#//i am just....snorlax noises

[l1tw1ck]

Congratulations for the 1k if you dont mind can I request #10 with sub ftm steven grant.-🦕

Out of Sight

bottom!ftm steven x top!masc reader

↳ [Event] | AFAB Language Used

sorry for my absence, im practically a snorlax with the amount of sleep i've been getting

CW: Public Sex, Fingering, Squirting, Creampie

“Stay quiet, baby.” You lean into Steven’s ear, pressing up against him with your hand down his pants. His hands are against the wall and his legs are trembling. He's terrified that he might get caught but he feels too good, he doesn't want to make you stop. He bites his lip to prevent himself from making any noises. It soon proves to be more difficult than he thought as your skillful fingers quickly work his sensitive pussy to an orgasm.

“shit- shit- shit—” Steven gasps. “stop- stop- [Name]!” He starts to panic as he feels himself getting close. You don't stop and you won't unless he says his safe word.

“Shh. It’s okay baby. Come for me.” You soothe him with your voice. Hearing that was enough to make him squirt.

The sound of footsteps makes Steven’s heart drop. He expects you to stop but you keep sliding yourself inside him. He looks around in panic as the footsteps get closer. “[Name]-” He whispers. You hum. “we're gonna get caught!”

“What do you want me to do then?”

“pull out!” He says, exasperated.

“You're squeezing me so tightly, baby, I don't think you want me to.”

His cheeks burn as he realizes what you're saying is true.

“You’re enjoying this just as much as I am.” You sneak your hands up to his chest and play with his nipples while making slow thrusts. Steven doesn't respond, he doesn't want to admit it but you're right. He turns his head to you, giving you a look that's telling you to kiss him. You press your lips against his and slide your tongue into his mouth, sloppily making out with him while increasing your speed. The kiss muffles Steven's moans, making him feel a little bit better.

You pull away from the kiss and drag your lips down his neck, kissing and biting his soft skin. He whimpers as you create hickeys and bite marks on his body. He hopes he’ll be able to cover it up later.

“[Name]~” He whines. “Gonna- gonna come-”

You keep going even as he orgasms.

“Fuck- [Name]!” He gasps.

“Shh, do you want to get caught?” You bring your hand down to his clit, rubbing it gently. He covers his mouth, tears spilling as you fuck his sensitive cunt. He doesn't even consider asking you to stop. “I'm close, baby.” Your movements turn sloppy as you reach your peak. Steven turns back and looks at your expression. He loves seeing your face contort with pleasure, with the pleasure that only he can give you. You pump his cunt full of your seed and pull out before quickly pulling his pants up, forcing him to walk home with cum inside of him.

[lumenflowered]

[An audio recording is attached. There's a loud crashing noise.

"Maria, it's been hours, what the fu—"

There's a louder crashing noise.

"Hello, Silver," Maria replies. "I don't believe I'm very fond of Snorlax, though it feels rather unfair to judge an entire species for the fact that it has taken multiple hours to subdue this one."

Silver snorts. She sounds farther away now. "Well. I got the badge. You, uh, have fun with that?"

"I am not." Maria pauses. "Nicely done against Surge, regardless. He isn't a trivial foe."

"Yeah. I noticed. I'm gonna just... go."

The recording ends.]

[cyberrat]

69th Batch Of Fics: 3rd Fill

Hanzo + Pokémon – CYOA interlude – Part ⅗ – Hanzo goes to have a look at his Lycanroc, then has a little phonecall...

---

It turns out, some Pokémon lines, such as Snorlax or Gulpin have been limited to a certain amount of snacks. Hanzo is studying the sign put in place in front of the café, weirdly impressed with the spa’s business tactics.

It’s not like it had been cheap to let five Pokémon use the facility for a whole day; he kind of splurged his father’s money but he can’t say that he feels very terrible about it. He’s grown up with a lot of money and while he usually is frugal, he does like to splurge every now and then.

Especially when he is on the road with other acquaintances – which does remind him that he hadn’t spoken to Lúcio in a bit.

He should rectify that later. Maybe after he’s found Maddox. He just hopes he’s actually here.

The large double doors open and while Hanzo can tell that all food served here definitely is meant for Pokémon consumption, he can’t deny that it smells rather appetizing – though there is a distinct lack of coffee smell that had been permeating the human cafeteria he had visited earlier.

There is a certain kind of noise here that hadn’t been in the other one as well; a lot of Pokémon sitting on tables or standing at troughs and gobbling down whatever treats are presented to them.

As he slowly makes his way through the place, he notes that he can’t find Maddox anywhere; which surprises him quite a bit. But since he is here already, there is a hallway with a large sign above it designating it as the route toward one of the many spa facilities, so he starts to wander there out of pure curiosity.

The hallway is not too long. At the end are large glass doors that already let him see a few Pokémon on padded tables as they got rubbed down by personnel which seemed to consist both of humans and other Pokémon.

The atmosphere inside is quite different than the one he had just left. It is peaceful and quiet here with a murmur of music offering a gentle backdrop as Pokémon of all kind of species get pampered.

Among them, he realizes after a double take, is Maddox. He’s currently lying on a table much like many of the other Pokémon and is getting his hind paws massaged by a young, attractive woman.

Hanzo makes his way over, careful not to step on any stray tails or tentacles that might be lying in his way. The young woman looks up just as he steps toward the table, a confused smile on her features.

“Oh? Uhm… hello, can I help you?”

Hanzo peers from her face, to her hands still slowly kneading one of Maddox’ paws, up to Maddox himself who is lying with one arm dangling off the side and the other thrown over a swollen belly. He looks like he’s in a food coma.

He has to shake himself out of it, realizing that he’s been asked something. “Ah, well… no, not exactly. He is one of my Pokémon. I was just wandering around the area and thought I might check whether he would be in the café, but apparently…” he trails off.

The young woman is grinning wide as she leans over to grab a nail file and start going to town on Lycanroc’s sharp claws.

“Oh, it’s been in the café alright. Most of them have been. And once they got their fill they stagger in here and let themselves get massaged to sleep.”

Hanzo nods slowly, looking about. Yes, he can definitely see that.

“Well then, I do not wish to impose. I am glad he is having a good time…”

“It’s such a charmer!” the woman suddenly bursts out, a wide grin on her face. “I’ve never met such a sweet Lycanroc. It’s such a little flirt, you know?”

Hanzo blinks slowly at her, forcing a stiff smile onto his lips. “Ah… well, thank you. That must be the influence of his… former… trainer.”

She pauses in the pedicure and eyes Hanzo with even more interest now. “Oh? Usually traded Pokémon are so timid… I would never have guessed. Its old trainer must really be a sweetheart.”

She is just fishing for a name, that much Hanzo can tell, and he is very much reluctant to give it to her. He doesn’t know whether she is interested enough in the Pokémon League to realize that Cole is the current champion, but even if he weren’t – he is… jealous. He doesn’t want her to try and contact him, even though he is sure the lazy bastard gets a million booty calls a day just because he is famous.

His mood sours considerably at the thought.

Luckily, Maddox suddenly wakes from his food coma with a snort and blinks up at Hanzo, dazed. He can tell that it takes the Pokémon quite a while to realize that he is not just a hallucination but actually standing there. The moment it clicks for him, Maddox’ maw pulls into a shady looking grin and he makes an odd chuckling sound. It really does remind Hanzo of Cassidy, now that he thinks about it.

Way too comfortable with being a charming, lazy, little…- well. Maddox has changed quite a bit in his mannerisms since his evolution but in the end he is still the same. Just a sweet pup. Hanzo’s pup that he can’t be mad at, especially not for behaving the way he’s been told to do.

So he pets his snout, then turns toward the young woman and lightly bows at the waist. “Thank you for taking good care of him. I will be going now.”

“W-What? No, just a-”

He turns, pretending he didn’t hear her so he wouldn’t find some choice words for her shameless digging. He gets out his phone as soon as he is outside of the massage parlor, and dials Cole’s number.

Lucky for the slob, he picks it up on the second ring.

“Well ain’t that a nice surprise? Didn’t think I’d hear your sweet li’l voice today, babydoll. How’re you doin’?”

Hanzo can feel his anger melting almost against his own will. There really is something disarmingly charming about Cassidy’s slow, friendly drawl.

“I am well, thank you,” He replies stiffly. “Where are you right now?”

“Oh, you know. Just out an’ about. Walkin’.”

“...searching for your Pokémon?”

“Yeah.”

Hanzo exhales softly, his annoyance quickly evaporating. “I just had a little talk with a young lady who seemed egregiously interested in you.”

“Mmnnhhh did you, now?” Cole has the audacity of sounding mildly amused. Hanzo clicks his tongue in disgust, turning back onto the main walkway, Kikuri a hot, limp weight around his neck.

“Would you like me to give you her number?”

“Nah. Not really in the mood for anythin’ of the like. I got a little somethin-somethin’ goin’ right now, you know? With a hot little stud I’ve been seein’. Real fire cracker. Got my balls in a crushin’ grip.”

Hanzo shudders, eyes flicking around, nervous despite himself that someone might hear.

“So you’re… not looking?”

There’s a chuckle on the other end of the line. It sounds soft and affectionate and makes Hanzo’s stomach twist in on itself in the best way. Then Cole mutters, whole unrepentant: “Nah. I’ve found what I’ve been lookin’ for. Don’t need nothin’ else.”

Goddamn but he is a charming bastard. Hanzo cusses at him softly and all that answers him is more of that soft chuckling that gets him feeling all kinds of things.

[crazy-lazy-elder-sims]

Me thinking i was smart and flying ahead to the seafoam islands and skipping everyone and then i get there and im just like what fuck is going on why is there a cave and why am i lost in it psyduck has an evolution???? FUCK THE CURRENT IS TAKING ME PLACES I DONT WANT TO BE WHERE THE FUCK AM I SNORLAX WE'RE REALLY IN IT NOW DONT FREEZE ON ME SNORLAX TALK TO ME SNORLAAAAAX

Then me and Charizard finally find the way out and are like where are the islands where are rhe people ? The poke stops? Where are we...

Anyway im flying back to fuchsia city fuck that noise

[smallsleepyoarfish]

Tagged by the very cool @gundh4m-t4n4k4

Nickname: Oarfish, Fish, Ray, I’ve been called Doppio before on twitter and discord, but it’s rare

Sign: Pisces sun, Scorpio moon, Cancer rising. All water hooray

Height: 5'2", I am small

Recently googled: "bad at splatoon" the recent competition was intense 😔

Songs stuck in my head: Demons in the Dressing Room by Swagbot

Followers: 80

Amount of sleep last night: like 4 hours? I usually sleep more but in phases, plus I’m kinda sick so I slept poorly

Lucky number: 333, it’s the number I picked in SWSH and it’s been lucky while shiny hunting too

Dream job: something related to sorting probably, or repetitive like an assembly line

Wearing: A Splatoon 1 shirt, pants with cherries on them, and a snorlax hoodie that’s super fuzzy inside

Books/movies that summarize me: I don’t know what this means, um. Coraline? I think that’s the only one that’s even close.

Favorite songs: right now Perturbator’s Miami Disco and Trevor Something’s Run, I have more extensive answers on other tag games but I have no actual playlist orz

Aesthetic: honestly kind of disorganized but I do have a soft spot for neon or surrealism

Favorite author: I don’t know this one, I’m sorry. 🙇

Favorite animal noises: the mmmr? Of a surprised cat and the coo of a mourning dove

Random: I once witnessed a giant flock (murmuration) of red-winged blackbirds that briefly blotted out the sun in upstate NY. I still remember it well.

As always tagging stresses me out but I’d be happy to see any of my mutuals do this, I just don’t know who wants to be tagged vs who wants left alone.

[convxction]

“You think I can do that, too????”

[charcherry-weekly]

Charcherry Weekly - Issue 52!

Heya peeps, Prince of Time Garnett Garren here. With Nick on vacation for a while, you're gonna be seeing me a lot more often.

1 year anniversary!

Seeing as its issue 52, that means this newsletter's been going for an entire year now! A lot has gone on in the single year that this has been running. While there aren't that many dungeons being crashed lately, there is a metric heckton of other things in the wings. One thing's for sure though, things don't show any sign of slowing down so expect this newsletter to keep going for issues to come!

Since when are emeralds red anyways

Very early in the week, Emerald Guardian Barack Obama sent Seals (as in like, navy seals or something) after the runaway Hoopa while in the Fire Nation. Apparently they got into a stand-off against a group of firebending bears, which wound up setting a portion of the forest on fire. The red Super Emerald, having been found with the hoopa, was apparently shattered, its pieces having been reported thousands of miles away.

There has yet to be any conclusive efforts on seeking out the emerald shards, and the hoopa is still at large, having been reported of summoning more pokemon to starter planet.

You know what would be really funny though? If hoopa made a bunch of starter pokemon show up on starter planet. Like, even without that happening, I can still imagine someone asking where Nick got their first pokemon and being just like "I got my starter from starter planet", with absolutely nobody outside of the dungeon crashers even believing them. That being said, what type would starter planet wind up being? it's got water, grass (albeit pink), and fire on it.

Thankfully, contrary to Nick's previous concerns, the conflict was limited to only one battle, with only one recorded casualty (rip unknown primeape).

Terrors of Terraria Defeated!

A couple days back, Enker.exe, Magical Fae Brae Emit, and *CaFAI reconvened to fight against the Eye of Cthulhu in Terraria. Reportedly, they were actually successful this time, and moved on to the Eater Of Worlds, which they also managed to defeat in battle, with minimal deaths to boot. It seems they're getting pretty far with this thing.

This is the current list of npc's present at the main base:

Golfer - Harry Madison

Zoologist - Daphne

Party Girl - Candy

Tavernkeep - Driscan

Angler - Tyler

Dryad - Faye

Goblin Tinkerer - Grodax

Nurse - Lorraine

Arms Dealer - Maurice

Stylist - Esmeralda

Painter - Marco

Dye Trader - Yehomilk

Merchant - Gus

Demolitionist - Darur

Guide - Maxwell

As someone who's never played Terraria ever, I have no idea what half of these npc's even do most of the time. From the way things are going, it seems there's still more bosses to be fight on the horizon.

The Mage is Out

The other night, me and Mage of Light Nick Card (and Slope the Slowpoke, can't forget about Slope!) were invited over for dinner at the lab in Desertia. It was spaghetti night. It was alright at first, the spaghetti was excellent, but Nick just kept escalating in anxiety over worries about the safety of a close friend as the night continued on.

There wasn't much I could do for them in their upset state, to the point where I just sorta went home by myself after the Kitten couple retired for the night.

The next day, Nick hadn't come home yet, and neither had Slope. Last footage of them showed them entering a fairy ring and disappearing. According to local experts, by using fae tokens while in an emotionally compromised state, it wound up redirecting their destination to somewhere else entirely. I was freaking worried for a bit there.

Later on, a letter had apparently appeared in Gene's Garden, having been penned by Nick. Here's the contents:

My dear newsletter readers, Rest assured, your dear newsletter writer is safe and sound. I have found myself in the world of pokemon, in a region seemingly pulled from my own imagination, but extrapolated further than what I could ever dream of. The Pinto Region is Real. I am currently travelling with my faithful companion slowpoke Slope. I plan on catching more pokemon later on, as I do plan on taking on the pokemon league, however, it appears I have to take a day-class to get my trainer's license and the class isn't until tomorrow. While I didn't expect a vacation like this, perhaps this is what I really need. Stay safe over there. -Nick Card, Mage of Light

According to Nick's letter, they wound up in the "Pinto Region", identified as a location that the two of us had (very vaguely) written about in our self-insert pokemon fanfic, Pichu quest. It can be assumed that Nick will be just fine, as long as they don't run into any hungry snorlaxes. Likely Slope will be able to protect them until they accumulate a larger party.

I'm kinda split about this whole debacle. while it seems like it'll be a good vacation for them and all, what if they wind up getting into trouble over there? What if they start causing personal crises upon potentially revealing that they may have had some part in that region's creation? Damn, now I'm starting to sound more like them @ _@.

I wonder if I should try again on the whole pokemon training thing, now that I don't have tigeplushsprite figuratively breathing down my neck anymore. This house sure could use some more noise now that I have it to myself, that's for sure. It's just like, its hard to heal after losing someone you bonded with for so long. Yes, I do realize that Scrabble was probably on the edge of going feral after the blood dress incident on my ascension day, but we had a bond. He started out as an eevee plush prototyped imp and ended up evolving into an umbreon prototyped imp. It takes a lot of work to gain the trust of an underling. Probably the only reason things worked out was because he got injured to near breaking point when I first met him on the Land of Holes and Numbers, having fallen into one of its many holes.

Anyways, back to the topic, if things pan out as expected, Nick will probably be on a pokemon adventure for like, a year or something.

That should do it for this week! There's been some reports of even moar vandalism on important government buildings in hepi, as well as Brae apparently really getting into the whole pokemon trainer thing as well.

https://letssosl.boards.net/thread/275/charcherry-weekly-issue-52

[secret-engima]

Am still doing that personal pokemon challenge of “Can I Beat Pokemon X with a Pikachu, a Lucario, and a Wobbuffet” but decided not to spam liveblogs but instead to occasional updates. So-

Made it to ... the palace place. Par.... something. With the poke flute quest. Mira and Leal are already level 22.

Also I have remembered how viscerally I hate anything that can use Confuse Ray. Just *garbled noises of fury* A VOLBEAT should not be that much of a problem. But my confuse ray luck is horrible and it’s always just: *try to do anything* *your pokemon hurt itself :D* *use potion* *try to do anything* *your pokemon hurt itself :D* *try to do anything* *your pokemon hur-*

At least Leal evolved into a Lucario by the end of it.

Welp off to go return the poke flute and probably fight a Snorlax.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #340

“wash the poison from off my skin  /  show me how to be whole again”

What is one thing that you took to show and tell as a kid? I have this oddly specific memory of bringing my little Snorlax plushie for one in pre-k. I remember thinking everyone thought I was weird for liking Pokemon as a girl. Do you remember losing your first tooth? I don't. Have you ever been addicted to a game? What game? I think I was addicted to World of Warcraft at a point, but it's honestly hard to tell. My depression was just so abysmal that it was the one thing I got even a smidge of not even joy, but active distraction out of because the options of what you can do in the game are essentially limitless. Are you afraid to pop a balloon? Not really, but it does make me jump because I don't like loud noises. Name one person you’d like to see this month. Bitch we fighting Covid, stay away from me. When was the last time you laughed when you shouldn’t have? I don’t know. Which was better: the first The Lion King or the second? They're nearly tied, honestly, but I prefer the original. Do any of your grandparents have a tattoo? I KNOW my maternal grandmother didn't, and I don't believe any other grandparent did, either. When was the last time you had a bubble bath? Not since I was a kid. What do you usually buy when you go to the corner store? You mean like, a gas station or dollar store? Something small like that? In that case, I'll usually look for a Mountain Dew Voltage sometimes along with something Reese's-related. Do you believe that your pets feel love towards you? My cat, absofuckinglutely. He so obviously loves me. I know my snake doesn't though, considering reptilian brains just physically aren't capable of creating that emotion. She does, however, obviously trust me and definitely seems to enjoy coming out of her terrarium and thus hanging out by me. Bubbles or sidewalk chalk? I loved drawing with chalk, but I like bubbles more. I just love how they catch light and have such beautiful colors to share. What do you use to tell time when your gone out somewhere? My phone. Are you proud of your body? FUCK no. I wish I still was, goddammit. I used to be so fit, and it's funny, because even back then at like, 118 lbs at 5'4'', I thought I was kinda chubby. Like bitch shut the fuck up. Watermelon or cherries? I honestly don't like either, but I'll definitely pick watermelon over cherries. They're disgusting. What is your all-time favourite song? "False Flags" by Massive Attack. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Biiiiiitch guess lmao. I think everyone has, though. What is the band you’ve listened to most lately? Definitely 3TEETH. Love 'em. Favourite brand of cookies? Hm, good question. They've gotta be good at making SOFT chocolate chip cookies, though. I don't enjoy crunchy cookies nearly as much. If you could meet anyone who lived before your time, who would it be? I don't really know. Oh, y'know, chatting with Edgar Allan Poe would probably be cool. Do you pay for your own things? I literally can't. It's embarrassing. Have you ever been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance? No. What is one thing you’d never want your parents to find out? Certain sexual things I've done, probably. When you were little, did you like Dr. Suess books? Of course. Have you ever felt trapped in a relationship? I felt that way in my friendship with Colleen, but no romantic relationships. What would you consider unforgivable? Rape. Like no, go to hell. Do you like eating out at restaurants? Pre-Covid, yeah. What do you dislike the most about being the gender that you are? Probably how heavily judged women are for having ANYTHING "wrong" with their appearance. You could be five pounds over what is "normal" for your height and you're seen as fat. One strand of body hair, and you're disgusting. Bushy eyebrows, you're now manly. I could go on and on. Do you think that weed/marijuana should be legalized? Yes. Rate your typing speed on a scale from 1 - 10? 10. Do you enjoy tanning? Ugh, no. Just sitting there doing nothing but sweating. Have you ever written anybody an anonymous note? I have not. What is your favorite condiment to go with french fries? Ketchup. Have you ever laid in a hammock? Yeah; we used to have one. It was the best when we lived in the woods. Do you blow dry your hair or do you let it air out? I just let it air dry. Candles or incense? I prefer incense. Can you juggle? No. Your favorite vegetable? Broccoli. Do you catch lizards? No; I don't like terrifying wildlife. I'd much rather just take pictures of the little guys and let them go about their business. If we returned to a world without internet, what aspect of online life would you miss the most? YouTube, haha. It's more unique and personal entertainment than television, imo. Are you craving anything aside from food, and if so, what? I want a new piercinggggg. What was the last change you made to your lifestyle? I'm *trying* to get back into regularly making art, along with reading. I'm also really trying to implement drinking more water into my day. What was the last thing you gave up doing? *shrug* What was the last thing to boost your self-esteem? What sort of things typically make you feel good about yourself? It really, really helped to hear my PHP group enjoy my poem about gay rights so much. I was so terrified and did NOT want my therapist to share it, but it turned out being very beneficial. To answer the second question, it's pretty much stuff like I just mentioned: positive reactions to things I create. When it comes to food, do you prefer crunchy or softer textures? Definitely softer. Do you prefer savory or sweet things for breakfast? Hm. Depends on the day, ig. What is something small that you take extremely personally? I'm blanking. What was going on the last time you couldn’t sleep? I just... couldn't sleep. That's not rare for me. Have you drawn anything recently? I recently drew a picture of a still from Rammstein's "Mutter" music video, and I'm now working on Sara's 'kat Alucard. If you're going somewhere close by, do you walk? No. One simply does not walk in this town and not fear being shot. Do you prefer colorful notebooks over plain ones? I like colorful ones, particularly those with a nice pattern or something on it. What's your most ambitious goal? I'd consider wanting to be a successful freelance photographer to be rather ambitious. Do you know anyone named Alex? Well, knew, by this point. One of my closest online friends that just got a boyfriend and fell off the face of the planet when we used to talk every day. I'm still hurt about it, honestly. What's your favorite kind of pie? I don't like pie because of the crust being so, well... crusty and crumbly. Have you ever chatted someone up and scored a date? No. How far would you go with someone you just met? Not very far at all. All you're getting is a hug, if even that. What's your favorite meal to have for dinner? I mean, it depends on what I feel like having. I don't have a set favorite meal. What do you daydream about? The future, mostly. People I miss. Have you ever known someone online and then met them in person? If so, which website did you meet on? Yes, Sara. <3 We met via YouTube back when it had much more social connection. Have you ever been to the beach? Yeah, a good number of times. When was the last time you were sick and what illness did you have? I don't believe I've been ill in any sort of way since I had that ungodly ear infection a few years ago. Have you ever been kicked out of somewhere? Yeah, Colleen's house. Mom once tried kicking me out of the car one night otw home, but I didn't listen. Have you ever intentionally trolled? No. How many siblings do your parents have? Mom has two brothers and I think one sister, and Dad has one sister. Who last held your hand? My niece or nephew, dragging me somewhere, haha. Have you seen all the Lord of the Rings movies? No, not interested. What was the last thing you watched on YouTube? I'm watching John Wolfe's playthrough of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. It's so funny how like... every let's player I watch doesn't enjoy the game, like they miss the incredible symbolism and shy away from the advanced language, and sometimes it's just frustrating to watch them; I only do because I enjoy the game and want to see more people experience it and relive it vicariously. It's very high on my list of favorite games. What sport do you find yourself best at? I wouldn't know; I haven't played any sports in years. I was pretty good at softball as a kid, though. Do you think makeup on guys is freaky or sexy? My opinion shouldn't matter; a man can wear makeup whenever he damn well pleases without worrying what others think. But anyway, I tend to find it attractive, especially if it's goth makeup. Have you ever been accused of a crime you did not commit? No. Do you like pickles? I love dill pickles. What was the craziest moment of your life? Probably just lying in that hospital bed following my OD, my mom and two best friends just sitting there with me. It was such a weird, weird feeling. Like I was just so done, frustrated beyond what I can say. I remember thinking it was almost funny, just how it all built up and went wrong. Where do you spend most of your time? In my room on my bed. What is your favorite muffin? Chocolate chip. Would you ever get a boob job? I already know when/if I lose the weight I want to, it will be kind of a big deal to me and my atrocious body image to get a breast lift. Being overweight ~does things~ you know, and god knows I want every trace of it that can be erased gone. Would you ever go on a reality TV dating show? That's a massive "no" from me, buddy. Would you rather be inside or outside? It depends on where I am and the temperature outside, but generally, inside. Do you like the current president? Well, I voted for him, so I can't shit-talk much. I don't know the true depths of him as a person and all he stands for, though; when I decided I needed to vote, I just did some research on his core values. I don't have any complaints yet, from what I've seen at least, which isn't a lot. Do you whiten your teeth? I've used whitening strips before, but I don't now because they're not that effective. If it's financially plausible at some point in my life, teeth whitening is another thing I want to have medically done because of my previous horrible self-care. My teeth have a clear yellow tint and I hate it. Do you get cold easily? No; it's actually the opposite: I get hot easily. What was the worst sickness you ever had? Probably this one stomach bug I had where I just threw up relentlessly. Like eventually barely even bile would come up; it was just dry heaving. My stomach muscles were in agony. Was your childhood wasted by something? No, thankfully. Would you rather die during an adventure or die like a normal person? A normal person. The idea of having such a sudden death stresses me out for multiple reasons; I mostly don't want my family to just be suddenly devastated, and I honestly want to come to peace with the fact I was dying. Like, find my life's own closure instead of just having it ripped away. Have your parents ever tried to commit suicide? Jesus, I sure hope not. Do you have a gag reflex? A very strong one. Do you ever fantasize about trying drugs? I've wondered before what the effects of weed would be like for me, but "fantasize" is definitely the wrong word. Would you rather have sex before you’re married or wait till marriage? It'd be up to my partner, honestly, because I'm fine with either. What is the nastiest dare you have ever committed? I never did dares because I thought they were stupid. Like I'm not gonna do dumb shit just to show you I can. Do you know anyone who has been raped? I think I might? Have you ever asked someone for a tampon? Yeah. Do you have any exes you can’t stand anymore? No. Are you more of a phone or a computer person? Computer. Do you prefer headphones or earbuds? Earbuds. Headphones are just big and clunky and in the way when you use a laptop in bed, plus they irritate my skin. I like how earbuds actually go in your ears for more direct hearing. Would you ever consider adopting a child with a severe mental illness? If I wanted children, no, because I don't think I'm capable to give a child like that adequate care, being so mentally ill myself. I wouldn't want to risk worsening their condition. Favorite thing to do with a significant other? Play games together, particularly cute multiplayer ones that are more about the experience of playing together versus getting past difficult obstacles and such. Like for example, one of my favorite memories with Jason is simply playing Little Big Planet together. Favorite ice cream topping? I don't like many toppings on my ice cream, but I do love melted hot fudge. First boyfriend/girlfriend’s name? Aaron. Do you support PETA? Considering they are incredibly self-righteous extremists, no. Do you believe in the Big Bang Theory? Well, I believe in some sort of "god" figure that created the universe, so I don't think so. A condensed ball of nothing exploding to create something so extravagant? It sounds pretty far-fetched to me. But then again, maybe that semblance of a "god" I believe in created the universe through that, idk. It doesn't really matter now, though, does it. What happened happened, I'm not very concerned with it. What insect can you not stand the site of? It's more so larvae that I can't stand the sight of, like maggots and stuff. They make me squirm. Do you like Doctor Who? I've only seen one or two episodes, so I can't say. Do you approve of gay marriage? Of course I do. I'm bisexual and would like to get married, so I might marry a woman. Are you into politics? I'm really not. Do you think the world is ending soon? Nah, even though it sure does feel like it sometimes. Ever been to a mosh pit? No, they don't seem very fun at all. Do you like to debate? NO. NO NO NO. Do you like the band System of a Down? Yeah, I do. Are you German? It's a big part of my heritage. Do your parents like your best friend? Yes. Who’s someone you can act your complete self around? Sara, 100%. She's the only person I feel entirely comfortable around when it comes to being myself. Do you believe in Friday the 13th? I don't believe in there being any supernatural power to it, no. Who is your favorite rapper? Eminem. What age is your youngest aunt? Uhhhh I have no idea. Do you like bowling? Sure, it's fun. Do you like roasting marshmallows on a bonfire? I do. What shows or characters scared you as a child? Ghostface from the Scream series was my worst fucking nightmare. I couldn't even see pictures of him without crying. The King Ramses guy from Courage the Cowardly Dog also gave me a number of nightmares. Something about the way he was animated was very unnatural and unnerving to me.

[disregardcanon]

pokemon for the good place!

eleanor’s pokemon is a stray meowth that she found wandering when she was a little girl. she brought the meowth home and it’s been her only companion that she’s consistently cared about for all of her life, and they stole things and did All the Asshole Things together.  

chidi’s pokemon is a psyduck with anxiety just as bad as his. it’s. not good.

tahani was given a feebas by her parents, because they knew that they had to give her something, but compared to the omantye fossil that their parents tracked down in a completely different continent, had revived, and then gave to kamilah because she expressed an interest- her parents remembering that she once said “milotic sure is pretty” and throwing a level 5 feebas at her seems like yet another injustice in a line of injustices. she does, however, level her feebas up until it becomes a stunning milotic and a darling of the coordinator scene before her death. 

jason had said ever since he was little that he wanted a pikachu, but his family was poor and lived in florida. pikachu is rare, and it’s not native to any parts of north america. his dad gave him a rattata for his tenth birthday painted like a pikachu and jason decided that this was probably good enough. it made donkey doug happy to see him smile about it, and his rattata was sweet. it didn’t even mind when he called it “pikachu” and made pika pika noises at it to see if it might start talking like a pikachu 

michael did years of research on which pokemon would be the most useful to make his own. he decides on a natu because it looks sweet and soft and will set the humans at ease, but it has a move pool that is effective for michael’s purposes. natu can teleport to wherever michael wants to spy on his humans and use confuse ray to disorient when necessary. while on the run and after michael admits his ruse, natu evolves in xatu, which confuses michael because the pokemon was created artificially. michael isn’t even sure that his little natu is alive. to which janet responds that OF COURSE he’s alive now. duh. he’s improving like a janet. 

when the humans meet janet, she does not have a pokemon. this freaks chidi out, because ALL human cultures prescribe that individuals be given a pokemon. even those that do not value battling place an importance between the relationship between a person and their partner pokemon. janet, in order to avoid an anxiety attack, conjures up arceus. 

“this pokemon and i are evenly matched in terms of power. i am sure that he would make a suitable partner!” and chidi just. screeches. “you can’t! you can’t- that is ARCEUS! holy shit- people have been debating the existence of that for millennia! you can’t just-” 

“i don’t understand,” janet says. 

“it’s alright,” eleanor says, “poor nerd’s just short-circuiting. try a different one.” janet conjures a porygon then, after determining that a mewtwo would probably be too much for this man. the little digital boy is as awkward with human interaction as janet is, but after her first reboot it comes back with her as a porygon2, and then a porygonZ. every time she’s rebooted her porygon gets a little stronger and smarter, and by the time that she’s done- the awkward little manmade pokemon has as many emotions as janet herself is starting to have. 

shawn does not have a pokemon, as demons never do, but when he’s encountering the humans he likes to have a purrugly on hand because the ugly cat who used to be a glameow always sets them a little on edge. 

as “real eleanor shellstrop” vicky has a skitty because it’s considered the “cute, pure” other side to eleanor’s little thieving meowth 

trevor has a garbodor that he takes with him when he encounters humans because of course he does. 

mindy has a slaking. on one hand, the fact that her pokemon is in its final evolutionary stage indicates that she has great dedication when she can stick to things, but on the other hand. it’s slaking. who only does things every other turn. if she has any other pokemon, they’d be a sneazel (steals thing!) a ferroseed (that’s just one name people have for weed!) a raticate, since they look like they’re on cocaine to begin with, and a snorlax. 

simone has a togetic. she was given a togepi as a child, and it grew to love her so much that it evolved. the pokemon helps her stay up long into the night doing research in a healthy way, and if togetic decides that actually, she’s been awake too long, togetic will use yawn and simone will have to go to bed soon enough. she gets irritated when her togetic does this, but she learns to appreciate it because she is not a personality type to slow down without help from her beloved partner pokemon <3

[youtuberswithalex]

Virgil Sanders and the Big, Bad Dream

Summary: Virgil wakes up in the middle of the night from a terrible nightmare, only to discover that he’s regressed again. Luckily for him, his dad will always be there. [Sequel to A Little Anxious]

Note: Heyo, it’s my 3,000th post on this blog! I wanted to do something special, and I know a lot of people really enjoyed ALA and were really excited for the next one, so I sat down and finally finished writing this today. Hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 3,361

Pairings: Platonic Moxiety

Warnings: Deceit, nightmares, manipulation, drowning, crying, self hate, parental panic

Writing Masterpost -- Ko-Fi

Virgil was alone.

His eyes snapped open to a solid pitch black darkness surrounding him. There was no light, no sound, no air, no air, he couldn’t breathe, he was going to die—

A footstep behind him. He whirled around.

“Who’s there?!”

A breeze brushed the back of his neck; his head snapped around in every direction, but there was nothing to be seen. He swallowed thickly.

“Hello…?”

“Oh, Anxiety…”

A glint of yellow flashed in the corner of his eye. Before he had the chance to look, something snatched his wrist. Virgil let out a yell as he was yanked back.

“Stop!”

Chilling laughter echoed as a cold, slimy… something slithered around his waist and constricted. A wheeze ripped out of him.

“How naive you were to think I’d ever let you go,” the voice sung. “To think you were ever worth something…”

He opened his mouth to retort, but it filled with water before any noise could come out. It trickled down his throat, into his lungs, choking him, drowning him—

“Those monstrous sides really have you wrapped around their fingers. Corrupting you into believing those lies… Oh, it just breaks my heart to see you turning into them.”

The glint of yellow reappeared, just a few feet in front of him this time. Virgil squirmed, trying to get out of the grip of whatever was holding him there, but it only tightened and choked him further. Bile rose in his throat.

Scales came into view, and then a face that grinned and sent shivers down at him. A hand came down to cup his cheek; it was bigger than his whole head.

“I always thought you had potential, Anxiety,” Deceit hissed. “I knew the others were always far too gone to save, but you were different. You were so much better than them. Always doing what you must to save Thomas, while they sat around and villainized us. Animals, really!”

He pulled his hand away and shook his head, shutting his eyes. Virgil swallowed thickly and looked down.

“Look at you now, though. You’ve turned into just as big a monster as they are. There’s no saving you now. You’re nothing but a villain, no matter which way you look at it. You’ve hurt them in the past, and you’re hurting us now.”

Virgil sucked in a shaking breath before a gloved hand snatched his chin and forced him to look into Deceit’s piercing eyes. His other hand lifted to hover by his face.

“You’ve trusted them far more than they deserve,” he growled. “I wanted to help you. You were family, after all. But this, Virgil?”

He shuddered.

“This will be your downfall.”

Deceit snapped, and fall he did.

Down,

Down,

Down…

Shuddering gasp ripping through his lungs, Virgil’s eyes snapped open; he moved to sit up, but his arms were entangled, the monster still had him it wasn’t a dream— until he wrangled himself to freedom and whirled around to sit on his knees. The blankets tumbled off of his shoulders as he panted, and the breeze from the air conditioning chilled goosebumps into his arms.

Wait.

He wasn’t wearing his jacket.

But no, that couldn’t be right, he slept in it every night, he hardly ever took it off unless Patton made him to put it in the wash, why would it be—

Dread pooled into his stomach. He looked down.

Virgil was kneeling on it. But it was nearly twice his size, and his hands were tiny.

His vision blurred.

Patton was fully aware that Logan would be incredibly disappointed in him right now.

As the Parks and Rec theme softly sounded again, his eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. 3:27 am: two and a half hours before Logan would be up, three and a half before Roman, and anywhere from three to five hours before Virgil, depending on how much his anxiety would allow him to sleep tonight. Patton himself wouldn’t be up until well after 10, so he could probably avoid Logan’s scolding glare, but he knew from experience that he couldn’t dodge it if he was still awake when Logan got up.

There was still plenty of time, though. Time enough to watch just a couple more episodes.

He yawned and settled in closer to the big Snorlax plush in his arms. It was getting towards the time that Patton should be setting his glasses to the side in case he fell asleep mid-episode, but he felt no motivation towards doing so. They pressed against his face and skewed thanks to Snorlax; normally, he’d ajust to fix it, but he simply let it happen this time.

His tired mind focused in and out on the episode, eyes fluttering open and shut.

…Something was wrong.

Patton blinked blearily and lifted his head at the twist of his gut, one of the legs of his glasses falling over his ear and down his face. A frown etched onto his face as he tried to decipher the cause.

When they had been kids, Patton used to get these feelings all the time for the smallest of reasons. Someone needed help getting a cup down from the cupboard, or with homework, or had gotten into a fight with another Side and they’d hurt each other’s feelings. There wasn’t much he could do most of the time, since he was just as small and immature as they were, but he’d always done what he could to fix the problems at hand. The older he got, the better he became at handling them, but the others had grown up and more independent too, of course, so he was needed less and less often as time wore on.

Gut Dad Instincts now were a rare occurrence, sure, but when he did get them, they were often emergencies. Roman coming back from a quest with an injury he couldn’t fix on his own, Logan stressing himself with work to the point where he’d collapse with a high fever that would last for days… When someone needed help but didn’t know how to or was too stubborn to ask for it, there was always a small, sharp twist in Patton’s gut alerting him, and he was on his own to figure out who it was from and how he could help.

When he got one this late—err, early –Patton could only fear a big, big emergency, one that would have surely woken him up even if he had been asleep. Worry swirled thickly around the Dad Instinct feeling.

Patton shot up and paused the video, listening closely. Surely, there had to be footsteps, or a door opening, or something that could alert him to who was in trouble. Something like—

Like the sound of crying a wall away.

He cursed under his breath as he scrambled out of bed and towards the nearest pair of pants lying on the floor. No one in the Mindscape cried without good reason except for Patton. If someone was crying, something was very wrong. He started preparing himself for the worst, for a medical emergency, or a friend of Thomas’s in trouble, or maybe even dead—

As soon as he threw his sweatpants on, Patton threw himself through his door and into the hall. He strained his ears to find the source of the noise.

Virgil.

Oh, god, no.

He sprinted.

Skidding to a stop outside of his door, he grabbed the handle and listened closely one more time. Maybe he was just hearing things, or maybe he was awake and watching something where a character was crying…

No. No, the sound wasn’t coming from any speakers, but Patton realized with a start that it didn’t sound like it was Virgil crying. There was something familiar about it, though, something that was just on the edge of Patton’s mind that he couldn’t quite bring to the forefront.

Quietly, he risked a gentle knock.

“Kiddo?” he called, trying to keep his voice down. “Virge, are you doing alright?”

He heard a sob, followed by the shuffling of fabric.

“Daddy?” a voice whimpered.

Patton’s eyes widened, a flash of a terrified toddler diving into his arms a few weeks ago running through his memory.

“Virgil, I’m coming in.”

He’d hardly finished the sentence before he pushed the door open.

There was no denying the crippling wave of relief that washed over him when he saw no injuries on the anxious trait, but it was very quickly snuffed out when the toddler-sized Virgil let out a shuddering sob and attempted to worm his way out of the blankets to get to Patton. The Father Figure Figment rushed over and untangled him, wrapping him up in his arms as he sat down on the bed.

“Oh, sweetheart,” he whispered. “What happened?”

Virgil clung to Patton as tightly as his tiny arms would allow him, and a string of garbled attempted words tumbled out. There wasn’t much Patton could understand, but he heard the words “dream” and “Deceit” in the same breath, and he silently pieced it together. He held Virgil a little bit closer as anger bubbled up over the Dad Instincts.

“Shh, kiddo. You’re safe. D’s not going to get you here,” he said.

Letting out a loud sob, Virgil buried his face in Patton’s night shirt and shook his head.

Patton pressed a gentle kiss into Virgil’s hair and began to rock them back and forth. His heart twisted knowing this was all he could do until Virgil could calm down enough to talk it out.

Down the hall, a door opened, and set of footsteps hurried towards them. Roman appeared in the doorway a beat later; one hand gripped his sword while the other rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He still wore his red flannel pajamas and fluffy slippers, and if the situation hadn’t have been so heartbreaking, Patton would have laughed.

“What’s happening?” Roman mumbled.

Patton frowned, looking back down at the child in his arms. “He had a really scary nightmare,” he explained. “One bad enough to make him regress again.”

Roman’s eyes widened in understanding; as his free hand fell back to his side, he glanced around the room. “Is being in here going to make things worse?”

“Oh, gracious, you’re right…”

Patton peeled Virgil back just enough to peer under his eyes and check the eye shadow; sure enough, it was blacker than a witch’s cat and thick enough to rival a raccoon. The tears running down his cheeks soaked it up and left big, blotchy spots on Patton’s shirt, but they didn’t wash any of the eye shadow away.

With a grimace, Patton pulled him back against him and shifted so his head was on his shoulder and his arms tight around his neck. He carefully got to his feet and glanced at the jacket still lying on the sheets.

He turned to Roman. “Would you be willing to grab that? I’m going to bring him to my room.”

“Of course.”

The two quietly slipped around each other, and Patton steadily made his way down the hall, doing what he could to calm Virgil and keep his own emotions in check. His door was, thankfully, still wide open; he easily headed in and settled back onto the bed, pulling up his legs to sit cross-legged on top of the comforter and lowering Virgil to rest in his lap. Roman stepped in right behind them and carefully handed the jacket to Patton.

“Thank you, Roman,” Patton said. “Go back to bed. I can handle this from here.”

“Are you sure? I don’t—I don’t want to—”

Roman turned his face away, trying his hardest to stifle a yawn; when he turned back, Patton smiled softly and shook his head.

“It’s okay. Get some sleep.”

Nodding in defeat, Roman headed back to the door and gripped the knob, pulling it almost closed. “Thank you, Patton. Wake me up if you need anything.”

“That’s my line.”

Roman let out a soft laugh; the smile fell as he looked down to the toddler in Patton’s lap. “Virgil?” he gently offered. “I hope you feel better, young prince. You’re safe with Daddy now.”

Virgil sniffled and clung closer to Patton. The adults shot each other sympathetic glances before Roman bid the two good night and shut the door.

As soon as they were alone, Patton pulled Virgil away long enough to wrap him in his jacket and swipe the current tears away with the pad of his thumb. For the first time since he’d been found, Virgil made eye contact with him.

“I-I’m sorry,” he choked out.

Patton felt his heart shatter. He quickly shook his head, brushing the hair out of Virgil’s face.

“Oh, Virgil,” he sighed. “You don’t have anything to apologize for.”

Pulling his arms out, Virgil shook his head and wiped his eyes. He leaned away from Patton’s touch. “I woke you up! I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!”

Patton let out a short laugh. “You didn’t wake me up, kiddo. I hadn’t gone to bed yet. Even if I had, I wouldn’t have been upset about waking up when you needed someone!”

Virgil sniffled, hesitantly peering up at him. “You wouldn’t…?”

“Never in a million years.” Patton slowly lifted his hand to boop Virgil on the nose. “You’re more important than a little sleep, Virgil.”

There was a beat of silence. Virgil stared down at Patton’s hand, to the dark splotches on his shirt, and then up to the gentle smile being offered to him.

His lower lip trembled, and he curled in further on himself. Tears spilled down his cheeks again as he squeezed his eyes shut. He let out a whimper and dove back into Patton’s arms.

“I-I-I’m n-not!” he sobbed. “I sh-shouldn’t be! I’m sorry!”

Patton hushed him and pulled him close, gently rocking them again. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re okay.”

Virgil began to tremble against his chest. “I don’t want to be bad…!”

“You’re not bad, Virgil.”

“I was mean to you and Ro and Lo!”

“But you know better than that now, and I’m so proud of you for growing so much.”

Patton pressed another kiss into Virgil’s hair and began to rub his hand up and down his back, all while Virgil shuddered and snuggled closer into him.

“Why-y?” Virgil whimpered.

Patton tightened his grip. “Because I love you, Virgil! A good dad’s love for his kids is always unconditional. And I always will, no matter how bad or how mean you’ve ever been or ever get. Okay? I love you, Virgil. That won’t ever change.”

They stayed like this for a long while, until all of the tears had been shed and the cries had grown silent. Though Virgil still trembled in his arms, Patton let out a soft sigh of relief that the worst was over. Carefully, he moved to rest his cheek on the top of Virgil’s head.

“Hey, sweetheart?” he muttered. “I think some sleep would really do you some good. How about we go back to bed?”

Virgil let out a weak whimper, followed by a sniffle. He was quiet for a beat.

“…Can I stay with you tonight?”

It took everything Patton had in him to not break down in tears himself at the fear lacing Virgil’s tone. His eyes squeezed shut as he nodded slowly.

“Absolutely, honey. You can come any time, big or small, okay?” he said.

Virgil nodded and gripped Patton tighter.

When it became clear that Virgil wasn’t letting go any time soon, Patton carefully maneuvered them until his head rested on his shoulder before he stood and headed to the light switch. Virgil let out a cry when the room darkened; Patton was quick to plug in the fairy lights that lined his ceiling.

They made a quick stop at Patton’s desk to drop off his glasses and get Virgil a drink of water from one of the many, many cups that lined the edges, and then the two carefully settled under the blankets. Virgil fell asleep laying on Patton’s chest almost instantly, lulled away by the steady heartbeat and calm breathing.

Patton, however, took a little while longer, mind racing with thoughts of what sort of things Virgil might have dreamt about earlier and what might have caused those fears to begin with. Heartbreak and anger swirled viciously in his gut; it took all he had to keep his heart from racing in his chest. There was nothing more that he wanted to do right now than go and confront Deceit and the other Dark Sides head-on, but the child in his arms kept him from moving. Instead, Patton pressed a feather-soft kiss into Virgil’s hair and silently vowed once again to give him as much love as it could possibly take to make up for the years of it he’d lost.

A few silent tears escaped before he controlled himself, and then he, too, was fast asleep.

Logan was far from happy the next morning when he stepped out of his room and saw a little light shining from behind Patton’s door.

Letting out a huff, he smoothed out his still damp hair and adjusted his tie, preparing himself for the confrontation he was about to engage in. Honestly, he’d stressed to Patton time and time again the importance of a healthy sleeping schedule, and here he was, awake at six in the morning again, all for some silly television show that any of them could watch at any time! Knowing Patton, it wasn’t even an educational program, and that only fired Logan up even further.

He briskly walked over and let himself in, aware that Patton would simply pretend to be asleep if he knew Logan was coming to lecture him.

“Patton, I—”

He froze.

There was no sign of any sort of program on at all; in fact, the light didn’t even appear to be coming from the top light, as it normally was when Patton stayed up all night watching television. A quick glance around the room confirmed his hypothesis—the television was off, the laptop was closed and resting on the edge of his bed (much to Logan’s worry), and the only source of light was coming from the fairy lights that were rarely on.

Logan was about to question this when he heard a loud snore from Patton, drawing his attention to the bed. His frustration melted away when he realized that there lie all the explanation he needed.

Patton lay under the blankets, propped up just a bit by the many, many pillows at the top of his bed, and head resting on a large Pokemon stuffed animal. His mouth was parted just enough for any snoring to rumble the room with each breath that he took. It was common knowledge that Patton snored—he was the father, after all –but it was very rare for it to ever be this loud.

However, a small figure lay on his chest, most likely applying the weight needed to increase the volume. The mass of purple and black fabric didn’t stir despite the constant movement; in fact, it seemed to be quite relaxed where it was. Soft breathing from it filled the gap in between the rumbling snores.

A tiny hand loosely gripped Patton’s night shirt, and Patton’s arm was carefully wrapped around the figure. As Logan inched closer, he noted dried tear tracks on both of their faces. Remnants of waterlogged eye shadow lingered in varying spots across the two.

From the data he’d gathered, Logan could only assume this: some sort of emotional event had taken place in the night, causing a fear of being alone, crying, exhaustion, and Virgil’s age regression.

As much as he wished to wake them and ask for more information, Logan took another look at Virgil’s sleeping form and sighed. The toddler looked just as exhausted as he did when he was an adult, even when resting.

With a shake of the head, Logan snuck back into the hall and shut the door as quietly as it would allow him to.

His questions could wait.

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon FireRed Nuzlocke [Part 12]

Can we beat the game using Nuzlocke rules and only battling against trainers?

The current answer is leaning towards no. Still, we shan’t give up or in.

Four badges in. Next stop?

Uh. Haven’t decided yet.

So things did not go what I would call according to plan with the Grimer. Ideally, it would have been a higher level than 30. It wouldn’t need me to hold its hand through a bunch of leveling. It would immediately be an asset. Life would be beautiful. Nothing would hurt.

Only it’s level 30.

I have a Ground, Water, Electric, and Normal Type in rotation. Grass has historically been a problem, but it is much less of a problem with a Snorlax. Oak isn’t always the most useful, but he’ll be receiving a huge power boost come Surf collection.

Bark and Trunk are going to be wanting all the Attack EVs I can feed them. Sap is going to want Attack as well. And HP.

Its move pool is a huge plus, and I would be happy to have it available, but to make it available, a lot of switch training would have to happen. When Sprinkle went through that, experience gain dropped to a slow crawl. Sprinkle was only level 25, and at an even later stage in the game, but the approach taken with this round was intended to be geared towards a minimum of pokemon.

Other things to consider would be that in the first run, I lost two pokemon, and a lot of work went into making up for that. The two runs can’t be compared fairly with what levels to expect further down the road. ...I. think.

By the first Elite Four fight, Po was level 46. My highest level pokemon was 49.

It did not go well.

I need this one to go better.

Does it go better with Sap, or does it go better with maxing the heck out of the other four.

I really, really want to use Sap.

Having a status-reliant choice instead of a pure powerhouse makes me more comfortable with everything else. Minimize is good. Screech is welcome. Sludge Bomb is welcome. Acid Armor is welcome. Muk is a kickass thing to have available.

But I’m not sure splitting the exp is going to do me any favors this late in the game. Silph offers a lot of lenience, I guess, but. Cycling Road is going to go to Trunk. So is a lot else, and what doesn’t should help out Bark.

Five pokemon starts to be a lot.

Fuck.

I’m trying it out.

Sap, welcome to the team. Don’t die.

In happier news...

Good job making it this far, buddy.

Route 16, what are we catching here today?

Doduo!

Sap, prove your worth by failing to kill it.

Damn it, Sap. +123 to you and Bark. -_-

Siiiiiigh. I need 30 pokemon for the Itemfinder.

Now Trunk is just going to claim. As much of Cycling Road as possible. Bark will help when possible. ...Or do I want to go deal with Silph? Hey, past me, wtf is the best way of doing this nonsense?

..hm.

I’m going to do Silph for the sheer heck of it, I think. I don’t want to get as far as my Rival yet, but. I don’t know. I’m just not feeling Cycling Road right now. Video games are supposed to be fun, right? Let’s chase some damn fun.

And I don’t think I ever got my Route 7 thing. Let’s do that, too. Hi Growlithe.

SAP WHAT THE HECK. WE WANTED THAT.

Did I misremember how much damage Sludge does???

...

Oh.

Yes.

Yes, I did.

I very much did.

...+130 to Sap and Acorn. -headdesk-

With that in mind, actually, Sap, you and Bark want to try your hands on the dojo next door to Sabrina? Trunk can’t touch any of those guys thanks to the Super Effective problem.

..And Bark can barely touch any of them thanks to her low Defense.

Yeeeeeah, after that short experiment, we’re just gonna go straight to Silph. Where the Rockets are not a thing to be too afraid of.

Beautiful building.

Hellscape place.

...

I don’t wanna do this, either. Uh. South of Lavender, maybe?

Out of order ALL the things.

Route 13, let’s catch a thing.

The thing is a Venonat! We now wait and watch to see if it will end up dead like other recent catches for totally unpreventable reasons.

Caught!

Its name is Oak.

Route 14, in the middle of all these trainers we’re beating down largely out of order.

...Gloom’s technically not viable because Oddish and species clause, but screw it, it’s not going to be used, I’m too lazy to look up what else is here, and I just want this part done and over with. I know that’s really bad form. but. I am not a rules lawyer. once, maybe. not anymore.

Caught. Its name is Oak.

So far with trainers, the way I’m keeping my sanity with exp division is that the Bikers go to Trunk, and Bark and Sap get the Bird Keepers.

It is slow and tiresome. I do not care for thinking when I am playing my video games.

We’re in Route 18 now, and doing the same nonsense to a Raticate. This is it. This is the point. This is where I stop caring about any of the rules except the no grinding thing. Everything else is irrelevant.

Bark ffs. Stop. Sigh.

+414 exp. Route 18 officially dead.

(Also, this looks like I should have known that she would kill it, but Bark still knows Mud Slap. It does as much nothing as anything on my team can. Still not enough nothing when critical hits are involved.)

Good Rod get so that Fuchsia might have a happier ending.

Back in the realm of completely legal catches, we have a Poliwag!

Throwing a Great Ball proves the best strategy. In that it works. Poliwag get! Its name is Oak.

In other, trainer-related news, Sap hits 34 and learns Acid Armor.

We have also cleared out the section of trainers that is not Saffron and not Cycling Road that comes pre-Koga. Naisu.

-time passes-

So, post-Cycling Road, Trunk is level 41, Bark is level 42, Sap is 35, Oak is 37, and Acorn is 40. I think what makes the most sense in terms of safety is to go clear out the Silph building, then deal with the dojo and assorted Gyms.

Unfortunately.

I hate Silph Co.

So, so deeply.

Deep breath time.

Oh, wait, I want Oak to have Surf first. Never mind, we can still delay this party!

Let’s do it.

Hey, and while we’re at it, we have a chance at a Parasect!

-gasp-

We caught it!

Its name is Oak.

I don’t remember if it was me or someone I knew, but as a child, I have distinct memories of the timer flat-lining just a handful of squares away from talking to this guy. It filled me with enough sadness that I think maybe I was the one having the issues.

The Safari Zone is a lot harder when you have no idea what you’re supposed to do or where you’re meant to go.

Oak learns Surf!

We also give the Warden his teeth back, so Strength get.

I’m gonna see about catching a Route 19 thing. Due to it being something I can do that doesn’t involve the Silph building.

Yes, a Krabby. As we learned from Heero’s run, they make for excellent HM slaves.

Caught!

Its name is Oak. Sadly, I think it will be replacing Oak in the party.

Sigh.

I think we’re. back to the sad part.

(Route 17 option: Doduo. Status: caught. Name: Oak.)

UGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

Granted, it’s much easier without having to record every single fight, but the memories of the most recent time I did this are harsh and painful and I don’t like them.

Several floors later, yeah okay, this isn’t so bad.

I still hate it.

However, I can safely say I know who the best character in the Pokemon multiverse is.

Best. Girl.

She’s on floor 9, future self. Sorry about your life.

Because there are so many vitamins hidden around the building, I’m starting to really panic about how my team is going to handle the final parts of the game. I of course love all my children equally, but losing the first team was rough, and I can’t imagine that I’ll continue to engage with my pokemon on any level if things consistently fall to pieces in the very last sequences.

In a funny way, I think the EV training I’m softly tripping through might be hampering things a little. The balance is more sideways than my usual in-game teams have, because I’m focusing a lot on who’s fighting what. There are no random bursts of Defense being distributed, for instance. Oak is the closest to balance, and that’s because Oak had to do most everything before we had a real team (no offense buddy, you rock).

I don’t know. I’m paranoid. Things did not go well with Heero and friends. I think I want to invest in some of the X [stat] items, you know, like the way of the speedrunner, but the way I usually play these games involves brute force.

Full stop.

I can’t repeat enough how little I enjoy thinking in my video games.

But what that means is that I’m not used to using X items. And spending a turn on something I haven’t spent years of background noise thinking about could have disastrous consequences.

The disaster is something I fear. Clearly.

Sigh. There’s not helping it right now, so. Silph.

LOOK MAN, CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF TRAINERS I HAD TO BEAT TO GET UP HERE

I kind of love that your Rival doesn’t appear to do anything at all about Team Rocket. He just shows up because hey, Red will be doing the hero stuff over there! Time to throw down!

Then he loses and just goes back to worrying about his League quest.

He’s almost like a real ten-year-old.

Acorn thank you for existing.

Wait. Crap, what deals with the Venusaur? Did I decide to just throw Trunk at that? Because that’s what I’m doing?

Yeah, fine, that works.

I got a Lapras.

Its name is Oak.

Sprinkle, I miss you.

Oh whoops. Acorn’s still in front. I don’t think I want that.

Kangaskhan without a Fighting Type is weird. Not a problem weird, because yay, Trunk exists. But weird. I keep expecting to have something super effective against it.

One Master Ball for me. Yay.

Now off to the dojo.

Where I’m going to try not to get Sap killed by letting him have this fight for great exp. I trust Sap’s moves. I trust the concept of their usefulness. Then I see critical hits and tragedy everywhere.

Sap.

Do not die.

Does my hat look black to you.

Level 37 Hitmonlee.

You know. I have the post that says this involves a level 37 Hitmonlee open in another tab. And yet. This still comes as a horrible shock and my brain is already playing taps for Sap.

!

The pain of one Hi Jump Kick. Not bad. I think we might make it, little guy.

We won!

And no one died!

Yay!

I guess that means it’s time for Koga.

Boo. But we’ll let Trunk punch through. Maybe with Bark, too.

Or Oak can eat a Kadabra. That works.

Trunk makes it through all the pre-Koga peeps with little trouble, and we move on to the man himself.

-gasp-

Awesome. More awesome is how everyone’s still alive. Oh happy day before we go forth and fight Sabrina.

Toxic get.

Trunk is level 46, as seen above. Bark is 44. Acorn is 42. Oak is 41. Sap is 37.

Oak’s job is to eat Sabrina. With any luck, Oak will continue to be a help with Blaine, though Bark and Sap will want some of that sweet exp too.

...Basically, what this all means is that I’ve stopped worrying about most of what’s going on with my team. I’m now just watching the levels and letting my dread run the show.

Dread and Oak. The dream team. Oak’s hit 44. I have faith.

.....Ooookay things are going awry because a Calm Minded Alakazam packs a wallop with Psychic, so I’m switching in Acorn under the assumption that he can survive one Psychic and will outspeed the thing.

Pictures taken just before disaster, fyi.

Houston, we have a problem.

Trunk wraps things up.

But. Uh.

Gyarados damage control is gone.

Acorn is gone.

What even is life without Acorn.

That critical hit would have been the end of Oak. Your oldest friend. I know we both wanted things to go differently, but I’m sure you understand why this is the end result.

I will miss you.

So much.

The lack of your warm presence will be a loss for us all.

I also no longer have something on my team with Thunderbolt, so. The script is no longer clear. I guess I can be less worried about levels, but. This right here might be the end of this round.

With a heavy heart, we head to the oceans where Acorn should have reigned supreme.

And stop Sap from evolving so he can learn Sludge Bomb at 43. Hopefully doing that won’t lead to another unfortunate accident, but if it does happen, I’m sadly resigned to it.

I don’t know how many times Sap has hurt himself in confusion in this fight, but it’s too many.

Then the Tentacruel comes in when this is finally over, and Sap hurts himself in confusion.

Yeah.

Sap’s just eating every single confusion problem of the entire run. He’s taking it all for himself.

But. we. get. through. it. As a family.

Hit Route 20, and now I have a level 8 Tentacool. Its name is Oak.

Supersonic is hitting everything and it is absolutely miserable.

Seafoam Island gives us.... Golbat! Apparently we already had a Zubat, so whoops, but in any case, its name is Oak. And needs to be moved from the D E A D box because whoops.

Does Oak want to learn Fly and help greatly with things not being awful?

Boy howdy do I.

And I am at 30 pokemon in my Pokedex, so it’s time for me to go grab my Itemfinder and Leftovers.

...Oh. Golbat doesn’t learn Fly. Well fine then. Another Oak will help me.

After all.

He is

Oak’s Aide.

Got one Leftovers. Two Leftovers. Awesome.

-many minutes later-

Sap gets Sludge Bomb! Do you know what that means?

Sap! We’ve done it! We’ve kept you alive! You’ve made it through your trying times as a Grimer!

Now let’s go into that non-haunted mansion that makes up most of Blaine’s island’s real estate.

I’m just going to shove Bark in front and. idk. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I’m just waiting for Victory Road, the day of reckoning, and. Maybe better than last time.

Growlithe caught in the mansion. Its name is Oak.

Secret Key get.

Blaine, why must you be so sketchy.

Okay, so for this Gym, I think I’ll be using Sap more than expected. Bark and Oak will deal with a lot of Giovanni, because they don’t have to worry about Ground really causing an extra problem. That makes this a better place for Trunk and Sap to level up. Agreed?

Yeah sure, whatever.

I guess the other thing to consider is if Bark will really be a help in this endeavor.

She’s very, very fast, and will learn Earthquake naturally. But she can’t take a hit, and with the loss of Acorn, I’m thinking what I have to do is just have Trunk, Oak, and Sap tank everything; lots of X items, lots of Full Restores.

Most of the time, Bark can’t afford to take a second hit of anything.

If I really want to optimize, Cutting down to three out of my four might be the better call.

Ugh, that’s such a dangerous number, though.

Sap has an amazing move set. I really could just...

Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, Lance, Rival.

Trunk could probably handle Lorelei. Sap could do the Fighting half of Bruno, and the other half isn’t really a problem. The plan with Agatha was always to teach Po Shadow Ball, but then Zaft needed Thunderbolt, so I couldn’t afford it. Lance is hell, but not one a Dugtrio is likely to improve by much.

I have no idea what to do for Oak.

But if I can set Sap up, a lot of problems become manageable. I can’t brute force this. I keep saying that, and I keep ignoring it because that’s not how I play these games. I need better strategies. Bark’s Attack stat isn’t up to being a glass cannon. She’s a glass rifle, maybe. Fantastic, but eating up resources without serving an extra purpose. She’ll be just as dead in two hits if I keep on giving her exp. Leveling could remove that weakness, but I don’t have anything to work with there.

I have to focus on three.

Damn it.

For now, let’s finish Blaine, shall we.

Got the badge.

Bill Gaiden?

So he says.

So ends the post, because I just can’t.

[pandatypewriter]

Day6 Reaction: When their GF kisses them alot

OMG This was owed to the precious, patient nonnie that requested this basically half a year ago? Maybe? I’m not too sure! So much time has gone by, I’m so sorry! I know I can give yall a bunch of excuses but it all boils down was that I was unfortunately busy and was also being a lazy ass. But anyways further ado here is this cute Day6 reaction for the patient precious NONNIE! (A/N: went to their EveryDay6 in December and their vocals slayed me TT0TT)

Nonnie:

day6 reaction to gf kissing them a lot

Jae:

He would playfully tell you stop and that you’re being clingy, but in actuality the boy is loving the attention and affection. He would just love feeling your lips against his skin, whether it would be a full on kiss on the lips or just the slight brush of your lips against his cheek. They all sent his heart in a flurry. When you did stop your kissy action, you can bet that this sassmeister would would drop his jaw in confusion, not knowing you were messing with him since he kept teasing you. He’d try to coax you back into being so affectionate and kissy, but not be too obvious about it cause the man’s got his pride on the line too. More than likely though he’d cave and wrap you up in his giant body and pepper you with kisses.

Aye, I thought you didn’t like being all touchy feely *chuckles*

That was before you deprived me. I think that’s spousal abuse *kisses cheek*

One, we’re not married, Jae. And two, it's your fault for calling me clingy. *pinches his nose*

Ouch! See, more abuse. Gosh, I demand compensation or else Imma call my lawyers.

*rolls eyes* And compensation would that be?

*taps lips* this kind *cheeky grin*

*scoffs and smiles* You are ridiculous.

Ridiculously amazing *kisses your lips*

Young K:

LOVING IT. He would adore you being so kissy and affectionate cause one, he loves you, and two he loved you showering him with affection. He would just be lying on the couch writing some lyrics and you’d suddenly plop beside him and give him a kiss on a cheek before going on with your own business. A small, proud grin would spread on his face as he glance back you, debating whether to kiss you back or tease you….obviously he chose the latter. He’d ruffle your hair and joke about how he didn’t know he was dating a kissing monster. You’d just look up at him and flash him a grin before making a kissy face, telling him that it was too late to back out now.

Too late to back out if your scared, Brian~ *cooing*

Who’s Brian? Whoever the poor guy is, it looks like he’s stuck with such an adorable kissing monster *chuckles*

*Rolls eyes* yeah such an unfortunate guy *sarcasm* he gets stuck with these lips all to himself *makes kissy carp face*

*leans down to kiss you, but is immediately stopped by your hand*

Ah, these lips are reserved for Brian, remember? *giggles*

Well it just so happens that my names Brian as well. *Grins at your silliness*

Oh really?

Yep, now bring your adorable kissable lips over here *pecks your lips*

Sungjin:

Would be a grinning mess. He couldn’t help but smile everytime you’d nonchalantly kiss him on the lips every time the two of you met. It seemed very domestic like you two were a married couple, not that the two of you already didn’t act like one. He would always be in such a pleasant mood after you kiss him the maknaes would start to freak out. Earning them a glare from their Bob the Builder leader. With how elated he was from your affection and kisses, you can bet the other extreme occurs if he doesn’t get this TLC. He’d be a grumpy puppy, moping away and tuning his guitar for hours even if it was already tuned. The group would be perturbed by the now scary leader, but they knew exactly what to do to make their leader all bright and smiley again.

*dials phone* Hello? Y/N?

Hmm? Wonpilie? Hi! Whats up? Everything okay?

Uh not exactly….

Sungjin?

Sungjin.

Pass the phone to him *chuckles*

*passes the phone to Sungjin*

Sungjinnie~ Are you causing trouble for the group again?

Jagi! *mood automatically +100* How is your trip!?

*chuckles* Its good, its good. I heard that you’re missing me though.

I always miss you....I feel like I lost my daily dose of vitamins.

Wow, my kisses have been reduced to vitamins. *teases*

You know what I mean *scoffs, but smiles*

Well then let me give you your daily dose of vitamins *makes a kiss noise through the phone*

I guess that will do for now, but I expect the real thing when you get back. *chuckles*

Of course. *laughs* I have to go now. Tell the boys I miss them too and I’ll talk to you soon. Muah! *hangs up*

*Grins like a fools* Okay guys, let’s get practice started!!

*Jae whispers to Young K* Our Bob the Leader is whipped af.

Wonpil:

This precious little angel would be giggling and smiling at every brush of your lips, even if was as simple as a simple peck on the forehead. He would just immediately pull you into a hug and give you a kiss back. Just as you were a kissing addict he would be the same to you either more so or equal to you. You guys would be so cutesy and kissy that Jae would make gag noises every time he walked by the two of you. You would tease the giant elder by saying that he was just jealous, which would cause the elder to scoff asking why he would be jealous of Wonpil, which you would tease back saying that he was jealous of you. The elder would be immediately flustered and be like ‘You cray girl’ before rolling his eyes and going back to tuning his guitar. You and Wonpil would just giggle at how you managed to beat the sass meme king.

Nice! That’s my Jagi! *Grins and pecks your nose*

Of course! I’ve trained long and hard to beat Jae-hyung. *Chuckles*

That must have been so draining, Jagi

It’s okay cause I got all my energy from you *pecks him on the nose*

Then let me give you more energy *peppers your face with kisses*

*Young K, Sungjin, and Jae stare at you two deadpanned* I think I got a damn cavity…

Dowoon:

Awkward pup. Awkward pup times 1000. He would be so caught off guard by the sudden kisses no matter how long you two had been dating. You would find it so cute and endearing everytime jumped slightly at your pecks or even hold the spot where you kissed him. You remember one time he even dropped his drumstick because he was clutching his cheek in awe. Of course the hyung line would tease the lost little pup, but he paid them no mind. Were they getting kisses from the most beautiful girl in the world? No. So he won in the end. Though he might be as kissy as the other boys are he would definitely return your affection with cuddles. Everytime you kissed him on the cheek or lips he would pull you into a cuddle, letting out a low chuckle every time your hair tickled his nose. He would enjoy your warmth so much that the pup would even fall asleep.

DOWOON!

SHHHH! Sungjin-ah, Dowoon is sleeping *chuckles as you put your finger against your lips*

We have practice in 10 minutes and we need our drummer *chuckles and rolls his eyes*

Okay, okay, give me a sec...*Lightly shakes Dowoon* Dowoonie *shakes* Dowoonie *Shakes again*

Zzzzzzzz

Out like a rock like always *rolls eyes and heads towards the door* I’ll leave the alarm clock job to you, Y/N *chuckles*

Dowwwoooooonnnnn! *pokes his face* Gosh, am I dating a snorlax? *giggles* Ah! *Light bulb moment* *peppers his face with kisses*

Huh!? What!? *jolts awake*

Morning sleeping beauty *giggles*

Hi prince charming *grins*

I feel like something is a bit wrong with this fairytale *chuckles as you bopped his nose*

Hmmmm? Are we missing a witch cause I can go grab Sungjin hyu-

Oh God, Dowoonie, if you finish that sentence you might just be dead *chuckles*

Thanks for reading! Comments and Critiques are supper appreciated since I haven’t done these in a while XL

[clefaiiiry]

Thanks to @tumblunni for beta reading :p

Companion to this.

Title: Clarity

Fandom: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions

Word Count: 5,265

Characters: Jun | Barry, Hikari | Dawn, Shirona | Cynthia, Akagi | Cyrus, Handsome | Looker, Dr. Nanakamado | Professor Rowan, Saturn (Pokemon)

Additional Tags: Friendship, Sign Language, Selectively Mute Dawn, Recovery Process, Implied Twinleafshipping, Japanese Names as Surnames

AO3 Version

“Only an idiot would go after him,” Barry had said.

It was unfortunate for them that Dawn had never thought highly of her own intelligence.

The pocket dimension (or the Distortion World as Cynthia had called it) was unlike anything Dawn could compare to. It was cold, colder than she was used to even after living her entire life in Sinnoh, but she felt no desire to bundle herself deeper into her coat. Even so, she lingered closer to Infernape than usual.

Gravity appeared to be inconsistent. Dawn had taken to using the tall grey trees that sprung up at seeming random angles. Some walls would pull her down while others would crumble if even the slightly pressure was applied. The swirling blue vortex seemed to be impossibly close and terrifyingly distant at the same time. She tried not to think about it too hard.

The air was heavy with dread, the faint cries of the Pokémon that inhabited this lonely place echoed through the empty space.

Infernape chirped as he clambered up a rock for better vantage of the area. The sprawling floating islands stretched for as far as Dawn could see. But she still couldn’t spot the Galactic leader.

[How hard is it to find one anti-social weirdo?] Dawn signed. Infernape shrugged.

The ground shook violently, a long shadow rose up across the two. While the tremors finally calmed, the shadows took shape. The huge creature that had torn open a rift as Dialga and Palkia were summoned. It took all her self-control to make sure she didn’t start shaking.

Why are you here, dear sweet child? It didn’t speak directly, it’s voice floated in the empty space from no discernible direction.

[I’m here to bring Cyrus back to our world,] she signed. The creature sagged.

A man like that has no interest in returning to the complete world. Why bother?

[Everyone deserves redemption.]

The creature’s body shook, as if laughing, though it remained audibly silent. Ah, that’s it? How utterly hopeless. Before she could argue, it swooped over her, curving around the floating islands with the grace of a Milotic.

He is closer than you think, dear sweet child.

The TV set in Rowan’s lab was about a decade too old to be in such a high-tech environment, but the staff had grown to appreciate the background noise. It was often left on the news, but anyone was free to switch channels with permission.

Barry had long since abandoned the samples he was pretending to look over as he gave his full attention to the slightly fuzzy image. A fake talk show host sat across the desk from Champion Cynthia Shirona.

“Thanks again for coming on, I’m sure you must be awfully busy these days,” the host said, his grin so wide that it almost split his face. Cynthia offered a pleasant smile in return and Barry almost believed it.

“It’s not a problem, we don’t get many challengers these days.”

“Why do you think that is, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Cynthia’s smile wavered for a moment. “I believe it is out of respect for the previous Champion. Miss Hikari only reigned for a few months and never lost a battle in her time as Champion. I feel as though I am not a suitable substitute, and many hope to battle her when she returns.”

The host leaned back in his chair. “Do you have any idea when that may be?”

After a moment of silence, she said, “I can’t say for certain, we don’t know enough about what happened to her to properly predict the outcome. But it’s been a year already and some are beginning to doubt that she may ever come back.”

The host tutted in pity. “We can only hope that Miss Hikari returns home safely.”

Static overtook the screen and Barry groaned, sitting up to tinker with the antenna.

“Need a hand?”

Barry glanced up at the voice. Lucas dropped to a crouch beside him and gave the TV a good whack. Barry snorted.

“You know that doesn’t actually work, right?”

But the image onscreen fizzled back to life. Lucas smirked. “Don’t argue with results.”

His expression faltered when he saw Cynthia.

“Miss Hikari’s family and friends are still grieving for their loss even after all this time,” she said, turning her attention towards the camera, “I ask for only respect from the people of Sinnoh.”

Lucas took off his hat and rubbed the back of his head. “Jeez, it feels like yesterday.”

“She was gonna be eighteen today,” Barry grumbled, though didn’t look up from the screen, “we always said we would go on a trip around Unova or Kalos or something...”

With a sigh, Lucas pushed to his feet and went to open a window. Sandgem Town was only just warming up after a particularly harsh winter, but Lucas had always insisted that the fresh air was good for them.

“I asked the Professor for a field assignment,” he said, lifting a box marked ‘For Oreburgh’ and passing it off to Kadabra, “he’s sending us off to Lake Valor for a week to look at how the Pokémon in the surrounding areas are adapting-”

“After Team Galactic blew it up,” Barry interjected.

Lucas shuffled awkwardly. “Well, yeah, basically.”

“Great...” Barry huffed as he pushed to his feet. When he noticed how Lucas was playing with his coat, he sighed. “I do appreciate the effort, but couldn’t you have gotten anywhere else?”

“It was the only one still open,” Lucas offered meekly, “And I thought it might be good for you to try and face some of this stuff. You can’t exactly avoid it forever...”

As much as Barry hated to admit it, Lucas was right. He’d already put off revisiting the lakes since Dawn disappeared; it brought up too many emotions he wasn’t ready to face. He hadn’t set foot in Veilstone City either, not wanting anything to do with the ‘reformed’ Team Galactic. He knew they were up to something, there was no way they would suddenly shift into a genuine energy company overnight.

“If that’s too much,” Lucas began, “we can start off in Sendoff Spring and work our way up.”

After a long moment, Barry finally nodded.

“So long as we don’t stay in Veilstone.”

Barry had only ever seen Sendoff Spring in photos. They really didn’t do the place justice. It had the clearest water he had ever seen. Goldeen and Magikarp gathered in small clumps, a rare Seaking or even rarer Gyarados poking their heads above the surface to make sure these humans wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Lucas was perched on Torterra’s back as he set up the time lapse camera, muttering to himself as he worked.

“We left a few gauges in Turnback Cave last time we were here,” he said as he rummaged through he duffle bag, “if you wanna go check on them.”

Barry glanced over to the Golduck who were sizing them up from behind the treeline. “Will you be okay by yourself? What about the buddy system?”

Lucas laughed. “It’s fine, I’ll be with you in, like, five minutes.”

Even with Lucas’ assurances, he left Empoleon to keep watch. He found himself regretting his choice of footwear as his trainers struggled to keep grip on the rocky slopes. He ended stumbling and landing on his ass. A pair of Bibarel snickered at him but a quick glare sent them scurrying back into the tall grass.

Everything Barry knew about Sinnoh’s mythology came from Dawn or Cynthia. He certainly wouldn’t go out of his way to study it himself; most of it was pretty dull to him anyway.

Flood lights illuminated the first room, the signs of archaeological excavation everywhere. Cynthia had recently given the go ahead for a dig so long as the local Pokémon populations weren’t disturbed. Barry clambered over the tools and pits, finding the gauges Lucas had been talking about along the back wall.

He had started jotting down the numbers when he heard a heavy, dull sound. Almost as if something was being dragged. Barry reached for his belt, fingers gracing his Poké Balls.

Carefully sliding one foot in front of the other, he creeped along the wall. The sound grew louder as he moved closer to a sprawling painting of the Lake Spirits until another sound made him jump to action.

“Help... Anyone...?”

Someone was behind the wall. Barry threw out Snorlax and yelled through the wall as loud as his lungs could manage,

“Stand back, I’ll get you out!” He whipped around to face his Pokémon. “Body Slam!”

Snorlax roared as he threw himself into the wall with all the force he could muster. The wall cracked and groaned. A weak yelp came from the other side.

“Again!” Barry yelled. Snorlax obeyed. The section of wall shuddered and collapsed, dust billowing up into the air and catching in Barry’s throat and eyes. He choked and spluttered for a few seconds, fanning his face in a meek attempt to clear the air.

When it finally settled, Barry climbed through the hole and squinted through the darkness.

“Hello?” He called, doing a full three-sixty-turn before he caught sight of bright eyes in the dark.

Luxray eyes.

He fumbled for his torch. His heart almost stopped.

Before him stood a girl, who hadn’t changed in the year she’d been gone. Not physically at least. Her eyes were wild, her stance weaker, leaning on her Luxray for support. Her scarf was hanging untied from her neck, her coat tied around her waist, but her trusty hat remained in place.

Luxray stood strong, her frame wary, weighed down by an unconscious man draped over her back. But Barry couldn’t find it in him to care about that.

“Dawn?” he asked slowly, easing forward.

Dawn’s tired face eased into a relieved smile. “Barry...” she sighed, her voice scratchy from lack of use.

And then she fainted.

The closest hospital was Veilstone, so despite Barry’s preferences, they found themselves sat in the hallway of Veilstone Memorial, twiddling their thumbs and trying not to panic.

Cynthia arrived about an hour after they had first check in, flustered and closely followed by Looker from Interpol.

“Somehow the press already knows that they’re back,” Cynthia said as she paused to catch her breath, “there’s a crowd of reporters outside wanting to know what the deal is.”

“Holy shit,” was all Barry could say.

After the third hour, Professor Rowan appeared, his expression unreadable. Looker finally let out a regretful sigh.

“I know emotions are still high, but I need to take a statement,” he said, looking to Barry and Lucas.

Barry explained what had happened, conveniently leaving out how he’d destroyed a potentially priceless wall painting when Cynthia was still present.

“Wait, I thought she was mute?” Looker asked with a frown.

“Selectively,” Barry explained, “it’s her anxiety.”

“Ah, I see...” Looker muttered as he scribbled down notes in his pad.

Cynthia cleared her throat. “What about Cy- Akagi? Was he... awake when you found them?”

With a shake of his head, Barry said, “No, he was out. Luxray was carrying him.”

“Their Pokémon are at the nearby Centre to make sure they haven’t suffered any ill effects from their time in the other world,” Lucas added.

She seemed a little disappointed with the answer, but said nothing.

Rowan seemed to notice. “Miss Shirona, would you mind accompanying me for a short walk?”

Cynthia exchanged a glance with Looker before she nodded. The two strolled away, speaking in hushed tones.

When Barry frowned, Looker said, “They used to be close. Miss Shirona and Mr Akagi. Grew up together I believe.”

“Cynthia was friends with him?” Barry’s voice dripped with disgust.

Lucas narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly silenced himself.

It was the seventh hour when a doctor came by to confirm that Dawn was stable but still unconscious. She encouraged the boys to head to bed and get some rest. It was only then that Barry realised it was past eleven o’clock and his body sagged with sudden exhaustion. Looker held back to question the doctor, but Barry and Lucas headed for the Pokémon Centre.

As Cynthia had mentioned, there were a few reporters outside. Most of them had headed off when they figured out that they weren’t going to get any of the juicy stuff from staking out the joint. That or the hospital staff had forced them to move along. Only the truly dedicated or clueless remained and they tried to pounce on the boys for an interview only to be totally ignored.

The nurses at the Pokémon Centre handed over a set of Poké Balls once Barry and Lucas could prove their identities. Dawn’s Poké Balls.

“What about Akagi’s?” Lucas asked.

“Miss Shirona already came by a while ago and picked them up.”

Their room was basic, but they didn’t need anything fancy. Lucas was asleep in seconds, snoring like a freight train as soon as his head hit the pillow. Barry lay awake staring at the ceiling. He barely slept a wink.

It was about a week before Dawn was awake and lucid enough to accept visitors. Before they headed in, the doctor pulled them aside to explain the rules.

“Don’t make any sudden moves or loud noises, don’t mention anything about Mt Coronet, and do not tell her anything about Mr Akagi’s condition outside of ‘he’s fine.’ She is still experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety. If she goes into a panic attack, call the nurse.”

Lucas went in first, insisting it was better for Barry to calm himself down before he raced in shouting and freaked her out any more. He begrudgingly accepted.

While he waited, Looker appeared and sat beside him.

“I’ll have to head in after you,” he said.

“Doctor said you can’t ask her about what happened,” Barry warned. Looker sighed.

“I expected as much... But at the very least I want to see how she’s doing with my own eyes.” He reached down to pet Croagunk. “Akagi is still totally out of it. If he does wake up he’s completely hysterical.”

“Honestly? I don’t care if he gets any better,” Barry said. Looker stared at him with an expression he couldn’t figure out.

“Why do you say that?”

“You gotta forgive me for not having much sympathy for the guy who tried to destroy the universe and dragged my best friend through a wormhole.”

“My understanding was that Miss Hikari followed from her own will?”

“You get what I mean!” Barry snapped. “Dawn was always too nice for her own good! She thought that even something like... that can be forgiven. He doesn’t deserve her sympathy.”

Looker sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. “I don’t think she thought he deserved her help, but she thought he needed it.” He tapped his temple. “That’s the working theory, at least.”

“I’m doubting your ‘working theory,’ Mister Looker.”

“If you think that is questionable, don’t read any of the newspaper articles that came out over the last week.”

Barry had made a point of avoiding any news stations after Lucas noted that he would probably just get angry at whatever he saw.

There was a distinct click of the door reopening and Lucas poked his head out. He glanced between Barry and Looker with a frown.

“Is now a bad time?”

Barry pushed to his feet and made his way to the door without looking back. “Now is great,” he said as he shouldered past Lucas into the room. Lucas tensed, ready to bite back but he thought better of it and slipped out, closing the door behind him.

It was like a dream, from the way the light filtered through the window to how utterly defeated the girl in the bed looked.

In all the years he had known her, Barry had rarely seen Dawn looking so broken. The only other time he could think of was after her mother had locked her out one night in their early teenaged years. She had turned up on his doorstep in tears but refused to speak of it the following morning.

Dawn glanced over as he entered and gave him a fragile smile.

“I know, I look super weird without my hat,” she said, her voice straining as she spoke.

The only people she spoke aloud to were Barry, Lucas, and Cynthia but even then she preferred to sign when possible. Barry frowned.

“You don’t have to talk.”

She shrugged. “My arms are tired from talking to the doctors.”

There was a chair next to the bed, dragged over from the corner and battered from excessive wear and tear. Barry slowly lowered himself into it and offered a hand to Dawn. She took it and rubbed a thumb over his knuckles.

“I missed you,” she said. Those words broke something within Barry. His chest felt tight and his eyes stung as tears sprung up in the corners of his eyes. He reached up to wipe them with his free hand.

“I missed you so much,” he sobbed, clutching her hand like a lifeline.

With a soft tug, he found himself bundled into a tight hug. Dawn lightly stroked his back as he wheezed and bawled. His words stopped making sense as he rambled for what felt like hours. She never said a word, just let him cry and kept stroking his back.

Once he’d finally calmed down enough to speak properly, he pulled back to wipe his face. “Why... Why did you leave?”

Dawn blinked in confusion for a moment before the words finally settled and she looked to the window. She squeezed Barry’s hand.

“Giratina would’ve destroyed him if I let him go in there alone.”

White hot rage shot through him. “Who cares about him?! You could’ve died!”

Dawn jumped at his volume. He immediately recoiled with apologies.

“I’m sorry I just... I was so scared that I’d never see you again. That you’d just thrown everything away from some asshole who wanted to destroy everything.”

The air was heavy and cold, making him shudder. Dawn’s eyes were hard.

“You don’t know anything about what happened,” she said, her free hand tightening in the sheets, “you weren’t there. So don’t you dare try to paint this like some black and white issue because this isn’t like one of those dumb cartoons we used to watch.”

Her voice started to quiver in her throat, as if it were about to give out. “Why would I throw away my life for someone I didn’t think deserved a second chance? If he was as evil as you think then why...” She coughed and gasped around the words. “Why did Cynthia cry when she found out he was still alive? Why did Rowan look so relieved? Why would anyone care about a man if he were pure evil?”

“I...” Barry couldn’t form anything, his response dying before it could escape, “I didn’t think...”

“No... you didn’t think with your head. You just went with your heart...” She smiled fondly. “Like you always do.” It was her turn to cry. “It’s why you’re my best friend. But...” Her voice almost gave out with a croak. “I need you to trust me on this... Please, Barry...”

They were quiet for a long moment, only the foggy sounds of the city outside and the nurses roaming the halls punctuating their moment.

“Okay...” Barry hugged her once more. “I trust you.”

Over the next month, Barry dropped in to visit every opportunity he had. Between the short visitor hours and his job at Rowan’s Lab he could rarely spend more than an hour with her, but Dawn appreciated the effort.

“It’s not like there’s anything else to do around here,” she had said, “the doctors won’t tell me anything.”

The time spent in the hospital was either in her room or the rehabilitation centre. Her time in the other world had weakened her muscles and left her easily disorientated and her Chatot was left with her at all times to alert staff of impending panic attacks.

Occasionally her perception of reality slipped and she was back in the other world, clawing at the sheets and crying out for anything to cling to. Barry soon learnt that the worse thing he could do was the call the doctors. She seemed to settle faster if a familiar face was there instead of a looming stranger in a white coat. Not to say that they didn’t work hard to make sure her recovery was as smooth as possible, but there were a few areas in which Barry didn’t trust them as much as he trusted himself.

Whenever they met up, he tried to keep her updated on the situation outside but she could only deal with so much before she wanted to talk about something else.

Dawn tried not to talk about Team Galactic around Barry. Anything about them came from Cynthia or Rowan.

One day, about three weeks after she’d checked in, Barry noticed flowers on her bedside table.

“Apparently they’re from Saturn,” Dawn said as she reached over to readjust the arrangement, “or whatever it is he goes by these days.”

It took far too much self-control not to make a point of knocking them down.

Before he could comment, she had asked about how Lucas was doing and they didn’t mention Team Galactic again for the rest of the exchange.

With Dawn still under the watchful eye of the hospital staff, Cynthia had been turning down interviews from all angles. Interpol was hanging around, trying their best to be covert but everyone knew of their presence. It was enough to scare off most of the reporters, so Barry didn’t mind too much.

It was week four before Dawn finally got sick of not being told anything by the doctors and asked Barry to bring in outside goods. He started sneaking in snacks and newspapers, something Lucas didn’t have the heart to discourage.

“If anyone finds out, I don’t know you,” Lucas joked, but from the look on his face he’d been totally serious.

Dawn always accepted the papers with a mix of excitement and dread. Barry had purposely avoided sensationalist papers and she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“What’s the worst one you’ve seen?” she asked, glancing up from the headline ‘Champion Hikari is expected to make full recovery.’

“Some folks from Kalos are trying to push the secret love affair angle.”

Dawn retched. “Ew! That’s so gross! Are you serious?” When Barry nodded, she groaned. “People are the worst...”

Barry shuffled his feet awkwardly. “How much do you know about...”

“About Cyrus’ condition?” Dawn sighed and folded her hands in her lap. “Only what Cynthia told me. That he’s awake more often but he’s always hysterical unless Cynthia or one of his Pokémon is there.” She looked down, brushing some loose hair behind her ear. “He asks about me a lot. He thought I was dead for the first week until Cynthia could get him to calm down.”

When Barry said nothing in response, she trailed off.

“Sorry, I know you don’t care about him.”

With a shrug, Barry said, “I’m trying this ‘empathy’ thing, but it’s kinda hard.”

Dawn laughed. “You’re trying your best and that’s what matters.”

Week five rolled around and Barry felt oddly apprehensive as he entered the hospital. Cynthia was trying to convince the doctors to let her move Cyrus to the medical centre at the Pokémon League, though hadn’t had much luck so far.

She was in a Holo Caster call when Barry spotted her in the lobby, foot tapping rapidly as she let out a huff. She hung up on the person mid-sentence.

“Jeez, what did that guy ever do to you?” Barry joked. Cynthia rolled her eyes.

“Another station wanting an interview. I’m gonna need a secretary at this rate.”

They made their way to the ward, exchanging tips on Roserade care when they noticed a familiar face.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to come by,” Cynthia said softly, reaching out to shake Saturn’s hand.

The young man was awfully stiff, his frame holding no strength. It was hard to believe he was now the head of the leading energy provider for Sinnoh. He took the offered hand through obligation rather than comradery.

“I feel as though I owe him a visit at the very least,” he muttered, “blame Mabel.”

Cynthia chuckled. “Fair enough, I’ll show you to his room if you wish.”

Saturn just nodded and trailed closely behind her, like a child making sure they wouldn’t lose their mother while out shopping.

“I’ll meet up with you later, okay Barry?”

Barry just nodded, watching until the two disappeared around a corner. He headed off to Dawn’s room.

“What do you mean I can’t see her? She’s my daughter!”

The doctor looked exhausted, the effects of this morning’s coffee having not yet kicked in. “She has explicitly requested that you are not allowed in to see her.”

“This is ridiculous!” Johanna threw up her hands in dismay. “You can’t stop me from going in!”

“Ma’am, we keep telling you that we can’t let you in.”

Barry hoped to sneak past without being noticed but the woman whirled round as soon as she heard movement, eyes focusing on him like a Mandibuzz.

“And you! How dare you ignore my calls! I have a right to know what’s going on here!”

“Please, Mrs Hikari, you’re making a scene-”

“Not until this little brat-”

Barry looked straight past her to the doctor. “Am I alright to go in?”

The doctor nodded. Johanna sounded about she was about to start sobbing. He paid her no mind as he pushed into Dawn’s room.

Soft music came from the radio set on her bedside table. She had managed to convince the doctors to let her keep it, even if it did have access to news stations. They couldn’t protect her from the outside world forever

Dawn didn’t look away from the window as Barry walked in, humming softly to herself. “Morning,” she said, stretching a hand out for him to take.

“Did you know your mom’s here?”

She scoffed. “How could I not? She’s gonna scream the place down. I can’t tell if she’s genuinely worried or just mad that all the effort she put into her precious protégé is gonna be for nothing.”

Dawn’s words held venom unlike anything he had ever heard from her. She had never been one to outwardly bad-mouth how her mother had raised her, that was Barry’s job. Dawn always found herself trying to excuse her mother’s behaviour, no matter the seriousness.

What had happened to her in the other world?

“Dawn...”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, waving her hand, “I’ll be fine, just...” She took a deep breath. “Give me a minute.”

The music from the radio drifted into soft piano, an old Kalosian piece that had been growing in popularity recently. Barry pushed up to his feet and extended his hand to Dawn.

“What...?”

“Come on, I don’t think we’ve danced since we were twelve.”

Dawn blinked once, twice, and reached up to wipe her face. She took his hand and slid her legs over the side of the bed. Physical rehabilitation had been going well but she was still shaky on her legs. After some careful manoeuvring, she perched her bare feet on stop of his heavy boots and let him guide her around the small room, swaying out of tempo with the music.

They didn’t care, both simply content to be together without having to worry about the outside world.

Dawn was released after two months, but only under the agreement that she would inform the doctors immediately if she experienced any issues and would continue to attend therapy sessions once a week.

Meanwhile Cynthia had somehow convinced the doctors that Cyrus was ready to be discharged alongside her. Either the doctors were just sick of her asking or just didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Barry was willing to believe both.

It was only after he and Cynthia went to pick them up that he realised he hadn’t seen Cyrus since the initial discovery in Turnback Cave. He wasn’t exactly on the edge of his seat to see the man again but accepted that it was going to happen whether he wanted it or not.

The lobby was strangely quiet, though Barry assumed it had something to do with Interpol. Looker hovered besides the two, Dawn excitedly signing as Cyrus struggled to keep up.

The agreement was for Cyrus to stay with Dawn on Route 229, but Cynthia would be arranging for a psychiatrist if necessary.

Barry had offered to take her back to Twinleaf Town, but Dawn had made herself very clear that she had no intention of going back.

[Besides, there aren’t enough bedrooms even if I did want to stay there,] she signed.

The Villa on Route 229 had barely been touched since the incident at the Spear Pillar. Barry and Lucas would drop by every month or so to make sure everything was in working order, but it otherwise stayed empty. It was far enough away to give them space, but close enough to society that they could seek out assistance if necessary.

Tension leaked from Dawn’s form when she opened the door. She and Cynthia went to pack away her things, leaving Barry with Looker and Cyrus.

“Interpol will be dropping by throughout the next few weeks to make sure you’re settling,” Looker said as he glanced to Cyrus, “and to make sure you don’t start anything. Nothing personal, just a cautionary action.”

Cyrus just nodded.

“Right then,” Looker fixed his poor posture and glanced to Barry, “are you sticking around as well?”

“For as long as Dawn wants me here, yeah.”

Looker smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it and shook his head.

“Then, gentlemen, I wish you well,” Looker bowed his head, turned on his heel and headed out into the cool spring air.

Cynthia left shortly after she was certain everything was secure. Duty called.

“We’ll have another battle at some point to see who gets to keep the title,” she said as she summoned Garchomp.

[We both know I’ll win,] Dawn signed smugly. Cynthia threw back her head as she laughed.

“We’ll see about that.”

She turned her attention to Cyrus, who had been silent since they arrived.

“Are you gonna be okay? I can stick around if you want?”

Cyrus was still looking at his feet. He shook his head.

[If anything happens, I’ll give you a call,] Dawn signed.

With a sigh, Cynthia reached over to pat his shoulder. Cyrus finally met her eyes. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s why you’re here.”

Cyrus stared at her for a long moment, shoulders tensed like a cornered Pokémon. He remained strung high even as Cynthia took her hand away, turning to climb up onto Garchomp’s back.

“Have a good night. I’m not too far away if you need any help, okay?”

[I think we’ll be okay, thanks Cynthia.] Dawn smiled wide. [Have a safe trip.]

With one last look, Cynthia gave her partner a pat. “Come on, let’s get going,” she said. Garchomp chirped and took a running start before taking off, propelling herself upwards into the clear sky.

They watched until the dragon disappeared from sight.

[moonlightxarcher]

Selene’s Log, Day Three (Part Two)

Update, 10:15 am.

“With a crazy start like that, ya might think thingzz would die down, but on our way to look for this Ilima guy, Selene ran into thizz group of Alolan Meowth cauzzing big trouble!” The Dex’s screen lights up with the footage of a trio of dark-furred Meowth swiping money and other items from the locals, dashing off through the maze-like grass-lined fences around town. Roto’s camera pans over to Selene, whose eyes have narrowed in a determined glare. “Between her arrowzz and Strix’zz Leafage,” the Dex continues narrating, the footage shifting to show the trainer and Pokemon in question brandishing their weapons of choice and loosing their attacks, “They managed to box those feline thievezz in! But the darnedest thing happened-” A white blur dashes through Roto’s view, slamming into the side of one of the Meowth, its form smashing into a nearby tree and crumpling on the ground.

Roto scrambles to get a better shot, Selene running into the frame with Strix hot on her heels, and they all lay eyes on a regal looking dog with shaggy white fur. “This Furfrou here was apparently a bit of a local vigilante of sortzz, though not so much of an illegal vigilante, I guess, since the police officers we spoke to didn’t consider its actionzz criminal. Anyway, Selene and this Furfrou struck up a partnership, since, see, after they all beat up those Meowth, they found some Team Skull Emblemzz craved into the collars they wore. Neither Selene, nor Furfrou wanted to let those hooliganzz get away with causing more trouble, so they decided to handle them together.” Roto displays a few stills he captured of the two high-fiving and investigating the surrounding streets. 

The scene shifts to the front of a Malasada Shop, where a pair of Team Skull Grunts are seen harassing a guy at the entrance. The white blur of the Furfrou dashes into view, knocking one of the Grunts on their and interrupting the conversation. It’s the usual shit you get with petty thieves, claiming that it ain’t their fault that they have to do this sorta stuff. Nonetheless, Selene and Furfrou battle the Grunts, on the condition that they can face her two on one if they agree to come with her to turn themselves in if they lose. 

“Safe to say, Selene and Furfrou kicked their buttzz all the way back to their mommazz!” The Dex chuckles mechanically, amused grins flashing on his screen. The footage shifts to the researcher and the dog taking the Grunts to the local police department and the Grunts getting cuffed. “With that all taken care of,” Roto continues, the scene shifting to another angle as the Fufrou rolls a Pokeball towards Selene with her nose. “We got another member of the team! Turnz out Furfrou enjoyed working with Selene so much that she wanted to stick around permanently. Besides, there’s plenty of other Team Skull Gruntzz out there to take down, right? Can’t be locked up in one town.” 

Furfrou’s data flashes up on screen.

Name: Lupa

Gender: Female

Nature: Modest

Characteristic: Strongly defiant

“Ya know that Ilima guy we were looking for? Turns out he wazz watching the whole thing! He wanted a tazzte of the power Selene had to offer and challenged her to a battle. It...” The footage plays out, with Ilima having the upper hand practically the entire time, despite having only a Yungoos and a Smeargle compared to Selene’s five equally potent teammates. Selene does pull through in the end, with Strix getting a clutch critical hit on Leafage to knock out her foe’s Smeargle, but it came incredibly close. “...didn’t go azz well as she’d expected.” 

“So, even though Ilima cleared her to attempt hizz Trial in the Verdant Cavern, she wasn’t exactly keen on fighting another foe that strong without doing some sincere training of her own.” A small montage of footage plays out, with Selene and her teammates taking on various Trainers and wild Pokemon around Hau’oli City. “We even caught another team member- our sixth!” the Dex adds excitedly, practically fast-forwarding the footage in his enthusiasm to reach the part of the clip where they took on a lazy Drowzee relaxing against the base of a berry tree. 

As Selene and her team members test out various attacks against the slumbering Hypnosis Pokemon, her annoyed mutters can be heard as she scoffs off to the side, “How is this thing taking our blows so well? It must have Snorlax blood with how bulky the damn thing is...” 

“She did manage to capture the Drowzee... after a while.” Roto sighs as the scene shifts to a single unbroken Pokeball surrounded by four others shattered around the tree. The lone ball shakes thrice and then clicks. The Drowzee’s data flashes up on screen.

Name: Baku

Gender: Male

Nature: Lax

Characteristic: Sturdy body

“We’re lucky he doezzn’t seem to mind helping uzz out after we interrupted hizz nap. That Baku is pretty strong, I’d hate to be on hizz bad side. Maybe he doezz have some Snorlax in him, could explain the appetite too. Never seen a Pokemon that small eat thrice their own body weight in berriezz.” The Dex shivers slightly, beeping lowly. 

“Later that night, me and Selene were heading back to the Pokemon Center to heal up the team when she ran into Lillie. I’ll let her take it from here...”

---

Update, 9:34 pm.

Lillie’s frantic voice called out to Selene as she ran towards them, nearly falling to her knees and panting when she reached them. “I... can’t... I can’t find her. I... I lost Nebby!” The girl looks near tears, which Selene promptly wipes off with her thumb. 

The smallest smile cracks her impassive face as she mutters softly, “Then we will just have to find her. Where did you last see her?” she asks, wanting to get straight to business and forgo excessive crying. 

Lillie nods and points toward the north exist. “Just outside of town. We were going to gather berries from some of the trees out there, and I thought I put her back in my bag after we did, but when I got back to the Center in town, she was nowhere to be seen!” She seems about to break into tears again, but manages to calm herself down enough. 

Selene scratches her chin, seemingly wondering how to approach this, when Roto pipes up, his red arm-like appendage falling into frame as he raises his equivalent of a hand. “Oo! I have an idea. How bout we split up! Me and Selene will head up Route 2, and you can check in town. Nebby mighta came back here after she got separated from you, right? So we should check both placezz.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Selene nods, azure eyes darting to Lillie to see what she was thinking about this.

The younger blonde seemed to hesitate for a second, but she nodded, her eyes narrowed in determination. “Right! I’ll see if I can find Professor Kukui or Captain Ilima. They might be able to help too.”

And off they run.

A slightly shaky cam captures Selene as she runs off, searching for any signs of the spacey cloud Pokemon known as Nebby. Strix doesn’t seem to have much luck either, as each time Selene calls out for a status check, she receives a single hoot- negative, nothing so far. This wild Swanna chase goes on for awhile before Strix perks up, her head swiveled toward the neighboring cemetery. “Did you hear something?” Selene calls out, her owl cooing in affirmation. 

Roto follows them, the camera panning around to catch a beautiful view of the full moon hanging at just the right point above the tombstones to coat them in a pale, effervescent glow. It was beautiful, even her could admit that. As they close in, the noise Strix heard can be picked up by the Dex and Selene- a twinkling coo like falling stars.

“Nebby!” Selene’s eyes go wide at that, and she darts off through the maze of graves and fences towards the back end, her Dex floating not too far behind her. Finally, the camera lands square on the little space cloud, dancing and cooing as she plays with a nocturnal bat Pokemon. 

“Well, hello little ones,” coos Selene, reaching out to pat the heads of both the Zubat and Nebby. Part of her wished to admonish them for worrying herself and Lillie, but they looked so cute playing together she couldn’t help herself. “Were you taking care of our Nebby for us, Zubat-chan?” she asks, gently scratching the blind Pokemon beneath her chin.

She receives a happy low shriek in response, the little Poison/Flying Type nuzzling into her touch. Selene smiles softly. “I will take that as a yes.” 

Several calm moments pass, the group gathered there merely taking in the cool night breeze. Though Roto does capture an odd moment where Nebby busts her head against Selene’s arm, and the researcher looked a bit more... startled than normal. “Roto-san?” she mutters lowly, tossing her head over her shoulder toward the floating Dex. “Did you... Never mind. Let’s take her home.”

He still catches her barely audible mumble- “I thought... I heard someone say thank you...”

---

“We brought Nebby back to Kukui’zz lab, where Lillie thanked uzz both profuzzely. Selene tried to be all modezzt about it, but I think she shoulda taken a bit more pride in what she did! She helped a friend find someone dear to her, that means a lot!” Multiple thumbs-up flash on screen. “Not that we didn’t get anything out of it. Nebby’zz new friend didn’t want to leave, so she decided to stick with uzz!” He shows a small clip of the Zubat clinging to Selene’s arm before she gets the idea and taps her head with a Pokeball.

Zubat’s data flashes on screen.

Name: Carmilla 

Gender: Female

Nature: Docile

Characteristic: Mischievous

“Lookzz like that the lazzt of the log for tonight. Selene wanted me to procezz some of the footage while she got situated in her cot. I think I’ll power down for the night and hit the hay myzzelf.”

End Day Three.

[sir-chesnaught]

5 things tagged thing yeah

I got tagged to do this by cool person @kalos-pikachu! I haven’t done one of these things in awhile so here we go :D

5 things you can find on my blog:

- Lots of cool pokeman art

- Animal Crossing stuff

- General video game goofs

- M    E    M    E    S

- The very random vent post

5 things you can find in my room:

- My big ol gaming pc

- A lot of shoes just kinda... laying around

- The pile o’ pokemon plusies 

- My Switch!

- Just like a lot of musical instruments/silly noise making things

5 things I always wanted to do:

- Visit a different country

- Go to a music festival

- Play a show as a band

- Be in some sort of competitive video game competition

- Make a video game

5 things that make me happy:

- The gf :D

- Writing music

- Sushi/pizza

- Pokemon art things

- Talking with friends / mutuals

5 things on my to do list

- Actually work out more

- Take the gf to DisneyWorld (she’s always wanted to go)

- Move out permanently and try living in another state for awhile  

- Stick with music writing and not let it be a “sometimes” thing

- Overcome anxiety (for the most part haha)

5 things you might not know about me:

- I spend so much fucking money on clothes cuz I’m really into hipster/streetwear fashion

- Animal Crossing was the first game I cried over (it was too pure for 7 year old me)

- I like pokemon art/designs more than I like playing the games (and I love the games) 

- I get my bachelor’s in CS this winter and am gonna try for a masters or PhD! o:

- I’m such a music snob, like, I mostly listen to obscure or not-as-well-known bands/artists/producers. Not that I hate popular music or anything, it’s just my preference when given the opportunity.

I’m usually not big on tagging people, so I’ll just list down the few people I know who won’t get mad at me for tagging :P Have fun @princesspinklemonade @princess-snorlax @lunanomy