#i could also do a pokemon themed one or something? or general animals or dragons

[rainyjackalope]

kinda wanna join a zine again

did it once and it was really neat but idk where to even begin and I know finding people that are comfy managing putting one together is hard. it's a lot of work! but damn it's really fun having one of my art pieces in a little book that I physically own (digital zines are good too)

I'd love to join one about queerness or specific aspects of it I'm part of or general furry ones or something

I'll have to look into it after this month

[adobe-outdesign]

if you haven’t yet, could you review the dragonite line?

I'll be upfront, I've always really liked this line, with Dragonair being one of my top ten favorite Pokemon. I think part of it is just the simplicity; there's just the right amount of real-world elements and fantasy elements, without too much detail to over-clutter things.

Dratini, for example, is just a small sea serpent, and there's not even a clear theme at this stage. However, details like the fins on its head and the white nose make it stand out enough so it's not overly generic. It also does a good job of looking enough like its evo while still being distinct due to most of the main elements being different (head fins, bump instead of horn, white nose, rounded underbelly, lighter color, etc.).

Speaking of its evo, Dragonair is just straight-up beautiful. The long slender body is really elegant, and the minimalist details give it just the right amount of flavor without being overbearing. It's one of the only Pokemon in my top 10 favs that earns that spot solely through visuals alone.

The new orbs on its body are perfectly placed, and their addition makes the theme of this line clear—it's an imugi, a Korean lesser dragon that only becomes a true dragon when a jewel falls from the sky every 1000 years. In addition to the theming, these orbs are also distinctive and serve to convey the vibe of a semi-mythical animal.

In addition to this, the body has some white countershading that starts and ends at the orbs, which breaks up the main body just enough. This white is then accented by the white of its horn and the two wings on its head; another unexpected element, and another very pretty one at that. As far as I'm concerned, nothing about this design could be improved.

I know some people really dislike Dragonite, but I'm going to defend it to a degree. Yes, it is much more generic than Dragonair, having lost some of its more distinctive features, and I do think that's a shame (losing the orbs makes sense because that's how imugi work, but why replace the fluffy wings with utterly generic dragon ones?). And yes, the change between it and its pre-evos is a little jarring.

HOWEVER, people tend to act like its completely detached from the rest of the line, which is just plain wrong. It still has:

The same rounded head shape

A horn

Two things on either side of the horn

A lighter-color underbelly

A smooth, curved body shape

Even thematically, the change from a serpent to a dragon ties into the imugi thing, with Dragonair obtaining the orbs and then becoming a true dragon. It's definatley not the best evolution out there in terms of memorability (it's a fairly generic dragon at this stage) or coherency, but it still makes sense as an evo.

If I were to make any tweaks to Dragonite, it would simply be to change the colors. I don't know why it suddenly becomes orange, and the change is jarring when a clear pattern was established with both of the pre-evos being blue. The line looks 200% better just by keeping the colors consistent, and you could always make the orange its shiny:

I also would've kept the wings on the back but kept the feathered look of Dragonair's; its much more interesting and would've further helped with consistency. Everything else, however, I think is fine. Not as good as its pre-evos, but certainly not awful by any means.

Side note: there's a lot of talk about this line getting something in the future. In all honestly, I don't think it needs it; it's still an iconic and well-loved line with decent stats. That said, Dragonite is one of the only psuedo-legendaries that doesn't have a new form, so I guess it would be fair enough to give it something. A regional could work, maybe something that brings Dragonite in-line with Dratini and Dragonair a bit more. I could also see a split evo being a thing.

Anyway, overall: Dratini and Dragonair are the perfect blend of mystical and normal attributes, and are quite beautiful all around. Dragonite is also good, but more generic and suffering a bit from some strange color choices. As a whole, however, this line is pretty fantastic.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

SISHSJSJ ok wait you’re full on selling me on the hydration idea now wait the goodra hydreigon opposite vibes plus the territorial behavior study sort of thing??? Ok lowk im glad you did some reworking (couldn’t be me id probably flip a table atp) HUT IM GLAD YOU MADE IT WORK because the more i read the more I was like “haha….what if….” Ok I was actually contemplating asking like what if you replaced Dragalge with hydreigon but I figured you probably had some insane type matching involved in that and besides dragon their other typing isn’t the same so I was just like “er yeah idk”

UAHAHAHA LUNA GETTING DOWNGRADED TO A MUK sorry no hate to muk fans i just think its so goofy and its just like the classic team rocket/enemy team grunt pokemon HSHSHSH but yeah Luna will make do fs thank god for your big brain I feel like readers team also feels more stacked now LMAO

EVIL TEAM NAGI LNFAOOO real??? I love the matchups though it’s like that one meme pic of the pink Barbie looking house right next to the pitch black one

LMAOO pursuit is an itoshi free zone…we will note have Emo eyelashes here

OOOH ok very slay ik some pokemon characters have wild designs or very themed designs so wasn’t sure if that was gonna get mixed up or not the crow feather iridescent does slap though

MAMA Y PAPA imagine its a like one of those “a day in the life” videos and imagine garchomp and nidoqueen are also wearing matching aprons like karasus while they deal with all the babies (im also specifically thinking that there’d be some moments wheres there’s the excessive pink flowery aura used in some anime/manhwas where it’s like happy sunshine rainbow family LMAO you can probably tell that’s one of my favorite meme formats)

LMAOO exactly get the best of both worlds the ultimate angst crack fluff combo

After reading your drafts/outline/thoughts for the future peregrine chapters that Nagi is probably the most down bad person to exist like down bad to the point that NAGI is speeding over to catch up to reader before she leaves like bro is MOVING??? Insane ok but fr is some hardcore yuki stan could just throw out some ideas or thoughts I don’t think itd be hard for me to see the vision/get converted just need some guidance….

AHAHAH omg imagine a tabieita breakup SHSHSH ok wait im pretty certain ive read a fic on here that was actually kinda tabieita beef except I think it was like Karasu liked reader but reader liked otoya after Karasu introduced him to her and then in the end he runs to her house in the rain trying to confess before it’s too late but otoyas already in her house and they’re just hanging out and he’s like ok nvm like ok way to step on my heart that fic had me reeling

OAEU BAROU????? GUSUAISKSOSKSKS IM SO READY I CANT WAIT TO READ IT AND SEE NIKO SIDEKICK TOO LMFAOAOAOA

THATS EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT “haha…nice…” is SO Isagi coded he would totally say something like that (I’m pretty sure he DOES when his old classmate tada is like lmaoooo u just got lucky with that shot no skills lmaoooooooo) wait I love that LMAOO that’s actually the perfect approach to not making it angsty just make Isagi stupid /j LMAO but whether he’s just dense or stubborn or both I feel like that matches his vibe either way soooo

It looks like Mario and Luigi got fused with a piranha plant because what the fuck is that……..but fr tbh I thought I had convinced myself that I’d continue playing anyways just for the sake of following through and I enjoy the gameplay generally too but the new designs I CANNOT I mean I get it because they’re already made so many pokemon they’re probably bound to run out of ideas esp if the design team isn’t changing much but wtf is Gen 9….like I pulled up the dex for serebii and they’re so ugly SHSGSHS also the weird past future versions of old Pokemon whyd suicune become a dinosaur and raikou a giraffe??????

STAY STRONGGGGG real though just like the tags here the edits of them are SO abundant like pleaseee where is the variety!!! But tbh with the way u20 arc goes plus how saes nonexistent in nel I think it would take eightbit their entire studios worth of budget to make me convert so

Oooooh icic im not as in tune to interaction patterns so I lowk didn’t realize that might be the case LOL based off your rules for no exact repeats of trope and character are allowed hopefully the next three will give enough room/inspo for non overlapping ideas though! I’m assuming you’ll probably be safe plus what are the odds right….

LMAOOO imagine once pursuit picks up people are gonna think you’re a Barou blog /j if people actually start fully associating you with sae idek how id react atp it’s so ironically funny…no actually dw when peregrine eventually makes its big comeback people will all go back to their roots and be like “oh yeah this is that really good nagi series yup this is the nagi blog” LMAO

AHAHAH BAYOSAGI in the back as npcs deadpanning like “bro wtf” while aiku and arbok are vibing our running around trying to look cool and pick up girls

Wait I got distracted and forgot to send this earlier but talk abt perfect timing literally right when I choose to come back here and send this in ITS BEEN PUBLISHED BAROU OAEUUUH

- Karasu anon

YESS WE MADE IT WORK i’m so glad i love hydreigon and reader having one matches the vibes of her team so well LMAOAO like between gyarados houndoom and hydreigon alone her team is 50% demons that everyone is afraid of but they LOVE her and they’re actually just sweet and cuddly (actually hydreigon is going to be lowkey sassy but still he really likes reader just can be a bit teenager-ish at times) BRO THE REWORKING HAD ME CRASHING OUT NGL i was literally typing a response to your ask where hydreigon is the starter and donphan is replaced by nidoking but dragalge is replaced by espeon (in a situation where otoya and reader get eevees at the same time) at the same though i was just like 😐😔 the whole time because while espeon provided some type coverage it just felt so BASIC and reader’s team is meant to be fairly non-basic the halfway through typing out the explanation i was like wait…keep houndoom keep the theme get rid of the members we don’t care as much abt and BOOM done and done

LMAOOO no because there truly just aren’t enough poison types and ig muk is decently good…his star is his roserade anyways so it’s fine we’ll just have muk be one of the first pokémon he throws out!! wait also reader having a nidoking is so cute imagine it becomes friends with hiori’s nidoqueen 🥹 DHDKSJS okay wait do you remember the quick ball idea we had w phanpy…lowkey it would be even funnier with deino (baby hydreigon) because they’re not really found in the area so reader’s going ham trying to catch it and accidentally uses all of karasu’s quick balls?? HAHAAH hold on actually this could be done right around the arc where otoya gets his happiny (in that arc otoya flirts with a nurse joy too hard and accidentally gets himself and reader involved in busting a pokémon abuse ring) maybe deino escaped from that ring and that’s what tipped nurse joy off to its existence as well as being an explanation for why there’s a random deino wandering around!!

NO THAT’S EXACTLY THE VIBES like all of reader’s pokémon are 👹💥😈 and nagi’s are 🧚🏻‍♀️✨💖 meanwhile reader herself is super kind + gentle looking (and she actually is) and nagi’s the king of idgaf who would sell anyone out (except reader) for a lukewarm donut (jkjk he’s sweet too just not in the same way as reader)…i honestly rlly like the dichotomy plus reader having all villainous seeming pokémon adds to the “team x thinks she’s one of them” vibe in the beginning of the story…agreed her team is much more stacked now i like it!! zero weak links it’s all absolute monsters i KNOW the league conference hated to see her coming 😓

the most the itoshis get is a mention that they live in another region in like the isagi ova…maybe sae’s an elite four member and since in my mind the elite four candidacy process includes traveling abroad and training with the elite four members there perhaps isagi knows of the itoshis via that?? that’s why he’s not around when barou’s abt to challenge the champion too he’s in a diff region which is why he doesn’t know what actually happened to barou

HAHAHA you know how doggy daycares irl send like updates of what your pet is doing imagine the spin off is just karasu taking photos of all of the daycare pokémon up to stuff so we have garchomp and nidoqueen in the aprons looking after everyone and karasu with his camera just clicking away and each scene starts with like an image with a handwritten caption and then it zooms into the image and we see the scene it’s describing 🥹

NAGI INVENTED DOWN-BAD-ISM peregrine nagi my beloved…he is super simple with his gestures BUT it’s like the smallest things mean so much with him!!! agreed i need a yuki fan to enter my inbox and show me the light LMAAOAO

HAHA i think i read that fic too i was like bruh in no universe (except hollyhock) would i choose otoya over KARASU that was before miraeita was real too so it was especially emo to read

DJDSHSJA OAEU BAROUUU YESS i hope you like it!! it is SUCH a silly story 😭 but yeah agreed isagi not necessarily rejecting her just refusing to accept that she’s confessing is so him i think it’s perfect (and that way isagi stans can still imagine that he does secretly like them)

no because all of the new pokémon keep getting uglier and uglier and they keep doing stuff with the old ones and from i’ve heard the gameplay isn’t that good 😔 i’ll stick w my gen vi and before games thank you very much 🤩

LMAOO you’re so right the itoshi edits are everywhere it’s so funny…hopefully the love is spread during s2 but the good thing abt being a nagi lover is he also gets a lot of edits and content due to having a lot of s1 screentime so at least I’ve got that going for me

yeah just based on my guesses/what usually happens all of the people that follow me and would’ve requested have already done so!! so it’ll be randoms for the last three spots but they likely won’t find my account until i post the first event posts and those gain traction ☝🏻 unless people find me via oaeu barou and happen to see my event ig 🧐

PLS technically pursuit is a nagi story so hopefully once it picks up people will associate me w nagi?? although you’re right in that it is very barou centric so it might give me more of a barou reputation (for example the funeral invite that people keep liking) HAHAA no because somehow seabird is my most popular bllk work?? ig it is pretty good but come on now guys…read bfb…read hollyhock…LMAO PEREGRINE NEEDS A COMEBACK ASAP THE WORLD NEEDS TO REMEMBER WHO MY MAN IS

HAHAAH bayosagi are so done with aiku they all think he’s a major dumbass but he’s also a genius?? considering he’s supposed to become a professor and all…the bayosagi + aiku dynamic is hilarious i honestly love the prequel group just as much as i love reader and co + mc trio they’re so silly yet so sweet

WE LINKED UP YET AGAIN FKDKSJ looking forward to hearing your thoughts!! i think i’ll take a break from the oaeu for a sec after this to work on other stuff but the barou version is nice and long so that should tide people over

[sage-nebula]

the pokemon company be like *thinly-veiled misogyny*

To be honest, the sexism isn’t even really thinly-veiled if you think about it. Like off the top of my head:

— Professor Juniper was our first female professor, and it took until Gen V to get her. But whereas all the other professors got to stand on their own without needing anyone else, Professor Juniper had to have her father come in to provide answers to various plot occurrences that she didn’t know. IIRC, she also inherited her practice from him, which was also something that the male professors before and after didn’t have to contend with. It’s a miracle that this was averted with Professors Magnolia and Sonia in Gen VIII, both of whom are women.

— Speaking of female professors being screwed over, in Gen VII we’re introduced to Professor Burnet, whose practice specifically focuses on ultra wormholes and disturbances in space-time (which makes sense since she was previously working on the Dream Radar). Given how much of the plot concerns ultra wormholes, you would think that she would be the main professor of the story, or at least play a big part. But you’re wrong! Instead she’s only in one mandatory scene, and then is basically never heard from again. Meanwhile, Kukui shows up all the goddamn time even though his goal (to create a League) is literally meaningless in the scope of the overall plot. (And even that could have been cool if it had delved into the socio-political ramifications of what overthrowing Alola’s current system of government for another one would mean, but now is not the time to get into the failings of Gen VII’s plot. I’ve gone through that enough times.)

— Back to Gen V for a second, we’re also given two rivals in the first of the Unova games: Bianca and Cheren. While Cheren, the male rival, is taken seriously and has it talked up over and over how great of a battler he is, Bianca has her Munna stolen from her halfway through the story and spends the rest of the game talking down on herself and ultimately deciding that her father was right and she really is not cut out to be a Pokémon Trainer. Keep in mind that Bianca was the first mandatory female rival in the games, because while May could be a rival in Gen III if you played as Brendan, if you chose to play as her, both rivals (Brendan and Wally) were male. So on that note, our rivals so far look like:

Gen I: Blue Oak (male)

Gen II: Silver (male)

Gen III: Wally (male), optional May (female), optional Brendan (male)

Gen IV: Barry (male) 

Gen V: Cheren (male), Bianca (female), Hugh (male)

Gen VI: Shauna (female), Tierno (male), Trevor (male), optional Serena (female), optional Calem (male)

Gen VII: Hau (male), Gladion (male)

Gen: Hop (male), Bede (male), Marnie (female)

So, let’s see. We only have two mandatory female rivals (Bianca and Marnie), as well as two optional female rivals (May and Serena). Meanwhile, we have twelve mandatory male rivals, as well as two optional male rivals (Brendan and Calem). To cap this off, while the mandatory male rivals (outside of the useless Kalos ones) are always treated as strong, competent battlers who have important roles in the story, our two mandatory female rivals, well . . .

Bianca: See above

Marnie: Gets battled a whole grand total of two times and has basically zero impact on the plot despite the fact that her brother is the only Gym Leader who didn’t give into Rose’s vision for how Galar should operate and use Dynamax evolution

And even when it comes to the optional ones, since Brendan is treated as the default MC by TPCi, that means May is the one who gives up training to go be a professor like her dad. (Which is the exact thing they basically did to Bianca in Gen V, except she studies under Juniper instead.) Serena at least keeps battling if she’s the rival, but jeez.

So to say there’s definite gender inequality where the rivals are concerned is a bit of an understatement.

— Moving away from the rivals, let’s talk about villains! We didn’t get a female villain until Gen VII with Lusamine, and even then she wasn’t allowed to stay a villain because I guess Game Freak doesn’t want to accept the fact that women can be evil, too. Moreover, all of Lusamine’s achievements come from the men in her life, and all of her motivations revolve around her husband. To spell it out:

- She inherited the Aether Foundation from her grandfather / father, without having founded it herself like we’re at first led to believe.

- Her husband Mohn was the one who discovered how the ultra wormholes work, not her. IIRC, he was also the primary researcher behind Type: Null’s creation.

- The reason why she does what she does is because she’s looking for her missing husband Mohn, with an added dash of “women just go crazy (and abuse their children) without their husbands!!1!!!” thrown in for flavor. 

Compare this to Giovanni, Maxie, Archie, Cyrus, Ghetsis, Colress, Lysandre, and now Chairman Rose, all of whom formed their own organizations (Giovanni inheriting his from his mother is anime only and does not pertain to the games at all) and had their own goals and desires, versus relying on someone else for those goals and desires. And as if Lusamine not being allowed to form her own organization and have her own goals for her own sake wasn’t bad enough, they then had to go and make it even worse in USUM by turning her into a damsel in distress in the Rainbow Rocket plot, depicting her as not only less capable as the male villains, but also less capable than her male subordinate. Gag me.

— On that note, Oleana is sorely underappreciated by basically everyone except the Twilight Wings writers considering she’s the only reason anything Rose did got done, yet got none of the credit for herself. Damn shame.

— Stepping away from the games for a moment, Generations was a hot mess in terms of sexism. First of all, they only ever used the male MCs, pretending that the female ones didn’t exist at all, even in cases where the female MCs are vastly more popular (e.g. May, Dawn, Hilda). Second, most of the episodes focused on male characters from the series, and the ones that didn’t were either there so they could disrespect the best character in the series by not giving her the episode she deserved (Zinnia), or were told from the point of view of a male character despite that it was supposed to be a female character’s story (Emma). And lastly, there was whatever the fuck that mess with Cheryl was. It was animated in a way that made it look like an anime not suitable for anyone under the age of eighteen. Like honestly, what the hell.

— Leaf has been consistently and constantly disrespected all over the franchise. Despite there allegedly being four trainers who left from Pallet Town (counting Ash) in the anime, Leaf has never been seen or mentioned even once throughout the two decades that anime has been running. They had an opportunity to show her in at least a cameo form in the 20th anniversary movie, but they chose not to do that either, adding yet another disappointment from that movie to the list. She had no appearances in Origins, no appearances in Generations, they didn’t do what they should have done in HGSS by making her the rival atop Mt Silver if you chose to play as Lyra, she wasn’t a skin for Pokémon Trainer in Super Smash Bros. until Ultimate, I’m pretty sure they never made an Amiibo for her either, they replaced her with her Special counterpart in LGPE and her characterization absolutely bonkers to boot, and back to Masters, SS Leaf doesn’t have the Main Character designation for the theme skills that SS Red has, and is also routinely left out of any story bits that feature Red or Blue. It’s a miracle she was even included in the Battling Legends event or whatever it was. As far as TPCi seems to be considered, Kanto only has one main character and that’s Red.

— Oh and speaking of Iris, they gave her the Gym Leader theme designation instead of the Champion designation, instead choosing to act like Alder is Unova’s only Champion when he, no offense, didn’t really fucking do anything in Gen V. :’) We hate to see it.

— In the current run of the anime, the two boys (Ash and Gou) have gotten to go around and have adventures for ~50 episodes while the girl (Koharu) has had to stay home and go to school. You can argue, “She wanted that!” all you want, but you have to remember that she only wants what the writers tell her to want, and the writers said the boys get to have adventures while the girls stay home. She finally has an Eevee and will presumably go on adventures now, but we’ll have to wait and see. And don’t get me wrong, I like Journeys and I love Gou as a character, but it is absolutely a Choice to not have a female lead present in the adventures at all and it’s one that the writers deliberately made for whatever reason.

— On that note, let’s look at Ash’s female companions, shall we? 

Misty: A Gym Leader who has a vague goal (water pokémon master) and is largely out of focus during her run as a primary companion. She had no rivals or in-series (as in, concrete ones she could accomplish before leaving the main cast) goals of her own.

May: A coordinator. Does have rivals and has a story, which is nice, but battling isn’t her focus.

Dawn: Another coordinator. Even more focus than May (she was written as a deuteragonist), but also not primarily focused on battling.

Iris: A battler (her Gym Leader / Champion Status is written out) who actually does get decent focus and a cool arc surrounding her connection to dragons. 

Serena: A performer, which is a girls-only career path that doesn’t have battling in it at all, unlike contests. Does have a goal, but much of her character is written around her crush for Ash and at the end of the series she says that he is her goal.

Lillie, Lana, Mallow: Honestly I didn’t watch enough of SM to have an opinion on how these three were handled outside of hating how Lusamine didn’t get to be a villain in the anime either.

Koharu: See above, she’s only just now getting to be involved with things.

Now, don’t get me wrong: There’s nothing wrong with being a coordinator (and we do see male coordinators too, such as Drew and Harley), and I think that both May and Dawn are wonderful characters. But it does make me feel some kind of way that the female characters were often given the “girly” sidequest while the male main character got to go for the Gym badges, especially since AG and DP went on for a good chunk of years. None of the ladies so far have been treated as badly as Serena was (that performer stuff is just nasty, I’m not sorry), but again, it’s a deliberate choice and something to think about, especially since I feel the only reason they didn’t go that route with Iris is because of her Gym Leader / Champion status in the games. 

I could probably think of more examples of the casual sexism in the series if I thought about it, but this is just from the top of my head. As you can see, there is a lot. All of this being said, and I’m putting major emphasis on this since I don’t want anyone to get it twisted—

I love Pokémon with my entire heart, flaws and all. It has been my hyperfixation for 22 years and that is not going to change any time soon. So DO NOT even dare suggest that I hate Pokémon, or shouldn’t play it, or anything like that. I will be playing Pokémon on my deathbed and nothing and no one will stop me.

But that being said, I criticize because I care. Because I wish it would do better. Pokémon is for everyone. It’s for boys, girls, nonbinary folks, and people all over the gender spectrum. But the treatment of its female characters and the abundance of favoritism shown toward the male characters leaves a lot to be desired (though at least girls are at the table, whereas trans folk are relegated to background NPCs and nonbinary folk are nowhere to be seen :/). I think Pokémon can get better—Magnolia and Sonia felt like a proper apology for how Juniper in particular was shafted, not to mention Burnet—but it’s got a long way to go.

(And also, yes, you’ve understood this right. Twilight Wings is the only anime series to not fuck up at all when it comes to sexism. You go, Twilight Wings. Four for you, Twilight Wings.)

[isolaradiale]

The season of tricks and treats descended upon Spirale not at all too suddenly. Halloween was a coveted celebration by many of the native residents, and for the off-worlders that were forced to call the city their home it was seen as a time of rest and relaxation. A simple but effective distraction from the doom and gloom of their day to day lives. But what would haunt the city this year? A zombie apocalypse? A literal haunting? Fortunately the Stars found mercy this year, for they chose not to hinder the Halloween season in any tragic, unforeseeable way.

That isn’t to say they chose to do nothing. All throughout the city special Halloween shops popped up. “HALLOW’S ASCENT” it was called, and it wasn’t run by any NPCs that could be seen. Within was a large selection of Halloween costumes seemingly available for free, but the real draw of these shops were the “ASCENSION CANDIES.” According to the instructions on the machine, if one was consumed while wearing a costume you would become that costume.

But such a thing couldn’t be true. Could it?

Why would the Stars install such a system? Would the city come alive with ghouls and goblins for the remainder of October? Why is Ofiuco dressed like Santa already?

WHAT IS GOING ON?

Welcome to the Maskerade Festival, a Halloween-themed event! We wanted to offer something in celebration of the season this year since many places have cancelled festivities due to understandable real world events.

All throughout the city the Halloween shop “HALLOW’S ASCENT” has established locations with the intention of providing costumes to those that need them.

Surprisingly that isn’t even the real draw. It’s the “ASCENSION CANDIES” that allow the consumer to become the costume they’re wearing. You can also obtain “DESCENSION CANDIES” which, if you’re already bound to the form of your costume, will undo your current form and return you to normal. Using the two of these candies it is possible to constantly change costumes and forms throughout the event.

Starting on Monday, October 19th we will be adding a series of activities that can be completed in costume for Dust rewards or other small items, for those looking for a little extra motivation.

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

We ask you use your best judgment when picking costumes for your character. As a basic rule: if you need to ask whether or not the costume is appropriate, it’s better not to use that costume. This refers more to sensitive topics such as things that might come off as upsetting to other people. 

If your character dresses up as a specific person the candy will not change you into them. You can change into character types like pirates or knights, for example, but not specific people.

Your character cannot become another character or creature from a piece of real world media that isn’t their own. This includes things like becoming Pokemon even though we have some in the group. We understand this may feel a little limiting, but it’s for the sake of keeping things less confusing.

Your character does not need to use a costume from the store for the candy to work, nor does the costume need to be convincing. Provided your character believes the costume to be what it is when they consume the candy it will work.

Becoming monsters and animals is absolutely a-okay! In terms of the former you can also inherit things like a dragon’s fire breath. The monster can even be something you design yourself! Just keep in mind all giant monsters will be shrunken down to 10ft tall, and if you give them any abilities they must be comparable in strength to a starter ability regardless of how many there are.

The form your character takes when under the effects of the Ascension Candies is completely customizable. It doesn’t have to be “your character... but a vampire!”, you can make the vampire form look completely unlike their original form. Feel free to be creative!

It is possible to mix costume pieces. Want your character to become a zombie idol cat with tentacles for ears? Feel free!

You can have the costume affect your character’s mind as well, but this is completely optional. Your character has it in their head that the vampire they’re dress as is evil? Have the costume make them evil! Do they dress as a monster that is often beheld to its instincts? Feel free to have those instincts affect them! But again, there is no requirement to have this happen! 

Your character can also gain knowledge temporarily as part of their costume. For example: if they became a doctor they would gain general medical knowledge. However once they revert back to normal that knowledge will be lost.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is there a limit to how many times my character can change costumes and forms during the event? Absolutely not! You can do something different for every single thread if you’d like!

The costumes are free, but do the candies cost money? Nope! The candies are free!

What about store stock then? Whether it’s costumes or candies, the Hallow’s Ascent store stock will not diminish. It instantly replenishes!

Are there any lingering side effects of repeated costume usage? No! Well, aside from your friends not knowing who you are since you keep changing your appearance!

If my character is giant or tiny, will their size change with their costume to a more normal size? That’s up to your interpretation! But remember they cannot be any larger than 10ft tall!

What if my character isn’t human (animal, Pokemon, etc.) and wears a costume? Will they become a human if they believe their costume to reflect one? It’s possible! Again, it’s up to your own interpretation and what you want to do personally!

What if my character has a pet? Can they wear a costume too? Your character is free to dress up their pets any way they’d like, but they will not transform into anything else. The candies will only work on your muse themselves!

When bound using an Ascension Candy does our character keep their powers and unlocks? Powers will be retained even if you give them powers associated with the costume. However please use common sense when utilizing them.

I’m unsure about my costume choice. Can I send the masterlist an ask to see if it’s okay? You can, but please do so off of anon or else we will not reply. We don’t want to congest the dashboard with a list of answers of this nature.

Will there be a part 2 to this event? No! But there may be a little something fun on Halloween night!

[aion-rsa]

Tumblr’s Top Fandoms of 2020

https://ift.tt/37LLRPI

It’s been a weird and often devastating year, and our social media has reflected that. Tumblr has just released its top fandoms of 2020 and it’s fascinating to see how a year of pandemic and quarantine has affected transformative fandom and broader cultural trends. In a year when almost everyone spent a lot more time at home, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the most blogged about topic on the social media platform, followed by animated dramedy Steven Universe, Belgian SKAM adaptation WtFOCK, K-pop supergroup BTS, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. We talked to Tumblr’s Trend Expert Amanda Brennan about how she interpreted the biggest trends of the year, how this was a big year for animation and international media, and why 2020 was the year everyone stopped worrying about what was cool and just embraced what they love. But, first, some 2020 Tumblr statistics:

Top 20 of 2020 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Steven Universe

wtFOCK

BTS

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Artists on Tumblr

Critical Role

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Boku No Hero Academia

Black Lives Matter

Pokémon

COVID-19

The Witcher

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

The Magnus Archives

Reylo Rey & Kylo Ren, the Star Wars universe

RWBY

Sanders Sides

Catradora Catra & Adora, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Zuko | Avatar: The Last Airbender

Top 25 Ships 

Rey & Kylo Ren, the Star Wars universe (m/f)

Catra & Adora, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (f/f)

Richie Tozier & Eddie Kaspbrak, It (m/m)

Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier, The Witcher (m/m)

Aziraphale & Crowley, Good Omens (m/m)

Zuko & Sokka, Avatar: The Last Airbender (m/m)

Luz Noceda & Amity Blight, The Owl House (f/f)

Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Supergirl (f/f)

Park Jimin & Jeon Jungkook, BTS (m/m)

Dean Winchester & Castiel, Supernatural (m/m)

Live Action TV

Wtfock

The Witcher

The Mandalorian

Good Omens

Skam France

The Umbrella Academy

Doctor Who

Supernatural

The Untamed

Killing Eve

Animated TV

Steven Universe

Avatar: The Last Airbender

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

The Owl House

Invader Zim

Ducktales

The Dragon Prince

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Gravity Falls

TV Characters

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Zuko

Catra

Jaskier

Sokka

Adora | She-Ra

Geralt Of Rivia

Katara

Aang

Crowley

Aziraphale

Movies

Frozen

The Old Guard

Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker

Birds Of Prey

Twilight

Hamilton

Little Women

Parasite

Sonic Movie

Lord of the Rings

Movie Characters

Kylo Ren

Harley Quinn

Bucky Barnes

Batman

Steve Rogers

Tony Stark

Rey

Spinel

Peter Parker

Richie Tozier

Actors

Chris Evans

Henry Cavill

Sebastian Stan

Adam Driver

Tom Holland

Pedro Pascal

John Boyega

Robert Pattinson

Tom Hiddleston

Timothee Chalamet

Actresses

Katie Mcgrath

Jodie Comer

Daisy Ridley

Margot Robbie

Zendaya

Lili Reinhart

Naya Rivera

Brie Larson

Florence Pugh

Jodie Whittaker

Books

Harry Potter

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Warrior Cats

The All for the Game series

Pride And Prejudice

Midnight Sun

The Secret History

The Raven Cycle series

Carry On

Six Of Crows

Authors of Books

J.K. Rowling

Rick Riordan

Erin Hunter

Nora Sakavic

Jane Austen

Stephenie Meyer

Donna Tartt

Maggie Stiefvater

Rainbow Rowell

Leigh Bardugo

Video Games

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Among Us

Pokemon Sword And Shield

Undertale

Minecraft

Sims 4

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Danganronpa

Overwatch

Persona 5

Video Games Characters

Obey Me Lucifer

Obey Me Mammon

Tom Nook

Link

Sans

Cloud Strife

Dandelion

Kirby

Raihan

Arthur Morgan

Animal Crossing Villagers

Raymond

Marshal

Poppy

Fauna

Julian

Claude

Marina

Stitches

Bob

Ankha

Anime & Manga

Boku no Hero Academia

Haikyuu!!

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Beastars

Naruto

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

One Piece

Fruits Basket

19 Days

Anime & Manga Characters

Midoriya Izuku

Bakugou Katsuki

Dabi

Wei Wuxian

Aizawa Shouta

Hawks

Todoroki Shouto

Kirishima Eijirou

Lan Wangji

Levi Ackerman

And, now, our chat with Brennan. (This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.)

Den of Geek: I’ve heard you refer to the users as the Tumblr hive-mind or the orchid, whatever it is. I was just hoping you could generally talk about what the Tumblr hive-mind is to you? Which is the way of saying, who uses Tumblr generally? And how and why? If you can even extrapolate those things. Go!

Amanda Brennan: Most of our audiences is Gen Z; it’s at 48%. Our new user registration with Gen Z is even higher; I’m pretty sure it’s 60%. These are people who come to Tumblr because they love something so much they just want to share that love with people who love it as much as they do. I know that feels like a giant umbrella, but that’s the thing: Tumblr is what you make of it. If you love sports, sports Tumblr is intense hockey Tumblr, so good. If you love TV, you’ll have all of that. K-pop Tumblr, totally amazing. Furby Tumblr is off the hook and they make these incredible creations. I’ve recently gotten into Stained Glass Tumblr.

There’s layers upon layers. No matter what you love, there’s something on Tumblr for you. That’s both the easiest thing and the hardest thing about it. You have to go in being like, “Alright, I’m so into this thing, what does Tumblr have for me?” It’s not like the other social media networks, right? It’s really about what you love rather than who you know.

Yeah, I like that. I did want to ask you specifically about the process of how you track trends and how you make decisions about what to track?

We built the whole taxonomy that powers fandom metrics based on what Tumblr talks about. I’m a librarian, as you know, and I kind of reverse engineered it. My first year in review at Tumblr in 2013, they handed me a spreadsheet and they’re like, ‘OK, go to town.” So I was like, “Cool, let me pull out the threads that I see.” We really let the data tell us how to analyze it, if that makes sense. So when it comes to what we track, I have a running notebook that I’ve kept all year of the things that I’ve wanted to have in year in review.

The Witcher has been on my list since it came out. Animal Crossing has been another one. The Old Guard had a huge moment. I was just writing notes, like, “Oh, what is this thing? And we’ll keep an eye on it.” I have an amazing team. We all are into our own pieces of Tumblr. So we’ll all work together to just keep an eye on different fandoms. I don’t know if you know about Minecraft YouTuber fandom?

Yeah. I was actually listening to the latest Fansplaining last night and they mentioned it in that. I was just like, “OK, a new thing.” There’s always a new thing to learn about.

There’s always a new thing. That’s the beauty of Tumblr. It’s so fluid in fandom. You can go from one fandom to another and then you’ll see like, “Ooh, what is this thing?” I’ve got Supernatural on the brain, as who in the fandom doesn’t right now. [This interview was recorded on the day of the Supernatual series finale.] I was telling someone, the whole reason I got into Supernatural was because I saw a gif from the show on Tumblr and I was like, “What is happening? Let me go back and watch this entire series.” That’s the vibe of Tumblr, right? You see a thing and you’re like, “Oh, I need to know everything about that.”

Read more

TV

Supernatural Series Finale: Why Dean’s Fate Works

By Juliette Harrisson

TV

Supernatural: The Internet’s Best Reactions to the Series Finale

By Kayti Burt

Hmm. Yeah, for sure. I was interested in talking to you or getting your insight into how trends you saw or data you saw that were maybe tied to the very unique experience of being in the middle of a pandemic.

Yeah. I was looking back at the predictions that I had made last year and like four of those things didn’t even come out. It was just so unexpected. There’s two things that we really saw tied to the pandemic. The first was “cottagecore” as an aesthetic. It kind of touched everything because it’s soothing, it feels comfortable. In March and April in the early days, when you didn’t know what to do, you’re stuck in a forest isolation. Cottagecore has got this vibe of chosen isolation. It was very fantasy-driven and something to reach out for.

That evolved also into nostalgia. I think this year’s really big theme is nostalgia and comfort. We saw huge returns to fandoms like Twilight and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar going on Netflix was such a world-breaking moment. Not only did it introduce a new, younger fandom to the show, there’s a lot of Avatar content once you get into it, but it brought people back to a younger time in their lives. Remembering and rewatching. The Avatar fandom, as you see, it’s all over all of the lists. Zuko is number 20 on all of the things on Tumblr this year. Avatar was able to redefine people’s year. Because you know what, we’re all at home, I’m going to binge Avatar. Reignite my love for this fandom.

A lot of TV too, because TV is episodic, you get lost in it. Movies had a really rough year. When we look at the movies, movies like Megamind were trending this year. That comfort movie that you go back and watch 17 times.

Yeah. I was curious about that too. The balance or proportions between older fandoms and newer fandoms, like the Avatar example. I was curious how much that changed this year? How much you thought it was tied to the pandemic? How much is tied to accessibility and things, like Avatar coming to Netflix? Do you think that is an interest in older fandoms? Or that it’s going to continue past the pandemic?

Yeah. I think another high-level theme of this year is the rejection of cringe culture. I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but I’ll tie it all back in. I think people are realizing what their values are and not being afraid to admit that they like a thing. Not caring what other people think of the things they like. Unabashedly loving the things they love. That’s why I think we do see a resurgence in these older fandoms.

Because people who may have loved them their whole lives, or may have been nervous to share that they liked it when they were younger they’re not afraid anymore. They’re like, “You know what? Twilight, it’s not that great, but I love it. This is my emotional support vampire.” Recognizing that you can be critical of something. You can see where its flaws are, but you can still love it. That duality of fandom is something that is going to persist into next year. That freedom to just like a thing, because you like it. Be able to see its flaws, but still be like, “You know what? Overall, this brings me joy and the world is melting down.”

I’m on board with that mission, that plan for 2021. I did want to ask about the role of non-English language media, especially live action stuff. Generally because I was someone who fell into The Untamed this year, but I saw that there were two SKAM remakes as well that are on the top 10. In general, have you seen over your time at Tumblr, and maybe especially in the past few years, an increase in non-English language content? Do you think that is mostly English speakers and Americans being more open to that or being able to find it easier? Or do you think it’s also an influx of people from outside the United States coming to Tumblr? Or both?

Interesting. The data that we work with is actually stripped of all user information. I don’t really have an insight into where these people are coming from. I do think that users in general are more open to content in any language. Tumblr is more interested in characters than where the story comes from. Thinking about The Untamed, it’s just such a compelling story, it doesn’t matter if you have to read subtitles.

To parallel it to something in major pop culture, Parasite. People are becoming more open to just watching content because it’s good. SKAM is really fascinating to me because the number one live action show is wtFOCK. Then, I think two years ago, 2018, the original SKAM was number one at some point. This show really transcends language barriers. It transcends geographical barriers. At the core, the story of the teenagers is just so relatable to anyone. We’ve seen lots of translation happening and not just into English. Translation of SKAM into other languages, just because people want more of these characters and their iterations, no matter what locale they’re based in. I’m waiting for some professor to have a class on it, because it’s so fascinating to me.

I also wanted to ask about how you thought the election cycle affected Tumblr this year, if there were any trends or data that you were like, “Yes, of course this is what people were doing on Tumblr this year.”

Tumblr has always had this backbone of social justice. This year, it came out stronger and in more force. No matter what fandom you were in or interests, everyone I know on Tumblr was participating in sharing social justice stuff. Even politics, if they weren’t from the US, those kinds of memes that were like, “I feel for you”. The way that fandoms do. I see your show is ending and I’m sorry.

The one thing that Tumblr really had leading up to the election was such an appreciation for the postal service. Especially Gen Z, their world is so much larger due to digital connection. Mail order, just as well as sending letters and keeping in touch with your digital friends is just as important as keeping in touch with your IRL friends. All of the artists on Tumblr, so many of them turn to mail order to replace cons. This is their livelihood. By the time the fall hit and the postal service was having all these issues, people are ready to jump in. There were the Transformers dressed like mail people.

https://morethanmeetstheass.tumblr.com/post/626466946047705088/i-completely-forgot-to-post-this-guy-here-this-is

There were all these comments like “support your postal workers,” “support the USPS.” It really boils down to the fact that we are all connected and the mail service is something in the US that connects everyone. Even overseas. Supporting these artists whose livelihood went from IRL to online and having to deal with all of this.

And the “Super Putin Election.” The confluence of those elements. I was just surfing on my personal computer and I was on Tumblr and I saw a post being like “Destiel’s canon.” I’m like, “Excuse me?” I immediately texted my team. I was like, “Open up your work computers, let’s go.”

It’s time.

We all signed on trying to figure out what’s going on and watching the numbers. That, to me, is thrilling. I said this to someone else, but it felt like the night of The Dress. To have that moment where everyone on the internet is feeling the energy. The things that kept getting layered on top of it. Putin and Sherlock and all the anime mysteries. It was breakneck speed, and it was really thrilling just to be in that moment, and so Tumblr.

I did want to ask you about an increase in animated fandom and potentially anime fandom. A lot of these things I’m anecdotally or just observing things in my own little corner of the internet. It just seems like animation and anime, probably at least partially because Netflix has accumulated a much larger anime collection and seems to be investing in these sorts of things. Have you seen that increase? Could you talk about it, if so?

It plays into what we were talking about earlier, twofold. That nostalgia vibe, the late nineties anime vibe, that art style. Also your comfort zone and being open to more stuff just because it’s good. Not worrying about reading subtitles and stuff like that. But anime in general had a huge year. Haikyū!! ending also transposed into other fandoms because that moment of the final panels, it brings people together. People being so excited to see this massive thing come to a close. You might not be familiar with Haikyū!! in general, but you’ll see the fanart and be like, “Oh, I feel that.” It’s the emotion of it.

The popularity of Avatar did also open people’s doors to like, “Oh, well, what else can I watch? What else do I want to learn about”? Boku No Hero was consistently on our Week In Review every week. BEASTARS is another Netflix anime that’s at the top. Then Mo Dao Zu Shi, thinking about The Untamed, the story of Mo Dao Zu Shi is so fascinating. I don’t think I can name another piece of content that has that storyline. People are just ready to take it all on.

I did want to ask you, I think you’ve probably talked about some of these already, but what were some of the biggest fandom moments for you on Tumblr this year?

Oh boy. So many things going canon. Catradora was a huge, huge moment. I cried watching that. The Witcher, Jaskier, introducing this whole new world to Henry Cavill. I saw a post yesterday that was like once Superman was goth, a lot more people realize that he’s hot. Repurposing and looking at things in a new way. Among Us, so huge. There is a user who is doing a comic about White and Pink being in love. She’s giving them lore. She’s giving them backstory, personalities. It is amazing.

Unus Annus, I am not very into streamers, but I’ve caught some of those videos. When they had their final stream, I was tuning in. I was like, “Are you really going to delete the channel?” Then they did. Just watching the fans have that moment, even though I am not in that fandom, it was wonderful so meaningful.

Harry Potter being taken by the fans. Fans own Harry Potter now, and that’s what matters. The Old Guard also came out of nowhere and really blew Tumblr away. The Immortal Husbands. I love that ship. I’ve got to touch on almost all of the places, MCR, My Chemical Romance. Those fans have woken up and they didn’t get their tour, but they will. They’re not going to sleep until they do.

Because we maybe all have Supernatural on the brain, to a certain extent. I’m just curious how you think, that show’s been on for 15 years. The fandom has gone through literal generations. How do you think the fandom is going to change?

There’s always going to be a supernatural gif for everything. People will continue gifing it. It’s going to surpass what it is and it’s going to become that comfort show. This is a personal anecdote, but when I go to the dentist, every single time supernatural is on. It’s just like, “Oh, I get to watch my boys while I’m getting my teeth cleaned. That’s good.” It’s always going to be there. It’s always going to be there for people when they need it the most. We’re going to see a lot more fan creations. People love these boys, men now they’re adults. People love these characters. I haven’t watched this season. I am going to watch the finale tonight. I’m going in almost cold. I know that a lot of fan favorites have returned. My prediction for Supernatural fandom going forward is seeing these side stories come through in fanfiction even more than they already do. Lots more Charlie. That’s personal of mine because I love her.

I don’t think you’re alone in this.

Yeah. Who doesn’t love Charlie? Seeing these smaller characters come out and just shine in their own fan works, more so than the world might’ve provided them in canon.

It feels dangerous to make fandom predictions based on what happened this year, but if you have any predictions and or hopes for the coming year in terms of Tumblr and fandom?

Where we’re at now and going forward, it’s all about true authenticity. Screw what people think. We’re rejecting our old ways of thinking. We’re about flipping perspectives and forgetting what you thought was important in exchange for what you truly love. 2020 has helped us all figure out what our values at our core are. It’s about choosing something that makes you happy, that supports you, and your people. Choosing the happiness of those around you and making sure that you’re fighting for the goodness in life. Which sounds really sugar sweet, but one of the things, again, that I love about Tumblr is it is about putting people first based on the things they love. That’s what I see happening.

Explore the rest of Tumblr’s Year in Review lists here, and let us know what your biggest 2020 fandoms were in the comments below.

The post Tumblr’s Top Fandoms of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3lPIRa9

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Alex ze Pirate Mini Review 5: Why I love One Piece and my final verdict

(Warning. Post contains initial geek out about One Piece that is meant to correlate to my opinion on Alex in general)

When I started this series of posts, one thing I asked myself was, how could I sum up my problems with the Sam story while also tackling some general issues with AzP without redundantly repeating major points of my previous posts.

… So I decided instead of giving a straight answer, I would first tell you how I came to fall in love with One Piece.

Around 14+ years ago, I began reading manga, with works such as Ranma 1/2, Pokemon and Dragon Ball being my starting point. You know, the average stuff everyone had read at some point. One Piece, already back then consisting of over 25+ volumes,  was only something a friend started to lend me and I read the first seven volumes, not really quite getting why it was that popular. I did not hate what I read, but there was nothing outright standing out to me the way the story was told that got to me. And then I hit the Arlong arc with volume 8 and onwards. While it was mostly the adventure of Luffy with his crew against Crocodile and his Baroque Corporation that totally sold me on the manga later on, the Arlong arc was what really got my attention. Seeing the character of Nami betray her friends, pieces of worldbuilding that would years later play a role and so much more, made me curious where things were going. Particularly, why Nami would betray Luffy. And when I reached chapter 77 to 81, where I got to read Nami’s backstory, how Arlong killed her adoptive mother in front of her eyes when she was just a little kid and Luffy declaring he was going to help her and her village, I was hooked. This was the first time in my life as a manga reader, I was not just entertained, I was emotionally invested. Because not only was Nami’s backstory genuinely saddening to me, but seeing Luffy determined to help her and the ensuing battles was exciting. Exciting because it truly showed to me, how awesome of a character this goofball with stretching powers really is. Not because he was physically strong, but because he was willing to do all of that for someone just “because” he considers that person a friend. Seeing Luffy not just beat up Arlong, but destroying everything this bastard had build on the suffering of the village and in doing so setting Nami free of the past that haunted her, because he cared for her as a person not in a romantic but platonic manner, was satisfying on so many levels.

 And ever since then Eiichiro Oda proved to me time and time again, even if he hits a bump in the road (seriously, fuck most of the Fishmen Island arc) he knows how to write a world that doesn’t just manage to be cartoonishly entertaining, but also filled with heartfelt moments, where true heroism is not defined just by physical strength, but the willingness of the main characters to help and care for each other and the people they meet across the journey. There are many stories out there where the power of friendship as a virtue, and the virtues it is build on are a theme. But in the world of shonen manga, One Piece for me is still the top.

 And Andrew Dobson’s Alex ze Pirate is the complete antithesis to everything Oda EVER created in One Piece.

 While One Piece has one of the most complex worlds I have ever seen in fiction, with Oda often times setting building stones for future story arcs years in advance (seriously, the thing with Brook and Laboon alone is worth mentioning) , Dobson can’t even bother to properly tell us in what part of the ocean Alex has her adventure or why there is a beaver dog thing walking around a bunch of humans.

 While One Piece has some gorgeous artwork and unique designs with an insane level of cartoonish detail, Dobson has some very generic designs and draws like a 15 year old girl that read Spirou and manga too much and now starts doing scribble artwork.

 While Oda draws chapters for over 20 years now, Dobson could not even bother to finish up the adventure of the crew getting properly together back in 2004, as only one volume was released.

 While One piece tells a story that defines the shonen genre for over a decade, Dobson tells stupid newspaper strip jokes that are not even interconnected much.

 While Oda’s Strawhats are the embodiment of the word nakama, Dobson’s characters only bring the following old saying to mind:

 With friends like this, who needs enemies?

 Bottom line, Alex ze Pirate is absolute garbage as a work of entertainment, particularly in the world of kids entertainment. It was so already long before Dobson wrote the three part story I reviewed in detail, but this story in my opinion was for anyone with a bit of brains the last nail in the coffin. Cause overall, this was likely Dobson’s last chance in his and the eyes of the readers.

 The last chance, because he was going to put all his talent as a writer and artist into this one story to prove his critics wrong; That he could tell an engaging and emotionally fulfilling story in a multi part story, longer than his 15 pagers. But like with everything else I have seen so far, he failed.

 He failed artistically, because damn does this not look even remotely professional compared to other professionally published work or even other silly webcomics like Cludscratcher or Housepets (which I highly recommend you to read).

 He failed as a storywriter, because instead of emotionally engaging and well paced, this shit is rushed, works more on “tell, don’t show” than anything else and really just magnifies the worst aspects of his characters and Dobson’s mean spirited humor in general. Cause this is not a tale where we feel like Sam genuinely has found a family and friends in Alex and her crew. It is the tale of Sam just accepting that he has nothing better going on in his life.

 He failed, because instead of actually putting care, effort and love for his characters and work into this, he likely just wanted to get it out and hope that just because he “put effort” into this more than usual, he would already get praise by default.

 And once this thing was out, all that happened was the following: Even more people realized what kind of hack he is, that this project was not going to be salvaged even if actual stories instead of strip based jokes are told and he misinterpreted the disinterest as reason to just completely give up, instead of trying harder.

 And as a result, even if Dobson still went on to do shitty redesigns and a few more pages for it, Alex ze Pirate soon after ended. Put into everlasting hiatus, where it joins such work as Pilote Candidate or Frank Millers All Star Batman and Robin.

 Dobson, if you ever read this, let me just say it how it is: You failing to make even the most basic story about people appreciating their friends, particularly when within the last decade there has been an entire fandom of manchildren out there that was build on a show with “Friendship is Magic” in the title, just shows how bad of a storyteller and creator you are. You shouldn’t have gone to college in order to become an animator, you should have joined fanfiction.net in order to get some basic understanding on how to even write. Cause your writing is so bad, it makes fanfiction look genuinely complex and thoughtful. Well that and you should perhaps go out and find genuinely friends and not just online supporters that mistake you for some persecuted innocent artist, when in reality you are just a toxic idiot who attempts to manipulate people so he can profit of them and their fleeting interest in his substandard comics based on the lowest common denominator cartoons.

 I wrap this review up. We will revisit Alex one day again, but for now, I just want to focus on something more positive. So within the next weeks, if I post something, I will try to make it focused on something NOT Dobson related. You know, stuff to genuinely enjoy. Till then, I just want to say thank you. Thank you @hypocricyofandrewdobson for reblogging my entries. Thank you to everyone who liked this, reblogged this or started to follow me because of it. I hope I managed to educate and entertain you all in a positive manner, without making myself come off too much like an assholish nerd with too many interests. Stay safe.

 And hey, if any of you has his own two cents on Sam, Alex or the others, even ideas how to make them genuinely better, I am always open.

 See ya.

[thedoctornumber11]

Munday post

I figured maybe this week I’d do a different type of Munday.  Most of my long time roleplay partners already know me quite a bit and I also try to introduce myself to newer partners as well, however I figured this could be a good chance for everyone to really get to know me.  I’m including everything under a read more not because long post and also because I know not everyone likes seeing this type of thing.  It’s just a bunch of random facts about me and my favorite things along with a munday pic under the cut.  I didn’t want to just throw out a munday picture like most would do.  I’ve done that plenty of times before and there’s nothing wrong with it, I just felt like doing something a bit more unique and different this time that might really give people a chance to get to know me :D

So long post under the cut.

So, first off, my name is Derek.  I’m the mun.  I just recently turned 30 and I’m from Indiana.  I work in a preschool, essentially as a glorified baby sitter.  I help the teachers get their breaks.  

I’ve been interacting on here since November of 2013 and I’ve had this exact blog with this exact URL the entire time.  I wanted something really generic and not just a quote or something like that.  I first tried TheEleventhDoctor, but obviously that was taken so this ended up being what I went with.  As for the theme, it too was made a VERY long time ago.  The TARDIS theme with the opening doors on the TARDIS actually used to be quite popular when I first started interacting on here, particularly with the Doctor Who RP fandom.  Although I’m the only one I see with it these days, if you go looking for older Doctor Who blogs that have gone inactive you are actually likely to find a few other blogs with it.  As for the background picture, I found that one myself except for the part with Matt Smith/The Eleventh Doctor edited on.  That part was done by someone I used to interact with who just surprised me with it one day and unfortunately isn’t on Tumblr anymore :(  Having been on this platform for so long I’ve obviously seen a lot of blogs come and go and I miss every single last one of them :(  However I also enjoy everyone I currently interact with and would recommend almost any of them.  Seriously, if anyone is looking for new people to interact with, let me know you are looking for people and what fandoms you enjoy and I can probably recommend a few blogs!

Outside of Tumblr RP, I enjoy video games, yugioh, reading comics, general super hero related stuff, watching movies, playing Pokemon Go (I help run the local PoGo community) general board games, watching my shows, figure collecting, and cosplay, most of which I’m sure is stuff many of you also enjoy.  My fandoms include Doctor Who (obviously), DC, Star Wars, The Legend of Korra/ATLA (I’m one of the few that likes LoK more than ATLA), Marvel, Star Trek, Firefly, Power Rangers, The Walking Dead, Yugioh, Pokemon, Sherlock, general Nintendo fandom, Digimon and Harry Potter.

Here’s a few things about me in list form.

My favorite musician is Weird Al Yankovic.  

My favorite book is Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robbison.  As someone who’s been diagnosed with aspergers syndrome myself, this book really spoke to me in my original read through and since then I’ve purchased it multiple times.  I own at least three or four different copies of this book, partially because I kept loaning it out to people.

My favorite book series is the Harry Potter series.  Don’t ask me for a favorite book in the series, I love them all about equally.  

As for comics, right now my favorite thing I’m reading is the Power Rangers series that Boom is putting out.  Some of my favorites of all time include Power Ranger Soul of the Dragon, the Star Trek TNG/Doctor Who crossover, the Power Rangers/Justice League Crossover, the original Spider-Gwen series, Poison Ivy Cycle of Life and Death, The Dark Knight Returns (I know anything Frank Miller related is a bit controversial but I enjoy it for what it is) and Batman: Hush.

Favorite movies include UHF, Scott Pilgrim VS the World, Captain America The Winter Soldier, Captain America the First Avenger, Avengers End Game, the Justice League movie, anything and everything DC animated, anything and everything Spider-Man related (yes, I even like Spider-Man 3 although it wasn’t as good as the others), anything Star Wars related although I’d say Force Awakens is my favorite one, the 2017 Power Rangers movie, Serenity, The Lego movie and it’s sequel, Yugioh Bonds Beyond Time, Mystery Men, Galaxy Quest, all the Star Trek movies, the corny 90′s Mario movie, the Doctor Who movie, and Detective Pikachu.  Really, any of the Marvel and DC movies could probably make this list as well, I’m not super picky when it comes to movies.

Favorite TV shows is something I am a bit pickier about.  Doctor Who is obviously on the list, and I’ve watched and enjoyed most of the Marvel and DC live action stuff although I have a huge preference for the arrowverse and 70′s Wonder Woman.  Animated stuff tends to vary but a lot of the older stuff from the early and mid 90′s seems to be best for that.  Power Rangers is obviously on the list as well, along with The Walking Dead, Digimon, Avatar the Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Sherlock, Yugioh, Firefly, and off the top of my head that’s about it.  Everyone always assumes I’m huge into anime as well, but I’m not actually that into it.  Just not my thing.

Now video games has potential to be my longest list as it’s easily my favorite medium of story telling due to the interactivity.  First off, Nintendo and Playstation are my general consoles of choice.  Nothing against Xbox, I have a lot of respect for the brand but I can’t really afford to have three consoles (even though I wish I could) and Nintendo and Sony have more offerings for me personally.  I also do dabble on PC a bit, but I don’t really have a high end PC and it’s mostly just for Sims.  That being said, my favorite games and game series include Watch_Dogs, The Sims, Mario (mostly the “main series,” 3D games and 2D platformers but I do enjoy some of the off series stuff like Mario Kart and Mario Party as well) , Pokemon, Super Smash Brothers, The Force Unleashed series, Injustice, most of the Spider-Man games, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider, most of the Batman games, Wario Ware, The Last of Us (still haven’t played the sequel yet.  Waiting to get it for cheap after seeing reviews), Days Gone, Control, Horizon Zero Dawn, No Man’s Sky, 51 Worldwide Classics for Switch, No Man’s Sky, the Tony Hawk Games (still haven’t played the new one yet), Time Splitters, The Movies, Hulk Ultimate Destruction, Zombies Ate My Neighbhors, Kirby, The Legend of Korra game (the 3d one, not the really bad one for 3DS), Donkey Kong, Street Fighter 2, Punch Out, Metal Gear Solid 5 the Phantom Pain, Sonic Heroes, and the list could go on and on.

My favorite drink is root beer or chocolate milkshakes if that counts

My favorite alcoholic drink is probably just a basic screwdriver tbh

My favorite food is Cheeseburgers, although Chicken Pot Pie is also a top contender tbh

My favorite color is green

My favorite Doctor is Eleventh obviously, but Thirteen, Two and Twelve are tied for second

Favorite companions are Amy, River (if she counts), and Donna

Favorite New Who episode is The Eleventh Hour

Favorite Classic Who story is Genesis of the Daleks

Since I’ve mentioned super heroes a lot, my favorites are Batman, Wonder Woman and Spider-Man, although Supergirl, Batgirl, Captain America, Scarlet Witch and Black Widow are also pretty high on the list.

Favorite game in the Pokemon series is X and Y

Dragonite is my favorite Pokemon

Favorite 3D Mario game is Odyssey although Sunshine would be next up on the list.

This is my only Tumblr RP blog.  I also have an ask meme blog and I used to have a personal but I haven’t logged onto it in years.

I’m on discord and I do add people from Tumblr on there, but I mostly only use it for Pokemon Go tbh

I spend every Wednesday and Sunday at the local comic book shop playing Yugioh

For anyone wondering in relation to that last fact, my current competitive deck Barrier Stun.  Some of my favorite casual decks that I play or have played in the past are Lightsworn, Blue-Eyes, E-Heroes, Greed, Sacred Beasts, Penguins and Six Samurai.

In the last decade I’ve moved about 3 times

I own pets!  I have one dog and one cat currently, but a few years back when we lived in a more country like setting, we owned 7 cats and 2 dogs at maximum.  Most of them died of old age over the last few years.

Before my current job I used to work at Walmart.  Long time followers of the blog may remember that I hated it there.

I don’t have a whole lot of writing experience outside of Tumblr tbh.  While I do enjoy writing on here, it’s the interactions itself that makes it fun for me and while I’ve tried to write a few things myself, it’s just not the same as roleplay.

Anyway, I just sort of wanted to do something different for munday besides just posting pictures of myself so I hope anyone who read this enjoyed it.  Here’s a pic of the mun to go with it.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #314

“as above, so below  /  what you reap is what you sow  /  what you give comes back threefold  /  as above, so below”

What do you do for work? I'm currently unemployed. I only get paid now and again to do pictures for people. What would you ideally like to do for work? I'd love if I could just be a photographer. What are you doing in order to achieve this? Practice and shoving my extreme discomfort about it aside and trying to promote myself where possible and not in an overbearing manner. What do you think is the worst being on the planet? "Rapists, pedophiles, abusive people in general." <<<< This. Anyone who disrespects the existence of other and equal people. Have you ever been arrested? If so, what for? No. How big an age gap is between you and your siblings? My immediate sisters and I are two years apart. My half-siblings, I don't know. I don't have their ages memorized, but I do know 5+ years, some even 10. Do/did your siblings cause trouble? Not really, we were good kids. What's your dream vehicle? I don't really have one. Are you good at taking care of your finances? What finances? And I don't mean that happily. What's your favorite comic strip? I don't have one. How many people have you texted today? Zero. Someone cheats. Second chance? Nope, byyyyeeeee. Thoughts on kids? Clay that I'm not playing with. Are you a risk taker? No. What are you listening to? I'm currently going through a phase of playing The Evil Within 2's theme nonstop, jc. Is/Was your high schools dress code strict? Not like, mega strict, but it still was overboard. No spaghetti strap shirts, and I even once got in trouble for wearing a floral mesh shirt, despite having a normal tanktop underneath it. It was weird, like no one had ever had a problem with it before, it was just this one teacher that I passed in the hall. Who was the last person to request you on a social media network - and did you accept? Someone I didn't know, so obviously not. Who was the last person’s vehicle that you rode in? Mom's. Who was the last person to make you laugh or smile, and why? Another current obsession of mine: John Wolfe, another let's player who I think is super funny. He said something that made me snicker before I turned on music and started this. Who was the last person that you took a photo with? My half-sister while she was visiting. Who was the last person to pay you a compliment, and what did they say? In group therapy the other day, one of the other women told me that even if I don't believe it, I bring so much positivity to group and she was really happy to be there while I am. I was so so super flustered but flattered, too. Who’s the last person that you visited in the hospital? My mom, following her surgery. Who is the last person that you lent money to? Actually today to Mom. What was the last food that you ate? I warmed up a burger for dinner. What did the last pair of footwear that you wore look like? They're just black flipflops. What was the last kind of bread that you ate? Just plain white bread. What was the last app that you downloaded to your phone? Oh wow, I never do this. I want to say it was a game for my niece. When was your last work shift? I haven't worked in a long time, so idk. When is the last time that you had trouble falling asleep? This is literally every single night. When was the last time you saw a significant other? I ain't got one'a those. When’s the last time that you took a risk? What was the risk? Well, I did say I'm not a risk-taker... Where was the last place that you went on vacation to? You know, how long does it have to be to be considered a "vacation?" I would say not since I went to the beach with an old friend, but it was literally a day. Where was the last place you got lost? uhhhhhhh Why did your last relationship fail? We need to work on ourselves before we could properly support each other and stay in a healthy mindset. Why did you leave your last job? I couldn't handle the stress of serving people and having so many responsibilities at once. How long has it been since you last visited a doctor? How about a dentist? I literally went to the doctor today because I had a follow-up appointment about my weight gain again. I haven't been to the dentist in a few months; I had a normal cleaning my last visit. How big was the last fish you caught? Oh boy, this is stretching years back. It was probably something small, idr at all. Give me the first initial of your last name? D. Something in your home that’s on its last leg(s)? We just moved here, so nothing that's a part of the house itself. As far as items we actually own, idk. Where do you purchase most of your clothes? I haven't gotten new clothes in so long, idk. I would probably say Hot Topic. Describe your skincare routine. I don't have one, if I'm being honest. I just shower. What’s your typical morning routine look like? I don't have one of those, either. The only thing that's consistent is going to the bathroom, eating, and taking my meds. Even brushing my teeth, the time of day when I do that (if I'm not leaving the house) varies. Then it's time to just binge stuff on YouTube and do whatever on the laptop... Are you still playing Animal Crossing? I've never played it, actually. How has the pandemic specifically affected you? It's caused a lot of stress worrying about my mom falling ill, given her being immunocompromised. It's also held me back from searching for another job (even though I don't know what I'd go for, anyway...), because I absolutely refuse to risk bringing Covid into this house by leaving it daily or whatever. What is your main source of anxiety? Being mentally ill, really. It just affects a lot. Any bands or artists you’ve recently discovered? Not very recently, no. What kind of games do you play on your phone? Just Pokemon GO nowadays. Do you have a specific aesthetic? It varies. I love dark, gothic, and gory stuff, but then I also love everything pink and pastel?????? Pastel gore is especially where it's at. Describe the moment you realized you were falling in love with someone. I'd rather not. What’s your favorite sparkling water brand/flavor? I've never even tried it before. What’s your favorite makeup brand/brands? I don't wear nearly enough makeup to be even remotely familiar with any. What’s your all-time favorite movie? It'll probably always be The Lion King. Do you have any subscription boxes? No, but they're cool. What fictional creature would you like as a pet? On deviantART today I actually discovered a fantastic artist who does a lot of HTTYD fanart, and I would say as a dragon lover, Toothless would be soooo great. Have any local businesses closed that you’re sad about? I'm certain tons have closed, but none come to mind. How do you feel about TikTok? I don't feel anything about it. Did you/do you still have a Neopets account? Haha I've had like... two or three at different stages in my life. What were you doing at 9 o'clock this morning? That's actually when (virtual) group therapy starts. Are you wearing any jewelry? Yeah; my piercings (if you count them) and then two rings that I always have on. Are you good at hiding disappointment? No. I'm bad at hiding my emotions because they're so strong. What happened the last time you cried? lmaooo I was finishing watching a The Evil Within 2 LP yesterday, and like, the last hour or so of the game just rips me apart. I was hoping so bad that my mom didn't pass by and ask what the problem was. What would your parents be surprised to learn about you? Both would be stunned to know the situation I had with Joel/my former best friend's boyfriend when I was around 12. What fictional character do you have the biggest crush on? dARKIPLIER Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world? When all things are considered, like laws, seeing family, etc., somewhere in Canada, or maybe Alaska. Actually, Alaska would be really cool. What after school activities did you do in high school? I didn't have any, if you mean like, school sports and clubs. I did do dance once or twice a week, but it wasn't tied to my school. What’s the last book you really loved? I positively adored The Handmaid's Tale. If you could have been a child prodigy what would you have wanted to be skilled at? My writing was seen as very exceptional for my age as a kid, but it still would've been awesome if it was even better. If earth could only have one condiment for the rest of time, what would you pick to keep around? Uhhh I guess ketchup. I use that the most of all options. What is the scariest experience you have ever had? The night of the breakup. It was such an impossible concept to me that I genuinely thought my life was over, that I'd pull the plug at any moment. Who is a non-politician you wish would run for office? Oh, hunny, Markiplier lmao. Call it a bias all ya want, but he's just a genuinely incredible person that cares so much for everyone and is so serious about equality and just being a good person. Do you think it’s important to stay up to date with the news? It's very hypocritical of me to say, but yes, regardless. Do you own plants? If so, what kind of plants? If not, would you like to grow any? I've never been into growing plants, honestly. Is there a city that you have a particular fondness for? If so, what city is it and why? No, not really. When was the last time that you acted impulsively? Is this a common behavior for you? I dunno, I've gotten better at this. I probably said something I shouldn't have. If you received an allowance as a kid, what kinds of things would you buy with it? Were you more the type to save up for something big, or spend it on little things? I didn't get one. When you cuddle with someone, how do you prefer to position yourself? Would you rather be held, or do the holding? Or both? Are we sitting or lying down? Either way I think I have a tendency to lay my head on their chest while hugging them, and my legs generally curl up. If I'm upset, I definitely feel better and just a greater sense of safety if I'm the one being held, but if the roles are swapped, then I like to be the one doing the holding because I know that's what I want when I'm upset, so treat others how you wanna be treated, y'know. When you woke up today, did you find unread messages from anyone? No. Have you recently told anyone that you miss them? Yes. Can you recall the last time you turned down an offer, of any kind? Mom asked if I wanted to come with her to Ashley's a few days ago, but I said no. I wasn't in a social mood at all. Is there anyone you interact with every day on social media? No. What was the main character's name in the last fictional book you read? Sunny. Have you ever been rejected by a church? No. Is your family nice to you? Yeah. Are you comfortable with your gender? Yeah. What was your favorite Mary-Kate and Ashley film? I don't remember; we had a couple, though. What was your favorite book you had to read for school? The Outsiders. What was your favorite Nickelodeon show? ngl, I don't remember a lot of them and don't feel like looking up a list. Do you still live in the house you grew up in? No. Which Spice Girl was your favorite? I don't remember their names. Do you think you look the best you've ever looked? Oh hell no. Have you been hurt by religion? Yes, honestly. In Truth or Dare, would you rather choose Truth or Dare? I always choose "truth." Have you ever had more than one crush at once? Yeah, I think that's perfectly normal to feel, even for someone monogamous like myself. Just when you establish a relationship, then it's time to make a choice. What social issue do you care about most? This is hard to say with how passionately I hold my opinions, but probably LGBTQ+ rights. It's just... so disgusting to me that I was once homophobic. It's like I want to make up for it. Just the idea of being repulsed by love just because someone has "the wrong thing" in their pants is just... appalling. When was the last time you read a Bible? Many, maaaany years ago I started reading it, but I didn't get very far at all. Do you own a Bible? I personally don't, but I know Mom has one, maybe multiple. Do you discover new music regularly? No; I very much stick to what I know. It's great when I do, though, given that that's how I find new songs to repeat to the grave. What does your first name mean? "Of Britain" or something like that. What country do you live in? U.S.A. Do you believe that gays are born that way? Uh, yes? Who honestly believes a homosexual would *choose* to be in the discriminated minority? People are murdered and abused for simply their sexuality; no sane person would "choose" to risk that torture.

[fyrapartnersearch]

looking for longterm novella-style partner

general hey guys i'm lauren, 26 years old and living in EST! i just got dumped and thought i'd fill the void in my life with some good, good writing so i'm looking for some people to plot and rp with. i'm usually bopping around on social media and love talking to my partners, whether it's getting to know them or just plotting future events for our characters.

i'm also very ditch-friendly! if you're tired of me or our rp, totally just ghost me, i'll get the hint. no need to get all anxious over breaking up with a partner. it's rping, it's all chill. if you're able to, giving me a head's up that you're not feeling the rp would be great though! i will absolutely return the courtesy if i'm not feeling it anymore either.

as a quick side note, i will only rp with people over the age of 21, and have a preference for partners over the age of 23! i just feel more comfortable when my partner is around the same age as me.

posts and characters i only write in third person past tense and would prefer for my partner to do the same. i'm very flexible with post lengths, but i tend to be on the wordy side. i'd love it if you could provide four or five paragraphs per post on average, though i absolutely value quality over quantity so post length isn't a huge concern of mine as long as there's something to reply to! longer posts are wonderful as well, and i have no issue waxing lengthy posts if that is your preference.

i generally reply at least once a day or once every other day, but even if i'm tied up with work and not able to reply consistently, i'll absolutely be available to chat. i'll let you know when i'm busy and love to shoot plot ideas back and forth even when i can't put aside a chunk of time to reply.

characters! i love playing multiple characters, but having a singular main character is great too. i prefer playing OCs but can also do canons, which i'll talk about more below. i have no preference about what sort of character you're playing, that's your decision! i like to develop new characters for each rp i do, but feel free to bring in old characters if that's what you want! i like characters that are complex and interesting and not ultra-powerful people -- or if they are, you're able to explore the emotional repercussions of it. if you're looking for a specific sort of character to play yours against, give me some guidelines before i whip up an OC and i'll be happy to make someone that fits your needs. i adore creating characters, and like making side or background characters that pass through or come in and out of the plot.

i like creating characters before the plot, rather than the other way around. i have a huge preference for character-driven plots -- putting our characters in a setting, and then letting their specific quirks and motivations lead where the rp goes next.

i also can provide rp samples if you'd like to see my writing before we rp!

genres; love and sex so first let me prattle off some original character genres that i love! i will list fandoms later.

• adventure; anything with a band of people coming together and forming a found family, traveling together on the way to a goal with obstacles thrown in their way • fantasy; i adore fantasy, whether it's magical realism or all out medieval fantasy. world-building is one of my favorite things. sci-fi is great too, but i'm not great when things get too tech-y haha • paranormal/mythical creatures; sort of goes with the fantasy, but i'm always down to rp different species in any sort of setting • fairy tales; i love taking old fairy tales or stories and giving them a unique twist, whether it's making them #gritty or just tossing them in a different sort of setting • superheroes; people with superpowers using it for good or evil and coming together yesss • romance; romance is great and i'll discuss that below, but i prefer this to be like a sub-genre • AUs; i love taking a fandom and making it an alternate timeline or AUing it completely. also once we have characters and a rp established, i love love love talking about AUs for our characters. i will AU everything, there is no AU too AUish for me

those are just my favorites so feel free to suggest others, but i will not do slice of life. i just find myself bogged down when there's not a defined plot, and it doesn't keep my interest. i also love these things if you'd be interested in tossing any of them in the rp:

• mages • shapeshifters • daemons [like from his dark materials] • people with horns or wings • pirates • dragons

pairings what up what up. i love rps with a dash of romance, whether our characters come in as an awesome couple battle duo, or two dorks realizing they're developing a crush on each other. either way, i don't like characters who are not in a relationship immediately getting together -- i'm all about the bonding and character development. i do not like rping cishet m/f pairings. bi girl and bi dude falling in love is great. trans man and trans woman falling in love is great. ace woman and a masculine nb person falling in love is great. any other type of lgbtqia+ pairing is great. if you have a general preference for m// or f// just let me know!

i also love anything unconventional, from happy polyamorous couples to obsessive unrequited pining. love triangles are great, conflict is great, anything to keep the relationship fresh and interesting without verging into the realm of over-dramatic. if you're looking for someone to rp a dark and unhealthy romance with, i am your person. also if you want to rp cute poly couples. i am also that person.

for fandoms, i'll do canon/canon and OC/OC but not canon/OC!

smut smut is totally rad, as long as it's not the sole focus of the rp. i like the smut to add something to the character, the characters' relationship, or the plot in addition to just being for porn's sake. cute smut is great. dark smut is great. getting to do both is even better. i do have a handful of smut-based limits including things like water sports, pedophilia, vore -- if you want a complete list just ask when you contact me. themes i would enjoy exploring typically depend on the character and what my partner's limits are.

limits i don't have any limits besides the aforementioned smut limits. besides that, i love violence, gore, and swearing. i like exploring dark themes when the rp calls for it. i do not like rping with people who treat trauma, abuse, and psychopathy as personal traits or try to make things obnoxiously dark and gritty. but otherwise everything's pretty much on the table! if you have any limits please let me know -- i have no problem not swearing or avoiding certain topics or fading to black if that is your preference.

fandoms stars denote preference.

dragon age [origins; da2; inquisition] ✩✩✩ dragon age is my favorite thing in the world and i would love someone to rp it with. i have a preference for OCs though would also be up to rping canon characters. rping an OC MC with OC companions is my jam, though i also like exploring what the rest of the world is up to while the main plot is going on. also any AU of dragon age is great -- inquisition in a modern setting, kirkwall with a sci-fi twist; universe diverging where the bad guy wins and stuff like that.

pokemon [any gen] ✩✩✩ i am always down for a pokemon rp you have no ideaaa. however i really like my pokemon rps more serious (i know how ridiculous that sounds). i like exploring aspects of the pokemon world outside of just being a trainer and getting badges. i like to rp pokemon like they're intelligent animals, meaning that wild pokemon aren't so easily tamed and pokemon can get hurt. i'm also so down for crossbreeds/fusions. i have some plot ideas in mind for pokemon and would love to hear yours!

final fantasy [IV, VII, VIII, crisis core, advent children, dissidia] ✩✩ i have this random love for IV, but honestly i am total VII trash and have been playing the remake a lot. i'm also a little familiar with XIV and have some OCs already created for a setting like that.

fallout [any game] ✩✩ would love to do OCs for this, and admittedly something in the commonwealth would be rad because i've played 4 most recently. brotherhood of steel is always great, anything with them is awesome. also stuff with synths that involves questioning what it means to be human and have faith in your own identity/memories w/e w/e would be cool. also just a general AU of a fallout-like setting maybe set in a city that hasn't been explored yet.

kingdom hearts [any game] ✩ i'd love something in the bbs era, but honestly anything is great. exploring nobodies successfully turned into ansem-heart-holders, the new keyblade warriors to defeat ansem (this guy gets around), or kh1&2 characters during the bbs time is all great. for canon characters sora, aqua, ventus, marluxia, and larxene are the ones i've played the most but i'm always looking to branch out.

medium i like to rp over discord, email, or google docs, with a separate discord channel or IM for separate chatting and plotting. i'm also open to making a joint tumblr blog that we both post our posts on, which i did not know was a thing until very recently!

contact if you're interested please shoot me a message on my tumblr or at Lauren#5244 on discord! :)

[gallantgautier]

Pokemon AU notes

So, this has been a long time coming. I’ve had Sylvain’s team set out for quite some time, but never really got around to writing out anything cohesive. (Sometimes life just be like that.) But over the last few days and their conversations, it was high time I got this out onto the dash. Thank you to Rai for letting me look to her wonderful post about Yuri’s life in the Pokemon world to serve as a template for me!

 Under a cut because oh jeez this ended up over 2.5k

Sylvain’s life notes.

Surrounded by snowy hills and woods, Sylvain grew up in Circhester. Used to such a cold climate, he still very much has an aversion to hot temperatures, poor guy just can’t handle them.

Life at home is similar to canon but has its differences in terms of why things happen. He’s slightly better adjusted in terms of his mental health due to the fact that expectations placed upon him from his family didn’t fall upon him as early as they do in canon. More on that in a bit.

The Gautier family has been full of successful Trainers, some even having travelled to other regions to hold positions within the Elite Four in previous generations. While none alive hold such positions now, they are nevertheless still a respected name when it comes to dark-type specialists.

Speaking of dark-type specialisation, this comes from the Guatier Crest’s link with Death in the Major Arcana. An often-misunderstood card, Death symbolises an end, such an end can pave the way for a new beginning, but it is not Death’s purpose to usher in that beginning, only to make the space for it. On its own, Death could also easily be attributed to ghost type Pokemon, but I feel Dark is a better fit on the grounds of dark often being attributed to evil when such is not the case, and Death often being seen as, well, death and general bad stuff.

Miklan was expected to have a successful career as a Trainer much like everyone before him. He had been gifted a Larvitar as his first Pokemon from his father. He was not ignored upon Sylvain’s birth like he had been in canon, however, in this ‘verse, as Sylvain was second born and thus not expected to climb the ranks of greatness, the younger brother was often coddled where Miklan was always pushed to train. That lack of affection and jealousy over the freedoms Sylvain was allowed became the source of his resentment.

With a brilliant mind for strategy and a ruthlessness born from a lack of compassion, Miklan could have been a Trainer that would become legendary in later years. But the absence of a kind bone within his body is also his greatest flaw, and it creates a barrier between him and success. He and his team are more like co-workers than friends, and it inhibits him from reaching his full potential. He would later fall into disgrace after a certain incident, and all the expectation that was once his would fall to his younger brother.

Sylvain, for his part, was content with never having to become a proper Trainer, preferring to watch Glenn and Felix train, or being able to just play with his Pokemon rather than battle. But after Miklan’s disgrace, his family would then push him towards becoming a brilliant Trainer worthy of the Gautier name. Luckily, he doesn’t have to undertake his journey alone, as it comes at a time when his best friend is preparing for his own.

Being out on the road and without his brother’s torment and his parents breathing down his neck, Sylvain slowly begins to discover the joy of simply learning about all the wonderful creatures that inhabit the wider world outside his snowy home. He comes into his own when it comes to creating recipes that are both nutritious and enjoyed by his and Felix’s companions, studying and coming to an understanding on how different kinds of Pokemon communicate with each other, and discovering ways to help improve the quality of life between a Trainer and their Pokemon. He’ll eventually go on to becomes something like a Pokemon Breeder – think animal husbandry rather than an actual breeder or even a Pokemon Centre staff member.

Yes, I’m aware that he’s almost literally Brock in this ‘verse! And I swear that’s just a happy accident! I thought long and hard before Rai pointed out the similarity to me and had come to the conclusion that this is a life he would lead to reflect canon. In the majority of his endings, Sylvain goes on to open communications with Sreng and brings peace at the border via diplomacy rather than with force like his ancestors had long employed. And it feels fitting that he would initially set out to become a Trainer who is expected to rise up to challenge the League (sent to the Officer’s Academy to learn battle strategy and train to eventually wield the Lance of Ruin and fight at the border) but instead finds his calling in communication and understanding.

But, add that he’s a ridiculous fun-loving flirt, he ends up as Brock. And honestly? I love it.

Sylvain’s team

Sylvain doesn’t really have an overarching theme for his team. Granted, when he set out, he was expected to become a dark-type specialist too. But at his core, Sylvain’s growth is always about subverting expectations. There were plenty of choices that I threw out simply on the grounds of too obvious, they’d be Pokemon he would have on his team that would – much like the face he presents the majority of time in canon – not really be him. Instead, I tried to think about how he would feel when meeting various Pokemon, how he would interact with them, and what role they would play in each other’s lives, rather than simply looking for reflections of aspects of his personality.

In order of acquisition:

♂/ Illusion

Sylvain’s very first Pokemon and his other best friend, Zorua was gifted to him at a young age as a pet rather than a partner. The reality of it is that Miklan had been given his Larvitar to begin his training, but since Sylvain was somewhat spoiled and coddled, he had to be given a Pokemon too. To fit with family traditions, it also had to be a dark type, but since his parents were more concerned with giving him a cute little playmate than a Pokemon that would eventually become a powerful battler, they picked fluffy little Zorua.

Zorua would be ever present at Sylvain’s side, weaving between his feet as he’d run down the road to visit Felix, climbing up the furniture to give it enough height to leap up and then curl over Sylvain’s shoulders, laying over his arm while he reads and looking at the pages with him. He would often disguise itself as some of Miklan’s Pokemon and act in a ridiculous manner in an attempt to cheer Sylvain up when his brother’s bullying caused him to withdraw and hide in his room, curling up on his chest while his Trainer slept to keep a watchful eye on the door.

Much like Sylvain in canon, Zoroark is a master of illusion, masking its true self in favour of showing a different face. It’s also fiercely protective of its pack, tricking its opponents to ensure their safety. Zoroark considers Sylvain, and by extension, Felix and his team, as members of his pack. And while Sylvain doesn’t train as hard as his friend, Zoroark pushes himself to become ever stronger to defend them on their journey.

 ♀/ Bulletproof

Applin was also something of a pet for Sylvain initially, found during his childhood before setting out on his journey with Felix, Sylvain found her during a trip to Turffield with his parents. Out for a walk one day with his mother, they were picking apples to bring home with them, and, of course, he had to grab the biggest, shiniest red apple he could find. Imagine his surprise when, after returning home and deciding to indulge in the delicious looking fruit, something green poked out of it! Sylvain immediately ran to his mother, who laughed, ruffled his hair, and told him “that’s a little dragon Pokemon, sunshine.”

 Amazing.

Sylvain could wait to show his friends, charging down the road to the Fraldarius home, proclaiming in a voice full of wonder and awe “It’s a dragon, Felix!” His friend, understandably, didn’t believe him until Glenn told them all about it. Sylvain kept her, wanting to learn all he could about the tiniest dragon he’d ever heard of, amusing both himself and his new apple-like friend by gently rolling her back and forth on the table between his hands.

Miklan made fun of her, called her a ‘pathetic excuse for a dragon,’ but really, that only cemented Sylvain’s resolve to keep her.

This is one of my picks that isn’t attributed to Sylvain’s personality, and is entirely down to how his reaction would be to discovering a creature like Applin. There’s no way he wouldn’t be utterly delighted over its very existence. It’s a dragon. He can’t get over it.

♂/Overcoat

The first Pokemon Sylvain caught after he left home, at first, Sylvain wasn’t really sure what to think of Karrablast. He’s not really the biggest fan of bugs, they’re kind of creepy, and they’ll always remind him of the betrayal he felt when he learned that sweet little Joltik evolved into the terrifying monstrosity that is Galvantula. (Look, he just really does not like spiders.)

Still, he caught it anyway, mostly out of curiosity. It was kind of weird and kind of funny, and he wouldn’t mind learning a bit about it for a while before setting it free. As it turned out, Karrablast had a fierce competitive streak, often wanting to challenge Pokemon much bigger than himself. His sheer determination to prove himself is what caused it to eventually evolve (look, I know it’s a specific trade in game, but this is a far better narrative) and cemented himself in a permanent spot as one of Sylvain’s companions as it defended him and the others during a run-in with Miklan.

Escavalier also doesn’t at all mind using his lance as a makeshift skewer to help Sylvain cook their meals, so that’s a nice bonus.

This one is the only surface level pick for Sylvain’s team, he has to have the cavalier Pokemon. In a sense though, it does fit with Sylvain’s theming of subverting expectations. He doesn’t like bugs, Escavalier is a bug, he has one anyway.

 ♂/Rock head

Abandoned and all alone, Cubone joined Sylvain’s team mostly because of his bleeding heart. Who wouldn’t want to help such a sad looking creature? There was also, though he would never say it out loud, a sense of being a kindred spirit. Cubone had been horribly mistreated by his previous trained before being left behind, but despite it, Cubone still missed them.

Sylvain knew all too well how it feels to wish someone loved them back, especially in the face of such an impossibility. He initially took Cubone in to treat his wounds and keep him safe until they could find a sanctuary to leave him in. But as is natural when encountered with shared experiences, Sylvain grew attached, and Cubone came to slowly consider Sylvain as a safe person to be around, hiding behind his legs and sitting close to him around the campfire.

Through plenty of attention, love and patience, Cubone would grow from timid and tearful into a proud Marrowak as he slowly but surely tried to emulate the strength and confidence shown by Felix’s Corviknight.

 ♂/Defiant

We’re gunna do this one in reverse to the previous entries, where I talk about ooc reasoning first instead of the in-universe acquisition. Simply put, this started as an off-hand comment made not by me, nor by Rai, but by Rai’s muse. The story goes something like this.

 Rai: “Me: looks at Falinks.”

Rai: “My Felix muse: Oh, it’s Sylvain.”

We both laughed. Made jokes about the red plume. But then I thought about it a lot. Falinks is a soldier. Falinks is all about teamwork which lends to strategy which Sylvain is good at. The first individual that makes up the team that is Falinks is the only one that can be seen using its shields, ready to take the brunt of an attack for its teammates much like Sylvain. Falinks has the unique move No Retreat, which raises all of its stats but prevents it from fleeing, much like Sylvain charging into danger to help his friends with no regard to his own safety.

Wouldn’t you know it, Felix really does know Sylvain best.

As a reflection of this half-joking but actually on-point discovery, Sylvain encounters Falinks on the road and finds him to be utterly hilarious. Just look at the way it marches! It’s love at first sight, he’s just so charmed and he absolutely has to catch it.

While Zoroark might be Sylvain’s partner, slowly but surely, Falinks becomes his ace. Their ability to perform complex manoeuvres seamlessly with their unparalleled teamwork is a perfect compliment to Sylvain’s talents in tactical mind.

Falinks are also the only Pokemon on Sylvain’s team to have nicknames! Allow me to hand you over to the man himself to tell you them.

With a smile bright enough to light a Gym Stadium, Sylvain radiates joyful energy as he makes a small gesture to the six round little creatures at his feet. “Alright guys, form up!” In unison, the Falinks line up and stand at attention.

“Let me introduce you to the squad. Cufflinks!” The largest of the six steps forward, jumping up just an inch and waving one of his shield’s in a manner that could be considered a salute, “Hoodwinks!” The first steps back and the second takes his place, performing the exact same salute, “Tiddlywinks!” As does the third, “Slowblinks!” And the fourth, “Fourtywinks!” The fifth, “and Hotdrinks!” and finally the sixth.

As Hotdrinks takes his place back in line, Sylvain beams at him, and they all beam back.

 ♀/Flashfire

A rare sight in the Galar region, this Ponyta hails all the way from Kanto. Much like Cubone, she joins Sylvain’s team after he rescues her from mistreatment, but this time it was at the hands of those seeking to make some money from the black market due to her rarity.

Unlike Cubone, shy or timid are the last words that could ever be attributed to this Ponyta. With a spirit burning as hot as the fire of her mane, she was not broken by her confinement. She was, however, injured and malnourished. Due to her nature, she gave Sylvain no end of grief as he tried to nurse her back to health.

But while slow to trust, once that trust is earned, it’s unbreakable. Her evolution into Rapidash came as a display of her undying loyalty, even allowing Sylvain to ride upon her back without burning him. Unfortunately, that trust doesn’t extend to Felix. She holds an almost-respect for him, but as close to Sylvain as she grows, she doesn’t like how much of her Trainer’s attention he gives his best friend instead of her.

In any universe, Sylvain just isn’t Sylvain without a horse, he loves those big dumb yet loyal animals. There were plenty of options to choose from, but considering his story and goals in this universe, rescuing one seemed the best course, and a Kantonian Ponyta/Rapidash felt like the best candidate for the region his story takes place in.

Also, yes, she’s Chastity.

 Bonus!

I’m not going to go into the story details, but here’s Miklan’s team, also in order of acquisition:

♀/Unnerve

♂/Infiltrator

♂/Moxie

♀/Defiant

♀/Levitate

♂/Pickpocket

[broken-clover]

Who is your favorite Gym Leader from each generation?

Fun question! When I was thinking about it, I didn’t realize that I never really got super attached to the gym leaders until recent generations, I’m not sure if it’s something about how the writing is different or if I’m just older now and pay more attention to it.

Generation 1- Sabrina

Up until visiting Gen 1 once again in Let’s Go! I never cared much for the 1st gen gym leaders. For the most part, Sabrina was the only one who stood out to me, because of her absolutely horrifying appearance in the anime series back when I used to watch it as a kid. I remember anime Sabrina being one of the first things I ever considered to be truly terrifying on TV, with her doll-self’s creepy voice and her ability to turn other characters into dolls, so even when I got older and no longer found her frightening, she still has a place in my memory. Plus, the psychic-type leaders always tend to have such cool designs and abilities.

Generation 2- Clair

I like Clair because she’s an asshole. 

Ok, ok, let me explain. So in general, I really like when gym leaders break up the pace of the story and offer the player something different. It is nice when things go over smoothly, but adding in a bit of newness to the gym progression system. Clair is the last gym leader in the Johto league and obviously is already a pretty powerful trainer. But after you beat her, she refuses to admit defeat out of pride and demands you perform a separate task at the Dragon’s Den before she’ll give you your badge. Most of the female gym leaders tend to be demure and polite, so I really appreciate Clair being allowed to be cocky and self-assured of her own capabilities. Overall she makes for something refreshing in Gen 2′s plotline.

Generation 3- Winona

I think gen 3 is probably my least-played. I visited Johto in HeartGold and Kanto in the same game and Let’s Go! but I never got very far in Alpha Sapphire and never even touched the originals. So like with Sabrina, this is a pick made based mainly on the anime portrayal. Gen 3 was my peak anime-watching time, and I’m pretty sure by this point I’ve seen pretty much all of the episodes from it. And of what I saw, I absolutely adored the episodes with Winona. I loved her design, especially with the ponytail and the bird-shaped aviator cap. The episodes leading her up to the gym battle involving the Fortree carnival were an absolute delight, and I thought the gimmick for her gym battle was amazing. I always thought the anime’s adaptations of gym battles were so fun to watch from all the new concepts they introduced. The whole fight basically took place on giant elevators in an open field, slowly going higher with each round. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

(Though Wattson comes in at a very close second, he’s an adorable old man and I adored his goofy personality)

Generation 4- Crasher Wake

For the generation that I consider to be my real ‘first’ and have probably spent the most time in, I remember remarkably little about any of the gym leaders...except for Crasher Wake. Because how in the holy name of Arceus does someone forget a guy as fabulously ridiculous as Crasher friggin Wake. You first meet him while he’s singing his own theme song, for crying out loud. But despite having such a big personality, he isn’t a jerk and seems to genuinely enjoy battling in any form, even when he loses. He’s just a genuine delight.

Generation 5- Elesa

Talk about a fun gimmick. I love all the new design ideas and concepts that were introduced in gen 5. Something about the atmosphere of it feels so different compared to every other generation, and I love it for that. And a lot of that manifested in the Pokemon gyms. While I’m not sure what exactly it has to do with her job as a model, Elesa’s gym was just so much fun to mess around with, being a puzzle made out of neon rollercoasters that you get to ride around in. She wins just on aesthetic. Also bad puns. And those fabulous headphones.

Generation 6- Valerie

The first Fairy-type gym leader, and man, did she make a good impression! The cutesy theme was maybe a bit obvious, but I also love the sense of eeriness she has too, working in a creepy forest town and possessing those unusual blank eyes. She really feels like a unique standout design. And everyone tells me the dollhouse was easy to navigate, but I kept getting so very, very lost...

Generation 7- Kiawe

I love how overly-serious he is, I find it really charming. His pre-battle challenge was another fun one, and I could never tell if he was just messing with me or if he is just very seriously pulling his hiker friend into the chaos. Plus, I liked the inclusion of him being relevant to the new Alolan Marowak, with them both involved in traditional Alolan dancing. It’s just one of those little things that makes the region feel like its own place with an individual culture, even if it doesn’t ultimately impact the story much.

Generation 8- Allister

Autistic ghost onion. Enough said.

(+Milo bc big buff herder husband)

[inikavulpixelreviews]

Let’s Talk About Pokemon - The Dragon Type

You would think a type with the prestige-type status it once had would be one of the rarer in the game. And indeed there was a time where Dragons once made a very tiny percentage of the Pokedex. Heck, the type was even rarer if you discount Legendaries and Pseudo-legendaries, with there once only being four of those despite being on the fourth generation. Then Gen 5 happened, which had an aim to make sure all 17 types were more or less equal in population. This meant bumping up Dragon's numbers quite substantially. The more the series went on, the more Dragon has more or less become a much more regular type. One with still special treatment enough to usually be reserved for Legendaries and Legendaries of the Psuedo variety, but a much more regular type nonetheless. By now, its population is about the same as Electric or Fire.

Dragon's aesthetic has also changed tremendously over the years. Back in the day, and all the way up to Gen 5, the only real outlier weirdos in the dragon club were Vibrava and Altaria. These days?

NOW look at em! Something weird happened. Like overnight, the Dragon type had very suddenly became a lot more varied and considerably more weird and willing to stretch the definition of what counts as a “dragon.” And y'know what? I'm all for it.

Of course, back in my late kid and throughout my teenage years, Dragon was one of my favorite types because what's cooler than a really big lizard??? (Might I add, back in my “Yu-Gi-Oh replaced Pokemon for a couple years” phase, I of course thought Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was the single coolest monster design in the entire damn world.) These days I'm somewhat more indifferent to them. If I loved it before, I probably still at least like it now, but my enthusiasm for the type has petered out a bit.

Almost like on cue, as I got a bit older and god a bit more tasteful as I started taking character design more seriously as a form of art I was interested in, the Dragon type started getting more interesting as well. Suddenly we have a gross seahorse that's a dragon, a gross snail that's a dragon! Even a BAT and a WEIRD...TAPEWORM THING... that was a dragon! Maybe with the inception of the Fairy type introduced to nerf Dragon's dominance over most of the other types, they also felt the need to make Dragon just. Another one of the gang. But it'd get boring to have this type of almost exclusively lizards suddenly start inhabiting large chunks of the Pokedex, right? What if we made other animals with SLIGHTLY more dragon-esque features to diverse the type?!

Well, I'm digging it. Maybe not enough to have Dragon back on as one of my favorite types, but I'm certainly more enthusiastic to see new Dragons pop up again. Especially if they're willing to call a tall three-headed tree of all things a DRAGON, too.

Besides, back in the day, dragons looked quite a bit weirder as well. More like lizardy rats that... had wings, I suppose. The concept of a dragon being an exceptionally large winged lizard (often with elemental powers for good measure) was a more recent cultural development, relatively speaking. Either way, if Dragons continue to be neat, I'll continue to call em neat. Sounds like a fine deal to me!

Top 10 Favorite Dragon Types:

Of course early Pokemon didn't have much to like, but at the same time, a loooot of them were very traditional dragon designs.

Bottom 10 Least Favorites:

Eh. The only ones I dislike to any capacity is Dragonite and the two (three) Megas. The rest are kinda just. Cool, if rather generic Dragons. It's often the mid-evos of the Pseudos that I forget about.

The Cutest:

The Coolest:

The Prettiest:

...I only got so many to work with here, alright? Actually let's have that as an extremely broad entry on my Wishlist. More “Pretty” dragons, please. That's a pretty underutilized aesthetic in Pokemon, so far.

Weirdest/Most Unique:

Most Inventive Use of the Type:

...Is pretty much the same as the “Weirdest/Most Unique” section. I'm sure as later generations come out and I'll inevitably come back to these to update them, I'll have more Dragon types to mess around with.

DRAGON TYPE WISHLIST:

NOTE: These Type Wishlists were written out before any news on new Pokemon from Sword and Shield. The Pokemon revealed over time will not affect these wishlists. Just to present them unaltered despite spoilers and in the interest of getting the wishlist out there, and to see which items on said wishlists get fulfilled by Sword and Shield!

A Hoarding Dragon:

Having hoards of treasure is like, one of THE defining personality quirks of at least European dragons, so I'm just surprised we've not gotten something along those lines just yet. Gems, gold, metals. Hell, I'd even take one that hoards in-Universe Pokemon merch. Or a dragon that, in one way or another, IS its own hoard.

A Star-Dragon:

That's pretty specific, I know. Especially since we've got actually a couple of Dragons that fell from some form of outer space in both Kyurem and Guzzlord. But neither of those are really space-THEMED. I'm talking a stellar-themed Dragon. This goes with my wishes for more “pretty” dragons from earlier, minding how much beautiful imagery there's to draw from in space.

A Cockatrice:

These chicken-lizard hybrids are ripe for the Unorthodox Dragon crowd. And even with myths about them going on about their gaze either being able to kill or turn whatever they look at to stone. You could PROBABLY form a neat unique move around that.

A Qilin:

I just can't quit with the deer-creatures, man. I don’t know if I’ve brought it up here before, but I’m currently in an extremely early stage of making my own catch-all-the-monsters-type game of my own. And boy howdy it is AWFUL having five or so good ideas for deer monsters but within reasonability, I gotta narrow it down to just one. BAH.

Anyway, qirin are the specific term for the Chinese dragons you see with the more antler-like horns. Some interpretations of which go one step further until they are outright just deer-shaped dragons. Which I would be entirely down with seeing in Pokemon.

An Uroboros:

Man, I actually had quite a few more requests for Dragon type than I thought I would've.

My last entry on this wishlist is an Uroboros. A cross-culture icon you may recognize as the serpentine creature that eats itself, representing different things depending on which culture you ask. In some, it's about the cycle of life and death. To others, the passage of time. Whether you take these cultural relevancies to heart or not, there's still plenty of cool things you could do with an Uroboros and its weirdly wheel-shaped body.

That and it’s a symbol relevant to alchemy too. And for whatever reason, Pokemon is laying it on thick with the alchemy symbolism lately. So uroboros is perfect!

[Archive]

[legendarymasterwolf]

E3 2019: My Thoughts on What We Saw

Alright, E3 is over this year, which means it's time to go over what we saw and my thoughts on it.

This is late, so some stuff here will be out already.

I'll be going by publisher alphabetically, so first up, we have...

Borderlands 3

I'm so freaking hyped to get lost in this hilarious world again. I've played Mordecai in Borderlands 1, Zero in 2, and Claptrap in Presequel. Still trying to decide who to play as in 3, but right now, it's looking like I'll pick FL4K, since he specializes in long range and has a few cute beasties by his side. Also, we're getting not one, but THREE action skills with each character. Not only that, but you can sacrifice your grenade skill for two equipped skills.

The Children of the Vault look like some worthy successors to Handsome Jack for title of "Best Borderlands Villains", though we'll see how they pan out on release date.

The gameplay that we saw of Moze looks smooth. Heck, everything about this game looks sleek and refined without doing away with the art style. Also, guns with legs.

Anyway, we not only got the gameplay reveal, but also Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary, a new DLC for Borderlands 2 that sets up 3, so I'm scrambling to finish the Handsome Collection on my PS4, which just got a lot more difficult now that I've bought RDR2 finally, along with several other games.

Control

I loved Alan Wake, and this is from the same people, so I’m hyped. The game looks great, has a suspenseful atmosphere, and it seems to play well. I’m looking forward to release date.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reboot

I haven't bought a COD game since "Black Ops 2", though I have played the newer ones with a friend of mine. It looks good visually from the reveal trailer I saw, I'll say that much. No gameplay yet, but I know it'll be gritty, focusing on some of the more shocking moments of the original trilogy, like "No Russian" from MW2 or the nuclear explosion from MW1, so it seems we're bringing in more edge to the series. Still, I'm glad the campaign is back, and I'm interested to see how it will look.

12 Minutes

A twelve minute time loop where you're forced to relive the death of your wife and the only way to break it is to find out why she was killed? Sign me up.

Code Vein

I remember this one from last E3. Still the same opinion, too. Anime style souls game that I might buy for the story, which looks interesting.

Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

So this looks REALLY good. It's like a deep RPG, deeper than Xenoverse was, with mechanics besides fighting like fishing, and as for the fights themselves, they seem to be more strategical than before, with a healthy dose of classic DBZ fisticuffs in there for good measure.

Elden Ring

A Souls game written by George RR Martin? Don't know too much about it besides that, but it looks cool based on the trailer.

The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan

Basically, another Until Dawn, but on the open sea during a storm. And I'm totally okay with that.

Deathloop

Another game from Arkane? The guys who made Dishonored? I'll take it. Besides, another time loop premise sounds interesting.

Doom: Eternal

If Fallout 76 was any indication, Bethesda desperately needs a win now to restore faith in their studio. Besides a few of the other games announced at E3 2019 that could do so, there was one that stood out in particular: Doom Eternal. I’ve already played all the Wolfenstein games, with the exception of one upcoming entry on this list, and based on what I’ve seen of Eternal, I’m going to like it due to the similarity in gameplay.

GhostWire: Tokyo

The presentation on the new game from the makers of Evil Within, another series to try now that I have a PS4, was memorable for a few reasons. First off, Ikumi Nakamura, the game’s creative director, was the main presenter and she was adorable. Seriously, it’s probably one of the best E3 presentations I’ve seen this year. I can’t remember the last time I saw one so genuine like hers, plus it helps that the Internet has fallen in love. As for the game itself, it looks great, with people disappearing in Tokyo and it being up to some guy with a bow and supernatural powers to find out why. The reveal trailer was all we got, but still, I can’t wait to play it.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

The first game I’ve ever preordered, and this comes from a guy who never preorders on principle. It’s a Wolfenstein spinoff with BJ’s twin daughters, so yeah, I’ll buy it. Plus, it’s co-op, so I’m playing this with my best friend. Still trying to decide which twin to play, though. Probably Jessie, since my friend is gonna want to play Soph.

Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory

Looks interesting, plus the gameplay reminds me of Shadowrun Returns.

The Sinking City

This one’s already out, but it looks good. Hopefully, it’ll be received better than Call of Cthulu before it. Plus, I’m all for a game where the protagonist is losing his mind, like Dead Space.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood

Set in the World of Darkness universe, like Bloodlines, except you're a werewolf instead of a vampire and it's from a different studio. Gameplay was revealed behind closed doors, but it looks good from what I've heard. We don't have too many werewolf games around.

Cyberpunk 2077

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY!

Yeah, this might be the first game I preorder for myself, since now we finally have a release date: April 16th, 2020. The new trailer we got gave us a glimpse of a default male V as well as what may be Jackie’s death (please don’t kill off Jackie, CD Project RED, I like him too much already). After V’s employer tries to double cross him, V tries to kick ass with his twin arm blades, which look really unique, before said employer shoots him in the head. The trailer ended with a major surprise: as V comes to in a junkyard, a figure in jeans, a tank-top, and a silver left arm approaches, and kneels to reveal a face and voice that sounds suspiciously like Keanu Reeves.

Yes, that’s right, for those who haven’t heard by the time this is posted, Keanu Reeves is in Cyberpunk 2077 and he’s playing Johnny Silverhand, a legendary rocker in the world of 2077 who may not be what he seems.

After the trailer premiered onstage, Reeves came out onstage to promote the game. He could barely get through the start of his speech, people were that excited to see him in the flesh. There was even a great moment where he described the game as “breathtaking”, to which a fan shouted out, “You’re breathtaking!”, to which Keanu responded in kind. We don’t deserve this man.

Anyway, at the end of his speech, Reeves gave a new look at gameplay as well as the game’s release date. The glimpse was only about 20 seconds long, but still, the new look at the combat, hacking, and what is presumably a digital afterlife or something like that was enough to get me even more hyped for this game.

Seriously, I couldn’t be more hyped. This game is gonna be massive and I just might preorder it.

My Friend Pedro

Switch game, but still looks cool. It’s already out now.

Sea of Solitude

I need to play more games that make me feel like this. The art style looks gorgeous and the theme is depression, so yeah, I may buy this one if I like what I’m hearing.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Honestly, EA's part of the the expo was kind of depressing, especially when it got to Anthem. However, we did get more of Jedi: Fallen Order, and for that, I'm grateful, because this game looks great. Both the combat and lightsaber look slick as does the gameplay in general, and the voice acting is on point, from Cameron Monaghan to Forest Whitaker. We need a good Star Wars game for current gen consoles, and while The Old Republic is still my favorite, that's for PC. Also, while it has been announced that there are no microtransactions in the game, I'm sure EA will find some way to screw it up, but for now, it looks awesome.

Greedfall

I’m interested. Story and premise have me, a mix of 17th century colonialism with horror and the supernatural. Gameplay looks like my kind of jam, and we may be getting romance options too, based on some trailer observations.

John Wick Hex

Gameplay seems unique, plus it’s John Wick. I will always take more of Keanu Reeves.

Grandia HD Collection

I like JRPGs like this one, though it’s for Switch, so I can’t play it.

Way to the Woods

Looks like a cute adventure puzzle game. I might get it for PC.

Wasteland 3

This series looks like tactical Fallout, so yeah, I’m likely to give this one a shot since it looks good.

Blair Witch

A Blair Witch video game? That’s psychological horror?! With an adorable dog companion named Bullet?!?! Yes, please.

We didn’t get much besides a trailer and some gameplay, but I’m eager to see more.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel

Ugh, why is it that last year I was complaining about not having a PS4, now this year I’m complaining about not having a Switch?!

Anyway, this looks great and I want to see more. Especially since I’ve heard it’s going to be scarier than Majora’s Mask.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Looks good on the graphics front, plus the gameplay additions looks promising.

And once again, I can’t play it.

Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Out of all the games on this list, this is the one I want to play most that I can’t play because, you guessed it, I don’t have a Switch.

I loved the original Ultimate Alliance games, so I’m sure the new one is gonna be a hit, what with the new combos, character designs, and references to the MCU, plus it’ll tie us over until Marvel’s Avengers.

Pokemon Sword and Shield

The Pokemon look cute, it is set in the world’s version of the UK, gameplay looks improved, and once again, I can’t play it.

Empire of Sin

It looks cool, plus I need more Mob style games to play. It’s also made by the people who are responsible for the next game on this list...

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

It’s only in pre-alpha, but still, this one looks good. The original is on the Steam store, and there are fan made patches that improved upon what was originally a disaster. The sequel looks like a smoother version of its predecessor, with a few new abilities and mechanics put in. Again, it's in pre-alpha, so the final product will look much cleaner, but for now, I'm excited for its release date.

Shenmue III

First off, I’m royally pissed that Epic stole this one. That being said, the game looks great and I’m looking forward to continuing Ryo’s story on PS4. The gameplay looks great, the atmosphere is enthralling, and the English dub sounds good this time around. Still pissed about Epic, but at least I can play it on PS4.

The Outer Worlds

This still looks great. Since Fallout 76 took a nosedive and kept on going, we need a game like this to get that bitter taste out of our mouths. This still looks like a cross between Fallout and Borderlands, the true New Vegas spiritual successor that we need right now. The companions actually look helpful, have personalities of their own, and the Flaws System sounds really interesting, giving your hero a perk in enchange for a debuff for the whole game. Also the humor is great, too.

Marvel’s Avengers

Yes, the character designs don’t look so hot. However, those can be changed on the road to launch. That aside, I liked what I saw. The gameplay looks great, the voice cast has some top tier talent for the industry, and the promise of more heroes to be added after launch without the attached microtransactions has my attention.

Dying Light 2

I only played the demo for the first one, a game I still need to play, but I liked it enough to want a sequel. The usual free running mechanics look smooth, plus the addition of player choice shakes up the game, making your playthrough unique, so yeah, more of the good old stuff with a few new things sprinkled in.

Final Fantasy VII Remake and Remasters

The remake of FF7 looks AMAZING. The hybrid combat system looks like a dream, plus the character designs look top notch. In addition, the voice cast sounds on point for their respective characters. The hype around this thing was evident from the incessant cheering, we want it that much. We even have a release date: March 3rd, 2020. It’s been a long time coming, but it seems the wait to experience this classic for the second time on a different system will have finally been worth it.

Also, there was content announced for FF14 as well as two remasters: Crystal Chronicles and FF8.

Bet your ass I’m buying the remaster for FF8.

Biomutant

This has been described as Fluffy Devil May Cry. It’s accurate. I didn’t know you’d be able to customize your character, to! Combat looks fun, and it appears there is humor present if the narrator is anything to go by, so I’m interested.

Destroy All Humans! Remake

I never played the original, but I did read about it and hear about it from a friend. From what I’ve seen, the remake looks fun! Good parody of the 1950s and the updated graphics look great. Plus, Krypto seems like a fun, grumpy protagonist.

Gods and Monsters

This looks like a cross between Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Legend of Zelda. Considering it’s being made by the same creators of the former, I can’t wait to see more of this in the future.

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

I’ll be honest, I still haven’t played any Ghost Recon games, so maybe here would be a good place to start. Gotta say, I like the way Jon Bernthal presented. He just seemed at ease onstage. Plus, Bernthal’s dog looks adorable. Bam Bam is the real hero of the Ubisoft press conference.

Anyway, it seems Bernthal is playing Cole D. Walker, one of the antagonists of the game. Didn’t see any gameplay, but still, the game looks good. I need to play more tactical shooters in general.

Watch Dogs: Legion

I played the first Watch Dogs game. Thought it was cool, but overall it was a bit disappointing. I still need to play the second one, but I heard it was a major improvement, even if it wasn’t a financial hit. Still, this one put a smile on my face. The ability to recruit and play as anyone? A sarcastic AI as your companion? A grandma assassin? I will take all of it, thank you.

Also, grandma assassin.

Did I mention there was a grandma assassin?

Can’t wait for March 6th.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

The LEGO Star Wars games were some of the first games I ever owned back when I played on the PS2, so I’m hyped for a collection of all 9 films in one game. We don’t know much beyond the announcement trailer, but hey, I’ll gladly take this one when it comes out next year.

Baldur’s Gate III

A video game that plays like a DND game? I can’t wait. Haven’t played the other games, but I’m sure I’ll be fine once I play that tabletop prequel they mentioned.

Battletoads

It’s an Xbox and PC exclusive, but still, glad this is getting a remake.

Bleeding Edge

This looks like an Overwatch reskin. The combat itself looks unique, though, so we’ll see how it goes.

Gears 5

We got a little more on Gears 5 this time around. We’ve got a look at Kait and how the Locust influence is threatening to tear her apart (that’s what I’m assuming, I’ve never played the Gears games). We also got a new mode, Escape. I might get it, since it’ll be available for PC.

Halo Infinite

If this is what Xbox Scarlett looks like, then Sony might have actual competition for once. This is the best the Halo series has looked in years, and considering how let down some felt after Halo 5, it’s about time. We’re getting the same badass Master Chief back, this time with no AI companion, as Cortana has suffered corruption due to being around for longer than normal and has gone psycho as a result. Regardless, the graphics look amazing and I can’t wait to see how it looks when it releases Holiday 2020.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

I never played the original, but I might have to now, because this looks cute. The art style looks great and I’ll always be interested in games where you fight things ten times your own size. Plus, it seems to run smooth, and just by the sound of the story, it already has my heart.

Psychonauts 2

To cap things off, let’s end with a game I’ve been excited for since I finished the original months ago. The game seems to be coming along great, if the first level is anything to go by. Returning voice cast, new enemies and powers, new environments to explore, Jack Black voicing a Brain in a Jar, need I say more?

Also, this game looks to explore the water curse put on Rasputin’s family, so it will be a more personal and chilling story as well.

________________

So, there you have it. That’s my thoughts on E3 2019, half a month late.

What are you guys excited for? Leave a comment letting me know, especially if there was something I left out!

Until then!

[kokichi-and-co-imagine-blog]

*dramatic point* You there! *dramatic pose* Grookey, Sobble or Scorbunny?

Ooh boy…

My friend, you don’t know what you unleashed. 

Before we get started everyone, a quick and obvious Disclaimer: Know that the opinions on the starters are strictly my own and are just that, OPINIONS. They are not fact, they are not the be all and end all. Ultimately, it comes down to taste, and having different tastes is fine. And if your opinions on the starters differ from mine, that’s great. It’s only a game after all and it’s only designs for fictional magical animals. Now, with that out of the way…

Let’s get started.

Scorbunny:

When the starters were first revealed, Scorbunny was the one that jumped out to me first. Might have something to do with me seeming to like fire starters the most in general. The Charmander line (though don’t get me started on how I feel on how much Game Freak seems to pander to this thing. GIVE OTHER POKEMON LOVE GAME FREAK!!!), Cyndiquil line, Chimchar line. That’s three out of seven before gen 8. Admittedly, water types also tie that number (Oshawott line, Froakie line, Popplio line), but in gen 6 I was also a big Fennekin fan and in gen 7 I was all aboard the Litten train till I found out that they had to make my precious kitty stand on two legs. Don’t get me wrong, I like Incineroar, but I was really really hoping for some lean tiger/leopard/cheetah looking pokemon on all fours. Wasn’t a fan of the bipedal choice, but that’s just me. Though I will admit, the Heel idea was a good one.

Anyway, back to Scorbunny. Scorbunny was the first that popped out to me. It looked energetic and sweet. I was slightly worried though with the bandage on its face that this meant we were going back to fire-fighting types but I wasn’t too worried.

After a little while though I ended up changing who I wanted to use as a starter. Blame the fan-artists for that one, the flood of small cute comics for a certain water lizard (we’ll get to Sobble in a moment) kinda shifted the tide. 

By the time the 3D models were leaked, I wasn’t really planning on using Scorbunny anymore, and honestly the models didn’t help. Raboot was okay, perfectly fine design for the awkward middle stage. But Scorbunny… I don’t know, Scorbunny was WAY too human like for me. I’m not even entirely sure HOW to describe it, it just gave off that impression and it didn’t sit well with me.

When the official 2D art came out it helped a bit, but by that time I had already started the game and chosen my starter. And still, the human like feeling is still too present for me to be completely comfortable. I don’t know, it reminds me far too much of human sports anime protagonists. And I get it, that’s kinda the point with it being a soccer player but I can’t really help how I feel. I have warmed up on it though.

Admittedly, the line probably has the best, at least in terms of gameplay, signature move of the starters. And it does look freaking awesome.  

Sobble:

Ooh boy. Ooh boy.

Warning in advance guys, this is going to get kinda ranty. 

As I mentioned above, after a little time sitting with the starter designs, I ended up finding myself liking Sobble more and more. Sobble’s design is adorable, and it helps that I’m also at times feeling tons of anxiety and social intimidation. All the fanart helped too. This little guy stole my heart. I thought it was going to be perfect.

And then the 3D models leaked. 

I was not happy.

Drizzile… once again, a decent awkward middle stage, though those oven mitts for hands I was not fond of.

But Inteleon. INTELEON.

Listen, I get what Game Freak was going for. Spies are a major thing in Britain, from 007/Bond, to MI6 in the Mission Impossible movies. And it makes sense from a story stand point. The shy, easily intimidated Sobble grows up, becoming a super suave and confident spy. It fits. It honestly does.

BUT WHY DOES THAT DESIGN LOOK SO UGLY?!

Now, before we go on, going to rehash the disclaimer above. This is my personal opinion on Inteleon. If you love it, good for you. I am legitimately happy for you. It’s good that you like it, can enjoy it. I wish I could. I do not like it when I dislike a Pokemon, any Pokemon. Especially when the reason I dislike it is simply because I’m not a fan of its design.

But Inteleon. I can’t help it. I just hate it:

Those freakishly long and WAY too human-like hands on a lizard that, while I know were purposely designed, look like gloves. Yes, it goes with the spy motif, but to me it just looks awful.

The stick-thinness of its entire body. Like, its body literally looks like a rail, it’s arms and legs look like a stick-figure’s. It doesn’t even have any real shoulders! (admittedly, part of this may have to do with some… bad memories. My father passed away 4 and a half years ago from colon cancer and during the last few months of his life, he was anorexic. Scarily so. So yeah, might be some repressed stuff going on there. Of course, I could be over-analyzing this and it has nothing to do with it. Who knows?)

That stupid looking cape. Yes, I know it’s a membrane that acts as a glider. Actual lizards have this, and it helps with the spy theme. But to me, all I see is a stupid tiny cape. 

Seeing it in 3D made me just give up on the line. I just couldn’t get myself to like it. Even now, with official 2D art, I can’t get myself to like it.

And of course, that brings us to the final starter. 

Grookey:

There’s a reason I saved Grookey for last. Grookey was the exact opposite of what happened to Sobble for me. 

When I first saw Grookey I was not a fan. Oh sure, it was kinda cute, but something about the design just felt off to me. I think honestly it was the mouth. It just reminded me of a beak for some reason. Still does occasionally, though I’m much more okay with it now. But yeah, it was the least impressive to me of the first stages. I din’t hate it, but it didn’t get a reaction out of me. So I thought I wasn’t going to even consider it.

Then came the 3D leaks.

 And that changed.

Thwackey is my favorite mid stage starter this gen, and definitely ranks high up in mid stage starters over all. It looks really good, like a perfectly natural progression that doesn’t need to rely on teenage awkwardness. Yes, the teenage awkwardness is a perfectly fine design strategy, but I’m so much happier when it isn’t necessary. Thwackey just looks like an older Grookey that is now seriously considering drumming. And I love it.

And then Rillaboom. I will admit, at first sight I wasn’t blown away or head over heels like I am with some final stage starters (Infernape, Primarina, Greninja and Decidueye just to name a few), but I was fine with it. I was okay enough that I felt like going Grookey was an okay final option. Admittedly, I did consider boxing my starter for the first time ever, but after a while things changed. And I genuinely began to like Rillaboom.

The name is fun. Rillaboom is nice, and when you combine it with the usual “Go _!” you of course get Go, Rillaboom! Or, Gorilla-boom. That is a stealth pun I can appreciate.

Rillaboom’s design also grew on me. It’s a drummer and a good one. Usually I’m not a fan of Pokemon carrying around equipment as part of the natural look to them (way too many questions on how that works biologically to me) and at first this kinda turned me off when I saw the drum, but I’ve come to like it. It probably helps that the official 2D art doesn’t have it, which makes me think it isn’t a natural thing it just gets. And those dreads made of shrubs and vines. It’s nice. Plus, a grass gorilla. Thank you for this perfect opportunity to make some Dragon Ball Sayin nicknames. (My current one is named Broly. Rillaboom really reminds me of the new DB Super Broly who I really like, as opposed to the old DBZ one. But that’s a character analysis for another day.)

Ultimately though, it just has the most Pokemon-esque feel to it. I’m not a fan of people in general saying “Oh, that Pokemon is awful because it doesn’t look like a Pokemon!” but sometimes I get it. I understand that urge. And while I never would say a Pokemon is objectively awful for any reason, ESPECIALLY that reason, I can still understand it. And that’s what the other starters felt like to me. Not really like Pokemon. They are decent designs, well thought out ones. But I personally don’t like them, especially on a Pokemon.

So ultimately, TL;DR I’m on Team Grookey.

Closing Statements:

So, I know this has gone on quite a while, but I think it’s really important I end this discussion with a certain message.

It’s okay to like a Pokemon. Any Pokemon. And it’s also okay to dislike a Pokemon. Any Pokemon.

Human beings have tastes, and we all have different ones. I’m going to like certain characters, art, music, etc. that you may or may not like, and vice versa. And this is fine.

Ultimately, be kind and be respectful. 

We’re all still people and fans after all.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Could you please answer 1, 8, 17, 20, and 30 for Luca/Jacob asks?

Gladly! Thanks so much for asking! 

1. Do you have any faceclaims for your MC and Jacob?

I do, actually! Luca is someone that I imagine looking like a young Keanu Reeves. For Jacob, I’m a bit torn between Adam Driver and Goron Visnjic. I think Goron might be a bit closer but it’s hard to imagine him with the long, scraggly Kylo Ren hair that Adam pulls off so well, and my Jacob always has long hair. 

8: Would MC/Jacob use legilimency on anyone, anytime, or only when absolutely necessary? Does this change over time? Do they ever become as powerful as Snape/Dumbledore/Queenie? (wandless and nonverbal)

As for Luca, almost never. They are deeply uncomfortable with the entire concept of legilimency and using it on other human beings. While they have used this power when the situation called for it, doing so made them feel gross. So only when it’s necessary. 

Jacob, on the other hand, used his new powers like a toy. In youth, he had little regard for the moral implications of what he was doing, and got really good at mental magic, really quickly. Later on, after Luca started Hogwarts, Jacob had a lot of time to reflect on some of his past choices and felt regret for how rash and selfish he was. 

As for their power, both siblings certainly possess the potential to one day be as powerful as someone like Queenie or Snape. However, whether that potential gets realized is another story. Luca will never willingly harness their power to any great degree, and Jacob’s disappearance interfered with his ability to train. In any case, Luca and Jacob’s proficiency at Legilimency is, to a degree, artificial. The result of a curse they both carry - so if the curse is ever removed, that extra power will also disappear. 

17: How does your MC feel about Merula? Will they ever be friends? Is Merula a playful rival with undeniable chemistry or is she just a huge pain in the ass?

Ah, Merula. My favorite character. Luca never hated her, or even truly disliked her. She was indeed a major pain in the ass early on, but Luca only ever wanted to be her friend. As time went on, their chemistry accelerated and the interactions became more positive and affectionate. Luca fell in love with her, which Merula reciprocated even if she had trouble admitting it. Despite the ups and downs, they did have a happily ever after. 

As for Jacob, well...this is where things get tricky, and really get into head-canons. To put it plainly, I don’t believe the Jacob we interact with in Year Six is really him. I get serious imposter vibes from him. So I’m not really counting Merula and Jacob’s canon interactions. But I think Jacob would, upon meeting Merula, find her and Luca to be cute together. I think Merula would remind him of his own (boy)friend, Duncan Ashe, making him quite fond of her. 

20: If MC had access to a pensieve, what memory would they most like to revisit and explore? (doesn’t have to be their own memory)?

Luca does in fact own a Pensieve, that Flitwick gave them. I think it would be calming for them to peruse old memories that bring joy. Something like the Celestial Ball, or their Sorting Ceremony. Otherwise, I think they’d be very curious to see things like the interactions between Tiny Tulip and Tiny Merula, before they fell out. For a number of reasons, they would also be curious to see some of Ben’s childhood memories. Finally, there is one particular memory that Luca fought tooth and nail to see...but once was enough. They never want to revisit that memory ever again. 

Jacob isn’t the type to use a Pensieve at all. While Luca is much more prone to dwelling on the past and overthinking, Jacob is impulsive and lets go of things a lot easier. I think, if offered the chance to look inside a Pensieve, he would refuse. But his first choice would probably be any memory shared with Luca or Duncan. Otherwise, he would select the day he hatched a dragon egg in the Creatures Reserve. That hatchling became a life-companion to Jacob, and it actually wasn’t the only friend Jacob made that day...

30: Do you have any songs that remind you of MC, Jacob, and/or their relationship? Do you have a playlist? Would you mind linking me to that playlist? Thanks.

I’m afraid I don’t have a playlist! Though I really should get working on one, as it seems to be all the rage these days. But! I do have songs that remind me of Luca and Jacob, and I can think of one song in particular that speaks to me about their relationship. I would link them, but links seem to have a finite lifespan, so I’ll just post the names. Here goes nothing! 

Jacob’s Theme - Neutral Theme, Shin Megami Tensei IV

Luca’s Theme - Peaceful Days, Chrono Trigger. 

Luca and Jacob - For Forever, Dear Evan Hansen 

Could apply to Luca and Jacob, or just Luca in general - Tears After Cloudy Weather, Pokemon anime

Thanks again for asking!