When we last saw Joanne and Catherine, they were back to being friends following Catherine's failed attempts at dating other people. Since then, they've been spending more time together as friends and very recently, refound their romantic feelings for each other.
Battle 131: Communication
Published: 07/09/24
Location: Catherine's Apartment
Player: Joanne Bloggs (11-2-6)
Still incredibly grateful you were willing to have me back despite...
Catherine Fennel: Hey, as long as you never do anything incredibly risky without telling me again...
Catherine Fennel: At least let me know, even if you're not willing to let me help.
PHONE used RING!
Phone, reject the call. Personal time with Catherine is far more important than whatever that is.
PHONE used REJECT!
CALL went to TRASH CAN!
Absolutely. Communication. Learnt that lesson.
PHONE used RING!
Catherine Fennel: ...I'm not sure it's going to stop unless you answer it.
Ugh. Fine.
Narrator, if you must exist at least be better at timing.
NARRATOR did not CHOOSE this TIMING!
Then who did?
PHONE's RING attack continues!
ANSWERING the CALL might let JOANNE know!
...I really don't like the way you phrased that.
Phone, answer.
PHONE used ANSWER!
Solveig! Hi. Great to hear from you. Can we make this quick, it's just that the regular friend hangouts I've been having with Catherine have recently gotten us back together romantically and...
...Are you kidding me right now.
...What do you want my help with?
...Is it dangerous? That sounds dangerous.
...That doesn't make it OK! I'd be more OK with it if it was the other way around!
Wait. You're suggesting we'd be able to get him out of there? Not just stop them--
...Oh I don't like that at all. But fine. Not just make it possible for the Narrator to stop them, but bring him back?
You think there are others trapped as well?
No. This is great. I'll...
SOLVEIG used GLANCE!
CATHERINE's EYEBROWS are POINTEDLY RAISED!
...Be sure to get back to you after discussing it with Catherine.
JOANNE used HANG UP!
That was Solveig.
Catherine Fennel: I got that impression.
Catherine Fennel: I also got the impression that whatever it is was dangerous.
Apparently more to her than to anyone helping her. Also apparently the Version is currently facing an existential threat, so...
But she's got a plan to rescue Red from... Wherever he found himself after we helped him escape the Sudoku room which is why she contacted me.
Catherine Fennel: Why you?
Apparently, she trusts me.
Catherine Fennel: Yeah. You're trustworthy. You're a very honest person.
...I've already told you I'm working on my poor communication. If you didn't trust me to be honest with you this time around, why did you take me back?
Catherine Fennel: Sorry. I wasn't being sarcastic. I do. I think you're genuinely trying to get better at your communication. But I also was meaning that you're an honest person. You do the right thing, even if you sometimes withhold the truth to protect others as part of that.
Oh goddamnit, you're using a distinction between honest and truthful here? Has anyone used that for decades? Maybe centuries?
Catherine Fennel: You're a good, honest, person. And you're getting better at adding truthful to your virtues. Now. Text her back telling her what we both know you're answer is going to be, and we can get back to our stay in date. Then, when that's done, you can explain to me exactly how worried about you I should be. And also how worried about me I should be considering that sounded fairly 'Existential Crisis.'
Yes ma'am.
Sorry. That sounded weird.
Catherine Fennel: ...Yeah, never call me that again.
When we last saw Blaine, he lost his Arcanine to a Palm Tree Core in the Glitchlands before declaring them off limits due to being too dangerous. He... Has not taken it well.
Battle 132: Grief
Published: 14/09/24
Location: Cinebar Island Bar
Player: Gym Leader Blaine (1-1-0)
BLAINE used NURSE!
BLAINE holds STIFF DRINK without JOY!
SOLVEIG appeared!
A helping hand to guide me through.
A pair of eyes to see the world anew.
And though our time together was true.
Apart for eternity. No chance for goodbye.
Solveig Poulsen: ...A friend who died suddenly.
Hah. Always a sharp one.
Solveig Poulsen: What happened, Blaine? Your riddles aren't usually this emotionally charged.
Solveig Poulsen: ...Or easy without someone heavily editing them to be more suitable for your usual target demographic.
Arcanine died.
Palm tree core.
Ran out of trainers to torment via ludicrously hard puzzles to spread the misery so...
Here I am. Hoping I can consume enough alcohol so that I stop feeling things.
Solveig Poulsen: I know the two of you were close.
SOLVEIG used ORDER!
SOLVEIG arranged SPIRITS in HEIGHT ORDER!
JINGLE played!
SECRET PASSAGE opened!
Hah. You're not even here for me. Always business with you these days.
Solveig Poulsen: I came to your cryptic clue competition. But... Actually, I wanted to let you know I was leaving on a journey. Don't know if I'll survive it, but...
Solveig Poulsen: ...Wanted to enjoy your company one more time.
...And the opening a secret passage thing?
Solveig Poulsen: I meant to order a drink while giving you company, not solve metaphorical soup cans.
...Hah.
Solveig Poulsen: How's the drowning your feelings into nonexistence going?
I think it's making them stronger.
Solveig Poulsen: Fancy a distraction?
Hah. Last time we did anything like this we made a mistake, and I can't run as fast as I used to.
Solveig Poulsen: We're older and wiser now. I'm pretty sure we won't repeat that mistake.
Solveig Poulsen: Besides. This isn't an escape room. We might not be pursued by angry staff if we did.
...Do you want to repeat that mistake?
Solveig Poulsen: Absolutely not. Even if you were sober.
Hah. Good. To keeping our clothes on while solving puzzles together.
Solveig Poulsen: I'd toast to that, but when I tried to order a drink I fiddled with bottles instead.
BLAINE used TOAST!
BLAINE ate TOAST!
It's super buttery!
Location: Spirit Hall
So many ghost types on these murals. This looks more your field than mine.
Solveig Poulsen: What's that supposed to mean? Neither of us is a ghost type trainer.
Hah! It's more of a problem that can have puzzle techniques applied to it than strictly a puzzle. Or a Pokémon battle, although... I am definitely going to be going with dark type moves rather than fire ones if it comes to that.
Solveig Poulsen: Oh. Right. Speaking of fire moves, it's very dark down the other side of this corridor of murals, you have a lot of fire type Pokémon...
Huh. No, none of them know Flash. However...
Calling into the wind of endless applications, but a lack of pylons isolates.
Solveig Poulsen: ...Oh. Right. Flashlight functionality on your phone.
BLAINE used FLASHLIGHT!
BLAINE illuminated SPIRIT HALL!
I get the link between spirit as in drinks and spirit as in ghosts, what I don't get is why it was behind a fairly newly built bar on a tourist destination.
Solveig Poulsen: It might be an extradimensional space linking and accessable from all spirit supplies? Not sure how we'd test that hypothesis.
Hah. No. That does sound untestable with our current inventories. Sweet Arceus, I'm sounding like you.
Solveig Poulsen: None taken.
HAH!
NARRATOR on the other hand RESENTS the prayer to ARCEUS rather than itself!
Oh, give me a break.
NARRATOR was kidding!
NARRATOR doesn't demand WORSHIP!
NARRATOR never has!
Not in the mood for that sort of joke from you right now.
BLAINE wants NARRATOR to stick to the PUNS?!
Avoid joking about your godhood, at least.
Considering you did nothing to prevent Arcanine's death.
Solveig Poulsen: Honestly it's like I'm hanging with Joanne the way you two are bickering right now. Except friendlier.
Huh. Who's Joanne?
Solveig Poulsen: A friend who's going to be working with me on the reason I'm not sure I'm going to be able to spend time with you ever again.
Huh? That doesn't sound good.
Solveig Poulsen: Should be fine. But even if it is the world might end.
Hah. Puts my problems into perspective.
Solveig Poulsen: Bigger than you can handle alone, not big enough that they might destroy the world if mishandled? That doesn't sound like grief to me.
Huh?!
Solveig Poulsen: Let's see if I can put it in language you're better able to understand.
Solveig Poulsen: Those who are absent, ever present.
Solveig Poulsen: Looming shadows, hanging over.
Solveig Poulsen: Consuming thoughts. Consuming mind.
Solveig Poulsen: My world extinguished. Searching for the light.
Hah. Yeah. That sounds like how I'm feeling to me.
Solveig Poulsen: Doesn't have to be a literal world at stake for a problem to threaten to end it.
Solveig Poulsen: And drinking it into submission isn't the best way of handling it.
Solveig Poulsen: You're as old as me. Surely this isn't the first time you've dealt with this.
It's the first time I've dealt with it outside of my parents, at least for anyone I was this close to.
Solveig Poulsen: I don't suppose it ever gets easier, huh?
...Huh. What's with these statues of a Sandshrew in a cloak?
Solveig Poulsen: ...Huh. There seems to be an inscription?
Inscription: COY KWQNY CA COY FMRN AG NYMCO ZMRQGYXC
Some sort of Cryptogram from the looks of it. Looks like COY is in there twice...
SOLVEIG and BLAINE want to SOLVE PUZZLES!
Solveig Poulsen: The would be most likely for that, which would make C t, O h, and Y e... ?e?th in this context is most likely death... The ???de t? the ?a?d ?? death ?a???e?t...
Which would make A most likely to be o, can't think of many other words than to that would fit for that. To the something o?... Of? Does Land of Death seem likely?
Solveig Poulsen: That would make it The ???de to the Land of Death ?an?fe?t... Manifest, maybe? Would fit the context and what letters we have left.
If so then... I think the other word is guide? The Guide to the Land of Death manifest.
It's not very EXCITING viewing!
Hah! Sorry we're not sufficiently entertaining for you, your godship.
Solveig Poulsen: ...Please don't make me stop you trying to summon it. Nothing good can come from that.
Solveig Poulsen: Wait. You seem brighter.
...A Land of Death? If even remotely plausible, and the existence of ghost types makes it seem reasonable, then... I'm just happy to know he's... Somewhere? Even if we're separate.
Solveig Poulsen: Ah. Yes. There must be comfort in that.
Solveig Poulsen: Now we probably should get out of here before any ghost types turn up.
SOLVEIG and BLAINE left!
HAUNTER and MISMAGIUS appeared!
HAUNTER had FIVE on BLAINE trying to SUMMON DEATH!
HAUNTER will go steal SHOES to give MISMAGIUS its PAYMENT of SOLES!