#(it has been one of my longest special interests‚ starting at 14 years old) (I'm almost 22) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

acetrainermags · 2 years

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Pokémon Adventures: A Childhood Obsession

In 2006, I received a consolation birthday present of a GameBoy Advance, the flat kind that didn't have backlight and was powered by AA batteries. My brother had just been given a GameBoy Advance SP and a brand-new game based on the animated film Cars for his birthday. My parents, in their infinite wisdom, knew I shouldn't be left out of the fun. Thus, I was given a hand-me-down GameBoy Advance with a used copy of Pokémon Sapphire.

A GameBoy Advance very similar to the one I grew up with. (Image via Wikimedia Commons)

Sometimes, I wonder if my parents regretted it.

You see, that gift - which was likely an afterthought, let's be real - kicked off what would become a years-long obsession with Pokémon. I had no idea what I was getting into when I turned that game on for the first time, but I eagerly selected my first Pokémon (a Mudkip I naturally nicknamed "ABBY" as any young girl ought to do) and began my adventure.

Unfortunately, my copy of Pokémon Sapphire has since been lost to time, but Pokémon remained a formative part of my childhood. I loved battling my neighborhood friends, comparing trading cards, and huddling around the TV to watch the latest VHS tape I'd picked up from the library.

Another thing you should know about me is that when I enjoy something, I'm all in. Pokémon was not an exception: I devoured every bit of media and lore I could find. I entertained myself by reading pages on Bulbapedia and Serebii, two of the best reference websites for the franchise.

This was how I was introduced to the franchise's manga adaptation, Pokémon Adventures. The series, also known as Pokémon Special or "PokéSpe" for short, only had a few volumes available in the United States at the time. Still, I devoured every bit of information I could about the story and its expansive cast of characters. I'd always been a voracious reader, and when you combined that with my favorite video games, Pokémon Adventures seemed perfect or me.

But like I said, at the time there were only a handful of volumes available in the United States, where I lived. The ones that were available were nearly impossible to find in your typical Barnes & Noble. So I did what any other self-respecting Child of the Internet would do in the late 2000s: I found an alternative. And that's all I'll say about that.

A few years later, U.S. publisher Viz Media finally decided to start bringing the rest of the series stateside. With the limited cash that an unemployed 12-year-old had, I stared my own collection. This included one volume (vol. 14) purchased from a "going out of business" sale at a Borders bookstore and another (vol. 7) from the gift shop in the Japan area of Disney World's Epcot. Why I remember this, I have no idea.

The two Pokémon Adventures volumes I've owned the longest. They're a little worse for wear, but I treasure them.

Now I'm an adult... in a loose sense of the word. Pokémon still remains one of my favorite interests, and it remained a great way to connect with others. I met some of my favorite people in college through a Pokémon Go group chat, where we would alert each other when rare creatures spawned on campus (shout out to GoCast, you know who you are).

My manga collection has also grown. I was finally able to collect all of my favorite volumes from my childhood, up through the "sixth chapter" or story arc of the series (vol. 29). I take one off the shelf to read occasionally, especially when I need a "comfort read" to make myself feel better. However, I haven't read the series chronologically since my childhood.

I decided to change that this year. I mean, I've already got all of the books, so why not?

That leads us to this blog. After spending four years as an English major in college, I picked up the habit of marking up my books. I know, I know. Such scandal. Unfortunately, manga and graphic novels don't really lend themselves to this process. I just can't bring myself to mark up the beautiful artwork with my terrible handwriting.

But I still wanted to engage with this story like I would any other. Originally, I just planned to share my occasional observation or joke on Twitter, like I did when I read Fullmetal Alchemist in 2020. However, the more I read, the more I realized I had a lot to say about Pokémon Adventures.

It's easy to be cynical and say that the Pokémon Adventures manga is just another cog in the marketing machine with a singular goal in mind: to get people to buy Pokémon games and merchandise. While that is probably true at some level, I find that Pokémon Adventures goes beyond that by having complex characters, engaging plotlines, and clever ways of integrating existing Pokémon lore into a different medium. The series creators - writer Hidenori Kusaka and artists Mato (vol. 1-9) and Satoshi Yamamoto (vol. 10 onward) - aren't just concerned with promoting the Pokémon franchise, they also want to tell a good story.

Satoshi Yamamoto (left) and Hidenori Kusaka (right), the current artist and writer behind the Pokémon Adventures manga. Image via Bulbapedia.

I'm not sure where this reading journey will take me. At first, I thought about writing a post about every single chapter as I read it. Then I realized I would be writing at least 300 posts just to get through my personal collection. Then I wanted to write about each volume, but Tumblr only allows 10 images per post, and that's not enough for me.

All this to say, I'll be posting about the chapters in chunks, with a wrap-up after each volume and story arc and the occasional "extra" post if I want to write more in-depth about something in particular.

Some things will be lighthearted, like a bizarre reference to Tom Sawyer in vol. 1, implying that Mark Twain exists in the Pokémon universe. Others will be more serious and analytical. For example, I can't wait to talk about the character of Giovanni, arguably one of the most recognizable villains in the Pokémon franchise.

In any case, it will be an adventure (see what I did there?), and I'm delighted to take you along with me. Our journey starts at the beginning, with a boy named Red in a place called Pallet Town.

#pokemon adventures #pokemon special #pokespe #pokemon manga #mags reads pokespe #Dexholders #Pallet Town #Pokemon Sapphire #Pokemon

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garlic-the-gnome · 2 years

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1, 12, 23 for the ask game

1. How old were you when you found out you were autistic?

I was 7 or 8 when it was brought up to my parents (because my brother was recently diagnosed) by a psychologist. Though my parents thought a label would hinder me and didn't even tell me at the time (I found out when I was older).

I was 10 when it was brought up again by a different psychologist because I was having issues at school but it was ignored again.

I was 14 when I was researching autism for a section of an essay when I realised that I met a lot of the criteria. I brought this up to my psychologist and they agreed, I had written several pages detailing how I'm very likely autistic. I was already confident that I was autistic at this point and was starting to become comfortable with self diagnosing as autistic. It took a little bit over 2 years (16) to get officially diagnosed (I wasn't able to have accommodations without one). One of my teachers at the time wrote that I wasn't autistic because I talked in class ( I had to get teachers to fill out criteria forms as part of my diagnosis, some didn't even return the form).

12. Do you headcanon any characters as autistic? If you want, tell us why you headcanon them as autistic.

I headcannon that the doctor (doctor who) and aziraphale (good omens) are both autistic. I kind of act like them and plus all my favourite characters are autistic because I say so. I have a couple other headcannons but those are my main 2. Also Izzy Moonbow

23. What’s the longest you’ve ever had a special interest for?

Sewing has lasted most of life. I found it when I was really little and I've been doing it almost non stop since

Thanks for the ask 💜

#ask game #actually autistic

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jackiethevampireslayer · 2 years

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I posted 601 times in 2021

51 posts created (8%)

550 posts reblogged (92%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 10.8 posts.

I added 449 tags in 2021

#buffyverse - 82 posts

#buffy the vampire slayer - 69 posts

#jac's posts - 49 posts

#ducktales - 46 posts

#duckverse - 42 posts

#ducktales 2017 - 42 posts

#it stephen king - 40 posts

#lgbtq - 31 posts

#buffy summers - 26 posts

#xander harris - 22 posts

Longest Tag: 47 characters

#my mom told me i had two named richard and didi

My Top Posts in 2021

Happy birthday to my fave duck, Donald Duck

🎂🎁🎈🎉

8 notes • Posted 2021-03-13 19:05:59 GMT

I colored a picture of what looks like Buffy from the animated series pilot, from my Buffy the Vampire Slayer coloring book

10 notes • Posted 2021-05-27 00:09:05 GMT

I started playing Wizard101 a few weeks ago

I played this game all the time when i was a kid, it was like my fave game

I got a new laptop recently and i couldn’t really play any kind of games on my old one, so i found this on Steam and started playing again

I chose the name Ryan for my character because i thought it was nice gender neutral name that was available, they didn’t have Jackie only Jacqueline

❤❤❤ I love this game so much

10 notes • Posted 2021-05-26 02:07:41 GMT

New Special Interest

Woo-oo!

Ducktales is my latest special interest

I remember when the 2017 Ducktales was first on TV and I saw season 1, I really liked it then and I've always loved Disney

Now that I have Disney+ I started to watch Ducktales 2017 while waiting for new episodes of Wandavision, I rewatched season 1 and watched season 2 since I hadn't seen it

I binge watched Ducktales 2017 and finished it in a few days and now I'm watching the original Ducktales and plan to watch Darkwing Duck

I also have some Ducktales comics I had gotten about a year ago that I'm reading for the first time

I've been reading a bunch of Ducktales fanfiction and watching YouTube videos

Donald Duck has always been one of my fave Disney characters actually and love his family

(My Ducktales comics)

11 notes • Posted 2021-02-15 19:22:34 GMT

Just started watching The Owl House and King is my fave character

I love this cute little demon

14 notes • Posted 2021-07-30 23:14:15 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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prettyuncool · 6 years

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The truth I would say on dating apps.

Being an 80′s kid who’s been in a relationship for most of her adult life, I now feel like the mother of Goodbye Lenin who awakens from her coma: no freaking idea how to deal with dating apps. I tried a few and lasted just for half an hour each. I had fun in Alienation Nation, but I probably wouldn’t live there, you know. My pictures suck, everybody’s pictures suck, everyone’s craving for some validation and how the hell do I even know you’re interesting with those few lines of bio available. It feels like the startup Pecha Kucha pitch of your own Flesh & Mind™, just as finely organized as in a supermarket shelf. I confess I also had some troubles finding any relevant shit to write about myself. The last time I’ve inquired about my own identity so thoroughly I was a teen and the last time I thought I’d use my identity for romantic-marketing purposes was actually never.

So I spontaneously thought we might be very close to a world where we should want to directly pursue what we eventually get from online networks, i.e. disconnection. I’ve imagined the non-dating app for happily staying away from each other, where everybody markets their worse flaws in their own bio’s. I wrote mine too. And then realized it was uncool anyway, because I don’t have a spectacular sense of self-unworth the same way I don’t have a neat sense of self-worth. Damn.

So I thought about the pure, raw truth. And ended up writing a shit-ton of stuff. I’ll share it with you below. Now, find me an app where I could honestly say it. And maybe some equally awkward matches, too.

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I am a wanderer. An astrology nerd. A flea market enthusiast. A gingerbread addict. I am a listener. I own an acoustic guitar which I can't play, but it's nice to have guests who play it sometimes. I love Primitivo wine. Also coffee - but I don't drink it, because it makes me freak out. So let's say I love who loves coffee. Black. No sugar. And craft beers. And dark chocolate. I find this shit so sexy! But it makes me feel sick. So I love it in others. Talking about difficulties we're attracted to, huh? I enjoy moody, underexposed photography. Most kinds of it. I'm too broke to own a proper camera, though. Nevermind. I love weird, indie movies. Bollywood cracks me up. I used to be a decent backpacker. I roamed a lot around Europe. I've been told I have a strong accent from Chicago. That's weird, I've never been there. I find marvels in little things. And in big things, too. I am left-handed. I practice meditation, when I can.

I find sciences and arts equally mesmerizing. I'm a serious meteoropath. I may cry over beautiful things. Like sunrise and kindness. I listen to jazz when I cook. Or Bossa Nova. But I'm a terrible cook. Wild strawberries are my favorite fruit. I never find them around. Normal strawberries make me happy, too. My perfume is Hypnotic Poison by Dior. I never change it. I work in advertising, in the creative department. But I feel guilty about it. I also did cognitive research for a while. Now I may start teaching semiotics of advertising at the University of Italian Switzerland. I find Switzerland majestically boring. But I have sweet memories of it, too. I'm both a cat and a dog type. Yeah, I'm an indecisive person. I often tend to overthink. And also underreact. I used to self-harm. My favorite color is yellow. My least favorite sex positions are cowgirl and reverse cowgirl. I never feel a thing when performing them. But I'm fine with most of the others. Men often tell me I look shy at first, but then I'm surprisingly and overwhelmingly sexy. Dude, I have no idea. I'm sure shy when it comes to singing. So I'm not comfortable at karaoke's. I live in Italy, but I have several dream places: Cape Verde, Morocco, Bali, Pakistan, Canada, Oregon, India, Patagonia. I am slightly obsessed over flower essences. There are so many of them! If I fail at my job, I can become a Reiki practitioner. I could actually already do it. I don't regularly swallow cum. Anal sex is fine, as long as it doesn't last too long. My shortest relationship lasted one month and a half, my longest one lasted 14 years. I am attracted to different types of people, with typically recurring features: resilience, emotional agility, curiosity, general culture, effective problem-solving skills. But I am also attracted to more superficial shit, like beards and travel experience, driving ability, cooking skills, basketball playing skills, good taste in wine and stuff like that. I used to fall for rebels, now I just find them funny. I've had several crushes, but fell in love only twice. Both of them used to smoke the same brand of French cigarettes. Curious coincidence. I find emotionally unavailable people ridiculously unworthy of my attention. I have experienced death, illness and loss of loved ones. So I value people's ability to suffer quite greatly. I've never got pregnant, but I used plan B twice. I'm not on the pill, so wear a fucking condom. Tash Sultana's music makes my soul vibrate wild. Other than that, I'm into intimate acoustic indie pop/folk and various kinds of dreamy tunes, more or less. I have unresolved mother issues. Some unresolved daddy issues, too. Whatever. I'm working on it. I definitely can't draw. And my sense of orientation sucks. I am also generally unimpressed by trends. This makes me feel so old. I am often uncomfortable around kids, but deep inside I love them. I may want to become a mother one day, but now is just not the right time. I'm neither a morning person, nor a night one. Let's just agree I'm fucking lazy. I'm a playful type, who may look codependent in love. But I normally lead a very independent life. I wouldn't call myself jealous, either. Yeah, lucky you.

I have a weird fascination for ex-Soviet republics. I wholeheartedly enjoy sex, but I've also experienced sexual harassment and some abuse. So please, be mindful. I love French, Indian, Japanese, Lebanese and generally Mediterranean cuisines. Saffron is probably my favorite spice. I'm a social drinker. I used to smoke weed, but stayed high for four days in a row every time I tried. That made me feel miserable! But if you smoke, that's fine for me. I am a feminist, but I wish it didn't make sense to be one. My sexual orientation is often under debate. I've never had a doubt I liked men, but I sometimes also had crushes, physical attraction and some intimate experiences with women, too. This doesn't always happen, though, so I honestly don't know if I should label myself as bisexual. Frankly, I don't really care. l'm 5'28" and weight about 106 lbs. I have no STD's, genetic illnesses or physical disabilities. I'm myopic, if that counts. My family has a history of breast and cervix cancer, though, so I should be careful. I was born premature, three months in advance. I love reading as much as I enjoy writing. I used to collect crystals, but then I stopped. They're too expensive and often fake. I'm slightly more extrovert than introvert, at least according to personality tests. That's because I'm curious and inquisitive AF. Other than that, I'm pretty quiet. Also easily overstimulated. I've been raised catholic, but I don't recognize myself as one. I deeply respect spirituality in others, though, and I'm craving a religion that makes sense to me. I believe political orientation is mostly a matter of historical and cultural context, but I may have troubles speaking with you if you support any type of institutionalized human submission over others, in any possible world. I also strongly believe that Truth is never relative, but opinion is. That was unrelated, but I find it super fundamental anyway.

I don't consider myself special. I am a very average person. I find peace on sandy beaches. And I love collecting shells from the shore. It reminds me of my childhood.

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