Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 7

Obligatory disclaimer: Anipoke-only, picking characters that I didn’t focus on last year, the challenge also covers aromantism – so it’s more about a-orientation! The eeeeeeend /o/ (Extra-late)

Day 7: A ship you see as a platonic one

A R A M A N O.

We went from this:

To this:

Or from this:

To this:

They’ve grown to care a lot about each other (the “Manon’s Diary” shorts illustrated an off-screen progression): Alan goes from being pretty indifferent and slightly amused to treating Manon as his responsibility; Manon is absolutely aware that Alan is not behaving healthily and asks questions which should push Alan to reconsider his allegiance and situation… with mixed results so far. THEY’RE CUTE. THEY’RE AN UNLIKELY PAIR. THEY GENUINELY LIKE EACH OTHER AND THEY’RE ABLE TO SNARK AND TEASE EACH OTHER. They’re?! So cool with physical contact by now?! (Alan not startled at all when Manon tugged at his sleeve and elbowed his ribs in Act II ;;)

And the series doesn’t ship them romantically, and it’s super great.

(1°) It’s not shippy: it’s super creepy given who Fleurdelys is here, 2°) They have the best reactions (Alan is “what?!”, Daigo is “so he’s free :>” and Manon is just “I’m tagging along because I wanna use him!!”).)

They’re precious for each other, they make each other smile, and I’m probably going to end up crying in a few hours, GOODBYE aezydqsuhnj.

Last year was PikaShipping!

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 6

Obligatory disclaimer: Anipoke-only, picking characters that I didn’t focus on last year, the challenge also covers aromantism – so it’s more about a-orientation! Caught up \XoX/*

Day 6: A female character you see as aromantic

Shirona!

(Just A Gaburias-Owners Thing, I know.)

She’s super busy and she chose the way she would be busy and how she would manage her time, consciously keeping romance away because she has no interest in that: she is researching legends, she is travelling, she is discovering new places and new Pokémon, she likes to take care of Pokémon in general even when they’re not hers (Meloetta!!), she’s also interested in the relationships that others form with each other (*cough* Shinji and Satoshi *cough*), she’s super involved in kids’ and young trainers’ progress and, of course, she’s also busy putting her E4 members back in their place <3

(And people who have fled Sinnoh, too. Sorry, Cattleya.)

Aaaand I tend to also see Akagi as aro, so it makes an interesting parallel, with Shirona deciding to dedicate everything about life, knowledge, ~*FEELINGS*~ with your Pokémon and the strength granted through meeting other lives?

Last year was Hikari!

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 5

Obligatory disclaimer: Anipoke-only, picking characters that I didn’t focus on last year, the challenge also covers aromantism – so it’s more about a-orientation! Catching uuuup! *shame*

Day 5: A male character you see as aromantic

Platane – I KNOW, I KNOW, LET ME EXPLAIN.

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 4

Obligatory disclaimer: Anipoke-only, picking characters that I didn’t focus on last year, the challenge also covers aromantism – so it’s more about a-orientation! Catching up for the last few days >w>

Day 4: A ship you see as an asexual one

Shooti/Langley(/Cabernet)

This is mostly due to fanarts and to general potential rather than canon interactions – though Langley and Cabernet had become sort-of-awesome-great-friends basically through ranting/shooting down/trash-talking about the other participants in tournaments aaaaand Langley, despite her mean antics, had taken sort-of-a-tender-interest in Shooti due to his loner behaviours?!

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 3

Obligatory disclaimer: Anipoke-only, picking characters that I didn’t focus on last year, the challenge also covers aromantism – so it’s more about a-orientation!

Day 3: A character you see as grey-a or demisexual

Kenji /o/

I know there was, mainly at his beginnings, the small gimmick about him drawing women – but! It was Characters Of The Day showing off self-confidence and/or their skills, he didn’t make gross faces, iirc he often asked them if he was allowed to doodle them, so I got the impression it was more about reverence and admiration than attraction? Comparatively, he’s a mess and blushes a lot when Ookido is involved, so.

He’s a sweetie pie, he has a way to complain without guilt-tripping people that is super-nice (though, people (Sakuraaaa ^^’) use him easily because of that and it’s not cool at all), he’s a sweetie with Pokémon, I love how he just falls… quiet and casually begins sketching when there are Pokémon around, I’m not so sure that his crush on Ookido isn’t a biiiit romantic in nature, aaaaand I really see him as demi – not feeling attraction unless there is a strong emotional connection beforehand /o/

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 2

Obligatory disclaimer: Anipoke-only, picking characters that I didn’t focus on last year, the challenge also covers aromantism – so it’s more about a-orientation!

Day 2: A female character you see as asexual.

Corni! /o/

She’s dynamic, she’s a fighter, she’s a battler, she’s an adventurer, she’s often breathless and enthusiastic, she’s straightforward, friendly, easy to get along with, she takes interest in other people and Pokémon, and her precious life partner (soul partner) is Rukario <3

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 1

I’ve totally messed up and thought it was next week (the week preceding Halloween – was it concurring with another Awareness Week this year…?), so I’ll begin the challenge at a random date in the middle of it instead of missing it completely and Regretting >< Anipoke-only, picking characters that I didn’t focus on last year, the challenge also covers aromantism – so it’s more about a-orientation!

Day 1: A male character you see as asexual.

MI

KU

RI

He’s fabulous, he is Known for his lowered eyelids, his ORAS design shows his hips, he emits sparkles from every pore, he’s fantastic, he makes purple and teal look fashionable, he’s an aesthete in the pursuit of Inner Beauty, he’s probably the most media-oriented Champion we ever got in the anime, I’m pretty sure he’s already posed naked in popular magazines in Hoenn, and I. Can’t. See. Mikuri. As. Anything. Else. But. Ace.

It’s not by choice (it’s not because he’s a priest, he’s not repressing himself), and he knows very well about his absence of attraction and needs. And it suits him, because it makes him even more dedicated to Pokémon – especially to Milokaross. I REALLY LIKE THAT THE ANIME ALWAYS PRESENTS HIM AS A PAIR WITH MILOKAROSS, OKAY.

Random notes around it:

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 7

Day 7: A ship you see as a platonic one Reading “platonic” as “life partners”, so still with the idea of a committed relationship:

PIKASHIPPING, WHAT A SURPRISE.

I do think that Satoshi and Pikachu have grown to be “the special one” for each other, that Pikachu is the being who matters the most in Satoshi’s eyes (even more than Hanako, now), that the importance of people they meet is almost shaped by the relationship to and the way these people look at Pikachu. I don’t think one could cope without the other. I don’t think they could picture a life without the other by their side. I think that Satoshi’s own perception of a “Pokémon Master” means something he would achieve, live and be together with Pikachu. Though I can sometimes picture Satoshi in a relationship with a human, I have more trouble thinking of Pikachu forming a relationship with a Pokémon (he would stay focused on Satoshi) and, at the same time, Pikachu would always remain the n°1, and Satoshi wouldn’t sacrifice any of their intimacy for a third party (he/she would have to cope with it; at that point, Satoshi is not fully himself without Pikachu). I CAN HEAR SOMETHING AKIN TO “I LOVE YOU” EVERY TIME PIKACHU SQUEAKS A “PIKAPI!”. And it’s totally Pikachu’s inner voice in the “It’s okay if you fall. You are you and that makes you wonderful!” part of Soko ni sora ga aru kara.

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: A female character you see as aromantic Hikari!

Social butterfly, probably going to have the best social network of all the main characters, still touchy-feely with some people, and totally not romantically attracted to anyone. At the same time, she would be able to feel sexual attraction to people she’s close to, no restriction of genders, and she would need to feel respected. So… aromantic bi-demisexual? It’s Hikari, so she would be okay and find a good balance in everything. (This is probably the only way I can see IkariShipping working, to be honest.) (And Hikari going “Ew, no kissing outside of bed. That would be gross :|”) Other characters: I’m pretty sure she faked those recorded ~testimonies~ to troll her worthless money-eating son and has actually eloped somewhere to gain more money and power, together with Miyamoto, but Sakaki’s mom.

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: A male character you see as aromantic

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIII SHINJI.

(Sorry, the screenshots were an Opportunity but almost counterproductive to what I’m aiming for /o/) Not “because he hates people” or anything; especially after the end of Diamond&Pearl, I don’t see him trying to be mean, cruel, misleading or purposely hurting someone over that. I can see Shinji allowing a certain kind of spiritual intimacy with people he would (mutually) benefit from, mostly centring around Pokémon battles and the like, but I don’t think he would find satisfaction with someone romantically speaking – he wouldn’t see it as something he needs on his own path, and he wouldn’t be unhappy at all either from not having it, so no reason to search for it or to put himself into that kind of relationship. So, aro, totally fine with it, but also growing to reject people less and less over time? (And yes, insert laughs in the distance about sexual aromantic Shinji vs. asexual romantic Satoshi and Reiji.) Other characters: possibly Citron?, and also Ghetsis but I’m not sure it can count.

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 4

I am tooooootally not late. (I did sleep last night so no excuse this time around, damnit.) Day 4: A ship you see as an asexual one I wondered a lot about the couple which would get the spotlight, so let’s go with my only answer that doesn’t contain Satoshi and the only hetero ship I have for Shigeru, hi Shigeru., which is also a nevermet so: BrunettShipping, aka Haruka/Shigeru /o/ … In that case, it’s possibly with heteroromantic Haruka and hetero/biromantic-but-strictly-homosexual Shigeru. I don’t know, I always got the feeling that these two together could make everything work? Haruka sometimes has a very soothing presence, they both had that need to separate themselves from an already successful family member to find their own way in their development, and when I picture them, I tend to see them fully satisfied with the romantic side? Other ships: BoulderShipping aka Satoshi/Takeshi (with a LOT of contact and kisses everywhere; it’s basically my Satoshi-ship with the most touchy-feely Satoshi, because he feels at ease with Takeshi in his personal space), PalletShipping aka Satoshi/Shigeru (buut this one is mostly “because Satoshi isn’t really interested (in sex)”, same with PokéS), ComaShipping aka Satoshi/Shinji, PikaShipping aka Pikachu/Satoshi (with lots of kisses and smug!yan!Pikachu, because Queen Cyaneko has compelling arguments).

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 3

Laaaaaaaate in my timezone but not too late given the rule of “it’s not tomorrow until you haven’t gone to sleep”. Day 3: A character you see as grey-a or demisexual N-SAAAAAAAAAN.

Totally demisexual and demiromantic don’t talk about CavalloS, Aza, and everybody counts – males, females, Pokémon, humans. ~Satoshi-kun~ is someone important, given that N grew so comfortable around him, and dang, Dent also scored some points (I’m still amazed that Dent and N managed to get along so well despite Dent sounding… a little condescending to him at first). Helena and Verbena, however, are family, so nah. N himself doesn’t identify as anything, I think, and doesn’t see any problem in liking what you like, so he doesn’t look for or apply labels in that regard anyway. Other characters: Kenji (demi!Kenji is how I ship him with Kasumi, okay ;_;), Satoshi (in the sense that he definitely needs a strong emotional connection with someone before to even consider it), Sumomooooo, potentially Hikari, potentially Urara, Alice (from movie 10).

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: A female character you see as asexual. In the list of Characters of the Day I’m unreasonably fond of: Emmy. (Add the following to the possible reasons: “dragons”.)

This one choice is very obscure and requires explanation, but Emmy is still that one female character from the series I associate with asexuality ^^’ (Proof that first wandering thoughts and headcanons can leave a pretty strong impression regardless of length of screentime.) When Langley appeared in Best Wishes!, back in the days, my reasoning was basically “But even Langley wouldn’t manage for long to be mean to Emmy if they happened to meet, and she would probably consider it a waste to have a sweetie like Emmy be into dragons – but also have this weird protective instinct over her even though ewww Dragons.” Basically, potential interactions between the first two girls who appeared in Iris-centric episodes and were characterized by… opposite opinions about Dragon Pokémon. And Langley being into girls. And Emmy showering people with compliments and maaaaybe really soft and diplomatic teasing from time to time, being that sweetie sweet gentle softie with warm smiles, and acceptance – and boundaries, and absolutely no shyness about those despite her usual shyness in a lot of other contexts. It’s still mostly a “it would have been really interesting to see them interact” more than the character herself, but I’m still really, really fond of picturing these two together and Emmy is still the one I associate with asexuality! (Langley isn't. Sorry, Langley, but lucky you.) Other female characters: Lila, Melissa-san (fabulous friends with Mikuri, they probably run a club together), aaand possibly Corni too!

Asexual Awareness Week Fandom Challenge: Day 1