Cilantro

I think role models are fine, especially if they're someone you can interact with for guidance and positive influence. They're there for worldly wisdom as well as support in getting to where you want to be and being who you want to be, not to tell you what to think and who to be. That's why we select them and not the other way around. That "draws you away from yourself" thing sounds like a lot of special snowflake hogwash to me. Anyway, I do have two role models, both of them older men in the same career area as me. We shared space in a tight-knit forum for a few years, during which I found them to be intelligent, resilient, and courageous with their beliefs as well as kind. I've also been reconnecting with my father recently, and especially since he shared a lot of my emotional and social difficulties and has overcome them I've been viewing him as more of a role model again. I turned out to be stunningly like him even in his absence.

My first impression is that the questions and descriptions are a bit excessive. Some readers can get bored if they feel that they're stuck reading a lot of unimportant content like meandering trains of thought or extraneous detail to get to the juicy parts, and a lot of things they'll pick up on by themselves. I like to add a lot of details, too, but I try to ask myself two things: 1) Does it matter or clarify something of value? 2) Does it add to ambiance or important visuals? A shorter paragraph could serve the same purpose, but cut down and size and move the reader along faster. They can really add up.

This is my first completed piece in years. Celebration! I'm open to hearing any feedback. I shun the Pokemon anime and am too lazy to play very far in the recent games, though, so this is written from the perspective of a GSC player with access to sites like Bulbapedia and Serebii. A friend mentioned that he had some issues with the spacing, but he hasn't gotten back to me yet to elaborate. Summary: A hopeful trainer hot on the tail of the legendary Pokemon Suicune is stopped by a mysterious opponent competing for his quarry in the Burned Tower. Battle was written as an exercise, then lengthened into a short. Words: 2,277 Soundtrack: Opening themes - - - In the Wake of the Wind There it was! Maxwell Clearwater dashed up the steps of Ecruteak City’s Burned Tower after a blur of blue and white. He threw open the door and ducked inside; heedless to the neon signs plastered on the front of the building: DANGER: DERELICT DO NOT ENTER BY AUTHORITY OF ECRUTEAK LAW ENFORCEMENT It was nearly pitch-black inside. At first he saw nothing, and when he tried to grope around in the dark for something to follow he only succeeded in thwacking his knee on a fallen support pillar. Hissing, he knelt down and clutched it while waiting for his eyes to adjust. Everything was silent except for the northern wind roaring through the permanently barren trees that had perished in the fire so many years ago. They crackled with the sound of snapping twigs and scraped eerily against the sides of the tower. He took a minute to tug his cap off of his mop of blonde curls and wipe the sweat from his forehead. Still young by Pokemon trainer standards, Maxwell was dogged in his hunt for rare and unusual Pokemon. It had led him all over Johto, from the Ruins of Alph to Blackthorn City. He didn’t know where the fascination had come from; he’d simply loved the supernatural and the rare ever since he was a child clicking through hoax-or-not websites on the family computer. It was the sense of discovery, he’d always supposed. Naturally, he’d been attracted to Johto’s Ecruteak City more than once in his three years as a Pokemon trainer. Rumors circulating the burned-down husk of what had once been the resplendent Brass Tower where Ho-oh created the legendary Pokemon Entei, Raikou, and Suicune circulated the populace like wildfire some summers. There had been sightings of them all over Johto, as these Pokemon were known to wander the lands involved in business none but a few were privileged to be privy to. But here… Here was where they had been created; to this place they always returned. Something banged in the dark and he nearly leapt out of his skin. The basement door had been slightly ajar before being slammed shut by the wind. Of course! The front door closed in a second gust of wind. He limped over some rubble and descended the staircase, pulling a flashlight out of his bag as he did. He cast the beam over the ashen floor looking for fresh footprints, but besides the tiny paw prints and scuff marks of Rattata and Raticate it didn’t look like it had been disturbed in some time. Maxwell cursed as his flashlight began to flicker. He thwacked it against his knee hopelessly; it just stung. This level of the tower stretched out beyond the reach of the scant moonlight that reached underground through the open door. “Boon! Help me out here.” Maxwell’s Umbreon appeared and flicked its ears curiously. Its nose quivered at the lingering scent of wild Pokemon. “Take a look around here for me, will you? I can’t see anything, but I think I’m hot on Suicune’s tail right now.” Umbreon harrumphed and darted off into the shadows. His trainer was simply thankful that he’d brought along a Pokemon with keen night vision in lieu of battery replacements and couldn’t be said to be a complete nitwit. Maxwell sat down on the cold cement steps with an unnamable feeling in his gut until the Pokemon silently bounded back into the room a few minutes later and chirruped at him. “Nothing?” Umbreon shook his head. “Ah…” His heart sank. He knelt down to brush off some of the thin layer of ash that had accumulated on the Moonlight Pokemon. “He’s probably long gone now… I’d have given anything for just a chance to prove myself against Suicune, though. Dad would have been proud. You remember him, don’t you?” Umbreon affirmed. As a precocious Eevee he had been Maxwell’s first Pokemon. “What did he used to say about the legendary Pokemon?” Maxwell scratched his head, leaving a smear of grey in his golden curls. “Oh, yeah. ‘These are no ordinary Pokemon, Maxxie, you can’t just capture them in a Pokeball. You need to earn their respect! You need to be worthy of them!’” He shrugged and tried to clap his hands free of ash. “He said I was destined for great things, and I know an two-time Indigo League champion would know better than most, but… I feel like the only great things I’ve done have been you and the others. I’m not a hero or a big name even after three years on the road and tons of trainers accomplish more in that time – especially the exceptional ones. Eusine was one of the last people to face Suicune and he’s a researcher and a Pokemon expert who followed it for a whopping ten years, you know.” Umbreon squawked in alarm. “I didn’t mean to be rough, I –“ Maxwell pulled his hands away to follow Umbreon’s gaze. Staring down at them through the doorway was Suicune. Its piercing red eyes were focused directly on Maxwell, who found himself unable to move. Without so much as blinking, he legendary Pokemon again turned and fled into the night. “We’ll pick this up later!” Maxwell hurriedly recalled Umbreon and took off up the stairs. Reaching the top he found the front doors still closed, and instead hurtled into a hallway, skidded around a corner, threw open the old husk of a door, and came to not one but two staircases leading upwards into the dark and the dust. There was no sign of Suicune. No problem. “Go, Pepper!” Maxwell’s Growlithe barked a greeting and leapt up to lick her trainer’s face. Maxwell leaned down and gave the similarly mop-topped Pokemon – “Like trainer, like Pokemon!” his mother had said - a hug, but this was no time for play. “I need you to sniff around for the scent of a brand-new Pokemon. It took one of those two staircases. See them?” He pointed. His Growlithe barked in affirmation and pranced out to the center of the floor, nose to the ground and tail wagging. She wandered over to the window, drifted back to the center, circled around, and finally decided on the left staircase. She barked once for yes. “Thanks, girl!” Maxwell called her back into her Pokeball and took off up the decrepit staircase. His heart was pounding so loud it was all he could hear. He came suddenly out into the crisp, cool night air. Years ago a storm had taken another two levels off the remnants of the tower, and now he stood exposed to the wind and the swirling dust to see – Nothing. His heart sank. Soft footsteps behind him made him turn sharply, hands already reaching for a Pokeball, but what stopped him short wasn’t the legendary Pokemon Suicune or even any of the wild Pokemon that lingered in the ruins; it was another Pokemon trainer. A solemn-looking girl with long, straight black hair stood at the top of the staircase staring back at him with a similar expression of shock. She looked like she couldn’t be more than a few years older than him. “W-what…” She sputtered. Maxwell gaped. “You!” She pointed a finger at him accusingly. “You must have been what scared Suicune off! You ruined everything!” “Me?!” He felt his face heating up. “I was tracking him. I even got close enough to see him. What I didn’t see was you, so don’t talk like you were here first.” She didn’t seem to be listening. “Ugggh, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Suicune itself! Returning to the Brass Tower!” A rustling down in the trees caught both trainers’ attention. A streak of pale blue passed between the silhouettes, heading towards the Tin Tower. The winds began to die down in its wake. Maxwell made to take off down the stairs after it, but the girl stopped him. “Hold on! That’s my quarry.” “Are you kidding? Come on, he’s getting away.” “He’ll stop at the Tin Tower for a time. Let’s battle; loser leaves Suicune to the professionals!” “I-I, um…” Maxwell glanced toward the shining tower in the distance. He didn’t care so much about the barb, but he doubted he’d leave here without a fuss one way or another. “Alright. We’ll battle. One Pokemon each, though.” “I’ll start. Go, Koffing!” Koffing appeared under the moonlight and gave off a threatening puff of noxious smoke. Maxwell wished, not for the first time, that he’d brought Natu along that day, but another good choice would be… “Wishbone, get ready!” His Togetic appeared in the air and gave a squeal. Togetic was Maxwell’s good-luck charm, being both a very rare Pokemon and a species that was rumored to bring happiness and fortune to those with pure hearts who possessed it. It was his pride and joy and the envy of his friends. As he watched, the normally friendly Pokemon instinctively shied away from the girl at the opposite end of the tower – Maxwell agreed. “Obscure Togetic’s view with Smokescreen!” Koffing spewed out a thick cloud of smoke that covered the top floor of the tower in rolling waves, lingering with a thick and acrid stench. Maxwell’s eyes watered. “Wishbone, use your wings to clear the smoke.” The Happiness Pokemon set to work. Its wings were small but surprisingly agile, and they stirred up a flurry that began to clear the smoke from the duo’s field of vision. They didn’t have long to wait before Koffing’s next move. “Gyro Ball!” “Look out! Dodge and use Future Sight, then Sweet Kiss!” Koffing burst from the cloud of smoke and went spinning past Togetic, who glowed briefly white with its hands to its forehead before turning back to face Koffing as it wheeled around in the air for another strike. Togetic winked at it and puckered its lips, but at a command from its trainer Koffing set off a blinding Flash attack that distracted it. It rubbed at its eyes and whimpered as another Gyro Ball attack came hurtling towards it and connected. Togetic was thrown to the floor. “Use Smog!” “Get above and around it with Aerial Ace!” Togetic pushed off from the floor with a flash of light almost faster than the eye could see. Thick smog billowed across the tower and began to drift in the lingering breeze. Koffing took a deep breath and inflated as it turned to follow, but was struck by Aerial Ace before it could even open its mouth. Togetic whizzed away again. “Chase it and deflect further attacks with Gyro Ball!” Koffing began to spin but was struck from behind by the Togetic’s Future Sight in a flash of light. It veered off-balance, which gave Maxwell time to call for another Sweet Kiss. This time Togetic blew a kiss, and Koffing stopped in midair. Its cheeks turned red – Maxwell was always surprised what Pokemon could blush – and it coyly giggled and blew a puff of clear smoke back at Togetic. “The perfect time for Metronome!“ Koffing was still making kissy-faces with its trainer shouting at it when Togetic began to wave its arms back and forth in a tick-tock motion. A green glow surrounded Togetic, and it puffed up its cheeks before spitting out a Bullet Seed attack. The stinging but mostly ineffective Grass-type move was just enough to snap Koffing out of its Sweet Kiss-induced confusion, and it puffed out an angry cloud of smoke from its craters. It seemed to swell with indignation. “Koffing, after it with Gyro Ball!” “Dodge with Aerial Ace, gain some distance, and try another Metronome!” Koffing yet again spun past Togetic, who was off with a flash. It stopped high in the air and began to tick-tock its arms again, this time taking on a red glow. Koffing stopped to set off another Smog attack that would rise to choke its opponent. Togetic seemed to inflate, cheeks puffed, then blow out a torrent of flame that took on the characteristic Kanji-shape of a Fire Blast as it hurtled towards Koffing. It connected with Koffing’s fumes, still being spewed, and ignited them in a blaze of orange and yellow. Both trainers shielded their eyes from the wave of light and heat, and when Maxwell lowered his arm the strange girl was begrudgingly returning Koffing to its Pokeball. “I-“ She seemed too livid to speak. “Sorry, I’ve got a legendary beast to catch!” Maxwell recalled Togetic and turned to leave. “That was a lucky shot! Completely unaccounted for! I want a rematch.” “A deal’s a deal; that’s just what Togetics do.” He grinned at her over his shoulder and took off down the stairs. He could barely suppress his excitement as he hopped over a fallen support beam and squeezed through a collapsed doorway. Maxwell been waiting ten years to encounter another legendary Pokemon and show them what he’d become. His passion for the unusual may have been innate, but his passion for Pokemon had been ignited one dewy spring morning long ago when six-year-old Maxwell had looked up from splashing in a puddle in the backyard just as a shimmering reflection crossed the water’s surface. His father had proudly called it an omen when his son had run inside to tell them he’d seen a Pokemon with rainbow wings flying over the town. The very next week the boy Maxwell and the Eevee Boon were brought together. He kept seeing the Tin Tower shining in the moonlight out the windows as he cleared the floor after floor; Suicune would be waiting.

Oh, goodness yes. I spent most of my childhood and teen years around extremely patronizing people, so I developed a sense of inferiority and helplessness that caused a defeatist and lazy attitude. My talents and identity didn't blossom as a result. I really only started developing confidence, insight, and work ethics in my late teens and especially my early twenties, and was complimented on that recently.

It's delicious in large quantities with pretty much every food under the sun, and it goes nicely with a variety of avatars. I don't typically put too much thought into handles because I figure anything descriptive of me has a limited lifespan.

David Tennant is my favorite. I think he had the perfect mix of anger, loneliness, and sensitivity to form a complex relationship with viewers. Matt Smith is cute and quirky, but he's all over the place sometimes. I'm not so sure about this latest companion. I was admittedly cooking while I was watching, but I caught a whiff of Generic Spunky Girl #523. Companions like Donna were at least unique and oh-so-human.

I'm kind of asocial and private, so naturally I gravitate towards the more low-key, text-friendly environment. I've never used YouTube as a social website, but I'm guessing there's a lot of video recording and watching involved as opposed to snarky comments and invites.

I'm nearsighted. One of my eyes also sees significantly worse than the other, and I'm a little worried because the eye doctor said the change was significant between my most recent visit and the one prior. I actually don't notice if I close it; I just lose a little peripheral.

Thanks! I didn't know about FimFiction.net yet, but I'll sign up there as well.

Hello, fillies and colts! I've never been very social when it comes to FiM, but I've been getting back into writing fanfiction as a way to relax and enjoy all the shows and videogames I love between seasons or long after the final boss battle. This seems like as good a place as any to kick back, read, and brainstorm. I like action and adventure, wish I could write believable horror and drama, and never have and probably never will write pairings.