#it’s also good when I really get to knowing them kind of as a group

[wynsummers]

felt like combining two of my biggest interests so this is my ranking of buffy characters by how much they would enjoy the rocky horror picture show

honorable mention - anya. i can't decide if anya would love or hate rocky. the more chaos-loving anyanka side of her would have a lot of fun with it, but i think she might also hate the idea of going to see a movie only to have it talked over by a bunch of hecklers. especially if she went to a theater where they throw/spray props. so i guess it would depend on whether she went to a showing for the experience or the film itself.

9. angel would walk in, sit in the back row, stare with an intense face at the screen for the entire hour and forty minutes of the film and then stand up and leave without saying a word. he would never come back.

8. xander - xander would enjoy rocky for all of the wrong reasons. he is the cishet man who only goes to see the lingerie-clad women. i've met so many xanders in my time. they always have that smug laugh when someone tries to interact with them, but they're too cool to do anything that they can't use to (attempt to) impress a woman

7. cordelia - i don't think rocky is really cordy's scene, no disrespect intended. i think she could have a good time but some of the more extreme traditions might put her off (especially if someone threw/sprayed something at her, i think she would hate that). she would look at it as that fun thing she did once, probably because someone invited her. that being said, though, if she ended up in a shadowcast, she would put her entire heart and soul into playing janet.

6. oz - i can't explain it but oz is both too cool not to be at rocky and too cool to be at rocky. like, oz has been going to rocky every week for two years but the scoobies only find out when they go as a group and everyone in the theater knows him already. i don't think he's ever said a callback in his life but he definitely has a bunch of them memorized

5. buffy - ok now hear me out. buffy needs something like rocky in her life. she needs a place where she can unwind, yell loudly, dance around, and just have fun. i don't think she'd be super into it right away, but i don't think it would take long for her to get into the rhythm of it. i can't see her going so far as to be in a shadowcast, but i can totally see her being a frequent audience member who tells all of her friends about this awesome thing she found

4. tara - listen, tara is a lesbian witch in college. rocky was made for her. season 4 tara is too shy to participate, but i can see it being a place she returns to a lot, and season 6 tara is definitely in the front row of the theater every friday gleefully yelling at the screen. she might even dress up as janet or magenta (shoutout amber benson for performing toucha touch me)

3. willow - this may be controversial, since early seasons willow is kind of reserved and seems like she would be really overwhelmed by rocky. but often that's the exact kind of person who thrives in rocky the most because it gives them a chance to come out of their shell. at her first show, she probably wouldn't participate at all, but something would compel her to come back, and slowly but surely, she'd start doing more. cut to a few months later and she's going full vampire willow in a theater full of people. i think later seasons willow wouldn't have as difficult of a time at first but i still don't think she'd get into it right away. but once she got it, she'd be a regular for life

2. spike - i think spike has been going to the shows for a long time; it's definitely his scene. it wouldn't surprise me if he invented some of the callbacks. yelling stupid snarky shit at a movie screen is so him. i don't know if i can see him dressing up as a character though.

giles - obviously. fucking obviously. in his ripper days he was frank at his local theater and he still goes to the shows all the time. maybe on special occasions they bring him back as frank for a special show. it wouldn't surprise me if he saw the rocky horror show before it was a movie. if buffy and the scoobies found out about his double life they would faint. (if you haven't seen anthony head as frank, do yourself a favor and look it up)

[stollengoods]

Let’s Get Wild

REQ. Tha-gyu x Reader Smut~

Warnings: Cursing, drug use, and threesome/lots a smut (like someone needs to take my phone away from me cuz this was filthy bitch haha)

Summary: Your dumbass friends take Viagra.

————

Most people would think a single woman renting out a home with two men as your roomates would be a cause for concern. Especially if those same roomates, did all kinds of random substances on the daily but to you they were harmless goofballs; they could be dumb and annoying at times but harmless non-the-less.

You guys met at the club, Nam-gyu worked there as a manager, Thanos was a famous rapper so he was there almost every weekend, and you used to work there as a dancer until you finished college and went on to become a nurse.

You’re shift usually ends at 11 PM and you would get home around 11:30 - 11:45 PM. Most of the time you would get home before the boys because the club didn’t close until 2 AM, but sometimes your job would ask you to stay for a few more hours and you would for the extra pay.

Tonight was one of those nights, you texted the boys in the the group chat not to worry if they didn’t see you at the house because you probably weren’t going to be home until later.

On the way home they decided to stop at McDonalds and buy dinner for everyone. They wanted to surprise you and also knew that you most likely weren’t eating enough as you should for how hard you work.

When they got home, they set the food and drinks on the table. They didn’t know exactly how long you would be, but typically when your boss asked you to stay an extra few hours you got home no later than 3 AM.

They went into the fenced off backyard to smoke some weed before coming inside. They both sat down at the table engulfing their food in minutes.

Thanos burped, leaning back in his chair, “Alright, what do you got for us tonight ?”

Nam-gyu smirked pulling out an orange prescription bottle from his coat pocket.

“I pickpocketed this old fucker.” He said, shaking the bottle and listened to the sound of rattling pills.

Thanos made a face, “Why an old guy ? He’s probably got heart issues and shit. No way he’s taking anything fun.”

Nam-gyu shook his head, the corner of his eyes red due to the marijana they smoked earlier. “No dude, I specifically picked him because he was dressed like a rockstar and plus you should’ve seen all the woman he was picking up, that dude was a chick magnet ! Whatever he’s on I want.” Nam-gyu pointed his thumb to himself at the last statement before opening the pill bottle and shaking one out onto his hand.

“What even is it ?” Thanos asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity now.

Nam-gyu handed Thanos the bottle, “That’s the thing, the labels kind of worn out, so I can’t really tell.”

Thanos inspected the bottle label closely but ultimately shook his head, “Yeah I can’t make it out either.”

He fished a pill out of the bottle and pinched it between his fingers looking at the front and back of the pill. “It doesn’t look familiar.”

Nam-gyu bit his lip in excitement, “I know, im telling you dude I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

Thanos smiled, “Alright, down the hatch it goes.” He slipped the pill into his mouth, Nam-gyu following suit as they both swallowed it in sync.

————

“Dude, it’s been almost an hour and all I feel is a headache and my heart beating like crazy.”

Nam-gyu sighed, “Yeah, I know, this fucking blows.”

The sound of the door lock turning made them look back to see you stumbling into the house, closing the door behind you and sliding down it onto the floor.

“Hey there’s are Meredith Grey, how was work today ?” Nam-gyu called out to you.

Him and Thanos sat on the couch, watching a movie, with their heads turned to peer at you.

You could barely keep your eyes open, “Fucking exhausting.”

“Well we got you some food on the table, if you’re hungry.”

You perked up at the sound of food, you made yourself stand and walk over to the table. “Aww, thank you guys, this is a really sweet gesture.”

“Oh yeah, no problem, we know the long hard hours you work and wanna make sure you get the energy you need.”

You smiled at them, before grabbing your food and putting it in the microve. Once done, you sat down at the table and began munching down on your hot McSpicy with fries and washing it down with a coke.

You tilted your head, noticing the orange bottle of pills on the table in front of you for the first time. You picked it up and looked at the label, noticing that it wasn’t either of their names.

You rolled your eyes as you realized Nam-gyu must have stolen it from someone at the club. Curious though, you tried to look for the name of the drug but the label was too tattered to read it.

Thanos got up from the couch and joined you at the table, “Oh yeah, maybe you can help us out and tell us what this is.”

You huffed, “Please tell me you guys didn’t take one already, without knowing exactly what was going into your body ?”

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry too much y/n.” Thanos shrugged, “We took it an hour ago and still feel nothing except for our hearts racing but that could just be the weed we smoked earlier.”

You closed yours eyes at the mention of weed, “You mixed it with another substance ?”

“Yeah, but it’s just weed.” Thanos defended, “That’s not harmful, it’s like drinking alcohol.”

You smacked your hand in the middle of your face at his ignorance. “Thanos, mixing prescription drugs with alcohol can be lethal.”

“We only smoked weed, I was just comparing it to alcohol.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, “No, Thanos, I get that I was just saying-“ you sighed, “You know what nevermind, let me see if I can figure out what this is before I give myself a heart attack.”

You popped open the bottle and shook one out onto the palm of your hand. The pill looked fairly familiar and it wasn’t until you looked very closely at it to read the writing that you let out a laugh.

“What ?” Thanos asked, “What is it ?”

You closed your eyes, shaking your head with a big smile on your lips. “Hey Nam-gyu ?” You called out to him.

His head turned around, “Yeah, what’s up ?”

“Come here please.” You motioned him with your finger.

He raised his eyebrows and got up walking around the couch, your eyes along with Thanos’s were instantly drawn to the prominent hard on showing through his grey sweats. Nam-gyu sat down across from you completely oblivious to his situation.

“Who’d you get this from ?”

His eyes went to the blue pill in your hand, “Some older guy at the club tonight. I thought since woman were practically throwing themselves at him, he would have something that we would want, but turns out it was nothing. This shit is ass.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

The smile on your face grew even more, “Well typically Viagra only works if you’re sexually aroused.”

Nam-gyu’s eyes squinted in confusion not completely catching on yet, “Viagra ?”

Thanos froze for a second and then looked down, “Fuck.”

Nam-gyu’s head snapped to him, following his gaze and he chuckled, “Dude why are you-“ He blinked his eyes a couple times before looking down at his own erection.

You bit your lip to keep from laughing, “Yeah… so you guys took Viagra-“ You checked the pill again, “-And at the highest dose as well, wow.”

“Shit.” Nam-gyu commented, looking anywhere but at you.

“Good news is, since you only mixed it with weed there shouldn’t be too many side effects besides Tachycardia. Plus weed can increase the amount of Viagra in your system, making it last longer and amplifying its effects.”

They both looked at each other with worry and confusion. “What’s Tachycardia ?” Nam-gyu asked, looking back at you.

“It’s just means a faster than normal heartbeat.” You explained.

“Shit.” Thanos cursed under his breathe, “Y/n you gotta help us.”

You laughed, getting up from your seat and throwing your trash away. “Yeah not gonna happen, you two can suck each other off, I’m going to go sleep.”

You went to your room and shut the door, quickly switching into comfortable pj’s and snuggling under your covers.

A few hours later you awoke to someone shaking you lightly and whispering your name. You barely peeled your eyes open enough to make out the color of Thanos’s purple hair.

“Thanos…” You groaned, “What the fuck do you want ?”

“Y/n, you gotta help us.” His voice sounded panicky.

You whined, stretching your limbs, “Huh ? What are you saying ?”

“The Viagra we took earlier, remember ?”

You let out a soft laugh recalling the event suddenly, “What about it ?”

“It’s been two and half hours and we’re still hard as rocks.”

“Alright TMI.” You rolled over onto your side, your back facing him.

“Y/n-“ He pulled your arm down having your back lay against the mattress. “I’m not playing around, we both tried jacking off and came but nothing changed, we’re still hard and it’s starting to become painful.”

“Okay, I still don’t know what you expect me to-“

Thanos cut you off, attaching his lips to yours. This wasn’t the first time you two have kissed, sometimes when you would drink with them, you guys would get really steamy. Not just with Thanos but Nam-gyu too.

You moaned into the kiss, your fingers lazily running through his hair. He rolled himself on top of you, making you instantly feel his hard on pressed against your leg. You felt yourself clench at the thought of him inside of you.

You felt the bed dip next to you and looked over while Thanos kissed along your neck. It was Nam-gyu, he was feeling himself over his sweats as he watched you and Thanos play with each other.

When Thanos pulled away to remove his clothing, you crawled over to Nam-gyu. He leaned back onto his elbows as you made your way on top of him. You could hear his breathing pick up, as your face inched closer to his. You attached your lips to his and he moaned into the kiss as he tried pulling you more into him.

That’s the thing you loved about getting intimate with Nam-gyu, he was so needy.

One of his legs was trapped between your thighs and Nam-gyu bucked his hips up & down, humping your leg. He broke away from the kiss, releasing such loud sensual whines of desperation.

You began kissing his neck and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, hands clutching your hips to pull you even closer to him.

“Y/n.” You heard a deep voice call next to you.

You looked over to an exposed Thanos laying on the bed stroking himself, “Suck me off.” He commanded.

And this is what you loved about being intimate with Thanos, he was very dominating.

You licked your lips, nodding your head and crawling over between his legs. You grabbed the base of his cock and saw as his eyes glaze over with lust watching you. You licked a strip from where your hand was to his tip and felt him shiver beneath you before taking him into your mouth.

His hand tangled in your hair as you started to bob your head on him. You gagged around him when he shoved you down on his dick more, loving the sounds of you struggling to take him all in.

He released your head and you came up for air, a string of saliva being the only thing connecting you two at the moment. You wiped your mouth and Thanos sat up, swiftly unbuttoning your top.

You gasped at the cold air hitting your exposed skin, your nipples rock hard from it.

Thanos attached his mouth to one while his hand messaged the other. Your hand went to his hair lightly pulling on it. You felt vibrations against your skin as you heard him moan and noticed Nam-gyu, now fully naked as well, behind him. His arm was reached around Thanos’s waist, stroking his dick.

Thanos stopped what he was doing to you and turned around to focus on Nam-gyu. Attaching their lips as he fondled with his balls. Nam-gyu’s nails dragged down Thanos’s chest and he hissed into the kiss.

Thanos then detached his lips to spit in his hand. He reached down stroking Nam-guy’s leaking cock and watched as his mouth hung open, releasing such pretty moans for him as he looked at him through half lided eyes.

“God such a needy fucking slut for me, huh ?”

He whined, nodding his head as his hands hung onto his shoulders for support as he came undone; his cum spilling onto Thanos’s cock and lower abdomen.

Thanos grabbed him by the neck, his face only a few centimeters from his. “You better clean this shit up.”

“Y-yes sir.” Nam-gyu squeaked out.

Thanos released him, throwing him against the mattress. You watched as Thanos layed down and Nam-gyu quickly got up and crawled on all fours licking the cum from around his stomach.

You bit your lip at the sight, Nam-gyu was usually a shit talker who acted like he was a tough domineer but when it came to sex he was the complete opposite. Such a submissive, needy partner.

Nam-gyu was about to lick the cum off of Thanos’s dick but he stopped him. “Y/n-“ He used two fingers to motion you over and you listened crawling over to replace Nam-guy’s position next to him.

“Yes ?” You asked.

He rested his hands behind his head, “I want you to ride me.” You broke eye contact to look over at his cock that was decorated in Nam-gyu’s cum.

“Now.” He growled.

You swallowed, removing your shorts/underwear and positioning yourself on top of him. You grabbed his dick to line up with your entrance and felt the sticky substance coat your fingers. Nam-gyu’s cum mixed with your arousel made it very easy for you to sink yourself down onto him.

“That’s a good girl.” He moaned, placing his hands on your hips helping you bounce on his cock.

Your pace quickened when he slapped your ass with one of his hands and you moaned out his name. You felt him twitch inside of you and knew he was close. He pulled you into his chest and swiftly rolled you over so he was now ontop of you.

You didn’t have time to think as he thrusted himself into you, deeper and quicker this time. Your mouth hung open, moans falling out of it one after the other.

“Gonna cum.” Thanos grunted.

“P-please.” You begged, feeling yourself too close to the edge as well.

“Please what kitten ?” Asked, “You want me to cum in this tight pussy of yours, hmm ?”

You clenched around him in response and he groaned. “I need to hear you say kitten.”

Your nails marked up his back as you tried to form words, “P-p-please c-cum in me…”

He caressed his thumb on your cheek, “Such a good girl for me.” He said with a smile, “How could I say no ?”

His hand then went to your throat as he did three last hard thrust into you before spilling his warm cum into you. You came at the feeling of his cum filling you like a pastry and spilling out of you when he pulled out.

You never worried about either one them getting you pregnant because of all the drugs they took. Thanos layed beside you, instantly wrapping his arm around your waist with his head in the nap of your neck. It only took a few seconds for him to start snoring softly into your ear and you giggled a bit.

Nam-gyu who was fast asleep after Thanos had jerked him off; unconsciously rolled over pressing his chest against his back and you smiled at how cute they looked while sleeping. It didn’t take long for you to follow suit.

————

In the morning, it was your day off so you didn’t care too much that you slept in. The clock read 12:34 PM and you groaned as you stretched your limbs. You felt your ass damp and looked beneath the sheets suddenly remembering the events that took place last night.

You looked over and noticed the boys were no longer in your bed. You yawned, walking over to your bathroom and took a shower. Once done you threw on your clothes for the day and walked out your room into the kitchen. It smelled of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns making your mouth water.

“Well look who finally decided to wake up.” Nam-gyu snarked and you stuck out your tongue at him taking the chair across from him at the table.

Thanos scrapped the eggs out of the pan onto Nam-gyu’s plate that was full of food already. He pointed his spatula at you, “How many eggs you want ?”

“Two.” You said holding up two fingers as well.

Nam-gyu took a bite of his food and then stood up, “Mmm, before I eat I’m going to throw your sheets in the washer real quick.”

You nodded your head, “Thank you.” You called after him.

It wasn’t long before Nam-gyu returned and Thanos had made you and him a plate of food. Thanos sat in the chair next to Nam-gyu and everyone chomped down on their food.

“Do you need money for a plan B ?” Thanos asked, with an eyebrow raised.

You shook your head with a chuckle, “No. I’d be lucky enough if either of your guys’s sperm lasted two days in me.”

Nam-gyu looked at you confused, “What do you mean ?”

“You guys are so hopped up on drugs that your sperm cells aren’t the best. Even if they got me pregnant, I’d most likely have a miscarriage after a couple of weeks and not even know it.”

Nam-gyu’s eyes looked concerned, “Damn… that’s-uh kind of depressing.”

You shrugged your shoulders, “It’s not like you’re starting a family anytime soon and when you want to just slow down on the narcotics, yeah ?” He nodded his head going back to eating his food.

Once finished you set your dishes in the washer and thanked Thanos for the delicious food he prepared. You told them that you were going to go get your nails done and to not wait up for you. Thanos stopped you at the door handing you a wad of cash.

“What’s this ?” You asked.

“Money for your nails.”

You tried giving him the money back, “I’ve got it, you don’t have to-“

He shook his head, “I insist.”

“Really Thanos I don’t-“

He smirked, “Let me spoil you.”

You smiled, rolling your eyes at him, “Thank you.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek and walked out the door as he shut and locked it behind you.

[greenerteacups]

Oh I loved the favorite movies question, it was delicious! And now I have to ask, what's Hermione's favorite? And Harry?!

Thank you! I've written before that I don't think Hermione reads all that much fiction, because her taste in books canonically leans heavy towards nonfiction, especially history and anthropology. (Understandable! If I were dumped headfirst into a magical universe with its own alternate history and complex culture, I, too, would get my ass to a library forthwith!) Also, I think Hermione is a lot less patient than some give her credit for; I don't know that she'd have a ton of appetite for experimental film or movies that take their time building an atmosphere. For her, it's all about snappy scripts and good dialogue. If asked, she'll say her favorite movie is A Few Good Men, but it's really When Harry Met Sally (which she sat through on accident because the Gryffindor girls were screening it, and she absolutely refuses to admit to liking on the grounds of not wanting her favorite movie to be a rom-com).

As for Harry, I think he loved movies growing up. I bet he didn't get to watch them often, because the Dursleys wouldn't have been thrilled to let him in on movie night, but at Mrs. Figgs', I think his favorite activity would've been dinner and a movie. Definitely a Spielburg boy at heart, and a huge Star Wars fan. Later in life, he keeps his affection and taste for family-friendly adventure movies, since they were such a source of comfort to him in his childhood. Favorite movie? A ragtag group of childhood friends in the 80s save a strange little creature who needs their kindness and reunite him with the family that, against all odds, came back for him. E.T.

[jimin-bangtan]

What are Jimin’s new dreams?

Before Jimin even clarified the (below) statement he made at Festa 2021 [set to mark], I had noticed that throughout the years many of the items Jimin had expressed that he wanted to accomplish did  eventually come to pass. He seems to be very good at setting goals and working toward making them become reality.

Click on image to enlarge.

Years later, at this point in their career, BTS has stunned the music industry by remaining productive and relevant while being absent due to mandatory military service.  So even while being in the military, yet another of Jimin’s known dreams came true.

In 2016 in his reflective Festa profile, Jimin declared that a desire on his bucket list was to “get the daesang”.

He may have been hoping for the prestigious daesang (grand prize) for the group at that time, but it wasn’t clearly stated who he had hoped would get a daesang eventually. It could have been a wish for both him and his group separately. Or he may not have been able to conceive of him ever getting a daesang as a soloist himself at that point. With Jimin’s goal setting habit and strength, it’s certainly possible either way.

Since then, it now turns out, the group and Jimin both have daesangs. Over the years, BTS did go on to earn a record-breaking number of daesangs, but in late 2024, Jimin was the first soloist to win this particular daesang (Worldwide Icon of the Year/Fan Choice of the Year), and he was the first soloist in a decade to win any daesang in any category. He is also the first soloist from BTS so far.

Soon after the win, Jimin used one of his rare communication moments with fans to thank them for such an honor.  He was very touched and “stunned”. (Stunned? Stunned stunned. Stunned.🤭)

After another customary break of silence for Jimin, he recently reached out to fans again in January of 2025. 2025 is the year he is to be finally discharged from military service, BTS is to be reunited as a group, and the group begins the new phase of their careers and lives.

In the letter, Jimin wished fans a happy new year and filled them in on how he was spending his time. He explained that one of the things he was doing was having important conversations with Jung Kook, who is serving alongside him by way of Korea’s companion program. The conversations center around planning for the future.

Jimin's current letter caused me to reflect back to the past and then wonder, “What are Jimin’s new dreams?” If you've read my Chameleon Park Jimin series (especially the more recent ones), I have already been considering some of these same questions: How will he choose to present himself on stage and in life? What will he decide to show that he hadn’t shown before? What will he no longer show that he had once shown? What kind of life will he choose to live as an adult artist in the idol world? How have he and his views changed since serving in the military? But Jimin's current letter, along with my Festa 2021 reflection and all of his astounding and historic solo achievements, really sparked a curiosity about: What new dreams will Jimin now be aiming for?

In his song, Smeraldo Garden Marching Band, from his MUSE album, Jimin said, “Everything we couldn’t say before… I’ll tell you everything now.” In his MUSE fan song, Closer Than This, he said, “When we meet again on a spring day, I’ll tell you all the things I couldn’t before.”  Now, in his current letter directly to fans, he said he couldn’t wait to have fun conversations with fans about things that had happened. But obviously he already had things to tell that had happened before.  Will these new conversations shine a light on his new dreams and future plans? I’m sure all of his fans can’t wait to find out the answers to these questions and more. I know I can’t.

BTS, as a group, and now as soloists, have already achieved so much in their careers. They have reached heights and earned accomplishments that have far surpassed what others had done or in which they were the first to do so. After military service and the forced hiatus, Jimin and the rest of BTS will have so many more experiences, skills, and thoughts to share. June of 2025 cannot come fast enough. Whether Jimin shares all of his new (or existing) intentions with us, we know that he usually has interesting and exciting dreams and has the determination and ability - not to mention the support of his devoted fans - to make them come true too.

[zones-spinterest-corner]

So, it’s been over a month since TPC s2e4 released, throwing us one of the biggest curveballs the show has ever created by purifying Cyanide.

Since the initial shock and anger has died down (mostly.), I wanna talk about how I personally feel about Teal and the storyline! Mainly because I’m brainrotting over Cyanide rn and wanna talk about her lmao

I don’t hate the concept of a purified Cyanide, or the concept of trying to purify her, but. It needed a LOT longer in the oven I’d say.

One thing that makes Cyanide interesting (to me, at least) is the fact she’s, well, a corrupt hero. Heroes are supposed to get rid of the corruption, and yet, there’s one made of it and spreading it. I think her having conflicting morals and being unsure of her place in the world is a really interesting concept that was kinda wasted on a short bossfight with text you had to decode in order to get the moral conflict.

Honestly, I don’t think she should’ve been purified, mainly because it just. Doesn’t make sense to me. She was born corrupted, she raised so many interesting questions, why make her part of the status quo when she theoretically shouldn’t be able to be part of it?

Also, looking at this specific merch design on RedBubble, I kind of notice something: (sorry its not transparent I had to screenshot it because the site wouldn’t let me save it otherwise)

Teal looks… honestly kind of bland compared to Cyanide.

Like, the design is cute, but there’s no flair. No intriguing choices. She barely looks like a hero, honestly.

There’s something distinct about Cyanide, I can’t quite describe it, but she stands out in a good way. She doesn’t look like a background character, she looks like someone you need to focus on. She looks like what the concept of a corrupt hero could make someone think about.

I also feel like there was a huge missed opportunity for the main gang to have a corrupt on their side, as, let’s be real, they don’t know what Dub is planning. Having someone who can gather intel from him on their side could prove invaluable.

I feel like there was so much potential that was just… thrown away by purifying her.

I also feel as if the storyline came out of the blue, and happened WAY too early after Cyanide’s introduction. It honestly feels like Brittany feels that TPC isn’t gonna last and is just throwing whatever storylines she wants to explore into s2 as weird sideplot episodes, taking away from what was supposed to be the main focus of the season: Iris, in case she doesn’t get to explore them later. Hell, Iris hasn’t even obtained a group piece yet, despite Big Giant Circles being all together and pure.

I don’t hate Teal’s existence, and a lot could be done with the concept, but it felt rushed, out of the blue, and nonsensical, while also wasting a lot of potential for a really interesting character.

Idk how cohesive this is or anything so I’m sorry if parts don’t make sense, and you’re free to give your own opinions on this as long as it’s kept civil. I don’t really wanna have to deal with a flame war or whatever over this

[galacticnova3]

Have you ever thought about Dhelmise? I have. In fact, I’ve thought about it so much that I decided I couldn’t fit it all in my brain. So here it is. That’s right, it’s time for the Dhelmise infodump but for real this time. With feeling. Because I think about this thing a normal amount. This is extremely long and not organized any more than my own thoughts are, so I have put it under a readmore. I am not going to color of the seaweed you people, because I’m not evil, I’m just hyperfixated.

I think everyone who follows me has read my usual spiel about the shiny, so I’ll save that for later. Instead I’ll start with some word explanations to avoid possible confusion later on. I’ll be using kelp and seaweed interchangeably for the most part, but as kelp technically refers to particular kinds of seaweed I will try to keep that in mind when the distinction actually matters. Seaweeds are not plants, they’re something different called macroalgae, which in turn is classified into three groups— green, brown, and red. As they’re not plants, they have different structures that I’ll be referring to throughout this whole thing.

The main ones to know are the blades, stipe, and holdfast. The blades are more or less analogous to the leaves of plants, with the stipe in turn being like a stem. The holdfast is often compared to roots, but doesn’t serve the same function of absorbing water/nutrients, instead only anchoring the whole thing to a surface, be it the seabed or something like a rock or underwater structure. In short it holds the kelp in place, as the name suggests. There’s also another part called the pneumatocyst, but it’s not really as relevant to Dhelmise itself as it lacks anything resembling one; in short it’s a gas-filled structure that allows the seaweed to float. It similarly lacks sporophytes, aka kelp reproductive organs.

With that out of the way, it’s finally time to actually talk about my favorite fella!

Dhelmise is, of course, based on kelp, if it wasn’t obvious; though it’s green(or red if shiny), it shares the most similarities with various brown kelps— I’ll get into that soon. Each individual has one stipe, which resembles a chain when not at rest but otherwise isn’t visible, and an average of five blades. They have two holdfasts on either side of their stipe, rather than just the one that is typical of real kelps; these are the apical holdfast, which is the one that clings to the helm, and the basal holdfast, which clings to the anchor. Oddly enough, the blades are always closer to the basal holdfast than the apical one when the body is fully extended, despite that being less efficient for photosynthesis. (Had I designed it, this wouldn’t be the case, but whatever.)

This does mean they can have a bit of a smell to them, which can take some getting used to, though I wouldn’t describe it as unpleasant— they kinda just smell like the ocean.

Also, while they can spend a good deal of time out of the water, they are very prone to scorching if out in high temperatures and direct sunlight for extended periods. This is especially common on the edges of their blades and on the parts of their bodies adjacent to exposed metal, like the anchor. Care also needs to be taken to make sure they don’t dry out, which would make them lethargic and brittle, and therefore more prone to injury. Both of these conditions are reversible, but in severe cases it can take months for them to recover fully. Plus, it’s just not very nice; you don’t like getting sunburnt, do you? On the other hand, unlike many other grass types, they don’t seem to mind cold temperatures; just keep direct contact with ice, sleet, and snow to a minimum and they should be perfectly fine.

While some sources claim it’s based on dead man’s fingers, Codium fragile, I don’t think that conclusion is founded on anything more than the fact that it’s a marine macroalgae, dark green, and has dead in the name, which fits a ghost type. Some say it’s because of the shape, but I disagree there as well, as while it does branch, it doesn’t do so from one point and is more tubular in appearance than other species. It also tends to grow outward rather than upward, and doesn’t get nearly large enough to make sense scale-wise. Lastly, it usually doesn’t attach itself to objects that are particularly large or heavy, to the point that it can often be found washed up on beaches, and also grows most often in very shallow waters, where it can be exposed when tides recede. This does not make much sense for Dhelmise, which clearly prefers very solid, heavy objects to anchor itself to(no pun intended), relies on actual shipwrecks to get those objects rather than ships that are merely beached and abandoned, and would likely prefer deeper waters where it will find its preferred prey.

Though they may occasionally make their way onto land, as is seen outside of Circhester, this may be light-seeking behavior, given that portions of Circhester Bay’s waters are covered by ice that would block sunlight. More likely, however, it is actually an adaptation to deal with the presence of Pincurchin in that very same area; as these Pokémon feed on seaweed, it would make sense that Dhelmise would seek to avoid them. Keep in mind that this is currently the only location where Dhelmise can be naturally found on land, despite also being found in Alola by fishing in Seafolk Village, the Isle of Armor by fishing on Challenge Beach, and in the Crown Tundra by fishing in the Frigid Sea. Pincurchin is not found in any of those other locations, thus they would not be pressuring the local sea creepers to leave the water.

With all of that in mind, I think a more fitting species for comparison would be Nereocystis luetkeana, aka bullwhip kelp, ribbon kelp, etc; not only does it have multiple blades growing out from one point, but it does so at the top of the stipe(or rather from the pneumatocyst) and not all along it, making it similar in shape and growth habit to Dhelmise. In fact, the location of the pneumatocyst combined with the blades even bears a slight resemblance to the way Dhelmise attaches to the ship’s helm, just facing upward rather than outward. It’s also much closer in size, being known to grow up to 118 feet— Dhelmise’s “chain” is said to be able to extend for hundreds of yards, but as far as I’m aware there aren’t any kelps that can get to 600 feet.

Another possible inspiration is found in Pterygophora californica, aka stalked kelp. This species is another brown macroalgae like N. luetkeana, exhibits branching behavior of the blades even closer to that seen in Dhelmise—bullwhip kelp has significantly more blades than stalked kelp— and is much closer to the size Dhelmise is listed as in the dex, reaching around 9’8” compared to the just under 13 foot ghost type; not exact, but Codium fragile doesn’t even reach three feet tall. As a little bonus, another common name for this species is walking kelp, which seems like a nice fit for the sea creeper Pokémon. The resemblance doesn’t end there, though, as stalked kelp is known to often be used as a point of attachment for other algaes, including the previously discussed bullwhip kelp.

That leads into the next thing I want to talk about, which is the fascinating ecological relationship between Dhelmise, Skrelp, and Dragalge. Dhelmise and Skrelp are said to get along. While this isn’t really elaborated on in the dex, it’s safe to assume that Dhelmise allows Skrelp to use it as a hiding place, given that the latter is said to hide amongst kelp. Additionally, a Dhelmise would serve as a literal anchor point for an otherwise easily swept away Skrelp, which, aside from referencing how seahorses/sea dragons cling to things, parallels the way bullwhip kelp will attach itself to stalked kelp.

While it’s true that Dhelmise is predacious and uses its seaweed to drain the life force of its prey— after more or less giving them blunt force trauma via anchor, of course— it only targets large Pokémon like Wailmer and Wailord. Skrelp is really small, so it probably wouldn’t even register as worth scaring off, let alone trying to hunt given its lack of a grass weakness and resistance to steel. Given that it has predators to hide from, one might actually be safest clinging to a Dhelmise; it could intimidate anything that would threaten the little sea dragon, if not seek to actively attack it if it’s large enough to be seen as worthwhile prey. Additionally, both of them use seaweed and detritus, with Skrelp feeding on rotting seaweed as its primary food source while Dhelmise infuses seaweed and detritus into its body to maintain it; perhaps it’s a situation where the little guy takes bits and pieces of what the big guy’s having.

You might think this is one-sided in favor of the Skrelp, much like how bullwhip kelp will shade out and put additional stress on stalked kelp, but Dhelmise may actually benefit from this relationship at the species level. When Skrelp evolves into Dragalge— which are specifically described as getting along really well with Dhelmise, fun fact, perhaps out of gratitude for offering safety before their evolution— they gain poison that can corrode ships and cause them to sink. As we know, Dhelmise are born when seaweed merges with ship debris; other than breeding with Ditto, which wouldn’t occur naturally and always results in an egg, it’s safe to assume they cannot actively reproduce… At least, not in a way that would result in any genetic diversity.

I headcanon that Dhelmise share some traits with seaweed beyond just appearance and literally being born from it. Specifically, they’re capable of asexual reproduction via fragmentation; if a piece of a Dhelmise were to break off in battle or as a result of some other environmental factor, it can essentially act the same way a brand new Dhelmise would, seeking out and, if it succeeds, merging with ship debris. This will always result in a genetic clone of the original Dhelmise, though, and unless it was close to a wreck other than the one it was born from, usually doesn’t succeed in creating a new fully fledged individual. As for kelp abilities they lack, they cannot produce sporophytes like many living kelps do, much like they don’t grow pneumatocysts. Sexual reproduction in that manner, therefore, isn’t possible; the only ways to get wholly new Dhelmise are for them to form naturally from kelp or via captive breeding with Ditto.

Regardless of how they come to be, the bottom line is that without shipwrecks, new Dhelmise can’t form in the wild, or at least can’t form and survive. The ship debris is key to their hunting strategy, to the point that their signature move is Anchor Shot and their signature ability is Steelworker, both based around how they utilize the debris they merged with. One might begin to form and search for a shipwreck(perhaps literally creeping along the sea floor), but if it doesn’t find the debris it needs quickly enough, the tissue that would have become its holdfasts will eventually wither and die off, leaving the unrealized sea creeper unable to cling to debris and unable to hunt, until it eventually starves and goes back to being regular dead kelp. Sad, but probably what happens the majority of the time.

Now, healthy Skrelp will eventually evolve into Dragalge, which can and apparently will sink ships in their territories. That obviously creates more shipwrecks. More shipwrecks will allow more Dhelmise to successfully form, thus keeping the species alive(or at least as alive as a ghost type can be…) in the wild despite the extremely specific conditions that they require to develop. Therefore, it would make sense for Dhelmise to want to ensure the safety of Skrelp if they can, as a sort of investment. After all, it’s safe to assume that modern maps, weather radar, and navigational equipment drastically reduced the number of shipwrecks that occur “naturally”, so outside of the possibility of intentional ship sinking by humans specifically to help bolster wild Dhelmise populations(or just to create habitat in general, like was seen in ORAS with the Sea Mauville, even though that wasn’t sunken intentionally so much as just not demolished after sinking), they might actually have to rely on this long-term relationship as a way of adapting to modern technological advances.

In the past, before ships and their various paraphernalia existed, Dhelmise were probably significantly closer to normal kelp, not growing nearly as large and relying on things like rocks as their hunting implements of choice. Though that assumes they hunted at all; as alluded to earlier, I headcanon that Dhelmise are also capable of photosynthesis, and for more reasons than just the fact that it’s the way their primary inspiration gets energy. Prior to Sword and Shield they could straight up learn the move Synthesis. They’re still able to learn the clearly photosynthesis-based combination of Growth and Sunny Day, along with both Solar Beam and Solar Blade. All of these involve absorbing energy from the sun and then utilizing it in some manner.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to theorize that, when the species didn’t have access to what might be the perfect tool for taking down their preferred prey— anchors can not only knock out the float whales, but actually weigh enough to then drag them beneath the waves for feeding— they might instead have been primarily photoautotrophs, in addition to being detritivorous. Perhaps they were even blind, or could easily become blinded due to their eye not having any sort of external protection; modern Dhelmise have their eyes safe behind glass and metal. Or maybe they were always predatory, but fed passively on smaller fish Pokémon that tried to use their seaweed as a hiding place. Regardless of exactly how, it’s almost certain that the species was very different in the past, and likely only became how they are now as a result of human activities.

Pivoting a bit, odds are the reason they prefer such targets in the first place is because they offer more life force to drain than smaller Pokémon. In a way you can treat the HP stat as a measure of life energy; higher HP means more vitality, which means it’s more worthwhile prey. Realistically, a hunt has to be worth the opportunity cost of not just soaking up the sun and safely getting energy that way. If hunting a Wailord would provide significantly more energy in a shorter period of time than just doing photosynthesis, the risk involved could be seen as worthwhile. On the other hand, an injured or weakened Dhelmise might not attempt that hunt because the relative safety of getting energy without initiating a battle that could go wrong is more appealing than trying to get more energy more quickly, especially when the risk of failure is greater; an unsuccessful hunt, even if it doesn’t end in further injury, is a waste of time and energy.

To further elaborate on the photosynthesis side of things, it’s safe to assume that shiny Dhelmise actually don’t see much of a difference in photosynthetic efficiency. Red macroalgae does exist, and like their green and brown counterparts they are all photoautotrophs, which means it’s efficient enough to be viable. With that said, the actual color of red seaweed is often quite dark and closer to the brown side of the spectrum, so not all that similar to the bright, vibrant red of shiny Dhelmise. It’s also safe to assume another kelp species wasn’t an inspiration for the shiny, as there are no red macroalgae that are also considered kelp. Anyone familiar with me knows what this is going to be about, but I’m gonna include even more information this time!

There are various types of non-kelp macroalgae that closely resemble its shiny coloration. They usually don’t grow very large, and color-wise seem to get less similar the larger they get. The closest match I could find color-wise is the pom pom or dragon's breath macroalgae(Gracilaria hayi), which is evidently somewhat popular in saltwater aquariums but seems to remain even smaller, and much like the next example has little resemblance aside from being red. A larger red seaweed is dulse, Palmaria palmata, which can occasionally reach a whopping one meter tall, or 3.3 feet; notably this species is commonly eaten in places like Iceland and Atlantic Canada.

I feel like this is as good a time as ever to point out something… Interesting. In Scarlet and Violet, there’s a point where you have to go and bid on some extremely rare red wakame; this is actually Kofu’s gym puzzle and therefore isn’t optional. However, the word wakame refers specifically to a type of edible kelp, which, as I established earlier, does not come in red, and especially not in the shade of red seen in-game. While you could say it’s just a fantasy version of a real life thing, the way it’s explicitly stated to be incredibly rare leads me to believe the red wakame you bid for could actually be kelp harvested from a shiny Dhelmise. I say harvested because I trust Kofu not to support inhumane practices, and taking parts of a Dhelmise without its consent would be incredibly fucked up and incredibly risky.

Considering how large they get— without taking into account how one of their likely inspirations can grow two feet a day— and the fact that it’s been established various grass types have edible or medicinal parts that can be humanely harvested from them directly(Tropius fruits, Petilil leaves) or collected as they naturally fall off(Toedscool flaps), I doubt it’s a stretch to believe Dhelmise also have edible parts. Most likely their blades. I imagine they’re not too different from regular kelp, actually, considering they literally were just regular seaweed at one point. The main differences are the sheer novelty of “this isn’t just regular kelp” and the need to find individuals that will actually cooperate and allow themselves to be harvested. After all, I really doubt you’re going to be getting away unscathed if you try to take anything from a Dhelmise by force, let alone part of the Dhelmise itself.

To elaborate on that because I love yapping and also it gives an excuse to mention another headcanon: the dex says Dhelmise weighs 463 pounds, but realistically it’s actually a lot heavier because Pokémon weight-to-size ratios are notorious for not making sense. I choose to interpret this as the weight of a Dhelmise not counting the anchor; the anchor technically isn’t part of its body, but the helm would be counted since that’s where its eye is. Now it might seem like over 400 pounds is too heavy, but remember that it somehow has enough material to extend for hundreds of yards, which is 600 feet minimum. Anchors of a similar size to the one Dhelmise has usually weigh several hundred pounds alone. What this means is that, in short, any physical attack by a Dhelmise on a human is going to be devastating, if not immediately deadly. So like. Maybe save fucking around and finding out for something that can’t break your bones like twigs or crack your skull like a peanut shell if provoked?

That was quite a tangent! Back to shiny talk, now’s the part you’ve all been waiting for. Dhelmise’s shiny coloration may actually be based on a phenomenon known as a red tide. This event occurs when there is a large bloom of red algae, most notably Karenia brevis(though as a dinoflagellate its status as an algae is actually debated), which in high concentrations will make seawater look bright red, almost as if the ocean itself is bleeding. The more dense the bloom, the more it starves the surrounding water of oxygen, which will asphyxiate sea life in and around it. K. brevis will also release toxins into the surrounding water which further increases its potential to kill surrounding wildlife like fish and even marine birds and mammals, and it remains toxic once it dies and begins to decay. A bright red marine algae associated with death seems pretty fitting for a ghost type’s shiny, especially considering Dhelmise is able to learn Sludge Wave as its only poison type move.

Here’s the fun part: Dhelmise coloring is completely independent of the macroalgae they form from. Doesn’t matter if the seaweed was brown, green, or almost purple, it will always create an individual that is dark green or bright red. How does this happen? Good question! Why does normal kelp sometimes turn red? Who the hell knows! I sure don’t! The mechanisms behind shiny coloration in Pokémon aren’t understood in even the most well-studied species, so suffice to say it’s still quite the mystery in Dhelmise.

Now then, you might think that if you artificially initiate asexual reproduction in a shiny one, you’d get shiny offspring, like an infinite shiny exploit. After all, they’re genetically identical, right? Haha, nope, somehow it doesn’t work like that! The red seaweed, which used to be green or brown or whatever and turned red for seemingly no reason, will just turn that familiar dark green as the new individual develops for also seemingly no reason. Or, in exceedingly rare cases, a clone of a normal Dhelmise can turn out shiny. They’ll be genetically identical in every way and yet one will be a drastically different color. It makes zero sense and yet it is the truth. Because why not! Nature doesn’t care about what should make sense, it just does what it does!

Anyways… Switching gears once again, I think my headcanon for how Dhelmise initially form and develop warrants some explanation, as elsewhere outside of this ramble I’ve mentioned offhand that it isn’t well understood in-universe for a variety of reasons. As alluded to earlier, new Dhelmise can come into the world in three ways: the way described in the Pokédex, through asexual reproduction by fragmentation, or through hatching eggs created when breeding them with Ditto. Due to the inherent differences between these manners of origin, the individuals that result will all have some different characteristics.

Normal kelp can begin the process of becoming a Dhelmise in two ways: spontaneously from dead kelp, or as a result of souls lost at sea becoming entangled in live kelp that ends up breaking away, much like how Bramblin are said to form. Beyond that, the process of becoming a full-fledged individual is identical. Next is what I’m going to call the creeping stage, where the sort of proto-Dhelmise will begin to blindly search for a shipwreck, most likely via sensing metal in the water and trying to move towards it. In the vast majority of cases, the individual is ultimately unsuccessful; between the inability to actually see, the way currents can pick them up and carry them away, and the presence of Pokémon that will eat kelp, the odds of one even reaching a shipwreck at all are extremely low, let alone one with suitable, accessible debris it can actually use.

In fact, even if they do reach what they need, it could already be too late. They need to begin the process of merging with the debris relatively quickly after first transforming from normal kelp— within two weeks, at best— or else the cells that would have become their holdfasts will begin to degenerate and wither away, leaving the unrealized individual unable to cling to a helm or anchor even if they do find them. In these situations they will simply run out of energy and starve, reverting back into regular scraps of kelp as if they hadn’t ever existed. They can also die if they begin the merging process in an area that gets no sun; photosynthesis is a necessary energy source until they are established enough to hunt, which can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months depending on conditions.

It stands to reason that most successful natural formations will occur spontaneously near shipwrecks that resulted in a loss of life, as any kelp growing nearby will be more likely to take on a soul and start the process, and the resulting Dhelmise-in-progress will have a shorter distance to travel. Many won’t travel too far from the location they formed in, so one that fragmented from an existing individual could end up searching the same wreck that no longer has a helm or anchor to bind to. Alas, just finding and clinging to the desired debris will not guarantee a successful formation; they start out small and blind, and— until they actually grow into their selected helm or anchor and seek out the other piece—are entirely defenseless. During this time they’re extremely vulnerable to other Pokémon, especially Pincurchin in their native range.

As for the debris itself, most often they will find and cling to the anchor first, simply because these are usually outside the ship and thus more likely to be found quickly by something approaching from the surrounding seabed. They will still be unable to see until finding and merging with a helm, but the anchor will at least aid in orienting them in their surroundings, even if initially incorporating it usually takes a day to several days. One that manages to cling to the helm first will develop an eye sooner, gaining the sense of sight more quickly, with the caveat that orienting themself without an anchor to clearly indicate which direction is down will be significantly more of a challenge. Merging with the helm takes anywhere from several hours to a day, with an eye usually appearing within a few hours after successful incorporation.

Once they have successfully integrated with their items, the new Dhelmise will need to make its way into an area with some amount of sun exposure, which will usually just be shallower waters; photosynthesis will fuel their subsequent development as they “grow into” the debris. At this stage, most will still be almost unrecognizable. The basal holdfast takes a significant amount of time to cover the majority of the anchor, and only after that will their lower blades begin to grow downward from it. This also seems to be when the anchor gains new properties that increase its durability and stop it from corroding, though existing damage is not repaired, and corrosion that has already occurred is not reversed. How this happens is not well understood, beyond it being spectral in nature. In gamer terms, they give their stuff the Unbreaking III enchantment but not Mending.

Compared to their wild counterparts, Dhelmise hatched from eggs are almost always slightly larger and more vigorous to begin with. This is because they will experience some additional growth inside of the egg prior to hatching, and will not spend precious energy in the creeping stage for reasons that will be addressed in a moment. Otherwise, they undergo the same basic processes; eye formation occurs after merging with the helm, and their body will take at least a few weeks to fully cover their anchor. The main difference is that, given how members of this group are almost always bred intentionally— as in, there are no known cases of wild Dhelmise and Ditto creating eggs— conditions are generally way more favorable for them than in the wild. Who would have thought.

They will, assuming the breeder was responsible, more or less skip the creeping stage, as they are offered a helm and anchor to merge with shortly after hatching rather than needing to seek them out. The need to provide such things is actually one of the primary reasons Dhelmise are rarely bred in captivity, in addition to the fact that they are difficult to find and catch for breeding in the first place. It’s not exactly inexpensive! Plus, they are not commonly trained, and most research on Dhelmise is focused on their ecology in the wild, so demand is also quite low. Those not bred purely for research purposes may be raised and habituated to having their blades harvested for culinary use, or will be destined to live in large aquariums or other such public education institutions, sometimes as part of larger displays or even as a focal species.

Lucky individuals may be treated as ambassador Pokémon, as despite their large size and strength, they’re often quite slow and placid— some might even say boring. They aren’t very popular for this role, though, as the space and conditions required to meet all of their needs while looking naturalistic are quite large and fairly complex. In other words, expensive. When not actively participating in programs, they often aren’t very exciting to watch, and organizations generally prefer Pokémon that not only do well interacting with people once trained, but are also interesting or fun to look at outside of programs. The primary exception to this is actually when Skrelp are being used as ambassadors; in such cases, a Dhelmise can help them to feel more safe and secure, while simultaneously highlighting one of their more interesting ecological relationships. Emotional support big seaweed.

So, now that you know what they are(or are likely based on) and how they form, let’s get into some potential ways that individuals can vary beyond just temperament, shininess, and different sizes, shapes, and models of helms and anchors. Because, let’s be real, the odds of every single Dhelmise happening to utilize the exact same size and style of anchor, and one model of ship’s helm to go with that anchor, feels maybe a little bit unlikely.

It isn’t all that uncommon for Dhelmise to have differing blade counts; that is, more or less than five apical blades, which are those that are generally spread out from where the stipe wraps around the helm when at rest. For example, it’s possible for them to develop only four large ones, or six to seven small ones. Individuals with fewer than four blades have not been observed, except in cases of injury where one or more have been torn or cut off entirely and are yet to regrow. The presence of more than seven blade growing points has also not been documented, but blade counts as high as fourteen have been recorded, albeit incredibly rarely. This is a result of doubling, when two blades— usually smaller but of unequal size— grow from the same spot. This can occur with all of a Dhelmise’s blades, only some of them, or even just one.

The exact cause for one to form like this isn’t known, but the trait does not appear to be heritable, even in cases where it was innate. Therefore, the prevailing theory is that it is not genetic, but instead the result of the stipe being damaged or otherwise having its growth disrupted in some fashion during the individual’s early development. In these cases the condition is permanent. It can also be caused later in life if the area of attachment is damaged, but the blade is not actually severed from the stipe; a new blade will begin growing as part of the healing process, even though the original is still attached. Think of it as similar to a lizard having two tails due to the original failing to actually break off when dropped. In this situation, the doubling is almost always temporary, with the exception being cases of more intense trauma to the stipe.

Doubling can also occur in the basal blades— those that hang down from the anchor— for similar reasons, but as they form later in development it is almost always the result of environmental factors like injury, rather than anything that might permanently alter the growth pattern. It’s also less obvious in older individuals, as there can be a lot of natural variation in basal blade counts. Usually five will form initially, but unlike the apical blades, the basal blades do not have specific growing points, and their positioning is more to do with the shape of their anchor.

Significantly more rarely, a Dhelmise can actually end up forming two eyes; why this happens is, you guessed it, not known. While it might seem advantageous, in reality it actually tends to cause poorer coordination and increased susceptibility to confusion. Dhelmise eyes have the peculiar trait of being able to spin, much like the compasses they resemble; this may be to offset the way their helms tend to naturally rotate to and fro while they sway, akin to a gyroscope. The swaying itself also isn’t understood, with most theories boiling down to the idea that they are simply doing what they did as kelp, even if the mechanism that originally led to such movement isn’t acting on them anymore.

Regardless of why their eyes are the way they are and why they always seem to be under the influence of some invisible current or tide, the bottom line is that their natural movement doesn’t disorient them when they have only one eye. This does not seem to be the case with binocular individuals, as their eyes will rarely actually rotate in sync, leading to two conflicting, partially overlapped visual inputs. Most will keep one eye covered by one of their blades almost constantly, while others seem to cover one eye at least when hunting or changing locations. When both eyes are exposed, they tend to be noticeably less responsive to motion, with subtle movements often going entirely unnoticed. However, when one eye is covered, they behave more similarly to average members of the species. This suggests possible visual fatigue caused by the two visual inputs themselves making it appear that everything is moving, effectively concealing actual movement.

One of the most interesting things about Dhelmise is that, like many seaweeds, they actually have noticeably high rates of chimerism, or having two or more distinct sets of DNA; in some areas this can be observed in around 30% of individuals. Chimeric Dhelmise will arise from chimeric seaweed, though in much rarer cases it can occur if two proto-Dhelmise bind to the same debris and end up essentially fusing. The latter is likely what would cause a bicolor Dhelmise, or an individual that displays both normal and shiny coloration; chimeras arising from just one piece of seaweed will either be entirely green or entirely red, regardless of whether the seaweed has multiple sets of DNA.

The different genetic material is not evenly distributed, much like in regular seaweed, instead having the most variation in the holdfasts and almost none in the stipe or blades. Also, whether a Dhelmise is a chimera or not will pretty much never be visible externally, instead being something that can only be confirmed with DNA testing. The sole exception is the incredibly rare bicolor types, which will of course have two colors; of those that have been documented, most are primarily green with bits of red showing on their holdfasts, but they can also be the reverse. What seems to be consistent among all chimeric individuals is that they are generally more hardy than those with only one set of DNA, growing larger and being overall less prone to issues that can affect the species. This may be comparable to hybrid vigor.

Alright, this is pretty close to the 6000 word mark, and I’ve said pretty much all I have to say about JUST KIDDING. LIKE MY FIELDS ON POKÉFARM Q THERE’S ALWAYS MORE DHELMISE. THIS IS WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR AFTER CLICKING THAT READMORE, PAL: PURE UNFILTERED INFODUMPING ABOUT THE FUNNY SEAWEED. The machinations of my mind may be an enigma, but by the end of this, Dhelmise sure won’t be!

Let’s talk temperament! Dhelmise are actually pretty easygoing in a majority of situations. Everyone always focuses on the fact that they hunt and the way that they hunt, but in reality for every period of hunting activity they usually go several weeks to several months seemingly just sitting around on the seafloor doing nothing. Maybe they will extend their chain on particularly sunny days to do some good ol’ photosynthesizing, but they’ll retract their helms quickly when ships, people, or other Pokémon approach. They tend to avoid conflict when possible. Provoking one accidentally is extremely difficult, except when dealing with individuals that are already under stress or that are just unusually high-strung.

Dhelmise attacking seafaring vessels isn’t unheard of, but outside of cases where the ship was actively disturbing one in the midst of hunting or feeding, this is almost always the result of a misunderstanding by an inexperienced individual. When looking from below and taking into account the fact that they’re naturally able to sense the lifeforces of other living things, a ship can seem very similar to a Wailmer or Wailord, especially because many modern ships also have white undersides. While this does mean vessels carrying more people are more likely to be attacked, such a situation can easily be avoided by simply painting the bottom with a color other than white, or adding some kind of easily visible pattern to it that breaks up the shape. Older Dhelmise that have more hunting experience are much better at distinguishing between ships and prey.

Another common misconception is that they are extremely territorial and will “claim” shipwrecks, attacking anyone who dares to get close. In reality, it’s uncommon for one to stay in one place for more than a few months at a time, and especially not in a location that gets little sunlight. They go where their prey goes. While they might have favorite spots to stay in, and are known to try and keep other members of their kind away for the sake of reducing competition— and also to avoid scaring away their prey’s pods, which will avoid areas they think have a lot of Dhelmise present— there have been very few confirmed instances of territorial behavior being enacted on other species of Pokémon, let alone people. There has been exactly one well-documented case where an individual became very protective of a sunken ship, most likely the one it formed from, but it was driven away by trainers.

Most likely, the idea originated from the fact that very new Dhelmise that have only recently established on their debris may lash out in response to people or Pokémon getting close. This is because, up until that point, anything could be a threat, and many things are still unfamiliar to them; just getting that far is practically a miracle, so it makes sense they’d take a while to realize they don’t have to fight for their life 24/7. The world can be a scary place for any young Pokémon, even if you wouldn’t expect that kind of perspective from something so large and strong. Just because they’re an almost one ton baby doesn’t mean they aren’t still a baby. Fear can easily be mistaken for anger when it comes to something that isn’t very expressive.

Though, they can actually be very expressive if you know what to look for. The secret is paying attention to their eye. When they’re happy it might turn sideways in a way that almost resembles a closed eye, or it might slant inward or outward when they’re angry or sad. When they’re particularly upset their pupil can narrow, and when they’re excited or see something they want it can widen much more than you’d expect. When they’re confused it’ll spin in random directions, when uncertain or nervous it might move back and forth more quickly than usual, when startled it might briefly stop moving entirely for a moment, and when they’re content it moves slowly and smoothly. Not as slowly as when they’re asleep, though— they DO sleep.

Thanks to psychic types and, more recently, Rotom pokédexes, phones, and tablets, it’s also become apparent that they’re quite slow as far as Pokémon go. Not slow as in stupid or simple minded, they just tend to go about things in a very deliberate manner; acting on impulse isn’t their style, and they don’t seem interested in much in the short-term. This is likely because they’re benthic organisms for the most part, and not a whole lot actually happens down there in terms of action most of the time. You’ll have the occasional frenzy from Wailord falls— sometimes caused by the sea creeper in question— or storms come through and stir things up, or maybe a new shipwreck occurs and causes commotion. Otherwise life is probably quite slow and uneventful for your average Dhelmise, at least in the wild.

Because they put a lot of thought into things before they act, however, they can be extremely stubborn. Impressively so, even. If a trainer’s Dhelmise decides it wants to be in one spot and not move, there is very little to be done about it outside recalling it to its pokéball. If one doesn’t want to battle, it won’t battle. If one is determined to get into something it isn’t supposed to, such as a pokébean storage container, your only option is to physically remove the container from the premises because they will keep trying to get into it and you are not going to be able to stop them. If one doesn’t want to let go of a toy or other item, it’s theirs now, you are not going to be getting it out of their grip and should just hope they lose interest and drop it eventually, or just plan on getting a replacement.

Speaking of holding things, yeah, they can do that. Most obviously they can manipulate their blades to wrap around objects to hold them, akin to tendrils or vines used by some other Pokémon. They also seem to be able to hold objects with part of their apical holdfast, as if adhering them to itself, though in reality it’s likely actually part of their stipe that does so. When the body is extended, it is the chain that seems to be able to hold things, while neither holdfast ever seems to be used. Perhaps it’s neither, actually, and this is done through spectral means, using something we can’t see to grasp things their blades would struggle to handle. Notably, it’s in the same spot where they “eat” small food items from, like berries. Do they have an invisible mouth there? Probably not, but the way they hold round or smooth things there can be similar to dog Pokémon playing fetch.

They don’t seem to have an aversion to physical contact overall. Like with many other Pokémon, it’s better to let them initiate it first until you have an idea of what their likes and dislikes are, and also because it’s important to set boundaries early. Much like you train dog Pokémon not to bite when playing, you don’t want your giant macroalgae friend to squeeze your arm with one of their blades until the blood circulation gets cut off. At the same time, you shouldn’t try grabbing their blades unless they’ve been offered up by the Dhelmise for that kind of thing of its own accord; not only can they be broken off if they try to pull it away and you reflexively tighten your grip, but such an act can be interpreted as more of an act of aggression than of play or bonding, especially if it’s one you caught in the wild.

Something else that’s very important to keep in mind is that they tend to either really enjoy or absolutely despise having the handles on their helm touched or held onto. So uh. Maybe don’t try to play sailor until you’ve made sure the one you’re interacting with isn’t going to reflexively spin its wheel to get you to let go and accidentally break your wrist in the process. In the same vein, they often don’t like having their anchors handled or otherwise messed with, especially where the metal is exposed or corroded. Cleaning it is rarely necessary, so unless there’s something that really needs to be addressed, like something stuck to or wrapped around it, it’s best to leave it be. If one actually lets you do anything with the anchor, that’s a sign of trust.

When it comes to interacting with other Pokémon, they actually tend to get along much better with smaller Pokémon than larger ones. Perhaps it’s related to how they will often act as a shelter of sorts for small fish Pokémon like Wishiwashi and Skrelp. In an example of a bit of a double standard, they don’t seem nearly as concerned about small Pokémon touching or climbing on their anchors, at most attempting to tilt in a way to harmlessly slide them off. They might get tired out or overstimulated by particularly energetic Pokémon, but seem to be quite patient and won’t lash out unless things get overbearing. The exception being if a little guy tries to pick a fight, in which case things tend to go about as you’d expect.

With larger Pokémon, and especially Pokémon larger than the Dhelmise themself, you really have to take care to set boundaries and make sure they understand friend versus food. One on one introductions should be made beforehand, so that you can anticipate how they will get along prior to having both out in a group, though this really goes for any Pokémon you expect to interact with others at some point. They usually don’t show nearly as much patience for bigger Pokémon at first, and will likely take longer to warm up to them. Once they do, though, they seem way more interested in actively interacting with them. Perhaps they feel less concerned about potentially injuring them due to not seeing them?

Though they don’t tend to readily start fights, if one gets started they can be very efficient at ending them if they get annoyed or angry enough. Preventing things from escalating to that point is therefore very important for the safety of other Pokémon, even if they were fucking around and about to find out. Sometimes the finding out part is a good learning experience that will encourage them to be more well behaved, and sometimes it’s an anchor to the face that will encourage you to practice speedrun routing to the nearest Pokémon center. Better to not see which option it’ll be.

Finally, remember that Dhelmise are just like any other Pokémon! They’ll have likes and dislikes, personalities, various little habits and quirks to pick up on… They’re more than just huge, scary whale hunters or boring, lazy piles of junk, even if that’s not always immediately obvious at first glance. Each one is unique and deserves appreciation. And merch. And a marketable plushie. And one million dollars in cold, hard cash.

If you’re reading this, you finally made it to the end! You survived! Congratulations! You get a gold star ⭐️ and my gratitude.

[itspileofgoodthings]

Learning how to love my teenage boy students and they’re learning how to love me within the proper teacher-student dynamic.

[shannonsketches]

Why is the anime so weird, it's not even the same series dude?? It's like,

Anime:

GOKU: I have a great idea to bring peace to the universe, and my leadership and compassion alone will unite us all. I have No Flaws and am A True Relatable Everyman :)

VEGETA: NO! I AM THE BEST AND I WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS UNTIL I AM RECOGNIZED AS SUCH!!!!

Manga:

GOKU: Vegeta what's cornmeal made of? I know it's what the corn eats, but what's it made of? VEGETA: Hey Kakarot let's play the quiet game until one of us dies.

[hanzajesthanza]

geralt is also a most real depiction of good quality fatherhood and great girldad representation because EVEN THOUGH witchers don’t even experience aging at the same rate as non-GMO humans, EVEN THOUGH it would be “biologically impossible,”

geralt having had been raising a pre-teen girl for maybe a few months to a year already “gave the impression of having aged,” his “face slashed by wrinkles.” the emotional toll on this man from raising she-devil ciri

and this is only the very beginning of the saga. BEFORE everything goes to shit. the wrinkles have set in

[nadiajustbe]

Throwing another option of HMC dynamic you might have never thought about: Mari and Princess Valeria's friendship would be an unstoppable force of power unknown to making and to prevent this from happening the universe made them exist in different words.

[puppppppppy]

Ouhhhh friendship I love friendship……..

[phagodyke]

tried putting on my radiator for the first time this winter (we've had snow this week.... its focking cold) but it trips the fusebox for the entire flat lmfao. I'm fuuuucked 😐

[tea-cat-arts]

What do y’all think Mei would be doing with her life if the Honkai didn’t exist? What are her interests and hobbies? What does she do in her free time (does she even have free time)? Does she have a dream or a field of work she wants to go into (she’s like 20, so it’d be perfectly valid if she didn’t yet)? Who is Mei outside her role in the story?

[dbphantom]

you know if you guys voted for stretch armstrong i probably would have shut up a lot sooner tonight

[ourceliumnetwork]

it is not slacking off to write or create it is not slacking off to do things that are fun i am not slacking off or procrastinating right now i'm allowed to do things i enjoy doing for fun including playing games and writing and such

[ilackallhonour]

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