#Sad for me to say this but I am not as attached to Pokemon as I used to

[starlight-vixen-emiko]

My first ever favorite Pokemon ever was Eevee...Because it was the only "cute" Pokemon that wasn't pink or Pikachu.

Then I saw Espeon and it was love at first sight...

But then the Popplio line became my favorite.

...Now my favorite Pokemon is Jirachi. Maybe because I just live and breathe star aesthetic.

I never thought much about Jirachi until now...

[yanderes-galore]

Hey there! It’s me, the 1% of people who reblog your posts.

Anyways, I was watching “Lucario and the Mystery Of Mew.” yesterday, and during that time, I went onto Tumblr and saw your post about requesting, and I thought “Hey. Lucario can telepathically speak, why not send that in as a request?”

Onto my point, may I please request a Platonic/Animal Pet-like concept with Lucario? Really, you may decide the scenario or if it’s a concept, I don’t mind. I mean, it’s just an overprotective talking blue dog.

Still, thank you for reading this, I really appreciate all the effort you put into your work, and I hope you get a nice break after all these requests.

Hello! Nice to see you put in a request ^^ I haven't watched the anime so I am taking your word for it. The most I got from Pokedex entries was it can read thoughts and emotions from beings.

Overprotective! Lucario Concept

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Overprotective behavior, Clingy behavior, Jealousy, Violence implied, Possessive behavior, Dubious companionship.

Pokedex Entries say Lucario can read the thoughts and emotions of living creatures.

They can understand human speech and evolve from Riolu with high friendship during the day.

Pulling from an old idea... Pokemon evolving through high friendship no doubt get the most attached to their trainers compared to wild Pokemon.

Perhaps you originally had a Riolu and evolved them into a Lucario.

Lucario is a fiercely loyal Pokemon who trusts you as their trainer.

They remember you taking care of them as a Riolu, right up until they evolved.

We already know your Lucario can sense your emotions and thoughts.

But speaking through telepathy? Perhaps they can do that too.

An overprotective Lucario would want to keep their trainer happy at all times.

The moment your Lucario senses you're upset... they want to cheer you up!

Something stressing you out? Your Lucario's there!

Seeming sad? Your Lucario presents you a gift!

Seem scared? Someone bothering you? Your Lucario can fix it.

Loyal and dedicated, your Lucario rarely, if ever, leaves your side.

If you seem upset your Lucario tries to use telepathy to speak with you.

They aren't that skilled at it while learning... but they do it enough to hold conversations with you.

At some point your Lucario may not like you around your friends or other Pokemon.

Why do you need them anyways?

Clearly you and your Lucario are best buds!

I think a Lucario would get easily jealous.

They cross their arms and pout when you're focused on another human or Pokemon.

You can practically hear their disinterest in your head.

Even more so when they growl at times.

Your Lucario is clingy, always feeling like they are the best companion for you.

You can't hide anything from your Lucario... they know your thoughts.

They don't want to do anything to harm you.

However... their jealousy may be too great.

They frequently try to make you ignore your other companions.

They try so hard to keep you to themselves.

Soon enough they'll snap... barking and growling at others while preparing Aura attacks.

You try to keep them in the ball, they don't want to stay...

You try to keep them away from others... they never leave your side...

You try to release them...

Your Lucario doesn't leave.

Your Lucario will never leave.

You can't get rid of them now... you're too close...

Your Lucario plans to stay by your side...

Even if it means it has to get rid of all those you care about to have you back.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

am i the asshole for still wanting my plushes back?

the people involved in this story are me (currently 22m, he/him), and my sibling J (currently 23nb, they/them), and this story happened while we were children, couldn't be older than 7 or 8. i am also autistic, and have very strong attachments to objects, especially plushes, so keep that in mind.

so J and i are not blood related, they lived in an awful situation with their bio mom and grandma until they joined my family when we were about 3 and 4. i think of them as my real sibling, and we are pretty close now, so this is pretty low stakes overall.

because of the neglect and spoiling that their previous caretakers raised them with, the first few years J was settling into our family were difficult, to say the least. they were super fussy, materialistic, and downright mean and entitled. i know this is a cruel thing to say about a mistreated child, especially since they are not like this anymore and regret it now, but it was true at the time. i was a very social and cheerful kid, and i had an older sister too, so i knew better how to treat other kids. i was really gung ho about having a new sibling, and wanted to make friends with them right away, but they did not share that sentiment.

one game i really liked to play (that definitely sparked my love of escape rooms later in life) was a clue-trail scavenger hunt thing where you would follow the clues one after another and eventually find the prize at the end. my parents set up a few of those for us over my childhood, and i got fascinated with it and wanted to set up them up for myself.

i tried multiple times to get J to play my scavenger hunt with me, since i was proud of the hiding spots and the rhymes i wrote on the clues, but they were very icy to me and often refused any game i wanted to play.

so i got an idea, to entice them to play, by making some of my pokemon plushes the grand prizes at the end of the hunt.

now you have to keep in mind, this was the mid-2000s, these pokemon plushes are choice collectors items and they do not make them like this anymore. and after a generous birthday gift from my aunt when i was maybe 6, i had a bountiful selection of them, that i knew J was bitterly jealous of, and sometimes would try and steal.

so i knew this would work as a carrot to get them to play with me, and it did! but they were only playing so they could have the prize, so every time i wanted to play again, i would have to offer up another one of my plushes, and eventually i ran out of all the ones we agreed were good or interesting, and now as an adult, the few i have remaining from my massive childhood collection are the ugly ones, and it makes me really sad to see how gutted it is from its former glory.

over the years, we've gotten a lot closer and J's nasty childhood attitude has all but disappeared, and i feel safe saying we're besties and get along fantastically.

i asked a few times as we got older and i remembered this occurance if i could have the plushes back, though, and they've always responded with a vehement No. they say i gave it to them fair and square, and they consider them a gift from me. i've tried pointing out that i only did it cause it was the only way i could get them to play with me when we were kids, and i kinda regretted giving away such valuable things when i was too young to really think about it. J always got upset at that point and said they didnt like thinking about how they used to be and it wasn't fair that i brought that into the conversation.

i 100% see how i could be the asshole here, since i did technically give the plushes to them, but i still kinda think its not fair of J to not even consider giving some back, because i was a dumb kid who just wanted to connect with my mean sibling. i try not to bring up how they used to act anymore, though, because i can understand how it hurts them to think about, but it is relevant in this specific situation.

i haven't asked them for the plushes back in a long time, but i was thinking about it again. and this is pretty low stakes, it wont ruin our relationship or anything, so tumblr, aita for still thinking J should give them back?

What are these acronyms?

[wishiwashisushi]

Purely focusing on companions over the past two generations of Pokemon, I've been happy with the results. I was truly sad to be saying goodbye to Hop and Marnie when it came time to start our journey in Paldea. In no way am I saying they haven't done it before but they had given each of them such specific personalities and their own individual challenges that really flushed them out as characters. I was anxious to see if they would be able to make me feel an attachment to the new companions in Paldea and they did not disappoint. Nemona, Penny, and Arven all in their own special ways chipped away at my doubts. Our companions from both regions have very separate personalities unique to them which helps us to make a connection with them. This is opposed to some of our past in-game friends that are either flat or cookie cutter copies. I truly appreciate the effort that went into making these characters as they definitely have an impact on the enjoyability of each game and create a lasting impression.

[peekychu]

hi, ive loved your art forever, finally working up the courage to send an ask ahshdjfjf

when i was a kid i was really attached to the pokemon anime and i remember that one episode about the charmander being left all alone in the rain, and then being saved by ash and given a chance to recover, i remember projecting so hard onto it and wanting to be given that chance as well, to have someone save me like that. anyways, your art has always made me Feel Things, theres a very sentimental quality to your art and the way you design characters. i connect a lot with your sadder stuff as well. youre very good at storytelling in your work, especially that piece with ray about wanting to return to the places in your childhood but not ever experiencing them the same way. man, you hit that feeling right on the head.

anyways, where was i going with this. i struggle a lot with trying to reclaim some parts of my childhood, it took me a lot to even remember that i projected so much onto that charmander. but seeing a pikachu be so.. i dont know, happy about connecting with pokemon so much, it just, it means a lot to me. i used my imagination as escapism and id like to try and reconnect with it. i am using your art as a guide and as inspiration.. i feel like i can get close to that again.

i hope animal friends brings you joy and i will be so happy if you choose to share any of it. and im sorry about your job, ive been in that exact situation, stay strong

sincerely, one online animal beast to another <3

Oh my GOD, this ask is so touching idek where to start answering 😭😭😭 Wow, thank you!!!

Instant follow btw, ur drawings are so dynamic and sensory, and HOLY moly your anatomy skills 🤯 I’m super honored!!!

I honestly forget ppl ever see my more sad/melancholy drawings, I wasn’t expecting it to affect me so hard hearing someone mention it xD Drawing is one of the few vessels I can properly channel my emotions with, and there’s a lot more raw stuff I don’t share online. I never know if the catharsis I feel drawing the Heavier stuff translates, because I still center those drawings around silly animals xD

I’m so happy you were able to rediscover your connection with Ash’s charmander!! That episode always made me emotional too 💔 I can’t say where my lifelong fixation on Pikachu really began, but my mom told me that even before I engaged with anything pkmn related, I was just immediately enamored by seeing it at a store or on TV xD

Eventually she took me to see Pokémon 4ever in theaters, and I vaguely remember being instantly ENCHANTED by the little short movie before the actual film began. Those animated shorts of Pikachu with all its friends, no humans attached, were always this ultimate comfort fantasy for me to watch xD

As my identity and personality fluctuates, I always find it comforting being grounded in my connection to Pikachu. The episode where it refused to evolve stuck with me on a deep level too haha.

ANYWAYS UHH I can’t thank you enough for your kind words!!!! I am holding ur paw, you stay strong too!

[yyyyanyan]

Book Club: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

the stars aligned (I was a minute too late to sleep for the day on Pokemon Sleep) so I finished reading Project Hail Mary and holy shit

High points: aliens!!!!!! so much aliens so many aliens so many so many so many aliens. Rocky (the alien) is so fun too goddamn

Low points: Not into the amnesia bit (it felt too deus ex machina to me), kind of a melancholy ending

I am honestly so blown away by the aliens? like holy shit the aliens. just holy shit. aliens. I think Weir just does such a good job and it (as a science un-knower) it felt so believable to me. I love Rocky to bits and his language was also mindblowing to me?? I think that's the part of me that thinks linguistics is so interesting but I seriously could not imagine what an alien could be like (actually, before Rocky appeared on screen, I even thought the alien might look just like a human) much less think about how they could communicate. My mind was blown LOL

There were two major points where my heart absolutely DROPPED and honestly I feel like that says something about this surely? I'm tired af but I was still shook y'know? I'm literally scared of taumoebas lmfao and the way they're described as smelling gross and feeling greasy... ew!! I hate it I'm so glad I do not exist in a world where I know about real taumobeas :))))

My complaint about the amnesia is really just about how convenient it was. It was a good twist that I didn't see coming but I was also kind of like is this really possible with modern technology lmao? I guess who knows what kind of stuff the government has kept in secret but it was a little hard to just read it and be like oh yeah that seems legit.

I also feel like some of the side/supporting characters were a bit too much of a caricature, I guess? Especially DuBois (the sex discussion scene with Dr. Shapiro was SO weird) because I feel like it was framed as like, he is seriously legitimately this kind of guy and he's not playing it off as a joke, which I could have been amused by. I also wish Stratta had like... a little bit more development, I guess? She was giving me girlboss gaslight take no prisoners and I liked that she was strong and tough and would do anything to give humanity a chance to succeed, but sometimes she also seemed a bit like... a micromanager? Comparing this to The Martian (which I seriously love), I think that these characters had more defining traits but in the flanderization kind of way rather than actually being more developed.

The last thing I disliked was the ending :( it was actually a good ending lol but I felt a little sad because I wanted to see more of what happened to the Earth people and I kind of wanted Grace to go home too. On the other hand, he really did not have much attachment there and I felt like with their plans Earth would probably be okay, so it really was a good ending! but I am just an earthling attached to earth so I'm still sad anyways lol

Okay wait one more thing that I know wouldn't have made sense to have in the narrative: I wish we knew what happened to Yao and Ilyukhina on the way there. I remember there was a mention of the autofeeding thing possibly malfunctioning or something but they were going to stick backups because they were light? Actually my first theory was like an allergic reaction or something or like some machine malfunction, but I guess I'll never know. I felt sad when Grace dressed them and sent them out into space.

last note: Ryan Gosling is apparently going to be Grace in the movie adaptation??? But the cited article is from 2021 so... well hey if it happens I'll go see it I love his kenergy

[talesfromthebacklog]

Tales From The Front Log: Endless Ocean Luminous

5/10

This was a $30-$40 game labelled as a $60 one. It’s fun but after a day or two you’ll find yourself quickly bored. Yikes. I don’t have a lot of nice things to say about this one. I’m not angry at it, but I’m just going to lay it all out as it is.

Endless Ocean suffers from what I consider to be the worst thing that can happen to a game. It’s just… not much to talk about. It’s largely nothing. Good games will be remembered. Bad games will also be remembered. Maybe not made again, but we still talk about trite like Superman 64.

Nothing games? No one talks about. Which is sad because I love games like this, but I don’t see this as a franchise Nintendo will continue to make because no one from the casual sphere will be asking for it after this. (And despite what many folks believe, you need casuals to buy games like this from companies like Nintendo to convince the corpos that they are still worth making).

Let’s talk about this ocean diving game and where it went wrong.

Firstly the story-mode. Hate it. The story itself is very… okay. Nothing special but serviceable. My big problem is the progression. It’s locked behind doing TONS of exploring instead of just letting players enjoy the story at the pace they want to enjoy it! (Probably because players would finish it in a matter of hours and put it down forever because it would have little left to offer. The replay value is nonexistent and there is no incentive to play longer.)

Additionally the only person who ever speaks is your AI computer companion and I could not care less about anything that thing says. It’s dull and lazy. All the divers just flail around. You’re telling me we can have special magic fish which I can suck the light out of to save magic coral, but no communicators so the divers can actually speak to each other? Okay💨.

I’m being harsh here. But when I see a $60 price tag with Nintendo’s name attached I expect more than this. And while I am going to get into the stuff I like it’s hard to ignore to mediocre nature of the game.

For example this game is just… empty. It feels weirdly lifeless despite being heavily populated by fish. Probably because they don’t feel like they’re really there sometimes. You can swim right through nearly all the models. The maps are huge but I actually think this is a disservice because they largely don’t do anything interesting with them. There aren’t many different biomes to visit randomly, you can’t interact with anything other than treasures that just give you nearly meaningless currency. It’s just diet New Pokemon Snap. And Pokemon Snap arguably does the job much better despite being on rails.

And the more I think about it… the more I realize that it really does have a LARGE amount of similarities with New Pokemon Snap in terms of story and function. Even down to the luminescent giant creatures! I would almost say if you want the Endless Ocean: Luminous experience of wandering around looking at stuff you should just go play that. The environments are prettier, Pokemon react to your presence, Pokemon react to each other, you interact with environment, you get items, and you get tons of unique biomes. Or just play the original Endless Ocean games because they’re way better.

In Endless Ocean: Luminous you’re just kinda dropped off in a big blue pool. The water even looks kinda hazy when you’re in it. There’s no weather, no sunsets, no beautiful ocean moonlit nights. Just… big blue planes of nothing. And there are fun places to explore sometimes. Like ruins, old ships, some caves, and the depths. This is in the minority though.

In majority there’s big flat sand planes of fucking blue nothing. With rocks. And you’ll spend more time there than you will anywhere else. Especially in multiplayer.

That’s all you really do in Endless Ocean: Luminous. You wander around and look at shit. Which I like games like this in theory. Outer Wilds and Paradise Killer are also “look around” games. But they also have compelling narratives and gimmicks to keep players hooked. And I’m not arguing it’s not fun to poke around in Endless Ocean: Luminous. I did have a fun time swimming around. I’m just also saying you’ll get bored quick.

This extends to the multiplayer. Which boils down to who can wander around and look at everything the fastest. That’s it. You’re given emotes but players rarely interact with each other and are given basically no incentive to. I guess you can join the mode to feel less lonely. It’ll get you through the story mode quicker than working on your own.

I just… additionally one of the big selling points was you could be with up to 30 people in a room but this isn’t quite true. It’s up to 10 random people. The other TWENTY you need to have friends or join a stream. And practically NO ONE was streaming this on Twitch ON LAUNCH. The amount was painfully low for a Nintendo IP. I wasn’t expecting Mario numbers but it was kinda pathetic. 🤷‍♀️ I was genuinely disappointed. The large amount of players in one room sounded fun.

But at the same time 10 players on one map can actually be too much at times and leave little for players to do as you witch hunt for the one fish that hasn’t been scanned. A weird conundrum.

So… what did I like about this game??? I did mention I would talk about stuff I liked.

The variety of fish was good. I like that all the fish got factoid excerpts that could be read aloud. Though I’m irked I can’t play the verbal explanation and look around at the same time. While the game is very basic it’s still fun to poke around and look at stuff! There is interesting stuff to look at. I appreciate the fantasy elements.

I like the idea of the fish bosses you have to lure out. Though I wish luring them out required learning about the fish and using something special for that fish to get them to reveal themselves. They want it to be a big grand event but it’s really not.

The fish models actually look really good and detailed. If you know your ocean life you can properly identify the fish for what they are. As someone who loves ocean life this actually matters to me quite a bit. Weirdly enough I’m disappointed the plant/coral life was lacking. It would’ve been a good way to add to the catalogue. Might just be a me thing but ocean plants are as equally interesting as the fish.

I appreciate that there’s no combat. As I don’t have a strong spine for ocean horror. (I have to play Subnautica with creature aggression turned completely off.).

Fish companions. Great choice. Being able to unlock bigger fish friends over time and respecting their dive capacity was also a great choice. My favorite ended up being the starfish since they could just attach to your tank. Too cute. (Though… we needed urchins in the game too. Just saying…)

Actually. This leads me to another real niche nitpick. We can have fantasy fish but the all the plants outside of the World Coral are BLAND normal ass plants??!?

*Flips table*

MORE PLANTS and CORAL GOD DAMMIT. I WANT TO LOOK AT PRETTY PLANTS WITH MY PRETTY FISH. It’s not a lot to ask! I want Subnautica level plant decoration even if it’s on a budget. Barbie Ocean Discovery has more COLOR in the background for Christ’s sake.

*Ahem*. Sorry. Ocean stuff is a hyper fixation, but I promise I’m not actually mad. Ha ha. Can you imagine?

The customizable avatar and emotes is… cute. Really. I swear. But you likely won’t last long enough to unlock anything truly complex before moving on.

The idea of events is cute, but don’t mean much. It’s largely just increased rates for rare creatures to appear. Eh.

In short Endless Ocean: Luminous is a fairly empty game with a LOT of padding for $60. You can tell they wanted a cozy game that players would play for longer than a few days, but you likely won’t. I’m not going to argue it’s valueless to pick up. I’m just going to say that you deserve to not buy it at the price Nintendo wanted us to buy it at.

Buy it on sale and just accept it for what it is.

[yarboyandy]

2012 deviantart is back baby!!!! Tagged by @squimp ^_^ LOVE YOUUUUU <3

three ships

Ok I’m kind of a weirdo now because I’m watching shows that probably loop on cable forever. I am realizing none of these are gay #LOVELOSES

1. Bones x Booth

My current ship that literally makes me sick in the head. what if we loved each other despite our flaws that make us feel unlovable…what if I want to spend my whole day arguing with you instead of being with my girlfriend…if I see you talk to another man I’ll actually blow my fucking brains out.

The image is so pixel-y because I chew on it when I’m mad

2. Giles x Jenny

I know I flip flop between him and Ethan but I have wayyyy more to say about these two outside of “TOXIC YAOI!!!!!” The whole idea of “we made it work one day, just not in this life” DRIVES ME INSANEEEEE and is such a constant in Giles’s life across all his love interests (Ethan included LOL). Also Jenny is just cool 👍🏻

3. Alex x Meredith

I’m literally the only person who pictures this. Btw. Big fan of the two most damaged people you know getting together cuz they made a marriage pact for whatever reason. I think they could work.

First ship

Ummmm I don’t remember honestly Probably my pokemon OC x someone elses pokemon OC on deviantart when I was 12. A clefairy x luxio. Hope they’re doing well 👆👆👆 sadly i have no proof of this cuz i had a burning of Alexandria momebt at age 15

Last song I listened to

Смерти Больше Нет by IC3PEAK 😳

I listen to it when I row lol.

Currently reading

I haven’t picked it up inna sec but A Million Little Pieces by James Frey for the kicks and giggles and I’m starting Beloved because I love Toni Morrison…but mostly stuff for my research paper that I finished last week like Walking mannequins by Joya Misra. I want to start Kafka on the shore this summer but i know the translation isnt the best (??) maybe it is who knows who knows.

Also comic wise I’m reading Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. It’s fun I just LOVEEEEE watercolor comics, reminds me of Beasts of Burden.

Currently watching

Bones and Greys Anatomy ‼️ I havent been watching a ton of movies sadly I dont have the time ☹️ But I need to watch Tiger Cruise for my propaganda class and I did just see Monkey Man which was AWESOME.

Relationship status

In like four different lavender marriages.

Current obsessions

Mostly fitness stuff I just started playing tennis and still really into running. I’m sad cuz I definitely did something to my shoulders so I cant row rn, I LOVEEEEE rowing. Umm outside of that…idk applying to jobs and making miniverses. Heres some attached to my friends fridge

LOL the ones that fell are inna pile on the window

Currently craving

Chocolate chip peanutbutter cookie……

Favorite color

GREEN! To wear tho probably like brown or grey…

Tagging: it’s not the same if I don’t tag people….sorry….HAVE FUN.

@z4chstone @autisticsquidward @princessmo @normalwizard @mouseratz

[saiyef]

Okay, wow. So I just found out the news that Persona 3 Reload (in addition to not having FeMC or the Answer) will replace all the entire English Voice Cast with new actors. …Yeah.

Protagonist will be played by Aleks Le (replacing Yuri Lowenthal)

Junpei lori will be played by Zeno Robinson (replacing Vic Mignogna)

Yukari Takeba will be played by Heather Gonzalez (replacing Michelle Ruff)

Aigis will be played by Dawn Bennett (replacing Karen Straussman)

Akihiko Sanada will be played by Alejandro Saab (replacing Liam O’Brien)

Fuuka Yamagishi will be played by Suzie Yeung (replacing Paula Tiso in Persona 3, Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable and Wendee Lee in the spin-off games Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona Q and Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight)

Ken Amada will be played by Justine Lee (replacing Ken’s uncredited voice actor in Persona 3, Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable and Cindy Robinson in the spin-off games Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona Q and Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight)

Mitsuru Kirijo will be played by Allegra Clark (replacing Tara Platt)

Shinjiro Aragaki will be played by Justice Slocum (replacing George Grant)

Don’t get me wrong, I love the new actors from their other works (Suzie Yeung as Yuffie in Final Fantasy VII Intergrade; Alejandro Saab as Yuri in Fire Emblem Three Houses and Three Hopes; Dawn Bennett as Female Shez in Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes; Allegra Clark as Dorothea and Shamir in Three Houses and Three Hopes, "Boss" in AI: The Somnium Files and Iori and Chihiro in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim; and especially Zeno Robinson as Hunter in the Owl House, Goh in Pokemon Journeys, Fogado in Fire Emblem Engage and Hawks in My Hero Academia) and am so glad they’re getting more work in what are some major roles.

It’s just that the voice cast of the Persona games are so intrinsically linked to each game due how they the performances so much focus, which will make it be hard to get used to; especially because a lot of the performances from the original Persona 3 are so iconic to their actors as some of their best work, namely (for me personally) Liam O’Brien as Akihiko, George Grant as Shinjiro, Michelle Ruff as Yukari, Tara Platt as Mitsuru and Karen Straussman as Aigis.

Again, this is good news; I just feel sad about saying goodbye to the original Persona 3 cast after having them for so many years since 2007 and getting so attached their work. But, after so long, looks like Akihiko’s “I’ve been waiting for this” will finally be gone.

[frostbite-yinny]

hey. top 3 funniest things that happened at the shelter? 👀

Well hello there fellow equally-as-sick-of-serving-customers person, thanks for the ask and I hope your definition of funny is someone being miserable cuz I love telling these stories when I'm near blackout drunk :D I'm gonna try to keep this short (I failed.)

Number 3; The time when a herding yamper herded a whole herd of herd Pokemon inside the fucking shelter!

> It's a beautiful night, where I have not lost to the temptations of the internet and am actually sleeping for once.

I woke up to a phone call, a newbie trainee that only says 'I fucked up. I fucked big time.' so what do I do? Of course I haul my ass there as fast as possible.

There, I see a VERY proud old yamper, asking for treats. And the inside of the shelter, filled with VERY confused mareep, wooloo, Taurus, and many more heard animals.

Yeah. I didn't got any sleep that night.

Number 2; The time I got decked out by a kangaskhan joey!

> A little info since it seems like it's not common knowledge: kangaskhan don't hatch out of the egg with a baby in their pouch. They hatch as the blue baby. The Pokemon Kangaskhan is one of the few Pokemon that change while growing up without evolving. They are herd animals and they take care of every joey instead of just their own. If a baby kangaskhan has a smaller baby in their pouch, it's probably belongs to someone else and it's babysitting till the mother comes back.

Now back to the story. It's my vacation day so I'm just chilling at home. My liepard sleeping and purring on my lap as I'm watching some cartoons (don't judge me) and eating a fruit salad drizzled in honey. Then, I get a call from some volunteers asking me to come because a baby kangaskhan just hatched and it doesn't look right.

Well, now my fruit salad is left to my Pokemon as I go to the shelter. Hoping it's just a shiny instead of disfigurement. I made my way there and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the baby, they just didn't know that's how kangaskhan looked freshly hatched. Well, I can't get angry at a bunch of teenagers for not knowing shit.

Something you need to know about baby kangaskhan is they don't handle being alone/not being in a pouch very well, especially when they are REALLY young. It triggers their fight-or-flight instinct. But, well, it just hatched moments ago so I'm not worried as I pull out the mock pouch from the closet.

Well, I SHOULD have been worried because the moment I crouched down next to it, the joey decked me in the face.

I don't remember much of the moment since I was dazed and laying on the ground. I just remember someone screaming, my froslass freaking out, and even more yelling from the baby kangaskhan cuz it was panicking with all the chaos around.

So, yeah, the rest of the 4 days she spent in the shelter before we could send her to an another shelter that had an adult without a baby, she didn't leave my side. I had to bring her home and I couldn't even remove my apron with the mock pouch attached to it cuz she would get really sad and give me big wet baby eyes until I picked her up again.

So lucky she had an easy time parting with me when we introduced her to an adult lol

Number 1; the time I ACTUALLY got to punch a customer!

>This is my favorite ^w^

As always, the story starts with me being called in by an inexperienced employee while I'm on my lunch break and he nervously says they have a customer problem. Well, that's what managers are for so I abandon my lunch to my Sceptile and get back to the shelter.

I go in and the first thing I notice is the smell of alcohol in the air. That's never a good sign. I hear some commotion near the nursery (we have 2, one for eggs/newly hatched Pokemon and one for baby Pokemon) with the eggs/newly hatched Pokemon in. That nursery that is looked over by Undertaker the Chandelure (who I mentioned before)

I walk there with my Sceptile, and lo and behold, a grown-ass man is throwing a tantrum. I mean the kind that where they hit the walls and screech on top of their lungs kinda shit. A teenage girl which just started volunteering 2 days ago is sobbing near the door.

The other volunteer fills me up on the situation as I checked up on the teenager. Apparently, he was angry that we didn't let him adopt Undertaker the Chandelure who is an employee that stays full-time. I calm the girl down and send her away then turn to the man.

I try to calm him down and tell him that if he doesn't calm down we are going to have to escort him out of here which is just a kinder way of saying we are gonna kick him out.

He doesn't calm down, at all. Hell, me saying he needs to calm down just makes him angrier so like a responsible and sensible adult, he punches the nursery window and that starts a ruckus inside, and send the poor Undertaker darting left and right, trying to calm the newborns down.

So, right now I'm dealing with an immature 50-year-old drunk man that has the personality of an entitled toddler. Then, the cherry on top; he tries to grab me.

So, with both the cameras and witnesses on my side, I punch him down <3 Sure, fight or flight kicked in but I didn't even get a ticket for attacking someone so that's good <3

After that my Sceptile pins him to the ground, the cops are called, etc. Etc. But the best part is I got to punch down a customer so focus on that I put years of frustrating customer service into that right hook <3 <3 <3 was that a bad example to the other? Yes. Could I have handled it better? Yes but I didn't ^w^

Thanks for the ask again! This was so fun to tell :D

[kariachi]

Okay, Scavio pokemon opinions, from 1-9

Sprigatito

What more is there to say about Sprigatito at this point? Pure grass type, little cat pokemon, we all know it. It’s cute, I like the contrast between the two primary shades of green, and the red-pink eyes pop thanks to being a complimentary color, ensuring they draw your attention. Though I didn’t expect it’s hidden ability to be Protean of all things, and now I’m curious as to whether this relates more to the evolutions I haven’t actually seen yet. It’s got plantlike fur that has to stay moisturized so... Moss Cat apparently. Don’t care what canon says, from now on Sprigatitio has moss for fur which will improve it’s score. Also it’s scent apparently ‘mesmerizes’ the people who smell it so, hah, I am stronger than moss cat? Also it smells more in the sun which, for all I know is standard for plants so...

7.2/10, nothing impressive, but it’s mossy and I am greater then it so

Floragato

I don’t have a proper picture to go off for most of these, just one of the in-game sprites, but that should be enough. The cat’s gone up on two legs, which I didn’t want to happen but I suppose such is life. It’s clearly looking more towards cool than cute, which now has me curious which if any of the other starters will lean towards cuteness. Also now has a bandanna with pink flower accents too, which I’m quite fond of. Between that and the leaf pattern on the face calling to mind a sort’ve mask, I’m really getting bandit vibes. Sort’ve a Puss In Boots pokemon. Ooo, apparently it has a vine and a hard flower bud at the end somewhere in all that fur that it wields as a flail, wouldn’t have expected that! And it’s fur gets hard and sharp when it’s in a bad mood or getting ready to battle. It looks like a bandit but this is a full on little warrior!

8/10, I didn’t want it to stand up, but I’m quite happy with what we got otherwise

Meowscarada

I am sure that name is a reference to something but I don’t know what (leave me be I’m studying German not Spanish)... Bulbapedia says it might be tied to the Spanish for masquarade, and I guess I can see that. Gained the dark typing, still on two legs, it’s marking is not just a full on mask over most of the head, the flowers have become a collar around it’s throat in a way reminiscent of Meganium, and it’s got, I don’t know if it’s supposed to be parts of a cape flaring out behind it’s arms or something attached to said arms... Ah! Just noticed, the Magician Pokemon. Honestly if anything a bit of a letdown on that front Floragato was doing a very hidden warrior thing, but let’s see what we’ve got in the pokedex. First entry makes note of a flower that I think may be in the main art and 3d model but not the sprite, so I can’t really judge there, but it does clarify that that is a cape it’s got. Second entry explains that it sneaks floral bombs onto it’s opponents, which is hardcore and much closer to what we were getting with Floragato.

7/10, don’t mind the look of it, but it doesn’t get Sprigatito’s extra points and I’m sad they don’t seem to the playing up quite the warrior status I was expecting from Floragato

~~

Fuecoco

I have loved this little crocodile since the moment I knew what love was. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but from it’s dopey expression to it’s apple-like face and Quaxly being Quaxly it was my favorite of the starters upon reveal and I still have a soft spot for it. I like reptiles and reptile pokemon so, I’ve had high hopes for this follower in Feraligatr’s footsteps. The hidden ability for this line is Unaware which, great for lore and also just great in general. Love it. According to the pokedex the little ‘hairs’ on it’s head are pure energy leaking out of it because it’s fire sack is so small, and also it suns itself so much. It’s just a precious little crocogator baby.

7.5, much as I love it, it’s still not the most inspired on interesting starter to have every walked the Earth now is it?

Crocalor

This, is certainly a creature, I think? It’s definitely an awkward middle stage. The snout if longer, it’s hunched over, it’s wearing some sort’ve fire sombrero? Markings make it look like it’s in a little outfit? I think this is probably a cultural reference I’m not getting, which is totally valid, but it’s certainly a thing... Apparently the thing on it’s head is an egg-shaped mass of energy and I assume a nest around it? It’s flame sac is also close to it’s vocal cords, so it makes guttural calls when it spews flame, presumably similar to gator bellows.

4/10, I don’t like what I’m seeing of the design on this one, it just feels off, but the lore is interesting

Skeledirge

Hah! It did come down on all fours, now all we need is a croc pokemon that starts and ends that way to have the full set! It gained the ghost typing like people were suspecting and also is now the Singer Pokemon! It’s long and red and, I’m getting Leviamon vibes honestly but that’s inevitable, with white and purple markings and flames spewing from it’s mouth and nose. People are definitely going to say it looks like it’s got skull markings, and I see it, but also I am getting a bit of musical instrument and possibly uniform out of all this? Maybe? I could just be blind. Okay, I’m going to copy the first pokedex entry here, because it looks like bits that aren’t in the sprites are going to be a common theme here... “The fiery bird changes shape when Skeledirge sings. Rumor has it that the bird was born when the fireball on Skeledirge’s head gained a soul.” So, it sounds like Crocalor’s egg hatches into a bird that 1) might have a soul, and 2) is attuned to Skeledirge’s singing. Which makes sense because the second pokedex entry says it’s gentle singing soothes all souls that hear it. Also that it burns it’s enemies with 5400 degree flames, but that’s beside the point.

10/10, they gave me a four-legged crocodile pokemon inspired by croc vocalizations which nobody fucking bothers touching on, then gave it a fucking bird friend, pure perfection

~~

Quaxly

I’ll be honest I have never given two shits about Quaxly? Not that I don’t like it, it’s a fine enough design, but it’s just... It’s a duck with a hairdo. And not even a particularly good one. It just sort’ve exists to me. It’s hidden ability is Moxie though, so that’s certainly piquing my interest. Apparently it’s a migrant from another region, whose feathers secrete a gel that repels dirt and things. Must be handy to have around, especially since the pokedex says they’re very tidy, if overthinkers. Also very strong swimmers apparently.

5/10, not bad, but not interesting to me

Quaxwell

Y’all I- I want to be able to describe this pokemon to you, I really do. What I am seeing, looks like it you stretched Quaxly out, tried and failed to give it a beehive hairdo, and then gave it a part in some sort’ve figure-diving competition. It looks like a minor side villain in the Darkwing Duck universe, like it would get all haughty and then Bushroot would kick it’s ass. It’s the Practicing Pokemon now, I’m not sure what it’s practicing yet, but I don’t like it already. Dancing, it practices dancing. It trains it’s legs by running in water and then competes with it’s fellows over who kicks most gracefully. It’s hardworking and studies a wide variety of people and pokemon so it can incorporate their moves into it’s dances.

2/10, it’s trying, I only wish it wasn’t trying my patience

Quaquaval

The Dancer Pokemon. Water/Fighting. It looks better than Quaxwell. Not a high bar but we’re taking what we can get. I’m sure this is some Carnival or Eurovision shit but, I’m just seeing the 70s. That’s it. I don’t know, maybe this one is better in the 3d model, but just- It looks like it’s got a headdress on and if it does then I like that, and the tail has potential even if they really didn’t go far enough from what I’m seeing here. Otherwise... One kick can send a truck rolling, okay, dances are mesmerizing so it doesn’t get the ‘achi is stronger’ point, slices into it’s foes with water feathers... It’s a pokemon

3.8/10, Meowscarada I’m sorry I doubted you

~~~

I think, I can safely say that if I had gotten this game, I would’ve gone with Fuecoco, and had no regrets...

[ufolvr]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for some of the last people who liked or reblogged something from you! Get to know your mutuals, followers and all the wonderful people on here! happy new year and all the best :)

Ily

Hm, right! This isn't my main so I'll keep it contained to my favorite little fictional characters off the top of my head. All familial bc i feel very attached to my little siblings/children rn ^_^

(6 instead of 5 bc i couldn't decide)

Not numbered because if I had to try and Rate my children and siblings I would never forgive myself...

Gas Heeter (DBS)

Brother

This little guy isn't... Written too well, is he. He's got a cool concept pushing him forward, but ultimately we don't spend nearly enough time building the relationship between him and Elec to see it as something lecherous.

However, I can't help but feel for the poor thing. He's so tiny and cute... And he really was just trying his best out of blind loyalty. He felt like he owed his brother the pain and suffering he was putting himself through, because he wouldn't be here without him

I'm sad we don't see much of him and his other siblings, too - they seemed genuinely nice and caring, unlike Elec. I am quite glad they survived the whole shitshow.

Now, this guy is also the catalyst for Viola becoming a better person, overall. Sure, he already had a sibling figure in Saike (Psyche Demon - you know, the one Janemba grows off of like mold), but Gas arrived into his care in such deplorable conditions, Viola's heart shattered despite the fact it's no longer beating.

Seeing a soul arrive at the suspended world immediately after dying so brutally was a much needed reality check to make Viola care about other people. I'm glad they have each other - though, I really need to expand on their relationship some more ^_^

Allister and Kieran (Pokemon SV/SWSH)

Brothers

These guys share a spot bc they're very similar, personality and design wise! They even share some verbal quirks here and there, which I find really cute ^^

Kieran has the upper hand when it comes to backstory, because he's a Main Character and has his own arc throughout the DLC. But Allister is such a little darling in his own way - he's so shy and sweet, but still a strong gym leader - outclassing a handful of adults, even! He chooses to raise pokemon most people consider frightening and scary, and he does so wonderfully!

They're both near and dear to my heart. Kieran I feel especially bad for, however - it's not that I Hated carmine. Really, I think her personality is fun and even cool at times - but she would've been better Not put into contrast with a socially awkward, kindhearted little brother she's always shouting at. I'm not saying Kieran can't be annoying - in fact I'd Like him to be, it's more fun! - but the way she treats him has me on edge from the start.

I really love them both, and think they'd be good friends if they met - I feel like they'd love to sit in a room together doing their own things in silence ^^

Tetsuo Shima (Akira, 1987 - Movie)

Son

Oh this little kid... I know he's meant to be sympathetic by default, since despite everything he's still 15 - but I genuinely just want to give him a hug and talk to him one to one.

He's in so much pain throughout the movie, and put on the spot for things out of his control - it's not the lashing out that makes him dangerous, per se, since (at first) he's doing it out of self defense, at the very least. It's how far he takes his rampage, until it culminates into his own destruction.

Tetsuo never really had a chance. It's not like I think every kid put on his situation would choose to behave like that, but in the end - he'd always felt alone, inferior and pathetic. Pushing his limits into inhuman levels of stress and fueling it with deranged power was never going to help him deal with anything healthily. There's always hope, and I always choose to believe in the possibility of a happy ending - but he really was a ticking time bomb from the very beginning.

Roy Ulthoon/Ruby Hurricane (BTBATB/OC)

Son

Oh I know for a fact there is a hell. You know why? Because I feel its flames licking my skin whenever I think about this poor tormented soul.

He was never meant to be a real child. Roy was a moral, a lesson, a plot device from the very beginning - about how finicky the human spirit can be, especially when you don't treat it perfectly well from the start. Or maybe I'm just being optimistic, and the writers wanted to make a 'humans are monsters' character to drive the plot forward and serve as a foil to Red's blind faith in humanity.

Either way, god, I hate his ep with an inhuman passion. I know for a fact he could've been saved - I KNOW Batman was not the right choice when dealing with this freshly made human soul that's lashing out against abuse. Or, at the very least, he wouldn't have acted the way he did - he electrocuted my son. I want him as far away from us as possible.

In Citrus' story, he's the catalyst to the alien finding his purpose in life, realizing just how much he enjoys children. He didn't, ever, need to die or be put down - he needed someone that would listen. Instead, they wrote Red's thinking to be that of a parent that tells you 'it is what it is because I said so, now suck it up'. It's not... Terribly out of character, but it could've been framed better, at the very least. I could go on and on about this one, since I basically Made It All Up - but that's for later «3

Kid Buu (DBZ)

Son

HOUGH. God I love this kid. I love this little shit just SO MUCH, he brings me inhuman amounts of joy I can barely contain it.

First off - he's so cute. He's meant to be a demonic entity of pure evil, with 0 thoughts in his brain aside from Killing and Destroying. And yet... He's so endearing. He really is, to be blunt, like a cat in that way.

He's so so tiny, too... And the pinks aren't helping. He just looks like something I'd want to hug and squeeze to death (very likely my own). I know I'm not meant to love him As Much as I do, but come on... It's not like it's my fault.

My reasoning as to why he can coexist with Super Buu, Good Buu and even Uub is kind of muddy. I think Pluto just straight messed with reality for that little guy to live with him - and who could blame him? Just let him waste away in hell for god knows how long? Come on now...

And I know I don't talk about Uub much - mainly, honestly, I don't trust the decision to reincarnate a being of pure evil into a dark skinned child, considering dragon ball's history with antiblackness - but I do find him really cute too ^^ he's just not... Son material? I guess? I'm not mad he exists in Kid Buu's place, iykwim - I just prefer crazy evil kids is all.

Oh by the way - if I ever get to developing my AUs this year, he's very important in the reforming of another amoral bastard he happens to live with atm. It's the only person he's in contact with that feels Pain nowadays - which makes the whole thing even funnier.

Baby (DBGT)

Son

Ok I know I said I wasn't rating these in any way. But. Jesus Christ

I LOVE BABY SO MUCH! I LOVE HIM SO SO SO SO MUCH ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY!!!!

He's got such a cool concept, backstory, voice, design... God, he's got it all! He's really unique because of how and When he was created, and it really breaks my heart they'll never write him in a way that makes Me personally happy.

Granolah is usually considered very similar to Baby in concept - but oh brother, the things that set them apart makes the gap so obvious it hurts. Baby is one of a kind, you can't ever try and make another one like him.

And I know, I know. Someone like him is very unlikely to accept being raised and treated as an actual child - a human one, no less, but we'll get to that - but also, isn't that perfect? He's the perfect brood parasite - he gets food, shelter and love from an unsuspecting parent who tends to his every need until he's strong enough to get rid of them and fulfill his purpose. Its genius.

However, he didn't take into consideration the soul that still burns inside of him - no matter how weak, it's still there. He can't help but get attached to Coralia, who treats him so well, and is willing to put his own life on the line to make sure he's safe. God, he doesn't even look human - why is this one so hell-bent on treating him as such?

It's maddening. He's not meant to be nurtured, he's meant to take over people's bodies when they least expect it to end a war that's ended more than half a century ago. And yet... Here he is. A monster in an infant's skin, being treated in the exact same way that made an alternate version of him to murder Dr. Myuu in cold blood. What's happening to him....?

Anyways. These r my delightful little guys!!!!!

[killyourfears]

nghhh the invisible social line between the end of teenagehood and adulthood is getting closer and closer, yet i feel like i only started being a teenager this year

i'm pushing myself to be more active and less composed, meaning that i not only try to be self assertive and confident in myself but also that i'm always running everywhere and jumping on stuff lol - just like a child would do. my teenage years have been spent in a mental state so bad that it made me become amoeba-like; the fact that i'm naturally a very shy person didn't help me in this and most of the time my friends were doing fun stuff i just stood there watching bc i didn't feel like i could fit in/was too scared? to try. like yeah personality wise i'm more of a calm person but how much of it is actually what i really am and what is fear of judgement?

all of this premise just to say that i don't feel like an adult and am not ready to have adult responsibilities. of course it's going to be a gradual process but i still feel so attached to my interests of when i was a child/teen and i wonder if that's okay. i grew up around very very very boring and serious (also sad) adults with no other interests beside their boring job; i still have that image of what being a grown-up is like even though now i've had the opportunity of meeting adult people that are so interesting and great.

i think that my child-self is still inside of me, i may be rambling now but i think that those boring adults lost their childness or repressed it: mine is not going away yet. she's still there and she still wants to watch sailor moon or to read harry potter or to play pokemon, and i can't deny her of that. i don't want her to feel sad.

maybe i'm going through a totally normal process and it's going to sort itself out for the better, yet i feel more at ease with my 16 year old friends than when i'm with my 21 year old ones. also i don't want to stop being active in life even if i get old even if it's not totally acceptable. today i ran and played around with an 8 year old and i want to do that with the same spirit when i'm 45.

[byakuyasdarling]

Ah yes, Pokémon rivals; my favourite topic

Warning: this list is massively biased. I (kinda jokingly) rag on every ‘Awful’ tier rival, so if you don’t want to here that, feel free to skip that explanation. I am pretty harsh with Marnie, I know a lot of people like her, so if you do like her PLEASE don’t read her section because I do not want to upset anyone. 

Also, I do ramble a bit how I like SWSH but they are my personal least favourite games (which is a hot take, I know), so if that would upset you please skip. Take care of yourselves <33

I created the politically correct ranking of Pokémon rivals (/j)

Anyway, epic explanation under the cut:

*if N was on this list he would fall under “Amazing”. Breath-taking story, breath-taking development, great theme songs, awesome character, fantastic team.

Why Blue is in S rank (very long explanation compared to the rest)

You cannot tell me Blue (or Green, or Gary, whatever you want to call the main Kanto rival) isn’t THE BEST RIVAL EVER. They got it SO RIGHT. He inspires hatred, AND sympathy. Literally, his grandad, the only living relative aside from his sister we even know about, loves you (the player) more than him and it’s kind of sad. 

Blue is great, he has a crappy pronunciation of ‘Bonjour’ (see Pokémon Masters), he says ‘smell ya later!’ he has class, swag, and is by no doubt the most challenging rival character. He is the only rival I never swept on a normal run. He is always demeaning you; he is always one step ahead all the way up until the champion battle where you finally beat him. AND HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OMG.

He still is arrogant and prideful, but respects people and wants to guide people to be better at Pokémon battling and thrives when he sees others succeeding - he doesn’t mind being ‘a former champion’. HECK HE’S SO COOL AND AMAZING. 

Also he has the best champion theme and encounter theme ever. Yes, he was a previous F/O so I am super biased; but so were 3 others on this list. 

Silver and Gladion

These two were my F/Os when I was much younger (around 12). They are great rivals with great development and story arcs. Plus, they have bopper encounter themes and battle themes. Gladion was my real introduction to the oc x canon community and inspired me to take drawing on as a hobby (as well as Lillie but I did not end up drawing her as much). 

Brendan, Cheren, Hugh, and Barry

When I was 10 playing Omega Ruby, I liked Brendan a lot (so... another past F/O... he’s the final one though). I dunno, he genuinely had a good friendship with that extra spice of rivalry with our character, May. I do not like friendly rivals (if my listing wasn’t obvious), but Brendan did it right. There was a lot of touching scenes with him and May *cough*cough* Delta Chapter *cough*cough* which really made me connect with him when I was 10. Now, Brendan and May are interchangeable depending on which one of them you pick to play as, so why have I ranked Bredan far above May? Better encounter and battle theme (yes, they have different instrumentation) and he gets the childhood crush pass.

Cheren is cool, I just really like his character and his attempts to create a good strategy. He is really dedicated to what he loves and becomes a gym leader (like BLUE DID. Blue has it all, really). Plus, glasses are cute :) (he is the same age as me, I can legally say that even though that was an obvious nod to Byakuya but you never know what people will take out of context). 

Hugh is cool becomes he somewhat feels like an asshole rival, but at the same time, has a really soft side. Like, his whole motivation to be a good trainer is to save his sister’s Purrloin that was stolen by Team Plasma. He is a hero y’all. Also GREAT encounter and battle theme; huge thumbs up. 

Barry! My man! Overall, cool rival with a great team. He is the second hardest rival to me (but Blue is harder than him by a landslide still). He is really funny in both the games and the anime and despite being a bit more friendly, he still sparks a lot of rivalry with you. Plus, his dad is battle frontier brain Palmer! How awesome! He was also my first rival, so that’s something special to me too. 

Average Tier

I like Hau as a character, he feels like a genuine friend and how he develops with the main character and Lillie is really wholesome. It’s just - I dislike him as a rival, a lot. Easy fights, not the best encounter theme... just kind of there. I get why people consider Gladion as ‘the true rival’ of S and M because he really is. Hau is also a rival that chooses the starter WEAK to your starter like the gen 6 rivals (who I hate with my entire being). 

Wally had a bad-ass final battle theme song and moment. That’s literally the only reason he makes the average tier. If this was a ranking disregarding ORAS he is easily down in the ‘Awful’ tier. 

I like Pokémon Sword and Shield... except I just don’t like them as much as every other game (yes. I did play Pokémon Yellow and enjoyed it more, thank you). I know you all HATE that, but that is just my opinion - I think I have earned the right to say that after my almost 12 years of playing these games and being a VGC player for a few years. It has good characters and some cool Pokémon and yeah... gameplay? Lacklustre. I really do not know what went wrong outside of story. Somehow the competitive battle scene is not the fun it used to be. Dynamax bugs me, the lack of megas bugs me, the dex cut REALLY bugs me. I know I am not the only one who thought this game lacked the charm other Pokemon games have. Graphically though, it’s very nice for the most part.

I have gone way off-topic, but anyway, yeah. SWSH rivals make average because I like their characters (especially Hop’s development). Outside of that, not the best rivals.

May is cool for a lot of the reasons I discussed with Brendan.

Lacking Tier

I like Bianca’s whole deal with her dad and how Elesa has a nice moment to shine too - and that’s it. I know the whole theme of her team is friendship but I die inside every time I watch a Chandelure uses RETURN. It was cool she returned in BW2 I guess? I like how her battle theme matches her personality, but it isn’t anything to write home about. 

I like Calem a bit more than Serena but I do not want to pull another Brendan and May (even though I had some good reason to do that) and I’m going to put them here. Bad teams and not memorable in the slightest, Calem and Serena belong in this tier. 

Awful Tier

X and Y rivals amirite??? They just suck. They are annoying and they suck. They have 3 Pokémon in all final fights, really? At least Shauna is likeable in the anime. 

I hate Trace. But, he has one funny memory I have with my dad that makes him slightly better. We both named him ‘Blue’ since Blue is the actual Kanto rival, but then Blue showed up in LGPE... And then the two ‘Blues’ talked to each other and it was mildly amusing at the time. Anyway, he didn’t deserve Blue’s champion theme (which is even used for Blue in later games outside of his champion battle (BW2), THAT IS NOT TRACE’S THEME. Anyway, he is the gross friendly rival that attempted to fulfil the best rival’s shoes. Sorry Trace, bad luck my dude. 

I just never attached to Marnie I suppose, but I can understand that she is important to those who are invested in her. I am about to fully rag on Marnie, so please skip if that makes you upset. 

 I am going to hurt a lot of people when I said I never liked Marnie. She was always just... like why do people like her so much?? I feel like most people like her because she is ‘funny haha goth gf’ which, fair I suppose. I just think she is super lacking as a rival, she makes no real impression as an actual character, and I think if you removed her from the game it wouldn’t make a difference. Don’t want to be that guy, but I AM that guy right now. I suppose she has a cute design?? and that’s it. Again, I am really biased when it comes to SWSH and rivals, so I suppose she really got the short end of the stick with me.

[polandspringz]

ah, fellow mutual. i see you also have a dark past. I have a few I can share. it's on anon so idm.

CONFESSION TIME:

1) I have an abandoned Hetalia YT channel with almost a million views

2) wrote fairly popular mystic messenger fic(s) in ao3 before(around thousand-ish kudos), disappeared and still get emails about said fic(s)

3)did i mention i had a really cringey Hetalia phase (most of us do but hhhhh im probably the textbook example of a cringe Hetalian). i feel you DEEPLY.

have you also heard of brothers conflict? that anime is also pretty bad, if not worse. and since this is anon, I HATE TO SAY IT'S MY GUILTY PLEASURE(it holds sentimental value, ig). It's so bad, it's good. Fuuto can go f himself.

Mysterious Anon Mutual I'll be honest I don't remember what I said in a post or tags recently to bring on this confession but it was a nice surprise to receive a message to remind me I'm not the only one who has to live with the burden of having been a Hetalia fan in the past.

Because my anime journey began in like 2008/2009 (as in, moving past growing up on Pokemon, and seeing Dragon Ball Z on Nicktoons all the time and being introduced to like 4 parts of a show on Youtube subbed), Hetalia was of course one of the series I found since the anime came out at that time. I don't engage with the fandom at all anymore, and although I consumed every bit of it as a third or fourth grader I wasn't like contributing to the fandom at all. I loved the character songs, I read all the fanfics, but I consider myself not attached to the more majorly problematic parts of the fandom since I only cared about the Nordics, lol. It's really sad for me to think about the series tbh, and I've brought this up before, because cosplayers are doing "glow ups" or showing their first cosplay vs now and I can't do that because 1) I don't have any photos of mine because it was all on flip phones lost to time and 2) I was Iceland from Hetalia so if I do ever decide to just remake my Iceland cosplay to show my own growth as a cosplayer (even if I can't show old photos to compare to) I would have to attach a massive disclaimer to any post I make about it.

In terms of MysMe, I don't actually consider that to be cringey? I was engaged in the fandom at the time and remember when reset theory was first proposed but I didn't really contribute outside of one or two pieces of fan art. I'm more into Dandelion and kind of want Cheritz to release a new game already but they're still riding the MysMe money I guess.

As for Brother's Conflict, UNFORTUNATELY I AM WITH YOU. I watched Brother's Conflict around the time I was diving through a ton of otome game based anime, like Diabolik Lovers and Kamigami no Asobi (so like 2014 when KnA aired). I think the anime of Brother's Conflict is good because it doesn't end on any romantic route, although the opening visuals and the lyrics of both OP and ED are questionable. I just have to laugh at any series that has stepparents getting married without ever having their kids meet, because like WHO WOULD DO THAT, and especially in these shows because the like Ema's dad was close to her??? So why would he like SURPRISE HER and not tell her about the brothers in advance or have her meet the other half of the family??? Contrivances all of it. My favorite was Louis, since he was like the most put together and could speak to Juli, although I will admit I also looked into the game briefly and liked one of his CGs don't look at me if you know what I'm talking about. Also, Fuuto always reminded me of Vernon from 17, so I guess I'll end on that random fact.

[yourdorkiness]

My Opinions On Jujutsu Kaisen That Literally Nobody Asked For

I finished binging the Jujutsu Kaisen manga in 48 hours. I am having some expresso, because I’m depresso.

Here’s a Sad Stitch to show you how I feel.

(And of course, warnings for discussion/ranting/kinda meta on the Jujutsu Kaisen manga below the cut, so please read at your own discretion!)

Sukuna is truly a Bastard™, along with Mahito. 

I just- *cries in Shibuya Arc aka PAIN*

*Pulls out megaphone* Nanamin. 

That’s all folks. Thanks for reading, have a nice day!

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(Just kidding!)

Ugh, NANAMIN 👏 WHAT 👏 A 👏 MAN 😭 😭 😭 😭 I became a certified Nanami stan once I saw the tired business man aesthetic (plus, his words about how work is shit? Truer words have never been spoken), and his little speech about adults and responsibility, how children no matter their circumstances are still children, and should be given the opportunity to act as such. Because, YES, FINALLY, A RESPONSIBLE ADULT WITH THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL aka the voice of Kenjiro Tsuda

Anyways, I love how the Jujutsu Kaisen manga shows that adults can handle things, and that is A-OKAY!!! If Jujutsu Tech follows the Japanese school system, Yuji is a first year in high school, so he’s probably 15 or 16 years old, way too early to go through Shibuya level of trauma (though, I think anybody is too young to have to go through what happened to Yuji in Shibuya). 

Children should have the privilege to be children. That doesn’t mean coddling, it means that children should have plenty of time to experience new things, enjoy being a child, and I’m so happy Nanami says this! 

In conclusion, Nanami deserves happiness and a vacation to Kuantan 🥺

YOSHINO JUNPEI!!! He and his mom deserve happiness, they’re both precious beans. I didn’t even realize Junpei was dead until 5+ chapters later. But it was too late, for I had already gotten attached!!! *cue curse worthy screeching* 

I was so excited for Junpei to join Jujutsu Tech, too! I had this whole headcanon of Junpei being HAPPY again, talking about movies with Yuji, interacting with the other first years, him seeing Panda for the first time!!! The thing was, back then, it wasn’t headcanon! I thought it was going to be facts, until Gege said ‘lol, you thought, peasant’, before spitting on any hope of mine for a happy Junpei.

(On a completely different tangent, I would be SO psyched if I got to meet a talking panda, we could act out all of “Kung Fu Panda” together, especially the chopstick scene, and maybe we could go to a zoo, just to mess with the zookeepers about a honest to god PANDA walking on its hind legs around the zoo)

‘If Junpei had lived’ is a phrase I think about a lot, and I think that is why the “Young Fish and Reverse Punishment” arc  was so crucial to the story and yet so tragic. 

Junpei has so much potential to be happy, and then he didn’t get the happiness he deserves. It really sets the tone, the high stakes to the whole manga, for we see the amount of damage a curse inflicts on somebody who could be in a situation like Junpei. 

As the readers, we understand the reasoning behind Junpei’s ideology, sympathizing with him as we see what horrible torment he has to go through. That very first scene of this arc, where the bullies made him eat the cockroach and BURNED HIM WITH A LIT CIGARETTE, and the teacher who saw all of this happening, JUST TURNS AWAY!!! It was haunting. But finally, finally, we get a light at the tunnel for Junpei in the form of our lord and saviour, the cinnamon roll of cinnamon rolls, Itadori Yuji. HERE is a person who is able to connect with Junpei, who wouldn’t dismiss how Junpei’s circumstances or feelings. and then Junpei dies.

(look at this cute face, how could you Mahito?!)

Also, the symbolism in the opening? The Junpei fish ENLARGING??? HNKDJSFLJDSF JUNPEI NOOO-

Also ALSO (sorry this is the last ‘also’), did we ever learn if Junpei was a sorcerer, or was he a window that possessed enough talent to summon a shikigami? I at first thought Junpei was a window, since he was able to see Mahito, and was hoping that we’d get a more detailed explanation of what windows actually do. (Do they just wander around Tokyo, or wherever they live, and act all ‘La Dee Da, just living my regular, normal life, oOOHHH is that a special grade? Tell that to the sorcerers, maybe I’ll get a bonus!’ Is their life basically a demented version of Pokemon Go? I have so many questions-)

All the villains were well written, and had super cool character designs. My top three villains other than Sukuna, my top three villains are Geto, and Mahito.

Geto’s backstory in the Hidden Inventory arc was so incredibly written, I especially liked the way Gege wrote how Getou’s righteous ideals gradually deteriorating throughout the Hidden Inventory arc as he realizes the depth of the curses of humanity, the dark hatred the “weak” hold towards things they have no understanding of. (i.e. Riko’s death by the Star Religious Group, Haibara’s death, and finally the villagers ignorant treatment and abuse towards Geto’s twins, Mimiko and Nanako, beating and imprisoning them for “causing” the deaths of the villagers) Geto’s chilling charisma and the reasoning behind his actions as a villain makes him a top tier villain in my eyes. 

As for Mahito, I love to hate him, and that why I think he is a great antagonist. I guess I’ve just been seeing a lot of villains that because of their tragic backstories, the readers or characters sympathize with them and rationalising their actions, turning the villain into a flaky antihero of lesser impact. It’s very refreshing to have a villain who is just pure evil. 

I think that Mahito fulfilled his purpose as an antagonist very well; his twisted ideals on the worth of human life foiling Itadori’s own ideals of giving others a “proper death”, the curse making Yuji continuously adapt both physically and mentally to defeat him. Physically, by learning new spells and techniques to defeat Mahito, such as the Black Flash (and possibly his own cursed technique! The weird “Past That Never Happened” in the fights with Choso and Todo), or mentally, by questioning his ideals, such as what exactly is a “proper death”, after Yuji had to kill the transfigured humans. 

(Ew look at this worm.)

Some Honorable Mentions of Good Villains IMO: Jogo, because I find his ideals of curses, who stem from the true emotions of hatred and fear, being superior yet suppressed by the emotionally faceted humans is definitely fascinating, and eerily reminds me of Geto’s hatred towards non sorcerers.  Dagon was pretty cute in his Cursed Womb stage, and I really liked Hanami because the eldritch environmentalist aesthetic is pretty coolio  👌 .

How do Inumaki children learn to speak if all the adults barely talk, only saying inane words like “salmon” and NOT ACTUALLY meaning “salmon, the fish” but an adult secret code for a definition that you might not even know?? Or do the adults just charmspeak the kids, like “SPEAK small child, and have full language comprehension, O tiny ball of pudge!” and boom! Babies talking in complete sentences, maybe understanding weird adult customs. Will the child know when then adult actually mean salmon, the fish, and not the code word salmon?

Let’s assume that Inumaki clan children from learning to speak to four or six years old will be able to speak normally until the clan technique sets in (because that’s when the jjk wiki says cursed techniques kick in). How do you explain to a toddler: “Hey sweetie, happy birthday, have a present! Oh, by the way, those cool tattoos of yours mean that you can’t talk normally to anybody anymore, EVER. Only using these specific words as code to mean these specific meanings, restricting any chance of normal interactions with non-sorcerers if by some inane chance you DON’T want to become a child soldier jujutsu sorcerer. Welp, guess you have to become a jujutsu sorcerer now! Make sure to restrict your choice of words, you could kill somebody! Have fun playing with your Legos honey, welcome to adult life.” Like, EXCUSE ME? 

You can’t tell mw a four year old is expected to understand that (or didn’t kill somebody by accident via cursed speech. That MUST have happened at least once). 

This is all an elaborate way of saying please give us Inumaki backstory, I’m very curious.

Anyways, thank you for reading my post, and I hope you have a nice day!