#ASK : From Beyond The Sands 🏜️

[shadowsightings]

A sign that says "Kiss Me, I'm CUTE!" is taped to Rui's back

"Huh? Did something just...? Nevermind."

She's going to go about her day. How long until she notices?

[shadowsightings]

A mysterious shadow passes by the corner of Rui‘s field of vision for just a moment and vanishes just as quickly. Where that shadow stood, something was left behind- a box containing what seems to be an exact copy of Super Sailor Kepler's outfit tailor-made just for her! It even comes with a wig and matching accessories.

"Hmm... What in the?"

Where her eyes playing tricks on her? For a second, it looked like there was a shadow Pokémon or something of that nature had just skirted outside of her field of vision, causing her to do a double-take. But of course, nothing was there anymore. Well- Almost nothing...

A box? For her? There was no one else around, so this had to be the case. Bringing it into her room, she swiftly opened it, neat as she could. When Rui looked upon the contents she could hardly believe it. It was one of her favorite characters' cosplay uniform.

"Holy... crap... It's so detailed. This must have taken so long to tailor this way."

But... Hold on how did anyone know this? She only shared this fact about herself with precious few. Momentary wonderment faded again as she saw the wig and all the accessories. Including those from very niche OVAs that only saw limited release. Whoever gifted this must be a serious otaku, like her. But how does one thank someone when they never even saw their face? Maybe she'd get the chance to in the future.

[shadowsightings]

A package wrapped in silvery snowflake-patterned paper and tied with a blue ribbon is left for Rui with a card that simply reads, "From your Secret Santa. You have big dreams and a bigger heart and I can't help but want to support you in your future endeavors. May you have a wonderful holiday and a fantastic new year!" Inside the package is a certificate denoting a generous donation to her pokémon rehabilitation business, as well as a fabric bag containing supplies and materials that could be used for either cosplay or to put together a coordinator outfit.

Naturally, she goes for the card that was left with the box. It simply feels like the polite thing to do. It was a sincere and uplifting message that put an equally sincere smile on Rui's face.

"Aww... Well- I hope you have a lovely holiday, too! Wherever you are, right now."

She knew that the gifter wouldn't hear her, but it felt right to say... something. A lovely note. A lovely wrapped gift. This was, all-in-all, extremely charming, and she hadn't even opened the gift yet. Diligently, she takes great care not to tear the gift wrap as she unravels everything. She sets the lid aside to grab for the contents of the box.

The certificate was a source of confusion, at first, but when she realized exactly what it was she was holding, she startled, eyes widening in disbelief. This was a staggering amount of money! She looked around to ensure the certificate's authenticity. Surely enough it all checked-out. This would pretty much cover all of her expenses for upgrades and quality-of-life improvements for her Pokémon for the whole of next year!

But... Seriously?! There was more? Fabrics... Someone knew about her little dress-up habit? Rui felt her cheeks flush red in embarrassment at the thought, but she was undeniably beaming with delight as ideas ran rampant through her mind. Oh she was going to have fun with this. She clutched the bag close to her in a sweet, if a little dramatic hug. She couldn't ask for more than this.

"Hehe... Thank you very much, 'Santa.' I'm very... very happy!"

[shadowsightings]

“ would you run away with me? ”  ( @snagorre )

"An adventure?"

Rui's ears seemed to twitch and her whole demeanor seemed to change from a leisurely and casual one to one that gave her full attention to the other. She looked at the other and blinked a few times in silence. For some reason that she couldn't quite explain, it felt as though these words held more gravitas than usual. The spontaneity of it caught her off-guard, so it took her precious few moments to formulate a response.

"U- Um. Well, I mean, you know me. If you're gonna go all-out, then I'd better tag along to make sure you don't do anything silly, or something. Eheh. So like- Yeah I'm down. For sure!"

@snagorre

[shadowsightings]

“ heya rui ! What’s up?”

"Hey Wes! Nothing much, I-"

...

...

"Wait a minute- Wes?! What the? Where the heck have you been the past few WAY TOO LONGS??"

[shadowsightings]

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand?

She'll never understand why Wes never acknowledges her.

She'll never understand why anyone would be willingly cruel to another living being. She witnessed firsthand how tortured Shadow Pokémon seemed. She gets noticeably sympathy pains when she sees most Shadow Pokémon. They lost every shred of what made them them. All so that Cipher can eek out just that little bit more power out of them. The concept that someone is willing to be cruel to another being for pure self-interest is mind-boggling to her. And frankly, she probably doesn't even want to try to understand and empathize with those sorts of people, anyway.

[shadowsightings]

What flavor of pocky would you eat?

"Oooh. You know it's hard to go wrong with a biscuit stick coated with sweet goodness. But if I get free reign to pick, it's gotta be the hazelnut one! Though they are so rarely available in Orre, so if I'm picking from the basic flavor variety, probably the matcha flavored Pocky."

"Why? Are you offering? Because I'll be your best friend, if you are!"

[shadowsightings]

"Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? I heard that the food there is great, but there's just no atmosphere!"

"Is that right? But I would have to imagine that the view from that restaurant is out of this world!"

Rui is very charmed right now.

[shadowsightings]

would you rather fight one steelix-sized pichu or ten pichu-sized steelix?

"Huh. Let me check those PokéDex entries real quick..."

"Ah. U- Um, I'm probably going to struggle with both, but I'm taking my chances with the one big Pichu. I don't need to be pummeled to death by 10 angry diamond snakes."

[shadowsightings]

You're one of the sweetest people ever and I enjoy talking with you every day.

Anonymously tell me how you feel about me. I can't reply, I just have to read it and post it.

[shadowsightings]

Kasai spawns out of nowhere like some kind of evil fairy godmother.

Godfather? You know the metaphor.

"I heard you liked cosplay."

"Are you the ghost of cosplay's past? I'm sorry I couldn't be Super Sailor Kepler for AniCon Orre last year. I was short on funds, please understand!! Her rhinestone skirt was just too pricey at the time!!"

[shadowsightings]

Ahh, that sign is still there on her back, isn't it? Look who's here again (it's Svern).

He's been intending to do this ever since she tried to get smug with him earlier. Act too soon, and it'd be too on-the-nose, possibly even obvious. Not his style at all. So he'd waited a little while...

He walks over, nonchalantly says, "Hello again!" to get her attention, and then eliminates the remaining distance and plants a kiss directly on her lips.

He seems in no hurry to pull back, unless she is.

"I guess you are pretty cute. I suggest taking a look at your back in a mirror or something when you get the chance."

What a pleasant surprise it was to see the person from earlier again. At this point, Rui was still blissfully unaware of her own folly and was keen to learn if the person who insinuated that she was a spoilsport had fallen victim to the pranking yet.

She was just about to wave in response to the other's greeting though, didn't it seem like he was approaching rather rapidly?

"E- EH?!"

Yes. Yes, he was, and so much so that, despite this being the third time now, Rui was somehow still caught off-guard. She really ought to have known better by now. And yet, there she was.

Stepping back, she shook her head, needing to orient herself again. At least with this one, they didn't just up and vanish like a previous perpetrator, so she could actually hear out what he had to say. Sure, she had to work some fluster out of her system first, but it was progress.

"Wh- You too, now?? What is with everyone toda- I mean, huh?"

Gingerly, Rui reached behind her to try and fish for something. Whatever it was, it was just about out of reach, but by its papery flutter, she could already get a good idea of what it might be. Red with embarrassment, she could only just about manage a short chuckle and a nod.

"R- Right. Guess I deserved that one, huh?"

[shadowsightings]

looks at the sign. Looks at her.

“okay!”

GRABS HER FACE AND GIVES HER A SMOOCH

Rui scarcely noticed the person. Only when hands literally reached to grab her did she even register the other's presence, and she was entirely unable to process what had occurred in the moments following that, either. So she ended up just standing there shocked for a moment.

"I- Um... H- Huh??!"

[shadowsightings]

stares at the sign on her back.

"Wh- What's wrong, Wes? You've been... Kinda gawking for a while."

[shadowsightings]

Remember: Holding hands before marriage gets you a frowny sticker on God's report card.

"Holding hands before marriage does what now?"

Rui scratched her head. Why would Arceus be so mean? After all, the shaper of the universe must have more pressing things on its plate, no?

"But there's exceptions, right? Like pulling someone up from a cliff's edge? Or the buddy system? Or like- If the guy is REALLY hot?"

[shadowsightings]

:)

"Who's that looking back at me? Man. I need to frame this, or something!"