Musings of a Autistic Graphic Designer.

Personal Blog of stuff.

[docmenlonhead]

VesselSwap Premise

An Unknown player hacked the Deltarune's game programming in order for their created Vessel to be their Avatar as opposed to Kris. However, after booting the game a glitch occurred; fracturing the controlling Soul and scattering half of it throughout space and time. Even though the swap was a success, as the Vessel replaced Kris throughout the History of the new timeline, It became inaccessible to the player. The story follows the two as they explore the vast cosmos of the Deltarune (and, by extension, Undertale) Multiverse.

[docmenlonhead]

A crossover artwork featuring Ambertwo of Terabel Region Research meeting Clover for the first time. Excited the Hybrid talks about her time at the region and being glad that she found someone like her. Though Clover is glad for her to continue living with her father, she's suddenly unnerved when the freak mentioned that she often kills Pokémon and Humans on his behalf. Terabel Region Research @jonnyappleseed333 

Clover: Myself

[sparklingdemon]

“Toby Fox said that Frisk/Chara/Kris’s gender is up to the player’s interpretation! He doesn’t care what pronouns you give them!”

Toby Fox: (casually corrects Fangamer when Kris is accidentally misgendered on-stream)

[saudosistablue-deactivated20230]

While Toby Fox really did say that, he only specifically said that in regards to Frisk, who has no personality nor identity beyond the player’s input. (and They/Them isn’t a NB-exclusive concept, it’s often used as a default when you don’t know someone’s gender nor want to assume.) HOWEVER, as I said, this is only true for Frisk- Chara has a defined persona and backstory, and is referred to as they/them by their own adoptive family who would know them better than the player. Likewise, Kris has their own persona and history, and the game goes out of its way to hammer this point home. Their friends and family refer to Kris as they/them, and Toby Fox persists on they/them being canon for Kris. There’s really no wiggle room for excuses on Kris’s gender.

[sparklingdemon]

Toby Fox never said that in regards to Frisk. That is a word-of-mouth lie that has been used as a justification by fans. If you find evidence to support the claim that he said this, I will disregard this.

An indie protagonist whose gender IS completely ambiguious is Niko from Oneshot, who is never referred to with any pronouns at all in the game, despite how many characters talk about Niko. When the game developers were asked if Niko was a boy or a girl, one responded “Yes.” Another was asked what Niko’s gender was and asked if Niko specifically used They/Them. The dev responded, “I have no idea!” That is how you tell fans, “It’s up to the player.” 

Compare this to Toby, who declined to answer why Frisk was androgynous.

He declined to answer the question, as well as every other question about LGBT themes in his story. This is very telling that due to his enormous platform, he doesn’t want to be at the head of LGBT politics in the game industry, and instead just does what he can to quietly slip them in.

All silent protagonists are still characters. They all don’t speak and just do what you tell to, but they’re still their own characters. 

For example, Link. He does all the same things Frisk does, and you’re even expected to name him after yourself, but everyone still accepts him as “Link”, the character. To say that Frisk is more of an empty, projectable vessel than other player characters is incorrect.

If you can agree that Chara and Kris use they/them, then you should assume that the same should be applied to Frisk, as well.

Nonbinary people should have protagonists to play as without needing established backstory to confirm it.

[docmenlonhead]

Hate to add to a deactivated account but let me put it this way; the Androgyny is to hide the true identity of Frisk and the one you named in Undertale. Toby simply tricked you into assuming that you're playing as a blank slate, so that you can relate to your avatar better.

You simply cannot choose what gender they are or their relational alignment in their world (it's safe to say that they're aromatic as well): it is as simple as that.

[docmenlonhead]

Something that been bothering for a while, especially since the fandom was so unaware that it became a fanon design. Not that I blamed them, especially when most of them never paid attention to the 3D models and were mostly use 2D illustrations as reference to the Pokémon. Plus, some thinks they look better that way.

So here’s an illustration of the fanon and canon design of Lopunny’s, along with other alternatives to go about the rendering of then.

[docmenlonhead]

Just as series of sketches I made for Pretty Blood last year

[docmenlonhead]

[docmenlonhead]

“Class of ‘09” is a Visual Novel for Antis (but not the pure kind)

Please note that this was made out of during the discourse involving controversal contents involving minors. This was out of an lack of proper understanding of the Shipping discourse and the definition of pro shippers. Please note that I’m against purity culture and the call for the sanatization of the online space, but I do advocate the proper use of content tags and ratings (like in Ao3 and Newgrounds).

l mediaI know it sounds strange, but I’m starting to believed that “Class of ‘09”encapsulates everything wrong with Visual Novels; Namely, ones that depicts teens in questionable situations.

For the uninitiated, “Class of ‘09” (not to be confused with the television show of the same name) is a visual novel created by the team behind the abridged series “Batman Beyond Ill”, which is where that meme about the glass ceiling of oppressed gamers came from. It’s there you play as Nicole, a self proclaimed Sociopathic teenager who has to to survive the last two years in high school before graduation; all while having to navigate through the constant cat calls from her peers and superiors, along with the misogyny and racism that permeates the schools of the southwest United States in the late 2000s. Despite the grim premise and subject matter, like drug use, manipulations, and self-harm (all of which can be enacted by Nicole), it’s often depicted as a “Dark Comedy”, thanks to the clever writings of scenarios and the brilliant delivery of the voice actors within the game itself.  It was because to that, many look up to the trouble teen as she’s the embodiment of the cruel societal system that normalized those kinds of “problematic behaviors”.

It was through her I would like to make her a poster child of AntiShipping and Lewding; namely anything that involves minors in some capacity. Like she often kick Jeremy’s (the school’s Weeb) fantasies down both out of disgust and self-gratitude. That and to make fun of her creepy older brother (who’s an adult, by the way). Here what I believed she will  say to ProShippers if she were to interact with them:

“So you aged them up? It doesn’t denote the fact that you wanted to fuck them!”

“Just because they’re both teens and fucking doesn’t make it any less gross that you depict it in explicit detail, you sicko!”

“‘Oh it’s imaginary, it didn’t hurt anyone’. Well, imagine my fist in your face!”

“Try telling that to your Mom. I bet she’ll send you to therapy before someone call the police and have you registered as a sex offender”

We need a mean girl who went through countless sexual harassment from both her superiors and peers to state what’s wrong with how teens are depicted in adult media these days.

[docmenlonhead]

Recently got into the Pretty Blood fandom, and somehow reminded of an animation I saw during my time in university.

I just thought they look cute together.

[docmenlonhead]

Super Bunny!

Or, rather, a Super Fusion between a Rabbit and a Chao.

[docmenlonhead]

Spoilers for Undertale: Kissy Cutie Below

Made this for a stream hosted by one of the Undertale/Deltarune theorists. I feel that the twist antagonist of the Visual Novel could easily beat the antagonist of an animated series.

Bete Noire/Glitchtale @camilaart

Sona/Kissy Cutie @xocolatlg

[docmenlonhead]

People often forget, that despite everything, they’re still a Kid.

Happy Birthday, Omnipresent Spirit of Undertale (and, by extension, Deltarune).

CORE!Frisk @dokudoki

[eeveewishes]

Reblog this if you answer—

Tell me, when I’m finished with my current Nuzlocke, would you like to see me play Palworld?

YES - Give Gamefreak more reason to focus on the quality of their future games

NO - Palworld literally rips off of Pokémon and should not be supported

Voting ended onFeb 17, 2024

[docmenlonhead]

While I do support your desire to play Palworld, I think you're better off playing independent games such as Cassete Beasts and PatchQuest; especially when you want to support the little guys instead. Pocket Pair, in my eyes, is not an indie developer; but is not a grifter either. Everything they done so far (despite uninspired) is legit.

[digic300]

I cannot find my original poll but I also wanted to make an new one anyways

Which Monster-Tamer game do you like?

Monster Rancher

Dragon Quest Monsters

Spectrobes

Cassette Beasts

Monster Sanctuary

Shin Megami Tensei

Fossil Fighters

Yo-Kai Watch

Monster Hunter Stories

Coromon

Nexomon

TemTem

Voting ended onJan 27, 2024

NOT INCLUDING THESE IN THE POLL:

Pokemon/Digimon: Waaaay to wildly popular. I had them in the last poll and they basically dominated it all, so I wanted to shine the light on these gems!

Palworld: I know its new, that's not why its not included. The company fully supports AI/GPT and I can't in good conscious include it. I'll include a link in the reblog for more info on it, cause I still don't know if they still shadowban posts with links in em initially.

GAMES I WANT TO INCLUDE BUT LITERALLY ONLY HAVE SO MANY OPTIONS:

World of Final Fantasy

Monster Crown

Disc Creatures

Siralim Ultimate

Moonstone Island

Anode Heart

Feel free to reblog/comment with other monster-collector games!! I love playing these type of games and love collecting them!

[digic300]

Twitter thread about the Palworld company >[HERE]<

[docmenlonhead]

Once again, Twitter aren’t hard proof that they committed any crimes against the Pokemon fandom; but their refusal to exit early access and chasing current trends doesn’t make them a trustworthy corporation. Though it would be more beneficial to support games made by small developers than those who appeal to the Gaming Industry. Nice for X-Box and Windows to have a (temporary) exclusive to compete with Pokémon, but you’re better off supporting something that crate games as a mean of expression, like Cassette Beast, and such.

…..I’m still disappointed that you didn’t include Digimon on this list, yet you went ahead and include Monster Rancher to it.

[docmenlonhead]

Here a major source for your Palworld Controversy (in Japanese).

Another interview, this time in English.

Exclusive interview: Palworld dev talks about game’s influences, original assets and the possibilities of a PvP mode 

Exclusive interview with Palworld producer and PocketPair CEO Takuro Mizobe about how Palworld came to be. Mizobe discusses influences, hard

Will update with more info.

[liondrakes]

Gonna say this as someone who has been critical of Game Freak both as a fan and as someone with a Pokémon SPIN for a while now:

Do not support Palworld.

The CEO of Pocket Pair, the game’s studio, openly supports AI and even made a game where making AI-generated art is its main mechanic.

Palworld is not Pocket Pair’s first instance of plagiarism, either. Their previous game, Craftopia, plagiarizes Breath of the Wild, whereas as its upcoming game, Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse, plagiarizes from independent developer Team Cherry’s game, Hollow Knight.

On top of stolen character models and concepts from fakemon artists, it’s already known that you can put Pals through what is basically slave labor BUT what’s been recently discovered is that the game allows you to capture and sell humans. This has been raising some red flags for black gamers looking into these mechanics, me included, considering this factors into the established slave labor system of Palworld.

TL;DR: I completely understand being tired of Game Freak and the Pokémon Company’s lack of polish over the years, but supporting something that is just as devoid of polish is not the way to make those criticisms clearer. This will only encourage more soullessness in the industry.

I implore you to support other creature collectors with some real passion behind them; I will reblog this post with recommendations shortly!

[liondrakes]

Creature Collectors to Consider:

Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2

Personally, MHS 2 is my favorite non-Pokémon creature collector and perhaps, my favorite creature collector of all time. The gameplay is easy to pick up and downright beautiful. While I don’t think you need to play the original Monster Hunter Stories to get into its sequel, just know that there are a few familiar faces from the original game that return so if you want to know of them first, look into playing them in order!

In a world where Hunters lay their lives on the line to protect the peace from great and powerful monsters, Riders take on a more daunting task elsewhere: stealing Monstie eggs, bonding with Monsties and charging into battle with them!

Set in the world of Monster Hunter, these lovely creature collectors have you taking on the role of a promising young Rider bonded to a Rathalos of untold destiny. Assemble Monsties of all classes and prevent the world around you from falling in disarray as you journey into Monster Hunter Stories!

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition

Part JRPG, part visual novel, all creature collector goodness.

I absolutely adore Digimon and will never understand why so many people opted out of giving it a chance, simply because of stupid jokes about it ripping off Pokémon when neither are alike. I will say the complexities of the evolutionary system in Digimon may be a turn off to some, but I guarantee you won’t want to miss out on what is arguably the best places to start if you want to check out their games.

Take on the role of a cyber detective in the original Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth or a cyber hacker in Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth— Hacker’s Memory as you explore the Digital World. Uncover mysteries that blur the line between two worlds and encounter hundreds of Digimon in each of these epic sci-fi adventures!

Yo-Kai Watch

Speaking objectively as a fan of this genre, Yo-Kai Watch seriously has some of the most creative gameplay I have seen come out of the creature collector genre (in addition to two other games listed right after this). I firmly believe this franchise was given way too much of a bad rap when it first hit the shelves, and deserves all the love for both its creative gameplay and its diverse creature design factor!

Cassette Beasts

You wanna talk a game that has been REALLY killing it in the gameplay department? Cassette Beasts. Use your tape to record monsters, play it back and transform to dominate the competition; you can even fuse forms to create a totally new Cassette Beast for more power!

The creativity I have seen come out of this game is something serious. If you’re looking for a real refresher, I highly recommend you give it a shot.

Ooblets

Now, I will preface this by saying: if you’re not the type for cozy creature collectors, then this may not be for you. It’s more akin to games such as Paleo Pines. Ooblets is a lighthearted farming sim and creature collector in which you use seeds to grow your little friends, the Ooblets!

That being said, the game does have a combat system— just not the kind you would expect! Enter your little plant friends into funky dance battles to settle differences; each Ooblet has their own set of moves worth unlocking, so don’t be afraid to get your groove on!

Coromon

If you want an experience that is relatively closer to Pokémon in terms of execution, then your best bet is with these last few recommendations. Simple, sweet and satisfying to boot, Coromon is a passion project jam-packed with content that is sure to capture the heart of many a fan seeking refuge from Pokémon, its fandom and its flaws.

With a variety of difficulty options, a Randomizer mode, a Nuzlocke mode and a completely customizable experience, Coromon is the place to be for a truly enriching adventure!

Nexomon

Much like Coromon, Nexomon is a creature collector that is not shy when it comes to showing off its inspirations but absolutely excels at forging its own identity.

Through its smooth animation, lovingly detailed environments and hundreds of charming Nexomon to choose from and battle, Nexomon and its sequel, Nexomon: Extinction, are worthwhile options for longtime fans of Pokémon and creature collectors in general who are looking to stretch their legs with something that feels equally new and familiar!

Itching for something with a classic feel? Give these games a try!

These indie games scratch that specific itch with their likeness to classic Pokémon games, but that only scratches the surface of their quality.

• Disc Creatures

Consider Disc Creatures for its place as a love letter to old school JRPGs, such as Pokémon Red and Blue as well as Dragon Quest Monsters.

• Monster Sanctuary

Check out Monster Sanctuary for its metroidvania mechanics, sure to enthrall all who love to explore their games.

• Monster Crown

Look into Monster Crown for its unique breeding system and mature storytelling.

Each of the games I’ve recommended are wonderful additions to the creature collector genre. Please spend your money wisely, preferably on projects that had real work put into them.

We need to show our support for games with real passion and ingenuity behind them, not games that steal and cut corners especially when those behind it do not care about artistry.

We can’t hope for a better future for our games if we put that hope in the hands of people who will only taint it going forward.

[liondrakes]

I expected some push back here and there when I made this post, but I don’t care. It is not lost on me that some folks simply have no integrity when it comes to the content they play.

1. I never said they used AI for Palworld, only that they’ve used it for a past project and support it openly. You can quit trying to argue me down over something I did not say.

2. Some of you completely ignoring the fact that you can enslave and sell people in the game, just to argue over #1, is as concerning as it is telling.

I do, however, appreciate a lot of the people who’ve been sharing their favorite games in the tags of each reblog.

I’ve been reading them all, and I’m glad these games still got plenty of folks that love them in turn!

[mylifetherant]

Not gunna argue any of the rest of it, but this weird moral panic over point two is...so strange to me?

Like yea every agrees slavery is bad but. This is a video game? The thing where murdering strangers and doing what would be considered bad in real life are totally commonplace because its...fiction.

Cult of the Lamb got nothing but critical acclaim and praise, and it too is a game in which you enslave, brainwash, and put to work innocent followers through literal religious doctrine. In both CotL and Palworld you can butcher living people and feed them to folks or sell the bits. But no one tried to make a moral stance about it because they *liked* Cult of the Lamb.

Bakdurs gate, another crittically acclaimed and tumblr loved game, literally gives a life and backstory to ever bandit, thief and goblin that we slaughter without thought. It actively goes out of its way to make every enemy a real person with thoughts desires feelings and backstories. And you still kill them all. No one complains about it because its part of the experience. Because they understand that this is a videogame and that the potentially dark choices you make arent indicitave of your morals as a person or of Larians, who gave you the option to do them in the first place. Hell the whole point of the Dark Urge playthrough is being straight up evil.

Plenty of games like the Fable and Dishonored series have had morality systems that affect the gameplay and allow you to do things that are, obviously, immoral.

Now some might say sure, but these games tell you theyre bad things! Doesnt palworld encourage this!? The answer is!

No, it actually also punishes you for this. Abusing pals and not keeping then happy both leads to them revolting and causes raids from a group who believes in their rights. Catching and selling humans is also frowned on, and you are directly told as such the first time you do it. Doing so will raise a crime meter and cause you to be assualted by guards in civilized areas and towns. So no, palworld isnt supporting slavery or encouraging you to be morally reprehensible, its actively punished, and is merely an option to explore narratively if you want. Doing so will actively make the game harder though.

Im not saying palworld isnt problematic in the other listed ways, but this weird habit of only caring about potential moral quandries in fiction only applying to the ones we already dont like is. Very telling.

[docmenlonhead]

I’m going to throw my two cents here so that further misinformation will not be spread.

While I agree with what @occulture-king on their uncreativeness in terms of indie products, especially when they parodied art and design from trends at the time, I also agree with @mylifetherant in regards to Pocket Pair having though out penalties on the player’s actions. With that said, while Palworld was admittedly an addicting and fun game, it’s not original by any means; It’s Ark Survival with Pokémon and nothing else. I would suggest that one should play games made by small developers that wanted to give their own spin on the Monster catching genre; namely those of the retrolite, like Cassette Beasts or Coromon.

I don’t see Palworld taking one Pokémon, nor any of the Survival Crafting games like Minecraft; But I do think Pocket Pair managed to strike gold with this one. Let’s hope that they use that fame to look for more inspirations outside of the game market.

[wishing-stones]

One final thought before I hit the hay

All of the skeletons: ALL OF THEM are trans.

They're technically genderless, but are male presenting and identifying. Their magic alligns with their identities, but can be changed. It's also not always present, so most of the time, they walk around with NO identifiable gendered traits.

Similarly, none of them are straight, but that's just a Monster Thing. Monsters on the whole are generally pan because they come in such a wide variety, but some have preferences (Undyne being mega gay, obv)

So yeah. Ur favs are trans. 🏳️‍⚧️

[docmenlonhead]

All Humans are Non-binary in Undertale/Deltarune.

All Monsters reproduce Asexually like the Chao in the Sonic Adventure Games (thus they're all trans by default).

Therefore, Deltarune and Undertale are LGBTQ+ games.

That's my head canon in regards to the series.

[pokemoncenter]

"Pokémon Master".

A title that almost every trainer aspires to, but no one can agree on what it is. To some, it is a Trainer who has caught all Pokémon and created a complete Pokédex. To others, it is a Trainer who has taken their abilities to the zenith and become Champion. To a few, it is those few Trainers who save the world from those apocalyptic events.

One Trainer once described it as 'A Trainer who has befriended every Pokémon in the world'.

To me, I think a Pokémon Master must be one who understands the hearts of Pokémon, bonds with them, and draws out their full potential, and with their Pokémon, brings happiness to all they meet.

But I am not a Trainer. So I ask others:

What is a Pokémon Master to you?

[docmenlonhead]

As stated in the comments:

A "Pokémon Master" is a person that can befriend and train any monsters without any tools what so ever (no pokeball, no stylish, nothing). It's someone who cares for Pokémon and is capable of bringing out their full potential for the monsters' benefits. The final two episodes proved that Ash already accomplished his dreams, despite him not even acknowledging that fact. As far as he's concern, there're places that he never been before and Pokémon he never encountered; and he won't rest until he experience everything the world have to offer.