Well...that explains why she's not hanging out with any of her Xeno acquaintances at all in Skells & Love, at least not alone in the case of L visiting or eating at Ni Zain's (unless that's going to be written out and changed to something else). It's no wonder she's had such a hard time letting go of the past when the ghosts of her mates won't let her forget about them on top of everything else.

And that mystery woman...I thought it was Eleonora at first but rarely is she away from the Mission Console. Something to look forward to unraveled in the new year I suppose.

Man, what else is there to say after that? Happy New Year would be a start, but...does anyone else think it smells like burnt Marnuck?

No, I didn't see this one coming. I suppose I should have though considering the fact that L and Celica (and Rock) got their own chapters, but I had thought that Elma had long since abandoned her Mim from what I inferred from previous fics. I was kind of expecting a reflection/recap/summary of the fic though if that counts.

I wonder if as time went on Jaynix thought back to how Elma hid so much and lied and yet everyone easily forgave her whereas every time Jaynix said that she was OK and hide her insecurities, people would take that as a sign to continue pressing her and see if she's really fine.

Would Elma even need to ask Irina about the 3rd Division's frantic defense of the Whale? From what the ending of "Jaynix" seems to hint, Elma knows plenty about what happened to Jaynix's comrades. Perhaps she was just fact checking or fabricating a story for Jaynix?

Seriously, where was all that thrilling action packed document filling in A Day in the Life? If I didn't know better, I'd have thought Vandham dumped all that on Elma and Kruse.

And cue Skells & Love. This fic...did not think it would go as deep as it did, but then from the YouTube responses sounds like no one did from the start. This was a lot of fun to follow from start to finish. Are there more typos than usual? Sure, but it doesn't detract from the fact that I can really see how much you enjoyed yourself here, perhaps due in part with the relative shortness of each chapter in comparison to that of Skells & Love. I also think that apart from my one nitpick on Mia, the way you write everyone, Xenos and all, and even the narration feel more natural here than in the previous semi-short multi-chapter fic "Training" where some of the interactions and reactions felt a bit stilted. Mayhaps that's just me, but I see it as an improvement nonetheless. Glad I followed this calm before the storm that will be "Mission" to its end.

I dunno Lin. I just got done watching a round of Quiplash, and one of the prompts was "Food that tastes worse with chocolate". But may as well let her dream.

Something I did notice is that the only Xenos you see sitting at tables in NLA (excluding the Ma-Non ship as I can kinda see some Orpheans or Wrothians sitting down on one of their benches. Not sure) are Ma-Non and Nopon. I think it's because those are the only two races you are guaranteed to have in NLA by playing the main story alone. The thought only just occurred to me after reading about Xenos and humans enjoying food as I was thinking of a male Tree Clan Prone sitting down at a table three to four feet lower on him on a chair he can barely fit in. Could be wrong though as I want to say I've seen a female Tree Clan Prone seated somewhere in NLA.

So you took the soldier route too, huh? I'm not sure I've met anyone who went the Ambassador route if you choose not to train Gu Ladha. Thing is though, both outcomes could work in this case whether it's talking about Kruse being a model BLADE or finding a different calling and leaving the past behind.

I never got the impression that Tobias outright hates you after beating down Vainamo, the Bellower. Sure he was salty because you kept one-upping his plans to gather funding for the galactic FronteirNav (though it's not like credits are a precious or shared resource in limited quantities), but whenever I talked to him afterwards, I always had the image of begrudging respect coming from him, especially when you ask him about Cauldros as he talks about the Mount M'Gando Springs and that he's confident that you of all BLADEs can make such a dangerous trek (so many bad memories of climbing that stupid mountain after Chapter 3. Friggin Tornado Jaculs...never felt so relieved to plant that Probe and finding the right spot to jump from. Also makes for a good spot to find the Bestial Utopia if you can make the right jump down).

It's not written as such, but I just imagine Jaynix pausing and speaking a few words or so as she catches her breath before taking another bite (gods, I love curry).

Seeing Gu Ladha and Ni Zain try to compete for Jaynix's time...pretty good stuff. Didn't think I'd see them get so informal.

That always struck me as odd that the Nopon had comm devices that also manage to access FronteirNav too or so it seems. Never explained, much like many a thing on Mira (something something planet...).

Look at Jaynix, still treating this meet and greet like it's a mission. This was a great chapter to read, and your love for the Wrothians never fails to shine through in these kinds of stories. I do have one question though: neither Gu Lardha nor Jaynix left any credits on the table after the meal so...who's footing the bill? *turns to off-screen Gwin*

Oh, poor Kruse...having to smell that stank all the way back to NLA...I would've dumped her on H.B. just for the laughs.

I dunno. Something about Mia feels a bit off...maybe she's too peppy? Just thinking back to her AM, I just can't see her saying "Oh, thank you Ms. Jaynix!" as opposed to "Aw, thanks Jaynix!"

Hey wait, how was Jaynix able to accept missions and access the AM terminals without having picked a Division? Don't they give you your BLADE ID only after you select a Division (based on Vandham's very rushed and overly simplified swearing in of Kruse/Cross)?

Huh. No matter how you slice it, the first aliens you ever encounter will always be Prone, even before Chapter 3. Since the Prologue gives you free reign across Primordia, you can already go to the Bedrock Hold, and even there, there's only Prone as Xenoforms. I don't think you can get atop Talon Rock, so no Milsaadi, and Marnucks don't show up in Primordia until after Chapter 6 I want to say, and it's just Daril and his higher leveled lackeys.

Elma pushed the floozy button. She shouldn't have done that.

I always imagined that Thea went back up to the Ship during the day. Shame you can only see her dance at night.

The eyes! The eyes have it!

Not like fighting in NLA's legal unless under certain circumstances. I would have loved to fight Gi Zang in front of BLADE Tower.

It always struck me as odd how well Slovity has grasped the English language compared to other Prone, even in the Cavern Clan. It's kind of refreshing in a manner of speaking.

Good choices for Prone representatives covering opposite sides of Jaynix's character but still having common ground. I don't think Naza Tenpazi would have made for as good a foil to Slovity as Thea did (while that one rather demure Prone woman/potential bride would've been too much of a foil), and Thea's dancing really does go well with Jaynix's. Now that I know That there's still another chapter or so beyond the next one, I can't wait to see how this all wraps up. Until then, guess I'll be looking forward to some Wrothian cuisine.

Hold on. Isn't it that a Definian's guise is only good until they either deactivate it or physical contact is made to break the holographic camouflage, whichever comes first? If that's the case, Erio should've been exposed the moment Kruse touched her before pushing her away. That's why I thought Jaynix went "Woah" until I had read that Erio had deactivate her disguise.

I bet if Fortun was dead, Kruse wouldn't be so dense. Even I facepalmed at how oblivious he is, and I'm pretty tolerant of Alexa's own obliviousness (though maybe that's because it adds to her charm and isn't in a romantic relationship just yet (getting there). Kruse on the other hand...).

Least the Cavern Clan weren't as conniving (doesn't make what happened to Team Jaeger any less gruesome). The Definians had their hands in so many of NLA's tragedies (against all races (except the Zaruboggan?) unlike the Cavern Clan) behind the scenes, and the way people that do know about their actions talk about them, it's understandable why Erio doesn't want to be seen as she is. Still, if only the "Town Helper" could see how even some of the Tree Clan can get along with Slovity's bunch, maybe there'll be a day Erio and Lyvia could walk amongst the others without their disguise like Jaynix thinks. It's not like they're indescent either, at least compared to what other BLADEs where on Mira...

Oh Jaynix, if only you knew how many few Definians there are in...well, I guess it's not outside the realm of possibility that Erio and Lyvia are the only two "good" Definians; just the two that we meet in-game.

D'aw. I'm glad that we get to see a Kruse-Elma (KrElma) moment here and that he does realize that he wasn't thinking about how Elma felt...though that does being up the question of how he can be oblivious about Jaynix's suggestions of him tying the knot later on.

I guess I don't see Jaynix much differently her even disregarding what I know of her in Skells & Love. If I'm not mistaken, one of the first things we see her do in that is flirt with Irina, so her hitting on (rather) attractive women isn't too much of a surprise here. Maybe it's how much into the Definians she is that would catch people off guard.

This was a fun chapter to read, and I wasn't expecting some big character development here compared to previous chapters, but that was a pretty sweet ending. Can't wait to see more, though I have a feeling that this fic is going to be coming to a halt shortly. Only two (three if the Cavern and Tree clans are separate) races left...

I wouldn't know firsthand about Orleron's looser speech pattern if he studied in NLA, and I doubt I'd ever know if I made a new file as the only things I think I would change would be not killing Odsnet (how was I supposed to know that making the rational choice and also gaining EXP would kill the stinking pig I've already fought twice?) and finding Vi Sezha's bracelet before talking to Ge Jewhe (still feel awful about that). Boring, I know, but that's because unless it's for completion, I almost always align myself with Neutral Good, occasionally dipping into the Lawful and Chaotic Goods depending on how I feel.

Anyways. I'm sure there's some footage of Orleron learning from NLA floating about, and if there isn't, last I heard someone on GameFAQs is still making a complete mission video guide to show off some of the less popular results (like killing Fortun instead of reprogramming her as well as the resulting post-game mission with both male and female variants of said mission). Don't know if he's going to show off every option as one person who compiled all the different choices for Affinity Missions did, but we shall see.

Not sure if intentional, but "thru" popping up in your A/N about typos...I mean it's not completely incorrect usage, but part of me thinks you meant to say "through"?

So did Jaynix think she was going to get shanked in that backwater part of the ID? I don't entirely blame her.

Maybe it's because I haven't payed as much attention to it, but with how much interaction Jaynix and Lin have been getting in with Hello Xenos!, do Kruse and Lin also have a big brother or father/little sister or daughter relationship going on? I know in one of her H2Hs (I think it's either the first or the last one), Lin tells Male Cross that she sees him like a father while telling Female Cross that she sees her as a big sister.

Oh my gods I've been getting my Ma-Non mixed up again! Every time I said Veven before, I meant to say Ackwar. He's the Mediator Ma-Non I kept talking about. Veven is Professor B'aassistant. Gah, I've been making that mistake for some time now too.

But yeah, Veven...can he speak the same language as Professor B now? I suppose working alongside him for a while, one would pick up more than just the tools of the trade. Just wonder what it would sound like in the Ma-Non native tongue since we never hear Professor B actually say things like $&#%!( in-game.

Floosy? Guess word about Jaynix's flirting have spread to even Prfessor B's little slice of NLA, and in such short time no less. That, or he hit the nail on the head (love you Jaynix) without even realizing it.

That ending got a good laugh out of me. Oh gods, this is the character interaction I didn't even know I wanted. Between Jaynix's spitfire and Professor B's bluntness, this was a great chapter to read through. A lot of fun. Makes me wish she could get some interaction with some of the more colorful humans like Jo, Lara Mara, and Lara Nara, but this isn't the fic to do it.

Funny thing though: I think this chapter actually has the most typos yet (I'm not counting Veven's "true true truly". I think that's how they repeat adverbs that aren't "very", and even if it isn't, I'd chalk it up to Ma-Non speak because "truly truly truly" sounds weird even coming from a Ma-Non), and just after your A/N addressing typos.

One detail I do like is how all of these chapters (except the first one I think) hint back to Jaynix's past and her current Dollophobia (or whatever covers the irrational or perhaps in her case somewhat rational fear of Skells) in some way, shape, or form. Can't wait for the next chapter.

So how many missions in a day are we talking about for Mrs. Marathon Runner here? I think if we're talking in-game days, the most I've been able to clear in a single day on foot is...well, I'm not sure if I can give a wholly serious answer since I usually have all the materials needed for gathering missions before accepting them, even in early game, so I don't know if those count...but including those and excluding normal and affinity missions, I want to say it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 missions? Ish? 13 if you count Yelv's little tests since they're pretty much basic missions in the guise of normal missions.

So I take it that Jaynix has seen Celica in action, or did she just notice her sheathed knife/holstered dual guns. Also, does she know at this point that there are other Xeno BLADEs from the Nopon, Orphe, and Ma-Non? (I know that one of the Prone speaks of doing BLADE work, but there is t a division next to his name, so I'm not sure. Then you have the Prone and her Orphe/Ma-Non-Nopon friends that talk about forming a squad, but that doesn't seem to go any further than talking about it in-game).

Where do I remember Rock being classified as a Gaur? I don't think it showed up in-game, so the artbook is what next comes to mind.

Glad Celica and Rock had their time in the limelight, and of course, Jaynix flirting is always welcome, especially with a girl whom I think is pretty cute too. Did want to bring this up earlier, but what was Celica wearing at the time? I ask because if it's just her normal clothes/the "Elite Supercivilization Attire", I would think it'd be evident that she's a Xeno or at least has a unique taste in clothes, but put everyday clothes on her, and she does look a lot more human. Anywho, fun read. Moving right on to the next chapter.

Yes, the "guest" review on Chapter 4 is me. Dunno what it is but I'm making a lot more mistakes in these reviews than I am for the ones in Skells & Love...

I'm not certain what the term for Zaruboggan procreation is myself. The Xeno wiki is about as unreliable on this matter as it's been for some time now. TVTropes uses "disgorge" to describe it (as do you here), but I'm not certain if that's the term used in-game. Wonder if it shows up in any of Tracho Lythern's, Arsenican's, or Orleron's missions or if Tracho Lythern his mentions it in an ask/discuss response that you can't see after a certain point. If it's the former, someone on YouTube might've posted it.

So I take it that Kruse either has regained a few memories of his past life or someone dug up a personnel file on him.

Preempted again! I was going to comment on the fact that Orleron was taking time away from Vera/the Ma-Non ship (if she wasn't in a relationship with him in your head canon) based on the fact that he doesn't have the rough manner of speaking that I assume he'd acquire if he studied in NLA, but you beat me to it again.

Tachya's been picking up habits from Orleron (aka Mr. "SURGING LOINS?! *fsssh* *fsssh* *fsssh* *fsssh*")? I guess it's better than learning from Phoskeron.

Love how already Kruse knows how to tease Jaynix and how she is having none of his techno babble. Didn't take long for them to act like brother and sister.

This chapter was a lot of fun to read. I did notice though that perhaps it's due to the short nature of them, but there's been a couple of typos in this chapter and Chapter 4 ("Lin, what's next...or whose next?", "Are you are guys just born this way?"). Maybe the same bug's affecting me too with my past few of slip-ups in reviewing.

Not exactly the most enthusing chapter, but unless they're getting into trouble or hatching some kind of scheme, the Orphe aren't that enthusing either IMO unless you spend a lot of time learning about their culture through missions. Guess you work with what you've got, and you made it work pretty well, even preempting my question about why Min'barac would go to the tennis courts to begin with. Only details left out that I can think of are Lan'cord and the fact that the Red Orpheans are more prone to irrationality and rebelling against their Ovah, but now's not really the time or place for that.

Great. Which there was an edit function because now that I'm looking at my previous review, I only just realized that I had a major brain fart, saying that there's no named Ma-Non NPC in the Residential District when I had just mentioned Dr. Stocatta (plus his new assistant). Kinda glad I said "93% sure" back there, but it doesn't make it any easier to look back on.

That teleporter's gotta be the ultimate test of a Mim's gag reflexes. I seem to recall an NPC saying that they felt sick after taking it once.

Elma talking about how valuable the Ma-Non are made me realize how high their death count is and how most of them have been through the Ganglion, namely the Definians, be it directly or indirectly.

I had to take a step back and think about who exactly Pfeffen and Jajanni are (I had initially thought that one of them was that rude Ma-Non who's really impatient about his pizza when they thought Jaynix was from Army Pizza). That's my only complaint about the Ma-Non is the sheer number of them that unless they're really unique (Dr. Stocatta, Janemba, and that one Ma-Non girl that doesn't want to do anything but sit around) or if I see them more frequently than others (Veven and May May), I can't remember their names, and even then that's not a guarantee. Doesn't help that they have the second largest population of named NPCs in the game (it's either them or Nopon). Fun fact though: I'm 93% sure that despite showing up everywhere in NLA, there isn't a single named Ma-Non in the Residential District, at least in post-game. Only named NPCs that occupy every area in NLA are Humans and Nopon (and then outside of it save Primordia for the Nopon).

Woe to the delivery girl and her many, many trips all over NLA. Shame they don't give civilians access to Skells.

This was equally fun to read. I don't know how it was for you, but I find writing for the Ma-Non to be difficult, mostly because of their speech patterns. I'd have to look closer, but I don't think there's a set pattern to when they'll repeat a certain word, what kind of words they do or don't repeat, and when to end on a question. It isn't the the the most natural thing for me to write, OK? So with that said, it's tough for me to say how accurate your Ma-Non speak is compared to in-game, but since I'm no expert, I'll just go with pass or fail, and it's a pass as far as I'm concerned as is the chapter.

You pretty rarely write L, from what I've noticed

Watched both those videos. Damn, that other review writes long reviews!

Already, L is leaving an impression on Jaynix.

Huh. Dunno why it never occurred to me that L may in fact be the sole survivor of his race (I don't think that was mentioned in Chapter 4?), but it seems to have struck a chord with Jaynix. Maybe that's why she liked him so much when he was in the Barracks in Alarm; he too is the last of his clan/division, but he doesn't let that alone bother or define him.

Always happy to see more L from you, and I'm looking forward to more updates to the fic.

Hey, this one is short. And a new video to watch!

I see that's your solution to writing out Tatsu. Not a bad one, actually

I'll be honest on this one, I'm not a big fan. Nothing really substantial happens in this oneshot. Oh well, can't love 'em all

Guess it didn't take that long to come up with this quick little fic idea after Review Video # 3, huh?

Jaynix saying "Thanks" to Elma and Kruse for waking her up...after knowing about her past, I'm curious as to how genuine that really is.

Too bad Jaynix's first encounter with the Nopon couldn't have been with some kids. They're so doe-eyed and naïve. Wonder what makes most of them become such con artists and stingy businessmen when they grow up...

Oh if only she knew about how eccentric Miran Nopon can get. Jaynix is lucky she met one of the more "normal" ones in Tora to get a good idea of Nopon social ticks.

Also, first I've seen of Cheche in a fanfic. Little greedy blue ex-Caravan leader doesn't pop up much often, and it's kinda fitting that one descendent of a renowned Nopon should be arguing with a descendent of two other renowned Nopon (is it possible for Cheche to not move into NLA as a result of making the wrong choice in the fireworks for Nan normal mission? Never tried that other option where the fireworks fail and you have to go gather up material and find some Nopon up on the Mining Platforms. Too much effort for too little reward, especially if the outcome is the same).

What a fun short fic to pass the time while waiting on Chapter 12 of Skells & Love. Looking forward to future updates (at least I'm inferring that there will be updates based on the A/N at the beginning saying that Jaynix will be meeting with Xenoforms). I think that it'll be a good way of including Xenos in your fics but without them getting in the way of the meat of your main fics. Plus, I think it'll be a refreshing side project in case you get stuck on on your main ones, and Xeno dialogue is a good break from the tedium of human/Wrothian speech patterns.