hauntingseashells

[hauntingseashells]

other people have loved Tango enough.. can I pick him up and throw him into a wall /j

-🐚

{125}

SLAM!!

[hauntingseashells]

neon life AU.. harpy hare by yaelokre.. I will not be normal about this thought

[hauntingseashells]

love writing out details that don't matter at all to the story. like yes it is important to write out how every single person died. no this will not be relevant for like. 99% of the story probably.

[hauntingseashells]

Late Night Bar Talk

An Imp and Skizz Neon White AU Oneshot, 1.9k words.

It was a quiet hour at the Neon Bar, and Skizz was bored out of his mind. He had cleaned all his glasses three times already, there was no dusty spot left in the entire bar, and there was nobody to talk to yet. The Neons were all still out on their assignments — of course they were, it had only been two hours since the first Neons left for their assignments — and while, yes, Skizz knew assignments were important, he’d wish Neons could spend more time here.

Alright. Maybe he was just missing one Neon in specific. Can you blame him though? The Neon had been participating in almost every competition he could remember. How he hadn’t won yet, Skizz wasn’t sure. Was he losing on purpose? Was he very unlucky? Who knows, really. He didn’t talk much about himself. Not about the more serious, hidden stuff at least. 

With all his experience, he would’ve been back already by now, right? Did Skizz overestimate him? Did something happen? Did he d-... Skizz needed a distraction, this wasn’t helping. Surely his Neon buddy would be fine. 

—

One demon, two demons, three demons, one by one the amount of demons he had left to kill decreased. He had done this hundreds, maybe even thousands of times before, he knew the drill.

Or so he thought. He’d gotten distracted, and now there was a sharp pain in his leg. Not a sharp pain from accidentally jumping into a ledge, like he had done many times back when he was still a new Neon. No, a sharp pain that felt like he was about to lose his entire leg. And that wasn’t far off.

As he’d gotten distracted, he accidentally jumped into a tripwire. Of course he did. Of course it was a tripwire of all things he hadn’t noticed. He was lucky to make it out alive from that at all, he had seen Neons get killed by those demons, which look so innocent, yet do so much harm. That, however, did not lessen the pain, nor did it make the Neon feel better.

He let out a sharp hiss as he sat down in a safe spot to inspect his leg better. At the very least, there was no physical wound, though he knew it’d leave a bruise. At the very least he didn’t have to explain to Skizz why his leg was half open, or why his pants were bloody, or any of that. He’d let that happen once, after a close encounter with a guardian. The Angel was so worried, the Neon thought he was going to pass out. After that, he swore to be more careful. And to not visit the Neon Bar if he failed to be more careful.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat in his safe spot, but once the pain had lessened a bit, he went back to getting rid of the last few remaining demons, which was proving to be quite hard. The pain had lessened, sure. While he was sitting down. Once he got up and at it again, the pain returned, a harsh reminder that he should really get distracted less. Right, as if that was ever going to happen.

—

Assignment done. By the time he returned to Central Heaven, most of the more experienced Neons had made it back already too. He was late, and he was going to get a massive scolding from Skizz. Probably. With a sigh he resigned himself to his fate and made his way over to the Neon Bar, mentally preparing himself for the Angel. On the other hand, after such a rough assignment, he could use the change of scenery — while Heaven wasn’t ugly or unpleasant by any means, the Neon Bar felt more comfortable. Was that because of the Angel running it? Maybe, maybe not.

—

As time went by, the Neon Bar started getting its first customers of the day, all were Neons Skizz had seen several times before. They’d make some small talk with him, maybe ask for advice on something, and then be on their merry way again to who knows where. But he hadn’t seen the Neon he was looking for yet, and if he wasn’t worried before, he definitely was now. He should be back by now. He always is. What if something really did happen? What if he really was eliminated? What if Skizz was never going to see him again and he never got to say goodbye and-.

Skizz’s train of thought was stopped at the sound of footsteps. Most footsteps sounded the same, yet these somehow felt more familiar.

“Dippledop! There you are!” he happily exclaimed, his past worries gone. He waved the Neon over, scanning him from head to toe as the Neon approached. He had to make sure he was okay, he hadn’t forgotten that one time so many competitions ago where half his leg was exposed. Skizz did not want to see Neon bones again.

Of course, the Neon noticed, and waved him off. “I’m fine, Skizz, I still have all my body parts.” he said, faking annoyance, which the Angel was more than used to. “Just wanna make sure my buddy’s okay!” the Angel smiled, before remembering that he ran the bar they were in. “What can I getcha? The usual?” With a simple nod from the Neon he went to work. Not like ‘the usual’ was any special, the most he could serve was water with lemon due to the restrictions in Heaven. Once he finished the drink he handed it to Impulse. “Here you go Dippledop.”

Impulse muttered a thanks before downing most of his drink in one go. While the drink was simple and nothing special really, it was refreshing. Especially after such a stressful assignment. Before he could say or do anything else, Skizz spoke up.

“Alright, I can tell something went wrong today, and while I won’t force you to say anything, you can tell me about it. If you want.”

Of course Skizz noticed. It was Skizz, he noticed everything, at least when it came to Impulse. Whether it was because Impulse had been in the competition for a long time, because Skizz was insanely good at reading people or because the two were pretty close, Impulse wasn’t sure, but it was both a blessing and a curse. He didn’t want to dump it on Skizz. Or, well, maybe he did need to talk about it. Not just the fact he hurt his leg today, no. He needed to unleash some of his frustration about the competition in general. 

But he wasn’t going to talk about any of that while other Neons were here. Nope, he wouldn’t hear the end of it if the wrong Neons heard any of it. Some Neons were cruel. So he just told Skizz everything was fine, for now. Maybe later he’d tell him.

Skizz, of course, didn’t believe Impulse when he said he was fine. The Neon was very strict on his schedule, always wanting to be back as soon as possible. But he wasn’t going to pressure Impulse into telling him anything, that wouldn’t do any good. So, he just went back to serving Neons their drinks, occasionally shooting a glance at Impulse to see if he was holding up alright.

—

Eventually, most of the Neons had left to get rest, or do whatever Neons did in Heaven outside of their assignments. Skizz was extremely aware of the fact Impulse was still in the Bar, however, and walked over to the Neon. Skizz wasn’t sure just how aware of his surroundings he still was, so he whispered a quiet “Impulse?” to get his attention without scaring him. He had to repeat that a few times, but eventually, Impulse looked up from his now fully empty glass, responding with a small “hm?”

“You okay bud?”

“..Just tired.”

Skizz gave him a look of doubt, before sitting down next to him. He didn’t want to invade the Neons personal space, he knew Impulse valued that a lot. But he still wanted to be close to the Neon, and standing around wasn’t very comfortable.

One of Skizz’s wings reached out to behind Impulse’s back, simply resting there. Skizz’s wings weren’t big by any means, but Impulse appreciated the gesture nonetheless. He instinctively rested his head on Skizz’s shoulder and they simply sat like that in silence for a few minutes, before Impulse let out a sigh, letting words leave his mouth without much thought.

“..it’s tiring, Skizz. This whole competition. I know you probably hear it a lot and you’re sick of Neons complaining about their one job here, but it’s tiring. I’ve seen so many Neons die, and I was almost one of them.”

Impulse paused for a bit, and Skizz remained silent. The Angel had assumed Impulse was talking about that one time his leg was almost severed from his body, but he was proven wrong when Impulse started talking again.

“I wasn’t paying attention during my mission today and a tripwire got me. It only got my leg, thankfully, but I’ve watched Neons die to these things before. I don’t want to die a meaningless death here, especially after being here so long! It’s frustrating! Every time I end up back here again, I can’t win but I’m not dying either! I don’t even get why I’m still here, I’m over my death! I’m not desperate for a second chance anymore and yet..!” the Neon ranted, his voice breaking near the end. He wasn’t crying exactly, though if he spoke any more he would be. 

“Oh Dippledop..” Skizz sighed, before pulling the Neon into a hug. After a few seconds he could feel the Neon tremble, and if it wasn’t for the mask Impulse was forced to wear, Skizz was sure his clothes would be wet. It was fine though, he knew the Neon had to let this out. He almost always kept to himself, so the fact he was vulnerable right now meant the world to Skizz. Impulse trusted him enough to be so vulnerable. He had waited for hours until the Bar was empty just so he could let his emotions out for once.

They simply sat there like that for a while, Skizz loosely hugging Impulse so as to not cross his boundaries, while Impulse clung onto Skizz for dear life. His trembling slowly but surely calmed down again, his grip slowly became less desperate and more relaxed, leaning against Skizz a bit more as to position himself more comfortably into the hug.

“..thanks Skizz.” the Neon muttered into the Angels shoulder, which got a simple “anytime, Impulse.” in return. The two remained like that the whole evening, occasionally shifting slightly. Not shifting away from each other though, if anything the two shifted more together, and by the time it was around midnight the two were full on cuddling. It wasn’t comfortable, cuddling on some bar seats, but they didn’t care. For they had each other and that’s all that mattered at that moment. And if any more experienced Neon were to walk in now they wouldn’t even be surprised to find the two like that, for it was known amongst longer-time Neons that Impulse and Skizz were almost inseparable. And if it wasn’t for one being an Angel and the other being a Neon that was here as ‘visitor’, they’d be basically one. Because they’re Impulse and Skizz and they’ve been together for longer than anyone can remember.

[hauntingseashells]

okay I fear Neon White AU is gonna go. WAY beyond what I expected. <- started writing stuff out for it earlier and is now Realising

I wanna ramble abt it soooo badly but I don't have anyone to ramble at about this or anything mcyt related really. woe is me and all that /j

[hauntingseashells]

changed @ wowie....

anyways hi I think. pkmn AU might take a while before I get it started properly :P maaaaybe I overestimated how big of a project it was gonna be since I'm gonna have to cook up a whole plot myself. I will not be using canon events from in the game.... so that's gonna take a while!! my apolocheese I won't be dropping it entirely tho I'm very excited abt working on it at some point :]

I think neon white AU will be up n running sooner mainly bcs I'm gonna losely base it off canon. nowhere NEAR fully as that's impossible but it's at least a starting point. I'm saying that as if it probably won't be weeks, maybe months before I fully plan everything out :P I wanna go into this prepared and not make up a storyline as I go

anyways. I'm very used to writing either oc backstories or like. oneshot stuff for myself n maybe a friend or two. this is whole new territory and I am scared. but we ball

[hauntingseashells]

Warm Memories, Just Out Of Reach.

A Rancher Neon White AU oneshot, 1.4k words

Tango found himself unable to remember anything when he arrived in Hell, after what he can only assume was his death. Not that he cared, really, it made his newly assigned job in the afterlife way easier. He was able to carry out assassinations without feeling guilty about it or worrying about what someone might’ve thought of him if they saw him like this. It made him one of the best assassins in Hell, even.

And yet, ever since he arrived in Heaven for the Ten Days of Judgement, something (someone?) felt missing. He’d looked around the areas of Heaven he was allowed in as a “lowly Neon”, and yet nothing (nobody?) seemed to fill the hole in his chest that had been there ever since he rose from the Glass Ocean. It was weird. Surely if something (someone?) was so important to him, he’d remember?

The most he could remember was a vague feeling at best. A feeling of freedom, but different from the “freedom” he had in Hell. In Hell, all the freedom he had existed only if he carried out his job without being found out. He was good at his job, yet he was always just slightly paranoid that someone could be watching him. After all, you never know.

This vague feeling of freedom, even if he could barely remember it, felt.. warm. Different from the heat of Hell. It was a welcoming warmth, the kind that makes you want to cherish it forever, not the kind that makes you want to back off and stay far, far away. It makes you want to stay for eternity. What caused such warmth was unknown to Tango. Maybe he knew once, back when he was alive.

Despite the Ten Days of Judgement being in Heaven, the believers rarely, if ever, spoke of God. Tango had only heard some angels mention God, and for some reason, it filled him with the same warmth the vague feeling of freedom gave him. It was barely noticeable, so minor he could easily mistake it for a breeze, but after the third time it happened, Tango decided it wasn’t a coincidence nor a breeze. 

He missed God. But why? He ended up in Hell for a reason, surely if he worshipped God he would’ve remembered? Surely if he worshipped God he wouldn’t have done the things he apparently did in life that landed him in hell? So Tango brushed the feeling off. How absurd. Why would an assassin from Hell miss God?

—

God — no, Jimmy, had a lot of time to think. There wasn’t much else to do, sealed out of Heaven, with only his hands still inside of The Firmament, the walls of Heaven.

He was aware it was at least partially his fault he ended up this way. Sheol was only meant as a waiting room, and the believers didn’t like that. Maybe that was what got him into this mess. He didn’t feel guilty about that however, Sheol was only meant as a waiting room for the final judgement; it wasn’t supposed to be “Heaven, the ultimate, final reward”.

Maybe the fact he decided to live a mortal life just once was the final straw for the believers. But can you really blame him? He had to enact judgement on every mortal that had passed, not knowing what living was truly like. Descending and living a normal life just once seemed like a good plan to him.

And for Jimmy, a good plan it was indeed. Sure, his teenage years were awkward, but that seemed to be the case for everyone! After that, however, oh, after the awkward teenage years, he got to experience what it truly felt like, being alive. Sure, he’d made some friends, but once he was done with school, trying to find a job that felt right for him, that’s when he started feeling alive.

Not because of the jobs, no, that was the part Jimmy hated. It was the person he met during the eternal job hunt. The slightly strange yet kind man that had introduced himself as Tango Tek. They worked together in some odd jobs for a while, before Jimmy decided he wanted to try working on a ranch. Tango had offered to join him, something Jimmy wasn’t going to turn down.

Tango was like the sun to him, shining brightly even when Jimmy wasn’t doing well, he made Jimmy feel more alive. He didn’t mind Jimmy’s clumsiness, and sometimes he’d even match said clumsiness. They were a clumsy duo, but they were happy to have each other. Tango was a great friend, and Jimmy cherished him every day. The two appreciated each other even when they were covered in dirt, grass and other things they could be covered in at their ranch.

Jimmy didn’t know when it happened, but at some point they had started calling each other ranchers, and eventually that just naturally evolved into my rancher. They’d cuddle during cold nights, something Jimmy always appreciated. He was sensitive to the cold, and Tango was always warm. A nice, welcoming warmth. They could cuddle like that for the rest of eternity and it would be just as nice as it was the first night.

Yet, nothing lasts an eternity. One day, Tango was no longer warm, or slightly strange, or kind, or covered in dirt. He was no longer anything but a body, now cold in Jimmy’s arms, his clothes wet from Jimmy’s tears. Tango had left this world, and Jimmy didn’t know how to live with that. He saw dead people all the time back in Sheol, but this was different. Tango was different.

Jimmy tried continuing his life, he really did. He had sold the ranch — too many painful memories — and tried to find a different job, one that didn’t remind him of Tango. Yet he saw Tango in everything. Tango was his world, his everything.

And now his everything was gone.

He never felt that same warmth again. He never met someone as kind, clumsy, strange, warm as Tango ever again. Sure, Jimmy met some nice people, but none of them were Tango.

So he returned to Sheol earlier than he expected to. Something he will never be sure if it was the right thing to do or not.

Upon his return, he had found the believers pissed. They were done with Jimmy and wanted to overthrow him. They declared war on him, a war he was doomed to lose, and he was sealed away without a second thought. The believers redesigned Sheol into Heaven, and turned his Ten Days of Judgement into a competition for fake forgiveness.

The Days were supposed to give souls in the afterlife their final destination. Now they were for the sick amusement of believers, and to rid Heaven of their demon infestation for a little while — something that wasn't a problem before the believers started messing with Sheol. And yet, the competition gave Jimmy something positive, despite it all.

The most recent competition came with warmth. The same welcoming warmth Jimmy once felt on Earth. It felt so close, yet so far away.

Jimmy had a lot of time to think. He could think about Tango, his smile, his rambles about things Jimmy would never understand, his warmth. All the memories Jimmy had of Tango, that he cherished with every cell of his body.

He could think about the fact that Tango was so close to him. And yet so, so far. It was soul-crushing. The person he cared about more than anyone in the universe was just out of reach.

He could think about whether or not Tango remembered him, and if he could feel the warmth too.

He could think about whether Tango was aware of Jimmy’s identity or not. Jimmy never told him, but would he maybe sense it, now that he was in Heaven too?

Or did he forget Jimmy? Was Jimmy not as important to Tango, as Tango was to Jimmy? What if he was just pretending, what if the ranch meant nothing to Tango?

Jimmy wouldn’t know the answer. Not now, maybe ever. He couldn’t reach Tango, and nobody had reached Jimmy in a long time. How long had it been since he was sealed? It could’ve been centuries by now. All those centuries..

Jimmy had a lot of time to think about his soulmate, his rancher.

[hauntingseashells]

I might drop rancher writing in a bit. because instead of being responsible and all that I'm writing a rancher oneshot related to silly Neon White AU. this all started because of one song that started playing while I was working on a MC project. whoops

[hauntingseashells]

I am very subtle about my favourite alliances.

I am NOT resisting the urge to add in Zedaph for team ZITS. I'm NOT. he would make so much sense as professor I'm adding him in. whatever. the double lifers and Skizz and Zedaph.

after like. 2 weeks of not touching the rancher pkmn AU. I'm hoping I can post the teams today :3 if I don't ur totally free to yell at me in my askbox to lock in lmao

[hauntingseashells]

after like. 2 weeks of not touching the rancher pkmn AU. I'm hoping I can post the teams today :3 if I don't ur totally free to yell at me in my askbox to lock in lmao

[hauntingseashells]

blacked out for about an hour or so and now this exists apparently

rambles under cut :P

some of this is based off vibes, other stuff is off canon and other stuff is rlly just me thinking it'd be fun :3 ex Jimmy as God n Grian and Joel as believers makes sense to me w lore. meanwhile Ren as angel, specifically as Mikey's role, is rlly vibes n it'd be funny

mask wise some if based off fandom hcs and some is based on other stuff!! Impulse Etho and Gem were based off fandom hcs (tho arguably Gem can be counted as based off her pfp n all that too). Tango wasn't based off anything at all nope nuh uh trust me bro. Pearl is inspired by Tilly, Scar is inspired by his cats and Bdubs love horse. BigB and Martyn r explained in the ss and Scott is partially based off his LimL skin! the koi part I came up w myself wowie I'm so smart /j

originally Mumbo and Cleo were supposed to be neons but honestly. couldn't come up w animals for them. whoopsies

for weapons I'm thinking maybe trident for Scott and mace for Etho (WL superpowers THO I'm rlly not sure abt this one idk)?? outside of that I don't rlly know yet so suggestions would be very appreciated ^3^

anyways. it's 5.30 am. goodnight zz

[hauntingseashells]

it's like 4.30 am n I just wrapped up an 8 hour hole digging session (don't do that btw my hand was cramping rlly badly for holding my joycon for so long LMAO) so don't take this ask too serious but.

if someone were to visualize me sending you asks. would it be like. mr Tango of the Tek variety holding a seashell to his ear expecting relaxing sea noises or whatever people say IDK I DON'T LIVE NEAR A BEACH WE HAVE NO SHELLS but instead getting his ears yapped off several times.

what a hole digging session does to a mf my mind just makes up anything nowadays /j

-🐚

{89}

The shell tells him secrets

[hauntingseashells]

Ranchers Pokémon AU — Character Roles

Jimmy is the owner of the nursery in the Wild Area! He's also the only human working there. He mainly takes care of wild pokémon due to his location, though he won't turn down trainers either.

Tango is the fire gym leader, though he does engineering work whenever the gym's not busy (the gym's almost always busy). If people didn't take him serious for his contributions to Motostoke, they take him serious for his strength in battle.

Bdubs is the grass gym leader who seems to prioritise his sleeping hours over his gym job. Because of that, the gym has the most scattered open hours out of all the gyms in the challenge.

Scott is the water gym leader, and a constant hot topic. After all, everyone knows he's too strong to be the second gym leader in the challenge. Why would he give up a higher position that easily?

Joel is the fighting gym leader who shares his gym with Etho, running it during the day. Despite the fact his strategies are pretty predictable people still struggle to beat him — beating raw strength is easier said than done.

Etho is the ghost gym leader who shares his gym with Joel, running it during the night. He's a pretty mysterious guy to the public, barely seen outside of his gym.

BigB is the fairy gym leader, despite the fact he's one of the last leaders people have to face, he's pretty unknown. Most people who do know about him however know his fights are more than just fights — they're shows full of effects, BigB knows how to make his pokémon and their moves shine.

Grian is the flying gym leader sharing a gym with Scar, handling the non-fighting part of being a gym leader for the most part. Sometimes he'll sub in for Scar, sometimes he'll fight alongside Scar.

Scar is the ground gym leader sharing a gym with Grian, handling the battling most of the time. He loves dragging Grian out of his office to fight challengers together, though sometimes Grian has to drag him off the battlefield so he doesn't overwork himself — his disability is something he tends to forget about in the heat of battle.

Cleo is the dark gym leader, previously studying pokémon but realised battling was more their thing early on. They manage to make Spikemuth feel more welcoming to residents and visitors alike, and they're a greatly respected gym leader and person in general.

Ren is the dragon gym leader, because who fits better in the castle of Hammerlocke than a king? Despite being the last leader in the challenge, most challengers don't fear fighting against him — his battles are so full of theatrics you'll be too amazed by everything to be scared.

Martyn is a dragon gym trainer, despite his strength. Word has it he's capable of taking over the gym or becoming the next champion, but he seems happy working under his king.

Pearl is the current champion of Galar, yet many doubt how much she actually deserves that position. Many, including Pearl herself, underestimate just how strong Pearl is, both as a trainer and a person.

Impulse is an engineer working to maintain Motostoke's mechanisms, and a close friend of Tango's. Known to overwork himself to make sure everything is perfect, his work is good but he lacks the ability to take care of himself.

Skizz is a pokémon professor helping new trainers get started alongside researching pokémon and the region of Galar, and another close friend of Tango's. A man of many abilities, he helps out with the gym challenge, resolving any possible problem or conflict that may arise for challengers. While less of a mechanical guy, he helps Impulse carry stuff around so the latter can do his job — though Skizz will also remind him to stop working and take a break.

[hauntingseashells]

HELLOOOO GUESS WHOOOO I have been released from the containment of being an anon in an askbox. I am now an anon with a blog!!!

this does not mean I'll change anything abt what I was doing before tho I will still be incredibly annoying /j

-🐚 :D

WOOOO! Welcome to full blog-hood!! :D

[hauntingseashells]

hi hello tis I 🐚 anon from the daily tangotek doodles acc!!!

I started this acc purely so I could yap about silly pkmn AU without flooding daily ttek doodle's asks. but knowing me this will likely become a place where I ramble a lot in general. what a surprise right who would've ever guessed that I ramble!!

tag where I'll. probably end up talking about whatever. -> #seashell yapping

writing tag -> #seashell writing

Pokémon AU tag -> #pokeshell AU

Neon White AU tag -> #neon life AU