'Nother Monday, 'nother update for the blog. This week let's take a look at the debate of Crystal VS Kotone.
Let me preface this by saying I'm not bashing one side or the other just because I'm not on it; merely stating observations.
There are many sides to this argument. First and foremost you have the nostalgia griefers or Crystal Lovers, who hate Kotone with a fiery, burning passion because she took Crystal's place. This was the boat lots of people were in (myself included >>; ) when Kotone's art was first revealed. Hate art started pouring out of dA and everywhere else like it was running water or something. People screamed, people cried, but above all, people complained. As time wore on though, people either got over it, learned to accept Kotone, or moved on entirely. These are the people who are girls but played as a boy in HGSS just so they wouldn't have to play as Lyra. They're very bitter about the fact that Crystal was overlooked for the remake and take their rage out on her replacement, Kotone/Lyra.
When there is one side of the spectrum, there is always the opposite, thus giving birth to the Kotone Lovers. Unlike the nostalgia-griefing Crystal lovers, the Kotone Lovers are very pro-Kotone's existence. They usually dislike Crystal in the same way Crystal Lovers hate Kotone. Some may even make arguments that Crystal and Kotone are the same person and that no one should be fighting at all since that's the case. Or perhaps they make argument that since Crystal wasn't used in the remake, she doesn't exist in the game's cannon. Some people jumped into this boat just to counter the Crystal Lovers, who were whining incessantly about Crystal's absence. I've noticed that a lot of people who prefer Kotone over Crystal are younger and most likely didn't play Crystal in the first place, resulting in them not having as strong an attachment to her. Just a general observation though, and it doesn't apply to everyone. I've also noticed fanboys of Kotone tend to fall into this group's ideologies...>>;;
If there's a pro side and an anti side, that can only mean there's also a Neutral Party. These people, as the name denotes, love both characters equally and are neutral on the argument of who is better. They might be sad that Crystal wasn't included in the remake, but they have no qualms with playing as Lyra in the game. Many Crystal Lovers eventually migrated into this group as time wore on and they grew more accustomed to Kotone, myself included. Maybe it was a particularly moving piece of fanart, a fanfiction, something; something caused them to change their mind about the character, and they grew to love or at the very least tolerate the other. Neutral Party people may also believe that griefing amongst the antis and the pros is silly, and that there's really no need to fight about it. Neutrals may also believe the "They're the same person" argument.
You can also, of course, say that there are some that are in the Hate Them Both group, I guess. XD Haven't come across any.
For me personally, as I stated, I'm neutral about them. I love Crystal to pieces, but I've grown to love Kotone as well, mostly through Soul Silver Shipping. Loving the ship helped me to love the character, and in that way I feel I have grown as a gamer. XD I can say that I don't think they're the same person, though. P:
Again, I'm not trying to start a debate with this; was just stating some observations. Not hostile. o_o;
As always, feel free to comment, discuss, whathaveyou, and I'll see you all next week.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Chapter 8 and now on dA
It's almost Monday here, so I figured I'd go ahead and do this week's blog update. ^_^
First of all, you can now find Follow Me on deviantArt. ^__^ I'll be updating simultaneously on there and FF.net once I get dA completely caught up to FF.net.
Secondly, some backtracking to discuss Chapter 8.
Several people made comment about how harsh Lugia was in that chapter. Here are my thoughts:
Silver and Soul kind of invaded his sanctuary, where he'd been peacefully resting/enjoying his days. You could say that maybe they woke him up, and he was grouchy, I guess. XD
An artist by the name of MangoRamune did a piece called "Below the Whirl Islands" (which you can view here) that describes pretty much how I envisioned Lugia to be. I can't imagine he'd be too pleased to see you, having been rudely disturbed from his slumber.
I think the second movie of the anime (and most of the movies in general) perpetuate this image that Lugia/legendaries are fluffy nice guys who work together with humans and don't mind being shoved into balls to do your bidding. I don't agree with this mantra. I guess you could say I modeled Lugia after Mewtwo in movie 1 a bit; he knows he's more powerful and cannot be controlled by men and does not enjoy taking orders from them. Silver kind of miffed Lugia by being so demanding, and as such, he and Soul were punished by being banished, which really, is a form of leniency on Lugia's part, as had he really wanted to, he could have just killed them instead. So maybe he's not so evil after all.
That's it for this week, as always, thanks for reading, and if there's a certain subject you'd like to hear about, drop me a comment. Laters.
First of all, you can now find Follow Me on deviantArt. ^__^ I'll be updating simultaneously on there and FF.net once I get dA completely caught up to FF.net.
Secondly, some backtracking to discuss Chapter 8.
Several people made comment about how harsh Lugia was in that chapter. Here are my thoughts:
Silver and Soul kind of invaded his sanctuary, where he'd been peacefully resting/enjoying his days. You could say that maybe they woke him up, and he was grouchy, I guess. XD
An artist by the name of MangoRamune did a piece called "Below the Whirl Islands" (which you can view here) that describes pretty much how I envisioned Lugia to be. I can't imagine he'd be too pleased to see you, having been rudely disturbed from his slumber.
I think the second movie of the anime (and most of the movies in general) perpetuate this image that Lugia/legendaries are fluffy nice guys who work together with humans and don't mind being shoved into balls to do your bidding. I don't agree with this mantra. I guess you could say I modeled Lugia after Mewtwo in movie 1 a bit; he knows he's more powerful and cannot be controlled by men and does not enjoy taking orders from them. Silver kind of miffed Lugia by being so demanding, and as such, he and Soul were punished by being banished, which really, is a form of leniency on Lugia's part, as had he really wanted to, he could have just killed them instead. So maybe he's not so evil after all.
That's it for this week, as always, thanks for reading, and if there's a certain subject you'd like to hear about, drop me a comment. Laters.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Inspiration and Titles
I think it's pretty obvious where the inspiration for Follow Me came from: the special Celebi event. Reading about it and seeing the event on YouTube, I was so horrendously fascinated with it. It got me thinking, though; what would happen after that? Would she tell him about it? How would he react? Would Silver want to try and find his father? These questions were the basis of Follow Me's plot.
I was just starting to like the SS Ship at the time, and I was thinking about writing a fanfiction. I had two options: one was the idea that fleshed out into Follow Me, and the other was a songfic (which I may just post eventually, if I don't turn it into a doujinshi instead, provided I have the patience to tackle such an artistic endeavor with my lack of artistic ability). I (obviously) went with the follow-up to the Celebi event plan, and with ideas pouring into my brain, I started writing.
I'm terrible with titles. Or at least I have been as of late. D: I didn't used to be; I used to pride myself on coming up with clever, witty titles for stories and chapters. However, I must have misplaced this ability, because it's all but left me. Chapter One of Follow Me came and went without so much as a Story Title, much less a Chapter Title. Looking over the completed chapter, I scratched my head and wrote, "Return" at the top of the page, referencing Soul's return to Johto. Continuing on, I wrote Chapter Two and arrived at the same issue. Thinking for a moment, a thought occurred to me: maybe I could name everything after Pokemon moves...?
As someone has already pointed out in a review, all of Follow Me's Chapter Titles (and the story's name itself) are Pokemon Moves (as well as Abilities, which I added for some extra range). I rigged up a table in GoogleDocs and hand typed the entire list; now whenever a new Chapter is written, I examine that list, looking for potential candidates. I narrow it down to two or three, then from those few I pick the final title. Chapter Five: Nightmare, by the way, was almost called "Bad Dreams," but I decided to save the plural form for another chapter, possibly one where both Soul and Silver are having nightmares. I wonder now if that was a bad idea, since so many people seemed confused about the fact that Chapter Five "didn't happen." :x
The story title, "Follow Me" is of course from the list of Pokemon Moves. The meaning of it has yet to surface, but it will, eventually, I promise. c:
Anyhoo, that's it for this update. See you guys next week. Feel free to drop a comment if there's something you'd like to hear me talk about; if not, I'll just keep rambling about things that occur to me. Cheers!
I was just starting to like the SS Ship at the time, and I was thinking about writing a fanfiction. I had two options: one was the idea that fleshed out into Follow Me, and the other was a songfic (which I may just post eventually, if I don't turn it into a doujinshi instead, provided I have the patience to tackle such an artistic endeavor with my lack of artistic ability). I (obviously) went with the follow-up to the Celebi event plan, and with ideas pouring into my brain, I started writing.
I'm terrible with titles. Or at least I have been as of late. D: I didn't used to be; I used to pride myself on coming up with clever, witty titles for stories and chapters. However, I must have misplaced this ability, because it's all but left me. Chapter One of Follow Me came and went without so much as a Story Title, much less a Chapter Title. Looking over the completed chapter, I scratched my head and wrote, "Return" at the top of the page, referencing Soul's return to Johto. Continuing on, I wrote Chapter Two and arrived at the same issue. Thinking for a moment, a thought occurred to me: maybe I could name everything after Pokemon moves...?
As someone has already pointed out in a review, all of Follow Me's Chapter Titles (and the story's name itself) are Pokemon Moves (as well as Abilities, which I added for some extra range). I rigged up a table in GoogleDocs and hand typed the entire list; now whenever a new Chapter is written, I examine that list, looking for potential candidates. I narrow it down to two or three, then from those few I pick the final title. Chapter Five: Nightmare, by the way, was almost called "Bad Dreams," but I decided to save the plural form for another chapter, possibly one where both Soul and Silver are having nightmares. I wonder now if that was a bad idea, since so many people seemed confused about the fact that Chapter Five "didn't happen." :x
The story title, "Follow Me" is of course from the list of Pokemon Moves. The meaning of it has yet to surface, but it will, eventually, I promise. c:
Anyhoo, that's it for this update. See you guys next week. Feel free to drop a comment if there's something you'd like to hear me talk about; if not, I'll just keep rambling about things that occur to me. Cheers!
Updates--Now on Mondays!
A very big sorry to those who have been following this lately to notice no updates; been a bit busy. ^^;;
As the title says, though, I'm going to start updating this blog weekly, every Monday. This post doesn't count as this week's update, though, so stick around (even though I'm posting this update on a Tuesday, lulz. All further updates will be on Mondays, though).
As the title says, though, I'm going to start updating this blog weekly, every Monday. This post doesn't count as this week's update, though, so stick around (even though I'm posting this update on a Tuesday, lulz. All further updates will be on Mondays, though).
Monday, May 10, 2010
Soul, Kotone, or Lyra...
There's been a debate apparently about the main female protagonist's name. Her Japanese name is Kotone, her English name is Lyra, and the fan-made name is Soul. However, it's come to my attention that some people feel calling her Soul is stupid/wrong, and I wanted to address why I chose to name her as such in Follow Me.
I started writing Follow Me long, long before it was ever posted. To be honest, I don't recall if the Japanese name was even released, so as a placeholder, I named her Soul, intending on changing the name to the English name when it came around.
...Then I found out what the English name was and was disappointed by how...bleh it was. No offense to those who like it, I just feel it's an ugly name. *shrug* So I had two choices: stick with Soul, or use the Japanese name, Kotone.
I debated on using Kotone. I really, really did. But by this point, I was a good 4 chapters in, and had grown fond of using the name Soul in the story. As an added bonus, I was thinking about Silver's name (you know...Silver...) and how it was an "odd" name. If Silver could be accepted as a name, why couldn't Soul? It got me thinking that maybe I should keep it as Soul to fit in with other "odd" names, such as Silver, Gold, Leaf, etc.
Now, however, I'm starting to feel like this was a mistake, and perhaps I'll consider changing it if it really bothers people (I've warmed up to the name Lyra, so I guess I wouldn't be opposed to using it). I just don't feel it affects the quality of the story at all just because of her name being "wrong."
Any thoughts?
I started writing Follow Me long, long before it was ever posted. To be honest, I don't recall if the Japanese name was even released, so as a placeholder, I named her Soul, intending on changing the name to the English name when it came around.
...Then I found out what the English name was and was disappointed by how...bleh it was. No offense to those who like it, I just feel it's an ugly name. *shrug* So I had two choices: stick with Soul, or use the Japanese name, Kotone.
I debated on using Kotone. I really, really did. But by this point, I was a good 4 chapters in, and had grown fond of using the name Soul in the story. As an added bonus, I was thinking about Silver's name (you know...Silver...) and how it was an "odd" name. If Silver could be accepted as a name, why couldn't Soul? It got me thinking that maybe I should keep it as Soul to fit in with other "odd" names, such as Silver, Gold, Leaf, etc.
Now, however, I'm starting to feel like this was a mistake, and perhaps I'll consider changing it if it really bothers people (I've warmed up to the name Lyra, so I guess I wouldn't be opposed to using it). I just don't feel it affects the quality of the story at all just because of her name being "wrong."
Any thoughts?
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Chapter Lengths
I've had some people comment on the length of the chapters, so I thought I should respond.
Follow Me's chapters are short for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's easier for my schedule. Not many people know this, but I'm a mom, and I don't always have time to sit down and write (barring naptime and after she goes to bed). With shorter chapters, it means I can sit down and write a whole chapter in about 30 minutes to an hour, which is perfect when you don't have a whole lot of time to spare.
Secondly, it's to challenge myself. My writing prior to this story was very different; I tended to bog down on details, and in a way, it interrupted the flow of the story, as well as lengthened each installment considerably. It was always something that bothered me, so with Follow Me I took a different approach and cut out all the excessive detail I normally would include. Doing so changed my style, increased the flow of events, and, by extension, shortened the chapters.
Thirdly, it's to increase/aid the dramatic effect. Follow Me is a drama, and shorter chapters means abrupt endings, adding an extra punch of tension at the end of each chapter. Some may have noticed this means every chapter ends in a cliff hanger of sorts. *laughs* This wasn't the original intention, but as the story began to progress, I realized it was fun to torture my reade--I mean, write it this way. *laughs*
Fourthly, it's to increase the number of updates. If Follow Me's chapters were longer, you'd get more content per chapter, but much fewer updates. There'd probably only be an update once a month, and we'd only be in Chapter 3 or 4 instead of 8 right now. I didn't want to do this with Follow Me; I wanted something light, quick, and simple that I could churn out every week or two, that way it's less stress on me and I won't forget about it. ^^;
I feel like the shorter chapters make Follow Me easier to read; you don't have to sit at a computer for about an hour reading (or have to print it out to read while out and about). You can sit down, read for about ten minutes, maybe post a review, and be done with it. It's quick for me to write, it's quick for you to read--all in all I think it benefits everyone. ^_^ Plus, I think the shorter style just suits the story I want to tell more than a long, multi-page chapter.
I hope you'll all continue to enjoy reading each update every two weeks as much as I enjoy writing each one. <3
Follow Me's chapters are short for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's easier for my schedule. Not many people know this, but I'm a mom, and I don't always have time to sit down and write (barring naptime and after she goes to bed). With shorter chapters, it means I can sit down and write a whole chapter in about 30 minutes to an hour, which is perfect when you don't have a whole lot of time to spare.
Secondly, it's to challenge myself. My writing prior to this story was very different; I tended to bog down on details, and in a way, it interrupted the flow of the story, as well as lengthened each installment considerably. It was always something that bothered me, so with Follow Me I took a different approach and cut out all the excessive detail I normally would include. Doing so changed my style, increased the flow of events, and, by extension, shortened the chapters.
Thirdly, it's to increase/aid the dramatic effect. Follow Me is a drama, and shorter chapters means abrupt endings, adding an extra punch of tension at the end of each chapter. Some may have noticed this means every chapter ends in a cliff hanger of sorts. *laughs* This wasn't the original intention, but as the story began to progress, I realized it was fun to torture my reade--I mean, write it this way. *laughs*
Fourthly, it's to increase the number of updates. If Follow Me's chapters were longer, you'd get more content per chapter, but much fewer updates. There'd probably only be an update once a month, and we'd only be in Chapter 3 or 4 instead of 8 right now. I didn't want to do this with Follow Me; I wanted something light, quick, and simple that I could churn out every week or two, that way it's less stress on me and I won't forget about it. ^^;
I feel like the shorter chapters make Follow Me easier to read; you don't have to sit at a computer for about an hour reading (or have to print it out to read while out and about). You can sit down, read for about ten minutes, maybe post a review, and be done with it. It's quick for me to write, it's quick for you to read--all in all I think it benefits everyone. ^_^ Plus, I think the shorter style just suits the story I want to tell more than a long, multi-page chapter.
I hope you'll all continue to enjoy reading each update every two weeks as much as I enjoy writing each one. <3
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Why I love Silver so much
WARNING: This will be lengthy.
I was thinking about this a lot, and I've come to the conclusion that Silver is my favorite rival in the Pokemon games. Not because he's smexy (he is, though >o>), not because I'm a fan of the SoulSilver ship, and not even because Johto is my favorite region game. No, I like Silver the most because out of all the rivals, he's the most dynamic and also the most interesting.
Let's take a look at Silver's competition for best rival, shall we? (Note: these opinions don't mean I dislike the character; I'm just telling it like it is.)
GARY OAK/GREEN (BLUE) OAK
Gary is the first rival with an unfortunate catch phrase (what the heck does "Smell you later" mean, anyway? I think VG Cat's Super Effective comic summed up how creepy this is). Gary is Professor Oak's grandson, and as such he has a bit of an arrogance issue and a superiority complex the size of a Wailord. He feels that since his grandpa's so famous in Pokemon, it's only natural that he should be too, and as such, he acts like a giant douche, even after being pummeled into the ground many, many times by the player's Pokemon. Gary starts off as a douche and ends as a douche. His character development is...well, he really doesn't have much character development. Even after his defeat as Champion and the scolding he got from his grandfather, he still pretty much acts the same. Even three years later in GSC/HGSS, he's still pretty much the same douche he was at the end of RBY/FRLG. Gary isn't a terrible character; he just doesn't really change much and is pretty static.
BRENDAN BIRCH/MAY BIRCH
Brendan and May are essentially the same; their dialogue doesn't differ that much, and their personalities are interchangeable, really. I played as a female character, though, so I'll be speaking about Brendan. Just know the same applies to May, though.
Brendan...has about as much personality as a rock. Really. There's just...nothing there. He helps out his dad, and battles you sometimes. Completely cookie-cutter, completely bland, completely boring. I often got the vibe that he didn't feel like I knew what I was doing as a trainer, what with his random bursting into the room after my defeating the Champion, under the guise he was coming to give me advice. I don't dislike Brendan (not in the slightest), but he's just...dull. They could've done much more with his character, and they just...didn't.
WALLY
RSE had two rivals, remember? Wally starts out as a sickly, frail little kid with a dream: he wants to be a Pokemon trainer (doesn't everyone?). So, with your father, Norman's and your help, he catches a Ralts, and his magical adventures begin. Wally is a friendly little guy, and to be honest, I feel bad for him. It's truly amazing that just being a trainer seems to magically heal his condition (which is never specified; he could have cancer, for all we know, although his Bulbapedia page suggests asthma, which is completely manageable, imo, but I'm digressing). Some would say it's the confidence they instill in him that causes him to feel better. All this is fantastic. Who would want to crush such a boy's spirit? Why, that would be you, the player. I felt so guilty beating Wally every time, because it's kind of like helping a Make-A-Wish kid to play football only to tackle them and grind them into the dirt halfway through the game. Wally, I guess, would be second most interesting to me. <3 style="font-weight: bold;">BARRY
Oh, Barry. <3>o>). I feel bad for Barry's mom; stuck at home while her men are off enslaving monsters in balls and pwning n00bs, never getting a visit or even a phone call, email, or letter. :C All in all, Barry pretty much stays the same, but at least he's pretty humorous and has a personality.
LUCAS/DAWN
You don't fight against them, so in my book, they =/= rivals. 'Nuff said.
Now that we've covered everyone else, let's talk about Silver.
SILVER
Silver differs from every other rival in the game by one very important factor: Silver has no one. Every other rival character has some sort of family, but Silver has no one to care for him but himself and has to earn everything on his own. He has his father, Giovanni, of course, but they're not exactly on speaking terms and haven't seen each other for three years as of the start of GSC/HGSS (not to mention I can't imagine Giovanni being a very loving, supporting father, can you?). Lord knows where his mother is (my speculation is she probably died). The thing about Silver is a lot of his story isn't directly discussed; it's more heavily implied, and you as the viewer have to pick out the pieces yourself. It's true, he's an even bigger douche to you than Gary is to you in RBY, but then, Silver didn't really have anyone to keep his ass-holishnesss in check (for Gary, I suspect that's Daisy). However, unlike Gary, after suffering defeat after defeat, Silver starts to question himself and his methods, and by the time you run into him at Mt. Moon in Kanto, there really is a visible transformation in how he addresses you as well as challenges you. He even takes his defeat in stride, and compared to how pissy he used to get in the beginning, this is a very dramatic change. He doesn't go from being a complete prick to Barry-hyper (dear ARCEUS, could you imagine? XD), but he shows that he understands that maybe brute force isn't everything (like he thought).
Silver is definitely the winner for most dynamic rival, but I feel his story is also more tragic than any of the others (even poor sickly Wally). His mother is nowhere to be seen, his father went crazy and tried to take over the world only to lose it all to a 10-11-year-old kid and then abandon everything, including his young son, and disappear. Silver, who was probably only 7 or 8 (assuming he's close in age to you, the player, which he seems to be), is left alone, with nothing, to fend for himself (and since he's not the legal 10-11 where it's okay to abandon your children to fend for themselves in the real world, it's not okay XD). He's pissed at his father for abandoning him and for relying on others who are weak, he's pissed at Team Rocket for failing his father and causing this whole mess, he's probably pissed at Red in some ways for defeating his father (or at the very least probably resents him somewhat), he's pissed at you for defeating him all the time and probably by extension pissed at himself for being so weak--Silver's just generally pissed off all-around. Through you, the player, he sort of learns to deal with this anger and accept that a defeat is only a defeat, not the end of the world. XD
Maybe this is just my unique interpretation, but Silver's dynamic change in attitude coupled with his truly unfortunate circumstances make him, in my mind, the best rival of them all.
*triumphant sigh through nostrils* Okay, I'm done. XD
I was thinking about this a lot, and I've come to the conclusion that Silver is my favorite rival in the Pokemon games. Not because he's smexy (he is, though >o>), not because I'm a fan of the SoulSilver ship, and not even because Johto is my favorite region game. No, I like Silver the most because out of all the rivals, he's the most dynamic and also the most interesting.
Let's take a look at Silver's competition for best rival, shall we? (Note: these opinions don't mean I dislike the character; I'm just telling it like it is.)
GARY OAK/GREEN (BLUE) OAK
Gary is the first rival with an unfortunate catch phrase (what the heck does "Smell you later" mean, anyway? I think VG Cat's Super Effective comic summed up how creepy this is). Gary is Professor Oak's grandson, and as such he has a bit of an arrogance issue and a superiority complex the size of a Wailord. He feels that since his grandpa's so famous in Pokemon, it's only natural that he should be too, and as such, he acts like a giant douche, even after being pummeled into the ground many, many times by the player's Pokemon. Gary starts off as a douche and ends as a douche. His character development is...well, he really doesn't have much character development. Even after his defeat as Champion and the scolding he got from his grandfather, he still pretty much acts the same. Even three years later in GSC/HGSS, he's still pretty much the same douche he was at the end of RBY/FRLG. Gary isn't a terrible character; he just doesn't really change much and is pretty static.
BRENDAN BIRCH/MAY BIRCH
Brendan and May are essentially the same; their dialogue doesn't differ that much, and their personalities are interchangeable, really. I played as a female character, though, so I'll be speaking about Brendan. Just know the same applies to May, though.
Brendan...has about as much personality as a rock. Really. There's just...nothing there. He helps out his dad, and battles you sometimes. Completely cookie-cutter, completely bland, completely boring. I often got the vibe that he didn't feel like I knew what I was doing as a trainer, what with his random bursting into the room after my defeating the Champion, under the guise he was coming to give me advice. I don't dislike Brendan (not in the slightest), but he's just...dull. They could've done much more with his character, and they just...didn't.
WALLY
RSE had two rivals, remember? Wally starts out as a sickly, frail little kid with a dream: he wants to be a Pokemon trainer (doesn't everyone?). So, with your father, Norman's and your help, he catches a Ralts, and his magical adventures begin. Wally is a friendly little guy, and to be honest, I feel bad for him. It's truly amazing that just being a trainer seems to magically heal his condition (which is never specified; he could have cancer, for all we know, although his Bulbapedia page suggests asthma, which is completely manageable, imo, but I'm digressing). Some would say it's the confidence they instill in him that causes him to feel better. All this is fantastic. Who would want to crush such a boy's spirit? Why, that would be you, the player. I felt so guilty beating Wally every time, because it's kind of like helping a Make-A-Wish kid to play football only to tackle them and grind them into the dirt halfway through the game. Wally, I guess, would be second most interesting to me. <3 style="font-weight: bold;">BARRY
Oh, Barry. <3>o>). I feel bad for Barry's mom; stuck at home while her men are off enslaving monsters in balls and pwning n00bs, never getting a visit or even a phone call, email, or letter. :C All in all, Barry pretty much stays the same, but at least he's pretty humorous and has a personality.
LUCAS/DAWN
You don't fight against them, so in my book, they =/= rivals. 'Nuff said.
Now that we've covered everyone else, let's talk about Silver.
SILVER
Silver differs from every other rival in the game by one very important factor: Silver has no one. Every other rival character has some sort of family, but Silver has no one to care for him but himself and has to earn everything on his own. He has his father, Giovanni, of course, but they're not exactly on speaking terms and haven't seen each other for three years as of the start of GSC/HGSS (not to mention I can't imagine Giovanni being a very loving, supporting father, can you?). Lord knows where his mother is (my speculation is she probably died). The thing about Silver is a lot of his story isn't directly discussed; it's more heavily implied, and you as the viewer have to pick out the pieces yourself. It's true, he's an even bigger douche to you than Gary is to you in RBY, but then, Silver didn't really have anyone to keep his ass-holishnesss in check (for Gary, I suspect that's Daisy). However, unlike Gary, after suffering defeat after defeat, Silver starts to question himself and his methods, and by the time you run into him at Mt. Moon in Kanto, there really is a visible transformation in how he addresses you as well as challenges you. He even takes his defeat in stride, and compared to how pissy he used to get in the beginning, this is a very dramatic change. He doesn't go from being a complete prick to Barry-hyper (dear ARCEUS, could you imagine? XD), but he shows that he understands that maybe brute force isn't everything (like he thought).
Silver is definitely the winner for most dynamic rival, but I feel his story is also more tragic than any of the others (even poor sickly Wally). His mother is nowhere to be seen, his father went crazy and tried to take over the world only to lose it all to a 10-11-year-old kid and then abandon everything, including his young son, and disappear. Silver, who was probably only 7 or 8 (assuming he's close in age to you, the player, which he seems to be), is left alone, with nothing, to fend for himself (and since he's not the legal 10-11 where it's okay to abandon your children to fend for themselves in the real world, it's not okay XD). He's pissed at his father for abandoning him and for relying on others who are weak, he's pissed at Team Rocket for failing his father and causing this whole mess, he's probably pissed at Red in some ways for defeating his father (or at the very least probably resents him somewhat), he's pissed at you for defeating him all the time and probably by extension pissed at himself for being so weak--Silver's just generally pissed off all-around. Through you, the player, he sort of learns to deal with this anger and accept that a defeat is only a defeat, not the end of the world. XD
Maybe this is just my unique interpretation, but Silver's dynamic change in attitude coupled with his truly unfortunate circumstances make him, in my mind, the best rival of them all.
*triumphant sigh through nostrils* Okay, I'm done. XD
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
O hai thar
Welcome to the Follow Me Blog! Check here to get news right from me, little articles about things, to ask me questions directly about the fic, or just share your love for the Soul/Kotone/LyraxSilver ship. <3>w>
A special shout-out: I must say a giant thank-you to those of you who have been reading the story up to this point. It's been a number of years since I've posted anything on Fanfiction.net, and I was very tentative to post the story at all. After writing a good four or five chapters, I decided to give it a shot, and it's because of you, the reviewers, that I take great joy in posting each update.
Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, and I hope you'll all follow me on Silver and Soul's journey of love, life, and most importantly, Pokemon. :D
A special shout-out: I must say a giant thank-you to those of you who have been reading the story up to this point. It's been a number of years since I've posted anything on Fanfiction.net, and I was very tentative to post the story at all. After writing a good four or five chapters, I decided to give it a shot, and it's because of you, the reviewers, that I take great joy in posting each update.
Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, and I hope you'll all follow me on Silver and Soul's journey of love, life, and most importantly, Pokemon. :D
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