The most frustrating thing about working on original stories is ending up with a conflict of design choices.
I have a story that started off as a very visually aesthetically European design. I leaned Restoration period as my major influence, although I'm trying to keep it purely fantasy so I'm not locked in to historical research like my other projects. I love history and love researching details but it's so easy to get bogged down with fun research details and I wanted this story easier on myself. Less history, more vibes. (So I don't end up like my getting stuck researching Victorian gin brands that goes down the rabbit hole of corks of the 1880s again). I get so stuck with reseach I never really write.
Only problem is, it ended up with me giving the characters a very Japanese feel. Their names (Yukari and Chitose) and a lot of the symbolism I really wanted to lean into with this idea of wisteria and pine trees (I got introduced to it by the Fujimusume Noh play) for them as a theme and because I've been researching the Japanese history (especially the Heian period) for 20 years with a focus on architecture, clothing and poetry I could very easily make this a traditional Japanese setting. And if it were any other story of mine I would. But when I first started working on this and it's plot, I conceptualized it in a European setting based on a ballroom dance I loved. The way the two dancers interacted and the way the guy's long overcoat flowed was what got this plot bunny going. (It's a cosplay outfit that's vaguely Victorian)
But I think I've been reading too many otome isekai and yandere manga ans manhwa. (Plus watching Legend (1986) and Labyrinth) so I have a very specific view of their relationship progression that I want.
So I'm at a dilemma. I can either fully commit European or Japanese and just drop the other, (but at this point it'd be the European side that'd have to go) or splice it. And I'm not sure if that'd be weird or okay. I thought about settimg it Taisho period, but that introduces too many modern detail i don't want to deal with. I like a 1660s -1700s fashion with some fantasy touches thrown in.
Basically I can't being myself to eliminate some of the details (like a ballroom scene) that I love and feel is relevant but also if I commit full Japanese it has to go. The aesthetics matter because I'm both a very visual person and because I want it a visual story. A lot of the plot is political maneuvering or romance, so either court would work (some details eould change)
I'm at the point where I'm spinning my wheels on this story. I can research and add details and tinker with plot, but I just can't commit to the setting properly and that's making it hard to really move forward on what was supposed to be a relaxing pure vibes story idea.
And I know at this point the problem is I have my heart set on one setting and feel it's not appropriate to mix the ideas like that. So instead of being my easy story it's come to a standstill until my brain is hsppy eith an answer.
Making another poll to see some stuff so I got a question.
In what era did you find out about the subway bosses?
Original Release 2010-2011
Anime and B2W2 2012-2013?
In between 2014-2019
Masters Era 2020-2021
PLA 2022-2023
Recently 2024- Now
I dont know who they are.
Voting ended onMay 15
I will start I think for me it's a bit weird it could have been the anime but I remember seeing them in the Gotcha music video, but PLA introduced me properly, I wanted to learn more so I made the archive in 2025? Mostly because of some scares I have a habit of archiving art so I turned my anxiety into a blog.
Drawing him a bunch o' times to develop a muscle memory; still not done with the corbs practice, but I liked how the official art redraw looks with the way I colored it, so it's Saturday's post now.
Explanation of how to use tracing as a learning tool in art + a lil bit of this process below cut (warning, got kinda long & def not proof read)
Art Tip:
Tracing is a learning tool to help you understand how to simplify shapes & how they exist in relation to others spatially. It's less about closely following the lines, & more about learning how to draw them in as few strokes as possible to build line confidence after breaking it down into simplified shapes first.
Note: Visual aids were created after to illustrate my point. I did not plan on writing out an art guide, but that's what somehow happened?
Here, I added His official art to my canvas using Krita's reference image tool, made the reference transparent so that I could draw general guide lines & trace the actual line art.
When tracing line art to understand it better, you're going to want to think of the general shape of what that line belongs to while making as few strokes as possible; follow the line from beginning to end as closely as possible, as few strokes as possible, & as quickly as possible. Don't just slowly follow the line with your pen -- think about how the whole line was created to look that way; think about how your arm has to move to make it that way. (Remember to draw with your shoulder and not your wrist.)
Try not to jump around & focus on tracing one part at a time. (Ex. move from the head, to the neck, to the jacket on the torso & arms, then move onto the pants... & so on) This will help you notice small details and where things like his jacket collar, pin, tie, jacket droopy things, etc. all exist in relation to each other.
His tie falls past his belt; the base of which lines up with the bottom of his 3rd droopy jacket lapel things-- all of which I had a hard time noticing when i was trying to draw a replica before I realized tracing would help me notice these details. I walked away from this one also having a better understanding of clothing folds, so that was a nice bonus.
Make sure you are observing the subject while tracing it to get the most out of this method.
This next one isn't actually tracing (You should absolutely be doing this when utilizing tracing tho.) ; you can make guidelines by drawing over reference images. Using his official art to make guidelines to use as a starting point for the replica means that He'll have the same (or extremely similar) basic proportions, even if I'll inevitably diverge from those guidelines. I Highly recommend doing this if you can't get proportions right while you're practicing drawing different poses.
Without going into too much detail on the general concept of guidelines, these lines help you understand general structure and placement. I start with the overall frame for the head & torso, then add in the joints, and then connect those to make the limbs.
It's a little hard to see (sorry), but I made a blue copy of my redraw and set it under the reference (left side) so you can kinda see how the final differs from the source. You can see his hair is a tad longer, shoulders wider, right arm in a different place, left arm & pant legs ended up shorter, etc. I did manage to retain the proportions on his face, torso, legs, and feet. The final product doesn't look bad, just different; gives it a personal touch.
You can also study anatomy & poses this way-- and anything in general, really. Hope this explanation was informative & made sense. I was supposed to go to bed like 4 hrs ago from when i first typed this, there were NOT supposed to be this many words under the cut-- it just happened somehow???
Do not be afraid to trace as a learning tool. However, don't trace other people's art while claiming it as your own without disclosing it + linking the original if the original work doesn't fall under the "common knowledge" category. (famous & iconic art works, official art, even memes would not usually need a source) You should ask permission before posting as well. This would also apply to art studies where you are trying to redraw the piece from scratch to learn technique.
I've been taking a closer look at Ingo and Emmet's Japanese dialogue from Black and White, and thought it might be interesting to put together posts showcasing some of the differences from the official English translation.
This is a deep dive into Ingo’s English and Japanese dialogue from his appearances in Pokémon Black/White and Pokémon Black 2/White 2. My ma
Just like my article on Ingo, this is a deep dive into Emmet’s English and Japanese dialogue from his appearances in Pokémon Black/White and
In case I decide to do more things like this in the future, I set up the separate Gear Station Archives blog so the information can be accessed without needing a tumblr account.
It really does put Phillipe's and the one grunt's comments into perspective about how dangerously charming he is. XD
He's annoyed by her, but since Lumiose is on the line and it speeds things along, he's willing to flatter. (Although he's never said she's weak, just frustrating). It's really interesting seeing him use it on other characters (Ivor, Korrina and Jacinthe. Maybe Grisham? I don't actually remember) and how it would be a fascinating character study. I'd love to see how it compares to how he treats the player since I've always thought he'd been manipulating us at the beginning and that shifts as he actually comes to like snd enjoy our company. It's so interesting because we're directly told he dangerously charming but it's still a bit of a shock seeing that aimed at someone who isn't us, the player.
Need someone else to get on the Mable/Malva train with me
I'm trying to figure out if there would be any bad blood between them. Because Malva seems to have gotten off scot-free, whereas Mable very much did not. But also, she doesn't seem to hold as much anger and resentment as Malva does just in general— she's kind of abrasive, but she's not aggressive.
It's kind of an interesting question since in many ways I feel they're portrayed very similar. Honestly looking at it, had Mable's position in the lab been Malva, I'm genuinely not sure you'd have to change dialogue for.
Anyway, huge wall of text playing with the idea. XD I love studying characters and interactions.
That Looker quest conversation was something I could totally see an earlier Mable being like. It feels like they both have an abrasive personality, but it's hard to say if Mable had more of that aggression right immediately after the events of XY and has just had five years to settle and the aggression to loose some bite or if she'd always been less aggressive. Because Malva is angry at that point (at you, at Xerosic, at Looker) and seems to be trying to do damage control. It's interesting with that in addition to getting away she also left and vanished. There's an npc who notes that.
So would Mable be angry? It's possible. Mable just seems to have come more to terms and relaxed over time than Malva had had a chance to to. Overall, all the people connected to Team Flare have a bit of both attitude but also loyalty to each other. Mable seems frustrated by being contained, but is still doing well for herself. Grisham and Griselle are free but unable to live how they wish in their city. They're limited. Corbeau is in the best position, but has such a huge chip on his shoulder about being a "good person" and seems like he kind of had to do shadier work compared to the rest. (L/Lysandre isn't include because he simply vanishes and due to memory loss really doesn't have as strong opinions or connections yet. I'd have to do more of a deep dive).
But at the same time, Mable when she sends you to Grisham is very reserved in her information and also while she snaps at Corbeau during the hyperspace wormhole she still helps and assists. (And of course while Grisham and Griselle seem to not be 100 with Corbeau, given their distrust over the Hoenn salt during the dlc they also begrudgingly help). They all seem very much to be in a situation where the only other people who know what it's like for them now are each other. Like either they can't really interact (for reasons of it looking like Team Flare is collecting again) or they see it as having been a bad point in their lives but don't WANT to interact (but still won't stop them from helping as these are the only other people who know what they went through). Even if she was angry, given how all of them react to each other, there's just a bit of protectiveness.
Admittedly, that's getting a lot into conjecture and headcanons.
But overall I think if Malva showed back up there would be a begrudging collecting her into their almost group. Especially at first, where maybe they might have slightly more issues as she was one of the top three people of Team Flare. But also none of them quite seem to know what to think or completely venture negative opinions about the group. Even Emma has some mixed feeling as Xerosic was nice to her. So maybe there wouldn't be resentment for that? Mable herself when you catch Xerneas makes a comment about how at least "[her] work for Team Flare wasn't a totsl waste" implying it's crossed her mind. There might be some resentment over her getting free but if Malva is coming back (and it's not for something nefarious) there'd be sympathy. Grisham and Griselle bring up that they probably COULD move but feel shouldn't have to, so Malva returning would be more in keeping with their emotions and especially if she's returning for what boils down to "why should I have had to run away and dissappear?". I do think it would stress everyone out just a bit. Because on one hand she's in the same boat as them and they shouldn't be suspicious, but also they ALL have this "that boat is very precarious and I'd like things not to be messed up again" vaguely there in all their interactions like it's hanging over them. Where there might be just a touch of worry that another Team Flare person coming back to Lumiose might get the rest of them in trouble. But if Malva is returning that implies she's not really free either, in some way, even if it's emotional. So she's one of them.
And since you brought up Mable/Malva, (which I think means you're talking shipping? Let me know if I'm misinterpreting that) I think if it's on THAT emotional thread, I don't think there'd be bad blood. Maybe pity and maybe some solidarity and sympathy? Any anger Mable has is likely to be flashfire, not lingering. I think it might be more of a slow burn, although something fast due to them latching on to one of the only other people who has gone through what they have could also work. A lot to play round with.
I think the only way there's any real bad blood would be if by leaving "getting awsy scott free" she also was able to do better for herself AND return on her own terms as a complete positive, then I think there would be issues. It's one thing managing to avoid the same punishment (although I think it would at least annoy Mable at first XD) and came back equal or better than she left while all the rest of them feel they suffered for having their Team Flare connection, then I think there would be resentment.
I think the two of them might but heads at first, as they've both got very abrasive personalities, but I could see them both being okay with that. I could see them becoming the sort of friends that sass each other and they both know where the line is and from there if you want a ship, their relationship growing from that. They strike me as the sort where especially at first no one is quite sure if they're even friends at all.
So I actually agree with your tags about ignoring it, despite the evidence. XD I'm usually relaxed towards various fan theories but something about this one has me viscerally going "absolutely not.". And so far no evidence really feels all that solid to me. I do want to preface this by saying people can use whatever headcanons they want, and if it becomes more popular I'll just deal. I just want to bring some counter arguments against it, since it just feels off overall.
So first off, I feel the hair and eyes aren't similar enough. Kieran has distinct sharp two toned patches while Corbeau's is all purple, it's not the same shade either. If you bring Carmine into the mix then all that's similar is the eyes, but even then they have very grey toned yellow, not the more orangy gold tone he has. The shape also has absolutely nothing in common, with Corbeau's soft and rounded shape language and shaved 7:3 hairstyle, vs their sharp pointed shape language with the pointed bangs. Even when Kieran slicks his back, it's not in a similar shape. I'd say on just the looks, they're leaning into the common "purple hair, yellow eyes" look that is so common a pairing in anime it had it's own tv tropes page (or at least it did a few years ago). It's like how white hair and red/gold eyes get paired a lot in Japanese media.
Another point is they ARE both from (at least heavily implied to be from in Corbeau's case) Japanese inspired regions, but the fact of the matter is Kitakami is NOT Johto. They don't share dialects in game, and Arbok is the only pokemon their pokedex (between Kitakami, Johto OR Lumiose) have in common with someone connected. Which is to say, Corbeau and Yukito (their grandfather) share one single pokemon. Generally when pokemon uses connected pokemon to show relationships, it's through their ace pokemon, but none of them share an ace. (Admittedly Corbeau does break this just slightly given that he probably only has Gyarados for the Lysandre reference.). Corbeau's office doesn't really have that strong of Kitakami ties. About the most is the written language between Kitakami and Hisui are the same. Otherwise I'd say his office has more of a Hisuian feel, with the Hisuian Sneasel statues (you can see the markings on their face which is the difference), the writing, the bronzor mirror. It's just more Hisuian than Kitakami, despite similarities.
Bringing us to the last two points. First off, he is always so soft with children. Especially Ansha, but even the kids harassed by the SBC. It seems against his shown personality to be cruel to kids, and given his own background of "not having a place to belong" it feels out of plsce that he'd be absent in his own children's lives. I mean, look at the dlc. He hovers so badly over things he likes that everyone starts joking about "don't say his name or you'll summon him". I can't see someone that involved leaving his kids somewhere so far away from himself willingly. If anything, evidence points to him being a very attentive and good father. He has a chip on his shoulder about how he's "not a good person" that comes back with a more harsh and self depreciating tone in the dlc (same line, less funny and more hard on himself), but I dont think that would make him be absent in his kids lives. Especially if he had two of them of different ages. That's really indicative of IF they were his, they couldn't both have been an accident. (Like obviously that can be argued, but my point is if he WAS their father and if he had any emotional hangups over being a father because he's a bad person or something, Carmine would be way more likely to be an only child.)
And my last point, which is admittedly the weakest, is that I've been doing a deep dive into timelines of the pokemon games and there's (tentatively) more in favor of ZA and Scarlet and Violet taking place around the same time. SV have the older model of phones, both games are AT LEAST post Sword and Shield (due to Leon no longer being champion and Sonia's book being released) and at least close to SV (Iono gets commented as still being a streamer.). This point ties into another one that Corbeau isn't all that old. Between Phillipe and stuff about Lysandre, he's probably in his mid 20s. If SV is at exactly the same time as ZA (with the French comment of Kieran being 14 being our best wotking age), Corbeau would have to be 32 in ZA JUST for Kieran's age, and older for Carmine. She'simpliedto be under 18, but olderthan Kieran, which if calculated to Corbeau's age would put it to between 33-35. I'm not putting Corbeau any younger than 18 for the calculations. Like it's not impossible, but unlikely at the lowest age (he's so settled in Lumiose it'd be odd to have children across the world during the events of ZA plus I think if you're having to argue for teen pregnancy with Corbeau, potentially twice, there needs to be a whole heck of a lot more to back it up.). Obviously this is my weakest point as it relies on a lot of "if's", and should Scarlet and Violet be set later it opens the timeline more and makes all this irrelevant. There's just barely enough indications to say SV is set at or before ZA, but it's just nebulous enough that I can't say with 100% certainty.
Basically the short version is, while there is some things that could be argued in favor that they're his children, there's just as much against it so it's not solidly locked in place either way. There's nothing really decisive.
(This also loosely applies to them being related at all, but that's REALLY nebulous on both sides. I think as a response to my knee jerk reaction to them being his kids I also don't like this theory, but I'm more in the "sure? I guess??" And again just kind of deal with it popping up every so often. I'd personally rather no relation at all, BUT that's not how fandom works. So I've got no arguments against it. It's purely a vibes based issue rather than a logic based one.
The first thing Naveen does when he meets you? Is give you a hat. He brushes it off, saying it wasn’t his size, and clarifies that you can change into something else if the jacket isn’t your style. When we meet Lida, we can see the same embroidery patch on her hoodie, which is loose and suited for dancing. So already, we have Naveen being the sort of person who does favors and gives gifts to those he cares about, and wants a sense of cohesion in his team. He clearly doesn’t know how to talk about his feelings, and is somewhat cold and standoffish about it, but he definitely cares. Right before your first night in the ZA Royale, he even gives you a sitrus berry and some advice.
In the curry scene, it’s pointed out that he’s lumiose born and raised, which is given as the explanation for why he’s so polite. He vocally dislikes taunie’s cooking, but will eat it anyways because he was raised to not turn down perfectly good food. Thus, it’s a reasonable assumption to make that the texture of croissant curry is bad or unappealing, even if the taste is good.
He tells you that taunie is doing her best to look out for you, even if she comes across oddly at times. I think he likes taunie more than lida, and despite his external prickliness, he’s aware that taunie also struggles to communicate properly and doesn’t want you to feel as though she’s neglected you.
He also shows annoyance at not being invited properly or told when meetups are. Honestly yeah, me too. Taunie is so hyperindependent that she’s not good at communicating with others or working in a group, which is represented by her not wearing the team’s logo on her outerwear like everyone else. (see this analysis for why she is Like That)
I say this with all the love in my heart. Taunie is not a good leader. And Naveen notices.
And then. My least favorite scene. Where Lida pressures Naveen into getting into a pokemon battle and spilling his backstory.
My personal belief is that Lida is pushing Naveen out of his comfort zone because she wants him to open up to more people, and she’s getting good vibes from you. Is it still overly pushy of her? Yes, and it’s kind of an asshole move, but she has good intentions at least.
I’m just going to say. Naveen’s team is Bad. Like, nintendo needs not just a sensitivity checker, but a whack upside the head. Sure, make the Black boy specialize in the evil type and have a crook pokemon and a hoodlum pokemon. And the design of mega scrafty later on… look, I get what they were going for with the shed skin, but there are unfortunate implications to contend with here. Fucks sake, we should be beyond these tropes.
In all honesty, it’s such a source of discomfort that I’ve been poking at a rewrite where he’s a bug type specialist instead, with a leavanny as his ace. I think it would suit him much better— because Naveen isn’t like most dark type specialists, who are campy and dramatic. He’s closer to the later generations’ bug type specialist archetype— detail oriented, artistic, and industrious.
He takes his loss gracefully, complimenting you on your skill and commenting that he may want to rethink his ace’s moveset. After that, with some prompting from lida, he admits that he’s using the place as a studio since his grandmother has discouraged his creative pursuits.
Why does Naveen live with his grandmother, rather than his parents? What kind of complicated relationship does he have with her, that he still feels safe enough to spend the night at her house but can’t be himself around her? The game doesn’t answer these questions, and I doubt Naveen will, but I would love it if fanfic did.
Now, regarding his love of Canari. His dream is not to earn a date with her, or impose parasocially, but to design an outfit that she would wear on stream. It’s an oddly professional sort of dream, almost like wanting to grow his brand large enough for an official collab.
Is he elitist about being a true fan? Yes. Yes, he is. He’s all about exclusivity. However, god fucking forbid Black boys do anything, like have interesting flaws. Sometimes your friend is just like that about his fave.
Anyways, thank you for reading this far. This is very much an incomplete bunch of observations about Naveen, piled together, but I would love to hear more thoughts if you'd like to chat in good faith. <3
honestly this lines up with how I see him. I just completed the dlc and there's an extra battle with him where he talks about his family, so if you haven't gotten that far some if this will spoil just Naveen's extra dialogue.
But my initial view of him is that he's an introvert and has a low tolerance for others bs, but at the same time he's the first and most consistent to speak up when we're being volunteered and overworked. I feel he wasn't sure how to handle us as the player but by part of the way feels a certain comradery over the others being more pushy to both the player and Naveen. (I do love Lida and am slowly coming to understand Urbain/Taunie even if they annoyed me at first). I like that even though everyone realizes the work needs to be done because the rogue megas are dangerous, he's really the first to put his foot down and speak up on our behalf over the amount the player is getting.
I like that he's the voice of reason. His line of "I have some concerns" to "I have MANY concerns" cracked me up. I do think that out of everyone, he is both annoyed by Lida but relates to the feeling that they're kind of pushed and obligated to help with the rogue megas, but neither of them are particularly strong and he strikes me as feeling a bit over his head.
As for his grandmother, we know she threw out his sewing supplies, so she badly disapproves of his hobbies. He asks Ansha if she can use Hoopa to sneak his stuff out of her house, and we know he thinks she views his little sister more highly. He needs somewhere to use as a work space for his supplies. It seems like he's pretty deeply hurt by his grandmother rejecting his hobbies, and despite that hopes he can still do good enough at sewing to win her over. He's very private in his emotions though, so it's hard to tell.
Your comment about his desire to make an outfit for Canari is interesting and oddly professional is true. I'll have to think on that a bit because it hadn't occurred to me. I had thought of it as more separate as a lot of characters have a couple things going on with them to give them more nuance, but that's a really interesting point.
there's probably already a name for this but it's a trope i coined for a very specific type of dynamic that im consistently obsessed with. give me two people who grew up together and played together and were each other's best friend and then Something Happened and now everything's fucked up but they're still friends. or they want to be at least. you look so different now and everything is so much more complicated now than when we played in your backyard but literally who else knows me better than you. who else could i ever call my best friend
Real talk: what age range do you think the Daycare primarily took care of, because sometimes I see versions that have infant/baby sections, some only take care of toddlers to young kids, and I'm not sure if we've had canon ever specify? So, I'd like to hear your thoughts!
I agree that probably no babies as there isn't really anything for them. I'd say at least potty trained (so maybe about 2 to 3) and older, although I'd lean slightly older. There isn't any baby changing locations (not that there is in any of the regular bathrooms either) and none of the toys are exactly safe for any younger. There's just the one plastic playhouse in the middle of the room (and the other in their bedroom area). At first I thought it was just their bedroom and maybe they were phasing out the younger kids. Maybe you could argue the one section with nothing but foam shapes near the security as well. But this also lines up with some real world examples like McDonald's.
I'd then say the cap is probably about 12 to 13, as most places with the big play structures I'm seeing cap at about that age. It also lines up with the fact that a lot of the attractions at the Pizza Plex is a higher range. Like most laser tag places are either 6 or 8 and up, Roxy's go karts only have one size (any place I'm seeing that states younger ages like 5 can use them either have a "mini kart" or a double seater to go with a parent or both, with some speed limits on them) and the age for the adult sizes starts at about 13.
So that puts there being a range of kids possibly too young to use the main attractions. Plus with the various party rooms facing the daycare (probably to get kids in) and that being aimed at about that age range (although clearly there were much older and much younger groups that used them). Sun also seems to struggle with the older ages.
As for Moon and nap time, that throws things off a bit, as thats quite a bit younger with enforced nap time usually ending at around 6. In other words, preschool age. Most places that do that though, its a period of time anout 30 to 45 minutes starting at noon, so I could see it just not affecting the older kids anyway, or it being just stated that there's a half hour quiet period. The pizza plex closes quite late as well, so I could see a second nap time enforced.
Canon itself doesn't seem to indicate, unless I've missed a detail somewhere. So based on the gap in when kids can use the various attractions, about 3-13 is the max range that's reasonable and there can be arguments for cutting down the ages on either end.
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