#let's take pikmin together

[wiltedphoenix-fandoms]

let's take pikmin together

[takodogs]

An ibupikmins drawn w/ my mouse in between splatoon matches w/ my friends

[hana-bobo-finch]

settle down everyone, it is time for Hana to ramble about her silly stuff

SHOCKINGLY I am not yapping about a character this time but a place. The Briar Zome (as seen (poorly) drawn above)

SO!!! Going to try to explain this as simply as possible because even I don’t remember everything about it

It’s a pocket dimension of sorts. For the sake of simplicity let’s call it B while the “normal” dimension is called A. It’s unknown how B is actually accessed. Every Friday the 13th (hence why I’m posting abt this today, yippee) a Very Definitely Not Suspicious Guy who runs an illegal restaurant at the top of a mountain (story for another day. Or for never at all) serves his “special coffee” which he heavily persuades if not forces people (by people I mean really his only 2 or 3 regular customers) to drink. Shortly after you drink it, you black out and end up in the briar zome with no memory of what happened in between drinking the coffee and waking up. The “special coffee” also leaves you with a horrible illness the next day. While other similar pocket dimensions have been accessed by studying the environment of the Briar Zome, think of those as dimension “C”, it still remains a mystery how to actually get to B. It’s equally a mystery as to how you leave—you leave just as suddenly as you arrive, you blink and suddenly you’re back in the “normal” world, “dimension A”.

Time works differently there, as to be expected. Usually experiences in the briar zome last anywhere from a day to a week, but in dimension A no time passes at all (e.g. you could find yourself there, spend 3 days there, but when you go back to the “normal” dimension, no time passed at all). I could get into the numerous time and dimensional theories but um. I won’t. That will bore you all to tears I think

It’s a consistently cold environment with snow and ice caking everything, yet plant growth is rampant, especially rose bushes and brambles, hence the briar part of the name. There are multiple patches of thick thorns, making some areas hard to traverse. Between different “visits”, if you could call them that, to the Briar Zome, the general layout changes slightly. To put it in pikmin terms, it’s like the caves in pikmin 2 but less drastic. There are also long stretches of water and rivulets that are, of course, frozen over, but the ice is generally very thin. Although it’s snowy and icy, the temperature seems to be bizarrely non-existent. It’s not cold, it’s not warm, it’s not in between, it simply does not exist. The atmosphere is rather thin, but still breathable. Everything in the briar zome is slightly off in a way. Think like the feeling you get when you’re struggling to remember something that’s on the tip of your tongue. It’s also just generally quite unpredictable. Anything could happen, really. The landscape is never ending. If there is an end to it, nobody’s seen it. It seems to go on forever. Same with the snow—you could dig in it all you want, but it’s infinite. The ground has never been seen there.

In one specific area, known as the Eye Rink, there are, as seen in my quick drawing of it, sentient eyes!!! Their nerves take root at the bottom of the water and rise up above the ice. They’re incredibly long, as the lakes and rivers can get quite deep. Surprisingly they’re almost rather doglike in behavior. They just want to be your friend :) they’ll hug you with their big ol’ eye stalks. Very tightly. To the point you might break a bone. But they’re just big sweethearts.

There’s nobody else there but the people who were mysteriously transported there. People tend to end up there in groups—if two people drink the “special coffee,” they’ll go there together. And they’ll be, aside from each other, completely alone. Wildlife is also sparse but there are a few creatures here and there. Some rabbits, deer, and foxes. Most injuries sustained in the Briar Zome seem to not follow you into the “real” world once you awaken, but nobody’s had the guts to see what would happen if you were to die there. You’d most likely end up dead in the real world, too.

There’s a special form of writing there. A code of sorts, I suppose. It’s written via drawings of phases of the moon and types of plants. This is a TOTALLY fleshed out idea, I definitely didn’t think of it like 6 hours ago. But it, in its beta form, looks like this:

good luck translating it, because I can barely read it myself, and I probably wrote it wrong!

There is probably more to it that I’m forgetting because I made the briar zome in like. What, December of last year? And it isn’t a huge part of my silly goofy story stuff so I don’t think about it very often. But. Yeah

[collabwithmyself]

More Pikmin AU writing yahoo!

Maybe fifteen minutes later, Hito finally shoves open the escape hatch. He gets a glimpse of greenery before overbalancing and toppling out onto the soil.

The tumble doesn't do his aching body any favors. His head spins, and his mouth starts to water like he might get sick. Dirt crunches beneath his body as he rolls over, looking up at the sky and what's left of his ship.

It's smoking and seared, looking like a skeletal parody of its former self. It's a miracle it's even partway recognizable. Hito cringes.

According to the pack attached to the back of his suit, he's got thirty days' worth of battery before it stops filtering the air for him. One month to put his ship back together enough to send a distress signal, or better yet, take off entirely.

It feels horrifically daunting. Even thinking about it intensifies his nausea. He has no idea where to even start looking, let alone how he'll get any of that heavy machinery back to the ship...

But he can't just give up. If he dies alone here, with no one having any idea where he went, then... that means...

...

Hito grits his teeth, digs his fingers into the earth, and gets up.

Gravity weighs heavily on him here. He doesn't think it's safe to even jump, with the state of his sore body right now. It's with agonizing slowness that he plods forward, squinting into the wilderness.

The flora here is... huge. Mere blades of grass tower over him. He can make out flowers thrice his height, not far off. It makes him feel like he's found himself the size of a bug in his own backyard. It's not a comforting notion.

His steps are hesitant as he gazes around, pointed ears pricked for sounds. If the plants here are this big, the animals aren't something he wants to run into.

He's so busy looking up, he doesn't notice the object half-buried in front of him. Well, not until it erupts violently from the earth, spraying dirt every which way and pulling a shriek from Hito's throat. He stumbles back and flings his arms over his face as long limbs snake out, jabbing into the dirt on either side of him.

...then it goes still. Hito hesitates, and slowly raises his head.

Above him is a plantlike contraption the size of his body. The shape and bright red shade make him think of an onion. Three green stalks suspend it in the air, several units above his head.

It jolts, and Hito yelps, stumbling back several paces. He gets a glimpse of white petals on top of the onion as they curl inwards- then they spit something into the air.

He watches the object descend to the ground and bury itself in the dirt. His gaze flicks between the onion and its spawn, and he startles a third time when said spawn abruptly sprouts.

The leaf is maybe the size of his hand, swaying gently in the breeze as though beckoning him forward. Hito, frankly, has no idea what to do with it. Should he take a closer look? Is it bait so the onion can eat him? He's wasting daylight, deliberating over this...

Curiosity wins out over self preservation. Hito creeps closer to the onion and the sprout, muscles tensed and eyes wide. When the great structure doesn't move again, he kneels to examine its creation.

The leaf is startlingly warm when he reaches for it, radiating heat like a fire that he can feel even through his glove. He hesitates, but presses a hand against it.

It twitches. Like it's alive. Hito jerks his arm away with a gasp.

But nothing crawls out of the dirt towards him. The sprout remains where it is.

He reaches out a second time, for the stem. The plant twitches again, like it's nudging itself into his touch. His fingers curl around it.

Then, gently, he pulls.

The earth parts around the sprout, revealing a bulb the same color as the onion above him. It's got a sharp protrusion, and he moves his arm so it doesn't slice his suit open-

Just above it, two little eyes crack open and blink at him.

Hito blinks back.

"Um," he says.

The sprout squeaks at him.

It doesn't... seem to be trying to bite him, or wriggling out of the dirt to claw at him. So after a moment's hesitation, he keeps pulling.

The dirt parts around spindly little arms, a thick torso, and squat legs- then he's got a full creature dangling from his hands, looking remarkably like a red carrot with a nose. It doesn't fight him at all, dangling placidly from his grasp.

"...good afternoon?" Hito tries.

"Ihwo!" the sprout squeaks back.

He sets it on his feet, then grunts as he straightens up. The creature watches him curiously, its stem flopping over to hang behind it.

"Right, um..." Hito feels the urge to wring his hands, and instead folds his arms to trap his fingers under his armpits.

The sprout tilts its head. "Haa?"

"It's... nice to meet you? But uh, ha, I'm... kinda busy right now," Hito chuckles nervously. "So... I gotta go. Haha."

"Ih."

So Hito turns to examine the area, figuring the creature will just... wander off. Just grass and rocks, and the smoldering remains of his ship...

...wait. There's smoke trailing from just over the stone ledges walling him in. Could that be...?

His gaze roves over the clearing, searching for some spot he can climb over. But the only break in the stone is shielded by a giant wall of... something.

He heads over to it, testing its strength. Though the wall towers over him, when he scrapes his fingertips against it, it lets out the unmistakable hiss of a cardboard surface.

Is this a box? It's got a little give when Hito throws a shoulder up against it, but there's no way he's moving it alone. He'd need the strength of ten men.

"Huh?"

Hito swears and whirls around. The sprout has followed him like a puppy, standing at attention a couple paces behind him.

"Stars, bud," he sighs, "don't scare me like that. What's up, huh?"

The creature glances back towards the onion, which has remained still, looming over the clearing.

"...you need something?" Hito prompts. When the creature doesn't reply, he starts walking back towards the structure, and the flowers surrounding it. The sprout trails along eagerly behind him.

The onion doesn't respond when he places a hand on one of its legs. And there's no way he's climbing up to its main structure.

"There more of you guys in there?" Hito asks the creature at his heels. "Ha, maybe they can help me move that box."

"Unh," the sprout replies.

"Right," he says, as though that made any sense.

He gets bolder with his attempts to jostle the onion into releasing another seed. The sprout watches with what he suspects is amusement as he tries to shove at the support legs.

"Come on, please," he grumbles, "just gimme something to work with--!"

One frustrated kick has him hopping backwards in pain, and he falls back against the stem of one of the flowers blooming above him. The petals rustle, then--

Hito yelps as something thuds into the dirt right in front of him. It's like a giant seed. Did that come from the flower...?

Before he can get up to examine it, though, the sprout darts towards it, seizing it and starting to drag it towards the onion with little high-pitched grunts. Hito watches it work in bewilderment- it's a startling change from following him around.

As it drags the seed beneath the onion... a light shines down like a tractor beam. In an instant, the seed is sucked up, and Hito looks up as the onion's petals finally curl again. It spits out one leaf, then another, and he watches the sprouts float down to plant themselves.

"...huh," he says.

Somewhere in the very back of Hito's mind, a plan begins to form.

[maybeher0]

fuck it, Momo time

was born on Karut, as game states, but in actuality a child of Koppaite immigrants (second gen). As such, has a lot of both siblings (he's second oldest, has older brother and like 6 younger sibs of various genders) and cousins/uncles and aunties. despite that, barely keeps contact with any of them.

mid 20s, ended up enlisting in Rescue Corps by a lucky accident after several failed job searches.

trans AND autistic. wasn't diagnosed about autism until adulthood, had problems with ID change until Collin noticed and helped out with proper replacement procedure.

extremely autistic about biology (mainly zoology than botany), wanted to get xenobiologist degree but parents insisted on engineering (which he doesn't really use anyways). most of his research was done on his own in spare time.

as Koppaite, he does has frutarian preference in foodstuff, but is willing to try vegetables and meat on occasion - especially if they are sufficiently sweet.

mostly stays quiet when around people he doesn't know, speaks a lot around animals or alone. this habit is the reason Minmin's speech is much better than a regular Pikmin's, even tho they can't form proper sentences and even have troubles with pronunciation

dog lover. one time managed to befriend a family of stray dogs and brought them home begging parents to let him keep them. they've freaked out and forbade any unauthorized pets from now on, so Momo has been only feeding stray animals since then. was very afraid that captain Shepherd was going to take Oatchi away after being rescued, but after she assigned them to work together he was very relieved.

not the most creative when it comes to naming things. (nicknamed a weird mutation of a Winged Pikmin he found "Minmin" because "it's like two Pikmin in one" and Ancient Sirehound "Fluffy" because it is fluffy.)

[sillypau]

a blog post about "Stargazing Pancakes"

hiii! long time no see ehehe ^^ i would like to write about the recent mini animated series i published: "Stargazing Pancakes"

click here for the playlist with all of the episodes!!

Stargazing Pancakes is a few skits written by me and @HEYimHeroic,

the idea of "stargazing pancakes" was first brought up from another idea i had, i had this idea of alice and pau going on fun adventures together, but i quickly realized i wasn't capable of doing long story episodes, but!! i could still do short little skits, so that's what i wanted to do. "anything goes"! i said when i first "pitched" the idea to alice, and they immediately wrote "Pikmin Doom" within like, 5 minutes of me sending that message, and, i got to work ahaha. more ideas started pilling up, which is the episodes that i published. both alice and i changed and wrote and adjusted each one to make each one better c:

"why did you call it stargazing pancakes?" you may ask!!

well, it wasnt just pulled out of a hat, i just thought itd be a silly name because the premise of the "show" is just alice and pau in a room doing silly things, and i asked myself: "what exactly can you do in a little room?" (its been 13 months and i still ask myself this) not much, you can stare at the ceiling, you can stare at the wall, and feel lonely, slowly loose your head, but that's as much as you can do, right? well, you can also get hungry, and alice and i like pancakes, and i missed that, i missed that every day i woke up to alice heating up yummy chocolate-chip pancakes on the microwave and we'd watch youtube videos or the ace attorney anime while we gobbled them up: a perfect start to a day full of fun; so i decided to stargaze pancakes; as i fell asleep every night, i would dream about those nice memories we made, those warm embracing memories with syrup on top. So, that's what stargazing pancakes is. ehehe.

Originally, we wrote 6 episodes, but, by the 5th (Meeting Multiverse Variants) something bad happened, and, I found myself admitted to a Psych Ward, where I had a lot of time to think about things, when I came out, i decided i should just publish the 5 we'd already made, and take some time to recover from everything.

This 6th episode is also a bit different, so, if I do end up making it, it'll have a bit of a different tone ^^

Also, little note: it came to my attention as each episode released that alice's character is very antagonistic in each episode, which was not at all my intention, hahaha... and "Alice's Gym Club" really sealed the deal on that... (although, let it be known, alice is like, the number one protector of Pau, and i hope i can show it in the future, because that's the way it is in real life, too ehehe ^^)

Thanks for watching!! hope Stargazing Pancakes brought some small joy to the world ^^

[closetextrovert]

It's a relatively small thing that I'm trying not to read TOO much into, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how medical consent is touched on in Pikmin 4 wrt the Leaflings? (spoilers below cut, obviously)

Yeah, you're curing everyone you find, but it's always either immediately after they were transformed, or an indeterminate-but-probably short amount of time later. Olimar has more lucidity about him, but he does express a desire to go home (implying he wants to be cured) once you win his final dandori battle.

Meanwhile when the Rescue Corps brings up the possibility of curing the Sage Leaf, they're all "nah, I'm good like this," and the Corps immediately go "we don't get it, but respect your decision and won't push the issue." Moss' situation is more of a gray area considering she's an animal and can't really consent, but they acknowledge and accept that it would be worse to put her through stressful medications or treatments that might not even succeed.

(I absolutely have the headcanon that the Sage Leaf adopts Moss and the Sirehound, btw. Let them be a big dog dandori family together with the pikmin!)

The best way I can describe my take on the situation is the difference between a medical team going "this person had a stroke, but we were able to treat them immediately and prevent long-term damage," and someone who had a stroke 20 years ago going "hey I appreciate you offering to restore my old self with your new sci-fi meds, but I've made my peace with what happened and it's shaped most of my personality at this point, so I respectfully do not consent to treatment," AND the medical team isn't a bunch of judgey assholes about it!

I just think that's neat. c:

[holaymolayy]

object show pikmin And splatoon fan... (lets take ibuprofen together pose) hello :]

haiiiiiiii :DDDD

[war--its-only-skin-deep]

In honor of Pikmin 4 dropping today, take a look at one of the neatest releases I own! A selection of tracks from the OST of the first Pikmin for the Nintendo GameCube!

So let's start with that cover art! No artist is credited unfortunately. I honestly can't tell if it's a photo of miniatures or if it's a really good render but either way it looks incredible and that tilt-shift really makes them feel tiny!

The back cover: no crazy art here, just a track listing and then a felt 7" cover velcroed on! More on that later...

The record itself! There are two variants, tri-color (what I have) and splatter (not my pic). I'm generally not huge on tri-colors but the colors are just perfect for this release! I still think I like the splatter more but it's close

Now for that felt envelope! Inside is a 7" sleeve sealed with tape that says "Do not break seal, except in cases of severe interstellar loneliness or existentialism". Inside is a 7" featuring some Pikmin-adjacent tracks including "Ai No Uta" by Strawberry Flower, a song featured in Japanese commercials for the game.

Also included is a postcard and a piece of paper with seeds embedded inside that you can plant and water! I haven't done it yet but I will someday (along with the download code card for Mort Garson's "Plantasia" which works the same way).

Final thoughts, this is an extremely well put together release for a wonderful soundtrack to an adorable game!

[mamamittens]

One day imma go nuts and start making versions of Nikia for different shows or IPs or whatever. Shame my main love is Pokemon and placing anything in that world is a BITCH.

I'm talking different ships, different skills for each verse, the whole nine yards.

Actually... Universes I know enough that I could whip up a verse specific iteration of Nikia (my borderline OC/SI), even if it's just basic bitch shit.

My Hero Academia

Full Metal Alchemist

Ouran Highschool Host Club

Avatar the Last Airbender

Pokemon

FNaF

Bleach

Legend of Zelda (Kinda already have at least once)

Steven Universe

Inuyasha

Sailor Moon

Pikmin

Nights Into Dreams (the clocktower scene is still so fucking hype, oh my god I still think about it to this day)

One Punch Man

It'd be fun, though idk if they'd all have ships lol. Took a long time for me to actually do shipping in general, let alone with my SI. Even just shipping other characters together outside of generally supporting the obvious end game ship. My instinctive response is always platonic, kinda mothering, not even going to pretend.

I know, I know, it's a bit weird given my ✨ everything ✨, I just like taking care of people I care about and I like making really sad people happy. And oddly enough, fucking them out of depression just never occurs to me when I'm wish fulfilling lmao

[ya-zz]

Hi I’d like to provide counter-angst, AKA stupid crack fluff shenanigans! So you know how Ram’s favorite animal are ants? Imagine how he’d react to somehow finding a bunch of Pikmin, which are basically like a d v a n c e d ants. (Yes I’m putting this on the table in honor of Pikmin 4 releasing today after 10 years of waiting)

ooo this was a fun little one to write! I had to ask the discord group about Pikmin because I had no idea what they do. I have heard of the games, but never played any of them-

But hey! Here's another req done! ♥

Ramattra and Pikmin

Word count: 1140

Some time ago, Ramattra was asked what his favourite animal was, and at the time, he found it a rather ridiculous and perplexing question. He hadn’t exactly thought much of it, nobody was ever interested in his favourite things, be it animals, literature or even music. 

Although, despite the sudden question, he replied back just as quick, almost as if his processor had just done over a million searches in just under a second. 

“Ants. They build marvellous structures and cooperate when threatened. I find them... Inspirational.” 

The small guy who asked didn’t seem too convinced with the answer and that was the end of that conversation. Ramattra deemed it; irrelevant. 

It wasn’t a question that weighed on his processors though. He had more pressing matters to attend to which was the liberation of omnics. 

As time passed by, however, he had researched more about these ‘ants’. What they do, their purpose in life, how they act and form their colonies. Ramattra was intrigued by these creatures and perhaps that’s some sub thought behind his attacks with Null Sector. By fighting as one, we are stronger.

The more he looked into them, the more he found them fascinating; ants can lift up to 10-50 times its body weight, each ant has a specific job to do within its colony and that ants are this worlds strongest insect compared to its body size. Papers upon papers of research stacked on his desk of just ants. He was practically obsessed with them. 

As his war went on, many cities destroyed and chaos trembling the streets, Ramattra wanted, no, needed, a small break. Tension and anger was rising as his attempts of liberation were failing. He needed to clear his systems but going back to the Monastery was only going to sour those feelings more. 

Instead, he settled on a small area of nature, trees and high grass, flowers and life blossoming despite the war going on a few kilometres away. It was tranquil, the breeze shaking the leaves, some falling off the branches as Ramattra walked the dirt path. There was no destination in mind, there never was whenever he wanted to feel peace. He would wander for hours if he could, letting his processors go through every thought, every error. 

Taking a seat by an old tree, he rests his staff on his lap, hands entwining together as he meditates. Images and videos run through his head, where it all went wrong, how it could be different. If his brother would join him, what would the outcome be? 

All he could do was think, errors clearing, fans cooling him down as his processor slows down. His body hums quietly amongst the sounds of the forest, birds above him chirping and leaves rustling. He was finally calm until a sound he had never registered before sounded near his receptor. 

His head tilts upwards and then to the location of the sound. His optics look around but he couldn’t see anything. There was nobody there, no human nor omnic. 

He stared for a moment longer before returning back to his meditation. 

The sound started again. 

Ramattra turned, but nothing was seen, so he turned back and bowed his head.

It sounded again but this time Ramattra released his hands, thumping one into the tree behind him with an irritated groan. Strangled sounds emerged, small things fell beside him, a few landed in his cowl. He almost seemed surprised, hand reaching down to grab these little things.

He looked down at them, sensors scanning these peculiar entities but nothing came up. Nobody had written or seen such a thing before, Ramattra seemed to be the first one. 

The small creatures looked back up at him, cocking their heads to the side to mimic Ramattra as he did it too. The small leaves and flowers on their head bobbing against the wind only confused him more. 

“Curious little things…” He turns his hand, watching as they scramble to sit gently on top of his hand. The ones seated in his cowl watch on, making squeaky and unnatural noises as their friends move around him. 

“What are you?” 

Ramattra watches as they jump down from his hand and gather together in a group. The little noises they made irked him slightly, receptor trying to lower their frequency so it wasn’t as irritating. 

The group near his thigh consisted of a multitude of colours, mainly red, yellow and blue. He wonders if they have specific uses, so he cocks his head to the side once more, processors trying to find some information on them, no matter how obscure. When he was met with nothing, he simply speaks. 

“What is it that you do?” 

The red ones quickly gather together, running off and picking up a large rock whilst the yellow ones began conducting electricity. It was practically a shock to Ramattra, especially when his finger hovered above the yellow ant-like creatures. He chuckled, the little shock tickling him. The blue creatures stood together in a group, seeming unsure of what to do as they look around. 

“And you, little things?” Ramattra points to the blue group. 

They make some noises as if to communicate but Ramattra doesn’t understand. 

“Peculiar…” He hums, leaning back slightly against the tree. His optics look down, seeing the ones seated inside of his cowl. He chuckles once more before looking at the surrounding area. 

“You remind me of ants. Little insects that can… well, lift heavy objects. Maybe not conduct electricity, but stay together as a group.” He looks down again. “Are there any more of you?” 

They make the noises again, looking at each other as if speaking to one another. The rather gigantic omnic looks on, wondering what they could be saying. 

Almost, as if unionised, they call out only to be met with silence. It took a moment before many more little creates appeared, surrounding Ramattra. Different kinds appeared too, chunky purple ones, little pink ones with wings buzzed by his receptors and danced around his head. White and rock looking creatures appeared soon after. 

Ramattra was stunned, but he was intrigued. How come there is no information on these little creatures? He watches them scurry around him, some climbing over his thighs, others clinging onto his arms, while the ones buzzing around his head settled within his cowl. He was swarmed with these “ants” and he enjoyed it. He was fascinated, wanting to learn more about each and every one of them. 

He sat there under the tree, the breeze passing by as he watched these creatures. He spoke on occasion, trying to get as much information as he could with their little noises and gestures. It was going to be a long process to study them, but one he was determined to carry out amongst his liberation.

[gizmocrate-werecrow]

What to do where you are a leafling: sweet dreams and a new member

(:3)

Dingo couldn’t believe it, Bernard remembered! He was fighting the Connection after all. Dingo smiled before he sighed. 

“It’s the ONE and only I say! Now what’s UP with you?” Bernard said he went behind Dingo and touched the leaf on the ‘Lone’ ranger’s head.

“Hey, watch it!” Dingo said before accidently headbutting Bernard on some strange urge.

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me.” Dingo apologised while touching his two pointer fingers together. He helped Bernard up and checked for any injuries.

There were no injuries to be seen thankfully. Bernard let out a long yawn and a stretch.

“I’m TIRED I tell you, why don’t you tell me tomorrow morning what happened to you.”

“Bernard, it also happened to you too.” Dingo said. Bernard felt out his own stem to check.

“So it has! Whatever the creature did to that castaway also did it to us. I tell you though it’s nothing but…but…dandori…DANDORI! What was that?”

“Apparently it’s called the Connection, seems that the red leafling makes all of the pikmin think like they do.”

“And that includes us now it seems.” Bernard mused before letting out a silent yawn. He went down by the fire and zipped off his suit, despite it having emergency statis, it was called emergency for a reason aka not fun to sleep in. However the body too would react to the dangerous atmosphere of this strange world, before Dingo could stop Bernard from taking off his suit, he heard a scream from the pilot.

“My HANDS! my arms! There’s leaves on them!”

The extent of the leaves was now clear to the two, not only did it cover the head but it covered the whole body. Arms, hands legs, body, all in the same purple colour of Bernard’s head leaves.

Also underneath the suit was an old light red shirt with a space shipping logo printed on it and some shorts, he also wore a ring with a prescious gem in it around his neck.

Bernard took some deep breaths and sat down. Dingo sat beside him, he hesentingly put his hand on Bernard’s shoulder.

“We need to FIND Yonny, he can fix this. He can fix anything.” Bernard said, he then yawned one last time and laid down, sleep coming quickly to the pilot.

Jack walked up to Dingo and held up a peice of fruit split in half. Dingo took it and stood up once more, taking a bite of the many lumped red berry. It was sweet and refreshing.

“Jack what happened? He’s fighting it right?”

“Maybe Papa is asleep? The Connection always seemed to turn off when he was asleep.” Jack chirruped, they walked to Bernard and stared at the shirt.

So that explained Bernard’s sudden bout of clarity. Dingo thought to himself.

“What do you do? Are you a shipping sky man like Papa?” Jack asked

“No! I’m actually apart of Shepherd’s rescue corp, I usually work alone and..shepherd…she’s so…enough about that it’s” Dingo started before he let out a long yawn. “Getting late.”

Dingo took off his spacesuit, he too was wearing shorts but also a black long sleeved t shirt with the rescue corps logo on his left shoulder.

“Can I join you?” Jack asked 

“…I have to talk to Sheperd about that but for now….fine.”

Dingo ripped a bit of fabric off of his right shirt sleeve, he folded the black fabric and tied it on Jack’s neck like it was a bandanna.

“By the power invested in me, you are now an honorary member of the rescue corp Jack. I may not have a communication device but you’re one of us now.”

“Yipee!” Jack cheered, hugging Dingo’s leg once more.

Dingo lightly shook Jack off of his leg and sat by Bernard, it wasn't long until sleep took over the ranger and he was sound asleep.

(I figured Jack needed a little something to look different from the other Pikmin)

[thatonepikminperson]

So, remember Wraith AUs? GUESS WHAT, MY BRAIN GOT ONE

So, this Au is for the Ground and Stars FanPik, but it can go pretty much on any story about Pikmin if y'all get inspired (Go wild home slices) and the huge new thing is Mixed Wraiths (see more below) so I'll just tag it "mixed wraith au" to not overflow the Pom Wraith AU.

In which, I should probably explain the whole Mixed Wraith thing. In short, it's when a Wraith mixes or fuses with another creature, most commonly another Wraith. There is more info on how they work and some new wraith types.

It is based off of that so @splitster thanks for getting me a bit too obsessed over this concept (Read more for the art and stuff)

(More art and Mixed Wraith lore below!)

So, as you can see, stuff has changed. This AU really starts at Chapter 9, the first 8 chapters are basically the same. Pom is now a wraith, and is hiding among the crew as a totally real space person. Pom himself is called what is known as a Mixed Wraith, or the mixture of a wraith and another creature, most commonly a wraith. Pom is specifically the mix between a Plasm Wraith, and a Water Wraith, which creates the Oil Wraith.

Mixed Wraiths are a bit complicated, but simply, there are mainly two kinds. The first one is the mixed wraith, but two streams of consciousness . This type of Mixed Wraith has the consciousness of both wraiths, and they work together to keep themselves safe. (Let's call this Type 1 Mixed Wraith) The second kind is what is known as the Combined consciousness Mixed Wraith, which is the two wraiths that make up the mixed one coming together and making a new Combined Consciousness (Or CC). Of course, these wraiths can take over separately at any time, but they usually just use the CC to get closer to prey. (Let's call this Type 2 Mixed Wraith) Pom is the second type of Mixed Wraith

So there's more wraith lore. There are four main types of wraiths, Liquid, Solid, Gas, and Plasma. Each one acts and behaves differently from each other, and some of which are not total assholes.

(The Liquid Wraith includes things like the Water Wraith, the Honey Wraith or Colored Ink Wraiths. Solid Wraiths include things like the Reflection Wraith, the Gemstone Wraith, or the Floral Wraith. The Gas Wraith includes things like the Oxygen Wraith, Chloroform Wraith, and the Iodine Vapor Wraith. The Plasma Wraiths include things like the Plasm Wraith, the Star Wraith, or the Flame Wraith.)

Wraiths survive with their cores, which are practically their hearts. These are generally the same as the Pom Wraith AU, but if a Mixed Wraith's Core breaks, then the two wraiths/creatures that made it up will separate, taking half of the core with them.

Also, depending on the personalities of the Wraith and the other creature, they might fight from time to time. If the two created a combined consciousness, and they fight, the consciousness is kicked out of control and one or both of them take over. If it gets too unstable, or the Core is broken in half, then the two Wraiths will split up, in most cases leaving any wraith perfectly fine and the other creature dead.

There is also a way to fix a broken core, but those who try to do so will probably be hunted down by several angry Wraiths. (Wraiths look down at this, as they think if you died, you need to stay dead)

Wraiths are also garbage at disguising themselves, like really. Most forgot that ears exist, or they have some sort of wild color for skin, like grey or pink. Though, thank god Pom was able to find a human before he lifted off into the stars.

I do have more wraith lore, but those will be separate post, probably without art because I've already made several pages of this stuff, and it's more fun to draw characters compared to lore (Sorry lol)

Oh yeah, and I do have wraith forms of the Rescue Corps, don't worry. THEY AREN'T SAFE FROM THE BRAIN ROT EITHER! (But they will be for later, as I have to get through a far amount of other posts about this AU first. Sorry about that.) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ow my back

[justkindabrowsing]

Pikmin 4 has sent me wondering about New World of Steam

TL;DR: I'm speculating about the potential of a free roam environment in the new Layton game

...This is like, the fifth time I've had to type all this out because of dumb technical issues and human error (Emphasis on human. And on error.), so I would greatly appreciate it if you'd keep reading!

I thought of this stuff like, a week ago, but I was too lazy to type it all out, but I'm finally making myself do this.

Okay, so I've been playing Pikmin 4 for a while now. Great game. Excellent game. I love all the different changes we've seen in it compared to Pikmin games prior, but there's something in particular that's stood out to me. Namely, the base of operations where you spend time between missions.

As you save more and more castaways, the base expands as the group works together to create more space for these rescued folks so everyone can live there comfortably. Makes sense, and I think it's a neat mechanic. But it also reminded me of what we were told during the New World of Steam trailer; that the city would develop further based on the puzzles the player solves.

This got me thinking - what if these developments are something we experience firsthand? Maybe we play as Professor Layton, with Luke taking on the role of a guide in a more literal sense than his being the detective this time and the professor taking on the apprentice-like role. Maybe we play as a character we get to create and customize (I'm not terribly convinced of the latter, truthfully, but I also believe anything is possible).

Regardless, I believe it's possible that whoever we play as will be roaming around a 3D environment that develops as we solve more puzzles. Certain vehicles become available to us, which we'll use to get around different areas. Maybe that also means vehicles that are blocking places will move out of our way so we can enter new locations, such as roads that were blocked leading to other parts of town, or shops in the area that were previously obstructed. Maybe through solving puzzles, we'll inspire people to open shops, or we'll assist them in building said shop itself.

If we do get to create our own character (however unlikely), maybe one of these shops will let us buy clothes for them! Or maybe Professor Layton could purchase new outfits for himself (also very doubtful). Maybe we'll see Luke shake up his own wardrobe as well (Even more than he already has? Have you gone mad???). I'm guessing there could be a clothing store of some sort because Katrielle had a lot of different outfits in her game, so maybe we could see a similar mechanic here too? (With maybe hint coins or picarats as a currency?)

Maybe we'll see some sort of mechanic place open up where we can customize our vehicles, possibly through solving puzzles or something. Perhaps we'll see a DIY function at this location, similar to that of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Obviously, this is all speculation and the ramblings of a mind starved of Layton content for too long, but who can really say what Level-5 has in store for us this time?

...All that said, I do hope they don't stray too far from the old formula. I imagine it will most likely still be a visual novel type game, and I really do hope that the cutscenes will still be the 2D animations we know and love. But who knows? Only time will tell.

Oh wow! You read to the end? You're literally the coolest! Stay hydrated, okay? Eat something today if you haven't already. Look after yourself; you can't solve puzzles if you're all worn out. I'm proud of you.

[your-local-grubdog]

Together in the Storm Chapter 5: Heart of Steel

Story Summary: Olimar is back home once again, ready to rest and recuperate from everything that had happened. Yet the universe keeps throwing unwanted surprises his way, making rest difficult. He just wants to make his (now rather large) family believe that he’ll be okay. Because he is, for he has to be.

Chapter Summary: Alph visits Olimar to fully recover the ship's AI.

I also took this chance to update the images on the AO3 posting, all images now use the files hosted on Tumblr and all images also have screen reader captions. I'm trying to do better regarding having those avaliable.

Read on AO3 here!

Alph wasn't sure what he was expecting Olimar's house to look like. He certainly didn't expect what he did find, though.

From the outside it looked huge, at least when compared to Koppaite homes anyways, especially when standing at the foot of the small hill it was built on. That fact was true for every house on the street, actually, each one a near carbon copy of each other; two stories high, built on a hill with an underground garage, a gentle slope leading from sidewalk to door, and the architecture in a style Alph didn't recognize. Probably traditional Hocotation, though. The only difference between houses were their colors or maybe some outside décor. Unsurprisingly, trees and flowers crowded Olimar's house, making it further stand out from the neatly trimmed and rather empty yards of the other houses.

"Alph?" Olimar asked, making the younger man jump a bit. "You okay?"

"Huh- oh- yeah, sorry." He ran up to the captain. "Just zoned out a bit. I've never really been to Hocotate properly before, only other visit was to drop you off. So all of this is new for me." He was shivering as he spoke, as Hocotate was also much much colder than Koppai.

Olimar nodded as he led him up the path. "Makes sense. Well, if there's anything I can do to help make you comfortable, just let me know! Always happy to help."

"Ah, you don't have to do anything special sir. I'll get used to it."

"If you say so." The captain began to unlock the front door, which was a sliding door. "I don't know if I could ever adjust to Koppai if the caves are as hot as the surface."

"They're much cooler, don't worry. But, ah, not as cold as this."

"Still, thank the gods." Olimar groaned, opening the door. "I can't stand the heat. Our fur retains it too well. Anyways - welcome!"

The first thing that hit Alph was the smell of cinnamon. It wasn't overpoweringly strong, just enough to be noticeable. It was rather pleasant, actually, but it did make for a strong first impression. The entrance room was much smaller than Alph thought it would be, given the large size of the house overall. It was also slightly lowered from the hallway that led from it. A few family photos and paintings decorated the walls. Alph didn't recognize the artist, nor could he read the signature - it was in a highly stylized Hocotation script he's never seen before. Alph watched as Olimar laid his keys and wallet on a little tray before sitting on a bench pressed against the other wall. He sat down before leaning over to take off his shoes.

"So, how's the little pikmin?" He asked through a few grunts of pain.

"Good." Alph stood there awkwardly, not sure of what he was supposed to be doing. He figured this was just some cultural disconnect he wasn't quite getting. "I just finished up helping Charlie with getting his house ready for it. It seems happy."

"Good, good..." The captain slipped on some slippers(?), still clearly pained by the process. They weren't like Koppaite slippers, they had a backing to them and so took an extra second to get on, but they looked oh so soft.

That's when Olimar's eyes went wide.

"Guest slippers! Ah, dangit - give me one moment Alph, just wait here!" And off he was, calling for his wife.

Ah, guess I'm supposed to have slippers too... Well, he could wait. He went ahead and sat on the bench as he did so. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to use the bench or if Olimar merely chose to. He decided it would probably be a safer call to just mirror the older man's movements, and pray that Hocotations didn't have traditions that were only supposed to be done by very specific people. Then again, this was Olimar - Alph didn't know him well, but he got the feeling that he would understand his bumbling perfectly fine.

Eventually Olimar returned with another pair of house slippers. "My apologies for that, people usually bring their own slippers. D-Don't worry, you don't have to buy your own! We didn't expect you to!" He had added that last bit on rather hastily, in response to Alph's drooping ears. "Uh, they may not be your size but if they're too uncomfortable we'll get you new ones. Or you could just go barefoot." He chuckled a bit. "Little casual but you're a friend so - anyways! Here!"

Alph couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he took the slippers. "Thanks, sir."

"I've told you before, you don't have to call me sir or Mister Olimar." Olimar explained as he watched Alph put the slippers on. "Just Olimar is fine."

Alph nodded. "Alright si- Olimar."

At that the Captain chuckled as well. Once Alph was done (the slippers were a little loose, but not uncomfortable) he beckoned him into the hallway. "I'm not sure how long it'll take to do what you're planning, so if it's alright with you I'd like to introduce you to my wife first."

Alph nodded. Really, it wouldn't take him long, but doing introductions first seemed like a good idea anyways. "What about the kids?"

"Ah, they're at school."

"Okay!" The hallway barely lasted two steps before they turned right into... Alph wasn't sure what to call it. It felt too open to be called a hallway as well, but it also seemed to have no use beyond leading to all of the different parts of the house. No furniture was here aside from the occasional console table, all well decorated in a manner Alph wasn't familiar with. There was a staircase leading up to the second floor, Alph thought it was placed oddly but maybe that's just how Hocotations preferred it.

"If you go past the stairs and take a left, you'll arrive at the bathroom." Olimar explained. "And over here is the living room!" He turned right through an archway. The room was well decorated, with yet more family photos and paintings, though some paintings looked slightly messier than the others. It appeared as if those had a different signature. A TV stood at one end, nestled into a cabinet of sorts, a couch and arm chairs opposite of it. Interestingly, there was also what appeared to be a small dining room table between the TV and couch, though it was rather low to the ground. Pillows surrounded it.

Sitting in one of the arm chairs and reading a book was Olimar's wife. She must've been quite absorbed in it, as it took Olimar a few tries to grab her attention. She quickly stood up, putting the book away as she bowed shallowly and awkwardly. Alph felt equally awkward, to be quite frank, unsure of how he was supposed to read the bow. "Ah, my apologies." She stood upright again. "I'm Rose. It's nice to finally meet you, Olimar talks about you three often."

"Do you, now?" Alph teased lightly, unable to help himself.

Olimar flushed and crossed his arms, looking away. "Well - you guys saved me and all- so of course I would!"

Rose began to laugh. "Anyways, you're supposed to help Olimar with a ship's AI?"

"Yes! The AI to Olimar's old ship!"

"Well," Olimar began. "It wasn't mine, just the one I was assigned to. The company owned it... Uh, did you move the AI or copy it...?"

"I moved it. No trace was left in the ship. So, technically, this is theft... You still want to do it?"

Olimar and Rose both nodded. "The company will be fine." Rose replied in a suddenly bitter tone. "They won't even notice it."

"Yeaaaah..." Olimar sighed. "Minus the fact he's angry the ship was totaled. He's heavily suggested that once I'm back at work, I'll be sent back to get the ship-"

"He what - Olimar, he's working you to the bone, you've been slee-" She looked at Alph, pausing for a second, before seemingly deciding it best to just get to her point. "Please, for once let me call your boss and talk him out of this!"

"Promise to not threaten him?"

"... Alright, I won't call him, then."

Alph shuffled in place for a moment. "If I may," he began, "Well, firstly, I think Rose should get to threaten him."

"Alph gets it." Rose teased, earning a groan out of Olimar.

"PNF-404 is not a place you just go to, you need a good reason to do so. I don't think recovering a single, mass produced ship is a good enough reason - even more so since we got everything important."

"... Yeah." Olimar quietly agreed. "But my boss isn't the one going there again, so hard to say how much he cares..." Ears pinning back now, he asked "What was the other thing?"

"Do you keep up with Koppaite news?"

Olimar shook his head as his wife answered "Not directly, but I have some friends who talk about it. They don't seem to know much, probably got it from word-of-mouth too."

Alph wasn't sure why he was surprised. This was an entirely different nation, why would they keep track of Koppaite news? He supposed he just thought that Olimar or his family would at least hear about this detail. "We mentioned you, Olimar, when telling our story. The whole planet wants to know who you are."

That made the captain stagger a bit. "H-... What?!" His eyes went wide as he stared and leaned into his wife a bit.

"What - what do they want my husband for?" Rose asked, also seeming nervous.

"Well, we saved Koppai from starvation. And we only could because of his notes on the fauna of PNF-404. We mentioned as such - but we avoided giving any personal details beyond race and first name. We didn't want anyone to bother you. Anyways, Koppai is interested now. Academics want your notes."

He wondered if Olimar was still even with them, mentally speaking. He leaned against his wife more as he stared at nothing. After a few seconds, he asked "M - my notes?"

Alph could only nod.

"What for?" Rose asked. "He's poured a lot of love and time into those, I don't want them misused."

"Just to study from." Alph answered. "PNF-404, it's special to us now. A star that has saved us. There's always going to be a few cruel people, don't get me wrong, but most Koppaites just want to understand and appreciate the planet." He then smirked. "From a distance, I think we scared away all but the daredevils and desperate from exploring the planet."

"That's - oh great gods!" Olimar suddenly stood up properly, though he hissed with pain from the effort. "This - this is a dream come true I - I always thought of it as just a dream but - Rose, Rose! My notes, they - my notes!" He was suddenly so excited, even bouncing in place from it. "This - This is amazing!"

Rose nodded as she smiled warmly, holding his hands. "It is, it really is, but Alph." She turned to the younger man now. "What does this have to do with Olimar's boss?"

"Well, nothing direct. More so his job." Alph explained. "We - my crew and I, that is - could pull some strings and get you a new job in Koppai's academic sector. It may not be perfect and will come with new issues, but it'd be so much better."

Olimar's response was immediate. "I'm not leaving Hocotate. My family and their friends are all here. I can't go to Koppai for work."

Alph was a little surprised Olimar didn't mention friends of his own, but he decided to ignore it for now. "We could find a remote job. Or generally make that a condition."

Olimar and Rose just stared at each other, eyes wide and hopeful.

When they stayed silent for a few moments, Alph added on "Just give it some time. I know this isn't something you can just jump into-" though he couldn't help but wonder if the two were desperate enough to do so anyways - "In the mean time, would you like the ship's AI set up?"

"Huh - oh, yes!" Olimar squeaked. "Yes, right this way, follow me - We'll be a bit, Rosie. Love you!"

She sighed affectionately and kissed his cheek. "Love you too, dork. And good luck with this AI thing."

Olimar let out a short chuff, choosing to urge Alph to go with him with a hand wave rather than speak, seemingly in a dreamy state from the interaction with his wife. Snickering lightly, Alph followed him back out into the hall room. He was led to a room close to the entrance with a transparent door. It looked glass, but Alph had the feeling it was made of something much sturdier. Looking in, it was obvious that this was the office.

Olimar let him inside it. It was also well furnished: bookshelves filled with books - mostly about biology from a quick glance - and a rather messy desk near the back. There was an easel with a partly finished painting that caught Alph's eye. "Does someone here paint?" He asked.

"Hm? Oh, both my wife and I. We hang our paintings around the house - though she's always hesitant to. She thinks she's not too good, so most of them are mine. I think she's a great artist, though! That one's hers."

Alph's eyes widened as he looked over the unfinished painting. "You're both good."

The captain chuffed again. "Thank you."

"Of course, now the AI-"

"OH! It's stored right here." He lifted the black external hard drive. "So, how are you going to do this?"

"Easy. You know about those home computer systems? Can just ask a question out loud and a speaker somewhere will answer for you?"

"Uh, vaguely. There's only one company that sells them here on Hocotate and they're far beyond what I could afford. But even if I could, they're kinda in legal hot water right now over breaking privacy terms."

"Oh, ouch... S-Sorry. Well, t-this one is free! And shouldn't cause problems. That's what I'm going to repurpose the ship's AI into."

At that Olimar snickered. "Ah, it'll work just like having it when I'm on a delivery run then? Joy."

Alph paused for a few moments, unsure of how to read Olimar's tone. "Do... you not want this-"

"Huh? Oh! It's fine, don't worry. It sounds helpful." He chuckled nervously. "Ah, do you uh..." He paused for a moment. "I don't mean this in a rude way, but do you struggle with sarcasm?"

"Usually, yeah." Alph admitted as he pulled a few things from his bag. He plugged the central "hub" of the home-system into the computer before searching around for files. Man, this computer feels ancient, but it's clearly powerful. Or at least powerful enough. Guess Hocotate didn't change their systems of OS design? Koppai certainly had sleeker OSs, at the very least.

"Ah, noted. My boy can struggle too sometimes, so I kinda get it. I'll keep it in mind from now on."

"Thank you, sir." A pause, then, "Which boy?"

It seemed it took Olimar a bit to realize what he was being asked. "Oh! Uh, Nova. You haven't met him, you will when he gets home though!" He chuckled a bit. "S-Sorry, we kinda only recently took Louie in. He's still absolutely like a son to me, but it takes time for certain habits to develop."

Alph's ears wiggled at that. "Really? I thought he was your biological kid?" He finally found the files he needed. Now he had to just port the AI to the "hub" and make a back up of it to the laptop. On that note, maybe he should prep the external hard-drive to serve as a frequently updated redundant back up system... As the files inside it were now, it wouldn't exactly be easy to do so.

"Oh! No, no." Olimar shook his head, laughing. "I was only eighteen or so when Louie was born. No, I just got attached to the scraggly kid my boss handed me and told me was my responsibility."

Alph snickered at the characterization, before going quiet to focus on his work. It took a while to transfer files and format everything properly and set the hub of the home system. When done Alph groaned and leaned back into the chair. "Okay, so here's how it works, at least the terms we use on Koppai. This round disk is the main computer of the entire system - we call it the hub. Keep it somewhere safe. It'll connect wirelessly to the nodes - they have speakers and mics. The hub has those too. Put them wherever you want access to the system. Just know that while it is private - it won't connect to any outside networks beyond looking stuff up online - it will still hear anything in a room unless the node is off. Keep it in mind when setting it up. I also have two back-ups of the AI, one on your computer and one on the external hard drive. Here, let me show you how to update the backups - I'd say do so around once a month, to preserve info it learns - and how to restore the system using them."

It took Alph a little while to explain it to Olimar, though it seemed the captain's main issue was just the complexity of the AI rather than any sort of computer illiteracy. Once everything was fully explained, Alph turned to the hub. "Now, to turn it on for the first time!"

He reached over and powered the hub on. After a few seconds, a monotone woman's voice came from the hub's speaker. "Powering on. Please standby..." It read off a few diagnostics checks and, after confirming everything was good to go, a different voice began to speak. More masculine and more robotic yet somehow more lively than the previous. "Louie? Is that you? Are my optical receptors offline - no, no this... Is a different machine. How did I get here?"

"Hey there." Olimar began. "Louie's n-"

"Is Louie okay?" The AI cut him off. "Last time I was online the ship... crashed."

"He's okay. Your old hull was completely totaled. Won't be easy to get it back. Uh... Alph here, he's from Koppai, he got your AI from the ship and ported it to a home system."

"A home system? So I'm not at Hocotate Freight anymore?"

"No, you're ah... At my house, if that's alright."

The ship's AI was quiet for a few moments. Then, it answered "Yes, that is okay. Thank you for coming back for me."

"Of course, of course... But really, thank Louie and Alph. I wasn't the one to go get you..."

"Well, thank you Alph. Is Louie here, too?"

"No, not right now. Whenever he visits again I'll make sure he says hi."

"Alright... Wait, so then the rest of your family is here, Captain?"

Olimar nodded, though the ship's AI couldn't see it. "Well, kiddos are at school at this moment. Rosie is here, though, if you wanna say hi."

"Isn't she the one who stabbed someone?"

That caught Alph's attention. "She what?"

"She never stabbed anyone!" Olimar insisted. "When I first met her, she basically saved me. One of the guys got cut but nothing more!"

"Uh-huh." The ship replied, unconvinced.

"Still, she cut someone-?" Alph began.

"When we were teens, and in order to save me." Olimar insisted.

"... And I suppose it's how she won you over?" the younger man asked.

"Weeelllll..." Olimar shrugged. "You know, when you see a woman in punk attire who looks like she could break you in half and who also has a bloody knife in a bloody hand... Yeah I uh, ran the first time. But we met up again later and look at us now!"

Alph just stared.

"Anyways, enough of that! I was thinking, before we - er, Louie and I - just called you ship before. But I don't think that'll work as well now. So how do you feel about a new name?"

"N-Not to be rude-" Alph intervened, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, "But the AIs don't really feel anything."

Olimar's shoulders sagged then as he sighed. "I know... I know how they work. It's just - it makes me feel better to treat them like they do. Yes it causes stress at times but... I donno, it's hard for me to describe."

Alph nodded, his voice soft. "No, I think I get it."

"... If it's any consolation, sir," the ship spoke out now, "If a machine like myself was to ever experience emotion, it would be me and be because of you. Granted, the emotion I would feel is pure annoyance, but it is emotion."

Olimar began to chuckle, though he smiled softly as he did. "Oh please, you love me too much to find me annoying."

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that. Whatever makes you feel better."

Alph couldn't help but laugh a bit as well. He usually found the AIs uncanny, as most Koppaites did. When they used them, they never used the emotion mimicry feature. But he had to admit, the "personality" this one built up was pretty funny and even enjoyable to be around.

"So what wonderful name have you chosen for me, huh?"

"Ah... Is - is Cetacea okay?"

The AI paused then, processing the information given. It then made a groan sound. "What is it with you and marine mammals, huh?"

Olimar huffed, crossing his arms. "They're cool! And fascinating! A creature that lives in water and can't survive on land but can't breathe in water either? Fascinating, I say!" He then paused, voice softening. "I could pick a different one, though."

"No, Cetacea is good. I like it. I just also want you to know that you're a complete nerd for naming me after a taxonomy category."

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know." Olimar chuckled again.

"Well..." Cetacea began to go on and on about some complicated physics thing, clearly pulling from some online data base.

After just a few seconds Olimar groaned. "Okay, okay, stop. Point made."

"Only doing as you asked, sir." It replied. Alph wondered if it was being sarcastic.

"Well, Olimar, if you want I can set up all the nodes now!" He offered.

Olimar nodded. "Yeah, sounds good to me. Then my wife can pester it too."

"Gods..." Cetacea groaned.

"You're part of the family now." The captain chuckled. "So you'll have to learn to deal with it."

======

It took a little while to set up all of the nodes, but they were able to get it done together! There were not too many of them - just the hub in the office and nodes in the kitchen, living room, first and second floor halls, and the entry way. For the first floor hall, however, finding a good spot proved difficult.

"Why can't we use the console tables in there?" Alph had asked.

Rose seemed shocked that such a question could even be asked, though Olimar just sighed and calmly explained "Those are the family shrines."

Oh, that made sense. "Ah, s-sorry."

"Don't be. Here, I can explain them a bit as we find a better spot for that."

All three of the shrines were explained one by one. The first was close to the entrance, right below a window. There were a few framed printouts of art there, alongside unlit half-used candles and a spot to light incense. A few rosaries were also present, each with a differently shaped charm attached. "General shrine for the Gods Above." Olimar explained. "We're not particularly religious, so we haven't chosen one to worship..." He sheepishly brushed some dust off of a framed picture of some abstract art. "Nor do we generally use this outside of the holidays, heh."

Alph couldn't even begin to decipher the meanings and symbolism behind the objects chosen, but he didn't want to make Olimar explain too much either. So instead he just nodded along, taking in the soft yellows and oranges and occasional pinks of the shrine.

The other two were on either side of a door that, according to Olimar, led to a currently unused "elder's room", though he didn't elaborate on that front. To the left of it was what he simply called the family shrine. It had photos of Olimar, Rose, Nova, and Luna from many different time periods, plus a few seemingly random objects such as a mouse figurine, some sort of fabric patch, a really cool rock, and a preserved lunar moth, among more. There was also an incense burner on the shrine. "We chose everything ourselves. Stuff that we find important. For example," he pointed to the rock, "Nova put that there a long time ago. His first gift from his best friend."

"Sounds like he really likes his friend," Alph teased, smirking slightly.

Though, it seemed the tone was lost on Olimar. "Yeah, he means a lot to my boy." He chuckled a bit as he walked to the last shrine. "Always makes sure his friend is okay and feels included, I've even seen Nova patch him up after some playful rough housing went a little too far by mistake. They're really great friends."

Alph raised an eyebrow at that, but decided not to push it any further.

"Anyways, this one is the extended family shrine. Rosie set it up! She has all sorts of stuff for her siblings and parents, though the meanings are personal. I don't even fully understand some of it." Again, it was decorated with family photos - seemingly Rose's parents, brother, sister, sister-in-law, and nephew - alongside many random little objects, plus an incense burner.

"Is there one for your parents?" Alph asked.

At that Olimar paused for several awkward moments. Eventually, he mumbled out "If they were represented, they'd be on this one."

Alph then felt sick. "Oh, s-sorry-"

"You're okay. Let's just find a place for the node, yeah?"

======

They eventually found a good place for the last node, and no sooner had they found a spot did some more people arrive back to back. First were Olimar and Rose's kids, who were excited to meet the Koppaite. They didn't talk much though before Louie also arrived. At that point, Olimar decided to gather everyone in the living room so that they may all have a place to sit.

"So, Alph came over today to help me with something." Olimar explained to his kids who looked up at him with wide eyes. "And so now there's someone else for you to meet!"

Nova grew even more excited while Luna seemed to become weary. "Cool! Who is it?"

Olimar just smiled and spoke out, "Cetacea, you online in here?"

The node on the coffee table then turned on. "Yes, I am. Hello, everyone."

Nova gasped. "Wait, you bought one??? I thought you said-"

Olimar shook his head. "Nope. I didn't buy anything. Alph gifted us the hardware. And the AI inside is the same one that was in my previous ship. The hull was destroyed, but we saved the personality inside of it."

"THIS WAS A SPACESHIP?" Nova practically squealed, making his sister flinch.

"That is... Mostly correct. Close enough." Cetacea answered. "You may call me Cetacea."

Olimar let a light chuff at that. "It can have an attitude, but it is very kind and helpful."

"Hey, don't start with this now. I don't have an attitude, I just have two major pains in my side. I am not above calling you an idiot infront of your family, sir."

Olimar just groaned in response while his kids began to giggle at it.

Luna, now calming down a bit, nervously asked "So can you answer questions?"

"So long as I can find it on the internet, yes."

"What about questions about the pikmin planet?" Nova then asked, making Olimar tense.

Cetacea paused for a bit while it deliberated on something. Then, "Sure. For one, I can tell you far too much about how so many of the creatures inner workings function, as your father had a rather nasty habit of dissecting beasts within my hull."

Olimar sighed with relief at the same time Nova made a face of disgust and Luna went wide eyed. "Coooooool..." She cooed.

"... Yeah, you're certainly his kid." A couple of people chuckled at that, though soon Cetacea silenced them all. "Before we get too far... How are you, Louie? The last time I saw you was before my hull was destroyed."

Louie shifted around a bit. "I'm okay. Been helping grandma. Work is... Work. And I spend time here."

"... That's good to hear. I'll have to catch up with you later."

There was an ominous tension in the air that hung between Louie and Cetacea. The last time they saw each other was during the crash landing... Cetacea probably wanted to push for information he wouldn't give in front of a group like this. Thankfully, no one else seemed to have noticed the tension (aside from maybe Rose).

Alph sighed as he stood up. "I'm glad everything worked out regarding Cetacea. But I do think I have to go now-"

"A-Already?" Olimar asked, surprised. "You can stay longer, we have a guest bed for you and some extra plates."

The Koppaite just shook his head. "Sorry, but I have a lot I need to get done. So I need to get going now. It was nice to see you again, Olimar and Louie, and to meet everyone else."

"... Alright. But feel free to visit whenever, okay?" Olimar offered a warm, if nervous smile. "You're always welcome here."

"Thank you, sir. Take care!"

They all said their good-byes as they waved. Alph headed back for the entrance area to replace his guest slippers with his own shoes. As he did so, though, Louie approached him.

"... D-Do take dad up on his offer, okay?" The tall man asked, voice quiet. "We'd lo- he'd love to talk to you more."

Alph sighed a bit as he smiled, standing up now. "Of course. I wanna hang out with everyone more, anyways. I kinda miss being able to talk to you like we did on the Drake. Right now though, I gotta focus on making sure Koppai will be okay."

Louie looked down as he rubbed his arm. "O-Okay..."

"But don't be afraid to call me either, alright? I'm always happy to talk."

Louie nodded slowly at that, a soft smile forming on his face. "Okay."

[autisticsupervillain]

It's Fictional Throwdown Friday!

This Week's Fighters...

Team Snakemouth vs Olimar!

Conditions:

Both sides are equipped with absolutely everything they can have. Olimar has a full team of Pikmin, with 14 of each type and 2 extra reds. Team Snakemouth has Chompy. Speed Equalized.

Scenario:

Team Snakemouth are called in to investigate a series of thefts plaguing Bugaria. While investigating, they find Olimar and his Pikmin escorting massive treasures back to his ship. Believing him to be responsible, Team Snakemouth rushes in to confront him.

Analysis: Team Snakemouth

The Land of Bugaria. A mythical world of adventure that draes in travelers far and wide in search of glory, riches, and even immortality. Queen Elizant the First, fondly remebered ruler of the Ant Kingdom, was the first to settle it, whereupon she created a utopian paradise where the Ant, Bee, Termite, and Wasp Kingdoms could co-exist peacefully. Yet, despite her great success, she could never complete her life long goal. She could never find the mythical Everlasting Sapling, the remnant of the Old World that some claimed could grant immortality.

It wasn't until many Moons after he death that a team of noble adventurers were able to continue where she left of. The trio of heroes who would come together to not only find the sapling, but also to save all Bugaria from absolute destruction. Their story shall live on forever as the legend of Team Snakemouth.

Named after the cavern in which they had their first adventure, this unlikely trio certainly wouldn't seem like heroes at a first glance. Kabbu, the noble, if naive, beetle certainly acts the type the most, but his fellow adventurers would likely give you pause. Vi, the greedy and impulsive young bee, has gotten the team into more than a few scraps with her headstrong nature and Lief, the undead, antisocial moth reanimated by cordyceps fungus, can seem very aloof and strange at a first glance. But rest assured, these three are among the mightiest heroes that Bugaria has to offer, each with their own strengths and weaknesses that make them nigh unbeatable when they team up.

Kabbu is the team's mighty juggernaut, armed with a razor sharp horn that can pierce the defenses of even the sturdiest of foes. He's tough enough to drill into the Earth and is sturdy enough to take far more punishment than the rest of his team, a fact that he exploits by taunting the enemy to make them target him instead of them. Given his strong sense of justice and honor, he can become quite easily angered by what he views as injustice or even by his iwn personal failings. His failure to save his original team in particular is a very nasty sore spot for him. Luckily, he can channel this anger to increase his strength tenfold, to the point of demolishing large boulders and surviving attacks that could previously one-shot him and his entire team. However, he cannot direct this anger against airborne enemies, as they're just out of his range, so he often needs to rely on his teammates or resort to throwing rocks to get past anyone he can't just clobber. Regardless, his paragon status makes him a source of inspiration for his teammates and he can even encourage them to get back up and keep fighting in the face of debilitating injury.

Vi, though cocky and a bit unscrupulous, is nonetheless a very crafty fighter. Her iconic Bee-merang allows her to fight at long distances, letting her create tornados to throw enemies around and knock flying foes out of the sky. As a bee, she is able to fly herself and even carry her teamates with her to a certain extent (Kabbu is very heavy). What's more, she can remote control her Bee-merang to either always come back to her or remain spinning in place and always carries a secret stash with her to help heal up herself and allies. And if all else fails, her needles can pierce the sturdy defenses of even the toughest of foes. Even if her greed and impulsiveness get her into trouble, she remains a competent fighter and trusted ally.

Leif the moth is a powerful ice magician, capable of freezing foes solid to completely incapacitate them or creating ice shields to protect himself and his allies. He can fly by creating ice beneath himself and walk on water the same way, as well as hit airborne targets by raining ice blocks down on their heads. Lief also has numerous ways to bolster his team mid-combat, increasing his own teammates stats by way of Fortify or Charge Up or nullifying his foes's stats with Break or Enfeeble. He can even nullify stat increases with Cleanse, forcing you fight him at your base level. He's like dropping an undead mage into the middle of A Bug's Life. A Bug's Lief. Despite how devastating he is from a support standpoint, Lief does struggle with his undead status. As he died several years ago, he finds the modern world under Queen Elizant the 2nd's rule very difficult to adapt to and he struggles to accept the fact that everyone he knows is dead and that he's basically a zombie. He's arguably the most traumatized of the team.

And then there's the team pet chompy. Although not capable of much on her own, her ribbons give her deadly bite some added spice, as they allow her to induce all sorts of dangerous effects, from paralysis to sleep to poison!

While each of these fighters are deadly in their own way, their team skills make them unstoppable, allowing them to combine their might with relentless attacks like Frist Relay, where Lief freezes the opponent over and over as Vi pummels them relentlessly, or Fly Drop, where Vi drops Kabbu on the enemy like a big heavy rock. Their deadliest team move, Frost Bowling, involves freezing Vi and having Kabbu toss her at the enemy like, well, a bowling ball, for massive damage!

Then comes the plethora of medals and equipment the team can come decked out in. They can increase the Team's stats in a wide manor of ways and help them resist status effects, ranging from sleep, poison, paralysis, and freezing. Even if you do get those status effects off, certain medals can make those effects transfer to the enemy on contact. Life Stealer sucks the life out of you with every hit landed, Miracle Matter lets them recover from incapacitating injuries after some time, and First Platting has them take no damage from the first hit the lands on them. And, of course, their Flame Broach lets them survive the all consuming inferno of the Wasp King's fire attacks.

With these incredible abilities, Team Snakemouth has overcome impossible odds on their numerous adventures. They've snuck into the Wasp Kingdom undetected and defeated the horrific eldritch Dead Landers, bugs mutated within the remnants of the old world. They even defeated the Wasp King himself after he consumed the Everlasting Sapling and became a veritable Everlasting God.

Their one true weakness? ...They're bugs. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Dead Lander Ω, something implied to be a mutated human child, is large enough to ragdoll and overpower them with ease and crush them all with just one hand.

Despite that, they are still among the toughest bugs out there. Team Snakemouth stands tall as perhaps the greatest heroes to walk the lands of Bugaria.

Analysis: Olimar

Space. The final frontier. And endless expanse full of countless treasures and endless adventures. But, the spaceman having those adventures might just be a fair bit smaller than you were expecting.

Meet Captain Olimar, trade captain and employee for the interstellar trading company Hocotate Frieght whose normal boring life was thrown into disarray when he crash landed on the desolate world of PNF-404. Better known as Earth.

Unable to breath the atmosphere of this post-apocalyptic world, Olimar needez some outside help if he ever wanted to get back home... or if he ever wanted to loot the planet's riches. That's when he discovered he could command adorable little plant like creatures known as Pikmin.

Now, on their own, Pikmin are harmless and helpless, especially the little young ones with only little leaves on their heads. But when brought together and command, they become a nigh unstoppable fighting force. Reproducing by bringing corpses back to their "onion" ships to harvest so that they can then be planted and plucked from the ground, Pikmin rely on their massive numbers to survive, overwhelming their enemy with as many as a hundred Pikmin simultaneously. Furthermore, they come in up to seven different types, each uniquely specialized to thrive in certain situations.

Red Pikmin are immune to and can to a certain extent control fire. Yellow Pikmin are immune to and can channel electricity, as well as fly farther through the air and dig faster due to their glider like ears. Blue Pikmin breathe underwater while Whites can see farther, are immune to poison, and are poisonous themselves, poisoning an enemy on contact or consumption. Rock Pikmin are especially durable and do considerable damage to anything they're thrown at, while Purples are ten times stronger and heavier than their counterparts, to the point where one hundred of them is equal to one thousand ordinary Pikmin. And finally, winged Pikmin can fly and carry Olimar around.

Purples in particular give us a fairly good estimate for how strong Pikmin generally are. It takes one hundred of them to lift a one kilogram barbell, meaning that the average purple can lift around ten grams. As they're ten times stronger than normal Pikmin, normal Pikmin are only capable of lifting about one gram each. For reference, the average bee can lift up to thirteen grams. While that might seem pathetic, even the mightiest bee would be overwhelmed by an organized squad of one hundred Pikmin and Olimar is very capable of providing that.

With his whistle, Olimar can organize Pikmin into a competent fighting force, allowing him to literally throw them at his enemies until they die. His whistles can cure Pikmin if negative effects, including being set on fire, being waterlogged, being exposed to acid, being poisoned, and being mind controlled by fungus. He's also heavily armored, with his suit protecting him from fire and electricity, as well as allowing him to breathe oxygen. In fact, his suit is so durable, it can survive a fall from space! ...Which isn't that impressive for him, as he's about the size of a bottlecap lid. Only about 22 joules. For reference, a rabbit stomps with a force of 23 joules.

Source:

Luckily, Olimar has ways of supplementing his Pikmin. Little specks of gunpowder, or "Bomb Rocks" let his Pikmin blow his enemies to Kingdom Come, while the Super Spicey Spray can amplify his Pikmin's strength and speed. Ultra Bitter Spray, meanwhile, petrifies his enemies for about nine seconds, turning them into brittle stone his Pikmin can easily destroy.

Indeed, Olimar and his Pikmin formed something of a symbiotic relationship. Not only did they help him survive on this hostile alien world, but he also taught them how to survive too. Many of the Pikmin's later evolutions likely only came about because of Olimar's guidance and, if he'd never crash landed, they likely would've gone completely extinct. Perhaps there's a lesson to take from all of this about the circle of life.

Throwdown Mashup:

Throwdown Breakdown:

This is an interesting matchup to break down.

First off, Leif is going to be doing a lot to help carry his team here. First off, his ice shields will help prevent his team from getting completely swarmed right off the bat while cleanse would completely nullify the Super Spicey Spray. Similarly, while Olimar would be coming in with a big strength advantage himself, Leif's various debuffs would help nullify this. Olimar's Pikmin would vary in their usefulness here, as numb wouldn't work on yellow Pikmin, poison wouldn't work on Whites and so on, while Reds would have their usefulness hampered by the flame broach and other similar resistances.

Purples, Rocks, and Bombrocks would be useful for getting past shields while Yellows and Flying can deal with flight, but Olimar has no easy answer to Kabbu's dig ability, which he can use to safely keep the whole team mobile. Vi's tornados can disperse Olimar's formation, forcing him to briefly disengage to regroup, and she can knock him out of the sky if he tries to fly away. The Purples and Rocks in particular are going to be hard to deal with given how strong they are, but if Kabbu gets one of his rage amps, he might be able to power through them. Might.

Olimar can one-shot with a Bitter Spray, as Snakemouth has nothing that resists that. Even with the shields, Olimar can just use the spray the break the shields, then spray again. However, Team Snakemouth can ono shot him just by piercing his suit, either with Kabbu's horn or Vi's needles, as Olimar can't breathe without it.

This is a very complicated match with a lot of moving parts and a lot of different ways it can play out. The one thing that ultimately makes me give it to Snakemouth however is Leif. Not only is freezing something that none of Olimar's Pikmin resist, but it's something that Olimar can't just whistle them out of. Leif has used his freezing as a permanent incapacitation before and none of Olimar's Pikmin should be strong enough individually to break out. If Leif's ice can hold wasps and ants, even temporarily, then it should hold something with a max lifting strength of ten grams just fine. Olimar would have to use his Rock Pikmin to recover frozen Pikmin, but that would just drag his attention away from Team Snakemouth and give them time to recover or follow up, either by healing up with Secret Stash and items or by further disrupting Olimar and his team with tornados and the like.

Another factor in Team Snakemouth's favor is their ability to recover on the spot. If Olimar wants to replenish his numbers, he'll have to go back to his onion, while Snakemouth has several methods of recovering themselves that don't take as much time. For all intents and purposes, all of Olimar's losses will likely be permanent.

Olimar can still win if he uses his numbers to divide the team up or if he uses the bitter spray. This is not an easy fight for them. But I think they have enough ways to avoid getting swarmed, enough ways to recover from setbacks, and enough counters to Olimar to hold out in the long run. Especially as several of their attacks have the potential to wipe out large swathes of Pikmin in one go if Olimar isn't careful.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Team Snakemouth!