Pokémon The Bringer

[canisaries]

Until the new bringer, whose part of an arceus sect, gets picked as reds about ready to start slicing and dicing the poor smuck in the table. I mean we dont know how deep that arceus worshipers ties to the arcian religion are, (probably not very considering hes breaking and entering) but the sheer irony made me bark a laugh. Also now that the painters got some corolating evidence that the fossil is able to enfluence more than one person, with the new bringer, and that reds blessing are real (per painful personal experience) we're now in another tense stand off between multiole factors... And its unclear if the timer is still ticking in reds life expectency...

It seems that you've misunderstood - Ogawa isn't Arcean. He was just a criminal for hire who was hired by Miriam (Red's stalker lady), who's the one that was Arcean.

Thanks for the review, both off you! I hope you'll like what's to come once I get out of my current slump and continue the story.

 

[Baro]

Hi again! Continuing on my reviews from AO3 here. I ended up reading through both the end of 'Hunter, Haunted' and what's out for this sequel (read over Vivarium too just before making this review), but it was a couple of days ago so I might get a few details wrong, figure I could put the warning out there.

Anyways, heh. Red got off quite easy there, didn't he, with the fact that Joanna's gone. Still woke up in a hospital though, and the events of vivarium happened. Or, well, the dream sequence happened. I wonder how much of his dream sequences are just self-created thanks to events in his life like the twitch (really interesting concept for that btw) and how much is just from being haunted like he was. Or just from the other Gastly still going after him. I really like the carry-overs between vivarium and the final chapter too, with Red clinging to Him like He's his last resort on sanity in that dream sequence, and trying to make up with him the very next chapter. Red is really not having a great time sanity-wise, but based on the ending of book one, he seems to be doing better. Not that much better, considering what's to come, but the fact that he is seeking out help shows he's changed at least a little from the start of this whole thing.

Now, onto the sequel! Oh boy, I can't wait to see Red doing all sorts of good deeds now that he's a changed person! Weee!

...And instead, he's immediately told that he won't be the bringer, and that he's to find a new one within six months if he wants to get immortality. He's told this just before he has a court session to attend, too. Niceee. He somehow manages to get out of court with a slap on the wrist (being brought into a 'ducklett program'), before promptly resorting to wandering around a school he hasn't attended to hopefully find a new successor, filing through the antisocial kids to see if any of them have evil thoughts or whatever. Goes about as well as expected, heh. He gets caught, but not by the police, so he's lucky there.

Speaking of the Ducklett program, admittedly I can see that it has been doing him some good as well, with his new semi-friendship with Suki, bonding somewhat over their interest in biology and shared experiences with hauntings while doing their tasks. (Gosh darn it Red. I see what you did in chapter 15. That's cold. I'd expect you to do it, but that's still cold.) :P He is continuing to show interest in therapy though, which is a really good sign for his sanity, even if he might not fully go down that path.

When Red got his next idea to look for a new bringer from a gay bar, I cackled and made myself some popcorn. When he got there and boo'd someone off the stage, I immediately recoiled, and walked away from my computer for like a minute. Whew.

From here, we meet Andre. I really like his character, especially in contrast to Red's throughout the story. While not at all normal, he does more or less have a good amount of success in trying to reign Red back a little, even if he gets bucked a little toward Red's insanity as well. I would bring Samson in that conversation as well, but he's not quite as prominent since Red doesn't like him nearly as much, therefore trying to avoid interacting with him as much as possible, but yeah. Andre and his motives are really interesting, and though killing still does go a bit far, his moral compass is far more just compared to an individual like Red. He does quite the job of bringing Red even closer to what could be considered sanity. I could see that being a reason why HE wanted Red to continue meeting with Andre, but I'm not wholly sure of the actual reasoning for that. Still probably one of the more interesting characters to follow.

And then there's the new bringer. ...Admittedly he isn't that likable, but that's kinda to be expected, considering the role they play. Don't have much to say about him yet, and it's hard to tell if he'll get that much of a major focus. I could see it going either way at this point, despite how major of a role he has.

Final major character that sticks out to me, Samson. He's kind of more or less a third wheel that somewhat counters Red's religion, trying to see and bring out the good in Red despite what he's witnessed from him. The fact that he has an adopted houndoom kid is... really interesting, honestly. Having gotten caught up in Red's illusion like what he described in the book 1 epilogue makes me think he will try to keep having a role in Red's life too, hoping he's a good person.

Before I end this off, I figure I could mention the worldbuilding, because that's the first thing that immediately jumped out at me when I started the sequel. I mentioned it earlier, but taking the concept from twitch plays pokémon and turning it into something experienced by a real person is... frightening, but very interesting. I haven't fully watched or read through the lore of what actually happened in it sadly though, but I can kinda piece a few things together through reading the lore from this, with Red's phobia of screens because they would break whenever he was around them.

Was a very entertaining read, and quite excited for what's to come! See ya 'round!

 

[canisaries]

Was a very entertaining read, and quite excited for what's to come! See ya 'round!

Thank you so very much for the review! I'm extremely glad to have a reader just decide to pick up my story and read through the whole thing like that. Next update will still be a while since I'm still editing what's been posted so far (nothing drastic, just details), but I can tell you that it'll rock your socks off. It'll be the end of Act 2 and bring the story into its final Act 3. Thanks again, and see you then!

 

[NebulaDreams]

Chapters 1-3

Abe shifted in his seat. “Well, if it helps any, I’ll be there.”

“Thanks. It doesn’t.”

Yeesh, Red.

“So… hello, ladies,” I say and clear my throat. “I’m in a bit of a pickle, and I was hoping you could help.”

No response. And that’s good. If there was a response, I’d be royally freaked out.

Just Red vibing and talking to his jar of organs, and one lock of hair. Poor Michi :’(

“Okay,” He says. Then He nuzzles closer to me. My heart skips a beat.

In response, I hug him close. It squishes Him just a little. I’m so glad I can do this again. Pretending not to love Him was killing me.

Squimsh the Helix. Hold Helix gentle like hamburger.

"I-I'm Suki," she said quietly. "I'm here because I… I stabbed my brother. Under possession."

There she is!

“Me, I have a houndoom son,” he says. Son? “He came from a pack back in Castelia, but ran into disagreements with his family. Through a series of events, we ended up adopting him.”

AWWWWW Samson calls Eli his son AWWWWWW Eli my beloved

“You’re gonna walk a lickitung on a leash?” I ask, and Suki glances at me.

“She has a history of running into traffic,” she explains. “And she craps way too much to have a litter box.”

lol. Also, again, I continue to really enjoy your take on the Pokémon world and how it mixes feral and civilised mon.

Oh, you absolute wimp. If someone ever yelled at you, I bet you’d just shatter into a million pieces.

Don’t you dare, Red.

“Isn’t it pretty… bloody? You don’t mind that?”

“Are you kidding? I love that stuff!” she shouts, then flinches at her own volume and shrinks again. “I mean, I find it interesting.”

…Huh. What do you know. The mareep has fangs.

ShE iSn’T lIkE oThEr GiRlS

Another great subject of conversation. Kudos. "Oh, plenty," I say. "First of all, He loves shrimp. Can't get enough of them. Secondly, you have to be careful He doesn't eat mouthfuls too big because the brain of an omanyte wraps around its esophagus and a bite too big can cause brain damage when swallowed. Thankfully, they do have instincts telling them to take modest bites, but it doesn't make all the worry go away…"

Oh my god he is fangirling so hard right now.

She told me a lot of interesting stuff, like what situs inversus or grimmsnarl syndrome is.

DON’T TEASE ME LIKE THIS I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT GRIMMSNARL SYNDROME IS NOW AAAAAAAAA

She's still a mareep. One of them. It's people like her that hate what I really am and want to lock me away. It's people like her that promote a society of conformity. You saw how shy she was, how preoccupied she was with how I saw her. She wasn't like me. She could never understand me. She and I could never be friends.

noooooo red

-

I’m back, and holy hell I’m enjoying this a lot so far. It’s been ages since I last read Hunter, Haunted, but it’s still one of my favourites, Seiren being second behind that, so I can’t believe it took me this long to get to the follow up.

Chapter 1 picks up more or less where Hunter, Haunted left us, with Red dealing with the aftermath of that fic’s events as he’s getting ready for the trial, mixed in with his anxiety dreams and a visit from Kohath.

It didn’t feel like a lot necessarily happened in this opening chapter, but that’s not a bad thing, a lot of it feels like a calm before the storm and reintroducing characters such as Red’s team, his victims and his mom. And it establishes the stakes for the rest of the chapters to follow, as Red has a deadline before he needs to find his successor.

Chapter 2 continues to set things up as Red is sentenced to community service. As much as Red is bored shitless being there, I can see it being good for him, so I hope he heals from it to some extent and actually connects with others, especially as Suki is just screaming ‘pick me’ signs for Red to talk to her with being there under similar circumstances. The group felt well rounded and like real people you’d see in community service without waffling on for too long about each character.

Red’s meeting with Samson was also interesting, and it was funny to see Red reacting to Sampson’s Houndoom son with disappointment. Again, I can’t stress how adorable Samson’s bond with Eli is. I want more of them.

Chapter 3 is where this fic really picks up for me, starting with the therapy session. I enjoyed the sessions Red had with Dr. Marsh in HH and was a little disappointed to not see her character return here since her conversation with him at the very end of that fic gave such a strong sense of things potentially getting better, but nevertheless, it was a good move to have another therapy session this early on into the story. It recaps some information to the reader since Red is talking to someone who isn’t as familiar with him, but it also hit close to home with how some therapy sessions feel very surface level despite the practitioner’s best intentions.

Then we get to my favourite scene so far where Red actually talks to Suki and finds she’s an anatomy nerd herself. The Pokémon Shelter setting they went to was really interesting, not just from a worldbuilding perspective since it’s always cool seeing that clash of feral and civilised mon in your setting, it also highlights more of those predator/prey themes with how Red sees himself compared to others.

I was actually happy for Red since it felt like they had chemistry together, especially with how Suki lets Red blab about Helix. I was hoping that would be a turning point for him… but in typical Red fashion, he finds a way to self sabotage and try to use her in his machinations.

I’m really excited to see where things will go with him and Suki. I know it’s not going to end well, but I’m at the edge of my seat. I really hope she comes out of it unscathed, either that or she’ll just add to the compounding tragedy that is Red’s ongoing villain arc.

That scene in the school also threw a good wrench in Red’s plans to indoctrinate someone. Turns out you can’t just rock up to a random school and pretend to be another student. I’m getting anxious for Red, not because I want him to find a good world-ending candidate, but because I want to see him digging himself a deeper hole and trying to claw out of it.

I want to binge more chapters of this but I also want to savour it. And I stopped just when it ended on a cliffhanger. In any case, I hope I can get to the rest soon!