#I just realized that I turned him into a human Pokemon.

[sunandflame]

Ok hear me out....

Rengoku

But all he says is Umai

I know and read that some people might find it cringe when he shouts his Umai, but gosh I actually fell in love with him with his first umai shout, so I am totally digging this 😂

So let's create following scenario:

What if Umai is the only word in his vocabulary? (don’t think too logically here and just imagine a crazy blood demon art, alright?)

Imagine then the different tones he would say it. Not him shouting it like we know, but the different vocal nuances. When he has a question and goes: “Umai?”

Or if he gets angry and is all broody, his voice grumbling in that deep timber. “Umai…!”

Or when he hears you giggling because his soft kisses tickled you and he also chuckles out his “Umai”

Or when suddenly his kisses travel down your body, making you whimper, and whispering at each lick and kiss a soft and seductive “Umai~”

crossposted on AO3

[ew-selfish-art]

Dp x Dc AU: Jazz Fenton, after years of fixing her brother’s injuries, becomes a Doctor with an inclination towards behavioral health and psychology- In order to make the difference she wants to see in the world she joins Dr. Leslie Thompkin’s practice. 

Jazz Fenton, M.D. has spent years of her life doing research, doing the hard work and the emotional labor, and finally, finally, she’s joining a practice she can feel 100% confident in. She’s goddamn good doctor and she wants to make the biggest impact that she can. 

Dr. Thompkins (who insists that she call her Leslie as they’re colleagues now), is a kind woman, sharp as a tack and keeps her practice open at odd hours to help the most unfortunate. It took some time for them to bond and trust to be built, but now Jazz is being allotted a few night shifts here and there. 

It’s incredible. Jazz gets to spend time with the kids who come in and really talk to them (in addition to getting them antibiotics, heating pads and pokemon themed bandaids) to help equip them with a few coping skills. Her passion for psychology never disappeared after all, but the expansive knowledge of how to heal the human body has made her find a sense of fulfillment like no other.

Having proven herself and worn Leslie down, Jazz now takes up about 1/3 of all the night shifts in the month. She’s hoping to get to 50/50 by the end of the year but she’s content with what she has. Danny keeps odd hours anyway so calling him after work on her walk home can happen any time of day and he will always answer enthusiastically. 

It’s a particularly busy night before he comes in. The Red Hood. 

He was known for being an ally to Leslie, despite being on contentious terms with the Bats, but Jazz had never asked directly. Never one to turn away a patient with bullet hole wounds, she hops into action to get his wounds cleaned, sewed up and gauze wrapped. She’s handing him a sheet (an Infographic! Dani made it with her! Graphic design is her passion!) on how to care for his wounds when he first seems to recognize that she’s not Leslie. 

“No, Of course not. I’m Dr. Fenton. I can’t blame you for not remembering but I did introduce myself as you bled in the entry way. You’re Red Hood, right?” 

“Hm. Didn’t realize the practice was expanding. Where can I find-” He grumbles before pushing her hand aside from where she had still been supporting his shoulder.

“Hold on there, mister. You’re going home, you’re following this infographic and you’re going to get some sleep.” 

“Lady you don’t know-” His voice modulated ton came across antagonistically. As if he was trying to intimidate her. Ha, Jazz rolls her eyes at the inclination.

“Who I’m talking to? Who I’m dealing with? You’re hilarious. I can eat you vigilante’s hero complexes for breakfast. Tell me who I’m calling to pick you up and then you can say thank you.” Jazz snaps at him. It really had been a long night but his whole dialogue thus far is making her a bit batty. 

“Oh really Doc? You know Leslie’s tough shit, and from what I can tell you’ve got nothing on her-” 

“Trying to make me feel insufficient when I just saved your life? That’s cute. I’m sure a lifetime of abandonment by both of your parental figures gave you that. I’m also sure that you inherited this desire to prove you’re not going to be dependent on anyone who wants to help from whoever got you dressing up in tights to fight crime in the first place. Again, I’d love to talk at length about how predictable you-” 

“Bwah- wait- I’m Predictable? You’re probably some nepobaby who had parents who told her she could have the world-” But Jazz cuts him off with hysterical laughter- he couldn’t be further from the truth. Her parents loved her, but nepotism? With what, the ghosts? If anything she got that from Danny, but he doesn’t need to know about her ghostly titles. 

“You’re just some guy who came back from the dead and made his trauma everyone else’s issue. So shut it. And tell me how I’m getting you home from this clinic.” She seethes though her voice stays devastatingly level with each word. 

Speechless for a moment, he eventually relents to Jazz that he’s already called for help on the comms but it will be hours before they can come for a pick up. The sun had already come up and the night had been over for most of them before Hood had walked into trouble. She groans and the realizes the time for herself and the empty clinic around them.

“Fine. My shift just ended anyway. I’ll get you home in one piece and I swear to all the ancients that you’d better follow the directions on the infographic.” 

And that’s how Jazz ended up calling her brother while supporting the weight of a grown ass man (who no longer wanted to talk to her) on her walk home. 

The next time Red Hood appears in her clinic, he’s brought a dozen roses in addition to the cut on his neck that definitely needs to be pressurized like ASAP. Did he stop for the flowers on his way to the clinic? He’s going to pass out from blood loss! She doesn’t even like roses!

[hxney-lemcn]

Late Night Chaos — Daisuke x gn! reader

summery: you share your first kiss with Daisuke.

tw: idk, insecure reader?

a/n: this turned out kinda meh, starting to burn out, I'll start with the actual plot in the next one.

wc: 1.4k

Master List

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine

You hadn’t meant to peek. You honestly thought it was a book you forgot you brought. Well, that was until you noticed the leather book had no title, which you then assumed was a sketch book your parents gave you in a misguided attempt as a gift that somehow ended up in your book pile. But when you opened it you realized you were sorely mistaken, sketches of pokemon, digimon, and the crew littered the pages. This was Daisuke’s sketch book. Not only was it because no one else on board would draw pokemon (as far as you knew), but the farther into the book you went, the more the pages were just filled with images of you. Whether it be just little stick figures of you and Daisuke holding hands, or full on detailed sketches of your face, all the way to your name doodled on the corners with his last name (or vice versa). 

Oh gosh, you felt like a monster. You weren’t supposed to be seeing these. Daisuke must've left it in your room by accident and here you were paging through it without his permission. You were a terrible partner. Snapping the book close, you squeezed your eyes shut. Why the hell did you keep looking? Damn you and your curiosity, you broke a boundary that you only hoped could be mended. 

With determination to make this right, you marched out of your room, the small book clutched to your chest. Thankfully it wasn’t too late, you had just been getting ready for sleep when you stumbled upon it after all. Honestly, it was surprising Daisuke wasn’t with you already, the two of you shared a room more often than not these days. It wasn’t a far walk to his rooms, everyone's sleeping quarters were close to each other. Knocking on his door, you didn’t have to wait long, the open door revealing Daisuke with his gameboy in hand.  “Hey,” You greeted.

“Hey,” He replied back, glancing up at you before quickly looking back at his game. “Jus’ give me a sec. I’m almost done with this level.”

“Okay,” You murmured, shuffling over to sit on his bed. That made Daisuke paused for a second, glancing at you once again and noticed your nervous expression. Biting his lip, he let out a groan when the game let out the familiar sound of losing, you had unintentionally distracted him and he failed again. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he tossed the handheld console to the side, plopping down next to you. He needed a break anyways, he had been trying to beat that level for thirty minutes straight.

“What’s up?” Diauke asked, tilting his head to get a better look at you.

“I’m sorry,” You apologized, holding his sketchbook out to him. “I didn’t realize it was yours and I looked through it. I should’ve stopped when I realized it wasn’t mine but I kept looking. I am so sorry.”

Taking the book from your hands, Daisuke put it to the side and instead gently grabbed your hands, a small smile tugged at his lips, “Hey, it’s alright. I don’t mind, not that big of a deal.”

You paused, staring at him, eyes wide and slightly confused, “You’re not angry? Aren’t those personal? I went through your stuff.” It was like you were trying to justify your guilt, not able to accept the fact that you had probably over thought the whole ordeal. Not able to accept the fact that you could be forgiven so easily. Why wasn’t he angry? Or annoyed? Sure, he always seemed laidback and carefree, but he was still human. You had seen him insecure, and bummed out, it wasn’t out of the wheelhouse to see him at least peeved as well. 

“It was an accident,” He shrugged, rubbing his thumb across the back of your hand. “And it’s mostly just silly doodles, nothing to get upset about. I’d let you look at them if you asked…or even give you a few.”

“There seemed to be a few personal ones,” You murmured, hands tightening around his own, but your argument sounded weak even to you. 

Letting go of your hands, Daisuke opened his sketch book and flipped to an image of you with little hearts surrounding it, a mischievous grin on his face, “You mean the ones like this?”

You opened your mouth, face warming at how nonchalant he was about it. Glaring at him you huffed, “I can’t stand you.”

“Is it a crime to draw the one you love?” Daisuke asks dramatically, putting a hand over his heart. 

“Yes,” You responded in a deadpan tone. 

With a pout, he replied, “Well, you can’t blame me for wanting to draw something pretty.” 

Giving in to your impulses, you leaned forward and smooshed his cheeks in between your hands, “You can’t just say things like that and get away with it.”

Daisuke merely giggled, grin brightening under your palms. This was supposed to ease your cute aggression, not make it worse, but it seemed you still didn’t have a full understanding of your emotions. Perhaps you never will fully understand it, but what you did know was that you were going to make him pay for his crimes. 

Leaning forward, you place a short kiss on his forehead. Your heart jumped when you made eye contact, his brown eyes shining, watching you in awe. It pushed you to go further, moving your palms from squishing his cheeks to holding his jaw, assaulting his face with fluttering kisses. You made sure you didn’t miss an inch, stomach twisting in knots at how much affection you were sharing, but also feeling oddly content. When you finished, you pulled away enough to make eye contact once more. 

Daisuke felt his heart pound in his chest, his cheeks warm and eyes wide in awe. You had been pretty reserved in your relationship so far, not that he minded. You were clearly out of your depth, unsure how to accept and offer physical affection, but your kind actions and words showed how much you cared. Although he was also new to the whole dating thing, being affectionate with you had become second nature to him. Having you not only act first, but cross a boundary neither of you dared to cross took his breath away and made him feel all melty. 

Sure, you hadn’t kissed him on the lips, but neither of you had done more than hold the other. The feeling of your lips continued to warm his skin, and he couldn’t help but wish you just laid one on him, but he also respected your wishes. If you weren’t ready for that, he wouldn’t push. He wanted you to go at your own pace since you were clearly more uncertain in the relationship. 

“You missed,” Daisuke teased, watching you with a warm gaze.

Pouting Scowling, you smooshed his cheeks again, causing him to laugh. Your blood thrummed in your ears, your heart speeding up and you continued to feel more confident in your actions. You glanced down at his lips, should you…? Was that him giving you the okay? Were you even ready for that?

Apparently tonight was a night of acting instead of thinking for you. Relaxing your hold on his face, you placed the shortest peck on his lips in recorded human history. Daisuke barely felt it, but it still made his breath hitch. You had actually kissed him, lip to lip, the whole smoocharoo. You stared at each other, wide eyed and hearts beating in tandem. Such a simple moment for some was world changing for you both.

“Can…can we do that again?” Daisuke whispered, scared to break the atmosphere.

You nodded, a shaky okay spilling from your lips. It was Daisuke’s turn to act first, closing the gap between you and pressing your lips in a light kiss. You press your lips to his a bit firmer, but your inexperience shows as you're left unsure how to proceed. You felt a bit embarrassed, but it was hard to keep that thought as Daisuke smiled so much you ended up having to pull away. 

“We gotta work on that,” He muttered, his grin betraying his giddiness. 

“I think you just want more kisses,” You murmured back, feeling your heart skip a beat. 

“Can you blame me?” He laughed, wrapping his arms around your waist. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now.”

“Must be your lucky day then.”

“The luckiest.”

[fumifooms]

Kabuholm

For me the main appeal of Kabru x Holm is that Holm is 1) dependable and 2) casual.

For 1, we see it throughout the manga and whatnot, with his healer role but also with his composure, so relaxed it’s in turn soothing to hang around him. He’s a bit like a turtle, gentle and takes it at a relaxed pace, slows down your frenzied pace, retreats into his shell if too much is happening hehe… The Mick & Kuro bath comic is a favorite of mine on that front! In that one he complains and shouts, but he still lets Mick crash, he still helps, he still makes them tea and makes sure they have a trashbin and makeshift beds and whatnot lmao, and it’s late too… Reliable dependable Holm.

But also he freezes up when too much is happening <3 Gotta protect him a bit teehee, Kabru coming to his rescue and it’s his chance to show off. Except he doesn’t need to show off, it’s not strategical or needed, neither for his plan or to win Holm over as an ally, but he still will <3 Because he wants to and that on its own, wanting to, feels novel to Kabru… Dungeons is the place where he feels like he can show off the most to Holm because he seems so unaffected in general by his charms, and protecting him is one of the things Kabru knows he can do, and the showing off is because…

… of 2! He has that huge casual vibe to him. Holm still has expectations of Kabru as a leader yes, but he won’t voice them unless prompted and on his face you’ll find the same unbothered calm smile as always. Being around him feels like having no pressure. It feels like being trusted entirely even if your actions seem shady at first, because it’s not a vibe or a persona he trusts in you but it’s you, however you are like in the moment.

Kabru spends time with Holm, around this other repressed guy that has his shit put together (even if Kabru does know about Holm’s flaws, and he feels a special kind of way about that… Collecting that info like pokemon cards and finding that he wished he knew even more <3 so so intrigued and "It’s probably just curiosity. If anything I’m just infatuated" when he realizes it feels a twinge different than with everyone else), and he finds that he feels like he can unwind and show himself a bit. Show some flaws too. Holm being so unconditionally casual AND quietly supportive, even if he doesn’t say anything, would be soo important to Kabru in a kabuholm timeline… A telepathic sort of thing would form where Kabru learns how to read his face, and even if it’s always the same droopy eyed smile he starts understanding how he feels, what he’s thinking, what it means when he nods at him in silence and aughh…

Holm DOESN’T push his emotions onto Kabru!!! Holm keeps that shit to himself!!! Kabru doesn’t have to manage Holm’s emotional needs & states for him, when that’s what he usually has to do for everyone!!! Charm them and keep them happy and if this or that happens then you need to anticipate their needs with this and blahblahblah. Holm is low maintenance, he doesn’t take much emotional energy to deal with, he has his own deal figured out!

Kabru in canon knew about the way Holm freezes up in surprising intense situations, a rare time he’s had to cover for him in any way and he was so quick about it, and again, battlefield with humans both physical and mind games is his specialty so if it’s just protecting him from enemies he’s the man for the job <3 Holm’s the healer to his warrior after all, with an impressive dose of defense and offense thrown into the mix too. I will say also, that scene where Holm hesitates when Marcille says not to hurt Faligon… Kabru stepping in and giving Holm the decisiveness he needed to not falter.

With all that said about Holm’s feelings being something he doesn’t make Kabru’s problem to deal with, in Kabru getting infatuated it should be something that eventually gets him like "I wish he’d rely on me a bit more…" Kabru should massage the stress out of him <3 Always keeping himself composed and being dependable and stuff wears down on Holm (and Kabru)… I do think Holm represses to some degree so 1) the pent up stress he hasn’t been letting out 2) "bro, let’s learn to show our real emotions more together… Bro…"

I’m not sureee how the Holm side plays out in my mind yet but either he falls much later than Kabru or he’s just really good at hiding and being casual about his crush which tbf would be thematic lol. But idk if he’d be that good as that… Thinking. Because with the comic about his sister or even the one about Dia’s fiance or Mick crashing at his place, Holm does like, show a lot of emotion and distaste, some anger, he doesn’t repress that much/everything. He has a sense of duty that makes him want to help where he can, he does have desires like say, Kabru not getting it on with his sister, but also he’s not gonna force himself to be a solemn saint always either… Kabru would also find that fun methinks, figuring out the exact duality in Holm, where he cracks and why. Oh nooo I fell in love with my enrichment and coworker. Them just hanging ouuuut at a tavernnn after everyone else leeeeft… Haven’t done a full Holm analysis yet but I’ve started giving him more thoughts bc of kabuholm and diaholm. Because his religion is important to him and it bars him from meat for example, it’s reasonable to think he sticks to an upstanding moral code with awareness and purpose. Despite having been to jail he’s never shown scorn or shittalked elves or alluded to it, either he doesn’t resent easily or he keeps that part of his past on the down-low for whichever reason. His maturity is actually something that’s often pointed to about him, he’s only the equivalent of like 30, but being close in age (as in they’re both older bc they’re long lived races) is cited as the reason for why he gets along with Dia the most in the party for example. He can be lively, but when he is it’s usually because something’s happening that he doesn’t like lol, also usually off the job, wether it be because of being in a different mind state, doing different things in different situations, or because Kui make so him more expressive in Daydream Hour extras haha.

So kabuholm to me is the casual quiet feel-good get-to-know-each-other slow burn ever. They prob never confess if we’re being honest but even just hanging out around each other fills up their battery somehow, like being at a sauna and feeling refreshed.

So yes sort of, the want to show off someone hard to wow and impress someone who’s very well put together and unfazed, in duality with how that person makes you feel like you shouldn’t or don’t have to try so hard, that you can just catch a break and take it easy for a moment, socially.

Holm’s observant and composed. I like that he’s able to keep up with Kabru and engage with his points. I do always like when a partner has the capacity to be critical or skeptical, reign in a bit or balance, but Holm is easily swayed with his trust in Kabru, and easily reasoned with to a satisfied degree. He’s low maintenance but still engaging.

Kabru is not only the main character of the group but also his main character point is being good at reading and remembering people: It’s no surprise that the majority of what we learn about Holm is done through him one way or another, but I still like that he’s got Holm’s quirks down pat, like the freezing up thing. Allow me to find that cute idk. And then the reverse of that too below… Underrated how all of his party knows about how he sucks at taking care of himself and his space.

I tried compiling all of their moments but I’m sure I missed some, especially Daydream Hours ones. So yeah my kabuholm manifesto. I’m casual about them but they creeped up on me randomly and have refused to leave my heart. Bromance idk idk

[deathmetalunicorn1]

I love your Pokémon x ROR work. Can I ask for something similar but instead of fighting during ragnarok, the Gods and humans meet some of the Pokémon outside of battle? Like intimidating ones like Charizard to cuter ones like Pikachu who’s still pretty strong. They’re confused on how to handle these creatures they’ve never seen before then out comes teen!reader who happens to be their trainer who easily takes over the situation. It be funnier with the gods reacting to a human child being able to tame and bond with the scarier Pokémon aswell

-You hadn’t meant to cause harm or panic in Valhalla, you had found a large park, one that was perfect for a picnic and relaxing, as you wanted to take a break with your team, who came to Valhalla with you after you passed in a rockslide accident.

-The park was perfect, there was a huge lake for your Gyarados to swim around in, and lots of room for your other Pokemon to run around, climb trees, or rest under trees in the shade, and just enjoy their second chance in this new life.

-You hadn’t realized that Pokemon weren’t something common in Valhalla, only god like ones, legendries, so when your Pokemon all ran off to go and have fun, they caused a lot of panic.

-Your Sylveon, Pikachu, and Mimikyu remand together, running off into a busy district where they were quickly surrounded by gods and humans, curious as to who they were.

-Qin Shi Huang kneeled down, looking curious as he held one hand to his chin, “Hmm I’ve never seen creatures like this before.” He held out his hand and Sylveon called out happily, saying her name as her ribbons stretched out, grabbing onto his hand, as if shaking it.

-Ares was kneeling next to Pikachu, doing the same and Pikachu scurried up his arm, sitting on his shoulder, calling out happily while made so many grin on how cute it was.

-Jack was looking at Mimikyu, who had an uneasy feeling about him, like he was something dangerous as Jack tried to read him, “Hmm how curious- it looks much like that one, but it’s different.”

-He touched Mimikyu’s head, to find it only to be a disguise, flopping over, breaking it. Instantly Mimikyu was crying, dark shadows coming from underneath it’s disguise, crying out loudly.

-Jack did his best to apologize, but seeing the dark shadows quickly had many running, Pikachu had nearly been knocked off Ares’ shoulders, but he caught him before, “Pik-a CHU!!!!” and lightning surrounded him and the war god, making Ares’ skeleton visible as he was electrocuted.

-Sylveon was chill in Hades’ arms now, while still holding onto QSH, looking completely unbothered as she called out, telling the other two to calm down.

-Many were prepared to fight these strange creatures, thinking they were a threat as Ares was twitching on the ground, charred before they heard, “Hey you guys! You were supposed to stay in the park!”

-The three instantly called out, seeing you running over and jaws dropped, seeing a child as the three Pokemon ran over to you, calling out happily, Mimikyu scurrying up your arm and held you around your neck, hugging you.

-Hades was polite, inquiring about your creatures and you told them that they were Pokemon, your partners, and after explaining what Pokemon were, many calmed down, as they had seen them before, just not ones like this.

-You apologized to Ares who told you he was fine, just shocked, literally, that Pikachu was so strong! You went to speak before you heard another of your Pokemon call out and you turned, seeing Snorlax gorging himself at an outdoor restaurant, “Snorlax!!”

-They all followed you over to the massive Pokemon who called out happily, seeing you while you apologized to the restaurant staff who were fine, as Snorlax didn’t break anything, he was just eating his fill on the endless food that was available.

-Hercules was impressed, “This is one of yours too?” you beamed, putting a hand on Snorlax’ belly, “Yup- this is my cuddly fat boy- isn’t that right?” Snorlax, hearing your pet name, pulled you into his arms, hugging you close which made you laugh.

-You recalled him into his Pokeball, followed by the others before you heard Gyarados calling out loudly, as if he was ready to fight as the sky darkened, “Oh no!”

-You all turned, seeing the lake in the park, seeing Gyarados stretching out of it, glaring down at Lu Bu, who was holding halberd, looking feral himself, ready for a fight as everyone scrambled after you as you shouted out Gyarados’ name.

-Seeing this massive Pokemon instantly calming down, hearing your voice, turning from this human that seemed so adamant to fight him, lowering his head as you leapt, hugging at his face.

-Jack was in awe, seeing this massive creature being so gentle with you while Lu Bu was pouting that you took away his opportunity to fight something strong.

-You recalled Gyarados back in as you apologized to everyone for causing so much trouble before Hercules pointed back at where a picnic was set up, your picnic, “What about that one?”

-You turned, seeing Charizard snoozing on the blanket, fast asleep and you beamed, “That’s my Charizard! He likes to sleep a lot but he’s just as strong as any of my Pokemon!”

-Charizard, hearing his name, woke up, sitting up and yawned loudly before walking over, hugging you from behind as you told your tale about how you died, taking your Pokemon with you, and now you were all here in Valhalla.

-Charizard rested his head on top of your own, still looking a bit sleepy, but Jack, Hercules, Lu Bu, and Ares were all easily able to tell that he was insanely strong, despite looking so unassuming.

-You were happy to have them all join your picnic, calling all your partners back out, telling them to behave this time, as you talked about your world, about all the different types of Pokemon you had seen, which they enjoyed.

-You were only a child, but you were a warrior, just a different type of warrior then what they were used to, but that didn’t make you any less of one and they wanted to know more about you, and what drove you to become a trainer.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Could I get a ScarVio Latios, whichever, Reader who pretended to be human to attend school? He can do what the Latias from the anime movie could do “bend light” to make himself look human. The Latios does have to be careful of anything accidentally bumping into him could go through the illusion (he isn’t a zoroark), but otherwise he has been enrolled for a few years. He already caught himself and hid his own Poke Ball so that worry is gone.

Latios can speak the native languages through telepathy.

Can you do Clavell, Arven, Kieran, or Penny’s reactions to being invited to the Latios’ dorm and he decided to reveal himself? Maybe he looks up to Clavell as a second uncle while the other three remind him of his sister who’s on the other side of the world. The point being he decided it might be time to finally tell someone he was actually a Pokemon, in case y’know the government looked closer at his records.

I just think it would be funny.

Waahh I love that movie!! I was hoping for a request like this!

Couldn't think of anything for Arven and Penny so hope Clavell and Kiki are okay!

Director Clavell

For years you've been able to disguise yourself as human to attend Paldea's academy, having always wanted to experience the daily life of one.

Aside from your red eyes, inability to speak (at least verbally), and your hair looking like the fins on your true form--you'd say you've blended in pretty well!

Not a single teacher nor student suspected you were a Latios, and you had every intention to keep it that way..

Until one day, a few months into your treasure hunt, you overheard Director Clavell discussing something with a few teachers..who claimed they saw you flying over Mesagoza.

Of course...you may have been chasing after something that day and forgot to turn invisible.

With telepathy, you're able to hide and hear their full conversation...and your heart drops when he suggests finding and capturing you so no other student risks their life trying to do the same-

It damn near terrifies you into almost breaking the illusion as you bump into a table whilst fleeing (you keep forgetting that you're no Zoroark, who are master of illusions).

It hurt a little to hear that from Clavell especially, who you looked up to like an uncle ever since he personally reprimanded the same bullies that the former director failed to punish for harassing you (the latter basically said it was your fault for never speaking up).

You've been attending this school since that huge fallout between Team Star and their own bullies, and you wanted to believe Clavell could be better than him in every way.

You just didn't wanna be shunned, expelled, and/or caught if he did find out about your records..and the lies you told on it.

But after he learns the truth of Team Star and allows the leaders back into the Academy, you find enough courage to request a meeting outside your dorm room, insisting you knew about the Latios that was recently sighted.

Although you quickly insist that he comes inside, and he grows concerned.

Surely this discussion could have been done inside his office..

However, Clavell soon realizes why you wanted him to come here specifically, as you revealed yourself to be that Latios, telepathically sharing everything:

Why you wanted to disguise yourself as human, the passion you had as a student at his Academy, how you admired him ever since he defended you and spoke up against Team Star, how you caught yourself in your own pokeball, etc.

You were fully ready to be expelled for this.

Not only have you lied to him and everyone else in the Academy..but you've also caused an uproar within the student body over your presence around Mesagoza.

Plus...surely he'd never believe a Pokémon could be a student. Something like that couldn't and shouldn't happen..

But while Clavell did have his suspicions when he looked at the records you submitted for enrollment...

Now he sees that even a Pokémon could have the same dream as a human student: to go on their own treasure hunt.

And to deny you that would make him feel guilty.

In the end, he allows you to continue your studies and promises to keep your identity a secret.

He only asks that you don't go flying around the plaza nor skip any classes.

Kieran

Having attended BB Academy for a few years and being a League Club member, you'd see Kieran from time to time, struggling to make a name for himself and hiding behind his sister 24/7.

He keeps assuming you never spoke to him because he did something to make you mad...

Until one day when you defended him from some bullies and patched up some minor injuries he got from a Pokémon battle gone wrong.

In a way, he reminds you of your sister Latias..who lived on the other side of the world, yet was always in your heart.

He opened up surprisingly fast afterwards, and you became his first official friend! The one he'd always ramble about Ogerpon to, alongside some other legendaries he's read about.

He mentions Latios, which makes your heart skip a beat as he mentions dreaming about flying across the sky on one some day--but meeting Ogerpon is his greatest wish.

However when he left for Kitakami on a trip and came back less than a week later....he changed. Not for the better, but for the worst.

No longer did he cry to you about any bullies..but rather became just like those bullies.

The moment he walked into the club room with his hair up and jacket open, you sensed a strong shift in his aura.

It was dark, foreboding, cruel..anguished.

You already saw into his mind: being rejected by the Legendary he idolized, his dreams crushed by an outsider, being lied to over and over again...and a constant whisper that he is weak and has to be stronger and stronger and stronger.

He was hurting. But..what could you do?

Now he looks at you as just another club member, asking if you've been training your team and getting annoyed when he remembers you don't talk.

When Drayton says something snarky, he slams a hand on the table and startles you into nearly dropping your illusion.

Somehow nobody else sees it--except Kieran.

And he looks shocked, but you rush out of the room and flee the Academy, diving into the water as you turn into your true self.

You don't come back for a while, afraid that he saw who you truly were and believed he'll despise you for keeping this secret from him.

Eventually, though, you find yourself flying around the academy entrance again, invisible as you overhear him give a humble apology to Florian/Juliana...and you realize he has changed again--for the better this time.

It warms your heart, as you sense his aura is good.

Soon you invite him to your dorm, promising to explain everything to him.

And Kieran is surprised by your memorabilia of Latios and Latias, along with photographs you managed to take of the legendaries.

"Wowzers..you got to meet them both? You must've been a huge fan of them! Haha, kinda like how I was a fan of Ogerpon.." He chuckles.

You realize he's not fully understanding, so you ask him if he remembered the day you suddenly fled the club room..and it finally dawns on him.

"Wait, I remember..you did kinda look like Latios for a split-second. But I'm sure my eyes were just playing tricks on me. No way could you be-"

In a small bout of frustration, you show him that you are indeed a Latios, and he's absolutely stunned when he sees your true form and hears your actual voice inside his head.

He almost yells (out of amazement, not anger)--but you keep him quiet...and then he just starts awkwardly gushing and stammering like he used to about Ogerpon, but instead it's about you and the shock that he's been friends with a Legendary after all this time.

He feels bad for nearly exposing your secret, but you forgive him, answering any and all questions he had to the best of your ability.

You trust him enough to reveal the pokeball you caught yourself in--having managed to "cheat" the system by registering yourself as a trainer so that your Latios-self couldn't be caught by anyone.

Kieran just finds you to be SUPER cool fr.

Since he's always wanted to fly on the back of an Eon Pokemon, you decided to fulfill his dream and take a small flight around Unova's ocean.

He's terrified as HELL but at the same time couldn't be happier, clinging to your neck and grinning.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Another one of my silly Epic headcannons is that Athena was also training baby Diomedes while she was training baby Ody.

Now while she helped heros Athena tended to try to not be at all involved with them. She even chose a champion but kept her distance. That is until her champion just decided to eat a guys brain.

She decided that not only she needed a new champion she needed someone she could mold so they would met her standards and more importantly not comit canibalism in front of her for no reason. First move magic boar.

Except she got bored no one was solving her test and did a move that would have very different results when repeated and went check on Tydeus kid. Six years old Diomedes was smart, dedicated and thanks to being raised as a child soldier already really good with a spear. And she was like "oh perfect". Unlike Ody, Dio is shy and very awed/respectfull at first.

Less than a year later ten year old Odysseus solves her test (now Diomedes is sayed to be four when his dad died, I'm not making that one up, but Ody's age is very open, Epic implies he already had Athena when he became king at 13 so I'm going with 10, the boar was his Pokemon journey). So she now has two chances.

She never figths with Diomedes but they get distant for a bit. When she goes for Telemachus she is hoping for second Diomedes and instead she remembers that a) Ody is one of her kids at this point b) she actually likes Odysseus c) Ody didn't ate people. Besides 3 warriors are better than one. She soons recognizes she just has 3 mortal friends.

Before the Troyan War Dio and Ody were not friends, buddies, Diomedes gay awakening, and in fact didn't know about the other except via Athena weird questions. Some memorable moments:

- When Odysseus becames king and is overwhelmed by anxiety and sadness over his father condicion. Athena goes "Diomedes what humans do when their fathers go mad" and Dio is "my dad is dead" + "how do I deal with my human being sad and anxious and make sure he'll be a good king when he is a child?" "I'm literally nine"

- Athena fails to explain her worries about Diomedes fate as a kid soldier and instead Ody is fully convinced she wants him to invade Thebes and starts to get ready for when the order comes. "Okay, goddess, for real do you want me to invade Thebes or not?" and Athena is like "No, but hypotetically if it distressed you" "It does sound distressing" "How do I help a crying human" "Have you tried conforting them? Maybe offer a hug."

- Thanks to Odysseus Athena knows puberty is a big deal for humans. But unlike Ody, Dio does not have active and present parents to help. So Athena goes to older teen Ody "how did your parents give you the talk?" and Odysseus is fully dying of embarassmenet after the conversation is over but Athena now has enough notes to give a sort of decent talk to her other kid.

- The moment Diomedes turns 17 Athena is fully expecting another "pleasepleasepleaseplease help me with Penelope" situation so they have akwards "Do you want me to like wingman you" conversations for a bit. [When Diomedes actually starts liking someone it is Odysseus and Athena is just "you have bad taste good luck with that one" and very unhelpfull].

- After getting bad advice from Dionysus and trolling from Apollo, Athena finally goes to her other human to ask for help about not noticing her human was expecting + tiny baby in no armor. Diomedes got his talk from Athena and suddently realizes he actually has no idea how babies are born and has very weird conversations with his war friends.

- Athena is fully used to talking to her champions and not being heard by anyone else. This cauuses a small problem when she is trying to advice Odysseus about Iphigenia and Diomedes is fully "what are you talking about?" and that how the War Crimes (with Extra Lying) Trio is founded.

- Unrelated but after realizing Telemachus could think it really was a Tydeus situation except with forgiving Athena goes to Telemachus to assure him his dad was not a family-murdering cannibal. Telemachus knows Ody would never kill his family but he had never even considered his father and cannibal in the same sentence before and is very concerned over why Athena felt the sudden urge to promisse him his dad never ate people.

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 52]

<< First | < Previous | Next >

-

Nia and Tobias have their mission. It's time to plan their next move, and get some training in while they're at the Lexym Guild.

-

Telling Maggie about their trip to Asra and Shivergleam is a tense affair. The meganium stays quiet for most of it, but Nia can see her honey-gold eyes darken after each brush with danger that they skim over, clumsily trying to fill in the gaps left in their story.

Finally, what feels like hours later, they're finished. Quiet falls over the three of them.

With a forced sort of calm, Maggie asks, “Is that everything?”

“It’s all we know so far,” Tobias hedges. “Our plan right now is just to find Xerneas. Hopefully she can prevent any of this from happening. Or at least fix the dimensional border if it does break.”

If she doesn't, the world falls apart, Nia silently adds, knowing she doesn’t need to say it for it to be in the forefront of all their minds. Both the Pokemon world and the human world would be destroyed.

Nia fiddles with the soft fur of her tail, too nervous to look up at Maggie. The silence while the grass type digests everything is heavy.

Finally, Maggie sighs. Nia jumps.

“I’m going to need a hug after all of that,” Maggie says.

Nia finally looks up, relieved, and willingly scoots closer for the meganium to pull her into a hug with her vine. Nia leans against her petals, soft but firm, and breathes in her fresh floral scent. She sees Tobias getting the same treatment on Maggie’s other side.

Immediately, Nia feels a little better. Everything feels less dire when she's tucked against Maggie like this. It's still quiet, but a comforting sort of quiet. It’s only the three of them in the herbalist quarters at the moment, Sage having been politely shooed out of the room to grab some berries for breakfast once Maggie realized that neither Nia nor Tobias felt comfortable explaining their trip with the ivysaur present. Sage had taken the obvious excuse with grace, thankfully, and is taking his time in returning.

“Thank you for telling me.” Maggie says. She takes a deep breath, Nia lifting with the exhale. “I just wish you two weren’t thrown right in the middle of all this mess. You’re so young.”

“We’re not little kids,” Tobias mutters.

“Oh, don’t pout.”

“I'm not pouting!” Tobias says, absolutely pouting.

Nia turns her face into Maggie’s petals to stifle a laugh.

“When were you planning on talking to August about all of this?” Maggie asks.

Nia pulls away to look at Tobias. He seems as unsure as she feels.

“Should we tell him?” Tobias asks, crossing his arms. “We’re getting intel from a banished legendary, if he even believes we're telling the truth. And we don’t know that he’ll actually do anything even if he does believe us. He said he’d look into the fire that happened in Ghatha but nothing ever came from that.”

Nia has to admit that he has a point.

Maggie sighs. “Even if it’s not obvious, I’m sure August is doing all he can to help. And if this is something jeopardizing not only our guild but the entire Pokemon world, I promise you he would want to know about it.”

Nia and Tobias exchange a doubtful look.

Maybe sensing that they’re reluctant to talk to August and worried that they’ll try to put it off completely, Maggie only allows a quick breakfast of the berries Sage brings back before marching the two of them straight to August’s office herself. The rillaboom looks pleased to see them, a soft sort of relief on his face when he catches sight of Nia and Tobias safely back from their travels. His warm smile fades as he locks eyes with Maggie, though, his more casual posture straightening up. He waves them in without a word.

Verene seems to be out, so they’re the only ones present in the spacious office. The leaves weaving in and out of the wooden walls are a lovely gradient of warm autumnal tones.

August takes a seat behind his desk, chair creaking. “Welcome back, Team Scarlet. It’s good to see you both safe. I heard from the crew of the Aqua Jet and that little sableye that you both showed impressive prowess as Seekers yesterday.”

Nia murmurs a thank you. Tobias nods.

“However, gauging by your expressions, I must assume that’s not why you came to see me today,” August says. “A shame. I could do with some good news, for once. What can I help you with?”

Nia looks to Tobias, so he starts them off. Retells the story once more with Nia stepping in on occasion, trading the explanation back and forth.

They mention Asra, first, to explain everything that comes after. Giratina. The protective shell of this world weakening from a preemptive crack in the very fabric of the dimension. Nia and Tobias being assigned to find Xerneas in a desperate bid for hope.

August’s brow knits and falls lower and lower as he listens, chin resting on bridged fingers. By time they’re finally finished, Nia’s throat is dry. The same oppressive silence from before falls over the room, and it feels thick enough to choke on.

August’s amber eyes settle on Nia. “How sure are you that Giratina was telling the truth?”

Nia tries not to let her own doubt show on her face. “W-Well…I guess I don’t have any proof that he was? But he felt…honest. And it makes sense. Or at least more sense than anything else people have guessed for why the world is breaking down, right? Could anything else cause natural disasters and make evolution stop? Or force legendaries to go dormant?”

“You think Giratina would have something to gain from us seeking out Xerneas?” Tobias asks, eyes narrowing.

August sighs, raking his fingers back through his leafy mane. “That’s difficult to say. I’m no expert on either legendary.”

“But surely there’s enough here to merit a deeper look,” Maggie pipes up. “If Giratina is being honest, then…”

August lets a rush of air out through his nose. “It would be disastrous for us to ignore him, yes.”

The quiet returns like an itchy, ill-fitting sweater.

“I’ll ask Alistair and Tawny to look into it immediately,” August finally says. “If they feel that searching for Xerneas is likely to be of help and not just playing into Giratina’s schemes, then I’ll reach out to the other Guildmasters so we can plan from there.”

Nia lets out a breath. Knowing that they aren’t solely responsible for saving the whole world feels like the weight of the Lexym Tree itself being lifted off her shoulders. She kind of wants to cry. “Thank you.”

August nods. “Of course. I’m here for anyone in the guild, but a matter pertaining to the safety of the entire world? That is not to be treated lightly.”

“Speaking of safety,” Tobias says, in a tone that would be casual if it didn’t sound like it was barbed with thorns. “You said you were going to send someone to look into the fire at Ghatha, right? And other human discrimination. Anything ever come of that?”

August gives Tobias a dry look. “Put away your fangs, Tobias. I did indeed look into the matter.”

“And?”

“The investigation into the Ghatha fire has unfortunately gone cold. While they can assume it was a fire type at the convention who started it, Rai’s guild hasn’t been able to determine who was the culprit. They’ve marked it closed for now unless new information arises.”

"Yeah, and I'm sure that decision has nothing to do with the guy not liking humans," Tobias mutters.

August's eyes narrow. "Where did you hear that?"

Nia blinks, surprised, and exchanges a look with Tobias. August doesn't know? "Keegan mentioned it, back when we were in Ghatha."

"The guild's second-in-command," Tobias clarifies. "A ninetales."

"Hm." August looks past them for a moment, locking eyes with Maggie. Before Nia can figure out what the two older Pokemon are thinking, he speaks again. "That's not something I was aware of. What are your thoughts on Keegan? I haven't had the chance to speak with him myself."

"He was nice!" Nia says.

"A little too nice," Tobias scoffs.

August hums. "...Noted. Regardless, for now the investigation remains at a stand-still."

Tobias’ muzzle crinkles, mirroring Nia’s own displeasure. While this news isn’t entirely unexpected, it is unnerving, not knowing the Pokemon who made a very intentional effort on all of the human lives at the convention in Ghatha. What if they try something else in the future? The thought makes Nia feel…uneasy. Unsafe.

“My scouts did also confirm your claims regarding the general perception of humans in Ghatha. It seems the aggression towards them is increasing. Considering you saw the same in Asra, I can only assume the trend continues elsewhere as well.”

“But why?" Nia protests, voice cracking. "We aren't doing anything wrong!"

“I know,” August says, rubbing at his face. “We know you have nothing to do with what’s happening to our world, Nia. None of the humans do. But unfortunately, the natural disasters and mystery dungeons are only becoming more and more common. Pokemon are injured and frightened, and humans are a handy group to shoulder the blame.”

“It’s escalating, isn’t it?” Maggie cuts in, voice soft. “Not just the aggression. The natural disasters. The spread of mystery dungeons. The Haven hasn’t been hit too hard yet, but…”

August hesitates with a glance at Nia and Tobias. “Yes. Which would line up with what Giratina is claiming. The closer we get to the moment when the barrier of our dimension breaks, the more and more dangerous our world gets. And the more that tensions run high, the more rumors spread about whose fault it could be.”

Another silence. Nia can hear the walls of the Lexym Tree creak around them in the wind.

“What about Will?” Tobias asks. Nia looks at him, surprised that he’s even willing to bring up the yamask he dislikes so much.

“Ah, yes. You mentioned wanting to visit him to see if he has any leads in finding Xerneas. My scouts didn’t hear much about his group while in Ghatha, but they also couldn’t find many humans at all, seeing as they’re keeping a low profile.”

“I sent him a letter before we left for Asra,” Nia speaks up. “Telling him about Giratina trying to pull me into the distortion realm through the stream. A-And about me recovering some of my memories. If he’s written back by now, he probably left a way to find him, right?”

“Should we even bother seeing if he has information, though?” Tobias asks, face twisting. “If we know that we’re looking for Xerneas, what are the chances he knows something Alistair and Tawny and the other guilds don’t?”

“Can we risk not checking?” Nia murmurs.

Tobias doesn’t have an argument for that. “I guess just flying straight to see him ourselves would be faster than waiting for mail.”

August's hand strokes at his chin. “I believe Nia is right. We can’t risk missing a potential lead from a network of information outside of our own. If you are willing to track him down, then I approve your travel to seek him out in a few days’ time. I will have the guild cover your flight costs across the sea.”

“Why’re we waiting?” Tobias asks, frowning. “Shouldn’t we leave right away?”

August shakes his head. “I want to first discuss with Alistair and Tawny. If they believe seeking out Xerneas could be as beneficial as Giratina suspects, I’ll have them spread word to the other guilds to start an official search. If they believe we could be playing into a plot, then we’ll put a hold on seeking out any information.”

Nia and Tobias trade an uncertain look, but eventually agree.

The three of them depart the office shortly after, August giving them a distracted goodbye as he turns to some papers on his desk.

“So we have a few days until we can leave,” Tobias says, jumping right into it. “What’s our plan until then?”

“We should probably go to our quarters first, right?” Nia says. “To see if Will even wrote back?”

Tobias frowns, but nods.

They reach the medical floor, and Maggie stops, reminding Nia and Tobias that the meganium has a job to do elsewhere.

“Oh, don’t give me those yamper eyes,” Maggie laughs. She nuzzles the top of Nia’s head, then Tobias’. “I have a job to do as well! And I’ll still be right here if you want to stop in again later tonight.”

Tobias visibly relaxes at the reminder, and Nia thanks the meganium for her help. For listening.

“Of course! Someone has to look after you two, always running off into trouble,” Maggie says with a wink.

Nia turns to head down the stairs, but pauses when Tobias doesn’t follow. The charmander is hesitating, staring at Maggie with a conflicted expression. Then he darts forward to squeeze Maggie’s leg in a hug. The meganium seems as surprised as Nia is by the unusually open affection, but after a beat her expression softens. She lowers her head to return the hug with her long neck and a vine, squeezing him tight.

Ah, right. Tobias had told Maggie about finding the home of the crobat outlaw, too. About finding the crobat's grave, and the loving family he’d left behind. Maggie had smothered him in a hug then, too, but it makes sense that he’s still feeling a bit emotional about it all.

Tobias only tolerates the affection for a few seconds before ducking free and slipping past Nia, calling for her to hurry up over his shoulder. Nia smiles as she waves to Maggie and hurries after her partner.

The two of them head to the Seekers’ quarters a few floors down. Most of the doors are closed since Pokemon are out and about doing missions in the middle of the day, but there are a few lattice windows in the halls that let in glimpses of bright sunshine and whistling gusts of air.

Their own room is just as they left it, save a thin layer of dust over everything. The wall is lined by a few wooden cabinets, along with a bookcase and chest to keep their belongings in. A large window sits on the far wall, its lattice-like roots currently opened wide. A leaf-woven curtain is pulled down over it to keep out the wind, and the sun shines through it beautifully, casting a dim golden-green hue over everything. In the center of the room lies their plush scarlet red rug, and away from the window sits their nests, resting side-by-side.

Tobias dumps their satchel next to the chest. Nia goes to the mailbox set into the wall by the door. She’s excited to find three pieces of mail inside—two letters and one thin slip of paper. She pulls them out and looks at the smallest one first. It reads 20% Off at the Kecleon Brothers Shop! with a cute little drawing of a pair of…chameleons?

“They have coupons in this world?” Nia asks, strangely amused by the thought.

Tobias’ warmth appears at her side as he peers over her shoulder. He snorts. “The kecleon merchants are really well-known. Good quality wares, but make sure you stay on their good side.”

“Um, okay. Why?”

Tobias flops down in his nest. “The last ‘mon that tried to steal from ‘em left with less limbs than they started with.”

“But they’re so cute!” Nia says, aghast, as she looks again at the little drawing.

“So are fairy types, and they’re terrifying."

Nia sinks into her own nest, gently setting the coupon aside. She’s not sure she wants to deal with the shop at all if that’s the reputation they keep. She lights up when she sees the second letter, though—it’s a cute little thing, blue, with Nia’s name written in delicate, loopy cursive.

Tobias rolls over to squint at the envelope. “Who wrote us a letter in gibberish?”

Nia blinks. “You can’t read this?”

“You can?”

Nia takes another look at the letter. At first she thinks the problem is that the writing is cursive, but then she realizes that it’s probably because it's English. Not the native Pokemon language.

“Oh,” Nia laughs, feeling a strange pang of homesickness. “It’s in English. A, uh. Human language.”

She opens the envelope with care, pulling out the stationery and smiling at the letter, which is also written in looping cursive. Tobias doesn’t say anything else, but she can feel his eyes on her so she translates as she skims.

“It’s from Hazel. She says that she can make me a human bed! Oh man, you are going to love it. You’ll never be able to go back to a normal nest. And she’ll even give me the family discount! Aww!”

“She should give you more than that after we saved her mate’s tail,” Tobias says.

“We hadn’t even met Beck yet when I sent the request! Let’s see here…she also says—”

Nia bursts into laughter.

“What?”

“She also says that she’s glad you’re nicer to me now, but that she’s willing to knock some sense into you any time if that changes.”

Tobias straightens up, flushing. “She did not say that.” Nia cackles, turning the page over to his grabby hands. “She did! C’mon, she’s the reason I confronted you in Afon’s Cap at all!”

Tobias makes a face, but he’s still bright red. Nia isn’t sure if it’s because he’s embarrassed to be called out, or because of his behavior during their early partnership in the first place. Either way, he folds the letter back up and frisbees it at her, huffing.

Nia laughs again and tucks the letter off to the side with the coupon. She’ll have to write the old raichu back later. Nia’s amusement dies down as she picks up the third letter.

Tobias sits up as he sees her expression. “…Will?”

Nia nods. Hesitantly, she opens the yamask’s letter.

Nia,

While I’m pleased to hear from you, I wish it was under better circumstances! I’m relieved that you escaped from Giratina unharmed, but concerned that you had such a close call at all. If you do feel unsafe where you are, please don’t hesitate to come join the community of humans we have amassed thus far—we’re growing by the day! We're just south of Ghatha, past Stonebrook and closer to Kaleido Bay. If you can find Stonebrook, they can direct you from there.

“Stonebrook,” Nia murmurs, tilting her head. “Why does that sound familiar?”

Tobias, who had scooched closer to read, frowns as he tries to recall as well. Then he groans and plants his face in his hands.

“What?”

“It’s where your stupid rookidee friend lives,” Tobias says, words muffled.

Nia gasps. “Junie! Oh my gosh, you’re right! We could stop by and see her! She could—”

“We are not inviting her to join us.”

“Aw, why not? I miss her!”

“You miss her because she doesn’t pick fights with you constantly!”

Nia looks at him for a moment. “I thought you kind of enjoyed it. It's like how you squabble with Andyn."

Tobias stumbles over a retort—outright stammers—his face growing red again, and Nia bursts into laughter.

“Oh my God, I knew it! You do like bickering with them! Why do you act like you hate them so much?”

“I do hate them!”

“Mhm.”

“They’re annoying and loud and—”

“They’re your frieeends,” Nia coos, poking him in the cheek.

“They are not,” Tobias hisses, swatting her hand away. “Shut up!”

Nia can feel him heating up with embarrassment so she knows he’s lying, but she takes mercy and backs off, still grinning.

“This is exactly why you don’t need to be spending more time with either of them,” Tobias grumbles, rubbing at his cheek. “They’re rubbing off on you.”

Nia finally tames her delight down to a manageable level and goes back to Will’s letter.

I am thrilled, however, to hear about your returned memories, even if you had to endure a terrifying illness to find them. After speaking with more of the humans under my care who have recovered their own memories, I have to wonder if there is a correlation between severe injury or illness and the recovery of one's memories. Perhaps brushing by Death’s doorstep unlocks a part of the brain once buried?

Huh. Nia has to take a moment to think after reading that. The handful of memories she recovered did only return to her when she was gravely ill, but she didn’t think it was a direct correlation. But Will seems to be implying that nearly dying could be a trigger for that process. If Giratina is correct, maybe it has to do with them getting close to…leaving their new vessels? So the memories that Mew sealed away kind of…loosen?

Nia shakes her head, unnerved by the reminder that she nearly died, and reads on.

I would love to discuss with you further if you do feel like visiting. Know that you’re always welcome. We have exciting developments in the works! Until then, I hope you and your partner are well.

Will

Nia sits back. “Well, he’s open to a visit, and we have directions…”

“Guess it’s settled then,” Tobias sighs. “I’ll let August know tomorrow.”

“August said to give him a few days to run everything by Tawny and Alistair, right? So…what should we do in the meantime?”

Tobias makes a thoughtful sound in his throat, eyes trailing over the faint pattern of leaves forming the window curtain. “We don’t want to wear ourselves out completely before traveling, but we should definitely do some training or missions or something. We need to keep getting stronger, and we need to keep rising higher in the ranks so Pokemon take us seriously.”

“That would give us more funds, too,” Nia agrees. “So I guess for now we just work on recuperating and take a few missions?"

“Then when we’re cleared for travel we go to the flying outpost.” Tobias finishes, a smirk growing on his face. “You excited to get back in the air?”

Nia groans, falling back into her nest. The soft scent of straw and moss wafts up around her. “Not even a little.”

Tobias snorts a laugh. “You’ll survive.”

There’s a moment of quiet where Nia lies starfished in her nest, listening to the wind blow against their curtain. The midday sun has warmed their little room enough for it to feel nice and cozy.

“It’s too late in the day to start a mission,” Tobias says, snagging her attention again. “But I’m going to go see if Azami or Val are around to spar with.”

While he isn’t outright asking Nia to join, the way he pauses to look at her makes the implied question clear. Nia perks up. “Oh! I’ll come with! I’ve been wanting to chat with Val about how my aura’s shaping up anyways.”

Tobias grins, pushing himself to his feet and offering a hand to help her up. The two of them leave the cozy atmosphere of their room to wind their way down the Lexym Tree.

At the doorway leading into the training floor, Nia nearly bumps into a taller Pokemon. She hops back with an apology, craning her head up to meet their eyes. They look interesting—an olive green and tan Pokemon with a mushroom cap and a long, almost kangaroo-like tail. In their bright red claws, tucked close to their body, they hold something like a clipboard.

The mushroom Pokemon starts a polite apology, but cuts himself off as he catches sight of Tobias standing behind Nia. Nia’s own apology trails off as she looks between Tobias and the new ‘mon. Tobias is clearly uncomfortable, an echo of his old, closed-off demeanor resurfacing as he crosses his arms and scowls up at the taller grass type.

“Try to keep everything in one piece,” The new Pokemon finally says, tone clipped, as he slips around them and walks off.

Nia turns to Tobias with a concerned frown. “Who was that?”

“Archer,” He grumbles, good mood clearly soured. “He keeps track of inventory.”

“Oh. Um. Why was he..?”

“I used to be more…destructive, with some of the dummies. They’re flammable.”

“Oh.” Nia stares at him, trying to parse that information. With how often they travel nowadays and how much Tobias has softened up around her, Nia always forgets that there are Pokemon in the guild who aren’t fond of Tobias for one reason or another. This reason doesn’t seem like a very fair one, though. “Aren’t training dummies meant to be attacked?”

“Not when you’re using fire, apparently,” Tobias snaps, moving past her and into the training area with his shoulders tense.

Nia hurries after her partner, relieved when she sees that not only are their mentors present, but that Val is working with Xander’s team. The medicham is listening to something the luxio is explaining, the rest of his teammates gathered around to listen as well.

Azami is nearby, manning a different fighting area. The tsareena is watching a treecko as they attack a dummy, but she beams behind her tall collar when she catches sight of Nia and Tobias. “Spitfire! And little Riolu. Good to see you!”

Tobias ducks his chin into his scarf, but Nia thinks he’s secretly pleased to have such a warm reception after bumping into Archer. Val, Xander and the rest of Team Shellshock turn at the loud greeting as well.

Avery smiles with a delicate wave.

Felix grins, fluffy ears perking. “Nia!”

“Good to see you," Xander says. "When did you two get back?”

“Last night! Sorry, are we interrupting?” Nia says, approaching the group.

“We were actually just saying we need to branch out a bit with our sparring partners,” Xander says, giving Nia a friendly flick of his star-tipped tail. His gold eyes move to Tobias. “Either of you interested in joining us for combat training?"

“Yeah! I’ve been dying to see how you squirts do in a fight,” Kry says. The fraxure cracks her knuckles to punctuate her words, as if her looming presence isn't intimidating enough.

Tobias, however, flexes his claws and steps forward to meet her. “You’re on.”

"Ohoho! Bring it, little 'mon!"

“Oh, this oughta be good,” Felix says, turning to lead everyone to the sidelines.  “C’mon, we’d better clear the field for these two.”

“They’re going to battle right now?” Nia asks, giving Val a wide-eyed look even as she follows. They just got here! Shouldn’t they warm up or something?

The medicham shrugs. “Charmander stepped forward.”

Well, she can’t argue with that. Still, as Nia sits to watch, she can't help feeling nervous as Tobias crouches into a battle stance across from Kry. The fraxure lashes her tail and lowers her head with a sharp grin. Nia doesn’t think the brash Pokemon would actually hurt Tobias, but…

“Battle!” Val calls.

Both lizard Pokemon lunge, Tobias ducking under a slash and spinning to trip up Kry’s footing with his tail. The fraxure recovers with surprising grace and goes on the offensive again. Tobias is forced to backstep, shooting off small bursts of fire to try and gain some distance. Kry leaps right through one of Tobias’ flames as if it were nothing more than smoke.

“Whoa,” Nia murmurs.

“How was your trip?” Xander asks, leaning over to whisper.

“We had an, uh…eventful week,” Nia chuckles. “Solved a mysterious earthquake problem, fought some outlaws, got caught in a mystery dungeon on the river, so fun times all around.”

They also found the grave of a long-hunted outlaw and met with Giratina of all Pokemon, who told them the world was ending, but Nia feels reluctant to drop all of that onto Xander so suddenly.

Felix whistles. The wartortle’s gaze is on the fight, but his fluffy ears are angled her way. “Busy, busy! No wonder Tobias is holding his own pretty well. You two just don’t stop, huh?”

Nia smiles and straightens up, proudly watching her partner continue to dance around Kry. His fighting style is still more offensive than defensive, but he’s playing it smart, relying on his smaller size and speed to keep the fraxure from landing a spar-stopping blow.

“You willing to try a round next?” Xander asks, giving Nia a friendly nudge with his elbow that nearly knocks her over.

Nia laughs, a little nervous. “Sure? But, uh, I’m not as good at fighting as Tobias.”

“Somehow I doubt that’s true,” Avery speaks up from Xander's other side. The kirlia gives her a warm half-smile. “You tend to underestimate yourself.”

Nia flushes under her fur and looks back to the fight, wincing as Kry nearly lands a devastating punch on Tobias. Instead, her fist slams into the wooden floor with enough force to crack it. The fraxure seems to be getting frustrated, but Tobias is starting to slow too, panting hard. He hasn’t used his smokescreen yet, though Nia isn’t sure if that’s a matter of pride or if Kry’s vision would be sharp enough to see through it.

The fight continues for another minute, Tobias landing a few brushes of flames and claws on Kry’s tough hide, but the fraxure is the one who ends it. She clips the charmander with a left hook, and as he stumbles, she slams him hard in the gut with her heavy tail. Tobias staggers, and Kry takes the opportunity to pin him to the ground with her greater weight.

After a few moments of Tobias struggling to free himself—that tail whip must've knocked the breath out of him if he isn't using his fire—Val calls the match. Kry releases him, stepping back, and Tobias sits up slowly, wincing and rubbing at his stomach. Felix calls out a jovial “Good match!” while Val moves to Tobias’ side. At first, the charmander seems reluctant to listen to her, but after a few quiet words he looks at her fully, scowl lessening as he nods. She must be giving him advice.

Kry makes her way over and grins down at Nia, breathing somehow unlabored. “You next, scrap?”

Felix pouts. “You already got your turn, Kry.”

“And I asked first,” Xander says smoothly, standing and moving to where Kry stood before. He doesn’t sound bossy, but somehow even Nia can hear the quiet authority in his voice. While Nia and Tobias don’t really have a “leader” of their team, it’s clear that Xander holds the title for Team Shellshock.

“You up for it, Nia?” The luxio asks, confident expression softening.

Nia feels her heart flutter with anxiety, but Avery gives her an encouraging nod. She pads over to where Tobias is finally getting to his feet.

“Good fight,” Nia whispers to him as she passes.

“Kick his tail,” Tobias says in return, though it sounds less heated than the scathing comments he used to make towards Xander.

Nia nods and gets in position, lifting her hands and crouching just a bit, feet spread wide and stable. She still doesn’t particularly like fighting, even for fun, but she just tries to think of it more like…a friendly sporting match.

Xander spreads his paws wide as his tail flicks. Sparks come to life and crackle across his black fur, like stars in a night sky. Nia shifts, suddenly registering the fact that Xander is nearly twice her size. Usually the thought is comforting more than anything, but facing him as an opponent…

“Show ‘em what you did to that steelix!” Tobias shouts.

There’s a lull in the group's conversation that makes Nia’s ears flatten, embarrassed by the attention. However, the comment does lessen her nerves a bit. Hard to be intimidated by a luxio when she’s faced down a metal serpent the size of a semi-truck. And she did just learn work up in the last mystery dungeon, which should make her more powerful, but that might up her attack too much—she doesn't want to actually hurt Xander, after all.

Nia can hear Felix asking Tobias about the steelix comment, but Val starts off their spar with a loud, “Battle!”

In complete contrast to Tobias and Kry’s fight, Nia and Xander stay frozen in place, sizing each other up. The sparks crackling across the luxio’s fur make her wary to get in close like she usually does—he can probably cause paralysis, right? He is an electric type. But if she doesn’t get in close, then her only option is to—

Xander makes the first move, lighting up with a flash of electricity and sending a test bolt her way. Nia rolls out of the way on instinct, but she can feel the charge in the air prickling at her fur.

Xander’s eyes narrow. He darts forward to attack.

Nia yelps and creates a staff of aura, taking a swing to make him leap back. He does so, but shoots off another electric attack. Nia barely manages to scramble out of the way, rolling and leaping from bolt after bolt. She doesn’t realize Xander is herding her closer and closer to himself until he’s suddenly slamming into her side.

The electricity in his fur stings, and the blow sends her tumbling across the floor as her staff vanishes. Xander hesitates. Nia takes the opportunity as soon as she lands on her knees to charge up a messy ball of aura in her paws and launch it at the luxio. Xander’s eyes widen, clearly not expecting that, before he gets hit head-on in a flash of blue.

Nia winces. Yeah, she really doesn’t like fighting her friends.

“Oh, you learned aura sphere while you were gone?” Nia hears Avery say, excited.

Nia blinks, looking over at the kirlia. “I did?”

Tobias is also staring at Avery. “She did?”

Nia sees Avery’s eyes widen a split-second before Xander bowls into her again. As she rolls to a stop, she notices the tingly current racing through her body, making her limbs feel numb and locked into place. She struggles to sit up but can’t move. Xander takes his opportunity to pin her down, paws heavy on her arms.

He smiles. “My win.”

Nia accepts defeat with a sigh, letting her head drop back. “I got distracted.”

Xander laughs. For a moment his claws flex, and then Nia feels the electricity in her body…recede, as Xander’s own sparks increase. He steps back, and Nia can move again. She blinks as she sits up, rubbing the remaining tingles out of her arms. Did he…take back the paralysis? Like a lightning rod?

“Good fight, Nia!” Felix, ever the optimist, cheers.

“It really wasn’t,” Nia says. “At least not on my end.”

“That aura sphere caught me off-guard,” Xander encourages. “And I have a feeling you were holding back on me.”

“Not on purpose,” Nia assures, even as she keeps her mouth shut about how Xander hesitated too. He reminds her of her brother in the human world, Clay, so of course she doesn’t want to hurt him. She imagines he sees some of his younger siblings in her as well.

As they rejoin the rest of the group, Kry and Felix pass them to spar next. Val gestures Nia to sit at her side, between her and Avery.

“Sorry, I promise I’ve been keeping up with my training. I can fight better than that,” Nia says, shying away from her mentor’s inscrutable gaze.

“So we heard!” Avery says, ruby eyes shining. “You fought a steelix on your own?”

Nia shrugs, ears pinning to her head. “Tobias and Samir weakened him first.”

“It is still impressive, Riolu,” Val finally says. “Do not downplay your achievements. You fight hardest when there is a true threat. That is admirable in its own way.”

Nia relaxes, giving Val a thankful smile. “I just worry about hurting my friends when we spar.”

“Xander can take it,” Avery giggles. “But forget about that—what other aura techniques did you learn while you were gone?”

Nia perks up as she describes her improved control over her aura. She can form a pretty reliable staff of aura now, officially replacing her trusty branch as her main weapon, and apparently even throw something like an aura sphere at a short distance, at least according to Avery. Plus, there’s the way she used her aura to find Tobias in the mines under Asra—like a pulse. A radar.

At that revelation, Avery interrupts. “That could be a really useful skill to master.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely! Other than being able to find Pokemon buried beneath rocks or snow, you could even use it in battle or in the dark if your vision is impaired.”

Nia looks down at her hands, flexing them. She supposes she did kind of “see” Tobias’ aura to find him in the rubble. And she remembers when she was first learning to use her aura that Val’s energy formed a sort of…silhouette of color. Nia hadn’t thought of practicing her aura as a form of vision, but Avery does have a point about it being useful in certain situations.

“Want to try it?” Xander asks, dropping into the conversation from Avery's other side.

“Now?” Nia asks.

“Why not?”

Nia looks between everyone, but they all seem open to the idea. Tobias, sitting on Xander’s other side, looks a bit uneasy as usual at the mention of aura, but he doesn’t protest. Maybe since Nia has already seen his aura once, albeit on a very surface level, some of his reluctance has melted away.

“You…don’t mind if I look at your aura to practice?”

Everyone shakes their head, save for Tobias. He just shrugs, looking down to fiddle with his scarf. That's as close to a yes as she's probably getting.

Well, they’re all waiting for her. With a hesitant nod, Nia closes her eyes, trying to remember what she did down in the mines. At the time she was fueled by desperation, so it feels strange to try and replicate the move in a more relaxed environment. She thinks she just kind of…pushed out a thin pulse of aura? Like a wave.

She tries it once, gently. Her aura barely even leaves her body, brushing against Val’s orange energy and flashing in her mind’s eye before petering out. Frowning, Nia turns up the power a few notches. Not so strong as to hurt, but not so weak that it dissipates immediately.

On her second try, the aura washes over all of them in a single pulse. Colors light up in her mind’s eye, resembling their vague silhouettes. Val’s bright, strong orange. Avery’s calming indigo. Xander’s eye-catching red. Tobias’ deeper scarlet. For an instant, for a moment, she sees them all, before it goes dark again.

“That felt…interesting,” Xander says, making Nia open her eyes. He’s rubbing a paw over his chest.

Nia blinks. “You felt that?”

Avery nods. “Yes! It’s so hard to describe. It almost feels like you…brushed your paw over my arm to get my attention. But…against my mind instead? My emotions, maybe?”

Nia cringes, immediately glancing at Tobias. He was the touchiest about her aura being invasive.

He does look a bit wary. “How does it feel for you? When you do that.”

Nia looks down at her hand, curling it. “I…don’t think I focused on anyone long enough to get a read on anything? But I’m familiar enough with all of you that it was easy to tell who was who. I could still…feel your personalities? But not any specific emotions.”

“If you were to focus your aura more steadily, in a direct connection rather than a radius, I wonder how well you could track an opponent, even with your eyes closed,” Val says, hand at her chin.

“Could you attach your aura in some way?” Avery adds. “Tag someone, so you would have a constant link?”

Nia sits back. Huh. She certainly hadn’t thought of that. She’s glad these two are here to help. “I…don’t know? I’ve never tried.”

“Would you want to?” Avery asks, practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of experimenting. They clearly wouldn’t mind being a guinea pig.

“Sure? If you don’t, uh. Mind. Any suggestions for how to do this? Since you’re a psychic type?”

“Well, you should probably start out by touching them, right?” Xander says, tilting his head. He glances Kry and Felix’s way when a small explosion goes off from their sparring. Felix is cackling as Kry shouts something at him.

“That would likely be a good place to start, yes,” Val says.

Avery holds out a hand, smiling. Nia hesitates, then takes it, closing her eyes and reaching out with her aura.

Avery’s purple-blue aura, as curious and deep as the night sky, flares to life behind Nia’s eyelids, making up the kirlia’s silhouette. Nia’s own bright blue aura is a strong contrast to it, the two colors a beautiful mix where they overlap at their hands. But when Nia pulls back her paw, Avery’s aura vanishes. She frowns, and touches the kirlia again so the indigo flares back to life. So she does need to…attach her aura to them, somehow. Anchor herself?

Nia can’t think of how to do such a thing, so she tries to let her instincts take over instead. Aura is all about emotion, after all. About her life energy, what she wills into being. So what if she just…wills her aura to connect? Wills her bond with the kirlia to become something…tangible. Something physical. Something more than the surface-level observations of aura that she's done so far, something deeper.

She thinks about Avery’s soft voice and bright eyes and the delicate way they move. How they’re always happy to help Nia think through a problem and how their very presence soothes something anxious in Nia. Warm affection wells up in her heart.

Nia’s aura moves to follow that pull, that connection, latching onto Avery’s instead of just brushing against it. She feels a rush of emotion, of thought, that isn’t hers.

fascinating eager friend proud curious

It’s less a voice, and more a…feeling of each word. Not too different from what Nia has felt in the past, but somehow more intense. Clearer. Nia yanks her hand away, startled, but between them a string of bright blue aura remains, tying her to Avery’s indigo aura and keeping their form visible behind her eyelids. If Nia focuses on it, she can still feels Avery’s emotions, distant. Like a voice from the next room over or a palm radiating warmth through a heavy sweater.

Worry friend okay?

Nia’s eyes snap open, and she feels the connection cut out, leaving her feeling almost…lonely. She’s panting like she hasn’t since the early days of her aura training. Avery, Xander, and Tobias are watching her with mirrored expressions of concerned curiosity.

“I-I think it worked?” Nia says.

Avery lights up, leaning forward. “Tell me everything.”

Nia tries her best to describe the experience as Felix and Kry return to the group, Kry pouting at her loss and Felix ribbing the dragon type with an elbow to her side. As soon as they’re caught up on what’s happening, Felix eagerly volunteers to be Nia’s next test subject.

Nia has a slightly harder time connecting to Felix’s leafy green aura, and frowns as she tries and fails to find a foothold.

“Maybe your aura is too depleted?” Avery suggests.

Nia considers that, but shakes her head. No, her aura isn’t anywhere near gone. It’s just like…trying to stick one piece of cotton to another, with no adhesive to hold it in place. With Avery, it was like there’d been a piece of Velcro to snag onto.

Val, arms crossed and head tilted, flicks her gaze to Tobias. “Charmander.”

Tobias, who had been watching the whole process with an unreadable expression, frowns. “Yeah?”

“You next.”

Nia and Tobias shake their heads at the same time.

“No.”

“H-He doesn’t have to, really!”

“He is your partner,” Val cuts in. “He of all Pokemon should be the one you are most familiar with. If you two are separated, I want to know you have a chance to use this skill to your advantage.”

That is…unfortunately a good point. Except Tobias has been so private with his aura, from the very beginning. Not that Nia can blame him! It’s a really personal thing. But…she also doesn’t want to disappoint Val, and—

“Fine,” Tobias grumbles, scooting over to sit in front of Nia and jabbing his hand forward. “Get it over with.”

Nia blinks at him, surprised. Just like that?

Tobias flushes. “She has a good point. C’mon.”

Nia still hesitates, but after glancing at his face one more time she closes her eyes and reaches out a hand.

Before even brushing against him, her aura leaps from her body to his, latching on like a magnet. Tobias’ emotions filter through the string, somehow…louder than Avery's. Clearer, like the reception is better.

hide hide hide calm down Nia won’t hate calm down will she get it over with already—

Nia cuts the connection herself, recoiling with wide eyes. Tobias glares back at her, none of the turmoil she just felt showing on his face.

“Riolu?” Val prompts.

“You didn’t even touch me,” Tobias grumbles. “Why do you look so freaked out?”

“I-I didn’t need to?” Nia says, more a question than a statement. “I…my aura connected on its own?”

“Without contact?” Avery asks.

Surprised, Nia nods. Her attention is admittedly torn, though, caught on the thoughts and emotions Nia felt when she connected to her partner. He’s…so scared of her looking at his aura. And not because of privacy reasons, like she’d previously thought.

He’s…scared Nia will hate what she sees?

“Hm.” Val looks like she expected this turn of events. “I suspect the depth of your bond with someone influences how easily you can connect to them.”

“Or maybe Nia is just getting better as she goes?” Felix suggests.

Nia can’t give the speculation her full attention like she usually would. She’s too busy trying to tear her thoughts away from Tobias’ suddenly worrying self-esteem, or lack thereof. She…doesn’t think she can really bring it up directly, since they were kind of his private thoughts? But she’s more than a little concerned. She’s confident that the two of them are friends at this point, but he’s still so scared that she’s suddenly going to…what? Turn on him? Just because she gets a better understanding of who he is?

“Try again on Wartortle,” Val says.

Nia manages to focus back on the conversation, at least a little. Distracted, almost without thinking, she reaches out and tries to make her aura connect to Felix again, this time without touching. Her aura strains and reaches an inch or two past her body before snapping back. Completely different than it was with Tobias, where it leaped for him like a long-lost friend.

“No,” Nia murmurs. “I think Val is right. It’s…it feels completely different.”

Felix looks unusually put out by Nia struggling to connect with his aura. Val, Avery and Xander, however, just seem thoughtful. Kry is busy picking at her teeth.

Tobias is staunchly looking everywhere but Nia, face redder than usual and fingers rubbing at his scarf. Embarrassed. Nia supposes she understands how he feels, even in her distracted state. It’s one thing to feel close to him, but another thing entirely to have tangible proof of their friendship. Then again, apparently he needs proof, if his inner thoughts are anything to gauge by.

“If only we could speak with one of the lucario tribes,” Avery sighs. “They must know so much more about aura and what it can do. Psychic energy can be used for telepathy and more physical techniques like telekinesis, but aura is an entirely different matter since it deals directly with life energy and emotions. I’ve heard you can even influence a target's emotional state and manipulate their aura like you would your own!”

Nia leans back, something in her gut turning over as she snaps back to the conversation at hand. Influencing others’ emotions? Manipulating their aura, their life energy?

"That…uh, sounds a little scary, Avery."

Avery seems surprised, but then laughs. “Apologies. I suppose it does. I just thought it was fascinating! And I know you would never misuse your aura, so I don’t fear that kind of power in your paws.”

Nia’s unease fades a bit as she gives them a smile. It’s nice to know Avery has so much faith in her.

“For now, continue to explore this technique, Riolu,” Val says. She tilts her head towards the battlefield. “Avery. Luxio. You are next.”

Avery looks reluctant to leave the discussion, but sighs and stands with an unreasonable amount of grace. They give Xander a teasing smile. “Think you can win this time?”

Xander laughs, lighting up in the way he only seems to around the kirlia. It’s kind of adorable. He nudges his teammate as they walk onto the battlefield together. “I’ll certainly try my best.”

Val hums, gaze lingering on the two of them as they start sparring without her call. “Charmander, you will battle Wartortle next.”

Nia frowns. Felix just battled a bit ago. “Shouldn’t I..?”

“You can fight if you would prefer to, but I can see you are reluctant. I believe you are making fine enough combat progress to focus on your aura today.”

Oh. Nia would prefer that over sparring, if Val thinks she’s doing all right. “O-Okay! So should I just..?”

“Practice with my aura while I monitor the sparring,” Val says, still watching the battle. “Connect to me, then try stepping away to see how far you can go before you lose the connection. Take a break between each attempt.”

There’s no hesitation in the medicham’s words, so after a moment Nia nods and closes her eyes to connect to Val’s orange energy. It’s not nearly as easy as Tobias or even Avery, but not any more difficult than Felix. A gentle tap to the fighting type’s arm, and the connection, though weak, is made. Val’s thoughts and emotions, calm as a still lake, leak through.

Luxio spark more aggressive Avery work on physical strength Riolu take breaks cannot forget exhaust herself—

Nia tries to channel out the medicham's thoughts, feeling a bit like she’s intruding. The thoughts are still there, but like someone murmuring nearby. She can kind of tune them out, and instead focuses on getting to her feet.

Whoa. She feels a bit woozy, as she usually does when stretching her aura in new ways. After a moment she manages to back away, one step at a time. The string between them stretches longer and longer. All Nia sees is her own aura and Val’s, the orange silhouette of her a bright beacon amidst the sea of black behind her eyelids.

Nia makes it ten steps away before she feels the string…strain, for lack of a better word. A tug on her soul. Then, one more step and it snaps. Nia gasps and stumbles, barely managing to catch herself before she can fall.

“Nia?” Tobias calls, apparently watching. His brow is furrowed.

“I’m fine!” She pants. That feeling just…surprised her. It was as if something she was leaning her weight on suddenly vanished.

“Take a break,” Val calls.

Nia does so, staggering back to Val’s side to sit and watch Xander and Avery exchange blows.

That’s how the training session continues, the others taking turns sparring, Tobias included, while Nia trains this new facet of her aura.

Avery, of course, gently interrogates Nia every time they are on the sidelines, watching Nia’s progress with fascination. The two of them hold a conversation as Nia treads back and forth, getting familiar with seeing the others through her aura. Avery is as curious about Nia and Tobias’ travels to Asra and Shivergleam as they are about everything else.

When Nia brings up how protect and misty terrain stopped the effects of the forming mystery dungeon on their way back from Shivergleam, Avery falls silent. When Nia finishes that round of connection training and opens her eyes, Avery is staring at her in much the same way they did when Nia made the connection between aura and type energy. Like their world has just shifted on its axis a bit.

“Avery?”

“…It’s almost a shame you became a Seeker, Nia. The research community would be lucky to have you.”

“Has no one ever tried to use a move like that in a mystery dungeon?” Nia asks, frowning. It feels kind of…obvious?

Avery hums. “I’m sure someone has, but it’s certainly not a well-documented strategy. The number of Pokemon who know such moves is already small, and the number of those Pokemon who just happen to get caught in a mystery dungeon forming are even smaller. To then also have a calm enough head to try defending rather than running? Even less so.”

“Oh.” Nia suddenly feels very, very glad that her instinct seems to be to freeze and defend, rather than to fight or flee. In this case, it worked in her favor.

“Mystery dungeons are a fairly recent phenomenon, in the grand scheme of things,” Avery continues. “Less than half a century old. And considering how dangerous they are to study as well as how randomly and rarely they appear—at least until recently—many basic facts about how they function are still unknown."

Huh. Nia guesses that makes sense.

"So this is an incredible discovery!" Avery says, excited. "I’ll need to share with Father later and ask him to connect with the researchers and archivists at the other guilds. I wonder why those moves can interact directly with a mystery dungeon? Is the environment itself using an attack somehow?”

Avery’s voice trails off to a mutter, and Nia has to stop herself from responding. Because she knows the answer to that, thanks to Giratina. Knows that the weakening border around the Pokemon world is the cause of the mystery dungeons, and that it’s made of life energy, of aura, just like any Pokemon. It makes sense that moves, which also use aura as their base power, can interact with it.

But sharing that knowledge would mean admitting to her run-in with Giratina. It would mean sharing the news of the world ending, the news that their hopes currently hinge on finding a long-lost dormant legendary. And August is going to talk to Alistair and Tawny anyways, right? Nia doesn’t want to put that burden on Avery’s shoulders. Not when there’s nothing they can do about it. They’re having a good time, training together! There’s no reason for Nia to bother Avery with terrible news. Not yet.

Nia takes a break shortly after that conversation, starting to feel truly worn down. Tobias sits down beside her after his latest spar, panting hard after facing off against Xander. Felix and Avery battle in front of them, while Xander and Kry talk strategy and Val observes.

“Hey, you crazy kids!”

Nia and Tobias tilt their heads back to see Azami hanging over them. She must be done training her own students. The tsareena’s mouth is hidden behind her high collar, but her eyes are crinkled with a smile. “Good to see you back at the Tree in one piece.”

Tobias scoffs, but Nia feels the way he relaxes at her side. “What, you think we were going to lose an arm or something out there?”

Azami laughs. “I never know with you, Spitfire!”

The tsareena takes a seat on Val’s other side to watch the spar now that she’s done mentoring her own students. After a moment, she decides to cheer on Avery. Felix sends her a betrayed look in the midst of battle that results in him getting blasted by a fairy move. Val gets up a moment later to move to where Felix is groaning on the floor, a quiet lecture about getting distracted in battle likely on her tongue.

On Nia's other side, Tobias is now arguing with Kry and Xander about offensive versus defensive strategies. Tobias insists that offensive is best, of course, while Xander leans more towards defensive strategies. Kry seems to be arguing that going on the offensive is not aggressive enough, somehow.

Nia, left to drift in the middle, sits in contented silence, letting her fatigued aura rest. She watches Val talk to Avery next. The medicham’s stoic expression is softened ever so slightly as she directs the kirlia on how they could’ve better dodged a tricky aqua tail attack earlier in the battle.

Azami leans over to whisper to Nia, “You’re one of her favorites, y’know.”

“W-What?”

“Val,” Azami says. She straightens up, but keeps her voice low. “She didn’t have the greatest mentor growing up, so she tends to keep her students at arm’s length. But she always perks up when you and Spitfire are back in town.”

“Oh,” Nia says, unsure what else to respond with. Her ears feel warm.

She…wasn’t expecting that. Val doesn’t seem to hate being around Nia and teaching her, but Nia has a hard time believing that Val holds any particular fondness for her, either. Especially considering Nia’s inexperience with pretty much, well…everything. If anything, she’d thought Val might find her kind of exhausting to deal with. Not that the medicham ever let that slip, but she doesn’t let much of anything slip.

“Trust me,” Azami laughs. “Other than Alistair, I’m the best Val translator in the guild. We’re close.”

Her voice is sly, and Nia glances at the tall grass type.

Azami winks.

Oh, Nia thinks as her brows shoot up. She doesn’t want to assume anything, but Azami isn’t exactly subtle. Does that mean her and Val..?

Val finishes offering advice and returns to sit between Nia and Azami, stopping Nia’s moment of revelation. Still, she can’t help peeking over at the two Pokemon afterwards, trying to figure out if Azami was just teasing her or not. Azami does lean awfully close to Val when they talk, and the medicham doesn’t seem to mind at all. Then again, cool and collected is kind of her default state.

For a moment, Nia thinks, I could connect to Val’s aura to find out.

Then she registers that thought and tears her gaze away to watch the next spar, stomach turning uncomfortably. She’s going to need to be careful with how she practices this new technique. Every time she thinks she’s getting a grasp on her aura, getting comfortable with it, something new pops up to throw a curveball and make her feel like she’s handling a live bomb. It’s just…scary. To know she holds so much power.

Val calls it quits on everyone’s training soon after. Tobias and Xander’s team are radiating exhaustion, and they eagerly agree to break for a late lunch. While Nia isn’t physically tired, her aura is worn down to a fraction of its usual amount and that leaves her ready for a rest and a good meal, too.

“Wanna come with us to the dining hall?” Felix invites, smile broad as he stands and stretches.

Nia glances at her partner. Tobias seems uncertain, but doesn’t disagree immediately, so he’s probably just feeling shy about how to say yes without a fuss. Nia accepts for them both, and the group packs up to head down the Lexym Tree to the cafeteria floor.

As they leave, calling thanks to Val and Azami, Nia spots the tsareena slinging an arm around Val’s shoulders, laughing about something. Val’s mouth twitches into a small smile.

Nia bites back a smile of her own and hurries after her friends.

[hoseokslefteyebrow]

The Anomaly || JJK

Chapter 4: Homesick

summary : In which you're isekai'd from your (own) parallel Jujutsu Kaisen universe to the canon universe.

wordcount : 2k

Pairing: Jujutsu Kaisen X Reader, eventually Character x Reader (idk who yet tho)

Masterlist | Next

You find yourself seated in a familiar spot. The scenery is the same as back at home, the sun setting on the sight of Tokyo Jujutsu Tech. There have been a lot of days where you and your best friends have lost track of time talking to one another late at night in this very spot. 

You're worried,mind running with scenarios of how home would be doing. How is your own world? Are you having this human body - cursed spirit issue too? The one you had been fighting was quite tough- were your classmates alright? Was your best friend alright? Or had everyone written you off as dead? Considering you disappeared right after a battle, it wouldn't surprise you. You're not sure. Your eyes sadden, losing yourself in your thoughts. You refuse to believe that everyone believes you're dead, that they've given up on you just like that.

You glance down at your bracelet. It's ordinary, crafted from simple wood. It matches your best friend's bracelet back at home. You wonder if his works. It's filled with water, imbued with your cursed energy. That way, he could always find you when he needed you, and you could always find him when you needed him. You doubt it works. You can't feel your connection to it currently, your cursed energy with you and you alone. 

" Are you okay? That last mission seemed to be quite rough on you. "

You glance up, only noticing Yuuji standing there now. Had he been standing there for long? 

" Ah, sorry, I didn't notice you. I'm alright. I've just got homesickness at the moment. "

He hums, noticing your sad eyes as he sits down beside you. 

" The way you stood up for Nobara was badass. It was cute too though. Are you two close in your universe? " 

He's calm, watching the scenery with you. Your presence is somewhat comforting. New, yet so oddly familiar. 

You hum. 

" Yeah, we are. I was so happy to learn that another girl would be joining our class. We hit it off right after meeting in the city for the first time, when we went to pick her up. I think that got Sukuna a little jealous. "

You're smiling fondly at the memory, meanwhile Yuuji has to remind himself that you're talking about a different Sukuna, not the one he's harboring. 

" Ah, he's your best friend right? "

You hum. 

" My one and only. "

" What about us? "

You turn to him, blinking. 

" What about us? "

" Are we close? You've mentioned that we used to be close when we were younger. "

" Ah, yeah. We were inseparable as kids. Until you grew more athletic and developed a love for horror. I'm a whimp- I don't like horror at all. It makes me downright unable to sleep. Sukuna would laugh at me when I came over to sleep over one random night, because of my fears. I wanted to prove him wrong, so I watched a horror movie with the three of you. It backfired, and I was unable to sleep. Sukuna ended up feeling guilty enough to watch Pokemon movies with me all night. We grew closer after that. I realized that I too was one of the people he has a weak spot for. In my universe, you're one of those people too. "

Yuuji blinks, not having expected that at all. 

" Sukuna as my twin.. The idea of that leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. "

You laugh softly. 

" I think it's weird you share a body with him in this universe- and that he had 20 fingers. And that you swallow them for breakfast, basically. "

Yuuji laughs, agreeing with you. A comfortable silence settles over the two of you. You lean your head on his shoulder for a moment. Back home, you were touchy with your friends, often linking arms with Nobara, or straight up pulling Sukuna along to where ever you pleased. He always pretended to hate it, but you know him better than that. 

Yuuji doesn't seem to mind, instead relishing the comforting gesture. 

Yet, you can't help yourself from asking him the next question. You need answers. 

" You've mention that you've... Killed, instead of exorcised before.... "

You're careful in your words, allowing him to stop you if he wants to. When he doesn't, you continue to carefully speak. 

" I just wondered... Do you maybe know why? - As in why they were in a human's body? "

Yuuji shakes his head, eyes on the floor. 

" I don't. There's a curse who's strong enough to transfigure people though. I know you're afraid too, but if we don't figure out how to send you home soon, you might have to fight more human-cursed spirits. "

You nod at his words, your eyes downcast on the floor. 

" I don't like it either. I hope we manage to kill patchface and these cursed spirit people before anything too rash happens though. "

You hum, about to reply when-

" It's because of you! You took me in, and now the severed parts of my soul have awakened. "

Your eyes widen, head raising to stare at the mouth and eye that has sprouted on Yuuji's cheek. What the fuck was this?-

" To help lots of people, was it? Brat! People are gonna die because you live! "

" Hey, don't tell that to Fushiguro. Don't you dare. "

Yuuji's stoic, different. It's obvious he doesn't like Sukuna. 

You don't like this Sukuna either. You can tell he's nothing like your Sukuna. 

" And what are you looking at?! "

" You're an eye and a mouth on my friend's cheek. "

You deadpan the obvious as you blankly stare at him. 

He cackles, Yuuji slaps his hand over him, trying to shut him up. 

" That's enough out of you. "

It doesn't stop him, Sukuna's mouth appearing on the back of Yuuji's hand. 

" You don't belong here! You should die! "

" That's rich, coming from someone who's a mouth on a hand now. I'd say you should die. "

While you're busy mocking him, Sukuna has an unsettling realization. He's met you before. You're not from here, and you're definitely not supposed to be here. You were a sorcerer he was forced to face back in the Heian era. Your reverse curse technique was strong, strong enough to be used as a weapon. Your domain too, was one he hated. He absolutely hates you. He needs you dead before he can carry out his plans of regaining powers. Facing both Gojo Satoru and you would set him at a huge disadvantage. One that not even his current plans could face. 

However, there's no need to rush in killing you though. It appears that you don't even know your potential just yet, your body protected with regular cursed energy. 

Yuuji scoffs, slapping a hand on his own to stop Sukuna from spouting nonsense. Thankfully, he disappears. 

" Soo, that's your Sukuna. "

" Yeah, sorry about that. "

" It's fine. I don't take things randomly appearing mouths say to heart. "

Your smile eases Yuuji's worries, his previous guilt gone, replaced by a warm feeling. The two of you sit in silence a little longer, enjoying each other's company and watching the sun set on Jujutsu Tech. 

-

A few days pass, and you find yourself and your classmates in Tokyo's shopping district. 

" Aren't you buying way too much? " 

Yuuji releases a puff of stress, holding the many bags Nobara has shoved in his arms.

You're walking a few paces up front with her, your arms linked together. You have bought some stuff too, considering that was why you were here in the first place. There was no answer on when you could return to your own universe, no one has any idea how just yet. Your financials are finally properly supported by Jujutsu Tech, and you've entered the shopping district. You're only really buying stuff you need, though that is still quite a bit, leaving you with three bags. 

You're only holding one. For some reason ( an unspoken one, everyone was surprised when he offered), Megumi was carrying your other two bags. You've promised you'll buy him a crepe as a thank you, but he's brushed you off, telling you it was fine and that you should save the money. 

" Half of that is yours, you know? "

You blink at her, that's not true. 

" This bag is all that's mine! "

Just as Yuuji raises his bag to show her, one threatens to fall out of his arms. He manages to catch it. 

" Drop one and you're dead. " 

" Ah, Yuuji, do you maybe want me to carry some bags? "

" No Y/N, Itadori is a strong guy. He's fine. "

" I don't think being strong is part of the issue Nobara-"

And then.... One of the clothes she bought slips out of the open bag, on the floor. 

Everyone's eyes widen. 

You raise your hands, attempting to stop Nobara, but as expected, she's already punching him. Megumi tugs on the back of your uniform, holding his own high in embarrassment as Nobara scolds Yuuji. 

" Come. Let's pretend we don't know them. " 

He's already walking a few steps away with you, arm around your shoulders, When his phone rings. 

He takes his arm off you, taking out his phone. 

" It's Gojo sensei. " 

You're not sure why he's informing you. Maybe because you know him as well. 

Their conversation ends soon enough, and he turns around, facing Yuuji and Nobara again. 

" What? "

Finally, Nobara releases Yuuji. 

" Gojo sensei is calling us. "

" Huh, why? "

Nobara's pouting, you guess that she wanted to spend the whole day lingering around Tokyo's shopping district. 

" It's a mission, 'a top secret one'. "

You snort, the words familiar. 

" Ah, so this Gojo sensei is the same as the one back in my universe. "

" Does your Gojo sensei say that often as well? "

You grin at Nobara, nodding. 

" Last time he called us for a 'top secret mission' was because he wanted to get crepes and didn't want to go alone. "

You smile fondly at the memory. Eventually, it had only been Yuuji, Nobara, Megumi and you. Sukuna wasn't around, because he was simply god knows where. You hadn't felt bothered enough to find out back then. Your best friend had been offended that you had gone without him. You only found him hours after the place closed. As a peace offering, you spent your money on expensive fruits (strawberries) and chocolate, dipping strawberries in chocolate late at night. 

Nobara laughs at your words. Some people are apparently the same no matter the universe. 

" Why not go? Gojo sensei still said it is top secret after all. It must be big. "

You smile at Yuuji softly. He was so cute sometimes. 

" Yeah well, Y/N is right. He does say it all the time. "

Yuuji hums at Megumi's words. 

" Yeah, so what? "

All four of you exchange smiles, and make your way back to the busstop. This time, you link arms with Megumi, simply because he's the closest. He shoots you a surprised glance, but his expression softens, features softening into a smile. 

This Megumi was so different of your own. This one is nice to you. 

The Anomaly Taglist:

@luxylucylou @kalulakunundrum @strxbxrrylover @aethersslave

[bluecrowwings]

From this post. I want to show everyone my Darkrai in Twisted Wonderland! This is some of my plot and idea about that!

....Yeah, I just turned a maniac pokemon into a cinnamorole boy who full of anxious-

I know that PMD Darkrai isn't a shiny, but his sprite used these colors so I used it too. If you wonder why his eyes color before/after came to Twisted Wonderland are different, I'm gonna tell you later.

Anyway, from what I said in the last post. After he (because in PMD used he/him, so I will use it accordingly) got attack by Palkia while he trying to escape, Darkrai losing his memories and end up in Twisted Wonderland as a human.

By the words "losing his memories", it's mean almost everything. It's like how Player end up as a Pokemon with no memory in the game, they know what is Pokemon, what is human and many things, but still can't remember many things either. In Darkrai's case, he can't remember his name or his old life, but still can remember what is pokemon. He knows that he was a Pokemon not a human. He just can't remember which one of Pokemon is he or how he turned into a human. His memory and his personality was reset almost to the zero.

Darkrai woke up in a dark and cramped coffin, a feeling of discomfort and pain spread throughout his body.

Why is he in the coffin??? Who put him in the coffin!? -wait- is that a flame!?

This poor amnesic boy started panicking when he saw blue flames emanating from the coffin lid, he immediately kicked the coffin lid out with all his strength.

Grim was an unlucky one who standing in front of the coffin in that moment.

The first thing Darkrai thought when he met Grim was: What kind of pokemon is this kid? (Meowth? Espurr?? Litten???).

But after the first encounter between Grim and Darkrai, it was followed by death threats from Grim. Darkrai run away and Grim chasing him for the robe which he was wearing right now-but he can't remember how he got it.

Darkrai accidentally used his power to cross the shadows when dodging Grim's flames for the first time, and he didn't even notice.

Darkrai, who had just escaped from the angry cat-like pokemon(?), gasping for breath while confused what just happened, and realized something when he saw his reflection.

He is human...

But he not supposed to be human

He don't know how, but he knew that he shouldn't be a human. He was a pokemon!

...He might not sure which species he was, but he sure that he was a pokemon before.

Time for panic and fear when he realized he had no memory and was now being chased in a strange place.

Darkrai met headmage Crowley, he saved him from Grim and tried to take him to the orientation ceremony.

It didn't help him so much when he tried to explain his situation to Crowley, and of course! he doesn't listen...

And when Darkrai standing before the mirror of darkness, in the eyes of many people who were staring at him at that moment. This happened.

'State your name'

"I-I can't..."

'Louder!'

"I'm sorry! I can't remember my name!"

Sounds of confusion and question sounded around him. Darkrai was really uncomfortable with all of this. But the Dark Mirror still read his soul to assigned him in some dorm.

...if that can happen.

'The nature of your soul is...' '.........unclear to me' 'It's so dark...this soul is too dark for me to read it. I can't sense magical power from this one. Soundless. Colorless. Shapeless. Utterly vacant. Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate.'

Crowley began to cry out in disbelief that the black carriage receive a person who cannot even use magic (but Darkrai didn't came here by the black carriage...). Grim demanded that he can be a student here instead Darkrai.

Annnnd You know what happened next.

The Chamber of Mirror set on fire. One student had flames on his robe. Now everything is in chaos and out of control.

Darkrai was stressed, he feel not safe, he had a headache, he wanted to get out of here right now.

'I don't know if I thought of it or not... But I felt that the pain on my body was growing more and more as my headache....'

After they manage to capturing Grim, it wasn't long before Darkrai can given Crowley any excuses or clarifications. He collapsed to the ground and fainted in front of everyone.

And when Riddle go to check on him…

"Headmage! He's bleeding right now!"

It was the time for everyone's turn to panic as they rushed to take him to the infirmary. We have a no-magical student who is bleeding and seriously injured right here! Get out of the way!

(I don't belive that being thrown across dimensions from the attacked of God of Space-Time would not left anything behind. Of course, he must have suffered some injuries, and it's not just a little wound too.)

Grim still here with Crowley with Riddle's collar on his neck. The only reason he hasn't been throw out is because our headmage still believes that he is Darkrai's familliar.

What a messy ceremony.

This poor boy is very confused and panicked, his stress will only get worse because of all the Overblots and his own problems in the future.

[loupy-mongoose]

PREVIOUS NEXT

ARC START | CHRONO

(Banished to the long dimension lol)

~~~~~~

The two felines teleported into the mountains northeast of Lavender Town.

Akoya looked around for a moment, before pointing happily. Ah! There! Smiling, Lav followed her mother as she floated over to a crevasse in the cliff wall.

She was startled to find the entry blocked by a green bubble.

As soon as she noticed it, however, it burst.

Sisiiiiiii!!!!

Suddenly she was charged by a tiny, peach-colored pompom.

In her astonishment, Lav did a backwards flip in the air, propelled by the unexpected force. Hahaha ha ha ha ha! Momo! Hey, Lil Sis! She ruffled the little Mew's head, sending them both into a giggling fit.

Sisiii!

Lav looked toward to cave entrance to see Midas crouched there, staying away from the edge but watching her longingly. Persim hovered protectively close, watching his little nephew carefully. Akoya approached the two and scooped Midas up. Lav felt a pang as she realized how big he had gotten. It's a good thing Momo can fly now.

The small collection of Mews gathered into the cave, which was barely big enough to fit their biggest member comfortably.

Before he could say anything, Lav managed to snatch her uncle up in a hug.

Hhgh!?

Sorry, Uncle Perzi. I know you're not really into hugs. But I'm so happy to see you!

I-It's fine! Just this once, for you, Lavvy. His voice was strained as he fought the urge to teleport away.

Soon Lav released him, and noticed Midas looking up at her with big, pleading eyes.

Instead of hugging him, she crouched down and wrapped her tail and arms around him. Hi, Midas. It's good to see you, too!

The little Mew gave her a lick on the cheek, startling Lav and melting her heart. She pulled him into a gentle squeeze, being careful to not overwhelm him.

Beside her, little Rosemary poked her face out of her daddy's pelt. Mee?

Hello, Rosie~! Lav carefully held her finger toward her. The little red Mew dabbed it with her nose before disappearing back into her orange shelter.

Persim flicked his fluff-tipped tail, a concerned frown on his face. Where's Randy?

Akoya settled into a crouch, tucking her arms under he chest. He went for a walk with our unexpected host. Something came up, and he's... having a rough time right now.

Oh...

We thought we'd come check in while he's gone.

We're doing alright. Aren't we, Kiddos?

Momo and Midas stared blankly at him.

...Okay, so the kits have been a bit bored.

Akoya looked at her two Mew children. Midas was contently loafing beside Lav's face, while Momo was pawing a pebble around on the floor.

Her ear flicked thoughtfully. Hmmmm....

What's up, Mom?

Akoya turned to Lav. Maybe we could bring them to Fuji's place?

Persim tilted his head. Fuji? Is that that "host" you mentioned? Is... is it a human?

Lav sat up, earning a protesting Mah! from her brother.

Yes. She ignored Persim's horrified glare. He feels like a good man to me, and we already showed him that we're Mews. So that's one hurdle out of the way.

He takes care of hurt and mistreated Pokemon. So I'm sure he'd have the twins' best interests at heart. He'd love them!

Seeing Perzi's still uncertain face, Akoya went on. I'll talk to Randy about it first, of course. If he doesn't think that's what's best, I'll listen. But I think they'll be safer there than here.

You don't have to come with us, if we do. But I trust Mr. Fuji. I trust we'll all be safe there.

Persim still looked uncertain, but didn't argue. Well, you've met him, and both seem to agree. So who am I to say otherwise? Just... be careful.

We will.

The Mews settled around the cave, just chilling and chatting, or attempting to curb Momo's excitement.

As Lav waggled her finger for the little puffball to to follow and catch, Akoya turned to her.

Lav, has Nico mentioned Mo to you?

Lav thought for a moment, caught off guard by the question. She jolted when Momo bit into her finger. Ouch, gentle mouth, Momo.

Sowwy, Sisi.

Lav smiled and gave Momo an accepting head ruffle before turning to her mom. No, he hasn't. He didn't get to know Mo. He's told me that he remembers seeing his parent Mew float away, and that's all he knows.

Ah. Okay.

Lav didn't say the continuation of her thought; that Nico seemed to feel his parent--Mo-- abandoned him.

She drifted into her own thoughts as Akoya and Persim engaged in their own conversation. Thinking about how her dad was doing. Thinking about how she should go about approaching him.

Thinking about how she should approach Nico.

Lavender?

Lav hopped onto her hands and feet, her eyes wide and pelt standing on end. She scanned the cave wildly.

Lav? You okay, Hon?

The pale Mewtwo shook herself, attempting to flatten her telltale fur. I-I'm fine. Just one of those... falling asleep nightmares, y'know? She turned toward the cave entrance. I'm gonna go get some air.

Lav ignored the doubtful look on her mom's face as she walked out. Once certain that she wasn't followed, she sat down and took a few stabilizing breaths.

When she was calmed down, she carefully reached out, keeping out of her family's mindfields.

Nico?

His response was immediate. Lavender!

Lav smiled. Nico! Jeez, you scared me! It sounded like you were right next to me!

Sorry!

...

You made it to Kanto, didn't you?

Lav struggled to not react to the statement, afraid that one of the Mews would notice.

How did you know?

...

Our connection is stronger...

Lav felt a strange thrill rush through her body.

So you must be closer to me.

Y... You're in Kanto?

Yes...

Lavender took a moment to control her feelings, and the energy they might be giving out.

...We could meet...

We could actually meet. In person.

If...

If my family would be okay with it...

Are they with you?

Yeah... They caught up really quickly... Impressively so, really.

Good.

Lav flicked an ear in annoyance. "Good"?

I'm glad they followed you. I told you from the beginning that coming on your own was risky.

Lav sighed quietly. Yeah, you did. Despite her best efforts, her ears fell back in guilt. And it ended up being for nothing anyway.

What do you mean?

I came alone to keep my family from getting hurt, but my dad's still the one suffering from this...

She stopped to consider how much she should tell him.

I... I don't want to tell you too much right now, okay? I already feel like I betrayed my dad's trust, and I don't want to do it any more. I want to talk some stuff out with him first.

I understand.

You're a sweet girl, Lav. Considering your family's needs.

Be patient, okay? I'm sure we'll meet someday, but I would rather have it be on good terms. With everyone involved.

Lavender smiled. ...Yeah... I agree...

We'll talk later, Nico. I hope we can meet soon...

I hope so too, Lav. Talk to you later.

Akoya floated over to her Mewtwo daughter in the cave entrance. She purred to make herself known, causing Lav to turn her way.

She nuzzled Lav's face before speaking quietly. You were talking to Nico, weren't you?

The 'two's tail flicked. H-How'd you know?

Akoya ignored the words of the question, and decided to focus on the feelings behind them.

You don't need to be shy about connecting with him, Hon. So far we really don't have any reason to say you shouldn't... She thought for a moment. Well, aside from you thinking what you know about him would make your dad more afraid than he already is.

Lavender's ears fell back as the words from her note were spoken to her.

Akoya's face grew serious. ...Lav, tell me the truth. Is there anything your dad and I should be afraid of about Nico?

Lav took a second to form the words. Once she was ready, she looked steadily into her mom's eyes.

As he is now, no. I don't think so.

But as he was...

Akoya raised an eyebrow at the hesitation, urging her to go on.

He was made to be a weapon... and... for a while, he lived it... He killed Pokemon and people...

But he changed. He's not like that anymore. Fuji helped him learn what kindness was, and Jovie helped him practice it.

He regrets what he did in the past.

The blue Mew kept her face even as Lavender spoke to her. Her thoughts tumbled in her mind as the little Mewtwo watched her expectantly.

After a while, Akoya sighed and shook her head lightly. I don't think your dad or I will ever have a clear picture of him until we talk to him ourselves.

All I can do for now is take your word for it, Lav. But if you start keeping vital information from us... We may have to put a stop to you connecting with him.

Lavender gave a solemn nod. I understand, Mom. I promise, I'll bring everything to you guys as soon as I can from now on. And I won't tell Nico anything until I get the okay!

Akoya smiled lightly, though her eyes were still thoughtful. She hovered over and gave Lav a kiss on the forehead.

We don't want to control you, though... We know you're your own person, and can make your own decisions... We just want to make sure you know how to make them safely...

I know, Mom. She gently butted her head against Akoya's with a warm smile of her own. I love you.

I love you too, Lav.

The blue Mew floated back from Lav a little bit.

I'm going to check on your dad. I'll be back soon~

Mom, wait.

She stopped and glanced back.

There's one more thing about Nico, that I just learned...

He's in Kanto.

~~~~~~

PREVIOUS NEXT

ARC START | CHRONO

I never had them talk about it on screen, but Lav did tell Nico that she was planning on coming by herself.

[factual-fantasy]

Good day Factual! Hope you're starting to feel a bit better- colds that just refuse to go away are the worst! Glad you've been having some fun playing and drawing Pokemon in the meantime though- and thanks a million for giving us all that great art of Grimace! Him and Sylvester definitely have a wholesome, brotherly bond, and it would be sweet to see some more of them someday, though as always, draw whatever you wish! In the meantime, as a little side Ask- could you tell us how you met them perhaps? Both in game and in "story"? Did you catch them like usual Pokemon, or did they join willingly?

And as for my main Ask- I thought I'd inquire about two of my favorite lesser known Mario enemies, and their places in your AU- starting with the fire spitting, three horned menaces, the Reznors!

Despite them essentially just being chibified triceratops, I've always liked their designs, their pack mentality, and the goofy noises they make! Sadly, Nintendo hasn't used them for much other than a couple gimmicky mini bosses, but I figure if the Bowser of your AU had a few, he'd put them to much better use! Just spitballing here, but you've come up with some cool ideas of how the Koopas use various other creatures- what if they used tamed Reznors as battle mounts, like how humans have used elephants! Imagine the Koopas armoring them up, loading troops on to their backs, and then charging into battle, bullet bills a-blazing! ( Just my idea- what do you think? )

And then the other enemy I wanted to mention, is the rarely remembered, deadly dino from w 1-1 of Super Mario World- the Rex!

They were powerful, speedy critters with a nasty bite- and while Nintendo rarely makes use of them nowadays, many fans still hold them and their lore implications close to their hearts- due to their uncanny resemblance to Yoshis... Because of this, many have theorized they share a common Ancestor- though others fear that perhaps a form of evil magic was involved- which, I think would be a perfect fit for your AU! Since your Kamek has showcased powerful, corruptive magics in the past- what if he created the Rexs, either by mutating captured Yoshis, or enchanting stolen Yoshi eggs before they hatched!? Either way, id imagine they would be just as large and aggressive as your yoshis- and serve the Koopas well as guard dogs, or perhaps as alternative mounts- being weaker, but more nimble and agile than a Reznor. But what's your take? Would either of these guys make the cut? Or not be included at all- ( which would be fine too, I just wanted to ask, and pitch some ideas! )

(Grimace and Sylvester art in question)

Hey there! Unfortunately I'm going downhill a bit, I think my cold is really startin to take me down. Which is just wonderful 🥲 at least I have Pokemon Scarlet to keep my mind busy!

Speaking of Pokemon, Grimace and Sylvester actually do have a story to them..

Starting with Grimace, I actually kinda got him on accident due to a 3 day long brain fart. Let me explain- <XD

So picture this. It's early in the game and I spot a Duskull. I think "Oh cool! Dusknoir is my favorite pokemon! I gotta catch one so he'll eventually evolve into a Dusknoir! :D" So I catch one and name him Dusty.

I ran around with Dusty, training him, loving him, feeding him sandwiches, the works, for 3 days or so. 3. Real life. Days.

It's only when I'm a about to go to bed and I'm thinking about him that I realized..

Dusty is a Gastly. Not a Duskull. He will eventually turn into a Gengar. Not a Dusknoir.

I still can't figure out how I looked at a Gastly and had my brain go "catch one! It'll turn into a Dusknoir! :DD"

So anyways, I didn't really want a Gengar.. but by the time I had noticed my mistake, I had already gotten attached to the big guy. So I accepted defeat, renamed him Grimace and gave up on my dreams of having a Dusknoir. I'll get a Dusknoir in legends Arceus anyways it's fine- <XD

Now Sylvester...

I knew right when I started the game that I wanted a female Sylveon. That was a big goal of mine. And I knew of a place early on in the game where there was a chance for Eevee to spawn. So I ate a sandwich that increased my normal type spawn rate and hunted for a while.

It was quite the drag since Eevees we're still a rare spawn.. but I was able to find some and catch them all. Though there was one peoblem. Every single Eevee I encountered was male! I wanted a female eevee!

It was a few hours into Eevee hunting that I went and Googled the female to male ratio on Eevees. Females have like a 12% spawn rate... Whoops. Looks like I'm not gonna find a female eevee this early on in the game....

But I still wanted a Sylveon.. 🥺

So I did some thinking. I imagined my trainer as a character. I picture them catching a male Eevee and loving him just the way he is. Saying that he doesn't have to evolve for them. Classic Eevee/trailer relationship. And I imagined the Eevee being so happy with this trainer and loving his team so much, that he evolved into a Sylveon. And he's not ashamed at all! His form is the ultimate expression of his love for his friends and his trainer!

I also pictured tweaking Sylvester's body type to make him apear more masculine. Changing the shape of his bows and ears to look sharper. Making his eyes a bit smaller and making his paws pointier.

Point is, the story I built in my head and all the drawing ideas this gave me... Plus my inability to catch a female eevee.. resulted in me adopting one of the male Eevees and evolving him into a Sylveon XD

Anyways XD as for your Mario questions...

I'm actually unfamiliar with those enemies <:0 though having a little more diversity in the Koopa kingdom would be good.. perhaps I could look into the Reznors a bit more and incorporate them somehow.. like you said, making them battle mounts or something similar..

Now the Rex, what an odd critter.. definitely haven't seen that guy before- :00 he really does look a lot like a Yoshi.. I'd have to look into those guys a bit too before I decided what to do with them.. but I'm liking your ideas! Kamek corrupting Yoshi eggs or something similar to make more mindless drones.. that's something he would do! 😅 But I'd probably takes away the Rex wings.. Yoshis can't fly! ☝️

Aaaanywho, thank you as always for the ask and interest! :}} This distraction came at a very good time 🥹💔

[vulgrados-best]

Intro Post

Hey I'm Miguel. I'm a xenic nonbinary butch dyke, pronouns are they/them + ze/hir. I'm 17. I'm from Vulgrado, an island region off the coast of Paldea. Recently I had to move to Zapapico to take care of my grandparents.

I'm a Cyclizar Racer, and a pioneer of new types of races. I'm best known for my Bodyguard Racing (name subject to change) style. My rival is @yveltalreal so sorry boys I'm taken.

As it turns out I'm probably plural! At the moment you can refer to us as Miguel& when referring to us all. My two notable headmates at this moment are Zacian and Asterion:

Zacian - He/Him, They/Them, Swor/Sword

Fuzztive (Factive + Fictive) of the legendary wolf pokemon, Zacian! Speaks very formally and is passionate about human society, pokemon conservation efforts, and swords.

Asterion - Ze/Hir, He/Him (exclusive to friends and headmates)

Fictive of The Minotaur from mythology! Speaks bluntly with lots of ellipses and is passionate about stories.

Our Pokemon are:

-> Celcity - Cyclizar | Male

-> Nyoom - Eulimmun | Nonbinary (it/its)

-> Terrainity - Excadrill | Male

-> Mãesaur (& Meninosaur) - Kangaskhan | Female & Male

-> Reapwing - Scyther | Female (they/them)

-> Ferravis - Skarmory | Female (she/he/it)

Uh. I tend to swear a lot, yell a lot, and I love the word dyke.

Also I might start religion discourse on accident considerin' Lachrilove is more commonly referred to on Vulgrado than Arceus. So if ya see me say "Lach" its kinda like how you guys say "Arc"

Fuck uuuhhhh. Look at me and my pokemon 👍

And, no, nothing's wrong with my Cyclizar. It's just a color morph.

// Miguel's universe's pokemon are based more heavily on irl animals. Miguel has and will frequently express distress about other universes' being closer to canon (lack of color morphs, lack of variants, biological workings, etc) or generally unlike theirs.

// Miguel loves to talk about their universe's pokemon and will share knowledge from their universe on other people's posts. They will not understand your universe does not work the same as theirs if you don't explicitly state to them that It Does Not Work Like That for your characters.

// The mun will also not realize discomfort with poke-biology arguments unless it is explicitly stated to them. This goes doubly so for poke-biology about Rapidash as the mun works with horses irl.

(ooc under the cut)

Guidelines:

No NSFW (Miguel is a minor.) Keep it PG-13

Any kind of PKMN IRL blog can interact (Miguel is aware of the multiverse)

In Character Anon Hate is acceptable (but at least make it interesting.)

Pelipper Mail/Malice: OFF (unless funny enough)

Musharna Mail/Malice: OFF (unless compelling enough)

Magic Anons: OFF

Tags:

Posts Made By Tags:

#riders diary -> Posts made by Miguel

#howling voice -> Posts made by Zacian

#labyrinth lost -> Posts made by Asterion

#rotating cast -> Posts made by headmates who don't have a tag

#flowering garden -> Posts made by [Information Redacted until 9/18/2025]

Posts About Tags:

#rivals feud -> Posts about Maple

#caveboy tag -> Posts about Nick

#miguel family -> Posts about Miguel's family

#saddle up -> Posts about racing

#vulgrado info -> information about the fan region Miguel is from that is based on the Azores Islands of Portugal

#lachrian info -> Information about the religion Miguel is a part of.

Important Tags:

#festering -> something important.

#unseen watcher -> signifies that post is invisible to blogs linked to this one (@yveltalreal , @espers-n-espurrs, @jaimemes, @aspens-dragons, @victoria-vd, @rock-n-rolycoly @estranger-and-stranger-still) [works the same as blindspot]

Misc. Tags:

#answered best -> ask tag

#sysposting -> System related posts

Story Arcs:

Minor Arcs:

Neighborhood Arc 1: Riders (Finished) -> 4 Cyclizar Riders get territorial when Nick and Miguel explore a junkyard. Nick mentions to Miguel they had previously driven him and his friends out of the Junkyard.

A couple days later Miguel challenges and beats the Riders in a 4 on 1 Capture the Flag Battle Race, and the 4 Riders invite Miguel to join up with them. A week later there is a sort of rematch and Miguel is betrayed and beat up by the Riders.

A revenge plan is made by Miguel and Nick, this involved getting the Rolycoly Racers (who had been pushed out of the junkyard earlier in the year) to play a prank with Paintball Guns on the Cyclizar Riders. This goes badly as Nick is nearly run over and Miguel beats the shit out of the rider who attempted to do so. Miguel is then arrested.

Major Arcs:

Trouble in Paradise (In Progress) -> Miguel joins the Alola trip!

[all mentions of dyke will be tagged #d slur tw for filtering.

Mun identifies with the label and feels uncomfortable describing their character as simply sapphic.]

Main is @werewolfcave

[metalmewtwo-kxb]

drabble 1 - The Lost

(set many years in the future, year unknown. art included)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

-------------------------------------------------------

After so many painfully long minutes, the kit began to twitch and squirm in his paws. She squeaked and cried feebly while sluggishly pawing at her face, her tiny voice weak from the recent freezing. And the more she fidgeted, Benta had to shift her to one side to prevent her from falling.

He didn't realize he was holding his breath as he stared at her, watching her return to life as the embers of the fire finally grew into proper flames. As he shook he could only bring her closer to his face to look her over more carefully...but also to listen to her heartbeat over his own as it thudded in his ears.

He was stunned to discover her eyes could not fully open yet, and not because of the ice. She could only be a few days old, perhaps no more than a week. She also seemed frail and had not eaten for at least a day. But other than that... she looked almost healthy.

And the sight of her soft aura reappearing felt too captivating to look away from.

Her movement came and went though, likely from exhaustion. All the same anxiety gripped at his core over and over, more expecting the kit to regress. When she stopped fidgeting and crying altogether, having simply gone limp in his palm, that anxiety turned into a thorn of fear.

She was still breathing, but when Benta nudged her with his thumb she didn't seem to respond. This time he brought her closer and nosed at the kit's face, trying not to grip her too hard for all the panic trying to race back into his head.

"H-hey-" he tried, using a mental link to try and reach her. "Are you...are you still there..?"

There was a long pause. Then her chest and belly rose and fell with a larger breath, and she squirmed again.

"Mm--... M-yeh..?" Her voice sounded slightly better. Though, that was all Benta could totally process before the kit reached up and pressed her tiny paws against his muzzle, and catching him completely off guard when she gave his nose a small affectionate lick.

"Wha-- I--!!" He almost pulled his head away as he sat up in a startle, but managed to stop himself short. And he let out a heavy sigh, which caused his sense of breathlessness to return.

Her evident confusion about what was going on didn't matter, he supposed... She was alive and that was what counted most.

Still, he could not help but feel guilty over the fact that...he was very obviously not who she thought he was. Now that he thought about it, it had to be the pokemon he found her with. She would not have tried to stay close to them otherwise. Even as blind and deaf infants, mews and other psychic types were usually intelligent that way. They knew who was safe and who wasn't, especially when it came to their parents.

But, the one to harbor this kit's sense of safety was...clearly gone. Along with anyone else it might have had.

... ..I am so, so sorry I cannot change that for you... Benta thought as he unbuttoned his overcoat and pulled it off with one hand, only leaving the cloak on for himself. The overcoat was thicker and warmer, so it just needed to dry from the melted snow before he could fashion it into a make-shift nest for the kit.

After laying it out on the floor by the fire, he held the kit close and hunched over her where he sat, smoothing out her fur and curling his tail up along his left to keep the frigid air outside from so much as touching her again.

I really should have been faster...

He scrunched his eyes shut in dread of the memory that thought resurfaced. A memory of the last time he hadn't been there. And hadn't been fast enough. When he found out in the worst possible way that there were at least a few humans who had managed to survive and avoid the invasion of those blasted virus pokemon. The kornetiks, and their unknown controller.

Maybe it was wrong to think so...but in his grief he would have preferred the humans have been wiped out entirely...rather than fate only leave the ones that stole his own cub from him.

It was so many years ago...and the time Benta had spent searching for them was just as long as he'd been grieving and blaming himself. He even brought his initial goal to a halt just for the chance that he could track them down.

After all this time he became desperate and came to this region, to Mount Coronet hoping to get help from one of the world's greatest powers to find where the humans went and take his son back. Maybe they were the terrible humans that were mentioned to him before. The ones that hunted pokemon for power. If that were the case, he could even get rid of them. That had been the idea.

But that's all over now... he realized. Due to the blizzard, the path to the temple would already be sealed up with snow. So...that hope was torn, and he could only feel ill over the loss.

Even so...

This kit may not be his, but, Zen technically wasn't either. In either case his decision felt perfectly clear.

I will not lose another...

Before too long, Benta retrieved his overcoat from the ground and bunched it into a messy but fairly decent bedding for the kit, and moved it to the warmest side of the fire at a suitable distance so it would stay warm without burning. Then he carefully placed her on top of it, where she unsteadily shuffled around before nuzzling down and settling in.

Once he was certain she was resting comfortably he stood up to go to the front of the cave and get fresh air, and clear his head if he could.

The cold was biting even without being in the middle of it. And as he looked out, there was not a single soul left exposed among the snow and trees. He didn't bother enhancing his visibility this time since there was no need. If it weren't for the wind, the mountain's wilderness would be silent for all that had taken cover before the storm. It was both calming...and eerie.

At least, in spite of everything, he felt as though he could calm down and breathe again.

Maybe tomorrow would be better... Not that he could prevent his mind from drifting back to Zen, and this whole ordeal. He just had to make himself accept nothing more could be done, and there was nothing he could have changed.

He couldn't help the shaky breath that followed.

-------------------------------------------------------

(End)

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

Tales from the Darkside Movie (Gargoyle Story with Johnathan or Risotto?)

Johnathan/Risotto falls madly in love with Darling (While he’s a statue, as he could only see Darling from where he was sculpted and placed)

However he comes to life and kills a man harassing her, telling Darling that she must swear to never tell anyone that she saw him (Darling swears she won’t tell anybody)

Darling encounters a huge man named Johnathan/Risotto who proceeds to help raise her Artistic Career and become successful (She’s very grateful to him as they even start dating and even got married)

Or maybe Diavolo and Doppio? (It would be interesting with since Darling marries Doppio, keeping Diavolo from taking over since he’s content *At the moment as he comes out when Darling’s asleep to touch her*)

However after 10 Years of Marriage on their anniversary, Darling finally reveals the truth to Love, only to be horrified seeing him turn into the monstrous Gargoyle that has been haunting her dreams for all these years (She was startled when she found out their child/ren also transformed into smaller gargoyles)

He doesn’t kill Darling, instead he snatches her up to take her away (Along with their child/ren) to somewhere abandoned to live their for all eternity

Or maybe he turned Darling into a Statue while their Child/ren turns into Gargoyles with him? That way he could preserve her for all eternity so she could never die and leave him

Ooh, you know this premise reminds me of a story about the Yuki Onna (which funny enough has a side quest associated about it in pokemon legends arceus)

This is hard to choose so I'm gonna go over both Jonathan and Risotto.

Jonathan longed for darling. From were he stood atop the campus he could watch her for hours as she'd worked on her sketches. There was one time when she continued to glance up at him, if he'd had a heart it would have pounded tremendously each time their eyes connected with his.

If he hadn't been bound to the rock which he was carved from he would have... well he wasn't quite sure. Brush his fingers through her hair, lovingly embraced her, smothered her in kisses. How he daydreamed about it.

One night darling leave the campus late after using one of the studios for a project and is jumped, the guy demands she hand over her belongings while brandishing a knife. Jonathan witnesses this. He wished he could move, fly down and save her and he hadn't quite realized that he'd done just that until he heard a gasp from behind. Even he was shocked by what had just happened. He turned around to see darling on the ground with her hands supporting her.

She was shaking as she looked up at him with a horrified expression. He promises he won't hurt her as he offers his hand to help her up. She reluctantly takes it and pulls her up. He's awe struck by how warm her hand is, like a ray of sunlight.

"You won't tell anyone, promise?" He asks, unsure of what could happen if people found about him.

"I... promise" darling mutters shakily.

After he began fall for her even more. Yet he also felt ashamed of himself. You always averted your gaze from him(she's had constant nightmares of him). Was she so afraid of him. he was a freak of nature, a monster even.

What if he'd been human, would she have reacted differently. Human just like her...

After about a week or so word spread about one of the gargoyles on campus had disappeared, even the staff had no idea. She tried to not pay it much mind. Little did anyone know that the gargoyles longing had changed his appearance to that of a human and has been trying to learn human customs as best as he can (mainly through reading at the nearby library).

During a break at a Cafe darling is approached by a tall, built man in a button up shirt and knitted vest. He asks if she'd mind him sitting next to her and allows him.

He's quick to compliment her work and they have an engrossing conversation before she asks his name. For a few seconds he doesn't respond, he never had a name.

"Sir?" Darling asks. He finally responds.

"Sorry, My name is Jonathan Joestar" he introduces himself as.

She then asks for his phone number, he doesn't have one and makes up the excuse that his one was stolen. So she writes down her number and tells him to let her know when he gets a new one.

He manages to aquire one and gets in contact with darling. He practically becomes her biggest supporter, making it to every public viewing and helping her get her hands of pricey materials and supplies. Darling is always pointing out how cold Jonathan feels and insists that he wear warmer clothes in the colder months.

Eventually darling graduates and manages to get into her dream career. For awhile daring is busy but promises to see Jonathan at some stage.

Eventually they meet up and he quick to confess his feelings, darling accepts as she feels he's always supported her.

Fast forward to around 10 or so years later. Him and darling are married with kids. However their eldest George has developed two lumps on his forehead and is soon going in for surgery to get them removed. Which has both of them stressed (darling is worried they might be tumors while Jonathan fears they maybe horns).

After their anniversary darling has another nightmare about the gargoyle and confesses to Jonathan that she's had the nightmares because her encounter with a gargoyle. Unfortunately due to this Jonathan's form returns to that and begs darling to not look at him but it's too late. She sees the very gargoyle that has haunted her for years and immediately runs to grab their kids but is soon horrified that they too have become gargoyles. Jonathan tries to defuse the situation but the kids are frightened by him too. Darling is practically having a breakdown while their kids are trying to desperately get their mothers attention, convinced that this is all some horrible nightmare. How could her wonderful family become this.

Jonathan prepares tea for everyone and tries to explain (at least to the kids as darling is really going through the motions). Eventually Jonathan has the children on his side and he takes them all to a secluded cabin in the woods. Promising that they'll all be a happy family again, it'll just take time.

Risotto has seen millions of people throughout his lifetime but for some reason he had an interest in darling. He wasn't quite sure as to why, he hadn't felt until that moment.

And when he saw her defenseless as a man held a knife to her in the dead of night he felt something boil inside him. The assailants head had been caved in he looked down at darling who was on the verge of tears. He could feel his chest tighten up.

"Never tell a soul about this" he told her, she could only respond with a head shake in acknowledgement before running away as fast as possible.

As as far as he knew you kept that promise, he'd catch you cautiously looking up at him whenever you walked in and out of campus. Until he suddenly disappeared.

"Hey you're going to Ayden's party, right?" A girl asked her.

"Yeah, it should a lot of fun" she responded. Unbeknownst to a white haired easedropper, he'd seen many pamphlets around for the event. It wouldn't have been worth his time, but she'd be there.

God those collage movies made sorority parties look like so much fun in comparison to actually being there. She was squished into a corner with a cup of cheep booze as she watched everyone around her slowly deteriorate into drunken messes. She had at least hoped she could find some like minded people to befriend but that didn't seem like a chance, until an unusual looking man stood next to her. Tall and built with platinum blonde hair and red irises against black sclera. He wore torn up clothes that screamed punk.

"Music major?" She asked him.

"No, I don't do college" he spoke in a monotone voice.

"Oh sorry, I've kinda made a game of guessing people's classes since this party been boring" you told him.

"No I get that, what's your name if you don't mind me asking" he asked her, after that the two had a long conversation until the sound of police sirens blared.

"Shit, we've gotta leave" she told him, apparently a big fight had broken out at the opposite end of the house. So the two of them ran out and eventually they headed out to a nearby fast food joint.

"I guess there was one good thing about going to that party" darling chuckled.

"And that is?" Risotto asked.

"Meeting you" she replied before taking a sip of her drink while opening her phone with the other.

"Here's my number" she continued as she slides her phone to him. Luckily he'd already acquired one.

So after that they kept in touch, little did darling know he was stalking her. Despite his rough and tough exterior he always offered an eye or an ear whenever darling had a problem.

After long enough darling gets her degree and begins freelance work and it's during an gallery open with their work that she finally tells him how she feels and his more than happy to hear darling pour her heart out to him.

A little over 10 years later, everything is perfect and they've recently had baby number 3. They celebrate their anniversary and enjoy the night but then darling wakes up from a nightmare of the gargoyle. Asks Risotto if she can tell anything and he'd believe her. He assures her he will. She confesses to what happened that night and he feels horrible, betrayed even that after all these years you'd break your promise but also how you described his monstrous form.

But he hadn't quite anticipated that his form would revert. Darling is horrorfied and tries to defend herself and something in him snaps. He grabs darling and without even realizing he turns her to stone. He's shocked and tries to find any sign that she's alive, hearing a faint heartbeat inside. He hadn't even realised how loud he'd been until one of the kids came in, they we're just like him now. They try to run but he scoops them up and tries to calm them.

He knows they can't stay like this, they have to leave and find somewhere safe.

[cookinguptales]

I was reading your latest meta and it got me thinking, mostly the part about how Guillermo's trigger is being undervalued and I agree but also I think he takes Nandor's shit because he knows Nandor actually values him. Like in seasons 1 and 2 there are times when he thinks about killing him, but all starts to change when Nandor saves him from Topher and then Guillermo's like now I know my master cares for me. I think Nandor was very loving by vampire standards from the start, he's just a little better at showing it now, but the big change is not his behaviour, it's that Guillermo is aware that Nandor cares. The bit in 5x01 about the cute montage or even his smile at the cinema proves it. Like we're supposed to think haha he's delusional how funny, but he's not actually, he knows Nandor loves him even when he laughs at him or is being rude. And while Guillermo has gotten more and more secure in the knowledge of how Nandor truly feels, Nandor doesn't have that... at all. If anything each season gives him more reasons to fear abandonmet, there was always the risk of Guillermo leaving and now there's this new fear of him staying and still not being there for him emotionally. The turning is just the icing on the cake. I think to fix things and to make it work between them eventually Guillermo will need to prove to Nandor that he lives him for him and that he doesn't want to leave him ever. I'm not saying marrying Guillermo will fix Nandor, but I'm not not saying it lol

*looks at her entire body of work on ao3* yes, these are subjects I also think about a lot. lmao

No, you're right, these are things I really love about the show. Like I was saying in that meta post, you really do have to look at Nandor's actions through the lens of vampiric norms. Nandor absolutely does not treat Guillermo well by human standards, but by vampire standards... he's downright eccentric, how into his familiar he is. That comes up a lot, actually. Other vampires are weirded out by how devoted Nandor is to Guillermo.

I mean, just look at how we've seen other vampires treat their familiars, including even other vampires in the same house. They're completely disposable. They have them fight like pokemon. They put them down when they get a hangnail. They keep them in dog cages. They've completely dehumanized familiars because they are glorified food.

Like... maybe even worse than food? Like maybe tainted food. Vampires regularly fall for (and turn) humans, but there's such a distaste for familiars. At least other humans are free, y'know? They don't debase themselves the way familiars do. I think that's what disgusts the vampires far more than familiars' intrinsic humanity. It's the servility. The willingness to sacrifice their own. (Vampire shall not kill vampire, etc.) The fact that they take orders, something that most vampires clearly chafe against.

(Side note: it's so interesting that Guillermo, who clearly wants to be a vampire so he is no longer constrained by social norms, has willingly taken on a role that's even more constrained and submissive for years. That's a whole meta post in and of itself, though.)

But despite the blatant disrespect that vampires have for familiars, the open manipulation they use to keep them in line, the total dehumanization they engage in... Nandor doesn't. He protects his familiar. He plays one-on-one games with his familiar. He confides in his familiar. He does what his familiar says, partially to make him happy and partially because he is willing to acknowledge that his familiar is often right. These are all totally foreign behaviors to most other vampires.

Guillermo does come off as delusional at the beginning of the series, but we quickly realize that he's not wrong. Nandor was willing to sacrifice his life (and the lives of the other vampires) to save Guillermo at the Council. He did apologize to Guillermo and try to make it up to him after letting him down at the club. He did save Guillermo from Topher, even if he wasn't emotionally capable of admitting why. Guillermo was right.

Guillermo, we come to realize, actually knows these vampires better than literally anyone. And that's part of why he's been rewarded with a very strange relationship, for a familiar. It's also why he can see through Nandor's surface shittiness to what lies beneath. (Which is occasionally more shittiness, but is often something much softer.) You're right, his smile at the movies really did speak volumes. He knew why he was there, even if Nandor was being a crab at him.

The only thing he doesn't seem to get about Nandor is how easily he can hurt him. I think he's finally, finally starting to understand how much power Nandor has given him. Like... I remember when Nandor went off to join the cult and Guillermo was like "I guess now I know how it feels." He genuinely had not considered up until that moment how badly it had hurt Nandor when he'd left him. He hadn't considered that he had that power over him.

But I think Guillermo gets it now more fully than he ever has in the past, and I think he'll only get it even more by the end of this season. He knows that Nandor has abandonment issues, but he's never seen the way those issues are attached to him specifically. Nandor always plays it off like he didn't miss Guillermo when he was gone, and Guillermo used to believe him. But he's finally seeing how fucking weird Nandor gets when he's worried about Guillermo leaving him. He started to see it in s4, with the wedding stuff, but he's really seeing it now.

Nandor is upset. He's upset purely and only because he thinks Guillermo doesn't want to be with him anymore. And Guillermo really can't ignore that anymore -- and isn't, for that matter. It's really killing him, I think, to finally realize just how much he means to Nandor right after doing something that will damage their relationship, perhaps irreparably. He's finally putting all the pieces together and realizing that even he didn't see how much he means to Nandor.

Nadja and Laszlo, however, know just how fucking weird Nandor's behavior towards Guillermo is and always has been. They know exactly what Guillermo means to him, though they're a little fuzzier on why. (Though thankfully, they are also starting to see the light.) So they understood immediately what the consequences of all this would be.

I do think that Nandor mostly just needs irrefutable proof that Guillermo wants to be with him. He has been damaged by all the times that people have left him in the past, and he's been even more damaged by all the times Guillermo has left him in the past. I do think a large part of why he won't turn Guillermo is because he's afraid that he'll leave once he no longer needs anything from him. I do think that's why he has such weird, unhinged, possessive behavior towards Guillermo's attention. I do think that's why he concocted an entire fucking wedding.

I don't know that marrying Guillermo would completely assuage his fears, especially considering the way that all of Nandor's past marriages have ended, but it sure wouldn't hurt. lmao. I think Nandor probably wants to be the wife this time, too.

I think he just needs something real and tangible that will make him believe fully that Guillermo will never, ever leave him. And hell, who knows? Maybe that'll be Guillermo being turned, knowing that Nandor might kill him for it, and still sticking around.