#i just really want arle in smash

[desultory-novice]

I've actually been planning on a Kirby fangame. It's a Kirby RPG where we play... As a puffball other than Kirby. The idea is based around. What if Kirby was lured to the dark side? How would that impact their friends? How would that impact the protagonist's view on themself? How many of the past bad guys would relapse when the one who set them back on the path of light falls off that path themselves? Would any of the bad guys relapse? And more importantly... What would need to happen Kirby to turn evil in the first place? It's gonna take a long time, but. It's something I'm drafting up. Right now, the main party consists of this other puffball, a scared and worried Adeleine who is mostly out of the loop and a Bandanna Dee who just wants their friend back. I'm stuck on who the fourth party member should be. It's either an Elfilin who, due to the stressful situation everyone is going through right now, is kinda struggling to control their emotions that they got from their other half or Marx, who I'm not sure what to do with yet. But I do know I want him to be one of the ex-villains to NOT relapse because honestly. Everyone would EXPECT him to relapse.

Sorry I let this one sit for so long, Emerald! (Where does the time go?!) I hope you're still working on "The Circle of Time" (cool title, btw!) and that this answer is relevant to you as I wanted to say, this is a really interesting idea!

You've got me invested with the idea of "Would anyone relapse now that Kirby's not just gone but gone...bad?"

Adeleine, Bandee, and Elfilin are a cute idea because they could sort of represent the different eras of Kirby companionship, but your idea with Marx is so good it already sounds like he'd be your best bet for a fourth party member because you'd have so much to do with him! And creativity is the spice of fan projects!

Also, I think the "Surprise! Didn't turn bad!" idea you have really works best when he's part of the Kirby search-and-rescue team as opposed to just being an important NPC.

As for your other question...!

I'm glad you've done more concept work on your RPG since last time! Remember not to burn yourself out or put too much on your plate! An RPG is already a huge undertaking!

But, if you want ideas, hmm... Marx is a really good one because Marx already has ties to Smash and I think fans would love to see him. Gooey would be a good candidate because he was in Kirby Fighters 2 so is a proven fighter, and Adeleine... well, haha, while at first she seems like an odd fit for the role of a Smash Rep, I'm someone who really, really wanted characters like Lip or Arle or Dixie for Smash so I can't not support my favorite artist girl!

...Basically, all three ideas are good! Curse me for being a Libra and being unable to choose! (Plus, you just happened to choose three of my biases to pick amongst! I can't, I just can't!!)

[homuraakumaakemi]

STILL ALIVE!!!

[marybeatriceofmodena]

To continue on the whole Evil Father figure as an antagonist to the heroine, the reason why heroines who have those types of antagonists are often warriors archetypes more often than not is because the Evil Father represents the patriarchy, which the heroine has to smash. Katniss Everdeen has President Snow (although you could make a point that Coin is also her Evil Mother figure). Buffy Summers has the Master, who’s basically the oldest vampire known and acts as a father figure to his followers, while Angel/Angelus and Spike act as Beast/Shadow later on to her Beauty. Wonder Woman has Ares, because she’s from an island that only has female warriors whose main values are diplomacy, peace, and love, as opposed to Ares who’s all about war and chaos. If you play Dragon Age Origins, you can play as a Cousland noblewoman who basically busts her ass during an entire year gathering an army to fight against the Darkspawn Blight, avenges her family’s death by killing Arl Howe, and eventually also defeats the man responsible for all her troubles (Loghain) and even has the option to become Queen. 

I know LB has gone on about how the Darkling is Greed and Toxic Masculinity and Toxic Boyfriends and blablabla, but not only Alina isn’t a Warrior type of heroine (simply because she’s never really allowed to become one), the Darkling really doesn’t work as an Evil Father figure, much less a representation of the patriarchy. Like, I’m sorry, YOU DO NOT have your heroine have feelings/attraction towards the Evil Father figure, unless you want to include some sort of Electra complex in your story. You really don’t. And also, the Darkling falls flat as a representation of the patriarchy, simply because that is a paper thin metaphor due to the fact he’s the leader of an oppressed people (the Grisha). It would be an other matter entirely if the Darkling was an older man and if Ravka was a country where the Grisha were more powerful than ordinary people. Like, you know. VOLDEMORT. PRESIDENT SNOW. THE MASTER. ARES. 

And I’m not even going to go into how the Darkling and Alina’s dynamic is actually a “subversion” of Beauty and the Beast, because it’s not a subversion. It’s literally LB barely understanding why it’s even a thing, completely ignoring myths like Eros and Psyche, what female authors such as Mme de Villeneuve, Mme Leprince de Beaumont did with the story, or what Howard Ashman did as a representation of being part of the LGBTQ community during the AIDS crisis. And instead of seeing why it’s the type of story/dynamic that can be very appealing from a feminist/LGBTQ perspective (look no further than Angela Carter), she just stomps all over it. There’s really nothing to see there, much less get a “”lesson”” from. Like, thanks, I’ll just go and re-read The Courtship of Mr. Lyon or The Tiger Bride.  

[knight-queen]

Black Wolves Saga Bloody Nightmare (Common Plot Part 1)

This game covers 200+ memories and but I were to translate them individually, it will take me forever which no way I want lmao. So I decided to make the whole game into parts, specially the common plot. Each parts hopefully ends with a red-splash thing. I know it may sound inconvenient  but I found it as a best option. The main thing I am worried is the selection things because they are so long and I hope God will help me to arrange the whole story smoothly <3

The sky is weeping. Weeping for grieving over the sorrowful event that is going to happen right away.

Large droplets of rain hit the ground. Some approaching sounds of footsteps mixed with such groaning rain could be heard from far away. Gradually, gradually.

The village which is more likely has sank inside the darkness has yet to notice the impending crisis.

???: ーー...It’s raining...brother.

???: ーー...Hmph. What is wrong, Rath? You are scared?

Rath: No, it’s not….It’s not like that...Brother, it’s raining awfully too much.

???: ーー...Raining? You are wrong, these are tears.

Rath: Tears? …...What do you mean?

???: God of the Weblin is crying. He is feeling sorrow for these humans after all.

Rath: Human...human...HUMAN...I hate them.

???: If so then kill them. Paint your heart with those emotions. Wolves do not need any heart inside them.

Looks like they appeared out of nowhere. Unscared of this rain, two human-looking persons were standing in the middle of the village.

One of them is tall figued. Another one is a young man still in the mid-way of becoming an adult.

Those are the eyes of fellows, ash colored beasts, the eyes which were shining like sparkles, like starving for flames and blood.

???: ーMove forward.

He commanded splitting a single word.

*Wolves howling sounds*

*Village was set to fire*

Female Resident 1: Heeeeehhh…!

Howling wolves are screaming as if they are proceeding by tearing through the rain.

As the people are uproaring in panic, the man’s smile inside the rain deepens.

A beautiful smile that one cannot overlook if the situation would allow you.

???: Kukukuh...Devour it all. These human’s blood, flesh andーーeverything.

Female Resident 1: KYAAAAAAAAAAA!! Wolves!? Why, what are they here....!!

Male Resident 1: Just run…!! Hurry and take our kids to….gh, kyaaa!!

???: ーIt’s pointless.

The howl of wolves that vibrates the dark night. Plus their accumulated screams rise one by one, and the echo disappears in an instant.

The sound that could be heard next was the pulling sound of something heavy. Pulling human bodies one after another.

*BG turns to an wolf eating flesh*

The next sound that could be heard was the chewing sounds of the wolves mixed with rain-water. Those wolves were slicing humans as if they were nothing more than baits.

Female resident 1: Kyaaaaayaaaaaaaaaa!! Stopp….ughuh….!!

*Blood splash*

An awkward chewing sound was resounded from all around by getting mixed with raining sound.

At the same time, the scent of blood which was not getting erased even with incessant rain spread around. It stirs up the instincts of the wolves as well.

???: Fufh...it has a very beautiful timbre. Human’s shierkings are the best comfort. I hope you will not mind letting me hear more. 

From the shadows of the wolves’ flock, someone stretched their hand by appealing for help.

Strengthless, yet that person was shivering and struggling like has gotten twitched.

???: Just die, shameless.

*Blood splash*

That person has stopped moving right away.

From human, to object. To alive, to dead. From a mass of protein, to a piece of flesh. 

All left now is the despicable sound of water that wolves are using to satisfy their hungry stomach, but that could be heard inside of darkness.

???: More, fill your stomach more. Eat them all….

The male’s heart gets filled with screams and frustration. Meanwhile, a villager seemed to run away in sight of that man.

That person is a villager. His destination will probably be the stable. His intention for now is to ask his neighbouring villagers to help him out by riding on a fast horse.

Once he manages to get on the horse, then wolves or something like that will be unable to interfere with him.

???: ...Guillan.

He muttered by calling that name.

Guillan: Hiyaaaaaa~! What’s up, Arles? Isn’t it just a waste of time to kill that ugly jackass?

Arles: ーIt is an order.

Guillan: Tch, how boorish. ...Well then I am gonna kill ‘em in boldly, ‘kay? Just watch me will yaaa’ー?

Along with sliced-through-wind sound, silver light breaks through the dark night. Then he immediately scratched off the man’s head who was trying to reach the horse-stable.

Resident 1: Guggh…!!

*blood splash*

Slashed fresh blood. But that immediately got mixed and soaked with rain and soil respectively.

*Shoots*

Guillan: I hit itー! Wooooooh! Oi, they’re seriously tiny sized fish. Guess it’s worth it to get more of ‘em still alive?

The headless villager trumple down to the ground with a thud. Right there was a flock of wolves. Soon enough, they could be seen devouring by chewing him. 

They slurp down the fresh blood as they apart the flesh. Gushed and overflowed red with rain droplets have become one and they both are ending up being mud. 

Guillan: Ahh, that guy is fukin’ ugly. Me the great don’t wanna see him, so gonna mess him up.

*Shoots*

Guillan: Hiyaaa! Cool, cool. Kindly just pass away, ugly humans. 

*Another shoot*

Guillan: Hiyahahahah! Now it becomes easier to eat, yah? Eat ‘em more, ‘cuz they are merely chunks of “meat” anyways, kay?

*Blood splash*

Guillan: Ooh, It’s damn boring for some reason. It’d be better if they would fight back more. Just hunting isn’t fun though?

Arles: ーShut up. It is my order.

Guillan: Oh goodness, I smash ‘em all just as you wished right? You knoooow, wolves sob if you don’t compliment them.

Arles: ...Alright. 

*Arles pats Guillan*

Guillan: Kukukuh...I like that side of yours. Oi, shall I butcher ‘em more?

*gets ready the spin-blade*

The young man called Guillan, at his fingertips, there is the dangerous weapon that reaped out the life of the villager is rotating making a humming sound.

It is a weapon called chakram, a weird weapon where one has to bag fingers into it and hurl at the distant target by being very concentrative. 

Every single part of it’s external is made out of blade, the users will get hurt if they make an error in holding that.

The perfect owner of that weapon, that young man, was really suited to using that.

*Shoots + Blood flash*

Guillan: Arlesーwhat ‘bout attacking a bigger place? As you can see, It’s been a while since this miny village’s gone hollow.

They aren’t even responding a thing. Darning borin’. They are fukin villagers after all. Seriously trash yeah?

More, more and more, let’s do somethin’ more entertainingー?

*Shoots again*

Guillan: Hiyaaa, hiyaaaaaa, hiyaaaaaaaaahーhhh!!! Blooood, blooood, blood-blood-blood-blood, gotta chop off everything wooo!

Although he seems to have lost his mind, at the same time, the Charkram shoot off from his fingertips and hunts the prey by spinning through the rain and wind. 

*Blood splash + stab sound*

Female Resident 1: KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAー!!

His attitude is potent, and his talent is that not only was he able to master a very difficult weapon, he mastered hunting a target very comfortably and easily. That skill of his is very well-known.

Arles: ...Fufh, you are right. We can begin to prey upon a larger city onward. We must make those humans...suffer, more suffer.

Kill more...we must kill them more. We must erase them entirely.

Guillan: Hiyahah! Sounds great...I can’t wait…

Among the wolves as they run, hunt and howl in the rain, those two’s conversations are like talkings between a child and his corresponding guardian.

Right after, Arles starts gazing on the other side.

Arles: ...What is Rath doing?

Guillan: Rath? Oh...you mean that rookie huh. Wasn’t he just hunting the foolish who were simply trynna escape over there. 

He doesn’t seem to like murder thing that much. Don’t really think he is your younger bro.

Arles: ...Rath is still immature. If he abandons his emotions, he should be able to kill humans. 

Guillan: Abandon emotions? He’d feel more at ease if he’d just do fun stuff and stop thinking about troublesome shits.

*Spins his Chakram*

Guillan: Hiyyaaah! ‘Kay then, I’m gonna rampage a lil’ more.

Arles: Do not let even a single one be alive. Kill everyone except wolves, seize the souls of everyone. Everyone.

Guillan: I’m down for itー! Bossー!

The scent of blood, as well as the screams and everything which is happening gets erased in the rain, doesn’t even reach anyone. 

Now this small village has turned into a hunting ground for wolves.

Arles: ...Rath.

Rath: ……

After shifting places with guillan, the young man has shown up as if he gets out from the dark.

Arles: What were you doing?

Rath: ...Nothing particular. I was killing them. Just as you told me.

Arles: Do not worry, Rath. Set on fire after the rain stops.

Rath: ...Yeah. I know, brother.

Arles: We are doing this in order to let it know what happened. We want the foolish subjects of Weblin to realize the existence of us, the wolves.

Take everything away, their houses, lands, and lives so that they cannot even think about coming to these places again.

Rath: ...Big brother, I know.

Arles: If you know then respond. The leader of this flock is me.

Rath: ...Yeah.

Arles: Rath, do not think about the points that much. Listen to your own insects inside you. Sound yourself more like “kill humans!”

Rath: ...I know, brother. I know!!

Arles: Say it, you will kill them.

Rath: I will kill. I will...kill humans.

Arles: Say it once more. It is an order.

Rath: ...Kill, kill, kill...kill. I will kill...kill...kill. I will kill, kill...kill, kill, kill, kill them.

I must kill them.

Arles: Rath, do not hesitate. You are not allowed to forget what they did to us. 

Rath: Kill, kill, kill, kill. Yeah...I will kill them.

Arles: Alright...time to go. Fire up.

A small nod, then the young man disappeared out of sight just like he faded away in the dark. 

Arles: ...Kukukuh.

The male chuckles as he is glaring at this hellish disaster.

Arles: Other races etc, just devour all of them. Wreck them out and get rid of everything.

Look, the God of Weblin. This is the beginning of the wolves’ revenge. If you say our race is cursed, then I dare you to curse more.

Kukukuh, hahahah, HAAHAAHHAHAHAH!

As the bloody-rain continues, the man who stood in the middle of this tragic place was the king of the wolves.

Weblin Kingdom

It is a small kingdom which is lying at a corner of the continent thronged with great powers.

Garibaldi family of the Cat species rules it. Surrounded by abundant and strict atmosphere, Weblin is undoubtedly standing as an solitary island on the continent.

While wearing armor called “Nature which prevents aggression”, this kingdom was flourishing as an independent civilization on the continent.

The one that holds domination power is the species called ‘Cats’.

In this world the species that exist are ー1) ’Cats’

2) Human

3) Wolves

4) And the rare species are ‘Rat’

5) Lion

6) Dog

7) Rabbit

When wolves and humans hand over the top of the Weblin to the Cats, the races living there including the rare ones were being dominated. 

Hundred of years passed after its founding, although there were clan’s barriers in it, Weblin was still a harmonious and splendid country which existed in a beautiful environment.

Exactly like this, until ten years ago. 

As the history progressed, Cats and other races of Weblin were producing a few number of frictions. 

Exploiting takes place right one after another. The relationship between the tribes finally began to be disputed. 

There was a rebellion that occurred ten years ago.

A wolf guard-knight who used to work for the Weblin kingdom had turned the sword towards one of the members of the royal family.

Cats who ruled Weblin, and the one who ruled on their top of that was the royal family Garibaldi.  Treasoning that family was a very heavy sin.

That guard-knight’s residence was disrupted and so after he was driven out from the country. However一the uproar still was not all over.

That uproar was not only between Wolves and Cats but involved in every other race.

一And thereupon, a big plague had assaulted the country.

A brutal death-disease called “Zodiva” 一 so called this disease by human and it was in trend. 

This may dye the sufferer’s skin into black color and may also end up completely spoiling the brain-tissues. And this unknown caused plague will eventually lead the affected individual into madness.

Wherein a rumour takes place which is “Wolves are the reasons behind the origin of this plague.” This rumour got spread across many regions in no time. 

The people of the villages and towns that wolves attacked were feared, that thoroughly-outbroken disease was the wolves’ curse.

And eventually that ‘Zodiva’ name becomes identified as ‘Madness-disease by Wolves.’

In order to sweep away the fear of such people, the Weblin Kingdom Garibaldi VI had announced a certain rule.

一 “Genociding Wolves Law”

“Behead the wolves who are the origin of the nation-wrecking disease.”

Balanced relationships between the clans that had been preserved for 100 years have decisively collapsed after coming this far.

The decree to protect yourself from the wolf species was warranted as a reason to hunt the wolf species behind anyone’s notices.

In the fear of Zodiva, the other clans started wildly joining in wolves-hunting and had decided to exterminate them. 

ーAnd ten years have passed since then.

Due to the dramatic decrease of wolves, the impact of Zodiva has also descended.

However, the wolves killing law that Garibaldi VI had published still continued to function without undo. 

The wolves species began to decrease so much as if it was an endangered species. 

By changing the wolves’ position to be preyed on, the cats became more and more absolute strength owners.

Weblin, unlike the outer places where the plague was not spreaded, is now belonging to cats…

ーIt was an absolute monarchy.

Place: Weblin Kingdom Castle一 Corridor

Auger: …?

Hm, I just heard a voice. As I was walking leisurely in the hallway, I stopped and brought up my ear to listen to something interesting or not.

(Hmmm? What kind of conversation would they possibly have in such a place like this.)

Waiting Maid 1: Hey tell me, did you two heard a rumour about a witch?

Waiting Maid 2: A witch?

Waiting Maid 3: Yeah, rumour about the witch of Charmessen (Beautiful Forest)? 

Waiting Maid 1: Oh yeah exactly. You know, it’s said that there’s a witch in the Charmessen forest.

Waiting Maid 2: Yes, I have heard about it a little. It was about like the witch from the Charmessen forest is cursing the Weblin by wielding a disaster, right? 

Waiting Maid 3: Exactly, as you see the northward village has been raided up and destroyed by the wolves recently.

Waiting Maid 2: Very miserable indeed… After eating and killing the people regardless of their gender and age, they even set the places on fire.

Waiting Maid 1: Yeah, I talked to a member of knighthood who was dispatched later on…

It was not cool to ask him but, he turned pale after saying it wasn’t something that humans could do.

Waiting Maid 3: Even a brave knight has averted his eyes, it means it was a terrible spectacle indeed…

Waiting Maid 1: Same goes for the impact on the wolves, I heard the witch is manipulating the wolves to attack everyone.

Waiting Maid 2: Eeh? But what the witch would possibly achieve by making the wolves attack down. 

Waiting Maid 3: You know, it’s something that I have heard though...because the witch wants to have an eternal life, she will need so many sacrificial victims. 

Waiting Maid 1: Then she is making the wolves hunt the villages or towns to get so many sacrificed people...I am scared now.

Waiting Maid 2: Talking about being scared...recently the Garibaldi Majesty IV keeps getting in weak condition. I am scared of what if something bad happens.

Waiting Maid 1: You’re right. Majesty’s condition just keeps getting frailed lately…

Waiting Maid 3: Raids by wolves, Zodiva, Witch and so many threatening stuff are going on. So I would like the Majesty to hang on there…

Waiting Maid 2: Rather, isn’t it okay to hand over the royal to His Highness Mejojo really quick?

Waiting Maid 1: Hush…! How can you handle it if it goes to others’ ears…!?

Waiting Maid 3: As she said, no matter how number one royal successor Lord Mejojo is, don’t say so confirmly that he is going to be the next heir. 

Expecting Garibaldi VI is going to pass out is something considered as the crime of treason you know?

Waiting Maid 2: ...R- right...kh. I am so sorry for being careless.

The silence that stares around for a while continues. The three of them are more likely to sweat over what they will do if somebody would hear their conversations.

Auger: (Seriously, you ought to be careful since you don’t know if somebody had a chance to hear you or not.)

That’s right. For example, just like this, there was a possibility that the twin brother of the next royal successor prince Mejojo Von Garibaldi has been taking a peek in your conversations. 

(Everyone likes gossiping about rumours afterall~ I also don’t hate it though)

I like it even more if it comes out handy for me.

Waiting Maid 1: That being said...It just pops up in my mind. The disagreements between the Garibaldi Majesty VI and his twin princess came out pretty much a fact.

Waiting Maid 2: Eh? No kidding?

Waiting Maid 3: Oh, I heard about that too. Let me go back umm...it was about Lady Eleanora and Rayrie, yeah?

Waiting Maid 2: Lady Eleanora and Rayrie…? Who are you talking about? Was there anybody with those names?

Waiting Maid 1: Ohh, you have moved here recently. Both Lady Eleanora and Rayrie are Majesty Garibaldi VI’s wives.

Waiting Maid 2: Oh yes, that’s why...I felt like I heard those names before.

But surely both of them had passed away right?

Waiting Maid 1: ...Yeah. It’s been many years since Lady Eleanora and Rayrie had passed away.

Waiting Maid 2: I see. Guess no matter how newcomer I am or other maidens, you are gonna know those names today or tomorrow.

If that is the case then...it means Majesty Garibaldi VI is very sorry.

Waiting Maid 1: Eh? Why’s that?

Waiting Maid 2: Because both of his wives have passed out pretty early, no?

Waiting Maid 1: ………

Waiting Maid 3: ………

Waiting Maid 2: Eh? What’s wrong with the two of you? Did I just...say something weird?

Waiting Maid 3: ...You say something weird or not, Err well...looks like you still don’t know yet, so I shall inform you about that.

Waiting Maid 2: E- eh?

Waiting Maid 1: Talking about Lady Eleanora and Reyrie are prohibited in the interior of the castle.  Even if you split them accidentally, you are gonna be dismissed.

Waiting Maid 2: Di- dismissed…?

Waiting Maid 3: Told you right? Lady Eleanora and Reyrie contents are the main reason for the bad patches between His Majesty and his princes.

Waiting Maid 2: Eeh? What does that mean?

Waiting Maid 1: Well you see…

Auger: (Looks like the time has arrived)

*Footsteps*

Waiting Maid 1: …!

Waiting Maid 2: …!

Waiting Maid 3: …!!

I purposely straightened my neck up and showed up from the place that I have silently been hiding.

The maidens who were blooming like a flower while ridiculously chattering a minute ago, are instantly turning into pale blue.

That’s not surprising either. Because the rumoured person that was being chased by these ladies’ curious minds has presented his appearance.

Auger: Hey there, what three of you were talking about? Would you please let me join too? I love those kinds of conversations.

With an intentional carefree and light voice, I asked if it would be okay to accompany them.

Obvious enough, they turn around their heads side to side with immense vigor. 

Waiting Maid 1: W- we are terribly sorry, your highness Auger...we are taking our leaves…!

Waiting Maid 2: Kindly excuse our silliness…!

Auger: Eeeh, aren’t you going a bit over? I had already heard every single word of what you just talked about. That being said, you also mentioned something like ‘you will get dismissed’, no?

Waiting Maid 1: N- not at all…! No way…! If I had misunderstood something...kh, I- I am begging your forgiveness…

Auger: Nope, now way I will pardon you right? You are gonna die here.

Waiting Maid 1: Hhhee…!!

*that maiden falls down*

Auger: So, what are you upto? Oh right, you also intended to say that yeaaa.

Waiting Maid 2: W- we are begging...your pardon...gh!

Auger: Oh jeez, do not let out that loud voice. It’s earsore. 

...I am a royal master musician. My ears are very sharp. And you can tell it clearly by looking at those ears, no? Or perhaps you humans can’t possibly get what I meant.

Look carefully, my ears are really great. I may end up hearing every single thing.

Waiting Maid 2: ...R- right.

Auger: That- is- why, if you talk about such things for a second time...I will kill you. 

Waiting Maid 3: ...hhhgh…!!

Auger: Your response, lil’ human girls?

Waiting Maid 3: A- alright!! Your highness Auger!!

Waiting Maid 2: W- we beg our excuse…!

While the three parties fairly raised their voices, the ladies got dismissed from that place in no time.

Auger: Looks like there're so many rumours spreading out...Fufu, rumours are pretty fun I guess…?

I slothly resumed to start wandering while giggling.

Although it has declined, the effect of Zodiva still has not reached zero.

The raids on the towns-villages by the wolves.

The same time when those situations got paired, other threatening rumours also got spread in a blink of an eye.

Auger: (Even the ‘father is passing out’ being a rumour...mhm, pretty interesting indeed)

I was able to hear something very amusing while loitering around looking for cool news.

I’m also telling this great news to my big brother.

I have to set it up since brother has a serious gaze. He may also not be gonna tease about it like me.

Let’s make it more interesting if that’s what the case is, okey?

[evajellion]

So uhhhh wishlist of characters for the Fighters Pass. Keyword being wishlist, not prediction because I don’t like getting my hopes up, lol.

Reasons for each selection (sans Min Min) below the cut-

Arle Nadja: I’ve been supporting this character for Smash ever since Smash 4 came out, which was obvious due to my frequent reblogging! I absolutely love Puyo Puyo and Madou Monogatari, I listed the reasons why she’d be a good Smash fit… even on Twitter between both the English and Japanese fans, they kinda want her in.

It would be good to have a puzzle game representative, that isn’t a Mario character. Speaking of which…

Vi: I see a lot of people who want Paper Mario in Smash… and hoo boy, I’m gonna get flack for sounding like a really cliché/bad YouTuber, but Paper Mario just isn’t what it used to be, and if he got into Smash he’d be a shell of his former self.

Not only did Bug Fables prove to be better than all of the post 2010 Paper Mario titles, but one of the protagonists, Vi, has a potentially interesting move pool to work with! Plus, we’ve come quite a long way with the indie representation in Smash-- going from Spirits and an Assist Trophy to Mii costumes with a soundtrack. Sure, Bug Fables isn’t as successful as Undertale or Cuphead, but you never know.

Crono: One of the greatest SNES RPGs that isn’t a part of the Final Fantasy franchise. Since the other Final Fantasy protagonists that would be good fits for Smash feel rather moot due to the presence of Cloud, and Dragon Quest has all of its Heroes, why not give Chrono Trigger some love?

If not Crono himself, I’d gladly take Frog or Magus! We could even have a stage of the Day of Lavos. Imagine just how terrifying that would be!

Phoenix Wright: I won’t lie, part of it is just to snuff out Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite for leaving poor Feenie out. They had a perfectly funny joke character with an interest concept for attacks, and just… wasted it after MvC3.

A mystery visual novel character would be an amusing addition for Smash. Phoenix Wright is a fantastic series that made the GBA and the DS worth its money. To make it extra crazy, we could even have Apollo and Athena as alternate characters.

Porky Minch: The character that should have been there, the missing link left behind from Subspace. Honestly, I think this would be a great way to end Smash Ultimate’s roster, with a character calling back to Brawl-- maybe even accompanied with a flashback to Subspace.

There are only two MOTHER characters in Smash, and that’s honestly pathetic (but not as bad as F-Zero only having one rep) even if the MOTHER series is a small one. Ness and Lucas are pretty much only in one game, while our guy Porky here is in two of them. Another antagonist would be the perfect, final fit!

But uh, these are just my opinions and hopeful thinking, probably not what we’re actually gonna get.. I wanted to include Quote from Cave Story but I ran out of room.

[puyoconfessions]

I don't want to drag this subject out, but how many people have had problems with being harassed over ships or mere opinions makes me worry that the western fandom will implode on itself. It has gotten so much worse since Puyo Tetris got localized and I fear Arle in Smash would intensify it even more. It's not fair to generalize, but the bad parts of the Smash fandom are some of the most toxic in the gaming community.

(I forgot to answer this sooner, but I’m going to do it now since the last ask was Smash related)

The worst thing that would happen over Arle being in Smash is the usual Smash fans being whiny that it wasn’t a character they wanted.

This happened with Byleth. Fire Emblem has a notoriously horrible fan-base, possibly worse than Puyo Puyo in terms of shipping drama, something that intensified with the release of Three Houses. Shockingly, the reveal of Byleth did not increase toxicity within the FE community, just the Smash one.

Basically, I’m saying that Arle being in Smash wouldn’t really hurt Puyo, it hasn’t really hurt any fandoms. (and in the case of ARMS and Dragon Quest, it actually made the fans come together)

[futuresmashmemes]

You're called Future Smash memes-- can you see into the future of my universe? We just had 6 more character slots announced for our game, meaning there are 6 we dont know who they'll be! Do you have any insight? Or at least a prediction o'wise one?

Hmm. You know, I’ve been told that your timeline is the “main” one, and therefore is very tricky to predict and deal with. It may not be much, but I guess I’ll give my two cents on who I think the final six DLC slots for this timeline will be.

First of all, it’s important to remember that these choices were made by Nintendo, not Sakurai. I think that’s the reason why we got Sans and Cuphead miis in this timeline rather than full on fighters: for one reason or another, Nintendo didn’t want them (or at least, didn’t want them as much as the chosen fighters). Sakurai has said that he’s an avid fan of Undertale and Cuphead, so this makes sense. Then again, he’s also an avid Persona fan and I still don’t get why Nintendo would’ve chosen it of all franchises. Don’t get me wrong, Persona looks great and all (never played it myself), but it’s not very…Nintendo, y’know?

With that in mind, I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be getting an indie rep. Nintendo currently doesn’t seem to be very open to the idea of full on indie reps, so that means that characters like Hat Kid probably won’t get in (maybe as a mii costume, though aHiT isn’t as well known for its music as undertale and cuphead are, so I don’t think it would be a deluxe costume). Really, the only indie reps I see getting in are either Reimu or (as much as I hate to say it) Steve. Touhou is the poster child for popular indie projects, even if it isn’t as big over here as it is in Japan. ZUN is also open to the idea of Reimu in smash. The main things that go against Reimu is the fact that she isn’t very well known outside of Japan (and those who do know her often associate her with loli culture, which might be a problem) and because the way the franchise is set up, legalities with Touhou would either be really easy or really, really hard. Steve, on the other hand, has sort of transcended being an indie character. Minecraft recently overtook Tetris as the best selling game of all time, and has become a household name around the world. Maybe I’m just projecting (I’m probably the only person from my generation that doesn’t like Minecraft), but I don’t think Steve is getting in either. First of all, legality with Microsoft would probably be an issue as they would certainly demand more money for Steve than Banjo, who, while a treasured character worthy of his spot, comes from a dead IP who wasn’t had a new game since 2008. Also, similar to former best seller Tetris, I just don’t think that Minecraft’s blocky, pixelated art style and rigid player animations would be a good fit for smash. Again, totally me projecting, but that’s just what I think. I do expect to get Steve over mii swordfighter, though. That makes sense.

Now with my little indie rant out of the way, I’ll do a bullet-point list for characters that I’ve posted memes about on the blog before and what I think of their chances of getting in:

First of all, I think it’s obvious that Raz isn’t going to be one of the DLC characters. Yes, Psychonauts 2 is coming out later this year and the first game is one of my favorite video games of all time and he would fit in perfectly, but let’s be real. The franchise is a cult classic that has never been released on a Nintendo system in any way and probably sold horribly in Japan. Double Fine was also recently bought out by Microsoft which really killed any small chance he had of making it in. Sir Daniel is in a similar position

First/second party characters like Bandana Dee and Impa I think are deconfirmed because most of them are represented by Spirits, and I don’t think that they would “double dip.” And because of the scope of spirits mode, I think it’s unlikely that we’ll get any older characters from prexisting franchises (I say older so people won’t hound me with “WELL BYLETH GOT IN SO”).

We are not getting another FE rep lol. Rip red head merchant waifu.

Shooter characters are in a really weird spot since these games tend to not be made for kids (it’s easy to forget in all the hype and speculation that smash is first and foremost meant for kids), yet have made such a big cultural impact on the gaming scene that it’s hard to deny their “worthiness” to be in smash. Master Chief in particular is tricky to place since I definitely think he has much more character than most other shooter reps (cough cough Doomguy) and could have a more varied moveset than just “gun.” But that being said, he’s once again a character owned by Microsoft and comes from a franchise that up until very recently was Xbox exclusive and (as far as I’m aware, has never been released on a Nintendo system). It’s also important to remember that the original Xbox sold miserably in Japan, so I doubt that he’s getting in either.

On a similar note, I’ve seen people throw around ideas for a TF2 rep. This makes a lot more sense to me than Halo or Doom; the playable characters have much more personality and the cartoony aesthetic of the game fits in way better than most other shooters (cough cough Doom). I don’t know which character would be chosen though. Heavy probably? I think their main problem is that Valve would probably be picky about licensing and whatnot (I don’t think we’d be getting Gordon Freeman or Chell for the same reason). Additionally, I struggle to imagine TF2 without it’s signature dark humor which would most likely be cut for smash

Due to recent events, I do not think we will be getting an Overwatch or any other Blizzard rep.

If there’s one character I’d be willing to bet money on getting in, it’s Crash. While he’s never really been all that popular in Japan, it just feels right to me. He fits in perfectly, he has some history with Nintendo (even if he is more synonymous with PlayStation), and I mean…he just feels right. I know that sounds shitty after having just denied a bunch of other characters in an articulate manner, but I don’t know what else to say. I’m not even that big of a Crash fan. The only thing I can see hurting his chances is Activision potentially asking for money than Nintendo is willing to give (this is why he didn’t get into Pl’ystation Allst’rs)

Similarly, I think Spyro has a good chance of getting into smash, but not as well as Crash. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I always thought that Crash just had more of a cultural impact than Spyro did. I do think Spyro has a good chance of getting in though. Maybe some Skylanders/amiibo crosspromotion? Probably not.

Given how stingy they were with Hero (when compared to other DLC reps) and _especially _Cloud, I don’t think we’re getting another Square Enix rep, be it Sephiroth, a Black Mage, or Geno. That being said, it could’ve all been a long con and the FF7 remake will release alongside Sephiroth DLC with the actual fucking spirit battles that we should’ve gotten. Probably not though.

Dante I think has a pretty good chance at getting in. I think that he stands at a similar position to Bayonetta when it comes to censorship, so I think he could work. God knows that he would be broken if he did get in though.

I’ve been a big advocate for a Puyo Puyo rep in smash, and if we were to get one I think it would be Arle (maybe with other characters on her alts like Koopalings/Heroes). People have already theorized how her moveset could work, and I agree with that speculation wholeheartedly. Puyo Puyo unfortunately isn’t very well known outside of Japan since in the past it was usually released under a different brand (Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Kirby Avalanche, etc). I do think that we absolutely need more puzzle reps than fucking Doctor Mario though, and Puyo Puyo seems perfect.

Professor Layton has unfortunately not had a new game in a long time (at least not one where he has a staring role), and outside of his swordsmanship, which is seen very rarely throughout the series, I don’t think that there’s much of a moveset to be made for him.

I love Ace Attorney, but I don’t think that Phoenix Wright is getting in. I don’t think that Sakurai would realistically just copy and paste his MvC3 moveset to smash and I don’t know what else you could do with him. Also, we haven’t gotten a new international release for Ace Attorney since 2016.

I know next to nothing about No More Heroes but I know a couple of people who will have a fit if I don’t mention Travis. I know there’s a sequel on the horizon but similar to Psychonauts, I don’t see it really happening. It feels to much like a cult classic to me. Once again, I know next to nothing about No More Heroes, so take that with a grain of salt.

I don’t think that any assist trophy characters will be “promoted” to playable through DLC.

And that’s about it. I know that sounded really pessimistic, but that’s honestly because I haven’t the foggiest idea about who’s going to get in. Everyone I want in in this timeline is either an assist trophy/spirit or a niche western/indie pick that I doubt has a chance. That sucks, but it’s just life. As long as we don’t get Goku or Fortnite though, I’ll be happy with whoever.

[stage-select-hub]

Okay, salt about the Direct incoming in 3...

2...

1...

DISCLAIMER: If you weren’t interested in Byleth getting in, but you’re not storming Twitter and Tumblr shouting “I can’t BELIEVE they added another Fire Emblem Character!” Then this isn’t about you. Feel free to be uninterested about Byleth.

If you have, then... well, read on.

My intended audience here? Okay, good.

Will some of y’all shut up about Byleth being “another FE character?” 

We’ve got more Mario characters than FE (Counting Yoshi and Wario as Mario characters since they’re from that series, there’s 11 to FE’s 8, and even NOT counting them. Mario still has more characters counting Byleth), yet I didn’t see any of y’all pitchin’ a fit about Piranha Plant other than that it wasn’t Waluigi (You know, another Mario character)! 

We’ve got more Pokemon characters than Fire Emblem characters (Counting each of Pokemon Trainer’s Pokemon as their own fighter. Counting them all as one, then Pokemon has the same amount of characters as FE, but since they’re so unique and only share one move, I feel comfortable counting them as different characters, putting Pokemon at 10 to FE’s 8) and I saw some of you hoping for a Gen 8 Pokemon!

Look, I get that you’re upset that the last character wasn’t the very specific 3rd Party character you wanted. I kind of am, too, I was really hoping for Phoenix or Arle.

But crapping on a fighter that a LOT of other people are going to love just because it’s the newest character in the Fire Emblem lineup (despite having a clearly unique playstyle and isn’t just another Marth) isn’t cool, and I’m sick and tired of y’all basically saying that Fire Emblem fans aren’t allowed to have reps from more a recent game than 2013. Don’t think I didn’t see y’all talking about Corrin when they dropped in Smash 4. Or when y’all were talking about Chrom saying “Well at least he’s only an echo and isn’t a REAL fighter!” 

Y’all were pitching a fit about Fire Emblem characters when there were only 5 of them to Mario’s 10 (again, counting Wario and Yoshi). This isn’t about oversaturation of Fire Emblem characters. As we are right now, Fire Emblem makes up about 10% of the roster, and there’s more coming, meaning that number’s gonna shrink to around 9.4% by the time the 2nd Fighters Pass is finished. It’s never been about the number of them, it’s been about the fact that they’re not from the game you want in Smash.

[massieh]

What sort of holidays exist? Do they mirror our own, or are they vastly different?

—   meme ;   worldbuilding with west ,   always accepting.

          the holidays of the new world are both drastically different and kind of familiar, if that makes any sense. the events of the series are in the distant ( albeit, only vaguely distant ) future, so they’re influenced by what once was. sort of the way that pagan holidays were swallowed by christian versions of them.

among the sectors and much of the world, there are only three holidays. the FIRST is a kind of smashed up version of everything. many people don’t use the actual name of the holiday, but it is ‘all high’s day’. most pretty much exclusively refer to it as the holiday. 

          in wealthier locations, you’ll see banquet-type feasts and gift trading. the appalachian unit, where malachi grew up, celebrated more than most places. that could be accredited to his father and might have been the one good thing that david eufe ever did. before i say this, know that the name ‘appalachian unit’ is very misleading. this name refers to a county-wide region, including pieces of not one but five mountain ranges. and every church in its borders was alive until well after midnight. 

          they exchanged gifts and good cheer, made plans, told stories, and ate until they almost exploded. and since david eufe stood before what can only be described as a megachurch, malachi’s memories of this day make gatsby look cheap.  m e a n w h i l e ,  in sector 52, the idea of treating yourself is eating breakfast. you may get an extra greeting from your neighbor. hell, you might see your neighbor. gifts are really only given by one or two people in any one person’s life, but that can be influenced one way or another by popularity and luck.

the SECOND holiday is birthdays. again, they differ sector to sector, as well as from person to person. holidays morphed from multiple groups, not just the states or north america. because of this, you’ll see different basic customs globally, but it all comes down to how the individual wants to celebrate it. 

          unlike all high’s day, malachi’s memories of his own birthday are quiet and covered in dust. one of the older women among his father’s congregation would bring him a homemade cake every year, but her age got the better of her before he hit double digits. after that, he never celebrated them. he never even used his government-sanctioned paid day off because the day just didn’t feel special. his brother, arles’ birthday was somehow worse, though. he happened to share a birthday with one of the council’s mandatory check dates.

          in sector 52, you know what they do? they... eat breakfast. they also have the day off if they already have a job. andy does not ( yet ), so even if she were to do whatever she wants, she would still be doing nothing new. and of course, ‘whatever she wants’ means urban exploring.

the THIRD, and the event that kicks off the events of the book is the placement course and ceremony. on the eastern edge of sector 52 is what is colloquially known as the cage. inside, it houses apocalyptic creatures. and everyone’s dream job is to be the person who gets to hunt them down, otherwise known as militants. there are  t h o u s a n d s  of containment units globally, each given their own unique names. this is where the appalachian unit comes from; the containment unit and the community are essentially one. 

          it used to be sector 8-12, but things change.

          52 is no different from any other sector on the day of the course, with the exception of their equipment. other sectors have a practical course built and locked away until it’s needed. runners are not allowed to tell anyone who has not run it what is included in this course. feeding information could potentially lead to the loss of their job. in the event that the person ran and failed, they will simply be barred from running again, and the course will be altered for future runners.

          the purpose of the course is fairly simple: you survive it. 

          yes, people have died during the run. yes, it did lead to public outcry, but i can’t talk about any of that right now. the course is run once a year by those older than 18 who don’t yet have a job and want to be MILITANTS. people can jump from chosen jobs to being a militant, but if the council were to say no, that’s it. while malachi’s run was against obviously lethal hardware, however, andy’s course included software that gave holograms a tangible physical presence. basically, if it shows an elephant in front of you, there’s an actual elephant in front of you. when this system is off, the room is completely blank.

          after the course is run, the councilmember who oversaw the course will deliver times and rankings to the runners. larger sectors can take up to a week to test all trainees, and on the night of the final run, they hold what is known as the PLACEMENT CEREMONY. everyone gathers, and the sector as a whole celebrates a pretty fucked up coming-of-age. based on time and performance, trainees are told whether or not they are allowed to be a militant. those who made it walk out with their uniforms. those who did not are allowed to pick a different job or train harder for next year. there is no limit to how many times one can run, but again, the council calls the shots. in transfigure, andy also calls burial days ‘special occasions’, but they’re just mass funerals. malachi also has anastasis, which i created for joseph and molded to the book. that’s a lot to explain, but i’ll give it a shot another time.

[spoopyghostgirl]

Dragon Age Fanfic Ideas

I am posting this here so it doesn't get put in a word doc that i need look at or work on. 

My idea is that my oc is a mage of the imperium that comes to Ferelden at the behest of her father. Her familial line is directly descendant of Corphyeus and therefore is aiding him in his plans to rule the world. Peregrine (my oc) is tasked with going to Kinloch circle to aid the mages their in their rebellion against the templars + chantry. From this she aids Jowan in his escape + is then conscripted by Duncan. Knowing better than to share who she really is within the imperium (left hand of the Divine, former apprentice to the Archon) she follows Duncan

.I have it planned where she is recruited first but spends more time with the older wardens and mages before Daveth + Jory are recruited. She doesnt spend a lot of time with Alistair, not intentionally but her familial plan is still at the forefront of her mind so she continues pursuing their agenda. From there certain game aspects change (she is able to keep Duncan + Cailan alive, being able to participate in the battle, Jory + Daveth surviving their joining). Sadly, Cailan + Duncan are captured by Loghain, said man planning to sell Cailan to the Orlesians + outs him as planning to annual his marriage to Anora to marry Celene. Peregrine does not remember aiding the king or Duncan, Loghains men having smashed her over the head. Thankfully she is still saved by Flemeth and she and Alistair wake up in her hut. Morrigan is still sent with them, Alistair and Peregrine still believing they are the only wardens left. From their they do the normal shtick of going through Lothering and then Redcliffe, finding Daveth + Jory there. She is immensely relieved to find them there and the group continues in a larger team. (I plan on killing off Ser Jorys wife + Daveths village as well, for that sweet angst). I'm trying to decide from there if I want them to travel all together or what. I am kind of leaning towards having Morrigan in a romance with Jory or Sten, since she does canonically flirt with Sten (maybe she likes musclely men). (I also plan on Jory being less cowardly + Daveth being less of a shameless flirt or maybe have that be part of his personality briefly since he did live a rather sheltered life in his village). From there things once again progress regularly until they cross paths with Zevran who reveals to Peregrine that he heard that Loghain have captives from the battle with the Darkspawn. Unsure who it is, she keeps the info to herself, believing she is saving Alistair the pain of hoping for Duncan only for it to be someone else. At some point a romance starts between Alistair + Peregrine and they're happy. I will likely add or change some things as the story progresses (Peregrine having had a fling with Cullen in the circle, so more angst for that) until they hit the Landsmeet. That is when it is discovered Cailan + Duncan yet live, Riordan(?) Having been locked away with them. Loghain joins the wardens instead of dying, Duncan being able to convince Alistair it is the right thing to do. Ser Jory does the dark ritual with Morrigan, ending with everyone living. Sadly, Peregrine is unable to stay, being made Warden Commander + Alistair being made Warden Constable. I'm unsure if I intend on Peregrine faking her death or just disappearing but post origins I plan on Alistair being tasked with rebuilding Amarathine and being Arl. Duncan, no longer hearing the song, decides to lead their men against the remaining Darkspawn. Peregrine shows up in Dragon Age 2, being contacted by Duncan asking her to aid the Viscount in his dealings with the Quanari in Kirkwall. Peregrine, having already been in the area in her aiding fleeing mages, shows up. She doesn't play a very large role but she does fill in during warden interactions (at least in the base game) running into the gang in the deep roads and convincing Stroud to take Carver into the Wardens. She has brief affairs with Garrett + Anders before disappearing again. She returns to Tevinter sometime before inquistion, taking her place as left hand of the Divine, and pretending once more to be a man (her family hoping for her to become Archon/Divine (and men only being able to become either)). From there her friend Ellowine (the name she used while in Ferelden) is at the conclave. I'm unsure if I want Peregrine to be the one who receives the mark first or if it is passed to her by Ellowine. If she receives the mark, she will be there during the conclave, having heard the siren song that calls all wardens to the deep roads. If not, she is sent to kill the Inquisitor but falters when she sees it's her best friend and finds those from her past stand beside her. The mark starts killing Ellowine much than canon + she passes the mark onto Peregrine using blood magic. From there Peregrines family plays a large role in Inquisition given their relationship to Corypheus. I plan on Alistair, Sten, Oghren, Duncan, Zevran, Garrett, Anders, and Fenris making cameos for sure in Inquisition. Alistair and Duncan being Grey wardens contacted by Garrett. Zevran knowing Peregrines true identity and aiding her in her travels. Garrett brings Anders in because of his healing abilities and his position as an abomination to aid Ellowine when she starts suffering from the mark (Garrett coming in before Skyhold). 

[yopalonso]

Arle Nadja for Smash Bros. 3: Now it’s about content!

General reminder that I did two parts of this already.

Hey! It’s been a minute or two! That last Direct and Smash showcase was wild, wasn’t it! Banjo releasing that same day? Terry Bogard joining the roster? Nintendo confirming that there are more DLC characters on their way? A Sans Mii costume from Undertale AND Megalovania in Smash Bros.? WELL. I know I’m one month late to the celebration, but, hear me out: just before that Direct, I was legitimately giving up hope on the Arle dream. In my mind, I was “well, we only have two more slots, this ride was fun while it lasted, but this is as far as I go with this”, only to have Sakurai himself stretch out his hand of hope to me while I was deep into my desperation hole. It was insane.

Which got my idea noggin working back again! I wasn’t ready to talk about what I thought in terms of content for Arle’s bundle, but here we are! This will be all about what content she brings into Smash Bros.!

This last post is a two-part, since talking about the Spirits alone would require even more work, so that’ll be in part 4.

Número 1: Stage!

Over at the Arle for Smash Discord server, we’ve discussed which stage should fit Arle’s inclusion the best, and I’ve railed it down to three options: Primp Town, Pwurp Island, and the Dark Prince Castle.

And it was a no-brainer for me: it had to be this one.

The Dark Prince Castle! Out of all the locations in the Puyo world, I cannot say there’s a place that’s just as iconic as this one. Appearing ever since Puyo Puyo 2, and making appearances in different forms throughout the series, the Dark Prince Castle makes for a perfect stage!

Its main shape would be that of a centered tower, much like Kalos Pokémon League’s center platform. The main gimmick of this stage would be “rising floors”: the center of the stage would take you higher into the tower’s different floors for plenty of possible cameos! Lower floors could contain minor characters, middle levels could make some more recognizable faces pop up, and finally, the last floor, could be a reference to Puyo SUN’s last stage, with the Dark Prince himself waiting for you at the highest floor. Sometimes, even, with tropical clothing! The possibilities are endless!

Each floor would also have different platform layouts, to make them differentiate from the lower levels. The central platform itself could also gradually become smaller the higher the stage rises. But the risk of this stage itself is the characters in the background! Y’see, there’s this thing called Puyo Battles, that end up releasing Garbage Puyo that falls on the opponent’s field. Or in this case, the stage itself! From the top, Garbage Puyo could drop at any minute, so you’d have to be on your toes!

While playing this stage in Hazardless, you’d only fight on the lowest floor, and no Garbage Puyo would drop during a match. Character cameos could still pop up here and there, though. As for which would those be, well, you’ll have to wait for that.

Número 2: The music!

Can you quote yourself? ‘Cause I’m about to quote myself. Back in June, the #ArleForSmash Twitter account asked about which music tracks we would include in the game, had we the chance to do so. My answer shall now be complemented to coincide with the amount of music tracks the other Fighters Pass characters have received with their inclusions.

Originally, I only went with five (since that’s what the challenge was about), but now, I’ll go as far as listing 10 tracks, and that’s me doing some good ol’ wishful thinking! All listed tracks can be heard through the provided YouTube links over each of its names.

NORMAL MODE (Puyo Puyo Sun) [see description]

I like to think this is Arle’s character theme, and not so, well, that other song with the giant name. Puyo Hell, even Chronicle included a pretty darn good remix of this song that also used Pocket SUN’s higher pitch in one section. It’s that good. For this version, though? We could maybe ask for some sick instrumentalization by the mad lad Jun Senoue, maybe the rock masters of ACE+, or have someone new deliver a fresh tune into this song, like Tee Lopes, Toby Fox, or maybe even Grant Kirkhope! The sky is green, there are no rules anymore!

This is also the song I thought of first when I wondered which theme would play in her reveal trailer. And I’ll stick to that until the end.

Theme of Puyo Puyo (Puyo Puyo series) [see description]

What, you really thought I’d forget about Arle’s titular theme from her first game on purpose? Why, the nerve! ”A Long-awaited Spacetime Journey!”, aka.: “Theme of Puyo Puyo”! Of course it should be included in the game! Now, as for which version, well, I referenced the one that’s been in the game since Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary since it sounds fantastic, but here I was thinking that it could maybe be remixed into something more! Who knows?

Request from Puyo Puyo (Puyo Puyo) [ver. Fever☆Two]

Keeping on with themes from the original Puyo Puyo, we have this one, also known as Sticker of Puyo Puyo. This version, specifically, hails from Puyo Puyo Fever☆Two, and it’s so good of a remix, it’s pretty darn iconic! Included ever since, even! So, why not, let’s just include it as well!

Final of Puyo Puyo (Puyo Puyo) [ver. 15th Anniversary]

Whoever tells me there’s a better, more epic version of this song can head into my Twitter DMs for a healthy discussion, because I think otherwise: “Advent of Primp! Dark Prince”, or more commonly known as “Final of Puyo Puyo”. For me, this version is the ultimate one, one that deserves to be completely untouched in Smash Bros. for sure.

Area A (Puyo Puyo 2) [Original]

BUT IF WE WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT ICONIC, THEN AREA A, OF COURSE! This song would go terribly with Smash Bros., and that’s in itself what makes it so hecking great! Imagine connecting one sick KO to this track, this is how true fighting games should sound like.

Puyo Puyo FUNderworld! (Puyo Puyo Fever) [Original]

Hoo-wee, I love Puyo Puyo Fever’s aesthetic and music. But its first battle theme is quite mellow, and the Area A remix is so loud. But, this one? This one is fantastic, it’s frantic, it’s perfect for Smash Bros.! Puyo Chronicle also had fun with this song and remixed it to make it the standard boss battle theme, too!

Ready for Fever Mode! (Puyo Puyo Fever series) [see description]

I’m that kind of person who prefers the Fever Mode songs from all games. Since I can’t pick a favorite, why not compile them all into one track for one seizure-inducing mashup!

Dark Arle’s Insanity (Puyo Puyo 7) [Original]

I don’t think I could’ve included another theme that had “Arle” in the title that wasn’t this one, honestly. It’s one of the best, most iconic tracks in Puyo Puyo 7, and it uses cues from Last Decisive Battle from Puyo Puyo~n, too, so it’s a double win for me!

The Puyo Puyo Song - In-Game Version (Puyo Puyo!!) [Original]

Of course, I couldn’t just forget about Ringo! The Puyo Puyo Song is such a catchy tune from Puyo Puyo 7, and her theme in 20th Anniversary, a rendition to this track, is honestly fantastic. Hectic, frantic, but also epic and memorable! Uki uki, waku waku! Doki doki, hara hara~!

Double Trouble Finale! (Puyo Puyo!!) [Original]

I had to narrow down the epic final boss-like themes of Puyo Puyo as a series down to this one because I think something like this, playing in Smash Bros., fits the setting completely. Even more than Puyo 7′s final boss theme.

Songs that I would consider but are maybe too obscure only include Zako Battle from Madou Monogatari Saturn, because it’s just that good, but unfortunately way too short.

Lastly, since I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t explain the following: why I didn’t go for songs like Last from Puyo Puyo 2, Ultimate Legend of the Untrained Demon King, Crimson Wave!, Dimension Stage ~ Decisive Battle, or Domination, to name a few. While I do know that most Puyo Puyo fans know these songs by heart, that’s exactly the deal. I wanted to go for the most iconic tracks of the series, while also choosing the most recognizable, ones that people could quickly associate with Puyo Puyo, even if they only played a couple minutes of it. Filling the list up with only final boss themes would be sick, but alas, I decided against it.

Número 3: Spirit Battles... for next part!

... Yeah, this is where our little oddysey ends for today. I’ll come back to it with the finale when I have the chance.

Major thanks once again to the #ArleForSmash Twitter account, and to the people of the #ArleForSmash Discord server.

And, completely unexpected thanks to Apple, of all things, for having the names of the songs translated into proper phrases. Seriously, “It’s been a long time since we passed through space time!”, who approved this. “A Long-awaited Spacetime Journey!”, now that’s one hecking title.

Did you know? Of course I know his original name is Satan. But Dark Prince is so iconic, I just can’t call him any other way. It’s as simple as that. Did you also know that the Dark Prince was voiced in English by Smash Ultimate’s announcer, Xander Mobus, who also voices Joker from Persona 5? You can no longer unhear Dark Prince saying “Ravage them!” now. You’re welcome.

©SEGA. 2019.

[haledamage]

Pairing: Female Cousland/Nathaniel Howe

Story Summary: Cathain Cousland had been in love with Nathaniel Howe for as long as she can remember. It doesn’t take long after they reunite in Amaranthine to realize she still is.

Chapter Summary: The next morning was full of chaos.

The next morning was full of chaos. The courtyard was full of people in various states of injury and distress and piles of broken, charred wood that had once been merchant carts. Anders and Sigrun weaved through the press of bodies, stopping at each person to apply his healing magic or one of her armload of bandages as needed. Oghren followed close behind, making sure no one gave the mage any trouble while he helped people. Nathaniel and Justice passed out blankets and tried to get a headcount.

Cait hoped they had enough room for everyone. She stood off to the side with Varel and a group of uninjured visitors. “What happened?”

"There’s something in the woods!” said a tall, thin woman with her hair in an immaculate bun.

“We were attacked. It’s like the trees all came to life!” added a stocky, red-haired man.

“They smashed all our carts and started burning all our goods! Setting people on fire! We took what we could and ran!” a short, frizzy-haired person called from the back of the assembled group.

“And where was this?” Cait called, trying to be heard as they all started speaking over each other.

“The Wending Wood,” said a dark-haired woman who had been quiet up until that point. “About a day’s travel southeast.”

“Thank you, ser.” She raised her arms, trying to draw attention to herself and calm the panicked conversation to a reasonable level. “We’ll take it from here. If you need anything and can’t find me, speak to Seneschal Varel or Lord Howe.” She indicated them as she said their names. “They speak with my authority. There should be food coming soon. If you don’t mind, could you stay here with the others while we figure out where to house you all? It shouldn’t take long.”

“Of course. Thank you, my lady.” The dark-haired woman corralled the others back toward the larger group.

As soon as they were gone, Cait turned to Varel. “I’m going to be in the war room. When the food arrives, save a ration for Anders. He’ll need it once he’s done with his work. And send Nathaniel to me once he’s done.”

He nodded, eyes scanning the crowd instead of turning to her. “As you say, your grace.”

She put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a friendly pat. “Thank you, Varel. I couldn’t do this without you.”

They didn’t really have a war room, as such. They had converted what had once been the arl’s bedroom into an office big enough for all of them to fit into when they needed to discuss business in a place more private than the main hall. There was a large, sturdy table in the center of the room, and the walls were lined with maps of Amaranthine, the Vigil, Ferelden, and Orlais, as well as scribbled notes about the Architect and the Mother, Esmerelle’s brewing usurpation attempt, and anything else they needed them on. There were a few notes near the door that they left for each other, as well, chore rotations and reminders and information that might be needed but wasn’t critical enough to bother telling in person. It was the hub of Warden activity in Amaranthine.

But that all took too long to say, so they called it the war room.

Cait pulled out a map of Amaranthine and unrolled it across the table. The Wending Wood stretched from the Blackmarsh to the road between the Vigil and Denerim, a huge, thick old growth forest. The refugees were right that it would only take about a day to reach it, but if they were unlucky they could spend weeks lost in those woods looking for whatever had attacked the merchant caravans.

The door opened and Leliana and Loghain walked in. “Hiding from the commotion, Commander?” Loghain said with a small smile as he joined her at the map. Leliana walked to her other side.

“Trying to figure out how to be in three places at once,” Cait said sourly. “I can’t go hunting tree monsters and the Architect and take care of a bunch of injured merchants.”

“So triage, then." Loghain leaned over the map, but it didn't hold answers for him anymore than it did for Cathain. "Figure out what’s most important and take care of it first.”

“We are here to help, Caitie," Leliana said. "Whatever you need.”

She sighed. “Then I’m afraid I’m putting you both on babysitting duty. If Stroud was right and the Architect is targeting me specifically, then chances are good I’ll run into his goons in the woods anyway, so that’s two birds with one stone. But there are a lot of people in the courtyard right now and Varel is only one man.”

The door opened again and Nathaniel walked in. He took in the three of them huddled close over the map with a quick glance as he walked over to join them. Leliana moved to stand next to Loghain so Nate could stand by Cait. “Subtle,” Cait murmured. Leliana just smiled at her.

"What if the Architect isn’t after you?" Loghain said gruffly, not letting them get off topic. "Is there a chance he’ll attack the Vigil while you’re gone?"

Cait considered that possibility. "Unlikely, but I wouldn’t rule it out." She pulled out a map of Vigil's Keep. "They can’t come in through the basement anymore, we sealed that off. I doubt they’ll try to attack the walls, even regular darkspawn are smarter than that, but if they do it’s sturdy and defensible."

"I'd be more concerned about Esmerelle," Nathaniel said. "We still don't have enough concrete evidence against her to bar the gate if she comes calling. And it's much easier to stage a coup when half the participants are absent."

"Stroud thinks Esmerelle and the Architect might be working together," Cathain said into the speculative silence that followed Nate's statement.

"Does he," Loghain said, in a tone that told Cait he'd been thinking along the same lines. He scratched at his chin thoughtfully. "A human that can control darkspawn or a darkspawn that can reason with humans, I wonder."

"Maybe neither," Leliana said suddenly, "or both, if you want to look at it that way. How many Grey Warden bodies did you recover after the first ambush?"

"Seven," Nate said.

"Out of sixteen," Cait added. "Over half the bodies were missing. I assumed they were dragged off."

"But what if they weren't? I've seen some of the experiments Avernus conducted in his tower," Loghain said as he started pacing the length of the room, "it wouldn't be so far fetched that he could use it to… awaken darkspawn, show them how to reason."

"It also wouldn't be impossible for someone else to figure it out either," said Leliana, scribbling notes as she spoke.

"So a Grey Warden teaches darkspawn how to talk and starts sending them out to do their bidding," Nathaniel said slowly, staring unseeing at the map. "Meanwhile, they convince Esmerelle to attempt to overthrow you. Why?"

"Power." Cait hated how much this made sense, but nothing else had so far. She leaned her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands. "They tell Esmerelle 'I don't want Amaranthine, I just want the Wardens.' So she gets the arling and the Architect leads both the darkspawn and the Grey Wardens in Ferelden… but to what end?"

"Ceasefire," said Nathaniel. "If you control both sides of a war, there's no more war. No more Blights."

"There has got to be a less convoluted way to end the Blights," Loghain said dryly.

"It's not the most ridiculous theory we've come up with," said Nate. "I wish it was."

Cait scrubbed her hands over her face. "Come to Amaranthine, they said. Lead the Grey Wardens. It's always quiet right after a Blight. Plenty of time to rebuild your ranks." She sighed from the depths of her soul. "Blight it all and burn the rest, I don't get paid enough for this."

Leliana's warm hand fell onto her shoulder. "One thing at a time, no? Help the merchants, then chase your phantoms. We will hold the keep until you get back."

"You're right." Cait turned to address Nathaniel. "Want to go hunting possessed trees with me?"

"You always take me to the nicest places," he said wryly. "Can trees actually be possessed?"

"I’m afraid so." She wished she had some jewelry or her gloves on so she had something to fidget with. It helped her think. "Mostly only if the veil is very thin or if something is forcing spirits into the trees. Maybe our visit to Blackmarsh woke something up? We didn’t have any trouble when we passed through then."

"Could be," Nate said, nodding. "Or something new has moved in."

"I hope this time it doesn’t speak in rhymes," Cait muttered.

Leliana giggled. "I had almost forgotten about that! At least he was friendly."

"I suppose. I doubt I’ll just need to go acorn hunting this time, though." She looked up the twin confused looked from Loghain and Nathaniel and joined Leliana in her laughter. "Long story. I’ll tell you later."

"We had to steal an acorn from a mad old hermit so a tree that only spoke in rhyme would help us fight werewolves," Leliana said cheerfully.

"Oh. Well, when you put it that way, it makes perfect sense," Nathaniel deadpanned, surprising a chuckle out of Loghain and making Cait and Leliana laugh harder.

"Tomorrow," Cait exclaimed, trying to regain control of the conversation. "Anders will need to rest tonight after all the healing he’s doing. We’ll head out first thing tomorrow to go hunt evil trees."

-------

Cait stood by the door to the main hall of the Vigil and watched the commotion as she waited for her fellow Wardens to get ready to leave. There were nearly thirty people in that caravan and with their voices added to the din it was nearly deafening. Cait couldn't remember ever seeing Vigil's Keep this busy, even during festivals.

"You worry too much, Commander," Loghain said as he leaned against the wall next to her. "You'll go grey before you're thirty if you keep it up."

"Is that why your hair's still dark?" She growled. "The calm and stress-free life you lead?"

He smiled humorlessly at her. "Seems like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Nightmares or relationship problems?"

"Neither, actually." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I've got a bad feeling. Something's going to happen while I'm in the woods. Maybe here, maybe there, I don't know, but something. It's the not knowing that's driving me mad."

"Whatever happens, we'll take care of it." He put a hand on her shoulder. "These things will regret the day they made an enemy of you. They don't know what they're in for."

Cait took a deep breath, drawing strength from the point of connection between herself and her friend, then stepped away, drawing herself to her full height. "I should go."

"Be careful on the road," he said with a terse nod. "We'll see you in a few days."

"Try to leave my home standing when I get back, General."

"I hope you asked the same of Leliana. Of the two of us, I'm not the one you need to worry about," he said, then quietly added, "Good hunting, Commander."

Cait walked away without another word to join the congregation of Wardens in a quieter corner of the courtyard. The first voice to greet her as she approached was a tiny mrrp from Ser Pounce-a-Lot, who was curled up in the hood in Anders' cloak.

"I can't believe you're actually bringing that thing on the road with us," Sigrun said, staring at the tiny, happy face sticking out of the cloth.

"Maybe we can use it as a distraction," said Oghren, adjusting a strap on his armor. "The darkspawn will be too busy eating it to fight back."

"Don't listen to them, Ser Pounce-a-Lot," Anders said. "Caitie gets to bring her dog, I don't see why you can't come too."

"My dog is staying here to help guard the keep," said Cait, and they all turned to watch her approach, "Also, he's a trained war dog and has been a Grey Warden longer than you have."

"I've seen him bite the head off an ogre," Oghren added with a laugh.

"You don't worry about him catching the darkspawn taint?" Anders asked curiously, still petting Pounce under his chin.

"He's immune," Cait said with a shrug, then froze as her own thoughts caught up with her. "He's immune to the taint. He got sick, as soon as we got to Ostagar, before we'd even seen a darkspawn, but… there's a flower in the Korcari Wilds and it cured him."

She pulled out her journal and drew a picture of the flower to the best of her memory, mind racing the whole time. "Anders, do you know what this flower is?"

He looked away from his cat to stare at her drawing. "Maybe? It looks a bit like a variety of Andraste's Grace."

"What are you thinking, Caitie?" Nathaniel asked quietly.

"Just speculation right now. Maybe nothing. Maybe something," she said vaguely, then added in a whisper only to him, "I wonder if it could cure us." He raised an eyebrow, started to say something, but Cait shook her head, "Later. Somewhere with less ears."

Nate nodded, and as the group set off down the road he instead said, "You weren't in bed when I woke up."

"I'm sorry," she said, dragging her mind back to the present. She smiled tiredly at him. "I had a lot of work to do before we could leave this morning."

He pulled her into a one-armed hug and kissed the top of her head. The others pretended not to notice. "Next time, wake me up. It'll get done faster with two pairs of hands."

"You'll regret making that offer," Cait said, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

The air felt less oppressive the farther they got from the crowded keep. Summer was right around the corner, and they could feel it on the wind, hot and bright and clear. It didn't completely wash away Cait's exhaustion, but it kept her mind on the road and the task at hand.

And she had somewhere to start on her pet project now. She hadn't really realized she was still thinking about it, hadn't had much time to commit to it outside of a couple quick letters to Avernus, but it was still on her mind. These new possibilities combined with the sun warming her tired bones made it feel like a good day despite the dread and chaos.

"Hey, uh, Cait," said Oghren, obviously nervous.

"Yes? Something on your mind?"

"Your name. It's short for something, right?" He was watching the dirt at their feet instead of looking at her.

She stared at him, trying to figure out what he was fishing for, but he was uncharacteristically not forthcoming. "It is. My full name is Cathain. You know that, Oghren. What's this about?"

“Nothin’!” he said quickly. “Nothing. It’s just, ah… well, Felsi, she’s pregnant, and I was just thinking… if it’s a girl, we might name her… after you.”

“Oghren, I’d be honored,” Cait said, and her voice broke in the middle of it. She knew, in a general kind of way, that people would be naming their children after her. She’d met a few in Denerim already. People like to name their kids after heroes, and no matter how much she tried to escape it, that’s what she was.

It felt different to hear it from a friend, from someone who knew her beyond all the death caused in her name. She cleared her throat and added, “She was a great warrior, you know. Cathain. She fought alongside King Calenhad to unite Ferelden. My father had high hopes for me, I guess.”

Oghren didn’t say anything in reply, still staring at the ground, so they kept walking in silence.

It didn’t take them long to find where the caravan was attacked. It was barely midday when it became obvious that they had gotten to where they needed to be. Debris and overturned wagons covered the stretch of road, carrion birds and scavengers picking at the remains. Both flew away as the Grey Wardens approached.

“Not to belabor the point or anything,” Anders said cheerfully, “but I think this caravan was attacked.”

“What would we do without your keen observational skills,” Cait said dryly.

“There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to the destruction,” Nathaniel said, walking purposefully around the rubble. “Some tracks lead down the path into the forest. Bandits, most likely, like the ones that just ran away. Nothing out of the ordinary. Certainly nothing that could cause this kind of damage.”

“Then into the woods we go.” Cait took a deep breath and stepped off the road and onto the rough path. “Keep your eyes peeled. Any movement could be trouble, even the trees themselves.”

The scavengers found the first sylvan ambush for them, stumbling face first into a trio of angry pine trees. They didn’t stand much chance, but it gave Cait and her people time to get ready when those trees turned their gnarled attention their way. They fell easily enough to mage fire and the steady application of Oghren’s axe. Oghren recited really bad rhymes at them as he hacked off their branches. Cait couldn’t find it in herself to feel sorry for them, but she felt a bit sorry for herself for having to hear the berserker’s attempts at poetry.

After Oghren's rhyme started to sound more like bawdy bar songs, Sigrun asked, loudly drowning him out, "Do you know any poetry, Cait?"

"Sure, some," she shrugged. "I’ll confess I didn’t pay as much attention to my tutor as I should have, but you throw enough darts at a board and something’s bound to stick eventually, right? Nate would know more than me."

"It's been a long time since I had much call to recite poetry," Nathaniel said.

"I had a friend in the Legion who was a big fan of poetry," Sigrun said. "Used to recite it to himself all the time. Tried to write some, too, but wasn't very good at it."

"Do you remember any?"

"Let's see…" she thought for a minute and then recited "'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight for the ends of being and ideal grace.' There's more to it, but I can't remember the phrasing." Sigrun grinned broadly as they blinked in the silence after she was done. Cait didn't know what she expected, but it wasn't that. "Hidden depths, Commander."

"I like that, the Legion bringing life to the Deep Roads with music and poetry," Nathaniel said softly. "Love poems, then. Hmm… 'Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle’s compass come; love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.’"

It was ridiculous to be blushing as they walked through a forest of murderous trees, but here Cait was, face burning and unable to look at Nathaniel at all. She would hear his deep, warm voice reciting poetry in her dreams now.

She stubbornly refused to acknowledge it, talking over her embarrassment as if ignoring it would make it go away. "I don't know any love poems, I'm afraid. Most of the poetry I know starts 'There once was a man from Orlais.' Maybe I'll work on that, when we get home."

Justice's awed voice sounded behind them, rescuing Cait from further scrutiny. "Every day, I learn more of the depths of beauty of your world. Is there more like this poetry?"

"We have entire books of it at the Vigil," Nate said. "On any subject you can imagine. We'll find some for you."

"I wouldn't have figured you for a poetry fan, Justice," said Anders, conspicuously not participating in their poetry reading. Chances were, he knew more than all of them combined. Cait had been to the Circle tower; it didn't contain much to do recreationally outside of reading.

"There are many things in this world I cannot experience for myself. I will never have a love like the one I see in Kristoff's memories. But those words you spoke, those poems…" Justice's eyes were distant, as if he could still see their words in the air. Maybe he could. "They help me understand it in a way I did not before. Thank you for this gift."

"Never is a strong word." Anders nudged Justice companionably in the side. Justice remained unamused. "The world is a big place. You don't know what you might find."

What they did find was a barrier of twisted, gnarled tree roots blocking their path across a small, rickety bridge. Good. They hadn't been making any attempt to be quiet and, as Cait had hoped, it drew the mastermind of all this destruction right to them.

An elven woman appeared as if formed by the tree roots themselves, lithe and dark-skinned and furious. She reminded Cait at first of the Lady of the Wood, but she carried none of the ethereal otherness that spirits so often did. She was just a person. A very powerful, very angry person.

She stared at Cait from behind her barricade of roots like one stares at a spider on their wall before smashing it. “You are too well armed to be just another scavenger. Here for me, then.” It wasn’t a question. “You will not drive me from these forests.”

Cait stepped forward, right up against the barrier. One of the roots wrapped curiously around her wrist. The woman held her gaze without blinking. “You’re the one attacking travelers on the road. Why?”

The Dalish woman - Cait could see her facial markings now that she was close - snarled threateningly. “Your kind killed my friends and kidnapped my sister. The caravans are only the beginning.” She smiled, a sharp-edged threat just as much as her words were. “I want Seranni returned to me, or more will die. Consider this a warning.”

Then the roots wrapped around her, and when they receded the road was empty and clear again.

After the woman was gone, Cait stared for a long time at the place she had been. “Like looking into a blighted mirror,” she muttered to herself. Louder, she said, “Well, at least we know who’s calling spirits into the trees.”

Anders stepped up next to her, staring at the same spot on the road. “Really? All this done by one woman?”

Cait smiled humorlessly. “One woman can do a lot of things if properly motivated. Someone kidnapped her sister, she said. I’d say that’s some decent blighted motivation.”

“So we need to find the sister or the people who took her,” Nathaniel said, eyes on the trees. They all, for now, looked like normal trees. “It won’t be safe to travel to or from Denerim until we do.”

“We could just hunt down and kill this crazy broad,” Oghren pointed out gruffly.

Sigrun reluctantly agreed. “We could. It would be easier.”

“There is no justice in that.”

Nathaniel nodded. “I agree with Justice. She’s been wronged and she’s lashing out. She’s gone a bit overboard, maybe, but if we help her, perhaps she can be reasoned with.”

“Hunting down kidnappers in a haunted forest.” Anders shrugged. “Sure, I’ll try anything once.”

The bandits became much less wary and the sylvans much larger and stronger the farther they moved into the forest. The path became harder to follow, then disappeared entirely, leaving them tripping over tree roots and small shrubs in addition to fighting their awakened kin.

They came out into a sudden clearing containing several tents and several more shallow, hastily dug graves. Two wagons stood nearby, carved with familiar murals of unfamiliar gods.

Cait traced her fingertips along the curling horns of a halla painted on a tent. "These are Dalish aravels. It looks like a clan was camping here and was wiped out. Justice, what happened here? Can you sense it?"

"This place is scarred by pain," Justice replied, his normally stern voice softened by sadness. "Many lives were lost."

"Pile of weapons over here, Commander," Sigrun called. She nudged the toe of her boot at a large, haphazard jumble of rusting and chipped swords. "Human make. They look like they were left here deliberately."

"Planted to make it look like humans did this?" Anders stood by a sword standing point-down in the ground like a stake. He tried to pull it free, but it didn't budge. "It’s not even very well done. Who kills a bunch of innocents and then just leaves their weapons piled up by the bodies? Surely no one would fall for that."

"Looks like someone did," Nathaniel said darkly. "The woman by the bridge had Dalish markings."

"So someone kills her clan and makes it look like humans did it," Oghren said from his sentinel position by the road. "She starts killing all the humans that pass through."

Anders stumbled backwards as the sword came free from the dirt. He stared at it like it contained the answers to all their problems. "Who stands to profit from this? What good does all this chaos serve anyone?"

"I’ve got a very bad feeling that we already know who’s behind this." Cait stood next to Justice by the fresh cairns, rage already burning hot in her blood.

"Then the swords weren’t bait for her," Nate said, and she could hear the anger simmering behind his words too. "They were bait for us and she just got caught in the trap."

As the others turned to leave, Justice didn't move, still as death next to the neat row of graves. Cait touched his arm and he didn't acknowledge her. "You okay, Justice?"

“Death. We spirits know no more of it than you do. What lies beyond is obscured, even to us.” He knelt next to the nearest cairn, laying a hand against the cool stone. Cait finally recognized what she heard in his voice: grief. He was grieving for the fallen elves. “You called them Dalish. Kristoff was familiar with that name. Can you tell me about them?”

“I don’t know much,” Cait said apologetically. “They’re free elves, those that refuse to live in the alienages in human cities. Some say it’s because they were cast out, but I’ve also heard they chose this life. That the Dalish would rather travel the forests without a place to call home than to be forced to bend the knee to… to people like me.” She put a hand on his shoulder, and he covered it with his own in a surprisingly mortal gesture. “I’m sorry I don’t know more. My education was very… human-centric. The more I see of the world, the more I learn how little I actually know.”

Justice stood and turned to face her, watching her with unblinking eyes. “It was wrong, what happened to these people. These Dalish.”

Cait didn’t know if he meant this specific clan or the elves as a whole. The answer was the same either way. “Yes.”

“But… the woman on the bridge, what she has done is also wrong.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He looked back at the graves, expression pensive. “Then which side is the right one, if she is both offender and victim?”

“Sometimes there isn’t a right side. Sometimes you just have to choose which side you can live with,” Cait said gently. It would probably be weird for both of them if she hugged him, but she was tempted to anyway. “Which side do you think is right, Justice?”

“I… wish to help the woman avenge her people. I should want to punish her for her crimes, but I do not.” He balled his hands into fists, the creaking of leather and bone loud in the empty camp. “What am I if not a seeker of justice?”

Cait gave in and hugged him, but pulled away before it got weird. “Maybe you’re just becoming a person like the rest of us. Not a demon,” she added quickly as something very much like fear filled his glowing eyes, “demons taint and pervert the desires of mortals, you said that yourself. But… you can be a seeker of justice while still sympathizing with those who do bad things for misguided reasons. You can seek justice, and love, and beauty, and compassion. These things can coexist, Justice.”

A lot of emotions crossed his expression rapidly. Cait didn’t know if he’d truly gotten that good at expressing them or if she had just gotten good at reading him. Then he nodded at her and said, voice serious and familiar. “I will think on what you have said. Let us move on.”

-------

The presence of darkspawn less than an hour after they left the Dalish camp felt like confirmation of who they were dealing with. They were easy to dispatch; bait, just like the swords, just like the merchants, just like the angry, grieving elven woman caught in the middle.

“Why is the Architect so obsessed with you?” Anders asked, kicking a dead darkspawn irately. “Just keeps setting more and more complicated traps, and for what? To get your attention?”

Cait couldn’t find her voice over the fury building in her chest, but Nathaniel answered for her. “He’s not going to like the way that works out for him.”

Every step deeper into the woods made Cait more tense. There was a rage in this forest that hadn’t been here when they’d passed through barely a month prior. Under the shadow of Blackmarsh, it had been shrouded in deep, slow sorrow. Now, it was free and it was angry. It wrapped around her heart and squeezed until every breath hurt, until her vision was red and her hands bled from the cut of her nails as she clenched her fists tighter.

The rage wasn’t wholly her own. She understood that. But the core of it belonged to her, only amplified by the Wending Wood. She wondered if it belonged to the Dalish woman, with her dead clan and her missing sister, or if the forest fed her anger too. If it was hers, she had earned it. It was a familiar pain; her family slaughtered, her brother missing, Cait had carved a swath of red on her own path to vengeance, hadn’t she? Who was she to judge another woman for the same?

They stopped for the night by a pair of statues in an area clear enough of trees that they were unlikely to be attacked by sylvans. It wasn’t safe to hunt or forage alone, so they settled for a simple stew made from dried rations.

During her watch, the statues started to speak to her. She thought she was hallucinating at first, but even her imagination wasn’t that weird. She reached out to touch one, a tall and muscular man wearing hide armor and holding a large sword that looked sharp enough to cut even though it was made of stone. It--he?--was warm in a way that couldn’t be explained just by the sun.

“Who are you? Or… who were you, I suppose,” Cait asked, sitting on the ground between the two statues and gazing up at them.

A voice came from within the warrior statue, rough and gravelly. He didn’t sound like a golem speaking, like sound forced through stone. He could have been just a normal person if he wasn’t so still and grey, if his accent hadn’t been so unfamiliar. “I have forgotten… my name… but I am a warrior. I am Avvar. And I am cursed.”

He spoke in his ancient accent of Tevinter mages of a thousand years ago, of a battle at the Fort of a Thousand Vigils which could only be Vigil’s Keep. She’d known it was an Avvar fortress once, but having it confirmed like this was still dizzying. So much history under the stones of her own home and she barely had access to a sliver of it.

Every word the warrior spoke came harsher, harder, more outraged until they were barely even words anymore. It drew her companions from their tents in curiosity, but they stood back, silent, and let the warrior rage.

When his anger overwhelmed him and he couldn’t form words anymore, his brother spoke up instead. He was more than a head shorter than the warrior, but bore a spear taller than either of them, and he wore what must have been ceremonial robes that did nothing to hide the thinness of his frame. His voice was soft and sweet and Cait could hear the smile in it even though his face could no longer express it. "What is your name, child?"

"Cathain."

"Cathain. A strong name. You are a born warrior as much as my brother." He waited for her to deny it, but she didn't. He was very observant considering he didn't have eyes. "Not all things can be fought, child, much as you or my brother may wish it so. Our curse is one such thing."

"Is there no way to free you?" Cait hated how small her voice was.

"There is no release," said the scholar. "But with peace, serenity--we can sleep."

"My brother has grown weak," the warrior snarled. "In truth, weakness was always in him. He was a thinker. A dreamer. Not a warrior."

Cait didn't know why he couldn't be both, but she didn't say so. Their culture was not her culture and it wasn't her place to judge it.

The scholar's voice remained calm in the face of his brother's frothing rage. Probably used to it. "Anger will not free us. Revenge will not free us. With the long seasons, I have seen that violence often accomplishes naught."

It felt like he was speaking to her and his brother both. "Has anger helped you? Aren’t you miserable?" Cait asked the warrior. He snarled wordlessly. "I know I am. It burns in me until all I can taste is ash."

As if through gritted teeth, the warrior said, "This life of earth… is beyond bearing."

"Then rest," she said softly. "Release your anger and it will release you."

"What you ask… is difficult."

"I know. Trust me, I know."

"I… I will try. It will take time…" and then the warrior was silent.

"You should take your own advice, Cathain Battle-maiden," the scholar chastised.

"I'll try." If an ancient, cursed barbarian could try and find peace, so could she. She looked up at the kind stone face of the scholar. "I'll visit again sometime. Make sure your rest is undisturbed."

"May we meet again in a brighter future." He couldn't bow, but she could hear it in his voice. A salute. A goodbye.

"Are you really Avvar barbarians?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Does it matter?"

A cool breeze swept through the clearing and Cait took the first painless breath all day. The worst of the anger, the part she could recognize as not her own, lifted so suddenly and completely that she fell backwards to lay in the dirt. She took a few more deep, cleansing breaths before she pushed herself to her feet.

Her friends all still stood there, but none of them had anything to say so they went back to bed - except Sigrun, who insisted it was her watch now.

"Statue said rest," she said, physically lifting Cait off the ground to carry her to her tent. "Two things I know are that our ancestors grant us wisdom and the stone guides us where we need to go. So a thousand year old barbarian made of rock says 'rest', you're going to rest."

It was hard to argue with that.

[warelander]

I'm already really happy with Ultimate's roster as is, but I figured it would be fun to talk a bit about my personal Top 10 newcomer wishes, still in the running.

10) Ganon (The Legend of Zelda)

I love my playable villains and this guy is easily the most classic and notable Nintendo baddy to still lack a presence on Ultimate's roster.

It helps that Zelda hasn't had a completely unique newcomer since Melee. so it's about time something is done about that and while yes, the OOT version of Ganon is already a Final Smash, I really do think that the classic version is overdue for more representation in Smash and can still easily show up.

9) Anna (Fire Emblem)

Yes, Fire Emblem is hardly starving for newcomers and yes other franchises could use more love, but at the end of the day I entirely base my support of characters on whether or not I like them and I really like Anna.

She is essentially a mascot for the Fire Emblem series, with incernations of her appearing in nearly every FE game since the first installment, which also makes her a bit of a senior among Nintendo's characters. Above all else though she has plenty to work with, such as lances, bows and axes, which would allow her to represent aspects of the series that Smash's playable FE crew does not and perhaps even make her an appealing choice for those who merely want less sword users.

8) Prince Sable (For the Frog the Bell tolls)

FTFTBT is one of my favorite little one-off Nintendo titles and a really charming title that deserved a bigger audience, rather then to be relegated to a Japan-only release.

His Assist Trophy is still MIA so who knows, as a fan of his home game I'd appreciate even just the AT coming back as well, but I would absolutely cheer if he made the big step to becoming playable.

7) Ninten (Mother)

He would complete the Mother protagonist trio and be an easy Echo fighter, plus I do have a soft spot for the original Mother, despite it's flaws and how much it has aged.

6) Porky (Mother)

In my opinion still one of Nintendo's most memorable villains and his direct connections to Ness and Lucas make him a fitting alternate pick for a third Mother character.

In terms of moveset I can easily see him as a mech fighter, which isn't something that Smash has had before, unless you count Bowser Jr. As I said previously though: I love playable villains and Porky is a real stand out one among Nintendo's baddies and he already got a lot of love back in Brawl, so maybe.....

5) Rex & Pyra (Xenoblade Chronicles)

Pretty self explanatory, I am a Xenoblade 2 fan, so naturally I'd like to have it's protagonists in Smash and they would bring plenty to the table to boot.

I don't have high hopes for them in the base roster, given everything we know so far about Ultimate's development, but if DLC ends up being a factor then I'd say that they are pretty much a lock.

4) Rayman (Rayman)

Rayman is one of my childhood favorite franchises and one that I still hold dear to this very day. He already had a trophy in For, but whether or not this says anything about his chances for Ultimate remains to be seen.

I would certainly welcome him with open arms and maybe, just maybe, his inclusion could influence something in Ubisoft to make a new game, they clearly still have him on their minds after all.

3) Arle Nadja (Puyo Puyo)

My top third party choice, which for anyone who knows me, is about as surprising as me saying that Mario is back for Ultimate.

Puyo Puyo is one of my biggest fandoms in gaming and a franchise that I would love to see featured alongside so many other personal favorites. There are plenty merits to Arle being in Smash, with her being essentially one of the faces of Puzzle games and Puyo Puyo in general being one of the SEGA franchises that are still very active to this day.

Plus, aside from Dr. Mario and stuff from his games, there really isn't much Puzzle game content in Smash, which is a niche that Arle easily fills...then again, for as much as I like to justify her potential inclusion, I will also fully admit that my biggest reason for wanting her really is just my personal love for the character and Puyo in general.

2) Isaac (Golden Sun)

The GBA Golden Sun games are among my favorite games on the system, Isaac has a ton of moveset potential unlike anything that's been seen in Smash to date, his inclusion would also bring remixes and trophies of GS content with him (something that I'm dying to see as well) and perhaps, even spark new interest in Nintendo and/or Camelot to revive the Golden Sun series.

There is literally no reason for me to not want Isaac and he is a popular request as well, so he has a lot going for him even in that regard and it really shows how much appeal there is to the idea of him as a newcomer, since he doesn't even have the 'relevancy' bandwagon to latch on to.

Also, plus points if he's joined by Felix as his Echo.

1) A new Wario Rep (Wario)

I have an entire fan blog dedicated to the Wario series, so it's pretty transparant that it's my favorite Nintendo series period.

It's a big series, has a colorful and diverse cast of characters, that's very distinct from Mario and any content from the series brings a different flavor to Smash, since it is more deranged and subversive then much of Nintendo's usual output.

Any new Wario rep is more then welcome in my book, but here's my support posts for Kat & Ana, Mona, Captain Syrup and 9-Volt, who are my top most desired Smash newcomers period.

[acradaunt]

It's a little while since that Smash Direct, right? So while the fire is tepid, time for me to gush about it and share some creative thoughts. First, wanna say that Belmont in Smash is one of the most 'I didn't know how much I wanted it until I saw it' things I've ever experienced. It's such a perfect and direct fit, yet I never really thought about until then. Everything so far has been a complete home run.

People are always talking about what they want for new characters, but I'm more interested right now in stages. There's six empty spots still, yeah? So here's my thoughts for stages. It's at a mix between what's likely and what I'd like to see.

Although, some of these thoughts are mixed with characters or heavily influenced by them. Thoughts on some of those combined within, but in short, my character guesses are Erdrick, Bandana Dee, Ken, and Black Shadow. Ken is the original slightly deviated clone character, and Bandana Dee, well, really underwhelming compared to all other newcomers, but he could be nifty if he used some of Kirby's traditional copy abilities (Cutter, Parasol, Beam, etc.). At any rate:

Ancestral Steppe - (Monster Hunter)

It's pretty plain that this exists, though I imagine the stage version is based on room 4 (the one with the arching bridge that gets knocked down), and not room 3, where the Rathalos boss was shown. Either way, stage'll have some radical music choices. Personally, I'd rather see a stage based on Misty Peaks, with the rope bridge and the watery area below it, but it seems pretty decisive that it'll be Ancestral Steppe. Anyway, yeah. Room with the arch, some Jaggi nip at you sometimes, and Kecha Wacha and Tigrex show up to make everyone miserable.

Monster Hunter isn't a playable character, but rather the Mii variants all have MH outfits; Rathalos for Swordfighter (just like Smash 4), Gore Magala for Brawler (with Gore's Dual Blade claws), and either Zinogre or Lagiacrus for Gunner. And especially for Rathalos, the colour of the Mii shifts more than usual to better match an existing Rath colour; a Yellow Mii would wear a set that looks like Gold Rathian scales and so on.

Mute City Grand Prix - (F-Zero/Star Fox)

This one is based on a small mountain of assumptions, that the rumoured Star Fox Grand Prix is a thing, and that it merges Star Fox and F-Zero more than they already were. And that it gets shown off at the same time at the Tokyo Game Show. Don't actually have anything to say about design of stage, just that it'll end up being another Mute City, because of course it'll be. Why else would the OTHER Mute City stage feel the need to label itself Mute City (SNES)?

Related, Black Shadow'll be around as echo fighter of Captain Falcon, and essentially Melee Ganondorf. If I'm right on the Star Fox thing, I wouldn't be surprised if he's now literally a bull, instead of a bumble-king in bull-shaped spandex. Either way, it'd be weird as hell if after EVERYONE IS HERE there wasn't a time-frozen version of Melee Ganondorf, like how Dr. Mario and Young Link are for pre-Fludd Mario and pre-lots-of-things Link.

Poke Floats 2 - (Pokemon)

They've made updated versions of other stages before, so why not this? The same concept as before, but with new Pokemon.

Dragon Quest III's Pyramid - (Dragon Quest)

Erdrick is just too overwhelmingly popular in Japan to NOT get in. Dragon Quest III still dominates game popularity contests there, 30 years later. It doubly makes sense to expect it, considering every other character added for Ultimate has been from games more popular in America; time for the pendulum to swing back. Dragon Quest is not a series I care about, but I do know about one dungeon and the item within; the Pyramid and the cursed Golden Claw.

So the stage is fairly large, run-of-the-mill egyptian pyramid, with extremely lazy mummies or whatever other DQ enemies were found there walking around, doing so-so damage when they decide to slowly attack.

But the main gimmick is the Golden Claw lying at the base of the Pyramid. It's basically a stronger version of a Beam Saber or Killing Edge, with a few major drawbacks. One, it continually hurts its wearer, like the flowers from Lip's Stick. Second, it can't be dropped, and if destroyed, it'll respawn at the base in 15-20 seconds. Last and most significant, the roaming monsters become hugely aggressive towards the owner of the Golden Claw.

Most of that in reference to how the Golden Claw worked in-game, being strong at that point in game, but cursed so you can't remove it (because that's how curse worked in most old games, which I assume originates from D&D) and causes EVERY step you take with it to cause a random encounter.

Puyo Puyo Tetris - (Tetris)

Asspull of the highest magnitude, but ever since the falling blocks at the end of stage 2-1 from the original Yoshi's Island, I've wanted to see a more extreme version of that.

Stage starts as a flat, final-destination sized platform, but tetris pieces fall continually, becoming permanent objects. The pieces fall pretty slowly, don't rotate, won't poke outside the standard 10 columns, and give a shadow of where they're going to land. If you're stuck under one, you're crushed as an instant KO.

The stage's AI on playing Tetris is pretty awful at it, leaving regular holes, letting blocks stack high, and has no interest in attempting chains. Standard Tetris rules apply; if a row is filled up, it'll explode in a horizontal line of light, likely KO'ing anyone who might connect with it. If the pieces stack too high, all the pieces dissolve, bringing the stage back to its starting position.

If a player is boxed in (not on the two sides though, as you could jump out and climb back up to the fight), a Puyo slime will jump from the background through the hole the player is stuck in and smash them into the sceen, instantly KO'ing them (counting as a self-destruct).

And I guess Arle Nadja is an assist trophy or something. I mean, she beat Bayonetta in the Japanese poll, so, like, yeah.

Yggdrasil Labyrinth - (Etrian Odyssey)

Really though, if there was Atlus content in Smash Ultimate, it'd almost certainly be Jack Frost and some blasted, post-apocalyptic Tokyo, but hey, let me do me for this one.

Based mostly on EO2's Yggdrasil, with some nods to EO4. It'd be a mix of 'touring stages' like Isle Delfino and vertical stages like the nixed Ice Climbers level. It would scroll vertically, but only at sudden increments, with four 'main' screens representing the first four strata. So most of the time would be spent on one of four static areas, but you have to climb yourself to reach the next area (or die if you can't keep up) instead of being picked up by a platform. It isn't infinite scrolling, and they could hide some platforms upon a stage swap, which presumably is what killed the other vertical levels.

After some time in the 4th stratum, Petal Tree Bridge, Yggdrasil will wither and die, plummeting everyone back down (like the transitions in Castle Siege) to the 1st Stratum, Ancient Forest. Worth noting, most of the platforms in the Ancient Forest region are made of stone and not part of Yggdrasil, and thus remain there when you land. After a little bit, a new Yggdrasil sprouts, and the process repeats.

Protector shows up as an assist trophy. She followers her summoner around like an Ice Climber would, and soaks up damage for them until she times out or takes too much and dies. She'd create a visible sphere of protection, but if a player moves too fast or she decides to shield bash a dude, there's room for openings to whack her summoner. I'd love it if Gunner, Landsknecht (EO4's version), and Monk showed up as Mii costumes, but that's probably pushing what's already a pipe dream to beyond the breaking point.

[october-rosehip]

OC Questionnaire: Ceilidh Tabris

Tagged by @icy-warden and @starlanellwrites, at least. Those are the ones I saw. Thanks, I will do Macsen as well but Ceilidh was feeling neglected. She really does have a jealous streak.

Answered just after the Tabris Origin, on the way to Ostagar.

GENERAL

Name: Ceilidh Tabris. The D is close enough to silent, human.

Alias(es): “Hey”, “You There”, and “Girl.” I'm hoping to upgrade to something like “Red Shadow” or well, I don't know... how DO these things get started?

Gender: Female. Can't you tell?

Age: 22

Place of birth: Denerim, Ferelden

Spoken languages: Ah, the alienage, such a thriving educational center. How many do you THINK?

Sexual orientation: I... huh. You know, I wanted to get married, but women are pretty too? Can we not talk about relationships right now? (spins a ring around her finger with a frown.)

Occupation: Seamstress... oh, wait. Grey Warden. Right.

APPEARANCE

Eye colour: Green

Hair colour: Brown

Height: My feet reach the floor.

Scars: Yes, and a recently smashed nose.

Overweight: Yes, a little.

Underweight: No

FAVOURITE

Colour: All of them!

Hair colour: … all of them?

Eye colour: Is this a thing people have opinions about?!

Entertainment: Sparring, I guess. We have to be careful with it, though.

Pastime: reading. I know, I'm weird.

Food: berry pancakes.

Drink: Chicory.... yes I KNOW it's a green. You can roast the root and drink it as a tea.

Books: Anything with magic in it. The stranger the better.

HAVE THEY

Passed university: Surely, you're joking.

Had sex: Yes

Had sex in public: Yes

Gotten pregnant: No, thank the Maker.

Kissed a man: No.

Kissed a woman: … in a friendly sort of way?

Gotten tattoos: No

Gotten piercings: No

Had a broken heart: Can you not?

Been in love: Not yet, but it might have gotten there.

Stayed up for more than 24 hours: No. Can you IMAGINE my dad if I did?

ARE THEY

A virgin: No, and fuck you.

A cuddler: sometimes, but no more than normal, I guess.

A kisser: I mean, look. I was all right with the way my dad wanted to do things. I didn't want to get too involved with anyone before my husband. Seriously, can we talk about anything else?

A smoker: No.

Scared easily: No

Jealous easily: Yes, I think I might be.

Trustworthy: Not by choice. Is this the face of a liar? No, no it is not. I can't hide ANYTHING.

Dominant: You mean like in the books-we-hide-from-dad sense? Yeah, I think probably.

Submissive: Not by choice.

Single: I will stab you.

RANDOM QUESTIONS

Have they harmed themselves: No

Thought of suicide: Yes

Attempted suicide: Some would argue not slipping out the kitchen door of the arl's estate was attempted suicide, but I couldn't do that.

Wanted to kill someone: Yes, for YEARS.

Actually killed someone: Oh, you haven't heard, yet?

Ridden a horse: Because there are sooooo many horses in Denerim, let alone my neighborhood.

Have/had a job: Yes

Have any fears: Doesn't everybody?

FAMILY

Sibling(s): No

Parents: Cyrion and Adaia Tabris

Children: No.

Pets: No. I always wanted pets of my own but I never had the time.

There you go! I’m not specifically tagging anyone because this seems to have made the rounds, but if I’m wrong, and you want to, go ahead!

[evajellion]

How do you think Maguro would react to Arle getting an invite to Smash Bros.? I mean, he is quite the gaming aficionado...

I’m going to try to imagine this as a headcanon scenario– in fact, I’m just going to make this a “how does a majority of the cast react to Arle getting in Smash” rather than just Maguro!

Carbuncle - The likely scenario is that he ends up going with her, probably not much reaction other than the usual, Carbunny optimism!

Amitie & Ringo - They’re thrilled, REALLY happy that their friend with a large history finally got an invite to Smash Bros. They’re congratulating Arle, wishing her the best of luck, cheering her on. Also they’re the most likely to become spirits too.

Maguro - Someone he knows, Ringo’s friend, getting a Smash invite? It feels like a dream. He’s really happy for Arle, and asks that she tell him about anything that happens over there! He wants to know what the other Smash characters are like personally, and how she ends up fairing in a battle.

Rulue - Naturally envious, but she understands why Arle would be chosen. Rulue just doesn’t have as much of an expansive move-pool as Arle would for Smash. But it’s not the idea of being in Smash that upsets Rulue a little, it’s more like the fact that Arle is once again in the spotlight. (That and perhaps a part of her is already upset that Arle is making more friends outside her universe, leaving her feeling distant compared to back then..)

Schezo - He’s very happy for Arle, but for the wrong reasons. He sees this as a chance to watch over whoever she’s up against and determine if their powers (or items) are worth his time. Basically, poor Zelda and Robin might have to watch their backs. The good news would be that Schezo finds Pikachu and Kirby to be adorable!

Satan - His precious Arly is gone to another world again with new friends and he can’t stand it! How can he go on a honeymoon when she’s off fighting? Even worse is the thought of one of these Smash characters possibly pursuing his dear Arly, sweeping her away!

It’s a shame that the DLC characters don’t have Palutena’s advice stuff or whatever, seeing Satan interact with Palutena and Pit would be kind of funny.