"cinema has no boundary; it is a ribbon of dream"

orre's masked magician, balthazar. directed by rabid

[orremancy]

Bal stretches his legs out, neatly sliding them under her bunched ones so he didn't crush her against the couch. He's quiet for a long while, other than is obnoxious slurping through his (stolen) bendy-straw.

"If I am truthful, my dear, I do not know what I would have done had Allister not considered me talented enough. Slaved away in the Colosseum, perhaps." He waves a hand lazily. "But! I must profess, despite being robbed for all I was worth not long after I arrived, I am very happy with how things have turned out. Why, I would nary change a thing."

He laughs then, shaking his head.

"Saya, you are built like a Bewear. In fact, I would sooner challenge one of them to a fist fight. Besides, that is simply how you are. Orre breeds uniqueness. Who am I to judge?" He shakes his head. "You always return. That is what matters."

@scarredsands

[orremancy]

Bal's E4 arena has currently been co-opted by his Haunter, Fulci.

The Hard Bass the ghost is blaring is far too loud and the Haunter alternates between bopping along and mixing up a vat of fake blood, pouring the various consistencies and mixtures into fake dummy heads.

Yes, he has laid down sheeting beforehand.

[thenewtz]

local ghosts in ur graveyard

[orremancy]

Why did you specialize in Psychic types?

"Ah! A wonderful question. First, make no mistake - I have worked with a wide range of Pokemon during my time as a filmmaker, and the team I utilize for my battles is certainly not all I own."

"But as for my speciality? It was simply because I required one for my work, and psychic types are wondefully confounding to battle! Why, I dare say it fits my aesthetic perfectly. Outside of work, their psychic abilities are a massive aid during the production of films."

[orremancy]

[orremancy]

Elite Four Balthazar - Orre's Master Of Tricks

Beheeyem ♂ - Ridley

Solrock - Toro

Lunatone - Capra

Alakazam ♂ - Hitchcock

Gallade ♂ - Nolan

Orbeetle ♀ - Kubrick

Many challengers pick Balthazar for their opponent in the Orre League assuming is flamboyancy and theatrics are a cover for poor battling skills, only to find out - to their horror - that this is anything but true.

Balthazar's battling style is one of confusion and frustration, with all of his team setting up screens, utilizing moves that raise their evasion or lowering accuracy and using teleport to avoid all but the most accurate of attacks. That isn't to say his team cannot hit hard when this is accomplished, however, and when their foes are weakened, confused and frustrated Balthazar will finally bring them down in a fittingly theatrical fashion.

His arena is one filled with spotlights and speakers, in sharp contrast to the often cold and intimidating styles favoured by the other members of the Elite 4. The entire arena is a stage, a show, and it is one that the Master of Tricks commands expertly.

[glitchgloop-deactivated20250522]

so this popped into my head earlier via dream, thoughts?

[orremancy]

Can Bal actually do magic? Is he some sort of psychic?

The fun thing is even I don't know.

[orremancy]

"Describe a film that has had a lasting impact on you—one that influences what you have chosen to be your life's craft."

"Ah! You almost ask the impossible, my dear. But not quite, fortunately for me. Though my current passion stems from a multitude of sources, I believe I can recall the movie I watched that sparked something in me. It was late one night - long after I should have gone to bed - when I happened to accidentally change the channel to what I would come to find out was the king of the Kaiju movies - 1954's Bangiras!."

"I had absolutely no idea what I was watching; only that some giant creature was rampaging through Kanto. I was horrified, you understand, but fascinated too. I had never seen anything like it! Of course, I aimed to replicate it myself and that was how I met Kubrick. As an aside, I only found out later that they were unable to use a real Tyranitar given the laws around Dark Types at the time. The suit work is incredibly impressive!"

[cosmichalo]

🐜—continued.

Examining chewed-through wires, sparks spilling from them as the whir of machinery hiccups in intervals, the ultrahuman can only nod. "A majority of the laboratory will need extensive renovations," leading towards another shaft at the far reaches of Deep Colosseum, perfectly cylindrical in outline—clearly, not made in the haste or similar vein as the other tunnels dotting these murky depths below The Under.

Already occupying the furthest place beneath the roaring desert sands, Magdelena had long set her sights for lower. What with The Under's reopening—a project she'd (begrudgingly there at first) dedicated blood, sweat, and bolts to—the need to move her place of operations out of this once-prominent arena seems more time sensitive than ever.

Lovingly, she stares into that black abyss, the sounds of L-S and Hitchcock exterminating the colonies remaining in parallel tunnels reverberating upwards. "It would be what many call 'miraculous' that construction on the Abyssal Laboratory has not been halted due to these recent... inconveniences." She means both the influx of insects, as much as she does the people above.

Her head whips, irises dilating before blooming in vivid red colors as her sensors detect movement. "Elisabetta–" Not another word is needed. Snarling from somewhere unseen, the scraping of sharp claws against concrete creates suspense as heavy thuds thunder in closer; the Silvally lunges, iron jaws extending and crunching down upon the lone ant that had scurried into view.

Wrong place, wrong time.

"Do away with them, please." Exasperated in tone, Magdelena moves from the side of the shaft, her eyes soon becoming their neutral, purple hue once again. Elisabetta needs not another command—trotting with her tail-fin waving, the Synthetic Pokemon lurches back and hurls the Durant, jaws releasing them right into the vortex. Sparkling electricity dissipates their form, in a matter of seconds.

Reclining against a wall, the loudest of sighs escapes the woman at last, while her companion comes over for a scratch beneath the chin. "Could they have chosen a more inopportune time—here, amid the season our colosseum circuit reaches peak activity?"

@orremancy

[orremancy]

"Hah! You offer yourself too little credit. You would hardly let a wayward colony of Durant stop your march forward." Balthazar quips lightly. He barely has time to register the new intruder before Mag's Silvally is on it, grasping it around the thorax and flinging it through the portal.

Of all of her Pokemon - save perhaps the other science experiment - it was Elisabetta that fascinated Balthazar the most. It was an honest-to-Arceus chimera and while he was far from a man of science it was clear to the director that either a lot of the often-pondered flaws simply weren't true--

Or, more likely, whatever company had made her had access to technology that most of the world just didn't. Hell, it was impossible to tell what the bits and pieces had been, given how smoothly she'd been blended together genetically - probably from before she'd even been born.

And, perhaps most fortunately, the pair were very fond of one another.

"That is why I suggest we find the means to import a small clan of Heatmor. They are built for climates like Orre, and will have no trouble keeping the Durant nests in check. It will certainly spare us the calamity once or twice a year as they expand."

Balthazar could hardly find it in him to be angry at the Durant. They were merely doing what their instincts suggested - and, after all, it wasn't too common that humans were found this far down in most regions. To the colony, they were probably the trespassers.

He struts over, cape flowing behind him.

"Though I must admit, I believe you stress yourself out far too much about your lab being found. I only found you because I have Pokemon capable of teleporting and directly followed you - and even then, you found me wandering the tunnels long before I found you."

[cosmichalo]

"Is this your dog?"

writing prompts—✉️

"...it is you finding amusement in light of this, that has made this process so very exhilarating for me." Absolutely not the case, as one look into the flickering irises of the scientist is enough to reveal her complete and utter vexation. She'd been at her wit's end from the very beginning, when the first of their kind showed up: the dreaded, menacing species known as Durant.

Magdelena hadn't wanted to harm the invasive species, though this sentiment lasted only until their complete infestation closed in upon her subterranean sanctuary. As the Deep Laboratory descended into utter chaos, she and the team took to work; the quick crafting of a warp vortex from rather crude materials and several test runs later, they were able to herd a majority of the metallic menaces through subspace and safely away from the premises completely.

It has become an excruciatingly long week of tireless work.

"If you cannot humanely remove the nests in the tunnels they have left beneath our layer," sharp gaze directs itself to L-S, "Please resort to Plan B."

The silver Metagross hums in the unison of all its parts; with haste, their body becomes more drill-like—seemingly metamorphosing through Mega-evolution completely of their own accord. The true power of science, exhibited in a most marvelous of displays, still feels somewhat commonplace when considering the cyborg and her squads' limitless capabilities. The Pokemon waste not a second in hovering towards the area of the lab that'd been designated for access to deeper levels within the earth, roped with yellow tape that fences a gaping pit into the abyss.

"When you are done jostling with that last specimen, please see to it that they are sent through the Propellonic Chamber." The poor miners around Twist Mountain are undoubtedly in for the nastiest of surprises.

[orremancy]

"I am fully aware, my dear!" Balthazar claps his hands together jovially, though he knows by now that she is actually incredibly irritated. Not by him (though he isn't helping much), but rather the invasion of Durant. Not that it was the first time, nor was it especially malicious, but Bal could absolutely understand her frustration.

"The downside of Durant not having their natural predators in Orre to keep them in check, as they do in other regions." He hums, watching as Hitchcock rotates the flailing, snapping insect in a display of psychic power. The Alakazam is careful not to harm it, though. With a nod from Balthazar, the Durant is rocketed through the makeshift portal to rejoin the other members of its nest.

"Assist L-S in clearing the tunnels, if you please." Balthazar instructs the psychic type, who flits away in a burst of white light. When one could teleport, it made many tasks far easier. The Magician watches his Pokemon depart for a moment before he laughs.

"Compared to the first time? I would say we handled that far better! Much less panic and property destruction! And far more footage." He taps the lense of his mask to deactivate the recorder. "And a rather successful test of the Propellonic Chamber! Why, I can almost hear the panicked miners from here."

He couldn't, but he certainly wouldn't want to be fighting an entire hive of even more irritated Durant. He twirls, cape billowing.

"... Though the holes in the walls will take some time to patch up."

[orremancy]

Elite Four Balthazar - Orre's Master Of Tricks

Beheeyem ♂ - Ridley

Solrock - Toro

Lunatone - Capra

Alakazam ♂ - Hitchcock

Gallade ♂ - Nolan

Orbeetle ♀ - Kubrick

Many challengers pick Balthazar for their opponent in the Orre League assuming is flamboyancy and theatrics are a cover for poor battling skills, only to find out - to their horror - that this is anything but true.

Balthazar's battling style is one of confusion and frustration, with all of his team setting up screens, utilizing moves that raise their evasion or lowering accuracy and using teleport to avoid all but the most accurate of attacks. That isn't to say his team cannot hit hard when this is accomplished, however, and when their foes are weakened, confused and frustrated Balthazar will finally bring them down in a fittingly theatrical fashion.

His arena is one filled with spotlights and speakers, in sharp contrast to the often cold and intimidating styles favoured by the other members of the Elite 4. The entire arena is a stage, a show, and it is one that the Master of Tricks commands expertly.

[orremancy]

What does he think of CGI?

"Hah! Doubtless you expect some scathing putdown, yes? But far from it! CGI is wonderful, when applied correctly. As much as I do so love practical effects, there are some things that can only be done through the use of a computer!"

He flourishes a hand dramatically as if gesturing.

"That being said, it is most certainly true that there are few exceptions where CGI stands the test of time with grace. Poor CGI will forever age worse than lower-quality practical effects, after all. What we thought of as incredible CGI two decades ago are now obviously dated, yet one can go back much further and find practical effects that remain a testament to the work put into them."

[orremancy]

Though a lot of the more esoteric abilities of Balthazar's suit come as a result of Mags' (@cosmichalo) work on it, many of the actual effects are both a combination of that and his Pokemon - particularly his ghost types who can seamlessly blend into whatever the suit may happen to be doing while entirely invisible.

[orremancy]

My main source of Bal's Ham tbh

[scarredsands]

The sand, it stings and beats my brow

Beats me down

--

↺ / ♥

[orremancy]

Fulci is Balthazar's maestro of gore. The Haunter has an extreme fascination with all things disgusting and gross when it comes to film making - from mixing his own batches of fake blood (something he takes great pride in), stuffing exploding heads with fake brains or making fake innards to be eaten.

Balthazar honestly doesn't know quite where Fulci learned to get his gore looking so realistic (he has a few ideas, mind you) but the ghost type is always on-side in case Bal needs a particularly gruesome shot.