#love how I didn't care at all for ash and his adventures or the pokemon franchise

[pechadream]

did you get into creepypasta through the pokemon creepypastas

oh it's actually the opposite, anon-

I got into creepypastas and then I found Lost Silver and Glitchy Red and that's what got me interested in Pokémon in general. (which is why I was so into polishipping and why Red and Ethan were my favorites)

Which also explains why my main interest were the characters rather than the games themselves-

I did know of Pokémon beforehand of course, but all I saw first was the first two seasons of the Pokémon anime and that just- did not get me interested at all- all it had to take was just my previous special interest colliding with Pokémon and that convinced me enough to check it out then bam, a new special interest was made

anyways haha speaking of lost silver, I drew the lil guy recently- I should post him later-

[ashestoshadows]

Hello! Im the anon who first rq for the hc. Can you do a Greninja X Reader?

Bonjour returning Anon! Another random but appreciated request I've gotten… I apologise before like with the other request (this one) if this isn't what you wanted dear Anonymous. Greninja is a Pokemon I've never gotten my hands on and is a Pokemon I usually overlook it but that doesn't mean I don’t plan on catching it whenever I can nowadays. And since you didn't state too much besides a Pokemon and it being headcanons I'll just do love ones (slightly overprotective and anxious). I do hope regardless you'll like them dear anon! But regardless- let's go!

The reader is gender-neutral as no gender was stated and the same with the Pokemon who I'll just use a male gender with as it is his predominant gender. (all starters genders are more male based)

-----------------------------

Dating a Pokemon gets reactions you aren't too shocked, or sadly, surprised to receive

Shock, disgust, and sometimes even curiosity. But it mainly is just you ignoring strangers who begin degrading just for your love interest when you both walk down the streets: Your starter. He is probably the nicest Pokemon you've come across and was honestly very caring.

When it came to stuff that didn't involve you he is not as overprotective and paranoid- but for you he is and probably for the rest of his life be very protective and cautious of what you're doing. But he doesn't push too far when you tell him to stop, although he'll be reluctant.

The main reason he even began becoming more protective was when you both were starting off your adventure, and you roamed elsewhere and off the path, (and where you shouldn't have been) through the forest after you thought you saw a cute Pokemon. Losing your Froakie who was searching frantically for you.

"Froak! Kie!" he could be heard barely crying as you at this point were very much a lost sheep, you ended up getting a massive scar from the injury from a very over-levelled residing... Creature.

And since you hardly got a good enough look at them you have no clue who/what they were and too but regardless which you still have barely on your side but thankfully it has healed and the scar no longer remains. At least for you, but for your Greninja it very much still exists.

Constantly worried of when he'd likely lose you again, and probably for real, never to see your pretty smile or to hear your voice to command and motivate him-  and the thought of it is almost always present in his brain.

But whenever he see's you come home his thought leaves only for them to return once you leave again though that front door. He just wishes you'd stay home and stay inside most of the time even though he knows that isn't healthy. You can hardly stay in one place, let alone sleep at night without walking around for roughly ten minutes to wear yourself out.

But whenever he does find you sleeping he usually snuggles up next to you, and he knows you appreciate the snuggles but sometimes you think he can be overbearing with how he has to almost always be around you.

He enjoy snuggling with you while watching stuff and enjoys watching you sleep. It relaxes him being able to see you asleep. Why? It shows how much you trust him and it shows that the trust goes semi-both ways. I say semi because he will always have subtle doubts about your safety.

He'll cook you breakfast as best as he can, he isn't the most skilled in cooking- especially with fire. But he tries his best nonetheless and you appreciate his cooking anyway.

But in the end, he loves you, that's all that matters right?

-----------------------

I hope I did well enough to please you returning Anon! Ashes out

[stargazeraldroth]

Get Ash Ketchum therapy challenge. Seriously, this kid has died, has seen legends fight and try to tear apart the fabric of reality, may or may not be eternally ten years old (though no one else ever ages, so who knows-), and really does try his best… People are just pissy he isn’t Red or something- And! Don’t get me wrong, I love Red, he’s fun (though my favorite Adventures character will always be Yellow… Love my gender nonconforming daughter), but Ash is his own brand of special.

I mean really, how many other people repeatedly take in Pokémon that have been abused, neglected, or abandoned, and are willing to put up with the consequences that will have on said Pokémon, ranging from lashing out at him despite him having done nothing to earn it (Charizard, potentially from some form of insecurity) to what seems to be intense PTSD episodes (Infernape). And! People whine and bitch about him “abandoning” his Pokémon, but meta reasons aside- They wanted to go? Primeape wanted to win that fighting tournament, why would Ash trample on that dream? Why would he prevent Pidgeot from protecting a flock that needed her help so much? Why would he stop Goodra or Greninja from protecting places and Pokémon they care about, places and Pokémon he knows need them? He wants to be strong but strength isn’t the end all be all for him, he wants his Pokémon to be happy above all else!

Quite frankly, I don’t give a damn whether or not he’s the strongest, he’s certainly one of the kindest people in the entire damn franchise. I will die on that hill.

I feel like a lot of the hype/praise around Red comes from nostalgia. Like yeah, he has a reputation as a very strong trainer, but so do other characters... like Cynthia. I personally don't feel much hype around him aside from "Oh, it's Red, this might actually be a tougher battle". I didn't grow up with those games, so I don't have any kind of connection to Red. Technically speaking, Ash is my Red.

I may not be Ash's biggest fan, he's annoyed me a few times (evolve your Pokemon dude), but I don't hate him. And can I just say the Sinnoh League was absolutely rigged? The anime is more lore-based than the games, why was Tobias (was that his name) allowed to bring a Darkrai, Latios, and presumably more Mythical/Legendary Pokemon to the League battles? That's a significant and relatively unfair advantage over other contestants, and it felt like a cheap way to make Ash's journey continue.

Dude, I literally remember Ash having a death/near death streak in the movies alone! Like the movie about Victini, this dude almost froze and suffocated to death in outer space! Give my boy a break! And you're right, if we wanna talk about being considerate of Pokemon's feelings, Ash is right there. He is by far one of the best examples of treating Pokemon as sentient beings with their own choices. Like, how many people can say they'd be that chill about their Pokemon wanting to leave? How many people can say they'd LET them leave?

Put some respect on Ash's name.

(This is also off-topic but am I the only one who got upset they didn't use Hop in the anime? I remember my friend showing me Goh and I got so upset.)

[sirikyu]

See you later, Ash and Pikachu.

I'm going to feel so silly if Ash cameos in the new anime during the next few months. Or it's announced he's continuing in the movie format. But I'd be SO happy to see them too, so it's alright, I can be a little silly sometimes.

So, Ash and Pikachu's last episode aired on friday 24th mar 2023, and I saw it around the evening of the same day, ~23 years after I saw the first episode for the first time. This duo shaped my entire worldview as a kid, and growing up, even got me to mourn the fact I would never have an adventure as grand and a connection as touching as Ash and Pikachu's. A boy and his little creature friend who understand each other perfectly. It was magical, and it always felt magical revisiting the show. It's so special.

Being an adult and watching the series again, getting introduced to the games and whatever else I missed (like some specials and movies I never fully saw as a kid because they weren't available), I grew to appreciate that I could come back to it anytime and have more adventures to watch. The overall quality of writing, or animation, or personal preferences when it came to stories weren't an issue, because there would always be a ton of stuff to see and to watch. In fact, I started to take it for granted that my favourite guys would always be having an adventure and I'd be able to see it. That was almost one of the core features of Pokemon for me: the constant presence.

So now that the final episode has come and gone, I'm experiencing some real aimlessness about this. I want to have something around to remember them by, I want to save and cherish all the fan art, gifs, theories, music and videos that I can find about them and the anime overall, because I also want to do something to keep them alive in other people's consciousness - and mine. I want to come online and see people discussing them, making stories of them, extending their stay until there's nothing more to say, to think, or celebrate.

I want to remember the good times and rewatch, but I don't know where to even start. Maybe my favourite, Sun&Moon? I'd love to read fanfiction, but I don't know what I want to read.

What is it I'm missing from this ending, or the journey here? I'm sure a lot of people would say "a lot of things", but just personally if I were to write fic, I would dive into Ash's character a whole lot more. Have him have a big adventure that is tied into a revelation about himself and having to deal with unccharted, emotional territory. But I'm also sure that wouldn't be enough even if I could write. I think I just want them to be around, and a lot longer.

They couldn't go on forever, and seeing how many people were unenthused with the last seasons outside major events, and how little I personally had to say about them even though I enjoyed Journeys era a lot, I can kind of see why it didn't continue anymore. I get the feeling the writers just didn't have anything more to tell. However, and this is really important to me, I can tell from how beautiful the last episode is, that they cared. They kept true to the characters, made an effort with the animation, and I was in tune with and touched by the episode's melacholy. It was a beautiful send-off.

I still would have loved to have more involved stories with Ash, shake things up a bit more, see what Ash and Pikachu had to give, as characters, especially in their final stretch... a bit more. Take risks a bit more.

But it's time to go, and I can't help but feel thankful that I feel so deeply about them. This sadness is real and comes from a real caring, as silly as it can feel sometimes. It's a testament to how long-lasting Ash/Satoshi and Pikachu's history and impact is on me.

Goodbye, friends. Thanks for everything.

[otnesse]

I'll try and tackle these replies myself. One of them will probably be its own reply since that will be extremely extensive.

"Her desires at the beginning are ill-defined: she wants "adventure" and "more," but has no specific goal. This is true, but personally, I don't mind it. Plenty of us don't know exactly what we want from life, but do know that we want more excitement and wonderment"

Even with more vague goals, they generally still leave some kind of idea of what they want (case in point: while we didn't know until the end of Ash's run in Pokemon what exactly a Pokemon Master was and how to precisely arrive there, we DID know it entailed at least in part winning a league due to certain hints they dropped). And Belle... let's put it this way, even Ash's goal had some concreteness compared to her, and he was hardly concrete with his goal.

"She does nothing but read and complain in the village; she makes no effort to achieve her dreams of adventure, and she never does any realistic peasant chores, which makes her come across even more as a spoiled rich girl. I think it's implicit that Belle and Maurice are too poor to leave the village – that's why Maurice sets out to gain fame and fortune with his invention. And I think Belle's never doing housework onscreen was part of Linda Woolverton's feminist agenda. Maybe it's not realistic, and maybe it's overly "second wave feminist," but I do think it was fair of Woolverton to want to break away from the Walt-era Princess model and not show Belle cooking or cleaning."

Too bad the implicit nature was blown apart by the mere fact that she even had the luxury to read all day (someone THAT poor would not even be able to afford the time to read a book, to say little about visiting a book shop, which as I mentioned before is NOT the same thing as a library, being two fundamentally different concepts.). It also doesn't help that the stage musical, since you referenced it later on, strongly implies that Belle and Maurice DID in fact hail from a more wealthy background. And as far as Linda Woolverton's endgoal, quite frankly, forcing second wave feminism into this was NEVER going to work out well at all ultimately (especially considering that you could still have Belle do chores but make it explicitly clear she's not doing it for her father but more so the house can stay maintained at least until they actually CAN move out. That would imply agency on her part as well, which would still be implicitly feminist).

"Her dreams of adventure are side-swept in favor of a mere love story. I think there are two ways of addressing this issue. One is to argue that her dreams of adventure do come true, just in a way she never expected. The other, supported more by the song "A Change in Me" from the musical, is that she does lose her dreams, but for the better, as she realizes her life doesn't need to be like a romantic storybook to be happy."

Honestly, I really didn't have any objections to that bit, especially when her goals were too vague as it was.

"Her romance with the Beast isn't nearly as fleshed-out or as realistic as fans claim it is. This is subjective. Some people think it's one of the best-written romance arcs in cinema."

Honestly, considering many of the same guys claimed that Ariel left her family for a guy she just met (and that directly impacted Belle's creation as even Linda Woolverton made clear), I wouldn't really put much stock in the claims that it's one of the best-written romance arcs in cinema. Even less so considering Belle's method of taming Beast just came across as leaving him unable to defend himself or his servants.

"She affects meek politeness and plays games with Gaston instead of plainly refusing his advances. First of all, if Belle didn't care about politeness, she would be a hypocrite to criticize Gaston and the Beast for their rudeness. Secondly, Gaston is intimidating. Third, this is only the beginning of her journey – with the Beast, she arguably learns to stand up to someone who mistreats her, which lets her decisively reject Gaston and call him a monster later on."

You definitely have a point regarding the first bit. Too bad she STILL acted rude throughout the opening song by denouncing the villagers as little people and decried the provincial life in earshot of everyone. As far as Gaston is concerned, he had the potential to be intimidating but... well, let's just say the Gaston reprise killed any chance at any plausibility of him being intimidating (when I was younger, I was actually more horrified at the actual villagers going along with it than at Gaston making the plan itself, and now I know that's bullocks especially after doing extensive studies on how totalitarian regimes tended to work, especially how even the guy on top tries to avoid divulging his evil plans in THAT manner). No comment on the third point.

"She sacrifices her own needs for men. Yes she does, but it's not framed in a gendered way, and both the Beast and Maurice do the same for her."

I definitely agree it's somewhat of a redeemable trait for her (though it's debatable as to whether or not its not gendered).

"She emasculates the Beast. Well, I'll admit that the Beast's arc isn't very empowering for him – that's the whole point, that he learns to give up some of his personal power and love unselfishly. But is that necessarily a bad thing? I'll also admit that sometimes, I feel troubled that the Beast lets the mob attack the castle and does nothing to protect his servants. Still, we probably shouldn't judge a character whose mental health is clearly suffering at this point: immobilizing, suicidal despair doesn't only exist in fiction, so we should think twice before we call it "weakness" or "emasculation.""

Beast also had suicidal despair even BEFORE that event, though (heck, it's also implied in the director's commentary that part of the reason why Beast saved Belle from the wolves at great cost was in fact because of his suicidal nature due to the curse, feeling he could at least get ONE good thing out of it before he dies. And that's not even getting into the second issue of the prequel comic New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast where he was so consumed with despair over not getting ANY visitors at all he suicidally tried to live in the wild, resulting in Chip and the servants having to save him.). It's not like he couldn't just confront the mob to defend his servants (heck, even surrender himself to the villagers while specifically demanding as a stipulation that they not harm his servants). Both of which would have been far better ways to actually SHOW he truly developed selfless traits. So no, that was definitely emasculation that he underwent. Even moreso after Woolverton's involvement with that awful man-hating film Maleficent and her boasting its connection with Beauty and the Beast regarding themes. And I never liked the whole concept of giving up personal power ESPECIALLY if THAT is the result. Couldn't they have him, I don't know, actually USE some of that personal power to actually HELP others, I don't know, the entire POINT behind that lesson he had to learn?

"She needs male characters to rescue her – the Beast from the wolves, Chip from the cellar. I respect the complaint that the Disney Renaissance movies still rely too much on the "boy rescues girl" trope, but there's no shame in needing to be rescued. Especially because in the forest scene, Belle is just one human facing a whole pack of wolves, and in the cellar scene, her father is rescued too."

All I can say is, there's no shame in being rescued, whether it's a girl rescuing a guy, or a guy rescuing a girl.

"She never uses her skills, knowledge, or passions to solve problems – the only purpose they serve is to unite her with the Beast. I think this is just a genre problem. The whole story is geared toward uniting Belle and the Beast in love, and every story beat serves that end."

Look, even regarding the genre, they were grossly underutilized (especially considering she could have used all of those to actually come up with a far better plan to save her father WITHOUT either marrying Gaston or exposing the Beast to an angry mob). There simply was no excuse for this, especially when it really doesn't even help serve unite her and Beast ultimately.

"She almost leaves the Beast to die in the snow and stays angry about the West Wing incident even after he saves her life. The former is only a split second, while the latter is only in self-defense when the Beast unfairly blames her for his injury. Besides, consider the context of how the Beast has behaved until this point!"

I won't bother with the first bit, since we definitely agree she did good there. However, the second point ultimately doesn't work since she still doesn't own up to her role in this whole mess happening (and you can't blame self-defense for this bit, either: Ash Ketchum when literally whacked by Venusaur's vines when interfering with an evolution ceremony, while otherwise calling Venusaur out for trying to force his Bulbasaur to evolve despite it wanting no part in the process also made it very clear he himself screwed up by interfering in the evolution ceremony by intruding, owned up to that bit.). That was too much of a problem even CONSIDERING how Beast behaved up to that point. Besides, she still gave a spiteful glare to Beast when he tried to give her the library, and that was very clearly AFTER he turned a new leaf and not even like before.

"She's a hypocrite for giving the Beast a second chance yet dismissing Gaston as a monster. She doesn't give the Beast a chance until he risks his life to save hers. If Gaston had done anything like that, she would have given him a second chance too, but he doesn't. Gaston is also far more cold-blooded and narcissistic than the Beast ever is."

That argument I agree with ultimately. Of course, then again, she dismissed the entire village in a similar manner, and if we go by New Adventures of Beauty and the Beast was hardly much different than Gaston regarding views of the opposite sex (heck, if anything, she was arguably even WORSE on that front than Gaston EVER was).

"She plays a nurturing, motherly role to both the Beast and her father. I agree that heroines shouldn't need to be nurturing. But it's not inherently anti-feminist to be that way!"

Never understood that complaint, to be honest. That if anything ought to be a positive, not a negative.

"She's sidelined in the final battle. Yes, this is true, but her presence is still essential to the scene, and not every heroine needs to be an action girl."

My problem with the whole thing is less that she's sidelined and more that she's pretty much the only reason Beast even fought back against Gaston at all. Contrast that with the initial Woolverton draft where Beast at least made an actual effort to fight Gaston even BEFORE he was aware Belle had returned.

"Her portrayal falls short of the original Beauty's greatest virtues: her kindness, selflessness, and compassion. Belle still has those qualities, they're just combined with more "modern" ones (adventurousness, defiance toward unjust authority figures, etc.). Besides, Disney had already made several excellent movies about heroines defined by kindness and gentleness. What's wrong with giving Belle a slightly different set of virtues?"

The way they were talking, they came across as more radically different virtues. And I'm not sure she actually retained those qualities ultimately, especially when, I'll be blunt, she acted more like her sisters in the original fairy tale.

"She's too traditionally feminine and ladylike. I think most of us can agree that "femininity" ≠ "anti-feminist," and anyone who thinks that way is a little misguided."

Ah, have we even watched the same movie? The only ones in that movie who were in any way traditionally feminine and ladylike were those triplets, and they were demonized (they were the only ones who actually supported the concept of marriage, not to mention while obviously having the hots for Gaston don't really go overtly for him at all, last I checked, that's traditional femininity for you). Belle if anything was more of a rejection of traditional femininity due to hating marriage as a concept.

"Her creators glorify her at the expense of the other Disney Princesses. I agree that it was unfair and mean-spirited of Linda Woolverton to imply that the three Walt-era Princesses are "insipid," but I do respect her insistence on making Belle a different, more "modern" heroine. And I agree that Paige O'Hara was mistaken when she described Belle as "the first Princess not looking for a man" (neither Cinderella nor Ariel dream of romance until they actually meet their princes), but I don't hold that against Belle."

Not just the three Walt-era Princesses, unfortunately. She also implied the same with Ariel, even specifically indicated that they hired her for her feminist sensibilities to avoid having Belle basically do Ariel's actions (referring to her giving up her voice for a man). And while I may not hold it against Belle for Woolverton and O'Hara's bashing of her predecessors, I DO hold it against Belle for being, as explicitly stated by Woolverton in Time Magazine, the direct inspiration for her notorious rewrite of Sleeping Beauty with the Maleficent movie, particularly HOW she rewrote the titular Mistress of All Evil (a psychopathic, vindictive, evil-relishing child murderer being given the good guy treatment).

"She's too blatantly written as a role model – she doesn't feel like a real person, but like a living instruction manual for how a "smart," "empowered" woman should behave. This is valid. But I personally do think she seems like a real person as well as a role model, and I think she's engaging enough that I don't mind the obvious "role model" qualities."

Considering it helped set up stuff like Rey from the Sequel Trilogy, I'm not sure I agree with that, really. Besides, there are plenty of issues in there that make her role model nature flimsy at best, and not in a good way.

I've decided not to write any more long posts about why some people don't like Disney's Belle. I've probably been dwelling too much in other people's negative thoughts that I disagree with. But here are the rest of the critiques of Belle's character that I've read, and my short, succinct thoughts on each one.

I still think it's very interesting that some critics think Belle is too sweet and gentle, too feminine, and not "strong" or "modern" enough, while others think she's too defiant, too "modern," and not sweet or gentle enough.

Her desires at the beginning are ill-defined: she wants "adventure" and "more," but has no specific goal. This is true, but personally, I don't mind it. Plenty of us don't know exactly what we want from life, but do know that we want more excitement and wonderment.

She does nothing but read and complain in the village; she makes no effort to achieve her dreams of adventure, and she never does any realistic peasant chores, which makes her come across even more as a spoiled rich girl. I think it's implicit that Belle and Maurice are too poor to leave the village – that's why Maurice sets out to gain fame and fortune with his invention. And I think Belle's never doing housework onscreen was part of Linda Woolverton's feminist agenda. Maybe it's not realistic, and maybe it's overly "second wave feminist," but I do think it was fair of Woolverton to want to break away from the Walt-era Princess model and not show Belle cooking or cleaning.

Her dreams of adventure are side-swept in favor of a mere love story. I think there are two ways of addressing this issue. One is to argue that her dreams of adventure do come true, just in a way she never expected. The other, supported more by the song "A Change in Me" from the musical, is that she does lose her dreams, but for the better, as she realizes her life doesn't need to be like a romantic storybook to be happy.

Her romance with the Beast isn't nearly as fleshed-out or as realistic as fans claim it is. This is subjective. Some people think it's one of the best-written romance arcs in cinema.

She affects meek politeness and plays games with Gaston instead of plainly refusing his advances. First of all, if Belle didn't care about politeness, she would be a hypocrite to criticize Gaston and the Beast for their rudeness. Secondly, Gaston is intimidating. Third, this is only the beginning of her journey – with the Beast, she arguably learns to stand up to someone who mistreats her, which lets her decisively reject Gaston and call him a monster later on.

She seems to blindly love all books without questioning their content, which could be dangerous, especially when the French Revolution arrives. Belle has no trouble thinking for herself. If she can open her heart and mind to the Beast, and loathe Gaston while the rest of the town adores him, then I'm sure she can tell good books apart from bad and dangerous books. And the fashions in the movie are such a mish-mosh that I'm not sure if it takes place before the French Revolution or after... or if the French Revolution will even happen in this fairy tale world.

She sacrifices her own needs for men. Yes she does, but it's not framed in a gendered way, and both the Beast and Maurice do the same for her.

She emasculates the Beast. Well, I'll admit that the Beast's arc isn't very empowering for him – that's the whole point, that he learns to give up some of his personal power and love unselfishly. But is that necessarily a bad thing? I'll also admit that sometimes, I feel troubled that the Beast lets the mob attack the castle and does nothing to protect his servants. Still, we probably shouldn't judge a character whose mental health is clearly suffering at this point: immobilizing, suicidal despair doesn't only exist in fiction, so we should think twice before we call it "weakness" or "emasculation."

She needs male characters to rescue her – the Beast from the wolves, Chip from the cellar. I respect the complaint that the Disney Renaissance movies still rely too much on the "boy rescues girl" trope, but there's no shame in needing to be rescued. Especially because in the forest scene, Belle is just one human facing a whole pack of wolves, and in the cellar scene, her father is rescued too.

She never uses her skills, knowledge, or passions to solve problems – the only purpose they serve is to unite her with the Beast. I think this is just a genre problem. The whole story is geared toward uniting Belle and the Beast in love, and every story beat serves that end.

She almost leaves the Beast to die in the snow and stays angry about the West Wing incident even after he saves her life. The former is only a split second, while the latter is only in self-defense when the Beast unfairly blames her for his injury. Besides, consider the context of how the Beast has behaved until this point!

She's a hypocrite for giving the Beast a second chance yet dismissing Gaston as a monster. She doesn't give the Beast a chance until he risks his life to save hers. If Gaston had done anything like that, she would have given him a second chance too, but he doesn't. Gaston is also far more cold-blooded and narcissistic than the Beast ever is.

She's to blame for the Beat's near-death at the climax because she reveals his existence to Gaston and the other villagers. Of course she is. It's explicitly framed as a terrible mistake and she openly blames herself. But it's an impulsive act of desperation to save her father, and she tries to explain that the Beast is kind and gentle. Until it's too late, it clearly doesn't cross her mind that the villagers could form a mob to kill him!

She plays a nurturing, motherly role to both the Beast and her father. I agree that heroines shouldn't need to be nurturing. But it's not inherently anti-feminist to be that way!

She's sidelined in the final battle. Yes, this is true, but her presence is still essential to the scene, and not every heroine needs to be an action girl.

Her portrayal falls short of the original Beauty's greatest virtues: her kindness, selflessness, and compassion. Belle still has those qualities, they're just combined with more "modern" ones (adventurousness, defiance toward unjust authority figures, etc.). Besides, Disney had already made several excellent movies about heroines defined by kindness and gentleness. What's wrong with giving Belle a slightly different set of virtues?

She's too traditionally feminine and ladylike. I think most of us can agree that "femininity" ≠ "anti-feminist," and anyone who thinks that way is a little misguided.

Her creators glorify her at the expense of the other Disney Princesses. I agree that it was unfair and mean-spirited of Linda Woolverton to imply that the three Walt-era Princesses are "insipid," but I do respect her insistence on making Belle a different, more "modern" heroine. And I agree that Paige O'Hara was mistaken when she described Belle as "the first Princess not looking for a man" (neither Cinderella nor Ariel dream of romance until they actually meet their princes), but I don't hold that against Belle.

She's too blatantly written as a role model – she doesn't feel like a real person, but like a living instruction manual for how a "smart," "empowered" woman should behave. This is valid. But I personally do think she seems like a real person as well as a role model, and I think she's engaging enough that I don't mind the obvious "role model" qualities.

[atomicengineerdetective]

THIS SCENE

Warning: Spoilers and a LOT of feelings

Okay, I know I've been talking about pokemon a lot more than usual today But I HAVE to mention this Whole scene because it's just SO good (I think maybe one of the best). It made me so emotional and reminded me of why I love the franchise

First How it STARTS

A Silent battlefield where all you can hear is pikachu's Labored Breathing. You know He is tired and he probably won't win this one. Everything about this part is Intense. Then, The camera pans To everyone looking just as worried for pikachu.

And when I say Everyone I mean EVERY SINGLE PERSON Ash and Him met during Their adventure.

Everyone is here to support them. From Misty and Brock their very first friends, To Goh Who is in the middle of a mission! (okay, it was obvious that Goh Would be watching Ash Compete but still).

Regardless of their relevance in the story or how long it's been since we've seen them on screen Everyone is here watching Because they all care about Pikachu and Ash So much. It's touching end even in such a tense moment, having all of them here gives you a feeling of hope.

And then pikachu falls. And you Hear ash's VOICE as the screen goes dark.

My chest hurt and I honestly thought that Was it you know? Just another Loss that Ash and Pikachu Would take and learn from.

But then, you see THEM. The OG team. Ash's First Companions, Pikachu's First Friends EVER.

THIS is where I cried. Seeing all 6 of them together like old times. Surrounding pikachu with warm smiles it genuinely Brought tears to my eyes.

And it Wasn't JUST them But ALL of Ash's pokemon

And This is where I BAWLED. Just seeing them made me emotional. Each of them reminding me of so many good memories of amazing moments I witnessed over the years. BUT in this context it hits even harder.

In his Toughest Moments Pikachu is thinking back to them, HIS FAMILY. each and everyone of them there, present, supporting him and cheering him on. He KNOWS that even though they are not ther physically they are with him in spirit and they believe in him. And Ultimately THAT's what Gives him the strength to stand Back up

AND THEN COMES ASH, HIS TRAINER, THE PERSON THAT'S BEEN BY HIS SIDE ALL HIS LIFE

And he says the words that I think best describe why this scene is so powerful

"Everyone's at our side" and That's it isn't it? That's the beauty of this scene and pokemon as a whole. The bonds you make.

Pokemon as a Whole is no stranger to showing the importance of Connections and friendships, and this scene in particular demonstrates it beautifly. It shows a bond so strong that keeps you standing in your toughest moments (Interestingly you can also see it in the games throught the affection stat "Your pokemon Though it out because it didn't want to make you sad" I cry everytime).

This scene shows multiple bonds between friends that surpasses the test of time. Friends that even though they are miles apart and havent seen each other in years havent forgotten each other. Every character pokemon and Human is there. They haven't forgotten Ash and Pikachu. And Ash and pikachu still remember them too. Ash even mentions IN the fight How This Victory Is thanjs to all the lessons He learned and all the pokemon He trained. All the bonds He made

Its truly so wonderful to see How Everyone came back at some point and How when they did, It was as if they never left. Thanks To scenes like this The show and the franchise Feels so homey and warm. THIS is what Honestly Keeps me coming Back to it. Hell, look at me, I've been a fan since I was 12 and I am still Here enjoying the show and its all because of moments like this

What a great anniversary indeed

[runawaycarouselhorse]

Goodbye to Ash and Pikachu and all their friends and rivals and everyone we loved so much for so many years! It was a great ride and it was fun to see different takes and concepts and adventures. It was also wonderful to have a series that's realistic in that the main character tries and struggles and fails, teaching kids it's okay to lose, as long as you get back up and continue trying another day.

A show where most of the heroines can have their own journeys, rivals, goals--they're not cardboard cut-out love interests without lives of their own... where women can hold roles similar to the men (Pokemon Champions, regional Professors, etc.), not just relegated to one or two stereotypical roles, things SO many shounen anime aimed at an older audience fail to do.

Thank you for not shaming kids for crying, thank you for comforting and meaningful lyrics (Soko ni Sora ga Aru Kara, Te wo Tsunagou, Smile, etc.).

Thank you for beautiful stories of characters overcoming trauma and abuse, being saved from or escaping bad situations, and shown genuine love and friendship (Chimchar's storyline and especially the Tears for Fears episode, Larvitar's storyline too, even Tepig's story ending with Evolution by Fire), thank you for stories of kids with phobias and repressed memories and all the recovery stories (Lillie, Sophocles...), the episodes dealing with loss (Mallow's mother), and the characters who were traumatized and couldn't fully overcome those fears but still found their place in the world (the Nurse Joy who feared she would drown as a child in The Joy of Water Pokemon and James with his fear of marriage, where even the word "fiance" triggers flashbacks, not to mention the sound of a whip... but he still found a place of belonging with his friends from Team Rocket), kids who were bullied and ostracized in school (Iris, Regina) but found friendship later on...

What a great show!

I got into this show a bit late (after Pokemania ended, because I was too young when it came out to appreciate it, but I still loved and cried watching the first Pokemon movie and the one cassette I had with four episodes, including Todd Snap's first episode--I think that first Pokemon photographer is why I love taking pictures so much!), but I got into it just as I went through big changes (the divorce of my parents) and trauma of my own, so I got very, very attached to the Team Rocket trio (especially Jessie), as they all had such tragic backstories, but they weren't one-note tragic characters who could never find happiness.

Especially with how Jessie lost her mother very young, being put into foster care by her very poor mother, and spent years being shifted from home to home, every career she pursued ended in failure, until she joined the same gang her mother was in (I don't know if she ever knew that)... but she found true friendship even in a dark place like that.

I also loved Iris and how she had trouble opening up to others because of what she'd been through; she was also a tomboyish girl who loved nature and didn't mind getting dirty and fighting, but also loved pastels, bows, and dressing up!

I also loved Trip and how much he changed from the sweet and happy child he used to be, to someone jaded and cynical and convinced he's an adult (but he's still a child... I also didn't think I was a child anymore at 12), how disappointed he was by meeting his childhood hero again, but also how he began to question what he previously believed and became a better person, even if he'd always be a little distant and awkward and won't be that child again.

I loved and related to Lillie feeling sad when her friends spoke about their mothers, when she rarely saw hers, when she lagged behind the others because her mother wasn't around enough to teach her things like how to cut vegetables, but also took credit for her learning things (in her absence!), the way her feelings were devalued if they weren't logical, so she'd insist any emotion she felt was rational or logical... she even named her Vulpix, in the dub, the same name I gave my cat around her age, a cat I had gotten after I'd just recovered from fearing touching cats (despite loving them since I was small, I was scared, after my mother's cat scratched me out of nowhere and scarred my ankle)! Her recovering the last of her lost memories and overcoming her fears was pure catharsis... beautiful to watch. To say nothing of finally finding her father and even being able to embrace a Nihilego as her sister.

I love them all so, so, so much.

[meenafreezoid]

Animal Crossing Characters Headcanons #1

Heeey, I just got into the Animal Crossing's fandom a month ago and I wanted to do this soooo bad. I feel like there's not enough hdcns of Animal Crossing's characters on tumblr, so here u go !

We'll start with my tanuki bois: Tom, Timmy and Tommy Nook, enjoy :)

💰☕🍃 Tom Nook 🍃☕💰

Our favorite Tanuki Landlord is 42 years-old. He left his natal town for the city at the young age of 20 and came back when he was around 30.

My boi is a bisexual king, periodt.

According to Sable, when he was a kid, he was a idealist with a heart of gold, very ambitious, yet always kind. He hated injustice and was actually very sensitive. I like to think young Tom Nook was a bit like Ash from Pokemon~~

He adopted Timmy and Tommy when they were basically babies (like 2 or 3 years-old or something). He considers them as his pupils and sometimes call them affectively his nephews. That's because he's got too much pride to call them his sons.

The fact that he found two children who looks exactly like him even though Tanukis are a very rare species is a pure coincidence, but Tom secretly like to think it was fate.

He's slowly recovering from depression. When he found Timmy and Tommy in his late twenties, he was at his lowest point, alone and broke, and even considered the s word. Adopting them was like starting a new life and he decided to come back at his little town to raise them and start over.

He's very good friend with Isabelle, Blathers and Sable, and get along with almost everybody, even if they all confirms that Tom is an introvert, just with good social skills.

He had a hard time reconnecting with Sable when he came back, because he developped trust issues. He either rejected her or didn't have enough time to spend with her. But now they are close again, even if they don't have the same complicty they had when they were children. Because of how he treated Sable back then, Mable doesn't trust him and thinks her sister deserves better (she's still polite with him though)

Coffee drinker, and during his breaks he sometimes smoke while Isabelle allows herself to drink a little glass of whiskey. They both do that when Timmy, Tommy and the Resident Representative (or kids in general) aren't there so they don't give a bad example.

He used to have a VeRy AmbIGuOus~~ relationship with Redd at their time in the city. They were buisness partners and lived together but that's all Tom would spoke about him. This is probably thanks to Redd that he discovered that he can be into men (and let's be honest anyone would be gay for Redd <3 even if he's a bastard).

He hates Redd with a passion not only because he betrayed him but also because he brings out the worst in him: from his desire of adventure he became drawn to danger and even illegal things, his dream of glory and ambitions turned into greed, and basically every of his morals and principles were dead during his time with him. He isn't proud of it at all.

Has many talents and interests: good crafter, very great singer (loves to do karaoke with Isabelle), has an eye for fashion (like to speak clothes and do shopping with Sable), chess player, pianist and violonist (he once did a cover of KK Lament).

He won't admit it, but now that he's a bellionaire and have a stable life, he slowly start to think about more "conventional life" things, like marriage~~. He still hasn't found the one yet. This idiot is so oblivious to love anyway... (Poor Sable)

He gives the best hugs <3

He can be harsh with people (especially the Resident Representative) because he doesn't want others to end up like him. He has a sort of affection toward the Resident Representative like for Timmy and Tommy and he's very protective of them. Tom is the kind of guy that would beat the shit out of himself to create a better system and future for the people he cares about, even if he has to act like the villain.

Basically act tuff but he's such a dad and a big softie I luv him so much <3

☺👋🍃 Timmy & Tommy 🍃👋☺

Despite their height, Timmy and Tommy aren't young children, they're both 15, with Timmy being a few minutes older than Tommy.

No one knows who are their actual parents, and they don't remember them neither, and both don't care. They are happy with their mentor Tom Nook and no one can replace him.

They both work because they want to. Tom Nook never forced them. At first he was just teaching them and let them observe him. Then, when his shop grew bigger and bigger (when he was more stable financially), he asked them if they wanted to work with him to put in practice what they learned. Timmy and Tommy were more than happy to, and actually were always harrassing Tom to let them work with him (they both truly admire him). When Tom Nook thought that they were ready (in New Horizons), he lend them the key of Nook's Cranny. The fact that they work alone in Nook's Cranny are way more a proof that Tom Nook trust them than any kind of exploitation.

Because they were raised by Tom Nook, they're both very mature for their age, more practical, independent and autonomous. So they don't really get along well with others children/teens and are more at ease with adults (Celeste and the Resident Representative are exceptions).

They are both smart as hell (young buisness prodigies), in a different way. Timmy is a quick thinker and learner, very adaptable, more social and persuasive, while Tommy is best at long-term planning, organization, logistics and managment. Tom Nook taught them everything he knows to not let them make the same mistakes he did.

Both probably have a high IQ and are good mathematicians and excellent chess players (Tommy beat Tom Nook once).

Since they are basically adults in teen's body, Tom Nook let them do wathever the fuck they want. They drink coffee, sometimes alcohol and Timmy even smoke once because he saw Tom Nook do it, but he hated that and never did again. Tom Nook knows they are responsible enough to handle themselves, but he's still here to protect or help them if they need him.

Tommy is a very good listener while Timmy gives great advices.

When they aren't working, they like to prank Tom Nook just to mess with him or test him. They like to switch clothes or things like that for example. Yet Tom is always one step ahead and always knows what they're up to. Little mischievous boys <3

They sometimes hang up with Celeste after closing the store since Blathers and Tom are friends. They get along well with her because of how calm and wise she is. They also like the Resident Representative more than just a client, because they're also more responsible than most people of their age (due to being in debt for Tom Nook), and Tommy has a little crush on them <3 (while Timmy is always like "Love sucks !")

They both accidentally called Tom Nook "dad" at different moment. Timmy did when Tom complimented him on his work (Literally the: "Nice work !", "Cool ! Thanks dad."). Tommy did when he was asking a innocent question like "Hey dad, why do you always look so sad ?". Tom Nook act like he didn't heard that but he was screaming internally.

They both live in Nook's Cranny. Upstairs, there's a studio for them to live (beds, kitchen, bathroom, etc.). Tom Nook comes to join them after they close to spend time with them and eventually stays there to sleep (when he's not overworked).

Timmy and Tommy are the only one who ever saw Tom cry.

They give Cuphead (Timmy) and Mugman (Tommy) from Casinoandcups vibe~~.

Aaaand that's all I have for now. Tell me if you want more <3