#so maybe n's thing is that since he's doing all this as ghetsis' puppet

[goldensunset]

i didn't think i cared much for n's final battle theme bc i'm a sucker for melodically strong pieces aka certified bangers. but i must say it does a good job at making you uncomfortable when you really listen to the details. it's got tritones, clock ticking sounds, heartbeats, fire and lighting sound effects for reshiram and zekrom, up and down flights, ominous choir, plenty of dissonance. i woke up in a cold sweat at like 5am today with it hauntingly stuck in my head for some reason and that makes it deserving of my respect

#i would have preferred something more melodic to go with the theme of his heroic and pure heart. and his name #but it does a good job at being like hey there really is something genuinely wrong with this man #it sure sounds.. unnatural....... #he is undoubtedly human and full of love and justice. but he's also broken and misguided #he's barely had any real human interactions in his life and has like no social skills #he has at least one confirmed supernatural power in being able to speak to pokémon #apparently the ticking clocks were supposed to represent the ability to see into the past/future that got scrapped? #but i feel like that's still at least partially canon bc he does mention something like that #the ticking clocks and heartbeats at once are so unsettling. like a duality between machine and human #he's a human being who's been raised to be. less than that. treated as a pawn #obsessed with precise calculations. literally called a 'freak without a human heart' #alternatively it could be meant to represent like hey here's him breaking down and losing it #he already knows he's wrong but can't let go of it yet #they could've included the theme of mechanical calculations but still included a solid melody for his true heart #but his true heart is clouded at that point #man i love blorbo #i need to study him #pokémon #and see. ghetsis' battle theme similarly is dissonant and ominous rather than catchy #so maybe n's thing is that since he's doing all this as ghetsis' puppet #but also like ghetsis' is way more simple and n's is frantic and chaotic #to show how ghetsis is pretty much just pure evil and self-absorbed (the man has choir chanting his name!!!) #but n is conflicted and troubled inside and doesn't even know who he is anymore #natural harmonia more like. unnatural disharmonia #(is 'gropius' also a music thing i genuinely don't know) #bw

[rkin413]

Thinking more about the Shadow!Cilan AU, specifically about the animosity between the Triplets and N, Anthea and Concordia.

All six of them were basically Ghetsis' adopted children, but he set them up to hate each other from the start just based on how he intended to use them - the girls were basically just meant to be N's caretakers, and N himself was a disposable puppet, but the Shadow Triad were meant to be his little minions/bodyguards. And since I'm in camp 'Ghetsis was planning on offing N eventually' I imagine he wouldn't want the triplets possibly jumping ship, so he'd set them against each other from the start - being harder on the Triad, strategically lovebombing N in front of them while withholding any affection from them accept to string them along (which he did to N too, of course, but they wouldn't know that), being softer on N and the girls (because their roles were symbolic, and because he didn't want to ruin N's innocence and therefore his purpose) in front of them while they're constantly pushed to their limit (training in stealth, in making their own tools, in Pokemon training, in a lot of things, constantly putting them under pressure) despite him being older than them, the constant feeling of N being his 'real' son so of course he's the important one here, not them.

All the while N and the girls are having the Triad used as an example of how being a Pokemon trainer makes you callous and cruel, and the end result of the blatant favoritism makes the triplets antagonistic towards N (at least for a while) shattering any sort of trust they could and should have built up as basically foster siblings.

I can imagine after the schism between N and Plasma, the triplets had some complicated feelings - both anger at him either for the 'betrayl' despite being raised 'pampered and spoiled', or, if we're going by what happened in the anime, that everything Ghetsis did for him was for nothing and how he was a failure in the end. But also maybe preening, because they were the ones who stayed loyal, they were the ones who didn't fail. N was spoiled, in their eyes and that's why he couldn't cut it- why he either left, or failed and then ran away because he simply couldn't accept one failure so he blamed Ghetsis instead. N and the girls were spoiled rotten, but the pressure put on them made them diamonds.

N, Anthea, and Concordia, after the schism, might recognize, vaguely, how messed up their childhood was, but they know so little about what the triplets went through - with N sequestered in his room and not allowed to interact with others, and most of his interactions with the Triad would have been negative, and Anthea and Concordia's whole lives were made to be about N, almost exclusively - that they don't know how to fix it. What's their deal? They sort of respected them before, when they seemed to grow out of their bullying behavior but they were all on the same side, but after the schism they because vicious towards them. Brutes blindly following after the footsteps of an evil man who sees them as tools, when they should be smart enough to see that.

(they do. they just don't see why that might be a problem.)

#Pokemon #Shadow!Cilan #N #Anthea #Concordia #Shadow Triad #victim blaming

[pkmnomegaverse]

N or Ghetsis

Why not the father and the son!

N Headcanon A:  realistic - during the two years post BW where he’s traveling around to learn more about the truth of the world, he meets a lot of canon characters from the other regions.   I don’t even have particular headcanons about specific scenarios, I’ve just always liked the idea of him crossing paths with past protags and prominent trainers from the other games and learning little life lessons from the ones he meets. Traveling around with some of them for short bursts between towns.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious - the sex ed he received from the Sages (cause no way was Ghetsis going to explain any of that to him) very much stressed that since he was a future King, one day he would find a “prince/princess” who would be his perfect match, thus he needed to wait until he met this person before starting a physical relationship with anyone (or rather wait until the Sages/Ghetsis helped him find this person, in the far future). While he was told this in hopes of preventing him from falling for the first omega in heat he was exposed to once he was out on his own, it did have the effect of making N a bit of a romantic when it came to the idea of finding a partner.  It’s why he does somewhat latch onto the idea of Hilbert as this fated partner.  For all that they’re technically enemies, the duality of their roles stands out to him. While liberating Pokemon, of course, comes first, the idea still takes route in the back of his mind and it’s something he’s not wholly able to let go of even as the two spend years apart post BW.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends - that had N managed to defeat Hilbert during BW, there is no possible route that ends happy for him.  His fate is sealed since Ghetsis wins. Assuming Ghetsis doesn’t just kill him once he’s outlived his usefulness (which is the more likely route if N loses, but Ghetsis wins against Hilbert) his best route is to be the puppet king of Plasma who is allowed to marry Hilbert as his “reward” (something something about them being a clear choice for a “fated pair” given the duality of their roles as the heroes, also it looks good from a propaganda standpoint to have both heroes “working” for Team Plasma). Their children will then be used as pawns by Ghetsis for whatever role he sees fit and by the time N finally realizes just how bad the situation has gotten, his hands are tied and the best he can do is go along with what Ghetsis wants in an attempt to barter for Ghetsis going easier on his family/children.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own - (not unrealistic in my opinion, but) that Ghetsis is his biological father. I will die on this hill, word of god be damned. Ghetsis just threw baby N in some forest with wild Pokemon, monitored him half to make sure he didn’t die (although if he did, oh well), but also to see if he would develop the ability to speak to Pokemon.  Once it was clear he had, he retrieved him from the forest.  He even told N he was his father, thus why he should come along with him.

Ghetsis Headcanon A:  realistic - that he spent almost three decades working towards setting up his grand vision for what Team Plasma would be. While it was very much in the dream stage during his teens, he was still working to cultivate relationships and convince people to one day help him in the future. He also was doing research on what was the best possible way to take over a region, which involved him traveling around the world and looking into the legends of different regions (since using legendary Pokemon is a classic for gaining power).

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious (to me) - that he has multiple bastard children scattered across many regions.  Young Ghetsis was quite the charmer when he wanted to be and very much lived for his own pleasure, thus all the wild sex he was having in his youth (and even once he’s older.  He is the true leader of his cult, afterall. Also, why else would he have his personal bodyguards dress Like That).

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends - He actually did care about N’s mother, so much as someone like him can care for someone. Their relationship was substantial enough that people knew he was the father of her baby so when she passed away in childbirth, he was the clear choice for who would get custody of N.  Had she not passed away, while Ghetsis certainly would never have been a good father, there’s a chance things could have gone better for them.  Even if the likely route would have been villainous dad and morally ambiguous mom raising their son to be the future heir to dad’s weird up-and-coming cult.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own - He ends up becoming kinda sorta a mentor to his grandson, Braith. Picture a grumpy old man who’s done with everyone telling this hotshot kid ways to get his Deino to battle more effectively, mostly because said kid won’t leave him alone, but also because there’s a tiny part of him that is intrigued by Braith.  Maybe even feels a little proud that his useless son was able to produce a useful grandson for him.

#N #Ghetsis #Hilbert #IsshuShipping #Braith #asks #frightingale #I’m always happy to talk about Ghetsis or N so thank you for asking for them!