#i play pokemon for the characters more than anything so i love getting to see the rivals / traveling companions get more development

[wildflowercryptid]

not gonna lie, i kinda love how hop and arven feel like the true protagonists of their respective games. like out of all of your traveling companions in swsh & scarvio, they're both the most prominent and important to their main storylines — along with going through the most development over the course of their games. they're the real heart of their stories to me.

[jadeazora]

I dunno if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I hope they never bring Ash back. At least for the main anime, there's still the AU Ash in the movies they could use if they ever bring those back. I wouldn't mind that.

Generally, because he's world champion now, I feel that it could be boring if he just won all the time, or if he lost to somebody, you'd hear all these fan complaints like, "There's no way so-or-so is stronger than Leon!" or whatever. And even if they use the AU Ash to get around this, we might get complaints it's not the Ash. (At best, I think Ash would be more in a supporting/mentor role in some other character's journey rather than being the main character.)

This isn't coming from a place of dislike or anything, I started watching the anime when it first came to the US, and he was my introduction to anime, to a series I still love decades later. I've been an on-and-off viewer before I started this blog, but I wouldn't have continued watching if I disliked him.

It's mostly that other Pokemon media have been allowed to change main characters over the years, and it was high time for the anime to as well. I appreciate the variety of goals and story structure, rather than how formulaic the series had become with Ash at points. (SM and Journeys did shake things up a bit more tho.) Horizons has been a blast, and I like the lead characters (it was hype having a girl protagonist!) and overarching mystery has given me a lot of ideas for theories.

It's also nice not knowing to some degree how things will end up. (Like, with Ash, there was always some kind of League to go thru at the end, but that isn't Liko's goal. I imagine the end of the series will revolve around the final battle with Gibeon, but there's a lot of other factors like how the six heroes, Terapagos, and Amethio and the other Explorers will play into it.)

I hope they keep changing casts and storylines in the future. Yeah, it's a bit sad saying goodbye to characters you are fond of, but it's nice to see more of the characters that make up the Pokemon World and seeing their stories unfold, especially if they take it like Liko's did and don't stick to a loose adaptation of the game's story.

[theyanderespecialist]

Base Yandere Sentient Sylveon Headcanons: Their Trainer (Pokemon)

[Hello, My Sexy Muffins! This one is with SENTIENT (like Meowth from Team Rocket. So they are SENTIENT AND AWARE, there will be NO Adult fun time with Pokemon, just gross) 

Please enjoy this chapter here!] 

(Disclaimer 1: Sylveon is sentient in this, like meowth from team rocket. They can speak and talk and they are aware of the sense of self! 

Disclaimer 2: Sylveon is not like this in canon! This is just for fun and NOT to be taken seriously at all! Simping for fictional characters, yanderes, and Pokemon is fine, JUST DO NOT BE ILLEGAL OR GROSS ABOUT. Pokemon and ANY Creature that is not human is something you should not want in real life! Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life. Also, remember to separate fiction from reality and headcanon from canon! Thank you! 

Disclaimer 3: ZOOPHILIA IS NOT OKAY EVER!) 

-Base Yandere Headcanons With SylveonX Non-Binary Listener- 

.Sylveon is a fairy-type Pokemon and was once an Eevee. 

.They evolved rather quickly as they had more than enough friendship with you to evolve into Sylveon. 

.They had been your starter Pokemon and they were very attached and loyal to you. 

.Once they did evolve this changed, they were now able to talk, though it started out small. 

.Also it had them having new feelings for you, nice they had maturity. 

.These feelings were rather dark and it caused a lot of issues. 

.For one thing, they did not like sharing you with anyone else, so they were jealous of your other Pokemon. 

.They were the only Pokemon that you needed, they did not see your other Pokemon as rivals though. 

.Whenever you are sad or angry they use their ribbon-like feelers to calm you down and make you feel at pace. 

.They hate to see you sad or angry so they use this to keep you calm. 

.They also manipulate you a bit because if you were angry with them they they would use it on you to force you to calm down and to relax. 

.So they are a slightly manipulative yandere. 

.It loves to hold your hand with its feelers, as it walks with you like this, it is a way to keep you calm and to keep you close so that you do not leave them ever. 

.It also uses its feelers to let its rivals let down their guard before they attack. 

.Yes they would attack their rivals, may their rivals be human or Pokemon. 

.It always has its guard up when rivals are concerned because they do not play around at all! 

.It does not care how much bigger, more powerful, or more dangerous their rival is, if it comes down to it, it will charge unflinchingly into battle to fight for you their darling. 

.They are also like this when it comes to protecting you, they will go in head first with no flinching to fight off anyone that dares try and harm you and or take you away. 

.They are a very loving yandere as well, loving to dance with you and to just be close to you. 

.They tend to be very affectionate and love to snuggle, sleeping beside you at all times. 

.They are also fiercely loyal as a yandere. 

.They will travel through any force or danger or anything like that to stay by your side and keep you safe. 

.They would face the most dangerous things just to make sure you are safe. 

.They deal with rivals head-on and would not tolerate them at all. 

.They actually are one of the few yanderes that will never ever confess their feelings to you. 

.They do love you with all their heart, but this Sylveon they are too afraid of losing you that they will keep their feelings inside and not tell you how they feel. 

.Do not get it twisted though, Sylveon is NOT going to accept you having any romantic partner at all. 

.There is no way they would let that happen, you may not know but you belong to your Sylveon and they are never ever going to share you with any romantic partner. 

.Not in a billion years. 

[YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS got this one done! I hope you all enjoyed this and stay sexy, all of my sexy muffins!] 

[r0-boat]

Hello! I hope ur well. I’m abit new to Tumblr and stumbled across ur blog because the Submas content :3.

If you still do requests rn, and something ur comfy with, could I ask for Self Aware AU Ingo discovering his newfound consciousness interacting with reader who play Pokémon Masters? Maybe the reader struggles with self-esteem/depression and Ingo comforts them completely by surprise after a rough day? (Sorry it’s a mouthful to read lol, I appreciate ya!)

-🪴 anon

😭 ingo just wanting to comfort you.

Self aware Ingo x depressed!reader

Hi, just a little reminder before we get started here: if you're ever feeling thoughts of self-esteem or issues with depression, please know that you are loved, and you are beautiful on the inside and out! Make sure you eat a snack and drink some water while reading this.

If this ever made your day even a little bit better, then I did my job, and thank you for reading!

He didn't know when or how he gained consciousness. All he remembered was the first thing he saw when he "woke up" familiar faces in a usual place, the calm music that the Pokemon Center plays every night. Pokemon was standing right next to him, but as his eyes looked forward into what he perceived was a giant portal created by Palkia and Dialga themselves. And a smiling face looking down upon the world he inhabited.

He had thought you were one of Arceus's angels, and this was about a dream, but soon, he had realized that only half was the case.

It all seemed to click who you were. You are not some dead fish-eyed child with a robotic Pikachu like what this world had portrayed you as no far from; instead of that kid with the permanent smile, you always seem to have a tired look on your face with either a small half-smile or a Blank Stare. But to Ingo, he always preferred to you behind the screen. Even when you were no longer watching the world, he could still hear your faint voice going about your day. You seemed more lively and more human than the blank slated avatar they gave you. How could he not be drawn to you even though you seem so sad? Your eyes and your being just seem so full of life that he felt an urge to protect and care for you.

Even though the fake Island had tons of people and, he felt more alone than he ever did, especially when he realized he was the only one different from the rest. He can't help but respond to every little question or reaction in his head, afraid of what you might do if he ever breaks away from the game's script.

But on a particular day that was a rough one for you mentally and physically, when Ingo saw you opening up the app instead of that same expression, your eyes were red from crying. No, you were still crying. His heart sank. If he could, if he could touch you, he would hold you close and Whisper nothing but good things in your ear until you calm down, but he can't do that. He couldn't do anything!! He felt sick with worry as he watched you cry, your lip quivering as you vent to yourself, saying the most horrible things about yourself !! And for a moment, he threw away his worries of the consequences.

" Are you okay?"

A simple three-letter sentence that made you freeze; your heart's practically stopped as you didn't know that you were being watched. It took you a while for your brain to process who the voice was coming from, looking down at your phone to see your favorite character stare back. Huh... Odd you didn't know he had that line before.... and not only that, you didn't remember clicking on him. Usually, characters say their lines after you click on them, yet you don't even touch them. As you were Gathering your thoughts, Ingo spoke again.

" I truly wish I could wipe away those tears, I regretfully can't do much but if it helps tell me about your day and I'll listen."

Ingo speaks again... no text box appears; nothing; he just talked to you, mentioning your crying. In that first moment, you didn't know how you felt. Your favorite character coming to life and talking to you was almost a dream come true, but the thought just seemed so impossible and unrealistic that you doubted the fact that you were awake. And your feelings are already all over the place, having no one to turn to, no one to comfort you, craving that comfort, your heart exploded. You can't stop the tears rolling down your face, even if is just a dream; what a beautiful dream it is.

"I-i don't know." You stuttered you were far too gone to even articulate what you are feeling all your emotions swelling for the past month or two bubbling up into a mess of emotion. You want us to tell him tell him that your day was crap tell him how crappy you looked right now tell him that he can't believe he saw you like this that your first meeting with your favorite character your favorite person in the world was like this red in the face tears falling from your red and puffy eyes.

But Ingo did not seem fazed; he was not disgusted, he was not angry at you. He understood if he was there if he wasn't trapped behind the screen, he would have wished you in his arms and laid his lips on your forehead. He knew how you felt; he listened to your angry ramblings about yourself; he listened to the times people had treated you like you were less than human or misused your kindness, manipulated and used you for their own gain. He wanted to hold you close, make you something you like, and tell you that the word you know about yourself is not true; he wanted to tell you how much you mean to him and how nice and loving you are, how kind and thoughtful and how gorgeous you were. Those people who mistreated you are not good people, and you deserve to be respected, you deserve happiness, and you deserve to be loved.

You deserve to be told that you're beautiful every day, to be made breakfast in bed and kissed at every waking moment. Because that's what he would do for you; that's what his heart ached for him to do.

But he did what he could do which was listen to your broken sobs as you pour your heart out.

" It sounds like you had quite a day... I wish I could do more than just listen and speak to you, but what I can do is tell you what the things you say about yourself is not true... and I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Could you stay with me for a while? I wish to talk to you, and we start from the beginning, shall we? Now, my dear, please tell me what's bothering you and wipe away those tears. Pretend that it's my fingers swiping across your eyes."

His voice, usually loud and booming, was surprisingly soft, warm, and welcoming. From his calming voice to your Outburst earlier, you felt your heart slow down and your tears dry as you wipe them from your face; those steel gray eyes light up for a moment when he sees just a piece of a smile flicker on your lips.

" there's that smile~"

[gffa]

I have been Processing My Feelings mostly through sleeping a lot (thanks, shark week), cleaning (so much stuff to be done, especially when you're on a budget so everything takes twice as much work), playing Pokemon Go (I SAW AN ARTICUNO, but it fled on me ): but that's okay, I know it only has like a 3% chance to get it, and if I saw one, maybe I'll see another sometime), and binging TV shows/YouTube videos. TV SHOWS THAT I HAVE HAD THOUGHTS ON: - FROM, season 3: I think it might have been a mistake to watch it week to week, because I've watched seven episodes now and it feels like hardly anything has happened this season, like, you only have ten episodes and the wait between seasons is so long! Get back to moving the plot forward! But a lot of people said the same thing about s2 and I found that one to move along great--but I binged the whole thing, so the pacing probably seemed better. I'm still invested, some emotional stuff has happened this season, but I want more answers/plot already!!!! - SHRINKING, season 2: Just as much of a comfort watch as the first season, still pulling a bunch of laughs out of me. The cast is incredible, the writing is funny (I'm a sucker for a Bill Lawrence show, though), and I have had genuine emotional reactions to some of the storylines this season, because I have come to care about the characters. It can be a light watch most of the time, one to put on when I want something to laugh at, but it can pack a punch in the way it needs to. - ENGLISH TEACHER: I think every episode got me to laugh at least once, most of them got me to laugh out loud multiple times. Some people are going to find it kind of preachy or tryhard, but I felt like it was trying to take an honest look at this one person's attempts to navigate the difficult societal elements at play (being gay in your 30s, no longer a kid, not a boomer, but not always seeing eye-to-eye with where the younger generation is, wanting to do the right thing versus not always knowing what that is, trying to be empathetic while being genuine, etc.), and if nothing else it got me with the sideswipe at Tumblr. That hurt, you guys, but also LOL. - 9-1-1, season 8: Still very much worth watching (especially every time Eddie is a hot mess and kind of a bitch, I've never loved him more), but I did not enjoy the Councilwoman Ortiz storyline (it felt more mean-spirited than I wanted) and I'm not looking forward to catching up on this week's episode (I've heard some of what happens), but overall, it's still a comfort place for batshit storylines. BEENADO WAS HILARIOUS, everything about Athena on the plane was fun (and less frustrating than her usual cop storylines, I love you, girl, but oh my god), and I even liked the Gerrard storyline by the end. Next to catch up on: Abbot Elementary, binge Squid Game s2 when it comes out, and finally watch The Devil Judge. (Watch, I'll have my schedule all planned out and then probably throw it out the window for Grotesquerie or something, SIGH.) Any other suggestions for comfort shows or just really bingeable recent shows or just tell me what you're watching, so that I can keep my brain off the doomscrolling track!

[enihk-writes]

[rotbb headcanons_001]

anon asked: How would Chung myung react if someone declared love to him? Like someone he doesn’t have feelings for or barely knows, would he just be like “get away from me” while being considerate, or “get away from me” while openly hating that person

character: pbss!chung myung (AND) mhdd!chung myung

summary: chung myung rejection headcanons

author's note: honest to god i didn't see this ask until like today,,,

═══════════════

CHUNG MYUNG would probably respond to the confession differently based on the person who's confessing to him. like his attitude will range from disconnect to hostility depending on which of the categories the person would fall into.

STRANGERS

CHUNG MYUNG would try to get this over with as soon as possible. honestly, he might not even look at that other person in the eyes as he's turning them down.

oh. uh... sorry? i don't feel that way about you?

CHUNG MYUNG would feel really awkward at that moment and after he's done saying his part he would get out of that place quickly before the other person can respond. his philosophy is — the fewer headaches you have the better.

ONE OF THE OTHER MT HUA DISCIPLES

PBSS!CHUNG MYUNG would find it funny. this is probably someone he's grown up with since childhood so no matter what, he just can't see that person in a romantic light. for the shits and giggles though, he would remember this and proceed to tease that person for years and years until they are sick of this guy.

MHDD!CHUNG MYUNG would be appalled. what do you mean you liked him? before he rejects them he might ask if that person has brain damage from the training he's put them through. when he sees that there really isn't anything wrong with them, he would turn them down, it's not harsh but it is direct and blunt.

MHDD!CHUNG MYUNG can't see that person as anything other than one of his kids, if only they knew he wasn't as young as he looked. he can't really fault them for feeling this way, he knows he is easy on the eyes in his second life and at their age, it was common to have crushes or fall for a good-looking face easily.

ONE OF HIS ALLIES

CHUNG MYUNG would give it a few seconds to pretend he was considering his options before he rejected the person. human emotions were so fickle, that he couldn't be certain his ally today wouldn't stab him in the back tomorrow — all because of a broken heart. though, if that person handled his rejection with grace, he would view them a little more favorability than before. even if he was doing his best to avoid crossing paths with that person.

ONE OF HIS ENEMIES

CHUNG MYUNG has to be held back from pouncing ahead and trying to rip off the other person's face. what the hell? wipe that look off your face! he would let loose a string of curses, he wouldn't hide his utter disgust with the person. he thinks that this is most certainly some sick, sick, joke getting played on him at that moment. and he swears up and down that he just saw a smug look so let go of him and let him clean up that person's attitude!

CHUNG MYUNG is not a kind man to his enemies, so the moment he gets a chance to get rid of them — best bet that that's his first order of business.

═══════════════

end thoughts: personally, i think that chung myung might lean deep into the aroace spectrum and i do think he is the type to love his friends and family so deeply that there just isn't room for anything else. on that note, i believe he loves tang bo — just not in the romantic or sexual way that allo relationships are... i don't know how to explain it tbh but i just know? i mean it takes one aroace bitch (me) to recognise another like we're pokemon in the wild.

[salsaseth]

After hearing my friend, James bring it up in a call, we started watching Lily Orchard's video about Pokemon to see all the bad takes in it.

When she starts playing the DS games, she uses a mod to smooth out the aliasing and uncap the game's framerate to 60. And gah damn does it look fuckin bad. Even worse is during the 3D games where she uses another mod to smooth out the 3D models and it looks like peeled oranges. Unnaturally smooth. But it does get funny when she talks about the game running like garbage when she's fucked with the game's logic. Like no shit, it's running at a framerate it was never meant for.

Something really funny also begins in the DS games. I don't know why, but she replaces one of the starters with Ralts, cuz she's got some favoritism for Gardevoir. All well and good, but you know, Ralts is weak as shit until it learns confusion and it's still frail. So it gets its ass kicked all the way until it evolves into Gardevoir. But because of how much asskicking it receives, and I swear this is true, she suspects the game is artificially raising the strength of the enemy pokemon, as a way to explain for why's she losing.

Almost as if the game is designed to use a stronger than average pokemon to get you through the early game. ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) Still, I don't fully understand why she refuses to use the regular starters. Especially when you can catch Ralts and Kirlia for most of the games. save for black and white. Speaking of.

One takeaway I've had from listening to it is what she says is more revealing about herself than what is intentional. The most telling thing is when she's going off about the Black and White characters for speaking about their ideals and opinions. I mean, she mashes through that with the A button (VISUAL NOVEL HATER SPOTTED), so it's when she's paying attention. I don't know if she just doesn't know what the game is supposed to be going for, or if she's just purposefully ignorant for the sake of contrarianism, but the game's themes are about truth and ideals. The truth is out there, but the ideals we have shape our perspective of the truth. Even Cheren, who represents the truth, is still shaped his ideal. It's a little more deeper than, 'Characters excited that they all have opinions,' but what do i know?

She rails against these characters, N in particular for having opinions and speaking them out. Meanwhile in X&Y, which its cast and characters are there to mostly stroke the character's dick, she vastly praises and prefers these characters to the ones in B&W. Hmmm. Characters that have opinions and speak them out are hated, while those that don't and heap praise on her are loved. I wonder if this says anything about her?

The video gets pretty boring the longer it goes on. The hot take well starts drying up and it quickly becomes a bad screenshot let's play. "Then I did this, and then I did that!"

That's all I got to report. Besides the shoehorning in of lefty takes. I don't know if it's because she's not funny or if she wields everything with as much subtlety as anvil-nunchuks, but when there's an opportunity to make a joke with a leftist-slant, it's as heavy handed as a Titan's ballsack and as funny as stale bread. I'm a leftist bastard myself, but every time the jokes were shoehorned in, I'm like, "The funny? Where is it?!" Especially when it was about Looker and Nanu. I get not liking the police, but this isn't the time or place for it. Leave the jokes to the professionals. Like my friend Plate. Several unemployment jokes were made at Lily's expense, and each one was funnier than the last.

I'll report back if there's anything worth commenting on. Me and the friends got to the end of Sun and Moon, so we have SwSh and SV left.

And if you had time to read this 'post', Lily, I think you had time to 'post' your resume to get a job ;D ;D ;D

[bunnymedley]

i am a fan of pokemon. a normal amount.

ur so normal with it dw i went to the normal pokemon fanclub and they were all talking about u

to answer ur replies in one place!! i've emulated a fair few switch games, mostly with yuzu but also ryujinx for kirby star allies cus it had weird graphical glitches on yuzu, and i've generally gotten them running quite well! im tempted to try scarlet/violet since they're the newest and for the most part i don't tend to mind some little bugs and things (the camera in balan wonderworld has fucked me over and i still love that game cus im twisted)

i do have DS/3DS/GBA emulators too though so maybe i could try one of those games, i think i downloaded ultra moon a little while back but never got around to playing it

in terms of story i think im probably looking more for fun and cute characters rather than a super good plot or anything, but maybe if i did experience a rly good pokemon plot i'd think differently... also the girl in scarlet/violet looks cute i think i'd like to be her. but then i also rly like the sword & shield girl... i might start with s/v and see how i get on with it... im also not sure which version to pick tho, does it matter?

[toastling]

The Owl House Pokemon AU: Luz

Hi, I love Pokemon. I've been playing a ton of it lately in fact in the form of fan games, actually. It's one of my longest running fandoms, so I figured, why not combine one hyperfixation with another?

This started out as just being "What Pokemon teams would the characters have?", but I'm a writer, so I couldn't help but explain my reasoning why. And then I started creating regional forms. And then I accidentally started making this whole AU around it. And now here we are.

This is still largely "What would their Pokemon teams be?", but also, more than that too. You'll see what I mean. Without any further ado, we'll start with our main protagonist, Luz!

This ended up longer and more involved than I thought, so I'll throw in a read more, but I believe her full team of 6 would be as follows:

Eevee - The Starter Obviously. This is the most obvious choice on the list. How could you make Luz a Pokemon team and *not* include Eevee, the preeminent Normal-type Pokemon with potential to evolve into any number of other types and specialties? This is also exactly the sort of Pokemon she would find cute and charming, and we all know how much Luz loves cute and charming (looking at you, King).

If we are to establish anything about this AU, it should be whether or not Pokemon are unique to the Isles or exist in both worlds. I think the more interesting solution is that they exist in both worlds and act as the fundamental link between the two, but the mythology has changed. I also think that all those in the Isles who would be classified as Demons are, in this AU, Pokemon, but far more advanced. This would include King and the Titan itself, though, Titans are still akin to gods and comparable to Arceus. All this to say, Luz will have had Eevee since arriving from Earth.

Her Eevee will eventually evolve into Umbreon. I think of all the Eeveelutions, this one fits her the best. It's still cute and charming, but by definition Darker, and Luz *and* her magic have been shown all throughout the show to have many associations with typically "dark" or "villainous" traits. Just look at those blasts that a newly hatched Stringbean was firing off. This Umbreon also acts as a piece of Amity, a reflection of her soulmate - as Amity has many thematic associations with the Moon and Eclipses, Umbreon is a Pokemon evolved through love under moonlight whose darkness eclipses Espeon's sun. Umbreon is as much a reflection of Luz as it is her girlfriend. This is why she is her first and most perfect partner.

Boiling Helioptile -> Boiling Heliolisk - The Light Glyph Hm? What was that? What's with the "Boiling"? Well, this is the unique, regional variant of the Helioptile line native to the Isles, of course. You didn't think I wasn't going to make up some neat regionals did you? Though this one keeps its typing, it changes in form, function, and ability into something More. It's stronger than the variant Luz is familiar with, and much more mysterious... more... primordial.

The glyphs are the language of the Titan, the source of all magic. So how do you represent that in this sort of AU? You create four primordial Pokemon who stand in as archetypes for some aspect of life on the Isles and the balance of natural power. In other words, it's basically a legendary. So the next question is, why Helioptile? And the answer to that is twofold: its association with the Sun and its unique Normal/Electric type combo.

Luz, as a human from Earth, is as Normal as Normal gets. So that type checks out. Electric meanwhile is the closest analogous type for Light in the Pokemon games/universe. While other Pokemon have more direct associations with light in general - Ampharos comes to mind, its glowing tail bright enough to act as lighthouses - it is that association with the Sun specifically as a primordial giver of light that sways me. Luz, too, has a lot of association with Sun & Moon imagery when it comes to her and Amity, with it even being the pattern on her pajamas. She is the sun, the Light, just as her name would imply - so this Pokemon is perfect for her.

I believe Boiling Helioptile was supposed to be purely Electric. I think all these primordial Pokemon were. The weird thing about hers is that there are other Boiling Helioptiles on the Isles, but none of them look or act like hers does. Just like her glyphs are an older, more primordial form of magic, hers, as a gift from the Titan, sent her way as a random encounter, acts as a sort of prototype or even archetype for all other Helioptile on the Isles. But Luz's influence and unique nature also affected it, hence, it becomes Normal/Electric, just as she and we would be familiar with.

Boiling Oshawott -> Boiling Dewott -> Boiling Samurott - The Ice Glyph

And this one says she's an Otter! ...With a dark side. Of course Luz had to have the Otter Pokemon, how couldn't she? But this one isn't any Oshawott she would be familiar with - this is Boiling Oshawott, which despite its name, is ironically an Ice/Dark type, actually.

As Ice is one of the fundamental aspects of magic and her second glyph, this is the second primordial, archetypal Pokemon revealed to Luz by the Titan. Just like Helioptile, there are other, 'normal' versions of Boiling Oshawott on the Isles, but Luz's is unique. The others are actually Ice/Water, for example, but hers... one has to wonder, is she having a direct influence on these prototype Pokemon, or do they simply work so well for her because she already embodies their inherent aspects in some way? Like, is it a literal influence she has on their typing, or purely literary? Either way, hers is very much the Otter With A Dark Side Luz was always meant to be.

As they gain the Water Typing, other Boiling Samurott tend to focus on, well, boiling water. So there are more water moves they can learn to cause burns aside from just Scald. But Luz's remains true to its core aspect the whole way, staying entirely Ice Cold... and then, Cold and Dark, like a comet floating through deep space.

Boiling Sunkern -> Boiling Sunflora - The Plant Glyph

Unlike the Sunflora we're familiar with, this Pokemon is no weakling. In fact, even as a Boiling Sunkern, it's no slouch. This is primordial magic after all, the Boiling Sunkern all others were based off of and adapted from as a starting point. Perhaps the most immediately noticeable change is that while it starts off purely Grass type as a Sunkern, by the time it evolves into Boiling Sunflora, this Pokemon gains the Fairy typing as well.

Once again one must ask - is it coincidence that these Pokemon match Luz's story and journey so well, or does she shape them herself? As a primordial archetype, are these Pokemon perhaps somehow more malleable, able to be colored more vividly by the trainer they bond with? As it gains its Fairy Typing, the petals of this Sunflora are not yellow - or orange, as would be typical for the Isles - but pink, just like the Grom Tree she and Amity helped bloom.

Why Sunflora? Well, it all comes down to that Sun relation again. The Sun is as First and Primordial as it gets, and a sunflower's noted propensity to follow the light and general association with the light once again makes it a perfect fit for Luz. On the Isles, the fact that the original Grass type was a Sunflora also speaks somewhat to the relation between Plants and Light, between Life and Bonds. Because that is to me what Light/Electric represents on the Isles - Bonds, Information, and Communication, as Light is what all modern communication is built off of, the primary conduit of information transfer in physics, and the nature of all positive relationships. The two are very much interconnected here.

Boiling Salandit -> Boiling Salazzle - The Fire Glyph

One of the earliest forms of complex land-dwelling life could be very very very broadly called "lizards", or at the very least, some distant form of proto-reptile. So if we're dealing with primordial Pokemon here, it makes sense the Fire Glyph would be represented by something suitably primordial in and of itself. Thus we get the Boiling Salandit and Salazzle. Unlike ours, these two are Fire/Dragon, because Dragons, too, have a lot of relation to primordial power in fiction.

Their lizard/reptilian nature also brings them vaguely closer to Luz and her relation to snakes, and I just think as a whole it works for her. Ordinary Boiling Salandit and Boiling Salazzle are Fire/Ground type like Primal Groudon. This represents primordial fire in a whole other way, reflecting magma, earth before it is earth, but Luz's is, once again, very different. It's fiercer, stronger - just like her, whether she's realized it yet or not.

Boiling Seviper - The Palisman, Stringbean Why Seviper? Because Luz has always had an initially subtle, and later blatant, association with snakes. While Arbok would be the more obvious and "normal" choice, we cannot forget that Luz is a 14 year old queer kid who watches anime, writes fanfiction, and is a megafan of a series of children's fantasy novels. All that is to say, she's quirky, and more than that, a little edgy. Our little otter has a dark side, but mostly in a playful sense. Mostly. You better believe she'd pick the edgy snake over the normal snake. This is what is in her heart.

So. This is where we get to the big thing unique to this AU, how we blend the Witches and Magic aspect of TOH with Pokemon. And this requires background. So I'm going to finish my rundown on Stringbean the Boiling Seviper in the following section, which is

Pokewitches and Bonded Partners

If the Boiling Isles are another world that was under the dominion of Titans, and there are more advanced Pokemon here capable of speech and obvious and direct human-level intelligence taking the place of Demons, you may be wondering, what about Witches? And Luz - if Earth has Pokemon too, just different in a lot of cases, how is she doing anything new that she couldn't do back home, what is the magic Earth lacks that she can only get here?

Let me answer that question with another question. Do you remember Ash-Greninja and the Battle Bond? What the Witches and Demons of the Boiling Isles have is exactly that cranked up to 11. On Earth, they were called Pokewitches. On the Isles, they still just call themselves Witches. In either case, their power was the same: they were capable of a far deeper, more primal bond with their Pokemon than any human has ever been capable of, to the point that when they obtain their Palisman, the Witch and the Pokemon can very literally become one.

Remember Titan Luz? A Pokewitch with their Palisman Pokemon, their bonded partner, can do much the same thing. Just as every witch in TOH specializes in a type of magic or combination of types of magic (covens or not), they're going to have Pokemon types and individual Pokemon they connect with more than others. When they finally find the one that matches them the most, these Pokemon become known as Palismen. Combination of Pals, like friends, and Talismen, magical charms for protection. That word combo is the same in this AU, it's just realized a little differently.

For most witches, their palismen come from their starters, the first Pokemon they met or caught. Hexside here is where witches get their first Pokemon, and their choice carries a lot of weight as that Pokemon will likely (but on rare occasions, not always) become their palisman in time. And when a witch and their palisman are in perfect sync, the Battle Bond phenomenon takes hold on a whole other level, and the two become one single being.

In this state, Pokemon Battling is a lot more direct and dangerous, just what you'd expect of a dangerous place like the Boiling Isles. But also, every Pokemon becomes FAR more powerful when fused with their partner witch. Just as Ash-Greninja is a far more powerful version of Greninja, which was already a strong Pokemon. And in some extremely rare cases, a witches palisman might fuse with another Pokemon in their party incredibly close to them and then that combination will in turn fuse with the witch, creating an even more unique form. This is how Harpy Eda would function, for example - Owlbert + the Owl Beast + Eda = Harpy Eda. Whereas normal Eda is just Owlbert + Eda or Owl Beast + Eda. Make sense?

So yeah, it's assumed humans can't do that. Obviously. How could they? Their Pokemon are so different, their world is so different, they don't view Pokemon the same way. Luz eventually goes to prove that wrong with Stringbean. Stringbean is unique even in the Isles - Boiling Seviper isn't actually a thing. Or, it wasn't until Luz came around. The Titan made its egg specifically for her, and when Luz was ready, that egg hatched.

Boiling Seviper is Normal type, and a lot like if Seviper was mixed with Ditto. It is still a malleable, shapeshifting Pokemon, just like Stringbean, versatile and friendly, but also dangerous and powerful when need be. When Luz bonds and fuses with her Palisman though, it's not a solo connection - Stringbean fuses with Umbreon, and then that combination then fuses with Luz. So in their bonded form, Luz is Normal/Dark, a blend of the best of Humanity and the Isles and something Entirely New.

Titan Luz, obviously, would be Luz fused with the Titan himself, just like the show. And as the Titan is comparable to Arceus... it all stays relatively the same as the show, power scaling wise.

I'd like to think that Mixing Magic is essentially what Luz and Eda end up accomplishing with Owlbert + Owlbeast and Umbreon + Stringbean, which is a bond between more than *just* a witch and their palisman. Belos has perverted what the Titan originally intended, which was for witches and Pokemon to be close and connected universally, *not* just with a singular, most special of all partner. It's like trying to pick your favorite child. It's not easy, and not right.

In the end, just like the show, Luz is going to shed a light on the way things were always meant to be...

[loupy-mongoose]

I don't know how you shade things so perfectly! I'm excellent at blending colors but I can't shade even if my life depended on it!😅🤣

How do you do it so good? Could you lend me some tips?

First off, thank you very much, but I refuse to accept my shading as "perfect". I'm proud of how far I've come, but it ain't perfect!

Tips... Hmmmm...

I have a pretty good understanding of the characters' and objects three-dimensional shape in my mind, so when I shade I subconsciously keep in mind how the light will affect them and where shadows will form.

Don't be afraid to look at books, references, tutorials, and Youtube videos! Take advantage of the vast library of resources at your fingertips!

I've spent a lot of my teen years watching speedpaints--Twarda8's Pokemon paintings on Youtube are old favorites of mine. Ironically their playlist called "Junk'n'Old" played a MASSIVE part in my artistic upbringing. One man's trash is another man's treasure~ I've also looked at many many mannnyyyy tutorials over the years, some of them multiple times, taking in how different shapes affect the shadow outcome. For example, sharp cut-offs will result in solid lines of shadow, while rounder shapes will have softer transitions from dark to light.

Take, for instance, my latest masterpiece; The eyebrows are meant to somewhat sharply overhang the eyelid, so they cause a sharper shadow cut-off.

While rounder parts of the body have smoother shading.

Mix and match them depending on the shapes present! (Hopefully that's coherent enough. X3)

A few extra things;

-Different light sources and surroundings can influence shadows as well. For example, the sun will create sharp, defined shadows, but clouds will soften the shadows considerably.

-When shading colored artworks, try to avoid using pure black to shade. If possible with your tools, use a darker color set to the Multiply or another darkening blend mode. Experiment! (I have another post about my painting process here if you're interested, although the canvas size in that may be incorrect now.)

-Find brushes you're comfortable with! I don't want to advocate that an artist can't be good without certain brushes, but I do think it's important to love the tools you use. But also don't feel like you have to stick with them for eternity--Every once in a while I get dissatisfied with my brushes and tweak them a bit, or dump them for others.

-For doodle shading like the above, I scribble in rough chunks where I want the shadow to be, then smudge and erase them as I see fit. All on a separate layer from the line-art, of course.

That may be more than you bargained for, but you can pick and choose what you want to take from this, if anything at all. I just felt like dumping. Happy shading! ^w^

[cassi-pokeblogging-hub]

Pokepark - Shout out a Pokemon IRL blog you really like!

ill do you one better i have A LOT to shout out lol. its very hard to like articulate ALL my thoughts in just like one paragraph cause i dont wanna drop a masive ESSAY for each blog so ill try to keep it brief but do check all of them out if you havent yet!!

@lovenpeace-pkmn - anthea and concordia are,, surprisingly forgotten about pkmn characters so finding out there was a blog for them a few months back was like. insane for me. i love the blogrunners characterization and its just generally a fun blog to scroll through and interact with on occasion!

@thatfailedpokemontrainer - sprite an interesting critter fr. theres something wrong with them and i love it. every once in a while something goes down on the blog and im just in the discord chat with friends like omg look at whats happening on tumblr RIGHT NOW!!! also as a dedenne best pikaclone TRUTHER i am obligated to promite this blog lol

@battle-subway-ghost - is also a really fun blog that im always like GUYS LOOK AT WHATS HAPPENING OVER THERE!!! honestly i could probably link ALL the blogs linked to this one and thatfailedpokemontrainer but i dont wanna decimate a buncha peoples notifs with me @ ing them all on the same post lmao. but like. something up with paris fr and his relationships with other characters are so fun to read. also i love rattatas so any blog about characters that give love to the rats get a good grade in my book

@wingsofachampion - tropius is such a fun character and bench plays her so well!! pokemon like tropius are sososo underrated compared to a lot of the like. anthro/more humanoid pokemon and pokemon that are just cats or dogs so seeing one about one of these more underrated pokemon so good to me. bench (blogrunner) also has a ton of fun pmd lore that builds off the canon stuff on this blog and a few of their other blogs so if you love pmdstuff you should REALLY check them out

@psn-stalling - i could list A LOT of the bbablr blogs because theyre all some degree of something up with that guy fr but atlas is one of the first blogs that popped up on my dash p often and is what got me to check out a ton of the bba blogs. atlas and his relationships to other characters are so fun to me and tbh atlas is just a fascinating character in general. top ten guys of all time i hope he beefs with even more of his classmates in the future

@viridian-rat - OKAY SO. TURT (the blogrunner) IS MY FIRNED SO PERHAPS THIS MAY BE CHEATING BUT RAT IS SO SOSO SOMETHING TO ME. 12 YEAR OLD OF ALL TIME. turt plays rat like an actual 12 year old and its so refreshing because a lot of people DO NOT KNOW HOW CHILDREN ACT AND ITS INSANE. also turts been putting so much effort into a whole ass animation for this blog thats almost done so you guys have to follow the blog before it comes out so you'll see it.

@harteofthehart-ayyy - harte is another character on pkmn irl thats a guy of all time fr. fascinated by him and everything that is revealed about him. whatevers going on with him and his roommate has captivated me. this is also another blog where i REALLY like the art thats posted on occasion, and i just find it funny to follow. also its just a REALLY fun blog to interact with. like some blogs are just awkward to reply to because theres like way too little to actually grab onto but harte's mod is really good at giving you stuff to actually reply to

theres sosososo many more blogs but some are just escaping my mind rn or i dont know how to like properly articulate anything than this blog good. id like @ my entire following list rn if i could but i do not think people would be happy with the amount of notifs

[torchickentacos]

You’re not being annoying about ships though, your contestshipping thoughts are consistently one of my Tumblr highlights. Thank you for still being in the Pokémon anime trenches in 2k24, your honor.

Anon, I love you. I would die for you. I would do anything for you. Just for you I'm going to pledge to talk about them more often!!! You have enabled me and I will expand on my thoughts on those tags here ❤️🌹 also god djfhdkjn I don't think I can get out of the trenches 😭 I'm just stuck here lmao. I couldn't leave if I tried. May and Drew are holding me hostage, actually. He's got a knife (because May can't be trusted with sharp objects).

Anyways. referenced post:

EXPANDING MY THOUGHTS:

So, disclaimer, these are all my opinions, and while they're rooted in canon, I'm also just doing whatever I want. As I do. Also, my opinions change all the time and I have infinite versions of how I think they'd play out in a canon context, but here's the one that I'm feeling today lol.

I think that 'falling first' versus 'falling harder' really isn't an indicator of any sort of emotional inequality. I can see where 'fell harder' might indicate to some people that there's a sense of one character being down worse than the other, but honestly I always took it as 'which character gets hit in the face by it at random (harder) and which character has been living with it for years (faster)'.

Like, okay. I think that in a few years past canon, 15-16 years old (which is the absolute earliest that I can see the two of them figuring it out honestly), here's the deal: For Drew, being in love is just a fact of daily life at that point. Even in canon it seems to have been that way. Just a quiet thing that followed him around, a constant little spark. I like to think that they travel together as friends for a while, and it's, like, 'he makes breakfast, he trains his pokemon, he plans their itinerary, he's madly in love, they buy supplies for the week-' etc. It's just... there. He's aware of it and probably largely ignores it after a point. Like, it's just become a fact. He has green hair, he has green eyes, he's in love, he has a Roserade, he wears weird pants. It's a part of him- not a defining feature, but a feature nonetheless. It's not who he is, but it's part of the mosaic. He fell first and he's been on the ground waiting ever since, and he's probably kind of emo and very... Drew about it sometimes (/lh), but largely, he just lives with it.

For May, it's probably more like... okay, hear me out on this. Once, I got a large 2-inch shard of glass in the side of my foot, and I didn't notice until I saw the blood that I'd trailed on the kitchen tile. It didn't hurt. I didn't feel it. I had no idea somehow, but it was still there. It only felt like it was there once I noticed it, there was this weird psychosomatic type of thing that happened. I think for May, it's like that. It didn't come on suddenly, it was always there, she just noticed it suddenly and that's what causes the feelings to hit. It's falling hard and all at once (but also it's been there for so long). It's vertigo and disorientation as your entire view of a person shifts into where it belongs. Nothing's changed, it's always been that way, but you see it for what it is now. Everything falls into place, but it's still a hard, sudden fall. I think she lands on her feet, though.

That is what I mean when I say that I think that Drew fell first but May fell harder. Drew fell first and he knew it the entire time. I think that he was able to call it what it was pretty quickly. He recognized it and acted on it in his weird little idiosyncratic ways and just lived with it. May, however, probably doesn't realize until some random moment, some everyday occurrence, and it hits her like a truck. Ford F150. Chevrolet Silverado. Dodge ram. What other trucks do I know from country music and car commercials??? Anyways, it's this sudden, jarring, off-kilter kind of realization, I'd imagine. Just a 'wait, holy shit' kind of moment where it all falls into place.

[crusherthedoctor]

Get a Load of Traits - PART 1: Sonic the Hedgehog

Way back during my Tumblr infancy, I made a series by the mouthful of What Makes For A Good Incarnation, in which I listed the main noteworthy traits that I consider integral for crafting, at the very worst, a still above-average portrayal of the character in question. By "series", I meant I did exactly three of them, then forgot all about it. In the words of Moneybags, I seemed to have temporarily forgotten.

In the years since however, I've went back and forth on going back and redoing them - as well as providing entries for those who didn't get one the first time around - because shall we say, a few recent portrayals have caused me to believe they're in need of some additional points or further elaboration. So now here I am to actually do it.

For the DX: Director's Cut, and for the sake of not dragging them out too much, I've decided to keep it all thematically consistent by sticking with 9 main points per character, in terms of what I personally consider the highest priorities for each of them. These will usually not be listed in any particular order of importance or relevance unless stated otherwise, and while there may be other major traits that might not get mentioned (in which case, feel free to bring them up yourself if you see fit), this keeps things simple and focuses on the points that have the most flexibility with how much of the character they encapsulate.

It should also be noted that these posts will be made with the game portrayals in mind, because the games mark the core of the franchise, and as such, they objectively contain the purest essence of the cast. Adaptations generally like to play by their own rules, some more gratuitously and inexcusably than others, and this will inevitably crop up with certain entries. All that being said however, I'll attempt to stay focused rather than devolve into another rant about this adaptation or that adaptation, only directly referring to them if I feel it's necessary for the point being made.

So without further ado, for today's installment, we're jumping right into the main Crush 40 enthusiast himself: Sonic.

Since Sonic was one of the characters covered in the past, much of this will be retreading old ground. If you know me well though, I'm sure you'll be able to tell which of it is new or expanded upon.

He's meant to be fun.

"Psst, the mandates don't exist."

We'll start with one so easy to get that you'd have to be purposefully contemptuous of the franchise and the character to suggest otherwise: Sonic is a fun character. He's all about having fun. He looks at virtually everything, no matter how precarious, as a thrill ride first and foremost. He is perpetually filled with a carefree love for all that life has to offer, has never been shy about it, and is known to enjoy fighting the baddies as well. Nothing keeps him down.

It's a large factor into why the franchise itself commonly boasts a sense of energy and wonder. If you don't acknowledge this aspect of Sonic's character... what are you even doing here? Why are you writing for him? What character are you seeing?

But he also knows when it's time to get serious.

Oh look, Super Sonic when it still had milk left in it.

Sonic's knack for making snarky quips of debatable quality can lead some into thinking he's incapable of taking anything seriously at all. This is how we get writers who seek to humble him for it... but unfortunately for them, they're not breaking any new ground: Sonic does get down to business when the situation calls for it, and even when he's joking around with whatever villain he's currently facing, he's always got his wits sharp, never going out of his way to be sloppy. And no, this isn't limited to the one-off villains and Godzilla-type Pokemon we know and begrudgingly tolerate: he more than acknowledges the very serious threat and crimes of the deceptively jovial Eggman's actions as well.

After all, do we not recall some of the near-death situations that Eggman has found himself in upon defeat, and how Sonic usually shows no concern over whether he survives or not? Do we not recall Sonic interrogating Zor over what happened to Tails? Do we not recall what he did to the Erazor Djinn when he refused to YouTube Apologise for abusing his former lover?

Sonic takes a lot of things quite seriously. More than he tends to let on. He just also likes to have fun at the same time.

He does not loathe technology.

"You're telling me this board was made with... SCIENCE...?"

Yes, Sonic is the nature foil to Eggman's scientific scheming. It's been a constant with the franchise since its inception, all the way to modern entries like Colours. But if Sonic hated technology itself, he wouldn't be best friends with a tinkerer. Nor would he own a plane.

The series as a whole has always been sensible about the matter compared to other green aesop-spewing media of the 90's. Rather than demonize technology outright, it understood the strengths it had, and how it could be used for nature's benefit rather than its detriment. Sonic CD visualized this wonderfully, as the Good Futures were fond of showing them side-by-side, in perfect harmony, with no cost to the land's health and beauty.

So with Sonic, he doesn't oppose technology. He opposes Eggman, whose methods involve technology. If you want Sonic to preach about the evils of tech as he drops a mahogany log in the woods and scrambles for a leaf to wipe his ass with, just go on DeviantART. Or watch SatAM.

He has selfish needs, but he's not a selfish person.

"Shit, I forgot the third paragraph of my principle monologue."

Sonic knows what he wants, and that something is his freedom. He's not going to be anchored down, he's not going to live a mundane life, and he's going to adventure and explore the world and beyond for as long as he can. This goes both ways: it's further reason why he confronts oppressive sorts like Eggman, but on the other hand, it can be hard to keep up with him at times, and since Amy has a clear vision on how she would want their future lives to be like as a couple, it's no wonder Sonic hasn't shown much serious interest in his friend in that particular way.

Don't get the wrong idea though; this doesn't mean Sonic is a selfish person full stop. In part thanks to several adaptations, a common misconception with the Blue Blur is mistaking him for a pure egotist through and through, who only cares about his adrenaline-fueled ecstasy and nothing else. Cause y'know, he's firm about his needs, and he has a cocky side, therefore he's full of himself, right?

Well no, not at all: his opposition to big bad villains would surely be enough on its own to confirm that he cares about everyone else's freedom too, so long as said people aren't doing anything malicious themselves. Yes, he fights villains because it's fun to him, but he also has a genuine hatred for injustice. He doesn't think like a typical superhero, where he fights evil and saves lives because he feels he has an obligation to do so, he does it simply because he wants to. How is that not selfless?

But it's even more than that: he's proven himself to be humble in spite of his cockiness, right down to dismissing any and all formal terms for himself when others use them. Half the time he tells the people he's saved to not sweat it, and the other half, he's already bolted before they can even thank him. Sonic largely doesn't care about the fame and attention that comes with being a repeated world saviour, and in more intimate situations, he's full of compassion there too. Hell, even in Black Knight, despite initially intending to slice Merlina in half in a furious response to her betrayal, he was later willing to show empathy to her defeated self, recognizing that she was an extremist, but not like the other villains he had faced.

Also, he doesn't have a history of treating his friends and accomplices like garbage. He might not see them all that often due to his globe trotting ways ("Long time no see!"), but he clearly values each of them. Even the ones he pokes light fun at on occasion, like Knuckles and Shadow.

He's impulsive, but intelligent.

Remember when Eggman had a conch? Starline didn't.

Like any character, Sonic does indeed have faults. Sonic is a guy who, when he sets out to do something, he'll do it, no questions asked. If Sonic thinks he knows the solution to sorting everything out, then that's all there is to it. This has worked in his favor more often than not, but it can also just as easily lead to mishaps, like the moment pictured above from Lost World. His cockiness has also been taken advantage of on several occasions, like in SA2 and Unleashed. Both of those were by Eggman, by the way. Just wanted to throw that out there.

However, Sonic is not an idiot. Just because he's a speedster doesn't mean he can't think straight, and his moments of recklessness are often born out of not knowing the full story rather than blindly charging in after already knowing better. If he makes a mistake, he'll acknowledge it and attempt to rectify it as soon as possible, and if he thinks someone else has good advice, then he'll be willing to hear them out, especially if it's coming from his life-long buddy, Tails.

To put it generously, Sonic's intelligence is prone to be heavily downplayed in certain adaptations, most notably in SatAM and Prime. This is usually done for the sake of forcing him to learn a lesson that a character like him doesn't really need to learn, or to prop up another character as the brains behind his operation. Or because Hurr Hurr Vroom Vroom Character Dumb. In reality though, Sonic is actually very intelligent: certainly not a super-genius like Tails or Eggman, but he's quick to pick up on details, and experience has taught him how to optimize his speed and acrobatics effectively and gracefully, while making it look completely effortless. He's also emotionally intelligent, being able to read a room with little issue, and when placed in a new situation, it doesn't take long for him to adapt.

So Sonic is a very bright person who just so happens to occasionally make impulsive decisions, for better or for worse. This does not translate to him being a Funny Penis Man. That's a vast simplification that tends to come from people who take the archetype that describes him at face value.

He only cares about how others perceive him when it's based on deception.

"Surrounded by evil knights and a girl I've never met before... better inhale the worst cuisine they've ever seen with my goatse mouth."

To paraphrase the hedgehog himself, he doesn't mind having to play the bad guy if it's necessary to do what he thinks is right. This doesn't apply in a meta sense - WE know he's doing the right thing - but what it means is that in-universe, he understands that some people might think he's the villain due to their perspective on the situation. And he accepts that, because he doesn't care about how his true blue self is perceived by strangers one way or the other. He doesn't expect or demand the rest of the world to live by his own personal beliefs unlike some iterations, but since they're his own, he holds no shame in sticking with them personally. He can only be who he truly is, and if some people have a problem with that, then he'll just have to take it smoothly with a Winston break.

But, as proven with Shadow inadvertently framing him in SA2, he does care when it involves Shit That Isn't True. Because if you're going to judge him, it better be for stuff he's actually done, and for who he actually is. Sonic doesn't care about attention, but he does evidently care about his identity.

The real super power of teamwork.

"Because... we're Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric!"

Sonic Heroes is a game that frequently gets referenced in side-material, which is an impressive feat considering it condemned itself by dressing Metal Sonic like a wanker. Yet for some curious reason, despite all the Heroes referencing, writers have trouble remembering the entire theme of the game, because their idea of Sonic needing to learn the benefits of teamwork and friendship is... lol...? Lmao...? Dare I even say... rofl...?

Sonic is the last person on the goddamn planet who needs to learn this, and you'd know that even if you weren't familiar with Heroes. Other games have shown time and time again that he appreciates the contributions of his allies, and gives them the appropriate kudos with no shred of reluctance, all without placing himself above them in the process. And while he may not be quick to ask for help, he's usually willing to accept it when it's offered to him. Like in '06, in which he casually allowed Trunks the Hedgehog to help out despite his attempting to kill him when they last met.

Sonic knows the super power of teamwork just fine. It's in his business card. Him of all people needing to learn this aesop is a non-development, a cheap way to make it seem like the writers are doing something ~deep~ with him. Giving back something he should have had to begin with is not character development.

His thing about emotions.

"A tall girl. My weakness."

Despite his outward demeanour, Sonic has a lot of introversion deep down, what with showing himself a contemplative side on a regular basis, and most of his dialogue being fairly straight and to-the-point. As it happens, this extends to how he manages his emotions, aside from his alleged temper. Sonic is obviously not stoic, but you're not likely to see him break down in hysterics, or publicly show tears at all unless it's in private.

Some writers and artists - or should I say, certain writers and artists - consider this an abominable sin that must be rectified. They'll get it into their heads that Sonic shows no emotion at all, but never fear boys and girls, they'll fix that pronto. They'll give him the emotions that SEGA couldn't. And what do you know, the end results end up looking absolutely ridiculous, and simply not in-line with who and what our hero is. Fact of the matter is, not everyone wears their emotions on their sleeve, and not breaking out the waterworks is not the same as being an unfeeling machine altogether. As it applies to real life, it applies as well to fictional characters. Because they're not all going to be the same.

His introversion doesn't just relate to himself though. It also seeps into his visible discomfort in dealing with the complex emotions of others, especially those who can't shake themselves off as easily as he can. Notice how, during moments where someone else is upset by something he can't easily fix - such as Tails lamenting Emerl's demise, or Shahra grieving over Majin Ganondorf despite him being a terminal shithead - he often finds himself at a loss, needing a moment or two to think of what he should say or do to console them.

It's possible that, with his canonical tendency to not be all that open about whatever might be troubling him, under the belief of not wanting to make his problem their problem by extension, he might not consider himself the most well-equipped for someone else's anguish. Or maybe that's just a Game Theory. Either way, whatever awkwardness there may be on his part, he always does his best regardless, as he would for any other situation.

...unless it involves one-sided sadness. Then he's not as sympathetic.

He's an ideal.

"Fuck sake, another argument over voice actors."

Sonic is a static character. Deliberately so. He is also not meant to be a relatable character, at least not in the sense of what Twitter members who have never played a Sonic game in their life consider relatable, which is basically making the character exactly the same as them, beat for beat, including the mismatched haircut, announcing their pronouns every three sentences, and the compulsive thirst to speak to the manager.

Needless to say, this doesn't work with the fastest thing alive. Everything about Sonic - his refusal to give up, his refusal to let distress overwhelm him, his freedom to go where the wind takes him - all of it, and more, serves to make him an inspiration. And guess what? Characters are allowed to be that. Inspirational characters are just as important as relatable ones, because by seeing what they can accomplish, we can strive to become our best selves. Why would you want to take that away?

Every character, the good ones anyway, have a defined purpose. Sonic has his. Other characters in the series might be considered relatable, but that's not where Sonic himself lies. It's better to leave that occupation for others, such as those who were inspired in-universe by Sonic himself, like Tails and Amy.

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If you understand all of these points, and if you can take to them, then I believe you should have what it takes to write a good, or even great, portrayal of Say Yes to the Dress the Hedgehog. No portrayal is going to be one-and-one with that of another, there'll always be subtle distinctions depending on the writer, but you'll be fine as long as he's not a holier-than-thou dipshit who speaks more words than The Great Gatsby.

[richea]

1, 7, 9 and 11 for tales asks! (Don't need to do them all❤️)

Tales asks

First Tales game & how you discovered it

My first game was Symphonia! This is gonna get a bit personal so I apologize. It's honestly a funny story; my older sister was really interested in Lloyd from a fangame she was playing, and she went to my grandmother who she knew owned a bunch of Tales games to see if she'd let her borrow her copy of Symphonia. Tales being my grandmother's favorite franchise of all time, she was elated and handed her a bunch of her games to try. I'm honestly not much of a gamer at all (prior to this I'd only ever beaten Pokemon games, and even now, that hasn't really changed) but I decided to join in as both of my sisters' player 3. Both of them lost steam around the Asgard Ranch, but I enjoyed the game so much that I just kept playing by myself. For someone who doesn't commit to playing video games much, the fact that I loved it so much that I actually beat it all by myself and never used a walkthrough really cemented my love for the series. It just immediately felt like home to me, and I'll always be grateful to my now late grandmother for her encouragement and for letting me borrow her games until I could buy my own.

7. Favorite main character

I'll take this to mean protagonist because I think everyone knows Hisui's my favorite party member haha. From the bottom of my heart, I think my favorite protagonist might be Luke. It's been a long time since I played Abyss so my feelings on him have cooled off quite a bit over the years if you remember my Luke phase on this account, you qualify for a veteran's discount... but his story just means so much to me. That said, prior to an Abyss revisit, I currently think it's Shing. I just adore him so so much, and he's a lot more unique than people give him credit for. The Creed reveal is one of my favorite cutscenes in anything ever, and I just love how much his character hinges on always prioritizing his love for the people around him first and foremost. I absolutely love him in the first half of the game; the story places importance on Hisui and Shing's grief in what happened to Kohaku, but Shing is also quietly mourning his grandfather in the background. I really recommend reading this anthology comic chapter to appreciate this more. I could talk all day about Shing... I just love him so much.

9. Favorite setting (world/town/etc.)

Hearts has my favorite setting for sure. The world is just absolutely gorgeous, I love all of the aesthetics that are poured into it from the naming conventions to the art to the actual locations in it. It's such a beautiful game, and the Spirmazes are some of my favorite locations in the franchise visually. It really does feel like a fairy tale world.

That said at risk of sounding biased, I also love Legendia's setting (the environments are just absolutely stunning and the worldbuilding is really really unique), and I have a lot of emotional attachment for Aselia as a world and its worldbuilding!

11. Favorite summon spirit iterations

I really like Rem (Eternia), both in design and the association with Keele!

[mysteryampharos]

Tell us about your favorite character?

i really love dusknoir and ampharos from the pokemon mystery dungeon series, but after playing Rainworld, i can wholeheardtedly say that the base game + downpour made five pebbles into one of my all-time favorite characters! i was gonna avoid spoilers, but ill inevitably speak about it, so ill just do two spoiler-free paragraphs first! and then go insane

for half of the campaigns in the game, i was his BIGGEST hater. i think the order you play certain campaigns in probably affects how you feel about certain characters, and boy, my choice of sequence was NOT doing him any favors. he was like a catalyst to speed up the decay of the dying world, both when it came to the enviroment itself, and other characters. he had without fail harmed all but one character he interacted with by that point.

and then. . i played the last two campaigns. with a few pearl reading sessions prior to going through them, the closer i got to finishing the game, the more my thoughts on him changed. granted, the game DID give me enough clues, but it wasnt until getting to see what happened in these campaigns that his character clicked for me. five pebbles is a surprisingly tragic character, and the dlc makes an excellent use of him to weave a beautiful narrative together with Looks to the Moon. words cannot describe how incredible and life-changing playing this game felt. (spoilers below the cut! dont read if you haven't finished rivulet and saint's campaign)

five pebbles is a rat in a cage. he tried everything he thought of to try and find an escape to the eternal life the ancients condemned the iterators to, and he did succeed in killing an iterator.

it just wasn't him.

so moon dies and is left in a worser state than ever before after being 'revived' by hunter, and now he has a ticking time bomb in the form of The Rot spreading through his superstructure and the garbage wastes like a cancerous plague. he keeps himself cut off from all and any means of contact and with the exception of artificer, is somewhat hostile to the slugcats.

it takes rivulet's campaign, where the rot has almost entirely overtaken most of the can, that his attitude changes. he is still the same as before, but much more. . sorrowful, regretful. at this point in the game, he and moon switch places: he falls deeper and deeper to disrepair while moon starts restoring her functions and communications. he's forced to sit still during rivu's campaign, but otherwise, five pebbles is largely fine when it comes to his neurons or mind.

so when i told you i cried during saint's campaign.

it was already customary. every single campaign after monk, i'd beeline for five pebbles, seeing as he was always involved somehow. so, i climb up chimney canopy as i always do to get to him through the wall, and: there it is. the infamous room

the entire right section connecting to his superstructure is gone. not even damaged or anything: it's completely vanished. and the game makes sure you feel dread the moment you see this. already, not a good sing: but hey! maybe that just fell like the underhang did. theres still another path to go through.

i hate shaded citadel, but its the only other way i know how to get there. still, i took a detour to moon first before going there, since i knew shoreline had a gate! i visited her, and was on my merry way. . until i get to the gate. something is off right away.

the path is different. sure, that's normal in this campaign, but it wasnt like the overgrowth or other snowy areas: the entire structure of the area. . was very different. its like something crushed in. the deeper i go toward the gate, the more confused and conflicted i get. i cross the gate, and the name shows up on the screen..

Silent Construct.

its like things clicked for me a second time, and it was at that point i paused the game just to think about it for a few seconds. Five Pebbles' superstructure collapsed and crushed the ENTIRETY of Shaded Citadel. the only sign of life left was a weird combination of wildlife from the exterior and shaded citadel itself, with barely any rot left. this was both one of the highlights of the whole game to me, and one of the most emotional. theres 100% gonna be echoes here, so im gonna go ahead and look for that: but five pebbles is priority.

this is one of the most interesting regions in the game to me. maybe not the most fun (I HATE THIS GAME'S SPIDER ENEMIES SO MUCH) but thematically and symbolically? second best region. i dedicated half of the time i had that sunday just to find him, and sure enough..

he is in a state even worser than how moon was when she fell to disrepair. a supercomputer degraded to a barely sentient puppet who can't remember much of anything. the only thing that remains is the music pearl hes playing, and if the player wants to,

you can take that away from him too.

is downpour canon? i don't know nor remember! will i consider it canon regardless because this was one of the greatest gaming and life experiences ive ever had? you fucking BET. i love you five pebbles im sorry for calling you a littlebitch when we first met

[alexissara]

Top 10 Most Anticipated Games Of 2025.

It’s time to talk about what games are exciting me the most coming into next year. I will not be including any game that was on last years list because you can go read it and see the games I was excited about last year that didn’t come out. Basically the whole list remains relevant minus Peach Showtime. 6 of the games aren’t out and 3 of the games are in early access. Which is to say that these games remain highly anticipated.  It’s worth noting from the old list Rune Factory: Dragon has been updated to Rune Factory: Guardians Of Azuma and with more footage I feel more confident in my anticipation then I was on last years list.  

Much like last years list the games on it may not come out in 2025, this list is mostly indie games and even locked in release dates often are delayed due to major game releases overshadowing their game and needing to pivot, massive bugs, indie publisher issues, etc.  let’s get excited together and play some really cool games when they release. However, since Kickstarter games are kickstarter games and often take more time two games that might be number one for me Food Devils and  The Witch's Bakery are not going to be included on this list just cuz well, they are very likely to be 2026 games or further up and I want to at least try and highlight games that are probably hitting next year.  That said consider that your reminded to you know check out Food Devil and The Witch’s Bakery, they both look great.  Also quick shot out to Pokemon Legends Z-A which I am certainly thinking about but has so many ways it could drop the ball I ended up removing it. 

This list is not in any particular order, I am excited for these games for different reasons and who knows, maybe some of them I end up not picking up for one reason or another but there games I would really love to see have a big success from the promise of them all 

Monster Prom 4: Monster Con

Monster Prom is a series I really love, one of the most fun dating sim type experiences turning it into a more board game esc experience where there this fun multiplayer element. It’s a great, funny experience even alone you can enjoy the storytelling, romance and jokes in equal spades and together it’s a really fun shared experience that comes down to digestible runs that make it less intimidating than a lot of other visual novel type experiences. Monster Con adds a con setting and a ton of really fun new features to the formula that make me the most excited I’ve been for a Monster Prom Spinoff. The new character designs are great and one of the main focused returning characters being sapphic trans woman Zoey makes me even more excited. 

Abyss X Zero

The developers last game was gay and while they haven’t said if this game has anything gay in it I am pretty sure the devs are like girlfriends? So like, I don’t know feels likely. It looks cool, Like the graphics, the customization looks great, it’s got great style, I really am excited to check out the game and give it a shot. I think the art style really manages to capture a fun anime vibe and the action actually represents that same vibe making for a really resonate experience that I think is going to really going to fill some primal need in me. 

Split Fiction Last Minute addition to the list, Split Fiction sounds incredibly exciting. Two authors join a program to make their novels realities one scifi and one fantasy. An accident causes the two  to end up in one simulation fractured between the twos novels. They have to work together in order to save their own stories from being stolen by the company. It’s got perfect girlfriends potential but also like really right on the money in themes with the idea of a company trying to feed writers ideas into a machine to own them forever and make whatever they want with them. I’m extremely excited to experience this story and love the Friend Pass System. 

Sword Of The Necromancer: Resurrection 

Sword Of The Necromancer is one of my favorite games ever and I just played it this year, you can expect to see a lot more talking about it in the rest of my end of the year lists but right here what is worth noting is that this is a remake of Sword of the Necromancer in their new games Engine as a sort of stop gap product. This game retells the love story of Tama and Koko and Tama’s attempt to revive the woman she fell for on a job. Since it’s a remake I can say that this is one of the best game stories I’ve played, it’s not super bloated with stuff, it’s simple, effective, romantic and well performed. The changes to gameplay we’ll have to see if their better, worse or just a side grade from the original but this is certainly an exciting game.

Lost Records: Bloom and Rage

From the original creators of Life is Strange not the ones who wrote away the main relationship of the series or is accused of inserting nazi stuff in their games or accused of workplace harassment, no it’s the studio that made 1 and 2 and then left their series behind to Square Enix to make new ideas. Lost Records is another go at their style of narrative game aiming to hit 90s kids nostalgia while also tell a story about adults and the past and more. It’ll have gay romance in it and probably a ton of angst.  It seems like a really great time with a great story that will be able to really speak to a lot of folks so I am thrilled to see them get to bring out something with the level of ambition of this narrative game. 

Unbeatable

This is just one of the coolest looking games visually, the animation is just so damn good and honestly it alone is a selling point. Then we got the main girl looking gay, the great music, and the fun concept for a story and I am feeling like this could be a real special piece of art. Unbeatable has you brining back music to the world, fighting cops, and being badass and honestly, it’s all I need in life. 

Scholomatch 

I didn’t expect much going into the demo but in the niche heights of matching game dating sims Scholomatch seems like it’ll be something pretty fun. It and Spirit Swap should both be coming out and should both be really exciting entries next year. This games non human girls and polyamory make it lean slightly over SS to me but it’s fun that we have two casual cozy little games where we can focus on romance and just a simple little gameplay loop so it’s not all VN. This game has you being a new student at a magic college where all the students are teaching each other rather than teachers. You play match 3 to impress the other students and learn new spells all while having conversations and getting closer to the cast of characters. I fell in love with this game in the demo when a girl who could see the future saw me as her best friend and was really sweet then realized we hadn’t become best friends yet and was so apologetic. It was sweet but also I can’t imagine how hard it is for her to have seen my character as a best friend for years in visions and having to realize “That might not even happen, because I’ve seen this I might ruin this deep important friendship” and like wow, that’s I am so invested in her I have to buy this game. Also obviously I am going to kiss her and at least a few of the others. 

Crescent County

Be a witch, race on a broom, work a delivery job across a pretty open field, kiss girls, this game is pretty damn close to a perfect concept. I take qualms with any connection to solar punk when also capitalism exists but the game is super freaking pretty so I can only complain so much. I think this seems like a really fun and special game, I am intentionally waiting to play the demo until after I put this post out since i started this article before the demo was announced and didn’t want it to color it’s entry here but as I am typing I am wanting to rush so I can jump in and give this game a shake. 

Cabernet 

Speaking of amazing concepts, we really do not have enough vampire games and Cabernet is a narrative focused game about being a newly turned vampire. You have to deal with your hunger and your families ongoing issue with vices, your dad was an alcoholic and you avoided drinking but now you need to drink blood and it’s that high. It’s an extremely down to earth vampire story that has an eerie ton but it also has room for romance and hopeful stories or so it seems. I am really excited to experience this beautiful and exciting game. 

Deltarune chapter 3 and 4 2025 is finally gonna be it’s year, maybe. Deltarune Chapter 1 and 2 are contenders for my best games of all time so I mean I can’t not be excited for the next two chapters. I don’t know what will be happening, will Noelle become a full on party member, how will it handle lingering plot points, will it get weird and fucky and tie more into undertales, what’s up with the secret boss stuff, I don’t know and even post release who knows how much is answered before 5? I just know I want the purple lizard to guess the little deer girl and that’s enough for me so long as there is goofs along the way.