#and now in legends z-a context...

[agentc0rn]

In all of these 3000 years, I never imagined to see such a sight…

[sgiandubh]

Context, always the context

After we had gagging fun - and some, a small and unjustified heartbreak, too - with the newest 🎪 pic, let's put it a bit in context. I confess I am more and more immune to these: they are aimed at this fandom, of course - just to fuel further web wars and talks: never forget Xmas is round the corner, too. But they are also aimed at the Casuals, who still can't place McIdiot on her map and do not really care, to be honest.

So, what exactly do we have, here?

This:

After more than ten years in showbiz, our C still needs a pointer to tell ignoramuses like me where exactly she is, on that picture?

How odd. How unfair. But let's imagine I am from Mars. I have no idea who these people are, including to each other. The legend tells me nothing: just C and T and zero details. They could very well be co-workers, acquaintances, friends...? Oh, she's married to him. Oh. Ok. For sure, they ooze bliss and happiness. For sure. I've seen broomsticks act more convincingly than this.

Also, the photographer. As a very trusted friend pointed out (thank you, forever indebted to you), this Bennett guy was all over the place, yesterday. According to Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/search/photographer?photographer=Dave%20Benett&assettype=image&sort=best&license=rf%2Crm), he attended at least seven other high profile London events yesterday and was paid to cover them, too.

Their list immediately places this minor happening in its right context and at its right place:

"Leave The World Behind" - UK Special Screening and afterparty. The one she attended with McIdiot.

Hackett London x David Gandy Wellwear Launch Party - Savile Row tailors, established in 1983. Huge success story from a humble Portobello Road clothes stall to a 160 shops global network and a part of LVMH group (remember? LOL). The one she did not attend with McIdiot.

"Femme" - Gala Screening - After Party - UK thriller, premiered at the Berlinale last spring. Will be released tomorrow in the UK and IE. 95% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes. The one she did not attend with McIdiot.

Skye McAlpine Celebrates The Opening Of Tavola's Christmas Pop-Up Shop, in Knightsbridge (along with Fitzrovia, my favorite London spot). Tavola is a high end tableware collection, carefully curated by Skye McAlpine - celebrated British cookbook author and an expert in Italian cuisine and fine dining. You should think two gin entrepreneurs would be thrilled to meet her, at another event she did not attend with McIdiot.

A Reception By The All Party Parliamentary Group Honouring Elton John For His Dedication To The Global Fight Against HIV AIDS. No further comments needed for this very, very posh event she did not attend with McIdiot. I doubt she has this type of connections.

The Anti Slavery Collective Inaugural Winter Gala at the Battersea Arts Center in London. Attended by royalty (yeah, ok: Fergie - but also, her two Princess daughters!), aristocrats (Count Nikolai von Bismarck comes to mind), showbiz people (Ed Sheeran - hello?) and of course, the press. But this is another very high profile event she did not attend with McIdiot.

Longines Dolce Vita Exhibition and after party - aimed at the high end luxury crowd. Another event she did not attend with McIdiot.

Smirnoff Celebrates New 'We Do Us' Initiative In Partnership With Tilting The Lens And Sink The Pink. Smirnoff, that legendary vodka which story started in Tsarist Moscow and now continues as part of the behemoth Diageo spirits group. Mhm. Now with an event tailored for the well-heeled LGBT+ and Generation Z crowds, organized in partnership with Tilting the Lens,  Sinéad Burke's consultancy firm with an absolutely spectacular client portfolio, featuring Gucci, Starbucks and -hey, nice to see you! - Soho House. LOL. You would think they could have grabbed a black cab and do anything to at least drop in and say hi. You would think they would be interested to meet with the other, less obvious, partner of this event, Stonegate, a major player on UK's hospitality scene. What a pity this was another event she did not attend with McIdiot!

Make no mistake. London is a real global metropolis. Une ville-monde (a World City), a notion coined by one of my masters, the wonderful French historian Fernand Braudel. As such, it currently stands at the epicenter of all that is trendy, new, exciting and expensive and it offers an endless array of opportunities for the brave and the bold. That was but a very incomplete sample of a Wednesday night on the London scene, busier than usually with all those end of year events. Out of the other seven of this sample, she had a profitable and realistic choice between at least two or three other events. She could have even coupled that after party with at least another one of those, if she had the right network to attract an invitation.

It is also plain to see, by now, TMcG is by no conceivable means the successful, multimillionaire businessman and entrepreneur. He is nowhere to be placed on this very rich, very diverse event scene. He does not attend any events by himself, whereas she carefully attends events all alone and does it very well - wouldn't that be because she has a name in her own right, too? He apparently does nothing, he apparently is Nobody. You should think a successful, multimillionaire, ambitious businessman would be proud to be seen just about everywhere with his up-and-coming actress wife, isn't it?

The sad truth is this clown only makes it to a cursory mention in a Daily Fail picture gallery when dragged along by C. At an event she most probably managed to get an invitation via Rami Malek, her co-star in The Amateur:

That, my friends, is not C playing her Greta Garbo. That is C squandering every shred of sympathy capital she ever managed to acquire, with absurd determination.

But sure, keep on screeching, Stans. Keep on screeching. All of the above are cold, hard FACTS your queens carefully keep out of your reach. God forbid you come to the realization.

[tothisemptiness]

On Apples and Sopro

Today (May 27th 2025) https://ateezofficial.net/ showed a vending machine which took this form after an animation:

@/verymingi on twitter managed to look into the developer console and found the names of the 6 blurred images:

I cannot understand what the orange one is, but all the others are relevant to apples, which we already got a hint of with the posters.

I_would_still_plant_a_tree: The quote is also seen on the blue poster we saw previously: "Even if the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree today.". It is a quote usually attributed to Martin Luther or MLK and means that one must do something whose benefits they may never reap just because it is the right thing to do.

The_first_observation_of_Gravity: According to the story, gravity was first consciously observed when Isaac Newton saw apples falling from the tree under which he was sitting and realized there must be a force pulling those apples from their branches to the ground.

Wilhelm_Tell: The story is referenced in the orange poster we've seen previously. In the story, William/Wilhelm Tell is forced to shoot an apple on his son's head after he was captured for not obeying a tyrannical ruler.

Snow_White: Snow White eats a poisoned apple offered to her by her evil stepmother disguised as an old woman and goes into a coma.

To_the_Fairest: In the Greek myth, the goddess of discord Eris gives Paris of Troy an apple inscribed "to the fairest" and asks him to give it to the fairest goddess among Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena, which caused the Trojan War.

Upon this many references to apples, some atiny started thinking that the apple was representative of Sopro, not only because both are red but also through the biblical narrative as well: In the Bible, God warns Adam and Eve against eating the fruits of the trees of paradise, but doesn't really give an explanation as to what would happen if they do. However, Eve gets tempted to eat one by the Devil and tempts Adam to do the same. As a result, they gain the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but get banished from the Garden of Eden by God.

In the lore, Left Eye warns ATEEZ heavily against using Sopro because nobody really knows how it works and it is a suspicious object. However, the promise of synchronizing everyone's feelings with its owner is a very tempting offer, and Wooyoung gets tempted and uses it. The rest of the story is a mystery for now, but the similarity between the two stories is evident.

So we have five stories that have apples in different contexts, which may give us a hint about the different roles Sopro will play in the story from now on:

1) The apple tree: Sopro used in a context of righteousness. This has been the theme of The World series, with ATEEZ leading a revolution despite not belonging to World Z, being able to going back to their own world at any time, and ultimately never seeing the aftermath of their revolution winning moment since they were immediately forced back into World A.

2) Gravity: Sopro the provider of knowledge/realization. I cannot pinpoint how yet, but I think this point may tie in with the lyrics "And only we can see the true vision" in "Scene 1: Value".

3) Wilhelm Tell: Sopro in a context of rebellion or a punishment for rebellion. A far-fetched theory rather than an analysis but bear with me. In William Tell's legend the apple is used as a punishment for his rebellion. Sopro is created by gathering the breaths of all of Halazia with the intent of making everyone feel the same as its holder. Could there be a possibility of Sopro being created as a punishment for a past rebellion that took place in Halazia and used to prevent any other ones?

4) Snow White: Sopro in a context of deception and mistrust. Sopro works outside of consent and deceives people into feeling things they wouldn't feel with their own free will. Wooyoung betrays his members' trust by using it to make them all feel the same as him and want to be and idol again. I also believe Sopro will put the members in a dream-like state where they will dream they are successful performers, just like how the poisoned apple puts Snow White into a coma.

5) The apple of discord: Sopro in a context of discord. Once all the members get out of Sopro's effect it is inevitable that a big fight will erupt between them.

[winterbirb]

So. I've talked previously about ZA possibly being set in the future, but I then decided it would probably be set in the late 19th century (around when Paris went through an actual urban restoration project AND when the Eiffel Tower was built).

Well, what do I see but an article about the possible era it's in!

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/pokemon-legends-z-a-leak-time-period-setting/

.......

..............

Guys.

Legends Arceus wasn't set in the "distant past." It was set in MID-LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY JAPAN. GUYS. LAVENTON HAD A CAMERA!

I....

This article writer is a Eurocentric moron and/or just ignoring of history in general (if they're an American, they clearly don't know what the frontier looked like 150 years ago), and the leaker isn't adding anything new. It isn't the distant past. PL:A also wasn't the distant past.

Look, I know Japanese history isn't taught in US schools. But there's a very easy thing to do, right now: Google "Japan Hokkaido history," click the Wikipedia article for Hokkaido, and scroll down to the history section. Sinnoh is based on Hokkaido. You do not need to recognize all the names. Or any of the names. You will still come away knowing much more than, apparently, 99% of Americans writing about PL:A.

If you want to know about Paris's urban redevelopment (the plot point of ZA), Google "Paris urban redevelopment" and click the Wikipedia link titled "Haussman's renovation of Paris." And maybe "Eiffel tower" because I'm pretty sure that's going to come into play, but Haussman is more important.

And no, even if you didn't do well at school you're not "too stupid" to learn this stuff. If you care about pokemon lore, and are able to put pieces of lore into context with each other, then you've already shown you're able to do this sort of thing.

[paragonrobits]

hmmm various ideas I've seen floating around for Mega Man Legends (usually focusing around Tron Bonne having really strong feelings and the dense dude could not follow a clue if you hit him with it) instead brings me to my once and original Mega Man obsession: Zero, and more specifically, Proto Man (because I go by the take that while they are usually treated as seperate beings, Zero is very much the X-era equivalent to Proto Man, much as X is to Mega Man himself); looking it up, while its unclear exactly if Legends IS a future of the Classic era or what the connection the Carbons have, its not unreasonable that they're a logical extent of Reploids

and more significantly, Proto Man himself has no real equivalent.

So this got me to thinking about a specific scenario:

the diggers find something in the ruins, something extremely old, who immediately takes a shine to the Volnutt family and Mega Man in particular, and he just smacks all kind of weird out of context buttons for everyone involved. He's not a Carbon, that much is clear. They're... not entirely sure what he is. He's entirely artificial and obviously mechanical, and he's old; his heart is a strange power plant on its last legs, that should have burned out a very long time ago and interacts very oddly with his mind.

(Tron looks into his head, with his clearly hesitant permission, and he's not like the robots she knows. He IS a robot, and an obvious one at that. But the technology is... primitive. Old. So very, very old.

There should be words in his brain, telling him what to do, what to think. He ignores them. He says his heart is fire, and it burns out the programming even if it burns out the rest of him.

She understands what he means.

He probably doesn't have long left. It's a miracle that his body, a shell rusted red with age, has even survived this long.)

One of his arms is a weapon. The other carries a sword, one of the older models that projects a green cutting edge, like a beam of some kind. The letter Z is displayed prominently, but it looks like a touch that was added later. The number 0 is there too. He looks at the letter, and at the others, and each other.

His face is not very expressive. Its still easy enough to see the longing and loss on his optics as he looks at Mega Man and Roll, and sees an echo of the past.

Experts in the past fumble in trying to ask him about what he is, what he's seen. He doesn't really know; his memories are a confused mess. Sometimes he remembers seeing the end of humanity, or being born from a virus made to drive machine-people to destructive madness.

He has hair; a truly outrageous hair style like a big pompadour, and an outrageously long ponytail that looks a bit like a cape. Mostly he wears sunglasses all the time, even at night.

(They ask him his name. Its hard to explain why that's not the easiest question to answer. He's old. He's older than he ever thought he would be, and none of his memories feel entirely right. Did he imagine much of it? Is it distorted?

He remembers becoming digitized; his friend, or maybe brother, becoming lost to madness. Was that real?

He remembers the cycle, of histories repeating over and over. Was that real? Was any of it real?

Who is he? Is this real now?

Or is it just the last repeating fantasies of a broken mind, trying to pretend there's still Light in the world?

He looks at Mega Man, at Rock, and Roll. They're still there. It's not them; they offlined eons ago, in this strange new world, and the world no longer remembered the Wily Wars or anything at all.

But it's still them, somehow. This is real enough.)

And sooner or later-

They fight the Ancients.

And once again, the time comes up to answer who he is; what he is, and why he's there.

The irony almost makes him laugh; he shows off the numerals on his body, the remnants of one patch job after another, his strangely mangled body showing signs of different lifetimes, different incarnations.

The letter '0'. Zero. It was his name, once, or something close to him. And it was his number, too.

"DLN-000."

They stare at him, after he speaks. They say it means nothing to them.

"Suppose not." He stares too, and they wilt a little, at the chill of ages radiating off him. They call themselves ancients; he is far older still. He looks at them, these biomechanical androids of this time, and in them he sees some echo of his father's dream.

"I had a name," he says. "My father called me Blues."

Blues, Rock and Roll. He wonders if they understand the implications. Probably not. It all sounds of ancient history and forgotten aspects, but somehow he doesn't really mind.

He looks at them, and in them (the Ancients, his new family, their friends), they understand who he is. What he is.

"I was the first," says Proto Man.

[that-weird-skeleton-bastard]

I love mandarin SOO MUCH! Your designs just always slap shjskkjsknsj

Whats his personality like? Do you have a legend for his numbers and symbols speak? Like which symbol is what letter

He's an absolute smartass, and do not insult him because he can and will roast you behond emotionnal salvation.

He does have a softer side (hehe) mainly towards Logan, who he can follow anywhere via his shadow.

He doesn't really get along with Virgil tho.

also, he's a moth. He really fucking loves lamps for some reason.

Now, about his written speech: (written/what it translates to)

Numbers -> 1 = i , 2 = z , 3 = e , 4 = h , 5 = s , 6 = y , 7 = L , 8 = g , 9 = a , 0 = o

Symbols -> ç = d , µ = n , ↓ = t , ^ = u or v depending on context , £ = R or B depending on context , ^^ = w , ↑ = j , @ = q , ) = c , § = F , # = m , > = k , * = x , & = P

all ponctuation ( ! ? , . ; : ect) is used the same

remember that it's supposed to be read upside down!

so mirror it when you write! ( ! 07734 -> Hello ! / 43770 ! -> i olleh)

! 5&734 514↓ 3&04 1 :3

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Pokémon Reborn Screenshot Let's Play: Chapter 50

Heeeeeeeeeeeello people of Tumblr and/or the Rebornevo forums (I don’t actually know how many people on the forums read this much of the playthrough, but the topic I made for it has 1.8k views as of the time of writing this, so people are at least seeing it)! First of all, happy late Pokémon Day to those who celebrate, those Legends Z-A announcements sure were something, and I am especially happy as a lifelong Totodile fan! Riptide’s legacy will continue in the Kalos region, I am so looking forward to that!

And all in all, everything’s been going pretty well over here! My writer’s block with my TTRPG game (so I guess it would be more like a GM’ing block) has been resolved, my taxes are done, my crops are watered, we're halfway to 100 chapters on this playthrough, and now I get to continue said Let’s Play in a semi-timely fashion since I already had the screenshots! This’ll…probably be the last time that happens for a little while, since I’ll be back to bi-weekly GM’ing, but hey, you take some and you give some.

But speaking of, what better way to celebrate Pokémon Day than another chapter of Reborn? Granted, it and the announcements won’t be referenced at all during this because the play session was done in the middle of February, but…it’s still Pokémon-related, it counts! Anyways, before my joy and ego are crushed into the dirt by the difficulty of this game, allow me to recap the events of the last chapter- not that it was particularly long, but it is important context for what’s happening currently.

Using the leads that she had been given in 7th Street, Xera heads to the market’s upper section. There, she catches a glimpse of Bennett, now wearing a similar light-colored robe as Elias, as he makes his way elsewhere.

Stepping into a nearby alleyway, Xera finds a laboratory studying and attempting to create a certain, artificial Pokémon with help from the Alola Region’s Aether Foundation. The head scientist, Nadira, sees Xera’s skill as a Trainer and enlists her help in gathering specific other Pokémon to provide organic material to complete their project.

Following Bennett’s trail, Xera catches up to him. He explains he was helping with preparations for a certain ritual that, to his knowledge, will be beneficial to Luna. Believing Xera also wants to help Luna (not a complete lie), he agrees to take Xera to where Elias has Luna held.

Xera follows Bennett through the Beryl Wall to the hidden entrance of a compound known as the Subseven Sanctum. It isn’t long until Xera is ambushed by Elias and a group of Arceus-worshipping acolytes; as it turns out, Bennett was tasked by Elias to lead Xera into this trap. Elias praises Bennett for being a useful assistant to him, and Bennett explains he is doing all of this to secure both his future and Luna’s.

Xera, very outnumbered, is taken to the Sanctum’s dungeon. There, she meets a man named Randall, who is less a prisoner of the group and more so allowing himself to be held for the free food and reading material, neither of which he gets on living on the streets. 

Randall reveals his Klefki had stolen a master key from one of the acolytes, which he can use to free himself whenever he wants. He then has Klefki use it to set Xera free right away, sensing she is more keen on escape than he is. He gives her some advice on how to get out of the compound, then sends her on her way.

Xera sneaks past numerous guards during her escape, also coming across a room full of books about the creation of the world by Arceus and how, eventually, Arceus will cast judgement and create some sort of New World to supposedly bring salvation to all.

As Xera makes her way to the upper floor, an announcement rings throughout the building about the upcoming start of the ritual. She quickly ascends the stairs, but finds her way to the ritual room blocked by a large pair of gates.

So, not much in terms of excitement or gut-punches- unless you find stealth missions exciting? But there sure was a lot of lore, we met a new character, and we did get to see Bennett again as well as Elias’s awesome new outfit (loathe as I am to compliment him), so we got some stuff done. And now, we’re gonna get even more done- fight people, save Luna, and get the heck outta the Sanctum! Although, how successful I will be at doing any of that…well, you’ll just have to read and find out. I apologize in advance for any psychic damage one takes from some of the moves I make.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

[yamayuandadu]

How high are the chances that Ōtakemaru (大嶽丸) will appear in the Touhou Project? He is one of the original three greatest yokai in Japan. Kishin (鬼神) has already been introduced in the Wild and Horned Hermit manga, with Suiki (水鬼) as one of them, though I also hope for more of Fujiawara Chikata's Onis in the series.

I don’t have any uncles or other relatives customarily said to relay such info working for Team Shanghai Alice so I couldn’t in good faith claim I have any real idea what are the odds that ZUN will base a character on him. As for whether I think it would work, you can find out under the cut.

Before Urumi no oni actually shown in the games was based on anyone other than Shuten Dōji’s underlings but it seems safe to say nothing’s off limits now, between her and Zanmu, whose counterpart wasn’t even regarded as an oni (at best you could make a case for tengu since Razan Hayashi considered his Buddhist opponents tengu and this category sort of kind of includes Zanmu since he’s mentioned in one of his tirades against Tenkai).

ZUN’s definition of kishin is basically made up, so I am not sure if it has any impact on who might plausibly show up. There is a real term for oni and oni-adjacent figures shown in scenes of hell, kisotsu (鬼卒) or gokusotsu (獄卒), but I don’t really see much overlap in use with kishin, which is ultimately a label I’ve actually mostly seen in onmyōdō context. Also, the concept of “three greatest yokai” is an entirely modern invention. On top of that, Kazuhiko Komatsu coined it entirely based on the fact that the three stories whose antagonists he refers to with this moniker end with their remains placed in the treasure house of Uji. I’m not sure where the similar grouping with Sutoku listed instead of Ōtakemaru alongside Tamamo no Mae and Shuten Dōji originates, but I find it to be more representative, both because it makes the group into a genuine quintessence of all major medieval fears, and because there is a solid case to be made that these three are the big names with the most reinterpretations.  I have nothing against Ōtakemaru, but his historical popularity seems more limited. He’s somewhere between Kidōmaru and completely z listers like idk. Kugamimi no Mikasa in terms of notoriety and I feel like you could make a case for the likes of Zegaibō, Tarōbō or even Tesso over him as “greatest yokai” and whatnot.

Perhaps an argument can be made that Ōtakemaru’s relative lack of actual notoriety makes him more suitable for Touhou. That’s a point I can’t refute. However, in practical terms, I am not sure what a character based on him would offer that Suika couldn’t do better - all that sets him apart from just being a budget Shuten Dōji is the location he lived in and his opponent, and neither of these would really matter in Touhou most likely. Tbh I’m not even sure if there’s any real benefit to going with Ōtakemaru over Suzuka Gozen, frankly. Not even being the character with most potential in own story seems like a problem.

As far as other oni go, I’m not sure if I’d go with Fujiwara no Chikata’s minions either, they are pretty bland themselves; they work well in Megaten but that’s about it. Not like Suiki is a character in the proper sense in Touhou - I’ve seen people not even realizing this is a given name and I can't blame them. As far as oni who would be fun to see go, Momiji instantly comes to mind (the story is even set in the right province lol), but there are many good candidates. Off the top of my head: the oni Ki no Haseo encountered (I feel like you could do a lot with the body parts patchwork woman from that story. Dr. Frankenstein themed oni?), the oni of Rashomon version from the Minamoto no Hiromasa legend which makes him a reincarnation of a master craftsman from India, or Abe no Nakamaro (my personal favorite, I have a character based on him).

[poppyandzena]

Watching Z and P's stream from last night and I feel so disgusted by their bs. I had to stop the stream when they brought up Spawn and had to take a break because it legitimately made me emotional to hear the way they tried to smear them while calling out Poppy's 'adopted' boys that she "loves them to death" as opposed to her ACTUAL FUCKING CHILD that she tries to paint herself as the victim of. I just feel so gross even witnessing that.

The ironic part is that reading the document released yesterday I was struck by how this may be the least narrativized receipts document I have ever seen because Poppy seemingly can't help but give all the context and condemnation necessary through her own words. How true it is for her own stream as well.

I wanted to leave it up to screenshots in that document, with additional context and summary of my opinion here and there. If I were to go back and edit, I would add in more context to which alter is fronting depending on the screenshot as I imagine it can be difficult to follow. I'll notify you all of any edits that aren't grammatical. Here's a legend for now:

🌹(Red Poppy Flower) - Poppy. Most conversations that don't have an icon preface are Poppy.

🪙 - Penny, Poppy's 18 year old alter

🌶 - Pepper, Poppy's child alter, presumed to be under 14.

🍬 (Mint Candy) - Peppermint, an alter of Poppy's I'm not too familiar of.

🪲- "Max," Noehflake's alter. Poppy and Zena pushed Noeh into an incredibly dissociative state, so "Max" had to be present. Often Noehflake and Max were "blended" in dissociative episodes.

[kozykricket]

SO i think it'd make a bit more sense if i made my thoughts on legends zygarde post *after* i share what some of my predictions for legends arceus were, because... CONTEXT ! So, we knew that it was ancient sinnoh... that there were pokemon going berserk... that people were terrified of pokemon What did I chalk that up to? I thought it might be interesting if... atop Mt. Coronet... sits Arceus. Metaphorically, perhaps. Still, arceus watches over humans and pokemon; its two prized creations ...and yet, it is not simply a being of pure kindness, as the god of the pokemon world It is in fact, afraid. It has observed its creations since the inception of time, but now it sees that people and pokemon are ... becoming closer. Arceus fears what may happen if humans and pokemon are to mix together in society. It cannot see this going well... So what is the best way to drive them away from each other? Make sure people are afraid of pokemon. Make some of the closest, noblest pokemon in hisui... rampage. That way, people and pokemon can stay separated, and there runs no risk of abuse. and in the game, you'd ... assume that this is probably giratinas fault, heck maybe you'd even spend some of the game looking at legends and tales of a being of antimatter... one that is Evil and was banished to a world all by itself, for being so cruel. One of mighty sinnohs traitors Though... i was also really wondering if we'd get to SEE giratina be banished into the distortion world by arceus ...doesnt really add up with the prior theory though lol so heres some extended ideas that kinda merge the ideas i think it'd be cool if perhaps... arceus was actually calling upon giratina to frenzy the nobles, and thus it would seem that giratina is doing it. and then arceus throws it under the bus and blames it... then you find out it was arceus, and it unbanishes giratina and admits that perhaps it was too afraid, that the world of people and pokemon... do deserve to progress. that you have shown it how they can work together to accomplish great things, and arceus doesnt feel that it needs to fear anymore but after that temporary banishment? after being used as a tool and ending up being blamed for destruction of almighty sinnohs world? Giratina doesn't even want to. It goes to the distortion realm of its own volition, as it would prefer to not have its actions be dictated by a ruler so spineless that it cannot own up to its own misdeeds towards its creations.

does that not go hard??? i have to get going but if this gets like, any notes at all, ill talk more about it. and either way, ill talk about my thoughts on where PL Z-A is headed

[alexbkrieger13]

It's more offending cause AKB and Z have won the teams important games. AKB is the most successfull oalkeeper in the WSL and Emma prsised her after the Athletico game as "Best trasfer I've ever made." And now this? She is a club legend and don't deserve this.

Same for Z. She will forever be Emmas number two. She deserve better.

I wouldn't put Z and important game in the same sentence in a Chelsea context

[eucalyptus-gl0bulus]

ADDING CONTEXT: In pokemon legends zaza you stay at lumiose city's Hotel Z

The hotel is owned by AZ and much less notably for this post, employs your rival, urbain/taunie (urban and townie..)

anyway AZ is over 9 feet tall (3+ meters tall in japanese), 3000+ years old, black eyes, white hair that looks a little disheveled but he's clean shaven and its obvious he's doing way better after XY.

so, directly quoting bulbapedia..

3,000 years prior to the events of Pokémon X and Y, a war broke out between two regions. This long conflict was drawn out and many lives were lost. People treated Pokémon with special powers as mere tools in their conflict, so they gathered lots of Pokémon, including Pokémon with unique powers. In order to emerge victorious, the soldiers believed that they needed even more powerful Pokémon. AZ loved his Floette, which he had received from his late mother, but it was forcefully taken from him by the soldiers and became just another sacrifice in the war.[3]

AZ received the body of his beloved Pokémon several years later, and out of unspeakable grief, he built a machine to restore it to life. He succeeded, but unable to overcome his despair, he turned the machine into the ultimate weapon, with which he destroyed both sides of the conflict, ending the war. His Floette, disgusted with the fact that the machine was powered by the life energy of other Pokémon, left him.

As revealed by documents kept in Lysandre Labs, AZ's younger brother had wished to claim Kalos out of his own greed. After AZ ended the war with the ultimate weapon, his brother realized the error of his ways and sought to make amends for his actions by burying the weapon, in an attempt to prevent it from ever being used again.

AZ's incredible height resulted from his exposure to the ultimate weapon.[3]

he carries the key to the ultimate weapon around his neck so that it may never be used again (it gets snatched by his descendant Lysandre (you might know him from proZD's lysanderoth or his trump card being the most recent ban in the TCG's standard format that wasn't due to the card not being available to everyone worldwide, november 2014))

when you beat the champion, he asks if he can battle you (he looks homeless and disheveled throughout the entirety of XY, HE'S DOING BETTER NOW) and after the fight he falls to his knees as his floette returns to him.

anyway the 3000 year old war criminal that is responsible for splitting the timeline in two is doing better now

Walked into the local marriott and guess who was behind the front desk. yuuuuuuup. the immortal king of legend who vaporized so many people it permanently fucked up the timeline.

[dick-nightwing-grayson]

okay so question

what is happening in comics right now

bc according to dark crisis batman is dead

but also we have batman vs robin??? among other things…

Okay, so this is a complex question and sorry it took me a minute. I want to answer this seriously, so much so, I busted out my actual laptop (it has dust from over a month of no use [I solely use my phone and tablet]) This may seem like a half hearted answer, but know that it is 100% serious because DC is just an absolute clusterfuck.🙃

My understanding is that since Death Metal, everything both is and isn't current continuity. If this somehow makes no sense, you are welcome! You now understand perfectly and have the same basic understanding of what is happening as I do (which for context, I read roughly 30 active DC runs a month, I am putting in the work 😭)

The best and only way I know how to explain it is to go over what is occurring in each active run/series that features batman. It doesn't really clear anything up, but I feel it is the only way to address this. I am also probably wrong on some of this. Please comment any corrections, I am trying… (unless otherwise noted, I am reading all titles listed and am current on all issues)

*Lastly, I am trying to make these as educational as possible while also giving away as few spoilers as possible. There may be some if you are not caught up or have not begun a series.

Current continuity- Main Timeline

Batman #125- This is a start of a new storyline and puts the previous storylines at an end (can we put Gotham Girl to rest) Batman begins the investigation of the killing of Billionaire's in Gotham featuring the Penguin as his main villain (from what I know from solicits. It comes out in full tomorrow July 5th) Status- Alive

Detective Comics 1062- This is a start of a new storyline and puts the previous storylines at an end. It releases July 26th. RamV begins a run where Bruce begins questioning demons and if one is inside him, idk man, the solicit was odd. Ram V is generally a big horror/suspense writer so this part 1/4 of his Gotham Nocturne series is along those lines (I assume) and I have very high hopes. Status- Alive

Dark Crisis: Has some cross over with the Flash, but seems mostly an entirely contained storyline that is not affecting other continuity. Bruce Wayne is dead. Stems from events that occurred in the current timeline of Justice League. Status: Dead

Batman Vs Robin- This title will be released in September, so we only know what has been released in the solicits. The crossover event of Shadow War just ended as well as will be Robin. This is the fallout of both of those regarding Damian. Not much is known yet as it has yet to be released or even solicited much, but we do know Bruce Wayne's status at the beginning of the story: Status- Alive

Batman: One Dark Knight- Batman is assisting an escort of prisoners. Status- Alive

Task Force Z: Harassing Jason Todd after putting him undercover on a mission. Status- Alive

Nightwing: Bruce is in like one issue. He is proud of Dick. He is pretty much the only batfam to not feature prominently in this which is surprising as Tom Taylor (derogatory) loves to write anyone except for Dick in his Nightwing run. Status- Alive

Superman Son of Kal El- Bruce is "looking out for" Jon as Superman is off planet. Tom Taylor (derogatory) writes Bruce as incredibly incompetent… color me surprised. Status- Alive

Timeline Jumps/Elseworlds:

Batman: Urban Legends- This is a collection of short stories that are all current continuity, elseworlds, and timeline jumps regarding the batfam and Gotham, and sometimes neither of those things. Status- Alive, but could change depending on individual storylines

Batman/Superman World's Finest- Fighting Crime with Superman, Supergirl, and Dick as Robin. Status- Alive

Jurassic League- The justice League as dinosaurs. It is awesome. 10/10 would recommend. Status- Alive- but as a dinosaur 😲🦕🦖

Batman: The Knight- Bruce Training to become batman, but he is not yet batman. This is my favorite Bruce-centric series at the moment. Status- Alive

Future State Gotham- *I am a bit behind as went through and read each Future State series before allowing myself to go deeper in this, I am only like 6/14 issues in. Bruce has stepped down as Batman. Jace Fox is currently Batman. Nightwing wants to be Batman. Status- Alive, I think, but not as Batman

Batman: Killing Time: When Bruce was in his early days as Batman. Currently tracking The Riddler and Catwoman after a crime. I have really enjoyed this despite it being a Tom King run.... Status- Alive

Batman Beyond Neo Year: Bruce has been murdered by Gotham (yes the city as an entity) Terry McGinnis tries to put the pieces together. Status- Dead

I am Batman: *I haven't read this as I am still behind Future State Gotham. Jace Fox is batman as a companion storyline to Future State Gotham. Status- Alive, I think, but not as Batman

Flashpoint Beyond: Thomas Wayne is Batman. Status- Batman is alive, because Thomas is Batman, but that is because Bruce is dead

DC vs Vampires (and related spin off series): Vampire King Dick Grayson has taken over earth. Status- Dead

Dark Knights of Steel: More trash from Tom Taylor (derogatory). The art is pretty though and Tim gets wrecked once again. Status- Alive

Batman Beyond: The White Knight- Bruce is old and no longer Batman. He has escaped from prison with the assistance of Jason Todd. Status- Alive

Monkey Prince- Batman is tracking down Monkey Prince's parents and Monkey Prince, but it is mostly Damian as Robin. I am unsure if this should go here or under current timeline, but seeing as it has Damian in Gotham and as Robin, I assume it is slightly prior to Damian's own series. Status- Alive

Unsure because I have not read these:

Batman: Fortress- I haven't had time to get into this yet. I think batman is trying to stop an alien invasion. Idk if it is main or elseworld or time jump. Status- Alive

Batman/Catwoman- This just ended.I am uninterested. I have zero idea honestly. I assume he is alive otherwise what is the point? Status- Alive

Edit- I have been informed Bruce is dead in this, but as it takes place over multiple timelines he is both alive and dead

Justice League vs The Legion of Super Heroes- Batman is fighting the LOSH with the JL. Status- No idea, but pretty sure it is Alive

I hope this makes some sense and helps a little. I know it does neither.

[sweetescapeartist]

Forgot to respond to this. Guess I'll do so now.

I've explained the differences between these two Bardock stories in different posts. This post linked below covers most of the important points and has links within it that further explain certain details.

But to counter in a shorter format... (Still somewhat lengthy tho 😅)

I can understand why ppl think this cheapens Goku in some sort if way, but it does not bother me. In Father of Goku, Goku was sent to destroy Earth, but when Grampa Gohan found Goku, he was a happy baby. This contradicts the original manga stating that Goku was an unruly & wild baby until he hit his head. Meanwhile, Minus has Bardock and Gine send Goku away to a planet that is weak and they know he can survive on until they go and retrieve him (Raditz is offworld so he is safe too). Then once on Earth, the first thing baby Goku does is get into a fight with Grampa Gohan and is an aggressive baby who the old man says he will teach manners to. That lines up with the original manga.

In Father of Goku, Bardock's visions reveal that Goku was destined to fight Freeza and his entire life was mapped out for him. His fate was already decided.

SSG being mentioned isn't an issue to me. Just another legend more rare that the Legendary Super Saiyan that made Freeza more fearful of the rebellious Saiyans becoming stronger. The original manga even has Dodoria say that more Saiyans like Vegeta had started to be born (but not as strong as Vegeta) & that worried Freeza that the legends might be true & the Saiyans team up on him. But SSG being included can be an issue depending on the person, so I won't say "Nuh uh! SSG being included is perfectly fine & you're wrong!" I can see why its a problem to others. I just see it as another legend that is more rare that Super Saiyan. I mean... Some Saiyans had to know of that SSG legend. Raditz even says "Thank the gods" in the original manga. So perhaps SSG was simply viewed as a god for Saiyans when in that context.

I don't see it ruining Bardock at all. I personally like both Bardocks from Minus & Father of Goku. People say Minus makes Bardock a loving father and too caring but it doesn't really. DBZ Bardock cared for baby Kakarot as revealed more and more at the very end when he saw who his son would become. He also cared deeply about his friends and went to get revenge for them after they died. In Minus & DBS: Broly, similar events of Bardock losing his comrades are heavily impled to have happened but are off screen/off panel. Toriyama even said in the 90's that he loved the Father of Goku story but if he wrote it, it wouldn't be as dark. So when writing Minus, he still has Bardock enjoying genocide, then shows that over time due to Gine he shows compassion for his family & a few of his comrades (similar to DBZ Bardock's care for his comrades), Toriyama took the visions of a predestined future away and just made Bardock less arrogant & more cautious than other Saiyans, Freeza says he will allow for 1 month before he destroys Planet Vegeta, then after that time, as shown in DBS: Broly, Bardock still challenges Freeza at the end similar to his Father of Goku counterpart.

And there are a lot of plot holes in the DBZ Bardock Special. One big plot hole is how did Raditz know where Goku was or even know what he looked like when Raditz was off world when Goku was sent away the same day he was born & the planet exploded soon after (similar to Superman)? Minus fixes errors like that. But I still like both.

Btw, I'm just discussing. Not arguing. People like Z Bardock and that's fine. I like him too. But we have to accept that there are flaws within the storytelling. There are less flaws in the storytelling for DB Minus, yet I still like Father of Goku & Toriyama's story about the same.

Also, the Bardock in the DBS Manga differs from DBS Broly & DB Minus. Toyotaro's Bardock is definitely soft hearted and him saving Granolah contradicts what Bardock said in DB Minus & DBS Broly about saving something for once when talking about Goku. But the DBS Manga is full of contradictions. It's what's to be expected from Toyotaro.

A lot of fans hate DB Minus due to misunderstandings and because popular people dislike it. They don't think for themselves. The few who do dislike it and actially think for themselves, I aint talking about you. But the Bardock Special has a lot of contradictions in it that most fans ignore for nostalgic reasons.

[canmom]

Animation Night 118: return of the 90s realists!

Heyo friends!

So! Katsuhiro Otomo and friends~ You know all about that guy no doubt. After all, he directed Akira! (I wrote about the original context of Akira on Animation Night 34.) And he was heavily involved in the short film compilations like Robot Carnival and Memories of the 80s and 90s which got this whole film night going~

The group of animators who worked on these films have come to be known as the ‘realist school’, although in truth there are several schools that could be described as such. (When asked by a fan what he thought of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, certainly a milestone for ‘realism’ with Anno’s incredible animation of a rocket taking off, Isao Takahata was not a fan.) The realists include directors like Satoshi Kon, and animators like Mitsuo Iso, and Robot Carnival also marked the starting point for figures like Koji Morimoto of 4C.

As ever, I’m immensely grateful to Matteo Watzky for helping me understand their lineage! And while we’ve watched most of the films associated with this loose gaggle of animators on Animation Night, there are a couple of major gaps...

So! Roujin Z (1991), a movie that’s just a couple of months older than me, adapts an Otomo story about a robotic hospital bed, and shares many of the same staff including animation legends like Hiroyuki Okiura (animator of this legendary sequence) and Toshiyuki Inoue.

The director this time was not Otomo himself, but Hiroyuki Kitakubo, who had - before Akira! - debuted on foundational hentai Cream Lemon and adapted a Shirow manga to OVA; he would later direct the delightful Golden Boy (Animation Night 69) and the startlingly stylish Blood the Last Vampire (Animation Night 77).

And if we wander back to Robot Carnival, he directed the very sardonic A Tale of Two Robots: Chapter Meiji, in which a kind of steampunk Japanese robot fights a similar American robot to a destructive standstill in a kind of parody of the Meiji restoration. So strong expectations?

So what about the movie? Compared to something like Akira, Roujin Z is much more wrly humorous in tone - very similar in fact to the segment Stink Bomb in Memories, in that it’s a kind of disaster movie with jaw-dropping animation applied to a premise that plays with Otomo’s own reputation for dark spectacular disaster, playing with the idea of an aging population increasingly reliant on tech.

Basically? It’s been a movie I’ve wanted to watch for a good while, and now we can finally run it!

Now Junkers Come Here came just a few years later, in 1995, but of course the landscape had been drastically transformed by Eva and the realist movement had more time to come into their own, with the rise of Mamoru Oshii’s movies like Ghost in the Shell (Animation Night 39).

Junkers is something different than all this extravagant sci-fi. Adapting a novel series, it portrays the story of Hiromi Nozawa, a young girl going through a personal crisis with family and school who finds unexpected comfort in the form of a talking, wish-granting dog called Junkers.

The first version of Junkers was given to the true legend Shinya Ohira, but his pilot proved both too expensive and too experimental (looking at the standard of animation involved, perhaps we can see why!), so the powers that be gave it instead to Jun’ichi Satō of Sailor Moon, and added animation director Kazuo Komatsubara, an established Kanada School animator.

Here’s an excerpt from Watzky’s article...

Although Komatsubara was by all means a living legend, bringing him on the movie can only be read as a conservative move: putting an established and experienced figure on the movie would have been a guarantee that it would not try to be as challenging as Ohira’s pilot had been.

The movie did, however, feature excellent animation work—Tanabe and Iso, especially, were the stars of the show, while Ohira had more or less left the project. It must also be noted how much Satô’s direction was instrumental in highlighting the animation. The simple storyboards were always made in such a way to have multiple actions on screen, allowing the different characters to interact in the frame and the animators to give the full measure of their talent.

More than anything, it’s an exploration of subtle character acting - featuring an incrediblely subtle cut of quiet emotional devastation by animation god Mitsuo Iso and really lively, expressive animation of eating by Osamu Tanabe.

So in short: expect both of these movies to be absolute animation powerhouses, in different ways. Oddly, while Roujin Z tends to be at least noted as a footnote when talking about Otomo, Junkers Come Here seems to have largely been forgotten - if it wasn’t for Watzky I would never have heard of it. A big shame because it seems like a fantastic expression of one of the most challenging styles of animation - and one I feel I personally really need to cultivate lol...

Right so! With the time being as late as it is, that’s about all I can write for now. So, Animation Night 118 will go live now at picarto.tv/canmom, and we should start showing films in about 20-30 minutes! Hope to see you there!!

[heroesmakingbadchoices]

I’ve been thinking a lot about why I’m so invested in Jason Todd relative to the rest of the batfamily and I think it has a lot to do with how much potential I see in the character for growth. 

Most of the members of the batfam are relatively static in their commitment to heroism. And because they are DC comics characters, we can expect that they will be indulging their respective hero complexes in perpetuity. They are Good Guys who always fight Bad Guys. They have lines they will and will not cross, shy of being pushed over the edge. 

But Jason Todd has never truly achieved an ideological stasis. A large part of that is inconsistencies in how he has been written (is he a reductive male power fantasy or a victim turned vindicator? Is he a soulless villain or a sympathetic antihero? Depends on how any given writer is feeling). But another aspect is that Jason’s real time tenure with the Red Hood mantle has been relatively short (17 years or so) in contrast to Bruce Wayne as Batman (80+ years), Barbara Gordon as Batgirl (50+ years), Dick Grayson as Nightwing (nearly 40 years), or Tim Drake as Robin (30+ years). Writing-wise there’s just a lot of untrodden territory for Jason in terms of who he is and what he stands for relative to his counterparts. 

The way I see it, DC has two main paths forward: they can either continue to have Jason align himself more closely with the rest of the Bats each passing decade until he’s a true clean cut hero. Or he can spend eternity in anti-hero limbo, constantly taking one step forward and two steps back in terms of him developing a moral code. And regardless of which path DC takes (or how they split the difference) at some point the character’s moral arc will feel exhausted. Maybe to some he already does. 

But right now I see Jason as a character positioned so uniquely on the precipice of self-definition. And as a result, I think storylines like “Cheer” in Batman: Urban Legends or the direction of the character in Task Force Z, which treat Jason as a twenty-something with an evolving sense of his place in the chaotic world that he’s found himself cemented in, are the character at his best. Right now Jason is not using guns (and given the American cultural context around gun violence at this moment, I think that having him moving away from that is really necessary and important and honestly should have happened earlier). He is also more broadly committed to using non-lethal means, but is unsure of what protecting people actually looks like beyond that.

Recently he said to Bruce:

“I want something more than fighting punk purse snatchers in alleys, what year is it? Seriously, beating up drug addicts and mentally ill people all night...who are we helping?” 

- Task Force Z #4

Red Hood has always been the most compelling to me when he acts as an ideological foil to Batman rather than a vendetta-based antagonist. Someone who gets to question the entire moral paradigm of what Batman stands for because he sees himself as standing outside of it. 

All this to say: at the moment, Jason’s uncertainty about who he is and who he fights for just reads to me as a uniquely engaging part of the larger Batman mythos and I’m sincerely invested in seeing what’s next for him