Viva01

Red Riot - Chapter 3 - The red threads

The Kaguya hit the ground and everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I had a few seconds to feel shame for my act. Oh, how they would sing of this day, surely a saga worthy of the Geisha. Of how the mighty warrior Matsu felled a child.

This was supposed to be how I made things better?

The evaluating stares made me pause in offering my hand to the girl as she stared up at me as if she’d never seen something like me before. Perhaps no one her age had eve...

Hard Enough - Chapter 41 - Pewter city hospital

“—ging Dr. Statham, paging Dr. Statham. Report to C wing please,” called a voice over the speakers. I sat in my chair ignoring it, and the building annoyance that came from having to wait in such a clinical setting. I had given up trying to be comfortable. These were hospital chairs, they weren’t made to be comfortable. That would result in people falling asleep or wanting to linger.

Hospitals were interesting places. You went there to get better, but you were never supposed to ...

Hard Enough - Chapter 40 - Maximum suck

The books weren’t heavy, but they still caused an audible whump as they landed on the table. I glanced at them before picking up the first one.

“You’re feeling new things growing up within you? What you need to know, and how to approach conversations about it?” I picked up another one. “The importance of crystals in your sanctum, and how this can work for you.” I looked up at the three other members of the Guardians. “You‘re screwing with me right? This is like an initia...

What should be released for next month?

This month's chapter for the 'Fan's choice was Red Riot - an Uzumaki SI into Kirigakure chapter 3. I'm still working on it with a lot up in the air for me right now but I'm... somewhat hoping to have it out next weekend. I just need time to sit down for it... which is always at a premium for me. 

Now, as asked for previously, here are the options you can vote for with some more context.

Hard Enough - Rachel Raul Pewter Gym's PR manager!

This was one of the first artworks I commissioned and it's only just gotten finished thanks to Dearluna on fiverr for completing this brilliant artwork showcasing the new hire for Pewter gym with Rachel Raul!

What are people's thoughts?

If you have something you'd love to see, or an artist you'd like to recommend I look into, please leave a comment or flick me a private message!

Hard Enough - Chapter 39 - Joining the Guardians

I dreamt of flipping the table.

That was all I could imagine as I sat around the small rectangle table as Tiffany methodically went through what I’m sure was a lovely tea ceremony.

I could feel the weight of social expectations on my shoulders to remain where I was, but it sat poorly. Moments like this where people demanded manners seemed like the most annoying aspects of life. I’d faced enough of it in my past life to recognise it. I’d also taken more than a little pleasure...

Hard Enough - Chapter 38 - The Guardians

Lavender town is most known for the Pokemon tower.

And Ghosts.

Not just Ghost types, but actual ghosts.

There was enough documentation to fill a whole row of shelves on the topic in the library. Of course, humans are still humans regardless of the universe, and people still dismiss the topic when it is brought up. This is despite there being a standard job in each settlement that was large enough to have a graveyard needing to have a channeler or spiritualist working at leas...

Titanic origins

This was one of the first artworks I commissioned and it's only just gotten finished thanks to johnrielduana on fiverr for completing this brilliant artwork.

This very much showcases Brock's prestory team up with Titan.

What are people's thoughts?

If you have something you'd love to see, or an artist you'd like to recommend I look into, please leave...

Hard Enough - Chapter 37 - Testing the troglodytes

I would have loved to have sat down with Elm, his aides, and Stephen to pick their minds and and potentially set up excuses for future pokemon acquisitions. Sadly I couldn’t do that. I had to focus on getting some food in front of my family and going through the nightly routine. I instead had to leave them to their own devices. I’d planned for lunch, I hadn’t planned for dinner with an additional four adults.

By the time that I’d gotten through cooking dinner, feeding it to my s...

Hard Enough - Chapter 36 - Picking the mind of an old legend

The platter was rather quickly demolished and everyone broke into small groups to discuss their observations. I could almost see hypotheses and conclusions zipping through the air as people spoke, sometimes by themselves but most of the time there seemed to be another that was acting as Darkrai's advocate. Salvadore for all that he wasn’t contributing looked like he was loving every second of the intellectual back and forth.

Daisy had been caught up with my younger siblings and dragge...

Hard Enough - Chapter 35 - Meeting with the Professors

Next to me, Salvadore vibrated in place. I leaned against the entrance desk that had been installed to greet new trainers. I would eventually have a receptionist sit here, but that wasn’t needed until the circuit kicked off. The only work we had right now was the local trainers looking to get some training, or a battle, in with the gym to keep their pokemon up to snuff. Celia had been encouraging a number of them to do so, and thanks to her efforts I was to run a training session with Rocko...

Hard Enough - Chapter 34 - General day to day tasks of a Gym Leader

I blew my whistle and bodies threw themselves forward. Arms and legs pumped. Sometimes even in unison. I held in a chuckle rather than groaning. It helped that I didn’t have high expectations. Thankfully, all of them showed some determination so I didn’t need to come down on them like the first session where I spent more time identifying the slackers than I did actually training.

“Seven! Eight! Nine!” I continued to count as the last few struggled across the line. I clicked my w...

Magester - Chapter 3 - Hot goods

Waking up cold was not a new experience for Leon. Waking cold and hungry? Also not a new experience. Still, he was actually comfortable. So that said things about today at least starting off well. He was in a bed, not like the bad days. Those days were rough. Those were the days you woke up sore and stiff. You hadn’t gone to sleep by any choice of your own, but been put to sleep. You woke up on the streets with blood on your clothes and nothing in your pockets.

You learnt things like ...

Red Riot - Chapter 2 - The Red Academy

The Academy.

It loomed over the surrounding buildings and my future. It was not the tallest building that I had encountered in Kirigakure. That honour went to the water tower but when I mentioned it to my minders during my sporadic walks around Kiri I was informed that the tallest building in Kiri is, in fact, the Mizukage’s tower.

Perhaps if I survived, the tower will become the building that loomed large in my mind but for now, there was the ominous threat of a building that s...

Chapter 33 - Tasty treats and tea!

“We have a nice black, green, white, herbal, or oolong tea to enjoy,” said Erika, pointing to different compartments of her now seemingly ever-present bento tower with drawers.

“I’d like some black tea please,” I said, pinching my fingers together, “a bit of milk as well though.”

Sabrina inclined her head. “I will also have some black tea with milk.”

Erika nodded and began to assemble a teapot for this. As she did this she glanced towards Janine. The small ...

Chapter 32 - Talking with a Shinobi

With the meeting taking place in Celadon, it was no surprise that the walk Koga and I found ourselves on went through a rather picturesque garden. The flowers that were currently blooming were particularly suitable for the winter season that always matched up with the off-circuit period.

The pokemon world mindset might be very lax with the idea of child endangerment by giving them access to powerful monsters, but it wasn’t so wrong-headed to send children out into the wilderness durin...

What should be released next month (August)?

This month's chapter for the 'Fan's choice was Red Riot - an Uzumaki SI into Kirigakure - Chapter 2 - The Red Academy ) I can announce I have finished this but am looking to get a beta to look it over first.

Here are the options you can vote on for the coming month's release!

Oobleck into HP - I'd probably have him taking part like I did in the SV snippets where he would be born to be a bit older than the Marauders era.

Voidhop - An alien ...

Brock's Elite Team vs Lance

Thanks for this artwork goes to Hlgedre for their work from Fivver! They were very meticulous with working through the process. When I asked for a hammy moustache they delivered with Sanchez's over-the-top moustache.   

What are people's thoughts?

If you have something you'd love to see, or an artist you'd like to recommend I look into, please leave a comment or flick me a private message!

Chapter 31 - Meeting of Gym Leaders

I had a good sweat going on as I dodged another jostle from a Rhyhorn. “Ole!” I shouted while slapping the pokemon’s rump.

It had been a few days since talking with Surge about the Gym Leader meeting. Nothing of note had happened beyond day-to-day tasks for the Gym and family. Only now with the added spice of occasionally having some reporters tripping over themselves to snap pictures of me as there wasn’t the draw of the Conference. So they sought out other stories.

The R...

Chapter 30 - Celia's triumph

I made sure the kids were out of the way for Celia’s return home to the Gym. It wasn’t too hard with last night’s snow. The kids had been eager to sprint outdoors. I’d stood in their way in the mudroom carrying a small mountain of scarves, gloves, jumpers and beanies.

“Broooooooooock!” They whined as they each ran for the door only for my much longer arms to snag them and ensnare them with the missing articles of clothing for each child.

When Yolanda didn’t appear I ...

Chapter 29 - The other gyms

I knew there were at least a few people circling and probing my defences, so to speak. I couldn’t lock everything down but I certainly was going to be looking into tightening up some loose details.

When I’d gotten home from my trip to Chrysanthemum Island, I had one of the gym’s trainers, Dennis, subtly follow after my family while they were walking to school. I wanted to make sure that while these big, flashy actions and attention-grabbing issues were occurring, nothing small esc...

Chibi Brock

Thanks go to Iwashi for drawing up this request. These two might seem the same but one has the transparent background. I might see if I can make an icon of it for Discord!

What are people's thoughts?

If you have something you'd love to see, or an artist you'd like to recommend I look into, please leave a comment or flick me a private message!

Chapter 28 - Audit round two

“Goooooooooood morning listeners old and new! Today! Huge news! Our old friend Rachel Raul has set us up with one of the hottest topics around! Today, we’re joined by Gym Leader Brock of Pewter City! Listeners! Can you dig it or what!?” The scruffy-looking radio host grinned into his microphone.

When he turned in his chair he made sure to drag the microphone with him. “Brock! Loved your fight during the lead-in to the Indigo Tournament! Weren’t you worried about stepp...

Chapter 27 - Corralling, and Consultations

“I’VE FAILED YOU!” wailed Celia over the video.

I could only stare back and chant one thought over and over in repeat. Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh. She didn’t mean to quote that silly Dexter cartoon from your childhood.

“I’M SOOOOO SORRRRRYYYY!” She continued, unaware that I found her hysterics amusing. She certainly wouldn’t find it funny if I said as much. I opened my mouth to remind her how proud I was, only for her to continue shouting self-castigations. “I ...

A gracious greeting from Erika!

Thanks go to Ryot_ryot on Fiverr for drawing up this request insanely quickly! I have a few more hopefully coming through soonish but this one is ready to be shared with the world so here it is!

This picture calls back to Date Distractions with Erika's official introduction to Brock.

What are people's thoughts?

If you have something you'd love to see, or an artist you'd like to recommend I look into, please leave a comment or flick me a private message!

Chapter 2 - The Dame

Madeline White woke up.

Her body felt silk sheet. Her eyes saw nothing but darkness thanks to her sleeping mask. Her ears heard the creaking of floorboards as her maid bustled into the room.

“Mornin’ Miss White,” said the woman. Even without seeing, Maddy knew the woman was bowing. She wasn’t fooling anyone. She was a Fels gal through and through, not some Burg madam or even someone from the Old World as the nations to the east were called. But still, the woman persisted, ...

Chapter 26 - Attorney at Law

I’d beaten the champion, but I found the looming audit of my books a far more terrifying challenge. Instead of sleeping I chewed my lip and rolled over and over in bed.

I’d lost more sleep wondering if a misplaced decimal was going to spell my doom than calling out the Champion for a duel in two days.

Was that arrogance or practicality? Or was it a mania caused by lack of sleep? Was this what Flint went through after the twins were born? Why did the man keep having children? I...

Chapter 25 - Shoring up the gym

I was, all told, a huge fan of being lazy where possible. When I was hiring people there was a simple way to stick to this ideal.

I enlisted a local employment agency that managed most of my needs. I’d used them in the past and gotten a number of good candidates. I actually found Dennis from them and most of the job seekers that use them were serious about their applications.

Most people were content with posting something on community notice boards and letting things take time....

Chapter 24 - The Audit

A knock at the front door was not an unusual event by any means.

More often than not, a trainer had ignored all the signs I’d posted and strutted up to my door to demand to fight me. Apparently, they think it helped bolster them and put me on the back foot. Most of the time I merely had one of my stronger pokemon boot them back over the hedge fence. By this point, my pokemon were so used to it that they knew to even tap the sign that helpfully laid out how to approach official Gym cha...

Chapter 23 - Returning home

“Brock!” “Brock!” “Brock!” “Big Bro!” “Brother!”

One after another, the rest of the family piled in. “Timmy, Billy, Tilly, Cindy, Yolanda!” I replied in turn. My hands went up over my head so the egg that I was carrying didn’t get crushed as small bodies impacted me. Like a Growlithe with a treat in sight, their heads tracked the object.

They gasped as one. “IS THAT?!”

“It’s a pokemon egg. I got it from a friend and was rather surprised, but...