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sleepy-shinx · 1 year

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Identity Theft - a submas fic

I had a crack theory and it turned into a crack fic. Here ya go.

Summary: A story based on the events of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, except something's not quite... right. Seems there was a slight mishap when a certain amnesiac warden fell into Hisui...

Warnings: Some swearing. At the very end. I initially said there was a brief identity crisis then realized the ENTIRE FIC is one long identity crisis so plz forgive me

Pairings: none. especially not bl@nkshipping. blankshippers DNI!

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44985460

His name was Ingo.

When he’d first fallen, he’d woke in a strange land, confused, injured, and with no memories except his name. He’d been only half coherent, brain muddled with exhaustion and pain. They’d asked him his name, and he’d looked down at himself in a panic, taking a moment to center himself before he spoke the only memory he’d retained from his unexpected detour.

His name was Ingo.

He wore a black coat, with red accents and a blue band around the upper left arm. The hat that rested atop his head matched the coat, black with a red band and an odd emblem in the middle. Items of clothing that matched no other in Hisui, that made him stand out from everyone else in the region. Even the other clothes he’d been wearing when he fell had stood out from everyone else’s, an odd, white button-down shirt and black pants, accompanied by a pair of oddly shaped black shoes as well.

When he looked at the items, the name Ingo was always associated with them.

When he looked at himself in the mirror as he was wearing them, he saw Ingo.

And yet.

The name had never felt quite… right.

He had no justification for the feeling, no reason to believe that the only name he’d ever known since falling in Hisui wouldn’t be his own. The one time he brought it up with Lady Irida, it had only confused her beyond belief. Because how could his name not be Ingo?

He hadn’t brought it up with her again.

But the feeling never left him.

It wasn’t enough to derail him beyond function, so he had stopped thinking too much into it long ago.

As far as he or anyone else was concerned, he was Warden Ingo.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“Take care not to come uncoupled from me!” He called back to his young companion, the one he was guiding through Wayward Cave. The cave was, frustratingly enough, unlit, despite the dangers traversing through an unlit cave wrought for passengers unaccustomed to traveling through the area. He highly suspected Melli was at fault for removing them, but he had no basis for the suspicions, at least not of yet.

The young girl nodded, trailing only slightly behind him as she followed him through the cave.

“So you don’t remember anything from before Hisui?” Akari asked, clearly trying to prevent an awkward silence.

“Very little,” he admitted with a nod. “Though I will admit, leading a young companion through tunnels to safety… seems to ring some bells.”

Talking a lot always seemed to take a lot out of him, though he could never quite understand why. That was supposed to be his thing… right? Yet, it always felt like a chore, drawing out his words to the length he thought they were intended to be.

“Maybe this will help you remember some other things, then?”

He hummed, letting his thoughts wander, though he still kept a watchful eye out for danger. “Perhaps…”

Something, a vague, incomplete wisp of a thought passed through his mind, and he decided he may as well tell her about it, hoping it might lead him further down those tracks. “I recall, faintly, that I had a partner once…” Lightning danced across his mind, accompanied by dancing flames. “A precious one.” He initially felt pulled to the sparks, but no, that couldn’t be quite right. His partner was the one with purple flames, it had to be… “Its name escapes me, but I remember that it wielded flames with mastery. If only it were here, I’m sure it would light the way, luring us onward…”

Their path was impeded by an Alpha Crobat. He quickly rerouted, leading her down the other way towards the exit so they would not be forced to fight such a powerful Alpha in the dark.

“Have you remembered anything else?” Akari asked, looking at him curiously.

Anything else… yes. Another memory briefly flashed by, spurred on by the vague familiarity of traversing dark tunnels alongside another. “I’m starting to recall a man who looked… like me. We’d battle and discuss Pokemon, I think…”

Two scripts began warring in his head as vague battle memories flashed through, too scrambled together to be anything coherent. He was almost completely unable to get anything out of it, but then… “The words ‘I like winning more than anything else’ flashed through my mind just now…”

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

He stared in the mirror, frowning. Warden Ingo stared back at him.

Frowning, he had realized, took almost the same amount of energy out of him as talking so much did. He couldn’t quite understand. He was supposed to frown, it went right alongside his words and the black of his coat and hat.

So why did it feel so exhausting? Feel, so deeply inside, so wrong?

Without thinking too much, he allowed the corners of his lips to move, to curl up into a smile. It felt… right.

A stranger stared back at him.

It looked wrongwrongwrongwrongwrong

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“Now then… Follow the rules and drive safely! We’re headed for victory! All aboard!”

The script felt right and yet still wrong as it came out. He knows he’s spoken these words before, but drawing them out, carrying them on this much, felt so wrong.

He didn’t quite understand. His brain kept telling him this was right. He was Ingo, was he not? He was supposed to be the one who talked a lot, who frowned, who expressed himself through words less than his face. Who wore black and battled with one Pokemon at a time (why wouldn’t he? One Pokemon at a time… that was how battling worked, was it not??)?

Who was he comparing himself to? Was there someone he knew back then, before Hisui, who didn’t do these things?

He didn’t have time to ponder these things, right now. He had a challenger- Akari was stood in front of him, her first time challenging him at the Training Grounds in Jubilife Village. He sent out his Gliscor, and she sent out her Samurott (who looked… different, somehow, than he expected. He isn’t sure what it was that he expected). She had been training hard, in the time since she’d closed the rift, trying to prove to Jubilife and to herself that she was worthy of the nine stars that adorned her scarf.

When she beat him, he wasn’t able to prevent his lips from curling into a more natural-feeling smile, even for just a few seconds.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

He walked into the cave his Lady called her home.

He enjoyed spending time with Lady Sneasler and her kits, he’d soon come to realize after being appointed Warden. She was a wonderful distraction from the thoughts that plagued his mind, stopping him from constantly wondering who he was.

She didn’t quite have kits at this point, however. The eggs that laid comfortably in her nest were due to hatch any day now. Akari, who he’d surprisingly found himself growing closer to over the last few months, was beyond excited to see them after they hatched. She’d started calling him Uncle of all things, which felt strange yet still incredibly endearing. He hadn’t seen her for a few days, however, as she had told him she was heading out with Volo, one of the Ginkgo Guild merchants, to look into the local legends. She said she should be back in only three days.

Today was the third, and she had not shown up in Jubilife that day while he had been situated at the training grounds. To say he was worried was a slight understatement.

Lady Sneasler mewled contentedly at him as he entered, curled up near her nest as she watched her unmoving eggs. Well, not quite- one wobbled right after he thought that. A good sign! He hadn’t quite understood why helping his lady with her eggs felt so… right, to him. Like he’d done this before. But he never questioned it, just lent his assistance to his noble whenever the time for a new litter came around.

“No major changes?” he asked, approaching her nest. The eggs had been moving slightly for a day or so. Lady Sneasler shook her head, but didn’t seem worried. Things were progressing on schedule.

Suddenly, they both heard the frantic call of a flute from somewhere above the cave. He recognized Akari’s tune for Lady Sneasler almost immediately, and alarm bells went off almost immediately in his head. He’d never heard his niece’s playing sound like this.

Sneasler jumped to action immediately. He desperately wanted to accompany her, to see why Akari sounded so desperate- but he knew his Lady would feel a lot more comfortable if her eggs were not left completely unattended this close to hatching.

“I will make sure nothing happens to them,” he promised her as she nodded, knocking his hat over his eyes before taking off quickly.

His answers came not long after, as it turned out Akari asked Lady Sneasler to bring her straight to him for comfort. Volo had betrayed her, had turned on her as soon as she’d had the 17 plates he didn’t have and likely would have killed her if she hadn’t managed to scrape a win. His blood boiled with anger, but there was nothing to be done now. Volo had disappeared after his loss, and left her with the last plate she’d needed.

He hugged her close as she sobbed into his shoulder.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

Akari was missing.

He had spent the last week or so frantically scouring every corner of Hisui for his niece, alongside what felt like the entirety of the Galaxy Team (and Irida and Adaman).

The last time he’d seen her, she had told him she’d almost completed the Pokedex, had only one more Pokemon left to catch. Arceus. Creator of all. She had been heading to fight it, had stopped to ask him a question.

“Do you… want to go home?”

He hadn’t given her a definitive answer and had spent the rest of the day pondering it (getting no closer to making a decision) before growing worried over the fact that he hadn’t seen her by the time night fell. He’d went back to Jubilife to see if she’d gone home, and Laventon thought she was with him.

She hadn’t been seen since.

He was beyond worried, had barely ate or slept as he helped search for her, only taking breaks to stop and refuel and recharge when his Lady physically forced him to. He could tell she was worried as well, but didn’t let that stop her from making him take care of himself.

It reminded him of someone. He wasn’t sure who, but more flashes of electricity and also soft yellow fabric danced through his mind.

Right now was one such occasion, as she’d forced him into her basket and brought him back to his tent to eat before he collapsed on her.

He was nibbling on an oran berry when he heard it.

The familiar pattering of running feet, but that wasn’t quite all, there were… multiple sets?

All he knew is one belonged to his niece, and he leapt up and threw the door to his tent open as Akari launched himself into his arms.

“Uncle!” she cried happily, throwing her arms around his neck.

“Akari! I was so worried!” he exclaimed, relief exploding through him.

“I’m so sorry I disappeared, Arceus accidentally sent me back home before I was ready, but you’re never gonna believe who I found and brought back to Hisui with me!”

“Who?” he asked curiously, setting her down.

“EMMET!”

…

“Emmet, why are you wearing my pants?”

Emmet looked down, coffee in hand, still waking up. “Ah! It would seem I grabbed the wrong pair.”

Ingo snorted, grabbing a tie and throwing it around his neck. “Well, you’ll want to change quickly, so we still make it in to the station on schedule.”

Emmet stood to change, then had a mischievous idea pop into his head. His smile turned sly as he leaned over and pulled Ingo’s hat off his head, putting it on his own.

“Or maybe I will go as Ingo to work today!”

Ingo looked exasperated as Emmet snickered. “We are not swapping places again today.”

“Aw, but why not?” Emmet made his way over to the coatrack, grabbing Ingo’s coat and throwing it over his shoulders with a dramatic flair.

“We have never been able to pull off a successful swap ever in our lives,” Ingo pointed out, walking over to snatch his hat back. “Mostly because someone can’t be loud enough to save his life.”

“Says you who can’t be quiet enough to throw suspicion!” Emmet countered, pulling Ingo’s shoes on. He threw his arms up in a mirror of his own normal pose, raising his voice as loudly as he could get it to go as he yelled,

“ALL ABOOOOARD!”

It was not nearly as loud as Ingo’s, and he even heard his voice crack. Ingo snorted, and it quickly turned into laughter. “See?! Case in point!”

Emmet pouted, but the mischievous light refused to leave his eyes. “Well, let’s see what the depot agents have to say about your theory!” He threw the door open. Ingo rolled his eyes.

“Well, don’t blame me when you get caught in less than a minute.”

Ingo headed back down the hallway as Emmet cackled and walked out of the door to make his way to work ahead of his brother, who clearly was not going to play along. He could at least have a little fun before his brother inevitably joined him there and brought his harmless ruse to light.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Emmet would never make it to the station.

…

A man, frowning, in a black coat and hat and slacks and shoes, stood in front of him, looking like he was about to completely fall apart.

“Ingo,” Emmet breathed, realization and subsequently, memories crashing over him like a tsunami.

Ingo broke, throwing himself at Emmet, who was more than happy to catch his sobbing brother in his arms. He soon found himself joining him in his cries as memory after memory of his twin brother played through his mind, memories of the subway, of their beloved partners (his first partner was Eelektross, not Chandelure, the lightning that he had recalled suddenly making much more sense), of their friends and family. The two of them collapsed to the ground in each other’s arms.

“You’re alive,” Ingo sobbed, clutching Emmet close. “I was so scared, Emmet, I thought I had lost you, that- that you’d-”

“I’m alive,” he whispered, holding Ingo just as tightly, his quiet voice making sense to him for the first time in years. “I’m here, Ingo, I’m here. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave.”

“I know, it’s not your fault, Dawn- er, you still know her as Akari- explained everything she could. I’m just so relieved. I missed you so, so much.”

They didn’t move for several minutes more, until they both had calmed enough to break from their hug, but they didn’t move far. Emmet held his brothers trembling arms as Ingo cupped his face, the two of them touching their foreheads together.

“So, I guess you’re Uncle Emmet now, huh?” Akari piped up. Emmet looked over at her with a smile on his face (it felt so much better, so much more like himself), and nodded.

“Though I guess you do still have an Uncle Ingo, if that’s what you want.”

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

Explaining the situation to everyone in Hisui had been an… odd experience, to say the least. Lady Sneasler at least didn’t seem to care, more interested in the new coat he wore (Ingo had brought his regular white coat for him, which Emmet felt so much more at home in) and the identical man in black who refused to leave his side. She could tell them apart with ease, which didn’t surprise him much. For his team, it was much the same.

Lady Irida and the other Pearl Clan wardens had been confused, to say the least. It had required quite the explanation to fully get across to them that the man they had known as Warden Ingo for the last four years was, in fact, named Emmet, who had remembered his brother’s name before even his own. But eventually the point got across, and it especially helped having Akari there to back them up. The Galaxy Team and Diamond Clan had, at one point, just decided to stop questioning it and just go along with it.

At the very least, it had been easy to prove that Ingo wasn’t a Zoroark.

Being called Warden Emmet was odd. But in a verrrrrry good way. He definitely was struggling a bit with identity, having grown so used to accidentally pretending to be his brother for four years. But Ingo was helping him to remember what being Emmet meant, and he was most certainly happier than he’d ever been before in Hisui.

And as more and more of his memories returned to him, he quickly grew more and more homesick for the life he’d left behind when he disappeared. He had a whole team of Pokemon waiting for him, dozens of Joltik who Ingo had spent so long caring for in his absence. Elesa, Uncle Drayden, and Iris waiting to welcome him home with open arms. An entire subway full of trainers stronger than he could ever have imagined in Hisui.

He missed it so, so much.

So it was to no one’s surprise when he decided, only days after Ingo had appeared in Hisui, that it was time for him to go home. Akari- who also had not been going by her real name in Hisui, he’d discovered, and was actually named Dawn- had already had her happy reunions with everyone she’d left behind, and had only come back to Hisui to help Ingo get there and to reassure everyone there that she was okay, that she had found her own true home again.

Lady Irida had taken his resignation better than he expected, admitting she knew that it was an inevitable possibility. She saw no reason to prevent him from returning to his own space when he so clearly longed for it.

Lady Sneasler had promptly decided not to accept his resignation at all, and decided she was, instead, coming along with him, along with three kits from her most recent litter. She handed her title down to her eldest child.

Emmet vehemently refused to admit he had cried a bit when she had told him. Leaving her was going to be the hardest part of leaving Hisui, and now he didn’t have to!

After that, he’d only had a few scarce goodbyes to say, his Hisuian team also deciding to join him even after he gave them all the opportunity to stay behind with Zisu (the third hardest goodbye out of all of them).

Then, as soon as he was ready, with Ingo and Dawn by his side, Arceus sent them all back home.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING DUMBASS!”

This was exactly the reaction he had been expecting from Elesa, Emmet realized, as she threw her arms around him, and he snorted as he returned her embrace, holding her tightly and not even trying to stop the tears that formed in his eyes. This was the reunion he was most looking forward to.

“You scared the shit out of us, you asshole,” she sobbed. “Don’t ever do that to us again.”

“I won’t. So long as I have any say in it. I promise I won’t.”

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

His Pokemon had been left in Elesa’s care while Ingo had gone to find him, he found out. Elesa, much more calm than she had been not even thirty minutes ago, handed him one Pokeball in particular with a soft smile. He cradled the ball carefully, eyes shimmering as he let his beloved partner out.

Eelektross spun on him, screeching with joy as it slammed into him, wrapping its body around him in its own version of a desperate hug. Emmet curled around the Pokemon. “I missed you, too,” he whispered.

⇅ ⇅ ⇅

“So you ended up in Ancient Sinnoh, with no memories, except Ingo’s name?” Drayden’s eyebrow rose. “Because you were wearing his coat and hat when you disappeared.”

“Yup!” Emmet popped the p. At his side was a very clingy Iris, who he had one arm around. His other hand was in Ingo’s, as it had been for most of the last week or so.

Elesa buried her head in her hands. “I cannot believe this. You two are so identical, you mistook yourself for Ingo. Despite remembering nothing about him or yourself.”

He looked at Ingo with a smirk on his face. “See? I told you I could pass as you if I really wanted to.”

“NO ONE IN HISUI KNEW EITHER OF US BEFORE YOU FELL THERE.”

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imfluentinfangirlandgay · 2 years

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Elevated Railways - Ch 25

Ingo has been in Hisui for two years when two children fall from the sky - with wings like his. Did they come from the same place he did?

Word Count: ~2900

Ingo’s eyes fluttered open. He was still laying on Emmet. His stomach did not hurt quite as bad, however the feeling seemed to have moved. He scrambled off his brother, making him jolt and yell, “Ingo! What’s wrong?” as he ran to the bathroom to do his business.

He emerged ten minutes later. Ok, maybe he had a few regrets now. He trudged back to the couch and plopped down, feeling like garbage. Emmet patted his thigh. “Still have no regrets?” he asked Ingo with a smirk. “I may have a couple of regrets by now. How did you fare while I was on temporary shutdown?”

“You were only asleep for thirty minutes.”

“Hmm.” That explained it. He leaned his head back, fanning his face with his front wings. Maybe pizza had been a bad idea.

Akari and Rei were watching them from the floor, doing something with their phones, which had still been transformed by Arceus. "You should go back to sleep," Rei said.

"I do not believe I can." He picked his head up off the couch, sitting up. "I am getting concerned about the egg, however, and would like to check in on it. I might head back for a bit and ensure all is well there. You are, of course, welcome to join," he added, standing up.

"Egg?" Elesa had joined them in the main room with Zebstrika following at her heels. She had its dinner in her hands. She set it out on the raised stand custom-made for it, allowing it to dig in.

"Yes, my Lady insisted I take an egg from her latest clutch. It has been home alone for the last day or so and I wish to ensure it is alright."

"I can come with. Its been a minute since I left the apartment."

Emmet and Ingo met gazes. Emmet grinned. Ingo nodded at him, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He knew exactly what Emmet was going to do. "Of course, Elesa. Are you prepared?"

"Give me five minutes to change, then I will." She scrambled out as the silver twins smirked at each other. Ingo stood, groaning. The longer that his body digested the meal, the more he realized it was a mistake.

"You're taking her," he said to Emmet. Emmet saluted him.

"Are we flying back with her?" Akari asked them. The twins both nodded, putting a finger to their lips. Elesa returned quickly.

"Alright, just let me get my keys and I can drive-"

"Oh, there is no need for that," Ingo said. Emmet grabbed Elesa from behind, hauling her up and holding her bridal style. She screeched, holding tightly onto Emmet.

"What the hell?!" Her face turned white as Emmet ruffled his wings and she started to squirm. “Oh, absolutely not, Emmet, put me down-”

"Hold on tight," was all Emmet said as they opened the glass door to the porch and recalled their Pokemon, Ingo beckoning to her two Emolga. They chittered and followed excitedly. Akari and Rei jumped first, easily taking to the air. Next up was Emmet, nimbly climbing up onto the railing and launching into the air, putting his new tail feathers to good use. Elesa was still screaming. Ingo shut the door and took off last, headed back to their apartment.

The sky was clear tonight, the moon shining brightly overhead. It lent an ethereal glow to the city below them. Elesa quieted down, though Ingo could see how hard she was gripping Emmet’s jacket in her knuckles, tucked tightly against his chest. Emmet did not seem to care. Her two Emolga followed around them, clearly happy to have company today as they went flying. Their building was easy to spot, as it was one of the taller buildings in the outskirts of Nimbasa.

Emmet and the young twins circled overhead as Ingo landed first, opening the door and beckoning to them. The twins entered next, flying in and tucking their wings and rolling on the carpet, hopping up. Emmet emerged last, Elesa yelling about being careful as he set his feet down and entered the house, dumping her unceremoniously on the couch. She was trembling.

Ingo flicked on a light and made a beeline for their room, ensuring the egg was alright. He was surprised to find it wasn't alone. There was a group of small yellow spots surrounding it, emitting a low hum. Instead of saying anything, he returned to the main room and grabbed Emmet, throwing him into the room. The moment he laid his eyes on the sight, he melted.

"My babies! Oh, how did you get here? Were some of you left behind? Or did you come back? Are you alright? Have you eaten?" He ran over and gently picked up the Joltik, some buzzing in pure excitement and throwing off sparks as they climbed into his clothes, his pockets, his hair, his new feathers. "Were you all left here?" He asked the three in his hands, tears pricking his eyes. They shook their tiny heads. "Did you come back by yourself? From the Subway?" One of them nodded, clicking happily at Emmet. He cried out happily, nuzzling them. "You came to look for me, didn’t you? Oh, Daddy missed you all so much. My babies. I'm so happy to see you again. I do not plan on another sudden track change. I will get you so many batteries. Are you all hungry? Did you keep the egg warm while we were gone?"

Ingo had grabbed the egg, feeling it. Something was moving inside, ever so slightly. "Yes they have, and they have done quite a good job at it."

When he spoke, all the clicking and buzzing stopped momentarily. Ingo turned to the Joltik and cocked his head. "Oh, Ingo! These are from a clutch that I hatched after your disappearance, so they have not met you. This is my brother, Ingo," he introduced. "He is verrry kind, though a little loud. He lives here with me!" Emmet’s smile split wider as some of them climbed onto Ingo’s shoulders and buzzed at him, making his lips quirk up. One nuzzled at his cheek, making his feathers fluff up.

"I forgot how lively they are," he said fondly as he stroked one sticking to the front of his sweater. Some were beginning to move through his feathers on his wings and tail. It was an odd feeling, but not unpleasant.

Ingo grabbed the egg and left the room, covered in Emmet’s babies. He emerged in the family room to see Elesa sitting up, her eyes wide as saucers, the young twins talking to her. "The egg is alright,” he announced, making them turn to him. “Emmet’s Joltik kept it warm as we were preoccupied."

The teens looked up and their eyes widened at the little spots Ingo and Emmet now sported. "Oh my goodness, look at them all!" Akari bounced forward and got a closer look. "Oh they're so tiny… These are all yours, Uncle Emmet?"

"I hatched them all myself," he said proudly, holding one up for her to see. "I love them Joltik. Even after I bred my perfect Galvantula, I could not simply stop. Now I give them to challengers that prove they can care for them or I release them in the Subway. They used to be endangered in Unova, but now they are not," he grinned as he nuzzled them. "I love them verrry much." They clicked back at him.

“I thought I got every single one out of the apartment,” Elesa said, her voice returning to her.

“They said they came from the Subway to look for me,” Emmet said, his chest puffed out in pride. “They were worried about me.” One of them clicked its mandibles aggressively from his shoulder, confirming this.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen a Joltik before, actually,” Rei said, examining one of them. “Electric/bug type?”

“Yup! You can hold one. They are verrry friendly.” Emmet handed the small Joltik cupped in his palms to Akari. It chittered at her, clicking its mandibles as it examined her shirt. It nestled into the crook of her neck and buzzed lightly at her, enjoying the warmth offered there. She cooed at it, stroking its small head. Emmet beckoned to Rei, setting one in the boy’s outstretched hands. He peered at it as it watched him, then clicked at the boy and crawled up his front, settling in the breast pocket of the shirt he wore. He reached in and stroked it with a finger. Ingo saw a spark or two fly out of the pocket.

“Are they supposed to spark like this?”

“Yyyyup! It means they are verrry happy!” Emmet’s smile was blinding by this point. The Joltik were retreating to various parts on his body that did not require him to actively hold them, like his upper arms, shoulders, back, and front. One or two rode atop his wings, nestled amongst the feathers.

Ingo carefully set down the egg, feeling it again. There was still movement coming from within. “The little one is moving around. We must find somewhere warm for them to stay.”

“I still have Typhlosion with me! He can keep it warm!” Rei offered.

“Will Typhlosion be willing to hold it for so long? I do not want to burden it,” Ingo replied gently.

“We can throw some blankets in the dryer for now. I believe I still have a heating pad somewhere from Joltik breeding,” Emmet said. “Let me find it. I think it is in the hall closet.” He moved off to the other side of the apartment, rummaging through stuff as a door opened. He returned moments later with a light blue cloth pad, attached to a cord. “Here it is. Plug it in, it will not overheat.”

“Perfect. Bravo, Emmet!” They set up a makeshift nest for the egg, placing it out of the way in the corner. Some of the Joltik and the Emolga settled around it as well, enjoying the warmth that the heating pad provided. Then the brothers moved aside the coffee table and set out blankets, grabbing from their own room and the closet. They also grabbed some pillows.

“All aboard for Sleepytime Junction!” Emmet singsonged as Rei yawned.

“Hold on, Emmet. We should preen first,” Ingo said. “Though we have no preening oil-”

“Actually, funny story,” Akari said, “It seems like you and Uncle Emmet have those things that bird Pokemon have that make it.”

“What?” Ingo cocked his head.

“Look.” Emmet turned and lifted his shirt to show just an inch or two above the end of his tail feathers, revealing something different. It was a small pink mound, with a hole near the center. It did not appear painful, but it was definitely odd, to say the least. “It makes oil. For feathers. You have one, too. We discovered them while you were asleep.”

Ingo immediately felt around on his lower back, finding something like that he was seeing on Emmet. His eyes widened. “Odd,” was all he said. He squeezed it gently, feeling a light oily substance leak out. He examined it. It… was exactly like the preening oil he had made in Hisui.”You did not think to tell me after I woke up?”

“We are telling you now,” Emmet pointed out. Ingo rolled his eyes.

“Do you two have one as well?” Ingo asked the younger twins. They shook their heads. “We checked, but we don’t seem to have one. Which kind of sucks, because we still have to make ours by hand,” Rei lamented.

“I brought the vegetable oil from Aunt Elesa’s,” Akari said, pulling it from her satchel. “I promise I didn’t mean to steal it, I just forgot to put it back-”

“Knock yourself out, kid,” Elesa grinned. “I can get a new bottle easily. I don’t cook much, anyway.” They all sat out in a line, forming what they had dubbed the Preening Train. Rei was the engine today, followed by Emmet, Akari, and the caboose, Ingo. Elesa watched them with interest. Ingo used the new gland to coat Akari’s wings after she okayed it. He worked swiftly, his own wings itching to be cleaned after their exposure to water earlier.

“What are you doing?” Elesa asked, kneeling down beside him to watch.

“Preening her feathers. If we do not preen them, they can become brittle and break, fall out, and become unhealthy and itchy.”

“How do you do it?”

“Well, you simply take some oil on your hands, then you rub it around and stroke each feather into place like so…” He talked her through how to properly preen, even allowing her to test the motion on his own wings. By the time he was finished with Akari, he had moved on to the front of his wings and his sideburns, moving swiftly through them. The others were preparing for bed. Elesa was yawning too.

“Dad?”

“Hmm?” He finished preening his last wing, ensuring all was finished.

“Lay down,” Rei instructed. “We can preen you to sleep.” Akari grinned and nodded.

Ingo’s eyelids were already drooping, so he could hardly complain. He sighed. “At least let me change my clothes into something more sleep-worthy.” He trudged up, his stomach still lurching from the food he’d eaten, and slipped on a new pair of pants before realizing his shirt would not go on over his wings. He came back into the main room topless for now.

“What are you looking for?” Emmet’s voice floated into the hallway he stood in, rummaging around. Ingo drug his tired feet back to the main room.

“Scissors. Something sharp. Something to cut the slits into this,” he said, holding up the shirt.

“Oh, my Arceus, Ingo, what happened?” Elesa practically ran to him, looking over the various scars lacing their way around his front and arms. “T-this one looks deep and that one is really long… What happened? What did you run into?” She was looking over his arms, noting all the changes to his flesh.

“It involves many stories. I am completely healed from them all now, though.”

“What about those ones?” Rei asked, gesturing to the neat, symmetrical cuts under his nipples. Ingo brushed his hand over them.

“Ah. These were done intentionally.”

“You hurt yourself?!” Akari almost shrieked. She covered her mouth with her hands, distressed.

“No, not like that. They were to remove the excess tissue there.”

“Excess?” Akari echoed.

“Yup!” Emmet rolled up his shirt, revealing his matching set. “Neither of us wanted them anymore.”

Both of them still looked rather confused. Then Rei’s eyes widened. “Oh! I get it.”

“What? Get what?” Akari was looking between them.

“Breasts, Akari. They didn’t want them anymore.”

“But why would they have-” then the cogs started moving. “Oh! Okay, I understand. Wait, then how do you have a beard, Dad? I didn’t think you’d have access to that stuff in Hisui.”

“My anatomy changed upon entering Hisui,” Ingo admitted. “It felt… odd, at first, but right. I could not understand why until I saw these marks. Something clicked into place, though I did not think about it much after that.”

“I noticed, as well. We discussed it. Seems it was simply a part of falling through time-”

“YOU GUYS HAVE DICKS NOW?” Elesa stared at them open-mouthed.

“Language!” Ingo chided. Emmet pulled his shirt down, smirking. He retrieved some scissors from a drawer and got to work on Ingo’s nightshirt as Ingo sighed. “But yes. We have male anatomy now.”

“That’s why your hair is falling out but not Emmet’s! Wait, this means he isn’t far behind you,” she realized. “And that's why you have a beard now… oh you guys!” She rushed over and hugged them both, making their wings flap in surprise. “I’m so happy for you!”

Both of them patted her back as she retracted herself. Emmet finished with the shirt and handed it back to Ingo, who slid it on, popping his wings out the back.

“I also noticed how skinny you are, though, Ingo,” Elesa continued as she watched him adjust the shirt. He said nothing. “You know I’m going to pester you both constantly about that now, right?”

“We can care for ourselves, Elesa,” Emmet whined.

“I know you can but will you?” The room fell silent as both brothers refused to answer the question. “That’s what I thought. Plus, I need to make up for lost time and bother both of you.” She grinned and looped her arms over their shoulders. “Let’s go to bed now. Ingo looks exhausted.”

“I am alright-”

“You’ve slept for thirty minutes in the last two days. Go to bed, mister.” She pointed at the nest as Emmet not-so-lightly shoved him down, making his wings flap as he fell into the mess of blankets. They cushioned his fall, at least. He made himself comfortable on his stomach, lying his wings flat so that the young twins could get a decent enough angle. He also extended his tail feathers to make them easier to grip. They began to sift through his feathers. Emmet and Elesa knelt down nearby. Joltik came to him, snuggling into his feathers and hair, into the crook of his neck and elbow, as he closed his eyes and sighed. Sleep claimed him easily with the feel of the hands on his feathers.

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#my writing #submas #subway boss ingo #pokemon legends arceus #subway bosses #pokemon ingo #pokemon arceus #ingo #legends arceus ingo #warden ingo #uncle ingo #pla akari #pla rei

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i-draw-you-wont-see-it · 2 years

Text

Maybe Tomorrow Would Be A Better Day

My first fanfiction I’m posting here. I know it’s not 100% accurate to the events of Pokémon Legends Arceus, but I still had fun. Spoiler alert for post-game content!

~~~~~

Volo sighed, glancing at Akari one last time before turning and walking down the steps. The Temple of Sinnoh had been broken, columns now turned spears that pierce into the Heavens. His head was thumping in agony, and his heart was practically beating out of his chest. He gripped tightly onto his now fainted Togekiss’ ball. She fought hard…

Akari had called for him, but he simply tuned her out, her voice fading into the background. As he grew farther from her, he felt the need to scream. Not anything particular, though. Volo descended into the small cave before it opened back into the now dark sky. He made his way down the snowy slope, sneaking past the alpha Electivire with ease. When his feet hit the grass, he made a Combeeline towards a tree where his bag and Ginkgo Guild clothing had been discarded in favor of his Arceus themed attire.

The more he wore the outfit, the more angry it made him. His God, the one he was striving to meet and join forces with… Didn’t want him… Instead, it chose a teenage girl over him. He was loyal to Arceus, and as far as Volo knew, Akari wasn’t. This fact angered Volo to his core. He slipped out of the outfit that he now wanted to tear to shreds, and pulled the Ginkgo uniform back on. Shoving the other outfit into his bag carelessly, he sat down on his knees. Volo let himself fall down onto the ground, his mouth opening and a loud scream fell out. It echoed harshly against the jagged rocks of Mount Coronet. As far as Volo knew, it could have reached Akari all the way back at the temple. The longer it went, the more he cringed at his own voice. As his throat grew scratchier, he let the scream fade. He gripped at the grass, his breathing erratic.

All the things he did to meet Arceus were for nothing. He had failed… And it was all because of that stupid girl… Volo didn’t realize he was now crying until he saw the tears fall off his cheeks onto the blades of grass. He felt embarrassed, even though no one was around to see him in this state. He let himself fall onto his side, covering his face with his hands. Silently, he quivered, the tears dampening his sleeves. Volo tried desperately to contain his choked sobs, but doing so only made them louder. After a few minutes, he stopped crying enough that his vision wasn’t nearly as blurry.

The air was thick and cold, and it sent a shiver down his spine. It was only growing darker, and he assumed Akari would be returning from the temple-or lack there of soon. Why she hadn’t already returned was beyond him. Volo would be torn to shreds out of embarrassment if she saw him like this. Reluctantly, he got up, his bottom lip still quivering. He shakily pulled his over-sized bag onto his back and quickly descended down the mountain. Volo kept his head down, his hair and cap obscuring most of his face. Tears still streaked his flushed red cheeks, but he tried to rub them away, only for them to appear again in an instant. He gave up, and just let them flow down his face. He didn’t care. No one could see him.

Volo had been through a lot, sure, but this whole event was what made him crumble. His legs felt like jelly as he continued his walk down the slopes of Mount Coronet. He thought he had what it took, but Arceus clearly disagreed. Sure… Volo could admit that Akari was strong and had a true heart. But so didn’t he? Was his view of himself so twisted that he believed that he and Akari were both the same? Akari was caring, compassionate, powerful, strong willed… Was Volo not also those things? He loved his Pokémon, he trained them with as much compassion and thoughtfulness as Akari likely did. His Pokémon loved him though… Right?

He felt the tears begin to come back stronger the more he thought about it. His head began pounding as he tried to think of anything else. Once he thought he was safe from the thoughts, Akari or Arceus would always invade, sending a wave of anger and sadness washing over him. Volo felt the need to scream again, but he had screamed so loud and for so long before that his throat was scratchy. There was dazzling honey somewhere in his bag… But he wouldn’t be surprised if the lid had come loose and spilled all over his other wares, like it had done many times before.

Recently, Volo had found himself using his own wares more than he had been selling them. His large bag had been more a use to himself than to others. It was packed to the brim with anything he could ever need. Food, potions, revives, a bit of booze for when things got sour, bandages, and numerous sketchbooks and notebooks, documenting everything he saw in Hisui. Even though the Survey Corps had been slaving over their own Pokedéx for months, Volo had been crafting his own. He adored drawing, and would try to get as close to the Pokémon as possible so he could draw every detail as accurately as he could. Though this resulted in many scrapes and scratches littered across his body.

Finally, his mind was off of Arceus. He could think about other things. Like where he would go after this. He can’t just return to Jubilife as if nothing had ever happened. Giratina surely made plenty of noise when he fled, and Akari would certainly tell everyone in the village-And… There he goes again. Thinking about her. Every good memory he had with her was tainted, and he likely won’t ever forgive her. Though, the more he thought about it, a sense of pride welled up inside him. He was so strong, that no one in the present could defeat him, so Arceus had to drag someone from the future to take him down. It made him curious… Was every trainer in the future strong, or did Arceus just pick the best of the best?

The only people here that could even have a chance against Volo would be Ingo and Kamado, and still, one of them was from the future too. From what the Warden had told him, it sounded like Ingo was an expert with Pokémon, and battled with them every day. It piqued Volo’s interest, but he knew the Warden had his own business to attend to, so he never bothered him over it. Plus, Warden Ingo had suffered from memory loss upon arrival in Hisui, and doesn’t recall everything from his past life. Kamado however… He was strong, Volo would say that. But he didn’t have six Pokémon, and that would likely be his downfall.

Everyone else in Hisui had no more than three Pokémon. Maybe four, but that was quite rare. During his and Akari's battle, he technically used eight Pokémon, with Giratina’s two forms and his full team. Oh, the look on her face when Giratina rose from behind the temple. That was a moment Volo would truly relish for as long as he lived. The pure terror as she backed up, nearly tripping down the stairs. Her mouth slightly agape, small beads of sweat forming on her forehead. The way she scrambled through her satchel for any revives or potions. His team was incredibly strong, managing to knock out five of her six Pokémon, and bring her final one to it’s last dying breath. But, with the potions she had. The ones Volo himself had given her; and the skillful dodging of her Typhlosion, her team was in perfect shape, and took down Giratina seemingly easy. As she went to hug her Pokémon, Volo couldn’t help but chuckle.

Giratina, in a flash of light, changed into it’s alternate form. With full health, it struck a blow right down on Akari’s Luxray, knocking it out cold. A shriek of terror came from her as she brought it back into the ball. Her Typhlosion would be the best bet. With the elegant throw of the ball, out came the menacing Pokémon. With more dodging and critical hits, the Renegade Pokémon finally gave up. It let out a massive roar, nearly knocking Volo and Akari off their feet. It slunk away down the mountain, heading towards the Cobalt Coastlands.

Volo looked back on what just took place less than an hour ago. He had… Mixed feelings. He was angry at himself that he hadn’t been even stronger. Angry at Giratina for not sticking around… And especially angry at Akari. But for what specific thing? Was there even one thing? Was he angry that she won? Sure… Was he angry that a teenage girl was stronger than him? Absolutely. Was he angry at Arceus? More than anything.

He had finally made it mostly down the mountain, his legs now aching fiercely. His mind drifted back to his homing situation. The clans and Jubilife Village were an absolute no. Cogita was a maybe, but he knew she would be able to pry an answer out of him quickly, and she would disown him immediately. The last thing he wanted was to face Cogita’s wrath. So… Where to? Some wardens had their own makeshift homes closer to their nobles. But he wasn’t exactly on buddy buddy terms with any of them. Volo could do what he had always done. Pitch his tent and bedroll anywhere he could find, and hope he didn’t get mauled by an alpha Pokémon in his sleep. It’s worked effectively so far, so why not continue doing it?

Leaving Hisui crossed his mind, but he never considered it. Even after the bad memories he had here, he couldn’t leave. The legends and myths were what kept him going every day, in hopes of discovering something new. He never did, but maybe the day would come. The day where his name would be in history books. ‘Volo: Researcher of Myths’. The title made him excited.

Looking around the area, he realized he was well into the Obsidian Fieldlands. Deciding it was time to sleep, he located a small area out of the way of any human or Pokémon, and Combeelined directly towards it. Chucking his bag on the ground, he unzipped the largest compartment and pulled out a very compressed, very tiny tent. Volo was shocked it even fit in the first place, but it did. He began setting it up, and within minutes it was done. It was wrinkled at every edge, and nearly broken, but it would do. Volo unhooked the bedroll from the top of his bag and threw it out, pushing it into the tent. It was definitely not for anyone over the height of 5’7. Yet here he was, a 6’3 man trying every possible way to feel comfortable. After getting into a good enough position, he sighed, closing his eyes. His arms felt heavy and he could practically feel the bags under his eyes.

Glancing out at the sky one more time, he hummed to himself, before drifting off to sleep. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day…

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yaoipublicdomain · 2 years

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He Who Bears Witness

by Sephi

Fandom: Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pairing: (F/M) Akari/Volo

Tags: Stalking, Obsessive Behavior, Obsession, Predator/Prey, Bathing/Washing, Violent Thoughts, Grooming, Power Imbalance, Manipulation, Hikari | Dawn and Shou | Akari are the Same Person, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Age Difference, Religious Imagery & Symbolism

Summary: Volo has a game he's playing with Akari. It's more fun that she doesn't know the stakes.

Read on: AO3 | Tumblr (under the cut)

Part 1 of Intruder Next Work →

There he was once more, an unwavering, expecting stillness. The hum of his quiet, steady concentration from curtains of shadow, from between the tall reeds of grass, from the branched webbed cracks that climbed Akari’s windowpane, the shape occupying the yawning spaces of empty door frames. Life—the monotonous, the mundane—all of it shrill static that was nothing more than audio-visual noise, spiraled around his observations, irrelevant, siphoned down the drain, worthy of nothing more than the temporary tension of a rehearsed smile.

The wolf lived among his flock of sheep, making himself comfortable, likable, and familiar. He played their games, pretended to care about their trivialities and petty obsessions. He performed a song and dance to make himself predictable, to turn himself into a marketable ghost of himself. His true form waited, behind his hazel eyes, meticulous in devotion to the presence that only he could truly understand—listening for the voice of his angel in the language of patterns and symbols that only he, the chosen disciple, could discern.

Volo’s unclean hands would tremble with desire, the form of desire that would send him into an inferno of unforgivable hatred. His breath would quicken, as if all forms of himself were shocked at the surge of pure energy she provoked—was a higher-dimensional being hiding, judging, staring back at him, the part of himself that was vulnerable, when he foolishly caught the eyes of her child form? Had he ever been this afraid, even as a young boy? She acted so painfully gentle, ignorant, as though she appeared as a stupid sheep like the rest of them. Had he ever been so revolted by anything? Every part of her newly constructed body was perfect, unblemished, untouched, glossy and dewy and as fresh as a newly blossomed flower. Did he ever want anything so badly?

It had taken more time than he would have liked for Akari to notice the crazed look he gave her when she wasn’t looking. She had trusted him with open arms and the naïveté that she offered the whole world. She had fallen for his games and purchased the lies he sold. Maybe Volo was getting sloppy; maybe he wanted to witness for himself how she might react to his true feelings, or how she might think of him if she became aware of his true disposition.

They were alone together, inside her home, having spent the evening talking to each other and their friends after a long day of field work. Without truly understanding his actions, like a child, he lashed out intentionally to startle her, daring Akari to reveal once and for all if she were composed of meat and blood—or if she were nothing more than a wisp of aether or a dream.

Akari didn’t speak for a moment, frightened by the way his widened eyes traced her movements. She had never taken into account their differences, even in terms of scale, but suddenly Volo seemed as tall as a mountain and she felt lost in its shade. The flames at the pit of the Iori reflected off him, flickered in his eyes as he held position even though he had clearly been discovered, even as Akari reached instinctively to cover her chest with her arms.

“Are you okay?” Akari’s gentle voice wobbled as she asked. She made herself smaller, just as a wounded animal might.

Volo didn’t answer. He drew himself upon his haunches, stalking forwards slowly, towards her from the opposite side of the flames. The tatami mat creaked under the pressure of his feet.

“Volo?”

Akari froze as she watched something else possess him. She was confused; she’d felt so comfortable, and she enjoyed spending time with Volo so much that she treasured the time they had alone. While Akari was still embarrassed to admit it, she knew deep down that she had something of a crush on Volo. She believed it to be one-sided, as he was many years older than her and more of a mentor than a friend, but she still thoughtlessly made efforts to impress him and draw him closer.

Volo stood swiftly. Akari could hear his breath now, a strange bestial rhythm. She darted backwards, still on her knees, supporting herself on her hands which trembled. She climbed the threshold to her bedroom, too nervous to turn her back to Volo for one moment. She squeaked in genuine fear and that was enough.

Volo lunged for her, crashing down so he straddled her, long strands of hair pouring out from under his cap. He smiled, satisfied with the answer he had received, the blessing—Akari was made of flesh the same as him, a human-angel designed for him, to compliment and suit him. She cried out in a state of shock, but the sound was dampened as soon as Volo pressed his hand down against her lips, silencing her. He appreciated the intimate sensation of vibration against his palm when she howled into it.

He watched her as she struggled, watched as she started to sweat, and admired the way she flushed pink, visible even in this late hour of night.

“You’re just a girl.” His voice was heavy with disgust, his eyebrows furrowed. “A little girl.”

Akari thrust her hips upwards, trying to buck Volo off of her, but it was useless to her escape. In fact, it only aided Volo, giving some friction to what he hadn’t yet accepted that he wanted. Volo rolled his head upwards, restraining himself from releasing any demonstration that she’d had that kind of effect on him—after all, it was a weakness. He bit his lip.

“You really had me there.”

She tried to suck in air from around his fingertips as he spoke to her. He ran a free hand through the long locks of her raven hair, watching as it fell, orbiting around her frame neatly like a halo.

The exchange felt like it was in slow motion for both parties, but it had only been seconds. Volo’s severe expression lightened, he released Akari’s mouth and held up both hands palms out towards her in feigned surrender. His usual lighthearted smile reappeared on his face, smoothly and innocently as though he wasn’t pinning Akari to the floor.

“You should have seen your face!” He laughed, pretending his outburst was merely a joke. Despite smiling, his eyes didn’t crinkle with joy, and no tenderness lurked behind them. “You know you should be more careful who you let stay home alone with you so late at night!” He wagged her finger at her playfully.

Akari didn’t laugh, her chest rising and falling rapidly while she caught her breath. She couldn’t process what had just happened. Volo was acting normal. It made more sense that it was just a joke, but the fear had been so real. She tried to smile back at him, still wanting to trust him.

“You really scared me!” Akari pouted, no longer struggling to be free under his grip. “Don’t joke like that!”

“Just because you’re part of the Survey Corps doesn’t mean you’re invincible, Akari.” Volo brushed one of the long pieces of hair away from her face for her, taking a moment to let himself feel the heat radiating from her cheeks—the way they were slick from the fear he’d unleashed upon her moments before.

“Your Pokémon couldn’t have helped you just now. You have to rely on your senses.” Volo helped himself to stand. Despite his body pleading otherwise, he was done here. He’d found out what he’d needed to know. The rest… he would decide later, when he could consider the consequences rationally. He picked up his bags near the door, readjusted his hair and brought the cup he’d been drinking tea out of earlier to the makeshift sink, all with a perfectly rehearsed calmness, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“I know I’m not that strong…” Akari was on her knees now, watching him from the floor as he gathered his things to leave for the evening. “But… You’re my friend, Volo. And someone important to me. I like spending time with you.”

Volo watched her as he pushed his mug into the basin of water, pretending her words didn’t make something disgusting convulse inside him. He was glad for the shade his cap offered to mask his expression.

“I can trust you, right?” She asked, watching as Volo turned, making his way for the door.

He paused, listening to her for a moment and considering how to answer. He knew that it didn’t matter what he said. By her actions, she was naïve enough to trust him after he’d demonstrated exactly why she shouldn’t. There would be no convincing her. She had fallen into his lap.

The door swung open with a chime, rattling the wooden rain charms that hung along the eaves of her house.

He guided the door to a gentle close behind him. “Of course.”

————— ୨୧ —————

Akari held her handcrafted Feather Ball firmly in her hand, casting short motions with her wrist to test how it might fall when she let it soar. She had some Rhyhorn she was hunting, milling about a good way away—but close enough that the Ball would have an easy time reaching them. The Rhyhorn were covered in mud, same as Akari; the Mirelands were difficult to comb through without getting a little dirty, especially considering Akari had to spend most of the time on her hands and knees, snaking through the tall grass. She was glad that the Professor had devised a way to clean laundry easily so she wouldn’t have to worry about it when she went home.

But this hunter was being hunted—Akari was oblivious; just as the Rhyhorn paid no attention to Akari’s lurking presence, she in turn didn’t notice the pair of eyes that watched her from the patch of grass across the horizon. Volo knew she would be here today. He chose to follow her, making it a game to see how long it would take her to notice. He crept behind her through the bogs, across the fields, dangerously close, drawing closer, nearly drooling from the thrill of the hunt.

He decided in the rules of this game he’d newly invented, that if she couldn’t detect his presence by the time he could put his hands on her, he could rip her apart in whichever way he most felt like in the moment. If, at any point, she caught him in the act, he would surrender once more, a temporary measure, just for today. Maybe he would try again another day, under different conditions, to better test the outcome of this game.

While Akari needed smoke bombs and sprays to cover the sounds of her footsteps, Volo knew from the severity of his childhood exactly how to press himself into the earth to make the least amount of sound. He knew from experience how to walk across a bed of leaves and twigs without alerting even the most sensitive of creatures. He knew the land better than anyone else, his ancient blood singing with memory, memories that he often prayed to forget.

Volo laid on his stomach, parting blades of thick wheat with his fingers, peering through the curtain of gold. He critiqued Akari’s form as she practiced her throws. He lectured her as she rose too high in her crouched position, nearly alerting one of the Rhyhorn. He slithered closer, giddy with amusement.

Akari opened her bag, examining her wares. Her pouch was near its limit, stuffed full with a long adventure's worth of materials and goods to sell back to the market when she returned. She even had a strange stone, one she was particularly excited about, that she planned on giving to Volo as a gift once she made it back to the village. She hoped that he wouldn’t be busy with the Ginkgo Guild. She felt proud of herself and her accomplishments. After she caught Rhyhorn, she would report back to the Professor and have a much needed rest.

Volo cleared the gap between them while she had her head down. He laughed to himself, out loud, testing his luck. He was now in the same thick patch of cover with her, downwind from her, mirroring her as she was downwind from the Rhyhorn.

One of the Rhyhorn yawned, circling as though it was about to sleep. Akari leapt up. Her chance! She threw the ball, watched it rocket straight into the Pokémon’s back. It hit, wobbling while she waited expectantly, totally fixated.

Volo was so close he could smell her. He could see firsthand how the mud made her tight clothes cling to her delicate form. The tears in her uniform revealed panels of pale skin, prickly with goosebumps from the cold weather. He was only two feet away from winning his game. His stomach was tight from pleasure.

The Feather Ball crackled, the sound of fireworks shooting forth indicating it had been a successful capture. Akari chirped happily to herself, springing up from the cover of the tall grass as the other Rhyhorn ran away, charging into safer territory. Volo cursed to himself, clenching his hands into fists, balling them into the mud in angry defeat.

Akari bent to retrieve the ball, setting it into her rucksack. She took one last look at her hiding place. Strangely, she could feel something boring holes into her back, but she wasn’t sure what it could be.

The wind swept the grass gently. Akari saw a glimpse of Volo. She stared, unsure of if her eyes were playing tricks on her. She was in disbelief. There was no way… was there?

It certainly looked like him. It stayed still, watching her with that frightening gaze, unwavering…

Akari hoisted her backpack across her shoulders, wiping the mud from her hands into her pants. Her heart pounded in her chest. The wind carried the grass once more and Volo was nowhere to be found. Akari shook her head and wrote it off as purely her imagination.

————— ୨୧ —————

After what had been an exhausting day, Akari was happy to be home. The joy of having privacy and freedom within the four walls of her humble home was enough to have her dancing, throwing her gear on the porch and discarding her filthy shoes. She let her jacket fall from her waist to the floor in a heap. She’d get to scrubbing out the mud later, tomorrow morning, after she’d had a bath and rested her tired hands and knees.

Akari padded across the jade tatami mats, taking a moment to get a fire started in the Iori so she could heat the kettle for her bath. She leaned against the wooden plank that made up the working space of her kitchen, quickly scrubbing her feet in the leftover water from the sink so she wouldn’t have to clean the floors. She set the kettle to fill, then brought out the large basin that she could fit in, pushing it towards the center of the room where the fire could offer some warmth to whatever parts of her body wouldn’t fit inside.

Akari’s shadow played along the walls, warping around the long pole of the Iori, reflecting across the thick beams of her ceiling. She sighed, satisfied with her work, taking a moment to pour the boiling water into the bottom of the basin before refilling the kettle once more. Two loads of hot water would make the perfect lukewarm temperature her muscles craved once she added the stored water she kept by her kitchen.

Finally, as the kettle was near ready and after she’d added the other water and a handful of herbal bath powder, Akari released her hair from its tight ponytail. Her long glossy hair framed her form neatly, the ends curving around the small of her back and across her hips. It had gotten so much longer in the time since she had first arrived in Hisui. She combed it gently with her fingertips, careful to not agitate the strands that were frozen in mud.

Her gentle hands came to her chest, reaching to undo the band of her belt, letting both the rope and belt itself fall to the ground with a ceremonial hiss. She loosened the scarf across her neck, adding it to the pile, exposing the delicate, smooth skin of her neck and the point of her collarbones where the start of her black, semi-sheer bodysuit began. Without the support of her belt, her robe buckled, offering a glimpse of her ample breasts underneath, shining with sweat from a hard day's work. Akari shrugged her shoulders, her body all smooth lines of relaxation as she undressed, thinking she was all alone. Her robe fell off her shoulders like water, pooling down her tender flesh, rushing down her legs until it could finally meet flat ground. Her sheer bodysuit revealed all of her secrets, the pink of her skin visible across her chest, her cheeks, her tummy, her nipples—which stood completely at attention in the chill.

From behind her single window, the one that overlooked her bedroom, a familiar set of eyes enjoyed this private performance. Volo grew increasingly less cautious, no longer caring if the steam of his breath hit the glass pane—it was clear Akari wouldn’t notice. She never noticed. He wondered why he hadn’t done this sooner.

Akari peeled off her suit slowly, gently. She didn’t want to accidentally tear the gentle fabric more than it already was. She stretched her body with the elegance and patience of a gymnast. Volo was transfixed. Each new reveal of her naked skin, as unblemished and pure as her heart, sent him deeper into his frenzy. Pleasure and anger, even jealousy crashed into him, pressurized, emptying his mind until he was fully a beast, driven only by desire. He dug his fingernails into the wooden siding, desperate to feel something cave and bend to his touch.

Akari was fully nude. She reached for the kettle with more poise than Volo had seen from any tea ceremony. She stirred the water together, the thick curls of steam rushing against her skin. One foot after another, she helped herself in, holding both sides of the basin so she wouldn’t throw herself off balance. She hummed happily to herself, singing songs she could remember from home. Volo was grateful that the walls were thin enough that he could hear it.

Akari dipped a small glass into the water, pouring its contents across her arms, across her chest, down her head. The water sank into her hair. The light of the fire glittered against her damp skin. Volo hissed, using the last of his mind to offer up prayers for self control.

Volo watched the gifts God had offered him, watched as Akari ran soaps through her hair, detangling every inch, cleansing all of her body until it was brand new. Towards the end, Akari stood, working on her thighs. It was then that she noticed.

Akari was startled when she saw a strange shape in the window frame. She thought it was her eyes playing tricks, but, after seeing what appeared to be Volo lying like a snake in the grass earlier, left her anxious. Akari jumped, covering herself, leaning to one side and then the other to see if the shape would move—or maybe reveal itself as a tree, a bush.

However, even at such a late hour, she recognized the colors for what they were. They were the telltale yellow of Volo’s uniform; the unmistakable peach of human flesh, the glow of a human face.

Akari’s heart pounded. Volo was giddy from her reactions but kept himself still, unable to help himself to a grin as bright as a crescent moon. His heart throbbed in symphony with Akari’s, but it was purely from pleasure. It was exciting getting caught, but it was even more exciting and erotic to be constantly forgiven, trusted despite his dark desires and overall degeneracy.

Akari shook her head, coaxing her body out of the bath, reaching for the discarded robe to draw over her shoulders. She crept to the side of her room, away from the line of sight of the window. She caught her breath.

Volo knew she couldn’t see him from where she was now crouched. He laughed to himself, quietly, all breath that shook in his throat from a pleasant adrenaline. He ducked, crashing to the ground, creeping along the side of the house until he was clear to make his way back into the dense brush. He’d stand further back and wait. She’d make herself known. He could no longer hear her inside her home, and it was difficult to make anything out from such a far distance, but he’d wait to see what she would do. If she rushed outside for answers, he’d take it as an invitation. If she stayed inside he’d leave her alone. For now.

Akari gathered her strength and armed herself with her trusted Garchomp’s Poké Ball. She crept on tiptoe to the window, now a hauntingly unfamiliar fixture. With shaky hands she reached out, sliding it open. The cool air rushed in, shocking her. The man she saw in the window was nowhere to be seen. She squinted, straining to scan all of the trees as they swayed in the wind.

“Volo?” She called out in a tiny voice. The rustling of leaves were the only reply.

He didn’t answer. He clenched his fists, shoulders quaking from laughter. This was too fun. This was so easy. Akari kept staring out into the maw of midnight, anxiety alerting her of every strange shadow and shape that made up the landscape around her. Her eyes landed on Volo’s shape standing between the trees.

Her subconscious mind knew. It could see the form of the threat perfectly. But consciously she couldn’t see, couldn’t make out his body even though his eyes stared back into hers.

“I’m really scared.” Akari shivered, deciding enough was enough. Even though she felt that fear, there was nothing she could see in the night. There was no trace of Volo. Already, she was making excuses for him—she’d had too long of a day. Her crush with Volo left her making up imaginary visions of him—it had happened more than once. It seemed impossible that he could really be there, but not impossible for her to imagine it. Maybe she was still scared after the time he’d played that prank on her? It was easy to dismiss things when she wanted to.

Akari firmly shut the window, drawing a wooden cutting board across it so she wouldn’t have to stress herself out anymore. She tucked herself into her sleepwear and laid down in bed, ready to be rested enough so she could stop being at the whims of her imagination.

Volo sank into the folds of the woods. Still laughing, giddy from success. Each time he’d leapt for her, assuming he would be caught and punished, he was rewarded. There was rest for the wicked.

Tall branches and dense leaves consumed him, crowning him in the pitch black of night.

He’d give her something to really be afraid of.

#Volokari #Volo #Akari #My fics #vlkr #pokemon #volodawn

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hikago-fanfics · 2 years

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Do you think Hikaru is self centered? Oh no! I think he's really sweetly care for his friends. Maybe he's rude to Akari, but he's really a child (about 12 or 13 yo) & sometimes it's just because he's in tsundere mode, hehe. Or he's the reason why Sai had to disappear? No, you can see clearly that it's destiny to be happened.

Remember this panel? This is really funny (I still wanna lol whenever I see it)

Hikaru always think how to make Sai playing again & again. But I agree with you that Hikaru should stop being rude to his mom. He have to learn how much his mom care of him.

#HikaGo #Hikaru no go #Shindo Hikaru

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faislittlewhiteraven · 1 year

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Want a P:LA fanfic idea to play with maybe? *Puts up one for grabs*

I've loved Pokemon pretty much its entire history (Blue to Violet whoo!) and despite the issues I might have with the more recent games death glares BDSP in particular and their 'one game every year' crunch hell schedule, Legends Arceus got me all sorts of fired up with tons of fanfic ideas I couldn't wait to write down!

...Sadly my 'writing a coherent narrative' speed is something under 3000 words per fic a year so I figured I might as well share some of these ideas in the hopes that even if it takes me seven years to finish a chapter in my own time, someone else might be able to care for these little plot bunnies in the meantime.

So Fic Idea #1: Hisui gets Yeeted into the future.

Premise is simple: Canon divergence results in Akari/Rei being unable to stop Primal Dialga and Palkia from breaking reality and Arceus ends up activating Their last resort plan to protect reality which in the process of stopping a space time collapse ends up moving the entire region of Hisui to Unova's oceans in the modern age.

The Devilish Details I chose to focus on:

Most of my focus for this premise was on five key ideas.

1) Why did Volo think sending Palkia and Dialga into a frenzy would get him the power of the god llama? 2) If Arceus IS benevolent why does it not intervene personally? 3) What would a 'bad end' resulting from Dialga and Palkia's fighting look like? You know, aside from everyone being dead? 4) How do I avoid the near omnipresent 'Ingo and/or player character is torn between two worlds' angst in a story without trivializing their connections with either? 5) (Most important clearly) How do I get Adaman and Irida into those cute modern outfits I keep seeing them wear in fanart while still having them being them?!

For my own version of the fic all these are pretty simple. 1) Volo and Giratina think if they can get Arceus to physically manifest then Giratina can steal enough of Arceus's power that they can recreate reality together (Volo is the one who mainly wants that btw. Giratina just wants freedom and to help their new friend achieve his dreams). 2) Volo and Giratina are horribly wrong about what will happen if they try this and Arceus, compassionate eldritch entity that It is, would rather those two do not get 'Necrozma'd' and doom an entire reality's worth of life in the process, so It choses proxies in the form of those already pulled out of their natural space and time most by Giratina's actions to act in its stead. (Note: There are actually many realities where the PLA plotline is being carried out 'successfully' with this same Arceus watching over them but well, this story is specifically follows the world where shit went wrong and Arceus has to intervene so welp. Sorry this specific Volo and Giratina). 3) Most variable but in my imagination: Probably starts with smaller space time rips, then everything getting progressively darker and heavier, Pokemon getting more and more panicked, more panicking/aggressive Pokemon and people getting yoinked into the collapsing Hisui space/time (fallers can fall from anywhere and land on places on the way here but this would be where the 'down' destination is), absolute chaos as people and pokemon fight for their lives even as bits of environment are just glitching/breaking down into bits, then the GRAVITY hits and every creature is slammed to the ground as around them trees and buildings start straining and snapping from the weight, all light just dies maybe still an eerie red 'outline' to barely see anything?, people and pokemon blacking out probably fully convinced they're all going to be crushed to death, and then-! 4 and 5) Pretty much all the standard PLA fanfic conflicts have been thrown out the window and replaced with new ones: Hisui kinda just went through the apocalypse, some parts of Unova may have gotten hit by a title wave caused from the sudden dumping of an entire landmass right next to itself, and Ingo and Akari/Rei are gonna have give crash courses to everyone real quick and work their butts off being diplomats least Hisui gets overrun by criminal groups, poachers and companies who might want to take advantage of an entire region full of untapped natural resources, unknown pokemon, etc but hey! They can be with everyone they care about at once without having to get into shenanigans and everyone gets the delightful experience of seeing famous historical figures looking hot in modern cloths, learning the joys and horrors of modern media and going through the sheer WTF of seeing their own names and legacies up in a museum. Including the stuff they didn't get to 'live' due to, you know, being in an alternate world's future as a result of failing to avert the apocalypse without god's help and now in a position to try and avert the bad stuff like their noble Pokemon going extinct or so and so dying of something that in the modern era is easy to cure, etc. So that's the main gist. As for how I'm thinking of writing this premise (feel free to use these notes as well if you want btw): The End of the Beginning:

The canon divergence begins with Kamado overhearing Akari having a panic attack (around the Cobalt Coastlands point of the game) over potentially getting too hurt to 'work hard enough to avoid being banished' and him choosing to clarify a few days later that if she say, lost her legs to an alpha pokemon, Jubilife would still greatly value her skill with Pokemon much like they value Arezu for her haircutting skill, and that it is those who would lie or trick their way into the village without the will to aid others that get banished, not those who've shown their loyalty. (Aka Kamado's still paranoid and willing to resort to cruelty as in canon but not the 'for the evils' version I am getting slightly sick of some fics need him to be that way for their premise to work or to allude to real world colonisation stuffs etc and I get that but plz. More 'there's blood on your lies' and 'The Importances of History (class)' Kamado I beg of thee.) - Due to this 'kindness' she tries to interact with him more and ends up showing him the Arc Phone, talking about it's mission for her, how Ingo might've been from the same time period, etc, which leads to Kamado's paranoia shifting away from her and Ingo, and towards the Arc Phone and whatever it's attached to that dropped them in Hisui. -- As a result when the sky goes red Kamado doesn't try to pull the demonstration/questioning stuff he does pre-exiling in canon; instead he secretly has Akari and Ingo nabbed and locked up by Beni (he views them as patsies for 'the enemy' and decides that he can't let them roam free until this mess is resolved as they might unintentionally make things worse), claims to Adaman and Irida he'd already sent Akari off to investigate when they hold a meeting over what to do, and then as per canon charges up Mt Coronet with the Security Corps... Taking the Arc Phone with him.

Adaman and Irida of course are sus over not seeing Akari, and grow more so as they fail to find any of the lake guardians despite Volo and Cogita's help, and when they realize Ingo is also missing, but well. It's the end of the world and they don't have a clue what to actually do so they return to their settlements after promising to look out for each other's Wardens and that they'll come to each other's aid if the other calls them via Celestica Flute. (Insert 'Celestica Flutes can totally do that' headcanon reasoning so I can have weird small touching moment of 'They're alive!' during the 'climbing out of the rubble' parts)

Cylene is informed of Akari and Ingo being locked up by Kamado shortly before he heads off for Mt Coronet, and decides once he leaves to let them out of their cell, explaining both the Commander's reasoning (which Kamado might've already told them? IDK) and how without the Security Corps about Jubilife Village is extremely vulnerable should an attack come and she would request that Ingo and Akari please stay to help protect everyone. Since Akari and Ingo know bugger all about the 'mysterious pokemon sighted up on the mountain' or how to resolve the situation due to having been locked up for days and with Cogita currently too occupied trying to buy a nice scarf for herself and Enamorus to die in to inform them otherwise, they remain in Jubilife to protect it.

The various Wardens set about getting their nobles ready to protect the settlements they're closest to, ignoring the usual clan lines, with Mai, Arezu, Lian and Calaba in the Diamond Settlement (Melli gets a minor Big Damn Heroes moment arriving with Lord Electrode, escorting the Coronet Highland's Galaxy and Ginko Guild members in, right before everything starts going to hell), Gaeric and Sabi at the Pearl Settlement, and Palina and Iscan staying in the coastlands to try to help the Ginko Guild and Galaxy Team members there get to higher, safer ground.

End of the world stuff begins: Kamado's attack the dragons and promptly get stomped HARD (cue me rolling death saves for all the Security Corps members I have the names for). Enraged wild pokemon start getting beamed in from everywhere and each settlement finds themselves fighting for their lives: Pearl Settlement is doing reasonably ok due to being surrounded by ice and Lord Avalugg while Lord Bravary and Sabi's mons blast the few mons that get in away/unconscious, but both the Diamond Settlement and Jubilife Village are getting savaged, though not as much as they would've been if there hadn't been so many Wardens and nobles in the Diamond Settlement, and if Jubilife didn't have all of Akari and Ingo's many many pokemon (as well as Cogita's Enamorus and Vessa) there to fight for them. THEN the reality breaking stuff kicks in and the fighting gets exchanged for sheer environmental terror as GRAVITY kicks in: Beni is crushed in that cave Kamado ordered him to wait in (not sure about his mons since all other than his Sneasler can learn teleport and/or are ghosts, though I'd assume the Sneasler remains trapped in his pokeball), landslides are triggered up and down Mt Coronet, the ice caverns in the Bone Chill wastes collapse, buildings everywhere start creaking and breaking, any mon (or person) above water that can't breath underwater ends up drowning, pretty much everyone pokemon or human is slammed to the ground to struggle helplessly as the world grows more and more dark all as 'glitch like' implosions twist and tear apart sections of space time around them, and then as the gravity is getting to the point everyone is blacking out due to the sheer difficulty of breathing-

A light shines from the top of Mt Coronet; up on the mountain top itself most are either KOed, dead, dying or temp blinded by the sheer intensity of the light/dark up there but someone (leaning Kamado but Zisu getting some plot relevance appeals to me) sees someone somehow unaffected by the crushing gravity lunging towards the light, before passing out.

Arrival in the Modern day

First chapter of this would probably be done in a sort of media reel format showing implied captions and quotes from all sorts of media in the modern Pokemon world reacting to a new region sized landmass appearing out of nowhere: Lists of dead and missing people and pokemon with discussion on how many are due to the tsunami caused by the suddenly displaced tons of sea water, being washed out to sea (which being the pokemon world actually might be more survivable), or being telefraged into the new landmass itself. TV talk shows discussing where tf this landmass came from, how it arrived etc. Newspaper snippets, ongoing disaster reports, and all that jazz.

Will give the people of Hisui some breathing/recovery time via introducing my 'Ghost Storm' headcanon* as a thing in setting to keep anyone no from Hisui out of the place for roughly a week or so; can probably introduce the concept via a 'talk show' with guest stars Sabrina, Caitlin and Morty both to describe it in more 'metaphysical' detail and to allude to this particular one's unusual and deadly nature via Morty's ghost type psychic powers failing to get a read on the thing. *Said headcanon is basically: If enough death and powerful emotions occur in a short enough frame of time in a specific location, the local ghost population can explode and go completely feral, causing all sorts of horrifying effects depending on what sort of ghosts were formed (the storms depend on the strong emotions being felt and the local ghost population so currently Hisui is mostly being surrounded by a cyclone's worth of furious and in full 'defensively murderous' H!Zoroark...). Ghost swarms naturally fade over time anyway but in the modern age using emotion eating mons like Shuppet and tossing in lots of 'empty' Key Stones can usually be used to speed this process up though the Shuppet method has definitely been deemed NOT safe to attempt this time the Hisuian Ghost Storm has its own death toll at this point and is becoming somewhat infamous

After a bit of 'world reaction and reasoning' is established, will probably cut to Elesa and Emmet as ground view characters, talking about how nuts this is, how gyms everywhere are closed since there's tons of pressure for those in the League to be ready to fight if whatever is on the 'Mystery Island' turns out to be hostile, (though the ton of satelite pictures of the place at this point show that everything past the ghost storm looks like it's barely standing; holy shit that mountain sized Avalugg though). Talk ends, we jump to Emmet heading back home, doing 'slice of life as the world panics around you' stuff and then he texts his brother's Xtransver (grieving/coping habit) and stops wide eyed and frozen when he sees 'Message Sent' instead of the usual 'error, please try again' pop up on his screen.

Cut back to Hisui itself:

Those at the Pearl Settlement are better off than everywhere else but the Icelands are a mess: Sabi scouting with Lord Brivary spots tons of dead mons in the river, the cliff reaching up to Snowpoint temple has collapsed (the temple itself is somehow fine though?), and the ice fields -including newest the Galaxy Outpost- are completely buried by the avalanches Lord Avalugg defended them from. After making sure everyone is either well or attended to, Irida orders those of her clan not already busy to help her start digging pokemon out of the snow. There's some pushback at first but Irida refuses to leave so many pokemon to suffocate without at least trying to help and points out that any dead pokemon they dig up will provide invaluable materials and food to replace everthing that got destroyed during 'Sinnoh's Wrath'.

The Diamond Settlement is much rougher: Pretty much everyone is at least partially injured if not more so, and while the many, MANY 'dropped out of nowhere' attacking mon are currently still KOed while most of the humans are waking up, Adaman recognises that it won't be long before the fighting springs back unless he ends things now. However the thought of killing so many helpless Pokemon sickens him and doubtless there'd still be tons of frightened hostile mon elsewhere in the surrounding marshes, so pushing his discomfort over the concept behind, he asks the Galaxy and Ginko Guild types in the settlement for all the pokeballs they have before ordering his clan to start catching as many of the KOed foreign pokemon they can before they wake up. All the Wardens are taken aback but most reluctantly concede that such a drastic step might be needed; Melli being Melli doesn't and HMPHs his way back up to Mt Coronet to see how the pokemon up the mountain possibly those Galaxy idiots too are doing with Lord Electrode stablizing the terrain behind them (H!Electrode are based of japanese seedbombs so just kinda imagine seeds falling out as Lord Electrode rolls).

Jubilife is a mess. Ingo wakes to find Akari outright missing (which is odd because she was right next to him when the gravity hit), her mon somewhat directionless, and tons of Jubilife people who have no idea what to do. Deep worries and concerns aside, Ingo ends up doing mostly the same as Adaman minus the cultural angst though Jubilife as a whole doesn't really know him too well so there's a lot more push back until Cylene manages to pull herself out of the rubble of a house, tell everyone arguing against Ingo and trying to hurt the KOed pokemon that they're being idiots, and to follow the Warden's instructions before she ends up collapsing again. (Cogita and Enamorus somehow protected some of the shops from damage, and Vessa in Spiritomb form protected some of the Village children, who in turn are refusing to let her get caught and claiming her as friend much to her puzzlement)

Bit of lightheartedness I wasn't sure where to list here but: As the Settlements are repairing, Adaman decides he has to know now, grabs Mai's Celestica Flute and (very badly) plays the 'Clan Leader Meeting' call it's the only one he can play at all to see if anyone outside of the Diamond settlement made it. Cue Irida all the way over in the Pearl Settlement pausing in her digging to sigh in both exasperation and relief and (very beautifully) replying 'in a week'. Cue Adaman joyfully playing the same terrible note back, Irida replying again and then all of the Wardens -including Ingo- playing their own little 'we'll be there's to both clan leaders' weepy eyed joy/relief that everyone made it. (Akari's lack of joining in is noted, and Irida is concerned at Ingo's playing coming from Jubilife of all places but they're alive!)

Kamado wakes up on Mt Coronet to find his forces completely shattered; lots of dead or heavily injured with those awake weeping or quietly tending to each other or their pokemon... Numbly, he hears then staggers down the the temple to see Beni's pokemon 'arguing' over digging out the collapsed tunnel he told Beni to stay guarding (the Gardevoir keeps lunging for the dirt despite being too weak to move it psychically, the Galade is trying to haul her away from it and the Mismagus is wailing so yeah Kamado knows Beni's already dead and is getting a massive show into the 'humanity' of pokemon). He then just as numbly walks back into the temple, towards where the two 'Almighty Sinnoh' were to see that both have been turned to stone and that Akari, arms and legs burned gold (actual gold but also actual burns too), is by the foot of both 'statues' weeping and holding an egg that keeps shifting in colors between blue and pink/purple. ...And at this point I need to figure out how to give Kamado enough backstory parallels that when he pulls a sword and walks over to IDK murder Akari/the 'dual Sinnohs' egg and she pulls a 'defending it with her life' pose, he realizes he's become the 'village destroying Pokemon' of his nightmares and just kinda breaks, tossing his sword away 'Veilstone Myth' style and wailing as the chapter closes.

Got a few more ideas (the Clan leaders actions -especially Irida's- being why the Zoroark ghost swarm didn't kill those of Hisui as well as 'outsiders', first contact between Unova and Hisui, the Submas and 'Akari/her modern family' reunions, wtf happened to H!Volo and Giratina, what's going on with the immortal and chill Volo, and a bunch of other more miscellaneous things Wally!!!) but I'm apparently hitting the character limit so I think that's enough for now. Hope this blah was useful for you and good luck fellow PLA fanfic writers on all your endeavors <3

#pokemon legends arceus #pokemon #fanfic ideas #legends arceus #Hisui in the Future AU #Legends Arceus Bad End AU #character death #Pokemon death #long post #because I am bad at condensing my ideas #p:la #large amounts of headcanon #that is only very loosely supported by text but is nonetheless dear to me #Ghost storm is absolutely my explanation of what happened with gen1's Pokemon Tower though #story idea actually focuses on characters other than the train twins #though I love them as well so they're not left out #Should I tag specific characters for this do you think or nah?

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headinthxclouds · 1 year

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Rhody Visits for the First Time || Super College World 1??

If anyone would’ve asked Rhody even a year ago if he would’ve been taking off work to go to parents weekend at his sisters university he would have laughed at them. The levels of which that was humorous were almost innumerable. Addie in college? Them being able to afford taking him off work? Addie actually caring about an organized school event? Having people she wanted him to meet? No it all seemed so improbable. And yet, here he was. Riding onto campus to surprise Addie for the weekend.

She had brought up and assured him that it wasn’t a big deal, she didn’t even think anyone;s parents were coming, but if he could come it may be fun. Rhody could read between the lines. It wasn’t like she was ever going to bother to ask their parents, but clearly it was something she wanted to be a part of. Sure she would be fine if he couldn’t come, she always was, but it would be nice. He had told her that he wasn’t sure and eventually she had dropped it. Addie had stopped asking for extra from Rhody. Not because he didn’t pull through or because she didn’t want it, but because at the end of the day it didn’t seem fair when he did everything under the sun for her. But for once, Rhody could make this.

That was how he ended up standing outside of a random apartment on a college campus to surprise Addie. When he had decided to make the trip, he figured it was best to surprise her. If something did come up, he didn’t have to disappoint her twice. A girl with black hair and markings opened the door. He had been sent enough pictures he recognized her as Akari. “Hey. Um.. Is Addie here?” The girl raised an eyebrow. “Who are you?” smart Rhody thought. “Im her brother? Rhody. I wanted to surprise her, I saw shes here.. Here.” He passed over his phone that he could see their conversation and the GPS to prove who he was.

“Oh my god!” She clearly believed him. “Come in. Come wait in the kitchen I’ll go get her. She’s going to freak out she was so disappointed you couldn’t come tomorrow. Not that she really talked about it, but you know you can tell.” Rhody actually didn’t know. He could tell when Addie was upset but with everyone else, he had always known Addie to be incredibly closed off. This group must be different. He followed Akari to the kitchen while Akari kept going to the back yard where everyone was sitting around studying and hanging out. “Addie? Can you come help me with drinks?” Rhody could hear Addie even from the kitchen. “Why doesn’t Tyler ever help? It’s his apartment.” Rhody smirked. Atta girl. “Because you can float things dumbass. So we can carry more. Just come help.” Addie must have agreed because Akari pushed the door open wider a second later to let someone in.

It took Addie a moment to process what she was seeing, but the moment she did she screamed. “No way. No you’re not here. No way!” She ran at at Rhody and jumped at him, clinging on like she was a kid again. Her screams had summoned the rest of the yard and the entire rest of the gang came filing in at record speed. Addie wa still clinging onto Rhody even though her feet had made it back to the ground. She wasn’t ready to share him with her friends just yet. “You said you couldn’t come.” Rhody tried to pry Addie off of him, but it was pretty clear that that wasn’t going to happen until she was ready. “I wasn’t sure if I could get off work and I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“So you’ll be here all weekend?” Lydia asked from her spot by the door. Her voice seemed to snap Addie back to the kitchen where she turned just in time to see Lydia exchange a look with Noelle. Jeb was also there looking like he was going to throw up and everyone else just looked confused. “Oh my god! Wait you have to meet everyone.” Even though that was clearly already going to happen. “Okay so-” She started pointing people off, “- you met Akari, but that’s Nate in the back next to Tyler? They live here, Ty helps tutor me sometimes.” Most of the time, because her and Jeb had gotten frequently less productive, but she left that bit out. “And then Noelle, Nate’s sister and Kai her boyfriend.” Of course Rhody knew everyone from the pictures Addie sent and posted, but she was so excited he just let her continue to go on. “Lydia and Elliott and..” Addie stopped at the sight of Jeb, but Tyler nudged him and he seemed it pull it together. “Jeb.” He said, stepping forward and clearing his throat before shaking Rhody’s hand. “Addie talks about you all the time. It’s nice to meet you.” He sounded like a southern gentleman, causing Addie to beam while the rest of the group held back laughter.

“She talks about all of you too. It’s good to finally be here.” Addie was just beaming up at her brother, none of her friends made a joke about what she could have possibly shared with him or how much they talked. “Well listen, man, we have pizza coming. You’re welcome to stay.” Ty offered, looking at his watch to see when the pizza actually was going to arrive because the more they talked the more hungry he got. Rhody shook his head. “I was actually going to take her out to dinner, catch up a little. Thanks though.” He turned to Jeb. “Do you want to come with us?” That was the last thing Jeb could have ever expected and he gaped at the question. All eyes were on him, he could practically feel Kai’s glee at his discomfort and nerves. It was as simple yes or no but his brain seemed to short circuit. Luckily Addie came to his rescue without even trying to. “Um.. I’d actually really like to catch up just the two of us?” She turned back to Jeb, “If that’s okay? I mean we’ll come back after for the bon fire obviously.” Jeb wasted no time nodding his head. “No of course. It should just be you two. We can hang out later and umm..” He finally looked at Rhody. “I’d love to talk later, man, when you guys get back.” Rhody nodded with a smirk while Addie ran out back to get her books together. “So you’ll really be here all weekend?” Lydia asked again, her first question going unanswered. Rhody smirked. “Bonfire, tailgate, the whole 9.” The redhead seemed satisfied with that and glanced at Noelle while Ty and Kai glanced at each other from behind their backs.

“Okay! I got it all, we’ll be back. Let me know if you need me to grab anything!” Ty nodded, a grin splitting across his face as he watched Addie drag Rhody off. He had done his best to step into Rhody’s shoes when Addie had gotten to school, and he thought he had done a good job, but there was clearly no one who was ever going to be as good as the real thing. The gang watched Addie get into Rhody’s truck and drive away in a stunned silence. Finally Elliott broke the silence. “Jeb you have to breathe you’re going to pass out.” to which Jeb responded with a punch as everyone started talking at once.

“So he’s staying all weekend?”

“Did anyone know he was coming?”

“She didn’t say anything to me.”

“Does this mean we have to clean?”

“So her parents are coming too then?”

“I didn’t think she had parents.”

The final comment caused Elliott and Tyler to exchange a look, but Jeb was the one who answered. “She has them, they’re just not really in the picture.” The group was silent for a moment. They all had their problems with their parents, but none were out of their lives at such young ages. And Addie would talk and talk about her brother, but never about her parents. They knew the youngest girl was always strapped for cash, but they had never thought too much into it. Jeb knew some, of course, and Elliott and Tyler had put some pieces together but none of them knew the extent.

“Interesting..” Lydia finally said. “Well.. I think tonight is going to be very informative.”

—---

While the gang back at the apartment ate pizza and got things ready for the party, Addie and Rhody sat in a booth at the best burger joint on campus while Addie talked a mile a minute. Her and Rhody talked as much as they could with her gone and him always working, but it still was never enough especially in comparison to having a captive audience. She was barely touching her food, but she was making sure that Rhody knew all about her lessons and working with Elliott, how Tyler had become a brother at school and how much Rhody would like him, how Kai had been her first friend, but his relationship with Noelle had recently made it a little distant. How Addie was positive Noelle didn’t actually like her and Addie was determined to change that. She didn’t like Lydia liked her either, but recently she has started coming around and even offered to help her get ready for a party. All of the drama with Noelle and her boys and Lydia and her boys. How everyone thought Nate really needed to have some fun, but Addie thought he loved having everyone around. That Akari was the coolest girl she had ever met and, of course, everything about Jeb.

Rhody listened to everything and, for the first time in months, was able to actually watch his sister. She was clearly happy, the happiest he had maybe ever seen her. It seemed like she had lots of goals which was another positive change, even if none of those goals were necessarily school related. Addie had surrounded herself with a group that clearly cared about her and wanted her to succeed. It was all going much better than he could have ever suspected when he had left campus that first time.

“Okay..” Rhody cut in when Addie finally came up for air and a sip of Rhody’s beer. “What do they know about you?” Addie raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? They know everything. They know we have powers and they know I work and they know I’m bad at school and they know that I’m probably the most fun thing that has come into any of their lives. Did I leave anything out?”

The siblings looked at each other. They both knew exactly what Addie had left out. The younger siblings sighed. “I dont talk about mom and dad. Jeb knows they exist.. I let slip to Elliott that what side they work for but that’s it.” Rhody nearly slammed his beer on the table. “You what?” Addie hadn’t thought that any of it was a big deal until now and she was starting to get nervous. “He was.. When he agreed to let me work with him? He was giving me a hard time, acting like everyone was going to judge me or whatever and I got sick of it and I said you don’t work for anyone and they aren’t the good guys so he would shut up. That’s it. I swear.” She bit her lip. “That’s okay right?”

Rhody sighed. Addie had never had close friends, her slipping up about the family was nothing he had ever had to worry about before. “Yeah.. I mean just don’t give details. People could get the wrong idea, try to use you to get to them.” Addie scoffed. “They would neve come for me.” “But no one knows that. If you’re going to talk about who they work for, talk about who they are too. That’s all I’m saying.” Addie nodded. Neither voiced that Addie was much more likely to be used against Rhody one day than their parents, but both thought it. Nothing they could do about that at this point though, that ship had long sailed.

Rhody finished off his beer while Addie finished off her onion rings. “You’re happy though?” Addie nodded quickly. “Probably the happiest I’ve ever been. My grades are even okay. I’m not failing anything and I think I even have an B in my psychology class?” Rhody could see it in her. The anger that had always fueled her seemed to have subsided. No doubt still there, but no longer the leading emotion. There was a light in Addie that he hadn’t seen since she had been a little kid. He nodded. “And Jeb?” She flushed. “Jeb is the nicest, funniest, most caring guy. He’s funny, he listens.. He just gets me. So you have to be nice to him tonight because he’s going to be nervous so please don’t mess with him.”

Rhody held up a hand to say he surrendered. How could he be so hard on a guy that clearly was the cause for this light in his sister. “I’m just going to talk to him and get to know him. Nothing weird, promise.” Addie ndoded, satisfied. “But you’re being safe right?” Her head whipped around to see if anyone could hear them, even though the bar was plenty loud. “Can you not?”

“it’s a yes or no question.”

“oh my god.”

“You can’t jeopardize all this by being stupid.”

Addie put her head in her hands. “I’m not! I mean.. I’m not jeopardizing this. Yes it’s all safe now can we go? We’re going to be late.”

—------------

In the time that Addie and Rhody were at dinner, the rest of the gang had housed a few pizzas and cleaned the apartment to an actually acceptable standard. And although the group stayed the same, the energy changed from day to night with a change of clothes and plenty of drinks put out on the counter. And even thought it was just their crew and fringe friends, all three of the older girls - and Jeb- were slightly more presentable than they would have been any other time. Something that absolutely did not go unnoticed by Elliott when everyone came back from showering and refreshing.

“What The Bachelor comes to town and suddenly you have to get all dressed up? Are we not good enough for you?” He feigned offense with a look at Akari, but it was Lydia who answered. “Aw, babe, we’d get all dressed up for you too if we thought you’d ever stop looking in the mirror yourself to notice it.” It was a point that Elliott couldn’t really argue with so he grumbled something about going to get drinks and headed back towards the kitchen. Kai and Ty came in from helping in the back and greeted each of their girls respectively. The pang in Noelle’s gut when Ty kissed Lydia came as expected, but as usual she ignored it. It was getting harder and harder to do, but she was determined to hold out at least one more weekend before finally confronting her best friend.

Kai could feel it, but he also knew it wasn’t anything personal or against him. He squeezed Noelle a little tighter. “Come on, let’s go check on Jeb.” A nod of agreement and Noelle and Kai headed towards the kitchen where Jeb had busied himself cleaning the counters and rearranging drinks time and time again. “You know whatever you do he isn’t going to like you right?” Kai earned a soft smack in the gut from his girlfriend for that one. “Stop, you don’t know that. Nate liked you right away!” a “no I didn’t” and a “no he didn’t” came from the two men simultaneously. “Wait what?” Noelle looked over at Nate who shrugged. “I didn’t like him. I didnt tell you because when have you ever listened to me about relationships but Kai knew.” Kai grinned. “I don’t blame him, have you met me?” Before Noelle could answer Jeb threw a clorox wipe at them. “None of you are helping.”

“Hello?” Addie’s voice called from the other room. Jeb blanched, but Noelle had his back “Kitchen!” The brother and sister duo followed the voices to find the little party, all plenty amused, in the kitchen. “What did we miss?” Addie asked, walking over to give Jeb a hug and a kiss which was very stiffly returned. “Nothing, I think everyone else is out back.” Addie nodded and headed to the door but Jeb stayed back. “Um.. I want to talk to your brother real fast if that’s okay?” Addie just shrugged. She wasn’t going to make it a bigger deal than it was so she allied Noelle to pull her out into the yard while Kai followed them after mimicking choking to his younger brother.

Jeb wanted to absolutely throttle Kai, but what good was that going to do for his case? So instead, he stood there as calm as possible until he was alone with Rhody. The older man grabbed a beer off the counter with a smirk. “What could you possibly have to talk to me about?” He asked, a knowing look towards the younger one. All Jeb wanted to do was crawl out of his body and die, but instead he took as deep a breath as he could without being noticeable. “I just wanted to say that.. Addie.. She’s great? And I wanted you to know that I care about her a lot and that I can’t believe she’s giving me the time of day but I’m glad she is. And that I’m a good guy, at least everyone tells me so and that I’m not trying to hurt-” Rhody held his hand up to cut Jeb off. “Dude. I’m not here to defend Addies honor. She can defend herself if she ever needed to. She could kick your ass before you even got a sentence out.” Jeb didn’t really have a response to that because it was definitely true so he just let Rhody continue. “I’m just asking that you don’t give her a reason to. Shes been through more than enough. Just be straight with her whatever it may be.” Jeb was confused. That wasn’t what he had expected, but it wasn’t bad either. “So.. you’re saying you’re fine or you want us to break up?”

Rhody laughed. “No, I’m saying if it comes to that don’t draw it out or make it worse. But It doesn’t matter if I”m fine or not. Addie is a grown adult and have you ever tried to get her to do something she doesn’t want to do?” That felt like a trick question, but for once Jeb’s brain worked quicker than his mouth. “Studying mostly.” He admitted. Rhody nodded with a little smirk. “So then you know that it’s pointless. But for what it’s worth you seem fine.” The older one raised his beer before turning towards the bathroom. “I’ll meet you all out back.”

There was no time wasted between Rhody turning around and Jeb bolting to the backyard. “AYYYE HE LIVES!” Elliott cheered as the door slammed behind Jeb. “KAI, LYDIA AND NATE TAKE A SHOT!” Jeb looked at his own brother as Addie slid comfortably under his arm. “Dude what the hell?” Lydia was the one who answered. “We figured you’d go ghost and really lose any sort of confidence you had in the situation.” Addie looked up and gave a little peck on his cheek. “Clearly I did not take the bet.”

“For what it’s worth, neither did I.” Noelle pointed out. Fair as it was very un-Noelle to be on Jeb’s side. But there had been a shift in their relationship recently and she had softened towards him. Everyone could see it but no one bothered to point it out. “Addie wouldn’t let me take the bet.” Ty admitted as Rhody came to join the party. All of the other girls stood up a little straighter with their respective men sharing a glance. The only one that probably had anything real to be worried about was Tyler, but regardless none of the men were blind. The rest of the more fringe friends started showing up as the losers took their shots and the party was off.

The cheers from beer pong and cornhole filled the backyard along with the music Elliott was DJing. The laughter, the mingling, the flirting. Rhody took a step back to take it all in. When he was supposed to go be a freshman in college, Addie had been 13. Going had never felt like an option for him. He took a second job, he got the little apartment, he got Addie out of their parents place by the time she was 15. And never had Rhody ever regretted the choices he had made and he would make them again because it what was right for both of them. But, standing in the backyard looking at what he had missed out on did tug at something that he thought he had made peace with long ago. “No one should be that deep in thought at this type of party.”

Leave it to Lydia Reagan to pull him back to reality. Rhody looked down at the red head with a grin. “No, no I was just watching everyone and trying to figure out why so many people are actually horrible at cornole.” Lydia smirked and took a sip of her own drink. “I’m still trying to figure out why it’s even a game.” She was quiet for exactly two seconds before she just couldn’t help herself. “So what’s your story?”

“You’re going to have to be more specific, we don’t have enough time.”

“Fine. Did you go here like Addie?” The question was so ironic, Rhody remembered to ask someone if maybe she could read minds. “No it wasn’t for me. I worked instead. Didn’t think it was for her either but clearly.” He gestured to indicate that he was wrong. Lydia nodded. That was interesting. “What do you do then?” He had to give it to her, Lydia was clever. “I’m an EMT and then I work at a garage on off days.” The same kind of work ethic Addie hm constantly trying to get extra shifts and get as much as she could. It was no secret Addie didn’t come in like the rest of them, but maybe it was a lot worse off than any of them suspected. “EMT.. that’s kind of hot.” She was clever and shameless. If she hadn’t been one of the only real friends Addie had ever had, she would have been just his type.

“And what about you? Hoping to become a national beer pong champion or what?” Lydia grinned. “That was the initial plan, but I couldn’t find a partner to keep up with me, so I settled on a doctor instead.” And she was smart. “Well as admirable as that is, you shouldn’t give up on your dream. Want to give it a shot?” He had knowingly played right into her hand, but maybe he didn’t actually care that much if she was Addie’s friend. “I’ll go claim next game.” Lydia walked away just as Addie was practically running up her brother.

Whatever concoction was in her cup sloshed all over as cornered Rhody with drunken annoyance that Rhody had not missed having to deal with. “Are you kidding me?” She hissed with a knowing look back at Lydia. “You’ve been here like 6 hours and already messing with one of my friends?” Rhody rolled his eyes. “Trust me she wants to be messed with.” Addie wrinkled her nose. “Ew.. Look I’m trying to figure out tomorrow morning? Where are you staying tonight?” He hadn’t actually thought about that at all. The possibility of actually getting to come had been so slight he hadn’t bothered with any details. He looked over at Tyler who was approaching and just shrugged. “The truck probably. Unless a motel has a cheap deal.”

Before Addie could even ask, tyler seemingly read her mind. “No, man, that’s stupid. Sleep on our couch. Everyone is coming over tomorrow morning anyway, it’s probably just easier.” Rhody would have protested, but even in her inebriated state, Addie cut in before he ever had that chance. “Thank you! Oh you’re the best, I didn’t want to ask.” She gave a quick hug then ran off to find Jeb, Elliott and Akari without a word to the other two.

“You really don’t have to do that, my truck is actually more comfortable than it looks.” Tyler shook his head. “No really it actually works because you can help us clean up tonight.” He looked over at Rhody and stuck a hand out. “Tyler by the way. We met on-” “Move in day. Yeah I remember. Tough gig, offering to help move some boxes and then you got stuck with Addie apparently.” Ty grinned and looked over at the girl who was now arguing with Elliott over his music selection. “Guess I did. It’s fine though, she’s never boring.” Tyler actually had so much love in his heart for the younger girl who had only come into his life a few months previous. They had slipped so seamless into each others lives, filling sibling rolls for the other that neither knew needed filling. “I wanted to thank you for that actually.” Rhody was more serious than he had been the entire night. It had been something he had been practicing to say to Tyler for weeks. “I know Addie and for better or for worse she can be a lot to deal with. And I know she can handle herself, but I’ve always been able to see her every day, check in and I was worried about her. It’s just us you know and.. Well I don’t need to explain it, you understand.” Tyler nodded. Addie had told him more than any of the others. Thody continued. “But she started talking about you and telling me what you were doing for her just all that stuff and I started to feel a lot better so.. Just thanks for looking out for her for me.”

Rhody downed the rest of the beer like that speech had, emotionally, taken 10 years off of his life. Tyler, meanwhile, wasn’t able to contain the smile that cracked over his face at the acknowledgment. “Well you know.. I didn’t come to college with the intention of essentially adopting a sister but best laid plans and all that.” Ty genuinely believed that he knew what it was like to not be an only child now that Addie was in his life. “Don’t mention it man. She’s a good kid.” Rhody nodded in acknowledgement and the two parted their ways without a further word. Rhody playing beer pong with Lydia and Akari and Noelle before finally stepped in out of sheer annoyance with all parties involved.

The party died down and the group started to break up, each confirming their plans for the morning before making their way home. Addie squeezed Rhody and promised to bring breakfast in the morning. “Alright.. Text me when you get in. Get home safe.” He shot Jeb a look who nodded and stood up a little straighter like getting them both back was the most important task he was ever given.

Goodnights were said and the duo finally started on their way home. “So?” Addie asked the question she’s be wanting to ask all night but had waited in agony until they were alone. “So what?” Jeb smirked. Addie pushed him gently, although it was quite the risk for the stumbling pair. “You know so what! It seems like everything was good?” Jeb nodded, thinking back on the blur that was his conversation with Rhody. “Yeah.. everything was good. He said I seemed fine and he was happy you’re happy.. Told me you could kick my ass faster than he could so there wasn’t a point in saying it.” Addie grinned. A joke meant Jeb was in, let alone the fact that he was walking her home instead of her brother insisting. “I told you you two would get along fine, you were all worried for nothing.” Outside of Addie’s dorm, Jeb leaned down to kiss her like he had wanted to kiss her all night. “No I was worried because this is absolutely not nothing.” Addie beamed leaning up for another kiss before checking the time. “You know.. We have to get up soon anyway, don’t you think you’d get more sleep if you didn’t have to walk back?” Jeb raised an eyebrow, grabbing Addie’s key card to get in without any hesitation. “Nope.” And the door slammed behind them as the two ran upstairs, more than prepared to risk being zombies the whole next day for a few more hours together.

#addie x rhody #addie x squad

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hydrachea · 2 years

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Regarding Possessed Volo AU!(Because I love Gira with all my heart but they deserve feral rights)

I don't know what's more horrifying for Akari, fighting Giratina or literally holding Volo's life in her hands afterwards.

On one hand regarding the battle, Volo did this. He did this, he had Giratina rip open the rift, he betrayed her, he threatened to take the plates by force and destroy the world-

On the other, he was her friend, the only one who could help her when she was cast out, the one who took her to Cognita in the first place, and his terror and panic as Giratina took control of him shatters her heart

I just imagine her, at some point while fighting Giratina, seeing how it's so uncaring of what it's doing to him, just breaking- begging please please stop you're hurting him you're killing him-!

(ALSO regarding the antimatter thing, it is possible Cynthia is wrong. In D/P/PL she mentions she's begun to study mythology. She's in no way an expert and myths aren't a good source. It's entirely possible Giratina IS gravity, which I believe, but when it was banished people began to believe it was antimatter.)

Possessed!Volo

Honestly? Giratina deserves to be as scary as it's owed to be, as a treat.

Akari in this situation just has a horrible time altogether, she has to take in everything Volo did and was planning to do from the start and immediately after, most likely before she can even process all of it and when she's still torn between seeing him as a friend or an enemy, he's taken over by Giratina. And she's torn between being scared of him, and being scared for him. He's still someone she cares about despite everything, we see it with how sad she looks when she watches him leave after their battle. I don't think she'd hesitate for long, if at all, before trying with everything she has to save him.

(Not to mention what Giratina puts Volo through is... Without any reason. It's not even punishing him - it just doesn't consider him, Volo is collateral damage at best. Even for someone who's done things as terrible as he did, it's crushing to see him reduced to less than an afterthought.)

Regarding antimatter! I'll let this kind anon speak in my stead since they came to me with sources - I still have my preferences, but it seems this has been established :

#ask #answer #soulofangst #pla spoilers #pokemon legends spoilers #pokemon spoilers #pokemon #yeah this volokari now #it was always bound to be let's be honest #they're friends throughout the entire game and i'm not letting it go so easily #akari clearly still cares about him #probably sees someone who suffered so much they turned to the most extreme goal #without regards for the consequences that are now about to destroy him #i don't know that she'd be able to stand and just watch #if he dies like this without even his own voice to speak #she doesn't get any closure #all of the questions she has for him with only a corpse to answer them #she can't let it end like this #possessed volo au

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autumn-sweet-fae · 2 years

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This started as a little idea and then just ran away from me, please enjoy:

Ingo wakes up one morning feeling the start of a cold, and at first the sudden illness feels pretty standard, so not much reason for concern. He packs some more tea, wears the warmer scarf Calaba had given him his first winter with the Pearl clan, and makes sure to sit and rest more between directing the training battles. Akari tries to convince him to take the day off but Ingo insist he’s on track to recovery.

Expect he doesn’t show up to work the next day, or the the day after that. Akari asks where he is but Zisu has no idea where he could be and Irida hasn’t heard from him either. Worried, Akari calls upon Lady Sneaseler, hoping she might know where her warden is. She plays her celestial flute but the noble doesn’t appear, not at first at least. When Lady Sneaseler does finally arrive she’s clearly very distressed and carrying someone in her basket.

They find Ingo inside, accompanied by multiple worried tiny sneaslets clinging to him, and he’s in terrible condition. They rush him to the medical corps but there’s very little they could do, it’s pneumonia, not even a Blissy could help him now.

Akari demands they do more to help but they have nothing that could combat an infection this severe. All they can do is keep him comfortable, keep him hydrated, and wait. As she sits by his bed side, with Lady Sneasealer and her crying kits across from her, Akari knows that’s not right, she knows he can still be saved, just not in Hisui. So she uses her Arc-phone and demands that the god who put them in this situation help save him.

At first she doesn’t get any response, and then, suddenly, the ground beneath them opens up and they’re all tumbling through time and space.

They land in the middle of an unfamiliar forest, the kits are all panicked and either clinging to their mother or the still unconscious Ingo. Akari discovers her arc-phone map has updated with a final task directing her to the nearest hospital in a settlement called Sandgem town. They quickly gather the babies into the basket before Sneaseler gathers Ingo into her arms and they start running down hill though the woods.

Nurse Joy was not expecting her evening shift at the Poke Center to start with a traditionally dressed teenager, who looks strikingly similar to the missing champion, to burst in with a long extinct pokemon carrying an unconscious man at deaths door.

After they rush the man into emergency care, Nurse Joy tries to question the girl on what she knows about him and his condition. The teen tells her his name and how his illness progressed but when Joy tries to press for further info on her own identity and where she and the man came from, the large pokemon steps in between them, pulling the increasingly upset girl away. Just to be safe, nurse Joy phones the Pokemon Laboratory down the street, informing the professor’s young assistant of the odd pokemon in her waiting room and it’s young trainer who came with it.

Meanwhile, Lady Sneasler had sit Akari down in one of the waiting room chairs, drops one of her babies into the teens lap for comfort, and then sits in front of her, growling at anyone who gets too close as Akari tries to prosses what’s happening. She’s back in the time she must have come from, uncle Ingo is getting the care he needs, and she has both her team and a noble to protect her, and yet she can barely hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.

It’s not long before another group of people and pokemon burst into the poke center, consisting of a boy who looks near identical to Rei, an old man who looks way too much like commander Kamado for Akari’s comfort, and…

And a woman she immediately recognized as her own mother who was accompanied by Akari’s-, no, Dawn’s first ever starter pokemon, Piplup.

The tears finally fall free and before she knows it she’s in her mothers arms and sobbing into her shoulder, Piplup happily squished between them. Lady Sneaseler watches on approvingly while holding one of her own children close, but still growls at the Kamado look-a-like when he starts to openly stare at the ancient Noble for longer then she likes.

Hours of conversation and questions and many more tears later, Nurse Joy informs them that Ingo is awake and stable for visitors. Dawn asks her mother to join her, not wanting to be apart so soon, and Lady Sneasler is already up and walking down the hall to the room.

They find Ingo awake and mostly alert, but very confused about his surroundings. He recognizes allot of what he’s seeing but can’t remember where. He’s relieved to see Sneaseler and Akari, the noble having already poured her babies out of her basket and onto his bed. He is so very polite to Akari- Dawn’s mother after learning who she is, realizing this means they have returned to his young friend’s home station and is happy that she has been reunited with her family.

As exhausted as he feels, laying here, alive, covered is snoozing sneaslets, with his noble by his bedside and his dear friend reunited with her mother, he can’t help but quietly hope that he will be reunited with his own family soon enough. That he will find the man who looked just like himself, who loved winning more than anything else, and his partner pokemon who’s warm flames flickered a purple hue. They must exist in this time as well if he’s recognizing so much already.

Ingo feels one of his rare smiles tug at his lips as Dawn tells him everything that’s happened and all that she’s remembered in these last few hours, her mom holding her hand the whole time. Lady Sneaseler has flopped across the foot of his bed, joining her children in their naps, and his team of pokemon are all still safely within their balls on top on his folded coat on his bedside table. His search for his past can finally begin, but no matter what he’ll find down that track, he knows he’ll always have a family here, in his friends who risked and sacrifice so much to save him.

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blackholesandlions · 2 years

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let me introduce you to my favorite pokémon card, trans rights pikachu

well it’s not actually called that, but it might as well be. now you might be thinking “wait isn’t that just birthday pikachu? what does it have to do with being trans?”

so part of the official lore of pokémon cards is that all the pictures in the cards are real pictures of pokémon that somebody took. you might know this from those pokémon snap cards, but there’s another much more obscure piece of pokémon media that’s about this exact topic, the 1999 manga series “how i became a pokémon card”

it was a short series, only 38 chapters, and each one is a short story about what’s going on in the pokémon card. anyway the last of these chapters explains why pikachu is having a party thrown for it, and it’s a pretty interesting story

so this is akari

akari is a trans boy. he just turned 13 and his mom is making him wear the girls uniform to school and use female pronouns because it’s time for him to start acting like a “proper lady”

anyway his best friend akira (yes their names are basically identical) gets a cool pokémon, and akari begs his mom for one, but what he gets is

a pikachu. a cute little pokémon that his mom got him in hopes it would make him act more ladylike. this is clearly upsetting to akari, his mom isn’t taking him seriously and got him a girl pokémon knowing it’s not what he likes, so he gets upset with the pikachu

eventually the pikachu defends him from some wild pokémon and he sees that even if his pokémon doesn’t look like how he wants, it can still be strong, and what really matters is caring about it and being nice to his pokémon

akari feels bad for being mean to his pikachu earlier, so he throws it a party to apologize, and that’s how birthday pikachu is really about a trans pokémon character from all the way back in 1999

#pokémon #pokemon #trans #anyway i just thought this was cool and not enough people know about it

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junicai · 3 years

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a dust of conflict.

| summary | Aria doesn’t always need to get out. Sometimes, she needs someone to tell her it’s okay to stay.

| word count | 900

| warnings | None

| era | circa. 2019

“I think you should re-evaluate some things, Akari.”

“I think you need to get out!”

“Clearly there are things more important to you than us, so why aren’t you the one leaving? I’m sure you’ll be just fine on your own, right?”

In lieu of a response there was the slamming of a door and a screamed curse to accompany it, then a heavy, unsettling silence left to fill in the gaps. Jaehyun and Taeil exchanged a look from where they were hiding out in the living room.

The argument between Jungwoo and Aria had been a long time coming - every one of their conversations growing more and more volatile each time they came to butt heads. Despite the older members racking their brains for the why and the how their relationship had deteriorated so quickly, the only thing that they could come up with was the unwritten excuse for all spats between groupmates.

Stress. Lack of sleep. Too much exercise. Lack of downtime. Social media. Not enough food. It was tattooed onto the inside of an idol’s brain the second a pen was put to the dotted line of a contract.

An explanation never made anything easier to stomach, though. Feelings are real and cutting, no matter their point of origin.

Aria stumbled out into the living room, sweater half-pulled over her head with one arm in and one arm out and dragging a barely full backpack behind her. The thunder clouds reigned over her head like a crown, warning away any potential conversation. The deadened look in her eyes offered the promise of another yelling match, although it’s effect was greatly lessoned by the pinkness of her under-eyes, and the snuffles she muffled into her sleeve.

Without hardly a glance towards the other boys huddled in the living room, Aria made her way to leave the dorm. Doyoung exchanged a look with Jaehyun, and they stood up in tandem; Doyoung tasked with soothing Jungwoo, and Jaehyun with wrangling an emotionally-vulnerable Aria.

“Aria! Aria!”

Swinging the backpack over her shoulder, Aria paid Jaehyun no mind as she began to make her way to the hallway of the dorm. She was still dressed in the indoor-leggings she bought a few months ago and then realized she could never wear outside because the material was too thin, and people would be able to see the line of her underwear through it.

Clearly, it wasn’t stopping her now.

“Aria I swear to god-” Jaehyun extended a hand, grabbing onto her shoulder and spun her around to face him. The tear tracks were glistening in the overhead lights, and her eyes were red and puffy.

“You know he didn’t mean it.” Jaehyun breathed, hand clenched in the fabric of Aria’s sweater. It was one of her own, this time, which was rare. She normally went for another member’s hoodies when she was feeling upset - something about how they always smelled like home.

Jaehyun was going to deck Jungwoo after this.

No, he wasn’t, but he was going to think about doing it and not feel bad.

“Maybe he didn’t mean it, but I still don’t think I should be here right now.” Aria ran a sweater-covered hand over her face, trying and failing to clean up the mess of tears over her cheeks as more spilled over her waterline to replace them.

Jaehyun’s fingers gripped tighter. “No, what you should be doing is staying here, with us. Taeyong hyung said he’d make dinner tonight, remember? This is the first time we’ve all been back in time for a ‘family dinner’ night, so you can’t leave now!”

Internally, he winced. He hated using excuses to get Aria to do things, but oftentimes it was the only way to get her to listen to reason. She didn’t care too much about her own safety (Honestly, what was she thinking? Leaving the apartment at 9 o’clock with a backpack) but she did care about commitments and keeping promises.

“You promised you’d be back in time from training, right?” Jaehyun pushed further, feeling like he was digging nails into his own skin.

Aria dropped his gaze, finding the cracks in the floorboard much more interesting than anything written on Jaehyun’s face.

“I don’t think it’ll be okay for me to stay tonight, I think I should go, oppa.” She finally mumbled out, the fight seeping from her shoulders as her bag slipped off to the side.

“And if I tell you it is?”

“Where would you go?”

Johnny and Yuta spoke at the same time, both looking at each other in mild surprise.

Aria blinked once, twice, before bursting out into renewed tears. Jaehyun floundered for a moment before settling on shoving Aria’s backpack away from her body and into Yuta’s arms, pulling her into his arms.

“Ari,” Jaehyun soothed, wrapping her into his chest. “Ari, you know you can stay here. Hell, I still don’t get why you think you can’t. It’s your home here too.”

Aria’s response was a blubbered mess, and Jaehyun really didn’t have the sense of mind to attempt to dismantle it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Jungwoo didn’t mean it, you know he didn’t.” Jaehyun rocked her side to side as they slowly dropped to the floor.

#*aria.writings #nct #nct additional member #nct female member #nct 24th member #nct extra member #nct female member au #nct additions #nct addition #kpop addition #kpop additions #kpop #kpop!oc #nct female addition #nct female oc #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct reactions

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nostalgiaknight · 2 years

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Giovanni’s "redemption”

Alright, so should be obvious but it was definitely not an instant ‘redemption’ for this asshole. In fact, being forced into what he originally assume was simply the past? Actually just fueled his drive all the more.

Fine GOD, you’re going to toss me in this world as punishment? Well I’ll just take over this world instead.

Now even he had to admit, he had nothing in his arsenal anymore. No Pokemon, No Team Rocket, and no money. A sudden take over wouldn’t be possible without some sort of a group. Which is why he gladly took on the test Cyllene presented him. What he needed to do was secure a place to stay, once that was in the bag he would slowly worm his way up the rankings.

The higher the position, the more his words will have weight to those around him. Eventually he’ll be able to form Hisui to what he desired, birthing a new Team Rocket and taking over a region just before it flourished.

What he didn’t expect? Was how DIFFICULT it will be living in the past.

Unsurprisingly of course, no one trusts him, like at all. This man fell from the sky, wearing strange clothes, and has a strange device. Clearly this man is a witch! While he anticipated them to be a little wary, he didn’t expect them to literally turn the other way or scurry off the moment he said hi. Or in Beni’s case, pretend he wasn’t there unless another member of team Galaxy was present.

He tried to prove that he’ll be a useful field researcher after that. After all, if he shows how great he is at catching and taming pokemon, clearly they’ll grow to trust him! Well he nearly gets his ribs broken after trying to take on the Alpha Rapidash. When he tries to go simple, he finds out very quickly that a thunder shock from a Shinx? Yeah, not fun! In fact! Extremely painful!

If he wasn’t struggling with pokemon? His own body was betraying him. He had assumed Arceus had just made him younger? But he realized he was also taller, so he would end up overshooting his rolls just by a fraction, or even throwing a pokeball a little too high or low. He also learned after multiple attempts, he can’t swim! He swore up and down he knew how to swim before but now anytime he tried he practically sank like a rock!

Needless to say, evil plotting got pushed to the back burner in favor of actually surviving. Sure he would eventually get used to his environment, but it’s hard to really plot when you’re always out in the field, doing request after request, or dealing with Akari who wanted to spend the day off together. But the feeling was still there.

But then, he actually started to care a fair bit of the residents of Jubilife village as well as both the Diamond and Pearl Clans. Akari at first very annoying, became quite endearing. Learning about her family situation also made him protective over her even if he denies it. He also started to enjoy talking about pokemon with Laventon, especially when it came to ground types where he could gladly talk the professor’s ears off. But the biggest change came from Ingo, as the only other ‘man from the future’, he ended up growing very attached to this man. To the point he wanted to earnestly help him regain his memories.

He still wanted to latch on the plan of taking over Hisui, and even tried to come up with plans to keep his companions satisfied. Such as giving them higher roles, or making sure they were treated like royalty. He’ll still be a ruler, but they would get all the benefits just the same.

Then came the big exile. The final nail in the coffin. He was devastated as he stood there at the entrance of Obsidian Fieldlands. Every ounce of him wanted to scream and shout at Kamado, at the villagers, after all the hard work he’s done they were just going to toss him aside like that? He had did nothing wrong! He had never lied to them!

…but he did lie. Since the very beginning. What Kamado said wasn’t wrong, he had lied who he was and his history. As much as it pissed him off? Kamado had every right to not believe him, because he plotted to take over Hisui before.

During his exile, he tried to continue his plan, even if Team Galaxy no longer believed in him? Both Pearl and Diamond clan believed in him. What if he somehow got them to join forces? Two clans versus one Team? Clearly they’d be on the winning side!

Yet…it could lead to Akari, Laventon, Cyllene, or Ingo getting hurt. As much as he wanted to say he didn’t care anymore, that he got abandoned so why should it matter? He couldn’t dare bring himself to hurt the people he started to cherish. It made him feel weak, soft, that he was just a shell of his former self. He started to think about how he needed to get back to his former glory, when Ingo finds him a week into his exile.

Ingo explains that he too has been exiled from not only Team Galaxy, but the Pearl Clan. After all, he was a stranger who appeared out of no where as well. Their trust in him had completely dwindled and they wanted to get rid of another ‘outsider’. Irida only banished him so that Giovanni could have an ally. Giovanni starts yelling saying how unfair it was, that Ingo didn’t deserve it because unlike him? He wasn’t a criminal before he came to Hisui.

Giovanni ends up spilling everything he’s done in his previous world, why he was there in the first place, and every sin he committed. How Ingo was a subway boss and that at worse, he had some questionable decisions turning a subway into a battle zone. By the time he ran out of breath explaining all of his crimes, Ingo was just standing there. Indifferent.

“…I remember that Giovanni, I actually recalled him back after you quelled the Lord Voltorb. But in the end, Giovanni never came to Hisui, only Sakaki.”

He called him very corny and stupid for saying such a thing. That he was planning on conquering Hisui even to this point. Also he wasn’t crying, it was just raining only over him that’s why his face was so damp.

With Ingo by his side now however, his exile was a little bit easier. Sure they couldn’t go to the Pearl Clan for assistance still, but it was better roughing it outside with two people rather than one.

Giovanni now was plotting on fixing the rift once and for all. So he and Ingo started planning on how to proceed to fix the rifts by the time Volo had came around. The rest of Legends Arceus continues to take place after that. Find the three spirits, red chains, Giovanni captures Dialga, they create the origin ball, and then capture Palkia.

Now he has two legendaries at his disposal and, surprisingly enough, had nothing more planned than to finish their dex entries and keep them around. After all, he needed to complete the pokedex still, now a lot easier since he’s allowed back to the village. Plus, once that’s done maybe he could give them to Adaman and Irida. They were their Lord Sinnoh’s after all, but both seemed to be against the idea when he brought it up.

He’ll figure out what to do with that later he supposed. There was a lot to do in Hisui, and he had to get cracking.

#pokemon legends arceus #PLA: Giovanni's Tale #Pokemon Giovanni #Redemption through exhaustion and friendship #but mostly exhaustion #‘You win this time God’#Seriously after all the shit he had to do by the end he just went #you know what #The village and both clans are calling me the hero that’s good enough #too tired to actually try to rule these people #just give me potato mochi and a retirement plan

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missyasf · 3 years

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Game Of Hearts

| 4 |

↳ Summary: Your life is in monotonous tones of grey, day in, day out. Nothing matters besides your sister, the only thing you remember is seeing fireworks before waking up to Tokyo abandoned . Soon enough you are properly introduced to the deadly Borderlands where you must fight for your life in Games to survive. When things can’t possibly get worse soon division arises and rivalries are made. No matter what though, you are constantly plagued by a blonde who, no matter how hard you try, just can’t seem to go too far without.

↳ Pairing: Chishiya/Reader

↳ Genre: Angst, smut, thriller

Word Count: 10k

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Trigger Warning: ⚠️ much like the manga/Netflix adaptation this will be a dark fic which includes mentions of prostitution, attempted murder, child ab*se, sexual harassment, heavy grief and attempted suic*de among other things. Additional warnings will be added for chapters when triggers are brought up. Please read with caution if these are triggers for you or just skip all together!

15th Day Sojourn

“Nanami!?” You opened the curtains of her room, your face screwed in anger as she groaned curling into her bed, “What the hell!? You have one day left on your visa and you got hammered!? And what?” You waved at her as she pulled the blanket up upon realization she wasn’t dressed. At all, “Decided to get railed while you’re at it!?”

She groaned as she collapsed back against the bed, “Sorry I don’t have a death wish like you do,” She sneered making your lips part as you scoffed at her words. Death wish!? You understood, going out when it wasn’t required wasn’t something most chose to do. But you had a good dynamic going with Ryu, Hiroko and Akari. You all made a good group together, and it wasn’t every night!

It was just a few times a week! It had been a little over, two? Three weeks at most now? That you had been at the beach? Life was about as good as it could be given the circumstances of your living space. But you made it work.

Truthfully, you weren’t sure what direction your relationship with Nanami was headed, you understood you saw one another less but...It was like this before you had arrived at the Borderlands, what had changed? You felt confused and a bit lost, Nanami had only gotten more and more annoyed recently well...anytime you spoke to her truthfully.

You glared down at the empty bottles, obviously the Beach was the problem here. It was a gateway to all kinds if bad habits that Nanami had clearly taken up. You hardly saw her anymore because she was either too busy partying with her new friends or completely wasted, “This…! Nanami! This isn’t you.” You threw the bottle onto the ground next to her bed as you threw up your hands, “At all! You’d never be this tardy on the day you prep for a game!”

Nanami groaned loudly as she got out of bed, holding the sheet up as she grabbed her clothes, looking irritated at your presence as she growled, “Since when do you care about my games!?” She fumbled as she got dressed as best she could, “All you ever do is try and throw your life away! You never even tell me when you’re going out! One of these days you’re gonna go out and it’ll be the last time I ever see you! Do you realize how stressful that is!?”

Pulling up her bikini top she immediately shoved the door of the room open as your lips parted quickly chasing after her, “You don’t think I try to tell you!?” You shouted back, people immediately making way through the hallway as your brows pinched, “You were too busy getting fucked against a wall when I tried to tell you last week! What the fuck! This is not completely my fault! I could be better about it sure but you…!”

Nanami paused at the end of the steps, now in the lobby as she turned to face you, “But me!? There’s nothing about me! You are so fucking suffocating! I’m not a child Y/n!” An indiginant hurt panged through your chest at her words.

Hopping off the last step you followed after her as your fists curled, “I wouldn’t if you stopped acting like one!” You shouted back, anger coursing through your veins at her accusations, what was with her behavior!? You’d lay back if it meant she’d stop this...these destructive habits!

If she wanted to drink that was fine, if she wanted to sleep with someone it was whatever, she was an adult but this was way too excessive! “All I see is someone trying to prove she's an adult when all she is, is trying way too hard to be someone she isn’t!”

You didn’t care how half the people in the lobby looked awkward and somehow a lot of people were quickly finding the exit. Nanani gasped as she turned around, you could almost see the steam coming out of her ears as her fists curled, “You…! You have no idea who I even am!” She snarled back, “Other than looking at me like a baby! You’ve always been too busy with your friends or school or work and half the time you lied! Why is it I got to hear from somebody other then you that you fucked people for a living. That you were a whore for money!”

You immediately looked away from her as you crossed your arms defensively, hurt beginning to throb in your chest at her words, feeling somewhat caught off guard at that being brought up. You weren’t embarrassed, ashamed? Maybe a little despite your mind telling you that you shouldn’t be.

“Y/n you are NOT mom, you will never be mom. Ever since she died you’ve felt the need to be some fucking savior for me and you don’t! You have no idea what I need. So push off and stop acting like you do!” Nanami snapped, her eyes burning with an anger that looked a lot like hate.

That...You wouldn’t deny that stung. You could hear footsteps quickly walking away as you looked at your feet, your eyes stinging and your vision blurring as your lips quivering and your expression contorted somewhat painfully in an attempt to try to not let the sting of pain burn too deep.

She was just angry, you told yourself in an attempt to lick the wounds that were already in your heart to begin with. It was like being reopened and salt being doused onto it.

You only felt more angry as you furiously rubbed away the warm trail of liquid on your cheeks, irritation blossoming in your chest at the feeling of eyes on you as you hissed, “You can stop staring!” Turning to face the white hood that had been leaned against the wall, previously on his phone but much like everyone else it was hard for Chishiya to not stare at the drama unfolding five feet away.

“Well,” Chishiya clacked his tongue, a semi amused expression his face as he spoke, “What did I tell you?” He quickly shut his mouth at the glare you sent him, wiping your cheek once more, your lips pathetically quivering, he probably thought that and hey, you’d admit it was pretty pathetic.

“I get it you don’t really care about my feelings but I really don’t appreciate the ‘I told you so’ right now,” You waved towards your face as you sniffed wrapping your arms around yourself as you waved a hand at the door, “You know, I never intended to…”

You pressed your tongue into your cheek as you sharply inhaled, “It doesn’t matter,” You sighed looking low, as you rubbed your eyes, “You were right. But I never meant for it to come off like that. Everything I ever did in my life was so that she’d never have to go through what I did.”

There it was again, the bitter tears that threatened to escape your eyes as you stared down at your blurry hands, “To have that kicked back in my face- excuse me for being human, but I feel like the tears are justified.” You looked up at him again as you sniffed, rubbing your eyes again that glossed with wetness.

“And I would never hold that above her or against her. I know she didn’t ask for that, but that’s how much I love her. She is all I have. She would never need to thank me for what I’ve done. I’d do it again no questions asked. But that? That was uncalled for.” You wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to not let yourself get anymore upset then you already were.

“Well, you can’t control how she reacts, obviously.” Chishiya shrugged, having been, maybe a little too used to your random bursts of emotions as he spoke in a sing-song voice, “But the more power you give her the more it’ll make you upset. You should really just drop it.”

You puffed a breath as you rubbed your eyes, “I can’t stand you some days.” Your lips quivered into a pout making Chishiya scoff, probably due to how pathetic you looked.

“Because I’m right?” He spoke as he stepped off the wall, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he raised his brows. You didn’t reply to him as you crossed your arms. Things between you both had been...interesting to say the least.

You by no means considered yourself close friends but...ever since the three of hearts games, you could only assume, that you both had come to a certain understanding of one another. Most days you had never even meant to talk to him. You just always happened to be in the same place at the same time.

Finally you rolled your eyes, feeling a little more composed as you huffed, “There's no debating with you about whether or not you’re right.” You glanced up at him and it was his turn to stay silent before a cocky smirk curved on his lips making you throw your head back with a sigh to try to cover the urge to laugh, yes that was a very familiar sight, “Your ego is gonna get you killed one day.”

You turned to start walking as Chishiya replied, “Maybe, if someone actually takes the bluff. But I don’t think anyone will.” You clacked your tongue, shaking your head as you said nothing in return. In some ways, you even believed him.

If there was anything you had learned about Chishiya it was that he truly was an insane combination of cold and calculating, mixed with a sense of naiveness that others falsely perceived him as, with a dash of, menacing playfulness? But just enough chaos mixed to keep anyone from truly figuring him out.

Still to this day it was difficult to read him. But in some ways, you really enjoyed it. And some parts of you, deep down, did enjoy his company. He always had some dry or witty remark to make, no matter how unpleasant he could be at times.

“Are we still on for tonight?” You looked up at him, a small smile on your face as you both exited to the pool yard where music was blasting and it was permanently summertime, who would’ve thought you were in the Borderlands here, honestly.

Chishiya raised a brow as he spoke, “I’d assume, unless you’re gonna be useless and sulk the whole time.” You rolled your eyes at him, an amused snort escaping you.

“No…! But,” You paused making him pause, “Ah, who knows maybe I’ll just get hit by a car and I won’t have to deal with that anymore.” You waved towards Nanami with her friends as you snickered, making Chishiya roll his eyes at your theatrics, forever the drama queen in his opinion.

“Y/n!” Your gaze shot to where Ryu and Hiroko were laid out in lawn chairs next to the pool where Akari was sitting at the edge. You glanced to Chishiya as you sighed with a shrug, he had attempted to part ways only for Hiroko to glare, “You too sour ass!” Chishiya’s gaze cut into Hiroko who didn’t budge in the slightest at him making you sigh as you rubbed your neck.

Truthfully, you couldn’t help but wonder if Chishiya actually made the effort in talking to anyone outside of you. And that could be argued that you generally initiated conversation. Had it not been for you, you doubt Hiroko would be able to stand Chishiya at all.

“What’s up?” You asked as you both stood in front of their chairs, Hiroko crossed her legs, a margarita in hand despite it being lunch time at best but hey, you couldn’t exactly blame her given the state of where you all lived.

Her expression crumpled a little as she looked between you and Nanami who was on the other side of the pool, “You two good? We ah...heard some yelling?” She raised a brow making you huff as you crossed your arms, looking away from them, “Okay…” Hiroko clacked her tongue, “Well we’re getting ready to go out to get some supplies, food stock is getting low in the back and we needed some help.”

Chishiya’s expression twisted just by a hair making Hiroko’s eyes sharpen on him as he looked away giving a very loud sigh as if inconvenience by this, “Is there an option to decline?”

“No.”

“We’d be happy to help.” You glanced at Chishiya briefly before given a smile to Hiroko and Ryu, “I’ve never done a supply run before so you’ll have to show me the ropes though.” Truth be told you kept yourself fairly busy. You often enjoyed exploring in your off time, and while sitting at the pool was nice, it got fairly boring by yourself day in and out.

So you went out to the parks you knew, you’d go to the ocean front when possible, you had even taken up the hobby of going on a jog each morning. Anything to remind you that you were alive. Contrary to how some perceived it, you felt almost numb in a way to your life being put on the line. To be put into extremely perilous situations, it had taken a toll on your mental health.

Even if you couldn’t recognize it at the moment, and so you had tried your best to pick up hobbies to keep you occupied and away from the addictive sensation of Games. So you often took walks now and explored around the city in your free time.

“It’s easy!” Hiroko stood up as she smiled brightly at your enthusiasm compared to the sour grey cloud that crossed his arms while rolling his eyes, “We have a masterlist written out of what we need to get, you’re free to pick up anything you’d like while we’re out!”

“Anything…?” You tilted your head before a smile tugged on your lips, “Alright! Lemme just go get something to change into on our way out!” Everyone thought you were either vain or insecure but truthfully, you just really hated the swimwear rule.

The moment you stepped off beach property was the moment you were wearing sweatpants and something comfortable. After you had gotten changed the four of you set off as you looked down the long list, mainly canned goods were needed, some dry goods as well and…”Are these farm locations?”

“Mhm, we can get a lot of fresh produce from there! It took awhile of searching but it’s a pretty good spot! We’ll get that on our way back though!” Ryu answered chipperly as he leaned back in his seat up front looking the exact opposite Chishiya who was slouched in his seat looking bored.

You actually quite enjoyed the ride, they used the CD player in the car to play music and briefly, you were taken back to a time in life when things weren’t so intense. It’s hard to believe you ever had a problem in your old life before you came to the Borderlands, everything in comparison now seems so...Childish, in a way, your problems weren’t as bad as you ever thought.

After helping gather canned goods and whatever snacks were on the list you had made your way through the store, stray shopping carts were abandoned and remnants of life still remained, not a lot, but just enough for it to feel eery, it really did make you wonder what happened to everyone.

“There’s a cart right there, you’re gonna break the ones you already have if you keep that up.” You snapped your head to glare at Chishiya as you fumbled with the canvases you were holding, “You know that used to be someone's cart right!” You rolled your eyes as you set them down in the empty cart that had been rolled towards the notebook section.

“And now it’s yours. You’re so emotional.” He sighed in exasperation, his eyes sharply looking down at all the paint material before he snorted as if amused by something making your brows furrow in suspicion.

“I’m not! It’s just having human decency, you know people used to live in this place before whatever happened,” You crossed your arms, tutting as you kneeled down, grabbing a jar of paint in each color, “Although I won’t lie, the cost of living has effectively gone down since then.”

You briefly looked at the expensive price tag that was placed under the paints before placing them into the cart carefully as you twisted back around, rolling the cart towards the brushes.

“Just at the cost of living now,” Chishiya puffed as he crossed his arms, “Shouldn’t you be buying psychology books or something more useful?” His gaze narrowed as you looked over your shoulder at him, now annoyed at his presence that was endlessly judging your every move.

“Shouldn’t you be helping Hiroko find the chip aisle?” Chishiya’s gaze turned cold making you snort, a smile of amusement dancing on your lips as you plucked the first brush from it’s container, “Okay...I guess not. You two really don’t like each other huh.”

“She’s an idiot that thinks she’s smarter than she is,” Chishiya replied, that loose cold tone of his as always making you roll your eyes, “I’d rather be here then in her insufferable presence.” a bit harsh but this was Chishiya, he often rolled between seemingly innocent and scheming to downright cold hearted at times.

“I’m flattered that you’re so interested in my hobbies then!” You replied with a fake peppiness as you swirled around to face him, dumping a pile of brushes into the cart, “Also, just because I’m a psych major doesn’t mean my whole life revolves around it. It’s like saying just because your a med student all you know is how to OD someone and that’s all you do.”

Chishiya clacked his tongue as he raised his brows while shrugging making your expression crumple as you huffed, crossing your arms, “Have you killed someone before coming here? Seriously? I would NOT want you to be my doctor.”

This made somewhat of an amused smirk quirk on his lips as he looked down at you, “I haven’t, but I supposed if it made you feel better I can say I have.” You rapidly blinked, staring at him as if he was insane, “How is that supposed to make me feel better? That just makes me even more uneasy, you could be lying through your teeth and I’d never be able to tell.”

You flailed your arms as you rolled the cart out of the aisle, Chishiya following behind making no effort to show he was in a hurry as he snorted, “For a psychology major I guess I just thought you’d be better at reading people. Guess you’re dumber than you look huh.”

“Do you have some kind of god complex with being smart?” You turned to face him as your expression contorted, “Because yes! I fully admit I’m an idiot, that's not an insult to me. My power is not in my brain but my heart, unfortunately.” You pointed at your heart before wincing a little, truthfully it wasn’t always what it was cracked up to be, “You know what- What’s with that anyways?” You furrowed your brows as you leaned your arms against the handle of the cart, “You really value intellect that much?”

You had noticed that pattern in Chishiya’s speech, an insult he regularly used was among demeaning to someone's intelligence, but not in the childish way it was often used, he meant it literally. As if nothing could be more embarrassing to someone then being dumb, to which you didn’t understand or hold any value too. He was proof that intelligent people were not always the most kind hearted.

Chishiya stared at you for a long minute, his expression unchanging as you shrugged pushing the cart as you peered down the next aisle, “I view life as a game I intend to win,” He relented making you pause as you looked back at him, your head titled, his smile looked viscous as he spoke, “And anyone who doesn’t have any wit to play is destined to lose. And I will win, because nobody is smart enough to beat me.”

You puffed a breath as you raised your brows with a breathy chuckle, “You sound like you need a good group therapy session, is all I hear when you speak. But hey, I guess you’re doing great now considering our lives are being turned into literal games now. I guess every mentality pays off in it’s own way.”

You picked up the pack of prism colored pencils from the end cap as you flipped them to look at the back of the package, “And all I hear is a defeatist mentality from you.” You peered up at Chishiya with an amused expression at his words as you shook your head, all he did was talk but never made any point, was he trying to figure you out in the elusive way possible?

“I’m not a defeatist, I’m just not as ruthless as you, in the way I view life that is. Why? Are you curious about my take on the world?” You teased a little, knowing this would immediately disengage him and just as you thought you watched him puff a breath, his arms crossing and his gaze becoming narrow.

“Why would I have any interest in someone who openly admits to being an idiot?” Chishiya replied, that irritated cat-like expression on his face and that annoying sing-song tone of his, you sighed, rolling your eyes, having learned to not take his cold words so seriously anymore, “If anything, the more you speak, the more confirmation I have that you’re right, you’re a total moron that has no clue what she’s ever talking about.”

Your face scrunched a little as you placed the pack of pencils in the cart before turning to face him, “Then why are you still talking to me?” You asked, raising your hands a little, and when he didn’t reply you smiled, “I mean really, if I’m so obnoxiously stupid, to the point of even admitting it, Wouldn’t it make sense that you’d just ignore me?”

Chishiya sighed as he glanced up at the ceiling, “Because you’re the most tolerable out of everyone here. But even you just open your mouth and shit flies out, I thought maybe with you being in an intellectual major you’d be more prophetic than you are?”

He stopped in a look of mild confusion at why you were giggling so much at his words, you had to cover your mouth as you raised your brows in delight, “Awwh! I didn’t realize you thought of me like that! I would’ve tried harder to psychoanalyze you more if that was the case!”

You laughed as you pushed your hair back leaning against the cart as you shook your head in amusement, “No but seriously, I think you’re getting psychology and philosophy mixed up here. I still only have one functioning braincell, sorry to disappoint.” Your nose scrunched as you smiled before pushing the cart into the next aisle.

“To answer your original question, since wifi isn’t a thing and the internet virtually doesn’t exist anymore I’m trying to find new hobbies to keep me out of games from boredom.” Admittedly, it wasn’t that, you’d say you were addicted to the feeling of putting your life on the line. You hadn’t been in the Borderlands that long.

But something about the adrenaline and the peril need to solve something, it kept your mind active and buzzing for a good few days, even after clearing a game. You already had over two weeks on your visa so there wasn’t really a need to go out and do something as reckless as playing a game.

Truthfully, you were very grateful you had run into Hiroko and Ryu in your first game, and admittedly also Chishiya who had found the Beach in the matter of hours after being told. Because of them, you weren’t nearly as fearful as you could have been, even now.

Being with your friends who were more experienced, it gave you confidence that you’d all solve everything and things would turn out okay. And maybe to some degree that mentality was dangerous.

More than anything, you knew you needed to become desensitized to the games and the cruel reality of the Borderlands if you wanted to last long. That was the real reason you had been pushing yourself to clear games every few nights. You weren’t addicted to the sensation, you just needed to push yourself into an indifferent state of mind.

It wasn’t healthy, you above anyone else knew that, but you knew it was necessary for your mind to adapt to survive.

“What about you med boy? Don’t you have any hobbies outside of fucking with people and making kids cry?” Your lips curled into a smile as you looked over your shoulder, watching Chishiya clack his tongue, rolling his eyes as you snorted.

“What makes you think I talk to children?” You raised your hands in surrender, “Fair enough,” You glanced at him, the silence loud for just a brief moment before you tried to fight the smile on your face as you pressed your tongue into your cheek as he continued, “I’m like anyone else, I can go for a good game of mahjong, chess and on occasion I enjoy building an taser gun-”

You paused as you whirled around, “A what gun?” Your brows crinkled together in confusion at how his sentence jumped from zero to one hundred as quick as it did.

Chishiya made a noise that sounded something between a scoff and snort at your contorted expression, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the shelf, “I was in robotics as a kid and straight A’s in science and chemistry. I build things.”

“Like...weapons?” You rubbed your head as you frowned, looking away from him as you let out a somewhat wry laugh, “Jeez, so you’re basically saying you’ve always been this intense even before the Borderlands huh.” You puffed a breath as you puckered your lips, suddenly a childish smile on your face, “Wait! So in theory…! Could you...build like a- a slingshot?”

“What are you a child?”

“Well...what about...a bing-bag gun?”

“Already did that in grade school.”

“Stun gun?”

“Vague description but yes I’ve built things similar in function.”

Your lips twisted into a pout as you let your chin rest on the handlebar of the cart, “...Flamethrower?”

Chishiya’s eyes squinted a little as you smiled in victory before he sighed, “No but that’s theoretically the easiest to build.” You crossed your arms, he was just giving excuses now!

“How? How could a flame thrower be easy to build!?” You threw up your arms now annoyed at his confidence.

“Ah, any flammable spray can and lighter, next question?” He quirked a brow, now looking semi amused at your expression as you huffed, now out of ideas, to be fair, just how many weapons could be built from scratch anyways? Impressive sure, but before the Borderlands, just how useful was it anyways? Let alone legal?

“Okay well I’m out of things to ask,” You clacked your tongue, looking away from him briefly before smiling, “Oh…! It’s probably a bad idea but we should go find a spray can, then, I’ve never tried that before!”

What’s the worst that could happen anyways?

“You...burned the store down…?” Akari rubbed her head in disbelief as you pouted, Hiroko having thoroughly chewed your ass out on how irresponsible you were as you sat in the pool chair, your hands on your face and your cheeks puffed.

“How was I supposed to know the flames traveled up to seven feet! It’s Chishiya’s fault, he should’ve at least given me a fair warning!” You threw up your hands as you accused the unbothered blonde.

“I tried, didn’t I?” Chishiya laid out in his chair next to you, a pair of black aviators covering his eyes and this had to be the first time you had seen him without his jacket on, his hair shockingly tied up into a bun and away from his face aside the two strands hanging down as always.

“But like always you wouldn’t shut up and stop to listen. So I thought experience would be the best teacher,” Chishiya shrugged casually, a smug expression on his face as he spoke, “Fortunately for me that’s the last time Hiroko ever asks us to go out with them again. It's a win-win if you look at it like that.”

You whined as you bounced in your seat, leaning back as you sighed, “Hiroko was so pissed off she said she didn’t wanna see me the rest of the day. She really could be a mom.”

“Awh’ does that mean you ain’t coming tonight for the game?” Akari flicked her hat up a little as she raised a brow making you slump with a sigh, you were sure you could go, Hiroko wouldn’t actually stick to her word but...You admittedly felt kinda bad, you just wanted to kill a little time while Ryu and Hiroko finished up.

“I’ll probably sit tonight out, it’s not like I need to clear a game anyways, my visa has nearly two weeks on it and I don’t wanna do a game by myself.” You crossed your arms with a sulk, you didn’t feel confident enough in yourself to attempt a game without anybody else, and if you died nobody would ever know.

Akari whistled as she pressed the beer bottle to her lips, “That sucks,” She took a long chug as your nose wrinkled a little, “But hey! Maybe you could talk to Nanami, she’s been pretty sour the whole morning. I tried talkin’ to her earlier but she was pretty snippy.”

You curved a brow in curiosity, sure Nanami had been mad at you but Akari? They were probably closer friends then you and Akari were any day of the week, “Why?” You rubbed your head, maybe she was just in a mood altogether today.

Akari’s face twisted as she snorted, “Because of you.”

Your head collapsed against the chair as you inhaled sharply, “If she’s still mad about this morning then I’m gonna need a drink before I even try to talk to her. Do you know what’s going on with her? Because I’m extremely lost as to what her problem is.”

Akari placed a hand on her hip as she sighed in exasperation, “I dunno’ other than maybe that group of friends she’s with. They’re all pretty bad apples in my humble opinion, ever since she started hanging out with them she's been pretty moody.”

You placed a hand on your forehead as you sighed, “Right, of course, it’s always the friends,” You collapsed back into your chair as you stretched out, “Listen, don’t get me wrong,” you placed a hand in front of you to block out the sun as you looked up at Akari, “I love Nanami, and I want to work things out with her. I do, but right now?”

You clacked your tongue in semi disappointment, “Me trying to talk to her is only going to make her push me away even more and make even dumber choices. If she needs to go through this, then she’s gonna have to go through it. I’ll be here for her regardless.”

You had known your sister long enough to know that anytime she acted like this, you trying to talk to her would only push her further away and that’s not what you wanted to do. The only difference was you had never seen her go so...extreme before…

And the last thing you wanted was for Nanami to go off the deep end because of you and possibly...you shuddered at the idea, the possibilities were endless here in the Borderlands where there were no laws for people to abide by.

Akari sighed as she took her hat off, fanning it over her face as she rubbed her head, “Hey, it’s not my place to tell ya what to do with your sister, all I’m saying is it may be beneficial to at least try.” She shrugged as she walked away making you groan.

You could try again but you had a feeling it wouldn’t get you anywhere with her. It felt odd to think about, because one part of you felt like you had nothing but time now except for the constant loom of imminent death. You wouldn’t deny the fear that constantly set inside you at the idea of Nanami going into a game and never coming back.

But what could you really do? Outside irritate her and push her to continue doing harmful things? You supposed, in some ways, you were a hypocrite, you were putting your life on the line for nothing other than out of wanting to break the cycle, to remember truly what it means to live, without it even being necessary. You wouldn’t blame her for being angry at you for that.

“Hmm, I didn’t realize you actually let people dictate what you do in your free time, you’re a pretty big push over.” You slowly twisted in your seat to glare at Chishiya’s lounged out figure looking like a cat in the sun as he spoke in a sing-song tone.

“...Do you ever shut up?”

“Not particularly.”

You clacked your tongue, huffing as you collapsed back in your chair, “Well what? You wanna do a game together? I just…” You held up your hands, looking at them as you scrunched your nose, “Feel like if I went with you, there’s a good chance you’d probably use me as bait or something and I’d end up getting killed.”

“Wasn’t that your goal this morning?” Chishiya lifted his aviators as he turned to look at you from his laid out position, you squinted a little, crossing your arms once more as you leaned back in your seat.

“Well- yeah…” You fumbled before squinting even harder at Chishiya’s expression, “But now that you said it like that I have to not die out of pure spite, you didn’t answer my question by the way. I doubt you wanted to do a game with Hiroko anyways.” You rolled your eyes, still not understanding why Chishiya had such a distaste for her.

Sure she was a little accusative and Hiroko obviously didn’t trust him, but could Chishiya, genuinely say that wasn’t for good reason? You had figured out that this man, if anything, was self aware of how he came across from an outside perspective. That was the part that baffled you, how could he blame someone for distrusting him?

Even you distrusted Chishiya to a certain extent, and you had no problems letting him casually know such as now. Truly, you couldn’t rule out the possible idea of being used as bait in a game by him and not even realizing it.

Honestly, given the environment you lived in, you could at least appreciate that he kept you on your toes. And you supposed that was the difference between you and Hiroko, she wanted to trust all of her friends. You weren’t so caught up in that.

Because really, even in the outside world, before the Borderlands, friends could hardly be trusted fully. And those he believed in such, were always disappointed, friends lied, gossiped, went behind your back, slept with previous boyfriends. You hardly trusted anyone fully, in that sense, it wasn’t hard for you to just let go of some of Chishiya’s less then morally good behavior

Chishiya only waved a hand, “If you think we’ll find someone more interesting than your dry friends.”

“My dry friends,” You raised a brow as you twisted to look at his unbothered figure, “Act like you’re unassociated all you want but that doesn’t make you not part of the group. You are so weird. Anyways yeah sure, they just got word today that a new venue opened up at the bridge, we could go there.”

“You’re still a pushover.”

“What the fuck.” You replied deadpan as you stared him down, watching in annoyance at his sunglasses being put back on as he leaned back in his chair but the unmistakable cheshire smirk on his face as you rolled your eyes, “You're just asking to be torn apart.”

“So then why don’t you do it?” Chishiya challenged you casually, evening daring to lift his drink as he took a long sip before speaking up once more, “All you do is threaten people. How am I supposed to take you serious when you never follow through?”

“Last time I did it I made a man commit suicide.” You replied dryly, something in your tone lingering as you glanced out over the pool where everyone just pretended like they didn’t see people slaughtered night after night.

Escapism, was a very raw and primal way of coping with a shitty reality, you understood the concept well enough before the Borderlands, but ever since coming here, it became more and more apparent to you just how common it really was. What were you supposed to do with blood staining your hands.

Red caught your attention briefly as your eyes flickered to your hands that were clean as always. Staring down at them in wonder you couldn’t help but think, that some parts of you would never be the same after this. No amount of therapy or inner healing would bring you back to a time in your life where you hadn’t witnessed the atrocities you had.

Some parts of you, were amazing at blocking out the Borderlands, taking the days you were alive for granted until the moment your heart was pounding and scared for your life, it was an addictive type of feeling in the most terrifying way.

“It was hardly suicide,” Chishiya snorted, not at all perturbed like you were, you looked at him, staring into his figure that drew his attention as he raised a brow, looking unbothered, “You don’t feel the same? All human life is parasitic and is temporary, he would’ve died here anyways, it’s like you said, it doesn’t take much to break the weak link.”

You smacked your lips together as you sighed, some parts of you not surprised at how much of a nihilist Chishiya was, “It doesn’t matter whether his life was baseless and humans are parasitic,” You looked away from him again as you muttered, “It doesn’t change the fact I was the one who manipulated someone into killing themselves.”

Staring down at your hands they trembled only if you looked close enough, briefly you could remember a broken bottle in your hands, sticky wet substance covering them and- “Doesn’t change the fact he would’ve died. It was us or him.” Chishiya shrugged, that snarky yet innocent look on his face as he spoke, “Maybe it’s you who needs therapy.”

“Probably.” Your eyes traced down your fingers before sighing, running a hand through your hair, “If you’re gonna be a nihilist then I’ll see myself to the bar.” Chishiya waved a hand unbothered as you got up from your seat.

If you ever escaped the Borderlands you were absolutely going to be the one at the sitting end of a therapy office instead of the listening side.

----

“You’re a horrible driver.” Your nose was scrunched and you had a death grip on the side of the door of the car, you’d think for someone who was so analytical they’d be more careful. Chishiya? No, he was aggressive with sharp turns and fast pace making you hold on for dear life.

“I never got a license.” Chishiya replied in a sing song tune that you were beginning to find extremely annoying, that stupid smirk on his face as you opened the door the car, stepping out as you grabbed your neck.

“You know,” You turned to face him now standing just before the bridge, “If I’m gonna die here-” Chishiya sighed exasperated as you held up a hand, “What is your fascination with wanting to die?-” “No listen- I’m not saying I will but if,” You stressed the word, “If I die here, I really don’t want it to be from your shitty subpar driving skills.”

Chishiya snorted, rolling his eyes as you both stepped past the platform to which you had been informed awhile ago that there really was no turning back from games, you had...subconsciously assumed that, never having even thought it would be possible to go back from a game, but it was just another stressful reality you’d have to navigate.

You notice three other people who stood around all looking unsure of each other and you both included. You weren’t sure what type of game would be held on the bridge, there were plenty of cars still and you couldn’t help but wonder.

“What if there’s only one survivor to this game? Is that a thing?” You leaned a little towards Chishiya who had stuffed his hands into his pocket, his eyes flickering to you as he raised a brow.

“Does your brain only function on one memory at a time?” Your expression twisted somewhat indignant making an amused half smile curl on Chishiya’s face causing your childish anger to further as you crossed your arms, “Yes they exist, and for that matter I’ll just let you die since you’re so determined to let it happen prematurely-” “It will with the way you drive.” “Stop being so dramatic.”

You puffed a breath as you shifted your weight, “No seriously, what if only one persons survives?” You asked, you hadn’t really thought about it truthfully, you had done games where it was possible but you supposed you had just been lucky, most games if not close to all, many could survive. Was that something you should be worried about. Chishiya only shrugged, not having an answer as you hummed.

It was only six o’clock and the sun was beginning to set, was anyone else going to, “Oh jeez, this doesn’t look promising.” You turned to where someone stood having just arrived. Oh...oh wow, this woman was tall and attractive. It looked like a cigarette was hanging from her lips and she sported nothing but jeans and a bikini top.

Your gaze flickered ahead where you frowned, “I really hate games with props.” You muttered, looking at the anklets that could be doubled as probation bands, seriously? Attaching it to your ankle you inspected that metal loop that dangled from the back, “Do you think they’ll blow our legs off if we move too fast?”

“Doubt it,” The woman spoke up cut in between you both as she grabbed on, inspecting it as she scoffed, “Especially given what we’re doin’. Looks like we’re gonna get real cozy now.”

You looked at the laptop that sat out as you tilted your head.

Game:

Difficulty: 5♠

“The game you will be participating in is, Seek and Destroy”

“That sounds...not fun.” Your nose wrinkled, it was a clubs game, meaning at least you could all work as a team to finish the objection, but...Seek and destroy? You briefly glanced at Chishiya but he remained expressionless, his full undivided attention on the screen.

“In this game there are cars sectioned across the bridge and within five cars, bombs have been planted. One bomb will be activated at a time, you will have five minutes to find it and disarm it. Should you be in the vicinity of the car bomb by the time it goes off you have two choices, Game Over or Test Life.” Your brows furrowed as you listened carefully, “Cables are attached to the bridge, should you be near one you may attach your anklet to it and choose to jump off the bridge to safety.”

“There are five car bombs all total, once the first bomb had been deactivated, the next will start. If you disarm all five, it’s a Game Clear, if you fail to disarm all five, it’s a Game Over.”

Rules

All players must remain on the bridge unless they choose to Test Life

You will have five minutes to plan your course of action, after the siren, the first bomb will be set

If all five bombs aren’t disarmed it’s a Game Over, the only exemption from this rule is if a Life Test is passed in trade.

If someone Tests Life and succeeds, they will make their way back to the bridge and return here as proof of success or it’s an automatic Game Over for them.

“Ha...ha! This should be easy!” A woman spoke up as she grabbed her head, “Guys! If we just chose to test life, we can all escape down, not break any rules and clear the game!” You heard a few others excitedly agree with her but you felt...unsure…

You glanced at Chishiya who remained stoic, the only other person who seemed to also not be sold was the woman next to you, who practically towered over you and looking up you only just realized her cigarette was fake, “You into women or something?” She winked causing you fumble a little as you stepped away, “I don’t judge.”

“I’m into not dying,” You replied as you looked at the laptop, the countdown having already started, Chishiya only shrugged as he spoke up, “Could’ve fooled me.” You rolled your eyes at him, he seemed curious as he followed the other three.

“It’s simple, I’ll just attach this and! Just look for some others!” She excitedly clipped the bungee cord to the metal hoop before she stood up on the ledge, lifting her arms as she breathed in a deep breath, “I’ll see you guys on the way down!”

Your eyes were wide at her blind faith as she fell down, Chishiya peered down as everyone watched in baited breath, “It’s dumb to assume things would be that easy on a Spades game which is based around physical exertion, true bungee jumping matches the energy, but that would be too easy.” Chishiya spoke, shrugging as you glanced at him briefly before back at the woman who had finally hit the bottom of her cord, you had expected her to bounce but you gasped a little as she jerked before you could only assume her anklet broke and she smashed straight into the water.

She...she had to die from the impact with nothing to break the fall from here to there, “Just as I expected,” He sighed in exasperation, everyone turned to Chishiya who appeared only semi annoyed, “Anyone who believed a game value of five would be that easy is truly an idiot,” He offered a snide smile, “Just as I thought, Test Life is meant literally and meant to be a last resort, either you die by a car bomb or you take a chance with a possible faulty cord or band. The only way we clear a game without disarming all five bombs is if one goes off and someone chooses to test life and doesn’t die, it’s not only risky but stupid to rely on.”

“Talk about cold,” The woman beside you spoke up, making Chishiya shrug loosely, “You couldn’t have said that five seconds sooner and we’d have a sixth player?” Her lip lifted a little in annoyance at Chishiya’s callous nature.

Chishiya offered a cold smile, “A hypothesis without any evidence is just an assumption.”

The woman had no words, probably taken aback at just how cold Chishiya was, you leaned in a little as you whispered, “You get used to it. Y/n,” You introduced yourself briefly with a weak smile, admittedly you had just accepted and gotten used to Chishiya’s nihilistic views.

“Harsh,” She snorted, “Kuina. You two seem acquainted.”

Your lips fell back into a grimace as you briefly looked at Chishiya who raised a brow at you, “Somehow...” You shook your head, truthfully, no matter how hard you tried to get away from this man, you always seemed to end up talking to him, or in situations like this with him, “So what’s the plan Spock?” You shrugged as you looked at Chishiya, half your time of planning already over.

Chishiya didn’t reply at first and admittedly you wouldn’t consider him the embodiment of a leader, but you did think if anyone had a good calculation and strategy to go through this without messing up, it was him, “The rules stated nothing about having to disarm them in sequence, only that after the first was disarmed, a second would start and so forth.”

You frowned at his words making him sigh in exasperation as he looked away from you, “Which means if we broke into pairs we can just search all the cars and disarm them all within a reasonable amount of time and least amount of panic. You know,” Chishiya sneered, “They’re being quite charitable for a 5.”

“Okay great,” You sneered back in unappreciation giving back the same energy you were annoyed at being given at the moment, sure, you were dumb, you could admit it, and you had a feeling it really grated on Chishiya’s nerves that you in fact, did not consider it an insult in the least. You worked in the realms of irrationality of human nature, not the laws of logic like him.

In some ways, you considered yourself a polar opposite of him sometimes, “I’m glad this is easy for you. Just tell us what we need to do, jerk.”

Chishiya rolled his eyes at your expression, not surprised in the least at your attitude which he, just as always, ignored it, “There’s six of us- or was…” His lips curled into a menacing smirk, “There’ll be two pairs and one single person, one pair will go towards the back of the bridge and search the cars back to front, a bomb will most likely be placed in the hood of the car if the engines have been taken out or in the trunk. Another pair will search the beginning of the bridge starting from here and work their way towards the middle. Lastly the person by themselves will search the middle which won’t be as hard to go through alone.”

“Alright, then I’ll pair up with the blonde twink, I have a few words to talk to him about.” Kuina shrugged, making Chishiya’s gaze snap over, his expression briefly looking confused for a second at her wording as she offered a sharp smile, “What? Are you intimidated?”

Chishiya’s expression melted back into a cool tone, his gaze briefly looking over to you which you only observed the two, already getting the feeling you and Kuina were going to get along and hey, if you all survived this, you’d totally tell her about the Beach, “Hardly,” Chishiya snorted, “But in case you couldn’t tell I already have a partner.” You raised your brows looking around, wow, he was fast at deciding who would help him the most, “It’s you idiot.”

“Oh,” Your lips parted a little, admittedly feeling a little dumb forgetting, but honestly, who could blame you? You just assumed Chishiya would pair with the person most beneficial to him, after a second your lips curled into a smile as you shrugged, “Oh?” You raised your brows a little making Chishiya’s expression go a little exasperated as your smile turned into a grin, “Oh I don’t mind!” You spoke, smiling at Kuina as you waved her over to him, “Have fun with him, he’s a real blast! I can partner with one of you if you’d like, I’m a go with the flow kinda person.”

“I was a cross country runner! I can go by myself.” A girl, who looked like she was fresh out of highschool spoke as she volunteered herself, leaving you with only one partner, the male who...definitely looked like he could use a shower. He gave you a grimy smile which you weakly returned, “This just leaves us. I’m Daichi, and you m’lady?”

You could hear a strained laughter from two people as you looked over your shoulder, harshly glaring laser beams out of your eyes at Chishiya who had pulled his hood up to try and pretend like he totally wasn’t smiling while stifling his laughter while Kuina was more then openly laughing at your obvious short straw hand here, but hey...You did forfeit your partnership with Chishiya out of spite, this was in some way...deserved.

“Y/n. if everyone is sorted out, let’s take the far end of the bridge, it’s least likely they’d start the first bomb there right?” You looked towards Chishiya who shrugged, “What do we do about the bombs? I don’t exactly have any experience in the reams of demolition work.”

“It’s possible, as for the bombs I doubt they have anything complex. It’s probably made of some akin to a battery pack. Just rip the wiring from the pack and not the bomb.” He replied making you cross your arms, an amused expression on his face as he answered.

“...And if it’s not that simple...?”

“I guess we’ll find out.” He used that sing song tone you groaned at, unhelpful as always as you groaned, “Cheer up Y/n, it keeps things interesting.” What was his deal with things needing to be interesting...

“Well, let’s get going while we still have time,” You nodded to Daichi who nodded eagerly as you both began walking out onto the bridge, cars were scattered all across the bridge and this was admittedly going to take a lot of stamina to do, it was a Spades game, it was expected, but still.

You briefly felt uncomfortable, you could feel Daichi’s stares and he seemed like an okay guy but...Sometimes, more days than you wished, you could just feel a person’s energy and their intentions, Daichi was a perfect example of this. He was easy to read, from the way his eyes kept coping a feel at your body which wasn’t even in anything revealing besides the plain t-shirt you wore and sweatpants as per usual, “So Y/n, what were you before all of this.”

Your eyes briefly glanced at Daichi before ahead again, “I worked as a barista at a coffee shop,” You answered with a neutral expression, not wanting to come across bitchy or too nice.

Men in society, are told from a young age that so long as you’re nice, a good guy, doing the right thing, you’ll always get the girl. It twists the perception of reality for them, suddenly a women being nice is considered flirtation, a date to get to know one another will be rewarded with sex, there’s almost always a goal in mind when it comes to a Nice Guy.

You don’t think Daichi is one of these men, you could tell by the way he fidgeted and he seemed to hesitate and drag his words out a little, he was too insecure to truly feel that type of superiority. But he had that energy of a guy, who felt these things internally and therefore, if provoked, would probably end up saying the exact same things.

“Oh?” Daichi perked up a little, his smile was sincere if not a little awkward as his eyes lingered below your stomach, “Like at a maid cafe?”

“Like at a coffee shop,” You repeated yourself, not being too nice but not too mean, just neutral as you internally sighed, maybe you should’ve stayed partners with Chishiya, you knew he was an ass, but at least he didn’t act like this, or most men for that matter. You could at least appreciate his authenticity even if he was hardly honest, “Uh, let’s just focus on disarming these car bombs.”

You didn’t give Daichi a chance to reply as you heard the siren go off, breaking off into a sprint because you weren’t even halfway across the bridge yet. You needed to be to the end of the bridge within five minutes if the first bomb was there. Though the chances were low, they weren’t zero.

You weren’t someone considered extreme fit but you did walk a lot and it seemed you made a lot better head way then Daichi as he was out of breath and had his hands on his knees as you arrived at the end of the bridge, the first car bomb had to be disarmed by now and it had taken a good few minutes to even get here, “Okay, let’s separate and start looking at cards, hoods first then trunks.”

Daichi nodded, still out of breath as you started on the first car, popping the hood as you searched in before going to the trunk. Leaving it open so you wouldn’t confuse it later on as you had a lot of cars to go through. You hoped Chishiya and Kuina were at the very least, having better luck then you.

…

“So I’m guessing you two have probably fucked.” Kuina clacked her tongue as she watched you in the distant sprinting off, in her opinion probably running away from that creep, not that she could blame you, it did give her a good laugh.

Chishiya’s gaze remained neutral as he ignored Kuina’s comment. Tch, Chishiya made the exception of tolerating your idiocy purely because, to some degree, he’d admit, you were one of the few people he found interesting, he wasn’t sure he could do that for someone else who he wouldn’t consider as such, especially as self entitled as this woman, “I wouldn’t fuck someone like her. You aren’t good at reading people. Let's start searching and not waste time.”

Kuina raised her hands up, flicking the wooden cigarette in her mouth as she shrugged, “Alright but you can’t fool me with those eyes. It’s clear you two got some chemistry,” She snorted at his lack of reply, “Anyways, what’s your deal?” She asked, furrowing her brows as they both separated, searching through the hoods before popping the trunks, “Bit cold to just let someone die like that.” She called out.

“In case you’re inferior mind couldn’t tell,” Chishiya leaned against the back of the car as he smiled coldly, “We needed hard proof that Test Life was literal and not only this, but if this equipment is even stable. Which it isn’t, obviously.” Chishiya shrugged casually, “And we wouldn’t have known if someone dumb enough didn’t want to try,” He let out a sing song tone as he smiled in that false innocence of his, “I just consider it natural selection in the Borderlands.”

Kuina grimaced a little, talk about borderline inhumane, “Oh look what we have here,” Chishiya looked delighted at the sight of the first bomb, it’s quiet tick ever impending to it’s explosion, Kuina quickly came over as she scratched her head, “So we know we’re supposed to disarm them, but we were never told how...Is it really as simple as you said?” She rolled her eyes.

Chishiya snorted, “This is a basic homemade bomb, and surprise, surprise, it has a battery pack attached, it doesn’t take a genius to know to just pull the wiring and there won’t be any energy to dispense to the denotation.” And just like they, he yanked the wiring from the remote pack and the ticking stopped.

Kuina felt a breath of relief escape her, obviously not confident in his abilities and who could blame her? For as smart as Chishiya was, it was difficult to trust the man, nor would it be wise of anyone.

“Great, glad we got a bomb expert on our side,” Kuina sighed, pushing her hands into her pockets before yelling out, “We got one!” As loud as she could, it echoed off the bridge and she was sure at least the highschooler heard her, “Anyways that’s boring. So you consider it natural selection huh- harsh. What ‘bout her then? Seems like you only wanted to be with her.”

“What about her?” Chishiya, now annoyed, turned to Kuina, who was truthfully, only stirring the pot because she enjoyed getting under people’s skin, this blonde’s in particular, “We entered the game together? I guess?” He raised his brows, that dark, yet low innocent expression on his face as he spoke, “I’d assume it’s natural isn’t it? To stick to what one knows? But instead I’m stuck with you.”

Kuina only offered a menacing smile in return, “In full glory,” She gestured down to herself proudly, “Listen- I’m only stating what I see, that and this is pretty amusing to listen too. It’s not often I get put in a game that isn’t high intensity.” Admittedly, while Kuina would never openly admit to it, Chishiya being here had definitely calmed things down a little, had it not been for his pure cut logic, things would probably be more hectic.

“I got one!” Kuina looked up at the sound of the highschool girl screaming out, echoing distantly as Kuina curled her fists in victory, “Alright, just three to go, we’ll be done in no time.” Chishiya only looked over his shoulder, saying nothing as he continued searching through cars, “For someone so smart, you sure don’t look victorious.”

“It’s foolish to assume victory during a battle,” Chishiya spoke, “At least that’s something Sun Tzu would’ve said, we only have two done in a field of cars. They were forgiving with the obvious rules but not so much in the size of the game. It’ll be a tight fit trying to find the last one within five minutes.”

Kuina rubbed her head, that was true, she guessed, but she didn’t see it like that. The faster they looked and disabled these bombs, the quicker they could find others. It couldn’t be that difficult.

“But we don’t know where they’re placed, it could be to our advantage that most of them are clumped togeth- Oh…” Kuina paused at the sight of a ticking bomb just inches away from her, apprehension in her face as she stepped away, she could fight with her fists any day of the week but a bomb? No thanks, “Disarm this so I don’t kill us on accident.”

Chishiya looked smug as she rolled her eyes and with in moments he disarmed it as Kuina called out, the third one finished and only two left to go, if all went well just as planned, then they would have an easy night.

“Whatever the case is, as long as nobody screws up this will be easy,” Chishiya’s lips twitched into a smirk as he spoke, “They’re pretty stupid to label this a five when it’s really a three.” He supposed, at least this was another build up on his visa which was extending more and more by the day.

It wasn’t, that Chishiya was interested in death. No, it was quite the opposite, he was fascinated in why there was so much death, what was the reason? He hadn’t come up with a solid theory yet, but it was in the works. And furthermore, games and their mechanics were quite interesting, death being a punishment was only an added twist which was, admittedly beginning to get a little dull in his opinion.

After all it was difficult to threaten someone with death when they had no fascination in life whatsoever, “Well, just a little more to go and we’ll be finished.” Kuina yawned out, admittedly ready to eat a hot boil of ramen after this before crashing.

What neither of them expected was the loud booming echo of an explosion black smoke blooming the air both of them were taken a back as they ran to the side railing of the bridge attempting to look for where the explosion was, only to watch you being blasted off the railing straight off the bridge.

This was not going as planned.

...

Three Minutes Earlier…

Searching through the car trunk you rubbed your head, you had heard some shouting earlier indicating that the highschool student had already found a bomb and you had heard previous yelling as well, twice, once before the highschool student, another just a minute ago. This game was going fast. You sighed as you shoved your hands into your pocket, it would be bullshit if there wasn’t a single bomb at the back of the bridge.

You supposed it would very fortunate but, you ran all the way here, for nothing if there wasn’t.

Not to mention you and Daichi had gotten through quite a few cars in minimal time, he has just finished car and was making his way towards the edge of the bridge where on the last few cars of this little sliver were at, you admittedly, still had a long way too go.

You sighed walking over to a Mercedes which looked extremely expensive- maybe you could get someone from the Beach to fix it up…You groaned at the sound of heavy breathing, was Daichi trying to run again?

You peered over the hood of your car until to see him stiff as a board in front of a hood of a white Sudan.

Sometimes, you can just tell, when something is wrong. Nothing needs to be said, or heard. This was one of those moments where you felt a deep pit in your stomach. You made your way over in a hurry only to head an impending tick and Daichi’s hands were on the bomb making you almost immediately back away, “Uhh...okay cool you found it…” Daichi’s hands trembled and his breath was heavy as you watched a bead of sweat drip down his neck.

“Just uh...disarm it now.” You frowned a little, peering behind his shoulder to see the timer at was at a minute. Shit this must’ve been the next one activated, “Quickly.”

Daichi’s hands shook harder as he spoke hurriedly, “I...I don’t know how!” He freaked out sweat dripping off his chin as you backed away a little further, finding the edge of the bridge behind you and stepping on something.

“Just...do it like Chishiya said! Daichi we only have forty seconds!” You urged him, trying not to freak him out any further, “Ah here I’ll do it!”

“No!” Daichi screamed out, clutching it further as he spoke harshly, “If- if it’s moved it’ll explode!” He cried out, your heart rate was spiking and if he didn’t do anything you both were going to get killed, “Just rip off the wiring from the pack. Just like Chishiya said.” You shuffled a little, looking down only to see a cord piled up beneath your right foot.

Swallowing you carefully walked closer to him as you offered a weak smile, “Listen to me,” Daichi trembled and shook as his gaze flickered between the bomb and you, “Just…” twenty seconds left, “Take the wiring and pull it out.” You urged gently.

“How do we even know if we can trust that guy!?” Daichi cried out, “He- he just let a woman die just to see if he was right! We can’t trust him!” Daichi screamed out as you tried to calm your wild heart rate. He needed to calm down and at least try, a try was better than letting the timer go off.

“Chishiya is an expert with chemistry, science and medicine. If anyone knows how to disarm something I’d place my life on him.” That was a very bold claim you weren’t sure you’d actually put into practice but it was true.

Ten seconds.

You fumbled backwards as Daichi hyperventilated, “He practically killed someone! If I do something! It’ll be by my own choice!” He screamed out making you jump as you fumbled to lean down, grabbing the metal hook as you attached it to the cuff of your anklet, but it was too late. Daichi ripped the wiring not from the pack, but the bomb.

You don’t see it, you only see vivid hues of orange and red and blistering heat as the force of the explosion blew you right off the edge. The sky, truly was beautiful, even in your last moments.

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