Subject: Re: Pokémon favourites
Author:
Posted on: 2013-01-24 22:38:00 UTC
I do not have a favorite Pokemon or favorite type per se. However, I really like the games' stories, especially the stories of the fourth and fifth generations' games.
Even the anime is starting to get really good in terms of plot, what with Team Rocket looking like ACTUAL ANTAGONISTS instead of just comic relief!
It's baaaaaack...
So, what is the fandom buffet? It's a place where we can all get together and natter on about out favourite fandoms. How do we participate, you ask? It's very simple! Just create a message-less post with your fandom name in the subject line and then post a message describing it and what you like about it. Afterwards, people can reply to that fandom-specific thread and chatter.
As hS (way back when) put it, the structure would look like this:
quote
"Fandom Favourites thread - hS
>Lord of the Rings (nm)
>>My LotR favourites - hS
>>My LotR favourites - person2
>>>Hey, that sounds really interesting; tell me more - person3
>My Little Pony (nm)
>>My MLP favourites - person2
>>>Wow, really? Mine too! - person4
etc etc. Where you don't just say 'I love Boromir and Aragorn and Legolas and Galadriel and Eowyn!' but actually give interesting whys as well - and then people can, as you say, browse the buffet and comment on what they want to."
/quote
Have fun!
It's another modern Sherlock Holmes adaptation. Ironically, it has received a lot of scepticism (read: hatred) from the BBC Sherlock fandom for "stealing their stuff!11!1eleventyone!11!", especially since the BBC show had been doubted prior to its first release by the fans of Granada and the ACD canon, etc.
(Some idiots still dislike the Sherlock fandom for being young and predominantly female; they think it's stuffed full of mindless fangirls who give Sherlockiana a bad name. Ignore them.)
Anyway, despite the initial scepticism, Elementary is actually quite a stellar show. It features Jonny Lee Miller (who, strangely enough, also played Frankenstein/the Creature opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in Danny Boyle's Frankenstein) as Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. Sherlock in this series is a recovering drug addict in New York City working with Captain Gregson on various cases. Joan Watson, an ex-surgeon (she lost her licence after one of her patients died), is hired by his father M. Holmes to be his sober companion. However, she goes from becoming a sober companion (which is really just a glorified babysitter) to his assistant on his various cases with the NYPD.
Most of the episodes so far have been procedural, monster-of-the-week sort of cases with plenty of plot twists galore which make each one worthwhile (as well as plenty of Joan and Sherlock bromance, of course). However, the most recent episode, "M", reveals the presence of Colonel Sebastian Moran and, of course, Moriarty, who apparently killed Holmes's lover Irene Adler. That promises to take up a couple future arcs.
Elementary is not BBC Sherlock. It doesn't follow ACD canon as closely (none of the cases are adaptations of the original stories), but there are plenty of shoutouts to the canon (Holmes is a beekeeper and quotes the canon quite often). Elementary's Holmes is also not as much of a cold deducting machine as Sherlock's Holmes - he's more human, even succumbs to emotion sometimes (and has daddy issues like woah). Joan Watson is also definitely not BBC's John Watson - despite the huge change to her backstory she still acts very Watsonlike, except she doesn't let Holmes walk over her quite as much as John does with Sherlock - some of the greatest scenes of Elementary involve a sass-off between Holmes and Joan.
Elementary also addresses, more subtly, the things that Sherlock lacks - there are more characters of colour in Elementary, more addressing of racism and sexism, more rounded out female characters (not to say Molly Hooper wasn't rounded - but parts of BBClock fandom seem to really hate on their Irene Adler and Sally Donovan and sometimes even poor Molly. One of the biggest complaints from BBClock about Elementary was Joan Watson being not just a woman, but an woman of colour).
I personally would just love to combine these two modern adaptations together, so I can get both my canon adherency and my racial/gender inclusion.
Anyway, ramble over. Thoughts?
and I have yet to catch up, but I do thoroughly enjoy this show. I was privately preparing for the worst when I saw the show, despite my willingness to give it a chance, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
I especially like the differences between this Sherlock and the BBC Sherlock; this is not a man who would be far less caught off guard by a naked first impression with Irene Adler. It's kind of fun to compare the two, think about what either would do in the situations that the other gets into. For example, one moment I liked was when Miller!Holmes admitted to knowing that Watson had lost a patient, but had refrained from saying it to avoid being insensitive. I'm almost certain that Cumberholmes, especially at the beginning before his character development, would have bluntly pointed it out, insensitivity be damned. It's the little things like that that I really like about this show.
Favorite episodes would have to be any with Gabriel or Balthazar. I'm especially fond of "Hammer of the Gods" because wow look at all those great pagan gods. (The infamous Tuesday episode is great too.)
Character-wise I'm gonna have to go with Meg because MEG. Kickass. She's such a good character. Ruby is also pretty neat, and Crowley. (Can you tell that I like the demons/sassy rebellious angels yet)
Dean's anime eyes come in a close second for "favorite things on the show".
Meg is just a really well rounded character; she's one of the few reoccuring female characters on the show, and she's basically moral ambiguity and grey morality and heel-face turns embodied as a person. Also she's hot but that really doesn't contribute to her character development because...possessing different people...
Crowley because he's the sassmaster demon and I have a soft spot for snarky big bads. Balthazar for kind of the same reason, and Gabriel for /definitely/ the same reason.
Hammer of the Gods just strokes my obsession for theology, basically.
More or less.
Yep.
What is Supernatural?
In short, it's a scifi/fantasy/SPOOKY series about two brothers named Dean and Sam Winchester who hunt all sorts of monsters. It also causes severe cases of feels traumas.
My favourites? ... I actually started watching it yesterday and have seen three episodes. But I've seen enough of it on Tumblr to generally know a lot about it (same thing happened with Doctor Who). XD
Favourite characters so far are Sam's hair, Castiel and Charlie Bradbury. Sam's hair is very majestic and looks almost alive I swear (or I just have a thing for nice hair).
Castiel consists of giant amounts of fluff and that's already enough for me. Also the epicness. So much epic. I don't even have right adjectives to describe him.
Charlie is just flamin' awesome, period. It was actually because of her that I finally started watching SPN, because the moment I heard "LARP episode" I knew I was done being in a fandom without having seen it. She's brave. Super smart. Supergeek. /Hacker/. Also sassy. Very sassy. I think I want to be her when I grow up.
I agree, Sam's hair is truly magnificent. But my favorite characters definitely have to be villains (What? I have a thing for bad guys). Lucifer's awesome cuz he's Affably Evil, but not to the point of being good, and I like his interactions with Sam.
I also like Meg, because she is creepily gorgeous, and Crowley, because he is Crowley >:)
Late to the party, and I've only seen the first episode, but hey, I might as well jump in.
My Little Pony blew my mind.
I went into it with an open mind, because I have a friend who's a brony and I know a fair amount of PPCers are as well. And then my mind was blown at how NOT little-girly it was. It's a show about sparkly candy colored ponies, yet I didn't die from sugar overdose. The characters are interesting and the plot was good, albeit predictable due the fact that I read the wiki page on it ahead of time.
And to contribute to the Luna/Celestia debate, I feel that darkness is always asssociated with evil and light is always associated with good, so maybe Luna felt that stigma. But I like how Celestia accepted her again, because you need both light and dark to make a balanced world. Sure, Celestia took over the moon, but really, it was Luna's job. Balance between the sisters makes for balance in life.
(Gods, I'm going to get so into this.)
~HV
You have been introduced into a world of friendship, magic, and NON-girlishness. Even better is, all you have seen so far is the pilot. You haven't even gotten to the good episodes yet (not they are not all good, but some are downright AMAZING). Might I suggest Return of Harmony, where Q-I mean, Discord, makes his big appearance, Party of One, Sonic Rainboom, Keep Calm and Flutter On, and Suited For Success for your next episodes, in any order. Or, you know, watch chronologically, whichever. If you want to look deeper into the fandom, look no further than Equestria Daily, the hub of all bronies. Art, goodfic (and almost only goodfic, though how good it is depends on personal preference), music, Tumblr ask blogs, animation, sculpting, news on the show, all of it comes to Equestria Daily. Equestria Daily: All the pony that's fit to print. (TM)
Since we are on Celestia/Luna, if you want to hear a good Luna turning to darkness song, look up The Moon Rises. It's really, really good, and shows some of Luna's emotional conflicts as she turned into Nightmare Moon.
Have fun looking into the brony fandom. It's a hell of a ride, I guarantee you, but it is so worth it. Almost all the members are the kindest people you will meet, much better than SOME fandoms (Not going to name anyone, but you should know some less then accepting fandoms) If you see something, be it from the fandom or the show, feel free to gush about it. I'd be happy to indulge in some gushing with you.
...is by far my favourite character from the show.
She's got one of the most adorable introduction scenes ever, and I really like the idea of a character that is scared of her own shadow normally, but still able to face down a dragon if she needs to.
As for the show itself, I've watched the first season or two, and I think it's really well written. There's an ensemble cast, but they all seem to get a decent amount of time in the limelight, and the recurring parables of treating people nicely and how important friends are never felt cheesy or preachy to me.
And the fact that it has such a wide appeal outside of its target demographic would seem to indicate that it is at least 20% cooler than other similarly targeted shows.
Only two this time, for simpler reasons.
First: Desert Rose, also known as that background pony with beige fur and a rose-colored mane and tail. She is adorable (i a bit airheaded) and she is modeled for my favorite lower: roses! Yay!
Second: Luna. She's the pony goddess of the night, she's the quieter, calmer, and I think the more composed of the two sisters (at the very least, her sense of humor is devious but harder to spot than Celestia's, and she doesn't gorge herself on sweets where little ponies with cameras might wander by). That, and she can dreamwalk. How awesome is that?
BLASPHEMY! Princess Celestia has lead Equestria though over a thousand years of Light and Prosperity! When Luna wished to see Equestria fall to darkness out of jealousy, Celestia rose to defend the Equestrian ponylace, wielding the Elements of Harmony to send her sister to the moon. She lost her sister that day, and likely her only true friend, but did what was needed for her ponies. Since then, she has lead Equestria through their brightest age yet! Perhaps she is playful with her subjects, but she wishes for her subjects to laugh with her, rather then laugh out of a feeling of necessity. Further, Luna is the quieter of the two? PRINCESS LUNA, MISTRESS OF THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE?! (However, I will concede your point on Luna being more composed. Still, how would you react if Discord came back after you thought he was gone for good?)
Don't get me wrong, I like Luna allot, she's awesome and all, but Celestia seems to get no love from our community. In truth, I am for the sister's ruling Equestria together, leading the land into an even greater age of friendship and platonic love.
Oh, and as for Desert Rose (I thought her name was Roseluck?) I must agree. She is a very pretty pony. In fact, she is a:
Picture Perfect Poneeeh! (link for those who don't get it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDdL4z5qfr4)
Her design is very smooth, and is one of the best looking background ponies there.
(Um, World-Jumper? Dosen't that sound a little...)
What?
(You know, you sound like you think she is... VERY pretty.)
Yeah, her color design is very appealing, and is a brilliant use of colors for character design. What do you think I meant by... Oh. OH! No, no, I did not mean like THAT, you dirty little-
(I know, I know! Just, you know, checking.)
Now, my favorites. It is a constant battle between Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy.
On one hoof, Twilight is smart, bookish, a little dorky in a very adorable way, snarky at times, and often is the voice of logic in difficult situations (unless she could be... TARDY!). Plus she has a tendency to overreact, and while she can be the voice of intelligence, she is rarely the voice of reason. Her flaws are just as important to me as her positive quirks.
On the other hoof, Fluttershy is just cute and sweat, and the very ponification of kindness. She barely speaks above two decibels, and when she does... look out. She may be cripplingly shy, but is someone threatens her or her animals, she will break them down with a stern look, a talking too, and perhaps THE STARE, which she used to out -stare a cockatrice. Let me say that again: Fluttershy, the small little pegasus pony who would not hurt a fly, had a staring contest with a monster that can turn creatures to stone with it's gaze, to protect the Cutie Mark Crusaders from turning into cement, AND WON. Mostly though, she is diabetus-indusing adorable, and I love genuinely kind people- er, ponies. The fact she can protect herself and others when she needs to just makes her all the better.
In a later post, I will explain why I think the show is awesome! Because the Brony fandom is totally not one of my favorite fandoms and I obsess over the show way too much. You can never have too much pony. Ever.
Luna had voice problems for majority of one episode as "Real Luna" and shouted as "Evil Luna" because she was the designated villain for those two episodes. Besides that, by 'quieter', I was referring to the fact that she very rarely says more than what's necessary - Celestia seems to favor a more roundabout way of explaining things, whereas Luna tends to say what's on her mind (or attempt to, when she isn't being interrupted) without waxing lyrical.
As for the jealousy argument, I'd say she had a fair bit of reason for getting a bit piqued that her sister was getting all the glory - from what we've seen in her most recent appearance, she not only brings the night but is also capable of venturing into the dreams of any pony she chooses, which likely means that Scootaloo's nightmares are not the first to be chased away with a bit of sensible advice from Luna. Yet as far as the canon states, the majority of the ponyfolk either didn't appreciate this or did very little (if anything) to show their appreciation - likely they took her for granted, since the only time they saw her was probably in their dreams. Celestia was a more solid figure who appears when everypony's awake; it's harder to take a pony as just something that exists when she's actively walking amongst her subjects while they're awake to appreciate it. I'd even go so far as to say that many ponies probably even began seeing Luna as a pleasant dream sent to them by Celestia - particularly the older ponyfolk, if we follow the logic that some people/ponies tend to try to find more... concrete reasons for things like dreams and voices in their minds.
Speaking of Celestia~
Yes, she absolutely did what needed to be done to protect Equestria... But. I find two things very difficult to believe: First, there is no way Luna woke up one evening, decided on the flip of a coin she was mad enough to shroud the world in darkness, went Nightmare Moon, and was imprisoned... all due to the boiling-up of intense jealousy that took place in one night. There had to have been a build-up. We could be talking about centuries of nights spent painting wonderful, starry skies and guarding the dreams of others; of days spent sleeping and watching her sister received the bulk of their ponies' praise. Which translates, I think, into just as many years of Luna becoming more and more jealous of her sister as time went on. Eventually, that built-up jealousy exploded, forcing Celestia into action.
Which did not, I believe, have to be the way things worked out, because the second thing I find very hard to believe is that Celestia could completely overlook how jealous her sister was becoming. Even if it wasn't centuries of build-up, there is no way Luna went from happy-go-lucky to BAM NOW I AM EVIL in a night, which I think means there's no way Celestia missed how unhappy her sister was becoming. True, the canon states that Celestia "tried to reason with [Luna]", but Luna is not hot-headed. Not to the extent that her sister's reasoning with her would not carry at least some weight.
And, for that matter, why did Celestia apparently never do more than reason with Luna? Where were the requests to remember how important Luna is to Equestria? Where were any festivals held, parades led, or statues erected in Luna's honor? True, Luna works a full night's shift just as Celestia works a full day, which means Luna is most probably nocturnal (in other words, she probably sleeps during the day) - but that doesn't mean that she didn't try every way she could to garner some sympathy when she was awake, even if the only way to do that without irritating anypony was to dreamwalk. The fact that she is nocturnal also does not mean no celebrations could be held for her at night. Clearly the fact that most ponies are diurnal (nighttime sleepers) has no effect on how many of them are willing to participate in Nightmare Night festivities, nor did those shown in the pilot episodes seem terribly opposed to staying up all night to watch the sunrise for the Summer Solstice celebration. Would it have been terribly much to ask that they show the same consideration a night or two now and then the honor everything Luna's done for them? I'm not saying Celestia should have forced her subjects to like Luna, but I certainly think more could have been done to share the enormous spotlight Celestia enjoyed even back a thousand years ago.
(Please note that all of that was not intended as an attack, and if anything came off as chilly or even a bit spiteful, I apologize. You hit my debate button. I CANNOT RESIST THE DEBATE BUTTON. XD
Also, do explain why you love the show. I want to hear~)
*Comes out of lurk* A debate about Celestia and Luna's backstory makes me want to jump in! I'm sorry, some of you here may not know who I am. I joined the PPC around mid last year (2012) but semi-left the place (I'm still around on IRC) to concentrate on writing pony fictions on fimfiction.net around September 2012. So, anyway. Back to Celestia and Luna.
Regarding why Celestia didn't do more than "reason with her", this is one of my personal theory (I think I have a couple, one for my story, one for general fanon):
- Celestia was aware of Luna's anger and resentment and tried to assure her over the decades but the situation (the common ponies still taking her for granted) did not improve. It's kind of like when you know a friend is in a funk but you couldn't do much but only assure him/her with words. Celestia couldn't just decree everypony to love Luna's nights, right?
- Combined with the dark magic Lauren mentioned in her dA comments, I'd like to think that negative emotions draw these dark magic. The angrier/more jealous Luna became, the dark magic gets more entrenched until it reached boiling point. She tries to introduce some night activities and were rebuffed and the anger boiled over. By then, Luna refused to lower the moon until her subjects would even look at her nights.
- Celestia confronts Luna and tries to talk her into lowering the moon but it was already too late as Luna was no longer in a mind to even listen to anything. As the argument went on, the anger and jealousy, combined with the dark magic, turned Luna into Nightmare Moon and attacked Celestia. Eventually, Celestia had no choice but to use the Elements of Harmony to banish her sister to the moon.
- As for why there wasn't any celebration for Luna, I'd say we don't see much for Celestia either. The only true celebration we saw was the Summer Sun Celebration, the rest were welcoming parties. I did read a couple of fics on fimfiction.net which mentioned that Celestia let Luna be semi-forgotten and Nightmare Moon become a caricature of horror so that Luna could return with a blank slate. Which I think is a pretty nice theory.
I apologize if I seemed to have come out of nowhere.
I'd never really thought much about Luna's backstory, just accepted her as the Designated Bad GuyPony for the pilot, to give it some decent drama/conflict.
But yeah, you're right, she would have needed a pretty powerful motivation to try and bring about eternal night, and it's unlikely that would have been a snap decision on her part. There must have been something else going on in the background at least.
*cracks knuckles*
Alright. Let's do this.
Ah, so by 'quiet,' you mean 'direct,' yes? Alright, I can see that. I see Celestia as the more Public Relations type of the two, who likes to express her opinion in fancy, more round-about ways. Luna on the other hoof has a meteor shower to plan for next week, and an eclipse in three days, so let's get on with it, shall we? That and the fact she did not have opportunity to learn how to communicate well to the public, due to everypony being asleep when she was around.
As for Nightmare Moon (henceforth known as NMM) and Luna's turn to jealousy, I have a theory (WARNING, FANON INCOMING!) that connects to dreams and nightmares that could solve our problem, with some Word of Faust to back it up. NMM was not just a state of being Luna became, it was a completely separate creature or entity that took control of her, like Venom from Spiderman. NMM is the cumulation of negative emotions brought out in nightmares. Fear, hatred, self-loathing, and most important, jealousy. Over hundreds of years, ponies' nightmares continued to feed the beast, infecting Luna with these emotions, due to being the Princess of the Night, and dreams being under her jurisdiction. The mass of dream-polution eventually created a personality for itself, and began to whisper in Luna's ears. It played off Luna's fear of not being loved, of being hated by everypony. It fed her self-doubt, making her think she did not deserve praise. It caused her to become angry at the people it told here was responsible for her not being loved by everypony, those ponies who give all credit to Celestia. It slowly, over a long corse of time, corrupted her, gaining a strong footing in Luna's mind so it could not only have a host, but spread these emotions through all Equestria. Once Luna snapped, and wanted revenge against those who wronged her, NMM replaced Luna in her mind, and began to cause not only the sun to never rise again, but to spread her Aura of Evil through all of Equestria. Fear would grasp the land, and the strength of Nightmare Moon would only grow.
NMM's plan would have worked, had Celestia not sent her sister to the moon itself, Luna's land of power and control, to slowly strengthen her sister, and weaken the grasp of NMM. Now that Luna is free of NMM, she is making sure it cannot rise again, by stopping the Nightmares at the source. That is why she appeared to Scootaloo to stop her nightmares, the TRUE nightmares of Rainbow Dash not accepting Scootaloo as a sister or mentor, and all the connotations that brings. As a seres of reams? Not too harmful, but given time and an ability to let the Nightmares take hold...
As for Celestia's lack of observation or intervention: I honestly think she did not see it as a problem when it started. Luna began to feel a little jealous, a little more mopey. Just provide some support and it will go away soon. Celestia spoke words of encouragement, prompting Luna to make the ponies know about the night by putting on spectacular astronomical events that can only be seen at night, wowing them into respecting her. What she didn't know was that she was feeding the beast until it was too late. Luna began to do more reckless behavior with her responsibilities, keeping the moon up while the sun is up, trying to extend the night, and so on. Now Celestia began to get cross at Luna. Why was she doing her job wrong all the sudden? She needs to do it right, darn it! Voices were raised, Celestia begins to see that her sister is not quite right and tries to stop it, but it's too late.
Poor Luna snapped.
And so Celestia had no other choice. She had to banish her sister to the moon, so Luna could build back her strength.
Could this have been prevented with more public recognition of Luna? Perhaps, but strong feelings of jealousy, especially those fueled by self-doubt and tacky purple tufts of smoke, find a way to ignore logic and blatant truths that point to the contrary. They will find those things that support their theories of the world, even if they are invalid. Basically, once it passed a particular point, it was too late for Luna, and it was not a problem before it crossed that point, so Celestia felt she had no reason to spread all this awareness for Luna that Luna did not want done in the first place.
Well, I think that about covers the debate aspect. Now, as for why I like the show. The animation is stellar, the voice actors are phenomenal and convey so much in their voices, the characters are strong and fun, and the show is funny. However, I think the biggest draw for me was a good cartoon who's characters are dumber than a bag of rocks, use toilet humor for cheap laughs (Spongebob, I look at you) or uses immense amounts of violence, sex, alcohol, and cynicism. This show does not speak down to any audience, nor does it have 'adult' humor, but humor I understand now that as a kid I would not know. I believe Bronyville decided that the show has very witty humor, to which I would agree and point out the use of several slapstick elements usually seen in older cartoons. The subtle references and horse puns also add to the enjoyment of the show.
Of corse the extremely vast, creative, accepting, kind, fun fandom helps too.
I think I love Jane the best, especially when she impersonates Darcy. That first time she did it with the fake texting bit was glorious. And she's so pretty and sweet and dresses so nicely, and I love the bit where she becomes "new Jane", because that's just beautiful to me.
Lydia's my second favourite; she's much more fleshed out here than in Austen and she reminds me of a friend of mine - really party-girl-like, yet still vulnerable on the inside, and I just want to hug her (especially given the falling out between her and Lizzie). Also, her antics are always hilarious. I just adore her.
Also, Darcy is an adorable dork. He wasn't exactly what I visualised, but he more than makes up for it in awkward adorableness. YouTube's right - he needs that pool scene, and stat.
I feel like LBD in general is doing for Pride and Prejudice what BBC Sherlock is doing for Sherlock Holmes - putting it into the 21st century, keeping everything relevant to the 21st century yet still giving shoutouts to the original canon and sticking by the original canon quite faithfully. It's given more depth to characters like Jane and Lydia, and offered a new perspective on the classic.
Also, I'm really hoping that Caroline hijacks Lizzie's camera, much like Charlotte did when she accepted Ricky's job offer. That way Darcy can shut her down and call Lizzie some modern variation of "one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance" on camera!
In short, it's a vlog series modern adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, created by Hank Green of Vlog Brothers fame.
Much like BBC's Sherlock, it was a quality modern adaptation that got me to read the original classic. As an adaptation it's spot-on and incredibly clever, and the acting is apparently amazing enough that some people actually mistook it for a real vlog. The various costume theaters that Lizzie and her friends perform to compensate for the fact that not all the characters would realistically appear on a show that's supposed to be a young woman's video diary are side-splittingly hilarious. They seem to know exactly what to do to tease their fans, such as never showing Darcy on screen until episode 60 or so when he shows up at the very end, standing up so we don't see his face.
The writing is excellent when it comes to adapting a Regency!England romance to modern-day America, from minor race changes such as making Charlotte and Bingley (Bing Lee, rather) Asian, and Colonel Fitz William (ahem, Fitz Williams) African-American, to other character changes like making Lydia an unashamed Valley Girl partier and having Darcy show shades of being a hipster.
Thoughts?
What is Star Trek?
The franchise consists of five television shows, eleven (twelve in May) movies, and a plethora of non-canon books, comics, and games. Most fans - even very devoted Trekkies - have only seen a fraction of these. The first TV show was simply called Star Trek (now called Star Trek: The Original Series, abbreviated TOS) and when it came out in the '60s it was revolutionary. It was a sci-fi show that depicted an optimistic view of the future, with a United Earth as a member of an interstellar Federation, focused on peace and exploration. TOS focuses on the flagship of Starfleet, the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, with the iconic Mr. Spock as first officer. The show ran for only three seasons, but gained enough of a following to spawn six movies and the rest of the spinoffs: Star Trek: The Next Generation (abbreviated TNG), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (abbreviated DS9), Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. TNG had a similar premise to the original, but had a whole new crew under the command of intellectual Captain Jean-Luc Picard (leading to the debate among Trekkies "Kirk or Picard?"). DS9 was the only series to focus on a space station and the only series to have a black captain, Benjamin Sisko. Voyager focuses on the adventures of a ship of the same name, under command of the only female captain of a Star Trek series, Kathryn Janeway, when it is thrown 70,000 light-years from known space. Enterprise is a prequel to all the others, showing one of the first Starfleet ships under the command of Captain Jonathon Archer. Fans of the 2009 movie are encouraged to at least watch the Original Series, considering that that's what the movie is a reboot for.
(I've probably rambled on way too long. In my defense, it's a huge franchise.)
My favorites:
My favorite series is TNG, but Voyager is such a close second that at times it surpasses it. TOS is good, but it didn't develop as many interesting characters as TNG and Voyager. Not that it it didn't develop interesting characters, it's just that only Kirk, Spock and McCoy were truly developed, while TNG and Voyager had large casts and recurring characters who were all given development. I haven't seen much of DS9 and none of Enterprise, and I can already tell DS9 is going to do the same.
On TOS my favorite character is Spock. Logical Vulcan, but with a human mother, so when he serves aboard a starship full of humans, he is torn between his Vulcan upbringing and his human side. This makes for a very interesting character. And, of course, being attractive is a nice bonus.
On TNG I like Data best. Another logical type like Spock, he is an android. He is therefore inherently logical, but his creator programmed him to be fascinated by humans, so throughout the series he is trying to become more human. This journey defines his character, and arguably makes him the most human character in all of Star Trek. And also makes him rather adorable.
In the Kirk v.s. Picard debate, I am firmly on the Picard side. Just listen to their voices.
On Voyager, Seven of Nine is my favorite. Yes, she's well known for being the sex appeal of the show, but she managed that while still being a really well-developed character. She used to be member of the Borg Collective, a mindless drone who killed thousands. Once she's separated from the Collective, she struggles to fit into human (well, non-Borg) society. Her journey is to discover her humanity, and come to terms with her Borg past. She was esssentially raised by the Borg, so she has to learn to let those ideals go or reconcile them with humanity. Very interesting character.
And then there's Q, a recurring character on both TNG and Voyager. My Little Pony fans will recognize him as Discord. A nigh-omnipotent being and "next of kin to chaos", as Picard puts it, the story's sure to get interesting if Q's around.
That's what I like best about Star Trek: the characters. It's a sci-fi show, but its real strength is using that sci-fi setting to create thought-provoking storylines and quirky characters.
There are so many reasons why I love this series, but the game that stood out to me was "Journey of the Cursed King". It was not only my first Dragon Quest game, but also one of my favorites. Good acting? Check. Sense of humor? Check. Punny? Check. Fun to play? GOOD LORD, CHECK. When I actually beat that game after so many years my eyes were watering. THAT RIGHT THERE is an accomplishment.
Also, who doesn't love Dragon Quest's Slimes? (Well, except for "Metal Slimes", but that's a different story.)
Some of the blood elves and pretty much all of the pandaren. That's about it.
I'll explain the easy one first: I love the pandaren because:
1. They live on a giant, sentient turtle whom they clearly love very much and with whom they are able to converse at need (although the game makes it seem like there's a bit more effort to it than three or four hours of gaming would have you think...)
2. They don't seem like they have a very strict leadership - from what I've seen in the starting zone quests, it looks like they're led by whoever the oldest pandaren alive at the moment happens to be. Even if this isn't true, there is an insane amount of respect for their elders that isn't readily apparent with most of the other races I've played, and it's a refreshing change of pace to see that cultural element be so strongly interwoven with the actual game play (especially since, even with the tauren, any other race with a strong respect for their elders only seems to display it in the lore and very rarely in-game, if at all).
3. Pretty much their entire culture and belief system (as much as I've seen of it, anyway). I love the 'hello' and 'goodbye' quotes they give you ('Slow down; life should be savored!'), I love their focus on the betterment of one's self as well as the protection of one's people (rather than, 'You or your loved ones? Choose!'), I love how connected and ACTUALLY symbiotic they are with their surroundings (even Ji doesn't want to wipe out all of the hozen, which is why he directs his strike at their leader), I love how downright peaceful they are... I seriously want to live on Shen-zin su, now. And I've only played pandaren characters for a total of eight hours.
4. They are so fluffy. So very, very fluffy. I'm ashamed to admit I love them for their huggableness, but it is definitely a factor in how much I love these guys.
5. You get to punch Varian upon joining the Alliance. WORST REASON HERE, but you would not believe how refreshing it is after having to say goodbye to those pandaren you've played alongside for twelve-ish levels and who chose to leave with the Horde - especially knowing just how awful the 'join the Horde' scene turns out to be (as far as I'm concerned)...
As for the blood elves, the reasons are a bit more complicated, mostly because there's a different set or each character. Fortunately, I only really have four favorite canon characters: Regent-Lord Lor'themar Theron, Ranger General Halduron Brightwing, Grand Magister Rommath, and Archmage Aethas Sunreaver.
As far as Lor'themar is concerned, I have lots of reasons that really focus more on his personality than on his actual appearance (although, uh, there's something a bit fetching about the whole silver-haired-and-missing-an-eye thing, and I'm pretty sure he's the blood elven equivalent of a forty-five-year-old, so there's that...) Also, he's the only one whose good traits I already had written down, so he's the only one with a really extensive list at the moment~
To start with, Lor'themar comes across to me as being very fatherly towards those he leads. From what I've seen and read, he doesn't just look on them as "his people," he really does behave as though he understands that he is their ultimate defender and is willing to do, in his own words, "whatever it takes to protect Quel'Thalas and its people." In my mind, there are few figures more worthy of respect and admiration than those who feel as unfit for their position as Lor'themar seems to, yet willingly take on the mantle of the protector and leader for the sake of those people they claim as their own. Lor'themar wants nothing more than to go back to the days when he was a simple Farstrider, yet he does not once shirk or shrink from his duties as the Regent Lord, and to me that is a powerful thing to witness.
Additionally, he's sensible. He's not just practical, he's not cold and clinical, and he's certainly not impetuous; he actually sees and feels what his people are made to go through, understands what they want and what they expect, and is able to see and choose what he believes to be the most reasonable road to walk at the time, even if that road is painful for him. And he tempers that with a rare (for Warcraft leaders, anyway) understanding of what others deserve, despite how he feels about what they've done. Take his mission to the Quil'lithien Lodge in "In the Shadow of the Sun", for example: he went there not only because they were once his friends, not because he expected a warm welcome, but because he knew whether they welcomed him with smiles or blades, they were once his people, too, and they deserved to know that Kael'thas had died a traitor and that the Sunwell had been restored. That takes a lot of courage, especially considering how against the trip Rommath and even Halduron were.
Combine that with the way he reacts to Aethas's request in Shadow: Lor'themar carries the same anger as Rommath and Halduron, but Lor'themar does not jump into an argument with anyone over what the Six could have or should have done, nor did he allow his feelings to sway his decision overmuch. Instead, he essentially left the choice up to his people: you can fight under the banner of the Kirin Tor, or you can stay out of it under the banner of Silvermoon. Considering the emotions and the history between the sin'dorei and the Kirin Tor, I think he made the least explosive decision available to him, and I'm impressed at how easily he picked it out... even if it was partially to get on Aethas's nerves. And he didn't waffle - he made his decision and he stuck with it.
As a matter of fact, the whole story in Shadow really showcases to me his ability to separate his own thought process into sections - to detach himself when he needs to and see things from his own standpoint and still see the bigger picture. He doesn't easily allow himself to be swayed by his own emotions - or the emotions of those such as Rommath - which I think makes him a much more reliable leader than, say, Kael'thas, who's a bit infamous among the fanbase for having a somewhat quicker temper. At the very least, Kael certainly vented more passionately than we've seen Lor'themar do so far, and in my mind some emotions are better left controlled (as Lor'themar does beautifully) than spoken aloud for your followers to hear (as Kael'thas did once or twice even before he joined forces with the Illidari).
And, of course, there are tiny, less important things, like the fact that he's missing an eye and gives few - if any - indications that he even notices it at this point; the fact that he wields a kickass two-hander in one hand; the fact that he is the rare white-haired pretty boy who has not turned evil; and the fact that he was a Farstrider long before he was Regent Lord.
As far as Halduron goes, I love him more because he is able to act as a voice of reason when Lor'themar needs to bounce his thoughts off someone; he very easily slips into the role of silent supporter (again, I'm referencing Shadow here); and he has the ability to read Lor'themar well enough to know when arguing with him isn't going to work (not that this necessarily stops him from doing so every time...)
Pair that with Halduron's hotter temper (I have to admit, where I dislike it in leadership roles, I love it in generals and archmages) and his ability to make what he believes are intelligent militant decisions regardless of what Rommath might have to say about it, and Halduron's an appealing character for me. I just wish there were more canon sources involving the man...
With Rommath, it really comes down to his loyalty to his people - even over the prince he very clearly would have followed to the grave, had certain events not taken place. My Country, Right or Wrong might be an irritating trait to put up with sometimes, and Rommath is definitely old-fashioned when it comes to the traditions of Quel'Thalas's leadership, but he's an admirable character for it - even if he is as snobby as a magister can get sometimes. Plus, he has long hair. I live for men with long hair~
Aethas is pretty much the hotshot kid fresh outta college, at least as far as the others are concerned. I like that he's got spunk, even if he is a bit childish in comparison to Kael'thas. I also think he gets some of the worst rotten luck - not only do he and the rest of the Sunreavers get forcibly removed from Dalaran, but Lor'themar manages to lose his cool just long enough to (essentially) publicly demote/humiliate the poor man. Aethas needs a hug and more fans. And then he and Rommath need to sort out their issues with each other so that they do not have to spend every minute in each other's presence fighting like cats and dogs.
I also have a bit of a soft spot for Magister Astalor Bloodsworn, Lady Liadrin, and Voren'thal the Seer, but more than anything the only reason I even started to like them is because of wanda von dunayev, who is a demi-goddess of fanfiction writing.
I also have a soft spot for Koltira and Thassarian, but that's more of a fanon-induced soft spot than a canon-induced one. They make the world's most adorable undead pair...
/end book.
What is Pokémon?
It's a Nintendo-owned game that focuses on the adventures of you, a young boy/girl who receives their first Pokémon and goes out to become the best trainer in all of the land. Each of the games' plot is rather formulaic, but the inclusion of new 'Mons, non-battle related competitions, and crime syndicates in each generation keeps things fresh. The franchise is composed of the games, a manga series, and an anime.
Why do I like it so much?
The game itself can be enjoyed on multiple levels ranging from simply playing through the single-player story to building a team, EV and IV training them to perfection, and challenging a friend to a showdown. Some people even organise Pokémon tournaments! As a not-very-competitive player, I particularly enjoy talking about team-building and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of individual 'Mons.
With all of that said, what's your favourite Pokémon and type? I favour Glaceon for its absurdly high Special Attack and water-types in general for their good balance between defensive and offensive attributes.
I've already mentioned them in another topic, but I guess I'll post them here as well:
Jigglypuff: This little pink puffball was what got me interested in Pokemon in the first place. While I knew Pikachu was from this "Pokemon" series, Encountering Jigglypuff in Super Smash Brothers Melee was a life-changer.n Besides, it's adorable and has it's charm.
Gastly: Cute, ghostly, and easy to draw. It helps that my first shiny I've seen peronally was my step-mother's shiny Gastly.
And finally:
Missingno.: While not a "true" Pokemon, but a Glitch Pokemon, it still counts (Well, I think it does, anyway.) It introduced me to the world of glitches, can be considered one of the safest of "Glitchmon", and is one of the few "Glitchmon" that can be caught without a cheat code. Oh, it also duplicates one of your items in a certain slot, so that's nice too.
As you tell, since I have a glitch Pokemon on my list, I like Glitch Pokemon. They're not supposed to be there but they are interesting nevertheless.
That "n" after "life-changer" is not supposed to be there.
Also, I meant "personally".
Sorry for my spelling and grammar errors.
I do not have a favorite Pokemon or favorite type per se. However, I really like the games' stories, especially the stories of the fourth and fifth generations' games.
Even the anime is starting to get really good in terms of plot, what with Team Rocket looking like ACTUAL ANTAGONISTS instead of just comic relief!
From the looks of it, there are going to be a bit more urban areas in the game. Also, the dev team got their act together and decided not to make the fire starter another fire/fighting. It's going to be a fire/psychic, with the other starters being water/fighting and grass/dark. That means the fully evolved starters have hard counters for their counterparts' weaknesses...
If only I had the appropriate console. Blast.
Where did you see this news?
By that, I meant the news about the starters' evolved forms; I did see the X and Y trailer and am STOKED for its release!
...from a friend that spends way more time than me looking at Pokémon stuff. He's usually reliable in these sort of things.
Usually.
As it turns out, there is no real solid evidence of what types the new starters will evolve into. The theory of their types came about through seeing what move each of them used in the trailer. The fire-type used a psychic-type move. The water-type used fighting-type. And the grass-type used a dark-type move.
So, this is all really just speculation at this point. However, one never knows what clues might have been left on purpose.
-Phobos