#an incredibly strong love

[aquanutart]

I was talking and I mentioned that I have my old Game Boy and original Pokemon cartridge. I said, "I think they still work."

I was told, "The internal batteries on the Game Boy cartridges have run out. They're all dead."

"Oh," I said, trying not to show how crestfallen I was. I felt like I was losing nerd cred for not knowing that, although I never kept up with that type of info anyway. I'm here for the fantasy and imaginative aspects of games, and tend not to follow the competitive or technical details.

I tried not to feel anything as I went home. If they were real animals, I reminded myself, I would have had to say goodbye long ago.

But like so many other people, Pokemon was my childhood. It was all I thought about and dreamed about, and the closest thing I could imagine to heartbreak was the knowledge that they weren't real. I spent nearly all my time writing longhand self-insert Pokemon fanfiction--far more than I spent actually playing the game. My Pokemon were with me in my imagination wherever I went. I started playing Pokemon Blue when I was 5, and the last time I had played it was probably when I was 9 or 10. I remembered I had turned it on again one more time after that, not to play it, but to look at my childhood Pokemon.

It was during high school, after a move overseas that completely upended my life, and I was struggling with the crushing blow of being taken away from everything I knew and trying to make sense of anything (least of all adolescence) in another language. All I wanted was to go back to childhood and have everything go back to how it was before.

Seeing my Pokemon, just as I'd left them, had comforted me. I had looked at their stats pages, taken photos of them with my digital camera (that I don't even know if I still have), and then turned it off without doing anything.

That was probably 9 or 10 years after the games came out. It had been a long time since then. I had long since taken the AA batteries out of my Game Boy Color and left it untouched. I didn't even have AA batteries anymore.

It had worked then. But now it had been 27 years... I thought about not trying to turn my cartridge back on. As long as I didn't turn it on, I could believe my Pokemon were still there, the way I remembered them.

On my day off, which happened to be Pokemon Day, I googled and read that some people on forums and Reddit were still able to play their original Pokemon games.

Then... it was possible. I went out to buy toothpaste. At the store, I asked where I could find AA batteries.

It was a big thing for me to be able to go to the store and buy things myself. When I moved at age 13, I felt like something went wrong with growing up. It was difficult to follow what people were saying, and people didn't always understand what I said either. I had been introverted even in English, but now I had enough negative experiences that I became afraid and stopped trying to talk to people altogether.

I threw myself into video games and reliving childhood memories. The internet was where I could communicate in my first language and understand. I lived online and didn't interact with the real world. On the internet I felt like I was understood and could find people who shared my interests the way I did, but in the real world it always felt like I could get hurt if anyone knew me.

I realize now that I could have had a better experience overseas if I'd known how to adapt and socialize, but this was not something I knew even in English, and trying to learn in another language made it ten times harder. I'm sorry now for missing out on interactions that I know I could have had, but I just didn't know how. I wouldn't know how until I learned, and it took me a long time to learn.

I grew up online, in the company of others who had trouble fitting in with the real world, even in their own language. Those experiences shaped me, and the friendships I've made and support I've received online are invaluable to me. The internet gave me a way to live, and through it I learned how to interact with others. But in many ways, for many years, it felt like my life was put on hold and I stopped growing up.

Several years ago I moved back, to not far from where I was born, and I was able to work for the first time. I began to interact with people and feel like I had a place in the real world.

After shutting myself away for so many years, every little step I made out in the world felt terrifying. But every little thing I did on my own made me feel like I was living for the first time.

Even something as little as going to the store and buying a pack of batteries.

I was directed to a shelf at the end of an aisle, and found myself looking at a rack of lithium AA batteries. Did they not sell the old kind anymore?

I walked around to the other side and was relieved to find the familiar black and brown Duracell batteries I'd known from my childhood. I felt more confident about putting in a battery that looked the same as I remembered. The smallest pack they sold was an 8-pack for $12.99. I really didn't need 8 batteries. I didn't have any other devices that used them.

I thought, what if I turn it on and it doesn't work and I'll have wasted $12.99?

I also thought we might already have batteries. I might be able to say, "Mom, do we have any batteries?" and she'd pull out two AAs from a drawer somewhere and I'd save my money.

But somehow I felt like part of what was important about this was being an adult and being able to buy my own batteries.

Yet... what if it just ended up making me sad? Was it better not to know?

I went to the checkout with just the toothpaste and stood hesitating at the edge of the checkout line.

If I didn't get the batteries now, and it turned out we didn't have any batteries, I wouldn't try it. I knew I would just put it off until even more time passed, and then... "Are you in line?" someone asked me.

"No," I said, and I turned around and went back to the shelf.

I bought the batteries.

At home, I took out my original Game Boy Color from the drawer where I left it, the one my dad had surprised me with when I was 5 years old and that I had brought overseas and back.

I put the batteries in and turned it on without a cartridge first to make sure the batteries were inserted correctly. The Game Boy logo scrolled across the screen and it made the familiar blinging Game Boy startup noise. I turned it off again, satisfied.

I took out my original Pokemon Blue cartridge, momentarily having to remember which way it went in, and slotted it in.

I turned it on, watched the whole Pokemon Blue intro out of nostalgia, and then pressed START.

My heart leaped for joy.

MY POKEMON!!!! MY POKEMON ARE ALIVE!!! 🥺🥺🥺

My original Pokemon, that were with me in 1998 when I was 5-6 years old, are still with me 27 years later. I want to cry!!! I love the old sprites, I'm SO happy to see them again 😭😭😭 the Pokemon look so little and cheerful at the same time, which I love 🥺🥺🥺 I know there are people with many more hours on their games, who have leveled all their Pokemon to 100. But these are my Pokemon who were with me through my childhood, and I spent many more hours making up stories about them than actually playing the game. I'm so happy to see them again 😭😭😭

All I want is to see my Pokemon. My other Pokemon are in boxes. Now, how do I get to the nearest PC? Where am I?

Oh... Oh. I have to confess something. When I was a kid, I was scared of the dark cave areas, and whenever I got to them, I stopped playing for a while. (I was stuck at Mt. Moon until I was like, 7.) So I never actually beat the game.

And here I am on Victory Road, with the team of Pokemon I was taking to the Elite Four, without an Escape Rope.

The only way for me to see my other Pokemon is... to finally make it through Victory Road, after 27 years?!

[cattamouche]

I think scara is a sloppy kisser...

he can be so, so impatient and even more emotional. all it takes is your addictive smile and a warm welcome home hug after a particularly long day of work and his feelings start to spill over so quick at the reminder that hes so fortunate to have somebody to come back home to.

someone who loves and accepts him even with all his flaws, who has stuck with him through thick and thin. his person, who does so much for him every day, because you love him. him. of all people, you love him. and he gets so emotional over the fact.

he wants to feel all of you, grabbing every inch of your body he can can his hands on and holding on so tightly as if you're moments away from disappearing. he gets so overwhelmed that he forgets he's the only one who doesn't need to breathe, and you're left pushing his face away despite his attempt at chasing your lips just to catch your breath because my god is he relentless.

now you're suddenly pressed against the wall, forehead to forehead panting in your living room. his silent apology at the realization that he once again got too carried away is to just stare in silence. admire the way your eyebrows crease and your eyes are half lidded, mesmerized by the way he manages to get your chest to rise up and down at such a fast pace that he almost begins to mimic it.

but all he does is watch, impatiently so, waiting for you to catch your breath and give him the greenlight to keep going.

[talonrook]

『🐲』 — taash's fortune's favour + details

[ruporas]

green haired guy that has haunted my character types for 10+ years

[explodingstarlight]

waiting....

mom said it's my turn to make fanart of @somerandomdudelmao 's ol' wizard

i can't express how many times I listened to this song on loop while drawing

andddd a bonus close-up & a version with wraps that I totally didn't forget to add before now haha,,

[yallstar]

pretty boy²

[kindaasrikal]

Sometimes i wonder how much the venom effected Garmadon, even when he got purified from it, or when it didn’t have such a strong effect on his mental state anymore.

Because the devourers venom was with Garmadon since childhood. It was one of the first and will be one of the last things he ever understood so wholeheartedly. Like a disease you’ve gotten far too comfortable with after years of having it. Garmadon never truly knew life without the venom, so he and the venom essentially became one.

I look at Sensei Garmadon and wonder how he questioned how much he truly cared for Wu and Misako at that point. I think he continued to have the intrusive thoughts that constantly followed him around, and now that he no longer has the venom to specifically blame, he knows he is one of the most horrifically disgusting people alive as he unwillingly imagines things he wouldn’t(but could’ve) do.

He is split between keeping himself away from Lloyd and being the father he knows the other needs and so he runs off far away. He hides and hopes his son won’t have the time to visit in his little dojo.

He feels his heart beat as its ripped to pieces when he learns that Misako will follow him. That the love of his life won’t leave him like how he left her, yet he is terrified knowing what he could be capable of.

And as much as he wished to cry in a corner about it, he is constantly thankful that his relationship with Wu is far too messed up for the other to happily follow him along anywhere.

I think Garmadon, no matter what happens, could never escape the effect the venom had on him. The venom is him and he is the venom and he will never avoid that. It is apart of him, in such a deeply intimate way.

[fellthemarvelous]

I think people have this weird notion that Jedi are emotionless because they don't react to things the way normal people do, and it's because they've been trained to view every situation from an outside perspective without bias, and when they become angry, they don't hide from the anger. They find healthy ways to channel their anger.

It's not surprising that even the strongest minds will break when flung into a war orchestrated by their enemy. The Sith existed in silence for a thousand years after their last war against the Jedi. One Sith survived and created a legacy based solely on revenge against the Jedi. The Clone War was brutal.

Darth Sidious, manipulative and extremely patient, was able to lull the Jedi into the trap he'd set for them. None of them wanted to fight in the war, but the Force was clouded. Their path was clouded. They see through the Force and choose the light, but their paths became clouded as the choices they were forced to make became more and more questionable. I imagine it would be like looking at a map in a brightly lit room before getting hit by a storm of darkness with brief flashes of light passing through. Darth Sidious sent the Jedi to their own deaths because he knew the Jedi would stop at nothing to protect the galaxy from the Sith, but the people lost faith in the Jedi. Without the clone troopers, the Jedi would have been fighting that war alone, but the catch that came with using them was that the clones were ticking time bombs set to go off upon the execution of Order 66.

The Jedi trusted the clones. They trusted the clones with their lives. The clones considered the Jedi their best friends, and if you don't believe me, listen again to what Fives says to that cab driver on Coruscant when he's running from Palpatine. He was horrified to learn that they were created to kill the Jedi and he did everything in his power to try and tell the Jedi the truth, but his own brothers were hunting him down on Palpatine's orders. He died at the hands of his own brothers so none of them would find out the truth.

The only other clones he spoke to before he died were Kix and Rex.

We recognize that the clones were victims in this war, but it was Count Dooku who paid for them. The Jedi were also victims in this war. They were not the villains. They were never the villains. They did the best they could without any help at all from the rest of the galaxy. Palpatine put all the pressure directly on the Jedi to fight their way out of this one with an army of three million or so sleeper agents.

The Jedi life isn't for everyone. The galaxy is vast and the Jedi are but a few small blips devoting their lives to others when you look at the big picture. The numbers will show you that the Jedi were indeed overwhelmed because they were the ONLY THING standing between the Republic and the Empire.

What happened when the Jedi were wiped out?

[lunarwednesday]

Final Day - Wanan and the Oldest Dream

[cowgirls-blues]

So the Pilot Program's motives are teamwork (Jammer), network (K), community (Sam) and belonging (Evan). Something something the strongest magic is the links we forge with people (as seen in the first season and it's true more than ever now that the world is changing again, and they/people are more isolated). Hell yeah.

[atanxdoesstuff]

"I don't see the end

I don't know where

To run away from you

No way back"

~ Змея (Moa Pillar & Ушко)

they are so toxic yuri to me

[gonkaccino]

Finally saw Megalopolis today. It's like Cats 2019 except every single person involved put their whole pussies into delivering the most perfect realization of Coppola's lifelong dream. One problem: his dream is dogshit garbage. Turns out having people who can tell you 'no, this sucks' is one of the most important parts of creating art.

Wow Platinum was perfect in every way though zero complaints give Aubrey Plaza an oscar

[timcassie]

cassie & kon's relationship is, as far as im concerned, vital to the early development of their friendship and i do not like peoples attempts to erase it

[mongeese]

The scene in season 1 where Susie is yelling at Midge about her party "gigs" is maybe my favorite scene in the whole show and I think it's one of their sweetest relationship moments. You may find that odd because Susie literally makes Midge cry in that scene, but the reason Susie makes Midge cry is because she is challenging her! The amount of respect Susie has for her is palpable in that scene, more than any other. She trusts Midge, believes in her, cares about her enough to tell her when she's being fucking ridiculous, and respects her enough not to treat her with kid gloves. I've said it before but Susie is literally the first person in Midge's life to see her as a full-fledged person, someone with potential, not just a future or current housewife. The core of their relationship is the way they drive each other forward, inspire each other's ambition and support each other on the way to success, and that scene is an explosion of that. "It's tired, and it is weak, and you are not tired, and you are not fucking weak" is genuinely one of the kindest things I think Susie has ever said to Midge and I could watch that scene 1000 times and not get sick of it

[cometblaster2070]

malenia canonically being the youngest demigod like being the "baby" of the family so to speak is so funny to speak because everyone else is over there like "it's my baby sister!!! isn't she so cool!!!"

and the tarnished is over there fucking pissing themselves because the 8 feet tall blind swordswoman infected with rot built like a wall has just woken up from her nap and is about to rock their shit for the next 4-10 business days.

like malenia is genuinely such a TERRIFYING presence the first time I fought her I genuinely felt terrified of her, and that's not even MENTIONING when she transitions into malenia goddess of rot and then you look up their scuffed ass family tree and it's just. that's the youngest one???

[turtleblogatlast]

Unironically think that each of the bros (+April) don’t actually get how impressive their feats really are so they just do what they do and on the off chance someone comments on those feats they all react like: