Candy

Let's say there will be chaos in the mountain xD But I think the turn of events that I'm planning will make sense given the amount of character development I devoted for Shelly. I'm glad you're enjoying the story portion of the run even when there aren't cool battle videos haha

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 53 Yet another episode irrelevant to the fairytale run but hey I've been waiting like half a year to write this part of the story so bear with me okay? Have some and enjoy some edgy shit :3 Also trigger warning for PTSD and blood but dunno if that is relevant now that I've written so many episodes without a trigger warning rip “You…” I uttered. “It’s been a while,” he said. In the silence that ensued, I could almost picture that particular moment, which happened not long ago but felt as if it had been ages since. We were also looking at each other back then, in that one spot in the unending Red Riding Hood Forest. “Vanilla. You must have questions,” Aladdin had said back then. “Only despair awaits you down there, but here I can answer every question you might seek the answer to.” “My Polaris, what do you mean?” I was intrigued by his phrasing, but also not fully in my senses to connect the dots. “I’m sorry, I... I have to go to the Underworld. I left… I left Wolfie down there…” I shivered at the thought of Wolfie. Even though I had vague recollections of her death, my mind refused to believe it. I held the hopeless hope that only those walking the thin line between sanity and insanity could dare to hold onto. Aladdin saw through my deficient facade of calmth, and grabbed both my shoulders when I tried to walk past him to reach the rabbit hole. “Wolfie is dead, Vanilla. There’s nothing for you to do down there anymore.” His words felt like shards that slit through my skin. I looked at Aladdin in the eye, but somehow I saw them out of focus even though we were but inches apart. “That can’t… and my t-team. Wolfie told me our base was…” “Yes, your base was infiltrated by the Everland Police,” he said. “Even now they’re looking for the few who escaped, including the leader Eterna. They don’t yet know you are, and they’re looking for evidence on every corner. It’s not long until they knock on your door and arrest you.” My muscles and bones seemed to liquify, and it took me quite the effort to stand still. “How could this happen?” I asked, and watched as Aladdin closed his eyes and let go of my shoulders. “I won’t hide the truth from you,” he said. “I was a spy for the Everland Police. Jasmin and I teamed up to orchestrate your demise.” “Huh?” I said, and almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the confession. “What are you saying, Aladdin. This must be a joke. This has to be a joke!” However, when Aladdin did not add a single word to take back what he had said, the half-smile dropped from my face, and my body felt cold despite the sunny weather. I joined his silence, if only to understand everything that was going on right then. Never had I doubted his sincerity, never had I doubted his love for me, and that had been my grave mistake. “So you’re telling me that you were making a fool of me the whole time?” I said, and as I spoke, I felt the anger building up in my head. “No,” he replied. “I didn’t have intentions to do so. I only did what was right.” I couldn’t contain myself after hearing that response, so I lunged forward to slap him, except that he dodged my hand. At the same time, I felt his fist making a hole on my stomach, which left me breathless. Before I lost consciousness, my eyes got one last look at the aggressor. That was the last time I saw Aladdin. Until now, when the stars of misfortune aligned once again to throw me back into my darkest nightmare. “I had a feeling you had come looking for me with Jasmin,” I said to him, breathing deeply to try to contain my bloodthirst. His image started layering over the police officer who had shot Wolfie, and I was overwhelmed by the unforgettable sensation of a lifeless body weighing down on my arms. When Aladdin spoke next, I don’t think I was even listening. “Yes, and now I’ve achieved my first goal,” Aladdin nodded. “When I bring you back to Everland, my job will be complete.” “Like I’d give you that pleasure,” I shouted. My mind could not suppress my body any longer, and before I knew it I launched myself onto Aladdin’s throat. However, he moved his upper body on time, and I missed my mark. I landed on the floor, and instead of his throat I crushed snow in my fist. “It’s a bad habit of yours to start a fight right as your head is heated and your thought process clouded,” he said. “Don’t you remember the last time we met? How easily I incapacitated you with a single blow to the stomach?” I hadn’t even understood why I couldn’t remember anything after the pain on my stomach that time, but it made no difference to me nonetheless. Whether or not he had managed to beat me then was irrelevant to our fight now. “I don’t need my thoughts slowing me,” I shouted. “You didn’t come looking for me. You came looking for your own death!” So I started fighting with Aladdin, me taking the absolute offense and him the defense. His movements were quick, but not at my level. At one point I managed to yank his thick hair, and smacked his face against the brick wall of the building he had just exited. When he freed himself from my grasp, I tried taking advantage of his incoordination to sneak on him from behind. However, he read my move and used his elbow to strike my abdomen, winding me, much like he had done in the recent past. Still, his aim was not quite precise this time, so I was spared the embarrassment of losing consciousness once again. I recovered, or rather I started to take pleasure being in pain, and sent a kick flying to his chest, which he blocked with both arms. “P-please stop,” I heard Shelly calling on us. Gradually, people began gathering around our fight, and started meddling with us. They were adult men and women trying to make us stop, and they persisted in capturing me despite me directing some punches and kicks to them. Eventually they succeeded in their efforts, since four of them hugged me from all sides at once. “Let go, damn it!” I tried shaking them off, but they were obviously heavier than me. I was pushed to the snowy ground, someone holding both of my arms to my back. When I tried to get rid of this person with my feet, another one or two came in to immobilize them as well. I glanced at my opponent, and realized that no one held him down like they were doing with me. Aladdin walked up to me and crouched. “It seems these people won’t allow us to continue fighting to the death,” he said. “Why are they letting you free? They mustn’t know you’re an assassin,” I shouted, thinking that the people of Ametrine would then immobilize him. However, that didn’t happen. “Don’t worry. I didn’t come here for the fight to end like this,” Aladdin added. “On the north of this mountain there is open space where we can spar in peace. Come prepared with your pokemon. I’ll be waiting.” Come prepared with my pokemon? Did he catch and train pokemon just to defeat me and take me back to Everland? Those questions led to others that didn’t surface on my mind until he was out of sight. When did he arrive to Reborn anyways, and what was he doing in Ametrine City of all places? Was he here alone, or was he with Jasmin and the rest of the Everland Police? The people released me and I dusted the snow off myself. The entire front side of my bubblegum dress was now a dark pink due to the snow melting on me. I swallowed my breath, for there was an instant there when my brain short-circuited and thought the dampness was due to blood... Someone slipping away and only leaving a trace of blood. “Vanilla, um, do you need a hand?” Shelly asked and offered me a hand. It snapped me back to the cold snowy ground I was sitting on, and tried to laugh away the foolish vision I had. I accepted her hand to stand right back up, but almost fell back down when my legs failed to support me on the first try. I didn’t realize it until my anger subsided, but I felt light-headed. It was as if the world was slowly spiraling under my feet. I felt sick, but brushed off Shelly’s concerns. I imagined it was just due to the blood rushing down after an intense workout. “You’re visitors, right?” asked one of the Ametrine citizens who approached us. “Yes we are,” Shelly replied for me, since I was honestly not feeling like talking to anyone. I glanced at the middle-aged woman and remembered talking to her earlier. She had been one of the many who refused to give me any information on the Guardian Angels. “I don’t think I’m alone in making you one request,” she said. “Please don’t hurt Aladdin. He has been with us all through these difficult times, and we have grown quite attached to him.” “Lady, that man is a murderer,” I interjected because I felt the need to. “You all shouldn’t associate with a piece of scum like that.” “We don’t know about the specifics that you seem to know, but that is not important to us, for now at least.” I couldn’t help but snort. I was just telling her that her life and the life of all others in Ametrine were in danger, and she just shrugged it as if that didn’t matter at all. The lady understood the meaning of my laugh and added, “We would be dead already if it weren’t for him. We owe him our lives.” Suddenly a chill went down my spine, and the slight smile dropped from my face. “You don’t mean…” I trailed because the mere thought was repulsive. The woman looked around to makes sure no one was in the vicinity, and lowered her upper body to bring her face closer to both my and Shelly’s. “Well, I don’t think there’ll be much harm in you knowing it, since it’s not like he has a strict caretaker like in another case,” she prefaced. “Aladdin is, indeed, one of the Guardian Angels that have been preventing our starvation.” I sat down on a large rock to assimilate what the woman had told us, and at the same time digest everything that had happened in the last half-hour. Shelly came back from inquiring the lady about the other angel’s caretaker, and notified me that she had refused to give any more information. I nodded with a blank expression. She then sat next to me and nervously asked me about Aladdin. “Is he, um... an a-aquaintance from your h-home region?” “Technically yes, but more like my misfortune personified,” I made an effort to reply. “In any case, a low life that deserves no introduction.” “Is that so… and yet, um, he’s a Guardian A-” “Stop,” I cut her off. “Don't be fooled. He wouldn’t do such thing unless he had an ulterior motive.” I must’ve been making a horrible face, for Shelly shrunk her neck as she hadn’t done for a long time now. “Sorry for scaring you,” I apologized. “I know that I’m volatile right now. I wasn’t expecting to meet him here, and seeing him has made me remember too many things that disturb my conscience.” “No, it’s okay,” Shelly replied quietly. “I, um, think you need some time alone. Um, I’ll be w-waiting in the Pokemon Center.” I didn’t stop her, and in all honesty, I was glad that Shelly read my mind. I definitely needed a timeout so I could organize my thoughts and return to my usual calmth. I looked down at my shoes as I tried to pull back the nausea that threatened to climb up my esophagus. The more I tried to push the nightmare to the back of my mind, the more it insisted on being released. I grasped my head and pulled my hair in frustration. Closing my eyes only made it worse. The intermittent flashbacks from the gunshots and Wolfie’s death haunted me as they hadn’t done for a good while now. I could almost see her sliding down from me, and the ever-growing puddle of blood. Everything was too jumbled up to know what was going on. The sensation of a warm cloth rubbing against my neck brought me back from the nightmares. For the first time since I sat there, I noticed the cold wind which chilled my body covered in sweat. I rubbed my face, and realized I had unwittingly cried. I lifted my heavy arm to see what the warm cloth was, and my hand was welcomed by Pikachu’s friendly headbutt. I hadn’t paid attention that he had remained by my side even after Shelly went to the Center. I gently caught him in my hands and placed him on my thighs. My eyes went to the fake head first, but remembering that his real eyes are on the bottom half of his body, I shifted my gaze. “I think my mind is weaker than I want to admit,” I sniffled. “It always pushes the ugly memories to where I can’t reach them. So that I don’t find myself in a constant breakdown. So that I can continue acting out the tough leader of the Defiance.” I paused to try to slow down my breathing rate and hydrate my mouth. “But these triggers… I can’t avoid them. I’m not ready to face Aladdin yet. One thing is knowing and another is believing. For now… I want to hide within the illusion, which being away from Everland provides, of the hopeless hope* that Aladdin came to steal from me.” --- * gentle reminder so y'all don't get bamboozled by my subpar writing: hopeless hope in this instance refers to the same phrase coined earlier in this episode, "Even though I had vague recollections of her death, my mind refused to believe it. I held the hopeless hope [of her still being alive] that only those walking the thin line between sanity and insanity could dare to hold onto." VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

Henlo and welcome back~ I think I'll also recommend fennekin. Magician is def useful but also Delphox has very good special attack and speed, so it should carry you at least until mid-late game However, I know at least someone was able to clear the first gym with just a dartrix so it's also a good choice apparently haha

Welcome back~ enjoy the forums Also I like your pfp for some reason. I keep staring at it hehe

owo never mind! friggin Gen 7 and their abilities xD but anyhow it was impressive you didn't even heal once haha

Good thing the electrode didn't have aftermath xD you have no idea how many times that's got me haha

okee my ID is Candy

sending request now~

I can trade you one now if you'll tell me when to request trade

Wow had I known I'd die, I'd have liked to stroke my pretty Rapunzel'a hair just one last time... *dies*

Yeees fire is nothing. gotta rocc'n roll them like that with style xD and Awww I'm glad to hear compliments about Shelly. I thought she was cute when I first played the game, but wasn't near the top of my favorite characters due to her timid nature. But when I had to think of a "traveling companion" (indispensable in writing, since otherwise you're left with awkward silence while Vanilla travels to and from places which is a lot of the game) to assign to Vanilla, I thought she was the best candidate because 1. she is pretty much the foil of Vanilla (aggressive <-> submissive, blunt <-> sensitive, determined <-> indecisive, etc) which makes for fun interactions, and 2. having her as a main character would allow me to tweak her in ways that would make her development more smooth, and at the same time would provide Vanilla a means for character growth (due to Vanilla turning into Shelly's protector- can't be a protector unless the one to be protected has a weak character).

Good educated guesses, my fren Fun fact: What pokemon type + one specific pokemon Aladdin uses was already revealed in the story, but I made it so subtle that y'all prolly didn't even think anything about it.

From Everland to Reborn ~ A Day in the Forest As promised, below is a brief summary of Everland lore for those who don’t have stellar memory (aka normal hoomans): But today's chapter will be totes unrelated to the story's main timeline, which due to lack of writing skills I didn't know where to place but which I think is a bit important to illustrate who dis mysterious boi Aladdin is. However I don't think not reading it will affect your understanding of the rest of the story so dw if yaw find it boringo and not wanna read it~ btw if it wasn't obvious from the tone, the narrator voice is Vanilla but at 13 years of age (ie before she became Edge LordTM). I often went to Red Riding Hood Forest on the weekends to play with Wolfie. Candy used to be a constant member of the party in such occasions, but she gradually decreased her weekend outings as she got older and had more school work to do. It displeased me, because there was so much two could do, and so our gatherings were becoming repetitive. To make matters worse, there was no one else we could invite given that our friend Kame had just embarked on a spiritual journey - tradition of his family - and wouldn’t come back to Everland for at least a decade. Well, there was Aladdin, I guess, but his was another separate issue. One issue with him was that his family and ours had little connection, and hence we didn’t have much reason to befriend each other outside of school. On top of that, he told us how his parents were disappointed in him for making connection with mundane beings like us instead of with the kids from other wizard families. It made me really mad when he said that, because even if Candy and I are mundane, we are nobles! We were much more important than the mage class, since we were close to the Queen. Wolfie wasn’t a noble, but she was friends with us and that made her all the more important. Somehow, Aladdin’s parents were blind to the advantages in connecting with the Leiderhosen family, but in a sense it may have been for the better. The truth was, I didn’t particularly get along with Aladdin. When we were together as a group, I didn’t mind, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being with him alone. It’s not that he does something weird to make me uncomfortable, but I don’t know, perhaps his parents casted a spell on him to make me want to avoid him. Sounds like a very elaborate plan, if you asked me. In any case, one certain weekend in the summer of my 13th year of life, I headed to the forest alone because Candy had stayed home studying for an exam. I was walking towards Wolfie’s house, listening to the birds chirping and the trees rustling in the wind. It was a sunny but also slightly cloudy day: perfect for playing tag, though Wolfie would probably dissuade me since she would rather read a book than run around. Not that she could convince me. I had walked for nearly half an hour, for Wolfie’s house was quite deep into Red Riding Hood Forest, when I started hearing an odd intermittent sound mixed in the forestry. The sounds were almost like an owl’s hooting, but not quite- the tone was too high to be an owl’s. So without any doubt, I allowed my curiosity to take the wheel and I walked in the direction of the hooting sounds. Perhaps it would’ve been irresponsible for me to change course in a forest which was known for its difficulty of navigation. After all, Wolfie’s ancestors had chosen this forest as their abode because any outsider would quickly get themselves lost in the maze and hence they were safe from attacks. However, unlike the average outsider, I had confidence in my navigation skills. After all, I was Hansel Leiderhosen’s descendant, so I’d definitely find my way even if I got lost in the woods. The source of the hooting was close by, so I slowed my walking speed. I most definitely didn’t want to scare whatever bird was making the noise. However, when I eventually found what I was looking for, I instantly regretted being an irresponsible explorer. I immediately turned around to head the way I had come from, but the damage had already been done. “Oh, hi,” greeted Aladdin at my back. “Are you headed to Wolfie’s?” Having already been noticed, I had no choice but to stay. I forced a smile onto my lips, but couldn’t bring my eyes to meet his. “H-how did you know?” I asked. Aladdin paused and stroked his chin. “Well, the only Everlandenne I know that lives in these woods is Wolfie, and since she is your friend, I just assumed.” “Ah, I see. You’re not wrong,” I replied, afraid to say any more stupid things. “Are you lost in the woods? Her house is that way,” he said, pointing to the way I had come from. “I know,” I blurted out. A long pause ensued as I chastised myself for not feigning ignorance and leaving at once. I still could leave, though, but my mind went high-wire on what kind of farewell to bid so I could leave without seeming rude or desperate. Aladdin’s puzzled look didn’t help either, but at least he seemed to understand that a more desirable action would be to just ignore me entirely. At last he returned to what he had been doing without asking any more questions my way. He held both of his hands together in front of his mouth, and seemed to blow air into a small opening close to his thumbs. However, instead of the sound of air blowing, the hooting sound I had been chasing came out of the other end. “So you had been the one making those noises,” I remarked without thinking. Aladdin lowered his hands and looked at me again. “Yes, I’m practicing bird language,” he explained, but somehow looked uneasy. “I’m still not good enough, but my teacher told me to keep practicing an hour every day.” “I didn’t know mages had to be proficient in bird language,” I commented, and surprised myself at how naturally the conversation was starting to flow. “Actually, it isn’t a requirement at all,” Aladdin clarified. “It’s just something I wanted to learn, since, you know, I don’t have magical ability.” I was lost in his thought process, and asked him to elaborate on what learning bird language had to do with his lack of magical ability. “Bird language is an endangered language, which only half a dozen or so people in Everland can speak,” he started. “Given that I can’t live to the expectations of my parents on the magical aspect, I hoped to impress them by speaking a language very few can.” “That’s so cool,” I exclaimed. “I think you’re very diligent. I can’t bake for the life of me, which is probably disappointing as a member of the Leidenhosen family, but I never thought I should learn a new skill to compensate for my lack of baking skill.” Aladdin paused to think for a moment, and then sighed. “That’s probably because your parents don’t care much for tradition. Mine do, and they never get tired of reminding me what a mediocrity I am.” “Don’t say that. You aren’t a mediocrity,” I said, but even I knew that just denying a statement wasn’t enough to make it false. I just didn’t know what words of consolation to give. “Thanks, but I am a mediocrity. My parents even named me after a non-magical being who made a name for himself because he married well. Just because he got lucky. That's how little they expect from me, and honestly it’s embarrassing,” Aladdin said this much, and batted his eyes in realization. “Oh sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Forgive me for venting.” “Eh, no no, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t a problem for me at all. Keep venting if you’d like. I have the whole morning and afternoon.” Aladdin smiled. “That wouldn’t do. I’m sure your friend is waiting for you,” he said. Only then did I recall that I had been headed to Wolfie’s house. I hesitated, but mustered my courage up to ask him to join us. “Thanks, but I’ll practice bird language a little longer,” he replied. “If I succeed in finishing the current module, then I’ll join you in the afternoon.” We then parted ways, but Aladdin never showed up to Wolfie’s house on that day.

Henlo~ welcome to the forums I also like Reborn's lore (and the fact that some parts is actually based off of real life) Make yourself comfortable and have some

Ooo I like the change in the sleeve and also the chest part looks clearer now~ for that part of the face, I'd say draw a slight curve imagining someone's face (like a little cheekbone?). but hey you learn fast

owo I thought her hair wasn't tied mb so here's the thing, I don't really know how but I go with the flo on this. Some rules I follow though are summarized below: (imagine those squares are 2x2 pixels) on the "not ok" side, you can see on the top one that though both pixels are the right size, they're not offset by the right size invisible pixel (they're off set by 1x1 pixels). On the bottom one, this is more subjective but when you're trying to draw "round" objects, you don't want to have obvious angles, so I avoid them. Just that when it's not round stuff, like the flicks of the hair that I drew on your sprite, then you can use them.

I can't keep my nose out of people's business even though I know it's annoying sorry, but I tried smoothing out the hair's outline and giving it some (awkward and unfinished) shading: I think an important part of spriting is trying to make the person "round" since there are no straight lines in a normal human. Agh I'm real bad at explaining stuff in words I promise I'll stop butting in, but try eliminating the unnatural straight lines on the clothing as well.

Glad you liked the site The sprite's looking better now~ continue eliminating the 1x1 and 3x3 pixels, so that we can jump into the hardest part (at least for me), shading

on Piskel, if you zoom into the image it shows you grids for 1x1 pixels, so you can tell if it's 2x2 (4 small squares) or 3x3 (9 small squares). Idk about Gimp since I've never used it. and for the most part you got rid of the different sized pixels, but there's still some, especially on the head: Also, if you notice that the line I drew (separation between hair and face) is mostly diagonal without overlap of the adjacent squares and rectangles. Idk if it's a rule or not, but that's how most spriters do their outlines, so I'd try sticking to that if you're picky

unfortunate my lil boi~ how bout some Starry Knight to give a manly prince his stars?

it appears that your brush is set to 3x3. I recommend Piskel where you can edit sprites online and has lovely features like the ability to change color A to color B every place it finds color A.

are the 2x2 on GIMP the same size as the sprites I drew?

are you planning to use the sprite in a fangame? Reborn, Rejuvenation, Spork, etc they all use 2x2 pixel sprites so your sprite would look more natural in that pixel size.

Difficult to tell cause of the pixel mix, so I think once that's taken care of, it'll be easier to work on the shading and clearing up the clothing