#yes i made a veruca salt reference i just had to LMAO

[forjustice]

[Johto Moon Festival '24] when you're in a making people uncomfortable contest and your opponent is allie desrosiers

[Author's Note: This post references Discord RP events and a version of a muse (Princess Allie from the anime) that isn't on this blog, but I'm posting here because I haven't had the motivation to set up the other blog she's supposed to be on in forever LMAO. @kokorowoutsu would be familiar with this muse and her plot, which will be covered below. In addition, feel free to have your muses hear and/or witness the argument she gets into here. Enjoy >:3]

Of everyone at the entire festival, she must be the only one who isn't happy.

The curse that Asimov--the Paradox Human Volo of Fallenverse--had placed on her had consequences far beyond those he had described to her, and she had a feeling they were fully intended. Enemy to Pokémon, enemy to children--when all hated and feared her, there was not a single place in public she could go without at least one of those two taking notice in the worst possible way. Far from simply having no Pokémon and no friends her age, she was more or less relegated to being a shut-in save for the early morning when no one was around on the streets to cause a scene in front of her. Perhaps, if she were not so foolish as to steal from him, his other self, and someone they knew--and perhaps if she was not so foolish as to attempt to harm his kin--she could have avoided all this. Perhaps if, even if she was foolish enough to do all that, she could have still avoided all this if she had not had the hubris to directly offend an ascended once-human Legendary like Asimov who could be just as vindictive as any classical god of legend could be--combined with all of a human's spite. But she didn't. And now she's here. And now she's angrier about her incurable curse than ever.

The countercurse work of the family of her fae betrothed, Maël Everspark, mattered little. At least most of the Pokémon around her now would simply turn their backs to her instead of immediately startling at her presence, but she learned the hard way that the improvement wasn't so helpful with children when one of them pointed at her and started wailing on the first day of the Festival. Since then she's had to only come on the festival grounds as soon as it opens before too many families appear on the scene--and then on her way out she's had to ninja dodge every child she saw just to avoid a repeat of what happened on the first day. Whatever. She's not going to let that ruin absolutely everything for her. She heard there were some cute Pokémon up for adoption. And if there's any sign that the "enemy of Pokémon" curse has lessened, she's going to get one, whether they like it or not. She saunters up to the Pokémon adoption bazar as soon as it opens.

"I'd like to have a--"

But the reaction of the Pokémon is instant. The three non-Ditto Pokémon remaining in the fields immediately run to where the Dittos are. She looks to the Ditto, which she had shittalked in a group chat just the other day, though now she'll take them because she's desperate--no luck there either. They don't seem agitated--they're too confident and too wholesome to be fearful or hateful of a child, as other Pokémon have acted due to the curse--but this is the one person on the festival grounds who they won't try to impress. One by one they turn around and pretend she was never there. Not only do they sense the curse, they can practically feel the snobbery radiating off her, fully aware they are only a last-ditch choice. They know they deserve better!

The attendant of the pasture narrows her eyes as she notices the response from the Pokémon.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if you would be the right fit," she says, looking nervous. She has worried a little about letting that Volo guy take a Pokémon despite the fact one of them did in fact come up to him. Part of her still wonders whether he had indeed been a full kitsune in disguise, though of course, she could see Airi and the Handsome Ditto looking happy with the man and his family as they romped about the festival grounds.

"Then I want to spin the mystery wheel," Allie demands. She yells to the guy who's running the wheel today. "HEY! Order up!"

The man looks up from setting up the wheel, jarred by her rude entitlement; he gives her a stunned 'what the heck is this girl for real' look before composing himself and calmly asserting the rules.

"Festival staff have the right to refuse service to those who are rude to us," he says.

Allie blanches--she knows she's potentially ruined her chance of getting a Pokémon. Then she puts on the biggest fake smile and tries again.

"I'm sorry, sir, for my behavior," she says, offering 1,500 Pokéyen as she goes up to him and lowkey shoving it in his face. "May I please have three spins of the wheel?"

He squints. He doesn't like the vibes that this redo is giving off, and he hasn't failed to notice the further entitlement in the way she handed him the money so he simply shakes his head. Children must learn that their actions have consequences--a lesson this child has clearly yet to learn, despite having been served so many of them.

She looks like she's about to protest, but then realizes: The main adoption center lady hasn't said no yet. She'll go bother her some more before she bothers him again.

"Excuse me, mademoiselle," she says, "but I don't see why I can't have a Pokémon."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, miss," the attendant replies. "None of them seem interested in you."

"Well, I'm interested in them," Allie huffs, stepping forward like she's going to force her way in if she continues to be denied.

"We can't give a Pokémon to someone who they're plainly afraid of, " she says, gesturing to the three hybrids cowering in fear of Allie. "There was a gentleman here the other day who seemed to understand that perfectly."

"I'll take any Pokémon. Not just those three. Those Dittos don't look afraid of me. Give me one of them!" she demands, trying and failing to stop the desperation from creeping into her voice.

"We also can't give a Pokémon who doesn't wish to bond with a potential new Trainer." She sighs and shakes her head. "I'm dreadfully sorry, Princess, but we're going to have to ask you to leave."

Leave? But…

"I don't see why I should," she says. "They may not be interested now, but who says they won't be interested later?"

"Even if that were true, you were terribly rude to my colleague. As I've said before, I don't think you're a good fit for this adoption center," says the attendant, firm with an even and professional tone of voice typical of those in customer service when faced with unholy amounts of Karenage.

"I know I'm just a kid who makes mistakes, but trust me, I'm really nice to Pokémon!" Allie begs. "Please--"

"You ought to apologize instead of begging, Your Highness."

"Sorry," she grumbles. "Can I have a Pokémon now?"

The attendant shakes her head.

"My father is a King." A snarl creeps into her voice. "What if I told him to make you give me a Pokémon?"

"Your father has no jurisdiction over Johto, and you threatening us with him has only confirmed I have made the right decision. I will not ask again. Please leave."

Allie stares, dumbfounded. She was sure the threat would work. She should have known by now that there were people in this world that begging, pleading and namedropping wouldn't work on, but she keeps trying over and over again in the hopes of getting a different result. Then she begins to frown. Then, her stare turns into a glare.

"If you don't let me have a Pokémon...I'll take one myself."

She shoves her way past the attendants with little resistance, not even a "Wait! Stop!"--which should have been her first sign that everything that happened past "I'll take one myself" isn't actually happening. In the dreamlike vision that she thinks is real, she tears past the entryway to the pasture and the Ditto flee before her, leaving the hybrids completely exposed. She sizes them up, looming over them as Hana the Munna trembles in her shadow, thinking about who to pick. Finally, she turns her attention directly to Hana, and grins a spoiled little grin.

"I'll have YOU."

She makes a dive for Hana as it, too, turns to flee, seizing the poor creature in her grasp--but as soon as her arms wrap around it like a Pinsir's head-claws using ViceGrip, they completely phase through the Pokémon's tiny body as though she's a ghost. Then the false scene dissolves, and Allie finds her face hitting the dirt in a patch of grass on the edges of the festival, with the booths of the festival far in the distance. Above her, Asimov stands, looking supremely exasperated as he shakes his head--and she realizes that whole sequence past the moment she decided to try and take a Pokémon by force is his doing.

"You haven't learned anything, it looks like," he says disapprovingly. "Tsk, tsk."

She scowls as he walks away on his digitigrade legs. A Volo himself, he has all of Risenverse Volo's self-importance in every step. She glowers at him bitterly as he gets further away, and thinks to herself:

If learning to be better won't break the curse, what's the point?