#loremaker popia140

[dispatches-from-the-lorecord]

Auguste is a good kid, kleptomania notwithstanding

[January 14-15, 2023]

{Haji:}

So getting through the Cyrus fight and... These two [Cyrus and Auguste] really have a weird relationship

See, since we always played Platinum, the hosts usually run into Cyrus more frequently and with rising hostility. You know from his intro at the lake that he's up to something. It's great build up for a villain.

But in DP, the pair are... Curious about each other. Auguste didn't meet Cyrus until Mt. Coronet and even then the guy was just telling about the mountain, some of the legends even. Auguste may think he's a weirdo but not much different from anyone else he'd met by that point.

And since there's no fight in Celestic Town, it's funny that Auguste chased off the goon and Cyrus came over all like "What happened here?"

"Ah. This guy was causing trouble at the shrine here and..."

"I see. I sense a meaningless struggle happened here. Such things wouldn't happen if everyone could step back and look at the universe from a bigger perspective. Incidentally, have we met before?"

So while in Platinum reaching his office is like Hecks yeah! It's go time! With Cyrus taunting the protag and dragging his own lackeys through the mud, here Auguste has been running the maze and kicking tail and unlocks the door like he's done several times and then... Oh. It's Cyrus. Hello?

Like I'm sure the kid has figured out somewhere along the way Cyrus is with Galactic, but there's been little to tell him Cyrus is the one running the dang thing (then again, he's not the brightest host we've had).

And in turn, Cyrus looks at this little runt he's become acquainted with on the road and going "you? You're the one I keep hearing about???"

I mean, he doesn't lose his cool until the end of his pre-battle speech, but in this dialogue he makes it sound like he feels almost betrayed by the kid since it's like "I didn't expect it would be a child. My commanders have had a hard time with you... [Coldly] You're here for the Spirits, aren't you? Why? They have nothing to do with you." Like why should you care, sir? For uh... Someone who claims he doesn't care

And then after the battle, he shows the way to the warp panel in all cases but here he's like "You can take this panel to reach the Lake Pokemon, I'm going to Mt Coronet. Yes, the same place you and I first met. I will ascend the mountain and end everything. No, a new beginning for everything" and looking at the line in Platinum he's just like "I will climb the mountain where destiny awaits. I will create my new world" which just feels less poetic. XD

Also I'm not sure if we ever faced him at the Battle Tower in post game, but I find it funny on the quotes page he's all like "Hello again. It seems our fates have intertwined. But here I will break that bond!" Just admit something in you actually likes the kid XD

{Newbie:}

considering we only unlocked the battle tower in the BD revisit, probably not

{Haji:}

Makes sense. So it wouldn't come up, just kind of funny to me

I think the other thing that makes their dynamic fascinating is Cyrus has probably never met someone like Auguste. Everyone he's met has either been like-minded or annoying in their differences from what he might think is ideal. In my head this often extends to the hosts too since he thinks he can reason with those like Izzy and Karma, in their focused and serious nature, heck initially he probably saw a lot of his younger self in Napoleon, and then there's Pepe at the opposite end of the spectrum who is SO different it's infuriating how this anxious, faith-driven, sentimental sap has caused them so much trouble when everything from the way he talks to the way he depends on those around him says he should be weak. He's exactly the kind of person Cyrus can't reason with and can't understand and can't seem to squash.

And then there's Auguste who Cyrus can't relate to, but is still intrigued by.

And I'm still not sure why myself, but I'm kiiinda curious to analyze it more now that I've had this scene come up in game. I've never played DP so I didn't know how different things were between versions

But part of me wants to say Cyrus is curious because of just how free Auguste seems to be. He's not burdened by his family, he's very much against society, he goes where he wants when he wants (despite the calls for urgency),  and despite how much he clearly loves to help people, he also doesn't seem toooo miffed when others get hurt. He's someone who doesn't suppress his emotions, he's very much in control of them which allows him to keep some distance when things go bad. He's upset but about things that have happened but he never became jaded about it. Take some time to recover, then get back to business. And sure, as he gets older some of that may fade but right now he's this equally weird kid who would honestly listen to Cyrus for a while and be like "I don't know about that but..." and not judge him just have them be equally confused and fascinated how the other functions. 😂

At least that's the current thought

(this doesn't help the ongoing joke in my head as he gets older that Auguste?? You're not a bad guy, why do you keep hanging out with "villains"?)

{Popia140:}

Ooh, I think the idea of Auguste being in complete control of his emotions around other people sorta meshes with my headcanon of him having fallen into a depression in the past, but now, since he has control of his life, he REALLY means it with his emotions- yes, he does have negative thoughts towards himself, but he can be totally calm around others and things that are not in his control 

{Haji:}

Exactly. He has his regrets, but few would know it if they didn't already know what he's been through. But he's not stoic about either. He'll either change the subject or if it's something he's okay with, he'll retell the tale with excitement and flourish how it's just one of his many adventures. Or he might shrug it off. Depends on which incident they heard about

{Popia140:}

Auguste, I feel, is one of the most mentally strong of the group, imo

{Haji:}

Probably. Which is also kind of impressive because of how young he is in my head.

{Popia140:}

Honestly, I didn’t really know what was the big thing that made him depressed in the past (probably because I didn’t know what to put, lol)

I headcanon him as like, 17-18

{Haji:}

I have him around 11-14 somewhere in that range 😂

He's a little pickpocket working on up the ladder to conartist :LUL: they grow up so fast

{Popia140:}

But I guess one of the big events [that made him depressed] would be a public failure- I imagined him to be some sort of performer, and his mom put a lot of pressure on him for winning the big prize and being the best performer, but massively screwed up during the big finishing move that involved bird Pokémon, and broke his ankle in the process- not the greatest way to go out and quit Pokémon Contests :BibleThump:

{Haji:}

Awww

{Popia140:}

Which could explain his hesitance for bird Pokémon and Pokémon contests

{Haji:}

Yeah

{Popia140:}

And one of the most saddest parts was that while he was performing that big move, he actually felt some happiness in the spotlight instead of sneaking around as usual like he does

{Haji:}

My hc is he's got some mother issues. He and "Mom" (I don't think she got a name in DP?) don’t get along very much, and part of that is because of her first love being the spotlight, second on wistful memories of her time in it, and maybe him in third. She does care, but seeing how he's a troubled middle school dropout who gets his thrills from getting "free" stuff, she doesn't really talk about him much to her friends. She worries about him, they've had talks before, but she's kind of embarrassed by him

Worst trouble is, he knows it. He'd like to make her proud of him one of these days, but that's just not... Him? He could try to be what she wants and be miserable about it, or he can just do what he's good at, and let her have her spotlight without him. Part of the reason he even got into the business was to avoid going home. He still comes home though when he needs a place but Barry legit didn't know that often times when Auguste crashes at his place or they meet up at the lake and stuff, it's because he's not been home in like a week.

It's alright though. Odds are, mom isn't home anyway

I would say he cleans up eventually but PFFFFFFHAHAHA adult hcs aren't much better

{Popia140:}

It’s the “being a Pokémon trainer” business, right?

{Haji:}

.... .... .... Sure. :Pika:

{Popia140:}

I honestly don’t know :BibleThump:

oh wait its gotta be the thieving biz

{Haji:}

Yeah. XD

Which started in day 1 because DP differences had him steal a Pokemon from Rowan to defend himself and chat just ran with it throughout the rest of the run.

Including this even this late in the game made me laugh it's still going

[Screenshot of chat in which Twitch user Abstrection says ‘go pick pocket that guy’] 

{Popia140:}

:LUL:

{Haji:}

We got to our first door and found out we didn't have the key, so Chat was teasing about going to nearest Grunt we dodged earlier

{Popia140:}

The Voices: being a bad influence

Auguste: okay with it, but only for stealing

{Haji:}

Only bad people, right?

Voices: ... Riiiighht. [Teaches Thief to Pika]

And yeah, Auguste is actually a good kid. I'd say he has ways of getting what he wants, but he's not manipulative or anything. Just a bit of a liar with sticky fingers.

{captwaddledoo:}

gina aceattorney...

{Haji:}

I'm not familiar with the name

{captwaddledoo:}

she's from the great ace attorney games. she's also a pickpocket

{Haji:}

Ah okay XD

But yeah, Rowan at first took the kid under his wing since he can see Auguste was in need of some guidance. Besides, school wasn't for him, maybe he's more of a hands-on learner. Put him to work in the fields and he may be able to turn his life around. :Burrito1:

But then game events happened

And it's not like Rowan has given up on him, quite the opposite I like to think Auguste does look up to him as a parental figure and has come to his and Dawn's rescue on more than one occasion. It's just Rowan that as things with Team Galactic has played out, poor Rowan doesn't want to encourage this, but they can all agree they may need to utilize Auguste's "skill set".

He still face palms at his student's shenanigans as Auguste gets older. He's not claiming him. Nope. Totally not calling on him for help with Kanto stuff pre- Gauntlet. Deeeefinitely didn't help this kid secure a place in Kalos. :Kappa:

[dispatches-from-the-lorecord]

Leo and Pepe have the sweetest brotherly relationship, and Iqarus is the last person Arceus should have made immortal

[February 5 2023]

{Popia140:}

Writing the script for another Ultra comic, the scene after Pepe and Cynthia defeat Lum and the brothers reunite and it’s nice to put in a few feelsy scenes to the Trollkitten original :StarsWeep:

{Trollkitten:}

I love this

{Popia140:}

Thank you :BeePog:

{Trollkitten:}

I love seeing what I would consider one of my favorite TPP works for one of my favorite TPP runs get some more love from another lorewriter

Ultra really has everything I love about TPP. Character development, weird reality-bending shenanigans, a fantastic villain, unearthly creatures from beyond the pale, and interesting ties to other runs

{Popia140:}

I guess I just really liked the gentleness of Pepe’s character, and still wanted to put some of his old sensitivity here, considering the stress he’s been in during the run

And also soft Leo??!! 👀

{Trollkitten:}

Yeah

He may have been decapitated, but he hasn't lost his head

{Haji:}

Yeah :tppAYAYA:

On that note, anyone else find it funny "Leo" ended up being the short name and not "Leon"?

{Trollkitten:}

...I guess that is kind of funny

Because if it had been Leon...

Then when Sword happened and we just happened to have a Champion Leon who just happened to have a little brother...

:LUL:

All things considered, I think it was for the best. Pepe and Napoleon have had enough adventures for a while, they don't need Eternatus on top of that

{Haji:}

Yeah

{Trollkitten:}

Although I can imagine one of them saying, "Great. That's, what, our THIRD planet-eating eldritch abomination in the past five years?"

{Haji:}

Now I'm laughing to remember that joke I made about Leo, Pepe, and D being told Icarus was their great-great-something-or-rather and being confused. In actuality, it was Leon, Hop, and Iris and explains so much about the champ's perceived invincibility :Kappa:

{Popia140:}

That’s a pretty good explanation!

{Trollkitten:}

There was some lore back when we did Conquest for the first time that Napoleon and D were descendants of the ancient warlord Abin the Third (Pepe didn't exist back then), which made them distantly related to Bill and Alice

I wonder if Iquarus's 'invincibility' was more a gift or a curse. Given how Iquarus had the self-preservation instincts of a masochistic lemming, it was likely a little of both

{Mitzi:}

it's less 'invincibility' and more 'fence horse refuses to deal with iqarus's family until forced to' :Kappa:

the horse would foist this off on yveltal/plume/ho-oh/the death god of your choice, but a side-effect of its deal with iqarus is that it has to deal with his descendants until his genes work out of the gene pool :Kappa:

... actually that'd make a fairly significant chunk of the human population invincible surprisingly fast

{Trollkitten:}

That could explain why so many of our Hosts can walk into walls for days on end and not sleep for a moment of it

And how humans even survive in a world full of things like Scyther and Hydreigon

{Mitzi:}

lore discussion question: who did iqarus make babies with :Kappa:

{Newbie:}

akari? :Kappa:

the idea of Terra being his descendant is funny to me so i kinda wanna go with that

{Mitzi:}

'everyone in the tppverse is invincible because of an extremely ill-considered deal god made that one time'

{Newbie:}

immortality is inheritable? 🤔

{Mitzi:}

well, The Deal arceus made with iqarus must be, to an extent, if leon is supernaturally invulnerable

{Haji:}

I personally don't think so, but those descended of an immortal tend to have some weird side effects 😂

{Trollkitten:}

I don't even know why Arceus chose Iquarus to begin with

Maybe he figured no one would miss that idiot

{Newbie:}

or Iqarus did something in a past life and Arceus decided to make him its errand boy in retaliation or something

{Trollkitten:}

Perhaps Iquarus died the first time he did something stupid and Arceus reached out to him in the afterlife for a deal: "You do this for me, and I'll ensure you live to a ripe old age"

Arceus is still slapping himself in the face for thinking that was a good idea

He really should have asked Iquarus how he died to begin with before evaluating whether or not he could be trusted with a matter of this magnitude

Iquarus probably tried to cross the street without looking both ways (or at all)

{Mitzi:}

those trams, bro

{Haji:}

-cackles-ICARUS GOT LITERALLY ISAKEI'D

Truck-kun said hi

{Newbie:}

i was just about to say—

{Mitzi:}

more like train-kun in this period. possibly tram-kun

{Trollkitten:}

And created a major time paradox because his passing down the gift/curse to his descendants ironically caused the version of him born in the new timeline to be sturdy enough to survive the incident

{Haji:}

Probably

{Mitzi:}

... would not surprise me if iqarus managed to grandfather paradox himself

the fun way, as opposed to the murder way

{Trollkitten:}

Haha yep

{Sol:}

iqarus is actually elfilis from kirby, getting hit by a kirby truck sent him to the pokemon dimension :DBStyle:

[dispatches-from-the-lorecord]

Brotherly love (also the pokétch sucks)

[January 14, 2023]

{Popia140:}

Reading through my messy draft [of a work-in-progress comic about Napoleon and Pepe] :LUL:

[Screenshot of text, reading:

Oh wait! Leo! Is Leo okay?! Pepe scrambles to turn on the poketch? (IT’S AN APPLE WATCH NOW, OMGG it got an upgrade) and calls Leo.

/end text]

Very messy sneak peak, but it’s something

…for the purposes of this comic it will act like an Apple Watch, the poketch could have had an Xtransceiver-like update

{Haji:}

Yeah that makes sense

The Poketch is cute but... It sucks 😂

Hoenn and Johto peeps going "at least mine has a phone!!!" And Sinnoh peeps are like "hey, the mountain makes reception REALLY hard, okay? Besides, look, I can make the Luvdisc make kissy faces~ Isn't that adorable?"

"...."

"...Coin flip? I mean, that's fun too"

"I guess notepad is useful."

"Yeah, but if I hit a wrong button, it won't save anything."

"....."

"I'm not helping my case any. OH! But let me show you what's really cool! I have a Berry Tracker!"

"[Hoenn] Give it to me."

"[Johto just face palms]"

{Popia140:}

Another sneak peak, I’m literally restraining myself from revealing the entire script, but it’s too wholesome :StarsWeep:

[Screenshot of text, reading:

P: I’m sorry, I’m bothering you. I’m gonna end the call.

L: No. Don’t. You said you had a nightmare. Tell me about it.

P: You… care?

L: Of course I would, I’m your brother!

P: (shyly) … thank you. Lull, he was gonna hurt you. And then I called. I wanted to see if you were okay. Like an idiot.

L: Pepe.

P: Huh?

L: You’re my idiot.

Pepe pauses, then smiles.

P: Jerk.

Napoleon smiles upon hearing this.

L: Thanks…

/end text]

Oh wait, rip

Spelling error, not lull but LUM

{krizste:}

You're my idiot(affectionate)

{Trollkitten:}

Yep, that's Pepe all right