#I seriously wonder how drug use is like in the pokemon world.

[pokemonheadcanons]

Spooky Canon #710

In one region, there is a highly sought after brand of tequila known for having a skorupi in the bottle.

The distilation alters the venom and gives a psycoactive effect. But it is very potent, so it's only to be used in mixed drinks

[marchy-emmet]

PLA - Volo and his potential ADHD traits (a theory)

Helloooooooooo gamer nation!! I think I may or may not be the first to make an entire written post about this. I wasn’t able to find any other headcanons addressing this. So without further ado, let me begin explaining.

AS A QUICK DISCLAIMER:

I’m writing this as a person who has “moderately severe” (my weird way of describing it) ADHD. Many people are unaware this is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Paired with autism, it can be very impairing in a world where society demands your brain to function “normally”.

This post will not focus on Volo’s actions for obvious reasons -- his ADHD would not be the cause of this. This will focus more so on his general behavior and quirks.

ADHD MISCONCEPTIONS:

It is a common misconception that ADHD is merely an attention disorder that would make one “spacey, inattentive and unable to sit still”. While these are indeed ADHD traits, this is nowhere near descriptive of the full picture. For example, symptoms that are often regarded less are the tendency to develop hyperfixations, and the lack of dopamine you’d find in an ADHD brain. (Hence why stimulant drugs such as Adderall affect us differently -- the dopamine increase settles the brain’s dopamine and noradrenaline supply back to baseline, whereas a non-ADHD person would receive a “high” from this.)

Because of these misconceptions, the disorder isn’t taken as seriously as it should, and is commonly associated with “boys in class who can’t sit still for 8 hours”. This is unfortunately society’s reality.

WHY I THINK VOLO MAY HAVE ADHD, OR AT LEAST DISPLAYS TRAITS:

You may be wondering why, despite the lack of “obvious” symptoms, I think Volo may have ADHD. My reasoning includes hyperfixation, hyperfocus (another commonly glossed symptom), spontaneous behavior and occasional inattentiveness.

Hyperfixation and hyperfocus - Ah, yes. The best and most obvious part. Volo very clearly has a hyperfixation on myths and legendary Pokemon -- and because he lacks traits of autism, I would consider this a hyperfixation and not a special interest. 

Hyperfixations can also develop from fears, trauma and pain. We know Volo has gone through some shit, as he states, "You see, ever since I was young, whenever I met with something painful or heartbreaking... I couldn't help but wonder why life was so unfair. Why I was cursed to live through such things. Of course, I imagine we all go through something like that. Eventually, I chose to direct all my energy into my own natural curiosity and ambition.” We’re not given closure on what this pain was that he experienced -- but given the context, he may have religious trauma (or the Pokemon universe equivalent). Given this, he may have developed a hyperfixation on myths and legends as a result. 

I would refer to this as an unhealthy hyperfixation. 

Speaking of natural curiosity and ambition..... Guess what? Real people with ADHD tend to have natural curiosity as well. They direct their energy towards the novel, and whatever may seem fascinatingly interesting (ex. my interest in psychedelics is a common ADHD fixation, believe it or not!). Those with ADHD are not only “lacking” focus -- they are hyperfocused on novel, in-depth topics.

One more point to close this portion off is how Cogita comments on this behavior. I do not have the quote on me, but I took note of when she expressed that Volo only wishes to participate in exploring when it piques his interest. (I find this to be a good example of both hyperfocus and lack of focus)

Impulsivity, and more hyperfocus - When Volo suddenly screams, "THAT'S ONE OF THE PLATES WE WERE LOOKING FOR! Ahem. Apologies. That's indeed one of the plates that we've been searching for.” While this can totally be interpreted as mere excitement that his plan is succeeding, it can also be interpreted as a brief lack of self control. (This is not to imply those with ADHD are NEVER in control -- this would be an example of a breakthrough.)

He talks. A lot - You could also tie this one back into hyperfixation -- but Volo talks a lot. He’s always intellectually stimulating himself and infodumping to those around him. In fact, I don’t believe anyone else in this game speaks in as many paragraphs as this man does.

It’s literally a thing that I, and other people with ADHD, will do. Especially while typing in chats. If I’m engaged in a conversation that piques my curiosity, I’ll dominate the conversation and form connections, jumping from one idea to another. My brain never pauses. While I don’t engage in too much small talk, I have a side that requires extra stimulation that manifests this way. Many of these ideas may be uncorrelated to my hyperfixations. It can be jumbo, mumbo and wumbo, flying straight out the ass.

Expressing excitability and curiosity - He seems to always want to delve deeper into things. ANYTHING. Holy shit. And he will continue specifying what exactly he is talking about. Always asking questions.

Some extra tidbits + more quote evidence - 

Giant paragraph chunks like these: “Have you not heard of the notorious Miss Fortunes? They're a trio of bandits that have even hit us Ginkgo Guild more than a few times! Not the kind of regulars I like to have, let me tell you! Miss Calaba is doing everything she can to regain the fragment, but at 99 years old... It's a bit hard for her top chase leads all over the place. So what do you say, kind sir/(female term)? Why not help find the fragment for the warden? Oh--naturally I'll be happy to lend you a hand! Those sisters swiped my wares, too, and I'm no Ginkgo Guild merchant if I take that lying down! And far be it from me to let them just get away with vandalizing the precious ruins of this region! You know, I did see the remains of a campfire near the Mirelands Camp. Perhaps worth checking out?"

I think the way he constantly appears on a whim to the player is... hm... interesting. Like he is always searching around, walking almost aimlessly and running into people on the way there. This may possibly be a sign of self stimulation.

COUNTERARGUMENTS: 

Of course, not everyone will agree with this. Perhaps all of this obsessive wumbo jumbo is merely a result of his obsessive insanity -- and maybe he’s stalking the player when he appears seemingly out of nowhere. All of this, for all we know, could just be unhealthy obsession and malice. But on the other hand, it could be ADHD paired with unhealthy personality traits -- and a horrible upbringing.

As Colress states in Masters -- all of your perspectives are valid.

CLOSING:

I don’t believe there is sufficient evidence for there to be a full diagnosis on Volo. But... he definitely does display traits of ADHD. I think it is safe to keep this noted as a possibility -- but not as the truth.

And again, this is not to stigmatize ADHD by associating it with a “villainous” character. His actions are not a result of ADHD -- they are a result of free will and possible trauma.

If anyone has anything to add, feel free to do so! I definitely think this post is scrambled like an egg and not fully touched on. I wrote as much as I could think of.

[epic-ash-and-sora-fan]

Alive Chap 1

Clemont thought that getting the chance to be an intern at a new facility would be a valuable learning experience. Little did he know this facility held a huge secret which could change the world as they knew it! (Diodeshipping)

Chapter 1: The Amazing Facility

No way…

Clemont stared at the letter in his hands. His breakfast cereal sat forgotten on the table. The teen couldn't even fathom how this was happening. Was Placebo Net seriously inviting him to work as a temporary intern?

Placebo Net was a relatively new facility, but they already made a name for themselves. They're dedicated to creating various tools and drugs that improve the quality of life for people and pokemon. They're close to curing several diseases and even stunned doctors by helping someone walk again. Placebo Net made the impossible possible. Why would they ask him to be an intern at his age?! What insane universe did he wake up in this morning?

"Clemont, you've been gawking at that letter for ages, what's it about?" asked a youthful voice beside him.

"Sorry, Bonnie. It's from Placebo Net. They… want me as an intern."

"Wow, really?!" cried Bonnie. "Cool! They made all those new medicines right?"

"Yeah, it's only a temporary thing, but I could learn a lot."

"You're gonna accept then?"

"Maybe…" said Clemont as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm a little hesitant to leave the gym but… Clembot has been keen to go solo for a while, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping."

"Well keep an eye out for keepers because I won't be around to help with that," said Bonnie with a wink.

"Bonnie!" moaned Clemont. Then he smiled. "Okay, I'll do it. What harm could it do?"

The rest of the day consisted of calling Placebo Net to inform them of his decision. He also made certain all was in order for Clembot to run the gym in his absence. He is due to start tomorrow, and it would, for the most part, be an induction day. Placebo Net wasn't ridiculously far from Lumiose City. Just an hour's train ride to Kuro City so it wasn't like he would be miles and miles away. Still, the manager of Placebo Net suggested Clemont actually roomed at Placebo Net. Not only it would make things easier for them both it would also be more cost-effective for Clemont to not have to pay for train tickets every day. The teen couldn't argue with that logic so he agreed. Bonnie pouted upon hearing this.

"Can't I come with you Clemont?" she asked sadly.

"I wish you could Bonnie, but I'm going to be really busy. It isn't like at the gym where I could watch you during a lull in challengers, I'll likely be gone all day."

Plus, Clemont was sure the researchers wouldn't appreciate his sister getting under their feet all the time while they were trying to work.

----

Clothes, check. Toothbrush, check. Pokeballs, check.

"Clemont this is the eighth time you went through that list. You have everything already!" griped Bonnie as she watched from the doorway.

"One can't be too careful Bonnie," said Clemont as he got up from his cross-legged position on his bedroom floor. He picked up his backpack which was now several times heavier then went to give his sister a hug.

"You be good okay. I'll call when I get the chance."

"Okay. I love you Clemont."

"I love you too."

Meyer walked into the room with a lunch box

"A little something to eat on the train. It's not your mum's cooking, Arceus rest her soul, but it's filling I'd imagine."

"Thanks, Dad," said Clemont as he accepted the lunch box and was just able to fit it into his already crammed backpack.

"Well, good luck son. Work hard and keep us posted, and don't worry, Bonnie and I will hold down the fort."

Clemont nodded and after more goodbye hugs Clemont left the gym. He glanced back at the building for a moment, knowing he won't be back for a while.

"No turning back now," he said to himself and continued on.

----

Clemont was now getting off the train at Kuro Station. Kuro City was as the name implied. Everything was dark coloured. Even the pavement somehow. The flower baskets dangling from various homes were the only things with even an ounce of colour.

Clemont pulled out his map and was somewhat surprised to find Placebo Net was only a couple of blocks away. Along the way the blonde watched everyone go about their business. Children not much younger than Bonnie played hopscotch in a play area with a Skitty. There was a salon where a woman was reading a magazine while waiting for a man to finish grooming what Clemont presumed was her Furfrou. A pansear walked up to Clemont and handed him a leaflet that advertised a pastry shop. The teen placed the flyer into his pocket to review later. He also strolled by a flower stall where a young woman was making flower bracelets with the aid of her Floette.

"Here we are!"

The building was incredibly modest. It was about 30 stories tall and the walls were a dull grey. The windows were so clean, Clemont would forgive anyone for thinking there were no windows at all. The glass door slid open as he approached. Inside was a sharp contrast to the exterior. The walls and floor were pure white. There were tall plants in each corner of the lobby and there were light blue chairs by the windows. Clemont soon reached the desk where a brunette woman with a loose ponytail was typing something on the computer.

"Ahem… erm excuse me, I'm the new temp intern starting today." Clemont stuttered as he presented the badge he received for verification.

The woman peered up and smiled.

"Ah, yes let's see."

The woman accepted the badge and scanned it on a machine next to her computer. After it made a happy beep, she nodded and handed the card back.

"So you're Clemont. Well, everything seems in order. I'll let the boss know you're here. So if you'll take a seat."

"That won't be necessary, Heather. I'm already here." announced a new voice. Clemont turned to see a middle-aged man walking towards the desk. "Appreciate the sentiment though."

Heather nodded returning to her work. The man turned to Clemont. He had dark brown thinning hair, and he wore a lab coat over his mint green shirt.

"Wonderful to meet you Clemont," he said as he held out his hand which the inventor took. "Again, I'm delighted you accepted our invitation. My name is Brad. I believe we spoke on the phone."

Clemont nodded.

"Thank you for inviting me. It will be a valuable learning experience."

"That it will." laughed Brad. "Every day is a learning experience here. Now, why don't we start with a tour? Would you like anything to drink? A snack perhaps?"

"No thanks. I had something on the train."

"Well if you change your mind, let me know," said Brad as they headed towards the door he entered through which turned out to be an elevator. Brad pressed a button, and they ascended. They went up a few floors before the elevator beeped and the doors opened.

"This is the research floor," said Brad. "Self-explanatory. We learn everything we can about diseases and how they can affect the human body. Same thing with pokemon. We're now researching Pokerus and determining if there are any hidden adverse effects of contracting it. So far all we've found is that it can occasionally cause mild skin irritation, and that's only in very rare cases and is treatable with prescription cream."

Clemont looked around. There were many people either on computers or looking through microscopes. Someone jotted their findings on a tablet.

"As you can see they're very diligent," said Brad with a smile.

"This is fascinating!" cried Clemont. "I can't believe how efficient everything is."

"Haha, if you're impressed already, I can't wait to show you the rest of the building," laughed Brad.

The tour continued at a steady clip. Brad showed Clemont the computer room and another research room. There were several break rooms and rest areas for all-nighters.

"We'll this one up to be your room," said Brad. "Why don't you leave your backpack here. It looks heavy."

"It is. Thanks," said Clemont as he took off his backpack giving his shoulders some much needed relief, and placed it on the bed. Once that was done with they continued the tour.

"This is where the magic happens," said Brad as they entered a laboratory. "Once we've determined that the drug works and is safe to use, we send it to hospitals or pokemon centers depending on who needs it."

"Hello sir." said a blonde woman as she entered the room carrying a small case. "What brings you here if I may be so bold?"

"You may," said Brad. "I'm showing our new intern the ropes.

"Oh, of course! That was today." cried the woman. "I can be such an airhead sometimes. Nice to meet you. Clemont right?"

"That's right," said Clemont as he shook her hand.

"Well, I'll be looking forward to working with you." the blonde woman turned to Brad and whispered something to him. Brad smiled reassuringly.

"I'll tell him Freya, just getting the induction done with first."

"Sorry, tell me what?" asked Clemont. An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. What was Placebo Net up to?

The researcher flinched as if he knew he let something slip. He sighed but smiled.

"Well I suppose it won't hurt to inform you now, but first I should explain a few things. I hope you'll listen before making any decisions."

Against his better judgement, Clemont nodded.

"Then let's head up a couple of floors," said Brad.

Clemont followed Brad to the elevator while clutching at his sleeves. He had expected a normal internship, but this was turning out to be something creepy and even a little shady. He stayed silent in the elevator wondering what Brad wanted to tell him.

"Now what I'm about to tell you is… let's say unusual, and we're not ready to go public with it yet. We'd be grateful if you keep what you're about to see under your hat for the time being."

Clemont nodded.

"Yes, of course."

The elevator door opened. The duo walked down the hallway and through a door that led to another laboratory. It had lots of glass tubes of varying sizes sat on top of a large table. The contents of the tubes made Clemont's stomach turn.

"Is…. is that…?"

"Yep," answered Brad. "That is a human heart."

In fact, each tube held a different organ. Lungs, kidneys, a liver, a stomach and even what appeared to be a human brain.

"Wha… what is this!?" he cried disgusted by what he saw in front of him. Brad let out a loud laugh.

"Had you going, didn't I? You can relax Clemont, we didn't gut anybody. These are artificial, surprise!"

"They're not real?"

"Technically, no," said Brad. "but they don't have to be. They work just like the real thing."

It took a few seconds for that sentence to sink in, but when they did they hit Clemont like a truck.

"What?!"

"You heard right," said Brad smirking as if he was enjoying this. "It took a lot of trial and error, but we have been able to create a working heart out of synthetic fibres. They are 100% eco-friendly. No plastic whatsoever. I remember the first breakthrough well. We created an artificial heart. Then we wired it to an artificial human brain. We gave the heart a little jolt, not much different from a defibrillator. The heart began to beat! Only for a few seconds but it was beating! I'm amazed Officer Jenny didn't come knocking from how loudly we celebrated. After countless failures, we finally created a heart that worked! Now we just had to keep it working. This is revolutionary! Transplant waiting lists will be a thing of the past if we can pull this off! If someone needs a new heart. We could build one and best of all it would be adaptable to that person's blood type so there will be no risk of rejection. We've even made artificial blood and blood cells. Yes, blood cells! In simpler terms, whatever the human body has. We've made a synthetic version."

Clemont could hardly believe what he heard. If what Brad was saying is true, then it truly was revolutionary. It could change lives! This was like something out of a sci-fi movie.

"So…. you…. you could even replace brains?" he asked.

Brad let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, I don't about that. They are just for research and testing other organs. It's the brain that tells them what to do after all."

"So… you've made an artificial version of everything? Could you even make skin? Hair? Bones?!"

Brad gave the inventor another smile.

"I think I'll let you be the judge of that. Come with me."

Clemont followed Brad back into the hallway still reeling from what he was being told. What could top artificial, working organs?

"Through here," said Brad as he led Clemont through another door. The long room was almost empty. Just a few tables with a computer on each one. There seemed to be a window in front of the desks but it showed what was in the room next to this one.

"We'll use this one-way mirror for the time being," said Brad. "We might scare him."

"Him?"

Brad said no more. He gestured to the one-way mirror so Clemont walked towards it and peered in. He saw an empty room with a single bed. On the bed, someone appeared to be asleep. It was a boy, not much older than Clemont. He had tanned skin and black messy hair. The blonde couldn't see much else though as the boy was under the bedsheets. At first, Clemont thought it might've been another intern and wondered why Brad was showing him this. Then another possibility crossed his mind, and it made him weak at the knees.

"That…. that's not…."

"It is," said Brad looking serious. "That boy…. is the first completely artificial human."

[medea10]

Medea Plays Animal Crossing New Horizons: Part I

OH DEAR GOD, THIS WORLD IS FUCKING NUTS! WHAT IS GOING ON ANYMORE?!

WE ALMOST STARTED WORLD WAR III

THE PRESIDENT IS AN EVIL, FUCKING, NARCISSIST!

AUSTRALIA NEARLY BURNED TO THE GROUND!

CORONAVIRUS IS GONNA KILL US IN OUR SLEEP!!! SERIOUSLY, WHO THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO MOVE TO WASHINGTON STATE LAST YEAR? THIS PLACE HAD A FUCK-TON OF DEATHS WITH THIS SHIT! JESUS H. FUCK! THE PRESIDENT HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE’S DOING! WHY? WHY TO EVERYTHING?

WHY IS LIFE AND WHY ARE WE SUFFERING THROUGH THIS HOLY TRINITY OF...

Oh...Thank you Arceus. I needed this game badly.

Animal Crossing is just...BLISS. The kind of bliss that I crave. I know it won’t take away all of my anxiety and depression, but it does a damn good job making me forget it all for a while as I plant trees, pick fruit, get in crippling debt, and make friends with all kinds of animal friends.

Hey, New Leaf got me through a bad break-up, suicidal thoughts, a broken ankle, and whatever else 2013 threw at me. So New Horizons is definitely gonna get me through this horrifying mess!

So let’s get this island adventure started!

I wonder who my first 2 villagers are going to be.

I’m really hoping for Papi, for one.

My boy here don’t care if you come in and he’s using the toilet. He’s alright with me!

And I’m also hoping for Olivia.

I know she’s a snooty kitty, but she was always nice to me in New Leaf and I have a soft spot for this cat.

So who do I get?

Louie and Diva.

Well...some day I’ll get Papi and Olivia.

Well after finding a place to live and help the other villagers, it’s time to name this island.

Now this could be a perfect opportunity to pick a creative name for the island I’ll be molding to...

Or not!

Yeah, I have a nasty habit naming islands, villages, and towns “Pallet”. And for you dummies that don’t know, it’s not the art term I named it after, it’s because of Pallet Town in Pokemon.

Let’s have a toast with some OJ.

Did Tom Nook put something in my OJ?

K.K.’s speaking to me vividly in my dreams?

TOM NOOK, WHAT DID YOU SLIP IN MY DRINK?

So after drugging my drink, here comes Nook-boi to give me a bill for the tent and nookphone.

You capitalist nookling.

Well...no matter!

Results may vary.

I spent the good chunk of the first day cleaning up the island, grabbing nook miles, catching fish/bugs for Blathers, and...

OH FUCK NAW!

I thought these evil fuckers only show up in summer time.

Yeah, I do not have pleasant memories with tarantulas in Animal Crossing.

Even now, my butt clinches every time I see these multi-legged fuckers roaming around.

HELL, I never even caught one in my game. I caught a scorpion somehow, but not this demented fucker.

But maybe my luck might change. Maybe if I sneak up on it...

SON OF A BITCH!

I HATE THESE EVIL, HAIRY FUCKS!

Yeah Nintendo, we seriously need to learn how to craft a blowtorch. Not to necessarily “KILL” tarantulas. Maybe just intimidate them a little when they start chasing you.

Well, since it’s the next day, time to give Blathers new insects for the museum.

Seriously, dude?

You’re scared of a baby butterfly?

Yeah, believe it or not, Blathers still despises insects. And he goes above and beyond to inform us of their worst traits (although he’s not enthusiastic with talking about insects like he is with fish and fossils).

I mean, I will agree with him when it comes to tarantulas, scorpions, and friggin’ wasps.

Well, at least this information is tame.

I have a feeling that Blathers would have a heart attack if he met those evil Japanese Hornets.

After that...

Oh goodie, a surprise visit from Gulliver.

Yeah, that’s Gulliver’s ramblings.

Whenever you see Gulliver, stay with him until he wakes up and help him find five components to his communicator that’s buried in the sand. Then he’ll send you something.

*snorts*

God, I gotta love the way these folks speak.

Well, now that the airport is functional, let’s check out a random island.

Wow...that is sadly funny.

Okay, those code names are just too fucking much. I am in tears here.

I’m still chuckling at the fact the Dodos are named Orville and Wilbur. I know it’s a take on the Wright brothers, but my old-school Disney heart will always go back to The Rescuers...

Because I’m a dumbass!

Oh hey, I found Alfonso. Let’s see if he eventually joins my island.

After your visit, Wilbur burns the evidence of this island’s existence...As Dodos do!

After that...Let’s play a little with the designs.

And yes, I designed the dress.

As for the Clefable design, that’s from my New Leaf that I transferred over.

Along with...

My pictures of Homer Simpson and the Nyan Cat.

And old clothing designs I made so I can look like Drew from Pokemon.

Or Sweet Polly Purebread from Underdog.

I don’t expect any of you to know who this is.

OH AND WHAT’S THIS?!

Because I’d be concerned if Medea didn’t do this!

Yeah, but I gotta take shit one step further!

It took me a while, but I’m quite content with the drawing I did of Tracey.

I think that’s all for now.

To be continued.

[helenofsimblr]

I have a LOT of catching up to do!

I was tagged to do the 57 facts thing by @fayts4 @tabbyrhsims4simblr and @midnightdevotions I think I got everybody if not you’ll have to forgive me my shoddy memory. But I have so many blogs to catch up on I am ready to cry!

1. Simblr is a secret thing for me, only my husband knows about it. Its my own guilty pleasure.

2. I recently became a parent and I am very much planning to have at least 1 more while there is still time!

3. I have done a lot of work on some really amazing stuff, none of which I can ever talk about due to secrecy agreements. 

4. I have a PhD in mathematics, so that proves I am super boring.

5. I tried my first cigarette at age 11, but didn’t touch it again till age 26 which was when I took it up, I would smoke anything from 0 to 10 cigs a day depending on the day I had. I quit cigs this year aged 32 in January. So hopefully didn’t do myself too much damage.

6. At age 29 I started smoking cigars on special occasions those are: my birthday, Christmas, New year, Valentines, and my wedding anniversary. Being the “badass” I am, I inhale every 5th drag for a little extra kick, even though you shouldn’t do that... I have not quit the cigars!

7. I have a younger brother and an older sister, I am the middle sibling.

8. I have only ever had 3 boyfriends in my life. And 1 “fancy man.”

9. I was engaged to be married to my second boyfriend, I basically twisted his arm into it because of my condition I was afraid I’d be some old woman called Ms instead of Mrs, he did not want to be married, not to me anyway. I should have realised that back then...

10. While I was engaged to boyfriend number 2 I had an affair which lasted about 8 months, it was with a colleague at work, and it was amazing! I don’t condone cheating, not in the least, but I realise, the sensible thing to do would have been to call off the engagement. 

11. I had giganstism (Acromegaly) as a child, I am 6 foot 7 inches tall bare foot. I do not like being this tall... not one bit. There are so many health issues that come with this, that it really isn’t worth it.

12. When I stopped growing, Acromegaly causes your face and hands and feet to carry on growing... I have size 14 feet. UK size. My hands are large enough that I can grip 4 tennis balls in one hand easily. 

13. I have no tattoos. I have never ever wanted a tattoo. I don’t actually like them very much.

14. I don’t have any piercings anywhere else beside my ears. I have 2 piercings in each ear.

15. I am a huge petrol head. I love cars and I will happily have a discussion with any man about them, or woman if she is so inclined!

16. Due to the facial changes caused by Acromegaly I decided to go and get cosmetic surgery in late 2017 to change my face back to a more softer look.

17. I love Star Trek. Captain Kirk is my favourite captain, he is the best. No discussion. If it wasn’t for Kirk there would be no Picard, no Sisko, no Janeway. None of those pretenders would be here!

18. I think Quentin Tarrantino and his films are vastly overrated and often incomprehensible and worst yet, non linear. 

19. I really dislike the taste of alcohol. The only drinks I get on well with are Guiness and Gin and tonics. Most others I don’t like. I hate wine.

20. I hated that stupid Pokemon Go craze!! The amount of people who walked into me in the street... That shit was dangerous.

21. My hair used to be naturally blonde, but in recent years its started to get darker, which is why I now use colouring to keep it where it was.

22. I should wear glasses to read, but I don’t bother.

23. While preggers I had gestational diabetes. Which was not fun at all.

24. I love swimming, but I hate the sea because I am afraid of whats in it. Sharks, jellyfish, all sorts of wonderful, yet horrid creatures designed to kill and maim!

25. When I was doing my PhD, somebody on my research team literally took about 80% of my thesis content and used it in their thesis. I had  no time to appeal or go through proper channels as I already had a job lined up, and was due to have my pituitary tumor removed, therefore, my only option was to redo 80% of my thesis. 

26. I am not religious (at least not in any organised way), however, I find the theory of how the universe came into being utterly laughable. A big bang... seriously?? If before the universe, there was nothing, where did the shit that exploded come from? Its bullshit. Truth is, nobody knows for sure, but we’re so desperate to know that scientists will happily invent theories to fit what few facts they have.

27. Despite not being religious, I firmly believe in existence after death. I say existence, not life, there is a difference. I have seen what would be colloquially referred to as a “ghost” when I was 13 years old.

28. I love the old pulp sci fi, things like Lost in Space, and voyage to the bottom of the sea

29. My favourite foods are pizzas. I cannot get enough of them! In particular just bog standard pepperoni

30. I suck at sports. Any sport, and I suck at it.

31. I often worry about things so much I lose my perspective, I cannot help but worry and it usually leads to a cascade of worry and I may make poor decisions. 

32. I am part German. I can speak German, to a fashion... its not very good as I rarely use it.

33. I have regular chiropractic care and I have to say its worth every penny. I feel better physically now than I have in years! As a bonus, the IBS I suffered with, since I have been seeing my chiropractor has actually cleared up! 

34. I am currently trying to complete something on my bucket list, I am attempting to watch EVERY John Wayne film.

35. I hated Star Wars the Last Jedi. Shit film!

36. I have a cuddly toy from I was a baby which I still have! (I don’t sleep with it of course)

37. I love inappropriate/dirty jokes.

38. I am, somewhat, anti-abortion. I understand there is a time and a place for everything however, but given birth control and access to morning after pills... 

39. I am not political, I loathe politicians. None of them have a clue what it is like to be in the real world. Also... why do we have Ministers of health who have never been a nurse or doctor? And so forth... doesn’t make sense!

40. I have been married 3 years now. 

41. I cannot bend over and touch my toes.

42. I recently took a woman to court and won! After she keyed (Scratched the car with a key) my Range Rover from bumper to bumper in the supermarket. 

43. I hate shopping. I find it so tedious and inconvenient. I honestly do not understand how other females can find this a pleasurable activity!

44. I have never tried any illegal drugs in my life.

45. Apparently I was late performing all my children milestones. Walking, talking and potty training. I took months longer than my siblings did.

46. I find it really hard to go to the toilet in a public toilet. It disturbs me.

47. I hate it when people tell me “You’re late.” As though I have no concept or track of time. I usually reply with “I was quite aware before you pointed it out.” I never apologise for being late, unless I know that my being late was definitely my fault.

48. I am often amused by simblr. Especially at all these “dramas” that pop up round here. Particularly over custom content and how it should never be uploaded by anybody but the creator or changed or whatever... did I mention how somebody took 80% of my PhD thesis and used it in their work? Oh yes. Point number 25.

49. If I go for ice cream, doesn’t matter where it is, I will always go for vanilla.

50. White chocolate is my favourite chocolate of all. So sweet and creamy...

51. I am allergic to penicillin.

52. I love superhero films. Particularly the Marvel ones. I think Marvel do better films than DC but DC do better animated films / television than Marvel do.

53. I think Nolan’s batman trilogy is overrated speaking of superhero films.

54. Speaking of films, only once ever have I walked out of the cinema. I remember I went to see Mr and Mrs Smith, and half way through I walked out. Have never seen the end of that film since.

55. My favourite Junk Food is bacon double cheeseburgers! 

56. Due to having acromegaly... every year... without fail... I have to go and get a camera up my ass! Yeah its great being tall(!)

57. I HATE pears. I mean hate them! I hate the texture of them in my mouth, I hate the feel of their skin, I hate EVERYTHING about pears. Even sat here typing this I get goosebumps. If I was trapped on a desert island where all there was to eat was Pears. I would starve to death!

I tag, @themoonglitch @rebelsoulsims @igglemouse and @flowers--girl  and @sparkiemonkey and @alittledaylight do this EPIC tag. If you think you can’t. or done it, or don’t want to cool. 

[elvensemi]

I write a lot of really fucking dumb shorts for the Monster of the Week game I’m in. 

"What should we call our group?" Julie said excitedly. She wasn't quite clapping when she bounced back on her heels, but everyone could tell she wanted to.

"Portuguese man o’ war," Laelia suggested immediately. Many, many eyes turned to look at her.

"...Why?" Russet said, deciding if no one else was going to, they would have to.

"Because," Laelia said slowly, swallowing another bite of what was probably more pot than brownie, that she had stolen from Sal's kitchenette. "It's, like, four thingies together to form a better, scarier, more deadly thingy!"

Ms. Park nodded in obvious approval, likely already filing this away for useage in a future argument about why Laelia was a promising young girl who should come back and finish high school.

"Also, like, we're all Portuguese," she added.

Eyes dragged over the extremely white crowd, and then back to Laelia, who was munching away happily.

"...I'm one-sixteenth Ojibwe," Julie suggested, trying to help. 

"Hey, so, Jules." Laelia was talking, which wasn't super surprising as she was often the only person who was deeply comfortable with making idle chatter while running for her life from a horrifying abomination whose existence in the world was proof that if there ever had been a loving god, it too had turned into a rotting, maggot-filled corpse that then proceeded to grow tentacles and use them to get up and chase a gaggle of high schoolers whose only crime was intense curiosity and bad decision making.

It was a convoluted metaphor, but it worked.

"I've been wondering, what's that thing you're carrying?"

The thing in question was either a stuffed animal or a very sad, deflated turtle. Possibly a stuffed animal of a sad, deflated turtle?

"This is Shuckie!" Julie exclaimed, not appearing to struggle for breath, likely because she ran track. Laelia, who mostly ran drugs, was envious of this.

"Fucky?"

"NO." Julie said, giving a sidelong glare that nearly caused her to run into a lamp post. Laelia yanked her absentmindedly out of the collision course. "SHUCKIE. He is a SHUCKLE."

"Should that mean something to me?"

"Laelia, please stop being such a sad foster cannibal and come back to my house to watch 16 hours of pokemon cartoons with me."

--

Russet eyed the car, looking fiercely unimpressed. This was impressive in and of itself, since Russet's expressions rarely looked fiercely anything, except maybe bored.

"...It's bad enough that it's pink," they began. Julie pouted impressively, hands on her hips.

"Pink is my *favorite color.*"

"But now why does it have a weird elastic turtle with sunglasses painted on the hood?"

"That," Laelia said with dripping pride. "Is SHUCKIE. He's our MASCOT."

"Why is our mascot a... that."

"How do you not know what a Shuckle is?" wondered Sal from where he sat on the trunk, rolling something that definitely was not JUST weed into blunts.

"Shuckie is a proud and beautiful creature."

"Why is this part of the car a different shade of pink now?" Russet wondered, eying the hood.

"I painted 'fuck the police' on it," Laelia explained. "But Julie made me paint over it."

"None of us can afford getting stopped by the sheriff that many times. Also my mom would have killed me."

"You painted this?" Ms. Park asked, running a finger over the fortunately-dry paint. "You have real promise as an artist, Laelia. You know, our high school has an art's program that--"

"Shuckie wouldn't nag me to go back to high school." Laelia said. "Be like Shuckie."

Julie held up the now-famous plushie proudly, and said in what was now Shuckie's official canon voice, "STAY IN SCHOOL, KIDS!"

"Laelia. Laelia! It's been six days! Your friends are worried about you!"

The only response from inside was the clang of something being thrown violently against the door. Julie flinched backwards, then glanced around--as if there was anyone here to see except a voyeuristic squirrel--before straightening herself out. "No one got seriously hurt. And Yoongi was going to need therapy anyway. I don't think he *really* minded, he just, you know, panicked."

Another clang against the door, this one more of a smash. She was almost definitely running out of things to throw and possibly resorting to furniture.

Julie sighed. "Alright. You leave me no choice."

---

**"I'M BLUE-A-DA-BA-DEE-UH-BA-DY-AH-BUH-DEE-AH"**

The volume was too high. Julie, for one, had earplugs in so she didn't have to move too far away from her car--so that, presumably, the voyeuristic squirrel didn't car jack her. This was the fourth repeat of the song. On the third repeat, a window had opened and a pot had come flying out at approximately mach 2. Fortunately, this wasn't Julie's first rodeo. She had parked away from windows.

Laelia held out to the seventh repeat before the front door SLAMMED violently open, one of its hinges cracking and flying off into the woods. (It was fine, Julie reasoned. She probably had replacement doors at this point.) Laelia looked like the spectre of death crammed into a very unhappy teenage girl, bags under her eyes, hair a wild mess, wearing nothing but a tank top and boxer shorts. The way she was glaring might have been alarming if Julie didn't already know what *was* a dangerous look on her.

Julie grinned her biggest, dumbest grin,Eiffel 65 still blaring at ungodly decibels from her car's speakers, and spread her arms wide.

Laelia hit her like a bullet, almost knocking her over with the force of it. The fact that she hadn't gone flying was evidence that it was an accident. And then Laelia was sobbing, shaking with the force of it, the loud wails of someone who never learned how to process grief in silence.

Julie patted her on the back and whispered shushes into her ear. She would be okay. It would be okay; she'd saved Yoongi's life and no one was mad at her.

**"--BA-DY-A-BA-DEE-UH-BA-DY-A-BA-DEE-UH-BA-DY--"**

...She really needed to get a remote for her car radio.

[tobitatsuu]

𝖈𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙 ; ★ drabble

and the record won’t stop skipping  and the lies just won’t stop slipping  and besides, my reputation’s on the line.

★ —             the clock on the wall ticks; a metronome, pacing the droning seconds he’s been staring at the envelope on his dark-wood coffee table. the parchment — a more coarse, natural texture  — has a black, scorched corner and a constellation of brown coffee drips. it’s closed with a wax seal, a bronze stamp, an embossed B. all of these minuscule details undoubtedly point to bailey.  — the en-gin-eer couldn’t use his fancy tech-nol-ogy to send a damn text? daiki wonders, checking his cellphone again. it’s out-dated, but does seem to be the safest way for him to get in touch with those he’s not supposed to. ex-communicated doesn’t mean dead. the living can’t be ghosts. akura needs to get a clue or two.

daiki doesn’t want to open the letter. whether in fear or the fact he’s grown tired of his father’s bullshit, daiki can’t get himself to tear into the envelope. but, he doesn’t want to just ignore it. what’s the biker to do when he’s at such a loss? 

“ bonjour, baby brother ! ” yusa doesn’t knock before entering the goldenrod city apartment. daiki jumps, eyes wide as he watches the door swing open, and his sister strut inside. her movement always looks scripted, yet poise. she conducts these movements and mannerisms like there are hidden, glass lenses ready to capture her at any, unsuspected time. yusa kanemoto  —  pop music sensation, model phenomenon, entertainer of the world — plays the part of herself so well, she makes you wonder how much of it is all an act. the twins haven’t seen each other since she bailed on him in castelia city, over a year ago, and daiki can still see right through her. 

daiki has his father’s eyes, his temper, and a grudge to settle. yusa carries a spotlight everywhere she goes, a purple sheen to her eyes, reminiscent of their mother, who always has her cheek turned the other way. double helix, genes, and a color story  — a face so similar, yet so distant. they’re the same, but opposed. their lives diverged when they were barely teenagers, and have never been as different as they are now. perhaps, the letter on his coffee table will bring them back together. 

yusa waves away the smoke and smell from daiki’s cigarette, just lit. cigarette butts threaten to overflow the ashtray on the table, and ash seems to be everywhere but inside of it. there’s a mirror and a rolled dollar bill, a collection of coffee mugs. some are half-empty with black brew from last night’s caffeine binge. he couldn’t sleep with the intruding thoughts of bailey. “ jeez, you could’ve cleaned up a bit . ” at least she understands the faint stench of motor oil. 

daiki rolls his eyes. “ my bad, princess . ” he watches his sister’s eyes scale the living room, and how her lips purse and curl with judgement. it’s to be expected, but that doesn’t ease the bite of it.  “ what happened to your tv ? ” yusa frowns at the hole and spiderweb cracks in the screen, at money wasted.  “ it’s fucked . ” “ i can see that . ”

daiki takes a drag of his cigarette. “ nice to see you again, yusa. i’m sure ev-ery-thing is just dapper on the home front. tell me, sister, how’s mother ? ”

a scoff cradles in yusa’s throat at her brother’s attitude and acquired faux eloquence. she lacks an answer. yusa places her hands on her hips. “ what’s the go? you never call me. ” she makes her way to the kitchen. her heels click against the hardwood floors. he hears her scoff again, this time, it’s at the coffee-stained mugs and dirty plates filling the kitchen sink. “ my agent said you sounded . . . urgent . ” then, he hears the fridge open. there’s a pause before she calls out, disappointed. “ jeez, daiki! when was the last time you got a couple groceries? you got anything besides shit beer and old pizza ? ”

“ i’ve been busy , ” daiki replies, sucking on his cigarette. he flicks ash onto the floor. “ water’s on tap . ” arceus, he can just hear the disgust contorting her face. the people of johto don’t indulge in material things like that fancy hoenn-imported water yusa shoots commercials for.

he picks up the conversation where they left off. “ the go is that i got a letter . ”

“ so, someone hasn’t gotten the memo on texting, and the postal service is doing their job. is that why you called me ? ” yusa returns with a glass of water. she keeps inspecting it, trying to find a flaw. “ don’t waste my time, daiki . ” yusa’s always on a tight schedule. she keeps eyeing the screen of her xtransceiver. 

daiki inhales. “ it’s from bailey . ” yusa lifts her gaze, pink brows shooting up passed her bangs. “ bailey ? ” her tone says she doesn’t believe him. maybe, she doesn’t want to.  “ w-what does this mean ? ” daiki’s eyes beg for his sister’s help, like old times. why couldn’t they stay kids forever? if only aging was the reason they split so far apart. 

“ it means we should leave it alone, daiki. not our problem. need i remind you? technically, he doesn’t have a single drop of kanemoto blood . ” yusa has to remind him of most things: where he left his bike keys and how they’re the same age. born only eight minutes prior, but so used to playing the role of big sister, getting him out of the same trouble she got him into, picking him up, and cleaning up his messes. red and white messes  — blood and drugs and big, red R’s and wanted posters. and it’s those eight minutes she takes seriously. yusa sips from her glass, coughs, and gags. “ this tastes like metal . ”

daiki fidgets on the couch cushion, holding his cigarette near his lips, but not smoking it. “ w-what if he’s in trouble? he prac-tic-ally raised us, yusa . ”

yusa sighs, bends her neck back to groan at the stuco ceiling. “ look, daiki. sure, i miss him sometimes, but uncle bailey’s involvement with team rocket was his choice. just like it was your choice. if he didn’t want to impress daddy so badly, he’d still be in nimbasa, living it up off dad’s desert resort money, but he’s not. he got fried, and he always had a few screws loose. and now he’s  — arceus knows where . ” 

it’s a lie, the kind that makes her sound brainwashed. it’s so absurd. — that’s not what happ-ened on that trip to vir-i-di-an city. daiki huffs on the filter of his cigarette. his brows knit, lip threatening to curl. raw anger erupts inside of him and he can’t think straight enough to form the words to defend himself, to tear her a new one. akura used bailey as collateral. bailey was a promise to project team rocket’s plans further, to keep peace. what is yusa so bitter about? with a stupid amount of money and rides in black limousines to every gig, her face plastered all across the regions, who cares about the past? who cares, who cares, who cares. 

 “ a-and what about that burning? you don’t think that seems a little su-spic-ious? why would gi-o-vann-i want to de-stroy rocket’s own ma-chine ? ” 

yusa barks back, frantic and loud. when it comes to protecting their father, she always cracks. “ to trash the evidence? i don’t know, daiki! why would dad ? ” she throws her hands up. it’s no use arguing when it comes to her hard-headed twin. her talent for shutting him up is getting rusty. 

daiki averts his eyes, huffs. that’s not the case. rocket seemed pretty proud of themselves for what they accomplished in kanto. 

tension hangs above their heads, stagnant and thick. slouching into the cushion, daiki takes a long drag. he sighs out the smoke, and flicks the ashes in yusa’s direction. he knows akura had a hand in the disaster at the pokemon mansion, at the flames that engulfed his adopted brother, and left his skin forever charred. akura will pay  — an arm and a leg  — for what he’s done. not in the same sense that his brother had. how unfortunate. but, daiki doesn’t answer yusa’s question because he has no proof other than his intuition.  

“ jeez! why the hell are you trying to blame dad for everything? arceus, what is your deal, bolts-for-brains? it’s not his fault you can’t keep your nose out of shit . ” yusa gestures to the paraphernalia on the table. to the patch on his jumpsuit. to the red inked R. to him. he’s never been good enough for the rest of the kanemoto family. he’s always been the big, bad wolf, a threat. he’s a heart attack, a car crash. daiki: such a disaster, no one can look away from. 

yusa’s still yelling, “ literally. is that what this is about? are you on some sort of bender right now? daiki, do you need help ? ” she stalks closer to the couch with each accusation. daiki presses himself into the polyester, wishing he could sink right into it and disappear. she sounds how beer salt tastes, and the venom in his sister’s words zaps the corners of his jaw. 

she really doesn’t get it. daiki wonders, what’s the point in forcing herself to be so blind? daiki flicks his dead cigarette across the room. 

yusa’s leaning over him now, pointing her manicured finger right between daiki’s brows. anxiety and dissociation muffle her ever-rising volume. “ what? do you want money, daiki? i’ll play you whatever the hell you want if you’ll stop putting the blame on everyone else but yourself . ”

the biker folds his arms, glaring at his sister’s fingertip. he sneers with a bout of confidence, “ not even you have enough money to buy my o-be-di-ence, yusa . ”

yusa jerks back, as if daiki spontaneously combusted before her eyes. and his jab at her wealth inflicts more damage to her ego than his blatant rebellion. “ that’s it , ” yusa’s voice drops so low, he barely hears her. “ you made me do this . ” she snatches the letter from the table, and gets to work punching buttons on her xtransceiver. 

daiki jumps from the couch. “ what the hell are you doing ? ” he attempts to swipe the envelope from her hand, but instead, smacks the glass of water onto the floor. it shatters on impact. and daiki figures, it’s symbolic, somehow. yusa bares her teeth, amethyst eyes boring holes into him. she erupts, “ what the hell is wrong with you, bolts-for-brains? going to attack your own sister? you’ve really lost it, haven’t you? i’m calling my agent! and i’m getting you a plane ticket to mistralton city ! ”

daiki stares at the shards of glass when he asks, “ what bus-i-ness do i have in unova ? ” “ you’re coming home, daiki . ” 

daiki’s mouth fills to his gums with objection. unfortunately, it isn’t up for debate right now. “ i’m sure there’s a rehab we can shove you into. whatever it takes to keep you under control.  i’m outta here . ” yusa still has the letter in her hand, and daiki winces when the paper wrinkles from the tightness of her grip. she doesn’t look him in the eyes when she speaks, but presses her finger into the breast pocket of his jumpsuit, letting him know who exactly is in control. “ i plan on seeing you in mistralton promptly. oh, and do me a favor, brother? at least try to stay out of trouble, daiki. i’m so over cleaning up after you. that’s what maids are for . ”

[pkmncoordinators]

This question is probably random, but after seeing how many reviews you had for your fanfics (especially TAC), I had to ask. I was wondering if you ever had very incredibly weird reviews that even to this day you think about.

Oh my god, have I. I’ve had several fucking weird reviews, but let me share some of my personal favorites.

To start, a review from The Ash Connection:

Let me tell you something misty is ugly and a Sherman taking steroids and other drugs like drinking strawberry meth so you need to learn to love sexy girls and drug shemans go for flannery Candice Cynthia Soledad skyla elesa ok 

This one needs no comment. It is presented, as is, in its full glory.

To follow up, another review from The Ash Connection. It is, in fact, the sequel to the previous review:

Again I just like to say fuuck this I haven't read it yet but I read the review (I don't know what shipping this is ) but misty a sheman and you need to put in this story so been doing drugs and taking steroids and sex pills (men's one for bigger peniis) and becomes a ugly drugged man in this story ok now I'm going to read it NOOOOOOOOO OO POKESHIPPING IT'S GAY ASH ISN"t GAY HE NEEDS SEXY GIRLS LIKE DAWN ELESA CYNTHIA (damn sexy Cynthia ) SKYLA CANDICE FLANNERY understand POKESHIPPERS GO TO HEELL YOU SICK DOGS (biitches) BECAUSE YOU NEED TO LEARN READ GAY STORY'S LIKE ASH X SHEMAN IS JUST OMG

The final review I’d like to share is from The Ash Connection II. It is unabridged. This is a real review I received, for no apparent reason, and it is to date probably my favorite:

Pokemon Rant on the evil PaulWhy I hate PaulThe Paul I am referring to is a character in the pokemon anime, who is currently Ash's primary rival while the group is in the Sinnoh region. Paul is really a varied character: on the forums, the Paul character discussion thread has, at the time of writing, nearly spans twenty pages, though most of it is saying how "awesome" he is. However, I do not think he is awesome. I hate him more than I hate Harley from the same show. I want to strangle Paul and break one of his limbs. Most probably won't know why I feel this way, so I will explain.First, Pokemon are sentient beings in this setting. As Linkara pointed out in his review of "Captain Planet and the Planeteers #3," if animals were truly intelligent enough to make their own decisions and follow orders, animals would easily be given rights. Considering that many pokemon in this setting are shown to be smart enough to qualify, pokemon should have a bill of rights. In the real world, Paul's treatment of his pokemon would be classified as cruelty to animals and he would be arrested and sent to Juvenile court, regardless of whether or not his pokemon appreciated his method of training. Though seeing how the world lacks competent police officers and encourages ten year old children to wander around with no parental supervision with only tamed animals for protection, the government must be very inadequate. While I'm on the subject, why haven't his pokemon objected to his training methods? Sure, they might want to get stronger, but considering that his training methods in the Tag Battle arc would've gotten Chimchar killed had it not been for Ash's intervention, wouldn't at least one or two of them start having second thoughts about their trainer? Heck, seeing how strong they are and how humans are pretty much powerless without technology, I'm surprised his pokemon haven't killed him by now. Pokeballs must have great taming powers to keep pokemon from generally rebelling against their trainers.Second, why hasn't anyone reprimanded him? I know I'm stressing this, but why hasn't Paul been punished for his behaviour? He clearly abuses his own pokemon, physically as evident in the aforementioned Tag Battle arc and emotionally, as seen when blames his pokemon for defeats, even after he's stated that when a battle is lost, the trainer is at fault, which not only proves he's a hypocrite but also doesn't make much sense considering the pokemon have all the power in this setting. Shouldn't he have gotten some form of punishment by this point? Not even his older brother, Reggie (who I should note is more like Ash in personality and training methods), has done anything about this. Why in the name of Slaking's lazy ass hasn't Reggie done anything to discipline him? Is Reggie really hoping that Paul will eventually change his way, as unlikely as it is? If Paul crossed the line, outright killing pokemon and showing no remorse for this, would Reggie still be hoping for Paul to change? I highly doubt it.Third, why would anyone want to be anywhere near him? Paul's character in the show is that of a condescending jackass who looks down on almost everyone, including those closest to him (when he admits that his brother was weak after failing to get the Brave Symbol and moving on with his life), and he's too arrogant to admit that he's flawed. In real life, absolutely no one would want to be around him, let alone be associated with him. To be honest, I think the only reason Reggie even gives him a chance is because they're brothers. Also, consider the fact that Paul is supposed to be ten years old (and I say "supposed to" because given that he's said to be the same age as Ash, and how the creators have stated that Ash is still ten after more than five hundred episodes, I don't think many actually take that statement seriously). Most ten year olds are not like Paul at all, which would prompt most to wonder, "What is wrong with him?" It's likely that Reggie would've gotten many complaints about Paul's cold and heartless antics, and as patient as he might be, he will eventually run out of tolerance.As for how he interacts with others, with Ash and friends in particular, he's the same as with anyone else: rude, arrogant, and generally unfriendly, despite that Ash and co have tried to be friendly every time they've crossed paths. I'm surprised that, seeing how unlikely Paul is to change his attitude, they still try to be friendly with him. If they were a normal group of teens, one of them (most likely Ash) would've given him a hard smack upside the head.He's said to be respectful to superiors such as Nurse Joy, Professor Rowan, and Cynthia. However, seeing as how he ignored Nurse Joy's warning for Chimchar's safety in the Tag Battle arc (I'll detail this below), ignored Cynthia's encouragement to change into a more caring trainer, I get the feeling that it's mostly a façade. If he truly did respect them, he would've followed their advice.With all of these in mind, why anyone interacts with him is a big question left in everyone's minds. Fourth, he's become the creator's pet. In the many times I keep my eye on the show, I find myself desperately hoping the writers would give him some form of karma. Much to my annoyance, they do not. Even if they do give him some karma, it never lasts: I can think of at least three cases where he could've used a good smacking: the first is a particularly frustrating case when Paul's victory against Ash after having a humiliating loss against Brandon's regi trio. After all, what better way to break him and get him to start rethinking his priorities by beating him after a particularly horrible loss? Instead, they have Paul win against Ash in a very one-sided battle, with Paul pretty much learning that no matter who he loses to, Ash will be his punching bag.Another case I hoped for a good smacking was for a gym leader to confiscate and refuse to hand Paul a gym badge due to his rude and condescending gloating after getting the Veilstone Gym badge from Maylene. Maylene was pretty much a new gym leader at this point, and gym leaders command respect, no matter how new they are. By all means, Maylene should've forbid him the badge because he didn't treat her with the respect that gym leaders deserve. The aforementioned tag battle arc is another point that could've given him the chance to be taught the error of his ways. After Chimchar was rescued by Ash and put into recovery, Nurse Joy warned him not to put the injured pokemon into battle because the injuries are numerous; naturally, being the insensitive jerk he is, he ignores the warning, knowing that a rival pokemon that Chimchar feared would be there, stupidly thinking that Chimchar would fight with more fury: as expected, Chimchar froze in fear, which is what happens most of the time in real life. Again, why in the name of Slaking's lazy ass didn't Nurse Joy report this? In the real world, people such as her are required to report such abuses to authorities, though considering Japan is drastically behind on the whole reporting abuse issue, it just leaves negative implications. Had I been in her position, I would've reported him to the authorities, complete with the threat of removing him from the tournament if he ignored the warning, as well as following on that threat.Seriously, the lack of punishment and defeats lead me to believe that Paul is like a cheating spoiled brat who has to win, and the writers are following his demands. I swear the only reason he isn't on the TvTropes Wesley page is because of his Draco in Leather Pants status, which is described below.Fifth, the fanbase adores him for all the wrong reasons. I have to admit, this is one of my biggest gripes with the character. It wouldn't be so bad if the audience treated him appropriately, but they don't. Instead, he's glorified and held in a positive light in spite of his generally repulsive attitude, which gets downplayed. While the entire fanbase doesn't adore him and shares some of my sentiments, those who don't raise him to god status are the vast minority.Many say they like Paul because how he's isn't a "goody two shoes" rival like many rivals in the show. In real life, a rival like Paul is the last kind of rival you'd want; since he's an arrogant bully who'd more likely drain the fun out of everything (it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of trainers who lost to Paul gave up training all together). A good rival is someone who provides a challenge, but is a good sport and gives friendly encouragement. Another point that drives me crazy with the fanbase is that they do romance stories with him and Dawn. Forgetting the fact that they barely have any interaction in canon, their personalities are the exact opposite: Dawn is a cheerful girl (when she isn't faking smiles through all of the defeats she's gone through) who is supportive of her friends and participates in contests; in contrast, Paul only goes into battling and is, as I've said before, a cold, condescending jackass who'd more likely make you want to slit your wrists when you're in a depressed mood. And then there are the people who pair him up with Ash, of all people; first, this is a kids' show, so romance is likely light at best, if close to nonexistent. Second, knowing how dull Ash is with romance and how Paul only thinks about battling, a romance with the two characters is near impossible. Third, it's very unlikely that they'd strike in a homosexual relationship, even if Japan is more lenient on the whole subject.No matter what Paul does, the fans who worship the ground he walks on will downplay the horrific stuff, such as Chimchar's abuse in the Tag Battle arc. Even if he destroys a clutch of pokemon eggs after beating up the guarding parents, even if he murders people, or even if he nearly destroyed a town, they'd still fawn over him, where normally most people would consider him a monster after any of tho

[dentos-wife]

Alright I finished Ultra Moon! Game play was fun, the new totems were interesting I love the new outfits you can get (should have given us more darnit what are there two?!). And Ultra Space is fun probably the best thing about this game honestly.

But...anyone who knows me know I LOVED Moon, it actually has my favorite story in any Pokemon game as of late, a great cast and a wonderful plot. When USM was announced I had some concerns about how the plot would be handled. The only reason they had two games instead of one for their third game was because Nebby was two Pokemon they needed one for each. I was concerned due to Necrozma being the focus they’d kill the plot that made SM so good. Especially as when looking it prerelease material it seemed to be the same game with little touches here and there.  

If you enjoyed the original and want to play more go for it there are some differences you might enjoy but if you never played an Alola version and want to jump in I would call the original better in terms of the world of Alola but Ultra better for gameplay so it depends on what matters to you. I generally prefer character and plot, so my recommendation goes to the original most would say the opposite.

My full review with spoilers for USM under the cut

Sun and Moon was not really your story, it was Lillie’s and the bond she had with Nebby. Ultra Moon is treated just like Moon until the very last half of the game, and then the new plot starts and it’s a total train wreck. See, if they were going to do a new plot you’d think they’d start it earlier and not have all the dialogue be the exact same because it doesn’t work with the new plot. 

Here’s what I mean by the dialouge is the same at one point it’s hilarious because Hau beat Hala in USUM, but Gladion still states that Hau can't beat Hala when you first meet him. It’s just wrong and lazy. That a minor thing but then it cuts into story.

Lillie is still treated the exact same until everything starts and she’s roughly shoved aside. The touching moment between you and her on Executor Island? Gone. You go alone. She still does her Z form and all that but because Lusamine is so different (more on that later) it just feels pointless and all the power behind that scene is sucked away. She doesn’t even go to Ultra Space with you and obviously because her plot is chopped up she doesn’t go to Kanto either. She’s just there. And it would be okay because I get it different game but then why set her up to be the exact same as she was in the original games and then violently shove everything aside to make up for the new plot. It. doesn’t. work.

Lusamine....oh Lusamine, one of the most interesting villains we’ve ever had was reduced to wanting to go to Ultra Space to fight Necrozma because she has a hero complex and is selfish, same basic stuff we always had but it’s very hard to tell what they were trying to do with her. Because most of her dialogue is exactly the same and she still has the frozen Pokemon room and again it just doesn’t work. People are upset she’s now redeemable but she was in the first game too and at the very least it made sense in that one.

She lost her husband and due to it became an ultra beast obsessed Nilhelgo poisoned drug addict who continued to get more and more batshit insane the more she came in contact with said UB eventually becoming Mother Beast and needing a good old fashioned beat down and giving us one of the greatest confrontations and lines from her daughter. 

In Ultra Moon she goes to ultra space to fight Necrozma and comes out. Lillie and her apparently talk while you’re fighting Necrozma and...that’s it. 

Which again would have been fine if they didn’t set her up exactly like the original. Nilhelgo still shows up in Aether Foundation and you still battle the thing her lines are exactly the same. They don’t change until Lillie gets kidnapped.

Minimal changes usually do work, Platinum is the best example of that. But it doesn’t work with the plot SM had, USM should have gotten rid of the family drama then because that only works with Lusamine being the antagonist she was it doesn’t play as well with her sidelined role. Granted because she’s not toxined and Kanto’d you can unlock this but...that was also very underwhelming.

Hau on the other hand they tried to make this game more about him, and honestly they should have thrown Lillie’s plot out then because what they do do with him works. It was nice to see him beat his grandfather and being the “champion” you had to face instead of Kukui. That was all nice, but then they should have had him be involved in the main plot more. Then in post game it’s back to Lillie as Lusamine is kidnaped by Rainbow Rocket. And we see what we always wanted to see Lillie as a trainer! But it’s...meh not that powerful she’s only a double battle partner and then gives up and heals you along the way.

So what is the main plot? Necrozma fuzes with Nebby once it becomes Lunala (or Solgaleo if you’re playing Ultra Sun) retreats to Ultra Space and you with help of the Ultra Recon Squad’s Pokemon to get you there (otherwise they still do nothing) beat it and come back. In that Ultra Megalopolis thing right? Except man you’d think something with that name would be massive right? Even the prerelease material hyped it up. The distortion world was really cool! This though was a tower. That’s it. You can even do anything in the place it felt really bland. I half wonder if they planned to do something with it and then ran out of time. 

Anyway Necromza retreats and you can catch it right before the league on the mountain. Little underwhelming really. The URS was more of a walking plot device then actual characters too which is a shame as I wanted to like them but they would appear talk plot and then leave. And Necrozma isn’t even evil like advertised (Surprise! Who’s surprised? No one.)

So yes game play and all that is fixed but the plot is damn terrible. Seriously, yes URS is new but for the first four islands: "Hello. Cryptic stuff about our world. Bye!" and then straight back to the Sun/Moon plot. Which shouldn’t be how it was, they should have done more with them everything hits too late and EVERYONE suffers because of it. Except Hau, Hau did pretty well.

As someone who likes to get invested in the characters and plot I’m very disappointed. The Looker and Anabel quest is gone which...is a damn shame. That also gave us some more world building about Alola. Instead you get this Rainbow Rocket which is alright I guess. Ghetsis and Corless having a showdown was neat and you see a little into the past villains with some text. Guzma gets something which is cool too but why replace something that expanded on Alola for this? Could you have had both somehow then? I know Pokemon doesn’t have DLC and thank goodness but eh RR plot should have without a doubt been DLC. Delta Emerald was a great post game plot, it expanded on the world gave our new people some character and we learned more about Hoenn. Compared to that Rainbow Rocket was....fanservice. 

Since most people are into Pokemon for gameplay this will be fine I’m sure but as for me this game was basically my worst fears. I didn’t need to exist the same way BW2 didn’t need to exist (and as much as I rag on BW2 AT LEAST it was a sequel so there was nothing to ruin) I don’t agree with their choices and it was a total let down from BW but compared to this...which was a third game for a already pretty complete game. The one that NEEDED the fix was XY and it got nothing. I would have rather had Z over this honestly.

But the gameplay is solid at least, I’m just more of a involved with the world kind of person.

[geeksrs545]

20 Christmas Toys That Have Become Classics

You say the word Christmas to any kid, they think of one thing: Christmas toys.

For the past 30 years, there has been a major 'toy of the year' every year that every parent needs to get their kid to assure they keep up with the Joneses and meet the 'kid status quo'.  Though these toys differ greatly from generation to generation, they have one thing in common. Grown ass adults would literally be willing to actually fight over them in the store to get them for their kids. Adults acting like kids to get their kids gifts that make them act less like adults.

Related: The 25 Most Valuable Old Toys (You May Still Have!)

Kind of a funny cycle, really.

So when thinking back on my own childhood, there were many popular Christmas toys for kids that I got those years and now in hindsight, I wonder in terror if my parents had to assault any other adults to obtain them for me. Good thing I know better about them than that. All that said, here are a list of 20 Christmas toys from over the last thirty years that have become toy classics (some very much still selling to this day).

This list is numbered for your convenience but presented in no particular order.

20) Zhu Zhu Pets

Who who WHATS? I'm gonna do some quick research to find out what these things are.

*Comes back wholly unimpressed

They are just stuffed animals that move and do some basic crap is all. Run a maze and push a ball, WOOHOO!

But when you are writing a list about Christmas toys that got big, one would not necessarily call Zhu Zhu Pets “classic toys”, but in 2009 and 2010, if you were a little kid and did not get one of these, apparently you threw a tantrum.

Keep in mind, a literal HAMSTER cost less than these fake ones.

God, kids have gotten so lame.

19) Anything Branded by Apple

Apple has become the go-to brand to make yourself seem superior to others, so anything Apple has dropped (especially the iPod) was and is always the big gift to give that year.

Why do you think they make their OWN software obsolete so frequently? Because us sheep keep on buying it, so they keep doing it. But since the iPod (and iPhone and iPad and – one more thing…) dropped, Apple has essentially owned every Christmas simply by updating their software and making their older stuff obsolete.

Hey, if it ain't broke, break it and then sell it back slightly upgraded for triple the cost. Good for them. We would all do it and get rich that way if we could, don't even play.

18) Atari 2600 (and All Video Game Consoles Thereafter)

You cannot mention Christmas toys for kids without bringing up the impact that the Atari home console had on gaming. It really was the console that kicked off this world's love of home systems, as it was the most powerful home console we had seen up to that time.

It also set the tone for the console wars in the forthcoming years, which would see MANY Christmases being met with requests for the newest game consoles, still to this day! And now that they are coming out at around $500 a pop, the request becomes more and more unreasonable, unfortunately.

17) Barbie

I hope you did not expect this to be gender-specific. A fad is fad, despite what gender plays with it, and in this case, to not call Barbie a classic toy would be to undermine just how much this toy changed the game for young girls (and even some boys).

It would also be foolish to bring up a list of classic and retro toys and NOT mention Barbie. Hell, I feel the odd urge to mention her 'Dream House' and I don't even know why.

Moving on…

16) Gi-Joe

See, everyone gets represented so relax. Gi-Joe was to young boys what Barbie was to young girls. The best part is, Gi-Joe had a 50-year run (that is still going, much like Barbie, Hasbro know what they're doing).

Starting in the sixties as more of a shout out to the American soldier, over the years they took on a life of their own, and their popularity has made them a classic Christmas gift for all the young boys and girls in your life who like to pretend to blow things up.

Also see Transformers. I put them in the same category and love them ALMOST equally, but Michael Bay kinda ruined the Transformers for me (and probably you, too), so Gi-Joe lands the spot.

Deal with it.

15) Teddy Ruxpin

Teddy Ruxpin was one of the dopest Christmas toys I ever got. He was a Teddy Bear who was animatronic and you could put cassette tapes into his back and his mouth would move and he would sing you songs and joke with you and shit. It was cool and kinda creepy at the same time.

It was also creepy AF to put Black Sabbath tapes in his back and see him try to lip-sync along with darkly Satanic sounding music.

Good way to freak out your parents after the fact, too.

14) Easy-Bake Oven

Though more of a “conditioning method” than a toy (hey, give this to young girls to teach them to be subservient housewives, great message to send) but the truth is, my sister had one, and we would sit there for hours watching a single lightbulb try to make a single, tiny cupcake that was the size of a single bite.

In hindsight, it is hilarious, but at the time it was the bomb. But really, it is literally like a ten-watt lightbulb that cooks one cupcake over nine hours time, and the cupcake is bite-sized. So it taught girls how to cook AND become anorexic.

Good times!

13) The Pogo Stick

The 70's were a weird time. At one point, “pet rocks” were a thing. I think a lot of 70's toy fads are a direct result of all the drugs people were on in that decade. One example of classic toys that blew up over Christmas time in the 70's and 80's is the Pogo stick.

If you don't know, it is a giant stick you bounce up and down on. Yup, that's about it.

But it was so big at one point that you could leave your house Christmas morning, look down your street, and see twelve other kids (and adults) in their driveways trying to bounce like Tigger.

Like I said, the 70's and 80's were weird times, man.

12) Beanie Babies

Hey, remember that crappy moment in time when almost all the world was obsessed with collecting, tiny stuffed animals called Beanie Babies?

Yeah, unfortunately, so do I. Enough said about that.

Moving on…

11) Pogs

I will admit, I never really “got” pogs, but that doesn't mean in the 90's you could go anywhere without seeing them. Kids were obsessed with collecting them and dueling and shit.

I guess it could be said that things like Pokemon wouldn't be as popular today had pogs not set the tone for something similar years earlier.

To me, it just always looked like kids slamming things on a table, so I never saw the draw, but MILLIONS did, and that is why it makes the list (even though it is more like a stocking stuffer).

10) Bratz Dolls

Listen, I don't like it any more than any of you. I tend to think Bratz dolls kind of emphasize little girls being slutty, but that is just my opinion. Regardless of how I feel, this was another 90's-2000's toy that was just the IT toy for young girls for quite a few years.

And you know what, I don't slut shame. Screw it, you want to buy your son or daughter a tiny girl that looks like a stripper, that is all on you. More power to them, frankly.

I sold my kids into slavery so I don't have to worry about that crap anymore.

9) Anything Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Whenever you are bringing up Christmas toys for kids you know pop culture is gonna get brought into it, and when the TMNT got huge in the 90's, they had one of the most financially successful toy lines ever, because everyone wanted them.

And the kicker is, if you did get any of those 90's TMNT toys and still have them, they are worth a pretty penny now.

8) Tickle-Me-Elmo

Why kids wanted to tickle a heavy, robotic muppet was always kind of beyond me, but it was supposed to be, that was not my demographic. That fad kicked in when I was already an adult, so I can't relate to the desire for this thing, but sure enough, Elmo had a run of many Christmas' in the 90's and on, from Rock n' Roll Elmo to Tumbling Elmo to the “Stab and then run away” Elmo as seen above.

Honestly, the only reason we are no longer inundated with Elmo toys is because of this terrible story.

Glad it all worked out in the end, no pun intended.

7) Razor Scooters

First it was BMX bikes and then skateboards. Now it seems everyone 12 and under wanted to be seen busting nasty spin-tricks on their scooters.

But I can't have any gripes with this one. It got kids back outside and doing physical shit which we see all too infrequently these days as more and more kids choose to hide away in virtual reality.

Those weird hoverboards from a few years back almost took this spot but they started catching fire so that fad died as quickly as the people using it did.

Boom goes the dynamite.

6) Furby

Ah, from the very depths of Hell comes this furry beast. Mocking your family non-stop in gibberish. Waking people up from dead sleeps for no reason. Screaming to be fed, but fed WHAT?

NEVER understood the allure of these sick little bastards, but that seems to be a running theme here.

5) Tamagotchi

Another one of those retro toys that EVERYONE had at one point and another example of a virtual life kids had to keep alive as a pastime. How is that FUN?

Honestly, I also never understood this fad. I don't want kids in the least and can barely keep MYSELF alive so why do I need a virtual pet that essentially exists only to annoy and worry me?

No idea, but a LOT kids loved these things.

P.S. The Tamagotchi is back – new 2017 versions available. Seriously.

4) Nintendo Wii

I know I already shouted out consoles on the list, but the Wii was something different. The year it came out, every person got one, from young to old. Nintendo went and redefined gaming, making it more accessible to all ages, families, and groups again. It was cool to witness and be a part of.

This was actually one of my fave toy fads from Christmas' past simply because it got EVERYONE hanging out and having fun again, and that hadn't happened since the old days of board games.

3) Anything Star Wars Related, the Older the Better

This one was a given. The main toy I was going to mention was the Darth Vader head for carrying all your Star Wars figures (oh, cuz Darth Vader was a “headcase”, hahaha, well played).

Though there have been many Star Wars toys that have been popular, that is the one that is worth the most money now, especially if you have it filled with all the figures.

You are talking BIG BUCKS if you still have one. Like “put a kid through med school”  money.

2) Anything Pokemon

Though kind of generic to say ANYTHING Pokemon, you guys and gals all know it's true. From the Gameboy games to the toys and the clothes, Pokemon is more than just a toy line for many. It is an obsession.

The weirdest part here is, these things have been big since I was a kid, and you RARELY see a toy stay that famous for that long without major changes. It is actually kind of impressive, TBH, and Pokemon Go proved this series still has a lot of life left (and a lot of Christmas dollars to still get you to spend).

 Finally, the one you were all waiting for…..

1) Cabbage Patch Dolls

One cannot mention Christmas toys that became classics and not mention the mother of all classic collectible and the toy that kind of started the crazy Christmas phase when parents would kill to buy their kids gifts.

My overall thought on that is, if you need to fight another adult to make your kid happy, you raised your kid wrong. Real talk.

But Hell, even I had a Cabbage Patch Kid. His name was Skipper Anthony, he was a Premie (why the fuck was I getting fake premature babies to play with?) and for no reason, I grew up to buy the adult outfit version of what he wore, so apparently, that little f*cker made some HUGE impression on me.

(Tan corduroy jacket, blue shirt, jeans, and soon enough, the bald head, too).

Now for those looking for a list of more CURRENT gifts, we've got you covered there, too. You're welcome.

The 25 MUST-HAVE Xmas Gifts of 2017