Ask Arbok

asknidoking replied to your post: A NSFW Ask about Arbok regeneration.

That sounds like a supremely unpleasant experience! I hope you never have to go through it again!

Yeah well, it was my own fault really. I saw a Kabutops and thought ‘Oh, big dumb bug. I’ll just poison it and end it there.’

Turns out they aren’t exactly bugs and they have these BLADES on their arms. Don’t know why, I was too busy getting cut into three pieces to be curious after it shrugged off my Poison Fang and pretended to be poisoned so I’d get closer.

How’s the line go? ‘One, two! One, two! And through and through, the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!’

It was somethin’ like that.

A NSFW Ask about Arbok regeneration.

And now: 30 days of character development, Ask-Arbok mode.

that-pointless-idiot:

This is a nifty thing I saw linked somewhere I thought I’d take a shot at. http://oslusiadas.tumblr.com/post/12753421291/30-days-of-character-development

30 questions meant to help you develop your characters, I’ll be doing one a day and try to cover all my characters, even the ones not officially introduced on Ask-Arbok.

11.) Is there an animal you equate with your character?

This question is… Rather interesting seeing as most of these characters look a lot like real-world animals. So I’ll try not to just do “Polly = snake lawl”.

Polly: Probably a bear. She places a lot of value on size, strength and intimidation, though she doesn’t always consider physical strength the most worthwhile. In her mindset, life is all about what you are strong enough to do to others, and what they are strong enough to do to you. As she’s gotten a little older that has mellowed slightly, fading more towards ‘Life is all about what others can stop you from doing, and what you can stop others from doing to you.’

Wyatt: He’s rather rabbit-like. Though he may appear calm and watchful and serene, that’s just on the surface. Underneath that he is a very nervous, anxious yarn-ball of neuroses who is always worried about making sure those around him are pleased, and who can cause some surprising amounts of damage. You may scoff, but rabbits aren’t defenseless: Their back legs are very powerful and have rather strong claws. My mother has scars on her arm from picking up a rabbit that kicked at her when she was younger, and it opened her arm up to the point of needing stitches and left a five inch scar.

Rikki: Ferret. She’s got that same inquisitive dash-around-looking-at-things nature usually associated with ferrets, and she loves to squirm around into places she’d be hard to find. Even when this gets her into trouble.

Nagaina: Housecat. He’s got that aloof by-myself-even-when-surrounded mentality that typifies housecats, and has equal amounts of their perceived laziness and explosive energy.

Raphy: I… Honestly can’t come up with a decent animal parallel for Raphy.

Dulcetto: He’s… Another difficult one. Both Raphy and Dulcetto display traits that typically are reserved for humans - mischievous behavior for the sake of mischief and asceticism specifically. In a very broad sense, I’d compare him to a bulldog - mostly inoffensive and convivial, but make him mad and good luck getting his jaws out of you without a crowbar.

askbasilandendive:

ask-arbok:

If you do not mind the asking sir, what exactly happened that caused them to try to extend? I am far from an expert on Gallade behavior - my own brothers that evolved that way tend to be… Rather distant - but is such an unwitting reaction a common one for them?

« The… um, incident happened when we were coming home from a contest, pretty late at night. During the show a man had managed to sneak backstage in order to see one of the other contestants, who apparently didn’t even recognize him. Maisie had asked him to leave, and when he refused she’d gotten the manager and a couple security guards, and they’d all had to physically drag him out. The contest had gone well after that- Maisie and I won and earned our second ribbon. We ended up waiting a while for things to quiet down before leaving.

Anyway, as we were walking home, the same man from earlier called Maisie over from the side of the contest hall. He was upset that she had embarrassed him in front of this other contestant, who he seemed to really like, and her winning had made it worse. He started insulting Maisie and I and went on to talk about a pair of Scyther he had, and how he was going to have them attack us if we ever won again. I’d rather not go into the details of what he said, but the whole time, his speech was kind of… garbled. His emotions were all over the place and wild and right on the surface - I think he was under the influence of alcohol. Maisie realized this, and she grabbed my arm and started to walk away, back toward the main street where there were more people. It only made him furious, though, and he released his two scyther.

And… that was when it happened. I didn’t intentionally extend them or make any conscious decision to do so; it was like… a reflex triggered by sensing the immediate danger. It hurt, a lot, and it hurt Maisie too, because she was holding my arm. S-she actually screamed then. It was the only time I’ve ever head her scream and she told me it was to alert the people nearby, but from the timing it felt like it was from the pain when I cut her hand.

We did get out of it okay. The police were alerted, the person was taken away, and we were taken to the Center where they bandaged us up. But the fact that my arms just… did that, without any warning, still scares me. I feel like there’s some sort of instinct within me that wants my body to physically fight like it was supposedly designed to, and that something like that could happen again. And I don’t want it to… »

Aah… Individuals such as those can be… Rather troublesome. Polly tried the contests, I was more into musicals. With the musicals, individuals like that can be considered almost commonplace. Some Pokemon can develop a very rabid fanbase in the course of their career, and I have seen actual fist-fights break out between the fans of the very famous performers.

There was a situation like the one you describe in one of the musicals I was watching from the audience. An inebriated fan managed to make his way up onto stage. He was… Notorious for being something of a stalker, but most of the objects of his fascination held him as being rather harmless in intention. He was a very mild man and came off as inoffensive and simply starstruck to the performers who had encountered him.

Security promptly escorted him from the building after he caused the performance to come to a halt when he begged a Lilligant for a photograph on stage with her. After the musical concluded we heard he had waited outside the exit used by the performers for the trainer of the Lilligant, and when she refused to allow photographs with the Lilligant after his show on the stage, he flew into a rage and tried to hurt her. As I understand it Janus, the Zoroark I mentioned to you before, was present, and put a stop to the situation by pretending to be the Lilligant and keeping the man occupied until the police could arrive.

This stalker you encountered sounds much less… Pleasant. I am glad that you were both able to get away from him without his harming you. Such fans have always been something of a frightening scenario for many Pokemon in the contests and musicals. With the more outright competitive nature of the contests, I understand they attract more competitive, confrontational fans - I have even heard that the very best contestants require constant bodyguards because the fans of the Pokemon they defeat make attempts to harm them in retribution or to prevent them from beating their favorite in some future contest.

Hmm… I know your views on using surgery for purely frivolous or cosmetic reasons, however, this problem with the remains of your blades sounds… Rather painful and potentially dangerous. Is there not some way that they could perhaps stop their extension permanently? If there are specific muscles responsible for their extension and that do nothing else, perhaps those muscles could be disabled to prevent such a painful event from occurring again? It might offer you a small amount of peace of mind, which is something very few of us can ever have enough of.

And now: 30 days of character development, Ask-Arbok mode.

that-pointless-idiot:

This is a nifty thing I saw linked somewhere I thought I’d take a shot at. http://oslusiadas.tumblr.com/post/12753421291/30-days-of-character-development

30 questions meant to help you develop your characters, I’ll be doing one a day and try to cover all my characters, even the ones not officially introduced on Ask-Arbok.

10.) Can you define a turning point in your character’s life? Multiples are acceptable.

Polly: Probably her biggest turning points were when she learned to read, which obviously is kind of important to running a blog, and when she realized Mills was trying to help her be a stronger, better Pokemon, not just using her as a humiliation tactic like she thought he was at first. ’Oh look, here’s a weak little Ekans, even SHE can beat your Pokemon.’

Wyatt: Definitely when he and Polly fell in love, and when his face was wounded. I know it’s short but this is one of the things most-covered in Wyatt’s RPs so not much need to go into it here.

Rikki: Her last real serious fight with Nagaina when she scarred him. She came out of it little better, and the knowledge that they were about even in combat ability is ironically what made them somewhat friendlier towards one another.

Nagaina: As with Rikki, his last serious fight with Rikki, for the same reasons. Another was the fight that got all the notches knocked into his tailblade, fighting an Aggron. He lost, and more or less serrated a good portion of his blade doing it.

Raphy: When she broke up with her first and so far only romantic interest. I can’t say lover because they never had sex - she remains a virgin. She’s sworn off relationships completely now out of nervousness of a repeat.

Dulcetto: When he was very young, he decided that the world of physical gratifications… Just wasn’t for him. It was the single greatest turning-point of his life.

ask-blueserpentine:

“… I could never consent a Pokemon being with a human…” He gazed away once more, his eyes glaring at nothing as he stood there in a very sturdy posture. “And normal is a concept everyone seems to have trouble with. I don’t look like a Snivy, a Servine, nor a Serperior… I’m beginning to wonder if I’m even in the line anymore. Blue colored, leaves sprouting here and there, awkward pattern around the eyes, blue eyes, long collar, long body, long tail… blah blah blah…” He followed his statements with an annoyed drawn-out sigh.

Though the snake hated to admit feeling like a freak, he always did feel that way. And his looks were something that were constantly commented on by humans and Pokemon alike and thus he had to always put up with it. “How I look isn’t all that’s changed about me, either. Normal is definitely not in my category.” Blue chuckled out loud, attempting to lighten up the mood. He looked up at Wyatt once more and took mental note of his bang.

“… Do you hide something beneath that bang or is it just there?”

The Gardevoir shrugs slightly again, almost apologetically. “Your opinion is as valid an opinion as that of the Pokemon and humans who maintain such relationships. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and as long as we do not force our opinions on others, differing opinions are fine. I would disagree with someone who says all Pokemon and humans should share such relationships as much as I disagree that such a thing should be stopped from ever happening. Each Pokemon and human is an individual with their own likes, their own dislikes. Polly taught me never to be ashamed of the things I want in life, and it is a lesson that has made me a better Pokemon, I think, and I believe that lesson could help others.

“Perhaps a change of perspective?” the Gardevoir suggests. “You do not feel normal as a Snivy or Servine or Serperior. If you feel that you are no longer those things, perhaps you are quite normal for what you are? And if you are the only one of you, then by default, that makes you normal for your kind.“ Wyatt gave another little smile, seemingly incapable of larger smiles - even these small ones seem to pain him. “And yes, it is there for a reason. I keep that side of my face hidden. I was badly wounded sacrificing myself to save Miss Polly from a- …An attacker, once upon a time. There were… Complications at the Pokemon Center, it is a long story but I could not be healed normally. That side of my face is… Well. There is a reason I hide it from sight.”

(Holy cripes.)

(280 followers.

HOW? WHY? There are actual GOOD blogs out there that draw REALLY GOOD ART that have like, less than half that! I don’t have art, I barely post pictures! I mean granted I’m pretty sure about 90% of those followers were just followbacks and they’re forgotten blogs, but still that’s 280 people who gave enough of a damn to click the button.

But just… 280? Da fuq? Quit wasting time on this! Go follow a GOOD blog! :V)

@ask-arbok

ask-blueserpentine:

.. I wonder if there is something… wrong with me, then… *He said suddenly, looking off and away from the Gardevoir that now looked his way* … I don’t feel at all comfortable around most snake-types… nor most Pokemon. Especially not ones who look like humans. It’s strange, almost. I see Pokemon harmonize well with each other and human beings and I can’t seem to mesh into that. This is how I’ve always been and I figured it was normal… until I became free, that is…

*He paused his verbal thought process, and gazed back over at the Gardevoir with the same stoic expression* Unfortunately… I have met Pokemon who have become closer to their humans than they have with others of their kind, if you understand my drift. It’s downright disgusting. *He wrinkled the muscles in his snout, showing an expression to match his words, finally*

It may very well be normal. For you. Everyone is an individual. Because other Pokemon get along well with each other does not mean that you have to or should. If you desire such a state then by all means pursue it, but there is nothing wrong about not liking the company of other Pokemon. History both human and Pokemon is filled with examples of individuals who preferred being alone. There is only ‘wrong’ to be found in that if you feel there is any.

You have to realize that ‘normal’ is a very difficult thing to pin down with specifics. I am… Not exactly qualified to speak on what is normal and what is not, there are things wrong with me both physically and mentally that ensure I will never be considered ‘normal’ by most individuals, chief amongst them myself. *The Gardevoir pauses to give a brief smile - brief, and somewhat pained-looking, as he motions at the right side of his face, covered by his green hair in a style not normally associated with Gardevoirs.* However, normal is one of those things that is always best defined by you, I have found.

*The Gardevoir gives a small shrug of his slender shoulders, hands folded across each other in his lap as he gives another small, pained-looking smile.* To you and many others it is disgusting. To them and others still, it is likely a beautiful thing. I would not know - I am not them and cannot speak for them. I do love my trainer, but it is not a romantic love. He is like… My best friend and brother in a single individual. I cherish him, but it is not romantic. My own personal feelings on such… Interactions… Between trainer and Pokemon are that there may well be much love to be found in the world, but the world is never a darker place for adding still more to it. I have never heard an argument that could convince me that such things should not be allowed to happen provided consent and happiness are present.

Gardevoirs reproduce like rabbits.

ask-blueserpentine:

ask-arbok:

Wyatt: I rather think it has more to do with our popularity. It is not so much that we reproduce quickly, but rather that so many of us tend to be raised as long-term members of a team because humans find us to be pleasant company.

I suppose that’s true enough. *He tapped his chin* Humans like humanoid things. Even a little too much for some Gardevoirs… *He shivers and makes a disgusted face*.. I’ve heard the weirdest stories lately…

Aah… It is true that humans tend to be drawn towards things with similarities to themselves. It makes us easier to identify and sympathize with than Pokemon that are drastically different from themselves. They can, for example, look at our faces and body language and know with a minimum of effort what our mood is, where for many types of Pokemon they would have to memorize and learn many new cues to be able to reliably tell those things.

Many humans feel more comfortable or more at ease in the presence of humanoid Pokemon like Gardevoirs than they would in the presence of more ferocious-looking Pokemon as well.

*The Gardevoir turns his face slightly to get a better look at the blue serpent before him, a calm and obviously carefully controlled look of neutrality on his face.* One will hear stories like that, but many of them are just that - stories. And the ones that are not simply stories, well. I was taught by Polly that the only thing that matters in life is doing what you think is right, and that the reactions of others should have no bearing on your own feelings.