#oh and just imagine that the character progression were more gradual bc I kinda just through that tension in there

[jadetheblueartist]

I’m in a lore spilling mood and this needs to be done at some point so now is good. Better buckle up bc idk how long this is gonna be and I don’t even know what exactly I’ll go into. (Little warning for some violence) So without further ado, please enjoy the story of

The Orion Initiative

-Season One:

This is the story of four teens who all find themselves in alien hunting program- the Orion Initiative. They, among many others, apply for this opportunity and are accepted to receive their training and employment on the Orion’s spaceship. These four meet and come together as friends as they discover the more sinister side to this program in an episodic format (that quietly sets up the “big problem” in the background). Let’s meet the cast.

Megan

Megan had grown up on this spaceship, specifically in the area dedicated to scientific research. She was part of the research after all. Megan didn’t know what exactly had been done to her over the years, but she knew she was different. It was hard to compare herself to other people though since this ship and the people on it were all she’d known. Well, it was all she knew until the program began. Megan watched from afar for a few years as strangers came to live on the ship. She didn’t get too many opportunities to interact with them, nor was she allowed to, but she didn’t mind. Just to observe was enough. But one year, when the next wave of trainees flooded the halls and she watched them bumble about excitedly while getting her enhancements, one of the scientists told her the news. She would be joining the program this year. Megan was admittedly very nervous. She had alarmingly little information about this program despite her proximity to it, and she would be thrust into the midst of these strangers. Regardless of her thoughts about it, it was happening. Her few belongings were moved into a new room she would share with another girl, who looked like she could be her own age. The other girl looked up and walked over quickly, sticking her hand out in front of her. “Hi, I’m Zelda! I guess, we’re roommates?” Megan wasn’t sure what to think at first; this girl seemed strange and different, but not bad. Later, Zelda gave her a knotted bracelet. It had meant that they were friends, she told her. Megan didn’t take it off.

Zelda

Zelda had it all going for her. She was about to finish high school with a 4.0 GPA, the had a group of friends and family that loved her, and she was lined up to go to her dream college on a scholarship. So why didn’t it feel right? She’d been preparing for this moment for so long, but it felt like something was missing, like she should be doing something more. That was when she discovered something- the Orion Initiative, an elite program where she could live in space and be professional trained to hunt aliens. That definitely sounded better than going to a stale college for the next few years. Besides, this program was training and a guaranteed job with compensated room and board. It was literally the total package. And if she ended up hating it, college would still be there… After rearranging her plans, Zelda was soon packed and saying her goodbyes to her friends and family. She would miss them, but it was time she did something exciting with her life. After arriving and setting up her things in her room, she met her new roommate. Her roommate seemed a little closed off at first, but after gifting her a friendship bracelet, they seemed to click. Plus, when she was going around and meeting some other new recruits her age, she met a guy who was really cute. As it turned out, he and his friend’s room were in the same hallway as hers. This was going to be great.

Xander

Xander had a job to do. He had been researching this program for years, but the internet didn’t hold much about it. The Orion Initiative- the website vaguely described it as a program that would train and employ its applicants to hunt the aliens that could pose a threat to earth. It was advertised as completely voluntary, you can drop out at any time, you can always stay in touch with your loved ones. But if that was the case, then why did his brother just disappear? There had been nothing from him since he left. Xander had texted and called him everyday, but the phone didn’t even ring. His mom said that he was probably just distracted and busy with his new work, but she was one to talk. She was always busy and distracted; it would be hard for her to really realize something was wrong with this. So now, he had a job to do. His mom thought she was seeing him off to the airport as he flew to his university, but that wasn’t exactly true. He hoped she wouldn’t have to find out what was happening, that it was all just a misunderstanding and his brother just didn’t have service. Maybe he could really go to university one day. But not now. Xander was cautious and observant as he navigated the spacecraft. In any other circumstance, it might’ve been pretty cool. He asked around about his brother (“Do you know Jake Lee?”), but everyone there was new like him. He met a few people, like his roommate and girl who seemed really sweet, but he could still sense that something was off about this place. And he was going to figure it out.

Anik

Anik needed to get out. He was sick of everything. Sick of school. Sick of his parents. He just needed to get away. He needed to do something to get his mind off of things; he needed some control over his life. He had been scrolling on his phone when he was given a strange ad, boasting a great program where applicants could be trained to hunt aliens? Anik was intrigued. The website didn’t say many specifics, but it completely covered training and living costs? This was perfect. Anik would practically be paid to do dangerous stuff, and his parents might finally get off his back about his plans for the future. It was almost too good to be true. He was definitely doing this. After a little while of preparing everything, he was off to this program. He arrived and put his things in his room, where he met his roommate. The guy was pretty chill, but he did seem to be looking for some guy named Jake. He was a little preoccupied in Anik’s opinion since they were on a literal spaceship, but he didn’t care too much. He and Xander went to meet people soon after, and Anik had to hold himself back from cringing when they met this one girl. By the way those two were looking at each other, he could tell they would definitely be seeing her again. After quietly backing out of that conversation, he made his way around to some other people- he wanted to know what exactly they would be doing for this training. No one he found knew though, since they were all new. He guessed that the people who had already been through training must be in a different location. It didn’t really matter too much to him though. This was the start of the coolest thing he’d done in his life, and he was gonna make it count.

After coming together, the gang will go on to partake in little adventures as they learn life lessons and grow their relationships with one another. Zelda becomes the self-appointed leader of the group with her confident and competent nature and her ability to think quickly. Megan feels sort of out of place within the group and usually just follows Zelda around and lets her do the decision making. Xander is a sort of instigator who will pull the team into investigating certain situations, but will always be quick to help whenever they need it. Anik feels uncomfortable in the group dynamic but eventually comes to find his place as the heart and protector of the team. The leader of this program (who Megan knew as a sort of mother) often interacts with them specifically, giving them their missions and seeing to their concerns.

In one of the very important plot episodes, the team is training. The training takes place in a closed and monitored forest environment on one of the planets that’s used to test before field work. Somehow, a strange alien makes it into the training area where it’s not supposed to be. The team is able to exterminate it and move on. Soon after, Megan (the one in closest contact with it) begins to feel and act strange. The other three become worried as she becomes more animalistic and aggressive. This comes to a head when Megan’s eyes turn completely dark and begin leaking a dark liquid. Her mouth begins to foam and her breathing technology is damaged, but she attacks them and runs away. The team tries to get out but everything is locked down. They are trapped in the training area with their friend who seems to be infected by some exposure to an alien and is now trying to kill them. The rest of the episode depicts them waiting for the doors to open as they try to escape. First, she emerges from the shadows and slams Anik against the ground, effectively knocking him out. The other two begin to run as they hear but don’t see Megan in the plants around them. Next Megan knocks Zelda to the ground and throws several punches, but Zelda is able to fend her off with some of their equipment. Megan retreats momentarily before rushing Zelda from behind and knocking her down as she jumps for Xander. He puts up a fight as she pins him to the ground and, with a sickening crunch, rips his arm completely from its socket. Zelda runs back at this time and, although she doesn’t want to harm her friend, it’s past that. She shoots her in the leg causes Megan to run back into the darkness. It only takes a few minutes before the doors finally open and the three are rushed to the medical wing. They also tell the people about Megan, who is still in the environment and acting murderous. The people say they will take care of it. After a few hours, Megan comes to in the middle of a dark forest. Her breathing technology is broken, making her breaths very shallow and difficult. She’s covered in blood and a human arm lies in her lap. She’s there until morning, when she is found and taken to a lab. They said that the cause of the episode was due to the exposure to the strange alien. Even though she wasn’t in control of her actions, the whole team is uneasy about the experience and the relationships become slightly strained.

Subtly in each episode, the main plot is set up. The Orion Initiative, though claiming its purpose is to protect earth from aliens with a force of hunters, really is using the hunters in order to further their research. They need to stay in an alien infested place and because of this are vulnerable. These volunteers are sent out to “protect” the ship, but if they can’t, the aliens will be satisfied with a payment. There have been many different experiments to potentially enhance their hunters, so that they don’t have to lose so many people. Not many have been successful, although Megan is one of the few. The alien that got into the training area was planted there as an experiment.

In the season finale, the extent of the program’s villainy is discovered. After the gang confronts the program leader about, she explains the situation. She tells them about what’s really been happening (conveniently leaving out how many people have been killed thus far) but claims that they’ve only been researching in order to discover new methods of human mutation. If they can combine aliens and human dna, civilizations in space could be possible and utilized. They accept this answer at first, but the adventure of the episode leads them to the discovery of the death logs and failed experiments. As they look through the dark lab, they discover foggy glass capsules. A light switches on and they make a horrifying discovery. They are met face to face with the horribly mutated and disfigured face of Xander’s brother. Xander is horrified and despondent as they find more information about how they were failed experiments and a list of potential subjects that would be next. This causes panic. This program wasnt for helping people, it was for collecting canon fodder and voluntary subjects. They spread the news to the rest of the trainees and plan to make their escape by taking a smaller ship back to earth. Among the members of the main four, things grow more tense as Xander, arguably the most deeply affected by this, lashes out at Megan. He claimed she knew this whole time and had been helping them; that��s why she ripped off his arm. His brother was a freak human experiment who got killed because of her. Megan tried to defend herself but was uncertain. She always had listened to the program after all, and she did hurt her friends. Zelda almost couldn’t believe it. She wouldn’t think Megan would do that, but she’s practically admitting to it. “You really helped them do all of this?” she asked. Anik comes to her defense, reminding them that she wasn’t in her right mind when it happened, asking Megan if she wanted to help the program. She shook her head. “See?” he said. “She wouldn’t do it if she had a choice. We need to focus on getting out of here, not on this.” They all agree to put it aside for the moment and go on with their plan. After some interference with technology, they managed to cut some power and get everyone to the evacuation ship. As they’re running and get to the boundary between the main ship and the escape ship, Megan gets caught on an invisible barrier. She can’t cross over onto the ship. The others don’t notice until they begin to close things off. They realize that she’s stuck, but security begins to come towards the escape ship. There isn’t enough time. Zelda has to make a decision. She decides to prioritize the people on the ship and close the doors on Megan. She and Xander aren’t happy about it, but realize it has to be done. Anik can’t believe it and is shocked, telling her to stop the doors. She reasons that it’s too late for Megan. Anik runs at the closing doors and slides through at the last second, making it to Megan as the security closed in around them.

Nyehehe that was season one :D I’m gonna reblogged it with season two bc boy did it get lengthy. I wrote this out mainly bc I wanna make out of chronological order art and I needed to give yall context ^^ just gonna tag you here bud @banana-pancake5 :)

[red-sterling]

thanks for answering!! i hope you don't mind if i send more charas...how about green and/or lillie?

fhgjkfdg aw yea thank u!! hopefully this doesn’t publish before i’m done typing lol

also this definitely needs a readmore bc i got emotional abt Green oops

Green

favorite thing about them

first of all: the fact that Green canonically has a rivals to best friends arc with Red fills me with so much joy and YES they are on their alolan honeymoon you cannot convince me otherwise

okay like. gen 1 Green just perfectly encompasses what it’s like to be a ten year old in a way? like ofc he’s written like a kid bc he is a kid, but i feel like the writing on him just feels so genuine as compared to some of the other 10 yr old rivals you get in other regions. even though he’s kinda a brat at the start, he kinda eases up a bit as you go along your journey and starts giving you progressively nicer/more praise-y end lines when you beat him (going from “i picked the wrong pokémon!” to “so, you are ready for boss rocket!”) but still retains this childlike rivalry and competitiveness and i love that about him

and like. fucking beating him at the Indigo League still completely breaks my heart because even after he did become the champion at age 10 the first thing that happens is you beat him and Prof Oak just yells at him for being bad at things and like. ow. 

this is why i headcanon that Red actually took awhile longer to get to Green like please. please give my boy a chance to be happy and proud

also Red was caught up with Team Rocket anyway so i imagine he must’ve fallen a little behind at some point? anyway

the development on him across regions is so choice!!! he’s so much more mellow and even kinda melancholic when you find him in gsc/hgss, like he’s calmed down over a few years and he obviously misses Red so much but like, it’s clear that Red is kinda the reason Green does settle down and he seems to have worked on his character and become a nicer person - and he still has that sassy flair to him! he’s just got that gradual slope from asshole rival to kinda aloof gym leader to friendly/sassy battle legend and aaaaa i love my boy so MUCH

also huge point: he’s so fucking driven??? he’s got the most drive and the most passion for battles/pokémon in general out of all the rivals i feel. he’s only closely matched by Silver, but Silver seems to be more aggressive than passionate, and somewhat out of necessity too (like, Giovanni abandoned him what was he to do), whereas Green just really like. he genuinely just cares so much about battles and about pokémon in general! he literally calls you in hgss and just rants about how many different kinds of pokémon there are in the world!!!

also in Alola he’s like???? just so sweet?????? he congratulates you and is like hey you’re really strong lets battle like!!!!!!!!! supportive boy!!!!! he has come so far over so many generations and i cry

also on Four Island when you play frlg he legitimately says “Be smelling ya!” when he leaves and how do you not love this idiot

least favorite thing about them

i mean. while i get that you beat Green right after he becomes the champion in the kanto games i feel like there should’ve been more pomp and circumstance for him and i’ll never forgive gamefreak for giving this boy his dream, then making you rip it away from him, and then watching his own gramps yell at him for fucking up like. again it’s that drive, i get why Red keeps such good pace w Green but i just feel like he worked so hard and he deserved so much better than that

also while i’m very biased towards him bc Big Emotions, i feel like if i knew this boy irl who was constantly i’m so great and you’re a loser i would probably punch him eventually lmao. in theory it’s kinda endearing but as a real person that’d be grating 

favorite line

on one hand, “smell ya later” is so fucking iconic, but on the other - 

“I’m Blue. Man, this guy called Red brought me down in a heartbeat. I haven’t seen him in a long time…I wonder where he is and what he’s up to… Come to think of it, you look a little bit like Red. Yeah, you do. Just…Just a little bit. Whatever…”

my namelessshipping heart

ALSO NOT CANON BUT GREEN RANTING TO YOU ABOUT RED AND GETTING SO DISTRACTED THAT HE FORGETS TO GIVE YOU THE POKÉDEX????? BIG GAY

brOTP

for long elaborate headcanon reasons, i see him as being a good brotp with Kris - i headcanon her as also being really driven the way Green is, but more quiet about it, she’s kinda a good balance to him and they probably do pokemon research together. i also feel like she kept him sane while Red was still missing/before they found him on a fuckin mountain

OTP

do i really need to tell you that i’m 100% namelessshipping

like they perfectly balance each other. Green has all this energy and all this spunk and Red is just like… so opposite of him y'know? he’s quiet and he’s more measured in his behavior i feel, he doesn’t really rush into things as much, and yet they both really just took Kanto by storm when they were kids, and i like how they have this foil dynamic and are both still so successful? they’re so different and they complement each other in that way, and they both find success in their own ways

like one of the reasons i hate that Green’s championship gets undersold so much is that he did beat you to the punch, and he has been one step ahead of you, and there’s so much passion there and it’s so loud - and yet you as Red are just as driven, you take down Team Rocket, you’re always right on his tail, so close but not quite there, you’re the only one who can keep up with him and you’re the only one he cares enough about to slow down for

so like. idk with even all my headcanons about namelessshipping aside (and i can infodump those another day lol), i feel like the in-game representation of them just works. they just work so well together, they balance each other without ever holding each other back, and there’s something really beautiful about that in a relationship y'know

…..i feel bad abt not putting as much infodump about isshushipping now but oh well

nOTP

i don’t really have a notp with him? i kinda like. i basically just do namelessshipping, but i don’t get a visceral eugh when i see other ships with him, just kinda a well it’s not nameless so i’ll be on my way. idek what other ships w him are popular?? i’ve been in nameless hell since 2012 so 

random headcanon

while Red is still living on Mount Silver, Green is not coping well with having him so far away, and so Green massively overworks himself to the point that he keeps just not being in his gym sometimes bc he’s bouncing between the gym, training multiple teams, pokémon research, and ofc going to visit Red whenever he can. this leads him to be kinda temperamental after he’s been working on 2 hours of sleep a day for like a week until he just has an emotional meltdown and crashes, and then he gets right back into it because he has no self preservation

…….. nicer headcanon; Red can only cook two (2) foods, so Green cooks all the food for them when they move in together. he has attempted to teach Red how to cook, but Red pretends not to understand so Green will keep making him food. Green knows Red is faking it and doesn’t call him out bc he thinks it’s cute

unpopular opinion

look i’ve played through classic red version a few times and when i say he wasn’t that much of a jerk, i do genuinely mean he was not that much of a jerk. he’s like ten. ten year olds are just Like That. i guess this isn’t too unpopular anymore but it was Back In The Day and in some parts of the fandom he’s still seen as a jerk and like Bro He Is Ten In RGB/FRLG cut him some slack

also genuinely unpopular - Green is taller than Red. i know namelessshipping has fallen into the bara Red and twink Green trope but i refuse to let go of tall Green/short Red fuckin fight me why dont you

song i associate with them

a lot of the Pray For The Wicked album by Panic! at the Disco gives me Green vibes, more for the sound than for lyrics necessarily, but for some reason Roaring 20s just like. has the sound of Green to me. it’s somewhere between flamboyant pride and underlying insecurity that i think really encapsulates Green (or at least his subtext)

favorite picture of them

i genuinely love his let’s go concept art he’s such a sweet good boy?? 

and for the life of me i cannot find the op source on this but this is my fave pic of Green/namelessshipping in general that i’ve had saved since like 2012 maybe???

yeah if anyone can help me source that i’d appreciate it bc reverse image search only brings me to pinterest and random wattpad links :/

update: source seems to be the artist くる (pixiv id=982894) on pixiv, even though the original post got taken down (ty anon!)

Lillie

favorite thing about them

by now i guess you know im a sucker for character development, but i think they did a really good job with her!! i feel like her turn is a bit more in moments than it is with Green, who gradually evolves (lol) over the course of Kanto/all the gens overall. you see more discrete moments where Lillie starts to shift and gain confidence in herself and i am so proud of her ???? like the way she gets excited when she sees Olivia doin’ her z-move stuff, she starts buying her own clothes and getting ahead of you, etc etc

and like, she still has moments where she’s scared, there’s still some fundamental Lillie in there yknow? you don’t lose any of that softness that characterizes Lillie, she just like… she gets better, she develops without losing her Lillie vibe and i love that abt her. she overcomes a lot of the shit she had to deal with when she was stuck with Lusamine, she stands up to Lusamine eventually, and ghfdkjsg gah she’s a sweet gorl i love and appreciate her

also like. the writing on her backstory is so subtle in-universe. like yeah she literally looks like Lusamine’s daughter and you see her in the opening cutscene leaving Aether, but as the protagonist - like as Selene lets say, there’s little hints about where Lillie came from, and if you suspend your disbelief and put yourself in the pc’s shoes, there’s subtly to her character arc that i like 

also like. when she changes her outfit and starts being more protagonist-y, like more confident and kinda bubbly instead of shy??? love that shit it’s so cute can i have custody of this child pls

least favorite thing about them

i like. sometimes feel like she’s too soft of a character for me to really get into? like i love her and Hau, they’re sweet good friends, but i tend to personally gravitate towards characters that create a little more tension (ie Green and N)

(though on that note, Hau can be kinda savage. he just calls Faba out and sarcastically calls Gladion “a ray of sunshine” at some point i think?? Lillie is just very tender and i will support her forever, but i think that also makes her almost too soft to keep me fixated on her yknow. it’s not even a flaw in her character but just not something i fawn over as much)

favorite line

“I’m so glad I got to meet everyone. I’m so glad I got to meet you.”

like that ending kills me but that line almost feels like. I Feel That So Much like i feel so happy to have met all these new characters and to have played these games, and i feel like some of the player’s energy and enjoyment of the game is channeled into this last line of hers 

also GET IN THE BAG

brOTP

probably her and Hau?? idk, i don’t have a specific brotp for her but i like her just hangin around w the other Alola kids, so like her, Hau, Gladion, and the protag kids. they’d raise hell together and Lillie continues to be the only one with some impulse control

(Gladion also has some impulse control but keeps getting annoyed by Hau and so he gets dragged into their nonsense anyway)

OTP

Selene and Lillie is. Good. idk what the ship name is but it’s canon

nOTP

i dont even know if people ship her with Gladion but incest is a big no-no in my house

random headcanon

when she goes to Kanto, i bet she’d pick Bulbasaur as a starter if she was given the opportunity - and if not, she’d probably catch a wild Vulpix 

unpopular opinion

idk if have any unpopular opinions for her?? 

song i associate with them

i have no reason to associate this with her but the Rainy Day theme from acgc just. has a vibe about it. i think a lot of ac music feels like it suits her

favorite picture of them

i found this art of her through a lofi remix of her theme awhile back and it’s so pleasing to look at? her hair is nice and the colors are so warm n happy gjhkfdgf

if you read this far, congratulations!!! and i’m sorry