Last Art Dump! (2023)

so real for going off like, your cooking is spectacular. for real thought, you're so right, so often Aro/Ace/AroAce characters aren't respected/treated as what they are by their fandoms is outstandingly high. so yea, please continue to go off.

I’m going to say something that a LARGE, if not disproportionate, amount of the Hazbin fandom would absolutely drag me for. If you don’t like what I have to say here then move on.

Alastor is aro ace. You can argue till you’re blue in the face, it won’t change my mind. His identity is not respected. The entire fandom disregards this and even those who agree go on a tangent that aromanticism and asexuality are spectrums and that aro ace people can still date/have sex.

As an aro ace person in a relationship, respectfully, fuck off. I’ve been out for 10 years and in that time I have seen other queer people argue endlessly about the validity of our identities. To this day it’s still an argument. We’re told we aren’t queer, that we’re robotic, weird, missing something fundamentally human, etc. Aro ace rep in media is rare and as soon as we get some you guys suddenly jump on the bandwagon that we are in fact a spectrum while most of you completely miss the understanding and culture of the community. There are so many complexities and nuances in our identities that many outside don’t understand and can’t understand. In real life, we constantly have to experience “othering” and if we do date/have sex, well then suddenly we don’t apply to be aro ace. But when it’s a character that you all want to mess with, suddenly you “get it”. You don’t.

“Viv said we can do whatever as long as we’re respectful!” You aren’t. If you’re so convinced that we are a spectrum, then why does it seem like you can never believe he’s on the side of being entirely disinterested. Aro ace belittling is as strong as ever and I will speak up on it just as I always have.

Like I said before, dni if you’ve got a problem with this. I already have to deal with flak enough as it is.

Besties 💅🏻

Matching icons (repost or like if you use it or don't do anything it's okay no problem free to use u welcome) ✨

I just wanted a gifset of all three… (x,x,x)

What do you mean it's doesn't happened in the game?

Bodyguard

Navia:Aether? I’m sorry in advance but can I trouble you with something?

Aether:It’s you asking so no trouble at all. What’s wrong.

Navia:It’s just…there’s a really important meeting I have with some other business individuals in Fontaine in order to Poisson. It’s pretty normal for the heads of the business to take a guard with them for protection. Not only that but because of the state of Spina Di Rosula is in…I fear people may think now is the time to walk all over us.

Aether:So showing up with a guard isn’t just for security, but a display that you’re still going strong? I’ll be honest, sounds like you should be hiring Clorinde more than me.

Navia:She has her own job to deal with. Being a champion duelist means someone wants to hire you for one reason or another. I’d rather not bother her with this. Not to say I’m okay bothering you! It’s just…

Aether:I get it. No offense taken. So I’m being a bodyguard? Sounds easy enough. Of course I’ll help.

Navia:Thank you. I’ll be sure to pay you accordingly…

Aether:Hmm? Why would you pay me? It’s just a favor between friends. If I’m gonna ask for anything, then it would be for more macarons when you get the chance. Paimon still talks about them.

Navia:Heh, alright then. I’ll be sure to make an entire batch afterwards. The meeting is tomorrow at noon.

Aether:I’ll be at Poisson to escort you a couple hours early then!

Navia:Sounds like a plan. See you then, and thank you again. Seriously. *walks away*

Aether:….(Alright, guess I should take this seriously.)

xxxxx

Tomorrow comes in a blink of an eye. Not gaining much sleep, Navia does her best to appear well rested. It’s not that she didn’t try to, but moments like these were never her strongest. And now that she was doing it without… No, she mustn’t think about that right now. Right now her efforts need to be on rebuilding what’s left and not missing all that was lost.

A knock on her door came the moment she put on her out. Talk about punctual. Maybe Aether didn’t get much rest either? There was plenty of time before departure. Navia walked to the door and opened it so he wouldn’t have to wait in the dreary atmosphere. She didn’t expect what waited on the other side. Sleepiness was pushed away from her gaze as her friend stood before her in a black suit, gloves, and fedora just like her men.

Navia:How did you…?

Aether:I asked around a bit yesterday and got myself fitted. I don’t think Melus and Silver would ever forgive me if I didn’t try my absolute best. So- Navia?

The girl had the biggest, warmest smile on her face, but it eas accompanied by a well of tears. Even she didn’t know if she going to laugh or cry.

Aether:H-Hey!? I’m sorry. Was this too much?

Navia:Hehe..no, Goodness, no. I’m just a little overwhelmed is all, but so happy too. *sniffles*

Aether:..*bows head* I’m ready when you are.

Navia:I’m curious, do you plan on calling me Demoiselle as well?

Aether:My pronunciation is not up to par with all that, hehe. Sorry.

Navia:It was just a joke. Even I might find that a little much. Please, raise your head. There’s something I want to give you.

Aether looks up to see her run towards her vanity mirror and run back holding two pairs of shades. She opens up one and slides them onto his face.

Navia:Perfect.

Aether:Now I’m really part of the group.

Navia:Haha, what are you going on about? You’ve always been one of us. *puts shades on* And don’t you forget it.

Aether:*smiles* Well then, ahem! Shall we go get breakfast before we start today’s affairs.

Navia:Hehe, I believe we shall.

HATERS WILL SEE YOU TELEPORT AND BE LIKE "HE CANT AFFORD PATCH 1.1.1"

Gotta love it when the gang splits up into two groups which are usually these guys

who are mature and responsible whenever they’re together, always stay on task, and generally go about things in a sensible way. And yet somehow they never get anything done.

While on the other side of town it cuts to these idiots

Doing some random-ass shit, being incredibly stupid and inefficient and yet somehow doing everything they were supposed to do and more just by pure luck.

After much consideration, I think I’m going to call this AU: “Future Bootyyy Shaker.”  Don’t forget the 3 Y’s!

I see April and Leo being very busy with protecting their underground colony, but they make what time they can for these little family gatherings, if only to help Casey (and also Mikey) feel like they have some sense of structure in their lives.  Even as the rest of world is falling all around them. 

This one was pretty light hearted, but be forewarned, it only goes downhill from here. 

PREVIOUS || NEXT

People against piracy fail to realize that no, I can’t just ‘buy it.’ They stopped making DVDs and Blu-Rays. They’re barely offering digital copies for download. I am not spending money I could use for food or bills to pay for a subscription service just so I can always have access to a beloved piece of media. Especially not when the service will remove media on a whim without concern for how the loss of access to that piece will make its artistic conservation nigh impossible.

For example, I recently learned that Disney+ had an original film called Crater. It’s scifi, family friendly, and seems cool - I would love to buy it as a holiday gift for my little brother! But: it’s exclusive to D+ and THEY REMOVED IT LITERALLY MONTHS AFTER ITS RELEASE.

The ONLY way I can directly access this film is through piracy. The ONLY available ‘copies’ of this film are hosted on piracy websites. Disney will NEVER release it in theaters, or as something to buy, and it may NEVER return to the streaming service. It will be LOST because we aren’t allowed to purchase it for personal viewing. If I can’t pay to own it, I won’t pay for the privilege of losing it when corporate decides to put it in a vault.

So yes, I’m going to pirate and support piracy.

“How old are Jessie and James?”

alright i’m making a masterpost because i’m so tired. these never get notes. please give this one notes. i’m going to run through every single parroted argument. i’m going to run through every thought anyone engaged in this discourse has ever had. please give me notes. not because i want clout, i’m just so tired. so many of my posts get notes. i would trade them all for this post to get notes.

How old are Team Rocket?

25. They’re 25. 

But I thought they were teenagers? Lots of people have told me they’re 15/16.

so i’ve heard! i’m pleased to tell you exactly where that comes from.

1. this post, for some reason:

i have been on tumblr for 10 years now, and i never saw anyone debating their ages before this post started circulating. as you can tell by the low res memebase screencap, it was screenshotted and reposted all across social media until it became legend.

the ages you see in this bulbapedia screencap were edited. bulbapedia has either omitted their ages entirely, or put them at 25 for reasons we’ll discuss at the end of this post. 

because i’m a petty bitch, i googled the tumblr username of the person who added that bulbapedia screencap, found what their current URL was, and searched team rocket’s names on their blog. here’s what i discovered.

OP claims it wasn’t them who edited the ages–that they just found it like this. NOT sure i buy that, because I looked into it, and right around the time this post was made (January 8th, 2014) there was a random, unprecedented edit that erroneously put their ages at 15.

this resulted in mods locking the page, because this person was relentless. they would go on team rocket’s pages every day and try to edit the ages back down. again, i can’t prove this is the same person, but these edits happened within 24 hours of them adding to that post. this is, in my professional opinion, the biggest shift i ever saw in people talking about team rocket’s ages. but there are other things people bring up…

2. “Jessie said she was a teenager!”

she does this sometimes. here are the times she does this.

- In episode 218 of the original series, Plant It Now… Diglett Later, the following exchange happens:

This would make Jessie 12. This is a joke. A running gag in the show is younger characters calling Jessie variations on ‘old lady/old bat/old hag,’ and James gets this treatment to a lesser extent. Jessie, however, is incredibly vain and obsessed with youth/beauty, so she often lies to great extent about her age. When Jessie says something like “Oh, I’m 13 years old ;3c” it is meant to carry the same feeling as “Aren’t I the most gorgeous creature walking this very Earth?” To Jessie, calling her old = calling her ugly. Calling herself young = calling herself beautiful. This trope is common with her particular anime archetype–it is more of a Japanese thing, so while I understand it being lost on american audiences, it is NOT proof of her age. 

Right after this, Meowth calls her out on it, asking her where she learned that math, and Jessie angrily threatens him. It’s a joke.

- In episode 56 of the original series, The Ultimate Test, Jessie is in disguise at a Pokemon League qualification exam. When Ash starts giving her the ‘she looks vaguely familiar’ side-eye, she panics and starts muttering information about herself aloud. I will be using the original Japanese line for this one:

This is quoted constantly as proof that Jessie is a teenager–but she is blatantly stating false information about herself here because she’s in disguise and Ash is onto her. This is a false identity she’s crafted, marked even further by “I work as an idol.” That’s an actual profession she’s talking about, one she doesn’t work. Since Japanese Idols weren’t widely unknown to westerners at the time of this dub, her dub line is simply “Age: 17. Profession: Diva.” which makes it a little harder to read that she’s lying about who she is, but she is. The information she’s stating here is that of an alias. It is not her actual age or profession.

3. You literally just posted a screencap of James saying he should get a driver’s license. 

Okay, smart guy, that’s also jokes. The joke isn’t that he’s too young to drive–the joke is that he was a runaway at five years old and had his childhood & all his milestones taken from him because he defected from his abusive family in kindergarten. Also, he’s in the mafia and he just drives his damn balloon everywhere. The joke is that he’s a criminal driving without a license. The joke is breaking the law because he’s James. Its the same as when Jessie will casually say things like “Oh, that’s a good book! I’ve been meaning to shoplift one!” (EP157)

Also, it’s a dub-only line.

“Okay, I guess I see where you’re coming from. But why are you so sure they’re 25?”

Glad you asked!

You might notice the Bulbapedia article up there says “as of M02.″ M02 is the fandom shorthand for the second pokemon movie: Pokemon the Movie: 2000. It’s referring to one scene in particular, one that had its dialogue massively changed in the dub. Here, Jessie and James are addressing Ash & co.:

The subber condensed the point of what James/Kojirou actually says here–his sentence when translated literally is more like:

Jessie: You’re ten years too early.

James: And us, your elders, are five years too late.

this is… a very Japanese expression, but because Ash & co. are 10 years old, Jessie’s basically saying “You really don’t need to be thinking this deeply about romance until you’re 20.” and James is saying “And we’re past our prime at the tender age of 25…”

Some other times this expression has been used, regrettably, is when older men are perving on the female kids in this show–they’ll say things like “I’ll look forward to you in ten years.” Gross, I know, but the point is it’s a thing people say. 20 is considered the age you’re supposed to settle down and marry. 25, especially for women, is considered the age when you’re “off the market”–you missed your window and now no one wants you.

That ties back into Jessie’s thing about youth and beauty and how other characters call her an old lady. What they’re calling her originally is usually some variation on ‘oba-san.’ This term is so widely used in anime that there’s a TVTropes page on it. An english equivalent would be rolling your eyes and sarcastically uttering ‘whatever, grandma’ or, if you really want me to one-shot kill you, ‘ok boomer.’

Another derogatory term you hear in Japan for this age is ‘Christmas Cake.’ Simply put: Delicious to a point, but no one wants it after the 25th.

Yeah.

“That line is still super vague. Their ages could still be ambiguous.”

I regret to inform you that I am very autistic and I have prepared timelines and flowcharts for you.

Allow me to introduce you to The Birth of Mewtwo, an audio drama that released alongside the first movie and was never given an english localization. TBOM (the book of mormon) was about Mewtwo’s Origins that weren’t expanded upon in the movie. But, in order to get to the bottom of Mewtwo, the story had to get to the bottom of how Team Rocket got their hands on Mew’s DNA–and that all started with a Class-A Rocket Agent known simply as ‘Miyamoto.’

if you didn’t know, she’s Jessie’s mom.

TBOM is fully translated and available to listen to in multiple parts on youtube. It opens with Giovanni placing it in the timeline:

Twenty years prior to Pokemon: The First Movie, when this radio drama is said to take place. It then goes into a flashback, where we get to see Jessie’s mom in her pursuit of Mew.

Jessie’s already been born by the time of this flashback, meaning, with 100% certainty, that Jessie is at least 20 years old.

As time passes, Miyamoto stays on her quest to find Mew. Lost in the Andes mountains, she never stops sending reports back to Rocket HQ. Every few years, they trickle back in, detailing her progress. She keeps a picture of Jessie with her, often meandering aloud about what she anticipates Jessie is doing–the milestones Jessie is hitting, the life Jessie might have that her mom was never able to see. The last report she gives says “The daughter I left behind’s an old hag by now…” the word she uses here is, again, ‘oba’–25 years old and unmarried. Again, this is Jessie’s mom. She might be stranded in the mountains with little concept of time, but it’s clear Jessie is the one thing she never truly loses sight of.

“Okay. That sure is a lot of convincing evidence about Jessie. But Team Rocket has another human person in it you’re ignoring.”

Yeah nah I was prepared for that. I actually could’ve just whipped this out at the beginning but I am feeling incredibly spicy so I wanted to lay the law down and not deal with easy arguments about my special interest tonight. Here ya go!

- In episode 87 of the Sun & Moon anime, Filling the Light With Darkness!, Necrozma places an aura across the Alola Region. This blight makes Alolans lethargic, depressed, and unmotivated. This aura also ONLY affects the adults in Alola–leaving the burden on the kids & pokemon to figure out what’s going on. Ash & everyone in his class–including some who can be argued as teenagers–are entirely unaffected. 

Of the afflicted?

“Alright, one last question…why should I care?”

Because ever since that tumblr post started circulating, it’s been Stressful as all hell to be a Rocketblogger. I know that we all had a lot of fun watching the pokemon anime when we were kids, and we probably all have a lot of shared and fond memories of it. But, weirdly enough, because of that shared joy… Pokeani is the only fandom where people who don’t even watch the show anymore will try to explain to members of the fandom what our own lore is. And a lot of the time, they won’t listen to us when we correct them on their misinformation.

The reason this matters is because Rocketbloggers still to this day get called pedophiles & perverts for drawing/writing smutty art of our funny bad people. And when we try to shut them down pulling all this evidence out, people who have seen a handful of episodes of the show but understandably don’t have the time to watch 1100 episodes will pull the doth protest too much card. It’s annoying but more than anything, it’s exhausting.

So this is a masterpost I made with my autistic superpowers. I hope that, in the future, this one gets spread around more than the one claiming them to be kids. And I hope that maybe, if you’re a rocketblogger, when someone comes in your inbox trying to explain your favourite anime to you… you can quietly link them to this post and no longer have to rehash all the arguments we’ve been rehashing for years.

Thank you for reading. Reblog to save a tired Rocketblogger’s life.