(You’ve talked about the metaphors within trainer centric pokepastas and what they mean to you, but do you have any similar and/or strong feelings about Pokemon-centric ones?)
[ive definitely always been partial to trainer-centric stories, but there are definitely a few pokemon stories im fond of.. if i had to cite a metaphor i personally find a lot in pokemon pastas, its definitely the dynamic between pokemon and master, or other things that are in control- often i think pokemon focused stories have a theme of a lack of control over your own life, fate, choices, body, that sort of thing.. that loss being either the focus, or the revolt and forced seizing of control. i dont have a lot of coherent thoughts so typing is hard rn, but theres something interesting to me in the standard “cursed pokemon that kills everything with blood and gore” story often being in an attempt to rebel against or please their trainer (or the player). some of my favorite pokemon centered stories are Prevention of Evolution (nostalgia bias it actually sucks), Forever Mine (esp the rewrite), Explorers of Death (rewrite again).. 2/3 of these are rewrites by sparks (@sparklingdemon) . but theres very much a recurring motif, to me, of someone losing control over their life/destiny (ie squirtle being denied existence, skye stuck in limbo, eeEee’s trainer denying evolution). and doing something to seize some belonging or control for themself (ie the entire events of EoD, skye staying with her player after gaining wings, eeEee half-evolving).
pokemon have that inherent implication of being at their player/trainer’s control- you command them in battle, chose who stays and who goes from your party, manage their moves, train their stats and levels, and decide how and when they’ll evolve, with very little they can do on their own without you being able to interfere. and in games where you play as a pokemon, you’re still in complete control, as they’re your avatar- a vessel through which you make your own choices, not theirs.]
[so as i think on it, i do find that a lot of stories focus on that dynamic of control, and especially upheaving it in violent or desperate ways. that can fit for a lot of traumas, admittedly- but often it reminds me of abuse, any relationship where one feels powerless under someone else, or even themself (ie mental illness or struggles).
its something i dont think on as often as the trainer stuff, but it definitely still sits with me, especially with my beloved nostalgiaslop eeEee lol. my take on that story is as unrecognizable as my take on glitchy red lmao, but thats a ramble for another day ^^“]
《i don’t have strong feelings one way or the other to be honest. they’re both fine vessels for horror. truly is the meat of the story that makes or breaks it for me. i also admittedly was not huge into the pokepasta scene specifically when i was younger so i don’t have any specific nostolgia. i just like creepypastas/horror and also pokemon》
((i would need some time to think but the major one that comes to mind is uhh pkmn mystery dungeon explorers of death the feeling of being forgotten, and being forgotten by yourself, yadda yadda yknow))
{Oh incredibly- I personally really like writing horror from Non-human perspectives actually! Pokemon centric ones are really interesting to me, especially depending on what the story itself is about, like pokemon-player vs pokemon-trainer vs pokemon-pokemon (like any mystery dungeon ones). One of the stories I’ve been writing for MN, Yellows specifically, is one I would consider Pokemon centric actually :3}
[ive definitely always been partial to trainer-centric stories, but there are definitely a few pokemon stories im fond of.. if i had to cite a metaphor i personally find a lot in pokemon pastas, its definitely the dynamic between pokemon and master, or other things that are in control- often i think pokemon focused stories have a theme of a lack of control over your own life, fate, choices, body, that sort of thing.. that loss being either the focus, or the revolt and forced seizing of control. i dont have a lot of coherent thoughts so typing is hard rn, but theres something interesting to me in the standard “cursed pokemon that kills everything with blood and gore” story often being in an attempt to rebel against or please their trainer (or the player). some of my favorite pokemon centered stories are Prevention of Evolution (nostalgia bias it actually sucks), Forever Mine (esp the rewrite), Explorers of Death (rewrite again).. 2/3 of these are rewrites by sparks (@sparklingdemon) . but theres very much a recurring motif, to me, of someone losing control over their life/destiny (ie squirtle being denied existence, skye stuck in limbo, eeEee’s trainer denying evolution). and doing something to seize some belonging or control for themself (ie the entire events of EoD, skye staying with her player after gaining wings, eeEee half-evolving).
pokemon have that inherent implication of being at their player/trainer’s control- you command them in battle, chose who stays and who goes from your party, manage their moves, train their stats and levels, and decide how and when they’ll evolve, with very little they can do on their own without you being able to interfere. and in games where you play as a pokemon, you’re still in complete control, as they’re your avatar- a vessel through which you make your own choices, not theirs.]
[so as i think on it, i do find that a lot of stories focus on that dynamic of control, and especially upheaving it in violent or desperate ways. that can fit for a lot of traumas, admittedly- but often it reminds me of abuse, any relationship where one feels powerless under someone else, or even themself (ie mental illness or struggles).
its something i dont think on as often as the trainer stuff, but it definitely still sits with me, especially with my beloved nostalgiaslop eeEee lol. my take on that story is as unrecognizable as my take on glitchy red lmao, but thats a ramble for another day ^^“]
《i don’t have strong feelings one way or the other to be honest. they’re both fine vessels for horror. truly is the meat of the story that makes or breaks it for me. i also admittedly was not huge into the pokepasta scene specifically when i was younger so i don’t have any specific nostolgia. i just like creepypastas/horror and also pokemon》
((i would need some time to think but the major one that comes to mind is uhh pkmn mystery dungeon explorers of death the feeling of being forgotten, and being forgotten by yourself, yadda yadda yknow))
{Oh incredibly- I personally really like writing horror from Non-human perspectives actually! Pokemon centric ones are really interesting to me, especially depending on what the story itself is about, like pokemon-player vs pokemon-trainer vs pokemon-pokemon (like any mystery dungeon ones). One of the stories I’ve been writing for MN, Yellows specifically, is one I would consider Pokemon centric actually :3}