#//anyways fr. please reach out i'd love to talk to others abt this :)

[humming-pokemon-helpers]

A Cross of Strange Colors Masterpost (OOC)

Hey guys, as you might have noticed we're into another arc here, so this here will serve as a little (not little) masterpost/FAQ for the arc!

What should I know going in?

This arc is higher-stakes than my usual fare, so posts will be tagged appropriately. General TWs for this arc include stalking, dehumanization, deception, general mental health instability, implications/discussions of Poképhilia (focused around hybrids, rather than specifics), and human/Pokémon experimentation. More serious posts may include body horror and/or related violent/disturbing themes. If these general themes bother you, I'd suggest blocking the mastertag, #a cross of strange colors. Any related troubling posts should also be tagged as #high stakes pokeblogging. And of course, individual trigger tags will be used!

[A note: PLEASE let me know if you want any extra TW tags on posts I make! I miss things at times, as much as I try to cover what I recognize could be triggering!]

Okay, this is a darker arc. Are you posting anything else to lighten the mood here?

Yes! I will be posting more regular content in between main arc posts! Gosh darn it, my foxperson is great at posting like nothing's going on when everything is going on.

How long is this plot going to be...?

Yeah, I wish I had a great idea. Likely two+ weeks spread out. Probably longer.

Can I interact with this? What about playing a larger role?

Yes! Interactions are highly appreciated along the way of this arc! Vanilla is not an island. Arc knows he'll need support along the way... or a little antagonism to push him along!

If you'd like to do something larger in the context of this arc, or just want to know what I'm up to (please, I could use help bouncing ideas), please feel free to DM me! Please. I'd love to hear what you have in mind!

Who is... ? (A character directory)

Aspear/Spear: Spear (27M) is a human geneticist and Cheri's serious, put-together twin brother. Though he has heard plenty of Vanilla from his twin, the two have yet to meet in-person. He is currently researching genetic differences between humans and Pokémon that might explain the large gap between the two that emerged many thousands of years ago. His partner Pokémon is Goop the Duosion.

Cheri: Cheri (27F) is a Pokémon geneticist, Aspear's twin sister, and Vanilla's current, highly energetic, girlfriend. The two met initially thirteen years prior, after Vanilla came hurtling through Cheri's window on the run from... someone. They have only recently reunited. She is researching the genetics of Pokémon to better understand what factors lead to better hybrid compatibility. Her partner Pokémon is Ribbon the Gothorita.

Cobalion: This universe's Cobalion (???, he/they) is something of a disgruntled leader of the Swords of Justice, serving as a sort of workplace "boss" to his subordinates Virizion and Terrakion. They all seem to get along, for the most part. Cobalion has Chosen Vanilla to receive several of his powers, including increased physical strength, durability, and the ability to use Secret Sword. Currently, Cobalion treats Vanilla as a trainee, rather than a subordinate taking on jobs.

Colress: Colress (38M) is a canon character. (For anybody who missed B2W2 and/or USUM, check out details here.) He is a scientist and the ex-"leader" of Team Plasma, focusing on how to strengthen Pokémon via the power of their bonds with humans... whatever means that research takes. He has recently developed an interest in Ultra Space, after spending several years in Alola on the run.

V: Vanilla's former name, given at birth. Though not quite a deadname given Wolfgang is still allowed to use it, anyone else referring to Vanilla as such would receive fierce resistance.

What's the plot so far?

(readmore for aforementioned potentially triggering content)

[. . .LOADING. . .]

Vanilla is discovered and contacted in-person by Colress, an ex-Plasma scientist researching the bonds between humans and Pokémon and [UNCLEAR]. The two have a battle that Vanilla wins, leading to Colress remarking on the potential strength of human-Pokémon hybrids before being chased off by Clay.

The next day, Colress contacts Vanilla to request a further meeting, revealing in a supposed show of goodwill that he is aware of a tracker used for [UNCLEAR] placed in Vanilla's right ear. Vanilla, upon learning this, challenges Colress to set up a meeting on his own, and sets about removing the tracker on her own terms.

Later that week, Vanilla gets a request from Cheri to meet at her lab, to meet Aspear and to give a talk on sensitivity towards hybrids. At first this visit goes well, though Aspear does catch up to Vanilla to talk about his sister briefly. Once the actual meeting starts, though, just about everything goes to shit. Colress walks into the lab room, and Aspear accidentally reveals Colress as his and Cheri's "boss" of sorts, leading up to a battle between Vanilla and Colress.

During this battle, Cross posts about something that concerns them--it is later shown that Colress directly attacked Vanilla with his Beheeyem's Lumina Crash to trigger Vanilla's instincts and bait them into attacking for the purpose of gathering data on the strength of "natural hybrids". Cheri tackles Vanilla to the ground to stop any harm from coming to anyone, and Vanilla is left shaken for several minutes. Soon after Vanilla comes to his senses, he confronts Cheri about the events of the day, leading to a breakup between the two. The footage of Vanilla attacking Colress is made public, but luckily, he has plenty of support from those around him. Even if there are still mysteries left unclear...

Several days of silence pass. Finally, after Vanilla expresses concern about what Colress is planning, they receive another message from him. This time, a veiled threat: seek him out, or else... what? Vanilla pretends to be unaffected, but secretly contacts Aspear. Their plan? Record Colress admitting to his own scientific misdeeds to reveal to the general public, generating enough outrage that the government is forced to finally take action against him.

The morning comes, and the two set things into motion. Vanilla takes the visage of Cheri so as to not arouse Colress's suspicion, and Cross is used to live-stream the entire event. However, as the talk continues on, Vanilla plays their hand a bit too early. They're caught by Colress, who destroys the lab & severely injures Aspear and Cross with a Discharge. At this point, the public view ends, as Cross is knocked out by the attack, and is only found by Tula hours later. Vanilla is taken down for a few seconds, Cobalion releasing itself from the Pokéball it entered to conceal itself, and Colress makes an attempt to escape with his Beheeyem's Teleport. Vanilla musters up just enough strength to jump after him, tagging along to his final destination. (A conflict ensues, in which Vanilla is captured.) Cobalion's attempt to charge Colress, likewise, ends in him accidentally injuring Cheri, who had seen the livestream and come to the site of the lab to ask questions. From here on out, Cheri takes the point of view.

Cheri, Rune, Tula, and Wyrdo form a search party for Vanilla. On Saturday, they search for clues, but are left empty-handed, save a heavy stack of papers found by Tula when she recovers Cross and a list of possible locations from Lo. With these hints, they regroup Sunday, settling on the Dreamyard as the most likely location for Colress's laboratory. The four come across Chiru, Vanilla's Altaria, as they approach, and, with some harsh words from Wyrdo towards both Cheri and Tula, descend into the Dreamyard. There, they face four hybrid "experiments" of Colress's, and as Tula sneaks off to find Colress himself...

[Hey! If you're visiting this months later as a refresher, finally finished it!]

Suddenly, what appears to be a strange Ultra Beast--Necrozma, perhaps, though something about it's off--lashes out at the party. Wyrdo realizes the misunderstanding quickly, confirming their suspicion when they jolt an illusioned Vanilla with enough electricity to both paralyze him and reveal his true form. With the rest of the hybrids being taken care of quickly by the combination of Rune, Wyrdo, Cheri, Cobalion, and Wolfgang's efforts, focus shifts to Colress's lab.

Inside, several minutes before, Tula had confronted Colress, taking a swipe from his Klinklang's Giga Impact. In return, Tula nearly takes him out of commission permanently, an intended stab to the heart hitting his shoulder. The two fall to the ground, crushing a Master Ball Vanilla was apparently confined in. However, the approach of Wyrdo's Misdreavus gives Colress just enough time to recollect his bearings, and he uses some strange machine to escape to somewhere unspecified.

Rune enters the space, and as Tula lashes out the two realize Colress left his Klinklang behind in his attempt to flee. Finally, Cheri and Cobalion enter to share that Vanilla's come to, and the group regathers around the hybrid as Rune's Cosmog, Connie, helps bring the injured to the Driftveil Hospital.

In the aftermath, Vanilla recovers quite well. In the hospital, Cross (reunited with Vanilla at last) and Motom arrange a meeting between Tula and Vanilla that leads to an agreement: the two will travel together for Vanilla's gym challenge. A pragmatic agreement with absolutely no romantic feelings behind it, certainly.

Tula also reveals they have Colress's laptop, which is later unlocked by Tula's close friend Callisto. Vanilla keeps the information on there notably quiet. Tula cares for Klinklang for some time, before passing custody of the Pokémon to Rune. Other miscellaneous information includes the fact that both Cheri and Aspear recover, and decide jointly to begin their own Gym Challenge at around the same time as Vanilla.

The group also tries to press Colress's subordinates for further information on the hybridization project he was testing, but receive little in the way of new information. And so it continues, for well on nine months...

#a cross of strange colors #//ooc post #//info post #//to be further updated #//this is way too self-important lmao #//but hey it's nice for me to look at #//anyways fr. please reach out i'd love to talk to others abt this :) #//ALSO. biiiiiiig shoutout to ariadosanon for the original concept that got me planning this arc :)