Multipurpose post
Sigh. I got annoyed by a rather facetious post on tumblr today, jokingly asking, "Is there any THRUSH woman that Napoleon hasn't slept with?" I resisted the temptation to reblog with a reply of "Yes--all of them!" since I wanted to avoid unnecessary drama so I'll just vent here.
Faye was talking about this the other day, as well, and I fully agree--there is no way that Napoleon (well, TV!Napoleon, at any rate) ever went all the way with any of the women he flirted with (case in point, the girl from "The Hula Doll Affair" says, "He was such a gentleman--he slept on the couch!"). And, indeed, Kelsey and I are both convinced that he tries to maintain a reputation as a ladies man for undercover purposes--the "flirting" is all done only for the progression of the case; he "flirts" with the innocents to reassure them or get information, he "flirts" with the U.N.C.L.E. secretaries to keep his reputation up, and he "flirts" with the THRUSH women in the hopes of getting them on his side for escape routes and information.
It's what sets Napoleon Solo apart from James Bond. TV!Napoleon is not the serial bed-hopper than Bond is (movie!Napoleon sadly is, which is one of the multiple reasons why I had a low opinion of him when I saw the movie before the series). TV!Napoleon is a good, honorable man.
[Side note: I know the "Casbah Affair" --or as I refer to it, CasBLECH--contradicts this. But that episode is an outlier and shouldn't be counted because it's the only time that ever happens. I'd have expected that from movie!Napoleon, not TV!Napoleon, and this episode makes me so angry; as far as I'm concerned, I'm chucking it out of the timeline like I do the "15 Years Later" thing.]
Anyway, switching gears now more more Pokémon Go adventures--
The frequency of new catches and hatches is getting lower; mostly repeats (though I have gotten some new ones). However, my Pokémon are getting stronger--stronger to the point that claiming gyms is becoming easier, and I'm holding them longer. I evolved a whole bunch more Pokémon, resulting in my two most powerful Pokémon being a Vaporeon named Illya and a Flareon named Napoleon, who, two days this week, helped me take and hold two gyms (the science building gym and the student union gym); it's really exciting now that I can go toe-to-toe with the other trainers in the area.--
But, even though he's not my strongest Pokémon (Napoleon and Illya are stronger than him), Albert, my Pidgeot, is my MVP. Albert is the one closest to me in the sense that he would be to me what Pikachu is to Ash; I’ve had him for the longest of the six, and I found him in my apartment when he was a Pidgey (so, in essence, he chose me). And before Napoleon and Illya were able to make their mark, Albert had done most of the legwork in my attempts to gain ground for Team Mystic, both in my hometown and here at college, and is continuing to do so even with Napoleon and Illya being stronger, so I consider Albert my MVP. Seeing as this is as close as I can get to a “real-life” Pokémon journey, it makes it rather fitting that I, someone who is currently training real birds and studying bird behavior for my graduate studies, end up having a Pidgeot as my most valuable Pokémon partner. And just today, he helped me by Gym Leader of the science building gym--
The story gets better--some rival team (I’m assuming Valor as there was no fuss while Valor held the gym before Albert and I took it) took one look at Albert perched up there, assumed “Oh, a Pidgeot; I can take it” and tried to attack the gym-you could tell because there were attack animations going on at the gym. And I was standing by with a hyper potion to heal Albert, but… whoever it was who was trying to attack him backed down and retreated because Albert was apparently stronger than they were expecting. As of this afternoon, Mystic still holds that gym (I’m not the leader anymore, but I am still supporting it), and we’re also holding the student union gym, as well (though that’s well-fortified without my help).
Never underestimate the Pidgey line--even if they are common ‘mons!
In addition to my own adventures, Pokémon Go is bringing Pokémon back to the public eye in levels that I haven't seen since 1999. It's really thrilling and nostalgic to see! Netflix has been promoting the first 2/3 of the Indio Arc from season one of the anime, and I've been rewatching some old eps--and seeing them in new ways as a result.
I rewatched Charmander's intro ep yesterday, and it's pretty startling to look upon the episode with a grown-up eye and realize that Charmander was suffering from pretty extreme abuse in regards to his original trainer, Damian, and that Charmander's attitude of remaining loyal towards Damian is sadly reflective of real-life abusive relationships. We don't know the extent of what Damian did to Charmander before he finally ditched him, but it was clear it was pretty bad (he flat-out brags, "No matter what I did to it, it still kept following me! I finally managed to get rid of it by promising to come back for it!") and the fact that Ash-tachi find Charmander deathly ill cements that. Luckily, Charmander breaks away from Damian and travels with Ash-tachi, but one would expect Charmander to have emotional scars and baggage from his time with Damian, and he does--only they don't manifest themselves until after he evolves to Charmeleon and Charizard, and then his behavioral problems/emotional baggage kick in--and one could argue that Charizard finally acts up because now he has the strength and power to be in control, and essentially becomes a control freak so as to ensure he's never put into a position like he was in with Damian ever again. Although it's intriguing to point out that Ash never once blames Charizard for his behavioral issues, but, rather, blames himself for not being a good enough trainer to earn Charizard's respect (in stark contrast with Damian, who would always blame Charmander). And it's after Ash saves Charizard's life a second time, and then flat-out confesses, "All I ever wanted was to be good enough for you," it puts things into perspective for Charizard, who only wanted to be good enough for Damien, but never was--but now it's Ash who doesn't think he's good enough for him. They're able to repair their friendship as a result, and Charizard becomes one of Ash's most trusted Pokémon again, like he was as a Charmander.
On an interesting side note, tho, in the intro ep, it's Brock who has the most invested in Charmander's well-being; he's the one who loses it when Damian starts bragging about mistreating Charmander, he's the one who leads the charge to rescue Charmander, and he's the one who doesn't budge an inch from the emergency room doors while Charmander is being treated. After Damian is chased off, Ash even admits that Brock was the one who deserves to keep him, but Brock insists that Ash keeps him instead. But the fact still remains that Brock had a large hand in saving Charmander (not that Ash and Misty didn't help, of course), and it's kind of sad that they never got to bond over that. Of course, Brock in general is the patron saint of lost potential after he started being dumbed down for the comic relief, and if it wasn't for the fact that I'm currently too busy with MFU, I would love to write a fic where Brock and Charizard get to bond for a bit--and perhaps give Charizard a chance to return the favor of lifesaving. Maybe someday...
Earlier today, I also rewatched the St Anne shipwreck episodes; aside from being a huge shout-out to The Poseidon Adventure, there's something else I noticed this time that I previously never gave much thought to before--after the ship capsizes and before Ash-tachi are trying to get their bearings and find a way of escape, there's a small scene where Officer Jenny throws some flowers for them after she finds out that they (along with Jessie and James) were unaccounted for when the ship went down. ...And that leads to a very heartbreaking scenario--if they are presumed dead like that, then it means that their families were probably notified. James's parents are a bit... out there, so there's no telling what they would think, and Jessie's mother was presumed dead long ago herself, but the show had already established that Ash, Misty, and Brock had concerned family members--for Delia, Ash is her only child and pretty much all she has--she'd be devastated; for Flint, Brock is his oldest child whom he left in charge of all of his younger siblings for years (who would not have taken the news well at all, either), and he would have to come to grips with the fact that his son died before be could finish making amends for that; and despite however bubble-headed Misty's sisters are, their episode established that they do care for her and the news would have been a horrible shock to them, as well. ...And now it suddenly makes a whole lot more sense that the episode immediately following this three-part saga, "Beauty and the Beach" (which was initially skipped in the US but then eventually aired after heavy editing) has Delia appearing in the city where Ash, Misty, and Brock end up after their harrowing experience. She was probably so desperate to see Ash again after being told that he was dead and then finding out that he was, in fact, alright. ...This is another fic idea I'd like to have done something with if I wasn't so busy with MFU. ...Maybe someday...
And, as a last note, although nothing to do with the show, it's been announced that in the upcoming games this November, Raichu is getting a new form that makes it Electric-Psychic! It's so thrilling to see my favorite Pokémon, largely ignored and sometimes outright vilified, finally getting some love!
Faye was talking about this the other day, as well, and I fully agree--there is no way that Napoleon (well, TV!Napoleon, at any rate) ever went all the way with any of the women he flirted with (case in point, the girl from "The Hula Doll Affair" says, "He was such a gentleman--he slept on the couch!"). And, indeed, Kelsey and I are both convinced that he tries to maintain a reputation as a ladies man for undercover purposes--the "flirting" is all done only for the progression of the case; he "flirts" with the innocents to reassure them or get information, he "flirts" with the U.N.C.L.E. secretaries to keep his reputation up, and he "flirts" with the THRUSH women in the hopes of getting them on his side for escape routes and information.
It's what sets Napoleon Solo apart from James Bond. TV!Napoleon is not the serial bed-hopper than Bond is (movie!Napoleon sadly is, which is one of the multiple reasons why I had a low opinion of him when I saw the movie before the series). TV!Napoleon is a good, honorable man.
[Side note: I know the "Casbah Affair" --or as I refer to it, CasBLECH--contradicts this. But that episode is an outlier and shouldn't be counted because it's the only time that ever happens. I'd have expected that from movie!Napoleon, not TV!Napoleon, and this episode makes me so angry; as far as I'm concerned, I'm chucking it out of the timeline like I do the "15 Years Later" thing.]
Anyway, switching gears now more more Pokémon Go adventures--
The frequency of new catches and hatches is getting lower; mostly repeats (though I have gotten some new ones). However, my Pokémon are getting stronger--stronger to the point that claiming gyms is becoming easier, and I'm holding them longer. I evolved a whole bunch more Pokémon, resulting in my two most powerful Pokémon being a Vaporeon named Illya and a Flareon named Napoleon, who, two days this week, helped me take and hold two gyms (the science building gym and the student union gym); it's really exciting now that I can go toe-to-toe with the other trainers in the area.--
But, even though he's not my strongest Pokémon (Napoleon and Illya are stronger than him), Albert, my Pidgeot, is my MVP. Albert is the one closest to me in the sense that he would be to me what Pikachu is to Ash; I’ve had him for the longest of the six, and I found him in my apartment when he was a Pidgey (so, in essence, he chose me). And before Napoleon and Illya were able to make their mark, Albert had done most of the legwork in my attempts to gain ground for Team Mystic, both in my hometown and here at college, and is continuing to do so even with Napoleon and Illya being stronger, so I consider Albert my MVP. Seeing as this is as close as I can get to a “real-life” Pokémon journey, it makes it rather fitting that I, someone who is currently training real birds and studying bird behavior for my graduate studies, end up having a Pidgeot as my most valuable Pokémon partner. And just today, he helped me by Gym Leader of the science building gym--
The story gets better--some rival team (I’m assuming Valor as there was no fuss while Valor held the gym before Albert and I took it) took one look at Albert perched up there, assumed “Oh, a Pidgeot; I can take it” and tried to attack the gym-you could tell because there were attack animations going on at the gym. And I was standing by with a hyper potion to heal Albert, but… whoever it was who was trying to attack him backed down and retreated because Albert was apparently stronger than they were expecting. As of this afternoon, Mystic still holds that gym (I’m not the leader anymore, but I am still supporting it), and we’re also holding the student union gym, as well (though that’s well-fortified without my help).
Never underestimate the Pidgey line--even if they are common ‘mons!
In addition to my own adventures, Pokémon Go is bringing Pokémon back to the public eye in levels that I haven't seen since 1999. It's really thrilling and nostalgic to see! Netflix has been promoting the first 2/3 of the Indio Arc from season one of the anime, and I've been rewatching some old eps--and seeing them in new ways as a result.
I rewatched Charmander's intro ep yesterday, and it's pretty startling to look upon the episode with a grown-up eye and realize that Charmander was suffering from pretty extreme abuse in regards to his original trainer, Damian, and that Charmander's attitude of remaining loyal towards Damian is sadly reflective of real-life abusive relationships. We don't know the extent of what Damian did to Charmander before he finally ditched him, but it was clear it was pretty bad (he flat-out brags, "No matter what I did to it, it still kept following me! I finally managed to get rid of it by promising to come back for it!") and the fact that Ash-tachi find Charmander deathly ill cements that. Luckily, Charmander breaks away from Damian and travels with Ash-tachi, but one would expect Charmander to have emotional scars and baggage from his time with Damian, and he does--only they don't manifest themselves until after he evolves to Charmeleon and Charizard, and then his behavioral problems/emotional baggage kick in--and one could argue that Charizard finally acts up because now he has the strength and power to be in control, and essentially becomes a control freak so as to ensure he's never put into a position like he was in with Damian ever again. Although it's intriguing to point out that Ash never once blames Charizard for his behavioral issues, but, rather, blames himself for not being a good enough trainer to earn Charizard's respect (in stark contrast with Damian, who would always blame Charmander). And it's after Ash saves Charizard's life a second time, and then flat-out confesses, "All I ever wanted was to be good enough for you," it puts things into perspective for Charizard, who only wanted to be good enough for Damien, but never was--but now it's Ash who doesn't think he's good enough for him. They're able to repair their friendship as a result, and Charizard becomes one of Ash's most trusted Pokémon again, like he was as a Charmander.
On an interesting side note, tho, in the intro ep, it's Brock who has the most invested in Charmander's well-being; he's the one who loses it when Damian starts bragging about mistreating Charmander, he's the one who leads the charge to rescue Charmander, and he's the one who doesn't budge an inch from the emergency room doors while Charmander is being treated. After Damian is chased off, Ash even admits that Brock was the one who deserves to keep him, but Brock insists that Ash keeps him instead. But the fact still remains that Brock had a large hand in saving Charmander (not that Ash and Misty didn't help, of course), and it's kind of sad that they never got to bond over that. Of course, Brock in general is the patron saint of lost potential after he started being dumbed down for the comic relief, and if it wasn't for the fact that I'm currently too busy with MFU, I would love to write a fic where Brock and Charizard get to bond for a bit--and perhaps give Charizard a chance to return the favor of lifesaving. Maybe someday...
Earlier today, I also rewatched the St Anne shipwreck episodes; aside from being a huge shout-out to The Poseidon Adventure, there's something else I noticed this time that I previously never gave much thought to before--after the ship capsizes and before Ash-tachi are trying to get their bearings and find a way of escape, there's a small scene where Officer Jenny throws some flowers for them after she finds out that they (along with Jessie and James) were unaccounted for when the ship went down. ...And that leads to a very heartbreaking scenario--if they are presumed dead like that, then it means that their families were probably notified. James's parents are a bit... out there, so there's no telling what they would think, and Jessie's mother was presumed dead long ago herself, but the show had already established that Ash, Misty, and Brock had concerned family members--for Delia, Ash is her only child and pretty much all she has--she'd be devastated; for Flint, Brock is his oldest child whom he left in charge of all of his younger siblings for years (who would not have taken the news well at all, either), and he would have to come to grips with the fact that his son died before be could finish making amends for that; and despite however bubble-headed Misty's sisters are, their episode established that they do care for her and the news would have been a horrible shock to them, as well. ...And now it suddenly makes a whole lot more sense that the episode immediately following this three-part saga, "Beauty and the Beach" (which was initially skipped in the US but then eventually aired after heavy editing) has Delia appearing in the city where Ash, Misty, and Brock end up after their harrowing experience. She was probably so desperate to see Ash again after being told that he was dead and then finding out that he was, in fact, alright. ...This is another fic idea I'd like to have done something with if I wasn't so busy with MFU. ...Maybe someday...
And, as a last note, although nothing to do with the show, it's been announced that in the upcoming games this November, Raichu is getting a new form that makes it Electric-Psychic! It's so thrilling to see my favorite Pokémon, largely ignored and sometimes outright vilified, finally getting some love!