#he’s gonna work on getting ingo’s memory back :>

[bellafragolina]

Early Morning

Ingo sighs, face half buried into his pillow. The morning chill has settled into the home, despite the sun that shines through the window, resting its warm rays across his blanketed body. It's too early, he feels. Too early to do much of anything, besides maybe falling back asleep. He's nearly there, so he tries to relax further, but. . .

Someone slides into the bed with him. The warmth against his back is appreciated, soothing and comforting and protecting him from the autumn chill. Ingo sighs again, happier this time, smiling at the feeling of soft kisses peppering the back of his neck like the brush of a Beautifly's wings.

"Time to get up, handsome." Comes the rumble of a sleep-addled voice. Ingo groans out his displeasure, grumbling out some displeased noises to voice his reluctance instead of any proper words. It earns him a breathless laugh against his neck. He struggles to stifle a smile. "Oh, so now you’re going to be a lazybones? Where was this when I wanted you to come to bed last night?"

Hands drift over his sides, poking and pinching as the weight shifts. The kisses come to decorate the side of his head now, before a weight rests upon his shoulder. Even with his eyes closed, Ingo can feel the gaze on his face, as warm as the body pressed against him.

“I told you.” Comes the tease. His smile grows despite his efforts to keep it down. “I told you how grumpy you were gonna be in the morning when you got up, but nooooo. You had work that had to get finished, huh? Couldn’t wait until the morning!”

A giggle bubbles up in Ingo's throat. He tries in vain to muffle it in his pillow.

“Get up!" Hands push at his shoulder, barely able to make him twitch. "Lazy oaf, you are reaping what you sew!”

Ingo laughs, loud and bubbly. With a burst of energy, he rolls over, your squeals echoing in his ears as he grabs at you.

But his arms find nothing but air.

Jolted, Ingo opens his eyes, and sees that he's alone in his hut. Gliscor yawns at him from where it hangs upside down on the wall, and Tangrowth waddles past the window sleepily as well.

You're not here, Ingo realizes, sinking into the mattress of his bed. You're not here, giggling and teasing and cuddling him. He left you behind, whoever you are. His brain aches, memories fuzzy and fogged, but he could feel you. Hear you!

Who are you? And why does your absence make Ingo want to cry?

[nettlesketches]

After seeing your recent Hatless update a thought came to me. I know it's definitely not gonna happen in your AU but amuse yourself with this possible scenario please. (your also free to delete)

I know that I am one of the very few people who believes that Ingo's restlessness over his identity and past outgrow his sense of duty as a Warden and after stepping down as one he begins travelling the world for his past (given a scenario where he never got too close with protag and they left at some point)

He travels around and possibly meets other ancestors of people he once knew in Unova. Also I totally want him to see a train again. He'd be over the moon and back when he sees one "for the first time"

Then at one point he arrives in Lumiose City. He's heard about the rebuilding project and is also curious to check if he finds any leads to his past. Eventually him and your Emmet bump into each other.

I just think its funny to imagine both getting yeeted into the past and by sheer luck reunite again! How much Ingo remembers at this point is up to anyones thoughts but I do believe when he sees Emmet he immediatly recognizes him as the most important person of his previous life. The person he talked battle tactics with. The person saying "I like winning more than anything else" (which Emmet will say is wrong, its his brother Ingo he likes more than anything else)

just a cute made up scenario for your au. As already mentioned I know its not gonna happen but I still wanted to share this lil thought with you because maybe you do enjoy the idea.

either way thank you for your amazing works and keep up the good work!

thank you so much for your words anon!!

Hell yes to Ingo’s sense of restlessness- I headcanon that he picks up a lot of hobbies (drawing, journaling, woodcarving) as a way to keep himself from obsessing too much over his lost memories.

His connection to his brother is too strong to be fully broken- he has to keep his mind busy or his thoughts begin to spiral on who or what the “smiling man dressed in white” is/was. I could definitely see it interfering with his duty as Warden (poor ingo can never catch a break!)

[feroluce]

God the time loop fic now makes me think about both of them getting thrown into Hisui and Ingo still being amnesiac while Emmet remembers EVERYTHING. Emmets bittersweet feelings about leaving Unova soon turn to horror when Ingo looks at him and shakily asks him who he is. He doesn’t regret it, not even for a second, but after everything…. How in the world is this fair?

But they make due, they settle down together and even tough Ingo doesn’t remember ber his past with his brother he feels, KNOWS that he trusts this man with his life, that this man loves him dearly and he feels just a little bit less lost than he would have been without him. He becomes a Warden, he talks to people, he makes friends and he can look at the man he knows he loves so much even if he can’t remember the life they had before this. He still wants to remember, desperately so, but if this is it, that would be enough.

Emmet on the other hand is torn, he remembers it all, he knows who they are and where they are supposed to be and what they left behind, but it’s useless if he’s the only one who remembers. He told Ingo several times to no avail. Ingo knows about his past like someone may know from a book. Emmet has told him all about who they were and their friends and their Pokémon but Ingo never truly remembers, he knows about who he is because Emmet told him and he trusts Emmet to tell Jim the truth, but there are no memories to match that truth. And Emmet wants to go home with Ingo so badly, more than anything in the world, even as he gets accustomed to live in Hisui and makes friends and watches Ingo flourish in this community. But if this was it? If not going back and Ingo never remembering anything at all means he’s gonna be able to keep holding him in his arms like that? Then the pain of knowing what they lost is a small price to pay

I've held onto this for a while(it refers to this post), because I wanted to really add something to show my enthusiasm for it, but like. I've got nothing. This is whole and complete and perfect as is, it doesn't even need anything else. INGO AND EMMET LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH AND THEY WILL WORK SO HARD TO MAKE IT ALL OK AGAIN!!!

[ownerofthisaccount]

I have returned with more Fanart! Is it a surprise anymore?

Now what is surprising is that this isn’t towards the ChimeraEmmet Au by @raisans-art like I seem to have been doing a lot recently. I have other AUs I love and even some ideas of my own for the possible future. But just in case you thought I was over with that…

There are things possibly in the works towards that what if, though as I said in a previous post that’s gonna take at least a week if not more since I have multiple projects I’m working on(also before anyone ask, that and every project I do with the twins is PLATONIC. Even the chimeras that aren’t them anymore, the twins are still brothers. I will never ship them, it’s all platonic family stuff)

But with that out of the way, what this post is really about: the Submas Tournament! This been going on for a while now and we are officially in the final six(hopefully I counted correctly anyways). A lot of people joined in on this by submitting their own Au, making fanart, or just interacting with the posts and votings. The twins have brought us all together, whether we been in the fandom since they debuted in Gen 5, their appearances in the anime manga or masters, or recently with Ingo being a warden in Hisui where we either have him a happy ending or decided that wasn’t tragic enough. I myself joined after seeing Ingo in the Tumblr Sexyman bracket and being informed of his story as I hadn’t played Legends Arceus till recently. Yin Yang is my all time favorite symbol to use in writing and I am attached to stories that feature caring siblings due to my own siblings being such an important part of my life, so I gravitated to these two hard. Here’s hoping fir a BW3 with Emmet as a big focus point to give a true conclusion to the two’s story.

The fandom are incredibly creative with their depictions and AUs, whether it be set in universe, based on a different media, or a form of what if. Currently I myself am reading two AUs. The first is Masking, which was in the bracket but unfortunately got out in the first round. It’s about Ingo dying under mysterious circumstances and being reborn as the eldest son in a Zoroark Pack as he slowly regains his memories and practices illusions to try to get back the life he lost. That’s all I can say without giving spoilers but it’s an amazing story I highly recommend:

The second with I believe wasn’t in the bracket is an Au called Lay Your Ghosts to Rest. This is a dark and sad but really well written Au about Volo killing both Ingo and Akari in the past while cursing their souls to wander the earth forever while being unable to reunite. 150 years later Emmet learns about this on a ghost hunting show and decided to team up with Elesa to break the curse the two been suffering from and possibly find a way to prevent their deaths in the first place. Again, it’s all I can say with spoilers and both this and Masking are still ongoing but if you are able to handle some of the darker topics like trauma, anxiety attacks, and death than I 100% recommended it.

Yep

But now we only have six AUs left in the running for the crown of best Submas Au of 2023. All of them are beloved in the fandom and have a shot at taking home of the win, so let’s take a moment to highlight the ones that come this far and give them the praise they deserve(and of course, all the ones in this tournament and even the ones not nominated in deserve their attention as well. All of these stories were created with passion and heart)

Our lovely Au candidates!

Misfits Au by @hehe-hoho-ohno is a Toyland Au with our favorite conductors as toy soldiers that were created with small defects and were ostracized for it(sorry if I get any details wrong with this or any of these AUs. I’m a bad explainer) and Emmet as the current candidate for the Tournament. Admittedly and sadly I know the least about this Au as I haven’t had time to read it yet, though it is on my watchlist since from some the summary and a couple comics I’ve seen, it seems like something I will enjoy. But still, it’s an interesting concept with a nice design and one that still should get its attention. The competition is tough but Perhaps our littlest member got what it takes to win it all

Mechanical Errors Au by @marchy-emmet is about a world where Ghetsis succeeded in his eternal winter and the Subway is one of the only safe spots left. Elesa creates two robots in order to help out: one being a protection robot named Ingo designed to keep things safe and the one for the tournament, Emmet the entertainment robot designed to keep morale high. However the two start gaining sentience and emotions they were programmed with. I’ll keep all these descriptions brief since I want you all to give them a read yourself, but as someone who adores the concept of robots and the concept of how they react after gaining sentience I really enjoy the read. Also the design for robot Emmet is adorable. He may not be programmed for battles like this, but we will see if he can still pull it off.

Ghost Worm Au by @blaiddraws is the first Ingo entry I have mentioned and also the first Au I ever read going into the fandom. I’m obsessed with transformation stories and especially towards Ingo being a Pokémon since it feels fitting for him(he’s this incredibly talented trainer who forms such strong connections he didn’t even have to catch the alphas to convince them to join him in a battle and a couple of his lines in Arceus, especially towards electrode, could be seen as foreshadowing. Watch Ingo become our first rock/ghost Pokémon) to become one, so this story of him become this cool fanmade train worm before Orthworm even existed was such a fun concept. The design is perfect for the story, the comics are well drawn and still great to reread, and it feels almost like the grandpappy of the Submas AUs, at least to me. He may of died, but can he still show the fandom loves him even if he were a worm?

Under the City Street Lights/Over the Garden Wall Au by @coramatus is a perfect example of when the fandom stares at Ingo’s situation and goes “okay, but how can we make him suffer more?” A confession? I haven’t watched a full episode of Over the Garden Wall. I know it’s an amazing show and it’s only 10 episodes, but I’ve been procrastinating on it for years. I’ll hopefully watch it for Spooky Month. But even without knowing anything about the show that isn’t the Beast, this is a fantastic Au. It puts Ingo in the Woodsman shoes as he betrayed everyone to go around collecting oil to keep the lantern lit as the Beast convinced him that his brother’s soul is in there. Meanwhile the actual Emmet arrives and attempts to convince Ingo to come with him, but the latter believes he’s just a Zoroark and causes him to fall into a River. Emmet then teams you with Volo who’s now a tiny Starly to try to still save Ingo. There are written portions as well as a master post of comics depicting what happened in the story that I highly recommend. We love torturing Ingo and especially the Woodsman, so is that enough to make him win?

Team Conductors Au by @teamconductors is yet another media I’ve been putting off that still intrigued me enough to read it despite never playing a Mystery Dungeon Game. In this, Ingo is sent into the world of Mystery Dungeon as a Hisuian Sneasel with his brain somehow even more fried where he comes across Emmet as a regular Sneasel after sending out a distress call and almost dying day one of being a Pokémon. Together the two decide to form a team called Team Conductors while still wearing their now oversized jackets. This is a good read especially for those who are in the Mystery Dungeon fandom or like humans turned Pokémon stories. The Mystery Dungeon fandom is one of the strongest and more persistent fandoms ever, so is that power enough to win?

Placeholder Au by @blaiddraws again is another ongoing story narrative that definitely caught a lot of people’s eyes. It follows Emmet as he wakes up in Hisui without a clue how he got there or where Ingo is. Strange things pop up like evidence Ingo been there or everyone seeming to know Emmet despite him not knowing them. Throughout it mainly questions are popped up like what happened to Ingo, why does Emmet have these gaps in his memory, why do everyone seem to know him, and much more. I’m afraid this is all I can say without spoiling things but it is fun to try to decipher everything before the big reveal and the reveal is a satisfying payoff that leaves more questions than answers at the same time. I can’t recommend it enough and we will see how well Emmet(?) does.

Mine again, congratulations to everyone that made it this far in the competition and I wish you all the best of luck in the rest of the @ultimate-submas-tournament

[applesjuice]

How will the reunion between Akari and Juliana go? Or Carmine?

So this is like, two years post Indigo Disk at this point. Carmine is about 19 here, and Juliana/Florian as being 17 and Kieran as 16 here.

Carmine travels for her job, she works with researchers as a sort if body guard against wild pokemon in dangerous areas they're studying. Pretty much what she did with Briar as a student. So she is out of the region when Akari gets reverse eebied back. They're staying with Drayden in Opelucid City, since Ingo is staying there too (and Emmet he's not going anywhere). After Carmine finally finds out what's up from Drayton she demands to facetime immediately to see Kieran.

Akari vaguely remembers her, their memories are sort of coming back. They just feel kind of seperared from them. Staring at the face of god kind of scrambles your brain.

So they initially reunite over facetime but it's not exactly a coherant conversation on Carmine's end. She's too busy bawling so Drayton winds up having to have a private conversation with her about the situation. After that she drops everything calls her grandparents to tell them whats up and then THAT'S it's own situation becauase poor grandma thought she was having a stroke when they heard the news.

When she gets back to Unova and finally sees Kieran in person she's bawling again and appologizing to them like Drayton did so Akari is finally like why does everyone keep apologizing to me? I dont get it. So then she's even more upset lol. But Akari really matured in Hisui and does kind of remember a big sister so there super happy someone they're related to actually wants them. (Akari went through a phase where their memories of indigo disk era had them thinking they were a terrible person and everyone back home was better off without them)

She also has a few of Kieran's pokemon on her like Furret and Hydrapple and they are very emotional seeing Kieran again. It takes her a few days because she's so overwhelmed but she eventually reaches out to Briar and the Protagonist to let them know Kieran's alive.

Im just gonna use Juliana in this to make it easier, but Juliana is shook. Like she's moved on with her life, mourned Kieran, still has nightmares about the incident. Kieran is the ghost that haunts her. So she's beside herself too and Carmine gives her time. She tells her friends who like, all vaguely know Kieran through osmosis since the whole thing kind of broke her, and they help her work through what she's feeling. Same with her mom, her mom keeps a picture of Kieran in their house even though she never knew them. But like the fact that this kid died and her own kid almost did too is pretty devastating to think about.

So Juliana facetimes Carmine and Carmine shows her Kieran (they don't talk yet, the whole situation is a lot for these two) and she starts crying too lol. She's like "do you think he'd want to talk to me?" And carmine is like "well, they've changed a lot but its more like. Theyre back to their old self just, more sure seeming? Also i honestly dont know if they remember you"

So its a whole shitshow essentially. Just a bunch of people navigating a difficult situation. Akari is kind of facinated by Juliana like "wowzers i was friends with someone so cool? I cant believe i was so mean to her i should appologize" and theyre like kieran i think sort of dying kind of negates that you're fine.

Then comes the big bomb that Akari has a SMART PHONE. That is the biggest change of all. Cannot believe you went to the past and came back with knowledge of memes.

Eventually the two talk and they're like pen pals for a while (through texting) while Kieran is healing and doing rehab for some injuries in Opelucid. Carmine is staying in an air bnb there to help out. Eventually Juliana gets the courage to come visit and when they meet she's half crying in joy half having a bi panic because Akari is very pretty.

The end

[smallestapplin]

Always here

For the month of Emmet.

-

-

“Dad! Dad! It’s starting!”

Arthur picks up his speed, gathering all the snacks and 2 liters he can fit in his arms before rushing towards the living room.

He sets the items down as carefully as he could while shuffling to the ground to sit next to his son, who moves over to let the large man sit in front of the tv.

“You’re gonna mess up the ship!” Despite the monotoned cry, Arthur chuckles.

“Sorry kiddo, I’m tryin’ to be easy.” He manages to make his way into the big pillow fort.

The fort is just big enough to house him, even if it’s in the shape of a pirate ship, or as good as Arthur could get it. With white sheets up like sails, and a broomstick barely stable holding up a black flag with a goof skull on it wearing a straw hat.

Emmet snaps his head towards the tv as the intro plays, mutely squealing and singing along to it.

Arthur gives a half-lopsided smile as he hums the tune. He loves these moments, and he wishes Ingo was more into these animes to spend time with him too, but the child is in his room and using these moments to make schedules.

He’s brought from his thoughts when Emmet launches forward, foot on the low coffee table, and a fake cardboard sword out.

“These bad guys got nothing on us! We are verrry strong!”

“Ain’t nothing on us with you are their side.” Arthur nudges his son, chuckling at the bright expression his boy gives.

Emmet never sits down, his whole body moving as he cheers for the pirates on screen, only taking brief moments to stop to grab some chips to eat or get a drink.

Arthur does his best to meet the boy’s energy, easily lifting Emmet with one arm and resting him on his shoulder as they both cheer on the young pirate.

It didn’t take long from all the movement to knock the fort over, but thankfully by then, the show has went off.

Emmet pops his head out from under the fallen pillows, his laugh echoing in the living room and his smile as bright as the sun.

“Dad! Dad! Did you see that!? That fight was soooo cool!” Easily he jumps up and lands on his dad’s stomach.

The air is knocked from Arthur, but he can only join in on his son’s joy.

“I wanna just as strong as them!”

“I bet you’ll be even stronger, kiddo.”

He can’t help but cherish these moments. No matter how often they happen, he never wants them to end.

…..

……….

…………..

How long had it been?

How long had he been staring at the tv?

Much had changed since that memory, it all came flooding back to the much older man seeing that same pirate anime on his screen.

It was Emmet’s favorite and what got him into anime to begin with.

Arthur stares for a moment more before realizing just how quiet his house is.

His Pokémon resting as they have gotten up in age.

His herdier napping at his feet, greying around her muzzle.

His Excadrill’s black fur slowly turns silver.

Even Arthur had grown much older.

The silver in his hair only grows, and the crows' feet on his face deepen.

It seems just like yesterday his boys were ten and running around, causing the cutest mayhem.

Now it’s just him and Emmet….

He hesitates but doesn’t stop for long when he picks up his phone, pressing call.

“Hello, I am Emmet. What’s wrong? You never call.”

Arthur knows he doesn’t call, preferring to text and meet in person, but he can’t help it this time.

“I…I was scrollin’ through my streamin’ service and I saw that show you liked. You remember that one you’d always have me build a pillow fort over?”

“Oh yeah! My verrry favorite, I haven’t watched it in a while.”

Arthur blinks the tears away, cracking a half smile.

“I was wonderin’ if maybe you’d like to visit and watch it with me.”

It’s a work day, and Emmet has been drowning himself in work to keep himself busy. He knows his sons were roommates, especially with the prices in Nimbasa, so it must be hard on him to return to an empty home.

“I’d like that. Be there after work.”

“Sounds good. I love you.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

Arthur hangs up, placing his phone down before standing and walking around his house. His movements catch the attention of his elderly Pokémon, all making a curious sound or following him.

He roots through the boxes in the garage, trying to find the flag, his silver eyes lighting up at the familiar goofy-looking skull.

With the flag in his grasp, he gets to work.

Around seven at night, there is a knock on the door before it opens.

Emmet sighs, work has been stressful as ever, and still no signs of Ingo anywhere. He places his bags down, hanging his hat and coat on the coat rack as he kicks his shoes off and leaves them by the door.

Looking down he smiles at his childhood pets.

“Hello Pepper, hello Roxie, looking verrry cute today.” He pets the old Herdier and Excadrill.

A faint glow makes him look up.

“Hello to you too Lilac.”

The Lampet gently hums, spinning around the younger twin.

He walks through the home, and right into the living room.

“Dad I’m-“ Emmet cuts himself off, staring at the scene before him.

His dad setting up a massive pillow fort, one he remembers all too well, and said the old man trying to get the flag to stay up top.

“Damn it, I was hopin’ the girls would hold ya off ‘till I got this up.”

Emmet is stunned.

He hasn’t seen this set up in a decade or two.

The coffee table is filled with their favorite sugary drinks but no snacks. He’s snapped out of it when Arthur lets out a happy sound before he moves out of the way to show off his work.

“What do ya think? I ain’t lost my touch yet.”

Emmet laughs, but can’t bring himself to speak.

“I also ordered yer favorite takeout, I hope that’s alright.”

How long had it been since he and his dad last hung out like this? How long had he been so neck-deep in his work, he forgot he still had family left?

Arthur lets out a soft ‘oof-‘ as Emmet slams into him, the twin burying his face into his dad’s chest and arms tightly around him. Arthur is quick to wrap his arms around Emmet, holding him in a protective hold.

He can feel his shirt growing wet, yet Emmet doesn’t make a sound, even if his shoulders are shaking.

Arthur stands there, shushing his son softly but never letting him go, letting him stay here as long as he liked.

“M’sorry.”

The older man rests his head on top of his son’s.

“Ain’t nothing to apologize for. I’ll always be here.”

Emmet lets out a choked sob, clinging to his father like he’s afraid he’ll disappear too. Arthur doesn’t mind, simply sitting them down under the comfort and safety of the pillow fort.

His Pokémon grow concerned, as a dimming Haxorus pokes his head into the fort and gently nudges Emmet’s back.

Pepper and Roxie crawl in, leaning against the two men while the Haxorus Hazel guards the open entrance.

Arthur doesn’t care how long it takes for his son to calm down, he will sit here and hold him until he does.

[pikolswonderland]

Okay so you guys seemed to enjoy my post about my Yamask!Ingo AU, so I wanted to expand upon and explain this AU in a bit more detail, so here we go. Also this is gonna be VERY long so be prepared.

Essentially this takes place sometime after Akari’s battle against Volo and Giratina, Hisui is saved and while the space-time rifts are still occurring, they’ve been getting less and less frequent. Since stakes have greatly lowered, Akari decides to use her spare time to help Ingo get his memories back. This goes on for a few months, and by that point Ingo has regained several of his key memories, such as being from future Unova, his job as the Subway Boss, and most recently: Emmet. Obviously as Ingo regains more and more of his memories, the more he begins to feel out-of-place here in Hisui, and how much he wants to return home. Akari knows this and starts trying everything in her power to send him to his original time period.

One day, as Ingo, Akari, and Lady Sneasler are investigating one of the rifts on a mountain to find out how to send him home, the distortion from the rift triggers an avalanche. Lady Sneasler manages to save Akari from the oncoming snow, but Ingo gets caught in the crossfire, and ends up being killed as a result of his injuries. Akari is devastated as a result, not just from the loss of her friend, but knowing he would die never having gotten home. This leads her to Spear Pillar, where she makes a prayer to Arceus that there must be SOME way for him to go home. Thankfully, as Arceus’s champion, they listened, and tells Akari that they can send him home alive, just not in a human form. Arceus then turns Ingo’s dormant soul into a yamask, and sends him back to present-day Unova.

Meanwhile, Emmet has been barely holding on in his brother’s absence. The rifts that connect Hisui and the present era are parallel, so as Ingo has spent a year-and-a-half in Hisui, the same amount of time has passed in Unova. Emmet had become incredibly depressed during this period, although things have improved a bit, he’s still struggling to accept his dear brother may be gone forever. One day, he has a strange dream that night, where he’s following Ingo down a dark tunnel, and when Ingo turns to face him, he’s wearing a silver mask of his face, and Emmet wakes up (Emmet doesn’t realise that this is a message from Arceus about Ingo’s whereabouts and condition).

The next day Emmet heads out to work and operate the Battle Subway for the day (The subway system runs 24/7, but the Battle Subway specifically is only open during the day). Everything goes normal for the day until right before he decides to head home, he gets in a report from the Gear Station workers about a wild Pokémon in the underground tunnels, so Emmet goes to deal with the issue. After some exploration he finds what the worker had reported about: A harmless yamask, nothing too hard or serious, right? Well what Emmet has not realised yet is that yamask is, in fact, Ingo, who has spent the last 24 hours wandering the tunnels while also trying to process realising-your-own-death-and-becoming-a-Pokémon-as-well.

So obviously in that moment Ingo realises he’s literally now facing his long-lost brother, who has not realised who the latter is quite yet, and goes NUTS. So Emmet is now confused as this yamask starts frantically pointing at its mask and at him, and he doesn’t realise what’s happening until he takes a closer look at the mask and realises what’s exactly is going on: This yamask is actually his missing brother. Emmet and Ingo start breaking down into happy tears as the two are FINALLY reunited once more, Emmet then scoops up Ingo into his arms and runs home to process everything that’s happening.

After a bit the realisation kicks into Emmet that…well…Ingo is a GHOST NOW. Que Emmet bombarding Ingo with questions about what the fuck happened to him, while Ingo can only reply by writing everything out because he can’t talk now. While Emmet isn’t quite sure of what he was expecting, he probably wasn’t ready to see Ingo explain this entire freaking SAGA involving time-travel, amnesia, isekai, actual GODS and more.

Yeah thats gonna be really fun to tell their therapist. Their conversations from then on were basically like:

Ingo, writing down on a notepad: So then as we threw the Origin Ball at them, there was this giant explosion on light…aaannnddd then Spear Pillar was destroyed, trust me, it was INSANE. It worked though and we were mostly unharmed.

Emmet: What?! You saw the destruction of Spear Pillar, this just keeps getting even crazier, go on!

Elesa, who has been here for the last 20 minutes after getting a call from a Gear Station worker asking to check in on Emmet listening to all of this shit:

That’s it for now, I’ll continue this in another post, but this is mostly the initial setup for what’s happening.

[doubleddenden]

I had been going over various fan theories regarding ZA, and one I thought was totally dumb was the reintroduction of Ultra Wormholes. In Kalos.

I thought they were stupid, much like how I thought certain poketubers for thinking Kalos went to war with Alola, Kanto, Galar, Sinnoh, Hisui, and Paldea.

But, the longer I entertained the thought, the more I found ideas to actually give weight to UWs in Lumiose. Now granted, I don't think it's past a 30% chance of happening, but Game Freak keeps doing weird shit lately and the weather here keeps turning to storms at 4% chance of sprinkles, so let's just... let's just provide some support beams and pretend to be devil's advocate for a bit, just because I find the idea fun for a thought process.

Again, I'm not 100% committed to the idea, but I will entertain the bit to see how it could work.

DD's theory corner under the cut

Now first, we would need to ask "why" UWs in Kalos to begin with. Stretch your arms, stretch your hammies, we're gonna reach a bit while we do some mental gymnastics.

So

Why?

Lore theory: we're gonna need some way to isekai some poor Gen Alpha iPad teen to- presumably- Lumiose City 200ish years ago during the same time frame that Legends Arceus happened- irl, during the time period Japan colonized modern Hokaido and roughly the same Era the infamous Paris Rennovation came about (there's lots of videos and theories going over how this might be the case, pick your poison- Logstin went over the theory in a pretty digestable video).

So why not the same method as LA? While there's nothing saying Lumiose can't have Space Time Distortions like Hisui, you do have to remember that in the events of LA, all of that happens because Giratina started messing around with reality and pissing off Dialga and Palkia so that Giratina could get revenge on Arceus for sealing it away long ago. That was the method in which Ingo got transported to the past without memories, somehow traversing modern day New York to Hokkaido wilderness 200 years ago. Arceus sends the player back through the distortion above Mt Coronet as well, and we literally fall out of the sky according to witnesses.

So again, why not? Giratina and Arceus are busy in Hisui having their feud at this time- lore wise anyway.

However, the REAL reason I find this difficult is because that's a Gen 4 heavy premise involving the creation and maintenance of the fabric of time and space itself- Kalos is Gen 6, not really about those two.

So what other options are left?

1. Hoopah- in ORAS, Hoopah is highly implied to be why we're able to come into contact with so many random legendary Pokemon due to its rings connecting 2 spaces- the problem with this, I find, is that we don't really have evidence to say it could involve time travel- certainly explains getting a Sinnoh Legendary while in Hoenn, but not how someone could go back or forward in time.

2. Time Machine- as of SV and Indigo Disk (and as of late may/early june 2024), we now have time travel as a viable plot device, and seemingly space doesn't seem to be much of an issue since we Boot Strapped the book that would make the professor go crazy and create it to begin with. The issue here is that it seems to only be in places connected to the same Crystals of Area Zero, like the Crystal Pool, and that was just a temporary happenstance caused by Terapagos itself on a whim.

I won't completely dismiss this possibility- after all, we have a number of scientists that abandoned the professor after he went nuts and could have easily built another time machine in Kalos or something- however, the issue here becomes both lore and meta conflicting.

A. The time machine requires a TON of power to maintain, that's why it was built in Area Zero to begin with. The Crystals grow like crazy there and can easily power it for as long as the professor willed it- and mind you, we turned it off. That's not saying it can't be turned back on, but I doubt we could use the same one for Lumiose. Why?

B. Think back to Legends Arceus in relation to SwSh. The one connection to Galar we had was Laventon and a bit of industrial revolution tech. In fact, there's no Galar related Gen 8 Pokemon there and no discernable connection to Dynamax energy either (although the "bigger Pokemon" bit is recycled by Alphas, which lets face it, SwSh recycled that from Totems of Alola- of which Alphas are kinda those but Different tm). In other words, even though Paldea IS next door, if we look at it from a meta development perspective, it's most likely that- at most- we'll have a similarity and not exact mirrored causation.

To play 2nd Devil's Advocate, sure, they could theoretically power a time machine with modern day Infinity Energy- but you have to think that the professor could have turned towards that if it was a sustainable power source instead of the Crystals.

All of this being said, I won't completely dismiss another time machine of some kind. A wise man once said "shit happens, my dude."

3. Ultra Wormholes

Now that we're finished entertaining the second devil, we're back to the first I started with. UWs- Ultra Wormholes going forward- aren't strictly an Alolan thing. Yes, they are strongly associated with Alola, but as of Crown Tundra we have proof that they can and have appeared elsewhere and can even merge with other phenomenon like dynamax energy, paving way for Dynamax Adventures and its legendary bargain sale and even dumping our own Cosmog on us.

UWs can mimic the effects of TSDs- Time Space Distortions, taking us to different universes, dimensions, planets, and perhaps times. Remember how in Ultra SM we saw an apocalyptic Hau'oli City ravaged by Guzzlord? Remember how we could go visit alternative worlds where humans, Pokemon, and Ultra Beasts could live and thrive peacefully? Granted, we and the Ultra Recon Squad needed box legendaries to do it under controlled methods, but control isn't entirely necessary in this scenario of time traveling.

Fallers- if you don't remember the term, that's a term used to describe someone who fell from a different dimension and lost their memories of who they were- we could say Ingo became one from the TSD, Looker as well for some unknown reason in the AU ORAS takes place in-perhaps tied to Hoopah's rings. The term Faller, however, stems from the original SM and was used to describe Annabel- former Hoenn Battle Tower Frontier Brain in Emerald who lost all of her memories and came back as the chief of Interpol (or in Ultra, as Looker's new partner basically).

If we remember too, there might be another method to control these given how Rainbow Rocket formed from universes where the bosses succeeded.

Continuing on, you might ask why UWs in Lumiose in this particular case?

From here on, this will be conjecture, theorizing, guessing, and referencing old rumors. I did say I didn't 100% buy it, we're just giving this idea legs to stand on.

So to begin with, let's reference an old rumor that a few may have heard before- full disclosure, it came from a 4chan post that claimed to be a dev talking about scrapped ideas and content originally planned for XY- this was recent as of... a couple or more years ago, maybe. There's not much solid proof it's true in any regard, but the details mentioned do make it a curious read that I'd say might have a chance of at least partially being true, given how game development and Game Freak tend to work.

To summarize what I remember: basically during XY's development plan, there was a wildly different story planned at the time compared to the rather generic adventure we had. Basically, aliens were supposedly invading Kalos and Team Flare was part of it- supposedly this is why Xerosic and Vallerie look so strange. They were ALIENS. Fairy Types also came from space in this regard, as did Mega Evolution with the stones originally being part of the space ship. Sycamore and Lysander were also planned to be sort of a split mind 2in1 villain as well, and the XYZ legends look so different compared to other legendary Pokemon because they were also aliens of some kind. Also, Olympia's space-themed psychic type gym was apparently a remnant of this idea- she was originally supposed to play a much larger role in the story.

This idea was ultimately canned- too ambitious for the time limits they had. However, elements of the idea were supposedly reworked into ORAS and Alola following. You can sort of see where this is going with Ultra Recon Squad, Lusamine going kinda crazy as Mother Beast, Z Crystals being from Necrozma from another dimension, etc.

That's another thing- Alola took Kalos's Z. Not just the Z in Z Crystal, but Z as in Zygarde's additional formes, I think even his cave if memory serves. It also took Ash Greninja and the other Gen 6 megas and primals that Kalos didn't get to see. In that sense, it could be fair to say Kalos could use UWs in this sense.

Hisui dipped it's hands in a lot of other Gen pockets- Gen 2's signature Apricorns that were exclusive to Johto and never found in Sinnoh, Gens 5, 6, and 7 Pokemon and forms including Sylveon and Alolan Vulpix despite not appearing in the DP remakes, even regional variants and even ancestors from the Pearl Clan and Galaxy Expedition team to other regional characters. If we look at this, we can safely say Legends Games don't have to strictly abide by what the original region introduced and can borrow elements introduced later. So in this case, and looking at Crown Tundra again, we can say it's not off the table.

Getting back to Z- if you've read another theory of mine where I talked about how Z-A could be read either as "Zee-Ay" or "Zed-Ay" depending on your dialect, and maybe "Zeta" depending on your pronunciation, and how Z is how Zeta is represented in Greek (remember Alpha, Omega, and Delta were used before), there's something else neat to it: Zeta is the 6th letter of the Greek Alphabet- like gen 6, but has a numeric value of 7. Like... Gen 7, with UWs.

Now lets continue with another theory I posited a few posts ago: The A in Z-A. Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde- XYZ- are a trio that represent a 3 dimensional view on a grid- important for the first 3d main line game. X is left and right, Y is up and down, and Z is sort of the 3 dimensional area that goes through both- 3 dimensions. So where does A come in? I had theorized A would be another legendary- much like Enamorus in Legends Arceus was introduced, but A in this case would serve a bigger and actual role here. The XYZ trio are based on various creatures of Norse mythos, including the deer that feed on Yggdrasil and provide life- Xerneas being both the deer and the trees; Yveltal being the hawk or eagle that rests atop the world tree, and Zygarde being based on the Nidhogg. A could be Ratatosk- a gossipy squirrel that kept trying to start shit between the eagle? I think? and Nidhogg. A in this case serving as a foil to Zygarde, since it's probably that Xerneas and Yveltal will still be asleep by this period. That's all the short end of my theory.

So now how does A fit into this? If we take into account that XYZ are the 3d plain, then A must be something beyond that. A 4th dimension, something beyond standard 3 dimensions- and what are Ultra Wormholes if not another gateway to other dimensions? With Ultra Space being the 4th, if we look at it a certain way?

In this scenario, A would be something from beyond Earth to some capacity, giving Zygarde agency in this story to defend the planet. Remember, we're only going to be in Lumiose, supposedly, so a localized danger from another world could pose significant threat. It could just be a monster of the week, it could just be alternative forms of Xerneas and Yveltal, it could be many things from beyond.

Actually, now that I think about it, Legends Arceus took Regional Variants to the next level by introducing them to a past region AND giving them to starters- maybe A in this case is not Ratatosk, but perhaps a Convergent Legendary from another universe or planet- an Anti-Zygarde, since we just got convergents in SV.

I had more rambling, but a small interruption came up as I was typing this and I lost my trail of thought by the time I came back.

I think I'll close this off for now. I'm still not 100% convinced of UW's in Lumiose, but I'm not opposed to the idea either. After building it up, I think there's plenty of ways to make this actually work, but I think I won't commit fully to this piece unless they show signs of it happening in a trailer or something. I'm open to many ideas, including the idea that this Lumiose we visit isn't actually real, but virtual- or perhaps there's an underground portion we haven't seen- but that's a different idea for another day.

thank you for reading this far, hope this entertained you for a bit

[squidthesquidd]

Hiya! Very excited about your gem submas au, love to see another fusion. Are the Pearl and Diamond clans in your au related to Steven Universe diamonds and pearls? (don't mind if already answered, just had a thought)

ooaaaghh!! i've actually been thinking about the diamond clan and pearl clan a lot and how im gonna work hisui into all of this, and ive figure it out :DD!!

si basically Ingo doesn't go back in time or to another world, he gets stranded in another town. This town, of course, is called hisui! In this town there are two opposing groups that believe in aliens, the pearl clan that believes aliens are like the pearls we know, and the diamonds who think aliens are giants like the diamonds! These two groups don’t actually make up all of town hisui, and are pretty much clubs where people hang out, but they take it verrrrry seriously!

The galaxy team is a third group that doesn't really care whether or not aliens are one way or another, they just wanna meet aliens and go to space!

and then the ginko guild is the fourth group, and the only ones that aren't alien obsessed (besides volo ofc) they’re from a nearby college and they’re all art students that sell their weird and surprisingly useful creations :]

The noble pokemon are just their pets! The reason they call them nobles in this world though, is because they are all corrupted gems that they've tamed and mistaken for animals!

The pearl clan finds ingo semi-unconscious and without any memories due to his gem being cracked

Ill be drawing the nobles soon!!! i wanna figure out their designs :D

[alolanrain]

How would Professor Rowan and Ingo meet?

When? Post Sinnoh-Crisis, pre-Hisui? Or maybe Post-Hisui with Professor Rowan questioning him about what Ancient Sinnoh was like? How the Pokémon developed into today’s typing.

The Alphas would probably be a heavy debate piece. (In general or you could assume the Alphas featured in Ingo’s Paths are caught.)

Has Rowan had any relationships before this one? Were they merely flings or serious?

this is gonna be a long post so it's gonna be under the read more.

so technically they've met before. was in the past when Ingo and Emmet first started their Subway/battle combo thing. it was at a charity gala and Emmet was sick so Drayden, good old uncle Drayden, took Ingo with him as a plus one. they were were friendly when socializing but that's it. they know of each other over the passing years because of how popular Rowan gets not just in Sinnoh but around the entire world for his research of Pokémon Evolutions and Rowan and Drayden are old friends as well since Drayden is an Army Veteran in the TA!Au.

Ash meets Ingo, this is where he's really starting to figure out what he wants to continue doing with his life because it seems being a successful trainer wasn't being acknowledge by Delia, and realizes this man is an INL member as well. mostly just data and research gathering like I've mentioned in a past post but he's really good at the job. Ingo and Ash meld really well and Ash gets the thought in his head that he'd be a perfect fit for Rowan. Obviously Ash gets way over his head but thankfully calls Gary first for his opinion, since he's technically the older sibling by six measly months, who talks him down but that doesn't stop Ash from info dumping about the Marine Corp turned Professor.

*Ingo dissapears shortly before the Virtress Conference starts. so he's gone for about 6 years give or take some months.

Rowan and Ingo officially meet for the second time Post-Hisui. it's not a very good meeting as Ash basically begged on his hands and knees for the Sinnoh Professor to take the Unovian in. due to the increasingly mental and physical strain on Ingo as he's now surrounded by a lot of loud noises such as his train and his brother who's clinging onto him for what seems like every second of every day. Rowan hears Ash out and he's well aware of Hisui as both Ash and Dawn had come back together and it was all over the news as a rift over Mount. Coronet had opened in their time to spit the trio out.

it's a bit of a strain between Sinnoh and Unova because of this as Drayden and Emmet both insist that Ingo would be better with his family while the majority of the army of therapists the INL offers up, Ash, and Dawn return fire and say that Ingo would be better in a place where he can heal without anyone pressuring him. The INL makes the final decision for everyone after Ingo comes to the headquarters of both the Unova and Sinnoh council members to speak up about his own wants and needs. in the end taking up Ash's offer, only after Rowan officially extends it on his own after learning about everything that's going on. stating that it would be good to be more near Ash and Dawn since those two were the ones who were dropped into Hisui, helped him regain his memory, and bring Ingo back to the present time in the first place.

Rowan and Gary are a fresh of breath air and for once they willingly give Ingo the space he needs and the attention he requires when the silence gets to much. it's also really nice that Rowan is extremally careful with his wording and questions as he can't help himself but probe Ingo for information about the past since he's been gone for six bloody fucking years. it's far better then his entire family back in Unova avoiding the whole situation almost at all cost. it helps Ingo work through his trauma and the sudden walls he built around himself during the time.

I have yet to decide if Ingo's Hisui team gets brought into the future and I'm even debating if I should bringing Lady Sneasler into the future as well. if I do then Rowan and Ingo would bond over his team as Rowan and his team are absolutely floored by staunch difference between the past Pokémon and the now Pokémon. If not then Ingo and Rowan bond over the Pokémon under the Professor's care as it seems Ingo has gotten pretty good at caring for the Sinnoh native 'Mon's. They also share stories of Ash, even if Ingo only has so few, and it soon develops in them sharing a glass of scotch at night or coffee in the wee hours of the morning before the sun rises about Rowans 'kids'.

"It feel's like every time a turn my back I gain a new damn kid."

"I get the feeling."

Gary finally admits Ash is right and that both Rowan and Ingo fit almost unnaturally good. having almost the same taste in coffee, music, clothing brand, and most importantly dry and dark humor. it doesn't help that Ash and convinced Dawn while in Hisui after Ingo regained his memories before making the hike to the Cobalt Coastlands. so it's two against one.

*I've mentioned this also in a previous post but Irida brings Ingo around them much earlier on in the story since there's two of them and its not just Ash and Pikachu that fell from the rift.

Rowan's had unofficially two major relationships and a couple of flings. one of them being with a girl after a few years of him being a Trainer, so around 14-16, they break up and it's what cause Rowan to enroll into the marines. during the time he had flings and then had a HR-inducing headache relationship with the then Sinnoh Champion that originally held the title for the longest Sinnoh Champion before Cynthia took it. He play's an important part in Rowan's history that I also touched upon. where he takes Rowan after the Dragalge Hyper beam attack to get almost fully healed by the last few fully fledged Aura users. He actually uses that vulnerable moment to strengthen his bond with Ingo, letting him know that he's not alone and that PTSD is a fucking bitch and it sucks but he can survive.

the dude is still alive, bitter that Cynthia knocked him off his throne when she was just thirteen and even more bitter since Rowan's plate got increasingly full to the point that Rowan couldn't even find time to speak with his mentor. he still lives in Sinnoh and pretty close to Sandgem Town as well.

[ihaveatheoryonthat]

An incomplete list of songs I associate with Memory, Heavy in My Heart.

Chapters 1-15:

Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In - Will Wood & The Tapeworms

So I'll bookmark my DSM, 'cause I need to remember my place. This is not enough. This is not enough to prove it yet, no I need to hit the bottom. [...] Gotta get to the bottom of this.

Looking up, we see the point of entry between where we are and we've been; looking up, I could say heaven sent me, hand me my shovel, I'm going in.

Admittedly, this didn't come across very well in the final draft, and part of that is down to the framing and variety I wanted to give it. I was initially going to give Ingo a more frenetic energy as he was trying to complete the pokedex, which lessened as he got to know the Pokemon and people in Hisui-- and then picked back up once he realized he was getting distracted. The second portion would actually correspond to chapter 33, and is fairly self explanatory.

Chapter 16:

Cosmic Love - Florence + the Machine

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out. You left me in the dark. No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight in the shadow of your heart.

I took the stars from my eyes and then I made a map. I knew that somehow, I could find my way back.

A little dramatic, but it fit the feeling of being stranded and abandoned in a way I really liked. The second portion was also relevant for later... and another piece is relevant to something else that I'm not going to spoil yet.

Chapter 17:

Ghost (Fred Falke Remix) - Mystery Skulls

No particular lines to highlight for this one, though I suppose 3:43-4:10 would fit. It was more the tone of it, and, to be honest, my own personal associations with this version of Ghost.

Chapters 18-25:

Hidden Highlands - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky

The word 'highlands' is purely coincidental. I had this on a character playlist, and it stuck out to me for this project, too. It just has a heaviness to it that I really liked for day to day life with the rift and then the red sky hanging overhead.

Chapters 25-26:

Close Encounters - No Delivery

It's just got a weirdness factor to it that I like for the trek across the Highlands, building up to the primary conflict at the Temple of Sinnoh. Unfortunately, I don't think I can really describe it better than that. Sorry!

Chapter 27:

Origin Form Palkia & Dialga - Pokemon Legends Arceus

Sticking with vanilla on this, both because I think it still fits, and it's a really nice track imo. I wasn't initially going to add it here, since that seems redundant, but it felt like leaving a conspicuous empty spot at the story's climax.

Chapter 29:

Jowd ~ A Captive of Fate - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

I liked this one for being a little more upbeat without being a happy song; it strikes me as having a sense of 'let's see this through' in some parts, which I think works very well as we're warming up to the final arc. While I don't think it fits this chapter's content perfectly, I did realize in hindsight that it plays during a coat-related scene in Ghost Trick, and I subconsciously connected the dots.

Chapters 30-32:

Crossing a Line - Mike Shinoda

You're not gonna like where this goes. They'll tell you I don't care anymore, and I hope you'll know that's a lie, 'cause I've found what I have been waiting for, but to get there means crossing a line. So I'm crossing a line.

It's not about status, we know it never was, 'cause what good is the kingdom when you're missing the love? This is not a goodbye now, I'm not going away. No, I don't have the answers, but I do have the faith.

This is probably one of my favorites to apply to this story, because I can see it working from at least two different perspectives. For one, I would put it firmly in this range of chapters just based on who/what we're dealing with. For the second (which is the POV that the second stanza would also be relevant to) I would also add 33 to that range. I feel like one POV is obvious, but the other might be a little more out in the weeds.

Chapter 33:

The Suffering Game: Arms Outstretched - Griffin McElroy

This one was baked in from the early chapters. I knew the call on the mountaintop was going to happen basically from the beginning, and felt like this encompassed the range of emotions really well. Maybe it doesn't match up perfectly with the final product, but it's still inextricably linked in my mind. xD It's also something of a bridge in and of itself, but we'll save that for later.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

That last Ingo and Emmet one was so heartbreaking omfg. I genuinely nearly started crying at the end there; using Emmet's pov first so that his last words echoed throughout Ingo's entire section was so genius but so, so painful. :( It definitely makes me want to see something where they're together though, so could I possibly get something for Emmet and Ingo with the first one on the list, "hugging them as they're crying"? I'm not sure if it'd actually be any less painful, because there's a lot of places you could take that, but after that last one I just need for this salt and pepper shaker set to be complete once more.

(101 ways to say i love you with actions)

( >:3c THANK YOUU... divine symmetry. very last one and then the very first. this is gonna be sort of a continuation of that one i think)

Ingo is different now that he's back. This is obvious, and was inevitable. He's been living an entirely different life for years, and though his memories are slowly returning, there's no magic cure for the length of time he spent entirely without them. But people change, they adapt; it's what they're good at. And he's still the same Ingo, underneath all that. It can't help but shine through in the moments where he acts without really thinking.

So if his brother is more reserved now, or prefers to take a more aggressive strategy in battles, or hesitates more over his words, or, or—that's all fine. Emmet would learn, would rearrange things to make that a part of their life, if it was what made him happy.

Except, he can't tell if it does make him happy. Mostly due to the presence of this giant stupid wall he's putting up between them.

That is not a change he is okay with.

Communication has always been their bedrock. It's what made everything else work. But now he barely talks to him about anything, unless directly asked. And even then he dodges the question half the time, even though Emmet can tell there's still something making him uncomfortable, because his physical mannerisms are one thing that really haven't changed at all. It's still a guessing game half the time, and it's so—frustrating. There's a literal, physical distance between them, which is such a point-blank metaphor for what's going on that it would be funny if it wasn't so worrying. He dodges around him, intentionally takes the longer route, like he'll burn him if he gets too close.

Emmet hasn't come out and demanded an explanation, yet, because. Well, half because between the both of them, Ingo is, ironically, still the better one at conversations. And the directness is one of the things he seems to flinch from, now (which hurts, because he doesn't know how else to be—) and he doesn't want to make things worse. And, maybe a little bit, because he's not sure he wants the answer.

(What if part of the difference now is Ingo doesn't trust him? He's not sure how he could live with that.)

But he can't keep doing this, either. Or, he won't.

Ingo's on the couch when he finds him, reading their heavily annotated copy of a book cataloguing Doubles abilities and moves. Before he can back down again, Emmet takes a seat next to him.

"I want to talk," he announces.

He sees the flicker of doubt—reluctance—in the way the book in his hands pulls back, but then he stops, and sets it down. "...Very well," he says, voice still hovering somewhere in uncertainty. "About... what?"

"You are far away. And I do not like it."

"...I am right here," he says, sounding puzzled. "You could reach out and touch me, if you liked."

"You are here physically," he says, frustrated, and then pauses—no, that needs clarification. "But you are keeping your distance. On purpose. I think. You will not tell me anything. That is far away. And you do not want me to touch you."

Ingo inhales sharply, at that, like he has something to counter it—but then he doesn't say anything.

He looks down, drumming his fingers on the back of his hand, while he puts his conclusion together. "I told you before that I do not care. If you change. But I want to know why. And I want to help if something is wrong. And I do not like guessing. That is why I am specific. I want you to do the same. At least a little. Please." He hates that he has to repeat this, to his brother of all people.

Ingo opens his mouth, and then shuts it, and then finds a piece of patterned blanket to pick at.

"I have been distant," he repeats, confirming what he understands. "Physically and verbally. And this is not... you want me to be... more direct. More open."

"Yes."

He traces a straight line, frown pinched and deepened.

Then he says, "The Pearl Clan reveres space."

"Okay?" Emmet tilts his head, able to parse that this was somehow significant, but not able to interpret how.

"They revere space," he repeats, with more emphasis this time. And then continues, "They treat it with the utmost respect. It must be kept neat, and clean, and cared for communally... so, many things are... left unsaid. To argue in a public space would be disrespectful to it, so communication is... indirect. And to bother other people would be an invasion of their own, personal space. Thus there is a... distance. A physical distance. Maintained at all times." He holds one arm out to the side, as if delineating an invisible personal-space bubble.

"To... touch a clanmate, or even be particularly close to them, was... rare. Reserved for private moments, or emergencies where it couldn't be helped, or..." His hand drops back down, and he adds on, "And I was ever an outsider. Becoming a warden did not help with that. Not when it so far removed me from the rest of them."

He takes a deep breath, and this time it shakes a bit, though his voice stays steady. "I assumed... or, I... if I have been distant, it is because..." it's unusual to see him struggle this much, grasping for the right words. Finally he says, slightly snappy like he's frustrated, "I do not know where the line is, anymore. Distant is all I can remember. If this set of rules is wrong, then..."

He raises one hand to his forehead, smooths back his hair. "What I want is too much. I know that. But that does not make for much of a benchmark."

Suspicion and concern gnawing at him, he echoes, "What do you want?"

He curls back on himself, one hand folded against his chest like he's guarding it, head angled down in a way that would hide his face if he were wearing his hat.

"...everyone is so far away," he says, voice much smaller than it usually is.

It isn't difficult to hear the pain in his voice, or see it in the way his other hand twists a handful of blanket. Emmet takes a breath, but then, he isn't the wordsmith between them. So he just reaches over, arms open, and, like he's ached to do since they reunited but hasn't been allowed, he hugs his brother.

He holds him, silently, chin on his shoulder, hand on the back of his head, feels his unsteady breathing. Until he gets an answer, in the form of a pair of arms reaching up to wrap around his shoulders.

"Understand?" he asks.

"Yes- I-" his voice wavers, and then catches on a sob, and then his shoulders are shaking.

Despite himself, Emmet feels a spike of relief. A surge of, there you are. I found you.

He can feel him trying to fight it back—to pull away again, veil his emotions, keep the distance—but he rocks them both back and forwards, silently, holding him tighter, trying to say without words, it's okay, it's okay, just stay.

"I missed you," Ingo says, after a while, voice still rough.

"You did not remember me," Emmet points out.

"No," he agrees. "But- I missed you, regardless. I knew–" his voice catches again. "Something was missing, and I– and it–" he breaks off.

"I know," he answers. "I missed you too."

[fluffynin]

Welp, I gotten dragged down deep the Submas Fandom rabbit hole due to PLA. I have been trying to write fics, but decided to redo the AU idea of my latest self-indulgent fic. It got me really wanting to better flesh my Submas AU I am dubbing Baneful, Wayward Souls AU. It's a crossover AU of Pokemon Legends Arceus and Rising of the Shield Hero. The fic with the same name was going okay... But after beginning in the elements of RotSH in last chapter and brewing on the story... I think I screwed up my story with how I went timeline wise with the events. Hence aiming to rewrite Baneful, Wayward Souls and decided I might do a master post to better sort though ideas and plans a little better than what I was doing.

Old Fic: Baneful, Wayward Souls

Till I get my AU a bit better cleaned up, I'll put the link to the old Baneful, Wayward Souls AU right above here for anyone wanted to get a better idea if where I am to take this short. Definately planning to remix the story greatly compared to what I have now. As well as might shrink the time frame between the start of the story to when PLA begins with exploring the mechanics of both worlds time space issues.

The basis of the story starts the same:

Ingo and Naofumi find themselves in a pickle when an accident exposed Naofumi to be a human instead of the Zoroark he passes off as. With coming back in contact with the Pearl Clan, both find their tracks inseparable as they come to realize... They both came from the same station and they both lost their memories the same way. However, when they come face to face with the time space distortions and clans: both find themselves with far more than they bargined for... Especially with their tracks clearly dyed red from past, present, and future events.

So, if anyone is interested in more, I don't mind answering questions. I am gonna work on a more indepth AU post once I get things a bit better fleshed out.

PS... I am rusty with Tumblr, so excuse me with my link mess.

[diamagneticcoordinationcomplex]

hi hi its me u know that pink fan who dumped too many words in one comment instead of spreading it out by chapter like a normal person lmao

(psst it was to lure u into giving spoilers accidentally but damn it didnt work இ௰இ)

can i say im an og fan of yours??? i really really loved ur iwft series at first sight since im also more or less an emmet simp and at that time your iwft story was a sight for sore eyes! amidst all the angst and pain, a fun bamf emmet story was something i needed! and then you continued to pump out masterpieces one after another and as you can tell i've been ummmm verrry aware of you like keeping an eye out for something new from you aware-aware haha *refreshes subscription list like a maniac*

and oh i was not being anonymous at all as i thought haha (tbh i feel kinda honored you know me even as far back as my roxana phase the world needs more roxana tbh badass bitches rule my manhwa list btw have u also read the princess 's doll shop its my pfp i love her ヾ(≧▽≦*)o)

i dont usually comment in my favorite authors' stories (tho i should probably do it more often) but when i do its going to be more or less an avalanche of words

actually i do have more thoughts about wonderland simmering in my head but i didn't include it bc i was almost at ao3 character limit lmao so i'll just say it here

i wanted to include ghetsis in my speculations bc i feel like he had a hand in whatever issue the king was having and probably pushed the rift between nobori and kudari. we haven't heard from him yet so its a sneaking suspicion 🤔 i also wanted to include allusions to kyurem since i mentioned the forest of mirrors as a boundary between wonderland and the real world and guess who's the boundary pokemon idk bulbapedia said it was a husk pokemon idk who that is *wink wink nudge nudge* and since our resident amnesiac kudari was there maybe it means something? i also wanted to make some comparisons between kyurem and the king but i felt it was getting wayyy out of hand hehe

also also as you can probably tell i believe that wonderland is very much a real place but it is also a product of a dream since gen 5 had that dream world mechanic dunno how that's gonna fit in the story but its a nice thought

i also have thoughts on the memory hall and why the king restricted the place and why ingo got like conflicting memories but i am running out of words i need to soak my brain somewhere else first byeee have a nice day/night!!!

Hello, pink one! Good to hear/read from you again! I verrrry much appreciated the long comment in the latest Wonderland chapter! :D

(Heheh, gotta keep the secrets hidden~ It's kinda hard to reply to comments without accidentally revealing things lol)

I'm delighted to meet another Emmet simp! One of the big motivators behind 'I wish for truth' was for Emmet to not be a sad sad angsty depressed boy for once. Hence, him being a mysterious, powered up, bamf lol. I'm so very glad my story was able to provide that break from the *angst* that I myself was looking for.

I'm honoured to have someone so aware of my works! Communication on AO3 is relatively limited and I don't get much feedback aside from what's available on there (and social media ain't really my thing), so it's nice to know that there are people who notice and appreciate. The concept of having fans is still somewhat foreign to me cos all I'm doing is writing stuff... (that's all self-indulgent lolol). (btw, I still haven't shaken my habit of refreshing the Emmet tag on AO3 several times a day)

I will admit that my first moments of being a writer on AO3 were verrry... stalker-y? I'd just look at the profiles of anyone who kudo-ed or bookmarked my stuff, which is probably not that creepy? idk XD (I looove Roxana, she's so cool and gosh the art in that manwha is soooo pretty. Oh, I haven't heard of princess' doll shop! I'll definitely give it a look! Thank you for the rec~)

I don't usually comment on stuff much either (bc I'm kinda bad at doing that). So I'm honoured you decided to leave such a detailed, in-depth comment on my work! Thank youuuuu~♡

Oh, I was wondering if you were almost to the limit on AO3's commenting system. It was quite the essay! :D

Now onto Ingo in Wonderland:

Ohhh, speculations regarding gen5 stuff! Ghetsis and Kyurem and dreams hmm? Interesting thoughts you have there~

We'll just have to wait and see if the mysteries of Wonderland will ever come to light... (I have a lotta lore in my head but it doesn't always get onto the paper/document screen)

Oh, I'm excited to read your thoughts/speculations on the whole memory mess! I'll be waiting here (im)patiently~ (>w<)

Thank you for the ask! A good day to you too!

[m1sosazai]

I posted 814 times in 2022

That's 571 more posts than 2021!

4 posts created (0%)

810 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@browniefox

@inkstaindusk

@imfluentinfangirlandgay

@obstinaterixatrix

@pearlescentpearl

I tagged 629 of my posts in 2022

Only 23% of my posts had no tags

#lol - 45 posts

#:d - 29 posts

#yes - 28 posts

#lmao - 16 posts

#&lt;3 - 10 posts

#hell yeah - 10 posts

#*wheezes* - 9 posts

#yes!!! - 9 posts

#xd - 8 posts

#nice - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i was gonna suggest 'not feeding the elderly/queens/sick+injured/kits before warriors and apprentices' as crack but that's actually p shit?

I sent 2 gifts in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#4

So it turns out that blocking the stupid shaving balls Tumblr does not in fact block the ad from my dashboard 😢

0 notes - Posted April 28, 2022

#3

i spent way too much money pulling for Butler suit ingo in pokemas... But i can't help myself, the submas addiction is too strong! Also i DID get him (along w sygna suit elesa, and a bunch of other random ppl) in the end!!!! So HA.

I guess I'll just... Avoid looking at my bank statement for the month... And hope i make all that money back when i go back to work next week... 😅😭

0 notes - Posted April 14, 2022

#2

PROFESSOR BELLIS STOP GIVING ME MANKEY EGGS TO HATCH CHALLENGE

0 notes - Posted March 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ok so i've read the fics where ingo recognizes emmet right away, or very soon after meeting, or when he sees emmet he gets flashbacks and tries to run away or something bc he thinks his brother is actually some illusioned-up zoroark or something. also those fics where they meet in their dreams, or in the rifts. which are all very good!

but specifically that one fic where ingo sees like, little hallucinations of emmet out of the corner of his eye after he gets some of his memory back stuck w me. and basically i think...

what if when the twins meet again, maybe w the PLA protag or the clan leaders... emmet sees ingo give a quick glimpse at him, then pointedly ignore him.

he can't figure out why (is his brother mad at him for not finding him sooner? has he been so traumatized by the separation that he can't look directly at him, the way emmet had a hard time w mirrors during ingo's disappearance?), but meanwhile, ingo is frantically running down his mental checklist of tasks.

1. did he get enough sleep? (yes, a full eight hours before he was roped into this meeting, plus w the baby sneasels and lady sneasel.)

2. did he have enough to eat? (yes, he had a meal at the wallflower a few hours ago... with some cake lures and berries as emergency provisions if he does get hungry.)

3. is he injured anywhere? (no, the last wounds he got, some abrasions from the debris that flew up while he was fighting akari a few weeks ago, healed up just fine.)

having checked off all the criteria, ingo slowly looked up, and despite his better judgement, very carefully met gazes with the white-clothed man with his face that was still, inexplicably, there.

"warden ingo, are you alright?" professor laventon's assistant asked him quietly.

"yes, my engine is in perfect condition," ingo lied, deliberately turning away from the obvious hallucination. maybe it would vanish when he stopped making direct eye contact with it, like it always had before - he couldn't entertain the possibility of his mental state potentially getting worse and having the white-clothed man appear outside the dire situations he'd always seen him it in.

(he didn't need more people in the pearl clan whispering about his uncanny habit of talking to the air, or akari eyeing him with concern whenever he was caught spacing out while turning to the left after she'd felled one of his pokemon in battle.)

so yeah, ingo is very used to seeing emmet whenever he gets into trouble somehow... so much so that he has a hard time remembering that he CAN talk to his twin now, in the flesh, without people looking at him crazy lol.

of course, emmet isn't going to stand for his brother ignoring him forever, no matter what he might've done or what ingo thinks, so he ends up goading him into talking to him right in the middle of the meeting (about past-future information exchange or something prolly, idk), and ingo ends up yelling at him like "not now, sleep hallucination! we're in the middle of something!" (bc most of the time he's suffering from insomnia when he sees hallucination-emmet, and "injury hallucination" is significantly more worrying to most - and also rolls off the tongue less imo - to say), which attracts everyone's attention. and the twins have an argument-sation about whether emmet is hallusionary (thank you esama for that great combination of hallucination + illusion), whether it was polite to yell at your brother (remembered or not, real or not) after not seeing him for a while, and how much sleep ingo usually got in a night.

after a while of this, rei is like "...who are you talking to, warden?" (bc honestly akari gets all the spotlight and i like to include cute nerdy assistant boy more), and ingo points at him like "SEE, he just asked who i was talking to, THAT MEANS you're as fake as always!" and emmet scoffs (still smiling in relief tho) before rei is like "actually, i meant 'who is that man who looks like you, warden?'"

ingo realizes that people can see his hallucination, somehow, and spends a brief moment horrified that some zoroark has brought his friendly illusion to life to torment him, or perhaps he's dreaming right now - before it hits him.

the illusion is... real. that's a real man standing before him, feeling very familiar, who looks just like him.

and ingo just derailed a meeting to debate with him and reveal his possibly decaying mental state.

...ingo is very embarrassed.

144 notes - Posted March 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[fraymotiif]

alright here we go. remember your safety checks! mind all tags accordingly!

(grabs the funny subway man) YOURE GOING BACK HOME FUCKER by random_ag. still in progress. reunion in chapter 9. looooove their use of descriptive words

Oh, but the Years Have Been Long by layren. still in progress. technically the reunion’s in chapter 3, but it’s a special case because both brothers have lost their memories. the proper reunion is in chapter 12. absolutely gorgeous work, this one. really makes you earn that emotional carharsis

we’ll build a bridge by silybum. an anthology of sorts of oneshots; every chapter is its own reunion scenario. all of them are delightful

Intermittent Retention by neoash. complete. in which Ingo remembers things in spacetime distortions. i just simply love this one. the reunion is in chapter 3

The Truth in the Mist by finnshavocado. complete. in which Emmet travels to Alola to see if Tapu Fini’s mist has any answers for him. the reunion is in chapter 4. i’m running out of different ways to say “this is great”, but it is. it is great jfhsjf

Standard Operating Procedures by layren (again) and pointvee. complete. after Ingo disappears, Emmet pretends to be both of them. the reunion is in chapter 5. if you haven’t read this one, rectify that now

If Your Route Home Changes, Will It Still Lead To Me?/At Which Station Does A Ghost Belong? by anxiouslyintroverted. complete. a set of oneshots, one from Emmet’s perspective and one of the same events from Ingo’s perspective. the rest of this author’s works are definitely worth a read too. they write emotional turmoil so well

Fugue (specifically chapters 21 and 24-27) by janekfan. complete. Ingo returns home and then gets very very sick. incredibly well-written i love the author’s use of prose

recollection, retrospection, recognition by apatheticrobots. complete. an au where Ingo doesn’t lose his memory in Hisui. reunion is in chapter 13. just really good ok trust me

Next Stop: Hisui by cuzreasons. complete. reunion is in the first chapter. this one is generally just a good, fun time of Emmet in Hisui. minimal angst unlike the other ones on this list lol

Give Not Into Sorrow by Hare_Brained_Scheme. complete. reunion is in chapter 11. Emmet arrives in Hisui and starts leading a pack of Hisuian Zoroark, complicating his reunion with his brother. just beautiful beautiful writing in this one

When you reach the end of the line, you must be brave by pinkrhino. complete. reunion is in chapter 13. Emmet arrives in Hisui and immediately gets fucked up and ends up fighting the clock to get home before he. well. you should just read it ;)

for some warden swap aus, there’s Wye Junction by fluentinfangirl12 (reunion in chapter 5) and Through Fire and Fury, You Will Come Home by toriistorii (reunion in chapter 14). and Welcome to Sinnoh’s Temple by maternal_macrophage, which is tangentially related but not technically a warden swap.

and now some oneshots:

To Share Space Once More and The Rapidly Spinning Needle of a Compass by evtraininguniversity, last stop by misspaige, At Dawn by avividshadeofblue, And put a light near my bed, a constellation by ladymina, time has changed the metaphor (and its sequel) by apatheticrobots, Victory Lies Before You by mobbo, Last Train Home by cuzreasons (part of their series of reunion fics) and He’s My Brother, St. Elmo’s Fire by impossiblejedi4*, Wrong number by nellbo_o, Ingo Joseph Joestar's His Own Funeral by fluentinfangirl12, Missed Connection by stellarcoachman, Subway Boss Ingo Declared Legally Dead by anonymous, Ingo come home by protocat, and The World Reversed by blazichu

*biased towards the bestie. check out their other work too even though it’s not all reunion fics! their longfic Always By Your Side is gonna have a great reunion soon too (beta reader future knowledge)

and a little self-promo (since you allowed it! :P) i’m writing Please Win 20 Battles in a Row and (Meet Me Again) which is still in progress but ideally the reunion will happen in the last of 4 chapters which i will hopefully post sometime in this decade lol

that got…much longer than intended, but there’s just so many good authors for this fanbase. i didn’t even include everything i’ve found, or else this list would have been even longer!!

let me know if you enjoy any of these <3 safe travels

YO o7

I just got done rereading one of the best reunion fics this side of the internet (the only way to be sure of catching a train is to miss the one before it by dittolicous, PLEASE go read it-)

And brother? I NEED MORE.

So if yall are down, send me some! Your own, someone elses, long fic or short, fanfic.net or ao3, happiest ending you could ever dream of or the most soul crushing angst straight from Distortion, I am not picky! I need some good ol reunion of the boys like an Ursaluna craves Dazzling Honey!

PLEASE