01/13/2010: Chapter 51 up
Chapter 51: Fake-Out is here.It's… a bit of an odd chapter. You'll see. Twelve pages. Hope you enjoy it.
I will update a couple of character rambles in light of what has happened here when I get around to it.
EDIT: Updated the bits about Spirit and Gyarados in the bios for May's and Mark's Pokémon, respectively.
COMMENTARY DONE
Comments
Steele (01/13/2010 19:07:57)
OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU! Thanks for the new chapter. Now mah brain is happy!
InnerDemon: Ooohh….Beat you again!
Leaving a Comment (01/13/2010 20:09:14)
Oooh, I like the realization that the legendary are not all the different from regular Pokemon, only stronger. Very good.
Leafpool (01/13/2010 20:19:03)
Haha, that was awesome. Great chapter, as always. :D
elyvorg (01/13/2010 20:42:33)
Whee, fear of death. :3 This is fun.
Leafpool (01/14/2010 01:42:37)
… I think I would enjoy reading Fury's book. It needs to be /actually/ written. 8D
Emerald Espeon (01/14/2010 03:08:09)
You were right about it being an odd chapter, I felt like it moved too fast. But that's most probably because the last time I read the entire fic was about a year ago… *adds to mental to-do list*
SlowCrow (01/14/2010 21:22:02)
@_@ Woah, you're right in the way that it was a weird chapter; it was like TQftL turned into a completely different fic about halfway through. I still don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing since I'm still in a state of semi-shock right now. I'll review later.
<_> Ouch.
ShadowDusk (01/15/2010 01:12:35)
it was an odd chapter but it was good to, how many more legendary pokemon are left now?
Butterfree (01/15/2010 01:16:29)
Now it's just Mew, the Waraider herd, and the six Color Dragons.
Pure Umbreon (01/15/2010 02:15:18)
Good chapter… not as good as the past couple, but every chapter does not need to be better than the rest, I suppose.
I really liked how you showed that Chaletwo & Molzapart are not the only legendaries that are trying to prevent their inevitable deaths. I wondered for a while why none of the other legends were even curious after Chaletwo told them about the WoL.
Butterfree (01/15/2010 08:02:08)
Chaletwo didn't tell them about the War of the Legends. (Why would he be so surprised to hear Entei knew about it if he had?) He only told them, okay, you all have to let yourselves get caught before a certain point in time, and it's really important, but I can't tell you why because Mew says I can't, oh, and can you help me convince Mew to agree to this too? Which left them skeptical, to say the least. The beasts approached Mew by themselves later and were told the same thing (about the War, but also not to tell the other legendaries about it).
Why is it that when I write a chapter in which actual interesting, plot-relevant stuff happens, everybody seems less interested and makes shorter, vaguer comments than for all the lame league battles of the previous chapters? Did you enjoy finally getting to see one of the other legendary hunters? Was it a surprise to find out Entei knew about the War? That Gyarados was right all along? What the Chosen were for? Did you even notice how Entei ignored Spirit and obviously didn't give a damn about her even as she was groveling before him? How effective was any of this? I feel like I'm wandering aimlessly around a dark room here.
Venomoth (01/15/2010 17:44:52)
Well, I found it interesting. True, it is different from the other chapters–and fast– but this is the Quest for the Legends, not a generic Trainer-defeats-League fanfic, and I am glad some exposition on the War of the Legends was revealed–it is interesting how the legendaries react to it. Indeed, they are selfish, and would be willing to subject their Chosen to—in the case of Gyarados–'strenuous'(cruel) tests, just to save their hide. It makes sense that they would determine those worthy, as for these Chosen are indeed important, their 'cowardice' or not.
I think I recall Chaletwo mentioning other Trainers sent on Legendary-catching quests, but for quite some time none were actually mentioned. I am glad to see that (even if Mark and May are apparently the most successful of those recruited by Chaletwo) they are not alone. Leah appeals, and I think it a somewhat remarkable detail that she has an Ariados—it seems she's not above using big, scary Bug-types, but then again you would probably not enjoy writing girly-girl characters anyway, so my statement is superfluous. (Additionally, I presume Latios and Latias were later caught by Rick. Rather convient way to prioritize the Legendaries in the ILCOE…)
Sands Buisle (01/16/2010 07:14:40)
Congrats! That makes 175 wierd TQFTL chapters!
Pure Umbreon (01/17/2010 00:31:42)
Wow O_o'
Okay, I'll admit I got my train of thought a bit mixed up… sorry. I really need to re-read the chapters again. Sorry Butterfree…
I really like the chapter, I do. Finally understanding the whole "Chosen" aspect was wonderful. I never envisioned "that" would be the reason Spirit and Gyarados would have the special powers. Removing the deity status from the legends left me feeling a bit conflicted. I guess I could say I feel like Mark in this situation, coming to the sudden realization that the beings I took at the ultimate good are no better than the rest of the world.
I just felt that the chapter wasn't as good as the past two. The last two chapters are probably your best two ever written IMO (though the Thunderyu chapter is up there).In the aspect of progression of the plot, this chapter is probably one of the best, and plenty better than many of the chapters before it. I suppose I should have explained what I meant better. =(
Butterfree (01/17/2010 02:39:49)
That wasn't really directed at you; your comment said more than most of the ones before it. The rant just happened to come out in that post. Sorry about that. I am also not offended if you liked the previous two chapters more; I was just irritated that people seemed to have less to say about a chapter with very significant plot developments, where it's particularly important for me to get feedback on how well these developments and how they were presented worked out for readers, than about the fairly routine league battles.
Thanks for your insightful comment too, Venomoth. The idea is actually that Leah ended up continuing to look for Latios and Latias, finding them and capturing them, but it's not as if it especially matters who caught them in the end.
Emerald Espeon (01/17/2010 03:58:18)
Okay, I'll elaborate. I liked how in the earlier chapters most of the legendary battles were prepared for and so there was a lot of buildup for them. This chapter was just like, "Yo May we have to go! *teleports into a random legendary battle*" And the battle with Entei felt a lot less epic than the ones that came before.
Obviously not all the battles can be carefully prepared for, there will have to be sudden ones, but it felt like this was too sudden. I don't know how it could have been made any less so, though, so I guess my comment is sort of pointless.
Once they got into the battle, though, the revelation that the legendaries were just as concerned about self-preservation as others was an interesting idea. I did really like how Gyarados was right about them all along.
Butterfree (01/17/2010 04:06:08)
Yeah, it couldn't exactly have been any less sudden, since the whole point here is that they didn't know of it until Chaletwo received that signal, and after that it was all a kind of a rush to get there and they didn't have any time to think (such as about how it would be worth a try to have Spirit talk to Entei right away). I do get what you mean about the battle itself, though; it kind of bugged me too, but since it isn't the main focus of the chapter I figured it shouldn't really be too epic anyway.
Gravey (01/17/2010 04:47:24)
Nice chapter! Well written, interesting backstory, weird in some unique way that I didn't actually see much as weird, I could go on and on.
Just keep up the great work!
Sands Buisle (01/17/2010 16:12:24)
Yes, it is a good Chapter, I never really thought about what Suicune did just before it died…
Also, I did like the new character input, I think that it is very important that you put in one of the other trainers Chaletwo killed.
chaoslugia (01/21/2010 16:39:28)
Chapater 51 is up? Wow, I should read that chapater after I get through 49 and 50.
Leafpool (01/22/2010 21:27:02)
Who the hell managed to catch Arceus? o.o
Butterfree (01/22/2010 21:30:12)
Nobody. Arceus, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina normally exist outside of this universe (barring special occasions like those seen in the games and movies) and are therefore uninvolved with the War of the Legends; the Destroyer isn't draining them and they won't go mad.
Venomoth (01/23/2010 00:10:20)
(Incredibly lucky that my anti-spam Pokémon was a Venomoth…) Is Leah somewhat interesting for you to write? It would be beneficial for her inclusion in the fic if she was somewhat interesting to you, as you seem compelled to write more about interesting characters than the opposite. Although, obviously how much she is included would depend on you, so it probably would not matter whether she was interesting or not if you do not plan for her to be a recurring character.
Butterfree (01/23/2010 01:18:52)
I enjoyed writing her, but as the plan stands she will not appear again except at most as a cameo. That might change, though, since there is a role currently planned for another character that I could end up using her in.
Emerald Espeon (01/23/2010 03:22:46)
You said before that there was a certain plot point in this chapter that you couldn't wrap your head around or figure out how to make happen or something…what was it?
Butterfree (01/23/2010 04:29:44)
Just some details of the Chosen subplot that needed to be smoothed out.
puredragon222 (01/23/2010 21:42:07)
It moved a little fast, and after becoming accustomed to basically nothing more than League battles, it seemed a little sudden and plot-ey for me, although this could just be as it came after filler League chapters which didn;t really use The War of the Legends.
opaltiger (01/24/2010 01:48:04)
I enjoyed writing her, but as the plan stands she will not appear again except at most as a cameo. That might change, though, since there is a role currently planned for another character that I could end up using her in.
A shame. I think her more interesting than most throwaway characters.
Venomoth (01/30/2010 21:56:23)
Since you mentioned that the only legendaries left would be Mew, the Waraider Herd and the Color Dragons, I could not resist but ask if you think that the Color dragons are as well thought-out (in design, concept or both) as the Ouenn dragons (Thunderyu, Volcaryu, Polaryu).
Would you plan on adding different fic art for them, keeping them the same or otherwise (since you have planned the entirety of the fic's content) designating them to the deal-with-it-in-IALCOTN pile?
Butterfree (01/31/2010 00:56:20)
No, the Color Dragons are pretty much just basic designs and a rough concept with a brief backstory. I'm definitely doing something with them in the IALCOTN, but I'm not sure yet precisely what; it does feel kind of lame to have two sets of Western dragon-based legendaries, but I'm not sure coming up with yet other Ouen legendaries to replace them would do a lot of good.
The ILCOE, on the other hand, will just have them in their current form, lameness and all. There's enough lame stuff in the ILCOE already for it to not really make much of a difference.
Scytherian Poetry (02/02/2010 13:48:45)
You could base them on the Chinese lung dragon instead. Or a Wyvern.
elementalpenguin (02/02/2010 20:33:59)
I, for one, really enjoyed this chapter. I'd been hungry for some plot exposition in relation to the legendaries for quite some time - especially Spirit and Gyarados. It was really nice to see the Chosen aspect finally explained in full.
I've also always enjoyed seeing Spirit, since May used to be so connected to her but they have entirely different ideals now. Although I didn't see immediately how Entei ignored Spirit, upon seeing your comment I went back and reread the chapter, and that too was interesting. Especially intriguing was the point at which Entei went into Spirit's necklace - he was thinking of her merely as a hideaway - a deposit box, if you will. And she didn't get that all it seemed, she was just in her usual reverential awe.
I also really felt bad for Gyarados in this chapter. He had a really harsh life, and it was only for Suicune's benefit - along with the revelation that the legendaries are in fact not deities, his whole life has been miserable just for this one strong creature. And Spirit's life hasn't been as harsh, but her situation is the same as Gyarados's essentially, but I think her naivete has changed her perception. All in all, I really enjoyed all the plot of this chapter. True, it was fast paced, but it was a nice interruption of the league, and it added to Mark's off-balance feeling he's been having. I've always really enjoyed the plot of TQftL, a lot of the time more than the battles.
Seeing Fury's book was also great. He's really amusing at times.