#nonetheless he enjoys the games- he wouldn't play along otherwise

[arcadeplayer-nickonz]

End the night with a BANG 🎆🧨

(small backstory of this piece below)

- After another wild chase throughout Gotham with a threat of multiple explosives hidden, a majority of them were deactivated by the Batman and GCPD, some being duds while others legitimate bombs ready to go off at random intervals, not to mention each location having some game to play along with. Finally getting the location of the Joker from the last game, Batman arrived as he revealed the grand finale of the night! He admitted that there were a few left over he may have forgotten to mention, and with a snap of Joker's fingers the explosives-.. no fireworks went off in various spots nearby. Despite the scare, there were zero casualties tonight.. breath of fresh air from the usual death toll of the clown prince of crime.

[tealmaskmybeloved]

Toxic Consequences AU: Chapter 9

Insecurity and Thievery

(As always, notes will be under the cut. Enjoy!)

It had been a few days since Kieran left.

Not that he minded. He got to ride on Okidogi's back and race with him, play some mind games with Munkidori and watch him show off his powers, and talk smack with Fezandipiti, who always had something new to say.

The Loyal 3 were like those cool kids at school, the ones who did what they wanted without a care in the world, not letting anyone into their circle.

But they let Kieran in. He was one of them now, after all. He'd probably go with the group on some of their heists and maybe even go to Dokutaro's home region!

But that was for later. For now, he was ranting about Juliana to Fezandipiti.

"And like, she's just so annoying! She's always inserting herself at every moment, and she always gets what she wants! I loved Ogerpon since forever ago, but she got to keep it. Well, Florian did, too, but he's less annoying." Kieran grumbled. He was still upset about the Ogerpon situation, even if he claimed he hated her now.

"Ugh, she is so the worst, Kieran!" Fezandipiti agreed, making a face. At least someone here agreed with him!

"Thing is, I know someone exaclty like Juliana." The bird said with a sneer.

Kieran was intrigued. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Juliana took what you wanted, the same thing happened to me!" Fezandipiti replied, pouting.

Kieran had no idea what he was going to hear.

Fezandipiti began his rant. "I wasn't always like this, you know! I used to be ugly and hated by many, until this sweet Unfezant came along and me and him, oh we hit it off!"

Now Kieran was confused. "Aren't you a guy?" He asked.

"Well, yes, not before, but... look if people can change their genders who's to say I can't?" Fezandipiti replied. For once, the bird didn't act smug and confident like he usually did. Rather, he seemed.... insecure. Fezandipiti hid his face in his wings, embarrassed.

Kieran was a bit confused. He'd never seen this sign of Fezandipiti before. He sat down next to the Pokémon.

"Do.... do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

Fezandipiti peeked out from his wings, before hiding his face again.

"You wouldn't understand." He said, his voice glum.

Nonetheless, Kieran still wanted to help.

"I can try, at least."

After a moment of silence, Fezandipiti spoke again.

"My species... they've always been the prettiest. Well, at least the males. The females aren't as exquisite, but most are fine with it."

The bird let out a sigh, before continuing.

"Growing up, I've always wanted to be like the males. Adorned and seen as valuable, loved by others. But I didn't look the part. My feathers were short and dull, my voice was horrendous, my colors were ugly and gray... no one wanted to be around me."

"Even then, I didn't like how I was. It didn't really feel like my body, you know? But I just went along with it because it was seen as the norm... until I've heard tales of people who changed their genders, or had no gender at all. It... it fascinated me, a lot."

Fezandipiti let out a small smile.

"I didn't understand how it worked, but I wanted to learn and be like the people, to be how I want to be, and not the body I was stuck in.... when Dokutaro found me, I was desperate. I didn't just ask for beautiful looks, I also asked for him to change my gender, to be a guy."

"And that worked?" Kieran asked, surprised.

"It did. It felt... right. I was finally me, in a way. But even then, there's some who think that I'm still a girl, that I'm still the old me, and they won't listen otherwise. It's... frustrating.... and I don't like it..."

The bird almost looked like he was going to break down into tears.

Gently, Kieran wrapped his arms around Fezandipiti, giving him a hug.

"What... what are you doing?" Fezandipiti asked, tears in his eyes.

"Well, you said you wanted to learn from people.... well, this is what people do to others when they're sad. If... if you're okay with it, of course." Kieran replied.

"No, it's... nice.... thanks." Fezandipiti smiled, hugging Kieran back in the sunlight.

The two enjoyed the nice moment until they were interrupted by Dokutaro.

What are you two doing?

"We're having a nice moment over here!" Fezandipiti gave a snarky reply. There's the Fezandipiti Kieran knew!

Uh-huh. I want to talk to Kieran.

"Alright. Well, talk to you later, Kieran. And... thanks." Fezandipiti smiled as he flew off.

Now Dokutaro and Kieran were alone.

"So, um, what did you want to talk to me about?" Kieran asked, a nervous grin on his face.

It's a favor I want you to do. Consider it a way to prove your worth to me.

"Oh, uh, okay. What do I have to do?"

It's simple. I want you to steal Ogerpon's Teal Mask. It's the last one not in our hands.

"Um, steal Ogerpon's mask? I can do that.... I think." Kieran sheepishly responded.

.... Right. Remember, if you fail, I won't give you what you want. Think of it as an exchange. You help me, I help you.

Kieran felt a bit uneasy. But it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? He stole the mask before, he could do it again.

"But, how do I do that? I haven't seen Carmine or Ogerpon in days. Who knows what they'll do when they see me?"

If they won't give it to you, do what you did before, and take it with force.

With that, Dokutaro left.

Now Kieran had to go steal the Teal Mask again.

okay this chapter went from silly goofiness to deep emotional shit real fast.

I am a trans man and kind of poured some of my experience into this chapter. Was not expecting that at all. One minute, I'm writing some Becky Apples type shenanigans, and then the next thing I know, I'm getting way too invested in this bird.

Anyways, Fezandipiti says SUPPORT TRANS RIGHTS AND TRANS WRONGS

Be gay do crime, have fun.

[radiosguts]

Well well well now! Let's try this again, shall we? We were so rudely interrupted last time...

I've decided that I should make an introductory post, just as Celine did, as I seem to be the most... Convoluted... of the alters. So! To all of you that have accused me or suspected I may be Alastor in some way shape or form...

That's right, oho!~ It's been me the whole time!

While you've all been questioning and confused and even scared, I've known from the start! Who I am, what I'm about, what I'm going to do about it - as has the rest of this system, sorry to say. It's been a little game I've played for these past 6 months, our precious little secret! And you may be asking, "oh why, Alastor! Why would you do it?!" And to that I say

Haha! But this isn't the full extent of it - a story is never so simple after all...

You see, it is so much more than that. It was much more a response to the reactions around me. After all, walking into the Mindspace felt a lot like this!

But with many more weapons, haha!

I had taken two steps within our mind and chaos ensued! And, while I most often enjoy said chaos, this was a bit different.

While Elliot had his fits, and Erek struggled with jealousy, and Mark took the side of his poor brothers, there was another, bittersweet sort of upset that existed. It tingled in the back of my taste buds, along the far corners of my mouth. A sugary sensation that numbed as it went down.

He was a darling little thing... 4'9, with the face of a cherub and glistening pink eyes. His hair was a pale blonde mess of fluff, and there was something about the way he looked at me... Awe. Admiration. Fear. It was beautiful! And he looked so torn! His sweet porcelain skin dotted with darling freckles tinted a sweet rosy hue, though from admiration or anxiety I'm still unsure. He spoke to me delicately, an oddly hindered sort of excitement in his melodic voice.

His reaction was captivating. He asked me questions, treated me with such kindness. He wasn't afraid of me, as I was or what power I had. In fact it was much the opposite - he was obsessed with it! Praised it, even! His captivation seemed endless, and he showed this through the sweetest of delicacies. He is, for all intents and purposes, a sugary sweet delight; one you can't help but crave. A strange sensation, one far foreign to me, but not one completely unwelcome, either. It was a quick decision, I admit. It doesn't take one long to find they enjoy someone, after all.

My presence brought forth many dilemmas, and he was the one that needed to weigh the reactions of his alters. To analyze my power and consider the possible consequences of what I may or may not do because of who I was and what I was once capable of. Most of all, however, he worried. He worried about another he knew; someone he knew would be horribly wounded if they knew of my existence. This, in the end, was his biggest hurdle.

His first decision was to simply not mention me anywhere. We've worded it before as "throwing a blanket over [me] and hoping for the best," aha! But, unfortunately, he quickly grew tired of being unable to share our interactions - especially when Elliot began tampering with things. We went through a good amount of hardships that, without anyone knowing I existed, were unable to be helped with! Likewise, there were also many good times; fun or silly interactions that he cherished and wanted to share with the people he associated with. Like anyone would want to do with a friend, I'd say - if I may be so bold.

So he thought up a little game for us to play... And as for why I agreed to play it, well... Everyone likes games... And to further such a reason,

Ahh, yes, a tragic tale, but a true one nonetheless... Perhaps it's simply because his heart is so big... Perhaps it was his willing eagerness to give me his soul, mind, heart, and body if I should want it, in return for nothing more than the assurance that I would keep him safe. Keep his friend safe. To promise I would do as I pleased, so long as he could be out of harms way.

And I took the offer... Who wouldn't, hm? After all, we had become very close at this point, and his unwavering kindness and sunshiny disposition gave me a lot to want to protect! So much so, in fact, that it became my role! Likewise, the premise was amusing. A game to play, stretching your abilities and laying low undercover. A game of trying to be anything but yourself can be quite fun! All while I otherwise got what I wanted. While his other partners were certainly a herdle of my own, we seemed to move past that rather quickly. We settled our differences much quicker with our resident angel now fully on my side. While there were some flare ups at times, they were diminished quickly by Celine and our sugary-sweet delight, who coated over everything with a sweet frosting to pretty up any wounds left behind.

This just left the physical realm around me. I had now made peace within, and was offered the opportunity to do similarly outside of the confines of our mind. I was allowed a presence more my own than before - moving on from a simple face claim to a whole new design and aesthetic!

To the outside world, I was a mysterious and powerful demon, respected by our most respected alter. I kept things surface level and shied away from anything that may be too much my old brand. They knew little about me, but unfortunately I still managed to be quite obvious, haha! Who would have thought it would be so hard to act like someone other than yourself? It seemed that no matter what I did, I was compared to... Myself! One friend of Angel's called it an energy thing, others simply said I had "his (Alastor's) vibe." Whatever it was, it made this little game very difficult.

Mm, and so, six months in. Here we are. I wouldn't say I've given up, but rather that such a game has been milked rather dry of its usefulness, as well as entertainment value. While I'm still fond of this Aries persona we've created, I do believe he will be set upon the shelf for now.

So! What does that leave? We have the why, the tragic tale of my suppression, a tantalizing taste of a love story... The big reveal, the explanation! So that's all, yes? Yes, I think so. This is just the bare bones of the story, but it gets its point across; though I must admit I'd be thrilled to share a more in depth presentation. Angel says its because I have chronic "can't shut up disease," though he worked very hard to word it in such a way that it was gentle, haha~

Well then! I do believe I've said my piece! Off to the void with this now!

For all of you that stayed to listen: how delightful~ I can only thank you for tuning in, haha! Ahh, classic, certainly~

With that, I bid adieu!