ACT tells Torrent that it’s not his fault— that he’s not a bad Pokémon, but he knows better. He should have known Calypso would never be the one to cause the world such dismay and fear. He should have known Calypso to be kind and sweet at heart. ACT didn’t know her like he did — they have more of an excuse. He was Calypso’s friend — her only friend. The one she trusted the most. The one she opened up to and stuck by his side thick and thin. He was supposed to know her for who she really is. He should have known — it should have been obvious — that Calypso wasn’t a cruel, evil monstrosity that Gengar described.
He believed a flimsy lie from a known liar instead.
Yeah I just. Yeah. 🥲 Torrent will hate himself for all of time for who he chose to believe at that horribly vital juncture. It’s something he’ll carry with him always.
Years down the line, he’s a successful feraligatr who can’t move past the guilt he’s borne for decades. He stops in a small town and decides to look to a restaurant for a meal on the anniversary of his betrayal of Calypso— not to celebrate, Legends and Life, never to celebrate. It’s because he can’t stand the silence of his own kitchen in the face of the memory of his old partner humming nonsense tunes to herself whenever she cooked.
It’s a tiny eatery— fitting for such an out-of-the-way town. There’s a young Pokémon taking orders and waitressing in a busy flurry, and his own order is received with startling speed and accuracy. Her haste doesn’t seem to fit such an empty building— everyone else is out enjoying the festivities that torturously fall on with this wretched date. The Festival of Lights is a celebration of life and hope, and yet Torrent has never felt so dismal. Yet the food he’s served tastes like a friendship he hasn’t felt in a long, long time.
The waitress asks if he’d like to meet the chef, her mother— it’s a slow day at the restaurant, and they’re both bored out of their minds, and she’s sure her mom could use the distraction. She always gets really sad this time of year, and a conversation with an interesting stranger would do her some good, she’s certain of if. He agrees, and the pokemon who begrudgingly exits the back of the restaurant, complaining to the waitress about how she needs to mind the dinners she’s making for them, makes Torrent stop short.
She looks so tired. He almost didn’t recognize her thanks to her unexpected evolution, but he’d know those eyes anywhere. Calypso is surprised to see him, but she doesn’t turn tail and run like she used to, and she doesn't threaten him with a fight if he didn’t leave. Instead, she gives him a weary, sorrowful look, and sighs.
“It’s been a while, Toro.” A pause that weighs heavier than stone.
Torrent can’t quite answer her.
“I missed you.”
It’s those three words that makes him crack, and the apologies pour out of him like blood from a wound. Calypso listens to them all, and her face screws up at one point like she’s disgusted with him— but then it’s gone, replaced by that exhaustion Torrent always sees when he looks into the mirror.
“We have a lot to catch up on. I don’t want to waste it on apologies.”
“But after everything that happened—”
“After everything that happened, I’m tired of waiting on apologies I didn’t want to hear. I just want my friend. Let’s move on. I’m sure you did that just fine after you joined Team ACT— so let’s do it again here.”
The words tangle up inside his throat. Tears prick his eyes.
“… Oh.” Calypso’s voice warbles. There’s no tears welling up for her, but he can hear how she chokes on the waver in her tone. “You… You never did move on, did you?”
A pause.
“Good to know. I didn’t either. We can meet each other exactly where we left off, then. There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time now...”
“… I’m sorry, too.”
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So tired of never having any energy in my body. There’s so many tasks and things I want and need to do but I just feel so overwhelmed and my body literally can’t move to go do anything besides lay around and read because I’m just that tired
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I come home from college to find my record player, guitar, and amp thrown away. Without any word. I’m sad, angry, and defeated. I know these may not be the most important items in the world, but they are special to me, the amp and guitar being from my dad who passed a few years ago.
I’ve thought about every way the conversation with my mom would go. “You shouldn’t have left them”, “how was I supposed to know they were yours?”, “You have enough stuff already”, “I needed the space”, “this is my house”. No matter the outcome, or my “counterpoints” in this recycling debate, it’s just a loop we end up in over and over. I’m tired of it. I have suffered worse before, sure, and this definitely isn’t the first time this has happened. But it feels like every time I try, I get my footing ripped out from under me. I want to try to get a life, get my education, take care of my health, do things, but I always feel like I’m never on solid footing. I want to achieve, to grow, to change, to heal, but I’m stuck standing still, afraid my step will break the only ground I have.
And in my sadness I am reminded that there is no way of truly having a right to exist when you are never allowed to take up the space to do so.
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