Moar Tracey Fanservice

(Original meme template courtesty of ~meganecrew)

This isn't as good as I hoped it would be...but if I wait until I get everything "just right," I'll never post it! Therefore, here goes my attempt at...

MOAR TRACEY FANSERVICE!


1—RANT ABOUT MYSELF

Does anyone really care about this, besides the artist’s friends? I don’t think so!


2—PICK A CHARACTER

Tracey/Kenji/Jacky from Pokémon!

When I started this, I figured no one else would ever do this for Tracey…which is apparently exactly what *GiantGastropod~JohnnyFedora thought when she did her (far superior) Tracey Fanservice Meme. We were both pleasantly surprised to learn there was another one, because, after all, more Tracey-love is never a bad thing--right?


3. SEXIEST OUTFIT EVER.

It's hard to see, but there are leather patches on the elbows. (Oh, yes.)


4. CROSS-DRESSING/OPPOSITE GENDER

The Bulbagarden Forums used to have a great writing exercise thread called “Line Inspiration.” One of my favorite contributions was a hilarious scene by Revolutionary Girl(~wolfgangmozart), which involved NeighborShipping, ElderShipping, and a bit of (weird) ApprenticeShipping. This picture is totally an illustration of it.

(You can read the scene here; there's even a "sequel" scene on a later page, here.)

Poor, poor Trace.


5. ANIMAL-LIKE FEATURES

So, you remember I said I tend to overthink things? …yeah. Instead of going for the usual suspects (Marill, Smeargle, etc.), I wanted to try and be "meaningful" here, and pick a Pokémon that reflected Tracey’s character in a multi-layered way. (Gosh, that sounds pretentious, doesn’t it? Probably because it is. )

Of course, in the end, I ended up unable to choose between the serious idea and the not-so-serious one, so I went ahead and did both. You, Gentle Reader, can now decide which one is more appropriate, pretentious, ludicrous, or all of the above:

5A: Absol-Tracey
Like Absol, Tracey is shy, makes his home in a remote place (Pallet=B.F.E.), and is seldom seen; he first appeared in response to a disaster (Brock leaving), which led some people to erroneously blame him for it. And, although a few ignorant people often accuse him of being unattractive, stupid, or evil, his fans find him quite handsome, as well as wise, caring, and good-hearted.

5B: (Chibi)Eevee-Tracey
Like Eevee, Tracey is considered by his detractors to be “bland,” “useless,” or “too girly" to be taken seriously; but others find him plenty interesting and useful (as well as cute as a particularly cute button). Also, some of his fans like him for his versatility—for the many different things they can make of him—while others love his plain-old-self and want him to stay just the way he is.


6. NAKED AS POSSIBLE

Sketchpad of modesty! _{(And, just in case, Tracey’s over 18 here.)}

Okay. The scenario is: Tracey was doing some Pokemon Watching in the mountains around Pallet Town, when he discovered a small mountain lake. Being hot and sweaty, he did as any normal young man (who lives in a culture with communal bathing) would do: he stripped and went for a swim.

After diving under water, Tracey surfaced only to go utterly still - for there, on a nearby space of shore, was Suicune, leaning down to drink.

Tracey remained awe-struck in the water, hardly daring to breathe, until the Legendary darted off into the windy sky. After it passed from view, Tracey scrambled out of the water, hurriedly dried his hands, grabbed his pad and pencil, and began sketching what he'd just seen—totally forgetting that he was stark naked until after he finished recording his incredible encounter.


7—OPPOSITE GENDER PAIRING

I can't help liking the “odd couple” that is HandymanShipping. Chronicles-Daisy is a total hoot, and is the perfect foil for sensible, polite Kenji-kun. And, while I agree with G.G. that the main canon girls aren’t really nerdy enough for Tracey, Daisy is at least eccentric, which is almost as good.

Plus, HandymanShipping leads to a lot of fun references to Tracey having a big tool that he skillfully wields at Daisy’s behest....(How does that saying of ~demonoflight’s go…? “I never stopped being twelve years old.”)


8. SAME GENDER PAIRING

ThirdwheelShipping! An accidental collision (in swim trunks) creates an...uneasy...moment for our two teen twerps.

Call it “pairing the spares” if you must, I just think Tracey and Brock are adorkably delicious together.


9. EXTREMELY SEME / EXTREMELY UKE.

I can’t see Tracey as “extremely” either one. But I think most any character can fill the roles of either “pursuer” or “pursued”….so, here’s semi-seme Tracey being veeeeerrry interested in someone (but still blushing, lol); whereas uke-ish Tracey is startled, but not unreceptive (and blushing even harder, of course ).

(I drew the "uke" one before I drew my answer to #8, but it's nice how they kinda dovetail, yes? )


10. COMPLETELY OOC (Out Of Character)

“He's turned into…a sixteen-year-old boy. Of course, you'll have to kill him...” ~ Rupert Giles

Emo-Goth-Punk Slacker Tracey! Bored, wangsty, cynical, and apathetic, he still lives with his mom (thus the doilies on the sofa), having never gone on a Pokemon journey.

(...and I know there’s no such thing as "Emo-Goth-Punk." That’s the point - OOC Tracey is a poser, mimicking the outward forms of “trendy” groups with no actual understanding of the subcultures or their philosophies, or even their authentic music genres….er, I’m doing that “overthinking” thing again, aren’t I…?)


11—SICK FETISH

I admit, I like it when the sidekick is in danger. (Yes, Tracey is Oak’s sidekick. He was originally Ash’s sidekick. Occasionally he’s also Misty’s sidekick…and Ritchie’s “Watson.”) ([*sigh*] I miss HoSo/Chronicles.)

Here, Tracey has been taken hostage during a lab invasion. Will they leave him behind, for Professor Oak to find and release later (leading to a sweet little "aww" moment)? Or will they take him away (leading to a long and despair-filled captivity while his mentor and friends conduct a desperate, angsty search)? (Er, not that I've actually thought about either scenario (in minute detail) or anything...(innocent whistling).)


12—ONE LAST FANSERVICE SCENE

Late night research + tired Watcher = much cuteness.

See, this is why I can't write ApprenticeShipping. I can read it, and I enjoy it, I just can't write it—because when I think about Tracey and Professor Oak, I just end up going to the "heartwarming father/son" place—and I'm too busy going "awwww, how sweet!" to think naughty thoughts. I guess the extreme age difference creates a mental block against my perverted tendencies. (Though GG’s/JohnnyFedora's "Time Travel smut" concept makes a nice end-run around that obstacle...)

Either way, though, this seems like a nice point to end the meme on.

~~~~~

Well, there we go—it only took me two years to finish this darn meme(!). Which might explain why the pictures have widely divergent styles and degrees of refinement…, for which I hope you will forgive me. (My art skills can vary a lot, depending on concept, mood, phase of the moon, etc.) It was MUCH harder to do this than I thought it would be, but it was also a great deal of fun.

Many, many thanks and appreciation to ~demonoflight, whose Fanservice Meme for James amused me mightily and inspired me to begin this project. I still find hers to be one of the best ever posted, for sheer charm and hilarity.

Additional great gobs of thanks to *GiantGastropod~JohnnyFedora, who loves Tracey enough to have also done this meme for him, and who creates astounding amounts of top-notch Traceypreciation almost daily.

Oodles of gratitude to Revolutionary Girl, for letting me use her hilarious scene as inspiration for question #4, and whose hovering-in-limbo Eldershipping site still provides hours of entertainment to those who stumble across it.

And, last—but far, far from least—embarrassingly effusive thanks to ~jessiedoll~JSpitz, who also makes many wonderful arts of Tracey-boo, and whose delightful fic (Paper Doll—everyone go read it and encourage her to continue writing!) inspired me to join dA in the first place. Thanks, girl!


...great galloping Glameows, I can't believe I've actually finished.

Pardon me, I'm going to go collapse now...