#red blue and cyrus too AU

[greentrickster]

The more I think about it, the more certain I get that, once he finds out that she knows how, Cyrus is going to learn how to make pokeballs from Akari. Not because he’s a particularly DIY sort of guy, even with the amnesia and everything, but because this is an early variation on a near-universally used piece of technology, and he’s 100% a tech guy. Of course he wants to find out how to make these things, he’s already been trying to reverse engineer modern pokeballs for at least a few months by the time he meets Akari!

Not to mention, this is the equivalent of knowing how to build your own computer from component parts, but getting a kit to make a crystal radio or something just because it’s cool to see the earlier stages of progress that led to where we are today. Thus the sci-fi space guy gets a carving kit, plants an apricorn tree near Blue’s lab (with Blue’s permission), and starts a new hobby.

Oh! Oh oh oh! And I bet these are one of the things you can get for beating him in a poke-battle! Because he’s interested in learning how to make them, but he doesn’t actually need pokeballs since he’s not looking to expand his team any. So he starts offering the kids the option of cash or a hand-made pokeball, and I bet a lot of kids go for the latter, just because that’s what you do when you get offered a new type of pokeball, especially if it’s a type that’s rare or hard to get!

Gods, that probably means he has at least a few kids who come back later to show him what they used his pokeballs to catch, too, because the other rule of getting a cool new type of pokeball is that you don’t just use it on some random ‘mon, you use it on the coolest one you can fit into it! And then (if you’re able) you probably go and show off your cool new pokemon in its cool new pokeball to anyone who’s willing to look, because you’re an excited pre-teen/young teen, and that’s how it works.

[kazukazuhas]

˗ˏˋ ꒰ 💌 ꒱ old friends, lloyd garmadon.┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ ☁️

˗ˏˋ ꒰ 💌 ꒱ act two ;; scene three┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ ☁️

  ୧ ⎯⎯ RECAP

୧ ⎯⎯ WARNINGS ;; one (1) suicide joke ;; mentions of ill treatment // discrimination ;; unspoken trauma ;; ninjago lore but it’s vague asf ;; some pining

  ୧ ⎯⎯ NOTES ;; so, this is more on the filler chapter side of this but this breakdowns down the lore of this au too! (that an i need a filler before i drop some twists <33) +skylor's verified for the hell of it (because she runs the noddle empire–)

  ୧ ⎯⎯ PREVIOUS ┊MASTERLIST┊NEXT

  ୧ ⎯⎯ 2 IMAGES ;; TEXT ;; 1 IMAGE [CLICK FOR BETTER QUALITY]

  finally, you flop down onto your bed with a relieved sigh, burying your face into the sheets of the slightly cold blankets and humming happily. finally, that sad week in the hospital passed –though it only passed so quickly was because of lloyd bugging you for most of it (with the occasional appearance of another one of your new friends, and several video calls from your parents and friends back at home). maybe it wasn’t so sad when that ball of sunshine– lloyd was around.

  so far you’ve learnt many things about this city (and surprisingly you were somehow ignorant to all of some of it’s sometimes worldwide news).

  there were literally ninja superheroes, one of which –the green one– saved your ass from being robbed and injured, worst case killed. they had been around for several years at this point and did multiple patrol runs daily. not only did they stop major threats, they helped out in the community. 

  the secret ninja force; named by the public such because the ninja are incredibly secretive about their personal lives and identities (which was called for because they are superheroes), consists of six people.

  the green ninja is the leader with some weird green power. the water ninja is one of the two tech heavy heroes in the city, having a close resemblance to a samurai while having that ninja aesthetic. the blue (or lightning) ninja earned his title as the human –are they even human?– plasma ball; while the earth ninja could probably throw a whole building at someone. they earned the title of the strongest. the white ninja (a nindroid?) is the master of ice, and probably the most deceiving of them as one of the sweetest people; albeit a little morally grey, you’ll ever meet despite the cold presence he has. then the red ninja is the most open one of the lot, the master of fire and swords –hey, there's a lot of skill before his wielding.

  the ninja also had a goddamn flying ship named the destiny’s bounty.

  there’s also samurai x, having the largest panel of debate on whether they’re a guy or lady. they’re the other tech heavy hero in ninjago, following in the footsteps of the previous samurai x who later became the water ninja. you have your suspicion that it might be cyrus borg’s daughter and assistant, pixal. (it was one of hell of a ride when you found out that pixal was actually a robot– nindroid despite her human-like appearance. well, the more you know.)

  and well, elemental masters aren’t much of a surprise to you –not when your aunt was one. master of something, you don’t remember too well what it was; just that either skylor might inherit it or it would skip her and possibly manifest in her kids. or you might get it, and frankly that would be sick. but it looks like neither of you did, atleast you choose to believe that instead.

  you turn, laying on your side and staring out the window, watching the quiet streets and city through the clear glass with an unfocused attention on it. lloyd’s words on his father stuck in your head, you were curious about him.

  you heard of all sorts of things about ninjago before moving here, things you chalked up as elaborate stories before he confirmed it all to you. 

  stories of overthrowing and controlling the realm, bloodlust and a power hungry fight many villains fought to win but inevitably lost in the end. golden weapons and a boy, a devouring evil that could only ever consume; an evil that never rested, a dark lord. and as of more recently, a princess that tried to rise all hell.

  when the ninja defeated the overlord –the never resting evil– lloyd’s father, garmadon was freed from the poison and evil he was under because of the dark lord’s influence. once the man was a tyrant and now you hear he is a sensei of a small, tranquil monastery in a small village somewhere near the city. garmadon sought out lloyd and koko, and became the father and husband the evil forced him not to be.

  he was a tyrant and then became a father. 

  you turn again, laying on your back and stare up at the ceiling with zoned out eyes. the whole situation was peculiar, especially if now since garmadon is good; why was lloyd still so mistreated?

  no one necessarily needed to say anything about it; you’ve noticed the looks sour faces the nurses, doctors and patients gave him when he was escorting you out of the hospital. you noticed the vaguely visible tension on his face while he kept his guard up when you two were walking to his busted car and the way he looked as though he was expecting the worst.

  a defense mechanism, you could tell from the way his eyes were scanning his surroundings; expect the worst so it doesn’t surprise you.

  he softened up only when you two got home, back to your place. but despite the lighter atmosphere in the comfort of the car; you didn’t quite feel he was ready enough to answer your question about the ill treatment he was being faced with subtly. maybe that would also explain why he was so scared that something worse could’ve happened to you. 

  why’d everything need to be so difficult...?

  you frowned, looking out the window with now more focused eyes. it’s been a hell of a week– or several if you count the ones you've been in ninjago; and there’s something nagging you to go home where you’d be safe. but, that would throw everything you’ve worked for, the seat at the best university in all the realm– a ticket out of that house. you’d have to stick it out for a while; at the least for your course to finish before you do anything else.

  well, even if you leave, you’ll have lloyd’s number this time; a way to contact that greenie (the one thing you wanted so badly since eleven.)

  you close your eyes, trying to get some rest again despite half that week you spent in the hospital consisted of you sleeping when lloyd wasn’t (excusing himself to do something work related–not that you’d known him to be employed at the moment). the soft blankets, now warmed by the gentle sun seeping into your room, call you to fall asleep. and you comply wordlessly, willingly.

  until there was a knock on your door and a call of your name. 

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  ୧ ⎯⎯ TAGLIST ;; @spoopy-fish-writes // @spoops-inliyue ;; @decaffeinatedcloudkryptonite // @shaantiofher ;; @sunangelstears ;; @comicbookweirdo ;; @cl0udyw4ter ;; @chamille-trash ;; @candy884422 ;; @rossivette ;; @veiyx ;; @pix-y-styx ;; @a3th3rrr ;; @deluludhii // [pm/send in an ask to join]

˗ˏˋ ꒰ 💌 ꒱ kazukazuhas copr. 2023 darling┊ ˚➶ ｡˚ ☁️

[cyrusthemagician]

🔮CYRUS!🪄 TADC OC INFO/MASTERPOST☆

Name: cyrus

Age: 26 (joined at 20)

Gender: trans ftm

Pronouns: he/him ………………………………….

Likes: magic, wonder, amazement, performing, caring for and watching over the others, talking to his friends, chatting with sun and moon after adventures, writing, mermen, sparkles, going to the beach, rainy days, his MANNNNN (speedy), roses and flowers, romantic movies, sight seeing, sunsets

Dislikes: being alone, silence, thunder, his cards, accepting the future, accepting loss, Jax, mentions of the exit, abstractions, mentions of abstraction, arrogant(selfish, greedy, toxic, ect) people

Personality: Cyrus is a sweet and loving guy, he is always caring for those around him and using his magic to help anyone with their struggles. He is selfless and gentle, being patient with others needs and behaviors. He sees the good in almost anyone but this dosnt means he's oblivious to the bad in the world and its people.

Backstory: As a human he was rather well known, his names was Ciri Princin (pronounced: seer-e, Prince-In), he was a performer/magician. Often hired for birthdays or special events. One day he was reached out to by C&A. They had heard the buzz around Ciri's name and were hosting an opening event for their new headsets. C&A wanted him to test it out in front of their "guests and clients", show how it worked and introduce it to them, all of that, hype it up! after thinking it over he gladly accepted. when the night came he was buzzing, so excited and honored to be able to play such an important role, C&A promised to pay well too. When he got up onto stage and placed the headset on after a lengthy introduction to the headset and himself, it was lights out. one thing he didnt know or get to figure out for himself, was that the "audience" he was infront of, was just C&A staff to convince and trick Ciri into a false sense of security.

!Relationships chart!

!Extras!

has 6 cards (shown on ref and not including my other ocs/friends ocs as this is adjusted at times) that each have vauge almost riddle like explanations of each members futures (in the circus obvi)

………………………………….

the glass of his crystal balls changes colors to compensate for the lack of expressive facial features.. or any at all:

yellow: happy red: angry orange: hatred green: nausea blue: sadness light blue: worry purple: normal pink: love/flustered/embarrassed gray: null black: depressed/disasosiating white: scared/terrified/surprised

...........................................

playlists: Cyrus Speedball (Cyrus and Speedy) Cyrus (opposite au)

...........................................

he has been in the circus for the second longest!

...........................................

his hobbies include writing, wood carving, and ofc magic

----Now cyrus has magic right? but how far can it really go?---- cyrus's magic info!

!More art!(au vers included)

[zazu75]

@sweetspicybingo's Hurt/Comfort Bingo done! I used an RNG for 1-25 and let it give me the prompts to do. (I absolutely cheated and chose number 11 by myself when I noticed where 10 landed). It was a lot of fun! They kinda got posted on AO3 out of order (two fics got their spots switched) but I'm gonna put them in order on the pic up there.

Without further ado, here's the fics!

1 - Their Worst Fear

Title: A Flicker in the Elevator Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent Modern AU, Claustrophobia, Panic Attack, anxiety attack Summary: Auguste had noticed Gilderoy's aversion to elevators. He didn't find out what it was about until they almost got stuck in one.

2 - "Can I give you a hug?"

Title: Hugs to Calm Down Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent fear for life, out of control monsters, Panic, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Murder, Facing your own mortality Summary: Ashlan is out looking for the monsters that target merchants, and hears Dorothea scream.

3 - Wound Care

Title: Treatment from a Cait when you're Allergic to Caits Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent Injury, Cat allergy Summary: Wingate is allergic to caits. Unfortunately for him, Isla is the only one available to treat his wounds at the moment.

4 - Magic Healing

Title: From the Brink of Death Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent hurt almost no comfort, Almost death, Magic Healing, child hurt Summary: Mikhail's thoughts as he almost dies from poison, and the blue flame that saves him.

5 - Wiping Away Tears

Title: Cat Scratch Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent minor injury, hurt (literally)/comfort Summary: Rodion's work is interrupted when his daughter bursts into his workshop. His cat had scratched her, and she wanted comfort.

6 - Flashback

Title: The Red Cathedral Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent Flashbacks, Fear, Mentions of Death Summary: Eliza did not want to be in the Cathedral of Tytos, but gave herself no choice.

7 - Deep Breath

Title: The Lost and the Overprotective Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent Getting Lost, bugs mention, Spiders, getting stuck in a tree root, Overprotectiveness, sucky cousins, back in the past Summary: Schwartz was studying a spider when he comes across his cousin, Cyrus, who's very lost in the woods.

8 - Emergency Room

Title: The Stabbening Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent Accidental Stabbing, Physical hurt Summary: Theo stared. Fiore looked much too cheerful for someone who had been accidentally stabbed by having a knife thrown at her.

9 - "Do you even care?"

Title: A Pious Idiot Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent Threats of Bodily Harm Summary: Mabel is used to Prome's antics, but him saying that if he wasn't dating his boyfriend, that he would have killed him already… She's not sure he knows how much that must have hurt Stead to hear. (She's right.) (He's an idiot.) (She gets nowhere with him.)

10 - Held Captive

Title: Held Captive Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler: Champions of the Continent Implied Torture, Hurt No Comfort, Angst Summary: It was Gilderoy's third day here. Third day of imprisonment for a crime he didn't commit. Third day on death row for a murder committed by the stupid, rancid, corrupt king of this kingdom.

11 - Visiting a Grave

Title: A Closure Fandom: OCTOPATH Traveler Remembrance, missing people, graveyard Summary: Therion goes to visit a grave of an old partner.

[shadowonwater]

Pokemon: Legendary Avatar au

ok so this au ties in with a headcannon of mine. The headcannon is that the legendaries we see in game are deities but the form we see is just an avatar of the deity and not the whole thing. Example: Arceus literally says something along the lines off giving you a piece of itself after you defeat it in PLA. It's also why multiple people can have the same legendary (I'm looking at you Pokemas). They can have multiple avatars.

Anyway this au idea also has some similar vibes I'd say to the the Twin Dragons au (where Ingo and Emmet are Zekrom and Reshiram) and also the Possessed au (Where the Red/Blue orb possesses Maxie/Archie). Those can kinda fit into this au.

The concept is largely around the idea that the legends are gods. That they have a usual Pokemon form that they can take. But they can also take human form. In particular they take human form by making one by scratch (usually only temporary) but they can also semi-possess a human and make them an avatar of them (far more permanent).

Legendaries usually only do that if there is a human they are particularly found of. It can be done with multiple humans. Sometimes they ask the human if they are up for it, but a lot of the time they don't.

In this au, Maxie is an avatar of Groudon, and Archie is an avatar of Kyogre. They both got that way because of the Red Orb and Blue Orb.

Ingo is an avatar of Zekrom and Emmet is an avatar of Reshiram. The twin princes were avatars of the original dragon/Reshiram/Zekrom and ever since then if any twins are born in either blood line the dragons make them avatars.

Oh, and also man made legends like Mewtwo and Silvally don't count. They are powerful but they aren't deities. Also Ultra Beasts don't count either, except for Lunala and Solgaleo, I think those two are still deities. Necrozma too.

Mythical Pokemon are also included in this au, I consider them a type of legendary.

Other potential examples (lot of this is based on Pokemas sync pairs)

Lear (Hoopa), Silver (Ho-oh), Ghetsis (Kyurem), Sycamore (Xerneas), Lysandre (Yveltal), Cyrus (Darkrai), Lillie (Lunala), Zinna (Rayquaza), Steven (Deoxys), Cynthia (Giratina), Dawn (Palkia), Lucas (Dialga), Lusamine (Necrozma), Gloria (Zacian), Hop (Zamazenta), N (Reshiram/Zekrom), Leon (Eternatus)

I'm sure there are other pairs I haven't included here that would work well.

[berryblurbryarts]

(Click for Better Quality) Green 'Cyrus' Link

Bisexual ° 20 ° Wind Elemental •.¸♡ ° He/ Him ° ♡¸.• ° Zelda's Personal Knight °Protector of the Wind Element Key

Green grew up on a farm with his mother and younger sister, both of them fell mysteriously ill and passed away. Green was too young to live on his own and was taken custody of by his father, Jassilph. Living in the castle Green was able to make good friends with the young heir to the throne, out of respect for her and wanting to protect her he begged his father to train him as a castle guard. | During his training he met Blue, a young boy who delivered weapons and armor to knights in training. an art Ref drawn up for "Raptured Hyrule AU" Green. It was about time he got a design update ;3 Vio | Blue | Red | Zelda | Shadow

[a-tale-of-legends]

Rainbow Rocket in my au would probably be different than how it appears in canon. I'm gonna spitball ideas

I honestly don't know if Colress would be apart of RR, judging by how Ghetsis reacts to him when he appears during the RR episode. I can see it going either way, to be completely honest.

Lusamine winning means perma Mother Beast Lusamine. It would also mean Lusamine forcibly having Guzma be injected to Nihilego's toxins as well. He's basically a dog in this au.

Given how my au works, some of the leaders are very much Cursed( heh, remember that?). This includes Maxie, Archie and Lysandre. Maybe Cyrus too, for the aesthetic.

This means they very much don't look like a regular human. Maxie and Archie both have the markings of the red and blue orb respectively, with other non human elements to them.

Lysandre is weird for me since in my au his main target was Yveltal, but he got Xerneas as a back up. Given how my version of XY mostly follows Y, I'll say that he's constantly.....dying? In a weird limbo state?

I mentioned this before, but RR!Silver would be a thing. He is incredibly devoted to his father, not paying any mind to the signs of emotional neglect ( especially as Giovanni is growing even more power hungry). His father is on top of the world, meaning he is too, and that's all that matters to him.

The mental image of RR just being filled with leaders that are all level of Fucked Up - and then there Giovanni lmao.

OH WAIT ROSE. Hm. Hmmmmm. He's..... probably cursed too. By Eternatus, after the shit he put them through. Maybe he made himself an eternal power supply for Galar? As for Leon....maybe he's in a similar position to Guzma in RR? Maybe Bede as well, hm.

Also Giovanni is probably the only one that's Chosen, if he can mega evolve Mewtwo and such. Sucks, but Mewtwo runs on spite,so I can't be too surprised.

Also just to be clear, RR in my au still follows the notion that these leaders are from different dimensions where they won,which I imagine to be varying levels of dystopia.

[chasingmemoriesofficial]

I couldn't resist, this is CM!Cyrus Borg.

Why does he look like a villain? Well, because he sort of IS one in my AU, although he's more of a... chaotic neutral antagonist. It's him vs Zane, really. He's actually on good terms with Cole and Jay (yes, he's THAT Cyrus from their design posts)

How is he walking? Prosthetic exoskeleton under his clothes combined with cybernetic limbs, both controlled by the cerebral transmitter on his head.

He actually can't twist his torso like he's doing here, his spine is too damaged to... ALLOW that, but the general vibe is still there. He actually moves like a FNAF animatronic other than his arms and neck.

Where are his glasses? He doesn't need them anymore. His eyes have been replaced with bionic ones (that are specifically designed for him; the ones on the general market aren't as advanced as his).

Why are his colors so muted compared to all the other characters? Cellular degeneration. It's attacking his pigmentation and has been for years, and it's only gonna get worse over the next few years.

Where did the degeneration come from? Well... that's spoiler territory as Cyrus is supposed to be a MAJOR character in the story, not a minor one like he is in the show.

Fun fact: CM!Cyrus is a magic-user, not a witch, but something else. An ability he has that's unique to him is that he's a technopath. His bionic eyes will change color depending on his mood or if he's using his abilities. Positive/neutral moods his eyes are green. Negative moods they turn red. Using his magic they turn blue. Corrupted they turn purple.

Personally, I think the glowing green parts of his design here really pop against his otherwise desaturated color palette. Your eyes are drawn to his face. Even amongst the varied cast of characters Cyrus stands out and I love that.

[ourobororos]

RAINBOW ROCKET: RETRIBUTION AU

it has occured to me that i havent really explained my whole au well enough like in a contained post SORRY IF THINGS ARE CONFUSING! i talk about it a lot. this post will serve as a summary of everything with some links lol ill try to organize things better one day

Rainbow Rocket: Retribution (RR Retribution for short. RRR?) is a rainbow rocket au i made in which most of the bosses have been basically supernaturally or cosmically Fucked Up and cursed for their hubris! giovanni and ghetsis have joined to form rainbow rocket in secrecy after the failure of both of their previous missions, and with assistance from colress and the aether foundation they have used wormhole technology to locate timelines containing the leaders of other (once) powerful criminal organizations- with unusual supernatural power sources! if a new team is formed uniting all these evil guys with cool powers, they can take over the world easy peasy! right? well everyone sucks and is a loser and they all hate each other so no. it sure is funny though

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF EACH BOSS BELOW THE CUT !! this might be a long ass post ill try to keep it brief

GIOVANNI: there he is theres our guy <3 a year or so prior to the formation of RR, team rocket had recaptured mewtwo and was being used in experiments to calculate its psychic power and to possibly extract it and transfer it to other organisms- giovanni wanted that power for himself, to see if it was possible to make himself as strong as mewtwo, so after lots of tests his brain was connected to mewtwo and the experiment went underway- it also went really badly. mewtwo overworked the circuitry and broke free, escaping the hidden rocket facility and blowing a lot of it up in the process! gio survived but was in a brief coma he was preddy badly injured by the shrapnel and like. the psychic powers. hes fine though AND he has some of those abilities himself now! some of his motor abilities were impaired and getting around is harder so he uses a cane, but now he has telekinesis and other cool psychic powers- he has his limits though, and gets killer migraines... and his lifespan was halved. oops

MAXIE: in another timeline, maxie had woken groudon with the red orb and it underwent primal reversion- however it refused to listen to his commands and went berserk, causing mt. chimney to erupt and the cavern to be destroyed and flooded with lava- killing maxie and anyone else in the vicinity. groudon was eventually quelled by may ofc, but maxie’s body fused with the red orb and came back to ‘life’, fully powered by the orb’s essence and essentially undead. his body temperature is hundreds of degrees and rises with his temper, and he can raise the temperature of things in his vicinity at will- he’s potentially very dangerous. he spent months in hiding, frustrated and regretful of everything that happened- and later when hes dragged into a wormhole and into rr headquarters, it does not get any better.

ARCHIE: in a different timeline, but coincidentally the same situation as maxie wow! kyogre was woken with the blue orb, went primal and flooded/destroyed the seafloor cavern and everything around it in a horrible storm, flooding sootopolis. archie and others present were swept up and killed in the waves, but archie’s body fused with the blue orb and he woke up in the aftermath undead and able to breathe underwater. he can manipulate water around him and even make its temperature drop to a freezing point, and can swim crazy fast. if he goes too long without swimming or being in water, he dries out a little! for some time he was hiding in the seas of hoenn, feeling so much guilt and grief for the destruction and deaths he caused- but like maxie, hes then dragged into another timeline with a bunch of other insane ppl lol

CYRUS: after the events of platinum, cyrus was trapped in the distortion world for years on end and essentially lost his mind, giratina saved his life and decided to make a deal with him- giratina would send cyrus back to his world, but essentially taking giratina along with him in his body and serving as a vessel for this god to reside in (giratina can’t have a physical form in the main reality unless it has the griseous orb, in which it becomes the altered forme- its goal is to make cyrus search for said orb so it can exist on this plane and not rely on cyrus as a host anymore) cyrus returns to his normal timeline for a while post spear pillar, exhausted trying to readjust to gravity and time flow AND housing a powerful god in his mortal body as they are bound together by the red chain. cyrus himself has no powers, but when in sync with giratina it can use its abilities through him- phasing through objects and walls, phasing into shadows and reflections to hide for brief periods, distorting reality around him... it takes a lot out of cyrus though, the intense pressure and presence of an incomprehensible god makes his eyes and nose bleed and wipes him out quickly. after a year of searching alone for the griseous orb, he is taken into the RR timeline with the other bosses... unfortunately.

GHETSIS: ghetsis is... actually the only one with no powers LOL he and giovanni are also the only ones from the base timeline! after losing to 10 year olds twice in unova, ghetsis is on his own with no team ... and travels to johto to find team rocket and strike a deal with giovanni to unite and form a bigger, better team (and to eventually take it over himself and control everything and take over the world bc its ghetsis) giovanni does agree so he works as the second in command and oversees a lot of the process of bringing all the bosses over and all that other stuff... also hes got a whole new team of rlly strong pokemon AND ALSO he trained a lot on his own to be a really good swordsman. dont fuck with ghetsis if you value your life

LYSANDRE: lysandre comes from a timeline of the events of x, where the ultimate weapon is powered by xerneas’ life essence and ends up destroying both itself and the entire flare hq. not many in the hq were able to escape in time, and most were killed by the crushing debris- lysandre himself as well, but due to being directly connected to the ultimate weapon and xerneas’ powers of life, it revived him to a state of not-quite-living but not-quite-dead. he now has the ability to harness the life energy of other organisms, mostly effective on other people, and can sap their energy to refuel himself. he can do it in concentrated powerful bursts and wipe out multiple people, but even in a relaxed state he is constantly slowly siphoning life force from those around him. as the only ‘survivor’ of the flare hq incident, and seeing so much death and destruction by his own hand, he strongly regrets his actions and wandered the empty corpse of the flare hq like a ghost... before being taken to the RR timeline with the others eventually </3

COLRESS: colress is an honorary member, not quite a boss but the lead scientist- hes in charge of testing all the bosses and putting them through experimental procedures (which most of them hate bc they are Not Fun) but its for science!! its fine... pushing them to their physical and mental limits is fine its finding their true power!! its fine

there is a general plot that happens, involving several of the members secretly working against RR with outside help to take the operation down from the inside. it is not easy though. lots of funny and fucked up things ensue but the main thing is everyone fighting all the time LOL hope all of this makes sense *bows*

[socalwriterbee]

Better In Time (Ch.1) Collide 

Meet the Characters: Character FC

Title: Collide

Book: The Nanny Affair

Pairing: Marie Castro x Wyatt Kent

Rating: Some Angst, Some Fluff

Word Count: 8045 (It's a long one)

Song Inspiration: Dancing With Your Ghost By Sasha Alex Sloan

Series Summary: For two years Marie thought Sam would change, be the man she wanted and the father she knew he could be. But broken promise after broken promise, Marie leaves the city she has come to know and the man she fell in love with. Moving across the country back to her home state of California, needing to put the ghosts of her past behind her and move on with her life. Meeting someone new was out of the question until one day on the beaches of Malibu she meets a handsome stranger she befriends

Chapter Summary: After receiving a reminder from her past, Marie heads to the Malibu Beaches she has come to use to clear her mind.

From the first time Wyatt saw her, there was something about her that he wanted to get to know more of. He just didn't think it would have happened this way.

A/N: This story is an AU of sorts. A what if Sam Dalton and Marie (MC) stayed the course of the PR story they tried to spin until it spun so tight their reality snapped. This story came to mind a while ago but it was set on the back burner until now. I was inspired by the song Malibu by Miley Cyrus for this series. I also had another short that inspired this story (The Wedding <- click here if you'd like to read it) fair warning this is not the ending.

A/N 2: Some Characters and backstories belong to Pixelberry. Wyatt along with his friends and family come from this little crazy mind of mine. I do hope you enjoy this chapter and the story to come.

A/N 3: One more thing! This story will have 3 POV's from Marie, Wyatt and Sam.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Marie

Time heals all wounds.

That’s what I’ve heard and what I’ve been told.

I call bullshit. Utter bullshit not when the ghosts of the past dance around my head. Perhaps my patience has waned thin after two years of being just that, patient. Was it crazy of me to want my heart to heal as quickly as it was broken? Maybe.

Truth be told it wasn’t broken that quickly, it was two years of broken promises and a false narrative that was displayed to have me accepted within the New York Elite. Promises of changing and dedicating time to the ones he loved broken once the forgiveness sank in and given the chance to start anew. 

I close my eyes and sigh, hues of red, orange and yellow danced along my eyelids, colors that painted the late May blue sky. The ocean breeze kissing against my sun kissed skin sending a small shiver through me. Trying and failing to focus on the rumble of the crashing waves against the shore, as laughter from late beach-goers ate away at my concentration. As most times when I came to find the zen I needed it was stolen away by my fellow Californians. Ok stolen was maybe too strong of a word, I would be distracted and people watch. 

Today of all days, I watched with a tear stained face as a father gathered up his children hurrying them along to follow their mother.

‘Come on you two. It’s time to go’ He said.

‘But Daddy can’t we stay longer?’ A little girl with golden curls pouted.

A small smile formed on my face. It reminded me of a certain set of twins who would try to stay up just a bit longer even as their sleepy eyes gave way. That small reminder of the past had just been the tip of the iceberg from the sleepless night and a suffocating like work day in the lab. The life I held in New York reared its ugly head and along with it Sam Dalton. 

Bringing my knees in closer to my chest, hiding my face behind them. Letting the place that became therapeutic to me do its work. My breathing becoming steadier as I inhaled then exhaled. I once joked with my dad that it became a habit to come out here when the weather was nice. He pointed out that I was away for too long that it was always nice here. Going into the cold Pacific at any point of the year was a different story, I smirk to myself.

A faint voice makes my head snap up to see what or who was calling. There they were, Mason and Mickey running and laughing down the beach, Sam close behind them. Turning towards me, smiling and winking mouthing for me to come join them. Then letting out a hearty deep laugh as the boys tackled him to the ground. 

A smile that only Sam could form gives way, betraying the small process I’ve come to make since leaving New York and settling back in my home state of California. The ghosts of my past collided with my present. The happiness and heartache smashed and blending into each other. The smile fading, watery eyes not only threaten to become tears but ran down my face freely, lowering my head back down pushing out the world around me as my body trembled with his empty promises playing on repeat. 

‘It’ll be different this time.’

‘Everything I’m doing is for them.’

‘Just a little longer and we’d be free to do as we want.’

‘No more hiding or playing coy.’

'This is part of the plan for them to accept us.’

Our relationship had become perfect to the public. From the first time we would run into each other after Sam and Sofia’s canceled wedding, the makeover and other publicity stunts Naya had arranged. To everyone it was a romantic story of a widowed father falling in love again. And when in reality we were hanging by a thread that was ready to snap at any given moment. The way we had fallen in love was between us, the way we were falling in love was the story displayed for over a year. The story of the breakup was just as big. 

Sam Dalton and Marie Castro call it quits! What really happened!

I tried to live my normal life, the one before Sam, but everything about New York remind me of him and his family that I was welcomed into. So I did what I thought was best, packed my things said goodbye to my best friend and moved to the West Coast, putting twenty five hundred miles between us. 

The Malibu beaches became my therapist and like a good patient I came once a week a couple months ago. The lavished homes lined behind me, likely belonging to the rich and possibly famous. Drew me in like a moth to flame, reminding me of the life I had come to know all too well. 

I’d walk along the shore, every Thursday evening, the wet sand under me water splashing against me while I made my way past the luxury homes. Watching as some owners came out to enjoy their multimillion dollar view, the all too familiar stares reminding me I didn’t belong. They all seemed unwelcoming except for one. I wish I could say that I noticed him but I hadn’t. Not until I was leaving one Thursday evening a few weeks ago. I tossed my bag over my shoulder, sandals in hand and I look up and see a handsome man with piercing ocean blue eyes standing on his deck in a plain white t and faded jeans looking down at me. His stare wasn’t intimating but friendly.

Not a word was spoken between us, a simple nod of acknowledgment. That alone was different from his neighbors. As the weeks went by our nod turned into a wave and then a small smile. It was that kindness that I would also look forward to. A friend from a distance. It would an understatement in saying I was in need of friends much to my dads insistence, I’m pretty sure he didn’t have this way of making friends in mind. 

But today was not Thursday and here I was in the spot I’ve come to call mine and my friend wouldn’t be out to greet me. Sadness crept in, how could I feel that way from not seeing someone? As if my beach session wasn’t complete without out his nod, smile or wave. It had to be the kindness that I longed for I told myself, nothing more. 

The sky began to turn, ready to give way to night, a thought came to mind. “Oh, what the hell.” I say to myself. Pushing myself up, dusting away the sand that stuck to the back of my thighs and the bottoms of my shorts. Not bothering to worry about leaving my things behind, I went towards the water. One foot in front of the other leading me closer. The cold sensation of the water making me jump at the sudden shock, I welcomed it. 

Making my way in further, the waves pushing back trying to send me back to the safety of the shore. The water steadied the deeper I went, my clothes clinging to me like second skin. No longer able to feel the ocean floor underneath me, on instinct my legs kick and arms move keeping me above the water. The initial shock of the cold water fading from my system. Taking a deep breath and a plunge down, slowly exhaling the air from my lungs I let myself sink. Willing the ghosts away as the air bubbles made their way to the surface as I sank further. My lungs burning for air, kicking my way up, my head breaking the surface getting the much needed oxygen into my body. Leaning back and letting myself float, watching as the sky above darkened by the minute, the water following with the same darkness, for my safety I knew I had to make my way back to the shore.

Once I am able to feel the sand underneath me, I begin to walk the rest of the way out. The waves crash against the back of my legs, I am knocked down on all fours when I lose my balance as a strong wave crashes into me. Trying to stand but failing when another waves comes crashing against my back. Trying to catch the wind that has been knocked out of me, but only to immediately choke on the salty water. Struggling to regain my balance, a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist pulling me out of water. “Are you crazy?” A husky voice asks. “Don’t you know it’s not a good idea to go into the water at this time of day, especially alone.” He says, placing me down on my feet, having moved us away from the water.

“I—I” I was ready to answer back when I look up and see piercing blue eyes staring back at me. I suck in a deep breath, seeing the man behind the voice, the air that I breathe in includes droplets of water that drip from my face and I begin to choke one more. Bending at the waist, hands on my knees trying to compose myself. It was him. My friend from afar. 

“Shit.” He gives me a comforting touch “Breathe. It’s ok.” The husky voice tell me. “Are you alright?”

Once my breathing returns to normal, I stand straight feeling flushed with embarrassment I slowly turn to face him. “I’m ok. Thank You.” 

A gust of wind, lets me know that it was a bad idea in the end to take a swim without bring a change of clothes. Every inch of me is peppered with goosebumps, my teeth chattering as the cold seeps down to my bones. 

“You need to warm up before you catch a cold or something.” His callous hands running up and down my arms trying to bring warmth to me. 

“I’ll be…be fine.” 

“Hmm..” He sighs, he doesn’t believe me. Hell, I don’t believe myself, I was freezing in the seconds of getting out of the ocean.  “Did you bring a change of clothes?”

“No.” I answer carefully not to show that I was fighting off shivers. My jean shorts and light pink t-shirt dripping with cold water down my body didn’t help. “I’m heading home anyway, it’s ok.”

“Come on.” He says leading us past my things and to the bottom of the stairs that I knew lead up to his home. “Your trembling, your lips are turning blue. I couldn’t possibly let you go home, let alone drive like that.” He makes quick work of the steps, stopping at the top when he senses that I haven’t followed.

Turning, he looks down at me, not a word being spoken. His blue eyes searching for something, some sort of movement. Will I go up or just grab my things and go? I didn’t know. This was the man I befriended with a simple gesture, the creases on his forehead gave way to furrowed eyebrows, waiting to see what I was going to do. Was he worried about me? He didn’t even know my name, he just plucked me out of the water, called me crazy and now is offering his home for me to warm up before heading home.

“It’s—not necessary.” The quiver of my lips give me away, showing that I was in need of dry clothes and warmth.

“The guys won’t mind.” He says as he looks me up and down. “Just give me a sec. I’ll be right back.”

Once he is gone, I look down to see what he was looking at. My light pink t-shirt had become see through and the lacy material of my bra not giving me any sort of coverage. Crossing my goosebump covered arms over my chest, I stand there and wait. 

He returns, not a minute gone, with a large towel tossed over his shoulder making quick work of the steps. “This will help you warm up.” He says as he wraps the towel over my shoulders not bothering to mention my see through shirt.

“Thank you. I didn’t realize that my top..” I begin to say.

The towel brought some warmth my body needed. The closeness between us let me take in the man in front of me. I wasn’t blind, he was handsome from the spot we met. Now inches away from each other and I realized handsome was an understatement.

He was a good five inches taller than me. Light brown hair that flirted with having a bit of dirty blonde in it, not knowing which color to choose, settled on a balance of both. Those eyes, the blue in them were other worldly, a little squint at the corners as he looked at me. A strong scruffy bearded jawline, that I wondered what would feel like on my fingertips. 

He wore a gray t-shirt that hugged him well, surely he had to be fit from the way it did. It was damp from one side where he carried me out of the water. A fair complexion with a hint of a tan from time spent in the sun. My assessment was cut short when he cleared his throat. “A bit warmer now yeah?” He says with a chuckle. “Come on.” He turns on his heels and begins going up the steps once more.

“Wait.” I call out.

“Yeah?” He looks over his shoulder, his back still facing me. 

“I didn’t get your name.”

He laughs, it’s a nice laugh I think to myself, watching as he makes quick work of the few steps. The smile he gives me sets a small chain reaction, I could feel my face flush, my heart beating in my chest like a teenager and the warmth spreading through me makes me step back as if I needed to break away from this sort of pull he has.

“We never really got to getting each others names for the past few weeks. How rude of me.”

“You did call me crazy.”

He winces. “I did and I’m sorry. But to be fair it was more of your actions than you.”

“Is that not the same thing?” I playfully fire back. With that I am rewarded to another hearty laugh. “Marie Castro.”

His face lights up at the sound of my name. “A beautiful name for my mysterious friend.” He reaches out his fingers grazing my cheek as he tucks the clump of hair that was stuck to my face behind my ear. “Wyatt Kent.”

“Mysterious?” I ask raising an eyebrow at him, tracing with my own fingertips where his were. 

“Beautiful.” Wyatt responds tenderly. “It’s nice to finally meet you Marie. Follow me, I’ve let you out here long enough.”

“Ok.”

Following behind him we reach the top of the stairs. Warm patio lights turn on just in time as if it was planned, illuminating and displaying the outdoor furniture surrounding an unlit fire pit. A simple color palate of whites mixed with soft and dark grays with a touch of light blues. Doors that lead out were wide open, giving me a view of the inside. 

The cheering of a group of five people greets us as Wyatt leads us past a dark dining room table. This must be the group he mentioned earlier. I grip the towel a bit tighter and closer to me. How was he going to explain what happened? Had he mention me to them before bringing me up? Surely not, they haven’t noticed us yet, they were sitting in the living area and talking back to the television. Asking if the ump was blind, I assume they are watching a baseball game from the arguing balls and strikes. The images on the screen confirmed that as the field at Chavez Ravine displayed before them.

“Don’t mind them, we don’t get too rowdy. Unless you go for another team that isn’t the Dodgers, then I hate to break it to you but you’ll be on your own..” Wyatt says giving me another smile.

“Well it’s a good thing I’m not a Giants fan.” I wink. Did I just wink at him? What was wrong with me. That was something I did not need to get into at the moment. 

He gives me a wink. “Good thing.” Wyatt clears his throat, announcing our presences to the group. “Ladies and not so gentlemen, this is Marie. Marie this is the gang. I promise to finish introductions once I get her warmed up and into dry clothes.

They all turn with mouths dropping open, staring at the two of us. 

“Hi.” One of the women says cheerfully. 

“Hi.” I smile back.

The rest of the group follows in greeting me. 

“What happened?” A dark skinned man asks.

“Long story short, this little daredevil here went for a swim.” Wyatt tells him, taking my hand that wasn’t holding onto the towel in his, giving it squeeze. I ignore the feeling that shoots through me at the contact as they all nod with acceptance at the very brief story he just gave them. “Come on.” He continues our way into his home, passing in front of his friends and towards a staircase that I can assume leads up to a second floor.

“Wy, your bringing sand in and dripping water!” One of them calls to us.

“Hurry back you two, the game is turning into a pitchers duel.” Another one says.

“Also dinner is almost ready.” A feminine voice follows.

The aroma of citrus and herbs from the kitchen that stands next to stair makes me stop. My stomach reminding me it has been hours since I last ate. I could also say it was guilt of sorts that made me stop “I’m sorry about the sand and water. I should go back and clean it up.” I look over my shoulder and see his friends turn back to TV as if they did not just get caught watching us. 

“That is the least of my worries.” Wyatt says, tugging me up the stairs. “Besides Olive will have it cleaned up before I come back down.”

There was an urge to ask him who Olive was almost slipped out. Was that his girlfriend or something? He was just being friendly after all, I tell myself. His actions were nothing less than one person worrying about another. Right? A sliver of disappoint came over me. 

I shake the feeling off having no right to it, I just met the guy. Wyatt leads us to the second floor, we walk pass a lounge decorated with loveseats, chairs and a dark bookcase filled with books and tiny structures of buildings, the simplicity of his style ran through his home. At least the parts I’ve come to see.

“Here is the bathroom. Have a seat and I’ll be right back.” Wyatt says turning on his heels and leaving me alone in the small bathroom. 

I take my seat on the closed covered toilet seat, waiting for him to return. Taking in my surroundings, my fingers tapping restlessly against the top of my thighs. A shower in front and slightly to the right of me, a counter and sink right next to me, the door I walked through on my right as well with another on my left that was open. Leaning towards the left, holding steady against the wall, I try and peak to see what’s on the other side. 

It was a bedroom, I get up to get a better view but stop myself. “I don’t need to create another trail of sand and water.” I say to the empty room.

“Everything alright?” 

I jump and turn at the sound of his voice. Wyatt stood against the doorframe across from me, a humorous smirk tugging at his the corner of his lips. 

“Sorry.. I didn’t mean to..” 

“Snoop?” He chuckles. Closing the distance between us, clean clothes and the things I left on the beach in hand, Wyatt stops next me and pokes his head into the room. “It’s just a guest room.” Walking back, he places the items on the counter. “Feel free to use it when your done showering.”

“Thank you.”

I watch he opens and turns on the shower, his hand under the running water waiting for it to warm “Wyatt?”

“Hmm..” He hums.

Unsure why I called him, but the way his name left my lips felt… nice. I ask him the first thing I could think of  “Why are you being nice to me? A total stranger?”

Wyatt closes the shower door, leans against the corner of the doorway. His fingers scratching the side of his face as I wait for his answer. “It looked like you needed someone today.” He whispers. He looks up from the floor settling on me. “I went out to get some air and there you were. It took me by surprise, it wasn’t our… I mean your usual day out here. I sorta made a mental note of when you’d be out there.”

The small confession brought a smile to my face. But it faded as quickly as it came when he continued. “I could see your body shaking and I heard you crying. You said something I couldn’t quite make out and I watched as walked straight into the water.”

My vision became blurred from remembering what happened less than an hour ago. “It was.. a fresh start of sorts.” Staying as vague as possible, I wasn’t ready to tell someone what happened. “I thought a quick swim would help me get some clarity.”

“Into the cold Pacific Ocean? At dusk? Alone?” 

“Crazy right?” I chuckle. “You asked me that earlier remember.”

He nods.

“You still want to be friends with me?” I ask him.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

He closes the small space between us, steam from the shower slowly surrounds us. He hooks a finger under my chin, tilting my face up to his. “There’s something about you. Something that makes me want to get you know more, since the first day I saw you. I’m sorry it took me this long.”

My eyes close at his small confession, my lips part as he leans forward. Waiting for the pressure of his lips against mine. But it never comes. Something in him changes until he speaks again.

“Take a nice hot shower, put the dry clothes on and when your done we’ll eat and catch the rest of the game while your clothes wash and dry. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good.” I answer, trying to hide the disappoint in my voice. 

My eyes open as I watch Wyatt leave closing the door behind him. Was I really expecting him to kiss me? Was I that desperate? I didn’t need that answered. 

Peeling my clothes off, I placed every article of clothing off to the corner. Wiping the moisture that has settled against the mirror with my palm, the Marie that was looking back at me didn’t look that much different. Yes, there were dark circles under my eyes from restless nights but other than that it all looked the same. Deep down I knew I wasn’t the same person. I wasn’t open or made the effort of making friends with my colleagues. Dinners with Dad were quiet, he knew Sam and my life in New York was something I didn’t want to talk about with him. Maybe I should have, maybe the nights where I danced with his ghost and the life we were creating wouldn’t haunt me.

This wasn’t the life I wanted when I moved back home. If I wanted to be the sad ex I could have easily stayed in New York. I had wanted a life with the man that I loved without an agenda, without making me ‘the nanny’ into a socialite worthy of being with Sam. But that was never going to happen, that truth settled in like a ton of bricks. It felt like the first real step into healing my broken heart, it hurt but it was welcomed. 

Then there was a reminder in the back of my mind and the spot in my heart that I could never get rid of. It will always keep me connected to the past. A single promise that I could not break.

The promise I made to Mason and Mickey Dalton.

🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹

Wyatt

“I’m sorry it took me this long.” replayed in my head. The way she closed her eyes and slightly parted her lips waiting for a kiss from me, a man she just met. But I pulled back, knowing that wasn’t what she needed. 

“I told you!” My sister, Olive, delightfully announces. 

My attention to the conversation has been fading in and out, catching only bits and pieces of the conversation as I finish setting up dinner. My movements through the kitchen and around everyone were from memory as my mind kept wondering to Marie since I left her to clean up. Whatever crazy nonsense Olive was talking about went over my head.

“But you guys doesn’t she look kinda familiar? Like I’ve seen her somewhere.” Bridgette says.

Stopping in my tracks at what my friend just said, I watch Bridgette ponder while she hangs onto her fiancé, one of two of my best friends, Daniel. He just shrugs at her statement, not bothering to ask why or from where but me, I want to know more of what she may know.

“Why would think that Bridge?” I ask.

“I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something about her.” She answers.

Hell yeah there was. That’s one thing I’ll agree with, there was something about her. Something that I couldn’t get out of my head. She was like a force that I couldn’t be pulled away from. The moment I first saw her those many weeks ago and every week since then that led up to today. Hell the closest thing I could compare it to would be the feeling of being a love sick high schooler waiting for the next school day to see their crush, and that’s with out knowing anything about her. I was screwed, wasn’t I?

I had watched as the sun played with the different dimensions of color on her chestnut brown hair. Her dark eyes when she first looked up at me made my heart beat faster. And then came her smile, granted it was a closed lipped but it was one of the most prettiest things I’ve seen.

But today had been different. She wasn’t suppose to be out there for one but she was and that made my day better. It had been short lived though as worry set in. I hadn’t expect to see her trembling or hear her crying in the spot I’d find her once a week without fail. The urge of wanting to go down there and bring comfort to her ran through me. But how could I? We hadn’t spoken a word to each other. I didn’t know her name, I didn’t want to come off as a weirdo. But fuck, I might have come off worse. A jerk. I did call her crazy.

I shake those memories away, seeing Ben, Olive’s boyfriend and my other best friend call out.“Wyatt.” 

“Huh.”

“Are you just gonna keep day dreaming over there or can we start eating?”

“You never needed my permission before.”

“We never had to wait for the girl you plucked out of the water before.” He said. 

“You can start.” I say a bit irritated.

“Finally. I’m starving!” Michael, the youngest of the group and my brother exaggeratedly taking the plate of citrus chicken from me.

“God! Michael when aren’t you starving.” Olive points out. “And we are waiting for Marie to come down. It’s rude for us to start without Wyatt’s guest.”

“More like his girlfriend.” Michael jokes.

“Oh my gosh!! Can you imagine!!” Olive gives me that look, the one where she is gonna try to do everything to make that happen.

I point to my sister. “No. Don’t.” Smacking my brother in the back of the head for such a comment that would get the wheels turning in our sisters head. 

Michael rubs the spot where my hand landed. “What was that for?”

“Come on Wy, are you at least curious about her? You said her name was Marie, give me a last name and I’m sure I can find something on google.” Bridgette inquires again.

I was curious about her. I did want to get to know more about her. I wasn’t about to tell them that, I didn’t need them meddling into my love life more than they’ve tried before. Over the weeks I fought my curiosity, just watching as she walked, how she kept away from the other beach goers and the look on her face told me that she had or was going through something. 

Whatever peace she was trying to gain from here didn’t need to be disrupted by me. One would say I had failed miserably, any man or person for that matter would, all it took was one look from her. I gave her the simplest, kindest gesture I could think of, a nod of acknowledgment. And I received one in return.

“Guys we lost him again.” Ben pointed out. 

“I’m not giving you her last name to google her. It’s none of our business.” I said. But that wasn’t true I wanted to make it my business, I wanted to know everything.

From the small interaction we had, I came to realize she needed a friend and not a man to come in and save her. So the want to being something more would be put on the back burner for now or we’d stay friends forever. Looking around, everyone gathered around my kitchen island, all with the same curious look wanting to know more about the girl I pulled from the water. No, maybe one friend wasn’t enough, I knew my crazy yet loving family  would be up to welcoming her in. 

“Leave him alone you guys, Wyatt wants his girlfriend to himself.” Michael jokes, pulling away from me before I could do anything to him.  That little stunt earned him a round of laughs even a chuckle from me. 

“Enough of that, Michael. The two of them will get to know each other at their own pace.” Olive chimed in. 

“Yes, Olive. At our own pace and as a friend. No meddling, from anyone.” I say sternly.

Olive placed her hand on her chest, as if she was surprised at the accusation “Me? Meddle? As a friend Wy, really? I’ll believe it when I see it.” She says with a laugh.

My slightly overprotecting of Marie breaks, I shake my head and laugh. It had become an ongoing joke for my sister, she had made it her mission to find me someone to love. Hell even Michael had found his so called love, well not one but many. I was the last one.

The faint sound of a step breaks me away from the group as I look and see Marie standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her hair slightly damp, holding her balled up clothes against her. Garnering a wet spot on my shirt I lent her. The way she stood there watching everyone, in return I was doing the same thing with her. My black shirt and gym shorts a bit large on her frame. She had rolled up the top of the shorts to prevent them from falling, the only thing that did was show off long tanned legs. Damn, I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t look good on her. Maybe that had been a bad idea, giving her my clothes because I liked it but I rather have her wearing my clothes then coming down in a robe. 

Clearing my throat before I sound like prepubescent teen, ignoring the warmth that runs through me. “Marie.” I call out hoping no-one noticed my excitement, I am rewarded with another closed lip smile. A friend, that is what she needs a friend. Repeating this little mantra to myself as the group turns their attention to her.

“I hope the food is to your liking.” I say.

Ben lets out a laugh at my nervousness. “Wow. Just wow!”

“It smells delicious. Where would I be able to wash these?” Marie asks.

“Oh my goodness sweetheart.” Olive tells her, playfully smacking Ben on the shoulder to stop his chuckling before making her way to Marie. “Don’t you worry about those. Hand them over and I’ll toss them in the wash.”

“Thank you.” Marie hands her clothes over to my sister. “I’m sorry but I didn’t catch your name earlier.”

The death stare I get from my sister reminds me that I did not introduce everyone to her, granted I had other things I needed to do before introductions took place. Just as I was about to open my mouth, Olive beats me to it.

“Typical of my oaf of a brother to whisk you away and not bother to introduce you to everyone.” She tells her, bringing her closer to us. 

The sexiest laugh I’ve heard comes from Marie, seeing her give my sister a wide smile that displayed perfectly white teeth brings the warmth back and something else, jealously. Jealously that my sister got her to smile like that and not me. “Just a friend.” I mumble under my breath. “I was helping her out. I do recall dear sister that I was going to introduce everyone later.” 

“Well, it's later now Wy. I got this.” She smiles at Marie, I could already see it, so much for not wanting her to meddle into this. “I’m Olive as you heard Wyatt call me. His older sister.”

“The mother hen of the group.” Michael calls out as he leans down and begins to dig into his food.

“The one stuffing his face because he can’t wait is our younger brother Michael.” 

At his name being said Michael drops his fork onto his plate and gets off his seat and standing next to me. “Hi.” He says wiping his mouth. We couldn’t deny the relationship between the three of us, we shared the same color hair and blue colored eyes.

Olive continues around the island. “The two love birds over there are Daniel and Bridgette.”

Daniel says his hello while Bridgette walks over to Marie and hugs her. “It’s good to have another lady in the group.”

“Oh. I.. I” Marie stumbles in her embrace. Marie’s eyes find mine and I give her an encouraging smile. “Thanks.”

“All right Bridge let her breath. And last but certainly not least the tall, dark and handsome man there is my boyfriend Ben.”

“Thanks babe, thought you almost forgot about me. It’s nice to finally meet you. Wyatt over here wouldn’t stop talking about you.” Ben tells Marie.

Closing my eyes and a shaking my head. When I open them I see the mischievous smile on his face, dammit he was going to join Olive in her meddling.. “It’s not like that. Ben here likes to exaggerate the truth.” 

I mouth shut up to Ben. I see from the corner of my eye, Marie hides a smile with her hand. I’ve earned another smile.

 Just a friend.

“Well that is everyone.” My sister tells her. “Make yourself at home. Chit chat, get to know each other but not too much I don’t want to miss out on anything. I’ll be right back.” She says before calling out “Wy make Marie a plate.” And just like that she disappears to the laundry room. 

Grabbing the plate Daniel held out for me, I put a little bit of everything on a plate for her. Marie takes the seat next to Ben, across from me. Disappointment sets in but in all fairness it's one of two seats closest her. I make my way around to her, placing the plate in front of her, my arm gently brushing against her, my breath hitches at the contact. She says a small thank you, I say nothing and make my way back and take my seat on the other side of the kitchen island. 

We are all quiet, watching her dig into her dinner. She must have sensed this because she looks up, lowering her fork and covers her mouth as she chews. “I’m sorry.” She says, until she settles her gaze on me. “Do I have something on my face?”

I shake my head no, but that doesn’t stop her from wiping the corner of lip with the pad of her thumb. 

“Did you really go for a swim at this time of day?” Michael breaks the silence that surrounded us. “You must not be from around here.”

“I am, actually. Born and raised until I went off to college. I grew up in the LA area just down the 5. ”

“So how do you not know that it’s not safe to take a plunge into the Pacific at dusk? You know with the apex predator lurking around the water.”

“You messing with me aren’t you? Is it really odd? But I just moved back home from New York about five months ago.” Marie says, pushing around the food on her plate. I keep quiet and pray for everyone else to do that same, hoping she’ll continue to give us more information about her.

“Ahh.. one of our favorite cities.” Daniel interrupts. “How long did you live there? I’m dying to go back. Right babe?” He tells Bridgette pulling her seat closer to him and nuzzling into her neck. She lets out a laugh and pushes him away. 

Looking back at Marie, trying to gauge her reaction to something so intimate, once again she looks down and goes back to playing with the food. As she looks down she surprises me when she continues “I studied on the east coast, four years plus postsecondary school. Then moved to NYC, living and working there, I was going on three years. In the end, I’d say a total of twelve years.”

“What made you come back? You practically built a life there. Look at you, you must have left someone heart broken.” Michael asked, the question innocent enough but the look in Marie’s face and the mistiness forming in her eyes told me there was more. I gently elbow my brother to drop the line of questioning. “Ow. Again what was that for?”

“Alright Marie, everything should be cleaned and dried in about an hour.” Olive says clapping her hands together as she makes her way into the kitchen. Taking the shift in the room, she looks at me then to Michael. “What happened? What did the two of you do?”

“Micheal was just asking me if I was from here, since it seems uncommon to go into the water. I am, from California that is. I moved back for a new..” Marie stopped, watching as she wiped an unshed tear from the corner of her eye. “I came back because I had a new job opportunity.”

She gives us a weak smile. The new job maybe true but not possibly the whole truth as to the move back.“But enough about me. I want to hear how you all met, granted I now know half of you are siblings. I do apologize in advance I haven’t been around this many people in a while.” She awkwardly laughs.

With that our conversation moves from Marie to us. While eating and drinking we talk about how the three remaining friends met. Daniel, Ben, Bridgette and I went to Berkley. Shortly after Daniel and Bridge started dating and have been inseparable since. Olive and Ben began dating shortly after a visit back to my parents home. Our conversation going from Daniel and Bridgette’s wedding a few months away to jokes being thrown around at everyone expense even Maries’. Our eyes would meet from time to time until I couldn’t look away as she laughed at something Michael said. Jealously returned, the one from earlier when Olive made her laugh and I couldn’t get a laugh for myself. I got a wink, a few smiles but not an effortless genuine laugh. Yeah, I was jealous. 

When everyone had their fill, Olive shooed us guys out of the kitchen, the ball game long forgotten. The only thing playing on the television were highlights. Ben turned on the fire pit and we watched it glow under there dark night sky. For the second time that night, I didn’t bother following the conversation between us, laughing after hearing laughter. My attention going into my kitchen, watching as Marie became friends instantly with my sister and friend. Talking as if they have known each other longer than the mere two hours since she walked soaking wet into their lives. As if she could sense me watching her, she would look back at me. I didn’t care that I was caught. I wanted at that moment to memorize everything about her. That is until the little voice of reason reminded me of being a friend to her. 

Taking a deep breath, I lean my head back and exhale. Trying to get into the conversation around me, I notice Olive and Bridgette make their way towards us. Marie wasn’t behind them. Where did she go? She had just been with them seconds ago. And that’s when I saw the look on my sisters face, the one that let me know she was meddling. Before I could speak up and protest she beat me to it once more.

“Marie is changing. We are gonna get going. Michael we’ll drop you off at Mom and Dad’s. No need to stay here.” Once more that night she is ushering everyone out but this time towards the front door. 

“Olive what are you doing?” I call out.

“Letting you enjoy the rest of your night, dear brother.” The cheerfulness of her voice gets a laugh from everyone. “Besides we all know you’ll be the friend she needs.”

What the hell! Did she hear my little mantra? Did everyone hear it? The look on their faces gave me that answer.

“Say goodbye to her for us will ya.” Daniel said, patting on the back.

“No need to go, if you want to leave you can go but you’ll say goodbye yourselves.” I insisted. What was I doing? Did I want to spend sometime getting to know her without them hovering around? Abso-fucking-lutley. Was this the way I wanted it? No. I didn’t need them playing matchmaker. There was not point in arguing, so I quietly resigned and let them walk out.

Instead of going back inside I decide to wait for Marie outside, it turned out to be a nice night. While I wait I take one of the seats around the fire pit. The warmth in front of me going against the cool ocean breeze against my back, similar to the two things I’m feeling. I let out a sigh and lean back, staring up at the star filled sky. The sound of the waves crashing behind me giving me an idea of how I can see Marie once more, other than our usual meet up day. I just hope she will say yes. 

Becoming lost in thought on how I’d bring up this invitation, her wondering voice calls out.“Hello.”

“Out here.” I stand from my chair, waiting for her to step outside to join me. She comes out with her bag over her shoulder and the borrowed clothes in hand.

“Where is everyone?” Marie asks quietly. 

“Said they had to go. They did tell me to say goodbye to you.”

“Oh.” Sadness crept in at the disappointment in her voice, was it the thought of being just being the two of us?

“Would you like to join me?” I offer her a seat.

“I..uh It’s late…” 

Before she could decline my offer and before I can fully grasp what I was inviting her to I blurt out “What are you doing Saturday? At dawn?” Giving her no time to answer my first question before asking her the second.

She gives me a funny look, one I find adorable. Without an answer, Marie takes the chair next to me. Following her I retake my seat. Watching as the flames play with the color in her eyes reminding me of pools of whiskey. It was something I wanted to get drunk in. Her breath hitches as I move closer to her, the small movement in her tells me that I have the same effect on her that she has on me.

“On a Saturday?” She asks.

 I nod.

“At dawn?” Raising an eyebrow at me.

I answer with another nod. 

“Sleeping like normal people.”

My silence is broken with a deep laugh. “What would say to joining me out there.” I tilt my head pointing towards the ocean, our eyes never leaving each other. 

“And do exactly what?”

“Surf.” giving her a full smile. “Of course.”

What I wanted all night long finally comes. I get one of those breathtaking smiles and a laugh. I know I must be smiling like a damn fool now but I didn’t care. I got a real smile from her. 

“Of course.” Marie chuckles once more. “Because that is what people do at the crack of dawn.”

“Some yes. Me, absolutely.” I hummed. “You’ve been gone for too long. You’re in need of getting back to your roots. And what a perfect way to get back into the California state of mind then to go surfing.”

She pulled her eyes from me and looked into the crackling of the fire. “I’ve never surfed before. Not something I did growing up. And not all Californians surf you know.”

“True. But there is something about the water you’ve come to like, right?”

“Yes. But I’ve always been more into books and science. The adrenaline kick didn’t start until later. It should be simple right, you know learning to surf.” She asked. “If one could jump out of a plane how hard would it be to learn to surf.”

I was certain that I had a look of shock, I felt my mouth drop open at the revelation. I did hear her right, she just said she jumped out of a plane. And something about and adrenaline kick. I wonder if that is what she was really doing when she went into the darkening water, the danger of swimming at dusk alone had brought some sort of high.

“That’s what you were doing out there? Looking for a rush not a fresh start, like you mentioned? Besides it takes a bit more skill to surf. Jumping out of a plane is just that my little daredevil.” I say.

“Yes. No. It’s hard to explain. Maybe a little bit of both or perhaps idiotic. Besides the adrenaline thing  was more of my ex-bo—“ Her voice betraying her with a tremble before trailing off.

Boyfriend, she was gonna say boyfriend, no ex-boyfriend. She was getting over someone, I knew I didn’t have to ask. I could be wrong but what I felt told me that I wasn’t. Had she been crying because of her ex? “The only idiotic thing that happened was someone letting you go.” The words came out before I could stop them.

“I should go.” She whispers.

Shit! She wanted to leave. I reached out to her, covering her hand with mine “You don’t have to.” 

“I should. It’s late.” Her hand never pulling away from mine. “If the invitation for Saturday is still open…”

“Always.” I answer before she could finish. 

“Not the getting up early part.” Her nose scrunches in the most adorable way and the words that follow send my heart racing.  “I look forward to Saturday.”

“Me too.”

****

Continue to Chapter 2: Memories of Us

Tags: @chemist-ana @issabees @nikirennie87 @txemrn @thenannyaffair-fanfics

[aperfecta-rt]

yeah, i drew my existing OCs as my little ponies- ever heard of it??? i had fun going ham and shrugging off the 14 year old “brony” inside that was always like “ew no alicorn OCs are op” or “bat ponies were in the show for 5 seconds they’re so overdone” and saying fuck it. i’m gonna ramble under the cut 

first pony, the gray one, is Storm Song (Akira). she and the second pony, Allay (Cyrus), are both half pony/half changelings, but Storm Song inherited more changeling than her sibling. She can shapeshift, but Allay cannot- Allay got a cutiemark, Storm did not (or maybe she will one day?) i went crazy with her design, as the original original character is a very powerful mage and shapeshift, so she’s an alicorn. her natural changeling features kind of look like princess attire. she doesn’t look much like her older sibling or their late parents, but her mother was a changeling, so things are a little wonky. she’s a bit of a nomad and doesn’t like to stay in one place for too long, always looking for something but never knowing what

second pony, Allay (cyrus) is Storm Song’s older sibling. they can’t shapeshift but, like their unicorn father, have a cutie mark. they’re great at healing both creatures and plants. they and Storm Song were separated by circumstances when young (Allay remembers their little sister but Storm Song barely remembers them) after their parents’ death. Allay is good friends with Cardinal and Indi, always looking out for the two when they get into mischief.

third and fourth ponies are Indigo Glow (Sean, blue) and Cardinal Comet (Chris, red) who are both bat ponies. the original original characters are two humans who can turn into dragons, but in their “lore” theyre only above-average magic users, so they are bat ponies instead of changelings or dragons or anything else. i also just wanted to do some bat ponies cause they’re cool lmao. they’re kinda gay but still figuring things out- maybe in this mlp au i’ve created, they’re childhood best friends similar to cmc but had a falling out and only reunited years later

[greentrickster]

Personally I think the best part about Trainer Cyrus hanging out with RR Maxie and Archie is that, eventually, they’re going to figure out what’s going on. After a few hours Maxie finally catches a picture of this universe’s him, and is instantly, “Wait a moment, that’s not me!”

Cyrus: It’s not?

Maxie: No!

Cyrus: What makes you say that?

Maxie: (pointing at the picture on Cyrus’s phone, outraged) Because I’m not greying and he is!

Cyrus: ...

Maxie: How on Earth did you not notice that?!

Cyrus: ...I thought you’d dyed it.

Maxie: (spluttering outrage)

Cyrus: I don’t see why you’re so upset, there’s nothing wrong about going grey at your age.

Maxie: EXCUSE ME-?!?

Archie: (laughing at Maxie but also very aware that they’re almost the same age and now deeply curious) Exactly how old d’you think he is?

Cyrus: Almost fifty?

Maxie: (can barely get the words out he’s so offended) I. AM. TWENTY-NINE.

Cyrus: (dubious expression) Are you sure about that?

Maxie: (incandescent rage)

Archie: (folded up on the floor crying with laughter)

(Note: Maxie started greying the day he turned forty, found his first grey hair the day of his birthday)

Shortly after this is the point where they realize, “Ah-haha, this is- this is not the Cyrus who wandered off this morning mid-introduction to Rainbow Rocket speech, this is a different Cyrus, this is this universe’s Cyrus- ...oh crap, we’re not responsible but we’re going to get blamed for this, aren’t we?”

And that’s how they end up sneaking out of Rainbow Rocket Headquarters to go and find Galactic Boss Cyrus, who is currently in the care of Red, Blue, and Cynthia, and very confused. (And also having vague levels of emotion, which he hates.) Archie and Maxie leave a note saying that Cyrus wanted to go be gloomy on the beach and they’re supervising him this time, no worries, they’ll be back in time to bring the plan to fruition (and they’re not sure exactly how much of this note is a lie, because they’re feeling absolutely Shook after the several hours they’ve spent with Trainer Cyrus).

(Also, Cyrus is sulking because he’s forty-five, he doesn’t see what the problem is, only adding further psychic damage to Maxie and Archie when they find out this Cyrus is sixteen years older than them.)

[deadlycupid]

stories I think about and draw for but haven’t talked about on here

I’m making this post purely bc I need to validate myself that I’m productive even when I’m not on here talking about the angels of death and Tommy and Nico also features aus for the angels of death.

the mirror world: probably the oldest story of mine and it’s about these little creatures living in the reflection of surfaces (for example mirrors, puddles, glass etc). It follows the pretty mundane life of Cupid and Bow, the main characters, and their cat Arrow. More main characters are their friends Hades, Persephone and Daisy. They all have a different colour scheme bc original I drew them as little blobs but now they are real people too, but I still stick with their original colours I choose for them. The colours are: Cupid - turquoise, Bow - pink, Hades - red, Persephone - dark blue, Daisy - yellow

the mystery of hay haven: a story about a little town somewhere far away where it’s always autumn. The people in the town are all mystical beings and they believe that on Halloween the ghost of the night comes and grants one citizen a wish. That’s why they all dress up as ghost on that special night to celebrate the arrival. Oscar, a pumpkin head, who’s always sad with no reason wants to find the ghost and wish for happiness. On his journey his best friend Evander, also known as Evie (any pronouns), follows and helps him. They meet Delphi a witch that can’t do magic on their way, who also searches for the ghost to be granted a wish. They are all fairly new since I came up with this story in the week before Halloween. Anyway, Oscar is best boy and I love him with all my heart 😭

Kilian & Cyrus: Kilian a prince who will never be the hier runs away from court to live a simple life. Because of unfortunate events he saves the life of a young lady and soon finds himself on her ship as her bodyguard. Sunny, the lady in question, is the pirate princess ruling over 12 really creepy but dumb pirates and since she can trust no one she simply decides a complete stranger isn’t any better than any one else to protect her, besides Kilian has already saved her ones. Kilian sees an opportunity to get even further away from his former life and agrees. That’s until he finds out that Sunny is a boy, who’s name is Cyrus and he is the hier to the throne of a kingdom Kilian had only heard little of. Soon Kilian is not only tuning away from his former life but also from the people who are after Cyrus. Very important for this story Kilian is bisexual and falls in love with both, Sunny and Cyrus. Also Kilian does end up as king on a throne all thanks to Cyrus. Moral of this story: for the people you love you would become anything even if it was the thing you ran from. Idk don’t quote me in this.

Now let’s talk about some AUs I made for the angels of death that i haven’t talked about yet:

Mafia au: Nico is the mafia boss from the waterlily clan, they rule over the lower town. His parents both died when he was still young and so an old friend of them, Yoel, raised him along side his own son, Railey. One day, after a heavy explosion in one of the building Nico owns, they save Tommy. The hier to the mafia clan red falcon, who rule over the docks and ships, also known as their rivals. To cover up his identity and protect his life Tommy pretends that he lost his memory and stays with the waterlilies. Here he finds out that the third mafia clan in the city, dead heaven, try to corrupt the government and take control over the whole city. I can’t tell you guys more bc that would also spoil the original story I’m sorry 😭😭 all you need to know is that Nico as mafia boss is the best thing I created 😩 for a few weeks I liked this idea even more then the original but then I was reminded that I know shit about politics and government and in no world or reality would I voluntarily learn more about it to write a good story lmao

punk/nerd au: this is a really basic story and it was created while I was writing on my fanfic (which has punks and fake dating in it so yeah) but to sum it up. In this story Lilieth and Noah are siblings. Nico is dating Lilieth in the beginning of the story. Noah, Lilieth and Nico are the “punks”. David and Tommy the nerds. And the story starts with Nico failing his English exam and getting Tommy as his tutor. At first they can’t stand each other but eventually they start to talk and find out that even though they have obviously differences they actually have the same interests. And while Tommy falls in love with Nico, Nico has to struggle with the feeling of falling out of love with Lilieth and in love with Tommy, pared with the fear of losing both his best friends if he breaks up with Lilieth to be with one he truly loves. It has angst in it, like everything else I write 😭😭 also listen to Tommy by Claud if you want to know the story from Lilieth’s perspective bc that freaking song basically describes it and I cry every time listening to it 😭😭

If you have questions/thoughts or anything about any of these stories and aus pls let me know and I’ll make sure to answer them!

tagging some people that I always tag bc you guys are the only ones that interact with me so you might care enough for this:

@writerfae @sleepy-night-child @drippingmoon @writing-is-a-martial-art @annoyingwritingtrash

[tippytopdays]

Shooting Stars Decorated in Electrical Wires CH 1 (Cyrus/Reader)

Category: Gen

Characters: Cyrus, Reader

Summary: Running a company was something he was well versed in. The stress and responsibility he shouldered was a constant in his life from dawn till sunset. Very little changed from day to day, and he was certain it would remain so.

That is, if he wasn't dealing with the most ignorant employees imaginable.

Notes: this is something that I've been working on for weeks now, entirely because I thought it was too funny not to. It's based off of @leggerefiore and co's Normal Cyrus AU that was pretty short lived, but I thought it deserved something short at the least. I don't expect this to go beyond 7 chapters but we'll see.

Also Cyrus is really funny to write.

There were many things the leader of Team Galactic was. Intelligent, calculating, proper. He was, without a doubt, the best at what he did.

That is, if he didn’t have to deal with the most ignorant employees imaginable.

It was practically clockwork when yet another incident happened for one reason or another. Always ending up tossed onto his desk by one of his head managers. However there was the odd time when Saturn would find himself involved in the nonsense, too. He would give the CEO credit for having enough tolerance for all this; something he didn’t have as much of.

Such as now. 

The manila envelope was innocent enough. A simple blue, the insignia of the company it resided in plastered on it’s face. It came from Saturn’s office directly, which meant it happened somewhere in his jurisdiction, which would also normally mean it was his problem.

But then it wouldn’t be on his desk, so of course it wasn’t that easy.

He just stared at it harder, arms crossed and all. If he glared at it hard enough maybe it would just go away and he wouldn’t have to deal with more ridiculous problems than he already did on the regular. 

But no, that was too easy. Of course it was.

So with a heavy sigh he picked up the folder. Light in his hands it could have held anything from managerial records to a production report. The meager hope he had could have been much more, the idea that it could just be something of actual importance tempting, yet it died the moment the profile flipped into view.

The name and serial were already in view, highlighted for ease of access. Bright blonde locks were tousled in a failed effort for professionalism on the young man’s face. Credit was due for the effort at being stern for the photo, even if the hard lines did very little to make him seem older than he was.

None of that mattered to the glaring red mark of the stamp he’d commonly used for employees currently detained that was spread across the page.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. A pulse had started to form behind his eyes. Careful, practiced rubs attempted to bypass it. It accomplished little. 

Yet another incident, yet another meeting with the police chief. The vain effort at controlling the company’s reputation was starting to take it’s toll. Something like anxiety had already pulled at his nerves every time a file would be brought to his desk; it was a miracle it hadn’t made it into his nightmares by now. If the current events went on much further, he was bound to lose whatever patience he had left. 

The file snapped shut, flopping onto the desk. If he looked at it any longer he was going to give himself a brain hemorrhage. He clasped his hands over his forehead, closing his eyes.

A breath, held in for a moment before releasing, the action repeated however times necessary. A practice he’d used to keep himself sane once upon a time, now staved off a building migraine that threatened his consciousness daily. Despite the strain he was quite used to the antics, annoying as they were. Roughhousing with fellow employees or battling random trainers were common enough occurrences.

It was only when they toed the line between annoyance and hazard that his problem lied. Such as, and he would quote Mars for this, ‘setting fire to a rival company's entire front yard’. 

He stood up then, the chair rolling away from his back. The headache dulled into a thrum in his temples, ignored easily enough. Straightening his jacket he brushed a hand through his hair. 

Croaked mewls turned his attention to the corner of the room, “I am fine. Do not concern yourself.” The words, though practiced, were true in spite of the frustration coiled in his ribs, “I merely need a moment to gather myself before handling this situation.” 

Yellow eyes blinked balefully. The Weavile laid in her bed, arms up about her chest from the sleep she’d been so rudely disturbed from. A pouty scowl on her tiny muzzle pulled her bleary eyes into something closer to disdain than concern, though he knew it to be a farce. With a huff, her jaw rested atop her paws as she watched him organize himself.

He did not give her the attention she sorely craved. Moody was the best term to describe the pokemon, as Mars again put it. He knew better than to believe in the irritation she played on her face so well. 

Once he was certain he was presentable he picked up the file. After giving the folder a final baleful glare he set it under an arm and approached the door. Pattering feet followed along once the pokemon made a bemoaning mewl, her little bed left behind in the corner. 

He let the door shut behind them. At the beep of the lock he reordered the file to allow the claws sinking into his pant leg time to scale upwards, placing it back in its place once she’d settled on the opposite shoulder. The purrs vibrating across his sternum were of mild comfort to the budding headache still trying to form.

Leaving the upper floors was normally the least stressful part of his commune. Had it been any other situation he would have never even left the office let alone do so with any documents on his person. Most of the problems that commonly cropped up were swiftly sorted out through emails or messages sent to the managers or other CEO of the area. 

This time was one of the few where he’d get involved directly.

One of the many engineers on the floor looked up at him as he passed. If the slight jolt in his shoulders wasn’t enough to belay the tenseness of his expression, then the sidestep the boy made to clear his path was. 

All for the better that he be left to his thoughts. He wasn’t one for casual conversation anyways. 

The elevator dinged ahead, doors opening slowly. He sighed under his breath; the quicker he was out of the building the better. The lack of interaction would keep the migraine at bay. He could only handle so much stress. 

That was until a shock of auburn hair from within the contraption had the tension peak. It was all he could do to silence a huff as the woman looked up from the clipboard, “Hey Boss! Wow you look mad.” Her wave paused mid motion to point instead, “Something happen? Do I have to ruffle some coworkers’ feathers again?”

“No, Mars, I am perfectly capable of handling the situation at hand.” While the tick in his temple said otherwise he did his best to manage it. He nodded towards the papers in her hands, “I see you have your own business to attend. See to it that you handle it swiftly, I do not wish to return to find everything in shambles again.” Even when he stepped inside and pressed the ground floor she made no move to leave. He’d hoped the finality of his words would pressure action but to no avail.

“But that was one time!”

“Maybe so, but once was enough.” The pressure was starting to build again, “As I said. I have the situation under control. There is no need to involve yourself in this, Mars.” He knew his words were clipped and tone short but he didn’t bother to change it. She was a capable manager, she could handle a bit of his ire.

She went silent then, a mercy he could briefly revel in. As the machination dinged its way down he opened the file once more. The words were practically burned into his memory but he had little else to do in the emptiness between them.

He knew exactly when she tried to reach for it. The sudden hackles brushing against his neck and low growl from the pokemon vibrating her lithe body quickly had his attention shift, file raised out of the woman’s reach, “What are you doing.” 

She just rolled her eyes, “I wanted to see what’s got you so worked up. You’re really pissed about something and you’re being a jerk about it.”

“How I act should not concern you.” A tick throbbed at his temple, “As much as I respect you I demand the same in return. Do not try it again.” 

She huffed, crossing her arms, “It’s not like I was going to touch you. I know you’d get all over me for that.” Again she pointed at the file, “Whatever it is you can let me help you with it. It’s not like you made me manager just to stick me with desk work.” 

He merely raised a brow at her, mild bemusement soothing the smoldering wrath lodged in his chest. The fact that she was right wasn’t enough to sway him yet, however, “Regardless, I am able to handle this situation. I do not require your assistance.” Stoutly he turned away from the raised brow she gave him, file tucked away under his arm again.

The digital dial in the corner blinked down from ten. His temple throbbed.

A sharp inhale brought him pause, confusion trickling over the ire before the file was ripped out of his grasp.

The jump he made nearly launched him into the wall. Weavile was yowling, swiping the air in the vague direction of the opposite shoulder. He snapped to look at her, eyes wide.

Mars was staring down at the pages, her own scowl twisting her face, “Another one? Really? It hasn’t even been a week since the last one-”

“What did I say.” It was not a question. The hike in her shoulders marked the shift in demeanor, “I am perfectly,” He snatched the file out of her hand, “Capable of handling it. Do not. Do that. Again.” The scowl on his face pulled sharp. Fire licked at his insides, spitting between his teeth and directed at his underling.

Her red hair shadowed her eyes as she cowed. The clipboard that had been set under her arm drummed under frantic fingers, the other hand resting on her stomach. Nervous. Something she rarely was, especially with his irritation common during their trysts. She was a spitfire, but had her limits.

He did not lessen. His glare remained absolute, pinning the woman to the other side of the elevator. He knew she could feel it, ‘like ice if it had a voice’ she’d said once. Good. If it keeps her hands to herself, the better. 

But the fire in his bones cooled the further they dropped. A count of five, blinking across the digital clock above, had his hand gripping the bridge of his nose to calm his nerves. Jitters wracked his fingers as they pinched the flesh.

He breathed. Twice more. And released with a sigh, “...Apologies.” Her feet shuffled, edging further away. The hand shifted to rub at his aching forehead and drag down his face, “...I am under threat of a migraine, and any more stress is highly unwelcome.” He mumbled behind his hand, turning his glare to the doors, “I understand that you are curious, but I will have to go over the details in the meeting tomorrow anyway, so you will have to be patient for me.” The last words were tacked on unconsciously, yet still with intent.

The final dings of the elevator almost covered her soft voice, “....Okay…” 

Mercifully, the doors finally open, though he was unsure how merciful it was.

He breathed, the stifled air of the elevator purging into the lobby. Electricity crackled in the air, still present even so far away from the generators. Coworkers and visitors alike milled about the base floor of the building. 

As he lowered his hand, jitters sated for now, she called to him again, “I’m sorry..”

He paused. Once. Twice.

“I know. You are forgiven.” 

It was not much. It was all he could offer. 

He still relaxed under the surprisingly peppy chirp that followed her steps away, “Later, Cyrus! I’ll get you a coffee when you get back!” And then she was gone. Somewhere else in the vast halls of the lobby.

Shoulders uncoiled, he strode off himself. He could call it something like relief, what flooded in under his ribs, and he welcomed it. The fire stoked by the innocent file under his arm snuffed under the weight and released the majority of the tension in his body. He wouldn’t have noticed if it was raining had he not kept his eyes forward. 

The Weavile on his shoulder shook her head, flickers of red and black at the edge of his vision. She scratched at an ear idly. Her claws sunk into his clavicle at the sway of his steps, blocked by the texture of his jacket. She settled calmly back into her place with a subtle purr rumbling against his neck.

He spared the pokemon a glance before nodding towards the secretary. The doors of the lobby opened swiftly at his approach, aglow with the afternoon sun. It was calm, barely anyone was out due to the hour. Likely many were out to lunch or back in their workplace to continue the day. Whichever it was, he cared little.

A subtle breeze carried the scent of Spring. Fresh cut grass from the morning crews and exhaust from the city street. The tang of distant storms was in the air, coloring the heat with humid warmth.

Weavile adjusted herself again, clawing about to the other shoulder to escape the sun. Cold seeped into his jacket to offer reprieve from the relatively minor heat. Bitter little mewls left her curled snout as she snapped her teeth at the sun. 

He paid her no mind, turning away from where he paused at the doors. As they clacked closed he raised a hand to the file once more, ready to pull it free and sift through it yet again.

Something slammed into his side.

He barely lurched over, shoulders stiffened sharply with a grunt as he froze in place. The mass tumbled off and to the concrete with an unceremonious smack.

The yowls Weavile’s little throat screeched were lost in the ringing in his ears. Jolts twitched in his hands, shoulders hiked up into his neck. The pokemon had shifted at some point, her white claws waving across his vision as she struggled to reach whatever had hit him. 

Spasms wracked his chest. Air refused to fill his lungs. Tension snapped every bone in his body to attention, pressure building within the sinew the longer it held. 

Breathe. He needed to breathe. 

Forcibly jerking his chest into action he inhaled sharply. The sudden influx of cool spring air pushed out the chains tightening in his ribs, a second wind surging through his lungs. Jerking hands clenched at his sides as the rush slowly faded.

Once. Twice. Thrice. However more.

His eyes stung when he blinked, open for however long. Tight muscle relaxed with every breath, cold ice in his veins warmed to a more tolerable temperature. He still had to breathe manually, the spasms of his body redirecting most cognitive thought from rational to panicked.

Once. Twice. 

A deep breath finally soothed the nerves wracked by terror. He was hunched forwards when he’d fully returned to himself, hands fisted until his nails dug into his palms. Shivers bolted up and down his spine not unlike the power lines he worked so diligently with. 

Breathe. The cool air filled his lungs with the faint scent of the wildflowers growing in the nearby woods. A Combee was buzzing somewhere in the distance, no doubt after the wild plantlife.

Again he closed his eyes. The breath released, taking the tension with it into the unknown where it belonged. Instinctually he straightened, brushing off the front of his jacket from whatever may have caught on it in his stupor. Then he turned with the deepest scowl he could manage, retort on his tongue.

It died the instant he failed to find the familiar Galactic jacket most of his underlings bore.

Instead bright colors assaulted his senses. Palettes a mixture of light and dark mixed harmoniously in a vest atop a simple shirt. Something like jeans or dark pants meshed with the bright yellow of canvas shoes. 

Far from regulation was the first thought to come to mind. Absurd the second. None of his employees wore anything like it. He blinked, struggling to comprehend what he was looking at. 

You were staring back, eyes wide. 

Again he jumped, shoulders jerking out of their somewhat lax state. Weavile’s feathers nudged against his ear at the motion. 

Someone had run into him. A person had touched him, unwillingly. The jitters threatened to rise through his ribs again in the cracks shaking his composure. He firmly stifled them back, clenching his hands back into fists.

Flames licked at your side. Panic slipped in quickly before ebbing as the Chimchar scuttled off the ground. Little speckles of leaves dusted it;s back from when it fell, likely tossed off in the impact. The big ears fluttered against its face while it scratched its fur clean.

You were still staring up at him. Eyes flickered over his face, focusing on his for a moment before darting away. He could feel the pull of his brow lowering at the intensity in your gaze.

Barks pulled his attention away. Bright orange leered up from your hip, the Riolu stationed closely. A strip of leather adorn it’s neck clipped to a leash stretched up to your belt loop. It’s muzzle contorted in a small scowl, intently focused as the pokemon held a paw out towards him. 

The moment ended just as swiftly as it started. Riolu blinked, leer softening as it turned. Little barks were directed up but not to you specifically, the Chimchar snapping it’s attention at the other with bright eyes before smiling. Tapping your cheek, it waved a hand in your face with select fingers folded.

He was left blinking in the suddenness of it all. Barely a moment was given to react before the flashing colors had you shift your attention towards the ape on your shoulder. Once you’d taken in the hand motion you sighed, all tension in your shoulders dropping. You sagged on the spot in the daze.

He, however, was left to his own devices. Feathers brushed against his neck as his pokemon adjusted herself, a snout peeking into the edge of his vision. Exactly what had transpired eluded him in the stupor he found himself in. Something fluttered at his feet and, startled out of his thoughts, he looked down.

A piece of paper was stuck against his shoe. One bearing a very familiar stamp.

He stomped on it properly before picking it up. When returned to himself, he noticed the weight of the file was absent beneath his arm. Pages were already in the midst of scattering across the grounds in flickers of white. Definitely an unwelcome development, but the wind was light. It was unlikely the documents would scatter.

Of course luck would not enjoy his company, as it would be the moment he started to gather the pages that a breeze would sweep them up in it’s gale. 

A frustrated sigh was halfway through his tense jaw before he heard it. Your voice piped up in the middle of the ensuing chaos, “Oh no! Cherry!”

Immediately the Chimchar leaped off your shoulder. It darted off into the grass after one of the many pages floating away and squeaking in delight all the while. Nimble hands snatched the paper out of the air with a hoot, the other threatening to leave the premises caught soon after. 

He turned back to you as you got to your knees, picking up whatever papers had fluttered your way, “I’m so sorry, sir! I didn’t see you until now!” You tapped the pages into uniformity before grabbing a few more, “I was in the middle of running and I just- I wasn’t paying attention..” 

Bewilderment was a persistent emotion, he realized. It stuck into his ribs like honey in a Combee hive and just refused to listen no matter how hard he scrubbed at it with reason. Instead of fighting longer he stowed it away as best he could, crouching to grab an errant paper before it scuttled away, “Do not apologize. I understand.” Maybe he didn’t, but he’d already exploded at one person today and felt thoroughly drained at the idea of repetition. He studied the page for a moment before placing it before the one in hand, “Mistakes happen.”

“Still, I should have been watching where I was going-oh thank you, Cherry.” The Chimchar chattered amiably as you took the pages from it, “Thank you for getting these. Now go get the others.” The pokemon, Cherry, bounced on it’s feet before giving chase.

Weavile had leaped off his shoulder at some point to chase pages herself. She leaped up, snatching an adventurous paper fluttering with the wind. The two nearly collided into one another in their combined efforts. Claws swiped and flames flickered but the spat ended as quickly as it started when even more pages fluttered off as they came to their own agreements. With both pokemon after the documents he had little worry about it getting more complicated than it was. Though he found it odd that only one of your pokemon was out searching. His eyes turned to you again with the errant file open in hand.

It was then he took notice of the vest adorning it’s body, letters written in bright, fluorescent fabric sprawled over a side.

‘Service Pokemon: Do Not Pet’

Ah, so that was why.

The papers were swiftly returned and organized into numeric order within the folder. He was careful not to brush hands with you when you handed your collection to him, wary of the Riolu’s leer still upon him. Brushing off the excess grass, and stubbornly ignoring the light stains scattered about, he stood up, “Thank you for your help.” He hoped he didn;t sound as stilted as he felt, “I was unsure I would regain them all by myself.”

You got to your feet a careful few paces away, “Don’t worry about it. I was trying to go out for a run with Poppy and I guess I lost track of where I was going.” You scratched at your head, looking around for a moment, “I…actually don;t know where I am..”

“Veilstone City. I assume you live closeby.” He pulled his gaze back to you, “It would be unlikely you would run from a different city entirely.” 

The bluntness in his voice pulled a flinch, which he felt the sting of guilt for. You tapped your hands together as you glanced away, “I-Um, yeah. I live a bit outside of town. Too much noise..” You trailed off for a moment, the Chimchar climbing back onto your shoulder snapping you out of your thoughts, “Ah! Um, I’m sorry but I don’t think I got your name?”

He blinked. That was…not a question many were willing to ask. Most he met would simply leave him to his business, whatever it may be. He’d never been in the position to mingle either, so the question caught him off guard, “......Cyrus. Why.” 

“Oh-uh well, we did kind of run into each other, right? My name is (Y/N), if-if that helps.” You were gesturing vaguely the entire time you spoke, hands going from gripping a hip to rubbing your neck. Nerves, he assumed, not that he faired better.

“(Y/N). Greetings, then.” The stiffness was back in his voice, again, “I apologize for the response, earlier. I had not been expecting a conversation.” Or to be run into, which was the real reason he apologized. He hoped that you wouldn’t be too upset or hurt; he had enough on his plate with the current problem he had in hand.

You, however, just waved him off with a bluster, “No no, it’s alright! I get it, really.” A small, timid smile was on your face before it faded into curiosity, “Although, I did notice how Weavile-your pokemon I mean, acted after I ran into you. Is..is he trained for that?” Hesitant eyes flickered between the two of them.

Weavile scuttled up his leg as he nodded, “Yes. She is.” He was careful with the correction, “I cannot claim myself as the sole reason. She is quite intelligent and was able to deduce that I am unused to physical contact on her own. How she managed it for me was something I worked with for some time however,” Said pokemon nuzzled carefully into his jaw as he scratched her cheek, “Normally, she would outright attack anyone who strayed too close. I have broken that habit of hers, do not be concerned.” 

The small flicker of fear upturning your eyes quickly faded, “Oh. Oh okay.” You were fiddling with your hands again, smile back on your face, “I thought you’d gotten her trained professionally with how well she acts. That’s what I had to do with Cherry, since she wouldn’t sit still long enough to pay attention.” The Chimchar merely batted at your hand when you gestured to her, completely ignorant to everything.

He tilted his head, intrigued, “So I see. Your Riolu had the same treatment, then?” He waved the file still in his hand towards the steel type, orange eyes staring back blankly.

“Um, no not really. Poppy is uh, is a bit different.” You jangled the leash attached to your belt loop, catching the Riolu’s attention, “She was actually from a specialty breeder before I set up to train Cherry. They were trained together, you see, so that they could work for me when I needed them. They’re uh, to help me function in public.” You were scratching your neck again, glancing away from his gaze.

If he were to guess–something he didn;t do often–he could make many assumptions as to why you had two service pokemon. The way you held yourself spoke volumes even if you didn’t realize; your eyes flickering away when you’d had enough eye contact was quite telling in itself. He could relate, in a way, during his younger years when the world was far too large and when he had no security to turn to. He nodded once more, glancing down towards the Riolu, Poppy, again, “I understand. I assume they are for your anxiety.”

You cringed, “....Is it that obvious..?” Hand rubbing at an arm you held your gaze away, the Chimchar chattering softly as she patted your chin. Even the Riolu was looking up at you with her paw gripping your pant leg. 

He remained quiet for a moment to weigh his words. If he spoke to soon, or too bluntly, then he could inadvertently cause you harm and possibly set back whatever progress you had. He was well aware of how much work it took just to get to the position he was now. Though he barely knew you, he was loathe to reset your effort.

So he set his shoulders, head tilted as he studied your face before answering, “Yes, but only because I know what to look for. As you might understand.” He gestured towards his pokemon, her soft feathers nudging into his jaw as he spoke.

A soft smile lifted the corners of your mouth, “I guess so. But I thought it was kind of obvious.” You waved a hand towards the pokemon at your shin that shuffled closer without breaking her focus on your face. 

Not once did you look at him even as he spoke, “Yes. Granted, as I said, I am well versed enough to understand what to look for. Not many others would be able to see it, unless they knew beforehand.” He let himself fall silent to wait for your own to pass.

Hands fidgeted with one another as you kept your gaze away from him, bangles around your wrists clinking in the motions. When you did answer your voice was soft enough that he almost missed it, “Okay. I just…I guess I’m still rattled. I know I shouldn’t be so upset about someone noticing.” You finally looked at him again with a hand scratching at your temple, “I guess we’re both a little messed up from earlier, huh?”

The nerves in your eyes churned in his chest. Spikes of guilt jabbed into his ribs as they pulled inwards. He hadn’t meant to come off as aggressive, but the constant oppression of his own employees ignorance wore his patience thin. It was only a matter of time before he’d finally snapped on the wrong person; he’d only hoped for more time before then.

A sharp knocking turned his attention away. The glass doors were still shut at his back, the secretary’s bright green eyes flitting between him and you. Her hand hovered over the landline against the wall with a deep crease in her brow. His eyes widened briefly before he shook his head.

He did not wait to see her return as he turned back to you. You were staring into the window as if you’d only just noticed it was there, wide eyes jumping around to take in the entire lobby, “I must apologize for my rudeness but I must be going. I was set out to accomplish something important and I intend to finish before the day ends.” Clipped. To the point. As he always was to most. Though now, it was the first time you were subjected to his matter of fact nature. 

Chimchar, Cherry, clambered to the other side of your shoulder to wave into the glass, “O-Oh, okay. Right.” Your wide eyes flitted wildly, hands fidgeting in plastic, “I’m sorry I got in your way.”

“Nonsense.” Weavile’s feathers brushed his neck as she shook her head with his, “It was merely an unfortunate happenstance. It’s unlikely to happen again.” He ignored the sense of repetition itching in his skull for your sake. File set securely under his arm once more he turned to take his leave.

“W-Wait!”

He paused. Confusion weaved into his brow as he glanced at you.

You were fiddling again. Nervous ticks abounded in your shuffling feet and fleeting gaze. Riolu stood proudly at your side with her eyes focused upon him, Chimchar mirroring her gaze with less intent and far more curiosity. Your hands twiddled, “U-Um, d-do you come out here often?”

A cooling breeze ruffled his hair. Soft purrs rumbled across his collar from the pokemon stationed on it. All thought came to an abrupt halt.

Out of everything that he’d dealt with today, collision included, that was the last thing on his mind. Any chance of something coherent coming out of his mouth was swiftly tossed out the metaphorical window. Instead he just, stared at you, blinking owlishly. No matter how long the silence went on–which was for seconds too long–you refused to look at him properly. 

So you just stood there in the slowly fading afternoon sun, pokemon at both of your sides, with you staring hard at your hands and him staring at you.

‘Awkward’ would be how Mars would put it. It was not, and would not, be the last time he was grateful she was nowhere nearby.

Finally, mercifully, you looked up. A curve was in your brow as if you were just as bewildered as he was, “...What?”

“...What?” 

“Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?”

He glanced at Weavile with nerves curdling in his gut, “..What kind of a question is that?”

You were giving him the same expression with a new twist in your lips, “W-Well I think it’s a good question because I don’t know why you’re giving me that look-”

“No-No not that one. The one before it.”

“What?” Even Poppy was looking between the two of them now. In fact both of your pokemon were ping-ponging their eyes between them both like it was the most entertaining experience they’d had in days.

Nervous energy won out over his control as he scratched at the bridge of his nose just to give himself the excuse not to look at you for a moment, “Not that. ‘Do you come here often.’ What did you mean by that.” He had to force the words out without betraying the shock in his voice, though he was unsure if he was successful.

The same confused expression sat on your face even after he said it. A tilt in your head added on to the near innocence in your demeanor before your own words seemed to click somewhere behind your eyes. And immediately you dissolved into panic, “N-No no I didn’t mean like that! I-I take this route every Wednesday and I don;t want to run into you again!”

Tension sighed out of his lungs instantly. His eyes flicked towards your frantically waving hands as he straightened, “No. This is not a common occurrence. It isn’t often that I leave the building until 5PM on the dot.” 

Your shoulders relaxed as well, “Good! That’s-That’s good. Yeah.” Your hands were fiddling again as you glanced down at the Riolu, still at attention at your hip, “I should probably get going too. Me and Poppy still have a run to make.”

“And where will your route take you?” He couldn’t help asking the same, “I would prefer knowing if I have to make a change in my return.”

“Oh, I just go down this path until I hit the pokecenter and loop back around.” You pointed somewhere ahead of him, “I-It’s not a very long route so I usually get back around 3.”

He nodded, “Excellent. I will be sure to keep my attention sharp.” Cold started to seep into his jacket again, nimble claws kneading absently. A bemoaning mewl rumbled in his ear from the poor pokemon forced to endure the sun’s heat without him to play barrier between them, “I apologize again for leaving so suddenly.” He glanced at the Weavile, ignoring the pout in her muzzle, “What I must attend to leaves me little time for much else. I assume I will be at it for some time.” 

“Okay. So, I guess I’ll just get going then. Poppy.” Said Riolu snapped her eyes up to you at the jangle of her leash, “Let’s go. Come on, hup!” With a snap of the leather the pokemon started dashing away with you at her heels. The little Chimchar waved amicably from your shoulder as you passed, her little chatters of farewell prompting you to do the same. 

Curtly nodding, he stepped aside. He watched you for a moment; you trailed off down the path further on, Riolu at your side one you caught up. Both of you fell into near sink with one another as you jogged around the corner and out of his line of sight.

Content, he pulled the file out from under his arm. Pages of lingo flitted past as he flicked through the entire piece, each one in it’s place.

That is, until he reached the end.

It was the same photo as before. Blonde hair tousled, eyes straight; a picture of attempted professionalism marred by the same stamp. Though now the young man’s face was streaked with green, in the distinct shape of a certain ape pokemon’s palm.

At some point he would have felt the same wrath flare in his chest at such a notion. That one of his documents had been damaged in any way was cause enough for a swift scolding, let alone to be damaged so permanently. But now the flames barely licked at his sternum. It wasn;t as if you knew, of course, that your pokemon had done such a thing; even more likely that she didn’t either. 

An accident was all it was. Nothing more. 

Whatever the case, he’d deal with it later. He rearranged the page back to the front and the file swiftly snapped shut. Stuffing it back under his arm he turned back onto the path. Weavile situated herself atop his shoulder, more comfortable from the heat now that his head was back in the way. Little purrs vibrated her claws as her whiskers nuzzled his cheek. 

He cast a brief glance towards where you’d disappeared as he reached the crossway, turning the opposite.

He had lost time to make up. The police station was far enough as it was.

[bubblytarts]

The Adults of the Emissary AU

Because of course our protagonists can’t take on all these bad guys by themselves! There are lots of grown-ups who TOTALLY know what they’re doing, haha! (Which, of course, is a lie. They have no idea what’s going on either!)

And there’s also the bad guys here that play important parts, because they’re here too, and some play some very interesting roles.

*Also disclaimer that there is some shipping. 

HAHA AND THE THEME OF THIS GOING UNDER THE CUT BECAUSE IT’S WAY TOO LONG CONTINUES

Giovanni - As if he wouldn’t be included. After being defeated by Blue and then completely decimated by Red, Giovanni disappeared. But not to hide, but to gather his new forces. He would love for Silver to join him, but his son wants nothing to do with him. Giovanni is not someone to empathize with. He is cold, calculating, and willing to do terrible things to get his power and revenge. 

Lance - Lance is an interesting case, but a crucial one. Lance is normally very calm with an intense edge, but recently that’s changed. He’s been having nightmares about a little girl, who warns him of terrible things yet to come. This has been going on for a while, and Lance is getting a little desperate as to what it all means. 

Steven - As the Champion of the Hoenn region, Steven wants to do what’s best for both people and pokemon. He convinces Brendan to feel the same once he realizes that Brendan might defeat him in a challenge. However, his father and the pokemon league may not agree with some of Steven’s environmentalist methods, as the league is pushing for a more industrial approach. It makes the confrontation with Teams Magma and Aqua more intense for Steven, who agrees with their end goals, but not the means of going about it. 

Wallace - Wallace is the Sootopolis gym leader, a contest idol, the guardian of the Cave of Origin, and Steven’s loyal husband. Wallace is much more laid-back than Steven, and so is helpful in calming Steven, Brendan, and May down when they all get hyped up about something. Wallace also is an incredibly skilled trainer, and fights both Archie and Maxie at the same time, defeating Maxie before Archie slips away. 

Archie - Archie’s motivation is the same as it always has been. However, he would very much like to be friends with Maxie again, as it seemed like their friendship was developing into something more before they split into Magma and Aqua. But now, Kyogre is all that matters. Beat Maxie. Increase the sea. Those are the only rules. But there should have been an extra rule about making sure to not touch the Blue Orb, because that’s where the real problem is.

Maxie - Maxie’s motivation is the same as it always has been. While he wants to talk to Archie about their past, his pride won’t let him, and if that fails, Tabitha definitely won’t let him. In the meantime, summon Groudon. When Maxie is defeated by Wallace at the Cave of Origin, Archie surges ahead to summon Kyogre. While Maxie is able to summon Groudon to fight Kyogre, he has much bigger problems with Archie’s situation. And then of course, is when Giovanni makes his entrance.

Cynthia - Cynthia is a bit scatterbrained and tends to ramble on, but she knows that something is amiss. It’s pure luck that Dawn, Barry, and Lucas figure out Team Galactic’s plans before her, but she’s always right there to make sure the kids never get in over their heads. As for the leader of Team Galactic, she never thought she’d see him again, and as soon as she stops Giratina, she’s having a very stern talk about how you don’t abandon friends. Unfortunately, Cynthia doesn’t really get to have that talk. 

Cyrus - Cyrus’s motivation has always been the same. To get rid of spirit. Dawn and Cynthia just keep interrupting his plans and trying to talk to him about feelings and happiness. Getting trapped in the Distortion World isn’t the worst, if it means he can avoid talking to Cynthia, but Giovanni has other plans. 

Ghetsis - Ghetsis is the worst. There’s literally nothing else to say. He tries to kill N constantly once N figures out that Ghetsis isn’t as kind as he says he is. He’s dismissive of Colress. And he’s the reason that Hilbert goes missing for two years. Ghetsis is so mean he makes Giovanni look like a Dunsparce. He inserts himself into Giovanni’s evil boy band with the plan of taking over. At least he’s not subtle about it. Giovanni knows exactly what’s going on.

Colress - Colress is one of the only members of Rainbow Rocket to voluntarily join, and the only one of the voluntary ones to not be seeking revenge. He’s merely interested in what Giovanni intends to do with this “Ultra Space” plan of his. If he can study the strange readings he’s been getting from certain trainers, then he’ll be happy. That, and if Ghetsis and Rosa will both leave him alone. 

Sycamore - Sycamore has a lot of issues. All signs point to Lysandre somehow being involved with Team Flare, but he would never do something that stupid. And when the truth comes out, how can Sycamore ever forgive the man he thought he’d spend the rest of his life with?

Diantha - Diantha knows that Lysandre must be involved with Team Flare, but she doesn’t want to accuse him without having any solid proof. If it’s not true, she’ll ruin her friendship with Lysandre. If it’s true, Sycamore will be inconsolable. Diantha’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Lysandre - Lysandre knows the world must be purified. Even at great personal loss. His plan is to keep Diantha off his back and Sycamore blissfully unaware. But then a crucial part of his plan goes missing, and Lysandre fails to see his best laid plans falling to pieces around him. Even when he is left for dead, Giovanni and Colress can’t seem to let him die in peace. 

Kukui - Kukui’s pretty chill, considering that the kids are discovering portals to a suspicious alternate world. That’s more Burnet’s thing, anyway. He figures that Selene can handle herself with that, and he might need to hop in to help Elio with taking down Team Skull. He’s got some unfinished business he really would like to discuss. 

Burnet - Burnet is one of the lucky ones. She avoids getting involved with the Ultra Space fiasco in Alola, but manages to learn a lot from the experience. What comes first in her mind now is to fix the friendships that have been damaged by past events, like Kukui and Guzma’s. Her experience with Ultra devices will definitely come in handy though.

Guzma - Guzma had a tough time when Lusamine got involved with Ultra Space, but now he’s having a nice time helping Kukui around the lab. They’re on much better terms now, and Guzma’s ready to put his past behind him. It’s a shame Rainbow Rocket goes after him first.

Lusamine - Lusamine went into hiding after being defeated by Selene, Elio, and their friends. Giovanni quickly reached out to her, and Lusamine became one of the most loyal members of Rainbow Rocket. She even got Colress to promise her a Nihilego sometime. She has yet to cash in the deal, but it’s there.

Faba - It was Lusamine who recommended that Giovanni invite Faba to help Colress with his latest project. Colress despises the man, but Faba definitely helped to get the project off the ground a lot quicker. 

Leon - As Galar’s champion, Leon’s a busy man. Lucky for him, he’s got Rose to support him. However, some of Rose’s behavior is a bit concerning. Leon may be the worst at reading directions, but he’s got a knack for reading people. Rose is up to something, and Leon’s going to protect Hop and his friends from whatever Rose is scheming. 

Sonia - Sonia’s got a lot on her plate as the new pokemon professor of Galar. Most recently, she’s been invited to help work on the Universal PokeDex and help write the entries on Dynamax. If only she wasn’t a technology disaster. 

Rose - Rose knows what has to be done for Galar. He also knows that Leon isn’t clever enough to catch on. That may not be true. Rose hires Victor as his personal photographer, and while the future of Galar comes first, Victor has a very interesting story from his time in Kalos, and Rose is desperate to know what secret the boy is leaving out.

Looker - Looker’s investigated teams Rocket, Galactic, and Flare, and been hired to help track down former members of every other team that’s popped up in the past decade. Too many coincidences are happening to let the leaders of these organizations escape him, and Looker knows he’s about to crack the case. 

[legendaryandroid]

Wasn’t tagged, but wanted to participate in this questionnaire anyways.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 41

2) What's your total AO3 word count? 

417,725

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

I’ve written for 12 different fandoms, a lot are various FE games, but then i have a decent amount for Detroit: Become Human and some for Octopath Traveler and HLVRAI.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Staredown - a humorous DBH fic where Connor is giving Gavin trouble.

Running Towards You - a soulmate AU for Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson involving soulwords

Waiting For You - a soulmate AU for Yusei Fudu/Jaden Yuki involving timers and time travel

Take it or Leave it - a Hank Anderson & Connor fic involving a/b/o (but no smut)

A Simple Reflection of You - a platonic soulmate AU for Hank Anderson & Connor where you see your soulmate if you’re both looking in the mirror at the same time

(Yes, I really love writing soulmate AUs, and for funsies I try to make all their titles end in ‘you’)

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not? 

I flip back and forth on this. It seems polite so I’ll try and do it, but at the same time I get a bit nervous about it and wonder if anyone even wants to get a response?

6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t write a lot of angsty fic, but probably either Waiting for You, or Stuck on You. Though they’re almost more bittersweet than angsty? Actually, I suppose Until Separation Ends might be a bit angsty at the end.

7) What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I’m gonna go with 2+1=3 just for cutesy Taiju/Senku/Yuzuriha getting together shenanigans.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've written? 

I don’t, mostly because the ones I think of tend not to have anything solid enough for me to write about it. Right now I’ve been thinking about a Star Wars/Red vs Blue crossover where the reds and blues are actually all clone troopers. It’d probably take place during the prequels, with the usual red and blue shenaniganery happening in the background of major events.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I have not thankfully. At most I’ve gotten a comment or two where someone seemed displeased with my story choices, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it hate? I’m way too unknown to get hate I think.

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Noooope. I’m way too embarrassed to write any kind of smut, and honestly am not really sure how to go about writing it in a way that’s engaging? Though I do have a smut-ish idea that is haunting me enough that I may take a stab at it.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

Doubtful, but I wouldn’t know.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Nope.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

Yep, me and my bestie yamarik wrote the Yakuza 13 series together. It’s a modern AU where Sora and Vanitas are twins who get adopted by Organization 13, who are gangsters. (also, if you like the K anime, and especially Fushimi/Yata, check yamarik’s works out!)

14) What's your all time favourite ship?

My favorite ship flows and changes as I shift fandoms, so it never stays the same. Currently I’ve been focused on Cyrus/Therion (Octopath Traveler), but May/Steven (Pokemon) and Link/Zelda are sorta longstanding ones.

15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

basically all of them? jk jk. Umm, probably my Sylvain&Miklan relationship study fic. It’s about the time Miklan abandons Sylvain on a mountain in the middle of winter. I wanted to explore the idea of Sylvain always looking up to Miklan, almost like a hero, even if he could be a jerk sometimes. And this moment, when he manages to get back home and sees everyone freaking out and Miklan angry that he made it back, is when Sylvain realizes that Miklan truly hates him. (I also wanted to like, drop bits in there where it shows Miklan does, in a way, care for Sylvain, but it’s overwhelmed by his hatred). But alas, i cannot seem to get myself to write the last few pages.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I would say having straightforward and easy to understand writing. Also I’m great at coming up with fun plots and ideas, but IDK how much that relates to writing specifically?

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue, I feel like I have trouble keeping dialogue in character and that it tends to be too straightfoward in driving the plot. And when it is more casual, it just feels clunky.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 

As long as there’s a translation at the end of the chapter it’s used in I’m fine. Unless there is vital information in there that a reader can’t pick up from the context around it.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Dengeki Daisy, an old-ish shoujo manga. Fun fact: This fic was also the first one for the fandom on ffnet.

20) What's your favourite fic you've written? 

we found love in a garbage place A HLVRAI Coomer/Bubby fic.This fic I really focused on trying to portray Coomer the way I wanted to, and it worked out really well. (Also honorable mention to my OT fic Divine Enlightenment, because that came together delightfully.)