#if you look closely you can see some pokemon worms too

[dragon-ascent]

When you said 'the brainworms only wiggle for him' in your tags, all I can imagine is noodle dragon Zhongli wiggling haha

Hahah thank you for that visual! My brain is indeed just a bunch of Zhongnoodles wiggling around. :]

[lady-eclipse3]

Happy Stampede Saturday here’s some of my thoughts on what pokemon the gang would have.

Vash - I want to give this man a Sylveon so bad. I fully believe he could love and care for an eevee enough that it evolves into a Sylveon. Their skillset would be good for him as well, as they're capable of emitting an aura that can completely erase any hostility their opponent has which would make them great for Vash what with him being a pacifist. I also think he’d have an Absol. It just started following him around one day because of their whole “appear whenever a disaster is going to happen” bit and well, we all know how Vash can’t-step-foot-into-a-town-without-something-happening the Stampede is. Absol also dislike fighting and Mega Absol has that whole angelic vibe going on.

Meryl - I keep imagining her with one of the dog pokemon, possibly a Growlithe or Yamper. I could see Growlithe being helpful with her journalism career due to their ability to track down people with their heightened sense of smell and their ability to never forget a scent. Yamper would be more of a joke option. They’re a high energy pokemon that are often used as a herding dog and I just think they’re funny. That said, they’re also an electric type and can generate electricity just by running which could be useful whenever their car runs out of electricity.

Roberto - I keep imagining him with just the meanest looking Chatot you’ve ever seen. Like some disgruntled, I’ll-bite-you-if-you-come-too-close looking bird. I want to say he inherited it from someone/it had a trainer before him because parrots live for a long ass time and the mortality rate on Gunsmoke is really high. It probably knows a bunch of swear words. It does not fucking like Wolfwood.

Wolfwood - I wanna say he’d have some kind of ghost type pokemon but I'm not sure which one. Lampent or Chandelure might be a good possibility as they both hang around where people die so they can take and burn up their souls and Wolfwood’s whole job involves a lot of dying people. Possibly he found it near the facility where he was experimented on as there were a lot of people that died there. I could also see him with a Bannette. Perhaps an old doll that was discarded by one of the orphanage children when it became too worn to play with wound up turning into a Bannette and he caught it trying to hunt down the child that had tossed it.

Bonus

Zazie has a Yanmega purely because it and the worms he controls resemble dragonflies.

Legato has no pokemon because having one is a gateway to caring about them and he refuses to have any emotions. Or he has a Hattrem and every time he accidentally experiences an emotion it beats the shit out of him.

Knives has a half a million Doublades.

[fangaminghell]

10, 19, 34 and 50 for Leo, Blair and Asra :3

:3!

Spoilers ahead for pokemon desolation!!!! Especially E6!!!!!!!!!!

10. Do they have any regrets?

Leo: Many. So many. Just look at the Darkai quest and that'll just show you how much regret and guilt he has.

If I had to give one example at the top of my head, not telling Cain how he felt when in the Void is something he regrets. It all worked out, but at the time, not saying anything and losing Cain was something that would haunt him.

Blair: I really need to replay Reborn once the community release is out. I feel like Blair needs some cleaning up character wise, or rather I just need to be refreshed on who xe are. That being said, I think not saving Suraya from Gardevoirs blast is one regret xe have, as her body gaurd. Another, bigger regret, was not being able to save Lilith. For granted, not saving Lilith spared her from Sigmund, something xe would not wish on anyone. But not being with xyr sister for 10 years is something that weighs on xem slot.

Asra: Hmmmmmmm. I think letting Scarlet get that far into her mindset before joining Crescent is something they regret. Maybe if they said something, she wouldn't have joined. Things are more than fine now, but I can see Asra wishing they've done more. Everything with Tristan I feel is made of regret and guilt.

19. How easy is it to become their friend?

Leo of the three arguably the most social lol. He likes being around people, for the most part! Though making friends depends on if you vibe with him and he vibes with you. I like to think his pathetic cat boyisms make him hard to resist though.

Asra isn't exactly shy by any means. They just prefer the quiet. That being said, they have the charisma to carry themselves in pleasant conversations. They can be aloof at times, and it could take a while for them to fully open up outside of pleasantries, but I like to think they are generally pretty friendly. Wait. I almost forgot. They can be pretty awkward when talking to people sometimes. They usually have some level of control within a conversation, but there's some topic that have them stumped and just don't know what to say ( for example: hobbies).

Blair is ice cold lol. They have trust issues and lots of trauma to boot, so letting people in is kinda a no go for xem. That doesn't mean you can't worm your way into their heart - look at Suraya n Leo. But yeah, they are very introverted, much preferring to just look on in the sidelines, being cold to anyone that comes close....unless your friends or family. Post game Blair is a bit more softer, or at least trying to be, given we were given the opportunity to study and become a pokemon professor like xe dreamed to be. Xe are still pretty cold, but try to be nicer ( Blake tests xyr patience every day ). Way into the future, being a pokemon professor definitely made them much more approachable! Instead of the freezing cold xe would give off, Blair is more of a quiet chill, but nothing too intense. Overall pretty friendly, and good with beginner trainers. Still pretty distant to those they don't know, so friendship is still gonna be something you with for.

34. How well do they deal with grief?

WOOH BOY. Bad. All of them I think.

Leo literally had a psychic breakdown when Taka died. And the results of that basically pushing people away who are worried for him. Ame and Kiki's death also just increases his guilt about everything, which again, makes him believe that people are safer at a distance. Leo is...very mentally unwell during the post game, even despite finally coming to terms with himself. Richard doesn't help at all in the slightest.

God, I didn't even mention how Leo thought Suraya, Cain and so many others were dead. That devastated him. So bad.

Blair whole life is filled with the grief over xyr family, xyr childhood, xyr dreams. The results was xem becoming a shell of a person in the orphanage, and become an ice cold assassin as an adult. I don't think they properly grieved until the post game, really. They just kept moving forward without even bothering to examine xyr emotions. Xe didn't want to.

Asra lost Tristan, a valued friend, someone who they hoped to help just like the rest of the dreamscape. Dare I say, they loved him ( platonically, romantically? Shrugs). So for Tristan to disappear in their arms, cursing Darkai, it was. So much. They didn't exactly have time to really. Grieve. Had to keep moving. But when they find out that they themselves are going to die? It all just hits them. To grieve a life that hasn't been lost yet - to grieve your life, that hasn't been lost yet. It's too much. It's all too much.

50. What is your favorite thing about them?

Leo is my favorite little pathetic gay catboy rat man. There's more to this title I just forgot lmao. This is very cruel to say but I love exploring how. Not okay he is. His guilt and shame and self hatred - all terrible, but I like exploring how that makes him do things, ya know? Especially when I know things for him get better.

Blair, I always loved xyr arc of letting people in again. And Bun Bun. Bun Bun is very important to xyr arc and I love them both. I hope to reexamine xem again when replaying reborn! Also it would be a crime if I didn't mention xyr long hair braid.

I always loved how Asra is goth lol. A plus sized goth. A plus sized goth that has a parasol that hides a sword. In general I just love their vibe. I try to make them seem cool and mysterious, but still approachable. They are calm and collected, and polite. But even with all that, they have their own worries that they try to keep to themselves. I really like Asra lol.

[eartheats]

[a recording is posted! the time on the recording is 3:42pm, October 23rd. the recording starts as the gym battle starts to get under way; ren seems to be talking animatedly to a rather bemused drayden, though the sound comes in once ren's bowed their head a little bit and brought themself back up.]

🔆: --Thank you so much again for allowing this, Mr. Drayden! I really can't thank you enough for this opportunity. This battle's gonna be so, so much fun!

[drayden seems to let out a small noise of assent at that]

🐲: You have mentioned that quite a bit, yes. Are you ready to begin?

🔆: Oh! [ren seems to go a little sheepish at that; lulu and drayden's flygon have already taken their places on the field, after all] Um, sorry about that! I guess I got a lil carried away! But yeah, yeah! Let's get this started--we'll show you all we've got, sir!

🪱: Orth!!

[lulu's extends his tendrils out, looking to flygon as it observes him. he's more than ready to go, and while ren clearly tries to think, their opponent is faster]

🐲: Flygon, let's see how our opponent enjoys a Rock Slide!

[it isn't long before rocks start tumbling down at lulu--perhaps surprisingly, though, ren isn't deterred in the slightest, and lulu's vaunted defense is truly on display here as he doesn't even flinch.]

🔆: Heehee! Good boy, Lulu, you show 'em! Let's give 'em a Smack Down for their troubles!

[lulu is quick on the draw for someone with his conditions--well, for an orthworm, at least. while flygon attempts to draw back some distance, lulu closes the distance easily and manages to tackle the flygon to the ground--something that gets drayden's brow to furrow]

🐲: Even with a move like that, it hits true... [drayden strokes his beard, perhaps surprisingly impressed] I didn't see that coming. How long have you two trained together?

🔆: Oh! Me and Lulu have been training together since... [they think for a moment] Arc, probably almost two decades now! Somewhere around there, at least!

🐲: Ah, that would explain it! There's a fire in both of your eyes...I knew it had to be something like that. The bond you two have forged is clear.

[there's a sudden intensity to drayden's gaze]

🐲: That means I have no intention of holding back. Come at us with everything you have!

[ren's eyes widen, briefly, before their expression splits into a grin--a wide eyed grin, thrilled in their own right--even lulu seems to understand that he's in for a fun one, and he roars in seeming excitement]

🔆: You have no idea how much that thrills us, Mr. Drayden! We'll do the same in kind--Lulu, Earthquake!

🐲: Flygon, use Crunch!

[flygon bites down on lulu as hard as it can manage, making lulu tense a bit--no worse for wear, though, despite it. the earthquake lulu unleashes is strong, and it's enough to knock flygon out as lulu draws back]

🔆: Good job, Lulu!! Flygon did really good too, but that was amazin'! Let's keep showin' em what we got, yeah?

[drayden watches, considering everything for a moment--before he unhooks his next poke ball, bringing out a colorful but massive druddigon to the field, who looks ready for a fight.]

🐲: Come then! Show us what you can do!

🔆: Alright! Lulu, give 'em a Heavy Slam!

[lulu puts all of his weight in as he tackles the druddigon with all his might--druddigon still stands, though, and even seems to have lulu in one of it's claws. ren seems impressed--even lulu seems surprised that he didn't bowl over the other pokemon, a small confused 'worm?' being uttered. that's when drayden issues the next order]

🐲: Druddigon, Revenge!

[ren's eyes widen as they watch the druddigon--with some effort, promptly lift lulu up and proceed to throw him across the battlefield, prompting a gasp from ren. lulu, for what it's worth, seems stunned--he gets knocked around quite a bit before skidding himself to a stop, clearly banged up and startled, but seeming, somehow, even more thrilled.]

🔆: Lulu, are you--? [they pause for a bit, and--their expression seems confused. they're clearly worried, but there seems to be an excited, almost nervous laughter that escapes them. punctuated by lulu flashing ren a seeming smile, making the laughter grow just a bit] ...Alright, buddy, just making sure. This is...well, we can't keep Mr. Drayden waiting! Lulu, Earthquake!

[this goes on for a bit--drayden seems confident, even as druddigon and lulu exchange blows--it's a true and proper fight now, two pokemon going at it with all they got, and ren's anxious but delighted, even if drayden seems to have them figured out if one keeps an eye on him. it isn't long before druddigon gets slammed back into the ground in front of drayden, and he calls the pokemon back with a firm nod.]

🐲: Druddigon...you fought well. Rest easy. [he takes another poke ball in hand, looking ren and lulu both over and nodding his head] You have both done well to make it this far--that much is to be commended. We're far from done, however--Altaria, come out!

[in an instant, a beautiful blue fluffy dragon is sent out, and ren's eyes light up with recognition--they remember that grusha used one of these. this was his ace. this should be a walk in the park, even without terastalization.]

🔆: Alright, don't let your guard down for a second, Lulu! We've got this! Smack Down!

[lulu, even with his current state, leaps in the air at the altaria, startling the poor bird somewhat--but only somewhat. it's then that drayden seems to nod his head, as if he expected this.

as if ren's just walked right into a trap, which they certainly have]

🐲: You're right to not let down your guard. Altaria, Fire Blast!

🔆: Wait, what--?!

[ren startles as they watch the bird pokemon expel one hell of a fire on lulu--it's a direct hit, of course it is. with that much distance closed, there was no way lulu could possibly dodge that attack.

the blast sends lulu back, and ren watches their partner try to get up--tendrils out, looking up to the altaria in silence. it's a strange mirror, to all of those years ago--where he stood victorious against a similar opponent. there's a long, extended gaze shared between the two...

before lulu gives out, fainting to the damage. ren is silent, watching on in pure shock--for a long moment, even after someone calls to ren. it takes a moment for them to come back to, and their words are soft.]

🔆: We...lost...?

[there's a brief pause, as they look onto their belt--at their poke balls, and drayden pauses for a moment. altaria is still out, though it's landed on the ground now and almost seems concerned.]

🐲: Ren. Do you still intend to battle?

[it's a firm, gruff question, though there doesn't seem to be anything upset in drayden's words. ren pauses for a moment, considering. considering how much coriander hates battling, how she would absolutely not be able to take being in a league setting--or bouton. bouton, who was intimidated the further they got into kofu's battle. how this battle would certainly not be something bouton could handle, and they...

ren's shocked expression gives way to a soft smile--though it looks like they're tearing up as they walk over and pat lulu on the head.]

🔆: ...No. I don't think anyone else is ready, so...I yield, sir. [they return lulu to his poke ball, before looking up to drayden with a smile and bowing again] Thank you, Mr. Drayden.

[the recording cuts off here]

[captainshyguy]

with the last chapter posting tomorrow, i'm yeeting my playlist for something to believe in right here! song choice/reasoning's under the cut. most of it is simple plan bc thats kinda the sound i built the story around. i wanted something a little edgy, a little prickly, a little 2000s (but ultimately not too hardcore)

(some spoilers under the cut for story beats kjfnjskgsd)

playlist here!

anyway, song reasonings

young the giant- something to believe in: eyyy, its song i named the fic after, and the theme for the fic! a bunch of the core themes come from here. mainly the idea of being given 'something to believe in' obviously fkjnsjd, like luke learning to open up and believe in and trust others again, his mum learning to believe in him, being a "slave to your mind". plus 'tragedy has a hold of my mind, but i can see the light between the lines' really fits luke once he befriends arven.

sleeping at last-eight: luke's overall theme. i dont think a single song sums up his journey better. its about someone who has clearly closed themself over very guardedly to avoid getting hurt, with a lot of motifs of brokenness. as the song goes on the subject learns to open up, be vulnerable, and becomes stronger as a result. all the lyrics are perfect, i particularly enjoy 'now i'm a broken mirror' 'i'm standing guard, i'm falling apart' i am strong enough, to let you in' 'im shattered porcelain, glued back together again'

simple plan- i'm just a kid: a good moody one that sets up his general demeanour at the start of the fic. 'i'm just a kid and life is a nightmare' 'what the fuck is wrong with me, dont fit in with anybody'

simple plan- you don't mean anything: early story, dealing with nemona and feeling isolated and distant and frustrated about it. 'I know you think you know me, you don't know anything'

simple plan- welcome to my life: early treasure hunt dealing with the first titan/base/gyms. the kids very disgruntled an not in a fantastc place. 'Are you sick of everyone around, with the big fake smiles and stupid lies, while deep inside you're bleedin'

simple plan- me against the world: song for the big low point, one i think he identifies with a lot i think. harsh, edgy, and pained. defiant, snarled spiteful yelling. 'i'm a nightmare, a disaster, that's what they always said, i'm a lost cause, not a hero, but I'll make it on my own'

simple plan- fire in my heart: song for the moment arven wakes the kid back up and pulls him out of that depression slump and back to earth by explaining the whole mabo situation to him. upbeat, not edgy. 'i bet you didn't know, you started up a chain reaction'

simple plan- everytime: theme for the boys, at least, from luke's pov. the song has a sort of melancholy and longing to it (heck, the lyrics imply the singer is talking about a past relationship) but i think thats the lens he'd view this developing relationship through anyway. 'every time I see your face, every time you look my way, it's like it all falls into place, everything feels right'

owl city- bird and the worm: representing arvens music taste and also luke branching out and connectign with his friend. listening to each others songs and sharing their hobbies. song is sweet and upbeat and a little romantic. 'swirl me around your room with feeling, and as we twirl, the glow in the dark stars on your ceiling, will shine for us'

simple plan- gone too soon: luke opening up about the death of his dad. the song fits how he feels about it all. a lot more subdued than most of the simple plan ones. 'oh I miss you now, i wish you could see, just how much your memory, will always mean to me'

pokemon- area zero: we know why this is here >:] theme for the kids going down into the crater.

simple plan- holding on: latter half of the crater, the quiet talk in research station four, and parts of the climax. mainly here for 'in the night there's a fire in my eyes, and this paradise has become a place we've come to cry'

simple plan- take my hand: aftermath, luke and arven kinda sticking together as the latter tries to navigate his grief. the song is a lot more upbeat, but i see it as almost like...determination on luke's part, to be there for him. its a good song for them in general too actually. splashes of romance since he's aware of his feelings now. 'take my hand tonight, let's not think about tomorrow'

simple plan- last one standing: song for luke's fight with the other miraidon and resolve to finish his pokedex. defiant, confident and reckless. 'did you think that I would surrender easily, that just like that, you were getting rid of me'

simple plan- when i'm gone: this song is an interesting one. its unanimously turo's theme for me, but also luke's in his worst moments.(parallels, narrative foils, all that) like when he recklessly explores area zero by himself to finish his pokedex. 'another day, another casualty, but that won't happen to me'

simple plan- promise: luke coming clean to arven, panicked but resolved to fix this. a little fast paced, scattered, but still determined. 'i promise, i won't let you down (you down), if you take my hand tonight'

ed sheeran- celestial: BOO ed sheeran jumpscare. gkjngjkds no but seriously i did really like this one as a credits theme. the space theme still doesnt really fit the game or story, but i cant resist 'you make me feel like my troubled heart is a million miles away'. like what a great summary of how luke feels now that he has friends, his mum, and his pokemon by his side.

[erabundus]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. ( REPOST DO NOT REBLOG ! )

NAME: avalon!

PRONOUNS: they  /  them  pronouns,  please!

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: tumblr  ims  are  always  open,  and  i’m  totally  cool  with  handing  out  my  discord  to  anyone  who  asks!

NAME OF MUSE(S): scaramouche,  scaramouche...  will  you  do  the  fandango...  i  also  have  a  few  miscellaneous  ocs  scattered  about,  as  well  as  a  giratina  for  all  of  your  eldritch  worm  needs  —  though  this  blog  is  by  far  the  center  of  my  attention.  genshin  has  a  death-grip  on  my  brain.  this  is  my  curse.

EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?):  oh  god.  off  the  top  of  my  head,  i  don’t  think  i’d  be  able  to  give  a  precise  number.  i  know  my  first  experience  with  roleplaying  in  general  was  when  i  was  super  young  —  probably  somewhere  in  the  10  -  12  range.  (  i  was  allowed  free  rein  on  the  internet;  my  parents  just  told  me  not  to  give  out  personal  information  and  set  me  loose.  horrifying.  )  i  found  a  random  pokemon  message  board  by  complete  chance,  and  they  had  a  section  for  roleplay.  i  wrote  a  pikachu  who  was  a  blatant  self-insert.  i  think  i  had  a  villain  arc?  wild. i’ve  been  writing  on  tumblr  since  around  2012,  though!

PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: discord  and  tumblr!  and  the  aforementioned  childhood  message  board  experience.  i  generally  prefer  tumblr,  if  only  because  i  like  the  aesthetic  and  it’s  nice  having  everything  i’ve  written  somewhere  i  can  easily  look  back  on  it.  i  have  pages  of  headcanons  just  scattered  across  half  a  dozen  discord  servers.  i’m  still  trying  to  recover  them  all.

BEST EXPERIENCE:  i  have  a  handful  of  rp  servers  on  discord  with  some  close  friends  of  mine,  and  they’re  always  a  blast.  (  i  write  scaramouche  there,  too!  )

RP PET PEEVES/DEALBREAKERS: basically  the  general  dni  criteria  we’re  all  probably  familiar  with  at  this  point.  also,  please  trim  your  posts  and  wait  a  little  bit  before  asking  about  replies.  don’t  try  to  control  my  muse,  don’t  try  to  push  me  to  make  him  act  a  certain  way.  i  think  i’m  pretty  easygoing  otherwise.

FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: i  generally  don’t  write  smut,  but  i  absolutely  love  fluff  and  angst  equally.  i  think  the  best  rp  experiences  are  when  you  have  an  even  amount  of  both  to  balance  each  other  out.

PLOTS OR MEMES: honestly,  i’m  perfectly  fine  with  either!

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: i  like  a  little  mix  of  both!  i  feel  like  having  too  many  long  replies  to  get  to  can  feel  a  bit  daunting,  but  sometimes  i  just  get  really  into  what  i’m  writing  and  want  to  pop  off  with  a  novel.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: i  think  my  favorite  time  to  write  is  late  at  night?  it’s  easier  for  me  to  focus  when  it’s  quiet;  i  can  grab  some  tea  or  coffee  (  anything  with  caffeine  )  and  see  what  i  come  up  with.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S):  at  the  risk  of  making  myself  sound  like  a  clown,  i  think  in  SOME  ways?  specifically,  i  feel  like  scara  and  i  are  both  really  introverted  people  who  wilt  a  bit  when  we’re  forced  into  social  situations  we  don’t  want  to  be  in  —  though  he  tends  to  get  irritated,  whereas  i’m  just  hideously  awkward  and  nervous. also  i  am.  unfortunately.  just  as  short  as  he  is.  and  my  face  makes  people  mistake  me  for  someone  much  younger  than  i  actually  am.  i  live  in  misery.

tagged by: @detectiveheizou!!  thank  you  so  much!  ✨ tagging: @carmcndei @eonsadrft @momijiba @boughtastar @capravulpes @wcndcrcr &&  anyone  else  who  wants  to  fill  this  out!

[psianabel]

I wish Pokemon didn't release a big game every year, I don't know how they managed to ship Scarlet Violet like that, I feel so sorry for the QA testers because im so sure they ... they addressed all this? They had to right ?? There is no way they didn't. And thinking about that, just. Man.

This game now goes viral because, yeah it's Pokemon, but mostly because of its bugs and because it is Pokemon. It's never a good look if a game gets attention because of bugs of all things.

And it's not that it's unplayable, you can ... normally play it and maybe encounter some graphics bugs, but I for myself have to say you just cannot go through this game without encountering any, and that is the problem itself. It just ... dampens the mood, the fun. I'm tired of seeing all these shadow bugs, it just doesn't look good, I don't want to stay in this place because my game is just glitching left and right. I don’t know why a shadow disappears when I open the attack menu in a battle, after seeing so many shadow bugs I'm just tired.

And I don't even want to address the performance issues, I for myself am so easy to please and don't care if NPCs walk with like 5 fps in the background, or disappear from sight in some distance, I literally just don't care. What I do care about though is that I myself can walk freely without slowdowns. Or not see random NPCs walk through my battle screen.

But honestly the biggest gripe I have with this game is the camera. Yeah free flow camera in the battle screen is nice and all, but if i cant find an angle where I can see my and the enemy Pokemon in a traditional style and just see the hint of my Mon somewhere at the edge of the screen - battles just aren’t enjoyable for me like that. And this is mostly because I think the game doesn’t really know what to do when you initiate a battle in a non flat surface - which this game has a lot, with beaches, mountains, hills everywhere. The instant transition between overworld and putting the battlefield just right there and now is so ... wonky, if you're too close to the wild Pokemon you get ported Somewhere further away, and when the battle ends you are standing Right There where the game put you and not where you were, which can have you randomly fall down a slope, or right into the next wild Pokemon, or has you bug into a wall.

All of these things have happened to me, hence I can't address the issues the multiplayer has apparently. Which, from the things I've seen, is another can of worms.

This game can be so beautiful. It's so full of life with all these neat details - Pokemon animations, them running around in the wild, group of Pokemon staying together, the interactions with them depending on the weather. I absolutely adore the characters, the story, the final part.

But I just cannot enjoy so many things in this game because I'm just so tired of these bugs.

[hottakehoulihan]

Implacable

Characters behave recognizably canonically: Close enough. Not abandoned incomplete: Yes (complete) Engaging (Funny/cool/thoughtful/feels): Yes (funny) Do I recommend it: Yes

Premise: Altpower malicious compliance. Taylor is full of hate. HATE. Taylor brute-triggers as they're shoving her in but doesn't quite realize that's what happened until she throws a punch and does significantly more damage than she was expecting and Sophie has to out herself to avoid further damage. Of course the trio spins this with some success, and Taylor ends up a probationary Ward just like Sophie is. And she's pissed. And Danny is pissed. And the two of them use every bit of scholastic ability / union administrative experience to study and use the Wards contract.

It's not particularly long, alas. A couple hours reading time maximum. It came to an end just as I was really settled in my chair and ready for a longer ride. There are a whole bunch of fan-made omake that I didn't read many of and couldn't endorse anyone else try either lest they get the ones I did get. From what few comments i read, there was apparently a fair amount of drama in the comments (I didn't see it and can't guess what it's about) and also the author rewrote/tightened a fair bit of the story after finishing it.

Still, positive marks. I did want more, and it did end. I laughed out loud more than once. I can't recall a malicious compliance fic I've enjoyed as much.

Alas, there's no AO3 link. Reading on SV/SB is a bit sad; so many enthusiastic and supportive audience members, all permabanned, and no way to know why. I've only read two stories on QQ ever but maybe I should do some digging there just to see what they've got on offer.

Billymorph writes a lot in animation fandoms; Pokemon, Ducktales, and Bob's Burgers are among them. Good for them! Not sure if this is the only Billymorph wormfic. I'd check out more if I found it existed and was complete.

I normally try to read only complete stories for the most part. Incomplete ones just sit in my soul like a canker, even after I forget most of them and forget that I'm following them. And, of course, I am as generous a reader as I can bring myself to be (look just use a spellchecker and maybe read it out loud to yourself at least once? Hell, just a spellchecker) but if the Kingkiller chronicles are ever finished it'll be too late; my heart isn't in it anymore even though I've still got that permanent sense of annoyance that I can't finish the series.

There was something in the fantasy/scifi author realm online around 2017--lots of loud reminders to readers that authors don't owe you anything. I can't say that's wrong; author writes book reader buys book the end. No parasocial, no right to tell the author to change story. No obligation on author's part to provide answers to theory or present WOG on subjects. The book is the book.

But damn it's hard for me to accept that I am not owed--after investing my heart, time, and money into seventeen volumes--a final volume. I keep quiet about this, lest someone go "End of Evangelion" on my poor innocent Nana manga, but I feel it. An unfinished story is better than nothing, but it often feels worse than nothing.

Even though an unfinished story is in some ways more immortal as a result.

I wonder how much of Worm would not exist if it weren't for the folk who were able to donate heavily? Glad for that. Also glad The Discourse hadn't crushed the author's enthusiasm yet; I'm slogging through my Ward reread and am very eager for the end of Arc 7

I have decided not to review one-chapter stuff. I want to give love, and I love many single-chapter things (Binge Watch is super fun) but there's a significant time investment and a teeny bit of anxiety. My rating system is super simple and incredibly generous...and in fact I should probably abandon it actually and just dive into the premise since I'm unlikely to read or review anything that doesn't score at least a 2.5 out of 4. But I won't change the method just now.

I find it unpleasant to read multiple stories simultaneously if they have the same characters. I can do it, but it isn't great. ...enough babble; time to make food. Cheers and stuff.

[adobe-outdesign]

Hey if you haven’t yet could you review the larvitar line???

I love how much Larvitar hates everything. 10/10 not quite Buneary levels of pissed but close

No but seriously, Larvitar is good! You can clearly see how it leads into the rest of the line, but it also stands out as its own unique design. The red accents really make it pop as well.

I've also always liked those weird indents on the body. The entire line has them, and while I have no idea why they're there, they certainly are unique and an interesting inclusion on a monster design.

Also, side note, I like the little bit of lore about how the egg is buried underground so it has to dig its way upwards when it hatches like a Weird Worm. Neat!

I kind of have a similar problem in regards to Pupitar that I do with Shelgon; I like the weird biology angle of a non-insect Pokemon pupating, but the first and last stages really do not change enough here to justify Pupitar's existence. Like, you could jump straight from Larvitar to Tyranitar and not lose anything, and it doesn't make much sense that it needs to pupate when other Pokemon that change more drastically upon evolution don't.

HOWEVER, with that said, I do actually like Pupitar quite a bit for what it is. First, I like how it moves around, giving it a more dynamic angle than most of the other pupa-mons. And secondly, the way its design works is really neat; the "mask" over the face mimics the exact shape of Tyranitar's chest, the three spikes on the head also match Tyranitar's, it has Larvitar's stubby arms, etc. It's probably the best out of all the pupa-mons in terms of its design, and it feels like that helps justify its existence. Plus Godzilla often mutates in strange ways, so it works a bit more conceptually as well.

My only visual complaint is that while the grey's not bad, it's a lot more washed-out compared to the vibrant red of Larvitar. I would've preferred it to keep the green or the red instead.

And Tyranitar itself is pretty sick. It reminds me a bit of Gyaoon, an old Gen 1 beta 'mon, especially in the head area. No idea of it has any direction connection though:

Reguardless, it's hard to go wrong with a good old-fashioned Godzilla 'mon, and Tyranitar does a good job of capturing the Godzilla vibe without being a direct rip-off.

As mentioned before, I like the black indents a lot; they add contrast and help move the eye through the design. The spikes flow nicely (I particularly like the ones around the tail), and the way the upper plating leads into the grey underbelly is neat, though much like Pupitar, I wish it had kept the original red for extra contrast.

Also, I always found the arms a little distracting. They're very shapeless and look pretty noodle-y compared to the rest of the design, especially with the lines that don't really need to be there. Still, as a whole, this is an awesome Godzilla.

Mega Tyranitar has some good things going for it, having a sort of more-mutated Godzilla feeling to it. I love having the bright red back and how that serves as a nod to the pre-evos. I especially love how the front markings now form a face, which feels like a natural progression from what was there before. As an added bonus, the way the back splits open is likely a nod to how insects emerge from their pupas, matching what happens with Pupitar:

However, I do think there are a few drawbacks. I don't know if it's just the size of the jaw or the smaller head size, but Mega Tyranitar somehow feels less threatening and dangerous than regular Tyranitar to me.

Also, I think there's a little too much going on visually. The back spikes could've been shrunken by like 20% while still looking bigger than regular Tyranitar's, the ones on the tail make it look terribly cluttered, and the horn on the head, while a nice nod to Larvitar, breaks up the horizontal flow of the head too much. It definitely has the right idea conceptually, but it feels like it's trying way too hard visually.

So as a whole: The entire line is great. Larvitar is simple and has some nice contrast, Pupitar is somewhat uneeded but ties into to the entire line perfectly in terms of visuals, and Tyranitar is both sleek and powerful. Only real complaint is that Mega Tyranitar feels a bit too exaggerated, and would've benefitted by toning it down by like 20%. Otherwise, these are some very enjoyable Godzilla-mons.

Final side note: Shoutout to Tyranitar for looking like a dragon without actually being dragon-type like all the other pseudo-legendaries. You're the true MVP.

[phoenix-manga]

lol since snom evolves with friendship at night, imagine if vil has a late night interview on tv and he brings snom, the interviewer host person kinda picks on snom vil being unhappy calls them out, and snom feeling how much vil loves her evolves into frosmoth on live tv

I wanted to make a one shot out of this hehehe read below...

Vil has had his fair share of interviews, he is well aware of the nature of some TV hosts. Some are amusing and pleasant while there are those who... want to point out and make fun of concepts they think don't make sense.

This one host was getting on his nerves, he was scheduled to bring his precious Snom (He named it Nieva) to the show for some inquiries.

Now you would think that the host would know how much he loves the little bug. So do his fans, but it seems that the host has some... opinions about his choice of picking Snom.

"Pray tell, what led you to pick this gelatin pincushion as a familiar, Mr. Schoenheit? Frankly, we thought you'd get something that's more on par with your handsome face! Did the school run out of good ones or what?"

The bastard grinned as if he told a joke, even if he did Vil didn't find it very amusing. Snom just innocently wriggles on his lap, occasionally nibbling on his knuckles a bit which felt cold but nice.

It was if she was trying to calm him down, maybe she was. Nieva was such a sweetheart. If only that host could see it too.

"Actually, I think my sweet little Nieva is beautiful in her own way. If you take a look at the magicam, you'd find that there are a lot of people who think she's pretty."

He holds Snom close to his chest as the little bug's beady eyes stare at the camera. The audience collectively "awws" at the sight.

He was hoping this would get the host to back off picking on Nieva. But apparently not, for this host is a stubborn, rotten potato.

"It's... something... I just don't think that the school did the appropriate necessities to give students something worthy of their image, yah know? I mean if it were me I'd rather have anything but a weak, little worm-"

Vil glares at the host while maintaining his signature smile, causing the man to freeze up and cut off his sentence.

He's not going to tolerate any disrespect to his familiar.

"With all due respect, it matters not what you think would suit my image. I myself am proud to show off my familiar and I wouldn't trade her for anything else... its as if you're implying that I'm some type of person who just adopts an animal for the sake of aesthetic and if they no longer suit me, I throw them away? Am I really such a villain to you?"

The host stammers and realized that if he doesn't answer correctly, what he said previously could be clipped and become headlines to ruin his career.

"A-Ah I apologize, slip of the tongue! I never meant that at all, Mr. Schoenheit!"

Vil smirked as he pressed his cheek against Nieva's cold body.

"It matters not to me if they see Nieva as weak or small. She gives me such joy and that's the sentiment that all pet lovers share no?"

People agree with his statement and began murmuring amongst themselves how they can relate to that.

Just then, the Snom started to glow that everyone had to shield their eye, including Vil and the host.

Vil panicked and thought that his Snom was going to attack the host but then he remembered what Phoebe said when he got his Pokemon partner for the first time.

"Did you know that Snom evolves through friendship? If she can feel how much you care about her then she will become inspired enough to evolve for you!"

"(Could this be it?)"

that thought rang in his head as the light fades and in place of the Snom is a large white moth.

With dazzling eyes and such soft fur that almost looks like a winter coat. But most importantly, the translucent wings twinkle like freshly fallen snow.

This was Nieva?

The crowd can't help but gasp in awe when they saw such a beautiful moth.

"W-what just happened?!" The host was shocked at what transpired.

"The one in charge of giving me my familiar mentioned that Snoms can change forms permanently if it knows you love it enough... I didn't expect my feelings towards Nieva would touch her heart so..."

The host was too stunned to reply, so he was ushered backstage and the co-host had to take over. Thankfully they were much nicer than that potato who looked down on Nieva.

The interview was a success and Vil has gotten more followers after that clip of evolution when live.

He smirks at his ever-growing follower count as he strokes his Nieva, now a Frosmoth, as she curled up on his lap.

[imfluentinfangirlandgay]

Emmet's Adventures in Babysitting: Prologue

Emmet had to take a second to think back. He looked around at the seven heads around him, each one with a Pokemon containing powers he could not even imagine, all with eager eyes hellbent on one thing and one thing alone: him. How had he even gotten here?

this one is probably going to be another longer one. i only wrote the first chap so far so prepare to be as surprised as i am when this is all said and done

Word Count: ~1300

Emmet stepped off the train that day, the same as ever. He greeted his employees and checked the control room. He looked over footage, all with a smile on his face. He acted as if nothing was wrong, as if there wasn’t an odd space to his right that was not being filled when usually there was a body in it. A body strikingly similar to his own. He acted as if he did not notice, as if he were eating regularly, as if he had slept in the last two years at all, as if he were nothing but a normal, functioning adult. Even with the talk of the funeral coming up, he put on a brave face and simply let it slide, not conversing about it with anyone. But people could tell, he knew. As the days wore on, his composure was slipping, slowly trickling away like the electricity out of a faulty control box. And soon, it would explode.

And explode it did. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, really. He had been cornered. There had been people everywhere, swarming and swimming in his vision, the heat had been too much, was his coat always this stifling? He had watched the news like a hawk this morning, as he did every morning, looking for any sign of him. They announced a new rumor, that he was dead now, that the police were officially closing the case. Emmet had simply put on a brave face, squashed down the maelstrom of feelings, and gone to work as usual. And upon opening the subway, there were cameras and microphones and flash everywhere. Questions were thrown. He couldn’t understand them.

He had just stood there, silently smiling as they bombarded him. He didn’t know what to do, so he clammed up. The bugs were crawling under his skin, they were getting into his hair, they needed to stop staring, please just stop staring stop asking me questions I don’t know either-

He had squeezed his eyes shut and collapsed, his smile never fading, super-glued on with poor adhesive, tears leaking from his eyes. He rocked himself back and forth as tears silently rolled down his face. He couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t do anything. He don’t know how long he was there, trying to get rid of the lights, the noise, all of it, its too much please I just want him back just go away leave me alone please-

And then it was gone. Someone was holding him, talking to him in a calm voice. He felt himself being moved but didn’t dare look. He was still crying, he knew it. Was he making noises? He didn’t know. He couldn’t hear, he couldn’t see, he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t breathe, oh Arceus, he couldn’t breathe. The voice returned, familiar as it slowly wormed its way into its head. It was repeating one word. Emmet took a while to realize it was its own name.

“Emmet, can you hear me? You don’t have to do anything, okay? Just breathe, you’re not breathing. I got rid of them, it’s okay now. Just breathe. Tap your fingers if you can hear me.” Sluggishly, Emmet tapped two fingers against the side of his head. He took a bit of the pressure off his ears, now realizing how hard he had been squeezing his head. “Oh, thank Arceus. I got rid of them, we’re alone now, Emmet. You’re okay. I’m going to rip them all a new one for doing this to you, I swear it. You’ve had so much already, they need to learn some compassion.” Emmet squeezed his eyes shut again, leaking more tears as he remembered the reasoning for all this. Elesa had her hands on his shoulders, gently rocking with him. “We’re just going to stay in here until you feel better, then I’m taking you home. We can just lay around with your Pokemon, okay? Take some time off. You look like hell.” Emmet shook his head. He couldn’t take time off, he would think about Ingo too much and it wouldn’t be okay anymore and he had to be okay. “I’m sure that when he comes back, he wants to find you healthy, Emmet,” she said gently. “You need to take care of yourself, too. He would hate to see you work yourself into the ground for his sake.” Emmet hated to admit it, but she was right.

They had looked all over Unova for him and had even sent out search parties in other regions. Emmet had devoted every single weekend to scouring every last corner of Unova, not finding hide nor hair of his brother. Nothing turned up in other regions, either. But Emmet knew Ingo wasn’t dead. He wasn’t. Emmet would know. Right?

Emmet had an idea forming in his exhausted head. He knew he was tipping Elesa off by his face, as her eyebrows furrowed. “Emmet? What are you thinking?” It was unfortunate that unlike his brother, Elesa still couldn’t just tell exactly what he was thinking by looking at him. They had been friends for as long as Emmet could remember, but Elesa still had a hard time reading him. Especially since the disappearance. Emmet sat for a moment, considering.

“I am Emmet,” he murmured dully. “I will take a vacation. I will look for Ingo myself.”

“Emmet, you already looked everywhere in Unova. I don’t think-”

“Not in Unova,” Emmet said. He stood up, a new rush of energy falling into his veins. He knocked Elesa off in the process as he looked around the station car they resided in. She must have brought him here during his meltdown. “I will travel. I will find Ingo. I will bring him home.” Elesa looked up at him with concern. He knew that she was worried about him and the fact that he was so caught up in Ingo’s disappearance. Then again, she also knew how the twins operated. Emmet simply was not Emmet without Ingo. Which is why she had never stopped him on his wanderings, only asking that he kept his location on and he checked in with her so she knew if he needed anything. There was not a doubt in Emmet’s mind that if something did happen to him, she would drop everything and come running in search of him.

She didn’t press, but she did stand. She hovered her hand over his, asking permission for a moment. Emmet touched her hand with a finger, allowing her to grab it. It didn’t feel like Joltik crawling under his dermis anymore, which was a bonus. “Emmet,” she spoke softly, “I understand you are driven. And I support you. I miss him, too, but I can’t imagine the things you are feeling right now. I won’t pretend I do. Just promise me, promise me that you won’t disappear on me, too. I don’t want to lose you, too.” She looked at him with tears in her eyes. Emmet paused before nodding, careful not to make eye contact, but instead stared at the bridge of her nose. “And keep your location on. Update me as you go. I want to see what adventures you get up to,” she added, a small smile lighting her face.

Emmet nodded again, his own smile softening. “I promise,” he breathed. Elesa came in for a hug, not holding too tightly in case Emmet decided that he needed space.

“Thank you. I wish you luck. I can take you to the station before you head out. Want me to help you home so I can scare the rest of the reporters away?” Emmet nodded, tears still leaking a little from his eyes. He would greatly appreciate it.

[Next]

[draftingteacups]

Speaking of Swanna. Imagine it somehow wander into Savanaclaw and Pomefiore though. The Savanaclaw students thought they’re gonna have an easy meal but when Jack came over the students are soaked and curled into a fetal position and crying. As for the Pomefiore students, some of the students tried to approach it due to it’s beauty only for Swanna to vibe check them. By the time Vil and Rook came back the students are covered in white feathers, some are bleeding while Epel is screaming, struggling to hold on to the swan pokemon as it soars through the air.

Ooo, more Untitled Swanna content! Is that what we're calling this now cause it kinda fits but oh well brain worms let's go

That sounds amazing, anon 🤣

Savanaclaw: Oh, look! A chicken meal is comin' into our territory! *laughs*

Swanna:

Jack comes in and sees as everyone just gets smacked around by this big, white bird while some are curled up, holding their ears at the terrible screeching. The lounge is just flooded with water, feathers, and pain.

Jack becomes the default person to turn to if Swanna shows up because "don't you know that crazy first year that controls the bird get her here!"

Pomefiore, being the dorm known for beauty and many other things like potions/poisons, believes that such a creature belongs to their dorm instead of the not-quite-as-rundown-as-in-canon Ramshackle and try to coax it into living a happier life with them.

Vil and Rook come back from a meeting with the Headmaster to hear screaming and pandemonium at their dorm, which never happens.

Epel is so close to the peacock chandelier that he has to shift his body every time Swanna tries to throw him at it. Other students are just screaming, some have bloody noses from multiple vibe checks given (some were rightfully deserved because they insulted Soni for "letting such a beautiful creature around that pitiful dorm" and that kicked Swanna into overdrive)

Hanging by the feet of the Pokemon, he's being like "Dammit, I know you wanna go back home just let me help-!" He understands that the bird doesn't belong at Pomefiore, much like how he doesn't feel like he belongs there and wants to be somewhere else (I can imagine this pre-Episode 5).

For this reason, Swanna is okay with Epel, but still pretty chaotic. Swanna goes back to Pomefiore to literally snatch the poor guy to live at Ramshackle so they can just live the lives that they want for themselves, which just causes more chaos than the first because the bird is carrying someone off! is it going to eat them too- WHERE'S THE BEAST TAMER!

When Episode 5 happens, I can imagine Swanna just annoying the hell out of Vil by stealing his stuff and hiding it in its feathers, looking very pleased with itself. Epel, still remembering the Flight of the Epel incident and all the flights afterward, is fairly scared, but the Swanna just deals with his presence, much to everyone's surprise because that hellion bird isn't attacking him immediately what in the world-

Cause lemme just put this idea into the world: how out of place do you think this Swanna feels in Twisted Wonderland (i just realized my question mark key is not working, like why) being the only known Swanna unless we wanna put more Swanna in there, but if it is the only Swanna, it can probably relate to Epel feeling like the odd one out, or maybe the odd Ducklett out of the bunch. idk that's what I was thinking

I just realized how funny this is because Swanna is a white bird that is typically seen as elegant, powerful, and all that jazz, but it's just chaos incarnate in this like I'm so happy about this

[kynvahlscribbls]

I love your chronicler volo! what gave you the idea for it?

Oh! Thank you!!! This is... sort of a long answer so I apologize in advance. Truth be told, the inspiration for it actually came from a few things. I didn't exactly like how Volo's story concluded so off-end in PLA, so I wanted to expand upon it while staying moderately close to source material. He states that: "One day, I'll solve every riddle there is in the legends of Hisui's Pokemon!" So that was a starting point! I wanted to run with his natural curiosity and sort of divine-calling feeling he has going on. The biggest inspiration though, and the one that really solidified wanting to do this AU thing is another personal headcanon I formed while doing research on the plates for a Fanfic project. There is a recurring, unnamed Hiker in Sinnoh and Johto who Knows More Than He Should. You see, in Pokemon Platinum, this hiker will give you the Flame Plate in Oreburg if you have the Movie Arceus or one from the Hall of Origin. It's pretty throwaway at first glance, until you look at the way he speaks and some of the sentiments he expresses... including needing to gather plates for him to transcribe. Compare the Hiker's statement on meeting : "If I had to explain very simply, I study how people came to be... In Sinnoh, there is a myth on how the world came into existence. Investigating that myth may give me insight on the emergence of people."

to Volo's statement after you pass Mesprit's trial: "That's right! You could say it's because I'm a merchant, but mostly I'm just naturally filled with curiosity! I want to know exactly what happened in the past that led us to this particular present... Or more accurately, I suppose... I want to know where I came from and where I'm headed. I want to know my path, so to speak." You can then meet the hiker again at the Canalave Library, where he will basically infodump onto the player about the Creation Gang, Lake Trio, and Arceus. (As well as an 'awareness' that was borne before the creation trio, but that is a headcanon/theory of another 2000 worms.) After giving you a loredump on mythical history that lets on Far More than what Should Be Known, and mentioning Arceus specifically by name... (Volo is the only other character to do so, outside of Cynthia.) He mentions that he wrote it all in a book for the library and hopes that it will be read and understood. The hiker then goes on to state that he should go search for the myths in other faraway lands, and wishes at some point that his and the player's paths will cross again. His manner of speech just. Rings well to me, idk. This is what really inspired my Chronicler! Volo interpretation. I think that somewhere along the line, our dude mellowed out and took his solving of every riddle to be something more lighthearted. After all, he had centuries of time. If Giratina can change for the events of Platinum after wanting to defy it's creator, why can't Volo? They were working in tandem, after all. Also, we DO meet this hiker again during the HGSS Arceus event in the Sinjoh Ruins! He is the one that you first meet after awakening at the mystri stage, and brings you to Cynthia, who is visiting his home. Volo's design with the backpack and bedroll reminds me a lot of a hiker, too! So, Yeah! It all stems from this "Volo is/becomes this hiker dude who studies Mythology" theory/ headcanon! Hope that wasn't too rambly, and thanks again for asking!

[puppyluver256]

[Image Description: Three fan-made Pokemon resembling "dark" versions of the official Pokemon Caterpie, Metapod, and Butterfree.

The first Pokemon is a green caterpillar with a golden underbelly and markings, small black "nub" feet, and rusty red antennae. It has a large gold and black eye spot on its head that make it look like it is glaring at something. Lime green text outlined in black to the right of the image reads "Caterguise".

The second Pokemon is a dark green chrysalis with black markings on one end. It has a white and black eye spot on its side that make it look as though it's glaring at something. Lime green text outlined in black to the right of the image reads "Puposter".

The third Pokemon is a butterfly with large grey wings with black accents, a purple body, long black antennae, blue hands and feet with little grey "claws", blue and white insect mouth parts, and large red eyes that have a "sinister" shape. Lime green text outlined in black to the right of the image reads "Falseroy".

End ID.]

-----

Caterguise - Worm Pokemon - bug/dark It is uncannily similar in appearance to a Pokemon from another region. It is unclear if this was intended to protect itself or to lure prey into a false sense of security. / It wiggles its feelers around in a menacing way when threatened. If the threat doesn’t back off after this display, more often than not it turns tail and flees.

Puposter - Pupa Pokemon - bug/dark It endures hardships while its new body develops inside its incredibly hard shell. While it looks like a Pokemon that would remain motionless, it is sometimes known to shake and roll away from the most extreme of attacks. / Puposter’s shell is hard enough to withstand nearly any attack, but its body inside is soft and fragile as it prepares for evolution. Its resemblance to a Pokemon from another region is striking.

Falseroy - Imitation Pokemon - bug/dark It imitates a Pokemon from another region in order to trick both predators and prey. Even humans can often be fooled if they fail to examine closely enough. / Its wings are covered in a poisonous powder similar to the Pokemon it mimics. The scales repel water that would otherwise hinder its ability to fly in the rain.

Hey look, more Cantessy too! I'm on a roll tonight, and don't worry peeps who see the timestamp of posting, I'll be going to bed after this hehe. So anyway, here's Cantessy's early bug type! Yes, they do look familiar. That's on purpose. See, I really didn't wanna search up actual bugs from around here because, well, I'm seriously arachnophobic. I didn't want to be bombarded with spooders in my research (you'll see this issue affected the rest of the dex, there's only six bug-types in the Cantessy dex that aren't also found in other regions in the same form as they are here), so I already knew I was going to play it safe and base my region's early bug on a species of butterfly. I found one called the viceroy butterfly, which has developed mimicry to appear almost identical to the more famous monarch butterfly. I wanted to use this mimicry, but I don't think we really have an official Pokemon based specifically on the monarch butterfly unless you count Vivillon (which I don't), so I used the mimicry idea in a different way by instead making them mimic the Caterpie line instead. And they're bug/dark because mimicry is a kind of "trickery" and therefore "dark", and also using unused type combos is fun :3

Reminder that if anyone wants to suggest moves for any Cantessy Fakemon to learn and some physical stats where I haven’t yet figured them out, feel free to throw ‘em at me :3 Links to their info pages will be provided in the replies!

💖🐶 Check out my pinned post for ways to support my artwork, among other things! 🐶💖

~If you like, please reblog to show your friends! Likes are appreciated, but reblogs let more people see my content! If you have something to say, feel free to give feedback in tags/comments/replies as well!~

Pokemon and related concepts © Nintendo/GameFreak Caterguise, Puposter, Falseroy, the Cantessy region, and artwork © PuppyLuver Studios

[akirameta84]

Warning: This is VERY LONG. i got carried away.

"hey don't you have a wip fic for another au?" yeah shush i have a new idea that's not as fleshed out (after writing that turned out to be a lie) as the chunibyo one but i had to share it.

its in every fandom, but Saiki K Pokemon Au time. it's always cliche but who cares its amazing.

Kaido is the mc. for sure. he chooses a froakie because the professor (its kusuke, he's totally it) said it was a dark and mysterious as him. at first he's disappointed by the frog but once it evolves he starts loving it. him and greninja wear matching outfits. he tied red wrist wraps on its arms and he wears a pink scarf.

nendo is his rival lmao. he met him when kaido left with his first pokemon and challenged him to a battle, immediatly. he said loser has to buy the other persons ramen. "but i dont even know you??" "oh. well lets be friends, runt!" "you just asked to fight me???" nendo uses an eevee because his mom gave it to him when he was young. kaido wins because nendo didnt use a single attacking move. he just used sand attack and growl. the battle lasted 10 minutes because kaido kept missing.

now with his newly self proclaimed rival, after going to eat ramen, kaido sets out on his journey. i like to imagine a region with just every pokemon cause its cool that way. kaido mainly looks for fighting type pokemon, and a few dark types, and it takes him a bit to realize that this is probably a bad strategy and that he isnt finding anything, as cool as they are. he catches a shroomish, not knowing it became a type he wanted, because he was impressed with it's "battle capabilities" because it survived an attack that had fainted others. he names it doomslayer cause he's such an edgelord.

somewhere along the way nendo finds him and says that he's going to challenge a gym, and that kaido should join him. kaido agrees because "oh yeah, thats why im on this journey" and they go to the first gym.

The first gym is ghost type, run by toritsuka. why is he first? cause he's prolly not very good at battling and he knows it. the gym itself would be very foggy, and kaido has to traverse it to get to toritsuka. along the way toritsuka has spirits tell him where kaido is, and he'll release a pokemon near there for him to battle, and this happens 2 times. Torisuka himself uses 2 pokemon, a Litwick and a Galarian Yanmask. both are female, obviously. kaido absolutely demolishes these two pokemon, with his water and grass type, seeing as they're part fire and ground. first badge complete.

surpsingly, nendo also beats this gym, mainly because eevee can use bite. guess he figured out how to use attacking moves lmao. also yes ik bite is learned at 25, and rn they're at like lv 12 but shh. he found a tm or smt. it also helps thst toritsuka could barely hit nendos eevee due to the ghost and normal type thing.

nendo tries to travel with kaido, but kaido usually manages to worm his way away from him. he usually gets away whenever nendo challenges someone else and they have to tell him that he can't catch someone else's pokemon.

second gym is chiyo's gym. she uses grass types, and her gym is covered in flowers, trees, and it looks like a forest. the puzzle itself is rather simple. the floor is covered in large flowers, and you have to step on the correct ones or get sent back to the start. i like to imagine a giant vine yeeting kaido. chiyo also forgot to write clues over which ones are correct and ends up helping kaido, and winds being endeared by his determination. chiyo uses a Fomantis and a Petilil, because she thinks they're cute. kaido actually struggles quite a bit because he brings a water type and a grsss type. he wins in the end though, because chiyo ends up lovestruck and forgets to attack. she daydreams about inviting him to run the gym with her because he's so talented in her eyes, but he leaves before she can ask, grass badge in hand.

after chiyo's gym, kaido's froakie evolves into Frogadier, and he cries. in-between gyms again, kaido catches a rockruff because it was cute and it whined when he tried to walk away after battle. again, kaido catching types he likes without even knowing, provided his rockruff evolves at nightime. he names it Decimator. at this point i place kaido's levels at 19-21 ish, and close to rockruff and shroomish evolving.

next gym is hairo's and surprise surprise, it's a fire type gym. his gym his very, very intense. he has actual jets of fire lining his gym. there's no puzzle because he believes in just battling for victory or whatever, kaido didn't catch it behind the roar of the fire jets. kaido just walks along a pathway and gets challenged to battle by 3 randoms. i like to imagine one of them is nendo, and its never discussed. he has a fire type and everything, and its just not brought up. he's back to his single eevee after this too. kaido also wins with relative ease, considering he has a water type and rock type, although he makes the mistake of sending shroomish out at some point, but makes a clutch switch after it survives a flamethrower. fire badge obtained.

right after this, his shroomish evolves into breloom and he cries again. he gets very happy when his pokemon evolve. and also, after a few random encounters, his rockruff also evolves. its day form because kaido is a clueless baby. he still loves it all the same. at some point nendo challenges kaido with a single pokemon again, but this time it's a leafeon. kaido asks how he knew to evolve it, and he just says he battled next to some funny looking rock and it changed. of course. it actually manages to oko Frogadier because kaido wasnt expecting anything other than an eevee, but his breloom deals with it easily, because nendo kept using not very effective grass moves because it worked once. how does he have 3 badges again? nobody knows. level 25-27 now.

next gym is saiko's, and he uses normal types because all the other types were "too needy for someone like him." he's got 2 Persians and a Toucannon. he tried to use 3 persians but he was told that he needed something else just in case someone brought a fighting type by his dad. so he grabbed the first wild bird he found and evolved it. saiko doesnt have a puzzle, and instead just has an elevator that you can pay 5000 Pokedollars to use, otherwise you have to take the stairs like a pleb. Kaido takes the stairs because he's keeping his money dammit. its only 3 stories until saiko's floor, so it's really not much. Kaido sweeps easily with breloom until toucannon comes out. breloom gets slaughtered by a flying type move, and he sends out lycanroc to finish it. normal badge complete.

when he next sees nendo, he has a meowth with his leafeon. kaido asks where he got it, and nendo says he found it near the rich looking gym. kaido concludes that nendo accidently stole a pokemon and they go to return it. saiko says that the plebs can have it as a reward for defeating him, and dismisses them. levels 30-33.

5th gym! mera runs this one, and there isn't a type. she has an Alcremie, Appletun, Cherubi, and a Vannilish. what can i say, girl loves her food. kaido is genuinely concerned that she is gonna eat her pokemon though. the challenge is cooking. kaido has to cook curry, and if its bad, he fights a trainer, up to 3 times. if its good he gives it to mera and moves on the next curry. the actual battle goes okay, but its fairly difficult due to not having a single type, and being unpredictable. obviously he wins in the end, and the badge is a bowl of curry.

frogadier evolves into greninja finally, and they have the matching outfits going on. nendo laughs at it. somewhere nendo also got an applin. kaido is fairly sure he took this one from mera as well, but he decides to let it go, and tell nendo how he can evolve it. he doesn't think nendo understood, but he tried. kaido also realizes he only has 3 pokemon, and decides to find two more. he finds a braixen, which he evolves into delphox. her name is Lucifer's Eternal Flames. Lucy for short. he also catches a noibat. the noibat was caught because he got lost in a cave, and the noibat was leading him out, so he decided he couldn't just leave it there. he names it the Jet Bat Wings. yes im doing that and yes its hilarious. levels 37-39.

gym 6. fighting type, and its kuboyasu. he tried to leave behind his violent days behind him, and become a poison type gym, but eventually gave in and did fighting instead. after he had already dyed his hair purple for the colorscheme. he kept the fighting gym purple because he already commited dammit. 4 pokemon, and hes got Toxicroak (yes ik the irony), Lucario, Grapploct, and Pangoro. greninja faints quickly, and so does lycanroc, but after some paralysis tricks with breloom and delphox sweeping the rest, pangoro comes in and ko's delphox. noibat pulls through in the end, with flying type moves. fighting badge earned.

next battle with nendo, and it turns out he actually evolved applin, and now he's got a flapple. kaido is midly impressed. kaido catches his 6th and final pokemon, an absol. he was overjoyed when he finally got another dark type. he names it Fluffy. yes, the dark type doesnt get an edgy name. levels 44-46, there was a longer gap in between the 6th and 7th gyms. oh also, you may be wondering about an evil team in this au. and my answer is....¯\_(ツ)_/¯

gym 7. Fairy type. Teruhashi. you knew she'd be coming eventually. and yes i saved the characters people prolly wanna know about until last haha. and because i think they fit the more difficult gyms. girl's got 5 pokemon, Mimikyu (i think it fits her fake perfect girl personality), Slyveon, Gardevoir, Florges, and Magearna. how does she have a legendary? prolly cause she's perfect and just asked for it, and someone actually found one. No puzzle here, but having to find his way through the mobs of teruhashi fans is prolly hard enough. Kaido actually has to try this gym several times due to him lacking anything good againist fairies. he gets it eventually though, and teruhashi has to reassure her fans that it's okay that she lost before they murder kaido. fairy badge down.

at this point kaido has no clue how nendo keeps getting gym badges. he has 3 pokemon, and one isn't even evolved. especially considering how easily Kaido himself can beat him. kaido I shrug it off as the plothole it usually is in pokemon games. levels 47-50. Noibat evolves into Noivern, and kaido has himself a pretty strong team. Greninja, Delphox, Absol, Lycanroc, Noivern, Breloom. although he has just been choosing based on personal preference, it turnes out nicely. and yes I'm padding this out cause y'all know what gym is next.

Gym number 8. The psychic type gym, run by Saiki and Aiura. It doesn't get more cliche than this. The challenge in this one is a maze. There's no extra trainers here, instead Kaido fights Aiura everytime he encounters her. She only uses 1 Pokemon in these battles because they happen a lot. Kaido wonders how she keeps finding him, let alone getting through the maze so easily when there's walls everywhere. He brushes it off as her just knowing the layout. battle itself happens, and it's a double battle. they each have 3 pokemon. Saiki has a ditto, espeon, and an alolan raichu (because he thought it was cute) Aiura mainly runs the support side of the team, and she's got a female meowstic, alakazam, and reuniclus, and wishes she had a cuter team, but she makes it work. This is prolly Kaido's second hardest gym. not harder than teruhashi's because he had no advantages, unlike this one where he's got several dark types. the battle is hard because they know exactly what kaido is gonna do. the minute he sends out his breloom to get a cheap paralysis, out comes ditto. the breloom ditto nearly wipes out both dark types, but noivern takes care of it, only to meet a sad demise at the hands of raichu, despite the dragon advantage. he's able to win on his second try, after he refused to send out breloom due to the fact that they just seem to know his next move. it creeped him out. Psychic badge done.

nendo tries to take saiki out for ramen with him and kaido after his gym fight, declaring him his best buddy, and it's not explained why nendo decided this. nendo eventually wins the argument and they get ramen. kaido notices saiki looks disturbed everytime he looks at nendo, but brushes it off as "yeah he disturbs me too." they part ways and onto victory road because im still mourning how there wasn't one in sword and shield. after victory road, kaido is nearing level 60 on everyone.

elite four? eheh i don't know who'd make it up. prolly 4 previous gym leaders with fully evolved teams and more pokemon. not tlo worries about them tho.

Kaido bests the elite four, and marches on to the champion.

Champion Akechi. Full team of 6 Pokemon, and he's a formidable opponent. He's able to easily predict what moves are going to be used next, and always has type advantage. Although, unlike before, while difficult to do, it is possible to do something unpredictable to trip him up, which is the only way Kaido is able to win. His team consists of Serperior, Glaceon, Gyrados, Ninetales, Togekiss (it's just there to be annoying, it can barely attack, and akechi did this to be a nuisance so he can't be clean sweeped), and Mew. Again, I love unexplained lengendaries on teams okay. To Kaido, it seems like with enough switching, he could easily defeat Akechi, but Akechi is very good at predicting. So againist Akechi, it's like the team as been catered specifically to beat Kaido. But, knowing him, it likely was. It takes him ages to beat Akechi. Like literal ages. The only saving grace is Akechi can get tripped up if Kaido is unpredictable enough. It's likely a mixture of that and para hscks that lets him win, and Kaido is champion. Nendo did try to challenge him (somehow beating the elite four) but was beaten. I love how the rivals always beat everything but then get horribly beaten by you.

Holy shit this is longer than i thought it would be. I have been writing this for literal hours. Hope you enjoyed. This is what my brain had inspiration for today apparently, instesd of the fic im working on.

Hadn't seen too much Pokemon stuff for saiki k yet, so tada. and yes, i came up with most of this while writing. the only idea i had before i started writing was the saiki and aiura gym

[warriordreamer95]

RWBY Volume 7 Crew Commentary Notes!

All credit goes to Sweetfable over on Reddit! Sweet, if you’re on Tumblr and have already posted this or want to, let me know and I’ll take this down!

Chapter 1

Featuring Kerry Shawcross and  Miles Luna.

Miles says he was hoping people didn’t figure out Atlas was a floating city in the sky before they got there. Even in World of Remnant, they were very careful with how they worded things to avoid spoiling this fact.

A large portion of ep 1 was intended to be in V6

Originally it was going to end with Penny being revealed, dealing with the Grimm, and ending on “Salutations”

Almost everything up until the Penny moment was how it was going to be in V6. For production and story reasons they decided to end V6 with just seeing Atlas.

Mantle is a little more Blade Runner and utilitarian looking, while Atlas was made to look like it was created by Apple. Two different futuristic looks.

When making the four kingdoms, they compared it to parts of the real world. Atlas and Mantle were two different versions of America

The drunk guy (Drunk Mann) we see insulting Blake is based off of Joel Mann and the other is Dustin Matthew (Grape-kun).

We saw Pietro (his hand) for the first time in Volume 3. They didn’t want to make him too similar to Dr. Weller from gen:LOCK, and so they made him to be like a ‘big’ kid. It’s where Penny gets a lot of her attitude from.

Kerry wants to do a show with all the old RWBY characters

V8 was harder to write than V7

It was a challenge in this episode to make it clear that Atlas is a new place for some characters, but a familiar one for several others, but that the Atlas in V7 is a different one than what they remember.

They try to theme the grimm to the location. So Grimm from Atlas are those that are from the Ice Age.

Miles compare Grimm to Pokemon. Some will pop up in every region, while others are region specific.

They had a lot of discussion surrounding what they wanted Penny 2.0 to look like. They considered giving her a conflict of her being a clone or not having her memories, but ultimately with the amount of stuff that needed to happen this volume they felt that it wouldn’t have been able to be done well.

Chapter 2

Featuring Kerry, Conner (director), and Kiersi

Forest became a fan-favorite

This episode was tricky to write because it was getting close to being an exposition dump

They had to balance movement and how much the characters can emote (especially when characters lie this episode)

Ironwood’s office shifting to present his plan was a cool idea + it was another way to stay in the room without having things get boring

Really wanted team RWBY to feel like they were on the right path and had something to follow. Establishing the trust theme early on.

Qrow and Ironwood’s relationship is super interesting to Kerry, and he wishes they could have explored it more. Conner pushed for Qrow’s hand to be lower in the hug scene (lol)

Conner jokes that he also proposed Ironwood should propose to Oscar when kneeling

Ironwood giving the relic back was his biggest sign of trust

They comment about how positively Penny states ‘it’ll be just like Beacon again!’ when she got destroyed there in V3

Kerry calls Watts ‘Daddy Long Legs’

Chapter 3

Featuring Kerry and Miles

They were confused when they saw people on Reddit and Tumblr think that this volume would have a shopping montage

Team RWBY jumping out of a plane is a callback to landing strategies and to see how far they have come since V1

The crew thought everyone would love Jaune’s new haircut, and was shocked when everyone immediately hated it. Miles wanted to see Jaune grow up a bit, so he liked the change.

They wanted team RWBY to start acting like and learning from professional huntsman

Miles wanted Atlas to feel like the Beacon days at first, and first came up with the idea that some Atlas academy professors would teach them. But that evolved into mentors, which eventually became Atlas’s best of the best.

The Ace-Ops are not only fun characters, but also foils to some of our main characters to help move their stories along

The Ace-Ops having five members + a team name not based on a color was very intentional. It was to show that Ironwood doesn’t care about Oz’s rules and would rather have an efficient team.

Eddy came up with the name Ace-Ops. Each member is based off an Aesop fable.

The mine scene has us seeing the SDC logo everywhere. Adam, as a terrible of a person as he was, when he was younger, was arguing with someone at a SDC place and the other person grabbed a brand and gave him his scar. So seeing the logo all over the mine was very intentional to put that in the forefront of Blake’s mind, and Yang notices

The fight with the Centinel grimm was originally supposed to be a bit longer and there was going to be an alpha variant of the centinel (which they imply we will see in the future)

Some characters got more upgrades than others. Weiss is already perfect, so she didn’t need any changes. Miles was excited that they were able to give Ren heavy rounds to shoot with. Ren has his father’s dagger on his arm

Many things that seem like retcons are actually not, and instead is just Kerry and Miles learning how to tell a story while simultaneously telling a story. So things were not always explained well early on.

Qrow and Clover were an interesting couple of characters, Miles says. For a long time Qrow was the guy that worked best alone (compared to Shadow the Hedgehog) and wanted him to interact with people that aren't his nieces and their friends. Clover was made to be a total bro and like Captain America- who always makes luck puns. He constantly feels like he is in an action movie because things always go right for him, so he doesn’t need to look where he’s about the jump. Which ultimately leads to someone who relies too much on their semblance. He rides the line of confidence vs arrogance. Clover is kind of person that Qrow always wanted to be. At the beginning of their friendship, Qrow doesn’t really like Clover and finds him irritating. But eventually it evolved into friendship, and later tragedy.

They left RWBY out of the battle of the Ace Ops vs the Geist to showcase how they didn’t need RWBY to get things done. It was their moment to shine

Wanted to give a sense in these first few episodes that, maybe everything will work out okay

Spoiler alert: It won’t

Chapter 4

Featuring Paula (co-director), Dustin (co-director), Eddy Rivas, Kerry Shawcross

Wanted a chance for the characters to breathe a bit before bigger things went down

Kerry loves the lighting in the first scene. They referenced how lighting looks in the tundra

The first draft of the scene where Ironwood is giving orders originally happened in his office

From V5 they learned it’s great to be efficient with sets but they can fatigue the audience and the crew

Originally the celebration wasn’t going to be in Amity, and instead it was going to be in Atlas’s version of an auditorium.

The ship Jacques arrives in is the same one Winter arrives from in V3. It’s a Schnee company ship

Paula thought it was important that Blake hold Weiss’s hand and be the first to stand by her side when Jaques is yelling at Weiss since Blake knows what it is like to be in an abusive relationship. Ruby and Yang didn’t even really know a father would talk like that to his daughter.

They were excited to write Penny and Winter’s ‘mirror-destiny’, which they laid some of the foundation for this episode

Qrow talking to Ruby was barely on the outline for the episode, but it was on their wish list if they had time to get it in.

Dustin says ‘fatherly’ when describing the moment and Kerry is like, ‘you just opened up a whole can of worms’

Eddy loves the ‘Jim’ gag when referring to Jaune.

Watt’s entrance was a difficult shot to execute properly because of the door.

Chapter 5

Featuring Conner, Eddy, and Kerry

They originally weren’t sure about having a montage in this episode

The penguins we see for a moment were possibly going to be grimm penguins

Kerry wants RT to sell the cards Clover has, and Eddy thinks it’s funny he would have cards with him emblem on them.

They liked having the moment of Clover and Qrow in the middle of this episode to show that Qrow is now becoming a mentee of sorts.

Adding in the Robin encounter was a late addition to the outline. She wasn’t going to be introduced until Chapter 6 during her rally

But they wanted to put the two factions head to head earlier on.

It was also the first moment of Clover being a bit duplicitous.

The plot line of tying the supplies through Robin’s storyline was a late addition while writing

Weiss vs Winter with summoning is a callback to V3C4 with them training together

Weiss being able to sit on hard-light (a block) is something Kerry was unsure about at first

Originally Weiss and Winter going to see Fria was going to be Winter getting an alert from Ironwood and having to leave, and Weiss following her suspiciously. But it worked better as Winter revealing a secret while Weiss was still keeping one

Chapter 6

Featuring Paula, Kiersi, Miles, Eddy, and Kerry

Eddy is the one who came up with the idea for the middle part of the season while he had a really bad fever

Originally Tyrian was going to make it look like a bunch of Atlas soldiers fired on civilians in Mantle. Then Eddie thought it should frame RWBY, but ultimately they went with framing Penny.

Nobody has ever offered Penny a fist bump before, so she wanted to do it perfectly

An old draft had the team and Ironwood doing an investigation at this warehouse post-massacre

There was also no montage in C5, just them sitting around a table talking about what they did

Miles also mentions there was going to be a scene in C3 with Marrow trying to bond with Blake about being a Faunus, and also about him specifically being a Faunus in Atlas who is a part of Atlas’s military team. But that episode was so packed they wanted to move it to C6, but then that episode also became too packed. But they plan to get to it in future volumes

They wanted to show how much the Happy Huntresses care about each other and about Mantle

They also originally did not want to have anything political in this season. But the more iterations they did, they felt it was the best course of action to do that with the story.

They wanted to give the heroes a high personal moment with Renora kissing right before things went down

Penny was not used to fighting sneaky enemies, so that is how Tyrian got the upper hand

While they don’t usually check back up on extras, things turned out that we kept seeing Drunk Mann and Grape-kun throughout the season to represent the city of Mantle

Chapter 7

Featuring Conner, Kiersi, Miles, Eddy, and Kerry

Fiona’s semblance was originally going to be Torchwick’s semblance, and it was called Deep Pockets. But they never found a moment for him to use it. So they decided he could be a great example of how some people don’t unlock their semblances

Originally some of C7 was meant for C4 where they found out earlier that Tyrian was involved with things

Miles wrote the description we got of Tyrian’s past (Salem first contacting Tyrian), and it was one of his favorite things to write.

Qrow looking at Clover when he is willing to go with Ironwood’s plan was meant to show some distance growing between the two

We were going to get more of Ren explaining why he was feeling the way he was and agreeing with Ironwood, but ultimately they are pushing it to next volume

Originally Blake and Yang were going to directly reference Adam when they had their talk, but they later figured out how to reference him indirectly

The arm robot Pietro has in his office was originally going to have more of a character like the robotic arm Tony Stark has

They tried hard to get Maria more scenes, but there was often no room for it

Miles realizes he was dumb to suggest that Pietro cover Watt’s face with his thumb while looking at a picture since they already did that with Raven in V3

The lady in the photograph with black hair is not Cinder’s mom (which was apparently a fan theory)

Robin encountering the Bees was a late edition to the outline. But it gave every member of RWBY a moment

They wanted the vault in the Academy to feel similar to the one in Haven but not a direct copy

Miles believes that if Ironwood would allow himself to be more vulnerable more often things would’ve gone differently

The invitation to the Schnee manor was originally going to be to a news conference

Chapter 8

Featuring Dustin, Miles, and Kerry

They didn’t specify what the hood ornament on the car would be, so Dustin was happy when it came back as a velociraptor, which references a raptor Monty Oum would put in photos with RWBY characters

Fans have guessed what direction they are going with Whitley. He starts off as a jerk, but Miles implies that is going to change. It is also an easy way to remind the audience of how the elite act

At the table, Jacques’s chair is bigger than everyone else's

Miles wrote the gag of JNR sabotaging Whitley’s conversation with Weiss and expected it to take only a few seconds, but as more people worked on it the longer it got

The stack of food was taller than Dustin expected it to be, and they even had to scale it back because it was going to be even taller

Another power move of Jacques is to only give a few people wine, as well as not giving Penny any food

Willow was originally going to be in the intro

A joke was made about Salem being Jaune’s sister in the V6 intro before everyone knew who she was

None of the writers expected Penny and Winter to have such a bond this volume initially

Miles wanted to portray when Weiss is talking to Willow that she doesn’t really know how to act around an adult with such an adult issue. Since Weiss is quite young (Miles compared it to him having to help an adult with an adult issue when he was 13)

Chapter 9

Featuring Paula (director), Kiersi, Eddy, and Kerry

It was difficult to keep the shots interesting in the dining room

We see Grape-kun and Drunk Mann again this episode

In earlier chapters they made sure to have an orange glow to represent the heating in Mantle since they knew it would be turned off in chapter 8

They wanted to showcase that Ironwood was starting to have doubts, which would later be clearly seen in episode 11

The foot soldiers (AKs) that the Grimm are able to overwhelm in only a few seconds were meant to represent that Atlas wouldn’t provide them with much defense against Grimm because they don’t care enough

Every storyline was coming together in this episode, and it’s tricky to make a setup episode like this not seem like filler

Ruby and Oscar’s awkward interaction came from them both ‘riding the high’ of the moment where it seems like they each have great plans that will go well.

Oscar is starting to tap into some of Ozpin’s memories, as alluded to when he mentions how Atlas is held to a higher standard

Terry the grimm being hit by a fireball (part of a plane I believe) was a call back to Jurassic Park

They struggled a long time with where to put the Neo reveal

Chapter 10

Featuring Conner, Dustin, Kiersi, and Kerry

They felt that if they showed a lot in the first scene of the episode, they wouldn’t have to saturate the background with other fires and crowds.

The shot of Weiss’s knight being summoned and overshadowing Marrow is setting up their fight in C12

When seeing the shots of the enemies infiltrating the kingdom, they didn’t know if they wanted to show Neo and Cinder or Tyrian and Watts first. But they went with Neo and Cinder because it would show that they thought their cover was blown, when it would really be about the other two.

The place Neo and Cinder are staying at is an Atlas ‘high-life’ apartment

They always knew Elm would have a rocket launcher/bazooka, but never got the time needed to show it until now

They had to restructure Mantle a bit to allow the huge elephant to fit in the streets

The main characters working with the Ace Ops in this episode was to make it so things hurt so much more after events in the following one

All the background characters apparently have little backstories as they made sure they didn’t appear in two places at the same time

Ironwood jumps down a ridiculous number of feet to meet Watts. They had to cheat to not make that so obvious as well as say this is animation logic so people working on the shot would stop questioning how he could possibly make it.

Chapter 11

Featuring Kerry, Paula, and Miles

Originally a gravity biome in Amity was going to appear in V3C5. It was going to be Sun and Neptune vs Pyrrha and Nora. It was written, boarded, and ready to go but they realized there wasn’t time for it

This was a hard episode to write. A lot of stuff that needed to happen, and happen in a specific way

Watt’s gun was inspired a 20-shot revolver Kerry saw on Reddit

Ironwood losing another hand represents him losing another part of his humanity (possibly confirming he lost his one organic arm)

The first cut of this episode was 23 minutes and was deemed too long so they had to scale back, but they still felt they kept in everything that was needed to make the episode great

Initially the Tyrian vs Qrow, Robyn, and Clover fight was going to be a chase that turns into a fight that turns into another chase. And Qrow is the only one that could keep up with Tyrian since he can transform into a bird. Qrow would land in front of Tyrian and say ‘that’s enough’ and Tyrian would ask, ‘are you able to talk when you’re a bird or do you have to wait until you’re a person to throw your one-liners?’ (Tyrian asking the real questions here) Tyrian’s lack of self-preservation would be shown even more. He would have run down an alley packed with Grimm and would just trust that he could’ve made it through

The fight with Tyrian was initially going to be more of a Tyrian vs Qrow fight, but Miles loves that they made it a 3 v 1 so it could show off Tyrian’s exceptional skill

The fight was also a callback to the first Tyrian vs Qrow fight, where Ruby tried to be good back up for Qrow but was ineffective. But instead this time have Robyn and Clover be effective and more experienced teammates

Clover is defense, Qrow is offense, and Robyn is picking away at Tyrian with her long-ranged weapon

There was going to be more discussion of where Oscar was at the end of the episode, as well as a whole bit where the Ace Ops and the kids land and they get a hand-written note saying they’ve been compromised instead of getting it via scroll, but it turned out to be too much

The scene of Ironwood talking to RWBY and his turn to being against them was the most important scene in the episode, and something everything in the season had to build up to

Miles said it was about time the two sides met face to face with RWBY meeting Salem

They wanted to make Ironwood’s progression into villainy subtle and make sense

Salem made things personal for Ironwood, so he felt like he had to come up with a solution

They wanted more Cinder and Neo in the volume but had to cut back. But to compensate they had to be instrumental to the collapse of Ironwood (Miles first said collapse of Atlas so wonder if he slipped up)

Chapter 12

Featuring Dustin, Conner, Kiersi, Eddy, and Kerry

They wanted to have a false sense of resolution in the previous episode just to blow everything up here

Eddy handled the Ace Ops vs RWBY and Winter scenes while Kiersi handled the rest

Kerry learned from V5 that having everyone in one room for a fight doesn’t work well

Eddy is a big Weiss stan

Clover has no idea who he’s up against with Tyrian, and thinks of Qrow as the big threat, as well as Tyrian manipulating Qrow

Clover saw both Qrow and Tyrian on the wrong side of the law, so he felt like he had to fight both of them no matter what

They made sure team RWBY can’t just stomp on the Ace Ops, but still show their teamwork. Plus the lack of Clover being there didn’t allow for the team to have a ‘cheat code’

This is another episode they had to trim down in length

Cinder was always going to lay waste to the medical facility and attack Winter

They also wanted to do a Qrow vs Tyrian reprisal

Kerry said he loves Clover

It was crazy for Qrow to meet someone that was a genuinely good person

Chapter 13

Featuring Miles, Kerry, and Eddy

The Neo vs ORNJ fight could have been shorter

At one point they wanted to show Cinder using maiden magic to bring some dead AKs (Atlesian-Knight) back to life to fight Penny (was going to be some sort of puppet joke).

But Miles realized that Cinder could just blow up the room and bust through the walls

Ren is struggling with some heavy emotional stuff that is not resolved at all this volume, but it is hinted there will be a lot more for him next volume.

The writers knew a lot of people wouldn’t be happy with Ren’s attitude this volume. But he still cares about Nora, even if he doesn’t always communicate it well

Miles cried during the voice over session of Fria’s scenes for this episode

They had a lot of talks about how the maiden power would be transferred. They debated if Penny would have to kill Fria.

Originally one pod was going to be broken, with the one with Fria being in tact. But because Penny is a robot, she could ‘remote-interface in’ and get the powers. But that still felt like stealing, and they didn’t want to go that route.

Oscar has matured so much in his role (joking call him Farm Man)

Ironwood is still expecting Oz to show up. He still really wants that guidance

Ironwood arguing with Oscar was the finale scene they wrote this episode

Ironwood feels that he is backed into a corner and is doing the only sensible thing.

Winter was waiting to be the Winter Maiden her whole life, but in a split second she gives it all up

There was one line in Oz’s monologue they were struggling with for a whole day

They loved the idea of ending the volume on almost an identical shot from where they started

Neo’s look after Cinder takes the relic and doesn’t thank Neo for getting it is setting up some things for V8 (probably a betrayal)

Oz came back at that moment because he heard what Oscar said to Ironwood and that made him brave enough to return

Miles reveals that the Grimm whale is based on Monstro from Pinocchio

It is once again said that Volume 8 is the hardest one they had to write so far. Miles seems super excited about it

Volume 8 was made with some fan-input in mind (since it was still being written by the time V7 ended), but Volume 9 will be the first one written in a vacuum