(Or a smattering of observations about Mystery Dungeon: Red/Blue Rescue Team)
Part of the reason that pro-anarchist furry propaganda Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is so effective is because it frequently carries over the series tradition of Pokémon being referred to as "it", rather than more commonly-associated people pronouns (he/she/they) which of course children who are, for example, not yet aware of being an it/she canid therianthrope react to very normally. (positive connotation)
Combined with many other things you see in PMD...
one can't really end up surprised when gay autistic children grow up to be happy transgender furries, is all I'm saying. Game where you (the person reading this!) get turned into a Pokémon and get to go on cool adventures and wag your tail and just vibe. In the Pokémon world. Y'know. Certainly it's a little strange that all of this is wrapped around a gamrplay loop in which you fight other Pokémon, and I'm uncertain of how exactly this factors into people wanting to fuck Pokémon, but the point is waow Pokémon Mystery Dungeon sure is neat!
I used to really like PMD and the fan media a lot until I honestly made a horrific freudian realization that probably isn't valid but I felt it in my gut every time I engaged with the fan community
Incoming diatribe on kids media for the three people who have played them and want to read some bullshit, with massive spoilers for the whole franchise:
general franchise ending spoilers, (CW: SI)
I think a fundamental problem I have with the franchise is that outside of one title, the main character (you) essentially dies before the start of the main game. It is a self-insert fantasy where you die (disappear from your world), gain amnesia, become a new being, and never return nor regain your memories. You could say sure, this is children's media, it only accidentally stumbles into that, it can have glaring ideological issues like this as it's frequent within the genre, but...A common trend I saw in these fan communities is that a lot of fans genuinely wished it happened to them, they wished they just disappeared from the world, had their mind/self wiped, and got a fresh start as a sapient animal, equivalent to painless suicide with a promised afterlife. Which honestly made me really uncomfortable and sad as someone who is ND, seeing an entire community that is largely ND and queer actively want to engage in a fantasy that is basically suicide.
major Gates to Infinity/Explorers of Time spoilers
Anyways, shout out to Gates to Infinity, it's the worst game in the franchise in terms of gameplay imo but it actually narratively addresses this point by having the protagonist not only not lose their memories, but also return to their previous life after the events of the game. It's my favorite narrative in the series by far because it's genuinely about building a commune and forming a vanguard against despair and alienation while learning to love yourself and your community even when the world is going to shit and actively falling apart around you.The kinda stuff that would give queer/ND kids hope, y'know?
(I also find it hilarious that the antagonists of Gates have almost the exact same motive as Grovyle from Explorers of Time lmao)
Same CWs apply
Never really thought about it as a suicidal ideation thing, personally. The primary difference between this and a normal isekai is the loss of memories I guess? That's what makes it "basically suicide*?On the whole I'm getting the same vibe as "oh my god I cannot believe trans women wanna be dogs this is so sad for them". The neurodiverse queers, they want to hang out and be happy as sapient animals. The ableist neurotypical queerphobic society has worn them down and so they seek refuge from it, a space to be happy in. Why not?
What you say about Gates almost sounds good but I dunno, I kind of like how Red/Blue ends actually. It's chill imo.
same CWs again
Yeah, it's not the wanting to be happy as sapient animals part, it's the people wanting to have their memories erased too and leave this world and everyone in it behind that kinda gets to me. It feels like a solipsistic nihilism or something, I think I'm probably just overanalyzing it and everything. I know transformation kink communities from the bits I've seen have a lot of the same overlap in themes and stuff and it's probably not that in essence, but it kinda felt like that and it made me feel sad and uncomfortable, idkAs someone with cptsd I can see the appeal.
I see it as reincarnation myself. I don't have a fear of death so maybe it plays into my point of view too.
CW from earlier again
At least like reincarnation is about a time after someone's time is up, idk this is more like, if there was a button that disintegrates you and you instantly reincarnatehaving a large portion of a community that trends ND and queer saying they would want to press the disintegrate and reincarnate button is just distressing to me, maybe it shouldn't be but it is
I think tons of people would press the disintegrate button if there was a chill promise awaiting them
sign o' the times
As a principled communist I will not press the disintegrate button