OK, just my two cents as I didn't expect Ante to actually be revealed to us all like this, and certainly not while I wasn't paying attention.

First: No! And I mean seriously no, do not 'improve' Ante. Not just yet, perhaps, if you really want to-save it for much later on when things are actually cooking. I'd be OK with Ante becoming player-available, I was suspecting as much from the start, but improving it seems like too much too fast. We're still exploring the plot and getting to grips-this is the rising action and while it may be slow, this will inevitably conclude in a ridiculous thirty gambit pileup. I honestly did have my own idea for Ante in case no-one else was willing to explore it directly, and it's probably one even more crazy than Neo's plan with it. Funnily enough, it could still work exactly as intended, as Neo left out an important detail in his description of Ante, and that is the detail that would allow such a mad idea to work. (I'll tell you Neo, don't you worry, I still love you, and it is your choice to implement it... But it's a crazy enough idea that I think that the less people who know of it, the better. :3)

Second: Nora was not randomly stating various amusing anecdotes because they were amusing anecdotes, and I certainly didn't mention all that weird stuff just to be weird (though that is my top priority, as usual). I was going to use the fact I'm a driving force in this RP to, er-hem, drive any semblence of normalcy off the rails and into a fiery pit, and in doing so, create interesting plot because 'woah, Magical Girls do exist!' More generally, I think the plot is actually moving forwards, just slowly, but that isn't a bad thing as long as it's still interesting. One does not need to rely upon contrived plot coincidence because things are boring... And, frankly, things are NOT boring, it's just going slow, and the focus is on the Blood Pit-wrap that up and things outside of it will get moving fast. (I do admit that I feel like it's slow but that's because I'm trying to interact with Death Spook and he's been busy, ergo a slow response.) And it's still going reasonably faster than most other RPs in recent memory, and the boost of actually having a reason to do this RP this long is a big one. Introducing Ante and the potential to get it properly isn't breaking existence and probably does spice things up a bit, I will say-I wouldn't be opposed to it as it was introduced by Noeo. 'Upping the Ante' is, on the other hand, too far, too fast, for me at least.

Also, call me crazy but I think that people are underestimating their Pokemon abilities, which may also factor into it. Take this example, which, as a warning in advance, involves a lot of analysis of things and may not be as applicable in the RP as I wish. Gyarados are strong Pokemon-this is pretty much universally agreed upon. They can wipe whole cities away in their rampages according to the dex, a statement that can be taken pretty much at face value. It's attack stat is 125, very high all things considered. Gyarados are also relatively famous for knowing Hyper Beam-a really strong attack that I could see as doing serious damage to property and life. Hyper Beam being really dangerous is also universally agreed upon. I think Gyarados using Hyper Beam is something that's mostly a Gen 1 thing, though, when Hyper Beam was operating off of physical attack and thus that beefy 125 instead of the far less intimidating special attack of 60... But not entirely, as Hyper Beam is also naturally learned by everyone's favorite sea serpent at Level 52 in RBY and 54 in S/M. That's a high level, but it is also a lower than what some Pokemon evolve at-including Hydregion. I bring Hydregion up specifically because Noblejanobii brought up a Hydregion kidnapper, so there are Pokemon (presumably active fighting Pokemon) at least 'strong' enough to 'reach Level 64' (marked as level probably isn't a 'real' concept in Xia) to evolve. In other words, while it may not be the case due to RP ease factors, there is a great chance that Pokemon of age are actually near to 'Level 50', if not above it, which is when Hyper Beams start wrecking cities from 60 Special Attack Gyarados. This isn't me trying to put stupid game science into an RP-it's me trying to point out that our characters are, as elite combatants, probably much more dangerous than we're giving them proper credit for.

Mostly just thinking how I could justify Nora appearing and pulling out a TPK on the whole Black Lotus regiment with an over-the-top Hyper Beam (with her far more impressive 110 Special Attack) to start the second Blood Pit Arena, with aid from a lot of Quiver Dancing just beforehand boosting her attack to those TPK levels. Or try to do that. It sounds like something she would do in this situation-something so dangerous that no-one could believe a stupid stoner Lilligant did it, and something so utterly deadly that it proves her effectiveness beyond question.

Do not screw with a Lilligant on Liao.