#advent of code 2024

[yetanothertransgirl]

just finished optimising my advent of code solution to go from taking 2 minutes to get halfway through (then crash with an out of memory exception) to completing the whole thing in just 128ms!

honestly feeling very big brain rn

and yes I am telling everyone

[ramenjunkie]

Advent of Code 2024 - Day 06 - Guard Gallivant

Its happening already. The slow crushing creep of lazyness. I have not done part 2, yet, and I will, maybe get to it. I have ideas for how to solve part 2, its just… Kind of tedious and I want a respite. Part 1 was fun though. Basically just, a simple pathfinding robot to trace the path of a guard through a maze of obstacles. I even gave it the ability to draw the map, but the dataset is bigger…

[aoc2015]

Historian Hysteria

Solutions to Advent of Code 2024 Day 1 in shell.

Part One

Part one can be solved by sorting the two lists of location IDs in the input file, calculating the distance between the location IDs pairwise, and then summing those distances.

Make two sorted versions of the input file, one sorted by the first column (sort -n -k1) and one sorted by second column (sort -n -k2).

Combine the two sorted files (paste) into a single file. It will have four columns, two from each sorted version of the input file. The first ($1) and fourth ($4) columns are the sorted left and right lists.

Process the combined file row by row (awk) subtracting the lower value from the higher value to calculate the distance, accumulating the distance in the s variable, and printing it after all the rows have been processed (END {print s}).

Part Two

Part two can be solved by generating a frequency table of the location IDs in the right list, joining it with the location IDs in the left list, computing the similarity score row by row, and finally summing the scores.

Make a file for the sorted location IDs in the left list by sorting the values numerically (sort -n) in the first column (-k1) of the input file. This file only has a single column.

Make another file for the frequency table of the location IDs in the right list by sorting the input file numerically (sort -n) by the second column (-k2) and then counting the unique location IDs (uniq -c) n the second column by skipping the first column (-f 1). This file has three columns: the frequency, the left list, and the sorted right list.

Join the files together relationally by the first column in the first file (join -1 1) and the third column in the second file (-2 3) to get a file consisting of only the location IDs that show up in both the left and right lists with a non-zero frequency.

Process the joined result row by row (awk) computing the similarity score of the location ID in the first column ($1) multiplied by the frequency in the third column ($3), accumulating the scores in s, and finally printing the total of all the scores.

[rosemaryhelenxo]

Unlock Special Tatcha Event: Fukubiki Offers of Minis and Product Favorites | Press - Affiliate

Hey Everyone! I am so excited to announce that I am now officially a Tatcha skincare affiliate – which means I can bring you exclusive discounts and upcoming event information! If you’re new to the world of skincare, let me give you the inside scoop on Tatcha! Tatcha is a much loved, cult level luxury skincare brand from Japan which focuses on the best ingredients and scientific knowledge in…

[auraisereigh]

🛡️ This page contains no explicit or adult content. Just dragons, fantasy lore, and art made with love.

Welcome to my little art corner! ✨

All of the pieces you’ll find here are made by me with a whole lot of love and way too many hours.

Support me ☆

Started: 11/09/2024

Last updated: 06/05/2025

📅 Posting Schedule

✦ Wednesdays – A new chapter from Star’s story

✦ Fridays – Bonus posts, art, or requests

✦ Sundays – A fresh entry from the Archive Sheets

Requests & Questions 💌

Feel free to send in ideas for archive sheets you'd like to see, prompts for Star’s story, or general writing requests! I’m open to exploring various characters and ideas. However, I do not accept explicit content.

You can also drop an ask with any questions—whether it's about the archive sheets, lore, the Empyrean series in general or anything else. It’s much easier to give detailed answers through asks than in the comments.

Please note that requests may take a bit — I put a lot of time and care into everything I make 💛

The Empyrean

Writing

✨ Current WIP's

✨ Star's masterlist; Brennan Sorrengail x Riorson reader Last updated 16/04/25

✨ Standalones "Here you will find all of my standalone works, including any requests" Last updated 06/05/25

🐉 Dragon Kind

📜Dragon Chart

-> [Onyx storm version] -> [Iron flame version] "A selfmade Dragon Chart with all known dragons, tails, ancestral lines, riders and their signets" (will be updated by every book!)

🐲 aura's dragon guide

-> [Onyx storm version] -> [Iron flame version] "Everything you need to know about dragons including; Dragon Dens, life stages, tails and more. All collected in one master list that is my dragon guide for you all <3"

🌍 The Continent

🗺️ The known world map

"Find a complete, good quality and color coded map of known world here! (will be updated by every book!)"

📖 aura's empyrean guide

"Here is a guide on everything empyrean: places, conflicts, wars, basgiath war cillage and more."

✨ Specials

🎄 auras empyrean archives advent calender

🎨 Other pieces

(pretty random ngl)

Two art pieces i made for @callsign-rogueone

Piece I made for @garricks4thwingqueen

Photography-Rose petals

Dragon cup i hand drew

Dragon painting on my wall

[adafruit]

🎄💾🗓️ Day 18: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - Commodore 64🎄💾🗓️

The Commodore 64, released in 1982, is one of the ones we keep hearing got many people their start in their own computing history. Powered by a MOS Technology 6510 processor at 1.02 MHz and featuring 64 KB of RAM, it became the best-selling single computer model of all time, with an estimated 12.5–17 million units sold. Its graphics were driven by the VIC-II chip, capable of 16 colors, hardware sprites, and smooth scrolling, while the SID (Sound Interface Device) chip delivered advanced audio, supporting three voices with waveforms and filters, making it a lot of fun for gaming and music.

Featured a built-in BASIC interpreter, allowing users to write their own programs out-of-the-box. The C64’s affordability, large software library, lots of games, productivity, and educational applications made it a household name. It connected to TVs as monitors and supported peripherals like the 1541 floppy disk drive, datasette, and various joysticks. With over 10,000 commercial software titles and a thriving homebrew scene, the C64 helped define a generation of computer enthusiasts.

Its impact on gaming was gigantic, iconic titles like The Last Ninja, Maniac Mansion, and Impossible Mission. The C64 also inspired a demoscene, where programmers pushed its hardware for visual and audio effects. The Commodore 64 remains a symbol of computing for the masses and creative innovation, still loved by retrocomputing fans today.

Check out the National Museum of American History, and Wikipedia. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_334636 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64

And…! An excellent story from Jepler -

== While I started on the VIC 20, the Commodore 64 was my computer for a lot longer. Its SID sound chip was a headline feature, and many of my memories of it center around music. Starting with Ultima III, each game in the series had a different soundtrack for each environment (though each one was on a pretty short loop, it probably drove my folks nuts when I would play for hours). There were music editors floating around, so I tried my hand at arranging music for its 3 independent voices, though I can't say I was any good or that I have any of the music now. You could also download "SID tunes" on the local BBSes, where people with hopefully a bit more skill had arranged everything from classical to Beatles to 80s music.

Folks are still creating cool new music on the Commodore 64. One current creator that I like a great deal is Linus Åkesson. Two videos from 2024 using the Commodore 64 that really impressed me were were a "Making 8-bit Music From Scratch at the Commodore 64 BASIC Prompt", a live coding session (http://www.linusakesson.net/programming/music-from-scratch/index.php) and Bach Forever (http://www.linusakesson.net/scene/bach-forever/index.php) a piece played by Åkesson on two Commodore 64s.

Like so many things, you can also recreate the experience online. Here's the overworld music for Ultima III: https://deepsid.chordian.net/?file=/MUSICIANS/A/Arnold_Kenneth/Ultima_III-Exodus.sid&subtune=1 -- the site has hundreds or thousands of other SIDs available to play right in the browser.

Have first computer memories? Post’em up in the comments, or post yours on socialz’ and tag them #firstcomputer #retrocomputing – See you back here tomorrow!

[pix4japan]

Vending Machines: From Pokémon Collaborations to Disaster Preparedness

Location: Gumyoji, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Japan Timestamp: 17:45・2024/04/09

Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter ISO 400 for 1/250 sec. at ƒ/2 Classic Negative film simulation

Japan boasts an impressive array of vending machines, numbering around 2.6 million as of December 2023. In the span of the last four decades, I've witnessed significant shifts in this vending landscape. Notably, there has been a decline in machines vending alcohol and cigarettes, paralleled by a rise in machines offering both hot and cold beverages from a single unit. Among these innovations, my personal favorite is the advent of machines equipped with QR code scanning capabilities, allowing seamless payment through an app on my smartphone.

In my photo, two distinct elements immediately captured my eye: the presence of a Pokémon character adorning the vending machine, and upon closer inspection, the machine's disaster response capabilities.

The Ito En beverage company has partnered with the popular Pokémon Go game for a joint promotion of the game and Ito En drinks. Beyond its promotional features, this vending machine also serves a crucial role in the local community as a disaster response vending machine. In the event of a severe earthquake and subsequent power outage, it can dispense drinks at no cost, providing essential relief to those affected by the crisis.

While I sincerely hope to never have to utilize the services of a disaster response vending machine, it's reassuring to know that some large corporations are stepping up to make their services and products accessible to society during times of crisis.

Check out my full write-up (a concise 2-minute read), which includes a glossary and references for further reading (https://www.pix4japan.com/blog/20240409-vending).

[wanderpost]

front porch special 🫖☕️✨

(piper and leaf tea company advent calendar : day 1)

tea type: black tea

ingredients: ceylon black tea, assam tea, jasmine, cornflower, spearmint, bergamot oil

steep time: 3.5 minutes

where to purchase?: front porch special

im very very excited to be starting my 2024 tea advent calendar! because this tea is bagged, ill instead be showing off the amazing packaging of each day of the calendar. as you can see, each day is a "book" with a christmas classic on the spine. inside is an explanation of the theme and a bonus activity through a qr code!

today's tea was front porch special. the tea leaves were very fragrant, thanks to the bergamot oil. bergamot oil is the primary flavor and smell of earl grey tea, so i immediately identified it as essentially an earl grey with some extra ingredients. unfortunately though, the bitter black tea flavor and bergamot oil overpowered the flavor making it taste like a regular earl grey. Even the bottom of the cup didn't yield any bonus flavors (maybe i should re-brew my packet for a second round?). i was hoping to pick them out because jasmine, cornflower, and spearmint are all flavors i can identify through taste. either way though, this isn't to say the tea was bad by any means, earl grey is an iconic tea blend im a big fan of. the bitterness of the tea along with a sweet pastry i had for breakfast made it taste even better! im very excited for tomorrow's tea! :)

[ramenjunkie]

Advent of Code 2024 - Day 05 - Print Queue

Well, it’s an easy and hard-ish day.  I kind of hate the part 2s on these because they are almost always annoying.  It was a bit more interesting on the input because it was a two part input.  I’m still getting weird empty spaces at the end too, which I have just been trimming with a .pop(), but that’s a bit sloppy.  Today’s puzzle is verifying sorting of sets of numbers. Part 1 was pretty…

[optimysticals]

💀 ADVENT(ure)-een Day 18 💀

Brace for battle with 20% off all Boss Fights in the Dungeons & Diamonds Collection!

PLUS, every $30 spent earns you a pair of FREE earrings to celebrate your victory. 🛡️

Use code ADVENTUREEEN18TH at checkout.

The 18th Day of ADVENT(ure)-een - December 16th, 2024

[caprice-nisei-enjoyer]

Is Advent of Code 2024 Day 11 bullshit? Or am I dumb?

[rosemaryhelenxo]

RHXO Christmas Gift Guide 2023! (PR - Affiliated & Gifted)

Stuck on what to get for someone? Or what to put on your wish lists? Here is my Ultimate 2023 Gift Guide! Discover my curated guide on what would be great gifts to give and receive this year - all neatly sorted into one place!

Stuck on what to get for someone? Or what to put on your wish lists?Here is my Ultimate 2023 Gift Guide! Discover my curated guide on what would be great gifts to give and receive this year – all neatly sorted into beauty, makeup, skincare, haircare and lifestyle for you to uncover your favourite! I’ve also sourced the cutest gift wrap, novelty-but-useful-gifts and stocking fillers to meet all…

[hackernewsrobot]

Advent of Code 2024

https://adventofcode.com/2024/about

[brookston]

Holidays 11.6

Holidays

All the Good Things Wrapped Up in One Day

Arbor Day (Republic of Congo, Samoa)

Bank Workers’ Day (Argentina)

Constitution Day (Dominican Republic, Tajikistan)

Electric Razor Day

Fala Day

Fill Our Staplers Day

Finnish Swedish Heritage Day

Flag Day (Chad, Finland)

Global Refill Day

Green March Day (Morocco, Western Sahara)

Gustavus Adolphus Day (Sweden)

Hydrogen Bomb First Test Day

International Day For Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War & Armed Conflict (UN)

International End Gossip Day

International Tracksuit Day

Legalization Day (Cannabis)

Malaria Day in the Americas

Marching Band Day

Marijuana Recreational Legalization Day (Colorado, Washington)

Marooned Without a Compass Day

Measure Up Day

National Basketball Day (a.k.a. Play Basketball Day)

National I Read Canadian Day (Canada)

National Ladies Learning Code Day (Canada)

National Michele Day

National Report Home Health Care Fraud Day

National Stacey Abrams Day

National Team Manager Day

Obama Day (Kenya)

Pine Nut Day (French Republic)

Recreational Cannabis Legalization Day (Colorado)

Saxophone Day

Scotchtoberfest (The Simpsons)

Skirret Day (French Republic)

Stranger Things Day

Tazaungdaing (Myanmar)

United Americas Day

World Cee-C Day (Nigeria)

World Lets Stop Shouting Awareness Day

World Materials Day

World Paper Free Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Do Tater Tots Ever Grow Up? Day

Global Donut Day

National Nachos Day (a.k.a. I Love Nachos Day)

Peanut Butter Lovers Day

Independence & Related Days

Constitution Day (Tajikistan)

Cycoldia (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Day of the First Shout For Independence (El Salvador)

Mexico (Independence Declared; 1813)

Polish Republic (Declared; 1918)

1st Wednesday in November

Eat Smart Day [1st Wednesday]

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

International Pathology Day [1st Wednesday]

International Stress Awareness Day [1st Wednesday]

Men’s World Day [1st Wednesday]

National Advent Calendar Day [1st Wednesday]

National Eating Healthy Day [1st Wednesday]

National Holiday Calendar Day [1st Wednesday]

National Stress Awareness Day (UK) [1st Wednesday]

Take Our Kids to Work Day (Canada) [1st Wednesday]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Wheat Beer Wednesday [1st Wednesday of Each Month]

Wilderness Wednesday [1st Wednesday of Each Month]

Wobbly Wednesday [1st Wednesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning November 6 (1st Full Week of November)

None Known

Festivals Beginning November 6, 2024

Dublin Book Festival (Dublin, Ireland) [thru 11.10]

Hawai'i Food & Wine Festival (Oahu, Hawaii) [thru 11.10]

Jazz Fest Sarajevo (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) [thru 11.9]

Stockholm International Film Festival (Stockholm, Sweden) [thru 11.17]

Worlds of Flavor International Conference and Festival (Napa Valley, California) [thru 11.8]

Feast Days

Adelaide of Italy (Christian; Saint)

Albert Camus (Writerism)

Alois Senefelder (Artology)

Barlaam of Khutyn (Christian; Saint)

Birth of the Bab (Baha'i) [1 Muharram]

Birth of Tiamat (Ancient Egyptian mother of gods, goddess of primeval chaos)

Burroughs Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Cosimo de Medici the Elder (Positivist; Saint)

Dabucuri uiga, (Initiation Rites of the Young Men; to Jurupari, South American Guarani/Tupi God)

Demetrian (Christian; Saint)

Dodo Grieving Day (Pastafarian)

Feast of All Saints of Ireland (Ireland)

Festival of Total Submission

Herne’s Day II: Predator (Pagan)

Illtud (a.k.a. Illtyd or Iltntus; Christian; Saint)

Illitud’s Bell (Celtic Book of Days)

Learn a New Swear Word Day (Pastafarian)

Leonard of Noblac (Christian; Saint) [Coopers] *

Los Posadas (Latin America) [until 12.24]

Lucy Jones (Muppetism)

Melaine of Rennes (Christian; Saint)

Misa de Gallo begins (Rooster’s Mass; Philippines) [until 12.24]

Stephanie Vozzo (Artology)

Tiamat the Dragon Mother Day (Everyday Wicca)

Winds of Change Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Winnoc (Christian; Saint)

Wish-Granting Championships (Fairies; Shamanism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Tycho Brahe Unlucky Day (Scandinavia) [33 of 37]

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because it’s National Day to Lose Money on Horses.)

Unglückstage (Unlucky Day; Pennsylvania Dutch) [26 of 30]

Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [51 of 60]

Premieres

All Along the Watchtower, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1967)

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie (Mystery Novel; 1939) [29]

Behind Blue Eyes, by The Who (Song; 1971)

The Boondocks (Animated TV Series; 2005)

Chew Chew Baby or Stick to Your Gums (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 175; 1962)

A Cowboy Needs a Horse (Disney Cartoon; 1956)

Cry Freedom (Film; 1987)

Elizabeth (Film; 1998)

The Flea Circus (Tex Avery MGM Cartoon; 1954)

Forget-Me-Net, Parts 3 & 4 (Underdog Cartoon, S2, Eps. 31 & 32; 1965)

Foxtrot, by Genesis (Album; 1972)

Go Down Mooses or The Fall Guy (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 70; 1960)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Film; 2005) [#4]

Head (Film; 1968)

Hiding Out (Film; 1987)

Hold What You’ve Got, by Joe Tex (Song; 1964)

Ickle Meets Pickle (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Jersey Boys (Broadway Musical; 2005)

John Wesley Harding, recorded by Bob Dylan (Song; 1967)

Justify My Love, by Madonna (Album; 1990)

Kitty Caddy (Phantasies Cartoon; 1947)

Less Than Zero (Film; 1987)

Little Good Beep (WB LT Cartoon; 2000)

The Little Match Girl (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1937)

Little Red Walking Hood (WB MM Cartoon; 1937)

Made in Heaven, by Queen (Album; 1995)

Meet the Press (TV Series; 1947)

The Missing Mountain or Peek-a-Boo Peak (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 69; 1960)

The Moon Fell in the River, by Guy Lombardo (Song; 1940)

Paper Doll, by The Mills Brothers (Song; 1943)

Passenger 57 (Film; 1992)

Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., by The Monks (Album; 1967)

Precious (Film; 2009)

Rain of Terror or The Desperate Showers (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 176; 1962)

The Robot Spy (Animated TV Show;Jonny Quest #8; 1964)

Secrets of Life (Short Documentary Film; 1956)

Ski-Napper (Chilly Willy Cartoon; 1964)

Sky Trooper (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Spectre (UK Film; 2015) [James Bond #24]

Spotlight (Film; 2015)

Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Symphony; 1936)

Time Bandits (Film; 1981)

24 (TV Series; 2001)

The Universe in a Nutshell, by Stephen Hawking (Book; 2001)

The Unpopular Mechanic (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1936)

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, by P.D. James (Novel; 1972)

When We Were Very Young, by A.A.Milne (Children’s Book; 1924)

Wintertime Dreams, recorded by Woody Herman (Song; 1936)

Woody’s Kook-Out (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1961)

Your Friend the Rat (Pixar Cartoon; 2007)

The Zoo (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1933)

Today’s Name Days

Christina, Leonhard, Rudolf (Austria)

Leonard, Melanija, Sever, Vedran (Croatia)

Liběna (Czech Republic)

Leonhardus (Denmark)

Aadi, Aado, Aadu, Ado, Adolf (Estonia)

Mimosa (Finland)

Bertille, Léonard (France)

Christine, Leonhard, Nina (Germany)

Leonardo (Greece)

Lénárd (Hungary)

Leonardo (Italy)

Leo, Leonards, Leonhards, Leons, Linards (Latvia)

Ašmantas, Leonardas, Vygaudė (Lithuania)

Lennart, Leonard (Norway)

Feliks, Leonard, Trzebowit, Ziemowit (Poland)

Pavel (Romania)

Renáta (Slovakia)

Alejandro, Leonardo, Severo (Spain)

Adolf, Gustav (Sweden)

Mac, Mack, Mackenzie, Makenzie, Mckenzie (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 311 of 2024; 55 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 45 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Hagal (Hailstone) [Day 11 of 28]

Chinese: Month 10 (Yi-Hai), Day 6 (Jia-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 5 Heshvan 5785

Islamic: 4 Jumada I 1446

J Cal: 11 Wood; Foursday [11 of 30]

Julian: 24 October 2024

Moon: 24%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 3 Frederic (12th Month) [Guicciardini / Philippe de Comines]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 15 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 45 of 90)

Week: 1st Full Week of November

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 14 of 30)

[doubleddenden]

I think I want to do some speculation about the next couple of pokemon games, but it is largely based on internal findings from the Teraleak and breadcrumbs from leakers. So with that being said, I'll drop it under a cut.

To be precise, this concerns ZA and Gen 10. I have no insider info, I'm just bored.

First, ZA.

The main thing I'm gonna speculate here are some small bits compared to Gen 10, but it's still something to consider after information revealed about Legends Arceus- that information pertaining to the whole reason LA was made.

They made it to be a future testing ground to shape the future of the franchise, basically using it to try things they wanna do in the future. Sounds basic enough and reasonable enough on its own considering what it's laid the foundation for.

However, this being said and keeping this info in mind, there's something they wanted to put in LA that even they couldn't do despite the extreme progress made:

Voice acting, at least beyond basic Grunts.

New data shows they actually had a bit more they wanted to implement but cut out- nothing like fully voice acted scenes as far as I'm aware, but there are recorded phrases such as "Hai," "Arigato," "Hello," very basic things like that.

So imo, I think they're gonna try to implement voice acting for real. Maybe nothing beyond a few specific scenes and some generic phrases, one liners, and Grunts, but a step up from LA since we have a firm understanding the Legends series is a sort of testing ground for new ideas.

I think we all know how awkward some of the clips from the Switch Era (and imo even 3ds era) are without voice acting- after reading over leaks, I'm sure even some devs at GF think that, too. If ZA is going to test using one huge city as a setting, they may as well test out voice acting, too.

The hacker has stated that the game is mostly done, all that's missing is side quest stuff and more accurate translation- this is from a beta of the game that he most likely acquired in August 2024. With that said, maybe a reason we haven't gotten a trailer yet is because they want to get voice acting for the scenes in it, and polish up translations.

As for anything else, the leaks will definitely affect something in production- dunno what yet. Script may be rewritten, a Pokemon shelved, that kind of deal.

On that train of thought, there's a strong chance that info could come out BEFORE Pokemon day in response to the leaked info- if for nothing else than as a force of hand, or to reveal something before the hacker changes his mind and reveals something else for them. But I'd say to get comfortable with the idea we won't see anything for a few months, and if we do, it'll most likely be something very small, like starter or character pngs.

I'm also starting to have doubts about Snivy and Piplup being starters, mainly because it's obvious and Serperior is on the gates of that one palace.

That's all for ZA.

Onto gen 10:

We've gotten only a small tidbit related to this from the hacker himself- that being that gen 10 will be based on some sort of archipelago of islands, and that Gaia is the code name for this, much like Ikkaku is ZA, Titan is SV, Beluga is LGPE, etc. It should be noted that code names usually have little to do with the final result, save Titan- as in Titan pokemon.

There's also some info from leaked documents of correspondence between GF and the anime team- that being some concern of how there was island hopping in Horizons and that for a bit, it was heading towards a "Gaia like direction," and how they wanted to steer the anime away from this if possible.

The above seems to correlate, so we'll say there's a high likelihood it will indeed be an island hopping Advent through an archipelago.

Before anyone goes "nooo too much water-" I need you to understand the last time we really had any sort of major ocean route in a Pokemon game was LGPE, and before that it was ORAS. Notice the key difference here is that ORAS was still using random encounters- everything on the Switch has been using OVERWORLD encounters that you can easily avoid. Even then, we can directly compare the idea to how Alola handled it- you know, the other island hopping region that is surprisingly mostly land locked in terms of where we can go, and traversal between islands is mostly locked to story progression by boat, flight, or a surfing minigame.

It can be handled a variety ways imo, and personally I really adore the idea of islands again, so I say go for it.

This information can also help us narrow it down significantly- it kinda sucks that it seems like Australia is off the menu, but maybe in the future? Still, that's a huge chunk of the world off the table. There is also a chance this is a lie, do it's not totally dismissed just yet.

Mainly if we continue the island trail, it leaves SEA, the Caribbean, Arctic Archipelago, or the Mediterranean as most likely candidates. Out of these, SEA or Mediterranean seems most likely, mainly because they're probably more popular in terms of Japanese tourist destinations and lore to work with, although I think a Caribbean region needs to be made at some point too.

So between SEA and Mediterranean, it's probably going to be somewhere Mediterranean, and specifically- Greece.

Lots of islands, tons of history, and even though it would be the third European region in a row and 4th in total, Greece could be the least milquetoast out of them due to the diverse cultures of the Mediterranean. The lore and mythos to draw from is plentiful, so much so that they've already drawn upon it with Sinnoh's Spear Pillar, Hisui's ruins, and Hoenn's Sootopolis. The lore especially is world famous and can be used to inspire a lot of pokemon- I for one would love a hippogriff Pokemon. Now that being said, regional influences barely affect the dexes, but there's plenty of Pokemon that usually are influenced.

As for the topography itself- I can see it being a One Piece situation with extremes taken to each island- maybe one is engulfed in a snow storm, maybe one is volcanic, one has weird ass plants- you get the idea. Pokemon tries to diversify the topography of each region anyway to include a little of everything of the basics, so it could feasibly work in that regard.

More importantly, what could the overall theming be? Well, that's the tricky part. It could be super heroes for all we know due to the sentai figure in Penny's room, but I certainly hope not because that barely tracks at all.

If we assume gen 10 will release in 2026 during the 30th anniversary, I think it's reasonable to assume we might be getting another nostalgia region like Alola. That many areas could easily represent a little bit of each region in the Pokemon world, and could even serve as something akin to Sonic Generations in terms of a "best of" for each past gen or game. Maybe not a direct thing like an Ecruteak City copy, but that's not exactly off the table either. However, something like this COULD solve the regional variant issues that will arise once we get to Switch 2, particularly with an island having certain "auras" of certain regions to allow for certain evolutions to occur. Maybe even embassies to get unique pokemon.

But that might not happen and it could be it's own thing- I certainly hope so. As much as I adore Alola, it rode Kanto's dick too much.

Of course if we talk about Greece, there's PLENTY of sailing stories to be drawn from from the island hopping perspective.

Now, I'll be honest- I think I'd prefer SEA. Maybe Indonesia especially, because A. It's not another European country, B. It is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, which we have yet to have a region in. In fact, Indonesia is the most populated southern Hemisphere country. C. I don't know much about it's mythos or lore, but I've researched just a tad out of curiosity- it would probably be the most curious place to visit simply because it isn't as well known as Greece.

But, admittedly, Greece does have a higher chance.

Now, I don't particularly enjoy Khu as a leaker, riddler, or person in general. His riddles suck ass and barely make sense even after the fact, he likes to stir the pot by causing trouble, and he has been known to lie for fun. I've stopped putting as much stock in his riddles for these reasons, also because some if his info can be reasonably inferred without him.

That being said- he has had info in the past and seems to be hinting at information that correlates to a Mediterranean island region. To one user, he said "near you," in which Pasio was their listed location- Pasio is loosely inspired by Italy (further confirmed by a leaked concept map of the region that looks a lot like Italy on its side... sigh, there goes Pokemon Venice I guess). He also tweeted out 🙏, which now has some sense- praying, as in worship. What do you worship? Gods. What's a place known for gods? Greece. What's also near Italy? Greece. He also said "too much water" in regards to the region.

Again, I don't like him. However, if we simply use his info as a guide, it adds some believability to the info above.

But again, all of this could be a big ass lie like his lie with the BW remakes as a "prank" and it all DOES turn out to be Australia.

But we won't know for sure any time soon.

But if I were to pick starters on Greek mythos, the smart man would easily use Greek Myth of gods and monsters as inspiration. Pegasus, minotaur, hydra, Gordon, there's a lot to pick from. You could even try animals that specific gods turned into, such as a bear, spider, bull, what have you.

Anyway, that's all

[noahsbookhoard]

📚July 2024 Book Review (Part 2/3)📚

Part 1 had a common theme, this one is color coded! Otherwise they are quite varied in genre and theme but all three are really really good

Cinq petits cochons (Five Little Pigs) by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot is asked to work a very peculiar case: a 16 year old murder. The wife of famous painted Amyas Crale had been found guilty of poisoning her husband but left her young daughter Carla one last letter before her death, claiming her innocence. Now grown up, Carla wants the truth, did her mother really commit this crime? To answer Poirot only has the recollection of five witnesses, and potential suspects.

This book has climbed all the way to be my second favorite Christie, just behind The Murder of Roger Acroyd. I love the particular narrative based on letters and interviews, even though it is the same story (more or less) repeated five times over, it was never tiring because the minute details and differences between the testimonies keep you on your toes.

What is also nice specificallly in this book is the fact that there was already a culprit judged and sentenced to prison, the five witnesses have no reason to doubt the trial except for Carla and she was just a child at the time of the murder. The question Poirot asks each character is "What do you remeber of that day? Do you think Caroline (Carla's mother) really killed Amyas Crale?" But as always he is opened to every hypothesis and so is the reader. What he really wants to know is "In the event Caroline were not the killer, who else could it be?"

Once again I saw nothing coming. I only noticed a small incoherence but it was merely a detail and the really important clue went right under my nose, not once but five times and I completely missed it! I never thought I would like failing to solve a puzzle so much.

Going Postal (Discworld #33) by Terry Pratchett

Soon-to-be hanged con artist Moist Von Lipwig is given one last chance to escape the gallows: revive the Ankh-Morpork Postal Service, fallen to disrepair with the advent of the much quicker Clacks System.

The Discworld novels who take place in Ankh-Morpork generally bring back some of my favorite characters: Vimes, The Librarian, CMOT Dibbler, in this one specifically Vetinari and a new Little Guy With Issues for the collection: Moist Von Lipwig.

I love him, he is such a typical Discworld protagonist: he is Just A Guy, there is A Situation and he isn't being particularly brave about it but he is clever/runs fast and that will have to be enough. Terry Pratchett write this kind of character masterfully well and I love that Moist Von Lipwig is more on the smart and cunning side of the scale.

The balance between modernity and magic works particularly well here, and as always the satire is on point and surgeon level of precision (that's why I always love the scene with Vetinari do much)

And the secondary characters are very endearing : the Post employees are just so funny and Adora is really cool. I was wary of the romance with her and Moist at first but Moist is cute when he is all fluttered by a lady with a strong opinion on the rights of Golem postal employees so by the end I was rooting for him.

I can see why it is a fan favorite. It is a solid top 5 of my favorite Discworld novel, what a wonderful book! I haven't established the official list yet as I haven't finished the series. Honestly I'm scared of finishing it, of having them read all for the first time. I know I will reread them (Hogfather is on the December TBR) but that's not the same...

Celle qu'il attendait by Baptiste Beaulieu

He is a doctor, an openly gay man, married, with a child and just a good person overall! I follow his Instagram account and although I don't know him, he seems like a deeply likable man, invested in helping people and unafraid to express his opinions. Additionally a friend had already read it an recommended this book to me so I dived in with only a modicum of hesitation.

Eugenie is an inventor of eccentric machines, Josephin is a quiet taxi driver. They both have been hurt deeply before, they are cautions, they are clumsy; but they will love each other from the moment they meet at the train station to the very end. They will learn to open up, to trust again, to see the beauty the other sees in them.

I am awfully prejudiced toward contemporary literature: is it a more academic author? It's gonna be boring and hard to read. Is it a more mainstream author? It's gonna be a lame feel good book. I'm working on proving myself wrong, in the first case with my Goncourt cherry picking but sofar I had not dipped into the more popular literature. I decided to start with an author I like as an individual: Baptiste Beaulieu

This is a sweet but sad story. The characters are very lonely, desperate to make a connection tonight but they are so shy, so afraid to fail and be even sadder to have been disappointed than they already are. The title means "The one he was waiting for": it is a sort of love at first sight but Josephin and Eugenie tip toe around it, afraid of what might happen. The pace is pretty slow but it suits the story, it treat its characters gently. Sometimes in the middle of relating Eugenie's self depreciating thoughts the narrator pauses and adresses her, telling her that she is not how she thinks and that she shouldn't say this about herself. it was really touching and caring and nice.

They both have baggage, some heavy ones, but slowly they get to talk and trust each other. When Josephin finally invites Eugenie to a concert, my heart flutters for them!

And then he gives the date and location. The Bataclan. On November 13, 2015.

Those outside of France probably don't know/remember it: there was several shooting on that night, including just outside several bars and in the Bataclan concert hall. There was 130 casualties.

So much for the lighthearted love story.

It isn't graphic or overly violent, the style is still soft and talk around the event rather than about it. Still there is grief, for the reader who guesses beforehand what will happen and for the characters when it actually does. And yet hope remains, the story isn't over and someone is left to keep going, even alone. And always the book is soft and gentle and does not rush the one that survive out of the grief.

Not an easy book to read but a touching one. I certainly defied my idea of contemporary lit being all sunny feel good novel because that sure wasn't but I liked it a lot. His newest book, Tous les silences ne font pas le même bruit (All silences don't sound the same) is just out and the only reason I don't have it yet is that I'm stuck at work.