#Ice being born after the Great Battle also works super well because then he can be named after Iceheart

[bonefall]

any thoughts on foxleap and icecloud? I’ve always thought it was so fun that fox wanted his warrior name to be foxcatcher

I feel like it's a shame they're so lost in the shuffle. 4 kits from BrackenSorrel, 3 kits for Squirrelflight, 3 older ones from Daisy.... 10 is already a lot in Po3 and I think Fox and Ice get drowned out a lot.

I've always digged the idea of swapping them to Cloudtail and Brightheart tbh, making Ice look like a clone of his dad and Fox have the same shade of orange as his mom.

It sucks that they killed so many of Ferncloud's kids, it was one of the things that killed genetic diversity in the Clan. If they stay around it will probably be to replace Snowbush and Ambermoon, who are being removed completely.

(Dewnose is staying but he is on Thin Ice.)

Overall though the four of them shouldn't have even existed imo. Bloat characters.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “The Final Word”

Well, we made it to the finale, everyone, and if you're reading this it seems you've survived the watching of it too. Barely. To say that some questionable choices were made across these 20 minutes is... an understatement.

But before we delve into the episode, I want you to cast your mind back to November 7th, 2020. A horrible year that heralded a horrible RWBY volume. There, coming off the shaky writing of Volume 7, I posed a number of questions and concerns that the show needed to tackle, with the promise that we would return to these expectations in four months time. Now, here we are! Let's refresh everyone's memory, yeah?

Taken directly from that recap, what RWBY promised us, through various teasers and Q&As, included:

Emphasis on Ruby’s leadership and how Summer’s death has impacted her

Insight into Ren and Nora’s flaws

May Merigold will supposedly have a larger part

More information about The Long Memory (Ozpin’s cane)

Theme of the volume is that you can respect someone but that doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with them

Very short timeline (supposedly just two days)

Yang in particular is very suspicious and distrustful

And you know what? They did all this. In the spirit of being fair and honest to this show, RWBY succeeded in delivering on everything they promised... it was just our foolishness that expected that these ideas would be delivered well. Ruby's leadership took center stage in the form of her hiding for multiple episodes and then others telling her she's still The Best before the plot dropped a solution into her lap... one she could have used at any point prior to this. Summer's death certainly has an impact, though it's an impact born of a crazy reveal that Summer likely isn't dead, but turned into a horrifying grimm monster. Ren and Nora both delve into their flaws, but heaven forbid either grow from that reflection. Ren learns that if he pushes past his primary flaw of keeping his emotions buried and actually expresses his doubts for once, he'll be yelled at and ignored until he admits how wrong he was. The "real" flaw is being a bad friend, with "bad friend" equaling "Not agreeing with Ruby 100%." Meanwhile, Nora considers that maybe she shouldn't rush in recklessly and hit things with her hammer... which is why she rushes in recklessly, hits something with her hammer, gets grievously injured, and is told that this is just who she truly is. No growth there, not unless we count her sudden desire to figure out who she is without Ren... but that exploration hasn't started yet. Too bad she wasn't the teammate separated at the end of the volume!

Meanwhile, May did indeed have a larger role to play, one I quite liked, it's just that this role — like all the others — inevitably circled back to realizing how wonderful Ruby is. May challenges Ruby to make a decision, but instead of being the catalyst for Ruby's growth, May becomes another forgotten side character who does a sudden about-turn regarding her perspective, leaving the group with the contradictory message that Ruby is actually doing her best, she's just a kid, no need to try any harder... everyone who claimed otherwise up until now was mistaken. May is another Cordovin. She's another Qrow. She's another Maria.

Fun fact: we don't even know if Maria is alive right now. That's how little she means to the show!

Actually, wait... anyone remember this nonsense from Volume 7? 

I was too lazy to change the date.

Moving on, Ozpin's cane turned out to be a stakes obliterating bomb that came out of nowhere, makes no sense logistically — how do battles store energy that only hurts grimm? — yet nevertheless seems to have killed Hazel? It's a disaster of unanswered questions. Similar to the disaster of our two day timeline when, I'm fairly sure, we've had an unnatural number of sunrises and sunsets. I'll have to take a look back at the volume as a whole now that it's complete to be sure of that though. As for our themes... did we really explore the idea of respecting someone even if you disagree with them? Because Ironwood wasn't shown any respect. Ren wasn't shown respect. I think the closest we got was Oscar calmly validating Yang's worry about getting buddy-buddy with Emerald, but the whole point there was that Yang was wrong. She wasn't wrong, but that's what the text would have you believe. She is indeed "very suspicious and distrustful," but that's hardly unjustified in these circumstances. I'm still boggling at the fact that it took the group three volumes for forgive Ozpin, even while he was actively working to assist them, yet I-helped-destroy-Beacon-and-tried-to-kill-everyone-you-love Emerald is the group's new BFF after she... ran away with Oscar? She didn't save him, she just went along for the ride. At the very least we might have gotten a scene where Penny was like, "Hey, why are you all laughing with the woman who just tried to kill my dad?"

But oh yeah, the story doesn't remember Pietro exists either. His daughter is DEAD and he hasn't been on screen since Episode Five, let alone there when she passes.

I had my own list going in, including such expectations as "Ozpin bb you got done dirty please acknowledge this" and "Queer baiting, queer baiting… you’re on thin ice at this point, RWBY. Just skate on over to the queer snack bar before you fall straight into the lake." Obviously these needs were not met.

So what, given this mess of expectations, did we end up with?

Our finale — for some reason — breaks the one word title trend with "The Final Word." It's an expression that refers to the final word in an argument or a discussion, the idea of winning by making a last, devastating point. It can also refer to making the final decision on something, which is the best way I'm able to apply the title to this episode (outside of any “final” comparisons). Penny's death is certainly all about choice and making some kind of decision... but on the whole, this title doesn't feel like it fits well. Not like "Worthy" or "Creation" or "Risk." The two latter titles had obvious connections to the episode in question through dialogue and plot, while the former was a deliberate callback to Watts' speech. "The Final Word" feels... less obvious in what it’s trying to say.

That's a minor nitpick though. Let's get into the meat of the episode.

We open on the grimm whale still disappearing, which is weird. I get that it's massively bigger than any other grimm we've seen, but they all turned to dust near instantaneously and it's been, what? At least an hour since Oscar blew it up? Likely longer when we factor in their walk back to the manor, the fight with Ironwood, fixing Penny, and this entire evacuation. It certainly makes for a nice visual, but like so many details in RWBY, it raises unnecessary questions along the way.

The important bit though is that amidst the whale carcass a blob of evil is swirling about. Salem, obviously. 

She’s not reforming in time to actually do anything though, don't worry.

Instead, we cut to the Ironwood vs. Winter fight and there's at least some dialogue this time. Ironwood yells that he's sacrificed everything to keep Remnant safe. Winter yells back that he actually sacrificed everyone else. Obviously, Ironwood should be called out for things like, you know, his unprompted murders, but instead they have Winter listing stuff that she was never shown to have a problem with before. The embargo? "Squeezed Mantle until it broke?" She, as Ironwood's second hand, understood and supported both the decision to close the border and the need to collect resources for a plan designed to take out Salem. I hate that no only did she turn without an ounce of hesitation or grief, but now they're having her act as if Ironwood forced these decisions on everyone, rather than everyone supporting him through them. We all remember Volume 7 when Ruby pressured him to finish Amity, right? And in trust RWBY fashion, most of these words are meaningless. Mantle "broke"? What does that mean? The class disparity did not come about through Ironwood: that's been in the works for generations. The lack of resources made things harder, yes, but when they were reclaimed by Robyn nothing improved. Watts is the one who turned off the heat and Salem attacked Atlas, leaving Mantle alone. Now, all the citizens have escaped through magical portals. So how is Mantle "broken" exactly? More importantly, why is Winter upset over this vague, nonsensical dilemma when she could be yelling about Ironwood wanting to bomb Mantle?

Again: this woman watched Ironwood shoot the councilman, shrugged, and continued to believe in him up until she realized his bomb threat was real. That was one of the main reasons why I thought the councilman might be alive, with Ironwood only shooting a warning shot past him. Because this is how you react to a good person unexpectedly killing someone else

whereas this is what we got from Winter and Harriet.

Hell, Weiss has more of a reaction to Yang telling Ruby things aren't super great right now.

So either Ironwood didn't do something that bad, thereby justifying these tame reactions (unlikely, given where his character ended up), or we should believe based on the animation that everyone was super chill with him killing an unarmed civilian. Which is then directly contradicted when they're like, "You're going to shoot Marrow? Bomb a city?? How could you do such horrible things??? 😲" Friends, buddies, fictional pals... you already watched him murder a dude.

The point is, there's a lot for Winter to be upset about, but she's not upset about that. There's a lot that Winter herself believed in, but the writing has forgotten that. This entire arc went off the rails a volume ago.

Also, why is Ironwood fighting with that giant gun? This is his final battle, presumably ever, and he's wielding this awkward, sluggish weapon we saw him randomly pick up two episodes ago? Let him use his regular guns! Give us a fantastic battle like he had with Watts! Instead, RWBY's final showdown consists of him using this no-name weapon as a unwieldy club in some of the most boring choreography we've seen to date. It doesn't help that this fight needs to share time with three others. Instead of an epic showdown, we're given glimpses of the battle before continually cutting away from it. 

During that first cut we return to the Team RWBY battle where Penny, doing her best to stay out of Cinder's reach, is whisked away on Weiss' wasp.

Too bad she didn't do that for Yang...

Jaune and Nora watch this horror unfold until Jaune says, "Priority one!" and they split. Except... what is priority one exactly? Helping the civilians? I guess, because they don't enter the fight until the very end of it, when everyone else seems to have made it to Vacuo. And you know what, I like that. For once it feels like the group — or at least the B Team — is acting like huntsmen, putting the needs of the people over their own, personal desires. I'm sure Nora wants to help the group after Yang's (presumed) demise and that Jaune would like nothing more than to get his hands on Cinder, but they put those grievances aside to do the work they signed up for. Good job!

My only real gripe is that we don't really see this struggling in the animation, I'm just assuming it's there. In particular, there's a moment when Jaune sends Nora through the portal for reinforcements — not knowing they can't return — and they seem a little too jovial when, by this point, three friends have died.

There's letting your cast be supportive, and then there's having them ignore that three teammates have perished in an abyss. It really doesn't help to sell the idea that Yang, Ruby, and Blake are in any danger here.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Penny tells Weiss that since Cinder is really just after the Maiden powers, she can buy the rest of the group time to escape. Weiss, obviously, isn't fond of this idea... and then the both of them are blasted off the wasp by Cinder's fire. Which they deserve, frankly. They're just having this casual conversation about sacrifice while in the middle of a battle. Did they somehow forget that Cinder can fly too?

Note that multiple attacks from Cinder, another blast, and a hard landing on the pathway gives their auras a knock, but doesn't break them. The primary defense for Yang's aura shattering in a single, simple hit was that everyone is exhausted and running on little to no power... yet here the rest of the cast is, tanking multiple hits as we've come to expect. There is no explanation for Yang's defeat except that the writers chose to ignore the rules of their world for a dramatic death scene... even though that drama was erased a week later as half our team falls into the void too.

We'll get to that though. For now, Cinder corrects Penny's belief with "I want it all" and proceeds to try to finish them off, only for Blake to arrive, having made her choice from last episode about who to help. It's a legitimately nice attack, but I happened to pause at the bEST MOMENT

Anyway.

We leave that fight to return to Qrow and Harriet who have, off screen, started an entirely different battle. What I mean is, last we saw Qrow had broken through the windshield of the airship, roughly pinned Harriet, and was taunting her about getting the fight she wanted. Now, suddenly, he's going “You’re making a mistake, Harriet, what happened to Clover—” as if he's been trying to talk her down this whole time. It's jarring, especially when we consider that Qrow had a volume long "kill Ironwood" arc that was dropped because... Robyn reminded him that murder is bad? RWBY feels like a storytelling pinball machine. Characters bounce from one personality to the next, one perspective and another, round and round until you don't know where they'll end up.

Harriet screams for Qrow to just shut up already and honestly? Same. I love Qrow, he's one of my favorites, but I can't deny that he's been done dirty like so many others since Volume 6. I love who Qrow was, not the mess RWBY has created the last few years.

Time to delve back into fic after recapping!

Sadly though, this strange dialogue wasn't the only "wtf" moment. Harriet is still trying to drop the bomb — which is its own mess of confusing motivations — when Vine and Elm show up on Harriet's ship. Elm begs Harriet not to do this "because you’re our friend!”

Am I glad that they finally acknowledged that the Ace Ops have always been friends? Sure, but why did we spend two volumes claiming otherwise? They were friends, a fantastic team, then Harriet announces that's a lie and we get a bunch of "Team RWBY is superior because they're actually friends" messages. Except this entire time we're still watching the Ace Ops be kind and playful with one another. But they're not friends, the story says. Not friends as they fight these battles. Not friends as they grieve for Clover. Definitely not friends as they react in horror at Ironwood nearly shooting Marrow. No, there's nothing there... until Elm claims there is! Then Harriet reacts in shock. I have friends?

Except Elm was labeled the one "just following orders" by Yang. Elm is the one who shook off Vine after the whale exploded. This isn't the story of one character, Harriet, thinking she was alone and then realizing that people do care for her, this is a story that, seemingly at random, had this group being BFFs or acting like they hated each other — and at each point the visuals are contradicted by the story's message. When they act like friends, we're told they're not friends. When they don't act like friends, we're told they really have been this whole time. I mean, do any of them even care that Marrow teamed up with Qrow and Robyn to take them out five minutes ago? All three were going along with Ironwood's scheme until they were physically stopped, but now Elm is convinced this is a bad decision she needs to talk Harriet down from with the power of friendship?

None of these characters are characters, they're just slapped together reactions based on whatever the plot needs. Who is Elm? I've got no clue. Her personality changes every episode.

Also, love that Qrow moves to stop the bomb from dropping and Harriet screams at him to "Get out of the way!" rather than just... attacking him? She even throws her hands out like she's having a temper tantrum. This feels like schoolyard bickering, not a life or death struggle.

Even though, you know, the audience is aware that the people of Mantle have already been evacuated and Qrow's group is aware that Atlas is falling on top of Mantle as they speak, so... why does the bomb matter? It's going to, what? Destroy the city thirty seconds before Atlas does? Oh no, the horror.

Things then, if you can believe it, get even worse. The bomb is still about to drop, so instead of doing anything to stop it — I mean seriously, we know it takes four people to shoulder the bomb's weight, but you're telling me Qrow and a reformed Harriet can't snag it in a pinch? — Qrow sits there, looks at Clover's pin... and the bomb careens towards the side of the airship instead, stopping.

Because I guess Qrow has good luck now? Or always did and somehow never noticed it? Or his semblance evolved?? Again, we don't know, but it's a bad moment any way you slice it, imo. Qrow has always been defined as the guy with a bad luck semblance and, much like Penny's android struggles, the allure was in watching him overcome those challenges, not having the show erase the challenge entirely. Especially when we don't even understand how it was erased. Qrow just... stops drinking, stops caring for Ironwood, stops wanting to kill Ironwood, stops causing bad luck, I guess. RWBY takes major character traits and flips them off like a light switch, leaving the audience with no emotional tether. We didn't watch Qrow overcome his drinking, or realize he can't bear to kill Ironwood, or discover a way to live life with the horrible hand he was dealt, he just blinks one day and those things are gone. Why? No one is sure. Not even the writers, I'd wager, because otherwise they would have written explanations into the text.

Many in the fandom insist that any basic information provided by the story amounts to "hand holding" when in fact there is a massive difference between the sort of unnecessary exposition that bogs down a tale, and having facts enough for the audience in its entirety to be on the same page about what is actually happening. For example, recently someone argued strongly that the "Penny is human" take is incorrect because Penny isn't human, she has an inhuman body made entirely of aura... yet where in the world does this exist in the story? Ambrosius may have been unsure about what Penny would be prior to removing her robotic parts, but that ambiguity is gone once her body forms, the equivalent of worrying about that gun only for a flag with 'BANG' to appear instead of a bullet. Worrying about something doesn't mean that something actually occurred. Penny appears human, expresses human sentiments, and then, this episode, dies as a human. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck and succumbs to the mortal peril that all ducks face... it's probably a duck. As I said in a recent ask, I implore the fandom to stop writing RWBY's scripts for them. Or rather, do so in some amazing fanfics. Don't do it on critical posts as a means of insisting that your revision is canon.

So Qrow has good luck now, maybe, but this character change doesn't amount to anything because Watts remotely starts the bomb's countdown.

At least he’s entertaining and competent. We had that for a time. 

Back to the main battle, Neo is kicking Ruby's ass. Why? Because there's no consistency in power levels in this show. The ancient woman who hasn't fought in decades dances circles around Neo, highlighting how weak she supposedly is, yet now Neo dances circles around our main character. None of us should expect fights to follow the logic of the world, only what drama the plot wants to stir up. Ruby is eventually knocked down from a hard hit — yet her aura's intact! — and is saved at the last second by Weiss tossing Neo into one of the portals. 

Far more of a problem than the power leveling is that Ruby gives no indication here that Neo just murdered her sister. Again, that's what the characters are meant to believe, yet Ruby is as stoic as she would be fighting a bunch of White Fang grunts. If you showed this scene to a RWBY fan on its own and asked, "What do you think happened prior to this?" the answer would be, "Uh... nothing? Ruby is just fighting Neo like she did on the airship in Volume 3." Nothing about this scene — from dialogue to animation — sells the idea that Ruby just lost the person most important to her in the world.

When we do finally mention Yang, it's Weiss who goes, “Come on, we have to do this for Yang” and the delivery is... meh. Honestly, I normally don't pay much attention to the voice acting, but I had a problem with most of Weiss' lines this episode. The "Leave her alone!" during this fight and later a "Get back!" as she attacks Cinder both fell really flat for me. Given the devastation and charged emotion that's supposed to be here, we can't give her anything better than generic cries that, again, she’d throw at any grunt? In that later scene the animation absolutely helps sell Weiss' distress, but the dialogue is common and the delivery has no emotional punch, leaving it feeling like Yang is just hanging out in Vacuo and they promised they'd beat the baddies before catching up with her. No one but Blake is acting like Yang died.

In fact, we see more emotion from Ruby when Weiss shoves her back, taking the brunt of Cinder's blast.

Weiss' aura breaks, not that that's a danger or anything. Everyone falls before they're injured, Winter gets the Maiden powers, Ren barely has to fight. Losing aura in this show used to be a moment of peril, where just last volume Winter was bruised, bleeding, and now needs an assistive device because she had to continue a battle with no aura. Now it's a joke. Aura breaks left and right across the volume with no repercussions attached to that.

We see a bit of the Blake and Penny vs. Cinder fight where Cinder blasts Blake off the edge. Penny rushes after her because at least one character remembered that they can fly.

Ruby, meanwhile, remembers that she can fly when it benefits her. After getting hit down onto a lower level and watching Crescent Rose plummet, she taunts Neo into an attack with a move that's actually quite good. I like the confidence with which Ruby riles her up and I like the strategy of darting behind Neo to knock her off the path instead. “Whatever you wanted, I hope it was worth it."

The only thing I don't like is that this speed and ingenuity had to disappear to justify Yang falling.

Cinder breaks Ruby's aura from behind though, sending her over too and grabbing onto Neo's leg. In an obvious moment born of the trope, it looks as if Cinder is reaching to help Neo, only for her to snag the Relic instead. “You should have never threatened me," she tells Neo and to Ruby: "you should have never been born.” 

Love that they erased all that cool growth from last episode! And by "love" I mean "hate." As I said last recap, I'm not going to pretend that Cinder's character isn't riddled with problems, but realizing she was stronger by teaming up with Neo and Watts was one of the best things they've ever done for her. It made Cinder dangerous again and showed Watts' speech having a clear impact. It also made her more entertaining, creating a new dynamic among the three villains. Now though, Cinder is just... Cinder. The same boring, stupid Cinder we've had since Volume 4. She betrays Neo and then later betrays Watts.

So Cinder kicks Neo and Ruby both over the edge because why would we want to make her interesting? Neo falls, but Ruby has friends there to catch her! Unlike Yang. Jk. Weiss’ aura is gone and Blake actually tried both times, so major kudos for her. Using momentum supplied by Penny, she snags Ruby and hooks her weapon into one of the pathways... only for Cinder to cut the ribbon. Both plummet and once again Penny has a more believable reaction to all this, just like she did last week

Speaking of reactions, does anyone else find it weird that Cinder finally succeeded in killing Ruby and... doesn’t seem to care? 

No? Just me? 

At least we get that good animation with Weiss I was talking about before, even if the dialogue is lacking. I love that she snagged Blake's weapon and uses it to try and take out Cinder, shaking the whole time. Those are some great details. 

Back to the bomb, Qrow is trying to escape, but Harriet says there isn't enough time to get out of the blast range. "I've killed us all." Vine has the solution though, using his semblance to wrap up the airship, thus containing the blast when it goes off. His final words are to reassure Elm that he can give his life, "if it means saving all of my friends." Just in case you missed the part about the Ace Ops being super close this whole time. Even though they also weren’t. Trying to eat your cake too, RWBY? 

Frankly, I didn't feel much of anything during this scene, not when Vine made the sacrifice, nor when Elm and Harriet look on sadly while Robyn pilots them away (that's her contribution this episode). 

All I can say is, good on RWBY for not killing one of the three dark skinned characters, or just murdering the Ace Ops as a whole. What the story is going to do with them though, who knows.

Jaune and Nora have that ‘You can do it!’ moment after three of their friends have presumably been killed. I swear, about 80% of Jaune's scenes do not work tonally and oh boy, things only get worse from here.

First though, I like his entrance. He slams into the fight against Cinder and lines up with Penny and Weiss, who is still dual-wielding her and Blake's weapons. That's an epic shot.  

It looks as if they stand a decent chance against Cinder — Weiss' lost aura notwithstanding — except then Cinder's arm starts going crazy and she gleefully announces that Salem has returned.

Working on a time limit now, Cinder unleashes a volley of attacks that Penny steps in to protect the other two from. It's here that Cinder grabs hold with her grimm arm.

It's here that Penny dies. Again.

For the third time.

Friends, I am tired. This moment honestly deserves the most epic of rants, but that, in turn, requires energy. Energy? In this economy? Ha! That's hilarious. Taking this seriously though, the problem here can — as usual — be boiled down to a single question: What was the point?

Penny died in a horrible attack that shook the cast and audience both to their core.

That emotional impact was erased through her resurrection.

The resurrection did not create a new emotional impact for our heroes to grapple with.

Penny is given the Maiden powers, solidifying the fact that she's always been a "real girl."

That lesson was erased when the story decided to make her human for unexplained reasons (because no, she never needed to be human to survive the virus).

Penny then dies, passing the power to Winter... who was set to get the power in the first place.

We have, once again, come full circle. You can take Penny out of the story and nothing changes. Does Ruby lose any lessons or emotional growth? No. Does anyone survive who would have otherwise died? No. Does her getting the powers lead to someone unexpected snagging them upon her death? No. Penny's existence was filler. She was put in the story to take up time and, that done, was removed from the story once again. It's a choice that wouldn't be half as horrible if that filler hadn't done so much damage along the way.

First is the obvious: that Penny didn't deserve this. As a character, she didn't deserve to be brought back just to be killed off again, seemingly without narrative purpose, serving only to draw in viewers who RT knew loved the character. Second, keeping her in the story led to her entire arc unraveling. Initially, Penny died as an android in the world's eyes, but those who actually knew her — Ruby and Pietro — mourned the girl she really was. Now we have this horrible message that being a machine isn't real enough, so she has to die as a human being. It's a disservice to her character and, as an allegory for many minorities, downright insulting to the audience. Third, this offensive 'better to die as a human than live as a robot' message is wrapped up in the claim that Penny finally gets to choose something — “Let me choose this one thing. Trust me” — but she already did that when she chose to take the Maiden powers. We already had the better written version of this last volume!

And the fourth issue...well.  

Fourth and fifth are the real kickers. Fourth is that Penny's death was an assisted suicide. She explicitly asks Jaune to kill her so she can ensure she's thinking of the right person when she passes (never mind that her thoughts would probably be on Jaune while this is happening) and that's... pretty horrible. Look, I'm no purist. I like a great deal of dark, gritty stories whose plot exists to make us uncomfortable. That's a valuable emotion that fiction can generate. The problem is not that RWBY is tackling a sensitive topic, but that they aren’t tackling it well. Yes, they put in a content warning and (from what I've heard) a suicide helpline as well, but providing the already necessary resources is not the same thing as writing that kind of scene with respect and care. All of the above tells us that, no matter what RT may have intended, that respect and care weren't communicated to the audience. Like Yang, they didn't even bother to keep Penny's death within the rules of their world. Jaune is right there ready to heal her and Penny says no, there's supposedly not time.

Um... since when?

Jaune's aura boost is instantaneous. The second he amplifies aura is the same second the healing starts and their talk could have been spent saving Penny. There was certainly time to save Weiss in Volume 5. To have a character go, 'Nah, it's too late' when the solution is right there is the ultimate cop-out. Suddenly announcing that the solution will no longer work For Reasons is not a legitimate limitation and it's made doubly insulting that RT didn't simply use the limitations already available to them. Jaune has been running low on aura since the whale. He then expended a great deal of aura boosting Penny to keep the virus in check. Every other ally has had their aura broken in this fight so, there. That's your solution. Have Jaune take a few hard hits from Cinder, his aura breaks, and then when Penny is mortally wounded he no longer has a semblance to heal her. It's that easy! Yet instead they had Penny reject help so that she could ask to die. That's what's offensive here.

Finally, reason number five... why is this moment given to Jaune? That's another easy solution: Jaune has gone through the portal and can't get back to heal Penny. There. Done. But logistics aside, this scene should have gone to any other character. Who is Jaune to Penny? Or Penny to Jaune? No one! They don't have a relationship. I get that the writers didn't want any of the girls at her side because then it would be hard to justify Penny not passing the power to them (which I get: making one team member a Maiden changes the show drastically), but you know who should be there instead of Jaune?

Pietro.

Pietro, who built Penny as a weapon and who was never given the chance to apologize for that. Pietro, who told Ruby he could only rebuild her once more, setting up an expectation that he'd sacrifice himself for his daughter (despite the complicated racial issues that would bring up). Pietro, who watched Penny plummet and has no idea what happened to her, let alone that she's been made into a human girl. Pietro should have been at her side, saying goodbye to his child and helping her complete her last wish.

And it would be so very easy to pull off. All it takes is a single line where Penny remembers that her father exists, asking Ruby to ensure a portal opens up in Amity. There's a quick reunion along the pathways before Cinder attacks. We hear a cry of despair as Penny falls and she looks, seeing her father racing towards her, though she thought he'd already made it out. There, you’re done. We open ourselves up to a lot of attacks whenever we say, "Why didn't RWBY just do ____?" because those who vehemently defend the writing like to go, "Oh, you think you could write RWBY better?" and no, I don't. I struggle with long-form storytelling and massive casts. I don't think I could do justice to the sort of show RWBY wants to be, but I do think I'm a decent enough writer to spot when there are major problems like this. The question of "Why doesn't Penny remember that her beloved dad exists?" and "Why, out of that massive cast, is Jaune the one to do this deed?" are both things that a newbie writer can spot, and a sometimes okay writer can figure out how to fix them both simultaneously. A good writer will start thinking about themes — what might it mean for Pietro to kill the creation he made? — and a great writer will find a way to pull that off without having that insulting, discomforting feeling pop up. At this point, our RWBY crew feels less like new writers making mistakes (because they're not new, not at all), but rather just writers who haven't bothered to learn from their mistakes after eight years. That's a lot harder to watch.

Because putting Jaune here doesn't just mess with RWBY's internal rules (not using his semblance) and it's not just useless in terms of Penny's development (she doesn't know him outside of "dude who boosted my aura for an hour"), but it also falls back into a pattern I thought RWBY had finally broken from: making Jaune the story's emotional center. This is not the JAUNE show. It's the RWBY show. Yet here, once again, we have Jaune in the spotlight. Why, after a whole volume of Ruby avoiding making decisions, does Jaune finally make the hard call? Why, after a scene where Penny asked Ruby to kill her, does Jaune do that deed? Why, after a divisive arc where all the grief for Pyrrha went to Jaune, is Jaune now set to shoulder the grief of Penny? At least Jaune had a relationship with Pyrrha, even if Nora and Ren did too. Yet with Penny he seems to be there solely because the writers can't bear to keep him out of that center spot for long. All of Team JNOR make it through to Vacuo... except Jaune. Jaune falls into the abyss too because, if the show goes this route, we apparently can’t have a volume just about Team RWBY, the main characters. The main characters are separated from the rest of the team and it's Jaune, not Oscar and Ozpin with a connection to the lore, not Nora or Ren whose development now hinges on them learning who they are without the other, it's Jaune who follows the title characters into a new dimension. 

The issue is not whether Jaune deserves to grieve over the truly traumatic thing he just did now that he’s done it. He obviously does. The issue is the writers setting up a scenario where Jaune is situated to do that emotional work in the first place. 

I like Jaune as a character. I don't like how the writing uses him as a character. RWBY is built on the idea that these four girls are the heroes of this tale, not the expected blond, blue-eyed, sword wielding guy we’ve seen in so many other stories. So why does that guy get the most important scene of the finale? Yes, Jaune had much less screen time this volume than he did in the past, that’s a good thing given the number of important characters RWBY has to balance, but that hasn't erased the problem of him being given significant moments that should be going to title characters. Does Ruby’s team rescue Oscar and take on Salem? No, Jaune's team does. Does Ruby's team save Penny? No, Jaune's semblance keeps her grounded and then holds the virus off. Not everything is a problem — we've also got good choices like having Ruby defeat the Hound and Ruby's team take on Cinder for the majority of the fight — but that doesn't erase that Penny’s death wasn’t something Jaune should have been a part of. Not unless he was going to heal her. Doing better than they have in the past doesn't mean that RT isn't still slipping when it comes to giving him undeserved focus.

They took one of the most controversial characters, controversial because of how much emotional focus he's gotten in the past, and had him help a fan favorite commit suicide while he cried about it, showing more emotion for a near stranger than our title character showed for her sister. This is a character who, up until two or three episodes ago, had no connection to the victim and still has no reason to thematically be the one committing this act. That is why the fandom goes, “The crew loves Jaune and does everything they can to put him in the center of the action.” Ruby, as main character and Penny’s first friend, is the obvious choice here. Pietro, as Penny's father, would be a good choice too. Hell, Nora is a better option given their moment in the Schnee manor this volume. Or Winter given their moments in Volume 7! Have her escape Ironwood, find Penny, receive the powers, and then finish him off. Literally anyone would be better than Jaune, not because Jaune is a bad character, but because Jaune has no emotional stakes here and putting him in a position where he could heal Penny but doesn’t is massively stupid. No one should be surprised that a lot of the fandom is upset about this. It was one hell of a reach to give him this moment and, since Jaune's problem has always been getting too much screen time and emotional nuance compared to our main cast, it's no wonder this act brought up a lot of bad memories. RT fell back into an old pattern after two volumes of improvement and they did so at the worst possible time. 

The tl;dr is that Penny's third death is a writing travesty, just like her second. I shouldn't be surprised, given that this is the same volume that tortured a kid and the only thing they did with it was have him blindly trust his torturer... yet I find myself surprised nonetheless. Because Penny had such potential as an android Maiden and, as much as I personally hated it, potential as a former android learning to be human too. But why explore any of that when you can kill her off instead? Again.

As a final, far smaller note about this scene, we have the continuing problem of what purpose Cinder's arm is serving. If everyone recalls, its threat comes primarily from the fact that she can "siphon off" power from other Maidens.

She did it to Penny during the Amity battle and now she does it again, a great deal of green energy absorbed into Cinder. So what's left to give to Winter? Why doesn't Cinder become noticeably stronger with each successful theft? Like so much else in RWBY, we're told it exists without actually seeing the impact of that. Winter isn't a weaker Maiden for having lost power and Cinder isn't a stronger Maiden for having snagged it. It's just.. there, hanging out and looking vaguely menacing, I guess.

Outside of this unnatural not-transfer, we get to see how the power normally passes as Penny meets with Winter in some in-between place. It's a soft, heartfelt scene... with the exception that Winter says, “You were always the real Maiden at heart. I was just the machine. Just following orders."

I don't know how any viewer can doubt that RT now believes machinery = evil. Penny's machine body is magicked away so she can be a real-real girl. Yang announces that the arm she worked hard to make a part of herself is just "extra." The man with half a metal body is made this volume's villain and losing his second arm is, by the authors' own admission, a symbol of his lost humanity. Mercury with two metal legs remains a bad guy while Emerald and Hazel are hastily redeemed. Tyrian with his cybernetic tail is the most devoted crazy of the bunch. Maria, blind and in need of assistive lenses, is so forgotten by the story she was left in the tundra nine episode ago and won't be mentioned again until next volume (if then). Pietro, the guy in the wheelchair, is forgotten too, despite it being his daughter who dies on screen.

Now Winter, also bearing an assistive device, says that she's the real "machine" here and tells Penny, now human, that she was always the "real Maiden." I don't know what happened to make RT do a 180 lately, but the disability rep is no longer what it was.

Penny reassures Winter that she'll always be a part of her and then passes on, for good this time.

The rest of the episode feels lackluster, if I'm being honest. Images of Cinder beating Weiss are intercut with Ironwood beating Winter, getting her to a point where her aura breaks. 

But then the powers appear and, as we'd expect, she easily turns the tide. 

Gorgeous animation there. 

But RT once again rewrites earlier scenes by having Ironwood claim that the "destiny" he chose for Winter has finally arrived — isn't that Cinder's MO? — and Winter shoots back that he chose nothing, this was a "gift." Except, it was never about destiny or orders? This was why Weiss' anger in Volume 7 was ridiculous. She acted like Ironwood forced Winter to accept the powers and Winter told her point blank she chose this. Ironwood didn't decide anything, he offered and Winter chose... kind of like how Penny is choosing now. I hate how nearly all of Ironwood's character has been ignored or, during times like this, outright lied about to make him seem super duper evil. He tried to bomb a city! You don't need to make him seem evil anymore, that job is done! Like their sudden change regarding disability, RT now seems to be allergic to nuance. Heaven forbid Ironwood be allowed to have valid points like he did in Volume 3. No, if you've got an antagonist every single thing they've ever said must be twisted into a display of their evilness.

Unless you're Hazel, who Oscar trusts for #reasons. Unless you're Emerald, who the group immediately embraces. Unless you're Cinder, who gets to cry on a rooftop and secures the trust of her allies long enough to betray them again.

But Ironwood? Nah, screw that guy.

Salt aside, the fight is pretty boring. Winter literally just throws up a wall of ice and Ironwood's blast rebounds, taking him out.

Winter flies through the portal and we return to Jaune. His sword is broken by Cinder, so weapons should be quite the problem in Volume 9. 

There's a bit of sword vs. sword Maiden battling — this episode really pulled heavily from both Volume 3 and 5's finales — before Cinder gets smart again and attacks Weiss, currently trying to escape with Jaune. Weiss goes right off the edge and Winter isn't able to reach her in time. That's the entirety of Team RWBY, lost to the magical void.

Kudos to Winter's VA and the writing here though. This feels like an appropriate reaction to losing a sister. Screaming, sobbing, falling to her knees and beating the floor... Ruby, take notes.

A roar sounds through all the portals though, the sort of roar a pissed off witch might give. Jaune convinces Winter they need to leave Cinder behind, but before they can escape Cinder... makes a new wish?

Look, it works on all the major fronts. Cinder has the staff, check. We've basically established that Ambrosius can make an unlimited number of things per era, check. We know the previous thing disappears when a new wish is made, check. My only question is the timing. In all honesty, I'll have to re-watch the scene to be sure, but at the time it felt like the portals began disappearing almost the second Cinder left. Did she really have time to summon Ambrosius, deal with his explanatory nonsense, and get him to make a new wish without any fiddly concerns? Sure, fire is just fire, but it still felt like way too much happening too fast off screen.

Either way, the portals are gone and Winter makes it through in time, but Jaune does not. He falls through the void along with Team RWBY. And Neo.

Neo is the only addition I'm looking forward to here.

We get a few shots of our other characters as Winter arrives, saving the day by taking her grief out on the grimm. So glad something came of Ren breaking his aura again! Maybe they'll be more fighting at the beginning of Volume 9? If we see any of this group outside of 9's finale. My worst fear right now is that we'll spend an entire season away from the main action — remember how I said it would be stupid for Team RWBY to go on a side adventure while Salem is attacking the world? — and when they return there will have been some major time skip. Salem has destroyed most of Remnant, only pockets of survivors remain, it's all dark and dystopian... and oh look, every bit of character development happened off screen. How did Nora discover who she is without Ren? She did it while Team RWBY was gone. That merge we've been teasing for five years? That happened while you were gone too and, btw, Ozpin has ceased to exist. So sad, right? Not that anyone will actually mourn. Just take comfort in the fact that his last line was an "Oh no" about Ambrosius and his last major scene was apologizing for how the group treated him. Emerald's redemption? Off screen. Winter's grief? Off screen. Any and every one of these challenging beats to tackle can be waved away with, "We went through that arc while you were lost in the magical realm. Just get to know our new, improved selves now!"

Please, oh writing gods, don't let that happen.

Though I do worry because my last prediction came true.

But we all knew we’d end up here. My current theory? The portal should still be open at the vault. Winter will fight Ironwood, escape through it, and it will close right before he escapes too. He’ll fall with Atlas and everyone will act as if it’s some beautiful, poetic justice for him to perish with the city. 

Ironwood didn't make a break for the portal — too busy being unconscious — but we got everything else. Winter left him, he falls with Atlas, and this is some poetic justice, I guess. Really, it's just an undignified death. I'd hoped for a sympathetic kill, something that showed the characters still cared about him even if they knew Ironwood had to be stopped. Baring that, I'd hoped for an epic battle that took him out with style. Instead, no one even bothers to kill him. Ironwood is now beneath the entire cast, not even worth finishing off. Winter casually tosses his blast back at him and leaves. Cinder throws out a "that's checkmate" and leaves. I don't think Salem even looks at him. Ironwood (presumably) dies with no one and nothing, just a casualty of the city Team RWBY made fall. And I say "presumably" because the audience isn't even given the satisfaction of being sure he's passed on. Like Hazel, Ironwood's death is this weird, ambiguous moment that, based on the other character reactions, isn’t meant to be ambiguous. Is he dead? Most likely. Is it possible, based on what we've seen, that he'll pop up two volumes later like

Yes and, memes aside, that sucks. I don't want to be wondering for the next couple years if Ironwood survived and if they'll bring him back just to drag his character through the mud again. Move on.

But no, we don't even get that.

I've spoken at great deal about Ironwood both in these recaps and on my blog more generally. Last week, I said I'd covered it all and there was no need to rehash it all again. I stand by that, so let me just conclude this travesty with a final note: if your bad guy's final moment is using the last of his strength to point a gun at the actual villain of this story, and you don't realize the problem of how this image contrasts everything else the story has insisted about his character? … I just don't know what to do with that.

Oh, actually, final-final note: Ironwood’s semblance is officially a Schrodinger's semblance. It is both canonical and noncanonical simultaneously. Wooo. 

Cinder tells Salem she used her wish to "add more flames to the first of Atlas" and we cut to Watts, trapped in a roaring fire, unsuccessfully trying to break his way out. Wow, I hate that too! Next to Tyrian, Watts was our last remaining, entertaining villain. He carried a lot of the last two volumes and, I had hoped, was going to add some bright spots to the coming volumes as well. Apparently not.

Just another waste.

In addition to this casual, second murder of her ally, Cinder successfully convinces Salem that Neo killed Ruby and Ruby used the Lamp's last question, but she's back in her good graces since she snagged the Relics anyway. “You’ve done well, Cinder. Our work here is done" and they leave, blasting off like a less cool Team Rocket as Atlas plummets into Mantle.

Let's spend a second to tally things up then, shall we? What happens if Ruby, instead of throwing a moral fit, says, "You're right and we never should have lied to you, or betrayed you. But we want to help now. You get the Relics and the Maiden to safety in Atlas, if you can, we'll defend the people of Mantle"?

Well, they can still tell the world about Salem and call for help, much more easily now since Ironwood would likely just give them the code rather than them needing to spend an episode stealing it.

The Staff at least may not have ended up in Salem's hands and the group could have actually focused on getting the Lamp back (also solved if they'd been smart and just put it in the vault to begin with).

Mantle would still have been safe because Salem was never interested in Mantle to begin with.

Atlas wouldn't have fallen.

Ironwood wouldn't have died.

Penny wouldn't have died.

Even Vine wouldn't have died!

Our heroes unambiguously made the situation worse. Rather than banding together with their allies to fight the real enemy, Salem, they pushed until they made enemies of Ironwood and the Ace Ops both. Then they asked for help — which a pinch of logic said would never arrive — and twiddled their thumbs waiting for it. When it was clear none would come they...did nothing. They sat around, upset that the people were in danger, but not willing to do anything about it. It's only when one of their own, Penny, is threatened that they kick into high gear, hitting on a solution that they could have posed to Ironwood from the very start if no one liked the fly away plan. Yet instead of taking a few minutes to brainstorm other ideas — doing anything other than denouncing Ironwood to the rest of the group and attacking the Ace Ops — they spent two days sitting around, fixing minor messes they’d helped to create, then rushed through the portal plan, messing up the wish and stranding an entire kingdom in a sandstorm, with only Winter now to protect them from grimm.

Fantastically done, team. 

The villains won, yes, but not because the villains were smart and compelling. Watts' hack on Penny and the heat petered out to nothing and Salem... well, she sat around for the whole volume, expending energy only to torture Oscar and try to (unsuccessfully) stop some escapees. Neo and, miraculously, Cinder did the most damage, but only in the final hour, with this "damage" being that our characters fall into a void that we now know looks remarkably like a paradise! Everything bad that happened was a result of our heroes being stupid and stubborn. That's a compelling story to tell... but RT isn't trying to tell it. Our heroes caused so much damage, yet that damage goes unacknowledged — or worse, ignored into silence like with Ren — and everything else is waved away with the magic wand the series claims isn't there. The cold doesn't kill anyone. Oscar has no problems walking off the torture. Nora hops back out of bed. Ruby one-shots the Hound. The civilians lost to the void must have survived too. The entire kingdom successfully makes it to Vacuo... unless you count the massive army we never saw making use of the portals, but who cares about them, right?

The villains won, there was indeed something resembling consequences, but none of it was emotionally satisfying. Not even when the series tries so hard to insist that emotion is there.

Qrow watches Atlas fall, mouthing Ruby and Yang's names, but it's too little, too late. Where was this care for his nieces when he was obsessed with killing Ironwood? When did they care about him? Was it when Ruby shrugged at his arrest, when neither cared that he was missing, or when they were designing an escape plan that didn't include putting a portal where Qrow could reach? RWBY markets itself around the found family-ness of its cast, but they're done a poor job in recent volumes (not others) of convincing me that most of these characters care for one another. We went from Ruby denouncing all adults, to Ruby pulling an Ozpin with Ironwood, to Ruby watching blandly as her sister falls to her presumed death. This is my hero? This is the simple soul we're supposed to rally behind? Ruby doesn't feel like a character who cares about other people anymore and, given that she leads the charge, neither do most of her friends. Or, when that emotion appears, it's jarring and undeserved. Jaune cries over Penny's death? That's tonally and characteristically backwards.

This volume was the culmination of so many mistakes over the past two years. No, Covid couldn't have made things any easier for the crew — the fact that they got a volume out at all is amazing — but the pandemic isn't to blame for the problems in the story. These seeds have existed since Volume 5, with some (like Jaune) going back even farther. I don't think we're ever going to get that flawed, but emotionally fulfilling RWBY back. The show has dug too deep and unless it somehow manages to create a clean slate — those time travel ideas get more and more alluring! — there's nothing they can do but keep on digging. At this point, I can only hope that the series does wrap up within the next two volumes, rather than dragging RWBY to a Supernatural-esque length.

Our final shot of the episode proper feels fitting for what this volume has been. Atlas and Mantle flood rather than exploding, something that makes a certain amount of sense, sure, but definitely wasn't what I was expecting. And after all these shocking images — Penny dying, the grimm attacking, our main characters disappearing in a puff of gold dust — we end it all with bits of random debris. It's strange and underwhelming. Out of everything you could have done with the options you had, you choose to do this?

Of course, RWBY always has an after-credits scene (RIP Raven's, still amounting to nothing). Here, the sounds of water return to show us a beach. Crescent Rose imbedded in the sand, mirroring its classic pose in the snow.  

There's a tree. It's a very different kind of tree from what we saw in Volume 6, but the height and shape is nevertheless reminiscent of Light's domain.

A tree of life, anyone? After all, the group has fallen into a dimension created by a Relic, the gift of Light himself. It certainly seems as if RWBY is heading towards another encounter with the Gods, though what that will look like and how narratively satisfying it will be remains to be seen.

As for our bingo board, RWBY certainly pulled its weight! Only three squares got gold stars: Watts and Jacques didn't manage another team up because both are dead, Oscar didn't apologize for getting shot because he was too busy being tortured, and Qrow didn't drink likely because he didn't have access to any alcohol across the whole volume. Can't say that's a stellar result. The final image is something to behold though lol.

What a mess.

And on that less than exciting note... we’re done. This has been the volume of desertion, with a large number of fans telling me that they will no longer watch RWBY, but baring something entirely unexpected in my future, I'll be back next volume, for whatever that's worth. It never ceases to amaze me that even one person would give these nonsense recaps the time of day, so in all seriousness: thank you for reading. You rock.

Now go forth and fill the hiatus with great RWBY content!

✌️

[pokeexehasstoppedworking]

Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch6 The Entrance Ceremony

(Notw: I am aware that Piers also appears in Pokemon Masters EX and Pokemon Masters will be canon also to the story line but not until after the Sword and Shield story line.)

You perhaps should've seen it coming when Hop's excitement was reignited when he heard Leon left him a present and you gladly handed over one of the bags to which he opened up in a hurry but looked utterly confused at all the healers and camping food until you explained the reasons why Leon got them all for him. Which he understood with a nod. And after a moment more of resting you decided to walk back with him towards the road, but the two of you ran into another familiar face in the form of Gloria. Or more like she almost ran into the two of you as she ran into the train station as you got up from your seat. Your sobble still sore over how many times he already fell from your shoulder and so resorted to gripping your shoulder sleeve harder.

"Geez Glory!," Hop commented raising a brow, "What's gotten you in such a hurry? I thought that was my thing."

"Sorry," she apologized leaning over to look around you and Hop at the station, "Did Leon leave yet? You said somethin' about stopping him so we could say good bye."

He again sighed and slouched a big bag in his hands. "Yeah he's gone back to whatever he was doing. I suppose I can't catch a train after all." ...He gave a small smile though. "But I guess I can't complain! He's the Champion! So of course he's gotta be like SUPER busy! We'll come face to face again soon enough!"

Gloria smiled back and nodded in agreement. "YEAH! Besides, maybe we'll see him at the Opening Ceremony tomorrow!"

You nodded at them. Although you knew he wouldn't be there as in game if the current events kept up, but you didn't want to break their hearts or anything so soon.

"Are you two endorsed trainers?," a man's voice asked from behind the three of you turned around to the man in the small store like stand in the train station. His smile widened as he nodded to his side where a stack of books was settled. "Would any of you three be interested in joining in our charity dex events?"

"Charity dex?," you asked obviously confused.

And the man nodded again gesturing to the two different book stacks one smaller than the other. "Yes! For just five dollars you can purchase one of two dex books and enter the dex challenges to win a variety of prizes! All proceeds goes towards the power crisis fund raiser."

There was that mention again about the power crisis. You wondered how dire it was exactly. Gloria seemed to take interest in it though and walked right up to the stand staring at the books. "....What's exactly the challenges?"

"Well there's the Poke-Dex challenge and the Curry-Dex challenge?" He explained holding up one of the small books, it had a picture of a plate of some kind of food etched into it. "The challenge is too take a picture of every labeled curry, or pokemon, on the pages and when your albums are fully completed, you turn in into your local pokemon center to claim your prizes! And there's no time limit. It's all for charity and you get a neat scrap book out of it. We already sold a few to some people on their way on the train. Would you be interested in joining one of the dex challenges?"

"I dunno. Sounds like a scam to me, Glor," Hop commented glancing at the books. "I always thought photography was Victor's gig. And we're already got the gym challenges ahead of us tomorrow.......Glory?"

Dexes?? As in completing the entire pokemon dex for this game?? Was this how it was manifesting in this game? You guessed so. It WOULD be weird if Gloria just discovered her pokedex had a limit of numbers in order to 'complete' it like a game's challenge. but a curry dex?? You faintly remembered there being some kind of food challenge in game but you couldn't remember it too well.

"I can't believe you wasted twenty dollars on two scrape books and camera film." Hop gave a small frown at the rolls of film and books Gloria was carrying along with the bag of goodies provided by Leon from earlier. "You don't even have a polaroid camera for all of that."

"No, but Victor does! I'm sure he won't mind if I take his old one." She waved him off. "Besides! It'll be fun and easy! Just fill up a whole book with pictures of pokemon and curries! How hard can it be?"

Hop's face deadpanned. "That's not exactly what I meant."

The three of you had left the train station not longer after that and had taken a small detour to the grocery store you were previously in that morning so Gloria could buy herself a decent amount of film rolls. It was crazy how many rolls of film you could cheaply buy in this world for a mere ten dollars, although you were sure Hop disagreed. So you decided to change the subject by asking the two a question.

"So," they both turned to you, "We're leaving for the Entrance Ceremony tomorrow morning right?"

"YEP! Bright and early! The morning train leaves at seven thirty sharp and we have to get our Dynamax bands from Professor Magnolia tomorrow! So we're gonna have to get up real extra early if we don't want to miss it. These train conductors are always on time, whether it's a good or bad thing. But those bands will be worth it to be able to dynamax and complete our Badge Circles!"

"I see. ...What's a badge circle??" You don't remember hearing anything like that from the game even when you played it way back when. "I don't think I know how these gyms and badges work."

They both gave you a confused look and for a moment you thought you goofed up before luckily Gloria unknowingly saved face for you when a look of realization came over her. "OH RIGHT!! You're not from this region so you wouldn't possibly know how the gyms work!" You thanked whatever god was listening for this great save as Gloria happily explained. "You see there's ten gyms each with their own gym leader unique to their own type of pokemon, but in order to compete in the finals at the end of the year you only need eight badges to complete your Badge Circle. A Badge Circle is like a puzzle but instead of carboard puzzle pieces you use badges to make it, then you present it to the official board who helps host the Gym Challenge. They're also the ones who's going to be checking to make sure your endorsements are legit at the Entrance Ceremony," she explained as you listened. Never knew when this info might come in handy later. "That's where four of the gyms are optional. While usually they give you they're own unique piece for the Badge Circle..Both Rock Type and Ice Type Gyms offer the same shaped badge. So does the Fighting and Dark Type Gyms. So usually you'd pick either one of the two choices, grab it, and then move on. Lots of people don't see the point of battling both gyms for the same piece as it's not required." She smirked before pointing a confident hand forward. "BUT NOT ME!! What's the point of me joining the Gym Challenge if I don't at least try out every gym at least once! We have a full year until the finals anyhow! That should be plenty of time for me to get what I need!!......Plus...m-maybe because I'm also kinda hoping to get some pictures and a few autographs. It's not everyday you get to see such famous people. Hehe."

You rolled your eyes with a smile. Just like a teen meeting a famous person but Hop sighed again. "I just don't see why you're going through all of this trouble. Won't it make more sense to just focus on one thing?"

"Hop you need to broaden your horizons a bit! It's gonna be our first times away from home! It's not just about the Gym Challenge!" She smiled widely at him. "It's about seeing new things! Meeting new people! Getting to see all kinds of new pokemon! It's...." Her smile dropped for a bit as she looked down. "It's actually a bit scary.....but I guess that's what's also making it so exciting." She smiled again. "Plus I know you're also doing the challenge so it's not like I'll be going into it alone right? Ill have my best bud going through it with me!"

Hop stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat and nodded looking away. "Y-Yeah! You're right. "

"See? Told you! It'll be fun! And I'll have Y/n as a traveling buddy anyways! So it should be fine."

You nodded in agreement as the three of you continued to walk back towards their homes, and both children mentioning the new pokemon they had been able to catch while out on their little adventure today.

"So how many pokemon did you guys catch?," you asked curiously.

And Gloria proudly answered, "NINE! And Hop caught five!"

You did a double take at the two. "Wait. You guys caught fourteen pokemon between the two of you in the few hours I was gone!?"

"Yeah! Hop's really lucky! He's got a shiny butterfree!"

Hop gave a sheepish smile and in a similar fashion to Leon raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "Well I guess I was just lucky to catch it off guard enough to catch it in the farmer's meadows."

Oh yeah. Weren't shiny pokemon a pokemon born with a rare color variety compared to most of their other kind? Wow. Well it sounded like the two of them certainly had a fun time out and about. "Wow. It sure sounds like you guys had a fun time." The three of you were coming up to the roads that split into to directions to both of the children's homes.

Gloria nodded again. "Hey! Hop! Come over to my house so I can practice my camera."

"What?," Hop's brow rose again, "Don't you mean Victor's camera?"

"Same difference! If I take pictures of all the pokemon we caught then it'll be good practice and give me a head start on the challenge! Plus who else would have a picture of a shiny butterfree?"

He sighed. "I swear you can bounce forward on anything like a ball."

You chuckled as the three of you made it to Gloria's house. Finding her mother in the kitchen cooking food and the first thing you noticed was the delicious smell coming from the kitchen stove, whatever she was cooking smelt of spices and your stomach growled. She looked up for a moment and smiled at the three of you, asking what the bags were for once she noticed, so you explained to her what had happened with you and Leon that morning as the two kids went off towards the door outside. She chuckled when you explained how Leon got lost on his way to the train in the early morning and got lost to only somehow end up back in front of his own home. Calling him 'a sweet young man for helping the kids out like that' and asking how your day went. Overall it was pretty well and you soon found yourself sitting down at the kitchen table resting yourself from all the walking around town you did. It was still fairly early in the day being only twelve something in the afternoon- You jumped when your Sobble all of a sudden chirped curiously and half climbed onto the side of your head to look towards the opposite side of the house as a flash of light came from one of the windows from outside. A minute long pause. And then another went off. A total of fourteen flashes with about a minute pause between them and while you tried to wrangle your sobble from your face without hurting it and it was enough to catch Mrs. G's attention as she stared with a brow rose.

"Gloria, what are you kids doing? I hope you're not practicing electric type moves near the house" her mother demanded. "You already almost caught your bed on fire from teaching your scorbunny Ember inside!"

"It's fine Mum!," Gloria's voice came followed by her head appearing in said window and waved what could only be described as a polaroid camera. "We're taking picture of our pokemon! Can you believe that I already have fourteen pokemon for the dex challenge!"

Her mother gave her a confused look placing a hand on her hip, "Dex challenge? What are you talking about?" She asked just as her Munchlax came toddling him yawning with another green pokemon behind him. He must've smelt the food and woken up you figured.

However Gloria's eyes lit up with a gasp! "Make that soon to be sixteen! You caught a Budew!?"

"Oh?" She glanced at the pokemon at her feet glancing up at her. "Oh yes. It was one of the two that always hangs around the flower beds. I always thought they were rather helpful for planting so I thought-" She paused as Gloria was already gon-

BANG!!

Both of you and the three pokemon jumped and turned to Gloria in the door's entrance camera in hand and scorbunny at her heels as she grinned at the Pokemon at her mother's heels before lifting the camera at them. "SAY CHEESE!!"

"Gloria! What are you-" She was cut off by two flashes that blinded you for a moment and you reached your hand up to cover your face as a white coated your vision. "GLORIA!!"

"Whoops. Sorry Mum!"

"WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING!?"

"Taking pictures of pokemon. Duh."

"I can SEE that! Or I would if you hadn't blind sided me.....Wait. Isn't that Victor's camera? What on earth were you doing playing with it!? You know that's not yours!"

You groaned and rubbed your eyes as they contined to talk. You trying to rub away the white dots that came with the flash as your sobble sat there. And you suddenly felt a small hand pawing at your face, as if your sobble was mimicking the movements you made at the attempt of clearing your vision. It was cute....But it would've cuter if you could see it.

"But Mom," Gloria pleaded, "It's for a good cause I promise. There's this Dex challenge and if you fill up the entire book with pictures when you can win something! Plus it's fun!"

"Well watch where you're pointing that thing! The last thing we need is you blinding someone."

"Yes, Mom." "Sorry Ms. G."

You finally opened your eyes still lightly rubbing them as you blinked and your vision was slightly blurry, but it quickly cleared revealing the two teens and their mother standing there as they looked at you. And Mrs. G held out a hand to you.

"Oh dear. Are you alright, Y/n?"

You nodded. "Yeah. I guess. It was just real bright for a moment." You paused as the camera was held out pointed at you by Gloria.

"Hey, Y/n. Can I take a picture of your sobble?"

A picture of your- "Oh. Yeah sure! Just lemme close my eyes for a minute." She nodded as she held the camera up to her face and you slammed your eyes shut as the words left her mouth.

"Hey Sobble!" The pokemon turned to her. "Say cheese!" Another flash of white lit up everywhere and your sobble chirped in surprise as his eyes went wide and it swayed as you reopened your eyes. Gloria smiled as the camera made a whirling noise and a moment later a perfect picture of you with your sobble staring towards the camera came out through a slot in the bottem as she grabbed it. Examining it with a smile. "Yep! That makes seventeen now!"

You gently took the sobble off your shoulder and into your arms as it swayed wide eyed, before shaking it's head and scowling towards the two teenagers, letting out a very loud squeak of annoyance at her before leaning back into your arms like a cat would still glaring at the two of them. You kinda felt bad so you ended up scratching it's back making it give a pleased sound and smile after a moment. What a cute newt thing!

"Hey Glory. Shouldn't we be dropping off some of your pokemon at the center for your rotomi boxes?," Hop asked

Gloria nodded before looking at him. "Hey. Doesn't your grandpa have a purrloin?"

"Yeah he sure does."

"Think he'll let me take a picture of it?"

"I don't see why not! C'mon!"

"Wait! What about lunch?!," Gloria's mother called after the two already running out the door. She stood there for a few moments, before sighing and shaking her head. "I swear! If those two were pokemon they'd be rapidashes for how fast they head off to things."

You chuckled at her. The rest of the day went by very quickly. You had ended up helping Mrs. G clean up after she had started cooking and she gave you some curry as a thanks. You never had this kind of dish before. It was some rice with some kind of red sauce with the same spice smell from earlier, but neither of you were complaining as you ate. It was actually pretty good. Nice to have a peaceful meal considering the past couple days with how chaotic they were. Although you did have to keep your sobble from trying to grab food from your plate and to appease it you fed it a few peices of pokemon food after Mrs. G offered. Gloria didn't return until later that evening where you assumed she had dropped off some of her pokemon with Hop. The camera secured around her neck by a strap and her hands was one of the journals you noticed she had purchased. So you asked about it and her face lit up and she showed the both of you the eighteen pictures she had taken. Some of them you had recognized. Gloria's scorbunny. You and your sobble. Mrs. G's two pokemon of course, and a couple of Hop's. Including a yamper like Sonia's. What you didn't recognize was a few new ones which she gladly told you the names of them. But the most surprising one was her phone but it looked as if it was posessed by a rotom. When asked Gloria explained that it was perfectly normal for someone to have a rotom phone with their very own rotom. She probably assumed you didn't have any of that back in 'Kanto'. Time flew by and other than Mrs. G scolding Gloria for snapping a picture of the curry she had saved her for dinner, it was pretty easy for you to follow your routine before once again falling asleep on the couch and dozing off for the night. Until the very next day of course. You were just laying there peacefully snoozing away peacefully until you felt a harsh shake on your shoulder and a light was shown on you. Of course you being asleep ignored it in favor of turning over on the couch and curling into the blanket even more. Again a harsher shake made you groan in protest at whoever was trying to kidnap you from slumberland.

"Y/N!!" A young girl's voice shouted fairly close and loud next to your ear. Startling you awake with a snort, sitting right up and blinking and rubbing your eyes at the harsh light that extended on you. "Time to wake up or we'll miss the train to Motostoke!"

"Uuuuuhhh," you groaned peeking your eyes open and blinking groggily up at the form of Gloria smiling at you. You yawned a bit. "Gloria? Wha-....*yaawwn* What time is it?"

"Six o four in the morning!," she stated happily before leaning back up and it took you a moment to figure out it was still dark in the early hours of the morning and the light was coming from the light bulb above you. "You need to hurry up and get ready before we're late! I still need to pick up my Dynamax band from the Professor too!"

"M' up," you mumbled reaching a hand out to slowly toss off the blanket from your form as Gloria backed away.

She turned as you both heard her mother's tired voice call to her, asking what was up. What you needed to wake you up was a nice hot shower so that's exactly what you did. Dragging yourself out of bed, you trudged into the bathroom and took a deserving hot shower, brushing your teeth, and opting to instead of the overalls lent to you by Mrs. G wore the black shirt with the Eevee print, slacks, and the non rubber shoes you also picked up. By the time you came out, with everything else in the gray plaid bulking back pack of yours, the smell of food was already in the air and it didn't take you too long to find out why when you look over and saw Gloria holding what could've only been described as a plain waffle in one hand obviously in the middle of eating it, and going through her big brown back pack with the other as her mother looked at her.

"Uh huh. And are you sure you got plenty of clothes?," Mrs. G asked raising a brow, "Extra pokeballs? Your region map? How about the revives Leon was nice enough to get you?"

"Yes Ma!," the teen mumbled half way through eating, "I already went through this last night!"

"Well it never hurts to double check! Especially since you can't lose that endorsement letter or else they won't let you register for the challenge at all," she looked up and noticed you before smiling, "Ah! Y/n! Good morning, Dear. I hope you slept well."

You nodded shifting the backpack over your shoulders, "Yeah thanks! ......Hey. Where's that sobble?" You rose a brow while looking on the floor. Strange the little guy wasn't around.

"He was hungry so I gave him some food to tide him over for you. And speaking of which you must be hungry. I'll get you some breakfast. You aren't starting off your trip on an empty stomach."

"But Mom! That's gonna take even longer! Hop's already waiting for me! We still need to grab the dynamax bands before we go and we'll miss the train if we wait-"

"How about you guys go get the..bands and I'll *yaaawwn* meet you at the train station?," you suggested. You weren't really in the mood for any arguing in the morning, and to be honest you were hungry and the idea of starting a long trip on an empty stomach just didn't appeal to you.

You were lightly surprised when Gloria agreed to it and after a few more moments of going through her pack, left with Hop you assumed, as her mother kindly handed you over some food. More waffles but you weren't complaining. Your sobble at some point noticed you were awake and soon enough you felt that familiar feeling of the little guy crawling up your clothes only to plop itself into your shoulders. It really liked being carried around didn't it? Your muddled mind didn't know when but sometime after you finished the pancakes you were out the door bag in your hands, one hand holding it and the other digging through it to make sure all the few belongings you did own for now were secured. Sure enough you found the non perishable food Leon had given you, the few clothes, and of course your Sobble's pokeball tucked somewhere in the bottom of it all. You decided to keep your sobble out for the time being as it seemed to enjoy being out. The early morning light was starting to peek through with the light pinks and yellows of the sunrise. Already as you made your way to the train station, you saw the farmers and their wooloos out in the fields. Early to bed early to rise you guessed. You saw no sign of the teens, guessed they were still getting the dynamax bands from the professor, even as you walked right into the train station. So you did the only thing your tired self could do. You once again plopped yourself into one of the seats tiredly and waited for the two to arrive. It couldn't have been that long(or maybe it was but you didn't notice) but you perked up at a familiar voice.

"So out with it, Glor! How many did you catch again?"

"I already told you eight! You saw me take pictures of them yesterday remember?"

"Oh right! Sorry that's just the sleep talkin'. " You turned to the door as the young voices got louder. "But look at how many you caught! You're well on your way to building a fine team! I caught myself a special one not to brag."

" I KNOOOWWW!! I'm so jealous you caught a shiny before me!" Gloria walked right into the train station with Hop right behind her.

He shrugged with a proud smile. "Well what can I say? I'll make a difficult rival."

"Where are we heading again?"

"The Gym Challenge will begin Motostoke and our train's waiting so let's go-" He paused finally looking away from her and seeing you sitting there. Upon catching his eye you smiled and waved mumbling something like 'Good Morning'. And he smiled. "Hey! Y/n you're here!" You stood up to meet them with a light yawn as they approuched. "I thought you'd be on the train already.''

You chose not to mention you haven't gotten any money to pay for the ticket entrance and waved. "Nah. I said I'd wait for you guys at the station and I wanted to keep my promise." Looking to Gloria you noticed something around her neck, so you pointed and asked. "Hey. Isn't that your brother's camera?"

"Hm?" She blinked and looked to the camera around her neck. "Oh yeah! I'm gonna need it if I'm gonna finish this Dex Challenge too!"

Hop groaned and rolled his eyes. "I still think it's a waste of time but I guess it's your choice." He jabbed a thumb to the awaiting train. "It's nearly seven thirty. We should probably get on before it takes off." He suggested and the two of you agreed. Walking towards the small gate-

"Not so fast you three!," an older but familiar lady's voice cut through the air and the three of you all turned around as a result.

Hop's golden eyes widened. "Wha-? What're you doing here, Mum?" He asked turning around just as the two mothers of the children walked right in. You were confused at first two, before seeing what they were holding in their hands and you immediately understood why they had followed you here.

"I knew this day was coming since the moment you chose Grookey as a partner, Darling," the older woman smiled fondly at him, a smile you remember your own mother used to have way back when. She held up the small rolled up thing in her hands. "You took off so fast you two didn't take any sleeping bags. Did you forget you probably won't be able to afford hotels most of the time or won't be able to sleep in one every night? You can't expect a free bed around every corner."

Both looked immediatey sheepish as Mrs. G spoke. "Professor Magnolia was kind enough call and let us know that you three would be setting out now." She held up a small looking back of her own. "So here. A little last gift to see you well set on your way. All the kit you'll need for camping! And the reason why you should always double check BEFORE you take off." Gloria made a face and looked away before her mother made her take the small kit, which consisted of a small compact tent  you could carry over your shoulder and another sleeping bag, before crossing her arms with a frown. "Honestly! I swear you'd lose your head if it wasn't attached to your neck sometimes."

"HEY! I only forgot this one thing," she protested and her mother hummed.

" Ah yes. Like you forgot to tell me about how the two of you snuck off into the Slumbering Weild." In an instant she froze and you could've sworn a little color drained from Gloria's face in that moment. "And yes, I heard the news from young Leon. I'm glad someone bothered to tell me!" She sighed and her other hand was held out to you. "Here we are! A bit of pocket money for your journey. Buy yourself a little something at the pokemon center. Maybe some potions or something!"

You stopped and blinked at the small twenty bill in her hand before shaking your head. "Oh no! I couldn't possibly take your money! I-"

"Happened to save my child from a dumb idea. It's not much but something tells me you could use it anyways."

Well......It wouldn't hurt to have some money on you in case of emergencies even if it wasn't much. So you reluctantly took it from her. "I....Thank you."

She nodded to you before turning to Gloria and pointing a finger at her with a serious look. "Now. Remember that Scorbunny will battle to the very end for you so don't you go pushing the poor dear too hard! Come home to rest anytime that you need. After all east or west, home is best." She smiled. "No matter what happensout there, if you and your partner are together I know you'll be fine. Take my advice to heart Sweetie. As long as you have your pokemon at your side and the energy to carry onwards, you'll naturally find that you always have a smile on your face."

Gloria stood there for a moment before nodding to her mother and you blinked when she all of a sudden hugged the older woman, seemingly startling her too for a moment before she smiled and hugged the child back tightly like any mother would....Well except maybe yours. She was always seeming to be too busy working or making sure you worked hard to get good grades or worked hard enough to help out with the bills with your after school jobs. You didn't notice the frown come over your face as Hop mimicked his friend in giving his own mother a hug who like the other mother mirrored a smile and hugged back patting his head.

"Remember. No matter what happens out there, if you and your partner are together, I know you'll be fine."

Hop smiling pulled away and gave a big grin. "Thanks Mum! And just think of how lucky you are!" He raised a determined fist. "Mother to the first ever pair of Champion Brothers! Because I'm certain to be the Champion next! You'll see!"

She nodded in agreement but her face was amused. "Of course you will, Darling. Anyway, do have fun and take care of yourselves. And don't be too worried about not winning. You're welcome back home anytime."

Home huh- A loud train horn sounded off startling the five of you into turning to the train, then you happened to glance at the clock hanging upon the wall and noticed that it was seven twenty eight in the morning. Two minutes before seven thirty and the deadline for the train's departure. So you decided to point this out, having the two kids make a worried frown before taking a few steps back.

"We'll be off now!," Gloria explained lifting her hand a moment to give a quick good bye to the two mothers and turning to the train. "C'mon guys! We're off! Don't want to miss the train!"

You nodded in agreement tailing right after her with Hop behind you. "Wish us luck! Not that we'll need it!"

As the mothers waved good bye, the three of you went towards the gate and watched as Gloria slipped a single dollar into the slot of it. It made a ping noise and you guess it unlocked because the three of you easily slipped by and towards the train. The grey and yellow train's doors slid open with a whoosh sound as the three of you entered just as another horn sounded off startling your sobble a bit making it cling to your shoulder harder. Inside was who you assumed to be a train conductor who gestured for you all to exit through another door to the right which lead to the passenger cars and other people who happened to be on the train with you three. There was about fifthteen other people with you so the three of you had to go to one of the back seats. Yellow painted metal bars were everywhere along with Blue seats with a table between the two of them. Above each pair of seats was a small area to put luggage. You three sat down just as the train was starting off. Gloria breathing a sigh of relief from all the weight she was carrying. You assumed she was carrying more than you already along with the camping equipment she was given just a few moments ago. You ended up looking out the window and watching the station and small town of Postwick move away from your view and starting on your way. Beside you Gloria sighed and slumped into the soft cushioned seat.

"Man. We just left and I'm already feeling beat."

"Well look on the bright side," Hop suggested, "We're finally heading out on our journies! And Lee told me Motostoke is a good place as any to start off an adventure."

"Oh really? How come?," you asked curiously as he explained.

"Well besides the obvious Opening Ceremony going on there. Motostoke is surrounded by a giant piece of land called the Wild Area. It's a real sight! There's all sorts of wild Pokemon juat wondering about everywhere you look! Plus you can camp out, do a spot of fishing, and sight seeing! I don't think I could ever get tired of it!," he explained smiling widely, "But I don't think we'll be able to see it. The Entrance Ceremony's in the town not the wild. But on a lighter not! There's loads of brilliant trainers and all kinds of pokemon out there waiting for us! My excitement's running ahead of me faster than this train can go!"

"Yeah? Well it's too bad. Would've loved to take a couple more pictures." Gloria sighed leaning more against the wall of the train. " Im already starting to understand why Victor likes it so much. Like I wouldn't make it a living like he wants to but it's a nice hobby."

You nodded agreeing with her and extended your arm to allow your sobble to crawl along your arm and onto the table, watching as it curiously crawled up to the window and looked out at the world passing by. You all sat there for who knows how long chatting, the kids pulled out their phones and showed you a few pictures of what looked almost like a castle's high walls and beautiful scenery surrounding it. It was quite lovely. At one point someone said it would take at least a few hours to get to the town so all of you had plenty of time to relax but you couldn't help but let your mind wonder. What was happening back at your home? Was your mother worried about you suddenly going missing? What happened when she went to wake you up but found you completely gone? Did she call the police to file a missing person's report yet? Counting today it would've been five days that you had disappeared and that must've been worrying. And if this happened to just be a crazy dream you surely hoped you would wake up sometime soon. You were soon snapped out of any bad thoughts though. How? Simple the train suddenly slowed down out of no where it caught you off guard and you ended up hitting the table in front of you your poor Sobble chirping in shock as it was sent tumbling across said table and into Hop's extended arms as he thankfully caught the poor thing before it could splat onto the floor below. What the world was that!? Your head turned as Gloria nudged your side. you gave her a questioning look about to ask if she was alright but she pointed out the window and you looked. There was.....Nothing but nature?? Which wouldn't be strange since it was the out doors, and you WOULD have chalked it up to just being another stop on the way to Motostoke but then why did the train suddenly stop like that? Granted you never rode on a train before but you were pretty sure they weren't supposed to stop suddenly enough to ram yourself into a table. One of your hands rubbed your sore ribs where they had hit the table, surely leaving a bruise later but no real damaged luckily. So why had you all suddenly stopped in the middle of seemingly no where? Around you other people were also noticing, muttering to themselves, some getting up to peer out the windows or to take a couple steps up the alley way as to walk up to the engine car.

"Attention Passengers!," a man's voice blared from a loud speaker somewhere, "Due to some unfortunate events beyond our control we have decided to take a quick stop at Wild Station. We apologize for any inconvience and to please wait patiently while we fix the issue. We thank you for your cooperation."

"Wha- Wild Station? That's just outside the the town!," Hop exclaimed holding your sobble in one arm while staring at a map on his phone with the other. Confusion on his face. "Why didn't they just stop inside the city?"

"Let's find out!" Gathering her things into her arms Gloria was quick to jump past you.

"WHA- Hey wait!," you called out extending an arm out to her as she darted up the car past other people.

You stared after her for a few seconds before turning to Hop who shrugged and got up to after her which you followed obviously. The two of you hurried after her as Gloria trotted up to the exit and with a whoosh the doors opened with her stepping out and the two of you followed. On the other side was another train station. Only this one had slightly different colored brick walls and there was a whole bunch of leaves and twigs scattered about. Besides the three of you there was a couple looking over a map in one corner of the station looking confused and lost, a map just sitting in the waiting chairs, and someone who looked to be in some kind of uniformed green vest.

You gave a confused look around. "Where the heck are we?"

"Ill check!'' Before you could respond Hop had already turned to the man in the vest and asked, "Hey, Mr. Station Master!" The man hummed and turned to him. "Isnt this the Wild Area? What're we stopped here for?"

The man sighed crossing his arms. "Yes....This is the Wild Area Station makes no mistakes. I'm sorry to tell you that the train is halted due to a flock of wooloo."

"WHAT?!," both you and Gloria said at the same time.

A giant herd of wooloo!? Oh great! Now what were you all supposed to do?

Hop however wasn't the least bit concered. "What's there to be sorry about? This is brilliant!"

Gloria gave him a look that looked like he just did something crazy. "What is?"

He excitedly smiled widely at her. "This Wild Area is massive!" He explained the sobble in his arms giving a noise of annoyance at his sudden movements. "There are loads of pokemon to battle here! You don't get it do you, Glor? This is the best possible place to put together the greatest team!"

"I don't think we should be taking off, "Gloria pointed out and you nodded agreeing. "We have to get to the ENtrance Ceremony soon or else we'll be considered forfeiting our sponsorships entirely!"

"They take it that seriously?," you asked lightly surprised as she nodded.

"Something about a long time ago a lot of trainers tried to sneak their way into the challenge by claiming they were late to register or something like that. Since then the rules have been pretty strict. Which is why I want to register first and then come back here if I have a chance."

"When is the deadline?"

"Midnight. And as much as I'd love to explore around...Im kinda nervous about securing that spot."

You could totally agree with her on that point Buuut- You pointed behind you. "But the train's going to be backed up for a while by the looks of it. Maybe we can walk? How fair is this Motostoke?''

"Let's step out and see. The map said it shouldn't have been too far away I think."

That wasn't a bad idea and with no objections the three of you stepped out and what you saw made you pause. As soon as you stepped out you were hit with the strong rays of sunlight making you blink but once your (f/c) eyes managed to get a hold of themelves...Well....Breathtaking was a pretty good way to describe it. A giant meadow stretched as much as you could see with a giant lake, a few scattered trees, and A GIANT WALL! A giant wall was set up with a few bridge like structures to the right and you could see a few very tall buildings/structures ahead. You saw what you thought was oil rigs movie, a giant clock which reminded you of Big Ben back in your world, a few sky scrapers, and a few other things you were too far away to make out. Over all it was a very strange but pretty sight as the wind blew through the trees.

"Look at that!," Hop said in awe pointing at the buildings which must've been a decent half mile away. "That's Motostoke way off that way! And between here and there are countless new pokemon waiting to be met!"

Gloria hummed. ".......Well it would be cool to explore somewhere we won't get in trouble I guess."

"EXACTLY!!" He pointed towards the meadow. "Im itching to just see what's out there. It's not too far away and we can probably spare a couple hours. I mean we have until Midnight right? And we left pretty early in the morning."

She hummed again. "Well when you put it that way it does sound like fun!" A smile crossed her face again. "I can take a whole bunch of pictures for my scrapebook! And catch a few more pokemon of course."

You weren't sure that was a good idea- "Well well. You two running off again?"

The three of you turned- You blinked surprised. "Sonia?," you asked. True to your word the orangedhaired professor's assistant was walking right towards the three of you with a smile. "What are you doing here? I don't remember seeing you get on the train."

"Of course you didn't. I didn't enter the train through the station right side of the station," she smiled. "Besides. I figured it'd be an opportune time for me to travel for my research." Sonia gave a sigh and looked to the ground shaking her head. "My grab gave me a proper earful in her own way.  'Those two young trainers are setting out on a journey, but what are you doing with your life?' Her words not mine."

"Ouch Professor," you commented, "That sounds rough."  You didn't mean to be so blunt but you kinda understood how she felt. Your mother had asked you similar things to that while simaltaniously pushing you to study more, go to college, and get a job-

Sonia waved you off. "Ah. Never mind that. Nothing to worry yourselves over. " Her eyes lowered back to the teens next to you. "Besides I've been more curious about that pokemon you two met in the forest. I'd been thinking I should look into it so the timing works out fine! If I discover something really huge then maybe even Gran'll admit I got some talent."

Pokemon- OH RIGHT!! You nearly forgot the legendary pokemon they saw in the fog. Although you were still unsure what it was exactly. A thought suddenly struck you. In the game Sonia would uncover some amazing things important to the plot of the game. If ONLY you could remember what it was!

"Yikes." Hop made a cringe face. "Being an adult got it's own challenges eh?"

You frowned and gave a chuckle and shake of your head which made him look at you. "Oh you have NO idea."

"I said you needn't worry about it," Sonia stated a little more firmly. "I'm glad to be on the road really! It's been ages. It'll be great fun to fish and camp and rough it outside again."

"Uh huh. Well you have fun with that! Meanwhile.." He turned with a smile. "I heard there's natural dynamaxing pokemon in the Wild Area! I'm off to go stick my head in as many of those red dens as I can find!"

"Not. So. FAST! Mr. Impatient!" He yelped when gloria grabbed him by the hoodie and with the same frown as her mother stared at him when she yanked him back. "We only got here and you want to run off again into the wild??"

"Oh c'mon Glory. I promise Ill meet you up back at the Entrance Ceremony."

The young girl hummed. ".....What time is it by the way?"

"Oh." You glanced to sonia as she rolled up her sleeve and glanced at her watch. "According to this it just turned Eleven thirty in the morning."

She hummed and slowly released her friend. "Fine. But let's agree to meet at the Entrance Ceremony at six or seven in the after noon. That should be enough time for the both of us to explore and get to the town before it gets dark." She gave a concerned frown. "I really don't want you hurt or lost."

Hop paused for a moment before looking away coughing his cheeks having a light pink hue. "Um....YEAH! I can totally do that!"

Her smile returned. "Then it's settled! Can't lose my rival before I even join the challenge."

"GREAT!!" He turned again. "I'm going to battle the snot out of a bunch of dynamax pokemon and fill in the tale of my legend!" And he ran off.

"DONT YOU DARE FORGET HOP!!," Gloria hollered after him.

Both you and Sonia shared a chuckle at their childish behavior before she looked at you. What cheek. Dynamax pokemon are really on another level you know." She glanced to Gloria. "You'd better dynamax your partner pokemon too if you want to take on opponents that strong." She directed Gloria to the wild. "He's right about red dens. You'll find spots here and there in the Wild Area that emit a red beam of light. If you think you're up to it, check it out. They're usually cave openings with dynamax pokemon inside. But PLEASE be careful. It can be dangerous at times. I wish Hop would've waited for me to warn him before he ran off like that."

Gloria nodded in understanding as you looked down to your sobble climbing up your leg. Hop must've put him down when you weren't looking. "I understand Sonia! You don't have to worry about me!"

Sonia nodded to the two of you. "So with that Ill leave you two off here. The Wild Area is waiting for you. This is the start of your real adventure. Take care now."

You watched as she turned to walk away and....you weren't sure what really compelled you to say it in that moment but you reached your arm out after her. "Ms. Sonia!" She stopped and turned to you with a hum. You paused uncertainly if you should say anything. Would it affect the progress of the game's route? "I just....wanted to let you know that....You really are a great scientist already. And you're going to find a lot of things."

She blinked at you in surprise for a moment not sure what to make of your words, but settled on a smile and nodded. "Thanks. Your kind words mean a lot but we'll have to see what I actually accomplish. I wish you the best sights and experiences of Galar a tourist like you can have!" Before she turned and walked her way towards you assumed Motostoke.

"Wow." You jumped and looked to Gloria who smiled. "That was really nice of you. Even if it was a little out of no where."

You shrugged. "I guess I know how she feels a little bit. Sometimes a few kind words is what someone needs."

"Lee always says something similar, but I think he calls it 'champion encouragment'." She suddenly snapped her head forward and pointed. "Well you heard Sonia! I want to try out my first dynamaxing battle before I take on any gyms! We got about seven to eight hours to get some battling and sight seeing in so I say we give this day all we got!"

-time skip five hours forward-

You lost track of how many times Gloria pulled you along this way and that....but it was an eventful few hours.

You lost count of how many pokemon Gloria tried to battle. Key word being 'tired'. The first pokemon she tried to battle was one you remembered. An Onix. A. GIANT. MASSIVE!! AND CRANKY!! ONIX!! Probably didn't help Gloria snapped a picture of it before trying to battle it. You had to literally grab her and drag her behind you as you ran. Terrified scorbunny at your heels as it charged towards the two of you. Not the greatest start to be honest. But it wasn't as worst as her first dynamax battle. She had found an opening in the cliffside of a cave with red aura around in, one of the dynamax dens and she ran into it without a second thought with you chasing after her. Inside the dark was lit up by a GIGANTIC DIGLETT with the red-black cloud hovering over it's dynamax form. You nearly fainted then and there but when the thing ROARED you felt like you were about to have  a heart attack!!! Your sobble poor thing made a small squeal of fright before forcing itself into your backpack to hide immediately. Things just went downhill from there when in the middle of the battle Gloria decided to dynamax scorbunny and all of a sudden you both were having a very hard time standing up from the shaking ground and the debry the attacks caused to the point you literally yelled that you both had to leave then and there but she couldn't hear you past all the noise and therefore barked orders to her gigantic scorbunny from her holding onto the ground. With you clinging onto the cave's wall for dear life hoping it would be over soon. Thankfully it did. It was all a blur really. You vaugly remembered Gloria somehow capturing the diglett and returning scorbunny to it's rightful size. And you two carefully climbed around disheveled cave floor until managing to get out of the cave....where the both of you collasped onto the ground.

"HOW THE HECK CAN STADIUMS HANDLE THOSE THINGS!?,'' you yelled out dizzily into the soft grass. In the game you didn't have to worry about debry being flung at you or the ground giving away suddenly. BECAUSE IT WAS A GAME!! REAL LIFE POKEMON DYNAMAX BATTLES WERE NOTHING LIKE THE GAME!!

Gloria raised a weak hand. "T-They were made a long time ago with top professors, contractors, and researchers to build them strong enough even a dynamaxed monchomp with the strength of a thousand earthquakes couldn't shake it. Dunno how but man I'm glad they did."

You could 100% agree with that! It took a minute for the both of you to recover before the two of you got up, dusted yourselves off, and went off again. Gloria managed to resume battling and taking photos of a few pokemon. Although some of the pictures were so blurry from the pokemon moving they would be no use at all and she didn't catch a lot of the pokemon she tried to battle. But she did win a few and even had two other dynamax battles within the dens you guessed Hop didn't come across. Catching one of them but not the other as you struggled to not lose your lunch or have a heart attack both times. You were not a fan of wild dynamax battles after that. At one point you even came across what Gloria explained was a wild berry tree and demonstrated how to get the fruits off them by forcibly shaking it until a couple berries fell off it. They all had a somewhat bittertaste you didn't like when you tried them tho, but your sobble seemed to enjoy up as you handed them right over when they extended their....hands?? Paws??...towards it. You couldn't remember how much time had passed before the two of you finally had a chance to sit down under the shade of a tree and have a break. Gloria took the time to go through all the pictures she took, must've been about thirty, but only twenty one were salvagable. Curious you took a peak at the pictures she showed you. The pokemon she got pictures of were a onix(of course angering it-), roselia, vespiquen, nuzleaf, vulpix, snover, bunnelby, pidove, miccino, baltou, combee, tryogue, stuffel, diglett(how did she have time to get a picture of that dynamax thing?), metapod, diggersby, hoothoot, bounsweet, noibat, and a pancham. Not a lot but certainly a decent haul for her. It was you who eventually asked the question-

"Hey. What time is it?"

Gloria responded by quickly pulling out her phone and checking the time on it. And she blinked. "It's four twenty seven! It's already been about five and a half hours!"

"Wha-" You looked up to the sky. Didn't look like sunset yet, but it was definately about late after noon. You two hadn't even noticed the time fly by. "We've been out here nearly all day!"

With a hum gloria quickly scrambled to pick up her things. "I think we better head to Motostoke now. I don't really know how long it'll take to walk there and I did promise Hop we'd meet him there."

You nodded scooping the confused sobble into your arms. The walk there was pretty uneventful as you two walked what must've been half a mile, your eyes widening the closer you got, until you finally got there......AND. IT. WAS. NOTHING. LIKE IN GAME!! The entrance to Motostoke was all bricked with a mideival ages meets industrial period kind of look. All the buildings you could see were brick other than the familiar pink pokemon center and there was A LOT MORE people and buildings than in game you remember....makes sense you supposed. This was a real world and so of course there would be a lot more people and buildings. It was so crowded you were certain if Gloria wasn't walking beside you, you were sure you would've easily watched her. The first place you two stopped was the pokemon center where Gloria went inside to heal her pokemon from todays battle and put away any new ones she caught into those Rotomi box things. You were busy marveling at the busy streets and environment around you. You had never been in a city before let alone a town like this so it was quite a shock for you to see. This place even had GIANT WORKING GEARS BUILT INTO IT'S VERY WALLS!! It was like a real steampunk town. But once she came out she.....stopped and stared around her.

"So which way to the ceremony?," you asked her gazing at a few stores lined across the street.

She looked really unsure now fidgiting with the straps of her bag and looking around her. "U-Um...I don't know."

You snapped your head to her. "You don't what?!"

"Im sorry!" She apologized looking around. "I know it's here! I just.....don't know exactly where in town."

You wanted to facepalm but decided not too to avoid hurting her feelings and looked around as well as people and their pokemon passed you two. No signs of Hop or any indication of a ceremony anywhere in sight. No other trainers, no signs, certainly no ceremony!

Gloria suddenly held up her phone. "Maybe I should call him? He might already be there waiting for us-"

"HEY YOU TWO!!" A familiar voice called out and to both of your relief you turned and walking towards you with a shopping bag in one hand, yamper at her feet was your saving grace Sonia waving at you. "Over here!"

"SONIA!" Gloria smiled. "Boy are we glad to see you! We ran into a 'Leon situation' here."

That made her laughed. "Oh really? Real ace of you to make it through the Wild Area. And a Leon situation huh?"

Gloria nodded sighing. "We're kinda lost. Do you know where the ceremony is?"

"You're first time in a city and already lost? But Motostoke is big right?" Gloria nodded and Sonia smiled. "Not to worry. Sonia is here to show you around a bit."

"Thanks, Ms. Sonia." Gloria poltely smiled at the older woman. "Could you point out where we gotta go?"

Sonia hummed. "The Entrance ceremony huh? I get a bit worked up when I think how exciting and moving it was to actually stand on a stadium's pitch for the first time." Sonia smiled off thinking of an old memory most likely. She shook her head. "Anyways. Brilliant young trainer who braved the Wild Area! Do you remember what your goal in Motostoke is?"

"I'm here for the Gym Challenge!,"Gloria shouted determined smile on her face and Sonia nodded.

She nodded. "Yep! The Gym Challenge Opening Ceremony!" She pointed behind her at the busy street. You Guess since she once too here attending the Gym challenge with leon as kids she would know where it would be. "Use that lift over there to get to it K? OH! By the way the ceremony tomorrow is being held at the Motostoke Stadium ok?"

......You looked at Gloria. "There's a stadium here AND a second ceremony tomorrow??" Gloria shrugged at you.

"Well, laters!" She waved a hand at you two. "I'm going to swing by the shops while I'm here but don't forget to register at the Stadium,k?" Gloria nodded and Sonia went to tur- She stopped. "OH! I forgot. I got you a little something." Reaching into her coat pocket and fishing around, she pulled out what looked like at first glance some kind of training card before holding it out to Gloria who curiously accepted it...And her eyes WIDENED at it.

"NO!! WAY!!" She stared wide eyed between the card and Sonia. "Is this what I think it is!?"

She giggled. "Yep. I know Leon already sent myself and Hop a couple so I figured it would be the perfect start off to your own collection."

Gloria gave off a girly teen squeal and practically shoved it into your face making you blink. "OH MY MAGIKARP!! LOOK!! I GOT A LEAGUE CARD!!" You blinked and true to her word it was a card. And on it was a picture of Leon sitting down looking off somewhere. She smiled widely pulling it from your face. "Thanks so much So-...." She blinked. "Hey where'd she go?"

You shrugged. "I guess she left. Come on. We better get going."

She nodded ad the two of you made off for this lift at the end of the street. Along the way you guys passed a few stores. A flower shop, a cafe, a book store, a record shop, a barber shop, and another clothes shop. Once you two were at and on the lift....you became unsure again.

"Um. Now what?"

"I dunno..." Something caught her eye as she looked over and pointed. "hey what's that?"

"What's what?"

"This panel has a button." She pressed it.

"AH!!" You instantly fell to your bottom and Gloria grabbed onto the small pedestol as the lift suddenly lifted the two of you up and around, until it suddenly stopped again and you groaned. Pushing yourself up...and hearing a snicker. You shot a look to the teenager who was snickering behind her hand. "Nice to see you're still standing." You muttered pushing yourself up to your feet again and looking over, in front of the both of you was a giant building with glass doors, in front of the doors was two men in some kind of uniform and sunglasses like some bodyguard and some man with.....A Pokeball head?? Was waving to a few people passing by. A mascot maybe??.....You pointed at the building. "You think that's it or what?"

She went to answer but someone already beat here to it. "Gloria! Ms. Y/n!" Both of you looked over and Hop was making his way towards the two of you. "You made it too? "

You rubbed your aching back. "Yeah. Where are we?"

"Motostoke Stadium! This is where the Opening Ceremony will be held!" He exclaimed excitedly pointing to the large building behind him. "Everyone'll be watching the Opening Ceremony for the Gym Challenge! My mom, your mom, the whole world!! It's getting me a bit nervous really." He shook his head. "Naw. This isn't nerves. I'm only trembling because I'm so excited!"

"Well I say we go it and get registered before it gets too dark," Gloria suggested.

"You're right!" He turned back to the stadium still pointing. "Come on, Glory! It's time the world knows our names!"

As the three of you rolled up to the doors one of the two men standing in front of the door held one of their hands out in a clear stop motion in front of you trio.

"Can I see your sponsorship letters please?," He asked holding out his hand and Hop didn't hesitate to pull his out of his pocket and have the letter over to the man in the meantime Gloria had slung her backpack off her shoulders and went digging through it. You hoped she didn't forget it all the way back in Postwick. The security guard carefully examined the peice of paper in his hands. Running a hand across the red unbroken seal, holding it up to the light, and then taking a small device out of his pocket. A small green light came out and scanned it for a few seconds until there was a small ding from the machine and the man nodded before handing it back to him. "Head on inside and sign in Trainer. Next!" Saying a quick thanks Hop quickly snatched the letter back just as Gloria pulled out her own (thank goodness she still had it) and handed it to the man who repeated the same process from before before he too handed Gloria back hers and allowed her to go. But when you made a move to follow them he held another hand up. "Sorry, Ma'am. Only registered trainers, staff, and authorized personal are allowed inside. You'll have to wait out here. It's the rules."

You paused for a moment before looking at Gloria uncertain who smiled. "It's alright Y,n. Just wait for us out here ok? It shouldn't take too long. I mean we're just signing in!"

"Well...Alright if you say so." You gestured to a nearby bench. "I'll just wait for you two over there ok?"

They agreed and left you standing outside the stadium as they went inside. Not that you minded waiting of course. Your feet ached and your shoulders from carrying around your backpack all day, so plopping on the bench you gave your sore body a rest before slinging your pack off your shoulders. Your sobble had decided now would be a good time to fully crawl out of your pack from where its been hiding out this whole time and you let it climb on you when you placed your bag down with a sigh and leaned into the bench. FINALLY allowing yourself to rest for a while. You waited for a little while as people passed you, going up and down the lift and and streets as the body guards still stood there making sure no one entered without permission. A few teens Hop's age excited uncluding one boy with bright white fluffy hair and a long pink coat and you thought he looked rather grumpy. At one point you thought you heard a happy yell from somewhere but ignored it as it was probably a child playing somewhere. The sky slowly turning to a light pink as it got later in the day. Eventually the two did come back out but with what looked like white work out bands on their wrist that didn't have the dynamax bands on them. You waved at them as they walked right on over to you.....and with a second boy??

"Hey you two. Who do you got there?,' you asked gesturing to the boy on the other side of Gloria.

To which she smiled brightly and hugged him making you raise a brow. "Don't you recognize twins when you see them! IT'S VICTOR!!"

You stared at the young boy smiling at you. ........THIS WAS VICTOR!! The name of the male avator that you could pick in the game if you didn't chose Gloria to play instead. Looking at the young boy he still looked the same age as Gloria and Hop next to him even if he was a little taller than his twin. How did you not recognize it sooner? He had the same dark brown hair and light brown eyes as his sister and if they had the same haircut they would've looked the exact same (other than Victor's slightly taller hieght). He wore a grey beanie like hat, a red shirt with some logo on it, jeans, brown shoes, and carried what might as well been a giant suit case on his back. And a poloroid camera was slung in a similar fashion around his neck as he smiled at you. Gloria seemed very happy to see him as she excitedly gestured to him.

"Can you believe it!? After a whole year the mysterious photographer finally appeared after disappearing without a trace," she teased making her twin roll his eyes.

"It's nice to know you haven't changed. I wanted to surprise you after the text you sent me telling me Lee sponsored you but I didn't expect you to show up with more people." He turned back to you with a smile. "Greetings! You must be the new friend Gloria told me about. Thanks for saving her sorry butt from the Slumbering Weild. I always knew she'd get into trouble sooner or later without me."

"HEY!" A frown came over her face as she pouted. "I don't get into THAT much trouble! Besides I got here without a problem didn't I?"

He chose to ignore that and you took the chance to talk. "Nice to meet you too. Are you here for the Gym Challenge?"

He shrugged. "Yes and no. I'm here to take pictures of the events as they happen. It's been years since the last Gym Challenge and certainly going to be a long time until the next one after this year is over. But I'm not competing. Never had much interest in battles."

You could understand that. You never had much interest doing a couple things too.

"Y'know Lee had a sponsorship and starter pokemon all ready for you too." Gloria almost looked sad. ''You could've competed alongside us even if you didn't want to battle it would've been fun to have you around."

"Glory, then a Champion's sponsorship would've been wasted. It wouldn't be put to it's full potential. Although I am a bit upset I didn't have the chance to tell Leon myself, but I'm sure I'll be able to thank him later considering you'll be seeing more of me around here soon."

She gave her brother a confused look. "Whatcha mean?"

"I've decided to join Hop on this little adventure If he doesn't mind."

"Really!? That's awesome! Of course!" Hop was quick to agree with a friendly punch to Victor's shoulder. "Why wouldn't I want one of my greatest pals joining me while I write my legend? It'll be grand to have a traveling buddy of my own!"

"NO WAY!!" Gloria's large smile returned! "Oh this is great! We'll be able to see each other for a while more. I haven't been able to see you since you went on a journey last year so this is totally a win win for me in everyway!"

You nodded. "Oh. How'd the registry go?"

She waved a hand. "Oh y'know. We got our Challenger Bands we're apparently supposed to wear all the time so everyone knows we're a part of the registered trainers group. Our own League cards for the challenge. And we got to meet some of the rival trainers in there too! I liked the Sherry girl. She seemed really shy."

"I heard she was sponsored by the Gym Leader Milo but I can't be too sure," Victor replied before looking up at the sky. ".....But in any case I believe we should all head to Budew Drop Inn before the actual ceremony tomorrow." He turned to Gloria. "That way I can show you all the new pictures of pokemon I've gotten. You can use them for that dex challenge thing you told me about."

They turned and you nodded in agreement standing up and grabbing your bag, your sobble grabbing onto your bag as your hoisted it back over your shoulders and followed them guessing they must've known the way.

"By the way how many pictures of pokemon did you add to your collection?," Gloria asked glancing at her twin.

"Um." He made a thoughtful face. "Well let's see. Nessa's Aquarium has at least one of every water type pokemon...and with how many nature preserves I've stayed...and with the hundreds of tourists with different regions pokemon....and trading pictures with fellow photographers from different regions at the International Photographers Expo..........Six hundred thirty four different pokemon!"

There was silence for a moment.

"........WHAT?!"

The four of you made it down the street and over to the six story building that certainly looked like a fancy hotel. Along the way the children explained that the Chairman had not only endorsed as well but apparently paid the hotel in advance to allow all the trainers to stay the night before the actual ceremony took place the next day and the challengers were officially given the go ahead to start their journey. But a small surprise awaited the four of you yet in the hotel when you walked in and you looked around. There was a couple potted plants, two pairs of stairs leading up to another level with furniture, a sign in desk, and an elevator like a regular hotel but the thing your eyes were drawn to was the golden statue. It reminded you of those knights in ancient fairy tales. The golden man stood with his sword held up to the sky, a gleamering shield on his other arm in defense, and his face one of determination to not fail. Quite the craftsman ship. And standing right in front of it with a small yamper at her feet was-

"SONIA!" Gloria loudly greeted startling the poor lady and making her turn around.

Upon seeing who it was she sighed and smiled. "Oh it's just you guys. You gave me quite the jump scare there. But it looks like you both got yourselves registered." She nodded to the arm bands before her gaze drifted to Victor as she blinked. "....Oh. Hiya!  I don't think we've met."

"This is my brother, Victor. He's gonna be with Hop for a while. But what are you doing here? I thought you were going out to study."

"Yeah." Hop chimed in. "What are you doing at our hotel?"

"Oh!" She shifted the many shopping bags in her arms. Guess she did go shopping while here after all. "I'm researching the mysterious pokemon that are said to be in the Slumbering Weild. I reckon if I look into some of Galar's lengends I might figure something out. Care to join me?" She gestured to the statue. "You're here already anyways."

"SURE! It'd be fun!" She turned to you."Hey. Y/n new to Galar. I don't think she even knows the legends."

"That's perfect then! While you're doing that, Im gonna go stand in that long like up there and secure a spot for us ok?"

"But I-" You raised a hand as theVictor turned and walked away leaving you with sonia and the other two...and you sighed. "I don't think I was that way when I was fourteen."

Sonia chuckled. "We were all like that at one point or another. But would you like to hear one of the legends? A newbie to Galar like you might enjoy some foriegn tales."

"I'd like to hear too!"

You stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "Why not? I was just cast out from the little tribe."

She chuckled even more before she turned towards the statue. "Alright then. I'm sure you've seen the statue then.''

"Yeah." You rose a brow looking back up to the handsome man's golden face. "Who is he anyways?"

"It's a statue of the hero who once saved the Galar Region. I can run through the legend right quite if you fancy?" You nodded and that was all she needed to continue. "Long ago a great black storm covered the Galar Region." She gazed back to the statue. "People called it 'The Darkest Day'. The land was assaulted by gigantic pokemon but they were defeated by a single young hero bearing a sword and shield. This statue here is meant to depict the young hero of that legend. We still don't understand what kind of sword and shield the hero actually had. And what this 'black storm' is supposed to be is just another mystery. Whatever it was, it blotted all the skies across Galar. I suppse that tracks with it being 'the Darkest Day' but still..."

Hop blinked blinking at the golden statue's face and scratching his head. "Huh...I suppose that hero must've been about as strong as Lee then. Looks like you're going to have your hands full with plenty research though, Sonia. Black storms and swords and shields and all..."

"You'll be alright Sonia!"

She chuckled. "Heh. Thanks. I'll muddle through somehow. Don't you worry." She shook her head. "But legends aside. You three are staying at the hotel tonight though, right? Shouldn't you check in?"

"Probably so. Victor's holding our place in line." With a smiled similar to Leon he smiled widely at her. "And we'll look out for you too, Sonia! If we hear anything about any hero or whatnot we'll tell you!" Gloria nodded with a hum.

Sonia bowed her head in thanks to the two. "Thanks so much. Even if you don't find anything the thought's appreciated." As the kids said good byes and walked around her to a stair case you paused as she lifted her head and gazed at you. "I hope you enjoyed my little tale."

You smiled and nodded. "Yes. It was really entertaining. Thanks for telling me."

She nodded. "And thanks for taggin' along with the kids this far. I know we're practically strangers but there's just....I don't know....really good aura about you." You chuckled. You? Really good aura? That certainly was a first. "I'm sure Lee appreciates it too. He's always so worried about Hop. He practically raised him after all-" All of a sudden it was like a switch flipped off in her mind and her happy smile went to a sudden shocked face. "Oh no. I didn't mean to mention that. Please forget I even said that."

Your brow rose confus- "Y/N! C'MON! We got our room key already!"

You looked up to Gloria's call before back to Sonia before waving good bye and leaving. Wondering what the heck that was all about. Oh well. You had bigger things to worry about- Like the the fact that the three kids had gotten into a fight with four punk rockers!! You had just walked up the stairs and instantly was face to face with the three teenagers up in the faces of four people who dressed in black and red from their face paint to their outfits shouting something about they're going to cheer someone on and no one could stop them. You couldn't tell between the seven people shouting at one another and the front desk clerk trying to calm them down. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE YOUNG GIRL WHO STOPPED IT ALL!! She walked up the stairs and stopped next to your shocked state. A look of shock coming over her own face for a moment before she sighed and that snapped you out of your trance long enough for you to look at her. She was a teenager same around the same age as the other children with black hair tied back in two ponytails by red ribbon, a pink dress, with a black leather jacket and boots.

"What are you lot doin' here?" She had asked in what sounded what a brittish accent but you were sure Britain wasn't a thing in this world. Instantly the fighting stopped from the punk rockers as the they looked to her shocked like a couple toddlers caught taking candy. One shouted what you assumed was her name. Marnie you thought? As they stuttered out excuses. "I know you all are terribly curious 'bout the other gym challengers, but you gotta show a bit of restraint." Well it was nice of her to settle them down before she apologized. "Sorry 'bout them. They're just a bunch of my fans. Call themselves Team Yell and follow me around. cheerin' for me. I think they've let it all go to their heads a bit.....Come on you lot. Back home with you now!" She sighed as they guiltily slunk away past you down the stairs. "They're just so caught up with wantin' to support me and all that they tend to get a bit shirty with other Gym Challengers. Sorry if they caused you any trouble."

With that she simply walked past the lot of you, got her room key, and just walked away like it never even happened. You were still in a bit of shock but shook it off in favor of getting to the room you'd be bunking in with Gloria and have a small break from today. The inner workings weren't too different from the hotels you've been to before and was more than eager to plop yourself down and have a rest. The rest of the afternoon was a blur. At one point all three kids were sitting around the bed helping sort through Victor's collection of photos and helping Gloria glue in quite a lot of them into that small book of theirs. Hop mentioned about calling room service and Gloria suggested the four of you order each a different curry to help her fill in a bit of her curry challenge book as well. Which you had no problem against. It was free room service and you were interested in trying some of this world's curry since it was supposed to be world famous as Sonia told you. You ended up randomly chosing Sweet Curry as someone phoned it to the front desk and waited for it too arrive. It was pretty good. But it wasn't too different from Mrs. G's curry you had tasted other than the sauce on the rice tasted a mildy hot enough to be sweet. Of course that didn't stop Gloria was taking your curry's picture along with Hop's that had a massive egg in what was call a bitter boiled egg curry, Gloria's was a dry smoked tail curry(you hoped that wasn't an actual tail, and you think Victor's was leek curry with some kind of veggies decorating the plate. You ended up letting your sobble finish what food was leftover after you ate and soon you two found yourselves bidding the two boys good night and went to finally rest for the night. After getting a quick shower you decided it was best to go to bed since the actual Ceremony was tomorrow. Gloria had gotten the bed and you borrowed the sleeping bag Mrs. G had given Gloria. As the darkness slowly consumed your vision as your eyelids drooped you vauguly regstered your sobble climbing on one of the shelves.

.........

CRASH!!

Both of you were startled away in the dark from a giant crash and a couple panicked chirps before you were tackled by an invisible spooked sobble burrowing under your arm as Gloria turned on the lamp to reveal the pokemon's mess.

"Y/n! Your sobble knocked over the shelf!"

"Uuuuuuhhhhh!!!"

[nodesiretogrowup]

LET’S GET READY TO RE-CAAAAAAAAP

“I have numerous science-based questions” I mean, same. It also sets up that Huey is gonna be out of his element this episode

SCROOGE HAS NO TIME FOR SCIENCE

“I AM THAT CHAMPION.” A bit full of yourself there. I couldn’t hear this line without saying “I’M. THAT. HERO.” Oh VeggieTales, you’ll always be with me

THEY ALL LOOK SO ADORABLE!!

I like that Louie does a finger gun when Scrooge gets to him

Like I said earlier, I DO NOT care Scrooge already putting pressure on these kids

Poor Dewey seems like he’s the unfavorite, which is probably how Donald felt as well

Huey makes a good point and I do NOT like how dismissive Scrooge is of the twins

That being said...they totally killed someone in battle

SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT, THE RAINBOW CONNECTION!

Why didn’t Launchpad crash? I know he can land w/o crashing but it’s usually when he lands in water. THIS FEELS IMPORTANT SOMEHOW though it probably isn’t

“THEY FOUND A WAY TO MAKE RAINBOWS BETTER!” God, I love Webby

“This is the best day.” WEBBY, YOU ARE REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS OF ADORABLE

Birds with beards look odd

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Poor Huey, magic and mythology aren’t his strong point

I love that it says Odin’s Closet over the shirts. It’s the little details

“Guess Louie knows what Louie’s doing today.” And then he disappears into the shirts. I can appreciate someone who knows what they’re about

I want ALL the shirts from this episode!

“WHOA, IT’S WRESTLING!” He looks so dang happy, it’s ADORABLE

“THIS IS AWESOME!” Chanting is fun

“So these guys just copied professional wrestling?” Huey, you’re form of logic is not welcome here

Does that mean Scrooge told someone about his battles and inspired them to create pro wrestling? I’m gonna go with that

“And they will love me for it!” Dewey, sweetie, that’s only how it works half the time

I loved all the man-snake stuff. Made me giggle

Man snake be THICC. HOT DAMN

I love the little pig ref. HE’S SO CUTE

Jormungandr knows how to pump up a crowd

So, like, is everyone in the audience technically DEAD?! That makes this episode slightly darker. I dig it

 I wonder if Jormungandr sees Earth’s destruction as a good thing for Earth. Like if he genuinely thinks they’d be better off in Valhalla. Or if he’s just a bastard who wants to watch the world burn

Scrooge is a bit too into playing the heel

The way Scrooge moves and the faces he makes as the Millionaire Miser remind me of Glomgold

“I watch a lot of wrestling while I fly.” “Wait, while?” This exchange always cracks me up

“Uncle Scrooge is the greatest hero of all time.” “Huh, I guess not everyone thinks so.” I feel like this is foreshadowing later events

RIP Announcer Puffin

“DIBS ON ANNOUNCING!” A dude just got KO’d bro! Have a bit of respect

And the return of the dynamic sports announcer duo. Glad Huey got his badge

I NEED MORE WRESTLING ANNOUNCER LP

Strongbeard is DOPE

“How did you know that?” “Just calling it like I see it. WRESTLING!” The real reason Launchpad knows is because he’s actually Thor but doesn’t remember. I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL

FEAR THE BEARD

“What matters is I’m doing the right thing.” I don’t know, you really seem to enjoy being a heel

This whole match is great

Dewey, there ARE NO RULES IN WRESTLING. Plus you aren’t the ref, so you can’t make that call

I have very inappropriate jokes go through my head when only one arm absorbs the beard energy

“I am so confused.” CONSTANT MOOD

DID SCROOGE NARUTO RUN AT STRONGBEARD?!

I like that Scrooge dives onto him the same way he dives into his bin

LP is so excited he pushes Huey out of the way for NO REASON

HOLY FUCK THAT DUDE THREW A CHAIR AT A CHILD!

All the bone cracking in this episode made me uncomfortable, as in my bones hurt during it

“He is such a good guy.” I’d say he’s a fair guy, not necessarily a good guy

“Which two of you will fight for me?” Webby has been waiting for this moment her WHOLE LIFE

Louie, always taking time to make that money

Who gave him a shirt cannon?!

I love that the dude comes up wearing the shirt

Dewey just slaps Scrooge in the face

Champ POPular! Too cute! I love his hair and outfit. Though I don’t think Champ POPular’s “too popular to hate.” If anything he might annoy people due to his popularity

I thought he was gonna pull out yo-yos as his “finishing touch” and I was sad when it was lollipops even though that makes more sense. BRING BACK THE YO-YOS!

“Do all the fighting and make sure he doesn’t die.” That is a valid concern

WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU! I’D KNOW IT ANYWHERE

Huey taking notes is adorable

“Just in time for the tag-team round.” “Wait, they’re playing tag now?! MAN!” I love how Danny says MAN

How does Huey not know what a tag-team is? It’s a pretty common term

I love Launchpad’s reading face

Dewey has red, blue, and green lollipops. Cute

“HE’S THROWING LOLLIPOPS BECAUSE HE THINKS WE’RE SUCKERS!” That took me off guard and I laughed so hard

“I’ve known you my whole life, I kinda knew how this would play out.” Louie is genre savvy. Perhaps too savvy. He’s gonna figure out he’s in a tv show

“More like Champ POP..ulation zero because he has no friends...in Friendtown.” I fail to see how that was any worse than LP’s “more like Champ UN-POPular.”

“WE HATE YOU NOW!” Tough crowd

Huey’s face after that. I just want to pinch his lil cheeks

WEBBY DON’T NEED NO WRESTLER NAME

It TOTALLY went over my head that they censored Hela with Hecka (at least they used her better than the MCU did. WE COULD HAVE HAD SO MUCH BETTER)

I would let her pin me to the mat and crush my skull in

“Oh, COME ON, THIS is what you like?! A creepy goth and her pet dog!” SHUT UP, DEWEY, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT! I’m surprised Webby didn’t slap him for the “creepy goth” comment seeing as Lena is goth and misunderstood

“HECKA YEAH! HECKA YEAH!” SHE’S SO COOL AND SEXY AND SHE HAS A DOG

Poor Huey, he’s doing his best. Hope he takes a shower later because he got pretty sweaty

HECKA COULD STEP ON ME AND I’D SAY THANK YOU

Why did Huey have all those corn puns?

“YOU’RE THE WORST! YOU’RE THE WORST!” It’s just not Huey’s day

“You don’t have to try to make it sound great, it already is.” Did this remind anyone else of Dewey’s “don’t overthink it” advice to Launchpad from Double-O Duck? He’s doing his best to help Huey

I WANT HECKA TO DESTROY ME

“EMBRACE THE BOOZE BOOS.”

Poor Dewey

WEBBY IS A BEAST! SHE WAS BORN FOR THIS!

“EMBRACE YOUR INNER HEEL!” Cuz being a heel is fun!

DUDE, WEBBY TOOK DOWN THE GODDESS OF DEATH WITH NOTHING BUT HER LEGS AND THIGHS! WE STAN!

I like that Fenny has knee pads on

“AW, YOU’RE SO DANGEROUS AND CUTE! I JUST WANT TO PET YOUR LITTLE BELLY!” WEBBY IS ME

“A classic ‘who’s a good boy?’ gambit!” AND I’D FALL FOR IT TOO! SUCH A GOOD BOI

“Wait, am I the Launchpad here?” Bitch, you WISH

“YOU CAN’T GIVE CANDY TO A DOG!” This is why you don’t have a pet, Dewey

“WHOA, back from THE DEAD for the QUEEN of the DEAD!”

Kind of a dick move, Louie

AIR GUITAR!

Jormungandr looks like a Masters of the Universe knock-off toy

WHO’S A GOOD BOI? YOU ARE!

“With a toxic personality” I think you’re projecting a bit, Jormungandr 

How does Huey not know what a battle royale is? That is a very common term! Hell, there is a well known book and movie with that title!

“I’m just a humble, noble snake man of the people.” Why does the term snake man make me laugh so much?  

WOY REFERENCE FTW

Dewey needs a hug! And some therapy would probably be a good idea

Scrooge’s speech started on a good note then went downhill FAST

“And lastly, I’ll use the dust of your bones as sweetener in my tea.” DAMN

“TOO FAR!” I DON’T THINK IT’S FAR ENOUGH! TELL HIM HOW YOU WILL BATHE IN HIS BLOOD

FUCK YEAH BEAKLEY!

SHE GAVE HIM THE CHAIR! I think this CONFIRMS Beakley as a wrestling fan

“I know we’re supposed to take over for Scrooge one day, but do you ever wonder if maybe we’re not cut out for it?” YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO WONDER THOSE THINGS AT ALL! 

Louie’s like WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT!

“Be LP” My new mantra

Aw, Louie sees Dewey as a hero. Like how LP saw Drake as a hero. I think @drakepad is onto something, this scene and the fight scene seem WAAAAY too much like Drake’s intro to be just a coincidence

I keep saying this, but Louie should consider a career in motivational speaking. He knows what people need to hear

“Let’s do this!” “I don’t know.” “Let’s Dewey this?” “I’m in.”

“I’LL SHED YOUR SKIN FOR YOU!” If he hadn’t of had an old man back moment that would have been a BRUTAL CUT

OMG WAS LAUNCHPAD WEARING THAT THE WHOLE TIME? You see his clothes fly off when he jumps in the ring

“Whoa. In a COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED TWIST, the announcer was Captain Crash THIS WHOLE TIME!” LP does underground wrestling matches in his spare time, TELL ME I’M WRONG

“YOUR CATCHPHRASES ARE FORCED!” I agree, Dewey could have done WAY BETTER

I like Louie just GLARING at the dude who insulted Dewey’s catchphrase

LP looks so proud of Huey

“I don’t care at all, why should I?” Methinks the snake man doth protest too much

I like how Jormungandr’s pupils are thinner during the climax. It shows off his true nature

Dewey should have been the one to do a spin attack, ya know, cuz he’s Sonic? I’ll go now

“The Pop never Stops.” That was better

WHERE ARE ALL THESE CHAIRS COMING FROM?!

I LEGIT thought Strongbeard was gonna throw Dewey his axe and I was like Dewey wouldn’t be able to lift that

SUPER SAIYAN DEWEY! Also was that a TIGER SNARL?

I like the ice pack on Launchpad’s head. Just because he can take a lot of damage doesn’t mean that LP is immune to pain

I like that the crowd CHANGED THEIR BANNERS! Nice

LOUIE AND WEBBY LOOKED SO CUTE!

LP tearing up

“A true people’s hero” I feel like that phrase will come back in relation to other characters (cough DW cough)

Scrooge is such a little shit, it’s kind of adorable

THAT END SHOT! THAT SONG!

This was a SUPER FUN EPISODE! I couldn’t really tell where they were going and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT! I wish we had gotten Huey in some wrestling gear but maybe next time. I like the message that doing the right thing isn’t always popular but I kind of feel like Dewey getting the crowd on his side muddled the message somewhat. Poor Dewey needs therapy or something so he doesn’t feel like he needs CONSTANT approval. Again, he’s 11 YEARS OLD and shouldn’t be put into such a serious position. LP was VIP this episode. I’m bummed we’re on hiatus again, but WHAT an episode to end on!

[cartoonfangirl1218]

EoA ships fluff headcanons part 5

Childhood activity they show the other?Eleteo: Elena introduces fencing to her man. All the fencing, she tried to train him through a less rigorous and much more flirty version of Gabe’s fencing training but Mateo fencing is like Mateo with the rope. All thumbs and falling. Not that either of them minds. Mateo tries to coach Elena through potion making. That’s right. Though Rafa did not overtly teach him, as he self studied he realized that the cooking information and herbal medicine recipes she taught him were just a precursor. What they didn’t expect that, surprisingly, similarly to Olivia, when Elena decided to get into her head to see what would happen if she combined the purple concoction with the fizzy olive one...well ba bam! Since then they stuck to magical battles. Gababel: As we know Gabe does NOT have any fond childhood memories whereas olaball was involved so that was out. On the other hand, Gabe does love baking, especially baking cookies. So that is the nice lazy weekend activity he and Isabel do together and although he does tease Isabel for her scientific calculations, there is always flying cookie dough and  giggles when they’re in the kitchen. Isabel knows Gabe doesn’t always follow her scientific treatises and conversations, so she showed him a more palatable one. Stargazing. She and King Raul used to do it all the time and it is one her favorite memories of her father. So on clear nights they spread a picnic blanket in the  royal garden and Isabel points out all the constellations and tells the old stories as her father did for her.

Estenaomi: This should be obvious from the get go. Sailing is Naomi’s thing and always will be. She has more sea legs than land legs when she was 4 years old and so she makes it her mission to teach Esteban everything she knows. Although at the beginning it was less fun and more like when this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Aby_UgFLxfQ She lets up because she doesn’t want Esteban to hate it. Not that he does, he understands why she loves the thrill of the salt air on her face and is kinda a waveaholic, it’s like a rollarcoaster ride. Esteban’s favorite thing was dancing because it reminded him of when he used to see his parents date nights in their ballroom (yes exactly like this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lcmwgPw76Mc) And so Esteban teaches Naomi all the waltzes and ballroom dances he knows. She is pretty quick study and picks them up in a flash so they move on to salsa and merengue and soon they are hitting the clubs as the hottest couple on the dance floor, but they always return back to the ballroom for their own private dance too.  Estoma: Not only is dancing Esteban’s thing but olaball and goal! Esteban is such a bonafide fan of olaball, there is even a baby picture of him in a olaball Jersey and so of course, he takes Doña to one where it is Avalor vs Paraíso. Honestly, Doña didn’t really watch the game she was too busy watching the hilarity that was Esteban next to her yelling and fist pumping like a maniac.Doña didn’t do all those childhood things he did like going to the circus or making ice cream sundays (and did not appreciate Esteban looking at her as if her childhood was devoid of happiness) and didn’t really feel like taking the trip down memory lane but she eventually relented at the thought of horse riding again.  So they did just that and though Doña rode circles around him and laughed at Esteban’s saddle sore butt, he secretly thought it was worth it to see her looking so free and unguarded.

Birthdays?

Eleteo: (I agreed a lot with @pizza-n-sunshine’s zodiac post so some of these dates are based on astrology since the timeline isn’t really specified in EoA) Elena is totally a fiery Aries and I imagine her bday to be right in the beginning of Aries season, March 19. It’s perfect because it is also springtime which Elena loves because of the idea of new beginnings and fresh flowers and just being outside. Mateo usually treats Elena to a nice picnic for her birthday beside the Avaloran waterfalls where they can swim and frolic and have magical Scepter vs Tamborita contests. Mateo is a Virgo, his birthday being September 11, right in the middle symbolizing his moderate personality (that is when he is not in search for the Scepter of night). Mateo is such a modest guy that he doesn’t really want much for his birthday but Elena insists on giving him a sweet soirée anyway. Specifically bringing in all the citizens that Mateo has helped over the years, reminding him that his work is known and is appreciated and he is just a wonderful guy.😊 Gababel: While I see Isabel as being an Aquarius, I feel like she was born in autumn. Around Oct 5 right when the leaves turn crisp and school is getting into full swing. Sometimes, Isabel gets so into the latest project she is doing for school that she actually forgets her birthday is coming up so it’s always easy to have a surprise party for her. The party is a practical, but fun affair with lots of scientifically developed special effects with fireworks and illusions and all her close friends as they play party games. Gabe does seem to be a totally Capricorn and I see his birthday on January 5. Yes, same number day as Isabel, only 4 months later. He is similar to her that he is so dedicated to his work that he forgets it’s coming up. But more likely than not he remembers because he knows it will be a lovely day of celebration and a break from work which Isabel makes sure that it is. In the form of taking him to their favorite getaway. Opidian Island. Sometimes Gabe acts like a little kid, pretending to be a great adventurer like Agama and Isabel is all the happy to help him trying to figure out that temple maze again.

Estenaomi: This was easier since we sorta know when they’re birthdays are. Or at least the season. Esteban seems to have been born near the end of the summer so I say his birthday is August 6. Which is apparently a regal number indicated duke. Esteban’s birthday is all about seizing the moment in the summer and usually also at the waterfalls where he spends his time swinging on vines and jumping from the top of the cliffs like a maniac. Naomi also organizes a treasure hunt to further the fun. Naomi’s birthday seems to be in the spring, I say April 25 because April is the month of showers and showers are a great challenge for sailing which is exactly what she does for her birthday. It’s a party on the marinara where she and Esteban get into boat races, swimming and all sorts of adventures in the water and occasionally, meet up with Captain Chiloya again. And a lovely, romantic dance on the docks with the moon shining above them. Estoma: Esteban’s BDay is obviously still Aug 6 but it is more subdued since he has more refined taste. Admittedly he didn’t see much celebration in it for 41 years because of, as you guessed it, Shuriki. He almost didn’t celebrate any holiday or birthday because the guilt was too overpowering and again, Shuriki would have put a stop to it. Even so, Doña would sometimes leave him a small trinket on his desk. There was no words or acknowledgement about it but it was there. Nowadays, with his family around him, he gets a real party with his close family and friends catching up on those feelings he missed for so long. Doña’s birthday is the day after Navidad (I thought it would be a fun bit of irony😜) . That took almost forever for Esteban to find out since Doña doesn’t make much of a big deal of it as he thought she would. She just doesn’t want to do anything but relax after the mad rush that is Navidad selling season. Well, Esteban being someone who still takes great stock in celebrating birthdays actually surprises her by bringing breakfast in bed among other treats.

Meeting the parents? Eleteo: Mateo is a nervous wreck meeting Elena’s parents. I mean he is geeked out that he’ll be able to see ghosts (and the fact that his future wife sees ghosts because of her time in the amulet fascinated him to no end) but also it’s still meeting her parents and he hopes that they’ll accept him and be worthy enough for her. He needn’t to have worried so much though because since they have seen him with their daughter from the beginning they know that they would make a good couple and they admire that he loves and respects her so much. Rafa has no complaints against Elena at all. In fact she isn’t surprised the crowned princess is in love with her boy, who wouldn’t? But seriously, she treats Elena like the daughter she never had and tries not to go too overboard with giving advice and suggestions for dealing with Mateo. Gababel: As with Mateo, Gabe was super nervous meeting Isabel’s parents. Albeit he was very skeptical at first when Elena told him about her power but he had to accept it so when the time came to meet them, he was really unsure what to do. What exactly do you say to dead ghost parents? Does shaking their hands still apply? But like before, King Raul and Queen Lucia are very gracious to the boy who has made their youngest so happy and for all that he has done for the family and Avalor in general. Though Raul couldn’t resist doing the “If you hurt my girl...” talk (he did the same with Mateo and the poor kid was convinced for a full five minutes that Raul hated him). Blanca loves Isabel, she sees her as a calming grounded influence on Gabe and treats her like a daughter. At first Roberto couldn’t even believe that Gabe managed to snag the princess and scientist of Avalor but when it comes down to it, he’s glad that his son is happy. Estenaomi: Naomi can’t technically meet Esteban’s parents but she gets the closest by being “interrogated” by Luisa and praised by Francisco. They’re glad that Naomi can banter with Esteban and is able to handle his adventurous spirit with love and sass. It kinda reminded Luisa of herself and Francisco. The Turners were initially cool to Esteban which was simply part of their plan to make sure he had a proper amount of respect for Naomi and for them and completely surprise him later with hugs and congratulations when they announce their official together.   Estoma: Well they can’t meet the parents. It’s more like a bittersweet game where they talk about “If my parents had met you..” It’s sweet that it segueways into compliments like “they would love you for how happy you make me feel” and “They would think you have great taste in men and fashion” etc.

Taking care of the other when sick?

Eleteo: Mateo has his hands full when Elena is sick because she refuses to admit it and wants to continue work or doing whatever she usually does. But Rafa taught him a perfect sleepytime soup recipe that usually gets Elena asleep and relaxed. Then when she sorta kinda admits defeat she lets him sing to her. Mateo is also a handful in that he doesn’t think he needs anyone to take care of him and that he doesn’t want to get sick but Elena isn’t having any of that. They are a couple, she is taking care of him, she doesn’t care about the germs. And Mateo would be lying that he doesn’t enjoy the extra attention Elena feasts upon him. Gababel: Gabe is an absolute sweetheart when Isabel is sick with making specially prepared soups, dropping by from work every time he has a free and even writing down some of the scientific treatise that Isabel attempts to dictate through a stuffy nose.  Isabel is similar to Mateo that she has to hold Gabe down from insisting that he is fine and that he can work. Usually her puppy dog eyes work the charm and Gabe stays in bed so he can be sung to and read stories. Estenaomi: Esteban is such whiny child when he is sick. And cranky too about taking the medicine, and though Naomi rolls her eyes, she kinda indulges his antics because she finds them funny and though he doesn’t admit it, he appreciates how patient she is. As for Naomi, Esteban treats her like a fragile flower near death more than a common cold which annoys her to no end. But she does get massages and being fed grapes out of it which she admits it’s very fun too. Estoma: They generally avoid each other when they’re sick. Doña doesn’t have much patience for his complaining about sick and bored he is and Esteban doesn’t have much patience when she tells him that he is nursing her all wrong. The only time they can stand each other is when they’re peacefully asleep which is promptly ruined when they wake up with “Whad are you looking ad?”

Who wakes the other up?

Eleteo: Mateo obviously since Elena is so not a morning person. If anything she wishes she could sleep all day sometimes. Luckily, Mateo knows the perfect way to wake her up with lots of kisses. Gababel: Gabe is the early riser thanks to guard duty, and because of that he usually isn’t there when Isabel wakes up during weekdays but he does leave coffee and sometimes a note. During the weekends, it’s the opposite. Neither of them want to wake up so they laze around, nuzzling up against each other. Estenaomi: Naomi wakes up first, and let’s face it all the Flores family are so not morning people. Her way of waking Esteban is a good old fashion pillow fight. Well it’s a more one sided pillow fight since Esteban is trying to stubbornly stay in bed but she gets him out eventually. Estoma: Once again, Esteban is not a morning person. Doña usually wakes him up by blowing coffee steam in his face or just clap loudly, yelling that it is time to rise.

Who curses when they argue?

Eleteo: Neither. They very much prefer actually talking out their problems than yelling and screaming in anger at each other sinc that is counterproductive. Also I can't see Mateo having a cursing bone in his body and Elena wouldn't use that kind of harsh language to someone she loves. Estenaomi: Naomi. Blame the sailor's tongue but she can start cursing up a storm. And though Esteban tries not to do it in a girl's presence (yes, Luisa drilled it in) he would start too. Gababel: Again neither. For the same reasons as Eleteo. Estoma: Again like Estenaomi, Doña is more likely to curse before Esteban but he would snap back too. Who wears the other clothes sometimes? Eleteo: Elena sometimes wears Mateo's oversized shirts on a lazy Sunday morning without shame and sometime teasing that she should just wear it to her meetings. She also puts on wizards robes. It's just so comfy and warm and smells just like him. Gababel: They don't really do that since the size difference makes it ridiculous. Although Isabel has nabbed Gabe's guard jacket once or twice on a cold winter night. As well as shirt:) She says he has to practice his ability to withstand cold temperatures but Gabe thinks it more has to do with his gazing at his pecs. Estenaomi: A few times, Esteban has tried Naomi's clothes on account of her dares much to Naomi's personal amusement. Naomi does the same and dresses in Esteban’s fancy suits and shirts. Usually for fun. Estoma: Very rarely, though once Esteban went out in Doña's robe which he staunchly insists was a traditional Satu kimono. AU stories  Gababel: Isabel works in a science lab for the boss from hell aka Shuriki and her smarmy second in command/her personal advisor, Javier. What’s a single graduate girl in the city to do but keep on trying day after day while working on her thesis. Luckily, she has her roomie, Tomiko to lean on. And unexpectedly, the cute security guard at her lab, Gabe Nuñez. Soon, life gets a whole lot more complicated when love hits this young scientist over the head, a fun complicated. But will this burgenoning relationship be able to last once she starts her real job after grad school? And more distressingly, Javier’s attempts at sabotage and plagiarism. Estoma: Working in the same publishing house, Esteban is a publisher for the nonfiction imprint, while Doña is an editor for the romance novel section. They rarely associate except at one work dinner where they are forced to seat next to each other and learn of their disdainful views of the others genre. He thinks her clients write superficial, copy-and-paste  trash and she thinks his are pretentious, Pulitzer-wannabe rejects. They strike a challenge to read a list of the “best” of the other’s genres. Soon their meetings change from literary criticism to what outsiders call as dates, but that’s impossible. No way life is like a book. But soon the lines between fact and fiction begin to blur with meddling relatives, a murder mystery dinner, a regency style ball and way too many fairytale moments, leave them with one question, what exact genre are they in? And whether their story has a happy ending? Estenaomi: It’s a boringly ordinary day at Naomi’s part time job at her father’s antique nautical shop when her friend’s cousin, Esteban comes in, searching for a map. A map that leads to a Flores family mystery and chance for adventure that Naomi cannot resist following. Especially since that adventure is on the tail of the arrogant college boy with searing brown eyes and no impulse control. Of course, when that mystery leads them directly to the hideout of the notorious yet secretive mob family, The Delgados down in Cuba, it’s clear they’re in over the heads. And more dangerous still, their hearts are on the line as their feelings begin to grow with each adrenaline racing escape. Eleteo: Street performer and illusionist, Mateo comes under the wing of Elena Flores’ bohemian musical troupe when he moves to Avalor City. Soon the two form a special connection, marred by Elena’s family who is desperately searching for the eldest child to take over Raul’s company which Elena had forsaken in the midst of the traumatic death. Mateo is tempted between helping Elena gain her rightful place at head of the company with the possibility of never seeing her again or running away to Paris as she suggests.

Sweetest gift they got from each other? Eleteo: I feel like Mateo would give her the gift of a day without work or worry about the kingdom. One day out of the blue, Elena wakes up to find most of her appointments cancelled or being taken care of by the Grand Council for the day. Mateo first comes in with a bowl of cherries, and a kiss. Then they go out for a nice leisurely Jaquin ride. Then they just hang out with their friends at the beach or something. For the afternoon, they go dancing and for dinner that he had planned down in his workshop with lights and everything. So there it is. A nice day where she could spend time with her friends, family and her favorite wizard king. For Mateo: So Mateo is pretty good being by himself and just enjoy reading and practicing his magic. So Elena's gift to him would be a bit similar. A day free of appointments just so he could concentrate how to improve his mastery. But the plus would be she would be him the whole day. Helping, asking questions and being able to spend time and see do what he loves so much. Estenaomi: This was easier at least. For Naomi, I think the favorite gift Esteban gave her wasa ship. It wasn't big because they all knew she was going to inherit the Wayfarer but a houseboat. She was very surprised to see that he got her a full captain outfit with a hat and everything waiting for her in the closet. Esteban, she got him a brand new compass with an ancient map she got from some sale.  So they could go on a whole new adventure together. Estoma: For Esteban: A enchanted music box from Satu. It was a combo of two things. His admiration and memories of staying in Satu, and enchanted so only the one holding the music box could hear the music. So he could safely listen to it even close to Shuriki’s quarters.

Gababel: Isabel gave him a brand new saddle for Fuego and a sword that even though he learned his lesson from El Guapo, he still couldn’t help but stand up straighter and prouder with his new golden engraved sword. And Isabel, even though she is slightly embarrassed by such a nerdy gift but melted because Gabe knew her so well to buy her a stack of new edition science encyclopedias.  

Jealous? Eleteo: Elena won’t admit she’s jealous. She thinks she incapable of it which is so not true. So whenever some girl seems to be sniffing out Mateo, she rationalizes that she is just being protective making sure it’s not another Rita. See here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uYka1DZNjU0 Mateo on the other hand isn’t proactive. He is still an insecure wizard king and would believe that as long as Elena likes the guy he won’t bother, I mean why would she ever go for him? So he becomes a little more distant, trying to pull himself together and not let his jealousy show. Gababel: Isabel would be like Mateo, drawing herself in and becoming more distant, a bit more sullen. Usually her jealousy would come out in muttered asides under her breath and sometimes even pointing out the others mistakes in grammar or whatnot. Gabe is more obvious, pointing out his own attributes and visibly rolling his eyes whenever he thinks what the other man is saying to be stupid. Estenaomi: Naomi is sorta a combo between Elena above and how she reacted in Spy in the Palace. Sure that every dig is against her, irrational as it seems. Also just general annoyance with the other girl and how she can be the exact same thing. Esteban gets all pouty too and goes into overtime doing ridiculous “impressive” stunts to show off his manliness and hotness and greater skills etc etc. Estoma: Neither would admit they like one another much less jealous. So it’s just more insults as usual. But these insults target the SO and them like “You’re dating her/him? I guess there’s no accounting for taste.“ “I just can’t believe you’re dating an idiot. But then again you do get uncomfortable with people who are intellectually superior than you so I suppose it makes sense.” “I thought you had high standards? Or did those high standards not like you?”

Who takes the covers?

Eleteo: Covers? What covers? They go on body warmth alone. Lol. I don't think either would since it's more of a cocoon they wrapped themselves in but I'm going to go with Mateo. I feel like Elenais just more of a body person while Mateo can sleep with tons and tons of soft blankets and it reminds him of his wizard robes so it is extra comfy. Estoma: Doña, she gets easily cold at night and likes to bundle herself up with all the covers. Esteban tries to shrug off, that he is too macho to get cold but sometimes he tries to tearing them away from her iron grip when she's sleeping and that almost made her fall off. Estenaomi: Esteban!! The guy is a duke, he is used to being a hundred percent comfortable. Forbid that he gets cold at night, it is the one thing he won't relent. He takes the covers he wants. Naomi usually wrangles it away but then she has to endure his complaints of how cold he is and equals it by lots of kisses. Gababel: Isabel take the covers. Moreover Gabe would gladly give it to her she use gets grabby when she's asleep so it doesn't matter if he gives it beforehand, she gets more and they end up hugging a lot.

Sexy outfit? Eleteo: Any outfit of Elena’s looks sexy to Mateo but if he had to choose, it might be the mermaid look for her. Her hair flowing around her like a halo, the seashell bra, standing under a waterfall, just wow. Elena surprised to find herself very into when Mateo wears his royal consort outfit with the empuletts. He really rocks the empulets. He looks just so noble and kingly. Gababel: Gabe likes it when Isabel wears reading glasses. A bit of the sexy nerd trope though when Isabel first put them on she had been nervous he wouldn’t like it but she really had nothing to fear. Isabel likes Gabe in his guard uniform so it is a good thing he wears it everyday but she also likes it when he’s in an apron. It reminds her of all the possibilities of baking and food and heating up the kitchen 😉 Estenaomi: Esteban has a preference for corsets though he would never admit it. But is always a slight thrill when she indulges him because usually she wears such comfortable, loose clothing and the corset is a different thing entirely. Naomi enjoys it when Esteban wears leather pants. It leaves nothing to the imagination and shows off all his leg muscles and importantly his butt. Estoma: Hmm I think Esteban would still enjoy corsets. Nothing is more tantalizing than the glimpse of it underneath a low cut gown. Doña likes Esteban in a hot cowboy outfit. You know, jeans and cowhide vest and nothing else. Esteban liked to tease her a lot about her lower class standards until she showed up with her female version.

Who sings in the shower?

Eleteo: Elena undoubtedly, but Mateo does also. Usually humming because singing was banned during Shuriki but Elena has been encouraging to sing out and to sing proud. Gababel: Gabe does surprisingly. Not often though but when he does he really belts it out. Isabel thinks it’s adorable. Estenaomi: Both But Esteban does more often. Though Naomi usually sings sea shanties to get in the mood and those get stuck in Esteban’s head the whole day. Estoma: Esteban, especially to the shower head. He might have practiced that booby trap dance once or twice. Who plays with the other's hair/toes in the morning? Eleteo: Both do. Mateo likes to stroke Elena's long, soft hair and smell the scent of it like flowers and sunshine. And Elena enjoys playing with his cute curls. When they wake up in the morning, if either of them curls up close enough, the other will play with their toes. I was thinking of your story, that they would want to wake up to smiles and laughter. Plus it's special for Elena since she hadn't had that kind of morning since Shuriki as you put in your fic. Estebaomi: Naomi plays with Esteban’s floppy Bieber hair. Since he takes so long to wake up, Naomi does small braids in his hair in the meanwhile. I imagine Esteban to be a very touchy feely bf and would play with Naomi's toes, scraping any polish and peppering her with kisses. Naomi kinda eats it up. Gababel: Gabe does. He likes feeling her wavy curls and spooning her. He plays with her toes on a lazy morning, when they don't feel like getting out of bed. It's almost like he's examining how they small they are in his large hands. And if they don't have to go to work, follow it up with a nice foot massage. Estoma: Esteban does. He likes to bury his nose in it and play with it before she puts it up in her usual bun. If he is feeling bored, he'll play with her toes.

[nativemossy]

Cap-IM Rec Week 2019 - Wednesday

Rec Week- Angsty Wednesday @cap-ironman 

Don’t forget to leave kudos and comments for your hardworking authors! they deserve the credit for the hard work they put into entertaining us with their fabulous works of art!

disclaimer: i genuinely struggle with the difference between angst and h/c, so the way i’m differentiating those lists is (mostly) by what the author tagged. 

the stillness of forgetting - by nasa

“Who are you?” Tony asks every morning when he wakes up and finds Steve lying next to him.

“I’m your husband,” Steve always replies.

-

aka Tony has Alzheimer's.

why rec?: ouchie, this one makes me cry a lot, so I don’t read it often. memory loss fics really get to me, so if thats something youre interested in this has it in stock! its so heartrendingly sweet and i just love it a lot

Orbital Mechanics - by Sabrecmc

Freshly out of the ice, Captain Steve Rogers definitely does not want to Bond with anyone. Until he does.

(Steve's POV for Celestial Navigation)

why rec?: tbh i’d recommend anything of Sabres (and multiple times at that - hence why i posted abt this on monday as well), but Celestial Navigation and by extension Orbital Mechanics both have permanent places on my instant classics list. just a lovely fic all around.

Something Death Can Touch - by thatdammeddame

Tony nearly dies in the field on a Saturday.

Steve breaks up with Tony the Wednesday after he's released from hospital.

why rec?: sad!! with happy ending!! its got a nice round conclusion, everyone comes full circle and is better for it.

Like A Comet Streaming On - by Sineala

Tony escapes Afghanistan with a functioning Iron Man suit and a perfectly normal heart. He even manages to bring Ho Yinsen home safely at his side. But he may as well have lost everything... because his wolfbrother is dead. Six months later, the Avengers find Captain America, frozen in ice, miraculously alive. Everything and everyone Steve has ever known is gone -- except his wolfsister, the recipient of the lupine version of the super-soldier serum, who was frozen in his arms. Tony has everything but his wolf. Steve has only his wolf. This is how their lives fit together.

why rec?: another fic that lives in my phone and travels with me - this is an instant classic for sure. i feel like i’ve recced this before no but i will be reccing it’s “fanfic of a fanfic” in tomorrows post, so I have talked about it. I love the psychic wolf premise, I hope to maybe do something in the future with it, though I could never dream of coming close to this amazing fic. If i’ve read this once i’ve read it dozens of times and loved it more each time. 

Wait & Sea - by Lenalena 

In which Tony and Steve get sent on an undercover mission aboard a cruise ship to make contact with Hydra. In this AU the military has kept the discovery and defrosting of Captain America a secret, so Steve and Tony have never met before. Yet they are to pose as newlyweds....

why rec?: tagged as angst and humor and if memory serves that’s exactly right. perfect blend of the humor of the identity porn trope with the angst of constant misunderstandings. 

Born From The Earth - by venusm

Tony Stark's born an omega in a world where that means he's supposed to follow certain social rules. He becomes Iron Man anyway: Fuck biology.

If only his biology (and the world) would quit fucking him back.

why rec?: i debated real heavy about including this because it’s technically steve/tony/omc, but hear me out: A great part of this fic focuses on the developing relationship between Tony and Steve, as well as Tony’s relationship with himself and the world around him. This is, hands down, my favorite fic of all time. as far as writing in general goes it’s right up there with my favorite authors. if i could only read one fic for the rest of my life this would undoubtedly be it - unfinished or no. i cannot even begin to impress upon you how much I love this fic. I can only aspire to write like this. the author makes you angry when they want you to be angry, sad when they want that too. It’s a beautifully orchestrated rollercoaster of emotion and I fall a little more in love every time I read it (which is frighteningly often).

Never Too Late for Love - by Sineala

Steve has always believed that a soulbond is a blessing -- a rare and beautiful miracle, joining the thoughts and feelings of two people forever, from the first time they touch. Steve knows he's not going to be one of the lucky ones. He knows Gail isn't his soulmate. But he loves her, even if they're not soulmates, and he's going to do right by her. After the war's over, he's going to marry her, and they're going to settle down. They'll buy a house. They'll have children. He'll see his family again. Maybe Bucky will live next door. It's going to be a good life. He doesn't need a soulbond. He'll be fine without one.

Then Steve wakes up sixty years in the future to find that his wonderful life has moved on without him. His family is long dead. His fiancée married his best friend. And the only purpose he has left is leading the Ultimates, a misbegotten team of superheroes with flaws too numerous to count. Steve hates everything about the future -- but most of all he detests Tony, flashy and flirtatious, who embodies everything Steve hates about a world he never wanted to live in.

And, oh, yeah, Steve has a soulmate after all: Tony fucking Stark.

why rec?: so much relationship angst. so. much. angst. Steve has to get his ass in gear and his brain into the 21st century, and Tony probably needs to go easy on the poor guy. its also ultsfic, which I’m usually not a giant fan of bc of the assholery but the dynamic works for me here

Senseless - by Scavenge4Dreams

Blinded, deafened, exhausted, injured and afraid, Tony raised himself up into a defensive position, the knife coming up just like Nat had taught him.

“That had better fucking be you, Steve Rogers- it had better be you. Fucking disarm me. If you let me kill you, I swear I will be very, very pissed.” Tony snarled, sure it was Steve approaching. Had to be. Had. To. Be.

What if it wasn’t?

why rec?: it’s been a while since i’ve read this, but I remember this being a good one that involves a rescue, injury recovery, and some eventual upon a brief reread I can say that this fic also has established relationship going for it! it’s tagged angst but it’s definitely got it’s fluffy parts and a really fun ending

Thrust Issues - by Sineala

A battle gone wrong leads Tony to the unexpected and pleasant discovery that Steve is much more well-endowed than he could ever have imagined. But when Tony learns that Steve has never actually been able to sleep with anyone because of his size, Tony does what any good friend would do: he offers to relieve Steve of his virginity. Personally. Tony's determined, Tony's methodical, and Tony has a plan. He's going to get Steve laid. Tony just needs to make sure Steve never finds out that Tony's in love with him.

why rec?: look at this point i think we can all agree that i might be a little bit of a fan of sineala’s. just wanted to throw that one out there to start us out. 

so my rec has little to do with the oodles of pining angst (of which there is plenty) and much more to do with there being a specific line in this fic that boils down to “friends fist friends right?” and I think of it at least biweekly. the rest of the fic is beautifully written and the characterization is to die for, plus its got a lovely happy ending!

She - by isozyme

Iron Man is strong and muscular and masculine, and Tony Stark wears a three-piece suit and walks with his hips stiff.  No colors other than navy or muted red. No prints bolder than a pinstripe. No luxurious silks and linens. His outfits are tailored to hang crisp and straight, his slacks hemmed to a conservative medium break.  The public won’t know. Nobody will go digging deeper, for classified ads and witnesses who remember him from half a decade ago. Steve will never find out all the ways Tony’s ruined himself.

why rec?: i’m putting this here just in case I don’t make a post for Sunday. This is one of those fics that hurts so good - it’s so well written sometimes it makes my teeth ache because it’s so sad and as the reader you can see all the pieces but a character cant. I love that feeling, its a great feeling. Some of this stuff can hit close to home so heed the warnings and read the tags!

[robobrainmurdermysterytheatre]

Fallout OC Interview!

I already tagged people, so I’m not tagging anyone in this. I took FOREVER because I thought every question needed an essay-length answer. Also because I went “Oh, I have SCREENSHOTS that would fit well with these questions 😏” then had to sift through the 9gb of screenshots I have to find them. Enjoy!

Rules:

1. Choose an OC.

2. Answer them as that OC.

3. Tag 5 people to do the same.

What is your name? Jack Daniel O’Kelley

How old are you? 24... no, 25 now. Actually, technically, 235.

What do you look like? I’m white, almost 6ft tall, blonde hair, freckles, blue eyes... well, they used to be blue, now they’re... weird... one robot arm, lots of scars, lots of tattoos... you’ll know me when you see me, believe me.

[Read the rest under the cut 👇 It’s long! I threw in a bunch of pictures for lookin’ at! Also, the story of how Jack lost his arm!]

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Boston, born and raised. Except, before the war. Now I live in Sanctuary. I pack up and winter out in the southwest, though! Hate the cold. 

What was your childhood like? Before the age of 10? Not great. I was an orphan, grew up in an orphanage. I can’t complain, compared to what orphans in this time have to go through? Still... it was... not something I even want to talk about. But once my parents adopted me? It was nice, it was normal, mostly. They were good people. I didn’t want for anything. They made up for everything else I’d been through. 

What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions? I’m General of The Minutemen, so I’d say we’re pretty friendly. The Minutemen have a good, solid relationship with The Railroad, and I personally do as well. We also have a good relationship with Goodneighbor, we always get supplies from there rather than Diamond City, if we can. And again, in a personal sense, I’m a big fan of the Mayor over there. Close personal friend! There are also some groups up north, in Far Harbor I’m on pretty good terms with: the harbormen, the synth refuge. Being popular with the Children of Atom from up there has perks that carry over into dealing with them in the Commonwealth as well. Oh! And the Atom Cats are definitely friends, they gave me a neat jacket and everything. They’re not really a militant faction or anything, they’re great to just hang out with and build cool power armor. They have a poetry night, too!

Tell me about your best friend. That’s just a friend? His name is Deacon. I’m pretty sure I’m not at liberty to tell you anything else about him, though. My other best friend is Piper, number one reporter in the wasteland. Very fun, very funny, very kind. We get drunk and sing showtunes together sometimes. She’s surprisingly good at fighting, more than once now I’ve seen her wreck with a minigun she just picked up from whatever enemy we just downed, but she’s still really good with that 10mm. She reminds me a lot of my late wife in a lot of ways. She’s doing amazing things, bringing truth to the people. 

Do you have a family? Tell me about them! I had my family before the war... my parents and then my wife, Ray, and son, Shaun, later. They’re all gone now. I have my son... he’s a synth replica of my human son that he made of himself... it’s complicated... but it’s not. I love him. He’s more my real son than the old man I met nearly a year ago who was the person my human son became. And my husband, Danse. And everyone around us in Sanctuary, really, is family. We all love and support each other, that’s what matters, you know? Even some people outside of Sanctuary - Nicky in Diamond City is like a father to me, Longfellow up north on the island too... The Abernathy’s treated me kindly and helped me supply up when I first came out of the vault and I had no idea what was going on, they were the first people I saw, so they feel a lot like family, too... and the Railroad, like Deacon puts it, are just “one big dysfunctional family, with guns” and, well, working with them like I do, we’re family. I also have a cousin on my dad’s side that survived the war, Celeste! She has the best weed and is a big *ahem* fan of Mayor Hancock. I love her dearly.

What about a partner or partners? I’m married to Danse, he’s an amazing man. Besides being tall, dark and handsome, he’s dedicated, strong, loyal, smart, principled... he’s also the biggest softie I know, he’s compassionate and loving and oh, god, his sense of humor is blink-and-you’ll-miss-it dry but if you catch it, it’s amazing. I have no idea what he’s doing with a guy like me. We balance each other out really well, he helps me keep my shit together, and I help him cut loose. Our marriage is sort of open, we both have people from before we got together that are really important to us, so I have a boyfriend, too. He lives out in Vegas now, where he’s from, but I met him up here during a really dark time when I thought I didn't have anything left in me and had run away from everything. He gave me back the will to keep trying. Haley’s really special - smart as a whip, loyal to a fault, goodhearted, charming, one hell of a shot... Oh, and gorgeous. We’ve had a lot of fun together, just wish I could see him more often. And then there’s Preston. He’s just... everything that’s good and right about humanity. How could I not fall in love with him? He’s beautiful inside and out, he has a heart of pure gold, he’s fought so hard for everything he believes in. I didn’t even realize he had any kind of feelings for me until after I had already gotten together with Danse, but, after we worked out the whole open relationship thing, we got together and that was that. 

Who are your enemies, and why? Number one on my shitlist are The Gunners. We’ve been whittling away their numbers, so they’re less of a threat than when I first encountered them. They’re still a legitimate enough with the firepower, organization and numbers they still do have. Anyone or anything that threatens the settlers or the Minutemen are enemies in my book. Things are pretty tense with the Brotherhood of Steel, as well. There’s no... official conflict with them at the moment, but they’re on thin ice.

But seriously, fuck The Gunners.

Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them? Ah, yes. I think if they weren’t trying to spearhead a synth genocide on my turf, we would be able to coexist just fine. I actually used to be in the Brotherhood, though it was mostly me being opportunistic, hoping they could help me find my son and getting to play with power armor and big guns and giant robots. My husband was, too. We were Paladins! Well... I kind of took his position after they kicked him out... he recruited me, he was my commanding officer - one hell of an officer, too, that’s why I field promoted him to Captain of the Minutemen. But I’m getting off topic - The Brotherhood, thankfully seems to have at least slowed down on the synth genocide bullshit after The Minutemen and our allies blew up The Institute. I gently reminded Elder Maxson that’s what happens when people fuck with my family. I haven’t had too many issues with them since. 

[Knight O’Kelley 😏]

What about The Enclave? I’ve heard about them from multiple sources, I’m not sure how much of that information is good information, but from my understanding, they sound like assholes. Dangerous assholes. 

How do you feel about Super Mutants? I feel bad for them. The ones out here in the Commonwealth were made against their will by The Institute. That’s bullshit. I’ll still kill them when they’re shooting at me, though. I’ve ran into a few friendly ones, there’s Strong and Erickson, and Virgil used to be a Super Mutant but now he’s a human again. I know there’s friendly, smarter Super Mutants in other areas. They’re people too, just like ghouls, just like synths, just like humans. If they’re friendly, I’m friendly, if they’re hostile, I’m hostile. Just wish there were more around here that weren’t hostile. They’re also excellent fighters, I definitely admire the no-bullshit approach they take to fighting. 

What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in? Oh, boy, this one’s hard, I’ve been in some crazy fights. Probably The Battle for Bunker Hill, where everyone showed up to the party and I almost died. I was still working undercover at The Institute on the Railroad’s behalf, and so Me, Danse, Deacon, Preston, Hancock, and Mac all go out to meet this Courser. We had Danse in full power armor because we were worried about the Courser recognizing him, but he refused to stay behind because he was worried about me but I’m really glad he didn’t. So we meet this guy, the idea was that we were going to go with him to reclaim these four synths hiding out at Bunker Hill, but when we had a chance, instead we’d take him out and relocate the synths. Well, somehow The god damn Brotherhood of Steel got word of the synths hiding out there as well, so we go in and it’s just a clusterfuck, The Railroad agents, gen 1s, Brotherhood, Caravan guards, everyone’s firing at everyone everywhere. That made getting in easy, we just waded through the fire. We got down there, jumped this Courser and secured the synths. Then we had to fight our way out and in the process Danse’s armors broken, so he has to hop out, but we have everything pretty well handled. Then a second wave of Vertibirds roll in, they’re dropping guys, they’re firing on us from the air, everything is chaos again. They recognized Danse and they were out for blood, they start coming for him instead of the synths we’re protecting, which at least gave Preston, Deacon and Mac a chance to take the four kids to relative safety. So Danse and I are distracting them, trying to slowly retreat, but keep their attention on us enough the rest of our folks can get away. I’m on one side of the street and he’s on the other, just ripping into them. Then this grenade sails over my cover and lands right next to me. I’m pissed, I’m exhausted, I’m thinking, I’m going to throw this motherfucker back at them, there’s nowhere to run, we’re pinned down, fuck it. That was... the wrong call. Or I don’t know, I’m still here, so maybe it wasn’t. I reached down and next thing I know my ears are ringing and I’m flat on my back in the middle of the street in the most excruciating pain I have ever been in. Last thing I see before I black out is my gorgeous, heroic husband standing over me, absolutely fucking furious, unleashing complete and utter hell with that gatling laser on what’s left of the Brotherhood troops. And that’s how I lost my arm! 

Have you ever fought a Deathclaw? Many. I hate fighting them, honestly. They’re beautiful creatures. Terrifying, but beautiful. 

Do you like fighting? I’m so tired of fighting. 

What’s your weapon of choice? In a perfect world, where I won’t accidentally blow up my friends? Mayhem, my quad-barrel missile launcher with a built in targeting computer painted Atom Cats colors. Generally, though, I go with my sniper rifle, Liberator, or the laser rifle Danse gave me, Righteous Authority.

How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?) As much as I’d like to think it’s my excellent combat prowess, mostly some combination of my skills and my charm have helped me stay alive.

Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them? Fuck Vault-Tec, fuck their mothers, fuck all their friends and fuck the vaults. Except Clarence, the salesman who sold me my family’s place in Vault 111. They fucked him over, too. He didn’t know. I can’t be mad. We’re friends. And Curie, technically, was Vault-Tec, when she was a robot, but that’s different. Oh, and the vault I kind of... own... now is OK, the original Overseer left when I did her freaky experiments wrong. It’s known as the Party Vault, now! But listen, I was frozen for 210 years in Vault 111, and as fucked up as that is, that’s probably one of the most benign things Vault-Tec ever did to anyone. They carried out some of the most horrific things I have ever heard of, they’re awful.

[Vault 88, the Party Vault!]

How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you? I don’t have to work too hard to deal with the radiation after the... “religious experience” I had when I “infiltrated” the Children of Atom for Acadia. I still don’t have an explanation for what happened, but, the radiation heals me and eventually dissipates itself after a while, when it even does effect me. Every so often during a bad radstorm I still have to pop some Rad-X. Before that, though, lots of Rad-X and Radaway and cowering in corners of buildings when radstorms blew through. Radstorms used to do a number on me, they’d give me panic attacks, hallucinations - and not the fun kind - make me sick. Not so much anymore, so that’s good.

What’s your favorite wasteland critter? Deathclaws. They’re majestic, they’re fierce and huge. They have interesting mutations that turn them neat colors. I think they’re a lot more intelligent than the average wasteland critter.

What’s your least favorite wasteland critter? Radroaches. Everyone said roaches would survive the apocalypse and not only did they survive, they got more disgusting. Yuck.

How do you feel about robots? Pretty fucking good! I’ve been fascinated with them since before the war. I was going to go into a career in robotics. I guess I kind of ended up doing that, since I build so many now. And Codsworth, who’s a robot, is one of my favorite people. So, yeah, pretty fucking good. 

[These are babeys]

How many caps do you have on you right now? Twenty four thousand give or take. Don’t even think about robbing me of them.

Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla? Listen, Haley sent me a crate of Sunset Sarsaparilla once and that shit is way better than any flavor of Nuka Cola I’ve ever had. 

Do you do chems? Yes. But strictly for business, not pleasure anymore. Before the war, I was addicted to Psycho and Med-X, and probably Mentats, back from when I was in Anchorage. Hell, even as a kid I would get high here and there. I would really do whatever I could get my hands on. But I cleaned up when Ray was pregnant. Once I lost her and Shaun, it was open season again, especially since chems seem to flow pretty freely in some places around here. I had it bad, my friends had to drag me more than half dead to a wasteland doctor more than once. But once I got Shaun back... I couldn’t do that to him, I couldn’t do it anymore. Sometimes the occasion calls for it, though, there are a lot of fights I wouldn’t have walked away from without the extra edge. I just have to watch it.

Do you ever think about the Pre-War world? A lot. I think about the life I had before, the people I cared about. I also think about the mistakes were made that got us to the place we are now, if anything to try to avoid making them again. If they’re even avoidable... 

What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently? Not being able to protect my family in the vault. I don’t know what I could have done differently, I was trapped in there, what could I do? I think about it every day like maybe I’ll have an answer to that question, but I never find one.

What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve? Destroying the Institute, hands down, biggest achievement. They were the biggest roadblock to a functioning Commonwealth, and now they’re gone we can actually build something. 

What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world? 

Peace, for all three. 

[robot-unicorn-attack]

☽ NYX, 24

“ I’m the bad guy....duh. ” — Billie Eilish

Real Name: SOLANA PHYRE (”SOL”) 

Agency: ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ (Lava World)

FC: Duckie Thot

Unicorn Name: U-800 [+]

Place of Birth:  Ambrym, Vanuatu -  largest city and capitol of LW's largest planet; Vanuatu An over-populated city crawling with illicit dealings and even more dubious people and intentions. Police and other enforcers prowling the streets that are overrun with more civilians than there are of cops. But nevertheless, they don't take shit laying down. Sol grew up just down the causeway from her family's mechanic shoppe ahem chop shoppe She was thrown into the family business since she was able to light a welding torch - which happens to be verrrrrry early on and she took to it right away. She knows the ins and outs of the city she called home; having to know 'em in order to outrun the cops as well as conducting illegal underground above ground races

Appearance: Within the first few months of Sol signing onto ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ; she underwent surgery - after much begging and pushing from the agency. Ocular implants aren't as widely consumed as one would assume. However, they aren't rare either. Hell, 𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙's own Ice Queen, Snow, had diamonds implanted into her irises. ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ felt it was a great idea to really sell the villain route of Nyx.

(What better than to make them tremble in fear just from your gaze alone? And to be able to see it from the track? Brilliant!)

They might have well had the conversations with themselves with the amount of input Sol gave. But, she gave in; secretly thrilled at the idea, though she'd never give ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ the satisfaction.

Piercing, molten gold eyes now stand out against her skin. The molten of her gaze almost glows in anticipation and when she's in the throes of passion and excitement. They dull, almost as if gold could tarnish, when she's expressing darker more sinister thoughts. It's in those times you should watch your back. However, she rarely lets it slip that she's concocting any sort of illicit activities and therefore - you should always be wary. 

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," as the old proverb states.

Swarthy skin as smooth as supple leather, but tough from living in LW as well as with the amount of time spent hunched over a blow torch and welding machines. Skin which takes on an almost ethereal sight when the light hits her just so and she is obsidian in the flesh. Typically her raven locks are worn long. However, when she was younger and growing up she could be seen sporting a buzzed style or her natural fro-curls. Due to ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ's villainous projection of Nyx, she continues to keep it long and straight for the most part - and then varying forms of the aforementioned. 

Wardrobe: Black glitz & glam spiked heel to your face. Blacks, blacks and more black. With gold, silver and red splashed throughout. Sol is typically the poster child of all that Lava World fashion has to offer. While she's out and about, mainly strongly influenced by ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ and their contract with the woman, she is seen donning either high fashion pretty clothes as she refers to them, or the counterpart of high fashioned battle / racing gear [ you know, leather or fabric pants, jackets, tops - and of course some stunning kickass boots? that's the one ]

Places most likely to be found: Most likely can be found in the stables with Uuie; or getting her mechanic on - legally or illegally especially if there's an upcoming race. Otherwise, she likes to live it up as much as she can with her "free time". She can be spotted at any bar or nightclub with her siblings living it up or if it's mandatory - a promo event that her agency sets up.

People mostly likely to be with: Her siblings; Hugo, Ember and Pele. As well as her fellow teammates; Flame and Widow. She does still keep in contact with some of her old racing buds from the underground scene.

Strongest character trait: Ruthless

Public Image: cut-throat. ruthless. brutal. aloof. cold and calculating. the bad guy. the one you hate to love and love to hate. a true villain. what is she gonna do next? and will it be legal? very much a tabloid trashcat lol

Racing Strengths:  tenacious. knows the limits of Uuie like the back of her hand - oh that's new - so she knows how to run him and the courses to the best of his abilities. she likes to think that she can easily adapt to a multitude of situations - whether it's due to a new steed, new course, even new teammates cough cough yrah right

Racing Weaknesses: pushes herself and Uuie to the limit. focused on winning, no matter the cost - except for in the case of Uuie as of late - she's grown soft with him

Personality: arrogant. headstrong. over ambitious. stubborn. sharp witted. silver tongue. quick reaction. an absolute instigator. somewhat of a bully. edgy and irritable. determined. observant. intuitive. confident. cunning. questionable motives for sure. untrustworthy - duh. sneaky. incredible liar. knows she's talented and takes it a bit too far. highly intelligent. nasty bitch. party loving animal. ruthless. aggressive. charming. cut-throat. brutal. aloof. cold and calculating. the bad guy. the one you hate to love and love to hate. a true villain. very much a tabloid trashcat lol hardworking. super handy. think female villainous tony stark she is also quite the lil cocky genius. she adores being center of attention - all the more challenging to get away with things - not to mention, being petty and subtle not so subtle in her tone and actions with others is so lovely~ will absolutely get inside your and her own head. ruthless. cunning. talented. hardworking. handy. can assemble and disassemble any and all unicorns and horses that cross her path after spending a few hours with it. can say the same for literally any other mechanical device / equipment. worries about stupid shit - specifically shit that she makes up in her head - ruthless. motives and means are questionable at best. shifty, shady lady. crass - sometimes doesn't realize it - it's just in her nature. insomnia is a real thing.

Biography: Sol grew up in a racing household. Well, kinda. Coming from quite a large, working family, Sol has never been one to shy away from hard work and working towards her goals. No matter the consequences. Her father used to race - unofficially, of course - but before then he was a mechanic. Constantly working on the horses. His father had owned and ran a shop specifically for the racers of Lava. Along with some shady chop shop goings on at the same time, and outta the same shop. Since her father and grandfather were so close, she was there everyday - learning the ins and outs of the . . . family business. Which only furthered her passion with the sport.

So, as soon as she could ride, her pops helped her get a rig of her own totally not stolen and they got to work building it up from the base it was literally a chassis. The majority of the work fell onto Sol's shoulders because not long into starting, her grandfather passed and her pop was thrown in jail not for long, but still .

Sol, being the eldest of her siblings, she hauled ass to complete her stallion, that she aptly named Frankenstein - yeah she was well aware that wasn't his name, but she liked it waaaay better than adam bleghh. The next day after his completion, she took him to an underground track where there was talks about races took place and positions won cash. Competing in her first race went . . . smoother than she anticipated. However, that isn't saying much seeing as how she not only lost but Frank was nearly destroyed when the ground shifted beneath him and they toppled to the ground, his large frame landing on top of her - effectively breaking her right arm.

After that point, she was constantly rebuilding Frank - eventually having to scrap him when there was no longer anything to rebuild and continue the same process over and over again. To say that Sol got in the experience of racing is an understatement. The amount of race time she put in rivaled that of the older crowd who'd been attending these events for years even before Sol was born.

Winning the races came after. The money going back into the family's food and shelter. But a few times, more often than not, the first place went to Sol for reasons outside of the stats of her current beast. No one could really prove it. And it wasn't like others participating weren't conducting similar measures of their own - it was just a blow to the pride when they believed that this . . . kid was the cause of the sabotage.

Fast forward a few years and Sol's name was known on the beat as the mechanic with wicked stats and even more wicked intentions. Winning unknown underground races was no longer thrilling for her anymore. Especially since no one posed any serious threat to her. Either because they all sucked or because they were too chicken shit to attempt, she couldn't be sure. But either way, she didn't like it. The only one to give her a run for her money was the now infamous Widowmaker. But since signing on with ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ, the scene has been . . . lacking.

Sol was excited for her long time friend and rival. Though she never could brush off that pang of jealousy she felt for being left behind. Regardless of her age.

It wasn't until she was 17 that things were beginning to look up for the eldest Phyre child. She'd just won a race - one that took place under and around the ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ agencies recruitment station and stalls where they house the unicorns and horses, ya know to add a lil spice to game. Well, their antics and noise drew the attention of the cities police enforcement as well as agency members. Sol was skilled enough to bolt, not lucky enough to get away. Turns out, ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ had been keeping tabs on the girl for awhile now - not to mention Widowmaker spoke highly of her - that they asked for her to join them. Unofficially as of the time, of course legality purposes and all bleghh.

Having known who exactly who she was and the family she stems from, they knew the exact role she was going to play within their agency. And since Sol had no issue conducting . . . less than legal means, they continued and played up that strength of hers ***though they would never admit out loud or publicly that what the rumors posted are true in any form of the word / i mean what ?***

Since her signing with the agency, Nyx has been the ever fan favorite villain. Her ruthlessness on and off the track knows no bounds. ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ has never been one to shy away from the drama or the dirty and the nasty and having Nyx's villainous tendencies, that she will do anything she has to in order to get what she wants, slip out into the public, well, oops, oh well

Nyx’s image and her skill with her Uuie have brought her moderate success. As of late, however, she's been quite worried about whether or not the agency is going to drop her - that she's not a fan favorite anymore. Which to be honest . . . she's still a favorite - the kind you wanna hate and love it. She’s good, no doubt, but she’s no Snow or Supernova. Which honestly, she never expected to be - they have waaaaay more experience than she ever will, but still~ However, with the currently rising Flame, with wins and popularity, she is in her right to worry some. Though, it's nowhere near where her imagination takes her. So, she has decided to go off script for the time being - continuing her tasks passed down through the agency - but also making sure to keep up her own appearance. Anything to get what she wants. Nyx doesn’t take no for an answer, so she’s going to do whatever it takes to get to the top. Even if it means exacerbating all the rumors of foul play that already surround her.

She's painted as the villain, right?

Might as well give them what they want . . .

Relationships:

Snow -

Sky -

Ice -

Supernova -

Sunbeam -  

Flower -

Flame -

Nyx -

Widowmaker -

Playlist:

lucky you | eminem ft. joyner lucas

rap god | eminem

killshot | eminem

'till i collapse | eminem ft. nate dogg

lady in red | jolin tsai

el chapo | the game

don't be nice | watsky

punchin' bag | cage the elephant

mess around | cage the elephant

ride | zz ward

raise hell | dorothy

wicked ones | dorothy

monsters | ruelle

copycat | billie eilish

bad guy | billie eilish

all the good girls go to hell | billie eilish

dangerous | royal deluxe

unstoppable | the score

natural | imagine dragons

control | halsey

beekeeper | keaton henson

paint it, black | ciara

Headcanons:

As Nyx; she's expected to be a villain - always; that includes when out in public and at events. She has to play the part and well, be villainous. She doesn't mind, but also doesn't want to lose fans cause she's playing at being a bitch to them. Apparently, the die hards don't care, cause she's constantly in contact with them.

knows quite a few die hard fans by name and can spot them outta the crowds. she's a lil weary of a few of the more stan-y of them.

has kicked some of the creepy fans ass; which only helped solidify her Nyx role . . .

hasn't dated anyone since signing onto ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ | has had quite a few fuck buddies though - even having a buddy for each day of the week at one point. has toned it down however to just 2 - gotta satisfy that appetite

does have quite the lil crush on Flower; mainly because of how similar she sees them. Not to mention, she's such a cutie. Anytime they're together or near, she likes to tease the girl~

she likes to tease and make others uncomfortable regardless - it's just sooooo much fun

even though she can adapt to any horse / unicorn thrown at her, she has her fav; Uuie - she's sentimental that way

so she resorts to just makin' adjustments and any mods she can get away with

doesn't really like it when the agency throws a new horse at her while Uuie is undergoing repairs - but deals; begrudgingly

listens to music loudly while she's working / training etc. to the point where it makes it extremely difficult for her to hear anything else going on around her

insomniac

really, realllllly skilled in mechanations of all sorts

constantly in contact with her siblings - actually pretty close with them

they run the family business without her while she's off "being a super villain"

her father is still in prison and refuses to give up any information on his "alleged" illegal activities

he's kinda the big dog on site; has quite the following and is extremely proud of his oldest daughter and what she's become

looks up to her teammates; Widowmaker and Flame - though will NOT admit to the latter of the two; because she feels like it makes her look and sound weak and she canNOT have that

taken a play from flower's app has merch of her own team, specifically her own shiit; cause she's vain and LOVES how she's portrayed. what's wrong with having a small room dedicated to ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ cough cough herself

actually loves playing the villain; it isn't too far off the mark from who she really is

she's a lil more . . . lively than her villainous counterpart think harley quinn type lively

when she's Nyx; she hardly speaks - not really needing too - but when she does, expect, cool, acid tones to drip from her lips; sultry and cabaret sounding - while her normal tone is actually more city slang and more bubbly

sleeps in the nude OR an oversized shirt that typically hangs off one shoulder there is no in between

Family/Other Characters:

Baskara Phyre [ grandfather ]

Kiran Phyre [ father ]

Aithne Phyre [ mother ]

Hugo Phyre [ brother ]

Pele Phyre [ sister ]

Ember Phyre [ sister ]

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kzombi3/rua/

[hzcleski]

dylan o’brien. cis male. he/him.  ／ hal zaleski just pulled up blasting 6 god by drake— that song is so them! you know, for a twenty-three year old nhl player, i’ve heard they’re really crass, but that they make up for it by being so protective. if i had to choose three things to describe them, i’d probably say bruised knuckles, sharp turns in a worn pair of ice skates, and blood dripping from a menacing smile. here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble!

nathan harold zaleski iii was born ( practically with a pair of skates on ) in toronto, ontario. he’s third in a line of hockey royalty that started with his grandfather nathan i, in the 70s and 80s ( most notably with the montreal canadiens ), then continued with his father nathan ii, in the 90s and 00s ( most notably with the detriot red wings ). both were legendary defenseman in the nhl with several stanley cup wins and a olympic gold medals to their shared name.

so, no pressure right? nathan iii aka hal, has spent his entire life training to play hockey. he could skate before he ever knew how to walk and was taught how to hold a hockey stick before he was ever taught how to hold a pencil. he was barely homeschooled so that absolutely nothing would get in the way of his training in his formative years, casually had living legends coming over this house for dinner every other week, etc.

his parents divorced when he was ten years old, which he handled remarkably well for a kid his age but he honestly...couldn’t remember a time when his mother and father ever seemed genuinely happy or even as if they genuinely liked one another.

after the divorce and a messy custody battle, hal wound up staying with his dad, who was traded to the new york rangers on the very last leg of his career. his mom moved back to poland ( where she was from ) and he and his dad moved to nyc. a couple years later, when hal was twelve, his dad officially retired from the nhl and soon after married the mother of sabrina miller. she and hal hit it off right away and even though their parents would eventually divorce, the two are still close and hal still refers to her as his sister.

hal and his father attended the 2010 winter olympics in vancouver and because of who his dad was, he got to be all up close and personal with team canada which was equal parts thrilling and nerve - wracking, but overall he had a great time and after that experience, he became more serious than ever about hockey.

he went back to nyc after the olympics were over and, thanks to ages and ages of endlessly begging his dad, finally got to attend “a real school”.

it was there that he would meet isabel nichols, an accomplished figure skater who...absolutely hated his guts. at first. the two grew on one another and began dating, which eventually led hal to propose when they were uhhhh. seventeen

she was training for the sochi winter olympics and wound up breaking off their engagement during the actual games. isabel sorta dumped him w/o any explanation whatsoever so it kinda came out of nowhere for him, and this was basically the event that turned him into the fuckboy that we all know and begrudgingly tolerate today!

so idk how getting drafted into the nhl works bc idk anything abt sports and looking it up on google just confused me BUT what’s important here is that when hal was drafted into the nhl, he first played defense for the edmonton oilers before being traded to, again, play defense the new york rangers about which is where he still is now.

so around this time is when hal and his dad have a HUGE falling out. it had basically been building up since the day he was born so when it finally exploded...whew! all of the pressure that his dad has put him under his entire life, all of the pushing and prodding and nothing he ever did being good enough...it was allllllll thrown out there into the open and they’ve never really recovered from it. hal’s dad is basically just a big sore spot for him that he doesn’t really talk about. ever.

back to hockey, he’s still a big fan favorite and considered to be kind of a golden boy type despite being known for getting into fights on the ice and racking up endless penalties. it’s the kind of rebellious edge that people LIVE FOR. it also helps that he is, in fact, a really talented player.

injured his knee during a game in late march of 2019 and he was out for the rest of the season in order to recover which KILLED HIM he was MISERABLE but he’s been given the all clear to play once preseason starts and he’s so excited that he’s practically counting the s e c o n d s until september 18th

he’s technically married to genesis iver buuuut as far as 99% of people know, they’re engaged with their january wedding date on its way! their story is kinda Messy bc that’s their brand but basically friends to lovers to husband and wife and they’re v in love so it’s super sweet and all.

fun facts !

born on december 31st which makes him a capricorn!

he was mostly raised by his nanny, angeline, so tbh he was never really that close to either of his parents. in fact he hasn’t seen his mom in person since she moved back to poland when he was ten buuut she does call him sometimes

also - hal speaks fluent ( canadian ) french! angeline was from quebec, so it’s actually his first language. little known fact! he knows a few words in polish too but he’s not at all fluent.

his english is very good but tbh that’s probably part of the reason why he never did so well in school besides the fact that it just wasn’t his focus and i’m kinda sad now that i think about this aw :(

he’s ambidextrous it’s v cool

freak of nature athlete who will literally go to the gym at 5am to get ready for his 7am practice and a big physically imposing guy soooo 0/10 probably do not try to fight him

tbh the only sport he cares about besides hockey is basketball he’s a raptors fan

kind of a hothead but he keeps it in check and tbh otherwise his personality is amiable and even kinda...goofy. basically, outside of his regularly scheduled fuckboy activities he tends to be chill and calm and he’s actually a very genuine person.

basically him and gen together can seem SO CONFUSING bc the two seem like complete opposites in every single possible sense of the word but idk that’s true love for ya i guess

a total Dumb Jock Stereotype™

he’s basically a golden retriever in a backwards snapback

[axelbro17]

The story begins a few million years after the formation of Spherus Magna.

Inside the remnants of the great being robot, Makuta planted two canisters with his creations, two engineers that were made with the purpose of rebuilding the Makuta empire and rule the universe in the name of Teridax. Their name were Mysterio and Magnuros. Mysterio was a noble warrior that believed in inter-species equality and peace through unity, while Magnuros was a Tyrannic gladiator that believed in peace through tyranny and opression.

Mysterio was naive enough not to suspect his brother of any dark and devious plans. They both created 9 makuta together in the following order.

Zerkon(the prototype and most unstable mentally, sociopathic tendencies, considered to be the most dangerous)

Zinus(Zerkon's twin brother, calm and collected, could generate chains from inside his arms in a Spider-Man fashion)

Taknor(A brilliant scientist that has a bigger ego than himself, he granted himself powers by constantly upgrading his biomechanical body)

Voltrax(a honorable swordsman that believed in honor to the end)

Mesanok(A mutant with unstable powers, his right half was red and had explosive powers, his left half was green and could produce flamable acid)

"D'compose"(he was able to regenerate at a subatomic level and at a fast pace)

Xenoth(two headed and super strong) Rekan(much like Umbra , his feet had wheels that granted him super stregth

and Arana(the only female of the group, considered the weakest).

Mysterio eventually overheard his plan and decided to act against it by talking to the Great Spirit himself, being blessed with Teridax' Krahkaan, he was able to sneak inside the OoMN's Vault, without being detected. He communicated with Mata nui and was granted 8 elemental stones to create a new generation of toa.

Lancelot-Captain of the Ta-koro guard, born to be a warrior(Toa of Fire)

Sentinel-former archeologist, an advanced matoran prototype created by Arthaka himself(Toa of Iron)

Botan:former musician of the Le-koro choir, a treehugger at heart(Toa of Plantlife)

Korax: Chief Medical officer of the Ko-koro medical institute, he gained the ability to fly once turned into a toa in order to provide quicker medical assistance on the field(Toa of Ice)

Nidalee: she was a former Po-koro athlete with incredible fighting skills(Po-Koro)

Horvath: worked as an archer for the Ko-Koro defense team, incredible accuracy and calm under tough situations(Toa of Ice)

Luxanna: a biology teacher in Ga-koro, she admired Nokama's work and dreamed about becoming a toa herself someday , even though her kindness might give her a disadvantage.(Toa of water).

Suletu:probably the most loveable Le-koran, He used to be a bartender, very sociable and loyal to his people.(Toa of air)

On the course of 1 year he trained them to become warriors in every sort of the way. The OoMN lead by Helryx welcomed Mysterio and the new toa as their protectors.In the meantime, Magnuros assasinated Zerkon by shooting him in the back of the head since he became too self-aware and intelligent to manipulate, and disposed of his body by sending it to the southest continent.

Mysterio did however have an asset in the Makuta team, Arana has been secretly providing information about the grand return of the Makuta empire and the day of the attack

Everything went downhill in their clash. Half the toa team mysteriously(Horvath,Suletu,Luxanna and Sentinel) vanquished, the makuta were close to winning , the remaining 4 and Mysterio could barely hold eachother up. As Magnuros was about to shoot his brother down , Arana jumped in and took the blow full-on, dying on impact.That gave Mysterio the chance to strike by unleashing the demonic powers of his mask, leaving his older brother almost done for.

Magnuros: are you not going to finish what you started brother? Isn't this what you wanted

Mysterio: the universe is said to be impartial and in balance, however it always picks the good side of the spectrum...even if you think you are victorious....the universe will make it short-lived, farewell...until we meet again.

He left the makuta lair carrying Arana's body,followed by his remaining team, a scene that would haunt Magnetron for the rest of his existence.

Later on, after celebrating the bittersweet victory against the Makuta, The Great Spirit rewarded Mysterio's noble soul by rebuilding him into a Toa of Shadows because "Even Darkness, can create a path of Light"-MN-2011 years ASM(After Spherus Magna)

In the makuta lair, as Magnuros is recovering after the battle, his second in command welcomes his Fallen leader

Taknor:"You fought bravely my Lord, you've put quite a show"

Magnuros:"I do not need your pitty Taknor....It's time for things to change around here"

Taknor: "I'm glad we can agree...this will make things so much easier for me" *He takes Magnetron's sword and impales it's bearer owner right in the chest and through the Throne"

Magnuros: hanghh! W-what have you..done?!

Taknor: my maker...you are weak, you gave birth to such unique and twisted creations....but you...you are not worthy of leading our kind to Victory...I will not allow failure...for I shall take command of my brothers....

During the following 4 years, The OoMN created a task force lead by Sergeant Curanos Peddlestick, Super soldiers created from matoran volunteers with the purpose of becoming law enforcers and military teams for their Toa Generals , seeing as there aren't enough Toa to defend the whole matoran population(pretty much a Jedi-Clone Troopers relationship)

Although one of them wasnt that keen on Taking orders from toa, that being Vespirion , Lance's lieutenant. He became power hungry, so he decided to steal the mask of life and use it for "The greater good". However, the mask sensed his villanous tendencies and mutated him into a horrifying monster, able to control soundwaves and generate sonic pulses(since he was originally a matoran of sonics before recruitment). Not only that but the mask's power burst created a shockwave that spread over a radius of 1000 miles. So far it is yet unknown if it caused any damage. Sergeant Curanos spotted Vespirion and took him head on.

Serge: "you bit more than yer teeth could nibble on, ain't it lad?Look what greed brings ya. Yer mammy not gonna love that face , but don't'cha worry, after I'm done kicking yer bum, she won't even recognise ya"

The fight lasted quite a fair bit, until Serge gave him the final blow, Vespirion however managed to flee, despite his bad state.

After this incident, Helryx makes a disturbing statement: "To whoever decides to rebel against my will for peace, shall suffer grace consequences, today one of our most trusted soldiers became one of our greatest enemy, thus I want him to face justice accordingly. Once we find him, he shall be executed for his crimes"

The matoran society became disgusted by their supposed protector , claims such as "We are safe from others but not from her" and "Our Guardian is also our Executioner" sprouted an outrage , thus a lot of digging lead to exposing a lot of Helryx's shady acts during her time as head leader of the OoMN. The matoran demanded the choice of a new leader to go against her corruptive and manipulative ways. Thus the OoMN unanimously voted in favour of Mysterio as their leader due to his acts of bravery , selflessness and code of honor. Helryx was then exiled from the Matorans' land and found shelter on Arthaka's new island.

Later on , The Shadowed one sent a letter towards Taknor and the Makuta Brotherhood "I have a business Proposition for you and your Makuta, meet me at the coordinations on the back of the letter so we can discuss like two civilised beings". Of course, Taknor agreed to meet him, the location however was the Fortress of Odina itself(The new fortress got named after the island they were back in the days of the Matoran universe). However the meeting didn't go as well planned.

Taknor: "how could you possibly believe that we'd be interested in collaborating with low-lives like you, you are nothing but Spineless mercenaries"

Tso:"You dare insult me...right under the roof of my home, the place I welcomed you in as if you were part of our beautiful family, and you step on my generosity as if it were a rodent! Here's my current business proposition... I challenge you to fight me....If you win, this entire place and every non-living thing is all yours, but ....If I win.....all of you shall become my property....what do you say? 7 Makuta, against poor old me and 6 of my strongest Darkhunters..."

Taknor: "you've got a deal merchant..."

Unfortunately for Taknor, his cocky attitude ended up being his downfall. One by one his makuta were being heavily wounded by their Dark Hunter challengers. Taknor took a serious beating, Broken bones, massive open wounds, his right hand completely chopped off, he was the last one standing.

Tso:"I'm ready to claim my prize Taknor...I want to celebrate already...Quite admirable, you trully are the strongest amongst them...that's good enough for me, you'd make a great asset....Darkhunters, we have our Prize....Kill them all..."

Taknor:"I will not allow you to do such thing to my brothers! I will not stop fighting!"

Tso:"....but Spare Taknor....He is one of us now.....He will learn the hard way about how actions have consequences..."*with a quick swing of his staff , he knocks Taknor off his feet*"I want him fixed by tomorrow...His discipline lessons need no further delay"

As Taknor helplessly witnessed the execution of his brothers, He sworn to himself, that he will defeat his new Master and claim his empire for himself.

*on the course of this current year, a few more Darkhunters join the Darkhunter Legion*

Darkhunters so far :

-Daxidous

-Gazestealer

-Larsika

-Pelgrax

-Pincer

-Screecher

-Taknor

-Tetra

-Tyrannus

-Vespirion(found, repaired and recruited)

-Virus

With his men and women ready , Tso started the first phase of his plan to conquer the industry of Spherus Magna, that being "Intimidation". He sent his most trusted darkhunters to send havoc among 5 of the 6 regions of the new Island of Mata nui:

-"Screecher"-Bombed Le-koro with zamor spheres

-Pelgrax-Flooded Po-koro with his water powers

-Tetra-Sunk Ga-Koro with her brute strength

-Daxiodus- caused an avalanche over Ko-koro

-Vespirion- created a sonic pulse that collapsed Onu-koro's entire cave system.

They are known as the ,Darkhunter Justice Division"(DhJD for short)- this group, comprised of the most loyal hunters of the Shadowed one were trained to be capable of disposing of any darkhunters that turn or intend to turn against their leader, either through Rebellion,Lack of loyalty and beliefs of any kind.

Although the plan was a success, not all of them came back. During his Mission, Vespirion was directly confronted by his arch enemy, Sergeant Curanos Peddlestick and didn't make it out alive. Vespirion's lifeless body was found at the blocked entrace of the cave system.

The next day was to be the second phase of the plan, to slowly make the Matoran, toa and OoMN lose faith, the "Assault on Ta-koro" , where the Mask of Light is kept safe since Takanuva's passing into the afterlife.

Luckily the toa predicted their next move , so they gathered all in Ta-koro, together with their troops and Serge. But not even their assumptions were good enough, even though they had a strong number, that didn't help them.

The Darkhunters came well armed, plowing through their defenses with ease. As the toa and troops kept fighting , Tso kept making his way up to the tower. Right when the Darkhunters seemed to lose, a new face showed up , a darkhunter no one has seen before, he was very skilled, strong and vicious. He easily cut down the dozens of soldiers until he came face to face with The Sergeant himself, unfortunately, not even his years of military service kept him safe. Once he was weakened, the Darkhunter raised his wrist blade and with one fell swoop, cut his right forearm and right lower leg.

???: I have to admit full of regrer.. Sergeant...I expected a better fight

Serge: Tell me mistah smarty pants, who be the sonovabohrok Standing in front of me eye?

Scourge: I am Scourge, and my face is the last thing you'll ever see my Illiterate yet charming friend...

However two troops interfered , getting badly wounded by one of Scourge's landmines, giving Serge the time to shoot a harpoon that got it's rope tangled up on Scourge's foot sending him away at a safe distance. They both knew it won't be their last encounter. Scourge kept fighting until he got face to face with Mysterio, he was about to overpower the toa of shadows until a trooper pushed him out of harm's way, which sadly ended in the soldier's forearms getting severed  completely off.

Scourge:"This loyalty is admirable but that won't make me forgive you for what you've just done..."

In the meantime, Lance and Tso are having a serious beat down over the mask of light. Both are heavily wounded, most notably , Tso's tail has been completely ripped off by Lance's bare hands and sheer strength. And Lance has a big stab wound in his chest.

Tso: you have nowhere else to go toa...surrender the mask and I might let you leave

Lance: "I am a warrior till the end, but a repulsive creature like you Shadowed one is too low for that word...only someone as dishonorable as you would use their people for monetary gain...you did that with your own species...you enslaved the Steltians and killed your only friend..."

Tso: "<<Ancient>> had a painless death, you however will not!"

The shadowed one blows a hole in Lance's chest, making him loose balance and blood, he leans over the edge of the tower, and lets out one final battlecry"Unity....Duty....DESTINY!" he leans back and throws himself over the edge of the central tower , holding the mask of light tightly, with his final moments, he opens a portal using his Kualsi(mask of teleportation) and tosses the mask through it, in a safe place that only he knows of. As he plunges down the tower, all eyes are on him, toa, dark hunters matoran, all watch his body crash down lifeless.

The shadowed one orders the Darkhunters to fall back since Lance's final act turned their victory into defeat, but one thing's for sure, the toa suffered a lot of losses.

Mysterio:"how many were we before the attack?"

Korax: 2.000 troops, 5 toa, 21.000 matoran

Mysterio: afterwards?

Korax:"*sigh*..1995 dead troopers, 5 injuired badly....1 dead toa...4 alive...aand  50 mildly injuired matoran, no matoran casualties luckily.

Mysterio:"The remaining troops...I want names."

Korax:" Sergeant Curanos of Kini-nui-lost right arm and right leg , Lieutenant Herrandra of Ta-koro-she has a major concussion , Gravion of Po-koro-lost both arms , Rackus of Le-Koro- lost left arm from Scourge's grenade, Reiner of Le-koro lost his right arm to the same explosion"

Mysterio:"I want you to do everything possible to save their lives, and have Sergeant promote them to Members of the Order of Mata Nui"

Korax:" I'll do my best"

Mysterio:"Lance..."

Korax:" he died before his body hit the ground....in mid-fall....no matter how early we would've gotten to him...there was nothing we could've done..."

Mysterio:"I wish I could say that we don't have time to mourn our loses....but the sacrifice was too great...we need to pay tribute to the brave souls we lost today"

[theultimateegghead-blog]

Noble or Nefarious, some of gaming’s greatest Ninja warriors!

Ninja’s. the warriors of shadow. They lurk in the darkness before striking. Often armed with powers considered magical, or weapons that require great skill. These Ninja are no longer in the shadows, as they are taking the spotlight. As a rule for this list, no Ninja that originate from anime will be on this list, so namely, no Naruto characters. (Also, for anyone who does not know… Kunoichi means female ninja, keep that in mind.)

Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden) One of gaming’s most legendary Ninja. Ryu Hayabusa has gone on several death defining journeys. He has saved the world from men and demons alike. Armed with a wide assortment of weapons and ninjutsu, Ryu dispatches his foes with no mercy. Ryu does not fear death, nor does he hesitate in striking down his foes. In the ninja gaiden series, Ryu fight hundreds of brutal opponents, he utilizes acrobatics and masterful swordplay. In the Dead or Alive series, he relies on skillful hand to hand combat. When not in combat, Ryu is a Curio shop owner and is the love interest of a female American agent. Ryu has appeared in various other games either as a guest character or a cameo as well.

Joe Musashi (SHINOBI) Sega’s response to Ryu Hayabusa. Joe Musashi is one of the main characters of the SHINOBI series. A ninja from the Oboro clan. Joe is half American half Japanese and is quite the skilled warrior. Proficient at ninjutsu and shuriken throwing, Joe has fought evil since his early twenties. Joe is a righteous man who strives for world peace and has clashed with the evil terrorist syndicate Zeed on several occasions. He would eventually become the head of his clan and would continue defending the world from evil.

Scorpion & Sub Zero (Mortal Kombat) Scorpion and Sub-Zero, one of the most iconic rivalries in video games. The Sub-Zero we all know and love is the brother of the original Sub-Zero. Scorpion is a wrath obsessed with revenge and can rarely see past his own anger. Sub zero can control ice and can use it to freeze opponents solid while in battle. Sub-Zero is calm and calculated and is the leader of his own people. He tries his best to be a good leader but is not afraid to bust some heads while doing so. Scorpion is a fallen soul that was given a second chance to enact revenge. While the target of his revenge is Noob Sabot, he tends to target the current Sub-Zero. Scorpion is adept in his knife throwing and has decent manipulation over fire. Scorpion is undead and very angry, rarely listens to reason and tends to be the one who stats fights. In some cases, the two put aside their differences and work together, when that happens they become near unstoppable.

Grey Fox (Metal Gear Solid) Frank Jaeger, also known as Grey Fox is a mercenary turned vengeance fueled cybernetic ninja. Frank made an appearance in the first Metal Gear title as the infiltrator of outer haven, he was captured and rescued by Snake. He would disappear after the supposed Death of Big Boss. In Metal Gear 2 he reappears, this time as Snake’s enemy. Having sided with the real Big Boss, Fox tries to drive Snake away several times but ultimately fails. The two engage in a fist fight and Fox loses and supposedly dies. Later, in Metal Gear Solid, Fox returns in his famous cyborg ninja garb. A man obsessed with fighting Snake once more, he is a rogue card in the Shadow Moses incident. He eventually turns to Snake’s side and dies in the games finale. His death would carry a legacy that plays a large role in MGS4. As a cyborg ninja, Fox can render himself invisible and deflect bullets with his sword. He strongly prefers fighting hand to hand.

Kat and Ana (WarioWare) Not every Ninja is a shadowy warrior that leaves behind a trail of bodies. Kat and Ana are two young ninja in training. Their name is a pun on the word Katana. When they are not in school they are training to become professional ninja, but usually something silly happens in the process. Their microgames in the wario ware series vary from game to game, covering themes such as nature, ninjas and everyday life. They also appear as an assist trophy in the smash series.

Ibuki (Street Fighter) A young Kunoichi in training from the street fighter series. Despite her training, Ibuki acts like a normal teenage girl. She is not to fond of her training and finds it bothersome but takes it seriously nonetheless. She tends to sneak off and skip her duties to do her own thing. She desires to meet cool and handsome guys and will often judge her foes based on the way the look, act and dress. At some point she fights an immortal hermit named Oro, and even though she lost, it was considered her final test and she was granted a pass. She then went to university for ninjas.

Kaede (Onimusha) A ninja assassin who would dive headfirst into combat regardless of the risk. At some point in the past she was sent by an unknown benefactor to assassinate a mane named Samanosuke Akechi. She instead became his ally and eventual lover. The two would travel together over the next couple years. She plays a role in several Onimusha games, usually aiding her lover or searching for him when he went missing. Eventually she would fall in combat at the hands of Gargant. After her death, she is still remembered fondly by her widowed lover.

Rikimaru (Tenchu) A young master class Ninja assassin. Raised and trained by the man who killed his parents, Rikimaru was turned into a deadly warrior since an early age. Stoic and ever so serious, Rikimaru is loyal to Lord Gohda. He has helped quell rebellions and has fought off rival ninja clans to ensure Lord Gohda’s protection. A detached man, Rikimaru is very rarely influenced by emotions. He is skilled in many forms of combat and swordsmanship and is the current head of his clan.

Yuffie Kisaragi (Final Fantasy VII) A teenage kunoichi thief who desires to restore her homeland of Wutai. She is one of the secret characters of FFVII and makes her debut by trying to steal Cloud’s materia. A spunky, emotional girl, Yuffie can act quite childish at times. She tends to get on her allie’s nerves but can be a skilled comrade in battle. Yuffie fights with a giant shuriken. As the series goes on, Yuffie grows up and matures a bit but still has an immature demeanor at times. She also appears in Kingdom Hearts as one of Sora’s first allies.

Strider Hiryu (Strider) A master spy and an active Strider agent. Hiryu’s name, nationality and age are all top secret. The most info on him other than his appearance is that he was born in 2030. Hiryu is extremely skilled and collected in combat, often considered to be the top Strider agent to date. Being able to dodge bullets and defeat tons of enemies without showing fatigued, Hiryu is often the one who is left standing. Eventually the other Striders are whipped out, and he is the sole survivor. While he could easily flee, he chooses to fight. It is this bravery and tenacity to survive that make him an excellent Ninja.

Izuna (Legend of the Unemployed Ninja) A 16-year-old kunoichi who is down on her luck. Izuna and her clan were kicked out of their castle because their leader thought Ninja were obsolete. Stubborn and somewhat clumsy, she winds up accidently offending the gods and must go on a quest to set things right. Surprisingly enough, she is a gifted individual that can allow gods to leave their shrines and support her. While not the most skilled ninja on this list, she is a kunoichi nonetheless.

Shadow Man (Mega Man) A ninja robot master who originated from Mega Man 3. A skilled martial artist hwo loves to sneak up on people, Shadow man is surprisingly impulsive. He has a variety of attacks, such as creating a clone or using a smokescreen in battle. His weapon is the shadow blade and he is weak to the incredibly useful top kick. He reappears in several other games as well which further his ninja skills. Shadow man is possibly alien in origin as well.

Wonder White (Wonderful 101) A superhero and a ninja in training. Wonder White, known by his real name Momoe Byakkoin and his other super name, the claws of calamity, is one of the heroes of Wonderful 101. Armed with special weapons passed down from generation to generation, White is a speed oriented fighter. A man who enjoys long entrances and spouting philosophy, he can be somewhat of a nuisance. While calm and cooperative, Wonder White is very talkative… Not very fitting for a ninja.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry this one took a while. I was sick for the past day or so and typing just wasn’t going to happen. This list took me a while to write as well but hey! Its done! Thanks for reading, next time we will either look at some factory levels, or… If we reach 30 followers (we are at 29!!!) I will start my 5 part follower appreciation special! See you next time!

[queezleposts]

Paladins Patch 1.3 Thoughts

So now that it’s a bit after the fact, I figure I might as well organize my thoughts more about the upcoming patch! Everything is under the cut, and I apologize in advance to mobile users. The patch notes for 1.3 are already up if you’re interested.

The Emote Wheel, and Gold Sinks

Okay so first off, just the addition of being able to equip multiple emotes and sprays on its own is such a good addition! But also as one of those folks currently sitting on a mountain of gold right now, we REALLY needed this sort of gold sink:

From the looks of it to upgrade to each additional slot for both sprays and emotes, the amount of gold will be:

Slot 2: 50,000g

Slot 3: 100,000g

Slot 4: 150,000g

Which works really well for me. Fernando has so many good emotes, I can’t be expected to pick just one! Speaking of Fernando though -

Please excuse the quality of this image but my BOY is using his SHIELD like a SURFBOARD! I don’t care if its Battle Pass exclusive, I WANT IT

...Okay back on topic. I’m not sure if you have to unlock these additional slots for each champion on their own, or if its a universal unlock yet - only PTS will tell. I honestly have enough gold that I’d probably be set either way though...we really needed a gold sink that doesn’t revolve around buying champion levels. I only buy champion levels if I want to unlock their talents, but nothing beyond that. No sir, I like to EARN my gold skins!

The other gold purchasable addition to the game is additional language announcer packs - 25,000g each. I think we’re definitely going to see someone playing champions of a specific nationality along with their respective announcer pack in youtube videos. So, Fernando with the spanish announcer pack for example. It just seems like an inevitable thing that’s gonna happen, haha

New Map, New Queues

So first off, the separation of TDM and Onslaught and the reintroduction of multiqueue are GREAT and I’m happy to see this happen. It looks like Snowfall Junction will also be added to the TDM queue, so that will be interesting to see how it works out. More importantly, the Rise of Furia event map isn’t going entirely to waste; I really love the look of the modded version outfitted for a classic TDM match, and the creation of points of interest with the spawned pickup that gives you a full ult charge sounds neat on its own as well. A sort of objective in an objectiveless game mode if you will.

The fact that the old Throne Area at the top of the Spire during the event will still be accessed from the custom match lobbies is just the icing on top.

I honestly would love to see more of an emphasis on new map additions over new champion additions in the future. We really are in sore need of new maps. Hell, I’d love to see the reintroduction of the test map queue just on its own.

Balance and In Game Adjustments

Fusillade Nerf: Both necessary AND welcome!

Cherish Nerf: I’m gonna miss that extra burst, but I can also see why this was necessary.

BUCC: It’s a bit of a mixed bag here, isn’t here? Self Sustain nerfed, but buffs to his ensnare as well. Then you have the reload changes; kinda makes me wonder if he’s one of those champs that’s going to receive yet another rekit later in the future because these tunes he always receives tend to be all over the place.

Bug Fixes:

Grumpy Bomb no longer deals 3x damage to Shields: AS A FERNANDO MAIN, THANK YOU

Overall audio fixes: these were a long time coming, I especially noticed the Mal’Damba one brought up.

Fixed an issue where Furia’s Wrings of Wrath Projectiles were sometimes tracking and moving through walls: Thank u lord.

Seems like a lot of map collision bug fixes went through too

Misc:

You know that thing where you’re making a Loadout, the queue pops, then you get sad because you can’t finish the loadout before the match? Now you can – until all the other players have accepted!

This is a quality of life change that I sorely needed considering how many times this has happened to me, lol.

Skins + Battle Pass

So the Battle Pass looks to have more concrete stuff this time around though they did up the buy in price - from 500 to 600 crystals. So, some skin reviews.

Crimson Serpent Mount

I actually kinda dig this mount; its nice to have another non-horse addition, and the fire trail effects are also neat.

Makoa – Akuma Skin

While the fact that there are elements that remind of Bowser is pretty fun to me, this is overall not a skin that suits my personal tastes. It feels too overdesigned, too cluttered, too clunky, too many unnecessary spikes everywhere. I guess I’m just not...too into edgy aesthetic skins though overall so I’m biased here.

Cassie – Dragoncaller Skin

When the visuals for her first dropped with the splash art for the new mount, I deadass thought this was going to be a Lian skin because of the hair and the royal vibe, but no it’s...Cassie. Honestly this feels more like Cassie cosplaying Lian more than anything, right down to the voice pack. Seriously the voice pack has HUGE Lian vibes to it, its the high born haughtiness. I guess if you’re into that, this is your skin. I do admit though, Dragon Ziggs is pretty cute, and the crossbow is alright.

Mal’Damba – Shadow Lord Skin

CONGRATULATIONS TO HI REZ FOR BEING COMPLETELY INCAPABLE SO FAR OF PUTTING OUT MAL DAMBA SKINS THAT I DON’T LIKE. This skin goes so against what kind of aesthetics I usually go for, it’s very “edge” but my snake boy pulls it off and I love him. The only downside is that the voice pack is very generic and is definitely outclassed by all of Mal’Damba’s other voice packs by far. It’s situations like this that really make me wish they added voice pack customization back so that I could equip his halloween voice pack with this skin.

Oh also who gave snek a knife?

If I get this battle pass it will be purely for the Fernando emote and this Mal’Damba skin, and I suppose the mount as well.

New Champion: Koga

Okay so visually? I don’t find Koga appealing at all. The colors just clash so much, especially that orange, and once again this is a character with Too Much Stuff and Clutter. Visually a lot with Koga gets lost to me; again, it’s just...too much. Sometimes, less...is more. As to his recolors, I do like the concept they’re continuing with in terms of recolors having slight tweaks to the model; in this instance, its the recolored version not including Koga’s mask:

It would be neat if we had multiple gold purchasable recolors for champions like we used to outside of masteries, but that ain’t happening anytime soon. That’s visuals though; kit wise, I do dig what he brings.

I think the concept of working off a resource meter for all abilities instead of using cooldowns is interesting, and his mobility looks super fun. While I am dissapointed that his claws serve no melee functionality outside of his ultimate, I do like the way their attacks tie in similarity with Zhins flame sword attacks. I was hoping for another weapon switch champion along the lines of Strix, but the way the claws function as a weapon switch is much more of a set time focused thing, since using your claws eats up resource meter. He has a talent right off the bat that restores energy when he uses his submachine gun, and if I had to guess that’s probably one of his talents that’s going to get a future nerf. Again, that’s just if I had to guess.

Seeing Koga’s passive wall climb ability and his dash is a bit dissapointing in some ways though, since much of his mobility is things people have suggested in the past for Skye in terms of a rekit. Before Koga, it was Skye that was our resident Ninja Themed champion. The woman wears kunais, uses stealth and smoke bombs, she’s clearly meant to evoke a stealthy ninja assassin in terms of how she operates. While we already know Skye will receive a visual reworking first before we see any rekit, its still going to be a hard pill to swallow for most Skye mains out there. Speaking of Skye, we did see her visual revamp teased during the Koga trailer:

I am NOT a fan of this wristbow redesign. If Koga is meant to evoke a more aggro ninja archtype, than Skye is meant to evoke a more stealthy one; besides that, Skye has always struck me as the more sleek and elegant type. This giant cumbersome crossbow she’s wielding here just DOES NOT fit the bill. Well, at least we know for sure that she’s still going to be purble (the lighting in these screenshots is affected by a firey background so its a bit misleading color wise).

I can also definitely see Maeve mains being salty though; while Street Justice has been the talk of the town, that talent really has been the ONLY thing going for her, as her base kit and mobility has been nerfed multiple times. When you look at Maeve’s large cooldowns and compare them to Koga’s resource meter, its quite the disparity. What I’m trying to say is, Maeve and Skye mains should stand in solidarity against this injustice and maybe commiserate in a bar over drinks later I guess.

I feel pretty positive about the new additions overall though, and I’m kind of looking forward to this patch which is nice for a change. Let me know your thoughts too!

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (88/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[25 May, 234 Before Age.  Interstellar Space.]

There was a killer on Planet Saiya, a cold-blooded murderer who hunted Saiyans with a lethal, fast-acting poison.   Zatte had taken her wife's star-yacht, the Emerald Eye in search of a way to stop this assassin once and for all.    

Like all Dorluns, Zatte was a survivalist, and so she took every possible precaution for her journey.    In particular, there was the possibility that the killer might learn of her investigation and sneak aboard the ship to kill her before she could uncover the the truth.   In fact, Zatte somewhat hoped this would happen, as her entire investigation had been bait for a trap.    She had learned that the killer's poison was derived from proteins found in Dorlun blood.    As a Dorlun herself, Zatte would be naturally immune to its effects, which gave her an edge against the killer in the event of a confrontation.   The killer was almost certainly Dorlun as well, and while Zatte couldn't be certain what other tricks he might have up his sleeve, she was certain that she could overpower him physically.    She was married to the Super Saiyan after all, and years of training with Luffa had made Zatte into quite possibly the strongest Dorlun alive.  

So if the killer had stowed away on the ship, Zatte would be pleased, but that didn't mean she would make it easy for him.   One hour after leaving the Saiya system, Zatte sealed off the bridge from the rest of the ship, and ordered the ship's computer to run continuous scans for life signs on all decks.    An hour later, she programmed the computer to depressurize various sections of the ship, while flooding others with pure nitrogen gas.  

Every Dorlun was born with a unique ability.   Zatte could manipulate energy, which she generally used for the purpose of camouflaging herself.   Bending light waves around her body would make her invisible to the naked eye, as well as devices that relied on electromagnetic radiation.    She could also do something similar with her own life energy, enabling her to use her ki without being detected by ki sensitive adepts.   Not even Luffa's sharp ki senses could overcome this ability, although Luffa's keen sense of smell was much harder to fool.   Theoretically, Zatte could hide herself aboard a starship for several days without being noticed by anyone, but she still needed air, water, and food.    Another Dorlun might use different abilities to hide, but the same basic necessities would have to be addressed.   Zatte hoped that by controlling the life support system, she could seize the initiative.   If there was a stowaway on board, he would need air, and he would have to go to the parts of the ship where Zatte wanted him to go.  

If he made it onto the bridge unseen and unheard, he would still have to breathe, and the ship's computer could measure the oxygen consumption in the room.   Zatte had programmed it to alert her if the oxygen usage increased enough to indicate the presence of a second life form, no matter how small.    Periodically, she walked around the deck, firing a plasma pistol set to produce a wide-dispersal stun ray.   She would shoot at every surface on the deck, just in case her enemy might have some way to get around her other safeguards.  

"Be careful," she chuckled as she finished her latest sweep with the pistol.    Those had been Luffa's last words to her before she departed Planet Saiya.   It was sweet of her wife to show such concern, but it was a silly thing to ask of a Dorlun.  It was another reminder that they were truly alien to one another.  Their marriage hadn't always gone well, but considering the cultural gap between them, it was probably impressive that they'd made things work for as long as they had.  

She sat down in the captain's chair and ordered the computer to resume a playlist of music she had arranged for the trip.   "Deep thule" had once been her preferred genre of music, but over the years she had acquired an appreciation for wave dyspro.   It wasn't exactly toe-tapping fare, but she found the Dysprosium-style bands were good for background music while she read.    She wasn't sure how that worked for concerts.   Maybe their fans just stayed in their seats and read books during the show.  

As she chewed on a ration bar, she glanced up at the main viewer occasionally.   It was set to display a continuous readout on the sensor sweeps and life sign readings she had requested.   In one hour, she would fire her pistol on the bridge again.   Until then she hoped that she could knock out two more chapters of the novel she was reading.  

She was not alone.

*******

[25 May, 234 Before Age.  Planet Pflaume.]

Pflaume was an ice giant, a planet much larger than Saiya, or the other terrestrial worlds where humanoids typically lived.   The only solid portion was at its core.  Above this was a dense, superfluid mantle composed of ammonia, methane, and water.  Above this lay a thick atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium, with clouds of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.   To cope with this hostile environment, Pflaume City was constructed to remain aloft in the toxic atmosphere.   It was more like a space station than a planetary settlement, but its residents took pride in living in such an inhospitable place, even if they were completely sheltered from its hazards.  

Over the years, Pflaume City became an important port-of-call, and this economic importance eventually attracted the idle rich, who enjoyed the novelty of living in such a unique place.  The higher levels of the city were reserved for its most elite residents, and the most prized real estate on the station lay upon its uppermost level.   There, a great dome displayed a real-time image of the violet Pflaumian sky.  It was like standing on a terrestrial planet, only to be surrounded by a vast storm far grander than anyone could imagine.   There were municipal parks that allowed the public to enjoy the view, but to actually own property under the dome was ridiculously expensive.   To rent a modest apartment under the dome cost more than the price of some entire planets.

The King of the Saiyans, Rehval III, owned an entire private villa on the dome level.  He enjoyed showing it off to anyone he met.    

Luffa was not impressed.

"You found the doorway," he said pleasantly.   "I had a feeling you would."

Behind Luffa was a glowing magic portal about the size and shape of a door.   Though she had only taken a single step to pass through it, she had somehow traveled trillions of miles from an underground facility on Planet Saiya.  She glanced back and noticed that the passage had begun to shrink and fade away, but this didn't concern her, since she wouldn't need to go back anytime soon.  

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Luffa said.  

"Of course," Rehval said.   The king was sitting on a stone bench, sipping tea from an expensive looking cup.   As always he wore clothes of a particular shade of blue, which symbolized the royal line that had ruled the Saiyans for three generations.  Usually, he dressed in a suit that resembled the sort of formal attire worn by alien diplomats and heads of state.   Today, he looked more like some sort of monk.   His tunic and pants were of a very simple, functional design, and he wore no shoes at all.

Standing behind the bench was a woman with rose-colored skin, although the hood of her blue silken robes obscured her face.   Luffa thought she noticed some blue hair peeking out of the hood when the woman leaned forward to refill his cup.  The tea was steaming hot, and yet she cradled the teapot with her bare hands without any sign of discomfort.  

"I know you're excited to see Luffa in person, my dear," Rehval said, looking back to his companion, "but she and I have much to discuss first."

"We had an appointment this morning," Luffa said, struggling to contain her rage.  "We were going to catch the Saiyan-killer today, remember?"

He let out an amused snort.  "An appointment," he said.   "I was hoping you'd call it a date.   We're all alone out here, Luffa.   You don't have to feel self-conscious about it."

"Knock that crap off," Luffa said.  "You've been playing me from the start!"  

"Like a fiddle," he admitted.   "But some instruments just can't be tuned, no matter how gifted the musician is.    Still, it was fun to try."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Luffa demanded.  

"I'm talking about power, Luffa.   Like most Saiyans, you equate power with physical strength.    You think yourself to be the most powerful Saiyan because you're the strongest one, and your strength does make you powerful, but your power lacks scope.   Strength is only one dimension of power.    A man might be too weak to swim against the current of a mighty river, but if he swims at an angle, he can still manage to cross to the other side.  And if he builds a water wheel along its banks to harness the river's power for his own ends?   If he uses that power to build machines and uses them to change the very course of the river to suit his ends, is the man still weak?   Is the river still mighty?"

"Is this going to be about how smart you are?" Luffa asked.  "Because I get this kind of speech all the time.   'You may be strong, Super Saiyan, but my devious plan will blah blah blah' and maybe a death ray or something, and then I break every bone in their hands.   If a man drowns in a river, no one cares how clever he was.    If they think about him at all, they just call him "That Idiot Who Screwed Around With a River When He Should Have Known Better."  

Rehval laughed.  "You're right, I apologize," he said.  "You've fought so many battles in your time, and all of your enemies probably felt very confident that they had an answer to your superior force.    It must sound very cliche.   I'll try to be more original."

Luffa shook her wrist, gesturing for him to get on with it.  

"What I'm saying is that it's not just about being smart, or just being strong.   It's about having options, so you can adapt to any situation.    That's what my grandfather believed when he assumed the throne all those years ago.   There were a lot of naysayers back then.   Anti-monarchists-- like you and your mother-- who rejected the very idea of a Saiyan King. Saiyans who thought that the throne should be awarded in ritual combat.    Saiyans who thought kings were only relevant in wartime.   Rehval the First sought to change all that.   He forged the Saiyan people into something resembling a real nation."  

"And then he handed it off to his bastard son," Luffa said with a sneer.   "Typical nepotism.   You fools get a little bit of authority, and then you think it runs in the family."

"You're absolutely right," Rehval said.  "My father didn't deserve the throne, but you shouldn't judge him too harshly.   As a king, he carried on my grandfather's work, and he maintained order, more or less.  He was more of a steward than a king, really.  He was just keeping the throne warm for my brother."

"Your brother?" Luffa asked.   For a moment, she was about to point out that he was an only child, but then she remembered the way she had learned this.   In an effort to win her trust, Rehval had invited her to sift through his thoughts with her telepathic powers, and she had blithely assumed that any information she found would be genuine.  Somehow, though, he had managed to lie to her in spite of this.   Even now, when she knew that he had thwarted her mental abilities, it was still difficult to accept that she had been fed disinformation.  

"My grandfather insisted that his line use a standard order of succession," Rehval said.  "The oldest living male offspring becomes the next king.   He was very high on bringing rule of law to the Saiyan race.  No contests for leadership, no civil wars or usurpers.   It worked well for so many alien governments, so why not us?   That was why he made sure his grandchildren were educated off-planet.   We went to some of the finest schools in the galaxy.   What did your parents do for your schooling, Luffa?   I'm guessing it was some run-of-the-mill computer software.    I can promise you, you didn't miss anything.  Two plus two is four no matter how much you pay someone to tell you that.    The history of the Camelian Empire is the same no matter how far you travel.   It's the little things that matter with education.   The moments no one plans for, or the insights and opportunities that can't be written on a syllabus."

"And that's how you learned to resist mind-readers?" Luffa asked.

"You're getting ahead of me," Rehval said.   "I studied alien histories because my father and grandfather thought they were important.   My older brother was supposed to become king, not me.   That was the rule of law.    Even if I could have challenged him for the throne, I'd lose, because he was so much stronger.   I was just the backup plan, in case he died unexpectedly.  And that got me wondering about why he was born stronger.   Why is one Saiyan naturally weaker than another?   Why are some Saiyans born with great strength, while others have to work to achieve it?   I trained very hard, Luffa, but my power never increased much at all, and I never came close to rivaling my brother."

"Maybe you should have tried harder," Luffa scoffed.  "Instead of looking for excuses in the back of some textbook."

"I did both," Rehval said.  "But the textbook was where I found the answer.   We Saiyans have had a poor understanding of genetics.  We think a child should be strong simply because its parents were strong, but it's much more complicated than that.    Your parents were never Super Saiyans, yet here you are.    My parents were strong, but my brother and I didn't inherit equal shares of that potential.  Do you know why that is?"

"Who cares?" Luffa asked.  "My father tried to game that system, Rehval.   Remember him?   He thought he could take my suffering and use it to increase his own strength."

"No, you don't understand," Rehval said.  "I wasn't looking to steal someone else's abilities like your father.   I wanted to bypass the game entirely.    Fate made me the younger brother.   Genetics left me at a disadvantage.   Political theory wouldn't save me.   If I usurped the throne, I would only be setting a precedent for others to usurp it from me.   I needed options, so I found some.  A classmate of mine told tales of magic-users who occasionally wandered through his home sector.    Most of the students didn't listen to him, but I did.  I asked him to tell me more.   And from there..."

"You studied alchemy," Luffa said.  "You told me it was your father's lab, that he was the one who spent all his free time trying to tinker with nature, but it was you all along, wasn't it?"

Rehval nodded.  "I considered enrolling in the academy on Planet Gwarthos, but their record-keeping system is too meticulous, and I didn't want there to be any transcript of what I'd learned.   Instead, I went to a remote asteroid and learned at the feet of an adept believed to have been dead for decades.   My father and brother thought I was studying Camelian art theory, but when I returned to Planet Saiya, I brought with me the means to secure the throne for myself."   He held up his hand and pretended to squeeze an imaginary eyedropper.   "The next semester, I dosed my brother's food slowly, just enough to make him sick, but not enough to arouse suspicion.   He and I were the only two Saiyans at that private school.   It wasn't hard for me to switch places with him, and while I assumed his identity there, I worked on my plan to complete my disguise.  Within a year, the true Rehval III was dead, and I, the pseudo-Rehval, took his name and his birthright."

"Then what's your real name?" Luffa asked.  

"It doesn't matter," Rehval said.  "Over the next few years, I learned to construct talismans that would bend others to my will.  Eventually, I was able to drop my disguise entirely, and my father and anyone else who mattered believed that I had been the true Rehval III all along.  The name my mother gave me became meaningless.   The true power of alchemy lies in mystery, Luffa.   When the great masters record their secrets, they use the names of other, more prominent figures to make their works seem more important.   I have done the same."

"You're a disgrace!" Luffa snarled.   "Where's your Saiyan pride?!"

"I swallowed it," Rehval said.   "My birthname was a small price to pay for the chance to shape the future of our people.   That was how I bypassed the system, Luffa.   Your father tried to game the system, but I changed the rules.   Did I ever tell you why I like elevators?   I remember we talked about it one night, but I don't think I got around to explaining that."

"What does that have to do with--?!" Luffa began to protest.

"On most planets," Rehval went on, "the ones with cities and tall buildings, the ground floor would be the most expensive to rent.   Rich people wouldn't want to take the stairs, and landlords would exploit that to their advantage, charging higher rent for lower floors.   So a ground floor apartment would be seen as a sign of luxury and status, while the higher floors were left to the rabble.  It doesn't make a lot of sense to people like us who can fly, I know, but take my word for it, it holds true on every planet with stairs.   "But in every intelligent society, once the elevator is introduced, aha!"  He snapped his fingers for effect, and Luffa winced with irritation.   "Now, it's easy to move up and down a tall building.   Overnight, the paradigm shifts.   Now the rich demand to live on the top floors, where they can enjoy the view, or the satisfaction of being higher up than everyone else.   Suddenly, what was once despised becomes important.   That's the power of elevators, Luffa.  That's the kind of power I crave.    Not to make the rules, or to break them, but to redefine what rules are."

"You gave up your birthname so you could pretend to be the guy who invented elevators?" Luffa asked.    It was a gross oversimplification of what he had said, but she couldn't resist the taunt.  

"The Saiyan race had no future before my grandfather took control," Rehval said.   "I learned that while I studied the history of other cultures.   We Saiyans have no such history.    Just a collection of superstitious folk tales passed down from mother to daughter.   Everything else was lost and forgotten."

"Because those superstitious folk tales are all that really matter!" Luffa insisted.   "They're all we need to know who we are and how we should live!  But I guess your mother didn't get that message across!  You won't even use the name she gave you!"

"I never said the old stories don't matter," Rehval said.  "I'm saying that they're not all that matter.  We can have more, but only if we unite as one people under one king and take responsibility for ourselves!   It goes against our warrior nature, perhaps, but a strong ruler can force us all together.    A strong dynasty can maintain that unity for however long it takes to forge the Saiyan race into a true culture!"

"And your damned sorcery lets you improve on what your grand-daddy started, is that it?" Luffa said.   She turned her head and spit.  "I've met half-breeds with more conviction than you, 'Rehval'.   A true Saiyan doesn't look for shortcuts."

"Then I'm not a true Saiyan," Rehval said evenly.   "I'm willing to sacrifice my identity to ensure the future of our species!   It's a small price to pay.   Tell me, Luffa, what are you willing to do for the Saiyan race?   Lead by example?   You'll just fight a series of empty wars until you die of old age."

A devious grin spread over Luffa's face.   "That does sound like a pretty good life," she said.  

"It does, doesn't it?" Rehval said.  "I envy our ancestors, who could fight without a care in the world, but destiny has other plans for us, Luffa."

"That's what this is all about, isn't it?" she asked.   "There never was a Saiyan killer.   You arranged all those murders just so you could ask for my help.    This whole time, you were scouting me for your stupid 'destiny plan'."

He sipped his tea and smiled.    "You never cease to amaze me, Luffa.   I wove a very complex web of deceit, and you still manage to cut straight to the heart of the matter.    You're right, of course.  I do need you.   And since you haven't tried to kill me yet, I assume that you're willing to at least hear my proposal."

*******

[25 May 234 Before Age.  Interstellar Space.]

Stealing aboard the Emerald Eye was child's play.  Avoiding its various security systems was mildly challenging, but she had experience with these matters, and it was no great obstacle for her.  The loss of cabin pressure in certain parts of the ship was at most an inconvenience, but nothing she couldn't handle.   The sections of the ship pressurized with nitrogen but no oxygen, on the other hand...  Those were a different story: they didn't bother her at all.  

All in all, it was a disappointing defense, but Zatte was setting a trap, not a fortification.  It was only supposed to seem like a thorough defense, and so one had to admire the thoroughness of the ruse.  An unsuspecting intruder would have been completely fooled.  

The only hard part was entering the bridge without making any noise.   Fortunately, Zatte had solved that problem by playing music loud enough to drown out the pneumatic mechanism that opened the door from the lift.   One simply had to climb the lift shaft, cut power to the door, and open it manually, releasing the pressure on the pneumatics slowly enough to cut down on the noise.  

This allowed her onto the bridge, directly behind the captain's chair.   From there, it was just a matter of closing the door behind her, and waiting patiently for the right moment to strike.   When she was ready, she stealthily crept up behind Zatte's chair, drew her knife, and...

Suddenly Zatte leaped out of her seat and fired a pistol.  The beam was wide enough that it didn't hit her very hard, but it was enough to knock her off her feet.    And when Zatte looked directly at her, she realized that her power had been disrupted as well.

Very nice, she thought as she rolled to her feet.    

"What the hell are you?!"  Zatte demanded.  

The intruder smiled and pointed at herself.   "plibortuN vehasS, zattE," she said cordially.   "That's the special greeting, right?   That's how we prove to each other we're really Dorluns, isn't it?"

"Computer!" Zatte shouted.   "Identify intruder life readings!"

"No life readings detected," replied the ship's computer.

The woman laughed.   "I love this part," she said.    "Usually I kill the mark before they ever really get a handle on what they're dealing with, but you!  Oh, you'll take a while, so you've got plenty of time to work this out."

Zatte never took her eye off the intruder, and backed away slowly.   "Computer," she asked.   "Calculate oxygen consumption on the bridge.   Does the oxygen demand indicate the presence of a second life form?"

"Negative," the computer replied.    

"You're not breathing," Zatte said.  "That's how you managed to stow away on all those other ships before you got to Planet Saiya.  You don't put off any life signs because you're...."

"Bingo," the intruder cheered.   "You were pretty clever, figuring out the Dorlun connection, but then you got cocky, and assumed that your enemy would be just like a Dorlun.    And I am Dorlun, mostly, except for one teensy thing: I'm dead."

Zatte pointed at the woman's face.   "You don't look like any Dorlun corpse I've ever seen, lady," she said.   "Red skin, blue hair?  And you look exactly like me.   You've even got an eyepatch like mine, even though it's on the wrong eye."

"I know, right?" the intruder said.  She gestured to the eyepatch proudly.  "It's pretty awesome, but not a lot of people would get the reference.   Just you and your friends and your wife, I guess.   How is Luffa, by the way?"

"You leave her out of this," Zatte said.  

"Leave her out of it?" the intruder laughed.   "I was created because of her!   Do you think my master would have gone to all this trouble otherwise?    Do you know how long it takes to build a homunculus template?  To customize it?  To imprint it with superficial memories of the original?"

"Homunculus?" Zatte asked.  

"Right, I should probably explain that," the intruder said.   "I said I was 'dead', but that sort of implies that I used to be alive, and that isn't true.   You wouldn't call a rock 'dead', for instance.  'Nonliving' would be more appropriate, but I like the way 'dead' rolls off the tongue.   Makes me sound badass.   Do you think Luffa would like that?"

"Why did you kill all those Saiyans?" Zatte demanded.  

"Because they sucked!" the intruder replied.   She threw up her hands and laughed.    "Why does anyone do anything, Zatte?   I'm a Dorlun, only I'm not a Dorlun, you get it?  I'm not alive, so survival doesn't mean much to me.   Instead of keeping myself alive like some people in this room, I make sure other people end up dead.    You and me, we're like polar opposites, you get it?"

"Then why are you here?" Zatte asked.    "If you're telling me you aren't even alive, then why would you care if I exposed your identity?  You could have hidden on Planet Saiya for as long as you wanted!"

The intruder laughed.   "Oh, you really are clueless, aren't you?   I hope I don't sound that dumb when I talk.   See, you thought you were being so clever, trying to set a trap for me by investigating my murders.    And I was supposed to take the bait to keep you from finding out who I am.   Except I'm nobody, Zatte.  If you want to give me a name, you can call me Pozet.   That's what my master calls me, but it really makes no difference to me."

"Pozet?!" Zatte asked.  

"You like it?" she asked.  "In the Dorlun language, it means the opposite of your name."

"That's sick!" Zatte said.  

"Thanks," Pozet said.    "Anyway, like I was saying, you thought you were bait to trap me, but you had it backwards.   I was the bait to trap you.   And here we are.   Just you and me, and no Super Saiyans around to get in our way."   She reached for a second knife holstered to the leg of her pants and pointed it menacingly at Zatte.   "So... are you as excited about this as I am?"

Zatte's eye was wide with horror, and her mouth hung open in shock, so she had no reply to offer, but Pozet chose to take that as a "yes".

*******

[25 May 234 Before Age.  Planet Pflaume.]

"A homunculus," Rehval explained.   I knew very little about your wife, but I did learn that Zatte was hospitalized on Planet Extraliga for a time, and it wasn't difficult to hire someone to infiltrate the nursing staff and obtain hair and blood samples.   More than enough to imprint her characteristics upon an alchemical construct."

He gestured to the woman standing behind him, and she lifted her hood, revealing a face identical to Zatte's only with red skin and blue hair, rather than the blue skin and red hair typical of Dorluns.  

"I call her 'Pozet', he said.   She's not really alive, but she resembles Zatte closely enough to give me some insight into that aspect of your life.   I needed to understand you, Luffa.   Friend or foe, I needed to know as much as I could learn about how your mind works."

Luffa glared at the creature, who now smiled at her with mock affection.    "It even has her ability," she said dispassionately.   "I was trying to figure out how it could hold that teapot without burning its hands, but it's using energy manipulation.  Keeping the tea hot for you."

"I customized the formula to replicate important aspects of Zatte, while reversing certain others," Rehval said.   "The color swap was an aesthetic choice.   Your wife is a survivor, my Pozet exists only to take life away.   She's even taught me some Dorlun phrases."  

"Mostly pillow talk," Pozet said.  "If you'd like, I can teach you--"

Luffa raised her hand and fired an energy blast at Pozet's forehead.  It passed through her quite harmlessly, and destroyed a hill several dozen yards behind her.

"Ooh, spicy!" Pozet said.  

"I thought you would have realized by now, Luffa," Rehval said.   "The two of us aren't actually here.    You're speaking to a image being projected from elsewhere in the city."

"I'm well aware of your cowardice," Luffa said bitterly.   "I was just hoping your creature was really standing here, since you seem to consider it expendable."

"Not expendable," Rehval said as he patted Pozet's wrist.   "Renewable.  Since Pozet isn't truly alive, I can impart her essence onto as many homunculi as I can create.   Currently, I have three of them active right now.  This one stays here on Pflaume City to attend my villa while I'm away.   The second is still lurking around Planet Saiya, continuing to kill Saiyans until I give her the order to stop, and the third is on your ship, securing your wife for me."

"You manufactured this whole Saiyan-killer business, just to lure me here," Luffa said, and you're telling me it's still killing people?"

"Of course she's still killing people," Rehval said.   "You and I still haven't caught her yet.  It would arouse suspicion if the murders suddenly stopped without explanation.  My hope is that you and I come to terms, and then we go back and capture the killer together, and the public will celebrate our successful partnership."

Luffa threw back her head and made a low, angry groan.   "You've been deceiving me this entire time, and yet you actually think I'm going to help you lie to your own people?  I'll give you this much, Rehval, you may not have any Saiyan pride, but you make up for it in sheer gall."

"Thank you," he said.   "That actually means a lot to me, since bile is considered an important bodily humor in alchemical theory.  It gives me hope, Luffa, that despite all that's happened between us, we can still work together."

"Then you're deceiving yourself," Luffa said.  "I followed you here to kill you."

"Yes, I know," Rehval said.  "And that is why I withdrew to Pflaume City, Luffa.   On Saiya, there was always a chance you might destroy the planet and escape in your starship.  But now, your ship is far from here, so if you do anything reckless here, you risk rupturing the hull of this city."  

He pointed at the dome above them, which displayed the torrent of purple clouds raging around them from all sides.   "There's no oxygen out there, Luffa.   You might be strong enough to survive the winds, but the toxic gases would suffocate you, and even if you had a spacesuit, there would be nowhere for you to go."

She glanced up at the dome, and then back at him.   "Cute," she said.  "I don't sense any other life forms on the city, either.   You must have killed them-- No, you arranged for them to evacuate the place. That way, they'd take all their ships with them.   The only way out is that portal I stepped through, and I'm guessing you're the only one who can open it."

"That's right," Rehval said.   Pozet chuckled triumphantly while he leaned forward and steepled his fingers.   "The only way off this planet alive is through me, Luffa.  So you may as well take the time to hear what I have to say."

NEXT: Saiyan and Super Saiyan

[st-louis]

JEWISH PLAYERS IN THE NHL: 1/? JASON ZUCKER

(photo by Andy King, NHLI)

so this is going to be an ongoing series about Jewish players in the NHL because there are like... under seven of them. I’m starting with Jason Zucker because he’s one of my favorites. :> He’s talented, a little bit of a weirdo, and just seems like an all-around nice person.

He plays left wing for the Minnesota Wild. According to his official team bio, was born in Southern California but grew up in Las Vegas.  He’s Jewish but he doesn’t consider himself religious, he wasn’t bar mitzvah’d because he didn’t want to miss hockey (his mom does make kugel tho, so that’s legit secular Jew cred.)

His mom, Natalie, was a competitive figure skater, and his dad, Scott, is a general contractor who built both ice and roller rinks, and he got his start skating there at age 2 1/2. He’d practice for hours, played competitive roller hockey, and was known for his speed (playing defense originally because he could get from one end of the rink to another so quickly). He didn’t switch to ice hockey until he was eight or nine. At the time his skating was terrible; the toe pick in ice skates threw him off, and he didn’t improve until he got a skating coach.

He described his work ethic:

For me, I was on the side yard of my parents house. I had a little piece of roller hockey sport court where I wouldn’t ruin my sticks, and I would shoot pucks for hours and hours and hours a day. I remember we had a little wall on the side and I would do jump squats onto the wall and I would run sprints around the backyard. It was a terrible setup for working out but I would find myself out there all the time, because it was fun.

Still good enough to end up on UNDTP tho. In 2009 and 2010 Zucker helped the US win the World Junior Under-18, and the 2010 World Junior Championships. He committed to the University of Denver before being drafted by the Wild in 2010, and played two seasons there (45G, 46A in 78 games). He turned pro at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Right before the draft, his best friend, Nick Schaefer, died in a car accident. He has a tattoo -- “game time” on his chest in his memory.  On the draft:

I was thrilled, but I couldn’t shake the thought of what had happened to Nick. The fragility of life and the importance of even the smallest moments really hit me. Like everybody else, I sometimes stop and think back to those instances when, in a second, I had a choice to do one thing or the other. And ever since that summer night in 2010, Nick, in some way, has been with me every time.

He still writes Nick’s initials on every single one of his sticks, along with “Mom,” “Dad,” and “STS,” for shoot to score.

His first seasons weren’t super great and he bounced around between the AHL and the NHL during the first few years. He scored his first NHL goal against Detroit in 2013, but his season was cut short by a torn quadriceps. In 2014-15 things definitely improved with 21 goals in 51 games and a 16.9% shooting percentage.

Zucker had some interesting thoughts on the billeting system and leaving home so young. While he felt it was 100% worth it and he’d do it over again, he wouldn’t let his kids do it if they didn’t really want to--as a result of the unusual way he was raised he doesn’t have any friends outside of hockey, and that was “probably tough for [his] parents to see.”

Another great thing about him is his charity work: he and his wife, Carly, started a campaign to raise funds for a family suite at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, and raised more than $1,000,000 in nine months. But he’s been involved with the hospital since 2015, and the campaign was inspired by one of the children he met and befriended there. Tucker had been diagnosed with bone cancer but still had time to give Jason some advice:

He said, “Jason, I’ve been watching you a lot this year. I need to give you some advice, O.K?”

I kind of laughed him off.

“No, I’m serious, Jason. First, you need to backcheck harder. It will make things easier on the other end. And secondly, shoot more!”

After Tucker passed away, Zucker got his autograph tattooed on his wrist, along with that advice: shoot more.

Also, because I love dumb hockey player tattoos, he also has “USA” on his back (I know) and on his left arm, in Hebrew, “in pursuit of perfection.” I, uh, have to quote this article in a large part because of this story involving Charlie Coyle:

“Everyone always wants to strive to be the best,” Zucker said. “I’m no different. I want to be better than everybody in that locker room and they all want to be better than me. That’s just the way it goes. That’s the way our business runs. I’m always striving to be perfect and I may never reach there. Nobody ever will. But I’m always striving to get to that.”

The other meaning? Zucker says he has “a little OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder].”

“A little?” teammate Charlie Coyle, who lives with Zucker in Minneapolis, says with a chuckle. “Go in his room. He’s a big guy with watches and he’s got this whole case of probably 50 watches perfectly lined up, every one just perfect. Go in his closet and all his shirts are hung up, almost color coded. They’re all perfect. Same with his shoes, not one out of place.

“Just everything. Like everything. We go grocery shopping, and you open the cabinets, and everything is all perfect, labels facing out and spaced apart so evenly. I’m telling you, everything. I’m a neat person, so it’s fine, but it’s a little over the top.

“Heck, just watch him take off his equipment. He takes his laces and folds them perfectly down so it just sits there.”

Of course, there are few things Coyle enjoys more than messing with Zucker … by messing up his perfect stuff.

Listen, I know.

He married Carly Aplin in 2016, and they have two children together.

Anyway! He had an excellent season in 2017-2018. This July, he signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract after career highs: goals (33), assists (31) and points (64), mostly on the first line, and after being nominated for the King Clancy. In short:

Jason Zucker made significant strides in his game this season, both offensively and defensively. He was among the team’s top performers throughout the year, and although he was streaky at times, he contributed in some way on most nights. Without Zucker, the team may have actually missed the playoffs, as his improved offense carried the team for a few stretches of the campaign (one 7-game point streak and two 6-game point streaks).

Hockey Wilderness agrees.

JUST A GOOD TEAM GUY!!!! Here he is talking about his team when specifically being interviewed about his own awesome performance:

Asked after the game if he felt compelled to lift the team after a week of saying the leaders needed to, Zucker said, “Absolutely I did. I wasn’t happy with how I played the first two games. I thought I had some good spurts. It just wasn’t good enough. I know the way that I can play and (this) was much more like it. (Staal, Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, I think everybody would’ve said the same thing about the first two games. We all wanted to step up and play well.

“That’s what true leadership is. Just guys going out and showing it on the ice. (Ryan Suter) was phenomenal. (Matt Dumba) played really well. (Jared Spurgeon) was battling. On a night he said he didn’t feel great with the puck, I thought (Spurgeon) was one of our best defensemen. You can’t say enough about a lot of the guys in this room.”

via The Athletic

some videos:

very encouraging but extremely, unfortunately boring when mic’d up what are you doing how does this even happen scores in literally 10 seconds of play first hat trick!!!! trying to explain cribbage to charlie coyle lmao a highlight reel lmao fighting

SOURCES

Official Bio Rooted in Roller Hockey Who the Folk?! Wild Agree to Five Year, 27.5 Million Contract Player’s Tribune Words Will Last Lifetime For Wild’s Jason Zucker Perfection is Always the Goal Jason Zucker took giant leaps forward Jason Zucker puts his leadership on display

[wyvernseeker]

Here are my drawings of my OC Yumi Cerulean and her weapon the Kitty Azure (formerly known as the Azure Eyed Cat).

Yumi’s design is based off a person who used to be a friend of mine. Said person is actually the one who taught me how to draw human figures. Even though I’m no longer friends with them I still mentally thank them for taking the time to give me pointers on how to draw human figures.

The first design for Yumi was a complete hatchet job, done in Summer of 2013. I wanted to base the outfit off of the outfits of the Night Class from Vampire Knight and I had no resources. I also planned on drawing a gun for her to wield, but again no resources, tutorials or the necessary skill level.

The second design was done a few days after the first design. Here I had somehow gained more skill and decided to draw her guns. Once again I didn’t have a reference, I just drew them from memory.Her outfit was something I came up with on the fly actually. The third drawing has nothing to really talk about, it’s just a rehash of the second one with less detail and the same flaws.

The fourth drawing was done towards the middle of 2014. For some reason I decided to change up the design, I can’t remember why though. It was also around that time that I could finally properly draw guns thanks to someone I talked to who knew how to do them. I also decided to give Yumi blonde highlights in her hair because I thought it would make her more distinct.

The fifth drawing was done in October of 2015 for Halloween (for reasons that will become evident). I remember looking at the design of Alucard from Castlevania at this time (the Alucard from the original timeline, not the uninteresting one from the Lords Of Shadow games) and I thought that changing her coat to resemble that would be a good idea, However, it didn’t work out in the end, though,

The sixth drawing was done on October 20, 2016. Here I decided to redo the 4th drawing and lengthen the barrels of her guns.I also showed on the side what her long coat has on the back of it. Personally, I’m quite happy with this one. 

Now, here are some things about Yumi. Yumi herself is a dhampir, or half-human half-vampire. I decided upon this as I have a great liking of half-human hybrid characters and thought this would work for her. I also remember the person who I based Yumi off of liked to read about vampires and was a big fan of Vampire Knight. For Yumi’s weapon I decided upon dual guns, per the request of that person that the character based off them have guns as a weapon. They also requested a a scythe for a second weapon but as I wanted each of my characters to have one weapon I decided to make Yumi’s guns capable of combining into a scythe with an energy blade. Initially I also had it that her guns could also form a rifle and machine gun but I’m still debating on whether or not to keep that for her base weapon.

Yumi would the dhampir daughter of a human male and a vampire mother. Born and raised in Palletae, Yumi grew up at times facing discrimination for her mixed heritage for those who were observant of what she was and not too accepting of that. She grew up on stories of heroics and when she was old enough, she and her adopted sister Violet became peacekeepers. Eventually Yumi, at the age of 13 became junior ambassador of Palletae and worked closely with her senior ambassador, Xanthe Ceralia. However, Yumi would eventually rebel against the chancellor of Palletae when persuaded to by Ezra Sandisle once he showed her how the chancellor was willing to throw others such as her sister under the bus to save face and ultimately joined the Rebel Ambassadors with the intention of taking over the world so as to bring about peace.

Personality-wise, Yumi can come off as whiny and hard to get along with. However, she herself has a strong sense of justice and deep love of her friends and family and a willingness to help them out. She herself would be rather sheltered and have difficulty opening herself up to others.

Abilities-wise, Yumi would have superhuman strength and speed due to her half-vampire lineage. Also due to her lineage is her ability to heal by drinking blood. Her stats would be more aligned towards attacking rather than defending. Despite having to wear glasses, Yumi is an expert markswoman and capable of holding her own in battle with her guns transformed into scythe-mode. She is also capable of elemental-transformation, which is to say a super-saiyan like state where her natural element of energy is boosted tremendously as well as all of her abilities. 

Yumi herself would however be especially weak to fire, water, light  and wood attacks as well as certain types of metal attacks (specifically if the wielder uses silver) due to being a half-vampire. However, she is also has resistance to darkness and ice-elemental attacks also thanks to her lineage. She also has blood cravings that can, if not checked, cause her to enter a feral state where is just as likely to attack friend as well as foe for the sake of blood.

Oh yes, before I forget, here is a pose of the character drawn in summer of 2016:

Said pose was inspired by this drawing of Yumi done for me by my friend at Makk Walter Arts:

[jimmyandthepulsatingmass]

Developer Retrospective: The Heart Pumps Clay

Here’s something I said I was going to write a million years ago, but it was way easier to post screenshots, so I did that instead.  Anyway, a while back I was going through my earlier games and discussing them--mostly with regard to what I learned about development in RPG Maker and development in general.  This is the last one of these I’m going to do.  I do have another game called Born Under the Rain, but I’m not going to talk about that one since I was part of a team and spent most of my work on the music and writing for it, so I didn’t really work on the design aspects outside of some general ideas I was pushing like an emphasis on exploration.  It’s pretty good, though, so check it out if you want.

What is the Heart Pumps Clay?

Anyway, The Heart Pumps Clay was a game I made in a month for the first year of the IGMC.  It was the first time I tried to take on every component of the development process, and while I don’t think it was a total success, there’s a lot there that I still think was neat, at least conceptually.  If you can get past the garish pixel art, awful title, and like difficult, battle-focused RPGs that are fairly short, then you should check it out before reading this, as there will be spoilers.  Don’t be afraid to play it on easy; it’s balanced to be pretty difficult on hard.  So, let’s talk about what I learned.

Gameplay is an extension of narrative.  Well, it can be.  A lot of RPG Maker developers don’t really think about this.  Actually, I should expand this a bit and say that every part of a game is an extension of the narrative.  If you’re primarily making a game for consumption rather than just for artistic merit (and I think you can achieve both of these things), then the goal is to balance fun with the narrative aspects of your gameplay.  In Final Fantasy 7, for instance, the materia system serves as both a fun means of stat progression/character customization and as a clear link to the lore of the world.  In The Heart Pumps Clay, character skill sets were developed both as a function of gameplay and as a means of characterization.  Bud, for instance, is a mud golem that the main character, Mara, made to be a friend when she was an isolated child.  Bud’s skills are designed around protecting Mara; he can draw enemy attacks, for instance, and temporarily lower his max HP in order to revive fallen party members.  Mara, being a witch, has several attack spells; she can also shift which element she has mastery over, which changes Bud’s form.  For instance, when she has mastery over ice, Bud becomes an ice golem, which increases his defense, and when she switches to fire, he becomes a more powerful fire golem.  This shows the player the link between the two characters from the outset.

Other than characterization, another major goal was to actually make the gameplay into an integral part of the narrative.  The main premise of the gameplay is that, after every fight, Bud loses a bit of the mud composing his body.  This mud is represented by his max HP.  I littered the game with treasure chests, which exploits player psychology into giving them a false choice.  That choice is: “Do I try to fight as few battles as possible in order to keep Bud’s max HP high, or do I take what’s in the box?!”  I say it’s a false choice because the player always takes what’s in the box--and they should!  The game is actually easier by doing that, as the treasures are generally excellent (though I would have liked to make some of the earlier treasures more viable in retrospect).

The game flips the script on you by having a change in Bud and Mara’s roles over the course of the game.  While Bud initially is a damage sponge that protects the rest of the party, when his max HP starts to dwindle, Mara actually gains some tools to become the party’s new tank.  The player has to be savvy enough to realize this, but I think that, if they do, there’s something special that happens there with players actively creating the narrative.  The writing backs this up as well, as the plot is focused on Mara gradually building on her appreciation and love for her only real friend over the course of the game.

Man.  That was a lot over just one thing.

Craft your battles from your party outward.  I think a lot of amateur RPGs are guilty of being a mishmash of ideas, e.g. “What if the characters have to fight a FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON?!  What if one of the characters can turn into a demon?!  What if you can find a sword that can talk, and maybe it says one-liners after every fight!”  So, ideas are great, imagination is great.  But, you have to temper them into a cohesive experience.  I found that the best way to design battles is to start with your player skill set.  This allows you to begin from a place of characterization.  Then, make every game challenge built around the player’s skill set.  If you have a player that can stun, for instance, make an enemy that winds up a powerful attack that you can interrupt.  Have an enemy that must be slowed down in order to interrupt.  Have a more challenging monster able to prevent stuns for several turns.  Let your ideas for battles germinate from the tools you give your players.

Make your games fun.  I mean, duh, right?  Unless your primary goal is to make an art game, then you shouldn’t sacrifice fun for artistic integrity.  I’m not saying that you should throw artistic integrity out the window, but you should get smarter with your art so that it’s still enjoyable, assuming your primary goal is to make a fun game.  This is something that I could have done a lot better with The Heart Pumps Clay.  Shifting elements, for instance, takes a turn, which ends up drawing out the combat.  It was a smart idea to pair Bud and Mara together, but instead of taking a full turn, why didn’t I just make different attack spells automatically shift Bud’s element?  That would have accomplished the same thing narratively, and it would have made the gameplay a lot smoother.

Play with tried and true gameplay formulas, but don’t eschew them without reason.  There’s a reason why the basic formula for RPGs has lasted for so long.  Every component of it works together.  Since I was dealing with a necessarily short game (it had to be around an hour for the contest), I decided to cut down exploration a lot.  Essentially, the game was linear with several optional battles, but the maps were small enough that you could see them without fighting those battles.  Lacking exploration really hurt the game, I feel, as exploration is an important part of the RPG gameplay cycle.  Without exploration, the player loses a sense of discovery, and the battles become too close to each other.  While I’m one of those weirdo creeps who likes RPG combat, even I like the gameplay loop of exploration, battle, stat progression.  Removing a part of that can create a sense of monotony.

Don’t take it personally.  This one’s super hard.  We tie up a lot of our sense of self-worth in our games, which makes sense, as it takes a hell of a lot of time to put one of these together.  When someone--or several people--tells you that your game sucks and was a frustrating waste of time (and they will, even if your game is awesome), then you need to take it in stride, learn from the experience, and build better games in the future.  When I first made The Heart Pumps Clay, I felt that it was my smartest, best put together game (so far), and I was really, really proud of it.  While some people got what I was going for and liked it, the overall reception was lukewarm at best, and I was pretty depressed about it for a month or three.  But, I used that time to get a little better at art and make plans for taking another game I was working on and converting it into a full-length RPG that’s as fucking awesome as it possibly can be...to be released this summer.

Anyway, I’m calling it!  I’m done with these little (overly wordy) retrospectives!  It was cool to think back about this stuff; sorry again for taking so long to get to this one.  No update next week since it’s the end of the month and I’ve been habitually not updating then, but also because I’ll be visiting my dad for his birthday.  Also, since my dad reads these posts religiously despite never having played a video game in his life, I’ll take this time to say that that makes you a really good dad, I love you, and I’m looking forward to seeing you next week.