Aphelli

Mille millions de mille milliards de mille sabords! Uh, sorry, I meant <insert colorful, uncharacteristically enthusiastic, really-quite-overexcited expletive here>. I’m delighted that you got back to this story… and I need a re-read, as too many of the details now elude me (although I did remember Jacques, the Fist of Justice, and –somewhat less precisely – Dounia). As usual, your edited pictures are extremely well-made, and it was a very interesting (and eventful!) read. I certainly didn’t imagine that the plot would go down this path – but it’s a good idea. Violence has consequences. (speaking of which… is torturing confessions out of suspects common for the Reborn police? I assumed the canonical E<=18 scene was due to the high-profile terrorist attack… but different choices are possible.) While serial Pokemon abusers (under the pretense of a weirdly ritualistic Darwinism) and Pokemon thieves make disturbing antagonists, you still take care to remind us, in an appropriately apocalyptic way, of the big, looming, dragon-mounted threat. I’m relieved that Flannery is still a good-hearted person. Had she been more cold-blooded (dare I even say jaded?), she could have got away scot-free by claiming diplomatic immunity, without even a pretense of self-reflection. Instead, she has earned (or earned more?) the respect of the police officers, Ame, and Dounia – and hopefully earned a True Companion! Here’s to hoping that she triumphs over these savages… ideally by bringing them to court (then jail) rather than to the intensive care unit.

I didn't intend to have these Pokemon stolen from Charlotte and the others for ever. And the time seemed right to have that plot play out. Saphira's small act was a spur of the moment thing... I needed to make her interact with the darker facade she had lost physical touch with. But of course, her fighting ability hasn't changed one bit. Nor has her willingness to use it. Part of how I see 7th Street comes from novels I read about the power, reach (and, incidentally, atrocities) of Mexican drug cartels, which include their usual "relationship" to the police. I assumed that something like that had to happen in Reborn as well. Ten years is a long time of misery... Also, I like your new profile picture. Hi! I'm not saying much more today. There should be more than enough in the chapter, which is significantly longer than any I have written so far... Enjoy! (and beware the details) Next in line will be the final chapter of Mind Games... an even longer one, probably. If it doesn't end up split for ease of editing. Chapter 70: Insider Trading

... Well, I agree that the Radomus fight is uniquely headache-inducing... but it's not this bad if you actually try to figure out what the rules are (did you understand why Metagross always went first?) and if you have enough counters for his mons (which is, I agree again, not as easy as it sounds). But it's good that you vented now, because the fights don't get easier (but definitely less convoluted), although you gain access to more tools every time. If you're in this game for the story rather than the battles, there's a password to lower your opponents' levels. There's also a password so that you get information on every field instead of waiting for the game to hand the field effect notes out to you.

Where are you in the game? You will be able to remove the tangle and reach this area, but only around the ninth Badge.

The idea is Here is the full (only a few moves) solution (save before trying though, in case I got it wrong):

Hello again! So I'm quite busy trying to figure some math out, and also experiencing Reborn's amazing E19 -- and right now I'm at this point in the game. So I figured I'd upload another chapter, to keep the momentum. I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload the final chapters as fast, because they're massive and editing them scares me a bit. I believe I should warn you that this chapter and the next ones will probably be more violent than usual. Again, I invite you to put yourself in the frame of the 'Mind Games' by picturing the situation where we left it. Start thinking of possible escapes. Check the armory. And when you're ready -- enjoy. Chapter 69: Back Op

Try this (but keep a save in case I made a mistake): C4 Up R3 Left C4 Up R3 Right C4 Down The left square is unchanged, the right square should be 384 951 726 Then C4 Up R2 Right twice C6 Down R2 Left twice C4 Down

Yes, slowly but surely Gabriel reaches breaking point. At last. How is this story supposed to proceed if the protagonist’s default stance is thoughtful and qualified? Ah yes, I remember you gave him a bigger role in Chronicverse. I’m actually not enamored with the character, but I needed someone to help Gabriel and Cain get out – like in the game, actually, no? Yes, it’s turning into a worrisome pattern for me. Then again, how is a bunch of brutal thugs supposed to react to Cain (who, in this story, is basically unable to give in to what he regards as evil or plain wrong)? Well – Gabriel could have turned himself in. And for all Cain knows, Kiki and everyone else would have lived. This also ties to a comment I read on the discord – that Cain was, in this story, pretty “all-in”. It’s true! I think it’s also a faithful interpretation. In this story at least (but that’s really how I see the character), Cain will go to (almost) any lengths for people he cares about, even if they just met, or to make things right, even if he doesn’t have to get involved. No matter the risk to himself. Conversely, it hurts Cain a lot that Gabriel (whom he regards as a friend) watched him get hit without interfering (no matter the reason), because it means in his worldview that Gabriel doesn’t care about him at all. He can come to terms with that (“people are different, “he’s not entirely wrong”, etc), but not while he’s stressed out of his mind and high on urgency-fueled adrenalin. It doesn’t help that Gabriel’s rebuttals are… less diplomatic than would be ideal. Yes… he’s going to need it. It’s not over. Given how Luna reacts to El, I didn’t expect him to be able to convince her to come along peacefully. So force it is… Thank you for commenting so consistently! … and I just remembered I still haven’t commented on AO3… Any ideas on how they’re getting out of this mess?

Yes, indeed. Or perhaps you weren't too sure about how to write down the E18 episodes without full knowledge of what on earth happens in there. And then time happened. Thank you for the "no spoilers"! Speaking of which: I have started playing E19 and I love it! Even though (spoilers for the first five minutes): But I'm still very early on, so I stand by my request: no spoilers, please. Anyway. I hope you're doing well. As you may have noticed, I (finally) changed display names, for, er, psychological reasons? We're getting into the Part Three finale. I'm not quite sure about the path I have chosen (even though the full draft is there, it will need some more work), and perhaps I will need to make a few changes depending on E19 lore. I'm seeing a general reluctance of a lot of people on the forums and discord on criticism -- and while I can understand the reason, it feels... alien. Like we're living in parallel worlds (which we are, in a manner of speaking). So, I'll state my own "stance" one more time (I can still change if I get the reason why everyone seems to agree it's a bad idea): if you want to comment on, or criticize anything I write, you may (even something as trivial as pointing typos), and don't worry about "balance" (but please do try being articulate and in good faith). I won't take offense -- just maybe disagree and argue. Please just don't spoil E19 until, say, the beginning of Part Four? Digression over. I hope you enjoy! This is 'Mind Games' finale starting. Can you beat the odds? Can you beat the impossible situation this "writer" has conjured? Chapter 68: Underworlds

I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out how to answer that one. Noted. You're right on both counts, of course. In E18 there's also the Agate fight where Shelly gives her all... Maybe in E19, who knows? I understand, and somewhat agree. But the Void could also show other kinds of truth, maybe some of them more relevant to Vanilla... I'm looking forward to reading it! But I'm not sure what he exactly has to apologize for (except for Luna and Subseven)? For being a stay-at-home slightly condescending bug-obsessed nerd with Paul Dirac's social skills? ... That was the complicated part. I'm sorry if my quote was misleading. While my views on rules are very different from yours, I don't loathe criminals either. And I will happily concede that what we call moral principles are a lot easier to uphold when they do not result in the death (by inaction) of oneself, one's relatives, one's friends, or one's children. But look at the main example of this view in Western literature, Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean (Les Misérables). He ends up in a small town, a convict after the end of his extended sentence, and no one -- not an inn, not a house, not the jail, not even the dogs -- wants to give him shelter but a bishop. Well, the first thing he does is steal said bishop's silverware and escape in the night. Then extort a stupid (as in, pretty low) amount of money out of a child/teenager for no reason in particular. It's a lot easier to forgive rule-breakers when their action do not end up in the loss or destruction of what you value. But it's not really criminals I wanted to talk about. And unlike Vanilla, I have a lot more sympathy for Taka, Aladdin (Archer is slightly trickier) than Bennett, Blake, Sirius or Jasmine. Taka and Aladdin's issue is that they were forced into situations they find abhorrent, and they didn't have the spine to get out -- one way or another. But they're still trying to make things right, even if they're rather small things compared to the harm they've done (and go on doing for Taka). Taka helped them through the WTC, but before that he makes a few useful comments each time he's on screen. Aladdin's final heel-face turn did save Vanilla's life (if not everyone else's). Bennett at this point, on the other hand? He has no interest in "making things right" whatsoever apart from a few empty gestures towards Luna. He made a deal to get into the E4 and doesn't mind -- indeed, almost seems to relish -- the unsavory stuff he's expected to do in exchange. In Blake or Sirius's case, it's even more clear-cut, since how all the misery they spread helps them is beyond anyone's guess. I guess (since I started with Kant) I bring everything back to intention. Taka and Aladdin express genuinely good intentions, through even comparatively small actions. Blake and Sirius are remorseless murderers (Blake in spirit, perhaps, if not in deed) of countless innocents, and Bennett doesn't object either, he looks like he embraces it. (I suppose that it also doesn't help that I believe the PULSE Hypno to be a hideous abomination whose creators/users belong in the tenth circle of Hell). I just hope I'm not being too unclear.

I agree that Bennett’s dialog was really good – and your addition was excellent (though I’m not quite sure why he felt he had been acting out of line for years?). It’s a shame I personally am not able to be glad about the difference – as Kant allegedly wrote, the good qualities of a criminal only serve to make him more detestable. Bennett in Subseven and Iolia was Wrong, of course, but this one knows that the course that he is supporting with all his talent and intelligence is still wrong and that will not change his course. So to me, the practical outcome of his development is to just make him more loathsome. (and reading yours, I can’t wait to write my own take on that scene – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves) Very good idea for the PULSE and the dream. I’ve been wondering how the person inside the body felt the control. I wonder how much foreshadowing you wrote in… For instance, Vanilla was called “Your Grace”, which is apparently the most honorific non-regal address (on Wikipedia at least), but I remember her being slightly more minor than that? There’s also the fact that Vanilla’s dream is supposed to be quite innocent and wholesome, with no trace of the Defiance – until it’s very suddenly not and present!Vanilla’s very… clear-cut feelings add themselves to the mix. Poor Shelly… she’s really the whole game (and this story’s) plaything. Is there one single situation with her where she doesn’t feel useless? In-game (at least E18 canon), the Void is supposed to be telling the truth – I wonder what Vanilla will see?

Yay, Vanilla is back! And someone is finally exercising some well-needed caution. I fully expect that it won’t be enough, but just trying is worth many points. I suppose that Vanilla’s main problem is still standing – no matter what she prepares, there’s nothing she can do if Lin inside holds Shelly hostage against Vanilla’s surrender? I guess I could, but what would this accomplish? Besides, I appreciate your goodwill and your comments a lot. I like comments. It’s definitely true but I think your view count is pretty high even then. I wondered about something like this too at some point. Then I learnt that two thirds of overall Internet traffic was just bots. I wonder what the proportion is here, or how much they trigger the counter?

Time for a new chapter! E19 is out and my draft isn't even complete as I had hoped. Time has flown so fast and I have been so slow... So, to motivate myself, I have decided to only start playing E19 after my full draft for Part Three is complete. The good news is: I have one chapter to go. The bad news is: it's going to be a very long one, there are obstacles for the "good guys" I don't really know how to overcome, and even then I need to carefully edit my previous unpublished drafts (68-70) to make sure that everything is mostly consistent. Bottom line: I want to experience first-hand E19, so I'm not looking at any spoilers until I play. So, please, do not write any E19 info whatsoever on this thread (not even in spoilers because I can resist temptation only so much) until I ask otherwise. On the other hand, I have no issue with E18 game information or lore, nor with pre-community release dev blog content. (Well, I tried to phrase this clearly, but there will be loopholes. Moreover, it's not like there's anything I can (or would, even if I could) enforce. I'm just asking to not be spoiled, and you know what this sentence means. Pretty please. Thank you.) But enough delay... Time to move forward! Chapter 67: Wrong Game Character rates: Player's note:

Neither have I. But by “cultural osmosis” (aka “I overhear people”) I know a bit of what it’s about. Killing, sex, rinse and repeat a few times, and also politics, betrayals, war, revenge, dragons and undead horrors. As far as I know, the series is “infamous” for killing off many beloved characters before their time. I should have been clearer – I meant that one does not expect the same thing at all when reading a Pokemon fanfiction and when watching such a TV show. Which is why the comparison was not sound. I remember that part (and sorry if I implied you were beginning – I know you’re not and I really didn’t want to mean that). But in the status update I was referring to, you mention Oscar 6-0-ing Cynthia – is that, for instance, part of that story? Or another one? Or the backstory? Or merely a headcanon (if the concept even makes sense for someone’s own OC)? Same for you and me, then. I suppose we grow to enjoy the sound of our own voices.

I may have overestimated the earlier ones – I wrote them quite a while ago and I haven’t checked the word counts since the fic’s second birthday. I think 2k words was some kind of low-average for the early chapters. And I know it’s been long since I released a chapter under 3k words. Five thousand is something like my upper limit for now: I’ll split rather than risk the chapters grow much longer. Perhaps it will change. Okay, I have three reactions to this. 1) well, it takes some daring, sure. 2) but then again GoT did this repeatedly and everyone loved the show for it (not the only example, but I think it’s the best-known one). So how much more mainstream can this trope get? 3) but there is, of course, a difference between a Reborn fanfic and GoT – you don’t have the same expectations. So in this sense you probably did take a significant risk. (I really should read your story now, for the sake of reciprocity if anything else – and, I suppose, to avoid unfounded speculation as to its content – but your status update from today suggests that’s not the actual start, so where should I begin?). Well, that one is unusual by my standards. But again (as we discussed not too long ago), I’m not speaking about plot events as much as the “story logic” (or maybe “story outlook”). The plot deviations are rather minor – but the details matter. Let’s just say that if you’re expecting “hero learns to kick ass and right all wrongs with the help of his friends, overcomes hardships, beats Gym Leaders and thwarts enemies thanks to their indomitable willpower and love for their Pokemon, also wins over the hearts and minds of the members of the evil Team and redeems them through their fundamental decency, awesome talent, winner charisma, and persistency” – this might not be the most accurate description of how the story goes.

Thank you very much! Your comment made my day. Gabriel snapping at everyone (which is very unusual for him) along the lines of “why bring me in this convoluted mess, sort it out by yourselves!” is one of my earliest ideas, although most of the details fell into place a lot later. Thank you Evi! A lot of this arc (canonically too) is the Radomus Show, and it would have been a shame to not do him justice. Plus, it’s totally in-character to gloat like this. My current headcanon is that Radomus is also doing this because he knows it annoys Gabriel. After all, what’s the point of showing off if no one realizes that’s what you’re doing? Also, following your Discord comment, a PSA regarding a certain name I tossed in this chapter: I’m glad you decided to! Yes, that makes a lot of chapters. I don’t know if they’re short by your standards – the early ones are around 2.5-3k words long, the later ones are maybe 3.5-5k words long. The total word count should be approximately 225k words, half-way between Deathy Hallows and Order of the Phoenix. I hope you’ll keep feeling this way (and that you won’t mind the more… unusual takes that this story has).

My prayers have been answered! My Muse has come, and helped me resume the writing of this magnificent finale for Part 3. It's longer than I expected too, but it has everything you've ever wanted: adventure, action, lies, secrets, shadowy seemingly omnipotent figures, plans within plans, bloody violence, not everyone hating Gabriel... Maybe the last one is too much though, I don't know. The following is not this chapter. It's just one step further in the very necessary build-up. But it's one with quite a few call-backs. Can you find them all? (Again, I have no idea of the quality of the chapters of this arc, so some feedback would be nice). Chapter 66: The Bishop's Gambit Character rates:

Wait, does Fern actually know the word “drastic”? I would think he’d be a lot blunter with middle names (“murder”, “stabber”, “psycho”…). Then again, who else could it be? actually everyone wants root fossils because they give root access to the game and avoid the gut punches of the Reshiram branch. That or Florinia made a deal with the RNG to encourage more people to appreciate Cradily. I really thought the “tilted”… entity was someone (or something) going One-Winged Angel, but there’s no way this would happen without a field. … I’m so hyped.

I really wanted to make (or repeat? hype is doing something to my memory) the joke about special relativity and time dilation. Something about “beta has started, therefore you’re literally reaching near light-speed, thus it’ll take much longer until the release than for us than for you”. Then I remembered that the relativistic factor was gamma. But there’s no gamma, there’s only community, so there shouldn’t be any time dilation. Which is a lot better! I’m the only one to find this funny, I suppose? Anyway, I wanted to repeat how impressed and thankful I am with what you (and Ame, Marcello, and the others) have told us of the entire team’s work. And I’m looking forward to seeing the end result (hopefully I won’t get thoroughly pwned and stuck at some point). (and Ame has deserved a rest for all of her labors. Sailing West, I have read, is the traditional reward.)

One side of the issue is that Gabriel has decided (long ago, before the beginning of the story) that there was no point in talking to an audience who didn't listen. And now, he doesn't have very many people to talk with, and he doesn't believe any of them will listen. (Also, while he appreciates the intention, Gabriel isn't very comfortable hugging.) Maybe I went overboard with how Gabriel keeps bringing up the issue. But I feel that it's an important part of the way he experiences these events -- the hopeless confusion at what is going on, the permanent indecisiveness on what to do, whom to side with, the fear of all hell breaking loose and ending up injured or trapped... Cain doesn't have these existential questions -- he chose a course and sticks to it (for now). It's been quite established that he's going to stand up for what he believes is right, without a care for self-preservation. Adrienn's case is similar -- they've been explained that Radomus (and by extension, his allies) were thoroughly despicable people, and they act very consistently with it. They're not trying to listen to the other side or find a compromise. As far as they are concerned, Radomus is Evil, and the only courtesy they will extend is a surrender offer. Radomus is, obviously, playing his own game somehow. Little wonder none of them would listen. Gabriel's sanity is, well... a work in progress. I'm not telling which direction.