volonon

[volonon]

I use twitter for looking at fanart but that means often times ill go like "oh neat this person draws cool art of volo! Let me see if theyve drawn him more!" And then I see the horrors /negative

[volonon]

Spinel having an Umbreon as his main partner strikes me the more I think about it because it paints his character in a more interesting light than being simply "evil". Umbreon is a friendship evolution, evolving from Eevee through a really close bond with its Trainer, and Spinel's bond with Umbreon is completely genuine. Now it's easy to say that he's a sociopath who has been emotionally manipulating his Eevee/Umbreon, but I don't think that's the case. On the contrary, the bond between Spinel and Umbreon is mutual and genuine. Spinel genuinely loves his Umbreon. He cares about it and values its company. Umbreon in turn is also completely loyal to Spinel and devotedly protects him and cares about him. Spinel in turn appreciates its loyalty and it's a two-way street: Umbreon also communicates with Spinel and Spinel genuinely trusts and listens to Umbreon. Back when Arboliva came out to threaten Spinel, Umbreon urged him to retreat, and he listened. Their bond is strong and genuine, and they genuinely share a connection with each other where they understand each other at a deep level.

It stands out because what this suggests and even highlights about Spinel is that he is in fact, not actually a psychopath or sociopath, and is quite the opposite: he is actually functionally empathetic. He's not devoid of empathy like psychopaths and sociopaths are. On the contrary, he possesses a very high level of empathy. He's perhaps almost too empathetic even. That sounds ironic when you look at how he acts on a surface level, but it's very much true.

He is capable of connecting with others at a deep level and understanding them in a way. His bond with Umbreon, a Pokemon that evolves from Eevee through a deep bond with its Trainer, is a testament to that. But he's afraid of doing it because he's so full of empathy. Building connections with others, getting close to them, learning about them and getting to know them as people, it's all things he is capable of doing. But it also hurts him to do it. Because doing that means seeing everything about a person, not just the good things about them but also the bad and ugly things about them. And it also sets him up to be put through pain and hardship, because building connections means subjecting yourself to potential betrayal and misunderstandings. Humans are messy and complicated by nature. Sometimes people will betray your expectations, sometimes you misread other people's intentions. Sometimes even when you do your homework and keep your nose to the ground people will do things that don't work in your favor. And that scares Spinel deeply, because he's very emotionally sensitive and prone to being hurt as a result. Being hurt puts him through more pain than most. And he doesn't want others to get to know him because he's afraid of people hating him for what they know about him.

Spinel hates complexity. His underlying laziness, which I talked about some time ago, comes from a hatred of effort, optimism, selflessness, potential, and ironically, a hatred of lies. The fact that the world and people are complex and messy is something he hates, because it means the ugly side of people will hurt him, and he assumes the uglier sides of people are their true intentions, so he's afraid of getting close to people because of those sides.

His Umbreon's moveset consists of Snarl and Reflect, the former of which lowers Special Attack and the latter of which halves physical damage. It highlights his Umbreon's loyalty and how it's his devoted protector, but it also highlights Spinel's own tendency to keep people at arm's length and keep his guard up. He's guarded and assumes the worst of people, and thus pushes people away: Foul Play using the opponent's strength against them highlights that he sees the opponent's strength and tries to turn it on them to push them away, and overall his unwillingness to let other people get close to him and get to know him, only seeing the facade he's put up.

The word "facade" being especially important. It's actually quite meta that his outward behavior throughout the series is similar to that of a sadistic, malignant psychopath, because that's the "facade" he puts up to protect himself from others and keep them away from him. He's not actually that: his "psychopathy" is entirely a fake act. But he's putting on that false front because that's what he wants people to believe he is. He wants others to believe that he's literally entirely evil, so that they stop making any effort to get close to him and go away, and thus have no chance of ever hurting him, either by showing their ugly front or using what they know about him against him.

Deep down, Spinel is not only capable of connection but genuinely craves connection. He felt valued when Gibeon gave him special approval for his profile as a researcher and wanted to be special to him. His behavior around Friede also suggests he sees in him someone he could be friends with, but his fear of being hurt prevents him from making the effort to try. So he studies Friede from afar, trying to get to know him, and is fascinated by him because deep down, he sees a potential kindred spirit in Friede, someone he shares things in common with and could even be friends with, but he's too afraid to let Friede get close to him. Friede even recognizes this and calls him "Mr. Awfully-Shy".

His fear of being hurt in a way also foils Liko. Which is interesting that they're both Dark-type users and have similar but also opposite battling styles rooted in cunning, trickery, hiding, and deception, and overall being sly and devious. But painting Spinel in this light also paints a mirror to her because Liko is defined by her empathy and desire for connection.

Liko started out as someone who was very afraid of hurting others. She wanted connection but never got close to anyone because she was afraid of inconveniencing or upsetting others, and thus she would much rather hurt herself and put herself through suffering instead, so that she doesn't hurt others. Spinel is the polar opposite in that front. He also wants connection, but he's afraid of being hurt himself, afraid of other people hurting him, and thus he would much rather hurt others and make other people suffer instead, so that they don't hurt him. That foil kind of raises interesting implications for what kind of dynamic they could have whenever they end up directly confronting each other, especially since they're both Dark-type users and guile/tricky, but Liko's Meowscarada has a more bold and risk-taking type of guile, while Spinel's Umbreon has a more guarded and cautious type of guile.

In Spinel's ideal world, everyone is a two-dimensional figure that wears their heart on their sleeve. Nobody would develop or change. It would be a world of lies, living in the moment, with easy answers, and simple truths. You would never need to wonder about someone, doubt someone, or believe in anyone, hide anything or search for anything. It would be a static world without worries. Without progress. Without decisions. Without problems.

Which is why his public media appearances and manipulation of public opinion paint people in a black-and-white mentality. He paints the Explorers as heroic figures while he paints the RVT as villains, even telling some of his new recruits about Liko and Roy specifically and that they're evil. The people in both groups, however, aren't really that simple and easy to judge. Coral and Sidian are not "evil" but have personalities that aren't conventionally likable. Coral is a loudmouth who expresses her thoughts and feelings with no filter, even if the sweeter personality she shows to the masses post-timeskip is in a way, a real facet of who she is. But the public now only really sees a part of who Coral and Sidian are, not all of them, which traps them because they don't get to fully be themselves, having to actively hide their more..."unpleasant" traits to keep the masses liking them.

On the contrary, Liko and Roy face a public reputation as villains if their affiliation is ever outed. But they also have the ability to challenge perception. Roy is by nature the exact opposite of the RVT's reputation. He doesn't have a single bad bone in his entire body and is completely honest. Liko on the other hand is...well..."evil" in a way and her fighting style and team aligns with it, combined with her lowkey self-centered motivations, but she cares for others and has a good heart behind an "evil" mind, and is capable of showing it in a way. That instance with Nyabiko in Episode 93 where she calmed an angry flock of Dodrio and Spearow by putting on a magic show with Meowscarada, showing a more non-violent method to calm Pokemon, was a case of challenging a pre-conceived notion. Even though she's seen by others as an evil person, she can be more than that, and lets her actions do the speaking. Even a supposed "villain" like herself can be more than that and capable of doing good and being worthy of trust.

Spinel wants simplicity. He embraces a truth but fails to look farther or make any effort to challenge perception. He knows his peers in the Explorers see him as a despicable person not worthy of respect, and leans into it, but refuses to look further or aim for anything or accept that he can be more than that. And thus he lies to himself. Because that's simple. Easy.

But in reality, truths never are.

[volonon]

If you see this post, you're obligated to tell me what scenario in your selfship you're currently thinking about 🥺💕

[volonon]

SHAKING THE BARS OF MY CAGE

oOUghHHHH

GIVE...... I REQUIRE......................... GIVE HIM TO ME

[volonon]

oOUghHHHH

GIVE...... I REQUIRE......................... GIVE HIM TO ME

[volonon]

pla brainrot time again i often think about how volo refers to giratina as ‘the creator’s unwanted child’ liiiike. that’s real specific language there buddy

no one can say for certain arceus *doesn’t want* giratina. it was banished for its violence, not like rejected immediately after its own creation for no rational reason. and who knows if it was intended to be a permanent banishment either. maybe arceus just put it in time out for a while until it could behave itself but then it decided it liked it there in the distortion world (it is pretty cool). or maybe it was just a really long millennia-long time out and its time isn’t up yet. who knows! basically like. volo could have left it at ‘banished’ there and that would’ve been the most accurate to what anyone in hisui canonically knew.

you see where i’m going with this right. methinks volo is projectiiiiiing. i think he himself got abandoned as a child or something and is now trying to see himself in the giant antimatter ghost dragon deity. and he probably used that sort of similarity between them as a talking point in trying to convince giratina to help him. and he must have been successful! whether or not giratina was actually truly ‘unwanted’, it was clearly still at a point in its character arc where it was bitter and resentful toward arceus. it sure must have felt unwanted. so whether it completely related to volo or not, it must have agreed that the two of them had something in common. ok tune in next time for another round of me analyzing a single phrase *i grow togekiss wings and fly away*

[volonon]

Buying 12 volo cards, as a treat

[volonon]

i  really  need  to  talk  about  just  how  deeply  sunk  cost  fallacy  fucks  with  volo  —  because  you  have  to  understand,  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart  he  really  does  believe  that  his  actions  are  justified.  he  does  not  see  himself  as  the  villain  in  this  equation,  he  does  not  see  the  destruction  of  the  old  world  as  an  inherently  evil  act.  he  is  so  unshakeable  in  his  convictions,  so  deeply  entrenched  in  his  martyr-god-savior  complex  that  he's  incapable  of  seeing  any  reality  that  doesn't  align  with  his  own  warped  perspective.  this  world  is  a  wrong  and  rotten  and  flawed  thing,  crafted  by  an  apathetic-seeming  deity  whom  he  both  loves  and  hates  in  equal  measure  (  both  with  obsessive  devotion  nonetheless  )  —  the  only  connection  he  feels  that  he  has  to  it  lies  in  the  hollowed  ruins  of  the  people  it  took  from  him,  their  names  stolen  and  their  memories  painted  over.  volo  has  no  love  for  the  world  he  was  born  into  because  it's  only  ever  brought  him  misery.  it's  that  feeling  when  you're  forced  to  be  at  some  social  function  against  your  will  and  you  resent  every  second  of  it,  but  that's  literally  volo's  entire  life  multiplied  by  a  hundredfold.

and  because  he  believes  so  fiercely  that  his  ultimate  goal  is  something  just,  because  he  believes  so  fiercely  that  this  world  is warped and sick and shouldn't exist in its current state,  there  really  is  no  line  he  won't  cross.  it's  not  as  if  he  revels  in  committing  heinous  acts  like  some  saturday  morning  cartoon  villain  —  but  the  ends  are  so  great  that  they  will  always  justify  the  means.  if  the  world  is  remade,  none  of  this  will  matter.  if  the  world  is  remade,  the  proverbial  slate  will  be  wiped  clean.  any  pain  he  causes  is  temporary,  any  falsehoods  he  speaks  are  in  service  to  a  higher  purpose.  volo  isn't  the  villain  —  he's  the  one  who  can  fix  this  (  because  of  his  blood,  his  ambition,  his  willingness  to  walk  those  dark  and  terrifying  paths  where  others  might  falter  )  and  the  only  truly  evil  act  is  trying  to  stop  him.

the  creator  has  permitted  your  suffering.  volo  is  trying  to  end  it  —  and  it  hardly  matters  if  it  comes  at  the  cost  of  everything  if  there  was  never  anything  worth  saving  to  begin  with.

[volonon]

No, imagine your f/o clicker training YOU like a dog 😼

Imagine your F/O clicker training YOU like a dog

[volonon]

Volo Pokémon Legends Arceus

[volonon]

DAY 4 - BIND

[volonon]

lgbtq userboxes! 3/?? | f2u w/ or w/out credit! requested by no one!

[volonon]

hi tired and sleepy selfshippers. please imagine snuggling up to your f/o, them pulling the blanket over you both and pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead as you drift off to sleep in eachothers arms. very important that you do this

p.roship/c.omship do not interact.

taglist: @elysiasdear @vanyasomnia @goldden-sunrise @maddieinheaven. taglist form!

[volonon]

second touy,,, arrive in august,, [pleading emoji]

holding my plush, ,,,,,,mye touy,,,

[volonon]

struggling with self care? here's a few things you can do to include your f/o in your day to day life to maybe help you out :)

— make your f/o breakfast! or lunch, or dinner, or a snack, or a cup of tea, whatever they like!

— your f/o really loves the smell of the body wash you use! take a shower tonight with it so they can smell it while they're cuddling you asleep. same goes for your shampoo!

— your f/o has an outfit they wanna wear tomorrow, but its not clean. may as well do your laundry too while you're at it!

— your f/o had a movie they wanted to watch with you. take a moment to relax with them tonight.

— your f/o wants to have a nice cozy night with you tonight. why not make your bed so you have a nice place to snuggle with them?

— having trouble cleaning your room? that's okay, your f/o is gonna help you do it! try to get it started for them.

note; these are just a handful of things that help me. I dunno if they'll help you but you can try, if you'd like :3

— take a break from social media tonight and talk to your f/o! maybe draw or write them something, and if you aren't feeling that, just take some time to appreciate life with them.

[volonon]

i love my villain f/o userboxes!

hello her er these i havemt made my userboxses in a bit . yyayippee. anyways if u have suggestions lmk maybe i do them !

pro.ship dni pls make ur own thabk u

[volonon]

rb this to get a love letter, a question abt ur f/o / selfships, or positivity in your inbox!

after seeing some negative stuff in the tags today, i think everyone deserves a reminder about how much they're loved by their f/os! everyone deserves interaction, no matter if it's 'obligated' or not, so please remember to practice reblog karma and make someone smile!

div credit | proship dni plz!