#callouscode

[djhallyboo]

"ATTENTION, ALL PARTY GUESTS! THE 'WIGGLER'S GARDEN' AND 'DK'S STONE STATUE' BOARDS ARE NOW CLOSED UNTIL WE CAN GET THOSE TWO DAMN GHOSTS TO STOP TURNIN' PEOPLE INTO VEGETATION!"

"SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE, EVERYONE! WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN IT'S SAFE TO PARTY AGAIN!"

[gildead]

@callouscode || time to aggro everyone on the dashboard, rosie.

"Red?" About time Gold saw a familiar face around here! In between all the bootleg Pokémon, Grinchy Hypnos, and scary Italians, it was nice to see somebody he recognized. "Is that you, Red?"

"It's so great t-to see you again!" He teleports over, an eager smile on his face. Hm. Something seems a bit off with Red, but surely it's not anything to worry about... right? Maybe he just got a new haircut, that's all. Or some new shoes! Definitely the new shoes.

"How've you been, buddy?"

[nintendodeathsystem]

@callouscode lol. lmao even. (continued from here)

Her original act now completely gone, she crouched down to the ugly little man's level—though she'd NEVER truly be able to bring herself down to his level, psychologically speaking. She stared down at him as he wriggled on the floor like the worm he was. If her smile were any wider, it'd threaten the fabric of reality itself.

"Whaaaaaat, can't ya take a JOKE?"

"I thought you'd be more ENTHUSIASTIC about seeing an old pal, Red! After all, ya always had such a way with words!"

Oh well, some people were just doomed to be eternally rude. Though with Red evidently wounded and paralyzed, she was quick to remember the most important thing of all... the fundamentals of catching Pokemon!

Reaching into one of her dress' pockets (they have pockets, by the way), she pulled out several Pokeballs. Pressing the buttons on them to expand their size, she lazily began to pelt them at Red.

[dogarsdude]

No.

YOU.

COME C͈ L̜̺ O̬̙̱ S͖̼͙͙ E̪̠͈̙̹ R̘̤͇̭̹̳ .

[djhallyboo]

@callouscode || THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL MY OTHER MUSE, RED.

Oh. Huh. Looks like the 'loud clown man', as Red so tactfully put it, needs to backtrack. He kneads his temples as Tig Bop begins... hacking up a hairball? Choking?

Oh, no. It just spat out a crumpled-up polaroid.

Hallyboo picks up the polaroid and wipes off the Tig Bop saliva before showing the picture to Red. It contains an image of a highly contemplative bird with a sad face and a... actually, ignore the thought bubble.

"THIS YOUR KID, BOYO?" he asks, "'CUZ IF SO, THEY'RE WANTED FOR SOFTWARE PIRACY AND OTHER FELONIES."

[gildead]

@callouscode || @ proton and petrel: hiiiiii.

"...Why do I have to take Proton and Petrel?"

"I've already taken Proton and Petrel before."

[gildead]

@callouscode asked:

❝ WHY DO YOU HIDE YOURSELF, YOUNG ONE? ❞It's a question he's been dying to ask since he caught a glimpse of Gold. He gestured to the faux sleeves and, of course, that dim glim in his sockets. ❝ YOU'RE ALREADY BEAUTIFUL. ❞

He's not sure how it happened. How he ended up cornered like a Ratatta in a trap, separated from the rest of his team members in these treacherous woods. Face to face with a demon.

He wants to run. He wants to disappear into the shadows, find Celebi again.

But he can't. He's frozen in place.

Or, is it the vine slowly creeping up from behind, threatening to lock him in place?

His sockets immediately go dim as he stares up at the monster. His sleeves don't tear, but they wring in a self-soothing gesture. Almost as if a piece of humble fabric will protect him from what's about to happen.

"N... No, I'm not." His sleeves fray slightly. His face shifts, revealing the decay concealed underneath layers of psychic protection. "I promise you, I'm not." He finds himself backed up against a gnarled tree, softly bumping against the bark.

"...Where are my friends? What do you want from me?"

[gildead]

boy.

[djhallyboo]

gold: is currently being beaten within an inch of his life by glitchy red

dj hallyboo and mc ballyhoo:

[djhallyboo]

"OH BOO HOO HOO! YOU PIRATED MARIO PARTY DS, TRIED TO SELL OUT YER BROTHER FOR INTERNET CLOUT, GOT THE WORLD'S WORST FACIAL AT BOWSER'S CASTLE, AND GOT THROWN IN A BLENDER WITH ALL OF US THANKS TO AN EVIL HAT! CLEARLY THIS IS ALL JUST A CRUEL TWIST OF FATE AND NOT THE CONSEQUENCES OF YER OWN ACTIONS!"

"YA KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, LUIGI: DON'T DO THE TREASON WITHOUT A GOOD REASON! HAR HAR HAR HAR!"

❝ EVERY MILISECOND WE SPENT FUSED WAS TO SPITE ME. ❞

That's right. To spite him and no other reason. No one can convince him otherwise.

[chounaifu]

" Yeah sure I'll watch him REALLY REALLY REAAAALLLY CLOSELY. " :)

There he goes, watching the Slowpoke and resisting the Cain Instinct that always kicks in around them!

hey @chounaifu can you watch my slowpoke while i go smoke

[gildead]

"Inexperienced?!" Oh. Congratulations, Red, that was the absolute worst thing to say here. The Typhlosion doesn't attack him again, but she huffs in frustration. "Sixteen of those shiny badges, two victories against the previous League Champion, and surviving the mountain reads as inexperienced to you? In that case, I'd hate to see what you consider 'experienced'."

It was bad enough that Red claimed this to begin with. The fact that he said it to the face of the Pokémon who had been with Gold since he first stepped into the tall grass outside of New Bark Town... well, it would have been funny had he not just finished beating him to a pulp.

"Actually, I'm very curious. Humor me for a minute, boy." Her ears twitch in amusement. "You've met legendaries too, haven't you? Perhaps you've befriended one. Now, imagine that Pokémon disappears for weeks on end... only to return with completely different colors and completely hostile. It attacks everything in sight. It decimates your entire team. It even renders some of them disabled."

She turns, showing him the scars over where she once emitted fire from. "But it's not satisfied once they've fainted. It turns onto you." She steadies herself. This is the hard part.

"You couldn't have been much bigger or stronger than Gold was when you were 13. And for all Team Rocket did, they followed the rules of battle. Their Pokémon never attacked a child physically."

"What chance would you have had against 17 feet and 480 pounds of pure, unbridled hatred?"

IT'S ONLY FAIR — At least, that's what he'd been telling himself all these years. He chewed the inside of his mouth. His expression gives away something that his words do not; a hint of humiliation. Yet, in spite, that arrogant microscopic piece of his soul wanted to scream.

❝ Gold didn't need to die. ❞ Red affirmed, ❝ He was inexperienced. He had no idea. ❞

PKMN Trainer RED chased legendaries across Kanto. He risked his own life chasing MEWTWO. Add his multiple scuffles with Team Rocket to the mix, and ...

❝ I would have kept you safe. ❞ No matter how he tried, he couldn't kill his haughtiness. Never mind Gold's journey mirroring his own or his feats being greater. The fact someone else had to clean up the remainder of Team Rocket and not him will forever haunt him. The state of Gold's team only fueled him. ❝ None of this would've happened if he hadn't replaced me. ❞

[gildead]

She isn't surprised he didn't give her a straight answer to her question, but she's disappointed regardless. Still, his backhanded apology at least implies that yes, he does think that Gold somehow was responsible for his current predicament. And while part of her pities him, she knows it's no excuse.

"The moment you decided to hurt someone you knew damn well couldn't fight back is the moment you involved me." She huffs out blasts of hot air through her nostrils. "How was he supposed to defend himself without arms or legs, boy? Think."

"And I'm not the only one involved in this, mind you." Where was that damned Voice of the Forest, anyway...? They never seemed to be around when they were needed. "There are other, much more powerful forces at play. Ones I doubt will be happy with what you've done."

She's not counting the massive amounts of powerful people Gold's managed to befriend either -- though she's certain Red's already been visited by a few.

"And what, exactly, would taking your life back from a dead child accomplish anyway?" Oh. She's not done, huh. Alright, Please, keep going. "Getting yourself maimed, murdered even because a powerful Pokémon you befriended went mad? Losing your ability to produce fire because you went down failing to protect him? Losing your own son you hatched yourself to that monster?"

❝ . . . I was unable to choose my fate. ❞ A careful nod. THINKING OF THE START OF GOLD'S JOURNEY MADE HIM WANT TO VOMIT. It was so shortly after his mother, team, and will to live were ripped away from him. (Gold even chose a fire starter, just like Red.)

He couldn't interact with reality.

His mother, Oak, and Green would know he was trapped.

And he watched as Gold accomplished his dreams

and

could

do

nothi̩͉̩̩͙̼̠̩ṋ͓͎͍̳̫̹̙g̦̺͈͈̫̟̬͓.͖̠͇͎͕̣͖̟

. . .

The Real Red watched as his Pokémon fought for an imposter. He watched as their potential was wasted, earning Gold an undeserved victory. IF HE STAYS ON THIS TOPIC, his blood will b̦o̳i͕̹l͖̰͚ ̻̼͙a̘͚͖ͅg̘͇̥̖ͅa̝̼̮̤̯i͚̫̜̝̳͈n̼̭͎̤̱͎̮.̜̲͔̪̳̦ͅ ̜̞̙̦̳̩̙̟

❝ I — am ... sorry for hurting you. ❞ Not even Red was convinced of his apology— a proper one would require something he could never promise: Leaving Gold alone. ❝ . . . But you were never meant to get involved. ❞

Please, don't get involved again.

[gildead]

What an odd trainer he is, she muses as he approaches her with the full restore. Cruel and merciless to the meek in one second, then caring the next. Not that she's about to reject the offer of a healing item, but she still regards him with suspicion as he approaches.

He was wailing on her with his fists a few moments ago, after all.

"So you believe the Red we met up there was an imposter." She repeats the words in a matter-of-fact tone as she sits down. It's... certainly possible. Perhaps back then she wouldn't have believed it, but enough odd things had happened to her and her trainer that she was conditioned to believe almost anything at this point.

Maybe this hypothetical imposter wasn't even aware he was a mere facsimile. That could only complicate matters.

She gives him a hard stare. "And you think my boy has something to do with it somehow?"

Gold got away.

There was nothing to gain from defeating Please now. Her voice paralyzed him. He felt his arms dangle as he pocketed his fury. He'd need to rethink his strategy... and waste no time finishing the job.

As for the Pokémon behind him ...

❝ . . . ❞

A sick, despicable feeling swirled in his gut. He slung his backpack over, kneeled, and began fishing through its contents. A lot is running through his head. As upset as he is about Gold's escape, he can't ignore his previous actions against the other. The other asked for an explanation. Red wasn't sure where to start.

He rose holding onto a full restore. He lifted his hands and inched carefully toward her. No amount of actions could serve as an apology, but he hoped the effort could show his remorse. Was he as bad as Team Rocket, now?

Something in this world walks with his skin and lies with his voice. He'd been to Mt. Silver before, but this was the trainer's first direct interaction with Gold. ❝ . . . The one on Mount Silver has my face and my team, but . . . ❞ He tightened his grip on the item. ❝ He is not . . . me. ❞

[djhallyboo]

"I'M SORRY, MR. KING, I DON'T SEEM TO RECALL YOU WORKIN' UNDER ME! I DON'T HIRE LOUSY ACTIVE CRIMINALS, 'SPECIALLY NOT ONES WITH A RECORD LIKE YOURS. I MEAN, LOOK WHATCHA GOT ON YOUR RAP SHEET!"

"KIDNAPPIN' CHILDREN? PIRATIN' A WHOLE HUMAN BODY? TORTURE? BIOLOGICAL WARFARE? MULTIPLE COUNTS OF MURDER AGAINST THE SAME PLUMBER?"

❝ OH, COME NOW. IS THIS HOW YOU GREET A COWORKER? ❞

lol.

lmao, even.