#//well @ myself it's traditional now to make an obnoxious amount of tags that no one ever reads

[msjr0119]

The American Adventure

Prologue

A/N: I swear choices is taking over my life, I’m dreaming about TRR characters. We watched ‘The Parent Trap’ last night, and my subconscious dreamt of an alternative version including the Cordonian Gang. So I’ve decided to do this. In my usual series Drake is older than the other characters, however because most camps only go up to the age of 17, they are all 16/17.

Prince Liam and his closest friends are sent to a summer camp in America for a month, whilst in Cordonia the nobles are preparing for Prince Leo’s social season unknowingly to him. During their time there, Liam and Drake become besotted with the same girl- Riley Brooks.

Characters all belong to Pixelberry; apart from Lola Hughes, Bethany Hughes, Nate Cooper, Andy Brooks and Jackie Brooks.

Warnings: Please do not read if you are under 18, if you do you are consenting that you are over this age. If any of the follow trigger warnings affect you please don’t continue to read. Swearing, mention of sex, bad habit- smoking.

Word count: 2,400

Tags- as always for prologues I tag my combined tag list and people who I think will be interested. If you don’t want to be included in further chapters please let me know. I won’t be offended. If you want to be added, again let me know.

@pedudley @kacie-0156 @loveellamae @annekebbphotography @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @bascmve01 @kimmiedoo5 @yukinagato2012 @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @burnsoslow @ladyangel70 @drakewalker04 @axwalker @nikkis1983 @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @cordonianroyalty @custaroonie @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @princess-geek @jared2612 @desireepow-1986 @twinkle-320 @queenjilian @princessleac1 @bebepac @drakewalkerisreal @ravenpuff02

*****

Liam, enjoy this opportunity with your closest friends. I’ve spoken to the camp director- he is aware of your titles and has promised to treat you all no different. Or to disclose this information- Bastien will be staying on site for extra protection with a few other guards. I’ll see you in a months times, my son.

The youngest prince of the small country, Cordonia- couldn’t imagine what to expect from being at a summer camp for a whole month. For him, it was a month of freedom. Away from the palace. Away from the small amount of royal duties that the Prince’s had to do. Having a good excuse to not attend Royal events with his father the King, and his step Mother the Queen.

Drake Walker, Liam’s best friend was more than happy to leave Cordonia. To leave the noble lifestyle behind. He never fit in anyway. Madeleine and Olivia constantly reminded him of this. Three years ago, he lost his father. Jackson Walker was the head of the King’s guard who lost his life in the line of duty. Summer camp, was everything Drake enjoyed in life. Being outdoors. Camping. Besides it was in the country that his mother was born in. America. He was half American, being here- he should feel right at home.

Maxwell Beaumont, the spare heir. The fun brother. The outgoing one. You could take him to Timbuktu and somehow he would be enthusiastic- making the most out of it. He was feeling excited about attending a summer camp, most of the time his older brother Bertrand would be ashamed of him. Criticising him, for even breathing. This was a break that he was looking forward to, without the lectures about being etiquette- especially when it included forks.

Olivia Nevrakis- this girl never held back. You annoy her, she would openly insult you. Drake Walker should know this. Not wanting to attend this break from Cordonia, she had no choice. King Constantine practically gave her no option but to go. As much as Olivia tried to fight against it, it did mean that she got to spend time with her closest friend, Liam. When they was younger, she would follow him around like a lost puppy. Now they were older, she had grown feelings towards him. But she wouldn’t tell him, not yet anyway.

Madeleine Amaranth- the epitome of prim and proper. The true definition of a well raised noble for court life. She was fully aware of the description of a summer camp. However, she knew that she wouldn’t abide by the timetables that they would strictly provide. Madeleine was cunning, she knew how to get her own way, and she was fully intending on using this to her advantage.

****

Breathing in the fresh air, Andy and Jackie Brooks enjoyed this day every year. Yes, they enjoyed the traditional American holidays such as Thanksgiving and The Forth of July- but this was the day that summer camp started. This was where their love story began. The camp had been run by his family for many decades. Jackie came one year, and Andy was immediately attracted to her. Every year since then, he had hoped that she would attend - which she did. They were childhood sweethearts- both losing their virginities to each other. As soon as Jackie was old enough, she moved to New York to be closer to Andy. They were soon married, and raised two daughters; Lindsey and Riley.

“Now I can trust that you all will make everyone feel welcome, encourage them to participate in the activities. After all, I am paying you all a small wage. Enjoy yourselves even though you are all working.” The director of Camp Beaver Brooks said to the teenagers. For the last couple of years he had enlisted his children and their friends for this extra support to keep the camp running.

“Yes, Father. We will go over to the registration hut and help everyone get settled in.” Pulling his youngest daughter into his embrace, he held her tightly- knowing that she wouldn’t let him down. Out of the two sisters, Riley was a hard worker. Always pushing herself further. Always up for a challenge. Never letting anyone get in her way to achieve her ambitions.

“Thank you, Riley. I love you, sweetheart.”

****

Riley, Lola, Beth and Daniel awaited for the campers to arrive. At times they had an influx of people arriving at the same time, then it was quiet. So quiet, that they could hear the tranquility of the lake in the distance.

Witnessing a limo pull up, they all rolled their eyes back in unison. Each one knowing the usual scenario. People that turned up in style were the most obnoxious spoilt brats who refused to partake in activities.

“So it’s not the Coopers. They have a different type of limo. Mayors kids? Rich business mans kids? What are we betting?” Daniel asked the three women.

“They are arseholes. I can bet you all that...” Lola responded. Biting their lips they all attempted to not laugh, knowing that Lola was probably correct. Even if she wasn’t correct, she was still right. She would never acknowledge that she was wrong about anything.

“There’s five of them! I bet their parents are celebrating getting rid of them for a month.... oh, it gets better.. look...They’ve got a personal driver and a personal bodyguard!” Riley took a deep breath, ready to do the introductions to the people who had clearly never been to camp before. Not this one, anyway.

“Fake smiles, guys... we can’t let them ruin it for everybody else. We will bitch about them after.” Lola winked at the group of friends after saying this. They all knew that she was probably already making notes about the strangers. Making assumptions up.

****

“This is so exciting... is anybody else excited? I think I need to pee... maybe too late for that actually... but guess what? NO Bertrand for a month...” Clapping his hands enthusiastically, he was like a big kid in a candy shop.

“Li, please tell me that he’s not sharing with us?” Looking down at Maxwell’s damp trousers, Drake pleaded with Liam to not bunk up with anyone else but him.

“I’m glad he’s not sharing with me. I’m already stuck with ‘I can’t break a nail. I’m too precious.’ Eurghhh, count yourselves lucky gentlemen.”

“I’m stuck with Miss ‘look at me in the wrong way and I’ll slit your throat’...”

“I can’t wait to see you all pretend to not be noble.. this is going to be classic.” Sinking back into the chair, Drake laughed to himself- loudly. Deep down he had hoped that the girls would suffer during this trip. Just due to their horrendous attitude they have had towards him all of his life.

“Well you’ll feel right at home here... in the states where you actually belong.” Olivia smirked at Drake, knowing every time she criticised him about being a commoner it irritated him. Prior to his fathers death, it didn’t affect him - as he had his fathers support. Since Jackson’s death, himself and Savannah were criticised for still being in Cordonia- described as outcasts by the majority of the nobles. There was no reason for them to be there anymore, as their mother shortly abandoned them after tragically losing her husband, they all believed.

“I hear that there’s a lake here, Livvy. It’s apparently ice cold- just like your heart.” Scowling towards Drake, she didn’t think that he would respond with an insult. She hated him. He hated her. The feeling was mutual, and would be for the rest of their lives.

“Call me Livvy one more time, Walker. I dare ya!”

“That’s enough! Can we just enjoy this time. It’s the first time that I’ve been allowed a bit of freedom.. we’re here anyway. Remember, I am not a Prince and you aren’t nobles. We are all just normal people. Normal teenagers.” They all nodded in agreement, knowing how much this meant to Liam. For him to be free.

****

“Hey, welcome to Camp Beaver Brooks. My name is Riley. Myself and my friends will help you all get settled in. If you have any questions, just grab one of us. There are forms to fill out over there. If you all do that, then we will escort you to your dorms.”

“Charmed to make your acquaintance, Riley. My name is, Liam.” Pulling her hand towards his lips he kissed it tenderly. Dickhead, quit with the Prince charming act. Drake whispered in to his ear reminding him that they were no longer in Cordonia. “Erm, these are my closest friends; Drake, Maxwell, Olivia and Madeleine. We are from a different country, and are thrilled to be here.” Stepping backwards, she smiled at them all. Even though she was a bit freaked out by that introduction, she put it to the back of her mind- acting professional. Once they had all signed in, Bastien left them- phoning Andy he explained that they had arrived. Andy gave instructions for Bastien and the other guards to stay in a bungalow close by.

“So girls, Daniel will escort you to the girls dorm. Boys, myself and Lola will escort you to your dorms.” Fucking girls, we are nobles you fucking Yankee. Olivia took a sudden dislike to Riley. As she did with Drake. I hate commoners.

****

Maxwell latched onto Riley as she escorted them on the short walk to the dorms. He was acting as if he had known her own his life, Drake and Liam were both panic stricken that the Lord would accidentally disclose their true identities.

“Here you go, you will be sharing with a close friend of ours- Nate Cooper, when he arrives. He takes a disliking to people easily, but you’ve just got to defend yourself against him.”

“What Riley means, is Nate Cooper is a wanker. Good luck, boys.” Lola decided to abandon her post and sneak out for a crafty cigarette whilst Riley continued settling them in.

“Just ignore her. She accidentally drops the ‘f bomb’ and other swear words a few times. Quite a lot actually...” shrugging her shoulders, the men all laughed. Maxwell eagerly unpacked his suitcase and bagsed the top bunk of one of the bunk beds. Placing his teddy bear that he had since he was born, he would be more than annoyed if this Nate tried to steal his territory that he had marked.

“Ignore him, he’s still a child...” Drake explained, acting like the father figure of the group. As he said this, Riley locked her baby blues on to his dark eyes. Noticing him stare back towards her, she focused her gaze elsewhere. Not wanting him to realise that she was already hypnotised by his presence.

“So what is on the agenda for today, Riley?” Maxwell asked as he leaped off the top bunk, risking breaking a limb.

“Erm, well because it’s arrival day. You have this time to explore camp independently. Then we have dinner between six and seven. After that there’s a ‘welcome meeting’ then we all gather together around the campfire for a couple of hours.”

“Sounds fabulous.” Liam said, softly smiling at her.

“I hope that you all enjoy your time here. There’s a map in the top drawer. Don’t get lost on your first day though...see you all around six.” Waving goodbye, Liam followed her through the door- closing it behind him.

“Riley, I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Do we have any free time? Where we are not following a typical day agenda.”

“Yes, we have one day off each week. That day will change each week. There will be updates on this at reception. Why?”

“Oh, I just thought we could all ‘hang out’ as you Americans say.” Attempting to act like a normal ‘cool’ teenager, he hoped that she wouldn’t be offended by his upfront attitude.

“Sure. See ya.” Unable to erase the smile that was fixed onto his face, he entered the dorm. Grateful for his father suggesting this little adventure for them all.

****

Riley knew exactly where Lola would be, hiding behind the ‘bent tree’ as it was known. It was a common location for everyone to sneak away for a cigarette. Dodging all the tab ends that had been piling up over the years, her friend looked relieved that she had finally showed up.

“About time, I’ve chain smoked a whole packet nearly! What were you doing? Fucking them all?”

“LOLA! One, I highly doubt that you smoked a whole packet in five minutes. Two, I must be superwoman managing to have sex with all of them in that amount of time. Three, get a life!”

“So the tall dark handsome one, the blue eyed boy or the dopey one... which one would you sleep with?”

“Go fuck yourself. Or rather, Daniel. Come on, we need to get back.”

****

“Here you are ladies... this is your home for the next month. Dinner is at six.....”

“There’s room service, right?” Madeleine interrupted, as she scowled at the dirty room. Tracing her finger along the window ledge, she collected too much dust for her liking. Straight away she washed her hands in the cracked sink- then retrieved the hand sanitiser out of her handbag. I’m going to die.

“Erm, no. This isn’t a hotel.” The blonde nearly hyperventilated due to his response. Expecting for some elaboration, expecting for it to be some kind of sick joke- Daniel remained silent, shocked at her reaction. I’m a noble- get me out of here!

“Where’s the bathroom? I need a bath.” Olivia demanded to know as she folded her arms.

“If you turn left as you leave here and walk five minutes, there is a shared restroom. After dinner there will be a short ‘welcome meeting’ before we all gather next to the campfire. I’ll leave you to both get settled in. Enjoy ladies.” Both jaws practically dropped to the floor, before looking at each other with the same expression. Disgust. For the first time in their lives, they actually agreed on something. Why did we agree to come?

Daniel giggled to himself as he left the two snobs as he described them in his mind. Running back to the hut, he couldn’t wait to inform the girls about the newbies responses to being at camp.

This is going to be a long month. They are going to have a big reality check.

[roarofadam]

 ᴄᴀʀᴇғᴜʟ ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʀᴏᴄᴇᴇᴅ, ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴍᴀɴ    Iɴᴛᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ Iɴᴅᴇᴇᴅ, ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴍᴀɴ    ᴀɴsᴡᴇʀ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴜsᴀᴛIᴏɴs I ʟᴀʏ ᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғᴇᴇᴛ      ᴏʀ ᴘʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙʟᴇᴇᴅ, ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴍᴀɴ

                                            ʏᴏᴜʀ ɢʀɪᴇᴠᴀɴᴄᴇ Is ʟᴇɢɪᴛIᴍᴀᴛᴇ                                                  I sᴛᴀɴᴅ ʙʏ ᴡʜᴀᴛ I sᴀɪᴅ, ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ʙɪᴛ ᴏғ Iᴛ                                                          I ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ᴀᴘᴏʟᴏɢɪᴢᴇ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ Iᴛ’s ᴛʀᴜᴇ!

                 I ʜᴀᴠᴇ THE HONOR ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ…

@decorativeantlers

[hennessystevens-udaku]

Happy Birthday, Daka

Warnings: This is a tear-jerker, y’all. Please grab some tissues before reading.

Sunlight shined bright into the shared bedroom of the couple’s condo. It’s occupants slept peacefully, their bodies still intertwined from the previous night’s activities. Someone just had to have some birthday sex as soon as the clock struck Midnight.

“Like we always do it this time, I go for mine I got to shine, now throw your hands up in the skyyyy..”

The sounds of Kanye West and T-Pain pulled the young woman from her slumber as her usual 9:45 am alarm went off. She rose with a stretch, a sly smile creeping across her face as she stared back at the sleeping man. Today was her best friend’s birthday and she had an entire itinerary of things planned out for his enjoyment.

“Wake up Fathead!” she yelled, jumping up and down on the bed beside him. He groaned in protest, rolling over on his stomach pulling the pillow over his head. This had become their yearly tradition. Whenever their birthdays rolled around, they made it their mission to give the birthday girl or boy the most obnoxious wake up call ever. She almost always won.

“Erik N’Jadaka Stevens-Udaku! Wake yo black ass up!” she exclaims, repeatedly hitting him over the head with her pillow.

“Shyyyyy,” he whined into the mattress. “It’s too early for all this.”

“Fine. I’ll go to iHop by myself,” she teased as she sauntered into the bathroom. He perked up at that.

“Well why didn’t you just say that, Princess? You know a nigga loves pancakes.” He rose from the bed with a few caveman-like grunts, as he shuffled into the bathroom behind her. They stood in comfortable silence as they completed their morning rituals, both of them making silly faces in the mirror as they brushed their teeth.

“Don’t take too long old man,” she called over her shoulder as she made her way to her closet to choose her outfit for the day.

“Whatever lil girl, I’m only 37.”

“Yeah, and in my eyes, that’s an old geezer,” she teased. He gave her a pointed look before closing the bathroom door in her face. He knew that this was only the beginning of her jokes and needed a few moments to mentally prepare for the laughs he knew they were about to share. While he showered, she pulled down two black and gold boxes and stuffed them in her messenger bag. She then grabbed the stack of worn letters and made sure that they were tucked neatly into the pocket on the inside of the bag. Unbeknownst to him, she had done some research and found something that would make this birthday one that he wouldn’t soon forget.

“Hurry up! My stomach is touching my back,” she complained outside of the bathroom door. Though she was the most feminine of the two, he was a diva when it came to getting dressed to go out. There was a brief moment of shuffling before he finally emerged, dressed in a white t-shirt, blue jeans that were ripped at the knee and a pair of black and white Jordan 12s.

“I could’ve sworn it was my day. Why you rushing me, shawty?”

“Because we’ve got places to be and you taking longer than a bitch heading to a dick appointment.”

“Well excuse me, your highness,” he grumbled as he slipped his Cuban link around his neck. “I see you tryna match my fly or whatever. You just gotta remind everybody know the Queen Bee is, huh?” he taunted as his eyes roamed over her curvy physique dressed in an outfit similar to his.

“Whatever nigga. Let’s go before I die of starvation,” she quipped as she made her way outside. He followed with a shake of his head and a loud barking laugh. Today was gonna be one for the books.

“Do you want your first gift now or later?” she asked as he finished his fourth short stack of pancakes.

“Now please,” he mumbled, flashing his perfect pearly whites. She smiled, reaching into the pocket of her messenger bag. She pulled out the smaller black and gold box and sat it in front of him. He wasted no time tearing open the box, revealing a set of 24-karat gold bottom grillz with a Cuban link accent.

“Yo, this shit is flames! Thank you, Princess.”

“I guess you’re welcome or whatever,” she replied with a smirk. He quickly removed his bottom caps, replacing them with the grill. He smiled and ran his tongue over the metal, eliciting a low groan from her.

“Hey, stop that. We’re in public.” He smirked, flicking his tongue a few more times before stopping completely.

“Nasty ass,” she grumbled.

“I don’t hear you complaining when ya pussy in my mouth.”

“Fuck you!” “After breakfast, ma.”

--

The rest of the day played out like a movie. After breakfast the pair went to the arcade and then shopping, spending copious amounts of money on one another. That was one of the traits about Erik that she loved and hated. He had been through so much in his life that he never wanted to be the center of attention. He would always find a way to do or buy something for her on his birthday. Just a token of his appreciation, he would say.

“Where we headed princess?” he asked as she drove near the outskirts of town.

“You’ll find out soon,” she replied as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. She was nervous about how he would react when they reached their destination and could only hope the she was doing the right thing. They drove for about 30 minutes before they reached St. Augustine Cemetery.

“A cemetery?” he asked in confusion. It’s now or never Shy.

“Y-Yeah,” she stuttered. “I did a little research and found somethings I figured you’d want to see. If you don’t want to, tell me now and we can go home.” He searched her face, noting the seriousness of her tone. They sat in silence before he spoke again.

“What’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the black box in her bag. She hesitated before pulling it out and sitting it in his lap. She watched as his fingers slowly traced the box before he removed the lid and peered inside.

“How did you..”

“It wasn’t easy, but I called every prison in California to see if any of them had any records of a Sylvia Stevens. I finally found one just outside of Oakland. I went by and picked up everything she had in her possession when she died.” A lone tear fell down his cheek as he pulled out various items. There were photos of him as a baby, pictures of them when he and N’Jobu would come to visit, and a necklace with a ring, similar to the one that he wore around his neck in honor of his late father. They sat in silence as he immersed himself in the memories of his late mother.

“These were there too,” she said as she pulled out the stack of envelopes. His hands trembled as he held the letters, each one addressed to him.

“S-She responded,” he said in a whisper. “I was so angry because I wrote her every chance I got, but never received a response. I thought she forgot about me, but she responded to every one.”

“Do you want to get out?”

“Yeah.”

The pair made the short journey up the hill before stopping at a large oak tree.

“She didn’t have a headstone, so I bought one,” Hennessy confessed. Erik was silent as he gazed over the sight when his mother laid. His hand shakily reached out and touched the granite headstone.

“I miss you Mama,” was all he said before he fell to his knees, tears falling down his cheeks in streams. “I hope you can see me up there. I hope I’m making you proud. I’ve been so lost without you, yet you’ve been here this whole time. I wish you were here to see your grandchildren. They’re the most precious little things ever. Your daughter-in-laws are amazing too. I swear I don’t know where I would be without them.” Hennessy walked up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Shy. This means more to me than you’ll ever know,” he said as he wiped his tears on his shirt.

“I was nervous about bringing you here. I didn’t know how you would feel having to relive that pain again.” “Thank you, Princess. Now that I know where she is, I can finally get some closure. This was the best birthday gift ever.” The two shared a passionate kiss before sitting down under the oak tree. They sat for hours as Erik told the story of how he went to Wakanda and how he came to have 9 wives to the headstone as though her mother-in-law was right there. They finally headed back to the car when night fell, not wanting to be caught in a cemetery after dark. They spent the rest of the night in her greenhouse, getting high and reading the letters that Sylvia wrote to her son while she was incarcerated.

“I love you, Princess.” “I love you too, Daka. Happy birthday.”

********************

TAGS:  @vibranium-soul @imagine-mbaku @mareethequeen @greennightspider @eriknutinthispoosy @hearteyes-for-killmonger @blackpantherismyish @muse-of-mbaku @thehomierobbstark @wifeyofnjadaka @youreadthatright @tgigoldie @killmongersgurl @dameshaemonique @princessstevens @princesskillmonger @amethyst1993 @iamrheaspeaks @laketaj24 @bidibidibombaclaat @allhailnjadaka @whatmoredoyouwantamericaa @forbeautyandlife @yaachtynoboat711 @panthergoddessbast @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @dacreskars @thadelightfulone @drsunshine97 @wakanda-inspired @wawakanda-btch @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @ayellepea @awkwardlyabstract @madamslayyy @blowmymbackout @vikkidc @champagnesugamama @sociallyawkward18 @trevantesbrat @supersizemeplz

[sundaynightnovels]

11/11/11

so i’ve been tagged by @kidsarentallwrite​ for this one, and @a-ray-of-moonshine​ , so i’ll be answering both here! thank you so much for thinking of me! <3  What song makes your OC go absolutely, batshit feral? okay i really don’t know the answer to this one, but hmmmm let me think . i think that zhen’s the sort to sing songs loudly and obnoxiously just to be an annoying ass and lu’d join her, and then yu(f) would be really mega pissed because she’s right in the next room trying to do some work when these two tone-deaf idiots are screeching their lungs out in the kitchen so yes, zhen & lu’s singing would make yu(f) go absolutely feral. anything they sing.  i think the OTHER yu(m) would go absolutely feral when jun, being a lil piece of shit who likes to get on his nerves, sings songs about rain. because yknow, yu(m)’s name means rain. right now the song i’m thinking of is jay chou’s 听见下雨的声音 (which means, listen to the sound of rain falling) and jun would sing it whenever yu(m) tries to say something because of, yknow, the title. and then blatantly ignore whatever yu(m)’s trying to say. so yes, the two yu(s) lead very sad lives. please give them more love. (though i’d understand if you don’t, one is an Antisocial Edgelord and one is an Edgy Antisocial Lording Over Others . there’s a difference)  What would your OC go on an hours long rant about given the opportunity? for shou? anything. absolutely anything. off the top of my mind, the sun (i’ve mentioned this so many times, don’t even ask), names (names have meanings to him!! why is zhen called zhen and teng called teng? why is he called shou??? a lot of them don’t share in his sentiments but he has Very Strong Feelings about it) lu is about his sad existence as a little boy who is starving on the streets. he’d say it often in the kitchen, when zhen is preparing some food.  zhen would be about rising costs of living and capitalism and having to work when they’re dead and yu(f) being a loser who only wants to work and teng being a loser who can’t get any girls and about how life is meaningless and the only solace is sleep and jia would rant with her for the fun of it yu(f) would rant about zhen, yu(m) would rant about jun, teng would rant about love and loneliness and ren would run away. (yes that was a pun, if you got it please appreciate)  Do your OCs have tattoos? If not, would they ever get a tattoo? Why or why not? i think i’ve answered this somewhere before??? not very sure . but yea anyway shou thinks it’s blasphemous but he would also consider one, zhen can’t be bothered, lu is a little kid WHAT ARE YOU ASKING FROM HIM teng is deathly afraid of the pain and it’s plainly obvious, jun isn’t scared of the pain but can’t be bothered either but also might already have one, you never know, yu(f) thinks it’s a waste of money, yu(m)... i feel like he might have one, not sure why. jia probably has one, some nice gorgeous insta-worthy one on her collarbone or on her back.  ren probably has one but he keeps it hidden and no one knows about it.  You bump into your OC on the street unexpectedly. How do you react? oh no. which one? if i catch shou in a distracted mood, i probably can get away without him yammering in my ears.  if it’s zhen, i’ll probably get sued for something and she’ll try to extort something from me. probably the bubble tea in my hands, or the money in my wallet. probably.  for lu he’d extort food. even if it’s in my stomach. yu(f) would be the one who bumps into me and continues marching off because she is a busy woman and ain’t got time for this.  ren would probably apologise and yknow, be a normal, nice human being. yu(m) would just stare and maybe walk away, but he looks fierce so it probs looks like he’s glaring and i’ll be scared shitless. or be pissed, depends on my mood. teng would apologise a lot a lot and offer to get my things (even if i hadn’t dropped them) and be a sputtering mess because unfortunately i am Woman and he cannot deal jun would ignore probably. depending on his mood, might make some cryptic comment that’s slightly disturbing. or he’d be really charming . who knows? jia would also probably react like a normal human being. not the nicest, but normal anyway. Which vines best describe your OCs? i am a failure and i don’t really know vines If your WIP is ever adapted into another form of media, what form would you like? Film, television, comic, podcast? Any others? sitcom, probably. also considering the amount of talking they do, maybe podcast. definitely not film. there’s no plot here. maybe theatre, just for fun. What is your favourite part about writing? what are you talking about?? Is you got to have a conversation with your favourite author, what would you talk about? the only author i can think of now is rick riordan and i’d talk about how i appreciate that he’s just doing what he wants and making it fun for him and diversity and lame humour and stupid characters and all that crap Have any writing habits or quirks? don’t write enough to have some. HAHA just kidding i have many many run-on sentences but i need them for RHYTHM and BEAT and FEELING you know???? long sentences are my jam and they help create music structure in writing do NOT TAKE THEM AWAY FROM ME also use oxford commas. sue me. What do you prefer: dialogue or action? stupid banter-ish dialogue. evocative atmospheric-ish contemplation and inner musings no one acts. Who is the first Writeblr you followed? Do you remember why you followed them? i really don’t know! sorry! --

1. Is there a trope you never get tired of? characters who share One brain cell. family.  long rambling stories that go nowhere really bad humour yes some of these are not tropes, i am aware.

2. Who is your least favorite character in your WIP? Why? gasps!!!  okay so let’s go down the list, i hate shou because he’s annoying as hell and he talks so much he himself gives 4k worth of dialogue in a single chapter, i hate zhen because she doesn’t do or admit to anything and trying to figure her out is like trying to get a worm to walk on two feet, i hate lu because he only talks about food and be a dirty lil kid, i hate ren because he is too nice and doesn’t think for himself, i hate teng because he gets easily bullied and he also talks too much for no damn reason, i hate jun because he keeps himself too deep and it’s impossible to get him to do anything serious, i hate yu(f) because she only works and literally there’s nothing to describe in her boring one bedroom can she get out of her room already, i hate yu(m) because i still don’t know him well enough after all these months, i hate jia because somehow i keep forgetting her in these tag games even though her presence is Big in the wip  yup there you go. they’re all my least favourite. 

3. Let’s say I’m planning to visit the setting of your WIP for a weekend. What should I take with me? What are the most important things for me to know beforehand? Which of your characters should I ask to be my guide? uh. i’d just say Don’t.  don’t visit. it’s not a good thing, you can’t choose to visit anyway, you can’t take anything with you because yknow, well there’s this little chinese saying i kinda abide by for this wip and i’m lazy to type it out now but it was in my previous chinese mytho au drabble so yea  also. guide????? maybe the safest might be ren, but also not really. hm. if you want an enthusiastic little puppy, choose shou. but he might talk your ears off and annoy you so you know, pick your poison 4.Beginning, middle, or end—which is the hardest for you as a writer?

middle

5. Which is more inspiring for you: music or visual art?

music!

6. Do you have any other creative interests and hobbies besides writing?

lol i have no interests okay really. hm. i used to draw a little bit but i’ve stopped, used to play piano but i’ve stopped, used to play cello but i’ve stopped.  so yea, really, nothing much. 

7. How close is your WIP now to what you were expecting it to be when you just started?

i’ve finished the first draft since the start of the year, which is great and i totally didn’t expect it! .... am barely into the second draft though, so that’s a bummer. you see, this is why sometimes you shouldn’t get achievements. once that one milestone is reached you just lie down there at the rest stop and never get up. 

8. What are your plans for when you finish your WIP? Traditional publishing? Indie publishing? Putting it online for others to read for free?

traditional probs, because i don’t trust myself enough to do it on my own and i have little visual sensibilities so the cover would be hella ugly. also like, not even sure if traditional publishers would want my odd little plotless thing, but yknow, i like it. 

9. Your MC is here. On your doorstep. Planning to spend the day with you. Oh, and they know you’re the author responsible for everything that’s going on in the story right now. Are you expecting it to be a nice conversation, or do you maybe want to run and hide? :D

thank god i consider my MC to be shou instead of zhen. oh yea he’ll have lots of questions and he’ll poke at my brains a lot and he’d be hella noisy and also he’ll be sweating a lot because of his clothes and long hair, but still thank god it’s shou for the rest of them, i’d run and hide in the bottom of the ocean.

10. Name a song that could be your villain’s personal anthem.

eh. there’s no villain. if you consider the author to be the villain though hMMM i have favourite songs but no personal anthems, sorry

11. Is there anything you would never, ever write a story about, even if you were offered a large sum of money to do so?

eh. probs something like a law drama-ish thing. too many long words and complex jargon, not my kinda thing.

>> i’ll be tagging @coffehousecreations @bookenders @aslanwrites @rktho-writes @bahay-kubo @aloonycynic @arte-muse @elliswriting @mvcreates @inkpot-dreamer @dc-writes and here are my questions (which i think are pretty interesting heh feel free to do it and tag me even if i haven’t tagged you for it!) 1) your wip is now set in percy jackson’s world (if you don’t know, it’s just a bunch of monsters from greek mythologies chasing after young kids who have powers. we’re assuming your OCs are all demigods here, so they have powers and are being chased). who would be the one flailing and crying for help? who would be the one standing in front and thinking of a solution? who would be the first one eaten and who would be the one to survive till they reach camp?  2) after barely escaping percy jackson’s world, they’re now thrown into harry potter. the dementors are everywhere. what are the bad memories that these dementors draw from your OCs? how do they react to it? (don’t worry, they’re saved before being given the kiss. somehow.) 3) they’re now plopped into the good place. who is in the good place, and who is in the bad place? (for those who don’t watch the show, well. i think this naming speaks for itself) 4) ah, bummer. some misfiling of paperwork from the higher-ups, sorry. your OCs are once again alive and kicking, but then things happen again and well, they’re in marvel and the Snap has just happened (i.e., people have suddenly disappeared into dust after an event and no one knows what happened to them). assuming individual scenarios for your OCs where each of them are the only one left in the group, how would they react and what are their coping mechanisms? 5) and then the Blip happens and everyone is back, after five years! hurray! once again, assuming individual scenarios for your OCs where each of them are the only one left in the group, and then everyone suddenly returns like nothing’s happened, how would they then react to this change of scenario? how do they adapt? 6) all is well for a while, until The Fire Nation Attacked. who runs away and hides in isolation? who joins the colonising forces? who attempts a rebellion? who concedes defeat and lets the enemies in? 7) alright, now let’s give your OCs a break. they’re back in school and it’s high school musical! which typical high school cliques are each of them in and why? 8) now we’re in deadpool and it’s time to break the 4th wall and change the focus to: the author. what kind of jokes / things do you want to include in your wip but can’t seem to, maybe because of genre restrictions or age restrictions or it just, well, doesn’t fit? (ryan reynolds would say to include it all anyway, but yknow, that’s because he has money) 9) following the ryan reynolds thread, what is the one most indulgent thing you’ve done in your writing / would do in your writing?  10) who is your favourite friends member and why? (this is important okay? to those who haven’t watched friends... i can’t really give you much of an explanation for this one and more importantly -- why??) 11) this is the end! what is the stupidest thing you’ve done in your / with regards to your writing? it can literally be anything -- a stupid spelling mistake, gaping plot hole, printing it out for a friend to read and missing a page, you can really go crazy with your answer here. okay thanks for reading this massive chunk of text and good day everyone!

[jiveammunition]

Title: Peppermint Bark Rating: General Characters: Jesse McCree, Sombra, Gabriel Reyes, Jack Morrison Tags: Family AU, Christmas Fluff Summary:

No one could ever accuse Jesse of lacking holiday spirit. If anything, Jesse had it in spades just like his fathers, as evidenced by his excited shouting at six in the morning on Christmas day, yelling for everyone in the house to wake up to open presents.

A Very Merry Christmas at the Reyes-Morrison household.

A commissioned fic for @lifewhatisthat​‘s Family AU! Please check out their lovely art, the basis and inspiration for this work!

If there was ever a thing that simultaneously boggled Jesse beyond belief and also made him more excited than a kid in a candy store, it was the Morrison-Reyes’ household's attitude towards holidays. Whenever any holiday that involved festivities of some sort rolled around, without fail, the house would be covered from floor to ceiling with enough decorations to rival even seasonal shops. And it wasn't just the decorations that embodied the holidays either, Jack and Gabriel themselves would go full out in their celebrations, cheerful and excitable and dressed to the nines in whatever apparel was most fitting. Hell, Gabriel even went so far as to hand-make costumes for the entire family for Halloween, each and every one just as detailed and elaborate as the next; they even had a dedicated shelf for all of the awards for Best Halloween Costumes Gabriel had won over the years — many of them earned before even Jesse and Sombra were adopted.

Nevertheless, despite the somewhat jaded attitudes Jesse and Sombra held about the various holidays thanks to their years spent at the orphanage, Jack and Gabriel's collective holiday spirit was simply too contagious to fight, and after a rather rocky first year in the Reyes-Morrison household, Sombra and Jesse found themselves just as excited about seasonal festivities and holiday celebrations as their adoptive fathers.

For certain, no one could ever accuse Jesse of lacking holiday spirit. If anything, Jesse had it in spades just like his fathers, as evidenced by his excited shouting at six in the morning on Christmas day, yelling for everyone in the house to wake up to open presents. Sombra wasn't quite as keen on waking up so early, but after a rather excitable shake that jolted her to full alertness, the two children all but hurtled themselves into their parents’ bed like twin wrecking balls.

“WAKE UP! IT'S CHRISTMAS!!” they squealed, slapping loudly on the comforter and playfully bapping the sleeping figures with pillows they had taken from their own rooms. “WAKE UP! PRESENTS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

After several moments with no response, the two children looked at each other with concern and stopped. Jesse pulled down the covers, wary of what he'd find, and to his and Sombra's surprise, what laid beneath the blankets weren't their fathers at all, but piles of pillows along with a rather sizeable stuffed purple rabbit — Jesse reckoned it was almost the same size as Sombra — with a bow on its head and a gift tag on its ear that read “ Sombra ”.

“It's a bunny!!” Sombra shouted gleefully, pulling the stuffed animal from under the covers and squeezing it in a tight hug. Though happy his sister got something she'd wanted, Jesse was still confused as to where his parents had gone to, and began to look around for clues.

He didn't have to wait for long, however, as the deep sound of someone clearing their throat rumbled from the door and immediately drew his attention. Sure enough, in the doorway stood Gabriel, dressed in an almost obnoxious amount of Christmas-themed clothes: a poofy Santa hat on his head, the ugly laughing reindeer sweater that read  “You SLEIGH me”,  flannel pajama pants patterned with elves and presents and trees all over, and slippers in the shape of Santas covering each foot.

“It's Christmas,” Gabriel said, “What are you kids still in bed for?” He snorted at his own joke, and turned to make his way down the hall, but not before nodding his head in a gesture for the children to follow. The two scrambled from the mess of pillows and covers, shouting in delight as they followed their father downstairs into the living room, nearly tripping over themselves in glee.

The smell of pancakes and cookies and bread greeted them the moment their small slippered feet crossed the doorway, and they immediately plopped themselves down on the couch and on the floor in front of the coffee table to tuck into the traditional Reyes-Morrison Christmas breakfast. Neither of them wasted any time digging into their meal, the two of them rumbling in content and happy noises as they stuffed their faces with the fluffiest pancakes ever known to man and the sweetest fruit preserves courtesy of the Morrison family farm.

“Where's daddy?” Sombra asked, after cutting into her second pancake. Suddenly realizing Jack was nowhere to be found — he hadn't even heard a single sound from the kitchen since he'd woken up — Jesse too swiveled his head around to look.

“He had to do a quick errand,” Gabriel answered smoothly, taking a sip from his coffee.

“For eggs again?” Sombra asked, knowing Jack's almost chronic issue of running out of eggs every Christmas due to his overzealous amount of baking on those mornings. Not that anyone in the house could complain about it, though, what with the piles and piles of baked goodies that lasted them through the entire week and into the new year — even after losing half to the guests at the holiday party they hosted at their own home.

“Something like that,” came the somewhat cryptic answer. Jesse eyed Gabriel suspiciously, and as if to distract him from investigating any further, Gabriel added, “He'll be back any minute now, so after you finish stuffing your faces, each of you figure out which present you're gonna open. Remember, only one for now. You'll get to open the rest later at the party, okay?”

All suspicion went out the window, as just like that, a switch was flipped and Sombra and Jesse began to chew furiously through their food, motivated by their one-track minds now focused on the colorfully-wrapped mysteries beneath the trees.

“Pace yourselves, for crying out loud! I raise children, not animals!” Gabriel playfully scolded, trying not to laugh at his children's excitement, “If either of you choke, I'm gonna take your presents for myself, y’hear? And then neither of you will-”

Before he could even finish his sentence,noises at the door interrupted him, followed by the sound of a familiar voice calling out.

“Babe, I’m home!” came Jack’s voice, echoing from the foyer. “Come help me?”

“Yup! Coming!” Gabriel called back, getting up from his place on the couch. Jesse and Sombra moved to follow, but Gabriel shook his head and said, “Nah, you two finish your breakfast first.  Slowly , please. Your father and I would rather not come back in here to see the two of you passed out because you gluttons couldn’t pace yourselves,” before leaving the room.

The words  “No peeking,”   didn’t need to be said, as Jesse and Sombra knew very well of the repercussions that would occur if they did, and neither of them had the gumption to take Jack’s   “I’m-not-mad-at-you-just-very-disappointed”  face head on, which somehow had the power of Grandma Morrison’s and Ana Amari’s combined with the power of a sad puppy. Not even Gabriel himself could brave such a look for more than a few seconds before crumbling like the tops of one of Jack’s famous Christmas coffee cakes.

The two children watched as Gabriel walked down the hall to greet Jack at the door, smiling that tender smile of his that he always had on whenever the two of them were together, and pulled him into an embrace.

“Gross! Get a room!” Jesse called out playfully.

Jack merely stuck his tongue out at Jesse from over Gabriel’s shoulder, making a show of hugging his husband even tighter and rocking side to side in place to emphasize the embrace. Gabriel played along, as usual, even going so far as to say, “Look, Jackie, mistletoe!” as he pointed up to the flowery sprig hanging from the light hanging in the foyer before kissing his husband sweetly on the lips, the both of them making exaggerated “Muah muah muah!” kissing noises to taunt their children even further.

The noises of laugher and exaggerated affection continued for a little longer until the two men disappeared back out the door to collect what Jack had brought home in the car, and the children went back to their breakfast, eating slowly and methodically as Gabriel had requested of them.

After finishing their meal, the two watched the Christmas movie Gabriel had originally put onto the television for background noise, barely cognizant of the noises and clamoring of their fathers in the kitchen.

“Jesse? Sombra? Could you two come to the kitchen, please?” they heard Jack call to them suddenly. The two looked at each other questioningly, as if the other had the answer as to what their father would possibly be calling them for. When they both could only respond to the other with an equally confused shrug, they figured it would be best to heed Jack’s request as quickly as possible.

They padded to the kitchen, wary and clueless until the distinct and curious sounds of yapping called their attention.

Immediately, Jesse broke into an excited run at the sound, so eager to confirm his suspicions as to the noises’ origins that he nearly slipped and fell face first onto the hardwood floor had it not been for his clever little sister on his heels pulling him upright before he toppled over. Not a split second after he got his bearings back did the two of them break back into a run, barrelling towards the kitchen in their curious glee.

The sight of their fathers standing behind a waist-high gate in the kitchen doorway that had never been there before greeted them, and the two children stood in awe and anticipation as to what that could only mean.

“Merry Christmas, Jesse!” Jack and Gabriel called out, stepping aside with flourish and waving hands to reveal a very large box with a bow stuck to the side.

As if on cue, a furry head poked up from inside the box, letting out a happy yelp as if greeting the sight of the two children. Though the dog seemed to be missing an eye, that didn’t put any sort of damper onto the children’s spirits.

“A pupper!” “A dog!” Sombra and Jesse both cried out in unison, bouncing in place with excitement. Jesse clambored to unlatch the gate, hands shaking in excitement at the prospect of meeting his present face-to-face. He’d always wanted a dog, but had never even thought to ask for one - let alone even put it on his Christmas wish list. After several moments of fumbling, Gabriel moved to assist, only for the both of them to be brushed aside as Sombra competently opened the gate and all but forced her brother into the kitchen before her.

Just as the gate clicked shut behind them, Jack tugged on the ribbon and undid a hidden latch on the side of the large box, letting the front flop forward down onto the floor and freeing the golden retriever — which seemed much larger now that Jesse was up close — of its confines. Without any hesitation at all, the dog rushed forward, just as eager to meet the children as they were to meet her, and all but knocked Jesse to the floor as she bounced up to lick his face.

“Oh my goodness!” Jesse exclaimed happily, laughing as the dog covered him with wet, sloppy licks, barking happily all the while. His hands rubbed at her all over, petting and stroking the soft fur with just as much affection, if not even more so. “Thank you! Thank you! I love it! Thank you!” he cried to his fathers, tears of happiness forming at the corners of his eyes. How could they have possibly known?

“Sombra overheard you talking to Genji about your dog-walking one day,” Gabriel spoke up, as if to answer Jesse’s unasked question, “And made a case for us to get you a dog for Christmas.”

“We were thinking of getting you one anyway,” Jack chimed in, ��I mean, what dog-loving 12-year-old boy doesn’t deserve a dog of his own?”

“So,” Gabriel gestured to the furry bundle of joy still piling Jesse with affection, “Merry Christmas, Jesse.”

“You’re welcome,” Sombra said smugly, taking a sugar cookie from the pile on the kitchen island.

“Thank you all so much,” Jesse replied, nearly in tears at how grateful he was, “I love it! Thank you!”

“Her,” Gabriel corrected, “We got her from the pound and kept her at Ana’s for the last week or so-”

“We still need to thank her for that,” Jack interrupted.

“Isn’t that what the limited edition tea set we got her is for?”

“No, that’s just her normal Christmas present, babe.”

“Anyway,” Gabriel shook his head at Jack, pulling the conversation back to the original topic, “They said her name’s Peppermint, but I don’t think she’ll mind if you give her a different name, do you?”

“What do you want to name her, Jesse?” Jack asked.

“Don’t pick something stupid,” Sombra scolded, stuffing the rest of the cookie into her mouth and reaching for another.

Jesse paused for a second in thought, hands resting idly on the dog’s neck. As if to give him the chance to think, the dog pulled back sat down, panting happily as she waited for Jesse’s hands to resume.

After a bit of thinking, Jesse looked to the dog, and confidently announced, “I’m gonna call you Deadeye.”

[pan-matsuri]

Pokémon Moon Update 3

I completed Ula’ula Island and the plot events directly following. It’s... um... hm. Thoughts below, spoilers.

My team as of completing this island is Primarina, Misdreavus, Ledian, Lurantis, Umbreon, and Shelgon. This will likely be my final team for the story, once Misdreavus and Shelgon evolve. I was briefly travelling with Marowak, and I was considering Ninetales for my team. However, I forgot about “version exclusives” and had to trade for one, and raising a new Vulpix from an egg is what I’ll want to do, but it’s not in the plans for now. I happened to stumble upon a Bagon on Melemele Island while exploring new areas by surfing, and even though its Sp Def is dreadful, its Attack stat and typing are welcome additions to the team. EDIT: Apparently Bagon is super rare on Melemele, like a 1% chance of encounter. But it was the first and only Pokémon I saw in that patch of grass so lucky me I guess! The island starts off with too much Kukui, which is to say any amount of Kukui at all. I knew there was a reason I didn’t like Kukui, or rather a multitude of reasons, but I never expected him to come up with the idea of starting a Pokémon League. I guess that explains why he has been so serious about my adventure so far, but I don’t like when people make professional development decisions on my behalf. I don’t like Kukui. I had really been warming up to the idea of no gyms and no Pokémon League. The Pokémon series had been stuck in a formula for 20 years, and it felt like they had finally broken the mold. While there have been other issues, the actual flow of the adventure felt fresh and exciting. But no, Kukui has to go and ruin it by insisting that our adventure has to follow the script and we have to compete to be the Champion. I don’t like Kukui. I really like the design of this island. I like the eastern influences in the buildings and the garden in Malie City. We’re told to go up a mountain, but not before being introduced to a couple more new characters. Acerola is pretty cute, and I really like the black/white dichotomy of her design paired with Lillie’s. I hope they continue to be Good Friends. We also meet Samson Oak, whose mere existence continues to prove that the developers have a fetish for the Gen 1 games. The first trial feels so forced. You don’t even get to hardly meet these people before they start involving you in schemes. It’s pretty cool that it’s at the top of a mountain, but despite Mount Hokulani being so tall you need to take a bus to the top, there’s hardly anywhere to explore. This also contributes to a long running issue that there are simply not enough trainers in between each plot point for you to be able to accurately tell if you are at the right level. To be fair, I’ve never really had to grind, but I’ve also barely squeaked by during a couple fights, so maybe I should have been. The Electric trial is led by Sophocles, a captain who is so uninteresting that that’s all I have to say about them. You’re forced into four fights in a row, so hopefully you didn’t put a Flying type in the lead position like I did. There’s no warning either that you won’t be able to switch your lead position. If I’m having so much trouble as a veteran player, I can’t imagine how difficult this game must be for casual players. If this was my first Pokémon game, I’d probably put it down and never play it again. I made the battle with Totem Vikavolt much harder on myself by refusing to use Marowak, who was still tagging along. Double resistance to Bug and immunity to Electric would have made the trial laughably easy. So maybe I shouldn’t complain about difficulty when I’m artificially creating it myself. Of my other five Pokémon, only Misdreavus was a safe-switch in. Ledian was able to tank some hits after Reflect, and Infestation helped to chip away at the Totem’s health while I could heal the rest of the team. Vikavolt didn’t seem interested in using Bug moves against Umbreon, so I was able to use Growl to -6 Attack, which ultimately helped. Fomantis hadn’t evolved yet and was too slow and frail to do anything but faint in one hit. Brionne was able to pick off the ally Charjabugs while barely surviving Spark. The battle went really long, and I think Vikavolt became PP starved near the end. After leaving the mountain, we’re forced to talk to Kukui again. I don’t like Kukui. We finally meet the head of Team Skull, the big bad bug boss Guzma. We end up fighting him like a thousand times on this island. He made a great first impression on me when he confronted Kukui for being an idiot. I don’t like Kukui. His first boss battle was kind of tough because I didn’t have a lot of options when fighting bugs, but I would ultimately teach Brionne to use Acrobatics and Lurantis to use Aerial Ace. Ledian would also learn Air Slash which, in addition to Bug Buzz, would ultimately make her my strongest Pokémon. I do think it’s great that his Golisopod has a move called First Impression. Up until now, Team Skull was really just up to mischief, which was all well and fine. The evil teams don’t always have great mission statements. The one line about Alola having a bunch of old and outdated traditions was interesting to me. I felt it was an interesting contradiction that Guzma would feel that way but then fight any attempt to change that. There is a man north of Malie City named Gester, who lets you change your Battle Style, which is basically just how you throw your first Poké Ball. After learning that you could learn new styles from challenging previous captains, I raced back to challenge Lana. My recently evolved Lurantis swept Lana’s team, with some defensive assistance from Ledian. At some point, some people form a Nugget Bridge clone in Malie Garden. I don’t like this, only because I am sick of all the Gen 1 references. To make matters worse, they only use Kanto Pokémon,probably the original teams from Nugget Bridge. The last guy even pretends to recruit us to Team Rocket. The only thing that was interesting was the suggestion that the last guy actually was a former member of Team Rocket. I think an anniversary game where it’s revealed that Giovanni has been pulling all the strings in every other game would be super cool. We’re given a new Ride Pokémon in the form of Mudsdale. The oldest 8 year old Hapu tries to wave off the lack of ceremony (”I was gonna give it to you before but I forgot”). Mudsdale can walk over rocky terrain and is slower than Tauros and Stoutland. From what I can see, there’s no wild Pokémon on the rocky terrain and it only appears on one route, which is already blocked off by a trial captain’s barrier. So I’m not exactly sure why this Ride Pokémon is in the game. The geothermal power plant seems like something important could happen there. I know there’s that Legendary Pokémon from XY that they didn’t release, Volcanion. They have this whole big power plant area in Kalos which I’m certain was meant for a side story with that Legendary, but it’s all blocked off. I’m getting the same feeling here, but I’m not going to complain because you can interact with almost everything at the power plant reception/museum area. It felt far more immersive than anything else in the game so far. Anyway, we mindlessly make our way from point A to point B and start Acerola’s trial at a haunted abandoned supermarket. It was pretty clever, but again, there are other Ghost Pokémon than the three from Gen 1. I thought the mechanic of taking pictures was neat, but I wish it was more complex. Totem Mimikyu was the strongest challenge so far. I expected it to be easy, as I had four Pokémon with moves strong against Ghosts. The biggest challenge was that Mimikyu was faster than Ledian, who was my fastest Pokémon. Also that Mimikyu got a critical hit that bypassed Reflect and knocked out Ledian. That didn’t help. Mimikyu had obnoxious type coverage. Umbreon was to be my other star, but Mimikyu had some Fairy type move that shut him out of the match. Misdreavus would have been strong but Ghost being weak to Ghost made it a struggle. I was able to use Thuder Wave which helped. Shelgon knew Crunch, but was too slow and too weak to hold up to ally Gengar’s Shadow Ball. Lurantis didn’t have any opportunities to tag in; these Totem battles aren’t really meant for Grass types it seems. Primarina was the star, taking out Mimikyu with Oceanic Operetta. Luckily, allies Haunter and Gengar didn’t know any Poison moves. As an aside, I really like Double Battles. There were a few in this chapter, but there haven’t been too many overall. With Pokémon like Ledian and Umbreon, I’m able to put together some actual strategies, even though it’s mostly just “put up Reflect/Light Screen and hope that Petal Blizzard/Sparkling Aria doesn’t critical on me”. At this point, Team Skull commits petty theft and steals a Pokémon. It’s not a strong one, so there’s no real point, but it plays into Team Skull’s previous gimmick of being incompetent. Sometime around here, Gladion shows up and tells us to protect Cosmog, and it was about this time that I noticed his eye color matched Lillie and it all started to fit together. We’re introduced to the weirdest cameo ever, Grimsley from the Unova Elite Four. Why is he here? I failed to mention last time that Colress, also from Unova, showed up on Akala Island. That was also weird, but Grimsley is arguably weirder. You never really interact with the Elite Four outside of the Pokémon League, so they are very easily forgettable. Grimsley gives us Ride Sharpedo, which is another surf option except combined with rock smash instead of fishing. I like Sharpedo, because it’s a better alternative to Lapras. Fishing is pointless in this game anyway, except for Pearls. I really like Po Town. It’s the sort of feel that would have been great from towns that Team Rocket had taken over, except those would have more of a mob feel. We’re introduced to yet another new character, but he doesn’t tell us his name yet. He looks like he hasn’t slept in months and couldn’t care less about anything short of the destruction of the world. Well, just you wait, sir. The second Guzma fight was the same as before, except with higher levels. I was able to successfully predict Golisopod’s First Impression and block with Shelgon’s Protect. Shelgon was carrying an Amulet Coin, which was important because Revives are stupid expensive and also clothes. Speaking of clothes, I bought a new top in Malie, but that’s about it. I’d love to get my hands on a Team Skull top. We rescue the stolen Yungoos and discover almost immediately that Lillie has been kidnapped by Team Skull. The game plays a flashback of the events; I did not like this. It’s a common story telling technique but didn’t fit in this game. Gladion shows up and tries to hide the fact that he’s her brother, even tho we’d all worked that out by now. So just a heads up, I think everything about this next part of the game is all sorts of messed up. Gladion suggests that Lillie was taken to Aether Fortress, which makes no sense to anyone but him. Hau even calls him out on this, but since everyone has been treating Hau like shit, he’s started to have low self esteem and starts treating himself that way too. Thanks a lot, game. You took the one really good character and treated him like garbage. You can piece together that Lusamine has the same eye color as Lillie and Gladion, but the problem I have is that Team Skull had nothing to do with Aether up until this point. In fact, they had literally just stolen a Pokémon from them not an hour earlier. I don’t like when the game autowalks you to a new location. My legs work on their own, thank you. In this case, Gladion takes us to Malie City to travel by boat to Aether Fortress. Before we leave, as we’re waiting for Hau, the depressed guy from earlier shows up. This is Nanu, and he might be Acerola’s uncle but I doubt it and hope not. In Hawai’i, my understanding is that it’s common to call your elders “auntie” and “uncle”, even if they’re not related to you. Anyway, he’s apparently the kahuna and reminds us of the island challenge thing that we were doing. He uses Dark type Pokémon. This battle would have been really easy with Ledian but every trainer in this game has ridiculous type coverage in their attacks. Two of his Pokémon have Rock type moves, so Ledian went down quick. Sableye was handled by Shelgon, since Dragon Claw is ridiculously strong. Krokorok was handled quickly by Primarina. Persian was taken down by Lurantis, who finally had a moment to shine. Grand Trial complete, moving on. So now Team Skull and Aether are in cahoots I guess? Cool. This would mean that Aether is evil, as evidenced by all the Aether employees wanting to fight you for some reason. They could have played this differently, I think. We did arrive at the fortress in a Team Skull boat. Maybe they think we’re Team Skull? Nope. We’re just a bunch of kids who are intruders. There’s a handful of Aether people who are actually helpful. This is never explained why some are okay with us and some aren’t. I thought one of them would be the girl who was nice to us and Rotom but apparently the writers forgot about that. Aether Employees are way stronger and more competent than Team Skull. But their teams are still easy enough to take down with type matching. We meet the green Aether guy, Faba, again. He’s made out to be this big bad guy but he only has a Hypno. But he’s a conniving little rat. We’re tricked into exploring some labs in search of Lillie and we learn a bunch of information about Ultra Wormholes that we already knew. Rotom suggests that we read as many documents as we can, but there’s only two of them. This was a chance to provide some more depth but it was missed. I do like Multi Battles, and the game pairs you up with Hau and Gladion a few times here. Hau is much better than Gladion, and also a lot better than anyone else gives him credit for, including himself. After some more Aether fights, another fight with Faba who was suddenly stronger, and a meeting with Wicke who acts in such a way that suggests she has no idea what’s actually happening, we walk into the next area to find... a crap ton of Team Skull members. Why are they here? Why are they working with Aether? The answer is... I don’t know. The game doesn’t tell you. You even fight Guzma again, in a harder battle. He steps aside, because he “respects” you or something, but never says why he’s there. We finally find Lillie, who is with Lusamine. Shocker, Lusamine is the mother of Lillie and Gladion. Who would have guessed. Lusamine has gone absolutely bonkers. She is a straight up cold hearted bitch. After she says “I have no son or daughter” to her son and daughter, she kidnaps Lillie’s Cosmog and plans to kill it to summon the Ultra Beast from last chapter. I really don’t like this. Lusamine is a horrible person. And even the suggestion of killing a Pokémon is way darker than anything ever suggested in the games before. I did not sign up for this, this betrays the way that main series Pokémon games have been billed up until now. It’s a children’s game, for goodness sake. Or maybe it isn’t anymore. The battle against Lusamine was surprisingly easy. Clefable was taken out by Misdreavus and Ledian. Clefable first used Metronome to use Coversion2, turning it into the Dark type. Losing STAB for Moonblast and gaining a weakness to Bug allowed Ledian to get an easy win. One interesting thing that happened was that Clefable used Metronome to use the move Moongeist Beam, which I understand is the signature move of the version-exclusive Legendary for Moon. Lilligant and Milotic were taken down quickly by Lurantis. Misdreavus confronted Bewear, but Lusamine withdrew on turn one, because apparently it didn’t know any moves to hurt Ghost types. Her Mismagius was defeated by Umbreon, and Bewear was ultimately defeated by Primarina’s Oceanic Operetta because she didn’t really get to do anything else in the match. Also I threw out Shelgon at some point for the Amulet Coin. Guzma shows up to help Lusamine, again not explaining why. It doesn’t make sense. I cannot think of a single reason why these two would be working together. They use Cosmog’s energy to open up a bunch of Ultra Wormholes. This leads to a really cool cutscene fight, Hala and Tapu Koko versus some bug thing. Tho I wish Tapu Koko would have responded to Hala’s words. Even just a nod or something. Lusamine and Guzma enter an Ultra Wormhole created by the jellyfish thing from the last chapter. They’re gone, but Lillie and Gladion still want to get their mother back. Personally, I say good riddance. She’s a monster. After a night’s rest, and an outfit change and a new lease on life for Lillie, we’re set to head out and clean up the mess caused by the Ultra Wormholes. Hau decides to stay back and train, as we have outpaced him in the island challenge by quite a ways. So the game sidelines the best character, tho it will be a nice change of pace to have a more actively involved Lillie. Gladion offers to help us on our quest by taking us to... Poni Island, for some reason. We’ve never been there before. We know that there are Ultra Beasts everywhere we’ve been, but it seems like the game just wants us to continue our island challenge like nothing else is happening. Gah. So far, regarding the game as a whole, I feel like... this is not my favorite Pokémon game. I don’t even know if I really like it. I mean, I like it enough to want to see it through to the end, but that might be because of the 45 hours I’ve put into it so far. At least we’re free of Kukui for a while. I don’t like Kukui.