#competitive pokemon analysis

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Do you think in-universe that there's actual pokemon levels? If so, how do they measure it? And if not, how do they keep things like the battle facilities level-capped? I remember you mentioning before that you think battles are largely for show, and that in gym battles the leaders/trainers will basically "fight down" to whatever predetermined strength level they've trained their pokemon to fight at depending on how many badges a person has. And that basically they're not actually "fainting" from some kid's baby pokemon, they just have a set amount of damage they can take before they concede the win. Assuming I'm remembering correctly anyway.

But like... are those standards just arbitrary? I assume the various Leagues have rules about that kinda thing, so their gym leaders and Elite Four/Champions are trained rigorously (gym leaders more so, I think, because they'd have to learn eight different levels of difficulty by heart, whereas the Four and Champion only need to abide by one difficulty level). But in a battle facility or tournament, you're not just limiting what your pokemon are allowed to do, you're also somehow making sure that your opponents are doing the same, at the exact same difficulty level. If there were actual levels I think that'd be easier (although I'm still not sure of the actual mechanics of how it'd force them down to level 50 or whatever), but if there's no levels and it's all arbitrary, then literally how would they even tell or enforce it?

Or is this the kinda thing that's just me entirely overthinking video game mechanics that have no logical or reasonable in-universe explanation. Because maybe it's just because it's really late here, but I'm drawing a blank. Although, I guess the pokemon universe does have some mind-bogglingly advanced tech that would in no way work in ours, like Bill's machine that turned him into a clefairy or a functional doomsday device 4,000 years before the modern era or even just the PC system as a whole, so I guess if there are levels it'd make sense that there was some kind of tech that could measure and suppress them?

oooh, really tough question.

so your first paragraph summary is basically right lol—what makes most sense to me is if pokemon battles are like, for show, or honor duel type things, where they're—generally speaking—stopped long before the point where either party would do lasting harm to the other. (there are exceptions, like in the case of frenzied alphas or other certain wild battles, but usually if it's not a scenario that is legitimately life or death, they're not gonna fight like it is.) it's just a matter of demonstrating that one is stronger, and their opponent conceding. & yeah, the corollary that goes along with that is that gym leaders and other high level fighters really are, as they rightly should be, much more powerful at a baseline than you are when you fight them—but to make the fight fairer, they'll try to match strengths with you.

levels though. yeah, it's kind of a toughie. even if you don't assume the above, levels are kind of tough to make coherent in-universe. this might just be one of those situations where game mechanics sort of run up against inworld depiction, yeah, like when an npc tells you to press the B button to run? or the apparent metaphysical law of reality preventing anyone from having more than 6 pokemon on their team at once. it might be that in reality, "strength levels" (inc. not just xp levels but also EVs/IVs and that kind of thing, since some trainers (ingo again) have also shown that they can modulate those) are just sort of a thing a high-level trainer and their team gets a general feel for as they advance, and then maybe they have to do some extra training to actually do the moderation, but the general sense for different strength levels is already there. like, maybe it's not as granular as "okay, now be level 37," it's just "yeah put in like... 40% of your normal effort. great."

but then yeah, the idea that there's no hard and fast rule for it makes stuff like the battle subway kind of hard to explain. since like, there's no way to actually stop someone from cheating and going over 50, and if they do there's no actual Numbers for them to point to and say "no, you've gotta take it back a bit." they can only rely on vibes to determine whether someone isn't strength scaling appropriately? that seems like they wouldn't be a fan of that.

on the other hand i do love the idea that modern day pokemon people have invented some kind of machine that can just scan your pokemon and output a bunch of numerical summaries of their general stats. ooh, maybe that's one of the things a pokemon center machine is doing when you heal, it's giving them a lil blip and updating their info chip in the pokeball-or-however-it-works with their latest info. if it was anything that was actually enforcing a level standard i think it would have to be based around that, since modern pokemon are at least partially data based and i think it would make some kind of sense to be able to sort of. put checks on that data.

alternately, there's no actual physical limitations, it's just that if you try that you will be kicked out of whatever you're participating in. and there would probably be like, sports news drama about it, depending on whether you were participating in some kind of tournament. so people generally don't bc the payoffs of winning once aren't worth it when it's so immediately obvious to everyone that they're breaking the rules. (there could even be some kind of like, known scammer's/cheater's art of trying to just barely toe the line of "rule-breakingly strong" without anyone being able to strictly prove it and punish them for it. but for the most part that's more investment than people want to do for not a lot of gain, it's easier to just fight normally)

...but then the thing you always circle back around to when talking abt this is like. from the battle subway forwards, you're not just going down to 50, they can make you go up to 50 too. which is like, how the fuck, even. how are they juicing the fuck out of my level 20 starter to make them match with everyone else. which is why i feel like there might not be any physical in-world numbers about it, and it's just a matter of it being accepted that both opponents should play down to whatever the weakest party member is, and 50 happens to be the standard level the games represent that as for ease of calculation.

-ok wait a second i just went to check and according to bulba in post-bw games, like in the battle maison and further, they stop doing that scale-up-to-50 thing. it's just the fucking battle subway that does that?? hi?? hello?? out of universe i guess this makes sense from a gameplay perspective, since they're a much earlier-game and generally more accessible facility than other regions, so it's actually unlikely that a player would have a level 50 team when first boarding. in-universe, though?? what the hell are you guys doing over there???

#the nemesis speaks #the nemesis answers #anonymous #fuck i know i just threw it in there at the end of a really long ramble but can we talk about that #the level 50 thing. can we talk about it actually. #like you're telling me that other facilities just DON'T. DO THAT. #it's just them. being outliers?? #but that's also the implication to me that like #most of these facilities are like. aggressively high end competitive things #for people who could at least challenge MOST of their region's gyms. and generally they're postgame areas #but the battle subway was like fuck that. do you have a pokemon? you're golden hop on board #what if the lil preschoolers that fight you on the subway really are just like. #kids on their way home from school hopping on the train with their level 10 partners for fun #hides my face in my hands #AND THEN BULBA WENT OFFLINE SO NOW I CAN'T FACT CHECK ANY OF THIS FURTHER #live with it #oh shit almost forgot #pla analysis #ah yes. because this involves pla so heavily (that's just my general pkm analysis tag atp)

[hollowlunerfang]

New usage stats dropped! I really like how OU is rounding out.

UU and now RU seem like they have some working out to do.

OU taking Azu, Pawmoat, Hatterene, and Rotom-wash isn’t insignificant. Though I see Paw dropping back down when reviving Ape becomes more a strat and not a play style.

#pokémon scarlet #pokémon violet #pokemon analysis #competitive pokemon #usage stats #smogon #where is my boy T-tar? #pokémon

[claitea]

i don’t care about meta in games but i take it SO personally when my favorite character is low tier

#clai speaks #i've been watching analysis of pokemon in the meta out of curiosity i think its interesting despite me not understanding like 50% of it #you put delphox in ru/nu. you put my favorite fire starter in low tiers. JAIL FOR COMPETITIVE #JAIL FOR COMPETITIVE POKEMON PLAYERS FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS #to be fair apparently delphox was VERY good in xy ru and still had niches in later games. even used in ou occasionally to counter tapu lele #but STILL

[caramelmochacrow]

i managed to get pokemon for my hail team (yippeee--) but i just need to train them along w my sandstorm team (now i need rain and sunny day teams.....)

#crow talks #im stalling to ready my singles team yes shhhhh #i love battling competitive actually! i wish i could go into tournaments but ehhhhhh i might be getting cocky lol #i used to just make fucked up teams or watch my sibling make teams in pokemon showdown it was fun! #the rental team in the battle tower is nice n all but. uh. yk. i want a team made by my own hands!!! #i need to do more research for competitive battling but for now im just gonna do other stuff like my analysis for the first ep of d4 lol

[threadrunner]

finally some fucking good competitive pokemon analysis

[erazonpo3]

Erazon's Characterisation Essay (Part 1 - Cynthia Edition)

General preface; This is me snowballing on a thought I had earlier about canon v fanon trends given that it's a pretty evergreen topic. Without getting too much into the subject itself, I made the point that you can use the source material as a starting point for analysing characterisation, but in a lot of cases it's highly interpretive; using Pokemon as an example, most of the non-player characters exist to enable the player's autonomy throughout the game's storyline, and only a small handful have their own detailed arcs and backstories.

Therefore if you want to build on characterisation for them for transformative fanworks, you only have a handful of dialogue lines and some environmental storytelling that borders on olympic levels of mental gymnastics. Things like backstory and character motivation needs to be invented, to which end the concept of 'canon' characterisation becomes pretty insignificant in comparison to the story you are trying to tell, and whether or not that characterisation is thematically appropriate and compelling. Everyone is going to have a subjective opinion about the 'essence' of a character, the core traits that make them who they are, and how integral those traits are for it to be a 'canon' or 'fanon' interpretation.

And yet there's still ways to analyse the games to draw some conclusions that aren't always obvious straight away.

I'm going to go into how I draw characterisation for Cynthia for Way Out, but keep in mind that I don't consider my characterisation perfect or the One True Depiction To End All Others etc and so on and so forth. There's things I need to discard in favour of the story– adults in the Pokemon games, including Cynthia, have a pretty laissez-faire attitude when it comes to kids handling crises so that the target audience (kids) can feel acutalised as they play through the story, but it's not always what I consider a core character trait so much as a function of the medium.

I play up a sense of responsibility and duty that isn't really depicted in the games but is nevertheless an easy takeaway in order to give her character a bit more depth and relateability. And when other people take her character in a different direction, I try to keep an open mind about what they're saying about her character in their story, because their story is not a video game for children nor a webcomic, and they will need to do different things depending on her narrative role.

(I don't have to like it, but I'm no less a subjective soul than anyone else).

I also pull here and there from other sources of inspiration, one I've mentioned before is a meta-analysis of how she's treated by the fandom in general, assuming she'd be treated a similar way as a public figure in-universe. A lot of my character work is about peeling back that legendary status and asking who the person underneath is and how she might deal with the pressures of being expected to consistently meet other people's high standards, and how to balance a healthy competitive streak without it becoming toxic.

But more to the point– here's some material exclusively from Platinum that I think collates to a pretty consistent depiction of her character, to keep in mind and interpret any which way, arranged into some key traits.

She is the granddaughter of a village elder in a traditional rural town.

"My grandma has this sort of bossy atmosphere about her. I think you'll recognize her right away. Yes, I'm sure you will. She's the elder of Celestic Town"

An overlooked aspect of her character that I think holds some of the ripest potential for her character is that we know a fair deal about where her family is from, potentially where she was raised. My personal conclusions are:

It is likely she has an ingrained sense of cultural values of humility, respect, duty, and tradition. While she may not be ruled by these traits, they would influence the way she interacts with the world.

Her interest in mythology is likely inspired the mural in Celestic town, and reflects a value of heritage and history.

It's a common 'fanon' that her grandmother was her primary guardian through much of her childhood, which isn't substantiated anywhere (just because we don't meet her parents as NPCs doesn't mean they don't exist) but this idea strengthens the connection she has to Celestic town and emphasises her position as the elder's heir.

Cynthia introducing herself as a trainer and not a Champion suggests humility; she positions herself as an equal to the player as opposed to a superior.

2. She is earnest and sincere

"...The places we are born. The time we spend living... The languages we speak... We are all different. But the presence of Pokémon unites us. We share our lives with our Pokémon and our happiness grows as we all become greater than we were alone. That is why we can battle and trade with anyone we choose..."

This is a reflection of her position as a narrative foil to Cyrus; where he dismisses the importance of emotion and 'spirit', she holds it in high regard. Thus;

She sees strong emotions as the source of her bond to her Pokemon and therefore the source of her success. While it's not to say she's an overly empathetic person, I think it follows easily that is generally emotionally intelligent (generally).

I think she's self-aware about how emotional she can be too, which is to say it's something she consciously embraces despite knowing she comes across a little overly earnest (and cheesy) sometimes.

"I love the sound a piano makes. I savor every note with my entire being. It's not only my ears; my spirit hears the music it makes... Ehehe, I made myself cringe saying that."

3. She is intelligent

"I think I let myself get carried away and talked for far too long. I'm sorry, and thank you"

This feels like a no brainer (ha) but it's also easy to take someone who comes across as emotional and write them off as being illogical or not having the depth for complex thought. To me, her emotional intelligence goes hand in hand with her analytical intelligence.

Her fascination with mythology is one of her defining traits, and her dialogue is the source of much of the lore surrounding the Sinnoh legendary Pokemon.

Her pursuit of knowledge is one of her defining traits; her interest in mythology and the distant past is referenced more frequently by herself and other NPCs than the fact of her being Champion. "My big sister is studying the myths of Sinnoh. She wants to know how people and Pokemon interacted in the days of myths."

As a Champion, I consider that she's very calculating and analytical. Even without the strategic held items given to her in BDSP, her Pokemon have perfect stats and have solid type coverage. It's not something she would accidentally stumble onto.

"When you are facing a Trainer in battle, you can learn everything about them. What Pokemon they have. What moves they've taught. What items they make Pokemon hold."

4. She is kind

"I want you to keep traveling to many far-off places. I want you to keep meeting all kinds of people and Pokémon. I came all the way here just so I could say that to you!"

A Champion in this game being kind isn't really a revolutionary idea, but it's still something I consider very integral, particularly in conjunction with the prior traits; there is diplomacy and there is compassion, and to me Cynthia balances both.

She is something of a mentor figure to the player, giving them the solution to obstacles on multiple occasissions (HM Cut, the Secret Medicine), and imparts a lot of lore to them. Notably she gives them an egg which hatches into a Togepi; while this event doesn't happen in BDSP and Platinum doesn't have the Fairy type, it's still retroactively made more interesting for the fact that Togekiss' modern Fairy/Flying type grants perfect immunity to her Garchomp's Dragon/Ground typing.

Some of the few interactions the player will have with her is giving medicine to the Psyduck blocking the route to Celestic town, and then delivering a charm to her grandmother– it gives an impression that she is regularly invested in small acts of kindness.

5. Other tidbits

Every time she interacts with you as the player, it is always through the lens of an adult with a public position speaking to a child; I take it as a given that all her interactions have a slight amount of professional distance, and a formality she wouldn't have if speaking to an adult friend.

She reveals that she went on a similar journey as the player character after being given a Pokedex by Professor Rowan, which could imply she experienced similar experiences to the established protagonist journey formula.

There's a slight goofiness to some of her dialogue that suggests she doesn't always take herself too seriously. "You've seen that group of Psyduck huddled with their heads in their, uh, hands...?"

It's a pretty common 'fanon' for Cynthia to have known Cyrus in her childhood, but this isn't really substantiated in text; her dialogue towards him would be a lot colder with that context as opposed to a stranger. It's a common headcanon because giving them a history together strengthens their position as foils, but in my opinion it's equally as interesting that Cyrus succeeds as far as he does because he exists in Cynthia's blind spot- she admits she didn't pay enough attention to what Team Galactic was up to, and can only stand in opposition to him ideologically, unwilling to entertain (or empathise with) his perspective. It hints at a certain stubbornness she has when she believes she's right and someone else is wrong.

This is just what I personally glean from the text; it's possible I've missed something that somebody else considers ultimately integral. But I hope that my writing in Way Out speaks for itself in how I apply all this to her character in the story, and why I feel it's important to do so. Cynthia is the character I second-guess the most in her characterisation because she should always be recognisable, even while going through different arcs. Her values, her intelligence, her sincerity, and her kindness are all things that need to be balanced with the needs of the story; how strong she is is just a relative thing to what any particular scene demands.

There's a lot I could still elaborate on but for the sake of at least attempting to keep this (relatively) concise, I wrote all this to highlight how I try to stay on track with consistent characterisation, which may not be the perfect ideal for this character but nevertheless is the best version for my story. There's nobody I hold to a higher writing standard than myself, and I try to constantly ask myself if I'm really writing what's best for the narrative or if I can do something better. I'm not interested in the most canon depiction that exists for another story, I'm interested in what's right for my story.

And uhhhh peace ✌️

#long post #like long long #it's a whole read #but if you like reading do i have good news for you #pokemon #cynthia #characterisation #tangential enough to way out that i can tag it #way out #im also open to discussions about this because it's just my ~opinion~ and again i like to keep an open mind

[sexhaver]

my favorite part about watching competitive pokemon analysis is hearing commentators pronounce "Sp. Atk" and "Sp. Def" as "spuh-tack" and "spuddeff" respectively. also some content creators will deliberately butcher pokemon names so people leave angry comments about it and drive up engagement numbers, with the worst offender by far being "Arcanine" pronounced as "arr-cuh-neenay"

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Seto Kaiba

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Every good anime revolving around a game, sport, or competition needs a great rival to antagonize the main character. A rival is a character who helps push the protagonist to their limits, and forces them to apply what they’ve learned in order to beat them. Now, a rival like that typically isn’t someone who is going to get a Psycho Analysis, as most rivals are just garden-variety jerks at worst. For instance, Gary Oak is a bit of a snot, but he’s literally a child and he turns things around and becomes a decent guy relatively quick. Or hell, look at Miles Edgeworth; he spends most of the first Ace Attorney butting heads with Phoenix Wright in court, but he’s pretty quickly shown to be far more concerned with finding the absolute truth than any truly nefarious purpose. Ultimately, most rivals end up being genuinely decent people who just take competition a little too seriously and eventually develop into staunch friends and allies.

But imagine a rival who never changes. A rival dead set on being the most antagonistic douchebag possible, one who is driven solely by the sheer spite and hatred they feel at being second banana to someone else, someone who can’t bear that their massive ego is even slightly bruised. A rival who may help when the chips are on the table, but who is only doing so for their own selfish and self-centered reasons. That’s a character I could reasonably review on Psycho Analysis! And if ever there was a character who fits that bill, it’s Seto freaking Kaiba.

Now, to be clear here, Kaiba isn’t a villain. He’s an antagonist, he’s an anti-hero, but for about 99% of his screentime he’s not technically a villain. But just because the series is called Psycho Analysis doesn’t mean I’m literally only reviewng psychos, and it’s about time I broke out a bit and experimented in this new year by looking at characters who aren’t totally evil, but maybe are a little bit. And as you’ll soon see, no one is a better choice to break the mold than the second best duelist in Domino City.

Motivation/Goals: To put it simply, everything Kaiba does is motivated by his ego or by spite. This is a man who has done genuinely great things, from dismantling his father’s bloodthirsty legacy of profiting off of war to opening theme parks and creating new technology to make Duel Monsters more fun and engaging for all players. All of this on paper makes him look like the most ethical animated billionaire this side of Scrooge McDuck, but there’s one little issue: Nothing he does is out of the goodness of his heart.

Do you think Kaiba actually gives a shit about anyone affected by his father’s business? No, he just dismantled it out of sheer hatred for his adopted father who, to be fair, really was a massive cunt. Do you think he went through all the trouble to make massive strides in Duel Monsters technology just so people could have fun? No, he did it all so he could exploit it in some way to defeat Yugi once and for all.

And that’s one of the biggest things that drives Kaiba: His unquenchable desire to defeat Yugi and be crowned the true king of games. The thing is, every time they have a fair fight, Kaiba gets his ass handed to him; the one time he won was by essentially threatening Yugi with suicide. His sheer petty desire to one-up Yugi extends far into the future, where he names the loser dork house of the academy in GX after Yugi’s Egyptian God card Slifer, while the ultra-cool prestigious house is named after the God he got, Obelisk. And in one possible end of his story, he goes to the most insane and ultimate extreme to try and settle his grudge (but more on that shortly).

Performance: In English, there are two main voice actors of note who have portrayed Kaiba. The first is Eric Staurt, who outside of Kaiba is best known for his Pokemon roles of Brock and James. It leads to a bit of whiplash hearing someone who sounds so similar to the affable yet horny Brock be an absolute arrogant prick, but I definitely think Stuart is able to pull it off.

The other VA of note is Martin “Littlekuriboh” Billany, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series and the man who voices about 90% of that gag dub’s cast. His take on Kaiba is pretty much what happens if you cross Stuart’s performance with Solid Snake, and it works very well for a Kaiba who’s weirder and wackier yet somehow even more insanely egotistical.

Final Fate: Kaiba, seeing as he’s just a douchebag and not a truly evil person, doesn’t get any sort of major comeuppance save for constantly getting his ass handed to him by Yugi. There are really two possible endings for him, though if you want to be charitable they’re not necessarily mutually exclusive. The first ending is, of course, that he eventually goes on to found the Duel Academy, which means he helps kickstart the events of Yu-Gi-Oh GX in a way. Anyone even partly responsible for the rise of bisexual monsterfucker king Jaden Yuki is getting high marks in my book.

But the much more notable ending for Kaiba comes from Dark Side of Dimensions where, so consumed by his desire to duel Atem one more time despite the pharaoh finally being at rest, he leaves his company in the hands of Mokuba and goes to the fucking afterlife to challenge him. Whatever way you want to read it—that he actually used science to travel to the great beyond, that his tech killed him and he’s not coming back—Kaiba really cements his legacy as the most insane, obsessive rival ever created. If he still feels like he has something to prove by beating you, you ain’t getting your eternal rest; he will bust down the barriers of life and death to have a chance of whooping your ass. Absolute madman.

Evilness: So in this new segment, I’m going to establish how evil any given villain is and rate them on it, separate from how I rate them as a character overall. This score is basically just a reflection of how evil their actions are, with a 1 being “Barely a villain at all” and a 10 being a “Complete and utter monster.”

As we’ve already established a bit, Kaiba is more just an egotistical asshole than anything. In his early appearances in the manga you could definitely say Kaiba was a villain, and his first appearance as the starter villain of the anime definitely paint him as a dick… but after his mind crush, he definitely veers more into anti-hero territory for the rest of the series.

Normally, this would net him a solid 1, but that’s the thing. Despite the fact Kaiba frequently does genuinely good and helpful things and despite constantly aiding the heroes, he only ever does it because he feels like he has something to prove. For instance, look at his handling of the Big Five as he dismantled his father’s legacy; do you think he tore down the military dealings KaibaCorp dealt in out of the goodness of his heart? No, Kaiba did all that out of sheer hatred and spite, negative emotions that motivate just about everything he does no matter how nice it seems. Even if he isn’t actually evil by any stretch and even though he’s undoubtedly bettering the world with what he does, he’s doing it for impure reasons that mainly revolve around reasserting his own superiority. The only genuinely selfless things he does are for the benefit of his beloved brother Mokuba.

So for the first ever Evilness Score, I think Kaiba is going to score a 2/10, which denotes being a huge dick but not neccesarily evil. He’s not actually evil enough to warrant anything higher, but he’s too big of an asshole to get a 1.

Best Scene/Quote: Abridged!Kaiba gave the world “Screw the rules, I have money,” a line that perfectly summarizes a good chunk of Kaiba’s character in both the main and the abridged version of the show. But his best quote (and his very best scene) come during his duel with Ishizu in Battle City, where he decides to give fate the middle finger and beat Miss Ishtar despite her clairvoyance while giving her the following speech (in the dub):

“Hear me now! I won't be controlled! I decide my future! So now, I sacrifice my monsters! Obelisk and Gadget Solider, I send you to the card graveyard! You're so quiet, Ishizu. Where's your magic now? Or have you realized that there's no such thing as destiny? Now observe as I summon my Blue-Eyes! Show yourself!”

And more than anything, this sums up Kaiba: He has the most massive ego in history, the strength and cunning to back that ego up, and a steadfast and stubborn refusal of destiny. He plays by his own rules and follows his own path, and nothing will stand in his way. Not Egyptian gods, not prophecies, not magic or shadow games or what have you. He is unstoppable, implacable, and he won’t be denied that duel with Yugi no matter what anyone says. Not even the barrier of life and death can stop him.

Final Thoughts & Score: Unsurprisingly, as someone who grew up with Yu-Gi-Oh, I fucking love Kaiba.

Going into this, I knew he wasn’t going to be a straight example of a villain, because his evil is mostly relegated to the early parts of the manga and the start of the show, with his post-Mind Crush self being more of an anti-heroic jerkass with a heart of gold. But I think he’s just enough of an asshole to be worth talking about, and talking about antagonistic jerks opens the door to talk about characters like Toy Story’s Sid or the more hostile Pokemon rivals like Silver, Blue, and Bede here. It would have to be Kaiba blazing that trail, though; there’s no jerk more perfect to open the door to discussion of other jerks.

Kaiba is just genuinely fascinating in that, despite being incredibly static as a character, he never really feels shallow. Sure, he steadfastly refuses to change and never really becomes on the best terms with the Yugi squad, but his interactions with them are still fun to watch and he never gets flanderized to the point of being obnoxious. It’s honestly extremely impressive they were able to walk that tightrope of him never really progressing past being an asshole while still remaining a fun, likable character who it’s fun to see in action. I suppose it helps they gave him the most ludicrously badass backstory where he as a plucky little orphan boy manages to beat a businessman in chess to get adopted, fleeces him out of his entire fortune and company, and then dismantles said company’s military division to focus on gaming. And if that’s not enough, they have him do stuff like throw trading cards to jam guns!

Of course, his most appealing aspect is his single-minded obsession with defeating Yugi and proving himself as the superior duelist, a character trait for which there is quite simply no heterosexual explanation for (I’m half kidding). With most rivals, they don’t really get so consumed by their desire to defeat their opponent that they essentially kill themselves just to get another chance at beating them, but most rivals ain’t Kaiba! Really, I think the only rival I’ve seen who’s close to being on his level is Vegeta. Once again, they found a nice balance, keeping Kaiba from being too obnoxious even with his single-minded obsession with one-upping Yugi.

Kaiba is really a character who so easily could have been obnoxious or insufferable, but instead he quite honestly stole the show. Yes, Yugi and Atem’s trials and tribulations are crucial and all, but seeing the insane lengths Kaiba goes to ensure he gets another chance to summon his Blue-Eyes against Yugi’s Dark Magician is just a blast. You’re always wondering what insane rich guy nonsense the man is going to pull off next, and he rarely disappoints. Kaiba may not be evil, he may merely be an antagonistic rival, but I think he still deserves a 10/10 for being the egomaniacal asshole opponent every arch-rival should aspire to be.

#psycho analysis #Seto Kaiba #Eric Stuart #martin billany #littlekuriboh #yu-gi-oh

[moonshotpods]

Moonshot Network is opening for YOUR podcast pitches this Friday! But who even ARE we? What does that mean? How do you even send a pitch????

Good news: we’ve made this handy slideshow in order to answer all those questions, and also questions you didn’t even know you had! It’s a condensed version of our official pitch guide, to save you the trouble of clicking through to the GDoc link! You can also find the full plain text below the cut here.

What is Moonshot and why should I pitch you my podcast, anyway?

WHO WE ARE

Moonshot is a podcast network built on creative collaborations and far-out ideas. Some of our work includes: podcast seasons recorded in 24 hours, a dunk tank fundraiser stream, amateur Pokemon competitions, fanfiction actual plays, and deep media analysis of things like Saw, Christmas music, Harlequin romance novels, and the Halo 3 alternate reality game.

Our primary goal  is to be a home for out-there ideas, shorter and seasonal projects, and experiments in the podcast medium that might not fit in anywhere else. We aim to provide the enthusiasm, the structure, and support for our members to work on their dream projects.

Our second goal is giving first-time and early-career creators the tools they need for a successful start. We feel strongly that podcasting should not be a gatekept medium, and aim to support new creators with the funding and guidance to make their show a success.

WHAT WE HOST

Here are some examples of shows currently on our network:

ARGonauts Podcast: Andrew and Marn do deep dives into the niche world of alternate reality games and the people who create them.

Riley Hopkins and Their Amazing Friends: Short-form actual play series and one-offs that focus on transformative fanwork and crossovers of established shows/franchises/characters.

I’ll Be Pod For Castmas: A seasonal podcast released in July and December where Juliet and Katherine pick a piece of holiday pop culture and discuss it through the lens of a piece of topical classic literature.

After School Anime Club: Max, Max, and Stevie take a nostalgia trip back to the anime of their youth, and play game shows about it along the way.

The Podcast Mines: There But For The Grace Of Pod Go We: Riley and Andrew pitch each other podcasts, talk about the medium of podcasting, and sometimes do neither of those things.

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer network members a lot of perks, including:

Coverage of hosting costs, plus access to Pinecast's advanced analytics

A pre-existing community of fans and listeners to introduce your show to

Collaborative network shows with monthly spots for guest hosts

Other podcasters to talk shop and collaborate with in our creators-only Discord

Assets for streaming, a Twitch channel, and (time permitting) a stream producer

Subscriptions to Soundstripe (royalty-free music ) and Otter.ai (transcription services)

Optional participation in large group charity livestreams

OKAY...HOW DO I PITCH?

If you’re a creator looking to pitch us on a not-yet-published show, send us:

A strong pitch of your idea - what the base premise of the show is, an introduction to the regular hosts, what topics you hope to cover, and anything else that feels relevant. For audio dramas, feel free to send us an outline of the plot alongside the basic pitch!

A recorded and edited pilot episode.

OPTIONAL: More sample episodes, if you’ve already recorded them.

OPTIONAL: More scripted episodes, if you’re making an audio drama.

Examples of your past audio work. If you don’t have any, don’t worry! As long as your pitch is solid, you don’t need to have prior experience.

If you’re a creator looking to pitch an ongoing/established show, you’ll need:

A link to your feed.

Links to 3-5 episodes that exemplify what your show is about, and what it sounds like at its best.

If you’re a creator that has a pitch that is outside of these two options:

3-5 episodes in some format.

A solid pitch for why we should take on your show!

Please send these things to [email protected] with the subject line PITCH: [Your Podcast Name Here]. The body of your email should include a brief introduction of yourself, your podcast, and any cohosts; followed by links to the above requested content.

If you’re a new creator and have any sort of roadmap for your show, including an outline (for fiction shows) or a list of content you’re going to cover in future episodes (for nonfiction), we’d love to see those too! Please also include links to your and your cohosts’ social media.

Our inbox opens for pitches on November 25th! We hope to see you there!

#podcasts #podcast network #open submission #call for submission

[crystalelemental]

Pokemon Team Characterization - Carmine

Look, I knew I was going to do this the instant I saw she had a Vulpix. Also I think Carmine might have accidentally become my favorite ScarVi character. Oopsie doodles, I guess. It's been a while since I've done one of these, so for the unfamiliar, this is where I look at the trainer's team and talk about how their team composition and move selections inform their character. Carmine being a favorite, I of course hold many opinions.

I'm sticking with just her final team. Reason being, her team never changes. Interestingly she has Vulpix at the start, drops it in your second battle and all quest battles, but picks it back up for the finale. Morpeko and Sewaddle show up in the battle where Vulpix leaves instead. I don't have anything profound to talk about on that which can't be talked about in the larger analysis, so with that!

The Lead (Mightyena) Mightyena as a lead means Intimidate. This can be seen as mostly a competitive move; lead Intimidate is frequent in the series. But I think it says a little more regarding Carmine, and the specificity of "Why Mightyena?" It's not exactly super tough as a Pokemon.

Carmine, in her entirety, operates off the difference between how she presents, and how she actually is. The impression she projects is one of strength and severity, but the core of her person is...fairly soft. When she opens up to the player, she's able to act as her genuine self, which involves some pretty silly photos taken together while searching for the masks. A big fluffy hyena-dog that can snarl real nice and seem scary is the perfect entry to this idea. There's intimidation, but if you can get past that, the rest is pretty easy to handle. Not that she'll make it easy. Play Rough belies a tendency to be a bit critical and, dare I say, nasty at times? She does openly mock you if you use a not-very-effective attack. But she can come around. I think Howl emphasizes her straight-forward nature. It's one stat getting buffed, and it's attack. No frills, just straight to the point.

The major change of its set is going from Take Down to Sucker Punch. Take Down deals recoil, and implies a certain...self-sabotage. Meanwhile Sucker Punch is taking initiative, and getting ahead of things. Something between her first fight and last fight changed, and altered her mindset to go from a self-defeating one, to one of taking charge.

The Ace (Sinistcha) Sinistcha's defining feature is double status. Stun Spore with paralysis, Scald with a chance to burn. Both play into Hex, which doubles in power if the foe is afflicted, while Matcha Gotcha absorbs HP based on damage dealt. Operating together, I think this shows Carmine as someone who is most in control when others are put down. I don't mean that to imply she's nasty, more that she is someone who is avoidant toward the possibility of losing, or facing someone stronger. She won't fight as directly, especially if she can't win. She'd rather hinder what people can do to threaten her, than push herself. The Occa Berry is an interesting choice as well. There are other weaknesses Sinistcha has, but it's specifically Fire, the threat of being burned, that she worries about. She's guarded.

But at the same time...Hospitality. This is the last Pokemon on the team, and its ability emphasizes healing of a battle partner. In singles, this does nothing. But in doubles, it implies the sense that if she feels you have her back, she'll have yours. She'll take care of people she feels comfortable around.

Care and Control (Leavanny and Ninetales) Leavanny, and prior to this, Swadloon, are an interesting addition to the team. For those not familiar with the Pokelore, Leavanny knits leaf clothes for Sewaddle and Swadloon, with Swadloon being completely bundled up within them. The decision to have Swadloon at first is, I think, the sense of self-protection. Swadloon's set even focuses on speed control through Sticky Web and Trailblaze. Its appearance in her second fight is revealing. Sticky Web is playing to her team's general structure of disrupting the opponent, but Trailblaze is setting out to do something new and different, and its function is building herself up.

By the time it's Leavanny, she's now focused on attack, emphasizing that direct nature. But Fell Stinger is an interesting choice, given X-Scissor's presence. This move boosts attack by 3 if she lands a KO. I think this speaks, generally, to Carmine's confidence. Despite the outward appearance of someone so confident she seems arrogant, internally there's an anxiety around being shown she's not as strong as she thinks. When the player wins, she seems genuinely upset at the loss, but not in an outburst way like Ortega, or even a truly disappointed way like Hop. Like something's been revealed that she wish hadn't been. She doesn't like that she can't be as strong as she presents. Fell Stinger implies the sense that, when she meets with success, she responds well to it. There's an excitement to seeing something pay off, and it suggests she focuses on those shots of reinforcement. There's no reason to carry two Bug moves, but she wants to feel that sense of accomplishment.

By contrast, Ninetales is there at the start, leaves, and comes back. Its moveset does not change. It is the only Pokemon that does not change a single move, and includes Will-o-Wisp, and Disable. Moves for disruption. Specifically, cutting the damage she receives, and removing attacks she doesn't like. Flamethrower is the obvious offensive move, but Extrasensory is an unusual choice. By coverage, the best pick is Energy Ball; Grass hits all of Fire's weaknesses super-effectively. Extrasensory is interesting because it's a naturally learned move that has flinch. Again, disruption. But also, Ninetales only knows moves it can learn naturally. This also true of Leavanny and Mightyena. I think this focus on what's learned naturally is reflective of her attachment to her home. Carmine cares about Kitakami as it is, and concerns herself with allowing others to visit sacred areas, or the degradation of culture to tourism. Maintaining a sort of natural essence seems important to her.

Double Sided (Morpeko) But at the same time, Carmine operates on multitudes. On the one hand, she cares deeply about the preservation of Kitakami's culture. But on the other, by the end of it all, she's come around to having people visit. On the one hand, she's intense and critical, but at the same time genuinely does care. Morpeko's form shift shows both sides, with Focus Sash being the near guarantee. To really understand Carmine, you have to understand both sides, and its moveset further reflects this.

On the one hand, disruption through Thunder Wave. On the other, building herself up through Aura Wheel. Both sides coexist within Morpeko. It's interesting to note that, as one of two that have TMs, one of the moves she taught it? Lash Out. Dealing greater damage when stats are lowered. When shaken, when threatened, she'll react strongly. At her core, she's reactive, and responds to perceived slights or injustice with an intense retaliation.

Summation Carmine's team suggests someone who is, at once, presenting as entirely collected while avoiding her shortcomings being known. She operates on a reactive, defensive approach; disrupting opponents and preventing them from getting too close to the core of her personality. She thrives off of seeming superior, but genuinely does light up at her accomplishments, and lives for the satisfaction of success. While initially fully avoidant, by the end of the DLC, she's come around to trying to work on improving herself, but likely still has trouble letting go of frustrations with setbacks and fear of failure.

If you have a different read on the team, I'd love to hear it. As mentioned, she kinda accidentally became my current favorite of ScarVi, so I'm very up for discussing her character.

#pokemon #carmine #pokemon team characterization

[quixot1sm]

so what was hilda up to during bw? do you have her team?

being a dedicated trainer who frequents international tournaments, the battle subway, and other challenges of the sort, hildas roster is expansive and apt to change to best suit who she expects to face on the field. however, this is the team nearest and dearest to her heart:

during bw... although she's hilberts older sister (by only three days, but that doesn't stop her from claiming the title), she's also one of his rivals! in fact, being the competitive half of the nuvema four, her and cheren were neck and neck for much of their journey. she'd always been incredibly skilled in battle; graduating at the top of their class in trainer school and appearing as though quick analysis and action were second nature to her. thus, her gaze was fixed solely on obtaining all the badges before anyone else, and not on team plasma. sure, if she came across them up to no good she'd send them packing, but she never stopped to investigate further than that.

she had no idea how dire things were getting with them, not until it was too late to do anything about it. not for lack of trying! once the big picture regarding hilbert and n came to light, hilda could not and cannot shake the feeling that it should've been her to win zekrom's favor instead. she believed that if any of them were equipped to handle such a heavy task, it'd be her. not her softhearted, pushover of a brother who was definitely about to get himself hurt or worse. on the stairs leading up to the pokemon league, hilda made a last ditch effort to stop him by trying to take the dark stone from him by force- in a battle. and there... to hilda's utter shock and devastation, hilbert claimed his first and only victory against her.

with nothing left she could do, she could only sit back and watch it all unfold from there.

#asks #anonymous #trainer hilda #she gives everything old person names. may or may not be the reason she's hilda and he's hilbert (it is) #i had to retype all of this three entire times i love having no internet x

[hollowlunerfang]

First OU usage stats of Gen 9!

Maushold being top 40 is really funny. It’s fun to use but it’s a gimmick in OU.

I wish I knew more about what worm friend does but I hear that it’s a decent hazard setter being a steel type immune to ground.

Gholdengo would not be as high in usage without its ability. It’s an OU mon without it but with its ability it’s becoming more and more necessary on teams. Notice over half of the top 10 have decent matchups to it.

Chien-Pao makes me a little sad. It’s just a better version of Weavile. They did nothing to differentiate between the two so players are just going to use the better of the two.

#pokemon #competitive pokemon #pokemon analysis #pokémon scarlet #pokémon violet

[psychhound]

welcome to psychhound games!!

i'm luka & i make original indie TTRPGs & dnd 5e homebrew. he/they

links: itch / kofi

published projects:

solo journaling:

osteotzee (magical monster augury - yahtzee hack)

dead man's hand (weird west storytelling card game)

bagel, lox, golem talks (write an ethnography of a magic jewish shtetl - dice and cards - FREE/PWYW)

the graveyard game (write an ethnography of a magical haunted graveyard - dice and cards)

the narrator paradox (narrate a story while trying to wrangle your protagonist into listening to you - tarot, dice, and a coin)

with breath & sword (fight monsters to calm down from anxiety)

two player:

not a tabloid (absurdist comedy interview game - dice)

mama werewolf (emotion driven duet about family - nature mechanics)

shadow / giant (a duet about a magical child and the jaded adult who cares for them - dice)

multiplayer:

familiar field trip (competitive game for witch's familiars up to no good - dice and tokens)

beach day! (system agnostic party bonding minigame)

solo or multiplayer:

little shepherd, little spy (spy in the fairy war - tarot + bookshelf)

advanced darning & dragons (comedy game about old people gossip and high fantasy - dice + tarot - FREE/PWYW)

hashtag girlbots (absurdist survival rpg about the tumblr bot takeover - FREE/PWYW)

lullaby nights (song driven writing game - FREE/PWYW)

homebrew masterpost

autism & adhd, trauma, & service monster mechanics (FREE/PWYW)

wild magic artificer, psychopomp sorcerer, & living instrument bard

witch class (con based half caster), handler class (pokemon inspired mon collector), and paternal class (these are just dilfs)

studio ghibli and miyazaki inspired pack with feats, backgrounds, races, monsters, and subclasses

ttrpgs in the classroom

ttrpgs used in teaching composition 1 to college freshman

personal narrative unit

the family tree

village witch

what little the flames leave us

personal narrative essay solo journaling games

profile interview unit

not a tabloid

analysis unit

we are but worms

graves for funerals

[slugdragoon]

RPG Role Analysis Series #3 - Pokemon Red/Blue vol.I

There's a lot to learn from Pokemon's design as an RPG, for both good and bad. I've loved the series from the start, but when designing an RPG, there are choices I wouldn't want to repeat.

Pokemon, more than anything is what makes me consider how to avoid a monster/character recruiting RPG where units are simple outclassed by other units, or can't find a niche. The competitive scene is broken down into multiple tiers where Pokemon who are just like another, but worse, might have a shot. Shout out to @FalseSwipeGaming on YouTube who gives breakdowns on individual Pokemon.

Theoretically, there's lot's of room to have each one be just a bit different, but it's often by adding unique access to Abilities or moves that are never chosen, or rarely relevant. Pokemon these days have access to attack types of like 5 or 6, or more different kinds by levelling, and offensive moves of nearly all types by TM, which are no longer restricted, so sweepers (attackers focusing on elemental coverage, power and speed) just pick 4 moves with a good spread, and possibly whatever the new super attack mechanic is each generation. Healing and buffing moves like Roost, Recover, Swords Dance, Agility, etc. are self-heals and self-buff because Pokemon is usually 1-on-1, and debuffs are single-target. Moves like Wish and Baton Pass exist to work around these restrictions, and are powerful, but are a design compromise. Status effects don't stack with others, and the de facto poisoning move is Toxic, which is accessible by so many Pokemon, and so often paired with Protect to stall.

Pokemon has a "party" of 6, but an active party of only 1, only occasionally offering you regular doubles matches in the main game, so it isn't much like a party-based RPG, but I think early on, Pokemon actually had more defined roles inspired by earlier RPGs. Lots of Pokemon in the original games had a core of Normal type attacks with maybe access to 1 or 2 other types if they were lucky by levelling alone. TMs gave access to more attacking types, but they were limited use, most often to only 1 per game, meaning if your Charizard learned Earthquake, your Snorlax could not. In that case, while there is a Generation I competitive scene where players trade TMs from multiple playthroughs, the single player experience itself has Pokemon whose role is largely defined by their level-up abilities, and they can be examined as such.

I think starting from the most limited games in the series explains a lot about what the designers were thinking before things get added due to tradition, and Red and Blue are not perfect, some of these mechanics don't even work properly, and Pokemon is generally easy enough that you don't need to fully engage with the mechanics, and my memory of the games I play isn't perfect. I largely am just asking what do they do by reading their list of abilities, but my thought process with this series is examining design intent.

I'll say what I think about specific Pokemon roles in some follow-up posts, these are my thoughts on the game in general.

#pokemon #pokemon red and blue #game design #video games #gamedev #jrpg games #rpg design #rpg

[viridescent-lance]

TOA Anniversary Munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

tagging whoever wants to do this!

Name: Pat Gem! Patrick is the full name but Pat is what I go by most often in this group.

Pronouns: he/they

Birthday (no year): September 15! Same as my beloved kitty Cassie.

Where are you from? What is your time zone?: I'm from California, PST! I was born in the Bay Area, moved to Alabama where I spent ten years as a kid, and moved back to California. That's the truncated version.

Roleplay experience: I started roleplaying on the Warrior Cats Forums in like...2010, I think? I also did private Skype rps with my best friend at the time. This lasted for 3-4 years until both fizzled out around the same time. I have some experience doing group nuzlocke rp on the nuzforums, but that also didn't last as long as I'd like. Other than some ttrpgs, I had a dry spell, and in 2019 I joined a Friends at the Table tumblr RP that would change my life. There I met Maddie and some other friends, and while the rp wasn't super active after I joined it, Maddie and I started doing rp ourselves! Finally, in late 2021, Lucius invited Maddie to TOA and I also got the invite and tagged along.

Got any pets?: Yep! Cassie and Oreo, my beloveds! Both cats, Cassie is the one with a hairdo and she's almost 4, Oreo's a year and a half and a tuxy baby.

Favorite time of year: I love when it is nice and cool but not too cold. Fall is my favorite season, personally, but really I especially enjoy not sweating to death.

Some interests and things you like: I'm a huge Pokemon fan, which I'll elaborate on later. Here though I'll say that I have a huge interest in competitive Pokemon, both singles and the official VGC circuit. I'm a big TTRPG guy! I have a lot of systems and games I like but I'll single out Fall of Magic, Jenna Moran games, the Forged in the Dark system, the Belonging Outside Belonging system, and It's Been A Long Long Time! I have an interest in speedrunning, I watch a lot of videos about it and it's fun. I love Discworld, the Terry Pratchett series. Tales of Vesperia is a game of all time. Yuri Lowell your problems disorders. Ace Attorney helped mold me as a person. Warrior cats will forever live in my heart. Bionicle also helped make me the guy I am today. 999 is a visual novel of all time. Play it and do not look it up. I actually have a huge interest in media analysis, it's something I really really enjoy talking about and researching. Splatoon my beloved. Octopath Traveler 1 and 2! I love birds and bats and lots of animals! Okay I'm running out of steam and also this is very long so I'll just stop here but there's definitely things I am forgetting.

Some funfacts & trivia about you: - I'm a library and women's and gender studies student, and hope to some day work as a librarian! For now, I'm an afterschool program associate, and I love working with the kids. - I have met Nancy Pelosi while wearing a Pokemon button up. - I've survived a tornado that started above my house. - I have finished 34 nuzlockes. - Marth was one of my first smash mains but I didn't get into Fire Emblem for years. - I have the cilantro soap gene but I like the taste of soap. - I'm physically disabled and use a cane irl! - My girlfriend used to have me blocked on Twitter. - I've made it to playoffs every single Pokemon draft league I've been in but never made it past semifinals - I was very isolated as a kid and rarely left the house. As a result, I learned my vocabulary mostly from books, as well as how I talk and emote from books and shows. I've been told I talk and act like a cartoon character, which I suppose is fair!

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play?: I play a bunch of Splatoon, probably one of the main games I play! It's very fun, and I'm a Sploosh/Custom Jr/Tentatek triple threat main who constantly hovers around S. Octopath Traveler 1 and 2 have me grabbed so hard. I am hopelessly a Pokemon guy. I play nuzlockes, casually, and competitively, and I have almost every single Pokemon and its learnset and viable competitive learnsets memorized. I am very normal about it. I also really love the Zero Escape series. I've been playing the warrior cats procgen sim ClanGen recently. I used to play a bunch of No Man's Sky, want to get back into that soon. Honestly I struggle to consistently play and finish games, and I've been trying to work on that.

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Bug; Flygon. Yes, you can combine these two to get the logical conclusion: Flygon should have been a Bug/Dragon type! It's based off the life cycle of a lacewing!!

How did you get into Fire Emblem?: I've got two stories here, one of how I almost got into Fire Emblem and how it got on my radar, and the other being how I finally got into it for real. So, in 9th grade, I had a crush on a boy who played Awakening at lunch every day. I'd talk with him and he actually offered to buy me Awakening, but I, one of the only poor kids in a rich school, was flabbergasted he would spent 40 dollars on me and felt guilty and was like are you sure? And he was like well okay if you don't want me to. I kind of wish I'd taken him up on the offer because he sucked as a person and his family was super rich but oh well. I then played the hell out of the demo. Flash forward to 2019. I'm scrolling twitter and see a friend of mine is streaming Fire Emblem Three Houses. I've seen it before, and it seems pretty fun. A lot of my friends like Fire Emblem. I watch the stream and fall in love with the characters and style of the game, and I impulse buy Three Houses. I then tell Maddie and sell them on Three Houses. Thus, it begun...

What Fire Emblem games have you played?: This is a fun and complicated question for me to answer because if you count me backseating Maddie, it's some of fe4, most of fe7, fe8, fe9, fe10, over half of fe13, some fe14, fe15, and fe16. If it's just me, that shrinks down to some fe7 and fe8, some fe9, over half of fe13, some fe15, and some fe16. I was an active participant in watching the games so it feels like a smidgen of playing them but not quite?

First Fire Emblem game: Either the Awakening demo or Three Houses.

Favorite Fire Emblem game: Shadows of Valentia, Sacred Stones, and the Tellius duology. Hard to specify a single favorite, especially depending on what we are defining favorite as.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 : Where do I begin. I mean Lukas is like, perhaps one of my strongest ones. Though I'm also smitten with Forsyth and attracted to Python despite him being terrible boyfriend material. Recently I have been making eyes at Legault in Blazing Blade, and also playing Fates for the first time had me really surprised at how much Setsuna charmed me. Uhhh lemme think also. Christ Kent your problems disorders bewitch me. Claude you are my everything I will do anything for you. Shamir also if we are talking 3h, what a gal. Ranulf my beloved, he's got things together and he's playful and teasing and just has a great personality. Also Titania...pretty and strong and cool and just a fantastic character who I would not object to kissing on the mouth. I think i might stop here because if I keep going I am going to just take you on a tour of my numerous Fire Emblem crush tastes.

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Panne; I'd also S support Libra or Say'ri. I need to mention that my first awakening playthrough was in 2020 though so if I'd gotten it in 2013 like I almost did I'd probably have gotten married to like...Libra if I waited that long, Chrom if I messed up and got automarried, or like. Stahl or something bc he's really nice and a knight. - Fates: I have not S supported anyone in Fates yet but Setsuna and Silas I am Looking. - Three Houses: I actually never have S supported anyone in Three Houses, as I never actually finished my personal playthrough! However, my big choices are Shamir and Claude, though w the latter I just pretend that's me bc I don't do teacher/student. - Engage: Not enough experience to say who I might S support. Will get back to you.

Favorite Fire Emblem class: Do laguz/taguel/manakete count. I'm also weak for archers I shan't lie.

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class?: Oh I know I'd be one of those frail little mages who has explosive firepower and waning physical ability. Honestly being that but on a wyvern would be fun. My good friend my mobility wyvern.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation?: Golden Deer 4ever baybee not even close.

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with?: I'll get back to this, I'm not sure if I have the info I need to make an informed choice. My first thought is that I would love to have Ike chilling with me though, Ike my good friend Ike.

How did you find TOA?: Lucius invited Maddie, and Maddie invited me! I was roleplaying Forsyth with Maddie's Python 1on1 at the time and the idea of a group RP was very appealing to me, despite me being swamped with work and school and health issues at the time. I'm so glad I made the leap!

Current TOA muses: Forsyth and Leanne!

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again?: Forsyth! I don't see myself dropping him unless his narrative here is done, really.

Have you had any other TOA muses?: Oh Ranulf...I had a very fun time with him, but I just was not in the state to handle three muses and having two muses has been much more manageable, so he's probably not coming back for a while.

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards?: I tend to write very earnest characters, especially in a group RP setting. I've pushed my comfort zone before, but characters who express themselves very openly and intensely are my bread and butter. Characters who wear their hearts on their sleeves, for better or worse.

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most?: Hard to say, but honestly I really enjoy writing relationships, and the ways in which they shift and change over time. I really like character-focused writing the most, emotions and thoughts and such, and exploring the connections between characters! This feels like a silly answer, but it's what I'm feeling!

Favorite TOA-related memory: Oh man this is a hard one. Hard to choose so I'll just pick one that came to mind which is Leanne and Vaida's bizarre adventure in Queen's Compass. What a good event that was, blows a kiss to the sky for Zyra. I'm also a huge fan of everything involving Forsyth's Jugdral meddling and the narrative impact of his deaths in KKE. There are so many funny little experiences and memories that stick with me forever, really.

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔: Tee-oh-ay! Pronouncing it as a word is the same as Toa from Bionicle and to keep them distinct in my mind I sound it out.

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day that you’d like to share? 😉: The world if I could handle three muses...Legault scratching at my door. Ranulf also scratching at my door. Blows a kiss to the guys I would enjoy playing but don't have the time and energy for.

#[ ooc ] #[ dash meme ] #//ty for making this neffi!!

[zstargalaxy]

MJA OC : Rose Evergarden.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Gender : Female

Age : 16

Birthday : May 17

Height : 153

Starsign : Tauros

Eye color : Castleton Green

Hair color : Porcelain white, Scarlett red ombre and streaks (dyed).

Homeland : Queendom of Roses.

Family : Unnamed adopted Fathers.

One younger adoptive sister.

Two older adoptive brothers.

Unnamed Biological Parents.

PROFESSIONAL STATUS

School Year : Seventh

Class : 1-B, Student no. 5

Occupation : Student, Pokemon Trainer.

Club : Gardening Club

Best Subject : Magic Analysis

FUN FACTS

Dominant hand : Left

Favorite food : Cookies

Least Favorite Food : Mustard

Dislikes : Being called a "Mistake", Laziness.

Hobby : Gardening, Painting.

Talents : Small party tricks (juggling, pouring tea from high places, singing, etc).

HISTORY

Her Parents has her unintentionally during one of their nights together. Rose grow up with no love or acknowledgment from her biological parents and was abused physically, verbally and emotionally where she always remembers of being a "mistake" to them.

Soon after, when Rose was 6, she was at a park where she was found and put on a orphanage just a few days after her parents abandoned her.

During her time in the orphanage, Rose never gotten close to the other kids and was very quiet and distant until she was adopted by a loving couple of two fathers who are seeking another adoption after already adopting 2 boys and 1 girl.

Living with her new family was an adjustment for her but Rose soon came to love her new family after a year being with them.

One time, Rose and her younger siblings played hide and seek on a near by park with their fathers and had ended up almost being lost until they were able to find their father's voices.

PERSONALITY

Rose is what many would examplify as a proper lady. She is kind, proper, graceful, smart, kinda strict, resourceful and strives to do everything perfectly to make her fathers proud, which can be unhealthy most of the time. Due to her past with her biological parents, Rose has fears of making a mistake or doing something wrong that will upset someone like her new parents where she promises to gain perfect performances at school to make sure that she isnt a mistake to them and even make sure that people accepts her, where at times gotten her to do some bedthings.

Despite all that trauma and pressure, she is very creative and very knowledgeable in the fields of arts, gardening and histroy, specifically magic plants and painting.

SKILLS AND MAGIC

Magic : Rose is a very skilled magic-user, and even precise at her spells to the point that during time in Alchemy class, she is the only one being able to turn chocolate into gold.

Painting : Finding this as a way to relax herself, Rose is a gifted painter who specializes in landscape.

Gardening : Loves to Garden due to one of her fathers is good in gardening as he would always let her and her siblings help him out in the backyard.

Nevigation : She is good in finding a way out of being lost like in mazes and forests.

UNIQUE MAGIC

Rose's unique magic is called "Plants Grow". She can grow and control plants at will but has to be near plants or anywhere that plants can grow so that it can work, otherwise it will be very weak.

POKÉMON TEAM

Blossom - Roserade

- Blossom is Rose's very first pokemon after both of thembwere wandering near some flowers bushes in school campus.

- Has this Motherly persona to her as she would help the little Flabebes from time to time in the school garden.

- Very protective of her Trainer. She is very helpful and elegant yet clever and strong during battles. Acts like Rose's personal therapist since she is aware of Rose's struggles so she wants to help her out, as best as she can.

Blaze - Rapidash (Kanto Form)

- Blaze is a very fast, proud yet competitive pokemon who was found by Rose when she was running around near some meadows during one of days in the assignment.

- Due to he's wild and competitive spirit, Blaze loves to cause some mischief once and awhile. Causing things like suddenly picking Rose up out of the blue and run very fast while she is in he's back or when he switches the color paints that Smidge is using.

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Smidge - Smeargle

- Smidge is a very curious pokemon by nature and has an attendances to paint everything he sees and I mean EVERYTHING.

- Thats how Rose meet Smidge when she had saw him trying to paint some white roses with red paint. Though upset, Rose found a way to Smidge paint the plain wall beside the garden so that he wouldnt paint her flower bushes.

- Expect Rose's room to be very colorful or the trainer herself to be very stylish on certain days and events because Smidge here loves the arts and loves to stylize thing to he's liking, a fashionista if you will.

Victoria - Polteageist and Lil Jane (or Jane) - Sinistea

- A party duo, if you will. This two always love a good party trick or two to guests at parties and would love to help plan the perfect one.

- Birthday party's are their favorite and they want to make everyone feel special. When not partying, these two are always seen in their trainer's dorm kitchen cooking some small snacks and tea for Rose.

Ria - Altaria

- Ria is mostly the most calm one of the group beside Blossom, at times where the Roserade would butt heads with Blaze during one of he's pranks.

- Her name drives from her current form when Rose decided to call her after Altaria when she was just a Swablu found stuck in a tree branch.

- Her soft and pillowy wings always brings the group together whenever they all are ever tired from school, battling or training. The mediator of the group.

TRIVIA

Rose is twisted from the red painted roses from "Alice in Wonderland".

Her name "Rose" is simplh a direct reference to the roses that the card soldiers were painting red and her last name "Evergarden" is a nod to the Queen of Heart's garden.

The red color on her hair is dyed by one of her brother by her request due to an attempt to fit in with others in MJA when dyeing your hair was a trend at the time. Soon after, she came to like this new look.

Taken up painting when one of her father's had taught her one day outside of the garden and had been doing it since then.

(more to be added soon)

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