Inky Xward

if you'd rather buy a plushie - here's the shop he and his wife run!

his wife also been in an accident and has been down and out due to illness and injury

ppal + gfm + site shop

apolitical fantasy: here is my take on what the ubermensch would be

If you were wondering about the origins of this concept or need resources for running this as a tabletop campaign, here is a quick breakdown of how these worlds collide:

🎮 The "Elf Explorer" Connection

In the monster-collecting RPG Elf Explorer (often played on mobile platforms and emulators), players take on the role of a trainer. One of the main late-game challenges is reaching Facia City, farming powerful creatures like Goldingo, and progressing through maps to save the elven realms.

✍️ Fanfiction Crossovers

Because of the shared themes of exploring, battling, and magical creatures, there are numerous popular fanfiction crossovers. Authors frequently write stories where trainers from Pallet Town or Unova are unexpectedly dropped into elven fantasy worlds—such as those from The Lord of the Rings or Dungeons & Dragons—and must step up to save the local elven populace using their battle-tested teams.

You can find and read community-written Pokémon fanfictions on platforms like:

FanFiction.net

Wattpad

🎲 Tabletop RPG Campaigns

If you are playing a tabletop setting (like D&D) and want to integrate a Pokémon trainer saving an elven city, the lore of Evereska (the last great hidden city of the elves in Faerûn) serves as the perfect backdrop for a siege. A dimension-hopping trainer would need to use their Pokémon's diverse abilities (like Flying, Flash, or Psychic) to navigate the city's magical boundaries and defend its mythals.

If you'd like to explore this theme further, let me know:

Are you planning a D&D/Pathfinder campaign, or are you looking for fanfiction recommendations?

Poppy puppy photos unrelated:

MY HOME IS ON THE LIST/LIKELY TO BE TARGETED, WHAT CAN I DO?

* it may bring you peace of mind to have a go-bag ready, just in case. A go-bag is a bag with everything in it that you need to get out a volatile situation quickly. Any bag that can be secured (buttoned or zipped) will do. In your go-bag, you should include;

- identifying documents; passport/driver’s license/asylum card/ILR certificate/British Residency permit card

- Wallet and/or banking books

- A spare charger & cable and/or a power bank

- any shelf-stable medication (tablets, inhalers etc.) if you are on medication that needs to be refrigerated, leave it in the fridge until you have to leave

- Sanitary items; toothbrush, toothpaste, sanitary pads & tampons, deodorant. If you have very young children with you, you may also want to take your nappy bag.

* If you have to leave, a go-bag is a convenient way to ensure you have everything of importance with you.

* If you are being supported by an asylum seekers or refugee charity, or are a member of a gurdwara/temple, mosque, synagogue or church, reach out to your religious leaders. They may be able to provide direct support, or put you in contact with organisations or other congregants who can help. If you are friendly with your neighbours, it may be worth contacting them too.

* IN THE EVENT THAT “PROTESTORS” DO COME TO YOUR HOUSE, CALL 999 IMMEDIATELY, AND FOLLOW ANY INSTRUCTIONS THEY GIVE YOU. MOVE AWAY FROM ANY WINDOWS. DO NOT OPEN YOUR DOOR UNLESS INSTRUCTED TO DO SO BY EMERGENCY SERVICES.

I’M AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT/CARE WORKER/NHS WORKER, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

* Contact your student welfare office/NHS Trust/agency for advice, support and referral to organisations that may be able to provide assistance

* if you live in or commute through an area that is likely to be targeted, contact your lecturers and your faculty to find out whether remote study is possible; if you work in care or as part of the NHS, find out if it is possible to change shifts.

* If it would provide peace of mind, prepare a go-bag as listed above

* Reach out to your the uni society or student’s organisation for international students or students of specific ethnic origin; they may be able to provide you with direction to resources and peer support. If your university has a Marxist or Socialist society, reach out to them for mutual aid with a travel buddy etc., for getting to and from your place of study/work

* If you are a member of a gurdwara/temple, mosque, synagogue or church, reach out to your religious leaders. They may be able to provide direct support, or put you in contact with organisations or other congregants who can help.

* If you are friendly with your neighbours, it may be worth contacting them too for assistance with travel to & from work.

* Report any racism or racialised violence you are subjected to. NHS staff have a right to refuse to treat patients who harass, abuse, threaten or insult them; if a patient is racist to you, where possible, ask another member of staff to take over their care.

PERSONAL SAFETY:

* do not leave your home unless strictly necessary. If it is necessary to leave, don’t do it alone.

* use NextDoor, WhatsApp, social media and word of mouth to avoid commuting through “protestor” road blocks, areas of active conflict etc.,

* When travelling, use Share My Location or Life360, and keep at least two people aware of your expected time of arrival at your destination with instructions to contact the police if you do not let them know you’ve made it safely

* do not directly confront any individuals involved, or allow them to bait you into becoming confrontational

* only record if it is safe. Do not record individuals directly/from up close

* Do not directly intervene. If you see violence occurring, contact emergency services and if safe to do so, record what’s happening.

ALLYSHIP & HOW TO HELP:

* if you have neighbours, friends, coworkers or acquaintances form targeted communities, reach out to them. Ask them what you can do to help them feel safe.

* If you live in an area likely to be targeted, reach out to any vulnerable people you know. If safe and possible, offer to let them shelter with you in the event they need to leave home

* If you see any incitement to violence online screenshot it; it may prove useful in the event of individual “protesters” being prosecuted

* If you see any specific areas being discussed as targets, alert anyone you know at risk in the area

* Reach out to local refugee & asylum seekers’ organisations, to organisations supporting foreign national care & healthcare workers, and to churches, mosques, gurdwaras; they may be looking for short term assistance in helping to provide for vulnerable members of their community

CHARITABLE ORGANISATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE & TO SUPPORT:

* NASC Ireland; refugee & asylum seeker charity

* Doras.org; migrant, stateless persons, refugee and asylum seeker rights advocates

* Jesuit Refugee Service; religious refugee & asylum seekers charity

* Irish Refugee Council; supporting stateless displaced persons & refugees in NI & ROI

* International Student’s House (IE & UK WIDE): provides hardship funding and help to international students

* PathFinder (UK WIDE); supports international students

* Care International (GLOBAL); global carer’s charity

* Choose Love (IE & UK WIDE); charitable organisation supporting refugees and asylum seekers

* Praxis UK (UK WIDE); supporting refugees & asylum seekers

* The Runnymede Trust (IE & UK WIDE); antiracism education charity

* Migrant’s Rights Network (IE & UK WIDE); advocacy and support for migrants and refugees

* ShareTheMeal (GLOBAL); providing meals for refugees and those fleeing conflict globally

* Amnesty (IRELAND, UK & WORLDWIDE); human rights NGO

a video titled 'Can you beat Pokémon Ruby with only LANDORUS?'. I see the title and say to my wife 'it would be kind of funny if the answer was just "no, because Landorus isn't in pokemon ruby"'.

my expectation, to be clear, is that this is someone modding pokemon ruby to include Landorus and then doing a solo playthrough in the manner of any number of other pokemon challenge youtubers. My wife and I have an extended discussion about which pokemon you would expect to have problems soloing an entire main series pokemon game, assuming you hacked them in as a starter and allowed HM mons that don't participate in fights.

I notice the length of the video. It's 28 seconds long. I think to myself "wait, is it really just that joke?". I do not click on the video. I put the matter out of my mind until the next day, when I see it again.

Curiosity gets the better of me. I click through to the channel, "Impossible Game Challenges Daily"

someone has been posting a video every day with the title "Can you beat Pokémon Ruby with Only X?" for every pokemon, in pokedex order. As far as I can tell (I haven't sampled that many videos), almost all of them are near identical: A voiceover starts narrating the premise of the challenge over the first few bits of gameplay (sped up), until they reach the starter selection screen. The voiceover tells us: "Everything goes pretty well at first, but we run into a slight problem when we have to choose our starter. It turns out X is not actually an option in this game. Looks like this challenge is impossible."

The audio is the same for every video, with just the pokemon name very obviously edited in. every pokemon is declared to be the author's favourite pokemon.

there are compilation videos for all the kanto, johto, hoenn, and sinnoh pokemon. the unova one will be releasing soon!

(you might have the obvious follow-up question: since every challenge is declared impossible at the starter selection screen, what are the videos for treecko, torchic, and mudkip like? well, they are slight deviations from the formula, although still about half a minute in length. torchic and treecko declare the challenge is impossible because you need surf to progress and neither of them can learn it. mudkip declares the challenge impossible because at the weather institute you are given a castform, and so your party isn't just mudkip)