#but i love the tidbits about them building forts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

teshamerkel · 1 year

Photo

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 42] (37 Pages)

<< First | < Previous | Next >

AO3 Link

The investigation into the earthquakes begins.

It’s fully dark by time their cart pulls into Fort Asra. Their path is lit by the full moon overhead, helped by the soft golden glow of lantern light spilling from the town’s windows.

The town is…rustic. Long dirt roads crisscross through squat buildings made of wood, clay and stone. Wagons and carts much like their own are parked on the sides of the road. The sky overhead is vast and glittering with stars. From up ahead, the muted babble of voices and music filter outside from a larger building with the shutters on its windows cracked open.

It’s like a town out of one of the old western shows Nia used to watch with her mom and brother. Her chest pangs as she thinks of how much they would have loved to be here with her. It’s like stepping into the television, but even better because of how real it all is. The breeze nips cool and playful at her fur, and with it comes a surprisingly fresh, earthy scent.

When the two ponyta slow to a stop, it’s in front of a larger building. A sign over the front door labels it as both an inn and a saloon, and voices float out from the rowdy crowd inside. As Nia climbs out of the cart and stretches her legs, she’s surprised to feel the dirt underfoot isn’t as dry as she expects.

“This’ll be where we part ways,” The rapidash says, not unkindly. “You have enough poké to book a room at the inn?“

Tobias nods. “We’ll be fine. Thanks for the ride.”

“Thank you for saving our hides,” the rapidash returns with a dip of his head. “And good luck with your mission. Be careful. Come on, kids.”

The two ponyta give a parting flick of their fiery tails and trot after the rapidash, off to their next stop.

Nia crosses her arms with a shiver. “Yeah, we’d better book a room. Deserts can get below freezing at night and I do not want to sleep outside again.”

Tobias, mouth open to respond, stops to blink at her. “Wait. What?”

Nia stares back. “What?”

“The—the thing about deserts. Deserts are hot. I figured it was so cold thanks to the natural disaster uh…” he waves his hand vaguely around. “Stuff.”

“Oh!” Nia shakes her head, excited to share a tidbit of knowledge from her human life. “No, we learned this in biology class! Deserts naturally get really cold at night. Something about them not being able to absorb heat from the sun and hold it after dark.”

Tobias looks mildly impressed. “Huh. Random thing to know.”

Nia barks a laugh. “American school system at work. God forbid I have to figure out taxes or make a resume, but I’ve got a whole treasure trove of random science facts ready to go.”

Tobias snorts, turning to enter the inn. “I understood maybe half of that sentence.”

Nia laughs, eagerly following him into the ruckus and light of the inn. “Doesn’t matter. Just know that deserts are wild.”

Speaking of wild, the large open room that awaits them inside is full of Pokemon. There’s a small, makeshift band playing something like old country music in a far-off corner, but everyone else is socializing. Chatting and eating and drinking. One or two tables are playing some kind of betting game, if the stacks of poké on the table are anything to gauge by. It’s like walking into a warm wall of sound and hearty scents.

Nia’s stomach growls, and she lifts her nose to take a deep breath. She doesn’t know what that is, but it smells delicious.

“Food, then sleep?” Nia asks Tobias.

After surviving off packed lunches for the past couple of days, Tobias agrees a little too quickly. They nudge their way into the room and up to the bartender, a tall, fluffy rabbit Pokemon who’s busy cleaning a glass. She’s brown and cream, with striking pink eyes, but she seems almost distracted as she gazes out at the small crowd of patrons.

Nia clears her throat, and the rabbit startles. Then she smiles. “Pardon me, strangers. Passin’ through?”

Tobias is looking a bit irritable and overwhelmed by the crowd right behind them, so Nia picks up the conversation.

“Actually, we’ll probably be here for a few days for a mission. Granite called us in. Do you know who we could talk to about ordering some food and booking a room for the night?”

“You’re talkin’ to her,” the rabbit says with a wink. “I’ll get you taken care of, kiddos.”

The rabbit—a lopunny named Deidra, apparently—quickly takes their orders and sends word off with a passing Pokemon. Then, she pulls a key out from under the bar and presses it into Nia’s palm with instructions to head upstairs to the left, to the first door on the right. They’ll send their food up for them.

If Nia weren’t exhausted from the trip over, she might be tempted to stay downstairs and socialize with the townsfolk. Maybe learn how to play that game, even. As it is, though, she follows Tobias upstairs and to their room, flopping facedown into the first nest she sees.

“We’re waiting until tomorrow to go find Granite, right?” She asks into the bedding.

Tobias slumps into the nest beside her, groaning. “Definitely.”

Their food is delicious when a little round shrew Pokemon, gold and almost armored, brings it up to them. Smaller portions than she expects, but Nia barely makes it through the whole thing anyways before letting sleep take her.

——————————————————————————————————

She grumbles when Tobias shakes her awake the next morning, even if she feels leagues more rested than she did the night before.

“C’mon, I even let you sleep in,” Tobias says, nudging her in the ribs with his foot.

She whines and bats him away, trying to bury her face and return to sleep. “Your version of sleeping in doesn’t count.”

Tobias snorts. “Too bad, it’s the only one you’re getting. We’ve got a Pokemon to find and suspicious earthquakes to investigate.”

By time Tobias drags her outside, it’s still early morning but admittedly not as early as it could’ve been. The sun is just starting to rise above the horizon line. Long, cool shadows stretch across the dirt roads, and the air is still chilly, snapping Nia awake like a slap to the face.

She shivers, feeling the ruff of fur around her neck fluff with the cold. “O-Okay. Do we have any idea where to find this Granite guy?”

To her surprise, Tobias confidently points to their left. “I asked Deidra this morning. Apparently Granite’s a donphan who runs the general store closer to the edge of town.”

“Oh. Well, that makes it easier than I was expecting.”

The two of them stay to the side of the main dirt road and walk through town to their destination. Nia curiously eyes the townsfolk they pass. Most of them seem to be heading out for the day, a whole group—some of them holding what look like pickaxes—hopping into the back of a cart that’s setting off. A couple of kids run past a few moments later, giggling and chasing a ball—one of them looks like a tiny version of Deidra, and another is a little green plant Pokemon with a trio of leaves atop its head.

“Pretty lively place,” Nia comments, impressed.

“Pokemon gotta live, threat of earthquakes or not.”

Nia nods, frowning as they skirt around a bulky group of Pokemon arranging a palette of lumber and building materials. Behind them, a half-destroyed building is sunk into the earth, its foundations pulled out from under it.

Nia and Tobias carefully hop over a large crack still dissecting the dirt.

Nia sees less of the joviality of the townsfolk as they continue on, too distracted by evidence of injury and caution left by the earthquakes. Two Pokemon cross in front of them to enter a bank, chatting. Bandages wrap around one Pokemon’s head. Her companion walks with a slight limp.

Nia and Tobias finally reach their destination. The door opens with a jingle, and they steps into a quaint, quiet little shop. The wood creaks under her feet, and the air smells like stale air and old books.

Despite that, the store itself looks well-stocked with cooking supplies and odds and ends one might need around the house. There are familiar goods like maps and water flasks, as well as more foreign objects she’s unsure of the purpose of. Most everything is a warm shade of desert sand, tan or brown or a dusty gold.

Nia drifts towards the small section of books set up in the corner, thumbing through the frayed tomes. One of them looks particularly promising, and Nia spends a few moments flipping through it, considering the price tag.

It’s when the silence of the shop registers in Nia’s ears that she reluctantly puts it back, padding through the few shelves until she spots Tobias’ bright orange coloring.

He’s in front of a shelf of random knick-knacks, hand lying on the sleek wooden surface of…a small guitar? A ukelele, maybe? Something stringed.

Tobias’ face is soft and distant, lost in thought.

Faintly, Nia remembers Tobias doing something similar in Ghatha, among the instruments at a merchant’s stall. She’d almost forgotten.

She moves closer, murmuring, “Going to get one?”

Tobias shakes his head. “On our pay? Nah.”

Nia hums. Could she swing getting him something like this for Christmas? Do they even celebrate Christmas? Probably not. Birthday, maybe? When is Tobias’ birthday?

Heavy, slow footsteps come from the back room before Nia can ask, and the curtain is pulled aside by an elephant-like trunk. A sturdy, squat creature—a familiar-looking Pokemon, with a dark gray hide on his back like tire treads—steps out. What did Tobias say those were called in Ghatha? Donphan?

The Pokemon nods to Nia in greeting. Then he looks to her partner.

“Caught your eye, eh?”

Tobias jolts, pulling his hand away like the wood had burned him.

The donphan rumbles a quiet laugh, stepping closer. “S’all right to touch, boy. C’n tell you’ve got an appreciation for music.”

Tobias looks away, shrugging. His eyes flick back to the instrument, as if drawn to it.

Nia turns to the older Pokemon with a polite smile. “Hello! Are you Granite?”

“That I am,” the donphan gruffs, straightening a compass sitting on a shelf. “You two passing through? Can’t imagine what business you’d have here, let alone with me.”

Tobias tears himself away from the instrument to pull out and unfurl the letter from Rosalind. Granite immediately straightens to attention when he sees the looping scrawl, brow lowering.

“Rosa sent you two?”

“We’re stronger than we look,” Tobias grumbles.

Granite snorts. “Wasn’t worried ‘bout strength. Don’t know if strength is what we need. You’re just…younger than I expected. Sure hope you lot don’t owe Rosa much.”

“No debts. Just working for some information.”

Granite nods. “Good, good. Means you still have your head on your shoulders. Well, if Rosa sent you then that means she thinks you can help, one way or another.”

Nia blinks, surprised by the supposed show of…faith? “Really?”

Granite laughs like cracking stone, gravelly and sharp. “Don’t show that lack of confidence to her. She’ll eat you alive.”

“Pretty sure we can’t hide anything from her anyways,” Tobias mumbles.

Granite gestures at Tobias with his tusks. “See? Smart. Well, I reckon smart might be what we need anyways. If you’re here to help, let me fill you in.”

The donphan gestures for them to follow him to the back room. After a moment of hesitation and a shared look, they do.

The room is a small kitchen area, with a low, square table just big enough to fit all three of them around it. Granite clears off a few dishes that look like they were leftover from breakfast, two sets of glasses and plates.

“So you’re here to figure out our little earthquake problem.”

Tobias nods. “What can you tell us? Rosalind’s letter just said that there was unusual earthquake activity and you wanted help looking into it.”

“‘S about the gist of it,” Granite sighs. “Earthquakes have been more common the past few years, just like natural disasters everywhere else. But the past few months have been…something’ else entirely. Earthquakes at least twice a week.”

“Whoa,” Nia breathes. “That sounds awful.”

“Just had one yesterday morning. We should be good for a day or two, but it’s still happening more often than we can keep up with.”

“We saw some construction ‘mon working on a building on the way over,” Tobias says.

“One of many,” Granite grumbles. “Ed’s crew has been busy day in and day out trying to keep up with all o’ the damages.”

“Pokemon are getting hurt too, aren’t they?” Nia asks softly.

“We’ve had a few deaths.”

Nia and Tobias exchange a grave look.

“One nearly killed my partner,” Granite gruffs, something dark in his gaze despite his casual words. “That was the last straw ‘fore I contacted Rosa.”

“Is there anything strange about them aside from the frequency?” Nia asks.

“The quakes…” Granite pauses, gesturing in a circle with his trunk. “They’re too localized to the town. I’ve talked to other travelers and merchants. Got a cousin a bit to the west o’ here. There’s the occasional quake outside of this radius, but nothing like the quakes we get every other night in Asra.”

“Could be the location,” Tobias murmurs.

“Since we’re down in a canyon?” Nia asks. “Would that make a difference?”

Granite makes a doubtful noise. “Possible, but something in my gut’s saying things just ain’t right. And my gut’s rarely wrong.”

“Do you think someone’s behind this?” Nia asks, surprised. “Like…intentionally causing the earthquakes?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“Wouldn’t some of the ground or rock types around here be able to tell if the earthquakes were unnatural?” Tobias asks. “I thought you were usually pretty in tune with stuff like that.”

Granite shakes his head. “If it’s being caused by a Pokemon, we can’t sense any move energy from it. And we’ve all been blamed for this enough—the remaining grounders and rock types are too scared to go digging for fear of being ran out of town or triggering something worse.”

Tobias slowly nods, taking that information in. “All right. Do you have any leads? Suspects?”

“If you ask the townsfolk, me ‘n all the other grounders,” the donphan scoffs, flicking his ears irritably. “I get it—the Pokemon causing this likely has to know some heavy ground moves. They need someone to blame, so it’s either us or the humans.”

Nia’s head snaps up to blink at Granite. Tobias clears his throat, but keeps his poker face much better as he speaks.

“The humans?”

Granite nods. “Had a few livin’ here before the quakes got real bad. They were gettin’ accused even before the grounders were. All that nonsense about the humans causing natural disasters or something. Couple o’ fights broke out and most of ‘em have left at this point.”

With each word, Nia’s stomach sinks further. There were humans here getting blamed for the earthquakes? With so much aggression thrown towards them that they felt forced to leave?

“That doesn’t sound very fair,” Nia whispers, voice breaking. Tobias sends her a warning look out of the corner of his eye.

Granite just snorts. “‘S not. None of this is.”

“What do you think?” Tobias asks him, cautiously.

If Granite notices their change in demeanor, he doesn’t comment on it. “I don’t want to go pointing tusks at anyone on a hunch.”

“But?” Tobias presses.

Granite sighs. “I…have a few suspects myself, but I can’t be sure those aren’t my own grudges talkin’. If you want somewhere to start, talk to Calder first. Only inteleon in all of Faren—tall, blue, wears a brown cloak. Can’t miss him. He’s the sheriff here and will want to know why you’re pokin’ around anyways. He might have somewhere for you to start.“

“So you want us to see what we can find first as an unbiased party.”

Granite nods. “Go poke around a bit and see what you come up with. You can stay here with me ‘n Keo while you’re investigatin’.”

“Thank you,” Nia says, grateful for the hospitality despite her sudden caution towards the town. She’d rather not have to pay for a hotel room the whole time they’re here.

“Thanks,” Tobias echoes, frowning down at the map. “Have no other Seekers looked into this? I thought there was a guild kind of close to here.”

“The closest one is the Pyrite Guild to the southwest,” Granite says, gesturing vaguely to his left. He sounds bitter as he adds, “‘Parently they’re spread too thin trying to cover such a wide area, so they’ve only sent one or two Seekers out to help with repairs and injuries.”

“So there’s already a Seeker team here?” Nia asks. “We could trade notes with them.”

Granite hesitates, then gestures vaguely at the wall in the direction of town. “We’ve only got one right now, been here a while. Kid named Samir. A skiddo. They’re tryin’ to help where they can, but they’re only one ‘mon. Plus, they’re having some difficulties communicating with the locals.”

At that, Nia frowns, tilting her head. “What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t speak,” Granite clarifies, lifting his head and using his trunk to touch at his throat. “Don’t know if it’s a physical thing or what, but haven’t heard a word from ‘em since they got here a few weeks ago. Seems frustrated when the locals don’t get what they’re trying to say, though, so I’d say it’s more than just them being quiet.”

Nia blinks. That…would be hard to navigate. “You said they’re a Seeker though, right? What about their partner?”

“Doesn’t seem to have one,” Granite says with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “Showed up one day with a note from the guild master and their badge and has been staying in town bunking with Leila and her kid ever since.”

Nia’s frown deepens, and she glances at Tobias, seeing the same thought on his face. He’d tried to become a Seeker on his own, and was promptly shut down. Why would this someone be sent out here all on their own for weeks on end? Yeah, the guild is spread thin, but even then it seems a bit dangerous to not have at least one more Pokemon with them.

“Anyway,” Granite sighs. “‘m hoping you two can give this whole situation a look with fresh eyes. Maybe figure out the cause of all this rather than just patching up the damage.”

Nia nods, straightening up. “We’ll do our best.”

“Grant?”

Nia startles as a new voice speaks from the next room over. A thin, bug-like arm pushes back the tapestry acting as a doorway, and something like a green and brown spider limps in from the back room. His limbs are strangely rounded, and reminds Nia of a creature from a video game.

“A spidops?” Tobias murmurs under his breath.

“Keo, I’m gonna tie you to that bed with your own silk if you don’t stop getting up with those injuries,” Granite scolds, moving to the bug type’s side.

“Like you could,” Takeo snorts, urging Granite to help him to the table. Reluctantly, the donphan does.

The spidops gives Nia and Tobias a cursory glance, his moustache-like mandibles twitching. “You the Seekers Rosa sent? Better bundle up, Charmander. Another bout of rain is rolling in.”

Nia glances at the window, surprised. “I didn’t think you’d get much rain out here.”

“We don’t, usually. Been a wet season for us,” Granite grunts. He’s still looking at Keo, something in his rough countenance wrinkled with worry. “If you two head out now you can get some talkin’ in before it hits.”

Nia recognizes a dismissal when she hears one, and her and Tobias rise to head out.

“Guess I’ll be using my cloak after all,” Tobias grumbles.

Granite gets Keo settled at the table before following Nia and Tobias to the front door of the shop. On the way, Nia’s eyes skim over the goods lining the shop shelves once more. Everything is intriguing, but expected.

Until a bright flash of blue and black catches her eye, and then red joins the mix—

A mirror.

Nia stops in her tracks, blinking back at her reflection with surprised ruby eyes. A small part of her mind whispers, Hope Giratina can’t fit through that.

Mostly, though, she’s just…caught off-guard. Aside from seeing her faint reflection in pools of water, she hasn’t really looked at herself much. And never this clearly. She’s somewhat used to being in the body of a riolu by now, but when she pictures herself she still thinks of herself as a human. Seeing her head tilt along with the crystal-clear creature in the reflection is…strange.

Granite chuckles, making her jump. “Ah, probably haven’t seen your reflection so clearly before, eh?”

Tobias has trailed back to her side, and scowls before turning the mirror away from them just slightly.

Nia looks to Granite, curious. “I’ve…never actually seen a mirror before.” Not since coming to the Pokemon world, at least.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” Granite says. “Mirrorstone is a bit harder to find nowadays. Asra used to be one of the largest sources for it, a few decades ago.”

“Mirrorstone?” Nia echoes. She doesn’t know exactly how mirrors are made in the human world, but she knows it’s not with something like that.

Granite taps the mirror’s surface with his trunk. “It’s a reflective mineral that used to be found in the mines around this town. Cleaned ‘em out decades ago, though. Miners have to head farther out to get anything good now.”

Nia files that info away as her and Tobias step outside, stopping on the edge of the dirt street. Granite waves them off and shuts the door behind them.

“So…where do we even start with something like this?” Nia asks, squinting up at the sky. It’s still bright and blue for now, but the horizon is darkening with clouds. The air is warming up as the sun rises, but it’s heavy with moisture, too.

“I guess where Granite suggested,” Tobias says, following her gaze to the sky. “We find the sheriff.”

“What does an inteleon look like?” Nia asks as they set off in a random direction.

“Beats me,” Tobias says, glancing into the open doors of the shops they pass.

Nia looks to him, surprised. It’s happened once or twice before, but she’s still caught off guard every time he doesn’t know what a specific Pokemon species is.

“I’m only 18 and I’ve spent my whole life in two places,” Tobias growls, giving her a sour look. “I can’t have seen every Pokemon that’s out there.”

“N-No, I know. Not blaming you. Just…How do we find him, then? Ask around?”

“Guess we have to,” Tobias grumbles. Nia, on the other hand, perks up at the chance to meet some new faces.

Luckily for Tobias, the first Pokemon they bump into—a sweet, quiet flower lady with a bandage around one leafy arm—says that Calder is likely checking in with the town doctor right now. Advantages of a small town where everyone knows each other and their routines, Nia supposes.

Sure enough, when they follow the lady’s directions to the local town doctor, they find someone who is just leaving, gently shutting the door behind them.

“That must be him,” Tobias whispers.

The sheriff is a tall, lanky blue lizard Pokemon with weirdly human proportions. A brown cloak sits on his shoulders, with a golden emblem similar to their Seeker badges clasping it closed. He does have an air of authority to him, in the way he walks. All solid, confident steps and straightened shoulders.

He notices the two of them immediately, long tail swishing. “Morning. Seekers passing through?”

“We’re here to look into the earthquakes, actually,” Tobias says, craning his head to look up at the much taller lizard. “Granite called us in.”

“Hm.” The sheriff’s eyes narrow, and Nia wonders if they maybe weren’t supposed to say that. But then the lizard nods, gesturing them off to the side of the building’s wooden porch. “Name’s Calder.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Nia.”

Calder settles against the wooden railing, eyeing them silently for a few moments. Nia shifts uncomfortably, suddenly feeling small. Tobias stares back at the sheriff, as if daring him to do something.

“I respect Granite,” Calder starts. “He’s normally a very sensible ‘mon.”

“But?” Tobias prompts.

Calder looks off to the side, into town. “I think the close call with Takeo might have made him…a bit more paranoid than usual.”

“So you don’t believe him,” Tobias says flatly.

Calder looks down at his cloak. Or his badge, maybe. Brow furrowed.

“The earthquakes are…unusual. At their current rate,” Calder finally says. “But I have no evidence pointing to Pokemon interference.”

“Have you even looked into it?” Tobias asks.

Calder shakes his head. “It’s a poor excuse, but I haven’t had time to spare on something that…might just be a misled hunch. It’s been hard enough keeping up with the town and damages as is. Our doctor and construction crew are already working overtime.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Nia says with a smile. ”Granite wanted us to investigate.”

“Not a problem as long as you don’t cause trouble,” Calder retorts. “In fact, we could use some helping hands. Samir’s the only Seeker that Pyrite’s sent us, and I lost my deputy in a quake about a month back.”

“Oh,” Nia says softly, ears pinning back. “I…I’m so sorry.”

Calder takes a bracing breath, eyes closed, but when he responds his voice is steady. “Thank you. I’m trying to keep up with everything on my own, but there’s only so much I can do. Granite’s suspicions are unfortunately low on the list.”

“So you don’t have anywhere for us to start,” Tobias guesses.

“I don’t. You can ask around town if anyone’s noticed anything odd about the quakes. But—“ Calder’s gaze hardens. “Be careful what you say. Don’t accuse anyone. We’ve had enough issues with that as is.”

“The humans, you mean,” Tobias guesses, voice hard and almost accusing towards the inteleon.

“Tobias,” Nia mumbles, elbowing him. She looks back to Calder. “Got it. We’ll be careful. We don’t want anyone to get blamed.”

Calder nods. “See that you are. And let me know if you find anything you think is important.”

And with that, Calder pushes off the railing and walks past them, cloak billowing out behind him.

Tobias and Nia watch him go.

“Well he was no help,” Tobias says.

“Looks like we’re playing detective on our own,” Nia agrees. “I guess we just…look around town? Ask the locals if they’ve noticed anything strange about the quakes?”

Tobias shrugs, clearly reluctant to spend the day talking to a bunch of strangers. “I don’t have any better ideas.”

Nia takes the lead, and they try casually chatting up whoever they see milling about the town. Unfortunately, most Pokemon don’t seem to have any new information regarding the quakes, or anything odd they’ve noticed about them.

“Well, they’ve been destroying my crops more than I would’ve hoped,” The plant lady they’d spoken with before—a lilligant, according to Tobias—says when they ask, lifting her uninjured arm to her mouth in thought.

Nia blinks at her, surprised more by the fact that the delicate Pokemon is apparently a farmer. Huh. “Really?”

The lilligant nods. “Earthquakes don’t play well with all this rain. Makes everything a muddy mess. Not to mention most of our seeds are meant for the usual desert weather. Really putting a dent in the town’s food stores this month.”

The second Pokemon they talk to, a few buildings down, is a long fire centipede with a flame moustache. He clicks his mandibles in thought before speaking.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to ‘em, I’m afraid. And the grounders can’t seem to sense ‘em coming, either. One minute things are fine, the next the whole canyon’s a shakin.’ Scary stuff.”

By their sixth chat, Nia is starting to lose hope for an easy break in the case.

“They’re ussssually fairly short, thankfully,” The sand cobra in front of them says. Her friend, a round little cactus with arms, nods his whole body in agreement. “But they’re sssstrong, too. Enough to make the buildingssss and rockssss unstable.”

Tobias gives Nia an exasperated look that she pointedly ignores when she approaches their next potential informant.

“Oh! One of them happened right after I sneezed,” the little bunny child tells them, giggling. “So I thought maybe I did it, but It only happened that one time so prob’ly not.”

“Plus you’re not a ground type,” their friend, a little grass Pokemon, points out. Looking at them up close, they bear a resemblance to the lilligant they talked to earlier.

“Oh. Right.”

The twelfth Pokemon they interview is an elderly golem-like creature that looks to be made of blocks of…salt? His low, gravelly voice claims that the town’s misfortune is thanks to the anger of the gods.

“They have slept, and the world has forgotten them,” the Pokemon says, throwing out an angry hand. “And they do not take kindly to such irreverence.”

Thunder booms in the distance.

“Okay!” Nia says, voice just a notch too high as she claps her hands together. “On that note, we’ve uh—gotta go. Thankyoubye!”

“Ready for a different approach yet?” Tobias drawls as soon as they’re away from the salt block Pokemon.

“No, I’ve seen so many crime shows. I think. Interrogating people is a big step! Do you even have any other ideas?”

“Aside from not interrogating literal children? No.”

“Well, you never know—“

Nia stops as she spots her next victim. He’s a large orange creature that looks like a mix between a camel and a cow, with two rocky humps like small volcanoes atop his back. He’s unpacking large sacks of rice and beans from the back of a wooden cart much like the one Nia and Tobias rode in on. A harness is still attached to him from the journey.

“Pyre! That my grain?” A Pokemon calls from the upper floor of a building, leaning out the window. “We really need that this month.”

The camel-cow, Pyre apparently, calls an an affirmative, asking about the other Pokemon’s wife. The exchange is short but amiable.

“He looks pretty well-connected with the town,” Nia murmurs. “Let’s try him next.”

Tobias gives her a bored go ahead gesture, so Nia takes the lead in approaching the large Pokemon.

“‘Scuse me, sir, could we ask you about the—“

“No.”

Nia stops short, blinking. The camel-cow continues to unload sacks from the cart in silence. She…wasn’t expecting that brush-off after the considerably more friendly conversation she’d just witnessed.

“We were hoping to—“

“Don’t care.” Pyre shoots them both a glare. “Now leave me be and get out of here.” His short tail flicks, as if they’re flies to be shooed away.

Tobias steps up beside her, hands balled into fists. Uh-oh. “We’re trying to help, if you would—“

“Look,” the Pokemon says. He finally turns to them, nostrils flaring. “I don’t know why you’re poking your noses around, but you need to shut your mouths and move on.”

Okay, well that’s a bit aggressive. Nia puts a hand on Tobias’ arm to hopefully keep him from jumping this guy. Eyeing the muscles in Pyre’s thick legs and neck, she’s not convinced they could win.

“S-Sorry, I know we’re interrupting your work,” Nia says, trying to keep her voice light. Her heart is hammering in her throat, but she has a feeling starting a brawl wouldn’t be in their best interest, for a number of reasons. “But we’re trying to help—“

“We don’t want your help,” Pyre grunts, taking a threatening step forward that almost feels like it shakes the ground beneath them. The volcanoes on his back smoke and simmer loudly with heat. “We have enough to deal with without two know-nothing kids stirring up trouble!”

Okay, this is not a good situation. The townspeople who were chatting happily nearby just a minute before are deathly silent.

Pyre snorts, turning back to the sacks of grain. “If you’ve got any brains in those skulls you’ll leave before the next quake hits.”

“Is that a threat?” Tobias asks, burning hot enough beside Nia for her to feel it radiating off his skin.

Pyre’s ear flicks. “It’s an inevitability, boy. Keep talkin’ and you’ll wish all you two had to worry about was a quake.”

A low growl builds in Tobias’ chest, and Nia hurries to grab his arm, dragging him back with her a few steps.

“G-Got it. Sorry, sir!”

Nia takes off, dragging Tobias protesting and stumbling behind her until they’re hidden in the shade of a nearby building, next to some barrels.

Tobias yanks his arm free, his tail flame bright. “Why’d you do that?! I was going to give that stupid lump of coal a piece of my mind!”

“And that’s why I got us out of there,” Nia says dryly, stepping back to escape the heat pouring off Tobias in waves. “It’d be bad for us to get caught up in a fight, Tobias! We’re supposed to be on good terms with these people so we can gather info! Plus, he looked like he could literally crush us.”

Tobias scowls and jerks his head to the side, a trail of smoke following the movement. But he doesn’t argue.

“Let’s just…take a moment to cool off before moving on,” Nia suggests. She slides to the damp, cool dirt, sighing.

Tobias follows her lead, glaring ahead into nothingness. “I hope he’s our culprit so I get to kick his butt.”

Nia gives Tobias an amused look before sobering again. “He…was acting pretty aggressive. But do you think if he was causing the quakes he’d be so open about his animosity towards us trying to investigate?”

“Why else would he get so ticked off?”

Nia hums a wordless reply. She isn’t really sure. “I guess we might as well call him our first real suspect. See what Granite thinks.”

“Whatever,” Tobias says, clearly still stewing.

Tobias’ mood hasn’t improved much by time Nia drags them to the next Pokemon, a pair of large, olive green lizards—or dragons?—with weirdly tire-like dewlaps at their throats.

Or to the next, a chatty cream panther with a red jewel on her head who takes full advantage of a willing audience.

“—and I told Martha, because she is always withdrawing funds for her grandkids out near Pyrite, and I told her, next time you go into the bank take a good look at Aurum’s face and tell me she isn’t enjoying all the cash flowing through her business from these quakes, and she said—“

Nia is nodding along and trying to figure out how to politely extract herself from the conversation when that last part registers in her head.

“W-Wait, go back.”

“Hm? To what, dear?”

“That part about the, uh, the bank. Aurum?”

At Nia’s interest, Tobias visibly checks back into the conversation.

The panther’s eyes gleam as she leans forward, the rubies looped around her neck clicking together. “Oh, yes, that part is very interesting, isn’t it? I always thought that Aurum was an odd character, but she is clearly just delighted by all of the poké being withdrawn and invested into her bank to fund the damages the quakes cause. Doesn’t even try to hide it!”

Tobias, thank God, cuts in before the panther can get onto another tangent. “Thanks for the help.”

He pulls Nia away, the riolu giving the pouty panther an apologetic wave over her shoulder.

“I thought she’d never stop talking,” Nia breathes. Then she brightens. “But she gave us a lead!”

“The bank, right?”

Nia nods, letting Tobias take the lead. Chances are his sense of direction will actually get them where they want to go.

“You actually think that persian said anything useful among all the blabbering?” Tobias asks as they wait for a mudsdale-drawn cart to pass them.

“A banker who’s just a little too happy about all of the funds moving through her establishment due to the quakes? Definitely a red flag. Might as well check it out, right?”

Tobias doesn’t answer, but he leads them to the bank all the same. It’s a notably more secure building than the rest of the town, metal bars over the windows and more stone than wood making up its walls and floor. When they step inside, the small lobby area is quiet and surprisingly cozy, with a few potted cacti in the corners and a cushion or two offering seating for waiting customers.

A dragon is sitting behind the counter, accepting a pouch of what sounds like coins from a tall, white crane-like Pokemon. Sure enough, the dragon’s face lights up as she gets the coins in hand, quickly writing something down on the sheet of paper in front of her.

“I’ll get this to Eddy’s crew right away, Ranzi!” The dragon says, all cheer.

The crane Pokemon gives her a strained smile and a quiet word of thanks before walking to the door, passing Nia and Tobias along the way.

The dragon chirps, “One moment please!” before darting to the back of the building with the bag of coins. When she returns, she gives Nia and Tobias a toothy smile. She’s gray, with sharp fangs and a large golden crest atop her head. More golden plates guard her shoulders and wrists like armor.

“H’llo there! Can I help you two? Need to set up an account?”

Nia and Tobias exchange a look.

“Um, we were actually hoping to ask you about the recent earthquakes?” Nia says. “I’m Nia.”

“Aurum,” the dragon says in return, tilting her head. “What about the earthquakes?”

“Just if you’ve noticed anything weird about them?”

“Any patterns, anything you wouldn’t expect to see when they happen,” Tobias adds.

Aurum hums, tapping her long claws on the counter. “No, I don’t believe so! It’s strange how often they’re occurring, but otherwise they seem like regular old earthquakes to me.”

Tobias glances over his shoulder, towards the door. “Lots of customers due to them?”

“Oh, yes, lots!” Aurum says, brightening and puffing out her chest. “I’m making sure the transactions all go off without a hitch.”

“Uh…huh,” Nia says slowly, a little thrown off by the dragon Pokemon. She seems incredibly chipper about Pokemon losing money to terrible circumstances, but at the same time she seems almost…proud to be helping, rather than exalting in all of her riches.

Tobias squints at Aurum. “You seem…pretty happy about that.”

Well all right then, just come out and say it, Tobias.

Aurum nods happily. “Mhm! I’ve always loved my job because I get to see everyone’s beautiful, shiny money. But now I feel like I’m actually helping, too! Keeping everything running smoothly while the quakes are causing so much trouble, you know?”

It’s nothing more than a gut feeling, but Nia suddenly believes this dragon is nothing but genuine. She almost feels bad for coming in here determined to make her a suspect.

“That’s…a nice way to look at it,” Nia says, deflating and giving Aurum a weak smile. “Thanks for talking to us, Aurum.”

“Of course! Let me know if you do want to open an account. I’d be glad to help!”

Tobias gives Nia a perplexed look, but follows her back outside without a word. The wind blows hard, and Nia finally thinks she feels a cool raindrop hit her fur. Tobias must feel the same, because he reaches into their satchel to pull out the green rain poncho he’d stuffed in there earlier, tugging it on over his head.

“So. Thoughts,” Tobias says.

“Aurum is…interesting.”

Tobias snorts. “One way to phrase it. Do you think she has a hand in the quakes? You wanted to leave pretty quickly.”

Nia sighs. “The opposite. I don’t think she has anything to do with it. She seems too…genuine.”

Tobias gives her a look. “You? Trust someone based off of nothing at all? No.”

Nia’s mouth twists. “I mean…we can keep her on the suspects list, just in case. But…”

“It’s gotta be that stupid camerupt,” Tobias grumbles.

Nia laughs. “Pyre? Maybe. Are you still mad about him?”

Tobias gives her an incredulous look. “Are you not?”

Nia shrugs. “I mean, I definitely don’t want to talk to him again, but there’s not really any point in me staying mad about it.”

Tobias rolls his eyes. “You’re too nice.”

Nia gives him a playful nudge. “I think you’re just getting hangry. It’s way past lunch time.”

Tobias opens his mouth to retort, then shuts it again. “…Hangry?”

“Yeah, angry because you’re hungry.”

“Okay, that’s—“

There’s a distinct tap tap on the porch behind them, catching their attention.

It’s a goat. A little taller than Nia and Tobias, with a mane of leaves wreathing their neck. Small, curving horns sit atop their head, framing a serious brown and white face.

“…Yeah?” Tobias says, clearly wary.

The goat tilts their head, flicking their gaze from Nia to Tobias and back. Questioning.

Nia catches sight of the darker green scarf tied around their neck, half-buried in leaves. A familiar badge gleams out at them, nearly identical to her and Tobias’ own.

“Oh! You must be Samir. Granite mentioned you,” Nia says, smiling warmly. “I’m Nia. This is Tobias. We’re Seekers too, brought in to help with the earthquakes.”

The skiddo nods back. Curt and professional.

There’s an awkward beat of silence. One of the Pokemon down the road—part of the construction crew working on the damaged building they’d passed this morning—yells something about finishing up what they’re working on before the rain comes in.

“Do you have any info?” Tobias finally asks, jumping straight to the point. He hesitates. “I mean—not sure how you would share it, but…I know finger-sign. I don’t know how well that translates when you don’t, y’know…have fingers, but. Yeah. Info?”

Samir tilts their head again, brow furrowing in clear confusion.

“Info about what might be causing the earthquakes,” Nia clarifies. “We were brought here to investigate.”

The skiddo blinks, clearly bewildered. They shake their head.

Tobias squints. “You…don’t have any info?”

Samir huffs at him, then shakes their head again with an insistent click of their hoof. Nia stares at them, hopelessly lost.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know—“

Nia cuts off as the skiddo nimbly hops off the porch and makes quick, sharp strokes in the dirt with the tip of their orange hoof. Nia exchanges a look with Tobias and follows them down to read the words they’ve spelled out.

NO CAUSE

DISASTERS EVERYWHERE

WHY THINK CAUSE?

Nia falters. Right. Most of the town seems to believe that the quakes are natural. “W-Well…Granite thinks there’s something strange going on. He’s the one who called us in.”

“He pointed out how localized they are. Nowhere else in the Faren Desert are there this many earthquakes happening in such a short period of time,” Tobias adds.

Nia nods, pointing at her partner as if to say, Yeah, that too.

Samir makes a doubtful noise in their throat, looking at the two of them as if trying to figure them out. Finally, they shake their head and write again.

HERE TO HELP

NEED HELP

“We’ll do that too, of course!” Nia says.

“But if something IS causing the quakes, the most helpful thing to do would be to stop it at the source,” Tobias finishes.

Samir is clearly frustrated with that answer. They scuff a hoof through their previous words, then write again.

NO CAUSE

EVIDENCE?

“We’re working on it,” Tobias grumbles. “We just got here last night.”

“We were hoping you might have some idea of where to start?” Nia asks. “We’ve been asking around about anything weird, but—“

Samir shakes their head immediately.

BUSY

REPAIRS

INJURIES

“Right,” Nia murmurs, reading the goat’s words. “You’ve been the only one here trying to help out for weeks, huh?”

For just a moment, the skiddo’s shoulders seem to slump. They scrape away the words with a swipe of their hoof, gazing down at the little ruts left in the dirt with tired, unhappy eyes.

“If you help us look into this, we might be able to fix all of that,” Nia says.

Samir takes a moment to look at Nia, dark eyes intense. She gives them a smile, hoping they can tell how sincere she is.

Finally, they sigh and write something new with quick, messy jabs of their hoof.

FIND EVIDENCE

Nia brightens. “Sure! That’s what we’re working on right now anyways. We’ll let you know when we find it.”

The skiddo looks much less optimistic than Nia, but simply shakes their head and wipes away the words.

Then, they stand and give both Nia and Tobias a firm nod, before trotting past them further into town. Nia blinks after them, a bit surprised by the sudden departure. It didn’t feel angry, necessarily, but just…exasperated. As if they were children wasting valuable time.

“Again. So helpful,” Tobias drawls.

“They…seemed stressed,” Nia defends weakly. “It makes sense they don’t want to waste time on what might be a dead end when the town is barely holding itself together.”

“I guess,” Tobias grumbles. “Back to it?”

“I wanted to talk to that construction crew working down the road,” Nia says, pointing. “Let’s try them next.”

Tobias nods, leading the way. “Think they might have noticed something about the quakes that everyone else missed? Since they work on repairs every day.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for!”

They approach the building that was shaken right off its foundations, half of it sunk into the dirt. The construction crew looks to be packing it in for the day, collecting their tools and casting glances at the heavy gray clouds covering the sky like a thick blanket.

Nia hesitates as she tries to decide who to get the attention of. There’s a blue otter Pokemon nearby, but he’s barking orders to the other Pokemon, so he’s probably the one in charge.

“The dewott looks too busy. Let’s try the aggron,” Tobias murmurs, pointing out a large Pokemon who looks to be loading all of the crew’s tools back into a cart.

He’s all thick black plating and silver armor, with a sturdy tail and two sharp horns jutting from his helmet-like head. His icy blue eyes are focused on his work.

Nia gulps, intimidated by the sheer strength in the Pokemon’s movements. Tobias gives her an unimpressed look and pads forward first.

“Hey. Got time for a quick question?”

“Hm?” The aggron glances down at the two of them. His voice is deep, but casual. “Sure, little Seekers. What’s up?”

“Has your crew noticed anything weird about the earthquakes that have been happening?” Tobias asks.

The aggron pauses to frown at them. “Weird?”

“Like, um…strange patterns for when they happen?” Nia asks. “Anything that just feels…not natural?”

The aggron’s heavy tail sweeps across the dirt, scattering pebbles and dirt with it. His eyes narrow at Nia. “If you’re tryin’ to imply something just because I can use ground type moves—“

“N-No!” Nia hurries to say, waving her hands in front of her. “We just thought since you guys do construction, you might’ve noticed something?”

“You were the only ‘mon not moving around or giving directions,” Tobias adds. “So we thought we’d ask you.”

The aggron sighs, his breath nearly a gust of wind. “Sorry. Been a rough couple o’ months. I mean, good pay. Bad…everything else.”

“I’m sure,” Nia murmurs.

“Anyways,” the aggron says, tossing a toolbox into the cart before reaching for a palette of wood. He lifts the giant stack of lumber with a single arm. “No, haven’t noticed anything too weird. Nothing that no one else hasn’t, at least.”

He grunts as he throws the palette into the cart as well. “Lots of quakes. Lots of rain. The whole world is dealing with this kind of stuff more and more, so I guess this is just our lot. S’ a pain to deal with, though.”

“Least we aren’t stuck in the mines when all these quakes are happening,” a primeape adds as he drops a bundle of rope into the cart in passing. “I’d be terrified of a cave-in.”

The aggron huffs. “True.”

“Granite mentioned that this used to be a mining town,” Nia says, watching the primeape move back to the building to help secure the temporary supports.

“Sure was,” the aggron says, taking a moment to lean against the cart and look down at them. “My dad was a miner before we wiped the minerals out of this canyon. A lot of the town still mines, but they have to head out into the desert to do so.”

Ah. That would explain the group of Pokemon with pickaxes that she’d seen head out earlier in the day.

“What—“

“Cody. Need you on the west side of the building.”

The aggron—his name is Cody?—jolts, looking behind Nia and Tobias. “Right. Sorry, Eddy. On it.”

Cody hurries off to help the other construction ��mon, heavy steps shaking the earth beneath him.

Nia turns to the newcomer—Eddy. It’s the dewott she’d seen shouting orders before. He has two seashells hooked into the fur on each hip, his black-tipped paws planted right over them.

“Can I help you?” He asks. “We’re trying to wrap up here.”

As if to accentuate his point, a raindrop falls between them, making a dark circle in the dirt. Then another. Tobias crinkles his nose and flips his hood up over his head.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Nia says apologetically. “We’re Seekers looking into the earthquakes. Have you noticed anything strange about them? Anything off?”

“Not this again,” Eddy grumbles, pinching at the area between his eyes. “Is this about Cody? Look, you can’t just go around blaming every Pokemon who can use earthquake. I’ve got a lot of good ‘mon on my crew who are just trying to live their lives and help the town.”

“We’re not trying to blame anyone!” Nia insists. “J-Just wondering if you’ve noticed anything weird that might help us figure more out about the quakes.”

The otter shakes his head, whiskers whipping. “They’re quakes. Nature. Nothing predictable about it. Look, we’ve gotta wrap this up. Talk to Calder if you want the scoop on the town.”

With that, Eddy turns and heads back to his crew. Nia sags. She’d really been hoping they’d get a lead here. As if to match her mood, the rain starts sprinkling in earnest, dotting the dirt with quiet little plips.

Tobias shuffles closer to the half-destroyed building, glaring up at the sky. Nia sighs. It’d probably be best if they went inside, at least for now. Maybe they need to take a break anyways.

“Want to head to the saloon?” Nia asks.

“I can handle a little rain,” Tobias scoffs, despite the fact that he is quite literally hiding from it.

“You’re hungry too, right?” Nia asks, waiting for Tobias’ agreement. “We could try waiting out the rain while we get some food. Maybe talk to Deidra and see if she has anything to share since we haven’t been there yet.”

Thunder rolls in the distance, and Tobias reluctantly steps away from the shelter of the building. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Nia follows his brisk pace across town, trying to keep the optimism she’d started with. There has to be a lead somewhere, right? Even if everyone in town seems convinced that it’s just nature breaking down, Granite’s conviction sticks in her mind.

Something has to be going on. And Nia’s going to find out what.

#pmd #pokemon mystery dungeon #skiddo #pokemon #pmd seekers of soul #tesha draws #tesha writes

107 notes · View notes

slavicafire · 1 year

Note

reading a book about people of the north, I found a tidbit about snowforts. during winter, young people would build ice reinforced snow forts to later siege, having created two teams - attackers and defenders. those trying to cheat by hiding rocks or ice in their snowballs were punished by dunking them naked in cold water and the deserters were caught and had snow shoved behind their collars. i love how human it is. middle ages or modern times - humans will always wage snow wars against friends upon seeing sufficient amounts of snow ❤

oh!

#thank you for sharing...

29 notes · View notes

gccdnews · 3 years

Text

Did you see JOHN MARSTON from RED DEAD REDEMPTION walking around Limbo? The CISMALE looks like SKEET ULRICH, and is FIFTY ONE years old. I’ve heard he can be LOYAL & RESOURCEFUL but also SHORT-SIGHTED & IMPULSIVE. When I think of them I think of FACIAL SCARS, A RELUCTANT GUNSLINGER, AND A WOLF STALKING ITS PREY. They’ve been here WITH their memories as a DETECTIVE at LCPD for THIRTEEN YEARS. I heard they’re still trying to figure out how they ended up in Limbo.

so, a quick rundown for anyone unfamiliar with the character, then a brief summary of that rundown, some stuff about his new life, then some little tidbit bullet points. spoilers for rdr 1&2, in case anyone hasn’t played them yet and wants to.

Born south of Chicago in 1873, his father was blinded in a bar fight when he was a child and died later when he was eight. His mother was a prostitute that died giving birth to him.

John killed a man at 11 years old, though he said it wasn’t his fault. A year later he was caught stealing from homesteaders in southern Illinois and they were going to hang him when a man named Dutch van der Linde intervened and took him in. John joined Dutch’s gang.

It took a long time but eventually when Dutch starts going crazy there’s only a few people who are really looking out for John, one of which is Arthur who sacrifices himself so he can run away with his wife Abigail and their son Jack to hopefully have a good, normal life.

They live on the run for a while until Abigail leaves him and John realizes he needs to settle down, so he takes out a loan with the bank to buy a plot of land and with the help of some friends, builds a house and a ranch to make Abigail come back and show her he’s committed to a peaceful life with her. That’s until Sadie, a friend that was in Dutch’s gang returns with news of finding the man, Micah, who killed Arthur and was responsible for poisoning Dutch’s mind.

After John kills Micah and gets the money from an old job that went sour, that encourages the federal government to resume the search for the remnants of Dutch’s gang, taking Abigail & Jack and forcing John to hunt down the rest of the gang if he ever wants to see them again.

John confronts Bill Williamson, his first target at an old abandoned military fort where Bill shoots him and leaves him to die outside the fort. He’s found by a woman named Bonnie McFarlane and her ranch hand Amos. After she treats his wounds and gives him room and board, he works off his debt to her at her ranch, and resumes his mission to take down Bill Williamson, Javier Esquella, and Dutch van der Linde.

It’s a long road, but eventually after completing his mission, John is reunited with Abigail and Jack, and life seemingly goes back to normal. That is, until the ranch is stormed by countless government agents. Betrayed and lied to, John tries to fight but after seeing a long time friend shot, he realizes it’s pointless and helps his wife and son to the barn so they can get a horse and make a run for it, promising he’ll be right behind them. Then, when it’s only him left, he walks through the barn doors to be relentlessly shot and killed by the dozens of government agents still standing.

if ya don’t wanna read all that, i don’t blame you lol. basically: john was an outlaw in a gang, eventually the group fell apart, his best friend died, mentor betrayed him, and he had a wife and kid to think about and protect so he tried to get out of that life and make an honest living under a false identity. that didn’t last long because federal agents eventually found him, kidnapped his wife and child, and forced him to take down the last living members of the old gang. when he finally completed his task he was supposed to be able to get back to his honest life, but they betrayed him and stormed his house, killing him after a dramatic last stand — or so he thought.

arrived in limbo completely healed up. even the deep scars he had on his face from being attacked by wolves back in the day were only faintly noticeable.

life in limbo was so far removed from anything he ever would have imagined, with all the bright lights, skyscrapers, and technology... it was a brand new world for the old gunslinger, and he was admittedly very slow to adapt.

didn’t make many new friends or have much direction early on, but there was this one woman he befriended that helped him understand the world, but the hardest thing about this new life was not having his son or his wife there with him. it took a long time for him to come to terms with the idea he might never see them again, and during that time he and his new friend had developed mutual feelings for each other. it took years, but she taught him it was okay to love again. until of course, she up and disappeared one day without a trace.

he did what he could to find her but despite some impressive detective work on his part, he never learned what happened to her. he did however, find a new calling. something he was good at. something to pass the time. so he spent the next few years working until he could become a detective --- but this time, on the “right” side of the law.

his new favorite food is burritos, especially vending machine burritos. that’s mind-blowing to him.

truly amazed by all the technology and the internet. he’s done his best to assimilate but he’s still not very savvy with any of it. trying to video call him is like trying to facetime your grandma.

doesn’t know whether he’s captivated or embarrassed by old westerns. maybe a bit of both.

appreciates yoga pants, crop tops, and the like way more than he’ll admit.

pretty knowledgeable these days, honestly. it was difficult but he did manage to complete his education and even spends a lot of his free time reading books now.

still has all of arthur’s old belongings, and believe it or not, he still wears his hat on occasion, though he doesn’t carry his or arthur’s satchels anymore. he hopes to see arthur again someday and return his stuff to its rightful owner.

he does tend to wear gamblers hats and the like still, but he’s also integrated baseball caps into his wardrobe.

misses horse riding so fucking much.

has gotten much better at illustrating and writing, though he journals much less often these days.

still has his deadeye and has unfortunately had to use it on a few occasions.

took a shotgun blast to the leg a couple years back that completely shattered his bones, so the docs replaced it with a completely titanium leg and hip (under a skin coating of course). good ol’ 2080. he might be in better condition now than he ever was in his old life.

#john marston.#limbchq: intro #john marston ( intro ).#death tw #injury tw

1 note · View note

kumeko · 3 years

Photo

A/N: Chapter 2! Irish peeps, forgive me for butchering your accent in an attempt to write accent.

…

Soft. Ingrid’s bed was a hard thing and she didn’t know what to make of the soft mattress beneath her. Her body practically sank into it and she felt a small crick in her back. The ceiling above her was utterly unfamiliar as well and Ingrid stared at it.

She must have passed out after they’d gotten to Annette’s place yesterday, the jet lag stronger than she’d realized. Turning her head, she looked out the window to her right to find a long, green farmland. To her left, her suitcase stood, still closed and unpacked.

“Ingrid?” Mercedes knocked on the door, peeking in. “Have a good sleep?”

“Yeah.” Ingrid ran a hand through her hair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s alright.” Smiling, Mercedes shook her head. “We have all of today to catch up! The bathroom’s on the right. I’ll just go finish making breakfast.”

There was something utterly lazy about having someone else make breakfast for her. Ingrid wasn’t sure she liked it. Sure, she was the guest, but getting waited on—it didn’t sit right to her. Forcing herself up, she stumbled across the room in a rush to get ready. Unpacking could wait till later, she just had to grab the bare essentials for now.

The house was narrower than she’d expected. The halls, the rooms, everything felt crammed, as though to take up the least amount of room possible. Ingrid had never felt vertigo in her life, but she considered it as she stared at the staircase. Even those looked too small to be usable.

She’d studied what to expect before travelling, but it still didn’t prepare her for this. The others were already in the kitchen when she’d finally made it. On a small table barely big enough to fit all of them, Annette took up half of it with a pile of papers. Mercedes stood by the stove, flipping an egg.

“Yer up!” Annette grinned as she looked up from her papers, almost bouncing in her seat. “Good, because today’s busy and we’ll need all the time we got.”

“Busy?” Ingrid perked up, curious. Annette had said to leave the planning to her so while Ingrid had given a precursory glance on what to do in Ballyvaughan, she hadn’t really thought too deeply about it.

“I’ve organized our tour, sure.” Annette picked up a piece of paper, puffing out her chest with pride. “Where we’re going an’ when, it’s all finally together.”

“That’s…good…” Ingrid trailed off as she squinted at the long list. Every line was filled with something, and with Annette’s ridiculously neat writing, it somehow looked even more crowded. Every hour of the day was scheduled with some place or the other.

“I sorted by place, then importance.” Annette looked at her expectantly.

“That’s…” Ingrid liked doing things on her vacation. She couldn’t handle lazing about on a beach or staying at home. It was too boring staying still. Yet, even she balked at the fact that the plan was to see some caves, walk along the shoreline, visit two castles, climb to a fairy fort, and then maybe, maybe, see some ruins.

In one day.

Ingrid considered pinching herself. She couldn’t be reading it right.

“Love…” Mercedes, as usual, knew how to handle it. She reached over, squeezing Annette’s shoulders. “We can’t do all of those.”

Perplexed, Annette stared at the schedule, then at them. “Why not?”

“It’s just…” Ingrid grasped for straws. “Aren’t you bad with sports?”

“It’s just walkin’.” Annette rolled her eyes and huffed. Crossing her arms, she muttered, “Anyone can do that.”

“Are we only spending an hour at each place?” Mercedes asked, tracing the schedule with a finger.

“Trust me, t’at’s more than enough time.” Puffing her chest with pride, Annette gestured pointed at the fairy fort on the list. “It’s really just a bunch o’ rocks, you won’t really want t’ do more than a photo.”

“Oh, Annette, you think that just because you live here.” Mercedes sighed, shaking her head. Her hair remained coiled over shoulder, as though permanently fixed there. “This is all new to Ingrid.”

“That’s…” Annette flinched. She tugged on a lock of her hair, twirling it around her finger. “I…it’s not that…bad…”

Ingrid stared at the schedule one last time before reluctantly adding, “And, uh…you didn’t account for travel time.”

“What?” Annette plucked her schedule. She paled as she stared. “Just…uh…give me a minute.”

“Take as many as you need.” Mercedes leaned forward, pressing a kiss on her forehead. “In the meantime, let’s get you some breakfast, Ingrid.”

Ingrid eagerly picked up a plate. Even if they halved Annette’s plans, she’d need all the energy she could get.

-x-

Fortunately, common sense won and the schedule spread out over the course of her three week stay instead of everything squished into a single week. As Mercedes had pointed out, Ingrid could always come again next summer.

And she definitely wanted to—especially to explore the rest of Europe. It bowled her over how old Ireland felt, how there was a sense of history and the past around every corner. She couldn’t say the same for home; there wasn’t much of a past in Toronto. Things built on each other in a dizzying array of combinations, the past integrating with the present until it created something new. Unless it was something from more than a hundred years ago, in which case it was promptly bulldozed and trampled over.

Here? She felt the past distinctly. The town square with its historical buildings. The Aillwee caves felt like a journey through the earth. The bridges felt like something out of a movie she’d seen once. And the forts, the piles of rocks and rubble left as markers to people long gone by, overgrown by bushes and grass.

Ingrid leaned forward as she studied the fairy fort. There were three layers of stone wall encircling it, each ring on a different layer till it reminded her of those theatre stages in the park.

“What do ya think?” Annette asked, eyes bright as she gestured proudly at the ruin. Despite her words earlier about how boring and quickly they could get through the sight-seeing portion of her tour, she’d spent the past few days pointing out every small fact and tidbit.

“Impressive.” Ingrid smiled, walking closer now. “It’s not like the other one.”

“Yeah, that’s one more of a…” Annette scratched her cheek thinking of the fairy ring they’d visited yesterday. While there had obviously been a ring of some sort, it looked like a dirt mound that someone had forgotten about. “Well, not all o’ ‘em can be winners.”

“I can’t believe you have so many of them.” Ingrid looked over her shoulder. They’d climbed a gently sloping hill to get here, and she made out the town in a distance. If this had been a defensive position, it was a good one. “They’re everywhere.”

“It’s like people forgot to clean up after themselves,” Mercedes added, chuckling. Her hair braided hair coiled on top of her head, giving her a more dignified look than usual. “Like little kids.”

Ingrid unconsciously touched her own short hair; Mercedes had somehow managed to braid some of it, a princess’s circlet to Mercedes’s queenly crown. It wasn’t all that bad; somehow oddly practical despite the ribbons tying it together. Maybe she’d try that next time she had to go anywhere formal and fancy. “Only you’d call a ruin a kid’s mess.”

Annette giggled. “Well, she’s not wrong. We made ‘em and then just left ‘em there. I’m sure the fairies like ‘em, though. Free houses.”

“Messy, free houses.” Mercedes cradled her cheek, sighing. “You didn’t leave them anything nice.”

Ingrid pulled out her phone, taking a few quick photos as they talked. “So, where next?”

“We’re…” Annette sighed, her brow furrowing with annoyance. “We’re gonna drink.”

“Drinking?” Ingrid raised a brow. Considering how poorly Annette handled her alcohol, she’d sworn off it back during their university days. Especially after she’d made a fool of herself in front of her old flame.

“I know, I know.” Annette’s shoulders slumped, and she leaned against Mercedes. “But everyone wants t’ meet you.”

“My coworkers, her family…” Mercedes smiled, rubbing Annette’s back. “It’ll be fun! You can meet everyone.”

“Just not my grandparents,” Annette closed her eyes, looking pale. “I don’t want t’ know if they find yer accent sexy.”

#sylvgrid #mercette #ingrid brandl galatea #sylvain jose gautier #fe3h #mercedes von martritz #Annette Fantine Dominic #fire emblem three houses #fanfic

1 note · View note

anistarrose · 5 years

Text

Distortion (Gravity Falls x Pokemon)

Summary: Ford’s search for a way to take down Bill Cipher brings him to the Distortion World, where he meets a surprisingly kindred spirit.

Word Count: ~3800

Warnings: some self-blame and self-hatred

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19440313

Another Pokemon Falls crossover, this time with Portal Ford!

***

Finding himself surrounded by shadowy trees that hung in the air like smoke, and staring down a massive waterfall that drew from a pool at his feet and ran upwards into the sky, Ford decided that he was getting really damn tired of gravity anomalies.

You’d think that falling through a punched hole in spacetime would be a singular sensation, unmatched by any other experience — but one of the first lessons Ford had had to learn was to never underestimate the vastness of the multiverse. There would always be yet another dimension where every too-light step would remind him of being lifted off the ground by a humming, crackling portal behind him, of bolts of blue-white electricity winding around him while gravity’s pull rendered him just as immobile and helpless as a Thunder Wave would —

At his side, his Ninetales let out a soft warning growl that jolted him back to reality, just in time to glimpse a shadow shoot across the clouded, dark blue sky. It vanished the span of a single pounding heartbeat, and Ford couldn’t help but look back to Ninetales, hoping for some confirmation that he hadn’t imagined the sight —

An ear-splitting screech filled the air, inhuman and indescribably enraged. Ford dove into the grove of spectral trees, Ninetales close behind him, but as his hand passed through one, they all faded away completely, leaving him no cover.

Yet as painfully exposed as he was, neither the shadow nor the screech returned. The dimension was left eerily silent, aside from the almost peaceful gurgling of the waterfall.

Ford stomped to the center of the floating platform, and yelled to no apparent target: “What is this place? Why did you guide me here?”

Naturally, there was no apparent reply. The waterfall kept gurling, and the illusory trees kept swaying in an intangible wind, but the dimension seemed almost completely devoid of any sentient life.

Except the shadow, of course — and Ford was already forming a hypothesis about that shadow, just as he did about nearly everything, but it seemed almost too incredible to believe. He wasn’t even sure if he would be thrilled to be proven right, or terrified.

He would make up his mind soon enough.

***

On many a rainy autumn afternoon back home, Ford would curl up in the top bunk with Rowlet and Vulpix while Stan would build a pillow fort beneath him with Meowth and Zorua, and they’d just sit peacefully together, drinking hot chocolate and sharing little tidbits from whatever they were reading at the time. Stan preferred comic books, loved the adventures of Crobatman and Captain Braviary and the Green Lanturn, but Ford…

Ford was always into mythology.

“Get this, Stan! There’s a Pokemon called Giratina that can travel between dimensions — and takes on different forms in the different worlds!”

“Huh, neato.”

“And here’s the coolest part — they say that in at least one of its forms, it has six legs and six spikes on its wings!”

“Really? Wow, sounds like you should try and catch one!”

“Well, according to the legend in this book, there’s only one in the whole universe — so catching it is probably off the table, but I’d still like to meet it. Except… except it doesn’t look like I’ll get a chance to, because…”

Ford’s face fell as he skimmed the next few paragraphs. “They say it mostly stays in a world on the reverse side of ours, because it was… banished there. It was just too… violent and destructive for our world, I guess…”

He didn’t say it, but he thought: Too much of a freak.

“Hey, lighten up! That just sounds like a spooky bedtime story someone made up to try and scare their kids into behaving,” Stan told him. “Or their little siblings. It seems kinda like something Shermie would come up with, doesn’t it?”

“No,” Ford said quietly. “These myths are usually pretty credible. I think it’s real.”

“Well, then I bet it’s just misunderstood,” Stan declared, unfazed. “You know, I bet you will meet Giratina one day — ‘cause you’re gonna clear its name! Find it an alibi! Show the world what makes the freaks and the weirdos the coolest of all of us, not the scariest!”

That got a smile out of Ford. “You’re right. And, you know… I always have wanted to travel to other dimensions…”

***

Ford quickly discovered that not all of the trees were illusions — but not before confidently walking into one and getting a faceful of rough, paper-thin leaves. He didn’t hear or see any more signs of Giratina — if that even was the shadow’s true identity. He still wasn’t sure if he wanted it to be.

True, he had kept seeking out more myths about the Renegade Pokemon well into his college years, and would always be thrilled upon discovering a new tidbit of lore of even the most dubious credibility; and true, he had always clung to the improbable, self-indulgent dream that he might one day encounter Giratina itself and discover its true nature for himself —

But here in a dimension that bore an uncanny resemblance to the elusive Distortion World, subject of both shrouded legend and scientific speculation; here outside of idealistic childhood fantasy; here in reality where a hostile Legendary Pokemon could hurt or more likely kill him with ease, where his demise could spell the end for the whole universe’s best shot at escaping a demon’s tyrannical reign… here, Ford couldn’t help but be terrified.

Terrified and frustrated, that was, as he walked into the same damn tree for the second time.

“We’re just going in circles, aren’t we?” he realized aloud, and Ninetales gave a low murmur of agreement. “Just big, spacetime-defying circles. Shit, what do we do?”

As if on cue, something lit up near the edge of his peripheral vision. He instinctively whirled around to face it, but the light — a pulsating blue sphere, reminiscent of ball lightning — was already darting away, erratically weaving between floating trees and leaving behind a meandering, faintly glowing trail that arced between floating slabs of earth and across sideways lakes.

It was a familiar sight to Ford, having led him to this world in the first place.

“Azelf?” he whispered. There was no reply aside from the trail growing just the slightest bit dimmer.

“Fine,” he finally muttered. “I’ll follow you one more time.”

***

On many a day spent while wandering the multiverse, far from home and even further from peace, Ford would catch himself wondering if it was for the best.

Growing up, it would have taken more than twelve fingers to count all the times Ford was told he was cursed, or a bad omen, or simply a “monster.” Often, it wasn’t to his face — just whispered to his parents, or sometimes even his brothers, when the accuser didn’t think he was listening — but it was an omnipresent, inescapable constant of his childhood, something he had to learn to either tune out or shrug off.

Ironic, then, how it was only now that he was starting to believe it.

Now that he’d seen the lives he’d ruined. Now that he’d seen the destruction he’d invited in to his world. The way he’d torn Fiddleford away from a young and loving family and traumatized the poor man into starting a cult, the way he’d been so wrapped up in his own ego that he ignored all the words of warning from his friend, from his Pokemon, and eagerly put himself to work for an ancient entity of pure chaos and malevolence… “bad omen” didn’t even begin to describe the way he endangered everything and everyone he grew close to, the way he ruined everything he laid a hand on.

And yes, he was doing everything he could to fix his greatest mistake, to construct a weapon capable of destroying Bill, but his conscience simply would never allow him to do anything else. And yes, he sought out leads for ways he might one day be able to get safely home again, after Bill was dead and gone, but that was for his Pokemon’s sakes, not his own. He had left a world that he had never fit into, never done anything but endanger, and had he been adrift in the multiverse alone… he wasn’t sure he’d ever go home, even if given the chance.

***

Ford called Ninetales back into its Pokeball for a time, as he leapt between stepping stones across an unnaturally calm lake. Two twin rivers fed into it, twisting down from above like a double helix and generating a froth of bubbles that dissipated quickly, leaving the surface pristine like a giant mirror. For a moment, he thought that he saw a massive shadow reflected in it, looming and angular — but then he blinked, and it was just an all-too-familiar face that was staring back at him.

(His face, but not his face. Gaunt with exhaustion and weary from fighting off despair just like his, but not for the same reasons.)

Then the surface began to ripple, so subtly at first that Ford couldn’t quite pin down what was wrong, even as his instincts screamed at him to run. Cautiously, he crouched down and lowered his head to the water’s level —

Another screech tore through his ears, and he jerked his head up to see an invisible shape burst through the helical tributaries. Based off the massive explosion of water it displaced, Ford surmised it must have been gigantic, easily taller than he was and maybe as much as three or four times as long…

And now it was barreling straight towards him, its path made visible by the V-shaped wave it churned up as it flew. The spray from the lake seemed to interact with its body for a few brief seconds, revealing a glimpse of a set of long, thin wings — six of them, by Ford’s count.

He took a step backwards, nearly toppled into the lake, and then made a split-second decision as he righted himself. The creature had to be flying only just above the surface, in order to leave such a large splash in its wake —

Just before the point of the V reached his stepping stone, Ford jumped as high as his legs could carry him and slammed against something solid.

***

When Ford had nearly drowned while hiding from pursuers at the bottom of a lake, his oxygen tank leaking at an alarming rate, the hidden entrance to a submerged cave full of breathable air had felt like divine intervention — and the stories of lake-dwelling spirits, representing knowledge, willpower, and emotion, that he remembered reading as a child only reinforced that feeling.

Yes, it may it may have been a bit naive, a bit too optimistic, of him to get his hopes up for an encounter with Uxie in particular — but he couldn’t stop his mind from leaping to the possibilities that a favor from the Being of Knowledge would offer him. He could ask for information about Bill Cipher’s history, or weaknesses, or even where in the multiverse he could find some of those stubbornly elusive components of his quantum destabilizer…

And besides, he was Stanford Pines. What lake guardian would take an interest in him, if not the one representing knowledge, and truth, and memory, and by extension science?

So when he noticed a pulsating blue light shining on the cave walls — not the golden-yellow of Uxie, which he’d been so desperately hoping for — he was taken aback. He froze in place reflexively as a glowing blue orb darted out from around the corner and circled him erratically, stopping inches away from his face for a second before teleporting a few feet back and taking on a less luminescent, more defined form. Two resplendent red gems rested near the tips of two long, flat tails, and another between bright, intelligent golden eyes that seemed to be constantly shifting, looking Ford over.

Azelf, Being of Willpower, was not the first Legendary Pokemon Ford had ever encountered, but it may very well have been the most unexpected.

“Why you?” he blurted out. “Can you help me defeat Cipher?”

Azelf took off in a flash, so quickly that Ford momentarily thought it had left the room before he noticed it behind him, circling one of the the larger puddles like a glowing, crackling blue whirlwind. He took a step towards it, and realized the puddle seemed oddly reflective — his mirror image was bright and vividly colored, albeit warped and distorted by ripples.

Azelf zipped by once more, narrowly missing his face, and he tried to take a step back but his legs felt as heavy as lead. With horror, he watched as the puddle in front of him sunk into the ground, creating a roughly conical and ever-widening depression that he almost immediately found himself on the slope of.

“With all due respect, Azelf,” he growled as he was dragged towards the center, “what the fuck?!”

After a moment of frantic fumbling, while continuing to slide towards the apparent portal — a cylindrical hole in spacetime itself, starlight from Arceus-knew-what galaxies flashing from within the tunnel’s navy blue walls — he managed to procure a grappling hook from his bag, and aimed for a jagged formation of stalagmites a few feet beyond the outer edge of the conical whirlpool. But his shot was instantly pulled off course as the wormhole’s gravity caught it, redirecting it down and into the distortion as Ford felt a violent tug on his end of the line. For the first time since the portal had appeared, he felt his feet move — dragged down the side of the cone and into the portal, where his vision went white and his body went weightless.

When he felt solid ground beneath his feet again, he was surrounded by gravity-defying waterfalls and wispy illusory trees.

***

His attacker became visible as Ford landed on it, his hands running over a red and black-striped back that felt rough, yet oddly immaterial. The sensation of touching rough scales was undoubtedly present, just not as vivid as it should have been to Ford’s senses. He nearly lost his grip as the creature — no, as Giratina, there was no doubt anymore — writhed and screeched in apparent surprise, but Ford somehow managed to turn himself around and grab one of the yellow ridges where its wings attached to its body, straddling its serpentine neck awkwardly as the six wings beat furiously around him.

Half-blinded by the spray as Giratina flew through another waterfall, Ford was guided by experience and instinct alone as he reached for a Pokeball on his belt. His Decidueye appeared in a flash of light, dodging red-spiked wings and a lashing tail to fly along Ford’s side.

“Use Spirit Shackle!” Ford yelled. “Immobilize the wings!”

Decidueye perched briefly on a floating stone and let three arrows fly. Two of them were lost to the gravity anomalies, deflected off in unpredictable directions, but the last one flew true — piercing through two of six smokelike wings, which spasmed as a purple aura spread down the tendrils. Giratina immediately careened off to one side, and Ford instinctively tightened his grip — a mistake, he realized a few seconds later, when the two of them crashed into the mirrorlike surface of the lake below and the force of the impact tore through him, ripping him off of Giratina’s back and plunging him into the water.

The cold hit him first, a wave of icy pins and needles that swept down his body, trying to inject him with numbness, with that atmosphere of lifelessness and hopelessness that permeated this dimension. He spluttered and thrashed, desperately trying to breach the surface, to find a handhold to pull himself to shore, but as second after precious second crept away without oxygen, he realized: there was no sense of buoyancy in this lake, no tug pulling him towards the surface. No way to know which way was up.

He forced his eyes open, and saw glowing red stripes lighting up the darkness. They coiled all around him, above and below and to every side, as two gleaming crimson eyes floated ever closer —

Enveloped in a bright blue aura, Azelf zipped through the water between them. It touched one tail to Ford’s forehead and the other to a spot right between Giratina’s eyes, then disappeared before Ford could even process what had happened.

“What —” he gurgled, opening his mouth reflexively and not closing it fast enough to stop the water from surging into his lungs. He hacked and coughed, trying to whack himself in the chest with one hand and reach for his Pokeballs with the other, but he failed on both counts as his limbs grew heavy, and blurry spots danced across his already obscured vision —

Something lifted him above the surface and he gasped for breath, taking longer than he should have to realize that he was now kneeling upon Giratina’s head, just behind its golden crown.

You need to breathe? a raspy and faintly echoing, yet surprisingly soft voice asked him.

“Most humans do,” he choked out automatically, spitting coughed-up water back into the lake and recalling a concerned-looking Decidueye back into its Pokeball before the nature of the conversation sunk in. “Wait — Giratina? You saved me?”

Yes. Giratina went silent for a while, as it lazily drifted across the surface of the lake — how it could float despite the disorienting lack of buoyancy, Ford wasn’t sure.

Why are you here? it finally continued.

That was a good question, Ford thought, and also a question he wasn’t sure how to reply to. It was tempting to simply blame Azelf, but given how it was Azelf who had evidently opened up their current line of telepathic communication, that didn’t seem wise.

In a roundabout way, he’d ultimately ended up here for the same reason he ever traveled to any dimension, Ford figured, so that was how he decided to reply.

“I’m looking for a material that will help me save the multiverse,” he stated slowly.

Why does the burden of saving the multiverse fall to you?

It wasn’t the response Ford was expecting — though it may have been one that he deserved.

“I made a mistake. I was the one who endangered my home dimension in the first place, and now I need to fix things.”

Giratina didn’t respond immediately. What is the material? it eventually asked.

“Well, there are a few different components I’m looking for… do you have anything small that distorts spacetime either far more or far less than its mass would indicate?”

Yes. Hold on tight.

Giratina spread its wings and lifted into the air, Ford still perched atop its head. Columns of water and floating rocky islands flew past them as they ascended, and raced towards the blanket of foreboding purple clouds that stretched across the sky from horizon to horizon —

And then, they’d breached it, and were surrounded by stars — white dwarfs and red giant and everything in between, binary pairs dancing waltzes together while supernovas exploded into sizzling plumes of plasma. Yet they all ranged just from the size of a fist to a basketball, and floated by within arm’s reach of Ford, so close that he could feel their heat drying out his sopping coat.

Instinctively, he held out an arm to run a hand through a glowing red-orange nebula, and streams of gas danced around his fingers, swirling together to consolidate in his palm. He made a fist, and the contents of his hand immediately caught ablaze under the pressure — not quite hot enough to singe him, but bright enough that rays of white light escaped from the cracks between his fingers, illuminating all six of them like a beacon in the night sky.

Giratina dove back beneath the layer of clouds, and as they slowed to a more leisurely pace, Ford opened his hand again to see a system of six tiny stars all orbiting each other as they hovered just above his palm.

Will that work?

“...It’s perfect.”

They drifted past the double helix waterfall once again, close enough for Ford to make out his distorted reflection in one of the streams.

Life isn’t meant to stay in this world, Giratina told him. We should part ways soon… but before, I can open a portal nearly anywhere in the multiverse for you…

A pause. You know, I could open a portal to your home.

Ford looked down at the star system in his hand, and then back to his reflection… and then over his shoulder, to the still nowhere-near-complete weapon strapped across his back.

“I deeply appreciate the offer, but my team and I can’t. There are still things we need to do that… we need to keep traveling between dimensions to accomplish.”

You are banished by your own choices, then…

Giratina nearly came to a complete halt for a moment, and Ford cringed, so preoccupied with worrying he’d misspoken that he hardly noticed the sphere of ball lightning descending from the sky just a few feet from his face.

You have a fierce stubbornness inside of you. Azelf’s voice was loud and resonant inside Ford’s head, completely unlike Giratina’s hesitant, rasping whisper. And when you embrace it, it may often turn out to be to your detriment…

It shed the sphere of blue lightning, revealing its true form. Warm golden eyes fixated on Ford, and its tails twitched as an oddly human smile spread across its tiny face.

But our flaws often stem from our greatest strengths, and you possess exactly the dedication and endurance that are needed to save this universe.

“Thank you, Azelf,” Ford whispered. “I’m sorry for doubting your judgement.”

Have you decided where you wish to go, if not home? Giratina asked him.

“I suppose… Dimension 61-6,” Ford decided. That was the dimension he’d encountered Azelf in, a place that he still hoped would contain many more resources to help him in his fight against Cipher.

Alright. Giratina opened its mouth and breathed out a whirlwind of shadows that bore into the surface of the lake below, carving a conical depression in the water. A white glow lit up at the bottom of the funnel, flickering faintly as if beckoning Ford towards it.

“I’d be so lost without your help, Giratina. Thank you so much.”

Giratina’s head bobbed slightly, as if nodding.

I wish you luck with your quest… friend.

Before he could change his mind, Ford jumped through the portal.

***

Bhduv odwhu, ehlqj suhvvhg iru lqirupdwlrq dqg hqyhorshg lq d yhub gliihuhqw wbsh ri eoxh oljkwlqj, lw zdv wklqnlqj edfn wr wklv hqfrxqwhu wkdw nhsw Irug iurp jlylqj xs.

Thanks for reading, feedback/reblogs are appreciated as always! I’ve been thinking about the Mystery Trio and how they correspond to the Lake Guardians for a while, and eventually settled on:

Stan is emotion (Mesprit): He can definitely be very stubborn, but that stubbornness is often derived from emotion, such as his love for his family. He acts closed-off sometimes, but emotions are the driving force behind so many of his actions, like restarting the portal despite the dangers and sacrificing himself to beat Bill and save his family.

Fiddleford is knowledge (Uxie): This one is probably the most clear-cut, since Uxie is capable of erasing memories. Of course, Fidds is highly intelligent and inventive as well, just like the traits Uxie is said to grant.

Ford is willpower (Azelf): Knowledge could of course be fitting for him too (and that manifests a little bit in the fic itself, with Ford hoping to meet Uxie), but I think willpower encapsulates his personality even better. He survived in the multiverse for 30 years with the sole goal of taking down Bill, and then endured a brutal amount of torture in Weirdmageddon but still refused to give Bill the equation.

#pokemon falls au #gravity falls #stanford pines #stanley pines #pokemon #giratina #crossover #rosalia writes fic

14 notes · View notes

randomnameless · 4 years

Text

I was checking the other wiki for more info on FE16′s unused content

(is it me or the other wiki isn’t edited as easily as a snapchat selfie?)

We missed the best battalion in the game :’(

OTOH, if we’re supposed to think those battalions are random mercenaries chilling around waiting to be hired, i’d feel bad about a battallion of random crazed villagers chilling around, just waiting to be hired but apparently they cannot be healed...

From the unused map sprite, even if it doesn’t match the character’s sprite, Rhea bleaches her hair when she cosplays as Seiros, and we were robbed of the “two eyed Dimitri” map sprite.

I’ve finally found the beta “Felix’n’Annette were supposed to fight against Dimitri” convos, idk what was the beta AM, but here it seems as if Felix’n’Annette are fighting alongside Cornelia and the randoms Faerghusians in Firdhiad. Maybe they defected when Dimitri wanted to go to Enbarr, then Flèche happened, Dimitri returns home and has to fight against them? idk.

More interesting though, is the cut “trading” activity, where, apparently, we would have been able to send merchants somewhere to get rare and endemic products.

It’s interesting because it has some flavor text about the destinations!

Brigid A group of islands with abundant nature, floating in Western Fódlan. They lack in production of arms and goods, but they are excellent hunters and fishers, and are well-known for their unique cuisine.

They were unlucky in Civ and didn’t start near a mine of iron or copper? If only we could have more Brigid dishes, i’d be a happy nerd

Land of Albinea A vast land located Nothwest of Fódlan. They require a variety of resources for development. There are lots of famous foods that take advantage rich nature in the area.

Albinea doesn’t have a lot of ressources for development (TFW no iron/copper) but apparently they have a lot of “famous food”. I think Albinean moose is used in some dishes?

Derdriu, The Aquatic Capital The capital of the Regan Dukedom, and the central part of the Alliance Territory. There are a lot of factories there, and they leverage the port to produce and export goods to build their wealth.

Look at those merchant republics exporting goods and developing factories, then what, they developed tariffs? Sleazy merchants. OTOH, from this description alone, I have the feeling the Alliance’s nobility desperatly tries to assert its authority through “ancient noble blood” and what not, because if someone is rich enough to have 70% of the factories used, and controls the trade, even if Count Gloucester recalls how Gloucester the Elite was the dudest bro in the world, rich merchants won’t give a fig about him.

Fort Merceus A fortified city, and the capital of the County of Bergliez. Extremely rich in agriculture and fishing thanks to the blessing of the fertile Gronder Field and Airmid River.

The Empire seized every fertile land in Fodlan? I remember a raunchy novel implying Cichol blessed the fields of Gronder (bla bla earth dragon magic?) but with the river + those magical fields, the Empire’s supposed to be self-sufficient, at least when food is concerned. It contrasts with the Kingdom where recolts aren’t that rad, some are forced to turn into Dagdas and Ingrid’s family deals with bad recolts.

Arianrhod, The Fortress City A fortress Kingdom city on the border with the Empire. They put a lot of effort into military preparation, but it's said that they have a surplus of equipment and due to their non-agressive defense policy.

TFW everyone works their butts to build a super fortress city but then your local nobles say it must be used to strengthen a “non-agressive defense policy” :’(. OTOH, Arianrhod being a non-agressive defensive “fortress city” near the border with the Empire means that, at least during the first part of the game, the Kingdom and the Empire weren’t at each other’s throats.

Almyra The great country to the East that has long been at war with Fódlan. The throttle on trade was loosened when the former king began his reign, and they now export many goods.

Wow, interesting bits here! Who is the former king this is talking about? Claude’s Almyrian Grandpapa? Of course greedy merchants from the alliance try to make some business (tm) and Almyra even exports goods! Maybe the pals raiding every wednesday are just a faction who doesn’t want to negociate/trade with their neighbours and only want to fight’n’feast, idk. Making peace through trade though, i’ve read it somewhere but i can’t remember where are they trading coal and steel?

Sreng Region A desolate region where the Sreng people live. It's said that Zoltan, the master swordsmith, once lived there, so there may be valuable weapons waiting to be discovered.

Alright who is Zoltan because we find his weapons in the game. Still sad that there’s nothing about the Sreng people, but talks about a swordsmith in a region where Birdie is sighted in the game makes me think a bit, maybe Zoltan is one of Macuil’s alias, like Cichol and Seteth, or Rhea and Seiros? “There may be valuable weapons waiting to be discovered” TFW you’re a thief trying to discover magic weapons in a desert but get attacked by a talking magic beast :’(

Fhirdiad, The Kingdom Capital The capital of the Kingdom located in Northwestern Fódlan. The study of magic is popular, and the people are said to be skilled at crafts, but the surrounding lands are barren.

Look the Fhirdiad magic school of sorcery gets a mention! It makes me wonder why Fhirdiaid pushes for magic studies but the Empire is supposed to have the most magic oriented army in the continent... Contrast with Bergliez again, the Kingdom’s lands are barren. And yet they still manage to have cheese. Fhirdiad randoms are supposed to be skilled at crafts, what, Cordelia asked them to craft spare parts for her Titanuses and the randoms obliged, not knowing what it would be used for? Or because they don’t have natural ressources, they had to craft a lot of things to compensate for the shitty climate and barren lands?

Morfess, City of Sorcery A desert city located far to the Southeast of Fódlan. The climate is rough, but the study of magic is popular, and it's said that their skill at weapons forging is also high.

Okay I'm pretty sure Morfis/Morfess specialities being “magic + weapons forging” was, in this version of the game, the devs trying to tell us that Macuil used to be there. Climate is rough, dude loves deserts. But as @damoselcastel pointed out, maybe Morfess/Morfis developed its own branch of magic and also uses it to forge weapons. TFW the only things we get from Morfis are a battalion of mole people looking mages and plums. Yes, plums.

County of Gloucester A territory of the widest plains in the Alliance territory. Agriculture and cattle-breeding are prosperous, and it's said that County Gloucester himself uses them to develop new foods.

Oh, so next to the economic mess/Fodlan’s version of Amsterdam in Derdriu, Count Gloucester rules over a pretty rural area of the Alliance? He develops new foods, like what? He tries to create fusion food? Now I imagine all kind of jokes made at Count Gloucester’s expense with various sheeps, when the Riegans just need to develop 3 more technologies to fully enter to the industrial revolution era. No wonder why he’s so salty :).

OTOH, again, more worldbuilding : apparently only the Kingdom wasn’t blessed with fertile fields? It sucks for them.

Enbarr, The Imperial Capital Capital of the Adrestian Empire that has a long history. More people there than any other city in Fódlan, and it also has a huge market that sells mostly food.

Compared to the description of the other capitals, this one feels flat. So, Enbarr is old and it has more people in its walls than in any other city in Fodlan. Market sells a lot of food. Enbarr dictates food prices in the continent or what? Or maybe the huge food market is like, the biggest food market in Fodlan where food from every part of the Empire is sold (it manages to enter Enbarr thanks to the canal?). I’m kind of disappointed, otoh, Ferdie reading an agricultural treaty gives him a new light, if food/agriculture is so important in the Empire.

now the million gald question : is Enbarr exporting food to the Kingdom who’s in need or not

County of Varley This area is lacking in water sources, which is rare within the Empire. It's said that they forge precious weapons and armor using the minerals taken from the Ogma mountains.

hahaha what kind of minerals taken from the Ogma mountains are we talking about crest stones or nabatean bones i mean

Fascinating to note, again, that the Empire is the bestest place to be in Fodlan because bar Varley, every area isn’t “lacking in water sources”. So maybe we have a lot of swamps in Adrestia, but at least there are no deserts. With water, you can grow stuff, so it’s a huge bonus for agricultural development. then why are the adrestians so nostalgic about a time where they controled a frozen wasteland and want to reconquer that frozen wasteland, like, it has nothing of interest no natural ressources nothing so why

If only Bernie could forge us something OP...

Kupala This area is just a part of the Alliance's Territory of Margrave Edmund , but it's an autonomous region where the mountain people life. They produce weapons and armor, made with precious minerals.

Those tidbits were in the game before the DLC, so at that time we didn’t know was Kupala before Nemesis’s party. Interesting to note that this is an autonomous region in the Alliance, and not a part of the Alliance like any other territory (Leonie’s village). Maybe the Alliance thought it was too much of a hassle to keep an effective control over those parts of the mountains, for little benefit. Why needing to crush them when we can trade with them?

Territory of Margrave Edmund The region is almost entirely made up of coastal area or islands, and trade with far-off areas is thriving. You may be able to get something rare.

Or maybe the Territory of Margrave Edmund is just some sort of puzzle, when the Lords needed to give him a territory because he’s a noble they thought about the most difficult, shitty place to administrate and thought about this place, islands, coasts and mountains. Totally not a difficult mess to send knights to keep order of something. Coasts + islands = pirates? But apparently, in the general Alliance trend, Edmund managed to trade with “far-off areas” instead of maintaining a military rule/dominion, and apparently, it works so well that he sometimes manages to get something rare!

Land of Dagda A vast land far west of Fódlan. Their weapons crafted with unique skill are well known. They are hungry for meat that you can only get in Fódlan.

Meat for weapons seems a good trade - I mean Dagdians weapons are supposed to be unique but also well-known. It’s such a shame we never see anything like that in the game :) IIRC Shamir doesn’t have a special Dadgdian pref bow and i hope they’re not talking about the fetters of dromi :’(

why did they cut those worldbuilding parts???

#FE16 #unused content #i should check the other wiki more #it seems more reliable than the usual one #even if it's not always up to date #maybe the trading post wouldn't work in the war phase?#or we could influence the prices of weapons/materials by trading? idk #they did it in ToA iirc #those tidbits make me love the alliance #why IS decided to shit on them in the game?#as if they'd like to be lumped with those backward losers from the kingdom or those useless guys from the empire #you can be sure united fodlan will fail within the first 5 years because Derdriu'd be nope #we have factories m8 we won't listen to y'all we can mass produce weapons if we need them #and we have the power of money #fig y'all #count gloucester being the old agricultural nobility with a good name trying to resist the call of modernity #hahaha #Macuil might have traveled a lot Morfis then Sreng #yes he can fly but damn #all of those added lorebits (?) add to the feeling that if Fodlan wasn't roses and sunshine in the beginning of the game #at least no one expected a war/agression from one of the 3 major countries in the continent #Dimitri has a bajillion sprites if he was robbed of a pixelised map sprite then it's no big deal #otoh blonde seiros matches with the CG?#we were also robbed of the pegasi riding pirates batallion #so many great ideas why cut them IS why??

21 notes · View notes

spockandawe · 5 years

Note

Rung?

Rung!

First impression: Man, this is making me feel bad in terms of his character, but I’m... having trouble remembering what I even thought about him XD I think I was vaguely interested in his design compared to the others, he seemed very not-designed-for-war. And the thing with Red Alert about ‘you don’t remember me? i was your psychiatrist for six centuries’, that was interesting. But I was also very new to everyone, and that first issue was an onslaught of characters, so I don’t think many people managed to register well at the time :P

Impression now: GOD, HE MAKES ME SO SAD. And JRO didn’t help either, with some of the out-of-story tidbits he provided. Rung is so sweet and genuine, and so NICE, and he wants to do well by people, and..... he’s so lonely, he wants to have friends, he wants to be remembered. And when he leaves, I can’t help feeling that he knew on some level that the memory of him would fade out so, so quickly. It’s the kind of self-sacrifice that contrasts with the OP brand and primus apotheosis, where none of it is the gesture and none of it is the image, it’s a sacrifice on every practical and emotional level. There are a few characters in this series who sucker-punch me in the heart so fucking hard it’s difficult for me to work with them. Swerve is one, Rung is another.

Favorite moment: This... the hostage scene in his office with Fort Max is perfection. Where Fort Max has held him hostage and threatened to kill him and threatened to kill his patient, and has even ripped Rung’s finger off. But when the recording of Overlord starts playing, Fort Max falls apart, and Rung immediately goes right to him. Fort Max has been threatening to kill him, and Rung doesn’t even hesitate. He tells Fort Max not to look, that it’s okay, that it’s going to be fine. This was probably the first time his personality made a real impression on me, and this moment is just... iconic. The follow-on later where Rung visits Fort Max in the brig and forgives him is an amazing conclusion to this sequence of events, but that moment where he’s holding Fort Max and comforting him is absolutely divine.

Idea for a story: Oh, now this is hard. I’ve written Rung with a few people. But... usually in those, Rung is in control. He’s got the reins, emotionally and practically. Except when he’s with Froid, where things inevitably devolve into a mutual slapfightt. I want a story where someone else is in control, and not necessarily in a comfortable way for him. I like rubbing emotions all over my porn, and I’d like someone to actually ask about what he’s feeling past surface-level small talk, and poke at the insecurities and melancholy he’s carrying. I don’t know how, or who, is the trouble. Megatron’s approach doesn’t feel quite right. Froid could do it, but I’d have trouble writing a scenario where he wouldn’t be cruel about it. Red Alert is so tangled up in his own troubles that I’d have to write him all the way to a more stable place before it made sense. Fort Max would be tricky too. This is a hard one.

Unpopular opinion: This question would be easier if I had any idea what other people’s opinions about anything are XD How about... I’m not a huge fan of the model ships? They’re harmless, they don’t offend me or anything, but Rung cares a lot, and model-building is something where I have trouble at a gut-level getting why people care, and then I feel awkward because I want him to be happy, but the thing that makes him happy doesn’t make intuitive sense to me. Oh, and I h8 when the ships get remote piloted and used to shoot Sunder. That was... weird. The story lost me there.

Favorite relationship: Froid? Kind of? I really like the Rung/Megatron dynamic, but the canon flavor of Rung and Froid brings me a lot of satisfaction in terms of Rung’s personal issues. They clash, hard, about just about everything. And they kind of loathe each other. Froid sabotaged Rung’s career, etc. But Rung’s big melancholy thing is being forgotten, and the way he seems to slip out of people’s memories. Froid remembers him. It’s unfortunate that Froid makes the... decisions that he does later in the comic, because I would have loved to see more of them semi-politely maneuvering around each other. And I’d love to see Froid when Rung is revealed to be Primus, just like ‘idgaf, you’re still a shitty psychiatrist and all your opinions are bad and i will fite you in the pit’. It’s an antagonistic connection, but it’s so personal and it endures. It means a lot to me that Froid remembers him the way he does.

Favorite headcanon: This is a hard one. Ummm. How about that I really love the waysverse fic canon by @sunderedstar where Rung isn’t Primus, but along with a few other other mechs in the core of cybertron, he’s still part of/linked to vector sigma. I’m not going to do the mythology justice if I try to explain it here, but it’s a less... lonely setting for him, where even if that group was broken up and divided, it’s not just Rung, alone, as Primus. He was part of a group that loved him.

#spock replies #rung #ask memes/#transformers #Anonymous

22 notes · View notes

kewltie · 6 years

Text

timetravel bakudeku but instead of future!bakudeku going to the past it’s the current them transplant 10 years into future.

imagine 3rd years bakudeku on the cusp of graduation and they’re finally rebuilding their friendship after a lot of hardwork w/ them fighting villains together and just fighting each other bc they are really good at riling each other up. so in their last year of school everyone kinda has big expectation for these two bc they are the twin stars of their class, locked in each other orbit despite everything that had happened to them in the past and now. all might kinda been dropping hint that maybe they should work as a hero team after graduation and deku wants that so badly but bakugou is still hesitating over it bc deku is his rival and he can’t compete his rival if they are on the same team, right??? but mainly, he doesn’t know if the two of them are ready to take on the world together bc despite finally reaching the point of friends again there’s always an undercurrent of something unspeakable brewing between them that bakugou is actually afraid to address openly bc if it go wrong it will cost him everything, but mostly it will cause him deku.

so like maybe they both get call out to fight a villain with a time traveling quirk and they are close to defeating him but with one last surge of power the villain send the two into the future (later they will find out that the villain actually came from a future where the two are (in)famous hero duo that decimate much of the villain population so he went back to get rid of the past bakudeku so that future never bear fruit). bakudeku get drop in the same spot but things are slightly different??? most of the building are the same but everything feels different.

their sudden appearance in the middle of city CAUSED AN UPROAR and also bc their face and costumes are so recognizable bc even though their future self wear different costumes now, bc they are so famous everyone know who they are anyway. authorities figure are called in and deku has to stop bakugou from fighting everyone and just let themselves be taken in bc clearly they have no clue what’s going on here.

so during their captivity the two are informed they are 10 years in the future and honestly they are kinda stuck here for the moment while everyone try to figure out how to send them back bc if they don’t go back soon than the future wonder duo will never exist and that can’t happen. during this time bakudeku are kind of having an intense not-fighting. they know they are fighting but refuse to address it bc deku wants to know why bakugou doesn’t want to partner up with him and bakugou keep shutting down all attempt of it and now that they are alone and stranded in the future w/ with nobody but each other as comfort things... get a little more intense b/t them. as IN BAD INTENSE. they argue and pick fight bc they’re boys who are young and dumb about feelings.

during this turbulent part of their relationship, they meet their older self (older self ofc heard about their past self coming to visit so they had to check it out) and since it’s them but IN THE FUTURE, authority release younger bakudeku into their future self care bc obviously who can handle these trouble making little shits better than trouble making big shits.

the two dekus are much more excited about the prospect of their past and future meeting bc SO MUCH GOING ON AND SO FUN!!!! younger bakugou hate every moment of it bc here are the these two symbolizing everything he could have and everything he want (hero duo, running an agency and living together!!!!) but out of his grasp bc he still isnt able to take by his own two hands yet. older bakugou is just irritably amused bc they got no time to babysit these brats when they have the world to save and clearly these brats GOT A LOT OF ISSUE TO WORK OUT but he also see how

younger bakugou and older bakugou JUST CANNOT STAND EACH OTHER BC THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!! but the dekus??? they get along like a house on fire. older deku love sharing tidbits of his future life w/ younger deku and talking about how their friends are now doing and what an amazing person/hero future bakugou is now!!!!!!!!!!

older bakugou would be SO SOFT for younger deku bc he sees this awkward kid still who is terrified to fill big shoes left behind all might and knows in his heart of the limitless potential deku has and he wants to encourage younger deku to pursue it with everything he got, not only in his career as a hero but in the matter of heart too. DON’T LET MY YOUNGER SELF TOSS YOU AROUND, BE FIRM AND STAND BY YOUR CHOICE AND KNOW THAT STUPID BOY HAS ALWAYS BEEN YOURS. also seething jealously younger bakugou seeing how his deku got all starry eyes at older bakugou and how older bakugou easily understand deku best (decades of friendship plus 10 more DUH so ofc he knows best) and knows exactly what to say and do to calm deku’s anxious heart which mainly stems from his insecurity that he has TO BE NUMBER ONE IN EVERYTHING AND IF HE ISN’T THAT THAN HE CAN NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH AND EVEN MORE ADERNTLY THAN ANYTHING, HE WANTS TO BE THE NUMBER ONE IN DEKU’S HEART BUT IS TERRIFIED HE CAN’T LIVE UP TO IT. and now he’s meeting someone who is able to claim that spot so easily in the future and is now stealing his deku too?? FUCK THAT SHIT.

older deku would dot on younger bakugou like NOTHING ELSE bc younger bakugou with his still volatile temper and caged off feelings still doesn’t know all the things he’s jealous of his future self having (top tier hero ranking, his own fucking agency, DEKU etc) they WILL ALSO BE HIS ONE DAY. while younger deku is hard for younger bakugou to handle with all his unrestrained emotions and those fucking tears, older deku is more calm and intune with his emotion and bakugou so he knows when to approach bakugou and when to back away until he calm down and they will be able to sit down and work it out. he wants to help bakugou understand that bakugou doesn’t always have to try so hard, so fucking hard that he push everyone away and that sometimes it’s okay to rely on others and deku is never going away so he can have being a top AND deku.

so during this time as they work on getting younger bakudeku home, past and future bakudeku have to navigate the minefield of four people living together while one of the pair finally reaching a healthy sustaining and clearly loving relationship while the other pair seem to blow hot and cold every few mins. younger deku is so wistful and envious of their future selves happy relationship while it’s so discerning for younger bakugou to see how future bakudeku move effortlessly around each other like they are so intune that they are one and that they often tease and poke fun at each other and has no qualm with revealing how MUCH FUCKING IN LOVE THEY ARE TOO EACH OTHER AFTER CATCHING THE TWO STEALING A KISS IN THE MORNING.

“you guys are boyfriends?!” younger bakugou asks, eyes nearly bulging out of their socket.

older bakugou scoffs. “god no.” and before mercy can be deliver to younger bakugou, older bakugou grabs older deku’s left hand much to older deku’s chagrin and lifts it up to show THEIR WEDDING BANDS. “i put a ring on this fucker a long time ago. like i would date someone this long and not locked them down tighter than fort knox.”

this shock bakugou so much that he end up running out of the house bc HE AND DEKU ARE MARRIED IN THE FUTURE??? pairing up as a hero duo? sure. running a hero agency together? ok. living together? sure why not. dating? .... tolerable. but marriage?? HELL NO. that’s too serious and concrete for bakugou.

older deku is the one to find younger bakugou but doesn’t drag him back home but stay with him quietly as younger bakugou wages a war within himself. there’s a lot of pent up frustration and longing inside of him and older deku knows that so he waits and waits until younger bakugou is ready to talk.

i kinda imagine the talk would go with younger bakugou admitting to being afraid that he can’t have deku and being number one bc they are both heroes and it’s a dangerous work and deku is fucking insane when he’s constantly breaking himself to save others. bakugou doesn’t know if he’s able hold on these two most important things in his life and older deku is like “you are fucking bakugou katsuki, if you think you can’t have me and being number one than you just need to get stronger until your hands are large enough to carry both of our weights bc you ARE bakugou katsuki and i wouldn’t settle for anything less than number one or you.” and it’s not exactly a wake up call but it made him realize that deku isn’t the one holding him back but he is the one doing so bc he’s afraid he’s going to lose to deku and lose deku altogether if he pursue one or the other when all along he needed to realize that deku wouldn’t want bakugou if he wasn’t trying his best at kicking villain’s ass and laying claim to the number one stop in deku’s heart too.

SO anyway, the majority of the story center around younger bakudeku learning how their future self managed to overcome their differences (AND IT WAS NOT EASY) and seeing all the potential they could be as separate individual and then together. this could be one of their path if they chose to stay and accept each other. the destination may seem perfect but the road to it is not easy at all and if they chose to fight for it maybe just maybe they can arrive there together.

#bakudeku #not!fic

185 notes · View notes

lostinreality014 · 6 years

Text

Part II - Bad Dreams & Bedtime Stories

Author’s Notes: Hello lovelies! Here’s Part II of this mini series. And I hope you liked/enjoyed the first part. All the likes, reblogs, comments in tags, etc mean so much and I appreciate the feedback so much.

“Le do thoil mama” is Irish for “please mama” - I really hope Google translate didn’t fail me

Thank you @imagine-that-one-thing and @stylishmuser for being betas to this series and for your suggestions and words of encouragement.

[Catch Up Here]

Part II

“So that’s how daddy and I met. It wasn’t like Cinderella meeting Prince Charming at the ball, but it was still a special moment for us.” I said with a smile. To my surprise, Mia was still wide awake and responsive to every word I’d been saying. So much for getting her back to bed quickly so I could enjoy my cup of tea and apple.

“Did you and daddy sing togever after you gots called back?”

“No. Daddy went to sing in Spain with your uncles and I went to Berkshire. Daddy and I didn’t see each other for nearly two weeks after we got called back.”

“Dats a long time not see daddy.”

“It is a long time.”

“But you did gets to see him again?” she asked, seemingly not convinced that I’d seen Harry again after finding out we’d not been cut from the show.

“Yes I did. We both made it through the judge’s house round and we saw each other when we got back to London.”

“Were you happy to sees him?”

“I was very happy.”

“Were you in wuv wif him then?” I smiled and chuckled softly.

“No, not then. Daddy and I were just friends when we were on the show.”

“Did you and daddy win?”

“No. But daddy and your uncles came in third place. They were really close to winning.”

“Were you sad when you not win?”

“I was for a little bit. But I was so happy to have made it to the live tv shows that I was okay with not winning. I was more sad that I wouldn’t get to see daddy any more. At least for a little while.”

“What happened after you not win?”

“Well, I left the show about six weeks before your daddy did. I stayed here in London with some friends and got back into my dance classes and auditioning for shows.”

“What kinds of shows?”

“Musicals. Those are shows where I get to sing and dance, and dress up in lots of pretty costumes.” Her eyes widened in curiosity.

“Did you get to be on stage any more?”

“I did, but not for a little while. It was about a year after being on telly that I got cast in my first big stage show.”

“What’s about Daddy and Unca Niall, and Unca Liam, and Unca Louis?”

“After the winner had been chosen, Daddy, your uncles, and some of the other singers from the show went on a tour around England.”

“Did you go wif daddy?”

“No. I had to stay here in London because I had to work and go to auditions. But I did get to see them on stage a few times when they were on tour.”

“You did?”

“Mhm.” I nodded with a smile.

“How come you not on stage like daddy no more?”

“Because someone has to be home to take care of you.” I said with a smile and poking her tummy, earning a squealing giggle from her.

“Do you miss being on stage?”

“I do. But I love being at home with you just as much as I love being on stage. Maybe when you’re a bit older I’ll go back to being on stage again.”

“I miss you singing, mumma.”

“We just sang together after dinner before you went to bed.”

“I know. Buts I still miss you singing.” I shook my head and smiled fondly at her.

“Maybe we can sing together before Auntie Gem picks you up if you do as you’re asked in the morning.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, I promised you one story. It’s time to go back to sleep.”

“But I wants ta know more.” She protested, sitting up and looking at me with wide eyes.

“Mia, it is past your bedtime.” I said firmly. She retaliated and slid off her bed, running over to the small fort that she and Gemma had built a few days ago while I’d been out running some errands. I got up and followed her, standing in front of the fort.

“It’s time for bed, Mia.” I said softly, but firmly.

“No mumma. I not seepy.” She whined.

“Amelia Grace.” I took a step back and looked at her sternly. My hands on my hips. Rather than retreating back, Mia launched herself at me, wrapping her tiny arms around one of my legs.

“Le do thoil mama. I wants ta hear more.” If there was one thing besides the puppy eyes that got me to cave, it was when she spoke in tidbits of Irish. It was a tactic I knew she’d learned from Niall, and I made a mental note to smack him upside the head the next time I saw him.

“I’ve really got to learn to say no.” I muttered under my breath before bending down to pick her up off the floor. “Okay, fine. I’ll keeping telling you about me and daddy. But the second I see sleepy eyes or a yawn, it’s bedtime. Understood?” I asked firmly.

“Yes, mumma. Wuv you.” She said giving me her most innocent grin. I narrowed my eyes at her for a moment before kissing her on the cheek and turning to walk back over to her bed.

“I love you too, munchkin.” I said as I set her back down on her bed. She crawled under the covers and I tucked her back in. I was really hoping she’d fall asleep during the next story I told her. Even though my original cup of tea downstairs was no doubt completely cold, I still wanted a cup of mint tea with my apple before going to bed.

“What else would you like to hear?”

“When did you and daddy has your first date? Cause Auntie Gem says you has ta go on a first date before you get married.” Her tone was matter of fact and it made me chuckle again.

“Auntie Gem is right. You do have to have a first date, and lots more dates before you get married. Daddy and I went on lots of dates before we got married. But our first date wasn’t until about two years after we’d become friends.”

“I wants ta hear that story, pease.” she said excitedly.

***Flashback*** I was standing in my bathroom, putting the finishing touches on my make up. It was nearly half six and I knew Harry would be here at any moment. We were finally going on our first official date and I’d been nothing but a bundle of nerves all day. I wasn’t sure why though because this was Harry. This was my best friend; someone who had become my rock, someone I could call at any given time if I needed to. Someone who knew me better than I knew myself. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s why I was nervous. Because taking this step in our relationship was new and uncharted territory.

It wasn’t until he’d gone home to Cheshire to visit his family between the UK and European legs of their current tour that he’d called and asked if he could take me out before he left for the States. But with my current show schedule nothing was lining up in our schedules. However, as fate would have it, things lined up for us in August. My show contract required me to take two, one-week long vacations during my run in the show. This was standard for all performers in Phantom and it was to allow us the chance to give our bodies and voices a break from an eight show week schedule. And it just so happened that my second week long vacation was scheduled during the time Harry was home between the States and Oceanic legs of the tour. The moment we’d made that discovery, it took us all of two seconds to decide we were going to spend the whole week together.

Glancing at my watch, I hurried to apply a thin coat of lip gloss to my lips before giving myself a last once over in the full length mirror on the back of my door. I was wearing a pair of dark wash fitted jeans, a pair of Grecian style sandals, and a light cowl neck sweater. Happy with my outfit, I ran my fingers through my hair to loosen a few of the curls and told myself to stop fussing. After making sure my lip gloss was in hand, I shut off the lights and scurried across the hall to grab my jacket and purse.

My doorbell sounded as I was making my way down the stairs and I let out a squeak of surprise, nearly sliding down the last few steps. After righting myself, I giggled and walked over to the end table next to my sofa to turn on the small lamp so I wouldn’t walk into a dark flat once I returned home since Aubrey was staying at her boyfriend’s tonight. I grabbed my keys off our entry table and unlocked the door, unable to stop the smile or calm my racing heart when I saw him standing on my front landing looking devastatingly handsome.

“Hi.” I said softly, giving him a shy smile before stepping out and pulling the door closed behind me.

“Hi, love. How are you?’ he asked before kissing me sweetly on the cheek.

“I’m good.” I felt my cheeks flush. “You alright?” I asked, peeking over my shoulder at him as I locked my door.

“I am now.” He said with a wink, holding out his hand. I felt my knees go a bit wobbly as I laced my fingers through his, following him down the front walk to his car. He walked me around to the passenger side, opening for the door for me.

“Thank you.” I said with a shy smile as he helped me up into the passenger seat. By the time I’d buckled my seat belt, he’d made it round to the driver’s side and climbed in.

“All set?” he asked as he started the car and buckled his seatbelt.

“All set. Where are we off to?” I inquired as he pulled out onto the main roadway in front of my building.

“You’ll have to wait and see, Miss Nosey.” He smirked. My eyes narrowed as I made a face at him.

“You’re a knob. You know I hate surprises.” He barked out a laugh and I couldn’t help but giggle. This was our friendship in a nutshell. Teasing and bantering with each other constantly. It had been that way since we’d reunited at the contestants house on the show. It was as if we’d been friends since we were kids, not for just a few days. I wouldn’t trade our friendship for the world. Nor would I trade the friendships I had with others as well.

“You’d better get used to them.” He quipped, placing his hand palm up on the center console between the two seats. I laced my fingers with his again and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“You know that won’t happen.” I smirked. He chuckled and shook his head, knowing I was right. “Have you had a chance to go visit your family yet?”

“I have. Just spent the last week at home. It was nice to unwind and just be with everyone. But I have to be honest.”

“Oh yeah? What about?”

“As nice as it was to be back home and getting to spend time with everyone, I was counting down the days until I got to see you.” My cheeks flushed as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Making me blush, Styles.”

“You’re cute when you blush.”

“Oh god.” I whined, my cheeks turning a darker shade of red. He laughed again. “But I’ll admit, I was counting down the days until I got to see you too. I’ve missed you quite a lot.” He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it and I could have sworn I felt electricity zip through every vein in my arm.

“Have you had a chance to see your mum and step-dad since they’ve been back?”

“Not yet. But they’re coming down for a long weekend right after you jet off to Australia so we can catch up and they can see me in the show before my run is up.”

“Good. I know how much you’ve missed them these last couple years.”

“It hasn’t been easy.” I admitted, not wanting to bring the mood down. But I knew he wouldn’t see it that way. If I needed to talk about it, he was going to be the amazing best friend he’d been from day one and let me talk it out.

“It was the worst when we were on the show and couldn’t talk about anything until the live shows started. I don’t think I would have got through those couple of weeks, or the couple of weeks after being eliminated from the live shows, if not for you.”

“Sure you would have. You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You went out and booked your first West End show. You didn’t let being eliminated get you down.”

“It took nearly two years to book this show. And you only witnessed the meltdowns after failed auditions and rejection phone calls via phone. You’d probably think differently if you’d been with me when I got those rejections.”

“First of all, those parts weren’t right for you at the time because this role you’re in now, you were meant for it. And it’s going to open more doors for you. That I’m sure of. Secondly, casting directors would be daft not to cast you in their shows. You could smash any role you’re cast in.” I blushed at his compliment, wishing I felt as confident in my career as he did in his. It’s not to say that I had no confidence in myself, or in my singing and performing capabilities. But in the musical theatre world, it’s so much more competitive and there’s always someone that’s just that much better than you that will always edge you out. I’ve grown some thick skin over the last few years; you have to being in the musical theatre world. But it doesn’t make it any easier when nine times out of ten, you get a rejection phone call or e-mail.

“How are you so confident all the time?”

“Who are you and what have you done with Blake McKinley?” he asked, a teasing but gentle smirk forming on his lips.

“What are you on about?” I asked, looking out the window and trying to figure out where we were. Sure I’d been in London for the last two years, but with my eight show a week performance schedule, it didn’t leave me much time for exploring the city. And prior to xFactor, I’d only been down to visit the city from Northwich a handful of times to attend auditions.

“Since when did you start doubting yourself?” I felt his gaze on me for a few moments as he began to slow down. I shrugged in response as I didn’t have an answer for him. I suppose now that I had a chance to actually think and process everything, thoughts I’d buried for so long were starting to surface. He lifted my hand again to kiss my knuckles softly before unlacing our fingers from mine so he could pull into a small, somewhat deserted car park.

After paying the attendant our parking fee, he found an empty spot in the back corner of the lot. We climbed out of the car and I couldn’t help but take in the beautiful weather we were currently experiencing as I walked around to the front of the car to wait for him. For being mid-August, it was unusually warm and there were no clouds in the sky. Hearing the back hatch close, I looked up and had to refrain from letting out an ‘aww’ when I saw he was holding a picnic basket in one hand and a couple of blankets in the other.

“Can I ask where we are now that we’re here?” I asked as I took the blankets from him and dropped them over my arm. “Or is it still a secret?”

“You’re so subtle,” he smirked and I stuck my tongue out at him. “We’re at Battersea Park.” He said, lacing his fingers with mine again.

“I’m no superstar like you, but what are our chances of getting mobbed?”

“You’re a West End super star thank you very much.” He countered, something flashing in his eyes I wasn’t sure I’d been before. “And I don’t think we’ll be mobbed. Where we’re headed is not a crowded part of the park.” His smile was soft as he gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

As I walked along side him to wherever it was we were going, I looked around taking in more of our surroundings. I hoped to do some more exploring around London in the future when my schedule allowed as this part of London in particular was gorgeous. After a few minutes more, Harry gently tugged on my hand to let me know we were headed in a new direction. My eyes narrowed when he lead me off the walking path toward a small clump of trees before releasing my hand and ducking through a narrow opening that was camouflaged by some surrounding flower bushes.

Once I stepped through the opening I understood why we wouldn’t be bothered here. Most people probably assumed there wasn’t anything on the other side of this grouping of trees and just kept on walking. Whether or not he knew about this spot or scoped it out in the small amount of downtime he had, I did not know. But I didn’t much care at this point. I was just excited to spend an evening alone with him, hopefully uninterrupted.

“This seem like an okay spot?” he asked, stopping on a flat patch of ground in front of a sturdy looking tree.

“Looks good to me.” I smiled. We were quiet as we laid out the blankets and unpacked the picnic basket before sitting down and tucking into dinner. While we ate, we caught each other up on what had been going on with our current projects before easily transitioning to non work related topics. It felt just like it did all the times we found ourselves alone and talking while living in the contestant house before I was eliminated from the show.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked softly a while later, my face flushing as I packed the last bit of trash into the basket before setting it off to the side.

“How am I looking at you?” he replied, a sly smirk forming on his lips.

“I don’t know. You’re just…” my voice trailed off. “I don’t know.”

“Hey.” spoke softly, scooting closer to me, sliding an arm around my waist. “What’s going on with you? You’re usually not this jumpy.”

“Nothing. I’m just… I don’t know. Nervous I guess. And I shouldn’t be cause it’s you and it’s us, and I…” My voice trailed off again because I didn’t know how to explain what I was feeling.

“I’m nervous too.” he admitted, a shy smile on his lips. “And a little bit scared.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But this feels right. You and me feels right. Don’t you think?”

“Yes, I do.”

“So let’s just be us and see how things go, yeah?” He asked, with a warm smile, giving my waist a gentle squeeze. I nodded in response again. “And what was up with you doubting yourself in the car earlier?”

“I was what now?” he rolled his eyes fondly and poked me in the ribs, making me squirm and smack his hand away.

“Now that’s more like you.” I stuck my tongue out at him again. “You seemed a bit down when you mentioned the meltdown phone calls. Everything going okay with the show?”

“Oh. Yeah. Everything is going really well. Just got down for a minute thinking about my mum and step dad. And knowing I’m coming up on my final two months of the show.”

“Promise that’s all? You’d tell me if it was more?”

“Of course I would.” I smiled, leaning in and kissing his cheek softly. “You read me as easily as an open book.”

“That is true.” that earned him a slap to the chest. “Oi! Be nice. Ya menace.” he said as he laid back on the blankets, tucking his hands under his head. I leaned back on my hands, still sitting close to him and taking in the view in front of me. It was absolutely stunning and I could only imagine what the sunset was going to look like once the sun really started to drop in the sky.

Jumping slightly when I felt his hand slide down my arm gently, I looked over my shoulder at him, smiling shyly. When his hand slid back up my arm to my shoulder blade, it wasn’t difficult to figure out that he was asking me to lay down next to him. It didn’t take much convincing on his part. Cuddling with him was one of the best things on this earth. And there was no chance in hell I’d pass up an opportunity to cuddle with him when our cuddle opportunities were currently so few and far between.

“Did I ever tell you that you were three people ahead of me the day I auditioned for the show?” his voice was soft as his fingers trailed light patterns up and down my back.

“No, you didn’t. Was I really?”

“You were. I saw your audition while I was waiting backstage.” I felt my face flush hot. While my audition hadn’t been a disaster, it hadn’t been my best. Well, to me anyway. Then again, I’m my toughest critic.

“That was not my best performance.” I half groaned.

“Are you joking? The two people who sang after you weren’t nearly as intimidating.”

“come again?” My tone was incredulous.

“I was properly intimidated by you.” I propped myself up on my elbow and looked down at him, shock evident on my face.

“You? Were intimidated by me?”

“You heard me. Bloody menace I tell ya.” I rolled my eyes and smacked his chest. “You sang Don’t Rain On My Parade and sang it a cappella at that. You were the first person I saw that day sing a cappella. They put you through straight away.”

“Making me blush again, Styles.” He smirked up at me and lifted my hand to kiss the back of it.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I asked softly.

“I’m all about secrets.” his smirk grew and I rolled my eyes. “You know you can tell me anything.” He said, his smirk softening into an encouraging smile.

“You were the reason I didn’t pass out on my way back to the stage the day we thought we’d been eliminated. I know we didn’t say anything before I finally managed to get my feet to move, but the smile you gave me, and the way you squeezed my hands, it grounded me. I’ll never forget that. And even though we’d only known each other for less than an hour when we left that night and exchanged numbers, there was still a part of me that was scared I’d never see you again. I was so relieved when I walked into the contestants’ house and saw you.”

“So was I. Not that you could forget since I lost my shit when I saw you walk through the doors. Still haven’t lived that down. Probably never will.”

“No, probably not. Not if Niall can help it.” I giggled.

“Now there’s a menace if I ever saw one.”

“You wouldn’t have him any other way.” He chuckled and shook his head slightly.

“No, I wouldn’t.” I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek again and when our eyes met after I’d leaned back, the breath was knocked right out of me. I could feel his heart hammering in his chest underneath my palm and it made me smile that he was just as nervous as I was.

His hand released mine and reached up to gently brace against my neck, his thumb stroking over my cheek gently. I found my eyes skipping back and forth between his eyes and lips while I tried to decide if I was brave enough to kiss him.

But there wasn’t much of a chance for me to continue my internal debate before he made the move, lifting his head pressing his lips to mine in a short, chaste kiss. The air between us stilled for a few moments as we looked at each other before I dipped my head and kissed him. I couldn’t tell you whether or not I blacked out or if time stood still because nothing existed in this world except for the two of us in this moment. My head swam as his fingers tangled into my hair, and where the boldness came from, I have no idea. But I rolled onto my back as my hands snaked around his neck.

His left arm supported my neck as he stretched out across my chest. When his tongue lightly traced my bottom lip, no doubt his way of asking for permission to further deepen our kiss, I more than willingly obliged and didn’t bother trying to stop the soft moan that bubbled up from my throat. When he finally released my lips, I fought to get oxygen back into my lungs. Never once had I been left completely breathless and light headed from a kiss. And after that kiss, I knew I wouldn’t be kissing anyone else for the rest of my life (stage kisses obviously don’t count).

“Wow…” I breathed, my chest heaving slightly.

“Understatement.” he muttered, kissing the tip of my nose sweetly and brushing a few stray strands of hair away from my face. “Can I go ahead and call you my girlfriend? Or do I have to take you out on a few more dates first?” he smirked.

“You can call me your girlfriend on one condition.”

“I’m listening.”

“You still have to take me out on dates when our schedules allow it.”

“I think I can make some arrangements.” he winked.

#Harry Styles Blurbs #Harry Styles Fluff #Harry Styles Fan Fic #Harry Styles Imagines #Harry Blurbs #Harry Fluff #Harry Imagines #Dad!Harry #1D Imagines #1D Fan Fic #Fan Fic #My Writing #My Blurbs #Harry #Harry Styles #LostInReality Writing #Bad Dreams and Bedtime Stories

113 notes · View notes

resinonao3 · 6 years

Photo

THANK YOU!!!

Something Wild Calls You Home just reached 1,000 kudos on Archive of Our Own!

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the lovely readers who enjoyed the fic, and amazing artists who contributed!

For everyone who missed out on the incredible charm and art card giveaway, I’ll be releasing a limited number as a reward for contributing to the Snow Leopard Trust on National Giving Tuesday, November 28th. I’ll post more info about that when it’s time!

To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to share some trivia about the fic that you can’t get from AO3 statistics and notes :)

Originally, I was planning on introducing bird people, as well as cat people to this AU. Sam and Clint were both going to be humanoid avians, with clipped wings that prevent them from flying. They were going to be the “status symbol” pet while cats were the “worker” pet, because they are more elegant and rare than humanoid felines. I scrapped this idea after writing about 30k of fic without having space to introduce a whole other species, and this AU’s politics were complicated enough as it is.

I have commissioned 27 individual pieces of artwork for this fic from amazing, talented and professional fan artists.

I have received 20 pieces of gift artwork for this fic, from incredibly generous, incredibly talented artists.

The first piece of artwork I commissioned was this sketch from DeanDraws, which was shared with the prequel fic. After that amazing experience, I decided I wanted to share a piece of fan art with every chapter.

I have to use a spreadsheet to keep track of all the artwork - there’s a lot!

I planned from the very beginning to make Tony Stark a cat.

After scrapping my humanoid avian side-plot, I planned to make Sam Wilson a cat, too. He was mortally offended that I would turn a Falcon into a feline, so I had to change him to a human.

Clint was fine with going from an avian to a feline though. He’s chill like that.

After that, I had no idea how to incorporate Lucky, so Lucky was cut.

“Brooklyn” is not some clever analog for any Marvel character other than Skinny!Steve. I just needed a way to give Bucky “permission” to dominate Steve, and... well, I really just wanted to write scrappy runt cat!Steve. Brooklyn has his own character arc planned for him though, so he isn’t entirely invented just to fulfill a fanfic writer’s fantasy!

Wanda is safe and warm and well looked after by her keepers, but she won’t make an appearance in this fic.

Originally, Fury’s position was going to report up to Peggy Carter, but I honestly couldn’t figure out a way to make someone who is so very British a member of the high ranking Joint Chiefs of Staff. To simplify the rank structure a little, I made Maria Hill the Chief of Staff instead.

I have a very complex meta for the rest of the AU’s history and politics after The Great Die Off, mostly covering World War II. However, I try to keep it to myself. It’s why I can sprinkle in a few facts and details about the outside world, but don’t bother to write lengthy exposition on it. The reader is free to interpret or fill in the blanks with whatever they think the world’s conflicts and countries may have been if there had been two sentient species of people co-existing.

Steve’s apartment building is 2400 M Street NW Washington DC 20037 and yes, there are units available!

Fort McNair is a real base, and if you check the image below, in the lower left hand corner of the grassy field, you will see the diamond where Bucky and the other cats played baseball.

Welp, I hope you find some of these tidbits interesting!

Thank you so much for reading!

#myfics #1000 kudos #swcyh

30 notes · View notes

12-99-30 · 4 years

Text

Looking back in January

This is my personal space; to write and share tidbits of my life to those who are curious, caring, and willing to read through an assortment of memories and emotions. I'm a person of cliches and metaphors. Brevity is not my forte, so please do not roll your eyes and laugh at my words. I ask that you respect my invitation into a place where I will expose myself, for I have trusted you a great deal to even give you the link to this blog (quite an honor honestly).

The idea of starting 2020 felt exciting. There was a surge of energy from those around me believing this was going to be the year. A fresh decade. The first year we'd be entering our 20's, where the media has portrayed it as the "best years of our lives" filled with uncertainty, possibility, and growth.

Oh, how quickly God has humbled me into realizing His sovereignty over us, and how my 20's will be far from conventional.

2-4 Days into the New Year

The New Year started off with a weekend trip to New York with C—, J— A—, and A—. It was an unforeseen group that confused many people, myself included. God is so creative in how he brings together an unlikely group of individuals for the first time in an unknown city. We walked along the Brooklyn Promenade after a day of bussing and transporting. I saw the orange hues of the sunset peek through the horizon, minutes before the night started to take over. The city skyline glimmered with empty office buildings as local boats laid still near Lady Liberty. The gentle ripples of the East River seemed to harmonize with the jazz performer's saxophone and New York's traffic. We all stood silently as we let our senses take over. There was liberating peace in knowing I was a stranger in this city.

Food seemed to be the centralized theme of our trip. We indulged in the most decadent foods. The savory tastes of Ichiran Ramen and Joe's Pizza. Smoky flavors of Joe's Shanghai Szechuan fish. And always making sure we made room for at least one dessert a day - (Magnolia's Banana pudding wins for best dessert). I enjoyed the moments when we slowed down, gathered around the table, and generously shared food with each other. Our voices fell silent when we took our first bites in a saporous dish and our laughters grew loud as we would recount stories and bickering ideas — staying a little longer at the table, even though the check is paid.

Smaller Moments:

I talked with J— about friendships and community. Community will look so different in each stage of life. We'll have our college friends, our work friends, our church friends, and maybe even no friends at all - just the family you've selected and created. Everybody came in unity after a pianist captivated the attention of strangers at a busy subway station, playing Chopin Waltz. When people say, "it's the little things", I think of this moment. Community is created in such beautiful ways.

I realized how much I love learning. I want to know and understand more. A talk with A— made me realize that if it weren't for money and time commitment, I would love to become a doctor. I want to learn about the body and I want to be a problem solver. But relationships are the center of my being, so I think I'll stick to nursing.

I spent most of the subway rides staring out into apartment building windows. In short glimpses, I saw golden "2020" balloons, week-old Christmas trees, and lights decorating the windows sill. Somebody would be coming home to these things. I saw pieces into strangers' homes, something that is private and personal. It made me wonder who they were. How did they celebrate New Years? Did they have resolutions? Do you think they're coming home to somebody special? I do this often; I look at people and places around me and remember that everyone is living their own life -- living on their own agenda. I'm excited to think I'll have a place one day where I can invite people into my space to share community with them.

9 days into the New Year

I was close to cancelling a 5AM trip to Leesylvania State Park to see the sunrise, but remembered that it takes discomfort to make good memories. I warmed myself up in 3 layers of clothing, wrapped in a blanket, and drove while the full moon was still bright against the night sky. After 40 minutes of letting the morning, winter wind take all sensation from my body, I saw the golden sun rise against the horizon. J— thanked the sun for its warmth, light, nutrients, and speechless view. I thanked God for reminding me to be patient and still, for the reward is always worth it.

I learned how to be present with a friend. Grabbing lunch isn't always the medium to get to know each other. Sometimes all you need is an open mind and dry grass by a lake.

20 days into the New Year

K— and I took a trip to Georgetown. Our last adventure before she went back to school. We sat by the waterfront, where the air was cold but we buried our hands into our pockets and endured it anyway. We talked about love and relationships, never once looking into each other's eyes. We could hear the way we felt through our voices. No one talks about the heartbreak of moving on from something you know isn't right for you at this time. Part of you wants to hold on, afraid of missing your chance on something great. Will it ever be as great as you imagined? We both knew our hearts were jumbled, but there was something beautiful in seeing exactly where each of us were. In a place that is headed towards healing. Georgetown was a place that both of us fell in love. It's a place that reminds us of what we were and where we are now — we reminisce knowing that one day, this will just be a place.

28 days into the New Year

I'm in the process of letting go of someone I've wanted in my life forever. I don't want to uncover it all in this post. My heart is tired of writing about it and I think it's better saved for another day. Post-Women's Retreat left me feeling broken, lost, and fearful. I felt forced to confront His truth and the emotions I've been harboring since losing my beloved friend. These days I feel like I'm just existing, but God reminds me that part of faith is having hope in the future. Each one of our problems is rooted at sin, but God made a promise. His promise was Jesus, and Jesus graciously gave his gift to us because he loved us so much that he wanted to save us. The world isn't just moving. The world is pushing to finish His promise but He's just waiting for more people to come to faith.

Romans 5:1 - "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ"

Not happiness, but peace. I'm a baby throwing a tantrum because of my circumstances. The Father wants to hold me and let me rest. He wants me to give up my control.

This month I lost so many wars. The more space I give by submitting to God, the more space He has to work in my life. He's untwisting me and mending me. I’m in need in grace through it all.

I'm ending January trying to get out of this funk of existence. To live life fervently with hope knowing God is making this world turn. It's hard. I feel like I'm tired of fighting for life and my faith. Thankfully, I've seen the sweet sight of sisterhood from Blacksburg to Charlottesville to Fairfax. Sisters who are fighting and praying for me when I am weak. The world keeps circling, and I want to circle around God and the loved ones around me. It is them who ground me.

#posts

0 notes

2traveldads-blog · 7 years

Text

Most random place I’ve visited in a long while: Mobile, Alabama. When I first found out that I got to go I was neutral in my excitement. And then I started researching; and then I got there; and then I fell in love. Mobile, Alabama’s theme for the city is “Born to Celebrate” and really, that’s the vibe everywhere and I love it.

Being the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the South and founded by one of the brothers who also founded New Orleans, it’s already in position to be cool. You don’t hear a lot about Mobile as a destination or a party city, but it is. It’s not a party city like Las Vegas or the Daytona Beach of the 90s, but it’s a place full of fun and pride. And it’s delightfully gay which added to how welcome I felt and how much I loved Mobile, Alabama. Anyways, here’s the scoop on Mobile and why I can’t wait to return with my whole family.

Locale of Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is at the very south of the Great State of Alabama on the Gulf of Mexico. It’s located where five different rivers meet. It’s surrounded by lush live oak forests and meandering waterways. It’s a short drive to the beaches of the Gulf. It’s a pocket of awesome in a place thought of as the Deep South.

Mobile has its own airport (MOB) and has two major interstates feeding into it. You can arrive in Mobile, Alabama via cruise ship or private charter. Basically, what’s stopping you from getting there and having an incredible time?

History of Mobile

It’s in Alabama. That’s enough to make somebody who hasn’t been think about all they’ve heard, read or seen on TV about Alabama. Just stop right there: Mobile is completely different in nearly every way. Yes, of course there are people who are stuck in the 1860s or the 1950s, but they’re not as common as you’d think. Here are some interesting tidbits shared with me by Mobilians during my visit (but might not have factual backing):

Mobile was the first city in the south to elect an African-American mayor with a white majority vote.

Mobile was the only major city in the South that didn’t have a civil rights march due to several very active public groups that worked to change local laws, including desegregating schools, prior to government mandate. They’ve had protests, but weren’t at the forefront of marches in the 60s.

Mobile has Gay Pride celebrations with lots of community involvement in addition to being involved in Mardi Gras activities.

It’s the most progressive city I’ve been to south of the Mason-Dixon line. Love it!

And Mobile, Alabama is an old city; it’s older than New Orleans. Founded in 1702 Mobile has that same French influence you’ll see in NOLA, but it’s had it for longer. And here’s a fun fact: at one point Alabama was actually its own country (for a few days), and if you know where to look you can see references to it throughout Mobile. And then there’s Mardi Gras… We’ll save that for last.

Top 5 things to do in Mobile, Alabama

Every city you’ll ever visit has a few super awesome things that will keep visitors coming back or talking about for a long time. Mobile is for sure one of those places, but we’ll keep it short and sweet… like a beignet.

Exploring Mobile’s neighborhoods

Seattle, San Francisco, Portland… all three are great cities made of beautiful and fascinating neighborhoods. And so is Mobile!!

Downtown Mobile

Downtown Mobile, Alabama is really nice. The buildings aren’t too tall and there are countless sandwich and coffee shops giving it a quiet, small city feeling. And downtown is right next to Dauphin Street, which is the main drag and is highly entertaining. The people of Mobile have been exceptionally active in restoring their city since the 1960s so the whole area west of the financial district is charming, historic and full of fun. At night, it’s lit up with twinkling lights, neon, marquees, glowing bar lights…. Strolling through downtown Mobile at night is a must.

Oakleigh Garden and DeTonti Square Historic Districts

Being such an old city, Mobile has some incredible residential neighborhoods including seven historic districts. Just north of the downtown area is the DeTonti Square Historic District. Some of the homes here are so old and ornate that they’ve each been under renovation for… well, forever. Walking through the neighborhood you’ll find a combination of Gulf Cottages, Federal style and shotgun houses. Each of the homes as it’s renovated is held to strict standard for color and outdoor features to keep the district as historically accurate as possible. A homeowner can pop into the paint store in Mobile, say where they live, and leave with a color palate for the exterior of their house that is historically accurate and perfect.

Tip: as you’re exploring the neighborhoods of Mobile, Alabama look at the historic markers and coats of arms on the restored houses. You’ll learn all kinds of fun facts about the city and be able to impress all your friends when you bring them back!

Another beautiful neighborhood to wander through is the Oakleigh Garden Historic District. Here, in addition to the beautiful and interesting homes, you’ll find some of the most impressive live oaks I’ve seen anywhere in the South. And wandering the streets below the oaks and past the shotgun houses you’ll eventually get to the Church Street Graveyard. It’s right by the old library so you can’t miss it. This beautiful old cemetery has some of the oldest graves in Mobile, Alabama, including that of Joe Cain, the re-founder of Mardi Gras.

Photo tip: photographing the live oak neighborhoods and cemeteries is best in the LATE afternoon. The filtered light makes for interesting shots with much softer shadows.

The last neighborhood that I wanted to mention is the Church Street East Historic District. This is actually where I stayed, at the Malaga Inn, and I loved it. In the morning I could walk past wrought iron railings and find Mardi Gras beads in the bushes. At night, there were gas lamps. A few blocks away was Fort Conde and the Plaza for Mardi Gras events. The historic charm is there along with bustling activity. If you’re not staying in this neighborhood, as least pay it a visit.

Eat all of the deliciousness

Where to begin?! Let’s just say that between blue crab legs and beignet sandwiches I was never hungry or bored with food. Here’s just a taste of what I found and no doubt anybody else could discover even more yum. Here are three tasty beyond tasty ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Wintzell’s Oyster House – anything with the tiny crab legs or the shrimp in ANY of their sauces and styles. And their Oysters Monterey were my favorite.

Panini Pete’s – so the beignets are amazing and much more dense and, dare I say it, more delicious than other’s I’ve add throughout the South. And they’ll make you a bacon and egg sandwich on a beignet!

Noble South – this is where I learned the Southern cooking isn’t all butter and butter. Even though there were some beautiful meat dishes being served, my vegetarian collection of courses was an unforgettable surprise. Especially the squash blossoms. Perfect.

I had all kinds of other great food, but these three hot spots rang the bell for me. Each was delicious and totally unique to dining I’d find anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.

Gab with EVERY local Mobilian you meet

OMG, you don’t even have to try to do this. I met so many great people just walking around Mobile. Some of my favorite characters included I got to talk to were actually the many different servers in the restaurants I ate at. Ms Pinky at Wintzell’s Oyster House had a new phrase for how delicious each dish was. The gentleman at the Mardi Gras museum had amazing stories about festivities through the years and strength and presence of the LGBT population of Mobile, Alabama. One of the four different servers I had when dining alone at a sidewalk cafe didn’t want to talk about Mobile, but about my kids and all the weird things about being a parent.

And then Spring, our breakfast server one day. She was a delight. We chatted about food and Mobile and Mardi Gras, and then art. She’s an artist whose medium is beads. How perfect for being a Mobilian from the birthplace of Mardi Gras.

Tip: take a look at Mardi Gras bead art. It has got to be my new favorite medium and motif. So intricate and takes much more patience than I’ll ever have.

Someday when I’m bored and just want to gab, I’m going to book a plane ticket to Mobile and just go cafe hopping inviting random people to sit with me and drink iced tea. Or sweet tea.

…and sometimes the locals will dress up with you…

Airboating in the Mobile Delta

We got to take the kids on a airboat ride through the mangroves of the Everglades and it was awesome! Here is Mobile I had another opportunity to do an airboat ride and it was just as fun but totally different.

We headed just out of town to the Spanish Fort area where we met Captain Geoff. In addition to being an airboat captain, he’s also a naturalist, so boom, sold. We had three really unique ecotours in Florida and doing the airboat with Captain Geoff was equally thoughtful and educational. Between the care he showed in his boating and the knowledge he imparted with great intent, Airboat Express is definitely in the top ecotours I’ve been a part of (including some amazing ones in Montana and Alaska).

The highlight of the Mobile Delta airboat tour was definitely the wildlife. There were all kinds of fascinating birds and really unique vegetation, but this was the first ecotour I’d done that took us past alligator dens and nurseries. We saw some enormous gators, yes, but getting to see baby alligators swimming or crawling all over each other was a real treat.

Tip: if you have kids with you for an airboat tour, be sure they have sunglasses. This helps keep the wind out of their eyes and they’ll have a much more enjoyable experience.

MARDI GRAS EVERYTHING

As I’ve mentioned several times Mobile, Alabama is the birthplace of Mardi Gras. The city really is born to celebrate like their motto says. So, for starters, the Mardi Gras museum is pretty darn cool and interesting. And weird. If you happened into it without any preface you might think you stumbled into the Inauguration Gown gallery at the Smithsonian…but full of drag costumes. I’ve never seen such lavish regalia. So much embroidery and beadwork.

And then there are the strands of beads. Everywhere. On my first night in Mobile I went for a walk and my eyes kept darting around to find beads in the trees and on lamp posts left over from the recent Mardi Gras celebrations. I went on a tour driving around the many historic neighborhoods and sights and was given my own strand of Mardi Gras beads. They’re now sparkling somewhere in Mobile, reminding somebody else that there’s another celebration around the corner.

When you spend your time talking with the locals and gabbing it up with your server you’ll see that everything is related to Mardi Gras.

“What have you got going on this weekend?” “Oh, I have a meeting with my mystic society.”

“Oh, when did you do X, Y and Z?” “Well, it was just after Mardi Gras and…”

“Any big plans coming up?” “I know that there’s a ball I am attending at Thanksgiving… It’s the start of Mardi Gras.”

Seriously, you can’t escape it and that’s just fine. Seeing how excited and how dedicated each person is to EVERYTHING Mardi Gras is bizarre and inspiring. It is a complete sense of community. Hopefully we’ll get to experience Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama in the next few years. It’ll be amazing.

So I know Mobile might not have been on your radar before today, but doesn’t it sound fantastic and aren’t you ready to plan a trip? I can’t wait to return with my family and have an awesome time making Mardi Gras memories and more.

Want to pin it for your own travel planning to Mobile or the South in general? Go for it!!!

Mobile, Alabama: top 5 ways to celebrate a surprising gem of a city Most random place I’ve visited in a long while: Mobile, Alabama. When I first found out that I got to go I was neutral in my excitement.

#airboat #Alabama #family travel #gay travel #Mardi Gras #Mobile #the South

1 note · View note