#anyway ingo would throw hands

[starsshiningabyss]

I know other people have done this but. 'that weirdo form Hisui' jumpscare.

[salsa-di-pomodoro]

If lady sneasler went back home with Ingo i think eventually she would want to try battling with him. I mean it looks fun, everyone tells her it's a good bonding moment for both trainer and Pokémon and it's a golden opportunity to show off, why not? Who's going to stop her, the pearl clan?

Ingo takes a bit of convincing, out of respect for both her and the traditions of the pearl clan, but he relents eventually. He can't deny he's been wanting to do this as well. After a bit of training they have the time of their life destroying people's (read: Emmet, the elite four, other Frontier Brains and generally just other strong trainers (sorry i didn't include Elesa. I love her very much but she is not on their level methinks 😔. Id love to be proven wrong tho)) teams, with a mix of Ingo's old and new team and her as the ace for once in unregulated matches. (Turns out, noble Pokémon naturally have insane stats and therefore cannot partecipate in league matches or official battles. Ingo has to nerf sneasler/the rest of his team or use less Pokémon as a result, but he loves the challenge. He's thrilled when people defeat him.)

(Emmet takes this as a challenge. As long as his Pokémon are on board, he's building his way up to defeating Ingo when they're not holding back. He gets scarily close every time.)

I ran out of space in the tags but blankshippers dni pls. Let's stay in our respective lanes and not interact

[bellafragolina]

Congrats on emptying your inbox!! If I may request, we've seen the s/o with Hanahaki, but what about Emmet and Ingo, separate please. It's another case of miscommunication, Emmet says nothing because you're in a relationship, a bad one that you're about to end, and Ingo says nothing because he thinks you're in a relationship, you aren't. With a happy ending please ;-;

so it's the boys spitting flowers?? i gotcha!

🍓🍓🍓

Emmet:

White hyacinth. Emmet twirls the flower between his fingers, scowling at the soft petals, speckled in blood. Of course, symbols of regret, that would be the flower chosen to encase his lungs and strangle him. Guess he is regretful, since he's let you run off into the arms of his worst enemy.

Sure, Emmet had no clue your boyfriend even existed before he became your boyfriend, but that didn't mean Emmet couldn't absolutely despise the guy. He does, very much so, and doesn't really try to hide it either. Emmet isn't good at lying, especially to you, so sadly. . . he's pushed you away a bit with his rivalry (one-sided rivalry at that).

And thus the flowers.

Emmet crushes the hyacinth in his palm, throwing it off into the living room. Not being able to breathe that well prevents him from going to work. He can't breathe because he can't confess his love to you. He can't do that because you're in a relationship. With a guy he hates. One he knows doesn't treat you half as good as Emmet would, if you were together.

The whole situation is a circle jerk of frustrating. And devastating. The white hyacinths make more sense now, because if there is one thing Emmet's feeling right now, it's a whole lot of regret.

A buzz gently knocks Emmet from his head. Begrudgingly, he checks the message, only to shockingly find your name displayed.

Coming over.

Plain and simple, a cut to the chase, but nerve-wracking all the same. Emmet rushes to tidy up and not look like he's dying, hands shaking as he paces and wonders what's happening. Did you want to hang out? Or was this some sort of intervention? Were you going to tell him you didn't want to be friends anymore?

That would kill him before any damn flower.

Emmet frets and worries, but still rushes to hug you when you throw open his front door. Your arms easily slide around his waist, soothing the worries and the flowers that make his chest feel so tight. Everything almost feels normal again, but then you pull away.

There are bags under you eyes, lines on your face that make you look far older than you are. The sight of them crushes Emmet's heart, but before he can even say anything, ask if you're alright, what's going on-

"I'm breaking up with him."

There's a self-assuredness to your voice that makes it seem so final, so simple. You're breaking up with your boyfriend, plain and simple. It's everything Emmet's been hoping to hear and then some, but he can't find it in him to be happy. Not when you look so tired.

"I. . ." Emmet swallows, struggling for the words to say. Would anything make this better? "I'm sorry."

You just shrug, and give him a sad little smile that cracks his already crushed heart. "Eh. It's whatever. He's a real son of a bitch, anyway." Your smile grows into more of a wry smirk. "But you already knew that, huh?"

Emmet ducks his head, almost ashamed, if not for the amusement that dances through your tired eyes.

"I need to listen to you more often." You say, chuckling. Emmet chuckles too, then it's quiet. Too quiet. You clear your throat to break it. "Do you. . . wanna hang out?"

"Yes." Emmet says immediately. He does. So badly. He missed you a lot. "I missed you. A lot."

That has you laughing, louder now. "Yeah?" Your smile is warm, as warm as the hand you curl around his. "I missed you too, big guy." You tug on his arm, so Emmet leans down, giddily accept the kiss to his cheek. "Come on. I've got a lot to make up to you."

"You do not have to." Emmet says, already dragging you out the door. He feels like he can breathe again. "But since you are offering, you will date me, and we will call it even."

You laugh, and the sound is perfect, especially when his own laughter, free and unhindered, joins in.

Ingo:

Ingo decides if there's one flower he doesn't like, it's tulips. Damned, horrid tulips. They fall out of his mouth, bell-shaped and yellow, stained with his sin of loving someone he can not have. He knows their meaning, knows how the spell out how hopeless he is, hopelessly in love, unrequited love.

But why is he to blame for that? How could he not fall in love? Everything he ever wanted fell into his lap, a perfect gift from those above, and what? Ingo wasn't supposed to see it? Wasn't supposed to grow close, to finally feel understood and like he could have the future he always dreamed of?

What did he do to deserve it all being snatched away from beneath his very feet, leaving him to stumble along where he thought he had a solid foundation.

Well, it isn't your fault either. You are everything, everything he ever wanted in a partner and then some. Days are lighter, easier, something to look forward to just because you're a part of it. Even a simple text from you could make his day amazing.

But you don't feel the same. No, instead there's another person, someone bolder, with less hang ups, someone not as hopeless as Ingo, who was able to ask you out. They didn't worry about anything, not like Ingo.

And now he has to bask in the consequences of being a hopeless, cowardly romantic.

At least you still hang out with him. At least Ingo still gets your presence in his life, not at all hindered by this partner of yours. You don't talk about them at all, perhaps to be kind to a man you know is drowning in a love you don't return.

But that's okay. Ingo will drown for you, if it means this simple happiness will stay.

Still, his body doesn't enjoy it. His lungs swell like they're going to burst, making it hard to breathe, hard to still be a Subway Boss to the people. He stays home some days, when the pain is at its worst, and just lies in bed, dreaming of a life he can't have.

And he wakes up to your hands in his hair, your tearful eyes peering at him from over the edge of the bed. It's a heartbreaking sight.

Ingo can barely croak out your name in concern.

You sniffle. "Emmet says you're dying." Ingo presses his lips into a thin line. He was sure Emmet didn't know, but maybe he did. He needs to apologize; this isn't something he should have to watch his twin go through. "Ingo. . ."

"I'll be okay." Ingo says, the quietest you've ever heard him. It doesn't help your tears, springing forth into full sobs that not even Ingo can soothe. "Shh, shh. . . It's alright."

"It's not!" You protest, shaking your head from the ghost of his clammy hands. "I love you and you're dying! In what world is that alright??"

Ingo just blinks up at you owlishly. ". . . what?"

"I love you." You tell him sternly. "I love you. I love you. I love you. Can you hear me now?" You press your mouth against his sweaty forehead, practically shouting it out to all of Nimbasa. "I LOVE YOU! So no, this is not alright-"

You're cut off by a hand on the back of your neck, bringing you down into the sloppy kiss of one ecstatic and delirious Ingo Trevithick.

You'll laugh about it later, Ingo is sure. You'll all laugh about how silly this all was, how silly you all were. But until then, Ingo will take the first full, deep breath he's had in ages, and sob into your mouth in utter relief.

Seems he isn't so hopeless after all.

🍓🍓🍓

ta-da! i did my best to follow your guidelines, so i hope you like them!

ciao!

~Renee

[smilesrobotlover]

Whumptober day 25- alternate prompt- betrayal and also drugging lol

Ok guys this is where whumptober begins to have a plot, so buckle up cuz these last few days are gonna be a lot (except for day 26 that has no connection to this lol). Anyways I had so much fun writing this, I hope you have fun reading it. Talon is a joy to write.

Warnings: drugging and kidnapping

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The men searching for the heroes were in a busy town one second, then plopped in the middle of an open field the next second. Talon was dizzy and tried to reorient himself while Ammon placed a steady hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t throw up Talon,” he said, and Talon only gave a thumbs up. The other men chuckled as they recovered from the sudden change in scenery, and Leon looked around the field.

“Where are we?”

The others looked around, none of them recognizing the area. Talon expected the same thing for him, but he actually recognized some of the scenery. The fence along the edge, the trail that leads to the castle, and most importantly, Lon Lon Ranch. It stood proudly in the distance, practically begging for Talon to come home. He almost started crying right then and there, and the others looked at him in confusion.

“Talon? Is everything alright?” Leon asked, eyeing where he was looking.

“That over there is Lon Lon Ranch! That’s my home! It’s just over there!” Talon exclaimed, unable to mask his excitement and relief.

“Well what are we waitin’ for?” Rusl ran to Talon’s side. “Let’s get you home!”

Talon started running to Lon Lon Ranch, with the others closely behind him. Talon was practically bursting with joy as he got closer to his home. The smell of hay and horses already hit his nostrils. His daughter’s beautiful singing already filled his ears. Oh Malon…

I’m almost home, sweetie.

Talon ran through the entrance and glanced at the sign above the horse pen.

“Some place ya got,” Rusl muttered, looking at the house and barn. Talon frowned. Something wasn’t right. He looked at the sign again and gasped.

“‘Ingo’s Ranch?’” He read. “What the heck?”

The others looked at Talon in confusion, and he simply pointed at the sign, a baffled look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Benji asked. “Is this not your ranch?”

“No! I mean, yes, it is! But it’s supposed to be called Lon Lon Ranch, not Ingo’s Ranch!”

“Who’s Ingo?”

Talon turned and glared at the house. “He’s my colleague. He’s helped around the ranch for years. I don’t know why his name is suddenly plastered all over now.”

The men all gave each other worried looks, and Ammon stepped up.

“Maybe it’s because you went missing, and so the ranch’s ownership went to him?” He suggested, but Talon shook his head.

“That still ain’t right! Even if somethin’ were to happen to me, the ownership of the ranch would go to my daughter Malon! Not Ingo! I—“ fury built up inside Talon and he balled his fists, marching to the house. “I have some questions I need to ask him!”

The others followed Talon as he burst through the door, and he saw that Ingo wasn’t there. He frowned and marched over to his office, where Ingo sat, counting rupees.

“INGO!” Talon shouted, a little too loud, and the man jumped ten feet in the air, spilling rupees everywhere.

“T-Talon? You’re alive? I-I mean,” Ingo stood up and smoothed out his fancy looking clothes, the look of surprise still on his face, “you’re alive and well! Oh what a relief—“

“Why do you look so surprised to see me?”

“Oh! Uh, well,” Ingo sat back down and relaxed his posture, “you went missing, we all assumed you were dead.”

“So you stole my ranch and changed the name?”

“You were gone! What was I supposed to do?”

“Give it to my daughter!” Talon got close to Ingo, “where is she?”

“Where is who?”

“Malon!”

“Oh! Malon! Uh… she’s uh…” Ingo looked around, sweat pouring down his face, but he took a deep breath and gave Talon a smile. “She’s in her home.”

Talon stepped back and let out a breath. Of course that was where she would be. Talon had a new home built within the ranch, a home where Malon and Link would’ve had room to raise their baby on the way (and where they could play their music without disturbing Talon). The farmer turned around and left the office.

“Wait! Let me take you to her!” Ingo called out to him.

“Good idea, that way we can deal with the property of the ranch, and give its ownership back to me!”

Ingo scoffed. “This ranch shouldn’t belong to you.”

“It’s been passed down the family for generations Ingo, of course it belongs to me!”

“Well you never did anything with it! All those years, while I worked my butt off you just sat there sleepin’ the day away! This ranch would’ve failed if not for me!”

Talon glared at him for a moment, but he didn’t defend himself. “Well then, it sounds like it’s time to give the ranch to Malon then,” he said, and turned around and kept walking. Ingo growled and caught up to Talon.

“Now you listen here, I— WAH!” Ingo jumped at the six men standing awkwardly in the dining room. Talon had almost forgotten that they were there, waiting for him. “Who are these people? What is that?” Ingo pointed at Kass who made an offended expression. Talon sighed and put his hand on Ingo’s shoulder.

“They’re my friends, Ingo. Now come on.”

Ingo huffed and spun around, marching out the door. Talon looked at his friends who all had varying expressions of confusion and worry.

“Y’all can just stay here, I’ll be right back,” Talon assured.

“Are you gonna be ok?” Ammon asked.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be fine. Just wait right here.”

The men nodded and Talon turned around to follow Ingo. As they walked to Malon’s house, Talon’s emotions kept running rampant. He was furious, worried, irritated, but most of all, he felt betrayed. Talon had worked with Ingo for years now, and for him to turn around and do something like this? It hurt. Link’s warnings echoed through Talon’s head. Link never liked Ingo. He always said that he was a selfish and greedy man, and that someday he was going to betray him and try to steal the ranch. Link had always said bizarre things, but this in particular made Talon upset. Ingo was his friend. He would never do something like that. But in the end, Link was right, and Talon felt hurt by it.

They entered the home and Ingo marched right in, heading straight for a door in the kitchen.

“Malon?” Talon called out, excitement to see his little girl practically eating him up inside. Ingo hovered near the door, then shrugged.

“She’s probably down in the basement,” Ingo muttered, looking around nervously, “she uh, she tends to go down there a lot.”

Ingo opened the door and went down the stairs, and Talon followed. He observed the small set of stairs as they went down. He rarely went into their home, let alone their basement, so this was all new to him. Ingo opened another door at the bottom and gestured for Talon to go in. The farmer narrowed his eyes at the dark room, only lit up by the setting sun. He went inside and looked at the tidy room.

“Malon?” He called out, seeing no signs of life in the room. Suddenly, something pushed him harshly into the room, and Talon fell to the ground. He looked up and saw Ingo shut the door, and Talon’s heart dropped at the sound of a click. “INGO!” Talon shouted and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He heard Ingo’s maniacal laughter from the other side, and Talon banged on the door. “Ingo! Let me out!”

“No! I’m never gonna let you out! I fought hard to get this ranch, and you are not going to ruin it!”

“Ingo… I… I trusted you! My whole life I trusted you! How could you do this?”

“Because I deserved the ranch! Not you, not your stupid daughter, and not that twat of a husband!”

Talon felt his blood boil at the insults thrown and he banged on the door some more.

“You’re gonna regret this! My friends will know what will happen and they will get me out!”

Talon heard Ingo swear on the other side of the door. He must’ve forgotten about them, which was good, there’s no way Ingo could win against any of them. They were all so much stronger than Talon could ever be.

“You should’ve stayed on the other side of that portal thing, Talon, it would’ve made everyone’s lives easier,” Ingo said, in a dark tone.

“Portal? What—“ Talon gasped when he remembered the portal. The portal that led him to the others, the portal that took him from his home, the portal that he was shoved into… “Ingo, you pushed me in that portal? Were you— were you trying to kill me?”

Ingo didn’t respond, and Talon banged on the door. He heard footsteps going up the stairs, and Talon knew that he was alone.

“INGO! Get back here! Where’s my daughter? Ingo!” Talon banged on the door but it was in vain. He was trapped here, his ranch gone, his daughter missing, and his friend… no longer a friend. Talon stepped back, feeling weary from all that’s happened. He slid to the floor, despair creeping up as he curled up. He prayed that the others would find him, they were his only hope now.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“They’ve been gone for a while,” Linebeck commented, looking out the window as the sun began to hide behind the horizon.

“They’re probably arguing some more, that got pretty heated back there,” Rusl glanced at the door where the two men stormed out. “I don’t like leaving him alone with him.”

“Talon will be fine, that Ingo guy sounds like a wimp,” Ammon assured, tapping the table with his finger. Rusl sighed.

“A wimp that took control of his beloved ranch.”

The room grew silent, and the men continued to wait, until the door opened, and Ingo walked through, looking angry.

“Oy, where’s Talon?” Ammon asked, and Ingo tensed up.

“Uh, he’s… dealing with paperwork. To give the ownership to his daughter,” he said in an unsure tone. The men all glanced at each other, confused at his nervous stance. “In fact, he’s gonna be a while, would any of you like some milk?”

Rusl hummed. “Milk wouldn’t hurt.” The others only grunted in response.

“Splendid! I’ll bring out some milk! And uh,” Ingo stared at Kass, “do you… do you need a bowl or—“

“A regular cup will do,” Kass huffed, and Ingo nodded, disappearing into the kitchen.

“Uh, no offense Kass but how will you drink out of a regular cup?” Linebeck asked. Kass glared at him and the sailor quickly looked away. “Never mind.”

It was silent until Ingo came in with drinks. The others slowly drank the milk while Rusl chugged his.

“Mm, fresh milk, there’s nothin’ better,” he muttered to himself, but frowned. “Though, this tastes a little strange.”

“What? You’ve never had cow’s milk before?” Ingo asked, looking more nervous.

“Oh, no, I haven’t.” Rusl stared at his milk. “I’ve only had goat milk.”

Ammon leaned forward. “I have had cow’s milk, and I do think that this tastes a little weird. You sure it’s not spoiled?”

Ingo’s nervousness melted into offense. “Of course it’s not spoiled! I always keep track of that stuff! How dare you assume that I don’t!”

Ammon raised his hands defensively and leaned back into his chair. “I never liked milk that much anyways,” he mumbled, going back to sipping the milk.

“Well I think it’s delightful,” Kass said, setting down his empty drink with Linebeck staring at him in shock. “Thank you for the milk, Ingo.”

“Er, you’re welcome.”

Leon set his half empty cup and crossed his arms, glaring at Ingo. “How long is Talon supposed to be?”

Ingo looked at all the men, chuckling darkly as they all took sips of the milk. “Oh, not long, do not worry.”

The others glanced at each other again, weirded out by his attitude, but they returned to the drinks, hoping that Talon would be back soon.

~~~~~~~~~~

The room got darker as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving Talon feeling even more hopeless. Surely the others would’ve noticed his disappearance, right? Surely they would’ve come for him now, right? Ingo wasn’t tough enough to go toe-to-toe with the men in there, even Linebeck could easily win against Ingo if it came to it. But still, it all worried Talon too much. Ingo was desperate to keep the ranch to himself, and that made him dangerous.

Talon sighed and rested his head in his hands. Nothing worried him more than Malon though. Malon was tougher than Talon could ever be, but with her pregnancy, Talon knew that she couldn’t do as much as she used to. Where she was concerned Talon, since he had no idea where she could possibly be. Was she somewhere on the ranch? Locked up in a hidden place just like Talon? Was she kicked out? Alone and homeless while trying to deal with her pregnancy on her own? And what worried him the most, did Ingo do anything to her? Surely with Malon here, she would be a threat to Ingo, and if Ingo went so far to try to kill Talon, would he…?

Talon whimpered at the thought. He couldn’t live with himself if anything happened to Malon or the baby. He was so excited to be a grandfather, and was so excited to see Malon and Link being parents. If Ingo ruined that… Goddesses, Talon wouldn’t be able to control himself. Anger bubbled inside his chest as he thought about everything that happened. He wanted to beat Ingo senseless for what he did, but with him locked up in the basement, there was nothing he could do.

The anger went away and Talon slumped. If he was only a little bit like the others, he’d probably be strong enough to get out on his own. They were all so strong, capable, and smart. Even the ones that didn’t fight were cunning in their own ways, using the skills they were good at to their advantage. But Talon had nothing. He was slow, scared, and lazy, just like what Ingo said. Adventuring wasn’t meant for him, he only slowed the others down.

Talon laid down and sighed. He could sleep, that’s what he always did when he was stressed. But for some reason, since being on this adventure, sleep didn’t come to him so easily anymore. Talon tossed and turned, thoughts churning in his head that was driving him mad. The thought of Ingo betraying him, the thought of him ignoring Link’s warnings about him, the thought of Malon, alone and scared, thinking that he was dead…

Talon shot up. He couldn’t take this anymore. His baby girl needed his help and he had to stop feeling sorry for himself. If he wanted to be like the others, then he needed to act like it! Talon stood in the middle of the room and hummed.

“How am I gonna get outta here?” He mumbled. Everything was neatly put away and shoved against the walls, so Talon didn’t see anything he could use. The windows in the room were too tiny for Talon to fit through, so that was out of the question. He looked at the locked door and observed it. It was just a regular door, but maybe… he could bust it open?

Talon started to tear through the boxes, trying to find something that he could use to break it down. He eventually found a big hammer and figured that it would do the job. He marched up to the door and slammed the hammer against it. It didn’t break, but it definitely left a mark. Talon huffed and continued hitting the door, finally breaking it off its hinges. Talon let out a huff, set the hammer down, and grabbed a pitchfork.

“I’m comin’ Malon!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rusl groaned as consciousness began to return to him, along with pain. He lifted his head and hissed as his neck ached something awful. He didn’t realize he was sleeping with his head hunched forward, but now that he thought about it, why was he sleeping with his head hunched over? Rusl reached up to rub his neck, but found his movement limited, and he was wide awake when he realized what was happening. His hands were tied together in front of him, and a rope was wrapped tightly around his chest, pinning him to a column. He looked around frantically, noticing his tied legs as well. Oh no…

“Hey look, Rusl’s awake.”

Rusl looked to his left where Ammon and Linebeck sat at the same column, tied up the same way he was. He looked to his right and saw Benji and Kass in the same predicament.

“Wha— Leon?” Rusl called out, and he heard a grunt behind him.

“I’m right behind you,” he heard the first knight murmur. Rusl was slightly relieved, but he looked down at himself again, worry creeping up again.

“What happened?”

“That lunatic drugged us,” Linebeck explained.

“Tied us up in the barn, he did a really good job at it too,” Ammon added on, wiggling his wrists slightly.

“Wh— but—- why? What purpose will that do?” Rusl still couldn’t wrap his head around this. Was this Ingo guy stupid or crazy?

“You missed his whole evil speech,” Benji started, his hands gesturing dramatically, “he wants the ranch to himself and said that Talon was a danger to that. Apparently with us here, we could help Talon steal his farm from him or something like that.”

“So… he’s holding Talon somewhere?”

“Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.”

Rusl groaned and bumped his head against the column he was tied to. “What can we do? We have to save Talon!”

Ammon shrugged. “There’s not much we can do right now. Unless someone is somehow able to slip these ropes, we might just have to trust that Talon can save himself.”

“But Talon… he’s not a fighter.”

“I mean, neither is Ingo,” Linebeck commented, “I’m sure if Talon had to face him, he’ll be fine.”

Rusl groaned again. He hated sitting here doing nothing while his friend was in danger, and he was sure the others felt the same way, but there really was nothing he could do. The ropes were too tight for him to just slip out of, and Ingo seemed to have stripped everyone of their weapons. He supposed that the only thing they could do was to trust Talon, and hope that he could at least save himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Talon grumbled as he left his own home. Malon was nowhere to be seen, and even stranger, his friends were no longer waiting in the kitchen. It seemed that everyone was gone from his ranch. Except Ingo. Talon had seen him rushing from one place to the next, grabbing things left and right, before disappearing into the home where he probably went to sleep. Luckily, he seemed to be distracted so much to the point where he never noticed Talon, even when the farmer was right in the open. With Ingo resting in his home, it gave Talon the freedom to investigate the ranch. He checked every building, finding nothing of Malon and his friends. Malon missing worried Talon, but his missing friends worried him even more. They wouldn’t just abandon him, he knew that much, but he didn’t know why he didn’t see any of them. It was impossible for Ingo to have done something to all six of them, but then again, Ingo somehow took over Lon Lon Ranch, so Talon supposed there was more to Ingo than he realized. When Talon finished investigating Malon’s house again, he realized that he never checked the barn, and before he could run to it, he heard grumbling.

“Stupid… what do I do? What do I do?”

Talon ducked to cover and saw Ingo mumbling to himself as he walked to the barn. Talon waited until he went inside before he followed, being as quiet as he could. He slowly opened the door and saw Ingo babbling to himself. Rage took over Talon and he swung the door open, charging at the man who stole his home. Ingo yelped as he was knocked to the ground, and Talon pulled him up and slammed him against the wall, surprised at how light he was.

“Why, I oughta beat you senseless, Ingo!” Talon yelled out, threatening to punch him in the face.

“W-wait! Talon! Calm down, let's talk about this!” Ingo begged, and Talon grumbled, gathering his shirt in his hands.

“Where’s my daughter? What did you do to her?”

“Nothing! I swear!”

“You better not be lyin’!”

“I’m not! I promise! Malon wanted to stay in the ranch! She wanted to take care of the horses, but I didn’t let her! I kicked her out!”

“You kicked her out? Why?”

“Because she’s pregnant! Come on now, I couldn’t let a pregnant woman do the hard work of a farmer! I’m not that cruel.”

Talon rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, you’re not cruel at all. Except for the fact that you pushed me in that portal hoping that it would kill me, you kicked my pregnant daughter out of her home, you betrayed my trust, and you stole–” Talon gestured to the barn but gasped when he saw all six of his friends tied to columns, all watching him surprised. Talon tightened his hold on Ingo and started shaking him aggressively. “YOU KIDNAPPED MY FRIENDS? What is WRONG WITH YOU?”

“Mercy! MERCY!” Ingo yelled out as he was shaken. Talon stopped and glared at Ingo.

“You’re insane, Ingo, I can’t believe I trusted you! I can’t believe I never trusted Link when he warned me about you! I… agh…” Talon looked down, ashamed. He had so much to apologize to Link for. Talon shoved Ingo into the wall and grabbed his pitchfork, slamming it into his loose clothes against the wall. Ingo let out a shout when it went in, and looked surprised when there was no pain. “Don’t move,” Talon said, and grabbed one of his friend’s swords. He walked over to Linebeck and Ammon, who were smiling at him.

“Talon, I’m so relieved you’re alright,” Ammon said.

“Yeah, we were worried about you,” Linebeck added as Talon cut the ropes around them. “That was awesome. I almost wished you punched the guy.” Talon waved it off and focused on cutting the ropes. “Are you alright?”

Talon sighed. “I don’t know, I’m sorry y’all had to get roped up in this. Literally.”

Linebeck snorted slightly, then let out a sigh of relief when the ropes were cut. “Thank goodness, those were starting to cut off my circulation.”

Talon didn’t comment on it as he cut the ropes around their hands, and the two men went over to Ingo. Linebeck lingered near him while Ammon grabbed his own sword to help Talon untie the others. Once they were all freed, Talon went to send for a town guard. Ingo didn’t belong here anymore, and Talon just wanted this to be over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The town guard arrived a lot sooner than Talon expected. It was early in the morning, with the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. The guard was writing down all the information about Ingo, while the others stayed back.

“Oh come on, the things I did weren’t that serious!” Ingo whined.

“I dunno how to tell you this sir, but kidnapping, attempted murder, and stealing are pretty serious crimes.” The guard deadpanned. He grabbed Ingo and gave Talon a slight bow. “Thank you sir, I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

Talon gave him a nod, and watched as the two started to head to castle town. Rusl and Leon came up behind Talon, both resting a hand on each shoulder.

“Are you alright?” Rusl asked, and Talon only sighed.

“I don’t know, I’m really tired and… I just… Ingo was my friend.”

“I get that,” Leon patted his shoulder. “It’s not easy to have someone you care about betray you like that.”

Talon shrugged and rubbed his eyes. “I think I’m gonna get some sleep before I go out lookin’ for Malon.” Talon turned to his home, with the other two following him.

“Do you know where she is?” Rusl asked.

“I’m not sure. She could be in Kakariko, or castle town, or even Gerudo for all I know.”

“Gerudo?” Leon frowned. “Why would she be in Gerudo?”

“Well… her mother was half Gerudo, so I’d imagine that they’ll be her only support right now.”

Rusl and Leon looked at each other in surprise.

“I didn’t know you married a Gerudo,Talon.”

“Half Gerudo, but yeah, she was a wonderful person, Malon is so much like her in more ways than she’ll know.” Talon smiled at the memory of his daughter. Her beautiful singing voice, her inhuman strength, her strong will and love for horses, those were all traits her mother bore.

“It sounds like you really love your daughter Talon,” Rusl said softly with a smile. “I hope you can find her, safe and sound.”

“Me too…” Talon paused before the door and turned around. “Um… would y’all mind comin’ with me? I don’t really wanna be alone.”

Leon and Rusl looked surprised, but they quickly smiled and nodded their heads.

“Of course Talon.”

Talon smiled and entered his home, ready to rest his weary mind.

[waywardstation]

Turned Upside Down

Ghetsis Wins AU

Ingo and Emmet were simply waiting in the subway for Elesa to arrive, so they could enjoy a Friday night out together. They didn’t expect the incoming Team Plasma attack.

I’ve wanted to write something like this for months!! Ever since we’ve developed the Ghetsis Wins AU (Ghetsis recombines Kyurem, Reshiram, and Zekrom into the original dragon and freezes over Unova), I’ve thought about the beginning, and how things might go down. Ghetsis has just reconstructed the original dragon, and is most likely creating a new ice age as he makes his way across the region, while Plasma grunts are creating chaos in places he hasn’t yet reached, trying to get as many Pokémon from people as possible.

OR read here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

“I think we should go see Red Stride instead.”

“But we already decided with Elesa that we’d see Under the Rain.”

“I looked it up, and it’s a romance. The trailers lied. And it has bad reviews that say there is a verrry awkward bedroom scene. Terrible. Red Stride is a thriller! That sounds more fun, and it’s playing at around the same time.”

“I suppose we could discuss the track change with Elesa when she arrives. You know she likes romance movies.”

“Not as much as thrillers, though.”

People shuffled through the underground station in cluttered droves as Ingo and Emmet discussed their evening plans near the subway platform, waiting for Elesa to arrive. Dinner and a movie - their simple after-work Friday night tradition had long since become a staple activity in their weekends that they all looked forward to.

Somewhere in the station, a system dinged and an announcement went off, but it was difficult to hear over the droning 9-5 crowd that filled the subway, slipping past each other in a lethargic yet focused hurry to reach certain platforms. Eager to arrive home and relax, or get out and enjoy their evening in Nimbasa.

The after-work crowding was mildly unpleasant, persuading Ingo and Emmet against a set of pillars in an attempt to ease the unintended but incessant bumping of shoulders. But Elesa was due on the next incoming metro - soon they would be back above ground, no longer breathing in everyone else’s air.

Speaking of…

“The metro is running behind schedule.” Emmet pointed out as he peeked above the sea of heads crowding the platform, onto the empty tracks disappearing into the dark tunnel. There was no train in sight - no tell-tale headlights in the black, and no precursory rumbling of the rails. He glanced down at his Xtranceiver - It should have arrived eight minutes ago. “We might have to change dinner plans as well to stay on schedule for the movie.”

“Food trucks are a faster alternative, if we should need to make an adjustment.” Ingo reflexively peeked into the tunnel himself, copying his brother. Nothing was coming.

“Anything is fine, as long as we don’t get garbador plates again.”

“What’s wrong with garbador plates?” Ingo crossed his arms, trying to keep eye contact with Emmet as a group of people passed between them.

“They’re verrry messy.” Emmet argued. “And I am wearing a lot of light clothes.”

He gestured to himself, his subway uniform having been replaced with his usual off-hours white cap and grey hoodie that had been pulled over his button-down. He was very bright, compared to Ingo’s darker cap and two-tone jacket.

“You just want to go to that hot dog stand instead.” The older twin accused.

“That too.” Emmet didn’t deny it. “But I will throw up if we have to watch Under the Rain and see that awful bedroom scene. Garbador plates are not a safe choice, Ingo. And hot dogs are better anyways. And when Elesa gets here, she’s going to side with m- hey!”

Emmet was interrupted as a short string of people holding hands to stay together pushed past him, brushing roughly against his side in their apparent hurry to cram themselves onto the already-full platform.

“Careful!” Emmet called after them, but they were already gone amongst the sea of people, perhaps even unaware of what they had done.

“It appears the other metros are late as well,” Ingo commented, glancing at the empty tracks framing either side of the subway. “There are more passengers waiting to board than normal, and it appears some are quite eager to depart.”

A quick but observant glance around, and the general state of the subway did seem to be… durantsy. It certainly felt more crowded than it was ten minutes ago, and looking down the length of the station, Ingo could see more people trickling in than out, shuffling into the station through entryways that turned around corners. And it was loud as ever, voices mixing with the mechanical sounds of the subway to create a steady unintelligible buzz.

“There may be a holdup,” Ingo attempted to explain. “Too many people trying to board can cram the doors and slow the schedule.”

“I can’t wait to couple with Elesa and get back above ground.” Emmet’s smile took on a sort of strained quality as he readjusted his cap. It took a considerable amount of crowding for him to want to get out of a place like a subway. “People seem to be forgetting to follow the rules of safety.”

Another glance down at his xtransceiver. Ten minutes now. Emmet almost frowned.

“Perhaps we should call her-”

Amongst the activity, a long-awaited sound finally filled the subway, interrupting Emmet - the rumbling of tracks announced the inbound arrival of a metro to the left.

The twins both perked up - this was supposed to be Elesa’s metro. Unfortunately, everyone else in the station heard it as well, and a general shift was seen as a considerable amount of the crowd shuffled to all the left platforms.

Finally - the metro pulled itself from the darkness, headlights bright and horn blaring to announce its arrival. It drifted into the station, and slowed to a clunky stop at the platform with a mechanical hiss. A quick look through the car’s windows, and the subway bosses immediately spotted Elesa near the doors - she waved enthusiastically to them both, and they each returned the sentiment with a wave of their own.

Thankfully, everything was fine, just a little behind schedule. At last, they could get out of this packed underground station, and move on to enjoying the rest of their night together-

With a puffing sound, the doors opened. And to Ingo and Emmet’s absolute surprise, a drove of impatient people waiting on the platform shoved inside before anyone could exit. Elesa, who was right in front of the doors and should have otherwise been able to make a quick exit, was instead pushed back further into the car, along with the other passengers who were barred from exiting. And it kept going - instead of an organized period of emptying before people boarded, people were squeezing past each other both to get on and off the car.

“Hey now!” Ingo called out, instinctively moving forward to try and help Elesa out. Emmet was right beside him, already reaching out for her and voicing similar sounds of surprise.

The twins cooperatively helped Elesa out of the metro car as they used their bodies to create a small exitway for her, Elesa hand in Ingo’s, and Ingo’s jacket in Emmet’s grip. Once onto the platform, they both pulled Elesa with them back to the pillar they had been waiting against, away from the wall of people still trying to filter between the doors.

“Thanks, you two,” Elesa heaved a sigh of relief, collapsing against the pillar between the two of them - she might have been taller, but they provided a good barrier from her, safe from the human current. “People sure are in a hurry to get places, tonight!”

“That was just rude. And dangerous. They can get to their places without inconveniencing others.” Emmet commented. It was common courtesy, but moreso expected, to let people exit anything before others entered. “Outgoing passengers have the right of way, always!”

“If this is how boarding passengers are behaving, I can now see why your metro was delayed,” Ingo added, watching people continue to cram for the open doors - it was becoming more incensed. “Did something happen? People seem unusually impatient to board. There is no need-“

A shout from down at the end of the subway rose above the buzzing of the crowd. Then three shouts, then ten. Heads turned at the sudden attention, to see a fresh wave of people burst from the entryway.

This was more than just a few small groups of inconsiderate people pushing onto a metro car. They weren’t just trying to move through the crowd, attempting to keep a tight schedule.

They were pushing and shoving. Hurrying the best they could through the confined space. The wave split, some making a sharp turn to rush up the steps leading to the exit, while others headed straight for the open doors of the already-crowded metro cars. And it was only stressing out the rest of the crowd, some of who were blindly beginning to join in.

Ingo, Emmet, and Elesa watched as they rushed past them, squeezing past the metro car’s doors.

“Something is wrong, Ingo.” The new strain in Emmet’s voice was noticable.

Something was wrong.

They would not be making that dinner and movie tonight, would they?

“Elesa, we should go-“ Ingo began to move away from the pillar, towards the subway steps at the end of the stretch of platforms. They had to get out of here-

The shouts collectively raised as something bright burst from the distant entryway, thick clouds of particles spraying over the heads of panicked people and dispersing into the air. A sharp crackle, a flicker of the Subway’s overhead lights, and the particles exploded.

The station erupted into chaos, quickly becoming an ocean in a storm as people bolted for any exit they could find - terror overriding any confusion or curiosity. And with the waves, the beasts responsible surfaced.

Three krookodile reared their large heads above the crowd, spilling in from the entryway. And behind them, three people clothed in black, Plasma emblems on their vests.

In an unsynchronized fashion, sand burst from the Pokémon’s mouths - sand attack - followed by electrified maws snapping down quick - thunder fang. The air crackled with static. Sand burst, crystallized shards of hot glass spraying out. The crowd of people cover their heads.

The edges of the hot burst showered over Emmet, Ingo, and Elesa. The three turned away at the bright sparking, only to see more Plasma members making their way down the subway stairs behind them.

A Team Plasma attack? Right in the subway?

Deep rumbling filled the station, thunderous, and more felt than heard amongst the deafening panic.

The second metro on the right side of the platforms was arriving, and it was coming way too fast for it to be making a stop.

The hulking chain of cars sped right through the station, piercing through the darkness at one end of the subway just to charge right back into it at the other end. The blaring of its horn warped as it faded into the distant darkness, and the tail end of the train left nothing but a trailing surge of wind chasing after it, people stumbling in its wake.

It was ultimately a good thing. Why would it stop here, if only to bring more people into the disaster, and add to the chaos? The metro was saving every passenger onboard by getting out of there.

And they had to too.

People still rushed for any escape they could find, bodies pushing against bodies in attempts to further themselves from the sand-spitting, dark-eyed beasts that pressed forward, electricity cracking from their fangs. Pushing past Ingo, Emmet, and Elesa with shoulders braced, and arms pressed tight against their sides.

No room. There was no room to call out their Pokémon. No room to battle. No room to defend and protect. It was impossible to safely do anything of the sort when they could barely get a foot of space between themselves.

This was almost the worst place to be during a Plasma attack. The second worst place had to have been inside those metro cars, packed impossibly tighter with pressurized doors ensuring everyone was stuck inside, almost trapped-

Ingo and Emmet only had to look at each other to realize they both knew what was going on.

Elesa turned back to the metro she had just exited, the doors still forcibly open with people trying to push inside. Shouldn’t they get back on, like everyone else? Within seconds, it could close its doors and whisk them all away to safety. A set of hands against her back pulled her away from the enticing doors before she could even voice her idea.

“Do not board!” Emmet redirected her, moving her down the platforms to follow Ingo and keep close to him - he was already searching for another exit for them, and warning anyone who would listen to find an alternative exit. “They’re trying to trap people in the cars.”

[kharmii]

It is so true that the entire fandom has a massive obsession with furries.

And are also converting normies into furries. Sometimes when I see fanart of Sneasler and it’s drawn in a furry-ish way a big part of me wonders if this artist has a sideblog containing furry nsfw with Ingo.

Or those weird hybrid designs. (When I‘m able to look past the furry implications I can appreciate a creative design but I also can’t unsee potential nsfw stuff for a lot of these.) What icks me the most about this is that furry stuff is accepted and even embraced as to blankshipping is taboo and "the worst"…

Personally I’m rather someone who wishes to engage a lot more with the Japanese community since they are still very much have the old fandom culture intact.

(Also when I‘m leaning more towards blankshipper over here it’s because they’re less to throw hissy fits at everyone who doesn’t bend over backwards to their beliefs. They can be just as nasty on some topics)

And so much yes for your annoyance for the celebration of politics in fandom. I don’t know when this has become such an issue (especially when I remember that back in the day in a previous fandom called Hetalia [a series that was based on the idea that each country was represented by a human and being a bit stereotypical (in a way that was funny or made you feel called out)] people were constantly reminding everyone not to include current day politics in their stuff, that was no biggie back when but nowadays it’s normal to use fandom and fiction to push their political agenda on people… Be it characters waving certain flags of countries or beliefs and all those surgery scars everywhere… I don’t wanna see this kind of content. Though I’m at least somewhat happy that so far I didn’t have to see artificial "assets" down below in art.

The only way to interact with the fandom is to mute and block each political movement and only interact with certain content that doesn’t deal with all this nonsense.

I have said it before but I really enjoy sharing opinions with you. While a lot comes off as probably harsher than it’s meant to but I appreciate your opinion and your perspective.

That was absolutely meant to come off harsh because Submas fandom (Volo too) is a nasty little mean girl clique gone wild. That's how social contagion works. You'll have a handful of aggressive vocal petty little twats who will convince everybody that 'this stupid thing is acceptable and yet this other stupid thing that's equally as stupid and harmless as the other thing is not acceptable'.

Next thing you know, the few bad apples who draw top surgery scarred fat furries have the whole fandom thinking that's what everybody is into. Normies might be like, "Well, I actually don't like any of that because it forces me to have a wastebasket I puke in when browsing this fandom, but I don't want anyone to call me a bigot.."

Most fans might be drawn to beauty and good things, but the whole theme seems to be centered around dreck and wallowing in misery (the shipping end anyway. General is more upbeat). Since everybody has blocked me at this point, I'm one of the few who isn't afraid to say what a lot of people might be thinking (like most of you, don't lie. Nobody likes a fat furry chili fart in the face).

Side note: I had to unfollow someone last week because they put up a post about Submas celebrating Pride Month...and yet they had to put the dig in about 'Proshippers DNI'. Hey, Emmet's pronouns list is a mile long! -So what aspect of Pride do they celebrate? Is it okay for weirdos to wear dog masks around kids? Is it okay to give minors puberty blockers? -And yet shipping brother-on-brother action with fictional characters (that doesn't hurt anybody) is taboo? Would you be okay with a grown-ass man exposing himself to a minor at a Pride Parade, and yet a 20/15 year old ship between Volo and Akari is taboo?

Anyway, how about some good old Submas Angst?

Art credit: こんぶ。@konbu_0915_ Twitter.

[legendarceus]

volo is cynthia / cyllene is cyrus au: family trees

and also me talking about them :)

put below keep reading bc its gonna be a lot lmfao

cynthia (volo) family tree

cynthia is cogita's grandkid! her parents weren't present so cogita raised her until, of course, she got disowned for the whole trying to destroy the world thing. cogita sadly passed away before they could truly reconcile.

while there is no canon ancestor to iris, i think its fun to say that cynthia met iris' ancestor and they had kids and 200 years or something later, iris exists and cynthia gets to meet her great great great great grandchild or something. we'll come back to iris in a minute :)

i also think that lusamine also decended from cynthia, which means gladion and lillie also are related to cynthia! not that its important but you know. giant family.

i do ship cynthia and diantha. i think diantha is one of the few who know that cynthia is immortal but was most definitely the most recent to find out. iris is not aware of this. but these three are found family anyway <3

speaking of found family, prof. carolina and cynthia's younger sister are purely adoptive of sorts. but they're still found family. love them. wow cynthia 2 found families thats crazy.

cyrus (cyllene) family tree

yes this looks odd without context but we do have context so it doesnt matter. cyllene x laventon is canon and you can pry it from my cold dead hands. too bad cyllene got widowed and then found out they were immortal AND trans after laventon died.

anyway, cy and lav were married and akari + rei were their adoptive kids. ingo was akari and rei's adoptive uncle too but that isnt relavent to the family tree. also laventon is a distant relative to leon and hop :) maybe he had siblings or cousins who are great (x?) grandparents to them. who knows.

anyway damn cyrus why do you got 2 found families. but yeah team galactic is naturally cyrus' found family of course. he is his commanders exhausted adoptive father since all of their families suck lmao

mars family tree

i think mars and cynthia have the biggest family trees. anyway mars' was the first one that i did incase that wasn't obvious lmfao, but anyway, lets get into it!!!

arezu is ariana's great (x?) grandmother. ariana had a spouse that she had mars (maria at the time) with, but then she left them once she was like 'oh shoot im having silver!!!', so mars is vaguely aware that silver exists somewhere out there but she has no clue who he is otherwise. and then ariana and giovanni are married and had silver, who has no idea who mars is (he'd probably go through a crisis if he looked at sinnoh news, so lets keep it that way). silv and mars have a 9 year age gap btw just throwing that out there

silver found a new dad (lance) and some really weird teenagers about his age who he got stuck with. he's dating one of them. you have to guess. (i already know which one but im leaving it up to the mind bc silver isnt the focus in this au so imagine whatever you want).

mars and her silly little astronaut friends are her found family! i think arezu would flip her shit if she found out her great (x?) granddaughter was adoptive siblings with that one criminal lady (coin). but hey its fine!!! mars has her weird spaceman father and her weird astronaut siblings and life is good (mostly)

arezu deadass just has a bunch of decendants who commit various crimes

saturn / jupiter family tree

i grouped these two together since they've got the smallest family trees.

saturn is (obviously) a decendant of coin, but he has no contact with his family and hasn't spoken to them in years by the time pokemon platinum takes place.

jupiter and fantina are siblings (fantina is older by a few solid years) but they really don't like eachother. they have little contact with eachother and dont exactly speak often. but they do wish eachother happy birthday sometimes so thats a plusside i guess.

and of course saturn and jupiter both have found family with team galactic. awww how sweet :)

[unovanhunny]

how about a small snippet of what INgo says/does while high on catnip?

When he found Ingo, it was more than obvious that someone had found catnip. Emmet was pretty sure they hadn't had any on the ship for a while, so that meant Ingo got this from somewhere. His money was on Elesa since they had just stopped by to visit her the previous day.

The leisurely and possibly bad-for-his-back posture was the first hint, he spine twisting in a way that may have been okay for a cat, but would probably cause more pain in the long run. The second was the very steady rumbling purr Emmet could hear eminating from Ingo's chest as he wiggled slowly. The third was the way that Ingo's pupils were blown so wide, the usual silver color was almost lost entirely. And lastly, the scattered green remnants on the ground were unmistakable.

"Ingo-"

"Emmet! You're back! I missed you!" Ingo excitedly called out, cutting his brother off before he could say anything.

"I was not gone long."

Ingo squirmed until he was upright again and moved over to Emmet, throwing his arms around his brother's shoulders and pressing their chests together so Emmet could feel the purr. And then he started rubbing his face against Emmet's face with enthusiasm.

"It wasn't long? It felt like forever." The pout in his voice was obvious and Emmet could only let out a sigh through his nose and wrap his arms around Ingo's waist.

"It was maybe 40 minutes, I was just getting groceries." He would be lying if he said he didn't like this attention though, and Emmet didn't lie. Even if he could, his tail was making it far too obvious with the way it wagged excitedly at the affection.

"Well the groceries have been gotten, so now I have you all to myself, right?" The big eyed gaze that Emmet had gotten used to seeing when Ingo wanted something was somehow even more effective than usual. With an overdramatic sigh, Emmet had to admit defeat. Which wasn't exactly anything he was fighting against anyway.

"Yes, I am all yours. What will you do with me now?"

"Lay down with me. I require cuddles and you're the only one who can provide them." As he spoke, Ingo reluctantly pulled away from the hug to take Emmet's hand in his own and pull him along towards their bed. Emmet went along without question, his smile widening as they went.

Ingo pulled Emmet down and before he knew it, Ingo was curled against him, head on his chest, arms and legs tangled around him and tails entwined. That purr wasn't stopping anytime soon and Emmet could feel it resonate through his whole body. He had to press a kiss to the top of Ingo's head, causing the other's ear to flick.

"I'm glad you're home. I love you."

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

Not to make light of how much your situation must fucking suck, because I have lung problems and be almost literally dying in your place, but that's actually a good prompt idea! So, something either to do with exhaust/exhausted/exhausting or smoke-inhalation/pollution/trouble breathing, can be any one of those words

(it's fine mostly i just have a sore throat now. this also may or may not be related to my ongoing several day headache streak come to think of it. BUT ANYWAY they're done now so it's fine)

(aaah fuck this prompt... fighting so hard not to do a rain world or dishonored thing... there are Too Many good options i'm indecisive. uh hm. ive been toying with the idea of doing a regular non crossover postapoc style au so maybe...? also maybe throw in a rei bc feel like i've been neglecting my failboy in aus, lol.)

You don't go out without a filter. This is one of the most basic facts the people of the aftermath learn. You learn it quickly, or you die. Ingo knows this.

Unfortuantely, he also knows he didn't have much of a choice. His own mask is long gone, a trophy decorating some creature's den most likely, and Rei's already injured and weak, and their last shelter had been compromised. And they were close. So close to their destination—the home Rei was fighting his way back to, a place that promised safety.

He keeps repeating all this to himself, with every forced step, every it can't be far now—but he wonders, too, if he's made a mistake. If there wasn't some other option he overlooked. If he's doomed both of them.

The air reeks of chemical fumes and smoke. The cloth he's pressing over his face is more of a joke than anything useful; his nose and throat feel like something's been raking its claws down them; his eyes are stinging and blurry and now it's getting hard to see anything at all. His thoughtless animal hindbrain begs him to take deeper breaths, to salvage whatever oxygen they can get as fuel, but he fights that because he knows it'll only make everything worse. Occasionally he's overwhelmed by hacking coughs that burn, that force more poisoned air to cycle through. Rei is dead weight against his shoulder, completely reliant on him to keep moving, which is the only reason he is moving.

And then Rei swats his shoulder, weakly trying to get his attention, and points insistently in the direction of something. It might be a door, although he's not sure he would have noticed it, if not for the label tacked up over it in letters that are too blurred to read.

He drags them both towards it, fights it open—gives up on shallow breaths in this home stretch, just focused on getting through—and somehow manages to pull both himself and Rei up the ledge and inside. He's vaguely aware that the shouts and clicking sounds are alarm and suspicion and something that should make him jump and raise his hands in surrender—but, no longer faced with a critical task to complete, his body decides now is an excellent time to shut down. So it does.

[encyclopika]

I posted 445 times in 2022

That's 41 more posts than 2021!

119 posts created (27%)

326 posts reblogged (73%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@geckosquid

@lostlegendaerie

@niallblogs

@pandoramusicbox09

@birbmania

I tagged 390 of my posts in 2022

Only 12% of my posts had no tags

#animal crossing - 96 posts

#animal crossing fish explained - 88 posts

#fish - 84 posts

#science in video games - 80 posts

#marine biology - 78 posts

#animals - 71 posts

#animal crossing pocket camp - 68 posts

#pokemon - 43 posts

#acpc - 41 posts

#art - 32 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#what they should do is remake ingo's model so that he's still wearing his pearl clan stuff under either a new coat or his ripped up one

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #164

Brought to you by a marine biologist who is very tired...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

Work has just been kicking my ass. I could definitely do like a seal and just lay around until I’m hungry. Unfortunately for seals, they have to get into the ocean to find their food (I just have to walk to the fridge). Despite their large size and agility underwater, seals have to contend with the fact that they aren’t at the top of the food chain and need to be wary of bigger, scarier things (like killer whales and sharks). Now, you might be surprised to find out that not all seals are built the same way. Today I’m going to use Phineas as a great starting point to talk about pinnipeds - the seals, sea lions, and walrus.

Phineas was an NPC in AC City Folk and New Leaf that gave the player things - either balloons or other cute toys or, in New Leaf, badges for completing some milestone. Unfortunately he doesn’t show up in ACNH, which is a shame, but understandable - Tom Nook now gives you all of your achievements and those toys are given out by Isabelle or some other seasonal NPC. 

Anyway, Phineas is definitely a sea lion, *not* a true seal, and I will explain. So, all of these sea-puppy animals are in the clade Pinnipedia, which means “fin foot”. Pinnipeds are closely related to mustelids - like the sea otter and river otters we have covered - and the two are closely related to bears. So, if you think seals are cute and cuddly, they are the first thing, but maybe not the second thing. They can be aggressive, large, and fast, despite how awkward they are on land, and they have very sharp teeth and claws on their flippers. Give them a wide berth if you see them at the beach. Pinnipeds can be split into two neat groups - eared seals and true seals (the walrus falls under the first category, but we will talk about them when we cover Wendell). As the names suggest, eared seals (family Otariidae, sea lions and fur seals) have ear flaps and true seals (family Phocidae) do not. 

There are also a great many differences between the groups, such as the way they swim and walk. True seals are much more adapted to the aquatic lifestyle than eared seals - their hind legs are held backwards and they cannot bring them under themselves to walk like other Carnivorans (the Order that includes lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!). So, to get around on land, they scooch about on their bellies. They are really great swimmers though and they collectively dive deeper than eared seals.

See the full post

37 notes - Posted February 12, 2022

#4

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #156

Brought to you by a marine biologist with a not-jellyfish...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

I think this is finally where I’m going to throw up my hands and say right at the beginning that I don’t know what species these are. I would need a lot more information on these comb jellies than what the sprites give me, so we’ll have to make due with going through this group, as fascinating as it is, and learn what features they might have.

See the full post

38 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

#3

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #170

Brought to you by a marine biologist and another we’ve done already...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

I’m totally fine doing fish we have kind of done already. I just hope none of ya are bored. Writing one of these only scratches the surface of information about that animal, and I try to pick a trait or behavior that I can expand on in general. Believe it or not, it’s only gotten *slightly* more difficult to find something to talk about in general...or maybe I just find every fish wonderful. Who knows...

Anyway, today I will cover two fish at a time because they are the same fish - the Red and the Black Wakin Goldfish!

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57 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

#2

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #209

Brought to you by a marine biologist with different fish, same name...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

So, today we will cover the Silver Arowana, and I know what you’re thinking - gee, that sounds familiar. Didn’t we already cover the Arowana way back in like 2020 or whatever? And, yes, we did, but it was a different species, and I’m here to be wildly accurate and complete in my coverage of all the fish and aquatic friends in this franchise, so here we go!

The Silver Arowana first appeared in AC Pocket Camp in June 2021 for Fishing Tourney 39 that featured fish named after precious stones or metals - so that tourney also included the Black Ruby Barb we covered just a few entries ago. The Silver Arowana is a mostly tropical species, native to South American rivers. So, it’s pretty cool ACPC released it in the summer. Makes sense.

Anyway, so we all know that there is a species of Arowana in AC New Horizons - I covered it already and found that one was the Super Red color morph of the Asian Arowana. Both the Asian and Silver Arowanas belong to the same Family of fish - the Osteoglossidae, or the bony tongues. The name is derived from a sharp, toothed bone at the bottom of the mouth that can grind against teeth at the roof of the mouth. The family is tiny, comprised of just the arowanas and arapaimas, for which there are only about 14 species. The arowanas are divided into two Genus - the Scleropages, which is where the Asian Arowana comes from, and Osteoglossum, which today’s Silver Arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) resides. 

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69 notes - Posted July 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Animal Crossing Fish - Explained #155

Brought to you by a marine biologist and another fish tied to a legend...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

Figured I’d go with this “mythos” theme until I can’t anymore or I get bored. Whichever comes first, really. So, today I bring another Pocket Camp friend who’s gorgeous pattern may just be its undoing - the Achilles Surgeonfish.

This is a summer time fish in Pocket Camp’s Saltwater Shores. It first appeared in July of 2018 and returned for the late summer to fall of 2019. Which makes sense. In real life, the Achilles Surgeonfish, or Achilles Tang (Acanthurus achilles) is a tropical reef fish, common around reefs throughout Oceania and across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. They are chiefly algae-eaters, grazing algae off of the coral reef, which benefits the corals immensely by preventing algae from smothering them. Just like it’s cousin the Regal Blue Tang we covered a long long time ago, the Achilles also has a sharp, scalpel-sharp spine by the base of its tail, helping to form the corner of the striking orange, tear-drop pattern.

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100 notes - Posted January 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[willedwoods]

It should of made him happy to some extent, hearing Emmet say how stupid he was. Admitting to all the things he messed up.

Alex didn't say a word as his former boss began to break down once more. He didn't make a move to try and comfort him either, listening to him ramble on about all the things he had done wrong since Ingo left them. If this had been months prior he would of offered some sort of comforting words to console him but but of him was still frustrated with himself and the man in front of him.

Standing without a word he turned to retrieve the fallen hat, leaning down to pick it up and lightly dust it off. Turning it in his hands to stare at the front of it in silence. The memory of Elesa handing him the neatly folded uniform, the very hat sitting stop of it. The Gear Station symbol that was once on it now removed. No matter how much he wanted to throw it out he could never bring himself to, leaving it safely tucked away in his new home back in Agate Village.

It wasn't a position he wanted. But he never wanted any sort of fancy title. Even on Mt. Battle he had no desire to become the Mt. Battle Master. Simply being here and apart of it made him happy.

It would be easy to just tell Emmet to turn back around and leave to not come back to Mt. Battle just as he had been told never to return to Gear Station. Unless Emmet could get passed him he would start back up at 71 over and over again until he could take him out.

Though he found it doubtful Emmet would try again anytime soon.

"I could of told you no." He spoke flatly. He just wanted Emmet to leave but also he didn't want to leave him alone either. Fingers brushed along the front of the hat before it was secured onto his head. Could he have really? Rarely had he said no, and even then it was usually to some annoying request that sometimes had nothing to do with work. Or just something Emmet found simply too troublesome. It was usually in jest--- Telling his boss he had better things to do than fulfill a task Ingo had more than likely given him.

But Alex always ended up leaving and completed it to the best of his ability.

Not just because Emmet was his boss, his supervisor--

But because they were friends. Emmet was someone he idolized. Alexander might of never coveted the title he kept but seeing how hard he worked, how skilled in battle he was, and how much he cared for people and Pokémon, It didn't leave him much to genuinely dislike.

"Challengers who fail will have to return the way they came. You may start your challenge again from the start of the area, which for you would be 71." He could walk Emmet up just past level 80. A far shorter walk than heading back down between 70 and 71 to take the lift from there. Why did Emmet even want to be escorted out anyways? Their relationship had been derailed and came crashing to an end.

"Celebi, good work. Return."

The Friend Ball had been removed from his belt, withdrawing the mythical back inside. He'd properly apologize to her later for everything.

He wanted to leave. He wanted to to head to get on the nearest lift, wishing in the back of his head the whole way down that it would malfunction badly enough to crash, but never admitting to himself what the end result would be if it did. He didn't want to die. He just wanted to be done with it all. He just wanted all of the racing thoughts and gut wrenching feelings to stop. He just wanted this whole thing to end.

Somewhere in his mind he knew that they were all the same thing, he just couldn't admit it. Admitting to it would mean he'd given up. He could never just give up on his brother like that. He already knew he wasn't a good person, but he if he was truly a bad brother too, it would be his heart that killed him before anything else.

It didn't even sound right when Alex spelled it out the way he did. It felt like Alex was putting words into his mouth, despite it being clear what Emmet was implying by his statements. But he hadn't said it. Alex had, and he'd rattled off a series of consequences that would arise if Emmet were to take that route. That's exactly what Emmet didn't want to think of. That's exactly why Emmet found himself stuck on this thought to begin with. Shaky hands clapped themselves against his ears in an attempt to block out his words.

"I never intend to do something stupid." He choked out. His eyes felt far too dry and worn out to produce any more tears, but somehow they started falling again anyway. "But I always seem to do them anyway. Running away was stupid. Forcing you into a position you were not prepared for and did not want was stupid. Yelling when I first entered Celebi's domain? Stupid. Ignoring calls? Stupid. Coming here when I should have known better than to try to have fun while he's missing? Stupid, stupid, stupid. I don't think before I act. I act impulsively, and worry about the consequences further down the track. And I regret it. I regret it every time. I always regret it."

That was perhaps one of the more enticing factors whenever he considered making his final stop. For once, he wouldn't have to face any consequences. He could just make one more stupid decision, and not have to worry about the aftermath of anything ever again. He wouldn't regret anything because he wouldn't be capable of regret anymore.

"I don't know, Alex." He held his eyes closed as tightly as he could in an attempt to stop crying, but he couldn't. "I don't know. I don't know what would happen, and I do not want to know. That's the whole point! I can't keep going like this. I can't keep going knowing that whatever I do, whatever I choose, I am only going to keep making things worse. For me, for Ingo, for our passengers. For you. For everyone. I want it to stop. I want everything to stop. I just want to go, okay?" It was unclear in which way he meant that statement, but he clarified a bit once he'd caught his breath, if only for a moment.

"Just help me depart from this stupid mountain. Please. I just want to return to my inn. Please."

[fourphoenixfeathers]

Submas AU Masterpost

Feel free to use/do anything with my ideas (as long as you credit me for the au or inspiration or whatevs. I'm not stressed about it.)

These are my babies. My asks are always open!

Mirror AU:

Even separated by time and space, Emmet and Ingo somehow manage to match each other in more ways than just their appearances. It's entirely accidental... Until half a year after Ingo's disappearance when they realize that they can see each other in mirrors. From then on, they are a lot more hopeful about their futures. Nimbasa City, however, is not hopeful as the Subway Boss speedruns a transformation from a poor little meow meow to a full blown cryptid.

Prophet and Heretic AU:

Before he can join the Pearl Clan, Ingo goes to the rift on Mount Coronet for answers. Palkia and Dialga are too busy throwing hands to hear. Arceus does, though, and oh geez he should have thought things through before appearing before a mortal. By the time Ingo recovers from his holy fainting spell, he has all his memories back, spooky god powers, and a new headmate. At least Arceus promised to return him home in return for completing some quest to save the world...

Centuries in the future, a very lonely and remorseful Giratina approaches Emmet with a deal.

Paper Lantern AU:

When Ingo gets torn from his own time, he gets torn from his body as well. With nothing but his human soul, he possesses a paper lantern and invents a regional variant of Chandelure. His ace would be so proud. Meanwhile, Emmet is left with Ingo's alive but verrry much comatose body.

Ditto Emmet AU:

I just wanted to hit one of the boys with a shape shifter beam and Emmet is my favorite. A lot fun shape shifter things here. Like family fluff and body horror! And also Emmet copying the incarnation of time itself, hehehe-

Ghost Train AU (Danny Phantom Crossover):

The Distortion World is really just the Pokemon world's name for their version of the Ghost Zone. Ingo and Dawn get eaten up by a couple of natural portals, and two newly formed halfas arrive in Hisui a year apart. Arceus won't touch ghost child Akari with a ten-foot pole, but it all works out in the end anyways because Akari can't not help the nobles, and the Distortion World/Ghost Zone is a great medium for traversing time and space.

Submas Fusion AU:

Ingo and Emmet went to hisui together, but the distortion world said they can't have nice things. A man with no idea who or what he is woke up in a black and white coat in the coronet highlands, with only a handful of Joltik to protect him. He couldn't remember his name, but E and I came to mind. So, he guesses his name is Ei now...

Gear Session:

Homestuck au!

Arceus found a copy of Sburb in the Pokemon world and thought "that's not good" and sent the Nimbasa trio plus Akari on a mission to destroy the incipisphere from the inside out. No reckoning destroying the earth or frog breeding here, but there is a lot of temporary death. You know. Prototyping dream selves and questbeds and all that.

Fluff and Scales AU:

Hybrid au, but Ingo and Emmet are legendary hybrids.

Ingo and Emmet were born with black and white dragon wings. No one recognized them, so it was chalked up to a couple undiscovered species of pokemon and life continued as normal. But Drayden always suspected there was something more to them than that.

His suspicions were confirmed during the Team Plasma invasion, after which everyone and their mother knew what the dragons of legend looked like. And anyone who had ever been to Nimbasa could recognize the white fluff and black scales.

Also featuring Arceus hybrid Jackie and Absol hybrid Beni.

Tron AU:

Ingo got eebied to the grid instead of Hisui! He runs around the computer systems of Unova for about a month thinking he's a program, until he finds Gear station. The train autopilot programs, called ATOs, help their poor amnesiac User remember who he is, while someone unexpected brings Emmet into the digital world to help.

Thrice is a Pattern:

There were three skyfallers in Hisui. The first was an accident. The second was a failed rescue attempt. The third was the one who saved them all. Trainer Dawn never makes it back home after entering the distortion world, ending up in Hisui instead. Ingo is sent to the past to make it right, but he forgets his mission before he can even start. It's up to Lucas, now.

Kabaneri au:

Crossover with Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress! Instead of frenzies, Giratina unleashes a corruption on Hisui that turns people and pokemon into mindless zombies called Kabane. Arceus sends Dawn to cleanse the region, and promises she will be immune to the curse. He fails to mention that to do so, he will have to take away her humanity first.

[bellafragolina]

Attached

gonna start by thanking @peachsodama for having such a big brain. i have not stopped thinking about this for a second, and if i have it's to think about things that tie into this, so thank you peach. i love you <3

none of this is canon by the way. i'm throwing my own spin on the hivemind au. it's up to peach if she wants anything to be canon or whatnot

🍓🍓🍓

Those before never treated their puppets nicely. They drained them, forced them to work themselves to death, then threw them aside when they were no long useful. Ingo and Emmet both were horrified by this treatment of puppets, things that should be cherished instead of abused, so when they set off on their own, they knew they would do things different, better.

Ingo is the first on to acquire a "guest," as he likes to call them. He attaches himself to you, feels your thoughts in his head, and your energy like a soft red wine (or whatever humans say). You cry, and you scream, and you rage within your own mind, but Ingo knows you're better this way. You're healthy, taken care of, and protected by him and Emmet too, as he searches out his own puppet while learning from Ingo how to take care of one.

There are battles, as Ingo struggles to understand what your body needs and how to accommodate it, but he's happy to do it. To feel your mind slowly calm, accept him, stop fighting him at every turn, and instead just be within its own thoughts and daydreams. He grows to enjoy the times where he lets you dictate yourself, no longer clawing or shouting at him, but instead lying with him to "cuddle" or something similarly calm.

So very calm.

You've become so calm.

Too calm.

Ingo doesn't know why he doesn't notice it. The lack of brain activity should be a red alarm, yet it doesn't strike him. The busy days at the Gear Station, guiding you and coaxing trust out of the other Depot Agents lead him to being distracted. Until he suddenly realizes he hasn't heard you think anything for quite some time.

Pains gnaw at him as he takes you to an empty break room. He checks you over for any injury he could've somehow missed, but there are none. Your eyes are hollow, your frown hard set into your face to match his own.

The pain makes itself known as hunger once he pulls away control from you, and you collapse to the floor.

You're not moving.

Ingo shakes you, prods at your mind, does anything he can think of to rouse anything out of you. But you don't respond, lying on the floor with gentle breaths and unseeing eyes.

Vegetative, the paramedics that come for you call it. Ingo watches them reel you away, communicator clutched in his hand, and by the looks of it, they're not coming back.

Emmet presses close to his brother as he sobs of the loss of his first guest, one he treasured so dearly. He already feels alone in his head, your daydreams of dancing Cutieflies in colorful meadows missing, leaving his world in sad monochrome.

"Don't get attached." The words echo in his ears. He connects to another human, hands shaking as he recognizes that soon this one will die like all the ones before it. "They are not worth it. Don't get attached."

He attaches anyway.

🍓🍓🍓

ta-da!

i'm embarrassed so that's all from me folks!

~Renee

[leggerefiore]

You want some fluff ideas? Okay! How would Ingo and Emmet react to thier kids' first words, first steps, first Pokemon they caught on their own, ect? Also, funny thought, what if, instead of something like 'mama' 'dada' or anything like that, their kids' first words were something related to trains or the twins themselves? (Like 'choo choo' 'aboard!' 'bravo!' ect)

▲Ingo▼

● Erin was sitting on the floor while playing a plush pokeball. His big, silver eyes observed the area around him curiously when they landed on the man. He sat nearby with his own eyes glued to the boy. His usual scowl twisted up into a soft smile. Erin felt his heart warm. He crawled over to the man, who gently picked him up and sat him in his lap. A tiny hand grabbed at the strange hair of his face, and Ingo tilted his head at his son. Erin mimicked him before babbling “ab-ahd”. The older man gasped. “Dear! He's talking, come here!!” Ingo's volume increased. Aboard was his first word… Ingo could cry. (He was crying.)

● You were watching Ingo scoot back from the boy as they played games with each other. Erin seemed distressed by the distance his father provided. The boy was ever so clingy, so having one of his parents so far away (in his mind) was upsetting. He whined out a “da-da”, but Ingo kept his distance. What was he doing? You watched as he motioned Erin over, much like he did when coupling train cars together. The boy tilted his head. Both of you watch his astonishment as he got up on his legs properly and wobbled over to Ingo. He tripped on his last step, but Ingo caught him. The older twin looked completely identical to the younger as he beamed. You knew he had been working on this for a while.

● Ingo was nervous. Yes, Erin was older now. The boy was already seven, but, in Ingo's heart, he was still the infant that cried until he was cuddled; he was still the toddler who clung to his parents' legs. He was so vocal and loud when he was a baby, but so slow to actually talk and communicate. Ingo viewed him a bit like Emmet in that way, but only if Emmet was passive and meek. (Which he was not, unfortunately.) The Litwick that Ingo had gifted Erin stood fiercely in front of him, having taken on a role of protector for the boy. (His Chandelure was more than happy to provide a child for his child… There was something so endearing about it.)

● The Solosis across from him watched interestingly. A few careful Astonishes and Embers lowered the psychic type enough for Erin to throw a pokeball. His throw was admittedly lacking, but he did well for his first proper attempt. The boy watched in anticipation as the ball shook once… twice… thrice, and click! The Solosis was caught. Erin rushed over to pick the ball up excitedly. He stared up at Ingo with big, enthusiastic eyes. Ingo knew what he wanted. Kneeling down, he stared his son in the eyes, “You did excellent! Bravo!!” Erin smiled bashfully and repeated, “Bravo!”

▽Emmet△

○ Emmet stared at his twins as they babbled secretly between each other. He was envious. Ingo hadn't talked to him like that in years. His older brother was so verrrry mean. Hopefully, Emma wasn't as cruel as Ingo. She seemed to be nicer anyway, even if her frown was the same. Inka stared at him momentarily before Emma joined her. They shared a look before the older girl wandered to him. Emmet knelt down to her level and smiled kindly. “Ma-ma!” she announced and pointed at him. He shook his head and pointed at himself. Inka hopped up and shouted, “da-da!” Emmet's grin widened, and he nodded. “Yep! Da-da!” He scooped both of them up and giggled. They were so cute!

○ Inka struggled in Emmet's grasp, and he freed the girl. Emma remained while watching her sister curiously. The girl was wobbling as she rose to her feet. Emmet gasped as Inka stood up and slowly took careful steps. She toddled away from him and towards the bedroom door, where you were taking a nap. Envy stung Emmet's pride, but what could he do. Inka soon tumbled, however, and Emma had to be placed on the floor while he rushed over to check on her. A cry of “da-da” happened, and Emmet turned to see Emma coming after him on her feet as well. “Darling! You're missing something important!” he called out, partially to show you and to get your help.

○ Emmet was panicked. Inka had run off with Emma to do something, while he decided to take his family out for a picnic on Route 16. He had looked away for a moment while you went off to chat with a friend, and suddenly, his children were gone. They were only eight! He was frantically running around trying to find them. Poor Emma must have been so scared! Inka likely convinced her to run off in one of her attempts at being 'free' (which meant away from Emmet's hugs). He called their names out and asked any passersby about them. He was in tears as he returned to the picnic blanket to inform you of his failure as a dad.

○ The twins sat on the blanket, with Emma talking to a Gothita that she hadn't had before while Inka admired a Swadloon. The Joltiks he had gifted them were sitting near his Galvantula being recharged by them. Emma picked up her Gothita and ran up to Emmet. “Papa! Papa! Look, look! She's cute!” The older twin was filled with giddy, betraying the frown on her face. “Yeah, papa! Look at my new Swadloon! I caught them myself!” Inka picked up the bug-type and held them out to her father. Emmet sighed. Had they really? “Verrrry cute and good, you two! Now! If you run off like that again, I'll have Galvantula cocoon you,” he both praised and threatened. The girls froze.

[mass-piplup-outbreak]

End of the Line - Chapter 9

[first] - [previous] - [next] read it on ao3! if you like the fic, please relog it!

Chapter 9: Sick Day Emmet catches a cold, and a friend comes by to help out. (content warning for a panic attack)

The next day Emmet takes off is the day he wakes up with a fever. He feels a little embarrassed to have to call out of work just a week after returning from his leave, but Galvantula hisses and screeches if he even steps near the front door. Chandelure gently guides him back to bed, probably at Ingo’s request.

Emmet drifts off again as soon as his head hits the pillow, but he barely spends any time asleep before he’s woken up by a loud Crash! from the kitchen. Forgetting that he’s sick enough to cough his lungs up, Emmet jumps out of bed and darts for the scene of the crime.

Noodles and broth are splattered everywhere, from the cabinets, to the floor, to even the ceiling! The mess seems to originate from a single can on the counter, which looks like it’s been run over by a train. Durant seems happy enough to clean up on its own, happily lapping the nasty remains of the soup.

One of the stove burners is on, but there isn’t anything placed on top of it. That was probably Chandelure’s job, given the fact that it drops the pot it was lifting to hover over a seemingly empty spot in the middle of the room.

Emmet has to stop for a moment to take it all in. Right. Spooky ghost brother shit. He can handle this.

“Stop that,” Emmet nudges Durant with his foot. His voice sounds rough, like Ingo used to at the end of a long day. “Go get Garbodor to clean up.”

Durant chitters in disappointment before sulking out of the kitchen.

Well, Emmet just put out the smallest fire first. Now for the literal inferno.

Careful not to step in any of the bits of soup, Emmet crouches down next to the spot where he thinks his brother is sitting. If the state of the kitchen is any indication, he is not in a good mood.

“Ingo?” Emmet coughs into his elbow. “Are you alright?”

Despite Emmet’s good intentions, his words offer no comfort to his brother. In fact, they have the exact opposite effect. The lights in the kitchen suddenly start flickering on and off, the cabinets swing open and Slam! shut, and Emmet realizes that he’s way out of his depth.

His first reaction is to squeeze his eyes shut, block out the lights and the sounds. This has got to be the craziest situation he’s ever found himself in. It’s straight out of a horror movie! Since when could he even do this, anyway?! Emmet did not sign up for a haunting, even if it’s-!

Even if it’s Ingo.

However, the fact that it is Ingo certainly changes things, doesn’t it?

“Ingo, it’s- it is okay!” Emmet stammers out. It’s all he can do, but damn it, it’s practically useless! How is he supposed to take care of Ingo like this?!

Maybe it’s just his imagination, but between the flashing of the lights, Emmet swears he sees a figure sitting in front of him. His knees are drawn to his chest, the same way Ingo used to hold himself and cry when he was a kid after throwing a tantrum. Man, the way he would scream when they tried to make him wear a dress…

Emmet would sit right by his side, holding his hand until he inevitably calmed down.

So that’s what he does again. Emmet reaches out and grabs Ingo’s hand, and his heart almost stops when his brother squeezes it back.

Ingo’s hand is cold.

As quickly as it started, the chaos stops. The lights finally go out, and the cabinets stop flailing open and shut. The pressure on Emmet’s hand disappears, mere seconds after he finally found it again.

“Ingo?” Emmet croaks out. Between his cold and whatever just happened, his throat feels even more raw than it did before.

The kitchen is silent, which is a cruel irony. “Ingo” and “quiet” are two words that never went together, at least not until recently. He filled all of the emptiness in their lives, talked and talked for hours when Emmet couldn’t even get a word out. And now…

Even though he’s back, Emmet still hasn’t heard his brother’s voice since he left all those years ago. He’s starting to forget it.

Chandelure gently pats the empty space before floating off. Emmet almost thinks that Ingo just abandoned him, until the Pokémon returns with the journal and pen they received from Shauntal.

It’s really only been a week since she came onto the Battle Subway, hasn’t it?

Emmet takes the journal from Chandelure, only because if he didn’t, it would place it directly into the splattered soup. He carefully leaves it open on the floor in front of Ingo. After a moment, the pen moves from Chandelure’s telekinesis.

Sorry. I’m OK.

“Don’t apologize,” Emmet insists. “What was that?”

Wanted to take care. Couldn’t pick up. Got mad, can went everywhere. Panic attack?

Ingo writes it like a question, and Emmet can almost remember the way his brother sounded when he was uncertain.

“Well, uh-” Emmet finds himself faltering yet again. He’s not good at comforting people with his words, and just wishes that he could hug Ingo so he’d know everything he’s trying to say. “You’re feeling better?”

Yes.

Emmet nods. Ugh, he can already feel a headache coming on, he definitely needs to lay back down soon. “So. It appears you have powers beyond breaking our TV.”

It seems so.

“However, you are having difficulty conducting your abilities,” Emmet reasons. “We will work on that, too.”

Not mad?

“You exploded a can of soup,” Emmet grins, just the tiniest bit excited by the prospect. “That is verrrrry cool! I want to know what else you can do.”

Thank you. Ingo’s handwriting is shakier than usual, which means it’s time to give him a break. With everything that’s happened this morning, he deserves some time to decompress.

“Let’s watch another movie?” Emmet suggests. They’ve been slowly making their way through their own personal collection after work, when Emmet is tired and Ingo is bored. It’s actually been interesting to reunite Ingo with his favorite films, if only to see him freak out afterwards about how they’re the best things he’s ever watched.

Before Ingo has a chance to respond, the front door slams open.

“EMMET!” Elesa’s voice easily travels from the front door to the kitchen. Emmet swears internally. What’s she doing here?!

Galvantula, the traitor that it is, leads Elesa into the kitchen. She gasps in horror, and Emmet remembers that usually people don’t cause this much of a mess when they try to cook.

“Emmet, what did you do?!”

Oh. Oh no.

‥

Ingo is very—or as Emmet would say, verrrrrry—uncomfortable with the situation in their apartment right now. Elesa has managed to wrangle Emmet to the couch, despite his protests that he feels fine. He ends up pouting on the couch, tucked into the blanket that Elesa stole from his bed. In the back of his mind, Ingo can remember making the remark that there’s no way to say no to Elesa.

Emmet at least managed to keep the journal away from her, clutching it to his chest even now. Neither of them are prepared for her to find out just yet.

As of late, Ingo has been trying to figure out how to sit on furniture. He doesn’t pass through the floor, and he can handle stairs and elevators just fine. There’s got to be some secret to tangibility that he’s missing. Of course, he can’t really practice with Emmet hogging the couch, so he sits on the floor beside him.

Emmet fiddles with his Xtransceiver, which Ingo has given up on trying to figure out for now. Movies are one thing, but this ArcPhone-like device is something else. He places it on the coffee table, eyes trained on the open screen.

He seems to have some sort of writing app open, with the message Are you still there? typed out.

Chandelure nuzzles into Ingo’s side, a bit of that cold energy settling in his chest. It’s a strange feeling, especially since he hates the cold, but it at least causes that numb buzz to fade away.

Ingo pokes at the Xtransceiver, and the screen glitches the tiniest bit.

“Good.” Emmet pulls the blanket up, finally resigning himself to staying on the couch. It looks comfortable, even if Eelektross and Archeops are currently pinning him down. “I like knowing you’re here.”

Well, there goes Ingo’s plan to hole himself up in his room until Elesa leaves. At least there’s something he can do to help Emmet feel better.

Ingo stares at his right hand, flexing his fingers in an attempt to find that warm feeling again. Did he imagine it, or did Emmet actually manage to hold his hand? It was brief, gone as soon as it came, but its familiarity yanked Ingo out of his spiral. The gesture is rooted deep in his mind, but he’s not exactly sure when the seed was planted.

“Luckily, that wasn’t your last can of soup.” Elesa enters from the kitchen, holding a steaming bowl in her hands. “Sit up, you need to eat today.”

“Elesa braved the kitchen just for me.” Emmet grins as she hands him the soup. He tries to lean his head on her shoulder when she sits down next to him, only to be forcibly shrugged off.

“You look like a Cubchoo right now,” Elesa complains. “I do not want to catch anything from you.”

“Then why did you come here?”

“Now Emmet, Elesa took time out of her day to take care of you,” Ingo launches into a lecture. “The least you could do-”

“Because you’re sick, you Bidoof!” Elesa pokes Emmet’s forehead, cutting off Ingo’s speech on the importance of appreciating your friends.

Ingo closes his mouth, letting the words die on his tongue. Being ignored in this context is logical, at the very least. Elesa wouldn’t know he was speaking; she doesn’t even know he’s here right now! She probably hasn’t even thought about him for a while. It’s not like he’s been around to remind her.

“How did you know I was sick?” Emmet asks, slumping away from Elesa after being so coldly rejected.

Elesa's smile turns devious. “I have an inside source, darling. Now, do you need anything else? You haven’t had a sick day since you collapsed at the station last year.”

Sorry, Emmet did what? Ingo immediately abandons his wallowing, because what the hell, Emmet?

“Elesa!” Emmet shouts, his face flushing even more than it had been before. “There are people here who did not need to know that!”

“Oh, please,” Elesa rolls her eyes. “We all know.”

Emmet mutters something under his breath that sounds a lot like, “Not all of us.” Ingo stifles a laugh at his poor, idiot brother.

The two of them continue their bantering, and so Ingo leans his head against Chandelure and closes his eyes. Strangely enough, this is… nice. Nostalgic, even.

He might as well make the most of it.

‥

Emmet eventually ends up falling asleep again, but only after he took some cold medicine that seemed disgusting. The TV is currently playing an overdramatized nature show, something about giant river Pokémon, and Ingo is simultaneously unable to look away and bored out of his mind. Since when did he care so much about fishing?

Elesa is sitting on the floor beside Ingo, only because Emmet is sprawled out over the entire couch. Out of curiosity, he peers over her shoulder, only to see she’s searching for methods to reduce fevers on her Xtransceiver.

Oh! Oh right! Fevers! Ingo forgot that was a part of being sick. Darn, he really would have been useless if he’d tried to take care of Emmet on his own, wouldn’t he? It’s probably for the best that Elesa came over.

It’s frustrating, to say the least. On one hand, Ingo is glad that someone who’s capable is here to shoulder the burden. It’s not like he could force Emmet to take his medicine the way Elesa had, after all. But on the other hand, he wishes he could do more. Emmet is his brother, and he would do the most to make sure Ingo recovered if he was the one who was sick. Some part of Ingo’s memory reminds him that he has done the most, several times in fact.

Maybe…

Ingo rests his hand on Emmet’s forehead, doing his best not to phase through him. He knows he gives people the chills by now, but surely this is enough to cool him down. Right?

In his sleep, Emmet’s smile grows just the slightest bit wider. Ingo thinks that means he’s doing a good job.

For a brief moment, everything is peaceful. Ingo is actually helping Emmet, not the other way around! It feels amazing to be able to make a difference like this again, even if it’s something small. Maybe he could figure out what happened in the kitchen and use those powers? It’d take a lot of work, but if it’s for Emmet, then-

Elesa stands and as she passes by Emmet, she gently takes the journal from his hands.

Oh no no no, that’s not good at all! Ingo trails after her, panic seeping into each step that he takes. What is she doing?! Hasn’t she ever heard of privacy before?!

Archeops quietly squawks in protest, though he’s currently trapped in between Emmet and the back of the couch.

“Sssh.” Elesa holds a finger up to her mouth. “I’m just putting this on the coffee table. It can’t be comfortable to hold like that.”

Oh. Ingo sighs in relief, his shoulders dropping. Archeops grumbles something as well, settling back in next to Emmet. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Elesa is a good friend, after all, she wouldn’t blatantly disrespect Emmet like that.

“But this can’t be Emmet’s journal, right?” Elesa reasons, and Ingo’s stomach drops again. She turns the book over in her hands. “He’s never been one to write down his feelings. So what is this, exactly?”

And then, without even waiting for an answer, Elesa opens the journal. Her face drops the second she does.

She must recognize the handwriting. She has to. Emmet says they’ve been friends for years, there’s no way she doesn’t know.

What Ingo does next is not something he thinks too heavily about. He grabs the pen from the coffee table and throws it right at Elesa. It makes contact right on the bridge of her nose.

“Ow! You-!” The pen clatters to the ground beneath Elesa, and brings a hand to the stinging red spot on her face. Her angry scowl is replaced by wide-eyed confusion the second that she notices that the spot the pen came from is empty. Not that Ingo would call it empty, but he gets how it looks to her.

“What is going on here? Is this place haunted?!” Elesa wonders aloud. Thankfully, Emmet is capable of sleeping through a train crash, and so he remains blissfully unaware of the chaos unfolding around him.

Elesa looks back at the journal, still cracked open in her hands. It’s obvious what she’s thinking, flipping through the pages faster than she could be reading them. Besides, with the tears welling up in her eyes, she probably isn’t seeing much anyway.

Know. Remember.

I missed you.

I didn’t mean to.

I never thought it would happen like this.

I won’t leave you again.

-Ingo

“What is this?” Elesa swallows back a sob, her mascara already beginning to smear. “You can’t- you can’t be…”

Ingo decides that he might as well. He’s already blown his cover. He picks the pen up off the ground and reaches past Elesa to the next empty page. She gasps as he does so.

Hi Elesa.

“Ingo?” Elesa tentatively asks, her voice shaking as if the word itself is sacrilege.

Yes.

And even though she’s crying, mascara running down her cheeks like rain on a window, Elesa laughs. For some reason, though, it feels like she doesn’t find this situation very funny. “You have got to be ele-kidding me right now.”

‥

Emmet wakes up to the sound of excited chattering, which is confusing enough on its own. Blearily, he sits up on the couch, which immediately launches him into another coughing fit. When he finally manages to calm his breathing, he sees Elesa sitting beside the coffee table, with the journal open in front of her.

“Uh, Elesa!” Emmet panics. Shit, how much did she read?! “What are you-”

“Emmet, did you know your brother is really good at drawing Tangelas?” Elesa asks, as if that’s a normal question to ask about a dead guy. “He’s seriously talented.”

Emmet blinks. His eyes finally land on the pen, moving on its own in swirling patterns. It takes a moment for his mouth to catch up with his brain.

“What?”

[autumn-sweet-fae]

You know you tend to get emotional when stressed? Well, Akari has been under massive amounts of stress since she made it to Hisui. I think it’d get an awful lot of people on her side if, during one of the post battle live streamed interviews, she started crying because the lab is trying to take away her partners. Especially Dusk, who she raised from the time all she knew was Tackle and Growl. Everyone knows how you that is in the life of a Pokémon and suddenly it’s less a girl stealing from a (fine and upstanding) research lab and more a girl on the run trying to hold onto a Pokémon she has raised and loved for what has to be literal years. (I forget how long your au has her in Hisui)

In my Au, by the time Akari and Ingo return to the future, Akari would have been missing a year and Ingo would been missing for three years.

Also, in case no one has picked up on it, I write Akari as also being autistic, largely because it makes her easier for me to write. So crying in front of other people is something she absolutely never wants to do, especially with some stranger. So the moment she feels her throat tightening and her eyes start to burn she would immediately remove herself from the situation. And she would be wearing the mask at the time too so it would look less like someone stepping away to gather themself and more like her harshly brushing the kid off.

Early on in Hisui, Akari’s method of managing her emotions and stress when interacting with human people was to bottle it up and smile and be as polite and present as possible. She would wear a metaphorical mask and always dress and behave appropriately when interacting with authority. She did not want to be alone in this strange world and wanted to be trusted, which is why Commander Kamado’s repeated reminders that she is not trusted hurt so much.

When Akari finds the ‘gift’ containing theZoroark mask left outside her door one morning, she loves it. She likes to keep it on her person and even wears it when interacting with others outside the village. It gives her the comfort of not always having to stress over how others would react to her expression not being perfectly pleasant. She honestly feels like she can only be herself when she’s out in the wilds with her pokemon because out here there’s not really anything to remind her that she’s suck somewhere that she does not belong.

When Rei pulls her aside and gently informs her that the mask was most likely ment as an insult, Akari is honestly heart broken. She stops wearing her in, shoving it away into her trunk. Volo later asks what happened to her favorite spooky accessory and she shrugs, telling him it was childish anyway.

And then she meets Ingo and the two find that they share so much in common. Not just their mysterious origins and love/talent of handling Pokémon, but also in numerous small ways. The fact that Ingo also keeps an empty pokeball in his pocket to play with when his hands need something to do. How he has difficulty controlling his expression, though he struggles to emote much at all while Akari knows she can emote too much. He can talk with her for hours about pokemon and battle strategies and they both have the best time throwing ideas back and fourth. She has this urge to apologize for how much she’s taking about pokemon, but Ingo is so genuinely interested in invested in what she say and makes sure to tell her so. They can both get very loud in they’re excitement but Ingo is significantly Louder.

It’s when Akari is sent to the Icelands that she sees an actual Zorua for the first time while exploring the caves. She caught the little guy with a back shot for a closer look but, he was so very distressed and defensive at her presence that she released him shortly after getting the notes she needed. She tells Ingo about them to get his perspective on it as every other person she’s spoken immediately shuttered and bulked at the idea of a Zorua. Even Professor Laventon seemed scared of them.

As she had hoped, his thoughts on the pokemon and its evolution did not come from a place of fear, but of understanding it to be another pokemon. He even tells her how the Zorua and Zoroark are of those pokemon he remembers differently then they appear in Hisui. He recalls their fur bring black, not white, and that they were known to be tricksters. He believes the didn’t have the best reputation where he was from as well, which was not deserved.

He shares what he had learn of the Hisui Zoroark from the Pearl clan and from what he has observed in the wilds. Their history of exile by cruel humans, the mutual distrust and hostility, how protective they are if their young. That last fact he can’t recall learning, he simply knew it.

After hearing all of this, Akari goes back to her trunk and retrieves her mask, choosing to keep it on her person yet again. This Pokémon deserves to  exist as much as any other and she won’t shove it away as the people of Hisui had done.

Later, after the trauma of Akari’s exile, she starts to wear the mask more and more, no longer caring what the people thought of her. She devotes time to not just studying the pokemon but helping them integrate with humans an learn they don’t need to be hostile. She also will no longer hesitate to call out people on their ignorance of pokemon and how damaging their behavior can be for both the pokemon and themselves.

And this has gotten totally off topic 😅

But yeah, Does Not want to cry in front of anyone that’s not her pokemon or Ingo. Ingo is great and will either give her space if that’s what she wants, or give her a hug while wrapping his coat around her to help her feel safe and hidden.