When you talk a big game like that, but you're the first Gym Leader in a region with wimpy little level 8 unevolved Pokémon, it's just kind of awkward, y'know?

The League of Adventurers

Writing Roll for Initiative was a supremely enjoyable experience, and a few years later I found myself wanting to pen more tales of a bunch of weird geeks doing tabletop roleplaying. I thought it would be fun to get Celice involved because she usually takes herself so seriously, I decided it would be hilarious if she was one of those people who really cut loose when roleplaying and get super into it. I also wanted to show that Pharazon doesn't care for Neoquest and that's okay--it's not for everyone.

This story doesn't really have any Life Lessons or big moments in character progression--it's just pure fun. But, it also sets up for a longer story I wrote a few months later. When I wrote The League of Adventurers, I honestly wasn't really planning on doing anything else regarding Blynn's Shenkuu campaign... but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how fun it would be to write the plot of that campaign as an actual in-universe happening. But I'll save the details of that for when I add it to the blog. :)

Edits here from the Neopian Times version are minimal, but I did take out any mention of Hyren and Isengrim still slightly being at odds with each other, because I'd thoroughly erased that part of their dynamic with the revisions I'd made to Worth Searching For.

On yet another cold, rainy afternoon in the month of Storing, Hyren sat in his comfortable library in his Altador villa, smugly ignoring the inclement weather as a fire roared in the hearth and his family and allies relaxed around him.

The blue Grundo’s faerie Draik brother Pharazon and Pharazon’s friend Celice were perched on one of the sofas, reading through a stack of books they’d bought earlier that day, and occasionally making comments to one another about whatever they were studying at the moment. Their sister Blynn was—well, Hyren wasn’t quite sure, but the disco Zafara was probably off doing Blynn things like trying to set a new puddle-jumping record or baking quintuple-chocolate cookies.

Hyren, meanwhile, was locked in a rather intense round of Armada with his owner and the Werelupe King. Hyren enjoyed Armada—it reminded him of his days in Dr. Sloth’s Virtupets military. Virtupets programmers had developed a similar game, and Hyren had purchased it for his electronic devices in order to relax during rare down times in his operations. It utilised the Virtupets information networks to pit players against each other, and Hyren took pride in his elevated place in the rankings. He’d taken naturally to the game because the strategy involved was similar to what he employed as a commander of troops.

 

 If you're just playing the game, this is cute. But this exchange takes on a whole new level of meaning in the context of this comic.

Bleeearrrgghhh social media is the worst. Again.

I’ve previously written about all the reasons I hate social media, and really only use it a) to stay connected with friends and b) try to get my work out there because I draw and write things so other people can enjoy them, not so they can stay hidden away in my hard drive.

A really horrible and stupid experience I had with Instagram a few weeks ago, though, just solidified why social media is more stress than it’s worth 99% of the time.

Before I want to get into that, though, I want to take a minute to explore and explain why social media is so stressful for me. I’m not just complaining to be a complainer. I’m complaining because I’m an introvert and the fast-paced, superficial, quantity-over-quality world of social media is just about the complete opposite of how introverts like to socialize.

So, the starters for Pokemon Winds and Waves have been announced, and I have to say I'm not super impressed. The Grass-type and Water-type look like knockoffs of preexisting Pokemon, and the Fire-type... do we really need another fire puppy?

So to vent my frustration I thought it would be fun to make up totally hypothetical final evolutions for these guys that take their concepts in different directions from previous Pokemon. And I gave them all an Australia and New Zealand theme because I just really want a region based off those two countries.

Moatipu (from "moa" and "tipu", Maori for "plant") is a Grass/Ground type based off the extinct moa of New Zealand. It grows Berries in its feathers which drop to the ground while it walks, dispersing seeds. It can often be seen walking around burned forests dropping Berries--for this reason, it is sometimes called "the parent of the forest".

Thylacleo (from "thylacine" and "leo" but also a play on the extinct Thylacoleo) is a Fire-type based on the extinct thylacine, a.k.a. Tasmanian tiger. While most of its coat is pleasantly warm to the touch, its stripes are white-hot with energy and should be avoided. It races across deserts and grasslands with its flaming tail held aloft like a banner as a form of communication among its kind.

Torrentie (from "torrent" and "perentie") is a Water/Poison-type based off the perentie and monitor lizards in general. The thick portion at the end of its tail is full of venom, and when it swings its tail at enemies, the venom is exuded through the skin through the force of impact.

I'm sure the actual final evolutions won't look anything like this, but one can dream. 

 I honestly felt really bad for traumatizing that poor Chikorita, so I decided to draw a happier moment for it. It's okay, I promise! (And don't worry, Oak gets his due at the end of this chapter.)

You've Mastered the Basics--Now What? Part 3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Hello and welcome back, dear writer! You may remember that last week, I covered a lot of ground discussing plots and how to handle them. In this final installment, I have a few more things to say on the subject of story construction, and then some other miscellaneous tips for the intermediate-level story writer.

Made-up names

Neopia is a fantasy world, and that’s awesome for making things up. Characters need not have names that correspond to anything found on Earth today—names such as Blarthrox and Kakoni Worrill. And when you’re making up Neopian characters, there’s really no reason why you can’t give them unusual and fun names as well.

However, don’t get carried away and create something unpronounceable or convoluted. Those kinds of names are hard to remember, and if your cast is full of Ybbythriunias and T’lal’ov’kiiys, they’ll be very difficult for a reader to keep straight. It’s a good idea to make a name’s spelling as simple and intuitive as you can manage (for example, “Hildra” instead of “Hylldrah”), and try not to throw in exotic items such as dashes and apostrophes unless they’re a legitimate part of that Neopian’s culture.