It's Time to Rest.

Warning: Massive Spoilers below.  Don't read this journal unless you've read the Interlude.

Chapter 51 and the Interlude are, at long last, posted alongside one another today.  And with their contents brought to your eyes, the characters now are put to rest to prepare for the long and arduous journey that is in store for them.  But first, I'd like to go over some of the reveals that were dropped through these past few chapters.

First off, we have the reveal that Erebus is a Darkrai, though that's not actually the true revelation.  The true twist to her is that she was never a villain in the first place; she was simply a puppet that had been manipulating others into being her puppets.  And now, after having manipulated everyone, she's finally cut all of the strings that were controlling her and is now practically a part of the team under a new name.  I know that there was the implication that the twist was what exactly she was, and it was for a time, but then I changed it when I realized that the plot could have more use for her and that she didn't need to die.  Besides, I have seen far too many stories where a Darkrai is the villain; I want to give that Pokemon a chance to prove that it can actually be a heroic Pokemon.  I realize that the 10th Pokemon movie had a Darkrai that was not a villain, and the same somewhat applies for the main series games, but everywhere else I go, it's always showing a Darkrai as being some kind of evil mastermind.  I thought I might as well try something different.

I do realize, however, the potential problems with having a legendary on the team, which is why many people no doubt don't bother with the idea.  For one, the legendary, especially if it is an incredibly powerful one, can immediately turn into a God-Mod sue.  With the potent power they all harbor, they can easily annihilate any kind of resistance that stands in the way of the protagonists, instantly eradicating any kind of conflict.  Darkrai, I will not lie, are one of the more powerful legendaries.  Despite being mortal legendaries, they have the Game Breaker Dark Void power, not to mention my Darkrai has a handful of elemental powers that she was given to by the Primogenitor through some means.  She could probably take out an entire army if she wanted to, which is why she was given the role of making the Mystery Dungeons by the true villain of the story, among other reasons.  But, I have a way of combating this and making sure she does not develop into an overpowered character.  Just as how you can make Superman have conflicts despite how powerful he is, you too can have a legendary not become a God-Mod sue.  

For one, you need to make sure that they have some kind of weakness or somewhat have a limitation on the powers that isn't too detrimental.  Another is that you can create scenarios where pure power may not always work and something else must be used to resolve the conflict.  Perhaps a specific kind of skill other than power must be used instead to outdo the opponent.  And then finally, you need to remember to give the character flaws.  The flaws will greatly affect the character and could very well make it so they cannot defeat every opponent they come across.  It's a delicate and problematic thing in storytelling, I must admit, but I do believe there's a way around it so that it actually works if you can think of ways to make it work.

Next on our list of reveals, we have the Yimtri and Terron one.  I think out of all of my reveals thus far, this one probably is the most difficult to accept because of how strange and bizarre it is, not to mention that the foreshadowing might have been a bit hard to pick up on.  So bizarre, in fact, that even Yimtri outright didn't want to believe it for a little while.  But yes, that revelation is no lie; those two were once a human being, and then they were torn into what they are now.  I didn't explain how Terron is still a child while Yimtri is much older by this point for various reasons, but it does get explained in time.  I just didn't do it now because once they figure out why that is, they'll discover another revelation that isn't ready to be shown in the story quite yet.  

But, moving along, I did have much fun writing out the two's interactions the moment I introduced the little Sableye.  I didn't quite understand how I wanted them to be to the other for a while, but once I did figure it out, writing out each and every interaction they had became one of my favorite parts of the whole story.  There was something so amusing about having the two of them argue for so much of the story, neither of them wanting to work with the other, but going along with it anyway, never realizing the true reason they always settled on one conclusion.  Watching that interaction grown was truly something.  It went from Terron being terrified of Yimtri and unable to say anything to the guy, to Terron finally toughening up and standing up to the Sableye and having the two of them constantly try to get the other to submit to their words, to that moment in Erebus Woods when they finally worked together and made practically perfect synergy together.  Not to mention where they finally had an actual agreement in the dream.  Ah, how much the two's relationship has grown is almost as much as Terron and Zekra's relationship.  

And tying into that reveal, yes, that Obfuscate thing I wrote a while aback was a piece of the story written in Yimtri's perspective.  However, then I abandoned it when I realized that I wanted to foreshadow his humanity a different way.  Figured I should mention that, as I never did explain what exactly was with that small piece I wrote.

And now finally, the twist about the Fellowship and how they're actually working for the Big Bad of the story.  I will admit that not every leader in the Fellowship is working for the Big Bad, as evidenced by Yimtri, but I'm not going to say precisely who these Pokemon are.  I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see for that.  Otherwise, I don't have much else to say for this.

With those revelations out of the way, I now announce that I am going on a rather long break.  Until September of 2015, to be precise.  Yes, I realize it's a long break.  I know that you people would not want me to go on that long of a break, but I'm afraid I must.  For you see, I have obligations in life to attend to.  I have school to get through and I need to devote all of my attention to that right now.  This story will need to wait until I have accomplished what needs to be done.  I won't disappear from the internet, but I simply won't be writing anymore is all that it is.  But, don't think that I am abandoning writing forever.  I'll come back one day, and I will continue this story.  And hopefully, one day, I can finally finish this story.  It's roughly 70% done, so surely writing out the other 30% should not be a daunting task.

And so, with all of this said, I take my leave.  I thank each and every one of you for reading the story.  And, I also thank those of you who have helped me these past two years, no matter when you came in.  You were all a big help, and you know who you are.   

See all of you again whenever I see you.