#1 Vents fan

🦄✨ it/its ~ 20s ✨🦄 🐉 don't follow if under 18 🐉

[eldragon-x]

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We use it/its pronouns and are a traditional artist, though we also sometimes draw MsPaint stuff. Our current main interest is Friendship Test!

Please don't follow if you are below 18 years old. We do not tolerate insensitivity towards the subjects of incest and child predation.

[eldragon-x]

Anyway I did previously point out the horror of like. Off being killed by Nick and only being able to continue living by hijacking a machine he built in the image of an old organism. But I also think it's horrifiying in a similar vein that, after promising he'll help Off with their chronic depression, he says this shit:

But also ☝️ smth about how Nick notoriously apologizes a lot for being abusive without actually meaningfully doing anything about it because he only does it to express remorse and ultimately considers the abuse a neccessary evil. And how he literally apologizes to Off for killing them Right Before Doing It

[eldragon-x]

i just got like so mad about the Off-related entries from the secret lab I was about to make a more articulate post about those but all my brain could put together for a moment was just "dude I hate this man [insert image of Nick]"

[eldragon-x]

comparing your loved ones to a dog is wild btw

[eldragon-x]

nick voice my other minions should really take a page out of off and devils books because theyre good at their job and bother me the least and make me feel the least guilty for abusing them

[eldragon-x]

comparing your loved ones to a dog is wild btw

[eldragon-x]

friendship test is an evil game to talk about because its unironically like yeah theres a scene where a character named waterbottle explains their name choice and its genuinely one of the hardest moments in the game

[eldragon-x]

friendship test is an evil game to talk about because you'll say some shit like "wow... void isnt a Bad Friend and tori doesnt need to be the Best Friend..." like these are genuinely profound statements to make about these characters and it sounds like a my little pony lesson

[eldragon-x]

I think about Enemy's "You will always be Tori" line cause it's like. On one hand she says this in tandem to how Tori has been rebooting herself over and over and there is already a whole established thing about how rebooting impacts one's personhood.

On one hand it can strip parts of yourself away, which gets the most emphasis in Waterbottle's arc in the later game. On the other hand, Sparks' character raises the point that going through a reboot and changing a lot as a result doesn't make one any less of a full person. Tori can try to strip herself of her flaws all she wants, but she will always be herself. A full person with flaws and shortcomings and the capacity for harm.

But I also think about it in relation to the fact that she picked up the name BestFriend given to her by FP, and later renamed herself BestFriendProgram. But she cannot just define herself by her capability to be the best possible friend nor can she possess the supposed inherent kindness and love of a friendprogram, that even actual friendprograms can't live up to. She never was FP's best friend to begin with. She will always be Tori.

[vetiverfox]

✷The Great Beast in the Sky✷

something I drew after seeing the total solar eclipse 2 months ago now! I still think about it, it was truly as awe inspiring as I'd heard... prints available here!

[eldragon-x]

I have assigned Pokemon teams to the entire major cast in Friendship Test except ☝️ Exe because I thought it'd be weird to have an experiment use Pokemon. But do know that I've thought Lucario and Yveltal would fit her.

I added a written list of the teams below since alt text currently isn't working and I also included a long explanation of my Pokemon choices under the read more.

FriendProgram: Buneary, Zorua, Garchomp Waterbottle: Litten, Metagross Fun: Plusle, Chatot Games: Minun, Psyduck Keys: Timburr Hammer: Tinkaton Wrench: Mabosstiff Pixels: Emolga, Cinccino, Vulpix Dreamer: Musharna, Porygon, Latios Enemy: Cobalion, Rotom, Klinklank, Carvanha, Drapion, Torkoal Knight: Gallade, Virizion, Escavalier, Absol Knife: Pawniard, Terrakion, Accelgor, Turtonator Clover: Mimikyu Nick: Magnezone, Beheeyem, Type: Null, Cubone, Alolan Sandslash Void: Cosmog, Silvally, Zoroark Tori: Audino, Banette, Hatterene, Maushold, Togekiss, Latias

FriendProgram

I think Buneary is basically a perfect choice for FP, being a bunny Pokemon with a base friendship of zero. It evolves when it reaches a high friendship stat but FP just gets to have Buneary forever.

Zorua is a mischievous fox that shapeshifts into other Pokemon or people, though it often does this to protect itself. We've always thought the fox and mouse experiment encounter paralleled FP's dynamic with Tori in some way, so they get a fox. Zorua's deal also fits well with how FP's actions are often percieved as manipulative when their pretending often really comes down to their safety.

I've played with the thought of giving Waterbottle or Pixels a shark mon, but it didn't quite click and I ended up giving FP a Garchomp instead. I wanted their whole team to be animalistic but also to have something edgier to appeal to their sensibilities. It's a pseudo-legendary too so it works out.

Waterbottle

Gotta give 'em a small cat mon to reference Sodacan and I think Litten matches their energy the best.

Metagross is honestly mostly here because it visually reminded me of them, and its intelligence is often compared to that of a super computer. I wish I could've found Pokemon that better reference WB's choice to stop fighting for good but this being their only Pokemon next to the unevolved cat will have to suffice.

Fun + Games

I generally tried to go for a colorful toy aesthetic for their teams. They absolutely needed duo Pokemon so they get Plusle and Minun. Fun gets a Chatot because I always imagined its voice would sound like how a cartoon parrot character would sound. Games getting Psyduck is mostly vibes-based but it loops back to being matchsies with Fun because birds :)

Keys + Hammer + Wrench

Keys and Hammer are fairly straightforward. He's a techprogram and has a mon that helps with constructions. She's a blacksmith and gets Tinkaton. I honestly would've liked to give her something edgier but I think I can live with her having a cute but fierce mon that wields a hammer.

Wrench gets Mabosstiff cause it's vaguely Spike-shaped and it's usually a gentle and kind Pokemon that gets fierce about protecting its family and loved ones, which fits him very well.

Pixels

For Pixels I very much ended up going just for a cute but strong team, I feel like that speaks to their tastes. Vulpix is here for vibes and name games, Emolga is one of the signature Pokemon of a model in Gen 5 which I think would appeal to her, with how much she plays herself up, and Cinccino can let attacks slide off of its white fur which reflects how Pixels doesn't let a lot of things get to her.

Dreamer

Musharna eats others Dreams which appear in the mist from its forehead. It can also use that to create illusions, all of which fits Dreamer incredibly well.

Porygon is an artifically created Pokemon that can freely move around in cyberspace. I thought if reflected well how Dreamer is uncertain of their self image and hardly uses their physical form to move about, but I also wanted it to be a reference to the glitch encounter in the hospital emulation.

Latios mostly corresponds to Tori's Latias. I don't think this is canon, but the two of them are often interpreted as siblings. Latios only opens up to select people and according to early entries, it's also able to create illusions so there's that too.

Enemy

Cobalion is the intimidating leader of a trio of legendaries, The Swords of Justice, who stood up against humans who put Pokemon in danger. It only felt appropriate to give it to Enemy.

Klinklank is a gears powered mon that produces and stores a lot of energy.

Rotom is a Pokemon made up of eletricity that can possess any technological device. It's also a ghost type, fitting for Enemy's temporary death during which she was just a stream of energy traversing the labs before inhabiting a new body.

Carvanha is honestly in part just here because both it and her make me think of Undyne. Frankly, both Carvanha and Drapion kinda come down to "they look like her" and they do match her energy. Though Carvanha also usually work in groups and get shy when they're on their own, which could be reflective of Enemy's downspiral as her relationship with Knight and Knife is put on strain.

Torkoal is very self-indulgent. The door on Enemy's chest always made me think of something like fire boxes in steam engines so I always imagined her as a machine that runs on heat and steam. So, hot steam Pokemon. It worked out well because I also ended up giving Knife a fire turtle lol.

Knight + Knife

The two of them just kinda get the other Swords of Justice by proxy of Enemy, I just decided Virizions elegant energy fit Knight better.

He also has a Gallade, one of the first Pokemon that come to mind when it comes to noble knight/prince types. Ironically, it's also capable of reading thoughts which could be a nightmare for Knight's OCD, but who knows maybe their bond makes it loop back around to being reassuring.

Now, I wanted all of the TNT to get at least one edgier Pokemon which wasn't easy with Knight, but I ended up settling on an Absol for her. It's a dark type Pokemon which in the past has been thought to bring disaster with it, but in reality it appears to warn people of upcoming disasters. I think it plays interestingly on their anxieties around pretending to be a good program and really being awful, and still fits the overall noble theme of their team.

Then there's Escavalier. Obvious knight motif, but also matchsies with Knife's Accelgor, since their pre-evos evolve upon being traded with one another :)

Accelgor doesn't match Knife as well, but I think it being an agile ninja bug-type works well enough.

Xe also gets Pawniard, a Pokemon that fights with the blades on its body and tends to follow the command of a leading Pokemon.

And there's Turtonator, a Pokemon whose shell is explosive. At least one of TNT needed an explosive Pokemon and I think Knife matches its energy the best.

Clover

Mimikyu is a horrifying Pokemon that tries to make itself likeable and popular by disguising as Pikachu. Very fitting with Clover's own tendency to try hard to fit a standard of social acceptability and constantly putting on a front, though I think they would also just plain appreciate Mimikyu's cuteness.

Nick

A lot of scientist trainers use electric/steel types, which Magnezone is, and it looks like an UFO on top of that.

Beheeyem are alien-like Pokemon who can manipulate and erase people's memories.

Type: Null are artifical Pokemon created to be used as weapons against Pokemon from other dimensions. Considering it's resemblance to a dog, you could consider this one a counterpart to Devil.

Alolan Sandslash is a blue armadillo which makes for a morbid reference to Estranged Family and Star and Comet's history with Nick.

Cubone is a notoriously sad and grieving Pokemon wearing the skull of its dead mother. I thought it made for a perfect representation of his relationship to the old organisms and while it might be off putting to have this cute mon on his team, I think Nick's character thrives on unsettling dissonance, plus actual Pokemon villains sometimes have standout mons that speak on their character.

Void

Void's Zoroark corresponds to FP's Zorua, while their Silvally corresponds to Type: Null.

While the "manipulation" angle isn't pushed with Void in the same way it is for FP, there's still a element of percieved deception to their character. There's the act 5 betrayal, but also the way their lovelessness and their sincerety in their interactions are positioned as contradictory.

Additionally, Zoroark are very loyal to their kin, and while the importance FP holds for Void doesn't rely on their family relation, I still think the Pokemon can be a neat reference to that. They just get an evolved version of FP's mon since theirs likely got involved in more battles.

Silvally evolves from Type: Null once it reaches a high friendship level and trusts its trainer, shattering the mask that previously restrained it. Within the story this happens some time after its current trainer rescues it from the lab it was created in. I'm imagining that Void literally just took Nick's old Type: Null, so this is specifically a post-game additon to their team.

Cosmog is the obligatory space-themed Pokemon on their team, and I thought it was a better fit with Void to go with it than with any of the mons based on specific celestial bodies.

Additionally, the human characters who take care of a Cosmog and a Silvally within the story of Sun and Moon are a pair of siblings who escaped an abusive environment so like Idk vague reference to Void's own situation also.

Tori

Audino is a Pokemon that can hear and feel out people's health and emotional states.

Banette is the ghost of a thrown away puppet, now filled with vengance and trying to seek out the person who abandoned it. Supposedly, it can return to its former state if given enough love. I think it makes for a nice representation of both Tori's damaged relationship with Enemy, as well as her misjudgement of the mistakes she's made with FriendProgram.

Maushold correspond to FP's Zorua, calling back to the fox and mouse thing. I also briefly thought about having her wield Pokemon representing different types of love (this one being familial), but it felt a bit excessive, given Banette already made for a more specific representation of her ties with FP and Enemy.

Hatterene can sense emotions from a distance and lashes out violently when it senses hostility, referencing Tori's own desire to stamp out any negativity.

Togekiss is a Pokemon that only appears in times of peace and avoids conflicts.

Latias, corresponding to Dreamer's Latios, can also sense people's emotions and is particularly sensitive towards them, getting stressed out when it senses hostility.

[eldragon-x]

these have been in my drafts for a while

[eldragon-x]

Sometimes I worry I sound silly when I discuss Friendship Test and specifically the way FP and Tori's relationship fell apart through her pushing friendship onto them but the thing is. the way the game considers friendship does genuinely make more sense to me as someone who considers friendship something emotionally(?) committed. i said it before but like, game that makes me feel less obligated to call anyone i hang out and get along with a friend.

[eldragon-x]

it is kinda funny that the two kasane teto songs we currently seem to be obsessed with are whodunit, where she solves a murder, and hey chat, where she murders people (both songs contain eyestrain and flashing, including bright colors in the thumbnails)

[eldragon-x]

despite listening to it a lot, "hey chat" has given us a lot of mixed feelings which mostly include discomfort and i think a big part of it is just. the song very much centering streaming and different aspects of it. like it still feels jarring to us when fiction references social media because it feels like a very intentional attempt at trying to reflect the real modern world. so having that be a main element in the song makes the murder feel more "real" if that makes sense. also we kinda interpret the song as being about the general casual cruelty that people on social media practice for the sake of entertainment.

[eldragon-x]

sorry for overanalyzing my own feelings on a vocaloid song. anway i wanted to add that the line "hey look at me, there is blood on the screen" is also particularly evocative to me as its like. almost trying to "snap" the viewer out of something. hey pay attention to whats actually happening. people are being harmed for entertainment.

[eldragon-x]

im really glad that the person from the lip syncing story of undertale video is fine because that just genuinely makes it the funniest shit ever

[eldragon-x]

foreshadowing is a narrative device in which-

[eldragon-x]

i always think about how void having emotional blindness that particularly affects their fear and upset vs nick being very overtly emotional colors their relationship in such a way

[eldragon-x]

rn im particularly thinking about void disassociating their fear towards nick from nick

and how they reframe that during their breakup scene

[eldragon-x]

i always think about how void having emotional blindness that particularly affects their fear and upset vs nick being very overtly emotional colors their relationship in such a way

[eldragon-x]

recently fuji noted that she noticed i changed my blog to be friendship test themed and i was like it already was i just changed it to be different and i keep thinking about this exchange from that