The Deity Ice Butteryfly and the Shapeshifting Stuffy - Cards of Power #73 | A Bedtime Adventure

0:04 Hello, friends from across the nation and around the world. I'm Martin, and you are listening to Dad's Bedtime Stories. And tonight, we're finally headed back to the Cards of Power universe to continue the deity-level tournament. And in order to do that, we're going to need a couple listener ideas. So let's see what we have in the vault here.

0:32 Hi, Martin. My name is McKenna and I'm from Alaska. And I want a story about the cards of power. And there's a big stuffy that can shapeshift into any stuffy and shoot tiny stuffies out of its hands. And can we battle it? And I love your podcast. Thank you.

0:55 Thank you, McKenna. That's a very interesting idea. Maybe if we're going to have stuffies. I might have to bring back a stuffy character of my own. Anyway, let's check out one more idea I think here.

1:13 My name is Piper and I have a story suggestion for the Cards of Power universe where you battle a deity level butterfly with ice powers and Magnus almost loses but at the last second, he wins. Thank you, I love your podcast.

1:31 All right, a deity-level ice butterfly. Why not, people? Why not? Now, if you like the Cards of Power, then you're probably going to love the Cards of Power card game with Cards of Power cards and Cards of Power battle and that sort of thing that my friend Roro and I are making. mostly him. He's doing most of the work, honestly.

2:02 But I am really excited because it's going to be out to purchase before too long. And yeah, if you like Cards of Power, it might be something you want to check out. In other news, I've been playing around with creating some graphic novels, or at least comics, I guess. And I'm starting off with the Spaceship series. I've put up Probably three chapters so far. You can check out the first couple for free on Patreon. I think you just need a free membership. And you can go check those out and read them and let me know what you think. To be fully transparent, they are AI-assisted in their creation because I'm not an artist in any way.

2:48 But I think we've come up with a pretty cool product that I like a lot. So please check them out. Give me your feedback, let me know what you think. Uh, yeah. But now, it's that time again. Time to get as comfy as you can in that bed, close your eyes, and imagine yourself doing what the kid in the story does.

3:15 You wake up inside your hotel room on the combat planet, and for once, Magnus is already awake. He's sitting on the end of the bed beside someone you almost forgot about. Max Jr., the stuffed dragon that can turn into a, you know, space dragon, of course. Good morning, Magnus says. You planning on sleeping through the whole tournament or what? Uh, no, you respond, sitting up and rubbing your eyes. How did you get out of the card core? Last thing I remember, you were knocked out.

4:03 No.

4:04 Well, I wasn't going to sit around waiting for you to let me out. I got out on my own. Do we even have a match today? I don't know. That's why they invented computers, Magnus responds. Good point. You get out of bed... Get dressed and head downstairs with Magnus floating beside you. Max Jr. stays sitting on the bed, of course. You figure you'll come back for him if you need him. Unlike most of your other magical creatures, he doesn't really fit in a card core because, well, because he's not a card. His other form is a stuffy.

4:52 As usual, you stop for some breakfast first The hotel has pretty much everything you could possibly want, including foods from Earth for some reason, and a thousand things you've never seen before. Some of it very odd colors. You grab a little bit of this and a little bit of that, eat as quickly as you can, and walk over toward one of the tournament computers. You scan your identification card. The screen lights up. Competitor identified. Then another message appears. Next match, final match before quarterfinals. Oh, I didn't realize we were that far already. Magnus floats closer to the screen. Well, obviously we are. We've been winning. Because, well, you have me. The screen changes again. Your next opponent

5:58 is McKenna. Huh, you say. I wonder what she's like. Almost immediately, another message appears. Would you like to search for competitor profile McKenna? You stare at the screen. Wait, you can do that? Yes. Yes. Have I always been able to do that?

6:24 Yes.

6:27 Okay, search for her profile. The screen flashes for a moment before a picture appears of a girl standing in front of a huge, snowy mountain. Beside the picture is a whole bunch of information. Apparently, McKenna comes from a distant planet where Most of the northern regions are covered in mountains, forests, snow, and ice. Looking through some of the pictures, it kind of reminds you of Alaska, only with much bigger mountains and some strange animals walking around in the background. Apparently, McKenna grew up exploring the wilderness around her home and started collecting cards pretty much as soon as she was old enough. Huh. You say as you continue reading. According to her profile, McKenna's known for

7:26 collecting creatures that are beautiful, cute, or just interesting to look at. Magnus starts laughing. This is gonna be easy. You look over at him. What? Cute creatures? Beautiful creatures? We're in a deity tournament. Magnus, you literally lost to a tiny guinea pig yesterday. Magnus immediately stops laughing. That was different. How was it different? The guinea pig was very powerful. Exactly. Magnus crosses his little arms. Fine, keep reading.

8:16 You scroll further down. There aren't exact descriptions of McKenna's cards. Apparently, tournament competitors aren't allowed to see that information before a match, but there are some general statistics. She seems to use transformation-type creatures quite often, and she also has a large number of ice cards, which makes sense considering where she comes from and, well, how long it looks like the winters are there.

8:46 Huh.

8:48 You say.

8:49 What?

8:52 I might have an idea. You turn away from the computer and head back towards the elevator. Where are you going? Magnus asks. Back to the room. You say. Why? To get Max Jr. Magnus looks confused. The stuffed dragon? Yeah.

9:17 Yeah.

9:18 If she likes transformation creatures and cute-looking cards, Max Jr. might be a good match. Plus, I've barely used him since we captured him, and from what I remember, he turns into a pretty awesome space dragon. Magna shrugs. Fine by me. Saves my energy for later. You return to your room and find Max Jr. sitting exactly where you left him. You reach down and pick up the stuffed dragon.

9:52 Alright Max, let's see what you can actually do in a tournament. You place him under one arm and head back downstairs. Before long, you, Magnus, and Max Jr. are outside. You activate your magic wing card. Two huge glowing wings appear out of your back and lift you into the air. Magnus flies beside you as you head toward the main tournament area. From above, you can see thousands of people moving toward the building. Apparently, being the final match before their quarterfinals is a pretty big deal. You land beside the competitor entrance and release your wings. A security robot scans your identification. Competitor confirmed. Please proceed to changing room number two. Well, that's different than the last few matches.

11:00 I guess they've upped security. You walk down the hallway and enter the changing room. There's really not much to do inside except, well, wait.

11:12 So.

11:13 You sit down on one of the benches with Max Jr. beside you. Magnus floats around the room. You nervous? he asks. A little. Don't be. Worst case scenario, Max Jr. loses and then I destroy everything. That's basically your plan for every battle, you respond. Well, it's a good plan. Before you can respond again, the large doors at the other side of the room begin to open. The sound of the crowd pours inside. Guess that's us, you say. You grab Max Jr. and walk out into the arena. Thousands and thousands of spectators fill the stands behind a special force field, of course. Floating cameras move through the air, following you as you walk toward the center. On the other side of the arena, another door opens, and a

12:24 girl walks in. You immediately recognize her from the profile picture.

12:31 McKenna.

12:33 She walks toward the center of the arena and gives you a little wave. You wave back. A referee floats down between the two of you. Welcome, competitors. This is the final match before the quarterfinal round, as I'm sure you both know. As always, each competitor may select three magical creature cards. Only one creature may be active at a time. Defeating an opponent's creature earns one point. The first competitor to earn two points wins the match and advances to the quarterfinals. You nod. McKenna does the same. Now, today's random selection is determined that McKenna will reveal her first creature first. All right, McKenna says. Then says. You both make your way to your own protected competitor's circles.

13:46 Force fields light up around you, and McKenna's card core begins to glow. Blue energy spirals around in the air and begins forming something on the ground. At first, you think it's a bear. Then it gets bigger and bigger. and bigger, until standing in front of McKenna is an enormous stuffed bear, probably thirty feet tall. It has soft-looking brown fur, huge padded feet, a stitched mouth, and two big button-like eyes. Magnus looks at you. A stuffy? Don't, you say. but it's literally a stuffy. The referee turns toward you. Please select your first creature. You look down at Max Jr. Well, buddy, I guess this is exactly why I brought you. You place the little stuffed dragon on the ground and activate your card core. Max Jr.

15:05 begins to glow. For a second, there's a giant stuffed bear on one side of the arena and a tiny stuffed dragon on the other. The crowd actually starts laughing. Then, Max Jr. transforms. His little stuffed body explodes outward into blue energy. The energy expands and expands again. until a gigantic dragon forms in its place. Max Jr. 's wings stretch across the arena, his armored body shines under the stadium lights, energy builds inside the weapons built into his body, and a glowing shield appears around him. The crowd immediately stops laughing. Okay, Magnus says. That was actually kind of cool.

16:09 Across the arena, McKenna smiles. Oh, I like that one. The referee floats upward inside the protective shield. Competitors ready? You nod. McKenna nods. Three, two, one, begin.

16:31 Begin.

16:32 Max Jr. doesn't waste any time. Energy builds inside his mouth until he unleashes a gigantic laser across the arena. The beam strikes the stuffed bear directly in the chest. For a second, you think the battle might already be over. When the bear's body squishes inward, its arms stretch, its legs shrink, and suddenly the giant bear transforms into an enormous stuffed eagle. The eagle spreads its wings and shoots into the air. Okay, you say, so that's the transformation part.

17:20 Max Jr. blasts after it. The two creatures fly around the arena. The stuffy eagle, surprisingly fast, is Max Jr. fires laser after laser. One hits the eagle's wings. Stuffing explodes out of it. Got you, you yell. Except the creature doesn't fall. Instead, its body transforms again. Its wings disappear.

17:53 Its body stretches longer and longer until it becomes a gigantic, stuffed, Snake. The snake drops out of the sky directly on top of Max Jr. It wraps around his wings, then around his body. Max Jr. 's energy shield flashes. Shield strength, 87%. A robotic voice announces from somewhere inside him. That's not good, you say? Max Jr. spins through the air, trying to throw the stuffed snake off. He flies straight toward the ground and pulls up at the last possible second. The snake smashes into the floor and its grip loosens. Max Jr.

18:46 twists free and unleashes another laser directly into it. The laser burns a huge hole through the stuffed creature. And for a moment, stuffing floats everywhere. Yes, you yell. But then all of that loose stuffing suddenly begins moving. Little arms appear. Little legs. Little button eyes. What the... Dozens of tiny stuffed animals form out of the loose stuffing.

19:24 Tiny bears... Tiny dinosaurs, tiny dogs, tiny sharks with little stuffed fins that look super cute but also kind of dangerous. And every single one of them turns toward Max Jr. Oh, Magnus says, that's probably not good. The tiny stuffed ants. animals launch themselves into the air. Max Jr. fires another laser, vaporizing a whole line of them, but there are way too many. They begin landing all over his body. Little stuffed bears grab onto his wings. Tiny stuffed dinosaurs bite at his legs. A stuffed octopus wraps itself around his head.

20:16 Shield strength, 62%. Max Jr. shakes himself violently, throwing a whole bunch of creatures away and firing lasers at others. But the giant stuffy isn't done. Its damaged snake body suddenly starts to reform. It grows larger and wider, sprouting eight enormous arms until it becomes a gigantic stuffed octopus.

20:51 A cute one, but gigantic and scary at the same time somehow. The octopus launches itself upward and wraps around Max Jr. from behind. Shield strength, 41%. Max Jr. lets out a roar and activates every laser he has. Energy fires in all directions. Several of the octopus's arms are blasted apart. Hundreds of the little stuffies are destroyed and dissolved into energy. He's actually doing pretty well, Magnus says. Yeah, but I don't know if it's going to be enough.

21:36 Max Jr. breaks one arm free, then another. He opens his mouth and blasts the giant stuffy directly in the face with a powerful laser. The stuffy explodes backward and smashes into the ground. For just a second, you think Max Jr. might have done it. But as Max Jr. turns toward you, You see almost 20 tiny stuffed animals clinging to his back. They all suddenly begin pulling. His wings get dragged backward. More miniature stuffies leap up from the ground and pile onto him. Shield strength, 18%. Oh no, the giant stuffie gets back up. This time it transforms into an enormous stuffed gorilla. The gorilla charges forward, jumps into the air, and slams both fists down directly onto Max Jr. His shield flashes once. Shield strength 0%. The

22:56 shield disappears. Max Jr. tries to fire another laser. but one of the little stuffies has wrapped itself around his mouth. The gorilla grabs him by the tail, swings him around in a gigantic circle, and slams him into the ground, then picks him up and slams him into the ground again, again and again and again. Eventually, Max Jr. transforms into blue energy. and shoots back towards you, reforming itself into a little stuffy that you're now holding in your hands.

23:41 One point awarded to McKenna, the referee announces. You look down at the little stuffy. Good job, buddy, you say. You definitely didn't make that easy, and I think you've worn him out a lot. Across the arena, the giant stuffy doesn't look nearly as good as it did before. One of its arms is almost completely missing, and it looks kind of saggy, like it's, well, lost most of its stuffing. There's several holes in its body and burn marks all over it as well. Magnus floats forward.' My turn,' he says. Sure, I could always get Dominic. Kid, that thing barely survived Max Jr. I've got this. Magnus flies into the arena and begins to glow. He grows larger and larger, moving through each of his forms until he

24:51 reaches his deity-level form. A powerful black dragon, with veins of pure sunlight energy flowing throughout his body. The referee raises a hand. Round two begins. Magnus immediately opens his mouth. A blast of pure white heat shoots across the arena. The stuffy transforms into some sort of gigantic stuffed salamander and rolls out of the way, but the side of its body still catches fire. It rolls across the ground and transforms again, this time into a stuffed whale. Magnus stops.

25:42 A whale? Seriously? The stuffy opens its mouth and sprays a huge blast of water. It hits Magnus directly and sends him sliding backward. Oh, come on! Magnus shakes the water off, then he stops. You can almost see him thinking. Instead of shooting fire again, he reaches out with his elemental powers and takes control of the water from the lake nearby. the little artificial one that's always in the arena.

26:25 The water forms into little streams and rises into the air. It swirls around the giant stuffed whale and splashes into its fabric, soaking every part of the thing. The creature transforms back into a bear and tries to move, only... It seems much slower. Magnus continues to pump water into the stuffed creature. It becomes heavier and heavier until it can barely lift its arms. And then Magnus pulls every bit of heat out of the arena in an instant.

27:14 The air goes cold. The remaining water in the lake freezes, and so does the big stuffy, along with all of the little stuffies spread throughout the arena. Try shapeshifting now, Magnus says. The creature starts to try to change shape, but the frozen lair just cracks. Magnus stomps one foot, and a huge stone pillar shoots out of the ground underneath the frozen stuffy, launching it into the air. Magnus flies after it, spins around, and slams his tail directly into the creature. The frozen stuffy explodes into ice, stuffing, and blue energy. The energy shoots across the arena, and returns to McKenna's card core. One point awarded. Score tied.

28:23 One to one. Magnus lands and looks over at you. See? Strategy. You laugh. Yeah, I'm actually kind of impressed. McKenna smiles from across the arena. That was pretty good. But the next one is my favorite. Her card core glows. A tiny blue card appears. It transforms into energy, spins across the arena, and takes shape. At first, you can barely see what it is. A butterfly. A small, beautiful blue butterfly.

29:12 Magnus stares at it. No, seriously? The butterfly begins to grow. Oh, of course. It grows larger and larger until its wings stretch almost across the entire arena. The wings look like they're made of translucent blue ice with glowing snowflake patterns moving in them every time the butterfly flaps its wings snow begins to fall the temperature drops almost instantly deity ice butterfly mckenna says magnus looks back at you Why are all the cute things so dangerous around here? The referee raises a hand. Final round, begin! Magnus fires first.

30:14 A beam of solar fire blasts toward the butterfly. The butterfly spreads its wings. The fire hits Icey's surface and explodes into steam. Then, the butterfly flaps. The steam freezes and thousands of tiny ice pieces shoot back toward Magnus. Magnus covers his face with his wing as the ice slams into him. He fires another blast and the same thing happens. Stop doing that, you yell. Yeah, I figured that out. The butterfly circles around him. releasing sparkling blue powder from its wings. Wherever the powder touches Magnus, ice begins to form, first on his tail, then his legs, then the tips of his wings. Magnus heats his body and melts it off, but every time he does, the butterfly just creates more. Soon, the entire arena is covered

31:29 in a swirling blizzard. You can barely see anything. Magnus reaches out with his wind powers and blasts the snow away. For a second, the butterfly is exposed. Magnus uses the opportunity to send a huge bolt of lightning straight towards it. The lightning hits one wing. Cracks appear. Yes, Magnus says, but the butterfly spins through the air and suddenly creates a gigantic wall of ice around Magnus. More and more layers form. Within seconds, Magnus is trapped inside a huge crystal cocoon made of ice. He tries to heat up.

32:23 The ice melts slightly, but instantly refreezes. The crowd gets louder. Magnus' glowing veins begin to dim. Something strange is happening to him. He continues to try to heat up, but somehow the ice seems to be absorbing the heat. You see little Toad, of light moving from the ice cocoon over to the butterfly. Is he absorbing the power somehow, you wonder? Magnus' veins grow dimmer and dimmer and dimmer. Then, just when you think all is lost inside the ice, His eyes open, glowing brighter than the sun itself. The glow in his veins becomes brighter. Instead of creating a huge blast of heat, Magnus focuses everything he has into one tiny beam of energy that shoots directly from his mouth.

33:47 A thin line of concentrated sunlight shoots out of the ice cocoon and hits the butterfly's wing. Magnus moves the beam across the ice, breaking little chunks of it apart. As soon as the cocoon's broken, he breaks free. An explosion of light shoots out in all directions, creating what looks like a miniature sun. The sun rises up higher and higher, glows brighter and brighter, and once again, Magnus focuses all of the energy into a tiny little pinprick of light and shoots it at the butterfly, slicing from the bottom all the way up to the top. The concentrated blast slices right through the creature, and immediately it transforms into blue energy and shoots back into McKenna's card core.

35:01 The crowd cheers. The referee announces you as the winner. and the force fields disappear. McKenna, with her head down, walks across the arena and meets you at the center. She reaches out her hand. That was pretty amazing, she says. You shake her hand. Your creatures are awesome. That butterfly almost took out Magnus. And that stuffed animal thing was crazy powerful. Thanks, McKenna says. But obviously they weren't as powerful as your dragon. Not many people are, you respond.

35:54 The crowd continues to cheer as you walk back out of the arena and into the little change room. Magnus shrinks back down to his dragonling form and follows behind you. The two of you immediately head out down the hall, out the competitor's entrance, and take to the air using your magic wing card. As you often do, you fly directly to the hotel balcony and land. You open the outer door using your key card and the two of you immediately crash onto the bed. You turn off the lights, close your eyes, and slowly you allow yourself to fall asleep.

36:52 With each breath, you release a little bit of tension from your muscles, from your arms, your legs, your shoulders, your neck, And with each breath, you sink down a little bit deeper into the mattress. And your mind begins to wander off to thoughts of new dreams, new adventures, and new matches to come. Good night, everyone. Thank you.

38:47 You Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

42:20 Thank you.

43:28 Thank you.

44:19 Thank you.

45:00 You Thank you.

47:52 You you you.

48:30 Thank you.

49:27 Thank you.

50:35 Thank you. Thank you.

52:08 Thank you.

53:01 Thank you.

54:24 Thank you.

55:00 Thank you. you Thank you.

58:33 Thank you. you