User talk:Doom Vroom

Welcome! I'll respond to every comment that I see, if I miss you then it isn't because I'm ignoring you, but that I didn't see it. Please be kind and respectful to the other users that post on this page.

Archives

Take Care
I hope you're able to work through whatever RL matters and hope to see you back soon. Happy Holidays as well!

Vngel W (talk ) 02:43, December 21, 2017 (UTC)


 * They went well for the most part -- not too fast or slow I'd say. I do, however, think someone worked a little too hard on their snow-dance because the weather has been beyond frigid as of late: frozen floods in Mass. and snow in Florida??? >_<


 * I understand if you get pulled away; sometimes RL things like to change things up -- whether good or bad; hopefully good in your case. I'm not sure if your lack of sleep is due to your job (or whatever the case may be) or if your experiencing insomnia. If the latter, I'd recommend binaural beats. In a nutshell, it can help you relax. I can't speak for its healing properties or increasing your intelligence but I can personally say that they've helped me study, focus, and sleep.


 * YouTube has many different types and mixtures: rainfall, calm music, oceans, nature, or even just the tones themselves. There's been days where I couldn't sleep at all, but I'd put one of these on and before I knew it, I'm out like a light. You need headphones though otherwise you won't hear anything really. Here's a sample you can try. The video actually gives a quick explanation if you don't want to read that link above.


 * Hope maybe this helps.


 * Vngel W (talk ) 00:51, January 8, 2018 (UTC)

Reply to "I'm Kinda Sorta Not Really Back in Black!" Message
Hey there. I enjoyed my holidays. I got a couple of games I really wanted, such as Pokemon: Ultra Sun and Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters, along with a bunch of other cool thing for Christmas. I already beat Ultra Sun and I'm currently enjoying Psychic Specters.

So my tablet has been acting up recently. Sometimes it turns off and on again on its own, sometimes it gets past the boot up screens and other times it gets stuck on the second boot up screen until I turn it off and sometimes I get a bunch of error messages that pop up over and over even when I close them after the tablet gets past the second boot screen. I went into recovery mode and selected the "Wipe Cache Partition" option on the menu and it seemed to fix the problems long enough for me to back up the data onto my computer. However, the problems came back pretty soon and when I tried the "Wipe Cache Partition" option again, it didn't work out as well as it did the first time. I could do a factory reset but I don't think that'll fix the issues, as they most likely seem to be caused by hardware failure. You see, I've had this tablet since 2015 and it's not exactly a high end model. In fact, it's one of those fifty dollar tablets you can buy at Walmart. To be honest, I think the best option is to just buy a new one.

I'm not sure if I told you this in my last message to you but I'm almost done planning out the first four chapters of Kenji and Yuki and I started writing the first draft of the first chapter. I'll work on the chapter one draft a little more when I finish planning out chapter four. I'm aiming to get the novel done by either 2020 or 2021 but I haven't figured out an exact date yet.

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   01:37, January 8, 2018 (UTC)

Schrodinger's Vroom
You're certainly welcome. :-) Hey, I have no right to talk about delays in responding.  Things happen.  They were good, thank you; I hope yours were too.

In other news, I figured out how to make a Basilisk offshoot based on pizza. There are thirty-six members of the gang (called Party Cut) and they're named after styles (such as New York-style, Chicago-style, Pan, and Stuffed), ingredients (such as Bread Flour and Lo-Mo), and jargon & slang (such as Cheese Lock, Avalanche, and Bones). Speaking of pizza, I ordered some food from the local Pizza Hut recently and the guy who delivered it knows me. He lives a few houses down on the other side of the street. I joked afterward that it's a good thing I was polite and tipped well since he knows where I live. Raidra (talk) 17:15, January 10, 2018 (UTC)
 * Well, it can be easy to ponder fate when times- oh, the Fate series! Of course!  Just try not to get torn apart by tendrils (As little as I know, I'm pretty sure that can happen).  I read a summary of The Last Jedi on Wikipedia. It read, "Kylo strikes Luke but realizes he has been fighting Luke's Force projection," and I thought, "Oh, so Luke's not in any real danger." Then no, Luke died. Wait, what?  BOOO!!


 * I didn't know you were such a pizza connoisseur. :-0 It's disappointing when a restaurant decides to change how they make an item, but doesn't improve it.  There was a restaurant which had mashed potatoes I liked, but then they changed them somehow.  Gas station pizza, yay!  Sometimes you just want a hot slice or two to go.  My college had places where you could buy pizza by the slice.  They even had a meal deal where you could get chips and a soda too.  Good times! Raidra (talk) 04:01, January 13, 2018 (UTC)


 * I'm sorry to hear that, but glad you're feeling better! Some months ago I got sick and created a Nasty Head Cold team for Pokemon Showdown.  We're hanging in there; I hope things are going well for you too.  Okay then, talk to you later!  In the meantime, here are a couple funny things I found recently.
 * Here's a picture of a pudgy Smurf. This is one of the greatest things I've ever seen.
 * This clip from Thoroughly Modern Millie made me laugh way too much. X-D Raidra (talk) 23:16, January 21, 2018 (UTC)

So they reduced the epic story of Star Wars to a bad, drawn-out chase scene? Okay, then! ~cue "Yakkety Sax"~ From what I've heard I think your heckling is more entertaining than the actual movie. If they didn't have a scene with Holdo saying, "Huh! I can't believe that actually worked!" then they should have. Didn't they also kill off the "It's a trap!" guy? I know his name, but it's more fun to call him the "It's a trap!" guy. That actor passed away a few years ago, and that's the scene they played because that's what he was known for.

Horrible fan-fiction sounds like a good description of what's happened here. Our two "main heroes"- doing practically nothing to serve you! Someone said what happened with Star Wars is what's been happening at Marvel. New writers create new characters with no depth and no real character traits just to brag that they've made a character, and since they don't know how to write good stories, they try to prop up their characters by tearing down well-established, well-liked, and previously well-written characters. If you have to turn beloved figure Steve Rogers/Captain American into a Nazi for a few months in order to make the characters you're writing look good, then you've really failed. Are the Porgs the Casino Planet creatures? Is that how they fit in? ~rubs head at description of Luke's blunder~ My gosh, that's terrible... That's just...wow... Well, let's remember him as he was! ~watches video of Mark Hamill gargling on The Muppet Show~

I have a special team waiting for you for next time. I know what it's like when someone won't follow instructions for their own good. It's like banging your head against a table. Ah, the many stages of a bad cold! "Oh, now I'm in the runny nose and having to blow every two minutes phase! Whee!" Raidra (talk) 15:21, January 24, 2018 (UTC)

Oh, by the way, I hear Azu is going to get a showcase from EtherBot. :-D Since we've both had showcases, we should give her the Freaks treatment and do some sort of "Gooble, Gobble, one of us!"-type thing. Raidra (talk) 15:26, January 24, 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm about to call it a night, but I just wanted to stay in touch. I hope things are going well.  Within a day or two I should have part of a draft I think you'll enjoy. Raidra (talk) 04:31, February 13, 2018 (UTC)

Reply to "Doom vs. Technology" Message
So I did a little more work on the plot outline for Kenji and Yuki. The most current part is during chapter four. After having no success in getting water from three different sources (i.e people handing out free samples of products, a restaurant, and the use of an upside down teru teru bozu doll), she goes to find another restaurant, as the last one had nothing in thir water and tea pitchers. On her way there, she sees something that catches her eye. In the window of a store, she notices bags of Wasabi flavored chips on display that have an old woman on the front of the them that bares an uncanny resemblance to her late grandmother. This leads into a flashback that takes place when Yuki is in Junior High where Yuki asks her grandmother if she knows anything about World War II, as there's is a test on it coming up soon.

Yuki's grandmother says she does and wonders why she asked. Yuki says that it's for an upcoming history test at school. Her grandmother says, "Don't you have a book you can look through?" Yuki says that she does but also says that it's garbage. Yuki's grandmother says, "Oh it can't be that bad." Yuki gets the book titled "Japanese History: Junior High Edition" out of her bag and gives it to her grandmother. She reads through about a few pages before saying, "And they actually make you read this crap?" to which Yuki replies, "Yes. It sucks" Yuki's grandmother smiles and says, "Well, let's put this where it really belongs." She slowly gets up from her bed and moans as she puts her right hand on her lower back. She stands up and tosses the book like a frisbee into a small bin labeled "Trash".

She then sits back down on her bed and prompts Yuki to do the same. Yuki does so and her grandmother asks what she wants to know about World War II. While her grandmother told her a few other stories, the story Yuki remembers most is the the one involving Yuki's grandmother and her experience with the bombing on Nagasaki. This leads into a story about what Yuki's grandmother had experienced on the day of the bombing and a few other details, which I go into much more detail about in the plot outline.

To make the account feel more authentic, I decided to search for some actual eyewitness accounts to read and found quite a few. While I was able to find accounts for both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing, it seems that there's more information about the former than the latter. Given the heavy subject matter and the fact that I wasn't born in the time period and country that the bombings took place in, I have to rely heavily on eyewitness accounts and factual information about the event. Regardless, I'm going to try and be as respectful as I possibly can.

I'm not sure if I should move this scene to a later part of the story or if it belongs in the fourth chapter. On the one hand, it does seem really odd to have the first interaction between Yuki and her grandmother that the reader is shown is one that involves really heavy subject matter. But on the other hand, we do get a more humourous moment prior to her grandmother recounting her experiences with the bombing so there is some balance between lightheartedness and heavy subject matter. I might also have Yuki's grandmother reveal that she did reunite with her mother (Yuki's great grandmother) but I'll have to think about that as well as what she says to Yuki when she gives her a hug and tries to hold her tears in.

I also started writing the first draft of the first chapter of Kenji and Yuki. I think I'll work on it a little more when I finish the plot outline for chapters one through four. Though I'll be honest, I'm not expecting the first draft of every chapter to be a masterpiece.

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   08:42, January 16, 2018 (UTC)

Reply to "Eyewitnessed a Thing" Message
I remember reading both of his accounts as I was looking through other eyewitness accounts. It seems like something you would see out of a Hollywood movie or something. In fact, I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't made a movie about this. Then again, I'm not sure how well that would turn out. I mean, they would probably have to rewrite some of the events in this story to make it seem more believable to the viewers, kind of like what happened with the film version of The Revenant. They might also have a tough time finding an adequate amount of Asian actors due to the fact that America's Asian population is under 10 percent, with the percentage of Asian actors in America presumably being even smaller.

After Yuki’s grandmother finishes telling her story, Yuki hugs her tightly and tries to hold back her tears. I'm trying to figure out how Yuki's grandmother would respond to this. I've been considering having her tell Yuki that something good came out of this, that being her finding out that her mother (Yuki's great grandmother) survived and they were able to reunite at a later point in time but I'm not sure if that would work. I might also have her hug Yuki as well and say, "It's okay, Yuki. It doesn't scare me anymore." but I'm not sure if this would work as well.

Yesterday, I started another semester of online college. This semester, I'm taking Windows Operating System and Beginning Game Programming.

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   22:34, January 23, 2018 (UTC)

The Draft Board
I had trouble emailing you the other night, so I'll post this here. This is the first part of a draft I'm working on. There's no way of telling when the rest will be because I want to take my time and do this right.

The Duel

(Note- This doesn't start from the very beginning of the issue, so there's no set-up. It opens with Wayne Bruce having completed a phone call)

After he hung up the phone, he heard someone in the hallway. He heard the figure stop outside his door, and presently there was a light rapping.

“May I help you?” Wayne asked.

“You’re Missster Wayne Bruccce, correct?” was the response.

Wayne’s ears shot up in surprise, but he quickly recovered and replied, “Yes, sir, and I believe I recognize your voice. Mr. Gerard Ripley, correct?”

“Yesss, it’sss me. May I come in?”

“Certainly. Let me get the door.”

Wayne opened the door, allowing Dart Tongue to enter his hotel room. “Thank you, sssir,” the iguana man responded.

“Think nothing of it,” replied the bat man. “Please make yourself at home. I’ll be freshening up.”

“By all meansss.” He closed the door and took a seat on a chair as Wayne headed to the bathroom. “Thisss isss a niccce room you have here.”

“I think so. It’s homely, yet stately. Does that sound weird?”

“I don’t think ssso. Are you enjoying your visssit here?”

“Yes, it’s a beautiful state.”

“Thank you. I heard you’d be here for a few daysss while your ward visssited hisss hometown, and I jussst had to meet with you. I appreccciate you being welcoming and not acting like you don’t know me.”

“I’ll admit I was surprised by you coming to meet me like this, but it’s better not to play dumb. Leave us not be unkind.”

“SSSmart man. You’re asss good asss your assssociatesss.”

“That’s nice of you to say. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Mmm-hmm. I’m sssure you remember how we agreed that we’d have to have a friendly contessst one day. With you vacationing here, I thought thisss might be a good time. What sssay you?”

Dart Tongue heard the bathroom door open. He looked and then smiled. Wayne had emerged from the bathroom as The Flying Fox. “Your servant would say that’s fine with me,” The Flying Fox replied.

“Exxxcellent. How about we ssschedule our meeting for ssseven o’clock tomorrow morning?”

“Just name the place and your servant is there! Before that, however, your servant knows that your arsenal and artifact room are both registered as museums. Your servant has a little money on hand, so your servant would love to see them.”

“Very well. I’ll reward your quick thinking and your chutzzzpah. Change out of those busssinessss clothesss and follow me.

Soon Wayne was at Ripley’s hideout, where he received an exclusive tour of both the art & artifact room and the arsenal. It was just Wayne, Ripley, Foam, Twi-Night, and Darter. Foam’s addiction and recovery were an open secret, and Wayne received the group’s appreciation when he sincerely asked how Foam and Twi-Night were doing. At the end of the arsenal tour Wayne noted, “Your collections are impressive.”

“Thank you. There have been rough timesss, but the Lord hasss blessssed usss very much.” He nodded toward the swords. “I have two kokutō. The one there isss Tossshikage- ‘Clever SSShadow.’ The other isss SSSadakage- ‘Upright SSShadow.’  I alssso have another kunai blade. If you win, you get SSSadakage and the sssecond kunai blade. If I win, I get one of your empty utility beltsss- not a toy replica from a ssstore, but a real one. Letting me have an empty one won’t hurt anything.”

“Fair enough. How does this sound? If you restrict yourself to the weapons displayed in this arsenal, refrain from using your Adamant Blade, teleportation stone, and the like, then your servant won’t use your servant's metal-dissolving gas or your servant's teleporter.”

“I think that’sss fair too.” He handed Wayne a small map. “Here’sss the location. SSScout it out in advanccce if you wisssh, but no one isss allowed there until tomorrow. We may each have one sssecond. I think we’ve essstablissshed everything.”

“Your servant thinks so too.” The duelists shook hands.

Ripley told Wayne, “I’m sssure we’re both anxxxiousss for thisss. We have sssimilar drive, ssso it’sss no sssurprissse we had the sssame teacher.”

He was referring to Hashi Kuroi, the bear man who called himself Kenchikuka, Japanese for Architect, as a sign he wished to build bridges between people.

Wayne nodded. “Your servant wasn’t shocked when he told me he had mentored you in the martial arts as well. Kenchikuka-sensei has a gift for seeing those with drive & heart and unlocking their potential.”

“The fact that you were a ssstudent of hisss wass a factor in my being able to put two & two together. By the way, doesss he know you’re The Flying Fox?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“I thought ssso. You know, I ssstill talk with him.”

“Your servant does too.”

The two reminisced about their beloved martial arts instructor for a while before deciding to part ways until the scheduled time. Dart Tongue personally escorted Wayne back to the front door. “Try to ressst up,” he suggested.

“You too. Your servant is sure we’ll both have anxious nights.”

“Yeah. SSSee you then.”

Wayne left the house and started down the front walk, but then Ripley asked, “Do you keep any weaponsss by your bed?”

After a pause, Wayne replied, “Your servant likes to keep a couple things handy just in case.”

“Yeah. Estes & Kim keep their emblemsss, a dart gun, a ssswitchblade knife, and a chainlock by their bedsssidesss.” He admitted, “By my bedssside I have a dart gun, a two-sssection ssstaff, a sssilver knife, a cane sssword, throwing knivesss, a monk’sss ssspade, and a flying weight.”

There was a pause followed by Dart Tongue declaring, “Well, it isss what it isss. I’ll sssee you in the morning.”

“Yeah. Godspeed.”

“Yeah. You too.” He softly closed the door behind Wayne.

Late that night, Wayne flew to a spot where he could observe the dueling site. Since this was just going to be a friendly contest, both parties would adhere to the set rules. Wayne figured that since Dart Tongue would likely wear his Aegis-mask in addition to his special armor, he’d come to battle wearing his protective suit. The suit was resistant against flames, chemicals, electricity, and punctures and had protective pads on the sleeves. It also had a protective mask, a bullet-proof vest protecting the upper body, and a retractable shield attached to the back.

He flashed back to when Renegade helped test the suit. It was during Renegade’s rehab. Super Creature explained, “The Flying Fox needs this suit tested, and since you’re currently in a weakened state and need something to do, we thought you could help.”

The sickly maniac grinned in excitement. “Aw, yeah! That’s what I’m talking about, hustler!” He displayed his claws. “Normally I can tear the hide off a baseball. I’m not back to full-strength, but we’ll see what I can do!”

The Flying Fox readied himself. Renegade asked, “By the way, you want me to avoid the weak spots on the upper thighs, right?”

The Flying Fox’s ears and eyes slightly reacted in surprise. Super Creature casually asked, “Hmm?”

Renegade snickered and turned to Super Creature. “‘Hmm?’ nothing! If someone gets nerve gas poisoning, you’re supposed to inject an antidote into their upper thigh. I’m sure a smart guy like Wayne created a couple less-protected spots there. That way, if he did get compromised, an antidote could be administered.” He turned back to Fox. “I’m even surer now because of your reaction.”

“Once again, there’s no sense in denying that you got me,” admitted Flying Fox. “There are weak spots on the wrists and upper thighs for injecting antidotes.”

Renegade looked closely and announced, “I see them! You did a great job with those. Like I said, I’ll lay off those for this test.”

In the present, Wayne mused that he’d have to be careful because Dart Tongue might figure out the weak spots too. That wasn’t all that concerned him, though. Ripley showed genuine vulnerability when he spoke about bedside weapons. He had chosen to confide in his rival. Ripley may have shrugged that off, but he wasn’t going to. There was a bigger issue here, and Wayne wouldn’t mind serving as a confidante. He didn’t know when the right time would be, however. In the end he decided he’d have to play it by ear. He flew back to his hotel.

The following morning the duelists met as scheduled. The Flying Fox, wearing his protective suit and a loose-fitting jacket, brought Othello as his second. Dart Tongue, wearing his armor and Aegis-mask as predicted, brought Supplier. Darter and Voyeur were also there, as was a lady with her sandy hair tied back into a ponytail.

“Hello, Fox! Othello!” greeted Kate.

After the heroes had exchanged pleasantries, Dart Tongue explained, “Darter wasss going to be the judge originally, but then I thought Kate would be better.”

“Your servant agrees,” replied Flying Fox.

“Thank you. I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” remarked Kate.

“Me either,” commented Darter. “I’m happy just to be a spectator.”

“It should make for a great video,” added Voyeur.

Kate, Othello, Supplier, Darter, and Voyeur stood on one side of the clearing. Othello and Supplier took their places closer to the respective ends of the clearing while Kate stood close to the center, with Darter and Voyeur close by so they could have good vantage points. Dart Tongue removed his unique weapons and teleportation stone. As he gave them to Supplier for safekeeping, he said out loud, “Not usssing teleportation ssseemsss to put me at a disssadvantage, but I’ll limit your movementsss sssoon enough.”

Flying Fox smirked as he handed Othello his metal-dissolving gas capsules and teleporter for safekeeping. “We’ll see about that.”

“Indeed we will.”

After she’d inspected the duelists, Kate took out a gunbai, the wooden Japanese war fan used by referees in sumo bouts. The Flying Fox and Dart Tongue faced each other. Kate raised the gunbai high, then lowered it in a swift motion. “Begin!”

Dart Tongue took the end of his sleeve, but instead of rolling it up, he pressed a spot underneath his wrist. A blade was rapidly launched from his sleeve, revealing he had hidden a ballistic knife there. The Flying Fox dodged both that blade and the second one fired from the other sleeve. As Flying Fox retrieved the retractable shield from the back of his protective suit, Dart Tongue knocked the sides of his wrists together sharply. A bright, blinding flash occurred, revealing the presence of a couple hidden flash bombs as well. Dart Tongue rapidly threw down some smoke bombs from his pockets, further obscuring Flying Fox’s vision. He then backed away while rolling up his sleeves to expose his senbon launcher and retractable shield, allowing them to be used freely.

After Flying Fox opened his shield, he heard Dart Tongue remove something from his coat. The temptation was to fly above the smoke, but he stayed on the ground because he suspected some kind of trick. Sure enough, a kyoketsu-shoge soon whirled above his head. He would have been ensnared if he’d flown up at the wrong time. He grabbed the kyoketsu-shoge and held it tightly while raising his shield in front of his face. Dart Tongue, now sure of his location, launched a barrage of ninja stars from his shuriken launcher. Flying Fox was mostly protected by his shield. A couple shuriken hit him, but they didn’t penetrate his suit, instead falling aside harmlessly. He reflected that since Dart Tongue had both the kyoketsu-shoge and the shuriken launcher ready to use, he might have used either one to attack had he flown up.

Still staying planted on the ground, Flying Fox used his wings to blow away the smoke. As he did he saw Dart Tongue with the kyoketsu-shoge in his right hand and the shuriken launcher in his left. That wasn’t all, however. In his right hand he also held a folded tessen, and in the left he also held a cylinder which rapidly expanded into a spear. Pointing the spear at Fox while keeping a firm grip on the kyoketsu-shoge, Dart Tongue noted, “You were sssmart not to charge me, but now you can’t move much.”

“Your servant doesn’t have to,” replied Fox. He released his hold on the kyoketsu-shoge, severing his line to Dart Tongue while allowing him to move backward, took to the air, took out his tranquilizer pistol, and fired at the front filter of the Aegis-mask. Dart Tongue, however, had realized what he was going to do. When Fox released the kyoktsu-shoge, he opened the tessen. He moved it in front of his face, allowing the metal fan to block the incoming dart. He then used his tail to open his retractable shield. By using the tessen from his right hand instead of the retractable shield on his left forearm, he was able to maintain the spear in a steady position. Dart Tongue wouldn’t give up the spear easily at this point. If Flying Fox grabbed the spear and tried to yank it from his grip by force, Dart Tongue might suddenly release his hold, losing the spear but causing the vigilante to fly off-balance. If he tried to fly over and kick it from his hand, Dart Tongue might counterattack somehow. Flying Fox decided to try his Flying Fox boomerangs.

He briefly looked down as he reached for his utility belt, and it was then that he noticed a couple dark spots on his suit. He realized that they were the places the shuriken had hit; Dart Tongue had coated them with some kind of pigment beforehand. What seemed to be a failed attack had actually succeeded in a way, showing Dart Tongue that the suit could not be penetrated easily and confirming that the mask filters would be the best places to hit. His comment about Flying Fox not being able to move much wasn’t simple boasting, but an opportunity to survey where the shuriken had hit. His strategy had been to group these weapons together so he could remove them easily and use them in rapid order to pinpoint Fox’s location, attack, attempt to restrain him, and reveal his suit’s strengths so he could target its weaknesses, all while protecting his own weak points. This guy was on another level. Flying Fox found his hand trembling slightly- not from fear, but from the excitement of facing such a worthy opponent. He glanced at Ripley, and he couldn’t help but grin when he saw the outstretched spear quiver slightly. Dart Tongue was feeling it too, which made this even better. Raidra (talk) 23:23, February 14, 2018 (UTC)

Hi there!
How are you?

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   00:59, March 2, 2018 (UTC)

"Are you The Batman?" "Well, I'm A bat man."
Hey, it's great to hear from you! :-D I was beginning to think that you had collapsed into a pizza or something. Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! I do enjoy showing the relationship between Flying Fox and Dart Tongue because in the end they are so similar and can identify with each other. I'm glad you enjoyed the strategy. It was fun writing a real fight scene and showing what the characters can do. Hopefully I'll have more of the draft soon. I have ideas of how other parts of the duel are going to go, and I have an ending in mind, but I want to go slowly yet surely.

I've been okay. Mom has some health problems again. Thankfully things aren't as bad as they could be, and she has a large support system. My aunt is up from Kentucky for a while, so she's been a huge help. My aunt's fearsome guardian beast,, seems to have attracted a stalker, a female Yorkie named CiCi who lives down the street and who followed us home today. Lately I've been working on a couple drafts and designing a couple buildings (a jjimjilbang and a nightclub). I've posted "The Facility for Becoming Useful or CPL" on the WW. The response has been underwhelming, but shoot, I still like it. Even if I don't end up posting it to the site, it was a good writing exercise which created a mood. I'm sorry to hear things aren't going as well as you'd like at this point. Hopefully that'll change soon and you'll be able to do more of the things you want to do.

Here's hoping! If nothing else you can keep a notebook so you can write down ideas before you forget. Raidra (talk) 23:34, March 31, 2018 (UTC)
 * "You may have won this time, but the next time we meet, I'll make you wish you had collapsed into a pizza!" Ouch, that's rough! :-0  There was an urban legend about this guy who didn't get his paycheck for a couple weeks.  He'd call and they'd claim they had no record of him working there.  Finally he came to the place in person and announced, "I'm So-and-so and I exist! Here I am!"  The worker told him, "Oh, sorry about that.  You'll get your checks because we found your file.  You see, our new secretary is rather short.  She took a stack of files to sit on and one of them was yours." :-/  Maybe you should ask your bank what their protocol is for workers who need seat cushions.


 * Cool! Of course, you were already better than the would-be admin who undid my edits to Mpratt's story and claimed they were incorrect when they weren't, though that's cursing with faint praise.  It's always cool when people try to keep improving instead of assuming they're already the best at everything.


 * I searched "terrible soap operas" on YouTube and found this- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APHcYegE6ns. X-D This seems like a joke someone made, but apparently it's legit and from an actual Indian soap opera.


 * Today I did some brainstorming on the Duel draft. I know how I want to finish it, and I have ideas for a couple other scenes, so I need to connect all the points together.  In the meanwhile, if you're interested, I recently completed a draft for a graphic novel with a character recovering from his captivity at the hands of our favorite schmuck, Professor Cerdis.  It's a psychological horror story which isn't terrifying, but does have some emotional scenes.  It's okay if you're not interested, and if you are interested I understand that you might not be able to read it/give me feedback for a while. Raidra (talk) 01:15, April 5, 2018 (UTC)
 * I found this video and it made me laugh way too much. Raidra (talk) 13:22, April 7, 2018 (UTC)

Does that mean they're not charging you extra? I don't know, but I suppose there are worse urban legends a person can suddenly find themselves in.

Jeff Foxworthy has a book called Redneck Dictionary III: Learning to Talk More Gooder Fastly.

I don't like to read comments for videos and things, but someone said that woman was the man's supposedly dead wife. I like your explanation, though. :-D

I know all about delayed responses. It took me a few days to respond to Azu's latest message because things have been hectic lately. My family has had to deal with people who didn't know their rears from holes in the ground (though we did deal with some good people too, so that's good). Here's an interesting piece of background for this latest story. The victim in this case was actually the surprise villain of an issue I did several years ago (You'll discover what he did partway through it). Reader beware- you're in for a scare!

This Broken Man (The title comes from The Bee Gees song "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?")

The man named Anton Desp sat on the floor of the holding cell, his head & arms resting atop his knees. His wrists were bound together with handcuffs while his eyes were closed. He could have reflected on waking up in custody, his transfer to this building, and the preceding events, but his mind was fuzzy. Instead feelings of anger and despair drifted though his psyche while his face remained a relative blank.

He was brought back to the present by the sound of approaching footsteps, followed by voices conversing in another language. He arose in case he needed to take defensive action. Soon three men entered the cell. All Desp could do was stare. All three of the men wore simple costumes and masks, giving them the appearance of vigilantes. The first wore a grey jacket and a white mask with red streaks resembling tears of blood. The second, a younger man, wore a brown jacket and a green mask. The third wore a blue jacket with a grey mask, and also carried a strange-looking pipe.

“Hello,” greeted the man in the grey jacket. “You have been released into our custody for the afternoon. We are members of Jeong Do, Korean for ‘The Way of the True Sword’, of Basilisk.”

“You’re Koreans?”

“Yes, that is right. You are actually in South Korea, believe it or not.”

He had almost no reaction, simply responding, “I guess that’s okay, then.”

“Come with us. You will not be harmed. I swear on my Korean pride.”

Desp reluctantly allowed the three to escort him into another room. A few other vigilantes, some male and some female, were already gathered. Desp sat down in a provided chair. The man in the gray jacket told the one in the brown jacket, “Release his handcuffs.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

The young man obeyed, undoing Desp’s handcuffs and allowing them to fall to the floor. Desp stared at his bare wrists for a few seconds, then slowly reached for them and began rubbing them, as if it were too good to be true that he was unbound. He closed his eyes as a feeling of relief washed over him.

The man with the grey jacket told him, “We are here to help you. I think that deep down you understand that.” He introduced himself and his colleagues. “I am Peppermint Candy, and this is Spring in My Hometown, Hypnotized, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Marathon, Typhoon, and The Tower. In case you are curious, we are all named after award-winning movies.” What he didn’t mention was that in a nearby chamber were Ultra Kate and Karate Kate. Based on their history with Desp, they had all decided it was best to keep their attendance at this meeting a secret for now.

“You said you were going to help me. What do you mean?”

“You could call it a decontamination process. This will take a while, but you can just sit still.”

He nodded to Hypnotized and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Hypnotized took a seat in front of Desp while Sympathy for Lady Vengeance sat behind. They both raised their hands so that they were close to Desp’s head. “What is this, a ritual?” asked Desp.

“You could call it that, I suppose.”

Desp didn’t know at the time that Hypnotized had the power to negate mind control while Sympathy for Lady Vengeance had the ability to manipulate psychic poison. What he did know was that soon he felt a gentle pulling sensation in his mind, comparable to a toy boat gently being drawn into the sea by the tide. “What’s going on?”

“These lovely ladies are using their powers to draw out and neutralize the infection in your mind. Just try to relax as much as you can.”

“…the infection in your mind.” He began to recollect. His mind had indeed become infected, corrupted and poisoned by the machinations of a monster.

His mind flashed back to a scene of him lying on the floor of a cell. Even though his body had no damage worth noting, he felt sick and weary. He had no strength left; all he could do was pant softly. His mind was ragged and exhausted, like an engine that had been pushed to its breaking point.

He heard someone enter and presently a figure stood over him. “You’re in fine shape, aren’t you?” a voice asked. This was followed by a chuckle. “Oh, yes, you’re coming along very well.”

The figure got down and rested his left hand and knee on Desp’s back. It was a pose of pure dominance. “I told you I would wear you down, didn’t I? No one can resist me for too long, not even you.”

The monster arose and added, “I think you’ll find it gets easier from this point on. You can cast all your cares behind you now. Doesn’t that sound reassuring?” He departed the cell, leaving Desp alone.

In the present, Desp shuddered. He remembered the monster’s name- Professor Dante Cerdis.

He remembered how he got to that point. Cerdis had used a mind control device, combined with drugs and psychology, to erode his willpower over a period of weeks. He had been provided with a diary which he used to keep record of what he experienced during his imprisonment.

After a number of disjointed recollections, his mind finally travelled to a certain visit from Cerdis, the last one while he was in his custody. “You’ve completed your fifty-day CPL, so it’s time for you to perform your assigned task,” the amoral scientist told him. “Have you any objections?”

“No, sir.”

“Very good. Follow me.”

Cerdis led him to a small room with a desk and an end table. Desp took a seat at the desk chair. A lighter, the long kind used mainly for lighting barbecue grills or candles, lay on the desk close to his right hand. A tripod with a video camera was set up across from him. Cerdis slid over a paper. “This is just a paper declaring that you’re about to perform an action without being coerced to do so. Go ahead and sign it.”

Desp obediently signed the paper without bothering to read it. Cerdis took the paper and grinned in malicious triumph as he looked at Desp’s signature. “Very good!” He folded the paper and stuck it into a pocket. Then he went to the end table and retrieved a triangular shadowbox. He set the shadowbox, which held an American flag, close to Desp’s left hand. “I’ve removed the glass from the box for your convenience.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Think nothing of it.” He took out an index card from a pocket and set it before Desp. “I’ve prepared a statement for you to read for the camera. You know what to do.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Does it matter at all where I may have obtained this flag and what its past may be?”

“Not at all, sir.”

“Good.” Cerdis went over to the camera and took out a protective mask. “You remember what I told you.”

“Yes, sir. After I perform my task, you’ll release a gas that will make me fall asleep, but extinguishes flames. It’s for my protection.”

“That’s exactly right. You’ve done an excellent job so far.” He donned his mask, then turned on the camera. “Begin.”

Desp read, “I am Anton Desp, formerly a general in the United States Army. I announce to the nations of the world that I am no longer loyal to the United States of America, and I renounce my allegiance to my country and its people with this action.” Emotionlessly, he took the lighter and ignited the shadowbox. He watched as the flag inside began to burn.

In the present, Desp began to scream in horror. Hypnotized winced in fear, but remained still. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance continued to use her powers as well. The other Jeong Do members attempted to soothe him, and were prepared to subdue him if need be. After the screaming fit subsided, Peppermint Candy asked, “What happened? What did you remember?”

Desp stammered, “I-I burned… I burned an American flag!”

“We know, and we know you were forced to. No matter what that paper said, we know you did not do it of your own free will.”

“Yeah.”

“We know you would never do it of your own free will.”

“Yeah.” He choked as tears flowed from his eyes.

“Do not hold back. Cry as much as you need to. Your feeling horror over what happened is a good sign, don’t you think?”

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right.”

Ultra Kate and Karate Kate exited their private chamber and came forward. “I know how hard dealing with trauma can be. We can help you.” [Both of the Super Kates have PTSD]

Desp looked confused. Ultra and Karate Kate started to look confused by his reaction. Finally Desp asked, “Who are you?” [This was inspired by something I saw on a talk show. It really is a sad thing when people are so out of it they don’t recognize people they’ve had a history with.]

Spring in My Hometown looked in surprise from Desp to Peppermint Candy and back again. Ultra and Karate Kate started to get misty-eyed, but they told Desp, “We’re just here to help, to make sure you’re okay. We know about trauma and other things, so we thought we’d sit in on this.”

Desp still looked a little confused, but he replied, “Oh, okay.”

Peppermint Candy told him, “You are still disoriented, but you are improving. We will take a break for now, okay?”

“Okay.”

He spoke with The Tower, then explained to Desp. “We are going to break for lunch, as you say. This guy is getting hot dogs and hamburgers for us, so-”

“I’d like a burger.”

Peppermint Candy looked slightly surprised, then smiled. “Sure. What kind?” After Desp gave his order, Peppermint Candy noted, “Requesting what you want to eat, having that much willpower, is another good sign, don’t you think?”

“Hmm? You’re right… It is, isn’t it?”

The Tower brought the food for the group. As Desp ate his burger, he had another flashback. He had become ill after Cerdis brought him a hamburger for supper. When Cerdis came to check on him, he demanded, “What did you do to that burger!?”

“What makes you think I did anything to it?” Cerdis asked. “Food standards in America are surprisingly low. I wouldn’t be surprised if an inspector were paid off somewhere along the line.”

“Don’t give me that! I know you’re trying to taint my view of America, so why not taint a very American food? You’re trying to form connections in my mind. I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Maybe, but can you do anything about it?”

When Cerdis later brought him a nutrition shake for sustenance, Desp refused to drink it. “That drink is to provide you with nutrition as your system recovers from that tainted burger,” explained Cerdis.

“Don’t do me any favors. You asked if I could do anything about it. Well, this is what I’m doing!”

“A hunger strike, eh? Don’t you think that failure to take in nutrients will weaken both your system and your resolve? You’d really be hurting yourself more than anything. If I want to poison you, I can still do so via injection, inhalation, or skin contact, and failure to take in food might make you even more susceptible to my methods.”

Desp remained silent, looking down in defiance and loathing. Cerdis continued, “If you really go through with this, you’d be cutting off your nose to spite your face. Speaking of noses, there is such a thing as a forced nose feeding.” [Sadly, I did not make this up. This is actually something that exists] Desp’s eyes widened. Cerdis continued, “It’s just what it says on the tin, as they say. So, make a decision. Are you going to take in nutrition willingly, or shall I inject the nutrition into your body in one way or another?”

Desp sighed in angry resignation. He looked up to see Cerdis hold up his hand and then begin lowering fingers one by one. Five… four… “All right, I get it!” Desp grabbed the shake and began chugging it down.

“Careful,” Cerdis mocked, “or you might end up spitting it up.”

Desp took a couple gulps, then spat a stream out onto Cerdis’s shirt. “Whoops, you jinxed it!”

“Hmph.” He took out a handkerchief and began wiping away as much of the liquid as he could. “You’re lucky. The Gotterville mastermind called Specter did something like that and I put him in the hospital. [I think I read about that somewhere] Enjoy this while you can. Your defiance will make my ultimate triumph even more satisfying.”

In the present, Desp washed down his burger with some cola. He stared at the empty bottle for a while, then noted, to no one in particular, “My mind feels like a Rubik’s Cube.”

Hypnotized asked, “What about a sliding puzzle?”

“Hmm? Yeah… Yeah, I guess that’s an accurate comparison.” He set down the bottle in order to pantomime working a sliding puzzle. “You’re saying my mind is like a sliding puzzle that someone rearranged, and you’re trying to get it back in order, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Is that why I’m having memory problems?”

“Yes. It should clear up soon.”

“Good.”

“Do you like sliding puzzles?”

“What?”

“Do you like sliding puzzles?”

“They’re… they’re pretty good. Years ago I had a computer which came with a sliding puzzle game. The thing was it had loud sound effects.”

Hypnotized was genuinely unsettled. “What… What maniac would do something like that?”

“I don’t know, but when you pressed the mute button, there was a picture of a finger being put in an ear.” [This is a real game we had on an old computer.]

Hypnotized laughed and they chatted about puzzles for a while, making Desp feel more at ease. After Hypnotized and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance finished eating he announced, “I’m ready when you two are.”

“Good to hear it,” replied Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. She and Hypnotized resumed their places and the process continued.

Shortly afterward he recalled that the burger incident wasn’t the only thing Cerdis had done to try to sway Desp against America. One day he bought a folder to his cell and set it down. Desp reluctantly opened the file to examine its contents. Upon seeing the first two or three pictures, however, he immediately closed the folder, tore it into pieces, and threw the pieces away. He then leaned his head on his hands as if ill.

“Do you suddenly have a weak stomach as far as human suffering is concerned?” asked Cerdis. “All the atrocities in those pictures were either committed by Americans or by those working for Americans. Go ahead and give me some speech about those things being necessary, even praiseworthy.”

“I-I never said America was perfect! Besides, members of the military are instructed when not to follow orders. Any atrocity committed by a US solider is a breach of US Army regulations no matter what excuse they give!”

“You remember that, but would you have wanted those under you to remember that?”

“What!?”

“If your plan had worked, would you have ordered those under you to commit atrocities in the belief that all you did was right? How would you have punished soldiers who defied you? How would you have treated anyone who defied you?”

“You… Don’t you talk like you’re standing on some mountain of morality! You know who also committed atrocities? Monster scientists just like you!”

“That’s true. The scientists working for the Third Reich and for Imperial Japan come to mind. What exactly became of those monsters? Oh, that’s right… they were pardoned so they could share their knowledge with the Americans. These monsters received a pardon, yet you didn’t, despite your intentions. You only wanted what you felt was best for your country, and you were cast aside like trash. Go ahead and reflect on that for a while.”

In the present, he started to reflect. What had he done? What had he planned? What had he wanted? Eventually he remembered. In early 2002 he had conspired to obtain vials of a deadly plague and supply it to a North Korean terrorist group so they could use it to attack American citizens. The reason wasn’t because he supported North Korea; it was actually far from it. Fearing an attack, he hoped to use the terrorist attack as a way of forcing the United States to attack in retaliation. While claiming he didn’t want a war, he desired to force America into attacking its enemies. He, General Packett, and then-Captain Sykes had called in a pair of superheroines to combat the terrorists. They not only stopped the attack and captured the terrorists, but also uncovered Desp’s involvement in the plot. Upon being exposed, Desp took out a vial of the plague and threatened to shoot it, filling the room with deadly microbes. The superheroines prevented that attack as well and took Desp into custody. Throughout the years they had continued to stay in touch, treating him like a human being.

He called, “Ultra Kate… Karate Kate…”

The two stepped forward, “Yes, sir?”

“I… I remember you now… I remember everything. You meant what you said earlier?”

“Of course!”

“I… I appreciate it.”

“You’re certainly welcome.”

His mind journeyed to how this new situation began. He had been brought to the prison hospital and escorted to a cubicle by one of the staff. “What’s this about?” Desp asked.

“Something’s come up and you need to be examined,” the staff member told him. “Please turn around and remove your clothes.”

Desp obeyed, removing his shirt and placing it on the bed. He was working on the pants when he heard a popping sound and felt a sudden, sharp pain in his back. He reached back and, to his surprise, he felt something. He gave the something a yank and held it up to examine it. He realized that it was a dart. As he stared, his vision began to blur and his head began to spin. A feeling of drowsiness began to envelop him and his body began to sway.

“What in-” He had to stop in order to lean on the bed for support. “What is this!?”

“I’m sorry,” the staff member told him. He shot him with another dart for good measure. Desp winced and then buckled as his muscles lost their strength. He slid to the floor as his world turned black.

When he awoke, he found that he had been placed in a straitjacket. He was sitting in a chair with a headrest, and as if the straitjacket weren’t enough of a restraint, the chair had straps which further immobilized him. He realized he was in a different place, though it also appeared to be some kind of clinic. Across from him was a desk with some kind of headband, a vial of yellowish-fluid, and a hypodermic syringe. A tank of gas with an attached breathing mask, an IV stand with a bag containing a clear fluid, and a sharp box sat nearby on the floor. The staff member from before took out a radio and told someone, “He’s coming to.”

“Very good. I’ll be right there,” an unknown voice replied.

Everything seemed louder to Desp; he realized that, for whatever reason, his ears had been cleaned. He asked the staff member, “What is going on here?!”

The staff member looked down, as if ashamed to look Desp in the eye. Shortly a man wearing a lab coat and carrying a satchel entered the room. The staff member reported, “Here’s Desp, as you requested.”

The man in the lab coat grinned in malicious delight. “Good job. Give him some water.”

The staff member fetched Desp a cup of water, but the prisoner refused to drink it. “Aren’t you thirsty?” asked the man in the lab coat. Desp refused to acknowledge him.

The staff member set the cup of water on the desk. The man in the lab coat handed him the satchel. “Here’s my end. As I said, I can’t guarantee how much this medicine will help your mother, but it should, at the very least, alleviate her symptoms.”

The staff member looked at the satchel with a mixture of longing and shame, then started to leave the room. Desp paused and then told him, “I think I am thirsty after all.” The staff member fetched the cup of water and let Desp drain its contents. Desp nodded and the staff member hurried out of the room as if unable to bear being there any longer.

The man in the lab coat mockingly saluted as he smirked, aggravating Desp. “Evening, General. I imagine you’re a little disoriented, due to both the circumstances of your arrival here and the cleaning of your ears while you were napping.”

“Who are you?”

“If you don’t recognize my face, you’ll probably recognize my name. I am Professor Dante Cerdis.”

Desp was taken aback by this piece of information. “You-You’re that scientist the Kates and the SLJ fought!” [The Super League of Justice, the team that Super Creature and The Flying Fox are members of]

“Anything else?”

Desp chilled with a realization. “You’re a brainwasher.”

“One of my many talents,” Cerdis replied proudly. “You’re pretty smart, but then again, you had to be in order to disguise being a fanatical psychopath. You hid your identity as a megalomaniac under a veil of patriotism so skillfully.”

“Don’t you dare question-” He stopped and took a calming breath. “I’m better now.”

“You’re under the impression that that matters to me. Regardless, it’s time for your examination.”

“For what?”

“It’s standard procedure. You understand that.”

Cerdis conducted physical and mental evaluation despite Desp ranting most of the time. Afterward he retrieved a shadowbox with an American flag from underneath the desk.

“What are you going to do with that!?” demanded Desp.

Cerdis nonchalantly stated, “I’m going to give it to you so you can burn it while disavowing your allegiance to America.”

“You psycho!”

“Object all you want, and threaten all you want, but just remember this. I bent General Packett to my will, made him attack Ultra Kate & Karate Kate, and I’ve refined my techniques since then. By the way, I won’t be using sleep deprivation or any other form of torture. It’s tempting, but A) I won’t need to and B) I don’t want to stroke your ego by giving you the chance to say you survived such an ordeal. No, I shall use my science and psychology to erode your mental defenses bit by bit. Your psyche will either become completely dominated by me or shatter. Either way, I have plans for you.”

The headrest of the restraining chair had a strap running across it. Cerdis fastened it tightly, securing Desp’s head. “Those plans, as you can guess, begin now.” He took out a small recording device, activated it so he could keep record of the proceedings, clipped it to his belt, and noted, “Since the subject is conscious, alert, and oriented, vital signs are stable and in defined limits, and the device has been pre-programmed, the CPL will commerce.” Addressing Desp, he began, “The acronym is short for-”

“I don’t care! Call it what you want, but we both know what it is! You even bragged that it was one of your talents!”

“True.”

“You’re an unfeeling animal.”

“Also true. By the way, you should be honored. Normally the process lasts at least forty-two days, with the initial session consisting of one eight-hour treatment. With defiant and violent subjects, the process lasts at least forty-five days, with the initial session consisting of one eighteen-hour treatment. However, I’m going to work on you for fifty days.”

“You think I’ll be that hard to crack, huh?”

“I believe that you’ll be a formidable and difficult subject. I also believe that in the end you’ll be as completely in my thrall as any other subject.”

Cerdis took the headband and placed it on Desp’s head, positioning it so the visor covered both eyes, and inserted the attached nozzles securely into his right and left ears. “The visor is situated over oculi uterque and nozzles have been applied auris dextrae & auris laevae.” He filled the syringe with the yellow fluid. He injected it into the sweating Desp and announced, “The indoctrination drug has been administered via injection. It can be administered either by injection or by mouth. It’ll be interesting to see how long it is before you drink it down willingly.” He disposed of the needle and stood by the desk. “During the first eighteen days the subject is put under general anesthesia during the procedure. I want to try something a little different this time, however. You’ll be left slightly conscious instead of fully unconscious. Pick your poison- gas or injection.” Desp didn’t respond, so Cerdis noted, “You should use this chance to make your own decision- while you’re still able to.”

A shudder of sheer revulsion surged through Desp’s frame. “Injection, then.”

“I’m guessing that’s so you can put yourself in the role of the movie hero who struggles valiantly while some fiend sticks a needle into his arm. Very well, then.”

He inserted the IV needle into Desp’s quivering arm and started the flow of sedative. “This device uses a combination of sound pulses, energy waves, and hypnotic imagery to place the brain in a state in which the subject is highly open to suggestion. The subject’s willpower becomes suppressed, and continued treatments cause it to stay suppressed for an extended period of time.”

Desp fell into a state of near-unconsciousness. Cerdis examined him to make sure he was at the desired state, then activated the machine. “Thus it begins.”

True to his word, the amoral scientist had worn down the warped patriot psychologically as well. Desp remembered one day when he paid a visit to his cell. Cerdis played mahjong solitaire on a tablet while he spoke. “Tell me about your time in the army. Basic Training and whatnot.”

Desp glared at him. “You don’t have the right.”

“I just thought you’d like to tell someone your story.” Desp looked away and remained silent. “If you’d like, I could even have you do some drills like the good old days.”

“I’d rather eat lead.” [I meant this literally when I first wrote it, but then I remembered that eating lead is a slang term for being shot. With that in mind it’s up to the reader to decide what Desp means]

“I’m not shocked by your response. However, I don’t think you’re entirely opposed to the idea. You look at your joining the army and rising through the ranks as your glory days, correct? Deep down you’d love to do those drills again, even the most physically and psychologically demanding ones, to show you still have it in you.” There was a long pause, and afterward he stated, “Speaking of military matters, I think that you should start addressing me as ‘Sir’.”

Desp jerked his head around to face him directly. “You really don’t have that right! The only person I’d call ‘Sir’ is a general of higher rank or the Commander-in-Chief.”

“‘A general of higher rank?’ You speak like you were still a general and not someone who’s been dishonorably discharged. Tell me- why do you still cling to things such as patriotism and pride?”

“You’re an American, right?”

“Indiana born and raised.”

“Don’t you have any love for your country at all?!”

“Of course I do. I’m grateful to have been born an American. It’s just that with my ambition and willpower, I look at things differently than other people.”

“Just like you can call brainwashing whatever you want, you can call being a megalomaniac whatever you want.”

“Thank you; that means a lot coming from you.”

“You gave your own reason why I shouldn’t answer you. Someone like you can never understand concepts like wanting to be a part of something greater than yourself.”

Cerdis absorbed this and then chuckled in amusement. “That’s a good reason for joining the Army, I’ll give you that. That’s a common and understandable reason.”

“What’s so amusing, then?”

With a flick of his wrist, Cerdis caused the tablet cover to snap shut. “I was just wondering when things changed.”

“What?”

“You joined the army for love of country and to be a part of something greater, correct? Those are both noble reasons. However, at some point it became more & more about you and less & less about others. I would dare to say it even became less & less about your country, although I’m sure you didn’t look at it that way. Whatever you wanted was best, no matter who got hurt. Anyone beneath you was just a tool to fulfill your desire. When it got down to it, you were even willing to sacrifice your closest colleagues. It didn’t matter who or what was sacrificed in the name of your ambition.”

Grinning calmly yet maliciously, he took off his eyeglasses and looked Desp straight in the eye. “That’s probably part of the reason you hate me so much- I am you.”

The bitterness of the memory made him bite down on his fist. However, he then remembered something that happened after that incident. As he sat bound to a chair, Cerdis came into his cell with an expression of triumph on his face. He told his prisoner, “I prepared a special dinner for you tonight. I want to discuss my plans for you.”

Desp noticed that he hadn’t brought any food. “It’s in another room, I take it?”

“Yes. That’s because we have a number of guests dining with us.”

Desp, still bound to the chair, was brought to a room set up to be a dining room. Lady Darkphoenix, in her human form, was waiting for them. To Desp’s shock, a number of expressionless people were seated at the table. “Who are these guys?”

“They’re all United States military veterans, and they’re all under my control.”

“When did you do this!?”

“Do you really think the CPL device and the hsi-nao device were my only mind-control devices? I have a device that only takes about six hours to put someone in a hypnotic mind-control state. I merely had Brenda bring these gentlemen to me and subjected them to it.” He sat Desp at the head of the table as the guest of honor. “If you’re wondering why I didn’t just do that with you-”

“No, I can figure that out. This way you get better results and more enjoyment, right? What I want to know is why you brought them here.”

“They say that the best solutions are often simple ones that are easily overlooked at first. I realized that in order to get you to submit to your sessions willingly, I needed to offer an incentive.” [At this point Cerdis had to physically subdue/restrain Desp in order to get him to do the sessions.]

He turned to the assembled veterans. “Does anybody have a smoke?” One of the controlled dinner guests took out a cigarette and held it out to him. “Thank you.” He used one of the candles on the table to light it, took a puff, and held it so the lit end was facing downward. He then turned to the veteran seated closest to Desp. “Roll up your sleeve, would you kindly?”

“NO!” shouted Desp. He made a strong but futile effort to break free from his restraints.

“Hold it. It seems our guest of honor has something to say.”

“If… If I submit to you willingly… you’ll let these guys go home?”

“Not all of them have homes. America really is failing when it comes to caring for its veterans. However, I can have Brenda take them someplace safe. I give you my word as a superman.” [Cerdis is using the term “superman” to express the belief that he’s superior to others]

Desp looked at Lady Darkphoenix. “What about your word?”

She was surprised, but she sincerely replied, “Yes, I promise that I’ll take them somewhere safe.”

Desp hung his head and let out a long sigh. “All right. I’ll do it.”

“You’ve made a good decision,” Cerdis told him. He dropped the cigarette into a glass of water.

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

“All right. Brenda, you make sure our dinner guests are safe while I make sure our guest of honor gets around all right.”

In the bathroom, Desp pulled down his pants and underwear to urinate. Cerdis didn’t give him the courtesy of looking away, instead continuing to observe him like a rat in a science project. Desp told him, “I may not resist you physically, but mentally it’s a different story.”

“Of course. It would be disappointing otherwise.”

He finished urinating and then boasted, “I’m more of a man than you’ll ever be. I’ve done some bad things, but in the end, I am nothing like you.”

True to her word, Lady Darkphoenix delivered the captives to a police station where they would be taken care of. When she brought proof of this, Desp felt a sense of relief despite everything. He again stated, “I’m nothing like you, Cerdis.” He glanced toward the Kates. “Cerdis captured and released some veterans. How are they doing?”

“Last I heard they were still doing well.”

“Good.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

Less than half an hour later the control negation process was completed. “How do you feel?” asked Peppermint Candy.

“Distressed, but thank G-d I’m not in that monster’s control anymore. You all have been a great help to me… all of you.” His eyes once again began to brim with tears. “I really can’t thank you enough.”

He gave each of the Jeong Do members a handshake, with the exception of Hypnotized, who preferred a fist bump. He also promised Hypnotized that he’d write to her about sliding puzzles, something which delighted the heroine.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance told Ultra and Karate Kate, “He still has a good amount of psychological poison, which is not surprising when you consider everything. He will need counselling.”

“I’ve already arranged for that, thank you.” They looked at Desp. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. I want to go home.” When he started to leave, however, a feeling of sadness enveloped him as he thought of leaving his new allies. He pushed past it and allowed the Super Kates to take him away.

After Desp had spent a couple hours resting in a holding cell back in the United States, he received a visitor. “Hello, Desp,” greeted General Packett.

“Sir!” saluted Desp.

“At ease!”

He looked away in awkwardness from his former friend, but his attention was brought back to Packett when he held out a book which he recognized. “Is that…”

“Yes, it’s the diary you kept during your custody. We received it along with… that video.” Desp looked down in shame and Packett continued, “Knowing Cerdis, I’m guessing he copied the pages for his records. We read it, so we know what happened.”

“That’s good.” He took the diary from Packett. “Why are you here, then?”

“One reason should be obvious. The best person to identify with a victim of Professor Cerdis is another victim of Professor Cerdis. My jaw hit the floor when I saw that video. I can understand how painful the ordeal was for you.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m willing to talk and to listen.”

“Have you heard anything else about him?”

“We have word he’s in Japan. Ultra and Karate Kate are on the case.” [This graphic novel will be the set-up to a two-part Ultra Kate and Karate Kate adventure]

“They need to stop him.” To Packett’s surprise, tears started to run down the face of the emotionally ragged former general. “They need to stop him… before he does this to anyone else!”

“Don’t worry, they’ll get him. They’ll put a stop to whatever he’s doing.” He gave Desp a pat on the back. After Desp had settled down some and wiped away his tears, Packett asked, “We figure that Cerdis bribed a worker in order to abduct you. Is that what happened?”

“Yes. He had someone knock me out during a supposed medical examination.”

“Would you recognize the worker if you saw him again?”

Desp remembered the man’s face, but he also remembered his shame and desperation. He told Packett, “I don’t see how I could be expected to remember something like that. Cerdis is the one we need to go after, not some poor schmuck forced to do something.”

Packett apparently understood his meaning. “I’d say you’re right.”

He nodded. “I’ll be happy to help you any other way.” He reflected and then noted, “I’m a little surprised Sykes isn’t here too. He’s always good with things like this.” Packett didn’t answer, causing Desp grow alarmed. “Don’t tell me Cerdis got him too!”

“No. No, he didn’t get him. That’s another reason I came here. Sykes is dead.”

“What!? How?!”

“It happened a few weeks ago. He was at a store when an armed robber came. The robber was high on meth and acting violently. When the robber tried to take hostages, Sykes fought with him and disarmed him. The robber was subdued and arrested, but Sykes was fatally shot. He died at the scene.”

“That’s a good way to go, helping people.”

Packett took out a program. “I brought this for you from the funeral.”

“You… You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s what he would have wanted… and what I wanted.”

“Thank you.” He took it, looked at the cover, and sighed with a mixture of relief and sadness. Smiling oddly, he declared, “You never got him, Cerdis. You hear that? You missed getting one! You’re never going to get the whole set now!”

He broke down crying again. Packett silently bowed his head and cried as well. For a while it seemed that the two of them were the only ones in the world. Finally, after his sobbing fit had ended, Desp noted, “The last time I saw him was a few days before my capture. He was still hopeful for me despite everything.”

“It was his wish that we could all heal from what happened years ago, all three of us. He looked forward to you being rescued. He never stopped caring.”

“No, he never did, did he? Thank G-d our last meeting went well… that I wasn’t hateful or anything.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“You said you were willing to talk and to listen.”

“That’s right. We’ve been in the same boat, after all.”

“Or the same hole. Sykes told me a modern parable. There was this veteran in a deep, dark hole, with no way to get out. The counselor threw down a rope for him to climb out, but he didn’t- or couldn’t, I guess. The preacher threw down a rope for him to climb out, but he couldn’t. Finally another veteran threw down a rope, but he didn’t just throw it down; he climbed down it himself so he could help the other guy climb out.” [My pastor told this parable recently and I felt it would be a good fit for this story.]

“I once heard a similar parable. This guy was in a pit and couldn’t get out. A doctor passed by, threw down a piece of paper, and said, ‘Here’s a prescription.’ A preacher passed by, threw down a piece of paper, and said, ‘Here’s a prayer.’  Finally the man’s friend passed by, and when he saw what had happened, he jumped down into the pit. The man asked, ‘What are you doing!? Now we’re both in the pit!’ and the friend told him, ‘Yes, but I’ve been in this pit before, and I know the way out.’” He reached out his hand. “No man left behind.”

Desp stared a moment before gladly and firmly grasping Packett’s hand. As Desp wiped away tears with the other hand, Packett told him, “We’re going to restart. It’s going to be okay.”

I hope to have some non-Cerdis related drafts in the coming months. The Duel draft is coming along nicely. When it's finished, would you like me to post the entire story in one piece so you don't have to look at two separate sections? Raidra (talk) 01:53, April 15, 2018 (UTC)

Reply to "Doom is Back! But For How Long?" Message
Well, I'm almost done writing the first chapter of Kenji and Yuki. When it's finished, I can email you the link to the Google Docs file and you can read it and maybe give feedback when you get some free time. I've also been featured in EtherBot's Random Writer's Showcase and I've gotten myself a Goodreads account.

I'm not sure if you told me this already but what kind of job do you have? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   04:51, April 1, 2018 (UTC)

Reply to "Excellent! (Short Guitar Riff)" Message
There was a sequel to Bill and Ted? Well that's something I didn't think would exist. I've seen the first Bill and Ted and I thought it was excellent (guitr riff plays). Is the sequel any good?

Good news! I finally finished writing the first chapter of Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale! I made a post about it on Goodreads in the Beta/Proofreaders group. So far there haven't been any responses yet but I'll check back later. I can also email you a copy of the chapter if you want.

I found this amusing Southwest Airlines commerical about a general who hates his job and how he shows this is just too good to spoil. I also found this even more hilarious Walmart commerical that I remember watching so many years ago.

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   04:12, April 8, 2018 (UTC)

Reply to "Stock Footage Crew" Message
I've gotten some feedback from quite a few people (and I'm still waiting on a couple more) on Chapter One and I've been tailoring it based on the feedback I got. One of the most common notes I've been getting about it is with the scene where the lady gives up her bike to the protagonist. According to them, they say that the scene is unbeliveable even though it's supposed to be a more over the top and comedic scene. Now I really want to keep it in here. However, I'm really not sure how I can make it more clear that this moment isn't supposed to be taken all that seriously. I can send you the excerpt for the scene via pastebin if you want. Speaking of the story, would you like to wait until chapter two is finished to send you what I have so far? Or would you like to wait until chapters two and three are complete?

Along with editing chapter one, I've also been working on chapter two and completing my college work since my classes are going to end around the 13th of May. After that, I think I'll have a lot more free time until I start some other classes in the fall.

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   03:33, April 18, 2018 (UTC)

A sad update
I’m sorry to report that my mother passed away this afternoon. She appreciated all the well-wishes she received. I probably won’t be very active online for a while. Have a blessed day. Raidra (talk) 22:28, April 30, 2018 (UTC)
 * Don't worry about it; I'm okay. ~hugs~ Thank you, I appreciate that.  Here's wishing you the best too.  Have a blessed day.


 * Your friend,


 * Raidra (talk) 03:10, May 15, 2018 (UTC)

Re: Birthday
Thanks! I had a good one, though I probably ate too much. Raidra (talk) 15:16, May 16, 2018 (UTC)

The Duel
''Today I finished the draft. I decided to post the entire draft because I've made some changes to what I had posted previously. I hope you enjoy!''

Sitting in a hotel room in California, businessman Wayne Bruce made a couple phone calls. The first was to touch base with his company back home in Gotterville. The second was a longer call to touch base with his ward, Dick Brownson, who was visiting with some relatives nearby. After he finished the final call and hung up the phone, he heard someone in the hallway. He heard the figure stop outside his door, and presently there was a light rapping.

“May I help you?” Wayne asked.

“You’re Missster Wayne Bruccce, correct?” was the response.

Wayne’s ears shot up in surprise, but he quickly recovered and replied, “Yes, sir, and I believe I recognize your voice. Mr. Gerard Ripley, correct?”

“Yesss, it’sss me. May I come in?”

“Certainly. Let me get the door.”

Wayne opened the door, allowing Dart Tongue to enter his hotel room. “Thank you, sssir,” the iguana man responded.

“Think nothing of it,” replied the bat man. “Please make yourself at home. I’ll be freshening up.”

“By all meansss.” He closed the door and took a seat on a chair as Wayne headed to the bathroom. “Thisss isss a niccce room you have here.”

“I think so. It’s homely, yet stately. Does that sound weird?”

“I don’t think ssso. Are you enjoying your visssit here?”

“Yes, it’s a beautiful state.”

“Thank you. I heard you’d be here for a few daysss while your ward visssited hisss hometown, and I jussst had to meet with you. I appreccciate you being welcoming and not acting like you don’t know me.”

“I’ll admit I was surprised by you coming to meet me like this, but it’s better not to play dumb. Leave us not be unkind.”

“SSSmart man. You’re asss good asss your assssociatesss. Asss I’m sssure you know, I had a confrontation with Nightwalker not too long ago. (I intend for this issue to occur shortly before The Duel) SSShe’sss a very capable young lady, sssomeone with fortitude and character.”

“That’s very nice of you to say.”

“Asss I told her, one mussst give credit where it’sss due.”

“I agree. Likewise, you were a big help during our last meeting. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It hasss, but I’m sssure you remember how we agreed that we’d have to have a friendly contessst one day. With you vacationing here, I thought thisss might be a good time. What sssay you?”

Dart Tongue heard the bathroom door open. He looked and then smiled. Wayne had emerged from the bathroom as The Flying Fox. “Your servant would say that’s fine with me,” The Flying Fox replied.

“Exxxcellent. How about we ssschedule our meeting for ssseven o’clock tomorrow morning?”

“Just name the place and your servant is there! Before that, however, your servant knows that your arsenal and artifact room are both registered as museums. Your servant has a little money on hand, so your servant would love to see them.”

“Very well. I’ll reward your quick thinking and your chutzzzpah. Change out of those busssinessss clothesss and follow me.

Soon Wayne was at Ripley’s hideout, where he received an exclusive tour of both the art & artifact room and the arsenal. It was just Wayne, Ripley, Foam, Twi-Night, and Darter. Foam’s addiction and recovery were an open secret, and Wayne received the group’s appreciation when he sincerely asked how Foam and Twi-Night were doing. At the end of the arsenal tour Wayne noted, “Your collections are impressive.”

“Thank you. There have been rough timesss, but the Lord hasss blessssed usss very much.” He nodded toward the swords. “I have two kokutō. The one there isss Tossshikage- ‘Clever SSShadow.’ The other isss SSSadakage- ‘Upright SSShadow.’  I alssso have another kunai blade. If you win, you get SSSadakage and the sssecond kunai blade. If I win, I get one of your empty utility beltsss- not a toy replica from a ssstore, but a real one. Letting me have an empty one won’t hurt anything.”

“Fair enough. How does this sound? If you restrict yourself to the weapons displayed in this arsenal, refrain from using your Adamant Blade, teleportation stone, and the like, then your servant won’t use your servant’s metal-dissolving gas or your servant’s teleporter.”

“I think that’sss fair too. I’ll alssso refrain from usssing the Fright Ray.” He handed Wayne a small map. “Here’sss the location. SSScout it out in advanccce if you wisssh, but no one isss allowed there until tomorrow. We may each have one sssecond. I think we’ve essstablissshed everything.”

“Your servant thinks so too.” The duelists shook hands.

Ripley told Wayne, “I’m sssure we’re both anxxxiousss for thisss. We have sssimilar drive, ssso it’sss no sssurprissse we had the sssame teacher.”

He was referring to Hashi Kuroi, the bear man who called himself Kenchikuka, Japanese for Architect, as a sign he wished to build bridges between people.

Wayne nodded. “Your servant wasn’t shocked when he told me he had mentored you in the martial arts as well. Kenchikuka-sensei has a gift for seeing those with drive & heart and unlocking their potential.”

“The fact that you were a ssstudent of hisss wass a factor in my being able to put two & two together. By the way, doesss he know you’re The Flying Fox?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“I thought ssso. You know, I ssstill talk with him.”

“Your servant does too.”

The two reminisced about their beloved martial arts instructor for a while before deciding to part ways until the scheduled time. Dart Tongue personally escorted Wayne back to the front door. “Try to ressst up,” he suggested.

“You too. Your servant is sure we’ll both have anxious nights.”

“Yeah. SSSee you then.”

Wayne left the house and started down the front walk, but then Ripley asked, “Do you keep any weaponsss by your bed?”

After a pause, Wayne replied, “Your servant likes to keep a couple things handy just in case.”

“Yeah. Estes & Kim keep their emblemsss, a dart gun, a ssswitchblade knife, and a chainlock by their bedsssidesss.” He admitted, “By my bedssside I have a dart gun, a two-sssection ssstaff, a sssilver knife, a cane sssword, throwing knivesss, a monk’sss ssspade, and a flying weight.”

There was a pause followed by Dart Tongue declaring, “Well, it isss what it isss. I’ll sssee you in the morning.”

“Yeah. Godspeed.”

“Yeah. You too.” He softly closed the door behind Wayne.

Late that night, Wayne flew to a spot where he could observe the dueling site. Since this was just going to be a friendly contest, both parties would adhere to the set rules. Wayne figured that since Dart Tongue would likely wear his Aegis-mask in addition to his special armor, he’d come to battle wearing his protective suit. The suit was resistant against flames, chemicals, electricity, and punctures and had protective pads on the sleeves. It also had a protective mask, a bullet-proof vest protecting the upper body, and a retractable shield attached to the back.

He flashed back to when Renegade helped test the suit. It was during Renegade’s rehab. Super Creature explained, “The Flying Fox needs this suit tested, and since you’re currently in a weakened state and need something to do, we thought you could help.”

The sickly maniac grinned in excitement. “Aw, yeah! That’s what I’m talking about, hustler!” He displayed his claws. “Normally I can tear the hide off a baseball. I’m not back to full-strength, but we’ll see what I can do!”

The Flying Fox readied himself. Renegade asked, “By the way, you want me to avoid the weak spots on the upper thighs, right?”

The Flying Fox’s ears and eyes slightly reacted in surprise. Super Creature casually asked, “Hmm?”

Renegade snickered and turned to Super Creature. “‘Hmm?’ nothing! If someone gets nerve gas poisoning, you’re supposed to inject an antidote into their upper thigh. I’m sure a smart guy like Wayne created a couple less-protected spots there. That way, if he did get compromised, an antidote could be administered.” He turned back to Fox. “I’m even surer now because of your reaction.”

“Once again, there’s no sense in denying that you got me,” admitted Flying Fox. “There are weak spots on the wrists and upper thighs for injecting antidotes.”

Renegade looked closely and announced, “I see them! You did a great job with those. Like I said, I’ll lay off those for this test.”

In the present, Wayne mused that he’d have to be careful because Dart Tongue might figure out the weak spots too. That wasn’t all that concerned him, though. Ripley showed genuine vulnerability when he spoke about bedside weapons. He had chosen to confide in his rival. Ripley may have shrugged that off, but he wasn’t going to. There was a bigger issue here, and Wayne wouldn’t mind serving as a confidante. He didn’t know when the right time would be, however. In the end he decided he’d have to play it by ear. He flew back to his hotel.

The following morning the duelists met as scheduled. The Flying Fox, wearing his protective suit and a loose-fitting jacket, brought Othello as his second. Dart Tongue, wearing his armor and Aegis-mask as predicted, brought Supplier. Darter and Voyeur were also there, as was a lady with her sandy hair tied back into a ponytail.

“Hello, Fox! Othello!” greeted Kate.

After the heroes had exchanged pleasantries, Dart Tongue explained, “Darter wasss going to be the judge originally, but then I thought Kate would be better.”

“Your servant agrees,” replied Flying Fox.

“Thank you. I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” remarked Kate.

“Me either,” commented Darter. “I’m happy just to be a spectator.”

“It should make for a great video,” added Voyeur.

Kate, Othello, Supplier, Darter, and Voyeur stood on one side of the clearing. Othello and Supplier took their places closer to the respective ends of the clearing while Kate stood close to the center, with Darter and Voyeur close by so they could have good vantage points. Dart Tongue removed his unique weapons and teleportation stone. As he gave them to Supplier for safekeeping, he said out loud, “Not usssing teleportation ssseemsss to put me at a disssadvantage, but I’ll limit your movementsss sssoon enough.”

Flying Fox smirked as he handed Othello his metal-dissolving gas capsules and teleporter for safekeeping. “We’ll see about that.”

“Indeed we will.”

After she’d inspected the duelists, Kate took out a gunbai, the wooden Japanese war fan used by referees in sumo bouts. The Flying Fox and Dart Tongue faced each other. Kate raised the gunbai high, then lowered it in a swift motion. “Begin!”

Dart Tongue took the end of his sleeve, but instead of rolling it up, he pressed a spot underneath his wrist. A blade was rapidly launched from his sleeve, revealing he had hidden a ballistic knife there. The Flying Fox dodged both that blade and the second one fired from the other sleeve. As Flying Fox retrieved the retractable shield from the back of his protective suit, Dart Tongue knocked the sides of his wrists together sharply. A bright, blinding flash occurred, revealing the presence of a couple hidden flash bombs as well. Dart Tongue rapidly threw down some smoke bombs from his pockets, further obscuring Flying Fox’s vision. He then backed away while rolling up his sleeves to expose his senbon launcher and retractable shield, allowing them to be used freely.

After Flying Fox opened his shield, he heard Dart Tongue remove something from his coat. The temptation was to fly above the smoke, but he stayed on the ground because he suspected some kind of trick. Sure enough, a kyoketsu-shoge soon whirled above his head. He would have been ensnared if he’d flown up at the wrong time. He grabbed the kyoketsu-shoge and held it tightly while raising his shield in front of his face. Dart Tongue, now sure of his location, launched a barrage of ninja stars from his shuriken launcher. Flying Fox was mostly protected by his shield. A couple shuriken hit him, but they didn’t penetrate his suit, instead falling aside harmlessly. He reflected that since Dart Tongue had both the kyoketsu-shoge and the shuriken launcher ready to use, he might have used either one to attack had he flown up.

Still staying planted on the ground, Flying Fox used his wings to blow away the smoke. As he did he saw Dart Tongue with the kyoketsu-shoge in his right hand and the shuriken launcher in his left. That wasn’t all, however. In his right hand he also held a folded tessen, and in the left he also held a cylinder which rapidly expanded into a spear. Pointing the spear at Fox while keeping a firm grip on the kyoketsu-shoge, Dart Tongue noted, “You were sssmart not to charge me, but now you can’t move much.”

“Your servant doesn’t have to,” replied Fox. He released his hold on the kyoketsu-shoge, severing his line to Dart Tongue while allowing him to move backward, took to the air, took out his tranquilizer pistol, and fired at the front filter of the Aegis-mask. Dart Tongue, however, had realized what he was going to do. When Fox released the kyoktsu-shoge, he opened the tessen. He moved it in front of his face, allowing the metal fan to block the incoming dart. He then used his tail to open his retractable shield. By using the tessen from his right hand instead of the retractable shield on his left forearm, he was able to maintain the spear in a steady position. Dart Tongue wouldn’t give up the spear easily at this point. If Flying Fox grabbed the spear and tried to yank it from his grip by force, Dart Tongue might suddenly release his hold, losing the spear but causing the vigilante to fly off-balance. If he tried to fly over and kick it from his hand, Dart Tongue might counterattack somehow. Flying Fox decided to try his Flying Fox boomerangs.

He briefly looked down as he reached for his utility belt, and it was then that he noticed a couple dark spots on his suit. He realized that they were the places the shuriken had hit; Dart Tongue had coated them with some kind of pigment beforehand. What seemed to be a failed attack had actually succeeded in a way, showing Dart Tongue that the suit could not be penetrated easily and confirming that the mask filters would be the best places to hit. His comment about Flying Fox not being able to move much wasn’t simple boasting, but an opportunity to survey where the shuriken had hit. His strategy had been to group these weapons together so he could remove them easily and use them in rapid order to pinpoint Fox’s location, attack, attempt to restrain him, and reveal his suit’s strengths so he could target its weaknesses, all while protecting his own weak points. This guy was on another level. Flying Fox found his hand trembling slightly- not from fear, but from the excitement of facing such a worthy opponent. He glanced at Ripley, and he couldn’t help but grin when he saw the outstretched spear quiver slightly. Dart Tongue was feeling it too, which made this even better.

As Flying Fox took out three boomerangs, Dart Tongue released his hold on the kyoketsu-shoge and the shuriken launcher, allowing them to fall to the ground. He then retracted the spear and tucked it into his belt, resulting in the first boomerang thrown missing it completely. Dart Tongue allowed the next two boomerangs to hit him. The last one released a cloud of sleeping gas upon contact. Dart Tongue wasn’t affected due to his mask, but the gas served as a smokescreen. Instead of charging his opponent, Flying Fox landed, then took out & extended his retractable cane with retractable blade.

There was a loud whooshing sound as a powerful stream of gas swept up & down and from side to side, blowing away & dissipating the cloud of sleeping gas while sending a forceful wave of air at Flying Fox. The poison detector on his utility belt began to beep and flash as an alert about the increased presence of carbon dioxide. Unaffected thanks to his protective suit, he remained still. Dart Tongue dropped the fire extinguisher he had used to attack and took out his ballistic dragon dagger and his flying thunder god kunai. With the ballistic dragon dagger and now-folded tessen in his right hand and the kunai in his left, he charged at Flying Fox. Fox responded with a charge of his own.

Dart Tongue parried Flying Fox’s bladed cane with the kunai while Flying Fox used his shield to guard against Dart Tongue’s dagger. Both combatants had both hands occupied, though that didn’t mean they were unable to act. Fox noted that Dart Tongue still had his tail while he had his wings and feet. He also noted that he could either wait for an opening or make his own. Using his wings to support the shield, he released his hold on the retractable cane. Gripping the shield with his right hand, he reached with his left hand and pressed the button to launch the ballistic dragon dagger’s blade. The blade launched into the air harmlessly and he set an edge of the shield on the dagger’s hilt, preventing Dart Tongue from retracting the blade and using it again. Releasing his right hand, he swiftly blocked his right mask filter with his right arm, foiling Dart Tongue’s attempt to puncture it with his flying thunder god kunai. Dart Tongue had hidden an amphismela between the ballistic dragon dagger and the folded tessen. He had retrieved it while making the move with the kunai and now attempted to stab one of Fox’s mask filters with it. Flying Fox had anticipated this, however, and covered his face with his left wing.

Bracing himself, he grabbed hold of the now-loosely held dagger hilt. Dart Tongue rested a finger atop his left wing and called, “Time!”

Kate raised the gunbai into the air, called, “Time!” and lowered the gunbai again. The fighters separated and Flying Fox retrieved his cane. “Are you two okay?” asked Kate. The duelists verbally affirmed that they were okay and Kate observed, “I know Ripley can hold his breath for extended periods, but since neither of you seems to have been affected by the use of a fire extinguisher that displaces oxygen, I assume you both have an oxygen supply?”

“Secret’s out,” replied Fox. “Your servant has an oxygen mask on.”

“Likewissse,” responded Dart Tongue. Addressing Fox, he noted, “You weren’t at all fazzzed by me employing the fire exxxtinguisssher. Obviousssly you predicted that move.”

“We agreed you’d use the weapons in your arsenal, and a fire extinguisher can be used as a weapon.”

Dart Tongue smirked at Wayne’s skill. He had hoped to do one of two things by using the extinguisher in combat. The first was to knock out or weaken The Flying Fox by temporarily depriving him of oxygen. In the event that failed, which he realized was likely, he hoped to activate the gas detector on Fox’s utility belt, allowing him to pinpoint his location even if smokescreens were deployed. Flying Fox had ended up using this strategy to his benefit as well. If Dart Tongue knew his location, he’d know Dart Tongue’s since he would head for him.

He told Flying Fox, “SSSomeone whossse intellect and reflexxxesss weren’t as well-honed would have been defeated numerousss timesss already.”

“You’re no slouch, that’s for sure.”

“Tell me, though- what do you think I could have done to your left wing, even with the protective sssuit?”

“Your servant would prefer not to dwell on that.”

“Underssstandable. I prefer my guessstsss to remain uninjured if possssible, ssso let’sss compromissse. I’m sssure you’re familiar with the ninjutsssu training exxxercissse in which a body part ssstruck with a rubber ssstar isss out of commissssion for the remainder of the bout. SSSinccce you were willing to sssacrificcce your left wing to guarantee I couldn’t ussse that dagger anymore, you refrain from usssing that wing to fly & block and I’ll cassst away the dagger.”

“Fair enough.”

As The Flying Fox bound his left wing with a cord and Dart Tongue retrieved the ballistic dragon dagger to give to Supplier, Othello turned to Kate. “While we’re on time out, I have a question. A weapon which lands out of bounds shouldn’t be able to be used anymore, right?”

Supplier smirked. “Are you sure you want that rule implemented?”

His meaning was clear. The rule could benefit Dart Tongue as easily as it could The Flying Fox. However, Othello smirked back and nodded. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Kate agreed, “Any weapon which lands entirely out of bounds can no longer be used.”

“In that cassse…” responded Dart Tongue. Sticking the tessen, amphismela, and flying thunder god kunai into a pocket, he gathered together the ballistic knife blades, kyoketsu-shoge, shuriken, shuriken launcher, and fire extinguisher in addition to the ballistic dragon dagger.

“Don’t forget those spare Flying Fox boomerangs your servant threw a little bit ago,” called Flying Fox. “Your servant would hate for them to get stepped on.”

Supplier chuckled despite himself. Soon he was carrying the assembled weapons with him out of bounds, and as he did he reflected on the cool confidence such skilled combatants had.

“Your servant wants to make one more thing clear before we continue,” Flying Fox told Kate. “Your servant agreed that your servant wouldn’t use this wing to fly or block. What if your servant starts to fall and happens to use this wing as support?”

“I think that’d be all right. It’s instinctive to use a limb for support, even if it’s injured. A wounded or disabled limb could still be used for that.”

“I agree,” added Ripley. “That’sss why I worded the agreement the way I did.”

“Your servant appreciates it,” Flying Fox replied to both of them. He hung his shield on his bound left wing. “As long as your servant doesn’t move this wing, just turns your servant’s body so a blow happens to hit the shield on it, your servant isn’t breaking the agreement, right?”

“I agree,” ruled Kate. “Having protection on a limb and passively using it to ward against blows is not the same as actively using it to block like you had been.”

“I have no objectionsss,” noted Ripley.

“Your servant is glad we clarified that,” responded Flying Fox. He took out his minicomputer, set it to play music, and returned it to his utility belt. This action allowed him to be tracked by sound and thus declared, “Come at me!” “Your servant is ready to continue.”

The two duelists resumed their places. Kate raised the gunbai high, called, “Time!” and lowered it again.

Dart Tongue took out and extended the retractable spear with his right hand and again took the flying thunder god kunai in his left. Flying Fox again wielded his bladed cane with his right hand while turning his body, exposing his left side to his opponent. His out-of-commission left wing, with the shield affixed to it, served as protection while obscuring his left arm. The gang leader figured his opponent was up to something, but he still attempted to stab one of the vigilante’s mask filters with the spear. This attempt was foiled by the bat man countering with his cane and then trapping the spear with a uniquely-shaped trident dagger he had swiftly pulled from his jacket with his left hand. The iguana man, upon seeing the dagger, released his hold on the spear in order to retreat several steps. He had recognized the dagger as Scorpion, one of the Five Poisons weapons given to Flying Fox by Specter.

He chuckled. “Our friend can be glad hisss weaponsss are in sssuch capable handsss. I wondered what you had hidden under there; now I wonder what elssse you have hidden under there.”

He removed his chain whip from his trench coat, causing Fox to note that he had finally brought out his signature weapon. He then went on the offensive, sending a flurry of swift, graceful, and powerful strikes at the vigilante. Fox had to intercept some of them with his padded sleeves. Dart Tongue’s skill foiled every attempt to trap the chain whip with the cane and Scorpion. Flying Fox’s heart began to pound harder from the effort of evading or blocking the chain whip’s dart, the feeling of danger, and the excitement of being in the presence of someone so skilled.

The After-Dark Knight returned Scorpion to the sheath inside his jacket and took a few more Flying Fox boomerangs from his utility belt. After retracting the cane’s blade he retracted the cane itself and tucked it under his left arm. He began launching boomerangs at his opponent. The Dragon evaded or blocked every one, but with every boomerang he threw, he got closer. Again showing his protected left side to his rival, he retrieved and retracted his cane. He then turned his body back to face his opponent head-on and charged boldly.

Dart Tongue trapped the cane with his kunai. He figured that with his rival this close, he could launch a barrage of senbon into his mask filters with his wrist launcher. Before he could act on this plan, however, he noticed that Flying Fox was clasping something metallic in his approaching left hand. The vigilante made a swift motion around Dart Tongue’s right wrist and a clicking sound was heard. The Basilisk leader saw that half a pair of handcuffs was now around his right wrist while the other half was apparently around his shuddering opponent’s left wrist. The iguana man realized what had happened. The bat man had half a pair of handcuffs secured around his left wrist this whole time. He had pulled the other half, which must have been secured by a baffle, from his left sleeve in the process of retrieving his cane. The two duelists were now linked.

The Flying Fox held up his right wing in front of his body as best he could to serve as a barrier. Using his strength, Dart Tongue used the connecting handcuffs to yank Fox off his feet and toss him to the ground. Fox responded by throwing his protective mask, which he had yanked off along with his oxygen mask, in Dart Tongue’s face, briefly blocking his vision. Turning his head sideways, he sprung up and bit Dart Tongue’s Aegis-mask, puncturing the side filters with his fangs. He took out a tranquilizer dart with his right hand, and as he moved it toward the front filter of the Aegis-mask, Dart Tongue wrapped his left hand around his now less protected neck. However, Flying Fox held the dart still and Dart Tongue didn’t tighten his grip. Dart Tongue chuckled and then asked, “Isssn’t it time to call it?”

Kate raised the gunbai high in the air. “Since both duelists will get knocked out if they continue, I hereby declare…” She brought down the gunbai in a swift motion. “…this fight is a draw!”

Dart Tongue removed his hand from The Flying Fox’s neck while Flying Fox withdrew his right hand & extracted his fangs from the Aegis-mask. After Flying Fox arose and unlocked the handcuffs, Dart Tongue removed his Aegis-mask, revealing a smile. “How are you feeling?”

Fox was smiling too. “Somewhat battered and winded, but fine.”

“I trussst you found that as exxxhilarating asss I did.”

“Mmm-hmm! Your servant thoroughly enjoyed it.”

He took out some medicinal brandy and used it to try to kill any germs he might have picked up from biting and penetrating Ripley’s mask filters. Ripley asked, “You took quite a chanccce, didn’t you?” Wayne nodded. Ripley smirked before handing him the Aegis-mask. “Feel free to take thisss masssk asss a sssouvenir sssinccce I have sssparesss at home.”

“Might as well.”

As the duelists gathered themselves, the spectators moved in to congratulate them on their battle. Supplier observed Flying Fox as he removed his jacket. He thought he had seen a couple dark, greasy spots on the right sleeve, and upon the jacket being removed he saw the sleeve of the costume underneath glistening from above the wrist to just above the elbow.

He smirked and observed, “Petroleum jelly, or something like it.” He turned to Dart Tongue. “So that’s why you grabbed his throat and not the arm holding the dart. You realized that he had a lubricated forearm which might slide out of your grip and be able to jab your front filter.”

“Mmm-hmm. SSSome cluesss and deduction led me to realizzze he had probably done that.”

“Impressive.” He turned back to Flying Fox. “It’s also impressive that you held your own against Ripley.”

“Thank you.”

“For you to coat your forearm like that… and to have the handcuffs…does that mean the ‘unmask and take him down with me’ strategy was your final gambit all along?”

“Yes, it was intended to be your servant’s finishing move if need be. It’s not winning, but it’s not losing either.”

“Nothing lessss isss to be exxxpected from the great Flying Foxxx,” declared Dart Tongue. This was why he had retreated a few paces when Scorpion was drawn. Seeing Specter’s weapon reminded him of the sacrifice the hero had been willing to make that night and made him realize he might try a risky move in this situation too. He continued, “SSSpeaking of not losssing…”

He went to where the prizes were sitting, followed by Flying Fox. He picked up Sadakage the kokutō and the second kunai blade while Fox picked up the empty utility belt. “You didn’t win, but you alssso didn’t lossse, and ssso I insssissst you take thessse.”

“Likewise, your servant insists you take this- a real one, not a replica.”

The two exchanged their prizes. Dart Tongue told him, “Metal sssharpensss metal. Hopefully you’ll have another good sssparring partner on your ssside sssomeday, and you two can continue to challenge each other.”

Flying Fox realized who he was referring to. “Yeah. Your servant hopes so.” Now that the duel was over, the emotions began to get to the bat man, making him feel lightheaded. His heart pounded, but he nonchalantly took his retractable cane and rested against it. Othello brought him a small box containing some shortbread cookies and a can of lemonade to help replenish his strength. (It seems like I’ve heard of that somewhere before.) As Flying Fox began to partake of his snack, they heard Supplier remark, “Great minds think alike.” They looked to see that he had likewise brought Ripley a box with shortbread cookies and lemonade.

The seconds retrieved the duelists’ discarded weapons and then the group members chatted for a while. Weapons enthusiast Darter was especially interested in Othello’s sword and staff.

“The sword resembles a rapier,” observed Darter, “yet is double-edged and thus capable of cutting as well as thrusting. It’s basically a cruciform knightly sword with a more tapered blade. The staff, meanwhile, is topped with a pommel resembling a Type-D sword pommel to increase its striking power.” (If you have the resources, you can sound like you know what you’re talking about.)

“You show great knowledge in your field,” replied Othello.

“Thank you. Those are some interesting weapons you have here.”

“Thank you.”

Darter looked at Flying Fox. “By the way, I’d appreciate it if you told Sparrow I’d like to have a friendly match with him sometime.”

“Your servant will do that. He’s certainly a capable fighter.”

Darter nodded. “I’m sure of it. That’s why I look forward to having a contest with him one day.”

Dart Tongue and his party soon began to leave. “Hey, why are you leaving so soon?” The Flying Fox asked.

An intrigued Ripley stopped in his tracks. “Do we have more busssinessss to do?”

“Your servant thinks we do, though not here. We had our scheduled meeting, and it went excellently. However, when your servant meets with a particularly interesting person in your servant’s business dealings, it often turns out that the meeting is only the beginning. We might have lunch or something to get to know each other better. That’s especially true when we have things in common.”

“Kindred ssspiritsss, eh?”

“Mmm-hmm. You’re the one who proposed this get-together in the first place, and who approached me yesterday to see if your servant were available. Don’t you think it would be anticlimactic if you just walked away and that was it? Your servant likes to think we were forming a connection, so it would be a shame to part ways so soon.”

“You’re right. It would be anticlimactic and a ssshame. I’m sssure you remember how to get to my placcce. It…It would be an honor if you’d come over.”

“Thank you. Your servant would like that very much. Your servant will freshen up and then come visit with you.”

“Glad to hear it.” Raidra (talk) 22:44, May 19, 2018 (UTC)
 * I just wanted to stop by and say hello. Also, I found this video that I thought you might like. Raidra (talk) 23:44, July 21, 2018 (UTC)

Hello
I've read your stories and I've noticed you seem to like stories about cryptids. I have a draft in Workshop for the current contest featuring a cryptid, and I was wondering if you'd like to review it.

https://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:618643

HopelessNightOwl (talk) 04:52, June 9, 2018 (UTC)

Return of the Vroom
YAY! :-D Actual footage of the parade celebrating Vroom's return- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-QpfLV8dQw

Even if you won't be able to post as regularly as you did before, it'll still be good to have you posting more often. I can imagine how the other three reacted to one of the only paying ones not resigning the lease. Now they'll be stuck playing cards with Daniel D'Arby to try to get rent money. Congratulations on getting your own place! Here's wishing you the best. I was looking through some old messages and you had mentioned having tooth trouble. How's that going?

I'm glad you liked it! There hasn't been a whole lot going on, but here's one thing- I just recently finished writing the draft of a graphic novel that will serve as Specter's origin story. I'd prefer to share this one by email since it's so long, though I could always do it in serial form. Is your email still the same? Mine is, so if yours is different, you could always send me the new one. Raidra (talk) 18:49, August 3, 2018 (UTC)
 * Oh, and by the way, you may or may not have to reassure Dr. Frank that I don't eat pizza guys and store their bones under deck furniture. Just a heads-up. Raidra (talk) 18:52, August 3, 2018 (UTC)
 * Here's one more thing (not an important thing, just another thing). You know how sometimes you look back on a story you wrote and realize something about your own story?  That happened to me during your absence.  We speculated on whether the keepers in my CPL story were in control of their actions or not.  Well, something made me think of this part one day.


 * "'I’ll explain shortly. Right now you need to be quiet. If you don’t, then I have no qualms about gagging you.” He chuckles and adds, “Then again, I don’t have any qualms about being gagged, either.'


 * "The keepers look at him in surprise, then look away awkwardly."


 * I realized that since those keepers could feel embarrassment about Cerdis's admission about his sex life, that means they weren't being controlled. They did this without being coerced by Cerdis.  That doesn't mean all the keepers have free will, though, which brings up a new question- which came first, the controlled keepers or the non-controlled keepers?  Were these keepers convinced that the operation was okay by previous keepers who were actually being controlled, or did these keepers lure new keepers who ended up being controlled?  In the end it's up to the reader to decide. Raidra (talk) 22:16, August 3, 2018 (UTC)

That's rough. You should keep a little notebook with you so you can jot down story ideas and whatnot during breaks. I haven't worked on any creepypastas in a while, but I have some ideas.

D'Arby's dealer boy- Like I thought... your roommates were &*^%! Absolute &*^%!

I know from experience that some people turn nasty when they realize they're not going to get anything from you. By the way, was there ever an explanation given for why Daniel D'Arby had paint sample strips on his face?

Bummer. R.I.P. Camaro head gasket. I haven't gotten my teeth checked in a while either. I need to reschedule my eye appointment because something came up for the day it was scheduled, but I don't have any plans to make a dentist's appointment anytime soon (I don't like my dentist). Speaking of eye appointments, I got some sort of eye test and I noted, "I'm sorry for being nervous. It's just that while I don't watch modern horror movies, this [having a foreign object approaching someone's eye] is how it starts in every modern horror movie." He told me he heard that every week. I asked him how often someone mentioned A Clockwork Orange and he told me it wasn't very often anymore. It's too old school, I guess.

All right! I'll try to send it after this. This will actually be the third draft in the last few months, the other two being "This Broken Man", which has someone recovering from Cerdis's mind control, and the finished draft of "The Duel". There's absolutely no rush on any of them, though. I'm not the kind of person who's a jerk about getting stories read and reviewed.

Tune in for the newest Lost Episode pastas, "Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob Discuss the Morality of Killing Pizza Guys"!

It's fascinating how things like that happen. You may write a story and realize that it should go in a different direction or that a certain character wouldn't act a certain way. Sometimes you wonder why you wrote something a certain way and then you realize something about your own story/writing/characters.

Sometime ago I made that list of the creepiest characters in the Karaverse. I put Professor Cerdis at number 15, but in retrospect I probably should have placed him higher. One, he has that teleportation device as well as means to foil security systems, so he could teleport into people's houses. Second, nobody cares about his sex life. Those Keepers were just trying to do their job of caring for people he was taking control of, and then he had to make things awkward for them. Not cool, Dante, not cool.

"I will...kill you gently." Well, thank you, that's considerate. That video was a good introduction to the series. Thank you for sharing! I recognized one of the images as a picture you posted one time (the one with the swords sticking out of the landscape). I also recognized some things from videos by a YouTuber currently named 2Hid, so he must be a big fan of the series. I know at least one of the Servants is evil, so it must be interesting to see the personalities of the different characters.

Speaking of YouTube videos that don't have anything to do with what we had been discussing I've been looking up YTPs lately. I found some for the Disney Channel show Bizaardvark, and one made me laugh so hard at the end I had to wipe spit off my chin. Beware the YouTube Poops because they'll get you! Raidra (talk) 23:38, August 4, 2018 (UTC)
 * Does that mean you work the night shift? (insert night shift joke here)


 * That's good. That's fine- you should write in whatever style you feel like writing in/want to write in.  If someone writes in a style because they want to, the results can be great, or at least serve as great practice in broadening one's horizons.  If someone writes in a style because they feel forced to, the results will be mediocre at least.  That violin conqueror story sounds interesting, and it reminds me of parables I've read.


 * That sounds intriguing because I'm guessing that either they're supernaturally compelled to perform or else there's some mastermind forcing them to perform under threat of violence.


 * "The cost of repair would only be...two-thirds of what you paid for the car." When I get that test done, I find myself holding my eye open with one hand (so I won't blink) and holding the top of my head down with the other (so I won't jerk).  Ouch! Malcolm McDowell- suffering eye injury for our entertainment.


 * ~takes a look at article~ Yes, Bluebeard was the one I was thinking of.  That tentacle scene is often on lists of disturbing anime moments.


 * "Hey, Cerdis left his laptop open! I bet that if I look at some of his notes, it'll help me start on my own supervillain career!  Now, let's see what- " (sees numerous images of Cerdis's sexual exploits, backs away from laptop, leaves room, and doesn't stop walking until he's out of the facility altogether) Raidra (talk) 20:32, August 5, 2018 (UTC)

I uploaded the Party Cut roster for Dr. Frank, so I thought I'd show you too.

That's cool! That explains why there have been numerous Holy Grail Wars, and I'd say it would also be good for fan-fiction writers (not to mention spin-off material such as video games). There are times when having a multiverse can be confusing, but I think there are some franchises that could use a multiverse explanation because they've messed up their own continuity so much.

Well, that blows! Speaking of delivery trucks, last night I read a story from a truck driver saying he was making a delivery to a store and there was a crowd gathered at the unloading area. It turned out the store was selling expensive TVs for a low price. They had run out of stock, but told people that a delivery truck was coming. The people were gathered to get TVs as though it would be acceptable to grab them right off the truck. The driver concluded his story by telling how disappointed the people were when they learned he was delivering a new shipment of shopping carts. ~plays "Zonk!" music from Let's Make A Deal~

That's good. I know there are different ways a story like that could go, so it'll be interesting to see more.

"Don't make me swap into my tragedy mask! You wouldn't like me when I swap into my tragedy mask!" Japanese Stuff Channel recently had a kit for making little fake desserts. One was a pair of conjoined macaroons, and he drew a happy face on one and a sad face on the other.

That's a relief. Hopefully that'll stay as evil as they get. Archimedes! How could you try to screw us like that! Raidra (talk) 16:41, August 6, 2018 (UTC)
 * Yay!


 * "You were expecting Waluigi, but it was I, Dio!" I like how one of them is a dog.  "Hmmm...should I play as Lucario, the Pomeranian, or Shaq?  This is a tough decision..."


 * Speaking of video games, here's your monthly reminder that the Pokemon World can be horrifying- the Gen IV description of the Rabuta Berry. "Even though it is bitter, it should be eaten peel and all. The hair on the peel cleans the stomach from the inside."  Well, okay, then!  I'm also unnerved by the move Acupressure because in most versions it's portrayed by a giant hand coming down and poking the user in the head.  As someone who suffers sinus headaches I think, "Noooooo!  I don't want to get poked in the head!"


 * That is a relief. I don't like how there are book series, movie series, etc. that have nothing to tell where it is in the series.  I get that maybe people don't want to put numbers in their titles, but they could at least have the decency to put something on the cover to show where it is in the series.


 * It can be fun to do lines in a certain style, or to give characters a certain personality. I created one character, and at first he was going to be a typical villainous character, but then I thought, "What if he were like Woody Allen?"  I'm not a fan of his, but I think it'll be funny to have this villainous character be neurotic in his everyday life.


 * If you've ever seen the episode of SpongeBob in which Sponge and Patrick were invisible pranksters, I can imagine it being like when a confused Patrick shed a tear about not getting any sea-nut brittle. Raidra (talk) 21:36, August 8, 2018 (UTC)

*GASP* It's You!
Wanted to say welcome back as well!! I was really surprised to see your name pop-up on that thread. Hope all is well!

Vngel W (talk) 19:00, August 3, 2018 (UTC)


 * Aww the wonderful drawback of having your own space: having to work all the time just to keep it without getting to simply enjoy it... good times :) Congratulations!!!


 * Things are going. Busy actually. So much that my activity on the wiki has taken a big drop. I still try to pop-in now-and-again. They'll never get rid of me for good!!!


 * I'm so ready for 2019! (Mainly because of all the movies I'm looking forward to: Glass, Captain Marvel, Avengers 4, Hellboy, It: Chapter 2, The New Mutants, Wonder Woman 2, John Wick 3...so excited!!!) You updated on any movies from this year?


 * Vngel W (talk) 00:19, August 7, 2018 (UTC)

Sooo Glad That You Are Back
Good to see another user from my early days after such a long time. Hope you stay a while.

 Helel ben Shahaar  ( talk ) 22:37, August 3, 2018 (UTC)


 * Just for the social element, eh? Got just the right place for you, then.


 *  Helel ben Shahaar  ( talk ) 00:03, August 8, 2018 (UTC)

Hello There!
I heard you returned to the wiki. Is that true?

Heeere's Hailey!  Wanna Talk?   03:59, August 12, 2018 (UTC)

Pokemon: Let's Go Play a Different Game
I know there's already a lot of controversy and division about the games (my only issues being with the extremists on both sides of the debate). I don't understand why they haven't had more games where you can go to other regions, especially with the sheer number of fans clamoring for it to happen. How cool would it be to be able to go to the regions from the first four generations, or at least to Johto? What about having a Hoenn-based game in which you could go to Sinnoh and/or to the Kanto-Johto area, or a Unova-based game in which you could go to Alola? What about games where you can visit anime-locations or areas from side games? There have been so many wasted opportunities. I think a lot of people already prefer Pokemon Quest, and I have to admit I'm interested in the idea of cooking for Pokemon. TheJWittz has a few videos about weird and/or disturbing Pokedex entries. I think one of the most popular dark entries is the one saying Yamask cries as it looks at its death mask. You should read Azu's Pokemon stories if you haven't already because she'll straight-up depict Pokemon eating people.

There are rumors that the Gen VIII main games will take place in a region based on Spain, so people have said that it would be neat if you could travel to Kalos afterward playing the main game. I'm irritated by a lot of these rumors, though. There were all these rumors about the latest movie and I don't think a single one of them turned out to be true. There was some YouTuber who made a video about these "new leaked Gen 8 starters" and then had to upload a video a day or two later because the "leaked images" were hoaxes. That's one of the reasons I like TyranitarTube- he doesn't dash out with a video the second there's a rumor.

I wonder how many people ended up watching the Matrix trilogy in the wrong order because of the titles.

I did a quick search and found a video for Black Friday portrayed by SpongeBob. Raidra (talk) 19:00, August 13, 2018 (UTC)

Also, remember to keep cool this summer because too much sun and heat can do things to people. Raidra (talk) 19:25, August 13, 2018 (UTC)
 * That's a reasonable and understandable position; it's too bad some gamers aren't reasonable like that. I don't care much either, though I hope it's not disappointing for those who are interested.


 * TyranitarTube is doing a playthrough of Detective Pikachu. The next episode is set to be the finale.  One of my favorite moments from this playthrough is when this crabby woman asked, "Are you saying one of us is the culprit!?" and Ttar replied, "Well, one of us is ugly!" X-D  Thinking about it, I don't understand why the contests aren't separate games.  The idea is the contests will be appealing to players who don't like the battling aspect, but the thing is, you still have to do the Gyms if you want to finish the game!  You could just do the contests, but you'll be stuck in Pokemon Contest Limbo with no chance of becoming Champion or whatever else awaits you.  It would be kind of funny to have a cartoon in which the region (or even world) is destroyed because the Chosen One was busy preparing for contests.


 * Speaking of writing, I thought of something. I said I hadn't done any creepypasta work, but something slipped my mind.  I did start on a draft, but rejected it for a few reasons. I then decided to have it as an issue of my comics (after I had deleted what I had written. D'oh!) since it had characters from my comics anyway.  I think I'll stay quiet about the plot for now, though, since that will probably be the next draft I work on.  If you don't mind spoilers, though, I can dish.  All I'll say for now is it involves our favorite lowlife, Professor Dante Cerdis.  I've been using him a lot since he has a shelf life.  I swear I have characters other than Cerdis and Specter.


 * Yes, that's exactly right. There's also a level of arrogance/superiority too because people act like they have some special insight or connection that most people don't have.  You have a point- it's really interesting to see early stages and what changes were made.  There are also times when a project turns out to be even better than expected.


 * You know the new Pokemon movie that came out last month? I was just telling Hayley that leading up to it there were people swearing up and down that this movie would definitely have a new Eeveelution, most likely a Flying-type.  The movie premiered and...nothing.  Looking back, I can understand why so many people thought this.  I blame the movie because there were a number of things that seemed to indicate one thing or another was going to happen, and then no, it didn't!  Gotta Dupe 'Em All- Pokemon movie trailers!  R.I.P. everyone who insisted there would definitely be a new Eeveelution.


 * Just remember that there are things to be careful about inside too. Raidra (talk) 00:39, August 16, 2018 (UTC)