#behindthewritings

[sharing-pink-promos-blog]

What inspires you? Your passion should inspire you to go above and beyond for yourself and ignite something #fierce. Your passion should lead you to do what you've always dreamed of. #inspiration #beinspired #message #thefirewithin #original #shareyourpassion #passioninpurpose #passioninpink #statusqueen #bloglife #goodnightmessage #inspirationalwords #womenpreneurs #bosswomen #womeninbusiness #liveyourlife #sharingpink #behindthewritings #PINK

[ghostly-thorn]

Behind The Writing - 5 - The Hulbury Gym - Deceiving Waters

🎵 A bit of Ambiance 🎵

Greetings everyone!

It's been a while. Eons even. I know. I do apolgise, I've been quite busy.... As I've explained in the description of the latest chapter, as a (future grad) nurse, I've been tossed around unit from unit during this pandemic. Even managed to landed in an intensive care unit where I cared for COVID patients. Every day, I would see people struggle to draw a breathe, fighting to make it through an other day, when eventually I was met up with the inevitability that they wouldn't make it. It was awful, and I never want to go through this again... I've done 2 months, and it was on the second wave of Coronavirus. Don't want to imagine what the first wave must have been like...

ANYWAY. Sorry for killing the mood like this. It is good to be back. I've missed you, and I've missed the feeling of writing. I hope y'all are doing alright.

Without further do, let's dive into this 5th BTW. Did you pick on my every references? We'll see about that!

So, let’s talk about the first issue I had with this chapter…: Raihan. Since it had been so long that I had returned to the Fandom, I had completely forgotten what kind of man he was. And writing his part was hard. It felt like the was out of character, and I wasn’t pleased with how it turned out. Therefore, I dropped writing, being constantly met with my own failures… After a few months of break, I returned, and it was as if the words were pouring. I had so many ideas at once that I was struggling to write them all. In the end, I truly hope I managed to stay faithful to his persona. Dot let me know if succeeded in doing so.

As always, all the elements mentioned in the story, whether it’s a Mincinno sweeping the floor, Raboot being an angsty teen, or a pair of journalists harassing the MC, everything is drawn from the game. It is the foundation on which I’ve based my story. Avid players will notice this.

I try to tie this fic into the real world, so I often add little details of the everyday life. Such as the apps on Zera’s phone (Spotify, YouTube) or Raihan binging Netflix from his flat in Hammerlocke. Why is he watching in Alolan though? I’ll leave that to your imagination…

Keeping on the trend with a bullying Rotom. I like to think that he’s grown a witty personality like R2D2 did in Star Wars. He's defective, but not really.

Macro Cosmos owns near everything. As it’s shown in the game. When you battle your way up to Rose tower you encounter many associates of said company, and all of them have different sub companies. I don’t remember their names as it’s been so long, I’ve played the game, but yeah, one of them provides microphone for the national TV.

Do remember this charming pair of journalists. You’ll meet them again throughout the Fic...

(Please overlook the fact that she's not wearing the right outfit. As you know, the studded and leather clothes are only available towards the end of the game in Wyndon)

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Wrote a little backstory for the Pokémon Nursery and the Toxel gift as I just didn’t want to walk pass it. In the end, I think I could have saved 1k or 2 by erasing it, but I couldn’t bring myself to… I KNOW my chapters are long. I’m aware of that. But I just want it to be as realistic as possible. This Fic is after all based on my maladaptive daydreaming.

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So, as you know by now, I’m not native to English. I learned it on the side as most people do. Therefore, sometimes I make tiny mistakes or misplace nouns. I’m sorry about that, I really am trying to improve myself. As I do, I also try to make this Fic anchored into a British setting. So, I have characters use slang and other expressions to emphasize this feeling. Team Yell for example is from Spikemuth, inspired by Margate, a town on the south-eastern side of the UK. It’s near the Northern sea and has a lot of shuttered storefronts. The people living there typically have a southern accent. I listened to a few people speaking and tried to replicate their ways into the dialogues.

I kinda wanted to have Zera message Marnie in this chapter, but I decided against it, to have her focus on her dynamic with the other characters. Not to worry though, she will appear in the next chapter: Burning Passion.

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Do remember Wooloo’s wish of flying. No important reasons…

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Looking back on my OC, I sometimes think that she had things work out too easily for her. So, with Hop’s battle I made Haunter KO-ed to teach her a lesson. A lesson that she will later interpret in a different meaning. Nonetheless, it hurt me to defeat the spooky boy, but it can’t be helped. One cannot bear with Mary Sues…

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Don’t know if I’ve explained it already. But instead of regular coffee shops on the left side of every Poke Centre, there is a Starbucks instead. And with the Gym Challenger pass, you can get a discount for your drinks. This is merely the expression of my love for Starbucks and their caramel macchiato.

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I wanted Hulbury to be the kind of little town with cobbled streets and maze-like alleys springing throughout the town. I sure hope I nail that part. Also, the race with Hop reminded me of a scene in the 10th Pokémon movie with Darkrai, so I had to add it

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Some Hop x Zera for you little cinnamon rolls out there <3 though you probably hated me by the end of this lengthy chapter.

-

OH DEAR

Here we are

The long-awaited reunion between Zera and her adopted sister. There were so many ways I wanted to tackle on this, but I couldn’t bring myself to select one. So, in the end I decided to rather focus on the inquisitive dynamic between Rose and Zera. At this point in the game, Rose is merely interested in her by the fact she was endorsed by Leon. Leon was supposedly his plaything, and to think he had missed on this girl wounded his ego. So, he starts asking more and more inquisitive questions, some more disturbing than the others (as we see in the restaurant scene later). But before that, we can have a glimpse of Rose’s behaviour with his adopted son: Bede. In the game, he doesn’t even remember his name till he asks him. But I didn’t want that. I wanted Rose to be the very portrayal of a manipulator. Everything in the text, whether it’s description or dialogue was meant to give off the vibe of a man knowing what he does. The way he leans on Bede’s shoulder and whisper to him, the way he sternly assures that he won’t fail him, implying there will be dire consequences… I really let myself go with this chapter, and I hope you’ll like it.

I based my Rose’s mannerism on many legendary villains from the cinematic universe, such as Hans Landa (whom I referenced on several occasions), Hannibal Lecter, President Snow and Darth Sidous.

I do believe that the real reason why Rose is so frightening is because he’s unpredictable. He can flash you the most civil smile, and the next instant he’ll be redecorating your gut with a knife. He’s just that kind of guy. We don’t know what’s happening in that shrewd mind of his. AND more importantly, we don’t know if he knows about Zera’s true identity. Does he? I’ll let you answer that…

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If you haven’t checked my Voice Headcanons post you wouldn’t know, but I’ve casted actors for every character in the game. For example, Rose is voiced by Jeremy Irons’ whose voice is just liquid gold. It’s dark, it’s rusty and deep. Hop is hyperactive, so I casted Tom Holland for him. As for Oleanna, she was brought up in a fancy setting after Zera left, therefore she speaks in a haughty tone, her voice dubbed by Emily Blunt. Finally, Nessa is based on Angela Basset (bless this queen) for her way of talking is speedy and near aggressive.

Let’s talk about Nessa.

I took a gamble by writing her that way, and I hope I won’t draw too many haters in doing so… She’s a Gym Leader, yes. She’s young, she’s pretty, and she’s strong. She should have everything right? But as someone coming from a squalor livelihood, Nessa has grown to be too attached to her goods. And it has worsened when she started her modelling career. At this point you should have understood that for someone being poor for most of her life, getting a taste of that sweet capitalistic life has entirely changed her. Therefore, she thinks everything is due to her, as she’s worked hard to get there. In her dismay, she doesn’t understand that she’s merely pushing people away with her behaviour.

Zera was the last to arrive to the Stadium in the middle of the week dedicated to the water gym. The door closed on her as she got in. yet she passed first. Why is that? Cause Nessa had decided so. And we see yet again that her word is command as the receptionist doesn’t question it. We later learn that Zera was the sole Challenger she took that day.

Since you guys loved so much the witty dynamic between Caesar and Crane in last chapter, I decided to bring them back. Again, they are based off the characters from Suzanne Collins’ book “the Hunger Games”. I do not own them, and I do not profit from them. This is merely a nod to a franchise I love.

Also, a bellend is literally the “tip of a male genital”, so of course they’re swearing off cameras, but when they realize they’re live they shut instantly.

A “prat” is a foolish person. And a “cuppa” is a cup of tea.

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Since I’m going 100% with the sporty stadium vibe, I’m gonna have a local song play at the beginning of every gym battle. Turrfield was based on Ireland, whereas Hulbury is technically a reverse Liverpool. Yep. I had a hard time believing it too, but I’ve many British friends and they all told me the same. The real Liverpool is on the western side of the UK and is known to hold some of the worst Hooligans in the country. So of course, I had to give them a spot in this chapter. As you read through, you’ll see that the supporters have face paint, bustle into each other and chant for the battle ahead. Though they’re not yet at the state of brutalizing and burning cars.

Frankie goes to Hollywood is a group from Liverpool. And the track, I think, had a nice link to modelling and being a pleasure doll to the audience. That’s why I went with it.

Caesar's face flashed on the monitors across the stadium as he declared the start of the match with a hushed whisper

- “And here... we... go!”

You wouldn’t get it if you haven’t watched Batman the Dark Knight.

-

Let’s talk about this stadium’s setting. It is of the water type, so it would only make sense that it be covered in it. But how does it in a realistic way then? Well, let’s have the two Trainers stand in on an obviously red tile. And remove 3 quarters of the rest of the pitch, essentially giving an advantage to the Leader. It would make the battle spicier for the audience, and harder for the challenger.

I wanted to portray Nessa as a near bully, so I added reactions to Zera stumbling and feeling distressed.

But Zera takes after her mother and seems to think better under pressure. She comes up with plans on the spot and turns her disadvantage into a counterattack. That’s what she did with Mareanie and the Whirlpool-Venoshock duo.

As you might have noticed by now, I’ve used a lot of 1to describe things in this whole chapter, but mostly during the battle. I liked the idea of the eye of the storm, and I reverberated it on Zera when she quietly tells Nessa: “I am the girl who is going to beat you”.aged1 Pokémon facing Raboot. Drednaw is water and rock type, both types that could wreck Raboot in no time. But his resilience was greater.

-

As you might have noticed by now, I’ve used a lot of water related words to describe things in this whole chapter, but mostly during the battle. I liked the idea of the eye of the storm, and I reverberated it on Zera when she quietly tells Nessa: “I am the girl who is going to beat you”.

-

Oof…

Now to the angsty part. I hope I didn’t make you cry too much with this part between Zera and Oleana, but it was really important for me to set the roots for their upcoming dynamic. Notice I mentioned at some point how she would stand in her way, referring to the battle at the top of Rose Tower. At this point in time, Oleana is just a cold and hard empty shell at the service of the chairman. She does everything he asks without questions and goes at length to defend him. She did threaten Zera not to keep the Chairman waiting, as it would inconvenience him…

Also. Oleana is 5 years older than Zera, which makes her 22. Yet she’s Rose’s assistant and appears to be some kind of scientist. This makes her a genius.

-

𝕬𝖇𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖓 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖍𝖔𝖕𝖊 𝖞𝖊 𝖜𝖍𝖔 𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊

All my Dante fans where you at? If you even head of the Divine Comedy, surely you should know about this infamous sentence marking the entrance to Hell.

-

Now to the most important scene of this chapter. The scene that plants the seed of doubt in Rose’s mind about Zera. The one that exposes the extent of his evilness. Everything in this scene is designed to make you feel uneasy, whether it’s the fact that he orders for you, trespassing your will. Or the way he plays with the bloodied pearl in his hands. But most importantly, it’s the way he cracks those Kingler clamps. The mere cracking reminds Zera of the way her mother’s neck broke that fateful night.

Zera is 17 at the moment, but she claims to be older so Rose won’t make the connection that she might be her daughter. He killed his wife in December, 7 years ago (Zera was 10, her birthday in September). She wandered around for a while and arrived in Wedgehurst in January, where she stayed until February-march. That’s when she encountered Leon)

Sonia be really like: LEMME IN

She’s surprised by Zera’s grand affection as she’s usually annoyed by her mere presence. Hop is a fool, but he does notice some things are off...

Sonia studied in Wyndon, so she picked on the cockney accent and slang. She gives off that Claire Redfield vibe.

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Rose and Magnolia teamed up to solve the Dynamaxing equation. And so, they did. But when Magnolia expressed doubt, he shunned her away, to continue on the project. She claims to be friends with him, but she isn’t. Badass old hag like McGonagall

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Rose always seems to have duty call him This does tend to happen… when you’re trying to jolt awake the cocoon of a thousand-year-old dragon

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Oof… that Black Sea sequence. It wasn’t scripted this part about hop feeling like he’s inconveniencing her, but as the music played, the ideas flooded, and I couldn’t stop them anymore. So yeah. I went with it, and now I’ve no idea how im going to solve it (help). But hell, its was 3 am when I finished this chapter, and I was so happy. I just wanted to post it right away

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In the last scene, Mareanie is in the water, near Zera’s legs. Raboot is on her lap, and Haunter is holding her shoulders, looking to the sky like her.

-

And that’s it.

Did you pick on everything?

(Also I apologise, I would've added much more pictures, but as it turns out, now Tumblr only allows 10 pics per post, which I find truly stupid... anyway..."

[silentwaters4]

Hello, Lacie! How are you??

Hey sugar sweet! Currently I feel great! (as to why, i’ll let ya read my little ramble on my side blog). School wise, I’m pretty meh at the moment. I haven’t really been feeling myself lately and school isn’t helping with that. But…I’m sure it’ll dissipate soon ^_^ thank you for checking up on me!

[blfoxley]

Writers Life. #writerslife #findingnemo #dory #writerslife #writer #unpublishedwriter #meme #writersmeme #behindthewriting https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp4Ut2Xnlyd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qjp3ekli31kl

[releasedexpressions]

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there are some days when the words come flowing though my thoughts to my fingers and I hold back to make it perfect. then there are the moments when I recognize that it does not have to be perfect. the words from my heart. ___________________ #releasedexpressions #definingmoments #startingoverisnotimpossible #capturethemoment #capturethescene #shareyourstory #writer #poet #behindthewritings

[ghostly-thorn]

Behind The Writing - 1 - Odyssey

🎵 A bit of Ambiance 🎵

Greetings everyone !

I hope you’re all doing well ! I am writing this post with a little delay because I took a few days off after the start of the school year.

With the release of my first Chapter, I decided to create a post where I’ll list different items related to it : pictures, choice of tracks and hidden meanings that may have eluded you upon your first reading.

This is my first time doing this, but I hope you’ll enjoy it !

I’ll be doing the same kinds of post for other chapters

- And we’re starting off with Zera leaving to catch up with Hop. We’re also introduced to Gastly who will be her main Pokémon. In Chapter 2 we’ll get to see how she came to meet and befriend him

- I chose Route 1′s theme because it’s uplifting and it can quite easily teleport you into a somewhat cheerful world (for now at least...)

- I decided to give few characteristics to the reader at the beginning, as it wasn’t the main goal right now.

- I don’t know if I’ve succeeded, but I wanted to portray Hop and Zera’s relationship as mischievous siblings. They enjoy teasing and pranking one another. You can later see it when they crash into their mother’s arms

- I wasn’t sure whether I should go for a full description of Leon from Zera’s POV. Everyone already knows how he looks like right ? Yet I couldn’t bring myself to delete this part. So I ended up keeping it, for the sake of these thirsty fangirls 😘

- Leon’s hand is merely bruising over Gastly’s body who’s composed at 95% of gas according to the Pokédex. It quite enjoys being petted too

- I also wanted to picture a solid relationship between Leon and his brother, thus the infamous hair messing (Poor Hop)

- I quite enjoyed writing Leon and Hop’s mother. We don’t know much about her in the game and I felt like it was much needed to give her some personnality. For the avid players, surely you’ve noticed there’s quite a favoritism towards Leon. It can be seen through the sheer amount of pictures of him there are in the house. It’s almost turned into a cult, which Hop was unwillingly drawn into. He may disguise his ressent in admiration, but we know better... 

- Now. Why Scorbunny you may ask ? Well, who better than a fire-type to defeat a steel-only team ? Looking at you Rose. You’re gonna get it coming...

- Fun fact, some of the lines in the starters’ introduction are drawn from the Nintendo Enthusiast’s Voice Abridged serie. If you haven’t watched it yet, I greatly recommend you do so at the following link 

- I like the fact that Gastly’s first watchful of your new partner, but then he grows on to him.

- Wooloo and Grookey were so fun to write ! Someone told me in the comments that I wrote poor Wooloo into a dumbass. He’s not. He’s just a bit dazed. As Grookey ? He’s an agile little Monkey who enjoys climbing about

- Also that Sobble hanging upside down from Leon’s (muscular) biceps ? Cuteness overload... 💕

- “By midnight you'd already fallen asleep and quietly slept through the next day. You don't remember how you ended into bed…” <= Yep, you’ve guessed it right. You fell asleep and Leon carried you to your bed 😍

- I’ve never written battles before, but I sure am proud of the ones I did in this Chapter. I hope I was able to portay faithfully the clumsy first battles of rookie trainers. Zera’s choice of partner against Wooloo was smart and tainted by her past, as her mother used to be a Champion. Not saying more, you’ll get your answer in the first paragraphs of Chapter 2.

- Hop’s a fair loser, but losing to you, the girl he loves, is quite painful, especially so under Leon’s gaze. The reason why he wants so badly to be like his brother is because he wants to feel the love you have for Leon, which is quite obvious at this point

- Yet you still care deeply for Hop, thus the reason why you hurled into his arms after winning.

- Leon knows how mature you are for your age, that’s why he'd feel more secure if you were to accompany Hop on the Gym Challenge.

- Now. Finally getting into the appearance of Zera, aka, you the reader. I have for the longest time admired Eva Green and I find her to be a truly beautiful woman. That’s why most of my OC is based on her appearance. However, I chose to give Zee purple eyes in reference to Yennefer of Vengeberg. I’ve ordered a few commissions of Zera with her Pokemon and they should be done soon. In the meantime, enjoy this art I found on Pinterest

- The idea of insering social medias into the FF came from @river675​. I asked her if she was alright with this, and she kindly accepted. Truth be told, the will to write came to me after I read her Fic, which you can find here. Go and support her 💕

- The Pokémons encountered in the forest are the ones in the tutorial. I've taken those moments from the game, but turned them to my liking. I hope the story of the poor Skwovet with the scorched tail made you laugh. 😅

- Of course, as Hop wandered deeper into the Woods you grew increasingly concerned, to a point where when you found him, you actually rushed into his arms for a hug. To which he gladly replied.

- Now moving on to the battle with Zacian. I wanted to portray how it had grown interested by you, to a point where Zera is somehow freaked out. For keen readers, surely you’ve noticed I mention this wasnt Zera’s first time into the woods. She’s been there before. Maaaaybe Zacian’s grown an interest since then ? You’ll see

- Leon was worried sick that you didn’t show up on Wedgehurst and went looking for the both of you. As mentioned earlier on, Leon trust you to care for his little brother as you’re more mature than him. Yet you feel a slight glint of annoyance in his voice when he lectures you. That’s why you blush so profoundly afterwards

- Halfways through Route 1, a short dispute takes place. I wrote this passage to show that a lot of things are based on appearances. From my interpretation, Leon comes to Postwick on very rare occasions. He probably lives in Wyndon where he lives a relatively comfortable life. And his family, more specifically Hop, but also you because of your feelings, resent him a little for that. Sure, you're very happy when he arrives, but as time goes by, the resentment arises...

- Ohohohooooo... Now arriving at the juicy part with Sonia and Leon. What can I say about these two... ? That they love each other ? No. That would be too easy, and cheesy. And i don’t do cheesy. No it’s far more complicated than that. You see, Leon and Sonia were childhood friends, as well as rivals during their gym challenge. As I’ve mentioned in the text, Sonia used to have a crush on Leon and that’s why she gives you this : “intrigued look tinged with a certain sadness". That’s cause she knows what you’re going through, and it makes her smile, but she’s still sad for you as she knows this won’t end well... Oh well ! Who knows, maybe she’s wrong !

- Since my goal with this Fic is to make you feel like you’re in the game, I added some shopping to make it more lively. Again, all the trainers you encounter on the road are the same as in the game. However I did change some of the battles to give Hop ways to shine on the stage. I also explained how he got his Rookidee by the time you battle him again.

- Oof. Finally getting to Magnolia. I have to admit, this was something I greatly looked forward to as in my mind, Magnolia was always meant to be a McGonagall wannabe. That’s the first thing that sprung to my mind when I saw her and I was dead-on determined to write her this way. The only thing that made my life harder was to decide which accent she’ll have. Maggie Smith has quite a peculiar accent in the Harry Potter franchise, but It’s not truly described. At first I wanted to go with a Scottish accent, but I felt like it wouldn’t fit her character since she’s so posh and, uh, uptight (No offense to y’all Scottish folk if there’s some, Capaldi’s one of the greatest actor you got, and let’s not forget Tennant. Scotland Woohooo~), so in the end i chose to go with a regular Estuary accent. I might do a post about Voice Headcanons later on which actors / singers that I feel would represent the characters to Sword and Shield. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested !

- Leon was most likely telling Magnolia about your visit, thus the serious face upon your arrival. Then he sees you and proceeds to switch subject abruptly, which the Professor easily picked up on. He's an accomplished liar...

- The whole “have a biscuit dear” comes from this passage in the Order of The Phoenix. Dolores Umbridge is gaining more and more power, to a point where she makes life miserable for everyone. But in these dark times, McGonagall always finds a way to be sassy. God saves the Queen...

- I hope the first [🔇 = Stop listening] went well for you and that I didn’t startle you. A quick break in silence can often be interpreted as discomfort, and that was my intention here as Zera hasn’t seen Magnolia in years and they’ve all been lying to Hop’s face...

- In this second battle with Hop I wanted to balance the forces between him and Zera. If there’s one thing I hate more than life, it’s Mary Sues... I’d hate for my OC to be one. She’s smart and driven yes, but her overconfidence could be her downfall. She needed to have weaknesses in order to make the battle fun to read.

- Also british slangs cause we are in the UK after all

- As Leon tries to cheer up on his little brother, you force a smile to reassure him. Sometimes friends have to lie, that’s the way it is...

- Oh and that vietnam flashback Zera has upon seeing her Wishing Star ? The “ET project” ? You’ll get your answers in Chapter 2

- YES ! Finally getting to the part I was most interested in talking about : the parts with Leon. Now you may have noticed that I’m a small huge fan of Penny Dreadful. That’s for two reasons mainly. The first one => Eva Green. She’s gorgeous. She’s sassy. She’s a strong woman. And she doesn’t let petty men run her life. The second reason => is for the tracks. Man !... Have you listened to them ? They portray such emotions that they actually made me cry. That’s right, I cried upon writing these last two “paragraphs”. But it was all worth it as I wanted to give “A theme” to Zera and Leon’s relationship. Let’s dive in further

- The first song is titled “Closer than sisters”, which I’ve fittingly renamed “Closer than siblings”. This is mainly related to your relationship with Leon and how your feelings can be in conflict with the perception he has of you. Leon... adopted you... Well, his mother did. So, "you're part of the family", and siblings don't have "love" relationships with each other, do they? (THIS ISN’T ALABAMA KAREN). Yet, Hop is in love with you and you're in love with Leon. In a second step, taking a look at the context in which this song is used. In the series, Penny Dreadful, this one is used to introduce Vanessa's (Eva Green) relationship with her childhood friend, Mina. Both were neighbours and lived near each other. They practically grew up in the same house and are very close friends. Here, this song would rather refer to you and Hop who grew up together these last 7 years. That said, you weren't always this girl with a clever tongue, quite the opposite, you were mute when you started out. It was through a strong friendship that you came to fight your trauma and re-emerge with your words.

- Moving on to my favourite OST, which is Leon and Zera’s romantic theme : “Everyone likes Apples”, originally titled “Everyone likes Oranges”. What I love about this track is the slow build to a touching moment. The fewer piano keys help build an atmosphere that made the little “trick” even more striking. In my text, I said Leon had a knack for inspiring people and he does, quite easily too. When he found you at age 10, lonely and starved, he had a bit of a trouble to get in touch with you however. Now this is a bit spoiler-y for Chapter 2, but I’ll indulge you. In short, Zera flees from his sight quite a few times, like a Tom and Jerry episode, until he finally finds you. You’re hiding yourself behind a tree trunk and won’t let your guard down. That’s when he offers you an Apple, to which your stomach happily growls. You try to resist but eventually fall to your urge and swoops the apple from his hands. That’s when he says the infamous line, and that’s why this track meant so much to me. Also, the Apple is and has always been a symbol of sin and douchery attitude (Name mean one Villain who doesn’t bite into an Apple in the past 20 years of movies or so ? Oh you can’t ? Looking at you Malfoy...). The smooth and perfect appearance refered to your father, Chairman Rose as he’s grown so accustomed to putting up facades. I like the idea that Leon’s skillfull with his hands and somehow managed to get your attention off your lap to drop in the Apple.

- Despite his many absences, Leon remains a brotherly figure you can look up to and most importantly, cry on his shoulder. Heck. He loves you. He cares for you. But...

- “Reborn” was, I think, a fitting name for the start of the adventure. Zera has been living kind of on stand-by these recent years. Sure she’s been planning how to take down her father, but until she was confided a Pokémon she couldn’t do much. That’s why I mention the “mots of filth” at some point, that’s cause she was useless up til now. But things have changed. She’s actually starting this adventure, and things may finally work out for her...

Aaaaaand I think that’s it !

Pfew, thought I’d never see the end of this post ! But it was worth it nonetheless. As I’ve mentioned earlier on, I intend to create those “Behind The Writing” posts after each Chapters in order to give a few hints, thoughts, and pictures regarding the Chapter.

[ghostly-thorn]

Behind The Writing - 4 - The Turrfield Gym - Uplifting Roots

🎵 A bit of Ambiance 🎵

Greetings everyone !

Coming faster than expected is this 4th Chapter. Zera takes on her very first Gym battle and I was excited as hell to write it, though I’ve had some difficulty timing everything right... I’ll explain more later on.

I hope this hasn’t decreased in quality since I (kinda) forced myself to write. For those who don’t know, my deployment in an old people’s home is coming to an end. By the 22th of May i’ll have a free week, before returning to the hospital for a 6-week internship. During that “free” week I’ll have to work on an 8-page essay to validate my semester. It’s fine on its own, the issue I have though is that I have to surrender it by June the 12th, right in the middle of my internship. I didn’t want to keep you waiting so long (considering I’ve gained such a fanbase, THANK YOU!) so I figured I should post it this weekend, come what may!!!

And here we are now. Without further do, let’s dive into this 4th BTW. Did you pick on my every references? We’ll see about that!

Starting off strongly with a hint at Rose’s true nature. I mentioned in the text that he used to be a miner. Bells would rung as he was heading to work to die a little more everyday. They were said to protect their miners, but failed to do so with Rose. I will say nothing else, just know I don’t leave stones unturned. So here’s a commission I’ve ordered from hx.storia. The title of the track that goes with this art is Artorias’ theme from Dark Souls. The rest is up to you my friends...

Our future Champion, so graceful in her sleep...

For those who haven’t seen it yet, I’ve made a post about Voice Headcanons for SwSh. In it, Milo is dubbed by Nial Horan, an irish actor. Now I know Isle of Armor is supposed to be Ireland... Or is it Scotland? I don’t remember. Either way! It’s my Fic and I’m free to do whatever I want. No, that sounded awful. Aaaaanyway. Milo is Irish and I tried my best to depict that in this Chapter, though I’m not native so it was hard at times. All of this to say that Hop tried imitating the Gym Leader. “Top of the morning” is even an irish greeting. And believe me, I’ve looked a lot of slang for this Chapter!... *sighs* the things I would do for you...

I changed a bit the texting format for this chapter as when I’ve re-read Castling I felt like something was off. Now Zera’s texts will be located on the right, whereas any recipient will be on the left. Basically, like a real phone. Also, if there are several ✉ on different lines, it means that the people is spamming. I hope this was clear enough for you on your first read.

Raihan is such a jerk... But we love him nonetheless. Blackmailing poor Zee like that... unfair. But at the same time, this marks the beginning of their relationship and BOY, do I reserve some fluff for you

In the meantime, Zera will be flushed at Raihan’s every flirt attempt. Still, she’ll resist... for now

Zera may have inherited her mother’s purple eyes and white complexion, but she did get her hair from her Father. As mentioned in another BTW, Rose comes from india where most people have straight silky hair.

Here’s another commission from the incredible M0nomercy. This will be Zera’s look for the rest of the Challenge. Make sure you remember it

I mentioned Tesco in the text. I don’t live in the UK, but apparently it’s like the local groceries store. And since I’m writing a realistic fanfic, well here it is. I’ve been to London quite a few times but I’ve never seen any, I was mostly going to Boots

I wanted to make Scorbunny evolve before he reached Turrfield. However I wasn’t planning on letting Zera rest on her laurels. Because I hate Mary Sues I try to complicate my OC’s life as much as I can. Therefore I’ve had Raboot flee into the wild.

That is the reason why I’ve had Raboot behave like an angsty teen. I haven’t watched the new anime yet. At least, like any decent fangirl I just watched the Leon and Gengar Episodes, but from the GIFs I’ve seen Gou’s Raboot is pretty much the same

The idea for the kick in Hop’s face came from this extract of Bleach, an anime you must watch. The characters are Hiyori Sarugaki (the girl) and Urahara Kisuke.

Rose came from India at a very young age. Makes sense that he would bring his own values with him, amongst them, karma.

He played the drama queen by saying he was unable to breathe and needed mouth-to-mouth, but you swiftly put him back in his place with a slap.

-        “Ow!... I'm not sure that's how you treat people, Zee...”

As a Nurse I can certify. That is how we treat people

Here is best boy’s League card. Must protecc. and also the caption that reads on it

This Pokémon Trainer got endorsed to take part in the Gym Challenge by his brother—the reigning Champion, Leon. Hop claims to have watched all Leon's matches. Commentators speculate that as a result, he might be quite the force to be reckoned with. The Champion himself has said that his brother has potential, but his carefully hoarded knowledge can go to waste as he tends to get easily flustered in battle. It's said that Hop's partner Wooloo is a great help to him both in battle and with chores around the house.

I like to think that the Gym Challenger have specialty on their medias. Like their League Cards are numerically available on their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and so on.

Here’s Haunter being a good boy and clapping whenever he’s happy.

All the opponent on Route 3 are the same as in the game. Even the Pokémons Zera encountered.

-        “I don't care! You hurt my girlfriend and now you're gonna get bruised” (He screamed, trying to sound as menacing as a 5-year-old could be…)

You and Haunter exchanged a shocked look before bursting out in laughter, to the dismay of the boy who just wanted to be respected.

If you guessed this was a reference to the Shrek and Donkey laughing meme, well you guessed right

It could not resist commenting on all the encounters you had with wild Pokémon. Even to the extent of learning your reactions to evade your hands when it left your pocket. It was learning...

Rose’s influence throughout the country was compared to a Tentacruel’s arms. A fitting metaphor I believe. The GIF is from James Bond’s Spectre opening that you can find here. Eva Green. Mention of ghosts and unreachable tyrans? Sounds familiar...

Haunter floated above you and pretended to squint, crossing his hands like Aladdin's genie.

Can you see it? Can you see it?! I CAN! genie!Haunter is canon, fight me

If Haunter is the genie, then Raboot is Puss in boots

A woman stopped you on the way, just as massive as the previous one. She reminded you of a character from one of your favourite TV shows... 

Please tell me I’m not the only one who thought of Briene of Tarth when I saw the female!Worker

Haunter after missing all his attack on Digglet

-        “I can see how you made it this far” (The beastly woman spoke) “Though I must urge you to leave as soon as you can. This is no place for children”

-        “Ch-Children?” (You blew a fuse and your eyes started twitching)

Brienne!Worker urging Teen!Zera to leave the mines 👀

As if by magic, the young man sensed your presence, or perhaps that of your ghostly partner, since he was a Psychic-type Trainer: a kind of human Anticipation. 

Anticipation is an ability that senses the foe’s dangerous moves. Here I insinuate that Bede has the same ability since he instantly senses your presence

Bede has been adopted by the Chairman a few years ago. He would do anything to please his foster father, much like Oleana does. You’ll see that in the next Chapter “Deceiving Waters”. That is the reason why he gets so triggered when Zera mocks Rose.

I’m sorry. But Gothita looks so fucking silly... Her whole line is fucked

-        “Don’t grow over your head twat. I’m just giving your Pokémon a little chance to shine, that’s all”

Then all of a sudden, a wave of calm washed over him, putting out the fire that burned inside him. He looked much more civil now.

-        “Oh dear, what have I been doing? Well, whatever. Let us just get this over with”

You had totally wrecked him, yet after the utter shock cleared out he still found the courage to sound smug. He seemed to boil from inside, before throwing his head to the side and raising his fist in a clench

-        “I see… Well that’s fine. I wasn’t really trying all that hard anyway”

I hoped you enjoyed Milo’s first introduction. I sure did. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s irish in here and uses quite a lot of slang (I’ve had to research for your greatest pleasure). I’m going to make a list of all the terms he’s been using and their meanings

Sham ⌦ Friend

Bang on ⌦ Right, accurate, correct

Banjaxed ⌦ to break sth, broken

Culchie ⌦ Person from rural / agricultural area

Away on ⌦ an expression of surprise

“You know it already, but my name’s Milo”

“Y-yeah…” (You muttered as he kept awkwardly shaking your hand) “You’re quite famous”

“Think so? I do not think much of myself to be honest. I’m good with raising me pokes’ in peace”

“Sounds like the best life”

“It’s a peaceful life” (He retorted in a childish grin)

Already he was shielding his face from a possible blow, yet you restrained yourself.

Afterwards you settled down on the terrace of a bar - the only one in town - to enjoy a coffee. As expected, the locals were very friendly with you, even as to serve you a second and third shot on the house.

Them Turrfy people... such good lads...

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the most gracious Pokémon Arceus has graced us with. Yamper is a good boy. No... he’s the goodest boy.

There she was, leaning against one of the railings encircling the platform. Her ginger hair was rippling under the late afternoon summer breeze. Seen like this, she looked frightfully pretty, which could only infuriate you.

-        “Seems likely. It certainly looks like a gigantic Pokémon” (Sonia confirmed your theory before sighing) “I suppose people 1000 years ago could not just have imagined this, but it looks too similar to Dynamax. It can’t just be coincidence”

So in the game Sonia says 3000 ago, but I reduced it to 1000. Surely you know why...

She drew a sigh and hopped off the ledge, pacing back and forth while fiddling her hair in a familiar manner.

-        “Guess I’m the lucky lady who’ll be lookin’ into that. Gran sure gives me a lot to do”

Milo’s League Card and caption

This Trainer was born as the son of farmers. He has honed his strength, stamina, and skill as a Pokémon Trainer from a young age by working together with his Pokémon. Because of his gentle nature, he has trouble going all out on weaker opponents, which is why his Gym is the first one for challengers to attempt during the Gym Challenge. He always wears his boots, as apparently they let him dig in his heels when he needs to.

As for Mareanie, she could not get a state-of-the-art bathtub this time, so you made do with it and descended to the reception desk to ask for a bucket. Surprisingly, they handed you one quite easily, claiming that during St-Patrick those buckets fulfilled another use… you were now looking at it with disgust. 

Yeah you guessed it right. It’s used to collect people’s vomit.

You bounced out of bed, crashing to the ground two meters below. “Bunkbeds”, you had forgotten. 

When I was little, I used to spend whole nights playing videogames with my brother. Often, during the morning I would fall off it. So I feel you Zera, me too...

Of course there would be a reference to Twilight Wings

✉ Hey-a Champ’ in the making 👑🧗🏻‍♀️

✉ Got Hop on the 🤙🏽📱. He told me you were going to face Milo today 🌿

✉ Good luck! 😁🤞🏽☘️

You sighed amorously and Haunter pulled your cheek until you came out of your trance.

Oh Haunter... you’re such a homie. Protecting your Trainer like this.

Luckily, the explanations came very quickly in the form of a short blond man with a large moustache and exorbitant eyes. He introduced himself as Dan, the Mission Manager of that first Gym. He must have been in his fifties or so and tried his best to use a bit of millennial humour... with no success.

-        “Your mission... should you choose to accept it...”

👀...

You did not like being filmed however (you would be broadcasted live on Galar1), but you had no choice but to deal with it.

Galar1 is the name of the main channel of the country. As you’ve guessed it, it’s the equivalent of BBC.

A presenter's voice announced your name and origin as the mission was about to begin.

“Welcome everyone! My name is Caesar and I’ll be your host throughout the whole Gym Challenge. I’m accompanied here by Mr Crane”

“Caesar, it’s a pleasure as always.”

“Dear, the pleasure is all mine. So…” (The blue-haired host said while rubbing his hands) “What do we have here?”

“This is one of the two Champion-endorsed Challenger” (Replied his coworker while reading his sheet) “Her name is Zera”

“Zera what?”

“Just Zera” (He insisted) “We don’t know much about her except that’s she’s from the small village of Postwick”

“Where in the blazes is that?” (Ceasar unnecessarily joked)

“Eh. Somewhere deep in the South I believe”

“Well, Zera-from-somewhere-deep-in-the-south, good luck!”

I bet I made some of you squeal when you read that. To all the Hunger Games fans, *Rue sign*.

Also, Crane is a reference to Seneca Crane, the useless operator of Katniss’ first games

You were now free to carry on your way and climbed the stairs leading out of the dome. Once at the top you turned and smiled for the camera, waving to your audience. Then you left the place as they commented on your flawless performance. You were commended for your sharp and calm mind even in stressful situations.

(Hoh... you’re approaching me?)

You’ll see throughout the next Chapters, but every Gym Leader will have an “entrance music”. Obviously Milo’s had “Irish Party In Third Class”.

You backed away until you reached a mark on the second circle of the track. As you stepped on it, a red hexagonal barrier rose up all around you before instantly disappearing. These were the standard protections for Pokémon matches. Some attacks could sometimes have the unfortunate tendency to miss, and since the Trainers were behind... Oof, there had been some terrible accidents. Luckily, your father's company had managed to develop this technology to ensure the safety of any self-respecting Trainer. At least something he had done right… 

Yet another idea coming from Bleach, but not entirely. Obviously I was inspired by Urahara’s Sword’s power, but also from the Pokemon Anime. During that battle with Leon, Ash or Lance (one of them) uses an overpowering Max Move that hit the audience, or would have if there hadn’t been any protections. There was this kind of red barrier that appeared and I figured why not have one for Trainers as well? It’s quite dangerous battling, but we don’t realize it. Remember in Chapter 2 when Rose had to duck to the side to avoid Volcarona’s flamethrower? Here’s a ready why safety matters.

FINALLY! MY FIRST GYM BATTLE! BOY, I WAS EXCITED

I have been listening to the track for hours on end, but never grew bored of it. The issue I’ve had though was with the timing in the song. It was a bit wonky and for the sake of realism I had to re-use timings even if you hadn’t finished listening to the track. I’m... not sure I make sense... Usually when I write, I pay attention to the song’s length and try to write so that when you read it at a normal pace you can follow with the music on. BUT I COULDN’T DO THAT HERE. So I tried to patch it up to the best of my ability... I hope this was readable nonetheless

So here’s Milo’s Team for this first encounter, at least in the game. Here in the Fic I’ve given more attacks to his Pokémon, lest the battle would have ended in two minutes. As you can see, Gossifleur’s movepool is essentially normal-type, hence why Milo tells Zera she had complicated his life. Also, he uses Protect which he can’t learn. Believe me, I’ve checked their movepools and so I had to fiddle a little...

I also gave Effect Spore, a hidden ability, to Gossifleur. We need more drama in those battles

-        “Simply brilliant” (He started in a quiet voice) “But we’re not going to be done in that easy! We’re tough as weeds!”

-        “Then I’ll weed you out!”

That is when the moment arrived. Milo threw his arm to the side, a white bracelet sparkling on his wrist. A red glow emanated from it and you knew what was about to happen.

-        “Come on, then! It is Dynamax time! You’re about to be uprooted!”

A large 831 appeared on the screens as Milo was filmed from behind, then the camera focused on his face more determined than ever. He called his Pokémon back into battle and harnessed the power of his bracelet. His Pokéball turned pink and indented, like the pieces of a puzzle, and then it grew, growing to at least five times its size. You wondered how you could achieve the same feat. Milo had the muscles to hold such a mass, but not you! There ensued an adorable moment when he held his Ball close to him, gently tapping its surface. Then he threw the ball behind him about 20 meters away.

Then you recalled your Pokémon with a determined face.

-        “So? How do you like Max Geyser?”

-        “A little cold” (You teased with a smile) “But I'm not done yet!”

-        “Good! That’s the spirit!... That will really leave you in shock and awe. It’s our Dynamax move, Eldegoss, Max Overgrowth!”

Winning her very first Gym Battle. you can even see the Grassy Terrain effect because of the leaf fluttering. However there was no rain when I fought Milo, which is obvious given the fact Eldegoss doesn’t know any Water-type moves

For the avid players, surely you’ve noticed the NPC present at every Gym throughout the game. She has no name but I decided to call her Gina in honor of the Character in Brooklyn Nine Nine. I had binge watched the show last year and she had been stuck in my mind for months.

And this my friend marks the end of our very own Behind The Writing. I hope you enjoyed this new post and I invite you to stay tuned for the next Chapter. Unfortunately, It might not release until mid-June, or beginning of July. As I’ve mentionned in another post, I have an essay to surrender + I’m starting a new Internship which means I’ll be real busy. Still, I’m your faithful servant and I’ll try to keep on working the next Chapter

WE’LL HAVE MORE ROSE AND ZERA INTERACTIONS THEN. And considering how much you loved the first one, I’ll be sure to give you what you need on the next Chapter! also, Zera will get to see her stepsister after 7 years, now that’s something i’m looking forward to write...

Take care!

[ghostly-thorn]

Behind The Writing - 3 - Castling - Entering The Game

🎵 A bit of Ambiance 🎵

Well Hello!

Here we are again with a BTW post about this 3rd Chapter. If you’re here, I’m assuming you’ve already read it so no need for a spoiler warning.

And we start off with the meaning of the Title. “Castling”. It’s a move in Chess I found quite representative of Zera’s state in here. According to Wikipedia, it goes as follow: “A simultaneous move (the only one in chess) whereby king and rook move past each other”. In this metaphor, Rose is obviously the King (♔), whereas Zera is a mere Rook (♖). A Rook doesn’t have much value until the end of the game where it can deal some serious damage, as Zera will. But that’s not all, this very move implies that both the King and the Rook move past each other, something Zera and Rose have done in this Chapter. She hasn’t laid eye on him ever since he chased her down the corridor 7 years ago. And yet here they are, running into each other after the opening session. I thought this was a clever way to staart the Chapter and I’m sure you’ll love it

Moving on to the Wild Area. As I’ve told you, I played throughout the whole game and managed to map out all my Fic. Not only did I go through the whole story, I also went as far as to write EVERY TINY DETAILS. Not gonna lie, it was long and tiring, but worth it in the end and now 50% of the work is done, I only have to perfect my WIPs. That’s the cost of a realistic Fanfic... Anyway, I tried to make the Wild Area as vivid as possible and I’m positive I succeeded at it. Every Pokémon Zera encountered I’ve encountered in the game: The Combees, Hoothoots, Tyrogues and the Vileplum (It was even female as well!) Just to show you to the lengths I would go to to please you guys...

Let’s talk about Sonia. I know some of you might not like the way I wrote the interactions with us, but I assure you in the end she and Zera will become good friends, best friends even. It’s just that we’re at the very start of the adventure and Zera has a big crush on Leon, who seems not to have noticed. And Sonia’s so pretty, so cool, she has greater chance at winning the Champion’s heart than Zee. So of course she feels jealous and she has a hard time containing her contempt for the girl

I found it would be funny to have Sonia constantly shipping Hop and Zera together, much like a running gag.

Then she started twirling her hair nervously as she tried to imitate her grandmother with her brogue accent, cracking her voice from time to time like the Professor would… She was quite successful in her endeavour you might add.

-        “Those two young trainers are setting out on a journey, but what are you doing with your life?” ⌫ Can you hear it? Can you hear it? Maggie Smith in all her glory voicing our dear Magnolia. If you haven’t already, go check out my Voice Headcanons post. It’ll help you hear the characters’ voices I chose for them

-        “It’s a Pokémon Box link. It allows you to access the storage system while you’re on the road”

-        “Storage system ?”

-        “If you’re to catch more than 6 Pokémons, they’ll automatically be transferred to one of your boxes at the Pokécenter”

-        “But why would I do that?” (You asked, genuinely curious as to why people would enslave more Pokémons than they need) ⌫ Here we have Zera caring a great deal for Pokémons. She wishes not to capture more Pokémons that she needs, that’s why she’ll never complete her Pokédex. She’s too caring my girl...

I really enjoyed writing Hop and Zera’s trip throughout the Wild Area. In fact, I was so inspired I took me only an afternoon and I had written up 4K words already!!! Hop is this young and naive boy that sometimes puts himself in danger, whereas Zera is more collected and cool. I tried to balance it as I didn’t want neither to be superior to the other. They both have their personnalities set and there’s no other way. Hoped you liked it!

Also I really had fun writing the parts with Zera’s RotomPhone. I like to think that it was flawed in its design, or rather it grew a personnality (Like R2-D2 and C3P0 in Star Wars)

I sent a draft of the texting session with Leon to a friend and she loved it! I hope you did too cause It was really fun to write. Let me know if ou like the format or if I should change it. I figure the ✉ could be handy to let the reader now it was a text.

After describing the Wild Area I got to a point where I told myself: I HAVE to write some Camping session. And immediately my brain muled over all the tracks I had listened to in the past and it chose only one: Living Death from Nicholas Hooper. If it sounds familiar it’s that you’ve watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This track comes from the scene where Harry and his class are brewing potions for the first time this year. Because Harry is in the possession of Snape’s book he brewed a perfect potion and earned the Felix Felicis. Anyway, back to Camping, I thought it was a fun and uplifting track to use and you’ve got to admit, the way Zera pitched her tent is quite magical wouldn’t you say?

Also the idea where Scorbunny kicks Zera inadvertedly came from this pic i saw. Credits to the artist.

There’s a whole deal I’ve written about “Misunderstood creatures”, firstly with that poor Duskull Zera encounters. It seemed to be avoiding the tower because it was afraid of Gengar’s mood swings. Yet, it found comfort in her, even went as to hurl in her arms. I like the thought of ghost pokemons being shunned away, and Zera being the one to see them for their true worth. Think about it, most ghost types Gym Leaders are either freaks or weirdos. And I think that’s unfair. All these spooky boys deserve some loving

I wanted to write a somehwat funny/scary part with Ghosts and the Tower was the perfect excuse to. At first I chose the Old Chateau theme from Diamond and Pearl (Forever in my heart, Sinnoh Lover all the way) but it wasn’t as haunting as I wanted to, I mean, not the way I was looking for. So I kept looking and contempted myself with the Theme from Sun and Moon. It’s eerie and sizzling, exactly what i was looking for

The hand on the shoulder is a nod to the Tower episode from the first season of the Pokemon anime, where I found out Gengar was the bestest of boys <3

WARNING FOR THE NEXT GIF, IT’S SCARY

“Us and our Kin” was the perfect theme to represent the ghost community. Over years, Gengar’s memory was twisted and he did not remember Zera, hence why he attacked her. I mentioned it in the text, but in the Alolan Pokédex entry it is said that Gengar was once human and that it’s looking for a companion. At this point I’m just making up stuff, but I think all Gengars have the potential to turn humans into their kin. And who knows, maybe that tower Gengar used to be human too?

I knew I wanted Gastly to evolve before she reached Motostoke. It was her highest level Pokémon, which makes sense since she’s had him for the longest time. I loved the whole “Hands coming out of nothing” deal. As you’ve found out later on, Haunter cares a great deal about his new hands. Even goes as to play with Zera’s hair, holding her shoulders or clapping for her. What a great friend...

Also, Gengar lifts off the other Haunter’s curse. According to their Pokédex entry, Haunter’s lick is deadly and their victim will shiver until they die. So Gengar runs his hand through Zera’s body and lifts off the curse. What a swell guy

Yet again, Zera shows true justice at heart by saving that Mareanie from her comrades. Beauty is relative, whereas the others shunned her away, Zee found true beauty in that danger urchin and decided to adopt her.

Zera trying to keep her cool as Sonia is harassing her yet again

Here’s Leon’s League Card that made Zera’s knees weak

and here is Zera’s

The Card’s a good way for me to talk about something I had trouble with...: her outfit!!! I had designed her apperance long before replaying the game, and upon returning to it I realized that the Motorcycle oufit is only available in Wyndon! (Well F-ck...). So I felt really down. All the screenshots I took were worthless, but for the sake of the story we’ll say that she DID buy the Motorcycle outfit and the Ghost Uniform in Motstoke (Though in my Chapter I mentioned she bought only the Cap and the Bag. She’ll get the outfit in Turrfield next chapter)

Here’s her Outfit for the rest of the Game. Make sure you remember it, I won’t get back to it everytime

Oh yeah. I always found creepy how Nurse Joy would always wish you to come again heal your Pokémons. Maybe It’s cause I’m a Nurse myself, I don’t know, but can we agree that’s she’s wishing for our Pokémons to get injured again? That’s not very Nurse-like...

Zera when people mention how great her father is...

Zera whenever she sees Leon

I wonder why I mentioned the Libero ability... 👀

A few people were gathered at the entrance, including some weirdo disguised in a Pokeball. As you approached him, he stopped you in your tracks, rather stood in front of you (rude) and offered you a Pokeball before shouting a “Tadah!”. You gave him an annoyed look, not being in the mood and said

-        “Oh wow, a pokeball, how convenient”

He slightly moved his head, triggered, as if to “Listen here you little shit” you but then he carried on his thingie, unfazed. ⌫ Memes... They’re great. Why not use them?

You were too busy staring at the young boy. He seemed to notice as he scoffed and then said to you

-        “Didn't your parents ever teach you it's wrong to stare at people?”

Your eyes narrowed and you retorted with a dangerous voice.

-        “They taught me other things that were far more useful...” ⌫ By that, Zera meant she’s learned a great deal from her parents. From her mother, a former thief, she learned how to pick locks and fight back even in the most dire situations. And from her father, she learned that mankind is able of the worst. By answering this to Bede she’s actually telling the truth

I’m a Virgo. So Number 7 has always had a great significance for me. and since Zera and I share the zodiac sign, well I couldn’t chose any other number.

Marnie was the only girl to be decent as Zera as she entered the locker room. Whereas the other girls were gossiping about you and how you came to be endorsed by the Champion, Marnie was just sitting in a corner (you might have guessed it) listening to her older brother's new Album. Once again, if you haven't seen my Voice Headcanons post, I invite you to do so as in it Piers is voiced by Jonathan Davis, the singer of Korn.

To add further into Marnie's character, at least my depiction of it, I like to think of her as this quiet girl that doesn't speak much, but when she does, boy you better hide. We later on see what happens to those Team Yell Grunts!

The Hear Me Roar part was actually a post I made a few days ago. I wasn't sure whether I was going to keep it or not, but I ended up doing so. It would be such a waste not to use Ramin Djawadi's talent

Then you heard voices in your back. The first melted your heart, and the second instantly froze it like the Winds of Winter  ⌫ Get it? I know someone gets it...

BOY!!!!! I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO WRITE THE FIRST "ENCOUNTER" WITH ROSE AND I DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Words came to me so easily, it was witchcraft I swear! I Hope you loved it, because man it was fun writing it. I wanted it to be some kind of psychological stand off "à la Kira vs L" from Death Note, but I didn't go much further because Rose was in a hurry. But you just wait till we reach the Hulbury Chapter "Deceiving Waters". In the game, the MC meet up with Rose at the seafood restaurant yes? Well, for your greatest please, I'm going to drag out this scene and make Rose so inquisitive you'll swear he has unmasked even you the reader. Stay Tuned friends!

Also, Rose has an old looking phone because I was thinking since he's a CEO he could fall victim to corporate espionnage. also, call me crazy, but i thought of Putin and the whole "we're being watched deal" we had a few years ago. We found out the NSA was spying on everyone, including Merkel, Macron and so on and Putin merely laughed at their faces because he had one of those old f-cking phones. Yeah... not comparing Rose to Putin, but still... fun fact.

Seeing that the silence was becoming more and more embarrassing, Leon was about to furnish the discussion when suddenly an inhuman confidence took over you. You put on your most delicate smile and extended your hand to him.

-        “Chairman… It’s, such an honour” ⌫ Zera growing so confident she makes her dead momma proud...

Zera seeing Sonia again at the Hotel being like: “aha-ha... not you again”

Zera's too tired to deal with Team Yell's sh-t, hence why she tackles them head on. I felt the Chapter was already long enough as it was, so I didn't drag out on the battle. I mean, even in the game they last like 2 minutes and then you're done. I did want to make it more realistic, that's why I had Scorbunny use an Ember that caused ACTUAL DAMAGE to the property. Also, I mentioned he used High-Jump Kick. For those who don't know, It cannot learn it on its own. It's learned only through breeding, and all my Pokémons are competetively bred.

(as mentioned earlier on, Zera has the outfit I shared, not the one on this pic)

Here’s Morpeko being cute as ever. Protec the smol rodent boi

You’ve guessed it: Marnie has a crush on Hop. Oh boy, so many love triangles...

Boy... I promised you I would give you Raihan, AND I DELIVERED! I hope you contained your orgasms (as requested from me last time). I put a tag on my AO3, but here might as well be a reminded that "My" Raihan is a cocky bastard who cares about nothing else but ladies. He's a player. He knows how to flirt, and how to make women weak for him. He has yet to do that with Zera as we'll see in further Chapters (Even dedicated Chapter 7 to him only).

To finish with this Behind The Writing, here are a bunch of pictures that inspired me to write him that way

Fiddling on his phone as Zera opens the door

Noticing that she’s here

Sitting on his lap

Flirty mode enabled. Current objective updated: make this fangirl faint.

Waltzing in, not caring at all about the fainted girl.

Changing her phone background with a selfie where he does a peace sign. What a troll

Exchanging a beer with a friend (1)

Exchanging a beer with a friend (2)

Granting her one last hug before leaving

Aaaaaand that’s it lads. This marks the end of my Behind The Writing post. I hope you enjoyed it, maybe you’ve even picked on my every references, who knows.

Y’all take care and see you for the next chapter: 4 - The Turrfield Gym - Uplifting Roots

[ghostly-thorn]

Behind The Writing - 2 - Remnants of the past

🎵 A bit of Ambiance 🎵

Greetings everyone !

I hope you’re all doing well in this grim time of confinement 😓 Meanwhile I’ve been called to the front not too long ago. I’m currently in the testing booths, taking in potentially COVID-19 positive patients. But anyway, before that I’ve had loads of time to keep on working on that godforsaken second chapter. IT THOUGHT I’D NEVER SEE THE END OF IT, BUT HERE IT IS !

Same as before, this post will be dedicated to references and easter eggs you might have missed upon your first read (And I’m not blaming you, this Chapter’s hecking long).

Anyway, off we go !

We start off with a quote from Dante’s Divina Commedia. For those who don’t know, Dante Alighieri was a famous italian poet during the 13th Century. He was mostly known for The Divine Comedy from which we established most of our depiction of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. It tells the story of a man in the afterlife (him) going through the 3 realms I mentioned above. The quote I extracted is from the first “Canto” (Sing) of Hell. Dante describes how he’s arrived in hell, “Midway upon the journey of life”. Zera is 10 in this chapter, can’t get more midway than this. “I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost“. Same as Dante, Zera is abandoned to her fate and is going through a relatively dark period in her life.

I chose yet another track from Penny Dreadful. You’ll see I’ve used many during this Chapter. I can’t help it if they picture so well my vision of Zera’s past life. The first track, “Street.Horse.Smell.Candle” I chose because it gives off some... motion to the narrative. When I first listened to it I thought : that’s it, that’s the one. I could picture quite vividly a young and adventurous rich girl roaming in the Manor

Coming from a privileged family, it made sense that Zera had a high education. Just as passionate as her father, she gave herself to heart in her lessons with a penchant for French (Kalosian) and History. I will come back to this later. This picture i believe represents perfectly how she was “trimmed” to be a beautiful rose, and nothing else.

Emily Thorne; Zera’s mother, plays an important role in her life. If you' re here then you probably already read the chapter and you know that Emily grew up on the streets after her mother OD'd. She learned to survive as best she could and, much like Rose, climbed to a relatively comfortable position. Social ascendancy is a topic that will often come up in my fanfic. As far as Emily is concerned, I'll come back to it in more depth later, for now all you need to know is that she was a real role model for her daughter and that her daughter aspired to be like her one day.

So the game is really shallow on Characters’ backgrounds. We know that Rose used to work in the mines, but there is a huge gap between this proletarian job and becoming the CEO of a multi-national. I, quite shyly, decided to fill in this gap. Rose comes from India (So far that makes sense if we observe him more closely), but India doesn’t exist in Pokemon ! yet... We do know some Pokemon come from whatever that region is named (Copperajah for example). In my mind and opinion, Rose came to Galar with his parents at a young age. I’ve yet to decide why. They lived a relatively difficult life, with everyone pitching in to help the family, but they barely had enough to survive. That's why the candles were so important to him: they reminded him of his past life. Soon Rose had to work in the mines where, one day, an accident happened and he fell several meters into a strange cavity... There he had an encounter that would change his life... many of his colleagues thought he was dead. But then, three days later, he emerged from the mines, changed forever. And guess who came back after 3 days of supposed death? JESUS. I assure you, Rose is not his equivalent, even if I bring up some biblical subject in the Fanfic (Eternatus being the Leviathan yes?). I already have a little idea how I'm going to write this scene, but I don't know where I'm going to put it yet... That’s a puzzler

Rose Manor has had many influences and it took me sometime to properly design it. I based it on Malfoy Manor (Harry Potter), Vanessa Ive’s place (Penny Dreadful) and some other infamous british buildings of the real life (Buckhingham and Kensington palaces). The fact that it’s located beyond a forest is also a metaphorical representation of Zera’s journey. I also thought it would be funny to have her be frightened of ghosts when, ironically, her main Pokémon will be Gengar

The Wall surrounding Motostoke comes, primarly from the game, but also because I wanted to add a little “Attack on Titan” reference. No Colossal Titan this time though... The fact that Zera gazes at it every morning is yet another reminder that she doesn’t feel at her place and needs an escape

So yeah... We get to a dodgy subject I want to clarify from the get-go. This Pokémon World, at least my vision of it, is based on the “Detective Pikachu” movie. I wanted it to be, the world we know from the anime, but also mixed up with parts of our regular world. For exemple in DP, Tim Goodman, the protagonist, wanted to become an insurance worker, not a trainer, not a gym leader, just an insurance worker. There are other things than Trainers in this World. Furthermore, I locate this fic about 100 years after our time. I mentioned real british historical figures at some point, like Churchill and Adam Smith. Now tell me... How cool would it be to picture World War II with Pokémons? Can you already imagine Nazis trying to harness Legendaries’ powers to win the War ? I know I can. So yeah, all of this to say that the Anglican Church exists in this World and Zera was raised in this faith, thus the blessings.

I wanted every part of the Manor to exude wealth and I believe I succeeded at that. I like the idea of grand rooms, each serving a specific purpose. The tapestries of Galar’s story are the same located in Hammerlocke’s vault, no doubt a priceless property Rose got his hands on. Zera always looked on those stories like they were unreal, but make no mistake, she will experience them first-hand

Oh and that maid that seemed in a rush? Yes, she did shag Rose’s colleague. He would often invite them at home, throwing lavish parties in the hopes of getting funds for his evil plans.

Now then, getting to Emily’s first proper introduction. The reason why this Chapter is so long is because I added her backstory into it (The whole Castelia City deal yes?). It wasn’t supposed to be here, or exist at all, but I figured it would be hard to like a character you don’t know. So yeah, I did end up adding that part. She owns a Zoroark, which is uncommon. I’ll later explain how she got to know him. Some may have already understood that Zera’s relationship to Gengar will be much similar to her mother’s with Zoroark.

Zera’s a lonely child, and she’s learned to befriend all Pokemons, Zoroark included. I like the idea of this girl having a rather peculiar friend (human!Zoroark)

I don’t think the next choice of track needs much explaining. Emily is Zera’s guardian angel. She protects her, coddles her and does everything in her power to keep her happy. But the illusion begins to fade, and Zera, just as smart as her mother, can see through it. Emily wishes her daughter could stay a little blind for a while, but her maturity prevents her from doing so.

More and more, Zera witnesses her father grow colder and more distant. That scene she witnessed between her father and the Hammerlocke Mayor ? He was trying to bribe him in the hopes of gaining control of the power-spot there (Dynamax don’t exist yet, but they will soon, Magnolia’s working on it).

The straw that broke the camel's back was this measure of adoption. Only later do we take Emily's point of view and learn that she, too, was a victim of Rose's change in attitude. Learning from her daughter about what was about to happen, Emily realized that she had to go back to her roots and do what she did best: inspect, dig into every nook and cranny until she found the answers she was looking for. And those answers she found, but at a terrible cost...

As the end-of-year festivities approached, found haven in the library where she would read adult books. I mentioned Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” as I feel like Rose is taking the same path as the Doctor in the story, except he’s not looking for everlasting life, but a way to make it better. He’s clumsy at it sure (nearly destroyed the country with Eternatus) but in the end they have the same goal. I also mentioned “King Lear”, a work from Shakespear where a terrible King decides to share his power into  3 Kingdoms for each of his children (daughters). Two of them give flattering answers (represented in this fic as Bede and Oleana), but the 3rd one (Zera) remains silent and is shunned away for it. Rings a bell...?

The hedge maze was important to me as it represented the versatility Zera could prove of. It also symbolizes her path and how sometimes she stumbled into dead ends. I’ve recently commissionned my good friend (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Nootledootle ♥ and she graced me with this gorgeous piece of art. Follow her on instagram.

Once again I mentioned Rose’s homeland when I described the Dragapult fountain. Chhatarpur granite is known to come from India and it looks like this

A “Sitrusade” is a “Lemonade”, which I believe makes sense

A little world on what neglect truly is. It doesn’t alway imply physical violences, sometimes the lack of affection, regard, or love, could turn a child upside-down. And that’s what I aimed for. Rose never raised his hand on Zera, never raped her, but he ignored her and in some way, this was worse.

 “Nocturnal Danger” for Zera’s first encounter with Gastly, I like to think it’s quite fitting. This scene I had a really clear idea of ever since I started the fic. I knew I had plot points that needed to be reshaped, but this wasn’t the case here. I chose Gastly as her first Pokémon and, well, Friend for two reasons. Firstly, I love Gengar and he always finds his way into my teams. Secondly, I liked the idea of having this little lonely girl roaming the maze in the search of her friend. Gastly is a ghost, therefore he can appear and disappear at wish. That’s why at some point later on in the Chapter I mentioned the maids grew wary of Zera as she seemed to be talking on her own, but really she was in the good company of her friend. It’s known in literatures, movies and such that children are more likely to bond with ghosts and this was clearly my intention here. Pokémons are primal beings too. So, upon seeing that a human would harm herself for him, Gastly found it astounding. That’s why he told his mates and kept coming back. What he hadn’t planned though was to befriend this little girl. Also the prospect of Gastly pushing Zera on the swings melts my heart ;_;

I mentioned “bashful” at some point. This was Gastly’s nature in the begining. For the non-strat players here, a Pokémon with a bashful nature has no increased or decreased stats. It’s bland basically, much like Zera at the beginning of her adventure... GOD I’M DRAWING SO MANY PARALLELS

“Dorian Gray” ‘s track was chosened for a few reasons. Firstly if you’ve read my Voice Headcanon post, you’ll see that I used Reeve Carney as Rose’s young voice actor. He conveniently plays the role of Dorian Gray in Penny Dreadful. Now you're going to ask me, but who is Dorian Gray, so I'll tell you that the latter comes from a work of Gothic literature telling the story of a man of almost mystical beauty, but afraid of growing old. So he ends up selling his soul and "trapping" his old age in a portrait. As a result, an immortal Dorian embarks on a luxurious life devoid of morals. The song has an eerie and ominous feeling, and that’s exactly why I chose it.

“Johtoseries” are chinoiseries. Mahogany is yet another furniture that comes from India, it’s a deep and dark red wood that’s extremely costly.

We’re introduced to Oleana through Zera’s eyes and now that I’m reading it again I realized I havent been really nice to our future vice-president of Macro Cosmos... But I believe it was necessary to give her a more interesting narrative. Oleana, as we know her in the game, is very focused on her appearance, and this can be seen in the way she dresses, talks and behaves. But how can one get to such heights if one hasn't experienced something before that has allowed them to define themselves in such way? So that's what I allowed myself to give to our little Olive (Yes, Oleana means Olive). She lived on the streets before being adopted by your father along with her faithful Pokémon, Trubbish. She also owns one, just like Zera and Emily. Now moving on to her appearance, as I’ve said... I wasn’t very kind, but I myself I’m a bit overweight and I’ve had low self-esteem for a long time. Then I fell in with the right people and managed to mature properly. What I'm about to say is a bit spoiler-y, but later on when Zera tackles the Gym Challenge I'll write some short passages between Rose and Oleana and just so you know... She'll become more than just her adopted daughter, if you catch my drift... Yet another proof that Oleana only defines herself by and for her beauty...

What kind of thief mother wouldn’t teach her daughter how to pick a lock?

As I’ve mentioned somewhere I’m sure (There are so many things to reference, I might get lost or repetitive) there will be a lot biblical references in this Fic, thus the Arceus carved in the ceiling of the ceiling of the ballroom. God watching over Men’s sins, yes ?

Sooooo.  I think I owe you some explanation. The reason why I took SO LONG to update what this very part with Oleana. I’ve had many ideas of how things would unfurl, but the main issue I had was The choice of track. I wanted to use “Severus and Lily” as it has in the beginning this sweet tone of innocence and childhood, BUT IT DIDNT MATCH WITH THE TIMER I’D SET IN MY WRITING. Thus I had to rework on it over, and over again until I came up with something that would please me. And I did, but it took hecking long and I’m sorry. I hope this Chapter will be worth the wait. I’m aware it’s quite long...

To make Rose more impressive and menacing, I’ve based his character on that of Tywin Lannister with his children, and you can imagine that he was far from being the model father, but at least he knew how to convey strong messages...

Just a little clarification that I might have omitted in those 30 THOUSAND WORDS OF TEXT, but Oleana is older than Zera. She's 5 years older, so in this chapter she's 15 and Zera's only 10. But yet it is Zera who plays the role of the older sister, because Oleana is too frail and not very confident for that.

Oleana and Zera, though having a rocky start, grew fond of each other. But from the day Rose ruthlessly separated them, everything changed. Oleana learned to avoid her sister in order to please her adoptive father, and Zera fell into depression again. It worsened as her mother returned. Even her seemed to ignore her and the pain grew in intensity to a point where Zera thought ending it all would do them a favour. That’s when I was quite proud of my choice of track as it conveyed perfectly the rise in tension as Zera was about to take the leap. *self-pat*

YES. Now finaly getting to some drama, and an explanation I’ve owed you for a while now. Once again, because Sword and Shield was so shallow I’ve allowed myself to grant names to the characters, including Rose whose name is Adam... quite convenient eh? (Told you there would be some biblical references). Now then, I didn’t say this was his real name...

I’VE HAD A BLAST describing Rose as the main baddie. I’ve written a lot in my life, but nothing brought me as much satisfaction as this. and Man, i hope I conveyed how much of a bastard he was! Also this line : “Although right-handed in his everyday life, Rose was actually ambidextrous.  Something you were bound to experience in the next few minutes“ was a direct reference to how he was going to choke her life out.

Absinthe. Why Absinthe you may ask? Because it’s a really strong alcohol. It’s emerald green, just like Rose’s eyes. And....... It’s known to cause hallucinations, what better beverage for a delusional man such as him ?

Looking up “Rose”, “Father”, and “Poem” gave me so many works, I had difficulty filtering them, but in the end that quote from “Songs of Innocence” truly struck me and I highly recommend it to go and read it

Ah yes... Castelia City and the crafty girl... did you know that this song was played during Catwoman’s first appearance in “The Dark Knight Rises” ? Coincidence, I THINK NOT. Also “Mr Caine” is a direct reference to Michal Caine, the british actor. If Zera learned to behave like a lady, she learned if from her mother who learned it from this fine gentleman.

The rumours on the orphanage concerned rapes. It seems a lot of children, boy and girls alike, had been struck by it. and Emily didn’t want to be their next victim. Much like Zera later on she'll wallow in solitude until she finds the right people. It's something that I myself have done too

Now getting to the first encounter between Emily and Rose. I believe I’ve been fairly explicit with how out of the world Rose was. He was handsome, smart and witty. He seemed to be the only one able to read our cold and calculating Emily who could only fall in the face of such beauty. However, this was all part of Rose’s plan as we learned later on

Rose’s perfume is Paco Rabanne’s “One Million”

I just loved writing that James Bond-esque scene, and having that silence just before Rose dropped the F bomb on Emily ? Flawless. That “long-term investment” may have semed like he was talking money, but really he was talking her. She was his investment... I mention it later, but Rose was actually quite poor at the time. He just tweaked with his appearance to seem wealthy. Most of his funds came from Emily.

Rose was a ghost at the time: registered nowhere, wheither in Galar or Unova. So finding him was quite the feat for Emily, but eventually she did, or more likely, Rose allowed her to. He knew toying her that way would propel her into his arms. And it worked, didn’t it ?

That “he completed you” is yet another reference to Nolan’s Batman saga, referencing the relationship between the Joker and the cape crusader

Oh and remember that Champion in Pokemon Black and White: Alder ? He’s the one who dethroned Emily.

“Marcella” is roman name which means “warlike”, “martial”, and “strong”. It could also mean “young warrior”. In short, all that Zera would come to be one day...

“Suddenly, he was overcome with anguish and his smile crumbled. He couldn't afford it, or could he? He didn't know what to do.” The reason why Rose was a decent father in the beginning was that he wanted to build a family, and live happily, so he did for 10 years. But then, the voices in his head called back to him and so he returned to his plans, with the devastating outcome of Emily’s death

Both Emily and Zera are strong women, driven to reach their goals by any means necessary. It doesn’t meant they’re heartless, they can show genuine kindness when need be, but their devotion to their goals may end up hurting people around them, and that my friends... you will get to see if you keep reading my fic

Yet another reference to the Joker with Rose’s “You wouldn’t get it”

“Rose knew exactly why Marcella was a threat to him. That was the reason he'd distanced himself from her“ When Rose fell in that crevace when he was younger, something happened... something whispered in the dark and he could make up the words:

The Leviathan's curse must one withstand

And a parent shall perish by his child's hand.

The servants of the Manor were dismissed a few days ago as Rose didn’t want any witness for the tragedy that was about to unfold. He did not plan on your survival however

“I don’t get it! Why wake that godforsaken beast? What’s your endgame? What do you want? Don’t you already have anything your need?”... We’re in the Endgame now...

Oh. My. God. Rose’s battle theme has been stuck in my head for days as I wrote their battle... And I can’t say i’m mad. I’m in love with it! and upon listening to it, over, over and over again i realised it actually had lyrics... IN LATIN! So i went to look it up, and apparently it says “ROSE SEDO CREDO” which roughly translates to “Go Rose, Save us” which I find quite ironic for a megalomanic bastard such as him. Oh well...

Here are Rose and Emily’s teams (images)

Emily was a thief, makes sense that her Starter would be a Snivy, don’t you think ?

I told you I’d put a shit ton of references in this Chapter. That “Commendable, yet futile” comes from Resident Evil 5. Albert Wesker, a man much like Rose, says it as his nemesis tries to thwart his plans.

That Volcarona was the first Pokémon I thought off when I was assembling Emily’s team. I thought if it were to be 100% Unovian, it must have had a strong fire type and I couldn’t just give Reshiram to her. Much like Charizard was Leon’s main, Volcarona was her pride as well. It’s shiny to be in concordance with Emily’s appearance.

The grinding of daggers Perrserker adds to his shriek attack is a direct reference to Baraka from Mortal Kombat

I like to think that Trainers are also in danger during battles, hence Rose dodging the flamethrower at the last second.

Rose is a master manipulator, that’s why he can play his wife so well, using her fear against her

“You're beyond saving.” (You huffed, leaning on your knees) “You and your wretched plans… I will see to it that they fail. And if I don't, someone else will… I promise you this Adam, you can win this fight, but you could never win against life itself. Because life will always find a way”. So... Many things here. A bit of “ooh, you’re the bad guy you will fail”, but most importantly the prophecy Rose was foretold: His child would be his doom. Oh also a Jurrasic Park reference because Jeff Goldblum is always a win

“That said, you noticed that your Pokémon’s left arm was dangling weakly in the air, a sign that he had probably broken something”. Yet another reference, but this time to Dark Souls 1 and its DLC. One of the bosses, Artorias, was known to be a proud Knight who went to face head-on the darkness. Upon fighting Manus, the embodiment of Darkness, he broke his left arm. As the player we can later fight him in an Arena, but let me tell you, broken arm or not he can still sweep the floor with your ass

 That battle was all fun and games until I reached Zoroark’s death... Boy, I cried! And I’m hopeful I did the same to you. It was my first time writing with a song’s lyrics and it required some... adjustments, but in the end I’m pretty proud of myself. I hope you all hate me for killing off so brutally this little furry monster...

Any decent thief has knives as hairpins, didn’t you know ?

That bitchslap made me hate Rose so much, but at the same time loving him for the arse he is. And that chasing scene nearly gave me OCD

“You had to survive to tell the nightmare” is YET another reference (Told you I’d put plenty). This one is from Resident Evil 1, as the STARS member enter the manor, whereas here Zera was about to exit it.

Gastly then returns the favour to Zera by saving her from this terrible fate. We don't see it too much in the games, but in Anime the whole evolutionary line of Gengar can use telepathic powers. Gastly can do the same, even if they are diminished at his young age. Wait until you see what I have in store for you in the battle against Bea... oops, spoiler alert...

“House of the night creatures”. How fitting for a Pokémon tower don’t you think? also this whole section is a nod to my all-time favourite episode of the Pokémon anime, well.. “the pokémon tower” quite simply where Ash is killed (eh, he’s fine) and he hangs with ghosts for fun. That’s when i first fell in love with Gengar’s persona.

“Again, you felt a cold wave, this time more intense and you shuddered.” Temperatures are known to drop when Ghosts are around, it’s even mentioned in Gengar’s Pokédex entry.

 A Haunter held Zera’s hair as she was puking. I think it was a very touching moment as, in my opinion, Ghosts are feared and hated in the Pokémon world. Often, the ghost gym leaders are belittled or looked down upon. To Zera, who’s been saved by ghosts, it’s completely different.

I loved writing the Gengar of the Tower and I actually sent a few extracts to friend to know what they thought of it, and they all seemed quite pleased. My Gengar was to be a mix of Hades (From Disney’s Hercules, talking fast, sinister and such), the Cheshire cat (From Alice in Wonderland, due to his wide grin and general behaviour with children) and the Joker (cause he’s a prankster after all). He does toy a lot with Zera and it was really fun to write. Also, we know from the Alola pokédex entry that Gengars used to be humans, or some at least... Could this be the case for this one? why does he hate humans so much? and Will Zera’s gengar be able to talk too? KEEP READING AND YOU’LL FIND OUT

“Two Doctors” was the perfect track as it conveyed humour and fun, as well as Zera’s cryptic behaviour. Also it’s a Doctor Who reference and in my Voice Headcanon post, young!Zera is voiced by Caitlyn Blackwood, young Amy Pond, who much like my OC encounters a strange person on a fateful night...

“Modern Age” was a great way for me to portray the influence of Capitalism on our society. And the fact that a little girl could roam the street late at night without anyone stopping by says a lot about this country...

Ah~... “Snape to Malfoy Manor”... SUCH a great song. I can see our beloved Wizard flick his wand to enter the manor, that’s how vivid this scene is for me. You know it’s dark, it’s foreboding and it was perfect to portray the change of heart in Zera.

Ghosts don’t have reflection in mirrors, so they can’t appear in puddles either... Though later on when Zera becomes Champion, they will have to use special feature to photograph her whole team, Gengar included.

“Two guards recounting their latest sexual prowess passed you before walking away, not without you uttering an "ew" to their words.” Ah... children, so innocent aren’t they ?

I like the little comedic moment between Zera and Gastly where she asks him if he can work his mumbo-jumbo, an expression she had heard from her Unovan mother

Crests are important in the UK and I believe it would be great to consider the double Hexagons as a modern-looking Rose. What do you think of it?

Remember Lockhart, Rose’s assistant. He will come back much later on, after the League Tournament...

So the name of the next song is “Mother of Evil”, but I’m sure you read it backwards like me. It’s dark, it’s grim and it’s ominous, exactly the way I wanted to portray Rose’s plan.

That drop of mud on the floor is something that would bother Rose for the years to come and one of the first hint that his daughter was still alive. I did mention his cleanliness was almost disturbing, so why would his office be dirtied. That being said, he would only realise it too late.

Zera does become like her mother as she noticed what was wrong with the desk.

The words written in Gothic caption are quotes from the bible, more specifically the book of Revelation. It describes the Leviathan, the mythical serpent:

Then Another Sign Appeared In Heaven: And Behold A Great Red Dragon Having Seven Heads And Ten Horns, And On His Heads Were Seven Diadems

And He Laid Hold Of The Dragon, The Serpent Of Old, And Bound Him For A Thousand Years

That scene where Rose is lurking on Zera nearly gave me OCD, and I hope it did the same to you. Also, the fact that he’s back to work so soon after the “tragedy” that hit him is yet another sign of how much of a bastard he is.

And now getting to yet another struggle of mine, that part with the Beyond Two Souls song. During this time of confinement, I often went out at night for a stroll in the fields and I kept hearing this song and telling to myself: I have to insert it, I have to find a way to put it in there. And then another voice would ring in my head and tell me : YOU’RE ALREADY AT 20 K WORDS, but I couldn’t help it and here we are... As this poor girl is being chased by a pack of hungry hounds

That quote of Winston Churchill was a way to portray the rocky start at life Zera had, but that it would mark the end of the beginning, the beginning being her mother’s murder.

For those who played the Telltale The Walking Dead games, the “In the pines” choice of track would make perfect sense. For those who didn’t, meet Clementine (on the thumbnail) small girls is saved by a man and grows into a warrior throughout the years of harshness. Rings a bell yet ? Also the lyrics are flawless, aside for the whole dead father thing. Rose is very much alive at the moment.

There are however still good people in this world, and that controller did prove so as he was worried this child would travel alone.

Ah~... Hans Zimmer... My hero... Do I even need to explain why “I Never Woke Up In Handcuffs Before“ is the perfect track for a thieving girl at a market ?

That first encounter with Leon was very important to me and I think I nailed it, but we’ll talk furthermore once we get into the woods.

The fog in the Wealds doesn’t lift up despite Charizard’s wings flap as Zacian is the one controlling it... And it’s observing both of our Champions

I slightly changed the look of the Sanctuary we see in the games, it now has an island in the middle of the water where a few paving stones lead to. Since my depiction of Leon makes him quite clumsy, I thought it’d be funny to have him almost fall into the water.

That gesture Leon gives to his Pokemon to stop him is the same one he’ll give Zera at the top of Hammerlocke’s Gym...

Comparing Rose to a snake was intentional. Except this time Adam IS the Snake

The way Zera sneaks up to Leon is similar to that cat video where it plays peek-a-boo with its owner. You must understand that Zera has spent months in the wild, so she’s a bit primal like this. I mean... She does stay mutic for weeks too.

Here’s Leon’s outfit by the way

“You hadn't had a decent meal for quite some time, and it's not as if the berries kept you from starving to death”. Mistery Dungeon reference. Those fucking apples never appear when you need them the most.

Ever since Chapter 1 I had been looking forward to writing Magnolia’s first encounter with Zera. I hope you’ve all enjoyed it, because i know i did. Bless this old badass woman. The fact that she knew Zera would try to run away is one factor. and her sarcasm is off the charts.

Sonia is currently studying in Wyndon, as I’ve mentioned. That’s how she’ll pick up her cockney accent by the way

“He raised both his hands as a sign of surrender, knowing which fight he couldn't win, then he winked at you before giving you some space.” Here’s our Champion, afraid of battling Magnolia on that field... and also being charismatic as heck

“Ways to go!” is a callback to chapter 1, that’s actually a callback to this moment... huh. I’m losing myself, sorry, it’s already 9 pm and I work tomorrow, but I hope you’ll get what I meant

The fact that Leon introduces himself again, even though she knows his name is his way to say : “Okay, let’s start over”

“You had been in the dark for a few moments, going through a tunnel that seemed very long when suddenly you finally emerged on the other side.“ is yet a metaphore to Zera’s journey up till now

【𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠】【𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠】【𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐨𝐡】

The truth being Rose’s crimes to be exposed

The rest of the lyrics are in accordance with Zera’s past life. I don’t think it requires much explaining.

OOF

Here I am at the end. It’s 10 pm and I’ve yet to post the new Chapter. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and wish you to stay safe in those dire times

Take care, love you all

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It's as simple as 1,2,3.....basic rules of attraction. In order to get what you want you must attract it to you, but If certain things failed to bring you the happiness you desired, learn from them and stop bringing the same type of things or behaviors back into your life. If you really want gold then dont settle for silver..and if you truly want peace then why are you setting up for the destruction of it? #goodmorning #message #quotes #quotestoliveby #motivational #peaceofmind #behappy #livelaughlove #positivevibesonly #happyfriday #tgif #bloglife #behindthewritings #womensempowerment #sharingpink #lawsofattraction #larayrenee #blogqueen #writersofig #PINK

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Your attitude today may have a direct connection with how your day goes..so stay positive. You will be tested. You will be tried. You may even at times want to offer certain people "choice words"...but if you can wake up today and set your mind to the idea that nothing will cause you to have a bad day, nothing will bring you down, and nothing will get the best of you..chances are today might not be so bad. Dictate the NEED for your day by setting the tone for how you WANT it to go. #GOODMORNING #greatmorning #morningmessage #message #quotes #quotestoliveby #original #positiveenergy #checkyourattitude #checkyourself #positiveattitude #womensupportingwomen #TuesdayTip #terrificTuesday #blog #bloggers #bloglife #sharingpink #behindthewritings #speaklife #PINK