Each blog may submit as many questions as they wish, however, only 9 will be answered properly total. Any question not answered will feature at the end of the dream event, but won't have any answers.
I will choose which questions I will answer! It is not determined by whoever submits one first.
If your blog has a question answered once in a sequence, I won't answer a second question within the same sequence.
Characters asking questions may or may not be drawn depending on if I can reasonably include them, based on the area or region.
Have fun and pay attention! I will be hiding story hooks to learn more in dialogue or in the images themselves.
between work and packing and trips and some repairs that need to get done i'm not gonna have any time to update things for the next little while! im tenatively giving myself june to rest up and not push myself through any potential pain flares coming my way from all of it
Don’t wanna go into everything, but TLDR is that I was in the hospital for surgery that I’m still recovering from and my mom is now in the hospital for at least the weekend with something serious. Haven’t been able to go to work and any amount would help right now.
He could feel his expression change, naturally contorting in response to even the idea that this -- this absolute stranger might imply anything about his grandma.
???: I don't mean that she's done anything bad! But -- I don't know why she's the talk of the Heartwood right now? My guardian told me not to talk to her but won't tell me why... but she seems really nice! Is she nice?
ECLIPSE: Of course she's nice! She helps 'mons out in the forest when they're sick or injured... sometimes she pretends to be mean to pokemon, but she's only actually mean when mons are rude....
ECLIPSE: Wait-- what's the Heartwood? I've never heard of that place...
???: Oh -- its where I live! Its in the deepest part of the woods, with big tall trees, and really old plants, and its really overgrown and cozy! Right-- I don't think I introduced myself...
A flutter of what sounded like... wings, maybe, and Juniper was gone. It was like they were a constant whirlwind, with chaos following, and leaving as soon as they were gone.
However, it was after a second that the words finally landed for Eclipse.
He hadn't heard Spirit's pawsteps approaching the den again, too lost in his own thoughts after meeting his new friend. Should he....
No, he wanted to learn more about this before he brought up what he heard. Its not that he thought his grandma was a bad pokemon, but there was clearly a mystery to be solved here.
and he really, really wanted to solve it himself.
ECLIPSE: ... No, I thought I heard something, but I think I was imagining things.
SPIRIT: Ha, it happens to the best of us, Eclipse. Are you ready to settle down for the night?
ECLIPSE: Yeah, I think I am... do you think you can tell me a story tonight?
Juniper | They / Them | Lvl ?? | Celebi | Young Teen ( human equivalent of ~13ish)
Hasty Nature | Impetuous and silly
Held Item: None
Ability: ???
| Story |
Juniper is a Celebi who lives in the Heartwood in Eterna Forest with their Guardian.
They're curious about Spirit, as their guardian has told them to stay away from her.
They've adopted Eclipse as their friend.
He could feel his expression change, naturally contorting in response to even the idea that this -- this absolute stranger might imply anything about his grandma.
???: I don't mean that she's done anything bad! But -- I don't know why she's the talk of the Heartwood right now? My guardian told me not to talk to her but won't tell me why... but she seems really nice! Is she nice?
ECLIPSE: Of course she's nice! She helps 'mons out in the forest when they're sick or injured... sometimes she pretends to be mean to pokemon, but she's only actually mean when mons are rude....
ECLIPSE: Wait-- what's the Heartwood? I've never heard of that place...
???: Oh -- its where I live! Its in the deepest part of the woods, with big tall trees, and really old plants, and its really overgrown and cozy! Right-- I don't think I introduced myself...
A flutter of what sounded like... wings, maybe, and Juniper was gone. It was like they were a constant whirlwind, with chaos following, and leaving as soon as they were gone.
However, it was after a second that the words finally landed for Eclipse.
He hadn't heard Spirit's pawsteps approaching the den again, too lost in his own thoughts after meeting his new friend. Should he....
No, he wanted to learn more about this before he brought up what he heard. Its not that he thought his grandma was a bad pokemon, but there was clearly a mystery to be solved here.
and he really, really wanted to solve it himself.
ECLIPSE: ... No, I thought I heard something, but I think I was imagining things.
SPIRIT: Ha, it happens to the best of us, Eclipse. Are you ready to settle down for the night?
ECLIPSE: Yeah, I think I am... do you think you can tell me a story tonight?
happy munday! we've got one last week of updates through friday and then we'll be current (and back open for asks, too!)
i unfortunately am very busy today (and i will hopefully get news about whether i'll be really busy or not the next few weeks! which would definitely put a pause on things) but i hope you all have a good munday!
UMBRA: I'm just.... not ready to talk about it yet.
UMBRA: I promise, someday soon, I'll be ready to open up to you, Ma', but... I can't just yet.
Spirit felt her fur prickle, frustration rising in her. She needed to respect that he wasn't ready, but she still couldn't wrap her head around why he wouldn't tell her.
. . .
No, she knew these words all too well. In fact, she was certain she had said almost the exact same thing to him in the past.
SPIRIT: I... understand, and I promise when that time comes I will have an open and listening ear ready for you.
SPIRIT: Though, I do want to encourage you to talk to Eclipse about it, even if you're not opening up to me just yet.
SPIRIT: Like you said earlier, he's a smart kid. He's going to pick up on these things sooner than later... He may already have picked up on it and hasn't said anything to you or I yet.
SPIRIT: And I just don't want history to repeat its....
Their gazes had finally met after avoiding one another for the whole conversation, and she could see immediately that he understood.
He knew. She had no reason to continue pressing it.
UMBRA: I promise I'll tell him what he needs to know.
Spirit nodded, standing up to take her leave and hobble backA blank image used for formatting. to the den.
However, something burned in her chest. Shame. Words never spoken to him, not even in these better months.
Better late than never.
SPIRIT: Oh, and son...
She wanted to say more to him, to apologize for other mistakes, other wrongs, other secrets she kept hidden... but the words refused to leave her throat, wrapped up in the pride she swallowed to break down her walls enough to apologize.
Luckily, that small apology was enough to bridge the gap, as Umbra padded up to her.
UMBRA: Now, go rest. I'm gonna go on a walk around the territory before we all rest, okay?
SPIRIT: ... Okay.
UMBRA: I love you, Ma'. I'll be back.
SPIRIT: I love you too, son.
The delcatty watched her child walk off into the woods, dark fur eventually lost in the long shadows of the evening.
While he only picked up bits and pieces from his elders' clearly tense conversation, Eclipse felt a growing annoyance at both of them, and their dodgey responses about whatever was happening between them.
He wasn't stupid! He could hear it in their voices -- a practiced politeness, stepping on eggshells to try to tiptoe around whatever this big talk was.
He found himself pacing in the den, following a path that he knew wouldn't lead him into ramming snout first into the wall.
However, to his surprise, he hit someone instead.
A higher pitched voice-- higher than his at least, the smell of grass and leaves and something like sunshine and incense, something around the size of him... maybe a little taller?
Definitely a grass type. The second type alluded him, more distracted by a cold, almost dusty scent wafting around them. Not cold like snow, like his grandma, but like the dead of night. Maybe it was a really old fairy type?
Fairies can be old like that. Umbra told him tales of Fairy pokemon who were ancient as the woods they inhabited. Maybe they were one of those.
???: OH -- no, I'm not looking for them! I just was... looking around!
Eclipse's ear flicked at the sound of shuffling coming from the stranger. Weird stranger. He thought about calling out for his dad, to come and figure out what was going on...
... but he wanted to handle this himself! He wasn't a baby!
He could handle it himself.
Maybe he'd call for Umbra if it got really weird.
ECLIPSE: Are you... looking for something?
???: No -- kind of? Actually, I think I can just ask you about this instead of trying to look for clues!
Hello Pokéask community. today, we are gathered here to talk about a rather pervasive issue within the community.
That's right, we are going to talk about:
TRANSMISOGYNY
I don't really need a preamble or anything. Yes, it's true, this community has historically been quite hostile to trans women. I've had a friend targeted with false accusations of being a creepy pervert for the crime of being trans and female. As if that is a crime, somehow.
We had a predator and known drama-monger some couple years ago who was able to get away with it for so long because most of their victims were trans fem, whom no one believed, because they were trans fem.
And of course we have had various incidents of people using any number of gross terms to refer to trans women, gleefully and casually.
So by now you are probably beginning to see the pattern.
Maybe you need some help. In that case I shall enlighten you...
So what is transmisogyny? It is exactly what it says on the tin: the discrimination and mistreatment of trans women. It is an intersection of transphobia and misogyny. As such it is both of those as well.
Why is it bad? Well, the better question to ask would be why *isn't* it bad? It serves no purpose beyond the spread of hatred as well as perpetuating the belief that women are like property that must look and act a certain way.
Who does it affect? Obviously the primary target is trans women, and you should care about the fact that it harms trans women. But in fact, transmisogyny affects everyone.
You might think "I don't hate trans women, so I'm not transmisogynistic!" and you may not be. But, you must also keep in mind that it is so deeply entrenched in society that you might say and do transmisogynistic things without knowing it.
For example:
Do you expect women or female characters to look a certain way? This could be plain old misogyny, but it could also be transmisogyny. If you've ever complained that a female character looks too much like a guy because her boobs are too small or her shoulders are too wide, etc., well yeah ... you are probably suffering from transmisogyny disease. And also general misogyny disease too, seeing as transmisogyny is a subtype of it.
Do you get grossed out by women with certain types of genitalia, insisting they censor themselves as some sort of fetish or otherwise sequester themselves away for the sake of others? It is transmisogyny. Regardless of what you are attracted to, a woman should not be forced to hide herself away as some kind of freak commodity simply because she is not what you personally consider desirable. Also, people are likely forced to interact with you on the regular, so it just makes you a hypocrite.
Do you refer to women by what is between their legs*? It is transmisogyny. It's a way to other women that do not fit the "norm".
Obviously, assuming any given trans woman is a secret pervert is transmisogyny. This may seem obvious but so many people do this! In LGBT focused spaces perhaps most of all!
there are many other examples but most tie back into the ones mentioned here. Please do a little introspection from time to time.
Trans women deserve to feel as safe and as welcome as anyone else here in this community.
Lastly: this post is about trans WOMEN (/trans fems). I am aware that other trans people exist, but there are certain pervasive attitudes that are near exclusively shown towards trans WOMEN, and so that is what this post is about.
*some trans women do refer themselves with such terms. There is a lot of debate about this matter, so try not to overstep if it is a trans woman herself using the term. She may be a victim of internalised transmisogyny but what people are comfortable with varies. But, never use terms like futanari or trap if you are not a transfem individual. Read the room.
The two feline pokemon sat outside the den, looking off towards the setting sun. For the moment, there was a breath of silence between the mother and son.
SPIRIT: So sorry to ask you to suddenly, but since we're not as busy anymore... I wanted to mention something that happened today.
UMBRA: ... Oh?
There was another beat of silence, of Spirit contemplating her approach, before bringing up her worries.
Spirit was surprised at Umbra's quick response, spoken with such confidence.
SPIRIT: If it was just me here, I wouldn't be as worried, but with you and Eclipse... maybe we should consider moving dens, just to be safe.
UMBRA: Ma'... I know you've never gotten along well with them , but once human visiting, especially as nice as that one looked -- I don't think we have to worry about.
UMBRA: Besides, Eclipse is a smart kid. He knows what to do if he hears a stranger coming who doesn't smell like a Pokemon -- and I've been around humans before! Most of them just thought I was a strange looking luxray -- even the one who got to see me up close and personal many times.
UMBRA: Besides, I know you. If you really thought there were humans out to get us, you would have moved us the minute you knew we were danger -- or even fought them yourself. And believe me, I've heard stories of humans being scared of wild Pokemon attacking, even if it was just a little guy!
Spirit felt at ease hearing her son's steel confidence in his own words and experiences. He was right, she didn't know them very well. She just didn't know that he did.
The silence was awkward and immediate, pulling open the unspoken wound between the two.
She could see Umbra pulling away, his ears pinned, gaze averted. There were too many questions and too few answers. Things were finally being patched up between them both.
Did she really want to rock the boat, now that things were peaceful?
. . .
She didn't, but she needed answers -- and for him to know at least that she wanted to know, if he would tell her.
SPIRIT: Well, I'm glad you had such an experience but... Umbra... this is the first time you've told me about anything that's happened before you came home.
UMBRA: ...
SPIRIT: And-- you don't have to share anything that you're not ready to share -- but its been months now, and we still haven't talked about it.
Munday: Which guilty pleasures your characters have? XD
(you can list some of them if you want)
Also, dunno why Tumblr tagged the post as a Mature content XD
if Spirit had access to all the riches of the world (and could reasonably access everything,) i just know shed be living a very luxurious life. she currently has a hard time accepting pampering from others, but I think there's a part of her that would really enjoy it if she let down her guard enough to do so
Umbra.... i think his guilty pleasure would probably be surrounding a lot of human things -- human food, human comforts like pillows and beds, the simple good life, yknow? definitely the character i could see getting the closest to being a trainers pokemon in this blog, but it wouldn't work out in the long run for reasons i can't discuss yet :P
as for Eclipse.... i think hes kind of a collector type. I think if he reasonably could, his guilty pleasure would be having large collections of things he finds interesting -- bugs, plants, interesting trinkets and the like!
also thanks for letting me know lol! i dont know either honestly but it was a pretty funny start to my morning of being like HUH?
(@ask-the-shiny-pokemons) Rimi @ Umbra: "Hi, how are you?" she smiles at Delcatty/Luxray. "Anyways, do ya remember your childhood?"
UMBRA: "I'm doing just fine, thank you! Its nice that we've had so many visitors outside of our usual groups today..."
UMBRA: "To answer your question..."
UMBRA: "Both Spirit and I can be pretty stubborn when we put our minds to it. She always used to tell me that it ran in the family..."
UMBRA: "We fought almost daily at one point over the same thing, over and over again, and that continued until..."
Umbra trails off, his mind somewhere else....
A gentle nudge of his mother's paw against his shoulder snaps him out of the memory of the past. He hadn't even heard her walk up.
SPIRIT: "Ah... I apologize for interrupting you two talking, but it's getting late, and Eclipse should really be getting to bed soon."
The delcatty pauses, before murmuring towards her son, a concerned expression on her face.
SPIRIT: "Umbra.... can we talk in private...?"
[ The askbox is now closed. ]
