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Click Here for Event Info!

art: @ask-enchantingdelights @ask-shiny-umbreon writing: @ask-shiny-umbreon @askshinyglaceon

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The Sending of Stars: An In-Character Holiday Exchange event for the Pokemon Askblog (And adjacent blogs) community. art: @ask-shiny-umbreon writing: @askthepaldeanpassenger @askshinyglaceon

Signal boosts appreciated and welcome. More information to come.

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Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the Gala, but here are some fancy outfits for Faust, Avalon, and Ho-oh!

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What do you mean by ‘the Cycle’?

Oh… Geez. Okay. You’re honestly better off reading a book than asking me, but.

If you’ve heard of “the circle of life”, that’s essentially what it means.

Everything in this world lives and dies and lives again, and the different ‘phases of life’ are named after the four seasons.

There’s spirits, like Shaymin and Xerneas, that are more obvious and direct manifestations of those concepts— but everyone is a part of it. Temporary and always moving.

We like to put a lot of emphasis on all that. I know that other dimensions have entire pantheons of gods, with Arceus being the Creator, but our Arceus is The Cycle.

Not… a physical deity, but everything that is. And everything— everyone— is Arceus. So… I’m Arceus, this grass is Arceus, a Magikarp is Arceus; all of the Cycle is Arceus, and Arceus is all of us.

Our world is something divine experiencing existence in a million different forms all at once. Rather than, say, an architect that built a city and all its people. Or something.

This is getting away from me— Just imagine that Arceus is a giant tree, and spirits like myself and Ho-oh are its branches, and everything else is the… leaves…? Sure. And the tree blossoms, and turns green, and loses its leaves, which feed the roots, and so on for eternity.

Sheesh. I’ve said ‘Arceus’ way too much. Anyway, that’s the abstract answer.

It’s also the catch-all term for all of the major factions that sprung up around the different phases and spirits in the Cycle. Most people here (as in, This Universe) align themselves with one of them. They’re like covens, if you care about Witch and Wizard politics.

Each “court” is like… The ‘state of being’ for each phase in the Cycle; a rest. Beginnings, Middles, Endings, Renewal. Central Court encompasses Everything.

And each “gate” is meant to be the transition between two phases; the action. Birth, Life, Death, Spirit.

So… If that made any sense at all, congratulations. You pass. It’s way too late for any of this, frankly— Yawn.

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i’m curious—is the fact that several of the legendaries have hooves a style choice, or lore relevant? (of course if it’s the latter you don’t have to elaborate!)

It’s honestly mostly a coincidence!

We’ve been styling the Shaymin as more deer-like than canon, so it felt right to give them hooved back legs (which does have a lore-related reason, now);

Avalon was created by me years ago for a completely different (discontinued) blog, way before we created the rest of this world, and I just like when whimsicott look like goats/sheep haha! It made sense to keep that aspect after rewriting her backstory.

As for Faust, I personally didn’t want to keep the orientalist genie/djinn coding of Hoopa, so I went with a more devil/demon design, and changed the silhouette to reflect that. Instead of feet, I gave them the classic devil waist-down goat look, lol.

Though! It also felt ‘right’ to lean into the similarities between Avalon & Faust, since they are related !

Edit: It’s also a result of taking from mythology, tbh! A lot of mythical creatures have hooves, haha (ty to Roo for pointing this out)

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“Faust” Hoopa

Also Known As…

The Devil Prince

Alignment: Autumn Court

Tag | They/he | 1’11” / 0.6 m (Confined form) 21’04” / 6.5 m (Unbound form) | Alive

Current Location: Anywhere

About

Creator of doorways. Messenger of magic. Child of Palkia.

Events of Significance

Title | Time | Place

Nothing yet…

Relationships (Key)

Palkia | 🤎🤎🤎💜🤍

Dialga |🤎🤎💜💜💚

??? | 🤎🤎💚💚💜

??? | 💚💚💚💙

??? | 🖤💙

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Saffron

Alignment: Spring Gate

Tag | He/She/They | Elderly | 1’09” / ~53 cm | Deceased

About

Watched over Ecruteak.

Events of Significance

Title | Time | Place

Nothing Yet…

Relationships (Key)

??? | 💛🌸💜🤍🤎🤎

??? | 💛💛💜🤍🤎🤎

??? |  🤍🤍💜🤎💙

Ho-oh |  🤍🤍🌸💛💜💚🤎

Luna | 🤍💛💜💚💚

??? |  🤍🤍💛💚💚🤎

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Ho-Oh

Also Known As…

Child of Sun and Sky

Bringer of New Dawns and Wind

Alignment: Summer Gate

Tag | They/them | 12'06" / 3.8 m | ???

Current Location: Unknown

About

Currently missing.

Events of Significance

Death of a God | ??? | ???

??? died protecting their followers.

Relationships (Key)

“Luna" | 💕🧡💚💜💜

??? | ❤️🧡💛🤍💜💚

??? | ❤️🧡🧡💛💛🤍

??? | ❤️❤️💙💜

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"Luna" Lugia

Also Known As…

Luna

Child of Moon and Sea

Bringer of Last Dusks and Storms

Alignment: Winter Gate

Tag | She/her | 12'06" / 3.8 m (+ 4'07" / 1.4 m tailspan) | ???

About

???

Events of Significance

Death of a God | ??? | ???

??? died protecting their followers.

Relationships (Key)

Ho-oh | ? ? ? ? ?

??? | 💚💜💜💛💛

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Avalon

Also Known As…

Applesauce

Applejack

Alignment: Spring Court

Tag | She/her | Young Adult | 2’11” / 0.7 m (Whimsicott) 1’00” / 0.3 m (Cottonee) | Alive

Current Location: Dialga’s Garden

About

Keeper of the Spring Court and her Grandmother.

Events of Significance

Title | Time | Place

Nothing Yet…

Relationships (Key)

??? | 🤎🤎🤎💜❤️

??? | 🤎🤎🤎💜💛

??? | 🤎🤎🤍💜💜

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The Time Traveler’s Daughter

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soo… daffodils are a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings, and purple hyacinths are a symbol of sorrow and a desire for forgiveness…very interesting choices for flowers! wonder how that relates to the story… (relating to the tag on that one reply post)

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Entry #01 - Burial Rites

The Spring Gate and Spring Court have very similar funeral practices; bodies are buried with seedlings in gardens that have been tended to for thousands of years. The Gate favors flowers, while the Court prefers tree saplings.

Notably, the Gate does not acknowledge death as we understand it, but instead as the start of a new stage of life. Members are not ever referred to in the past tense. In several conversions, I’ve realized half-way through that someone I am being told an anecdote about is actually currently a flowerbed, several grubs, or a mushroom.

The Court emphasizes rebirth and reincarnation. Rather than continuing to exist as the same person, just in a different ‘form’, importance is put on becoming someone— or something, inanimate objects of nature included— else entirely. Past lives are respected as different people who each take turns caring for a soul, and in death, pass the baton to the next holder.

It’s said that if you care for a tree of someone who held one of your past lives, they may share their memories with you. So far, I’ve had no luck.

—

The Summer Gate, as I’ve found out, does not like to speak or even think much about death. If you are honorable and worthy enough, you may choose to be set ablaze by Ho-Oh’s fire, which grants another lifespan. Some Guardians are so old that they have lost track of the number of burnings they’ve been through. Otherwise, bodies are cremated with non-magical fire. Perhaps a lack of cemeteries makes death easier to ignore.

The burning I personally witnessed was both spectacular and horrifying. I will not soon forget it.

Summer Court takes a more philosophical approach. It’s believed that true death only happens when someone is forgotten. I imagine this is partially why the Court attracts so many high-achieving wizards, scholars, and artists. All of the emotions that comes with grief are celebrated and expressed without restraint. Altars for the dead are quite elaborate, with paintings, photos, statues, writings, and anything else that could cement the deceased in your mind.

—

It is difficult to record anything about the Autumn Gate, as it is nomadic, and has the least amount of active members. For all of my efforts, I have gleaned this much: Life does not exist— or rather, it is all death. Living is actually the act of dying, and as soon as we are born, the process begins, until it reaches its ultimate conclusion. What you do with your body while you have it is much more important than what is done with it “after death,” so there is not a standard funeral practice here.

The Autumn Court is quite the opposite; preparing and “giving back” your body in death is the most important thing an individual will do in their time in this world. Much effort is put into making the decomposition process as natural and effective as possible. Corpses are reunited with the earth and left to the elements in sacred, secluded areas.

I’ve found such places to be surprisingly cozy, from a distance. (I was not brave enough in mind or stomach to observe up-close…)

—

As a side note, I’ve heard of the concept of an “afterlife” before in distant cultures, and “ghosthood” seems to be the closest thing to that within our Cycle. Though, a spirit’s existence as dying, sentient magic is inherently temporary, not an ascension to a higher plane.

Creating an environment for spirits to peacefully and safely manifest is the most important aspect of death to the Winter Gate. A distressed or agitated ghost is more difficult to commune with, guide, and reap. The Gate’s temples care for them until they are ready to move on, surrounding them with familiar loved ones, possessions, sights, sounds, smells, etc. Bodies are laid to rest in tombs that resemble beds, as if death is a tranquil slumber.

Winter Court takes the approach of “total annihilation” in all sense of the term. It’s considered bad luck to linger after you have passed, physically and spiritually. Corpses are given to the sea to destroy— a practice also observed by Winter Gate when magic has been returned to Spring— and Reapers are called to surround a dying individual to consume their spirit as it passes.

I have difficultly finding comfort in the Nothing they speak of, though some of that may be because Distortion Reapers do not blink nearly as much as they should…

Ultimately, the Cycle is about existing in different states throughout time, space, and oblivion. We are here on a continuum, temporary expressions and extensions of one Universe as it ebbs and flows into itself. The beginnings and endings we create are, in the end, arbitrary. Nonetheless, the importance and comfort we each apply to them is what makes them matter.

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over and over again

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It lingers.