timelymaid | fifth bubble; video/action for ecruteak.

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fifth bubble; video/action for ecruteak.

[ Aradia's sitting at a table with a sizeable stack of books and her binder opened to red-inked notes that can't be read clearly on the screen. She's got the pokegear propped up against something, and she smiles absently, clearly ordering her thoughts. ]

Hello! This is Aradia. I've been doing some reading - well, I suppose it's rather a lot of reading? - about the legends of this place. Jade, thank you again for that book! I actually read a reference to it there, and then it took me a little while to locate other mentions of the topic - it's been nearly two weeks? - because I suppose I'm really in the wrong region for this, but -

Hm. I'm rambling. Anyway! Here's a story that some of you might find interesting.

A long time ago, there was a pokémon known as Regigigas. It seems to be part of a creation myth, like a few others - the task Regigigas completed was pulling the continents into place. When it had completed that task, it created three golems in its image: one from an icy mountain, one from rocks, and from one magma. Regice, Regirock, and Registeel. For a time they were worshiped by the people of the land, but this would not last. They were so powerful that the people grew afraid, and took action.

Using magic they sealed away the master of the golems, Regigigas. The three golems it had created were spirited away to a new land, for if they were to come together Regigigas could rise again, and the people of that land feared that would mean endless destruction. The golems were all sealed away, their locations lost or forgotten.

[ Aradia falls silent for a minute or two, making a note in her binder, before looking back up. ] I'll admit it isn't exactly overflowing with details, but I thought I'd share anyway. The legend itself is apparently native to a place called Hoenn. "We built this" - that was in the translations they released. I wonder what it refers to in specific? The placement of the continents? This world's civilization? I really want to go to Blackthorn sometime soon to see for myself! Oh, and the rest, if you weren't following the news, I guess: "Man ends, pokémon ends, everything ends. New worlds inherit new dreams." We've certainly got worlds aplenty represented here, anyway.

This place does have something of a knack for cryptic messages, though. "Our words shall remain here for the ages. Thus we shall erect a pokémon statue outside. They possess great insight and refuse the outside world. We humans must learn to walk in harmony with them. We depart for their sakes."

I wonder how many more of these little messages are hidden around the realm. I suppose we'll just have to find out! At least reading about this makes it easier to know what to keep an eye out for when we're exploring! Although reading about all of this also makes my "to see" list absurdly long, so maybe I ought to stop until I've caught up with that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's difficult to get a hold of information on the other regions, I'll agree. I've heard of some of the others as well - but I can't get anything concrete! I did ask some of the natives questions, too, but...I actually wanted to ask anyone who has been here longer if Kanto was always an accessible area, or if it was ever closed off as well. Since people seem to start out in the Johto region...

I believe you mean Sabrina, in Kanto. A few of my friends mentioned her - she's the psychic gym leader. I haven't heard of any other examples of humans having special abilities here - that is, there have been stories about them, but there doesn't seem to be much evidence of it in current times? The Pokemon mostly seem to use biological properties, but psychic pokemon and the like might not be classified as such. It's debatable, at least.

I can send you the books I have managed to find regarding these Hoenn legends, if you'll be so kind as to return them later.

The natives can be a bit difficult, unfortunately. It doesn't help that some of their behavior can be extremely strange. As for Kanto... well, I know it's been accessible the whole time I've been here, but I've only been here since April of last year. Someone who's been here over two years would probably have a more substantial answer.

She was exactly who I was talking about. Though, as I said, it isn't too surprising if people were able to practice more varieties of magic in the past than in the present. My world is similar in that respect-there are more varieties of magic that can be practiced, but outside of very unusual circumstances they're mere shadows of the sort of magic that could be practiced in ages past.

[...

WOW ARADIA YOU'RE JUST... LEGITIMATELY GREAT]

Would you please? I'll definitely be sure to return them.

I'll have to ask John and Rose, then.

In my world there's a wide variety of abilities - magic and otherwise - that can be used, but I wouldn't exactly call them shadows of powers of the past. There are just...certain circumstances that have to be met to utilize them to their full extent, I think.

And absolutely! It's not any trouble - and a second pair of eyes and ideas would be great, if you'd share any insight you might find. Where are you currently located?

What circumstances are those, exactly? In my world, people are mostly only limited by how much of a toll the magic they're using is taking on their bodies, although the actual potential you have is determined by your lineage.

Of course I'll share anything I find-given how spread out all this information is, being secretive about it would be a hindrance. I'm currently in Goldenrod at the moment, and will likely be there for quite some time.

Well, some powers are only granted to certain blood castes - the lower blood classes tend to have psychic abilities of one variety or another. Tavros could speak to and control animals. Sollux used his psiionics more than I did, and they were different from mine - and while he heard the voices of the soon-to-be-dead, I heard the dead.

Other powers required playing the game, and even more required dying inside the game.

I'll send them over right away, then! And I agree, information does seem to be sadly spread out. It's an interesting challenge, at least!

[w

wait what

that's so backwards]

...Why is it that the lower classes are the ones with the psychic powers? That's the complete opposite of what I'd expect. Do the higher classes simply have incredible resistance to that sort of thing?

[people with no sweet-ass magical-ish powers running the show? THAT SOUNDS SO AWFUL

HIS CLASS SENSIBILITIES ARE SO CONFUSED RIGHT NOW

...LET'S MOVE ON TO SOMETHING EASIER TO DEAL WITH, LIKE-]

What game are you talking about, exactly? I believe I've heard vague things about it before, but never a good explanation. At the very least, if it's required to die to become stronger, I'd assume that death means about as much as it does here.

I cannot thank you enough for the information. I suppose it is a challenge, but... it's more tedious than anything else.

[oh shut up you might be in the ballpark of maybe having fun a little]

The top two blood classes are seadwellers, so they can breathe underwater and such? [ DOES THAT HELP AT ALL? ]

The game I played - along with the other trolls - was called sgrub. Playing the game took you into the game world, where you worked together with your coplayers to reach the "ultimate reward" - the creation of a new universe all your own. That said, I don't think that explanation is as true as it could be any longer, as not only did we create ourselves through the game, but we apparently created a great deal more. It's...a little confusing, if you aren't used to time things.

Death can mean something or not. Each player entered with two lives: their life, and their dream self. If either died they would switch to the other so long as someone kissed them within the time limit. After that, you die for good unless you die on your quest bed, which is how you ascend.

I think it's sort of interesting! I feel like we're explorers, don't you?

...is that really all?

[...he sounds... less than impressed. They must be aristocracy for a reason, but...

...that explanation is far more impressive, though]

That's... well, impressive doesn't really cover it, honestly. [HOW DO YOU REACT TO THAT...] It certainly sounds confusing, but I... suppose there must be some sort of explanation to it. Did you win the game, then?

[...he's used to complicated universe mechanics given that he's from nasuverse, so he barely bats an eye at that]

So, then, you can technically die twice, and if you want to become more powerful then you have to reserve one of your 'deaths' for the quest bed. I suppose that makes sense in the concept of a game, yes.

...To an extent, yes. It at least keeps things from getting too easy.

Yes? They do live longer than lowbloods. The higher your blood caste, the longer you live. The lower you go, the less long you live. I wouldn't have outlived the typical human, if I hadn't died and then gone into the game.

We sort of won! We did create another universe, but I don't think that was ever really the ultimate goal for our playing, even if that's what the game says is the ultimate goal. Our session was...interrupted, after we won, and it's still ongoing.

And yes! That's exactly it.

Do you dislike things that are easy?

I see, then. I suppose that makes a certain amount of sense, as unfortunate as it is.

[BUT SUPERIOR POWERS THOUGH]

Well, it's hard to imagine a more important goal than creating an entire new universe, so it's difficult to say what that would even be. An explicit reward for it, perhaps? What interrupted you, exactly?

I find them boring and tedious, yes.

That's where it begins to get confusing for people, when I've tried to explain before. The interruption came from inside the universe we created - a creature there had been granted semi-omnipotent powers, and was able to breach the gap between the two universes, interrupting us from entering the world we had created.

This was always going to happen, and always had happened, because time dictated it - things are...fairly fated, at home, although they are also not always what they appear to be.

Well, that's reasonable! I suppose I rather like things that offer a bit of adventure, too.

I see... well, I honestly don't find it that complicated, since it seems like an intentional version of the situation that we are all currently in, the fate angle aside. Though, if someone hasn't grasped the time disparity between this world and their own, I can certainly see how they'd be baffled by it.

...I had gathered that, yes.

I think you're the first person to keep up with the explanation, actually! [ This is a startling revelation. She's managed to completely lose everyone else somewhere along the way. ] Is your world similarly complex?

I wouldn't say it's that complex, exactly, but magic does have plenty of nuances that the average person wouldn't have any hope of grasping and we do have an understanding of the existence of other worlds. Combine that with the fact that this place presents the idea that traveling to another world does not necessarily mean that you travel to or from an equivalent point on the world's timeline, and it doesn't seem that far-fetched to assume that another pair of universes that are linked together would behave similarly.

I think being from worlds where the existence of other worlds and universes is possible does tend to help in understanding things here. And weird time things, well - that's my entire jurisdiction!

I'm sure it does, yes. Admittedly, I'm sure this place is an anomaly to practically everyone, but I feel like we'd understand it far better than someone who would not have already been aware that other worlds already exist.

Though, what do you mean by that, exactly? I assume that's related to that game-are those the sorts of powers you can expect to receive by playing it?

Yes! For me, at least. I'm the Maid of Time. Maid is my class; time is my aspect. I can therefore control the flow of time - usually. I can't do it here, obviously.

[ Actually she's still a bit put out by that sometimes, so. ]

...Really? Are there any limits to that ability? If not, that's positively absurd.

...Not in a negative way, of course. It's simply beyond most things I'm familiar with.

I can freeze people in time and travel back - although once I travel back and alter something, that "me" would be from a doomed timeline, and would therefore have to die. I've died quite a lot, really! That's what I was made for, though.

Making certain our timeline flowed correctly, and we succeeded as we needed to, that sort of thing.

That's... really quite morbid, though like I said, it would be rather ludicrous if it didn't have any rules or limitations to it. It... doesn't seem to have affected you much, at least.

[...even a mage is thinking that'd fuck you up pretty badly and this is from a society that merrily condones plenty of things that would cause deep psychological trauma]

I was dead during most of that. When I was dying, I mean! It was...difficult to empathize or feel things in a way that...it's hard to explain, but suffice it to say it wasn't a lot of fun!

But after all of that, I rose up. And I think that was worth all of it.

...I see. Well, like I said, you seem perfectly fine now...

[SOMEHOW THAT DOESN'T MAKE THINGS ANY BETTER!]

Did you spend the game as some sort of spirit, then?

For a bit! Then a friend made me a robot body, which I utilized for the rest of it.

[...why would it need to be a straight up robot if she was possessing it...

oh well different universe different rules he guesses]

Well, I imagine that would be much more convenient than having to deal with things purely in spiritual form. In my experience, they tend to have very specific limitations.

My psychic abilities allowed me to interact more than I could have otherwise, but...yes, exactly!

Actually, the person who made me that body is here, too.

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[video] ...this got lost in my inbox. :|

[video] hehehe, it's okay!

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