#like there are A LOT of fans of certain pokemon people that are. not good.

[malereadermaniac]

Relationship headcanons ~ Raihan x Male Reader

Random relationship headcannons with Raihan

Sorry its short

The media had a field day when some paparazzi photo got leaked of you two out on a date. Even though Raihan is extremely vain and social media-present - you're not, and your boyfriend does nothing but respect that. But once that picture was on on every gossip page on Instagram, you two decided to lean into it. If anything, it would boost Raihan's popularity more!

You now feature in videos from time to time and you even have a special segment in his match videos of you cheering him on. Raihan loves that he gets to show you off now, every single one of his instagram posts has you in it, he has about 3 highlights of just you - it's very sweet.

The region also loves you. They originally had a lot of questions (which Raihan answered in a Q&A, of course) but now everyone sees you and Raihan as THEE Galar couple - people wanna see you just as much as they do Raihan!

The muscular gym leader loves to treat you like a Prince, he figures that if he has all this money from being a gym leader and an influencer that he should put it to good use on you.

Dates almost every night, and if you two can't be bothered to go out, then you call it a movie night and cuddle until one of you falls asleep in the others' arms.

Dates with Raihan are also all inclusive - this man pays for everything! It started with your first couple of dates being treats on him, which you would protest and demand to split the bill. But later on, you slowly let Raihan pay for your dates more and more - the conversation usually going something like:

"Is today's treat on you?" Already expecting the answer to be a yes

Raihan just smugly nodding with a small smirk in the hottest way ever

"You're buying?" You ask again with a small smile forming on your face subconsciously

"Of course, love" Raihan says with his signature grin after he swallows the huge mouth of food he was munching on

You then treating him in your own way and kissing Raihan's cheek cutely, making the grown man blush.

Now that the two of you are so deep into your relationship (4 years to be exact), you don't even bother to bring a form of payment with you on dates. But you still make sure to ask Raihan if today's treat is on the house, knowing all you have in your bag is chapstick and lube.

It boosts Raihan's ego to tell you that he's paying for you, who are you to deny your boyfriend such childish pride?

The two of you pokemon battle to decide most things, or just whenever you feel like it really. And even though Raihan promises he doesn't hold back, it is strange that you beat the 8th gym leader of Galar every time the two of you scrap.

Raihan also gifted you an Eevee on your one year anniversary saying that "just like an eevee can turn into everything, you turned my life into everything" - you never expected the strong and popular Raihan to be such a sappy man! That eevee is still on your team, your ace and partner pokemon (eeveelution). And even though it's YOUR pokemon, Raihan loves it just as much.

On the topic of pokemon and battles, not only do you support your boyfriend at every single one of his matches, but you two are the Double Battle champions at the Wyndon Battle Tower - a title you two have held for a while now. You two have such great synergy during battles that you rarely have to talk to understand eachother, one of you just has to tell your pokemon to attack with a certain move and the other will know what to do next!

The biggest fan of your relationship is Leon by far! He acted as your bodyguard when the paparazzi photo leaked, keeping crazy fans and more media representatives away from you - sacrificing his time to answer their silly questions about his championship in order to give you a chance to slip away.

He's also the one who forced Raihan to actually ask you out, the charismatic man actually being a wet wipe when it came to communicating his feelings to you!

And to this day, Leon is willing to 3rd wheel you and your boyfriend - and it isn't even awkward. The two of you hang out like close friends do.

You couldn't be happier than you are with Raihan

He treats you like a God and respects you and your boundaries no matter what. And he isn't too hard on the eyes either!

You ground him when his adrenaline junkie personality gets the best of him (especially during battles) and bring up his mood if he's ever feeling down for whatever reason - you're both the light of each others lives.

#gay #male reader #x male reader #fanfic #fluff #cute gay #anime #pokemon x male reader #pokemon x reader #raihan #raihan x reader #raihan x male reader #mlm #x m reader #m reader #pokemon fanfiction #pokemon self insert #pokemon swsh #galar

[douglysium]

Is FGO's Andromeda Black?

I already talked about this on Twitter So I figured I would mention this here and it was originally a sort of response to people criticizing for someone assuming Andromeda was some sort of gyaru.

I appreciate that people are aware of Andromeda’s Aethiopian / African origins in FGO but tbh I think there’s something to be said about how FGO design usually approaches drawing black people / features. Sure I think Andromeda is black but if you where to grab a random non-fate fan before putting FGO’s Andromeda, Amakusa, Emiya Alter, and Suzuka Gozen (Summer) in front of them with no context and asked them “Which of these characters is black?” or "Which of these character an African figure?" I hesitate to say that they would be able to tell you consistently.

I’m not saying no character can ever be racially ambiguous or everything can fit cleanly into little boxes at all times but as tempting as it is to say someone not realizing Andromeda is black is merely the ignorance of an audience member I can’t help but think that Fate also primes such expectations with how they often approach black characters in general. I think parts of the internet do bend over backward trying to deny a character being black when it makes sense but I also ask when is the last time Fate has idk drawn really curly hair or dreads? Like seriously think about it.

(Lenora maybe isn't the best example because I think she plays into some stereotypes but the point here is to look at the hair texture)

So, I think as good as the conversation about Africa in Greek mythology is to have and how easy it is to blame it on the audience (which is not completely unjustified) I think we also have to question how Fate itself primes the audience or may handle things in such a way as to increase the chance of miscommunication. And this is not to say that it’s always Fate’s fault or that black people can never have straight hair and / or lightskin black people or what have you, but i find Myself having to debate whether a character is black or not in fate way more often than I have to debate if a character is black in other media. I think the weaknesses that Fate has with these kinds of designs is something I don’t see with Magic the Gathering or Pokemon or even Digimon. Outside of specific characters I don’t see people arguing Marvin Jackson from Digital-Police is a gyaru or Lenora isn’t black.

Like if you look at Sid Story’s Mansa Musa design for example I don’t think there’s really anyway for someone to misinterpret that she’s not black without looking like they are purposefully trying to troll others for engagement.

(Shout outs to illust_ringo (https://twitter.com/illust_ringo))

Like yeah, there is a lot of racism in some parts of the Fate fandom but Fate itself did also make a bunch of Detroit jokes with Emiya alter and clearly realized they made some sort of mistake with design since they’ve been walking back on some subtle stuff so I can only give FGO itself so much grace in that context. I love Fate but I think if we want to have a productive conversation we need to acknowledge the racism within Fate itself and how that can attract certain people or set up certain expectations (even with the censorship of characters like Emiya Alter).

I guess what I’m also trying to say is for some people if you give an inch they’ll take a mile. If you give even a little bit of a possibility that a character isn’t black, even if they’re supposed to be, some people are going to take it and I think that there’s some stuff Fate could be doing more often (even if not all the time) to help prevent misconceptions from occurring and prevent me from pulling out an essay or history lesson on why a character is or should be black almost every-time they release and African servant.

While I ended up talking about some of the ways I think Fate could do better I don’t think it’s always 100% their fault. Like I said if you give an inch some people will take a mile (and some people don’t want to ever count Egypt as part of Africa for some reason) but I also think there’s stuff they could be doing to help curb this. I also don’t think it helps that Fate barely touches any black figures around / outside of Egypt but that’s for another time (where’s Yasuke?! Im on my hands and knees begging).

Anyway, those are my thoughts because quite frankly one could go on all day with almost infinite ifs, ands, or buts and numerous exceptions and when the responsibility is more on the designer or more on the audience or how there are always exceptions, considering racially ambiguous people and designs, etc but this is from Twitter and my brain hurts so I'll spare you an entire chapter book's worth of thoughts. I figured this was also fitting to go over during Black History Month.

Extra Thoughts

There are a couple of other points I would like to mention though. Some people have argued Andromeda is a win because they didn't depict her as white and I'm not sure I completely agree? Yes, it is a major win that they didn't do that thing where they only look at how white Europeans from the medieval century depicted her and used pale skin as a symbol of beauty but there are some fan translations of her profile and it says this " A tomboy princess who prides herself on her swimming ability. Ethiopia (Aethiopia) is said to mean "land of the sunburnt people"[1], however, it does not necessarily correspond to the nation of Ethiopia which exists today."

So yes, Aethiopia does not correspond perfectly to Ethopia but it still refers to parts of Africa and Africans. Quite frankly, this part of the profile reads like a summer servant and while it might be easy to say "Fate gave her dark skin so it's a win" I also worry that what happened is that they interpreted "land of the sunburnt people" as a tan and took the depictions of white Andromeda and interpreted it as a sort of tan. Which is a doubt I REALLY REALLY REALLY wish I didn't have and I can't stress this enough. I so desperately want to believe that they are saying Andromeda is at least black but like I said I think we have to be honest that Fate's depiction of black and African people adds a lot of room for doubt. I think her skin is naturally tan at least and while she does indeed have dark hair in some of her ascensions it ends up turning blonde. You could maybe argue this confirms that she actually isn't a gyaru since most stereotypical gyarus have blonde hair but even with that in mind I think the way Fate handles Andromeda and just black designs in general can often fall a bit flat or unclear and sometimes I think fans are doing a lot of heavy lifting with good faith readings (including me).

This is not me saying Andromeda is white this is me saying that Fate pretty consistently falls short with these designs which feeds into a room for doubt. Like I said, I just want Fate to be more willing to include some black features more often so I'm not constantly having to pull up a small dissertation on why a character is black. It would be nice if there were just a few more of their black characters that I could point to and have no doubts about and not need to debate anyone.

Also, Fate just has a SERIOUS whitewashing problem and a weird relationship with blonde hair quite frankly. It feels like sometimes it's an obsession. Like when they made it so blonde hair was a sign of divinity for most of the Babylonian gods. Something that has a lot of Eurocentric baggage with the history of associating often white / "aryan" traits with purity, beauty, goodness, divinity, etc.. Not to mention, that in my opinion, Fate seems like it is basically going out of its way to avoid black historical figures most of the time unless they have do Egypt. Yes, I know about Strange / Fake and Nzambi but they barely touched most of Africa and even outside of Egypt they haven't really even mentioned characters like Yasuke outside of some fan-submitted design in one of their gag mangas. Combine this with designs like Emiya Alter and the controversy around that and I can't help but be left wanting a bit more of a bare minimum somewhere even if there aren't a lot of black servants.

Greeks and Pigment

Since someone is inevitably going to bring this up. Yes the Greeks do technically depict Andromeda with light skin even way back when but I just happened to take an art history class so I know a bit about this.

Greeks did this weird thing where they sometimes depicted women with light skin and men with dark skin so if you really wanted to commit to that argument then someone like Perseus for example would have to be black or at least dark-skinned. To me it can hold about as much wait as arguing a man has blue skin and a girl has pink skin because people associate those colors with boys and girls.

For reference, here’s a pot depicting Perseus and Andromeda from 575-550 BCE on an amphora from Italy. If someone did want to argue Andromeda was white than they would need to argue Pereus is black or something which is to say Greek art and skin tones can be weird.

Andromeda wasn’t the only Greek mythological figure from Ethiopia (such as Memnon during the Trojan War) and the Greeks had settlements in African areas like Egypt and traded with Africans. Additionally, the myth of Helios explains why dark skin tones exist (so different skin tones are literally incorporated into their myths) so I think based on context even with art like this we can assume the Greek culture generally probably knew about black people. Also, Andromeda's profile clearly alludes to the idea that the designers and writers probably know Andromeda is from Africa too.

Ending

Idk, I try not to come off as a debbie downer or seem like the only enjoyment I get from Fate is when I bash it but I feel like some people are getting really caught up in praising the design or the individuals who are probably misreading Andromeda's race or ethnicity and not seeing the bigger picture itself. Something that limits the productivity of the conversation. I also think that where possible we should maybe push for more clearly black designs to prevent things like this from happening. I know that's usually not going to happen because FGO is a Japanese game for a mostly Japanese audience but you never know who's paying attention or who you might inspire. I also think that some of us maybe shouldn't be settling for scraps or half gestures as often.

Andromeda does do well with not just depicting her as Perseus white but at the same time I think everyone also just has REALLY low standards (including me) so even that little bit was a surprise. Which is depressing when you think about it. This isn't me saying you can't like Andromeda or that every character needs to have their race plastered on their forehead but it's very clear that Fate's design philosophy has some major pitfalls and weaknesses (especially with depicting black people) and I think it could be taking some simple steps to resolve them. It feels like every time FGO releases a black character the same cycle happens in the community and I'm not really sure it's going anywhere because people end up debating about what is basically a symptom showing up within the fanbase without addressing the actual source and elephant in the room itself, FGO and maybe even Fate in general.

There are also even people in Japan who at least kind of care enough to try to depict black people in a less ambiguous fashion that isn't racist or a stereotype (like Jinkei who has literally worked on FGO: https://x.com/jinkei_bunny/status/1759352092467364240?s=20).

BHM

Anyway, happy Black History Month. I urge you that while criticism is good and healthy positive reinforcement is also great and just as important. There's no point in ever only paying attention to the negative but never fostering the positive.

In the spirit of positivity and being the change you want to see in the world here are my Yasuke and Shaka Zulu fanservant designs

Demon Saber: Yasuke Full Profile- https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735141544541208576/mori-ranmaru-wikipedia

Grand Lancer Candidate: Shaka Zulu Full Profile- https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/721643569180557312/douglysium-douglysium-douglysium-grand

Steel Berserker: John Henry Unfinished Profile- https://www.tumblr.com/douglysium/735103259781578752/steel-berserker-john-henry-wip?source=share

#Fgo #Fate #Typemoon #Criticism #media criticism

[orcboxer]

having painstakingly looked through every palworld creature design, I can confidently say I ain't interested. I wanted my negative first impression to be wrong but lord amighty it does not look better up close.

I was an absolute pokemon kid growin up and I love seeing people's fakemon and fangames and the idea of a poke-like game appeals to me, so I have a lot of thoughts. if you feel defensive of palworld then uhhhh don't read this because tldr I think it looks awful

I thought it looked bad when it was announced so I wasn't paying close attention, but lookin through the pals quickly killed what little interest might have been lurking in me. like I don't wanna be unfair to anybody tryna make pokemon-like games, but these things weren't made with love I can tell you that for sure. there's maybe like 5 that look pretty good and original but the rest.... where do I begin

So first thing, the ripoff pokemon designs. I thought people were exaggerating but oh my god, they weren't. I would be disappointed to see one knockoff pokemon model, but there are dozens of them holy shit. Like at least half the dex is badly-tweaked pokemon models. This alone is enough to completely turn me off to the game because creature design is the heart and soul of this genre so if you ain't even gonna bother making your own damn creatures, what's the fuckin point? Even on some of the more "original" designs, I can point to at least one element that was straight up copy/pasted from an existing pokemon.

Second thing, recycled models within the game. Why do so many bird pals use the same (ripped off) body model? Why do so many pals suffer from same-face syndrome? The first pal I saw was Chillet, I thought it was cute. When I looked through the pals, I kept thinking "oh that face looks like Chillet. oh hey that face looks like Chillet. that one too." The overall effect of this is that a majority of the designs are forgettable, they blur together and feel indistinct from one another. the dex feels increasingly hollow with each reused asset. if you got 10 bird designs and 6 of them look the same, you really only got 5 bird designs.

Third thing (sort of. it's related to the other two), I noticed that there are no object-mon designs in palworld, which I would guess is intentional. I get the feeling that the devs were like, "object-mon are stupid, everything has to look like a creature," which is a common discourse topic in poke-like fan communities, and I think that maybe this played a part in the reusing of assets, because making animalistic creatures that look both natural and distinct from each other is hard! Trying to fill a whole dex with no inorganic-ish creatures is a daunting task, and at a certain point you either need a lot of time, or a lot of artists, otherwise you get same-face syndrome and heavy asset recycling. (I personally enjoy object-mons, as they're reminiscent of yokai, it's like hey here's a mundane object that has been inhabited by a little spirit! I think it's cute.)

Fourth thing, the silhouettes are too busy. Chillet works because it's simple and distinct. Most pals, though, have too many features going on at once, and you couldn't really play "who's that pokemon" with them. Again, this is a consequence of trying to mix-and-match the same pool of assets instead of designing from scratch. In order to make them look more distinct from each other you have to just add a bunch of unnecessary frills and appendages that makes for a cluttered visual impression.

Fifth thing, varying degrees of detail? Some of those pals have smooth, almost textureless skin/fur, but then others like jormuntide have super detailed texture? (also I know I've seen jormuntide's face before, it's from a different game on the tip of my tongue but I can't place it right now, but that's beside the point) You generally want to keep your creatures relatively consistent in terms of like, level of texture detail. It's like some of them are just higher resolution. Which if I'm being honest makes me think they stole assets from more than just Pokemon.

Finally, edginess. Maybe this is just me being too cynical but it feels like this game hates Pokemon. It feels like middle schoolers making jokes about hurhur what if somebody killed Barney the Dinosaur with a gun. The whole making them work in factories and butchering them? Who is the target audience here? There's a pal called Hangyu which vaguely resembles a noose and its dex entry says it was used to execute people by hanging them and also ripping their skin off....Come on man.

in terms of pal design, I give palworld 2/10 because Chillet is cute

#orcspeak

[wyrdwulf]

I've been looking at Palworld discourse as I come across it because it's something that interests me in a few ways. Discussions of AI usage and of plagiarism in media affects artists, and I am a big Pokemon guy even if I am highly critical of the games and company practices rnow. I think there's a lot of valid reason not to support Palworld/studio that made it, and to criticize the game-- the dev being a huge fan of using AI in making games and Cryptobro is enough for me, tbh. But I also feel like there are some arguments and reactions being had about why the game is bad where there's like, validity to them to an extent, but that people are working on assumptions or being overly reactive in a way that muddies valid arguments that can and should be made? And I think overlooking that is. I dunno. Not helpful in trying to have conversations on what is and isn't bad form in making art.

One of the big things is the whole accusation that the monster designs in Palworld are AI generated. I will be perfectly upfront with my take-- based on comments and tweets made by the dev, (especially the one below) I really do suspect that AI could have been used to either make monster designs wholesale, or to 'help' the process along. However, there is no definitive proof of this. This has not been confirmed. But I see so many people spreading that 'fact' as if it is. And again, I really do suspect that could be the case, but like. It's not helpful to spread misinformation, even if it's for a cause that might be good. Both because misinfo is just generally harmful and because it can do so much harm to your argument when you include falsities or state conjecture as fact to people.

Side note-- I've been seeing now that there are claims that the Palworld models are either direct rips of or heavily copy Pokemon models. For that, too, I've already been seeing that the claims of them being full rips can be proven false, but that it is very arguable that there are some severe similarities between elements of certain models, etc. I'm no 3D modelling expert, so for me I really just want to take this information with a grain of salt and wait until I see definitive proof one way or another.

Another thing I've been thinking about is the claims of the monsters fully plagiarizing existing Pokemon... To start, there's a whole question of parody and what constitutes being fair parody versus just stealing which I feel could be debated here. From what I've seen, the game was kinda marketed as parody, and looking at for example the Salazzle clone, its description really seems like it's parodying Salazzle to me. But moving past that, I do really feel that some of the Palworld monster designs are blatantly ripping off Pokemon-- however, I think that it's like, WAY less than I see a lot of people asserting. I've seen some people arguing that the Palmons are legally distinct enough that none are ripoffs but like, c'mon--

I genuinely think someone who argues that this guy doesn't look like Luxray is lacking observational skills.

This is another one for me that like, yes, the silhouette and certain features are different enough to make it 'distinct', but I feel like anyone with pattern recognition should be able to see the colors and design elements being waay too similar here to be a coincidence.

Also, there are definitely designs that feel like mashups of multiple Pokemon features to me, like this guy feeling like it's got Meganium, Serperior, Lilligant, Goodra in it--

But then there are some that I see people using as examples of plagiarism where I'm just like. Brother. That's just Common JRPG Mob Design.

I'll just use this guy as my one example but like. Claims that this is just a Wooloo rip are wild to me. This looks like I can find it in like half of fantasy JRPGs. There's other examples like this where I'm just like... I get that because a good amount of these monsters ARE very likely ripoffs/inspired by existing Pokemon, people are trying to find the Pokemon 'in' each Palmon, but I feel like so many of the comparisons are stretches which can weaken genuine argument.

Also this is an aside but a very petty thing-- I'll be seeing people claim X palmon is a ripoff of Y Pokemon when there's a different Pokemon that feels like a better comparison, like this guy?

So much closer to the unreleased water starter line from gen 2 than Lapras. C'mooooon.

I guess tl;dr though, I think there are genuine issues about artistic integrity, plagiarism, possible AI use and such which should be discussed about this game, and again, the company's ties with AI and crypto are reason enough to not support them, but. I feel like when having these conversations it's best to critically think about what's proven fact and what's speculation, and to consider what's a strong argument for why it might suck and what's not.

#I can't believe I'm using my blog to actually blog. #Sorry to the viewers I've just been thinking about this and wanted to get it out. #ora ora oratories #Palworld

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Evolution Line Spotlight: Chewtle & Drednaw (833-834)

This time around we again have a huge rank gap between evolutions, even bigger than before. Honestly, I think the reason behind this is pretty similar to what it was for zorua and zoroark. When it comes down to it, these are pretty similar pokémon, but the second one is bigger and stronger, which makes the issues with the first bigger and stronger. Chewtles and drednaws are perhaps the bite-iest pokémon. Just true chomp masters. When it comes to chewtle, it’s more of a cute thing. People don’t worry as much about how destructive a chewtle’s bite would be: they’ve got a single, dull tooth, and while they supposedly won’t let go once they’ve chomped down, they’re small enough that it wouldn’t be that hard to pry them off. Drednaws are a whole other story. I mean, just look at the different in jaw size and definition! Drednaws have a huge, well-defined jaw that has evolved to give them some pretty menacing bite strength, while chewtles’ jaws are nearly nonexistant. What’s cute for chewtles is deadly for drednaws.

I think this difference is best exemplified in the way the pokédex describes both evolutions. When it comes to both species, it is explained that they will essentially bite anything that comes in front of them, but in drednaw’s case this behavior is specifically described as “aggressive”. This can probably be chopped up to a difference in both personality, but I’d guess it comes from a history of dangerous encounters, not just the intent behind them. If you’re a current chewtle owner, I’d really consider getting your hands on an Everstone for them, because an accidentally evolution is going to be a huge handful, literally and figuratively.

Both of these evolutions are going to be a little difficult to care for. This is the case for any pokémon that make their home in the water; the truth is that land-based pets are, by default, easier for most people to care for once you get past a certain size. Feeding them as well, especially drednaws, is going to look a lot more like feeding an alligator snapping turtle than anything. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen someone feed one of these real-world animals before, but it is usually done from a pretty significant distance. A drednaw is the kind of pet you couldn’t really get near without a lot of risk. For me, that’s not what I’m looking for in a pet. Some people like a challenge or like caring for creatures that need a lot of space and expertise from their owners, and I get that. But the risk was too high for a good rank.

While chewtles are a lot more manageable, I wouldn’t really want one as a pet either. Personally, I think they’re a little ugly. There are a lot of animals that I really like that I think are ugly or gross, but I don’t tend to think of them as great pet material. They also don’t seem like they’re the brightest pokémon, and I’m a fan of more personable, intelligent pets. A chewtle wouldn’t be the right fit for me, but I definitely get it if they’re popular among a lot of pet owners.

The Chewtle Post: https://www.tumblr.com/would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend/734249724219113472/would-a-chewtle-be-a-good-pet?source=share

The Drednaw Post: https://www.tumblr.com/would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend/731890388192870400/would-a-drednaw-be-a-good-pet?source=share

#pokémon #pokemon #chewtle #drednaw #pkmn irl

[frostbite-the-bat]

no but genuinely. i love shadow filbo dearly. he means a lot to me.

he marks a time for me where i began embracing what i like just... for the sake of it!

he embodies the things that inspired me to draw online in the first place. hell, sparklecat characters with bangs have made me stop cutting my hair. i haven't cut my hair properly since. just because i wanted the same bangs, not knowing how hair works. now i have what is best described as messy fluttershy hair. to many people just how long my hair is, is what defines me when they see me and my hair is in a way special to me.

and again - he was what inspired me to draw. in class i'd be drawing my own sparklecats at the age of like 8, with bangs and wings and little companions that sit on clouds that rain hearts. (and bolts and skulls when ANGRY!)

i put rainbows on everything. i thought nyan cat was the embodiment of everything good in the world. i listened to nightcore versions of songs only. i say, as i am listening to nightcore, right now.

because of all these old classic animation memes and sparklefurs and silly scene and emo song flash animations i'd find... i'd pick up ms paint and draw. i imagined just how i'd animate, finding even the simplest methods absolutely mesmerising. there is something to be said about me being this young with internet access - because it very much so had it's negative effects. not me watching fetish videos at the age of 8 just because it had pokemon in it. yea that did not have any lasting effects.

but despite all this shit - it raised me! and even just a few years later... like.. 2015 when i began posting online on deviantart for the first time, not being just a lurker... learning how The Computer works better - not only drawing on paper anymore and gaining more and more interest towards digital art... i was already nostalgic towards these earlier days. but still living IN it, y'know?

just having fun, doing my own thing! isn't that what art is all about?

well. then the cringe culture nation attacked. severe bullying at school. and in general, just shame - which i am still fighting in certain aspects. but it's a bit more complicated than just "shame". (more so fear of Things.)

i'd look back at things with either genuine "cringe" or a distaste. how DARE these people have fun? because deep down, i was simply jealous.

if i was going to reference anything old like this, like classic animation memes, it was framed as "JOKE" "NOT SERIOUS" because i feared i would be harassed, made fun of, or people would thing THAT is the best of my artistic abilities. but... it's not like that.

and now, more and more people are embracing this. and it makes me so happy. and shadow filbo helped me fight off these fears a lot and just let me love what i love and be myself.

maybe it's not an ""aesthetic"" that completely defines me, maybe it IS a tik tok trend to do nowadays - but i don't care. without any of this i wouldn't be here. those were my first inspirations. silly colorful cats animated to crunchy mp3s of songs using movie maker and 3 (three!) frames drawn in ms paint. it had so much charm. it had so much genuinity. and i could feel it even back then.

without it i might've not been here as i am now. there are so many things that go into this, of course. but i simply would not be the exact way i am. and i dunno. that's something to think about.

thank you so much, shadow filbo. one "mistake" with you i've had was thinking i should be a good creator of something and respond to every fan and fanart, which only stressed me out. i have... opinions! about being recognized in various places and, as some dub, a "NICHE INTERNET MICROCELEBRITY" (nothing against you fox </3).... yeah! not a fan.

another mistake was dubbing him as a "joke" always. and... he is! he is humorous! i am a jokey person! i like crunchy shitposts! i like being the reason people laugh! i will go to certain levels to even ridicule myself just for the bit, and i don't mind it. i'm hyper(active) and i am just a jokey person, that's that. but... him being called a joke was honestly just a shield from people taking him too seriously.

if people were to mock me for being nostalgic for nightcore, and rainbows, and edgy amvs, sparkledogs, scene culture and clothes, rave songs... all this!

but... no! people loved it! people loved it so much, it moved THEM to create art!

me, referencing things that made ME inspired to draw all those years ago - then inspired OTHERS to draw other things. to embrace themselves. to have fun. to connect.

it means so much to me. it's a bit odd to comprehend, too.

but it means the world to me. sorry if i am ever annoying about shadow filbo, and is often the first thing i bring up when bugsnax is brought up - but he is the highlight of my experience with bugsnax.

thank you so much, shadow filbo. and me and my wretched little claws, of course. for making them. and those that inspired me. those old friends i lost along the way, too. and those, that inspired those that inspired me. and so forth.

thank you.

#shadow filbo #important #<- i just don't want to lose this mess of a ramble. #i could add so #so much #but i'm not going to otherwise i'd have several long tangents. especially mixing like. queerness and growing up trans and a furry and then #nonhuman shit into this #and the bullying thing. and being in a country thats... yea. where theres even less people like you #finding a home in places like this. yeah. (happy kinda yea)

[takeachillpillshawty]

Hello again twisted wonderland community!

After being here for two months I have some personal headcannons for some of the twisted wonderland boy

Also some of these will be on crack territory.

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts

Riddle is a sheltered kid, he has mommy issues and the list goes on, I like to think that at a certain time at NRC ( after his overbolt) while still being house warden tries to connect with his inner child. Buying some stuff he wanted as a kid, watched stuff he wasn't allowed as a kid.

Following up on this MAN'S DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO RIDE A BIKE. His mother thought that it was a waste of time, the topic probably was brought up when some Heartslabyul studs where reminiscing on old childhood memories.

Ace: Yeah, see this scar here? I was seven and crashed by bike into the mailbox across my house! Man good times.

Cater: lucky. My mom still had me using training wheels till I was twelve.

Riddle: wait you guys have bikes?

Trey: of course, everyone has them. You know how to ride a bike right Riddle?

Riddle:....

Trey: riddle?

Riddle: ...............

Cater: Oh you poor baby.

Ace doesn't let him live it down.

I don't know why but I think he might be lactose intolerant.

Ace also doesn't let him live that down.

Riddle: ACE! how many times so I have to tell you! No Ice cream on the second week of tuesday!

Ace: At least I can enjoy Ice cream!

Riddle: DON'T BRING MY LACTOSE INTOLERANCE INTO THIS!

Ace: Oh really? IS THAT WHY YOUR DAD LEFT FOR MILK?!

* riddle's overbolt starting*

Trey Clover

Man's watch hells kitchen for his own sick amusment, along with Jamil of course!

Probably made it his life goal to beat cooking mama in under one hour.

Named all his cutlery after students at NRC

Made things out of cake to piss people off.

Ace needing to take a shit: OH FUCK! where's the bathroom.

Trey : over here.

Ace: THANKS MAN

* rushes to the bathroom*

Ace not a minute later: HOW IS THE TOILET MADE OUT CAKE?!

Trey laughing like absolute menace that he is.

Shares cooking tips with Jamil.

Puns. I don't know why but. Puns.

After Grim ate all of Trey's tarts.

Riddle: that cat! If we start making tarts now it won't be ready for the unbirthday party!

Trey doing the anime glasses thing: guess you can say.

Riddle : Trey please.

Trey: that is a-

Riddle: Trey Clover you are the only person I trust with my life. We need those tarts, Trey. I'm going to have a break down.

Trey: I'm sorry, it's not the PURRfect time for me to be joking. It's a CATastrophic mess in here.

* Riddle overbolt number 15*

Cater Diamond

He was that one kid who thought that they were the main protagonist back in highschool.

Gay mentally ill theatre kid.

Has said " Yas" " Slay" " it's the ____ for me. " "You go girlboss" " this shit made my pussy pop. " at least once.

Riddle 's 12 reason why.

Called Riddle a short king once. ( he's not wrong though.)

Really good at makeup.

Says thing out of context some times.

Deuce: you like Jamils cooking huh?

Cater without skipping a beat: It makes my bootyhole itch but I like it.

Has ranked all of the guys in NRC from least attractive to most. (Yes. Even the staff.)

Ace Trappola

That weird kid that though he was a werewolf when he was 12

Has a Lego set

"Want to see me give Riddle an overblot? Wanna see me do it again?"

Has a dirty mind, can't convince me other wise.

Has a lot of accidents growing up. Fell down the stairs 10 times a year, dislocated a joint in his body. You make it.

One brain cell. Why? Deuce and Yuu( Yasty) are in charge of it.

A huge nerd but doesn't want to admit it.

Deuce Spade

Mama boy

Is very proud of his mom. Would show her off like a parent showing off their kids.

" my mom made me this shirt for Christmas!, My mom is great at cooking! There was this one time, My mom loves that show! We used to watch everyday when I was a kid! "

He loves his mom so much it's adorable.

He gives me Pokemon fan vibe ( or the Twisted version of it.)

The kind of person singing while doing dishes.

Savanaclaw

Leona kingscholar

OH BOY I'VE BEEN WAITIN FOR THIS.

Laziest motherfucker in the world.

You know when you mom ask you to get something that's literally in arm reach? Leona.

Ruggie purposely puts thing out of arms reach just to get him of his ass.

Leona is unfortunately a very stubborn and petty bitch.

The remote to the tv is in the other room? He liked watching golf anyways, His sandwich on the coffee table? He'll starve I guess, the soda in the cooler? Don't worry he heard about some stupid herbivore survived dehydration with only his piss he'll be fine.

Now Leona isn't that lazy. He can and could get his stuff , he's either doing it to be an Ass, out of pettiness, or sheer spite.

That one person that pick up stuff with their toes.

Has clothes on his bed. Used it for pillows once or twice.

Trick Cheka into doing stuff for him.

Cheka: UNCLE LEONA!

Leona: hello pipsqeak. Wanna play a game?

Cheka: YEAH!

Leona: I need you to do this dangerous mission for me. But I'm afraid you can't do it... Only a brave cub can. Oh I just don't know-

Cheka: I CAN DO IT! Let me do it uncle Leona, pleeeeeaaaase! I'M a big cub just like you!

Leona: okay here's the list- I mean the the scroll of things you need on your journey young cub, go.

Cheka: THANKS UNCLE!

Leona:.....

Ruggie: you gave a child your chores to do.

Leona: yes.

Jack: wow. What next, your gonna dress him up and make him attend your classes.

Leona: that's actually not a bad Idea.

Ruggie: Don't give him ideas!

Ruggie Bucchi

As a person that suffer broke bitch syndrome, he has to learn some hacks to survive. I like to think the reason why he doesn't get clothes in his size is because of the money. Why buy a uniform his size, when you can buy a bigger one to last until fourth year.

Believes wasting food is a sin, he doesn't care about your background.

He was that one kid that was like " wow. Can I have some? My mom never let me have that. "

Don't ask his opinion on food especially the taste, ( this man ate dandelions) he'll chug a glass of milk that's a few days gone and still think it's good.

Has eaten weird shit.

Leona: hey Ruggie, what the Fuck are you eating?

Ruggie having the best time in his life: peanut butter and jelly, with m&m and salami. It's great want some?

Leona generally worried: my brother in Christ, that looks like liquid ass.

Ruggie still eating: hahaha, rich people.

Man's know how to sew, find bargains, and spend within a budget.

That one person that won't hesitate taking a hundred million dollar for doing the most devious acts

Azul joking: okay, Ruggie. For a hundred million dollars would you slap either Cheka or Yuu (Yasty)

Ruggie dead serious: in a heart beat.

Azul low-key scared: what.

Ruggie staring Azul dead in the eyes: I'll slap the shit out of either of them. I don't care. Man, woman, child, gay, straight, human, beastmen, grannies or grandpa. I don't care if your gonna die after I slap you. I. NEED. THE. MONEY.

Azul very scared: even your own mother?

Ruggie: even my mama would be proud.

Floyd in the background: naw guppy ain't playin.

Has mega blocks instead of legos

Jack Howl

Oh God I don't know much about him shhhhhiiii

Nice boi good boi

Gets call sir more than his name.

Due to him being large for his age he was given more responsibility even when he was young.

Riddle has questioned his life realizing that Jack is one year younger than him.

Is the one in babysitting duties when Cheka is a round.

Remember the " Wake up Hank it's me Connor" meme? That how he wakes up Leona.

A lot of students ask for him to lift them.

Epel trains with Jack all the time. Sees him as a big brother.

#twisted wonderland shitpost #riddle rosehearts #twisted wonderland #jack howl #savanaclaw #heartslabyul #leona kingscholar #ruggie bucchi #trey clover #ace trappola #deuce spade #cater diamond

[onestepbackwards]

Hello! I really like your work, so I kinda debated sending this one to you, not because it was inappropriate, but I’m not sure this would be counted as a request. I’m pretty sure it isn’t but I don’t know. But this is kinda of a PLA Self Aware chat. I apologize if this seems rambily.

Anyways, have you seen/heard of Pokémon Insurgence? I really like the game because of all of the fan created Delta species of Pokémon. Kinda like a convergence Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet.

I think a good example of this is the Litwick line because they have a delta form which changes their type to Fire/Fairy types that provide the opposite effect on people, making ones lifespan longer through soul cleansing rather than feeding on the life force.

However, there are also new primal and mega evolutions for certain Pokémon (Mega Evolution examples would be Eevee, Marrowack, Sunflora, and Zoroark)

But the main thing I think the would probably catch the most attention is the Primal forms of Regigigas, Giratina, and even Arceus.

And this is where I was debating on sending this because it’s technically spoilers, but I can send the pictures of them in a different ask.

Getting back on topic, these primal forms could only be seen if these Pokémon were to hold a special crystal piece that in Insurgence, Arceus created to hold unlimited energy. I think it would be interesting to some people, others horrified of it.

I think if Volo learned about it, he’d be interested.

Again I think I rambled off somewhere, but I thought it was an interesting concept, and I’m sorry if I couldn’t keep an coherent thought. But thanks for looking at this.

I have not played pokemon insurgence, but i have heard a little about it! I sounds like a neat fangame, and the support it has is very impressive! If it had connections to the real pokemon world, it would be fascinating to see how others would react to this new region with its own types and concepts.

Primal forms like that would probably pique a lot of interest, and like you said, fear. Especially since most people in Hisui's era are very afraid of pokemon still. Is this the possible power they wield? It only solidifies in some minds how dangerous pokemon are, and should be left alone.

They especially wonder how you can enjoy it. Do you not fear this danger? Though, they suppose if you were able to catch Arceus... You probably have little to no fear.

#ask #zed.talks #charles-among-us #long post

[feministmetalgreymon]

If The Pokemon Company sues Palworld they are admitting they can't make a better game than Palworld

Some people are citing this post made by the Pokemon company as evidence that The Pokemon Company will sue Palworld.

The Pokemon company may or may not have a legal case against Palworld. I strongly believe they don't, but we would have to see a legal case to know for certain.

But whether The Pokemon Company wins or loses a lawsuit doesn't really matter. What is legal is not the same as what is moral. And a billion dollar corporation suing a small indie studio that made a best selling game is not a good look. People like to root for underdogs and the world's largest billion dollar franchise is going to look like a bully to anyone that isn't a capitalist shill.

What's more this lawsuit would be coming after Pokemon released it's worse game ever. Palworld fans love Palworld because it's a improvement over the stale Pokemon formula. By suing Palworld Game Freak is admitting they can't make a better game than Palworld and aren't even going to try. That's a even worse look for Pokemon.

While there are some diehard Pokemon fans that will defend Pokemon no matter how bad it gets. The reality is there are a lot of Pokemon fans that have become increasingly disappointed with the games over time. And seeing confirmation that Game Freak would rather sue a indie studio rather than improve their games is going to be a death knell to Pokemon's respectability as a brand.

They are basically telling Pokemon fans. We are fine selling you a broken, buggy, mess of a game. And we are going to destroy any competition so you have no choice but to buy the same broken buggy mess of a game each year. Why would any sane person want to support a company that has that little respect for it's customers?

#palworld #pokemon

[nazmazh]

So, yeah Palworld.

Despite the tone/direction of the hype, it's not really a replacement for Pokémon.

It is, however a replacement for ARK. And it's been quite good at that so far.

And considering the BS ARK pulled with their pricing and release plans and all that recently (not to mention their apparent utter aversion to optimizing the game even slightly - I'd really rather not have to dedicate nearly half of a hard drive to keeping it installed and updated, only for it to still struggle to run certain parts thank you very much), I know a lot of people that were looking for something to scratch that itch.

It might not be dinosaur-flavoured, but the mons are an appealing substitute on many levels. And the more direct automated use of them in more complex tasks is definitely a neat addition - And that's before even getting into the whole "parody of cute monster taming games" aspect - Which I don't think would have carried a game on its own for me, but is a solid enough flavour element here. Plus, expressly elemental creatures also creates more opportunities for use in the base system.

Also, as a quality of life thing - I really like that within a base, all storage is linked, so you can start building without having to go back and physically carry the materials to where you're using them. Hopefully though, a future update goes even further with this and has a system to link storage across all bases. So that you don't have to run, say, metal back and forth from the one base that produces it to others that have the more advanced production facilities.

Also - Battling/catching is a far less tedious system than KO'ing a critter and sitting there, keeping it unconscious and feeding it (especially feeding it only specific special optimum taming food) for hours to add a new critter to your team.

Something I hadn't thought of until just now - The Breath of the Wild-style movement/stamina system has felt very great! Movement feels speedy enough, the third-person perspective feels good for the sort of things you have to do, and being able to just start climbing is amazing! Something that's definitely lacking in both ARK and Pokemon (well, until you get the right upgrades in Sc/Vi, anyway). Is it the best implementation of such a system? Oh, definitely not, it still feels very unpolished compared to, say, BotW/TotK - But for this type of game, it's a very nice addition.

The actual battle system has very little in common with Pokémon - Not even something like Legends: Arceus. It's definitely much more of a free for all. It's honestly closer to Pikmin than Pokémon, but honestly still closest to stuff like ARK.

Anyway, yeah, it's been a solid zone-out and do tasks while watching YouTube/tv/whatever game, which has been a niche I've needed filled for a while. Much as I love Alan Wake 2 and my old standby Dead by Daylight - You do need to actively pay complete attention to those ones and can't have something else running alongside them.

The actual Pokémon has been sort of filling this role for a bit, but I've reached a point there where I'm just running around levelling my mons, which is fine, but familiar. Palworld is a new world to explore, with tasks that aren't quite as mindless. So it's a nice change of pace for the time being.

My sleep schedule however, is not a fan of the "Just one more thing..." Mentality I get from it (and a much of this whole genre).

------

One last note - The controversies.

Believe me, it absolutely raised my suspicions when I first heard about it overall - How could such a game not be a cheap cash-in? Probably just a bare bones, barely functional early-access asset flip game with a splash of edgy "pokemon (but just legally-distinct enough) but what if guns and expressly killing and eating them" for flavour/a gimmick, right?

But then it seemed like there was an actual game there. Systems had been thought out and appear functional - At least on a level that's on par with other decent early-access games. So, at least so far, it's not a cash-grab rip-off.

When was the other shoe going to drop?

Well, there's two drums people seem to beat loudly right now: "They're ripping off Pokemon and Nintendo's totally gonna shut them down!" And "The game totally uses AI for it's designs!", with a final offshoot of that to the effect of "This company's a scam!"

Well, to that first point - Nintendo is infamously litigious and very quickly moves to take down anything infringing on their copyrights. So, the fact that this game, being made by a "proper" development studio/company (ie: not just a couple of fans working on it as a hobby), which had publically discussed the making of the game over the past few years, made it to the point of early-access release without being taken down - That probably speaks to the "just-legally-distinct-enough" nature of their mon designs and capture systems, which are probably the two aspects most similar enough to raise eyebrows.

Now, certain visual elements do appear to be the same/incredibly similar - But I'm not sure that "facial features being used in conjunction with each other" is something they can copyright. As long as these devs/designers reverse-engineered their own versions of things, and didn't actually just rip Nintendo/Game Freak's models, I don't think there's much that actually is actionable there. The parody element is another angle that probably provides some broad cover as to the design similarity (in that you want people to clearly understand the reference you're making, so you want some similarities).

At any rate, I imagine the most profitable media franchise of all-time is probably gonna be just fine if someone makes allusions to them and their designs in an entirely different game. Pokemon doesn't really need anyone starting a crusade on its behalf, y'know?

To the stuff about the company (Pocketpair) itself. Well, there's a little more meat to those complaints there.

The big one - That AI was used in Palworld's design/development. That appears to be not true, or at the very least, not something that's been confirmed. If it were true, they'd have to disclose that for their Steam store page. So, at least, they did not openly use AI here (and its dev cycle began before the rise of the big AI boom, so it's less-likely that it was used). They'll probably face some sort of repercussions from Valve if they were deceptive about using AI, and there's not really a great reason to not be upfront about it, so, for now, I don't think they have used it here.

Believe me, if I suspected for a moment that AI was being used to cheat artists/designers out if work, I'd be out there, beating that drum too. But, given what evidence we have now, I just don't think they have for Palworld.

That being said...

Their CEO has definitely made some very sus statements about wanting to use AI going forward. Including comments about mon design in-general (nothing specific to Palworld, though, as far as I'm aware). And they have expressly used AI before, in their game AI: Art Imposter - So there is definitely a willingness on their part to use it (Though I'm not sure calling it 'Art Imposter' necessarily constitutes uncritical, effusive praise - But still, they used it in the game anyway). So that's definitely something to keep an eye on.

The whole situation with Pocketpair's other big game, Craftopia being an anime-styled, open world sandbox survival crafting game still in early-access definitely rubs some people the wrong way - Not the least of which are people who have been playing that game and feel as though they may have been playing an elaborate beta test that's going to be abandoned in favour of Palworld. And, like, I do get that - But, so far anyway, development appears to still be proceeding on Craftopia as well. So, I guess you can pick your preference from them - Whether you want the edgy Pokemon parody content in your game or you'd rather just have the "not-blocky Minecraft" type of stuff.

Ultimately, I don't think Pocketpair has any sort of loftier, noble ideals about being a better kind of gaming company or anything. They're certainly not a company that has earned any great leeway or trust from me - But they're definitely not just a cut-and-run scamming asset flipper gaming Steam's storefront.

I won't say Palworld is a "completely unproblematic fave forever" or anything like that, but from what I've been able to find, there's nothing in it/it's development history right now that makes it morally objectionable enough to avoid in my books. It's fine.

It's fine.

Other people might have different standards for what's unforgivable; but, the controversies about it definitely seem overblown or misrepresented - In my mind, at least. Its premise certainly could be alienating to a lot of people - But if you don't want to play it, you don't have to. If you don't like it, you can just say as much. You don't need to build it up into a whole big moral crusade to justify not really feeling like playing it. That's fine.

That's fine.

#Palworld #long ramble #this definitely got longer than I set out to write #ah well

[neon-moon-beam]

Submas Portrayal Issues Part 2

This was originally going to be a shorter post about me personally choosing to block certain Submas content, but I feel the ableism is getting to be more of an issue than it was previously.

I’m not calling out or singling out anyone specifically, and this is not meant to be an attack on anyone. There’s just a lot of portrayals I’m finding issue with, want to address, and if you enjoy these portrayals or create them with harmful aspects and have no desire to listen or change them, then I’d prefer you not interact with me.

Anyone being hostile towards me or others over this will also be blocked. I don’t have time, energy or even the desire to fight and argue. I prefer to block and move on.

tw: mentions of ableism towards neurodivergence and mental illness

I blocked cr*zytr*inshipping and tr*inwr*ckshipping because I find so much of the depictions ableist and fetishizing mental illness. I also find them to be ignorant of the actual characterizations of Ingo, Emmet, and Volo. All three of these characters now have regularly gotten depictions that are so far from what we canonically know about them and their personalities for the sake of angst and some come very close to or veer into ableist territory. Not everything has to be tied directly to the canon, but there’s a difference between someone making a stretch or having an idea that might not fit into the canon but making it reasonably work, and someone ignores canon for the sake of making things as angsty as possible, or someone who did not even play any of the games or check Bulbapedia for existing info and so has no idea about the characters at all, and just decided to crank angst content up to eleven for the sake of making the saddest or most messed up thing possible.

It’s one thing to depict an unhealthy relationship realistically and/or portray a relationship where one person, or more than one person has a mental illness going unchecked/untreated and it affects the relationship, or they start feeding off each other, and let the audience know it’s unhealthy and not good. It’s another to use these things and depict the unhealthy, unhinged, or even abusive relationship as “fun” or entertaining, or even romanticize or fetishize it. 

I’m also starting to block people who post content where Ingo or Emmet are Zoroarks, or any other Pokemon or even non-Pokemon creature that can transform into and imitate humans (as in only one of them is human and the other never existed and is a Pokemon, etc, not content where a Pokemon tricks one of them via transformation, or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon AUs where everyone is a Pokemon). Many people have said that this sort of thing is ableist and hurtful as Submas is autistic-coded, and making them non-human plays right into non-autistic people's ableist perceptions of autistic people as less than human. It’s also extremely telling that Emmet, who is more obviously autistic-coded than Ingo to people who are not autistic and/or less familiar with autistic traits, is almost exclusively portrayed in aus as a Zoroark or other entity that can transform, rather than a human.

You might think you’re in a bubble on tumblr dot com, or maybe you’re autistic and/or have a mental illness and think these depictions are OK, or it doesn’t matter because Submas have not been stated to be canonically autistic, but fiction does influence people’s attitudes and ideas about these kinds of things, and will perpetrate stigma neurodivergent and people with mental illnesses face. And at the very least, the ableism is upsetting and alienating other Submas fans. Many people have made posts about the ableism regarding various depictions of Submas (but again, usually Emmet), not only because they’ve recognized things as ableist, but because it personally affects them. My roommate, @1863-project, who considers Submas the closest she’s ever seen characters like herself depicted in canon, tells me time and again since these fan depictions started becoming popular that she feels she can no longer go into Submas spaces due to people depicting Submas as non-human, tragic, or even scary and wondering if this is how people see her. This person posted about the issue of making Emmet traumatized and violent for entertainment purposes. I made a post almost two months ago because as someone who is neurodivergent, the depictions made me uncomfortable, and it’s apparently only gotten worse. (Another person made a post a few months ago about being uncomfortable with the ableism and specifically mentioned the changeling aspect in their tags. I have lost track of the post but will link it here if I find it.)

These depictions might seem harmless and entertaining to you and you might not think it’s not a big deal, or people are too sensitive or overreacting, but the fact is they can and do affect how people perceive neurodivergence and mental illness, and may end up harming real people, if not indirectly by influencing people’s attitudes, then directly by alienating, upsetting, or even triggering people who are in these communities. It’s important to learn how to address issues and depict characters without perpetrating stigma. If you think these depictions don’t cause harm or want to continue using neurodivergence and mental illness as a prop or punchline, you should really examine why you think this is OK, and I’d prefer if you did not interact with me.

#i am afraid to tag this because I've seen other get nasty messages for calling these things out and I do not want to deal with that #you should be able to address that something is harmful to a community or communities and not have it dismissed as a matter of preference

[oops-its-a-fanwork]

Tidbits about the lepom pokémon boys✨️

Just some little things to know about our fav legendary boys, Papyrus and Sans! You can read their home and backstory here!

The pair of brothers are both psychic types, but I'm not entirely sure about their secondary typing. For sans I'm thinking either psychic/normal or psychic/dragon, and for papyrus either psychic/fire or psychic/fighting. The size of their true forms is somewhat small for a legendary, more akin to the size of Latios and Latias: person sized! Actually these two seem to have inspired the boys’ designs in my mind: not too big, somewhat friendly but definitely not an average pokemon!

Interestingly enough, if anyone describes the boys’ human form, the description will always be focused on their personalities and some rough descriptions of their appearance at best. People remember Papyrus being tall and loud, that's for sure! And Sans is definitely a lot smaller! A laid-back dude!  Oh what did he wear yesterday? Good question!  …I don’t remember… … Skin color? Oh yeah he sure had one… Hmmm…  Anyway yesterday Sans pranked the candy store owner with a whoopee cushion??!?-

Papyrus would love to help people train their pokémon! He adores the bond between trainers and their pokémon, and thrives off of their passion and determination! People would ask him about his team when he offers though, and that just gets them a fidgety “oh would you look at the time! It sure seems evident that I am needed to help with market preparations! But perhaps we’ll spar! Next time!”. Then he does an impressive leap into an open window of a random house and he’s gone. What a guy. You can also ask him to help you prepare for beauty contests. He has a very good eye for those, and although his choices are… non-standard, they have a 80% chance of actually being really, really good.

Sans doesn't really care for or about battling, but if you ask him about beauty contests he’ll at least humor you by joining you for prep time. His suggestions are ridiculous and none of it is helpful. He does seem to be enjoying himself though, and if he’s tired enough you can use props and make-up on him to make him look silly “to match his attitude :p”. If anything, prepping with him does make you and your team far less nervous. No judge could ever give you feedback that's more outta left field or ridiculous than he and his brother can, so you can handle anything now!

Papyrus definitely still gets lovingly attacked by dog pokémon all the time. He’s a magnet for them, they love him! His reaction can be best described as “exit, pursued by bear dog”. I mean it doesn't always happen, but they do like to mess with him, so it is also often times the other way around. Don’t try and keep an important conversation with him when there's dog pokémon nearby, because you will be interrupted!

Sans will tell you what your pokémon are thinking/saying unprompted. This tends to feel like he’s doing a bit, but he’s always telling the truth, or at least a half-truth. The bit is that he’s not doing a bit. What a funny guy!

Papyrus' cooking is in an odd position here: if there's a person to supervise and give advice, Papyrus can actually make a few really tasty dishes! However if left alone he doesn't really realize the way certain appliances work, and might experiment with ingredients that only certain pokemon or humans can eat, like uncooked wheat! Or pokemon berries! Or rocks! He’s personally not the biggest fan of rocks, but he has friends who love them! Sans absolutely does not count as supervision by the way. He doesn’t care what is made as long as his bro is happy, and if the kitchen is burned down in the process he’ll probably sleep through it anyway. 

Despite him having the personality of a “dude who has a little truck he hangs out the window from to talk to u”, the only thing people actually see Sans drive are the tricycles he “borrows” from the town kids. Does he do it to entertain them or does he genuinely think they're fun? Hard to tell. The teens in town like to point at silly cars and other vehicles they see and tell each other it's his. He thinks it's hilarious and definitely plays into it.

Sans is the kind of guy who will walk you home at night if you work late shifts, and Papyrus will princess carry you if you are injured, even if it's just a scraped knee. In both cases, enjoy the view!

Most of their rare time away from any people or pokémon is spent either protecting everyone from an evil team or from agitated pokémon from the mountain. The latter tend to be ghost pokémon and pokémon living in harsh conditions, so no one really blames them for being irritable. These pokémon have been acting up far less the past few weeks though. Perhaps something happened?

#papyrus x reader #sans x reader #Sans walking you home? Papyrus princess carrying you? Prime time for romance me thinks~ #one day I’ll try more actual scenes and fics but for now its just info and tidbits #undertale au #lepom au #Legendary pokémonsters au #lepom Sans #lepom Papyrus #Tidbits #Tidbits about the og!boys #homemade fanworks #lepom papyrus x reader #lepom sans x reader

[mrawkweird]

Y'know after the diminishing returns of MCU films and the DCEU in general alongside the already bad blood history of anime to live action I feel like the idea of your favorite series getting the big live action Hollywood glamour treatment became something of a naïve pipe dream. I'm glad Netflix One Piece seemingly brought those feeling back for a lot people. Not saying that a good jump to live action is the only way validate a series as iconic. It just helps especially when it's a love letter to the series and One Piece is already so big (and of course still going as is) so the thing that usually happens in these situations of the source trying to be more like big popular adaption is more than likely never going to happen

The way in which WB insisted on fumbling the DCEU when they could have actually captured something unique instead of trying to cater to a crowd that ain't ever care about DC anyway should be studied. They really let the MCU audience troll them into obscurity. To fuck up so bad you end up with something like the end result of The Flash movie is astonishing.

There's always going to be something of a novelty in wanting to see what one of your favorite animated projects looks like translated to live action. Well, certain things anyway. Like, a lot of us grew up at some point or another wondering what real world Pokemon would look like and then Detective Pikachu came along after 2 decades to finally grant those childhood wishes and it actually delivered. It was such a surreal experience and made me honestly feel like a kid again. It was like falling in love with that world for a second time.

I felt validated as a life long fan and when done right that's what live action adaptations should deliver on. You should feel as if you're watching a dream come true on the screen and when placed in the hands of people who give a shit just as much as you if not more then you should be able to expect something special.

One Piece passed that test with flying colors in their first season and knowing they already got that season 2 written and ready to go is torture.

#Anime #Live Action

[shadowbender19]

And we’re back folks, if not a few days late. Sorry about that, I had to write a classics essay, of all things, so that held me up a tad. Despite that, here are my live thoughts and reactions for the new (and final :( ) Heartless video. Enjoy!

Alastor

“Curse of the hollow” is a vibe of a name, also I giving me Molly flashbacks

Ah yes, Genshin, something that I definitely know about (sarcastic)

Mythology vibes? We Stan

I love the attitude of, even if it gets scrapped or the comic never gets made, its fine, its fun to make. It’s a great philosopher towards creation

Yeah, he do be a vampire

Black hole/void magic is so cool. The audio it brings to mind is stunning

I love a spooky arm

The stars are plot significant

You can tell that I love the spooky arm thing, cause it is the main aesthetic of one of my D&D characters lol

Lorelei

I hate spelling her name, brain says no

I know that poster girl is a very common phrase, but for Lorelei specifically, it gives such a strong image. Those huge theatre posters that can’t fit on your wall, yeah that

Shoutout to all the people who did the black swan fanart

(Notes app tried to correct ‘fanart’ to ‘canary’ apple explain)

Ah yes, bird

Lorelei’s outfit being even slightly based on a wrestler is such a vibe. I don’t know what that vibe is, but it is indeed a vibe

Star placement is once again iconic. I feel like I’ll be saying that a lot tonight

The idea of the Lorelei fandom that almost certain exists in the Heartless universe having wild conspiricy theories about her tattoos gives me life, cause you know they would.

Diana

Cool cowboy + spy is a stunning aesthetic. That post about stealth vs. Russian stealth is strong with this one

The Eye!

As someone going through a Sandman phase, the ideas that come to mind at Diana being based on the Fates are numerous

The wld west vibes + the snakes are stunning.

So many references I don’t understand lol. Is this how my friends feel every time I speak?

Taking the two ‘heavy hitter’ characters and giving them the most ‘big brain strats’ fighting dynamic would make for such fun fights. Especially compared to other random fights that may happen in the series

Lance

The bastard boi!

Yes Alex, make it gayer. As God intended

My screen is small so I cannot see the face. Very sad

Alastor makes Lance captain for one day. He thinks, the guys literally a knight, how bad could it be? Next day Alastor revokes Lance’s position as captain

Alastor walking into a cell block, pointing at Lance and saying that one before walking out as the guards release Lance.

I don’t know why Lance is giving me the strong fan fiction ideas but here we are

He would call his sword teeth

He do be Erza

I actually did watch the video after he mentioned it in the last video. If you haven’t I highly recommend. Stunt people are icons. And nerds apparently

Eira knowing the ex-owners of Lance’s swords is great angst material.

Part of me says ‘armour cool’ Gremlin brain says ‘armour go clang when he walk’

I have not yet mentioned how much I love this specific art style from these videos so I will say so now.

Scales look amazing. That’s the comment

Shiny orange on the armour giving me NRG from ben 10 vibes

Scales on the sword handle. I love the attention to detail

Bandy

My beloved

He do be giving Mr Compress Vibes since day 1

Swap

The personality swap fits are great guys, never stop

(There’s a character in the current fairy tail manga who does something like this in a really fun way. Not relevant just came to mind)

The line between cliche and aesthetic is very thin

When he said, ‘not just normally playing cards’, my brain went straight to the idea of him having an absurd amalgamation of different card sets. Like he has a few Pokemon cards, a yugioh card, maybe something from magic the gathering. Black cards makes a lot more sense

Swap

Contract demons. terrifying

Pretty hair!

Puff go the sleeves

(Good lord my gremlin brain is taking over these comments)

I think I would prefer the banter rather than miming, but that’s just me.

I love this pose

Dock

Dock is probably the character I’ve seen the most fanart of

Right there! Love that he labeled it

Gross and scary and kind of decomposing. Now more people are going to have a crush on him

OMG, he’s an empath

Goop

We love a creepy cleric

“Pause for ADHD moment”

Another creepy arm!

Can’t wait to see this coloured (specifically talking about creepy hand)

“And also, pretty hot” - I have no words. I love

Alex paying specific mention to Dock showing his arm gives me the same vibe as that Tumblr post about the Mandelorians wrist

Love the Disney villain green on this guy

I was right, the creepy arm looked great in colour.

Final thoughts- This new style continues to impress me. I don’t know enough about art to say what’s change, but I absolutely adore it. The way it makes things glow especially sparks joy.

The curse names give me such strong DND vibes, specifically subclasses. But that may just be that bloodhunter subclasses are all order and they use curses. No more Heartless videos makes me sad, I hope that we get more content in the future. It may take some time for me to get excited at the idea of a new concept corner, but I know I will and I know I’ll love it. Heartless has been, and probably will continue to be my comfort YouTube series.

#abd illustrates #abd heartless #heartless #content #live reaction #alastor creed #diana shikari #lorelei #lance lothaire #dock heartless #bandy bellamis #shadow makes content

[shanksxbuggy]

Alright, interview time. How did you get into One Piece? For how long have you been watching/reading it?

And what made you ship Buggy and Shanks?

I simply grew up an anime/manga fan, especially the shonen genre. Pokemon and Dragon Ball and Naruto…naturally I got into One Piece too. I think I first read it over ten years ago? (am in my twenties now) Then it was kind of an on and off thing, drifting out of the fandom then getting back into it.

I always though it was sweet that Shanks was old friends with some loser clown. Then I really loved their relationship with their interaction at Marineford. Just the idea of this powerful Emperor being so close with a weak nobody antagonist was so unexpectedly charming. Two people who you wouldn’t expect to ever get along actually have such a tight knit bond.

But I think what made me like it as a romantic ship was seeing some fan art on google images. Then it just clicked. The idea of them starting out as young rivals who hate each other, but who came to cherish each other as they got older…the dynamic was too good. Japanese one piece artists are truly big brained. Of course, there wasn’t a lot of fan content of them back then. At that time, we didn’t know a lot about Shanks, but one of the things I felt certain about was that he really loved Buggy.

#ask #anon

[patricia-von-arundel]

Oh god, here we go again...

PEOPLE.

PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY MEN WHO APPARENTLY WANT TO MARRY VIDEO GAME CHILDREN -

Localization

is

not

censorship.

Censorship is, per the ACLU, "the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are 'offensive'." Is anything being suppressed here?

Per Merriam-Webster, to suppress something means

(The rest are related to the medical use of the term.)

So...

Nothing has been "suppressed." You can quite easily find the game in Japanese, or videos of it, or fan translations. Nobody has prohibited either the support from being seen, or your ability to choose to buy and play the game in Japanese. You absolutely can do that, if you choose. Worst that will happen is a customs charge. But nobody is going to seize the game and come to your front door to beat you before dragging you off to work yourself to death in a gulag. You are in no way being prevented from reading, knowing about, or playing the game in Japanese. At all.

Changing the Corrin/Soleil support in Fates?

Not censorship.

Choosing for whatever dingdong reason not to localize all of the Fates DLC?

Irritating as hell, but not censorship.

Changing some names when localizing?

Not censorship, and I honestly appreciate not having to try to keep a straight face when discussing the Wood and Nn supports in Awakening. I mean... we got the better deal there. Admit it.

Localization always changes things. Always. It has to, in order to make sense. And it should.

Who here has read the translation of Battle Royale (book, not manga)? And in particular, did you read it before the "remastered" version was released a few years ago?

It is incredibly faithful to the Japanese. Too much so. Because some parts don't make any sense at all in English. They reference phrases, ideas, and colloquialisms that do not exist in English.

A good localization finds the closest equivalency that conveys the same meaning, even if the words, reference, and origin of the phrase are totally different. If a phrase means "hope you enjoy dinner" in Language X, but if translated exactly is "the cows eat best before the full moon," that phrase likely means nothing in language Y. But Language Y has "the more you stir the pot, the better to taste the soup." And it is often said before meals that you want someone to enjoy. A-ha! Same meaning, different words. This is always, always, always how a good translation or localization works. It is not "censorship" to replace one phrase with another equivalent, it is making the damn story make sense to another audience who speaks a different language. This should happen. This does happen. This is NOT FUCKING CENSORSHIP.

Let's have some fun with this and my shit-level Italian!

I'm still trying to wrap my head around [whatever].

Direct translation, uh... Sto provando... avvolgere... in giro...mia testa?

"I'm trying to wrap around my head."

Hmmm...

"Sto provando avvolgere mia testa in giro?"

Okay, yep, we have literally, word-for-word, translated "I'm trying to wrap my head around" from English to Italian.

...Now I bother @lysissisyl.

Yeah. Direct translation is the same words, but it makes no sense. Response was, "I'm... confused." (And then I'm like, "I know I know I know, I'm not stupid, that's my point!" 🤣)

Sto cercando di capire: okay, yeah, this actually makes sense to say "I'm trying to understand," which means the same thing as the idiomatic "I'm trying to wrap my head around [whatever]."

But it's not a direct translation of the latter. Because sometimes, an exact, word-for-word translation, especially of an idiom, DOES. NOT. MAKE. SENSE.

Capeesh?

Fine. Capisce?

😜

...Still not censorship.

Localization changes may also reflect what is seen as acceptable in a certain time and place for one society versus another. For instance, some Japanese games (especially those marketed directly to children) had references to alcohol (either in picture or text) changed by Nintendo of America. Even Mario and Pokemon did this. And I know a lot of you are too young to remember the controversy over Mortal Kombat in the early 90s, but it was bonkers. Kids will start slaughtering each other in the streets unless we change the blood to green! Uh... okay, then. In that case, the change was in the Japanese release of Mortal Kombat II.

Also keep in mind this innocence-gutting, banned, civilization-altering game that was going to instantly turn little Johnny from a straight-A student who rescued baby bunnies on weekends and every night went to the local nursing home to read bedtime stories for all the residents (when he wasn't curing cancer) into Ted Bundy 2.0 with a side of Pazuzu looked like... this:

In 1992 (or anytime until the early 2000s), an argument could be made that it was censorship. It was much, much more prohibitively difficult to track down foreign copies of games then, especially before the internet, and while you might get lucky if you happened to live in San Francisco, or New York, or Paris, or wherever, if you were verge-of-evil little Johnny in Bumfuck Corntown, Iowa, good luck.

A lot of games then weren't even considered for international release. And in many cases, again, especially before the internet, how would you even know??? Consider the confusion over Final Fantasy - original release in 1987 in Japan, 1990 in the US, and everywhere else? Eh, whatever, you get nothin'. Then Japan has several more, up to Final Fantasy IV, and the US gets it as Final Fantasy II, and then Final Fantasy VI was Final Fantasy III, and when Final Fantasy VII came out, everybody and their dog was now completely confused about whatever the fuck was going on (except the Japanese, I guess). 😅 Fire Emblem was Japanese-only until Marth "just the tip" and Roy "master of gingers" got enough people interested to see a US and Europe release of... Fire Emblem VII, which had neither Marth nor Roy.

Point being: yeah, translations, graphic and text changes, and access at all were very, very different beasts up until roughly 2000-ish (probably closer to 2005, but this is getting long and I need to go wash my hair and so I'm going to keep it simple, stupid 😘).

It wasn't always "censorship," in the sense that you would be prohibited from accessing or knowing of other versions, it was simply before finding out about the changes or easily getting your hands on a foreign copy (or finding fan ROMs and translations online) were possible for a lot of people. Many probably never even knew, at the time, that weird changes had been made. (With the exception of Mortal Kombat, which led to mass slaughter on playgrounds around the world, was a gateway drug to marijuana and then prostituting yourself at 13 to buy more of the devil's lettuce, and ultimately led to the death of all 3 billion adults in the world when Little Johnny emerged from hiding with his mecha senior citizens and army of bunnies. It was a rough time. Wouldn't recommend it.)

Anyway -

Point of all this? Localization makes changes. It often has to to make sense. That's not censorship.

Adjusting dialogue or plot points to reflect what is considered acceptable in another market? Also not censorship, unless you're somehow banned from accessing foreign copies. (Which reminds me of this glorious story I read a few years ago about some British teenagers going on the run from police to watch a contraband copy of... okay, I can't remember, one of the Video Nasties, I'll try to figure what it was later. It wasn't Douglas Ralston's book, that's all I know for sure. I don't read Douglas Ralston. Like him okay even if he can make me look self-controlled at times, have had some funny chats with him, do not like his style of extreme horror.)

Basically - I do not believe in blanket censorship. I don't want to play the new, hyper-realistic Mortal Kombat with fatalities to make S. Craig Zahler flinch; I don't want to watch Terrifier 2; I don't want to read 50 Shades of Grey. But I also don't want them censored. I'm not being tied down and my eyes forcibly kept open to make me watch things, a la A Clockwork Orange (which I still wasn't allowed to watch at, like, 16 years old 🙄), and it doesn't hurt me in the slightest for Cannibal Ferox, Postal 2, or the aforementioned books by Douglas Ralston to exist.

And back to the original point - do I want to marry an 11-year-old (or promise to wait until an 11-year-old is of age so my 17-year-old character can marry her) in a video game? Not particularly. Would I not play Fire Emblem if that had remained in in foreign/English versions? Nah - it's fiction. I wouldn't want to pursue that particular S-support, and yeah, it's pretty ew, but no actual 11-year-olds were hurt by it (and Monica Rial, who voices Anna in English in Engage, is very much an adult). I was also a little squicked out by some decisions made in FE games (and other games, to be fair) in the past. It happens. (I don't care what kind of monstrous Morgan I can produce, I am not S-supporting Robin and Nah. I don't judge those who do, but I'm not comfortable with it in my games. But I also know some people found Robin S-supporting the second gen, and the whole Byleth-and-students situation, to be uncomfortable, and that's their business, because it didn't bother me in the slightest.)

To circle back around to my original point: censorship comes with a generous side helping of suppression. And that's not happening here. The controversy flaired up (just as it did in Awakening, and Fates, and...) because people have ready access to different versions of the game. Including the ability to import. Or, honestly, play with a pirated copy and a fan translation patch. 🤷‍♀️ Until 20-ish years ago, the majority of players wouldn't have even realized what had been done, because accessing foreign copies was difficult, expensive, and often required a broker willing to act as go-between between you and another country. Things like the Mortal Kombat situation being discussed in mainstream news was an outlier, not the norm.

This isn't censorship. In either direction, you aren't required to like it. But you also cannot just redefine terms to suit your self-appointed righteous anger. Drop it already, non rompere il cazzo... 😝