Chase

Hey. I struggle to accept financial aid for things all the time. Things like an education are important and are paid back ideally, but when I had to have my ankle surgically repaired I actually felt pity for the insurance company - and that's why they exist. The thing to remember in a lot of situations is that people reach out because they care more often than to just pity your situation or feel like you have burdened them. It's difficult. As someone who struggles with pride and detests borrowing money on principle - I know the frustration all too well. I almost felt like the debt was a punishment for being careless. However, if I can take some help - I know you can. --- I don't want to minimize the role your wife has. She sounds like a fortress and more than great. However - she's there because she loves you. You probably didn't struggle with much other than feeling her stress and noticing her work - but I don't see her willingly stepping up if she didn't believe in you. That's not meant to be a mere platitude. It's a source of hope. Tell her you love her - hear her say she loves you too. And allow yourself to smile. Whenever the inevitable pain and it's valleys come back. Remember. Your family is your mountains.

This was mostly in response to notion that celebrity presidents can't be effective - as even Trump has been. People wouldn't know it because the news wants to talk about the mean things he says or the things that fail instead. I'm still game for having fun and maybe I'll brainstorm some targets if my own. --- Firstly - "wins for Republicans" matter. The more promises Trump fulfills to his previous voters the more likely they are to vote for him again. Trump doesn't need to expand his base or campaign as hard as his challenger because his record is a part of the campaign itself. This clears his primary challenger slate and gives the GOP a resounding majority candidate. Typically - you want to be an incumbent with party wins. Gorsuch is a huge one. Trump assuaged fears that the law would be re-interpreted from the Judicial bench and preserved conservative presence in the branch for years to come. NeverTrumpers give him this one on our side. Actually - that protectionism of American businesses is either more likely non-partisan or more of a Democratic cause depending on which candidate you are looking at. During the campaign - Trump used this to sound extremely different from other Republicans, and gave him an avenue to reach out to Bernie Sanders voters during the election. Free trade is a traditional Republican stance and quite a few Democrats support it as well. While it's not "Trumpian politics" - these deals are a win for conservatives and for all American consumers. It also proves Trump can still makes deals. I'll look into them more. Watch this space. The quickest way for ANY party to lose following and support is to change healthcare. By instating the Affordable Care Act Obama insured he would lose his congressional majority. Republicans took the bait though and made promises to burn the law to ashes - and that's caused some overeagerness from many a Republican to act irrationally for an immediate repeal. I APPRECIATE Sen. McCain not repeating the Democrats' previous example of exclusion by voting the bill down. This one matters for all of us and input should come from all of us. I don't count this as a win for Trump because it's not one. That being said - Healthcare isn't the only thing I as a voter care about. I for one do not think the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is ours as Americans to determine - but we are allied with Israel as you said. We don't have to further the conflict to re-affirm our allegiances. Obama's "apologizer-in-chief" approach to foreign affairs was noble - but largely ineffective as he continued to send troops to the Middle East and we continued to fight in conflicts there. When he was aggressive - conflicts improved. That's been more effective than being the whole world's diplomats. Why make our allies nervous if we already know who to ally with? I'd rather both sides know where we stand before we get to the table to negotiate. This conflict has gone on for decades. The answer for past presidents hasn't been to solve it. Why should it be for Trump?

None of those other folks were speculated recently for being president quite like Oprah has been. --- I know people don't want to hear this, but the Democrats really do want need to be smart with who they pick to run against Trump in 2020, because despite having 90 percent of all media coverage of him in 2017 lampoon and undercut him, he's got several wins on the board and can easily win re-election based of what he was able to do just in his first year. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Trade deals with China, Vietnam, and South Korea. Improved relations with Israel. A successfully signed new tax plan. Defeating ISIS (or continuing to do so as Obama was) 67 Obama-era regulations being tossed. a 41% decline in undocumented immigrant crossing apprehensions. The Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines being constructed, not only uncapping more energy here at home but creating 42,000 jobs in doing so. And NONE of that is representative of the growing stock market and consumer confidence that is largely being credited to Trump's actions -or- the continued decline in unemployment from the Obama Administration despite going in the complete opposite direction policy-wise. The Democrats don't have a slam-dunk race in 2020 at all if this continues. They already rely heavily on the media to demean this president day in and day out - to the point where even former Democratic President Jimmy Carter feels bad for the guy. But - oh gosh, he didn't deliver on Obamacare repeal in 100 days like he promised. Well, that's government for him. --- In all honesty, the only embarrassing thing about Trump so far has been his mouth and his Twitter fingers. He is very naturally insensitive when addressing the public. That hasn't transpired to a bad presidency. If there is three more years of this - I'll probably be a Trump voter unless the Democrats have someone good to oppose him. This time, the man isn't a political novice with a big mouth. He'd be a president with the credentials to back up his talk.

And -that's- what I was waiting for. Confirmation that in both routes Amy is being DELIBERATE in the way she treats Tania. That's not a good spot for either of them, and honestly, makes the relationship too abusive for both parties to support it existing in the romantic sense. However - this does provide some good appreciation for how well this fiasco is written. Eventually they will have to commiserate or allow Reborn to strike one or both with tragedy. The best one can hope for is a clean break and a fresh start for both. This might be a situation where my opinion changes as more info is known. Titania is a neat character with this relationship issue as a horribly unforgivable albatross - but she doesn't deserve to be haunted for it. Amaria is also a cool character and also does enough wrong to match. Two wrongs don't make a right - but we don't know where the end is. That's compelling. I just don't get where Taka fits with this so much - but hopefully that's reveal when I get there!

I for one think that it's completely fair that folks around the world point to America and scoff at what is going on with our political system. (although just because some alternative organization from Malaysia says so, that doesn't necessarily mean that Bush is a war criminal. I'd be more concerned if the actual ICC made that call.) It actually makes me happy to agree with most folks for once - and I actually think Oprah is a step up from what we have now in terms of international compassion and perhaps intelligence. --- That being said, I asked the question to entertain a fun discussion, and we have people getting wound up over it, foreign or domestic. Goodness. It's not like being President can't be something rich people choose to want to be, either. There have been several celebrity-turned-politicians that have panned out alright. It's not a foreign concept that people should be angered over - and it only really makes sense because people still are angered about Trump being afforded that opportunity. I for one think that everyone should have the right to get into politics if they want to. Perhaps starting off with one of the most powerful offices in the world isn't a good recommendation - but that doesn't mean the country can afford to have the office be rendered completely inept. For example, Trump did safely navigate the country through nearly his first year without us crashing and burning. He may not have as many legislative victories to his name - and that doesn't mean we've seen him act presidential throughout - but you can't take the fact away from him. Trump has almost been president for a year - and America is still here, free to think about who his successor might be. Can we have fun now?

I think what it ultimately comes down to is that the Democrats have "actual politicians" that - while young - are microcosms of the Oprah effect without scrimping on political proof of validity. Cory Booker could be the second African American president. Kristen Gillibrand is a female politician who isn't Hillary Clinton - which might have been the difference last time around. Kamala Harris is a woman of color. Then of course you have Bernie likely sticking around - and perhaps Warren - both of whom are considerably liberal without being "identity politics" candidates. Oprah is an interesting option - she is the most appealing candidate from a campaign finance standpoint even next to Sanders. However - like Trump - she's voted for Republicans despite identifying as a D. Which of her policies are conservative? Hell. She might get MY vote over Trump or the 3rd party candidate depending on where those rightward leans are. --- I want to see Democrats nominate someone young but with experience. I think with a Republican Congress likely in 2020 (even if the R's have a rough mid-term for once) if you have a younger politico who can be patient and learn to arm wrestle in divided government - you might have the next Barack Obama. I feel like the field isn't short on diversity on that side of the aisle either. Sanders is a poor choice because he can't garner moderate liberal support and is much too soft on ID politics to encourage voters of color to coalesce around him. Warren may fare better - but only because she can fight Trump back verbally. At that point, she risks having a Hillary campaign.

Wait wait wait. Amy tries the kill the player and THATS what people don't like about her. Amaria is cool my dudes. Main Character needs to stay 50 feet away from diaries that don't belong to them. (Ok- but blame the game. Not Amy.) My issue with the relationship rests squarely on Titania anyway. She's too smart to keep getting into the traps that she does - and everything else about Tania is "yup" city too. Honesty is ALWAYS better. If Tania didn't lie in the first place - Amy wouldn't have such an attachment built up. If it's a clinical reason Amy loses it on you - that should be excused. Why do I sound haughty about this? I've been pretty close to the situation Tania has been in. My closure for the two would not be as a couple unless Tania learns to actually mean it.

Hey guys. It's 2018 - which means it's a major political year in America. Democrats are going to be looking to surge back in a traditionally rough Mid-term after a stunning 2016 that involved the rise of President Trump and Republicans weathering their traditionally rough election year in order to hold onto the Congress. Recently - a name has arisen for a prospective 2020 candidate. Oprah Winfrey. Her Golden Globes speech was heard across the country as a potential salvo of a Trump rebuttal. Here's 3 reasons why the O would be a great candidate (and three reasons otherwise.) #HireMeBuzzfeed --- Good: Oprah is the liberal Donald Trump. Sometimes - fighting fire with fire is a good thing. With Trump's seemingly obvious bid for re-election safe ...for now... from Republican challengers and the impeachment process, we would get a potential clash between self-made names with made-for-TV personas. She also would have a clean blouse as a significant newbie to the politics game, whereas Trump's incumbency tosses some of his formerly successful mystique in the garbage. Not Good: She's the liberal Donald Trump. Are Democratic voters really going to give credence to Trump by copying his campaign's unknowns? On top of that - if Trump is an ineffectual president coming in as a newbie - is inserting their own novice after him going to be helpful? Good: Oprah is a champion of liberal identity politics and has the record to back it up. The O doesn't only champion certain groups from the stage. She acts and provides on their behalf. And she looks the part as a woman of color herself! As a candidate - this has massive upside from the former Obama coalition that she called out personally, to Republican women who admire her work. Bad: Democrats are trying to move beyond identity politics. The Clinton debacle is often attributed to many a thing - from Russia tampering with the election to Hillary being an unlikeable candidate. One of the things the establishment on the left determined was that Democrats focused too hard on identity issues and left many other people behind. Can Oprah be Oprah and still reach the rural, whiter, Democrat that cares more about healthcare and the economy? Bad: Politics inherits a dangerous new precedent that squashes opportunity. This last negative is more on the consequence and not on Oprah herself. If the elite celebrity is the new face of politics as a rule - it would discourage political careers for the opponents in those races. This creates an unequal opportunity issue - and one that if Oprah were their nominee the Democrats would have to take equal ownership of. Good: She's genuinely a good person. If there's one thing Trump the politician seems to lack - it's sincerity. Furthermore his firing folks on his reality tv show contrasts with Oprah giving away expensive things on her own show. She genuinely takes care of others - and her policy angle would likely reflect that. What are you guys' thoughts?

My favorite character in the entire game is Cal. In a game that leans heavy on strong female characters there are really only three male personalities in Reborn that hold particular value - and two (maybe one haven't seen the latest episode played out yet) of them are antagonists. Cal IMMEDIATELY voices his actual intentions with the player as they try to head for Aya following the Pyrous Mountain debacle. Above, a poster claims that Cal was redeemed - and while the Ametrine situation certainly makes up for the Pyrous Mountain mistakes - Cal did not make those mistakes as a Meteor willingly and thus wasn't really in need of redemption. He had from the very beginning tried to navigate a difficult situation by setting up the PULSE-Camerupt only to have the machine sabotaged. If the player and company didn't do anything at all - Cal's plan would have worked and his reputation would have retained momentarily and Apophyll would have at least a little more time. Cal isn't a heel-turn hero. He's a misunderstood NPC who is very unlucky and makes a strong resurgence in a moment that lends himself to his redemption. Ame threw him a bone - and he seized the opportunity. It's no wonder people genuinely like him - because he's one of the few men in this game that are truly likeable. --- Favorite Meteor - while very much in depth with multiple options of various degrees of importance (Props) - still doesn't have my favorite Meteor as an option - so I answered Cal again. To be fair - this is just a grunt - However, this particular grunt is special to me. An "Other" option would suffice. --- Laura is probably my favorite non-gym leader, non-meteor. Florinia is my favorite gym leader not named Cal. Grass Type Best Type.

1. Have a necrobump - because this is an opinion thread and those are safe and lawful. Sorry Mods. 2. YES! Another chance to disagree with Ame. 2018 is apparently a normal year. --- My answer is less "depends" than it is "if its relevant to the story, then it matters - period." Like you, friend - I do believe that narrative matters in games. For me - that's where the postgame content's importance lies. Rules with story writing in my opinion should be as follows..... Put all the story points IN your base game before the game is over -OR- make your post-game with considerable integrity and reward story seekers for playing it. (as well as other folks, such as collectors and completionists.) Do NOT paywall your story in any degree. Only leave story points points open-ended in ways that are not invasive or disruptive to gameplay. Basically, don't suck at telling your story and fit it to the gameplay - then you can inject mystery and intrigue beyond it. --- Pokémon - for example - has done story-laden postgame with various degrees of success. The Ruby and Sapphire remakes for example, completely broke open the Pokémon Universe in a particularly clean retcon between games that featured Mega Evolution and games that didn't. That story point also made a believable existence of multiple dimensions that laid the ground work for Gen 7's Ultra Space. Then there's lore points that connect Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia's post game to Fire Emblem Awakening in another brilliant retcon that fleshes out a character that had held a bunch of scrutiny and intrigue in the earlier title.. The point here is, If story is elaborated - be it singular games or ENTIRE FRANCHISES - then the game after the credits holds significant value. This doesn't mean that there always has to be a good post-game in a game. There doesn't need to be a post-game at all. However, if there is, and it holds implications to the story (which we both care about...) then it should matter and be cared about. It can completely change a way you are supposed to view the story.

Alright, so I'll start off by talking about a few games I have played sparingly to have yet to play. 1. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017) I remember playing the older "Battlefront 2" for the PlayStation 2 for hours on hours. It was the first game of the series to include BOTH military eras from the Star Wars franchise (at the time, the sequel trilogy had yet to exist) with the addition of the Separatist droid army, the Grand Army of the Republic (or the Clones), and maps from that era such as Geonosis, Utapau, and Mustafar - as well as the classic Galactic Civil War maps such as Hoth, Endor, and Yavin 4, along with the Rebel Alliance and the Empire. All of the MTX hoopla that surrounds the Dice games and the heavy lean toward multiplayer play definitely has made me feel better about not even owning a current gen console - but I am missing out on the New Republic-First Order era (brought to us by 'The Force Awakens' and 2017's 'The Last Jedi') along with Resistance and First Order troops and Heroes such as Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren. On top of that, Iden Versio's campaign and story add extra dimension and depth to the Galactic Empire that I feel compliments the "established government" well aside from the classic "thems the bad guys" take we get from the films. I don't know how it plays out - but as a huge Star Wars fan, I'm probably able to look past people trying to take my money here. 2. Cuphead The game LOOKS pretty, and I remember reading a game reviewer slam it because he genuinely sucked at clearing the tutorial, which was amusing. I just feel like it's a sensation in the same sense that 'Bendy and the Ink Machine' (oh look, this game even features the same era Cuphead is featuring!) and 'Hello Neighbor' was this year. If you dig Indy developers a whole lot, you're going to be excited to play Indy games. I wonder how much of that is an effective hall pass. Not judging anyone for digging Cuphead though, if it's a platform gunner done right, then good for it. It just looks like a re-skinned AAA title that is holding onto Bendy's inky coattails to me though. 3. Nier: Automata Probably the game I most wanted to play, but never got the chance to. My interest in this game though comes from a voice actor in a game I'll mention later though. 4. Super Mario: Odyssey This game, from it's presentation, to the short time I had to interact with it, scratched my old Super Mario 64 itch. The problem is, it looks like it's the only game really worth owning a Switch for at this point - as Splatoon 2 looks like it leans too heavily on multiplayer experience and Breath of the Wild can be played on another console and seems like too much of a time sink. ...on to games that I did get to enjoy. Fire Emblem: Heroes 2017 was probably the busiest year I've ever had. Between work, school, and being well behind on owning the latest consoles, I had previously opened the Fire Emblem floodgates on the most current gaming device I owned, the Nintendo 3DS, with Fire Emblem: Fates in 2016. I do not regret that decision - because in terms of "belonging to the Reborn community" - FE: Heroes was the game that solidified my being here. The mobile game features a now-two-part story with short-yet-gradually-difficult pieces of genuine Fire Emblem experience. It can be a bit predatory, as it can be difficult to get Heroes you want on limited Free orbs, but it is by no means impossible to play - even without spending anything on it. Also, comparing your barracks and builds with friends made this a 2017 highlight. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia 2017's almost over, and people somehow forgot to bring this game up. In all honesty, maybe it's a bit fair. SoV was a remake of Fire Emblem: Gaiden - one of the most oddball entries in the FE franchise. However, with the gameplay and maps refurbished and most of the production placed in fully voicing the experience and fleshing out the story of Alm and Celica as well as the countries of Zofia and Rigel, the game's throwback gameplay, now 3D dungeons, and modern art and music adaptations blew me away. The post-game is also rewarding for the lorehounds - particularly with fans of the much later franchise entry that took this place by storm once - Awakening. Seriously, Play this damn game already. I've already told you all like...thousands of times. I don't do it for my health. Pokémon: Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon The deluxe edition of Sun and Moon. If you somehow managed to miss out on Alola the first time around, these games make a strong run for best in the franchise. If you have played Sun and Moon though?...... They certainly felt too similar - and that wasn't always a good thing. Great games, but it comes down to perspective with these, big time. Doki Doki Literature Club Alright, so in October when this game was apparently spooping the internet - I was attending a meeting held by my university's gaming club and someone I knew offered to share with me a great visual novel after I had shown interest in the genre. He sorta glossed over the fact that this game isn't a damn visual novel, and I was SHOOK. Fun story about me - I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE horror games. HATE them. With a passion. When Amethyst and I were a thing - she made it a point to play games of this type with me occasionally because she.....liked picking on me or something. So, When this extracurricular scaring the shit out of me happened outside of Reborn, the first thing I did was tell Amethyst about DDLC - and I wasn't the first to tell her - but that led to playing the game with her ...and having to play the game AGAIN.... to see how another of the girls' "routes" went.. (sorry person that wanted to see Ame play it on stream. I'm partially to blame for spoiling the uh.... fresh experience you might have hoped for..) Anyway Doki Doki would get my vote for Game of the Year. Yes. it's a horrible creation that shouldn't exist - but Team Salvato, in a game that was supposed to prey on people susceptible to the Visual Novel genre and showcase how deep it can really go - created characters that are actually surprisingly 3D despite their 2D appearance, some of the best meta-gaming experiences I've ever had, and a whole lot o lose ends as to who the girls in the Literature Club really are. As someone with a hatred for thrills and a rampant imagination, this is a game that will sick to the bone for a while. Also.. the memes are dank.... .... also, Yuri is the best girl. Fight me.

I've played all three routes. I like Azura - but she's disliked because she harms the story, particularly in Conquest, just as much as she helps. Not even that she (Camilla) makes a strong case for best unit in the game? Hate her character all you want. For her availability her stats are great and stay great. Her immediate reclass options give her all the skills she wants. And she doesn't have the prepromote curse. She's like Ryoma, but with room to grow and be tailored to your whim. I can respect Yoshi.

Oooo. Camilla (Fire Emblem: Fates.) Am I a sucker for attractive women? Yeah. Does Intelligent Systems write her well? Not very. Do Heroes and Warriors do her any favors in making her seem more than just a sex object? Not at all. ...but I get what she was supposed to be, and feel that some scenes in Fates are done well for how there are supposed to be interpreted. Camilla is SUPPOSED to be a resistant character to change. It's intentional. And it works for me. Azura (Fire Emblem: Fates) Azura feels too present in all routes to be as contriving and nonsensical as she can be. But I like her. First FE wife. I'm loyal. As for characters I hate but people like... Kirby (Smash) Down B. Pls no spam.

Okay, so here are the ramifications that come to mind here. It's stated that the RRocket members joined up together after accomplishing their goals - meaning a kid certainly didn't stop them in their own universes. GIOVANNI thus runs a very successful crime syndicate that spans both Kanto and Johto - if the Rocket presence in Johto is pre-established before the events of Gold and Silver. Giovanni's most marked quality is his ambitiousness, so his forming a league of super villains checks out because it would make sense if he needed still more Pokemon. ARCHIE and MAXIE are rival leaders placed in a seemingly untenable alliance under Giovanni's thumb, but if their world was destroyed by the powers of Groudon and Kyogre (or the Delta Episode's meteor strike, which could happen to either ORAS Hoenn -or- RSE Hoenn depending on if the ORAS Devon Corp. uses their portal machine or not.) it would make sense that Archie and Maxie would be looking for work - and possibly a new home. This would check out if world destruction was a part of these two gentlemens' plans. The two leaders seem to be remorseful in their original games about endangering Hoenn after the two Pokemon are revealed to be more powerful than originally thought. There isn't a reason for either of these two leaders to continue being criminals after what they experience. CYRUS would like have control of Time, Space, and ...Antimatter? Plasma?....what metaphysical substance or thing is Giratina responsible for? The point here is - Cyrus would equate to a god if his plans were to succeed in DPPt. Why turn around and pass on godhood for an admin job under Giovanni? GHETSIS' successful liberation of all Pokemon from Unova is a bit trickier to identify as a success or a failure. It's probably presumed that N becomes "king" of the region, the events of Black and White 2 never happen, and Ghetsis' status is unknown. We do know that N and Ghetsis aren't exactly on the same page, as N is tricked in to doing what he believes is good. Is it possible Ghetsis leaves N to reign over Unova in their universe and carries on his work in Alola in the USUM universe? Maybe. Lysandre and Team Flare's plan is to destroy the world to create one more beautiful. If that succeeds...welll, Lysandre and his goons are probably out of a planet to dwell in, but they do probably survive because of their bunker underground. Would it be reasonable for Lysandre to hop into the Alolan paradise to try again? With a destitute overworld, yeah, it would. UNLESS.... The second time the ultimate weapon is used utterly destroys the planet, killing Lysandre anyway. Faba seems to represent the Aether Foundation's scientist cronies from the first Sun and Moon games in this RRocket group. This checks out more than any of the above, unsurprisingly, because of the three important Aether members (Lusamine, Faba, and Wicke) only Faba seems to remain a tinge malignant with his dislike of children. He also has a mean ambitious streak, and it would make absolute sense for him to turn on Lusamine to further his status. Either the SUMO Faba -or- USUM's Faba would work here - because SuMo Faba is likely still in charge of the Aether Foundation while Lusamine is in Ultra Space and could easily become "President". USUM Faba's character is equally prone due to his inherent ambitiousness. Only about HALF of these "success" stories make sense to me - so I hope this is just some nostalgia thing - or if they have to retcon the series this way, that they figure out a sensible way to do so.

Milk'n'Cookies - I'm going to second this, because Dr. Jenkel's assessment of Karen after she almost literally destroys his soul is easily one of the areas in the game where I laughed the hardest. It was beautiful. It also works thematically, as she's a magician and he's a scientist, and magic is sort of the precursory study of modern sciences with the intent to manipulate the "functions" of the universe to serve humanity (or just one's self, in Karen's case to this point.) --- I like the concept of a relationship system, and it's proven throughout the various "you explained what happened" sequences and decisions you may make in the game (most of which don't matter but hey, illusion of choice is something) identify the player as more of a "mute" protagonist than a "silent" protagonist. This DOESN'T however devalue the claims others make about the player and it doesn't change the dynamic with Melia. DEVIL'S ADVOCATE THOUGH? Melia has the potential to be a tragic heroine. If you haven't finished the end of Ep. 9.....

An easy way to look at fashion by region is to address player character sprites and the way they dress. Kanto: Red: The Kanto region's fashion sense as depicted by Red may be the most distant from the regional fashion at large. Red is portrayed as a 10 year old boy in the 90's - with rolled up jeans and a button-up vest. He's dressed very much like a normal kid at that time going outside to play. When looking at Red's FR/LG model it looks as if he's matured and decided to wait three Pokemon years (10 real life earth years) and the fashion sense changes slightly with his jeans being baggier and shoe length. Instead of riding a bike, Red looks ready to travel on foot. He trades in the vest and black undershirt for a T-shirt when he gets to Alola. In general, Red provides a simplistic fashion sense throughout, indicating that kids probably were minimalist. This is further backed up by Youngsters and Lasses in this region. Leaf: Leaf makes her debut in Generation III, which features the Hoenn region's vast biomes and need for athletic ability to traverse said biomes. She does a wonderful job at mixing the athletic culture of the early 2000's with Kanto's signature simplicity. She appears to be wearing pumps to wick away sweat from her ankles, but pairs it with a simple top and skirt/skort. Her hat keeps the sun out of her eyes, but it's not specifically "sweat reducing" or made to be worn athletically. It's a culture blend that revolutionized "Blue's" former black dress feminine look into one that was suitable for a Pokemon journey in the region without being overly flashy. Johto: Gold/Ethan: Both Johto protagonists in generation IV seem to provide some sense of "cold" areas in the region. Ethan wears a hoodie/jacket in all of his models, and his generation IV model gives him shorts that are cuffed, which might keep the knees and upper legs warmer than his previous shorts would. His older model gives him sneakers, but he appears to trade those in for slip-ons in Gen IV, providing an aire of "comfort" in the Johto region that, while less minimalist, still provides a sense of freedom later generations don't seem to offer. Lyra: Lyra speaks to the ToJoh area's vast countryside and rural areas more than any other character in game. The overalls indicate that New Bark Town, which is essentially a border town between Johto and Kanto, is supposed to be a small village rather than a city or suburb. Of the two female protagonists offered in Johto games, Lyra opts for comfort over being fashionable or even over function. Overalls are loose, but not so much that they are comparable to Leaf's skirt, and her style is only appreciated in very specific areas. Kris: Kris seems to be before her time. Her appearance shows more skin than Ethan's, which might have been the first take of New Bark's warmer climate than say, Mahogany Town and changed to a country form in the later version. Kris tries to do the same thing Ethan does, mixing athletic functionality with turn-of-the-millennium style, and her sprite really seems like it was an inspiration for what would become May in the next generation. I don't know why it didn't carry over, but it seemed like Kris is the closest thing to a "gender-swap" of the male protagonist in the franchise, and it may have been that in Gen IV it was more important to give Lyra her own style. Hoenn: Brenden: The early 2000's was the dawn of athletic clothing becoming fashionable, stepping out of the shadows from typical casual. However, it was also reconciling the "bright multi-color" style of the time period into more solid colors. R/S Brenden wears straight-up windbreaker pants, a heavy zip up, and a beanie - and all of it doesn't seem to fit Hoenn's relatively warm, semi-tropical climate from the 3rd Gen perspective, but it -did- show that Hoenn was a monstrous region to explore and the player character needed suitable threads for the journey ahead. Emerald Brenden moves to short sleeves, and shorts over skinnier windbreaker pants, while ORAS Brenden opts for a wetsuit look. The ORAS look - to me - is Brenden's best iteration, because it best conveys the athletic challenge of making a Pokemon journey. May: May originally had what appeared to be volleyball shorts or spandex shorts in her original sprite, paired with a stylish short-sleeved zip up and a bandana. She doesn't seemingly change nearly as much in Emerald as Brenden does (except her shirt is flashier), but ORAS May tends to go for less "athletic" chic and more "cute tropic" chic. I find myself liking May's aesthetic all the time, but where Brenden visually improved in my eyes, May was in her element back in 2004. Her spandex were bicycle friendly (and biking was a pretty big deal in Hoenn) and she matched her male counterpart without looking like her male counterpart in function. May in ORAS may have more individuality, but she also seems less prepared for her journey. (can't talk about Sinnoh much, but it looks like Platinum is a visual improvement for both sprites - given as it's the first region to really incorporate winter weather. I don't really like the DP sprites much.) Unova: Hilbert: Hilbert exemplifies urban casual. He has a typical zip up hoodie like thing, a ballcap, jeans, and it just oozes "urban". The first entries into the 5th generation wanted to provide the notion of traveling a vast city saturated area, and there's not much else to say. Hilbert looks like a dude you meet on the subway. Hilda: Significally less warm than Hilbert, Hilda follows the typical trend for female protagonists to look "comfortable". The difference between Hilda and Dawn/May/Lyra, is that Hilda -also- pulls off the "owning it" aspect of fashion. The other girls dress comfortable because they are going on a Pokemon journey and it's practical. Hilda dresses comfortable because she's genuinely comfortable already. The high tops are indicative of attitude. She doesn't necessarily dress like a gang member, but of all the protagonists' likelihoods of joining a gang in Reborn, someone would probably pick Hilda out of a line up. She dresses as if Unova is "her turf." Pride is something that is...oddly enough, very fitting of Unova's American source material. Nate: It's around here that athletic clothing has become "the normal style" - and the BW2 protagonists are the best representatives of "athletic casual". Nate wears wetsuit leggings underneath comfortable shorts, but those could also argued as some sort of compression shorts - which are currently quite popular with men who live active lifestyles here in the States. The zip up shirt is more loose than Brenden's and the visor is something people often wear on golf courses and tennis courts, but can also be used just to keep the sun out of the eyes. Visors make more sense in urban settings, because the goal isn't to keep things out of your hair in city environments. Rosa: Rosa literally wears some sort of yoga pant/legging thing that is just "America, today."... at least on college campuses. I really like Rosa because she's the perfect blend of practical and absurd. Her dress is something most women around that age wear. it's comfortable, can serve athletic purposes, but is currently an "in" fashion outside of the gym too. What Game Freak does with the visor fashion is a real first for protagonists, because they are allowed to have hairstyles that are significantly more attributed to Japanese animation. Rosa's hair is basically Sailor Moon's if she were a brunette, and it's one of her most striking features, but the conservative color and appropriate dress cancel out the feeling that she's overdone. Kalos: Calem: The big city casual look returns! Calem leaves all of the super "fashionable" stuff to Serena from the outset of the journey. The only thing that really defines base Calem is the sunglasses as a head ornament. The argument can be made however, that Calem is more subdued because men don't tend to dress like a peacock in comparison to women - but thankfully, Kalos gives you the option to as a main selling point of the game if players are so inclined. I do want to point out the high top boots Calem has here. Those boots are very suitable for snowy climates, and Europe I would imagine gets more snow than the United States does. Essentially, for guys, the message seems to be that practicality is the pinnacle of male fashion. Serena: This, is the city slicker touristy look that is what Kalos is all about. If you look at a map of Kalos, all roads seem to lead to Lumiose City, which effectively relegates the region as one that is arguably the most urban-centric of them all. Serena here seems very prepared to visit the sights and rest at the cafes and shop till she's out of Pokedollars (....Yes, I know the feeling. If Reborn wants to be cruel, Ame should add boutiques to the game on top of her economic system.) Her look is the defining look of Gen VI, where "fashion is everything." Alola Sun: Probably right up there with Calem for "most basic" protagonist. There's not a lot here that is really indicative of Sun being an Alolan citizen. It's implied they are from Kanto in the story, and that makes sense as his shorts tend to resemble Gen IV Ethan's a small bit, with even....warmer...cuffs. Honestly, the Sun and Moon protagonists were probably in NEED of a trip to the clothing stores, so it's nice that Lillie makes you stop at almost all of them. The fashions in the shops have been covered in the post above, except Sun here gets a choice to dress conservatively or stylishly. Moon: At least Moon TRIES. There's a lot to like about her initial clothing set. Her simple green shorts are appropro for island adventuring, and her loose floral shirt tied up can easily fit over her water riding gear. The high top shoes are garish however, and the beanie/coral hat seems to suit a much less tropical climate. I really like both of the Alola protags here, but the message seems to be that they both have fashion faux pas, so you need to go fix it yourself. Not cool, GameFreak. Ray (The given name in the trailers for the Male protagonist of UltraSuMo): Second time's the charm. Fisherman's hat, Board shorts, tank, wetsuit, slip on shoes. There it is! Ailey (The given name in the trailers for the Female protagonist of UltraSuMo): Ailey seems to focus on being a tourist as opposed to Ray's focus on being an adventurer or an athlete. She's going boater hat, floral tank, shorts, and a really neat set of sandles. Both of these protagonists do it right this time.

TEEEEECHNICALLY As someone who is uninterested in talking about emerging gender identifiers or lack there of - I would say this is cutting edge game customization and appreciate it in the Reborn region's own reality. It also takes the focus away from "gender" and more on "appearance" - which I feel is what players today "really" care about. In a Pokemon game, the gender symbol isn't a sign of emerging identity or any sort of struggle, it's just a symbol. It shouldn't be restricted to specific appearances, because that effectively pigeon-holes non-binary individuals into a specific "appearance", which probably isn't a realistic portrayal of a NB person.

I forgot to mention this - but Aevis' darker greens are cool - but don't look totally familiar. He looks a completely new sprite - and perhaps that's where the "bland" comes from with him. Aevis used to have this neon green "highlight" color that at least made his old sprite have -some- pop to him. He looks rugged, like a soldier now - which to me looks a little silly when Nancy will spend several important scenes standing next to him in her high-class attire. Rugged is an "in" fashion though - I would agree Aevis needs some flash. Aevia is "the flashier" of the white folks because ...well, pink hair. That one's unavoidable. I have to admit that the black leggings are cool, and I can live with the plain blue hoodie wrapped around the waist (i hope that becomes a fashion a female protagonist in a main series game tries.) What might help Aevia is making her overshirt one of two things. 1. A baseball tee kinda like Rosa from Black and White 2 wears. The sleeves would be a powder-blue (similar to Yancy, again), and there's either a number or graphic on the front of the shirt 2. A graphic t-shirt, with a more pronounced graphic. This one may be harder to sprite though.

Starting with the good, I like Aria and Axel a lot here, Jan. Axel does indeed look like his own character now and his hair doesn't look off on the over-world sprite anymore. Aria's always looked cool (I have a thing for the color red.) I like Aevis' hair style here - a lot. I just wish it wasn't. a black. hair color. A blonde for a conservative color or a light green for something a bit more out there would play better to Aevis' green highlights and his sprite wouldn't get lost in dark places. It does get rid of the issue of his hat having too much detail on the sprite - but removing his hat causes a personal problem I'll cover i a bit. It seems like only Aevia and Alain (I think?) are the only ones who are allowed to have a hair color other than black. That's four of the six player sprites that share that trait. Talk about dominant and recessive. Aevia's old short sleeved hoodie was neat - and I think would have been something that could have rolled over from her old sprite and still worked with leggings. While I'm thankful her hair is still pink, it's also kinda....."the same" as several other long-haired women in the game. Her side sprites look like "pink Venam" at the very least. Her battle sprite looks very good however, and I can live with a miniskirt becoming leggings due to Aevium's pretty expansive natural areas. --- YES. DO KEEP THE LEGACY SPRITES. This is more of a personal appeal than anything else. Aevia and Aevis had very CLEAR inspirations (from my vantage point anyway) from Curtis and Yancy and their sprites may not have been as "original" as these new takes - but they to informed these were good sprites that brought back fond memories of other games. Perhaps Aevia was changed so much because people didn't see Yancy in her sprite and instead saw....well, Nancy, and thought of her as a carbon copy of another character in the game? I will always miss Aevia's hat now, and while "tha curtis" hat looked odd in the 3rd gen sprite form, I still think a ballcap suits Aevis more than not having a hat at all. I'm someone that sees the similarities and "possible" inspirations to those sprites, where others may not though.

If I'm not mistaken... the conversation (as far as I am concerned) was about the potential shortcomings of the Help Center Quest involving the Love Letter. I couldn't HOPE - nor would I bother - trying to convince people on the bigger issue of how people are treated in the LGBTQ community at large. I will apologize for breaking format - but in the event Jan takes criticism from the forum into consideration, my criticism (as well as the criticism in the worst categories of the rest of us!) is intended to help Jan make his game as awesome as his ideas for the game are. That's the interest I have pursued in this discourse.

Do mind my terseness here - writing on my phone away from a keyboard. Thought your post warranted a response, Winter! 1. Nowhere in either of my posts was I trying to say LGBTQ individuals are not welcome to be in games. That is an epidemic that is much worse than the situation this quest causes in the entire video game industry. This includes unsexed characters that are present. The goal should be normalcy and not shock value. My argument is that the quest has no other value other than pointing out the male is crushing on another male. There's no fleshed out reasoning (like the letter writer being embarrassed on multiple fronts) to provide a story behind the quest. And THAT makes its presentation undermine the effect and appear heavy handed to the straight, cis individual more than any intent Jan may or may not have had. 2. I am not asserting Ame or Jan made any political statement through their respective games. I -am- pointing out that Ame's work takes the risk of interpretation (probably in memory of the people that inspire her work) flagrantly and that Rejuvenation is inspired by Reborn in general - not because it projects a specific political message. It's all in interpretation - two people don't see the same thing. That's something that's very important to recognize so we don't talk past each other! 3. Reborn - as a result of it being written out of the memory of others and not out of malice - ignores equivalence. It's been viewed by countless others as mildly progressive in some shape or form because there's not nearly as much representation of Men or Heterosexual relations or the like in the story. Ame has no need to change her narrative here! It's just the risk of interpretation that her work runs. 4. As of right now - Jan's game isn't rife with progressive imagery, so there's risk for the quest in question to stick out in a world that is not Reborn's - which does a better job of portraying the "normalcy" of LGBTQ presence by making said presence large. Without depth, the love letter quest only has a summery of "secret admirer LIKES a guy - and may be embarrassed about it?" Would have been nice to have the player character (even if it doesn't reflect the view of the player) meet the guy multiple times in a run around quest and assure them that loving a guy is okay rather than having this feeling the quest was half baked. 5. The only issue with the quest is it's length. That is what makes everything else suspect when it shouldn't be. This is not really arguable because I am one example of a person that felt like it was supposed to be a shock value quest. 6. If you are a human, you should be treated like one. Unfortunately - not everyone agrees on one list of human rights. That's an issue we as a species have to iron out. Together. 7. My assertion that it's ham-fisted is not merely within the gay couple being there. It's the lack of supporting context. When the only thing that is to be interpreted is "oh. He's gay." and there isn't much of an explanation or follow through to adaquatly close the quest - then the player is left to wonder why Jan wrote the quest in that manner. If it is an implied "Gay people are normal" meaning why is the letter writer gone and replaced by a lady representing him? Why does the recipient question the player's outlook on the couple? Is it normal or should the attention be brought to the instance by these characters? Again. The quest fails to answer the question. FWIW, I can buy Jan playing the implied card. I just think it's a bad presentation if that's the case. 8. I'm fine with LGBTQ characters in video games. Vivian from Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door is in my top 10 characters in games. And he is done some huge injustice in the English version of the game. Needless to say - such characters don't ruin a game to me.

The main reason -I- was disappointed by the quest was because it had so much potential as a back and forth "messenger" quest that could feature some hilarious dialogue and maybe even more "important" facets such as NPCs in the story (kinda like Karen in the Starly quest.) The length matters because it's breifness only features the surprise that the character you were supposed to look for is also a male sprite. Bam! Here's a homosexual relationship! Yes. That's actually the point! ....and the only "gameplay" reasoning this provides is that some players may actually be looking for a clearly female sprite and walk right past the guy multiple times. I mentioned Reborn because it's a game that is much more flagrant in displaying progressive ideas and (for any reason) -is- listed as an inspiration for Rejuvenation. Not only is the player able to be non binary, there is at least one major NPC as well - which makes genderfluidity less of a subtle concept and more of a highlight of the game. Amaria and Titania's relationship is a major story point, and the only hetero relationship that comes close is the "potential" pairing of Hardy and Aya. Most major characters are women and most "allies" by FAR are women. Reborn would sell VERY well with people that champion those things or identify with them - but it may be too "ham-fisted" and direct to others. --- It may be that I just don't identify with the pair in the quest - but I would rather the point of a quest NOT be a simple "hey gay people need wingmen too" reminder. It would have been fun to have the recipient and the author of the letter communicate through you and the lady that represents the author. The quests lack of length causes the fact that the recipient is a guy to stand out. If it's NOT meant to be a political statement - it would be very helpful to involve a more natural "conversation" (or in this case a runaround between two parties) that any couple would have. As of right now it is 1. Start Quest. 2. Oh, he's gay, that's cool. 3. That's it?

Man was the love letter quest a letdown. Even if Rejuvenation was going to be inspired by Reborn- having a progressive relationship be the "surprise" feels so ham-fisted. The "secret-admiree" even makes an aggressive "so what if I'm a guy?" response if you talk to him again. This doesn't get people to be more accepting of same-sex relationships - and further alienates people who are trying to accommodate them within their worldview peacefully. It comes off as picking a fight - when it was my understanding those in the LGBTQ community just want to live their lives and have people let them. Unfornately - it's not just fan games that trip over the borderline political statement tripwire. Triple-A titles are just as prone to aggressively push ideas and doctrines around. With main characters it oversells them, and with characters like Mr. Love Letter Recipient it's liable to be pointless anyway.