#heck i’ve started abandoned works so many times

[padfootastic]

a seldom unrealised joy of fics updating after a long time (by which i mean many months or perhaps even years) is being able to go back and reread the previous chapter or heck, the entire fic again to catch up. it’s almost as good as reading it for the first time🥰

[anthurak]

I’ve been thinking recently about how a key aspect of Steven Universe is that Steven is placed in the narrative position of what might normally be filled by a standard fantasy-hero-shounen-protagonist-guy, while EVERYTHING about Steven as a character is all about going in basically the exact OPPOSITE direction of that archetype. To the point where the one time he actually TRIES acting like some typical shounen-protag to solve his problems in Future, it’s presented as this gross, twisted perversion of his character that goes horribly, HORRIBLY wrong. Basically, the show makes it clear that Steven trying to act like your standard ‘cool, badass anime hero guy’ is very much a BAD and WRONG thing. Like in anime terms, Steven is essentially a Magical Girl placed in a position that was meant for a Shounen Hero. Or in a more specific reference building off of the show’s numerous references to Dragon Ball Z, Steven essentially represents a take on Gohan who’s kindness and pacifism are ultimately allowed to be presented and emphasized as a strength rather than a weakness.

Yet the flipside of all this is that even in their few appearances, has anyone else noticed that Stevonnie shows quite a few of these ‘cool, badass anime hero guy’ traits? They have a cool sword, they race cars, they fight space battles in a starfighter, they get badass fight scenes like getting to 1v1 Jasper and get to say cool one-liners. And the funny thing is, NONE of these are ever presented as somehow ‘wrong’ for the character. Heck, going off of the same references to Dragon Ball Z, Stevonnie has a bunch of design similarities to Future Trunks of all characters, one of THE iconic ‘cool, badass anime hero guys’.

And I think that’s really interesting.

Like in-universe, it says some interesting things about how Fusion works. That Steven himself trying to act like a cool, badass anime hero guy is a BAD thing because it leads him to start rejecting many of the core aspects of who he is as a person, namely his kindness and empathy.

Whereas Stevonnie is their OWN person, distinct from Steven and can exhibit these traits just fine because they clearly got them from Connie. They clearly haven’t abandoned or rejected any of the core aspects of Steven such as his kindness and empathy, they just ALSO have all this other stuff from Connie as well and can exhibit these traits without actually losing anything. They are after all, everything from Steven and Connie and more.

And narratively, I think it makes for a fun inversion. Steven represents this big subversive take on the typical fantasy hero archetype by being this young BOY with a big, heroic destiny who is defined by his kindness, empathy, emotions, a general disdain for solving problems through fighting and generally rejecting the typical ‘cool, badass, anime hero guy’ traits.

So it’s actually rather fitting that it is the non-binary, intersex, very-much-NOT-cisgender-male, fusion Stevonnie who ends up getting to do more traditional ‘cool, badass, anime hero guy’ stuff. Who in turn got much of those traits NOT from Steven, but from his best-friend/partner/girlfriend Connie.

And I just think that’s pretty cool, you know? Particularly when imagining a permafused Stevonnie. Like I think its fun to imagine an alternate take on the later seasons of the show, or just post-series, with a permafused Stevonnie doing more traditional anime-protagonist stuff that would otherwise feel out of place with Steven, but doesn’t feel out of place with them.

For example, Steven never went through any kind of big ‘training arc’ like so many anime heroes because that just doesn’t fit who he is. Steven is not a ‘fighter’, he always tries to talk things out before things turn to combat. So it makes sense that he wouldn’t directly pursue training to become a better fighter on his own.

But Connie DID. And of course that wasn’t presented in and of itself a bad thing. Which as an aside, is interesting for Steven as his joining was more to support Connie rather being presented as something he needed to do himself.

And speaking of fighting, this is another place where the differences between Steven and Connie make Stevonnie in turn all the more INTERESTING. Because whereas Steven isn’t a fighter, Connie very much IS. The symbolic sword to Steven’s shield.

Now where this gets interesting is that in practice, Connie generally follows Steven’s lead. We see a number of instances wherein Connie likely wants to or even is full-on about to launch into a fight, but backs down because Steven wants to talk things out. Connie may be a fighter, but she also generally defers to Steven.

But what happens when these two aspects are coexisting in the same person? What happens when Connie’s preference towards fighting isn’t deferring to Steven’s preference towards non-violence, but is rather exhibited right alongside it? And because of that is seen by Stevonnie as a much more valid option?

What does Stevonnie’s response to conflict look like when they’re much more of a fighter like Connie, while still retaining Steven’s intrinsic kindness and empathy?

Personally, I imagine Stevonnie actually being a fair bit like Ruby Rose, ie; someone who often tries to talk things out, while also not hesitating to jump into a fight if people aren’t willing to negotiate. Perhaps even reading the situation/people enough to get a preemptive strike off.

And all that is just one aspect of what I think makes Stevonnie so compelling as a character.

[the-moth-from-elsewhere]

On the Subject of TAOCC Angst

Hiya hiya hello, it’s me, Elsie lol. Time to throw in my two cents, maybe make a THIRD FREAKING POLL (so sorry q.q), and present us with some options.

WE NEED TO TAKE THIS SLOW AND THINK LOGICALLY BEFORE MAKING ANY MAJOR DECISIONS. THIS IS NOT OUR FINAL DECISION, THIS IS A MASTERPOST AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT PEOPLE WANT.

Let’s start with being very blunt. TAOCC is a bit of a directionless mess right now. We’ve got tons of characters, which isn’t a bad thing on its own! But unfortunately a lot of these characters have the same mod (hi hello i’m kind of part of the problem :’D). This means that we have a Simarillion’s worth of lore and not much of an idea of how to move anywhere with it. If anyone joins or returns after hiatus, they’ve missed a ton and have to figure it all out again from scratch, especially because we do not have ANY form of filing system for any of this. Too many characters, too many events, no organization, and a borderline insane amount of angst.

So, we have a few options of how to move forward here.

Autumn’s Solution/reset

Reset. All of it. Start with the characters and nothing else.

Pros: No more angst! And we get to have all that bonding all over again.

Cons: This doesn’t factor in backstories, and how backstories are often angsty and will instigate angst pretty much no matter what. Angst kind of has to exist in-universe forum the very nature of TADC itself, and just starting from scratch won’t change that.

2. “Move forward”

Don’t change the past, but do change the future. Make things slow down, but not because of any major event. Just have things Calm. Down.

Pros: less angst!

Cons: still too many characters. And still a lot of pre-established lore and no way to file it.

3. Extinction.

Kill off/incapacitate/retire half the characters. Then have the remainder unite over that and fix stuff.

Pros: less characters, possible less angst

Cons: extreme angst in the process.

4. Abandonment/new game/Lann’s solution

Restart with new characters. Or just make a new rp thing entirely. Maybe make a filing system this time around lol.

pros: less characters, less angst maybe.

cons: pretty much anything getting rid of all of our work over the last few months is kinda…wasteful and extreme, in my opinion.

5. “Software update”

A less extreme version of the reset, where we have a software update installed. Keep the old lore/characters, but dampen the angst for later. Give the characters some new coats of paint maybe, and figure out which characters to focus on for the near future.

pros: less angst, doesn’t break the lore or delete our hard work

cons: we still have to figure out what the heck to do with these characters and make a deliberate effort not to have as much angst

6. Other/anyone else’s solutions

exactly what it says on the tin.

tagslisting ALLLLL the mods:

@star-on-a-beach @sh4tt3rg1rl @silhouette-anon @feiar @lightthepathwithalantern @bob-the-cemetery-ghost @yourlocalboxhead @starbies-hellhole @andy-aka-lilcsca @castingspellsinyourasks @theautumnalcat @tailsbot98761 @master-dealmaker @anartistwithamask

AND MORE I THINK THAT I’VE JUST FORGOTTEN!

[mossyscavern]

A note for next year and a leap of needed faith.

___________________

… ok, here’s the thing you need to know for next year.

I tend to find myself in certain parts of fandoms that are either not that popular anymore, or are dead because it’s not working out that well.

And sometimes the fandom is largely popular because of how good a movie, video game or tv series is or it’s a favourite book.

Plus I’ve been thinking about doing some else.. something different. Gotta be fair, it doesn’t mean I’m losing touch with the wick fandom. It was one of the first fandoms that got me out of my comfort zone and branch out into a fanfic writing.

So yeah, the wick community holds a place in my heart and either so many new people finding out this community is still alive along with making new stuff. And some who have been in the fandom for a long time coming back to see new stuff created and going back to their roots!

But before I start making something new that might get a Jurassic change here in my profile and what I’m used to just note:

A fandom is a place where we make sure we keep our interests alive, weather it’s a game that’s never updated, a tv series that had to end, a books author stops writing Ora movie that lost its spark.

Just know it’s never a place to abandon or have it be known as dead. It’s a place to keep creating! Keep moving! Keep your interests alive!

Don’t stop drawing if it makes you happy! Don’t stop writing if it’s your comfort zone! Heck! Don’t stop making theories, headcanon’s or incorrect quotes just because you think the fandom is dead.

There’s always something to look forward to, especially when things aren’t going as planned when nothing seems to be working the way you wanted it to be.

I maybe making stories no one else here is used to but all I’m asking for everyone is this simple thing.

Never stop creating… but do take a break if needed, don’t want anyone overworking and having a burnout. It’s not that great.

My name is mossy, I’m still a very awkward person and I’ll see you all next year with both new, old and familiar.

———

Me: … *sighs*

???: what’s wrong?

Me: nothing, it’s just… It’s something new and I’ve known this fandom for soo now long, like.. what if I’ve said the wrong thing?! What if I did abandon the fandom, what if i never really make new content?!

???: don’t feel too bad about it, it’s like you said… nothing in this fandom is dead. As long as you keep creating.

Me:

Me: but… I’m scared.

???: then think of it as a stepping stone, think of it as an obstacle you can overcome, remember that scene in into the spider-verse? … all it takes is a leap of faith.

Me: … thanks… who are you anyways-?

Me, looks around, seeing no one, not even hearing a sound: ... hello?

Me: … weird. (Types the last thing before leaving)

———

Until then… see you all next year

[softrobotcritics]

He's too plague-stricken to write about robots

THE ACTUATOR newsletter

By Brian Heater

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Image Credits: Brian Heater

Covid, CES, saying goodbye

It gets cold here in the high desert. Visitors are advised to pack lotion, lip balm and a heavy jacket — the cold, dry air will turn your skin into fine ash. Colleagues have told me about their portable humidifiers for a decade, and this was the year I finally broke down and picked one up — or rather, had one delivered.

It’s been almost three full days since I’ve stepped foot outside this hotel room. Blackout curtains do a fine job making day blend seamlessly into night when you can barely be bothered to walk the two feet to down your twice daily dose of Paxlovid. It’s a bit like one of those scenes in the back end of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” only without all of the fun preamble.

That’s one of the reasons this is an issue of Actuator I hoped I wouldn’t have to write. The other is that the newsletter is going away, and I’m going to miss popping into your inbox every Thursday afternoon. This has been an extraordinarily valuable experience for me, and I hope some of you can say the same.

That feeling really hit me at last year’s ProMat and Automate events, when so many readers stopped me to pass along a kind word. I’ve been writing about technology for longer than I care to mention, and those sorts of moments are both few and far between. We’ve spoken with many of the biggest names in the industry on these pages, and explored the ethical, sociological and financial impact of this growing industry.

“Growing” probably does it a disservice. I started writing about robots for TechCrunch in 2016, having covered the industry with less regularity a decade before that. These past few years have seen a veritable explosion in the robotics and automation spaces. After more than a decade of feeling almost frustratingly on the cusp, this was the moment the space truly started flourishing.

For the first time in I can’t remember how long, I was very much looking forward to this CES. Trust me when I say the event has become a dreaded date on the calendar for many of the people who do what I do for a living. But the lead-up to this year’s event felt different. Robotics and startup talk was everywhere. I packed my calendar as full as my degenerative discs would allow.

So, of course I got COVID. I knew it was a distinct possibility. Everyone who goes to these events understands it’s a calculated risk. Heck, I’d already contracted various other variants at three separate work events. What I couldn’t possibly anticipate, however, was getting it before CES started. Given my luck of late, however, it certainly tracks. That and the fact that we’re staying in the one hotel in Las Vegas that doesn’t do room service.

I’m excited to take a fuller dive into the subject once I’m on the other side of this. I have a lot to say on the subject of robotics at CES but will need to be able to sit up for longer than 15 minutes in a go to do it service.

As mentioned above, however, it will not be in Actuator, as this is the final issue. Publishing platforms are a tricky business. I will still, however, be very much devoted to bringing you the most import robotics news over on TechCrunch.com. I plan to keepTechCrunch’s robotics tag extremely active. After all, if 2023 was the year of generative AI, then 2024 is very much the year of the robot. I haven’t covered the category this hard for this long to abandon it now.

TechCrunch is still very much giving me the freedom to write the stories I believe are important. They’ll just be coming to you on a single platform. This year is going to be a memorable one for TechCrunch robotics coverage, and that’s not just the Paxlovid talking (judging by the taste, it’s aluminum cans from the early industrial revolution).

CES has been a perfect distillation of this moment in robotics. Lots of excitement and lots of hype. More than ever, we need people separating the facts from the marketing. I’ve been in this industry long enough to know how appealing these sorts of technologies are for those attempting to make a quick buck.

Brad Porter offered a helpful bit of insight into demos over at LinkedIn, including things like realistic simulation and “Wizard of Oz,” wherein there is a human orchestrating things behind the curtain.

“Unfortunately, it’s really hard to know if someone is doing this or not, but it’s a really low-integrity thing to do to show a robot doing something and not reveal the human controller behind it,” says the Collaborative Robotics founder. “But people do it. If you’re considering a significant investment in a robotics company, never go just off the video . . . go see it first-hand.”

My guess is we’ve seen a little bit of each this week. In an ideal world, improved technology would negate the need for such trickery, but that’s not how things work in this world — especially not in this age of movie-quality viral clips and technologies that are increasingly indistinguishable from CGI.

I’m excited to dive back in. Thanks to everyone who’s supported Actuator, and thanks, Carrie, who has edited my typos with minimal judgment. Please bookmark the TechCrunch robotics tagfor more. You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Bluesky and the artist formerly known as Twitter. It’s going to be a wild decade for robotics, and I’m happy to have you along for the ride.

[euphor1a]

hello. just wanted to say that I love all your works.

funny story, your fic was actually the first ever fanfic that I read. it was a little over a year back, I was in a not-so-good headspace. and just searched up 'yeonjun fanfic' on google lmao just for the heck of it. tried wattpad, was scarred💀 twt was just not for me. and then tried tmblr and was greeted by one of your yeonjun drabbles. ngl, I was a little taken aback at the liberal use of the obscene words lmao. and then since I didn't know how to actually use tmblr, I just read all of your works. and I mean all. so the works that literally don't even exist anymore, I've read them too!

so I've been with your works way back when you were cupidchois. and my tmblr journey began with you so you're like the OG for me lol.

also, the not-so-good-headspace was due to this huge huge life changing entrance exam I had and your fics provided comfort. but when the exam date was too near, I stopped using tmblr for like 3 months.

but before going, I read whatever little part of bewitched you had written and remember thinking that okay when I come back after all this time, it might be a completed series. also, the release date for the yj sugarpapi fic was 14 feb but you said you needed more time. and I thought yeah I'm gonna be gone a long long time. it'll be there when I come back.

if only I knew lol. when I came back you had a brand new blog, half of your fics were missing, sugarpapi never came out, and get this, bewitched had actually gone BACKWARDS because you decided to rewrite it! lmfao, I'm not tryna sound rude or pushy at all. please dont take it the wrong way. the situation was just sooo funny.

so yeah, that's my history with your blog lol.

anywhoo, love your works a whole lot and thank you for introducing me to this hellsite without even knowing it<3

much love<3

... wow 😭😭😭, i’m genuinely struggling to find words to type here. Goodness. This is making me feel so many emotions like kdghfghfgh HOLD AWN 😭

!!! Thank you so much for sending this in, first of all?? This is like a peak moment™ of my tumblr life i’m not even kidding 😭!!! Especially because I kinda ended up joining tumblr in a very similar way, except that my OG was far more consistent than me with their blog and works 😅! Take me back to 2017 pls—

I’m pretty sure a lot of us here actually started out with just searching up fanfics on google and then finding tumblr in the search results. Because same! I did not know something like tumblr existed and my experience with wattpad was equally traumatising 😵; thank god for the hellsite. It sure is very annoying at times but it’s also nice that we can have our own little bubble here!

Lsjskdjkfj “liberal use of the obscene words” IM DYING 😭! Thank you for still reading them though 😭! A part of me is very embarrassed because I’ve... well, grown to find my old stuff very poorly written (hence all the rewriting) but a part of me is? Super fucking flattered? And proud? THANK YOU 🙈🙈

The fact that whatever the fuck I wrote actually provided comfort to a human being is enough for me to just go on and quit everything and live a life of a saint. It’s crazy... I never dared to imagine that my writing could actually do that? Because I always think that whatever I write is pretty forgettable tbh. Like you read it and move on and never think back. Anyway, I hope you are feeling better now, lovely 🥺! I’ve been in similar places throughout my life and damn I know how badly education related pressure fucks you up :(

Ah yes... Bewitched. Sigh. I have a love-hate relationship with that kid. I think I have mentioned this before in some random rant post, but god, rewriting is so hard. Because I spend most of the time regretting how I wrote it instead of the actual fixing and editing and rewriting. I won’t abandon it, but at this rate I’m not sure when I’ll be able to invest myself completely in rewriting either. It’s only harder because my daydreams have no ends and the amount of newer wips that I want to finish and post keeps increasing. And to top it off, there’s ✨real life✨, being an absolute pain in the ass constantly.

Also Sugarpapi 😭! It’s honestly me vs. the unrealistic high standards I’ve set for myself at this point. But you know what? I’ll take my time with it. Because I think taking it slow is better in all aspects. Like yeah, I could just half-ass it and put all the pressure in the world on myself to finish it sometime soon, but we all know that’ll be a mess itself, and will make me one too. It’s coming. I promise. Maybe in another year 💀

“If only I knew” — me at least twice a day skshksjk 😭;; it be like that 🙁! Apologies for the unexpected jump-scares you got from my whole new blog and all :'))

I will eventually repost the works people wanted to be reposted — surprise, almost all of my cupidchois’ masterlist actually ended up there after I rounded everything up (and almost nothing from my bts blog minus the reactions), so there’s that. And, I can’t even explain how much this ask actually means to me. Crazy stuff. Life changing.

Thank you so much!!! I’m sending you a parcel full of positive energy and my love, which is not enough but it’s the best I can do atm </3

[stuckonmain]

An Oath to Keep

TOH Hunter/The Golden Guard x reader

I used two of the angsty writing prompts- I have more oneshots in the making with the others >:)

Word Count: 4.1k

*******

“Aw, need some help?” I cooed, hovering above the fight.

“(Y/N)! What the heck are you doing here?!” Yelled my best friend, shoving another guard away.

“Hmm…maybe because I heard trouble. Or maybe it’s because you screamed my name dramatically while saying ‘I’m DYING!’.”

“You actually weren’t supposed to hear that.” He huffed, aiming another punch at the guards that surrounded him.

“It was pretty funny, so I’m glad I did.” I chuckled, landing next to him. I dodged a punch and tripped a guard, slapped a fire glyph onto someone, and watched Hunter knock out the last guard.

“Woah, we made quick work of them.” Hunter chuckled.

“I know- what would you do without me?” I laughed and ruffled his hair.

“I’d have a much easier life, that’s for sure.”

“And a very boring one. But I’ve gotta fly, so unless you want to spend the night helping me make potions, I’ll bid you adieu.” I waved, hopping onto my staff again.

“Wait! Can I help you make potions, actually? I’m free tonight, and I’m bored. And…making potions sounds fun.”

“Well…It’d be your first time, right?” I said, raising my eyebrows.

Hunter turned red. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Your first sleepover! What’d you think?” I said innocently. “Get your mind out of the gutter, darling!”

He somehow turned redder. “Titan, you’re gonna make me regret this.” He groaned and sat behind me on the staff.

“What’d you do to start that fight anyways?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.

“I-uh…I just…got caught with something I wasn’t supposed to have.”

“Ah, underage apple blood consumption?”

“N-no! Of course not, that’s just looking for trouble.” He stuttered.

“Right, you’re too straightlaced for that. Fair enough, I’m not into underage drinking either.”

“Oh come on, I’m not that straightlaced.” He scoffed. “I’m actually rebelling right now, I’ll have you know- if my uncle knew I was here, he’d literally kill me.”

“Wow, you’re so bad.” I snorted.

“I know, I’m practically a delinquent.”

“Yeah, you oughta be in the conformatorium.”

“I’m such a danger to society.”

“Oh hey, we’re here. Try not to burn down the house Mr. Badboy.” I said dryly.

He had been to my house before, and knew it was…unorthodox. The place was an abandoned teahouse I discovered a few years ago, and I’d fixed it up- but I had left a lot of things untouched, like the sign that read ‘New Salem Tearoom’ on the door, the parlor that still looked like a restaurant, and the smell of tea that lingered no matter how many times I tried to cover it. It was annoying at first, but I had grown to appreciate it.

Hunter sat in one of the booths, drawing little pictures in the dust.

“Why don’t you ever clean this place?!” He coughed- he had accidentally created a dust cloud.

“I do, but the dust always comes back. It’s like this place doesn’t want to change. Which is fair, although slightly inconvenient.”

He sneezed. “Right. Slightly inconvenient…I’m never gonna get this dust off of my gloves…ugh.”

“It’s like a curse. BEWARE THE EVIL DUST…” I chuckled. “Now c’mon, let’s go upstairs. This section is gloomy.”

*******

It had been a long night for me, but Hunter had fallen asleep immediately. He needed the rest- his dark circles were so extreme that they could be mistaken for bruises.

I worried about him, to be honest. I didn’t know a lot about Hunter’s personal life, only that he was homeschooled and raised by his uncle, who seemed to be very strict…but I never pried. It was none of my business, though I was still curious. But he was usually tired and battered, as though he was used to physical wear and tear- much more so than the average sixteen-year-old. I had theories as to why, but again, I didn’t pry.

I had been working on potions for hours now- I had to restock my shop tomorrow, and I was still missing a few popular options.

There was a yawn from the couch.

“Hey…(Y/N)? What time is it?” Hunter mumbled.

I shrugged. “Midnight?”

He hauled himself off the couch and walked towards me.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” He murmured.

“My roof, my rules… But…thanks for the care.” I said, smiling lightly.

“Of course… Is there anything I can do to help with your potions?”

“Mm…can you read a book? Like..out loud? That’d make this less boring…”

He shrugged and flipped open the book on the desk- Journal three, a book I found on an excursion to the human realm with my friend Eda.

“Uh… ‘I can hardly believe it’s been six years since I began studying the mysteries of Gravity Falls, Oregon’...” He closed the book. “Actually, my voice is kind of annoying. Maybe we should watch a show or something.”

“I mean…if you want. But your voice isn’t annoying. It’s actually really nice, but do what you want I guess.”

“Oh, uh…it’s not?” He blushed, looking sort of flustered. I looked away- Nope, that was definitely not cute (Y/n), shut up shut up shut up-

I interrupted my own thoughts. “Nope. It’s one of my favorite voices, but of course I’m kind of biased…after all, you’re one of my favorites.” I said, blushing lightly.

“Thanks. I..I needed to hear that. Um…you’re one of my favorites too…” He said, touching my hand.

I stared at him, trying to ignore my sweaty palms. This is fine, this is fine, fuck you Hunter stop being cute!

“..and that’s why I’m forcing you to go to sleep.” He said, grinning impishly as his grip on my hand tightened.

“Wait, what?!” I screeched as he dragged me towards my bedroom. “This is a BETRAYAL! I thought you were my FRIEND, Hunter!”

“Nope! I’m busy evilly forcing you to be healthy- take THAT!” He cackled.

“Yeah, well you’re one to talk- I can tell you have insomnia just looking at you!”

“See, I care more about your health.” He shrugged.

“No, if I’m sleeping, then you are too.” I said sternly.

“Fine, but we’re watching stuff on the crystal ball first.”

“Deal.” I nodded, setting it up. With another wave of my hand, I had created a smaller bed on the ground next to mine for Hunter to sleep in, but in the meantime he would sit with me on the big bed.

….I woke up a bit later to the show still going and Hunter asleep on my shoulder. We were both still on top of the blankets, and he was still in his armor. That’s probably uncomfortable.

I blushed as he wrapped his arms around my waist, still asleep. I tried to ignore it and close my eyes again…but I guess it wasn’t too bad, really…it was actually sort of pleasant…

*******

Hunter was gone when I woke up. He had work in the early morning, and rarely had days off. But he did leave a note, which was sort of nice. I glanced over it.

Sorry, I have an early shift again- thanks for letting me come over! Uncle had better not find out though, or I’m totally dead- nonetheless, we should do this again sometime maybe?

-Hunter

I smiled. I hoped so.

But I had work today too. There was an ingredient I had been needing, but it was only sold at the Lost Threads Bazaar in Latissa- a night market of chaos, crowds, and the finest array of scientific and arcane contraband the Boiling isles had to offer. It was magic untethered by law, no longer held back by covens- it was wild. Wild magic at its strongest, in the catacombs deep beneath the city. The higher classes would never know of its grandeur- they sometimes caught the scent wafting through the vents or clinging to their skirts, but they would never really know it. The tingle of wildness coursing through you, burning you to the core, dancing through your veins until it reaches your fingertips…The feeling of running freely, unbound from expectations or reason. I loved it.

But the Bazaar was only there twice a year. So I had to make it count.

*******

I landed in Latissa by dusk. There was always a challenge in getting past the guards, but once I reached the little yarn shop, I knew I was safe. No one would suspect a yarn shop of hiding the entrance to the catacombs, but looks can be deceiving…and the Emperor’s guards can be very stupid.

“Good-day dear, what can I get’cha?” Croaked the old demon at the register.

“Well, you see…I seem to have a few lost threads.” I answered, emphasizing the lost threads.

“Ah, of course.” She said, a glint in her eyes. “Try the back room.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” I smiled, tossing her a snail. I opened the door to the back room, where there was a disgustingly moist trapdoor that was probably made of some kind of flesh. I swung it open to see the ladder to the catacombs- perfect…

The Lost Thread Bazaar assaults one’s senses, like a tidal wave of stimulation. I was immediately hit by scents, sounds, sights….The smell of illegal substances and chemicals, merging with the sweet smell of bakery and other food vendors, the sounds of people, talking, fighting, screaming…and the sights of a giant crowd, golden lights from torches and spells, somehow illogically illuminating the underground cavern…It was chaotic and definitely overwhelming to those who weren’t used to it, but this wasn’t my first rodeo. I had a goal in mind, and if I could manage to override my childlike curiosity, I might just achieve it.

I shoved through the crowd, trying to reach the stand I had in mind- It was always in the same place, and despite the pure chaos around me, I knew the place well enough to find the stand that sold rivetraptor scales. Rivetraptors were rarely seen, and their scales were illegal because they were commonly used as drugs.

I preferred to use them for what Hunter dubbed ‘(Y/N)’s simple twisted science.’

I called it experimenting. All the best potions were made through experimentation and wild magic, so why shouldn’t I make my own recipes? Contrary to popular belief, it didn’t have to be dangerous!

Speaking of Hunter, I…weirdly kinda wished he were here. I liked being around Hunter- although, logically it didn’t make a lot of sense. I was a wanted wild witch with snarky comments and sarcasm as my main weapons, while he was from some weird strict household that he didn’t talk about much. He liked rules- and not just the rules that worked in his favor!-And again…I was a criminal! I liked to stay up late and sleep in, and Hunter talked about his sleep schedule of staying up late and waking up early as enviable…

But there were things I loved-sorry, liked- about him. I appreciated and related to his passion for knowledge, and wholeheartedly loved the fact that he helped me with my ‘simple twisted science’. I thoroughly enjoyed making him flustered- it was fun and fairly easy, making it a wonderful source of serotonin. And despite not having any real magical powers, he was strong. He had a palisman who was his main source of magic, and they worked off each other brilliantly. Honestly, I could hardly believe he was called half-a-witch-Hunter as a kid, but again, I really didn’t trust his uncle. And it was so cute that he cared about my sleeping habits and wellbeing- I mean it was so nice. It was nice. Hunter was an appreciated member of my social circle, and I wished he were here because when I’m around him I feel nice. And that’s it.

But he would hate it here. I already knew he would hate it- he may love theories and experimentation, but again, he also loved order and authority. The chaos would drive him mad.

….though, on the other end of the argument, I hated it here at first too. The noise, the crowds, the angry drunks and on-the-run criminals…but I had grown to love it, so maybe there was a possibility for Hunter to love it too.

“Hey you!” A deep voice shouted. “You’re the one on that poster over there, eh?”

Heh, sucks for whoever's getting yelled at- I recognized that voice as the voice of a bounty hunter that had tried to catch me a few times.

Oh wait.

“(Y/N) (L/N)! We meet again!” Chuckled the robed figure menacingly.

“See, it’s been a lovely chat, but for some reason I plan on retiring for the night a bit early.” I said, waving dramatically.

“Not this time kid-”

I turned and ran. Stuid bounty hunters, always ruining my night…

Oh BLAST IT! There was a new vendor in front of my main exit! I turned tail and dove into the crowd, heart racing. The bounty hunter was onto me- why ME?! There’s like a million criminals here!

I clambered up one of the many ladders, kicking off a little demon that had caught my boot. I sensed someone on the ladder beneath me- I sqeaked as I took a look- he was a lot closer than expected! I aimed a kick at his head and climbed faster. By the time I reached the sewer grate, I had put a healthy distance between us.

I hopped out in the middle of the road, and threw my cloak on in hopes of being unrecognized.

Well, there goes my night at Lost Threads... I thought mournfully.

Maybe I could still manage to have fun. Latissa might be a boring place for boring people, but maybe- oh my titan-

The bounty hunter had caught up to me! I froze. Nonononono- even with my hood up, he recognized me. His eyes narrowed.

“Well, this has been fun, but I seem to be needed elsewhere.” I said, giving him a two-fingered salute- and I was off.

I peeked over my shoulder, too aware of how close he was. No-

I hit the ground hard. Shoot- I looked up, trying to scramble away, but it was too late.

“I’m needed elsewhere too, wild witch. So we’ll make this quick.” He smirked.

I closed my eyes, bracing for impact. I’ll talk my way out of this later. I’ll be fine. I can escape the conformatorium. Luz and Eda will help me, I’ll be fine-

The blow never came. There was a thump of boots hitting the ground, and the sound of a familiar voice.

“Get away from (Y/N).”

I slowly opened my eyes. There was a silhouette blocking the light, someone standing in front of me...Hunter?

“Gold-Golden Guard!” Stuttered the bounty hunter.

The Golden Guard? How does he know my name?!

I watched as the still-blurry silhouette stepped towards the bounty hunter.

“Hiiiii~” The Golden Guard waved obnoxiously at my captor. “You should probably leave, that is unless you want to face...oh, let’s see. Conformatorium charges, fines for disturbing the peace, ooh! Maybe I can even refer you to petrification- make an example of you, y’know?”

What the heck- why is the Golden Guard saving me?!

“Forgive me sir, but your ‘(Y/N)’ is a wanted criminal!” Said the bounty hunter nervously.

“Is ‘my (Y/N)’ currently doing anything to you?” ‘My (Y/N)’- I’ve heard that before, in that exact voice-

“I mean-” He was cut short.

“Nope! So I think you’d be best pretending this never happened. The Emperor is not a merciful man, so don’t stand in my way if you wanna get out of here in one piece.”

“...yes sir.” He mumbled. The bounty hunter turned and left the alleyway, leaving me alone with...the Golden Guard.

“You’re welcome!” He said after a beat of silence.

“How...how do you know my name? Why’d you save me?!” I gaped.

“Oh. Well...I guess you might as well know...” He slid off the gold mask. “Ta-da!”

There was a mix of emotions pounding through my head, merging with the adrenaline that hadn't quite worn off yet. Ashy blonde hair, magenta eyes, scar, nicked ear, that adorable bit of hair that’s always in his face…

“Hunter?” I murmured. Something felt wrong. This isn’t right this isn’t right this isn’t right-

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down and think logically. Hunter was in Latissa, wearing the Golden Guard’s sigil.

He raised an eyebrow. The pounding in my head returned, and I felt rooted to the ground. I hardly even noticed him stepping closer to me.

“(Y/N)?” He said softly.

“This- this isn’t real. You can’t be…. You’re the Golden Guard-” I stammered. “You can’t be him…”

He looked pale, as if he was realizing something was wrong. “See, I didn’t quite mean for you to find out like this…I thought you were in Bonesborough tonight.”

“So you’re not even gonna try to deny it, huh.” I chuckled. “I can’t believe I was so stupid!” I grinned, more to myself than to the liar in front of me.

“Hey, you weren’t being stupid- I’m just a pretty good liar!” He said as if it was reassurance.

“Yes I was being bloody stupid! Eda warned me about not trusting the wrong people, and I thought I was doing great! I thought I was friends with a really awesome person named Hunter- if that’s even your real name- and now you show up, allied with the person I’ve spent my whole life working against! And we’ve been hanging out for months- maybe even years by this point, I haven’t counted- and I trusted you!” I paused for air, trying to calm down. “Hunter…I like you. Maybe I even love you.” I sighed, turning back to him as calmly as I could muster. He met me with confusion. “So forgive me, but this isn’t quite ideal.” I finished.

He looked down guiltily.

“...Why do you think my coven is so bad, anyways?” He mumbled.

“Well.” I sighed, standing up. “Possibly because it forces us to limit our magic. Or maybe because the Emperor tried to petrify my friend Eda, and took Luz’s only way home. Oh…and the fact that the current coven head lied to me really isn’t helping your case too much for some reason.” I said flatly.

“But we’re friends! Friends lie to each other all the time, right?” He said desperately.

Right. Hunter….is still Hunter. He isn’t being malicious…

I breathed in sharply. “I don’t know what they’re teaching you at that coven, but that is literally the opposite of what good friends do. I don’t think you meant to do anything wrong- I know you well enough for that- but nonetheless, this…..you being the Golden Guard….it changes things, Hunter.”

“It doesn’t need to! You- you could come with me, join the Emperor’s Coven! You could be like- the Silver Guard or something- you’re powerful enough, easily-”

“Hunter. I’m not joining the Emperor’s coven. And if you force me, I will hate you forever. I’m a wild witch, and being around you puts me in danger.” I sighed.

“B-but I just saved you! Isn’t that…like, a good thing? Can’t you just trust that I won’t sell you out?” He whispered.

“I’d really like to. Believe me, I wish I could.” I muttered, pulling my hood back on. “But you’re loyal to your uncle, and he seems to be loyal to the Emperor to get you such a high position. Maybe you’re more loyal to me than you are to your coven, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take….” I looked back at him.

“Wait!” He said, thrusting his hand out awkwardly. “An everlasting oath!” He grinned. "I…ah…wasn’t lying about not having any magic, so you have to do that part, but….you know…that way I can’t sell you out. Even if Belos threatened me. So….is that trustworthy?”

I stared at his outstretched hand, barely registering his words for a few seconds. Hunter…I fucking love you.

“Please. I don’t want to lose you…” He whispered.

“Well…looks like you won’t.” I smiled and drew a spell circle.

He grinned and shook my hand, sealing the everlasting oath.

*******

In retrospect, it was too easy. I really should have foreseen that it was just too easy. But I didn’t, so at least for a while, things were back to normal with Hunter and I. I was slightly more on my guard, and he was a bit shyer, but it wasn’t anything really noteworthy. However….Of course, problems would arise- they always do. This one was inevitable.

But the day started out normal enough. I did my usual potion-selling rounds, bought a new pair of boots…y’know, everyday stuff. The trouble came at nightfall, when I heard a pounding on the door.

I sighed and peered out the window to see Hunter- a fairly normal sight at my house. The slightly less normal part was how he looked pale and panicked.

I swung the door open.

“Hey.”

“(Y/N), you’re in danger.” He said shakily, stepping into the house.

“Wait, how?” I frowned, but he was already headed upstairs. I darted after him to see he had dragged out my duffle bag and was shoving random things into it.

“There isn’t much time- do you need these?” He said, holding up a pair of goggles.

I shrugged. “Ma-maybe. But again, what’s going on? Why do you look sick?”

“Uncle is punishing me.” He muttered. “Scrying potion.” He said louder. “I swear, I didn’t say anything…but Uncle noticed I was…I was getting lazy, not waking up as early, coming in later- he…” -Hunter swallowed hard- “He made a scrying potion.”

…And he found me.

“No. This is- this is great! Ha- brilliant.” I laughed sarcastically. I slowed though, noticing that Hunter stiffened as though bracing himself for impact….what’s that about?

He deflated as he realized I wasn’t going to hurt him- why would he even think that?!

“I’m so sorry.” He said solemnly. “You were right- being around me put you in danger.”

“Yeah. It did.” I said lamely. There wasn’t much else to say. I sighed and took the bag from Hunter, trying not to make eye contact.

“What are you gonna do?” He whispered.

“Oh, it’s simple really- I’m going to disappear, Hunter. I’m gonna vanish off the face of the Isles, never to be seen again.”

He hung his head. “...Oh. …That makes sense.”

“Oh, cheer up. I’ll write you letters.” I said with a weak smile, and finished packing.

He froze, staring me in the eyes. “You…will? You mean…you aren’t mad at me?”

“You kept your promise.” I answered simply. “You’re a good friend, Hunter…one of the best I could ever have.”

“Oh…thanks.” He swallowed. “But (Y/N)....listen, my uncle is extra mad…because of me. He’ll hurt you more than usual because…because I’m stupid.”

“What do you mean?” I frowned.

“I…Well…He found out that…I like you. You know…butterflies, blushing kind of like you….I swear I didn’t know I did! But…the main character of my book felt that way about her girlfriend, so I just…”

I blushed, waiting for him to continue.

“...the- the feelings themselves are irrelevant. The point is, my uncle found out and wants to capture you even more now. Because of me.”

I smiled despite everything- bad timing, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t cute. “Hey…I’m the one in danger, quit making it about you.” I teased.

“Uh- sorry! I-”

I took his hand. “Listen. Like you said, I don’t have a lot of time. But before I go, I need to make sure you know a few things, okay?”

He nodded.

“Cool. Number one: I won’t really even leave Bonesborough- I’ll just stay low-profile and change locations. If you need me, I won’t be far. Two: Someone needs to take care of this old teahouse- keep the demons from taking it, right? So if you want to just hang out here between missions, that’d be helpful. Three: Butterflies and blushing usually comes from a crush- you have a crush on me. That’s fair, I’m very hot. Luckily for you, the feeling is mutual, but we don’t have time for that. And lastly…I’m gonna miss you, Hunter. I’m gonna miss you a lot.”

He held my hand tighter, blushing. “I’m gonna miss you too, (Y/N). Promise you’ll send letters?”

“I promise.” I said, and pulled him into a hug.

“Stay safe, okay?” He mumbled into my shoulder.

“Same goes for you.” I chuckled.

There was a knock on the door downstairs. He stiffened. “The scouts are here.”

I hopped onto my staff and swung the window open. “In that case, I’d better get going. I’ll see you again- someday. I promise.” I smiled bittersweetly.

“See you then, I guess!” He said, leaning out the window as I flew off.

I had a location in mind, obviously…ever heard of the Owl House?

[writemekpop]

(Un)arranged Marriage | Kim Jungwoo

Pairing: Kim Jungwoo x Reader

Summary: You have to stop your best friend Jungwoo from escaping his wedding... But your massive crush on him complicates things.

Genre: Fluff, angst, South Asian Y/N

Word Count: 0.7k

Gif: @xiaojun​

Your fingers hover over the pearly white keys of the harmonium. The whole wedding congregation have fallen silent. 

The second you start playing, the bride will enter, and the wedding will begin. 

But your fingers are frozen. 

You should be happy – it’s your sister Pallavi’s wedding to Jungwoo, for god’s sake! Then why does watching them kiss make you feel so hollow inside? You wish that your sister was marrying any other man… just not Jungwoo. 

Jungwoo is… enchanting. 

He’s like a sunrise: you’ve seen him hundreds of times, but you never stop being dazzled by his brightness. You’ve always been the sibling who “needs to loosen up”. But when you’re with Jungwoo, you find yourself sleeping on the roof of your building under the stars, throwing your shoes into the ripples of the Mahadayi River, running around barefoot under monsoon rains. 

You can’t quite pinpoint the moment when Jungwoo’s hand brushing your thigh became the highlight of your day. 

No. You blink back to reality. You lost your chance with Jungwoo. He’s been your best friend since you were 5 years old. You’ve had two decades to make Jungwoo yours – and you failed. Anyway, family comes first. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices for the people you love.  

You start playing the piece you’d practiced. 

Pallavi wafts out, looking radiant in her shimmering red and gold sari. 

She’s still walking when you hear something. 

It’s the best man, Yuta, running up to the microphone behind the priest’s stand. 

“Sorry guys, there’s going to be a slight delay to the wedding.”

Everyone flinches as the microphone screams with static. Then, a moment later, Yuta continues, much faster and quieter, “You have one instruction. Do not let anyone know that Jungwoo is gone!”

The guests erupt into chatter. Yuta’s face turns very red as he realises that the microphone was still on – and everybody now knows that the groom has made a run for it. 

You run up to Pallavi, who is now standing at the side of the marquee, next to Yuta.

Pallavi is holding her phone to her ear, her golden kitten heel tapping on the carpet. She turns to you. 

“Do you even know how embarrassing this is? The family company’s investors are here!”

You shake your head. “Did you guys fight again?”

Pallavi laughs sarcastically. “Oh, didi, we’re always fighting. Just find that idiot. Now!” 

You run to the back of the marquee, to the two-storey ‘wedding building’ containing the banquet hall for the reception meal, the bar and lots of changing rooms for the bride and groom. You feel strangely exhilarated, like you’re a child again, in a crazy Go-Kart race. 

You run through the double doors and straight to the marble staircase. You have a gut feeling that you know where Jungwoo is. Whenever he gets in a tough situation, he always wanted to be as close to the sky as possible. 

You’re panting by the time you reach the door leading to the roof. 

Pushing it open, you scan the space. The sandy concrete roof is empty, with nothing but a few plant pots to the sides and a low wall stopping people from falling off.

At the far end, a man in a very expensive kurta stands with his back to you. 

“Jungwoo!” you call.

Jungwoo turns around. He grins at the sight of you.

But you’re not smiling. You shake your head, your body stiff. “What the hell are you playing at? This isn’t a joke, Jungwoo. Do you know how upset Pallavi is?”

Jungwoo shakes his head. You notice that his eyes are a little puffy. Has he been crying? “She’s just worried I’m embarrassing her, that’s all.”

“Go back there and apologise. Heck, go back there and get married!”

Jungwoo sighs, sitting down on the wall edging the roof. He looks gorgeous in his tightly fitted silk kurta. His eyes twinkle under his dense brown curls. 

Suddenly, your phone rings, vibrating in your silver side bag. You pull it out. The caller ID says ‘Little sis’. 

“Pallavi?” you say, holding the phone to your ear.

“Well? Found him yet?” 

You look at Jungwoo. He’s shaking his head furiously, his hands clasped together in a praying action. You don’t know. As a sister, you have a duty to protect Pallavi’s marriage. But for some reason, you never could say no to Jungwoo.

Gulping, you say, “No. No sign of him… yet.” 

You snap the phone closed, glaring at Jungwoo. 

He pulls off his jacket, and throws that off the building too. 

Jungwoo’s voice is low. “I’m thirty years old.”

Standing up, he pulls off his tie with both hands and throws it up, where it catches the wind and swirls off the building. 

He smiles faintly, looking at the sky. “Without regret, they fall and scatter… cherry blossoms.”

Finally, he kicks off both of his fancy dress shoes and throws them across the roof. One of them teeters on the side wall, till it finally rests there, just about balancing.

“I’m an unemployed, failed actor, about to marry a woman who can barely stand the sight of me.” 

He’s always been so melodramatic. That’s part of his charm. Jungwoo always seems to be acting a role in a great divine play no mere mortal can know about. 

You run forward and grab Jungwoo’s shoulders, forcing him to look at you. “Get it together, man! You need to grow up. You have a loving fiancée waiting for you down there.” 

Jungwoo strokes your cheek with his hand. You shiver at his touch, an involuntary gasp sucking through your mouth. You get a sudden urge to hold his hand in yours, squeeze it tight.

“And why do you care so much?” Jungwoo asks, smirking.

You feel suddenly hot under his caramel gaze. “B-because she’s my sister.” 

Why do you feel like the one in trouble? Jungwoo’s the guy who abandoned his bride, not you!

“Really? Seems kinda like you’re… hiding something.” His face nears yours. “I know you, Y/n. I see the way your jaw stiffens when I kiss your sister. Am I not worthy?”

You snap. Pushing him off you, you shout, “I’m happy for you and Pallavi! How many times?”

“Just because it hurts to see you with Pallavi, that doesn’t mean I’m not happy for you. Just because I wish it was me on that aisle, that doesn’t mean I’m not happy for you. Just because I love you, jungwoo, that doesn’t mean I’m not- happy for you…”

Your voice tapers off as you hear yourself. For the first time, the pain of the man you love marrying someone else flows freely through you. You’re… in love with Jungwoo? All this time, you’d buried your jealousy deep under a layer of affection for Pallavi and family duty.

You’ve always been accused of ‘not being able to talk about your feelings’. But you pushed your feelings for Jungwoo down so deep you even hid them from yourself. 

Jungwoo pulls you into a tight hug. You let your tears seep into his shoulder. 

“I had no idea you felt that way,” he murmurs.

“Are you… going back to Pallavi?” you ask, your voice tiny.

Pulling back so he can look you in the eye, Jungwoo shakes his head. “I love you, Y/n, but…”

Your heart squeezes.

“I think I… hide in relationships. Look at me! I waited till the wedding day to address the problems in my relationship. But if you’ve taught me one thing, Y/n, it’s that I’m done hiding. I need to face my problems alone, and work out what I really want.”

Jungwoo kisses your hand. “Would you wait for me?”

You nod, smiling through your tears. “I’ve waited two decades. I think a couple months more won’t hurt.” 

—

MASTERLIST

Let us know what you thought in the comments or on anon! 💋

[dontneedadictionary]

FACEIT, TF2, and YOU: What it is, how to play, etc

So you’ve heard of the hit new thing coming to TF2 but you don’t know what the heck its all about? Or maybe you’re trying to figure out how to use FACEIT to play Team Fortress 2? This is the guide for you.

For those of you interested in signing up, consider using this link. For those of you looking to learn more, please read under the cut. I’ll be giving a detailed explanation of what FACEIT is, what it means for TF2, and how to queue. 

Ok, so first thing’s first: what is FACEIT? 

FACEIT is an Esports company founded in 2012. It has been hosting leagues and community matchmaking for games like CS:GO and Dota 2 for a while. But this isn’t really too important in the grand scheme. What you need to know is that FACEIT has taken an interest in creating a skill-based, cheat free, matchmaking platform for casual Team Fortress 2. 

What this means is that after the closed beta for TF2 ends later this month (March), you will be able to queue into community maps hosted by FACEIT. These servers are heavily monitored with anti cheats so that they will not be infiltrated by hackers and bots which have currently been the plague of Casual Team Fortress 2. 

Currently, FACEIT boasts zero bots, zero hackers, skill-based matchmaking, free prizes (australium weapons and rare cosmetics), no autobalance, no random crits, no random bullet spread, and more. 

You can learn more about these things in plenty of youtube videos like these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvfEmlJ_N48

But what does FACEIT mean for TF2? FACEIT poses a chance for TF2 players to experience a more serious casual setting without the current issues plaguing the game. It also means that TF2′s community could grow. Potentially, if FACEIT goes well, Valve could be inclined to improve the future of the game. 

FACEIT currently is one of the best options for people who like playing TF2 seriously. It’s not technically competitive, but it is a more competitive way to play. Consider it like playing something like Competitive Overwatch casually. You should take the game seriously, not play as a friendly, and not abandon the game. 

If you’re someone who wants more from your TF2 experience and want a challenge, this could be for you! That being said, I caution that it isn’t for everyone. It’s a very different way to play TF2 than a standard causal game is. Maybe give it a try and see if you like it! 

-o-

So how all does it work from the technical side of things? How do you play?

Well, I’ve got the guide for you! (This will get long, I’m sorry).

Currently (3/14) the client only offers a closed beta. To get access you will need to be invited by FACEIT to the closed beta. However, you may be able to get access to this by inviting a friend (I’m not 100% sure). 

If you have full access, or this is written after the closed beta has ended and the client opens to the general public: start here. 

First thing’s first. When you download the client, it may require you to verify your email and phone number before you can queue. This is a component of the anti-cheat. Additionally, it may require that you download the anti-cheat software (this will require a PC restart). I suggest downloading it regardless of it is required. This is merely to help prevent the infiltration of hackers and bots. 

The anti-cheat download can be found in the bottom left of your screen. Just download the software and make sure you log in afterwards via the same button once it has been successfully downloaded. NOTE: you cannot install the anti-cheat with TF2 or another game open. 

Once this is setup, you should be able to queue with no issues. 

From the play menu, you can queue for Solo or Team games of matchmaking 12v12 TF2. It will let you know how many players are currently queuing for the game mode if you hover (hence 21 in this screenshot). 

There are currently 8 available maps. You can select your preferences here. However, much like in competitive game lobbies, you will have the option to vote for the map chosen for the match. I’ll come back to this in a moment. For now, you need to know how to make sure you make it into a match.

When a match is ready, there is a VERY short period of time to accept the match. Less than 30 seconds to hit accept. If you miss this window, you will have to requeue. If someone else misses this window, you will automatically requeue. The client will automatically play a loud trumpet flourish and you just hit the button to check in. This is to ensure no inactive players and afks.

This is what the window looks like when you’re accepted into a game and the maps are still being chosen. Team leaders (priority towards people with premium passes) will choose and select a map for the game to be played on. If you’re not a team leader, you can request that certain maps be played or not played. 

After the map has been chosen, you will be provided an IP address to paste into your developer console in TF2. If you don’t know how to enable your developer console, please follow this guide. 

You have less than 3 minutes to connect into the match. If you make it in during this time, you will be partaking in a few moments of warmup. It’s just like pre-game in Casual TF2 servers. From here, the game functions similar to competitive. One team attacks and sets a standard. The other only has to beat that standard time or amount of points capped etc. (I believe that KOTH maps are best out of 5).

If at any point your team is really getting beaten and you feel the need to forfeit. You can type “!gg” in the chat and a vote to forfeit will start. 

If you leave the match early, you will be penalized. So you should really only queue up if you have an interest in completing the game. Even if it goes poorly, you should stick it out or use !gg. 

Once the match ends, it will automatically close. Similar to an MvM lobby!

As you play, you’ll be able to work towards points to win prizes (they’re expensive but still possible to get!) as you play the game. Here’s an example of some of the prizes.

There are also missions to help you unlock points. Here are some examples of those:

You will also be able to rank up and unlock points that way. Newer players will have to work up through the ranks. The XP to earn these rank ups comes from playing the game. You can earn your way to the Face Melting rank just by playing the game. 

An example of how the ranking system currently works is shown here from Big Joey’s youtube video.

As you can see, the higher ranks will be based on your skill as a player. There are also other things in FACEIT such as ladders and tournaments. These are more complicated and explorable on the actual site or platform itself. So I’ll let you guys check that out on your own.

Overall, there are a lot of fun things about FACEIT! Hopefully this guide helped you understand what it is, how to play, and what there is about it. Please let me know if you have any targeted questions about it in my inbox and I’ll be sure to help provide any info I can.

Have fun y’all and give it a try! This is a cool alternative to casual play. 

[elrondsscribe]

What is a plot that you think went effectively nowhere in Turn, or wasn't realized properly? For example, I that Robert Rogers starts feel auxiliary in the third season onward.

Oh honey, how long do you have?? There were legitimately so many plot threads left dangling that could've really had the potential for something really good!

For one, Nathan fucking Hale! He gets what I consider a passing mention, almost entirely in service of creating a parallel for the death of John Andre in S3 and giving Ben some anti-Brit angst. That's it. The real Nathan Hale's death was a huge deal in the Revolutionary War and impacted the way that both sides went forward with spy work -- if you're gonna make a show about Washington's most famous spy ring, and Benjamin Tallmadge is (debatably) going to be one of your leads, you can spare more than a passing mention for his close friend Nathan Hale.

For another thing, the sewing circle that Mary and Anna attend all of twice in S1! They introduce it as a way for Mary to accidentally spill the news about the gravestones, and then poof! Never a mention of it again! Is this a spy show or what?? Let the sewing circle become its own potential information exchange circle -- heck, you can even do the 'jealous two-faced bitches all around' thing if you wanna!

Or how about this: the entirety of Abigail's story?? Like, to this day we don't know who Agent 355 was. You make the choice to envision her as an educated enslaved woman. Okay, great -- post of story potential there. But if you're going to do that, you have to commit. If you want her to be a dedicated Patriot spy, you gotta give her good reasons for wanting to do that when her obligations run out. And if you don't think you can do that, then don't make her Agent 355. Just don't. Write her as a white woman, and let Abigail be doing a bunch of dangerous shit because her actual enslaver is forcing her to. Oh, but that would make the worst parts of slavery really prominent, and we don't want to do that, do we??

But I think the abandoned or snipped threads that tend to piss me off the most have to do with Ben's character development. For example, do you remember the scene in S4 where Washington tells Ben the truth about Nathan Hale's Fake Last Words? Did you know there was a deleted scene filmed for the first episode of S3 that has all the same character beats, down to some of the same dialogue? Ben could have learned this lesson about spycraft and honor a good season and a half earlier!

Or how about the time in S3 in 'Many Mickles Make a Muckle' when Billy drops a line that the cinematic language treats as Super Fucking Significant? Ben's expression changes while the camera zooms in and the music gets all Ominous -- like, 'ooh, is Ben maybe realizing something is up with the Arnolds?' And the first time I saw that, I was like, 'ooh! Ben's gonna Detect Something with his Spycraft!' But nothing came of it! Nothing!!

But the Ben plot thread that had the most potential, the handling of which pissed me off the most? The Sarah Livingston arc.

Now, I wanna say up front that I'm not crazy about the way that I've seen a lot of people in the Turn fandom react to Sarah and the Sarah/Ben association. Like, I get being queer and projecting onto him, or just straight up thirsting for him, but the level of vitriol I've directed toward a female character for having sex with a man they felt entitled to really rubs me the wrong way.

Having said that, the way the show itself treats Sarah is shameful. They throw her at Ben for all of two episodes, and then fridge her in the worst way (a r*pe-murder scene? Fucking really?!) just to have Ben Angst! Like, y'all had this golden opportunity to have Benjamin Tallmadge, this preacher's boy, really question his own morality, and the relative morality of his cause -- this opportunity to give some real characterization to a Loyalist who has real cause to hate the Patriots, a woman no less -- and y'all squander BOTH of these things??

[creativitycache]

The Power Of Comments on Fics

Hello! It’s your friendly neighborhood fanfic writer popping in to explain why the heck comments can end up the sole driving force behind fanfic writers finishing a fic, and why so many long fics get abandoned.

When writing a long fic, there tends to be a pattern that emerges vis-à-vis audience engagement. At first, the kudos come in at a steady rate. They flood in and outpace the comments. The first few chapters will have a few comments, and then as you keep posting the middle chapters get more and more comments and kudos. Each chapter begins to outdo the next as an audience builds.

Then- suddenly, there’s a sharp decline. New chapters net maybe a few kudos. The comments begin to slow down.

And so the doubt creeps in. Did I do something wrong? Do people hate where I’m going with this? I’ve lost my touch haven’t I. People hate it. I’m not good anymore. No one cares. This is pointless and it’s pointless because I ruined it.

What happened?

Well, eventually a fic hits a kind of invisible wall. It’s become way too big for new readers to feel casually click on and consume in a few hours. Now it’s an investment. Now it’s the length of a novel.

So the fic’s not getting many new readers. And the readers it already has have probably already left kudos. So the number of new chapter kudos pales in comparison as the pool of potential able-to-leave-kudos readers has shrunk.

Now the sole measure of engagement comes down to the comments. It’s all in the commenters hands. And as we all know, it’s much easier to leave a kudos than a comment; the number of comments-to-kudos has always been wildly unbalanced. AND NOW it’s even worse. Because now, not only do your potential new readers feel apprehensive about starting to read your work, your previous readers may not feel like they have the time to re-read what they’ve forgotten.

The number of kudos takes a steep nosedive first, and then slowly but surely the number of comments trickles down. Like someone slowly turning off a water faucet. And it’s even worse if you’re not able to post on a consistent schedule, because more people will forget the details of your story and have to ask themselves if they really have time to re-read before settling in to the new chapter.

Authors can be talented, witty, charming, funny- what they produce can make it seem like they’re above feeling like they’re no good. Obviously they’re good, right? Why else would they have such a long fic so many people like! Don’t they realize they’re the top of the list when it comes to kudos and hits and comments? Of course they know people want more.

Well.

Actually they don’t.

They have no clue unless someone tells them. And unless they know about the fic-length-dropoff, it comes as a very nasty surprise. It feels like Woody’s nightmare, when Andy tells him he doesn’t want to play anymore.

AND THAT’S WHY FIC COMMENTERS ARE THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WRITING SPHERE OF FANDOM.

They’re the ones that tell writers “Hey! You’re doing great!” and silences that voice that tells them they’re a hack. They’re the ones that PROVE to the writer someone is reading their work, not just clicking on it and then thinking “What a load of rubbish.” and clicking away.

Kudos are limited, clicks are unparsable, but comments can be left as many times as a reader likes.

When you comment on a fic, especially a long fic, you are the only feedback an author gets. Feedback is what drives fandom.

Thank you for commenting. ♡

[nightwingmyboi]

Bruce firing Dick vs. Dick firing Tim

Soooo, I have seen a lot of people comparing the way that Bruce replaced Dick with Jason versus the way that Dick replaced Tim with Damian. (This happened some on my Batfam Replacement Montage post [x], which is what first brought it to my attention.) For some reason, a lot of people come out of this comparison thinking that Dick was not only just as bad and insensitive as Bruce (if they even think Bruce was in the wrong at all that is) but even that Dick is somehow worse. This legitimately confused the heck out of me. I don’t know if people are reading the same comics as me (though honestly with all the retcons and nonsense going on maybe we aren’t reading the same comics), so I’m just going to break each replacement down for you here and maybe you’ll see where I’m coming from when I think that is completely out of left field. 

Let’s start with Bruce. These panels have Dick (as Nightwing) recounting how things between him and Bruce went down (I’ve rewritten the text just below the image if it is blurry): 

Batman #416 

So while I was still laid up in bed, you dropped the bad news on me. No ifs, ands, or buts...I wasn’t to play Robin anymore. You couldn’t continue to assume the responsibility for a child fighting crime. For six years you trained me to be a crimefighter, then denied me that role. Of course, you assured me that it was for my own good. I lay there with a bandaged shoulder and my life in ruins. You smiled. Kicked a great big hole in my life, then walked out of the room. 

Following an encounter with the Joker, Dick is shot in the shoulder and nearly dies. Instead of comforting Dick, Bruce decides to follow up this traumatic event by firing Dick from Robin immediately. Bruce calls Dick a child, disregarding all the time Dick spent training to become Robin and Dick’s own agency, and basically attempts to kick him out of crimefighting all together. This may not be clear because of the image quality, but Dick literally starts crying in that last panel. But it doesn’t stop there: 

I don’t see what option I had, other than to split. Alfred tried to talk me out of it. It was Alfred who forced money on me so I’d have something to live on. You couldn’t even be bothered to say goodbye. 

Despite his concern for Dick being the motivating factor behind the firing, Bruce doesn’t even seem to be aware that Dick is leaving, and so Alfred is the one that tries to convince Dick to stay in Bruce’s stead. And where is Bruce during all this you may ask??

Sorry, he was busy working on a case at the time. And people wonder why Dick didn’t realize Bruce was doing this out of concern rather than distrust of his capabilities. Anyway, Dick leaves, eventually joins the Titans, and becomes Nightwing. Eighteen whole months pass--a freaking year and a half--and not once does Bruce try to get in touch with Dick to sort things out. Then, Dick finds out about his replacement in the newspaper: 

Bruce fired Dick because he didn’t want a child sidekick. Then he goes out and gets a freaking child sidekick, and, even better, makes him Robin. Robin isn’t just a costume to Dick. In many comics, Dick refers to the Robin role as meaning family, and that’s because Dick specifically crafted Robin as a way to remember his parents. 

Robin Annual #4 and The Titans #16

It doesn’t get much more personal than using your dead mother’s nickname for you and your family’s colors (which across comics are pretty consistently some combo of yellow/green/red) as your hero persona. And Bruce, despite knowing the origins of the costume, felt like he could do whatever he wanted with it. And he didn’t even have the decency to be upfront about it. You can see why this drives me crazy. He spends the rest of the issue beating around the bush and not telling Dick why he adopted Jason and made him Robin, and, in the end, he once again kicks Dick out of the house. Nice parenting Bruce. 

Now with Dick. I’ve seen some people accuse Dick of not talking to Tim and just pulling the Robin mantle right out from under him, but that isn’t really what the comics show us: 

Red Robin #1

Dick tries to talk to Tim about it, and, unlike Bruce, he explicitly states his reasons for giving Damian Robin. He validates Tim, and tells him that they are equals. Even when Tim lashes out, Dick makes it clear that he still wants Tim around, even if it is not as Robin. And, once again unlike Bruce, Dick doesn’t proceed to just abandon Tim when things don’t go his way. He sends Tim’s friends his way and when that doesn’t work, Dick goes to find Tim and try to talk things out in person: 

Red Robin #4

So why doesn’t Tim just tell Dick his theory? That’s because, as much as people apparently want to believe that Tim had the whole thing figured out and it was everyone else’s fault that no one was listening, Tim had no actual evidence whatsoever that Bruce was actually alive. He was kind of in denial about Bruce’s death and all he had was a weak hunch.

Tim rides off without giving any explanations, leaving Dick to deal with all the fallout of Bruce’s “death” by himself. Dick had to abandon everything that he built (Nightwing, his various superhero teams, etc.) in order to take up Bruce’s identity. He had to deal with being Batman, running Wayne Enterprises, and raising Damian (a murderous brat who spent literally all his time insulting and undermining him in those early days), all while managing his own grief. And he had no one but Alfred for support. So maybe he didn’t handle Tim as well as he could have (I don’t really know what he could have done differently but hey if you want to let me know feel free), but I honestly think that under the circumstances he tried his freaking best, which is more than Bruce did for him. And when Tim returns, he immediately expects Dick to put everything on hold to help him, once again without explanation, and what does Dick do?

Red Robin #11

He trusts Tim and puts everything on hold to help Tim out. Even though Tim pretty much left him high and dry when he needed help the most. So yeah, I don’t see where people are coming from when they act like Dick somehow singlehandedly destroyed his relationship with Tim. I don’t understand how Tim could possibly trust Jason (ie the person who very nearly murdered him) more than he trusts Dick (ie the person who mentored and acted as a confidant to him for literal years) in such a short span of time.

In my opinion, Bruce and Dick are not even remotely similar in their actions here. I don’t understand how people who can so readily excuse Bruce for his harsh treatment not be the least bit willing to give Dick some slack when his situation was sooo bad and he tried so hard. 

[diofasolia]

Ink! Sans x Reader

(part 4) (finale)

Ink! Sans by @comyet

Error! Sans by @loverofpiggies

Dream by @jokublog

Writings by me

Warnings: OOC, might get confused with the plot, generally bad writing

(Ink's pov)

    Having a soul is truly amazing. I can feel any kinds of emotions without the vials. (Y/N) is still unconscious. I visit her, speaking to her at the hospital everyday, or just sitting there watches over her silently.

    Even so I want to stay by (Y/N)'s side every seconds, I can't abandon the job of AUs guardian. So I ask Dream to check up on her (I mean, people can still dream even you're in a coma, right?) Dream reassures me that (Y/N)'s metal state is stable and is still that optimistic girl. 

    "Please wake up, (Y/N). Everyone's so worrying about you."

    "I've been praying for you, (Y/N). Praying for you very day and night. Hoping you'll open your eyes."

    There's no response no matter what I say to (Y/N). I feel so helpless. But I have to stay strong for her. I want to tell her so many things. I want to show her that I'm no longer the emotionless being I used to be.

    "Wake up, please."

    I hold onto (Y/N)'s left hand. It's warm yet also feel lifeless at the same time.

    "Heh, why are you suffering instead of me? I drive you into doing this crazy idea. I should be the one take all the pain. My dearest, please wake up, WAKE UP!"

    "And…the rest is history."

(Your pov)

    You listen to Ink as he finishes the events after you fall into a coma. Still, you can't believe you've slept for such a long time. 

    "No wonder I remember seeing Dream. You sent him to visit me in my dreams. It's really nice to have some accompany while dreaming." I joke.

    "Hey Ink, can I see your soul?"

    He summons out his soul. It's an upside down half soul in a beautiful pure white color. A little hints of red color inside of it. 

    "I guessed you shared some of your determination to me when you 'separate' your soul."

    "Oops, sorry I didn't mean to nearly get myself killed. It doesn't matter now. I'm just glad that my plan work well."

    "Well, since I have your half of soul, I guess we're soulmates now."

    Ink points at my soul, which I have summon out as well. 

    "Yeah, that's basically what Dream told me."

    "W…what!?"

    "How do you think that I can hear your voice in my dreams? We've got a connection thing of our half soul. That's what Dream said."

    "Ink…are you…blushing?"

    I never seen Ink blushes before.

    "I mean…umm…yeah? I can fully feel emotions now. I'm just a little embarrassed."

    Ink rubs his skull, suddenly looks straight into my eyes.

    "(Y/N), I know I have already hurt you deeply. You even almost died because of wanting to help me. But I have to say this, in a real heart."

"I love you, (Y/N). I love you with my whole being. I want to start over everything I did wrong in the past. I understand that if you don't want to be with me anymore…but I still want to ask,"

    "(Y/N), do you willing to be my girlfriend?"

    "Ha…hahahahaha!!"

    You can't help but burst out in laughters.

    "Why…why are you laughing! I'm serious!"

    Oh dear, he's SO red.

    "It's just…! It's like the time I ask you to be my boyfriend."

    "Nice to meet ya, Mr. soulmate."

    "Love you too, my rainbow lover."

What…what the heck am I writing?

I don't know what happened in my brain back when I made this story

Oh dear this is so bad XD

It's always funny and cringy re-reading and editing my old writingsヾ( ͝° ͜ʖ͡°)ノ♪

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Penumbra

Penumbra has 9 stories at Gossamer and 1 at AO3. You can find her complete catalogue here. If you’ve read any X-Files fic, surely you have read at least one of her stories. If not, why not? Some wondrous places to start are Parabiosis, Contact High, Black Hole Season, and Heuvelmans’ On the Track. Big thanks to Penumbra for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

In a way, yes. There are no precedents for what happened to us with XF fandom, and in the late aughts it all seemed to be over. I got out and never looked back, haha. What really surprised me was to find, all these years on, that there are still X-Philes, although it does make sense they’d seek out those wonderful old fics we wrote.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

Let's be honest, in my Penumbra days I was in a bad situation, the X-Files was a coping mechanism, and Mulder and Scully's relationship an idealization. I latched onto it as only a lonely obsessive can. The X-Files withholds; it opens up metamagical voids; it isolates while simultaneously plunging one into an ethereal community. It’s the tattoo I deserve.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

The X-Files forced me to get online. Computers weren’t a part of my life, so I sneaked into the local university comp labs and figured it out. It was absolutely terrifying, like landing a space capsule, and I didn’t have ID and lived in fear of being caught. The first thing I typed into a computer was ‘X-Files’. So renegade! My heart was pounding and I thought sirens might sound and fire doors engage.

The Fox site had an X-Files forum that was utter pandemonium. Glorious and scary. At that time, I was one of the many Starbucks. The people on atxc seemed way too smart and opinionated. It was hard to even get membership in forums; they were heavily moderated. Mostly I remember lots of email friendships. Sometimes a kindly mature Phile would reach down from the ether with some words of wisdom. A. I. Irving was one. She was dealing with M.S., and writing fic while she still could. It is with an enormous sense of poignancy that I think of the people who were the ‘adults’ of the fandom then. Now I’m ancient in Phile years, but at the time I was just a clueless twenty-something, looking up to all those greats.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

Wow, as WE ALL KNOW, discovering X-Files fanfic was a revelation. Whew! I thought: stand back, the professionals are handling this. The authors were about as human as Greek gods. Eventually it dawned on me that anyone could write it.

The first fic I wrote was HORRIBLE. I put a link to it on my site, so that people can get a little hit of schadenfreude. Those early stories were on shaky footing. I had no confidence in myself. I felt intimidated writing about sophisticated, highly-educated career people when I was none of those things. Heck, I was cleaning motel rooms. I'm still none of those things, but, through Mulder and Scully, I've lived that life a little bit, and it was fun.

The third story, 'Contact High', was all sex and drugs. I’d done acid and shrooms, so finally, a subject I could assert some authority over! I decided to just go for it. That abandon was a breakthrough, and Penumbra came into being. But there was so much going on inside me, it was hardly harnessable; as stories like ‘Vespers’ and ‘Black Hole Season’ show, it was like getting on a horse that you can't control and just clinging to its neck as it gallops.

This time around, in my latest incarnation, I feel that I have a better perspective on Mulder and Scully, more of an even footing. I’ve been through a lot, and in 'Hotel-Zero', I wanted to demonstrate not just how to survive, but how to survive as yourself. I wanted to maybe create a sort of handbook for how to keep your head above water. Life is hard for all of us, people are hard on us. You need to keep a singular perspective on yourself, and allow no one modify it.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

I’ve had two separate experiences, with a seven-year hiatus, and I wouldn't have missed either of them for the world. Belonging to an obscure hive mind has been one of the most interesting and rewarding (not to mention super-secret) facets of my life, and that will always be my overall takeaway as an X-Phile.

However, as the fandom imploded there was understandable backlash against the whole Penumbra thing. The panegyric was just too much, the style definitely overblown. I posted 'Fathoms Five' as things were melting down, and there was real outrage. People were boycotting it as a political statement. Oh, we were all so raw—the X-Files was ending and IWTB was a heartbreaker. At that point I’d been working on 'Heuvelmans’ for a couple of years and was forced to admit I couldn’t finish it, nor would it be well-accepted if I did. So you can sort of see the baggage I was carrying when I left the fandom, not to mention the creative angst.

Three things brought me back:

1. They started filming the Revival. I flipped out at the thought of seeing Mulder and Scully again.

2. @perplexistan contacted me, and I realized there was a frisky pack of Philes on tumblr. Philes are my people, that’s just a fact.

3. I read @teethnbone’s ‘Das Ding’, which zapped at my temples like thunderstorm electrodes. So, there I was, in a trance, making the Devil’s Tower out of mashed potatoes.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

No, I would consider it a sacrilege. I have loved and admired many other television series, but writing X-Files fic for Philes has been too extraordinary an experience to dilute. I have a zillion obsessions, but for only one am I fannish.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I just finished up that monster oldie called ‘Heuvelmans’ On the Track’, under the name The Mythopoeic. It’s on AO3. I have a couple of obscure side projects with a writing buddy. And I have another old fic called ‘Blue Ruin’, a cancer arc fic I’d like to finish someday.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

It is very nice. People are gentle and welcoming. Philes used to criticize stories mercilessly and authoritatively, but you don’t see that a lot anymore.  I have plenty of outside projects, so I am trying to ease away, you know, like taking off your shoes to slip out of the room after the baby’s fallen asleep.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

I’d like each one of you to know that your belief in me changed my life and saved me a thousand times over.

(Posted by Lilydale on December 8, 2020)

[acraftedmistake]

Nether Time!

Cassie and Petra need to get stuff from the Nether! It’s been a while since they’ve done this.

“Nether time!” Petra sang as she leapt out the portal.

“Nether time!” Cassie Rose chimed as well, landing right beside her friend.

The two exchanged big grins with one another. Cassie was holding onto her outfit so tightly she thought it’d tear.

It’s been ages since they’ve been in their house together. Everything still looked and felt the same. The red and teal carpet was still covering the netherrack floor, still stained and torn, the walls were that weird combination of wood and netherrack that she remembers so fondly, shelves and counters surrounded them, holding both their’s and the previous owner’s items. Those four cushioned chairs they placed in the upper left corner of the house--the ‘kitchen’--have yet to move. The kitchen itself was just a few chests filled with food, a battered stove that stopped working years ago, and a cauldron with strange splatters in it. There were also the remains of their kitchen table. Used to be fine, sturdy wood, but when they first arrived at this house, monsters were trying to break in, so they had to use the base of the table and the legs to fend themselves. The decorations were still hung up too! Bells, chimes, other sorts of art pieces attached to strings that hung from the ceiling, just as Cassie remembers it.

Well, it technically isn’t ‘their’ house. Their portal just happened to appear inside this strange old place one day, and they claimed it. Finders keepers, you know? Besides, the previous owners were probably long dead.

“Come on, we need to get your pumpkin.” Petra made her way to the counters beside the portal. The countertops were covered with broken weapons, ores, and strange nik naks they found over the years, and sitting in the middle of it all: Cassie’s white pumpkin.

Petra grabbed the hollowed fruit and spun it around in her hands, “You’ll be happy to hear I’ve been taking good care of your other pumpkins back at the cave.”

“That’s impressive, considering you somehow managed to kill a cactus that one time.”

“Hey, I already told you that stupid cactus killed itself. I was gone for one day, and when I came back, it was dead. I did nothing wrong.” Petra denied as she tossed Cassie her pumpkin.

Cassie quickly dropped her extra set of clothes to catch her it, “Did you water it when the soil got dry?”

“It’s a cactus. Water’s irrelevant.” Petra avoided Cassie’s little glare by facing the counter again and sorting through the random items.

Cassie held the pumpkin in her hands and stared at it for a moment. It’s been a few years since she’s worn it last. Memories were flooding through her. She still remembered how she first got her hands on her first pumpkin; she stole it from a crazy old guy’s backyard. She just happened to spot it while walking through a random town one day, Petra told her ‘If ya like it, get it.’ And she did exactly that. It was a real strange pumpkin. When the two cut it open, it hardly had any guts, and the inside smelled like… Nothing. Well, it smelled ‘wet’ if that was possible. The sorta wetness you’d smell in a forest after it’d rain. They were surprised at how durable it was too, which soon sparked the amazing idea of shoving her head inside the pumpkin and using it for protective gear. It sounds ridiculous--heck, it probably looks ridiculous--but it works, and Cassie likes it, so that’s all that matters.

Cassie ended up planting the few pumpkin seeds years ago, and before she knew it, she had a bunch of = pumpkins to last.

Cassie can trust Petra with the pumpkin care, but she always makes sure to check in on them. That white pumpkin got her into plants, she even has a few houseplants back at home, but she’s still too embarrassed to tell anyone yet.

“Oh!” Petra snapped her fingers. She dashed back to the portal, shoved the upper-half of her body into the vortex, then came back out with her Wither Skull in hands. “Nearly forgot this bad boy.”

“I’m surprised that thing’s still in one piece.” Cassie said while she watched Petra grab a cloth from a chest in the kitchen.

“Right? This thing’s insane!” Petra exclaimed as she cleaned the inside of her painted skull. “One time I forgot it outside, a quake happened, and when I ran out to get it back, a tree landed on it and it was still in one piece.”

“You ever thinking of repainting it?” Cassie asked. She began putting on her long, oversized, dark blue pants over her leggings.

“Nah, the stripes are iconic. “ Petra tossed the cloth aside then shoved her head into the skull.

Cassie let out a grunt as she struggled to put her large long-sleeved shirt over her hoodie. She knew she was going to be drowning in sweat with three layers on, but that’s three extra layers of fire protection. When she finally got it on, she began tying the belt around her waist and slipped on her thick, brown gloves.

As she was adjusting her gloves, Petra handed her a crooked pickaxe and a worn-down sword.

“If I knew you were comin’ over today, I would’ve made some better tools for you.” Petra said. She was holding a blue backpack in her other hand that’s seen better days. One black strap had been completely torn off while the other was just barely holding on. There were holes where the buttons used to be. Hopefully it’ll be able to hold their stuff.

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Cassie said, holding the tools by the sides of her arms. “We’re just gonna pick up a few things anyways.”

Cassie stuck her head into the pumpkin.

“You ready?” Cassie asked, her voice muffled. She took the weapons out and held them firmly.

“Super ready.” Petra smiled as she watched Cassie twirl the tools around before shoving them into her pockets.

Petra swung open the front door, and a horrible heatwave rushed in and hit their faces. Cassie’s eyes watered. You’d think after all those years of exploring the Nether, she’d get used to it, but it always seems to get worse each time.

Petra held the door open with her foot and the girls made some quick, last-minute readjustments with their outfits.

Cassie glanced to the side and spotted a familiar sign hanging under the doorknob. It was a piece of oak wood with the words “No Boys Allowed” that she made as a joke. That was way back when they first spawned into this house.

“Why do you still have that old sign up?” Cassie asked, surprised it hadn’t burnt to a crisp.

“To keep the boys out.” Petra said casually as she closed the door.

“But we’re the only two here though.”

“All thanks to the sign.” A little smirk formed on Petra’s face.

Cassie rolled her eyes and gave Petra a playful shove as they went out into The Neighborhood.

The Neighborhood… A sweltering ghost town. Awakening members used to live here years ago. Their ‘homes’ were just hollowed out holes in netherrack hills, making the place look more like a Hellish wasp nest than a cozy neighborhood. The openings were usually covered in old wood, and their front doors were rather busted or missing. And the way these houses were placed in such unorganized clutters just felt… Wrong. People weren’t meant to live in the Nether.

Any leftover space was taken up by Nether portals. It didn’t matter if the space between the houses were huge or cramped, people found ways of making the portals fit. Maybe the Neighborhood looked real pretty when the portals were all activated, but they’ve been deactivated for years, and Cassie and Petra weren’t planning on lighting them up anytime soon. It was bad luck to reactivate dead portals.

“So what things you lookin’ for again?” Petra asked.

“Gold’s high on the list,” Cassie replied, “we also need extra iron, extra flint, and some netherrack just in case.”

“Awh shoot, what?!” Petra froze. Her tone turned serious.

“What? What’s up?!”

“Do you know how hard it is to find netherrack!? We’ll be looking around for hours!” Petra exclaimed, standing on the netherrack floor. Surrounded by netherrack hills. With a netherrack covered sky.

Cassie couldn’t see Petra’s face, but she KNEW she had that big, dumb smile.

Cassie gave her a quick bonk on the skull and bent down to gather an arms-full of netherrack chunks, all while Petra was laughing.

“Damn, talk about lucky.” Petra teased, “You always had a good eye for rare items.” She slipped the bag off her shoulders and opened the flap for Cassie.

“Yeah, yeah. You gonna be messing with me the entire time we’re here?” Cassie rolled her eyes as she shoved the netherrack into the sack.

“Awh, come on, it’s been almost two years since we’ve done this. I’ve missed ya.” Petra said. The two began walking again. “It’s really boring without ya, you know?”

“Man, has it really been two years?” Cassie stared at her feet, a feeling of guilt starting to gnaw at her.

“But I mean--mentally, it’s only been two days.” Cassie said, looking back at Petra.

“Ex-ACT-ly. Time doesn’t move unless we’re together. Common knowledge.” Petra gave her a grin. Cassie couldn’t see most of it, but she could feel it. It was reassuring.

The two stepped over a wooden bridge that was splayed out over the ground. It’s been there since day once, wood planks, rope, and all. They kept telling themselves they’re gonna move it, but they never do. It’s not like it’s a huge obstacle or anything.

There was a lotta stuff like that around the Neighborhood. If you looked up, you could see more bridges hanging between the hills, many of them missing their planks or dangling by their threads, and a bunch of the houses built into the top of the hills had staircases, ladders, or ramps that stretched all across the area. Cassie and Petra had the “fun” experience of finding out which ones were stable or not.

“So, shouldn’t we start looking through the houses or somethin’?” Cassie asked, her eyes scanning the dozens of houses they’d have to scour through.

There were still items in these houses. Even though this place was abandoned years ago, a looming presence remains. Dirty dishes sitting in cauldrons, rotting meals on kitchen tables, unfinished letters on desks, wrinkled blankets on unmade beds, all signs that this ghost town was once full of life. Petra and Cassie have spotted many weird trinkets The Awakening members have made; chunky jewelry, small dolls carved from nearby materials, chimes, and masks that lacked eyeholes. Many, many art pieces included the Awakening symbols: A red flower with hundreds of petals, their empty eye, and the Hero. Another thing many homes seemed to have were mirrors, but they were never in one piece. Instead, they were often broken into several large parts and tied to strings that’d hang from the ceiling, or arranged in odd shapes on the walls. Sometimes the shape would resemble their eye, but most of the time it looked like nonsense.

“Nah, I have a different place in mind.” Petra replied.

“Have we been there before?” Cassie tilted her head.

“Perhaps.” Petra said, “Just gotta wait and see.”

The two stayed on the path, which was a mix of netherrack, gravel, and soul soil, passing under the hanging decor above.

Wooden poles were on each side of the path with rope tied to the tops, connecting them together while chimes, flags, and glass hung from the threads. When a hot breeze came by, the Neighborhood would create its own music. The clinking of the glass, the flapping of banners, the clattering of metal chimes, and the creaking of wooden doors created this strange but soothing sympathy to fill the silence.

“How’re things with the other Jesse and Olivia goin’?” Petra asked, swinging her sword around.

“Frustrating.” Cassie huffed.

“Oh?”

“Things were kinda going okay until Aiden decided to basically blurt out what was happening to our Jesse. Now Stella’s all stressed out, and we gotta keep an eye out for that cult creep, and Aiden’s probably gonna be super bummed that he made poor little Jesse upset--” Cassie ranted.

“I remember bout Aiden spillin’ the beans.” Petra commented. “Sorry everything’s been stressful.”

“It’s been so freaky with those two around! I dunno if I should be happy, upset, but Hero, everytime I look at them for more than a minute I start to feel sick.” Cassie felt that familiar queasy feeling rising in her stomach, “I’m not saying they’re bad people or something, just that… Everything sucks. And having our Jesse running around isn’t helping.”

“I mean, it’s a weird situation. Don’t blame you at all for feeling that way. Heck, even when I first saw them I was thrown off. Felt like two freaks wearing Olivia and Jesse’s skins.” Petra noticed her friend falling behind and waited for her to catch up.

“That’s a fun way to put it.” Cassie said, trudging along.

“Jess and Liv,” Cassie mumbled, “they’re nice, but I can’t wait for them to go home. I wanna forget this ever happened. They make me miss those two all over again.”

“I can imagine.” Petra went quiet when Cassie joined her side. The sounds of the Neighborhood filled the air.

Petra extended her arm out, “I’m here for ya, though, ya know? If you ever wanna complain, cry, or get angry about that Radar guy, I’m always here.” It was hard to see it, but through the gaps of the skull’s teeth, Petra was giving her a smile.

“Thanks.” Cassie took one hand out of her pocket and went to lock arms with Petra, something they used to do years ago, “I mean it.”

“Course.” Petra said.

And with that, the two picked up the pace.

Petra glanced at her friend then glanced at the various portals surrounding them, “I’m gonna guess Jesse and Olivia didn’t walk through an obsidian portal, right?”

“No, some weird blue portal. Probably lapis. I wish it was somethin’ as easy as obsidian.” Cassie sighed. “I’m guessing you haven’t seen Jesse recently?” She asked.

“Nope.” Petra lied, “Not yet. I’ll let you know though.”

Cassie gave her a nod and looked ahead. They were nearing the Nether Fortress. Their Nether Fortress.

Seeing this place after so long… It was like seeing it for the first time again. The broken, tall towers, the bridge stretching across the sea of lava, the ruined railway system, it was so otherworldly. The only thing missing were those hundreds of monsters crawling around the place that Cassie and Petra used to beat up.

That wide open bridge over boiling magma--with the Fortress being so close--was just begging Cassie to run across it.

Petra noted Cassie’s excitement and unlocked arms with her.

“Go ‘head, I’ll be right behind ya.” Petra said with a grin, and on cue, Cassie bolted off to the entrance.

Memories of the two of them raced through Cassie’s mind. The hot air hitting her face, the colors blurring together, her feet stinging each time they hit the ground, it was just like old times. This was liberating.

“Hey, I’m winning!”

Cassie whipped her head at just the right time to see Petra taking the lead.

“Not for long!” Cassie hollered as she picked up the pace.

They were both set on the entrance. Cassie could see Petra out of the corner of her eye. She could feel the confidence radiating from her, like she knew she was gonna win. But not this time.

When Cassie was just feet from the entrance, she dived. She crashed into the ground, her pumpkin making a loud THUD when it hit the floor.

Before she could push herself up, Petra fell on top of her. She must’ve had the same idea.

Both of them were laying on the ground, panting and laughing.

“Pretty sure I won.” Petra finally said.

“Nu-uh, my hand made it past the entrance first!” Cassie shot back, still breathing heavily.

“Yeah, but your hand didn’t touch the ground first, so technically--”

“Since when were you about technicalities?!” Cassie exclaimed. Petra could hear the laughs between her words.

“Alright, if it’ll make you happy, then I’ll admit it…” Petra got up and helped Cassie to her feet. “We tied.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Welp, guess we’ll never know who won.” Petra shrugged. Cassie gave her a playful shove.

“Yeah, yeah.” Cassie adjusted her belt. The two stopped and faced an intersection of three hallways.

“Which way do we need to go?” asked Cassie.

Petra glanced at the wooden arrow signs above then pointed ahead, “Straight, then a left, then straight again.”

“Got it.” Cassie started walking and couldn’t help but snicker at the words on the signs. There were a bunch of those signs hanging around here, their original words have long since faded, so she and Petra took some creative liberties.

Cassie recalled those directions, they were heading towards the ‘Spicy Abyss’, which was the second bridge on the other side of the Fortress. It's in ruins, so the two of them just like to sit on the edge and enjoy the view.

The middle sign was ‘Lotsa Boxes’, which is the hallway they’re currently walking through. It’s a rather wide hall--nearly as wide as the bridge they just crossed--that’s filled with abandoned stalls, carts, and chests. The stalls had boxes in, on, and around them, the old carts had boxes in them, and the chests--the chests were already boxes. This place must’ve been a Trading Hall, a storage, or even a marketplace for the Neighborhood back then. The way everything was arranged reminded Cassie of the night-market in Obsidian Town; lots of trading, buying, and selling, except not in the middle of the blazing-hot Nether.

Banners hung from short poles in the walls, all shades of red, turquoise, and gold while covered with symbols and faded words advertising goods. When Cassie and Petra first found this place, they were surprised at how many tools, ores, and old books were left behind, so of course they gathered them all up and sold ‘em. Made them a great deal of money!

The two took a left and continued down another hallway. They were pretty close to ‘Petra Fell’; those were the words on the last sign. It was one of the three tall towers you could see through the windows. It was the shortest of the bunch, it’s upper half is completely missing, but it was the best place to climb and get a fantastic view.

Cassie and Petra haven’t been on top of that tower in years. The last time they were, Petra was playing around near the edge, stumbled, and nearly fell to her death had it not been for Cassie catching her. Petra’s been terrified of heights since then. Cassie can’t blame her.

It’d be nice to rush through that tower again with Petra, even if she didn’t want to go to the very top, it’d be a great… The tower…

It looked different.

Cassie couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was off. She could feel it.

“Hey, did that tower get shorter? Or have I just been gone for too long?” Cassie asked.

Petra didn’t even glance at the tower, “Already noticing my hard work, I see.”

“Hard work?” Cassie tilted her head. Petra didn’t elaborate. Cassie kept pestering her, but she wouldn’t budge until they reached the end of the hall.

Where there used to be a big, gaping hole was now covered up by tons of banners. They were sloppily sewn together, trying to hide every piece of the other side.

“So,” Petra began, “Remember how I said I had a different place in mind to find those items?”

“Yeah?” Cassie answered slowly.

“And remember how we always wanted to build that bridge to the other side of the Nether?” A grin grew on Petra’s face as she watched Cassie’s eyes light up.

Cassie gasped, “No, nu-uh, you did not!”

“I did.” Petra raised her brows. When Cassie took another step forward, Petra yanked the banners off to reveal a magnificent bridge that stretched across the sea of lava and connected to the other side of the Nether. It was a mish mash of netherrack, nether brick, gravel, and even some obsidian. There weren’t any rails on it, and Cassie was certain it hardly had any support underneath it.

It looked dangerous.

It looked fantastic.

Petra watched Cassie take all this in. She was bouncing in place, hands over her mouth, all excited like a li’l kid. Man, Petra could only imagine what Cassie’s face was like under that pumpkin. Her eyes were probably sparkling and she had that big, dorky smile that’s bright enough to light up this entire fortress.

“Oh Hero, oh--Oh I canNOT believe you!” Cassie exclaimed, grabbing Petra and shaking her excitedly before giving her a big hug.

“Hey, we always wanted to see more of the Nether together.” Petra chuckled, “Thought this would be a nice little surprise for when you came back.”

Cassie let go to look at the bridge again; Petra took a lungful of air.

“And don’t worry, it’s stable.” Petra said, “I’ve tested this bad boy out hundreds of times and only had several near death experiences.”

“Perfect, great! All I need to hear.” Cassie was revved up. She dug her feet into the ground, ready to blast off, but she stopped herself. “Agh, wait. I promised Aiden I’d come back home soon.”

“How soon?” Petra leaned against the wall.

“Like, by the end of tomorrow, I think?”

“Well, you got here at a pretty good time, so we got, what? Several hours to work with?” Petra tapped the skull’s chin, “If we’re fast enough, we could see some good sights and get your stuff. So whaddya say?”

Petra got closer to Cassie, “Wanna see how fast we can blast through this sucker?”

Despite the skull hiding her face, Cassie knew Petra was smiling, and Cassie smiled right back at her.

[reversemoon255]

(This is the second of a three-part series chronicling the story, concepts, and original Pokémon that appeared in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I worked on for several months. This entry will be more focused on a lot of my original designs and how their encounters would play out, rather than concrete story. Also, much of the art was done by @extyrannomon on Twitter, and I suggest you check them out.)

Dungeons ‘n’ Dragonites - Phase 2: Ultra City

The Queen Durant would prove to be a difficult foe, able to use all manner of elemental attacks to strike from a distance to compensate for her low speed. Furthermore, she would have full command of the Duranthill, using her followers to guard herself. As the battle rages, the team slowly begin to evolve, and their newfound strength and Types, along with the aid of the Princess, would have them see victory.

I was unsure as to the ultimate fate of the Queen. Either having it disappear into the tunnels alone, or be sucked into another Ultra Wormhole like the Poipole. And with the Queen vanquished, the Princess would choose to become partner to whoever she felt most worthy (a combination of good role playing and damage dealt).

I designed every Pokémon in this campaign under the pretense that it could actually exist. The Queen and Princess fall under the category of “Rare Variants.” There’s only one queen in a colony of thousands of ants, so it makes sense for it to be rarely seen. They’re still Bug/Steel, but special attackers, with the three spheres on each of their abdomens made to mimic the pattern of Tri-Attack, symbolizing their ability to use those Types.

As for the Starter evos, Flymph has evolved into Epipesis, gained the Electric-Type, and become a full Dragonfly. Calfyre into Steared, staying mono-Fire, but growing considerably (4 feet at the shoulder, the largest mid-stage Starter). Squisque into Knaval who’s now Rock, because he’s a rock lobster! And Utaw into Uteteo who may still be pure Fairy, but has gained some gold adornments.

=====

My working title for this campaign was “Ultra City.” Hinted at by the appearance of the Poipole early in the game, my intentions would come into full swing during this portion, with boss encounters against many of the known and some unknown Ultra Beasts. I had a few encounters planned, from a pickpocket Pheramosa that they’d fight in a mall store room full of mannequins, to a Blacephalon that had kidnapped several children, hypnotized them, and had them watching his performances, to a beach episode where there’s just a Buzzwole hanging out and not causing trouble.

Things would take a twist when a Guzzlord would take over the abandoned district, raining destruction down from its highest building. The crew would have to climb a multi-floor dungeon in order to battle it, many scared and aggravated Pokémon blocking their paths. After reaching the top however, after initiative had been rolled, a mysterious Pokémon would descend from the sky, felling Guzzlord in a single strike...

Majra, the Dragoon Pokémon (a slurred portmanteau of Magic and Dragon). A Dragon hunter with a unique ability, “Hunter of Evil,” that removes all its resistances but makes it immune to Dragon, Dark, and Ghost. This Pokémon came about as I was trying to create a dramatic encounter that would interrupt an expected one. As I was thumbing through DnD and fantasy ideas, the idea of a Dragoon who furiously hunts Dragon-Types came to mind. Ice/Fairy seemed the perfect combination, and the sentient suit of ice armor fell into place soon after. As Pokémon don’t typically hold weapons, I made him part scorpion, having him hold his tail as a workaround, and also informed how his extremities would look. The Haxorus skull buckler also helped drive the Dragon hunter aspect home.

Ultra Beasts were the second category of original Pokémon in my campaign, and encompass all purely original Pokémon (including the Starters). However, I didn’t want to just haphazardly make a ton (as commissions cost money), so I gave myself the condition that if I made an Ultra Beast it had to play with weaknesses and resistances in a way to trip up experienced players, hence Majra’s ability.

Majra would not attack our players in their first encounter, unless someone was using a Type he hunts. He would be a reoccurring boss character, helping or hindering the players depending on their enemies or allies.

The next unique encounter would have been a tutorial battle against another Rare Variant, a Shiinotic possessed Parasect. Every boss encounter is technically 4-on-1, so I wanted to give a Pokémon a reason to have multiple turns, and fused or symbiotic Pokémon felt like a naturally occurring way to have that happen. I created this Shiinotic as a way to teach the players how these Pokémon work.

As Shiinotic is a bio-luminescent mushroom, I wanted to have Parasect faded in color from its light. I also thought it’d be a nice touch to have Shiinotic’s spindly fingers act as puppet strings to move Parasect’s arms around. It would have been encountered after a swarm of scared Paras started flooding out of the sewers near everyone’s school.

Then would be Fortifiend, who would be encountered a few times as an easily circumventable castle wall in the middle of the street before Majra would eventually attack it, forcing our players to take a side in the battle (with Fortifiend possibly joining them if they help it). His ability would make all attacks not very effective while it had over 50% HP, and the opposite when under 50%. Despite the name, I pictured him being very nice, and giggle whenever he heard someone compliment his stone structure.

I imagined that the world he came from had naturally occurring stone structures similar to him, and his folded castle form was a sort of net to help him catch large prey; partly why he doesn’t attack the smaller people and Pokémon of the game’s dimension (he’s around 30ft tall). He could be encountered anywhere, so he wasn’t a full quest; just a fun “what the heck is this” moment to confuse players.

Also, while it wasn’t purposeful, Fortifiend and Majra both also matched the DnD aesthetic. That definitely helped them stand out as some of my favorites, and Fortifiend barely missed the final pass for the last round of commissions.

Then was the twin encounter of Feyerre, a Fire-Type igloo and snowmobile Pokémon, and Eyescse, an Ice-Type pyramid and four-wheeler Pokémon (probably the most Ultra Beast-esque concepts I came up with). They would be messing with the weather across the city, causing disturbances until the players eventually found one of them, in when the other would appear. Their ability would flip their weaknesses and resistances, and they would have an attack that could do the same to a target. And fun fact: there’s meaning to the color and number of their eyes! Feyerre’s are F.I.R.E (Fire=Red, Ice=L.Blue, Rock=Brown, Electric=Yellow), and Eyescse’s are I.C.E (Ice=L.Blue, Sea=D.Blue, Electric=Yellow).

But their defeat would incur the wrath of a mysterious Pokémon they had encountered a few times:

“As you turn around, you see a grey Charizard standing there. It stares at you for a moment, wide-eyed and unblinking. Then it begins to open its mouth, wide, wider, and wider still, stretching beyond what should be possible. Then a hand reaches out of it...

“Suddenly you’re falling. The lights and sounds of countless unknown worlds whir past you incomprehensibly as you plummet through time and space. You try to close your eyes to shut out the flurry of stimuli, but it’s impossible to drown out as your minds begin to feel the strain of the void. Then, after what feels like hours, time seems to stand still as the heavy rain of an unknown world hits your face. For a brief moment you are able to take in the desert that surrounds you before a flash of lightning illuminates the sky, revealing a titanic silhouette looming above you before you are once again thrown into darkness. And as you come to outside the warehouse (where you encountered Feyerre and Eyescse), in the distance, you hear what sounds like laughing.

“Fofofofofo...”

The final original encounter I had planned for Stage 2 was Meadew. It would have been wandering the city, spawning grasses and flowers wherever it went. However, while beautiful, the sudden growth would be causing havoc and destruction to all the buildings and vehicles it could root into.

Unlike the other Ultra Beasts, Meadew’s ability didn’t affect its weaknesses, but instead created Substitutes since I wanted a way for it to form its own adds (the concept behind its inception). However, it wasn’t without a Type gimmick; rather than an ability it has a signature status move called “Radiance” that raises its attack and special, as well as give it the Fire-Type, making it Grass/Water/Fire (the 3 Starter Types). It would invoke this after its adds were defeated, but could be talked down through diplomacy, unlike some of the other encounters.

=====

I’ve mentioned Rare Variants and Ultra Beasts, but there was a third Type of original Pokémon that could appear: Mutant Evolutions. Essentially, evolutions like Probopass or Leafeon where being in an energy charged area or coming into contact with a huge ore deposit (what I interpreted the Mossy and Icy Rocks as, since they became Leaf and Ice Stones in later Gens) could force an unusual evolution in a Pokémon already shown to be susceptible to unique evolutionary conditions. Due to a future encounter, I already knew there would be large Metal Coat and Ice Stone Ore deposits in the mountains to the north, so I wanted to do some test prototyping using each of those items, whether I used those evolutions or not.

Poliwhirl is already shown to be capable of multiple evolutions, all of which use items, so I thought having it come into contact with a massive amount of Ice Stone Ore (since it should be chemically similar to Water Stones) could force a Mutant Evolution. This is Policuti, from the Latin Cutis meaning skin, and Poli-Cutis would mean “multiple skins,” as it wears the shed skin of preevolution. And being freshly shed is why its skin lacks pigment. It’s just a cute little frog in a raincoat! Also, the swirl on its jaw is actually its tongue.

Since Magneton evolves into Magnezone through being electrically charged, I thought about how it might evolve if charged with Steel energy. I imagined it being magnetically attracted to the Metal Coat Ore, fiercely trying to pull itself away, being stretched and elongated in the process, resulting in the bullet train Pokémon Magneline. The Mutant Evolutions weren’t supposed to be anything important to the story or that they’d run into in the wild. They were more so surprises to excite the players who would be expecting something, well, expected. I had considered doing at least one for each player if they caught a compatible Pokémon, but as no teams were filled out, I was merely left with my prototypes. The only reason I had these two commissioned was because I was very happy with their designs.

=====

As we reach the end of Stage 2, the reoccurring group of rowdy Onix would return once more. Following them deep into their tunnels, our heroes would come across a massive chamber with a giant metal stalagmite and frozen stalactite in the center of it. The Onix would then appear, twisting around them, forcing their evolutions. One into Steelix, and the other into Glacix...