#ive started watching a bunch of the pokemon anime even though i never liked it before. MAN i was missing out | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

galacticbugman · 5 years

Text

My Favorite Insects

Well howdy ya’ll Galactic Bug Man here with another blog post. Sorry this is long over due I have been busy with school and I have had some family issues that needed to be resolved this last few months but I am back with another blog post and just in time for the start of *drum roll* *fanfare* INSECT SEASON! or just spring.

So In my last post that was back in November I said that I would talk about what are my favorite insects. For the record some people may tell you that you can only have one or two favorites of everything. Well for me that has always been hard for me. Anything that interests me automatically becomes an obsession with me. With the autism it is kind of hard to ignore things that have a profound interest with me. Some people just have one favorite or each category. As for my goofy/nerdy self I have many favorites on many levels. For me I don’t just have one favorite science fiction TV Show or movie, same goes for Cartoons, comedies, food...eh you get the picture. Anyway I don’t just have a single favorite family of animals or just one favorite species for each.

In my line of a hobby it is the thrill of the search and an encounter goes. For me favorites come in many forms and have different lifestyles, and sometimes the story that will form when I find an organism helps make an organism my favorite. So there are many things that add up to make an organism a favorite. For me it is all of these put together. Even though I am a storyteller of sorts and love to share experiences I have had finding certain species. So now let us go into some of my favorites from the world of insects. Even though I am a birder too think I am just going to leave this post strictly for the insects. Just FYI I am expanding my blog to more than just insects. In the future I will be talking about birds, mammals, and all things natural. So with that said let us dive in to Insect family #1...

Beetles have become a growing obsession for me in the last few years. Back when I was in the Future Farmers of America I participated in an entomology contest once in the spring of 2011 then I did another one in spring of 2012.It was like a UIL contest of sorts but it was an FFA governed contest. We had to study a list of 125 or 150 insects I can’t really remember the amount we had to ID but it was a lot. The Texas Ironclad Beetle was one of the many on the list. (the picture was a photo I took of one during the 2017 iNaturalist City Nature Challenge of that same species.) The FFA contest really opened my eyes to loving the insect world. I became quite interested in the lives of insects and the ways they work. Butterflies had always been a favorite subject of mine ever since I was in grade school. My late grandmother (who passed away back in August of last year) got me butterflies and we had a garden at the house we moved from back in April for a long time. Most insects didn’t really appeal to me until my time with the Martin High School FFA. Me and the teams I had both years won first prize at the contests so that is how my love for loving insects a lot more than I did started to grow. Beetles started to grow on me. There have been many species that I have seen in the last few years that I wouldn’t believe existed. Some are just so amazing to watch and to photograph.

A growing favorite group of mine would have to be the Tiger Beetles. They are some of the prettiest and most vibrant colored of the beetles. This one was found at Thora Hart Park a few blocks from where I live now. We moved back in April of last year. This was found on one of our getting ready to move days. This guy is called a Chartreuse Tiger Beetle. It is a really shiny one. I found this one on one of the sand paths out there in the back forty of the park. It is small but the number of Tigers is amazing. There are a lot of deep sands out there and on any given hot and sunny day they will be out. Tiger Beetles are known for being fast throughout their lives. They have good eyesight even when they are larva which is kind of interesting for an insect. They are also predatory their whole lives. With a sharp pair of scissor-like mandibles and a tiger like attitude they are a fascinating beetle to observe. Both fast runners and fast fliers they one of an insect’s worst nightmares. This one was really cool. I saw this flash of green and blue. Then it landed in front of me and then I saw a flash of red. These guys are actually yellow on their wing covers; but when the sun hits them just right they shine a bright reddish orange color. That is what makes them really appealing to me. We all like shiny things don’t we? Shiny rocks, Pokemon, silver, gold. You name it people love shiny objects. For me shiny beetles are no different.

Another one of my favorites is this one called the Carolina Tiger Beetle. This one was one cool Tiger Beetle. I was out at a park called Parr Park in Grapevine Texas. There was a bunch of these guys running about the light traps we were using during one of our field investigations which was a Moth Night. A moth night or mothing event is where you set out lights with different wave lengths and purposely attract insects to photograph and document them. I have been on several in the last couple of years and they are loads of fun. They are cool because you don’t always get to see the creatures of the nocturnal world that often if you are a day person. Me I am more of an afternoon and night person. I have never been much of a morning person.That doesn’t mean I won’t get up early some days and go early morning birding or something like that. I do that sort of thing all the time but the night time when it is really muggy and sticky outside the bugs just come from out of the wood work. I don’t suggest doing those kinds of events if you don’t like bugs touching you or if you have a fear of insects because they will get into you mouth and your hair. Anyway getting back on track. I had my flashlight on and I was just looking down to see what I could find. I saw a couple of purple streaks running around at the base of our sheets that the bugs would cling to while we took photos. These guys really catch your eye and the refection from a headlamp or a flashlight is amazing when the light bounces off these guys. It is amazing how shiny they are. That is why I love these guys because one they are appealing by vibrancy in color and by their amazing patterns and shades. They are amazing little creatures. They are tiny and you can easily miss them. That is why you will not have tour guide going to have a tour guide with a group of people looking for these guys. They are too small and will flee in an instant. Still going out by yourself will be your best bet on seeing these guys.

Another one of my favorite beetles is this kind. This one is known by only a scientific name. It is called Zygogramma Heterothecae. It is a mouth full I know. This photo was taken at Tarrant County College’s South Campus where I go to school. I found this guy on one of my study breaks. On most study breaks I either go to the school’s game room and hang out with the other nerds or I go out and see what insects I can find so I can upload them to iNaturalist. This guy was at one of the best places to look for insects on campus (the library). This guy was the first one I have seen. Just look at those markings; it almost looks like a tribal painting or something from a tropical land. It is amazing how these guys look. I posted it to the iNaturalist website and turns out it had never been found in the Metroplex before so I got to expand its range just a little bit. That is another factor that makes an insect my favorite for its rarity or if it is a new one for a new range of territory. I have expanded ranges for a lot of insects on iNaturalist in the three years I have been using it. It is not that I am a big shot or anything it is just that I like to take pictures of everything from common insects and birds to the really hard to see ones. It is often the small things that are the least observed. I don’t know just how many species in total I have expanded for but I have also found several firsts for many parks around the area. One of my friends tries to give me the big head and calls me a rockstar. The truth is I am no rockstar or super naturalist I am just doing what a citizen scientist does take photos and send them on the database website and let nature take its course. I mean it is cool that I have found a lot of species that are rare and maybe out of place but I am not one who likes to take credit; I am the kind of person that likes to give credit when it is due. I have always been modest in this case. But yes finding rare things like this adds to the value.

Sometimes a bug just has to look like a spaceship or an visitor from another world to get my vote. Many insects I encounter remind me of things from Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica (1978 version with the Ovion Bug People) among other science fiction movies and TV shows. This guy Delphinia Picta or Picture Winged Fly is a wild looking one. It almost reminds me of the Bounty Hunter Greedo that worked for Jabba the Hutt that Han Solo blew away with his laser pistol in Star Wars IV A New Hope. It has a head that looks just like Greedo’s face minus the green with the bumpy texture and the funny looking ears. This guy is just bizarre looking all together. It looks like a starship with a Greedo head. so that is kind of fun and adds to the favorites if they remind you of fun things like that. Many insects in my mind always look like a sci-fi or horror movie monster from the 1930s- 1960s with the B horror classics. That is just it with being a nerd you see things like that out in nature and as a huge nerd of science fiction and stuff like that I have a lot of fun with it. I seriously can’t be out with a group on a BioBlitz see a bug and shoot off my mouth with some kind of silly science fiction reference. Thankfully I am with people that get it so I am safe but yes it is true that I can’t go a day without referencing a TV show, movie, or book. I am just that kind of guy even when it comes to nature. I surprised no one has gotten sick of me yet in my naturalist group. Lets look at another insect that looks like an alien shall we.

This guy is called the Wheel Bug. Named after its weird Buzz Saw like blade on his midsection. I am surprised that when they made the Starship Troopers series they didn’t make a bug that looked like this monster. This guy is a true monster. I It conjurers up a lot of science fiction nightmares just by looking at it but man I live for this kind of stuff. I love weird looking bugs. The weirder the creature the more blown my mind is. Sometimes the things with a face only a mother could love are the best things to look at. This guy you do not want to pick up just FYI. It can bite and it bites hard. I have never been bitten but good golly I know people that have been bitten and they say it is a feeling you don’t want to have. It may not kill you but it can leave one nasty mark. This guy is a member of the Assassin Bug group and it is one of the largest. Most assassins don’t get this big but these guys are over an inch long in some cases. They are a true monster but heck just as long as you keep your distance they can’t hurt you. So that is one factor for me I guess. Some animals like elephants may remind you of Dumbo or a baby deer may remind you of Bambi. However if you are into bugs and a pop culture nerd you will probably be seeing some Close Encounters business. Just saying I have been on the sci-fi bandwagon all my life and let me tell you some insects get even stranger and bring even more science fiction stuff to the table.

Some times it just has to have a fun name to say and since we just went down a path of sci-fi reference I think this one would be great to talk about. This little butterfly is known as a Phaon Crescent. I think that name sounds so much like a ship name (just the Phaon part). This guy is a very pretty butterfly that looks very much like a starburst or a disco ball. It is a very interesting butterfly and is just as small as its sister species called the Pearl Crescent which we get here in Texas too. These are not as common for me on a more personal note but they do happen quite frequently. Both are really pretty but this one gets bonus points for having such a cool name.

Sometimes to be a favorite they have to look weird before you can figure them out and know what they are doing. As in this case for this little Yellow-collared Slug Moth. You see that arched thing? that is its butt. I am just going to say this now like I have said so many times I am glad I don’t have to put my face near my butt for protection. This moth is in its defensive position. I was in a group doing another event out at Parr Park and I was coming back with a few other and I spotted him on a garbage can and we couldn’t figure out what he was or what exactly he was doing. So yes sometimes the oddest bits of behavior help with the humor of a potential favorite observation.This guy was just doing what he does best when not looking for food or a mate. 1. he had chosen a good hiding spot that matched his color. 2. he was just in the defense position so that way nothing serious would happen to him if he was attacked. 3. It just looked funny to us. We all gave it crazy bewildered looks trying to make heads or tails out of it. Turns out many moths do the same thing like the Eggplant Leaf-roller Moth and others. So sometimes the things we don’t understand may seem like a good laugh and that could add to a fond memory.

So that is it some of my favorite insect moments frozen in time. I have tons more favorites but it is kind of hard to cram them all into a single blog post when you have over 5,000 observations and over 1,370 species on your life list. That is kind of hard to pick and choose all of your favorites. I would like to hear what your favorite animals are and how you pick and choose your favorites. So until we meet again readers stay tuned for more from me Galactic Bug Man. I will see you on the trail. See you soon! gotta run.

#insects #wild #behavior #nature #wildlife #texas #beetles #coleoptera #moths #lepidoptera #butterflies #parks #hikes #photographs #macro photography #close ups #up close #closer look #insect #bugs

1 note · View note

primatechnosynthpop · 5 years

Text

alright gamers here’s some #thoughts on a heroes/pokemon crossover (under a readmore because it’s a very long list. Like, you would not believe how much nonsense I have to say on this topic)

The voiceovers at the beginnings and endings of many episodes are about Pokémon evolution, how it differs from regular evolution, and so on

That being said, Mohinder is a Pokémon professor who specializes in studying evolution

Peter works in a Pokémon centre

Nathan is a member of the Unova Elite Four

Hiro and Ando work at Silph Co.

Instead of having a teddy bear collection, Claire has a Stufful she got from her father. It’s her favourite Pokémon

Whenever somebody uses their powers, it’s basically like a Pokémon move (“Peter used Mirror Move”, “Claire used Recover”, “Matt used Mind Reader”, etc.); they can run out of Power Points

“When destiny calls… you answer your Pokégear!”

The Company is actually a branch of Team Plasma (Plasma rather than any other evil team because Unova= America) and since “specials” can use Pokémon moves, the Company sees them as closer to Pokémon than humans and therefore want to “liberate” them from society

Arthur Petrelli’s power does extend to actual Pokémon moves as well; he used to have a job as a move deleter

The formula from volume three is basically a TM

When Peter jumps off the roof in season one, Nathan claims it was his Pidgoet that rescued him, not Nathan himself. However, Peter knows better because Nathan’s Pidgeot is currently at the Pokémon daycare

Actually, the way a lot of “specials” keep their powers a secret is by attributing their abilities to their Pokémon. For instance, Matt claims his Growlithe sniffed out Molly Walker when in fact he used Mind Reader

A surefire way to tell whether it’s Niki or Jessica: Niki has a Clefable; Jessica has a Gengar

The climax of season four takes place in Nimbasa City (since there’s a ferris wheel there)

Instead of fixing watches, Sylar used to work at a Pokéball factory

Rather than Mirror Move like Peter, Monica Dawson’s ability is more like Assist; she can only use moves that belong to the Pokémon on her team

Speaking of which, Peter can borrow moves from actual Pokémon as well. Sylar can’t, but on the upside, he isn’t limited by having only four move slots

*Paints Castelia City exploding* Isaac used Future Sight! Isaac foresaw an attack!

Since it doesn’t make as much sense for Daphne to call Hiro “Pikachu” if they’re in the Pokémon world, she instead calls him a twerp, a la Team Rocket from the anime

Matt’s turtle is a Tirtouga that he resurrected from a fossil which he found while wandering around in the desert

Mr. Muggles is a Lillipup; Sandra Bennet used to enter him in Pokémon contests

The Company uses a special kind of Pokéball called a Company Ball that’s not actually any different from a regular Pokéball but is black with a gold “Godsend” kanji on the front. In season one, Hiro thought he had to catch a Pokémon using a Company Ball in order to access his powers

Claire goes to the trainers’ school in Striaton City

Instead of the cello, Emma plays the Pokéflute

Tracy started out running an Ice-type gym but after season three she changed it to a Water-type gym

When the Company locks away a special, they confiscate their Pokémon as well and have them stored indefinitely in PC boxes. After the breakout in volume three, a couple main characters end up with Pokémon formerly belonging to these individuals—Peter ends up putting Jesse’s Loudred on his team, although it’s rather uncooperative and he eventually releases it

In season one, when Claire recorded herself trying to hurt herself & healing, she used a VS Recorder to do it. Normally a VS Recorder only records Pokémon, but since she was using a move (Recover) the VS Recorder registered it as a battle taking place

On a related note, Noah was able to track Sylar using a modified version of the Pokéfinder

Rather than finding Nathan’s body, Peter finds out about the whole “Sythan” ordeal because he finds a Yamask whose mask resembles Nathan’s face

Rather than accidentally shooting her, Peter and Isaac get into a Pokémon battle and Simone gets caught between energy blasts like Ash in Pokémon: The First Movie (but without the magic tears of life)

When Hiro is in the Feudal Era, Adam and Yaeko are amazed by the fact Hiro has a Pokémon team—Pokéballs didn’t exist back then

Micah uses his power to instantly fill out his Pokédex. He uses this information so he’ll be prepared for any rivals he comes across

Instead of torturing Sylar with a tuning fork, Mohinder tells his Minccino to use Echoed Voice. It’s super effective!

Noah isn‘t a trainer, but he borrows Pokémon from the Company to battle with when necessary

Claire has a Secret Base where she keeps all the Pokédolls Noah gets her. In later seasons, she spends a lot more time hiding away in it

Nathan, being a Gym Leader, is very much a competitive battler; he’ll disregard any Pokémon with poor IVs

Linderman is the boss of Team Rocket; if Niki doesn’t fully repay him, he’ll steal all her and her family’s Pokémon

Matt’s dad was one of the developers of the Entralink (because dreams)

At one point or another Hiro definitely teleports to the Ilex Forest and catches a Celebi

Tracy works at Pokéstar Studios

The formula Mohinder concocts in season 3 has the same properties as the Dubious Disk. He tests it on his Porygon-2, which evolves into Porygon-Z, and he takes this as a good sign

Remember that one time in the anime when Ash got turned into a Pikachu? That’s what Arthur Petrelli does to Hiro instead of scrambling his brain

Noah wants to keep Claire from having Pokémon battles–“why can’t you be a coordinator like your mother?”–but this only encourages her to train her team harder

When Meredith shows up with her level 85 Rapidash and level 87 Flareon, it’s a bit of a wake-up call for Claire: even if she constantly uses healing items on her team, they’ll keep taking damage from a burn affliction

Instead of just a bunch of pigeons (or Pidove) on the Deveaux building, it’s the location of the Pokémon daycare. Even though they’re not affiliated with the Pokémon centre, Peter still loves going up there to play with the Pokémon

The wall in the episode The Wall is UB-Wall; the episode ends when Peter and Sylar can defeat it in a double battle

Niki has a Kangaskhan that she spends most of season 1 thinking she doesn’t have the power to Mega Evolve, but in the finale she succeeds and fights side-by-side with Micah, who commands the baby Kangaskhan

Peter has a Rockruff that eventually evolves into a Midday Lycanroc. However, in every “bad” future, it’s instead in the Midnight form

During the early days of the study of specials, scientists tried to do things like capture them in Pokéballs

That being said, the corrupt desert camp in the 60s was branded as a Safari Zone

Isaac thinks he can only use Future Sight when he’s holding a Toxic Orb

The Burnt Toast Cafe is a Malasada shop (I guess that means Hiro is basically Hau? Accurate tbh)

From season three onwards, Micah has a Cubone on his team

Molly uses her power to find where wild Pokémon are hiding in the tall grass and avoid walking there

People who work for the Company or are prisoners of them aren’t allowed to have Pokémon, but Elle trains an Electabuzz in secret. When she and Sylar get together, she trades it to him in exchange for a Jolteon, and it evolves into Electivire

A lot of the side characters and characters without powers aren’t trainers. Ando doesn’t have any Pokémon of his own until the end of volume three, when he catches a Plusle that he uses to aid Hiro in double battles

In the Five Years Gone future, Niki has a Phantump on her team. Make of that what you will…

Throughout season one, Claire is reluctant to let her Pokémon evolve. At the start of season two, we see that she has evolved her Stufful into a Bewear and her Buneary into Lopunny

The first Pokémon Hiro ever caught was an Abra, which he never evolves (although it is evolved in the Five Years Gone future). In volume five, when he goes back in time to three years ago he trades it to Charlie. When he sees her as an old woman at the end of the show, she still has it, now as a Kadabra. She trades it back to him and it evolves into Alakazam

When one character dies, another will generally adopt their Pokémon. Peter puts Isaac’s Smeargle on his team, and later Nathan’s Unfezant; Matt keeps Daphne’s Accelgor and Crobat on his team; Meredith gives Claire her Torchic before she explodes; etc.

Tracy’ team is mostly ice and/or water-type, but her oldest Pokémon is a Wigglytuff that she doesn’t use in battle much, only as a companion

Bonus: everyone’s Pokémon teams at the start of the show and by the end

START:

Peter: Chansey, Eevee, Rockruff

Nathan: Pidgeot, Noctowl, Tailow, Staraptor, Braviary, Unfezant

Claire: Oricorio, Stufful, Buneary

Hiro: Pikachu, Abra

Matt: Growlithe, Turtwig, Slowpoke

Niki: Clefable, Gardevoir, Kangaskhan

DL: Haunter, Mismagius

Micah: Elekid

Mohinder: Porygon, Magnemite, Minchino

Angela: Persian, Gothorita, Munna

Sylar: Klink, Ditto

…And by the end:

Peter: Blissey, Sylveon, Lycanroc, Smeargle, Unfezant, Mew

Claire: Oricorio, Bewear, Lopunny, Ursaring, Blaziken, Delcatty

Hiro: Alolan Raichu, Alakazam, Celebi, Aegislash, Furret, Gyarados

Matt: Arcanine, Torterra, Grumpig, Tirtouga, Slowking, Hypno

Tracy: Wiggytuff, Frosslass, Lapras, Glaceon, Jellicent, Primarina

Micah: Electabuzz, Rotom, Marowak, Scrafty, Pancham

Mohinder: Porygon-Z, Magnezone, Minchino, Muk, Genesect

Angela: Persian, Gothitelle, Musharna, Xatu

Sylar: Klingklang, Ditto, Electivire, Umbreon, Zoroark, Mewtwo

#heroes #primatech #Pokemon #crossover au ideas tag

2 notes · View notes

patchworktail · 7 years

Text

ITS 4:30 AM AND I DONT FEEL LIKE SLEEPING so I’m gonna do this meme that i got tagged for twiCE and totally forgot to do til now!!!! (i had 2 dig through your blogs to find them omg)

ANYWAY i was tagged by both @mooitstimdrake and @cynessie (I MISS U BOTH BTW ❤)

RULES: Share 11 facts about yourself, answer 11 questions provided by the tagger, tag 11 awesome people and leave 11 questions for them to answer!

(I’m gonna skip tagging people/asking 11 questions - 1) because I’m lazy 2) because a lot of people who I would tag either have already been tagged or woN’T DO IT and 3) I have to answer two sets of 11 questions anyway so I’ll let one of those sets take the place of my 11 questions!!)

11 Facts

I was supposed to leave to move into my college 3 days ago but since my college is in Savannah they pushed off move-in/orientation for a weEK BECAUSE OF HURRICANE IRMA AND I’M STILL UPSET/DISAPPOINTED

That being said I’m about to start as a college freshman at art school, planning on majoring in animation! :D

I binged all of Buzzfeed Unsolved in like 2 days and I fuckin LOVE IT

Also BNHA is like my current main obsession???? I fell in love w that anime and uhhhh I’d Die For My Kids

I almost never use skype anymore - I’m always on Discord now (mutuals may add me just message me if you want my tag :3c)

I loooove creating OCs and my main OC is a forest elf named Rally and he’s precious and I LOVE HIM AND COULD TALK ABOUT HIM FOR HOURS (also my best friend @/harpxer and I have a huge ongoing rp with him and her mountain elf oc, Kahl!! they’re really gay)

Hmmm fun fact I guess I’ve been involved with internet communities since I was 10 years old and I made my very first internet friend when I was 10 and we’re still great friends and talk p much every day to this day (hi @/fiishr)

I want a tattoo super bad but idk what I’d geT

I worked at a jewelry engraving stand at an amusement park this summer and one night I accidentally gave myself a 1st degree burn on my finger from the hot glue gun and it hurt So Bad

I had my graduation party this July and it was really fun but the best part was when 14 of us played this giant game of spoons and it got really intense, made worse by people randomly screaming during it, and then we collectively decided to blast hardcore rap music from the speakers and Let Me Tell You i have not been involved in a more stressful card game in my LIFE

I’ll always always always fall for the hero/happy character/protagonist basically....idk what it is about me but I’m so Predictable...I love cute optimistic brave characters who just wanna do Right.....I don’t cARE IF PEOPLE THINK THEY’RE BORING I THINK THEY’RE PERFECT AND AMAZIGN AND I LOVE THEM

AS FOR AN EXTRA 12TH FACT ABOUT ME AS U CAN SEE I WRITE WAY TOO MUCH AND ALSO I’M THE BIGGEST OVERSHARER E V E R IT’S SO BAD SOMEONE STOP ME

ANYWAY ONTO THE QUESTIONS :3c

@mooitstimdrake‘s Questions:

If you were to make a new blog dedicated to one single thing (fandom, hobby/activity, etc) what would it be? Honestly, right at the moment probably BNHA!!!! it’s legit my most recent big obsession and I love it?? so much???

If you could have any kind of animal as a pet, what would you have? A RACCOON!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THEM SOSOSOSOSOS MUCH and some people actually do have them as pets! They can be difficult though but WORTH IT

Who was your favorite teacher and why were they your favorite? OH BOY......I’m gonna say it’s a tie between my AP studio art teacher and my AP US government teacher from this past year, my senior year! My AP art teacher because our class was super tiny, 12 kids, and it really felt like a family?? She was a-okay with letting us all goof around and say weird shit, she was really chill and funny and like. part teacher, part friend, which was always nice. As for my AP gov teacher, he was SO. FUCKING. FUNNY. OH MAN. NOT EVEN ON PURPOSE he just like? put up with SO MUCH? we had some real character kids in that class and my teacher’s reactions were HILARIOUS. he had a sarcastic streak too so his responses were equally as funny when someone did something weird. He would say the funniest stuff just ask @/harpxer I would tell her so many stories from that class sohboshrb. Aside from the humor that class was really interesting, and he’s a really good, invested teacher - he wanted us to learn, he’s super passionate about government and history, and he always started off each class with 2 current events which was really nice and helped me learn more about things happening in the world too!!! overall that was like my fav non-art class I’ve ever taken!!!!

What’s your guilty pleasure (and I’m challenging you not to say some kind of food)? HMMMMM. Honestly I’m gonna go ahead and say really cheesy or lame movies/shows (like, Disney channel movies, dumb shows - like the one summer I watched all of Glee LOL, stuff like that). Like yeah I know 90% of it is terRIBLE but it’s still amusing/lighthearted stuff that makes me happy KLSDJVLSDHB

Favorite pizza topping? EXTRA CHEESE IF THAT COUNTS, if not then pepperoni!!

What’s the last thing you bought (that wasn’t food)? I’ve actually been buying a lot the past few weeks in prep for college/spending a little money for ONCE since I worked all summer. I got a bunch of boring stuff but the things I’m most excited about are: two posters I got for my dorm (The Office is one and one is Lord Huron), a giant wall tapestry (it’s Up themed!!!), tWO BNHA/POKEMON CHARMS THAT CAME TODAY AND EVERY TIME I LOOK AT THEM I START CRYING BC THEYRE SO CUTE, and oh my GOD I BOUGHT THIS GIANT PILLOW FROM TARGET AND IT IS THE SINGLE SOFTEST THING I’VE EVER FELT AND IT’S HUGE AND IT IMMEDIATELY BECAME MY #1 COMFORT OBJECT AND TOP FIVE FAV THINGS IVE EVER BOUGHT!!!!!! I guess MOST recently though I just bought Clip Studio Paint online today (art program) since it’s on sale for 50% off and I’ve heard great things about it!

What upcoming movies/tv shows are you looking forward to? UHHHHH as for movies... justice league part 1, the incredibles 2, kingsman 2, the neW POKEMON MOVIE I CHOOSE YOU, probably a lot more I can’t remember rn. AS FOR SHOWS HMMM I’m...excited for the next season of the good place and izombie, and oh I’m excited for the punisher netflix show!! and the next season of voltron of COURSE!!! and next season of stranger things!! probably more I’m forgetting too tbh

Any recommendations (this could be anything just throw your best pitch at me)? JFISDJKLBJ I DON’T KNOW OMG tbh rachel you watch a lot of the same things I do already LMAOOO

What’s your favorite thing to wear that you own? OH FUCK I DUNNO HMMM I really like wearing my various leggings and scarves, but as like a Single Item....I like wearing....uhhhh I have this giANT sweater like it’s WAY too big for me but it’s so COMFY and I love it. I also love wearing my Star Labs sweatshirt bc it’s soft and comfortable

What was your first pet? my cat!!! we took her in as a stray kitten living in our backyard when I was like. 2 or 3 and so we’ve basically had her my whole life!!

If you could learn any language, what would it be? UHHHHHH honestly probably spanish - I took it 4 straight years and was okay at it in class but one year went by with me not taking it and I forgot everything LOOOL I’m...bad....at languages....

@cynessie‘s Questions:

Where is the coolest place you’ve ever been? I haven’t been many cool places :( I guess the coolest isssss I dunno it depends? Lake George is where I go on vacation every year, I LOVE NYC, I love Savannah too and it’s where I’m gonna be for college so?? ?? ? ? I’VE NEVER BEEN OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND I’M SAD BUT I’M POOR AND CAN’T AFFORD IT

What was the first thing you remember wanting to be when you grew up? veterinarian!!

Look to your right. What do you see? a dirty plate on my desk, my bed just past that, and my CHARMS THAT CAME TODAY THAT ARE SO CUTE I CRY EVERY TIME I SEE THEM

What are you procrastinating on? ajkldjboidj lik e 4 art commissions,,,, and 7 MAP parts,,,, and my pre-work for 2 of my classes,,,,,,,and cleaning my room,,,, and sending thank-you notes to relatives,,, SOMEONE KICK MY ASS AND MAKE ME DO SHIT

Which family member are you closest too and what is their name? UHHHH.... I guess my younger brother Luke? or maybe my mom? I’m not on bad terms with anyone though, I love both my older brothers too and we all have a good sibling relationship I just talk more with my younger bro I think - second closest would be with my second older brother Connor!

What’s the last song you listened to? I’m listening to Ultralife by Oh Wonder right now :3c I’ve been on a huUUGE Oh Wonder kick lately!!

What do you generally carry in your bag/pockets when you go out? my wallet (w my license and money and debit card and all), travel size lotion, phone, and chap stick!!

What is one thing you are excited for? FINALLY GETTING TO COLLEGE NEXT WEEK AND STARTING CLASSES FJIODFHINBDFHBNSBO

Do you believe in ghosts? I’m gonna hesitantly say YES but I’m not 100% convinced I don’t think

What is a skill you want to learn? MAYBE THIS IS WEIRD but I think learning how to act would be kinda neat. On a more realistic note I wish I could learn to exercise without dying

Tell me a joke. I’M BAD AT JOKES DON’T DO THIS TO ME NESSIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO YEAH THAT’S ALL FOLKS it’s 5am now...Nice..... :’) I love my ability to stay up obscenely late while also getting Nothing Done JLSDNVDHAGHVDLAK

#about me #my life #hell ya i havent done one of these in a while but it was FUN #sorry for not tagging anyone......im lazy.............

3 notes · View notes

happysandwichparty-blog · 7 years

Text

Japan - Day 7 (Ikebukuro)

Starting out the day I didn’t honestly know a whole lot about Ikebukuro and how long we would be there. I just knew there were two places on my must to visit list there and that’s why we were going.

(Few pictures today!)

I woke up feeling like crap. The Gyoen Gardens adventure from the previous day was hitting my allergies hard. I wasn’t even sure how long I was going to make it before having to come back and sleep.

We got rolling a little bit later in the day, despite getting up at 4:30AM, we didn’t head out until about 9:30AM. It was the usual train rides - Ginza to Ueno, and the JR Yamanote over to Ikebukro. No rush hour today, we left too late - YAY!

Upon getting off the train our first stop was the Kit-Kat Chocolatory. We did take a little detour to get there. The store is in a department store attached to the train station but I seem to have a problem finding entrances from the train station so we exit and came back in through and outside entrance.

On our trek to find the store however we ended up in a grocery store in the station, the food there looked AMAZING! Wouldn’t it be great to be able to just get off the train, pick up your meal, and then walk home? One can dream. That will never be a reality in Arizona.

I digress, we eventually found the sweets area! More amazing cakes here, seriously ive never seen such beautiful little cakes. There were also many traditional Japanese sweet/dessert options to choose from.

Eventually we did find the Kit-Kat store! You aren’t going to find bags of Kit-Kats here, if you want those, hit up a convenience or grocery store! These are gourmet Kit-Kats in fancy boxes that you’d give as a gift. I picked up a box for my mom since they had special mothers day gift boxes. Mothers day is a little ways out, but it’s not like they will go bad in that time, plus we grabbed her a bag of matcha Kit-Kats to give her right away.

After the Chocolatory we wandered around to waste a bit of time in the station area. There was a restaurant I wanted to go to that opened at 11:00AM and was said to get busy very quickly so we were hitting it up right at opening time.

You may have see video’s of this place floating around on social media, it’s called Kura Zushi. Basically it’s a revolving sushi bar, which you can also order from, and you use your empty plates to play a gachapon game!

When we arrived (exactly at 11:00AM), there were already about 4 groups waiting. You walk up to the machine and get a ticket for your group. The machine is completely in Japanese, no English, as is the ticket. The staff is willing to help you get a ticket if needed, or you can just let someone go in front of your and watch. It was actually simple. Green button, party number, and then tap the final two buttons, done! - you now have a ticket!

They will call your number in Japanese so make sure you are paying attention. Basic understanding of numbers will probably do you good in Japan anyway.

On to the food! The sushi was very good for only being about $1 per plate.

They have some unique combinations - salmon with cheese? Surprisingly amazing.

We stuffed our faces, much more than we normally would. We have some revolving bars back home and it’s surprising if we eat more than 8 plates. Today we ate 16. Really I wanted a gatchapon and it took 5 plates to try your luck.

Spoilers. 3 tries. We did not win. The guy next to us won on his first try though, not fair! We do have a small vlog we filmed of this place so hopefully ill edit that and get it up pretty quick (i’ll link it here once finished).

One last thing about restaurants in general, many places have a pot of powdered matcha sitting on the table, cups, and a hot water dispenser so you can make your own tea! Surprisingly I actually like green tea, I don’t like many other teas.

This places is very convenient, when you are done you tap the check button on the tablet at your table, they come check your plate count, and you head off to pay up front!

After stuffing our faces we decided it was time to walk a bunch! Good plan. We were walking over to Sunshine City, which is a shopping mall. On the way we stopped at Round One and a few other game locations. There were a bunch. I found the Neko Atsume machine and again failed horribly. I also tried a Disney plush machine, had better luck but still didn't win anything.

We were once again off to Sunshine City. It’s a very traditional mall that we are all used to, and it was pretty nice! They had a fun water feature in the main atrium.

Our main goal here was to find the Pokemon Center! We did take a detour into the Disney Store though. Again, I wanted to buy so many things, but I will wait until we are at the Disney Resort. SOON!

After Disney we head up to the Pokemon Center. It was pretty busy, but all of the staff were super friendly and polite and did everything they could to make people feel welcome. We did end up buying quite a few things. I picked up 3 or 4 items for my Twitch giveaway, and also a few for myself! Included were a cute mug, a Ditto shirt tank top combo, and some socks.

Two side notes. Everyone in Japan has adorable phone wallet cases. They are everywhere and it’s making me really want one, the ones for sale at the Pokemon Center were super cute. Second, no one has face plates for the regular New 3DS, which is making me sad. Yodobashi is the only place and the selection was not great.

I digress, we went to purchase all of our items and it turns out there was some deal on socks! Who knew! I ended up getting a 3rd pair for free.

As mentioned the staff were great. They went out of their way to make customers feel welcome, they brought a basket of socks to the register for me to pick the 3rd pair instead of making me run through the store to find them. They make sure my items were double bagged so nothing would break, and they even offered me as many special decorative extra bags as I wanted in case I was getting gifts for people. I left very happy.

On the way out there were more Gachapon and penny presses. I did press a penny, which were provided in the machine, brand new and shiny! And of course another gachapon.

On our way out we stopped at Axes Femme. We visit their store in Shinjuku but it was small, this one was large! I did end up purchasing 3 items, mostly for work. This is a good store if you still like that lolita style, but want to be able to tone it down for real world situations.

After this we left Sunshine City and head across the street to the Animate. Which apparently had moved and was no longer an Animate. We still went inside because now there were 4 floors hat were cosplay stores.

This was a unique experience as a cosplayer. There were full costumes for sale, which wasn’t the awesome part to me actually, since I just make my own. It was the wide selection of wigs, contacts, props, shoes, glove, makeup and god knows what else that was all in one store easily accessible! Those small things are sometimes the hardest part of cosplay in the States because they are hard to get,you have to make them! Hell they had a prop violin you could buy!

Anyway! After having a moment we left to find the new Animate. Ikebukuro was bustling, it was a very fun area with a lot to do. There were a lot of teenagers and young adults around having a good time. It felt a lot like a less over the top Akihabara. I think I may actually like Ikebukuro a bit more.

We found the Animate! Which felt like it catered more to Women than the other one we went to. The whole area did really, a ton of women and girls around and a lot of people dressed up in alternative fashions. What I would have expected in Akihabara we actaully saw here.

We did not buy anything at the Animate but I did actually see things I liked in this ones. I think the thing holding us back from buying anything is that Idol anime and sports anime are super popular right now so it’s almost all you see. Neither of us are into those so we are left stranding. You wont find anything for older anime, if you do its in some corner and no one cares. It’s definitely what is popular now, which is understandable.

After leaving the Animate we head back to the station to head back to Asakusa. On the way in we ran into Ikefukuro, and owl statue, that like Hachiko is a place where a lot of locals wait when meeting up with someone.

We took the usual route home, JR to Ueno, Ginza to Asakusa. Upon getting off at Asakusa we found ourselves in a grocery and sweets store we hadn’t seen yet. We took this opporunity to get something sweet and yummy!

We spent much of the evening being lazy before going out to grab some food. We picked KFC because KFC is a suprisingly big deal in Japan (seriously they eat it as their Christmas meal), so I wanted to see what the differences were.

First major difference, no mashed potatoes. WHAT. Now I don’t really eat KFC at home, but mashed potatoes are a pretty big staple when it comes to fried chicken, at least in my opinion. Instead they have Coloneling Potatoes. Which are kind of just potato wedges in unique shape, they were actually pretty good.

The chicken itself was good quality, seemed better than home. The one difference with the chicken was the breading was lighter, it wasn’t as ticket and crunchy, which I honestly think was better, it wasn’t overbearing. The final difference on the food we tried was the biscuit, the honey was more like a maple syrup, still good though!

After dinner we ate our desserts and then I rolled off into bed at my allergies were starting to bother me again.

My sleeping area is starting to become a fortress of shopping bags from everything we’ve purchased. By the time we finish Disney I don’t think i’ll be able to get in my bed!

#Ikebukuro #PokemonCenter #Pokemon #PokemonCenterMegaTokyo #SunshineCity #KFC #Dessert #Japan #Tokyo #sushi #kurazushi #kurasushi #happysandwichpartyJapan

0 notes

userwithnoname · 7 years

Note

been following you a while and wanted to know some game suggestions??? plz???

Oh wow, this is honestly the first time I’ve gotten an anon, I think. Huh.

Answer under the cut because this got a lot longer than I expected.

I’m going to be honest with you anon, I’m not the best person to ask about this because I’m picky as hell when it comes to games. If a story doesn’t grab me or a gameplay mechanic bothers me too much, I won’t play it. First-person shooters are a good example of this. I rarely play them because the stories all seem so similar and I honestly don’t care for first-person games (with a few exceptions). Turn based games are another example. A lot of them have great stories, but I cannot for the life of me get invested in them personally because the combat system is so disengaging. But there are always exceptions to the rule.

And then there’s the other aspect that comes into play: console and price. If you are, like me, a poor college student just wanting to spend some time elsewhere in your head, this might be the part that influences you the most. For instance, I have three gaming consoles: my laptop (which is shitty but works so), an X-box 360 (that I got with 5 games of my choice for $100), and a 3DS that was on sale used. Noticing a pattern? I only have a few games for the 360 and even less for the 3DS, most of my games are on my laptop both because it’s cheaper and because my 360 is a piece of JUNK.

Now, circling back around, Pokemon is an example of a game with a system I don’t like on a console I don’t play much. Growing up, Pokemon wasn’t really my thing. My sister and I watched the anime sometimes and we played Pokemon Stadium for the N64 (like eight years after it came out, but whatever), but the games never really caught our attention for two reasons: we didn’t have the consoles and had no exposure to the ads. About five years ago, Pokemon X and Y caught my attention because (as you will find out) I like games with a character creation process. I expected to have trouble getting invested in the game because of the turn-based style and was surprised when I didn’t. But it’s because a turn-based style in a largely stadium-esque game makes sense. Pokemon, with the exception of wild pokemon and rarely those, aren’t fighting for their lives, they’re being trained and fighting for the enjoyment of demented children. In a battle, it makes sense in-universe to take turns because it’s less about the fight and more about knowing your pokemon and reading your opponent. Whereas this doesn’t work so well in-universe in, say, Final Fantasy X.

But none of this is really answering your question.

In the simplest terms, it’s hard to recommend games to someone I don’t know and haven’t had the chance to discuss with. It really comes down to three things: console, price, and mechanics; and that’s something I really can’t help you with unless I know more.

But I can recommend games I like.

(Disclaimer, most of these games are on multiple consoles with a few exceptions, but almost all of them I have on PC because, once again, my 360 is LITERAL GARBAGE and I can’t afford an X-Box One).

(In no particular order.)

1) The Dragon Age Series.

An RPG had babies with a hack’n’slash game that then had kids with a strategy game. Dragon Age has a strong plot, decent characters, ok mechanics and gameplay, and a LOT of fandom discourse. Despite it’s flaws (which I can talk about some other time) the series is solidly one of my favorites. Character creation, choices, multiple endings, romance (or not), and ok graphics all in one package. Pretty easy to find, the first two are relatively cheap. Inquisition (the third one) is still pretty new and can be expensive.

2) Mass Effect (The Shepard Trilogy specifically).

Before you start screaming about me saying I don’t like FPS games, remember that there’s always an exception. And Mass Effect is third-person, thank you. An RPG with FPS elements, great characters, ok plot, and sometimes terrifying graphics. While not my favorite, it’s not a bad series, or at least the first 3 aren’t. I can’t afford Andromeda, so I reserve judgement until I can play it. The first three (not counting the DLC) aren’t too hard on the wallet while still getting enough bang for your buck. Availability is the issue here, especially on PC. Unless you get it through Amazon or Gamestop, you might have a hard time finding the first one specifically.

3) The Legend of Zelda.

An old personal favorite that, once again has the same problem as ME–availability. LoZ is exclusively Nintendo, and while you can hack it to play on the PC, that usually comes with a lot of bugs. It’s also a long-running franchise, so there’s a lot of games and a lot of confusion. Very story driven, great (if somewhat plain) characters, and just enough variety to be interesting. There’s no right or wrong way to get into the stories, though each of them play differently. My first LoZ game was Ocarina of Time and I fell in love, but my favorite is Twilight Princess. The newer games can be expensive and so can the old ones, I’d recommend you pick based on price and whatever console you have.

4) Skyrim.

In keeping with the above themes, I should probably put “The Elder Scrolls Series” above, but I’ve only played Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls Online, and MMORPGs aren’t my thing. Skyrim is a hack’n’slash trying to be an RPG which isn’t (in this case) a bad thing. You have the option of playing it first or third person and can switch at any time, so I won’t call it a first person game. The character creation is… ok, the graphics aren’t terrible most of the time, and the story’s actually pretty interesting. There are a lot of bugs, though, and not a bunch of character investment. But it is an open world and has more mods than I want to count. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun and sometimes really silly. Catch it on sale on Steam for the best price on PC, but it’s relatively cheap normally.

5) Saints Row IV.

Skyrim, but modern, with guns, more character investment, superpowers instead of magic, and a lot of mature themes. While not the best game, it is a lot of fun while still investing in the character. However, the other three games are a lot more Grand Theft Auto than Skyrim. But, as you may have guessed, I don’t/can’t play GTA, so… Saints Row IV is a good trade off.

6) Pokemon (specifically X/Y and Sun/Moon).

Full disclosure: Y and Moon are the only Pokemon games I’ve played other than Stadium and the tiniest bit of Yellow. Decent character creation, cute monsters that (usually) listen to you, and an interesting (though repeated) story. X/Y are pretty cheap with decent graphics, but like LoZ, are exclusively Nintendo. Without a 3DS, you can’t play them unless you do a hack, but once again, BUGS.

7) The Sims (3 and 4).

Once again, I was late to the party and these are the only two I’ve played. The creation kit on the Sims 4 is out of this world, and the Sims 3 isn’t too shabby, either. My biggest problem with the Sims is that we’re constantly getting new expansion packs and DLC that I can’t afford, but without make the game feel almost incomplete. PC exclusively (except 4 and that’s still coming). 3 is pretty cheap on Steam and Origin, but I can’t find 1 and 2 anywhere except Amazon and other retailers.

There’s more I could add, but this post got long. Sorry. If you have any more questions, feel free to message me again!

0 notes