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xyzzysqrlWe've now seen both of "May"/Lime's costumes for this game. The bandanna look she wanders around in normally and her costume outfit which the BF referred to as "looks like she's a special event vendor in an MMO who will sell you fancy cakes". I can't really refute that, but I can't refute the appeal of fancy cakes either.
Put them inside me.
Anyway, I was thinking we could use that as a branch point to explore some of the character art. This is gonna be a pure linkdump post, y'all can skip it if you want... but like the previous Bonus post this is stuff I just plain found interesting.
MAY
For starters, let's compare current May/Lime to her own past selves from Ruby/Sapphire and Emerald.
Current May's picked up a much more vibrant color scheme but is also out adventuring wearing a one-piece swimsuit with a slip or shirt beneath it, shorts tucked into her leggings and a bad case of Anime Girl Wobbly Leg Syndrome.
Past May has a popped collar and some really nice gloves, and below that has basically the same thing going on as Current May, minus the anime scurvy.
Of all her incarnations I think I like the Emerald look the best, it's a good combination of a striking visual style and color scheme. Her contest outfit is new for this game.
BRENDAN
Let's do Brendan next. Again we're comparing his Current incarnation against his Ruby/Sapphire appearance and his Emerald guise.
Modern-day Brendan has a slightly disturbing grin, like he's either just walked into a wall or is about to go for the throat with his teeth. He's remembered to bring a backpack, but is otherwise dressed in pieces from two non-matching wetsuits/rashguards.
Ruby-era Brendan has less of a "swimsuit' vibe and more of a "big puffy coat" vibe. (He's also VERY PROUD to be in this game today, you can tell.) With that coat and those pants he looks like he was expecting snowboarding instead of a tropical region. Sucks to be you, Ruby Brendan.
Again Emerald Brendan is more or less my favorite in terms of outfit and confidence level. He's looking good, he's attained the "wetsuit" look he'll be carrying into the OR/AS era, even those goofy shoes look okay now. The only issues are A: His hat has more a "headband with white hair" appearance, and B: He couldn't decide if he should have pants or shorts on, so he wore both.
Now let's look at modern-day Brendan's contest gear and... guys? Brace yourself before you click on this okay?
Where do we START?
*deeep breath*
Working outward from the chest, we see that the underlayer of this outfit is a lemon-lime Donald Duck sailor shirt, overlaid with a cherry-red jacket with studs, a popped collar, rolled sleeves and an asymmetrical puffy white GLITTERING FRINGE that wraps around one shoulder. A belt matches the jacket, while providing a sturdy mounting point so everything Brendan owns can be chained to the outside of his glitter-painted jeans. A pair of strapped, studded rain boots almost complete the look, but for the final touch Brendan screwed up all his courage and dipped one strand of hair in some red dye and a second strand in yellow dye.
*exhale*
This is absolutely an outfit that will have people after the contest talking. "What the HELL was he wearing?" they'll be asking each other. That said, you can get a pikachu in basically this outfit and THAT looks okay. I just don't know.
So there's our main characters, but what about the bad guys?
MAXIE AND ARCHIE
So I linked these before but let's have a refresher. Here's Current Maxie and Current Archie. They're somewhat silly looking, but appropriate for Villains with a Plan for the World. Archie has fully embraced being a pirate-themed superbaddie, while Maxie has that "Science is Cool and Lava is Hot" look about him. All red, safety glasses and what appears to be a lightly rubberized lab coat, plus the ever-present corrugated bodysock.
They're the Team Leaders we mock and love and love to mock.
So...
Have Past Maxie and Past Archie.
I'm sorry, I'm really trying. Maxie's hairpoint is ... funny. Archie looks like he wants to sell you pot in an alleyway. But...
There's just NOTHING THERE to work with. They are bland normal people. They barely register to me. I'd have assumed these were the GRUNTS, not the leaders.
Let's take a moment to applaud the rich ridiculousness of Modern Pokemon Fashion. It may not always be my favorite appearances, but it's never, ever, ever boring or worth passing over.
Put them inside me.
Anyway, I was thinking we could use that as a branch point to explore some of the character art. This is gonna be a pure linkdump post, y'all can skip it if you want... but like the previous Bonus post this is stuff I just plain found interesting.
MAY
For starters, let's compare current May/Lime to her own past selves from Ruby/Sapphire and Emerald.
Current May's picked up a much more vibrant color scheme but is also out adventuring wearing a one-piece swimsuit with a slip or shirt beneath it, shorts tucked into her leggings and a bad case of Anime Girl Wobbly Leg Syndrome.
Past May has a popped collar and some really nice gloves, and below that has basically the same thing going on as Current May, minus the anime scurvy.
Of all her incarnations I think I like the Emerald look the best, it's a good combination of a striking visual style and color scheme. Her contest outfit is new for this game.
BRENDAN
Let's do Brendan next. Again we're comparing his Current incarnation against his Ruby/Sapphire appearance and his Emerald guise.
Modern-day Brendan has a slightly disturbing grin, like he's either just walked into a wall or is about to go for the throat with his teeth. He's remembered to bring a backpack, but is otherwise dressed in pieces from two non-matching wetsuits/rashguards.
Ruby-era Brendan has less of a "swimsuit' vibe and more of a "big puffy coat" vibe. (He's also VERY PROUD to be in this game today, you can tell.) With that coat and those pants he looks like he was expecting snowboarding instead of a tropical region. Sucks to be you, Ruby Brendan.
Again Emerald Brendan is more or less my favorite in terms of outfit and confidence level. He's looking good, he's attained the "wetsuit" look he'll be carrying into the OR/AS era, even those goofy shoes look okay now. The only issues are A: His hat has more a "headband with white hair" appearance, and B: He couldn't decide if he should have pants or shorts on, so he wore both.
Now let's look at modern-day Brendan's contest gear and... guys? Brace yourself before you click on this okay?
Where do we START?
*deeep breath*
Working outward from the chest, we see that the underlayer of this outfit is a lemon-lime Donald Duck sailor shirt, overlaid with a cherry-red jacket with studs, a popped collar, rolled sleeves and an asymmetrical puffy white GLITTERING FRINGE that wraps around one shoulder. A belt matches the jacket, while providing a sturdy mounting point so everything Brendan owns can be chained to the outside of his glitter-painted jeans. A pair of strapped, studded rain boots almost complete the look, but for the final touch Brendan screwed up all his courage and dipped one strand of hair in some red dye and a second strand in yellow dye.
*exhale*
This is absolutely an outfit that will have people after the contest talking. "What the HELL was he wearing?" they'll be asking each other. That said, you can get a pikachu in basically this outfit and THAT looks okay. I just don't know.
So there's our main characters, but what about the bad guys?
MAXIE AND ARCHIE
So I linked these before but let's have a refresher. Here's Current Maxie and Current Archie. They're somewhat silly looking, but appropriate for Villains with a Plan for the World. Archie has fully embraced being a pirate-themed superbaddie, while Maxie has that "Science is Cool and Lava is Hot" look about him. All red, safety glasses and what appears to be a lightly rubberized lab coat, plus the ever-present corrugated bodysock.
They're the Team Leaders we mock and love and love to mock.
So...
Have Past Maxie and Past Archie.
I'm sorry, I'm really trying. Maxie's hairpoint is ... funny. Archie looks like he wants to sell you pot in an alleyway. But...
There's just NOTHING THERE to work with. They are bland normal people. They barely register to me. I'd have assumed these were the GRUNTS, not the leaders.
Let's take a moment to applaud the rich ridiculousness of Modern Pokemon Fashion. It may not always be my favorite appearances, but it's never, ever, ever boring or worth passing over.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-30 06:37 pm (UTC)... I'm sorry but Maxie is wearing a longcoat with shorts that only stop him from looking like a flasher because (like most of Team Magma) the rest of his legs are concealed by virtue of him being some sort of tree-person. Also, how do those boots work? Do they have another layer of corrugated body sock on top of the plastic rain boot part, or are those just Crocs with a hole in the middle? Man those are ineffective rain boots if that's the case; no wonder he feuds so hard with Team Aqua. But then wait how does that circle in the middle work?
Archie in particular is proof of the entire thesis behind your post: there's something strangely refreshing about going from bland skeevy dude to truly owning the fact that you want to be a goofy-ass cartoon pirate who tried to turn a diving suit into a faux Badass Longcoat by adding a popped collar and hanging a half-skirt off the butt. He is here to ham the hell out of this role and that's why Aqua is the better team.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-30 06:45 pm (UTC)Because it's easier to kick people if they're staring at your boots and trying to figure out WTF.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-30 06:48 pm (UTC)So, you have the body sock as your base layer and first thing he puts on when he gets dressed in the morning. Above that, you have... this is my best guess here, but I think you then have a wildly-mismatching-with-itself black button-up shirt with red collar, which is suspiciously low cut presumably because he wants to expose that sexy tree-person cleavage. Then you have the longcoat, which I think he puts over the rest of the shirt but tucks underneath the shirt's collar, as if the shirt itself is holding the coat in place by pinching it between the collar.
I'm not 100% solid on this theory because that is ridiculous, but if you have any better ones I'd love to hear them.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-30 07:08 pm (UTC)I think the truth is that he wears that bodysock/full body sweater and then puts on a labcoat and NOTHING ELSE. That can't be right. That cannot be right. That can't be what's happening here. My brain will not allow that to be what's happening.
*urgently stares at concept art*
...
*complete mental shutdown*
no subject
Date: 2017-07-30 07:17 pm (UTC)Their eyes met, full of wanting. A kiss, brief but feeling like an eternity, and then they both knew it was time to take their passion to the next level. Maxie slowly unhooked Archie's steel buttskirt, that and the matching sixty-pound utility belt falling to the floor with a loud metallic crash. Archie took Maxie's coat in his hands, but it seemed stuck tight. Eventually realizing it was attached to the shirt, he moved to un-tuck it from Maxie's shorts first....
no subject
Date: 2017-07-30 07:26 pm (UTC)that'll be a good time
me
the abyss
the screams
this fanfic
yeah
...
Fucking hell now I'm imagining Archie hopping after Maxie with his buttcape flapping, pants around his knees binding them together, screaming "HOW DO THEY COME OFF? HOW?" and crying.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-30 07:33 pm (UTC)