Tanten: "I feel like you might have to explain that to me on more detail."

-N a t u r e m a n mode-

Tanten, Natureman: "Many non-rock, non-steel pokémon eat rocks as a digestive aid! They function as a mortar and pestle-type deal. Some rocks can be ground up to add flavor to some of the caterpie and weedle you might have to eat in nature!"

Noelle: Oh, well we went to this other universe that didn't have a sun...

-Noelle gives a brief explanation of her, Fortis', and Lily's adventures in the sunless universe-

Noelle: And we found Astral on the way out. The other Lily traveled with us for a while, but I think she went back to her own world after Astral evolved. She really wanted to make sure Scarlette was okay though.

-Noelle snaps her finger-

Noelle: Oh! I should add Scarlette to the list!

Do not fear power... fear those who wield it.

hearthome

-Eva flings a few more objects at various glitches.-

Eva: I don't see anything like that!

I used to plug my deviantart here but turns out the link was too long.

-there's a long, horrified silence in which everyone just stares at Ever-

Pippy: <...Uxie's eyeballs, why>

Vee: -morosely- <Ever, pal—>

<—I just learned the word "pica" and thought it'd be funny to inflict on myself.>

-patting them on the shoulder- <You don't gotta act tough. We're here for you regardless.>

Megan: -stares at Ever, then evidently decides that they surely know what they're doing, and continues trusting them implicitly- O-okay.

-at frequent time travel- Oh! Like Blazing Sigil: Wakening!

...And hey, if we're getting the time travelers, that means we're in the good timeline, right?

...right?

Pippy: -to Tanten- <Oh, yes, I did know this! But the presentation was impressive!> ^v^

<Are you some sort of an actor?>

-to Astraea- <Then hello!> ^v^

<We are, unfortunately, normally like this—although as a J-Teamer you may be used to it by now!>

Megan: Oh yeah, space is rough.

Vee: <But sublimating's almost fun!>

Pippy: <I do wonder how Dina's doing...>

<Also I don't recognize "Shaun", but Colton I think I remember. I think.>

Megan: -perking up- Auric controls?

Like—otherwise inaccessible manual drone controls, buried in a kinesis-permeable shell, or, like—Auric conduits wired into a control unit? Or something else??

Can you shoot an Aura laser out of your space mech

-Muggy-

Oh hi! I do like hugs! ^_^

Saitama: <...hello.>

No mind to think. No will to break.

The Stormchaser, Taco Bell

Astraea’s expression immediately darkens.

Astraea: “... No. No it doesn’t.”

All are significantly abnormal in a normal world... All are significantly normal in an abnormal world.

Stormchaser, Taco Bell

Brie: (to Tanten) Huh! That's really interesting!

Ever: -swallowing uncomfortably- Yeah. And, uh, there's not much more to explain? Time travel is real and affects us all on a daily basis; that's really all there is to it.

Brie: -sighs-

Ever: Look Vee I'm not being tough I've never in my life been tough I'm being capricious it's different

Breeze: <And yet here you are eating rocks.>

Ever: Swallowing rocks it's totally different

-they gulp again, and then listen in mild horror to Megan's exposition-

-...-

Ever: ...This is the timeline we have. What matters is what we do with it. The future isn't written, and there's still time to fix it.

Brie: We're in a Taco Bell, you can't be philosophical—

Ever: Everyone fights to make the world better the next day. That doesn't change if you've already seen what the next day could be.

Brie: Why are you the way that you are?

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

-Tanten seems interested.-

Tanten: "So, do these raids ever take place in the past, or the future? Does doing things in the past affect the present?"

Hearthome City

-I raise my wand to the sky and draw a circle in the air-

Me: Soaring Esper Sunrise Beam!

-I bring down my wand and fire a pink beam of psychic energy and move it in a sweeping motion, taking out five more glitch monsters-

Me: So what if we can't see it? We have other senses! We might be able to use those to find what's creating these... things!

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

-Megan reacts to Astraea! With the silent, frozen horror of someone who's tread on a social landmine and dreads what follows the click-

Megan: -that is to unsay, internal screaming-

Vee: -insistentpat- <I'm here for you. Denim caprice or no.>

Pippy: ...oh nooooo game timeline divergence

okay, so futurekids came back, but...someone died, or they lost?? What—

-Megan nods at Ever, slightly overeagerly-

Megan: Yes! That. The gift is a present and—we're now.

Vee: -sagely- <The greatest of life's insights often arises from the absurd.>

<—Professor Rowan.>

Megan: ...um.

Vee: <Quoting me.>

Megan: um.

come to think of it didn't we see something like Grima at the tar monster fight??

Pippy: <...in keeping with that, I don't think I've been in a J-Raid anywhen other than the present?>

good gosh maybe I should ask Donnel, wherever he went

-a buff scrawny man wearing a yellow scarf walks into a room-

Chrom: -looking up from a screen showing [Smash Ultimate], wearing a hoodie emblazoned with Naga's Brand over a pair of sweatpants- Donnel! It's good to see you; how goes the training? We got your note, but none of us expected your trip to last for quite so long.

Donnel: I'd say it went pretty well? Everyone's still kickin', and I think I'm a manakete now. What note?

Lissa: -likewise in Shepherd casual- Donny, look! Chrom and Robin got into one of these "video games"!

Chrom: -grumbling, as he's knocked offscreen- By all the gods, I swear I'll defeat Robin one of these days...

Lissa: You always say that, but I haven't seen it yet! ^_^

-waving a remote around- Want a turn? It's fuuuun~

Donnel: -shrug- Sure, I'll bite.

-and he plops down on a bean bag chair, accepts the proffered controller, and after a brief discussion on buttons and the uses thereof, picks Lucina-

Chrom: Hey now...

Lissa: -snickers-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jul 16th 2019 at 10:19:16 AM

No mind to think. No will to break.

In a instant, Muggy had wrapped themselves around Megan in a hug, Roxy laughed a bit, "Muggy seriously."

<Hugs are very good and she looks like she needs a lot!>

Silas was all too pleased to explain, "It has a multiple controls, including basic keyed commands and use of neural bands for control buuut... Auric conduits is actually the correct answer there. Bishop if you would."

Before Megan appeared holograms showcasing what appeared to be a bow with auric attuned metals inside it, and then a cross section of a drone showcasing a auric conduit and antenna unit hooked into a computer.

"Since I can only focus so much, and even in pokeform anything regarding telepathy is pretty much impossible for me, Hacks has to serve as my gunner."

~He needs me and it feels so good.~

"The idea with these are to serve as our rapid response while someone stays on the ship and keeps it flying..."

Roxy grinned, "From the looks of it, I'll be piloting his mech while he commands his ship in that case."

"That incredibly unlikely case, I like to be prepared but I don't think it'll happen."

Orre Factory

-With a brief nod Nightingale's eyes dimmed and she started running up the stairs, vaulting handrails where she felt it safe to do so-

Textspace

Hearthome Magical Girl Brawl

-Pent laughed out loud as he watched the others dispatch some of the monsters-

Well don't this all seem familiar... Guess I'm Ned then if I'm the mortal surrounded by blessed boys and magical girls.

-He smiles and tries to punch one of them. With his regular-ass fist, not even with some kind of Obscura Fist-

-This may go poorly-

It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.

Stormchaser Food Court, Past

Beck: How silly of me. Lemme get my wallet.

Beck looks across the

Beck: Researcher Memito, I wasn't aware that you worked at the commissary. Would you put a word to the good doctor to get [Gregg's] to sign in. I love tacos as the next fellow but—

Jules, via speech device: Wasn't Researcher Memito over there by the corner. They're still there.

Beck: Jules, quiet. We're trying to get better food in this airship.

Jules: If you wanted that, you should get them to fly back to Kalos and avoid Galarian food chain brands forever.

Castelia, Ren's Apartment

-Oscar, Emily, Aria, and Meg are watching TV.-

-Trivia, Aria's Malamr, sides down the stairs hold a dvd disc in his right tentacle.-

Trivia: <Did you know, that about a year ago today - specifically in this timeline - that Renard Clavis won all four major Grand Festivals in the same year?>

Aria: I remember Father talking about it, yes. He said it help give him leverage when forming connections when he started his media advisory business.

Trivia: <Did you know that very few official recordings of his victory in the 2018 Sinnoh Grand Festival were released publicly?>

Oscar: -doing some light stretches during the commercial break- Know the reason why, Trivia?

Trivia: <I do. It was due to the fact that Renard Clavis won by using Z-Move that caused several cameras to lose focus due to the heat released causing the camera lenses to melt slightly and/or crack.>

-Oscar, Aria, Emily, and Meg blink at the Malamar.-

Aria: Trivia, is that DVD one of the few publicly released recordings of that win?>

Trivia: <It is. Did you know that with -as of this timeline's - current technology you can fit a little under 2 petabytes worth of data on a D—

-Trivia is cut off by Aria grabbing the DVD case-

Aria: Sorry, but random trivia is being trumped by wanting to see exactly what happened then.

-Trivia blinks as Aria cracks open the case and pops the disc into the player.-

Hearthome, Magical Girl Brawl

Me: Think, Ian... Think...

-Ian dodges some of the glitches' attacks-

-thinks to self- If I were a glitch's spawn point... Heh... Never thought I'd say that... ...but seriously... If I were responsible for creating hordes of glitch monsters in a bid for World Domination... Where would I hide?

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

Hearthome

The punch... while it seems to have an effect, it's not a particularly pronounced one.

Certainly less than any of the even human-used auric abilities.

Luciana: "Wherever they are I don't think we'll find them standing around here. Move forward, and try to find where they get thickest I guess?"

The Stormchaser, Taco Bell

Astraea gives a strange look to Megan.

Astraea: "Are you alright?"

All are significantly abnormal in a normal world... All are significantly normal in an abnormal world.

Stormchaser, Taco Bell

Ever: ...Yes, doing things in the past affects the present. That's how time works.

-Brie just pats Megan sympathetically-

Brie: I don't think there's ever been a raid in a different time. But I guess there could be hypothetically. Dunno.

Meanwhile

Ever?????: Silly Beck, I'm not a researcher. You must be thinking of my cousin. Isn't she weird? I think she's weird. I'll get your check right away.

-and they flee-

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

Hearthrome

Luca: "Ah yes, run right into the thick of things and hope for the best."

"...eh, can't say I have a better idea."

"Dang that sure is totally poggers my good bitch"

Stormchaser Food Court

Beck: But... but.. you're over the— and. Alright. What is going on? Also, here's a tip.

Beck pays them a generous tip shortly before watching them fly off. It didn't occur to him to just pay them at the counter, but it was rude not to tip.

Exactly what his position does, however, is kind of ambiguous. Supposedly, he's kept on board as a way of sneaseling out all of Paul Macraul's dirty little secrets, but functionally, he seems more like an observer for the back-office and more specifically, Priscilla's subtle errand boy.

Beck: Also, if they're actually Researcher Memito's cousin, wouldn't they be banned here or was that just a rumour? And also, weren't they supposed to be clad in blue? How are they doing this?

Edited by MasterJayAM on Oct 19th 2019 at 3:09:36 AM

Ren's Apartment, Present

-Indeed, the DVD had a recording of the finals of the 2018 Sinnoh Grand Festival, although it was part of a what was apparently a documentary.-
Narrator: The 2018 Sinnoh grand Festival saw several events that would impact the the Contest world for years to come. The primary two were the victory of Renard Clavis in the finals, achieving what few coordinators have achieved - claiming victory in all four Grand Festivals in a single season. And the second were the methods employed by the Runner-up, Kirei Kotamine.

-The video shows several clips of a tall, well-built man with medium-length brown hair and wearing a tight, black short-sleeve shirt; black slacks; and brown dress shoes - Kirei Kotamine.-

Aria: I can tell I am not going to like this guy.

Oscar: Yep.

-The clips show Kirei commanding a Medicham, Toxicroak, Pangoro, and Golurk. Just the clips it shows Kirei treats the contest battles more like standard battles. Using brute strength to win the contest battles rather the conventional methods of using moves with flourish and using interesting combination attacks to impress the judges while tripping up your opponents.-

Narrator: Mr. Kotamine ignored the spirit of contests and was able to get quite far in the battle portion using methods better suited to Gym and Champion battles.

Aria: -dryly- Suspicion confirmed.

Oscar: Oh this will be fun to watch.

-Cambria walks in from the Kitchen.-

Cambria: You should have seen him in person. He the kind of man that can make your skin crawl just by talking to him.

Oscar: -flatly, while pausing the DVD- Sounds like a real charmer.

Cambria: And the worst part is he was smart.

Aria: Huh?

Cambria: He was able to talk his way out of any objection thrown his way. Not to mention how effective his battle tactics were. He knew just what to say to throw people of their game AND was able to say it in ways that kept it well within the rules.

Aria: Really don't like this guy.

Cambria: -disdainfully- None of us liked him from the moment we met him...

-smugly, with a satisfied smile- Shame he met us in the finals.

Keys: <Cue the flashback posts!>

Edited by keys2tkingdom on Jul 17th 2019 at 12:46:04 PM

Hearthome, Magical Girl Brawl

Me: Luciana's got a point.

-I go forward as Luciana says, hoping to find out where the glitch monsters are coming from-

♪Show me the wisdom of the world... Tell me the secrets of the heart... and the sweet~ mysteries~ of love~...

-Tanten looks concerned.-

Tanten: "Sounds like we shouldn't, y'know, do that. With the restructuring reality and whatnot."

-He thinks for a moment.-

Tanten: "If time travel is real, then is that dimension travel there've been rumors about real? People hopping through portals into a place where stuff is all wacko?"

-Tanten looks aghast.-

Tanten: "oh arceus this is going to make jim blab on and on about that [mandela effect] garbage"

Hearthome

Daydre and Rowan wordlessly start moving on ahead, as per Luciana's suggestion.

off the shits

-two blues exchange odd glances-

Megan: ...it's. Slightly true, yes.

Pippy: <Somewhat.>

Vee: -still eating- <Eh, sounds like hokum to me.>

Megan: also it's like what's been weird with the entire sky for the past two years??

Pippy: <...are you talking about the [Mandela effect, but spelled slightly differently]?>

<[...and irrelevantly, since it's being translated from another language??]>

Megan: -giggles at being hugged by a small, cute furry creature-

Thank you! I do appreciate this, yes!

-and she pets-

Suit!Vee: -rumbling- <I'm gonna protect this precious child with my life.>

Pippy: <oh no>

-and then Megan star eyes at the holodiagrams-

Pippy: <Oooh nice, gunner assembly— It turns out aiming your face in space, where everything moves really fast and is really far apart, is hard!>

Suit!Vee: <That's what Swift stars are for, babey>

<As long as you don't mind chugging Elixirs like alcohol metaphors, and battles that usually end for an entirely different reason, 'cause you're trying to sink ships with Swift stars>

Megan: -star eyes intensify- Aura metals—So they do exist here! How are these synthesized? Or are they mined somewhere—no wait Silas or possibly Hacks are you an archer?

Pippy: -peppily- <Ranged attacks are preferable in most confrontations!>

Suit!Vee: -making a fist (with Megan's hand) and shaking it comically- <Alas, alas, all those knife hands, and you haven't stabbed anyone but me!>

Pippy: <I really prefer to stand at least thirty feet back!>

Suit!Vee: <Through the heart, I say!>

Pippy: <At least!>

Megan: -tuning out this well-worn "argument", brightening yet again- How are these powered?

No mind to think. No will to break.

Oblivion Wing

-Shaun walks in, inhaling a chalupa like a gremlin.-

-He stops for a minute and looks around.-

Shaun: "I wath- *gulp* on the Chaser, leaving the cafeteria..."

-He blinks in confusion and nonchalantly continues eating.-

"Dang that sure is totally poggers my good bitch"

Ersatz Alliance

Milagros would enter and start looking through the hangers.

Milagros: Ah, there it is.

He would jump through.

Stormchaser

Lance would be walking around somewhere in the Stormchaser, only to collide a teenage Spaniard who appeared out of nowhere.

Lance: Ow!

They would both get up.

Lance: Hey, watch where you're going.

Milagros: Sorry about that.

Lance would look up at him and tilt his head in confusion.

Lance: Wait, who are you? And where did you come from?

Milagros would pause for a second, and then go full-on Motor Mouth explaining who he is and what Ersatz Alliance was.

Milagros: -wheeze- Arceus, I feel like the [Micro Machines] guy.

Vermillion City

Morgan would be sitting down and was open for interaction.

Edited by Routeferret on Jul 18th 2019 at 9:34:17 AM

i think i’m in love (probably just hungry)