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Hyphen (Pokemon Emerald)

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Tilde (Circa Dewford)
  • Apocrypha
    • After an entirely too long day that involved far more reveals than she would have liked, Astra managed to rejoin with her friends and made their way back to town after delivering the letter. Steven was a jerk about the whole thing, but Astra was just too exhausted to care.

    Now back in town and having found a hotel to book a stay in, Astra decided to enjoy a nice hot bath. The soothing warmth as she sat in a surprisingly spacious tub helped ease the tension in her muscles she hadn't noticed. Slowly, Astra relaxed, her eyes beginning to droop closed.

    BANG BANG BANG

    "Hurry up Shorty!" May yelled out from the otherside of the bathroom door.

    Astra flailed as she was rudely awoken. "Coming!" She called as she tried getting up and out of the bath, only to faceplant on the bathroom tiles. Her legs weren't responding correctly. Looking down at them, it took a moment for Astra's mind to understand what she was seeing.

    Where a pair of light green legs should be instead sat an almost teal tail. A tail covered in scales with a wide flipper. A very fishy tail that was not there when Astra got into the bath.

    Astra screamed.

    "Astra!" May yelled in concern, barging into the bathroom, stopping short as she stared at Astra.

    Astra stopped screaming as she stared back wide eyed.

    The two just stared at each other for a long moment.

    "How did you wear those shoes?" May asked.

    The absurd question was like a bucket of water thrown over Astra in the middle of winter. Cold, shocking, and unexpected. A smile quirked on Astra's lips as she started laughing, May joining in after a moment.

    "I had legs," Astra said.

    —

    AN: Inspired by having stumbled upon this image:
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Herofox said:
    I want this desperately, there's so many ways this could go. I need it.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    My availability on this is very suspect.

    Become the assured change you wish to see in this world, or suffer the unpredictibility of the Other.

    I've been doing it for nearly 10 years now.

    It will suck. It will always suck. But that's just because you will intimately learn and know what is wrong and see it constantly. Invisibly to you, it will gradually stop sucking. Other people will like it more and more, and you'll never quite get why.
     
    Last edited:
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    Status update on Ch. 37 + ???
  • Informational
    • Status report: 9.6k into the next chapter. I am deep into Astra's meeting with Steven, and the 'thing' I keep alluding to will 100% be read by you guys when it comes out. Sadly, it is still far from finished, but there will be no more delays in-story.

    ...however, I will note that something special happens exactly 7 days from now.

    I will have a gift for you all that I think will be very much enjoyed. Nothing big, except perhaps if you count a great many small things as one big thing.

    In return, if any of you took any sort of inspiration from this work, I would ask that you allow it to flourish, and share it on that day. Whether it be written, drawn, even sung...

    A very unique September 28th is coming. We've come a long way. We have a lot longer to go.

    In advance: Thank you for sticking with me this far. I hope you will continue to enjoy doing so.

    See you then.
     
    Last edited:
  • Informational
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    Happy 10th Anniversary, Hyphen! New
  • Media


    • Oh the places we have been. Oh the places we will go.
    Oh the harvest we shall reap, when we see what we have sown.
    See now all thats come to pass,
    See the shade the future's cast.
    But though the past is dark and dreary,
    And all to follow might not be cheery,
    Come on now, chin up my dear;
    The stars still shine after ten whole years!

    Art by heartlessMushroom. (Portfolio; Tumblr.)



    Oh no, someone's turned Astra into a scrumptuous cupcake.
    It was @Dexexe1234! How dare he get Astra baked?​
     
  • New
  • Media
    • Happy 10th Anniversary, Hyphen! New
  • Informational
    • It's hard to figure out what to say for a moment like this

    I never thought I'd have been doing this for more than a decade back in 2014. Sure I knew it might take a bit, but I thought it'd be maybe one year, maybe two.

    Turns out I'm really damn slow, eh? But we've talked enough about that.

    I'll try to keep this brief.

    Thank you all for sticking with me for ten whole years.

    Your kindness and support means the world to me, and I will always do my best to meet your expectations. Even if it takes another ten years or more.

    Pen and scribe, until it is done.

    But I suppose there should be something done to celebrate, yeah?

    Well, there's always something that annoyed me about Hyphen. A phrase I keep using, that bothered me to no end.

    That something? That phrase?

    It's me referring to the first 20ish chapters, the first 5 years of Hyphen, as an 'unedited wasteland'.

    Yep, that's right. With massive help from individuals like @IronyOwl, @FuzzyZergling, @Half_Baked_Cat, and, spiritually, @Oh I am slain!;

    The first 20 chapters of Hyphen have been given a thorough passover, and are now actually readable.

    Efforts are kind of still ongoing, as Cat hadn't finished fully and Slain has been dealing with RL stuff, but in general they are much more well put together. Inconsistencies patched, descriptiveness improved, plot holes more or less sewn up, and the dialogue is no longer weirdly verbose and bereft of contractions early on. I also removed pretty much any hard numbers for currency, among other things probably. Some discoveries were also re-made about what I actually wrote. (Hey, did you know Astra's 6 month schedule was completely arbitrary and that she pulled it out of her ass? I didn't!)

    But, well, it's here. You can re-read Hyphen much easier now.

    I hope you can enjoy it all anew.

    That's all from me, I think. I hope you enjoy your gift.

    If there is anything you would like to share, feel free. Reminisce, talk about the fic as a whole and how you like it or how it's inspired you...

    Heck, make an omake or drawing! Cross it with another story or quest Backslash-style! Someone go sing that sea shanty from 32 properly! Go nuts!

    Or just re-read it. No demands here.

    That's about it.

    Someday soon, we'll sit around and sing of cheerful things as Wingull circle by.

    Until next time.

    ...

    ...​

    ...

    But for every shining light

    A long shadow, streching into night.

    Can you truly call this future bright...

    When your past screams out in spite?
    ​
    Phospheart, the Burning Hate Pocket Monster
    Evolves from Luvdisc by [REDACTED]
    Water/Fire
    A broken heart that burns white hot. Its flames stick to whatever they touch, burrowing in endlessly. Its body remains alight for decades after its passing.
    First Sighting: 36 Years ago during [REDACTED].
    Last Live Sighting: 36 Years ago at what is now the Empty Pyre Exclusion Zone in inter-regional waters.
    CREATION OR OWNERSHIP OF THIS CREATURE IS BANNED IN ALL REGIONS AND IS PUNISHABLE BY—

    ...

    "It wasn't a battle, with neat rules and honorable conduct. It was a war, the first of its kind.

    "There was no place for trainers and their pokemon.

    "It was just men, with monsters in their pockets."
     
  • New
  • Informational
    • Ten years of Hyphen.
    Ten years, and Astra's friends still don't know she is a pokemon yet.

    Less jokingly, congratulations on your efforts. This has been a solid story for those years, and current worries about your hints of what come next aside I'm looking forward to-
    her friends finally learning what she actually is.
     
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