Hey! For the ask meme- 18 and/or 19, for Vaal?
18. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?
weirdly enough. the fact that e actually fucking loves to thrown down. for a long time i approached em as someone who is fully pacifist, just a ray of sunshine, friend to all kittens etc. it felt wrong, but the thought of em being angry and vengeful felt more wrong. eir thing is like, growing and learning to be a person and reclaiming a life for emself. but actually going on 1v1 on dragons and shit is something e misses from eir former life. and if e had been able to live the childhood e was denied, it would have 100% involved chokeslamming a sibling more than once.
19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?
again skipping story event stuff. despite the moth theming, vaal isn't a moth. or even an insect. e actually has eight limbs. there's the humanoid arms and legs. then there's the wings, that could be mistaken for insect wings, but are actually some real magical bullshit. e has a flight mode e can shift into, so the wings aren't present all the time, and more like jets of magic anyway. but! there actually are two small modified limbs on eir back! like rudders! so that's six, right? but surprise! e also has praying mantis like limbs on eir hips!
so technically our buddy is an arachnid! :D
(also a more meta favorite fact is that vaal is my oldest oc that's still active. i should redraw the first design and put it next to the current one, and list the biggest similarities and differences, because it would be hilarious)
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I don't know if it's just me, but are they gradually dumbing down Rick's character for the sake of keeping the show popular?
I got extreme Peter Griffin vibes from this episode, and I feel like in general he's a lot less sharp and cool gritty and witty and "unconventional" the way that he was the first couple of seasons. He wasn't an easy character to "swallow" in a lot of ways so to speak, and I feel like he's gradually getting dumber, more cloudy around the edges, less sharp and more conventional and shallow with a lot of the things that he says. He feels extremely typical sometimes this season-like more of the character that people would watch because the character doesn't challenge their headspace in any kind of way, and is someone that encourages their complacent drunk dead personality.
The character used to say things that was really unpopular, or at the very least would occasionally say things that would make people uncomfortable (just things like "if you know how you're going to die because of how boring your life is then you're not even alive" and just things that challenged at the boring drunk complacent status quo that most American sitcom characters are), was an extreme breath of fresh air in terms of how sharp he was and how he wasn't afraid to challenge everything even if it was just in a TV show character kind of way, and it's one of the things that stuck out about me about him the most, especially as someone who is mentally ill and feels detached from most of American culture.
I might just be in a bad mood, but I genuinely feel like Rick feels less sharp and "unconventional"and is starting to feel increasingly more dumb, dopey and easy to swallow as a character.
I still love him and I always will, and sometimes I find it endearing, but this episode in particular felt like he was just being a dumb genuine and boring drunk (really just in terms of the scene with Beth, but considering that the episodes are only about 22 minutes, there isn't a lot of elbow room to work with, especially considering most of this episode was summer screen time).
The only reason why I care so much is because of Rick is one of the very few characters I've ever been genuinely connected with, so I'm just worried that Rick as a character is going down to gradual slippery slope of just becoming an American extremely overly dumbed it down product. The show was so gritty and real and raw and a lot of ways for the first three to four seasons and kept that touch up to season 6, but this season just feels like they're gradually going into "American Dad" type feeling territory, and I'm vaguely worried a little bit about my connection to the show. Especially as someone that does not connect to things easily or ever at all really. And partially because everything is so dumbed down and doesn't seem to have any and genuine philosophy behind it except of being another brainless thing for people to consume to pass the time.
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Throughout Light and Dark
Throughout their journey between worlds Yoru and Vani tend to talk about the similarities and differences, between them as creatures made from darkness. Especially one from the ancient past, and the current present. This is just one of em.
Or
"The kinda smell... That smells... Smelly."
As promised! Some levity after the last few angsty snippets seen here and here.
Scent,
"I can tell you're making faces over there. If you have something to say, say it." Yoruhua says, not looking up from behind their delicious paste.
"...You smell different." Comes Vanitas' voice across from them.
Yoruhua stops mid bite, putting down their treat on oily crumpled paper. Chewing thoughtfully before responding,
"... I suppose I do, yes."
Suddenly aware of it, their thick smoky copal replaces the tasty scent of meaty, buttery puff pastries. Slightly disappointing her. But its Vanitas' own growing burnt palm sugar and rancid iron almost fully kills their appetite.
Vanitas glares at her for a second, still refusing to eat his own meal. The uneaten fluffy white rice in sharp contrast with the black beans and minced meat.
'His food is going to get cold.' Yoruhua muses.
Still, he doesn't mind, if he doesn't want to eat, then he doesn't have to.
"You're supposed to tell me why," he gruffs.
She smirks, "and you're supposed to use your words, and actually ask."
Vanitas looks likes he's about to snap, but carefully takes a deep breath and gives in. The iron fades out leaving only the bitter aftertaste of charcoal in the back of her throat, "Fine. Why do you smell like the Heartless do, but differently? It's weird."
"Well, I'm not just some Heartless, so jot that down. And, you smell too,"
He flushes and snarls, "I-I know that."
She huffs, "sure you did, but regardless- you probably just can't tell since you're not used to actively using it, so it's weakened." She says, "But, I guess it's because I kept my physical form. Unlike the rest of the Homunculi- eh, that's the other original Darknesses- I'm still me, well, not me exactly. But this... Body, you see, still remains from when I was a singular being."
At Vanitas' annoyed look and re-worsening scent, Yoruhua grimaces and tries to elaborate,
"Ah... So, the others all... Blended into one another, without a body to keep them separated. Souls and hearts grossly mixing without care just for power..."
"They aren't like you or me anymore- back then, in the Realm of Darkness, sometimes it would be so dark, that we couldn't even see one another. So we developed scents to detect, identify, and understand each other to prevent fights. Though, mine's changed a bit due to sharing a heart with Orichalchemi," she finishes.
Vanitas huffs, unsatisfied with the answer, "okay first of all; you suck at explaining stuff. Second; so what? You're saying you didn't always smell like a someone was burning s'mores with incense sticks in a graveyard?"
They quirk an eyebrow and ignore his insult, "you seem oddly fixated on the subject. Why do you care what I smell like?"
The boy frowns, looking down at his food and avoiding her own stare, "I... how do you control it...?"
A deep sigh, but a fond one. That's the most direct he's been about asking for their help. Well, their meal can wait.
Slowly, they place an extra of their pastes de tinga on his still full plate, responding cooly, "well, for starters, you can take better care of yourself. The more energy you have- the better. So eat before it gets too cold. A healthy body produces a stronger scent and makes it easier to focus."
Wordlessly he does as she says without a fight.
It's a small win.
Yoruhua smiles to himself, finishing off their own food. And watches over him fondly.
It's moments like this, where he's simply living instead of anticipating the next attack, that she enjoys most. Through she'll never get over how horrible it felt to be trapped within Void Gear, her one window into the real world was always the one silver lining.
Watching him sleep peacefully on those rare nights, or try a new skill and smile where no one else could see him when he got it right...
"What are you looking at?" Vanitas asks wearily, looking up at her.
Yoruhua shakes her head, "nothing, I..."
She looks at him, truly, and decides to just say it, "seeing how far you've come since we've started this journey... Well, I'm proud of you, I've always been."
Vanitas blushes, and glares down at his nearly finished plate, "I don't get how you can just say things like that. Putting your emotions on display like that, like one of those weak sappy Lights."
Yoruhua laughs, "hah, honestly, you call it a weakness, but it's a lot harder to admit than it looks."
"While being genuine puts your weaknesses on full display, it also makes you fully aware of them and easier to defend. You can't protect what you don't understand. Ori showed me that."
They add, "I find it... Impressive, that the Light feels so confident in such emotion, that they leave it out in the open for all to enjoy, because they know they can trust those others with it- and in their abilities to protect it when the time comes."
At that he stays silent but eventually the tension in his shoulders dissipate, "so you... Trust me? Even after all I did to you as Void Gear?"
Yoruhua nods, "of course I do, besides, you didn't hurt me- I was only trapped inside. I got to see tons of interesting things with you. You even freed me." A mischievous smirk creeps on his face as he reaches over to ruffle his hair.
"H-Hey! Knock it off!" He whines.
They laugh, "sorry, I couldn't help myself. You're sweet, even if you are a punk most of the time."
He light heartedly pushes her hand away, "yeah whatever, you deserve it for dragging me behind you everywhere, it's only fair."
"dragging you? We're bonding! This is like... Those family roadtrip Lights take all the time! I'm building your character!"
"You kidnapped me!"
"Same thing!"
While the two bickered, neither of them noticed the sweeter scent shift in the air, incense mixing with palm oil to create a more neutral, delicate sandalwood.
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My ideal new Kanto game isn’t a RBY remake, but instead a new game set 30 years after the original games. So I was thinking about that and then started thinking about what the gym leaders might look like that.
So this is my pitch for the 2026 Pewer Gym Leader - Mary the practical paleontologist! After Brock retires from battling to focus on his family, he reaches out to a gym trainer who always did well when she was interning there in her teens. Pulled from her job as researcher/tour guide at the Pewter Museum, she took to it right away.
Pewter Gym is still a rock-type gym, but with a bigger focus on Kanto’s fossil Pokémon. Mary is called the practical paleontoligst because to learn about these ancient Pokemon, she just has them revised and raises/breeds them. Her signature Pokemon and general favourite is Aerodactyl. She’s bred so many of them that it’s actually pretty routine to see Aerodactyl about in Pewter City, andt the locals don’t think much of it. In fact, a few of the friendlier Aerodactyl can be convinced to pose for tourist photos, help with heavy items, and even do deliveries throughout the city!
Mary is a good battler in her own right, but her focus as a gym leader is more to use it as a science outreach center and encourage kids to get interested in rock and fossil Pokémon. As part of her gym test, you have to dig for fossils in the sand and match them up to their respective Pokemon (Dome/Kabuto, Helix/Omanye, Amber/Aerodactyl) within the time limit.
As reward for beating her, she hands out the Boulder Badge, an Ancient Power TM, and will even sneak you a years pass to the museum, encouraging you to take a tour of a cloning facility ASAP. Especially if you’re interested in raising an Aerodactyl yourself...
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