ancient past uncovered (part 1) (Patreon)

so one of the most common questions i get asked on tumblr is when some character's birthdays are. and it's been awkward for me to answer this because, for the season 1 leaders, it was never actually determined. and for the season 2-3 leaders it was definitely determined and written down into topics that were since deleted or otherwise lost to time

but recently, when looking for something entirely unrelated, i happened to find them. mind the battle quotes were sort of a guideline at this point, but were still written to convey the entire single dimension of a character in the span of a 15 minute battle assuming no one else chose to talk to them. i'm also brushing over some details here to respect the actors' privacy.

so here's some bidtits of old info dug up from the planning stages of Season 2 (and bits from 3) of the old online league. these were taken from a private group discussion/record area with myself, the leaders, and other line leaders (basically were front-end league managers) at the time.

in no particular order:

Charlotte
Born: Oct 8
Alternate Username: ReconditeCicatrix
Original concept: "a pyro girl who loves to see things burn, insults people and burns every bridge ever built if any".
Other: some inspiration from Mamimi from FLCL (best FLCL girl btw change my mind)
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:  I'll show you what it's like to be lost in flames! 
• First Blood:  Just fuel for the fire 
• One Left:  Ever seen a wildfire start from just a spark?  
  [If challenger answers] ... You wanna? 
• Half HP:  Gasping for air... 
• Leader Loss :  So done. Over it. 
• Leader Victory:  Oh, you wanted to win? 
• Rematch Start:  Didn't your parents ever teach you not to play with fire?  
  [If challenger says yes] Well, mine didn't.
  [If challenger says no] Mine neither. 
• Rematch Victory:  Thought you'd try harder this time. Or maybe you did and still failed. 

Laura
Born: May 27th (four years older than Charlotte)
Alternate Username: Iris
Original Concept: someone fascinated by flowers, who's personality blooms throughout their time in the league.
Other: her sprite periodically changed throughout her time in the league, slowly becoming more and more colorful. however, I don't think we ever did the concept justice and it never became apparent enough with small changes over time.
I don't know when we decided that the number eight specifically was her thing, but even her earliest records have her speaking with eight dots at a time........
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening: The seed of victory has been planted. Will you be able to help it grow and blossom or shall it wither and wait for another day? 
• First Blood: Looks like the seed has begun to bud. Only time will tell of it's fate.  
• One Left: Seems as if the bud will bloom after all........ 
• Half HP: The petals are opening in perfect form. Lovely, is it not? I hope you cherish the moment. 
• Leader Loss :  Here is the Blossom Badge, good luck and may all of your seeds bud and bloom as perfectly as this one has.   
• Leader Victory: It seems as if the seed will have to bloo m another day for you...  
• Rematch Start:Back again? Le t us see if your seed will bloom for you this time.  
• Rematch Victory: The seed has not yet chosen to bloom. Perhaps the day will come in the distant future.  

Serra
Born: December 27th
Alternate Username: Crystallia
Original Concept: originally suggested to be luna's birth mother; changed to her adopted mother instead.
Other: Originally 37 but insists she's not a day over 34.
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:  This will be over before you know it; just like everything else... 
• First Blood:  I've been through this once already.  
• One Left:  Ice, like a mirror, will never be perfect again once it cracks. 
• Half HP:  It all melts away... 
• Leader Loss :   So you've found success... Hold on to it while you can. 
• Leader Victory:  Maybe I haven't lost quite everything, yet?  
• Rematch Start: It's only a matter of time before I lose this too...  
• Rematch Victory:  Failure inevitably follows constant successes... You'll have your moment.   

Bennett
Born: January 31st
Alternate Username: Polygonia
Original Concept: a butterfly collector.  originally imagined as an older gentleman.  
Other: we always planned for him to have had his own 'metamorphisis' by having him disappear from the league for a time. shelly was planned to (and did) replace him during his absence.
Battle Quotes (post-metamorphosis):

• Match Opening:   In my time away from here, I've become a living example of how many different forms of change exist in our world. Allow me to show you. 
• First Blood:   Interesting... 
• One Left:   Have I not done enough? 
• Half HP: [missing]
• Leader Loss :    Interesting. You have proven yourself quite able to handle future obstacles.    
• Leader Victory:   Time well spent. Maybe you'll learn from this.  
• Rematch Start:  Have you yet discovered the best of your abilities? It's your turn to show me.   
• Rematch Victory:   Hm. I see. Keep trying. Perhaps all you need is a lucky break, such as the one I had.    

Saphira
Born: [missing :c ]
Alternate Username: [missing :cc ]
Original Concept: the younger sister of clair trying to prove her skill to the dragon den elder and her sister.
the original concept was dismissed due to being too similar to shelly's deal with bugsy. we also briefly considered playing the elder himself before we decided to just go with the sisters normally.
Other: her name was very nearly Kendra instead, for the japanese root ken meaning fire, and dra for dragon. the group was split and it came down to a tiebreaker between the two.
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:  Here are the rules:
  If you want something, fight for it. There are no breaks. There are no second chances.
  There are no other rules.
  Good luck.
• First Blood:   Good. Now try to keep up. 
• One Left:    Everyone  has weaknesses... This just happens to be mine.
• Half HP:  So what of it... I'm down, but never out.     
• Leader Loss :    ...There's nothing for me to say now. The loser's words don't matter. Go.   The champion waits. 
• Leader Victory:    I've never been good at admitting my losses. I don't expect you to be either. 
• Rematch Start:   There are no second chances. Fortunately for you, I'm not as cruel as some others...   
• Rematch Victory:    Swallow it for now; you can bite back later. Your pride lives on inside.   

Noel
Born: November 29th
Alternate Username: [missing]
Original Concept: twins, one calm, one hyper
Other: we thought we might originally get luna's birth mother in for this type before we got the twins, but it didn't pan out
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:   Do you think they can do it, Nomos? 
• First Blood:    ...Hm. 
• One Left:    It's too bad... They can't always get what they want...  
• Half HP:   ...Ah.  
• Leader Loss :  Well, Nomos... I think they're  setting a new Standard.   
• Leader Victory:    Maybe they'll do better next time...   
• Rematch Start:    Look... They're back. 
• Rematch Victory:     Nomos... They can't see reality, can they?   

Arclight
Born: April 26th
Alternate Username: Red Line
Original Concept: he's just a DJ bro :DDD
Other: season 3 leader to replace sigmund, since it wasnt from the original thread i don't actually have any discussion on his concept or anything, oops.
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:    Let's turn it up, yeah? But I'll have to leave that to you. Get to it--  [link player custom song]  
• First Blood:   Dance for me! 
• One Left:    Tch. You sure you don't want to take a break?  
• Half HP:   Well, it was worth a shot. 
• Leader Loss :   Ugh. So that's that.
  Right, well. Pulse Badge is yours. Do something good with it, for my sake. 
• Leader Victory:    Looks like my rhythm ain't the only thing that got beat.   
• Rematch Start:     I  hope you've found your rhythm, so to speak. Just in case you haven't, here's another one for you-- [link player custom song]   
• Rematch Victory:      Can't win 'em all. I'll see you on the floor again soon. 

Aya
Born: July 13th
Alternate Username: deadinyourarms
Original Concept: a girl who acts confident but believes herself to taint others just by being around them.
Other: we wanted to be sure we got a girl for this since we had been 2/2 on guys in this type.
her favorite movie is Silent Hill
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:     I can do this better than my brother ever could. Too bad you'll have to be the one to get to help me prove it. 
• First Blood:   So the first drops spill... Time to see who i s the strongest.  
• One Left:    ...Can this really be happening?.. 
• Half HP:  I told you I wasnt a good person... 
• Leader Loss :   ...I lost... At least I won't have to see you again. 
• Leader Victory:     I told you I was better than my brother. Now leave me alone... 
• Rematch Start:      You again?.. Why won't you leave me alone?!... 
• Rematch Victory:       Why didn't you listen last time? I'm going to win again, so just leave me alone. 

Adrienn
Born: June 17th
Alternate Username: Xytriarch
Original Concept: it's not really a concept but after fussing about whether we should get a boy or a girl to be our first fairy leader, we eventually decided how about neither if it matters so damn much
Other: once that was determined and i found someone for the role it was pretty much over. the person behind xem was really excited to have fun in this kind of league so they kinda just took over it.
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:      All good and ready? Perfect! Then let me see you shine! 
• First Blood:    Hey, don't think I'm going to let you off that easy! 
• One Left:     You're doing great! Now let's finish this! 
• Half HP:   Aaaaand, can we see a win? 
• Leader Loss :    As fate would have it, you did it.  Congratulations! The Amaranth Badge is all yours. Do something good with it for me, all right?  
• Leader Victory:     Victory! You fought really well-- but don't give  up. I'll look forward to our rematch, okay?   
• Rematch Start:       All right, here we go again. Show me what you can do!  
• Rematch Victory:       And that's that. Don't get down though-- everyone has walls. Keep trying and I know you'll get there.  

Titania
Born: November 3rd
Alternate Username: TitaNightmare
Original Concept: carried over from season 1-- but as i recall the original concept back then was a girl with a personality as hard as steel who had closed herself off to protect her secret lover.
Other: whenever she said 'no' to someone i always imagined it being unnecessarily forceful, like brandon in the pokemon anime. but by this point she had already chilled out (aka given up, lol)
before we confirmed titania would be sticking around, we considering having her season 2 replacement be the love interest for hardy instead. that idea was pushed onto aya when she decided to stay
Battle Quotes:

• Match Opening:  Good luck, whatever that is, and have fun... Somehow. 
• First Blood:   Whee. So much fun. 
• One Left:  I should have never wished you good luck. 
• Half HP:    In order for someone to win, someone has to lose first. 
• Leader Loss :  Good game. So to speak, anyway. 
• Leader Victory:   Didn't I say not to bother? 
• Rematch Start:  Just remember, I'm only still here because of a stupid popularity  contest.  
• Rematch Victory:  And it seems that the contest isn't the only thing I'm unfortunate enough to win...

--

that's the halfway point and i've been copying this stuff over for a minute already, so i'll wrap this up here and hit up a part two later. bip.