#they have a more interesting shape and fit the rabbit/hare thing hes got going on

[meat-pvppet]

figuring...him out...EXPLODES

[miraclespin]

Apparently someone was asking about animals to associate with the phantom thieves, or something; I don't actually know the context for this, and the post wasn't in the tag, as far as I can tell, so I never saw it until somebody reblogged it, I think.

Anyways, aside from this giving me Thoughts (because Of Course I've already thought about this at least a little bit before, being lowkey a furry myself and a huge fan of shapeshifting and kemonomimi-type stories besides; I'll defs get to those in a minute), in particular I've been ruminating over a suggestion that was offered, that being Joker as a kangaroo.

Now, ironically enough, I've actually thought about this association before. Not for any particular reason, other than it felt fun; but from a narrative perspective, especially in a concept where animal (transformation and some form of constantly visible animal traits where even if you can hide most of it at least one or two things will remain present and will have to be hidden manually) is the norm, I found it potentially interesting if something like a marsupial archetype was actually pretty rare, maybe even unheard of, or almost unheard of, such that nobody would even think to guess it. (Also reptiles, birds, and essentially anything non-mammalian, or straight up nonexistent, such as unicorns or dragons or such. Or extinct species, which is another fun one. Anyways.) Naturally, rare traits would be pretty telling identifying features; there might also be stigma and stereotyping around certain identities. Like, for example, a rabbit, or a hare.

Most people, in this case, would jump to rabbit, and thus would likely assume timidness, weakness, softness; essentially all the things everyone already thinks of when it comes to rabbits- even if these aren't strictly true at all. There's also the other, much less appropriate association with rabbits, the one that is at least partially true, but I don't think it's necessary to go over that one here since that probably wouldn't even be the first place that most minds go, and isn't appropriate to discuss in regards to a minor-coded character at all.

So, what do rabbits (and hares) and kangaroos have in common? Big, pointed ears, huge hind feet, and the ability to hop around at speed. They're also both rather feisty, and have a strong kick with which to defend themselves; rabbits even aren't above attempting to throw something like a punch, stomping and clawing and digging with their front paws. When all you have to base on is a few features that may not even always be visible, or can be hidden easily enough by, say, a hat; and certain aspects or traits would even seem to fit (rabbit is another good existing/extant animal to apply to Joker), then it seems likely that something common and suitable like a rabbit/hare would be someone's first guess, more so the rabbit than the hare (though both obviously fit in different ways).

Of course, the fun for me in particular comes from someone catching sight of his ears or feet or something (I'd imagine partial transformation has limitations in the human form, such as size/shape, so that a rabbit/hare's foot would not look much different than a kangaroo's, if you're not paying close enough attention or viewing it from the wrong angle), and then attempting to confidently assert that This Is The Correct Answer, only to be proven very, horrifically, frighteningly Wrong. Even a small roo would be infinitely more terrifying to encounter than the fiercest rabbit or hare, if it's willing to throw down with something weaker like a human.

Now, when it comes to other animals, I've got some Ideas that I've been ruminating on for a bit now, for various reasons.

Joker:

Rabbit. I already mentioned this before, but it fits very well; hyper, feisty, and very good at both running and fighting when cornered, at least when he's on the job.

Mustelid. Specifically, a stoat, though ferrets, minks, and martens also feel about right; they all have similar reputations, with stoats having the addition of a fluffy white winter coat, and martens the additional feel of wildness. Honorary mention goes to skunks; it doesn't quite fit per se and isn't even considered a mustelid anymore, but something about it appeals to me; possibly because it's something that'd be unexpected, and also largely about fighting smarter in a hostile encounter, not harder.

Squirrel. No real specific kind, except the features of a Eurasian red squirrel (notably the extremely fluffy ears), and perhaps the size of an Indian giant squirrel or similar. It just feels right. It even stashes and hoards, if you think about it. Plus they're very agile, and a lot of people find squirrels either cute or annoying, which fits him to a T.

Mouse. Again, no specific kind; lots of species could work, as well as a combination of various traits. Dormice, harvest mice, and kangaroo mice all have appealing traits in this case. Also jerboas, tho again, technically not a mouse.

Fox. This should be pretty self-explanatory, at least from a folklore perspective. Similar vein would be a coyote, or a corvid of some kind- notably, a magpie or some type of jay.

Wolf. He was literally a werewolf, once. Honorable mention goes to the stumpy shiba dog form he took as well. Also, something something full moon, something something Shining Night.

Fruit bat. He was also once a vampiric thrall, tho I don't think he took full vampiric traits, and was not under the spell for very long. I picked a fruit bat because they resemble foxes, and also would be a good way to subvert the usual vampire tropes in a story about that in particular.

Owl. This again relates to the moon thing, as well as their nocturnal habits, and their infamous silent flight.

Raccoon. I don't think I have to get into this one, tbh; it's largely for similar reasons as mustelids, if a touch less agile.

Unicorn. Largely self-indulgent, mainly for central conflict reasons and also he has white hair and is known to occasionally be violent, at least to anyone wishing him harm.

Raptor. Like, a dinosaur. Maybe velociraptor, or deinonychus, or a troodontid. Or even a microraptor. These just feel right, and would be interesting to play with in one of the "rare/unheard of traits" kind of stories, since he's already a protagonist whose life is sometimes hell.

Dragon. Contains a lot of the features of a lot of the previously mentioned species, with the added condition of being very rare, and also having an attraction towards shiny objects, and compulsive need to steal/hoard said objects. Plus dragons are just The Best™.

Cat. Both because it fits, and because I occasionally like to be just a bit mean to him, heh.

Queen:

It was suggested that she'd be a fox, but I don't feel like that's right. Instead she reads very much like a spaniel, to me. Still very canid. I think it's her pigtails, tbh; for some reason they read similarly to Lady's ears from Lady and the Tramp. Also possibly her association with Roko. She's brave and (somewhat) loyal, to boot, while preferring direct action rather than cleverness in most situations. So, definitely dog-coded, to me.

Another alternative would possibly be a deer, or a small horse.

Hachi:

Flying squirrel. I think there's even a species of flying squirrel that's native to Japan that is very round and cute. They remind me of that flying ninja thing, and plus, he's round and small and kinda cute, so it fits.

Spade:

I don't actually have a lot of thoughts on what he could be, other than maybe a wolf (based on the werewolf costume in that one official Halloween artwork), or perhaps a large dog like a wolfhound. I don't think about him overmuch; he annoys me.

Ai:

I don't have strong thoughts with regards to what animal Ai could be, but a deer might possibly fit. Could even be a fun contrast to Spade's wolf/wolfhound.

Shadow:

Generally, I tend to think of him as being whatever Joker is, in order to better fit the Evil Doppelganger act he has going on, and for some reason purposely maintains even after he no longer has anybody forcing him to. Admittedly, some things don't quite fit, while others do. Some good defaults are bat (could be another kind besides fruit bat, but probably not a vampire bat), wolf, fox, or cat. A couple of good unrelated forms could be opossum, shark, or some flavor of crocodilian.

Whatever Cyan is, Rose would probably be. Though chipmunk and something like the flying squirrel that Hachi has- maybe possum or sugarglider?- would also suit her well. Another good default is kitty cat.

[randowolfwriter]

Rocking that Solo (Intro)- Hot Dog Dilemma

Just a little one-shot from my self indulgent Older Warners au. Might consider doing more of these if it gets enough interest. 

Summary: 

A hot dog vendor meets the strangest girl (or puppy) he’s ever seen. Little does he know, she has a few tricks up her sleeve. 

She was a weird child. Probably one of the strangest the hot dog vendor had ever seen.

At first, he figured she had really poofy hair tied back with a sparkly heart-shaped hair tie, but then she approached him and saw that it wasn’t hair, but a pair of really large ears. Rabbit ears maybe? Then he noticed that she appeared to be covered in fur, ink-black with the exception of white that covered her entire face with a red nose that looked awfully a lot like a cat’s. When she smiled, he noticed tiny little fangs that made up her canines, and when she stepped back for a bit, he noticed that she wasn’t wearing any shoes—she didn’t need any. Giant white paws were what she walked on all day, much bigger than her front paws that looked more like hands. Then the key indicator of her strange appearance was that she had a tail, a long black one that was hard to determine whether it better belonged on a cat or a monkey. She could have been an animal that just escaped from the zoo had she not been wearing a giant purple sweater with a jean skirt and asking him tons of questions like any girl her age would ask. 

Yes, this indeed was the strangest little girl the vendor had ever seen, and yet, this wasn’t the first time she had visited him that day.

“You seem like a pretty cool guy,” She beamed through what appeared to be a Liverpool accent. “I’d love to have your job.”

“What are you doing back here?” The vendor barked. “Didn’t I tell you to get lost?”

“But I know where I am, so how can I get lost?” The girl inferred.

“I told you, I’m not bringing down the price of a dog.”

“But ten dollars is a little much, don’t you think? If I ran a hot dog cart, I would give everyone in the world a hot dog, and then I’d have the rest for myself.”

“Listen, little girl?” The vendor leaned over, trying to size himself up in order to intimidate her. “Are you gonna buy a dog or what? I haven’t got all day.”

Not once did she flinch from the vendor’s harsh demeanor, instead she kept smiling with a glimmer in those dark beady eyes of hers. “Well, I probably won’t since they’re so pricey. I just thought you should know that one of your cart’s wheels is missing.”

“What?”

The vendor tried to examine the wheel from where he leaned, but unfortunately, he couldn't. It was one of the front ones, which led him to move his lazy self to examine it. Clear as afternoon it was missing, despite it was there this morning when he wheeled the cart through the park. He only had a few customers that day, and none had bothered to mess with those wheels. In conclusion, it seemed that not only was this little girl strange, but she was also a wheel thief.

“Alright, where is it?” He grumbled.

“What?” The little girl asked coyly.

“The wheel? What did you do with it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me!” He could hear his voice raise at the girl’s bewildered expression. “I know you have it!” 

“I swear I don’t-- well, I mean I don’t swear because Daddoo says it’s not nice to swear-- but I know I don’t have it. Here, I’ll show you.”

She then reached into the pockets of her skirt and pulled out a bunch of trinkets and trash she had collected over time. “See, I have a bobby pin, two pennies, a piece of lint, a heart sticker…"

As the vendor was preoccupied with the girl, another child appeared behind the hot dog cart. Just like the little girl, he had long ears that drooped like a puppy’s, white fur on his face that covered his black fur like a mask, a red nose, and beady black eyes that made him look more animal than human. The only distinction that he was more human than animal was a green sweatshirt he wore (yet he didn’t wear any pants.) The boy stuck out his tongue nervously as he watched the little girl prattle on to the hot dog vendor about the items in her pockets; it seemed like she had a lot for just two measly pockets.

Seeing that the vendor was distracted, the boy began piling hot dog packs, bratwurst packs, hot dog bun packs, small bags of potato chips, soda cans, anything he could get his paws on and threw them into a random sack that he pulled out of nowhere. Well, more like from behind him. But how he made a sack appear from nothing was really something. 

Meanwhile, the girl did everything she could to keep the vendor’s attention on her at all times.

“See, I don’t have it. I only take things that can fit in my pockets,” she explained.

“Fine, so you don’t have it,” the vendor grumbled once more. “But how is it that it hasn’t been missing all day, and then suddenly you show up, and it’s gone?”

“Don’t know. Sounds like a ‘you’ problem.”

The boy was taking an awfully long time. Every time he grabbed a hot dog packet or a bratwurst packet, his stomach lurched – the thought of eating meat was the bane of his existence.

Suddenly, the mustard bottle slipped out of his paws just as he reached for it, and rolled right in front of the girl and the vendor. To make matters even more awkward, the vendor stepped on the bottle and it squirted a dark yellow onto the pavement.  

“Huh? How did that get there…” The vendor turned and finally noticed the boy. The boy let out a startled gasp and shivered where he stood. 

“Um, hey! Wanna see me do a dance?” The girl chirped, trying to divert the vendor’s attention back to her. She then performed a couple of twirls seeing if that'd work, but it was too late. The vendor had already noticed the thief at his stand, her partner in crime.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” The boy immediately closed the sack and scrambled out of there. “You have to pay for that!”

“Run, Smakko!” The girl cried as she raced after him. As the boy sped off like a frightened hare and the girl caught up to him in seconds, it was clear that the two were related.

Twins.

She was the distraction, and he was what the hot dog vendor should have been looking out for. Now here they were, little dog-monkey rascals that were better off locked up in a zoo than running away with his product.

“When I get my hands on you two, I’ll make sure you’ll get what’s coming to you!” He roared after them. 

“But you have to catch us first!” The girl shouted with a giggle. 

All through the park, the vendor chased after them. The chase felt like it went on for hours with the kids’ insane energy and the vendor’s determination to get his product back. It wasn’t until the kids ran smack dab into an officer minding his own business that they were finally caught. Immediately upon collision, he grabbed the two kids by the scruff of their clothes and held them up like noisy kittens, mostly pertaining to the girl who kicked in defiance while the boy hung there like a wet rag.

“Are these two giving you any trouble?” The officer spoke in what also appeared to be a deep Liverpool accent. He sounded a little like Ringo Starr. For some reason, upon hearing the officer's voice, the girl settled down. 

“You bet! Those mongrels there stole my hot dogs!” The vendor exclaimed, pointing a large index finger at the two. 

“Not like you were using it anyway,” The girl spat.

“Those two need to be taken back to the zoo where they belong!”

“No worries, sir. I’ll take care of them,” The large officer said, eyeing each of them with a stern glare. “Now give the man back his dogs.”

The boy then handed the vendor the giant sack. It seemed lighter than what he thought it would be. “Well appreciated, officer,” the vendor thanked.

He gave the vendor a small wave, “No need for thanks. All in a day’s work."  Then he gave the kids another stern glare. "Let’s go, pups.”

For some reason, as the officer walked off with the two kids curled in his arms, they seemed too content for having just been apprehended. Well, the boy still had that fearful look in his eyes as if it was stuck that way, but the look on the girl’s face was one that was not expected; she seemed too happy. 

The further the vendor walked away from them, the more he realized that the officer himself looked kind of strange. He looked like any other big officer just patrolling the city and keeping the neighborhood peace, yet then he remembered his face...something was off about it. It was pale, almost like it was covered in fur, he had a big red nose, and he had beady black eyes, just like those kids…

Suddenly, he stopped and opened the sack to find that his cart’s product wasn't in there, just a bunch of stuffed rubber dogs that squeaked.  

He’d been duped. Those weird kids and that weird officer were all related and they made off with his hot dogs. He wasn’t going to let them get away with it that easily. The vendor ran right up to them, his face red as the ketchup bottles that were just stolen.  

“Thieves!” He screamed at them. “Who do you think you are?”

The officer then stopped and set the kids down, “Well, I know for a fact that I’m no Bizzie.” 

Suddenly, he tore off the hat to reveal pierced dog-like ears sticking out of a baseball cap that looked like it had been beaten up over the years, especially with that giant bite mark that ate half its bill. Long unkempt black fur-- or it might have been hair-- flowed past his shoulders, while some even jutted out from his hat. Underneath the uniform, he wore a blue sweater covered with a brown leather jacket, torn jeans, and giant white paws that he walked upon just like the two kids. In likeness, this man could have been a rock star had he not had the black and white puppy-dog face like the kids and stuck out his tongue to compliment the look. 

“What are you?!” The vendor shuddered in bewilderment. He couldn’t decide whether he was some mutated dog or probably the ugliest man he had ever seen.

“Why he’s my Daddoo, silly!” The girl giggled. “I’m Jojo,” then she pointed towards the boy identical to her, “and this is my brother, Smakko." Then she held out her arms and posed, while her brother seemed hesitant to follow suit. "And we’re the Warner twins!"

“I don’t care if you were the Olsen twins. I demand that you give me back my hot dogs this instant!"

“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” the man referred to as ‘Daddoo’ asked, “but that wouldn’t happen to be your cart, is it?”

The vendor then turned to see his hot dog cart speeding right towards them. Without a moment to react, the vendor was hit right with the cart and sent flying down the path while the father and his children moved to the side just in time. Luckily for the vendor, the cart didn’t go right into the busy streets of downtown traffic, but it did crash him into a nearby tree, causing the poor man to see hotdogs flying over his head.

“Look sir, your wheel came back,” Jojo pointed out.

“Yes, I see that,” the vendor said dizzily, then passed out.

“Naughty kids,” the father scolded, “who taught you such awful manners?” Then a giant smile appeared on his face, his tongue sticking out once more. 

“Now what do you say to the nice man?”

“Thanks for the hot dogs, sir!” Jojo thanked with a wave. 

“Thank you,” The boy named Smakko only muttered.  

The hot dog vendor perked up from his short comatose just as the father, with both of his strange puppy kids, the girl clinging to him like a koala and the boy clutching the bag filled with his product, walked away. No doubt about it, this was a horrible day, both personally and economically. 

But really, why did it matter? The vendor's cart was surprisingly okay, despite the crash and the strange reappearance of the wheel. Not to mention, there was a lot more product than what the family made off with, but losing those profits was going to hurt him. He'd have to lower the price of those dogs, and bratwursts, and basically everything at his cart just to make up for the stolen product. 

He went to authorities about it, but all they did was laugh, except for one, who seemed to shake in his seat at the mere mention of puppy-kids. Like they were going to be any help. 

Eventually, the hot dog vendor had to shrug off this brash occurrence and continue with his business. People were still going to want hot dogs, and unfortunately be desperate enough to pay ten bucks for it. 

However, this strange moment like a fly in the ear returned to him one day when he was visiting his family. His nieces and nephews were busy watching an old cartoon that he remembered was on when he was a kid called “Animaniacs,” which was considered one of the greatest cartoons of the decade. Of course, he didn’t think much of it now that he was a man in his thirties, but during this particular viewing, there was something that stood out to him.

The three main kids, with those long ears, black-furred with pale white faces, those red noses, and those beady black eyes…they looked exactly like the kids that harassed him at the park. Not to mention, the boy wearing the baseball cap looked exactly like the timid boy who barely spoke a word during their encounter. The boy in the show brimmed with confidence compared to the shy nature of the boy who had the gall to steal his hotdogs, yet had his sister do most of the talking.      

Then another thought occurred to him. The father of those two children also wore a blue sweater, and his head was covered with a red cap similar to the boy’s in the show, except his was worn with age. Then there was that smile, that puppy-dog-looking face with his pink tongue sticking out as if to distract from the fact that he was a freak of nature. He also brimmed with tons of confidence. How could anyone go out in public looking the way he did, with that long unkempt hair, those piercings that bit at his ears, and the strange rock star vibe he gave off just by being near him?           

No, it couldn't be. But maybe? 

Could possibly the middle child, the hungriest, the quietest, and the wackiest of the Warner trio next to his chatty older brother and his sassy younger sister might have grown up into the man he encountered at the park? That strange man with his strange children who were also giant troublemakers like he was. Could possibly the father of those two twins might have been…

Wakko Warner?  

[funhaversclub]

Sooooo if you know me, which I know you dooooo, you'll know I love video game theories. With the drop of the new Pokemon Sword and Shield trailer, there are so many new theories going around! So let's just jump into it. Theory. Review. *clap, clap*

(here’s the trailer if you havn’t seen it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOPVBm0sA7Q

In the trailer we got to see new lands, characters and the starter Pokemon... and it set the internet ablaze. The biggest basically confirmed theory is that this game’s region is inspired by the UK. Big Ben. The hill patterns. The clothes patterns. The sprawling country sides. People have even made side by side map comparisons. So that's neat! Another map theory is that this region connects to the top of the Kalos region from X and Y... but that's pretty far fetched.

I managed to find an HD map of the new region, Galar. On the map we get to see all the areas featured in the trailer. We see several "gyms" revealed. Based off of the trailer, the one gym we see is grass (based off the leaf above the door) we can speculate what the other gyms could be based off that.

1 - Ground or Rock

2 - Poison/Fairy (a half based on the symbol looking like 2 colors)

3 - Grass (as seen in the trailer)

4 - Water

5 - Dark

Other things to note about the map is the location of the hill patterns. Those hill patterns feels like a great mystery to be solved. Could it be this game's mythical beast? To me it looks like a giant chicken with like an antenna for a tail. It appears to be breathing fire? or smoke? and thunder bolts are shooting out of it. Around it's feet seem to be small little creatures. Some with 2 legs, some with 1. 2 look humanoid and the other looks more like an animal. WHO KNOWS! We will just have to wait and see. There was a leak that said that the legendary Pokemon are a wooden horse and a metal snake so maybe the giant chicken is the Mewtwo to the 3 legendary birds?

Another neat thing is the brown mountain region. For starters it looks to have a giant Dugtrio shape dug out f the wall. further up is a giant door? It seems to have a shield and what looks like gears or flowers. I read folklore about the UK that at a crossroads you could meet a fairy or some mythical creature that would open a door leading you to a magical land. Could that door be the entrance to the magical looking mushroom forest above it? ...or maybe it’s just the path to the right? or is that the cross roads? THEORIES! 

Other theories about new Pokemon come from the dragon-like castle. The front entrance has a dragon/wolf like head. Going deeper into this theory, the several sprawling towers on both sides of the castle could represent the wings of this creature? But we don’t 100% know that this is a dragon head or even if it represents a Pokemon. In other games creatures were featured in structures that were purely aesthetic and didn't represent a Pokemon so you never know. There's another dragon image in this castle though, that’s the golden head on the top of the smaller tower within this castle. Which clearly looks like a golden Japanese dragon. Again, we don't know if this is a Pokemon. Still awesome!

As far as the map goes the rest is pretty straight forward BUT still interesting. Haunted villages, sea side towns, rail ways, clock work cities. Check out the HD map yourself.

Before we get to the new Pokemon, here are the older gen Pokemon featured in the trailer. What a mix of different Pokemon from EVERY generation before.

Gen 1: Pikachu

Gen 2: Hoothoot, Tyranitar

Gen 3: Flygon, Wailmer

Gen 4: Lucario, Munchlax

Gen 5: Minccino, Zweilous, Braviary 

Gen 6: Fletchling, Meowstic (Fletchling is technically only on a weather vane)

Gen 7: Wishiwashi, Grubbin

...and from Pokemon GO we got the 1st Gen 8 Pokemon Meltan and Melmetal that will be featured in Sword and Shield.

Now lets look at the starters. We got the Grass monkey, that monkeys funky. Grookey! a mischievous chimp that is full of boundless curiosity. Things to note is in the intro video he's banging a stick on a rock implicating possibly rhythm is involved in the Pokemon’s nature. Also it seems like it makes grass grow from its touch? As far as the name goes I believe it's based on Groovey and Monkey? Another thing to note is if this falls in line with the Pokemon starter theory the grass starters are all based on prehistoric creatures. So could this end up being something human like? ...a drumming humanoid ape?

Like every year early “leaks” surface about what the final stages of the starter Pokemon might look like. This year is no different. Here is the first “leak” of Grookey’s final evo:

Next up is the Fire Bunny, Scorbunny. A rabbit Pokemon that is always running about, bursting with energy. When we first see this bunny it's dashing around with it's feet giving off fire. Just like every fire starter there’s always a point that fire comes from like Charmander and his tail. With Scorbunny it seems to be its feet. Theories on its name branch out into a possible theme of the game and that's sports. The name being a mix of Score and Bunny. Score because it seems to represent a soccer player. The patch on it's nose representing a trope in anime where a character with a bandage on its face represents a sports star. Also footy being invented in the UK! This could lead to possibly it's evolution line kicking a fireball around relating to both soccer and its feet being its fire starter. To go with the starter theory again the fire starter should represent a zodiac sign and this easily fits as it’s a bunny/rabbit. 

Following the trend here’s the “leak” of Scorbunny’s final evo... which looks more mechanical that I’d pictured...

Finally we have the anxiety riddled water chameleon thing. Sobble. A somewhat timid Water lizard Pokemon that shoots out attacks as it hides itself in the water. It's name seems to be a mix of Sob as in to cry and bubble. It has these adorable little chameleon type hands! eeeee! Theories are that down the line it could be a ghost type based on it going invisible to hide? To end with the starter theory yet again it states that the water starter final should have some form of weapon like Blastoise and its cannons so maybe it'll end up being a sniper of sorts? stealth artillery?

Lastly we have the majestic “leak” of Sobble:

(PS: here’s the Pokemon starter theory incase you didn’t know what I was talking about -- from quara.com)

Some theories about all 3 are pretty interesting. the first that those older "leaks" were half right? we got a fire bunny and a monkey like grass starter. That's neat. Another theory is that the shapes of the heads are all similar because they represent knight helmets falling in line with the medieval swords and shields theme.

We also have no news yet in how Meltan and Melmetal fit into Sword and Shield. The only theory as of now is just the fact there’s a giant steampunk city and the Melmetal line have metal and bolts involved in its body.

Another Pokemon leak claimed that just like mega evolution and Z-moves, this time we will be getting Armored power up. This goes with the Medieval theme as well. Like donning a suit of armor. In the trailer there’s a part where a soccer player has 227 on his jersey. this could be the obvious answer which is the release date BUT it could also be the number of Scarmory... the armored Pokemon! oooOOOOOooo.

There's also one shot which appears to say Gamefreak in an unknown language. This being confirmed by the Gamefreak logo. This has become the Rosetta stone for Pokemon language theory.

Finally the last thing noticed has been possibly another new Pokemon. In a quick shot you can briefly see the image of what looks like an electric hare/wolf type thing? There’s more letters as well but nothing can be made out yet?

As of now this is about all we know. There are more theories swirling out there but these are the biggest things I’ve managed to put together. Bottom line... I’m really excited for this game!

PS: pretty funny note, a Youtuber (Jimmy Tumor) accidentally predicted the titles before the official release dropped. hmmmm?

OH! PS2: I can’t make it at the moment because Photoshop doesn’t want to work properly on my laptop BUT if I had to predict the “Yellow” version for this generation I'd say it would be called “Pokemon: Scepter” Sword is attack, Shield is defence Scepter would be special, like magic. The Merlin of this medieval theme... Other people have a different theory...

Alright. That’s all for now! 

[literarycat]

here’s my @kagepro-secret-santa gift for @sablyte !!! i’m so sorry for the lateness on this one, but I really do hope that you enjoy reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it.  they asked for a bit of winter-themed ayataka fluff, so I gave them a winter carnival date!! 

Takane shifted restlessly from her position on the park bench.  She had her headphones up, heavily covering her ears, and an upbeat tune blasted from it, thoroughly tuning her out from the rest of the world.  The music was far less angry than she usually listened to, some near-pop tune about a first kiss.  This was because Takane wasn’t in nearly as bad a mood as her retreated posture would imply.  In fact, she felt downright peachy.

Today, she and Ayano were going on a date.  

She’d shown a little trepidation back when Ayano had suggested the idea of going to a winter festival, seeing as huge crowds and loud noises weren’t exactly her thing, but… Ayano had convinced her without even trying, showing just a hint of disappointment at Takane’s hesitation.  She could suck it up for her, she determined.  Her desire to have fun with her girlfriend overrode her desire to stay holed up inside.

Besides, there were apparently shooting games involved.

She quickly straightened her posture as she saw a familiar shock of red in the passerby.  Ayano’s face emerged a few moments later as she waved furiously at the seated girl.  “Hello!  Sorry you had to wait for me, I just got off the train.” “It’s alright.”  Takane smiled, pulling her head just a little bit out of where she’d retreated into her coat’s oversized collar and hood.  She tugged her headphones down a moment later, having already paused the music the moment she saw Ayano approach.  “You ready to go?” “Yep!”  They were already almost at the entrance, the festival rising before them like an enormous, colorful, lights-decorated village.  To Takane, it might as well have been a death sentence.

Seeing her blanch at the crowds, Ayano turned towards Takane, suddenly concerned.  “You okay?” she asked, gently squeezing her girlfriend’s hand.  “If the people are too much, we can go somewhere else.”

Takane shook her head.  “It’s fine,” she reassured, but Ayano still looked worried.  “It’s way better when I’m with you.”

Ayano grinned, a blush spreading across both her already rosy cheeks.  “You’re so sweet,” she giggled.  She squeezed her hand again, entwining both their glove-clad fingers.  “Let’s go, then!  I saw some shops over there that I wanted to take a look at!”

Takane nodded, letting herself get pulled along by the more excited young woman. She was grateful to just give in to Ayano’s enthusiasm, letting it drive them both.  She was, clearly, more than happy to provide enough cheerfulness for both of them.

The two of them rushed to the colorfully-tented stalls showcasing a variety of goods.  The first one they passed was a food stall, and the sugary scent of funnel cake and powdered sugar hit their noses first.  Takane wrinkled her nose at the overly sweet sensation, but Ayano beamed.  “Doesn’t it smell amazing?”

“That’s one word for it,” Takane muttered.  Ayano, catching her displeasure, moved on without buying anything.  There were a few more food stands around, including ones cotton candy and giant, comically large lollipops filled with rainbow spirals.  To Takane’s relief, however, the food and candy quickly fell away to reveal tangible goods and souvenirs.

“Look!” Ayano said suddenly, plucking a tiny object off the next table and waving it in front of her girlfriend’s face.  “It’s a little panda bear!”

The bear was tiny, fitting easily in the palm of her hand.  It was made of crochet, with two little black beads for eyes and a shiny sewn-in nose.  Takane tilted her head, expression blank.  “Looks scary.” “Does not!” “Like it’d eat you or something.” “It wouldn’t!” Ayano protested.  She spoke in a falsetto, waving the little bear back and forth with every word.  “Hi, Takane!  I’m a cute little bear who just wants to be your friend!”

Takane had to suppress a smile at that.  She searched the myriad of animals laid out on the crochet table, picking up a tiger between her two fingers.  She suddenly whirled around, launching it towards Ayano’s bear. “Well, I’m a big tiger, and I’m going to eat your bear!”

“Eek!” Ayano giggled, hiding the bear reflexively behind her.  “Be nice!”

Takane pushed back an even stronger smile, forcing a scowl on her face as she readied the tiger for its next attack - but she was interrupted by the merchant at the stall clearing her throat.  “Sorry to interrupt, girls, but these aren’t meant to be toys.” Ayano flushed.  “Sorry,” she said meekly, replacing the panda to its proper place.  Takane followed suit, though she glared in the general direction of the stall owner.  The two examined the remaining animals in a more subdued manner, hardly touching them.

“This one’s cute,” Ayano said, brushing her fingers gingerly across a white rabbit.  It was small, rounder than actual hares, and attached to a golden chain.  It was a backpack charm, Takane noticed belatedly.  Ayano always loved those.  Takane watched her fingers hover over the rabbit for a few more seconds, then she dropped her gaze and moved her hand away.  “Sort of silly to have one in high school though, I’d bet.” Takane couldn’t bear even the hint of a crestfallen expression on her face.  Plucking the rabbit up with an earnest finality, she shoved it in the general direction of the merchant - who could only smile, bemused.  “I want this one.” Almost immediately after the transaction was completed, Takane felt her left side crushed in a hug.  “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Ayano gushed, scarf tickling against Takane’s neck.  Takane huffed, retreating further inside the tall collar of her coat.

“Okay, I get it!” she huffed, cheeks heating up with a rapid blush.  “You like the gift.” “I love it,” Ayano corrected, already undoing the clasp to attach the rabbit to her purse.  “Thank you.” Takane, face still hot, waved her gratitude away with one hand.  “Let’s just move on.” As they struck out from the shopping area into the more crowded middle lane, Takane felt her patience waning.  Ayano kept looking back at her worriedly, asking her repeatedly if she was alright, and Takane always answered in the affirmative - but it was hard for her to fully enjoy herself.

Hard, at least until she saw a familiar shape rising up ahead of them.

“Is that-!” she perked up with genuine enthusiasm, almost pulling ahead of Ayano in her attempt to catch a glimpse.

Ayano chuckled.  “It is.”  In front of them, tall and utterly imposing, lay the alley of carnival games - with a shooting game directly in the center.  

Takane actually whooped, competitive nature overriding her social anxiety, and dragged her girlfriend forward towards it.  The merchant looked at the two with an almost condescending smile, ready to give his general spiel about how to win, but Takane cut him off with a wad of bills shoved underneath his nose.

“Get ready to lose, old man,” she snapped with utter confidence.  Ayano merely giggled behind a gloved hand, staring at the giant stuffed animals hanging above them.  

Takane’s boasting did not go unfulfilled.  She hit all five targets for six games in a row, only stopping because the merchant was practically begging for her to move on.  She’d already won the main prize - three times over.  It was with an immensely self-satisfied grin that Takane accepted the three enormous plush animals: one bear, one dog, and one weirdly-shaped animal of indiscernible species that Takane figured was the mascot of the carnival brand.  It was somewhere between an elephant and a monkey, it was mottled blue and pink, and it was ugly as anything she’d ever seen. 

“Why’d you pick that last one?” Ayano questioned, other two prizes tucked neatly under her arm.  She’d asked for the bear, since she thought her younger siblings would like it, and she figured the dog was for Haruka.   “It’s so awful, isn’t it?” Takane asked, inspecting the animal with barely hidden glee.  Ayano nodded, confused, and her classmate continued, “I’m going to give it to Shintaro.” There was a beat of silence, then Ayano broke out in a frown.  “That’s so mean,” she chided, drowned out by Takane’s cackling laughter.  After a beat, she joined in, giggling neatly behind a hand.  She was more amused by Takane’s outrageous, movie-villain laughter than she was by the action itself - though the idea of Shintaro’s face upon being faced with this monstrosity was pretty funny.

“You know,” Ayano mused quietly.  “I should be the one to give it to him.  He likes me a lot more than he likes you, and if I pretended like it was a real gift…” She trailed off, leaving her intentions clear with a mischievous grin.

Takane balked at her.  “And you called me mean.” The two laughed all the way down the main street, dragging their prizes in their wake.

The two passed by several other carnival games as they went, but aside from Ayano giving the milk jug toss a try (she failed, miserably, and the two decided to cut their losses before they even began), they were satisfied in the victories they’d already attained.

It was a pleasant walk through the rest of the carnival, with the two headed towards their unspoken destination: the ferris wheel.  The largest attraction of the place, and the one Ayano was, by her increased pace, the most excited to experience.

Takane couldn’t blame her.  She was a bit of a hopeless romantic, Ayano, always striving for that movie-magic moment of true love.  Hopefully, she was able to provide it.

The two waited in line for what seemed like hours, Ayano bouncing on her heels and people watching while Takane slid her headphones over her ears.  It wasn’t a rude gesture at all, and Ayano knew it - it was just how she passed the time.  Ayano didn’t bother trying to talk to the girl while she had her music playing, but she’d occasionally tap her shoulder to point out a particularly interesting balloon animal, or a costumed performer.  Takane, for her part, didn’t let her attention stray too far from her date.

Finally, they were at the front of the line - and the attendant gave them a once-over, eyeing their enormous stuffed animals with something close to exhaustion.  “You getting on together?” “Yep!” Ayano tucked the dog further under her arm to grab Takane’s hand, and the two pulled themselves (and their plush companions) into the rather small compartment.  The door shut behind them, and Ayano scooted herself closer to Takane on the bench - then they were off.

At first, neither of them were inclined to speak.  The view was utterly gorgeous, and they watched the carnival they’d just spent a few hours wandering through turn to figurine size beneath them.  Ayano then leaned back, focusing her gaze upwards at the stars.  “Isn’t it beautiful,” she breathed, air coming out in a visible puff.  The car was closed, but still cold; the observing glass wasn’t much insulated from the outside.

Takane watched her fondly, scooting over a bit to lay her hand over Ayano’s.  She had to move the teddy bear to do so, and it flopped disgracefully down on its belly.  “The stars aren’t the only beautiful thing around,” she murmured, already feeling a wave of embarrassment from using the line.

Ayano suddenly flushed a crimson that rivaled her scarf, turning her attention back to Takane with a snap.  “Enomoto!” she snapped, using her last name as if she was chiding her - but her expression showed anything but.  She was pleased, more so than Takane expected. 

She’d have to keep it a secret that she stole the line from one of her favorite visual novels.

Takane cocked her head, giving Ayano a nearly teasing smile, and the girl relented, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  “You are too much,” Ayano said warmly.  Takane’s smile only grew, confidence slowly taking the place of embarrassment.  She knew what those characters had done next, after all.

With familiar slowness, the two grew close, lips meeting just as the ferris wheel reached its highest point.  The car sat there a while, and the two separated; flushed, Takane dipped her head to hide her grin.  “Thanks for convincing me to come out here, Ayano.” “Anytime.”  Her eyes shone with pure, unbridled joy; Takane knew without her saying anything that she’d given her just the fairytale moment of romance she’d wanted.

Cheeks still tinted with pink, Takane settled back in her seat, entwining her chilled fingers with Ayano’s covered ones.  The two settled against each other on the bench, watching the city lights grow from specks as they slowly descended back towards the ground.

Takane wasn’t one for sappy stuff (trashy visual novels excluded), but she was starting to see why Ayano was so into all that.

Sitting there, with Ayano at her side, she was so utterly, wholly sure that she was in love.  And the feeling was incredible.

[daes-of-august]

How Cairo came to be

I have a lot of thoughts on my daemon, Cairo, and his origins. Figured I’d share them here. there’s a really long explanation under the read-more

I call Cairo my “daemon” for the sake of simplicity, but I use that term a bit loosely as he doesn’t seem to fit the usual description of daemons that I have seen. For one, his form has been mostly settled for as long as I remember, and I first met(?) him when I was very young. Another thing is that he doesn’t take the form of a real animal. I’ve seen some debate as to the legitimacy of “daemons” that aren’t real animals, but I have my own thoughts on how this applies to Cairo.

For one, Cairo originated as my version of the character Guilmon from the digimon tamers series. This was back when I was still in elementary school. Aside from the name, voice, and being vaguely dinosaur-like in shape (and waving psuedo wings for ears), my Guilmon’s character didn’t resemble the cartoon character at all. I used a t-rex beanie-baby to represent him physically (I still have him) He was intelligent (though we played that down when playing pretend with others), thoughtful, and more “real” than any other stuffed animal or character I’d developed thus far. He was my confidante and friend when I felt alone, and I think he was the only one of my stuffed animals/characters (they were the same thing back then) that I actually talked to with half an expectation of receiving an answer.

Fast-forward a few years (middle school/high school). For the most part, I no longer played with stuffed animals (with a few exceptions), but Guilmon still hung around. I didn’t talk to him as much, but he was still my partner, guardian, and companion. As I started writing stories that I actually want to publish one day, I changed Guilmon’s name to Blaze, seeing as I didn’t want to get hit with a copyright infringement. From there, Blaze followed my personas and other characters into their worlds. Here, he took on a lot of roles, though they all came back around to protector, companion, guardian, confidante. He’s only really interacted with characters that were my actual self-inserts or personas, and he was always more than a character. I could never write him as just another oc; he knows too much about me, the writer, and he’s been around for longer than any of my stories.

Fast-forward again to the summer of 2018. This was the first summer I spent on my own, living away from my family situation (which is an entire other conversation). This is also about the time I realized I was having a lot of issues with depression and anxiety. As a college student, I know I wasn’t alone in these issues, and yet, I was so alone. I only had one friend and she was busy all the time (not her fault, I don’t resent her for it). I wasn’t close to most of my family and was actively avoiding the handful of family members that I was close to. During this time, Blaze came back to me. My friend, my confidante, my shelter from the biting loneliness. We only interacted within the context of “stories” (not actively talking to each other) but these stories were ones that were never written and only played out in my head. Just small scenes where he told me that I wasn’t alone, that I still had him no matter how much I or my circumstances changed.

We’ve maintained that sort of relationship up to this point. I’m not physically alone anymore (I have a lot of people I can talk to or hang out with if I want, and I have a better relationship with my family) but I still feel like everything is slipping out of my hands and I don’t know why. I finally got into my major (I’m a junior now), I have a good relationship with my family, I’m taking classes that are on subjects that I actually enjoy, I’m finally on an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication. And yet, a combination of poor time-management, and persistent apathy toward my existence as a whole has brought me to another low point. 

At first, I wanted to create a tulpa, a concept that I’d been interested in before but then forgot about. I wanted someone that would be with me all the time and would (hopefully) help me get my life in order. However, that didn’t seem fair since I tulpa is a being with its own separate existence. I didn’t want to force an ideal onto another being and then be resented for it. It’s also not fair to the being I intended to create. And there was the fact that I already had Blaze, and creating another being with the intent to act as my guardian and companion felt incredibly wrong. However, I couldn’t turn Blaze into a tulpa. He was already too real, and I was afraid the tulpa would resent me for forcing this persona onto it. I also didn’t think I could mentally withstand the idea of Blaze becoming anything other than the friend I’d had since childhood.

Then I learned about daemons. As someone with a “Christian” upbringing (another very long story) I was hesitant to look into anything like that. However, as I understand it, daemons (not demons) are your soul personified. That “voice” in the back of your mind that tells you to sleep before 3 am, or to eat when you haven’t for an entire day, that reminder that a failed test isn’t the end of the world, that conversation you have with yourself, debating the pros and cons of staying up late to study or going to bed early right before a test. For me, I think Blaze has always been that voice.

Which brings me to his current state. I started talking to Blaze again, just like I used to when I was a child. It felt strange at first since I’m now an adult that’s essentially talking to myself. And yet, it felt like I was calling up an old friend that I’d followed online but hadn’t actually spoken to in years. We talked about the idea of him being my daemon and returning to a more prominent role in my life. It’s hard to explain his feelings on the subject, but more or less, he’s happy about the decision. (more like... happy that I’m asking for help? Even if it’s just from my own soul?) 

Yesterday, we decided on another name change. “Blaze” was never meant to be anything other than an alias for him to use when I wrote about him. His name had still been Guilmon, though as I wrote more about Blaze and spoke less to Guilmon, “Blaze” became the more common way for me to think of him. We played around with some sounds and spellings (he really didn’t want a name that started with “A”) we came up with Cairo (rhymes with “arrow”. Also, I only just now realized it’s also a place in Egypt and not just a word I made up...). This is partially from my synesthesia: “A’s” are bright red, “i’s” are yellow, and “o’s” are white. This combo is bright and warm, and the word itself is short, reminding me of a candle. I’ve always associated him with fire. “Cairo” also (vaguely) resembles “Hrairoo”, which is what Hazel occasionally calls his brother, Fiver, in the netflix adaptation of Watership Down (which, if I’m right about being ADD, is my current hyperfixation) Due to this, I occasionally call Cairo “Cairoo” because I think it sounds cute.

Cairo’s form is... difficult to explain. While he has changed from what I originally envisioned him as, his form hasn’t really changed from when we were kids. He is still vaguely dinosaur shaped, still brown with rust colored markings across his nose, a pale belly, and a sort of mane that runs from his head to his tail. The only big difference now is that his wing-like ears are shaped a bit more like rabbit ears and he can run on four legs as well as two. The closest real animal I can compare him to is a hare with a square snout and dinosaur tail. We tried to get him to shift into an actual hare, but that felt very... wrong and unnatural. 

I’ve heard that daemons with fantasy forms aren’t daemons because they don’t mean anything, they don’t tell you anything about yourself. I’m not sure how to feel about that, but my opinions on daemons and their forms would be another conversation entirely. If the definition of a “daemon” truly excludes those with unnatural forms, then I am fine to say that Cairo is not a true daemon. Either way, those are just words to us. He is my friend, my companion, and my guardian. That has been true from the beginning, and I am beginning to believe it will be true to the end.