#Neo Tries a Muse

[queenharumiura]

✍️ + Spanner

Send me ✍️ + a muse, and I’ll try my hand at writing as them ||Accepting|| @inciteafflatus

Spanner was hard at work tinkering around with one of his mosca units. They came in a wide array of sizes when it came to him, because he liked to have a variety.

For whatever usage they were going to have, a smaller, and compact size was more suitable. For combat, the larger and more commanding sizes were apt.

Though, one could argue that to boast a true mastery of a craft, you should be able to create in a variety of sizes. He wouldn't allow himself to be called a one-size pony (a lame pun off a 'one-trick pony, mind you).

Others may think differently, but he found the Mosca units to be quite charming. It wasn't until someone tapped his shoulder that he pulled his googles off of his face, wiping some oil onto his cheek in the process.

"What is it? Time for dinner?" Had so much time passed since he was hard at work? He barely remembers having sat down for breakfast. When did lunch pass?

Eyes askance at an offline mosca unit. Right, the mosca he uses as an alarm system was currently offline for maintenance. "Alright, give me 10 more minutes, i'm almost done."

[trickstersshadow]

( No, like, seriously, I love thinking about Neo Etheirys so much and its potential future and stuff. It's a ruined world that has Traverse Town and Aionios in it, with Aionios as its own continent, and it's fun seeing it develop and build and stuff and on some level it gives my muses something to do when I'm often kneecapped in some kind of way.

I so badly want to see it Expand and stuff, too. I find it fun~. And it'd probably help me if I did a blog for it or something, I'm not sure, but the thought is tempting. Same with making a Persona multi again, I just. I want to think of a better name than "ArcanexSouls" even though at the same time it's fine and works and stuff. )

[utterlyvertigo]

☀️ ~ Valeria Fleming, Percy Jackson OC ~ ☀️

🎶 “Without a song or a dance what are we? So I say thank you for the music, for giving it to me.” 🎶

☀️ Name: Valeria Fleming (Named after her Grandmother)

☀️ Mortal Parent: Monica Fleming - Lead singer of a Grammy winning rock band “Fleming and The Moonstones.” Can see through the mist, currently one of the mortal vessels of The Muses

☀️ Godly Parent: Apollo - Valeria and Monica both have a really good relationship with Apollo. Valeria was claimed within seconds of her rolling into camp (a sheep knocked her over)

☀️ Total Quests: Currently Zero. Her first Quest (The Quest for the Host) takes place in her third summer in Camp

☀️ Bisexual, she/her

☀️ Boyfriend: Augustus Bellum - Head Councillor of Hephaestus Cabin, AHS Senior

☀️ Was homeschooled, but is going to finish her high school diploma at Alternative High school

☀️ Prays to Hera, and has a very amicable relationship with her. Hera erected turnstiles and Iris message fountains in her cabin so campers would use cabin to contact their families rather than just for collecting rouge volleyballs.

☀️ Val is the only person who ever actually pays the turnstile fees in Hera’s cabin, despite being made a faux drachma to use by Cabin 9

☀️ Weapon of Choice: “Brian” - An enchanted gold arrow (which can disguise itself as an old paintbrush covered in dry paint*) that can be used both as a regular arrow in a bow and a weapon in itself, as it’s controlled by pitch. It was a gift from Euterpe. Valeria also does sword work and has a pretty basic Celestial Bronze sword from camp

*Brian the Paintbrush really exists, it was a gift from my art teacher.

☀️ Shield: Ramona - Valeria and her friends have matching magic bangles that turn into unique shields. Ramona shows the myth of Io, as a cow

☀️ Valeria, like every Apollo kid, has a variant of synesthesia (not my original headcanon, please tag if you know who came up with it!)

☀️ Pet: Mishu - White fancy mouse, acts as a messenger, delivers notes and small objects (no heavier then a full coke can) to other campers

☀️ Special Ability: Valeria has the ability of prophecy. It isn’t as strong or clear as an oracle, which makes her feel rather Cassandrian. It mostly comes in dreams or small visions. It’s never anything particularly clear.

☀️ Valeria is a divination witch, she has several tarot decks and is learning to read tea leaves

☀️ Her pitch is perfect, she has a mezzo soprano voice. There are notes she can’t hit (these end with Brian literally getting shot into her foot)

☀️ Very competitive, and a very sore loser. Once tried to throw a mythomagic figure at Nico because he was beating her

☀️ Banned from attacking people from the chariot the chariot race, has to drive instead

☀️ Loyal to her friends and her siblings. Particularly her little sister Neo

☀️ Listens to music via a Walkman. Often sneaks out to buy more cds/vinyls for her record player.

☀️ Crabby when woken up

☀️ Can get very hotheaded, and a bit arrogant when she isn’t getting her way or being challenged unfairly

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Manga Update 247 Review

I was puzzled as to why the translation for this was listed as a redraw, as the previous chapters had covered the entirety of the ninja arc to date before the hiatus. Then I realised that it was the numbering foolishness messing with the translators. EH! Not my problem. Shall we go on?

Summary

The chapter opens with Suiryu being discharged from hospital. He's been given a huge bouquet by the nurses and wished a speedy return to hospital, something he understandably has no plan to do. As he makes his way down the road, his attention is attracted by screaming, which turns out to be coming from a woman about to be eaten by a monster giant anteater. He splits it in half with a single chop, noting with satisfaction that his strength has returned.

He turns back to the business at hand, that of finding the Hero Association and Saitama, and is surprised that every online search for 'hero' brings up the Neo Heroes. Things have definitely changed... but he doesn't have much time to muse on it for he is nearly flattened by the enormous head of what had been a much bigger monster giant anteater. Could Saitama be out here? No, the person who'd sent the monster's head flying was an idol. She introduced herself as Webigaza, and that she was back from her hiatus to work as a Neo Hero as well as sing. She pauses to take a deep drink of water -- she's thirsty -- and then encourages people to support the Neo Heroes before flying off.

Suiryu stares after her like a cat seeing baubles hung up on a Christmas tree. Come to that, maybe he's a little thirsty too. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to check out the opposition first... after all, he can quit right away. Elsewhere, we see an unamused Suiko surprised that her brother has discharged himself without telling her. Her concern quickly turns to outrage when she reads the note he's left for her and realises that he's stuck her with the bill.

He's just the nicest guy, isn't he?

Suiryu arrives at the Neo Hero tower and is quickly ushered into the testing facilities. With difficulty, he gets squeezed into a power suit, all while muttering to himself about how uncool it'd make him if he approached that girl looking like that.

Once on though, he feels the enormous surge of power it brings. Excited, he flexes, and the suit crumbles like a badly-baked biscuit. Worse, he now need to pay for it. Five million, which is more than the three million he earned in the Superfight.

If you break it, you've bought it. Love the detail of Suiryu flexing hard enough to break his remaining armband.

The chapter closes with a weeping Suiryu being introduced to Metal Bat. He's stuck in Neo Heroes until he can earn enough to pay off his debts.

Oh yeah, one final detail. Has McCoy handed in his notice before he started moonlighting for the Neo Heroes? He better have, the rat!

Phew, thank goodness this wasn't longer! Shall we do some meta?

Meta

We're a week on, so the outraged whines of fans expecting a showdown between Blast and Void have died down. It's totally par for the course. All I will say is this:

If you were around when this chapter (chapter 67) was first posted, you'll know that it was well over a year (in chapter 77) that we got to find out what happened.

Yup, ONE reserves the right to go 'Meanwhile...' and go somewhere else, sometimes for extended periods of time. Deal with it.

Saturation Bombing

Well, now we're back to the Neo Hero storyline, and man, when they launched, they launched HARD. They've sopped up all the SEO real estate to crowd the Hero Association off the first page of the search engines. Their TV and billboard ads are everywhere. They've even bought up the storefronts around around their headquarters. And all in the space of days. The wallets bankrolling this venture must be abyssally deep (I will return to this in a sec).

A leopard doesn't change his spots

I won't lie: Suiryu is the character I've had the most trouble seeing the point of. I've tried, but I'm still of the opinion that this lazy, feckless, superficially charming, and not-at-all-nice guy gets given way too much real estate. Well, he may be serious about wanting to be a hero but he's still as feckless as he ever was. Yes, he won a considerable sum of money just before being hospitalised and so had no chance to spend it. Yet, true to his nature, he fucks off and sticks his sister with the bill. And true to his nature, he decides to take a pass at an idol (someone who will have hell to pay if she's even thought to be dating), fully intending to cut and run as soon as he gets what he's chasing after. Well, the wheels were always going to come off sooner or later. Might as well be now. Good.

Chef's Kiss

I know that many people were a bit disturbed to find how... normal Webigaza looks but I think it's FANTASTIC. Why? Well, a slightly creepy idol isn't everyone's cup of tea, but they'd be someone's shot of whiskey, unusual and thus not interchangeable. It's a recognisable brand she'd have been able to build on. That worked *against* Webigaza's stated desperation to stand out and gain lasting fame.

Anyone into the 'creepy doll' look really, really is into it, and won't be substituting them for another.

By making her an absolutely normal-looking idol, loveable but totally replaceable, Murata has understood the brief. I can 100% believe that this Webi is desperate to be different in some lasting way when she looks exactly the same as a dozen other idols. I can 100% believe her when she's obsessed with Sweet Mask and wants what he has when she knows that the crowd that cheers for her today will cheer just as enthusiastically next year for someone who looks and sounds almost exactly like her. That she'll be forgotten despite having poured her entire life into entertaining. And that she'd rather die than see it happen.

Because she looks generic, it makes sense that she's painfully aware of how replaceable she is.

This works. This really, really works.

Let's talk cash, pt. 1: suits of contention

As many sharp-eyed readers have noticed, that suit that Suiryu got given looks awfully familiar. It's a dead ringer for the ones that Tongara's team got given by Narinki.

And once those suits hulked out...

... they looked an awful lot like the ones Hammerhead's crew got their hands on.

No prizes for guessing that this Neo Hero thing is most probably a front for one of the most successful conspiracies in fiction, The Organization. Successful because they're able to work to achieve their aims without anyone blabbing prematurely.

Let's talk cash, pt. 2: debtor's jail

It probably shouldn't surprise us too much that Suiryu is in such good shape after leaving hospital. After all, it wasn't just any hospital he went to but a Hero Hospital, a place where exceptional effort is expended in healing people rapidly. Also a very costly place, as McCoy pointed out to Mad Devil Yankee.

The drop of realism that sells the fantasy harder: yes, there's medicine and technology to heal up incredible injuries and illnesses super fast. But the price is steep!

Oh yeah, the apparent throwaway is becoming quite relevant now. I wonder if someone will point out to Suiko that joining the Hero Association would be a quick way to discharge her brother's medical debt?

I wouldn't mind this brewing Neo Hero saga to stick around a little longer. But I'm easy -- I've long since stopped expecting a particular thing to happen at a given time. All will be well in the end.

[oneknightlight]

Final Moments

I've had this one sitting in docs for a good half year. The aftermath of the Spamton Neo boss fight has always interested me and I decided to expand on that.

---

He had given it all he possibly had.

Snap, pop.

So had they.

His joints wracked with exhaustion, his porcelain skin scuffed with two decades of desperation. The puppet raised his tired eyes up to his lenses, they were clouded and foggy with prints and things lost to memory. It was with a solemn sort of defeat he acknowledged the ivy wire around his body, his wrists, his willpower. 

*Footsteps struck the ground in the distant darkness.

What was once the phantom sound of a rotary phone, was now the ticking clock on an old friend’s wristwatch. He was being held ruthlessly in the hand of something fated. It smelled of dust and cobwebs, of murk and… muck. It felt hollow and dark, very dark, it has always been his only companion. Oh, how he craved company.

*There was a soft murmur of armor clinking.

His life rolled like an old film in his mind, for he had done everything he possibly could, but he was, and always would be, thrown away. He tried to deal himself another hand of cards, to barter with his sixth sense, and to argue with his aching gears and circuits. One more time, get up again. It’s all about luck, it’s all about hard work, life is a ladder you climb, he used to muse. There’s nowhere I must go but up.

*The breeze whistled something like sympathy.

The motor in his mechanical heart thumped, shook, and whirred. He smelled of burning electrical, of rust and rotted glass. He was a machine with no checklight, a walking technical malfunction, that no one bothered to help repair. Tell me, how is a broken machine to fix itself?

*The basement walls closed their eyes, and looked away.

The man reared his tired head with an ugly pop, and stared at nothing in particular. No, indeed, he needn't get back up on his feet again, if even he could. For he knew somewhere deep in his wretched gut, that if there wasn’t him to throw away, then there was no one. To try and be big when you are fated to be small, is to watch in hopeless agony as you are hammered down time and time again. He would always be Spamton G. Spamton, the email guy.

It is your fate.

A gentle smile crept onto his face, because oh but, maybe, someone valued him. Maybe, just maybe, in his last moments, he could impart what little about him was useful onto the Lightners. The only people who'd shown him kindness, with no strings attached. He inhaled a shaky breath, and looked on as his only friends walked toward him.

“It seems after all I couldn’t be more than a simple puppet.”

His voice was dry and hoarse, but soft, bracketless. There was no salesman left.

“But you three, you’re strong.”

The smell of burning wires could make a stomach ache. 

“With a power like that… Maybe you three can break your own strings.”

His jaw clacked lifelessly with each syllable. The end was nearer, nearer, yet nearer.

But even still.

“Let me be your strength.” 

[masodemic]

[Eroica Musical Rant] Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria, Codename: Eroica

(Series masterlist)

Somehow I am the least mad at what they did to him ...

Dorian Red Gloria, the Earl of Gloria, otherwise known as Eroica the Phantom Thief, is one of the most vibrant characters ever written in manga, and my personal favorite. A respected English aristocrat, a revered art thief, Dorian’s aspiration is to live a life full of – capital R – Romantic splendor, defined by thrill, desires and adventures, bordering on hedonism.

Agile, dynamic and fun, Dorian steals not for money but for said vision, as he thinks stealing art is the most Romantic profession – to the displeasure of his long-suffering accountant and countless museum curators around the world. Extremely intelligent, spontaneous, and armed with complete fearlessness, he outsmarts and baffles even the most cold-blooded, hard-boiled, thoroughly-trained international superspies. Other than those attributes, Dorian’s power is derived from being a people person. He has a charisma and wit that can persuade, trick, or provoke anybody.

With my love for this character, I went into this musical expecting to be severely disappointed. I thought at best he would be a gay stereotype, and at worst, boring. But to my surprise, Dorian in this musical is actually fairly decently played. Most of his scenes and lines are kept, and the actor himself does bring some life into the role. He sings, he dances, he delivers the sass required. And I think the decision to have him sing enka in the tank scene is still in-character.

Direction

My only criticism would be that, compared to the original manga, Dorian is not depicted and portrayed with nearly enough power. First of all, the actor is frequently seen very relaxed, and unfortunately, it translates to slight slouches in his posture. But more importantly, due to various factors like staging, writing and productions, some scenes, while kept, were changed massively.

Let’s take this scene where Dorian supplies Klaus with a key piece of information. The chapter leading up to this scene in the manga starts out with Dorian throwing a gala for his fellow crime lords, and Klaus being tasked with maintaining security for a peace conference between the USA and the USSR taking place nearby. Upon hearing that there is a gathering of some of the most powerful underground figures in that proximity, Klaus intrudes on Dorian’s soiree to warn them not to do anything that might disrupt the conference. Dorian reassures his alerted guests, and informs Klaus that they have no such intention.

It is then that a KGB and a CIA agent rush in to tell Klaus that they received a lead that could hint at a neo-Nazi plot aiming to bomb the conference. An argument soon breaks out amongst the uninvited guests and Dorian promptly kicks them all out. Afterwards, Dorian’s close friend Volvonte offhandedly muses that he remembers something about a neo-Nazi of some sort having borrowed money from his organization some time not so long ago – a piece of information crucial to Klaus’s investigation is now, accidentally, in Dorian’s hands. But the party resumes, and it is only later, once everything is done and cleared, that Dorian thinks to call Klaus before going to bed. He is in bed, phoning Klaus like it was a booty-call. He flirts, Klaus tries to hang up, Dorian supplies the piece of information, then flirts some more and ends the call with a big, fat, sloppy kiss over the telephone. So what is significant about this set-up?

For one, Dorian has no obligation to tell Klaus this information that would not only save a peace conference, but many lives, including Klaus’s. The casual manner with which he treats this key piece of information is also important. He doesn’t urge Volvonte to tell him more, he doesn’t rush to tell Klaus, and he doesn’t communicate with Klaus in the manner of subordination, taking the time for pleasantry and flirtation. A casual bedtime conversation for Dorian, in this case, is a matter of life and death for Klaus. Dorian holds the power.

In the stage show, while the context is the same, details are removed, while other unnecessary ones are added. Due to the rushed pace that the show is written with, Dorian’s feelings for Klaus in this arc is intensified, giving him a motivation to tell Klaus the vital piece of information, as he is now deeply worried about Klaus. This level of care at this point in the story is not seen in the manga. Because of this newly-slotted motivation, his nonchalance is diminished, resulting in a serious exchange where it appears as though Dorian also has stakes in the matter, almost like he is working for Klaus. And because he is not in bed, his “advice” to Klaus comes off less as banter and more like sincere advice, and it presents him as naggy, as opposed to flirtatious and funny. That kiss is also waaaayyy too timid.

Costume

When it comes to costume, Dorian in this musical still exceeds everyone else by a mile. I was concerned when promotional materials only show him in one outfit, but thankfully, they had others made as well. Most of them look glamorous enough to look like they could maybe be part of Dorian’s wardrobe (and he might have worn a few of them while extremely intoxicated because this is the 70s).

However, that is not to say they were perfect. Knowing that this is a small production with limited budget, I will look past the fact that even Dorian’s costumes look pretty cheap in terms of material and tailoring. Especially if you compare them to the Takarazuka Revue’s adaptation of Eroica’s spin-off, El Halcon. But what will always be a sore thumb in my eyes is his rubber-looking rubber-sole jagged platform boots.

Why couldn’t we have given him well-fitted heel leather boots? Manga Dorian is on heels even while scaling walls. And heels would certainly look better when he dances. My problem with the ill-fitted rubber sole boots is that they throw the outfit’s proportion and silhouette totally off balance, shortening his legs, the opposite of what you want for a 1970s look. Considering the actor himself is tall enough to pull off a 1970s shōjo manga type look with loooong legs, these boots definitely did him quite dirty.

Speaking of which, Dorian’s inspiration is Robert Plant. Therefore, I definitely would have loved to see the outfits taking more inspiration from the decade, the rock scene, and Robert Plant himself. Manga Dorian’s fashion is a showcase of Aoike’s love for rock’n’roll, European classic arts, and fantastical shōjo manga aesthetics.

It expresses Dorian’s character as someone who romanticizes the fictionalized past and at the same time, poses as a contradiction to convention and norm.

The outfits given to Dorian in this production don’t exactly hold such punch, some of them seem repetitive, while others pale in comparison to his manga counterpart. And that is without mentioning that godawful wig that's somehow both too flat and too frizzy (in a nylon way).

Overall, Dorian in this production worked and I am not mad about him. I would say that most of the criticisms I have for Dorian is the result of staging, writing, and costuming, and none for the casting itself. I do think Nakayama Yuki did, honestly, a good job.

[thehandworld]

"Who doesn't lock the door?!" ((OOC: I read tags and I read that as 'Neo should love me and send it to embarrass Gokudera.' I am a loving friend))

send "Who doesn't lock the door?!" to walk in on my muse pleasuring themselves @queenharumiura

It was rare for Hayato to actually do this, he honestly doesn't have that high of a sex drive, he would much rather spend his time trying to get better at fighting than pleasure himself, yet... Well... He was stroking his cock, moaning as his other hand was touching his nipple and that's... When the door of his bedroom open and from there he heard a sound that made him stop and furiously cover himself with blankets and try to bring his breathing down. Ha-Ha---HARU! He pants and tries to breathe.

[detective-bulbasaur]

What If: Greninja stayed with Ash

Chapter 1: Combating the Neo Flame

[…] = Squishy’s mental dialogue

{…} = Greninja’s bond dialogue

After saying their goodbyes to Goodra at their wetland home, our heroes trekked through the Kalos forest towards Lumiose City. Serena had her Pokédex out and was looking up information about the Lumiose Airport.

“Say, the airport’s up and running again,” Serena stated.

“Yeah,” Ash mused, “Guess when we get back to Lumiose City, I’ll fly home.”

“I guess that means our journey’s almost over,” Clemont lamented, “it’s kinda sad you know.” Bonnie and Dedenne looked at each other solemnly. Clemont was wrong. It was not kinda sad. It was most definitely sad.

Greninja was resting within his Pokéball, listening to the conversation. Greninja was sad about leaving Kalos too. Afterall, Kalos was his first home. It was where he hatched, where he trained, where they evolved from a Froakie into a Greninja. Most of all, it was where he found his family. He was going to miss traveling around with Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and their Pokémon. He would miss watching Serena practice for her performances, watching Clemont build his latest inventions, which would eventually blow up, and playing with Bonnie. However, Greninja was also excited to travel to Ash’s home region of Kanto with the rest of their family. Ash shared many stories about his travels through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova. He loved hearing about Ash’s gym and league battles, the evil teams he and friends took on, and the many teams he trained with. Greninja leaned against the walls of his Pokéball, trying to get more comfortable. This chapter of his life was over, but that meant it was time to start a new one.

…

[-inja!] Greninja sat up with a start. He looked around the grey walls of His Pokéball, trying to find out where that noise came from. It sounded like someone calling for help. He sat silently to see if the noise came from Ash or the others, but the only sound they were making were their footsteps. Greninja shook his head and laid back down. It must’ve been his own imagination. He's probably still a bit antsy after everything that happened after the league. They all just saved the world after all. Greninja once again closed his eyes and tried to relax.

…

[Greninja!] Greninja shot up again. He definitely heard that. It seems that Ash heard it too, or at least felt it, as he felt Ash stop walking.

“Something wrong,” Serena asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ash shrugged. Greninja felt that they knew that voice. He released themselves from their Pokéball.

“Greninja,” Ash gasped, “What’s going on?” Greninja held up a hand, motioning for everyone to be quiet. He stood up and closed his eyes, focusing solely on his hearing.

…

[Greninja! Please, can hear me?] Greninja’s eyes shot open as he spun around to look at the others.

“Ninja,” Greninja exclaimed. Pikachu and Dedenne squeaked in shock. Pikachu had to communicate with the others about what Greninja just said. He leapt off of Ash’s shoulder and landed in front of the group.

“Pikapi,” Pikachu sputtered, “Pika pikachu pi!” Pikachu began to gesture wildly and changed his face to look more like Squishy’s. Bonnie gasped in worry.

“Squishy,” she shrieked, “did something happen to them?”

“You can hear Squishy,” Serena mused, “What are they saying?”

“I don’t know,” Ash breathed, “I can only sense them a little, but it looks like Greninja can hear them.” Ash looked up at Greninja and met his eyes. Greninja brought a fist to his chest, right where his heart was, and nodded to Ash. Ash nodded back; he read Greninja loud and clear.

“But soon, I’ll hear Squishy with Greninja. Greninja, let’s do this!” Ash and Greninja closed their eyes and reached their spirits out to each other. They could feel the power of their bond building within their hearts. The moisture in the air formed a torrent around Greninja as their bond energy reached its peak. The torrent formed a large water shuriken on Greninja’s back while his side fins turned black, his middle fin turned red, and his chest matched the pattern of Ash’s shirt. Their bond phenomenon was complete; they were now Ash-Greninja. Ash approached Greninja and stopped at his side. Greninja spoke to Ash through their minds to close his eyes and focus with him.

{Listen closely.} Ash and Greninja focused their energy and tried to connect to Squishy. Each second felt like hour as they reached out across the land to find Squishy.

{Squishy, are you there?}

“Can you hear us,” Ash thought with Greninja.

…

[Greninja! Ash!] Ash and Greninja straightened up when they heard Squishy’s voice. It was loud and dripping with worry.

In another part of the forest, Squishy and Zygarde were in their 10% forms sprinting between the trees. They were collecting their cells as they ran through the foliage. They stopped their pace once Squishy heard Ash’s voice along with Greninja’s

“We’ve got contact with Squishy,” Ash relayed.

“You do,” Bonnie shrieked as she rushed to their sides, “Are they okay? Are they hurt?”

[Wait! Is that Bonnie? Are the others with you?]

{Yes, they’re here. We were on our way to Lumiose City.}

[Hang on, I believe one of my cells are nearby. I’ll be able to see you soon.] Squishy focused his mind and reached out over the forest to their cells. They quickly checked the sight of each cell until it found the one near Ash and the others. The cell was resting on a nearby tree branch, camouflaging itself.

[I see you! Listen carefully, you must get out of the forest as quickly as you can!]

“Huh, why,” Ash probed, “What’s going on?”

[Ash, please, you need to get Clemont out of there! He’s coming!]

{He? Who’s he?} Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to violently shake. Everyone gasped in shock and worry.

“Now what’s going on,” Bonnie squeaked. Pikachu quickly glanced around the forest, trying to find the source of the sudden quake. Their eyes stopped at the path behind them and could see a large shadow quickly approaching them. Pikachu shrieked in shock, alerting the others to the unknown threat. The quake began to get stronger and faster. Suddenly, two large, bright lights emerged from the path, revealing a gigantic black and red truck. The strange vehicle barreled towards the group, as if it intended to flatten them.

“LOOK OUT,” Ash screamed. Ash grabbed Pikachu and Serena and dove out of the way of the truck while Greninja did the same to Clemont and Bonnie. The truck barely missed them as it screeched to a halt. The air was now polluted with kicked up dirt from the truck’s tires. The group picked themselves back up and stared at the truck. Squishy’s cell suddenly felt a strong psychic energy pull on it. A blue outline wrapped around it and lifted it off the tree branch and canceled out its camouflage. It flew above the group’s heads and headed towards the truck.

“Hey,” Ash exclaimed.

“It’s a cell.” Clemont declared.

“It’s one of Squishy’s friends,” Bonnie yelped. Two shadowy figures emerged from the truck’s roof, along with a strange cylindrical device. Squishy’s cell flew into the cylinder as the mysterious figure began to laugh with malicious glee. The two figures stepped forward and revealed themselves as Xerosic and his Malamar.

“It’s you,” Clemont growled.

“We meet again,” Xerosic boasted.

“Clemont,” Serena gulped, “who’s he?”

“Xerosic,” Clemont fumed, “Team Flare’s scientist! I battled him, but I thought I …” Clemont was swept up into a flashback where he confronted Team Flare at his gym alongside Clembot. He was able to eject Xerosic via a trap door.

“Yes, I lost to you back then,” Xerosic scoffed, “but I’m miraculously back, and I’m now in the process of creating Team Neo Flare!

“Team Neo Flare,” Serena shuddered.

“What are you going to do,” Ash challenged.

“Give back Squishy’s friend RIGHT NOW,” Bonnie demanded.

“Oh, I can’t do that,” Xerosic taunted, “I’m going to get every cell and obtain Zygarde Complete Form! Lysandre’s ambitions will then be able to come true!” Xerosic belted out a menacing laugh, imagining the immense power he would have with Zygarde under his full control.

“I’m never gonna let you get away with that,” Ash hissed, “Greninja, smash that thing! Water Shuriken!” Greninja grasped the giant shuriken on his back and threw it towards the glass cylinder.

“Stop them with Signal Beam,” Xerosic commanded. Malamar lunged forward and unleashed a quick signal beam that collided with Greninja’s water shuriken. The collision caused the water shuriken to evaporate and covered the group in a thick fog, blinding them.

“Clemont, they took it,” Bonnie cried.

“And I know that cell is Squishy’s friend,” Clemont fretted. Suddenly, a blue light enveloped Clemont and lifted him off the ground. Clemont yelped in horror as Malamar used Psychic on him and pulled him into their grasp.

“You’ll be coming with us too,” Xerosic grinned. Xerosic and Malamar pulled Clemont into the bowels of their truck and quickly sped off into the forest.

“Clemont, no,” Ash and Bonnie cried.

[Clemont!] Ash and Greninja gave a slight jolt. They almost forgot that they were in contact with Squishy.

[Ash, you must rescue Clemont and our cells at all costs! Xerosic is trying to revive the Kalos Crisis! I shudder to think of the horrors Xerosic will put them through!]

“We will,” Ash replied before turning to Greninja, “You can catch up to them. Do it!”

{I’m on it!} Greninja gave a quick nod before sprinting off in chase of the truck.

[I’ll try to pin point their location from the remaining free cells. I’ll collect as many as I can to keep them away from Xerosic.]

“Okay, I’ll send out my other Pokémon to search the skies,” Ash asserted, “We’ll catch up with Greninja. Good luck Squishy!”

[Good luck Ash!]

“Talonflame! Hawlucha! Noivern,” Ash called as he threw their Pokéballs into the air. With a quick gong, the three flying types landed in front of Ash.

“Listen guys,” Ash declared, “Xerosic kidnapped Clemont and is stealing Squishy’s cells. I need Talonflame and Hawlucha to fly after the truck and help Greninja. Noivern, I need you to scope out the forest and find Squishy. Help them collect and protect their cells.” Talonflame, Hawlucha, and Noivern all cried in determination before leaping off the ground and into the air. Talonflame and Hawlucha fled off in the same direction as Greninja while Noivern flew higher into the sky. After his Pokémon took off, ash turned to Serena and Bonnie.

“Come on,” he urged, “We need to catch up to them!” Serena and Bonnie quickly nodded and sprinted off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xerosic felt triumphant. He had already captured five of the Zygarde cells and now had the genius inventor, second only to himself, and Lumiose City gym leader in his clutches. He felt that he had all that he needed to pick back up where Lysandre started. The five cells were trapped within the glass cylinder while Malamar restrained Clemont with psychic. Clemont struggled against Malamar’s psychic grip, but any effort to move was fruitless.

“What are you planning to do with me,” Clemont demanded.

“Your scientific knowledge will be useful,” Xerosic grinned, “You will join us of course!”

“I’ll never help you!”

“Oh, I don’t need you to agree. If I use my control system on you, you’ll do as I say. Just like Zygarde did. You’ll be an enhanced human.” Clemont growled in anger. There was no way he would be Xerosic’s enhanced human. He wouldn’t let Team Neo Flare reshape the world. His angry thoughts were interrupted when Malamar stopped using psychic and dropped Clemont hard on the ground. Clemont groaned in pain as he tried to straighten up.

“Prepare to use the beam,” Xerosic bellowed.

“Wait,” Clemont pleaded, “Please don’t use the beam!” Clemont began to silently panic. He felt his heart begin to pound within his chest and his breath began to catch in his throat. He had to think fast. He had to find a way to resist the control system. If only he … Wait!

“I have one request,” Clemont shuddered, “May I clean my glasses first?”

“That’s all,” Xerosic snickered, “But of course,”

“Thanks very much.” Clemont pulled out his handkerchief and quickly wiped his right lens. He faked a sigh of defeat and acceptance as he placed his glasses back over his eyes. The control system began to whir as its nozzle pointed at Clemont.

“Now ready,” Xerosic taunted, “Let’s begin.” Clemont’s eyes were unreadable, and his jaw was tense. He didn’t know how the beam would feel, but he prayed that his last-minute defense would pay off. If not, he hoped that Ash and the others would find him soon. Clemont clenched his fists and prepared for the blast. The machine whirred louder as a ball of red energy formed at the tip of the nozzle. The energy ball grew larger and larger until it burst into a thin beam. The only sound that could be heard in the truck now was Clemont’s pain-filled screams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“WHEN I SAY ‘NO’ I MEAN ‘NO’,” Jessie barked as she pointed at the laptop, “My close up should be right here!”

“It should be when I give Inkay my command,” James insisted.

“Please,” Jessie scoffed in response.

“Now hear this,” Meowth snapped, “It’s gonna be when I was flying the news copter, capiche!” Jessie, James, and Wobbuffet cried “what,” as they pounced on Meowth, trying to pry him off of the laptop.

“The point of editing this is so that it looks like we destroyed Team Flare and not the twerps, you twit,” James scolded.

“What will we do if the boss finds out,” Jessie screeched. Much like Ash, Team Rocket’s journey through Kalos was nearly finished. They too were set to return to Kanto and report back to Team Rocket Headquarters and present their Pokémon to Giovanni. However, they stopped in the exact same forest as our heroes to create a glowing video presentation on their involvement in stopping Lysandre from reaching Anistar City. Of course, the video was a clear fabrication of their events, painting them as the sole line of defense against Lysandre and his giant rock. The team was now bickering amongst themselves over who deserved the most screentime in the presentation. Their intensifying struggle was so deafening that they did not hear the nearby rustling of the bushes in front of their stump. Squishy and Zygarde lept out of the bushes and over the heads of Team Rocket. Team Rocket’s squabbles ceased as they noticed Squishy’s and Zygarde 2’s shadows soaring above them. Squishy skidded to a stop once they noticed Team Rocket.

“Why are you stopping,” Zygarde questioned. They got their answer as they noticed Squishy’s glare pointed at Team Rocket.

“Wait, is that,” James whispered.

“They’re the Pokémon that Team Flare used to create those crazy vines,” Meowth gasped.

“And you’re the band of crooks who are constantly targeting my family,” Squishy snarled.

“I take it you know these people,” Zygarde guessed.

“I do,” Squishy replied, “They call themselves Team Rocket. They’re a group of petty Pokémon thieves who have stalked my family all throughout Kalos! And here you are, no doubt trying your tricks to ambush them and steal their Pokémon again!”

“PETTY,” Jessie raged, “Our tricks take a lot of planning and have loads of class you slimy dog!”

“And we’re not up to any tricks,” James added, “We’re just video editing before we go back to Kanto!”

“… Actually,” Meowth snickered, “Yous two showing up is just the last hoorah we need before going home! Unlike those posers in Team Flare, the boss can actually rule the world with you two under his command!” Jessie and James grew a pair of wicked grins on their faces as Meowth’s idea set into their heads.

“Indeed,” James chuckled, “With you two under Giovanni, Team Rocket will finally take its rightful place as rulers of the world!”

“You’re not just petty, you’re stupid,” Zygarde growled, “We are two legendary Pokémon! Do you really think you have any power that can match ours?”

“You forget,” Jessie taunted, “You are not even close to your complete form! We also outnumber you six to two! Let’s get them Gourgeist! Use Shadow Ball!”

“You too Inkay,” James shouted, “Use Psybeam!” Jessie and James tossed their Pokéballs into the air and with two gongs, Gourgeist and Inkay were released. Gourgeist and Inkay quickly readied their attacks; Shadow Ball growing bigger with purple light while Psybeam glowed cyan blue. Squishy and Zygarde quickly charged up a dual Dragon Pulse to counter the attacks, but Gourgeist and Inkay quickly released their attacks before their charge could finish. Squishy and Zygarde 2 braced themselves for the impact, only for a powerful channel of sound to cut off the attacks midair. The channel caused both attacks to burst, kicking up loose dirt and temporarily blinding Team Rocket and their Pokémon. As the villains coughed away the clouds of dirt, Squishy and Zygarde looked to the sky to see where the mysterious sound blast came from. They soon got their answer as a large winged shadow ascended from the canopy. Zygarde stared at the figure in confusion while Squishy beamed.

“Noivern,” Squishy thrilled. Noivern happily screeched as they descended from the canopy and flapped their wings slowly, swishing more dust into Team Rocket. Team Rocket gasped and sputtered as they fanned away the curtain of dirt that cloaked them. Noivern landed in front of Squishy and knelt down to their level, gently headbutting them.

“I’m so glad you found us,” Squishy chuckled as Noivern playfully nudged their head.

“And not a moment too soon,” Zygarde exhaled, “These nuisances have wasted enough of our time. We have to find our cells before Xerosic does!”

“You’re right,” Squishy agreed, “Noivern. Please help us give Team Rocket one last blast off.” Noivern cheekily squeaked and the three dragon-types leapt back a few feet. Squishy and Zygarde once again charged up Dragon Pulse while Noivern prepared Boomburst.  The tan dust cloud surrounding Team Rocket began to disperse as their coughing began to die out.

“That came out of nowhere,” James coughed.

“But what I’m asking is, just what was that,” Jessie gulped as she squinted her eyes open. Jessie received her answer as she and the others heard the whirring of energy being built up. Team Rocket peered into the thinning veil of dust to try and make out the source of the sound, only to be met with the red, blue, and violet hues of two Dragon Pules surrounding the channel of a Boomburst hurdling towards them. Team Rocket only had enough time to clump together in shock as the three attacks collided with them and thrusted them off the forest floor. Team Rocket shrieked in surprise as they and their gear flew into the sky.

“What I want to know is what was that,” Meowth squealed as he tensed from the impact of the moves.

“Wabba Wa,” Wobbuffet bubbled as they held up the video camera that was, surprisingly, untouched by the attacks.

“You recorded the whole thing,” Jessie gasped.

“Inkay Inkay,” Inkay chimed in as he and Gourgeist held up the team’s laptop.

“And you two saved the laptop,” James thrilled. Team Rocket quickly huddled together and clutched the technologies close.

“Yous guys are real troopers,” Meowth cheered, “Now hold onto those tight!”

“CAUSE WE’RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN,” they screamed as they rocketed through the air and disappeared into the horizion. Zygarde let out a ‘humph’ as the three watched Team Rocket’s blast off.

“Good riddance,” Zygarde grumbled. Noivern gave a quick grunt in response, agreeing with Zygarde 2.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Squishy sighed, “Noivern, use your sonar to locate our cells from the air. We’ll follow you from the ground.” Noivern gave out a confident cry as they spread out their wings. Noivern lept up into the air and gave a mighty flap of their wings, soaring up to the canopy. Once above the trees, they closed their eyes and emitted a broad soundwave into their surroundings. Noivern held its breath as the high pitch ring of the soundwave drew quieter as it flowed out. After a few seconds, the ringing returned, along with an image of the forest ahead. A few hundred meters ahead of them sat one of the cells nestled within a tree’s branches. Noivern alerted Squishy and Zygarde towards the cell and flew in its direction.

“They found one already,” Zygarde praised, “quickly, after them!” Zygarde dashed off after Noivern, weaving through the tree trunks. Squishy bounded after them, leaping over roots and rocks.

“I hope Ash and the others have caught up to Xerosic,” Squishy hopefully thought as they caught up with Zygarde.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xerosic’s truck continued to barrel through the forest, not caring when it pushed over trees or nearly ran over wild Pokémon. Greninja was able to keep himself hidden from view by hiding in the dust cloud that the truck continuously kicked up behind it. Greninja would occasionally update Ash on where Xerosic would turn in the forest so he and the others could catch up to them. Greninja could feel his blood boil after his last update to Ash. Xerosic was destroying parts of the forest and putting innocent Pokémon in danger! Greninja could feel his legs burn from the lactic acid, his heart beating fast and hard, and his lungs ached from overworking. He hissed to himself, wanting the truck to stop already, or at least slow down. He got his wish as the truck suddenly screeched to a halt. Greninja nearly tripped over his feet from the sudden stop but was able to regain his footing and dart behind a nearby tree. He crouched down along the tree’s trunk for a few seconds until he heard shaking leaves behind him. Greninja readied his Cut attack and spun around to meet his attacker, only to find that it was Talonflame and Hawlucha perched on lower branch. Greninja let out a sigh of relief and canceled out the Cut. Talonflame and Hawlucha quietly glided down to the forest floor and crouched next to Greninja. The three Pokémon couched lower once they heard the collection chamber being raised up to the truck’s roof. They dared not move a muscle as they watched the side door of the truck open, allowing Xerosic and his Malamar to stroll out of the truck.

“My dear cell,” Xerosic mused in a sing-song voice, “where are you?” Xerosic activated his goggles and began to scan his surroundings, looking for the nearby cell.

“Talon,” Talonflame mouthed, asking Greninja if they should get closer.

“Ninja,” Greninja nodded. He pointed to the large tires at the back of the truck, indicating that they can stay out of Xerosic’s sight from there. Greninja motioned for the two flying-types to follow his lead, followed by a quick nod between the three. Greninja, Hawlucha, and Talonflame carefully crept along the tire treads, staying as low to the ground as they could. The three stopped a few feet behind the large, grey tire just as Xerosic and Malamar began to stroll towards the forest. The three Pokémon leered at Xerosic, quietly growling under their breaths.

“Hawlucha,” Hawlucha whispered, saying that Greninja should contact Ash. Greninja nodded and focused his mind, reaching out to Ash. His vision began to cloud over for a few seconds until he finally managed to reach Ash.

{Ash, we found Xerosic!} Ash let out a soft gasp and stopped in his tracks once he heard Greninja again.

“Greninja just found them,” Ash declared and Serena and Bonne stopped beside him.

“How’s Clemont,” Serena worriedly asked.

“Well,” Ash lilted as he closed his eyes to help him focus on Greninja’s vision, “all I see are Xerosic and Malamar.” Pikachu gave a worried “Pika” from Ash’s shoulder.

“Think that you can sneak inside somehow Greninja,” Ash probed.

{Let’s see.}

“Talon,” Talonflame whispered as they pointed their wing towards Xerosic and Malamar. The two had their backs completely turned on the truck, giving the team a chance to search for an entrance. The three Pokémon crept closer to the truck, hoping to find a way in. Meanwhile, Xerosic and Malamar had entered a small clearing along the forest barrier, having followed a signal from Xerosic’s goggles.

“Oh, there you are,” Xerosic grinned as he finally located the camouflaged cell, “Malamar, use Psychic.” Malamar’s irises began to glow cyan blue as they initiated Psychic. A similar blue hue enveloped the cell as it was peeled off from the tree trunk it was hiding against. Xerocis watched with wicked glee as the cell was flown through the air and was deposited into the holding chamber with the other collected cells. Xerosic released a pleased and arrogant laugh, confident in his progress. All the while, Greninja, Hawlucha, and Talonflame inched closer to the back of the truck, looking to find a door to sneak in through.

Snap

Greninja froze in shock as he stepped on an obscured twig; the audible snap blowing their cover. Xerosic and Malamar jerked their heads towards the sound and growled at the sight of the three Pokémon. Ash, who was still seeing through Greninja’s eyes, felt a cold jolt run down his back once seeing Xerosic’s angered eyes fixated on his Pokémon.

“Oh no,” he cried as he and the others hastened their pace.

“Grah,” Xerosic raged, “What are you doing here? Malamar, use Signal Beam!” Malamar levitated up high into the air and charged its psychic energy into a powerful, large ball. With a loud cry, it trusted the energy towards the three Pokémon in a thick beam. Greninja, Hawlucha, and Talonflame leapt into the air themselves, barely missing being hit by the beam.

“Greninja,” Ash commanded through their bond, “Water Shuriken!” Greninja reached towards his back once again, grasped the giant water shuriken, and flung it towards Malamar. Talonflame began to unleash a barrage of Razor Winds, increasing the speed and power of the Water Shuriken. Malamar could only brace themselves as they were directly hit by the Water Shuriken and Razor Winds. At that time, Ash, Serena, and Bonnie had finally caught up to the Pokémon and had stopped on a ledge above them.

“There they are,” Bonnie exclaimed.

“You give both of them back,” Ash demanded.

“Hmph,” Xerosic grumbled, “Retreat for now. Alright Malamar, use Psycho Cut!” The tips of Malamar’s tentacles began to glow as they brought them together. With a quick thrust of the tentacles, a sharp wave of purple energy shot forward and towards the group. Hawlucha quickly leapt in front of Greninja and Talonflame and spread out his wings. His wings began to glow, and he swiftly brought them together in an x shape, unleashing an X-Scissor. The two moves collided and caused a mini explosion, kicking up the dust around the Pokémon and temporarily blinding them. The explosion gave Xerosic and Malamar enough time to retreat into the truck and begin to speed off. The trio coughed hard and tried to fan off the dust that enveloped them. Greninja was able to clear out the dust from his eyes first and noticed the truck barreling away. Greninja let out an enraged cry as he chased after the truck. There was no way he was letting that monster get away! Greninja unleashed a powerful leap and catapulted himself in front of the truck. However, the truck increased its speed and thundered straight at Greninja. Xerosic smirked in malicious glee while Ash and the others screamed in horror as the truck bulldozed through where Greninja landed.

“NO,” Serena cried as she covered her eyes, “It can’t be!” Bonnie hugged Dedenne close while Talonflame shook their head in denial of what they just saw. Hawlucha covered his eyes with one of his wings, trying to fight back the tears stinging his eyes. Hawlucha shuddered as he tried to lower his wing back down, afraid to see the fate of his sibling. With a hard swallow, Hawlucha forced his wing down and peered towards the tire tracks and saw … nothing?

“Ha-hawlu,” Hawlucha faltered, drawing everyone’s attention to the lack of Greninja.

“Wait,” Bonnie wondered, “Were’s Greninja?”

“They’re fine,” Ash revealed. Serena looked towards Ash in confusion, but then realization as she noticed his focused stare. Ash’s vision transitioned from the road ahead of him to an upside-down view of a truck’s underside racing through the forest. Ash could also see Greninja’s webbed hands clinging to the underside of the truck.

“Greninja’s fine,” Ash sighed in relief, “They’re hiding underneath!” Serena, Bonnie, and Pikachu let out their own sighs of relief while Talonflame and Hawlucha chirped in joy. Ash refocused his mind and reached out to Greninja.

“You are okay, right,” Ash probed.

{Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry I scared you. I thought I had more time to …}

“No, no it’s okay. I’m just so glad you’re safe! Just … just hang on, we’ll catch up to you.” Greninja slightly snorted at the pun, but also felt a comforting warmth in his heart from their trainer’s joy in them being okay. He eased up on his link with Ash to focus on clinging to the truck as it continued to barrel through the forest.

“Okay,” Ash exclaimed, “Let’s go!” Ash, Serena, and Bonnie raced off to reach the forest path while Talonflame and Hawlucha took off into the sky to track the truck once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Greninja felt like he had been under the truck for hours. Not once has it stopped after they nearly avoided being flattened. Greninja’s hands and feet began to cramp and the heat from the engine was nearly burning them. Greninja craned his neck to see the forest ahead of the truck, trying to find some clue as to where Xerosic was headed. He squinted his eyes to prevent any dirt from flying into his eyes. Through his squint, Greninja made out a large grey jet-like device in the distance. It looked like Xerosic was planning to fly out of the forest! Greninja quickly reached out again to Ash and updated him on Xerosic’s intentions. As the truck came closer to the device, it began to greatly decrease its speed and Greninja prepared himself to release his grip on the truck.

“One … Two … Three,” Greninja counted. Greninja’s finger and toe pads peeled off the underside of the truck. He turned his body so that he would land on his hands and feet. His hands and feet slightly stung as they planted onto the forest floor. Greninja crouched lower as the truck passed over him. Greninja snuck over to the right and crouched in the bushes as the truck drove onto a loading pad. At that same time, Talonflame and Hawlucha caught up to the truck and noticed Greninja’s release from its underside. The two flying types swooped towards the forest floor and approached Greninja’s hiding spot, quietly calling out to him to not spook him like last time. Greninja motioned for them to crouch beside him, only to be taken by surprise by a tight hug from Talonflame. Talonflame stepped back and began to look over Greninja, checking for any injuries. Greninja felt a twinge of guilt in his chest, they must’ve been terrified after the truck tried to run him over. Greninja turned over to Hawlucha and was immediately met with a swift Karate Chop to his forehead. That twinge of guilt was replaced by a throbbing pain.

“Haw! Haw! Hawlucha,” Hawlucha hissed, essentially warning Greninja to never do something like that again.

“Gre. Ninja-gre,” Greninja groaned while rubbing his forehead. He winced while the pain slowly faded and looked back towards Hawlucha. Hawlucha’s glare was intense, but it began to morph into a worried grimace. With an apologetic and relieved cry, he hugged Greninja with Talonflame. Greninja hugged them back, apologizing himself for frightening them. The three Pokémon were then jolted out of their hug by the sound of hydraulics. They turned towards the truck and noticed the strange contraption lowering onto the top of the truck and latching on. The four vents on the back of the device whirred to life and burned a bright orange glow. Xerosic was preparing for takeoff! Talonflame pointed towards the right wing, stating that they could hang on to the outside, so they don’t lose Xerosic. The three Pokémon charged out of the bushes and rushed towards the wing. Hawlucha and Talonflame dug their talons into the wing’s sheet metal while Greninja stuck his finger and toe pads to the surface, securing themselves onto the wing. The newly jet-powered truck blasted off of the ground and into the air, causing the trio to tense and flatten their bodies onto the wing to secure themselves more. Greninja reopened his eyes to keep track of where they were flying but was taken aback once he saw a forcefield of some kind envelope the truck. Greninja growled in anger once he realized that it was an invisibility shield. All the while, Xerosic engaged the autopilot of the truck.

“Alright,” Xerosic sighed, “it looks like I’ve gotten away. By now, that thing should be finished.” Xerosic sat up from his chair and strolled towards the center of the truck to check on Clemont’s progress. Realizing that Ash and the others would no longer be able to see them from their own perspectives, Greninja refocused on his bond with Ash to let him see through his eyes.

Meanwhile, Ash, Serena, and Bonnie continued to race through the foliage to keep up with Xerosic. All three were silent, each occupied with watching the area ahead and within their own thoughts. How does Xerosic plan to revive the Kalos Crisis? How many cells did he already capture? Where does Clemont fall into that plan?

“I - I just don’t get it,” Bonnie stammered, “Squishy got rid of all the vines and that big rock! How can Xerosic bring them back?” Serena had been pondering that too. She had been playing back her memories of Team Flare’s attack, trying to figure out what else Xerosic could be after in order to achieve his twisted goal. Her mind skipped between the scenes of the vines tearing through the streets, her fighting off Team Flare’s goons, and watching Ash fend off the giant rock to keep it from reaching Anistar City.

“… Anistar City,” Serena gasped. Ash and Bonnie snapped out of their thoughts and turned their attention to Serena.

“I think … I think I know what Xerosic plans to do. The Anistar City Sundial! It has the same power as that giant rock they used to control Squishy and Zygarde! Xerosic could actually restart the crisis if they take control of the sundial!”

“Then we’ll just have to catch him here,” Ash declared. The trio slowed their pace once they arrived at a large rock pillar. Ash came to a complete stop once he received Greninja’s vision.

“I can see them,” Ash began, “Up there!” Ash pointed towards the top of the pillar. Greninja’s field of view showed the truck soaring atop of it.

“Let’s go,” Ash stated as he dashed off.

“Right,” Serena and Bonnie replied as they followed close behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the dim lit center chamber of the truck, Clemont stood with his back towards the glass cylinder containing the Zygarde cells. His composure rivaled a statue. His expression was unreadable, and there was bright light reflection in his glasses that hid his eyes. The door leading to the pilot’s chamber opened with a soft swish and Xerosic strolled through.

“So,” Xerosic probed as he stopped in front of Clemont, “how are you feeling now?”

“I feel great,” Clemont answered with monotone, “thanks to you Xerosic, leader of Team Neo Flare.” Xerosic let out a pleased squeal as he spun around.

“That has such a nice ring,” Xerosic sang.

Meanwhile, Ash, Serena, and Bonnie grunted and groaned as they climbed up the rocky side of the mountain towards the top. Ash gave out one last rough grunt as he pulled himself onto the top’s floor.

“We’re here,” Ash exhaustedly declared as they ran towards the center. They began to look around the sky surrounding the mountain, hoping to see the scene that Greninja saw in his last connection to Ash.

“I know Greninja, Hawlucha, and Talonflame are flying around here,” Ash breathed, “Though I can’t see just where.” Ash reconnected to Greninja and looked through his eyes. All that Greninja could see was the wing of the plane and the side of the mountain. He had to get a new view!

“Greninja,” Ash announced, “we’re here! Up at the top of the mountain!” Greninja lightly pushed himself up from the wing to help get a better view. He turned his head towards the mountain top and quickly located Ash, Serena, and Bonnie. Greninja quickly shared his view with Ash.

“I see them,” Ash notified, “I should be able to reach them if I jump! I’ll hop on that plane!” Serena and bonnie gasped in shock. That was absolutely crazy, even for Ash!

“Not from here,” Serena shrieked.

“What happens if you fall,” Bonnie stuttered.

“I can’t let them escape,” Ash avowed as he turned to get a running start, “I gotta do it! I’m going!” Ash knew that if he didn’t get on that plane, Xerosic would take Clemont, his Pokémon, and the Zygarde cells to who knows where. He wouldn’t be able to protect them if Xerosic got away! Ash adjusted his cap and turned towards Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

“Okay, are you with me,” he asked Pikachu.

“Pika pika,” Pikachu replied with a clutched fist, signaling that he was with Ash all the way. Serena joined Ash’s side, taking his hand into her own.

“I’m going too,” She declared.

“Me too,” Bonnie added as she took Ash’s other hand, “We’re always a team, right?” Ash smiled at them, glad to have them at his side.

“Alright,” Ash asserted, “make sure you do what I say.” The three tightened their grips on each other, anticipating the moment they needed to jump. Greninja kept a close watch on Ash and the others, relaying to Ash where the plane was flying. Hawlucha and Talonflame perched next to Greninja, ready to help him pull Ash and the others onto the plane’s wing. Ash braced himself as he sensed the plane coming closer and closer, until came the best moment.

“Now,” Ash ordered, “let’s go!” The trio took off towards the mountain’s edge, gradually picking up speed. The three pushed off from the edge and began to soar into the air. The three yelled in determination and worry as they began to fall along the mountainside. Ash forced himself to silence his scream as he pushed all of his focus to his bond with Greninja, letting his Pokémon know where they were falling. Greninja felt a pang of panic in his veins as he saw the trio pass the plane’s wing. Greninja quickly uncoiled his tongue from his neck and thrusted it towards them. It tightly wrapped around Serena’s wrist and began to pull them up back towards the plane. The three yelped in surprise as they seemed to disappear into thin air, all thanks to the invisibility shield. Greninja quickly yanked them onto the wing where Hawlucha and Talonflame caught them and helped them cling to the wing. Greninja re-wrapped his tongue around his neck and let out a “Ninja” of relief.

{Thank Arceus you’re alright!}

“You did it Greninja,” Ash thanked before turning to Hawlucha and Talonflame, “and thank you too for catching us!”

“Yeah, thank you,” Serena added.

“That was a close one,” Bonnie gasped, “but how do we get in and save Clemont

“Hawlucha,” Hawlucha answered. He was pointing to an emergeny escape hatch along the body of the plane.

“Great spot Hawlucha,” Ash praised, “Now let’s get inside!” The group began to crawl their way towards the latch with their Pokémon keeping them secure along the plane’s surface. Talonflame pulled ahead of the group and used their talons to pry open the door. Our heroes quickly pulled themselves into the walkway behind the door and shut it closed. They then began to trudge down the walkway until they reached the inner chamber of the plane. One by one, they climbed down the ladder that connected the exit way to the chamber.

“Clemont,” Ash pondered, “where could he be?” Ash began to step nimbly across the floor, not wanting to step on anything that would alert Xerosic. He and Pikachu scanned the room for any signs of Clemont, Xerosic, or the cells. Ash turned towards his right and came face to face with the stoic stance of Clemont. Pikachu gasped in surprise as Ash and Bonnie called out to Clemont. Bonnie began to approach Clemont to check on him but stopped in her tracks as a menacing chuckle entered her ears. The group turned towards the laughter and came face to face with Xerosic and his Malamar and Crobat.

“I welcome you all to the unveiling of the enhanced human,” Xerosic sickly greeted as he strolled over to the group.

“What did you do,” Ash growled.

“Give me back my brother and Squishy’s friends RIGHT NOW,” Bonnie demanded. Xerosic could only guffaw in evil glee at their demands.

“Your brother is currently being mind controlled,” Xerosic taunted, “and has become Team Neo Flare first enhanced human!” Bonnie gasped in horror upon hearing that her brother was under Xerosic’s control. She turned towards Clemont in disbelief, scared for her brother.

“Yes, Xerosic sir,” Clemont emotionlessly replied.

“CLEMONT,” Bonnie shrieked.

“It can’t be,” Serena shuddered.

“Clemont, snap out of it,” Ash blurted.

“Pika,” Pikachu cried.

Unit One,” Xerosic ordered, “your first job is to CAPTURE THEM ALL!”

“Right, as you wish,” Clemont complied. He raised his arms ahead of him and began to advance on the group, swaying like a zombie. Hawlucha and Talonflame leapt in front of the group and spread their wings, trying to block Clemont from coming any closer.

“This can’t be real,” Serena stammered.

“Clemont,” Bonnie faltered.

“Pika pika,” Pikachu squeaked.

“There’s no way Clemont could be that weak,” Ash spat. Ash knew Clemont; there was no way that he would’ve given in to Xerosic. They both knew how twisted and flat out crazy he was. He would’ve found a way to resist or fight back; use that big brain of his to outsmart him somehow. The group watched in tense anticipation as Clemont continued to sway towards them and Xerosic chortled in sinister victory.

“He’d never give in to your mind control,” Ash declared, still confident that Clemont did something to resist Xerosic. Clemont came to a halt just in front of the group, his head was hung low as he flatly laughed. Suddenly, Clemont raised his head in triumph and beamed at the gang!

 “Thank you for having faith in me Ash,” Clemont grinned. Everyone within the room gasped; our heroes in joy and Xerosic in shock and disbelief. Xerosic felt a pang of panic in his chest as the group and their Pokémon turned their attention onto him.

“You know I’m an inventor,” Clemont smirked, “The future is now, thanks to science! CLEMONTIC GEAR ON!” Clemont pulled a small disk from his left temple.

“After what happened before,” he continued, “I invented this multi-electromagnetic wave blocker! I call it ‘Jamming Unit One!’ I inconspicuously attached it while pretending to wipe off my glasses!”

“UNBELIEVABLE,” Xerosic choked.

“That makes twice you failed against one of my inventions,” Clemont boasted, “This device and my Clembot should prove whose inventions are superior! Time to admit you’ve been defeated!”

“M-my inventions are inferior,” Xerosic quavered, “THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE! CROBAT, USE AIR SLASH! NOW!” Crobat fluttered above the group and prepared their attack; their top wings glowing bright as they crossed.

“Chespin,” Clemont called as he threw their Pokéball, “Pin Missile!” Just as Chespin was released, Corbat had thrusted its wings apart and fired three Air Slashes. Chespin unleashed a battle cry as their head quills began to glow. They ducked down as five Pin Missiles fired from the quills and collided with the Air Slashes. The collision of moves resulted in a mini explosion that gave Ash and Serena the chance to stand by Clemont.

“Clemont, Serena,” Ash asserted, “let’s get them together!”

“Alright,” Clemont conferred.

“Let’s do this,” Serena urged as she released Braixen from her Pokéball. Greninja, Hawlucha, Talonflame, Braixen, and Chespin formed a wall, separating Xerosic from their trainers. Each Pokémon cried in determination to defeat Malamar and Crobat and stop Xerosic here and now!

“Alright Malamar, Signal Beam,” Xerosic commanded, “and Crobat, Wing Attack!” Crobat flew up towards the ceiling while Malamar quickly shot out their Signal Beam.

“Braixen,” Serena ordered, “block it with Flamethrower!” Braixen grabbed her stick from her tail and lifted it towards Malamar. A thick stream of fire erupted from the end of the stick and collided with the Signal Beam, creating a thick cloud of smoke blinding Malamar and Crobat.

“Chespin, use Tackle,” Clemont shouted.

“Hawlucha,” Ash added, “use Flying Press!” Chespin released their vines and wrapped them around Greninja’s left arm. Greninja spun his body around and flung Chespin towards Crobat, hitting them point blank with their Tackle. This stunned Crobat and stopped them from unleashing their Wing Attack. Meanwhile, Hawlucha charged towards Talonflame who cupped their wings together. Hawlucha leapt onto the wing and Talonflame thrust Hawlucha into the air. Hawlucha spun their body and struck Crobat with a full force Flying Press. Hawlucha slammed Crobat into the ground and leapt back to rejoin the group.

“You pesky, little,” Xerosic growled, “I’m not going to let you annoying brats ruin my PLAN OF PERFECTION! Now Crobat, use Air Slash!” Crobat picked themselves off from the floor and shot back up into the air. They crossed all four of their wings as they glowed a bright white. They quickly uncrossed their wings and shot out four Air Slashes.

“Greninja, Water Shuriken,” Ash interjected, “and Talonflame, Razor Wind!” Greninja and Talonflame recreated their Water Shuriken-Razor Wind combo and unleashed the attacks at the Air Slashes, destroying them. The combo move powered through the collision and struck Crobat, knocking them out.

“Crobat, return,” Xerosic grumbled as he recalled Crobat to their Pokéball, “This is not acceptable! As long as I have my ideas and my genius mind, I’ll be able to recreate this world! Defeat is not an option!” Xerosic’s voice was panicked and his composure was crumbling. He believed that his plan should have been foolproof, but was outsmarted and overpowered by four children and their Pokémon! As much as it killed him, he had to admit that he was no match for the group when he only had Malamar left. If he was going to win this war, he was going to have to lose this battle. He and his Malamar made a beeline for the hatch on the truck’s side with Ash and Clemont giving chase.

“Come back,” Ash demanded. Xerosic slammed his fist against the touch panel; the side door opening with a swish.

“Malamar, return,” Xerosic stated as Malamar was pulled back into their Pokéball, “We must meet again sometime! I’m not finished yet! See you again!” Xerosic thrust himself from the truck door and into the air, freefalling towards the ground.

“YOU WON’T GET AWAY,” Clemont barked. Clemont planted himself at the base of the door and activated his Aipom Arm. The Aipom Arm quickly extended towards Xerosic and grasped his coat by its flare emblem, successfully catching him before he could activate any escape measures. Xerosic flailed aggressively, trying to break free from the grip of the robotic arm.

“L-let go,” Xerosic stammered.

“You’re gonna pay for all the awful things you did,” Clemont chastised, “And from now on, you need to invent things that help humanity!” Xerosic tried to fire back that his plans would help humanity, but instead turned away from the inventor and his friends. He tensed in the grip of the arm, stiff with shame and defeat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After reigning Xerosic back into the truck and restraining him, Serena was able to contact Officer Jenny of Lumiose City. Serena informed Jenny of Team Neo Flare, Xerosic’s kidnapping and cell-napping escapade, and her theory about the Anistar City Sundial. Officer Jenny directed the group to a large clearing near Lumiose City where they could land and transfer Xerosic over to her and release the cells back into the forest. Within the hour, Clemont took control of the truck and piloted it over to the clearing. As Officer Jenny was directing Xerosic into the back of her patrol car, he stopped to turn towards Clemont. Before he was carted off to prison, he had to know Clemont’s secret. He had to know why he was so powerful with inventing and battling.

“Tell me something,” he pleaded, “You’ve got a lot of strength, but why?” Clemont grew a soft smirk on his face as he adjusted his glasses.

“Honestly,” Clemont disclosed, “I wasn’t that strong before. But my time with Ash and all my friends, and all that we’ve experienced, that’s given me the strength I have now!” Xerosic gasped; it was as if he just had an epiphany.

“Your friends,” he whispered.

“Now get in,” Jessie interrupted. She didn’t want to wait for his booking any longer; the sooner he faced justice for what he’d done, the better. As the group watched the patrol car cruise along the dirt path towards the station, its siren dissipating as it drove along, they wondered about Xerosic’s response to Clemont’s answer. Whether he realized that true strength and harmony comes from the bonds of love, trust, and friendship people make with each other, or if he twisted Clemont’s words to fit with Team Neo Flare’s haunting goals was uncertain.

“Glad that’s over with,” Serena sighed. Bonnie sighed as well, but quickly turned her attention away from the patrol car and towards one of the released calls that was by her feet.

“Hey,” she murmured, “you know Squishy, right? Squishy’s your friend.” The cell only laid flat on the ground in response. Bonnie looked on in worry, wondering if Squishy was safe, along with Zygarde 2 and Noivern. She was broken out of her thoughts when the cell she was watching, along with the other four cells, began to glow a bright green. The five cells floated off of the ground and then shot into the foliage behind the group. Everyone turned towards the foliage, ready to run after the cells, but stiffened when they noticed the bushes shaking. Their Pokémon stood in front of them, ready to fend off whatever was heading their way. They watched and waited for the threat to show themselves, when out from the bushes leapt out Squishy in their 10% form. Upon seeing Bonnie, Squishy stopped and reverted back to their core, their cells dispersing behind them in strands of green light.

“BONNIE,” Squishy cried. Serena and Clemont slightly jumped. They’ve never heard Squishy’s telepathy before. Ash and his Pokémon beamed upon seeing Squishy safe and sound. Bonnie stared at Squishy starry-eyed as a huge grin spread along her face.

“SQUISHY,” Bonnie squealed and she sprinted towards Squishy. Bonnie knelt down and scooped them up, gently nuzzling them against her cheek.

“I missed you,” she gushed, “Feeling better now, my little Squishy?” Squishy happily chirped in her arms as she hugged them again.

“I am so glad you’re all safe,” Squishy sighed as they cuddled closer to Bonnie, “I was so worried that Xerosic escaped with Clemont or that he captured all of you!”

“We’re fine,” Clemont chimed as he and the others gathered around Bonnie and Squishy, “Xerosic has been taken into custody and the cells he captured have been freed.”

“I can’t thank you all enough,” Squishy babbled, “You stopped Xerosic and saved our cells again! I … I couldn’t have asked for a better family!” The group beamed as they huddled around Bonnie and Squishy, enveloping them in a big hug. Squishy quietly sighed as they closed their eye, happy to be reunited with their family once again.

… Family.

“Oh, that’s right,” Squishy gasped as they wiggled out of Bonnie’s hug and turned towards the group, “I split off from Zygarde and Noivern to try and find you when we collected over half of our cells. They are waiting for us in a glade not too far from here. Follow me!” Squishy bounded into the foliage with our heroes trailing behind them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sky transitioned from a light blue to a golden amber as the sun began to set over the horizon. The dense canopy was bathed in the golden sunlight that was able to beam through their gaps. Our heroes were mesmerized by the sight as they trekked along the forest foliage. The ground beneath them became more uneven with rocks and small hills until the group stopped in front of a small stream. The group gasped as they noticed Zygarde in their 50% form with Noivern at the other side of the stream.

“Zygarde! Noivern,” Ash gasped. Noivern turned towards Ash and chirped in joy as they flew towards them. Noivern wrapped their wings around Ash and his other Pokémon, ecstatic to see them.

“Ha ha, I’m glad to see you too,” Ash giggled as Noivern nuzzled his head. Pikachu, Greninja, Talonflame, and Hawlucha crooned as they embraced Noivern.

“My friends,” Zygarde began, “I am glad to see you again. I never got the chance to thank you for freeing us from Team Flare’s control. Before meeting you all, we believed that the world and its people were corrupt; that it was filled with selfish beings who cared only about power and control. However, Zygar- … Squishy’s time with you showed us that the world is also filled with kind people who care about others.”

“During my travels with you all,” Squishy continued as they thought back on their time with the group, “you displayed human kind’s potential for bravery, compassion, and unity. You all accepted me into your family after just meeting me. You took measures to keep me safe, healthy, and comfortable. You and many other humans risked your lives to save the people and Pokémon of Lumiose City when Team Flare managed to take control of us and when Lysandre tried to reach Anistar City.”

“And now,” Zygarde added, “You once again stopped Xerosic and rescued our cells. We are forever in your debts. I am glad that I was able to say my goodbyes.”

“Goodbyes,” Serena questioned.

“Yes,” Zygarde explained, “While Xerosic has been taken into custody, and we have collected our cells with Noivern’s help, there may be stragglers of Team Flare still hiding around. I plan to hide myself and our cells away for the time being.” A saddened shadow fell on Bonnie’s face as she knelt down towards Squishy.

“I … I guess this means you’re saying goodbye too,” Bonnie fretted.

“Bonnie,” Squishy comforted, “I’m not saying goodbye, I’m coming with you.”

“R-really,” Bonnie stuttered.

“After all the time we’ve been together, I wouldn’t want to be apart from you. You treated me with such kindness when you first found me in your bag. It was your love encouraged me to stay and travel with you all. It was that same love that helped me break free from Team Flare’s control. You never gave up on me, and I could never give up on you. I want to stay with you, travel with you, and be your partner with Dedenne when you start your own journey! So that’s why I’m transferring my cells to Zygarde so I can go with you!” Bonnie squealed in delight as she scooped Squishy up into her arms and hugged them tightly. Dedenne crawled out of their pouch to join in the cuddle. The rest of the group looked at the trio with large grins on their faces, succumbing to the bubbling warmth of the sight. Zygarde sighed in content and turned towards the sky, noticing the sun setting further.

“I’m afraid our time is running short,” Zygarde announced, “It’ll be dark soon, so I suggest we say our goodbyes before then.” Our heroes agreed and released their other Pokémon to say farewell to Zygarde. Squishy transferred their connected cells to Zygarde and shared a heartfelt goodbye to their other half.

“I will reach out to you often, my friend,” they declared, “and I hope to see you again soon.”

“Thank you Squishy,” Zygarde replied, “I will miss you.” Zygarde bowed towards the group and began to stroll deeper into the forest.

“Zygarde,” Bonnie called, “don’t worry about Squishy! I’ll take good care of them!”

“I know you will, Bonnie,” Zygarde chuckled, “Until we meet again, my friends.”

“Take care of yourself Zygarde,” Ash exclaimed.

“Hope to see you soon,” Serena gushed.

“You’ll always be welcomed at my lab,” Clemont chimed in. Our heroes’ Pokémon waved to Zygarde and offered their own goodbyes and best wishes as Zygarde disappeared into the foliage. Soon after, everyone turned back to the trail and headed to Lumiose City.

Our heroes’ trek back to Lumiose City may have taken an unexpected turn, but it allowed them to help Zygarde one last time and reunite them with Squishy. With their journey in Kalos almost at an end, what other adventures await our heroes before and after their departure? The answer lies ahead, as the journey continues.

[rabbitechoes]

apologies for how late this is as well as how brief it is compared to my other Month in Reviews. i got way too behind with both the hurricane and end of semester schoolwork. i'm still incredibly busy, but i managed to cobble this together. there is no singles & songs post this month, only this post containing all of the reviews i wrote this past month as well as my quick thoughts on some projects i didn't write full reviews for. each review is posted on Medium, which is new for me, and they're all linked below!!! enjoy!! peace and love <3 also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Cutouts - The Smile

◇ released: Oct. 4, 2024 ◇ genres: art rock, ambient pop, krautrock, math rock

The Smile’s second album in barely under nine months is the band’s most loose and enjoyable collection of songs yet. The chemistry these three have is just so electrifying, an absolute joy to hear.

my review of Cutouts

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The New Sound - Geordie Greep

🥇 BEST ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ released: Oct. 4, 2024 ◇ genres: jazz-rock, progressive rock, art rock, avant-prog

Geordie Greep’s solo debut is both his magnum opus and a new beginning. it’s a record full of vulgar romance and illusions of grandeur brought to life by a revolving door of musicians and Greep’s unorthodox nature.

my review of The New Sound

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“NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” - Godspeed You! Black Emperor

◇ released: Oct. 4, 2024 ◇ genres: post-rock, chamber music, drone

GY!BE’s pressing new album is one of their most powerful. It serves as a sobering reminder that we can’t afford to grow complacent in the face of horrible atrocities.

my review of “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD”

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Cool World - Chat Pile

◇ released: Oct. 11, 2024 ◇ genres: noise rock, sludge metal

Few bands capture the cruel spirit of America quite like Chat Pile. On their new album, the band refine and add new layers to their sound while struggling with living in a world they’re absolutely disgusted by.

my review of Cool World

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REVELATOR - ELUCID

◇ released: Oct. 11, 2024 ◇ genres: experimental hip hop, abstract hip hop, industrial hip hop

ELUCID's Fat Possum debut is his most daring project yet. One of the most exhilarating rap records of the year, characterized by bizarre sounds and his hardened musings on a city that isn’t too kind.

my review of REVELATOR

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CHROMAKOPIA - Tyler, the Creator

◇ released: Oct. 28, 2024 ◇ genres: experimental hip hop, neo-soul, hardcore hip hop

On his radically honest eighth studio album, Tyler, the Creator tries to take his mask off and confront the man underneath, all the while reinforcing why he’s one of the most unique artists of today.

my review of CHROMAKOPIA

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here are a few thoughts on some projects i heard, but didn't get to write full reviews for!!

Moon Music - Coldplay

The sequel to Coldplay's worst record is markedly better, but still painfully drab in crucial ways. They're at their best when they're doing Coldplay stuff, no surprise, and thankfully they do Coldplay on Moon Music. The album features spacey contributions from both Jon Hopkins and Brian Eno which are nice touches, but it's not enough to fully excuse the band's sterile sound overall - or enough to stop the outright bad ideas to come to the surface like the pop rap cut "WE PRAY." Moon Music is fine, nothing remarkable though. The most memorable thing to me is that the band promoted this album on QVC, the home shopping network. Who does that?

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Soul Kiss EP - Frost Children & 春ねむり [Haru Nemuri]

Two artists that I really need to pay closer attention to have teamed up for an exciting EP. Electronic/digital hardcore duo Frost Children craft wild sounds for Japanese art pop artist Haru Nemuri to go wild in. Crunchy, off-kilter grooves run through this project and Namuri and the Frost Children both match their energy. This EP just sounds so exciting. It's eclectic as hell and super frenetic. If you're in the mood for something wild, give Soul Kiss a shot.

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Cancelled - Mötley Crüe

I don't know why I even listened to this EP. I saw people on Twitter clowning on a new Mötley Crüe song titled "Cancelled" and I was morbidly curious. This song is abhorrent, featuring bloated Vince Neil belting "Diggin' up my dirt on your woke crusade / Supermodel sandwich, selfie in the backseat / She said, 'Yes,' then they arrest me / Lock me up, put me in shackles." Baffling and disgusting! The other tracks aren't much better at all, especially their cover of the Beastie Boys' seminal rap rock track "Fight for Your Right" which is aggressively awful. This is one of the worst projects I've heard all year.

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Psychotic Spew - Black Ends

Found this record on Bandcamp and was pleasantly surprised. Black Ends describe themselves as a "Seattle Gunk Pop trio" on their debut and, yeah, that makes sense. The band makes grimy indie rock bangers with plenty of personality. For a debut, this is pretty well-crafted. I could definitely see them tightening up their sound on future releases, but this is a good start. Give this a shot!

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Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat - Charli XCX

The fabled BRAT remix album has finally arrived and it's pretty decent! We already got the best remix here in the form of "Girl, so confusing" with Lorde, but there are still some gems here. The coolest songs here act as continuations of their predecessors. Like "Everything is romantic" with Caroline Polachek, "So I" with A.G. Cook, and "I think about it all the time" with Bon Iver. The worst thing here is handily the "I might say something stupid" remix with The 1975 and Jon Hopkins. Hopkins' sparse production doesn't do Matty Healey, who is notoriously uninteresting, any favors. This isn't an essential release, but I think a lot of moments will satisfy fans of her pre-BRAT work which is pretty cool. I've been an "angel" for years now so it's still wild to me that some people only got into her through BRAT, but I digress.

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SABLE, - Bon Iver

On their first project since 2019's i,i, Justin Vernon and crew tear everything down to its barest parts. Returning to the acoustic sounds of their earliest work rather than the ever-evolving electronic experimentation they've been doing since. For those who loved the experimentation, like myself and which I lovingly deem the "sickos," SABLE, might be a little disappointing. It's bare, bar a crazy burst of brass instruments on "AWARDS SEASON," oftentimes just Vernon and a guitar - or Vernon and nothing at all. It's sobering, it feels like a quick regrouping. It's short, sweet, and poignant. Sure to sate the appetite while also whetting it just enough. Hopefully this leads to a bigger project soon, one with a more expansive sound.

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Patterns in Repeat - Laura Marling

I wanted to write a full review for this, but time escapes me. Patterns in Repeat is Laura Marling's latest record and the follow-up to 2020's Song for Our Daughter which had the English singer-songwriter writing songs for her fictional daughter. However, in the years since, Marling has become a mother and this new record has her musings on motherhood and life itself. She's looking backward and forward, putting her life into context now that she herself has brought life into this world. It's a beautiful listen, Marling's songwriting has never been more poignant. I only wish the sonic palette were a bit more diverse, but it's clear the songwriting was the main focus. Still, Patterns in Repeat is lovely.

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[maskyartist]

Rewarded in Pink and Brown

more drabbles this time from my Roman Lives AU cause i've been missing them already, plus yknow me i love a good reunion scene

(small notes, Roman lost his leg due to damage and wears a prosthetic. its what he refers to with Pietro. Roman traveled to Mistral on the same train as Oscar, causing them to meet early by accident, which led Roman to join the main cast

right now we're at the Schnee party in V8

we caught up? good lets roll)

================================================

Smoking calms the nerves.

That's what Roman's told himself for years. But lately, after being off them for so long, he coughs and coughs as the smoke bellows above him, the burn unfamiliar in its familiarity.

Coming to Atlas has been strange. This whole year has been strange. Has it been a year? It feels like longer. Maybe shorter. Roman can't exactly tell anymore. Time blurred together from all the…excitement, you could call it.

From meeting Oscar by complete accident on his way to Mistral, to nearly getting killed by Red's little crew, to fighting alongside them at Haven… It's been many ups and downs since Neo's disappearance.

Now, here he stands, carefully disguised with a fat cigar between his fingers, waiting for the choking to die down like he's some kind of first-cigarette-teenager again. Out of spite, and a need to not waste these beauties found in this…very legally obtained coat, he takes another long, long drag, allowing the smoke to settle in his damaged lungs before blowing it to the sky. Better. Much better.

After losing so much, he can't lose this. A literal addiction to cover his emotional addiction is fair, isn't it?

Roman sighs. Heavy and tired, running a hand through temporary brown hair.

He's tried…he's tried so hard to hold onto hope… Mistral was a dud. So was Amina. He was hoping he'd spot her in Mantle, his old stomping grounds, but not a spot of pink and brown to be seen.

Now, here he stands. Leaning on a balcony railing, cigar warm between his gloved fingers, in the one city that Neo wanted to see the most for its beautiful snow…without her.

It's empty. Hollow. A victory unearned. Just like his survival. And after failure upon failure, hit after hit…

He's tired. One last puff has Roman tossing the cigar, letting it land where it lands on the ground below. Not his problem anymore. Red may have taught him to be patient, but not kind.

Turning around, he finally pushes himself off the railing and into the hall. May as well put that nifty leg Pietro gave him to work, since it was free. A gift from the heart, as he said.

Roman calls it pity. Still helps him walk, though.

"Alright, Roman, no more tears." He whispers to himself, combing curly hair back with a huff. "Just gotta make it another day…"

How many more "another day"s can he take? A question that's been on his mind since all this chaos began. Since he got swept up in something much bigger than himself. Then Neo. If this is what Cinder wanted, maybe it's a good thing she's not here, he muses as he walks down the hallway. Without Neo, there's no chance of her getting hurt worse. May as well count his blessings.

"Oh-!"

Roman falters when he stumbles, looking down to see a poor servant with a dropped tray and some barely-saved glasses on the carpet floor, champagne that probably costs more than any amount of Dust Roman has stolen in the past staining the fabric.

With a sigh, he kneels down and offers the girl a smile. "My apologies, I thought the upstairs was empty." He smoothly offers, helping gather rolled away glasses. That is the one nice thing about Atlas. No one cares to remember the voice of the long-dead Roman Torchwick. He doesn't need to worry too much about that.

"So, what's got you up here, anyway?" He can't help it. He's always been nosy when it comes to rich parties. And servants always have such juicy gossip. "I doubt you'll get many good tips up-"

…green eyes. That's the first thing he notices are green eyes. Piercing, so familiar, it's exactly like looking in a mirror. The young woman near him wearing a black bob on top of that that just brings too many memories back. Far too many. Too many of disguise attempts, trying to find the most bland appearance possible, before the two settled on black hair and green eyes and easy hairstyles. Easy to blend into the background with a bob, after all.

The silence between them is heavy, the woman silent as ever, and Roman taking her in. Her size, her stature, her figure…

"…I haven't used boxed dye in so long." Roman finally offers. A tidbit. A small nudge. It makes her blink, mouth falling lightly open.

Roman finally smiles. Smiles. Big and large and impatiently joyous at a fact that hasn't been proven.

"I mean…you did a much better job at my disguises, didn't you…"

It's like falling in love all over again. His heart skips a beat at the sight of shimmering pink, and leaps into his throat as it falls away like delicate raining glass to reveal a familiar face. Pink and brown eyes staring back at him, to match her hair, with messy white streaks from the amount of stress she's been through.

Roman laughs. He laughs because he finally found his hat and scarf, tied delicately around her neck and donning the top of her head like a crown.

Fit for a queen, of course.

"…Neo?"

Her name rolls off his tongue like a prayer. Neo, Neo, Neo, he's thought it for so long, he's imagined it for longer, but seeing it, seeing her…

He's not sure who launches at who first. Roman remembers opening his arms, but by the time his mind is caught up with him again, Neo's clinging to him tight, silent sobs soaking the front of his stolen attire as Roman cradles the back of her head, rests his chin atop his hat that sits so perfectly on her head, careful not to dirty her perfect appearance.

"You're just as stunning as ever…" He hiccups when he pulls away, cupping her face in his hands. Hands that are bare, gloves frantically tossed away to ensure that she's real. With real skin, and real warmth, and real wet tears he wipes away even as they continue to fall.

Real, with small hands mirroring his own, letting her feel along under his bangs, the scar that got bigger from the accident, letting her count every freckle like she couldn't remember their placement, letting her stare right into him as he stares right back.

Roman wastes no time. Her lips are like candy, sugary with lip gloss and a tad salty from tears. Be it his own or hers, he can't tell, and he doesn't care.

All that matters is that she's here. With him. Held in his arms, and sat in his lap like nothing ever changed. Like they're back at the warehouse, holding each other as they try to quiet down their adrenaline-filled thoughts after a long day's work to get some good sleep.

When he pulls away, Neo doesn't let him, yanking him right back in for kiss after kiss, making Roman laugh as he gives her everything she needs. Everything she wants. Anything. Anything at all. She deserves it. She deserves the world.

"Neo-"

peck

"Neo, doll-"

peck, peck

"Sweetheart, we need to-"

peck!

"Okay! That's enough!" Roman laughs again, straightening up enough to make Neo have to stop. He wipes his face of stray tears, amusement clear at her familiar pout. Yes. Because how dare he deny her anything. What a cruel monster her lover has become with time.

He shakes his head, gently combing fingers through Neo's hair. More white streaks. More stress. "If we keep this up, we'll be up here all night. And personally? I'd rather not have our first night back together in a Schnee manor."

Neo's face scrunches in disgust. Clearly, they're on the same page. "Besides…"

Cupping her cheek, he thumbs over newly obtained, tiny scars. Then, delicately, he removes his scarf from her neck, Neo allowing him to see the riddling of slashes. Along with newer ones, along the collar bone. Light burns and small stabs.

He sets the scarf aside to steal his hat from her head, dropping it atop his own. Even with the disguise, Neo sees him. All of him. Every inch of Roman Torchwick and his dramatics.

…they're perfect for each other.

"I really need to fill you in on what you've missed."

Roman doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve her. Not now. Not after what they've gone through. Not after what he's done, his constant back and forth, his changing, his differences from back then to now.

But knowing Neo? She's too stubborn to give him up.

And, no matter how much time he's spent around those damn kids…

Roman's too selfish to let her try.

[queenharumiura]

✍️ + Xanxus

Send me ✍️ + a muse, and I’ll try my hand at writing as them ||Accepting|| @inciteafflatus

Xanxus slowly peels open an eye to see that a certain brunette woman was causing a ruckus again. It was usually a number of things:

Belphegor or Fran had pissed her off again and she's hellbent on punching them 'at least once'.

Someone trekked mud all over the freshly cleaned floors.

Someone probably ate the cake she was saving.

PMS

Lazy observation was all that was needed to know which of the 4 options it was. She's waving a mop around, so it was reason number 2.

Despite the fact that he normally presented himself as a lazy leader (which honestly wasn't that far from the truth most days), he was still competent, and he knew the necessary information about all those under his command.

Of course, that meant that he knew Haru's backstory, and he was also the one that allowed her to have a place within the Varia. If she were entirely useless, he would've kicked her out of the Varia. He didn't give a RATS ASS about what anyone else had to say to him.

She was useful and she made the cut. Simple as that.

Besides... that Prince of theirs needed a playmate who could occupy his time. He rolls over to fall asleep again, but a gun was now in hand.

Keep it up for a bit longer, and you're DEAD, noisy trash.

[roseofithaca]

Run, Little Witch (Part 4)

Mary is determined to save Silver but time is running out.

"You're kidding me!"

"Nope."

"Right up inside his-?!"

"All the way in."

Alison laughed, flicking the indicator as she turned right into the driveway; "No way can that be legal."

"Is in Amsterdam. Maybe we can go there next year?" Mike smirked, still a bit tipsy after treating himself to some beers on the flight.

"Think we might have to settle for Brighton again." Their couple's holiday savings was not getting much bigger than when they'd started if two years ago. "Hang on, what...?"

She parked the car several feet from the front door and pulled up the parking break, keeping the headlights on to illuminate the peculiar sight that welcomed her home.

Mike frowned at her; "What is it?"

"Ghost thing...You know Silver, right?"

"Emo girl who sleeps in the woods? The one Julian is always playing Evansescence songs on the ipod speaker for?"

"I know you downloaded those songs before we moved here."

"They remind me of simpler times, okay! Anyway, what about this girl?"

Alison unclipped her seat belt and got out the car; "They're...dragging her, kicking and screaming, across the field...Guys! Guys, what are you doing?!"

But the group didn't so much as look her way. Silver was shrieking like a banshee, fighting with all her strength as Humphrey's body, Robin and Julian frogmarched her away from the house. Captain strode behind them with Pat, Kitty, Thomas and Fanny in his wake. None of them seemed concerned for why the young Neo-Pagan was in great distress. More like they were all heading off for a pleasant evening stroll.

Alison abandoned Mike and the car and tried to run after them.

"Guys! Guys, can you hear me?!"

"Al'son!"

She turned to see Mary racing towards her, clutching at her skirt.

"Mary, what are they-?"

"I told you! I saids this would happen and you didn't believe me!" She sounded far more frantic than normal, which was saying a lot.

"What are you talking about?"

"The mirror! You broke the mirror and the spirit of that blaggard hath been let loose and he's taken control of the others and made them torture the poor heathen child!"

Torture? Alison couldn't help but scoff.

"That's ridiculous! Those guys? Other than driving me round the bend every other day, they're harmless!"

"It ain't them doing it, Al'son, it's him! It's Sir Pius!" Mary got up close in her face; "He wants to punish her, as he did me, don't thou see?!"

Punish her? What, for her poor taste in music? For her overly bloated rants about the patriarchy?

Silver's screams cut through the night air again. Alison turned in time to see her aim a kick at Robin's shin. The caveman gave her a thrash across the face with his paw.

That...could not be a joke.

She made another attempt to get through to them; "Guys! Listen to me! Let her go and stop all this or else...Or else no more T.V for a month! You hear me?!"

No response. Not even a look her way.

"Shit...Maybe this is serious." She turned back to what seemed to be the ghost who was the closest to being sane.

"If anything terrible happens to that girl, I will holds you responsibles, Al'son Coopers!"

No threat had ever struck so deep. Alison shrank back, Mary's expression that of a mother lioness. The smoke wafting off her along with the smell of toast made her blood run cold.

She got the message, loud and clear.

"All right. Okay...Let's go fix that mirror then." She nodded, remembering her promise; "Mike! Where did you put the super glue?!"

They toss Silver to the ground like a discarded bag of rubbish. She doesn't try to run again, her head pounding from the blow of Robin's fist.

"Ah, yes. This will do. I believe it was this spot where we used to set up the gallows." Captain mused. "Are you ready to face your sentencing, girl?"

Taking in a breath, she pushed herself onto her knees. Then, in spite of all the physical and mental pain thrumming through her, she laughs.

"Sentenced to what?" She dared to ask, sneering up at him; "What is it you plan to do? Flog me some more? Knock me about until you get bored? There's not much else you can do now, is there. You can't set up a noose. You can't drown me in the lake. You're fucking impotent, mate! You can't burn this witch. I'm already dead!" The last part she with a smidgen of pride before laughing some more.

His stick struck her across the cheek.

"Silence, whore. If I need to remove your tongue with our bare fingernails, I will attempt to do so. Never mind if it regrows. It will be a game we can enjoy many times over."

The thought alone made her shudder, as much as she tried to hide her fear. She would rather they didn't get too creative with their limited means of torture.

"Had you studied your history, you would know that witches were rarely burned at the stake. I discovered and executed over a hundred she-demons in my life. Out of all of them, only one was wicked enough to be put to the torch. The rest were sent to Hell through many various methods...The question is, which one will be suitable for you?"

Why bother sending her to Hell? Silver thought to herself. It seemed like she was already there.

The Captain's stick lifted up her chin.

"I have come to appreciate the art of isolation as punishment. The more permanent the better. If we can't send you back to Satan directly, then you can be trapped for centuries, in the dark. Just as I was."

There was no remnant of the old soldier's warmth in those eyes. Nothing but two jet black onyxes.

"And how the fuck would you do that? I'm a ghost, you prick. Walls can't hold me." Once the words were out of her mouth, she felt like an idiot for testing him.

He smirked; "That is true, isn't it. The ground, on the other hand, seems to be very, very firm to us."

Thoughts of iron coffins were shoved back to the front of her mind. No. There was no way they could think of...They wouldn't be able to dig.

And then that deep, primal chuckle caught their attention.

"Me know just the place." Robin grinned, wickedly; "There old well next to lake. Saw ghost fall down there once, many Moonah ago. Hear him scream for year after year. Never saw him go up. Maybe he wander through mud even now. Trapped forever in darkness."

No, no, no, no.

"Yes, thank you, Robin. That sounds like a perfect home for our little witch, doesn't it, everyone?"

The others all nodded in agreement. Silver clutched at her own arms, feeling her chest tighten, oxygen escaping her grasp as her anxiety rose beyond all manageable levels.

She tried once more to search their eyes, to appeal to whatever glimpse of her friends that were trapped within.

"Guys...Please." She whimpered, "Don't do this. I...We're family."

"That's true. We are family." Said Kitty, raising her chin, "But you were never a real part of it."

"Kitty...." She began to weep.

"Oh stop your pathetic snivelling, you satanic wretch." Fanny glowered, "I'll be looking forward to no longer having to tolerate your sinful presence each month."

"Or your ghastly songs." Thomas added.

"Or the feminist whining." Scoffed Julian.

"Or having to carry skinny bum into wood each time." The caveman rolled his eyes.

When did she ever ask that of him? When had she ever kept him to that one favour she asked of him on the night she died? 'Stay'.

"Is that why you pray to all those false gods of yours, hmm?" Humphrey asked from where he dangled from Pat's grip; "Because you couldn't get any real friends?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. Who'd want to be around a pathetic waste of space like that?" She never thought she'd ever hear Pat Butcher speak so callously; "Even her own family didn't like her. No guesses why."

"Stop it!" She begged, fingers digging into her arms; "Please, stop..."

"Oh, my dear." Tutted the Captain; "It will all stop, very soon. We'll be rid of your filth and you'll get to be alone in the dark with your gods. Forever."

"Make haste, Al'son!" Mary pressed.

From the window, she could just about see the group of them standing around a bereft Silver, trembling on her knees, the tears on her cheeks glistening in the moonlight. She wanted to race back and gather the child up in her arms immediately.

"I'm going as quick as I can! I was never good at jigsaws." Alison muttered, placing another shard where it seemed to fit best, the underside lined with a dab of Locktite. "Will it matter if they're not all fused together?"

"I dunno..." She admitted, not tearing her eyes from the window; "But we has to try. I dunnos what they planning on doing with the little'en but it can't be good."

Pius was a sadist. There was no other way to put it. He had revelled in finding the most creative and horrific ways to abstract so-called confessions out of innocent women. That hungry smirk on his handsome face had haunted her nightmares for four hundred years. She dreaded to think what sick and twisted things he planned on doing to Silver.

The man one, Mike, sat on the bed, watching his wife finish her project with his usual confusion.

"So, lemme get this straight. You broke some cursed mirror and now it's made the ghosts go crazy and start hurting the emo one?"

"Wiccan. And yeah, pretty much. Except Mary, for some reason." Alison explained, blandly, swapping out two small, near identical pieces. "Why is that, Mary?"

"Dunnos...Maybe he can't take hold of those he already harmed..."

Alison paused to glance over her shoulder at the woman, just for a moment. She said nothing. There was nothing that needed to be said, and if there were it needed to wait for a better time. But the realisation made her gut twist. It was never nice to be reminded that her ghost family were once, and still were, people. People who loved...and suffered.

Remembering Silver's cries and Mary's motherly threat, she quickened her pace with restoring the mirror as best she could.

"One last piece...There." She sighed with a sense of accomplishment.

"Good! Now let's take the mirror outside, at once." Said Mary.

"Give it a sec, we need to wait for the glue to dry or they'll all just slip out again."

"How longs will thats take?!"

"As long as it takes, I dunno! We don't need to rush."

"Don't need to..." Mary stared at her like she had two heads, "Al'son, they're dragging her off into the night! We needs to stop them now!"

"Well....maybe it's for the best."

Mary blinked at the younger woman.

"I mean, it's not like we'd be missing much, the girl is barely here except a few nights a month and it's not like I know her as well as you..."

Alison's expression contorted as she seemed to hear herself.

"Shit. What the fuck did I just say?" She asked, looking from Mary to Mike, genuinely terrified.

Mary stepped back. It was spreading to the livings now. She couldn't count on Alison to carry the mirror back outside.

She was alone. Silver's fate rested entirely in her hands.

[likemosaic]

|| ⭐️ (bats eyelashes)

send a " ⭐ " and i will list muses i would be interested in throwing at yours. / @m80495

honey you know you can have all my rwby muses. but also if youre interested/a part of any of the other fandoms we can always put merc in a crossover!

i actually have this headcanon that the reason that neo's boots are so strong in the roman/neo versus ruby fight is that she's inspired by mercury's legs/talaria, and she added steel to the base of her shoes. both dancer inspired, and they also have that shared "what happened to my mom and my sibling? who knows, trauma is horrible and i can't think about it" thing which sucks. i don't know how much attention she would've given mercury while roman was alive, but on the inverse, i don't know that he'll have much patience for her horrible grief from roman's death. she's really going through the motions and trying to find someone new to imprint codependency on after v3, with mixed bag results. also, her schizophrenia and her identity disorder is acting up HARD, and that makes some of the exchanges they have.....a little strange. it depends on how mercury can cope with that! im down for toxicity, but hey, maybe merc will be able to be a good polite boy (probably not).

cinder, the queen of autism and toxicity. is there even anything to be said here. canon mutual distrust and dislike, fun enemies. but she's not all bad all the time, and i can't blame mercury for hanging around her, because maybe those scraps of positive attention she can give are worth it? she did tell him she liked his jacket once. that's something. go after that milf, merc, chase your dreams.

COCO IS GOING THROUGH IT AND MERCURY BLACK YOU STAY AWAY FROM THAT INNOCENT YOUNG WOMAN. and by that i mean she probably tried to have sex with him at beacon, and also hated his guts for kicking her ass in the festival. volume 3 was a really low time for her and she was incredibly depressed so............mercury shoo. hsp au, aka coco's salem squad au, is something i made with a friend but we can always plot something similar if you found "evil villain mind control coco" interesting. alternatively, depending on how mercury acts towards her as a "haven" student, they could be friends for a while, because she's pretty friendly up until he mollywops her in the vytal festival and destroys her already suffering pride. did i mention she'd try to sleep with him? she loves a boy who will treat her so so bad.

ozpin is very well aware that salem is doing something in the vytal festival, and i think he could even guess that crmn are probably the plants, but it's better to let them gather info rather than to show his hand and potentially make beacon look bad by expelling "innocent" students. that said, he might pull mercury into his office or keep an eye on him, and i'd love to see mercury's reaction to someone trying to be a healthy adult towards him. though oz would have some internalized pettiness...good luck oz.

[thegatesofinfinitespace]

◀️◀️ Seraph!!!!

send “▶▶️” to get a glimpse at a scene from my muse’s future. send “◀️◀️” to get a glimpse at a memory from my muse’s past.

It's a sting of betrayal. Frustration. Fury. He's dead. He's never coming back. He's DEAD. It's too much to process. Seraph can't hear his only brother left talking, Alouette clinging to his leg. There's only red. Is he shaking because he's shocked, or is it anger, guilt? His fingers curl tightly into themselves, and he's ripping away.

X tries to form in front of him, and he doesn't even notice, storming through the hologram like a hurricane. A blink, he's flicking all of the switches in the cockpit of their stolen carrier. Neo Arcadian. It clunks for a moment, used one too many times for undercover raids, but whirs to life all the same.

Unlike someone else. It's the perfect ticket to a one-way destination.

Thrusters flare, still colder than the fire he feels in his core. It's a fire that sears through his limbs, burns his fingertips, suffocates his vision. He's rocketing away, muting Harpuia's COMMs of concern, dismissing the pings from his predecessor. It only blazes hotter as he nears the last bastion of humanity, watches the sensors for any warning of his approach. Clueless. They'll pay for their ignorance.

There's nothing. His thumb flicks up the cover on the panel to his right, mashing the button it covered. A missile soars, cracks the glass encasing the city below. Seraph doesn't relent until the barrier is powder, crashing through smoke and debris. He aims true for the tower in the center, the roar of his engines matching his fury. They'll pay for endangering his people.

It's only disturbed for a second. Plasma rips through his windshield, shattering the glass. Red optics flash down, to the smoking barrel of the gun fired, the shock of silver hair, the crimson armor of Neo Arcadia's hero. They lock eyes for a moment, but the Copy X refuses to spare another glance. He tightens his fingers over the throttle, and cranks it, tearing across the sky like a scar. They'll pay for leading Phantom to his death.

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO CATA COSMIA, YOSHIYA "JOSHUA" KIRYU. 🌕

ꕥ  — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: Blues age: 28 pronouns: they/he ooc contact: @au_deer on twitter other characters in xc: Mithra, Elphelt Valentine

ꕥ  — IC INFORMATION;

name: Yoshiya “Joshua” Kiryu age: takes the form of a young adult, really an unknown age (implied to be 100+ years old) pronouns: he/him… series: The World Ends with You canon point: post NEO Twewy app triggers: death games, murder of a minor

personality:

You can tell a lot about someone by the look they prefer to wear. Or can you? Joshua keeps a better-than-you smile on his face, but that only scratches the surface of what he's thinking.

He's smug. Unbearably smug. He's also unbearably smart. He can back up his attitude with his overall prowess, boasting knowledge of many subjects. He's seen many things in his time and has the jaded, dismissive attitude to prove it. He doesn't particularly care if people like him, nor does he care if people retaliate against him. They will be met with however much force he deems necessary, which might not be a lot. Overall, he takes a near unflappable attitude under most situations, rarely showing emotions stronger than amusement, slight shock, and mild irritation.

Beneath the grating surface, however, his actions are generally motivated by good-ish intentions. He actually values people a lot more than he lets on, and will be motivated by what he sees as the greater good rather than selfish desires. He keeps these intentions under wraps. He also keeps his personal wants under wraps as well. Even if he's lonely and wants to form bonds with people, he would never say.

something your muse struggles with: Revealing his actual intentions, attachment to others

your muse’s greatest strength: His intellect and adaptability

history / background:

Contains spoilers for Twewy and NEO Twewy

It's said there was once a boy who could see people and creatures beyond that of others. When he told others about the things he'd seen, they didn't believe him. They thought he was lying, or worse. And so, he became isolated, labeled as an outcast. It was only until he was able to find another who was able to see what he saw that he was able to form a connection.

… The above might not actually be true about Joshua but it's a neat story, right?

Either way, at some point Joshua died, played the reaper's game, and became Shibuya's Composer many, many years ago, and has been overseeing the city and its reaper's game ever since. But, throughout those years, he had a realization about its population: it was becoming stagnant and harmful, more of a detriment to keep around. He planned on destroying it, but his second in command, Megumi Kitaniji, the Conductor, tried to convince him not to. A "game" between them began: Kitaniji would prove to him that Shibuya could be saved, and Joshua would find a proxy to thwart his efforts. He needed someone who exemplified all the problems the Composer saw with Shibuya, a misanthrope and pessimist who wanted nothing to do with the world.

And… his proxy would win! The proxy, Neku Sakuraba, was able to defeat Kitaniji and foil his plans. Joshua was now free to destroy Shibuya.

Except, during the course of this Game, something changed in his proxy. No longer was he the sheltered, spiteful youth who hated people, Neku had opened his heart to others and changed for the better. He'd become his own antithesis, and thus, without meaning to, proved to Joshua that Shibuya was not as stagnant as it seemed.

And Joshua himself had changed, too.

So, he spared the city. Shibuya was recognized as a place filled with potential, where change could happen readily and imagination could flourish.

But unfortunately, Shibuya would not be spared for long. Above Joshua is an hierarchy of celestials who dictate even more than himself. Those angels would continue to see the city as worthy of erasure, but this time Joshua was not about to let that happen.

Another game began. Another proxy was chosen. He could only do so much, but it was a game he could see leading to victory.

powers / abilities:

As the Composer, Joshua's level of power is far beyond that of almost every other individual in his world. He acts as a physical god to his realm, and while his range of his reality warping abilities does not appear to be infinite (we don’t actually know the range), he's still incredibly powerful.

ESP: Not exclusive to Joshua, those dead and in the “Reaper’s game” have access to a wide variety of psychic abilities, though Joshua does not need any special circumstances to use them:

Mind reading (cannot read the minds of anyone with a player pin… usually)

“Imprinting”: Simple phrases can be implanted into someone’s head in order to suggest a course of action. As an angel, Joshua can also imbue command codes into things he creates in order to subtly inspire people towards certain ideas

Telekinesis: Exactly as it sounds. Joshua is able to move multiple objects at a time with his mind, the limits of this topping off at around the level of literal celestial bodies. He usually acts as though he's using his phone to do this, but he really doesn't need it

Object Displacement: Joshua can target multiple things/people/etc and instantly change their location. He “uses his phone” for this as well

Radiant Beams: Beams of light with vaguely religious iconography rain down from above. These beams are extremely powerful and quite frankly, most of the time if he goes all out with these it's overkill 

“Smiting”: Beam of kills-you-dead. Joshua can essentially delete someone and rewrite reality so it's as if they never existed. Effect is not immediate

Flight/Levitation

Teleportation: Exactly as it sounds. The range is unknown

Timeline Hopping: The ability to completely leave one timeline and plant himself in another. Doing this will completely erase Joshua's existence from a timeline for however long he's in an alternate one (though he will still be remembered).

Revive: As the Composer, Joshua can bring people back from the dead as well. When he does so, he may also rewrite reality and the memories of those involved so it's as though the revived being never died in the first place

Creation: Due to his extremely high imagination, Joshua can create things out of thin air. He does so by ascribing the abstract makeup of the world, called Soul in TWEWY, with new “code” to define it as something concrete. Has been seen with guns, vehicles, balls of fire, balls of ice, and more, but doesn’t seem to have a limit. Presumably, he has no limit aside from those abilities which are unique to the individual.

Realm creation and control: Shibuya as it’s currently known was created by Joshua as well as its Underground (UG) and Reaper’s game. The UG is under Joshua’s absolute authority and its rules are dictated by his whims

Clairvoyant foresight: Joshua can see a certain amount into the future. The limit on this is unknown, and is likely limited to having a vague sense of what will happen in the upcoming future. This is referred to as “super temporal vision”

Omniscience: That’s right, he knows everything. No it’s not fair. Yes I hate him for it.

inherent abilities:

Functional Immortality: Joshua can only die if he is killed. He's otherwise immune to other ways people can die such as old age or disease (since he's technically already dead)

Shapeshifting: Joshua's true form is that of an ethereal, blinding, person-shaped being; however, in the Cosmias, he will continue to look like a normal human until he gets all his powers back

items / weapons:

Gun: Just a handgun he has for some reason. Don’t worry about it

starting ability: Telekinesis starting item: N/A

extra:

not this guy again...

(watch out! he's got a gun!)

discord id: godcomposed

[lunapaper]

Album Review: 'Slugs of Love' - Little Dragon

Welcome. Little Dragon are gonna whistle a little melody for you. And it goes a little something like this... 

Clocking up over 15 years together as a band, the Swedish quartet have consistently delivered off-kilter yet soulful electro-pop, often from within the intimate confines of their Gothenburg studio. 

After settling into a comfortable kind of groove on their past couple of albums, the band finally get a little more experimental, letting their freak flags fly on seventh album, Slugs of Love.  

‘We’ve been exploring different ways to collaborate and communicate,’ frontwoman Yukimi Nagano tells Stereogum. ‘Dissolving patterns and making new ones. Nurturing our ability to curiously press down keys, to bang — sometimes hard sometimes gently — on different things, strumming strings, recording sounds and investigating the limits for how much or little a sound can be tweaked… Together, we have developed, replayed, danced to, cried, and laughed to this music as it has evolved forwards, backwards, sideways, and all around, but now finally as a complete masterpiece… This feels like our finest work yet. We are very proud.’   

Unlike 2017’s Season High or the colourful boldness of New Me, Same Us, Slugs of Love is quite an insular record despite the kooky title, more indebted to the jazzy and nocturnal as the band turn slick nu-disco into something cool and contemplative, moving in small, considered steps rather than full-on busting a move.  

‘Dear legends, you've been brave/This soul needs to be saved/My God, my God/I'm a neurotic mеss,’ Nagano intones on moody opener ‘Amöban,’ a smooth, seductive slice of neo-jazz that recalls the sultrier takes on 2014’s stellar Nabuma Rubberband, evoking the feel of a ghostly Stockholm winter. It’s rather revealing of the band’s creative processes, fraught with insecurity and self-doubt even after almost two decades of cult success and critical acclaim. ‘Frisco,’ meanwhile, is rubbery, jagged and hypnotic, replete with longing. ‘I never wanted to leave this behind/Chasing a dream always comes with a price,’ Nagano admits, still plagued by creative anxieties.  

And yet, the rest of the record proves a lot more optimistic, whimsical even as Nagano finds herself in a rather romantic state of mind. 

The dreamy, Eastern-tinged ‘Stay’ has the vocalist swooning over bouncy, synthetic bass, assuring ‘We're gonna be just fine, baby/No matter how it roll/Or how the endin' go/Leave your armour behind, baby’ while drifting further into a boundless night. ‘Gold’ is a glittering standout, groaning with subterranean bass and sleek with stylish synths, interpolating Whitney Houston’s ‘Million Dollar Bill.’ On ‘Disco Dangerous,’ she’s a ‘junkie for the rush,’ exchanging shy glances across the dancefloor; twinkling, pulsating and unashamedly girlish. Even when a friendship is crumbling on ‘Kenneth,’ Nagano tries to look on the bright side (‘Bitter spells/Bitter rain/Never last/Always pass’). 

Things take a thrilling left turn of the title track, more ‘Whip It’ than ‘Let It Whip’ with its angular bass and New Wave-powered urgency, along with some beautiful floating sax riffs, providing a magical backdrop to Nagano’s languid musings on post-lockdown romance and hedonism. 

Occasional stumbles, however, can pull you out of Slugs of Love’s gauzy reverie. Damon Albarn’s appearance is wasted on the six-minute space epic ‘Glow,’ starting off as a soulful experience of   before listlessly drifting off into the void, inevitably losing steam, proving a rather weak facsimile of its celestial predecessor, ‘Empire Ants’ from Gorillaz’s 2010 album Plastic Beach. 

The album, however, rebounds nicely with sweet finale, ‘Easy Falling,’ an electro-folk lullaby swooning with retro girl group tones that has an eager Nagano running back in the direction of love, a soft, summery burst of nostalgia borne out of the bitter darkness of the Swedish chill.  

Slugs of Love is not the most dynamic disco pop record. But it is stylishly produced and there’s a lot to love about its loose, sleek and minimalist grooves. It might not meet Nagano’s lofty descriptions of a ‘masterpiece,’ but it still proves rather mesmerising, reminding us of the beauty in simplicity in a world mostly indebted to extravagance and excess. 

- Bianca B.