibing]

brazil riding harder for its honorary citizen than its actual one is very telling lmao

[cutegirlmayra]

I'm actually interested in the difference between Japanese Sonic/Amy and American Sonic/Amy. I know that Japanese is more pro in the games themselves and in marketing, but do you have specific examples? Also slightly off-topic, but do you think there is a reason why Sonic universes outside the games (Sonic Boom, Sonic X, the comics from time to time) are more liberal when it comes to Sonic/Amy moments? I have one or two ideas but I've never quite put my finger on it.

(Official SEGA Sonamy artwork: Sonic Advance 3 -that is meant to be funny lol-)

I’d be more than happy to oblige!

Much like the Anime Trope, these two fall into a rather old but still used one. Girl chases the main hero, main hero either is oblivious or doesn’t show any response to the affections.

SEGA has stated Sonic is ‘Shy’, since he can’t just ‘be oblivious’ to Amy’s open affections… nor can they state he’s ‘neutral’ when that could mean he’s ‘ignoring her’ which would go against Sonic’s natural good heart.

So it’s ‘ambiguous’. Verses- Neutral.

However…

This does in fact differ when it comes to translations.

Examples:

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle:

American: Amy, take care of yourself.

Japanese: Amy…. -long, dramatic pause- Take care of yourself..!

This scene suggests that Japanese Sonic actually paused to think about what to say to her, and also suggests that he felt it was ‘him who should take care of her’ which in Japanese, is very touching and borderlines romantic intent.

American Sonic sped this long pause up to where it was quick and more of a - Winky charm. Whereas, with Japanese, it was more tender and addressed specifically so that more emotion was conveyed. (Some would say at a deeper, more personal level that Sonic wouldn’t natural show anyway.)

—-

Sonic Riders Zero Gravity:

American: Girls hate it when you rush them, Jet!

Japanese: Girls hate stubborn men!

This scene discreetly shows Sonic stepping up to defend Amy, but what’s interesting is that American Sonic is simply telling Jet to back off, whereas… Japanese Sonic is suggesting that Jet stop ‘flirting’ with her. ‘Stubborn men’ suggests that he won’t ease up his targeting her, and is mostly stated for when men are trying to win a girl over -negative connotation at times-. Japanese Sonic is being sarcastic for humor’s sake, but also warning and calling out Jet. Whereas, American Sonic is simply teasing and poking at Jet to turn his anger to himself instead of Amy. (Some, again, would argue the response technically means the same thing, but when you look at the two cultures, you’ll notice that ‘stubborn men’ is more addressed to men who won’t leave a woman alone. -cat callers end up getting beaten up by the main heroes?- In other-words, Japanese Sonic was acting more personally defensive with interceding Jet and Amy; whereas American Sonic was offensive in protecting her and directing Jet to himself for the fun of another race/rivalry.)

—-

Sonic Generations: SEGA of Japan actually stated that Sonic putting his hand up to Amy’s face and pushing her away was out of character. (Something about Sonic not treating his friends like that? I’m sure in Japan, that kind of behavior is considered extremely rude…)

—-

Sonic Adventure:

American: She’s so weird!

Japanese: Amy! Wa-wa-wait just a minute! Sheesh, guess I have no choice…

American Sonic is a bit ‘too cruel’ to most viewers in this scene, though it’s meant to come off as comical. However, in Japanese Sonic is more naturally surrendering to going after Amy’s lead, startled by her suddenly taking off into the park. (Far less harsh, if you ask me.)

—

Sonic Lost World:

American: Hey, Amy! Looks like springtime’s come early!

Japanese: Yo, Amy! Glad to see you’re okay.

Clearly, the difference is substantial. Japanese Sonic has a tender-care to his words as he addresses Amy, showing he remembers her last ‘farewell’ message and is relieved she’s alright. Whereas, American Sonic is going for the joke, being more peppy instead of relieved and commenting on the environment instead of her directly to her. (Some could say she reminded of him of spring… lol okay, I say that. But spring hints at things, okay!? lol)

—-

There are plenty others, lol. But I don’t want to make this too long.

Overall, American Sonic in the Modern Games is much more ‘for the pun’ and ‘about images’ than Japanese Sonic, who still keeps up ‘face’ but also warmly encourages his friends and treats them respectfully. Most of the American Written games have been stated to be ‘out of character’ by SEGA officials.

America treats Sonamy much like they do their franchise, a meme or joke to be poked fun of. Whereas, with a much more refined atmosphere, Japan treats Sonamy as an endearing and lovely couple. Though both resign to say they can’t really see Sonic ever ‘settling down’ or really being focused on romance. And,… that makes since to me. Knowing who Sonic is. But even that doesn’t mean he can’t have a crush XD (The heart wants what the heart wants, lol!)

My honest opinion?

American Sonic get awkward and werided out by Amy, but still cares about her well being.

Japanese Sonic is shy and uneasy with Amy’s antics, but he appreciates her.

And that’s all folks! ;Db If you’d like more discussions on Sonic or pairings, I’ll try and let you know what the facts verses opinions are!

—WOAH! there was way more to answer in this than what I thought! Let me try and.. here we go!

American Amy comes off as a bit much and mood-swingish. Japanese Amy is more caring and understanding of Sonic.

In Sonic X, Japan has a scene where Amy admits that Sonic may never really want her idea of love, he may never even want a family! But she’s not going to give up trying, cause she does love him.

In America, Amy just complains about Sonic not coming on the date and possibly stating he doesn’t care about her.

Japanese Amy is also shown as ‘playful’ in her culture, and her actions are more reflections of ‘positive attributes’ for the culture. America tries to twist and make this ‘funny’ instead of ‘loveable’ and that throws audiences off.

—-

Most Japanese Companies are very ‘tight’ with their characters, protecting them from being ‘out of character’. Nintendo for one is famous for this ‘tight-grasping-hold’ over their characters being portrayed well.

Sega of Japan knows they have too many people using their characters, and so they created ‘Mandates’ to make sure they stay in line. The reason other medias of Sonic are so ‘liberal’ is because Sega of Japan doesn’t ‘closely watch/inspect/is right in their faces’ to be able to regulate it. And honestly? The officials were more concerned about if it’s making money and getting exposure than anything else. They’ve tried to change that policy, visiting America more to secure some credibility in the characters. They first tried this with Sonic Boom but ended up seeming to abandon it. (I don’t blame them) but they have been here more recently with Sonic Mania; Giving me hope that Sonic Forces will be regulated to more ‘in-character’ themes. (Also, the original writer is Japanese, meaning America JUST has to translate correctly)

Most companies generally want to make sure they still have some control over their franchises, mandates and other rules are not uncommon. SEGA is rather ‘looser’ in their holds then Nintendo, for example though. Nintendo will shut down a fan-project that doesn’t treat their character in good light, or even caution Hollywood like with Wreck-It Ralph and Bowser. They gave some particular suggestions for animation and the like on him. SEGA just had fun with it, cause I didn’t hear much of anything from the interview with the director about them other than they ‘were fully on-board!’.

Sonic Boom got away with Sonamy through loopholes and ‘less supervision’ at times. But they have their limitations too. (Other characters comment on Sonic and Amy, but never Sonic reacting/stating blunt comments. Amy could, but they’re going with a more ‘discreet/quiet’ love when it comes to Amy’s crush.)

Sonic X was by SEGA of Japan, they’re allowed to / can do whatever the heck they want. -z formation, hip rotation, snap, snap, hair flip.- It’s 4Kids (illegal?) editing of original content that sometimes messed up translation. But there are things that were only exclusive to Japan’s release. (such as Natsu no hi which was confirmed to be from Sonic’s POV, along with the anime bubbles at seeing Amy in her ‘dress’)

Archie had their hands tied with some strict contracts, such as ‘Sonic can’t have a permanent girlfriend’ and ‘Sonic can’t show any interest in Amy’, but even Ian admits some hints and others in Archie have stated their ‘case’ on the matter too. (One even admitted he thought Silver was Shadow and Amy’s kid xP

Now, I’m not trying to dis America. They’ve survived a lot. But I know where most confusion comes from is that the company can’t decide ‘what Sonic is’. This can be problematic, along with bad marketing ploys. So it’s not entirely their fault. Other forces are to blame here too. Such as the fandom sometimes placing their opinions on things as facts, without checking sources sometimes.. (It happens -shrug-)

I hope this helps! ^^ (If there was something I missed or misunderstood regarding your question, feel free to ask me again! I wrote this at 6 in the morning so if somethign doesn’t amke sense, you call me lol)

[puclpodcast]

PDL Week 5 Recap

PDL Week 5 Recap

We return from the bye week and each team has had an extra week of training to help them prepare for their matches. Let’s see how they did.

DEP vs. NWN: 0-6

HEH vs. BAL: 0-2

VAV vs. AUK: 0-1

BFS vs. NJJ: 6-0

TOT vs. BEN: 6-0 (Forfeit)

COG vs. SHS: 4-0

SLC vs. ITA: 2-0

NYY vs. LOL: 0-3

PIP vs. HFW: 1-0

JAX vs. DCC: 0-5

BLP vs. MIN: 0-5

MID vs. MIL: 4-0

This week featured the top 2 teams in each division going head to head in some crazy battles and at the end of it. There is only 1 team left that is undefeated. Geo and the Columbus Gallades atop the standings. This is proving to be a tougher year of PDL than anyone expected. Any team has the potential to take down any other team on the right day.

After 5 weeks of play, lets look at the top 5 on the MVP race. At the top we have Snorlax from BFS with 13 kills and only 2 deaths with a +/- of 11. The next closest is Excadrill with 9 Kills, 1 death and a +/- of 8. Following we have 3 pokemon tied with +/- of 7. Tapu koko with 8 kills 1 death, and Tornadus-T  and Vileplume with 7 Kills and 0 deaths. 7 more weeks to rack up kills and prove who is the MVP this season.

Pick’ems

This week was full of upsets and that caused most people to be less than accurate in this weeks predictions. NWN had a 3-9 upsets along with SLC 2-10, PIP 3-9 and MID 4-8. While people are learning who to pick based of previous weeks anything can happen as the closest person had 10/12 correct. Who knows maybe next week someone will get it all right.

Trades

We had a bunch of trades this week so lets see how things went down.

AUK Terrakion T1 Free Agent Weavile BLP Dhelmise T3 TOT Feraligatr TOT Feraligatr T2 BLP Dhelmise BLP Feraligatr T2 Free Agent Medicham TOT Turtonator T4 Free Agent Granbull NYY Escavalier T4 Free Agent Alolan Dugtrio HFW Honchkrow T3 Free Agent Greninja (Torrent)

  The first thing we see is TheBritishGent relapsing and making more trades to feed his addiction. In all reality we see Power being swapped for more power, and and different mons of the same type being interchanged. I know I can speak for myself when I say that, I looked at my future matchups and saw that the potential for Honchkrow to make an appearance was going to be slim so I looked for another mon that could fill his shoes and off more to my squad overall and I found that in Greninja. I think these changes could have a real impact. Nothing says scary like Weavile or hip like Alolan Dugtrio… anyways lets move on…

Interview with Lynian

This week I’m joined by the trivia master himself Lynian

Clod9: Thank you Lynian for taking the time to answer these questions for the fans. This is your big reveal into battling within PUCL, how is it going so far?

Lynian: I would like to think it’s going well! I haven’t made a complete ass of myself, at least, with some respectable wins under my belt. Adjusting to draft league has been a bit of a journey, but I think I have a good team and a solid grasp on what it can do.

C9: How did your draft go? Were you nervous?

L: I was very, very nervous. I was so nervous, in fact, that instead of typing Thundurus-I, I typed Tornadus-I. Well, what can you do? I recovered, calmed down, and the resulting Porygon-Z pick up has done wonders, so I’m quite happy with how it went. Even if DrShamu stole my Zygarde, forcing me to take Landorus.

C9: What are your goals for this season of PDL?

L: I would like to think that I’ve already accomplished them! I went into this hoping above hope that I might actually pull a single win out, and to my surprise, I’m doing much better than I expected! As we settle into the back half of the season, I think my goals are making the playoffs. I can lose the first round, but I’m going to do my damnedest to make it there.

C9: Who are most looking forward to battling this season?

L: I’m really looking forward to battling the rest of my division. So far, I’ve only fought Geo, and I don’t like the look of my 0% in-division win rate. I hope to fix that, and shortly.

C9: Is there anyone you are glad you don’t have to face in the regular season?

L: R. Sigma, Seth Vilo, DrShamu, and well, you. Sigma has an eerie amount of foresight, Shamu is just a better battler than I, Seth is a stall monster who needs to be stopped, and you are just me but better.

C9: You are also sponsoring the Create a Pokemon Competition. How did that come about?

L: About the time of the UUTC, I was looking over the tentative calendar for the year, especially all of the community events and tournaments. I realized that if someone wasn’t into Pokemon for the competitive scene (cards, battles, or badges), there really weren’t any events for them. As a fan who loves the world and collection as much or more than the actual core gameplay, this didn’t sit right with me. So, I gathered up a few cohorts, and we drafted up a plan so that people who were more into non-battle mechanics could have a chance to shine.

C9: if you had to create a Pokemon what would it be?

L: See, now it feels like I’m being evaluated on my credibility! Well, if I had to pick one of my ideas, I really like the Fire/Grass Pokemon based on pyrophytes (plants that require fire as part of their reproductive cycle) that I have made. I call it Flakseed. It looks like a tank. The other one that I liked was a Psychic/Bug Pokemon called Paramoth, based around the idea of the “butterfly effect.” It was an oversized moth with clocks as wings, and it had a unique ability that applied the crit-boosting effect of Super Luck and the effect of Serene Grace… to every Pokemon on the battlefield.

C9: Why did you choose the team name, Salt Lake Combees?

L: Well, my home state has a relative dearth of sports teams, other than the Jazz, and I couldn’t come up with a good pun for it. I settled on using the Salt Lake Bees, a minor league baseball team, as the base, but I knew another team was taking the Beedrills. Figuring that a minor league team doesn’t need a fully-evolved Pokemon, I settled on the Salt Lake Combees.

C9: Were there any secret techs that you brought for your matchups that you didn’t get to showcase?

L: I think the only secret tech that I brought that didn’t get to see any play was Sludge Wave on Tornadus on my week against Sparky. He didn’t bring any of his Fairy mons, so the tech sat unused. Tornadus also got knocked out in the match against Whimsicott before getting to set off Defog to clear her Aurora Veil, but that doesn’t feel special enough to qualify as a secret tech… Oh! Due to an unlucky crit, I never had the health to pull it off, but I did have Z-Gravity on my Landorus one week, hoping to sweep with the +Sp. Atk boost to my Earth Power.

C9: Who would you say is the mon you are most excited to use on your team this year?

L: Honestly, I have no idea. I’m genuinely excited to use two of my personal favorites in Galvantula and Porygon-Z, but part of me is just happy to see Magmar doing anything at all. NFE Pokemon are really good in this meta, man.

  C9: Let’s learn about you as a pokemon Fan. When did you start listening to PUCL?

L: It’s been just about a year, actually! I dived into the chatroom quick, and the rest is history. One thing to note, I actually listened to all of the Game Corners before I listened to a main show! I was so confused when everyone was talking about this Thatch guy. Snag loves it when I tell that story.

C9: What pokemon generation did you start with?

L: The very first video game that I owned was Pokémon Sapphire. I’m confident my mom just bought it for me when she got my GameBoy because I had watched some of the “cartoon.” Little did she know that I would play it almost exclusively, well past childhood.

C9: What is your favorite region?

L: Alola, full stop. The region was bursting with life. Every area felt distinct, but still one region. People often say that it was too “tropical” or had too little variation, but the consistency was something I found that tied it together more than bored me. Instead of “Pokémon Urban Outskirts #412”, each area felt like it fit. Not to mention the fairly great representation of Hawaii!

C9: Who is your favorite pokemon?

L: Minior, no doubts. I love the goofy little boi. When I first saw it, I was mostly unimpressed by its design, but the gimmick of the ability had me interested. Now, though, I love the swirly glasses and the candy colors! It looks like something that would fly silently, but instead makes airplane noises with its mouth (that would, of course, get muffled by the rock casing). It’s currently my phone background.

C9: If you had to pick: Attack or Special Attack?

L: Boy, oh boy, is this an interesting question. See, besides having two different stats to resist, both attacking stats are affected very differently by battle. See, Attack is a dynamic stat where Special Attack is much harder to influence. Want to boost attack? Swords Dance, Huge Power, Moxie, Defiant, or a myriad of other effects are widely available and usually influence it either by multiple stages or by being easy to trigger. Want to cripple a physical attacker? Intimidate and Burn are also widely available. The reverse is not true. Other than Snarl, how do you effectively drop Special Attack? Most moves to raise it are either rare, or specifically Calm Mind, too, so raising it is hard. All things being even, I like the consistency of Special Attack over the dramatic highs and lows of Attack.

C9: What is your battle style: Stall/Hyper Offense/Bulky Offense/Balance?

L: Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *Cough* The preferred Lynian strategy is 5 sweepers and a pivot. I think that speaks for itself. I like to smash things. :3

C9: Do you prefer Speed or Trick Room?

L: My brain says Speed, but my heart says Trick Room. I think out of specific edge cases (like best boy Stakatakatkatkataktakakatkataktakaktaktaktaktaka), I prefer to have something faster than something that functions under a gimmick in general. It just sucks when your team requires the move in play and you don’t get a chance to set it up.

C9: What is your favorite Weather; Hail/Sand/Rain or Sun?

L: Hail and Sand (outside of specifically my Mono-Rock team) are horrible and I hate them. I think I prefer Sun to Rain, if only because multiple types can flourish under it, while Rain is mostly limited to Water-types. Chlorophyll, Solar Beam, and Flower Gift are some examples of Grass-types getting a nice boost, with the increased damage to Fire-moves giving them a strong edge.

C9: Electric/Misty/Grassy or Psychic Terrain?

L: The terrains are an interesting concept, but I find them more or less bland weather. Grassy Terrain’s passive healing aside, I forget they are in play half of the time. I would think Psychic Terrain is my favorite, but only because Tapu Lele not having to worry about priority is nice. I wouldn’t carry a terrain move if I could avoid it. Maybe for Draft League.

C9: Favorite status to inflict: Sleep/Freeze/Paralysis/Burn or Poison?

L: I think it’s got to be Freeze. You see it so rarely and knowing the sheer defeat that a Frozen Pokémon inflicts on its trainer is just delicious to watch.

C9: Have you watched the Pokemon anime? If yes, what is your favorite Theme song?

L: I have watched the show since I was a little kid, and I doubt there is a theme song from the show I can’t sing other than the Gen 5 ones after the first, and the English version of the Sun and Moon one (I watch subtitled episodes because I have no patience). Hard choice between Pokémon Johto and Advanced Challenge.

C9: That is all the time we have for today! Until next time, Clod-out!

from PDL Week 5 Recap

[dapaywinduh-blog]

WWF Raw Time Machine: Episode Four

For Week Four of Monday Night Raw, we return to the three-man announce team of Vince McMahon, Randy Savage, and Rob Bartlett. Since Randy isn't wrestling, Bobby Heenan is nowhere to be found. Because of this, Bartlett is much more talkative this week, but what he says isn't any better. Fire this man. The first contest is Damien Demento vs Tatanka (Buffalo). Tatanka is still in the midst of a very long undefeated streak, so one guess who is going over here. During the match, we get a sizable "We Want Flair" chant. I wonder if this is from the same taping, and he just lost his Loser Leaves match like, five minutes ago? Anyway, Damien "hits" a back elbow that misses by a mile, and that's pretty much the entirety of his offense. Tatanka rain dances and hits the End of the Trail, and gets the three. Also, Rob Bartlett says he had a Ta-Tonka truck as a kid. Boo. We cut to a video from the recent "Headlock on Hunger" show from MSG. Specifically, we see World Champion Bret The Hitman Hart giving an oversized $100,000 check to the American Red Cross. Good stuff. Back in the ring, Vince introduces a man he calls "one of the all-time greats". I begin to think of possible names - Bruno Sammartino? Gorilla Monsoon? Bob Backlund? Lou Thesz? Fabulous Moolah? No...it was Brutus "The Fucking Barber" Beefcake! Jesus. Brutus here is returning from around two years out of wrestling, recovering from a terrible accident where he was hit in the face by the knees of a woman who was parasailing. He had to have his whole face rebuilt with metal and screws. He recounts this accident, and how his parents died not long before the accident, AND how his wife had filed for divorce before the accident. He then says that he asked God to help him survive, and who should arrive at his side...but Hulk Hogan, AKA God. He and Vince praise Hulk for being the best friend ever, and Brutus says he signed an open contract to face anyone, anytime, anywhere. Not a great promo, delivery-wise, but the content was emotional and went over well with the crowd. If you are going to push Brutus up the card, this is probably your best chance ever. Before the next match, we get the return of the Raw ring skanks. This one actually could afford implants. The team of Koko B. Ware and Owen Hart - High Energy, come out to face Von Krus and my all-time favorite jobber Iron Mike Sharpe. High Energy was the thrown together tag team that happened when Jim Neidhart left the company, leaving Owen without a partner. High Energy even wear the same neon Hammer pants that the New Foundation wore. Maybe Koko was the only person in the locker room who could fit Anvil's gear? Anyway, High Energy win in about a minute with a variant of the Hart Attack, with Koko hitting a top rope drop kick on Von Krus, who was held in the spinebuster position by Owen, who then rolls into a pin. Nice. We get a recap video of Doink (the clown) hitting Kona Crush with a fake arm full of batteries. Don't make me try to explain it. Doink (the clown) vs Typhoon is next. Typhoon is the former Tugboat and Shockmaster, who is currently in a tag team with the always great Earthquake as the Natural Disasters. Doink is at the beginning of his run, where his character is a scary, almost schizophrenic heel. The opening of the match sees Doink outwrestle Typhoon with some really creative amateur wrestling combinations and transitions. Very cool, actually. Typhoon never really gets out of the blocks, and Doink wins by holding the tights. However, instead of grabbing a single hand full of trunks around the butt area, Doink grabs two big handfuls of tights right near Typhoon's crotch and pulls hard. Fortunately Typhoon wears generously elastic tights, but it really looked like Doink pulled his scrotum up to his belly button. We get a ten bell salute for Andre the Giant, who had recently passed away. Howard Finkel announces the passing as though it was a championship match, instead of a somber moment, and it sounds really inappropriate. My wife and I discussed what would have been a better way to do this, and we came to the conclusion that they should have had Vince handle this. He is the audience's surrogate, he is Andre's friend, and he could have gotten the gravity of the situation over better than Fink. Next we get Yokozuna literally squashing jobber Bobby DeVito. Not much to say here, except during the match, Vince tries to talk to Hacksaw on the phone, but just gets a dial tone. Shades of Million Dollar Mania. Money Inc. - Irwin R. Schyster and Tex Dibiase - come out to accept Brutus Beefcake's open contract. They flip a coin to see who will wrestle him next week, and Ted wins. Jimmy Hart, their manager, runs out to tell the team that they should be concentrating on preparing for their Tag Team Title defenses, not accepting singles matches where they might get hurt. That is totally correct in a way that things in wrestling never are, to the point where it was weird. Lex Luger enters to some classical music wearing some sort of Lord Zedd metallic cloak. He is now called The Narcissist, instead of "Narcissus" as he was deemed by Bobby Heenan at Royal Rumble. He is facing jobber Jason Knight, who would go on to ECW to join Justin Credible's entourage as Jason, the World's Sexiest Man. Before the match, we get a fat ring girl, ha ha ha. Lex mauls Jason, hits him with the loaded forearm a few times, and pins him with a single pinky finger. Oh, and apparently that was the main event. Huh. Vince lets us know that Raw will be preempted next week for USA Network's annual showing of the Westminster Dog Show (this would happen for years going foreward), so the next episode would be two weeks away. He plugs a 16-man battle Royal for the show, as well as the Brutus Beefcake vs Million Dollar Man match that was made earlier. He also teases that Rob Bartlett might get in the ring and wrestle. Let's hope it is one of Yokozuna's literal squash matches.