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valkyrie-kun · 17 days ago

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5Ds ending breakdown: Why did Yusei stay in Neo Domino? (1/2)

Knowing my obsession with the ending of 5Ds and forever chasing closures for some characters (more on that to be revealed eventually), it's no surprise that I naturally found myself asking the titular question. What may surprise some people, I do, in fact, have a complicated relationship with 5Ds ending and Yusei's fate overall, and might tend to be ambivalent about those subjects. While the finale was an amazing finisher at the moment, once you start digging deeper into the implications of the aftermath, it's much more charged than the first impression might lead one to believe.

I will focus on Yusei's fate solely (even if a lot can be said for epilogues of other characters, due to a personal bias and due to a "research" work I'm doing atm) in four factual statements pertaining to the ending breakdown, then the timeline, and finally I will offer a conclusion. Also, in the two parts because, boy, Tumblr just can be so idiotic (in a lack of better wording) with its limitations per post.

Finally, insert vine, that's m y o p i n i o n.

1.Yusei himself isn't sure what to do with himself once Fortune is finished. First, we meet Yusei post-Fortune development and he seems rather unlike himself in a white coat and a shirt (considering we're used to seeing him in his motorcycle fits during the whole show), but one thing is made clear - he's damn good at his short-term project at MIDS, to the point where Yaeger, while urging him to take a break, lets it slip that he would've liked him to stay in Neo Domino as a safety net, a competent person he can rely on that won't let Zero Reverse happen again. But Yaeger also encourages him to take care of his own future before anything else, even excusing himself for "saying too much" - unknowingly letting Yusei know what was generally expected of him to do, now that the world is saved. Then we see Yusei coming home to the heap of envelopes with pro league invitations, looking rather indifferent towards competitive dueling now (with how many traumatic duels this man had been through, with impossible stakes and his friends dying or nearly dying in the process, you can't blame him for developing, well, an ick - if that's what it is). But he's also not tossing those invitations away, which hints at him still keeping that option open for himself (as he should). Back to physics (or work at MIDS), we don't know how it complies with his interests, because while we know he's good at it (roll the tape of Aki asking him for help with her homework), we don't know for sure if he enjoys physics as much as it's made clear how much he enjoys dueling (even if it is not competitive anymore) and engine development/D-wheel work. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, obviously, and whether he feels at home at the potential workplace is left to anyone's interpretation (though it's heavily implied that he has a good team of people behind him). But as the paragraph title suggests, he isn't there yet with the final decision for himself, whatever may be the case.

2.Yusei's issues with his dad and guilt aren't resolved...yet. Back to season 1/Dark Signers Arc, Yusei admits during his duel with Rudger that he feels guilt and responsibility for his father's research going south all those years ago, despite barely being born when that had happened (or younger than one year, the timeline is headache-inducing and I have zero (0) interest in trying to break it down properly when the writers hadn't bothered to do as much). Despite Crow telling him to his face that he had never resented him (nor his old man) for the way his life turned out, when we fast forward to his first attempt at Accel Synchro while dueling rather sullen Placido, he gets visibly upset (actually, the most upset we've ever seen him in the show - minus Bruno's death, and aforementioned confrontation with Rudger) to the point of not being able to achieve Clear Mind due to a distressing reminder that he's the son of the man who had, in a lack of a better wording, contributed to the fuckup of an entire megalopolis. Whether that was solely Professor's fault or what was his share in responsibility for the tragedy, no me interesa, emotions don't follow a logical continuity most times - Yusei's included. To a Western audience, the concept of such intense guilt over someone else's mistakes and/or poor judgment may ring nonsensical, but I remember reading one post regarding this topic that there's a very good reason why, in Japan, your surname (family name) comes before your first name. Yusei's full and real name is Fudō Yūsei - meaning he's his family, he's Fudo before he's his own person. That bond one has with their ancestry - for better or for worse - is hard and nearly impossible to break, as it's ingrained so deeply into the culture that Yusei can do only so much about it. But separating himself fully from the Zero Reverse, from the man that was the late Professor Fudo in the climate he's canonically living in, seems a little unlikely. To sum it up, just as one reassurance (from Crow during the duel with Rudger) didn't heal him fully and immediately (hence the Clear Mind scene, but also it's frankly logical that the one time wasn't enough for him to let it go), Yusei didn't banish his demons fully by defeating Placido or Z-ONE, as Yusei himself later confirmed that he was still thinking about his father because of his duel with Z-ONE, specifically. That's also the duel where his dad, sure enough, appears and saves him - stating it had been the last thing he could do for him, and where he offers him one last bit of advice.

While he wasn't thinking about his dad in a negative light, and while his father didn't tell him verbatim to "stay in NDC, keep MIDS running because someone has to" (quite the opposite, actually - my personal interpretation is that his father had encouraged him to focus on his bonds with people before anything else), it did showcase that Yusei's dad still has a certain influence on him, and on every decision Yusei has to make - he's always got his dad in the back of his mind, for better or for worse, especially after he saved his life from an afterlife.

Another thing that could exacerbate Yusei's issues was the time skip. The skip to the final episodes was roughly six months, and what exactly was he doing during those months? Yusei was working at his father's workplace (borderline, but you get the idea), and was even compared to his dad at one instance by Yaeger, again. That opens the possibility of Yusei nursing some of his wounds in that period by feeling he was making a difference via coding Fortune, or setting things right by fixing what his father had messed up by saving the future. That further establishes the difficult but important connection (albeit subtly) he will always have with his father (can someone send a mail to the writers' room that Yusei has two parents and neither is alive, please).

3.Yusei knows he can't keep his friends around him forever. As that's something Yusei has no control over - and he doesn't wish to influence his friends in any way, because that's just not who he is. But, as he himself says in the final moments of the show, he wanted to tell everyone to stay in NDC forever, but acknowledged that he knew it wasn't going to be possible. Yusei, unsurprisingly, was still harboring his quintessential faith that the bonds they had formed would withstand that test of time and space (not without concrete evidence), giving us - the viewers - an optimistic lens while reinforcing a realistic, healthy message: things don't always turn out the way you plan them/want them, but that's okay because what is real will prevail and the rest didn't matter anyway. In the context of him choosing to stay in NDC to *most likely* (as his future job was never formally disclosed!) to work for MIDS, what he should have done instead of letting his friends go, and adapting to the job in the city? My answer: nothing. While there are members of the team 5Ds who had made out-of-the-blue decisions without the plot setting them up for it properly (Crow????), Yusei's decision makes perfect sense (more on that on conclusive paragraph, and happy ending for a series vs for a character as a person). However, there are two happier theoretical options: A) he, too, should've taken a break (as Yaeger suggested) to leave NDC to find himself first, and to finally try to enjoy life after struggling through the whole of his early life, (I'm not buying "I am this town" thing because he isn't from NDC at the end of the day - he was raised in Satellite, in a community that brought him up, while the city itself only gave him and his friends discrimination, abuse of power and poverty), B) he should've stayed in NDC with writers taking pains to let us know that he ended up doing what he loved and wanted to do, not what was expected of him (very subtly and actually empathetically by the newly elected mayor). Notice how I didn't offer "he left with one of his friends together" as a possible solution, too? Well, as I said, the messages of realistic friendships and life meanders are just that good for them to be removed completely without really needing to, as once again, it makes perfect sense with Yusei's personality - he's still self-sacrificing, he's marked by his home, by his community, and unfortunately his emotional issues aren't resolved to the point of him being able to make a decision without that influence. While there are objectively happier endings for the character, the realism of both him staying in NDC because who will - if not him?, and the realism of him having to be separated from his friends because of life circumstances, is one of the best aspects of the show and its structure. But unlike the topic of his personal relationships/bonds affecting Yusei's fate (as I just concluded that there's none, and that's some good writing on the show's part), some other aspects of an ending (alongside his short-term project at MIDS, and everpresent hangups with guilt and sacrifices) gave me more of a reason to believe that Yusei's decision to stay came from an unhealed place (which is also, while depressing at a first gaze, a possible indicator of a really quality character writing taking place once again).

#yugioh 5ds #ygo 5ds #yusei fudo #yusei my beloved #part 2 tommorow most likely #crow hogan #aki izayoi #akiza izinski

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see-arcane · 2 years ago

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I might have pitied this deformed woman

With all due respect ACD why is everyone calling someone with a limp deformed... Also to be honest I would have felt more horror from the story if Gilroy found her attractive and/or charming and enjoyed her company and work relationship but also did not love her for whatever (non-physical) reason, because then there could have been a potential inner conflict and guilt, instead of ''this is out of my hands she is icky-looking and a crone (Gilroy you are 35) so I have no self-doubts about being in love involved on top of it all yay''. Having him vehemently dislike her all the time minus during hypnosis removes those layers.

It isn't 'everyone' in the story who calls her deformed, though. It's just Gilroy. No one else is mentioned deriding her for her disability or her looks or anything else beyond Penelosa's talent.

Considering ACD's comparatively progressive track record with the Sherlock Holmes stories--a series notable for how often it takes the side of oppressed parties, including abused or preyed-upon women--I can't see Gilroy's ageist and ableist views as anything but an intentional setup for the narrative payoff of his disgust as well as his anger and fear.

The story does feel slightly karmic at the start and, to give ACD the benefit of the doubt, I agree with you that having Penelosa not be an attractive hypno-dominatrix likely played a part in Gilroy's initial revulsion at her controlling him into playing paramour. I think this was intentional for the character's buildup, but also for the audience's. Even in the present day, there's no ignoring that there are demographics out there who are Highly Interested in the erotic implications of hypnosis. BDSM for the brain, puppet master kinks, et cetera.

If Miss Penelosa had been hot, or even just pretty, I wouldn't have been surprised if the horror story ACD was trying to put together would lose much of its punch in his era's audience. Sure, it's still icky that Gilroy's a man being Controlled By a Woman (!!!), but having her be attractive would 'soften' it for them. Still, all this is only in play if ACD was really truly adamant about selling the horror of 'A Stranger Now Owns My Free Will and Is Planning to Violate My Life in Intimate Ways.'

It could also have just been intended as an eerie scientific*** what-if adventure applied to a then-popular (and wildly overestimated) practice of the time. Or maybe he meant it as a straight-up supernatural escapade in the vein of vampiric mesmerism from a psychic monster. I don't know, I can't ask him.

All of that said, the horror is soured a bit by Gilroy being a haughty skeptic snob who had some comeuppance heading his way in the first place. Similar setups are common in horror flicks today, where we get to cheer at least once in a movie when the Big Villain takes down a more commonplace bad guy. There's no scare there, just vindication.

And me being me, that's not enough. Because I am all about two things.

One, adding more horror to everything, always, forever.

Two, making life harder for Jonathan Harker.

Jonathan 'Holiest Love means I Will Walk Backwards into Hell to Protect/Stay with My Wife Whether She's Mortal or a Literal Monster' Harker is not about to shit on anyone for a bad leg or some crow's feet.

More importantly, we've already seen his reaction to sexy sexy undead ladies trying to hypnotize him into compliance so they can take certain bloody/eternally conscripting liberties with him.

To judge by the 1000+ Dracula adaptations that show the directors' fetishes in full view, Jonathan being preyed on by the hot vampire Brides is seen by many people as...you know. Hot. Enough to rewrite and bastardize his character every time to make him seem like he was genuinely tempted by them.

But He Was Not.

He was being hypnotized into artificial attraction and paralysis so the ladies could take their turns with him without his fighting back or trying to run. Which he does later! More than once! Every time this voluptuous trio tries to hypnotize or corner him again, Jonathan catches on and sprints in the other direction. He is not into that shit no matter how pretty you are, ladies.

Specifically because, as I and Bramothy Stoker cannot stress enough, Jonathan Harker is strictly Minasexual. All Mina all the time. 24/7 Mina lockdown 365 days of the year. Mina, Mina, Mina. Mina? Mina. (I personally headcanon him as demisexual with shades of biromanticism and ace, but that's beside the point.)

The point is, even if Penelosa was a knockout, Jonathan wouldn't notice. He wouldn't care. Just as his love would not have been stopped by Mina turning into an actual monster; he would rather be damned and in love than slay her and be holy. You can bet your ass if Mina suddenly had a handicap he'd still be enraptured with her to the point of blasphemy. You know he's going to still be heart-eyed as they grow older. Jonathan Harker is made of unconditional and extremely focused love. It is all-encompassing and yet it belongs to a single person. It's the kind of love we all wish we had for ourselves.

It's the kind of love that someone like Penelosa--who latched onto a random handsome prick of a professor after she had known him LESS THAN AN HOUR and started plotting to groom him into her personal Ken doll--would do anything to have for herself; Jonathan Harker, the true Prince Charming, the gallant beloved, the guileless charmer who holds the One He Loves above himself, above God and Devil and the world itself...being wasted on some pretty young thing who hardly needs such a treasure.

It isn't fair. Mrs. Harker will never appreciate dear Jonathan like other, more deserving women would. Not like her. She would show him. Help him through the motions until he learned better; learned to love in the right direction.

Her direction.

Only if given the opportunity, of course.

(👁)

In short, yeah, Gilroy was not the best option for a sympathetic horror story protagonist who we could feel real fear and empathy for. We only really get a glimpse of that toward the end, when Penelosa escalates enough to start injuring innocents and tries to make Gilroy throw acid in his fiancée's face. A big scary leap, but also too late in the game for a proper punch. Especially with the abrupt copout of the ending. Bleh.

I think we can do better than that. Say, with a protagonist who can balance on the pro-and-con line of keeping the supernatural puppet master of their life happy enough to not act rashly, who knows the value of dancing on eggshells in a tight spot, who could tug the heartstrings of villain and audience just enough to let fuller and far more frightening machinations come to light as time goes by.

Especially with certain other powers lurking in the shadows, which might make a trifle like death a far less permanent end to their ~romance~ than it ought to be.

Don't you agree, Mr. Harker? ❤

P.S. Gilroy's still absolutely getting his ass handed to him in this take, don't you worry. He's been demoted from crush to chew toy to minion. RIP sir, but you're not off the hook just because Jonathan's distracting her with his dreaminess. Get to work.

#I got an ask a while ago that was really focused on whether or not I was 'going to keep Penelosa ugly'#not long after I went into a whole other ramble about how she was Not Described As Ugly #just middle-aged a bit plain and having a limp #a ramble where I also pointed out that Gilroy was the only person who was shown being insulting about her appearance #to be clear: While there will be (unpleasantly) intimate predatory scenes #this is not a kinkfic I'm writing #this isn't 'Jonathan Gets Hypno-Dommed By Sexy Psychic Lady XXX'#it's meant to be taken as a story directly following Dracula's events and happening a third of the way into 'The Parasite'#while also taking some liberties with the amount of time involved rather than killing the story (and Penelosa) unceremoniously #barely a month into the interesting bits #the fact that Jonathan is careful enough to play the long game without pissing off (X) bogeyman/bogeywoman is grounds to let things go on #for much Much longer than Gilroy allowed with his temper getting the better of him and setting Penelosa on vengeance #more time = more dread = Penelosa getting to show exactly how far she's willing to go to own her target's life/love #I don't plan to throw any ageist or ableist shit in the mix #just fleshing out character points we never got to see in focus before #and highlighting the Actual Menace of the premise that Gilroy's plight/personality didn't really sell #'Someone owns your brain and is taking steps to cut you out of your life and make you into their personal doll.'#which is scary! fucked up! absolute nightmare and a half!#regardless if the person making you into a puppet is sexy~ or not #but again: I am not sexifying this story or its characters. Period.#they are who they are and anything I might add to the story will have its roots in the original works #so to any future anons wanting to know: No. No Sexy Penelosa for you. No hot Harker love triangle. The End.#anyway #the parasite #arthur conan doyle #dracula #bram stoker #jonathan harker #helen penelosa #austin gilroy

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echantedtoon · 1 year ago

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A Champion Time For The Heart Ch18 Battle Gym Leader Melony

It wasn't too surprising all of you fell asleep on the train again that night, seeing how late it was getting when you all hurried onto it like an army of onix was chasing after you all. Thank goodness you managed to catch it and settled down into a couple empty seats to sleep for the night. Come morning the lot of you were already digging into your rations for breakfast to comfort your hungry stomachs that growled for food. And made small talk as the world went flying by outside the windows.

"So how long until we reach Circhester?," you asked biting into come kind of breakfast bar that tasted like bacon bits and oatmeal.

"It's the farthest town from all the others in Galar except for the town in the Crown Tundra Valley but that's farther in the mountains than we need to go," Victor explained after he had pulled out his own phone and pulled up his regional maps to look through them, "It's also deep within the Galarian Mountain Reign so it'll take us about three weeks to get there by train."

"Oh really?"

He nodded again. "The stop we want is Steamdrift Station. From there it's about an hour walk down Steamdrift Way until we get to Circhester and it's gyms."

You paused before blinking and looking at him. Drizzilie taking this chance to pull the rest of your food away from you to eat itself. "Gyms? As in plural?...Like more than one gym?"

"Oh yeah! Guess we haven't told ye!," Gloria cut in leaning into her hand. "The Ice and Rock Type Gyms are located up there and are handled by the gym leader Melony n' 'er son Gordie!"

You paused...eyes blinking wide at them for a moment before pointing. "Hey! Wait a minute! I remember those guys!" YEAH! You did remember them! Ironic since you couldn't remember much of anything else in game. Melony according to in game info was supposed to have a harsh battle style and supposedly be an incredible coach. She ran the Ice type Gym while her son Gordie was in charge of the nieghboring Rock Type Gym also in Circhester. He's supposed to be really popular in a similar way to Raihan and have his own fan base as well that he treats respectfully. ..But the mother and son had a fight over Gordie not wanting to take over his mother's gym and instead but somehow she still became the very first member of his fan club. ...Also he was supposed to have younger siblings as well but you didn't think they were ever shown in the game. You remembered!! That's great! Maybe now you'd start remembering things much more now!! ....You blinked upon noticing the three staring at you. "Uh!...I m-mean I remember some people talking about them before. Apparently Gordie's pretty popular in Galar."

Hop nodded. "Yeah he is! Last year he was voted Galar's third most eligible bachelor behind Raihan and Lee himself. But unlike Raihan he actually throws a lot of his own events and showings. Lee mentioned once he trained under the old Rock Type Gym Leader before he retired and took over the gym after."

You sighed. Bullet dodged! "Oh. Sounds like he's really nice then." And hopefully won't flirt with you like Raihan did.

Thus began your group's long, LONG trip to the Galarian Mountain Range. Just like your trip back to Motostoke, you all slept on the emptied seats at night but being more prepared Victor had set up his Rotom phone's gps to set off an alarm once the lot of you reached the likes of the station you wanted so you all wouldn't have to take turns staying up all night again to keep an eye out for the right station you wanted. Which was a great idea! Over the next few days you all fell into that repeated pattern minus taking turns staying up at night and during the day just talking about random things while eating food from your rations or looking at whatever the teens pulled up from the internet to show you. Gloria at one point even pulled out her dex books again to finish putting the rest of her pictures into them and showed you the new addtions courtesy of her twin before passing the books over towards the two boys for them to flip through themselves and admire Gloria's handy work. A few more days went by this way until one day Victor all of a sudden said you all should stop at the next town to restock up on food again since it wasn't as much as he thought it was. To which everyone agreed too and at the next town, got off the train and went into one of the random stops which turned out to be a small town like Postwick. From there the four of you gathered supplies and did everything else to prepare to travel again by the time the next train came around before getting back on it and back on your way to Circhester. Day in and night out you four traveled and traveled and traveled. You were starting to get train sick with how much this was going on and found yourself walking up and down the walkways in turns with the others to keep up the exercise and not let yourselves turn your legs to jelly. Until one particular night when you woke up with a shiver. There was a chilly atmosphere inside the metal train from when you were last awake and it was enough for you to make yourself get up groggily. Only to find your drizzilie was lightly shivering as well curled up against your warmer body and stayed clung to you as it groaned in protest at the cold.

"What the-"

"Hey you." You rubbed your eyes turning tiredly to Hop who had his own coat thrown over his shoulders and smiled. "So you're finally awake huh?"

You yawned. "What time is it?"

"About ten in the morning. We're getting closer to the mountains," Victor said and you turned to him next as he rechecked the map on his phone, "We'll be at Steamdrift Station within 'bout three days but you might want to throw on a coat. It's gonna get a wee bit more colder from 'ere on out."

That wasn't a too bad idea actually. You were quick to pull on the coat you had bought and with a bit of a tussle you somehow with Gloria's help managed to pry Drizzilie off of you and put him inside your bag's main opening with Gloria holding it open before you pulled both him and the bag into your lap to make room. And to help keep the lil guy warm. Your pokemon gave a bored expression as he settled down into using the bag as his personal sleeping bag.

"Hey. Don't get too comfy," you reminded him, "Cuz when we leave Circhester you're going back to walking with us again Mr. I-Refuse-To-Get-In-My-Pokeball." Other than rolling his eyes with a sigh, Drizzilie didn't say anything against what you said. "You heard me. This is just to make sure you don't go from a water type to a frozen-water type."

The rest of the three days there was pretty much the same, only now it was hard for any of you all to get to sleep now curled up in the seats because of the cold. Why you even dug out a scarf and wrapped it around your neck and half your face. Didn't these trains have darn heating!? The landscape outside the windows changed too. Going from looking like fall-ish time of the year to mid way between fall and winter, until the last day when you all woke up to have found yourselves so, so...SO!! Cold, and you shivered yanking the hood over your f/c hair more as you looked around and noticed white snow was being blown against the windows like some snow storm. And for all you knew there could actually be one out there.

"ZZZTT. Attention Passengers!," the conductor announced over the speakers to anyone left on bourd. "We'll be arriving at SteamDrift Station within ten minutes. That is all."

"That's our stop!," Victor confirmed, "Make sure you all grab everythin' before we get off."

You all made sure to gather your things, you especially making sure to pull the small hoodie over your Drizzilie's head before pushing him into your bag and telling him to stay in there until you said it was safe for him to come out before zipping your bag up but leaving enough of an opening to allow fresh air to him. Slowly after a few minutes the train finally came to a stop and you all followed Victor out towards the door, you grunting as you struggled to sling the bag over your shoulders. You had forgotten how heavy this lil guy actually was when carried. You were extremely thankful for the guys getting you the thick coat and scarf too because the familiar full force of Winter hit you as soon as the you all stepped out the door and you shivered from the frosty cold greeting you all. The entire sky was painted in grey snow clouds that made the day look a little dull while snow gently fell from them and down towards the earth below. Around you was a plain looking station that looked more deserted since no one not even a station master was there, and surrounding you all was cliffsides and hills like in Stow-on-Side except unlike Stow-on-Side these were absolutely COVERED in snow and ice as far as the eyes could see as the four of you stood there taking in the sights. The only living things besides you all being pine trees scattered across the snowy land with a cobblestone road leading away from the station that Victor after a moment pointed at.

"That's Steamdrift Way," He explained holding up his phone with a gloved hand to the lot of you showing a map with a red blinking dot that signaled where you all were. "It's connected to Route E-E-Eight. If we go this way we should be at Circhester w-within an hour after crossing Circhester Bridge."

"T-T-Then w-what are we waiting f-f-for?!," Hop stuttered in the cold before pointing a hand forward. "L-Let's get there before we become on thin ice!"

There wasn't any arguments with him as you all headed off. Snow and ice crunched under your all's feet making your group sound like a couple of wooly mammoths trudging through the snow. You all (even you through your scarf covered mouth) could see your breath as snowflakes stuck to your bodies like someone glued white confetti to your clothes as you all followed Victor and his map through the snow. Thank goodness it didn't cover the road up, or else you all might've gotten lost. As you all trudged alone keeping your hands in your pockets after pulling the ends of the sleeves over them to help keep them warm, you all FINALLY came to the stone bridge Victor mentioned before. A cold river running with cold water ran under it as you all crossed and as you walked over it you prayed your drizzilie didn't decided to pop out wanting to swim or see what was going on.

"W-W-We should be there in t-t-ten m-m-more minutes!," Victor shouted back pulling his beanie further over his head.

"B-B-Bloody heck, V-Vick! 'M freezin' my t-tail off 'ere n' I-I ain't even got one!," Gloria yelled back complaining.

"The sooner we git there the sooner ya can rest! So take the energy from ya yappin' mouth and put it to your feet!," He yelled back and Gloria mumbled under her breath.

So you all continued to walk and walk, until you finally reached the end of the road that lead into a metal fenced entrance to Circhester. And you all had a collected sigh of relief once you all got there. It was decently big with it's many story stone buildings you could make out in the snow with cobblestone roads leading everywhere and the figures of two large stadiums on either side of the town as you all got to walking into it. You all passed the pink pokemon center near the entrance of the town and turned right heading towards what you guessed was the town square. A hot spring like fountain was dead set in the middle and there was people walking all around in winter wear with some ice type pokemon or pokemon who could stand this cold weather. Two men had stands selling food in the square as you walked past, one selling some kind of hot wraps and the other......ice..cream??

"D-Dang nabit, V-Vick! W-W-Where's the b-b-bloody hotel a-around here?," Gloria asked rubbing her arms in a failed attempt to warm herself.

"I-I'm with G-Glory on this," Hop added looking around, "I d-don't feel like camping out here at all."

"I'm WORKIN' on it!," Victor spat scowling at his phone hand lightly shaking.....before he pointed ahead of him at a BIG building in front of you all. "H-Hotel is there! L-Let's go!"

You all didn't hesitate to RUN your way to the building he pointed out jack frost biting at your ankles as you did. You all didn't even care if the door was flung open with a loud noise. The rush of warm air greeting your skins was enough to make up for it in your minds as you sighed. Turning your head up to the ceiling in the bliss of getting out of the cold. After a moment or two you finally opened your eyes and blinked them wide open at what you were all looking at. If you thought the Budew Drop Inn in Motostoke was Fancy this place was absolutely F A N C Y with a capitol F!!! It was like one of those luxury hotels in Paris you'd sometimes see in movies or on tv. Complete with marble floors and chandeliers lighting the place up. It was also HUGE!! And this was just the lobby as you gawked around. The other three were busy shaking snow off themselves as Victor walked up to the man at the lobby counter most likely to book your rooms. You hope they weren't too expensive by the looks around here. A moment later he returned with two keys handing one to Gloria before he gestured to the elevator.

"Let's go get settled in and rest for a bit. I'm too cold to think straight. You guys got room fifthteen on the first floor." Whelp! You couldn't argue with that as you all headed towards the elevator and got inside. The trip to the first floor wasn't a very long one as you all piled out and Victor motioned for Hop to follow him to one of the very first rooms closest to the elevator. "I say we all get warmed up and meet up in the lobby to talk 'bout what's the game plan for us 'ere."

"Alright," you agreed with a nod before following Gloria, "We'll see you two in a bit."

Both boys nodded as well before they turned back, Victor unlocking the door with his key before opening it and they disappeared inside. You sped walked to catch up to Gloria who was already standing in front of a door and turning the knob and throwing it open-

"So that means the culprit must be among us!" Gloria paused in the doorway. Eyes wide and hand still out from throwing the door open. "....Wait....Who are you!?" ..You wanted to facepalm. Oh NO!! Don't tell me Gloria opened the wrong door and walked in on someone. You sped up your walking pace as she blinked again. "After all the trouble of deducing things don't go messing it up now!"

By the time you got to Gloria she was already scowling before pointing her frozen hand at him. "N' who might the likes o' you be!?"

You blinked when you looked inside the room....There was a man there along with an older man, a 'hipster' looking girl, a young boy, and some kind of squirrel looking pokemon chewing something as you all stared at one another...Until the middle aged looking man coughed.

"*cough* I suppose I should introduce myself," he proudly put a hand to his chest, "The name's Howses. Yes. THAT Howses. The great detective. I've been hired by the hotel. At present I have corner the culprit of a most heinous crime!"

"What happened?," you asked. Did someone get robbed? Did something go missing? Something worse?!

"I'm glad you asked," Mr. Howses stated, " And that crime is!..The strange case of who ate the large quantity of berries in the lobby!" He shouted pointing to a random basket of apple cores....You and Gloria both gave each other a look. "I've gathered the three people who were present in the lobby at the time of the crime but because of the noise my marvelous deductive reasoning seems somewhat muddled at present."...The hotel...Hired a private detective ..to investigate missing fruit.....What a waste of time! He suddenly pointed at Gloria. "That's it! You interfering child! You will be my assistant!"

Gloria gave him a blank look. "...What?"

"Listen to the stories of each suspect and find the culprit," he said as if what he had just said wasn't crazy or unprofessional at all.

"....Yeah. I ain't doin' that." Gloria dead panned before pointing at the obvious pokemon in the room. "'Sides. I already know who it was-"

Instead of listening the man waved her off and laughed in her face. "Heh heh heh. After listening to everyone's accounts deduced the culprit!"....NO ONE SPOKE!! He pointed at the young hipster looking gal who looked just as deadpanned and done with this as Gloria. "Dancer! You are the culprit!"

"WHAT!?," she demanded angrily, "Why me?!"

"Because you're a dancer! You move and shake your body so much that you needed all that food for extra energy! That's evidence as clear and sharp as the leek of a farfetch'd!"

"WHAT!? What does that even mean!? You're no detective! You're a fraud!" Your thoughts exactly!

The man gave a nervous look all of a sudden. "W-Who are you calling a fraud!? You can't be referring to me! The great detective!"

"I can't deal with this disrespect! I leave it to you! You find the real culprit-"

"*AHEM!!*" Everyone looked back to Gloria who scowled and pointed to the small pokemon chittering at everyone around them. "IT. WAS. THAT!! They ate the darned fruit ya ninnies can't seem ta take a hint of."

The 'detective' blinked before turning to the pokemon. "What? That skwovet is the one responsible?" He looked closer at the small pokemon who looked at him curiously covered in food. "A-.....As expected of my assistant!" He loudly proclaimed all of a sudden proudly and crossing his arms looking pleased with himself. "Splendid! Just splendid! I'm overjoyed!"....He peeked an eye out at all of you annoyed and angry at him before coughing. "Well now that's taken care of...I must be off now." He suddenly sped walked towards you and Gloria and you both scrambled to move aside as he took off down the hall. "Take care, Everyone!"

"Hey you! Just wait a minute!," the girl yelled before running right after the 'detective'.

"Hahaha! I guess I'm supposed to chase after him too," the old man said before also jogging after the two as you and Gloria squished against the sides of the doorway to give them room...before looking after them....and blinking to one another.

"What the world was THAT about?," she asked.

"Honestly I have no idea and I'm too tired to really care," you mumbled gesturing her towards your actual room. "Let's go set up our room and take a break before we have to meet back up with the others."

Fast forward about an hour after finding the right room and getting yourself settled, you all made it down to the lobby to meet up with Victor and Hop. After you had let your Drizzilie out, thankful that he didn't seem to be hurt or even bothered as she walked out and stretched out like a cat before you all left. Promising you'd bring him back some food. Finding the boys already waiting for the both of you with their winter wear and waved the two of you over.

"There you guys are," Victor greeted seeing the two of you walk over, "We've been waiting for ten minutes and I wanted to try and get things as done here as soon as possible."

"We've only just got here this morning," you calmly reasoned raising a questioning brow at him. Yeah you wanted to leave as soon as you all could too since it was freezing and obviously the weather probably wasn't good for your pokemon, but you didn't think you've ever seen Victor this insistent on leaving somewhere so quickly. "What's gotten you into wanting to leave so soon?"

"Vick here hates the cold," Hop explained before humming, "Scratch that. He absolutely despises it."

"Well it's not MY fault that ice is so dangerous and you have a great chance of freezin' ta death," Victor snapped back pouting.

"Nevermind that! Did you guys figure out what you wanted to do yet?," you asked changing the subject to avoid more fighting.

Surprisingly both boys nodded and Hop spoke again. "I wanted to try my hand at beating the Rock Type Gym since I think I've come up with a strategy to beat him. Victor does too since it's a lot warmer than the ice type gym."

"I was actually thinking about taking on the other Gym 'n town, "Gloria pondered thoughtfully, "I got a good idea 'bout how to defeat Melony after watchin' a lot of her battles on the train ride 'ere. But first I need ta stop by the center and switch out some of me pokemon in order to make it work."

"Well I wanted to stop by around town and get some pictures of the famous Circhester hot springs 'fore I do any battlin'," Victor explained holding up his camera, "The legends say that the great Hero of Galar rested in the springs and it healed all his wounds. ..Plus I wanted to try the famous Bob's Your Uncle cafe here too. They're supposed to have THE best curry in all of Galar, and who knows when I'll come back here again." He then looked at you. "What about you Y/n?"

You looked at him interested. "Well if I'm being completely honest I think I'll come with you. It's been a while since I've been able to walk around and go sight seeing."

"Then it's settled! Let's meet back 'ere in the lobby when we're all finished."

You all agreed and after tightening your coats around you more, all made off your own ways. Gloria heading in the direction of the pokemon center on the other side of town before going off to battle with you and the boys heading in the opposite direction towards the rock gym since the famous Hero Springs Victor wanted to look at. Eventually parting with him too as soon as the both of you got there. Wishing him luck against Gordie before he left and you followed Victor to what you could only describe as a bath house modeled closely to the buildings of the ancient roman times back on your world. You followed Victor around marveling the sights and old looking structure as he smiled despite his hate for the cold and snapped plenty of pictures of everything as he did back at the Hammerlocke Castle Ruins. You walked up to the steaming water that almost looked boiling hot that was roped off from the public just touching it and watched the warm steam rise from it. Sighing as the warm steam was welcomed against the biting cold you couldn't get away from right now. Victor having getting his share of the old historical sight mentioned there was a few other places that the spring water came through, like the fountain in the town square and mentioned wanting to check out the extended parts of the underground spring as well and offered for you to come if you were interested in coming with him. Of course you agreed since you really had nothing else to do at that moment while waiting for the other two to complete their Gym battles, which by now you were sure they were doing or at least finishing up any gym challenge they were doing at the moment, before going back to the meet up spot anyways. So together you two traveled from the front of the rock type gym to the center of town so he could document more of the springs, before following him again as he moved somewhere else and you followed him down a small flight of stairs to another but much more smaller part of the springs that wasn't so visible or visited by the public. And then another small spot just like a little farther aways on the other side of town. It was...Pretty peaceful despite the chilling cold and snow lightly still falling around you, Victor, and everyone else walking around. It was quiet except for your footsteps crunching through the snow and anyone else walking around or talking. Walking around the decently big town with Victor you noticed there was also a few businesses besides the pokemon center. Your resident barber shoppe, an antique store, a few small little thrift shops that sold merchandise of what looked like the two gyms and their gym leaders at the brief glances through the windows you gave, a grocery store, a clothes store, of course the hotel, and a strange looking cafe with the Logo of a man out in front. A sign above the door told you the name of said establishment. Bob's Your Uncle. Hey. Wasn't that the cafe Victor mentioned back at the hotel he mentioned wanting to see? You pointed it out to him and he seemed to light up! Mentioning how you two should drop by and seeing it even if you didn't eat anything. You agreed since by all the walking around and sight seeing you did, you two must've been out here for nearly two hours by this point. So it'd be nice to warm up for a bit. So you two happily walked up to said store and pushed the door open before walking right in. The warm air of the cafe combined with the mouth watering smells of the food made you sigh in relief. Another bigger picture of the logo man was inside on one of the walls, with the place being a color scheme of yellow and red, and a few people sitting around eating already. Including one particular boy who looked up from his seat in the back when Victor pointed him out.

"Hey Hop!," Victor called over to him and Hop looked up from where he was sat phone in one hand and hot coco in the other but smiled when he saw you two approaching. "What are you doing here? I thought we were gonna meet back at the hotel."

Hop shrugged. "Yeah, but I thought it'd be fine to stop by for some hot chocolate. Who doesn't like hot coco?"

"I know I do!," You agreed with a smile, "How did your battle go?"

"Arghhh." He slumped back turning his head up to the ceiling with a groan. "I lost. It all went to pot. There must've been something wrong with my strategy but I just did what I've seen Lee do in battles!"

"Huh..Well maybe that's the problem."

He paused before blinking back to you as you looked at him. "....Huh? Whaddya mean?''

"Well, everyone has different fighting styles. Including you and Gloria, and if these guys are a part of the league and you're trying to fight like Leon, they'll probably be able to beat you because they've seen how Leon fights and knows how best to counteract his style."

"But he's the unbeatable champion! If I use his method I should be able to be unbeatable too! I've studied his style for years!"

"It may seem like that," You explained, "But it IS Leon's style and he's perfected it. If someone tries to copy him they won't be as perfect as it compared to someone who's mastered his own style to a degree that makes him such a powerful trainer. And everyone's style is constantly changing. Think about it. If Lee kept his style the EXACT same then eventually someone would've found a flaw in it by now and taken the title from him. Leon doesn't have 'just one style' either. Like everyone else they train and adapt to better themselves that's how he's unbeatable. It's ok to use things you learnt other people do, but you said yourself you were thinking of new strategies. Instead of trying to apply what you think Leon would do, ask yourself what would YOU do."

Hop paused seeming to stare at you for a while before humming and looking back to his phone. "...You actually might have a point. I'll have to rethink a few things then."

You smiled. "Glad I could help. Speaking of which Where's Gloria? If you're finished with your battle then that must mean Gloria is too right?"

"Maybe she's waiting for us back at the hotel."

"Oh hey!" You yelped and jumped around at the lady's voice that suddenly came up behind you, and found yourself face to face with none other than said brunette Girl and Sonia who chuckled at your reaction. "There you are."

....You sighed before giving her a frown. "First Leon and now you too Sonia?" You crossed your arms. "Seriously. Give a girl a warning you're gonna do that first...Wait. What are you doing here anyways?"

"Got that Gym badge, Glory?," Hop asked politely.

Gloria nodded with a proud hum. "I jus' had ta switch out for some fire n' steel types I caught. Wasn't easy tho."

"Nice one!," Hop complimented before holding something out to her, "That reminds me. Here. Take this. It's the rock leader's league card. You guys should check out the gym leader you'll have to face too. And me. I've gotta figure out what to put on my team once and for all and no more of this doubting! Especially when I have to defeat at least one of the gyms here for their badge."

"Gee thanks!" She eagerly took the card from him.

"I've been trying to found out more about the Darkest Day and the sword and shield pokemon, but still no luck." She sighed before shaking her head. "I was hoping to investigate the Heroes Bath after studying the tapestries and castle ruins in Hammerlocke." Oh. So she had been there before. "And I haven't been able to get more intel on the strange discovery in Stow-on-Side since the Chairman's team is still researching and the area's become off limits to anyone who isn't the League or authorized. But I just ran into Gloria here and figured the rest of you couldn't be far behind her."

You chuckled. "Well you aren't wrong. I'm really sorry about all the dead ends stopping your work Sonia. I'm sure you'll get a break through somewhere." And you DID know since according to the game she does.

She smiled. "Well thank you, Y/n. It's much appreciated." Her blue eyes glanced behind you. "It's really nice ...." She paused staring right over your shoulder. "...to..see you...Wait."

You rose a brow. "What?" Your f/c eyes blinked in confusion when Sonia all of a sudden grabbed you and pushed you aside a bit as she moved behind you. Unintentionally making you bump into the table Hop was sitting at making him scramble to hold his hot coco out of harm's way as you gave her a look. "Sonia!?"

"Hold on!" She exclaimed back looking at a wall. But more importantly what was ON the wall. Which looked like half a tapestry. And in the very SAME art style and people on them from the Hammerlocke Vault!! "No way! What's this!?"

"Uh...A fifth tapestry??"

"The heroes!" She exclaimed pointing to both of the same men from the first tapestries. "Look..sad. And where are the sword and shield?" She hummed before scanning it more. "What was the meaning of this picture?" Ever the fast thinker wasn't she?

You pushed yourself from the table dusting your still slightly snow covered self off before shrugging. "Well those behind them look kinda like grave stones or some kind of sealed tomb." You pointed out pointing at the tapestry and Sonia squinted harder at where you were pointing. "This probably just means the end of the legend. Y'know. Where the hero finally gets to have peace after his long battle? It happens all the time in fairytales."

"You think so?," she asked giving you a glance. As you shrugged she looked back to the tapestry, or what seemed to remain of it, with her hand to her chin blankly staring at it. "....Didn't think I'd see something like this in Bob's Your Uncle. I guess it could be they passed on or that they were sealed away. Or maybe they've gone into some kind of sleep?"

"Well...I mean they call it 'rest in peace' for a reason."

"Well.." You flinched when Hop spoke, not expecting the boy to be studying the tapestry too. "Based on those statues we saw at Stow-on-Side, the sword and shield were actually two pokemon right?"

You rose a brow. "Since when did you see those statues back in Stow-on-Side?? You and Victor left before Bede's stunt."

"Gloria showed me pictures she took of it before you left. But it kinda dawned of me seeing those sword and shield symbols on them. Couldn't they have been pokemon?"

"That's right! That's my take on it at least."

"......Hey." She suddenly turned to Hop and blinked as he pointed to Gloria. "You remember the pokemon we met that day?" ...Gloria rose a confused brow as he spoke. "You remember. That weird giant blurry pokemon we met in the Slumbering Weald."

"Oh yeah! I've completely forgottin' 'bout that by now." She shivered. "Still gives me the heeby jeebies."

Hop chuckled a bit. "Do you think...it could've been one of them?" he gestured the hand holding his phone to her. "Either the sword or shield pokemon? The blurry fog monster we saw kinda looked like those pokemon statues in Stow-on-Side you showed us."

"You..." Sonia was slow to blink and look at Both the kids wide eyed as she talked. The only one who looked super confused was Victor who you guessed hadn't heard of the 'mysterious fog pokemon' bit. "Met them?! Like...Really REALLY met them!?"

"Come on. You know what I'm talking about right, Glory?"

She nodded, "Yep. Right before Lee bailed us out o' the Slumberin' Weald."

"Exactly! We told you too Sonia remember. The mad pokemon we ran into in the fog! Although..I can't remember seeing it too well. Don't you think that could've been it?", Hop pondered.

"Oh right! You lot have been in the Slumbering Weald!"

"Duh."

You gave Gloria a small tap to her shoulder as if to say 'Don't be rude.' "As much as I agree this is all strange, don't you all think you're jumping the gun here a bit? That could've been any big pokemon in the fog, and you said it yourself. You don't remember much of what it looked like. We shouldn't just make assumptions without proof."

Hop hummed. "I guess you're right. It'd be too much of a coincidence anyhow. But it's not an assumption, just a guess. Doesn't hurt to theorize ideas."

Sonia on the other hand smiled happily and held up her hands excitedly. "I only started on this journey because my gran told me to, but this is turning out to be so much fun! You've got to tell me more! How about we discuss this over a meal? Go on. What do you want to eat? Let's get our orders in!"

"Whoa! Hey there buckaroo!" She blinked when you grabbed her shoulder and she blinked. "As much as I love the food as much as the next person, maybe you should slow down there a bit. Didn't you just get here or something?"

...She gave a bashful face. "Oh yeah. R-Right. Sorry I must've gotten caught up in the moment. But hey! How about I treat you all to a nice curry and hot chocolate anyways? It'd be the least I could do for all the kindness you've shown me."

"I dunno. I don't wanna leave my Drizzilie in the hotel room for too long. I'm afraid he's gonna come looking for us if we're gone for too long and I don't want him outside in this weather."

"How about the sweet instant noodle curry they serve here?," Victor suggested as a compromise pointing to the counter the two men were currently cleaning, and the stack of supplies, food, and other things lining the wall behind them. "All they would have to do is poor hot water in it and it's the cheapest curry on the menu. Plus I don't like the spicy ones too much. I may hate the cold but I'm not up for burning my tongue."

Sonia nodded. "Quick and simple. Sounds like a good match to me!" She turned towards the two men and waved a hand gaining one's attention. "Yoo hoo. Sir! Five instant noodle curries and hot cocos please! Uh. Sweet wise." The man nodded before putting down the cloth he was wiping the counter with and turning to grab a few things from the shelf as Sonia gestured for the five of you to sit with Hop at the big table he was currently at. "While we wait, I'd love to hear about your experiences in the Slumbering Weald again. Maybe it'll help me piece together something."

"Sure!"

So the five of you at around the table as you all patiently heard Hop recount the entire events of the Slumbering Weald incident starting from the wooloo banging against the gate to the Slumbering Weald to when you all left it. In the middle of him retelling his your food was delivered by one of the men behind the bar and you gladly took it wanting something warm in your stomach before having to go back out in the cold, Gloria taking a quick picture of it before you all began eating it. It looked and smelt a lot like those instant ramen cups you'd sometimes had to resort to have for lunch back at home since money was tight with your mother working hard as a single mother now and you having to work summer, weekend, and afterschool jobs in your spare time to help with bills. If you didn't then she'd say you were being lazy with your music and games again...Anyways. It looked like instant ramen and was sprinkled with curry sauce. You were a bit doubtful of how it'd taste but when you ate it it wasn't that bad. It had a bittersweet kinda taste that wasn't too sweet or sour thanks to the sauce covering the noodles when you ate it, and it was a bit more like pasta than a curry. But you weren't going to complain about free curry and hot coco in this cold weather and neither was anyone else as they ate and listened to Hop, and then Gloria as she recounted her own point of view on the events which was pretty much Hop's as well but you all let her speak her mind. By the time she finished everyone had already finished eating and drinking their food even Hop who had gotten a second hot coco thanks to Sonia's generosity.

"-and then Lee found us and marched us both back home where we met up with Y/n," Gloria finished pointing at you. "Mum was...not very happy about it all."

"Fascinating," Sonia commented thinking again, "All right." She suddenly stood up making all of you blink. "The next thing to do now that we're done eating is to have a look around Circhestester! Let's inspect the Hero's Bath."

"Huh? But we were just there. Wasn't anything that could be tied to your research," Victor said.

You shrugged as you stood up. "Well we were going to leave to go back to the hotel soon anyways. Let's go have a look since we'll have to go that way anyways."

Victor looked like he wanted to protest but sighed as his Best friend and twin also stood up to follow Sonia out the door. The cold outside nipped back at all of you as you tightened your scarf around your nose and mouth. Following Sonia back to the steaming waters of the spring under the town as you all entered back under the historical sight. Hop and Gloria looking out in awe at the place.

"The Hero's Bath, "Sonia commented looking around the place, "They say this is where the two heroes came to soothe their wounds after the battle to bring down that evil presence long ago. Nowadays only pokemon really use the Hero's bath though. Hmm. Who exactly were the heroes that bathed here? I think I'll have to look into that...Gloria! Hop!" She turned her head to shout at the two and both looked up from one of the carvings in the stone at her. "You two met a mysterious pokemon back in the Slumbering Weald. Perhaps...you two can become new heroes."

You blinked at her. Where did that come from?

Even Hop looked at her confused and skeptical. "What? Like some hero waving around a sword and shield? Psh. Pull the other one."....But he hummed. "Though...I guess I'd fancy a shield if I had to take my pick."

"Hm. What kind of battle do you think the heroes had back then?"

You shrugged and went to say something- "Why don't we show her, Glory?" Hop asked giving his friend a playful shove, "Think we can pull off a real heroic battle?"

Gloria giggled back before giving him her signiture determined look. "Oh I think that'd be just the thing ta warm up me bones!"

"Sonia treated us to a great meal. After all that curry I feel like I've got the energy to wrestle a bewear!"

Sonia returned her hands to her hips amused. " A battle now? I don't entirely understand your reasoning but I might as well see what you can do."

"FORG-G-GET IT!!", Victor yelled as you all looked at his shivering form turn on his heel and stomp off towards the direction of the gym, "Y-Ya'll can battle if ye want! 'M headed ta b-b-battle that bloke and return to the h-h-hotel! I w-wanna leave this place as soon as possible!"

"..Hm. I'd hate to say this, but I think I getting get back too." You gave Sonia a look. "Thanks for the food. It was really good seeing you again, but I REALLY wanna go back and check on my drizzilie."

She nodded understanding. "Of course. I'd feel the same thing about Yamper if I was in your position."

You nodded before turning to the other two. "And you guys don't stay out here for too long. Come back when you're all done battling."

"We will!," Hop quickly agreed before pointing away from the Springs, "Time for a little exhibition match starring the future champion!"

With a wave to them all you all turned and jogged to catch up to Victor who was rubbing his arms and muttering to himself as he stomped his way back towards the gym. And you didn't blame him, you wanted to get out of the cold too and see how your Drizzilie was doing. You two made your way across the town and into the familiar fancy hotel, through the elevator and immediately headed onto your own separate rooms. You were kinda worried your pokemon might've wondered out of the room but when you entered you found him in the same spot you left him in. Curled up on one of the beds and barely even opened an eye at you as you came back in gave giving a small thrum before curling back onto it's side away from you and going back to napping. Hmm...Maybe Hop was right about your drizzilie developing a new lazy habit. Or maybe it was because he was cold blooded or something like a snake and had a hibernation thing?? You shrugged it off and instead sighed as you finally had a moment to shed your winter coat and relax for a little bit, flopping onto the bed next to the napping pokemon who again barely moved as you did so. And you remained there even when Gloria returned and you gave a small wave as a greeting.

"Hey. How was the battle?"

"Fine! Although I won Hop seems to finally have gotten out of the lil funk he was in thanks ta Bede!," she answered happily, " 'E's with Victor right now."

"Hey that's great to hear! It's good he's getting back into a healthier mindset."

"Yeah! I still can't wait ta see him compete in the champion finals this year! It's gonna be so much fun! I-....." She stopped talking for a second and then you heard frantic shuffling about and footsteps. With a sigh you turned your head up from the spot you were laying down at and was met with the sight of her shaking her coat upside down frantically over he bed as she looked worried. When nothing dropped from the coat she unceremoniously dropped it and whipped her head around back to you. "Y/N! My camera's gone!"

"..What?," you asked pushing yourself up as she patted herself down searching her pockets.

"Victor's camera he's lettin' me borrow!," she yelled sounding more concerned, "I was supposed ta give it back ta him once I finished fillin' me dex books!! He's gonna kill me!"

"Whoa! Hey!" You were quick to push yourself up into a sitting pose as you watched her start to likely panic. "Gloria!" She paused blinked wide eyed worried at you as you groaned standing off the bed and stretching out your back. "First you need to calm down." You held up a hand rubbing your back. "You probably just accidentally dropped it somewhere."

"WHERE!?"

"I have no idea." She looked worried again. That was probably the wrong thing to say apparently. "Whoa. Don't freak out on me here. Look. There's still plenty of daylight left. I'm sure if we just retrace your steps then we'll find it for sure. When's the last time you remembered having it?"

.....She blinked. "Uh! A-At the cafe! Then we went to the hero's bath."

You nodded. "Ok. Then let's go look over there and see if we can't find it ok?"

Gloria nodded and you sighed again. Looks like you all were going out yet again. You both quickly put your winter wear back on and out you went again. The winter weather nipping at you even colder now that it must've been about near sun down by how limited light there was too. There was still enough to clearly see the snow and all the surroundings but it was noticeably colder as night drew nearer as you both stopped in front of the warm springs in the town square.

"A-Alright! 'Eere's the plan!," Gloria said pointing at you, "I'll go check the cafe you go check the bath. We'll cover more ground like that!"

You nodded wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. "Alright. But hurry, and keep an eye out in case you dropped it on the ground somewhere. Meet me back here as soon as you can."

She nodded and before you could get another word in she turned and scurried off towards the cafe area. After a moment to relax you sighed shaking your head and started walking off towards the Hero's Bath, making sure to scan the road and ground around you for any signs of a camera dropped in the snow. But you saw nothing as you looked around. Your footsteps crunched in the snow once again and you shivered rubbing your arms as you made your way towards the hero's bath still looking for it. Just when you thought you'd be able to rest for the rest of the day. You just wanted to find the darn thing and return back to the warm hotel. As you circled the large building needed to get to the Hero's Bath you paused blinking at the sight in front of you. Oh great what was it now? In front of the Hero's Bath was a small crowd of anywhere from fifthteen to about twenty people mostly women huddled around...something? Sure the Hero's Bath must've been a really cool historical sight to see but you didn't think such a crowd would gather here all of a sudden especially when it wasn't like this the other times you passed by it. Oh well. Right now you could care less and just wanted to find that darn camera and return to the hotel as soon as possible. Besides you could easily just walk around the happily chattering crowd without having to bother anyone. Get in, look around for a camera, get out, and then meet up back with Gloria. Easy enough. Or so you thought. With a sigh behind your scarf, you braced yourself and began walking your way over towards the crowd, and like you had suspected there was plenty of room to walk passed them, or so you thought again when a woman dressed in all while and with white hair suddenly appeared and you both ran right into each other. With the speed walk you were going it was impossible to stop on time before you collided with the white blur with a yelp. Stumbling back your foot slipped on some snow and down you went arms flailing landing on your bottom on the hard stone ground. Luckily you weren't hurt but you hissed and mumbled something under your breath at the feeling of the cold seeping into the back of your pants now.

"Oh my goodness gracious!," an older woman's voice exclaimed above you and when you looked up you were met with a woman who looked about the same age as your mom as she held her face in an 'Oh no' kinda pose as she looked at you. All decked out in white winter wear. "I'm so sorry, Young Lady. I didn't see you there."

You waved her off as more people turned their heads at the commotion. "Nah. It's ok. It's my fault I wasn't looking where I was going-," you had begun to say before another's voice much more louder and angrier sounding made you both look over.

"MOM!! What are you doin'!?," A man's voice shouted out as people parted and a guy who looked vaugely familiar marched his way forward. The man wore...Shades of all things in this not so sunny weather with a tan-ish coat thrown over himself and blonde-white hair that draped to just above his shoulders as he pushed his way through the small crowd of people until he stopped right in front of you and the woman. He looked right at your confused self still sitting on the ground for a moment before looking over at the woman with a deep frown. "Seriously!? Ya knocked one of my fans over?"

"I'm so sorry, Honey. Really I am," she said calmly as if she had all the patience of an ancient monk. "But it was an accident." Oh. So this must've been his mom. But what does he mean by fan?? You didn't even know this guy.

"Tch!," he scoffed before crossing his arms, "Yeah right. You crash all my events especially after I win against a gym challenger." Your eyes widened. ....Gym chall-..OH!! Now you remember! You looked between the two who had a resemblance now that you looked at them. Gym Leaders Melony and Gordie! So that's why he looked semi familiar to you. These were some of the few characters you actually remembered from your time playing the game! ..Oh. And they were known for fighting of course. "You're lucky you didn't cause her to hit her head during the fall!" You looked back up blinking wide eyed at him as he scowled at his mother. "Did you even apologise to her or were you just gonna forget that too?"

You stared wide eyed at him. Who says that to their own mother!? Through all this Melony just calmly and sadly watched him as he angrily spewed out. You WISH your mom was like Melony- "HEY!!" You were quick to try and rise to your feet stumbling a bit on the snow as you did. Rising up with your own frown behind the scarf covering your face and quickly dusting yourself off.

"Ah man. Are you alright there?," he asked holding his hand out. "Sorry about my mom-"

"Oh be quiet!" You bluntly said as you snapped your face to him, which combined with your sharp tone seemed to make him pause in the moment. "I know exactly who you are!! What is WRONG with you man!?" You couldn't help but shout at him. Well considering Gordie's only a side character who you wouldn't probably see again after Gloria defeated him, it would be ok to shout at him. Especially since you weren't in the game's storyline at the moment. So you jabbed him in the chest which made him blinked and take a couple steps back. "Of course your mother apologized to me but that's NOT the point! It was an accident and I happened to run into HER! Not the other way around!! Are you kidding me with your behavior right now, Gordie!? Don't you see what you're doing!?" You gestured towards Melony who looked shocked herself seeing you jab at her son. "You're yelling at your own mother who didn't do anything wrong in front of a bunch of your fans in public!? Are you trying to embarrass her or something!? Your mom's so much nicer than you!! Geez! What were those guys thinking!?"

"I-...W-Wha-" He sputtered but you shut him down real quick.

"NO! You're not allowed to talk to me! You know why? Because your mom's one of the nicest people in all of Galar!! DUDE GET OVER YOUR STUPID EGO!! You both had a fight like..years ago!? So WHAT?! You're running your own stadium you wanted and you have like loads of fans! Don't you think that bashing her in front of your fans would make her look bad!?....No. Scratch that." He blinked as you took a step forward and he stepped back. "It makes YOU look bad! SO I am NOT a fan of yours! I'm just here looking for a missing camera but even if I didn't I'd still feel bad for your mother! Don't you think the reason Melony makes an effort to be in your fan club and trying so hard to support you is her way of showing she cares about you and is actually sorry about the fight you two had!?" You shook your head. "Gosh. Your head must be thicker than a onix if you missed that!!"

There was silence all around as the once crowd of chattering people were all shocked and staring at you, Gordie, or Melony or looking between the three of you as Gordie just stared jaw dropped and making noises like a fish out of water as you scoffed and turned around. Melony watching with equal reaction to her son and even passing people who weren't a part of the crowd was staring right at you as you turned your back to him.

"So don't apologize to me. Because the only one you should be apologizing to is your poor mother." You gave him one last very SERIOUS look over your shoulder. "As someone who wished for a parent like her, you need to get a reality check man." You turned back to his shocked mother before sighing. "I'm really sorry about all this, Ma'am. But I gotta go. I have to meet up back with my friends."

With a new sour feeling that combined with your annoyance with the cold and falling down, without looking behind you, you turned on your heels and stomped off back towards where Gloria was headed when you both split up. You didn't feel like staying at the Hero's Bath any longer now with the eerie silent you left behind. Everyone watched after you as you disappeared....until a single THUNK sound broke the silence as Gordie's shades fell off his shocked face to the cold ground below.

#a champion time for the heart #pokemon leon x reader #reader x leon #leon x reader #pokemon leon #pokemon shield #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword #pokemon sword and shield

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skye-huntress · 2 years ago

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RWBY Volume 9 Reaction

Episode 1: “A Place of Particular Concern”

Did I ever say anything about the meeting with Little before? I don’t think I have much to say, a talking mouse is hardly much of a surprise when I long expected this Volume to get so much weirder.

So, as the trailer showed us, Weiss and Blake somehow found each other first. Unsurprisingly, Weiss is tight-lipped about what happened at first. Better to prioritise finding everyone else before having to unpack what happened

Bit of luck perhaps that they found the other half of Gambol Shroud, and so quickly, but that makes Crescent Rose’s absence even more conspicuous. More thoughts on that when I get to the OP

I missed Weiss’ sense of humour.

That reminds me though, we’ve never had a situation where our heroes were low on Dust and other supplies (Weiss even had that dream where she had unlimited ammo). There’s always conveniently been some on hand, but after fighting for so long while on the run from the military, and throwing everything they could at Cinder, they’re bound to be low at this point. And since they’re not on Remnant anymore, no chance for resupply. Whatever they have on them is what is left, and who knows what threats are ahead, so I expect they’ll be more conservative in how they fight. This probably affects Weiss the most, but she can hopefully still use her summons to compensate.

There is nothing I love more than seeing Weiss act like such a complete dork. More please!

That’s quite a scene to walk in on. Imagine if Ruby hadn’t found Little first, she’d be so confused and have no idea how to respond.

So Little has “nothing to do” and offered to be a guide, only to fall asleep, again. Perhaps the reason they don’t have a name/purpose yet has nothing to do with their age

Creepy demon-like thing from the trailer. Hard to follow what it was saying. Was it talking to itself, or something that the girls couldn’t percieve?

It targeted Yang when she was alone and minus an arm, and it had no problem attacking Weiss and Blake head on, but it retreated when surrounded by all three. If it comes back, it’ll probably be when the odds are tipped back in its favour somehow.

And now the team’s all back together again, glad it didn’t take too long this time. No one else is missing, right? We’re not forgetting anyb- oh, wait, that’s right! We’re still missing the most important one of all. However it’s too early to panic, I’m sure Crescent Rose will turn up eventually.

Have we seen any of the girls faint from anything besides exhaustion or pain? Still, I expected an extreme reaction from Ruby most of all. She fears further loss more than anything else at this point, and she’d already lost Penny once and she only just got her back. She did everything she could to avoid losing her or anyone else ever again, but it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t enough.

They don’t know about what happened to anyone who passed through the portal, only that no one came back. They don’t know how literal Ambrosius took Weiss’ words, so they can only assume something happened on the Vacuo side, which isn’t exactly wrong either. They bet everything on this plan, yet they don’t know if any of it paid off, if their sacrifice meant anything.

So the current situation is as follows. Penny is dead, but they don’t know the status of anyone else. Yang’s arm was stolen, Crescent Rose is MIA, and Neo is out there somewhere, and still after Ruby’s head. And they are apparently in a fairy tale, according to Blake. That’s all right? Nothing else we’re missing? Well, if we are it was probably nothing important

Now on to the OP:

Okay, so first off, we got shots of Jaune, angry and tears in his eyes, with his bloodied, broken sword, and Neo, looking I wanna say, downcast? Not surprised their shots are separated from the others. Then, Yang, Weiss and Blake, all looking fairly determined and ready to push on. Then lastly Ruby, alone, eyes closed and falling, I would guess.

Then we have shots of each of Team RWBY through the years, though a bit out of order. Weiss, Blake and Yang all look more confident after each subsequent version of themselves, as well as them progressively moving further forward. Unfortunately, Ruby is the opposite, she loses her smile and moves further towards the back and starts hiding herself. This isn’t exactly unexpected for anyone who has been paying attention throughout the show. The others have had amazing growth over their personal character arcs, especially over the Mistral Arc, but Ruby never had her arc and has been spiralling for a long while now, probably starting from Penny’s first death. A few different people have said their piece to her over that time, Jaune, Qrow, Blake, Yang, but I could tell none of them have really reached her, yet. They may have alleviated some of her worries and doubts for a spell, but it was only temporary.

There are a few shots of another girl, and by the end I’m convinced this is Alyx, I believe the name is. Makes sense, to find their way out of the Ever After, Team RWBY will be using her story as a guide to get back home.

Crescent Rose makes a few appearances on her own. She’s Ruby’s signature weapon, and as the girl herself said, a Huntsman’s weapon is like a part of who they are. No surprise that the notable absence is both indicative of, and further fuelling Ruby’s growing identity crisis.

We’ve got a brief shot of Jaune, just to remind us he still exists but no further insights into what he’ll be dealing with.

There’s a brief shot of Ruby looking over that hazardous-looking bridge at Alyx, before she turns into a Ruby with a very creepy smile, before seemingly diving into Neo’s tea. Creepy Ruby is probably Neo, though given the setting, it could easily be something else entirely

Oh no, Neo has teamed up with the shadow people! They must want revenge after being given the boot after Volume 1!

Neo seems to be showing some confidence. Roman Holiday did tell us that she wished to be like Alyx and disappear into another world. She’s probably more at home in the Ever After than anywhere else, and it seems like the OP is implying she is the main threat.

The lyrics are about looking inside and finding yourself, but at the same time, there’s some anxiety about losing your own sanity or not recognising yourself anymore.

All signs pointing to what we’ve already known for a long while now, this is the much anticipated, and desperately needed Ruby character arc we’ve waited many volumes for.

#rwby #rwby9 #rwby9 spoilers

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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 2 years ago