the-dead-sea-trilogy

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"if you ship this thing it's because you're too naïve to understand that it's toxic and that you wouldn't like a relationship like this" actually it's because I see one of them as a mentos drop and the other as a bottle of coke zero and I want to watch the mess they'll be together

#ME WITH FERALSCIENCE

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Move aside swagless boutta get a new Wizard’s Staff that comes loaded with spells like “open locked doors” and “dismantle car”

#i know i havent released a single actual chapter of ophelia yet #but this is ghetsis harmonia #ophelia

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#i cant believe this is like a thing now #the torment i inflicted on maxie in my brain in 2018 is now real #feralscienceshipping

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#this is so feralscience coded #feralscienceshipping

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I love it when there's a couple but then there's a third guy who's also there and he's part of it but not like romantically he's just a part of the couple but like....platonically

#maxie archie and colress

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#belongs here i think

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Saw this tweet foever ago n now i keep thinkin bout how making any character ever Canadian is funny as fuck. Theyre all canadian now

#i know looker hasnt come up yet but he’s canadian

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‼️ WOE !! JUMPSCARE UPDATE BE UPON YE ‼️

Interlude, III - Flight

(4.14.24)

“Archie, Archie, Archie!” Shelly yelled through the radio. Archie was close enough that even the girl at the grotto had heard her through his watch. She stopped. “That’s not one of ours.” The girl now stood frozen, but she did not turn around. Archie took a few more steps forward and studied her. Her frame was small. She likely only stood just at five feet. And she walked with a narrow, machinelike gait, eyes firmly locked on her target, just as they’d been this whole time. In fact, not once in her entire sprint had she deviated from her path at all. She had the iconic blue-striped tights and black bandana that marked her as part of their crew, yes, but with that bandana like a hood over her face, she wouldn’t look out of place with a small pair of horns… “Courtney?”

This part I almost attached to the last update because I wanted them to go together very badly. But I also just really wanted to release something too. So now here the next Interlude is, now that it's ready for you.

I have been very, incredibly, insanely hyped to finally write some proper Team Magma vs. Team Aqua throwing down. I have been itching to show what Archie and Maxie's rivalry evolved into, and what Team Magma vs. Team Aqua was really like, and here, at last, we have arrived.

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49362811/chapters/140043028

#fic updates #icarus #icarus and the blistering sun #the dead sea trilogy #hardenshipping #team magma

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forget about touching grass, i need to touch THE SEA I NEED TO GO INTO THE WATER I NEED TO DIVE INTO THE SEA!!!!!!!!!!!!

#belongs here i think

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“Is it okay if I draw fanart of your fanfic?👉🏼👈🏼”

My brother in Christ we shall have a spring wedding

[the-dead-sea-trilogy]

"Celebrity Justice:" An Analysis/Interpretation of the Media and how it relates to the Justice System in the Hoenn Region and perhaps the Pokemon World more broadly

This is something I've had in place in my worldbuilding for a very long time, so the analysis that's going to follow is what mostly applies to my fic series, The Dead Sea Trilogy, but what I have built in my world is rooted in things we see happening in the games, the anime, the manga, etc etc etc.

I have had this ongoing hypothesis that justice and law enforcement in the Hoenn region, and also Pokemon more broadly, is actually extremely reliant on public image.

For starters let's just mention that justice and law enforcement in the Pokemon world seems very similar to how it is in superhero stories. The police are present, in theory, and take care of the mundane things. We see characters like Colress and Ghetsis get arrested in the anime, Looker very explicitly works for the International Police, Officer Jenny exists. The police are very much a thing.

And yet, like in superhero stories, there are bigger fish to fry that the police need assistance with. This is when the bigger heroes ten year old kids and people like the Elite Four or Champion come in. From the manga we know that being a Dex Holder is something of a status position. The Elite Four, Gym Leaders, and Champions seem to be capable of some level of law enforcement and are often seen as the protectors of their respective cities. In this sense, the Pokemon World also becomes like the Wild West: Gym Leaders and the Champions are the sheriffs of their individual towns, and whatever the sheriff says is law. Law enforcement can then slightly vary town to town depending on what the Gym Leader permits. (Hi Giovanni and other criminal gym leaders/elite four members).

The Pokemon World is not keen on killing and physical violence. Sure it happens in the manga, but almost nowhere else do we ever see humans attacking one another. Everything is sorted out by proxy of a Pokemon battle, which for the sake of this conversation I’m going to be referring to as dueling. The Pokemon World has an established vigilante justice system combined with mundane law enforcement, also reinforced by a pretty intricate and universally respected dueling system. Dueling was a bigger thing historically that settled interpersonal or even larger disputes, and we see that actively being applied in all Pokemon media, but especially in the games.

If we take the conceit of the games seriously and accept the series of events not at face value for what they are: methods of the game that are designed to empower the player and help them progress, and instead consider why, culturally, even the biggest, baddest supervillains pretty easily back off once you defeat them in battle, a couple really interesting possibilities emerge. The first is of course evidence pointing to a dueling system that is so universally accepted that not even the worst criminals will violate the laws of a match. If you lose, you step aside. Everyone respects this social contract and when it’s broken (in people like Ghetsis) it can really demonstrate who is the worst of the worst. Yeah you tried to take over the world,we���ve all been there, but then you refused to step down after a match? Majority of the biggest crime leaders in the world wouldnt even think of doing that. Giovanni’s defeat sends all of Team Rocket into shame and hiding. Pokemon battling is actually a really big deal. It’s a hobby, yes, people do it for fun and friendship, but it is also a way to settle mundane disputes like someone stealing someone else’s lunch money and also to take down the biggest criminal organizations in the world. This then makes it very clear as to why Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the Champions, and a couple of really powerful ten year olds are able to casually enforce justice. They have a lot of bargaining sway in the world because their battling skills are unrivaled. And in a world where majority of conflicts are settled by duels, this gives them an incredible amount of social and political power.

This however also is why it makes complete sense that not everyone is as good at it as you are. Most people are just battling their friends for fun or trying to get back at their bullies for stealing their lunch money. The everyday person may only have one or two gym badges they tried to get for fun, own a handful of local low-level Pokemon (remember, not everyone is traveling the world to get badges like you are), and may not even know all the type match ups. Not every town even has a gym. The player character is always depicted to have an unnatural talent, and they are able to keep up in the biggest justice enforcement system in the world. This has some interesting implications for how leveling and strength works in the "actual" Pokemon world then, as it certainly couldn't be a numbered thing, and that's a part of it i'm still actively trying to work out in my mind.

Alright, so now let's get into how this relates to Hoenn more specifically.

Because the dueling system is so universal it also then actually makes the law enforcement system incredibly localized, as justice will often be determined by who has the biggest Pokemon. This makes the justice system in every region slightly unique. And from what we have observed in the anime, manga, and games, I have a theory that Hoenn's justice and dueling system is a little bit more depending on public perception than most.

What do I mean by this??

I mean how Team Magma and Team Aqua are allowed to exist. Yes the dueling system implies that criminal teams can exist just because they're strong. But I mean the way in which Team Magma and Team Aqua are allowed to exist. They seem to be a defining feature of the region, as synonymous to the image of Hoenn as McDonald's is to the United States. If you are going to travel to the Hoenn region, you are going to see some nonsense Team Aqua and Team Magma are getting up to.

And the International Police, which exists, has not been allowed to or able to step in, despite how clear and obvious Team Aqua and Team Magma are about each of their goals. Moreso, I think, than other evil teams. There are likely laws and regulations about when and how Interpol is allowed to step in. But they clearly have not been allowed to intervene in Hoenn, and I have some suspicions as to why.

Archie and Maxie, as well as other evil leaders, are celebrities on par with the Elite Four and Champions. They may not be part of the League, but only the League seems to be allowed to handle them. And in Hoenn, there is evidence that celebrity status puts you on another level of untouchable that, when combined with the dueling system already in place, strongly discourages local governments and even the International Police from stepping in unless someone's life is in danger.

Hoenn was the first Pokemon region to have any real, strong emphasis on the presence of the news and media. Gabi and Ty were introduced as fun and interesting recurring characters you can answer silly questions for throughout your playthrough and then see your answers appear in real-time on the TV. You can get updates on outbreaks of Pokemon in the region, tips for battling, and other local and constantly-changing events in the region by checking any one of the various TVs in peoples homes. You see how the world changes around you by interacting with the news in Hoenn again and again throughout the games. It is a subtle, but actually really key thing that makes the region of Hoenn seem like a real, living place that carries on whether or not you log on to play that day.

TV Mauville/Hoenn TV are a living, changing feature in the games and other media. Archie in Pokespe actually owns Hoenn TV and is therefore able to control what people see about Team Aqua, and run a lot of propaganda against Team Magma. The media is a thing used to control and publicize throughout the region.

Hoenn was the first region where Pokemon Contests were introduced, another way to gain very flashy fame and social status and yes, even make your way into the news with your beautiful and spectacular Pokemon. Think of celebrities like Lisia and Wallace.

Hoenn is the first time in the Pokemon games we see celebrities, and this makes me think their emphasis on them means that celebrity culture, the paparazzi, and media, is actually a really big deal in Hoenn.

Now, when you combine that with the fact that the Hoenn region is home to one of the biggest, most public and sensational disputes of all time, you can start to see why Team Magma and Team Aqua are allowed to do essentially whatever they want.

Team Aqua and Team Magma bring business to Hoenn. They probably even encourage tourism as people flood in from other regions hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever insane thing they're doing that week. News stations and especially tabloids make money off running features on them. Evidence and theories on Archie and Maxie's past. Maxie paying people off to run good press. Team Aqua making headlines for well, being pirates. Two old friends turned bitter rivals now warring across the entire region over some mysterious dispute? Man, what a scoop!

So it's not necessarily that the police can't do anything about them. It's that the rest of Hoenn doesn't want them to.

And so that's why, even when things go to shit, they are held responsible for their actions... somewhat. But in the case of my fic, the fallout is also highly publicized. And then of course all the sensation around Archie and Maxie becoming A Thing. Over the course of their very public dispute, they became central to the national identity of Hoenn, as American as baseball and bald eagles. As Hoennian as Wingull and... water.

Public image plays a role in how they are brought to justice. If they are just thrown in jail with the International Police, when then, there's nothing left to report about! And this has been a big thing in Hoenn for years! We can't just drop it! We're still selling shirts about it!

What I'm saying is I think, in the Pokemon World, and in Hoenn especially, people kind of know that organized crime... helps.. the economy and the social system around them, and so they permit it to exist, even after these criminals are busted. Combine that with the lack of physical violence, the dueling system, and a justice system that's a combination of the wild west and vigilantes, and well my friend, you've got yourself a case of some real Hoennian Celebrity Justice.

#worldbuilding #the dead sea trilogy #celebrity justice

[the-dead-sea-trilogy]

So, during my replay of pokemon alpha sapphire , I sort of picked up on this...enemies to lovers potential between Maxie and Archie. And that lead me to search for fanfics and that ultimately pulled me down the rabbit hole of hardenshipping. And , I am OBSESSESd AUGH.

Seriously, how'd I go from the dungeon crawler fear and hunger to two cartoony ass gay people?? Either way, here are some drawings I made

Also, there's this fanfic called The Devil and the Dead Sea and its sequel Icarus and the Blistering Sun written by @silverjirachi on Ao3, AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH SO I'VE MADE SOME FANART FOR IT AS WELL

(SPOILERS FOR BOTH DEVIL AND ICARUS BELOW)

#ahhhhh im so glad you posted these!! #tysm for the art!! #other people’s art #art

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Chapter Update: Icarus and the Blistering Sun

Chapter 15

(4.11.24)

“But if that truly is all that’s left of the beast that created the sea,” Archie said, looking back to the grotto. Something there was pulling him. A string from his heart, not yet connected, but something that could latch onto him and guide him to adventure. Lead him home to a part of himself he had not been connected with for years. Maxie felt the fire returning to his veins. They both stood at the precipice where he was about to leap. After a certain sureness that he had never felt more of in his life, Archie looked back to Maxie with a devilish grin. “Then somebody oughtta go give it back to ‘im.”

They're at the top of the mountain, babey!

Having a normal one.

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49362811/chapters/139823623

My Links: AO3 | Ko-Fi Tip Jar

#the dead sea trilogy #hardenshipping #icarus and the blistering sun #icarus #the devil and the dead sea #magma leader maxie

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Archie: What is a rival if not a crush you're mad about having?

#belongs here i think

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(fic writer ask) 11 n 20?

11. Weirdest thing you've ever written or thought about writing?

Thought about doing an entire rewrite of My Immortal but it being Exile//Vilify. (He's just so Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Ravenway coded).

20. Four sentences from your work that you're proud of.

This is more than four sentences but:

“But hey, at least you know. The legend was true. You own an actual scale from a super ancient Pokémon—a Pokémon that shaped our world. One that you admired more than anything. That’s nothin’ to scoff at. It’s special to you, it always has been, and’ya shouldn’t let neither hell nor high water take that away from you.”

I will talk about these lines forever and ever for all of time amen. This is said by Archie at the end of The Devil and the Dead Sea and it hit like such a truck for me because the process of writing the fic itself was so much this: reclaiming what I lost due to trauma. I will repeat it's special to you, it always has been, and ya shouldn't let neither hell nor high water take that away from you to myself until the day I die. I will haunt other people with it. It is so, so special to me.

Fic asks!!

#fic asks #the dead sea trilogy #the devil and the dead sea

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very hyped for this next update

#silv's brackets #icarus and the blistering sun #the dead sea trilogy