omg the first few times i saw your art i thought you were a traditional artist because of your coloring style... how do you Do That (/rhetorical /lh)

love your style so much and your madohomu posts give me life

i like to use spells

i just finally got around to reading your immaculate spy x family fic (which i was saving reading for when i could get maximum enjoyment from it) and then got caught up on the latest phantom guardian chapter (we love tonal whiplash <3) aND BOTH WERE GREAT AS USUAL

loid teaching yor to slow dance in their living room before confessing his love to her? yeah yeah, that’s cool, just gonna fundamentally shift what i consider the epitome of romance, it’s all good. also also also, your descriptive writing???? i wanna eat it, im absorbing it into my bloodstream (affectionate). also all of your writing for their kiss was just, so fantastic. my asexual ass has never been so invested in a kiss before lmao. (also the scene of anya crying and loid trying to comfort her but ultimately failing because she knows his true intentions was fucking gut wrenching in the best way omg my heart)

and then y’know. the phantom guardian. delightful and agonizing as always. the shoko/nanami and yuki/toji content? immaculate, showstopping, 11/10. toji and gojo being sent to tengen’s place? screaming, dying, panicking (but also their father and son dynamic ;-; they fambly). THINKING OF RIKO WHEN SEEING MAKI AND THEN CALLING SUGURU????? agony, panic, morbid curiosity. suguru and mahito? dead, dying, throwing up. LAWYER MAN???? fascinated, hooked, oh god he has airpods in he doesn’t know he’s about to get roped into insanity. all this to say another stunning, and very on brand chapter to add to this masterwork of a fanfic. also i love your writing so damn much it lives rent free in my head and rattles around like a maraca <3 thank you for blessing us with your writing and i hope you’re doing alright and have a lovely day!!

HI YOU ARE SO KIND I'M GOING TO MELT 😭❤️️ i'm so pleased you liked my sxf fic!! i was really proud of how that one turned out...writing for a series for the first time is always tough and it's so encouraging to hear you liked all those moments between loid, anya, and yor. also, i TOTALLY get what you mean, my ace ass is over here cheering these two on for the kiss of their life. kiss scenes are so hard to write, dude. what comes to me way more naturally is people beating each other up /lh

regarding tpg, yup we're back at it with the tonal whiplash xD (i say as if there isn't some form of tonal whiplash in like every chapter...in 32, too). YES THE LAWYERMAN IS HERE! i cracked up at "oh god he has airpods in he doesn’t know he’s about to get roped into insanity." he truly has no idea what he's in for, this poor guy.

seriously, this message made my day. thank you for this lovely ask, and i hope YOU are having a great day too!!

Perhaps out of season to ask a question like this, but do you know of any other pokemon with similar folklore as Luvdisc? I find the different stories about people seeking Luvdisc out or Luvdisc appearing to be pretty strange, especially since it's so strongly tied to its concept despite not acting significantly unlike other fish-like pokemon... And of course, how they're apparently hunted for their scales in many areas, makes me a little sad and worried.

I have no idea what you mean, anonymous; this is the perfect season for it.

[Bill, this was submitted in February. —LH

The perfect season indeed. —Bill]

On a serious note, if you mean folklore related to love specifically...

Perhaps most famously, it’s believed in some parts of northwest Hoenn that if a couple were to watch the summer courtship dances between volbeat and illumise, they would be blessed with love. Of course, this belief hinges on keeping both pokémon wild, so they’re not often sought out the way luvdisc are.

Johtonians (especially those from the mountains in the east) have similar beliefs to the volbeat-and-illumise-seeking Hoennians, but with ledyba and ledian. In fact, there’s a tradition among Johtonians that states if you catch a ledyba and immediately release it, it will find its way to your one true love and whisper your name into their ear. Between this and the line’s general association with good luck, ledyba and ledian enjoy quite a bit of popularity among young, hopeful romantics.

Of course, in many western cultures, members of the roselia line are classic symbols of love, and in some countries, it’s even customary to give your significant other a freshly caught budew as a proposal gift, often in addition to engagement rings. This very likely stems from roserade’s associations with love goddesses in these cultures. Aphrodite, for example, supposedly kept two as handmaidens.

(Sinnoh considers roserade a symbol of love as well, but it actually has less to do with Aphrodite and other western gods and goddesses of love and more to do with an ancient story about a young man with a roserade partner who helped him build a bridge to the moon in order to reach his love. Yes, you read that correctly. Some Sinnohan folktales are ... strange.)

In Kalos, there are an abundance of symbols of love, but perhaps most popular are those about florges, likely due to its prevalence in well-maintained gardens. Not only did this mean florges was a common chaperone for the wealthy in their romantic pursuits, but also, florges was a common pokémon to be used in certain romantic plays of the day. One thing led to another, and florges and its preevolutions became just as common as roserade when it comes to gifts one should give their partners.

In parts of Italy, clamperl are often caught for romantic luck, and this is for two reasons. First, besides roserade, Aphrodite’s Roman counterpart Venus was often associated with clamperl. (It’s even said that she had emerged from a discarded clamperl shell.) The second reason is that clamperl flesh is thought to be an aphrodisiac. (It’s not.) Consequently, clamperl there sadly are sought out in much the same way luvdisc are in Hoenn.

Actually, any pokémon whose flesh or byproducts are either actual or supposed aphrodisiacs receive the same treatment. This includes shellder and cloyster, wailord (for their ambergris), tropius (for their bananas), and ducklett (for their eggs).

In Unova, swanna are symbols of love, and in fact, collecting pretty feathers (particularly ones that have just fallen off a swanna’s back) is a common thing to do if you’re hoping to give your lover a gift. Pretty wings are especially seen as traditional gifts to female lovers, as it essentially says their partners consider them to be as graceful and elegant as the swanna themselves.

Also in Unova, it’s said that if a wild audino wraps its feeler around your wrist, you should follow it, as it may lead you to your true love. (Or, well, an injured pokémon. Either or, really.)

In some parts of Europe, applin are seen as symbols of long-lasting love and even sexuality, as they’re associated with Hera, but it should be noted that this isn’t true for all parts of Europe, as in certain cultures, it’s traditionally seen as a symbol of knowledge or bears rather unfortunate religious connotations.

In Alola, many couples make wishes on minior showers. This stems from an older tradition in which, if a couple saw a minior fall to earth, one of them would pledge to go after it. Should they succeed in capturing that exact minior and bringing it back to their lover, then that’s a sign that their love will endure, which in turn means bringing a minior back to your loved one intact had been, in those days, tantamount to proposing. It’s not really a tradition that’s well-observed these days, though.

And just for clarification, pokémon that, contrary to what you might expect, do not have romantic connotations:

Alomomola. In Unova and other regions where it’s native, this luvdisc-shaped pokémon is not really so much a pokémon associated with love as it is good health. This is really because of its healing abilities and tendency to seek out injured sea pokémon in order to heal them. It’s also seen as a symbol of good luck among seafaring cultures (particularly in Alola), as sailors would often keep them for their aforementioned healing abilities—which is to say, the ships that came back from long voyages with almost all of their hands (both literal and in the sense of people working the ship) still accounted for often had at least one alomomola among its crew.

The chansey line. This one is less of love and more of happiness, though, yes, studies have shown that single people who owned blissey were more likely to enter a relationship in any given year. However, this is less about luck and more about the fact that blissey, in an effort to make their owners happy, will actively look for potential mates for them.

The clefairy line. Again, less about love and more about general luck—that is, seeing one will grant a person luck in general. It’s still a popular pokémon to give to one’s girlfriend, though, but this is usually because all three members of this line are extremely cute and very cat-like.

Sylveon. You would think that a pokémon whose evolution hinges on how affectionate one is with them would be associated with love, but actually, sylveon are highly possessive pokémon and are therefore, if anything, often seen as potential sources of bad luck with love.

Most pokémon with male or female counterparts (including but not limited to: indeedee, the nidoran lines, gardevoir and gallade, and tauros and miltank). While it’s common for couples to try to obtain matching pokémon (it’s especially common among straight couples and couples that like to toy with butch/femme stereotypes), the pokémon themselves are not actually seen as symbols of love or pokémon capable of granting good luck in love (or sex). The exception, as noted above, is volbeat and illumise.

"will of the titans" is a hoenn phrase right?? at the risk of sounding crass, could i ask for some other regional/dialectal swears?

I'm sure my partner wouldn't mind.

Yes, I would, but since when has that stopped you? —LH

Anyway, one thing to keep in mind is that many of our oaths are closely linked to our religions and regional folklore. For example, Lanette is from Hoenn, where the locals respect not only the Titans (you may know them as the Regis) but also Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza. (Note: The Latis are seen more as guardians than outright kami or deities, and virtually no one worships Jirachi or Deoxys.) That in mind, "will of the Titans" can be used as an expression of either exasperation, surprise, or desperation depending on tone. "Rayquaza" or "Rayquaza's light" are both more severe forms of this. "Land and sea" is always used as an expression of exasperation, particularly towards people who annoy you the most. ("Land and sea" is more or less an idiom that suggests that you are very close to physically fighting the person you're speaking to and is only really used by Hoennians who really want you to stop and listen to them, else you will be thrown out of the nearest window.)

Meanwhile, you might have seen me say "blazes," which is short for "blazes of Ho-oh" and works essentially the same way as "will of the Titans. "Winds of Lugia" or just "winds" works the same way, although to most coastal Johtonians, it's also more somber or threatening (as we also tell our children that Lugia sinks ships and takes the wicked). Whether someone uses "blazes" or "winds" is often a great indicator of which sect a person follows or where they may be from. "Celebi's blessing" is often used as either a holiday greeting or as a wish for good fortune (say, if someone were sick, about to make an important decision, or so forth), and "swear on the Judges," "on Ho-oh's wings," or "on Lugia's wings" are oaths indicating that someone is either telling the truth or making a serious promise. Of those last three phrases, the Judges one (that is, the one where you're swearing by the Legendary Beasts) is the most serious, as it's basically saying you are swearing on the three things literally created to judge humanity's worth and herald the coming of the gods. That is, if you aren't honest with whatever you do or say thereafter, you are forfeiting your worthiness in their eyes and dooming yourself in the reincarnation cycle.

Kantonians tend to have milder swears that often feel like they didn't actually intend on creating oaths at all and only did so because their neighbors to the west have colorful vocabularies. As such, you may mostly hear them swearing by Mew. "Mew's will" (exasperation), "by Mew" or "Mew's word" (surprise), "swear on Mew's gifts" (oath), and so forth. Very occasionally, especially in the more rural areas to in western Kanto, you'll have people swear on the wings or elements of the Legendary Birds or simply use Johtonian oaths.

Sinnoh, as rich as its pantheon is, swears almost exclusively by Arceus. "Arceus's sake," "oh Arceus," "by Arceus," and "I swear to Arceus" are all common. However, in desperate moments or extreme exasperation, a Sinnohan may say "Shaymin's will" or "Shaymin bless me," basically as a means of praying to a source most likely to bless a person. Also, at night or in times of fear, "Cresselia guide me" is also rather popular.

Unovans, by contrast, are actually not as pokémonist by nature, so they don't have as many oaths themselves. Moreover, it's often seen as a bad idea to invoke the names of the dragons to help you—at least, if you're not in a court of law. (Reshiram is often invoked to ensure a witness is giving an honest testimony on the stand.) "Victini guide me/you" is often used when someone needs luck or is wishing someone else luck. Likewise, some people say "Swords protect me/you," to invoke the Swords of Justice and ward off anything that could cause harm, but this one is only used in extreme cases.

Speaking of, Kalos is an unusual case in that they're a predominantly Christian nation and will often just invoke God in their swears. (Other regions do this too, of course, to varying levels of popularity. It's common in Unova to do this; not so common in Johto or Hoenn.) However, to express extreme anger, one might say, "Yveltal take you," and to express a very serious threat, one might also say, "on Yveltal's wings." Note that these are threats, and if you hear someone saying them, it would be a good idea to leave the area immediately. Rarely, someone may say, "Xerneas preserve you," which depending on context can either be a blessing ... or another threat. (The latter means you won't do anything to the person, but you hope they live forever with what they've done.) Yes, Kaloseans can be rather dramatic.

Then you have Alolans, who ... actually borrow oaths from either Kanto/Johto or Unova. It's considered an extremely bad idea to swear on/invoke the tapus, as the tapus have a bad habit of showing up and taking you literally if you do. Especially Lele.

Finally, you have Galar, and as someone who grew up in a heavily Galarian neighborhood, I do, in fact, know what they would say in that region. Unfortunately, I can't repeat most of those oaths in polite company, so I'll leave it at this.

(Side note: There are also a few phrases that deal with non-legendaries, but that might be for another post.)