LaserDeckNeo

This account mostly existed for the sake of being a simple dump for Fanfiction Ideas/Updates. But possibly also Media Analysis/Appreciation. Or just to Ramble.

[laserdeckneo]

Why PMD-E First? (Long Text Wall Ahead)

It may seem odd. The possibility of creating fanfiction for a verse that for all intents and purposes, kind of only existed just for PK and Co, and less the collab. This really isn't so much about the "potential" of the verse, one could even argue there isn't any to be found that couldn't be found in ethically better made stories. ......Except for Rhodes. It's a well known fact for anyone that's actually bothered getting into the lore of this verse that Rhodes is perhaps the most depressing tragedy in terms of his writing. And the amount of hurt he was put through, from beginning all the way to the group's end. I will later make posts in regards to that with the appropriate mature tags. Those who already know, they know.

This has all been a bit of a long time in the making. I'll admit, I've always consumed and both critiqued media, and also have praised the medium to what, in my personal opinion, it's been able to offer in it's finest. But I've never actually written content before. It's all only existed in my head for years. But I figured that most of the verse was extremely low bar. So, rather than make a pet project my first go, I shall use this instead. Could this be considered a "Salt Fic?" Maybe. Maybe Not. It's so easy to put characters through suffering just because you may not like them. But I also want to do this and give Rhodes a proper conclusion. A Fair conclusion. It's what it all comes down to really. I'll admit, despite the fact that writing better than Glip/PK ever did is easy enough (simply holding the characters accountable), what isn't is the dark subject matters PK seemingly enjoyed writing in and glossing over or EVEN making light of, especially if it came to ensuring an entire audience of players could see said content. More on that in the future. Finally, as this will be my first fanfic. It likely won't even be that good. I suppose it'll just be for me, but I'll try what I can. And whatever criticism I may get, I will be able to use it as a bridge to learn for projects I actively want to work on. This blog will for now be used to mark ideas. I want to plan the verse, so if I ever discontinue it, I can just reveal the rest of the documents worth of ideas and let the audience have the Raw Text to the conclusion itself. Yes, The tags for the varying ideas of this fanfic will be properly labeled to reflect their mature content and subject matters, as I do not have any interest of anyone BUT adults reading this.

Thank You for reading all this, maybe. Maybe you did not and skipped to the end. Still, you have my thanks.

[laserdeckneo]

Part 1.2: Palette & Reinterpretation. (CW: Grooming)

I would've moved onto the next part. But I didn't. Because there is something I feel also must be covered before I continue with the series of posts.

Palette. Grooming Implications and Grooming Mentioned below.

In practically any coverage of controversial writing from Glip/Purplekecleon. This never gets covered, as this happens in the background with side characters (and it's surprisingly not THAT on the nose considering this is PMD-E we are talking about), so perhaps no one focuses on her? Well, I will still cover this at it's still quite a heavy subject matter. Palette is a Zoroark who was taken in by the Smeargle, Pal. This is shown in Doujin 1, which is quite obscure, but the story can be read in full on here. Later, the Zorua grows up and becomes an artist alongside Pal, in hopes of making up for her past actions of leaving clients with fake art pieces. Quite wholesome stuff on the surface, with a story even being made of Pal trying to pay off his debts to help buy a good home for him and Palette. The aforementioned story can be read here. If that's all this was, then I wouldn't be discussing this. Unfortunately, it's not. Glip had made decently strong implications the two could've become Lovers at the end of Inspiration. Said story can be read right here. Perhaps that may not be enough proof of anything foul waiting, for some anyways. But then it becomes FAR more problematic when you check their wiki page and check the name tags for one of the art pieces

Reunion between two lovers.

Source, This Page.

I also cannot link to anything for obvious reasons of Tumblr's Rules, but Glip had at one point reblogged someone's NSFW art of the two in bed, on their own NSFW blog from back in the day. One can't help but call into question why there'd be implied love between someone who took in another when they were a child. ---------------------- Now. As mentioned. It's still somewhat ambiguous and not outright explicitly shown and talked about like with the Rhodes story. But the subtext more than tries to bake it in for the readers. Because of this, I've always seen it more fit for Pal and Palette to have a Father and Daughter bond. It never made sense to make the two "lovers". And as there isn't direct canon content that makes the two outright a couple, I will basically just decide to leave it at that. I could call this a retcon, and it likely counts as that. But considering PMD-E is for the most part pretty clear where it stands when writing varying topics (most of which of questionable intent), I will repurpose the two to remain something far less sinister, and something far more wholesome. In other words, I'll call this a Reinterpretation.

I will not deny there was likely something very bad brewing from the writing. But I feel it is ambiguous enough that I can actually salvage this particular part of the writing.

[laserdeckneo]

Part 1.1: Rhodes (CW: CSA & Abuse)

Alright. I'll admit. The reason it took me so long to continue with this series of posts is simply because, this isn't an easy topic for anyone to discuss. But.....

Yes, I did say that basically everything available on the wiki is canon. Part 1 discussed what is and isn't canon. That includes the first name on this post. Rhodes.

Content warning for the subject matters tagged, below.

Anyone who's ever gotten into PMD-E or at least Glip's long list of controversies are likely aware of the infamous story where PK forces herself on a underage Sneasel, Rhodes. To recap for those who weren't aware of this story. We must first go back to PK and Rhodes meeting. Starting near Resignation Part 2, the then Leader of the Sneasel Gang, Slasher, had directly slashed at Rhodes' face, following Merlot's refusal to go after the Merchant's Guild. Not long afterwards, PK had met up with Rhodes, who was still in so much pain, that he was begging not to be hit a second time:

“Oh, um... please don’t hurt me!” the Sneasel begged and cowered, going so far as to crouch and cover his feathered head. “Eh..?” PK hadn’t quite pieced anything together until that point. After all, there were honest Sneasels living in Tao Village. However, she spotted a familiar bruise on the back of the Sneasel’s head, now that he was crouching. Her eyes widened. “You... you were following Slasher around!” she exclaimed. “I gave you that bruise!” The Sneasel looked up rather timidly, still crouching with some degree of fear. “I know... please don’t hit me again, I’ll leave!”

Source, Resignation, Chapter 2.

So right off the bat, we already established that Rhodes came from a rather abusive home, and so, the framing of him joining was clearly meant to establish to audiences that he was being moved out of an abusive home, and was moving on to a much more positive environment. .....or so the story would want you to believe. Rhodes had nothing but the utmost trust in PK and even wanted to help. Despite this, he still apparently fears PK enough to be worried of physical abuse coming from her:

"Mr. Shroomsworth liked that too, but he left. I think something really bad happened, because Miss PK won't talk about it. Maybe it's a good idea not to talk about him to her, so be careful. She can punch you really hard. I'll try to find him, so don't worry, okay? Just try to focus on making the village all fixed-up!"

Source, Mission 6 of PMD-Explorers.

Because that's a REALLY healthy sign that a abused boy has moved onto a "better" home, right? Well, long story short, Jasmine gets herself in quite some trouble and needs to be rescued. This of course, goes terribly wrong. Jasmine gets nearly killed, and so she uses a vast burst of energy that ends up sending so many Pokemon to Tao. PK and Rhodes included. At some point, all of Tao is required to band together to defend it from a army of Zoroark. But prior to this, Rhodes and PK share a bed together. And thus leads to the infamous story where (despite what Glip insists), PK forced herself upon Rhodes (and relied on Rhodes own trust of her)

I will not be linking to this story for beyond obvious reasons, but practically any video speaking of Glip/PurpleKecleon already cites this story regularly

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Making a story like this is already one thing. But this went a step further and outright Canonized IT. (In the event this time stamp link doesn't work, skip to 55:10.) Even worse is many years later, when Glip did address this on their Co-Host, not only did they retcon a story of this direct magnitude from existence, but they also even put the BLAME on Rhodes and said that it was him pushing himself onto HER. Which, it shouldn't have to be said how immensely disrespectful that is to CSA victims. PK forced herself on Rhodes AND took advantage of his trust, one glance at the story proves this. as it directly states that Rhodes had his utmost trust in her

Please Note: I was gonna leave the manuscript here that directly states this. But due to Tumblr Policy risks, I will avoid citing much of the story, nor will I be leaving links. It must be warned however that the CW Tags sum up the kind of content you'd find if you did read it.

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So where does this leave us? Well. I realize that this subject is heavy. and seeing to how Rhodes was treated throughout the story (Physically assaulted at Sapling Village, Called "Scarface" by Maple, etc). I will NOT Retcon this for my Fan-Fic. While it will not be the main focus for all chapters. It will be something that won't be ignored. Nor will the Literal Child, that only wanted to help and got their trust exploited, be blamed in any way. I understand such a subject is heavy. and the Story will be as appropriately tagged as I can make it.

[laserdeckneo]

Anime Depiction in Western Media.

Minor Grievance time. I guess it's nothing too specific, nor is this aimed at any specific person. I'm not against the basic idea of making fun of Anime tropes. But I'll just say that most of the time Anime is parodied on in Western Media, I personally rarely ever consider these gags actually funny. Often times I see these 'gags', it just feels like the writers are picking the most stereotypical and basic archetypes that the medium offers, and packages it as criticism. Low Hanging Fruit in other words.

Most times, I feel it's just similar jokes too. We get it, you only watched basic Strobe Light-Heavy Shonen, and you feel compelled to say it's terrible. But Action Shonen as a whole is just one out of a hundred genres anime offers! Anime can be deeply political and critical of the system it was made from too. It isn't ALL fan-service, strobe lights, and big explosions. Hey, we're rather specific with what we reference in Western Media, I just feel we should do the same for media elsewhere. You shouldn't be saying "This is bad, anime is bad and cringe as a whole." and more "This is bad, this part of the genre has issues." I guess I'd like a little less of vague parodying being paraded as a criticism of anime, and more so like how Boondocks was VERY specific on it's hilarious referencing (just outright mini essay) of 'Soul Food'. Goodness knows we need a little more of that for describing some rather poorly aged Anime. I supposed I'm likely just yelling at clouds. Still, felt like saying it.

[laserdeckneo]

"You're just a Weeb!" - A.K.A, Why is this even a response for dub critiques?

Alright, just gonna put it there. If the above is your only response to one if they even as much as say the dub sucks and nothing more..... I'll be uninterested in anything more you'd have to say, this is mostly just a bit of DBZ Dub Ranting. Yeah, I know. Terribly Original and Daring, but seriously. Dragon Ball Z's dub sucks from a technical (by technical, I mean as much as basic script accuracy) standpoint, and it's not because it's 95 percent faithful instead of 100 percent accurate. I'm actually on the side that there's quite a lot of good Anime Dubs for Movies and Series out there. Hell, many times I watch anime with an English dub on. I'm not that hard to please. Bandai Entertainment commissioned dubs for example tended to be quite good in terms of delivery and decent accuracy to the original JP script as far as I can remember. When I say the Dragon Ball Z Faulconer dub sucks, it's not because it says 'Saiyan' instead of 'Saiyajin'. I dislike it because it actively overwrites the original writing in it's entirety in favor of turning characters into things that they are not. Somewhat interesting Toriyama dialogue is scrapped mostly in favor of trying to be mediocre Hollywood action junk. Coupled that with USUALLY not so good music (made by a man that piggybacks most times out of songs that he never made himself and were made by other/far more talented individuals). And you've got yourself a major reason why I often insist against practically any original DBZ English dub (Kai is different) for anyone's first experience. Please, PLEASE! Note, that I'm not here to "invalidate" your view if you're someone who enjoys the dub, even more than the original version. I'm not some snob who thinks I'm better than others based on language tastes. Just don't spam one word as if that invalidates the other's argument. In my case, I'd laugh and just point to the many pieces of media that actually have good dubs that I watch regularly. Tldr; "Weeb" is not an instant auto-win to deflect from dub criticism. If Z's dub was even at least on par with Kai's dub (which believe me, has it's own share of issues), I wouldn't be here.

[laserdeckneo]

Part 1: Canon. To Be or NOT to be?

"That is the question".

...... Alright, for real. When dealing with a roleplay verse that was as actively large on it's lore (even if much of it wasn't very good or well made), One may have to ask: #1. "Where would YOU Start, Neo?" I doubt anyone is seriously asking this, but if you are at this point and are curious..... It would mostly go without saying Mission's 1-7 are all completely canon to the character's lives. Tao High is NOT canon (not that it ever was), Nuzlocke is technically canon to PMD-E, but as it wasn't brought up much, it technically has no relevance as far as my story is concerned. And of course.... #2. "What about Mission 8?" Ah. Well, this gets a little trickier. See, at this point, some major drama was going on behind the scenes between the creators, and PK was very soon going to launch Floraverse, so they had seemingly less and less involvement on certain missions. It got to a point that some mods had to make up tasks that were far more standard and peaceful (VERY likely due to how violent Mission 8, the one that took place in the past, was.) Therefore, it could be said these tasks are canon, but once again, lack major relevancy, if any at all. Nextly, Mission 8 past AND present are all canon. Finally, Mission 8 Epilogue. This is where a major liberty will be taken. #3. Mission 8 Epilogue: "Art is never finished, only abandoned" As stated prior, PK and the others were quickly falling out of interest. But before the group got shutdown, they released two last Epilogue Comics and Manuscripts. One that was for an unfinished Mission 8 Part 2. And another for a very rough (and oddly visually comical) parts 3-5 that end on a MAJOR cliffhanger. What many however may not be aware of is that there WAS a continuation comic that seemingly went on from this. And so, such can be read right..... Here. So, to clarify, The following of the epilogue will be made directly canon. Epilogue Parts 1 and 2. That's right. The content occuring afterwards (parts 3-5) will be labeled as Non-Canon. For a good reason too. This ranges for reasons such as: - More Kecleon Family OC's (and once again, they steal the show). - Micle at this point is given an oddly comedic role (mostly getting hit by Peach, or even just being there for this odd Carnival that they want to do), it just feels like more downplay and almost as if Glip wanted you to laugh with him around? IDK. - Gnasher is brought back as Slasher. But it kind of seemed like all he was going to do was go back to serving and kneeling under Devonshire (who in Live Chat's, I've made it no secret I vastly dislike). - Mike's full on switch to villain mode. Granted, he wasn't exactly always an upstanding guy in the story, but due to the Drama between Michael and PK had at the time, this landed in PK spitefully writing Mike to make him EVEN WORSE than he already was. Essentially just dying after this. (If you need Proof that the writing was just PK spite writing Mike, look no further than THIS comic right here.) - Lastly, there was also the matter of Chill's Return. Which Chill at this point was just a caricature of CrayonChewer's actual Chill. He was often portrayed as a bit of a jerk in mission 8 while spewing slang. Leading to a Chill that doesn't feel like Chill, but someone wearing his face. For these reasons, I am uninterested in continuing from this low point. And instead will start a new continuation following Jasmine returning those stuck in the past back to the present. More on that will come in a later post.