#maybe I will remove the “she” actually/gen

[strange-creature-222]

Me removing the "she" from my pronouns at the beginning of each month "What do you mean I need to go through 'girl things' im not a girl im a thing"

why am i having such bad period cramps i literally have they/them in my bio

[b4nanabunch]

Business is booming at the boutique! Had to get a mod where sims will shop by themselves as well as come to the register, bc otherwise this would be unplayable.

[writingbyshiloh]

Third Time's the Charm

Request: Hii,if your request are still open can i request something for Gen V?Can you write something where Jordan and fem reader are childhood best friends and Jordan had always been in love with her but they feel insecure because they don’t know if reader will like them in both forms romantically?So when,in ep 3,Jordan dad goes like “Y/n and Jordan will be husband and wife” reader goes “Maybe we will be wife and wife”because she loves Jordan just like they are?

AN: Reader wants to be the first supe president (just to explain why they’re at the gala), I changed the timeline of the ep a tiny bit. I have another request about meeting Jordan's parents but that one might be more angsty.

CW: fem!reader, kissing, no beta, Jordan's parents are just their warning. The start is all flashbacks so I may have slipped on the tense a few times, no beta

WC: 2.0K

Jordan Li was your first kiss. Twice. The first time was in kindergarten, when they tried to kiss you and you smacked them with your Queen Mauve lunch box. Your second first kiss (the one you consider your actual first kiss) was done by you while playing truth or dare at 14. After picking a dare, you were asked to kiss the best-looking guy in the group. You shrugged and picked your best friend - Jordan. 

At age six, they were there when you broke your ankle trying to see if you could fly (you couldn’t). When you did get powers, they were the first person you told.

When Jordan came out to you as bigender, you did an internet deep-dive, trying to understand as much as possible.

Jordan listened to every interaction you had with your high school crush while quietly dying inside, wanting you to be happy. When your high school boyfriend cheated on you and then dumped you for the girl he cheated with, Jordan was there, ready to sink hours into their Xbox to keep you distracted.

The worst week of your life was when you didn't speak to Jordan for 9 whole days. You got into a petty argument where you called them self-absorbed and they called you clingy. The fight snowballed into yelling arguments and ended with you receiving a cold shoulder from Jordan. 

When Jordan got their wisdom teeth removed, you camped out in their room, snuggled under their duvet with them to watch Property Brothers for two days straight. You even made sure they took their painkillers on time and used ice packs.

Every fight with their parents, you were outside in your car ready to pick up Jordan to stay with you. Once you showed up at their house at 6:03 am, eyes blurry with sleep and still in pyjamas. Jordan was crying, bob haircut looked messy from sleep. You drove them to Vought-A-Burger, still half asleep and ate greasy breakfast sandwiches in your car until Jordan stopped crying. 

Jordan was even your date to prom, taking photos with you in their masculine form to get their parents off their back. Once their parents were happy, you snuck them back to yours, where you stashed their prom dress. 

You both even applied to God U together. Too nervous to check your acceptance, Jordan checked yours and you checked theirs. Sitting across from each other on your bed you both log in before giving the laptops to each other.

“Okay, three, two, one…” you counted down, opening Jordan’s laptop. Your eyes scanned for any promising words like congratulations, or welcome. "Accepted" was the first word your eyes caught but you need to fuck with them.

“Jord… I’m so sorry.” You start. Their face falls, and you feel like a dick for doing this. But the opportunity is too good to pass up. “That you believed me! Because you got in!”

They lunged across your bed to see what the screen says. You saw Jordan's eyes scan the same letter you just read, picking out the same words. 

“You’re such an asshole!” they told you, rolling their eyes, gently hitting your arm with the back of their hand

You’ve never been shy about showering Jordan with compliments. Saved in screenshots never to see the light of day, Jordan has kept some of them. 

You: OMG!!! Jordan you’re so pretty. I’m so lucky to call you my friend. 

You: You’re so handsome!!! I love your hair slicked back! If she doesn’t agree you need to drop her. 

You: ur a solid 9/10. Lost a point for not giving me a sip of your drink yesterday lol

Jordan Li has been in love with you since age 16. Probably earlier, if they want to admit that to themselves. You’ve only ever expressed interest in men so they kept their feelings to themselves, not wanting to make you uncomfortable, figuring it was better to have you as a friend only than not at all. 

In your first year, you were even roommates. While Jordan flourished in crim, you bounced between majors before settling into politics.

Every time you brought some frat guy to your shared dorm, Jordan died inside. Trying to get over their long-standing crush, Jordan did the same.

When Jordan made number 2 on the top five, you celebrate with them. Maybe a bit too hard that night.

You were there when their ranking dropped after the death of Brink. A man you only met twice, but you would do anything for Jordan. Especially given how hard you fell for both versions of them last year.

“I’m going to try to tag team with your dad, get some points for you and keep him engaged, yeah?” You ask over your shocker. Jordan is behind you, ready to help with zipper duty for your dress.

“You don’t have to.”

You let out a small scoff. “Dude. I’m doing poli supe. Schmoozing with rich people is like half our courses. Zip me up please.”

“How long have you known Jordan? You seem to be a good couple.” The man you and Jordan's dad suckered into a conversation asks. He's sitting beside Jordan's parents, while you and Jordan are on the edge of some fancy pit or table. 

“Well, these two have known each other pretty well over the years. Jordan tried to kiss her when they were kids, and she hit him with her Black Noir lunch box.”

“It was a Queen Mauve lunch box, actually.” You say with a laugh.

“And she called him ‘Jojo’ for probably the next two years out of spite.” Kayla laughs. It's a special embarrassment when your parents tell stories about your childhood. All the stories are about you but it's been so long ago you can’t remember any of it. Jordan looks worse off, slouchy posture against the banister, while you sit next to him. Part of you wants to tell him to sit up straight, but you figure you can play the grief angle better this way. 

“Oh, and remember when Jordan got his wisdom teeth out? You guys were inseparable. I think I still have the photo of you two passed out watching TV!” Kayla gushes, reaching for her phone to find the photo.

“We all thought you two would be president and First Gentleman.” Dad insists. Your smile is fake and tight, knowing if Paul pulls out prom photos, you would have to quietly fling yourself out of a window. 

Maybe you drank a bit too much liquid courage. Maybe the tension between them and their parents was getting to you. To give Jordan some space, you took their parents for a tour of your classes, knowing they’ll be talking to your family when they go back to Rochester.

Jordan shifting doesn’t even cause you to raise an eyebrow, the subtle sound just blurs into the background.

“Or president and First Lady.” You blurt out, four pairs of eyes darting towards you. “First supes in the Whitehouse? It would be political dynamite.”

“You like this version of Jordan?” Dad asks with bewilderment.

“Of course. I like Jordan because of how smart and driven they are. I like Jordan because of their weird sense of humour. It doesn’t matter what they look like.” you say, trying to prove it to their parents, but also to them. You’ve picked up on their crush many times, too kind to say something that would embarrass them or hurt them. It’s only recently how much you found yourself staring at fem Jordan and wanting to kiss her too. 

“I’m going to go and mingle some more.” says the man, Brad or Rob maybe. You forgot his name right after you met him. His words are like a bucket of cold water was dumped over you. You don’t confess your feelings to Jordan just to Jordan, but in front of their judgy parents, and a possible donner. You need to go. 

You stand and straighten out your dress. 

“I’m going to go too. Other donors to talk to. Go Jordan!" You finish with an awkward laugh and even more cringy go team! gesture by yourself. 

You didn't lie to Jordan and their parents. You did go and talk to other donors but it twists your stomach every time you bring up how amazing their grades are, or how skillful they are at fighting. After donor number three gives you an answer that technically was “we’ll see” but heavily implied to be "yes for Jordan” you went to hide in the bathroom. You have enough battery left on your V-phone to keep it going for most of the night. Tomorrow you can talk to Jordan and hope you don’t fuck it all up. 

You barely look up when the door opens, already have done too much for the day to care who it is. 

‘Hey, can we talk?” You snap to attention at the voice. Of course, you know that voice. It's Jordan, still feminine presenting. 

“Fuck, Jord, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have spring that on you. I promise I’ll just go back and try to get you some votes, you’re going through a lot.” You say, in a rush to get the words out, desperate not to fuck up you’re friendship. The rim of the sink is hard against your back but you can’t help but shrink into it. 

“Did you mean it?” They ask, still keeping a distance from you.

“Yeah, of course, I don’t want to ruin this friendship.”

“No, what you said in front of my parents.” 

Oh right. Your confession. Fuck. It's already out there, might as well keep it going. 

“I may, uh-” you curse yourself for leaving your drink outside the bathroom, wanting something in your hands to stall. “-have a crush. On you. My best friend.” You twist your hands together, wishing Jordan didn’t look so pretty. If your heart beats any faster you may go into cardiac arrest. 

It's Jordan that indicates your third first kiss. It's gentle, and fast, like the second one. She pulls back quickly, but you run your fingers through her hair and pull her closer. The intensity from the first first kiss is still there, only this time you both share it. Her hand smooths up to your face, thumb stroking your cheek in a silent invitation to open your mouth. You comply, and tilt your head into her palm. Her tongue sweeps into your mouth and you can taste the champagne they were drinking. 

The sound of the door opening makes you both jump.

“Stall?” You ask, voice low and hushed. You squirm out from where she has you between the sink and her. You push the door open to the nicest-looking stall, desperate to keep kissing Jordan. They follow your lead eagerly, one hand wrapped around your shoulder to keep you near. 

Dipping their head, they softly kiss your jaw before moving onto your neck. You silently thank the other two women arguing in the bathroom so that your gasp goes unnoticed. Giving Jordan's hair a small tug, you pull them back up to you. The shit-eating grin they flash you makes you want to almost get caught again. 

Your free hand moves to their waist, trying to get as close to them as physically possible. 

You pull back slightly, wanting so desperately to get lost in the moment, but the commotion in the other stall is distracting. Plus you’re nosey.

Jordan frowns when you pull away, eyes scanning your face for something they did wrong. You shake your head and tip it over to the stall.

“The fuck?” They mouth to you, hand still around your shoulder.

You gently push Jordan against the door to give yourself space to squat down. You see two pairs of feet in the stall across the wall. You hear the voices quiet down, before the sound of someone peeing. You frown slightly, weird fetish to do at a memorial gala but you hear rumours about students into more fucked up shit. 

“We should get outta here.” You whisper to Jordan. 

“Weird place for our third first kiss.” Jordan whispers back. You reach around them to unlock the stall door. Third first kiss. You replay the words in your head, a warm feeling blooming in your chest. 

You gently push them out of the stall, trying to keep your laughs quiet as you both scurry past the other couple in the stall. 

[owlight]

My request: kid, law, marco and robin (only if you are comfortable writting female characters) reacting at gn reader (non devil fruit user) saving them from drowning. hope you have a nice day, you are very talented!

Thanks for requesting 😔🫶

I do females Characters , specially robin cuz she my wife actually 🤭💖 and lmao this reminded me of that one time when I almost drowned ngl

Tags:drowning situation pretty much, Suggestive language with kid cuz he built that way,fluff mostly , ignore mistakes plz

GN!Reader saving Eustass kid,Trafalgar law,Marco,Nico Robin from drowning

Eustass Kid

He only drowned because his ass refuse to back from any challenge or fight ,which how he now end up sinking to the water with an angry pout and arms crossed,he is that stubborn and would spend his last moments as a stubborn idiot

someone challenged him to jump to the water and his ass is petty so he did it without any thought to the fact he can't swim

But Gladly! You dive in fast the moment he end up in the water and grab him tightly,good thing water make him weightless or you would have drowned trying to get him out

" and ugh..you are so heavy" you tells him as you pull him back to the safety of the shores ,kid scowl at you " you are just weak pipesqueak" you look at him as you swim ,you are tempted to leave him to drown for a moment,but in the back of your mind you can see killer masked face telling you not to do that because you would regret it later... ,you sighs,the price you pay for love...

He would not be thankful that you saved him, cuz you are his partner and Part of his crew , it's like your official duty to help from drowning cuz killer can't do it anymore :(

He Would suggest you do CPR on his dick instead of his mouth once he gained enough oxygen going through his Brain,you drop him on the sand so hard you hear a loud 'thump!'

You're literally the life guard of the kid pirates , it's almost funny that you have to drag kid out the water everytime his problematic ass fall into water

He get into these situations a lot ,you suggested once that he add floaty on his outfit since he always be falling into water,he threw a wrench at you but missed and it hit killer right at his helmet

He is very grateful for you secretly, he would never let you know but when he see you swimming toward him to save him? You look like an Angel and he is so thankful that you always willing to get into water to save him

He tries to be careful more (doesn't work) but it's the thoughts that count

He say the dumbest most inappropriate CPR jokes every time,you sometimes tempted to throw him back in water but he is already so heavy (nd you love him)

7.4/10 saving experience, should have let him struggle bit more in water ,maybe the water would have washes all the salty attitude off him someday (?)

Law

This happens rarely really,he is very careful and usually use his devil fruit to avoid falling Into open water like that

But he once was very unlucky and fell off the submarine ship deck after a strong wave hit the ship ,one moment he was standing talking to you,the other moment he in the water sinking down the water ,he tries his best to hold his breath..last thing he see is a blurry figure pulling him up from the deep water

"I got you.. I got you" you says as you pull him out the water to the deck,you start performing CPR till he is coughing,he blink few times as he sees you above him, looking at him with worried eyes that melt to a smile "here you are lovebug ,good to have you awake" you tells him and law cheeks suddenly feel heated,he remove his wet hat off his head and sits down "thank you (y/n)-ya" law says as he looks at you with a little rare smile

"not a problem,that was a strong wave ,we should probably get into the submarine,might be a storm coming" you tells him as you pick up his hat and help him stands up,law can't help but looks at you adoringly...he loves you so much

He so thankful after that,not outloud but by the way he caress your face gently and smiles at you,a real genuine smile,rare sight only meant to his special people and you are so lucky you're one of them

He is more careful than everyone on this list ,so it won't happen often or again,he usually have fast reflexes to not get in that situation,it only happened then cuz he was so smitten by you(so cheesy ngl)

He will be thankful for a very long time,will go bit more easy on you ,no one would notice but you really ,it's wholesome

He give you extra cuddle every night from that day, cuz you his hero now,look at you getting spoiled rotten by him,so lucky

He appreciates you lot,thank you for loving and handling this stoic and secret nerd, he loves you so much just wait till he is no longer a flustered mess when getting affection from you

He really wanted to say that cheesy dumb CPR joke..he want to so bad,but he know you won't ever recover from hearing him says that..so he wait till perfect chance..

10/10 good saving experience

Marco

One moment he was standing watching the beautiful sea , then suddenly a strong wave hit and he was too slow to use his devil fruit to fly away,he hold his breath as much as he possibly can,he can't help but feel helpless,what an embarrassing way to die...he fought in many battles,yet a strong wave is what took him out...

He feel bit dizzy at the lack of oxygen and he hopes that's the others weren't taken by the wave as well,he would feel bad if they too ended up a victim of this unfortunate event,he start chocking on water that start entering his lungs and it burn like hell,he wonder if you would forgive him for Begin so careless-he did not have the time to think more before he sees you swimming to grab him so tightly, looking very determined,Marco slightly smile as he let himself pass out,he hope that the CPR he taught you would be enough to pull him through this

"......And you are awake finely!" Your voice says as Marco slowly open his eyes and coughs the salty water "ah...sorry,was enjoying my nap" Marco jokes and he can see you shaking your head "not funny..Next time no standing near open water when you know it might be storming" you scold him and he laughs as he sits up "promise you that yoi, don't worry" he ruffles your hair "thank you for saving me" he tells you and you smiles "oh no problem! Just know you own me a dinner for giving me the scare of a lifetime!" You says playfully and Marco can't help but love you a bit more

He is 100% thankful for your help

He doesn't drown or get into water often so you don't have to Worry about this happening again

usually he is the one saving you from almost falling into water so it's a nice change of pace

He would make a CPR joke later on when the situation is long forgotten to make you squirm a bit

He will make sure to get you your favorite snack later as a thanks for saving him because he loves you

11/10 saving experience,very polite birdman

Robin

How unfortunate,robin thought as the Battle between the strawhats and the Marines got bit too harsh and a Canon hit where she was standing sending her flying into the ocean water,she could say she lived a long life at least and died trying to protect her friends...she wonder if you would keep her collection of books safe after her untimely death-

Then suddenly,She is begin pulled out the water fast by someone and by the way she is held so tightly,she know it's You who had jumped to save her,she is slowly losing consciousness,but she smiles slightly as she trust she is in good hands now

"wake up damn it!-i can't lose you like this" your voice says as you continue preforming CPR on her,she open her eyes and cough the sea water she had swallowed earlier "thanks god robin-i was so worried" you tells her as you embrace her tightly,she can see that You are on the Sunny and it seem like the strawhats had managed to escape the Marines clutch which is good..you look not injured which is good,robin take a deep breath before embracing you back Gently " I apologies, I'm okay , don't worry my dear,thank you for saving me" she mumble softly as she hug you tighter "don't thank me...just..next time be careful okay? I almost had a heart attack seeing you fall into the water'' you scold lightly and that cause Robin to chuckles "I promise to be careful next time" she tells you with a gentle smile across her face

She is very grateful that you've saved her life,you always got her back even when she says she doesn't need help,you still offer to help her and watch her back ,so she is very grateful for that

She would thank you by begin extra affectionate with you for the rest of that day ,which you appreciate it a lot (Sanji is eating his hand as he envy you)

She doesn't usually end up in these situations,she usually able to get herself out of water by using her devil fruit ,so you don't have to worry about her much

Though ever since if the devil fruit strawhats needed to move through water,she would pick you as the person to help her across

She appreciates your help always,and she loves you a bit more ever since you've saved her from drowning

She kiss you later after that lot , thanks kisses she would call them playfully

13/10 saving experience ,she is the best

(This been in my drafts since months sorry for the lateness bbg)

[onedeadkitty]

Mizus Gender

He/him they/them she/her pronouns for Mizu

I know the writers of the show wrote blue eye samurai with Mizu as a woman disguised as a man in a way similar ish to Mulan but uh

They accidentally made it deeper than that ??

If you removed like 2 lines of dialogue in episode 5 you could even make an argument for trans masc Mizu. Or at the least gender queer.

Being transgender is not a concept in this time period. But trust. People have always wanted to be other genders, probably for the entirety of human history. And how someone would go about being trans in a world with no true understanding of the concept, might be similar to what Mizu IS DOING RIGHT NOW.

Living as a man. PERMANENTLY. Not temporarily to achieve some near goal like Mulan and the many other stories with this concept. Mizu has lived as a man nearly their entire life and no intention to ever live as a woman in the future.

Mizu admires their freshly binded chest in the mirror as a teen.

When alone Mizu refers to himself as a man.

When alone with Ringo, (someone who knows the secret) Ringo also refers to Mizu as a man.

Mizu threatens to straight kill Ringo at the the very use of the word “girl”.

When, and ONLY when seeing 2 MEN kiss does he think of Taigen.

Not to mention madame Kajis indelicate insinuation of gay sex to Mizu, something I believe wasn’t for no reason. OR Madams iconic line “you are more man than ANY come through my door” (I’m convinced she has an idea of Mizus true sex but doesn’t care to accuse or call them out for it)

They HAD lived as a woman in the past. Only for about a year, and they did it to get married for her mothers sake. To save her from a life of prostitution. She was able to be happy, because it IS POSSIBLE to be happy while not presenting how you like. It’s a strain and some can never be happy doing so but it’s possible and people do it all the time to make their lives easier or to keep the peace with family or for many other reasons.

Episode 5 gave HUGE VIBES of going back into the closet when living with your parents or just visiting. And Mizu looked SO uncomfortable and awkward in woman’s clothing and doing “wife things” (partly cause they have never done that before) and maybe it was my own projecting but I felt so uncomfortable FOR Mizu.

These things don’t necessarily mean being a transgender man specifically. Gender is actually really complicated and has ALOT to do with what society deems it.

Mizu is a masculine person. Being what Japan wants women to be isn’t in line with what Mizu is. A violent, practical, stoic, cold, masculine, confident and capable warrior.

dressing up as a woman with the makeup ONLY to try and make her husband happy. She didn’t WANT to. “To soften her husbands heart, the bride… danced” performed femininity FOR HIM. Only for Mikio to betray her for, in his eyes, being more masculine than him, by beating him in a physical fight.

Mizu is both the ronin and the bride. Mizu will be whatever they need to in order to achieve their owed deaths. They HAVE to be a man to get their revenge but that doesn’t mean Mizu WANTS to be a woman. (To be fair who WOULD in that time but I digress) and it doesn’t mean they WANT to be a man. They WANT their revenge. Everything is secondary to that.

Mizu is so different from other characters…

I grew up in a kinda misogynistic place and my mom really didn’t let me “do boy stuff” or dress masculine in any sense until my late teens. I my self don’t know if I can even call myself Trans. But I’m masculine, I like looking like a man and dressing as one but I don’t WANT to be a man necessarily. But I don’t WANT to be a woman. I feel like we as a society put to much distinction between the two and the people who don’t fit either side get left out at times.

Mizu is such a relatable character to me, like no other characters complicated feelings about their own sex and gender have ever come close.

They are for those who don’t have a strong sense of their own gender. Especially those who are biologically female and hesitant to lean into their sex because of the societal baggage.

Once people realize that how you dress, how you act, and what you do in reality have nothing to do with your bio sex and everything with what society has forced people to do based on factors out of our control is the day we can finally stop having these conversations.

Do what you want, gender is fake.

But Mizu is forever 🫶

[mukimokai]

having "childlike wonder" doesn't mean a character is "childish" or a little baby

childlike wonder is an attitude: of finding joy in the mundane and enjoying the simpler things in life. Having an inherent interest and excitement in new things, places, and experiences. Wanting to take in every detail of something, even if it's something small. It drives exploration and discovery, wanting to know how the world works and figure it all out. Having inquisitive minds. Being fascinated by the world around oneself. Being open to new perspectives.

childlike wonder doesn't mean "childish."

Yeah. I believe Alhaitham can see Aranara. It makes perfect sense because he has every quality listed above.

Yes: Alhaitham has childlike wonder. No, he is not childish. There is a distinction between "childlike wonder" and "being childish"

So can he see Aranara? Most likely yes, it's probably canon: Web events have always been that way anyway, always introducing you to the characters and their respective personalities and interactions if there are any. Web events are canon in the sense that: if the scenario happening in the event took place, this is how the character would act in said scenario.

Yes, I do think there is enough evidence he can see them just looking at his character as a whole: plus why else would the Sumeru lobby have us turn into Aranara if almost the entire Sumeru cast were adults that the Aranara don't inherently trust? The only character who would've been there in that case would've been Nahida but we had Alhaitham and Nilou as well? And it makes sense for them to be able to see the Aranara so like. I was actually completely unsurprised that Alhaitham and Nilou could see them so uhhh-

oh and also. to the ppl who say "Kaveh can't see the Aranara bcz he's traumatized" girlie. the one child in Yoimiya's quest was going through such a traumatic illness and she could still see them.

Kaveh can't see the Aranara not because he's traumatized or whatever. but because he's pushed away his past. Kaveh is actively removing himself from childlike wonder in favour of idealism: he is constantly chasing after his goals, constantly trying to do more and more, constantly striving for perfection that he forgets the mundane, everyday things in life due to the sheer amount of stress he is putting on himself on a day-to-day basis. Kaveh is also not open to new perspectives; following his own ideals to a point and shutting away anything that contradicts his ideals. He is not an inherently curious character either; we've only seen him comment on a few things that pique his curiosity (i.e. the one voice line abt lightning) but as a whole, he's not interested in much else if it doesn't have to do with the arts or things he is passionate about which is unlike Alhaitham who seems to take an interest in literally everything other than gossip.

again: childlike wonder and being childish are different things, PLEASE understand that...

i might have 50 million people come at my throat for my take on all this but like ykw idgaf: I'm entitled to my opinion and this is how i see the whole situation.

I do think people who said it's "out-of-character" for Alhaitham to see Aranara are either mischaracterizing him or they don't understand what exactly it takes for Aranara to be seen by adults. Maybe it's both; i know a lot of people skipped the Aranara quest dialogue, and, for the longest time, Alhaitham has been one of the most wildly mischaracterized characters in the fandom (and still is being mischaracterized to this day unfortunately) so idk tbh.

and ppl always say Nilou is bland so like... i don't think ppl pay much attention to her at all which is unfortunate because she's really silly actually. Nilou stan number 1 right here tbh.

idk it's just my thoughts on it: yeah I do think it can be seen as "basically canon" but I don't think it should be used to justify "omg!! hahahahah they're so childish lmaoo!! alhaitham and nilou are such babies ahahah!"

like. gen. nuh uh. what.

yes i call them babies because they're my babies but that's just bcz i like their characters, i called them that even before this whole fiasco with the aranara... so like. uhm.

this was way longer than i planned it to be. sorry for the yapfest holy.

considered not posting this but eh who cares, it's just my take lol

[emostudent]

TEEN WOLF BRAINROT

so, i've been rewatching teen wolf bc apparently netflix hates us europeans and it will be removed on may 31st and here are a few of my opinions TM

scott is actually a very good main character. listen, i got into this fandom when i was older, so i probably don't understand why there is this trend of hating scott, but he's a valid MC! he shows an example of positive masculinity that is honestly so refreshing to see in modern media: he's kind, compassionate, always optimistic but not stupidly so, has an amazing relationship with his mum AND his friends, he's not afraid to show emotions and cry. honestly a very healthy, albeit traumatised, young man. yes, he did stupid stuff for the girl he liked, and yes he misjudged a few situations, but please, remind me, how old is he supposed to be? 16? 17? 18? yeah. i did worse things at his age.

scott and stiles come from working class families!!! they have money problems!! it's honestly so refreshing to see teenagers discuss money in a supernatural/fantasy tv show. it doesn't usually happens and I've found it refreshing because it's something that usually happen between irl teenagers.

i don't get sterek. really, really don't. maybe it's bc i've watched the show through a gen z lens (meaning the media and the culture (read: THE INTERNET) when i watched the show were influenced more by gen z than millennials' values) but i really don't get it. and the age difference makes me uncomfortable. (same thing with parrish and lydia, SHE'S A MINOR DUDE, there's a reason people don't like cops istg) SOMEONE EXPLAIN STEREK TO ME PLEASE

in fics stiles and scott's personalities are often swapped: stiles is the caring one, the pack mum, scott is the one with homicidal tendencies. like, my dudes, the fact that scott is a GOOD person through and through is the reason he's a true alpha. also the reason we, as viewers, like stiles is bc he's sarcastic and more morally ambiguous than scott (not really, but you get it, he cares more about himself and his immediate friends, the others can die, scott instead want to save everyone period), it's like taking away the thing that makes stiles stiles

malia and stiles were SO cute, i didn't expect to like them so much, but when they broke up my heart shattered

stydia is everything i want in a ship and i will not accept any criticism on it, it's literally one of the only straight ships i like. you have the slowburn, the malewife x girlboss trope, the he fell first but she fell harder, the mutual pining. it literally checks all of my boxes

isaac was such a cool character and he and scott had an amazing dynamic, like come on, they had something going on between them

kira is a badass. that's it, that's the comment. i like her so much

derek's development is one of the best. i couldn't stand him in season 1, but in s4 he became one of my favourite characters. but i think this has more to do with the fact that they aged him up? he was supposed to be in his early 20s in s1, but then they aged him up in s3? well, anyway, i liked how he literally wised up, stepping into the role of a teacher and guide instead of a leader, it suits him so much better (and i'm sure it's less stressful)

peter is such a charmingly evil bastard. i hate him, but i love him at the same time.

thiam is the best ship in the show, i don't care if it's canon or not. i've read airplanes, it's canon to me

we would've liked (simped for) s5 theo more if he had the same haircut he had in 6b. he was just stupidly hot.

allison and lydia should've kissed and so malia and kira. give me my wlw couples.

[lexezombie]

(MASSIVE POST! SORRY!)

Friend: what if Vox had kids when he was alive?

Me: SAY NO MORE!

---

Welcome to my unhinged obsession with next gens and crafting my own lore! SO to start it off we need to talk about human Vox

I personally like the name a lot of people have been using for him. Vaughn.

How old was he? 30-40, unspecified rip

I made my own design for it (including a human disguise for his demon form, like I did with Alastor)

We were talking about how he could've died and ended up memeing about the idea his child killed him to take his company/money

(we also talked about the idea he was a televangelist scam artist while alive, maybe he did that to gain money before trying to start a company)

SO I RAN WITH IT!

Made his son: Graham

drew him as an 18 year old -- two days before he smashed his dads head through the television.

So, Graham is basically a pastors kid (His moms a red head btw)

Graham got a bit greedy of his dad not loaning him money after he hit 18, so he decided to do the rational thing and,,, ykno,,, kill em (as one does) and took over the (at the time small) company and grew it MASSIVE

fast forward to the 60s where Graham has kids of his own, twins:

Eliot & Janet

AIGHT GRAHAM IS AN AWFUL DAD-- he's controlling, forced his religion onto his kids and used it to control them via fear.

Once Graham hits old age (80s), Eliot takes over the company and Janet starts her own

She's vain and greedy, he's a liar and little hater; they both try and appeal to the younger generation despite being in their 50s -- Janet dyes her hair and has an addiction to botox, while Eliot smokes weed on livestreams and insults his ex-wife on reddit

(both have ex-partners btw; Eliot has 1, Janet has 4)

Eliot hates his dad and wanted to put him in a nursing home, but Janet loves him and won't let that happen. But old habits die hard and like the loveable father he is, Graham cuts the twins breaks in their car and gets them killed

NOW THEY'RE IN HELL!

They start going by Ex + Prima, find out their grandpa is a bigshot in Hell and instantly go to see him -- Ex? Hates his grandpa. Prima? LOVES her grandpa

He's connected to the internet back up in the land of the living because he put a microchip into his brain; Sometimes he gets pop-ups that his old employees click on and unwanted updates on stock markets

Their monitors are actually just screens and are removable - under it their faces are fucked

I got more info but I'll make them proper refs eventually for all that <3

---

and yes; they're based on elon musk + jeff bezos and daft punk lol

[kob131]

Pokemon Team Symbolism in Pokemon

You would think a series that emphasizes a colorful cast of creatures would try to use them to symbolize a character and their journey.

They have. Just not as often as you would think. It's damn good when they do though.

What Symbolism?

The symbolism I am talking about is using a Trainer's Pokemon to demonstrate aspects of the Trainer's personality and/or journey. For example, a Pokemon evolving after the Trainer has reached a turning point in their story or a Pokemon's move or Ability to demonstrate a personality trait that isn't so obvious.

Gen 1

Now normally I would begin off by talking about how a Pokemon represents a character and how they change alongside the Trainer...but Gen 1 doesn't really...have this.

This isn't an insult or anything- Gen 1 simply doesn't have the variety to pull this off. For example, what Pokemon can you use to represent Misty within Gen 1? Maybe Seaking or Gyardos but there's a reason why, in her Heartgold/Soulsilver rematch, she uses a Milotic due to it's heavy association with the fluidity and grace of water alongside being a counterpart to perhaps Gen 1's most famous Water-Gyardos. It's because no other Water type can really symbolize who Misty is, especially since there are no rematches to give her a more expansive team. And Misty's one of the EASIER people to make a more symbolic team with.

I guess of particular note is Blaine's use of Arcanine as his ace, due to how supplementary material implies he helped make Mewtwo and how Arcanine is referred to as the 'Legendary' Pokemon. Or Alakazam's immense power and almost alien appearence fitting with Sabrina's creepy vibe. And Giovanni using Nidoking and Nidoqueen, Ground/Poison types, can symbolize his leadership of Team Rocket and his status as the Ground Gym Leader. It's all cool... But not really anything special.

Gen 2

Ah here's the good shit.

This is where Game Freak started experimenting with more...expressive uses of Pokemon. Before we get to the big example, I want to try and talk about some of the other trainers.

In particular, I want to make a special mention of Clair and Lance's teams. With Clair, her team consists of three Dragonairs and a Kingdra. Now this doesn't look all that special aside from the Dragon-Type's status as being uber powerful in earlier gens but it does gain quite a bit of significance if you consider her relationship with Lance (him being her stronger and older cousin that she's implied to feel inferior to) and his own team. Namely that her Dragonairs all only have one move seperating them (Surf/Thunderbolt/Ice Beam) which is very similar to three Pokemon from Lance's team...except that the moves chosen (Thunder/Blizzard/Fire Blast) all have higher BP and the Pokemon in question are his Dragonites, the fnal stage of Dragonair. Meaning that Lance's team is basically an upgraded version of Clair's, showing why she feels so inferior to him.

And this chink in her armor is further emphasized through her ace, Kingdra. Kingdra's typing of Water/Dragon actually removes the signature Ice weakness that Dragons have (as well as giving it a STAB against the Swinub line the player will likely try to use against her) but it leaves it weak to Dragon-Types still. Meaning Lance's mastery will lead to Clair facing a harder battle. And for extra points- Lance's Gen 3 rematch team even gives him a Kingdra, further connecting them.

Now to move on- Silver.

I've come to the realization that Silver might be one of the most important characters in Pokemon. Not story wise mind you- he basically falls off outside of his Gen and it's remakes. But rather, in his writing. Because Silver's team actually includes the first notable use of Evolution to symbolize a Trainer's personal development. In his own story, Silver begins as your average edgy teen with an obsession with power and being a badass, even though you keep whooping his ass. However unlike Blue, Silver actually reacts to being beaten by you as he grows more and more frustrated. This coincideces with everyone he fights telling about how cruel and abusive he is acting towards his Pokemon. And by the time you beat him in Victory Road- he accepts what he did wrong and works to improve himself, not just his Pokemon. And this is shown as his Mt. Moon fight (...Really Game Freak?), his Kadabra and Haunter have evolved, meaning that Silver had to have become more personable to get someone to trade with him and his Golbat evolves in Crobat in his finale fight, a friendship based evolution. (Bonus points- Zubat/Golbat are commonly used by Team Rocket members, with Giovanni their leader being Silver's dad.)

This really shows how a Trainer's team can be used to symbolize their growth as a person. I can't wait to see what the next Gen accompli-

Gen 3

... God damn it.

So Gen 3 kind of falls back a bit in turns of using Pokemon teams for characterization. You have the usual basic symbology- like Brawly the martial artist using martial arts focused Fighting types, Norman being an everyman and a mundane but everpresent presence in your life being the master of powerful Normal types and the sea surrounded Sootopolius having a Water Gym. But nothing like the interplay between Lance and Clair or the subtly of Silver.

Best I have is the quite and sensitive Wally using the sensitive and shy Ralts evolving into the powerful Gardevoir/Gallade. But poor Walley doesn't get much time. The rivals...aren't really characters in Gen 3 and I've never played the Gen 6 remakes. For fuck's sake- they didn't even fully evolve her starter in the original games!

At least the Gym Leader aces do a better job of portraying them. Like Tate and Liza's Double Battle makes them like souped-up versions of the twins you've encountered in the game, their teamwork is shown through their Claydol always having access to Earthquake while their other Pokemon have some way of mitigating its team hitting function. Steven's love of rare stones and minerals is shown through him using the fossil Pokemon and Metagross. Or Winnoa's love of the sky being shown through her cloud-shaped Altaria. And Wallace's love of elegance being echoed in Milotic.

... Let's move on.

Gen 4

Okay, we're getting better.

Specifically, I'm talking about Barry. Specifically, his second to and last fights alongside his general team composition.

In his second to last fight, Barry fights you in Calvacade City, right before the sixth. By this point, most players will have evolved their starter. After all, Byron's team is edging Level 40 and the starter's evolve at Level 36 (Infernape/Empoleon) or 32 (Torterra). This is because Barry hasn't hit his turning point yet, in his loss to Jupiter at Lake Acuity which results in Uxie's capture. This causes Barry to become more serious and focused in his later appearances, as shown by his team battle with the player and his final fight at the Pokemon League having his starter fully evolved.

There's also the fact that Barry's team is actually rather well balanced, better than even Blue's team. As it turns out, Barry's family has a history of being tough trainers as his Dad, Palmer, is a Battle Frontier member. The Battle Tower, in fact. Which is basically the Pokemon location for 'ultra tough battles.'

Of course, there's also Cynthia. Her team is where Game Freak really go out of their way to try and capture the feeling of a 'Pokemon Master'. She begins with Spiritomb, a VERY rare Pokemon that the player likely knows nothing about. She also wields Milotic, a former Champion's ACE; Lucario, another rare Pokemon that you can only get from being gifted an Egg; Togekiss, a Pokemon that involves evolution through friendship and a Gen 4 stone; Roserade, a similar Pokemon to Togekiss through it's evolution line as well as being Gardena's ace and Garchomp, a Pokemon that takes advantage of Gen 4's more varied BST distribution to be a kind of Master of All pseudo-legendary. All of this together showcases Cynthia's power as a Champion- the varied methods of evolution display her wide range, the rarity of her Pokemon show her extensive travels, her use of former aces show her higher rank and her own ace being almost specifically stated to take advantage of every single advantage possible show her sheer strength.

Of smaller note is also Volkner and Flint, friends as shown in game, having similar kinds of teams whose aces are Electrivire/Magmortar, two evolutions of Gen 1 counterparts Electibuzz/Magmar with Gen 2 baby pre-evolutions. And Rorak and Byron's Aces, being Ramphardos and Bastidon, showing them to both be miners and having Byron be a Steel Gym Leader, when Steel is essentially an upgraded version of Rock, to show them being father and son.

Gen 5

Oh this is the good shit.

Gen 5 is famous for the MASSIVE leap in story quality and it really shows. Ignoring the two green elephants in the room for right now, let's start with the rivals.

With Bianca, her story is all about wanting to go out into the world with her childhood friends to live out her dreams, like them. However, she comes to learn that she might not be suited for being a Trainer since even with her strong resistance to her father's demands- she can't really keep up with the other two. And this shows in her battles- Namely that she fights you less frequently than Cheren (five vs. his seven) and with Cheren having better strategies.

Speaking of, Cheren is someone heavily focused on becoming a stronger Trainer and being determined to overcome the Player, which is reflected in his team. He not only fights you more often but his team is at a higher level before the post game than Bianca and he's one of the Trainers in the series to use extensive use of held items. It also demonstrates a knowledge of Pokemon battling than most Trainers in the series, showing why he'd qualify for being a Gym Leader in the sequels.

Then we have perhaps the two who stand as the standards, if not pinnacles for great team symbolism- N and Ghetsis. With N, it's already noted that for each battle he partakes in, he catches nearby Pokemon and uses them for his battles. And it's already said that he does this because he thinks capturing Pokemon is wrong and that humans and Pokemon can't coexist. But the interesting thing comes from his teams in the original games and the sequels.

In the first game, N is unique in that he sends out his ace, Zekrom/Reshiram, first. While on a gameplay level it makes sense as your own dragon will be sent to the first slot, it works on a story level too as N sees this fight as the big, determining battle to see whose side is right with your dragons representing your sides of the conflict. I even think N will always start the fight with the Fusion attack of his dragon, showcasing how you have affected him and his view of Pokemon and humans. You also have his other Pokemon- like how he has Carracosta and Archeops, the fossil Pokemon, and Klinklang and Vanillux, a futuristic Pokemon and a Pokemon inspired by a modern beverage, showcasing Black and White's duality and focus on the past and future while also showing N's deep connection to Pokemon old and new. And finally we have his Zoroark, a Pokemon shown in the opening of the game as a Zoura to have been with him his whole life, likely feeding into his beliefs through its experiences...and how said beliefs were based on lies.

Then we have his sequel teams, themed after each different type of weather for each season (Rain for Spring, Sun for Summer, Sand for Autumn and Hail for Winter)- implying that not only is N such a masterful trainer that he has mastered multiple kinds of teams but also showing that he's unwilling to force himself onto nature and Pokemon, instead working with them to achieve the best they can.

Very much unlike his father, Ghetsis. With him, he starts with the defensive and stalling Cofagrigus which uses Toxic and Protect to slowly whittle away at the player with his Mummy ability representing the way he infected and controlled N; Boffluant with Reckless demonstrating his wild emotions and how he views his Pokemon as expendable; Seismitoad and its sweeping power to demonstrate his threat; Bisharp with Defiant to show his status as the final boss as well as how he truly commands Team Plasma much like how a Bisharp commands Pawniards; Eelktross and it's almost leech like appearence to show how he used N and his Hydrigeon, Gen 5's Pseudo-Legendary and known for its violent disposition to show what Ghetsis is really like.

This gets especially blatant with his sequel team, which is far less effective with his Sesimitoad losing Swift Swim for Poison Touch, losing his Bisharp and Boffulant for Draipon and Toxicroak and finally his Hydriegon losing its Special set for an inferior Physical set (the only upside being a maxed out Frustration. Which...yeah, three guesses why). All to show how far he has fallen, how he has lost his ability to lead by this point, how corroded his mind actually is now and how he's lost his effectiveness.

We even have some interesting symbolism in the Gym Leaders, like with Clay's ace, Excadrill, not only being based on a mining tool but also seems to be perfectly designed to defeat the ore-based Roggnerola line (with Ground/Steel attacks to it's Rock, Mold Breaker to ignore Sturdy and Sand Rush/Sand Force to take advantage of the line's future Sand Stream ability). Things are looking up once aga-

Gen 6

... I need to stop pissing in the face of fate.

So...Gen 6, probably the worst Generation of Pokemon, has next to no interesting Pokemon symbolism. Cool, the dancing rival has Pokemon that use dance moves. ... That's it. Trevor wants to travel Kalos because his parents left him behind but his team is a Raichu, a Aerodyctal and a Florges. Shanua is aimless and has a crush on the player character, gets the type-weak starter and fights you twice. Calem and Serena are the kids of famous Pokemon battlers...but their teams aren't very well put together.

The Gym Leaders have nothing. Best is Wulfric, a bulky guy, uses the iceberg Pokemon Avalugg.

The villain leader Lysander does use a Pyroar in his matches, matching team Flare's colors and showing their obssession with beauty. And Malva also uses a Pyroar to show she was a supporter of Team Flare.

That's it.

.... Moving on.

Gen 7

Getting back on track. Again.

First up is Hau. In the Sun and Moon games, Hau is a very laid back and generally easy going guy who doesn't put much stock into the battles he gets into. While this would normally be seen as a good thing, a few characters call him out for his easy going attitude which ends up affecting his performance in battle. The culminates in his loss in Aether House, hammering home that he cannot continue this path. And so, he works harder to become stronger for the sake of his friends. It's around this time the games visibly have his starter, previous stuck in its middle or 'teen' evolution, grow into it's final stage. There's also quite a bit of Fighting Type hate in his team, from his Pichu knowing Charm and it evolving into a part Psychic type, his Eeveeloution also having Charm and Baby-Doll Eyes as well as having a Noivern on his team. Showing that he's still focused on beating his grandpa, Hala. And yet, he's still proud of his heritage, as shown with his Tauros (commonly found on Melemene island as a Ride Pokemon) and his Crabmomible (the ace of his grandpa).

Things don't end there, since there's also Gladion and his ace, Type: Null. Gladion is a runaway young team having recently lost his dad and basically his mom (since she goes either coocoo from neurotoxins in the original games or goes all Count of Monte Cristo on aliens in the Ultra games). Much like his ace, Gladion is bound and chained by his past, driven to either stop his mother or protect who he has left but can't really take advantage of his strengths because of it too. So instead he's kind of stuck seeking power even when we know he's way in over his head. That is until he meets the player and Hau, whom he learns to trust and put his faith into. And by the end- he's free as his family is safe and he can pursue the life he wants. A story neatly packed into Type: Null's own evolution, going from a rampaging beast bound and restricted to a freed and kinder creature. For bonus points, out of Gladion's other six Pokemon- three of them are friendship evolutions with one being a Lucario, a Pokemon that only follows those who have justice in their hearts.

Oh and you get a nice dose of N with his Zororark imitating his Silvally, showing that his threatening demeanor is just a really complicated version of teen angst and coping.

Speaking of coping- Guzma. A tough looking leader of Team Skull...whose actually a man who grew up abused by his dad before beating him up and running away, took up the Island Challenge and is now a washed up leader of bitter people desperately trying to make something of themselves. And wouldn't you know it- He uses the Bug Type, a type that gets shit on both in universe and out for its weak members and generally being outclassed. This shows Guzma's inner weakness and connection to the weak and discarded Team Skull. They're also some of the more threatening Bug Types, including his rather strong ace Golisopod. This Pokemon in particular represents Guzma, as it begins as a weak and scared Wimpod before evolving after a lot of hard work into the threatening and determined Golisopod. Rather fitting for a man who once jumped into an interdimensional portal to fight aliens and also got involved in the downfall of the Super Interdimensional Gay Mafia. Awesome.

Moving back to the blondes- Lusamine. Said mother who went coocoo over her husbands death. A woman obsessed with the beauty of Pokemon, herself deceptively beautiful for a violent and destructive person. Her team consists of Pokemon commonly considered beautiful or cute...while also being rather strong. Those being- Clefairy, a kind hearted and helpful Pokemon showing her loving nature that is either hidden or wrecked; Lilligant, a Pokemon heavily associated with beauty and grace that requires skillful care to ensure its flower blossoms to show her geniune love for Pokemon; Lopunny, a cautious and active Pokemon that also displays Lusamine's kinder side; Mismagius, an eerie witch-like Pokemon known for its cries harming but sometimes helping others, showing Lusamine's violent mood in the earlier games before being switched with the kinder Lopunny; Milotic...we've already talked about it and Bewear, a giant fluffy Pokemon that loves to give hugs...that smooths and crushes those it hugs due to not understanding its own strength. ... Take a guess as to what this Pokemon represents.

And finally we have Lillie. A girl who starts off scared, indecisive and unable to do anything until events force her to help out or lose everything. WIth the likes of Hop and the player's actions, she's inspired to take a more proactive role in battles...while still not being the best and acting as support. As shown with her team being support based Fairy types. A type that just so happens to be heavily connected to feminine beauty. And her signature Pokemon is a Friend Guard Clefairy. ... Did I mention Lusamine's first Pokemon in all her fights is an offensive Magic Guard Clefable?

Sadly can't say too much about the Kahunas- they aren't really focused on. It's more the Totem Pokemon...and those aren't teams. So...moving on.

Gen 8

Okay, get a snack and a drink. We're going to be here for a while.

Let's try something simple- Marnie. One of the more static trainers, this isn't to say she doesn't have any symbolism on her team. It kind of seems odd for someone like Marnie, who isn't even really aggressive in her rivalry with the player, to be using a Dark type team, since Dark types are known for their underhanded tactics and propensity for malicious behavior. But it does make sense when you see that she hails from Spikemuth, which is the hometown of Team Yell. Said team is, in actuality, her brother's Gym Trainers having gone off to support her. This is shown by her team being made up, while perhaps not fully moral Pokemon, are the more beign Pokemon of their types. Like her Liepard, Morpeko and Grimmsnarl are all more akin to tricksters rather than the malicious Pokemon usually associated with the Dark Type. Even her Poison type is a Toxicroak, a Pokemon known for its toxicity but not for any underhanded tactics. This is also a Pokemon that appears frequently on villain teams, hinting at her connection to Team Yell. Further connecting her to them is Scrafty, a Dark/Fighting type she shares with her brother Piers. Over half her team also has a type ADVANTAGE over Team Yell, indicating how she not only controls them but also takes over for her brother in the end.

Yeah, that was one of the more...easy examples. Bede is a bit more complex. He starts off as your typical example of a 'jackass rival', being smug and condescending to you and your friend Hop. As he seems to be a call back to the likes of Blue, Bede uses the Psychic type, which was infamously overpowered in Gen 1. However, Bede is..not good. His team entirely consists of Psychic, Normal and Fairy attacks which sounds good...until you remember that A. this leaves Bede with no means of answering Steel types which resist Psychic, Normal and Fairy and B. Half his moves use his Pokemon's inferior attacking stats (like Gothorilla used Rock Tomb and Galarian Pontya uses Special moves). These kind of leave him as an ill fitting opponent despite his arrogance. And that weakness to Steel types likely isn't a coincidence- his benefactor is Chairman Rose, a Steel type specialist who helped Bede become a Gym Challenger before revoking his right later. Around this time, the Fairy Gym Leader Opal takes a liking to him and proceeds to drag him off. Next time he appears, he shows up as Opal's apprentice and successor, becoming a Fairy type trainer. From here, we see that he has learned a bit of humility and understanding on where he went wrong. This nicely coinsides with his team having far more diverse type coverage, being fully evolved and even having a coverage move against Steels. Coolest part is that Bede retains half his team, with his formerly pure Psychic Ponyta and Hattrem evolving into Psychic/Fairy Rapidash and Hattrene, which is now able to stand against Rose. Even so, he still cares for him, as shown by his Mawille, a Steel/Fairy Pokemon, being his lead. It's part Steel typing and Intimidate ability summing up Bede before his encounter with Opal and displaying Rose's permanent impact in his life.

And yet they both pale in comparison to your main rival- Hop. Hop is the childhood friend of the player character and brother to the current Champion, Leon. An energetic boy with high hopes for his travels, he starts his adventure with his Wooloo (this game's first Normal type) and the starter weak to yours. SO naturally you beat the crap out of him. Simple as always. .... Except. Hop...doesn't just take it. When you beat him after obtaining your first badge, he briefy bemoans how he's weaker than you before admitting he need sto keep his guard up. And this isn't a one and done deal. He later loses to Bede who proceeds to insult him, telling him that he's dragging his brother's name through the mud. Which he later admits to really affecting him. And so...Hop does something that no other trainer in the series has ever done. He does a near full revamp of his old team. He benches his Wooloo and Corvisquare he had been using up until then for various different Pokemon in not just his next fight but the one after that. And after each loss, Hops becomes more and more despondent. After all, if he can't beat you even after overhauling his team twice then does he really stand a chance of beating his brother? However, upon hearing about the Galar legend about the Darkest Day, Hop resolves himself to stop doubting himself and simply focus on getting better, as shown by him returning his old Pokemon (now fully evolved), including a Pinurchin and adding the Snorlax he had been using before. So alls well that ends well.

Until you beat Hop in the semifinals before proceeding to beat his brother, the so-called unbeatable Champion. The man whom he looked up to. The man he dreamed about beating and surpassing. The man YOU just beat after beating him multiple times. ... Yeah. After the credits roll, you and him are called back to the resting place of the Legendaries where Hop asks to fight you once again. And here's the return of one the Pokemon from his 'doubt' period. And once again, Hop loses to an asshole insulting him (Sorward or Shieldbert) and even run off with the Legendaries' items, causing a huge hit to his confidence. It even makes him question whether or not he can even help you as you try to catch the brothers, even though Hop had done as much in the plot as you had. Even though he kept one of the items the Legendaries used to fight Eternatus. Even though he helped you BEAT Eternatus. Which is far more than can be said of most rivals. But Hop proves himself once more- he helps quell the raging Dynamax Pokemon, helps defend you as you chase after the brothers and even risks his life to go quell one of the Legendaries as it runs wild. All culminating in an honor that no other rival in the series has gotten: Hop catches the opposing Legendary and adds it to his team. Proof that he is just as much a hero as you are.

And he deserved it.

But this section is going on long enough by this point so we really need to move on. Because Hop sets a standard for the next Gen of Pokemon.

Gen 9

We're FINALLY at the last Gen as of this post's making (Gen 9 Teal Mask DLC). And...fuck my arm is tired.

So, let's try to get the Gym Leaders out of the way quick. Because yes- The Gym Leaders all have some kind of symbolism, rivaling their Gen 5 counterparts. Like Katy bemoaning that she's forced to go easy on Trainers is neatly symbolized by her cute ace Teddiursa becoming the fierce and violent Ursaring; Brassius' signature artwork being a stone statue of a Grass Type with his ace being a Tera Grass Sudowoodo, a Rock Type that emulates a tree; Kofu being a seafood chief using a team themed around seafood (including the self fillieting Veneluza); Larry's ordinary profession belying effectiveness shown through his Tera Pokemon sharing it's type with it meaning it gets extra damage; Rhyme being a rap artist connected with the dead through her Tera Ghost Low Key Toxicricity ect. I can't speak too much about them cuz shit's gonna be long.

Let's start with Arven. A boy who isn't much of Trainer, closed off and hostile because of his parent(s?)'s neglect- Arven doesn't really have any Pokemon to speak of at the beginning. He has a Skwot...and that's it. He even admits he just caught the damn thing. But as he travels with the player, slowly opening up to them and becoming friend with them, he catches nearby Pokemon and uses them to fight off the Titans. And he does a pretty damn good job- His Pokemon will always have a type advantage to be advantageous and each are fairly decent Pokemon in their own right (Cloyster, Scovillain, Garganacl and Toedscruel) along with his previously caught Greedent and his old friend Mabosstiff, an intimidating but loving and loyal Pokemon. Much like Arven. And like Mabosstiff, Arven gains friends and allies in his efforts through his adventure with the player.

One of said allies is Penny. An unassuming girl who the player saves from being harrassed by a group of deliquents called Team Star...who ends up being a skilled hacker and also the LEADER of Team Star under the pseudonym of 'Cassiopea'. And Penny's team is...entirely standardized with six Eeveelutions that share the moves Baby-Doll Eyes, Quick-Attack, a STAB move and a single coverage moves. A rather...underwhelming team of Pokemon, especially for the climax of a storyline. ... But that's intentional. Penny maybe the leader of Team Star but, as you could probably guess, no one had ever even SEEN Penny face to face before. While Team Star have formidable Trainers in their upper ranks, Penny never took to the battlefield personally. Penny is not a fighter and her team reflects this. Her Eeveelutions are not specially trained Pokemon- they're effectively pets. This is why they all have low-level moves in their movesets: they're hold overs from when they were Eevees that were never removed because Penny never had a reason for it. In fact, Quick Attack and Baby Doll Eyes arguable work better for a pet (being able to zoom around quickly to release energy and beg for food) than a battler. Hell, her Pokemon all provide some kind of utility and two of which are friendship evolutions- they really ARE pets.

Next we have Nemona, the rival character of the game. Unlike the other rivals, Nemona is in fact a more accomplished trainer than the player at first. In fact, she's so strong that this combined with her obssession lead her to becoming isolated from her peers. And for a peak at her strength: she beat the Top Champion of Paldea while still holding back. And it shows in the contrast between her fights with the player throughout the Victory Road story. She constantly talks about holding back, carefully considering her team to match what you should be at that point. And her teams are, consequently, nothing special. Just some basic level up moves. Right up until the very last fight of the storyline. Nemona, having changed her class from 'Pokemon Trainer' to 'Champion', is not only using a full team but is now packing STAB for each of her Pokemon AND coverage moves to smack your Pokemon hard no matter the matchup. Even with her choosing the starter weak to yours- her team is made up of rare and powerful Pokemon like a Goodra (pseudo-Legendary), Orthworm (a Pokemon previously fought as a TITAN), Lycanrock (a speedy Rock type), Pawimot (a Pokemon with the rare Electric/Fighting type) and a three segment Dundunsparce (a bulk and strong Normal Type that's also a 1/100 evolution, showing her sheer talent). Unless you overlevel your team, Nemona will be knocking out some of your team. As befitting a Champion. Moreso than fucking Geeta...

And if that's not enough, we also have the Professor stand in- Director Clavell. Introduced as the well meaning, attentive, kind and reasonable principal of the Academy, you would be forgiven for thinking that he might just be okay fight. ... He has more strategy to his team than 90% of Trainers in the series. No really.

He starts with an Oragnuru, a Pokemon noted for its intelligence and ability to use tools. FIttingly, it's a support Pokemon that lacks the usual weakness to Ghost types that Psychics have (important as SV is lousy with absurdly strong Ghosts), Oranguru will debilitate your team with Yawn to smack you with Dream Eater, Foul Play any cheeky Physical Attackers and use Reflect to shore up his team's Physical weakness. He then uses an Abomasnow, which sets up snow to further boost its defense. He then uses it to smack your team hard with STAB, perfect accuracy Blizzards, Wood Hammers and priority Ice Shard. And you want to kill it quick because it setting up snow means it can use Auorua Veil, effectively Reflect AND Light Screen in one. Which is bad because his next Pokemon is a Shell Smash using Poltigeust that spams Shadow Ball for STAB and Sucker Punch to punish priority and revenge killers. And it ALSO has Will-O-Wisp to weaken Physical attackers, which is bad because one of his next two Pokemon can be a Hex-spamming Amoongus which also has the lovely combination of Toxic and Spore to fuck with your team. And it has Giga Drain for recovery. Literally the only thing separating this Pokemon from its competitive counterpart is lacking Regenerator and Leftovers. He can also have a Gyardos, an almost evergreen Water type with a ton of coverage. Telling that his easiest Pokemon is a possible Houndoom. Oh and he uses the starter not picked in the beginning. The one strongest against you.

Really goes to show that Clavell really did earn his spot as the Director.

And if this was just about the base game, I could end it here. But even with all this and more- this wasn't what inspired me to make this post.

No, that would be the Teal Mask DLC and its two key players- Carmine and Kieran.

Starting with Carmine, a basic overview of her story here- she's a dickhead who has a more caring side but is basically covered by her being utterly awful at expressing herself and not being the best sister. She doesn't like outsiders due to people treating her hometown of Kitakami as a tourist trap but grows more open as she befriends the player. Why am I saying all this?

Because her team is a perfect representation of this.

She will always start her fights with a Poocheyna that evolves into Mightynea. A threatening Dark type that excels in pack tactics and is known to follow strong Trainers. Showcasing that despite Carmine's dickish attitude- she's most certainly a skilled trainer while also demonstrating how she bosses around her little brother.

Next is her Morpeko. An Electric/Dark type that wildly switches mood based on hunger, from friendly to aggressive. This duality is a summation of Carmine's character- how she switches from arrogant and standoffish to kinder and sweeter.

Then comes her Swadloon that evolves into Leavanny, a kind and nuturing Pokemon known for taking care of small Pokemon by weaving clothes for them. This showcases Carmine's real feelings for Kieran as despite acting like a bully towards Kieran- she geniunely loves and treasures him. Hell, the Pokedex in Scarlet even deviates a bit from its usual depiction of Leavanny to mention its protective instincts, similar to Carmine's own protectiveness.

Next comes her Ninetails, a Pokemon based off a kitsune and known for its mystical power but vengeful nature. A rather apt summation of how Carmine usually acts- a strong trainer but very easy to set off.

Finally comes her Poltchageist that evolves into Sinistcha- a Pokemon exclusive to her hometown of Kitakami, a Grass/Ghost type that tries to trick people into drinking it in order to drain them of their lifeforce...but failing most of the time. Whereas Morpeko is an overview of Carmine and Ninetails is the usual side of her, Sinistcha is what Carmine really is at the end of the day- a harmless fool. While she can burn people much like her Sinistcha can through its signature move and Scald, she means no ill will and can't do much to hurt anyone. And she can help as much as she can harm, just like how Sinistcha can aid others through its ability, Hospitality.

And what makes this interesting is the effectiveness of the team. As her Mightyena has one of the most useful lead abilities in Pokemon along with Howl to boost it's Sucker Punch and Play Rough; her Morpeko taking advantage of Aura Wheel's Speed boost through a held Focus Slash; Leavanny being a setup sweep through Swords Dance and Fell Stinger; Ninetails supporting the team through Disable and Will-o-Wisp and Sinistcha negating Grass' Fire Weakness through a Berry- it communicates that Carmine is an effective trainer. Fitting as her school is said to be specifically focused on Poke Battles.

But even this pales in comparison to her brother, Kieran. A shy boy who starts out looking up to and befriending the player character, neatly shown through his first two fights being simple 2-3 Pokemon fights. And as the story progresses, we learn a bit about him. That he expresses an admiration for the ogre in the village myth, having defeated three strong Pokemon by itself. He admires that strength and the seeming independence it has, since he himself wants to be strong and relied on due to his sister's unwitting damage to his ego through taking over his tasks. He even comes across having a crush on the player character to add to his likeability.

Then you meet the mascot of the Teal Mask DLC and the ogre from the legend, Ogerpon. Through a series of events involving Carmine making you swear not to tell Kieran about this to preserve his feelings and Kieran evasdropping- he learns that we met Ogerpon and we unknowingly keep lying to him. Which, considering we met the Pokemon he had been admiring for so long and being his first friend...he takes it hard. Things spiral out of control as his mental state burrows down, with him lashing out at the player character and Carmine for percieved injustices, eventually resulting in Kieran challenging the player for the right to be Ogerpon's partner...even though she had already chosen the player character. Even Kieran admits this is selfish but still pushes for it.

It's around this time that his team starts changing for real. Before his team consisted of a Yanma, Furret and Poliwhirl; all with unremarkable moves. Now his Yanma is a dedicated Special Attacker, his Furret is a setup Pokemon using a breeding move to clean hazards and get a Dragon Dance boost; his Poliwhirl evolves into Poliwrath with Haze to clear boosts and he adds a Applin evolution, Dipplin, based off of the candy apples he likes. His next battle has him shelve the Furret for a Cramorant, he adds a Gilgar to his team and his Yanma has evolved into a Tinted Lens Yanmega. ANd then there's his final team.

A Shiftry with a Focus Sash and the new Wind Rider ability with tailwind to boost Speed and Attack at once; the afromentioned Tinted Tens Yanmega so resistances are less effective than ever; Dipplin for more speed control and Leftovers for recovery; Probopass with Sturdy and pinch berry to become a cannon of a Special Attacker; Poliwhirl is now a Belly Drum-Sitrus Berry user to be a massive sweeper and now a fucking Yache Berry holding Gliscor. ... This is one of the most well put together teams in Pokemon history. Which, again, makes sense since Kieran is ALSO a student at Carmine's school. And not only that- he is actively trying to prove himself worthy of Ogerpon. He will obviously put out ALL the stops to beat you.

And the symbolism isn't just limited to movesets. Each Pokemon have...eerie undertones. Yanma, despite its looks, is a rather big Bug Type known for moving very fast and keeping a close eye on prey with Yanmega capable of crippling foes with its wingbeats and BITING the heads off prey. Shiftry can level houses and its Violet entry posits that it's based off a bird Pokemon that recieved divine punishment. Both representing Kierian's radical change. Poliwhirl goes from a dopy sleep inducing Pokemon to powerful swimmer, reflecting his desire for strength. Probopass manipulates the little mini-units to catch prey and Gliscor is a terrifyingly effective predator, reflecting Kierian's sheer hostility by this point. And Dipplin, the last remainder of the child-like innocence his team once had after Furret gets benched? Its apple is hollowed out and filled with two dragons, unlike Flapple and Appletun who coexist with the apple. Much like how Kieran's childlike demeanor has been hollowed out into a shell.

And just like how Kieran's story isn't done with the Teal Mask- datamines and experimentation with Eviolite has revealed Dipplin will be getting an evolution in the Indigo Disk.

Conclusion

You would think a series that has a core gameplay mechanic like Evolution, basically the symbolic progression from childhood to adulthood, would use these aspects for characterization more. But the history of this is rather bumpy, since the games have prioritized gameplay over story for so long. But good god damn, I would say that Pokemon beats out its contemporary in SMT for using its Mons cast for symbolism when it does.

I mean, you don't write an essay of THIS length over nothing. And I would like to remind people- I glossed over a few things. As in depth as this is: it's not all encompassing.

So I do think Game Freak deserves credit for this.

[ackermental]

Chani was given Irulan's personality and now she's the one who can't decide if she wants to fuck or kill Paul.

Character development. Sure.

She's reached so far inside her inner american gen z girlboss, that she's literally the only person on an entire fucking planet, who is resilient to her culture and religion. She's just magically like that. She was reading anti Bene Gesserit press when she was a little girl, and she knows about plans, that even Emperor himself didn't know until it was too late.

Polygamy also suddenly doesn't exist, so Chani, like any modern tiktok influencer, is not on board with Paul having a wife, even tho Chani originally understood the concept very well. Because Fremen understood it very well. Because Paul was given a fucking wife in the books.

And people are wondering why most viewers are already on Irulan ship? Maybe because she's acting like Chani in the books? Because she actually fits in the story frames, and Chani is so far removed from the plot, that there was literally no other logical conclusion than for her to fuck off?

She leaves the narrative because she shouldn't even exist in this shape or form. Don't give me bullshit about giving her more agency as a character. She's an actual writing abomination.

Tho I have to say, that I love how by the end of the movie everybody is looking at her like she's breathed in too much spice. Or they are straight out ignoring her.

"what's wrong with chani?"

"never mind, must be a heat stroke"

[spotsupstuff]

hi

you've mentioned that sparrows would have reincarnated as a slugcat?

would you mind elaborating on that?

also would they have met caper again after becoming all scuggy?

heehee

hoohoo hee :)c of course i'll elaborate! it is Her ✨ Fish's little best animal friend

wonderfully enough, Sparrows and the Tinkerer were developed completely removed from each other in my head, so Tinkerer still feels like a rather separate character from Sparrows even though they somehow wound up havin a lot of similiarities. exactly how the reincarnation stuff should feel like

the Tinkerer is Sparrows! and no character in-universe will ever find out. it isn't important. nobody but Tinkerer is affected by this, and Tinktink doesn't really have the means to speak about it. but for us behind the screens that know about this it will make Tinktink's interactions with the world just a lil bit more juicy

you've sent this at a good time, too! the day ur question came in i was actually pondering how to somehow make use of this reincarnation fact and not just let it float about as a lil bonus for the people that would know about this lil tiny ultimately unimportant connection

so, the idea: as we (probably) all know, Euros is going to end up developing the Rot. this is distressing for a large amount of reasons, but the main point rn is that Euros is also a secret archive of folklore of the lower circles in the Eo group, plus maybe even a little bit over the range's borders to the east (after all, there's two more groups right next door to him n he's a phone operator chief). Euros is going to die a slow painful death and he won't be able to care for or save his collection of knowledge, which somehow manages to hurt him more than the reality of his impending doom

maybe not so surprising, considering that in his archive are the stories, the history, the spirit of his late lover's home- a place he clung to for as long as he could, the one he spent the most time in with his overseers, the one that held people he constantly wished could be his citizens instead of the vile and fake *things* soiling the streets of Ales

so one day after the Fish has properly reconnected to the Eo group, is caught up on current events and trying his *damnest* to revive Mission Self-preservation even though it is guaranteed to be useless, Euros mentions the nightmare that he's living through

"I'm a dead man walking, carrying precious treasures of people that were never heard crying out. I've held them close and safely within myself for over two thousand years. And now, when I'm fated to rot through and splatter on the ground, I fear all this time will be for nought. That I will kill what I've been protecting for so long."

"Even if nobody ever reads these- learns of them, hears them out from above their graves- I can't bear the thought of losing them."

and well Fish DOES have a lot of beef with Euros, but at this point this bitterness is starting to give away to desperation and horror of the terrible torment waiting for them in the future. he might be stubbornly still trying with the Mission, but he would go against what makes him himself if he didn't acknowledge that they are all damned for good no matter what he tries. so he gives in to the pity and hails Tinkerer to his chamber

he explains to her what he needs her to do and tells Euros about the plan. Tinktink has to travel all of this distance

to get to Euros (basically walk through the whole Europe), but dammit, she helped one Iterator that became her closest friend, she will help another one (a different Gen 2 that she loved and dedicated her whole life to in a different life)

Fish sends her on her way with a hug and a plead to keep herself safe

it takes her over a month to get there even with the help of vehicles like the barely working trains and a remshackle sky-sail that Fish guided her through fixing in their free time together. when she gets on top of Euros' structure, the dejavus start to hit. she visits the Mechanics' home, her feet carrying her to the bedroom as if it was just another end of the workshift. she looks in the cupboards she- opened millions of times- never even touched. she walks outside and then down the path to the entrance into the Iterator she's- taken countless times- never set a foot on

she saw these halls so many times she can pin point where every screw is- she's never been here, she can't understand these giant beings, they are too complex for her animal brain. that specific rhythm of beeps and pumps and water rushing through metal veins has haunted- comforted- her in many of her dreams. the Tinkerer makes it to the chamber almost like on an auto-pilot

when she enters the chamber, the slugcat finds itself disappointed, scared, confused- this isn't what this place is supposed to look like (but how does she know what it is supposed to look like-?), this isn't how she left it (this is the first time she stands here, what are these thoughts). it's supposed to be brighter. warmer. why is the puppet's plating and skin damaged by time, where is it its vibrancy, why are its eyes so tired? there are panels missing from the walls ("it's got to be the results of that Fever i once made a proj- i can fix thi-! what?"), glowing artificial bronze robins fly about or sleeping on his shoulders, tiny Rot cysts pulsate from the cracks in the umbilical arm. where has the firebird in that halo gone off to?

Euros greets her joyfully ("oh what are you trying to play at, you goof. i've known you for so long, i can tell when something's wrong. what's hurting? why are you tired? i'll get you back into shape, doncha worry love.")

"Ah, you made it! Welcome to my chamber, adroit little thing."

"Please. Your journey was a long one. I hold no doubt a very dangerous one, too. I won't march you into the job immediately. Rest up."

Tinkerer thinks he's strange. but her legs are indeed hurting, the bag strapped to her is heavy. she curls up in the corner of the room and tries to get some shut eye. she almost falls asleep when Euros starts mumbling under his breath, shooting nervous glances towards the birds. five fingered hands tremble so badly the joints rattle like a child's toy. he's scary, when his shoulders hunch up like that and those tired eyes turn frantic. but it hurts so much to see him like that for some reason, more so than it is scary. so against the better judgement of a survivor, she softly coos at him

the puppet's head snaps to her, gaze cold. the mumbles increase in volume, allowing her to understand

"...I'll tell you what. I have another mission for you, little messenger. But it has to stay a secret between the two of us. Nobody would approve, especially not the one you belong to now."

something whispers that the puppet closing in is supposed to be a comfort. the larger part of the Tinkerer instead finds itself wishing to run away

"Are you aware of the Memory Crypts that lie beneath all of us City Bearers?"

cautious nod, back pressed against the wall

"Good."

[cloveroctobers]

MARI — summer prompts 🍋

A/N: I’m not gonna hold you…I was not fw her at the beginning of the series but she definitely grew on me! The little ✨ in me wanted me to write for Miss. Mari with a hint of enemies to lovers so here goes nothing. Please don’t let me flop, or I’ll completely remove myself from the fandom lmao jk.

PROMPTS from this list: 1.) setting up a slip and slide in their backyard + 2.) bonfire on the beach.

WARNINGS: probably language, guns, high schoolers being catty? + slow-burn?

༄ ೋ ༄ ೋ ༄ ೋ ༄ ༄ ೋ ༄ ༄ ೋ ༄

[July, 1995]

“Who the fuck invited her?” Mari glowers over her shoulder, after approaching her friends and teammates—well the teammates that she considered her friends anyways.

It’s Gen and Melissa who immediately follow Mari’s trail of eyesight to see the fresh meat on the team, Akilah and their ex-teammate, Cosima Chandoo stepping onto the patio.

Gen snickers, “she’s obviously Akilah’s plus one because we sure as hell didn’t invite that traitor.”

Melissa shrugged her shoulders, red cup in her hand as she took a sip and then swallowed, “wasn’t me. Word travels fast.”

Which was true, what was supposed to be a simple yellowjackets team only exclusive party, turned into maybe forty or more people in this open backyard.

“It was probably whacky misty,” Gen adds, lifting her chin towards the curly blonde who sat, awkwardly nodding her head along, as if she was in on the conversation between Lottie and Taissa.

Mari deeply exhaled as her eyes briefly close shut. The mere presence of Cosima being here, at her house on this humid day in July honestly frustrated her. She wasn’t allowed to be here.

“You could always kick her out,” Melissa suggested, “it is your house after all.”

“Which was actually supposed to be at yours.” Mari snapped at the blonde who raised her hands In defense.

Melissa frowned, “Hey, how was I supposed to know my aunt and perv uncle were coming up for a surprise pit stop?”

“Who the fuck makes a pit stop in New Jersey?” Gen comments.

“Clearly they do!”

“Where are they from again?”

“Pennsylvania.”

“…that makes sense. How sad.” Gen mockingly placed her hand on Melissa’s shoulder who snorted and playfully shrugged her hand away from her.

Mari was already stomping away from their conversation, face not only warm from the sun rays but also from the sight of Cosima who seemed to be all smiles with Laura Lee and Akilah.

“Oh hey, Mari!” Akilah waves as Mari pushes a smile onto her lips.

Her eyes flicker between the group of girls for a moment, between Laura Lee twirling her signature cross necklace, to Akilah’s chipper smile but still unease in her posture trying to figure Mari out, and finally Cosima’s comfortability in showing her face.

“Cosima was just telling us there’s a bonfire down at Huntingney Grounds,” Laura Lee tells the dark haired girl who kept her heated stare on the heart-shaped afro-picked girl, “I probably won’t be attending after this since I have a curfew but it’s a cool idea to end the day.”

No, the cool idea was having everyone here at her house enjoying the slip and slide she spent a good chunk of time putting together this morning by herself, while Gen and Melissa ate away the snacks they were supposed to set up.

Mari swallowed her irritation, “I know about the bonfire already.”

“Right because Danny was blabbing about it down at Wawa’s?” Cosima finally spoke, her usual hoarse tone made Mari’s eardrums itch.

Mari pushed her tongue into her cheek at this, “why would I know about Danny’s whereabouts?”

Cosima blinked, “Are you not dating?”

“We broke up. Weeks ago…and you would know that if you were still part of this team, which you’re not so.” Mari was smug as she said this.

Akilah tried to ease the tension, “well I invited Cosima since I didn’t want to show up alone. Is it just me or do you hate entering spaces by yourself? It’s just super awkward. I thought it would be okay?”

“Why? You’re her replacement.” Mari gritted, confused at Akilah’s thinking as the brown-skinned girl appeared almost like a gapping fish; while she looked at Cosima and Laura Lee for some sort of help.

Cosima smiled sweetly at Mari, hands clasped in front of her, “And you’re still a bitch.”

Laura Lee cleared her throat then, “Girls…let’s just continue enjoying this lovely day without the foul language please! Must this truly be a debate when we’re all on the same team?”

“But we’re not,” she interrupted with a point between herself and Cosima, “not anymore.” Mari was quick to continue jabbing at Cosima who simply sighed, “This is a team members event only and Cosima here quit on us a long time ago.”

“Yeah because I wanted to break three bones in my leg, which caused me to further suffer from a severed artery that also left me with a permanent limp. Do you hear yourself Maribela?”

“Don’t call me that!” Mari hissed while Cosima scoffed.

Cosima knew how much Mari hated going by her full government name, since “Mari” sounded so much better and it was short, simple, and cute. Sure it sounded different coming from Cosima’s lips, compared to her veteran father who commonly barked her name and gave—some might say, cruel orders around the house.

Cosima knew bits of this and still insisted doing so, just to get underneath her skin. Just like Mari knew quitting the team wasn’t something Cosima really wanted to do. Who really wanted to suffer a injury so bad in front of the entire school? Which allowed further permanent damage to be placed on not only your body but mentally? Yet here Mari was throwing old salt in Cosima’s wounds and she really wished she could help it.

Wished she didn’t have so much hate building in her heart but…majority of the time the words were flying out of her mouth before Mari can even process them.

No the two girls weren’t the stars of the team but the extracurricular activity was a bonding moment. They weren’t the best of friends before the team or even on the team but they were nowhere near as bad as they are now.

What changed you might ask?

Oh you know…A shared kiss in Cosima’s bedroom, had Mari’s mind all scrambled. (yes she was still very much with Danny at the time this transpired unfortunately!) Just to break apart right before Cosima’s mother came to the door, completely oblivious and informing Mari that her father was here to take her home. They never got the chance to talk about what happened that night because Mari decided to avoid Cosima like the plague in the hallways. She fought even harder on the soccer field and she only allowed herself to really feel crappy about it after seeing Cosima in shriveled up pain during the last two minutes of the game; when a thunderstorm rained havoc on them all.

It’s not like Mari didn’t feel like shit right after it happened in the first place! She couldn’t find the words to say as she collected her things, mustering up a half-assed wave as she quickly fled Cosima’s bedroom. She was completely confused because she’s only liked boys like Danny—and that wasn’t much to go off of. What was she supposed to do about her pretty teammate with a puff of tied back hair that floated behind her just from her simply standing? What was she supposed to do when she started to like the crooked smile that sat on the corner of her bow-shaped lips that tasted like figs? What was she supposed to do when she felt her intense stare from behind her in trigonometry?

What was Mari supposed to do about the girl that threw her for a loop? She remembers watching Cosima in pain and wanting to hold her hand but there were a lot of people crowding her and a lot of blood she couldn’t stomach. However that didn’t stop Mari from shoving some teammates out of her way so that she could keep her eyes on Cosima, hoping that her stare this time could provide some comfort.

She wasn’t sure if it ever did.

Then came the requests during English to make your own personalized cards for Cosima’s heavy healing journey and Mari knew she wouldn’t write something so basic. So lame. She had to do something better than anyone in their year, a huge card made from purple construction paper where she swirled and curled out Cosima’s name on the front of the page. While the inside she filled with lots of glitter and wrote her message in a pink gel pen.

That didn’t exactly feel like enough so with some of the money from Mari’s piggy bank, she went down to the crafts store to make a small goody bag. She grabbed some things she had a feeling Cosima would like, like shiny stickers—she originally wanted to get her a TLC poster but it wasn’t in the budget, bubbalicious gum, fun-dip, a piña colada lip smacker, a neon translucent phone enamel pin, a bouncy eye-ball she could throw at her wall, a feather pen, and a mini beanie baby that she could add to her collection on her bookshelves.

Mari paid attention to Cosima’s bedroom and that night they shared, so she hoped her goody bag made her feel somewhat better. Like maybe she could make up for running away with trying to ease Cosima’s painful moments.

“Okay…then stop talking shit about me and the team and we’ll all have a good time, got it?” Cosima stated, arms crossed as she stared down at Mari who trailed her wide-set eyes from Cosima’s glowing copper muscular arms to meet her stare.

Mari dipped her head, finding herself, as corny as it sounds, suddenly lost in the hues of Cosima’s eyes—which was better than staring at her lips of course! It seemed as if she was tongue tied as Cosima gave a tight-smile before glancing back at Akilah who was still shocked this was happening.

The slightly taller girl with a head full of hair, walked by Mari who allowed it for a couple of seconds, before she also turned to Cosima’s retreating form, “yeah, I’ll fall back…as soon as you leave my house so I won’t have to see your face anymore, traitor.”

“Mari!” Laura Lee exclaimed but Mari held up a hand to silence the blonde.

Cosima stood with her back to Mari and let out a humorless laugh. It was the same cycle over and over between the two and frankly, she was getting tired of this.

“Hey everybody! There’s a bonfire down at Huntingney Grounds if you’re interested.” Cosima called out to everyone, gaining their attention over some pop track.

The sun was just beginning to burn a deep orange, fading below the blue skies, which means the air would start to cool soon. It took about thirty minutes to get out to the park and longer by foot or moped, like the purple one Cosima commonly drove.

This new information got everyone talking which made Cosima shrug at Mari over her shoulder. Soon she brushed by Mari and whispered, “I’ll see myself out now. Later.”

Mari wasn’t sure if she wanted to mess Cosima up or kiss her in that moment. Maybe both.

Mari can see from the corner of her eye, some of her classmates and even the yellowjackets began to collect their things!

“Whoa! The best time to do a slip and slide is when the night falls. You guys don’t have to leave yet.” Mari spoke to a classmate who simply shrugged and carried on.

Shauna answered, “The mosquitoes also get bad when the sunsets and I’m allergic so, I pick the bonfire one hundred percent but…this was fun so thanks.”

Mark scoffed at the brunette before her eyes settled on someone else, “Jackie, not you too.”

“Jeff’s gonna be there and I heard Danny too.” The large eyed leader winks at Mari who can’t help but to scrunch up her nose.

“I don’t care about Danny!”

Lottie mutters as she makes her way by, “Why because he’s banging Stephanie now?”

Nat snickers, joint pressed in between her lips as she simply shrugs at the glare Mari’s sending her way, smoothing her damp fried bleach blonde hair back as she also makes her exit.

“Okay you know what, all of you can get out then. See if I care!”

“I’ll stay and help you clean up.” Misty offered, making Mari’s icy stare turn to the glasses wearing teen.

“Ohh no, especially you. Get the hell outta here!” Mari pointed at the front as Misty flinched and began to speed walk away.

“You’ve got a nice way of treating your teammates Mari, really! Keep up the superb job and you may just be our new captain soon.” Vanessa’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she made her way by with a laughing Taissa.

Who also sent double thumbs at Mari.

Which earned both girls a nice middle finger.

She couldn’t believe everyone just decided to bail on her right now! All thanks to Cosima.

That bitch.

“Uh Mari?! Your dad’s back.” Melissa informed, now standing by the patio, hand scooping up another cheese doodle.

Mari’s eyes increased in size, bigger than Jackie’s as she began waving her hands around at the remaining guest. “Everybody out! Run!”

“Run? Can’t we just powerwalk our escape?” Taissa asked, arms crossed behind her head.

Gen immediately shook her head, tossing the red cup to the side, “you haven’t met Mari’s dad, he’s crazy! You better run.”

The way she was whispering was almost as if Mari wasn’t in ear-shot. The panic on her face was evident but Gen was definitely not the person to go to as a source of comfort as she fled the scene.

As the older man approached the screen door, Melissa let out a scream as she took off running around the side of the house, orange puff long forgotten in the grass. Mari felt her heartbeat in her ears, her breathing halting, the sun still warm on her skin. Her dark eyes settled on her dad, yanking the door to the side, shotgun in one hand as he stepped out onto the patio, surveying his sorta trashed backyard.

“Holy shit! Is he gonna shoot us?” Vanessa’s eyes were now wide as well.

Mari swallows the lump in her throat as she almost waits for her dad’s eyes to find her’s.

Taissa shoved Mari forward to lead the way as she mumbles, “We’re not sticking around to find out. Go.”

She stumbles a bit, being pulled from her trance as she focuses on getting her legs to operate correctly, stepping into a light jog with the two girls that followed after her, eyes occasionally glancing at the wild man at the door.

“Maribela! I see you! Get your ass over here, now.”

With tears burning her eyes, Mari dares a glance at the man—almost stopping but it’s Vanessa’s turn to grip her wrist and drag her along.

“Maribela!” The man continues to yell, gun aiming and ready to shoot.

And so he does, directly at the neighbors trashcan, by the girls ankles; setting off the neighbor dogs to bark at the noise.

“We can run now.” Taissa yelled, now leading the way as the three girls ran at full speed to the front of the ranch styled home and to her pale gray Nissan stanza.

Vanessa shouts, “Open it!”

“I’m trying!” Taissa shrills, finally getting her key into the door before she flings the door open to mash on some buttons, “It’s open!”

Which is enough for Mari and Vanessa to pull on the doors and hop in. It’s seconds before Taissa starts the car and pulling away from the curb and far from Mari’s household.

She looks back, seeing her father standing in the middle of the street as she retreats and she knows that this is only temporary.

“So are we gonna talk about what just happened or?” Vanessa pries as she peeks at Taissa and then stares hard at Mari, who just hopes she doesn’t start bawling in the backseat.

Taissa can see Mari has her attention on the moving scenery of the city and the way the palm of her hand is pressing into her mouth while the other is clenched is enough for the situation be dropped. Although it seems like Vanessa isn’t ready to let it go, saying this exactly to the driving long haired curly teen, the look Taissa sends the redhead is abundant for Vanessa to take the hint as it dawns on her that this is Mari’s normal.

The drive to the park is tense and the radio, which Vanessa has taken complete control over, only seems to be talking, which the girls were not! instead of playing music. She begins to search Taissa’s car for CD’s and at least some cassette tapes but comes up short much to her disappointment.

The girls at the front of the car have a bit of a bicker at that but eventually quit down to either listen to radio hosts or static. The static ended up being more soothing to Mari than the voices, believe it or not.

By the time the girls pull up to the park, the sky bled navy and the fireflies flickered yellow. The air smelled like fresh grass and burning wood as a slight breeze picks up now.

Mari’s holding the sleeves of her golden mustard yellowjackets hoodie, almost peering around to make sure her father didn’t trail after them in his pickup truck. Vanessa lightly nudged her with her shoulder, making Mari take a sharp inhale.

“Hey…let’s go.” Vanessa gently suggests as they circled around the car to where Taissa stands.

Taissa is eyeing Mari and Mari almost wants to snap something at her but the look in Taissa’s brown eyes is not judgment. Vanessa leaves the two behind as she almost prays there’s more booze at the bonfire after what they just witnessed.

Taissa falls into step with Mari, heading up the incline on the sidewalk to down the hills where the bonfire sat.

“…thanks for getting me out of there.” Mari says quietly, “and…I’m sorry he shot at us.”

Taissa nodded at the younger girl, “Don’t mention it.”

And Mari waits for Taissa to fill the air with questions such as, “Is he always like that?” “How can you live with someone like that?” “Has he ever actually hurt you?”

But they don’t come as Taissa only offers a small smile in understanding. She knows that if Mari wanted to speak further on it, she would. It was clear she was holding onto a lot and maybe she wasn’t the person she needed to talk to about this and that was okay too.

Taissa’s just glad no one died tonight.

Mari finds a empty spot on a log, pressing her elbows into her bare thighs as she looks around the park. Everyone is mostly spread out, a few faces she recognizes from school and her slip and slide and others that probably went to the community college here. She sees Jackie sneaking off with Jeff hand in hand, Gen seems to be dancing away with some guy she’ll ask her about later, Melissa is laid out on the floor in front of a log with her trucker hat covering her face, Shauna is seated on that log behind her almost glaring at the fire—probably pissed Jackie just ditched her, and lastly Mari sees Danny with his hand resting on Stephanie’s hip by a tree as she’s all cuddled up to him.

It makes Mari want to vomit at the sight. She thought she was in love with Danny but honestly he was just there to pass the time outside of school and soccer. There wasn’t much of connection there in the first place, he was just this goofy kid that was good at Math and had beautiful teeth.

There was no spark when they kissed but it felt nice to have him hold her and just to say that she had a boyfriend. That was about it to be honest.

She turns to her left then, spotting Cosima staring right at her. Mari rolls her eyes then, turning her attention back to the fire, assuming she probably looked like Shauna right about now.

A wave of something floral but citrusy hints her nostrils as someone sits down next to her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mari frowns as Cosima plops down beside her.

Cosima doesn’t answer right away but when she does, it doesn’t ease Mari’s irritation, “just sitting and enjoying the fire, what does it look like?”

“Yeah okay but you can go back and do that over there,” Mari huffs, sneaking glances at Cosima who was finally able to hold her stare.

“Nah, I think I like this spot much better.”

“Because you’re pissing me off?”

“A little bit,” Cosima smirks while Mari can’t help but to breath out a laugh of her own, “it’s kinda fun.”

“I’m sure it is for you,” Mari responds, “Ruining my party just to come to this…snooze fest instead.”

Cosima tilts her head to the side eyeing Mari’s semi-dry hair that waved at the ends due to the sprinklers, “your party was dying down anyway and Akilah and I saw your dad earlier before we got to your place.”

“What? Did he say something to you two?” Mari rushed out, suddenly worried.

Cosima shook her head, “No he didn’t see us. I knew he would be heading back home soon.”

Mari listened to what Cosima was saying to her just then. It sounded like she actually looked out for her in a sense and Mari wasn’t sure how she should feel about that. So she broke eye contact to stare back at the swirling flames.

The teen felt something placed on her kneecap while she dazed off into the flames. Blinking she glanced down to see a cube of something in a wrapper. Mari was hit with the sweet smell of strawberries as she brought it up to her eye sight before she looked over at Cosima who winked.

“Bubbalicious?”

“Uh huh.”

“Watermelon is obviously better.” Mari comments but that doesn’t stop her from unraveling the pink gum to toss into her mouth.

Cosima snorts, “you would say that.”

The small laughter lines appear by Mari’s lips then as she chewed and Cosima can’t help but to focus on them. How they curve into their own miniature smiley faces by the sides of her lips and her little mole on the left. She almost wants to place her fingertips on them, liking that there was a smile on Mari’s face for once tonight. But she doesn’t. She doesn’t want to be further rejected.

“Well you try and enjoy your evening, Mari.” Cosima pushes herself up from the log.

Standing, Cosima briefly stares at the fire for a moment but also wants to enjoy the company of Mari for a few seconds more—no matter how much they clashed.

Just as Cosima turns to begin limping away, Mari lightly reaches a hand out to press her clammy fingertips against Cosima’s warm ones. The touch is short but enough for Mari to feel Cosima begin to squeeze her fingertips back.

Cosima stared down at Mari, awaiting for what she says next.

“I’ll try my best,” Mari whispers, dark eyes almost shining as they look up at Cosima, “…You have a better one.”

“We both know I will.” Cosima teases while Mari rolls her eyes and let’s her hand rest back in her lap.

And with that it’s Mari’s turn to watch her old teammate walk away.

Once seated, Mari can’t help but to keep her eyes on Cosima, ember flames illuminating her skin as she chats away with a smiling Akilah, who notices Mari’s stare. When Cosima turns to catch Mari’s eyes again, she can’t help but to ponder if they could be something better…together.

༄ ೋ ༄ ೋ ༄ ೋ ༄ ༄ ೋ ༄ ༄ ೋ ༄

Continue along with my summer anthology prompts here.

[sophieinwonderland]

Hello, I follow your blog for a long time and thought that I was schizogenic, but now I know that I’m protogenic and metagenic. When I was doing research about precognitive memories because we have a lot, some sites suggested that people with DID have more dreams of future compared to neurotypicals, but I didn’t know about DID in that time and was more focused on my schizophrenia self diagnosis, my doubt is, is that true? I’m curious to know if there’s correlation between plural people and dejavu or precognition.

Please don’t ignore it, it’s very important /gen

- the telepathic pair system host!

Full disclosure: I personally don't believe in spirits or visions of the future as actual things.

Even fuller disclosure: Having said that, my host's mom has described multiple precognitive dreams she's had in the past. And her mom allegedly did as well, IIRC.

Why does this matter? Well, my host's mom, as a child, had sentient "invisible friends" as she calls them until the age of 16. These were, from stories we've heard, fully autonomous. I would personally consider them tulpas.

And her mom? She reportedly had been hospitalized for DID in her youth.

So anecdotally, I could see reason to believe this might be the case.

Unfortunately, anecdotes are really all we have. I'm not aware of any studies into this. There are just no statistics.

But if there were, there could be other variables to consider besides thinking it's a special ability system have. For example, maybe plurals simply have an easier time remembering their dreams.

You might have about 1500 dreams in a year, but you'll only remember a fraction of those dreams. If a system can remember more dreams than singlets, then they would also remember more precognitive dreams if we assume both have the same amounts.

Or removing the idea of actual precognitive dreams from the equation, maybe systems just would be more likely to interpret dreams as precognitive for one reason or another.

As for Deja Vu, this connection may be likely. The only link I know of is indirect. This would be "Absorption." Studies have shown that Tulpamancers perform high on the Tellegen Absorption scale, which itself is highly associated with dissociation. Deja Vu is also associated with absorption, so it stands to reason that systems might be more likely to experience Deja Vu.

It's a stretch and absolutely none of this is concrete. But it could at least lay the groundwork for a solid hypothesis to test.

[jewishbarbies]

omg I am so fucking stupid… today I learnt that Mark Zuckerberg is Jewish. So all the jokes about him being a lizard are antisemitic jokes omggggggg I’m so fucking dumb. I didn’t realise any of that like at all. Like I’d see those jokes all over reddit and stuff and think it would be because maybe he looks insanely socially awkward (which didn’t make sense to me but I was trying to understand the joke) but it’s because he’s a Jewish man!

Coz like when I was 11 my English teacher played a conspiracy theory video about him and the royal family being shapeshifting lizards (she was very into conspiracy theories) and I was so fucking confused then as well!!!

the lizard people thing is so deep into pop culture now that I don’t think it can actually get removed, and I don’t blame people for not knowing. whenever someone tries to point out how bad it is, they get harassed and nearly bullied off the internet, because apparently gen z thinks being antisemitic for fun is actually fun and cool.

[erikahenningsen]

Thoughts on the movie? Spoilers welcome lol

MEAN GIRLS (2024) SPOILERS BELOW

Overall I really liked it! I had very low expectations, especially considering the track list showing that a lot of songs had been cut. That actually turned out not to be true, as there were some songs in the movie that weren't on the track list (Cautionary Tale, Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise), I See Stars). I expected a lot to be changed, but it actually followed the show fairly closely with some changes (they don't go to the mall, for example). A lot of the lines from the original movie and the Broadway show were kept but there's a lot of new stuff too that really made me laugh. Damian has some good one-liners.

Generally I liked the musical numbers, although I found Angourie kind of lacking when it came to performing during songs, although that's not entirely her fault. They changed Stupid With Love to be slowed way down and just like generally low-key and lines like "I am filled with calculust" just don't hit the same when you're singing it softly with no expression on your face lol. I've never been a big fan of Stop but I do wish Jaquel had had some song of his own. He just has Cady's part in Apex Predator now. The new opening song for Cady (What Ifs) was... fine, but I've never been super in love with Wildlife or It Roars so whatever. It seems like the writers never really could settle on what they wanted for that song since it had a lot of changes for the tour as well. They did totally remove Cady's dad's existence with no explanation which was kind of funny. (My new headcanon is that he was eaten by a lion.)

Definitely cannot go without mentioning that Janis is canonically gay and takes a girl to spring fling, and even Damian has a date he dances with! Regina does also tell Cady she likes her although I think they were going for platonic (could go either way). Cady had the exact same reaction to seeing Regina for the first time as Aaron, which was very funny to me. Obviously I didn't expect them to make everyone explicitly gay so I appreciate the little things they did add. (We know the truth.) I was worried they would completely remove the storyline about Janis's sexuality since the trailer showed the burn book saying "pyro freak," but it's still there. They also made Norbury and Duvall a canon couple which was cute.

I think they did go a little too hard on the gen Z culture aspect; I found some of the language was little cringy at times and felt like a cariacture, but I'm also not a teenager, so maybe it is authentic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (any teens reading this please report back to me).

In summary I had a really good time and I have some minor gripes but the bar was really on the ground for me and I'm excited to go back! I'm bringing a coworker this week who didn't know me during MG on Broadway and has never seen or listened to this musical so that should be wild.

[solarballs-confessions]

Maybe I've said this before here? I mean. I've definitely ranted to others about this, but I am so frequently angry about this that I shall complain again.

(If I have, just delete this)

I hate how Alvaro (+ some parts of the fandom) insist on labelling Solarballs, Mr. Spherical, etc. content as "polandball/planetball"

It is nothing like that.

Most obvious thing is THE ART. THE MOUTHS! WHY ARE THERE MOUTHS IF THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A POLANDBALL DERIVATIVE THING. That is rule 1 of polandball! NEVER add mouths! And yes, that matters! The point of PB is to look shitty and simple! It is also to show homage to the OG comic! Adding mouths to a PB character is a surefire way to go to the PILLARY OF NO-GOS.

Eyebrows, and hands too. "But expressions!" just stretch the character up and make the dialogue so good that you don't even need to pay attention to that. Some PB artists (see: wildeofoscar) like to stay to a derpy look and let the text alone show the mood. And it works mighty fine, might I add! "But hands are needed for this!" There's the handipoles specifically for that. In r/polandball, handipoles were invented by a user specifically to circumvent the rules in a funny way.

But that's not all! It's how they speak! How they act!

rPolandball? The characters speak in bad english. None of the characters are taken seriously. (Save for the depression month comics). The leaders aren't shown.

Mr. Spherical? They speak in perfect english aside from poland... WHO IS RIGHT SIDE UP, AND DOESN'T EVEN SPEAK IN "CANNOT INTO OFINGS" ENGRISH. They give the vibes of taken seriously, but the story forces them to be not taken seriously, which ends up awkward as hell.

You might be seeing this and going "does art really matter? And for the space medias, do planets even have stereotypes?"

I'll start with the art: Yes. It matters. The rPB art rules make sure the comics never stray from the original spirit of PB. When I saw art from people who break the rules, I also saw that their "jokes" were too safe and afraid of being offensive, a lot of stereotypical behaviour of the actual country and their peoples were ignored/changed to fit the OP's politics. (Either SJW, or actual nazism.)

For the space media: Yes and no. Venus has almost always been portrayed as feminine in most celestial-anthro media, but sometimes she is portrayed masculine. I can also accept that personalities don't matter much.

But something about SB. Even if you took the whole series and made it obey the rules, I'd still refrain from putting it under the polandball & derivative umbrella. It does not have the same charm, the same spirit of polandball & derivatives. It has charm. It has spirit. But it's nothing like polandball.

Even looking at the official pillary of no-gos, I can still accept some of it as polandball. Because it has the same spirit.

I blame it on the buzzwordation of polandball. Before, "countryballs", "planetball", etc. refered to things like r/Polandball.

But the gen alpha SJWs, who didn't have hetalia, who didn't have countryhumans, nor even SATW, came to hunt for a new target. And polandball was that target. They removed the spirit of it and reduced it to just another one of their "country anthropomorphism medias". So now, petit bourgeois like Alvaro market to the gen Alphas by invading our words.

I can somewhat agree with calling Mr. Spherical "countryballs" and keeping the OG polandball as "polandball". But as for solarballs, it has essentially become an invasive species for "planetball". Nothing wrong with Solarballs, if I didn't like the series I wouldn't watch it, but I wish it would accept that it is it's own brand and not a polandball-derivative.

-Emoji Hater Anon

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