#pokemon near death cw

[eartheats]

Noriko Takeover: The Finale

((ooc: cws for general evil villain nonsense, blowing up a museum, talk of (human) death, near pokemon death, fire, violence in general. strap in folks.))

[a rotomblr live goes up! strangely, it's...rather dark, at first; one can hear the shuffling around of some paperwork, the typing on a keyboard, and the movement of what appears to be a few small pokemon in the background. when the screen finally lights up, it seems the culprit of the hacking has finally gotten her hand off of the camera.]

"Greetings, Rotomblr. I thought it was high time we met face to face."

[ID: an image of a woman with blue hair and eyes, similar to ren; she also wears glasses, has heavy freckles, and wears deep teal lipstick. her look seems cold, unkind, and she's dressed in a white sweater and black shirt. end ID.]

[the woman on the screen smiles. the room around her is quite dark, though her face is illuminated in the light of whatever she's using to record. when she speaks, it's in perfect, fluid kantonnian, though with an accent that one might be able to place as that of a cinnabar island resident.]

"It really has been such a pleasure to meet you all. Some...more than others." [though she smiles, it's not reflected in her eyes; they're almost...cold seeming.] "I suppose that I've kept myself in the shadows for too long; for that, I apologize. While I originally had my own blog on this website, my work ensured that I was far too busy to keep up with it to the extent that I would have wished to. For that, I apologize; there were quite a few of you who were...passable company. Miss Lemon. Mr. Thomas. Miss Maya. Some others."

"But it would seem that my child has become rather beloved, by people. It is something that I am pleased to see; I had worried that they would end up isolated and dying, away from the world at large because of their focus on what happened to them. I knew they could get over it in due time, as long as they pushed themself..."

"Not that I would imagine that they would become such an ungrateful, spoiled brat. It's something I intend to fix, in time." [despite the venom in noriko's words, her expression doesn't change. it's...eerie.] "Ah, well. Mi amor would be far more heartbroken over hearing those words than I am, I suppose...if he were alive to hear them."

[and that's the first thing that gets noriko to pause throughout this. the smile disappears, and though her eyes remain cold, they're...neutral.]

"...It's the anniversary of his death today. A wholly avoidable one, at that." [and there's a spark in noriko's eyes as she says it, and her expression tightens. disgusted, really.] "You see...I have a rather deep distaste for many things. Rockets current and former, for one. Rather rich coming from a former member of Team Flare, I'm sure, but I know my sins. I will not justify them, nor Lysandre's viewpoint. But for another...there's the Silph Corporation. The Pewter Museum, as well. And why, you might ask...?"

[there's a slight laugh that escapes noriko. it...doesn't sound hinged, even slightly.]

"Simple. The Silph Corporation is responsible for my family losing what little we had left when the volcano in Cinnabar erupted. We escaped with our lives, and what we could salvage of our life's work. Do you want to know what they did?"

"They stole it from us. By force." [as noriko recalls it, something in her face steadily starts to twist in anger.] "...They hired Rocket to seize our machinery and blueprints. The Pokemon that we managed to bring with us, as well. By any means necessary. My family's life work, all of it, and they stole it from us. Seized it for themselves to use irresponsibly, at the lowest point of our lives, as some sort of show of power to consolidate it all for themselves."

"It could have ended there, but..." [noriko's twisted expression goes back to neutral. one might even be able to make out just how heartbroken she is to say these next words.] "...The Rockets attempted to attack my family, to steal even more of their Pokemon. Above and beyond in their mission, as always. Mateo, he...he couldn't stand for that, and he...mi amor, he..."

[noriko's face goes down. she might even be crying, really, as she recalls it. one likely doesn't need much more to piece together what's happened.]

"...He wouldn't approve of this." [and there's that laughter--a laughter that's soft, yet oh-so manic, rising steadily in volume and mania.] "He'd condemn this. All of it. What little yet lives of my family would as well. But we're past the point of caring about petty little things like that."

"I want control of all aspects of my life back, and it all starts with this."

[when noriko raises her head back up, she looks resolved. cold again, and the screen seems to brighten just a bit...just enough to illuminate the surroundings.

one might recognize this as the interior of the pewter museum.]

"The media is likely going to spin this any way it wishes. And so be it, if it does. They can call this what they wish. As for what I intend to call it?"

"This is long, overdue vengeance for all that's been taken from me."

"Netzach."

[if one looks to the background, they can make out three glowing lights--purple, green, blue. if anyone smart enough knows those colors and recognizes the blue eyes of the creature in the distance, they'll recognize it as a shiny beheeyem. one that stands...too obediently, waiting for orders--something that could be recognized as the behavior of a pokemon created by Team Glimmer.

noriko turns toward the beheeyem, calm. quiet. so still that one could hear pin could drop.]

"Detonate."

[and all at once, it's a blur, after the order is called, the beheeyem activates something that makes the sound go loud, and the beheeyem is swiftly returned to his poke ball--a bright white light fills the stream. the recording device gets thrown back, but against all odds, glitchy mess it may be, it continues recording. recording amongst the flames, amongst what certainly would be a death for person and pokemon.

but it isn't.

the stream ends with a distant, glowing pink light being seen, and a feminine form that can barely be made out walking from the fire as if it hasn't effected it at all; there's plenty of manic laughter coming from it, and if one's particularly versed in legendary's power, they'll recognize it as Xerneas.

there's another voice, though, barely able to be heard in the distance that calls out.]

"Good, you're finally done pontificating! Let's get outta here!"

[it's not a recognizable voice, though it seems to be another woman's--older, it seems. the pink, glowing form seems to stop, before walking towards the voice.

at any rate, the stream ends with a disconnection error.]

[antihibikase-archive]

It's difficult, isn't it? When you confront yourself, you have to notice things about yourself that aren't too flattering...

[batsight]

Star Flower, loner, Medic of SkyClan

She/Her, cis bisexual

Mother: Turnip

Father: One Eye

Adoptive Father: Skystar

Siblings: Unnamed, all deceased.

Design notes:

-She is styled after the Pokemon, Ogerpon

-The plants are a physical part of her body. They grow out of her.

-She is the physical embodiment of The Blazing Star.

Story notes: [Abuse CW]

-She was born as a normal kitten to a traveling band of rogues who loved to trade and spread their music. Unfortunately, this band died out to a plague, one that nearly took her own life. Desperate to save his family, her father Carrot traveled to a set of tunnels in Sanctuary Lake rumored to house a reality-bending god. He asked the god for a cure, and the god asked for his eye in return. They made the exchange, and he retrieved a glowing, golden, five pointed flower. However, he was too late to save most of his family, so the entire cure went to his surviving kit. He wasn't expecting her to survive the night given her fragile state and the dubiousness of the exchange...

-But the next morning, she was perfectly fine- great, even. If a little... odd... were those buds growing on her paws...?

-It only got stranger from there. When Carrot ended up finding more cats suffering from the plague, just a few calming purrs from his kit seemed to have them ripe and ready to go the next morning. Carrot understood then what had happened- his kit had become the cure herself. And cats were starting to look towards them more, started begging for her healing, for anything. And Carrot had lost everything... wasn't it time to start winning stuff back?

-And so, the pair became One Eye and Star Flower, for recognition's sake. The two formed their own small group, filled with cats Star Flower had healed. Star Flower loved to spread her magic where she went, to save cats from the brink of death and be showered with their love and appreciation. They felt like they owed a great debt to her, and she enjoyed that.

-She was very close with her father, even if their relationship could be strained. One Eye loved her, but to an extent, he also used her. He grew arrogant in his success, believing he had become the accomplice to a god, and began to hold that over cats who fell sick. He grew desperate for control and Star Flower was his key to that.

-One day, however, her father's group encountered the early clans. They were just beginning to settle down, work out their new rules, and declare borders. But what caught the group's attention was the near murder of a young kittypet, almost mauled to death by proto-SkyClan's leader, Skystar. Unable to heal wounds with her magic, Star Flower managed to bring the cat to a twoleg, who took her away.

-Appalled by the cruelty, Star Flower took a great interest in Skystar's group, and witnessed several of his other crimes against his cats and the other groups. As did One Eye, who, seeing the early signs of a plague, had an idea to put this cat and the other leaders in their place.

-One Eye and Star Flower joined the group, with One Eye acting as a curious loner, flattering Skystar with praise. Skystar enjoyed his company, and so One Eye grew in the rank rather quickly. He also took a great interest in Star Flower and her abilities. After murdering Tom, who insulted the cats and attempted to attack them, One Eye took the chance to take control over the group, overpowering Skystar and using Star Flower's power to keep the remaining cats in line- everything is going to be okay, you'll get your cure... if you stay in line and do as One Eye says.

-This went on for a moon, of Star Flower holding her magic over the heads of her clients to keep their loyalty towards One Eye. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel pride at it all at helping her father.

-Ultimately, One Eye was overthrown and killed when Skystar came back with reinforcements from the other clans. The rest of the rogues they'd accumulated ran off, and suddenly, Star Flower was alone. She'd never been without her father, and running would mean abandoning his grave, which she didn't want. But... this place had been a home to her for some time now, and she needed a place to stay. SkyClan had taken all of the available territory in the area, anyways, and she was in no shape to brave the other territories or twolegplace. So she offered her power to SkyClan as a peace offering and asked for shelter in return.

-Skystar was still sore from the event, but he couldn't deny that having Star Flower as an asset would be beneficial to him in the long run. And around this point, his son Thunderstar had disowned him and split off ThunderClan from SkyClan. He felt that he was losing allies, losing family, and he latched on to desperate Star Flower very quickly- as a cat who would never disobey him.

-Skystar takes Star Flower under his wing as his new child, her new ward, instating her as a medic. And because she is loyal to a fault, she won't disobey a new leader so similar to her father. And so, he pushes her to do humiliating things in front of the camp, ranging from general chores like tick baths, to forcing her to run laps around camp with an injury if she took too long to work her magic. He would take out his frustration from gatherings on her and berate her over the most menial things. He would make her withhold her power to help anyone in the clan who had displeased him. And if Star Flower ever tried to stick up for herself, all he had to do was remind her of what she did, how she helped torment his cats by holding a cure over their heads to help out her father.

-This went on for years, Star Flower becoming more and more despondent. One night, there was a particularly stressful gathering, in which Skystar got into a territorial dispute with Thunderstar over a pack of dogs ravaging the territories. He lost the dispute, came home, and immediately took it out on Star Flower, shouting at and attacking the molly for "taking too much food she didn't deserve". And something in Star Flower finally snapped, and for the first time, she didn't save a life- she took one. And another. And another. As many as what remained in Skystar's soul. She was discovered taking his very last life in his nest, while she was wondering if she could pin it on the dogs. She escaped the camp, and wandered the territory for the rest of her life.

-Unfortunately, while she finally won against Skystar in the moment, it was history who decided the victor. Sparrowstar declared that they couldn't let a tragedy like this happen ever again, and doubled down on banishing rogues. Every rogue-born cat was looked at with suspicion from then on, and as the decades began to pass, Star Flower's story became twisted and bent. As the story is told, a rogue had infiltrated SkyClan's camp asking for help, but had manipulated and charmed the leader with her prowess and rose in the ranks just high enough to take him out and attempt to claim his spot. Her story was used as a cautionary tale against rogues, warning cats against those who would infiltrate the camp and rot it from the inside. Eventually, even her true name was lost to time...

Rotten Flower, Warrior of The Dark Forest

Skystar didn't hesitate to throw her in the depth of the Dark Forest when she died. She wears her mask constantly, trying to keep away from the sickness of the muck. She's embraced the false myth made about her, claiming to have killed a founder for power and prestige. But in reality, it's been so long that she's forgotten her family, her power, her name. She barely even remembers Skystar himself. Though she's admired in the Dark Forest for her achievements, she doesn't hang around anyone, and acts hostile to those who approach her.

Perhaps someone can help her remember who she truly is...?

[leggerefiore]

Red Chain

cw: angsty, Volo is being a bit creepy and manipulative but what's new, one-sided relationship (by Volo), love triangle

pairings: Cyrus/Reader, One-sided Volo/Reader

☄️ = Cyrus's ending, ⭐️ = Volo's ending

Volo had felt like a fool for centuries.

The one time a human stirred feelings within him, he had foolishly blind sided by his ambitions of claiming Arceus's power as his own so desperately that he lost you.

You opposed him fiercely. Your teams clashed at the ruined Temple of Sinnoh. Somehow, you overpowered his pokemon, which he had trained so competently. His rage swelled for but a moment as he called forth Giratina to put an end to your useless resistance to his goals. The choice of words he settled on did not reflect his true feelings.

Strike you down… That was the last thing he wanted. Volo wished you would stop going against his ideals and just let him force the deity down from its hiding to quell his curious mind and take its power as his own. Your death had no benefit to him.

Despite the strength of the Renegade pokemon, you managed to once again persevere and halt his ambitions. The legendary fled into its portal as he yelled curses and insults to both it and you. His feelings were an ocean of madness eating at his poor brain. He relented the final plate to you and watched as Arceus brazenly chose you over him.

Volo departed those ruins with a promise to see his plans to fruition, no matter the wait involved.

He had truly meant it.

Perhaps that was why Arceus had cursed him so.

It had been nearly a century and a half since he last laid eyes on you.

You had departed Hisui not long after you received the blessing of the deity to call upon it. After meeting it, your farewells had been bid to the people of the region as you decided to leave these lands and return to your own era. He had not even managed to see you leave.

Now, however, he stood in what used to be isolated cliffs and rocky terrain. It had been turned into a decent sized city in the now called region of Sinnoh. His feet carried him into the area with relative boredom. News about an organization attempting to call upon the legendary pokemon of Sinnoh to create a new world had called him here in bland curiosity.

There was not much he found enjoyment in any longer. He may have looked no older than a man in his twenties, but he was much, much older. A slight breeze moved his blond strands in its path as he stood in the street near a café. His heavy coat and brimmed cap made his face hard to see, annoyingly mistaken for his descendant a few too many times for his comfort.

It was supposed to be a relatively quick trip. Pop into Veilstone, check out this organization's building, see if any members would talk about how their plans failed, and leave. It was supposed to be easy enough.

You seemed to have a talent for spiting him, however.

Volo felt his feet come to an abrupt stop. Your clothing was entirely different from what he had observed you in during the Hisuian time period, but he could never forget your face. Before him, opposite of the street and pulling a man to a café, stood you. His heart raced. Had this been where you returned to, or was this you before having experienced the past.

The man you dragged caught his attention too, a notable resemblance to an old captain of yours, much too curious not to be acknowledged. Her descendant, almost certainly. You held his arm in your hand as you smiled brightly at him. His face was only stern at you. Volo felt envy boil inside him.

It was the way his body trembled at the sight which brought your attention on to him. Your grip on the man's arm ended as you gazed at him. Volo stared directly into your eyes. Recognition was instantaneous. You walked towards him in a trance-like state, clearly not wishing to believe it was truly him. Your partner caught on to your odd behaviour and reached a hand out to grab your shoulder.

Volo wanted to pout at how you stopped. Your attention went back to the blue-haired man. How could you fall for someone like him? His tenderness and discomfort ruminated in the open air. A whispered conversation was shared between you both, out of the blond's earshot. The man seemed even more unhappy after you finished whispering to him.

Before either of you could react, he pushed you behind him and stood in from of you. His blue eyes bore into Volo's form as he rested his hands behind his back. An obvious attempt at intimidation. Volo only rose to his full height to prove he was not even slightly threatened. The man's brows furrowed together as he closed his eyes. Your hand came to grip his arm as you peered up at him with big eyes.

Volo called out your name and forced your attention back onto him. “Who is this?” he asked, examining the stiff figure of the stranger. It was fairly obvious you both were closer than just friends. You nervously bit your lip.

“… My boyfriend, Cyrus,” you introduced him eventually, moving to stand on his side and lean into him. Cyrus opened his eyes again to glance at you and then returned a glare at him. The name instantly rung a bell in Volo's head. That was the same name as the leader of the team that had tried to use his plans but dumber. Rage boiled inside Volo at the idea that you were dating a zero charisma black hole who did his plans worse than him.

“Boyfriend?” Volo questioned, “… Pardon my memory, but I do not recall you mentioning one.” The blue-haired man stood stiffly.

You nodded your head before smiling in a gentle manner. “I saw no reason to at the time,” you explained, “But I did still consider myself to be in a relationship with Cyrus. It was simply easier to not explain it.” Volo wanted to snap at you both. He had come to love you over a century of life spent in mostly isolation, and you had been taken the whole time? Arceus was truly cruel to joust this fate onto him.

You three felt uncomfortable as pedestrians froze in their paths to observe the scene curiously. It must have seemed like some sort of lover's quarrel to outsiders. Cyrus shook his head. “... I'm still not sure that I believe your story, beloved,” he spoke to you in his quieter tone, “I am not privy to someone attempting to ruin the date you planned, however.”

You watched in terror as Cyrus tossed out his Houndoom. Volo instantly retaliated with his Lucario. A fierce battle between the two was underway in the street by two people that really should not be bringing attention to themselves. It was intense and evenly matched; Volo's wizened years against Cyrus's complete determination.

In the end… Volo came out on top.

Cyrus looked mortified at his fainted Weavile as you rushed over to check on it. He moved almost on autopilot as he called it back to its pokeball. Volo stood distressed, too, by how he was down to his last pokemon. The poor Togekiss looking worse for wear as he carefully raised a hand to console it. Both men's perceived cruelness fading when forced to witness something they care about in pain.

Volo looked at you desperately. You were the only thing he had been searching for in this current era. His plans to force the deity into his bidding paused until he could finally share words with you again. Why did you have a boyfriend? He was in denial, nearly. You moved to comfort Cyrus, but Volo grabbed your wrist. Panting breaths came from him. Your eyes met his desperate ones.

“Please,” he begged, “Speak with me.” You gazed at him in suspicion. Volo was unsure how to prove his genuineness. Dropping your shoulders, you shot a glance back to Cyrus. He ready to interfere should he be required. Team Galactic was not truthfully disbanded after all. A few grunts could easily be among the crowd.

Should you…? You let out a shallow breath. It had been a century for him since everything, even if it was not for you. On the other hand, you truly wished for the quiet domestic moment with Cyrus, an adorable Rotom themed beverage having brought you here.

Hisui was something you wanted to put behind you as you focused on helping Sinnoh in the modern day.

You…

☄️ Shook your head at Volo and pulled your wrist away from him.

You stepped towards Cyrus, finding his arm around your shoulders protectively. It was obvious he was just distressed by Volo as you were. His usually logical train of thought as he acted emotionally to compensate. The blond's eyes were wide at your choice, seeing truly how uncomfortable he made you. He knew this was entirely his fault.

Volo had threatened your life. Even if he truly did not intend to kill you, his words still had a profound effect. He had lied to you and tricked you into doing his bidding before attacking you. It was foolish of him to think he could ever try to explain himself. Had Cyrus done those things to you? He had no way to be certain. His head was hung low as he silently turned away to leave you both.

His heart ached in his chest as he departed into the rocky cliffs of the neighbouring route.

You stood close to Cyrus as he left and the crowd finally dispersed. A few remaining, obviously looking at the Galactic Boss knowingly. He shot them a glare, and they, too, left. His hand took your own as he gently brought you into the café. The quieter, relaxed ambience was a needed change.

You perked up slightly as you ordered the Rotom cookies and teas for you both. Cyrus gazed at the confections silently. They were decorated with different berry flavoured icing depending on the form. The tea steamed from its cup as you were eerily silent. He sighed. You had been so happy to drag him here earlier. His hand clenched.

Cyrus hated seeing you upset.

“… Beloved,” his voice was as soft as he could possibly make it, “Are you alright?” His hand came to grasp yours on the table. It always felt strange for him to be so… vulnerable, but for you, he always felt so unfortunately tender. You let out a shaky breath and gripped his hand tightly. He watched as you looked up at him, your eyes were red, but a smile was forced on your face.

“I'm fine,” you attempted to reassure him, “I just… never expected to see anyone from Hisui again.” His eyes broke contact from yours to look at the cookies. The tale was nearly too fantastical for him to believe. You had appeared in an unfamiliar uniform while rushing into the Galactic HQ. It was much more believable as you told him of his ancestor who established his lineage in Sinnoh which you should have otherwise been unaware of.

“I see…” He nodded. Silence came over you both again. Conversation was never a talent that came to Cyrus. Your grip remained strong on his hand. “I cannot imagine what you went through, but I am grateful you made it back here.” You laughed weakly.

“I only wanted to come back to be with you again,” you admitted quietly and gazed at him with a loving expression, “Leaving you alone after everything was the cruellest thing I could imagine. I never want to put you through that, Cy. I love you.” He felt his chest grow warm. Did you truly come back just for him? Cyrus did not know how to respond. Returning after he lied to you about his actions and forcing you to learn of them as he committed them… You should have hated him.

“I love you, too,” the words felt foreign on his tongue but were spoken earnestly, “Thank you for coming back to me…” You smiled brightly, mood seemingly lifted. Freeing his hand, you picked up one of the cookies and held it out to him.

“Well… Let's forget it for now,” the wash Rotom cookie smelling heavily of Oran berries, “Aren't they just adorable? We should have brought Rotom with us!”

Despite the lightened mood, Volo remained heavy on both your minds.

⭐️ Nodded at him and politely excused yourself to Cyrus and followed Volo into a nearby alleyway.

The crowd was gone from you both as Volo took off his hat and looked up at the sliver of blue sky that shone above you both. His brain was obviously miles away from where you both were… Or maybe just years. Where did he begin? Would you listen to what he had to say completely? He wanted to just force you away from that Cyrus and pretend he did not exist. It had been that way never even twenty minutes ago for him, after all.

“I'm sorry,” he turned his gaze to stare into your eyes, “I know how I acted was unforgivable.” You wanted to jump back at his words, clearly not expecting an apology. “I am not giving up on my goals, let my clarify,” his eyes held the same corrupted devotion as they had at the Temple of Sinnoh, “My intentions were never to kill you.” You shot a suspicious look at him.

Naturally, you would not believe him. “I was single-mindedly focused on my goals,” he explained further, “I could not stand the idea that Arceus sent another to stop me, yet I was intrigued by whom it would dare choose over me.” Volo closed his eyes. The wound was still fresh despite the time it had been first inflicted on him. “I was infatuated with you,” his heart tightened in his chest, “I… I wished to seek you out after it all, but the guards were too suspicious of me, then you left for here.” Your cheeks grew warm at his words.

Still, you turned your head to the opening of the alleyway. Volo was much too late in this confession, for both himself and you. He should have told you before, claiming that Giratina would appear at the Temple of Sinnoh. What did this man have that he lacked? Cyrus did not seem to have any appealing qualities at a glance. A stoic with an unconventional attractiveness.

“… What do you want, Volo?” you asked him plainly, eyes piercing right through him. It was a reasonable question. What did he want? For you to break up with your established boyfriend and join him in his isolated cabin in the wilderness of Sinnoh? Yes, actually, but he did not dare reply like that. But, he could start smaller, certainly. His end goal would always to be to have you in his arms. Cyrus was not worthy of someone chosen by Arceus. Only Volo was.

“A friend,” it was not entirely a lie, “I'm terribly lonely. I barely get out of my home, and when I do, it's to explore ruins and archaeological sights. I get mistaken for my descendant and have no one to confide in.” You looked at him with a gentle expression. His smile had to be forced back. Hook, line and sinker. Your guard finally dropped.

“… I… I do miss the people of Hisui,” you admitted softly, “I left them all to return here. I... I feel conflicted about that decision.” Volo placed a hand on our shoulder amicably and grinned his normal smile. Perfect.

“Then let's keep in contact,” he pulled out his old phone, “I would love to speak about the past.” You gave him your number with a nod.

You soon parter from him to rejoin the blue-haired man, who had begun to look into the alleyway to check in you. He tried to ignore his upset as Cyrus bright his arm across your shoulders to lead you away.

Patience would win him this game, he felt certain.

[roselyn-writing]

🌼💚Layla Buyunni OC lore 🍀🌳

Name meaning: ‘Night’ in Arabic. ‘Buyuuni’ means ‘The Keeper’ in the old Virginian language

Date of birth: 3rd of September 1440 (in Virginian time and year)

Age: 23 (Youngest Oc so far).

Zodiac sign: Virgo.

Hair: Long straight blonde hair.

Eyes: Green.

Skin tone: Porcelain.

Favourite food: roasted veggies, veggies, broth veggies, omelettes, Chickpea sandwiches, peas quinoa salad.

Least favourite food: Beef, Chicken, Jelly.

Aesthetics: Gardener, librarian, flowers, nature, forests, green aesthetics, plants, cottagecore, greencore.

Favourite colours: Green shades, white, Turquoise, Brown, Gold.

Job: Florist, Librarian.

Likes: Nature, learning new things, animals, quietness, cleanliness, reading books, writing poetry, likes to take care of her plants/flowers, Pixies and fairies, green clothes, green jewels, etc.

Powers: Plant-based powers, psychic abilities. Plant manipulation, Chlorokinesis, slight sound manipulation, Immortality, and Complete control of plant life. Healing magic, Her eyes glow green when she uses her powers, self resurrection, immortality, Hair manipulation (only in Verdant Seraph form)

Items: Eternal Verdant core (Its shape is similar to the heart of Tefiti from Moana, but it is bigger and has a heart-like shape with plant-based runic, etc.) Later, it infused with her soul making her a god-like being.

Hate/dislike: sexism, plant abusers, animal abusers, bigots, racist people, liars, criminals, parents who abuse their children, rude people, people who hate other people for being different, etc, nature abusers, etc.

Pet(s): Layla has a plant-like creature that she made out of her powers and pure essence it is similar to “Bellossom” from Pokemon, She named it ‘Marigold’

Faceclaim: Meghan Ory.

voice claim: Stephanie Sheh (Usagi Tsukino English VA)

Personality: Layla is very shy when she sees new people, but when she gets to know them very well, she won’t be shy with them at all, she talks and interacts freely with them.

"I feel the verdant energy coursing through me, surging like vines in search of life and sustenance. I harness its power and focus my will. The plants around me respond by swaying in rhythm, weaving a thick, green tapestry of life, And I swear by the holiness of nature I will use it for good!" ______ Layla Buyunni’s quote

Her lore is inspired by Anne Jefferies and the fairies but I decided to make it darker and bloodier hehe 😝.

[The Lore] CW: Blood, Death.

Across the north where the wind from the south meets the northern sea of Ma’chilga town as if they were lovers from different parts of the world, There, was a happy little girl called Layla Buyunni, She works as a florist and a caregiver to an old lady called ‘Granny Mira’

Layla is known among the people as a happy and carefree girl, let alone a very beautiful and popular girl in the town too. Every day, she finishes her morning chores in Granny Mira's house then she goes to the market to buy groceries so she can cook and prepare a meal for herself and Granny Mira.

This was her daily routine for years until one day, she was cleaning the backyard with a broom, when she heard a rustling in the bushes, at first she didn’t care at all, she continued to clean the backyard until the rusting became more frequent and annoying, she decided to go and see what is hiding behind the bushes and she saw nothing at all, confused, she decided to head back to the yard and continue cleaning it.

This time, she heard a lot of voices and more rustling in many bushes near her, she was beginning to freak out. She clenched her hands onto the broom as if it were a weapon, she gasped with utter shock when she saw 6 dwarves dressed in green and white garbs coming towards her way. They stopped when they came face-to-face with Layla. They looked at her and smiled.

“Hello, Fair Maiden,” The leader of the dwarves greeted her.

Layla was so shocked that she didn’t reply, she kept looking at them and said nothing, at first, she thought she was dreaming or something. Until one of the dwarves climbed on her feet and she yelped in shock as she backed away from them.

“Worry not, fair maiden,” Their leader said, his tone genuine and soothing, Then six dwarves dressed in green and white outfits came to meet her. They all stood in a row in front of Layla and smiled up at her.

“A-a-a-are you r-real?” Layla finally spoke, she was stuttering and her tone was scared and shy. She was in disbelief, still not believing what she was seeing, she rubbed her eyes with her hands and looked at them and they were still there.

The dwarves laughed at her; They nodded their heads while doing so.

“Of course, we are, fair maiden,” said their leader, It is a dwarf who wore a white hat while the other green ones.

Terrified, she fiercely swung her broom at the dwarves, They dodged her attack and looked at her in complete confusion, Their leader, Mattan, raised her hand at her in indifference so that he could explain the situation to her.

“Layla, stop it!” Mattan declared with a firm tone.

In complete bewilderment, Layla dropped her broom, she lifted a surprised eyebrow “How did you know my name?”

“We know you, but you don’t know us,” cane his vague reply.

Layla only blinked twice or thrice at this, she didn’t know what to do or say; Dwarves appearing in your garden isn’t something you see every day or something you can barely process. Layla swallowed hard, trying her hardest to understand the situation she was in.

“Okay? And what do you want?” Layla inquired.

Mattan stepped closer, he gently raised his hand and touched the hem of her dress. He didn’t say anything in the least, He only did some hand gestures. A thick white fog like a cloud in a clear sky enveloped them and in fear, Layla covered her eyes.

It didn’t take long for Layla to take her hands from her eyes and see what happened. She is in a different place now – a jungle — a forest, She is in a forest-like place, full of thick trees and green grass. As if she is in a perfect forest in some fairytale.

The dwarves started to walk and Layla trotted behind them. Mattan was talking about the history of this glorious forest while Layla was eagerly looking around the place. She smiled as he mentioned something about ‘willow trees’ she loves them so much.

In a flash, Mattan and his dwarves came to a halt, Mattan looked directly into Layla’s eyes as he pointed a finger at her.

“Layla, You are the daughter of the mother forest,” Mattan announced suddenly.

Layla, bewildered at his claim, she calmly shook her head. “No sir, I’m no such thing,” She replied.

Mattan, still determined to prove himself right. “You are!” He said determinedly.

Layla shook her head. “No, Sir.”

“You are!”

“No, Sir.”

Mattan breathed to calm himself. Layla is as stubborn as a mule to accept the truth.

Mattan sat on a big rock. “Haven’t you asked yourself, where are your pare?” Mattan asked.

Layla’s eyes fixed on him. “I have, many times to count,” She said in a quiet tone.

“Both of your parents are gone, sadly,” Mattan told her, his tone is soft and mild. He paused then after long moments. “But, You must know your heritage, You are a verdant, a being of the forest and we need to protect you until you grow up into a powerful Sylvan!”

The dwarves nodded as they looked at Layla.

Layla was still in disbelief and she refused to believe any of this. “No, I’m no such thing.”

Suddenly, five dark creatures rushed towards Layla but Mattan easily blocked their path from Layla.

Layla gasped in utter shock and horror. From the look of them, they are dark dwarves, evil beings of chaos and evil. They are dressed in black and red clothes and they carry axes with them.

Mattan looked at Layla, He used his abilities to transported her back to her home. Layla was thankful to him for saving her life.

After days of this event, Layla discovered that she has some abilities, she can grow plants, flowers and everything that is plant-based. She told Granny Mira and the latter was shocked and scared.

“Please, Do not let the king know of this!” Granny Mira begged.

“Why?” Layla asked innocently.

Granny Mira breathed. “He hates magic, Because ‘magic’ is the reason for his wife's death,” She answered then she paused as if to remember what she was going to say. “Also, He will punish anyone that is doing magic or complicit in it!”

Layla was shocked, she didn’t know about this at all. No one in town said such a thing about magic.

“Okay, I got it,” Layla muttered as her head hunged down.

She was so happy about her gift, she wanted to help everyone and make their life easier, but now? She has to keep her gift a secret or everyone she knows will suffer.

Layla decided to look at the bright side. Granny Mira is right, she needed to keep this secret. Because if not: everyone she cares about is threatened with death. She decided to use her gift in secret and she won’t tell anyone about it except for Granny Mira, she already knows.

Days go by, and the dwarves finally come again to see Layla and to talk with her. They brought with them food and bread.

They sat in Layla’s room and surprised her. Layla smiled at them, it was the first time she smiled at them and she greeted them.

“Hello, Friends,” she greeted them happily.

The dwarves smiled and greeted her too, both were happy about their friendship. They decided to celebrate at little and the food they brought.

Layla took a bite of the bread, it was delicious and sweet, It was as if angels were singing in her mouth, she never tasted something as delicious as this. She thanked them for the food, she ate slowly and with manners, savouring every taste of it.

“This, this is delicious!” Layla spoke after she swallowed the bread.

“Glad you like it, It is called fairy bread,” Mattan exclaimed happily.

Then, The dwarves left, they brought with them so much food that Layla decided to put it on the hall table.

Later that day, Granny Mira invited her other friends, who were all older women just like her, she offered them the food that the dwarves brought to Layla. They took a bite of it and they were happy, they were praising Granny Mira for the delicious food she offered to them.

“This is delicious!”

“I have never ever tasted something like this!”

“This is out of this world!”

Granny Mira's smile flickered with a hint of bewilderment as she listened to their enthusiastic claims about the bread. Doubt crept into her mind, but curiosity got the better of her, with a determined nod, she reached for a piece and brought it to her lips. The moment she took a bite, her eyes widened in astonishment. The flavours exploded on her tongue, sending waves of delight through her senses. In a frenzy of hunger, she devoured the rest of the bread, savouring every delectable morsel as if she were a ravenous beast.

All her friends nodded. “See?” They chuckled at her display of hunger.

Granny Mira chuckled in agreement. She was embarrassed by her own inability to control herself. She is a well-mannered lady and she must show it.

When Granny Mira's friends left. She told Layla about the delicious bread and the food that was on the table, she laughed at how her friends, devoured it all, as if they were starving for days.

Layla smiled at this, she was happy but she was a little concerned since Granny Mira mentioned they ate the food that the dwarves gave her, and she was terrified that her caregiver friends would ask more of that food.

“Wellness, Granny,” Layla chuckled, trying her hardest to push her nervousness and concern away.

“You made it right? You always make delicious food,” Granny

Layla sighed. “No, I didn’t make it,” she confessed.

Granny blinked her eyes in pure confusion. “Y-you didn’t make it? Then who?”

Layla sat on the sofa. She looked at Granny and smiled “The fairies, or the dwarves, whatever they were,” she shrugged her shoulders. She was nonchalant and she didn’t know why.

“Layla, Tell me the truth,” Granny said as she sat beside her on the sofa.

“I told you the truth, It was the dwarves who made it for me.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“It is the truth!”

Granny crossed her arms. “Layla! There are no such things as ‘fairies’ or ‘dwarves’”

“Fine! You want me to prove it to you?” Layla stated as she got to her feet and went to a different spot in the room and she started to move her hands as if to summon a paranormal creature.

It didn’t take long as a green glow sparkled in the room and six figures emerged from it. They were short and dwarves-like, unlike dwarves who were known for their green skin and ugly features, these dwarves had fair skin tones and good-looking facial features.

Granny placed her hands on her lips in pure astonishment. “Oh my! You are right! They are real.”

“See?” Layla grinned at her.

Granny Mira nodded and smiled. “Of course, But you must not tell the people about them Let alone the King,” Granny declared.

Layla nodded at her. “Of course, Granny.”

Times go by, and The dwarves continue to visit Layla and bring food for her, Granny’s guests enjoy the food and tell Granny how talented her daughter is for making the food, They were unaware of the dwarves or the fairies or even of Layla’s new gifts.

Unfortunately, One day, one of the King’s advisors heard some voices in the house of Layla and her Granny, They weren’t human and they didn’t belong to Layla or Granny, He heard of local stories of witches and glowing creatures, etc; he decided to take a permit to investigate the house.

He took a permit and he is heading to investigate Layla’s house. He saw things, He didn’t wish to make accusations without evidence.

Layla and Granny welcomed the King’s advisor. At first, He didn’t find anything regarding the ‘witches’ or ‘the glowing creatures’ that he heard or saw.

Unbeknownst to Layla or Granny, The King’s guards were awaiting the advisor's word so they could enter and capture Layla and Granny. but he didn’t give his signal at all.

The King’s advisor still didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the house. He is still looking for clues and he sees glowing green spots on the floor. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Layla and her Granny.

“Oh, that? That is some rare herbs I found deep in the forest!” Layla lied. She smiled as she looked him in the eye.

The King's advisor nodded. He didn’t know that it was a lie, her tone was genuine and sincere. and her body language didn’t show nervousness or lack of expression.

But the unexpected happened and one of the dwarves blew his cover as he fell from one of the top drawers of the kitchen.

The King’s advisor looked at Layla and Granny, He immediately lifted his finger and gave a signal towards the King’s guards. They came by kicking the door open and arrested Granny and Layla.

“Please! Please let us go!” Layla begged. “It is not what you think!”

His reply was a slap to her left cheek as he looked at her with disgust. “Silence! You witch!”

The guards took Layla and Granny to the King’s Yard for judgment.

At this moment, Hadi and Arouj were walking around the town, They heard people talking about a girl named Layla and her Granny, and that they were accused of witchcraft and magic.

Hadi’s interest was piqued by this. He knew there was more than meet the eye, He decided to do a rescue mission for Layla and her Granny, So, He pulled Arouj’s hand and they were running towards the King’s yard.

By the time Hadi and Arouj reached the place, the judge had said his final verdict and he saw Layla and her Granny were tied and ready to be executed.

His hand already glowed with green magic, With a snap of his fingers, the ropes on Layla and her Granny loosened, Layla quickly saw her chance and used her chlorokinesis, she shot out her palms, Thick hard vines curled themselves around the guards’ ankles and they were thrown away as if they were stones thrown by a catapult.

People gasped with horror and shock. They were scared of Layla’s powers, They ran at the sight of it. The King ordered his guards to kill Layla and The Granny.

So far, The King’s guards couldn’t get closer to Layla at all, until the King himself took Granny by surprise and killed her by decapitating her head with his sword. Layla gasped in shock and anger. The King’s sword is coated with blood, her Granny’s blood, She used her Chlorokinesis once again, she killed all the guards as her ravenous and scary monster plants killed the complicit in her Granny’s death.

Hadi magically pushed the guards away while Arouj used his lashers to kill them quickly, He didn’t want to but they forced his hands.

Layla growled with anger as she shot her palm against the king and his remaining guards. She commanded the ravenous vines to attack the evil King and his guards.

The King fought for his life till the end, But Layla decided to finish him quickly, One of Layla’s plant vines pierced him his heart, He yelled and gurgled as he placed his hand on his heart as if he was trying to lessen the pain but he couldn’t and died.

Hadi decided to intervene now. He slowly and carefully walked towards Layla. “We need to go,” He said urgently.

She smiled at him and nodded. “Let us go.”

Layla, Hadi and Arouj left the town, Hadi’s hands wreathed in a green glow as he conjured a portal to his home. Layla, Arouj and Hadi entered the portal before they were followed by the King’s guards.

Layla thanked Hadi for saving her and offering her a new place to stay, one where she could freely express herself and be herself.

She knew that she had fallen in love with Hadi Because he was the only guy who didn’t look at her as the guys would. He saw her as a friend and a great one. Layla fell in love with him and she likes him.

Aliyaa, Hadi and Arouj welcomed Layla and thus she stayed with them, as her new family. Layla also decided to look for answers about who she is and what happend to her parents.

[lonelydusknoir]

Glittering Gold

AO3 Requested by: Nobody! I just decided to do this

This is a Brassius x Reader fic!! Mildly self indulgent even though I don’t really simp for this guy

CW - Near death experience but everything’s fine, no angst here!! Hope you guys love ghost types as much as I do

Paintings of various sizes were placed against the wall, stacked (somewhat) neatly, or hanging proudly for guests to see. Each artwork was given careful examination by Brassius. No detail went left unadmired. Even your amateur work was given praise. But paintings weren’t the only things you worked on. You had a couple of sketches lying about, along with a few clay crafts and Pokémon-shaped sculptures. 

As Brassius praised you for your work, you mumbled your thanks and yawned. It was too early for you to be up. You wanted to sleep in until it became the afternoon. Or maybe until the sun was ready to set in the horizon. Either way, you didn’t want to be awake. But besides that, the thought of food had your mind occupied. You were barely listening to what Brassius had to say about your art, but you don’t think he has noticed yet. 

He strolled around the room once more, getting one final look of everything before joining you for breakfast, but something caught his eye. His gaze turned to a golden coffin which seemed to shimmer from the morning light. When Brassius got closer, he was quick to realize how tall it was. It seemed to be around his height. A life-sized coffin! You’ve talked about your creations before, but he doesn’t remember you bringing up anything about a coffin. It was truly impressive.

“Avant-garde!” Brassius exclaimed, fingertips gliding over the surface of the coffin. “My beloved, how long did it take you to create this piece? It appears as though you used real gold!”

You hummed, having no idea which one of your artworks he was talking about. “Let’s see.. Uh… several months or somethin’. Maybe more than that, I don’t know. It’s hard to keep track, art can be pretty time consuming. But… you know that already.”

He grinned at your words and muttered “Fascinating!”

The mask that sat atop of the coffin gave him an odd feeling. An emotion akin to intense mourning and despair. The energy practically radiated off it, surrounding his entire being in the sad sensation. And he absolutely loved it. Brassius wondered just how you were able to put such feelings in a simple design. He had to ask you about it. Reaching up, the pads of his fingertips brushed against the mask’s cheek before he was met with a startling face. 

Red, glowing eyes revealed themselves, then a sharp-toothed grin. The coffin rattled before multiple shadowy hands emerged from the sides. The coffin lifted itself up to tower over Brassius. The man blinked, frozen from shock. 

“...Truly fascinating indeed.” Were the only words he could say. 

The coffin let out a low groan, which transformed into a cackle. Its teeth began to part, only to slam shut. Either it was a form of intimidation, or it was letting Brassius know that he was going to become its meal. The air around him suddenly felt cold as beads of sweat formed on his skin. He didn’t have any of his Pokemon to protect him, and his vine whip would probably do little damage. Even if it could deter it, he’ll only risk angering it or damaging its precious golden body. Brassius exhaled quietly before calling out your name.

“My beloved! It seems as though.. One of your masterpieces came to life!”

You blinked, brain slowly processing the words your boyfriend said. Did one of your ghost types decide to pull a prank on him? You couldn’t think of which one would try doing that. Your Dusknoir was far too stoic to be playful and your Gengar wasn’t too active during mornings. The only ghost type of yours who would decide to pull a prank this early would be Banette, but last time you checked, it was snuggled comfortably under the blankets. You scratched your cheek as you pondered a little more. Once the realization hits, anxiety instantly forms into a knot as you run into the other room. 

“Cofagrigus! Hands to yourself!” You shouted. The coffin’s eyes met yours, then retracted its arms. It let out a happy cry before settling itself against the wall once more. A sigh left your lips as your shoulders slumped. “Oh, Arceus mio… Do you have any idea how close you were to becoming a mummy?” 

Brassius took another look at your Pokemon. “Hm, seems like I have mistaken your Cofagrigus as one of your beautiful artworks. But even with a single glance at its design, you could tell that it’s truly marvelous!”

Your Cofagrigus let out a purr-like grumble, its shadowy limbs reappearing to wave its hands in the air. A smile appeared on Brassius’ face at the ghost’s joyous reaction. He took a few steps forward and placed a hand near its face. Right where its cheek would be without touching its shadowy face.

You really didn’t have much to say. “Uh. Yeah, sure,” you said before pointing to the mask on the coffin’s forehead. “By the way, don’t touch that. Basically, that little mask has a connection to its past life or whatever so, Cofagrigus gets really fussy if you touch it. And.. a bit aggressive if you’re a stranger. Sorry for not introducing the two of you.”

“Is that so?” Brassius turned his head to look back at you before focusing on your Pokemon. “I see. I feel a bit embarrassed for making that mistake.. But I am not familiar with the majority of Pokemon outside of Paldea, so do accept my apologies.”

You feel as though he meant the last part to your Cofagrigus, but you smile anyways. Despite the near-death experience he had with your beloved coffin Pokémon, they seem to be getting along just fine. You start to wonder if you’ll see Brassius work on a painting of it.. Perhaps almost getting turned into a mummy can give someone a bit of inspiration.

[savebatsfromscratch]

No.30. Blood Seeps Through Yellow Hair

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51233530

Words: 1,092

Cws: Injury, near death

Notes: Sorry, dunno why Yellow ends up getting really hurt every time I write these two.

Prompt: No. 30: “It’s okay, just to say, ‘I’m not okay’.” Borrowed Clothing | Bridal Carry | “Not much longer...”

Yellow shivered as she lay in Blue’s arms, and he didn’t need to be feeling it to see that her healing power was flickering. “No- No, no-,” He gasped, stumbling just a little faster up the hill. He didn’t know quite what that flickering meant, but he doubted that it was good.

He couldn’t lose her, not like this.

“Come on Yellow,” he was nearly begging now, “Just a little further, you can do it,”

Yellow, of course, did not respond.

She was limp in his arms, but at least she still seemed to be breathing. “You’ve got this Yellow,” he whispered, though he knew she could not hear him, “You’ve got this, j-just hold on a little longer, okay?”

Blue wished he could whip the blurring tears from his eyes, but it was all he could do to keep trudging forward. Yellow wasn’t heavy, and Blue wasn’t weak, but even a little time carrying a passed out girl could really wear on a person, and Yellow had been in his arms for quite a while now.

He couldn’t keep going, but he knew he had to. He could see the lights of the Pokemon center, as warm and yellow as always, flickering through the twisted trees. He was so close, he had to keep going, even if his legs felt like jelly and his arms felt like lead.

“Come on Yellow,” he urged the injured girl, “Hurry up, it’s not that far-,”

He was gasping for breath, and it was clear that whatever energy Yellow had left was being spent on nothing but keeping her alive as blood dripped down her face and onto Blue’s shoulder. She was so hurt that even her healing power had broken. Blue wanted nothing more than to fly or teleport the rest of the way, he knew it would be faster, but he also knew that Yellow’s condition was nothing near stable enough to try it.

Yellow’s breathing was now so faint that Blue could plausibly worry that he would not notice if it stopped.

Finding strength he did not know he had, Blue broke into a run. “Help!” he screamed as the Pokemon center came into full view before him, “Help please! She’s hurt!”

Yellow did not even groan as she jostled around in Blue’s arms, so he only screamed louder as he came closer to the center. “Please!” he screamed, feeling his voice grow hoars with emotion as the nurse rushed out to help him, “Please-,”

Blue stumbled and Yellow slipped partially out of his arms as his knees hit the muddy forest floor. He was full on crying now, and the Nurse Joy’s expression as she took Yellow into her arms didn’t exactly do much good for his panic as the two of them worked to carry Yellow the rest of the way into the Pokemon Center.

Nurse Joy was calling for backup, calling all sorts of awful sounding codes, calling for help… Blue felt Yellow be torn from his hands. He knew that it was good that she was getting into the emergency room immediately, but something deep inside him, some awful, shivering selfishness, wanted to be at her side.

Blue wanted to help her, to feel her hair in his hands as he comforted her, to watch her smile when she woke up to see him, to hear her laugh when she saw the mud stains on his clothes. Now, when he was left alone in that near empty lobby, he felt himself realizing something. He truly loved Yellow, and more than just as a coworker, friend, or student. No. Blue loved her.

He collapsed into one of the center’s chairs, suddenly aware that his legs could not hold him any longer and completely uncaring of the mud that would surely stain the carved wood.

Blue couldn’t live without this girl. This girl with the sunflower hair and the quartz white smile. This girl with the life giving touch and forest taught hands.

Blue knew that he could not wait for her, but, as he stared up at the glowing light above the operating room, he knew he had to. He wanted to spill all his secrets and stories to her listening ears. He wanted to hold her hand as she excitedly told him all about all of her forest memories. He wanted to spend time with her.

But he knew he couldn’t, not yet.

He did not know how long he stared up at that light, but it was long enough that the mud had turned to dirt by the time its red glow had faded.

Instantly, the full force of his panic was back. Did that loss of light mean she had lived? Did it mean she had died? Would he get his chance to tell her his love or had he already missed it?! Blue stood quickly as the door slid open, revealing Nurse Joy’s weak smile in his direction as she came into view.

Blue’s heart pounded in his chest, but his words caught so deep in his throat that they refused to even come out as he glided, zombie-like, towards the door.

He had started crying again (or maybe he had never stopped), and the tears made his vision blurry as he pushed past the Nurse Joy into the room. For one heart stoppingly terrifying moment, he could not tell if Yellow had made it or not, but then he saw her face break into a weak smile as her half opened eyes caught Blue’s.

Blue charged forward, all formalities forgotten as he threw himself at her. In the moment, he didn’t even realize that it might be against medical rules. He hugged her tight to his chest and sobbed, and Yellow laughed and laughed until she too began to cry.

Blue felt her healing magic pulsing through him, and he pulled back from the hug to get a better look at her. Her head was wrapped in a bandage, and the machinery around her was beeping incessantly, but she was alive.

“I love you,” Blue managed, and Yellow didn’t even have time to laugh before he was kissing her. Behind them, the Nurse Joy gasped and started to say something, but neither dexholder paid her any mind as they embraced. It was warm, classy, and quite literally healing as Yellow’s magic exploded outward, warming Blue’s heart as it reached him.

He had done it!

She had done it!

She was alive!

(And Blue didn’t think he was ever going to let her go again.)

[ursarangler]

hiya!! U⁠^⁠ｪ⁠^⁠U my name's Kenneth!! I'm a cage fighter who's been scrapping it up in the Johto region longer than most of y'all have been alive!!! I'm gonna try to be active on here, buuuut my phone is kinda old and I can only log onto desktop mode when I'm at the net cafe, so we'll see how that works out. currently hanging out near the Lake of Rage if anyone's dtf!!! (down to fight lmao (⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ᴥ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ⁠ʋ⁠) ) just be warned that I take my sport very seriously. I don't lose.

currently don't have any pokemon owned, buuuuut that's not a problem!!! haven't met one I couldn't beat myself yet!!! (⁠◠⁠ᴥ⁠◕⁠ʋ⁠) I prefer to fight hand-to-hand with my gauntlets, buuuuut I'm also pretty good with bladed weapons, blunt weapons, and firearms too!!! whatever's needed to win the fight, I've got it covered!!! U⁠(⁠｡⁠･ᴥ⁠･⁠｡⁠)Uﾉ

not looking to make friends!! just fights!!! V⁠●⁠ᴥ⁠●⁠V rivals, enemies, horrible creatures that I can drag down to hell with me! things like that

members of organized crime interact at your peril.

((I usually don't make OOC content, but it's gonna be necessary for this guy. Kenneth is a sadist who lives entirely for the thrill of bloodsport. If you interact closely with him, there is a fair chance he will try to fight and severely injure your character or their pokemon. By getting close to him, you consent to high-ultra stakes events happening to your character. I will let you know exactly once what you're getting yourself into if he sees your character or their pokemon as a good fight in the making. This will be your one chance to back out before shit hits the fan.

Kenneth is in possession of superhuman strength. He can take down strong high-level pokemon in hand to hand combat, and he usually kills his opponents. If you've ever played the Yakuza series, think Kiryu or Saejima in terms of power. Yes, his power has limits. Yes, he does have to worry about severe injuries. No, your Lucario will not stop him. Come into every fight expecting an uphill battle that you are likely to lose. If you need a character killed off, DM me and we can hash out an event for it.

Blanket CW going forward for high stakes, pokemon death/abuse, death in general, gore, and violence. It'll usually be of the written variety. If this content isn't for you, my other three blogs, @skygodtraumabond, @skippthecredits and @teamcuriosity, are way less intense.

Trainer Card Template by @roserisen !!!!))

[companionwolf]

Fictober 2022 fill #5

Prompt: 7. ‘Check that again, are you sure?’

Fandom: XCOM / Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Rating: Gen

CWs/TWs: none

When they reach the entrance to the vault, the cave opening into the dungeon before it, Central signals for Shen to stop. She watches as he paces around, his nose to the ground and brow furrowed in thought. 

“What is it?” she asks.

“Something smells weird,” he says. “Smells like someone was here.”

Shen frowns. “We better hurry then.” she says, and they make their way down into and through the dungeon, gunning as hard as they can for each set of stairs. At the end, they’re both barreling out of the cave into the space just before the first vault like door into the tunnel. 

Shen’s robot activates the door, the Mawlie checking the logs it brings her as the door opens with a hiss. “Hey, Central, do you still smell anything?” she calls. 

He’s a few paces ahead of her, snuffling against the concrete. “Yeah,” he says. “Pokemon and human-- the human smell stops here, where the Pokemon’s begins, but I think the trail leads back into the vault.”

“I have a log here of someone opening and closing this door,” Shen says as they approach the second inner door. “If i'm right--” They tep back out of the way of the door, the robot hoving near the terminal on the inner side as it finishes opening. The robot comes back to her, and she peers down at it. “Yeah, there’s an entry for an unlock-lock sequence here, too.”

“Check that again, are you sure?”

A moment of quiet. Then: “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“I don’t like it,” says Central as they step into the vault. 

After a few paces through a small sparse lobby, rows of cryogenic pods meet their gaze; Wires run up from the pods into the ceiling, into the floor; the soft sounds of hissing and whirring. A raised platform of the left boasts a control panel and display; along the back, an ancient elevator to further levels of the vault, and a large circular opening to a incinerator, currently closed. 

Shen makes her way up the platform, hopping up into the chair and beginning to flick through screens. “Check Sector X, please,” she says. “One of the pods is open and inactive.”

“Guess we figured out what the human smell is from,” he grumbles as he weaves his way through the pods, thankful for the frosted over glass. When he reaches Sector X, near the back, he spots the open pod-- it’s dark, hatch open, and beeping incessantly.

He sniffs at the open pod, at the yanked out wires that should be trailing into flesh, at the dark brown spots and mist the cryofreeze. “Yeah, this is it,” he says. He steps back, rises on his hind legs and grabs the end of the pod’s top with his teeth, pulls it closed; the beeping stops. 

The Mawlie appears at his side. “So they’re just gone?” 

“Looks like it,” he says. “I don’t smell the Pokemon, just the human.”

She taps her chin. “Weird,” she says. “Systems report the last wake cycle at about a month ago-- they would have starved, we would have seen a body, assuming they didn’t try to traverse the dungeon.”

“If they did, there’s no point caring,” Central syas. “You know how dungeons are.”

Shen hmms. “Let’s keep an eye out, anyway,” she says. “Humans don't just disappear, and they don't just get themselves out of cryosleep.” She motions for her robot to come over, peers at its screen again.

“Anyone dead?” he asks as he sits, scratches at an ear.

“A couple,” she says with a sigh. “I don’t understand-- every system, every mechanism, is working. Nothing is giving me error codes, nothing needs repairs. This place is made to run by itself, with an overseer checking in every so often, so i dont get why they keep dying. The deaths are getting exponential-- at this rate, this whole floor will be gone in a few months.”

“Let’s take care of the ones dead now, worry about the rest later,” he says, standing up and giving himself a shake. She nods sadly, and they travel the rows of pods together, Central opening each one containing a dead human and lugging the body along the metal floor to the incinerator, where Shen opens the top, allowing him to heave the body inside. 

Once they’ve brought all fifteen to the incinerator, Shen activates the burning cycle from the raised platform’s controls. Central, standing beside her, stands on his hind legs and peers at the screens. He had to learn to read human English when they found the old XCOM HQ, so he can parse some of what’s there-- temperature, number of pods active, number of pods inactive, number of dead. There’s menus holding deeper reports, but he leaves those to Shen. 

“All done?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she says. “Despite the whole…dying thing, everything is fine.”

“That and the one who seems to have just left somehow,” he says.

“Maybe we should contract someone to come guard the vault,'' she says as they begin to leave, exiting the first vault door into the long, concrete tunnel. “Or just the area outside where the dungeon starts.”

“I don’t know,” says Central. “Seems risky. Maybe if it was Tygan, or you or me or both of us. The three of us together, that would be okay, I think - me protecting, you and him figuring out why they’re all dying.”

They make their way through the cave’s  dungeon, and back out into the small area between the cave entrance and the Mountain Pass dungeon proper. Central sits in the cold sun, licking a wound on his leg.  “If you were a human who got out of cryosleep, where would you go?” he asks.

“Nowhere,” Shen answers. “I’d stay in the vault.”

“That’s not helpful,” he says.

“I’m really beginning to think that the smell of Pokemon you picked up? That they somehow got in and took our missing human,” she answers. “Let’s go report back to Tygan and then see if we can't convince him to let us move here.’

“What about the ship?”

Shen looks away toward the horizon, frowning. “I wish it could fly,” she murmurs.

“We’ll make more trips up here in the meantime, then,” Central says. “If someone’s coming in and taking humans, or sabotaging the systems somehow, we’ll catch ‘em.” 

And he means it, he thinks.

It’s the least he can do, for the memory of humanity, of his Commander.

[p0ssyart]

the first time they see each other in over a year and it's the most painful reunion ever

[assignedligmaatbirth]

what happened w gus?

his ex girlfriend (abelina sabrina) posted a video about all of it but i’ll summarize

cw: abuse (emotional/medical), pregnancy loss

sabrina had an ectopic pregnancy in 2018, and required 12 hospital visits in the span of a month. during this, gus was neglectful (choosing to go out for beers with his friends instead of being with her while she was near-death in the hospital) and emotionally abusive (“anyone else would have broken up with you by now”)

more recently, this month sabrina got a rhinoplasty to fix a deviated septum. rather than help care for her, gus twitch streamed himself opening pokemon cards, ignoring her texts/calls for help and telling his viewers “sabrina’s doing great”.

last night gus posted a response that’s basically “oh we were young and didn’t know what we were doing, i’ve tried to grow and change since then” even though the most recent example of neglect was like. weeks ago lmao. sabrina made a post about how she didn’t forgive him, his friend eddy made a post about distancing himself from gus, and that’s where we’re at right now

there’s a lot more to it than that and i do really encourage everyone to watch abelina sabrina’s most recent two videos on her pregnancy and rhinoplasty. not only does it expose gus as an abuser but she talks a lot about the abuse she faced as a woman with the healthcare system as well

[zz-chikorita]

Do you have any headcannons for how your version of Leon and Guzma, and other characters for the Jolly Rogers universe would be if they existed in the real world and there was no Pokemon? Like jobs, how they'd meet up, etc.

Oh, do I!

You fool! The gears are turning now! Stand the fuck back!!! Shit's about to get crazy up in here/j

But yes, in seriousness, I do, in fact, have many thoughts about this.

Fair warning, this might take a while. (CW: animal death, drugs, prostitution, concussions, panic attacks, insensitivity toward disabilities, homelessness)

Guzma:

Guzma, Kukui, and Molayne still grew up together as friends, Guzma inevitably drifting away from them (and everyone tbh) due to his worsening home life. But as a kid, and even a little bit of a young adult, he actually had high aspirations. He would've love to have some sort of career involving entomology. But he also was interested in any sort of animal care field. There was a point when he aspired to be a veterinarian. However, as time went on and his memory became more and more unstable from his multiple concussions, he resolved that any kind of higher education would never be in the cards for him. Then, after dropping out of school, he let go of all of it and focused solely on survival.

He dealt drugs and other contraband but never got too much into the thick of it. He was always, like, the go between. Did hand offs, collected debt, that sort of thing. And, much like the fic, he was also involved in prostitution. But it was more of an opportunistic thing he had going on and less of him going out specifically to work a certain area. He may have had to do it like that once or twice cuz he was really strapped for cash but, he tried not to make a habit of it. He tried to limit how much of that sort of criminal stuff he was involved in once he started looking after his growing gang of troubled and homeless kids.

Of course, he'd do all sorts of temp jobs, much like in the fic. A lot of it is mostly hard labor. Working on the local ranches was probably the job that least annoyed him cuz he'd at least get to be near the cows and stuff for a little bit (Although it can be a bit difficult at times... Once, he tried to convince the rancher one of the calves was experiencing signs of diptheria but he was dismissed without a second thought. It could hardly breathe and he held it as it slowly passed from oxygen deprivation).

As for something more consistent, he got a pretty stable job as bouncer/security for a local nightclub. It's not a ton of cash but it's reliable, at least.

He met Plumeria there. She was the women's bathroom attendant, a position this particular club didn't normally have however it's the only thing she could convince the club owner to allow her to do since she was still a minor. So, in the end, they gave her the position for a tiny amount of pay and a room in the back for her to live in. After a long time of building up trust, Guzma eventually got her to quit (at least until she's over 18 cuz a kid don't need to be in that environment, even if she ain't doin' the dirty work, a'ight?) and come live with him and the gang.

Leon:

Leon in an irl setting is a lot tougher, cuz his whole deal is the damn champion thing so it's like...what would be an irl parallel to that? Maybe like an Olympic athlete who excelled at an unusually young age and thus became a poster child for hard work and inspiration or some shit like that. He even insisted from a young age on using his fame and influence to advocate/raise awareness and funds for charities. All that; plus just how he was also a very sweet, charismatic kid; he became beloved by the whole country. Sort of the vibe like how people become invested in the lives of celebrities and reality stars, but a little less obnoxious than that. Maybe more leaning toward how we react to super amazing, inspiring kids that are incredibly clever and done notable feats (like Malala Yousafzai).

He doesn't really have to think about a career so much considering he has money coming in from his various brand deals and sponsors and other shit. (And quite honestly, no one's ever really asked him what he wants to do. That whole "what do you want to be when you grow up?" question we all got as kids? Yeah, no one ever thought to ask him that... Not sure if he'd be able to answer even if they did...).

In his early twenties, he sustains an injury and or develops a disability that prevents him from competing anymore. He still funds charity work and does some events but is far less in the spotlight than ever before. The press don't find him as inspiring and news worthy now that he's "broken"..."washed up"...."past his prime"...

As for how Guz and Lee met...

I can see Leon's friends and family convincing him to take a break for just a bit. Go somewhere nice, somewhere far away from all this noise and relax, let himself breathe for once.

He tries to be incognito and just spend some time having fun being a twenty-something and enjoying life. The press eventually find out and now are interested in him again considering they can now weave this juicy, clickbait story of "poster boy turned playboy" (even despite his behavior being extremely tame for the most part). Anyways, I imagine some goons are getting a little too pushy in the club, causing a lot of commotion, and using flash photography (which is banned anyways) so Guzma ends up roughing them up and throwing them out only to realize it wasn't one of their guys they were messing with but a tourist he ain't never seen before. One who is so shook up, they have to take him to the back room to calm down. So, they sort of meet then but when they finally get introduced to each other it's because Leon's tracked him down and shown up on his doorstep, wanting to thank him in person. And then inquiring where on earth all these children came from... and perhaps there's something he could do to help?

And that's that. So yeah...I warned ya 🤣

I have plenty of thoughts for all the other characters too so I might make a second post of anyone's interested but, this one is already way too long. Hopefully it's at least a little coherent :3

[ishibishie]

i said i would maybe do this two weeks ago but i'm on a steven loving high and i saw a stupid post that was basically brainless bashing and hate in his tag so i'm here to fix this with steven love and ramble about the baby boy with a........

27 RANDOM STEVEN HEADCANONS POST!

uh cw for mentioning dead parents ig. there's a lot of dead parent stuff here sorry

- steven is asexual and aromantic. he discovered this a bit "late" when he was about 20 years old. despite his high profile in hoenn, he isn't very open about his sexuality and has only come out to a handful of close friends, the first being wallace. it was also wallace who gave him the black ring he wears.

- steven is half galarian on his mother's side. he would often visit the region with her before she died, and steven has very fond memories of watching gym matches: those battles are what inspired him to become a pokemon trainer along with his mother having been one herself in galar before she moved to hoenn. his favorite place in galar is wyndon city and he loves finding any excuse to hop aboard the trains scattered throughout the region to see all the unique scenery pass by and collect rare new stones for his collection.

- he adores space and astronomy! when he can't sleep he'll go outside and look at the stars until he eventually dozes off. this also led him to look into the mythology behind the constellations he sees, and he's had a few passionate conversations with cynthia about pokemon mythology.

- when nervous, steven tends to bite his nails. this has led to many scoldings and impromptu manicure sessions from wallace!

- his biggest fear is ghost type pokemon as he hates thinking about the concept of death. he also dislikes very strong thunderstorms, and being left alone for long amounts of time.

- as a result of his pampered childhood, steven is a bit of an attention seeker. he tends to get fussy and impatient when nobody acknowledges or listens to him. there was an isolated incident of steven throwing a pebble he had in his pocket at someone to make them pay attention when he was at his limit.

- likewise, he absolutely hates getting dirty when he's not caving. a single blemish of dirt on his nice clothes will drive him mad. he hates being disorganized and is a bit of a clean freak.

- he's a big contest fanboy! if a day off and a contest line up on the same day, expect to see steven somewhere in the audience cheering the coordinators on.

- steven and his father have a rocky relationship ever since his mother died. steven always wanted to become a pokemon trainer like his mother, but his father wanted him to take over the devon corporation one day. this unwanted pressure from his father ultimately led to steven running away from home to pursue his dreams when he was 14. now, they're still on speaking terms, but that's not to say steven looks forward to and enjoys their conversations. things only got worse when steven came out to his father and was brushed off as "going through a phase". despite everything, steven one day wishes to reconcile with his father and hopes that they can be as close as they were before his mother died.

- the one thing steven regrets most is never saying goodbye to his mother. the last thing he told her was "see you tomorrow!" before she died the very next day

- he met wallace during the time he ran away from home. the two met in lilycove city, where wallace was practicing for a contest and steven happened to be in the city. steven was intrigued by wallace's skills and ability to charm him with his pokemon. the first thing steven said to wallace was a compliment about his pokemon and the two decided to spend the day hanging out. they've been best friends ever since, and steven tends to see wallace as the big brother he never had and his main source of advice.

- he loves to write, whether it's journalling or taking notes about the rare stones he finds. however, he uses the same notebook for everything so his journal entries are often bordered by crammed-in notes about rocks. good luck reading anything, though: he has very small and cursive handwriting.

- steven is a disaster in the kitchen. the only thing he can make without any risk of burning his house down is a cup of tea.

- he's a big nature lover! in contrast to his sheltered life as the son of the ceo of a big business, he enjoys looking at flower gardens and finds any chance he can to lay down on a grassy hill and let the world move by without a care.

- he enjoys classical music and can play the flute!

- due to how he grew up without many real friends as a kid, steven tends to act a bit childish in personal social situations. he'll simply say whatever's on his mind without thinking twice and randomly cut in whenever someone else is speaking. not to mention he's terrible at holding eye contact. more "professional" conversations are where he shines as his parents taught him everything about etiquette.

- steven is polite to a fault: he usually has trouble telling people no and doesn't like to intrude on other people's conversations even if he was invited to such a conversation. it can make normal small talk awkward for both parties.

- his favorite place in hoenn is sootopolis city. he adores being surrounded by history while chatting with wallace at a local cafe, not to mention taking in the beautiful scenery at night.

- clear, sunny days are his favorites. when he travels to a colder region and gets caught in a sudden snowfall, he likes to watch it snow as it's an extreme rarity in hoenn.

- he loves to read and often wears a pair of reading glasses when he finds the time to open a book.

- steven carries a few special items with him wherever he goes: these include his key stone, the first gym badge he ever earned, an old pocket knife that belonged to his mother, and his mother's galar gym challenge league card.

- he's great at various card games. it's best to cut your losses if you make a bet with steven and he pulls out a deck of cards!

- it's easy to tell if steven is lying: he'll always rock back on his heels and bite his lower lip when doing so. using this knowledge is limited however, as steven doesn't tend to lie very often.

- his favorite food is galarian curry, especially the kind his mother used to make. he also enjoys sampling the cuisine from other regions, especially kalos. when it's time for dessert, he'll never pass up: he's got a bit of a sweet tooth!

- steven is a very laid-back person and hardly anything can really upset him. he tends to laugh off any embarrassing blunders he makes and will sometimes make small quips and jokes at his own expense. however, saying anything bad about the devon corporation will cause him to go on a profane offense, a bit ironic considering his odd and shaky relationship with the company.

- steven wears his jacket everywhere he goes. he's always complaining about being cold and it baffles everyone how he can keep wearing his blazer even in the dead heat of hoenn's summers. since he's always freezing, you can often find him at home wrapped in the fluffiest blanket he owns near the fire.

- even though he's champion of hoenn, steven still feels like he's working towards his initial dream of making his mother proud. he really only sees his championship title as one of many steps he still wants to take to live the life and dreams his mother hoped he would achieve!

(i copy pasted this from my phone notes so if the format is screwy, sorry!)

EDIT 8-30-21: yes i lowkey made this post to combat the people who are bashing on steven for getting a mega evolving rayquaza and posting this hate on his tag. it's fine to not like steven or how zinnia didn't get the mega rayray but for the love of god DON'T post hate in steven's tag! the people checking his tag are people who like him and we really don't appreciate you mindlessly calling our baby boy a racist bitch because you're salty. i'm sure you wouldn't like it if i went into zinnia's tag and posted "haha suck it side character" so. don't be a bitch. be considerate, okay?

[sundaeserenade]

Okay, so, on twitter a couple days ago, I mentioned how I wanted to talk about Red’s condition after Mt. Silver based on my own headcanon which I think is pretty popular among the fandom? But also not. Maybe it’s mildly popular. But anyway.

cw for near death experiences, disturbing body descriptions, and heavy trauma. I think.

SO this whole thing started because of one of my ongoing fics (Gone and Back Again) delving into it a little bit. I mentioned that I didn’t go into as much detail as I wanted, so here’s all the things I would’ve liked to talk about but couldn’t.

Red’s skin is really pale and thin. So a dermatologist? Yeah.

He’s anemic obviously. Hematologist too. 

The muscle strength in his hands/wrists is bad, so he has trouble gripping things or closing his hand into a fist because of the cold. So physical therapy.

Dentist?? I actually think Red would boil water, wait for it to cool, and use the toothbrush he carried with him on his journey to brush his teeth. forgetting that he needs to use a new one...but his teeth still need work done.

he suffers from malnutrition so he’d be put on a strict diet of what to eat, and he follows this because of his mother.

just a lack of muscle strength in general. so a LOT of physical therapy actually.

red has bruises and wounds from his brushes with wild pokemon plus y’know. just living on a mountain so all those would get looked at and treated. stitches definitely. i don’t hc that he broke any bones, though.

just a lot of looking over any old injuries for infection and stuff. x-rays for every part of his body.

his KNEES???? his knees

frostbite

and, most importantly, hypothermia so a cardiologist

Because Red has hypothermia and that causes confusion and a lack of like. coordination and self-awareness, he’d push himself even further and not be aware of just how bad of shape he’s in. so he’d go out and train/explore/whatever he wants, and not realize how cold his body has gotten.

he’s constantly shivering. he sometimes can’t remember what he was doing or what he was saying. his pokemon notice this, of course, because it’s such a drastic change for their trainer. but red moderates his schedule to combat this. like he’ll stay inside a cave or whatever for a day (because he’s also low energy and drowsy) to get his bearings and then go out for a couple of days at a time. he’ll always have charizard out to help with heat.

the point of this is that instead of red leaving the mountain, he’s so determined to stay up there that he adapts to his environment and ignores the warning signals his body is sending him.

so that hypothermia doesn’t help him in the passage of time. months pass and they feel like days to red. green comes to visit him and he’s confused because hasn’t it just been a week?? but it’s been two months since his last visit. he forgets things but..not the things that he wants to.

his skin is bone dry. so? frostbite. especially in his fingers. i think he’d definitely get blisters, but i don’t think he’d stay out to the point of deep frostbite, as the stages reaching to that point cause extreme pain, which not even red can ignore. the feeling of numbness and slight pain? sure. but those tissues dying, the stabbing/tingling feeling? no. and since he doesn’t wear gloves, red would have frostnip constantly.

so he’d often  be at the cusp of deep frostbite in some areas. on his feet and like elbows/arms, i think the third stage of frostbite with blisters is very common for him. but constantly reddened skin, bleeding, scabs, broken skin, that kind of stuff. constantly, all over.

his pokemon help like immensely though, they’ll go find food/firewood/whatever the fuck to help out, and charizard doesn’t leave red’s side. and this lessens even more when green visits and brings supplies to help.

but these health issues lead to him being treated for like 2-3 years after coming down. and i haven’t mentioned his mental health but like

anxiety (social and just in general)

depression

PTSD (fighting team rocket in Saffron particularly)

So psychiatrist would treat those, which i mentioned, but for probably a few reasons, red only takes his medication/stays on the treatment for those 2-3 years and then stops. it’s partly because of being overwhelmed (he’s on a lot of medication at this point) and burnout so quickly after coming back down

there isn’t a gradual reintegration into society for him, and society is one of the reasons he left in the first place, so he’d stay on it for as long as he could put up with it, for his mother’s benefit more than his own, but then he. stops.

[wishfxljikan]

Isn’t really any formal h/c post but...

I really, truly downplay the potential of strength in Silvanus. He’s REALLY strong, most of his days before / after the initial mission of PMD2 has been constant training, he’s a well-off strategist, extremely intelligent and knowledgeable on nearly any pokemon fight, and is well off on his own. It’s why he’s survived so long, and it’s why his death in the Lendys Verse Story Plot is a LOT more heartwrenching, He’s fighting an opponent who’s not only stronger than he is, but has the upper hand on most fronts,

Darkrai, at least this one, is a lot smarter, and has been destroying timelines for much longer than Silvanus has been fighting against the initial Darkrai of HIS timeline. Hell. It look Silvanus becoming his timeline’s Hall of Origin Pantheon’s GUARDIAN to be able to build enough allies and bonds to actually take out his own Darkrai, and now that there’s an even bigger threat? One he knows the only way he CAN beat is if he holds them off long enough to then sacrifice himself?

Silvanus has some GUTS, he knows exactly what he has to do to get the job done, he’s never lost sight of what he WANTS to do, despite the hardships, despite the traumatic events and near death experiences, despite everything, they still know their mission is not over until his world is definitely safe. I want to write him in the future in this state, a state that he isn’t controlled by his emotions, when he finally has his emotions in control, when he’s at his peak.

I’ve been plotting out how this Story Plot drabble will be going for MONTHS now, fine tuning every single aspect of it. Once the burnout ends, once the quality of my writing for these guys returns, you know the Drabble is coming, and you know it’s going to be long, it’s going to be detailed, and I won’t be holding back on it, I don’t want to hold myself back, it’ll all be tw/cw tagged accordingly, just fair warning.

[insane-weasel]

Febuwhump Day 2: “i can’t take this anymore”

DreamNotFound/DNF

Sum: Stephen King cliché AU—in where kids find true evil, cliché and then it hunts them to adulthood. Not fully formed idea (not my finest work, more just feeling out characters I’ve never written before). 

CW: Animal death, human death, Stephen King vibes.

George’s back was to the wall, his heart thudding in his chest. His eyes went to the door. It hadn’t fully latched, but he couldn’t move to close it entirely now. It would give his position away. On the other side of the door he could hear the soft final footsteps of someone ascending the stairs.

The scrape of a knife against wood—an absent noise from the hefty blade in the killer’s hand hitting the bannister.

How’d he get here?

His life flashed before his eyes.

…

Years ago. When George was ten. This started.

“We shouldn’t be here,” Bad muttered. He was hanging back as far as he could, but not too far from Ant, who was holding the flashlight. Sapnap had his own flashlight and was leading the way, and George trailed between.

“Relax. I’ve seen those older guys in here all the time,” Sap reassured. “They probably have something cool stashed in here. Or like a secret lair. Or I don’t know…”

Sap put his hand to the wall of the cave and shined the flashlight down a dark tunnel that was about a foot high and then towards their current path which was narrow and hardly tall enough for all of them to comfortably walk through. If any of the older guys came in here, they must have to crawl.

“I think we made a wrong turn,” George reasoned, glancing behind him at Ant’s calm, but similarly reluctant face. He nodded at that, but Sapnap shook his head.

“Just a little bit more! We’ll turn back if we don’t find anything.”

“What if there’s bats in here? Or I don’t know—wolves?”

“There’s no wolves in the UK!” Sapnap said defiantly.

“There could be a bear in here?” Bad said.

“He’d have to be a skinny bear,” George said, turning sideways to avoid a jutting edge in the stone. The two behind him followed suit and Sapnap stalled up ahead, running the flashlight up the wall of stone. It was a little higher in here, but only by a head.

“Dead end?” Ant questioned.

“No,” Sapnap said and stepped to the side, letting the other three crowd into the closet sized space.

A crack was in the stone up ahead, rocks piled on either side of the crack. A painting of a face and other images were on the sides, nearly faded to extinction. Only when Ant waved the flashlight over them a couple of times, did George make out that they were drawings.

“This must be their lair? Less cool then I…thought,” George said. “I don’t think there’s any Pokemon cards in there.”

“It’s giving me a bad feeling,” Bad said. “Let’s just go. We need to get home earlier this time.”

“Let’s go in,” Sapnap suggested. He had to practically squeeze himself through the crack, sucking his stomach in and shimmying his shoulders until he was through. “It’s bigger on the other side. A lot! It’s like a room!”

Sapnap had moved away from the opening, his flashlight disappearing further into the opening, so George quickly followed, and Ant concerned bent down, tucking his flashlight under his chin to try and squeeze through the crack at the bottom where it was a little wider.

“Guys!” Bad said panicked. “Don’t just—fine, I’m coming. Don’t leave me out here.” George got through with some effort, but straightened and dusted his hands off on his pockets to see Sapnap shining the flashlight up at the paintings and old torches on the wall, that were—well, obviously, out. They looked ancient.

Ant behind him shined the flashlight in the center of the room to the big stone in the middle. He thought it looked like a well of some type, but it was covered.

Bad made it through with some muttered anxieties about their situation before he straightened, standing between George and Ant and hesitantly looking around the place.

“I don’t think this is the college kid’s hideout,” Bad said.

George nodded. “Looks too…old?”

“Lots of old things around England,” Ant commented.

“But what old thing is this?” George questioned, nudging the stone well with his foot.

Sapnap was bored looking at the pictures and turned his attention to the stone well. “Oh, I think it’s like a…what’s the word. A grave but not underground—”

“We’re in a grave?” Bad was alarmed.

“I hope not,” Ant said.

“There better not be a dead body in there or I’m telling my mum you were the one who ruined the clothes lines, not me,” Bad began rattling off.

“Want to try and look inside?” Sapnap suggested, turning to George and Ant, and nudging the stone cover with arm.

“I don’t think we can move that,” George argued.

Ant passed the flashlight to Bad and helped Sapnap. George went to Sapnap’s other side and the three pushed against the stone cover. No luck. It felt like it almost budged, but with a great heave, the children gave up. Sapnap looked at Bad who had his arms crossed across his chest.

“Come on, help us.”

“Piss off,” Bad said.

“Either help us, or go on home,” Sapnap snapped.

“Just so you know. I think we shouldn’t do this,” Bad said, tucking the flashlight under his arm and joining them on one side to push against the stone cover. They managed to move it a few inches this time, and with another good heave push it entirely off the stone well

Ant was the first to recover his wits, and peer over the edge. “Someone shine a light down here.”

“Got it,” Sap had his light pointed over the edge. “Oh.”

“What is it—” Bad shined his flashlight over the edge and winced. “It’s almost worse than a dead body. Darkness. Great.”

“So, it is a well?” George said, looking into the darkness.

“I don’t think there’s water down there.”

“Anyone have anything we can throw down it?”

Ant checked his pockets and pulled out a pencil. “Got this.”

“Toss it in then!”

The boys waited for a moment as Ant dropped it in the middle, and waited to see if they heard something.

“Did you hear it hit the bottom?” Sapnap questioned impatiently.

“Maybe it’s too light to make a noise,” Bad said, and searched his own pockets, balancing the flashlight on the edge. “I think I have a few coins. Gimme a second.”

He ended up nudging the flashlight over the edge and George and Ant scrambled for it, but it was too late. They followed the light down and it landed with a loud clang against more stone. It illuminated at the bottom the dropped pencil as well as what looked like something down there, like a cave.

“Don’t suppose anyone sees a rope or ladder or stairs down there?” George proposed.

“Damn it. My father’s going to kill me. I borrowed these from his toolshed,” Sapnap said, gesturing with the remaining flashlight.  

“I don’t think we’re getting that other one back,” George remarked.

“No need to state the obvious,” Ant sniffed. They backed away from the well and glanced around the room, hoping to see something else worth their time. Bad stuck near Sapnap since he had the only light near and Ant leaned against the well, staring at the pictures on the wall. Most were too faded to make sense of.

George glanced back over the edge of the well absently as he circled the room and saw the flashlight below flicker. He reapproached the well and glanced over, just in time to see the flashlight turn off.

“The flashlight went out down there!” George exclaimed.

“We should leave!” Bad immediately said.

“Prolly the batteries knocked loose,” Sapnap said, turning to face George, bringing the flashlight with him to shine over the edge. Ant didn’t even turn around as Sapnap tried using the flashlight to see down below. Even with Sapnap, sticking his hand down in the well, the light didn’t reach the bottom. “Whatever. We’ll go. I’m hungry.”

“You know, this could still make a good story to tell Skeppy. He likes when you tell him of our adventures, Bad,” Ant suggested and Bad shook his head. “Sapnap, can you shine the light on the way we came in so we can all get out.”

“Yeah, Bad you want to go first?”

“Ant can,” Bad volunteered Ant who snorted.

“Scared the boogeymen followed us here and are just waiting for us to leave to finally get us,” George teased, elbowing Bad who elbowed him back harder.

Ant fake screamed before laughing. “I’m out. Come on, Bad.”

Bad jumped, then elbowed George again, as if it had been his idea. “Cut it out. Fine. Fine.”

Sapnap and George exchanged looks, as Sapnap held the flashlight pointed at the edge, waving it a little in slight tease as Bad wormed his way through the gap. George went next, but a noise startled him and Sapnap when he was only one arm through.

Sapnap swept the flashlight over to the source of the noise, startling Bad and Ant who he plunged into darkness doing that.

“Hey!”

“Why?”

Sapnap’s light finally landed on the pencil on the ground near the well. He tensed, almost in disbelief, but then with a sort of cocky assurance, approached the well again, and glanced to George.

George understood the unspoken message. He crossed to stand next to Sapnap as he swept the light down again into the well.

Nothing. Just darkness.

“Guys? Hello? We’re stuck in darkness and I don’t like it,” Bad complained.

“Thought we heard something,” George answered, staring over the edge. He wasn’t really comprehending the darkness, until it suddenly wasn’t darkness. The flashlight had turned on down there, but it was being held by someone. His brain was able to pick out a white face peering up at him, flashlight in hand pointed up at them when Sapnap yelled and startled enough to take a few steps away from the well, leaving George with the ghastly visage of only the illuminated smile below.

“What!”

“Someone’s down there!” Sapnap said.

“Let’s go!” Bad yelled insistent and George agreed, backing away from the well and to the crack in the wall. He grabbed the flashlight from Sapnap when he was halfway through, holding it for Sapnap so he could work his way through. Bad was clutching Ant’s arm, glancing between them and the way they came in desperately. “We need to go!”

“I know!” George said. “Sapnap, you good?”

“I’m good,” Sapnap said, straightening. “I’ll lead us out.”

“Quickly, please,” Bad said, practically shoving Sapnap as he tightly squeezed past Ant and George to take the lead. He was the one who knew the caves best, but it meant George was taking the back as they left, staying as close as he could to Sapnap, but left in near darkness due to their now limited light sources.

As they squeezed through the tight passages they took before, George found his heart getting steadily faster and more nervous, his sweaty hands picking up more dirt than they ought to as they scraped across the walls of the cave as he followed the sound of Bad’s voice and Sapnap’s light.

It felt like something was right behind them. George knew it would do him no good. There was no light behind them. He wouldn’t be able to see.

But he glanced behind them.

And saw nothing.

But it felt. Like there was something behind them.

Eventually, they got out of their tight passageway they took and were back into the parts of the cave they knew better, jogging lightly to get out of their faster until they were in the parts lit by sunlight. They were dirt-covered, sweaty and a little shaken, but after a moment, Sapnap laughed.

“You guys should have seen your faces,” Sapnap said, laughing.

“What?” Bad questioned, indignant.

“It was probably nothing. Just a moth, right George?”

George thought back to the terrible smiling face below. “Yeah.”

…

[Present Day]

But as George knew now. It hadn’t been a moth. He felt his hand shaking as he leaned his head back and held his breath, his ears practically homed in only on the featherlight footsteps right outside the door. The steps passed the door after a moment, but George didn’t take a proper breath in, just breathing ever so slightly through his nose.

After all this time. It was back.

It hunted them. It killed some people then.

It’d do it again.

The first death was someone near the sight last time.  

…

[Past]

George woke up in the morning without a thought to the day’s events before. There was no reason to be bothered by them, even as he headed off to school. It remained a forgotten trip until he and his friends had made it home and were about to write off the hasty essays and what not and be off to their own devices.

When George’s mom shook her head as he came in, holding the phone. “Oh, George. Not today. Stay in. There’s been an accident near here. The neighbor’s son. He—He fell terribly ill.”

Terribly ill had been a very nice way to say found disemboweled in his bed, his head missing. A very gory death.

The boys discussed it at school the next day. Only Bad and George seemed to reckon it was connected to the cave. “No child murderers live here! We’d have heard of it before if they had,” Bad reasoned.

“Unless a child murderer just moved here,” Sapnap said.

“I reckon child murderers don’t live places. They just keep moving,” Ant said.

“I feel like there was something in the cave,” George said. “What we saw was probably a moth, but it felt creepy in there.”

“Not you too,” Sapnap muttered, taking a bite of his sandwich. “I think you’re over-blowing it.”

But that had only been the first death. The second one, hit much closer to home. While George’s mom had prevented him from hanging out with the others the other day, his father had no same fears and let him leave after he confirmed he finished his chores and what not.

They were in Ant’s backyard, play fencing with swords when Ant gave a cry. “She hasn’t come back!”

“Who?”

“Mimi.”

“Doesn’t she normally spend all day sunbathing out here,” Bad questioned, ducking Sapnap’s attempted foul move of knocking him upside the head. “She’s too old to go far.”

“But she always comes when it’s dinner time,” Ant muttered. “Mimi,” he called out at the woods, beckoning for his old, arthritis ridden cat.

No cat came.

George had been taking a break and got up, stepping past Sapnap who was doing an impressive job of blocking every hit. “Let’s go look for her,” he suggested to Ant.

They didn’t have to go far.

They saw the figure, yellow, bright and hunched over a carcass with a collar on it. The white mask stained red.

“Mimi!” Ant cried out, and he charged the figure, only being held back by George, as the figure straightened, its white face turning to look at them. “My cat!”

“Ant!”

The figure started towards them and George pulled Ant with him back towards his yard. They stopped only when they hit the backporch. Ant was sniveling quietly to himself, and George’s eyes were peeled on the small woods.

Nothing came out of it. But if he squinted he could see a white mask behind the trees.

Sapnap and Bad lowered their wooden sticks, glancing to the two with obvious concern. “Oh god, did she finally croak?” Sapnap questioned.

“Something killed her! I saw her dead body!”

“And the thing from the cave was hunched over her,” George said.

“What—you said you didn’t see anything?” Bad protested, suddenly suspicious. “This isn’t a prank?”

“No—”

“I didn’t see anything hunched over, Mimi,” Ant said, wiping at his tears. “What are you—”

“The thing holding the flashlight in the cave,” George said turning to Sapnap. “You saw it! It was in those woods hunched over the cat!”

“I only saw the floating flashlight,” Sapnap said. “Nothing—why would only you be able to see it?”

“I don’t know!” George said. He glanced to the woods. “It’s out there. Watching us. I can feel it.”

The boys went silent, eyes turning to the woods. “Where is it at?” Bad whispered.

George focused on the woods, but he couldn’t make out any mask shapes within it. “I’m not sure. I just—I just can.” He made eye contact with the pale white face.

…

[Present]

George inched away from the wall, further into the room. He could grab something. This time, the thing knew what George could do. It knew George could put him back in there. That George alone had the power to vanquish him.

Maybe that’s why this time it went after his friends first. Ant was a cat now, there was no curing that. Bad was…wasn’t human anymore either.

He was the only one that could do anything now. George took a deep breath, feeling his heart lock in his throat. There was no escaping it. However, it had gotten out again. Clearly. It wasn’t permanent. Someone had let it out. One of them had to. It took four of them to put it back. It’d only have taken one of them to let it out.

But they got rid of it. They vanquished it. Or so he thought.

…

[Past]

Four boys, an old history teacher and a now childless mother stood over the stone well, now covered again. There was now chains on top and as a final send off, plain English explaining why this shouldn’t ever be opened again.

“It’s over,” Sapnap said.

“Three weeks of terror,” the gruff history teacher said. He’d been named Oldman or something, he moved away after this. His voice had a grim humor. “Three children killed, two adults. And all we had to do to put it back was practically bait it like a mouse on a trap.”

His eyes turned to George. “You listen here, young man—”

“They’ve had a rough day, let’s just get out of here,” the mother said. She gestured them out, but George felt the history teacher’s eyes on his back.

He wasn’t surprised when the woman’s back was turned, he pulled George aside properly this time, jabbing a finger in his chest. “You’re the one the curse is tied to. You’re the one who first made eye contact with it. It’s marked you. When it comes back, you’ll be the only one able to put it back. You’re the only one who can see it properly. You know properly how horrible it looks.”

“I don’t—I can’t,” George stammered.

“Your friends’ lives depend on it.”

“Stephen Olderman, leave that boy alone—are you daft?” His neighbor and the mother of one of those boys he’d never learned the name of cut in, shuffling him back to the safety of his group of friends.

But they were never the same. Ant was haunted. Bad was always itching at his skin. And Sap shuddered, a small tick came over him. Almost as if maybe George hadn’t saved Sapnap in time. That the thing had taken apart of Sapnap with it when it was sealed. Like it called Sapnap to it.

…

[Present]

Sapnap had to have let it out. He was the only one who had any reason to. He was—possessed to. It couldn’t be helped. He couldn’t blame Sapnap.

But with Ant and Bad taken care of, and Sapnap willing to let it out. Then the only person left that could be a threat was…him. George was alone.

And it floored him. He sunk to the ground, suddenly his mind too blank to think about planning some brilliant escape.

He could hear the room next to the one he was in being searched and he decided he couldn’t run anymore. He was facing the creature. He was the only one who could see it. The thing that called itself Dream.

George stood, crossed the room quickly, his heart beating so hard he felt faint, his vision swimming at the edges. He gripped the brass doorknob and twisted it, throwing it open and getting ready to confront the monster.

It exited the room it had been in, clearly having heard George. It stood a few inches taller than him, with the white mask covering its face. It seemed, put-off, George had just revealed himself. Standing weaponless and unprepared before the monster, George just grit his teeth.

“I can’t take this anymore.”

Dream tilted his head, a question.

“You’re going to keep hunting me down. No matter where I go. I can’t vanquish you. Not with Sapnap…under your control. I give up. Kill me.”

Dream took a step forward, raising the sword, but he didn’t move to kill George, seemingly giving him time to change his mind.

“It’s going to come down to this. We banished you before, but that wasn’t enough. You’d already taken your—taken something—someone—to coerce us into letting you out again. If Sapnap could be…fixed—you’d do it again.”

Dream lowered his head. A nod or small sign of acceptance. Maybe it was nothing.

“We fucked up. We opened your tomb. And now…Ant’s a cat. Bad’s this weird…monster. Sapnap is possessed by something and nearly killed me and you—” George spread his arms wide. “I guess…I’m done running. I’m done.”

Dream took a step forward, pressing the sword to his chest, then lowered it until it was digging into his stomach. He was planning to disembowel him.

“Just one question for you?” George questioned.

The monster looked at him.

“Why me? Why can I see you?”

Dream lowered the sword again, and grabbed George by the collar, dragging him close. He was close enough he could feel his breath hitting Dream’s mask

“I wanted you to see me when I killed you,” Dream said, and ran him through.