#jade-nargacuga

[tomorobo-illust]

This may be a bit late, but I couldn't articulate my thoughts properly before. I wanted to tell you how good the page before last was, the one involving Ingo.

Up to that point the comic was a roller coaster of emotion as we watched Emmet, Zora, and Auntie Xena struggle to escape the caves and deal with starvation, sickness, and injury, ultimately leading Emmet to commit to sacrificing his own arm to feed the others. Once the climax was reached, things jumped all over the place, but I actually like how you did it. Instead of lingering to see the horrible aftermath, you cut ahead to when Zora finally broke through to the outside, showing us not only that she got better and survived, but also her obvious grief at what happened and her desperation to get help. You showed help arriving and Emmet being carried out by Xena, still alive for any who might have thought he died if they were only following the comic parts. Then you showed a brief flashback to the aftermath of the amputation, giving a clear explanation for why he did it in case it wasn't obvious to everyone.

Then after that double decker baconzilla of an angst burger, you cut to something completely different with Akari/Dawn talking to Rei/Lucas about what happened to Ingo, showing that Ingo felt his twin's pain throughout the whole ordeal. By showing/telling us that Ingo also came down with a fever and was bedridden for those few weeks, only to suddenly start doing much better after dreaming of eating a giant egg, we know that that must be the journey Emmet took after his amputation and subsequent rescue. Despite that, Ingo in still mentioned to be recovering, so we know that Emmet also still had some recovering to do from his injuries.

I love that you chose Ingo as a way to give this information, as not only does it indirectly tell us what's happened with Emmet, but it also cleverly brings Ingo into the narrative. We get to see what he's up to, how this affects him, and even at what point in the story it is compared to the game, since he knows the player character. You even managed to throw in a bit of humor, giving a moment of brevity from the heart racing events from before.

You could have stretched these pages out much more and focused on the carnage, but you sped it along and gave us only as much information as we needed about the big thing that happened, while weaving in some worldbuilding and character introductions. All in all, I think it was a FANTASTIC bit of storytelling.

BRAVO!XD

HOLY FROOT LOOPS!!! I am stunned and speechless and crying at this review you sent and I was not expecting such a detailed analysis of the Chapter 2 comic ;A;

THANK YOU!! I loved reading this and how you've articulated the story beats and story telling--even bits I didn't even realize what I did but just felt right pacing wise and you explained it so well in a way I wouldn't have been able to <3 <3

BLESS you so much for taking the time to write such a lovely review and for reading the comic!! Seeing this, I can feel how much you enjoyed it and that means so much!!! Please have this as thanks from me to you~

[icys-junkyard]

Don't know if anyone's asked this before, but does Chandelure Ingo have a ghost's lifespan? Like, could he ever die? Would he outlive Emmet? Could Emmet turn into a ghost after her dies?

For a while both Emmet and Ingo were super concerned about the possible ghost lifespan, but by the time they reach their canon age they aren't as worried. The twins gained these Pokémon forms when they were around 12 years old (I think, I need to work out the timeline a bit), and so far Ingo has aged at the same rate as Emmet. They're tentatively of the assumption that there won't be any dramatic lifespan differences between them!

(Technically by the logic of the Pokémon universe, Emmet could theoretically become a ghost, but as far as this AU goes, that's not in the plan!)

[madd-nix]

How do the Twin's other pokemon feel about Lure and Sparky becoming human children? Are they jealous? Do they become overly protective of the two, like mother hens?(Haxorus proclaiming herself to be their mama would be funny. Especially if Lure and Sparky point out that they are older than her.

Heh, would the girls even still be able to understand their teammates anymore?

Ooh, first of all, good questions! Thank you! To answer one first, yes, Lure and Sparky can understand pokemon still. They'll often have conversations with Ingo and Emmet's other pokemon, and they all still play and spend time together.

As for how the others feel, their first reaction is mainly confusion and worry. Are Lure and Sparky okay? Does this mean the rest of the teams will become humans? It's all a little weird at first. But once they realize this was most likely an isolated incident, and that the girls are okay, the others act more protectively over them. Galvantula (Princess) and Haxorus (Haxy) definitely act like protective mothers to them, and Excadrill (Dilly) and Archeops (Archie) are protective too but they also love the fact that there are more hands now for more pets! (I'd go over the rest of their teams, but I'm currently at work and I can always make that it's own post once I can think of some actually creative names for them, lol!)

They all still love each other and they all still consider each other family, no matter what species any of them are. Lure and Sparky do feel guilty for a while about not only leaving their dads but also their former teammates down a member each. But eventually, things work out and they realize that their dads and their pokemon are all just glad to still have them as part of the family. 💜💚

[emberglowfox]

Hey you know the dialogue in Area Zero of that game’s professor writing about their partner walking out? Implied to be the other parent of Arven in that game?

Here me out: the professors exist in both games and the one who walked out is still out there, that’s why Arven resembles both of them

Divorced Professors

before i answer this i'm going to add on @jade-nargacuga's comment on my professors drawing, since it's very similar to your point:

the reason it's hard for me to accept that the professors exist in both games is, as they are, basically nothing comes between them and their ideals-- the act of 'creating paradise', be it combining the present and the past or the future, is basically their whole raison d'etre. i can't imagine one of them just walking away from that, at least not without it changing their character so fundamentally that they're basically not the same entity anymore

and to jade's point, it honestly does make sense to me that arven's the same despite having different parents-- personality-wise, neither of them were there for him, so they'd have little bearing on the way he acts. i get where it's a little wonky biologically, but i kind of picture it as in each universe, it's essentially the same person, just gender-bent. that would explain to me why their actions are the same in both timelines

i can't tell if im making a lick of sense because my brain's a little fried by recent sleeping misadventures but like. tldr i can't imagine a world in which both professors exist because otherwise they would be absolutely at each other's throats for funding and dominion over the Area Zero lab instead of one just . giving up imo

[kettouryuujin]

Fallen Fire Chapter 3 - Parental Bond

Basalt stood there, gawking. The pup’s scent. His markings. His voice. It was impossible.

And yet so, so real. “…Son?”

“Papa!” The Growlithe squirmed, trying to get up as his old Warden - his old Warden - stood. 

“L-Lord Arcanine?! What are you doing here? Did you…’Fall’ as well?” Ah, she’d already had that discussion. And his child wasn’t confused at that statement, so he probably had it also. That makes things easier.

The Hisuian Arcanine adjusted his magenta shorts a bit before answering. “Yeah, I did…it was 1865 back in Hisui, wasn’t it?” 

“Yeah…” His now-sibling shuddered. “I honestly still have nightmares…and it’s been hard to teach the young Heir to swim.”

“Ooof. Yeah, I couldn’t even look at water for a week after realizing what had happened.”

“That makes two of us.” Huh, deadpan Palina. That was new.

“…so, what happened? Was it another storm, or?”

“Another storm, yeah.” A sigh. “Iscan had been dragged off by the Diamond Clan for a meeting, so…” She shuddered. Let’s…change the topic.

“Iscan? Huh. I thought it looked like he saved you, but I wasn’t sure…” Wait, was she blushing? Wellllll now~. That’s something to note for later.

“Daaaddy, can’t you get them to let me outta here?” Erk! Right, his young Heir was just as confused as he was.

“Erm, maybe. But… can you do me a favor first?” Walking over, the former Lord slowly removed the covers from the pup. “ Could…you maybe look at yourself?”

“Eh? OK…daddy’s being weird…” The youth looked down, as requested. And within minutes, his eyes had shot WIDE open. So wide his bangs had flipped back, exposing those brilliant hazel eyes. “Wha?”

“…yeah.” A small smile. “You have hands now, kiddo. Part and parcel of ending up here, it seems.” The youth just kept staring, giving his paw-like hands some test flexes. “The doctors should be able to help you get used to walking on two legs. Means we won’t be able to go outside this building for a while longer, but it means you can get out of that bed without worrying about falling over.”

…no reply. Probably too fascinated. “Kiddo? Ya hear me?” A couple taps to the shoulder and the youth yelped, reverie broken.

“O-oh! Uh. Sure! Why can’t you or Auntie Palina help me with it, Daddy?”

“I had to learn how when I got here, and…well, those guys know what would make things go wrong. And how to handle it if you manage to, say, work your leg too much?” Two sets of eyes lit up in recognition. Good, they remembered that little mishap. The young Hair couldn’t walk right for weeks after that.

“Awww…ok Daddy.” A small whine before Basalt gave the kid a ruffle on the head, pushing his bangs back down.

“Don’t worry. If they don’t take good care of ya, I’ll give’m what for.” That perked his son up, tail wagging away as he gave a happy yip.

“Thanks Daddy!”

“Heh, no problem.” The larger male reached over to press the “call nurse” button, knowing there’d be someone by soon. Time to get this kiddo on two feet.

—-

As the “therapist” helped the young Growlithe learn how to walk on two legs, the Arcanines sat and talked. Well, “Basalt” (it felt so WEIRD to call the Lord… erm, former Lord… that. Since when did Pokémon go by names?) talked. Palina just followed along as best she could.

“So… a car is like a cart, just with Pokemon on the inside pushing it?”

“Kinda. The engine isn’t actually a Pokemon, more a…series of pumps that turn a crank.”

“Huh. I thought it was something related to that “steam engine” that Laventon fellow mentioned.”

“Eh? Both are ways to get around without walking, but outside of that they’re pretty different.”

“Alright?” She wasn’t convinced, but it wasn’t like she’d lived here for a couple years. “…by the way, what’s this ‘International Police’ thing you do?”

“Oh, that? Well…” hand to his chin as he thought. “It’s… a bit like my old job as a Noble, in that I help keep the peace in an area. But the methods are different. Not to mention I report to someone other than Arceu-Sinnoh.”

 …Odd replacement there. “Also, I don’t just work in one area.” Wait, how - “I work in whatever area I’m assigned to.” Oh. That makes sense. “Although lemme tell ya, the stuff I have to deal with here is a lot different than the stuff back home… put it this way.

The normal police handle the sort of squabbles I’d handle as a Noble. The International Police handles things like… well…” he seemed a bit…lost. “More serious matters. Like if those bandit sisters managed to round up, like, 50 members. And were very good at covering their tracks.”

“…that…would definitely be serious, yeah.” Holy cow. That’s his comparison?

“Admittedly it’s a bit of a undersell in terms of scope-” That was underselling it?! “But given what we had back in Hisui, it was the best example I had.

…oh don’t look at me like that! I didn’t do it alone!”

“Maybe mention that detail earlier?” The (former?) Warden asked, tension fleeing her body. “I was worried for a moment there!”

“Eheh…sorry.” A pause. “…actually… I think the IP might look into recruiting you.”

What. “What? Me? Why?! I’m totally new here-”

“That’s… actually kinda the point.” And shock was stonewalled by pure confusion. “See, there’s this theory that Fallers…attract, strange events. Stuff like the rifts in the Hero’s tale.

It’s only been confirmed for a… particular set of circumstances, ones that thankfully were sorted out before I got here.” A small laugh, and yeah. She’d give a relieved chuckle in that situation too. “But they still tend to look out for Fallers, on the off chance that they can still attract issues. That way-”

“The crazy stuff might come to them instead of the other way around…” Legends, that was brilliant.

“Exactly! Now, they won’t make you join, and even if you do you could get a desk job.”

“A…desk job? They have people who make desks?” For a group who kept the peace, that seemed like a weird task -

“Ah, sorry. ‘Desk job’ refers to, well, basically jobs where you sit behind a desk all day.” Oh. That…made more sense.

“That sounds awfully boring.”

“Some people like them. And it’s out of the line of fire.” Right, the Miss Fortune sisters weren’t afraid to put up a fight… it was easy to see where a bigger group would pose a bigger threat. Even if you were in a group, it’d be scary dealing with that kind of thing.

“I’ll…think about it, I guess.” Dry laughter. “Besides, from the sound of it, there’s a lot to get used to here.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” A laugh. “There are still things here and there that take me off-guard, honestly.”

“What, like them calling me your sister?”

“…y-yeah, like that.” …ok, now she’s suspicious.

“We’re not actually siblings now, right?”

“Ah. Erm.”

“Right?” Honestly, only finding the old Lord alive and well would trump that in terms of weirdness. They were two different species back in Hisui, so there was no way in Distortion “falling” even could make them siblings.

“That… is actually kinda complicated…” Oh Legends, there was a way wasn’t there.

[archersxartxblog]

@jade-nargacuga dude I didn't even try to resist

yeah, their mother does get reincarnated as Ingo's Chandelure thanks to Arceus trying to do something 'Nice?'

remember this? yeah Chandelure wasn't checking out the new comers, no, she was checking one her babies and seeing how their new uncle was doing. she's so excited to have her kids back after so long and they look just like they did the last time she saw them.

[the-lazarator]

I warned you the rambles would come.

I have a very love/hate relationship with Monster Hunter Stories 2. I think it’s a good game but as a sequel to the first game it kind of fails to improve upon most of the original game’s faults and even backtracks on one of its coolest and most useful features. This is all stuff I may go into another time; but right now I just want to talk about what the hell were they on when deciding what attack preference some of these Monsties were going to be.

For those unaware of how MHS2 combat works, essentially it boils down to a rock paper scissors with Power, Technical and Speed attacks. There are elements, weapon types, and other stuff; but the most important loop and most crucial part of team building is this Power>Technical>Speed dynamic.

So why on earth is the balance of these 3 so all over the place and why do some monsties have an attack preference that makes way less sense than other preferences???

First of all there is an insane imbalance in speed monsties the entire game. With the system the way it is, there shouldn’t be an entire 3rd of the triangle that is a rare find, and yet for the early stages of the game most speed monsties are hard to come by or locked behind chapter ending boss fights before they can be obtained. Sure, your very first monstie is a speed monstie; but after that you cannot get another until Nargacuga. Yes, Nargacuga is strong, it’s popular and it’s a guaranteed egg; but if you didn’t accidentally stumble upon this nest before you’re intended to it’s placed pretty late into the second chapter of the game, just to get your second speed monstie. After that most speed monsties are just…bad. Like most of them are weak raptors and the rest are again either hidden away or very late game if not postgame monsties with few exceptions. In their place are a biggilion technical and power monsties of which a large portion could have been speed monsties.

But anyways, let’s talk specifics

-Great Jaggi is a technical monstie; but Great Baggi is speed??? I get they both use packs but you’d think the one with an actual status and a status based on strategy would make more sense as technical; and making Jaggi speed would give an actual option for a speed monstie between Velocidrome and Nargacuga.

-Yian Garuga is a technical Monstie??? The psychopathic, uses itself as a weapon, will rush down its foes with reckless abandon Yian Garuga is a technical monstie?!?!?!? And given at a point where you’re still short on power monsties and begging for speed!

-Rathian is a speed monstie?? You can’t get it until after completing the second chapter of the game, later than Nargacuga, and they finally give you a third speed option and it’s Rathian?? I get that she charges but she has never been fast, she’s always been slower than Rathalos. I don’t even know what would make more sense than speed if they wanted to make her different from Rathalos but considering some of the things that aren’t speed this one just feels wrong.

-Monoblos is power. Again considering the dearth of speed either the Diablos or Monoblos pair really should’ve been speed to separate the two groups from each other more, and seeing as both are known for rapid rushdowns its crazy the only one among any of them that got to be speed was Bloodbath Diablos.

-GYPCEROS is POWER?!? It’s whole thing is tricks and being tricky why the FUCK isn’t it technical!!?!

-Barroth is Speed…but Jade Barroth isn’t?? I get that they sometimes make the subspecies have different preferences to set them apart but you’re still killing for speed monsties by this point in the game (and I wanted to use Jade Barroth at that point, too D: )

-NONE of the fated four are speed, except soulseer but those are their deviant forms. Gammoth and Glavenus I get, but surely Mizutsune OR Astalos could’ve been speed instead of technical? The psychopath dragonfly wyvern who darts around and crashes into things or the bubbly, slippery kitsune leviathan?

-Uragaan, a Monster who rolls around to evade and attack and which lays traps with its powder stones is a power monstie. This one isn’t as egregious, Uragaan is massive and powerful; but I feel technical could’ve worked well too

-SEREGIOS. A MONSTER KNOWN FOR ITS INSANELY ACROBATIC FLYING AND AGILITY, WHOSE FIGHTING STYLE IS MOSTLY F A S T, AGRESSIVE ATTACKS, LITERALLY THE FASTEST MOVING AERIAL MONSTER IN THE SERIES THAT ISN’T AN ELDER DRAGON IS FUCKING TECHNICAL. ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME.

-IT’S OKAY THOUGH, BECAUSE B A Z E L G E U S E IS A SPEED MONSTIE. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. THE SLOWEST OF THE THREE ELDER-TIER INVADER MONSTERS IS S P E E D!?! Why not technical??!? It’s whole thing is laying traps with its explosive scales and ambushing from above! I get why they didn’t go power because the other 2 members of the invader elder-tier trio are already power monsties, but fucking speed? Oh yeah, this monster really needed to be speed because this thing only available at the literal end of the main story really solved the drought of speed monsties in the rest of the game, fucking brilliant. Hell, why not make each member of this trio a different attack type? Deviljho can stay power, Bazelgeuse becomes technical and Rajang can easily be speed because yeah, Rajang is strong; but it’s also lightning fast. It’s similar to Tigrex in the regard, known for its power but still makes sense as a speed monstie (which regular Tigrex is). Now, does this all really matter? YES, finding good speed monsties in the story is a pain in the ass and some of these choices legit make no sense. That, and both Speed AND Technical are heavily outnumbered. There are only 24 speed monsties in the game (29 if you count each extra version of the palamute), 27 technical monsties and 38 POWER. And while it’s less noticeable with technical due to the wide variety of monster types and power levels that have technical preference, pretty much all of the speed monsties in the game are weak, lower tier monsters or insanely strong post-game only creatures (or again, hidden away). Sure this problem therefore goes away once you’ve grinded your postgame; but god was it a frustrating story playthrough for me and I’d bet a good number of you too.

Depending on how this does I may go over my many other gripes with Stories 2 in the future but that’s enough for now.

[thatdragonzeek]

Fake gossip zine cover for @the-digital-pen 's heroes/villains submas AU (read it here!!)

I made the art/barcode, @jade-nargacuga added all the text and pulled the whole thing together ajxjdbjqndjdjq

@blueisquitetired helped us come up with the headlines (I think she came up with the majority of em ajfjejjfbx)

If you want more of the AU, @ace-trainguys also writes stuff for it, so!!

The art without all the text:

Also feel like it's important to say this is like one of those magazines that makes shit up for drama. If any of these headlines turn out to be canon in the fics, it is not on purpose

Reblogs are appreciated

[yutopia-eleftheria]

Monster Hunter Stories OC : Kayden

Name : Kayden Anohana

Alias : Primaeval

Race : Human

Gender : Born Female ; Deminonbinary

Age : 13 / 14 (Monster Hunter Stories)

17 (Monster Hunter Stories 2)

Occupation : Rider

Hometown : Hakum Village

Relations : Lute & Sophie {Previous Teammates ; Now Rivals}

Ren Cheval {Previous Teammate ; Now Rival}

Gale {Teammate}

Shadow {Teammate}

Mad {Teammate}

Wrath {Teammate}

Livs'kyy {Main Monstie}

Svynya {Companion}

Affiliation : Ebon Riders

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Kayden Anohana was a novice Monster Rider seen living in Hakum Village. She is now a member of the Ebon Riders.

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Personality :

Kayden is an adventurous and energetic girl that wants to become stronger alongside her Monsties, to the point where she will tirelessly train harder and harder. She easily smiles, but if you get to her wrong side, you will highly regret it, as she is not the type to forgive that easily.

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Background :

Kayden was a novice Monster Rider who aspired to be a Rider and was interested in exploring the wide open spaces of the World. She wants to explore the World in order to find some new Monsters she never saw before, and create a Monsties Team with these specific Monsters from other regions. In order to achieve that goal, she planned to leave the village and venture out in the wilderness. She will eventually starts looking for answers about an unexplained phenomenon in the form of a black mist with the help of the various Monsters she will encounter in her journey.

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Appearance :

Kayden is a Rider with long pale green hair tied into a high ponytail. She has a tiny fang that comes out of the left side of her mouth, and a turquoise tatoo on her right cheek. She wears an special outfit based on her main companion, a Kurenai Goukami named Livs'kyy, which mainly consists of a solid red armor that protects the entirety of her body, as well as a mask covering her pinkish red eyes. She also sports yellow boots as well as brown arm pads and horns. There is also some sort of mane attached to the back of her mask.

Equipment :

Kayden was often seen with a Nargacuga Sword and Shield Set (Hidden Edge), but she also has a Plesioth Hammer Set (Plesioth Head). Kayden eventually received the Nebulaborne Blade from Gale ; this Great Sword is now her main weapon in battles.

Her Kinship Stone is, like the other Ebon Riders, located on her forehead and is the same colour as her eyes.

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Monsties :

Livs'kyy the Kurenai Goukami (Main), Kayden's very first Monstie and closest friend.

Her other Monsties include :

Svynya the Great Poogie, Kayden's TRUE first Monstie that she from an egg got as a child and as a gift from her father, but she rather considers it as her main pet. She nevers sends it into battle ever since it lost one of its eye during one battle, and now protects her precious little piggy.

Nefryt the Jade Barroth, a Monstie Kayden obtains in the deep caverns of Loloska when it was still a baby. It was badly injured and seemingly lost, so Kayden took it to treat its wounds. The little Monster will stick by Kayden's side, not wanting to go back to the icy mountains of Loloska.

Kovyna the Kecha Wacha, the fourth Monstie Kayden obtains after stealing the egg from a Kecha Wacha nest. It is a very peculiar Monster that's always goofing around, and Kayden easily laughs at her Monstie's goofiness.

Ptakh the Crimson Qurupeco, a Monstie Kayden given to her by her teammate Mad because it didn't get along with his Red Khezu. The two were constantly fighting to a point where it was uncontrolable. Kayden absolutely love the Crimson Qurupeco's singings.

Piyushevyy the Kumashira, Kayden's final Monstie that was acquired during a visit in Wrath's hometown. The bear Monster was seemingly quickly attached to Kayden, so Wrath decided to give her the Kumashira, as he knew that she will take good care of this literal big plushie.

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Trivia :

Although Kayden does not appear in Monster Hunter Stories 2 : Wings of Ruin, she is briefly mentioned alongside the Ebon Riders by Yavana Hellberg.

Although she may appear as pretty thin, she is actually quite strong physically.

Her favourite way of training her team is to face her Ebon Riders teammates regularly. She always battle all of them at least every week. She will first battle Wrath's Deviljho, then Mad's Red Khezu, Shadow's Nargacuga and ultimately, Gale's Silver Rathalos.

Kayden's Reference Sheet

[monsterhuntertournament]

Round 1 Part 1 Matchups

Amazingly, I somehow managed to decide to do this the exact same day as a new Monster Hunter game got announced, so it goes without saying that any Wilds monsters that happen to get revealed are not going to make it into the bracket (maybe I can do a bonus round or something if this goes on long enough, idk). Now, before I actually get to the matchups, there are a few things I need to get out of the way first

First off, since there are 232 monsters in this tournament, and 232 isn't a power of 2, the top 24 seeded monsters will be getting a bye, meaning they will not be appearing in Round 1. These include: Fatalis, Crimson Qurupeco, Abyssal Lagiacrus, Apex Diablos, Monoblos, Dreadking Rathalos, Beotodus, Nibelsnarf, Flaming Espinas, Vaal Hazak, Lagiacrus, Drilltusk Tetsucabra, Plesioth, Qurupeco, Apex Rathian, Barroth, Daimyo Hermitaur, Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, Desert Seltas, Emerald Congalala, Namielle, Shen Gaoren, Nightcloak Malfestio, and Pukei-Pukei. As stated in the original post, this tournament has been seeded randomly, and these were the 24 monsters that ended up getting byes.

Secondly, as the title of this post suggests, Round 1 will be broken up into 2 parts. This is honestly moreso because of tumblr than because of any workload issue; I'd like to have the matchup post have a link to every match in the round, but after all the byes there are 104 matches this round, and a tumblr post can only have a maximum of 100 links. This means if I did all of round 1 at once, some matches would be missing links. Regardless, 52 matches at once is a more reasonable number to handle so I won't be complaining too much. Part 1 matches will begin being posted on the 16th, and Part 2 matchups will be announced after Part 1 is finished.

Next, there's the matter of poll length. Personally I was leaning towards having tournament polls be 1 week long, but I'm unsure. So I'm going to let you all decide, 1 day polls or 1 week polls?

Lastly, as mentioned above, this post will be periodically updated with links to matches as they get posted (assuming I actually remember to update this). The matches themselves will also be tagged as Round 1 Poll in case you prefer finding them that way. With all that said, here are the first 52 matches of Round 1:

Astalos Vs. Redhelm Arzuros

Plum Daimyo Hermitaur Vs. Glavenus

Risen Chameleos Vs. Great Izuchi

Crimson Glow Valstrax Vs. Tigrex

Zamtrios Vs. Nakarkos

Almudron Vs. Nerscylla

Nightshade Paolumu Vs. Najarala

Black Diablos Vs. Leshen

Paolumu Vs. Shrouded Nerscylla

Magnamalo Vs. Brute Tigrex

Rust Duramboros Vs. Velkhana

Hypnocatrice Vs. White Monoblos

Red Khezu Vs. Great Girros

Giadrome Vs. Rajang

Ceadeus Vs. Green Nargacuga

Safi'jiiva Vs. Amatsu

Savage Deviljho Vs. Apex Mizutsune

Black Gravios Vs. Magma Almudron

Zinogre Vs. Shagaru Magala

Green Plesioth Vs. Ebony Odogaron

King Shakalaka Vs. Molten Tigrex

Elderfrost Gammoth Vs. Risen Crimson Glow Valstrax

Rathalos Vs. Seething Bazelgeuse

Lavasioth Vs. Hallowed Jhen Mohran

Ivory Lagiacrus Vs. Goldbeard Ceadeus

Arzuros Vs. Stygian Zinogre

Thunder Serpent Narwa Vs. Apex Zinogre

Dreadqueen Rathian Vs. Deviljho

Purple Ludroth Vs. Crystalbeard Uragaan

Terra Shogun Cenataur Vs. Chaotic Gore Magala

Gore Magala Vs. Desert Seltas Queen

Tobi-Kadachi Vs. Viper Tobi-Kadachi

Gammoth Vs. Ancient Leshen

Espinas Vs. Jade Barroth

Legiana Vs. Crimson Fatalis

Great Baggi Vs. Silverwind Nargacuga

Basarios Vs. Kulu-Ya-Ku

Soulseer Mizutsune Vs. Pink Rathian

Tigerstripe Zamtrios Vs. Thunderlord Zinogre

Radobaan Vs. Scarred Yian Garuga

Raging Brachydios Vs. Gravios

Blue Yian Kut-Ku Vs. Gold Rathian

Ahtal-Ka Vs. Shah Dalamadur

Kushala Daora Vs. Dodogama

Copper Blangonga Vs. Great Jagras

Lucent Nargacuga Vs. Mizutsune

Fulgur Anjanath Vs. Cephadrome

Nargacuga Vs. Chameleos

Dire Miralis Vs. Stonefist Hermitaur

Tetranadon Vs. Rakna-Kadaki

Bloodbath Diablos Vs. Lunagaron

Grimclaw Tigrex Vs. Lunastra

As always, happy voting, and may the best monster win!

[beatcroc]

monster thoughts: loloska

popo | name: Nana | prior familiarity: none i can’t belive this thing’s fuckin name is popo. third verse same as the first re: herbivores. unfortunately just a run of the mill fantasy mammoth, all you did was take the base animal’s most notable trait and skew it a little differently. 5/10

zamite/trios | name: Blastin’ | prior familiarity: plenty slapping a shark’s body onto some amphibian legs is a bold but surprisingly great pull. it works! really strong shapes, great color accenting, looks even cooler with ice armor. i’m not sure if it’s a great tactic for something with thin stretchy amphibian skin to go around rolling over stuff that’s as hard, sharp, and spiky as most of the other monsters in this series but i guess it works for him? bad to look at tho. 8/10 zamite is very good too, they’ve got a cute stance and i really like their armor. it’s a bit weird to me they lose it by the time they get to being zamtrios, but i do appreciate that trios’ ice armor takes more or less the same shape as zamite’s plating. different enough to get its own rating, 8.5/10, pet material *there’s a beta concept of zamtrios where it’s a basking shark and holy Shit why wasn’t that in as final. that makes so much more visual sense with the balloon thing....i guess i can understand it as a frog vocal sac played a little differently but i just like the basking shark way more lmao.

great/baggi | name: Scooter |prior familiarity: only its battle theme lol third verse same as the first re: theropods. while the visual flavor is at least different enough from jaggi to be distinct, it still uses the same base and animations so it’s like. eh. jaggi/10

lagombi | name: Shredder |prior familiarity: somewhat as an infamous hater of rabbits and rabbit-based designs, lagombi is actually pretty good. really dig the whole streamlined facial situation and the belly sled is a fun, if annoying to deal with, gimmick. brown fur ridges are a little silly and unnecessary imo but that’s a nitpick. looks absolutely ridiculous using its dash anywhere but on snow. 7.5/10

nargacuga | name: Betty |prior familiarity: plenty despite being one i liked a lot before playing any games, i just don’t have much attachment to this thing here? another whose flavor is probably hit pretty hard by stories’ rpg format; don’t get to see it do its cool nighttime ninja stuff. sleek solid design, nothing too wild but it accomplishes its idea very nicely. also it’s funny so much of its flavor is dedicated to being... cat. 7.5/10

barroth | name: FudgeCake |prior familiarity: none how is this thing speed type? that’s a fuckin Rock bro. definitely one of the Cool-type designs, but has a decent amount of its own flavor. lots of fun stuff going on with the face but weirdly the part i like the most is the growth ring sorta circles on the top of its crest thing. barroth succeeds where yian-kut-ku fails at having the head be the only really ‘special’ looking part with an otherwise fairly basic body. also really dig the way its coloring is done in stories. 7/10 jade barroth [name: Radio] is a very cool thing to run into the first time, but i generally prefer the standard colors

anjanath | name: Sarahhhh | prior familiarity: plenty that’s my MANS. ok look ive been giving the smaller theropods and the dinosaurs in general a lot of shit; and anjanath is, for all intents, Kind Of Just A T-Rex, but the thing is....... i just rly like anjanath ok. it’s the little things i think. the sunken fleshy look. the mouth that opens slightly too far. the funny furred ankle socks which i 100% did not know were a thing until seeing it in stories. just the general fact they made a pink ass t-rex. more than anything though i am always a slut for any kind of ‘movable’ or ‘hidden’ stuff on a design. if the nose cone and sails were there all the time as part of the default look i wouldn't care about them half as much but oohoooo babey seeing ‘em pop out when you know that thing is PISSED and ready to kill. ohohohohoho. awesome accenting to an already great design & i love that she is so pissed. 10/10

gypceros | name: Dorothy | prior familiarity: none uh oh lads this one is kind of bad. stiff and plastic-y looking body, unflattering colors, inexplicably mismatched ugly tail. i’d be totally willing to accept the tail if it had a Function, but without one the amount of visual emphasis on it as a distinct Part just feels misleading. i also do not like its teeth. the mechanism for its blinding/flashing gimmick is pretty neat but nothing else seems to gel with it, though i do appreciate the detail of its eyes being shot from the light.  2/10

conga/lala | name: Boober |prior familiarity: none turns out 'boob’ isn’t allowed as a name. the claws definitely feel unnecessary and detrimental, and hippo/ape is a really really unfortunate combo for me [both some of my least favorite animals irl]. the bizzarely bright pink/green and the farts are 100% not helping anything either. that chopping chattering noise it makes with its teeth is pretty neat but aside from that....ugh. 4/10 the design is decent enough but please go away

kecha wacha | name: Joe |prior familiarity: none EMPHATICALLY no familiarity. absolutely the guy who’s surprised me most. what the hell is that thing i am being attacked by a washcloth. during most of the fight i was unsure what to make of it but the ears thing made me instantly go oh this freak fucking rules [see previous: movable parts on a design lmao]. a delightfully unique face and it wears the bright colors very well. very hard to get me to like a monkey-based design but he absolutely has it. 9.5/10

nerscylla | name: Schroder |prior familiarity: none always hard to rate video game bugs. when they’re not being incredibly derivative, a lot of them tend to be over-complex and hard to parse without a lot of actual flavor, and i can’t really give them too much shit for it because irl bugs are also frequently complex and hard to parse. nerscylla falls to the latter category; it’s definitely Cool but it’s so hard to get a feel for it unless you’re seeing it in motion. that said, the crystals and helmet-looking head are cool, the mandibles are.... silly but well-utilized, and putting skin/webbing Between its legs is kind of a wild move that really helps give it its own identity. bit of a coward’s move to give it only 4 legs but tbh i would not want to model and animate more than that either so it’s whatever. funny how much better gypceros’ colors look on this thing than actual gypceros. 8.5/10

rathain | name: Chikn |prior familiarity: plenty actually i’m using this spot to talk about the about the story rathalos bc i forgot about him on the last post just like i do ingame :^) you’re not allowed to name your wimpy-winged child but in my heart his name is potato. rathalos is an impressively cool design, but i don’t have much to say about it since it’s kind of not doing anything besides Being A Really Cool Dragon. the wing shapes and patterns are definitely neat, but on the whole it gets outshined by the more out there concepts for me. i also dont particularly like how its face looks in stories jkfdjkgh. 7.5/10 rathain’s green is kinda gross and i don’t like the chin spike so she gets docked half a point despite getting to keep the cool wings.

khezu | name: Plumpp | prior familiarity: plenty why does it SNIIIIIFFFFFFF like that it doesnt even have nostrils... missed potential for some weird ass smell sensory organ i think. longer thoughts in another post; i don’t have anything against the design but it’s very not my thing. also since then i have learned it has wet schlorping noises for footsteps which is like Augh. 7/10. red khezu [name:Velvet] is silly looking in a fun way but i think white does the aesthetic better.

tobi-kadachi |name: Prius | prior familiarity: plenty goodbye forever ranmar lol. FUN guy this one, real spunky lookin’. viper/squirrel is a very random pick and i feel like there also might be some owl or maybe cat in its movements? at any rate it all works together super well and i love pretty much every part of this thing. it’s got the same alternating rows of fur and spines thing as zinogre and i have to wonder if there’s some specific thing they’re referencing with that motif... the skin flaps feel pretty tacked-on, and while flying squirrels and gliding snakes Do exist, i feel tobi’s tall stance and the way its legs are built makes it parse more like a cheetah. no harm in ‘em being there though, they’re still fun.   9/10

barioth | name: Teacup |prior familiarity: somewhat #2 silly running animation goes to this guy. i definitely like barioth but i don’t have much to say about it? kitty. fangs are good+strong as a defining trait, the back plating is great, color scheme is really nice. 8/10

legiana | name: Altair | prior familiarity: plenty i honestly... have no clue what this thing is supposed to be. hawk/nudibranch? whatever it is it fucking rules, all around incredibly fun and unique shapes painted in stunning colors and accenting. trying to find anything more specific to say about it but it just comes back to its shapes are soooo gooooood. 10/10

seltas/queen are the only unrideables so no cut lol. ok so monhun also has this thing of making guys walk on thier knuckles with part of the limb folded back inwards and it bothers me. kecha, congala, any wyvern that uses its forelimbs to walk; it just looks so uncomfortable, especially when there doesn’t seem to be any kind of specialization on most of them for being able to safely put so much weight on a joint [wyverns at least have wingfeet usually but...]. seltas queen is absolutely the worst about this. WHY do the feet bend inwards!!! it looks not uncomfortable but unstable! you’re rollin all around on those things! just have them bend outwards like a normal bug you literally don’t need to change how they're built at all! that aside this duo and their sword/shield motif rules. seltas is a bit hard to parse just ‘cause it has like no thorax area for the relatively large legs to attach, but tbh it doesn’t matter ‘cause the head crest thing is all it has and needs. seltas queen is just TANKED from every angle and i love that shit. the way the pincer mandible things puzzle piece with the upper shell and hide most of its body w just the eyes peeking though, while still being mobile. mwa. big fan also of how the top is just, flat. like its just fucking flat. the tail feels a little unnecessary, but i’ll admit that’s probably just my bias for mech-walker style quadrupeds speaking [gigalith is my fave pokemon lol] since it lessens that look. regardless, it’s a perfectly cool feature and there’s nothing actually wrong with it being there.  9/10, incredibly funny they hit you with a monster that can also use ride on+kinship attacks

[royalbabble]

Yeah. I do think it wasn't meant to be beaten/was meant as sort of a check for your defense/attack power of some sort. Since from this point on the game'll start to unlock some pretty tough monsters, and they wanted to make sure you could handle them. At least thats me being generous.

(There is a worse Kirin Fight if i'm remembering correctly )

(That sorta stuff shows up at least in a few points in Stories 2 i want to say. Nargacuga absolutely could enter an anger state, and then would attack twice. But they're nargacuga and that was to help show off how fast/angry/vicious they are. Kirin just seamed, cheating? But yeah I hate when the game just cheats to make themselves stronger then what you could possibly ever do.

Yeah, I'm already seeing the effects of more powerful monsters being introduced. Even my precious Tigrex is beginning to deal less and less damage (I would swap it out with my Brute Tigrex, but the smaller defense/HP pool is very noticeable at this point in the game).

I think I'll have to start gearing my team more towards defensive play, because my Jade Barroth was able to sponge most of the damage, and my Black Diablos is still pretty viable at this point.

I guess I gotta start hunting down eggs again.

Also, I do really want to play MHS2, but I don't actually own the game because I never knew there was a sequel.

[raethalis]

MonHun Stories Field Skills

Here's all the Field Skills and which monsters have what, to the best of my knowledge. I’ll update this if something ends up being incorrect or more info comes up (More mons plz? I want a plesioth and mitsune!)

I don't have Kirin, Molten Tigrex, or the “Great Poogie,  so I can't say if Kirin has a secondary skill or what the Poogie's skill(s) are,  and I'm going to assume that Molten Tigrex takes after other subspecies and so has the same skills as Tigrex and Brute Tigrex. The MHST website shows Kirin as having Jumping as a skill, but doesn’t say if they have a secondary.

Rajang, Teostra, and Kushala Daora haven't arrived yet, but the main site is showing their skills as Advanced Rock Breaking, Magmawalking, and Flight  -  if they have any secondary skills, we'll have to wait and see to find out.  I'm calling it “Advanced” Rock Breaking since there's two kinds of breakable rocks.  Yian Kut-ku and Barioth for example can break the simple rocks, but the larger ones with chunks of metal in them can only be broken by a stronger variation of Rock Smashing.

If Kushala Daora has a secondary skill I’m going to bet it’s Ore Tracking, since they eat that stuff!

Side-notes:  

--Tracking skills work on the world map and in monster lairs, but require the minimap to be zoomed in. Gathering spots are colored based on Rarity/Quality:  Grey if common, Gold if rare. Monster Lairs don’t seem to be affected by this.

--Monster Lairs have some special 'hidden areas' that can be reached only through Field Skills, so far these only seem to be Digging, Climbing, Swimming, and Magmawalking.

--Pools of poison will show up in Monster Lairs as well, but generally include a side-route, and like with brimstone it might not affect you right away – potentially allowing you to run across quickly.

--Jumping can also leap over small monsters if you time it right.

--Tracking skills stack with the monsters in your party. If you have an Aptonoth, Barroth, Lagombi, Basarios, Rathian, and Royal Ludroth in your party – using the Tracking feature will show icons from each of their respective tracking types at once!

Examples, with Rathian, Barroth, Ludroth, Lagombi, and Uragaan in my party:

The skills and who has them:

Herb Tracking   -  Shows Seeds/Berries, and Herbs on the map.

-Aptonoth, Popo, Aceros

Honey Tracking  -  Shows beehives on the map

-Arzuros

Insect Tracking  -  Shows insect spots on the map

-Kecha Wacha, Ash Kecha Wacha, Barroth, Jade Barroth

Mushroom Tracking  -  Shows mushroom spots on the map

-Lagombi, Congalala, Emerald Congalala

Monster Tracking  -  Shows monsters on the map (Yellow when neutral, red when provoked)

-Yian Kutku, Blue Kutku, Zamtrios, Nerscylla, Shrouded Nerscylla, Cephadrome, Deviljho

Fish Tracking  -  Shows fishing spots on the map

-Royal Ludroth, Purple Ludroth

Monster Lair Tracking  -  Shows monster nests on the map

-Rathian, Pink Rathian, Great Jaggi, Great Baggi

Ore Tracking  -  Shows mining spots on the map

-Basarios, Ruby Basarios, Uragaan

Charge  -  High speed dash, hard to control

-Bulldrome, Gypceros, Purple Gypceros, Tigrex, Brute Tigrex, Molten Tigrex

Climbing  -  Can scale walls of ivy

-Tigrex, Brute Tigrex, Molten Tigrex, Nerscylla, Shrouded Nerscylla, Kecha Wacha, Ash Kecha Wacha, Congalala, Emerald Congalala

Digging  -  Can travel between two spots of loose soil at designated spots.

-Barroth, Jade Barroth, Diablos, Black Diablos, Monoblos, White Monoblos, Basarios, Ruby Basarios, Cephadrome

Invisibility  -  Can bypass monsters undetected for a short period of time

-Nargacuga, Green Nargacuga

Flight  -  In areas that allow it, can fly across the map as you please

-Rathalos, Azure Rathalos, Silver Rathalos, Seregios, Yian Garuga, Barioth, Sand Barioth, Kushala Daora

Rock Smashing  -  Can break large rocks

-Barioth, Yian Kutku, Blue Kutku, Arzuros, Lagombi

Advanced Rock Smashing  -  Can break large rocks and ones reinforced with metal ores.

-Deviljho, Brachydios, Dinovaldo, Rajang

Magmawalking  -  Can cross fields of brimstone without being burned, and can cross lava lakes

-Gravimos, Black Gravimos, Uragaan, Teostra

Poisonwalking  -  Can cross pools of poison unaffected

-Gypceros, Purple Gypceros

Roaring  -  Can scare monsters away

-Khezu, Red Khezu, Diablos, Black Diablos, Gravimos, Black Gravimos, Lagiacrus, Ivory Lagiacrus, Brachydios, Monoblos, White Monoblos

Summoning  -  Use to force a random encounter with a monster

-Qurupeco, Crimson qurupeco

Swimming  -  Can cross bodies of water

-Royal Ludroth, Purple Ludroth, Zamtrios, Lagiacrus, Ivory Lagiacrus

Jumping  -  Can jump while moving, and can leap across chasms at designated spots.

-Velocidrome, Gendrome, Iodrome, Zinogre, Stygian Zinogre, Kirin, Oroshi Kirin

[emberglowfox]

Have to admit the Space AU got me looking like mad, even more than the dragons usually did. I have so many questions I want to know. How did the kid end up in space? Where did he get the suit? How did he learn the language? What's a Faunus actually look like?

Also feel like I should go back through your OC posts, since I was merely glancing at them before the Space AU bit...DX

ok first off im in love with you, so jot that down /nohomo

SECONDLY. dusts my hands off i'll go through your questions one by one. this got long so readmore wooo

How did Arthur (the kid) end up in space? Well, in this universe, there's a sort of... occupation, I suppose? Known as being a Collector. Collectors are basically a niche category of the super wealthy that display their wealth to likeminded others by collecting the 'oddities of the universe'. This typically includes rare flora/fauna from known planets, abnormal/mutated creatures, whatever they can get their hands on that visitors won't have seen before. But the wealthiest of Collectors set their sights above that; on things from undiscovered planets.

Now, delving into uncharted space is very illegal and incredibly dangerous. But some people will do anything as long as the price as right, and aliens known as Probers make their livelihoods dipping in and out of uncharted space, hunting for interesting bits and bobs on unexplored planets. It was one such Prober who struck it rich and discovered an unrecorded planet teeming with organic life, which they swiftly snatched up a few samples of, enough to fill a bioblock, and scurried back to society to pawn off. Such samples included some trees, some foliage, two deer, a squirrel, a fox, and a very unfortunate 13-year-old, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. All of these were sold to one exceptionally wealthy Collector, who cheerfully added them to her collection.

And, well. Earth was undiscovered. Nobody knew what any of these creatures they'd found were. And who would have thought to wonder if one of the newest arrivals was actually an non-spacefaring sapient race?

RIP Arthur. He spends a good while in that cage. Don't worry, though! He gets out! and makes a friend :)

Where did he get the suit? This actually goes hand-in-hand with the next question, what does a faungus actually look like? A faungus made the suit! Lindsay, in this au, is a young faungus who is the youngest daughter to a family that makes space gear, similar to the role she plays in canon. Arthur finds her shortly after getting out of the Collector's ship, and she's a champ, and makes him the suit.

The suit you see in the art is a later iteration, of course. The first suit is clunky, and made for a human. But that attracts a lot of attention, and Arthur's petrified of ending up on another Collector ship, so later iterations are made to help him pass as a Faungus.

I haven't drawn many Faungi, but they're kind of exactly what you'd expect-- fleshy, mushroomy, humanoid aliens. They can't audibly communicate; instead, they talk to each other via vibrations transferred through contact and changing the color of their protrusions. Faungi that work with other species tend to get thought-to-speech translators for ease of communication.

^ A Lindsay !

and no worries on not looking through old posts-- i haven't actually talked about my ocs much beyond posting my doodles of them, tbh

[kettouryuujin]

Nobility AU - Trial of the Cliffs

[Inspired by @monsoon-of-art's Pokérus AU and @jade-nargacuga's Pokérus:Ghosts]

To say the Sneasals of Coronet Highlands were in a tizzy would be a massive understatement.

A freak rockslide had claimed both Warden and Lord Sneasler, well before an Heir had been named. The pack elders were frantic, going to and fro, trying to keep everyone busy. The Pearl Clan was busy deciding who the new Warden might be, and until they did no Heir could be selected to undertake the Trial of the Cliffs.

One young Sneaslet, however, wouldn’t stand for this. The Clan was taking too long, and a Noble was needed now.

So on a dark, stormy night, when everyone else was in their caves, hard asleep, the youngling snuck out of the cave, heading for the base of Mt. Coronet.

—-

The first order of business was to retrieve the amulet from its hiding place. The humans thought they were so clever, hiding it near the mountain. If the elders weren’t sure that she’d be in bed with her siblings, then it may have worked.

But instead, the youngling reached into the bush, withdrawing a small pouch. Rain pattered down as she looked it over, taking a sniff. Good, it was the right one - that decoy scent was far too obvious. “Sne.” Gently tearing it open with a claw revealed the Trial amulet - one of her father’s claws, securely attached to a simple leather cord. 

Unfortunately, the said cord wasn’t tied off. She couldn’t wear it on her neck the way she was supposed to. “Sel…” This might be an issue, but alright. Just wrap the cord around one claw and tie it off in a pseudo-knot with her teeth. As long as she didn’t drop it, then the Trial should still be valid.

The young Sneasal was ready. Approaching the sheer face of Mt. Coronet and looking up, a moment was needed to steel her nerves.

…She needed to do this. There needed to be a Noble Sneasler. They hadn’t had one for months now.

A claw jammed into rock as the youth hauled herself up. A loud peal of thunder raced throughout Hisui, announcing that the Trial of the Cliffs had begun once more.

—-

Whoo… she knew it wasn’t going to be easy. All the young Sneaslets had tried climbing to the Coronet summit several times, wanting to be ready if they were chosen as Heir. Not one of her litter had made it more than halfway, having simply run out of energy.

So she’d take what rests she could. Stopping on one cliff and sitting for a minute, the youngling huffed and puffed. Lifting her arm, her father’s claw dangled down against her skin. Good, it was still there - a fact reinforced as a bolt of lightning briefly illuminated the scene, revealing the claw for a brief second.

A few more breaths, stretching some tired muscles, and then it was time to begin the Ascent once more.

She couldn’t see the amulet between the rain and the darkness, so she had to rely on touch to make sure it hadn’t come off. Every now and then, she’d have to check: give the cord a quick tug, shake her arm a bit to let the claw bounce against her fur. It was precious time and energy that the climb demanded, but without the amulet, it wouldn’t be worth it.

She couldn’t afford to lose it.

—-

As the Sneasal continued her ascent, the rock face grew sheerer. More treacherous.

There were fewer places to sit and get a good rest. A simple corner in the rock became a welcome sight, as she could lean against it. Take some weight off.

She’d shake out an arm or leg, then realize she had to make sure her father's claw hadn’t fallen. Her right arm was getting rather tired. At the last cliff, she’d switched the amulet from one arm to the other, as she had every couple of cliffs before. But there had been no useful overhangs for a while - the best she’d had was a small section jutting out where she could hook in with her toes.

And she couldn’t stop for long. The youngling was running on adrenaline now, the vast supply of food she’d eaten the day before exhausted as she got a bit past halfway. At least she was closer to…probably three-quarters of the way? A new personal record.

But it wouldn't make a difference if she didn’t make it there in time. Sunrise signaled the end of the Trial, whether she’d made it to the summit or not. And if she didn’t make it tonight, she’d probably not get another chance. The elders would keep a closer eye on her, and the Clan would refuse to select her.

…and, to be honest? She wanted to be the Lady of the Cliffs. It would be such an honor and privilege, and knowing the Elders this might have been her best shot anyways.

A huff as she yanked one claw from a crack. She was getting close…so close.

—-

“Ne-SEL!” Ugh, her body felt like it was on fire! Each and every motion was agony, the rain and thunder doing little to distract from it. The cord felt like a vise around her wrist, making her right wrist cramp.

But she could see the summit, nary a few feet away. The path to the humans’ Temple was passed, and she’d continued on the vertical towards the peak. No need to take the walking path, it wouldn't prove anything.

Besides, worked stone was just a few steps away. She just had to not fall off…and get her claw out of this crack it’d gotten stuck in. 

Ergh… “Ne…Snea…SEL!” With a mighty yank, her right claw flew out of the crag-

And she could just barely see a crescent shape flying back with it.

Panic set in as she reached back, letting go of the rock face to try and grab on. But soon, she was falling as well, plummeting towards the earth.

Oh Nobles, why did she do that? Never have less than 3 limbs on the rock at a time! That was, like, climbing 101. And she’d forgotten!

Looking down, she could see a snowbank nearby. Thank the Legends, that might be survivable. Deciding living was more important than a replaceable amulet, she pivoted to one side, trying to aim for the fluffy powde-

*FLOOF!*

…Ptooey. Well, she’d landed… 

*floof*

And huh. The claw landed in front of her.

Digging into the snow as the precipitation faded, her claw snagged her father’s. She dutifully pulled it out, sighing sadly. She hadn’t reached the summit…and the sun was just barely visible on the horizon. It was too late, she'd never get there.

She’d failed. She’d never be a Noble now, not after having struck out like this. But at least she’d survived…and hah! She’d landed right beside the humans’ temple path. So close, and yet so far. That was worth a chuckle, dry as it was.

The laughter faded as she sat up, gripping the amulet as tight as she could. The Elders would be here soon - once the storm cleared, it wouldn’t be long before they saw that a Sneaslet was missing. And once they arrived, it would be over - she’d give back the amulet, receive her punishment, and go from there.

“Snea…” The clouds parted, Arceus’s ball of light emerging from the horizon. At least she could enjoy the view… she’d made it farther than she ever had. Farther than any of her littermates had… why, farther than anyone but the elders had! She could at least claim a bit of a reward.

As light spilled over the horizon, her ears twitched. The cries of the elders were just past the hill, no doubt panicked for her safety. Ah, she’d take the scolding. Better than dying, at least. “Ler…”

Blink blink.

What did she just say?

“Snea? Sn-sel-ler.” That… yeah, she could definitely hear a “Ler” syllable in there. Looking at the amulet, the Poison-type’s mouth fell open.

She was only holding was a small mess of cord. The claw was gone. 

A small *tmp* led to her vision being obscured - was that a hat? On her head? Where did it come from?

Lifting the brim, the new Lady Sneasler blinked at the approaching elder Sneasals, who were staring at her in shock and awe.

“...Ler? Le-le…” Yeah, a nervous chuckle was the best reaction here. She’d actually passed the Trial?

Perhaps this headgear was a gift from Arceus, for her sheer tenacity. Either way, the new Lady of the Cliffs would stand and brush off her longer legs, adjusting the cap. “Sneasel?”

“Sne…” The Elders began their return trip, the new Lady following suit. There would be Discussions and Angry Words once they’d returned, but…

The Clan had their Noble now. And that’s what counted.

—-

A few hundred years in the future, a pair of brothers sat at a rail station, one sobbing as the other patted his back.

“Oh…why did that thing have to steal my hat from its station…why?”

“I am Emmet. I am upset about the forced redirection of your hat also, but it could have been a far worse track.”

“...W-what do you mean?”

The twins locked eyes. “It could have been you who had their tracks changed so drastically, Ingo.”

“I…I-Yes. I suppose so.” A sigh as the black-coated twin stood. “I will miss my old hat dearly. We went through many stations together. But it can be replaced.”

“Indeed. I am Emmet. I am glad you are here with me and not with that cap, Ingo.”

“I am at that station as well, Emmet.” Smile and hug. “I am at that station as well.”

And if either of them knew what would've happened a mere five years after Ingo's cap arrived in Hisui, they'd have been hugging tighter, crying louder, and thanking Arceus for letting them stay together.

[multiverse-swampy]

Smash Bros Monsties

No particular order, feel free to give suggestions. No big Elder Dragons or generally untamable monsters (like Behemoth) please.

Leaf - Rathian, Green Nargacuga Pit - Kirin, Legiana Dark Pit - Black Tigrex, Stygian Zinogre Akira/Joker - Nargacuga Peach - Pink Rathian Bayonetta - Black Diablos Lucina - Zinogre, Tobi-Kadachi Link -  Young Link - Dodogama Toon Link - Royal Ludroth, Plesioth Zelda -  Ganondorf - Bulldrome Inkling -  Palutena - Gold Rathian Corrin - Silver Rathalos, Kirin Falco - Kula Ya-ku Fox -  Wolf - Odogoran Ryu - Rathalos Ken - Azure Rathalos Mac - Brachydios Sonic - Uragaan, Radobaan Samus -  Dark Samus - Great Girros Ridley -  Donkey Kong - Congalala Diddy Kong - Kecha Watcha Snake - Bazelgeuse Kirby -  Meta Knight -  King Dedede -  Mario - Yian Kut-Ku, Iodrome Luigi - Qurupeco, Gendrome Daisy -  Rosalina -  Bowser - Gravios, Anjanath Bowser Jr. - Basarios Wario - Great Jagras Marth - Lagiacrus Roy -  Ike - Glavenus Robin -  Chrom -  Shulk -  Cloud -  Ice Climbers - Lagombi Pikachu -  Pichu -  Greninja - Pukei Pukei, Zamtrios Incineroar -  Lucario -  Mewtwo -  Ness -  Lucas -  Captain Falcon - Astalos Olimar -  R.O.B. -  Villager -  Isabelle - Paolumu Simon -  Richter -  Megaman -  Wii Fit Trainer -  Pacman - Nibelsnarf Current Untaken Monsters: Mizutsune, Gammoth, Barioth, Sand Barioth, Seregios, Monoblos, White Monoblos, Najarala, Tidal Najarala, Agnaktor, Glacial Agnaktor, Black Gravios, Ruby Basarios, Deviljho, Rajang, Anjanath, Tzitzi-Ya-Ku, Ivory Lagiacrus, Arzuros, Volvidon, Khezu, Red Khezu, Gigginox, Baleful Gigginox, Blue Yian Kut-Ku, Great Jaggi, Great Baggi, Great Wroggi, Velocidrome, Giadrome, Tigrex, Diablos, Plesioth, Green Plesioth, Purple Ludroth, Daiymo Hermitaur, Plum Daiymo Hermitaur, Nerscylla, Shrouded Nerscylla, Lucent Nargacuga, Molten Tigrex, Gypceros, Purple Gypercos, Barroth, Jade Barroth, Cephadrome, Blangonga, Great Maccao, Shogun Ceanataur, Malfestio, Yian Garuga, Duramburos, Rust Duramburos, Ash Kecha Wacha, Tetsucabra, Berserk Tetsucabra, Seltas, Desert Seltas, Seltas Queen, Desert Seltas Queen, Tigerstripe Zamtrios, Oroshi Kirin, Crimson Qurupeco, Steel Uragaan