victory_road | 3rd Recipe [Cherrygrove City, Video]

[Today's video from Jane starts with a shot of the water and a faint, violin-like accompaniment to the background music. It's clear it's at the small, beach-y area of Cherrygrove, judging by the surroundings, but that's only noticeable for a moment before a Goldeen floats into the shot, happily swimming as an Audino tries to follow alongside in the shallows, a bit wobbly in the water. The shot retracts, showing a Kricketune using its arm-blades to make the delicate violin sounds, stopping with a flourish for his audience - a small, sparkling Fennekin with soot-grey fur. It gives a Fen! of approval before it turns, noticing Jane's filming and hurrying over (in its haste, it kicks up sand in the Kricketune's face, and the poor bug proceeds to fret and fuss over his mustache).]

Hoo hoo! Hello, August! [The feed shifts, focusing on Jane where she sits, a boater perched expertly on her head. The top of the Fennekin's head can be seen as it curls up in her lap.] And hello everyone! I thought a little bit of a scene-setter would be nice to start with today, considering I have a question for you all.

[She clears her throat expertly.] I've been wondering about what sort of places all the people here come from. What are they like? For humans, do you come from Earth? What is your Earth like? If not, what is your home planet like? How similar or different was it to this place? For folks who weren't human before coming here - and I am aware that is a thing that happens - what were your homes like? If they don't translate well to human conventions, you can talk about it broadly or go into detail, whichever you prefer. I've been a staunch skeptic for most of my life, but I do earnestly want to learn, and in return, I'd be glad to field some questions about my home! I can't say it's particularly interesting, but it's only fair to share, right?

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[Oh he's well aware. His small fuzzy child won't go into a pokeball.]

Elemental magic was a big part of what we had. Summoning magic was something you could get your hands on. Strength boosts. That sort of thing. We called it materia. Different colored materia were different types of magic. They basically looked like glowing orbs that you could use to enhance weapons or yourself.

Oh, so it was like...a token, of sorts? An amplifier? And you could just go out and find it somewhere?

[The Fennekin in her lap perks up a bit, resting his snout just on the edge of the 'gear. His breath flares out as little bits of fog on the bottom of the feed. He seems pretty interested, too.]

You could find them or sometimes buy them. [A pause.] My friend Yuffie liked to steal them.

[The interest from the Fennekin gains interest from the Joltik in Cloud's hair, the small 'mon shuffling more into view and sparking some in excitement.

Ignore the slight wince from the blonde himself.]

Oh...well, I'm sure she...had her reasons?

[Whooooa there's another Pokemon in that guy's hair! The Fennekin presses its nose flush against the 'gear, tail wagging excitedly.]

August! Back up a bit, sweetie, okay?

Fen? [It pulls back, looking at Jane before complying, receiving pets in return.]

She was greedy.

[Yep. That's the truth of it. Yuffie was just a greedy little ninja.]

...She was pretty good at using them, though.

[The Joltik let's out a happy little sound in return, front legs wiggling in delight as it pulses with electricity again.

Cloud is quick to reach up and untangle the little thing from his hair, cradling the shiny little fluff ball in his hand.]

Junon, careful.

[His gaze shifts back to his gear as his Joltik settles and an eyebrow lifts slightly.]

What was magic like where you're from?

A-Ah...that...happens, too.

[She doesn't really want to...judge this guy's friends. He's been kind enough to answer her questions, after all. August's tail wags faster when he sees the other Pokemon fully. It's so cool to see friends!]

Well, there wasn't much in the way of actual magic. There were pagan religions based on ancient gods, and you could learn spells through...I honestly don't know, it wasn't mainstream and I wasn't part of it. But a lot of depictions of magic were very common in fiction! My best friend's mother wrote the most lauded book series about wizards in the world, and she's read them an uncountable number of times, so she could tell you about that better than I can.

We did have access to some odd powers, though - but only when we were in the game. You could call them magic, I suppose...

[He has a bit of a love hate relationship with Yuffie so he'd understand. The judging that is.

He's quiet as she explains, resting his Joltik on his knee for the time being.]

Pagan?

[Come again?]

In a game...what do you mean by that?

Yes, Pagan. Generally, it's a belief in multiple gods, and those gods change depending on which practice you go with. It's just not mainstream, is all.

[Ah, she let that slip, didn't she? Well, it wasn't like she was trying to hide it.] Well, you see, it sounds rather unbelievable, but my friends and I were playing this very strange game that can alter and completely remove you from your own universe in order to make a new one. We were given titles and powers, too, but access to your powers varied from person to person. For example, I'm the Maid of Life, and in the game, I could bring back any person back from the dead, but only once per person.

Hm.

[It sounds similar to something Aerith would have talked about, to some extent. Or even Nanaki. But it's not something Cloud is all that familiar with.]

So even if it all falls under "Pagan" it can be different?

[How strange.]

....What?

[That is one of the weirdest things he's heard since coming here.]

You've..been pulled out of your home world before this?

Yes. It's weird, but it's how things worked back home.

[As for his other question...]

Ah, yes, I have. I...actually prefer it here, to be honest.

Sounds..interesting. And complicated.

[Too complicated. But he's one to talk.]

Things weren't all that great back home?

Yes, it's definitely a little complicated.

[A shrug.] Things were snowballing into a lot of unpleasant situations, you could say.

To be completely honest, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole idea of alternate worlds.

[Because while he had dealt with a lot, alternate worlds took the cake.]

Hm. Understandable then. Liking this place more.

Mm. That's weird to me, too. But I'm getting the hang of it, a little. You will too, I bet! It just takes time.

I'm...honestly sure I will. It's so much calmer than where I'm from. It's kind of a nice break.

[And Zack's here. So..yeah.]

3rd Recipe [Cherrygrove City, Video]

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[Video] (Sorry for the extreme delay; Disney ate me asdhas)

[Video] (it's okay, it happens to us all)

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