#it’s great and I thank the writers for opening that TRULY RIDICULOUS can of worms.

[regallibellbright]

“Regalli, do you really think Game Freak intended for the Link Cable thing in Delta Episode to imply every Pokemon cartridge is its own unique pocket universe, and that every generation exists in its own continuity where their Pokemon and mechanics now retroactively Have Always Existed?”

To the second, absolutely. You don’t have a plan to move a meteor to another universe get shot down when another character asks “but what if we moved the meteor to a universe without Mega Evolution? Wouldn’t they be screwed?” WITHOUT intending to imply exactly that. To the first…

Listen, I don’t care if they INTENDED for the ‘every cartridge is its own universal iteration’ thing, it makes SENSE, okay? Like. Think about version differences. Starting in Gen III they impacted the route the story took. Why is that? Which is canon? Pokemon multiverse, all of them are. Some universes have Maxie screw up, some universes have Archie, some universes they BOTH cause mayhem and Rayquaza needs to get the fuck down there and tell everyone to knock it the hell off. Why is the Ultra Beasts plotline replaced with Rainbow Rocket from SuMo to USUM? Pokemon multiverse, Anabel and Looker only show up in SuMo variations and Giovanni only gets the Rainbow Rocket idea in USUM ones.

Why do version exclusives exist? Pokemon multiverse, they only live in this region in certain universe iterations.

Why can Leaf never challenge you at the top of Mount Silver in HGSS and you never get the choice? Pokemon multiverse, all HGSS cartridges come from a universe where Red exists, and for that matter they are separate from universes where you the player character did because of his specific team. Hell, that’s the case for any game where Red and Blue make battleable appearances, isn’t it.

Come to that the only individual cartridges that actually directly connect in continuity to each other, the only Pokemon games built on an assumption that not only did the EVENTS of the previous game take place but that they occurred under the guidance of a Player Character, specifically YOUR Plaher Character, are Black 2/White 2 and then only if you link your own save file. Every other Pokemon PC does not explicitly exist in every other game so they may just have generic versions of their character like Red and Blue and Green from Let’s Go or the Hilda/Hilbert Battle Subway NPC. But what about trading and cross-game transfer, you ask?

You guessed it! POKEMON MULTIVERSE. Canonically thanks to naming the plot device in Delta Episode a Link Cable, you can make a case that every instance of trading Pokemon back to the start of the series was multidimensional travel. (And, in Gen II-Gen I, canonically also time travel.) Union Rooms and the like actually connect distinct universes together. Hisuian Pokemon can show up in ScarVio without any explanation because they’ve been dimensionally transferred and anyway, in this universe they may never have actually gone extinct. Hell, we don’t technically know they actually WENT extinct, they just didn’t exist in the DPPt and BDSP universes. Maybe in the PLA universe they’re known as Sinnohan Goomy or whatever. Or maybe in the PLA universe it’s still known as Hisui. We don’t know. That whole “previous life” thing in ScarVio with the phone cases has the woman never having heard of Hisui (despite a photo of Laventon being visible on the board for history class).

It’s Pokemon Multiverse all the way down, folks. I don’t care what Gamefreak intended in this case, the end result actually holds up enough on reading I just accept this as canon.

#long post #pokemon #death of the author #pokemon multiverse #delta episode #Delta Episode will never not be my favorite piece of absolutely batshit video game lore because like. LOOK AT IT. #LOOK at what I can extrapolate from based off one scene! one beautiful glorious scene. #and it’s NOT even the one where you ride a dragon into space to break a meteor apart and catch an alien living inside it! that’s later! #it’s great and I thank the writers for opening that TRULY RIDICULOUS can of worms. #for the record I know this sounds completely and utterly unhinged as a position I just don’t care. it is canon to me. #the thing about ‘oh huh yeah all Pokemon cartridges DON’T technically assume a baseline canon where your other protagonists exist’ #I just connected now but you know what? it makes sense. it fits. it makes me feel better about implied PCs vs NPCs in Pokemon Masters. #they’re not supposed to be our PCs they’re the generic alternate universe counterparts that complete the story of a previous game #any time you play a game that isn’t theirs. that still OCCURRED so SOMEONE had to do it it just wasn’t a PC it was a generic #yeah that works for me I can go along with that.

[schpiedehl]

A Love Letter to Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812

A love letter, a love letter.....

I have been staring at this blank document for the better part of an hour. Starting, erasing, and restarting listlessly. Clumsy fingers punching out some word vomit, some faux-clever semi-pretentious introduction. But to be frank, I do not believe that I have the skill as a writer to properly put words to what I am feeling or how Great Comet changed my life (as dramatic as that may sound). Regardless, this is my earnest, perhaps over-emotional attempt. Settle in, this will probably be quite long and messy. Great Comet came into my life at a weird time. I was taking an unwanted but financially necessary gap year between undergrad and grad school, had recently been... let go ... from a soul-destroying retail job, and was sinking deeper into fatalistic pessimism by the minute. When I had been a bit more optimistic about my prospects, new degree in hand, I had somehow managed to get tickets to Hamilton for myself and a friend. Months later, unemployed and but seeking some solace, we had decided to take that one-off Broadway excursion and turn it into Broadway Vacation 2k17. I had only heard of Great Comet in passing but after seeing the Dust and Ashes lyric video, and still knowing next to nothing about the show, I had set about convincing my friend to add Comet to our itinerary which at that point only included Hamilton and the cursory Broadway mainstays of Lion King and Wicked.   After weeks of badgering, I secured rear mezzanine tickets for January 17th. Had I not won the Cats lottery the day prior to seeing Great Comet, Comet would have been my very first Broadway show. But though it wasn’t my first, it very quickly became my favorite. 

I was completely blown away. Literally nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful, messy, mesmerizing, heartbreaking, awe-inspiring work of pure and utter artistry that is the Great Comet. By curtain call, I was certain that I needed to see Great Comet again and again and again. And I did - to an extent. I am not (quite unfortunately and despite my best efforts), a New Yorker. I live in the south, more specifically the dystopian Hell that is North Carolina (best known at this point for banning Trans people from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender), an expensive flight and/or a 15 hour bus trip from Manhattan. Had I lived closer, I would have essentially lived in the Imperial. But I managed the pilgrimage 2 more times, traveling all the way to NY just to see Great Comet (on a shoe string budget, and the second time, for a single day). And while those close to me questioned the dubious advisability of it, both trips and all three shows were extraordinarily worth it. 

From the first note, I was utterly transfixed. (For one, I had never thought of an accordion as a fun or cool instrument - but boy was I wrong.) Prologue is hands down the best introduction I have ever heard to a musical. The rollicking fun of it pulled me in immediately and for perhaps the first time in my nearly 23 years on earth, I felt well and truly transported by a performance. Pierre and Dust and Ashes struck a chord with my depressive, fatalistic self.  “It's dawned on me suddenly / And for no obvious reason / That I can't go on / Living as I am / The zest of life has vanished / Only the skeleton remains Unexpectedly vile / I used to be better” - the opening lines of Pierre summed up everything I had been feeling since graduation. I was depressed, “I never thought that I’d end up like this.” I was a gifted child, always put up on a pedestal, and yet here I was, going nowhere fast. And here was a character singing exactly what I was feeling. As ridiculous as this may sound, I had never seen such a realistic and poignant representation of depression before. I was instantly invested in Pierre - I saw myself in Pierre’s lamentations. And this was only compounded when I heard Dust and Ashes in context. “And I’m so ready to wake up now!” Pierre’s songs are not, however, the only ones that I enjoyed. Every single song has something to offer and even the ones I didn’t like all that much at first began to grow on me. Charming holds a special place in my heart. For one, I am a sucker for a good seduction song and lemme tell you, Charming is an absolutely fantastic seduction song. But it's also a song which subtextually speaks to Sapphic attraction, a welcome rarity in the mainstream and warms my little queer heart. Letters is the perfect second act opener. It’s a definite ear worm but seeing it live, I have never felt so involved and loved by a production as I felt when the amazing Pearl Rhein handed me a letter (third time was indeed a charm). The Abduction and Balaga kill me every time I have the honor of seeing the show live. And the only time I have ever cried during the show (nothing to say of crying /about/ the show) was when I heard Okieriete Onaodowan sing The Great Comet of 1812 on his opening night (and my second time seeing the show). Simply put, the songs of Great Comet, the words and music of Dave Malloy, are magical.  Comet is - was - magical. The amazing direction by the unparalleled Rachel Chavkin, the absolutely ridiculous choreography by Sam Pinkleton, the simultaneously stripped down but extravagant sets designed by TONY AWARD WINNER Mimi Lien, the gorgeous, transcendent lighting design by TONY AWARD WINNTER Bradley King which brought the comet to life each and every night. and the innovative sound design of Nicholas Pope which brought the whole enchanting experience together. And of course, the absolutely stunning costume design by Paloma Young. I want to wear and own literally all of the costumes. Helene’s dress is a personal favorite of mine but, I would not hesitate even for a moment to raid that ensemble closet. And of course, Or Matias’ music direction. Even the wigs, courtesy of Leah Loukas were a thing a beauty. There are so many amazing creatives and crew that worked with Great Comet who all deserve praise and recognition for the majesty they helped create.  Honestly, the whole of Great Comet resonated with me in a way that few things can. I saw myself in Great Comet. Everything about the show spoke to me from its style and aesthetic to its commentary on the human condition. I see myself in the gorgeously written characters and the haunting music. Not just in Pierre, but in Sonya's desperation, in Helene’s ennui, and perhaps, unfortunately, somewhat in Anatole’s machinations. And I see who I want to be in the freespirited revelry that is the ensemble. I am by nature a very shy and reserved person but Great Comet makes me want to burst out of my shell with a force, completely reborn. In all its wonderful contradictions, Great Comet feels like metamorphosis. For me, for Broadway, for what art is and for what artists can aspire to be. It changed how I approach my own art and writing; in such a short amount of time, has become an immeasurable comfort influence, and inspiration. 

Seeing the diversity on stage at the Imperial is something which spoke to me on a visceral level. And something I feel that America needs in these trying times. Great Comet was - is - such an enormous and important step for diversity and representation on stage and in the wider culture. To me, it seems as though Comet was attempting to transcend cultural boundaries. The company reveled in racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and ideological diversity in such a revolutionary way. Where else could you see a powerful Black woman play a Russian ingenue, or for that matter, where else would one character be covered by such a diverse group of women. As a queer woman, I was amazed and heartened to see the gender-blind ensemble and the matter-of-fact but unremarked upon portrayal of queer couplings. As an artist, as a writer, as an American horrified for what the near future might hold, this was inspiring and solacing.  And beyond that, Great Comet has become an immense inspiration. I feel empowered to write and create. I have a lot of self-doubt when it comes to writing and putting my art into the world. But the feeling of inclusivity, coupled with the wonderful community of artists I met in part due to our mutual connection to Comet has helped me immensely and uplifted me. I am also inspired to draw and create visual art thanks to Comet. I was (somehow) able to draw the entire cast - Paloma’s costumes are gorgeous and so fun to draw.  What I'm really getting at, I think, is how much Great Comet stuck with me. As soon as I saw it once, way back in the rear mezzanine, I wanted to see it again, and again, and again. The lyrics, the orchestration, the choreography, everything about the show burned itself into my mind and memory. It was a spectacle but more than that it was a revelation. Every time I listen to the cast albums, I fall in love again. I'm always finding new things that I never noticed before. This show helped me realize some things about myself as an artist and it helped me through a fairly trying time in my life. I feel blessed to have been able to witness it and not only that - to feel included in it as well.  I’m probably missing a bunch and I’m very emotional. I am absolutely devasted that Great Comet closed and will probably be crying for 3 years straight. I’m bad at goodbyes. But this really doesn’t feel like a goodbye. Comet will continue to live in me and in the hearts of other fans. And eventually, in community and school theaters, and perhaps on tour, off Broadway, and all over the world. It hurts to see something so beautiful and with so much potential cut short, but Great Comet is not something that just ends.  I want to thank each and every actor in Great Comet for making my life just a bit brighter. Thank you Josh Groban. Thank you Scott Stangland. Thank you Dave Malloy. Thank you Oak Onaodowan. Thank you Denee Benton. Thank you Lucas Steele. Thank you Amber Gray. Thank you Nick Choksi. Thank you Nicholas Belton. Thank you Grace McLean. Thank you Brittain Ashford. Thank you Gelsey Bell. Thank you Ingrid Michaelson. Thank you Paul Pinto. Thank you Sumayya Ali. Thank you Courtney Bassett. Thank you Shoba Narayan. Thank you Lulu Fall. Thank you Josh Canfield. Thank you Kennedy Caughell. Thank you Ashley Perez Flannigan. Thank you Mary Page Nance. Thank you Alex Gibson. Thank you Reed Luplau. Thank you Lauren Zakrin. Thank you Blaine Krauss. Thank you Brandt Martinez. Thank you Heath Saunders. Thank you Nick Gaswirth. Thank you Brad Giovanine. Thank you Billy Joe Kiessling. Thank you Andrew Mayer. Thank you Azudi Onyejekwe. Thank you Pearl Rhein. Thank you Celia Mei Rubin. Thank you Cathryn Wake. Thank you Lauren Zakrin. Thank you Erica Dorfler. Thank you Paloma Gracie Lee. Thank you Ken Clark. Thank you Mary Spencer Knapp. Thank you Ani Taj. Thank you everyone. Thank you so, so much.  Words cannot express how much Great Comet means to me and I did not do it justice with this love letter. Maybe I will write more later. But until then, I’ll leave you just as Comet left us: “It seems to me That this comet Feels me Feels my softened and uplifted soul And my newly melted heart Now blossoming Into a new life.” September 3, 2017 Imperfect but striving,

Awake,

HS. @schpiedehl

#great comet #natasha pierre and the great comet of 1812 #npgc1812 #rant #essay #i am so damn sad #did not proofread though #dave malloy