#pikachu is just surrounded by all these darker characters

[nnyhil]

☼ :^)

☼ Who are your top five favorite fictional characters?

[Johnny is obviously one of them, but I'll exclude him from this list for variety. Characters under the cut because otherwise this post will be long.] [There ARE more characters I love and enjoy. Feel free to send this symbol/ask again if you wanna know more. :) ]

Psycho Doughboy - Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

[Did you really think I wasn't gonna pick someone from JtHM? WRONG. This doughboy doesn't get any love (understandable so), but guess what? He's my favorite.]

Michael Myers - Halloween

[My dad. Father. I love him. I look up to him. He's my favorite Halloween costume. I have his mask signed by the original actor, Nick Castle. Hated the most recent movie, by the way.]

Pikachu - Pokemon

[I don't care if it's mainstream or the mascot of the franchise. He's my best friend and was my only friend for a while. I had the plushie since childhood.]

Shadow the Hedgehog - Sonic

[My main muse while growing up. Also my very first cartoon crush. He's probably why I like to write edgy and angsty stuff. I don't like the more modern interpretations of him. I will forever have Sonic Adventure 2: Battle near and dear to my heart...]

Cicero - Elder Scrolls

[My favorite Skyrim companion. I love jesters. I love clowns. I love Cicero. His story. The Dark Brotherhood. Everything. My crazy BFF.]

[A couple of bonus characters because they are NEW and FRESH to me.]

Cesare - BigTop Burger

[I'd literally do anything for this man. I can't wait for the next episode. It's rare for anything to make me laugh nowadays and he's done by god he does it every time.]

Bob Velseb - Spooky Month

[I am completely normal and do not think about him 24/7. I do not have a huge crush on him at all. I do not rewatch his episode at least once a day.]

[rimalovegood]

Pokemon AU: The Seven Brothers as Pokemon trainers

A few years ago I made a similar set of headcanon’s for the MysMe characters and what kind of team they’d had if they were pokemon trainer and to this day it’s one of my favorite things I’ve written so I decided to do something similar for the Obey Me! characters.

(Since Tumblr hates links I’ll later reblog this with the source I used for the trainer ID’s but the Deviantart user is on each picture anyways)

Elite four member Lucifer wants to fight…

-The last and most powerful member of the Elite four, if you want to challenge Diavolo you have to very literally go through him and he has a team to be feared.

-Hydreigon and Houndoom are loosely based on Cerberus so I think they fit him very well, also they are known to be very aggressive when defied, just like Lucifer.

-Oricorio was a gift from Diavolo, he was really exicited about the idea of having matching pokemon with Lucifer and Barbatos and he chose the sensu form because it’s elegancy reminded him of Lucifer.

-Speaking of elegancy Persian and Tsareena are elegant royalty-like pokemon that give a prideful aura which fits Lucifer pretty well.

-Salamence it’s a little more difficult to explain. For this headcanon I asked friends that are pokemon fans but know nothing about otomes which pokemon reminded them of the deathly sins and the answer for pride was Salamence… at first I didn’t see it but the earlier stages of Salamence’s only wish it’s flying so on their final stage when it finally can fly there are proud of their wings. Also I can see Lucifer Salamence as reminder of his grief, a pokemon who left the ground and went into the sky for the angel that fell from there.

Elite four member Mammon wants to fight…

-he thinks being an Elite Four member is too much work but is also very proud of being one of the top trainers of the Devildom... just a little salty about being the first member thought; he knows he cannot beat Lucifer or Barbatos but surely he can beat Simeon, can’t he? (no, he can’t)

-His ace, Crobat is based a lot on how he is defined as a character. Zubat is a pokemon that’s usually looked down on and is often associated with evil teams but how does it evolves to Crobat and becomes it’s most powerful self? Throught friendship…and idk that reminds me a lot of Mammon.

-Sableye and Meowth are based on his sin. Sableye is known for tealing jewel (a very good companion for the avatar of greed) and Meowth is supposed to attract money.

-We all know this guy is a gambler and nobody can beat him at gambling, well, what’s the biggest prize you can get on pokemon casino on the older games? Yes, Porygon.

-Slowbro ended up on his team somewhat by accident, Mammon heard slowpoke tails were considered a delicatessen and not only that they grew back afterwards so he saw having one as a good investment….the problem was that just after he caught his slowpoke a Shellder attacked them and bit Slowpoke’s tail making it evolve into Slowbro.

-Scrafty has a similar aesthetic and it’s quick to get into fights, I figured out it would go well with Mammon.

Gym Leader Leviathan wants to fight…

-The water type gym leader, he is famous for the complex riddles every challenger must answer before even getting the chance to fight him.

-Has an old rivalry with Mammon and low key believes he should be on the elite four on his place

- As you might have guessed Seviper and Goldeen are inspired on Henry 1.0 and 2.0; he loves all his team but these two are the ones he had had for the longest and his favorites.

-Toxapex is basically Levi in pokemon form, a water/poison pokemon that when threatened hides on their shell and sends poison around, much like how Levi hides from the world on his room and acts all tsundere.

-For Levi raising one of the weakest pokemon into Gyarados was like farming on one of his MMORPGs and as he would do on one of those he completely outdid himself to the point it became his most powerful pokemon and the one every trainer fears whenever they enter his gym.

- Both Skrelp and Tentacruel are poison and water types and fit his character aesthetic pretty well (If you guessed the other reason why I chose Tentacruel you are reading too much Levi fancfiction….And I’m too)

Gym Leader Satan wants to fight…

-The leader of the Psychic type gym. His gym is themed around an escape room and only the ones who can solve the mystery can challenge the leader.

-Before becoming a gym leader he traveled through a lot of regions learning all he could about pokemon so his team includes species he caught on a bunch of different places.

-the psychic type is often associated with intelligence and knowledge so I think it fits him well.

-There is no much to say about Galarian rapidash, it’s a psychic unicorn. He had to have one.

-Alakazam is known to be more intelligent than humans, a fitting partner for someone who believes knowledge is power

-Grumpig and Darmanitan are inspired on his sin. Grumpig has very powerful psychic power that he unleash upon angered and Darmanitan is a very calm pokemon when he is on zen mode but unleash all his wrath when it goes into blaze mode.

-Satan it’s not only book smart, he is also an adventurer so of course he’d feel attracted to the mysterious Sigilyph  usually found on ancient ruins and inspired on the Nazca lines.

-the last member of the team was a little more difficult to pick. Gallade is basically a white knight which is a weird thing to call a demon but if there is one that can act as one that’s Satan

Gym Leader Asmodeus wants to fight…

-Fairy type gym leader, he is also part time a contest trainer and he is really good at it.

-of course he only surrounds himself by pokemon as beautiful as himself.

-Asmo’s personality is based on the duality between his sweet and beautiful exterior and his darker side he keeps well hidden. Most of his pokemon show this but particularly Mimikyu, a pokemon that in its desire to be loved takes the appearance of the famous Pikachu.

-Hatterene just like Asmo has power over people’s feelings and on it’s design it reminds me so much of Asmo I had to make it his ace.

-Aromatisse is a pokemon based on perfume, cancan dancers and plague doctors. It likes being the center of attention as much as Asmo, so they’d get along well

-Shiinotic, Mawile and Gliscor represent his most dangerous side, not for nothing his animal is an scorpion. Both Shiinotic and Mawile are pokemon that are beautiful to look at but if you get too close you’d get either poisoned or biten…and well, Gligar is a literal scorpion (Sorry, the plot doesn’t give us much to work wih on this side, Asmo’s content tent to focus on his more “look I’m beautiful” side)

Gym Leader Beelzebub wants to fight…

-Normal type gym leader

-His team just like him looks bulky but they are a bunch of sweethearts.

-Tauros was inspired on his horns and the way he barrels like a bull when angered

-I know Greedent literally had greed on the name but it represents his gluttony as Greedent is known for hoarding and eating all food available.

-Munchlax had a similar reason behind, they eat a lot but are also very active. Much like Beel.

-Beel caught a little Teddyursa when younger because he thought it was cute and he loved seeing the little bear napping along Belphie. As they trained and grew stronger Teddyursa evolved on his most powerful pokemon, Ursaring.

-Miltank was a gift from Belphie, the younger twin figured Beel would enjoy having a limitless fountain of food with him.

-Cutiefly, I know this one doesn’t like it belongs on the team but it’s a cutie and a fly so I have to give one to Beel.

Gym Leader Belphegor wants to fight…

-Dark type gym leader (you all know why)

-Komala lives all its life asleep hugging a log like it’s a pillow, if that doesn’t scream Belphie I don’t know what.

-Musharna is a pokemon that’s said to bring good dreams, the same way Belphie got Miltank for Beel, Beel caught Musharna to take care of Belphie.

-Zoroark and Liepard are known for being tricksters and liars, much like Belphie enjoys pranking Lucifer and on the beginning hides his true nature from the MC. Inkay was chosen for a very similar reason he is a cute squid but has the potential to turn into the very dangerous Malamar.

-I’m going to get angsty and spoiler-ry on this one so consider yourself warned. Absol is believed to attract disaster and misery just like Belphie blames himself for what happened to Lilith and avoids peolple because of his guilt to the point he ends up causing real misery when he killed MC.

The undatebles coming soon...

[komorebirei]

The Water Was Never Afraid - Chapter 9: Promise

(AO3)

“Please, Kagami? You promised.”

Kagami lunged at Adrien; he parried and riposted.

She lifted her mask. “Street festivals are for commoners.”

Adrien lifted his. “That’s the whole point!”

Kagami pursed her lips.

They both closed their masks in tandem and returned to en guarde position, ready for the next bout in their friendly face-off.

“Besides,” Adrien continued, his voice slightly distorted by the mask, “It’s the twenty-first century. There’s no distinction between ‘commoners’ and ‘nobility’ anymore. Why shouldn’t we do something fun?”

“You know that isn’t really true.” Kagami tapped Adrien’s sabre, provoking him to attack.

They clashed again, letting their conversation rest.

Yes, Adrien had to admit that a social hierarchy existed, and he was high on the ladder, but the distinction didn’t have to be so rigid. He didn’t want to consciously hold himself on a higher tier than his friends. Couldn’t he choose to do away with the gap between him and others? He’d managed to befriend fans in the past, like Wayem, and he counted that as a victory.

“You promised we’d go out and do something fun, like normal people,” Adrien pleaded. “Le Goût du Japon only lasts a week and then it’s over until next year. Today is the last day. I’ve always wanted to go!”

Kagami lunged, spearing the tip of her sabre squarely in Adrien’s chest. Her point.

“Your skills have far exceeded mine, Kagami,” Adrien said, accepting defeat. He lifted his mask.

“No, we’re still equal, you’re just unfocused today.”

“I’m at your mercy,” Adrien said with a dramatic flourish and bow.

Kagami lifted her mask and examined his face as she considered. “… Fine.”

“Fine?”

“We can go.”

“Yes! You’re the best!” Adrien cheered and, to her delighted bewilderment, tackled her in a hug.

—

“The yukata looks lovely on you,” Adrien complimented Kagami, leading her down the street that was lined with wooden food and game booths, illuminated with colored paper lanterns.

“Thank you—you don’t look bad, yourself,” she returned.

“Didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to wear this.”

Kagami was wearing a red yukata with an off-white obi, decorated with a colorful floral pattern in fresh greens, pinks, and whites that was simple at the torso and grew increasingly clustered toward the hems. The sleeves flowed gracefully to the level of her knees, and her clipped-up hair was adorned with dangling floral ornaments that echoed the flowers on her garment. Adrien’s yukata was a textured but patternless dark grey-blue with a red obi, a shade darker than the red of Kagami’s.

Her hand was hooked into the crook of Adrien’s elbow, but she hung back, as if embarrassed and loath to be caught participating in the festival.

They hadn’t taken ten paces down the street when Adrien felt a tug at his sleeve. He turned around to see two young girls beaming up at him, clutching twin magazines. They were both opened to the same page which, on closer inspection, was his interview from the previous month’s La Mode magazine. “Adrien Agreste! May we have your autograph?”

He was surprised that these young girls recognized him in such an unlikely setting. Part of him had been thinking optimistically that, ever since he had moved onto managerial pursuits and left the modeling scene, teenage girls had stopped fawning over him. Either these girls were really into fashion, or he was wrong.

Adrien frowned. “I don’t normally give autographs, but…” He looked between the girls, whose faces had begun to fall in disappointment, and his resolve crumbled. “All right.”

Kagami jabbed him subtly in the side.

The girls squealed, and one of them handed him a pen.

Adrien signed his name, finding it vaguely depressing that these girls were so excited to receive his inked name. What was the meaning in it? 

He handed the magazines back and smiled at the girls, who ran off shyly, waving over their shoulders.

“Adrien, your lack of a backbone is starting to scare me,” Kagami remarked, only half joking.

“I mean, it’s not like I had any real reason to refuse,” Adrien countered. “It would only be cruel and unnecessary.”

“That is the problem,” Kagami stressed, holding up a finger, “You’re too empathetic. People get to your head, and you agree with whatever they’re asking of you.”

“I thought empathy was a good thing.”

“It is, but when taken to the extreme, it can become Stockholm Syndrome.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Let me make people happy! It makes me happy.”

“Fine, fine.” Kagami let it slide. “So, what does one do at a street festival?”

Adrien shrugged, scanning the surroundings for what seemed the most interesting. He spotted a ring toss booth down the street and pulled Kagami toward it. “C’mon, let’s play a game!”

When she saw it, she shook her head. “This is so childish. Why don’t we just buy some taiyaki and go home?”

“Go home? But we just got here!” Adrien pulled out his wallet and paid the young man running the booth, who handed him three rings. “I’m not opposed to taiyaki, though.” He handed her a ring, which she took with the tips of her fingers, as if it were a dead animal.

Adrien tossed his ring first. It knocked over the toy he had been aiming for, but failed to capture it. When Kagami didn’t step up, he threw the second ring, which completely missed the target and rolled away.

“Really, Adrien? You’re embarrassing me,” Kagami teased.

“As if you could do any better, Miss Too-Good-To-Try,” Adrien teased back.

“Okay, you asked for it.” Kagami took her position and tossed the ring, effortlessly snagging a prize.

“You’re inhuman!” Adrien gasped as Kagami accepted her prize with a smug smile.

“Excuse me!”

Adrien spun around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice directed his way, and a camera flashed in his face.

Kagami held up her arms. “No pictures, please,” she pleaded, ducking behind Adrien.

“You heard her,” Adrien asserted, holding a hand in front of his face. “We’re on a date—please, no pictures. We’re on our private time.”

“All right, Monsieur Agreste. Sorry.” The paparazzo hung his head and retreated, but five minutes later Adrien noticed another flash from the bushes. That sneaky little—!

“Let’s go,” Kagami urged. “I can’t get caught out here. Mother will be furious.”

“Hmm… I have a better idea.” Adrien grabbed her hand and dragged her to a booth with a wall of cartoon character masks footed by a gaggle of children jumping and pointing. “Which one do you like?”

“No,” Kagami said, shaking her head emphatically. “Those are for kids, Adrien.”

“C’mon, Tiger, you’re no fun!” Adrien unhooked a Hello Kitty mask and tried it on. It was a little small for his face, being made for toddlers, but it concealed his features well enough. “Perfect,” he declared. “What about you?”

Grimacing, Kagami reluctantly picked a Pikachu mask. “See how much I love you?” she muttered, slipping the elastic band over her head.

“Very cute,” Adrien approved, lifting Kagami’s chin to inspect her masked face. He could barely see her amber irises through the punched-out eye holes. “Suitable character, too. You would be too stubborn to stay in your Pokéball.”

Kagami hit Adrien’s chest playfully with a backhand. “You, on the other hand… Hello Kitty? Seriously?”

Adrien lifted his mask just to grin and wink at her. “You still have a lot to learn about me, Tiger.” He slipped the mask back on and held out his hand. “Now, you mentioned taiyaki? Shall we look for some sweet fish to eat?”

—

The masks afforded Adrien and Kagami a few minutes of anonymity, but the news that Adrien Agreste had been spotted with his girlfriend at the street festival had spread like wildfire, and the masks started to act as more of identifying features than invisibility cloaks. Before long, they ditched the masks.

While Adrien was used to the attention, Kagami was starting to get paranoid.

“Even if they don’t get my face, Mother will recognize the yukata. And you’re too recognizable from any angle,” she murmured, moving to Adrien’s other side when a group of teenagers leveled smartphones at them, squealing. When Adrien snorted in amusement at her skittishness, she protested, “You don’t understand, Adrien, if she saw me at a festival like this—it would be like your father catching you at a club.”

“All right.” Adrien sighed. He did understand, all too well. He wished he could transform into Chat Noir and just whisk Kagami away somewhere they could hang out and have fun in peace. “We can go somewhere else, if you want.”

“Please.”

Suddenly, a realization hit Adrien.

Growing up, he had always felt isolated and trapped in his room, and by extension, his house—being alone or indoors for too long made him feel antsy. Like a caged lion, he always wanted to go out.

But as soon as he was out among people, so often, he found himself wanting to run away to somewhere private.

So, the problem was not being alone, or being in public. He —Adrien Agreste—was the prison.

“Adrien? What’s wrong?”

Adrien realized he had stopped dead in his tracks. Returning to the present, he swallowed and refocused his eyes on Kagami. “Nothing. You wanted to go home? Let’s go.”

“Really?” Kagami leaned closer, her brows scrunched in concern. She could clearly sense that his mood had changed. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Adrien shrugged slightly, his heart heavy, as if it had been filled with stones and was slowly sinking to his feet. “We’ve pretty much seen everything. Let’s just go.”

Kagami put a hand on his cheek, looking heartbroken that he was upset. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring down your mood. We can stay—I’ll just tell Mother it was a one-time thing.”

Adrien shook his head and started walking back up the road, toward where he had parked his car. Kagami, still holding his arm, followed a pace behind him, dragging slightly.

“Oh look! Dango! Have you ever had it?” Kagami exclaimed with affected chipperness, pulling on his arm and pointing at a booth.

“You don’t have to try so hard,” Adrien said in a monotone. “You didn’t even want to come with me.”

“Don’t be sullen, Adrien!” Kagami chided. “It’s not that I didn’t want to come! It’s just—In Japan, our family is well-known, and it would have brought down our image to indulge in festivals like these, so I was never allowed to go.”

“Doesn’t that make you enjoy this even more? We’re in France, not Japan.” Some feeling had returned to Adrien’s countenance, though he still felt depressed.

Kagami guided him to the dango booth. “It’s my Mother. You know she’s been getting stomach-aches lately, and if she saw me doing something she disapproved of…” she frowned.

They heard the sounds of cameras clicking again, and Adrien’s heart sank further when he saw how Kagami tensed involuntarily. This wasn’t fun anymore. This was why he liked visiting other countries, where he wasn’t recognized as easily.

“Dango, then we’re going home,” he sighed, resigned. It wasn’t Kagami’s fault. It was stupid to think they could spend a carefree night out. “Wanna watch Coffee Prince?”

“Sure.” Kagami smiled sadly. “I’m sorry this didn’t go as planned, Adrien.”

Adrien shrugged. This was his life.

He should listen to Kagami’s advice and just accept it.

[ozarkkaya]

My Pitch for a Rewrite of Pokemon: Indigo Leage (the Original Season of the Anime)

Okay so like this is going to be a bit rambley and shit but I was talking with some friends about ways the pokemon anime could be improved because god damn is it a shitty anime,, love the franchise but the anime suuuuucks. So this post is going to be really just me throwing spaghetti at the wall and talking about my personal pet peeves and how I would end the series.

There are two options that I’ve got but this post is going to be focused on the darker, more mature rewrite; as opposed to the season that I would actually pitch to Gamefreak if I was given the chance.

I’ve put the detailed version of it under the cut, because it’s a lot, but tl;dr is this: Ash/pikachu bonding arc runs a lot longer, Ash is a competent trainer, Jessie and James are competent yet keep their goofy charm, there are actual arcs in character and plot instead of just episodic information dumps.

So basically what it would focus on would be if the arc from the very first episode lasted longer. I always felt like it was dumb that pikachu went from trying to kill ash to being best buds with him just because Ash saved pikachu one time, so I figured that would be a good starting point. Ash and pikachu(from this point on to be referred to as P for simplicity’s sake) don’t become friends from the very start. Instead, they spend the entire season learning how to cooperate. They learn about each other and slowly become the best friends we know and love. It happens over the course of the entire season; going from pure hatred and uncooperativeness to Ash having a preference for going to P in battle, and then eventually they are inseperable buddies.

Speaking of battling, in this rewrite Ash is a competent trainer. None of this Pikachu vs Onix bullshit. He pays attention to types and actually knows how to utilize them properly. This Ash uses his entire team-- and he does in fact actually have a team in this. He has a proper team and spends the entire time working with them and learning who they are. He bonds with each and every member of the team over the course of multiple episodes, and every pokemon has their own character arc. I like the Charizard arc. I love pokemon character arcs. There are a lot more of them in this rewrite.

The caviat of this, however, is a loss of the secondary characters. Brock and Misty are still there, but they aren’t permanent additions to the team. Brock becomes more of a mentor figure, another person Ash can turn to for advice if Oak is being a dumbass again, but he’s busy with the gym and can’t join Ash on his adventure. Misty follows him around for a bit but soon goes off on her own-- they meet up again at different points, but it’s less of a constant friendship and more of a realistic friendship where she actually has shit she needs to do.

On the note of other characters, we have to talk about Jessie and James. In this rewrite they’re much more intimidating. Here, they’re actually competent trainers and competent members of Team Rocket. Their plans almost always come within inches of succeeding, and take more than one episode to work through. There are entire episodes dedicated to their stories and their arcs as well; not just the one episode we get for James’ backstory and the Pokemon Island episode-- multiple multiple episodes for each of them.

All of these stories and character arcs come to a close in the final arc of the rewrite. At the end of the next to last arc, Ash and his team lose. P is captured by Jessie and James, and Ash spends this entire arc trying to get his new best friend back. Tensions are running high as he goes to each of the people that he’s befriended over the course of the season, asking them each for their help. They all give what they can, even Misty, and eventually he manages to track down Jessie and James. The dynamic duo have figured out that P doesn’t have a pokeball, and so James has taken the initiative and captured him himself.

The series ends with an epic and emotional battle sequence; with Ash and his pokemon moving one in the same. All the character arcs come to a close in this battle; Ash and his team versus Team Rocket and P. And Ash loses again. He’s kicked down to the ground and P is being forced to attack him. He manages just barely to pick up a rock that’s on the ground and throw it at James’s hand; breaking the pokeball that held P captive. He’s hurt and he’s clearly nearly dying. P rushes to his side and tries to help him up; tries to do anything, but Ash just pushes him away.

Ash keeps telling P to go, go! Get out of here! Be free; get away from them! And he says it in an angry, hateful tone. The episode ends with a blurry picture of P running and then fades to black for the end credits instead of having the background it would usually have.

The last episode opens with the same fade in; not even having the opening theme. Ash blinks a few times and finds he’s in a hospital bed, surrounded by the team that remains and the friends he made on the way. But P isn’t there. The entire episode goes through a montage, with a monologue going sporadically through it. The beginning of the episode is Ash asking about P and finding out that nobody can find him, and then getting out of the bed and running out of the hospital crying, only to be brought back. The monologue explains that he only said those things to save P.

The montage covers the remainder of Ash’s life. It covers how he went through the five stages of grief along with the rest of the team, and how he went on to live a long life alongside them. There’s a house that he buys, and every once in a while the montage cuts back to it, and every time it cuts back there’s another grave there for one of his pokemon. It’s really a melancholy ending.

At the very end of the episode, it focuses in on Ash, old and gray, looking at the tombstones that cover his front yard. One of them is freshly dug: Charizard, the last one that died. In this rewrite Ash and Charizard were the closest bond after P was lost. The entire team, except for P, is there. He turns back to the woods that are across the way and enters them one last time; using a cane with every step. He’s got his iconic baseball cap on, and many pokemon come out to greet the friendly man that they know and love. He waves all of them off, claiming that he’ll be back another day perhaps, that he doesn’t have treats today for them.

And then he sees a couple pokemon that cause him to stop dead in his tracks. A couple small pichu. They notice him too, and begin speaking wildly with each other as they spot him. Throughout the entire montage up until this point, with al the walks through these woods, there has never been one of the pikacu line in them. The pichu wave and motion for Ash to follow them, and he does so, dumbstruck. They lead him back to their home.

And in their home he sees P. Old and tired and with his colors washed out and desaturated, but it’s still P. Cut back to Ash, who’s crying. The two reunite, and Ash apologizes. He asks P if he’s willing to go on one last adventure. And P agrees. They make their way out of the little home; many pikachus and pichus following them, until they get back to Ash’s home.

Ash lies down on the grass, and P lies down next to him. And they’re happy, and there’s nobody trying to take P or hurt Ash. And then P’s figure stops moving. And then Ash closes his eyes, and the monologue that’s been running over the entire episode stops. And then the credits roll.

The credits have little sort of storybook style sketchy doodles of Ash and the entire team, reuniting as they were in their youth, and the show ends with a picture of the entire team together, happy; opacity lowered and stars scattered throughout. Pan down and you see an older woman. She speaks as if she’s finishing telling a long tale. When she finishes talking, the camera cuts to a shot of her across from a group of children, and then pans around to the front of the group, where you see the young face of a child.

This child goes on to be the protagonist of the next season of the show, with a completely different starter and a completely different motivation, but constantly calling back to the Ash legend, for that is what Ash Ketchum had become: a legend.

Anyhow, that’s my really self-indulgent dark pokemon au I guess?? A friend was screaming about how they wanted pikachu to be released and I thought that was a neat idea so I wrote that in,,, apologies for the word vomit!! Again this is just me throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it sticks hjk.

Do tell me if you’d like to hear my other pitch-- it’d be a completely differently toned version; a pitch for pokemon as it is today and not rewriting the first season for an older audience.

Have a wonderful day, and take care of yourselves!

[blastingxff]

Fate that Binds part 2

This part: Ash and his friends quickly realize the danger Jessie is in, and make a sure resolve to step in. But can they convince her to let them help?

first part // next part Series: Pokemon Characters: Jessie, James, Meowth, Pikachu, Ash, Brock, May, Max, Jessebelle Ships: hints of rocketshipping if you read it that way, mostly just friendshipping though Summary: It had been a throwaway wish, something made out of the frustration of the moment- it wasn’t actually supposed to happen. But the magic of a well haunted by a pokemon’s spirit ended up altering reality. Now, Jessie, James, and Meowth aren’t in Team Rocket. They don’t even know each other. And it’s created far darker a world for the TRio than Ash could have ever imagined, and now he and his friends want nothing more than to change things back to how they were.  Genre: Friendship, hurt/comfort, so much angst, all the angst, drama, butchered canon,  Words: 1,441 / part 2 out of 16 Trigger Warnings: Abuse- physical, mental, mention of sexual, swearing, violence, character death Notes: This popped into my head and didn’t get out until I wrote it down. It’s 16 chapters, and entirely written already in about three days. So that will explain a helluvalot. Like the bus-sized plotholes. I just wanted to be mean to my favorite characters, geeze, is that so bad? XP  Also can be read on Ao3. 

Chapter 2

I’m gettin’ real sick of this shit.

“Bitch, I’m talking to you,” his voice was so familiar now. She was being lifted by her shirt, too weak to stand on her own. Even though he had moved on from it in favor of throwing her against the wall, she felt her eye bruising from his fist moments before. Her back hit the wall, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, picking up little kids like that after everything I’ve done for you? Who let you back into the gang? Who let you stay in the gang when Johnny was iced?” She was pulled away from the wall only to feel her back smash against it once more, “I gave you everything and this is how you repay me? I saved your fucking life! I could have let you freeze. I could have let you starve. I could have let you die. No one would miss you and you know it. Who knows you exist? Apparently little boys you whore yourself out to!”

“I… I didn’t-” a third time and she felt the pain searing through her back; her head hit the wall this time too. She heard their laughing. But it was growing faint, along with her vision. Shit.

Her body slumped to the ground and she vaguely realized there was something going on around her. A blurred vision only showed her shadowed shapes in the night. What was going on?

“Pikachu! Thunderbolt!”

A pokémon battle? A pikachu?

Someone was next to her. She pulled away instinctively, “Jessie, it’s okay,” the words were soothing, “We’re going to protect you.” It was a woman’s voice. No, a girl’s voice. Something brushed against her face. The way she jerked to the side was probably overdramatic.

But dammit, “That stings.”

“I’m sorry but your eye is really swollen,” the concern in the voice made her uneasy. The tenderness of the touch ignited a fear. Everything told her to escape. They know my name. How do they know my name? I haven’t used that word in years.

The kindness… it was too obvious. They wanted something from her.

At least my vision’s coming back. Ish.

Someone else knelt down in front of her. She realized she couldn’t hear anymore commotion.

“They’re gone, they won’t hurt you again.”

She was able to see his face out of her good eye. It was that kid. The stupid kid with black hair, a stupid hat, and a stupid Pikachu. He knew her name too. Did they all know her name?

“What do you want?”

He exchanged a glance with the bigger guy. She didn’t like that look.

She began to push herself up, stumbling as she did so.

“No, don’t get up yet, you’re still hurt!” The girl next to her tried to keep her from standing. Jessie ignored the pleas, but her body didn’t. Despite putting all her weight on the wall she still slipped down.

“I asked, what do you want?” It came from her throat in a growl. A warning towards them that she knew she couldn’t back up. The pity in their eyes made her feel like some injured arbok or something. Struggling to scare off predators before they could get too close. They needed to back away from her, they needed to go away. She wasn’t sure what they wanted, but she was positive it wasn’t good. It never was.

The answer came from the young girl who hadn’t moved from her spot, the medicated cloth still gripped in her hand. The brunette still looked as though she wanted to use it, “We want you to be safe-”

“Bullshit,” the word was spat out. She tried once more to stand. This time was arguably more successful, her back was against the wall despite the pounding ache, her breathing hard, but she was standing. She was taller now than the strangers surrounding her. The bigger guy worried her the most. He may be the farthest from her, but he was still far too close, “No one’s wanted that for me. Ever. You think I’m so stupid as to believe that suddenly someone shows up spouting shit like that? You think you’re my fairy godmother or some shit?”

This was a trap. A set-up. It had to be. What kind of sick game is that bastard playing this time?

“Jessie-” the annoying girl’s voice was starting to grate on her nerves. How dare they. How dare they pretend like she’s someone to care about.

“Stop. Just… stop using that word.”

“Word?” she dared to look as though Jessie’s words had hit her deep. She dared to look upset with herself for saying something that garnered that reaction from Jessie. It only served to heighten Jessie’s suspicion.

“The one you keep saying like it means something to you!”

“What word? Jessie-”and she paused herself. Realization was washing over her and the other three.

But just in case things weren’t clear enough, Jessie snapped, “That one!”  

“Your name?” Something that could be construed as pity only intensified on their faces. Jessie felt her fury growing. What was their game? Why were they mocking her?

“YES.” Now she really did look like she had been kicked, that little girl. But Jessie wasn’t backing down on her conviction.

“You want us to… stop… using your name?” Max spoke this time. His words coming out slow, struggling to understand.

“It’s my name and I didn’t give it to you so don’t take it from me!”

“Well,” the big guy spoke this time, pausing as he realized her suspicious eyes only intensified with his word. His voice was gentle, but far too deep. It matched his size too well. Sure, he looked young, but he also looked capable. Jessie had long since learned to be wary of capable men. Her hands balled into fists, though she still relied too heavily on the wall to keep her standing. If he attacked, she might be done for this time. But he made no movements towards her, “My name is Brock. We… we seem to be in the middle of a bit of a mix-up.”

“A mix-up?” She didn’t believe a word that came from him.

“It’s… hard to explain. It might take some time. Are you hungry?”

They were simple words. An offer. She saw the girl and the other two stepping back, leaving the big guy in front of her to do the talking. She bit her lip. She didn’t want to look desperate. She didn’t want to look needy. She didn’t want it to look like she was jumping at the offer for food. She didn’t want to owe them anything.

But she did nod, “Always.” It wasn’t a word meant for pity. It was a word meant for bargaining.  

“Okay. We’ll go to a restaurant, get something to eat and my friends and I can explain what’s going on,” His words were surprisingly sincere. Jessie didn’t detect a hint of lie in them. Either he was really, really good at lying, delusional, or this was some form of the truth. Seeing he had her attention, he continued on, “I swear, we won’t be lying to you- but it’s going to be hard for you to believe.”

“That’s convincing.” It was a flat comment. She hid a bite of accusation. He didn’t respond to the bite. But he did to the words.

“We do our best.”

Jessie allowed for the first time that day, to smirk. Something about the dry sass in those four words reached her. But it melted from her face as soon as he saw his expression change to one that utterly confused her. Recognition? He was sure of something now that he hadn’t been sure of before her smirk. Had he been testing her? Had he… had he known what to say to get her on his side? How did he know her so well? Suspicion arose inside her, but the potential for food had already lodged itself into her body’s barest desires for survival. She couldn’t quite remember when she had last had a decent meal.

“Well, going back to him will get me killed,” she sighed, shooting a glare at the black haired kid, “Thanks, by the way,” but her attention went back to the only one of the four who seemed to have an understanding with her, “So I’ll bite. As long as you’re paying.”

The nod was all she needed.

She didn’t trust them. She didn’t really like them. But it was an offer of food no matter if it was feigned or not. Worst case scenario, she died.

About damn time.

[blastingxff]

Fate that Binds 15

This part: Everything goes from bad to worse. Also known as the writer is crap with canon and sort of apologizes. (FYI: This fic actually isn’t crack like please proceed with caution. And yes I am aware this tells you nothing about the part in question.)

first part // previous part // next part Series: Pokemon Characters: Jessie, James, Meowth, Pikachu, Ash, Brock, May, Max, Jessebelle Ships: hints of rocketshipping if you read it that way, mostly just friendshipping though Summary: It had been a throwaway wish, something made out of the frustration of the moment- it wasn’t actually supposed to happen. But the magic of a well haunted by a pokemon’s spirit ended up altering reality. Now, Jessie, James, and Meowth aren’t in Team Rocket. They don’t even know each other. And it’s created far darker a world for the TRio than Ash could have ever imagined, and now he and his friends want nothing more than to change things back to how they were. Genre: Friendship, hurt/comfort, so much angst, all the angst, drama, butchered canon, Words: 1,526 / part 15 out of 16 Trigger Warnings (this part): injuries, violence, death Notes: This popped into my head and didn’t get out until I wrote it down. It’s 16 chapters, and entirely written already in about three days. So that will explain a helluvalot. Like the bus-sized plotholes. I just wanted to be mean to my favorite characters, geeze, is that so bad? XP Also can be read on Ao3.

Chapter 15

“Pikachu! Thunderbolt!”

Ash had one thing in mind: Free Jessie. The binds around her body were too tight, she was struggling to breathe- and the powder around her was only proving to make her struggle harder. Stun spore? No… it’s the wrong color….

He knew what the attack had been.

He wished he didn’t.

Pikachu’s thunderbolt was aimed at the grass pokémon squeezing the remaining life from Jessie. The vines went slack as the pokémon’s attention was diverted to dealing with the electricity now surging through its body. James lunged for her through the window, catching the young woman before she could collapse out of reach before pulling her to relative safety, his arms catching on the broken glass- cutting lightly through his suit and into his skin.

An icy feeling surged through Ash when he saw her condition.

“Oh no… Jessie…” Brock’s voice told Ash he had caught up. May and Max probably had as well then. Ash’s throat was dry as he tried to find a suitable response. The woman was on her knees, pale, blood coming from her wounds and from her nose. Her face was flushed with fever. Breathing slow and labored, the poison was working quickly.

She worked to stand on her own anyway. Her eyes went to the twerps, “Thanks for the save,” and she smiled. A weak, trembling smile. Without drawing attention to her state she called to James, “Come on, we gotta get out of here.”

And she was off. Pushing much harder than what would be good for her body. Meowth followed suit. Behind them, James watched for a moment- anxious, worried, but Jessebelle’s voice lit a fire beneath his feet.

“Wait until I get you in my arms again, Sweetheart!”

“Guys! You too!” Ash heard coming from James. The young trainer glanced back at Jessebelle who was, wedding dress and all, working on getting herself out of the building.  James was slowing down, worry etched onto his forehead, “Hurry up!”

Team Rocket, or, well, the former Team Rocket were already a distance across the graveyard. Jessebelle was already preparing to catch up. And then Ash knew what he needed to do. He looked to his friends, “You guys go after them, Pikachu and I will buy some time.”

He realized soon he was not alone, Combusken materializing beside Pikachu as Jessebelle and her Vileplume steadied themselves, ready to give chase. May’s anger filled glare caught his eyes and sent a shiver down his spine. When was the last time he had seen her that furious? Had she ever been that furious around him before? “How dare she.” The words were subtle, May was shaking with clenched fists. “Combusken, use fire spin!”

* * *

Jessie wasn’t entirely sure what she was hoping for as her feet carried her in the one direction on her mind. The well. There had to be some trick to it. She was weakening as the proverbial clock ticked. She had to try again. But as she struggled through the thick bushes, she found herself tripping over her own feet, hitting the ground hard right in front of the small, haunted piece of scenery.

“Jessica!” she heard her name in the voice of one of the few permitted to use it, but barely registered the word as she struggled to get up. A push brought potential that was quickly diminished as her cheek scratched against the small pebbles on the ground. Dammit when did I become so weak? She couldn’t even fight as she felt herself pulled into a man’s arms. Gentle fingers brushed away the stray strands of hair that had gotten into her eyes.

She noticed red on his white suit.

“James, you’re bleeding,” she whispered. It felt like there was a gateway in her throat that was being closed slowly. She was vaguely aware of Meowth’s presence, but the haze surrounding her vision kept her from confirmation.

“Jess, don’t worry about that, just- just hang on. I’m sure the twerps have an antidote, or something,” he swallowed hard, struggling with the tears that were forming. This… this horrible end to their lives together. It was hurting, so much. Why? Why did it feel like a part of his soul was being torn away from him? How long had he known her? A few days? “Come on Jessie, we gotta stay together, you know that, you told me!”

“Sorry,” her lips moved, only a quiet voice came out. She shifted into him as much as her body would allow, seeking the comfort of a kind human’s warmth that she had been denied for the entirety of her life, “We might not have had long together but…” the imagined gate in her throat was closing. She could barely gather enough breath to speak, but this took precedence over a few more seconds of life, “but I’m so glad I met you. If even for a little. It was almost like I had best friends… and… a soulmate maybe? For a few days, at least.”

“Come on, don’t talk like that, we’re destined to be together- remember? This is fate, we’re supposed to- you said that! What about Meowth huh? How can you leave him? He’s not gonna find any other humans to trust!”

Meowth’s paws were in front of his mouth. The fur around his eyes was damp. She could tell he wanted to say something. But he was trembling, speaking human must be difficult enough without emotions stalling the words. Did the cat pokemon really care about her that much?

The silence was a reminder that that time was quickly slipping.

Jessie grinned, her eyes were getting heavy. She couldn’t move her head to shift her gaze back to James, but she hoped her words were taken to heart by both. Her voice was trembling from the stress of her fight for just a little longer, “I’ll miss you.”

Her eyes closed. The last thing she could recall hearing was a shattered yell muffled by death, “Jessica!”

* * *

This isn’t what I wanted

When he came across the scene, it was by far the worst case scenario.

James was doubled over, clinging tightly to a young woman’s limp body. In bubbled cries he was repeating her name over, and over, and over again. Meowth struggling to provide some comfort despite his own grief.

A glance to his companions made him suspect they were all thinking one thing. This wish.

It killed her.

That was all he could think about. The thought manifested itself into a lead ball that he felt dragged down to the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was misplaced, that forming, compacting guilt that locked onto his heart. But his eyes kept returning to Jessie’s still hand.

I killed her.

James finally realized Ash and his friends had arrived. The former enemy’s words were laced with a tone nothing like the trainer had ever heard before. Shattered. Torn. Broken. A distraught voice that only added weight pleaded, “You said there’s an alternate universe for us! Take us there! Please! I want to go back!”

His focus went to the well, “You!” he was increasing in volume and increasing in desperation. High, strained demands left his trembling lips, “You took my favorite bottle cap! Don’t… don’t take that and her! Give them back! Both of them!”

Ash swallowed back tears but they surged forth anyway as James’ desperate eyes locked mercilessly in vain onto the dormant well. Anger, fury, and anguish engulfing the man in a way Ash wished he never had to witness.

“I want to go back! Please! I don’t want to live this life... I can’t live this life... DON’T MAKE ME LIVE WITHOUT HER!”

Despite his struggle to hold onto his rage, it began to vanish with his echos. In its place came broken sobs, arms clinging tight to the young woman Ash had known for longer than she had known him. He was aware of May’s trembling body beside him as she held onto her little brother. Brock was silent, unreadable. Was he in as much pain as Ash? Pikachu seemed to notice the tears rolling down his trainer’s cheeks, guilt, anger, frustration… Pikachu leaned into Ash, nuzzling his cheek. But Ash could only stare at the three who had caused him so much grief on his journey. The three that had been there for everything so far. The three that had proved themselves and then disproved themselves, provided a helping hand or an annoying delay.

And now they were broken. Torn apart. The intelligent, chatty, cheeky meowth was curled up with both a broken tail and gaze. The man who always held a rose and a confident stance was stuck in a shaking cycle, muttering on repeat as he held the woman whose strength had been unmatched in determination and will, “Please, take us back. Please... Don’t take her away from me. I can’t live this way.”

In the sorrows of the little outcropping, on the edge of the graveyard behind the cathedral in which two wealthy families were intended to be wed, nobody noticed the mouth of the well as it began to glow gold.