"Annnnnnd, welcome back to the first session of our Christmas Special!" I exclaimed. "We've got some fun questions rolling in from all of you, and we're looking forward to reading them all."

Laura leaned back into the couch. "Nice to feel included in person for once."

"Laura, we invited you over the last several times. You keep rejecting the invitation."

She winked. "I play hard to get."

Ryder rolled his eyes. "You mean you mess around with everyone and do your own thing until you get bored."

Diego laughed. "My kind of woman. Chaotic AND an android. My two favorite passions."

Chase raised his brow. "I thought you were more of a chemistry guy."

"Anything that keeps this genius mind active, it is considered a passion. And this fine work of machinery is certainly doing wonders for the mind." Diego winked at Laura.

Laura purred. "Save it on your own time, Silverfang."

Artemis groaned. "Enough with the pointless flirting! Get on with the questions already!"

I raised my remote. "Already on it." I clicked a button, and the ceiling monitor descended into view. "Let's see who's up first."

Fiction Realm

HOLY HELL!
DIEGO AND CHASE ARE BACK BITCHES!
How have you suckas been?

"Looks like we got Fiction Realm up first!"

Diego grinned. "How you doing, Realm? We've been fine, just vibin' in the void and living our best lives."

Chase frowned. "You make it sound like we're stuck in limbo."

"As long as the spirit of an idea remains alive, I say we're doing just fine despite the massive hiatus on our story. Or is it a cancellation at this point?"

I groaned into my hands. "Please stop…"

Melissa reached over and patted my back. "There, there."

Also Brad, I have wanted to do a game concept for Bandits of the Forest.
It will be like Naruto Storm and Pokken Tournament with story missions and prominent characters battling it out with their own moves and combo moves.
You think you can PM me the characters that have fought?
I'm mainly want:
The Verde Knights
Any Foresters that have fought
Last Autumn
The Dukes of Buzzard
and any other characters that have fought even the two other deadly storms.

I straightened up and smiled. "A game concept, eh? That actually does sound pretty cool. Is this like an actual game or just a blueprint of an idea? Because if it's an actual game, that's…wow, that's something I would've never expected coming out of BOTF."

Diego shrugged. "Well, they did say it's a concept."

"Well, regardless, I am quite fascinated. I'll send you over a list of characters once this is posted. If you have any questions on any specifics with the characters' fighting styles and such, just let me know. I have a comprehensive list on pretty much everyone."

Quinn nodded. "I think you spend more time coming up with characters and ideas rather than writing actual stories."

"Hey, that's mostly anything outside of fanfiction!" I smiled. "Great seeing you, Fiction Realm. I'll be sure to have a list prepared."

Wes tapped his chin. "What do you suppose would be a good videogame concept for the TSOTI universe?"

Krystal grinned. "Hopefully with more explosions."

"Alright, who's next?" I clicked the remote and pulled up another message. "Ah, looks like we've got JDunks898. Nice to have you, JDunks. Whatcha' got for us?"

JDunks898

Nice to see y'all! I may as well get down to business with this. Magic types and Fusions for those who fall into neither category?

Diego scratched his chin. "Being a Fusion would be a fascinating study. I couldn't care less about magic. I would fancy being a Charmeleon-Metagross. My superior mind coupled with the enhanced intelligence of a Metagross? The perfect combination."

"And a one-way ticket to an inflated ego trip," Chase mumbled. "It'd be pretty awesome to learn Spatial Magic, though I might not be smart enough to learn it."

Krystal laughed and lightly punched Wes in the shoulder. "Please, if this idiot can figure it out, so can you."

"Hey!" Wes whined. "I'm only a mild idiot! Also, I would probably be half-Jolteon to honor my dad. Plus, the extra yellow would blend well with my fur—"

"Delibird-Electrode, baby!" Krystal cheered. "Bringing explosions to all in need of a good kaboom!"

Melissa giggled. "I do not know about magic, but I would love to be a Buneary-Slurpuff."

"Really?" I asked in surprise.

She blushed bashfully. "Heh, you know, because it reminds me of crème puffs."

Artemis snickered. "Of course. Well, I would love to have a taste of that Hatred Anima—no, wait! Fear Anima! I'll be extra tricky than I was before!"

Quinn raised his hand. "Data magic sounds up my alley."

Ryder shrugged. "Storm magic. Tony makes it look enticing."

Laura shrugged. "I can't really become a Fusion or use magic, but…Data magic, too."

Also, since BOTF introduced the crazy combo moves, which ones do y'all who don't have one already think you'd come up with? (No magic, Wes. You're good, Krystal, you know explosive spells. Yes, this is a shameless bias. Booms are cool.)

"A fellow believer in the art of the KABOOM!" Krystal cheered. "My people!"

Diego grinned. "Well, I think with enough practice, I could come up with one of my own, assuming we ever get an update on—"

"HUSH!" I yelled.

Diego raised his hands and shrugged. "Just kidding."

Wes tapped his chin. "Hmm, if I remember how some of the Pokémon moves worked…Shadow Ball, Work Up, and Stored Power to create a stronger Shadow Ball? Eh, maybe."

Chase crossed his arms. "Jason makes his combo moves so good, it'd be hard to top it. Maybe I can turn Iron Tail into an electrified lightning rod/bludgeoning attack. Could combine it with my skateboarding skills."

Ryder scratched his chin. "Hmm. Aerial Ace plus Inferno. I could use their combined properties to simulate a sustained flight. It would certainly improve my aerial maneuverability."

I nodded. "That's probably a good stopping point. We can't expect everyone to have an answer. Thanks again, JDunks, and we hope you have a wonderful day." I clicked the remote. "Alright, next we've got…ah, we've got Drifter77. Nice to see you, Drift."

Drifter77

Happy Holidays, Brad!
I worked quite a bit on the story I mentioned last year and tweaked it a bit. The premise remains the same: the Directorate and Separatist Coalition are locked in a cold war with Nomads (previously Drifters) in the crossfire, but now Ultra Space in my story has been reconceptualized and is used as FTL travel in the setting of my story: the Cyclone Galaxy.

"Hey, that's great! Really hope to check it out when it's uploaded. I really love the concept of Ultra Space, and it's nice to see something that utilizes it. Can't wait for that."

Now onto my questions for you and the cast:
1) How do dimensions in Mysto work?

Wes raised his paw. "I can answer that. They're sort of like little pockets of distortion created from the magic in our world after the Grand Imperium Age started. Due to the sudden rise in magic from Pokémon, the land reacted accordingly and released excess amounts of it. Because there's only so much space in Mysto, it ended up creating these layers on top of itself that can only be accessed through certain points around Mysto. Think of it like doorways, and they require a low-level Spatial spell to access them. Super simple, anyone can learn it with some practice."

"How come you didn't know that spell at the start of the series? Much less heard of it?" Krystal asked.

Wes waved his paw around. "Well, Flint and I rarely left the Earth Zone, so even we were still pretty new to the different dimensions around Mysto. It'd be the equivalent of a human not knowing the Statue of Liberty was in Las Vegas."

"…" I raised my hand. "Wes, that one's the replica, not the actual statue."

"…Oh."

2) Do you have any advice for writing and worldbuilding?

That's all for now. And see you soon.

"Only advice I can give for writing is practice, practice, practice. You can learn a lot about writing by reading or taking a class like I did. A passion for what you're writing also helps, and expanding on vocabulary and grammar helps to spice things up so it doesn't sound monotonous. There's a lot of technical stuff I can't even begin to explain in this one special.

"Worldbuilding is a little less complicated to explain, but just as hefty. It helps to write things down and establish the rules and laws of this world. For instance, despite how flexible magic is in the TSOTI universe, there are some hard rules that can't be broken without super specific exceptions. Death cannot be reversed without an equivalent exchange, for example, unless you use something like the Idol of Origin, which is in a league all of its own. Writing things down and sifting through what works and doesn't work is a good start. I always say write everything down, then go through what can work and what just can't. There's a lot of sacrifices that comes through this process, so don't get too attached to everything. I also recommend looking up other sources of information to better understand the concept of worldbuilding.

"Anyway, thanks for stopping by, Drifter. I always enjoy giving out advice, even if I myself am not an expert." My eyes widened as I stared down at the floor. "Seriously, I coasted on through college with a migraine dealing the English language…"

Laura reached over and snatched the remote away. "Okay, weirdo, I'll just see who's next."

CLICK!

mikepeashooter

Eyyyyyy its your good pal, Mikepeashooter (or Cappypeab on twitter.) here! and its a pleasure to see Chase and Diego again!

Laura grinned. "Cappy, my guy! What's up?"

Diego smirked and waved. "Hey, Cappy. Glad to be back after so much radio silence. We figured we should at least keep our relevancy up somehow by popping in for a visit."

"I thought you just wanted to scare the crap out of Brad," Chase said.

"And we can't do both? HA!"

now before i ask my questions, Laura! it's good to see you coming to the special in the...well, not in the flesh of course but you know what i mean, hopefully~ I drew some fanart of you not too long ago cuz you're just a really cool character and i thank Brad for giving you some life in your universe, i hope you love it!

Laura clasped her hands together and gushed. "D'aww, aren't you a sweetheart? Happy to be here in the metal and all. And yes, I did see the lovely fanart you made of me. You truly captured my cute, malicious self. I'm especially fond of the sharp teeth~!"

I picked my head up and smiled. "I almost feel spoiled. I never expected fanart of any kind, much less two. Both are really appreciate, Cappy and Gab. And yeah, I'm glad I put some metaphorical life into Laura. The FTLOP universe is weird already, so why not add an android into the mix?"

Quinn raised his hand. "Didn't they recently use a robot Pikachu in the Pokémon Journeys anime?"

Laura scoffed. "A cheap knock-off of my cute self."

"It only said Hikachu," Diego said. "It literally WAS a cheap knock-off."

now question, If any of you had your worlds collide and all of you must band together to stop a greater evil to fix all the universes, sort of like Avengers Endgame, would you guys get along pretty well?

I laughed. "Funnily enough, I did toy around with an idea some years back. It would be a pain in the rear to write, but…eh, who knows? What's say you, guys?"

Wes grinned. "I'd say I get along great with everyone. Everyone loves me!"

Melissa chuckled. "I am sure some people will think I will win over the gruffer individuals with my irresistible charm, as they call it. Though, I admit, Griffin scares me."

Wes waved it off. "He's getting better, don't worry."

Diego smirked. "I'd say Pandora and I would get along nicely."

"Assuming your egos don't get in the way," Ryder said, hiding his grin.

"I have a normally-sized ego, thank you very much!"

Melissa sighed. "No doubt Jet would throw a fit working with so many zany individuals, but…eh, he would have to get over it, probably."

Krystal grinned. "Well, since most of us would be working toward a similar goal, I think we would get along swimmingly, or at least with a familiar objective in mind. Bring on the universal collapse, because I'm smoking for some explosions!"

Artemis punched into her ribbons. "As long as I get to beat some up, I'm game for whatever!"

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'd say they'd get along fairly well with the odd quarrel or two from the larger cast."

Merry Christmas to all of you, I'm hoping the very best and you all have a good time~ Sincerely, Mikepeashooter (A.K.A. Cappy)

P.S. I'm gonna graduate from my training program soon and i can finally get a job, wish me luck!

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Cappy! I wish you the best, and congrats on nearing graduation! I wish you luck in your job search! I'll have to go through the same ordeal once I finish up my Masters."

"Later, Cappy~! Merry Christmas!" Laura exclaimed.

I took the remote back from Laura. "Alright, next person, let's go."

CLICK!

GiratinaEmpress

Me, just idling around, chilling... and then I randomly think to check my email and- Dear lord it's time for a PM64 Christmas special already-.

You know, I've been thinking about it for the latter half of this year, mostly because there were questions buzzing around in my brain and yet- IT STILL FEELS LIKE IT CAME WAY TOO SOON.

I laughed. "Yeah, this kind of thing sneaks up on me, too. How I have twenty-five days to write a special alongside two stories I've been heavily focused on. I'm so glad I'm on Winter Break right now, otherwise this would be a monumental task for me to carry out."

Happy Holidays to everyone though! Honestly, there's more to it then peppermint, Brad! There's gingerbread, and apple pie, and yule logs, and a croquembouche-! Ahem. Got a bit carried away there, I must say great game choices though! Did you get to Masters in Pokemon Unite? Or do I get to make fun of you for sucking-.

"Rude!" I yelled playfully. "I like peppermint, cut me some slack! Especially my dad's peppermint bark. Mmmm~! Good stuff."

Diego smirked. "So, do you suck as Pokémon Unite?"

I rolled my eyes. "I like to think I'm adequate at the game. I'm still at Expert Rank, though that's mostly because I don't play ranked all that much. Also, sometimes I'm either against a really good team or have a really bad team to work with. Seriously, why do so many people insist on surrendering so early or going AFK halfway through?! Are you trying to make me angry?!"

Ah! My favourite protagonist marshmallow is here, yaaaaaaay! ...I mean, obviously, but still yay, good to see you, Melissa! Good to see Quinn and Artemis, Wes and Krystal too, and the regulars Ryder and Laura! ...But I'm going to be honest I've never read LITC so I have extremely little attachment to Diego and Chase. Soooorry~.

Melissa held her cheeks and blushed. "Aww, thank you, Empress!"

Quinn nodded. "Good to be back, yes."

Krystal pumped her wing. "I wouldn't miss out on a party!"

"Same here, sister!" Laura exclaimed.

Diego chuckled and shrugged. "Eh, that's alright, Empress. No hard feelings."

Chase laughed. "Not like it's been updated in forever, right?"

"Please stop mocking me," I whimpered.

Oooh, we get to hear about names!? Woo! Honestly, your name choices and well, chapter titles for BOF are quite something so I am excited to hear about this! ...And you're really testing me with that surprise, my patience is already stretched enough-.

I snickered. "You'll just have to wait until Christmas before you get your present like everyone else. But I am looking forward to talking about names at the end of this session. Like I said, something of a hobby for me these days."

Err... Oh dear, I've rambled quite a bit. Apologies... except not really! That just means I get more screentime! Such is my dastardly plot, and you've fallen for it completely. Right, anyway... time for the first question! I'll make these fun, for now...

Ryder smirked. "Congratulations, Empress, you found a convenient loophole to the two question limit: rambling."

I sighed. "I really hope this doesn't mean I'll get a sudden influx of longer questions in session two." I shook my head and smiled. "But enough of that, let's get to your question."

So... my question is to you, Brad. You've said before that Team Shatter Star could have been the main protagonists of TSOTI, had you thought of them first, and well... that could be considered an AU, and that just tickles my brain... do you have any other AUs that you think of for your stories? If so, what are they?

Personally, the idea of a Roleswap for BOTF lives in my head rent-free. Like what if it were Jason, a farmer Pikachu, joining the foresters led by the infamous, insane Harlow. . . With his rookie teammates being switched with the Nature Spirit Scouts... Jason the calmer, composed rookie being trained by his anxiety ridden leader... it'd just be too funny... Ah, got carried away again-.

"You know, funnily enough, I do like picking around with AU-type scenarios I could so as their own self-contained what-ifs. One I think I've mentioned in the past was a what-if where Garret actually managed to convince Clara to let him take care of Gwyn and bring her into the Ravenfield household. Gwyn would've been an honorary Ravenfield and something of a sister to Wes and Flint."

Wes chuckled. "Well, that certainly would've changed some dynamics."

I laughed. "Yeah, safe to say with the added context, Flint and Gwyn would see each other more as family by that point, especially since Gwyn was so young when her mother was afflicted with the curse. Though, that would also mean Gwyn's personality would've seen change as well, possibility adopting the wild nature of the Ravenfield family from Garret's influence."

Artemis smirked. "I must admit, though, Empress' Roleswap idea does sound fun. Wouldn't you agree, Melissa?"

Melissa covered her red face and groaned. "Oh my Arceus…"

I laughed. "Just the idea of the Foresters being started by complete accident due to Melissa's anxiety-driven successes is honestly one of the funniest things I've ever imagined. That definitely sees some potential with Jason in the role of a rookie."

Anyway... question 2! Well, this one is another curiosity one, but... what made you decide to start incorporating OC submissions into your work? They have varying degrees of importance, but they're all handled... pretty well, and are always fun to read about, despite sometimes there being, er... FLAWS WITH SUBMISSIONS *COUGH COUGH* MYSELF-.

"Well, it's mostly due to the stories that they are heavily focused on. One of the first stories I've ever accepted a third party OC was in The Assassin and the Princess, and I freely admit Jackson was poorly implemented and kind of shoehorned into the plot considering much of his character flat out mirrors Jango's. There just wasn't much purpose to Jackson outside of unlocking a prison cell. Though, again, TAATP wasn't some of my best work since I was only starting out then.

"But, it wasn't until Tribe of Fusions that I had a renewed purpose. I figured with the heavy focus on unique Pokémon fusions, why not incorporate some ideas from readers? It saves me the trouble of coming up with ideas and allows others to share their voice into the story. Though, some were harder to work with because they didn't quite stand out as much.

"I think I found a nice medium with Bandits of the Forest since it was less to work with, and I had some dynamic options to work with. Some were really well-thought out, and even gave me a challenge incorporating backstories with preconceived events." I smiled. "And you know, Empress, you could always ask me if you want to make some changes to Lillia. She hasn't gotten much focus yet, so there's still time to make some adjustments without compromising what has been established. I only have part of her backstory revealed. You know, looking back, I neglected to ask for abilities alongside moves…"

Oh dear, don't possibly know what came over me... anyway! That's my two question limit, so I shall contain myself. I've already given plenty to write a response to so... Best of luck! Continuing having a good holiday or I shall hunt you down myself! Bye-bye!

"I do enjoy the enthusiasm, and I will be sure to enjoy my holiday. Have a great day, Empress!"

Krystal snickered. "You've definitely gotten better handling OC submissions."

Artemis laughed. "Probably because he's only working with five or six, not fifteen!"

I glared at her. "Very funny, Artemis…alright, next question."

CLICK!

Void Reader

Was still wondering when will u somehow continue LITC. N here I thought u would never get to how u knew all those words used for your BITF titles. I don't think I have much questions to ask right now, but I'm sure they will come to me. So anyway, Happy Holidays.

I sighed. "Believe me, even if I wanted to start on a potential reboot, I think two stories at a time is my limit. Though, I will admit I am writing out some potential new ideas for a reboot, so feel free to ask about that in session two. But there's plenty to talk about with the titles and character names, at least. Those are the fun ones."

Ryder waved. "Have a good day, Void. Hope you have some questions for session two."

"You kidding? After Empress', I don't mind the minor break. No offense, of course, GiratinaEmpress!" I raised my remote. "And next, we have…"

CLICK!

austin todd 315

This year still felt so different to me. At this point it feels like the recent years are divided between "2019 and earlier" and "2020 and after". Anyway, really happy to see another Christmas special, as always. Something I always look forward too.

"Yeah, kind of feels like we've entered a completely new decade…in more ways than one." I laughed awkwardly. "It's been a rough couple of years for everyone, but at least I used to isolation constructively. What better way than to work on obtaining my Masters, right? Still, I'm glad you've been looking forward to the special. Always nice to bring a little cheer to everyone."

The details regarding the names of BOTF's chapters is something that occured to me recently. I feel like I probably always noticed that the chapter titles used complex words, but it didn't really click with me that it was such a constant affair. Really interested in hearing the details regarding that. And the special surprise definitely has me intrigued as well. Not entirely sure what that's going to entail.

"I knew I wanted to do something different with how I name the chapters. You have the anime-styled chapters in TSOTI, now you have these occasionally one-word chapters with some significance on the chapter. And this of course extends to characters."

Also really great to see Diego and Chase here. Already brings back memories to the classic days.

Diego and Chase raised their fists and exclaimed, "Anarchy Duo, all the way, baby!"

"A-Anarchy?!" Melissa gasped.

Ryder leaned over and patted her head. "Try…not to overthink it."

Question 1: To PM64: How does it feel now that TSOTI has been regularly ongoing for over half the time you've been here? Your flagship stories have obviously changed and switched as each finishes, but the Mysto era has almost become synonymous with how long it's been going on.

I laughed. "Honestly, it's really funny looking back. We're reaching up to six years of this series being worked on, and I was nearing the end of the twelfth grade when I started.

"I still remember this funny occurrence back when I was a teacher aid for my English teacher. I didn't do much beyond grading papers and hauling supplies for him, so it left me plenty of time in the morning to write on my laptop. He was rounding the tables during a lesson and spotted me working on Chapter 6 of Secret of the Idol. When I was writing out how the circus used spells in more creative ways, he was the one who told me to add an example to make it more impactful. I really looked up to him. He was probably my favorite teacher at the time, even if he was the most infamous among the student body. He was known to yell…a lot. Though, to be fair, high schoolers aren't exactly known for their etiquette. That's probably one reason he was easier on me since I was the studious, quiet kid who actually paid attention in class."

Wes laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, can't…imagine what that would be like."

I smiled. "It'd be nice to see him again, to see how he's still doing after all these years. I wonder if he's still teaching at my old high school." I laughed. "Hopefully he's doing well. But yeah, it is amazing to think how long I've been writing."

Question 2: To Melissa: If you had to spend 48 straight hours locked up in a cage with either Laura, Diego, or Artemis, with no other company in or outside, who would you choose?

Melissa awkwardly turned and started at her three choices. Laura waved with her fingers, flashing a sharp, devious grin. Diego leaned back coolly into the couch, a twinkle of mischief dancing in his eyes. Artemis snickered openly as she rubbed her paws together.

"…And…Pandora is not an option?" She sighed and pulled on her ears. "Oh dear, um…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Artemis!"

Their eyes widened. "Really? Why her?" Diego asked.

"Because I know for a fact she will have an annoying voice in the back of her head that sounds like Quinn telling her not to harass me!"

Artemis gasped. "What?! That is so not…" She frowned, then pouted. "Actually, she might have a point."

Quinn nodded. "I would give her a fair scolding before she's put in that cage alone with Melissa."

"You're lucky you're cute, Spooks," Artemis grumbled.

I laughed. "I think you picked the safer option, Melissa. Diego and Laura can be a bit much to deal with, especially for 48 hours. Anyway, thanks for the questions, Austin. Great to have you around as always. Hopefully you'll come up with more ways to torture Melissa."

Melissa whined and curled up into a ball.

I laughed before raising the remote. "Okay, next we have…ah, looks like it's Gab."

gab295

This year has definitely been a blast with amount of updates we've been getting! You've basically been spoiling us! Even more special for me considering this is my first time commenting on a Christmas Special. And with that, I'll treat myself and ask my questions.

"Heh, I try my best to stay consistent with my updates. Glad to have you with us on the Christmas special, Gab. Hope to see you around as we slide into the new year soon. And once again, I really loved the fanart you did of Jason. It's really good. Let's see what we got first…"

First, you've probably heard this a dozen times now, but HOW? Just when I thought things would be relatively tame you decide to put in even more effort with the constant updates while still retaining quality. There's also that monthly journal which has honestly been helpful. And I thought you peaked years ago.

"All good, don't worry. Before the pandemic started, I would've just said a strong passion for what I love. Nowadays, it's a combination of that, and the fact I rarely leave the house. So, plenty of free time on my hands, as you can imagine. Still have to juggle my online courses for my Masters, and then eventually seek a job, but I hope to find the time to keep doing this. Plus, it helps to have a balanced life so I'm not stressing myself with updates and finishing chapters."

Now this is to Laura, how's it feel having your side story finally being picked back up after getting left on hold for little while? Though you might not care, I still find it funny seeing that update coming out of nowhere.

Laura waved it off. "In all honesty, I'm just as surprised. Believe it or not, he had the chapter basically on the edge of being finished, but never got around to actually finishing it. I don't think any of us expected him to get back to work on it."

"Still waiting for the update on the Team Shatter Star side story!" Krystal exclaimed.

I facepalmed. "Oh boy…"

Melissa giggled. "You gave yourself quite the workload."

"That's what happens when you have too many fun ideas you want to do, but don't have the time to actually do them. Trust me, you would not believe the backlog of ideas I have for when TSOTI eventually wraps up. I give it a year or two at best."

An early Merry Christmas to you all! Cannot wait to see what new things next year will bring!

I smiled. "I, too, look forward to see how the new year will turn out. It's going to be a lot of new changes coming into my life. I still hope to do this on the side, even if or when I started officially publishing. Glad to have you with us today, Gab. Hope to see more of you around in the future."

Melissa waved. "Take care, Gab!"

Artemis smirked. "Speaking of projects, have you finally lifted that no sequel policy on Tribe of Fusions? You do have trouble not making long projects, after all."

"…I'm not answering that." I pulled up the next set of questions. "Alright, looks like we've got AllKorean next."

AllKorean

To think I was going to ask about the chapter names in BOTF for last year's special but thought it would be a silly question, haha. Hey PM64 and crew, it's been a while! I hope everyone's doing well and staying warm for the winter. I don't have any pressing questions for now so I'll keep it short and simple:

"Well, I did want to do something different with the naming conventions in this series. Plus, it serves as an interesting challenge for me, especially when I don't actually plan a chapter title until the very last minute. Tuesday was a stroke of brilliance, and it saved me four chapter titles with one! But anyway, great to have you with us today, AllKorean. Definitely staying warm, though I prefer the cold over the heat anyway, so it's definitely a good time of the year for me."

Laura rolled her eyes. "Not me, I don't want stiff servos."

Out of all the chapters for any of your stories that you've written in 2021 which was your favorite and why?

"Ooh, that's a good one. There's plenty to discuss, though I think I'm partial to Bandits of the Forest Pt2, Chapters 40 and 41: Nonplus. I've been looking forward to doing this one as these are the chapters that officially unveil the majesty that is Grim Deadlock, and introduces the stakes Melissa will have to conquer to reach her goal. She's only slowly accepting the new world outside her kingdom, and Grim acts as a transition into the power she will likely come across in her endeavors.

"Also helps it was a rather fun chapter to write for, especially with Armant, a personal favorite of the side characters. There's just a lot of good things I planned from these couple of chapters that will have a greater impact down the line."

Melissa shuddered. "Why did you subject me to so much terror that night?"

"Because, as we all know, it wouldn't be BOTF without Melissa Penworth being subjected to abject horror and torment!" I slapped my knee and laughed, joined by Artemis, Laura, and Krystal.

Melissa whimpered and once more curled into a ball. Quinn tenderly patted her head.

2) What is your favorite thing that has peppermint in it? My personal favorite is peppermint mocha.

"Ah yes, my obsession with peppermint once again rears its ugly head. I kid, of course, but I can't get enough of the stuff. What takes the cake, however, is my dad's peppermint bark. I'm talking a sheet of hardened milk chocolate with a layer of white chocolate sitting on top, sprinkled with crushed candy canes. We let it freeze overnight, break it into pieces, and gorge on delicious bark!"

Wes grinned. "Sounds delicious!"

Diego smirked. "Sounds seriously unhealthy. That's a lot of chocolate."

I waved it off. "Hey, I eat plenty healthy the entire year round, so I'm entitled to gorge on some sweets when the time comes."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

I'm excited to hear what the announcement at the end of the month will be. As always, take care and have a happy holiday!

"I do hope it's worth the wait, because I thought it would be something special for all of us. Just have to wait until Christmas. Anyway, glad to have you around today, AllKorean. Take care, and have a wonderful holiday!"

Artemis picked up her hot cocoa and sipped on it. "Well great, now I'm craving peppermint bark." She purred against Quinn. "Can you make me some when we get home, Spooks~?"

He rolled his eyes and smiled gently. "We will see."

I scrolled to the next set of questions. "Ah, a short one's up. And this one is from an occasional lurker, Daemon. Glad to see you, Damon. Whatcha' got for us?"

Daemon Wolf 22

Wait, I thought you had graduated from college?!

"…Ah."

Diego snickered. "Am I reading in too much, or do they sound distressed by this revelation?"

"Oh hush, Diego." I smiled awkwardly. "I suppose I've clarified this enough through the special, but I did graduate from college. I'm just now taking up a Masters program to earn my Masters. Simple as that. My apologies if I sparked any befuddlement."

And where's Jango?

"He's doing well back in Poketopia, mostly spending the holidays with Amanda and the others. Trust me, I can only have so many OCs on here before I mix up the names. Though, he does wish everyone a happy holidays!"

Diego, Chase, I'm absolutely ecstatic to see you, but I'm gonna save all my questions for you guys for next time, because I've clearly missed more than I realized...

Diego snickered. "Don't sweat it, we're just vibin'."

Chase nodded. "Nothing new has come out from out series, but it felt nice to be back and not forgotten like trash."

"Stop making me feel bad!" I cried, curling up onto my armchair and whimpering.

"Hey, he looks like Melissa now," Diego said.

Melissa pouted. "Rude!"

Chase chuckled awkwardly. "Right, uh…well, we look forward to what you have to say in session 2, Daemon. Great seeing you again!"

"Have a fantastic holiday, Daemon!" I scrolled to the next questions. "Alright, next we have the residential reaper of the reviews. This should be fun."

TheGrimReaper666

Hahaha! Let the festivities commence for the end of 2021! Damn, it is crazy how soon 2022 is approaching. To be honest, it only felt like a month when I participated in the 5th Annual Christmas Special. I really can't stress enough just how fast time is moving these days. It's almost supernatural. Nevertheless, it is nice to be apart of these again.

"Haha! Great to have you back with us again this year, Reaper. Time sure does fly faster than you expect. Felt like ages for a year to pass when I was a kid, now everything's moving in the blink of an eye."

Hello again, Ryder and Laura! Very nice to see you guys again. Didn't expect to see Laura actually being here in person, but it's a welcoming surprise.

Ryder nodded. "Always a pleasure, Reaper."

Laura winked. "I like to leave everyone guessing when I make an appearance. I have to keep up with my title as mistress of trickery, right?"

And speaking of surprises, Artemis and Quin? Krystal and Wes (my favorite character of TSOTI)? Freaking Diego and Chase?! This is awesome! Hello to all of you, especially Diego and Chase! Damn, it feels like an eternity since I've read your story, nice to see you two here!

Artemis wrapped Quinn in her feelers and pressed her cheek against his. "Always happy to be a part of the festivities!" Quinn nodded silently.

Krystal waved her wing. "Great to see you, comrade! Many great tidings to the holidays to you!"

Wes grinned. "Agreed!"

Diego chuckled. "Much like Laura, how can we pass up the opportunity to leave everyone guessing? It's in our nature."

Chase laughed. "Some things will never change ever after so long."

Oh, and how can I forget about the lovable Buneary, Melissa. Hello there! I'm Reaper. As you probably already know, as you've read the reviews, you are a personal favorite character of mine in BOTF. It is a real pleasure to finally make your acquaintance~. ;)

P.S. ...I just realized that Melissa was in the last Annual Christmas Special. So she already knows who I am. Welp, this is awkward. XD! This reaper is going senile, I swear! Lol!

Melissa giggled. "No, no, I am sure you have a very sharp mind, Sir Reaper." She curtsied to him. "Regardless, I am humbled by your cordial introduction."

Laura smirked. "Almost a year living in the woods, and she still has to act all proper."

"Oh hush."

Now, with introductions out of the way, onto the questions!

Question 1: To PM64: What keeps you motivated to keep writing? I sometimes hear, or see, cases of authors on this site (or authors of novels I follow) quit writing either from burn out, life calls to them and keeps them busy, or just from loss of motivation. Considering your writing schedule, and that you're somewhat busy with classes, what keeps you writing?

"Well, for one, it helps to have a work/life balance so I don't suffer from burnout. A general love for what I do also helps. Moreover, I do this because I want to keep improving before I set out to officially publish my own material. I know in time, when I get a job, I will have to sacrifice time that keeps me from writing. Though, I can easily find workarounds and find the right balance that keeps me happy and efficient. I just really love making stories.

"Only time I did quit something—" I shot a look over at Diego and Chase. "—was from a lack of passion the further I went into it. I think I found my motivation by working towards an end goal that I want to see to the end. I have no idea if I will become an official author in the end, but I would be satisfied continuing with this for as long as I can. At least then, I don't have to worry too much about the process of publishing. Seriously, there is a lot more to publishing than just submitting a manuscript, and it gets hectic.

"But yeah, I just really love what I do."

Question 2: I noticed that some Pokémon in Mysto, like Gwyn or Griffin, are born with some pretty potent auras for...obvious reason. But to Pokémon who aren't born with a strong one, or born from a magically gifted bloodline, is it possible to strengthen the aura you have in some way? It's a fun detail I just I wanted to know.

Krystal raised her wing. "Well, there are many ways to strength one's aura without being…well, born OP. Our auras are something like a muscle. You just have to keep exercising it over and over. Though, instead of doing pushups or the like, we typically have to practice exerting our magic."

Wes continued, "For example, actively pressurizing our auras into its tangible form is something like stoking the flames of a fire. In battle, this is mostly done to intimidate and expel more magic in a pinch. For training, it's a good way to push how much can be exerted at once. It really wears you out if you don't know what you're doing, but it does strengthen with time."

"There's even equipment you can use to test your control, like cheap crystals that shatter if you don't temper the flow of magic. Kind of like…overloading an electronic device with electricity. Those who don't practice magic too much will generally have weaker auras. There's also training the defensive aura, which is more or less training how much physical trauma it can endure before breaking. Definitely something that shouldn't be done in battle."

Ah, the names of your chapters in BOTF is something that has caught my attention for quite some time. I find it pretty nice, really goes to show just how much effort, quality, and thought you put into your writing. Definitely interested for what you have to say about the names of some of your characters, as it's something I always like to get into. As for the surprise you are keeping secret, I can't say I have a hint of what your hiding, but you definitely have peeked my interests. Can't wait to see what it is!

See ya next session! :D

"I'm definitely looking forward to talking about the fun that is words. There's some good meaning behind the characters' names I feel are worth talking about." I waved. "Thank you for your time, Reaper! See you next session!"

Ryder crossed his arms. "The more you tease that surprise, the more anxious you'll make everyone."

"Can't be any worse than my cliffhangers." I laughed awkwardly. "Trust me, they get worse." I shook my head. "Okay, we've got an unique submission this time around. You may remember them as 1NF1N1TE, but now we pull open the curtain for our PM questions from…!"

Luminoz1ty

Alright, here we go again! This year has been one of my personal favorites with the chapters you released this year. Incredible fights, character development, plot-twists (especially the recent big one in BOTF. I did NOT see that coming). I feel like you've outdone yourself, but I know there's lots more in store which is very exciting!

At the moment, I only have one question because I've really got nothing else. But this alone should suffice, because it is a MONSTER. (Sorry in advance for any inconvenience, Brad)

"Well, I'm glad you've been enjoying the mayhem going down in BOTF, Luminoz1ty. And from what I'm seeing here…ooh boy. So, uh, I do advise everyone read what's up ahead with caution. I did ask them to make some edits since I do try to keep these specials relatively tame."

I have an idea I thought of that seems like a win-win. Have you ever considered writing any sort of "abridged" version of your stories? I see two benefits to this.

One, some of your stories are several chapters long, TSOTI for example. This usually scares away some readers who don't have the time or motivation to read through a hundred chapters. I admit I am guilty of this as I started around in the middle of TSOTI without going back to the previous chapters, so I was a little out of the loop lol. Same could be said for TOF.

An abridged version could summarize a whole arc in a single chapter so that new people who are interested can catch up with the current events. They may like it and even be convinced to check out the actual story.

"Well, it certainly does have the ring of a good idea. Though, considering how much I already have stacked on my plate as is, I don't think I would be capable of writing an abridged version of either stories. Plus, there would the internal debate of having to figure out what should or shouldn't be included to streamline the story.

"And given the type of abridged material you're clearly referencing later on, I do not have the energy to write full-blown parody. Though, if anyone with a general idea of TSOTI or BOTF wanted to make an abridged version of them, I wouldn't be opposed. Speaking of…"

Two, you could make it a full-on s*** post if you wanted. All of your characters are memorable and loveable, but what if you just said "eff it" and made them go completely off the rails. Every arc could be summarized in one nonsensical scene full of unpredictable shenanigans. You could have them crack more jokes, occasionally break character, reference a few memes, make them swear more often. Just have fun with it lol.

If you've seen anything like Hellsing Ultimate: Abridged you'd know what I mean.

Wes blinked. "…Oh dear."

Krystal snickered. "I like this idea already."

I laughed. "Again, I would not be opposed to do something like that, though I do not have the mindset of a comedy writer to even hold a candle to Hellsing Abridged or DBZ Abridged. But again, if anyone had an invested interest in doing so, I wouldn't oppose to the idea. It is parody, and it's all in good fun. I just cannot find the type or drive to write such a thing. Now, uh…" I handed Melissa blindfold.

Melissa blinked at it. "What is this for?"

"Just trust me."

Here are some examples:

WARNING: PLEASE BEWARE READERS AND MELISSA (the best girl), THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS EXPLICIT MATERIAL AND IS NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

-Flint comes in at a bad time- (TSOTI Chapter 118-119)

Flint: SOME-

*Flint's guardian punches Malcolm through the door of Team Ravenfield's room and into a desk.*

Flint: -BODY ONCE TOLD ME THE WORLD WAS GONNA- uh... guys?

*Then he catches Wes and Ella...well, having their own "party" on Flint's bed.*

Wes: FLINT, WHAT THE HELL?! I got so freaking close this time around and you just had to f*** kill the mood! AGAIN!

Malcolm: *pinches nose* First I get punched through a door and now I don't even get to see a good sho- *gets hit with Ella's psychic*

Ella: C-c-can I ask why the hell you punched a pirate through our room door, Flint?!

Flint: Oh yeah, the Desert Beasts are here for the keys.

Wes: Well s***, time to go!

Flint: So, uh... now that you guys are like... a thing again or whatever, next time you do this can me and Gwyn jo-

Wes and Ella: NO!

"OH DEAR ARCEUS, WHY!" Wes covered his eyes and red face.

Artemis blushed with a devious grin. "Oh my~."

Ryder narrowed his eyes. "Welp, I'm even more scarred than normal."

Melissa blinked through her blindfold. "What happened?"

Sorry not sorry, Wes. XD (Just kidding, you're awesome. I just felt like messing with you) The previous version of this "abridged" scene was actually MUCH MUCH worse. Why? Well let's just say the word choice was very...*ahem* "thirsty". So I decided to spare you all from something very cursed XD Brad was unfortunate enough to be the only one to witness it. (Poor guy)

"Yep, that will forever be in the messages for my own torment," I said with an exasperated grin.

Quinn sighed. "A real shame Marie is not here to see this."

"Speaking of Marie…"

Moving on, here's my personal favorite ;)

-Marie interrogates Marsaili (BOTF pt1 Chapter 33)-

Marie: Would you be a darling and tell me all your dirty little secrets~?

Marsaili: P*** off, you w***. I ain't telling you s***!

Marie: Oh... *her eye glows red* you will honey~

*Marie slowly approaches Marsaili as she leans back as far as she can in her tied up chair. Marie moves her face as close to Marsaili's as possible.
Marie clears her throat before moving her index finger up to her own lips with her most seductive look.*

Marie: Ara Ara~

Marsaili: AAAAAAAAAAAA-

*Then she blows up from embarrassment or something.*

"WHHHHHHYYYY!" Wes screamed.

Laura and Diego threw their heads back and laughed. "Oh, that's rich!" Diego exclaimed.

Krystal crossed her wings and nodded. "Huh, I should try this on Cybil when I come home. I wonder how she'll take it?"

Melissa looked around through her blindfold. "Do I even want to know?"

Kind of a shame Marie isn't here to further embarrass Melissa, would've been very amusing, but I digress. You get the idea, you can do some wacky stuff with this. I'd understand if you probably couldn't make this happen as you are already busy enough as it is, I just thought this would be a fun and hilarious idea to do on the side.

I imagine reading this will get some pretty juicy reactions from the cast, oh I'm going to relish this. XD But please for the love of Arceus protect the precious little bean that is Melissa, don't destroy her innocence. She doesn't deserve to see the far greater horrors that social media has created on THE INTERNET. *shuddering intensifies* Anyway, hopefully see you next session!

Melissa pulled her blindfold off. "What is so bad about the internet?"

I inhaled. "Just…no." I smiled awkwardly. "And here I thought GiratinaEmpress had the largest submission. I should really implement a word count or something. Well, regardless, thank you, Luminoz1ty! Very enlightening and an interesting idea to keep in mind for the future."

"…" Melissa glanced at me. "Seriously, what did they—"

"ANYWAY, moving on!" I quickly scrolled to the next questions. "We got a familiar looking Pikachu up ahead, so let's see what they have to share."

Pikachu47

Hey guys, Pikachu47 here. Surprisingly, My email didn't mess up and I'm not late like last time. Thanks to our corporate overlord, Google.

Diego raised his hands. "Praise the mighty search engine!"

Chase glared. "Bro, you know they're a lot more than a search engine, right?"

"But it's funnier if I say it as such."

Now just like last time I don't really have any questions to ask just. I'm just here to talk about stories and stuff.

BOTF is honestly the only story I keep up with update right now. The part 2 is done and part 3 is now started. And it's doing great so far. Part 2 was actually really better than part 1, few issues I had the characters and storytelling is solved and you can really see Brad trying really hard to improve the story. And Melissa, you are doing great by the way. Keep proving that you are one of the best protagonist Brad ever written.

TSOTI, is slowly becoming the 'One Piece' of fanfictions, and I'm honestly scared at this point. I tried to read and finish the first part a while ago, to keep up with the updates but before I reach half I got exhausted. Since the early parts are written a long time ago and at that time Brad's writing wasn't really as good as now, I kind of got bored. I will explain the reason more detailed in a PM. But don't worry I WILL finish it someday.

"Eh, don't sweat it, I get what you mean. That's partially why I had to separate the story where I did because it was becoming a bit too much as is. I could always break down the last bit into a small, third part for convenience's sake, but we'll see. Also…yeah, One Piece. Man, that's been going on for a while. They breached 1000 chapters in the manga AND 1000 episodes in the anime recently. Dang."

Hey look, we also got a chapter update for Laura's spin-off recently. Good to see the story that follows one of my favourite character get chapter updates once in a year. But it's totally fine. I know how hard it is to write a story, and updating not one but two stories consistently must be unimaginably hard. So relax and take your time. Don't push yourself too hard.

And that pretty much it I want to talk about. I see you guys next time, wish everyone Mary Christmas and a happy New Near.

"Well, thankfully, Laura's side story is on the shorter side when it comes to chapters, so maybe I'll have the next chapter out sometime soon. Eventually. Maybe. Should probably go back on Ultimate Arena, though that one is filled with the one thing in writing that takes time for me: fighting! I probably should've planned that one out better.

"But anyway, I look forward to what you have to say with your review of TSOTI, and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year as well!"

Diego scrolled through his phone. "Yeesh, you weren't kidding about this One Piece thing. It's been going on for THAT long?"

I raised the remote. "Okay, looks like we're winding down to the last set of questions, and this should be a familiar face to most of us."

AvalonArrival

Oh joy, time to give Melissa more awful ideas for Pandora! And to ask more questions about what the actual hell is going on in the background of Bandits of the Forest! Looking forward to more :D

Melissa gulped. "Oh boy…"

Diego smirked. "Hey, this is that conspiracy nut who messages you on Discord about his crazy theories, right?"

"I…wouldn't say conspiracy nut, but—"

"HA!"

Alright, my questions are for you, Melissa. So. New sibling huh. Whatcha think of Charlie? Idk if you've canonically met him yet but I'd say he's a nice kid. What's your plan for when you inevitably have to return home and (assumedly) reclaim the throne? And on a completely different note what's your favorite cream puff flavor?

Melissa sighed. "As of the story, I do know of his existence, but have not met him. That said, I…suppose he would be a good fit in my absence." She quietly wrung her hands together. "It is not like I am…feeling any sort of emptiness knowing I have been replaced, and that I am probably never going to assume my right to the throne, so—"

"Okay, this is getting a little more downer than I thought!" Diego interrupted. "Just skip to the other stuff."

"Oh! Um…" Melissa tapped her chin. "Well, if I were to return home, I…um…"

"You don't have an actual plan, do you?"

"I will be honest, I am making up most of everything I do as I go along," she admitted with a sheepish grin. Everyone, including me, facepalmed. "Um…vanilla custard crème puffs, also. I like vanilla."

"So that explains her moveset," Quinn said.

"Hey! Vanilla is delicious!"

Finally to try and earn my Minion of the Year card for Pandora, here's a message I would love if you relayed, though I doubt you will :P. 1, What would happen if the bullet spun, and two, I wonder what would happen if the air pressure on top of the wings was lower than the air pressure below it. Just a thought.

Melissa finished writing everything down on a piece of paper. "I will see to it this gets to her."

Krystal raised her brow. "You're seriously going to relay that to your crazy friend?"

Melissa shrugged. "It would be rude if I did not pass the message along, even if the potential outcome further makes me question my friend's lack of moral stability."

"…" Krystal patted her head. "You're a good friend."

"Aww, thank you!"

Happy Christmas! Merry Hanukkah! Whatever you say for Kwanzaa!
-Avalon

I saluted. "And a Happy Holidays to you, too, Avalon. We hope to see you around again." I switched off the monitor and tossed the remote aside. "And with that, we have concluded the Q&A portion of today's session. We certainly had some interesting questions to go through, some more…scarring than others."

"It will never leave my eyes," Wes mumbled.

I raised my finger. "So, I think now's a good time to get onto today's topic: the nature of names and words."

Artemis smirked. "Ah yes, please enlighten us to your vast wisdom found in only the most high quality of thesauruses."

I rolled my eyes. "No need for the sass, Artemis." I smiled. "So, a lot of people have noticed that a lot of the chapters throughout BOTF had the unusual trait of being one-word descriptions. I like to think of this as a personal challenge to give subtext to what is to be expected from the chapter, even if most words aren't from the common vernacular. Or, in other words, give chapters some flavor with unique, unseen words. There's a lot you can unpack from a single word, and the fun part is seeing which ones best describe the chapter.

"We have Part 2, Chapter 18: Opera, which has the entire focus centered on an opera. Though simple, the actual context found within the opera helps move along key points of the story that will be later established in greater depth. Setting it alongside an opera gives it that feeling of memorability.

"Likewise, I think one of my favorite chapters from Part 2 was Chapter 4: Archetype. Most remember this as the dining room scene between the Visconti siblings, Darby, and Erasmus. Throughout, we learn more and more about their characters and what they may contribute to the later parts of the story. Deadly secrets follow these royal princes and princesses. I felt Archetype was the best description for this as you can fit these characters into a number of specific roles.

"And if there's one theme that people have picked up on throughout this series, it's the nature of gossip. We have such fun titles like Bruit and Gossip, both dealing with that very concept usually with Sadie at the forefront of the tattletales. Then there's Mimesis, which hinted to Melissa's specific abilities, and Contradiction that highlights the duo of Ragger and Leon, both radically different characters in personality. There's just a lot of context you can put into a chapter when you add the right title to it, even from something as simple as one word.

"You wouldn't believe the number of words I have saved on standby. I keep saving them in the hopes they'll find a proper place in story. That's the fun of it for me, and perhaps you guys, too. Trying to find the meaning of these words in context to the story, whether they be clear as day or something more abstract."

Quinn nodded. "You clearly found a hobby with this fascination in words."

"Not just words, but I've become fond of names. In fact, there are quite a few names that have some significant meaning behind them, whether an insight into the character, or as a joke. Admittedly, some characters didn't have this much thought put into them, like Jason, Blitz, and Jet as they were early concept characters who I didn't want to change the names of. Though, worth mentioning, Blitz and Jet in canon didn't have names. Blitz was an orphan, and Jet…well, we all know the situation with his homelife.

"Melissa Penworth, however, had some forethought. Melissa actually comes from the name of a nymph in Greek mythology with the meli meaning honey. Melissa means bee. Honestly, both work in a way, as Melissa is often shown moving about with a steadfast goal, and honey does describe her personality well. Plus, that means you could say Melissa is a Queen Bee. You know, now that I think about it, this name would work very well for a Vespiquen.

"Penworth is a play on the famous knight of Arthurian Legend, Sir Arthur Pendragon. I decided on Penworth as I wanted to play off Melissa's main goal of being seen as worthy to her right to the throne. Plus, there might have been some inspiration from the Arthur Pendragon in the anime, Seven Deadly Sins. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean.

"Ursula Haumann, the chop-happy Toxicroak. She was a fun one to come up with. Ursula is a remarkably simple character in personality. She wants to chop things and chop even better than the last. Her family name reflects this, as Haumann comes from the words houwen (to chop) and man (…man). The name refers to butchers or woodcutters.

"Her given name translates to little bear, but the ursa of her name comes directly from she-bear. So, that makes Ursula the little bear that chops man or she-bear that chops man. I personally like thinking of her as a she-bear.

"Mochizuki Shingo was another fun one. Shingo's family name of Mochizuki can be translated as full moon, and is made up of the characters that represent wish/desire and moon. His given name can have two different spellings in Japanese, but I went with the one that contains the characters for prudent/careful and I/me. It sums up Shingo's personality due to his claustrophobia. He wishes to be careful and remains cautious of virtually anything that restricts his movement. I'm actually quite proud of this one.

"Keith Tibia is honestly just a funny one I did as a joke. So, as a reminder, Keith is the Mankey who runs a noodle stand in Marshland Village, and both of his legs were replaced with wooden pegs. Now, this is funny because…that's basically his name. Keith is said to derive from a word meaning wood, and Tibia is literally the shinbone. His name basically means wood leg."

Melissa giggled. "Oh dear."

Chase laughed out loud. "Seriously?! You named the guy with two wooden legs wood leg?!"

Diego clapped slowly. "That…is amazing."

"Heh, I try to have fun with some of these, as you can see. Now, I do have three more names worth mentioning, though two of them are a bit dubious when looking for their meanings. Still, I chose them regardless because they seemed like fitting names.

"Let's start with the overarching villain of BOTF, Terrowin. Little is known about the man, but I did put some time into coming up with a good name for him. English names tend not to have any significant meaning beyond occupational history or being named after a plant or field. I'm not even entirely sure what language Terrowin was derived from. Still, according to a source I found, there have been accounts of people claiming the name means strategically genius or manipulative. I do wonder if that's true, but I chose it regardless. It's actually pretty fitting a name for a villain who uses wit over strength, and that sums up Terrowin's plan of attack nicely.

"However, I like to talk about my favorite names, that being of Erasmus and Darby. These two have an interesting history, as they used to be the same character at one point during early conception. Essentially, a prince who Melissa was meant to marry that was also arrogant and mighty, just without any of the wit or charm. Basically, your bog-standard evil prince. Of course, I was inspired to take this in a new direction.

"I split Erasmus and Darby up based off particular qualities of their characters. I gave myself a fun challenge and put all the arrogance into Erasmus, but with the wit and charm of a decent person. Darby got…well, that will be revealed in due time. This is where some fun parallels come into play.

"From what I've gathered, Erasmus means desired, beloved, worthy of love. This is actually quite fitting for the self-absorbed Glameow as he believes himself to be the greatest thing in Senbo, but he does take after that worthy of love aspect. He doesn't flaunt and look down on others, he simply believes himself to be amazing. He is worthy of that love because he continues to be a just and respectable individual to all, especially his own beloved.

"Darby's name origin is…interesting. So, to start, I actually originally conceived his name loosely from the Pride and Prejudice character, Fitzwilliam Darcy. Admittedly, I might have misremembered the name as Darby, not Darcy. I blame JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for that mix-up. Still, I took inspiration from the character as something of an inverse to Darcy's character. He's outwardly seen as haughty and proud due to his lack of social grace, but is said by others to be upstanding. It sounds more like Erasmus' character, if anything. However, with all the hints dropped around the Tetrarch family, there is a lot more going on regarding Darby's character.

"Now, the meaning has some interesting interpretations. More commonly, you'll find it means deer settlement. Of course, I never chose the name for its meaning at the time. However, when I eventually did some research into the name, I was…remarkably stunned with one other meaning. It doesn't apply to Darby in anyway, but it actually works really well in a meta context as he and Erasmus use to be the same character. I'll leave you to figure out what that means on your own, but the other meaning of Darby is free from or without envy."

Ryder nodded. "Hmm, I must say, you did put some time into coming up with interesting names."

"I do try to give some meaning to every character these days. I either chose names because they sounded cool or purely based on a character's appearance. I cannot believe I named a Spheal Sphere."

Melissa giggled. "A testament to how you've grown, then."

"Indeed." I sat back into my armchair. "Well, that's all I have to offer for session 1. We've got some time to kill. We'll be back for session 2 on Christmas Day, and hopefully it'll be much shorter as I only have the one announcement. Remember, two questions per submission and be sure to have them ready by next week from today.

"I wonder if any of you can guess what the surprise is before then. I won't say if you're right or wrong, but you can take quiet satisfaction in your guess when I make the official announcement. Take care, everyone!"

The OCs raised their hands. "See you soon!"