#its time for red son to start collecting them like pokemons

[frogbehindthewaterfall]

Why aren't there more fics where Red Son gets adopted?

That boy needs good parental/familial figures. Stop giving them all to Mk he has enough(jk, he never has enough, gotta catch em all).

Spreading the Red Son adoption agenda.

Anyone will do, just give him a stable and loving family(you can also make his actual parents better than they are, I don't care, i see him with a good family and i start acting like a damn dog)

[dreamsausage]

it was another pokemon dream! new game this time. the player had somehow arrived at an island of some sort that they had never seen. they were met by the professor, who was a rather tall, middle-aged man in a suit. he also had a sidekick that looked a lot like arven. they decided that if the player was going to be stuck here, they might as well have pokemon to help them through it.

the starters were a green fire-type snake thing, a water-type that looked like a vole, and the one I chose was the grass-type thta looked like a bush with bunny ears coming out of it. the bush was actually the little sentient house of the actual pokemon, a white bunny squirrel thing that lived in the hollow inside the leaves, and the bush would uproot itself and crawl around to move.

after we got the starter we learned to battle and catch pokemon (I didn't quite catch what those pokemon were) and my starter evolved to the second stage. it was a bigger bush and it had flowers on it, and it had two branches that were almost like arms.

we went all the way down to this allotment-looking place. there was another one of these bunny bushes and it looked really sad.

It didn't take us long to figure out that this bunny thing wanted to evolve into its final form, but it couldn't figure out how. arven guy suggested that the final form looks like a tree, so maybe we needed to get things like fertiliser or other fallen buntree branches. we decided to collect up 3 of each and bring them to the the bunny.

after we did that, the bunny thing just walked towards us, smiled, then evolved. it turned into a gigantic, almost humanoid tree with the bunny living in the head. it had marbled green and yellow leaves, and red and blue fruit scattered across its branches. it crouched down, handed us a fruit, then walked back up to the professor's research lab.

we talked with arven about which thing could have made it evolve, because it didn't seem to interact with either thing. then the professor showed up with the buntree walking behind it. he said that this had been a test of character, and buntree just evolves by level-up. he wanted this one to evolve specifically because it was a very rare instance of a pokemon being half-shiny, showing characteristic sof both forms. as well as showing off the pokemon as it evolved, he wanted to see how willing we were to help others. we passed the test exactly as he'd hoped and he gave us our pokedexes.

he went back to the lab after that, and just as we were thinking of where to go, we heard a lady calling for someone as if they were lost. a little white speech bubble with a silhouette on it popped up, and when we followed it, it led us to the first quest — an older lady with long black hair. she had apparently asked her son to find something in the forest and he hadn't come back yet. we agreed to help her and went through the part of the forest that he had, and started looking for him.

we found him being chased by a pokemon. I wasn't sure what it was or why it was chasing him but we battled it and it ran away. he was a tall man that looked a lot like his mother, and he was holding the water-type starter in his arms. he explained that his mother had asked him to find the starter. it had escaped the lab, and his parents weren't able to go after it — his dad was having trouble with back pain and his mother was too busy working their mill. he happened to be visiting from the next town over where he lived, and he offered to help find it. unfortunately he was a wimp.

arven guy said he couldn't be a wimp if he had seen the vole thing in trouble and his first action was to run over and grab it from right in front of the other pokemon. given the claws on that thing, that took a lot of bravery. the guy decided arven was right and thanked us for the help. we went with him back to his mum and she was very happy that we not only found her son, but helped him get the pokemon back. she messaged the professor that the pokemon had returned, and while we waited for him we had a battle and the player won. after that the professor came over to take it back, but he thought for a second and decided that his son deserved to keep it. the guy had never been one to keep pokemon, but the professor saw how much he liked the vole and decided it might help with his work — and be a good friend for him.

after that, his mum thanked us for the help and gave us some money and some items, then recommended us some other people who needed help. she became the person you would come to for quests and such (working a flour mill helps you meet a lot of people). the same people can have more than one quest, and if you had seen them before, their silhouette in the speech bubble would turn into them. we hadn't seen anybody else by that point so all the bubbles were blacked out.

we started travelling upwards towards route 1, which went through the middle of the forest, and that was when I woke up.

the game was very bright and colourful. it was in a similar style to bdsp but the environment was much more detailed and vibrant. the cutscenes and indoor areas made the player a normal size, while the overworld made them chibi.

the player character was a girl and had dark blue hair and dark skin. they didn't really have many defining characteristics, and I didn't catch the username either.

the professor was tall and black, and middle-aged like his wife — late 60s? he had a suit and a short dark blue lab coat. he often carried a battered suitcase around with him and smiled a lot. just a generally lovely guy :)

the miller, his wife, was also black, but her skin was slightly lighter. her hair was long and black and her face was kind of square? like she had a prominent jawline. she was big and very strong-looking, and wore a simple blue cotton dress with an apron that was covered in flour. she was usually holding a sack of flour. can you tell she makes flour? she mainly used rock-type pokemon and was sweet and helpful.

the son was very similar to his father. black hair like his mother, tall and lanky, pretty tired-looking. I'd say he was somewhere in his 20s? he also wore a suit but it was pretty messy-looking because of the whole pokemon thing. he held his vole thing like how dawn holds piplup. very friendly but also very wobbly.

arven guy literally just looked and acted exactly like arven. except minus the dog.

It was a very pretty and very lucid dream. I remembered it almost perfectly from the moment I woke up. I missed having dreams like that. felt good.

[lesausageperson]

I had anothwr really lucid dream last night!!!! I wrote it down as quickly as I could in my notes app, so uh, here ya go.

___________________________________________

it was another pokemon dream! new game this time. the player had somehow arrived at an island of some sort that they had never seen. they were met by the professor, who was a rather tall, middle-aged man in a suit. he also had a sidekick that looked a lot like arven. they decided that if the player was going to be stuck here, they might as well have pokemon to help them through it.

the starters were a green fire-type snake thing, a water-type that looked like a vole, and the one I chose was the grass-type thta looked like a bush with bunny ears coming out of it. the bush was actually the little sentient house of the actual pokemon, a white bunny squirrel thing that lived in the hollow inside the leaves, and the bush would uproot itself and crawl around to move.

after we got the starter we learned to battle and catch pokemon (I didn't quite catch what those pokemon were) and my starter evolved to the second stage. it was a bigger bush and it had flowers on it, and it had two branches that were almost like arms.

we went all the way down to this allotment-looking place. there was another one of these bunny bushes and it looked really sad.

It didn't take us long to figure out that this bunny thing wanted to evolve into its final form, but it couldn't figure out how. arven guy suggested that the final form looks like a tree, so maybe we needed to get things like fertiliser or other fallen buntree branches. we decided to collect up 3 of each and bring them to the the bunny.

after we did that, the bunny thing just walked towards us, smiled, then evolved. it turned into a gigantic, almost humanoid tree with the bunny living in the head. it had marbled green and yellow leaves, and red and blue fruit scattered across its branches. it crouched down, handed us a fruit, then walked back up to the professor's research lab.

we talked with arven about which thing could have made it evolve, because it didn't seem to interact with either thing. then the professor showed up with the buntree walking behind it. he said that this had been a test of character, and buntree just evolves by level-up. he wanted this one to evolve specifically because it was a very rare instance of a pokemon being half-shiny, showing characteristic sof both forms. as well as showing off the pokemon as it evolved, he wanted to see how willing we were to help others. we passed the test exactly as he'd hoped and he gave us our pokedexes.

he went back to the lab after that, and just as we were thinking of where to go, we heard a lady calling for someone as if they were lost. a little white speech bubble with a silhouette on it popped up, and when we followed it, it led us to the first quest — an older lady with long black hair. she had apparently asked her son to find something in the forest and he hadn't come back yet. we agreed to help her and went through the part of the forest that he had, and started looking for him.

we found him being chased by a pokemon. I wasn't sure what it was or why it was chasing him but we battled it and it ran away. he was a tall man that looked a lot like his mother, and he was holding the water-type starter in his arms. he explained that his mother had asked him to find the starter. it had escaped the lab, and his parents weren't able to go after it — his dad was having trouble with back pain and his mother was too busy working their mill. he happened to be visiting from the next town over where he lived, and he offered to help find it. unfortunately he was a wimp.

arven guy said he couldn't be a wimp if he had seen the vole thing in trouble and his first action was to run over and grab it from right in front of the other pokemon. given the claws on that thing, that took a lot of bravery. the guy decided arven was right and thanked us for the help. we went with him back to his mum and she was very happy that we not only found her son, but helped him get the pokemon back. she messaged the professor that the pokemon had returned, and while we waited for him we had a battle and the player won. after that the professor came over to take it back, but he thought for a second and decided that his son deserved to keep it. the guy had never been one to keep pokemon, but the professor saw how much he liked the vole and decided it might help with his work — and be a good friend for him.

after that, his mum thanked us for the help and gave us some money and some items, then recommended us some other people who needed help. she became the person you would come to for quests and such (working a flour mill helps you meet a lot of people). the same people can have more than one quest, and if you had seen them before, their silhouette in the speech bubble would turn into them. we hadn't seen anybody else by that point so all the bubbles were blacked out.

we started travelling upwards towards route 1, which went through the middle of the forest, and that was when I woke up.

the game was very bright and colourful. it was in a similar style to bdsp but the environment was much more detailed and vibrant. the cutscenes and indoor areas made the player a normal size, while the overworld made them chibi.

the player character was a girl and had dark blue hair and dark skin. they didn't really have many defining characteristics, and I didn't catch the username either.

the professor was tall and black, and middle-aged like his wife — late 60s? he had a suit and a short dark blue lab coat. he often carried a battered suitcase around with him and smiled a lot. just a generally lovely guy :)

the miller, his wife, was also black, but her skin was slightly lighter. her hair was long and black and her face was kind of square? like she had a prominent jawline. she was big and very strong-looking, and wore a simple blue cotton dress with an apron that was covered in flour. she was usually holding a sack of flour. can you tell she makes flour? she mainly used rock-type pokemon and was sweet and helpful.

the son was very similar to his father. black hair like his mother, tall and lanky, pretty tired-looking. I'd say he was somewhere in his 20s? he also wore a suit but it was pretty messy-looking because of the whole pokemon thing. he held his vole thing like how dawn holds piplup. very friendly but also very wobbly.

arven guy literally just looked and acted exactly like arven. except minus the dog.

It was a very pretty and very lucid dream. I remembered it almost perfectly from the moment I woke up. I missed having dreams like that. felt good.

[remmushound]

Bear with me

Tags: @brightlotusmoon @selfindulgenz @digitl-art-monstr @scentedcandlecryptid @ilo-artistry

Comfort was always a top priority in the Hamato household. Prized above all else, Splinter always made sure his sons had everything possible to comfort them through the darkness of their isolated lives. Even when there was nothing else to turn to, no food or warmth, nightmares running rampant, there was always comfort, both in each other and in items silky and dear. Soft pajamas with dinosaurs and trains and butterflies, and heavy comforters where Donatello could indulge his burrowing instinct, and cushioned beds where the family could curl up together and be safe.

Comfort, above all other things, was most important.

Raphael, being the oldest, always went to bed later than his brothers; granted, it was only ten minutes later, but it still made him feel special. A special time just for him and his daddy before the warmth of his dreams embraced him and fed him stories enhanced and beautiful. Who didn't like beautiful? Now was that time. Splinter carried Raphael to his big boy bed in the room he shared with all of his family; Leonardo had a habit of wandering off in the night, Donatello couldn’t sleep without his twin, Raphael often had nightmares, and it wouldn’t be fair to let poor Michelangelo sleep alone! And it made Splinter sleep deeper knowing his sons were all together, around him, where he could protect them always.

“Goodnight, my Raphael.” Splinter laid the biggest son down in the pile of stuffed animals, a small collection Raphael had started to assemble. The snapper had even requested higher sides on his bed so his stuffed animals wouldn’t fall off in the night and be lonely; Splinter had, of course, obliged. Splinter kissed his son, whiskers tickling the turtles head as Raphael giggled and kissed his father back. “Sweet dreams.”

But Raphael couldn’t go to sleep right then! His teddies were still a mess from his nap time and he had to fix them all neat and pretty before he could even think about sleeping! They deserved it! So while Splinter settled into his nest, yawning and nestling into himself for preserved warmth, Raphael began to sort his collection. Pippsy was the biggest and always went by his feet, and Tip and Pip were sisters so they had to stay together. Bunny stayed by his pillow, Taigo and the amigos along the left side, and his boo-boo’s (he couldn’t say beanie-boos, so boo boo was the next best thing) went on the other side, and that just left him and Cheech to cuddle! But… where was Cheech?

At first, Raphael hadn’t noticed his absence, but now the empty space in the center of the bed seemed remarkably empty and lonely. Cheech? Raphael began to paw at the sheets and the blanket, not caring about disturbing his other teddies as he searched for his cuddle buddy. Under the pillow? No. Under the dino blanket? No… the pokemon blanket? He couldn’t find Cheech anywhere! Not on the floor, not in bed!

“Cheee!” Raphael’s cry came a low whine riddled with soft, distraught panic. “Chee Chee…”

“Mmm?” Splinter opened one tired eye. “Red, what is the matter?”

“Can’ find...C...Chee…” Raphael babbled almost incoherently, rubbing at his eyes and trying to dismiss the sleep from them. “Nee Chee…”

Splinter yawned and slowly blinked. “Why don’t you sleep with Pipsy tonight and… and I’ll find Cheech in the morning…?”

Splinter tried to settle back down, but was immediately met with a beanie boo to the face.

“NO! NEED CHEE!”

“Raphael!” The full name carried a sharp authority to it, Splinter’s ears laying back as his teeth snapped an instinctual threat he immediately regretted. His voice became softer quickly. “Red, I am tired. Please. Just go to sleep with Pipsy and I promise I will find Cheech tomorrow.”

Raphael whined, almost yowled, as his cheeks puffed out and his face flushed dark. The soft yowl turned into desperate whines, which turned into loud, piercing crying. Splinter was awake now, and so was Donatello, who immediately began to fuss and sob. Then Leonardo followed suit and Michelangelo woke up, though he didn't cry. He only looked around, concerned and distraught over the outbursts occurring all around him.

There was only one way to stifle the outburst and Splinter knew it. Frustration fueling him, the rat forced himself out of bed and snagged Raphael out of the crib by his arm, leaving the room and the twins to cry out their sorrows. Raphael’s screaming became more intense as his sudden grab, but fell softer once he was put down on the rug.

“Stay. There!” And Splinter stalked off to search for the lost teddy and hopefully salvage what was left of his sleeping time.

Raphael stopped screaming, but the sobs and tears didn't leave him because he was alone and scared and now he was cold too and his arm hurt. He started to rub his shoulder where Splinter had grabbed him, intermittently wiping his eyes as he hiccuped and coughed. He looked around for his brothers, but they were still crying in their cribs. He wished he could comfort them, and them him… but Splinter said to stay…

After five long minutes Raphael found himself unable to stay any longer. Wobbling on unsteady and fat legs, Raphael pushed himself up from the rug and waddled back over to his bedroom. Moving as fast as a toddler turtle could move, Raphael pulled himself onto the side of Donatello and Leonardo’s crib. Leonardo had the softshell cradled in his arms, gently trying to sooth the dramatic wailing of his twin.

“Shh…” Raphael reached a hand down and put it on Donatello’s big head, making the softshell look up. “Nuh cry, Donna. Nuh cry…”

Donatello wiped his eyes, lip still quivering as he stared up at his big brother. Raphael smiled and kept petting his brother, reaching down as far as he could so he and Donatlelo could meet.

“Waphie?”

Raphael gave a curious squeak and lifted his head, looking back down at the floor and at Michelangelo who was now out of his crib; the youngest sibling was always an escape artist. With a guilty look on his face, the littlest brother held the worn and graying Cheech out to his brother.

“Chee!” Raphael jumped down and grabbed Cheech, hugging the precious toy tightly to his chest and burying his face in the soft fur so he could breathe in its scent.

“Ah sorry…” Michelangelo said, dragging his feet on the stone floor. “It smell like you… I like it a lot, Waphie…”

Raphael lifted his head from the toy, and he looked at Michelangelo, then back down at his precious Cheech. A moment of thought was all it took for Raphael to shove the toy back into the confused Michelangelo’s arms, scooping his brother up and bearing Michelangelo over to Raphael’s big boy bed, planting the box turtle inside. Michelangelo blinked, but didn't move, and watched with curiosity as Raphael returned to the twins’ crib. One at a time, he grabbed Donatello and Leonardo from their crib, carrying both of them over to the bed where Michelangelo cheered in delight as they were placed on either side of him. Raphael climbed in last, nuzzling in and settling down with all of his brothers and teddies surrounding him.

***

Splinter came wandering back after a long search proved fruitless, with no sign of Cheech in sight. A moment's panic passed through him when he discovered Raphael’s absence, but panic turned to pure, adorable bliss as he discovered all four of his son curled up in the safety of their biggest brothers presence, teddies and turtles and all. Raphael wasn’t quite asleep yet, though his eyes were heavy and tried to force it upon him. He smiled a sleepy smile when he saw his dad, making slow grabby hands.

“Ah found Chee, daddy…” Raphael said with his heavy eyes, followed by a yawn.

“So you did…” Splinter’s cheeks hurt from the smile, but it was a good hurt. An impulse led him to scoop his sons and their teddies up in his arms and to bear them to his nest, a mess of cushions and blankets assembled for maximum warmth.

It was there that he curled up around his sons, settling down with them all safe against the soft warmth of his belly. A hairless hand went to gently rub Raphael’s arm as the smile faded to a soft frown.

“I’m sorry I hurt your arm, Raphael… is it better now?”

“Is otay…” Raphael closed his eyes and nosed his way into a warm spot just under Splinter’s arm. “Can we sleep now, daddy?”

“Of course, Raphael…” Splinter curled up just a little tighter, just to keep his sons close.

Raphael smiled at the gentle constriction and his face under two big, fat hands. Splinter cuddles were always better than Cheech Cuddles!

[undoundue]

i don’t know anything except how stories go

i don’t know anything except how stories go

the music isn't as good as i thought it would be

i'm not sure if i've taken enough drugs or too much

when i take too much, i get grandiose: big ideas. little follow-through.

when i take not enough, i also get grandiose, but i know it,

and i sound like a graveyard glass harmonica when

the wind passes through. when i take the right amount, i do not ask

whether i've taken enough drugs or too much.

instead i hallucinate that i'm a cicada, an elegant disgusting jewel

smithed by mommy nature to reproduce a tinny song,

and i'm grateful to my parents

and the 17 years i spent gestating

and this morbid cherry tree

because nobody buckles their tymbals like i. also, cicadas lack

the relevant receptors altogether,

so the dosing question doesn't apply.

(beat) say,

have you noticed that zoomers are really into columbo?

(you nod)

i've seen him on twitter twice lately, asking "just one more

question—which would you prefer as an afternoon snack?"

and there's a poll, cheez-its

or little debbie snack cakes.

the appeal, i think, is to a generational forgetfulness, to

a generation most in need of alarm clocks and aricept,

to the desire to see forgetfulness as a superpower, as an

equivalent to innocence, to be so impervious to

reality's demands. but haven't we been here

before? didn't milennials all die for the sin of inventing "retro

gaming"? and by the way,

did you hear the one about the guy who gave himself three-hundred

and ninety-one concussions, each time suffering retrograde amnesia

which knocked out his memory of his last pokemon red playthrough?

ah. ah yes. it is not a tale the jedi would tell you.

when i take too much, i get despondent. when i take not enough, i

get grandiose. but the line breaks are for the poet's benefit anyway.

besides, there are kids smoking brick weed in lebanon, we should be

thankful for what we have.

and hex maniac is pretty cute. her pupils spiral

counterclockwise,

going from out to in; in some of the fan art they go the other way but

you can tell those guys don't "get it"; the allure of a counterclockwise

spin on how you are perceived, to have your silhouette distorted

and your details properly misunderstood, to lose at games you've

never heard of it, to eat with chopsticks incorrectly,

to trip and fall and look at the sidewalk and say "thank you.

yes. i had grown complacent in my patterns, my

nucleus accumbens

was running on fumes; and i certainly wasn't expecting that!" and

mean it. i did this once. i was in a state of rare tranquility after

masturbating for sixteen consecutive hours (essentially a

performance enhancing drug for meditation—which is why,

in the tibetan olympics, strict no-fap is required for a week

before competition—and they take semen samples to be sure!)

so (you nod), when the buddha saw me

so grateful for life's misfortunes, he made a "look

at this fucking guy" gesture to ganesh and then said "look at this

fucking guy" as if the gesture wasn't enough. naturally,

i was offended, and besides i recalled the old koan "If you meet the

Buddha on the road, kill him," which i had read in a collection

of koans for children titled "If you meet the Buddha..." which

my Mom had purchased for me in the novelty gift section

of an urban outfitters in santa barbara ("Mom, why are you shopping

at urban outftters?" "son, yr mama just tryin' ta stay cool. say, you

heard of this MF DOOM cat?" "ugh! Mom!") and which had

such thought-provoking aphorisms as:

"If you meet the Buddha in an airport, buy him a cheeseburger."

"If you meet the Buddha at a dive bar, play him some new wave—the

Buddha is big into that shit." the idea being, you're prepared for any

circumstance, which is what buddhism is all about. so i did a

bunch of fast attacks; the buddha blocked; i said "shouldn't

it be all the same to you if i kill you?" the buddha said "it would,

except i want to get home and watch columbo, and i don't

want to wait to respawn." i said, "jesus. just—jesus." then the buddha

kicked me through a brick wall. everyone in the WeWork

screamed and fled, leaving their kombucha behind, and

for some reason the sprinklers went off. then, after the initial

impact, a lone brick fell (because of torque—force times the length of

the lever, remember) and hit me comically on the head, causing a

concussion. i said "guh."

yup, (you nod sympathetically),

i was feeling mighty grim. then it occurred to me: why don't i

play pokémon red? unfortunately, on my cellphone i only had

the romhack version, you know, where all the pokémon are allegories

for depression. so you got your depressionmander, depressioneleon,

depressionizard, and for pokémon where that doesn't work

they use it as a suffix, e.g. bulbadepression, ivydepression,

venudepression. also you can't leave the starting room and

your character moves really slowly. the indie gaming press

loves it. one of the features that reviewers single out is

that, instead of a lone Stand By Me reference, the TV in your room

goes line by line through Aguirre, the Wrath of God, except the

murders are replaced with pokémon battles and at the end

aguirre tries to command a horde of mankeys ("depressionkeys"),

which is a metaphor. dark stuff. it makes me think back on my youth:

lying on my child-king sized bed, masturbating to polyhedral

stellations, suffering from severe geometric dysmorphia as i

compared myself to the grandeur of those idealized forms—god, i

used to hate myself for those wasted hours. i mean, i still do, but i

used to, too. only after years of therapy have i developed a mantra

that eases the pain:

"i am mostly a cylinder.

i am mostly a cylinder." presto. you can get off to anything, even

loomis.

(you nod, hesitantly.) on saturday night,

i throw open the window and scream at the children: "you'll get old

too! an abstractome of brittle opinions even as your bumbling

homunculus drops the data you once used to back them up!"

the children reply "not necessarily, given the rate of advances in

biotech. also, no one cares, grandpa." they play soccer. my

mad pilgrim hair blows in the wind. i scream: "suffer! suffer! i am

omniscience!" they say: "oh yeah? how many fingers am i

holding up?" "four! five! four!" "it was five, you old fart." "the thumb

doesn't count as a finger! you should have a specified!" "OK, new

game: what sort of person am i?" "you are—you are—!" and so

i peer into their souls and know the answer, but i can't

find the words. the words do not come. i have forgotten them.

silently i draw away from the window. the children smirk, but only for

a moment. for they know i am right.

ah, to reveal the soul's heist, to be seen through by the omniscient

and powerless, what a delight! who among us would not cheerfully

kill the buddha when he's comin' through the rye? who among us

has not been blessed by the kind words of a stranger? and yet, we

shouldn't incentivize people to be strangers. society would collapse.

besides, we are no longer strangers to ourselves, you and i.

(you nod.) we will have much to discuss about that.

[talesofsonicasura]

Stone Novas

Ch 4: Exposition

Astra's secret is revealed to Team Monkie Kid much to her dismay! A challenge is wagered, plots are formed and soon wills shall be tested. CH3 CH5

Megapolis' Docks, Secret Base

To say Astra was upset would be an understatement. She was thoroughly pissed off for one good reason. Sun Wukong, Monkey King and 'Great Sage Equal To Heaven' didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. And the feeling to flay him grew as Mei poked at the Frontier Brain.

All of them had hustled back to the Secret Base after MK had blurted out her otherworldly origins. Luckily, no one else was there to hear it. When the young man had accidentally sent himself flying out of the Weather Station, not only did Wukong appear to take away his invulnerability but also told him about her Battle Observatory.

He didn't mention Macaque oddly enough or her taking his clothes, no doubt to keep some of his pride. The reactions from Sandy, Pigsy, Tang and Mei were expected once they got back into the base after a silent ride. Dumbfounded disbelief from MK's boss, curiosity from Tang, awe and wonderment from Sandy, as for Mei…

"Are you human or is this a disguise?! Wouldn't that make Bao Chang, Lupe, Mars, and that giant bird Siegfried alien animals?! Are there any dragon Pokemon where you're from?" A thousand questions alongside her wild poking and prodding. Astra didn't mind someone being curious but this was aggravating.

Having enough with the mildly rude treatment, the redhead grabbed Mei's hand tightly. "I would love to talk if you stop scrutinizing me like a Noctowl pellet." Astra let the raven quickly scoot away, slightly embarrassed but still had that same vigor. The Frontier Brain massaged her head, carefully picking her next words before speaking.

"I am human but from an alternate Earth. Instead of demons, we have Pokemon that can be found everywhere whether it be land, sea, sky and even space itself. During my free time, I usually explore various worlds by traveling through Ultra Space but I am actually the Frontier Brain for the Battle Observatory."

Mk had heard about the facility Astra owned from the Monkey King although neither of them knew what it really meant. Picking up on the young man's confusion, the ginger continued her explanation. "Where I'm from we have something called Pokemon Battles."

Mars connected his tail into the base's computer, the screen switching to display a battle between two trainers and their respective Pokemon: a bipedal rhinoceros covered in orange stone plates and a smaller bipedal chinchilla with large white fur that curled like locks of hair.

"Trainers bring out their Pokemon to battle and give them instructions. When all Pokemon on the opponent's team is unable to battle, the Trainer whose team is left standing wins. No Pokemon are forced to battle without their consent and no killing is allowed." The chinchilla-like Pokemon took down the much larger opponent with a strong blow to the head, spirals appearing on the eyes of the knocked out rhinoceros Pokemon.

Mars then changed the screen to display six different buildings, one of them being the Battle Observatory. A picture of Astra stood in front of the observatory as a shadow silhouette stood at the other 5 facilities. "There are tournaments that test the mettle of both Trainers and their Pokemon, the Pokemon League but we'll be discussing my domain, the Battle Frontier."

Battle Frontier, just two words that sent a shiver down the spines of everyone in the room. MK, unlike the rest of his companions, had a look of determination but also hope in his eyes. Something that made the redhead smile brightly.

"Trainers have to face the Frontier Brains, powerful trainers and their Pokemon that can rival the strength of the Champion for each respective region. Those who defeat a Frontier Brain, earn a symbol of their success, a badge for that gym. If someone manages to collect 5 of these badges, then they can become a Frontier Brain for their own facility. This is my badge, the Nova Badge!"

Astra then took something out of her pocket. It was a metal badge that resembled a fiery meteor from the red flame locale surrounding the yellow star shape and the center was a gray X bearing sharpened edges similar to a stake.

"Only those with conviction to face the burning flames of tribulation and strife can earn this badge. One of the reasons many trainers call me the Battle Frontier's Shooting Star." The redhead didn't even flinch when MK and his companions had suddenly gotten into personal space.

"Woah! That is the coolest thing I have ever seen. It looks really well made too! I wish I had my own badge but I really don't like fighting." Sandy stated with mild disappointment. Astra patted the big aquatic demon on the side and gave him a kind grin. "I can make you a custom badge if you want, Sandy. Send me a design and I'll have it ready in a few days."

The redhead chuckled at the sudden bone crushing hug she had gotten from a very happy Sandy. Pigsy was a bit indifferent to the whole otherworld thing. "As long as you come in peace then I don't really care about your origins. Plus you have a good head on your shoulders considering what happened back at the Weather Station."

Every member of the Monkie Kid team knew where the restaurant owner was getting at. All of them would've been captured by Red Son after MK got taken out of the fight. They couldn't forget about the people that might have been hurt or worse without Astra's intervention.

Something that raised a question for a certain bandana wearing young man. "Hey Astra, can I talk with you outside for a moment?" The Frontier Brain gave MK a confused look before nodding. Mars could fill in any questions the rest of the group had anyway. Neither of them said a word until the two adults were back on the boat.

It was here that Astra saw the brunette's carefree attitude dissolve into disappointment and shame. She had a bad feeling about this. "Do you think I'm worthy enough to be the Monkie Kid?" Now the Frontier Brain really hated where this was going.

"Back at the Weather Station, I was practically useless during the whole thing. I hurt Sandy with the staff and nearly got everyone captured because of my invulnerability ego. I even flung myself out of the building with my own weapon! Sometimes I feel like being able to pick up the Monkey King's Staff was a huge fluke. I…"

MK didn't get to finish when Astra gently caressed his cheek, a warm motherly expression on her face. "It's ok to feel like this, MK. You are new to this whole experience but I know for damn sure that your achievements aren't fake! I read about you saving the city from that huge Demon Bull King fiasco some time ago."

She pulled him into a side hug and turned to the open ocean. "When I first started out as a trainer, sometimes I doubted if I could even become a Frontier Brain. There were times that I wanted to give up but my friends and my Pokemon gave me the courage to keep trying. Look at me now, I achieved my goal alongside my faithful partners. Remember that 'the strongest mountain started as a stone.'"

MK then felt something metallic in his hand and stared down in shock to see a colorless Nova Badge sitting on his open palm. "I want you to hold onto this badge, little Kubfu. When you have found and mastered your full potential, face my team to fully complete that badge. If the Monkey King's training isn't sufficient, I won't mind stepping in for some proper training."

Astra's grin sharpened, the sun making her apple green eyes glow like emeralds and her flaming red hair burn like fire. "I might not have magical powers but I definitely can teach you how to wield a staff. A lot of my Pokemon would also love to help you master your newfound magic. What do you say MK? Want to take your training to the next level?"

The young man looked at the Frontier Brain. His uncertainty became hardened determination. "Please teach me how to become stronger!" MK bowed his head in respect, a sign of a student ready to learn under their master. Astra's smile grew from the young man's response. Now she had a few things to do before she started training MK.

Flower Fruit Mountain, Water Curtain Cave

Siegfried let out a mighty caw as he soared through the air. The Frontier Brain was currently seated on the Raven's Pokemon back with her goggles keeping any volcanic ash away from her eyes. All of the monkeys who saw the large Steel/Flying Type quickly scattered or watched Siegfried fly through the curtain of a waterfall.

This particular waterfall was shielding a cavern that held a small wooden shack within its stone walls, Sun Wukong's home. Once Siegfried landed and was recalled to his Pokeball, Astra went over to the house. She had spotted a large ancient mural to the side depicting Wukong alongside three other people.

A pig demon, fish demon, and a human monk riding on the back of a horse as Wukong sat on top of his cloud with a fillet on his head. It was quite eerie but not for the soft golden glow that lined the characters. No, it was the fact that they looked too much like Pigsy, Sandy and Tang that unnerved the redhead.

Astra walked up to the door of the small home and gave it a hard knock. The door opened to show a disgruntled looking Monkey King who was probably asleep earlier from the yellow pjs decorated in peaches. The demon quickly straightened himself upon seeing those apple green eyes glare into his own ambers. "Fancy seeing you here, Astra. Want to come in?" Wukong nervously laughed, he knew he was in hot water.

"You told MK about my origins WITHOUT my permission, jackass! What in the absolute Distortion World were you thinking?!" The redhead harshly poked the monkey's chest, every word burning with rage. The Monkey King raised his hands innocently despite Astra looking ready to skin his hide.

"I can't keep such information from my successor! MK had the right to know and I trust the kid to keep a secret." Wukong took a step back when the Frontier Brain snarled and dragged him down by his pajama shirt so they were at eye level.

"You are an idiot of the highest caliber and a poor teacher! I read the story about MK fighting that giant bull demon and saw him recklessly using your staff back at the Weather Station. Have you even given him proper training at all?!" Astra hissed, glaring daggers into the demon's fiery amber eyes.

Wukong nervously smiled at the accusation which didn't help with what he said next. "The kid did defeat Demon Bull King and came out of both fights completely fine. We've been practicing some hand to hand combat too. MK just needs to believe in himself, even just a tiny smidge." The Monkey King's world turned upside down in seconds as he hit the ground.

Astra sat on top of him, her legs straddled between his so he couldn't move while she held him up to her face with an iron grip. "You are an incompetent fool that clearly doesn't know what he's doing! Did you know MK asked me if he was even worthy of being your successor? That he thought of his achievements as a mere fluke, you insufferable Stunfisk?!"

Wukong's smile dissolved into a shameful frown. Did he really make his student believe that he was a failure? The mere thought made his heart sink. "I'll be taking over MK's training from now on since it's clear you are ill suited for the task." He instantly froze. Did she really just…?

"What do you mean you're taking over?" A look of anger and shock crossed Sun Wukong from the Frontier Brain's words. Astra didn't seem to care about the Monkey King's growing temper. "You heard me. Unless you start taking MK's training seriously, then my Pokemon and I will do it instead. I may not have powers but I can teach him to wield a staff. My team can handle the magic part since you're shit for this job."

Rage boiled underneath the demon's skin. What gave this human the right to say he was an unsuitable teacher? It's his powers and his staff! Who did she think she was to say that to the Monkey King, Great Sage Equal To Heaven, Sun Wukong?!! He'd- The monkey demon immediately stamped that thought before it could continue and instead turned his head away.

This wasn't about him. It was about his student MK. Astra had a point, the young man wasn't ready at all and if a tougher opponent came along… The look of remorse on Wukong's face was enough for the redhead's rage to slowly simmer down.

"How about a compromise? If you are that serious about helping MK, then battle Bao Chang." Sun Wukong immediately looked at the human woman in surprise. "It is said that someone's true intentions can be revealed in the heat of battle. Clash with my darling Monferno at the Battle Observatory on the morning of next week and show me how far you will truly go for your disciple."

The redhead got off the Monkey King so he could get back onto his feet. He could see in those apple green eyes that Astra wasn't fooling around. His only chance. "Alright. I'll accept your challenge. Where do we meet up since we're going back to your world?" Wukong's question only got him a chuckle from the Frontier Brain.

"Ask your apprentice, he'll tell you." With that said, Astra walked away from his home leaving the Monkey King to his thoughts.

Megapolis, Astra's House

The sound of a hammer hitting steel echoed across the small forest. It was from Bao Chang who was fastening a brand new windowsill to the upper floor of the old house, a paintbrush wrapped around his tail too. Astra and some of her Pokemon decided to fix up their brand new home after returning from Flower Fruit Mountain.

Bao Chang worked on replacing the windows, Lupe disposed of any garbage he found, Mars scanned for any issues with the infrastructure and Siegfried helped transport any of the heavy goods such as furniture or any stuff that can be exchanged for extra cash. Aniani kept watch in case of an accident or intruder, as for Astra…

"Sticky Web, Arachne!" A large blob of webbing struck the worn pillar. The substance slipped it into the cracks with the wood, Astra then placed a large metal sheet onto the sticky goo. "El Dorado, melt that metal a bit with Incinerate!" Quickly stepping back as a stream of fire hit the steel plate.

The intense flame caused the alloy to slowly curl around the pillar's surface until it was fully enveloped. Another stream of fire went down where the two ends to the sheet metal converged, sealing it together. With a short inspection of the plating, Astra gave a thumbs up to the two Pokemon responsible.

One Pokemon was a shockingly large black spider around 12'3 in size, six long yellow legs with the bottom half black that had medium sized water bubbles on each joint, a big water bubble that encased their head, two large blue eyes bearing light blue horizontal wave shaped pupils with three smaller triangle blue eyes on the forehead, four large fangs at the bottom of the head, a vertical tannish brown streak with two horizontal ones on the top of the abdomen and a small yellow stinger on their rear.

The other one was a 1'3 dark gold gremlin, eyes were light gold diamonds cut in an hexagon shape, two fin like ears bearing two points on each side of their head, a small emerald on their chest alongside a small jade and light gold crystals on the back, three fingered claws, three fur like spikes on the elbows and three toed bearing sharp claws. On their left arm was a dark violet wristband that held a black, red and violet jewel inside.

"Looks pretty stable. Got a few more support pillars to go, think you can handle it Arachne and El Dorado?" Astra first looked at the large spider then to the small gremlin Pokemon. The large spider Pokemon named Arachne did a small nod while the little gremlin El Dorado gave a thumbs up.

The Frontier Brain shortly paused as a serious expression overtook her face. Her focus was on the corner of the room that was unnaturally darker than the others. "Arachne, Bubblebeam over there!" The large spider took a deep breath before letting loose a rapid stream of dark blue bubbles.

In seconds, a purple outlined shadow cudgel emerges and promptly bursts every single bubble with a single swing. Macaque took a step out of the shadows, clearly impressed from the fang filled grin on his face. Astra only sighed at the sight of the shadow demon.

"I guess you do have some decent senses to detect me. Nice improvement on this dumpster pile by the way." The Frontier Brain rolled her eyes at the intruding monkey, both Pokemon beside her had their guard up. A sight that made Macaque chuckle.

"Usually I am not that defensive unless near a potential threat. I just didn't know that you used to eat humans before we met." Astra spoke, her arms crossed and an offensive edge to her voice. Dismissing the shadow cudgel from his hands, the demon gave the redhead a mischievous look.

"I knew you overheard me and Sun Wukong the other night instead of going to your room. Had me surprised when you still treated my wounds while keeping calm from your steady heartbeat. Pretty brave and bold, Apple." Macaque walked closer until he was standing in front of the Frontier Brain.

The demon could still hear her heart remain steady despite their close proximity, a thought that made his tail wag happily. "What do you want, Macaque? Because I'm pretty sure spying on someone isn't a proper visit." Astra didn't feel like playing around at the moment. One demon had already gotten on her nerves, she didn't need two.

"Straight to the point I see! What I want is to train under your tutelage." Astra looked at the shadow demon like he was crazy. She let Macaque continue with his explanation. "My clash with the Monkey King proved my training methods are ineffective, training dummies can only do so much. What's a better sparring partner other than a Frontier Brain?"

The redhead kept her eyes on the monkey as he circled around her, Arachne and El Dorado stayed silent. Both Pokemon were waiting for any sign of a threat. "So how about a deal? I help around your observatory and you let me battle your Pokemon in exchange. I can even help fix up this rusty junk heap as a bonus." Macaque offered, a calm yet manic grin etched on his face.

Astra mulled over the proposition in her head. She wasn't stupid or naive. Macaque and Wukong had a nasty history paired with a mile wide grudge. There was also the chance of manipulation for the Frontier Brain since the monkey demon might have abandonment issues, inferiority complex and probably low esteem.

Taking his offer could lead to two scenarios. He'll end up taking revenge on Sun Wukong, possibly dragging anyone associated with the Monkey King into it. Or two, she could learn their history and might be able to help both demons before their sour relationship leads to a much bigger problem down the road.

Whatever the case, these two needed help. "Fine but you must listen to what I say and respect any rules that I make. By the way, if you try to use whatever you learn against some innocent soul…" Astra's eyes sharpened, her teeth on full display from the huge snarl and a dark aura came off the redhead in waves.

The sudden malice was enough for Macaque to take a step back in instinctual fright. "I won't hesitate to show you why I'm the most feared amongst my peers in the Battle Frontier. Angels, demons or gods, nothing will save you from my wrath. Got it, little Alolan Rattata?" The shadow demon quickly nodded at the Frontier Brain's threat.

In seconds the frightening aura quickly vanished as Astra clapped her hands happily. "Splendid. For now, you'll be helping El Dorado and Arachne with enforcing the support beams. Arachne is my dear Araquanid while El Dorado is my sweet Sableye." Both Pokemon waved a hand or leg in Arachne's case in greeting to the demon monkey.

Macaque was about to say something when the redhead threw two small cards at him. Quickly catching them, dark amber slightly widened to see they were Pokedex Entries for the two Pokemon before him. Although the one for El Dorado looked different since the Sableye in that picture was violet instead of gold.

"'Araquanid, the Water Bubble Pokemon. Bug/Water Type. The water bubble around Araquanid's head can be used to carry Pokemon they consider as friends to safety or drown potential prey. It has a habit of storing things it likes in its water bubble so their trainers have to be extra careful to not get dragged in. This Pokemon likes to savor its meal and can also launch the bubbles from its legs as another way to capture live prey.'" Macaque looked warily at the giant spider before reading the other card.

"'Sableye, the Darkness Pokemon. A Ghost/Dark Type-'" The demon monkey went silent for a few seconds. 'What in the absolute hell?' Macaque shoved the thought in the back of his head before continuing his low mutters.

"'-It digs up gems with its sharp claws then uses its sharp teeth to devour them in the deep darkness of caverns. This diet caused Sableye's eyes to become gemstones and some of that material to float to the surface of their bodies. It's feared for the misconception that these Pokemon can steal the souls of people when their eyes glow a sinister color in the dark.'"

The shadow demon paused to look at the card then the small Darkness Pokemon. He blinked a few times before pocketing the Pokedex entries into his jeans. Macaque had a feeling this won't be the only time Astra decides to make him feel uneasy. Shrugging his shoulders, the monkey resigned himself to his fate and got to work with the repairs.

Megapolis, Flaming Foundry

Deep underneath Megapolis, there laid a massive factory unknown to others. This facility was the Flaming Foundry, where every mechanical creation was manufactured to assist the Demon Bull Family. A family of three who seeked to rule the world in an age of darkness and fire: Princess Iron Fan, her husband Demon Bull King and their child Red Son.

Standing in front of a large screen was Red Son alongside two others. One was a huge minotaur type bull demon around 15 in size, powerful bulging muscles to red violet fur that seemed to almost synthetic, bottom jaw covered in a heavy steel plate with similar steel under burning yellow eyes, a gold bull nose ring, gear similar to that of a barbarian: steel pauldrons, multiple straps on the chest that held a gold furnace like slot at the center, dark grey pelt around the waist similar to a barbarian's, slightly long tail, sharp clawed fingers, large fangs and strong gray hooved feet.

The other was a woman about a ft taller than Red Son, soft tan complexion, two large black horns on both sides of her head, long raven hair, red lipstick on full lips, thin but buxom form hidden under a beautiful red traditional Chinese dress, and heeled sandals. They were Red Son's parents, Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King. Red Son seemed mostly healed from his encounter with Team Monkie Kid minus a few bandages.

All three of them were watching the large monitor, it was on the news which covered the Weather Station. The broadcast was about none other than two of Astra's Pokemon rescuing civilians who were trapped inside. "-No one knows what these strange creatures were but the families of those who were trapped inside are truly grateful for their assistance."

Red Son then changed the feed to camera footage from the Weather Station, most of the audio was fried courtesy of Mars' hacking the mainframe earlier. "I can see why your plan went asunder, my dear son. You said this woman's name was Astra?" PIF questioned, looking at her only child.

The red haired demon did a short nod before answering. "Yes from what Noodle Boy called her during our battle. All those creatures appear to follow her command; unlike Noodle Boy's group, she's very competent in both strategy and execution. The marks of a tactician."

DBK looked inquisitively at the footage. His attention darted from Bao Chang tearing apart their soldiers using various elements, to Lupe destroying his troops with powerful acid then blasting his son away in a giant laser, Mars stealthily hack into the Weather Station's mainframe and finally Astra's conversion of a broom handle into a weapon that melted through titanium steel. He's seen that type of cleverness before, it got him trapped underneath a mountain for 500 years.

"It appears the little thief has made a powerful and dangerous ally. Get as much information on this 'Shooting Star Astra' and 'Battle Frontier'. Even better if you somehow manage to capture her." DBK glared at the Frontier Brain's picture, a dark grimace on his face.

"This human woman could change everything."

And that's it! Sun Wukong has been challenged by Astra while Macaque and MK are accepted for training as things slowly begin to change in the background with some of the LMK villains.

Astra isn't someone who would beat around the bush when seeing a possible problem. Especially considering her status as a Frontier Brain and just how dangerous this new world is proving to be.

She is the type who wants to be prepared for the worst. To her, Sun Wukong and Macaque's 'relationship' is an issue just as bad as MK's current training routine.

Moving onto Astra's Pokemon, her team is the Pokemon she had caught during her journey to become a Frontier Brain, not exclusively just six Pokemon. Her Pokemon has two different movesets which is reserved for either exploration or gym battles. I'm bringing this up now to not only clear up any confusion but especially for upcoming chapters.

And for anyone questioning why Astra didn't do anything to Sandy for hugging her, it's because only touches with any romantic sort of sense are a trigger. Stuff like hugs don't bother Astra.

Next chapter is the battle with Sun Wukong! Before I go, I am currently working on a story for my Broken Toys AU! Someone asked if I was going to release all the information first before writing it.

The answer is actually no. I will be posting some stuff for the au like the monsters MK has and his relationship to them but the really juicy ones will be coming once a few chapters are posted.

Until next time folks, see you back in Megapolis.

New Pokemon added! El Dorado the Sableye and Arachne the Araquanid

Astra's team: Bao Chang (Monferno), Siegfried (Corviknight), Lupe (Garbodor), Aniani (Necrozma), Arachne (Araquanid), Mukasa (Zarude), El Dorado (Shiny!Sableye).

[simplicity1511]

Yashahime EPISODE 1 Review

I just finished the first episode of Yashahime and OMFG!!!!!!!

There are so many emotions running through me right now as someone who watched the original series on YTV Bionix. I remember being like 5 and 6 and staying up late to watch it, sometimes even falling asleep before it aired. It’s original air time was 11pm but by the time I was around 8-9 years old, the show started airing at 9pm. 

I remember asking my aunt to wait up until I finished my favorite show before I went to bed because we were going to the airport that night to visit my cousin who had recently given birth to her second kid and I was tagging along. I remember it being the episode Kohoku regains his memories. Good thing I didn’t miss it but I sure do remember being disappointed that I wasn’t seeing InuYasha and the gang that episode.

Speaking of our boy Kohoku, it looks like he has a new weapon (that is correct, ladies and gents, our boy appears in the first episode!!) However, not adult Kohaku, our itty bitty boy from the original series.

For those that didn’t get a chance to read the manga, there's an epilogue chapter that deals with the root demon that our gang ends up fighting in the first episode and it appears to have maybe merged with the Tree of Ages. I suspect this because it shows a hole in the tree in the same location as Kikyo’s arrow had been when she shot InuYasha to it. I’m curious to see what shit this root ends up stirring.

However, the most interesting thing I discovered was not from the episode itself but  from the opening sequence as well as the next episode preview. From the looks of it, it appears as if all three girls have a pearl, Towa’s is Silver, Setsuna’s is Gold and Moroha is Red. Now given the fact that in the original series pearls played a role not once but twice in the series, both in the beginning and end, and they appear multiple times in the opening and ending sequences of the show, we know they're going to play an important role. 

The first time they appear in the original series is when our sexy Sesshomaru was trying to look for Tessaiga. In this case, the pearl was located in InuYasha’s eye and led to the land of the dead which is where we come across the bones of Inu-Pops.

The second time is when they looked for one of the last shards of the jewel which just happened to have been in the possession of the demon who created the pearl who was also located at the grave of our beloved Inu-Pops.

We also know that this demon had a son who was continuing his work at creating pearls as this is how we learn that his father, who had created InuYasha’s pearl, had already died. The most logical conclusion is the son most likely created the pearls for our three ladies. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that in the opening song, you will notice that at some point Towa’s eye starts glowing, and it has a similar appearance as InuYasha’s did when we see the pearl first appear. We know these pearls have strange abilities and for whatever reason each girl was given one. Given the fact that the girls have no knowledge of their parents, it appears that this was most likely hatched by our boys to help their daughters in whatever way possible. Much in the same way Inu-Pops gave his two swords, Tessaiga and Tenseiga to his two sons to protect them and teach them something even if he wasn’t around to do it.

Now speaking of our boys, Sesshomaru is still as sexy as ever and it appears as if he tries to stay close to the village in order to reach Rin as swiftly as possible. That or he has some teleportation ability we don’t know about but with how fast he moves, he might as well have it.

For those of us who grew up with InuYasha being torn between Kagome and Kikyo and the constant conflict that it caused throughout the series, it was kinda refreshing to see it again and see how they both behaved as adults regarding those emotions

I found Kagome’s handling of it really fascinating because by this point she’s already sorted out her feelings for Kikyo, yet InuYasha still thinks that Kikyo causes Kagome pain which in the beginning she did but Kagome has moved past that pain and she knows who she is as a person beyond just being her reincarnation. 

I think it’s further indicated when we first see Kagome and she shows the twins a kikyo root which is supposed to be good for coughs and fevers. When it panels to Sango we can see the surprise on her face as to hearing Kagome mention Kikyo’s name (you know it was an intentional  reference especially if you’ve read the manga and know what kind of demon Miroku and InuYasha  are fighting). Knowing this, still didn’t keep me from being surprised. I feel like just like the plant, Kagome has come to admire Kikyo’s strength as a priestess, something she’s trying to achieve herself as a Priestess in Training.

The original series dealt with a lot of Kagome’s identity being referenced as Kikyo and other characters trying to erase her individuality as just another copy of Kikyo. Something that Naruku did pretty frequently especially using the feelings Kagome had towards InuYasha against them on multiple occasions using Kikyo.

Just like how in the first episode of the original series where InuYasha kept calling Kagome, Kikyo when they first met, Kagome has to tell off the root demon and clarify that she is Ka-go-me, NOT Kikyo. 

I really liked all the symbolism this episode had and the references to the original series especially given that Towa ends up encountering a broken seat from a bike in the Feudal Era and as we know Kagome has had her bike destroyed and replaced, many a times throughout the series. 

The fact that Towa is someone whose been raised in the future by the brother of the woman who travels to the past is very interesting given the fact that she is the daughter of Seshomaru whose InuYasha’s older brother who besides Kagome was the only other person to be able to travel in time.

I’m wondering what makes InuYasha/Sesshomaru’s blood special as it appears as if all three girls were able to travel to the future so if Seshomaru himself had tried going through the bone eaters well, could he too have travelled to the future like InuYasha? 

Kagome was able to travel due to the Jewel of Four Souls and once that was destroyed her connection to the past was severed so I’m curious to see how the past and future end up connecting the three girls together because it was Kagome and InuYasha’s love in the end that reopened the well three years later. However, we know in the current timeline that the well is closed which makes me wonder what kind of fate these three girls share as the Half Demon Princesses (also Princesses of what may I ask?)

On a final note, in both series there are demon birds, the first a carrion crow demon who likes shiny things like the jewel, another an owl who is wise and has knowledge of the past. I suspect that this demon will play a key role in how this story ends up progressing, much in the same way the crow did.

Being a long time fan of the show, I remember being really sad when the series ended and frustrated when they didn’t defeat Naraku by the end of the original anime run. My head would constantly have ideas of what their future would have been like once the pesky fellow was dead and once I had gotten a computer (at age 11) and I discovered manga sites, I finally got an answer to my question.

Then a few years later, teenage me finally got those last chapters animated. I was finally blessed with my ending so I’ll be real frank with you when I say I was not happy this show was coming. While everyone else was freaking out that Seshomaru fucked someone, I was wondering, what could have caused Kagome and InuYasha to abandon their daughter which would be totally out of character for the both of them especially given InuYasha’s childhood. I doubt he would have abandoned his daughter given having lost his mother at such a young age himself and never knowing who his dad was until much later in his life. He would never want his own daughter to experience the loneliness and struggle he did before he met Kagome, Sango and Miroku.

Now having watched the first episode I can’t say my fears are dissipated for this unwanted sequel series as we have yet to know what happened so the possibility that its a shitty reason for why Moroha is alone is still high meaning the possibly my favorite characters are shit on is still there.

This series means a lot given the time I watched InuYasha my family had recently immigrated to Canada and while most people were into Pokemon at my age, which don’t get me wrong, I was too. 

I was far more fascinated by a girl who travelled through time in a fantasy world where she meets a cute dog demon boy and develops strong friendships, a budding romance and never loses herself. To a little girl who was also in a strange new country of her own, she was my role model. 

She’s the reason I wanna learn archery at some point in my life and helped me to grow to be the strong independent woman I am today.

Even at 24 years of age, this is still my favorite series and I love all the symbolism and references to the old series while also having its own fresh perspective that Yashahime provides. It doesn’t mean that my skepticism has been cured.

When I watched InuYasha, I got Kagome, Sango, Kikyo, Kaede and Kagura (her death is still so beautifully tragic) and now a whole new generation of girls are going to get Towa our leader, the calm and cool collected Setsuna and our charge first and ask questions later Moroha (just like her dad :’). I can’t wait to see how they grow and hopefully how their beloved parents grew.

InuYasha for me was my first conceptual understanding of anime and where my love for it came from. I’m looking forward to seeing how this story progresses. But I won’t be afraid of criticizing it regardless of the good first impression I got.

Also, does anyone else get reminded of Miroku’s wind tunnel when they see InuYasha’s Meido Zangetsuha? Just me?

Now time to listen to that opening and ending on repeat.

See You Next Week!

[peikonlainen]

Just a quick question but what often gets you inspired?✨

Oh boy ehhhhhh - here we go to the never ending rabbit hole!!

Sometimes small things gets my attention like e.g. squirrels paws, unique red face of a person at a cold day or seeing chair upside down on icy lake (honestly I am now working on long comic about trolls inspired by that chair).

Comic art and animations inspires me greatly! Lately I have been inspired by animations gems like the thief and the cobbler, treasure island from 1988 (and other Soviet Union animations) and the king and the mocking bird. The animation process fascinates me greatly, how can one make smooth and imaginative animations is wonderful! I can't get enough of it all.

Also concept of kindness inspires me greatly. I have gone throw...lets say a lot. I love stories that show kindness where it is needed, e.g. Tove Jansson's story of invisible child. The child was bullied by their family so much that they turned completely invisible and lost their own voice, eventually they found confidence and selfworth in themselfs thanks to kindness of Moomins. I want my feelings to be seen and heard but sometimes world or people are overwhelming. Kindness is important, otherwise we will fall apart or at least I do. I am still on my way to be kind and understanding of myself and othets but those qualities are more important to me than ever.

Couple weeks ago I started to collect stuff that inspires me or I find interesting. I will list most of them below. If I am not saying anything about certain box, it means I enjoy the show/comic/meme/animal but cannot put my finger on why. Usually those make me smile and give new pespective about life. Somethings might be there twice because I am forgetful baboon!

Junji Ito's horror comics are visually out of this world! But my fav is his humorous comic about his cats. It was so different from his other comics that I fell in love with it.

Emma manga made by Kaoru Mori. Usually I can't stand romantic stories but the characters but the story and the art works perfectly together in her comics.

Comics and animations of @cecameron are gorgeus and fun!

Tove Jansson's books, comics, art and life in general.

Rainbow Road from Muppets is my favourite song and I wish it would be played at my funeral one day. Its hopeful song that fills me with joy.

Entranta from Shera. She never gives up, I wanna be like her! I wanna see failure is part of the process and helps me get further little by little + its nothign to be shamefull of.

Ponyo's fathers frustration is relatable, also the whole movie is wonderful and colorful. Its maybe my favorite ghibli movie.

Scarr my beloved weirdo! The image was in the tarot pack of the grim adventures of Billy and Mandy and he is of course the hermit (which is my personality card)

@deep-dark-fears comics surprise me by giving new ideas to express fear.

Hugo Simberg was Finnish artist at 1900's. Symbolism and sympathetic characters of devils and death has inspired me since I was 8 years old.

Treasure planet is one of my favourite disney movies. The father son relationship between Silver and Jim is great and makes me cry everytime.

Hypnopotamus and Warren Stone from ROTTMNT. Their relationship is wholesome and inspiring + the show itself is fun, full of action and passion! I love it!

Tintin comics are almost religious in my family. It was one of the first comics I saw different from different parts of the world and how tintin could become friends even the most oddest (looking at you captain Haddock) people is marvellous.

The penguin my belowed ❤❤❤

Mörkövahti is Finnish children book that accidentally inspired me greatly. The world of troll like creatures, magical elements in the story and research of the creatures made me fall in love in the world of the books. I often love to read books for kids or teens, they are more interesting and I don't have to fear to be faced with rape, sexism and other nasty stuff.

Stop motion animation and expecially Arman animations have been always part of my life. I have soft spot for the pirates movie thanks to it's humor, naivety and animation style.

Adventure time is one of my favourite series and couple of things stuck with me. Some people are build different, you don't have to understand it but you need to respect them. I love this idea greatly and I try to live by it.

Pinsir is my favourite pokemon and it says a lot.

Mr Pogo and other smart ape characters inspire me greatly. No wonder new planet of the apes trilogy is part pf my movie collection. I am not sure why I love smart apes as characters but it always works.

Wander over yander whole concept is to be kind and help people out, I love it.

Peto was made for me by @elle-eedee at lgbtq trolls discord server. Peto ended up becoming my ultimate comfort character and I love to draw him and make stories for him. I loved the way elle-eedee combined my favorite things to create him ❤ also their colorful art inspires me everyone I see it.

@alioutfit blog is blog of style choices of man named Ali. I want to find my own style like Ali.

The murder she wrote is nostalgic for me and I wanna get into that series again! The fact smart older woman is the main focus inspires me. I love Agatha Christi stories too so it checks out.

Hugs + rottmnt. I love hugs and the show has a lot of good hugs!

Don Rosa's Donald Duck comics are the best! Those who don't know, Donald Duck comics are big in Finland!

Heikko Peikko (meaning Weak Troll) was stop motion animation series in Finland at 70's. Its wonky, basic and charming story of Heikko Peikko's everyday life.

The meme that made me less depressed

@foxing_around had wonderful comic that made me think over my friends over my sad ass.

Squirrels, I like them a lot. They remind me of my grandpa who loved forest and nature.

My sandwich with a face

Monsters petting each others! My friend has a lot of arkham maddness board games that comes with monsters. I like to play with the figurines, they are so lovely monsters!

Concept art of toothless from how to train your dragon. Why toothless couldn't look like this little ugly thing??? I would have loved him from bottom of my ❤

Kingdom of lonely bananas sign was at supermarket. Little imaginative ideas like these are great.

Pasila series is good stuff, it was said to be Finnish South Park.

My photo of snail ❤

WoY faces are glorious

The snow queen movie from 1957 gives me live. Its one of my favourite Soviet Union animation movie.

My photo of my special secret place at summer

I know only these two from Transformers comics and their love is wonderful. Truly I haven't read the comics...I wish I could tho!

Sherlock Holmes books are awesome

New ducktales series had so many characters from the comics I couldn't believe it at first! Finally I had my favourite characters like Fethry on the show!

I love odd looking animals because I am one too

Animal Crossing is a game I thought I would never play. It looked like a baby game when my big bro gave the it to me at the time gamecube was new console. He bought it because it had a memory card and he know nothing about the game. I tried it and never looked back ❤

The ping pong animation is my favourite animation series from Japan. I got the manga even I can't read it since it's straight from Japan. It's more about the lifes of the characters and how they grow as people than the game itself (or at least it feels like it). The story feels real in a way, that the characters are three dimensional and their reactions are natural. Some charachters stop developing as players, some loose interest completely, some work hard to be the best, some forget why they played in the first place and some found new ways to live their lives. The story is good for my soul.

Comic of @catmilks made me realise there are other people like me. The feeling of the comic is relatable and hopeful, things will pass and life goes on + make sure you take care of yourself.

Comics of @ stuffnoonetoldme made me reflect my life and how I see myself.

@diva-humon has good points of life. I realised I have very christian way of thinkin even I am not religious or have ever been part of any religios.

Suomenlinna, I loved it!

[adrianasunderworld]

More headcanons for the boys +romance

Piers

Piers is secretly a sap for old movies. Black and white ones to be more specific. He not only finds them aesthetically pleasing, but also with their own charm. Theres a small theater in Spikemuth that exclusively airs vintage movies, and visits whenever he has time.

His and Marnies biggest bonding activity is hair night. She'll help him redye the white streaks in his hair(which is no small task). Piers will blow dry and straighten hers. They'll put on a bad movie from netflix, order take out and have a night. 

Piers can play guitar. But it's more for personal use than anything. He finds it relaxing to just sit an play while he writes songs. It's only for very specific songs that he'll play in stage. They're usually the very emotional ones that mean a great deal to him. Every piers fan knows, if he's holding a guitar, the crowds tears will follow.

Ever see that video of a dog relaxing while his owner plays the pokemon theme on an acoustic guitar? That's Piers and his pokemon.

Obstagoon is like a big bratty dog. Always wants treats, always wants attention. And will whine when it does not get them. When it was a zigzagoon, it would give big pouty eyes for treats and table scraps, and it always worked on young piers. He was a chubby little thing back then.

When skuntank was a stunky, it was biter. Nothing was safe. Furniture, clothes, fingers. Piers always had little red mark's from the teething pokemon. A quarter of all his money always went to replacing toys Stunky had destroyed.

Romance

 Piers has always been bashful around  people he genuinely likes. *coughraihancough* he'll do his damndest to play it off. But he's always been terrible at hiding a crush. Especially if he blushes around them. He's so pale any color on his face will be very evident.

Half the time he always assumes the other person has no interest in him. But he isn't dense enough to not be able to tell when he's being flirted with. He feels better talking to someone when he knows/feels like his attention is wanted. It makes him less nervous.

Isn't one for initiating pda, but is not opposed to it. He likes having his arm around his s/o shoulders though. 

Has written breakup songs before. No you can't hear them. They're private and locked away in his desk. He has just enough self respect to not air his relationship drama on stage.

Play with his hair, he'll be putty in your hands. 

Has never understood people who stay in relationships with someone who does not get along with their loved ones. Marnie is all Piers has, and if someone cannot get along with her or makes her uncomfortable, they are out. Plain and simple. Unless Marnie says it's ok to keep seeing them, Piers won't pick a relationship over his sister.

Piers is always busy with gym responsibilities or performances and practice. As fun as it can be to bring his s/o to events, his favorite date night activity is to stay home with them. He'll make them a nice meal, put on a movie and relax on the couch. 

Is actually a big cuddle bug. He loves snuggling on the couch. His head on your lap. Holding them in bed. Piers is touch starved and needs attention, please give it to him.

Start giving him good luck kisses before a performance, it'll be his favorite thing.

Raihan 

Raihan acknowledges he can be very vain at times. But the one being that out vains him at every turn is Duraludun. If it sees Raihan filming or taking a photo, it will butt in and try to take over the whole shot. It has become very good friends with the Rotom in his phone. When they get bored they'll stage a hostile takeover of his instagram andTwitter. It become a monthly thing.

Not so secretly a bookstagramer. Raihan always ends up in the vaults and libraries of Hammerlocke. He saw one of his gym trainers, Camilla, taking pictures of the books she was reading and asked about it. She showed him a lot of aesthetically pleasing pictures of books, and libraries, and artfully cluttered desk and wanted to try. It's not a secret, but he does try to keep it separate from his hyper dragon man gym persona. Sort of business vs. Personal deal.

He dresses very well. Despite that more often than not he is in his favorite hoodie and gym uniform, when Raihan wants to dress up,damn son. He spends a lot of time online and is friends with Nessa and Sonia, he knows what's up in fashion and what looks good on him.

He and Gordie are the Meme Team. Everytime they have a conversation it will descend into quoting and reenacting vines. Only the younger gym leaders know what they're saying, they just refuse to encourage it. Except Alister. Hes a little kid that hears these cooler older dudes being funny and try to join them. Hes they're third member now. Poor Bea, she couldn't save him.

Out of all his pokemon, he's had flygon the longest. Raised it from a trapinch when he was a kid. That's why he wears that orange hat/headband thing, to honor his buddy. 

Takes very good care of his skin. Partially because his face is always on camera, but also because his skin dries out easily and always need moisturizers. Nessa showed him all her favorite brands. He likes chilling out with a face mask, it's very soothing.

Romance 

Raihan is a very confident, attractive, and friendly guy, he pretty much never has trouble getting a date.

That being said, sometimes he gets a bit too confident and ends up coming on too strong for some people. 

This was definitely a problem in his teen years. He would just say the wrong thing with all the bravado he could muster and whoever he liked would scoff and walk away. He grew out of it, but it could be downright painful to watch young Raihan flirt.

Raihan is pretty laid back and generally takes rejection very well. Only when it was someone that he REALLY liked and had for awhile is when he gets truly upset. And when that happens he just hangs out at home for a bit or go out to the wild area, Spends time with his pokemon. Generally just wants be alone with his thoughts till he can bounce back. 

When Raihan is dating someone, he surprisingly doesn't want to post about it for awhile. If they're still together after a few months is when he'll post selfies and cute couple pictures. He's learned the hard way how certain types of fans will react to him dating, and once they go public they wont have as much privacy. He likes to have that grace period of just being a couple without all eyes on them.But once that initial hurtle is over. Its photo city with him.

Is a big fan of "good morning" and "good night" texts. Also loves falling asleep over the phone when you can't spend the night together.

Honestly just text him a lot in general. A lot of gym things take up a large chunk of his time. Text that you miss him, or a picture of one of your pokemon sleeping on the couch, ask if he wants pizza later. Literally anything will brighten his day. He'll definitely return the favor. 

Loves taking s/o out on the town. From league events, to friends parties, or just dinner and shopping. He wants to show them off. If you aren't comfortable with it, tell him sooner rather than later. 

Is a giant tease. Loves to whisper whatever he can in your ear or send something risque over text to make you blush and then act completely innocent.

Leon

Has a room in his house just for Hop. Hop used to love visiting him every summer in Wyndon. Otherwise he would never see his brother. The visits got less frequent over the years. But Hop always has a place to stay with Leon.

After he had been champion for a couple years was when the merch train really got rolling. Tshirts, posters, stationery. You name it, it had Leon's face on it. As a kid he lost his shit over it and but over the years got less enamored. Although he does have a soft for the Leon toys. After all, who doesn't want an action figure or doll made of them?

Leon does his best to keep himself and his pokemon in shape and on a daily routine. That all gets thrown out the window when he visits home or family comes to see him. All his pokemon get treated like spoiled house pets. FromHaHaxrus  being a test taster for his mom to Hop flying around the neighborhood with charzard. Its takes over a week to get everything back on track after.

Charzard is obviously the leader of all the pokemon next to Leon. All the newer pokemon always look up to them for guidance and charzard is always friendly and helpful. They are also very fond of kids, it loves events like visiting schools or children's hospitals. He's like a drampa in charzard skin.

Haxorus is a diva. She loves attention and shiny things. She adores Sonia because when she was just an Axew, Sonia always gave her a little trinkets, like sparkly hair pins or a pretty rock. She also loves to be complimented, Leon always calls her his pretty girl. Theres pile of shiny stuff that no one is allowed to touch at Leon's house unless she allows it. 

Whenever leon visits home, he always tries to go out with his old friends. Usually they have a few drinks at the local pub and have dinner. Oddly enough, Leon can get lost going next door, but can stumble home no problem when he's drunk. Go figure.

Ever heard of a sneaker head? Well Leon is a hat head. Whenever his favorite brands come out with a new hat design, you can bet your ass he'll be line for the release or online waiting for the listing to show up. The wall of caps at his moms house is but a humble sample of his collection.

Played softball as a kid. He throws his pokeball the way he was taught to pitch. As a kid leon liked to think if he couldn't be a trainer, he would like the be a baseball player. 

Romance 

Leon can't flirt for shit,and I mean this in the nicest way possible. His idea of breaking the ice is asking if you want a battle. 

Leon was especially hopeless as a teenager. He spent so much time with the league, an environment of mostly adults, being around anyone his age was a damn miracle. 

Sonia and Raihan would always take him to parties to socialize. But anytime someone tried to make a move on him, Leon would just think they were being friendly. 

Raihan has always been his wingman.

Raihan: My friend over there thinks you're cute. *points at the damn champion waving awkwardly from across the room.*

Even Now, they still do this. And it still has 50/50 shot of working.

Has been in a couple relationships, but both have ended badly. They were ultimately with Leon for his title and not him.

Leon wants to be with someone, he just finds it's harder for him than he realised. When he does find someone, it's going to be a bit of a slow go to know them and be sure they aren't using him. When that wall breaks he going to be the happiest man around.

Leon is affectionate and will always find a way to touch his s/o. From a kiss on the cheek, to random hugs, to lightly touching their back as he passes.

This man has never half Assed anything in his life. Leon's a go big or go home kind of guy, so when he wants to make a romantic gesture, he'll put his all into it. From picnics on the stadium field, to a special camping spot in the wild area, dinner on the top floor of the battle tower. Even just flowers will be from the best florist in in the city. Leon wants to show how much he loves you and nothing but his 110% best effort will do. 

As extra as Leon is, it's always the small quiet moments that get him. He'll wake up early and see his s/o peacefully asleep, and he'll just melt and stay there for awhile.

 You could try to make his favorite meal and burn everything and he'll still be touched. It's very much the thought that counts for Leon, because it shows you care enough to put the effort in.

King of cheesy lines. Will say the lamest pick up lines or something he heard in a movie to try and make you laugh. It usually works because he always says it with a straight face.

[oriorchids]

Ouma Month Day 9 - Crossover AU

In which Ouma Kokichi meets a little black fox.

  Ouma Kokichi never expected to be out this late. Maybe he accidentally got lost when walking home from an outing with DICE, and maybe walking home alone when he recently moved into Nimbasa City was a bad idea. He had no idea where he currently was, but surely he could find the right path sooner or later...right?

  Perhaps he should’ve asked someone for directions before he landed himself into this mess. However, it wouldn’t really be very becoming of a leader of a secret organization to ask for directions, so now Ouma had to get out of this mess himself.

  He turned around to walk out of the forest-hey wait, was that tree always there? Nah, he’s probably just imagining things-oh wait, did that rock move? Maybe it would be best to collect his thoughts for a bit before moving on.

  Ouma sat down on the wet grass of the forest floor. He really wasn’t sure how he got here. Somehow, his sense of direction failed him. The sound of a bush rustling put himself on guard. “Hello?” He said. “Is someone there?”

  When he didn’t hear any more rustling noises he frowned. “If this is a sick joke then cut it out. It’s not funny.” More silence. “I could make a better joke right now.”

  At the sound of a slight rustling, Ouma continued. “Knock knock. Who’s there? A mirror. I am lonely.”

  A few seconds passed before snickering could be heard from a nearby bush. A small black-and-blue fox walked out of the bushes with a smile on its face. The black fox stared up at Ouma for a few seconds before he heard a voice in his head. “Hi! I’m Zorua! Who are you?”

  “ACK! You can talk?!” Ouma said. He went through his knowledge on Pokemon for a few seconds “What are you doing here? Aren’t Zorua rare?”

  “My Momma lives here, so I live here.” The Zorua looked to the side before barking. Ouma heard more barks from the woods before the trees around him seemed to vanish. A young woman appeared before him before transforming into a tall black-and-red creature. It looked similar to the small fox at Ouma’s feet, but the colouring was different.

  Ouma heard a deeper voice in his head this time. “Who are you?” he heard. “Why are you in this forest?”

  “Nishishi! I was trying to find a place for my evil organization to meet up!” Ouma said, looking the creature in the eye. (It wasn’t too hard, he was about the same height as the foxlike Pokemon.)

  The creature blinked before snarling. “The truth, human?” she said. “I can tell you’re lying.”

  Ouma’s eyes shined. “I’m a serial killer who killed everyone in Nimbasa City. The people in Driftveil City are next.”

  “You’re going the wrong way. Next?”

  “I ran away from home to search for the legendary dragons of the Unova region.”

  The creature looked unimpressed. “That’s impossible without a Pokemon of your own.” 

  “I’ll make the impossible possible.” That sounded like something an idiot would say, so Ouma said it.

  The creature glared at him. “The real truth, human? I don’t have all day.”

  I guess I should admit it. “I...might have gotten lost,” Ouma said, frowning. “You know the way out of the forest or..?”

  “Yes, I do,” The creature said. “But what makes you think I’ll let you leave?”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “We’ve been hiding from humans all our lives.” she said. “We can’t trust you to keep us a secret.”

  “Really?” The Zorua spoke again. “I trust this guy, Momma!”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah! I do! He’s funny!”

  “Hey, human.” The creature looked Ouma in the eyes. “What’s your name?”

  “Ouma Kokichi. Why?”

  “Could you take care of my son for me?”

  “What?” Ouma blinked, skeptical. “Why me?”

  “I want my son to experience the world.” she said. “He won’t be able to travel when he’s hiding from everyone.”

  Ouma twirled his hair. “I guess I’ll help.”

  “Good, because if you refused I would’ve just left you here.”

  “...what?”

  “Zorua, do you want to travel with this human?”

  The small fox’s eyes sparkled. “Is it alright if I go?”

  “It is.”

  “But..will I be able to see you again?” Zorua’s ears drooped. “I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll stay here, so you can come visit me anytime.” The creature smiled, and Zorua barked. “Ouma, here’s a Pokeball. Catch Zorua for me, alright?”

  Leaning down, Ouma held the Pokeball out. Zorua touched the button with his nose and in a flash of red light, Zorua was caught.

  “Hey, could I ask you a question?” Ouma asked. “Who are you?”

  “I am Zoroark.” she said. “Though once I was known as Zinnia.”

--

  When Ouma got home, he took Zorua out of his Pokeball. “So...this is my house. Mom and Dad aren’t around, so you’re free to explore as much as you want.”

  “Can I visit Momma soon?” Zorua asked.

  “Sure. Hey, I heard that Zorua can turn into people with illusions! Can you do that?”

  “I don’t know,” Zorua said. “I haven’t tried yet.”

  Ouma took some noodles out of the cupboard and started boiling water. From what he knew, his parents wouldn’t be back for a week, so he was free to do whatever with the house. After the water started boiling, he placed the noodles inside the water. He turned to walk towards the fridge and grabbed a few Tamato Berries. Looking back at Zorua, he saw a peculiar sight. That is, he saw an almost-identical copy of himself, the only difference being a small black tail. “Hey, hey! I did it!” Zorua said, the illusion’s mouth not moving. “I did it!”

  “Oh my gosh.” Ouma almost dropped the berries. “You know what this means?”

  Zorua tilted his-er Ouma’s head. “What?”

  “We can pull SO MANY pranks!” After he noticed a look of confusion on the doppelganger’s face, Ouma continued. “Basically we can play little tricks on people. It’ll be fun!”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah!” After Ouma noticed a bit of steam rising from the pasta. “Oh, right. I need to get back to cooking.”

  Ouma finished cooking, and the two of them ate dinner. “Hey, Zorua?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is it alright if I call you Zorro?”

  “Okay!”

[just-adashi-thots]

[pokemon au]:

here are their teams again & why i picked them (+ other pokemon they have that aren't sent into battles)

shiro:

salamence: the salamence line starts with bagon, a pokemon without wings that dreams of flying and constantly flings itself off cliffs to experience the rush of being in the air. its desire to fly is so strong that it literally gains wings via a mutation when it finally evolves into its final form. salamence is said to be overjoyed by its new found ability to fly and soars through the air with glee. idk that just screamed shiro to me.

starmie: it's rumored that starmie is an extraterrestrial pokemon, and it is known to send electrical signals towards the sky that can even reach deep into space, which sort of reminded me of the lions causing weird energy readings with their transmissions as they called out to the paladins. plus i mean it just looks like a star haha.

machamp: arm wrestling champion !!!

pyroar: lion !!!!!!

ampharos: the light from ampharos' tail is so bright that it can be used (like in gen ii) as a beacon to guide ships and planes to safety on their journeys. imo shiro is like a beacon, one who lights the way and inspires hope even when the universe is engulfed in darkness and the future looks bleak.

mimikyu: this lonely pokemon hides its terrifying true form by wearing a pikachu disguise so as to not scare others away and make friends instead. i could see shiro choosing mimikyu out of a crowd of pikachu to be his partner. it reminds me of his relationship with keith, how he saw great potential in and took care of a child who everyone cast as problematic and without a promising future.

adam:

braviary: it's a powerful and extremely altruistic pokemon that puts its own safety and life on the line and battles aggressively to protect its loved ones, earning it the name "hero of the skies" like tell me this isn't adam.

lucario: a very intelligent and loyal pokemon who has a strong sense of justice. those are three traits that i think characterize adam very well. plus, the steel/fighting type combo really suits him: strong, sturdy, steadfast, at times fiery, and certainly ready to throw hands when provoked (and sometimes unprovoked, too haha).

golduck: being the patient, nurturing, and compassionate person that he is, i can absolutely see adam caring for and loving a psyduck, which is a pokemon that's constantly plagued with terrible headaches. it fits perfectly with his background as a teacher and, to an extent, symbolizes the love, care, and dedication that he poured into his relationship with shiro especially post diagnosis and leading up to kerberos.

dragonite: it's described as an intelligent and selfless pokemon that will rescue people lost at sea due to say a shipwreck (golduck will also do this). it's cute and has a kind heart but will also beat the ever living heck out of you if you harm anyone or anything it cares about, which is basically adam in a nutshell.

clefable: it's an extraterrestrial pokemon just like starmie that's believed to have come to earth from meteorites, which explains their appearances in places like mt. moon in kanto). in the au, adam ends up studying meteorites when he's older, so i think clefable's a great fit for him.

gothitelle: a) i could see adam having a goth phase, and b) gothitelle has the power to see visions of faraway stars and the future, crying once it figures out the lifespan of its trainer. seasons 7 and 8 were pranks because adam is too powerful to have perished in a plane crash, so i'm imagining a scenario where gothitelle had a vision that adam would die much sooner in, say, a spelunking accident, but he ends up miraculously surviving with the help of his pokemon. the visions then change to ones where adam lives a long and happy life, which fills gothitelle up with joy and relief instead of sadness.

other pokemon they own:

shiro:

delibird: shiro found this funky little pokemon in the shoal cave near his hometown. delibird noticed when shiro first developed a crush on adam, and it decided to use present to cheekily give adam a gift as if it was from its trainer. shiro was downright mortified, and thr situation became even more embarrassing when the gift exploded in adam's face. adam was obviously pissed off (but shiro didn't that it was because adam had feelings for him, too, and thought that shiro was rudely teasing him about it). the gift giving continued, though, and adam grew to love them and the mystery that came with whatever was inside (including the one he received years later that had a ring in it). shiro and delibird have fun competitions to see who can get adam the nicest birthday present each year.

lapras: it was his mother's most treasured pokemon, and, when her health took a turn for the worse, shiro promised to cherish and take care of it for the rest of his life. whenever shiro is feeling anxious, like in the days before liftoff, lapras will sing to him, instantly calming him down. lapras remembers hearing the lullaby that shiro's mother would sing to her infant son; sometimes, it will sing a similar sounding tune, especially on days when they are both missing her.

yamper: shiro's newest friend and addition to his and adam's poké family. he first met this little fellow while on his and adam's honeymoon in the galar region. they play fetch, go on jogs (except yamper gets so excited and charged up that it zooms past shiro and ends up having to circle back when it notices that its trainer has fallen behind), and take naps on the couch on lazy days. they're stupidly cute together, and adam has only like a zillion pictures of them on his phone.

adam:

lunatone and solrock: these are the first pokemon that adam befriended as a child. he visited meteor falls numerous times alongside his mother, playing nearby while she worked. the two meteorite pokemon found him one day alone and afraid in the depths of the cave after having strayed too far from his mother's side; thankfully, they were able to guide adam back to his family. after that day, they continued to guard adam as he explored the various levels of the cave, sensing if he was ever in danger and keeping him out of trouble (no, little human, the waterfall is not a water slide please step away from there). when it was adam's time to start his new adventure as a trainer, he went to meteor falls to say goodbye to lunatone and solrock, but the two followed him out of the cave and refused to return, choosing to join this strange little human on his quest instead. they've been with him ever since and have saved his life on at least a few occasions.

minior (x3): minior might be a rare find, but adam somehow stumbles upon the locations where they have fallen down to earth from the stratosphere. he loves studying these fascinating little fellows, especially when he found out that they change forms and have different core colors. he currently has one red, one yellow, and one blue core minior (will he collect the full rainbow one day ?)

[galfridus1]

Have some Pokemon fun for the content creators server’s NNT AU day. Thanks @nerroart for collaborating on this with me and producing this amazing art here! It was so much fun working with you. Let’s do it again!

For @princessfroslass and @okamideimos - your enthusiasm for the NNT Pokemon AU is infectious.

The sun shone warm, golden rays heating their backs and the skin on their arms. It had rained overnight and the world smelled fresh, everything practically bursting with colour. The sky was bright blue and the cobbled streets shone a little as they wove through the legs of the buyers and merchants, laughing as they dodged the citizens of Liones. It was a nice day at the very peak of midsummer, and Howzer and Gilthunder felt happy to be alive.

A shadow fell over them and Howzer looked up, the grin sliding from his face as he saw the Magical Research Building. It was so huge, a towering structure that dominated the skyline. His father had said something about how you could tell who was in power from the height the buildings. First the guild headquarters had soared over the huts and cottages of Liones, then the churches had risen with enormous spires that dwarfed these buildings. Now it was the mage who scared almost everyone, her massive laboratory drawing the eyes of all who walked through the streets of the kingdom.

“I hear she does weird experiments in there.” Howzer puffed up his chest, pleased for once to have intelligence to share with Gilthunder. As the lowly son of a struggling blacksmith, Howzer did not often get to know the court gossip which his friend seemed to come across almost constantly. But the previous day he had been… borrowing a bun from the kitchens and had overheard the cook discussing the mage with the butler. “She even has demon artefacts,” he said with a whisper, glancing eagerly at Gilthunder to watch his reaction.

He found the other’s unimpressed look extremely disappointing. “Of course she does,” Gilthunder said with a shrug. “She’s the mage. Lady Merlin has to carry out research into everything. She even has a collection of Pokémon…”

“She does?” Howzer interrupted, incredulously. “Wow! I bet she has some real rare ones. Do you think she has a Mew, or a Yvetal, or…”

“How do you know so much about Pokémon all of a sudden?” Gilthunder stopped in his tracks and it took Howzer a few seconds to also draw to a halt. He turned a little nervously to see his friend looking at him with an unnerving interest, piercing blue eyes peering into his own.

He decided to tell the truth. “I… have a team of Pokémon,” Howzer admitted as his eyes dropped to the floor and he shuffled his feet on the stone path. “I’ve been collecting them for a few months now.”

“No way! So have I!”

Howzer looked back up at Gilthunder in surprise. A soft wind was blowing, bringing with it the scent of rosemary and thyme and ruffling his friend’s mop of magenta hair. The small boy continued, a gleeful grin on his face, “How about a match? I’ve got a new Pokémon I want to try out. Think you can take me on?”

Howzer swallowed hard. Truth be told he did not relish the prospect of a fight whatsoever. The fun of Pokémon was collecting and caring for them, finding the rare ones in the long, swishing grass and carefully catching them in red and white pokéballs. He did not enjoy seeing them fight. In fact, he only really used one of his partners, and that was so he could weaken the wild Pokémon he came across so that they could be caught more easily. But Gilthunder was looking at him so eagerly that Howzer felt he could not refuse.

“Um… sure. Why not?”

Gilthunder whooped for joy and grabbed Hozwer’s arm, pulling him towards the gate in the city walls, jabbering nineteen to the dozen as they sped through the streets. “I love how they change when they get stronger,” Gilthunder enthused. “I’ve been training my Helioptile for ages and I think it’s about to evolve! And you wouldn’t believe how cool my Dedenne is now. It just learned Volt Switch, which is such a great move! The one I’m going to show you today is just the best…” Howzer bit his lip, hard. Evidently his friend had been really training his Pokémon hard.

Eventually the boys slipped through the gate, giving a cheery wave to the Holy Knights as they passed. They made their way towards the neighbouring fields, the chirp of birdsong and the rustling and buzzing of insects growing louder as they moved away from the city. The animals were joyous, celebrating the good weather and the abundance of food, but Howzer could feel his heart growing heavier which each step they took. Gilthunder was practically skipping as their feet left stone for dirt, kicking up dust with their shoes as they neared the clearing where Pokémon fights took place.

Panic gripped Howzer’s chest. “Say, Gil?” he called to the boy who had hopped to the other end of the field and was detaching a pokéball from his belt. “I looks close to noon already. Maybe we should each fight with just one Pokémon, yeah? That way we can get back for lunch.”

“Awww!” Howzer hardly dared breathe. Gilthunder sounded pretty disappointed. “I wanted to show you all of my party,” the boy added with a bit of a pout. “But yeah, I guess you’re right. And I wanted to train with Sir Meliodas this afternoon. He told me yesterday he’s got a Rayquaza! I can’t wait to see it! Well, alright. Here we go. Mareep, I choose you!” As Gilthunder spoke, the pokéball in his hand opened a crack, red mist rising from the depths to pool and swirl round his legs. Howzer watched as the vapour started to take shape, forming an animal with four, stumpy legs, a fluffy body and two pointed ears. The sheep stood squarely on the ground, looking at Howzer with daggers for eyes, blue flashes of lightning cracking over its pelt.

With difficulty, Howzer took a pokéball from his own belt, his fingers fumbling with the clasp. Sweat beaded his hands, impeding his movements and he cursed under his breath as he nearly dropped his prize. He snuck another quick look at the Mareep standing opposite and could see from its aggressive stance that it meant business. His own Pokémon did not stand a chance.

“Farfetch’d, I choose you.” Once more red mist crept over the battlefield, crimson whorls swirling in the air. As his Pokémon materialised, shaking itself, chest puffed out with pride, Howzer heard a snort from the other side of the field. He looked up to see Gilthunder clutching his sides, face bright red as he attempted to stifle his laughter.

“What is that thing?” his friend cried as he broke out into fits of giggles. “What even… I mean… it’s carrying a leek! Is it telling us what to eat with it for dinner?”

Howzer felt his face flush red as the laughter continued, the blush pushing down into his neck. “Your Pokémon looks pretty stupid, too,” he muttered angrily as the laughter continued.

At once, Gilthunder’s face turned dark. “How could you?” he yelled as the Mareep’s fur sparked angrily. “This beauty,” he emphasised, his voice laced with hurt, “evolves into an Ampharos. An Ampharos, Howzer,” Gilthunder added as if he were talking to an imbecile. “It is one of the rarest and most powerful Pokémon in this part of the world. And this Mareep is going to show your bird what for! Why have you been bothering with that thing anyway?”

Howzer grit his teeth and did not respond. Farfetch’d was the most useful Pokémon he had. He had been overjoyed to find a TM, conveniently hiding in a log in the woods. The Technical Machine would teach a compatible partner to use False Swipe, the best move available for catching wild Pokémon. At the time, the only companion he had who could learn the technique was the Farfetch’d he had managed to trap down by the river. Once the duck had mastered this move, Howzer had used it and it only in every single fight, deploying False Swipe time after time. The move was perfect for catching as it ensured that he drained the health of the opposing Pokémon without causing them to fall into a faint. He had been so very pleased, his eye on the prize of completing his pokédex, but it was perhaps not the best strategy to prepare for trainer battles.

“Let’s go. Mareep, use Electo Ball!” Gilthunder smiled as huge spheres of light flew from the sheep. The fast, golden orbs raced over the field, the static charge causing the hairs to stand on the back of Hozwer’s neck. But he grinned broadly as Gilthunder yelled in surprise, biting back laughter as his friend’s head jerked left and right, searching in vain for the odd-looking duck.

But of course it was nowhere to be seen. A moment later, a feathered bomb fell from the sky, dropping like a heavy stone. The Farfetch’d hurtled through the air, aiming straight for Mareep’s head. Under his breath, Howzer had ordered it to use Fly, and it had immediately soared upwards, avoiding the sheep’s electric attack. As the duck’s palmate feet made contact, Mareep bleated in surprise, and it fell to the ground with a bump as its legs slipped from under it. Gilthunder practically roared, but then regained his composure as the sheep got hesitatingly back up onto its hooves.

“Are you okay?” Gilthunder asked softly, and his jaw set with determination as the sheep gave a defiant baa in return. “Great. Then use Thunderbolt.” At once, sheets of electricity rolled across the field, zapping the Farfetch’d before it could dodge. The duck gave an indignant quack as the lightning hit, and Howzer squeaked, wincing as he smelled burning feathers.

“Farfetch’d!” the duck croaked. It waddled back towards Howzer, its eyes seeming to glow red. It was livid, furious, beyond peeved. The wild Pokémon round Liones were not a high level and the battles the duck had experienced did not usually leave much of a mark. It was clearly not happy with the current arrangement, and Howzer could practically taste its anger on the air.

“It’s okay, I’ve got an idea,” Howzer whispered and, grudgingly, the duck moved closer towards him. As Howzer explained, it nodded its head, then turned to face the Mareep once more. “Use Double Team,” Howzer commanded and Farfetch’d quacked with joy as it duplicated itself. Soon there were dozens of birds on the field and Howzer felt his spirits rise. “Deal with that!” he yelled in triumph over the noise of the ducks, who were all quacking loudly as they swished their leeks back and forth. “You won’t find the real one.”

But Gilthunder did not look as if he had even broken a sweat. “We got this! Mareep, use Discharge!” Tens of little bolts shot from the Mareep’s fluffy coat, each one aiming for a different duck. As the rays hit their targets, one by one the bodies of the false birds flickered then faded to nothing. The Mareep was relentless, sending flash after flash towards each of the clones until there were only a few Farfetch’d scattered across the field. With a baa of triumph, the Mareep sent another handful of bolts over the terrain, one smashing into Howzer’s partner with an almighty crack. The duck screamed in pain, flapping its wings furiously and throwing its beak into the air and its leek unceremoniously onto the ground.

Howzer ran to his Farfetch’d at once. “I’m sorry,” he murmured as he tried to stroke the duck’s feathers. But his Pokémon was having none of it. With a huff, it tried to snap at Howzer’s fingers, before stomping towards its end of the battlefield, its tufted tail shaking from side to side as it moved. “Farfetch’d,” Howzer called desperately as his duck kept walking away, “come back! We have to finish this fight!” Howzer felt his heart sink as Farfetch’d ignored him, pointedly. He turned reluctantly back to Gilthunder, who stood with his back ramrod straight and his hand lightly resting on the Mareep at his side.

“The match is over,” Gilthunder gloated as he looked over at the duck, which had its back turned to the rest of them and was clearly in a black sulk. “You know what your problem is?” the boy continued to explain. “Your Pokémon is too powerful for you. It’s too high a level for a trainer who hasn’t beaten any gym masters. If you want it to listen to you, you need to earn its respect.”

“What do you know?” Howzer pressed his lips together, taking deep gulps of air to try and calm the sudden lump that rose in his throat. He loved Farfetch’d, really and truly. They had spent so many months together catching Pokémon, delving into tall grass and fishing in the river, and he had assumed the bird felt exactly the same. Now, he was faced with a painful alternate reality, one that he was totally unwilling to accept. “We’re still in. Both of us,” Howzer declared as he stared at Gilthunder with determined eyes.

Gilthunder hesitated, then took several paces across the field. “Howzer,” he said gently, “are you sure about this. It’s okay to give up, I promise I won’t make fun of you,” he added seriously.

“No! We’re still in. Farfetch’d use False Swipe,” Howzer yelled in the direction of the duck. The bird spun around, then stalked towards him and Howzer felt relief flood his senses and blood pound in his ears. His partner was going to listen to him after all.

Seeing the duck’s movement, Gilthunder exclaimed, “Use Confuse Ray,” as he ran back towards his Mareep. The sheep stood up on its hind legs and opened its mouth, just as the Farfetch’d sat in a heap on the ground, its leek lying on the floor beside it. “No stop!” Gilthunder screamed on seeing the bird’s disobedience, but his command came too late. A stream of purple shot from the sheep’s mouth, lighting up the surrounding grass with a mulberry haze as it headed straight towards Farfetch’d at a frightening pace.

Howzer acted without thought. Quick as a flash he dived between the pulse of power and the duck. The beam of light hit him square in the chest and Howzer staggered back, shaking his head as he tried to stay upright. The world was suddenly blurry and everything was wrong, the sky shining vermillion below him as he stumbled on magenta cloud.  

“You’re not allowed to do that!” Howzer heard the voice through a bank of fog, and he strained to understand the meaning of the words. “You’re not allowed to take hits for your Pokémon!” the whiny voice continued, but Howzer found he did not care what it was saying. He stood up on shaky legs, tilting his head up to the sky as familiar objects floated down towards him.

“Cakes!” Howzer jumped up and down trying to catch the confections which dropped like rain through the sweet-smelling air. “There’s strawberry! My favourite,” Howzer said enthusiastically, his mouth watering as he spied piles of cream and fruit. Farfetch’d liked cream, too... This last thought brought Howzer back to himself a little. “You’re wrong about Farfetch’d,” he slurred through his daze. “It’s an amazing Pokémon and I love it and it’s the best partner ever so there!”

As Howzer stumbled over the ground, his tongue lolling slightly and his eyes glazed, the Farfetch’d heard his defiant words. Slowly, carefully, the bird got to its feet, dusting itself off and retrieving its leek, tucking the prized vegetable under its arm. It waddled towards its master, purpose in every step, until it was close enough to peck at the boy. Then it launched itself into the air, landing a hard hit on Howzer’s head with the green end of its leek.

Howzer groaned, cradling his head in his hands as the world righted itself. He felt dizzy, sick and shocked, as if he had been doused in cold water. A quack of “Farfetch’d!” brought him back to his senses. He looked down as his vision stabilised to see his partner standing before him, its beak apparently curved in a smile.

“You want to fight?” Howzer asked and the duck quacked in response, waving its leek in the air to show its agreement. Howzer looked over to Gilthunder, whose head was cocked to one side, and grinned to see his friend’s answering nod. “Okay then!” he exclaimed. “Then would you use False Swipe, please?” he asked the duck, which flapped its wings and rushed straight towards the Mareep.

The sheep gave a bleat as the duck’s blow landed, and it wobbled unsteadily on its feat for several seconds. When it had steadied itself, the sheep pawed at the dirt and sent out the energy of Thunderbolt in response to Gilthunder’s command.

“Dodge it!” Howzer yelled, and he felt his heart sing with joy as his Farfetch’d listened to him without demure. The bird rose into the air, weaving easily through the streaks of power as the lightning tried to catch it, effectively evading the Mareep’s attack. “You’re awesome!” Howzer called and the bird nodded in response, saluting the boy with its leek as it flew past its master, not even one feather out of place.

“Now hit it with Fury Attack,” Howzer commanded. Instantly the bird rounded on the sheep, smacking its leek over and over into the Mareep’s body. Of the five blows it landed, two hit with incredible force. “Critical hit!” Howzer yelled as the duck let forth a quack. The Mareep staggered, then fell, it’s legs sprawling under it as its eyes were replaced with swirls of black. The sheep was out cold, and unable to fight. Gilthunder murmured softly as his Pokémon returned to its ball. Against all the oods, Farfetch’d had won the match.

“You did really well, both of you.”

Howzer straightened up from where he had been kneeling so as to spray Farfetch’d with a hyper potion. Gilthunder held out his hand, a happy smile on his face, but Howzer hesitated. As if reading his mind, Gilthunder continued, “It doesn’t matter that you took the Confuse Ray, I think you won fair and square. And you’re right, Farfetch’d is amazing. I’m sorry I was rude. The match is yours.” Gilthunder stretched out his hand a bit more, and this time Howzer took it, the pair moving their arms up and down in celebration of their friendship.

“You were right too, I need to respect my Pokémon,” Howzer said as the boys walked back to the city, Farfetch’d marching along at their heels. “I’m going to train and battle and win them over.” The bird squarked at this and tapped Howzer’s leg with its leek, and the pair exchanged glances, understanding passing between them.

“Then come and battle Sir Meliodas with me,” Gilthunder urged excitedly. “We’ll get stronger together.” With a whoop, the two boys ran back to the city, Farfetch’d flying behind them as they chattered and laughed.

[rhnuzlocke]

Chapter One: Start Me Up    

Ren jolted awake but it was just the motion of the car. She slowly pulled her feet off the dashboard and stretched in what little space was left between the boxes. The hum of the wheels changed pitch as the car crossed a bridge over a broad estuary at high tide. Wingulls floated in the water and perched on driftwood while red and yellow shadows swam beneath the surface.

“How long was I asleep?” Ren asked.

“Not too long, maybe an hour,” her mother answered from the driver’s seat. “We’re almost there. And Anglic, please.”

“Right. I’m sorry, Okāsan. I was supposed to keep you company.”

“It’s fine, Renko. You needed the rest, and the drive has been very pretty.” She glanced over at her daughter. “Are you nervous at all? I know this is… much to ask of you.”

“…I guess a bit,” Ren admitted. “I mean, I haven’t even seen the house.”

“It’s very nice! You will love your room. The region is beautiful, and the town is lovely. Maybe you could work in the lab for a time while you sort things out…” She trailed off when she noticed that Ren had returned to staring out the window. “I want you to know that your father and I are grateful for how well you’re taking this. You’ve been such a big help, even if you may not be as excited as we are.”

“Aw, Okāsan, no one could hope to be as excited as you,” Ren teased, flashing her mother a reassuring smile. “I think it’ll be fun!”

“I think you put on a brave face for us. You are allowed to feel however you want about this.”

There was no use in denying it, so Ren took a deep breath before responding, settling her hands into her lap. “I just graduated. It’s a good time to pull up roots.” Ren fixed a smile on her face. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to visit Hoenn. I’m pretty hyped. And we’ll get to see Otōsan all the time. This is so awesome for you two!” She squeezed her mother’s shoulder. “Try not to worry so much.”

When you asked if I wanted your life’s story, I rather thought you would begin it earlier. There are a number of formative incidents during your childhood you could have chosen.

“I thought you wanted to know the story of why I decided to become a trainer, not why I decided not to be.”

We both know it goes back further.

“I—Well—I’ll get back to them when they become relevant.”

Late in the afternoon, Ren sprawled on her bed, taking in her new room. The ceiling sloped with the roof and the beams were left uncovered. She stared upward with her arms behind her head and thought about stringing up a hammock between them.

Asuka popped her head in the open door.

“How’s it going, Renko?”

She gave her mother a thumbs up without looking over.

“I am going to the Birch’s house to help Nikau,” Asuka continued. “I was hoping you could stop by the lab and gently remind Prof. Birch that we are having dinner together. I think he is like your father and gets very wrapped up in his work.”

“Hai,” Ren responded distantly, still staring at the beams above her.

Asuka lingered for a moment, studying Ren’s face, then left. Ren caught up with her on her way out the door and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her mother smiled and turned towards the neighbor’s house while Ren headed down her new driveway to the road.

She walked along the main road through the small town, if it could even be called that. It was more a collection of houses and a general store than a proper hamlet. Still, it was charming in it own way. There were flowers in front of almost every house and lots of modest vegetable gardens.

Littleroot Labs was by far the largest building and starkly modern in contrast to the quaint houses, so it was easy to find. But Prof. Birch wasn’t there. He couldn’t be reached on his nav but apparently wore a tracker when doing fieldwork. One of his grad students, Angela, pinged it for her, and it showed that he wasn’t far out of town close to Trainer Route 101, so Ren decided to go.

Like many of the trainer routes in Johto, the path quickly diverged from the road, which made it feel wild and quiet, a far cry from the suburbs of Kogane. It was old too, packed hard, winding and natural, but overgrown where it ambled out of the trees into a great grassy meadow. Most of the wild Zigzagoons, Taillows and Wurmple scurried away at the sight of her, but a few paused to look her over before fleeing or just ignored her altogether.

Ren was watching a Taillow catch a dragonfly in the warm evening sun when she heard a cry. She couldn’t see the source, but it sounded distressed, so she ran towards it and nearly tripped over a shoulder bag in the tall grass. She picked it up and kept running.

She found Prof. Birch on the ground with an angry Poochyena viciously shaking his pant leg. It was almost comical at first, seeing such a broad, strapping man at the mercy of something so small, but the peril was real. The Bite force of a pokemon with jaws and teeth like that could crack bone.

“Hey!”

The Poochyena eyed her for a second, then continued savaging the professor’s pant leg. Ren took a step forward to stop it, but Prof. Birch yelled at her.

“Don’t! I have pokemon!” He tried kicking at the enraged Poochyena to no avail. “In my bag—hurry—AHH!” He screamed as the as the Poochyena tugged harder.

Ren thrust her arm into the bag, pulled out a pokeball, and threw it, catching it easily as it bounced back from the recoil of releasing the pokemon inside. The red light formed into a Treecko that barely took a second to survey the situation before charging the Poochyena and smacking it in the face with his tail.

The Poochyena rolled off, and Prof. Birch scrambled back. The Treecko planted himself between them and hissed. The wild snarled back and charged. He dodged smartly, but when he looked back at Birch for instructions, the Poochyena landed Bite and the Treecko flinched, leaving himself wide open for a Tackle.

“Oh, ah, Pound!” Birch ordered belatedly.

The Treecko obeyed, swinging his tail at the Poochyena, but the wild pokemon caught it in its teeth and flipped its opponent with a heave. The Treecko landed heavily on his back, winded.

“Leer?” Birch ventured.

The Treecko fixed the Poochyena with glowing golden eyes. The wild pokemon shook it off and lunged again, and the Treecko clumsily shoved it aside. Birch still didn’t even have the presence of mind to stand as the Poochyena chased his Treecko around. Ren watched for another moment before her face set and she stepped forward.

“You are faster than that thing!” she yelled to the Treecko. “Wait for it to charge, then dodge and use Pound!”

The Treecko’s eyes flashed to hers, then he tensed, waiting. When the Poochyena sprang, and the Treecko jumped over it, flipped in midair, and brought his tail down on the Poochyena’s head, slamming it into the ground. The Treecko landed gracefully just behind it.

“That’s it!” Ren yelled encouragingly.

The Poochyena got up and shook its head. The Treecko squared off with it on all fours, tail waggling.

“To the side this time!” Ren called, pointing for emphasis.

The Treecko dove towards the Poochyena’s tail and spun as the Poochyena wheeled around, teeth bared. His tail connected heavily with the Poochyena’s side, sending it rolling away with a wheeze.

“Now hit its back!”

Before the wild pokemon could get to its feet, he leapt up and brought his tail down on the Poochyena’s spine.

“Yes!” Ren cried, eyes alight.

“I was so obvious to everyone but me, wasn’t I?”

Yes. Especially to him.

The Poochyena shuddered, trying to stand, and Ren’s expression turned serious once more. “Pin its head and look it in the eye. You’ve won this fight. Let it know.”

The Treecko did as instructed, snorting into the Poochyena’s face as he pinned its muzzle to the ground with a hand. The Treecko held the Poochyena’s gaze until it looked away. He let it up slowly, and it slunk off with a whine.

“Great job!” said Ren.

The Treecko turned to look up at her in wonder and grinned broadly back. With the battle over, she realized just how striking he was—a light grass green with bright red stripes across his back, a pale belly, and a vivid blue tail. He also glimmered faintly in the dimming sun from a sprinkling of gold scales across his body that almost made her think he was a shiny.

“You okay?” Ren asked him.

He nodded vigorously, but his golden eyes stayed fixed on her even as she turned to check on the professor. She offered Birch a hand and pulled him up.

“Are you alright, professor?”

“Yes, just a bit shaken up.” He took a few deep breaths and patted his pants and coat. “I must admit this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten myself into trouble with a wild. Thank you for saving my neck, or should I say my leg. You must be Ren.”

“Once again, my reputation precedes me.”

“It certainly does!” Birch said with a smile. “You look a lot like your father. You battle like him too. Should have expected as much, I suppose.” His brow furrowed a little. “Only, I thought Senri said you weren’t a trainer?”

“I’m not, but I’ve been to trainer school, and I used to practice with Otōsan.”

Birch nodded. “You’re very good. I’m a terrible trainer as you’ve probably noticed. I always just panic and blurt out the first move that comes to mind, even when my leg isn’t in danger.” He straightened out his sleeves.

“Well,” Ren said carefully, “you are really good at your job.” She handed him his bag. “I’ve read of few of your papers. You do great work.”

“Thank you! And thank you again for the help.” He rummaged through his bag, pulled out a potion, and sprayed the Treecko, who shook, looking refreshed. “There you go. Thanks, bud.” He turned back to Ren. “I better get home. I was supposed to help my wife with dinner like a good husband for once.” He pulled out his device and tried to make a call. “Still not picking up,” he muttered to himself, then turned back to Ren. “I hate to ask a favor when you just saved me, but do you think you could fetch my son for me? His name is Kai. He should be just north of here on Route 103.”

“Sure thing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you so much! Hey, why don’t you take this Treecko with you? It can get a bit rough out here and you two seem to get along.”

Ren looked down at the Treecko, who wagged his tail twice.

“Will you be alright, professor?

“Yes! I still have a pokemon, and it’s not far.” He handed her the Treecko’s pokeball. “Dinner probably won’t be for a while anyway. We have to wait for Senri. So you two have fun. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ren. I’ll see you soon!”

“Nice meeting you! Take care!” Ren called after him as he hurried back towards town. She looked down at the Treecko. “Ready to go?”

The Treecko nodded excitedly and climbed right up to her shoulder as if she were a tree. She laughed.

They hiked onwards into the woods but before long she could smell salt on the air as she and the estuary wandered closer to each other.

Slanted light gave away a clearing just off the path and they pressed through the brambles towards it at the Treecko’s insistence. A young man about Ren’s age was sitting next to a deep, round pool at the clearing’s center, talking to a Torchic and a Zigzagoon. The young man was broad and heavyset like Prof. Birch but had darker, nut-brown skin like Nikau, and the hair poking out from under his white beanie was straight and a good deal less sun-bleached than Birch’s unruly curls. Ren felt fairly certain she had found the right person.

“Really?” he asked his pokemon excitedly, scrawling something rapidly in his notebook. “Could you ask if she’s seen any recently, or maybe what time of year she's seen them?”

His Torchic nodded and back to the Zigzagoon, who was nibbling on something. They conversed for a minute in cheeps and coos and then the Torchic twittered back to him.

“That’s great!” he exclaimed. “We’ll have to keep coming back here for a while to see if we can confirm. Thank her for me, would you, Jay?”

The Torchic turned back to the Zigzagoon, but it had obviously spotted Ren and picked up its food before scurrying away into the bushes. The young man and Torchic looked up simultaneously, and he grinned brightly.

“Hi there!”

“Hi, I’m Ren Kosugi.”

She offered her hand. He took it, and they shook before she pulled him up.

“I’m Kai, and this is Jay. It’s nice to meet you. Are you a trainer?”

“No—” Ren began, but she was interrupted by the Treecko’s gurgling.

The Torchic chirped loudly at Kai and he looked down at her, then back up at Ren.

“Your Treecko says you are.”

“I already said I’m not,” Ren muttered quietly to the Treecko. “And he’s not my—”

The Torchic interrupted this time with an excited cheep.

Kai looked down at her. “Are you sure that’s Dad’s—” He looked back up at Ren. “Wait, did you say your name was Kosugi?”

“Yeah.”

“So you must be Senri’s kid!” he babbled. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t—I didn’t expect—I mean, I guess I just thought you were a guy?” He trailed off uncertainty.

“I’m not,” Ren said flatly.

“I guess so—I mean, obviously,” Kai corrected hurriedly, face flushing. He laughed awkwardly, suddenly unable to meet her eyes.

Ren’s impressively thick eyebrows met in irritation as she tried to work out what that was all supposed to mean, but after a moment she decided to move past it.

“It’s fine. Your father sent me and the Treecko to bring you back for dinner.”

“Oh, right, geez. I’m sorry about that. I turned off my nav because the notifications kept spooking my subjects,” Kai explained.

“I wanted to look around anyway,” Ren assured him. “We should head back though. It’s getting late.”

“Yeah.”

Ren started walking but Kai lingered for a moment before jumping to follow her. They jostled through the bushes at the edge of the clearing and Kai stayed quiet, clearly too embarrassed to make further conversation.

Not the best first impression for someone you dote on so extremely.

“No, but I never really had the opportunity to get to know someone like him—someone like me—back in Johto. And I’m very glad I took the chance.”

Ren sighed to herself and took the initiative. “So you’re a trainer?”

“Yeah!” He perked up for a moment before getting quieter again and looking away. “I only just started.”

“But you can already understand your Torchic? That’s pretty cool.”

“Thanks! She’s the best.” Jay headbutted his leg affectionately, and he grinned at her. Ren watched them out of the corner of her eye and smiled a bit herself. “It was really awesome to actually speak with a pokemon after waiting practically my entire life…” There was another beat of silence after he went quiet, so Ren tried prompting him again.

“Do you help your father with his research a lot?”

“Yeah,” he said, smiling again. “I sort of grew up doing it, but now that I’m old enough, I’m an official research assistant. And because I have my own pokemon, I can do field work, which is the fun part. Jay’s really smart. She’s always helping me find rare variants and interview wilds. Like back there, that Zigzagoon was telling us it saw Rosy Wingull on that pond! Normally they don’t come this far west.”

Kai continued to babble excitedly about his work, and Ren allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction. The sun fell into the trees, scattering warm color across their trunks. The Treecko hopped down off her shoulder to walk next to the Torchic. He burbled animatedly, and she peeped quietly back as they went. By the time the four of them reached Littleroot, the sun had set, and Kai guided them back to his house by the lights pouring softly from the windows.

The two families and their pokemon stayed around the table long after dinner was finished. Senri sat on one end, tilting back in his chair with his wife and daughter on either side. Ren was seated next to Kai. She had one arm on the table so she could see past him to the other end, where Prof. Birch was telling the story of his rescue, gesticulating wildly for emphasis. All laughed as he nearly fell out of his chair in the re-enactment.

“And I’m blithering out inane commands like an idiot, so of course my poor Treecko is getting his ass kicked—no offense, bud—and I’m just panicking even more. But then Ren steps in—thank Arceus—and starts telling my Treecko what to do. It worked instantly!” He snapped to convey the speed. “They had the wild literally beaten into the ground in less than a minute. I’ve never seen anyone turn a battle like that before. And this Poochyena already knew Bite, so it was no slouch. I mean, that should have been a tough battle even without the rocky start!”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Senri said, grinning. He made brief eye contact with his daughter, and she shot him an irritated look in return “She’s always been a natural.”

The Treecko chose this moment to climb up Ren and rest his head on hers, standing on her shoulders for support. She stopped glaring at her father and lowered her other elbow to the table, resting her head in her hands to make the position more comfortable. All were quiet for a moment, watching the pair smile at each other.

“What do you say to taking that Treecko off my hands?”

“Ehh!—really?” Ren responded with an embarrassed start.

“He’s a bit of a handful,” Birch admitted, “but he seems to like you already.” He had to stifle a laugh because the Treecko, who was clearly not following the conversation, had grabbed hold of Ren’s head so that he could nuzzle it with full force, thoroughly mussing her smooth, black hair.

“What do you say, Shima?” Ren asked the Treecko from under the hair coming loose around her face. The Treecko froze, eyes blowing wide. “Would you like to be my pokemon?”

The Treecko bounced ecstatically for a moment before leapfrogging over her head and landing on the table in front of her. He whirled around to face her, knocking over an empty glass with his tail and nodding frantically, whole body quivering with excitement.

“Well I guess you are then,” said Ren with a big smile.

The Treecko did a somersault, which sent some silverware flying, then jumped into her arms and nuzzled at her neck. After a moment, she put him back down on the table.

“Are you going to battle him?” Senri asked, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m not—” Ren began defensively but snorted mid-sentence because the Treecko was furiously waggling his eyebrow ridges at her.

“He’s been around humans for a while now. He’s picked up a few things,” Prof. Birch explained, chuckling a little.

“Is that what you are going to call him?” Senri asked. “Stripes?”

“I’ll think of something better!” Ren retorted with a flush of red around her ears.

“Do you think you could do me another favor?” Birch asked.

“Sure!” Ren answered belatedly, still a little pink.

“I know you haven’t decided what you’re going to do yet, but would you take one of my pokedexes and log the pokemon you see whenever you’re out?”

“That’s hardly a favor, Birch-san. I’d love to have a pokedex.”

“Great. You can come by the lab and pick one up tomorrow then. And you can call me Alan. We’re all friends here.”

“Of course, Alan,” Ren says, smiling. “Thank you.”

The Treecko climbed back up on Ren’s shoulder, while Jay hopped up and nestled herself between Kai’s arms on the table. Ren could feel everyone looking at her and tried not to hunch her shoulders.

“Thank you so much for helping us unpack, Nikau,” Asuka said and Ren threw her a grateful look.

“Of course! Turned out to be no trouble, anyway. We barely even needed the Machoke with Ren there.”

Ren flexed nonchalantly, so that it almost looked like a stretch, and the other two women laughed.

“Yes, Renko has always been quite the hard worker,” said Asuka with a smile and Senri grinned. He shifted to face his daughter, draping his arm over the back of his wife’s chair to view her more directly.

“So are you going to train him at all?” he asked, still grinning. “Seems like he has a battler’s temperament. You may want to register just in case.”

“I’ll think about it,” Ren grumbled and turned immediately to Kai. “So Kai, are you working on your own project, or is the research you’re doing for one of your dad’s projects?”

Kai leaned back a little to put a bit more space between them, but seemed happy enough to answer. Senri smiled and pet his Vigoroth’s head as he watched Kai and his daughter talk. Alan got up and started clearing the dishes away. The Vigoroth was happy to eat the leftover scraps off the plates while the Ursaring napped in the corner, snoring softly.

The next day the Treecko tried to help Ren unpack, but mostly he wound up bouncing around and climbing all over the walls with his sticky toe pads. Ren calmly moved things out of his way as she went along and tossed him a rubber band ball she found in one of her boxes.

When she was satisfied with the progress in her own room, the pair headed downstairs and helped Ren’s mother put away the dishes and other kitchen things. Asuka unwrapped and directed while Ren filled the lower cabinets and the Treecko placed things on the shelves too high for the women to reach.

They all took a break for lunch and after they were finished, Ren noticed the Treecko staring out the window, foot tapping absently on the sill.

“Hey, Okāsan, I think we are going to head out for a bit.”

“Of course, Renko,” her mother responded placidly over her shoulder. “Thank you for the help.”

The Treecko bounded ahead of her on Route 101. It was warm in the sun, but still a little cool beneath the trees. She wondered if every spring here would be so mild.

The Treecko went rigid and tugged at Ren’s jacket.

“What’s up?”

The Treecko pointed at the Wurmple crawling out onto the path ahead of them, then planted a fist in his other hand with an audible smack.

“I’ve told you twice I’m not a trainer,” said Ren. “I’m serious.”

The Treecko just waggled his tail, grinning at her and she sighed.

“I know you think it’s fun, but’s dangerous because we’re not registered. Do you understand?” There was no recognition in his eyes. “A real trainer can take you to a Pokemon Center if something goes wrong. And I’m not even sure I really want to…” She trailed off as he gestured eagerly at the Wurmple again, which had turned to face them. It raised its hindquarters in obvious challenge. Ren’s expression softened for a moment and she straightened up.

“Alright, go get ’em, Shima!”

Ren braced as the Treecko vaulted off her shoulder and landed in front of the Wurmple. His feet had barely hit the ground when the wild pokemon String Shotted him in the face, and he staggered back.

“Keep your cool. Listen for it,” Ren instructed.

The Treecko crouched, eyes closed, and the Wurmple shifted, readying its stinger.

“It’s gonna try and sting you! Hit it with your left!”

The Treecko aimed a punch with his left hand and hit home. He used the contact to grab the Wurmple and flip it, quickly hopping on top of it. He held it down until it stopped struggling, then let it up, turning back to Ren as it slipped away into the underbrush.

“Masterful job, Shima! Hold still,” she said, smiling.

She kneeled down and peeled the silk off his face. His golden eyes blinked open and he grinned, looking satisfied. He climbed back aboard and they headed off again.

“And that went on for days. We helped unpack in the mornings, and then he’d drag me out every afternoon on a walk and challenge every wild pokemon he saw.”

Why didn’t you tell him no?

“You know why.”

Do I?

“Because it’s in my blood, in my bone marrow. Because I love it.”

“Try not to jump around as much this time. These Zigzagoons are pretty good at getting you in the gut.”

He nodded, bounding forward as the Zigzagoon crouched, tail erect in challenge.

“And watch for the front claws!” she called as the Treecko dived at his opponent. “They’ll do a lot more damage. Try to get around back!”

He did as instructed, stopping just out of range as the Zigzagoon swiped at him, and jumped to the side instead. The two pokemon traded blows for a while and the Treecko started flagging, sides heaving as he panted. He didn't have the stamina to win the long game.

“Get some distance and use Absorb!” Ren commanded.

The Treecko backflipped, hitting the Zigzagoon’s nose with his tail and launched a ball of green energy as it recoiled. It staggered as its energy was sapped away and the Treecko wagged his tail.

“One more!” Ren called.

This time the Zigzagoon collapsed and the Treecko stood tall, looking exceedingly pleased.

“Great job, Shima!”

She crouched and they high-fived, grinning. Ren pulled some jerky out of her shoulder bag and placed it in front of the Zigzagoon. It got to its paws and took the offering cautiously before slinking away just as Kai and Jay emerged from the grass behind Ren.

“You really are a good battler,” Kai said in wonder.

She whipped her head around and then tucked her hair behind her ear in an attempt to look a little less startled. “Thanks,” she murmured.

“How come you two are out here fighting wilds?” Kai asked.

“It was his idea,” Ren said, jerking her thumb at the Treecko. He puffed up with pride and Kai’s Torchic tittered. Ren looked down. “I mean, we shouldn’t be, but he really likes battling. He gets so damn excited…”

Kai wet his lips and his hand flexed slowly, pinky to pointer. “Maybe it’s not my place, but when I saw you two battling just now, it looked… right? Like you’d been doing it for a long time already. And, well, it looked like you were having fun.”

Ren shifted and grabbed her arm—she couldn't help it. Kai paused again, confusion taking over his expression. She let go, but still rubbed at it a little, unable to meet his eyes.

“It hurt. It always does.”

Even now?

“Yes. Even now.”

Jay chirped at her. Ren blinked, not understanding what the Torchic wanted and looked to Kai for a translation.

“Jay says you should do what makes you happy, what feels right, and not worry so much.”

“I just realized I owe Jay a lot.”

How so?

“No one had put it to me quite that way before. Everyone else was concerned with what I wanted or what was best for me. But how was I supposed to know that when everything was pulling me both ways? How could I decide? She made it simple. And I’ve been trying to follow that advice ever since, to follow my instincts moment to moment and trust that they’ll lead me well.”

Ren’s face brightened a little and she smiled at Kai and then his Torchic. “Smart cookie.”

Later that night, Ren lay on her bed with her Treecko resting on her chest. She pulled a hand out from under her head and laid it gently on her Treecko’s back. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

“So I’ve been thinking… how do you feel about ‘Tāraki’?—as a name, I mean.”

He scooched up and booped her nose with his snout.

She laughed. “So is that a yes?”

He nodded and flopped his head down on her collarbone.

“Okay, Tāraki, I’ve also been thinking about what we’re going to do, you know?”

He rumbled against her.

“It’s obvious to me that you really want to be a battler. And I know I’ve been, um, sending mixed signals about whether or not I want to be a trainer. I really do like battling with you, but I…” She trailed off and sighed.

“I should have told him then.”

He knows now.

“The point is… I’m willing to train you.”

His head snapped up, eyes boring into hers.

“I mean, I’d be happy to train you. We can even challenge a gym if you want, I just can’t promise we’ll take the League Challenge or anything right now, okay?”

Ren spluttered as he launched himself at her neck, hugging her tight and rubbing his head roughly against her cheek. She giggled, trying to gently push him away.

“Tāraki!”

But he was having none of it. And eventually, she gave in.

[fibrielsolaer]

Smash Ultimate tier list based entirely on which characters I like and which I hate

BSP = Big Sexy Personality

FBNIS = Fun, But Not In Smash

MPATBUD = Mario Princesses Are Terrifying Blow-Up Dolls

S Tier

Kirby: absolutely the man, if you don’t love Kirby you’re probably the asshole who got this roster flooded with Marth World pricks

Pikachu: He quicc. He thicc. He’ll Thunderbolt you to hicc

Except it’s a she because I only ever play Librechu ;p

Bowser: BSP

Zelda: She is so cute, I can finally stand playing as her

Pichu: He is so cute, it almost makes up for how stupid he is

Ganondorf: He’s finally fucking cool. He uses the goddamn sword now

Lucario: What if Mewtwo was a Shaolin monk hunk

I only play purple Lucario for reasons you’re best not knowing

Toon Link: He’s the cartoon that Link and Young Link watched and modeled themselves on

Ridley: HOLY SHIT IT FEELS AWESOME TO PLAY RIDLEY

I love how the game designers know he’s way too small so when you fight him in Classic Mode as Samus he gets Giant modifier

K. Rool: BSP

Piranha Plant: The pain from the pipes, this disrespectful piece of shit is so stupid he wraps around to greatness, with his inclusion I’ve changed my mind and now say fuck it, add Bandana Waddle Dee, hell add a regular Waddle Dee if you want, I don’t even care anymore

A Tier

Luigi: Few people know that he and Mario are actually identical twins, his brother merely wears a fat suit (the weight of which has crushed his spine) so they can be told apart

Ness: I like the picture you get when you play for 20 hours

C. Falcon: This is the guy who beats up Incineroar. As the positive icon of the people he never shows any emotion except for “YUS!” and “SHOW ME”. All Might was probably based on this jackass

Jigglypuff: Like so many other Pokemon, its adorable facade is a veneer for an expansive and unfathomable eldritch demon. The difference is, despite how fucking many Pokemon like that there are, nobody has found Jigglypuff’s secret and lived to tell

Young Link: He’s actually Link’s son, who idolizes his father and wants to follow in his footsteps. His dad has strayed from the path but young blood here carries on the true faith. Also, FBNIS

Mewtwo: He was the original Damn Cool Pokemon. He jockeys with Lucario for that role now but all they ever do is sit there charging their neutral Bs talking about how the planet will explode in 5 minutes

Roy: He knows that the Marth World infestation is soon to be purged, because there are like five actual Marths including him, so he decided to become the best Marth World character so he alone will survive

Pit: The only cunt from his series besides Dark Pit who had the decency not to change voice and try to pretend it was the same fucking one. I never play as him ever but Sakurai sure cared more about making him fresh & fun post-Uprising than any of his other goddamn characters

Charizard: BSP

Dedede: BSP

Bowser Jr.: This rude little shit is the guy who you invite to a party and he brings his whole crew, excuse me no I didn’t invite Wendy and Horton and Lenny and all these bitches, but fuck it y’all cool

Simon: I like his funny walk and he looks like Conan the Barbarian

Richter: I like his funny walk and he looks like a dork

Isabelle: Do you know this literal bitch killed me with a fucking stop sign 3 times before I unlocked her, why isn’t that a reaction macro

Incineroar: He pretends to be a bad guy so that kids’ heroes will beat him up on TV and they will be happy. He is so sweet

B Tier (Everyone Is Meh)

Mario: Meh

Donkey Kong: Meh

Link: The dad who strayed from the path, I really don’t like the Breath of the Wild Link, FBNIS

Fox: Meh

Sheik: Meh

Dr. Meh: Mario

Falco: Hands off my meh

Mehrth: He’s kinda cool but Roy is way cooler

Mr. Game & Watch: What an annoying asshole

Wario: It’s not the cool Wario, it’s the stupid Wario Ware one, and he brings all his obnoxious waifu friends with him. It’s Wario after he retired from his teen Youtube star days at the age of 30 and he’s trying to stay young and cool-looking but his stoner friends keep fucking it up

Solid Snake: Meh, too indirect for me, FBNIS

Squirtle: Meh-est of the Pokemon Trainer trio, he just doesn’t provoke like any reaction from me at all unlike the other two

Diddy Kong: Meh

Olimeh: This is the most boring goddamn character, everything you do you have to pluck fucks

ROB: He barely animates

Villager: I kinda wish Animal Crossing let you be an animal too. The lone human character is really boring

Mega Meh: You got: FBNIS

Little Meh: I dunno I’ve just barely ever played him

Mehninja: Maybe I should actually try playing it once ever

Duck Hunt: If there was a B-and-a-half tier I’d put this one there because you can delay the side-B and set up Snake-level GOTCHA combos, otherwise the novelty wears off fast

Ryu: He is the 2nd-least likeable guy, what a turbo douche

Bayomehtta: She’s rule 63 Dante, her game was always just a DMC ripoff that relied on her tits & ass to differentiate from it

Inkling: I like the yellow hair girl one but I ABSOLUTELY HATE THE CRINGY-ASS ASSIST TROPHY AND WILL ABSOLUTELY UNFAIRLY BLAME THE CHARACTER FOR THIS.

C Tier

Samus: She is the most FBNIS character

Ice Climber: They’re really un-cute and I hate their desync thing

Metaknight: This guy was so much cooler before he talked, or rather, before he screamed AYAYGYGYAYGYAGA

Ike: Marth World has like 2,000 characters ranging from pegasus knights to barbarians to psychic dragon-girl dancers, and yet we keep getting these boring fucking swordsmen

Pokemon Trainer: Get absolutely the fuck out you twerp you don’t even do a goddamn thing and you die the second any one of your THREE fighters is KO’d so you don’t even incorporate the actual spirit of your original character unlike literally everybody else

Venusaur: If I evolved this ugly fucker I would delete my save

Lucas: If I had an Absolutely Gone Machine that could erase anything in the world and delete everyone’s memory that it ever existed so they would shut the fuck up about it, Mother 3 would be precisely the fourth thing I deleted

Robin: Least shitty post-Melee Marth World character but I just haven’t bothered to try it out to see if it’s actually good or not, probably because I’m just too allergic to Marth World by now

Dark Samus: Cool, but why

Daisy: MPATBUD, but this one has the closest thing to a personality. Unfortunately it is a fucking terrible and horrific personality

Zero Suit Samus: hey cool Samus is Barbie now

Ken: Remember how I said Ryu was the 2nd-least likeable? Well here’s Liquid Ryu to seize the coveted spot

Cloud: Yeah hey, let’s take the one Final Fantasy protagonist with like the least connection to Nintendo, no it’s fine, every goddamn Marth World game except the one that justified its worldwide presence has a character in but we’re not gonna use Cecil or Buttz or Terra

Corrin: Any hope this bitch had to go on my “Is a dragon so I like it” list was ruined by how absolutely infuriating it is to fight against Corrin especially that one Spirit match where he spams his INSTANT FINAL SMASH THAT HAS LIKE AN INFINITELY VERTICAL HITBOX fuck this goddamn digimon

D tier

Yoshi: I’ve hated this thing ever since it stopped going BAWONKA WONKA and started going blblblblblbl

add Birdo as an Echo and I might forgive you

Peach: MPATBUD, Peach is usually able to manifest either the behavior of a real person (Paper Mario) or the appearance of one (Smash), but sadly never both, she is doomed to blow-up-dollery forevermore

Sonic: Please add any other Sonic character, any at all, I’ll even take Charmy, I fucking hate Blue Bubsy

Wolf: The only reason he is not the furry-trashiest character in Smash is because Krystal is an AT, this cocksucker deadass awoos

Wii Fit Trainer: Next to her, Mario Princesses almost look human

Rozzalinda: MPATBUD and this one is the worst, far and away the worst Mario Princess, she is the creepiest fucking woman. WHY IS IT THAT NOBODY IN MARIO ACTS LIKE A HUMAN FUCKING BEING EXCEPT THE CHARACTERS WHO AREN’T FUCKING HUMAN. tl;dr the only people who say rosalina is their waifu collect people’s faces

Mii Fighters: you dress them up to make a parody of a character and then never once actually use said parody because they are stupid

Palutena: remember in Uprising how they could make fake Palutenas, this is one of them, they have a fake Viridi too, you know it is because starting in smash 4 it is clearly two different actresses trying way too hard to sound like the old ones and i can’t get over it sorry. (also she plays like shit)

Pac-Man: I only liked him when he was a pizza

Shulk: does he ever shut the fuck up

Lucina: add a red nose and it’s Marth: Tumblr Edition

Chrom: oh fuck off

Robin’s bitchass final smash still calls this clown

even if you use it on Chrom

he is so ashamed of his audacity he fucking fucks himself

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #374

“Sneeze Tp, Stevie Gets Stuck, Baby Shower, Kidnapped!”

[Lie] Once full of wonderful food, she's considering what she needs to do for the day-

[Karla] Walked back to tell Ever what was going on-

[Dawn] Is using Lie's swing and glancing over to check on her every few mintues.

[Lie] - I think I'll take some more vanilla to the village, I messed up last time

[Dawn] Shrugs- I guess? But you shouldn't go by yourself.

[Lie] - Oh all right, the green house is right there though

[Dawn] Glances over at Cp running around doing chores-

[Lie] Heads right for the green house, the plants perking as she gets closer-

[Lileep] Happy noises-

[Blake] Generally bothering Cp-

[Lie] - Hey there- She starts picking some of the vanilla but as she does her nose starts to itch and before she can stop herself, she sneeze teleports

[Dawn] Hears the noise and goes to investigate.

[Lileep] Confused tentacle wiggles-

[Dawn] Ummm.... -Yells- Cp!!!

[CP] Comes over- What?

[Dawn] Lie went in here, and now she's gone! - points at the Pokemon- Is that thing dangerous????

[CP] - The Lileep is harmless, did you hear anything at all?

[Dawn] I heard a sneeze, but that was all.

[CP] Curses- Damn it, she teleports whenever she sneezes!

[Dawn] Really???

[Karla] Comes back with a casual saunter- Are we gardening today?

[CP] - Lie sneeze teleported

-CP begins making his way towards Notch's house. Apart partway there his red zone heart suddenly flats brightly, becoming visible even through his back and he stumbles a little-

[Dawn] What in the world?

[Karla] I'm going to guess its nothing good...

[CP] - She's cold... Too cold...- He hurries to Notch's house and bangs on the door

[Notch] opens the door in such a hurry Cp almost knocks on his head- what's going on Cp???

[Dawn] is there any rhyme or reason to where she teleports to when it happens?

[CP] - Where's Flux? And no. Sometimes she teleports far, and sometimes it's only a couple of feet

[Notch] She's downstairs... - calls for Flux-

[Flux] Comes upstairs- Is everything alright?

[CP] - You can see the entire server at once and we don't know where Lie is

[Flux] - I understand- Both Karla and Dawn feel a slight pulse of magic as Flux disapates

[Dawn] Oh... so that's what she meant... I can see how that would be a mood killer...

[Notch] Huh?

[Dawn] Nothing.

[Flux] Within seconds she has located Lie and sends CP an image of the location-

[CP] Teleports there and quickly returns with his shivering wife who has a dusting of snow on her-

[Flux] Reforms next to Notch-

[Dawn] Well that was easy.

[CP] - Are you okay?

[Lie] - Y...  Yeah...  Just, really cold...

[CP] - Are you sure?

[Karla] Best warm her quickly or she might sneeze some more.

[CP] Teleports to the bath house-

[Flux] Smiles a little- Glad to see that little trick still works

[Karla] Trick? You mean manipulating him? That's fairly easy.

[Flux] Shakes her head- What I did was send him an image of where she was.  It's the same thing I would do when he would lose track of his brother on their original server

[Dawn] You're way of helping without revealing yourself I suppose.

[Flux] - Yes- She pauses briefly- Notch?  You may want to go check on your other son

[Notch] O-okay?

[Dawn] I'll go with you- points at Karla- you stay here!

[Karla] VERY sarcastic- arf.

-At that point a giant spike of ice erupts from Stevie's house-

[Notch] Starts to run- shit!

[Alexis] Comes running up as well since she had been out hunting- Stevie!

[Dawn] still in her robe and pjs from the night before- should i have brought a weapon???

[Flux] - No

[Notch] Reaches the house first- Stevie!

[Stevie] - I'm okay!  Just a little stuck!

[Notch] pulls out his notched pick axe and knocks the icy door off the hinges - I'm coming!

[Dawn] Well that's something you don't see everyday.

[Stevie] Winces in pain, his shoulder being the source and his leg is stuck in his own ice-

[Dawn] I hate to say it, but I think we need someone with less subtle powers then mine....

[Stevie] - Well, brother is usually the one who has to get me out...  I'm sorry, I don't think we've met...

[Dawn] I'm Dawn.

[Notch] oh I know who can help! Hang on. - he starts typing in chat and speaks to Stevie over his shoulder- she's a witch with some powerful allies.

[Stevie] - Oh, okay.  I'm Stevie

[Alexis] - Stevie...  What did you do this time?

[Stevie] - I'm not sure...  My shoulder just started hurting pretty badly though...

[TLOT] tps himself and Steve to Notch and clips him for a second- yikes, that is bad...

[Steve] Is just staring at the ice spike- Geeze

[TLOT] You just relax Stevie, I'll get you loose- advances with a little swirl of cloak-

[Stevie] - Thanks TLOT- He winces again

[TLOT] He grabs all that he can reach of Stevie and gives him a huge hug, turning his glitch up higher to melt the ice and filling the room with steam-

[Steve] looks at Dawn- your boyfriend threw a banana at me. That was weird.

[Dawn] Chuckles.

[Alexis] Just watches the air become more appropriate for Stevie's mushroom collection-

[Stevie] Watches as the ice melts away-  Sorry for disturbing your morning guys

[Dawn] It's okay, we'd just finished dealing with a different emergency.

[Steve] Smells the mushrollems - mmm I take it Yaunfen shared a bit of their gardening with you?

[Alexis] Laughs a little- Switched all the mushrooms for the dessert ones

[Stevie] - A different emergency?

[Steve] giggles- Cute jokes are the better then regular griefing by far.

[Notch] Lie sneezed away and Cp had to go get her.

[Stevie] - Is my niece okay?

[Alexis] Giggles a little at Stevie calling the baby his niece, knowing just how unfamiliar it still is on his tongue-

[Notch] Should be. Lie tped once with a hand on me and took me with her.

[Stevie] - That's good.  I don't even want to consider the amount of damage my brother might cause if anything were to happen

[Alexis] Sighs as she considers how all their food is currently buried under the ice-

[TLOT] That is quite a mess...

[Dawn] Will it melt if we leave it alone?

[Stevie] The ice finally melts enough for him to get free- Well...  It looks packed ice, so no

[TLOT] I could change it into something else for you?

[Alex] - That would be helpful, thank you

[TLOT] Gives his knuckles a little pop -any preference?

[Alexis] - Something easy to remove?

[Stevie] - Something useful?

[TLOT] That's at cross purposes, but I think I know what Stevie would like. - He sweeps in arm out and there's a slight flicker as the blocks flip from to #174 packed ice to #56 diamond ore. - That should also keep you happily occupied for the rest of the afternoon.

[Stevie] Grins a little-

[Alexis] Groans a little-

[Steve] Offers an iron pick- If you don't have one on you.

[Dawn] That was impressive.

[Stevie] - Nah, I'm good- He pulls out a diamond pick

[Steve] Gives him a high five instead. - yeh!

[TLOT] Gives Alexis a sideways look like - 'Steves. Heh'

[Stevie] Begins figuring out where he should start-

[Alexis] - I'm going to go hunt down some spare food in case we don't reach the food chests by dinner time

[Steve] Literally? Or go borrow something?

[Alexis] - Literally, it's what I was doing anyways

[Steve] Do you want some company?

[Alexis] - Sure, if you want

[TLOT] You guys have fun. I'd rather do some fishing.

[Stevie] - Do you need any diamonds father?

[Dawn] I'm going to go check on Lie and Cp.

[Notch] Same, and no thank you Stevie. I appreciate the offer though. - Gives him a little hug. - You be careful okay? Call one of us again if you start feeling weird.

[Stevie] - I will, and we need to have dinner sometime soon, we haven't done that in awhile

-Le little time passes-

[Lie] Is watching her animals wander their pens as CP deals with some mob stuff-

[Doc] Is hunting for Glitchy so they can retrieve some of the baby shower things and go visit Lie.

[Notch] Slips up on Lie - how are you feeling?

[Lie] - For the most part?  Tired, and cold, always cold now

[Notch] Aww. I'm sorry Lie. - He wraps her up in hug. - Can't be too much longer, can it?

[Lie] - We'll know when I enter the last stage.  Dawn told me that for the last month or so she's gonna gain a pound per week

[Notch] Yikes... maybe you should just stay in bed at that point?

[Glitchy] -Sitting with his Mew in the sun-

[Lie] - I know that's what CP would prefer too

[Doc] There you are, feel like delivering those presents today?

[Glitchy] Hmm? Oh sure!

[Notch] I hate to agree with him on something like that, but... it's not like he won't run himself ragged fetching you things.

[Doc] Calls for Deerheart over the chat- I found him, can you meet me there?

[Lie] - I know, but I also know my mood swings are putting him off guard too, and I don't want him to strain himself...

[Deer] - Sure!

[Yaunfen] Runs up with Waffles in tow- I've got all the stuff from the house mada!

[Notch] Bah, he's tough. And learning more responsibility can't hurt him. No reason for you to try doing it all yourself. It's his kid too.

[Doc] Come on Glitchy, let's go!

[Lie] - Now if only he'd actually ask his brother for help...

[Notch] I think Stevie might be quite afraid if Cp asked him for help directly.

[Lie] - This is true, maybe their father should give them a push?

[Notch] Wry look- Just putting it all on me huh?

[Lie] - Only because CP will notice if I slip away to talk to Stevie...  Mostly because I probably wouldn't make it there

[TLOT] Joins up with Doc, Yaunfen and Glitchy at the spawn - I got the food. Steve is coming too, he's just a bit behind.

[Deer] Comes up- Are we getting Hera or GK?

[Glitchy] -Null the mew chirps at everyone from Glitchy's shoulders-

[Doc] Don't have too- Points up just a giant red dragon buzzes them from overhead.

[Yaunfen] Hey no fair! - They shift and run after Gk-

[TLOT] Hey Glitchy, your kitty looks bright eyed and bushy tailed today. Ready to go do some good?

[Glitchy] You bet!

[Steve] Runs by them, he's trying to catch up with HG and mostly failing-

[Crim] - hears all the commotion and wanders toward the sound.

[Yaunfen] Spots him- Crim! I love your new scales!

[Deer] Takes Doc's hand-

[hg] hello everyone

[Steve] Blows past Hg since he slowed down to talk-

[HG] -giggles and steve's taking a while to stop-

[Waffles] Stops to sniff Crim- Mrr?

[Doc] Come on, lets get this party roling- Heads towards Lie's house.

[Crim] Yaunfen! Whoa.... Large meow... Hello - reaches paw out to pet

[Gk] Lands on Lie's roof and tip toes on his little hooves. Herabrine is on his head-

[Waffles] Allows petting with a curious expression.-very deep meow

[HG] -is jumping up and down excited for the party-

[Notch] Notices the dragon and side-eyes him without alerting Lie-

[Lie] Giggles a little as CP yells at Blaze Blake who still hasn't gotten the new blazes to obey him-

[Doc] Helps pass out presents to everyone who's giving something.

[Crim] - scratches - Ah, nice kitten. Where is you goings?

[gem] -fly's over head she has cookie and the two small enders-

[Yaunfen] Prances happily in place, - Baby shower! We're going to give Lie a bunch of stuff for the baby. You should come!

[Endrea] Is having some difficulty resisting sneaking up on GK-

[Crim] - is confused but nods - Not know why get baby wets, but I comes.

[Gk] Sneaking and peeking.

[Yaunfen] Good one! I don't get it either. But it should be fun.

[TLOT] Lets hope shes home.

[Deer] - I doubt CP would let her go far

[Doc] It's okay, I was whisper chatting to Markus. She's there.

[Notch] Kind of pats Lie's shoulder supportively and stays close to keep her from turning around. He can see Steve throwing down chairs and such around the side of the house.

[Endrea] Shifts to her dragon form behind GK, it's a little cramped on the roof, but her tail comes around to poke GK-

[Gk] Jumps a little and almost throws Herabrine off his head- SHHHHHHH!

[HG] -puts down a chest and fills it with a lot of food he had grown-

[Endrea] Smug look-

[gem] -lands and puts cookies in another chest and eddy and Edward climb down and run around-

[Doc] Helping lay stuff out -

[Glitchy] -Helping too-

[CP] Is a bit amused as wolf Blake tries to chase blaze Blake-

[TLOT] Waits until they're all done to signal to Notch-

[Notch] Solem pat - Either way. We should probably find you a comfy spot to sit Lie. Cp can take care of this stuff. -

[Lie] - Yeah, maybe near some lava?

[Notch] That's a good idea...

[Lie] Turns around to head for the house-

[Gk] Flares his wings hugely- SUPRISE!

[TLOT] Amplifes everyone elses echoing calls-

[Lie] Is very much surprised- Um... What?

[CP] Picks up on her emotions and turns towards the group as well-

[Doc] Hope you don't mind us dropping by Lie!

[TLOT] Laughs- You're about to have a lot less storage space...

[Steve] We brought baby stuff!

[Lie] - No, I don't, but... Why?

[Herabrine] Flies down- Because you're getting a baby shower ding-dong.

[Gem] yea can't have the baby with out getting a baby shower first

[Glitchy] Hell yeah!

[HG] we even brought food

[Lie] - Ooooh, right...  That's a thing...

[CP] Flew over and lands next to his wife- Now what is everyone doing?

[Steve] Having a party?

[CP] - Oh joy...

[Yaunfen] Starts unloading pastries onto a row of wood blocks-

[Deer] - Come on Lie, sit down

[Notch] Chuckles- You have a lot of stuff to go through, best to sit.

[Lie] Does go to a chair to sit, dragging CP with her so she'll have a heat source-

[Doc] Nudges Glitchy- do your thing, I know you've still got more in your bag.

[Glitchy] -Jazz hands before he starts pulling the gifts out of his bag. There is NO way all of it fits in there, but he keeps pulling them out! At one point a bike handle peaks out of the opening. Don't ask.-

[Lie] - Wha...  What all did you guys get  us!?

[Yaunfen] Peeking in the bag- Nice trick!

[Notch] I got you a carrier- Pulls it out. - It's too big to conceal.

[Steve] Hey Crim, want some food?

[Lie] - Oh, you didn't have to, although I suppose it will be useful whenever we go out

[Glitchy] So much stuff.

[Glitchy] -Goes in up to his shoulder in his bag to dig around a bit before pulling out a little hat.- So much.

[Doc] I got a crib. - Sets it down in front of her. - I'm still weirded out by the idea of putting a baby in a cage though.

[HG] -takes some of the food off the table to nom-

[Lie] - That will probably be in our room for awhile

[CP] - I'll find space for it

[Gem] -give eddy and Edward each a cookie-

[Lie] Starts looking at some of the things he others got for her-

[TLOT] So I was privy to a discussion about baby gates? I think I get it. - He solemly hands Lie a half stack of metal gate pieces that have been meticuliously coated with wool pixels in several clashing colors so there aren't any poky edges.

[Lie] - Oh, right!  These will be good for helping to keep her from falling down any stairs or ladders

[TLOT] Grins because he helped-

[Crim] - nods - I try... Not sure like.

[Gk] Hey Lie?  When do we get to steal Cp and get him blind drunk?

[Steve] What do you usually like Crim?

[Lie] - When you supply a heat source of equal or better heat levels

[Crim] Coal and Redrock.

[gem] -tries to offer endrea a cookie-

[Gk] Aww, man...

[Endrea] Lounging on the roof, she politely declines-

[Steve] Oh. I think I have some coal! - digs in his inventory and comes up with a small stack. - Here you go!

[CP] - Why do you need to get me drunk?

[Crim] - takes happily - Much thanks!

[Gk] Because you didn't get a bachleor party! And you won't have time once the baby is born.

[Herabrine] Does a little turn in the air and steals the cookie from Gem-

[CP] - Well it has been awhile since we got absolutely drunk...

[Lie] Starts opening the packages containing the onesies and laughs aloud at some of them-

[gem] -giggles at the at hera stealing the cookie-

[TLOT] I might be up for getting drunk...

[Crim] - looks around while chomping and leans toward Steve -  Why is baby gets wet?

[Steve] I don't know? It is a weird name for a party though. You're welcome. Hey, hows you're little friend? I heard you two have been spending a lot of time together.

[Gk] Perks up- what little friend?

[Crim] Pinwheel? Is fine, fine.

[Gk] Sneaks closer- You've been hanging out with Pinwheel?

[Steve] I heard she can talk now.

[Doc] Is pulling out more baby stuff-

[Waffles] Saunters over and rolls on Lie's feet-

[Deer] Grabs a bit of food for Lie as she opens gifts of clothes and blankets-

[Lie] Smiles and pets Waffle's head-

[Crim] Yes, she is talking very well. - looks up at GK - Yes, She friend. We like to be around each other.

[Waffles] puuuuuuuurrrrrr

-Distant sound of Blake being annoyed that the cat is near his human-

[Gk] Well I'm glad she's made a friend. She seemed pretty determined to avoid everyone.

[Doc] OH! Hey Glitchy, guess what I got?

[Glitchy] What?

[Doc] I got Deerheart a Porygon. It seems like old tech, but I heard they're kinda rare?

[eddy and Edward} -they are running around- they haven't finished their cookies either-

[Glitchy] What evolution? -Definitely interested-

[Doc] First, I think? They're really angular. It seems comfy in this resolution. It also beeps at me when it wants attention.

[Crim] She was... Not happy to not have people listen or understand her. Now she can speaks, is much easier. But she still like to be alones - snorts and scales flash.

[Glitchy] That's cool. Yeah, regular Porygon would fit right in here.

[Deer] - So Lie?  Have you and CP considered any names for your daughter?

[Doc] It's a lot calmer then the Goomy. It felt like giving up to trade it away but it wanted to fight all the time and I'm just not... well that's not how I want to spend all my time.

[Lie] Little knowing smile- Perhaps

[HG] -has wandered a little and is now watering all of lie's plants-

[Glitchy] That's understandable. I got my Lopunny from a friend who said it liked fighting a lot. It just really wanted some attention. -Shrug-

[Gk] Gives Crim a friendly nudge- You're doing good kid. If you can calm her down so she doesn't bite people randomly everyone will owe you.

[Lilleep] Waves at Hg with it's tendril arms-

[CP] Tosses a bit of meat in Blake's direction since he won't get close to Waffles-

[Doc] It was starting shit with the loose Gastly most every night and I certainly couldn't turn her out with all those babies.

[Blake] Happy woof and grabs the meat- rarrrarrrrarrarra!

[HG] -pets lilleep then water's them-

[Doc] She what are you going to name her? I know that look.

[Lie] Glances at CP- Should we tell them?

[CP] - Careful, your griefer is showing

[Lileep] Streches under the water and pops itself out of the ground- Lil!

[HG] i'm glad you like the water

[Lileep] Waves tendrils at the bucket-

[TLOT] Come on Lie, what's the name?

[HG] oh you want more sure -waters it more-

[Lie] - Aether, her name will be Aether

-There's a bit of fanfare and the greenhouse fills with light-

-Lileep has evolved into Cradily! -

[Deer] - Oh, that's a pretty name!

[Lie] - ...  WHAT JUST HAPPENED IN MY GREENHOUSE!?

[Doc] Uhh.

[Glitchy] Oh sweet! Something evolved!! -There he goes for the greenhouse-

[Steve] Worried look towards the greenhouse-

[HG] -pops head out of green house- sorry I was just water your plants to help and I watered  your pokemon and it evolved

[Cradily] Bouncing around on it's four stubby feet.

[Lie] Just sighs-

[Notch] That's a good name Lie. And that is also a weird looking plant.

[Glitchy] Nice! I've never had a Cradily before.

[Yaunfen] Lie? Do you want more failure plants?

[HG] -pets the cradily-

[Cradily] Weird noises, but it seems content-

[Doc] A bit proud- I traded a prospector for the fossil. And even more weirdly, a scientist brought it back to life for me and they didn't even get in trouble for doing it!

[CP] Is gathering all the stuff Lie as already opened-

[Lie] - Sure, I like their shifting colors

[Glitchy] Why would you get in trouble? Archeology is a respected class type and bringing things back from the dead is childs play.

[Yaunfen] Gives her three. - Mada and I have been doing science. It doesn't always work out...

[Glitchy] -Offers Cradily a berry-

[Lie] - That's alright, that's part of the fun of experimentation

[Doc] Looks very touched and resists the urge to hug Glitchy- I'm just... I'm not used to people being so open-minded... Cp tried to kill  me when he found out I made a body from a little bit of his code and Lies...

[CP] Growls a little-

[Glitchy] Well CP is kind of a prick...

[Cradily] Takes the berry and noms it-

[CP] - You do remember that I can mess stuff up in your room at the manor, right?

[Glitchy] ... Fair.

[TLOT] Don't be like that, you're proud of your status as a mean person Cp.

[Lie] Finds the blankets- Aww, these are so soft!

[CP] - Fuck you

[TLOT] Laughs a little-

[Cradily] Scares the fuck out of Blake.

[Blake] Goes yiping into the barn-

[Lie] - Oh dear...

[Doc] Doesn't someone else in your group have a fossil type Glitchy? I have an Archen, not sure if you've seen them around the castle.

[gem] -just calmly lays in the grass-

[HG] -takes a cookie from the chest gem put down-

[Glitchy] Uhhhhh...

[Lie] - Hey Hera, before I forget, CP met a glitched Alex recently

[Gk] Pokes Gem- Hows the budding romance going? A little birdie told me you were hanging out with an ender.

[Herabrine] Really?!?! I thought I was the only one.

[Gem] oh it's been going great she is so sweet

[CP] - She's rather new though

[Doc] It's more complicated then that as well. She should have been a normal Herobrine. She told me herself that she incarnated wrong.

[Herabrine] Geeze, that sucks...

[TLOT] She may be a he by the time you meet her Hera, I saw in her mind she was considering it. I'm sure she'll be back to ask me or Doc.

[CP] - She has to learn how to seed jump first

[Gk] No wonder you've been so scarce. Feathering your love nest, ha!

[Doc] Maybe, maybe not. I gave Licht my number before I dropped her off.

[gem] yea and our house hold is also very busy all the time

[Cradily] Wanders too close to Waffles.

[Waffles] Grabs the pokemon and busks on them while they cheep in a panicky way-

[Lie] - Ah!  Waffles!  Be careful!

[Waffles] Gives the Cradily a light bunny kick before letting it go.

[Cradily] Visibly huffy, jimmies have been rustled-

[Lie] Looks up to see what time it is-

[Steve] We should eat before it gets late- Starts passing out food-

[Lie] - Thank you Steve

[CP] Is repairing a bit of fencing the next day after feeding Lie's animals-

[Sammn] - comes stomping by, muttering under her breath. She's followed by Helm, frantically signing at her and Legion, hopping noisily on their heels.

[CP] Cocks a brow- Well that's quite the little circus you have following you

[Sammn] - comes to a sudden stop, making Helm stumble back almost into Legion - They are something... I will give you that.

[CP] - So what are you up to?

[Sammn] Heading toward Doc's. I may have to take them up on their suggestion... As - she waves at Legion - has not been able to fix my memories as it promised.

[Legion] - coils it's tentacles on top of itself - We did what we said we would. We can't fix what others broke.

[CP] - Joy, I may as well come with you

[Sammn] If you wish, I'm getting overly used to having a group on my heels.

[CP] - I'm coming because Doc will probably want to see if my dream abilities can do anything

[Helm] - signs and waves at Legion, clearly not happy. Then points at CP.

[Legion] - snickers and opens its blue eye - You should learn better manners, beast.

[CP] - Do you know what it's on about?

[Sammn] Which? Helm.. Is worried that Legion is scheming and has something  horrible planned. Legion... Is Legion. It's bound by our deal, although Helm refuses to belive it will honor it.

[CP] - Can I set it on fire if it doesn't?

[Sammn] At this point, I'm almost willing to let you... Karla has offered to help with it as well.

[Legion] - bristles at Karla's name

[CP] - She's handy too, had a lot of fun destroying that town with her

[Sammn] I can only imagine. She strikes me as someone who is quite inventive when it comes to inflicting pain. - Leers at Legion, who leers back.

[CP] - Just watch your backside with her, she tends to pounce

[Sammn] Another thing I'm used too - sighs and starts off again. Helm darts after her, making sure to keep themself between her & Legion, who is leasurly hopping behind.

[CP] - Yeah, well, can't say I didn't warn you

[Sammn] - mutters softly - At this point it might be welcome

[CP] - Well I'm pretty sure she wouldn't object...

[Sammn] Always an option if things don't work. According to Legion, dying was what messed things up the first time.

[CP] - Dying is not what I'm talking about

[Sammn] - sighs and keeps walking.

[Doc] Walks out on the side porch and gives a happy strech, hir little pleasure is ruined by Traveler striding up-

[Traveler] YOU.

[Doc] What did I do?

[Traveler] It's not what you did. I just need you. Come with me now.

[Doc] Umm, but I'm-

[Traveler] NOW.

[Traveler] Heads for Lie's house in a huff-

[CP] - Well, at least we're almost at the castle

[Doc] Follows with a resigned sigh.

[Traveler] Sees the other group approaching- Even better. You guys come with me too.

[CP] - The fuck are you on about?

[Traveler] Business.

[Sammn] Business is vague is it not.

[Doc] But if it's something official, why don't you ask TLOT?

[Traveler] Pauses to give Doc an unhappy scowl, and then keeps walking- You'll see.

[CP] - Oh this should be entertaining

[Sammn] Do I want to even ask?

[Traveler] Is headed for the cage at a very fast clip-

[Doc] Probably not....

[CP] Glances at his house before sending a quick message to Notch, letting him know that he'll be occupied for a bit-

[Sammn] - turns toward Helm - Stay or come, choose now.

[Notch] Perks and then reports for babysitting, of a sort.

[Helm] - looks at Legion, CP, Doc then sighs and signs they'll come.

[Traveler] Already heading down into the cage-

[CP] Teleports down ahead of everyone-

[Sammn] Great. Legion you are coming no matter what. (Legion huffs but keeps quiet)

[Traveler] Slams the door open and stalks past him to open a way into TLOT's seed-

[Doc] Hangs back to wait for Sammn and her associates-

[CP] - And why are we going there?

[Traveler] Like I said, you'll see. I don't feel like repeating myself.

[CP] Walks into the portal with a shrug-

[Doc] Waits for everyone to get through and then closes it.

-On the other side is a small desert village, it looks fairly remote and only has one large building. It's daylight and the Testificates are mostly in a huddle nattering fearfully to one another.

[CP] - Oh joy, what now?

[Traveler] brushes past them in annoyance.

[Testificates] Notice the others and a hush falls over them, one breaks away from the group. She's a rather matronly herm-

[Candy] Oh! Have you come to help us?

[CP] Shifting into diplomatic mode- What seems to be the problem?

[Candy] Our blacksmith was kidnapped! We hope he's still alive, but... none of us are brave enough to go after his abductors.

[CP] - Do you know who kidnapped him?

[Doc] And why would anyone steal a blacksmith?

[Sammn] Either they want something made or something destroyed.

[Candy] Please come with me... she leads them around the large building, which is obviously an elaborate forge and behind it is a bad spot of chunk. There's a portal to the nether and a scattering of netherrack around it as if it was teleported there.

[Doc] Angry hiss-

[CP] Grins- Well this will be fun

[Traveler] Is just tapping her feet like they're wasting time-

[Doc] Looks at the forge thoughtfully and then... - What's their name? Your blacksmith?

[Candy] Sniffles - Bismuth.

[CP] This immediately catches CP's attention- What?

[Candy] Is that, important?

[CP] - It could very well be

[Traveler] Are we going or what? They were only taken last night.

[Helm] - signs at Sammn, then pulls sword and ready themself. Sammn just stares at Helm for a second before shaking head. - Might as well.

[CP] Moves swiftly, slipping through the portal-

-It's the Nether. It's hot as balls. There is lava. And a few magma cubes bouncing down a hillside.

[CP] Floats up, looking for any sign of where Bismuth could have been taken-

[Doc] This sucks... - they start hunting around for traces.

-There's a bit of a path a little farther on where someone cut through a slide of soul sand -

[CP] - I think I see something!

[Doc] Follows Cp from below-

[Traveler] Is holding her dirtblock and scowling as she follows.

[Sammn] Follows. Helm is looking everywhere, on edge and Legion has its Green eye open (scouting).

[Ghast] Wanders closer-

[CP] Summons his weapons-

[Doc] Ends up dodging a fireball - I hate the Nether!

[CP] Swoops at it and digs his sword into the ghast, slicing it open and leaving it to die-

[Magma cube] Is sneaking up on Legion curiously-

[Legion] - hears the plopping sound of the cube and opens the Orange eye on its back to stare at it.

[Magma cube] Amourous noise-

[Legion] - growls deeply and waves several tentacles in an odd pattern. The ground around the Cube darkens and seems to liquidify.

[CP] - Let's go!

[Magma cube] Makes a break for it-

[Doc] Geeze, just leave it be. You do look like it.

[Sammn] Legion, leave it.

[Legion] - huffs and reopens green eye - For now, we shall.

-The path leads around an outcrop and towards a bridge across a lava lake-

[CP] Just keeps flying-

[Traveler] Starts to go across-

-Several blazes rise out of the lava and toss a few fireballs-

[Traveler] Angry dodging-

[Doc] Just runs to avoid them-

[Helm] - darts forward and slashes one, knocking a rod off.

[CP] Fireballs back at them-

[Sammn] - mutters something and the ground rises up toward one of the blazes, collapsing ontop of it.

[Doc] Sees the others fighting and throws a cobble chunk into the face of one of them, sending it back under the lava with a gooey -plunk!-

[CP] - Let's keep moving, I don't want to be here long

[Traveler] Is already at the other end of the bridge-

[Doc] I'm coming!

[Sammn] - follows with Helm & Legion.

[CP] Keeps searching ahead-

-There's a male voice from ahead of them- Unhand me you zombies! Somebody help me!

[Doc] Hears it and motions for the others to go quiet.

[CP] Slips behind an overhang-

-There's a small party of pigmen with black masks carrying a very old and tied up Testificate-

[CP] Grins and without asking for permission he races forwards, weapons ready to kill-

[Helm] - signs - I don't recognize those kin, why are they wearing masks?

[Doc] Peeking - I don't know. It's creepy. But we've certainly found our quarry.

[CP] Slices into the back most pigmen, taking them by surprise-

[Traveler] Clocks one with her dirtblock and the broken sword is briefly visible as it slices into their face-

[CP] Is just having fun murdering most everything-

[Sammn] Hang on, let's see if I can judge this right...*mutters* and a single lightning bolt arcs down and strikes one pigmen, dropping it.

[Pigmen] Fight a bit stiffly, as if sleepwalking.

[Legion] - takes the chance of Sammn casting to hop closer to the fray. As soon as it's close enough, it snakes out several tentacles and impales the closest pigmen.

[CP] - This is way to easy

[Legion] - stares at lifeless pigmen before tossing it aside - These beasts have no minds of their own.

[Doc] Well they are zombies.

[CP] Is covered in fetid blood and dispatching the last few pigmen-

-The Testificate is wiggling around trying to get free. He's obviously scared shitless of both Cp and Legion-

[Sammn] - runs toward them - Legion, back off!

[Traveler] Looks at him critically-

[Testificate] HOLY CRAP A NOTCH!!! HELP!!!

[CP] - You're fine!  I'm your freaking god of war and that one back there is the healing god or whatever

[Testificate] Passes the fuck out-

[Doc] Well shit.

[CP] - Well at least he's not struggling anymore

[Sammn] - comes to stand over Legion. Helm comes over to examine one of the dead Pigmen's masks.

-It's flat black and featureless, probably obsidian-

[CP] Reaches down and picks up the testificate, tossing him over his shoulder-

[Doc] Well considering that murdering zombie pigmen tends to piss them all off, we should probably leave...

-The old man is quite light under his layers of leather clothing-

[CP] - Let's go then

[Helm] - picks up a mask before signing - I've never seen something like this. Wonder why they were wearing them.

[Traveler] We've got company! Let's go! - there's a growing noise that sounds like more pigmen-

[CP] - I could teleport everyone?

[Doc] Please do!

[Helm] - tucks the mask away

[CP] Focuses his energy in the area and teleports the group back out into the overworld-

[Candy] Comes rushing up followed by several other villagers- Is he okay???-

[Sammn] Just scared senseless, here. - pulls out a potion bottle.

[CP] Puts him down-

[Doc] Is already destroying the portal-

[Candy] Bismuth? - patting his face-

[Traveler] Cuts the old testificates bindings-

[Sammn] - motions to sit him up so they can give them the potion.

[Candy] Helps him upright and puts the bottle to his lips-

[Bismuth] Coming around- Gracious me....

[Doc] Comes back over-

[CP] - Now then, who are you exactly?

[Bismuth] Suddenly looks cagey for his years. - Nobody...

[CP] - Then why did those pigmen grab you?

[Bismuth] I don't know?

[CP] - Then what is your specialty?

[Bismuth] Fire and... other things.

[Candy] No. You remember what happened last time you played with fire. No fire!

[CP] - Fire?

[Candy] Shoos away the other villagers- We should go inside.

[Doc] But he's a blacksmith? He can't have fire???

[Sammn] Playing with fire? That could be why he was dragged to the Nether.

[CP] - What does he do?

[Candy] Helps Bismuth up and starts walking him inside- He should be in bed.

[Doc] Come on Cp- follows

[Traveler] reluctantly follows

[CP] Follows with a scowl-

-The inside of the forge is spacious and there is a lava spawn block but it's got a metal grate to keep anything being put into it.

[Sammn] Follows but back a bit cause of Helm & Legion.

[Candy] Helps the old Testificate onto his bed. - He's a great help to us. - She pats his shoulder-

[CP] - What does he have to do with fire?

[Bismuth] I like fire..... - there's a dangerous glitter in his eyes.

[Doc] Oh dear.

[CP] - Can you do something unique with it?

[Candy] He can't have fire because the last time he had access he made a terrible thing out of it.

[Bismuth] Offended- It was beautiful...

[Legion] Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - it's orange eye is open & watching.

[Candy] He somehow turned a bow, some tar, gunpowder, a torch, and a flint into a thing that throws fire from a distance. So we encourage his other hobby instead.

[Doc] That is horrible!

[CP] - Other hobby?

[Candy] Smiles - he's good with making flexible things out of dehydrated slime.

[CP] - Flexible things?

[Bismuth] Hehe saved my ass a few times. Wish I woulda thought of it when I was younger- huffs.

[CP] - What exactly are they?

[Candy] Old pervert. They're sleeves. For preventing children.

[Doc] OH.

[Bismuth] Giggling like the ancient fucker he is-

[CP] - Oh for fucks sake, that's it, I'm going home

[Doc] Why would it have made a difference at a younger age?

[Bismuth] Because then I'd have left fewer children behind my exploits ya whippersnapper.

[CP] - Do you know all the names of your kids?

[Bismuth] Nope. Got run outta town before most of em were born.

[CP] - Doc?  Can you look at his coding?

[Doc] What do you want me to look for?

[CP] - The equivalent of a genetic marker

[Doc] Okay???

[Bismuth] You leave me alone. I don't trust weird looking librarians.

[CP] - Oh for fucks sake, if my hunch is correct then we might know a relative of yours, possibly a child or grandchild

[Doc] How about I just make a copy and you can look at it later?

[Bismuth] Annoyed - Don't touch me

[CP] - Do you really think I'll have time for that?

[Doc] Then I will look at it! Geeze.  - They place a command block and grab the old mans hand to lay on it for a moment- There....  annnnnnnnnnnnnd done. Lets go home.

[Traveler] Finally.

[atomicstrawbrys]

Broken String

It’s hard enough to find your soulmate when there’s a red string that literally connects you, how is Arthur supposed to find his match with no such string? Usuk. //

Arthur was fourteen when he woke up to something softly squeezing his finger. He sat up, blinking to find a red string tied around his pinky. It extended past his bed and towards the door before dissolving into a soft, gold light. He shot up, sitting perfectly straight as he looked at his hand. It seemed so fragile, glittering in the light as he held up his hand. He beamed. He was almost ready to meet his soulmate. 

His heard his mother call him for breakfast, and he leapt out of bed, skidding down the hall and grabbing the stair banister to stop himself. "Mother!" He yelled, almost out of breath after taking the stairs down two at a time. He held his hand up, and though his mother couldn't see it, she knew what he was so excited about. 

He gave her a tight hug, sniffling and wiping his eyes. Arthur had been so worried about being alone, especially with him being somewhat infamous for his sarcasm and snarky demeanor. He smiled as he looked at his hand, taking a deep, slow breath.  All he needed to do now was wait until he could feel tugging from the other end, and then he'd be ready to find whoever he was meant for. Arthur's mother had given him an extra pancake to celebrate, but he was far too excited to eat a thing. 

-----

Next came the dreams. He'd  barely been able to get used to having the string when they'd started. Nearly every night he'd find himself on the edge of a fountain, sitting in the center of a white expanse. The only tangible thing around was the fountain he sat upon, and there wasn't even any water inside. He dug through his pockets for change to throw inside, but he found himself wearing clothes that were not his own. He looked down at himself, observing a plain red t-shirt and jeans, as well as an old, sort of smelly bomber jacket that practically engulfed him. 

The only thing he found was an empty gum wrapper, and what he thought was a coin, only to find it to be a bottle cap instead. He rolled his eyes. Whoever his soulmate was, they sure seemed to be a slob, carrying garbage around in their pockets. Trash bins existed for a reason, after all. He found a Pokemon card in the jacket's pocket. He turned it over in his hands.

'Marowak' was written on the shiny surface, and he shrugged. He didn't know much about the games. Maybe he'd look into it, if only to be sure he and his soulmate had something in common. He wondered if that was cheating, to study what his soulmate liked so that he could seem more interesting. Oh, well. If his soulmate was going to carry trinkets, he was at least going to be familiar with what they meant. 

He woke up in a daze, sitting up and rubbing his forehead. Arthur groaned. He felt like he'd been asleep for five minutes, or less. Yet his school alarm was blaring that it had, in fact, been the whole eight hours. Looking down at the bed, he noticed the corner of something poking out from the sheets folded near his leg. He reached over, grasping it and picking it up. 

Arthur's eyes widened as he turned the shiny, colorful card over.  Marowak. Just like in his dream. So it HAD meant something after all. He bit his lip, going to his closet. He dumped out a pair of sneakers he didn't wear and placed the card inside. He took a sharpie from his desk drawer, writing 'Soulmate's Stuff' in big, bold letters on the box itself. He smiled and slipped the container back into its space in the closet. 

-----

It wasn't until Arthur was seventeen that he finally met someone at the fountain. Their face was fuzzy, but Arthur could see that it was a boy, which didn't surprise him. He tried to speak to him, but his voice sort of bubbled, sounding as if he was underwater. It did, however, get his attention. Arthur found himself self-conscious, squirming in his seat as his soulmate looked at him. He offered a smile, and he thought he got the hint of one in return. Arthur had collected almost a whole box of his soulmate's things and tried to tell him so, but his voice just gurgled and floated away again. 

In the end, they settled on sitting beside each other, looking out at the white expanse. Their hands weren't quite touching, but, it was comfortable. He met up with his soulmate the next night, and the night after, and every night after that for weeks. He tried exchanging phone numbers and photos he'd gone to sleep with. Though, Arthur never woke up with any presents, nor were any of his things missing. He had to assume the messages weren't getting through.

Arthur went downstairs to speak with his mother, who had the day off. He'd woken up unusually late, so he was glad she was there. He sat on the sofa with her, looking down at his hand. "..Mother? I'm..seeing him a lot, now. But his face is all blurred out. Is that..normal?" He asked with a sort of hesitance, unsure of what he would do if the situation wasn't the way it was supposed to be. 

She gave a soft smile and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it, Art. This is great! It usually doesn't progress this fast, why, I didn't dream about your father for almost five years!" Her eyes were sparkling, and she cupped his cheeks, proud of her youngest son for coming so far so fast. "Soon, you'll be able to feel this boy pulling on the string, and then- well! We'll just have to find him, won't we?" She smiled, and Arthur found himself smiling in return. ----- Arthur found himself excited to go to sleep that night, and clutched a love letter to his chest. As long as he didn't include his name or contact information, there was a small chance his soulmate would get it. He'd placed it in a mint green envelope, and closed his eyes. He kept tossing and turning with anticipation before finally finding himself on the edge of the fountain. The fountain was bubbling now, delivering a constant, cool stream of mist to their backs. 

His soulmate's face was a bit clearer, and the added sharpness made him too nervous to hand the letter over right away. Instead, the two of them tried to make each other laugh, by seeing who could make their voice sound the strangest over the bubbling and gurgling. Arthur giggled, looking down at his feet. He felt a hand on his own, and looked up, smiling faintly. Alright. He was ready. 

Arthur picked up the envelope, taking a slow, deep breath. He turned to face his soulmate and held out the letter. As his mystery boy took his letter, the fountain sputtered, the water turning black and thick like tar. it began to overflow, and Arthur's eyes widened as the white expanse began to crack and drop away. His attention snapped back to his soulmate as he heard a "No, wait!" And for a split second, he saw his soulmate's handsome, uncensored face. And then everything was dark. 

When Arthur woke up, he had a pounding headache. As he lifted his head to clutch his forehead, he stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at his red string. It extended for a few inches and then stopped. It didn't dissolve into light, seeming dull and dead. It'd been cut.  As in, his soulmate had decided he didn't want him.

He felt numb, and lowered himself back into bed, going back to sleep. It was the only thing he could think of doing. He hoped to dream of whoever his soulmate was, but, there was nothing. Simply inky blackness as far as the eye could see. 

It didn't matter what his parents or brothers said. Arthur would not get out of bed, sleeping as much as he could. Each time, he hoped to return to the fountain, as if nothing had happened at all. But, each time he was met with disappointment, each let down every bit as crushing as the last. 

Arthur shuffled out of bed after the sun had gone down. He was too hungry to ignore the world around him any longer. He ate a piece of toast with nothing on it, lacking the motivation to put any effort into making his 'dinner'. That was it, then. He was alone, all over again. Oddly enough, he hadn't cried yet. He felt numb. Maybe he ought to have known better. He sat at the table, tracing the lines in the wood finish with his finger. His parents didn't try to talk to him. He didn't want them to. ----- Even after years of 'adjusting', Arthur went through his soulmate's possessions almost every day. He'd snuck the box with him when he'd moved to away to his university.  He had the contents memorized.

A Pokemon card. A pair of glasses. The frames were a sleek, navy blue. One of the lenses was cracked, but, that was his fault. He'd dropped the box, once. Arthur smiled bitterly. He'd cried when he cracked the lens. Surely, whoever his soulmate had been would have been disappointed with him. But he could only guess. Perhaps they would have been understanding. He set the glasses aside and kept digging. 

An Iron Man comic. It was worn when he received it, indicating it may have been a favorite. Some spare change. American currency, too.  A movie ticket stub, to some cheap horror movie. He'd gone to see the movie after his soulmate had, and found it to be rather cheesy and poorly-made. It seemed his soulmate didn't have good taste when it came to films. 

After looking over a few more loose objects, he began to place everything back neatly. He was almost done when the door's lock clicked, and his roommate Francis stepped inside. He made eye contact, and Francis frowned. "Again? Arthur, you seriously must stop obsessing over those trinkets. They don't mean anything, okay? It's not some sort of puzzle you can put together." Arthur glared.

"That's easy for you to say, you've already found your soulmate after all. You have no idea what it's like." Arthur snapped, slamming the lid over the box and clutching it to his chest. 

"You need to get rid of it." Francis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's not good for you, you know that."

Arthur didn't argue further, turning away with a huff. He put the box under his bed, sighing. He thought about ignoring Francis, but, the truth was he knew better. Obsessing over something like this..it wouldn't end well. He wasn't an idiot. He could recognize the red flags, even within himself. Like hell he'd give Francis the satisfaction of knowing he was right, though. He could handle things himself. He'd get rid of it soon. But not yet.

"Come on," Francis prodded his arm, pulling him out of bed. "I'm going into town anyway. You can come along and we'll stop and get dessert, or something like that."

Arthur sighed, nodding his head limply as he pulled on his coat. He shot one last look over his shoulder, gazing at the box under the bed. It sat there, hidden away in the shadows. But, he could make out the now weathered 'Soulmate's stuff' written in faded marker. He turned and went out the door.

-----

Okay. Today was the day. He'd get rid of it, he'd promised Francis he would and if he didn't then Francis said he'd do it himself. Arthur looked at the box, expression hardening as he taped it up. He scribbled over the faded script, wiping his watering eyes on his sleeve. Well. Now the box was sealed, if crudely. But what to do with it now? How to get rid of it?

If he threw it out, then there was a good chance he'd only dig it out of the garbage after a few hours. Maybe he could burn it? But he wasn't fond of fire, and it would make such a stench.  He'd have to find another way. Some way that would make sure he never saw it again. 

He found himself at the park that evening, holding the box tight.  Arthur wandered down the trails, past single people and couples alike. There was a small cobblestone bridge that went over a river. The river itself was fast, easily carrying anything in it far, far away. Arthur's grip on the box tightened, and the heels of his shoes clacked on the stone as he walked. 

He lifted the box, balancing it on the railing of the bridge. This was..it, then. After this, everything would be over. He closed his eyes as he pushed the box over, and opened them to watch the glorified shoe box float away, disappearing around a bend. Nothing magic happened. A weight didn't lift all of the sudden, and he didn't feel better. If anything, he felt worse. He felt..empty, with nothing to hold on to.  

He stepped down from the bridge, pulling his coat tighter around himself. He pulled the fur-lined hood over his head, each step away from the box feeling heavy as he walked. It even started raining on the way home, and although that was a common occurrence, the weight of the task had distracted him from getting an umbrella. He shivered, walking through the busier town as the crowd bustled. 

Arthur could hear shouting, and soon he found the source. 

A man was walking through the crowds, stopping people talking to them. He was holding something up and looked desperate. Poor lad. Maybe he was missing a pet, Or, worst case scenario, a loved one hadn't come home. He heard footsteps coming closer, and felt a hand on his shoulder. 

"Please-" The accent was quite American. "Please, sir, stop, I'm looking for my soulmate, I lost him, his eyes are green and he's blond and that's all I remember," The man started to hold up the worn sheet of paper. "Please-!" Arthur cut him off, however. 

"I don't know, I'm sorry. I hope you find who you're looking for." There was something familiar in those blue eyes, but, Arthur dismissed it. He was desperate, this man didn't mean anything to him. He was lonely. That was all.

Arthur turned and walked down the street, steps feeling heavier and chest feeling emptier than they ever had before.