>>8831

Haha, yes, sorry. )= To be honest, I kind of was worried I was too detailed and put you off.

And you're right. It probably wouldn't make all that much sense for Giovanni to get involved, I always pictured him like this high class mafia boss wearing fancy suits and sipping wine. So he definitely wouldn't get involved, unless maybe sitting in some shadow with his cat pokemon.

But regarding the trainers. Hmm, I know I was pretty adamant about Maylene, and still would enjoy her very much, but having accepted that you weren't going to write her I sort of warmed up to the other options as well, and I think both Lyra and Janine could be quite interesting. Let me try to break down how I picture them:

So Maylene seems fairly kind-hearted, a bit timid and shy perhaps, but a skilled fighter and full of 'quiet determination' once she puts her heart into something. The main reason I could see her getting involved with the thugs would be to help the locals and repay Ash's debt. And I'd also picture her starting off somewhat reluctant when first challenging them, but gradually gaining confidence throughout the battle, at least until things come crashing down, at which point she probably would lose her determination/confidence fairly quickly again and naively try to plead her way out of trouble.

Given her low self-esteem I also assume she'd be fairly gullible, perhaps even getting coerced into doing some things willingly (like licking their feet or stripping for them or so) with the promise of survival if she obeys and satisfies them? Hence this could even turn into somewhat of a dubious consent scene, with her 'acting' willing and eager, so they allow her to leave afterwards. At least until they decide to get a bit rougher and she gets a reality check, at which point she probably would be quite quick to cry and beg for forgiveness.

As for Janine, she'd be quite the opposite I think. Somewhat of an egoistic badass and show-off, along with being a bratty loud-mouth, talking a lot of smack and condescendingly taunting them both physically (superior agility, taunting poses) and verbally. With her father being a member of the top4, maybe her main motivation, rather than helping the locals as Maylene wants, is to impress her dad and prove herself worthy in his eyes, and what better than to crush an evil mafia faction on her own. I'd also picture Janine as quite confident in her abilities, unlike Maylene with her low self-esteem; and even after things come crashing down she might take a while to accept that she has lost, instead denying and refusing the fact she has lost, preferring to escape into her alternative reality where she's just 'pretending' to have lost while actually waiting for the perfect moment to retaliate, or something. All ninja-like.

She'd probably also be more stubborn and resistant than Maylene, refusing to give up or be coerced into anything, fighting them at every front until the bitter end and her mind and body are truly crushed, as opposed to Maylene who probably would be quicker to accept her fate. Hence, with Janine, it likely would stay completely non-consensual throughout.

At the same time I could see Janine's mind, considering her pride as a ninja and the daughter of a top4 trainer, shatter much harder once she truly is crushed, becoming half-crazed with shame/fear/denial and turning into a violent, cornered animal. Also, I'd picture Janine as considerably more aware and in touch with her feminine charm/sides, hence taking away that femininity might have an additional effect on her that Maylene, due to her innocence and naivety, might be lacking. (although there is charm in innocence and lack of conscious sex appeal in its own right too, I suppose)

So in essence, Maylene would be the more innocent and naive character, easier to be coerced into stuff and not quite as persevering; while Janine would be the proud and confident ninja who believes herself too powerful to lose even as things start spiraling south and also is a good bit more mature and persistent than Maylene.

So honestly, I have no idea who I'd rather see. I still like Maylene more as a character because I find her more relateable, but at the same time I think Janine's attitude, at least the way I'd imagine her based on the few lines of dialogue the game gave her, might be more interesting for this sort of story. That said, if I got their personalities completely wrong, and you had something else in mind, I'd prefer you to stick to your version and perception of their personalities.

And as for Lyra, as I mentioned, I'm not really familiar with her, but from the few images I saw on google, I do like her artwork and seeing a story with her instead could be quite fun as well.

So....I don't know. )= Would it be asking too much if I left that decision up to you to surprise me? All of them could be fun in their own right. Maylene because I can relate with her most, Janine because her badass attitude could be fun to see crushed (plus I really like the character artwork as well), nevermind there's something satisfying about cocky ninjas running into that sort of trouble, and Lyra because she has a pretty character artwork and perhaps interesting personality too that I'm not familiar with unfortunately.

I'm sorry that this message wasn't really helpful at all. But yes, it's really difficult to decide who I'd prefer, it sort of depends on who you'd enjoy writing most. ^^"