playthough From Everland to Reborn ~ A fairytale themed run [Last defeated: Amaria]

[Corso]

Pachirisu can learn thunder punch in gen7, or you could give him wild charge (strongest non-signature physical move) or zing zap if you don't like the recoil.

[Candy]

The Little Police Officer ~ Part 1 of 3

This is a badly-written spin-off story that doesn't even connect to what's happening in the main story as of now, and isn't even necessary to understand the main story, but I wrote it anyway so why not post it too  

I'd planned to post it the day I posted Episode 80 but I've never been a patient writer lol

 

Every legend has a tragic background story, except me. 

Nobody died. Nobody abused me. I just jumped over the hurdles of life so that I could stand victorious.

And I will keep winning, until I become a living legend.

 

I was the middle child of five. My eldest brother and elder sister were 4 and 2 years apart from me in age, while my younger two brothers were 7 and 10 years my junior. As such, I grew up as the youngest of three for 7 years of my life, which were accompanied by a lot of attention from my mother. Once my younger brother was born, however, I was dethroned from my position as the baby sister, and was forced to live as an “older sibling”.

My father’s favorite had been my eldest brother, of course, because he entertained big hopes of him joining the Everland Police once he grew up. While my mom’s attention was on me, I didn’t think much of my dad, but once I had to work for attention, he became a possible replacement for my mom’s love.

I knew that my brother had been going to martial arts classes since he was himself 7 years old, and that this had been my dad’s wishes. With the simple mind of a seven-year-old, I begged my dad to sign me up for martial arts classes as well, for I thought he’d like me more then.

“You don’t have to take those classes,” said my dad. “You’re a little girl. Why not play with your baby brother instead?”

“No, dad. I want to learn punching too.”

I demonstrated some movements that in retrospect must’ve looked like a frog pouncing, but that at the time I thought was what martial arts moves looked like.

My dad tried to dissuade me some more, but since my mind wouldn’t budge, he went to sign me up for classes.

I learned karate and judo. It was foreign to me at first, but I put a lot of effort into it, and it usually paid off. I always felt quite encouraged when our teacher praised my moves, so I practiced as much as possible so that he’d praise me more often.

“Your daughter is a gifted fighter. She picks up the moves so quickly and shows such command of her own body despite her young age,” I once heard my teacher say to my dad.

Since then, the way my dad looked at me changed.

 

Years passed. My dad and I had formed quite a bond, and he even brought me to his office a few times a month when he’d never done that with any of my siblings.

When I was 14, I was old enough to realize some oddity about the Everland Police. I took no time to think before I asked my dad.

“Dad, why do you have so many officers working for you? Everland has such low crime rates, so why do you keep paying so many just to have them do nothing?”

This was the first time my dad didn’t seem to have an answer ready for me. He laughed a little, but he only said that he had reasons that he couldn’t divulge to someone outside the Police. I was quite offended that he considered me untrustworthy, and told him so.

“You misinterpret me. I trust you, but the matter is absolutely confidential and I must follow the Council’s rules.”

“Fine, then make me a police officer,” I suggested. “Then you can tell me the secret, right?”

My dad laughed again.

“I can’t make a fourteen-year-old an officer,” he replied. “But tell you what. If you still want to be an officer when you turn 18, I’ll gladly allow you into the Police.”

We made a promise.

 

Soon after that conversation, another one that required no more secret-keeping took place. 

It was the day that I got my period. Not only did I have to deal with bleeding now, but I also found that my head had grown a strange red ribbon. I ran to my mom to tell her the news in tears, but she wasn’t as shocked as I was.

“Don’t cry, my little flower. It’s nothing to worry,” she said. Instead of wiping my tears with a handkerchief, though, she elongated the ribbon on her head and gently caressed my cheeks. I was so stunned that I stopped crying at once.

“It’s a trait that is passed down in my family,” she explained. “Your sister didn’t grow it, so I didn’t think you would, but you did. Think of it like an extra arm. Once you learn to harness it, you won’t even have to think about moving it.”

My mom’s description was on point. As a person who had grown up believing oneself to be a normal human, I felt ashamed about having grown a “third arm”. It also didn’t help that my mom’s family felt it was something they needed to hide from public knowledge. From then on, I kept my ribbon shrunken to its maximum, and hid whatever was visible with either hair or a hat. That phase lasted for a little less than 4 years, but a certain string of events would change my views completely.

 

The first event that triggered change was a youth judo championship. 

When I developed a magical ribbon on my head, one thing that needed to change was my martial arts classification. Given that I was no longer a non-magical humanoid, I would have to be registered in the magical humanoid class instead.

My parents and I argued about this. They were against keeping me in the non-magical class, but I knew that I would have no chance in the tournaments if I were to join the magical humanoid class. I was, after all, just a human with a ribbon, not a real magical being. Hence, I begged my parents not to change my class. 

My dad, who didn’t like to be dishonest, was more difficult to convince than my mom was, but in the end he allowed me to do as I wished with the condition that I never use my ribbon. It was a promise that was easily kept: I didn’t want to show the ribbon anyway.

In the said judo championship, now at 17 years of age, I had at last managed to be a finalist, after being prevented to reach the finals the two years prior by the same person. However, now that I was a finalist, my chances of winning the championship were still slim, as my opponent was none other than that girl, who I’d fought and lost to 2 times before.

Everyone put their bets on that girl, of course. Not only had she been finalist twice before, she was reigning champion. She may be classed as a humanoid, but her large bicep and quadricep muscles sure made her look as though she wasn’t human. I was getting ready to be thrown to the ground the moment the fight started.

However, that didn’t happen. At least not in the moment the fight started. 

We got entangled in a weird embrace and were trying to push one another to the ground. For the first time, I had a chance. If only I could hook her foot... but the moment I tried to, I almost lost the game. Her feet were so heavy, it was almost like she was glued to the floor.

Seconds passed and the strength in my stance began to decrease slowly, while the grip of my opponent appeared to never soften. In a moment of despair, I remembered my ribbon.

My head is partially hidden by her arm, I thought. I could sneak my ribbon down her trousers and pull her knee.

However, I dared not do that. Doing so would be breaking the promise I’d made my dad.

Yet, I did it. The wish to win the championship was greater than the will to keep my promise.

I raised the girl’s foot by the knee, and I pretended to hook her ankle with my foot. She didn’t know what was happening, and probably didn’t know what had happened even after I pushed her to the ground.

“Somehow my trousers got entangled around my leg,” was her explanation when she was asked about her unexpected defeat.

Everyone, despite not betting on me, stood up and cheered at me and congratulated me on my first championship victory. Everyone... except my parents. When I looked at them, I saw them clapping, but their faces were stern. I was scared that they might’ve seen me use my ribbon, but that fear didn’t last for more than 5 minutes. It was hard to be unhappy when people were clapping for you and you were receiving a large golden trophy.

 

When I returned home, the talk I expected to have happened.

My dad asked me the question directly.

“Did you use your ribbon during the match?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t,” I said.

I thought I didn’t do a good job lying, for it wasn’t often that I needed to lie. I thought I might’ve taken too long to answer, or that my voice may have come out weird. However, if he realized I was lying, my dad chose to ignore it.

“Congratulations, champion,” he said and hugged me.

That day, I learned that it was impossible to correct every evil. Even my dad, the person in charge of protecting the law, was too human as to be able to do that.

 

And I also learned the sinfulness of lying to the face of a person I cared very much about.

 

QUICK LINK TO THE LITTLE POLICE OFFICER PART 2 OF 3

[Corso]

8 hours ago, Candy said:

my head had grown a strange red ribbon

At first I thought it was Vanilla, now I'm thinking it's a Sylveon.

Also THAT ENDING, it's awesome! Stories about hiding your crimes always give me goosebumps. This episode deserves a double upvote.

 

8 hours ago, Candy said:

Every hero has a tragic background story, except me. 

Nobody died. Nobody abused me.

You know, I think that while this may be "valid" for Reborn, I don't think it applies to real life.

[SilverAngelus]

4 hours ago, Corso said:

At first I thought it was Vanilla, now I'm thinking it's a Sylveon.

More like humans with magical capabilities and/or abnormalities.

 

My guess is that this could be Jasmine from a younger age.

[Evi Crystal]

It's Jasmine! Only one would use a ribbon as a weapon and having connections to the Everland Police Department!

 

Case solved

 

[Candy]

6 hours ago, Corso said:

Also THAT ENDING, it's awesome! Stories about hiding your crimes always give me goosebumps. This episode deserves a double upvote.

I considered this story bad-written because it's more of a "storytelling" which from what I understand ain't golden standard for writing. I'm glad it was still an enjoyable read :p

6 hours ago, Corso said:

You know, I think that while this may be "valid" for Reborn, I don't think it applies to real life.

It is what I think this character would think, but yes heroes in real life may or may not have tragic backstories. 

 

1 hour ago, SilverAngelus said:

More like humans with magical capabilities and/or abnormalities.

 

My guess is that this could be Jasmine from a younger age.

I think Coroso-san was joking but yes Everland is full of abnormal peeps.

 

1 hour ago, Evi Crystal said:

It's Jasmine! Only one would use a ribbon as a weapon and having connections to the Everland Police Department!

 

Case solved

 

Good detective work :)

 

So far in the story, we've only seen her from Vanilla and Aladdin's POV, which obviously aren't flattering to her. Of course, she's one of the villains and a side character that won't get much time in the spotlight, so the main story doesn't need a lot of info on Jasmine to be viable. But when I created her in my head, I created her with this backstory that I feel would be a shame not to tell at least in a spin-off lol so parts 2 and 3 will be posted sporadically when I get time / I'm in the mood for it

[Candy]

 

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 80

 

When Pikachu’s shadow claw hit Adrienn’s florges, she appeared to withstand the attack, only to wobble and fall to the ground a second later.

“I… We won?” I blurted out.

“Yes you did,” said Adrienn, smiling. “The champion has kept her status one more day. Congratulations, not only for winning but for improving the bonds with your pokemon.”

Pikachu and Prince, the two pokemon that were still standing on the field, came rushing back up to me. I patted them both on the head.

“That was such an awesome battle,” said Julia. “Except that there were very few explosions. If there had been more, that’d have been super-amaze-tastic!”

Adrienn remotely opened a box on my side that held a badge and the TM disc for Dazzling Gleam.

“If you’re heading into the desert, you will need a lot of preparations. Don’t forget to pass by the department store to replenish your stocks. A scarf to protect your nose and mouth might be recommended. I am not sure where Titania’s Gym is located, but it will also help to know the direction you should walk in.”

“Adrienn. Just because I followed your advice and it happened to prove useful, doesn’t mean you need to tell me what to do all the time. I know how to look after myself,” I said.

“It was just a friendly suggestion.”

Adrienn furrowed xyr eyebrows, but xyr mouth wasn’t frowning.

“Oh! I know where Tania’s Gym is,” Julia jumped in. “Ame told me that they were building her gym near the scrapyard.”

The mention of Ame’s name made Adrienn and I glance at each other, but neither of us felt like ruining Julia’s mood with sad news of the sort.

“Let’s go, Vanini. We should say bye-bye to Candy and go check out the department store like Adrienn suggested,” she said, but looking at my face, added: “or maybe we’ll just see Candy.”

She waved at me from downstairs as if to say “hurry up”, so I went down the stairs to join her.

 

Whether or not Adrienn suggested it, I had planned to pass by the department store to stock on supplies, but I didn’t say that to Julia even after reaching Candy’s shop.

We entered the house, and there I found an unwelcome guest. Archer was at the counter with Candy, apparently having tea and idly chatting.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as soon as I saw him.

After his people-who-can’t-coexist-in-peace speech, I didn’t expect to have to talk to him so soon, at a place that he must’ve known from his ex-comrades that I was a regular visitor. However, once I got over my initial surprise in seeing him, I could easily deduce what his motive for visiting was.

“Have you come to reproach me about helping former Aqua gang members find jobs? I knew you’d be butthurt, I didn’t know your pride would be so damaged as to make you come all the way here.”

“Vanilla, you’re jumping to conclusions too quickly,” Candy scolded me.

“It’s all right, Candy,” said Archer. “I told you I expected this much. After what I said in Hazel’s house, it’s not surprising that my visit would be an unwelcome one for her.”

Archer stood up from his seat so as to properly face my direction.

“However much you might despise me for it, I came here to give my thanks to Candy, Julia, and you, Vanilla. My gang members are now all on the path to reintegrate into society, and I wouldn’t have able to do it alone. So, thank you for hosting the job application workshop.”

Every 5 words he spoke made me want to cut him off, but I didn’t know what to say to cut him off. He had somehow flipped the tables, and now I was looking like the less mature of us two. This, of course, did not sit right with me.

“I didn’t do it for them. I did it for everyone that was struggling, and they just happened to be part of that category,” I said. 

“Even if you did it inadvertently, the result is the same. I owe you one, for doing me a favor,” he insisted. “I don’t like owing things, and much less to a person I dislike, but it is what it is. This is technically the second favor you’ve done me, if we count you keeping my secret with Mrs. Gwendolyn and co. I can’t keep piling up unreturned favors. Candy told me what I should do for her in return, and now I ask that to Julia and you. What can I do for you to settle the score?”

“I don’t need anythi-” I started, but Julia cut me off.

“Hey, you said you were Aqua Gang?”

“Yeah, I was the gang’s leader. My name is Archer. I don’t think we’ve met before, and I know my visit is very sudden but-” yet, Julia also cut him off.

“You’re a water type trainer, aren’t you? Otherwise how could you pull off the title of Aqua Gang Leader?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Julia clapped her hands together and her face brightened as though she had had the best idea in her life.

“Then I know what you can do for both of us,” she said. “Please come with us to Tourmaline Desert. Your water type pokemon would come so handy for us.”

“What are you saying, Julia?” I blurted out. “That’s the last thing I want him to do.”

“What? But it’s such an amazing idea. We’d have a blast. Imagine the three of us walking through the sand dunes, and at night we can all sit by a fire and-”

“Like that would happen if he came with us,” I said.

“Why not? Vanini, come on. He’s a water type trainer, and water is the number 2 thing we need the most, number 1 thing being fun and I’m bringing that!”

“Then you go with him,” I snapped.

“But you and I are going together.”

“That’s no longer happening,” I shouted.

I quickly gulped down the tea Candy had served me, and, with Pikachu on my shoulder, stormed out of the house. 

 

I ran in the direction of Grandview Station, forgetting that I had planned to pass by the department store. By the time I remembered it, I was already aboard a train that would take us to the middle of nowhere, and wasn’t sensible enough to come back to Reborn City and risk meeting Julia and Archer at the store.

“I’ve done it again. I let myself get angry and make rash decisions. Archer sure is good at triggering me,” I scolded myself, but since my tone scared Pikachu, I reassured him with a pat on the head. 

“I’ll pull it off somehow,” was all I could say, however.

The train ride reminded me of the day I came to Reborn. The desert extended to the horizon, but I imagined it was connected to Hoenn on the northeast and Everland on the northwest. To think that so many things had happened since I first got caught in a terrorist attack, almost got killed by an explosion and was only saved by Ame. And to think that Aladdin had been the one to start my journey in Reborn. It was all difficult to believe, yet it was reality.

The train eventually stopped at a little stop that could barely be called a train station. When I got out, I found out that the winds were strong and blew sand around, so much so that I had trouble seeing or even breathing. Now I understood the meaning of Adrienn’s comment about buying a scarf, but if I had a choice, I’d have brought some goggles as well.

The sandstorm was bad news, but I soon realized that was not the only thing I needed to worry about.

“I was really hoping you wouldn’t show up,” I heard someone say, and the person soon revealed himself from behind a palm tree. His face was covered with a red scarf and goggles, so I didn’t recognize him right away, but he unbundled a little so that I could see his face, or at least see as much as the sand flying into my eyes allowed me to.

“Taka? Don’t tell me you’ve been waiting for me in this weather. I’m almost scared to ask how long you’ve been standing there.”

He didn’t answer the question, confirming to me that the amount of time was as crazy as I supposed it to be.

“You didn’t battle me in the Water Treatment Center, and thus exposed me as a traitor to my father,” he said. “I needed to fight you here at any cost. This is my last chance.”

“Listen, I know you helped us and asked us a favor, which, mind you, I was prepared to take. But I’m not as sweet as Candy so as to fight you when Titania issued an ultimatum to not let me challenge her Gym. Just as you have your motives for remaining a half-assed Team Meteor Admin, I have my motives for taking on the League.”

“I understand,” Taka said.

We stood there in silence, until I said that if he had nothing else to say, to make way for I had to get to Titania’s Gym. However, Taka did not make way.

“I said this is my last chance,” he repeated. “But it’s not just my last chance to remain in Team Meteor or regain my father’s respect, but it’s also my last chance to decide what to do with my life.”

Taka threw a pokeball to the air and released a klefki.

“I challenge you to a battle, Vanilla. I never had a choice, but this will tell me what that choice is.”

Spoiler

 

 

I was severely unprepared for a battle, since I hadn’t even switch my team from what I used to battle Adrienn. Some of the pokemon that I would’ve otherwise used like Anna(K-ninetales) and Wolfie(lycanroc) were resting in the PC in blissful ignorance. On top of that, we were in a dry climate that decreased the power of water type attacks. So much for the we-need-water-types-to-deal-with-ground-types idea, Julia. If I didn’t have Elsa(A-ninetales) in my team, I’m sure I would’ve lost.

“I now know my choice,” said Taka when he lost. “And it’s only to wonder how I didn’t realize what it was before.”

Taka approached me.

“You’ve always been standing up to us, and you’ve always been winning. The losers always have to give in to the winners. It’s the law of this world,” he said. “Vanilla. Can I come with you?”

“What use do I have for someone whom I don’t know when he’ll betray? I told this to Candy, actually quite recently: it is best for you to leave both sides alone. Stay out of this. It’ll be best for you and all of us, really.”

I started walking, but one step out of the station made me realize how hard it was to walk on sand without having it get inside your shoes. However, I kept walking awkwardly and almost passed Taka, when he pulled my arm.

“I promise I won’t get in your way,” he said. “I just want to find somewhere safe to hide, somewhere I could lay low for long enough that I get off of that woman’s radar. After that…”

He didn’t finish that sentence, but I wasn’t even listening to half his words. Nothing he could say could make me change my decision.

“Go find it by yourself.”

“I have some potions and an extra pair of goggles I could offer, if you allow me to go with you.”

Now he was talking. I halted my step, and it took me a little time to swallow my pride but eventually I came around and accepted him to join me.

“Really? Thanks,” he said and handed me the spare goggles.

I had a good idea and tore a piece of my bubblegum dress to make a scarf and wrapped it around my lower face.

“Let’s go then. Don’t slow me down,” I said and started walking again.

“Wait Vanilla. I was told you’d come here for a gym battle. Shouldn’t you be heading north? That’s the general direction of Titania’s gym as far as I know.”

I stopped again.

“North... which way is that?”

There was a silence before Taka answered.

“Vanilla… don’t tell me you came into the desert without preparation? You can’t actually be here without a compass.” 

He held out a compass, which I quickly snatched.

“Shut up and follow me,” I said, but I had a feeling that saying that was affirmation enough for Taka.

Either way, he followed me, saying nothing else about my lack of preparation.

 

We moved north using Taka’s compass as a guide. He was quiet most of the time, only commenting when anything unusual happened. He commented on the palm trees, of which some were actually alolan exeggutors. He commented on a focus sash we found trapped between some rocks.

However, we eventually found that we were walking in the wrong direction, because we found the wall that separated Reborn City from Tourmaline Desert.

“That’s Beryl Bridge,” said Taka. “Are you sure we’re moving north?”

“According to your cheap-ass compass, we are,” I said.

“I guess it broke when I dropped it earlier,” he said. “I’m sorry, I thought it’d be a little more sturdy.”

I dropped the compass to the sand, because I figured I wouldn’t need a broken compass anyway. When I did, I realized there was something red half-burrowed in the sand. I squatted and picked the item up.

“It’s a pokeball,” I commented. “But it’s open and empty.”

“Here there are more,” Taka said, picking them up. “Maybe someone didn’t need them and threw them away.”

I looked down at the pokeball in my hand and looked up at Beryl Bridge. I remembered that I had watched the incident in which pokeballs were thrown down that bridge. I kept the pokeballs in my pocket, thinking that perhaps it was something I could bring to the cemetery later on.

 

We carried on walking, now in the direction opposite Beryl Bridge.

On the way, as I had done before we reached the bridge, I stopped several times to ask Prince (seismitoad) to produce drinking water for me. The desert was quite hot and though not extremely dry, it was enough to make me thirsty very quickly. However, every time I asked Taka whether he’d like to drink water, he said he wasn’t thirsty. I didn’t insist on him drinking, because Prince’s water stocks were also running low and the less we drank the more likely we’d last alive in the desert, or so I thought. I’d lived in a very green region, so I was ignorant to the dangers of dehydration.

At some point, Taka gave in. I heard the noise of his body dropping to the sand and rushed to help him up, but I found his consciousness slipping.

“Hey, Taka. Hey! Don’t go to sleep!” I said, softly slapping his cheek. “Now you’ll drink water, damn it.”

I sent Prince out and held Taka’s head as we slowly made him drink. He didn’t recover much, but I hoped that it had been enough to prolong his life.

Prince looked at me with concern. He had now ran out of water stocks too.

“Come back in, Prince. As long as you’re in pokeballs, you’ll live,” I said, and pulling the friend ball out, I said to Pikachu: “You too. I’ll have to carry Taka, and I wouldn’t want you getting dehydrated too, friend.”

Pikachu wasn’t happy to go into his pokeball but did without complaining much.

I had to drag Taka, because I wasn’t strong enough to carry a grown man larger than me on my back while treading through sandy ground. My hope was that the water he drank would kick in later on and he’d recover enough to walk on his legs; however, that didn't happen or at least didn't happen quickly enough.

When I came into the desert, I didn’t think things would go like this. I knew I’d screwed up because I didn’t pass by the department store to replenish on stuff I might need, but I severely underestimated how difficult it would be to find Titania’s gym, and how much of a potentially-fatal experience it’d be to come here unprepared.

I wondered whether I would eventually have to make the decision whether to leave Taka and try to save myself, but I kept prolonging the moment to decide. Even though he was technically Team Meteor, I didn't feel as comfortable letting him die in the desert as much as perhaps I would be if I were dragging his father instead.

 

As anyone would guess, I wasn’t able to walk like this for long. I couldn’t tell whether Taka or my feet were heavier, and once I couldn’t pull my leg quickly enough, I slipped over the sand and fell flat on the ground. The sand was scorching hot on my exposed skin.

“How will I pull this off now?” I mumbled to myself. “I can’t die here. I can’t.”

That’s what I thought, but when I commanded my muscles to push my body up, they didn’t budge.

All right, maybe if I take a little nap... I’ll have more energy when I wake up, I thought.

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• Archer (-1): 1/10 How can he have the audacity to direct a word to me? He had better kept doing his thing and left me alone
• Julia (-1): 4/10 Her insistence on doing stuff I wouldn't be comfortable with is a turn off
• Taka (+1): 3/10 He made the choice, so that's good, even though I might die soon and not be able to improve my opinion of him

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[Corso]

17 minutes ago, Candy said:

“North... which way is that?”

There was a silence before Taka answered.

Please, we all know you press up to go north.

 

17 minutes ago, Candy said:

I stopped several times to ask Prince (seismitoad) to produce drinking water for me

I don't think I'd like to drink water that came out of a toad, but I guess you can't be picky in a desert.

[J-Awesome_One]

I was excited for Julia to go with Vanilla to the desert buuuut you dashed my dreams. Still a great episode though!

[SilverAngelus]

Guess Vanini didn't need that scarf Adrienn mentioned since she had bubblegum dress!

 

And yikes, sleeping on the scorching ground? I'm not an expert, but I don't think she'd wake up again if she did that...

Let's see....she's got Pikachu, Prince, Elsa, Bambi, Q of Hearts, and Golden Key. Prince is already out of water stocks, so maybe Golden Key could come out of its Pokeball to help? Cause you know, steel types don't take sandstorm damage..

[Candy]

On 11/6/2020 at 5:09 PM, Corso said:

I don't think I'd like to drink water that came out of a toad, but I guess you can't be picky in a desert.

Beggars can't be choosers, fren. Let Vanini be an optimist for once 

 

On 11/6/2020 at 5:34 PM, J-Awesome_One said:

I was excited for Julia to go with Vanilla to the desert buuuut you dashed my dreams. Still a great episode though!

It do be like that sometimes... unless?

 

On 11/7/2020 at 12:26 AM, SilverAngelus said:

Guess Vanini didn't need that scarf Adrienn mentioned since she had bubblegum dress!

 

And yikes, sleeping on the scorching ground? I'm not an expert, but I don't think she'd wake up again if she did that...

Let's see....she's got Pikachu, Prince, Elsa, Bambi, Q of Hearts, and Golden Key. Prince is already out of water stocks, so maybe Golden Key could come out of its Pokeball to help? Cause you know, steel types don't take sandstorm damage..

Bubblegum dress OP. If Vanini doesn't die with this, it'll prolly be an act of dark magic uwu

[Candy]

The Little Police Officer ~ Part 2 of 3

The second part of the lil spin off that prolly no one was waiting for, is here!

 

I was, as I said, 17 years old at the time. I was growing closer to the age my dad told me he’d allow me to join the Police force if I so desired. Yet, even though my desire to be an officer never once wavered, I thought that my sin was too large to allow someone like me in the force. How could I look at criminals in the eye and uphold the law, when I had been one to cheat in a tournament and lie about it to the Police Chief?

Fortunately, I didn’t need to hit my head against the wall for too long on my perceived hypocrisy.

 

My dad brought me to a court hearing like he did whenever he found time to. He said that listening to these things would help me make up my mind whether being a law enforcer was the type of job I would like to have. I didn’t think I needed any of that sort because I wasn’t one to change my mind easily, but I went there anyway because I enjoyed hearing the punishments that fell upon the criminals.

This particular time was the court hearing of the daughter of a well-known nobleman. The Leiderhosen family had particularly strong ties with the Everland Police, since they owned the factories that manufactured some of the weapons used by them. Hence, this hearing hit closer to home for me than the others normally did.

The first thing I did when I sat down in my seat was to look at the Leiderhosen girl’s face. She was awfully pale, as though all her blood had been drained from her face and her hair had aged at quadruple its normal speed. However, her countenance made me believe that her paleness was not at all a result of being scared. Instead- and I wasn’t sure it was because of her ghastly appearance- I felt scared watching her.

As the hearing progressed, I learned the girl’s name.

“Vanilla Leiderhosen. Where have I heard this name before?” I whispered to myself.

“She goes to your school. It wouldn’t be surprising if you knew her personally,” replied my dad.

I took a long time to think about this. She was also 17 years old, so perhaps she was in the same year as me, but in a different class. Other than her extreme paleness, she didn’t stand out in any of her features, and I figured I mustn’t have even laid my eyes on her when there were so many other students that grabbed my attention.

I brought my thoughts back to the courtroom. It wasn’t as if I could understand much of what was going on. Something about the Underworld and an organization of traitors… of which this shorty was being accused of being the leader. It all sounded like a false accusation, from the little I could decode.

To add to my suspicion of it all being fake, there was just one witness testimony. The witness, who was also the police officer that reported her crime, told his narrative, but again, all of it was mostly words and no substance. Not convincing to me in the least. My dad, however, didn’t seem to think this hearing was just a massive waste of time.

Yet, the worst part came about when the defendant’s lawyer only asked Sir Leiderhosen, the defendant’s father, to step onto the witness stand. He had only a few words to say.

“Vanilla was sleeping in our mansion at the time that Mr. Woods claims to have seen her in the Underworld.”

That was all. The hearing was over soon after this, and the verdict was handed down in no time also. Vanilla was declared innocent, and everyone could go their merry ways like nothing had happened. Of course, since I didn’t understand much of the hearing to begin with, and I admit I slept through some of it, I assumed I missed some part that was crucial evidence in support of the defendant’s innocence. 

And would’ve allowed the matter to rest just like that, had I not happened to look at Vanilla right at that moment.

When I saw her expression… I questioned. 

She was smiling, but that wasn’t the face of a person relieved on being acquitted.

 

I told my dad that I thought Vanilla Leiderhosen was actually guilty when I returned home.

“Dad, I didn’t understand much about the hearing to be sure,” I said. “But the whole thing gives me the impression that it was just formalities. The defendant’s side didn’t have any concrete proof, and wasn’t even that happy when they won the case, but instead looked like they’d expected to win from the beginning. And that girl…”

“You have good perception,” my dad said. “That will be useful if and when you become an officer.”

I thought he would continue talking, but the conversation appeared to go nowhere unless I insisted further.

“Dad, do you believe she was innocent?” I blurted out.

My dad didn’t answer the question, but instead said, “I told you I bring you to court hearings because I believe they might shape your resolve to become a police officer. However, it is not our job as Police to handle the judgement of innocent or guilty; that’s the judge’s job.”

“But dad-”

“If you want to be an officer, it’ll do you good to learn to accept the verdicts and act accordingly. Not all people that are thrown into a court will receive punishment, despite what you might’ve been led to believe.”

“But you might be letting a criminal walk free. Doesn’t that bother you? Should it not bother me? How?”

“She is not a criminal if there is no concrete proof that she was.”

My dad said nothing more and told me to reflect on the hearing by myself. I did just as he told me. I tried to think that perhaps I read too much into a simple smile. That maybe the judges knew better than me about these things, so I should just accept it like my dad appears to do so well.

 

Alas, it was in vain. I was determined to find out the truth.

 

I paid more attention to my surroundings at school and eventually found my target. 

Vanilla Leiderhosen, despite being a noble, was a complete loner. I never once saw her walking with a friend or chatting with anyone. She didn’t participate in extracurriculars, which pretty much confined herself to her classroom during school hours.

Perhaps I could’ve approached her, become friends with her and get information out of her once I gained her trust, I thought. I don’t think it was a bad idea; however, the one time I tried to put this plan into action, she made it clear that it was bound to fail.

“Stay away from me, peasant,” she said when I attempted to sit next to her at lunch.

She stood up and walked away before I could even say “wait”.

“I’m not a peasant,” I shouted after her. “I am the daughter of the Chief of Police. I won’t be insulted, even by the likes of you.”

But I wasn’t sure whether she heard me. 

I didn’t know why she’d been so unfriendly to me, when she didn’t even know me. Perhaps she had a keen eye for dishonesty and could see through my facade- it wouldn’t surprise me, since everyone wants to be friends of popular or wealthy kids like her, not to form real friendships but just because of self-interest. Coincidentally, I also considered myself to have a good eye in that aspect.

In any case, her insulting me fueled my desire to see her punished by the weight of the law. 

I changed my approach and decided to observe her from afar.

 

Over a few weeks, I learned much about her. She was a pretty good athlete despite being rather thin and small, as judged from her performance in physical education. Despite her name, I never saw her eating anything vanilla flavored. I wasn’t sure she was much of a reader; at least I never saw her read for leisure in school, although she often went to the library to return a bunch of books and checked out new ones. Those were all trivial things, and I thought my stalking approach wasn’t giving me any clues, until it gave me something else. 

There was a guy, a certain Aladdin Ababwa, who had written me a love letter about a year ago. I had trashed it because I already had a boyfriend, and I knew that he was a mage’s son that lacked magical powers. At the time I had thought, what use could I have for a mage with no magic? However, even with a rejection, Aladdin never stopped admiring me. I knew this because I frequently caught him staring at me like I was some unattainable grail. 

The whole issue with Aladdin would’ve also been counted as more trivial information, but I so happened to notice that Vanilla’s gaze was always fixed on him whenever he was in her presence. She wasn’t subtle at all. She could be doing anything, but one syllable uttered from his mouth was enough to pull her eyes away from whatever she was doing at that time and to search for him. Her little teenage crush was almost adorable.

It was still trivial information, but at least this was actually intriguing.

 

Before I could crack Vanilla’s mystery, however, I turned 18. That meant I had to make the decision whether to join the Police and tell my dad. 

Frankly, I had entertained some hope that in finding unmovable proof that Vanilla was guilty of whatever she was acquitted of, I would redeem my past offenses. Bringing a person that had escaped punishment because of human error to where she actually belonged, surely must be a good enough achievement to overwrite a small amount of cheating and a white lie. However, in the end it was unnecessary to judge whether that was or was not the case, because I had to make the decision without any such hypothetical achievement to my name.

 

QUICK LINK TO THE LITTLE POLICE OFFICER PART 3 OF 3

[Corso]

Interesting how with just one sentence young Vanilla got on my nerves.

[Candy]

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 81

I’ve come back for a rematch, Tourmaline Desert, I thought when my paws touched the sand.

I was better prepared to withstand the heat and sandstorm this time. I began running away from the wall that Beryl Bridge formed, further and further into the nothingness of the humongous sandbox. I was heading north in a straight line, always taking water breaks when necessary.

However, when I was no more than two miles from the bridge, a strangely familiar smell started to get stronger.

“This smell… what is it?” I wondered aloud. “I know. It’s… that girl. The trainer of that mimikyu called Pikachu. And there’s another… that’s the person who saved my life the first time I’d come here.”

I followed the smell, though that meant I’d deviate from my planned path.

 

When I awoke, I was in an oasis. I was lying on green grass that felt cool and wet, though I couldn’t really focus on anything due to how bright everything was.

“You’re awake now? How are you feeling?”

Wolfie’s face peeked over mine, partially blocking the sunlight that was blinding me.

“I’m fine, Wolfie. The grass feels nice.”

“Who?”

Once I was able to focus- not only my eyes but also my mind- I realized that the person I was seeing wasn’t Wolfie. 

“Agh,” I yelped. It was Archer.

“Grass? You’re hallucinating,” he said.

I finally became fully alert. I wasn’t in an oasis like I had somehow imagined. I was in a tent, with my limbs covered in some white pieces of cotton and gauze. Whatever liquid that they’d been soaked in was giving me that soothing cool feeling, which I mistook for wet grass. The lamp hooked on the tent’s ceiling was what I had thought was sunlight. Now I realized that my surroundings were darker than I had daydreamed.

“Where am I? 

“In Tourmaline Desert. Julia and I found you two half-buried in the sand earlier today,” he said, and placed a wet towel on my forehead. “You’re really thoughtless, coming into the desert with no preparation what-so-ever. Thankfully, we weren’t as irresponsible as you, and came with everything we’d need.”

My eyes got used to the dark just enough to be able to see that Taka was sleeping next to me, also with a towel on his forehead but not looking as burned as I was. Then, I saw Julia next to him and a zorua between their heads. Julia rocked her body every so often, but somehow neither the zorua or Taka, whose arm she was practically squashing, seemed bothered.

“You’re lucky. We wouldn’t have found you two had the little zorua not somehow found you and led us to you.”

I glanced at the zorua once more, and had some more questions regarding him, but I figured that even if I asked Archer, he would have no answers to give me. Instead, I asked some other, more pressing questions.

“Why are my limbs wrapped like this? Did you do it?”

“They are wrapped in medicine to treat your sun burns. It’s no surprise that your pale skin is sensitive to sunlight,” he explained. “And no, I haven’t done anything to you, don’t worry. I’ve only volunteered to change your towels during the night so that Julia could sleep.”

“I see.”

I turned my face towards Taka so that I wouldn’t have to see Archer anymore, but that caused the wet cloth to slide off my forehead. That didn’t bother me, because at that point all I could feel was the embarrassment that grew to the point it was almost unbearable. I just had this afternoon insulted the guy, told him off when he offered to pay back his debts and also refused to get his help as Julia had suggested. And now I was here, lying helplessly but at least still alive thanks to Julia and him. What could I say now? The words, “thanks for saving my life” were stuck in my throat and wouldn’t come out.

Thus, I could do nothing but remain silent.

“And is that guy your boyfriend?” Archer asked.

“My what!?” I exclaimed without really thinking, and jolted a little which hurt the skin on my arms.

“Shush, Vanilla. Calm down or you’ll wake everyone,” he said, pushing my shoulders down to the ground. “I was just kidding. Spending too much time with Hazel does this to you.”

“You’re stupid,” I said. 

Archer didn’t make any sort of reply right away, but he slowly grabbed the cloth that had fallen off my face, dunked it in water and, now with quick movements, practically slapped my forehead with it.

“Well, he did wake up a couple of times before falling back to sleep. He’s a calm, quiet sort of guy, from the little I saw of him. Thought that was your type.”

I knew that by “type” he was referring to Aladdin. That made me angry for several reasons.

“Shut up, can you?” I said. “You always get on my nerves, even when it literally doesn’t benefit you at all.”

Archer fell quiet, and the extended silence made me realize how silent our surroundings were when we weren’t talking. I closed my eyes to avoid looking at him, but I hoped he’d open his mouth soon, even though it was me who asked him to shut up. For the time being, I cancelled any plan I had to express gratitude, mostly because I had already made it too difficult to express it with honesty.

“That’s true. But you know why I try to annoy you every chance I get. You were the reason I had to leave my hometown and thus leave family, friends, career and everything I had over there. Meanwhile, that court hearing, which had been so life-changing for me, was just an average Thursday for you. It was such a humiliating experience,” he said. “You must understand, since you too must feel animosity towards the people who caused you to come here.”

I thought about Aladdin and Jasmine. They undoubtedly were people I disliked, though, somehow, it felt like I hated each for different reasons. I hated Jasmine for being mercilessly annoying, for getting in my way and being after my life. One cannot like someone that might choke one to death, after all. However, I imagined that my dislike of Aladdin was more similar to my dislike of Taka than it was to that of Jasmine. In any case, I nodded to Archer’s statement.

“Fine, fine. You already rubbed that on my face the first time we met. Keep being annoying to me if you will. I’m going to sleep.”

I tried rolling my body over, but the sunburn ached too much to prop my body on its side. The cloth on my forehead threatened to slide off again, too, which I caught just in time. I had no choice but to remain lying on my back.

Archer was quiet for a while, and I thought it meant he was letting me sleep, but that wasn’t the case.

“But honestly, that is not it,” he said, mostly to himself but picking my attention in the process. “Quite frankly, I no longer care about being exiled from Everland. In the couple of years that I’ve lived in Reborn, I managed to build a new life. I made a new family, in a sense. I made new friends, and I’m working on re-starting my career. What happened in that courthouse… is now in the past.”

“I’d much rather you kept hating me, for both of our sakes. Keep hating me for your exile. I abused my father’s political power. I’m sure that’s reason enough to hate me. Even if I merely used the resources I had available to me, I also don’t recollect my behavior with pleasure. After all, that only reminds me of how helpless I’d have been without my status.”

Archer’s brow twitched when I said this.

“You’re completely unaware of it, it seems. Ironically, I no longer dislike you for being a criminal in Everland, but for being the decent human you’re now. You might not understand it, but there’s nothing more vexing than when you meet the person you’ve kept hating, and they turn out to be a good sort of person. How dare you help my friends? How dare you befriend Hazel? How dare you save this region? Had you at least joined Team Meteor instead of fighting on our behalf, I could’ve kept hating you with justification.”

“Uuugugh. You’re so loud,” said Julia, but when checked, she appeared to still be very much asleep.

Archer changed sitting positions, and now sat hugging his knees close to his chest. When he spoke, his volume was more that of a whisper.

“Sorry. I’m just frustrated. Butthurt, as you put it.”

There was something in Archer’s struggle that reminisced of my own with a few people, ironically including Archer himself. However, I wasn’t charitable enough to tell him that I understood his feelings and to try to cheer him up that way.

“I’ll go to sleep,” I said and closed my eyes.

I don’t know what Archer did afterwards, but I vaguely remembered being temporarily awoken a few times during the night by a cold towel on my forehead.

 

Credits: Tent sprite by UlithiumDragon on DeviantArt

The next day, Julia’s loud voice woke me up.

“Look at this, Arch. Our tent is half buried in the sand!”

“You’re exaggerating. But it’s good that the sandstorm is over for now.”

Julia came inside and, realizing that I was awake, threw herself close to me.

“Good morning, Vanini. I hope you slept well. Has your fever gone down?” she asked speedily and touched my cheek with the back of her hand. “Looks like it’s much better. Boy, you have no idea how worried I was about you. That time when Zorua guided us to you, and we found you practically buried under the sand, I thought my heart might stop.”

If Taka wasn’t awake yet, he now certainly was with that. He groaned a little before pushing himself to a sitting position.

“Oh, you’re awake too,” Julia said with enthusiasm.

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Maybe you two should have some coffee. You know, you can’t underestimate dehydration and lethargy. Even if you don’t feel thirsty, you gotta drink some. Archer!”

“I’m coming,” said Archer from outside the tent. “But I’m not giving them coffee. What they need is plain good water.”

“What! But plain water is so boooring,” Julia sulked.

“Water is the best element, so it doesn’t need extras like coffee beans to make it good. I’m sure I’m not the only one who says it, either.”

As he had said, Archer brought us water but in tiny cups. I guessed they wouldn’t have enough space to bring 4 large cups, so I didn’t say anything about it. When I received mine, I noticed that there was writing on it with a permanent marker. “Vanini” it read, with very roundish letters and tiny stars and hearts surrounding it. I took a peek at Taka’s cup, and saw that his had “Tacos” written on it.

“Drink up and I’ll bring you some more,” he said. 

I practically gulped the whole cup down immediately. Given that the towel on my face and the gauze on my arms and legs felt cool, I hadn’t realized until the water touched my tongue that my mouth was dry and hot.

Archer took our cups once we were done drinking, and went outside again. In exchange, the little zorua entered the tent and sat on Taka’s legs.

“I think this zorua is the little guy I brought to Candy a while back,” he said as he petted the pokemon. “It’d seem that he still managed to escape her daycare.”

I recalled that Candy had been looking for a zorua that escaped while she was away. So it was this guy.

“I also had a little connection with one of those,” I said. “But not for long. I think, though, that if this is the zorua I saw, there’s someone that would be happier to see him than I am.”

I sat upright, which at first made me a little dizzy, and grabbed my backpack. I found the friend ball and released Pikachu. Pikachu didn’t even see the zorua before he jumped onto my neck and nuzzled me.

“I’m all right, Pikachu. Don’t worry,” I said, patting his disguised head. “But look. Is this your friend from that time? The one who shape-shifted into a pachirisu to guide me to you?”

Pikachu jumped off me and turned around to see the pokemon I was referring to. The zorua seemed shy at first, but Pikachu hopped around him with joy, soon making the zorua join him in his little dance.

“So you were,” I said. “Not only did you help me reunite with my friend, you also saved my and Taka’s lives. What a kind pokemon you are.”

I touched the zorua’s fur when he had stopped jumping.

Julia and Taka were, of course, not following how significant it was for Pikachu and I to meet Zorua again. I was feeling quite elated, and told them a summarized version of the story that began with me fighting a bunch of thugs on Opal Bridge and ended with Zorua guiding me to the alleyway that Pikachu was in. While I spoke, Archer came in and out of the tent to give us water, but I wasn’t sure if he was also listening into my story. As for Taka, he didn’t seem happy when I talked about the part where a garchomp sliced Pikachu in half, with good reason, but he didn’t say anything on the matter.

“I remember your little pachirisu, and Amy had also told me about the incident in Blacksteam Factory,” Julia said. “But I didn’t know this mimikyu was the same little guy. I thought you’d given him a pachirisu-looking disguise for fashion.”

In a sense, I thought, remembering Ynnie, it might’ve been for fashion.

“But didn’t you find Zorua in the Tourmaline desert before too?” I asked Taka. “It can’t be a coincidence that he’s here again.”

“No. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. As I said before, I think he just has somewhere important to go. Whether that’s the north of this desert, or beyond that, I don’t know.”

Archer came back in and asked us if we were going to keep chit-chatting idly all day.

“Didn’t you say you and Vanilla were heading to Titania’s Gym?” he asked Julia. “Now is a good time to resume walking, since there is not much wind.”

Julia assented loudly and Taka slowly stood up. I, on the other hand, had trouble standing up without the skin on my arms and legs hurting.

“Vanini, do you have a pokemon that could carry you? I think it’ll be best for you not to move too much because your skin is really damaged.”

I thought about it. I had Bambi(sawsbuck), but I wasn’t sure if he could hold my weight and walk through the sand. In any case, it was worth trying.

 

I sent out Bambi once outside. He wasn’t quite happy with the sand, but I petted him until he calmed down. His attention shifted from the sand to my arms covered in smelly ointment, and he nibbled on the gauze.

“Stop that. That’s not tasty at all,” I said. “I’m hurt and was wondering if you could carry me until my sunburn heals. I’m sorry to ask you, since I’m sure you don’t like sand very much.”

Bambi’s ears drooped for a moment, but they sprung back up and gave me his consent with a loud snort.

Archer placed a bunch of towels on Bambi’s back so that my butt wouldn’t hurt as much. Then he and Julia helped me up. We sank a little bit but as Bambi started walking, he began to get a sense of how to walk so that he wouldn’t sink too far down.

“Let’s go, everyone,” Julia said and followed Bambi and I, while Archer kept his position close to Bambi’s head so that he could guide us with his apparently-functioning compass.

Credits: Vanilla on Bambi sprite by J-Awesome_One

The heat was still annoying, but at least the lack of sandstorm made our trip better than the day before. Also, while the trip the day before had been mostly carried out in silence, that wasn’t the case now that Julia had been added to the party. She talked almost non-stop, and Archer, Taka and I took turns answering her random questions or reacting to whatever interesting thing she found along the way. One time, she went for a Q&A with Taka.

“Say, Tacos. I’m not sure if I met you before yesterday. Are you from Reborn or were you traveling from a different region?”

“I’m from Reborn.”

“Oh! Really! I think I already told you I’m the Peridot Ward Gym Leader?”

“Yeah, you did yesterday.”

“So, where are you from? I’m guessing not from Peridot Ward because I’m sure I’d have seen you around at least once if that were the case, right?”

I took a sneak peak at Taka. I wondered whether he would, at some point, tell the two ignorant folks that he was Team Meteor until just recently.

“I grew up mostly in Obsidia Ward, but sometimes we moved to the outskirts of Calcenon or Lapis Ward.”

“Wow, you surely moved quite a lot.”

“Yes. My father needed to move around due to the nature of his work.”

That confirmed to me that he had no plans to reveal his identity, at least for now.

“Are you a league challenger?” Julia asked, but soon answered her question by herself. “Oowie my bad. If you were, I’d probably have battled you by now, since you appear to be a veteran trainer already.”

“Yeah, no. I’m not a league challenger.”

“So you work, right? What do you do?”

“Julia,” I interrupted. “What are you going to meet Titania for?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you that? I’m going because Amy said Tania disappeared and hasn’t come back for a while. I’m gonna tell her she should pop in at least from time to time.”

I thought about the terrible incidents that preceded Amaria losing her memory.

“I don’t know how Titania will react to that, but sure.”

“If they have to talk things out, they’ll have to do it sooner or later, I think. Tania can’t hide in her Gym foreverrs.”

I wondered if this meant that on our way back to Reborn City, Titania would be added to our party. I didn’t look forward to that.

“Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, Tacos, you were going to tell me what your job is.”

I winced.

 

While Julia talked, Pikachu, who sat on my shoulder, and Zorua, who sat in front of me, also seemed to engage in conversation in a language I couldn’t understand. 

Thus our trip across the desert felt by no means deserted.

 

In the evening, the sandstorm kicked up again, so we had to set up the tent. 

“Vanini, you can’t exert yourself so give me that,” Julia said, pulling the corner of the tent from my hands. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll come change your wet cloth thingies.”

Archer and Julia, with minor help from Taka, set up the tent and threw our belongings inside. We supposed that the sandstorm wouldn’t be over at least until night, so we decided to call it a day.

“How much longer do you think we’ll have to walk?” I asked Archer. “Your water supplies won’t last forever, I’m sure.”

I tried to drink as little water as I could, but Julia was gulping down a lot of it, probably because excessive talking led to excessive thirst.

“If the weather isn’t bad in the next couple of days, we should make it to the approximate latitude Titania’s gym is supposed to be at.”

At that moment, we heard a gunshot outside followed by cheering voices(?), but before we could react to any of that, Julia peeked her head inside the tent.

“Hey, you two! Come out here and look at what we made,” Julia said. “Come on now, quickly! You’ll be so amazegasped!”

What Julia and, an apparently peer-pressured, Taka had built was a campfire. While Julia was hopping and dancing around the fire as though she were a cave man who just invented the thing, Taka was looking somewhat distraught.

“You really didn’t need to make that dry wood explode,” he said. “Just a little jolt of electricity would’ve sufficed.”

“What’s the fun in that? Booming things is the best part of starting a fire.”

Even though I wasn’t necessarily a fan of explosions, I was glad that they had managed to start a fire. The sun was quickly setting and the temperature was decreasing as well.

 

When night came, we all found ourselves sitting on sizable rocks or on the sandy ground surrounding the fire.

“I don’t think I asked,” Julia said, and I couldn’t help but wonder what else there was to ask. “But how do you two know Vanini? From my perspective, this is a group composed of my friend and two new acquaintances, but that doesn’t seem the case from Vanini’s point of view.”

Taka and Archer, though also newly acquainted, quickly glanced at each other. It appeared that they understood something in each other’s looks.

“I met Vanilla several months ago. We weren’t always on good terms, or at least that’s how I felt. You know how she constitutively carries a facial expression like she’s in front of her archnemesis,” Taka chuckled. “On our first encounter, I remember thinking how odd it was that her long hair and pink dress looked so princess-y and yet her face, white as a sheet of paper and adorned with those creases on her forehead and unsmiling lips, could haunt my nightmares if I wasn’t careful.”

“You should be careful, really. I hear that ‘princess’ is a term she isn’t very fond of,” Archer added.

“I don’t know why you say that,” I said.

“Don’t ask me. It’s just what Razzy told me after you broke his nose.”

“He called me in a mocking tone, and I don’t tolerate disrespect. There was nothing more to it.”

“Wow, Vanini. How was it you broke someone’s nose? Did you boom his face or something?” Julia asked.

For a person who is all about cheering and fun, Julia sure asked some weird questions, though it somehow wasn’t out of character for her.

“Nah, she went ‘fake-out punch’,” Archer responded on my behalf, punching the air as though re-enacting what I did back then. “You’re a pokemon trainer, Vanilla, but I’m sure you’d win more battles if you were the one on the field.”

Archer laughed and Julia joined in the laughter, while Taka just smiled silently.

“Sure I might,” I said, full of sarcasm. “But the things I want to accomplish can’t be accomplished by a one-man army.”

That at least made Archer wipe off his silly smile.

“Vanilla… You don’t mean to…” he whispered, but not loudly enough to be heard by Julia.

“And Arch, how do you know Vanini? Did you two meet that time she broke your friend’s nose?”

Archer was still looking at me intently, but answered her question in a heightened tone that sounded rather forced.

“Vanilla and I go way back, isn’t that right?” he said. “We come from the same region, Everland.”

“Ooooh! I remember Vanini telling me she came from Everland the first time we met. That was so long ago, but I still remember it,” Julia said, clapping. “So you too are from Everland. That’s so fantagreatastic, being able to meet up here in Reborn.”

“I wouldn’t call it so fanta… whatever you said,” Archer said.

“Ah!” Julia gasped and scratched her head. “I’m so sorry. If you were friends, that blah-blah and bluh-bluh stuff that happened in Candy’s shop wouldn’t have happened. Or would it have? No, right? You’re not friends?”

“No,” Archer and I replied at the same time.

“Ughh, but can you two become friends then?”

“No!” we said again.

Julia pouted for a moment, but then smiled again.

“Well, I think there’s still time for you two, and Tacos, you too, to be good friends. We’re all traveling together in this boooring place that also happens to be hot and sandy. There’s no better chance to get to know each other better and make friends!”

“Yeah, Julia. As if that wasn’t as far from happening as the world ending,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“For once, I agree with Vanilla. We can barely co-exist. Now, friends? Impossible.”

“I wouldn’t mind being friends,” Taka said. “But I’m not really sure how one becomes friends with someone else.”

I glared at Taka for creating a loophole that Julia could exploit.

“See?” she said. “One person is willing, which means not zero. I have high expectations!”

 

The rest of the evening was spent with Julia talking and forcing all three of us to join the conversation. All the while we did so, I imagined I should be happy that at least her “friendship building” exercises didn’t involve petting and hugging one another.

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• Archer (+1): 2/10 Even though it pains me to say this, he saved my life. There's nothing more to that +1.
• Julia (+1): 5/10 She's sure been talkative but at least her voice has filled in the hours of silence that would've been otherwise. Plus she treated my burnt skin.

 

@J-Awesome_One Crazy how you made that sprite sheet a whale ago, and it comes in mighty handy now xD

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[Corso]

21 minutes ago, Candy said:

Thus our trip across the desert felt by no means deserted.

No need to add anything.

Spoiler

But plot twist: I WILL add something:

Spoiler

Great episode! Characters with contrasting personalities always lead to good conversations.

 

 

[Candy]

1 hour ago, Corso said:

No need to add anything.

  Reveal hidden contents

But plot twist: I WILL add something:

  Hide contents

Great episode! Characters with contrasting personalities always lead to good conversations.

 

 

Hahaha big plot twist :p

Personally, I kinda laughed (at my own work, I know, no judgey) at these parts:

1 hour ago, Candy said:

Archer didn’t make any sort of reply right away, but he slowly grabbed the cloth that had fallen off my face, dunked it in water and, now with quick movements, practically slapped my forehead with it.

 

1 hour ago, Candy said:

As he had said, Archer brought us water but in tiny cups. I guessed they wouldn’t have enough space to bring 4 large cups, so I didn’t say anything about it. When I received mine, I noticed that there was writing on it with a permanent marker. “Vanini” it read, with very roundish letters and tiny stars and hearts surrounding it. I took a peek at Taka’s cup, and saw that his had “Tacos” written on it.

 

1 hour ago, Candy said:

What Julia and, an apparently peer-pressured, Taka had built was a campfire. While Julia was hopping and dancing around the fire as though she were a cave man who just invented the thing, Taka was looking somewhat distraught.

“You really didn’t need to make that dry wood explode,” he said. “Just a little jolt of electricity would’ve sufficed.”

“What’s the fun in that? Booming things is the best part of starting a fire.”

In conclusion, Julia is great and it's fun writing her too. Candy (character) had a bubbly personality like her, but she was more careful with things, so Julia's "boom everything" mentality is refreshing.

[SilverAngelus]

I wonder what Zorua's mission is in the desert. Have we seen already what it could be about?

 

Also, this is only a prediction, but I think Vanini's burns are going to be healed by Lin. Considering what happens in the upcoming story or Reborn, I think it's quite likely. 

[Aphelli]

That's a very good chapter, with an excellent cast. I really like how carefully you wrote the character interactions -- Vanilla's and Archer's reactions and emotions feel real, and Julia and Taka are true to themselves. 

 

Tourmaline Travels, Candy-style, really looks like it's going to be a great story arc! 

 

I also wonder what's the Zorua's role and motive in all this... I have a vague sort of idea but it's probably daydreaming (or so to speak... it's almost midnight for me). 

[J-Awesome_One]

Finally just got to read this! 1. YAY! You finally used that sprite I made for you like 2 years ago! xD 2. Great episode. I like how you're using a lot of different characters in this area instead of just you or just you and Taka.

[Evi Crystal]

10 hours ago, Candy said:

“And is that guy your boyfriend?” Archer asked.

“My what!?” I exclaimed without really thinking, and jolted a little which hurt the skin on my arms

 

Uuuuhhh, do I sence some shiptense here. What is going on, Candy- sama? >:3

[Candy]

22 hours ago, SilverAngelus said:

I wonder what Zorua's mission is in the desert. Have we seen already what it could be about?

 

Also, this is only a prediction, but I think Vanini's burns are going to be healed by Lin. Considering what happens in the upcoming story or Reborn, I think it's quite likely. 

It's not been explicitly stated what Zorua's doing but you might be able to guess from the events in Pikachu's Story.

But also, I think it'll be a little more clear in the next episode or the episode after that :p

 

And

 

21 hours ago, Mindlack said:

That's a very good chapter, with an excellent cast. I really like how carefully you wrote the character interactions -- Vanilla's and Archer's reactions and emotions feel real, and Julia and Taka are true to themselves. 

 

Tourmaline Travels, Candy-style, really looks like it's going to be a great story arc! 

 

I also wonder what's the Zorua's role and motive in all this... I have a vague sort of idea but it's probably daydreaming (or so to speak... it's almost midnight for me). 

The only downside to having a "large" cast is that we don't get as much input from Taka as we'd otherwise get. But I think Vanini ain't someone he'd talk a lot to either way, so maybe it's better that Julia encourages him to speak xD

 

Also, I actually haven't read Tourmaline Travels, partly because I'm not a reader (oof) but mostly because I didn't want to get influenced by it. Even if I have no intention of plagiarising, I feel that my mind tends to pick things up from stories I've read  dunno if it's an issue with other writers

 

20 hours ago, J-Awesome_One said:

Finally just got to read this! 1. YAY! You finally used that sprite I made for you like 2 years ago! xD 2. Great episode. I like how you're using a lot of different characters in this area instead of just you or just you and Taka.

Lol when you first sent it to me, I was like "I'd like to use this" but then my mind wouldn't let me see a story where Vanini got on Bambi for something. I'm glad I had Bambi in her VS-Adrienn team, it all played out perfectly xD

As a reader, you might be like "I expected a Julia-Taka-Vanilla trio tredding through the desert but I guess it'll be Taka-Vanilla after all" and now "well that wasn't the case either lol it's now a merry party of four". I actually expected Julia-Taka-Vanilla for a while too, but then she lost to Adrienn, went to Candy for advice, and ended up helping all the peepos including Aqua Gang. Crazy how things actually played out lol

 

15 hours ago, Evi Crystal said:

 

Uuuuhhh, do I sence some shiptense here. What is going on, Candy- sama? >:3

 Archer and Vanilla would bite me and Shellybelly would cri if they heard me say this, but I think they'd be kinda cute as a couple, if only they could get past their differences. In fact, they're more similar than they give themselves credit lol

Spoiler

I don't remember if I uploaded this alignment chart here but

         Where Archer would be ↓                                                                                                       Where Vanilla stands ↓

 

[Corso]

I would consider Vanilla as a lawful neutral character, because she acts according to her own moral code (fight for good, protect friends), but said moral code involves punching people and acts of terrorism (?) in Everland. Or maybe this applies more to old Vanilla than to her recent self.

But to be honest I don't have enough experience with dnd to understand this alignment chart thing.

[Candy]

57 minutes ago, Corso said:

I would consider Vanilla as a lawful neutral character, because she acts according to her own moral code (fight for good, protect friends), but said moral code involves punching people and acts of terrorism (?) in Everland. Or maybe this applies more to old Vanilla than to her recent self.

But to be honest I don't have enough experience with dnd to understand this alignment chart thing.

I don't have much experience with it either, but the reason I chose chaotic good is because she's against Everland's law and wants to actively overthrow it, even if it means hurting people who oppose her efforts, meaning she's opposite of lawful, chaotic. But she does this with the good of people in mind, not her own interests, which I think is considered "good" traditionally.

[Falirion]

Julia managed to make this into a big ol camping trip and i love it.
also julia is all like "BE FRIENDS!! smushes archer and vanilla together"

as for the D&D alignement, Lawful vs chaotic is always a little bit tricky to explain. the way i understand it is that (seeing as alignements are personal in nature) is that whats important is to what the character holds themselves more than anything.
breaking Laws doesn't automatically make you chaotic, (otherwise some poor paladin could walk into some distopia, where you get publically executed for wishing someone a nice day, or something and lose their fancy powers for not staying lawful). a character that breaks laws because they oppose the very system that made these laws (like vanilla) wouldn't really be indicative either way, if she were to break these laws just because she can, that would be chaotic. but as corso noted her own "code" matters aswell, lawful character would be someone who when the make a promise they will absolutely keep it, no matter what. while a chaotic person could go "you know, i just said that, i didn't really mean it".
Lawful characters are ones that stick strongly to their word and oftentimes have their own personal "code of conduct" that they stick to, who would only go against a standing law if they have a reason for it.
While chaotics are more freespirited, laws are kinda there and might sometimes be broken for the hell of it, but don't influence them either way, and they just kinda act according to what the feel is right in the moment, if asked about their beliefs/their moral code they probably wouldn't have a set view on complex topics but would have a view if certain things are right or wrong in their eyes
that kinda got rambly.... sorry

[Candy]

On 12/13/2020 at 1:17 AM, Falirion said:

Julia managed to make this into a big ol camping trip and i love it.
also julia is all like "BE FRIENDS!! smushes archer and vanilla together"

And Taka be like...

Spoiler

 

Oof Fali big brain

In that case guess Jasmine would sit in chaotic evil?

And Vanini would be lawful good?

Well Candy is sometimes chaotic, but tries to keep promises (though her tongue slips sometimes), so I think she'd remain neutral good?

Maybe I'll remake that alignment chart but I'm laze rn.