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waywardstation · 1 year

Text

Comfort Him

Akari often brings things back from space-time distortions to show to Ingo, in hopes that it will help him regain any of his lost memories. She just didn’t consider it might bring back a memory that’s so distressing.

I wrote this based off of the prompt for the title ‘To Comfort a Parent’ that was given to me by @mismefancy for my title ask game! I also incorporated another request for more Snacktime AU. This has some sadder content than I usually write, but it still has a good ending.

OR read here on AO3!

Enjoy!

————

“I found some new things today, maybe one of these will be different?”

The sound of crinkling reached Ingo’s ears, who was in the middle of scrubbing the last soup bowl clean in the nearby river. He glanced back at Akari to see exactly what he was expecting - from where she sat on a felled log, she was pulling a variety of things out of her satchel - he immediately recognized a few snack bags. Plastic packaging that only came from the space-time distortions.

“Miss Akari, I’m beginning to suspect you purposely hide those until after meals are finished.” Ingo brought the clean bowls back to the snuffed-out cooking fire he had set up, eyeing the various things for no longer than a moment. It seemed she could never stop eating, but that was to be expected from an active teenager’s metabolism… something he did not share.

But, she was doing it for him. He was well aware of that; she often brought him things she would find in the space-time distortions - things that were entirely foreign to the people of Hisui, but were usually very familiar to Akari, and oftentimes faintly so for Ingo. Things that had come from their own time.

Ingo’s recollection of his previous station had considerably improved since his initial interactions with Akari, and they only grew with time. However, such growth was beginning to plateau, and when new memories were knocked loose, they were often small, and insignificant - usually general things, nothing personal for him.

Had he recovered just about everything he could? Akari didn’t think so, and had resorted to more trips to space-time distortions, for more chances to find something that might be their big break - that might be Ingo’s lucky chance to remember something significant.

Nothing had come close to providing that yet - sometimes a few pages ripped out of a magazine would help him dimly recall a passing general event, or an empty pokeball of modern-day design would send faint feelings of familiarity through his hands, but that was it.

It was like picking up shattered glass in the dark - there were many more tiny pieces scattered about than large ones, and reaching out blindly would more likely result in feeling the smaller shards first.

It was… a tedious process. Especially lately, where it seemed things were slowing down considerably.

However, Akari was persistent, incessantly so. She had kept trying, kept finding new things to show him. And Ingo… Ingo appreciated it.

“It’s not a lot, and it’s just items this time!” Akari pulled out a few other items from the bag. “Mostly.”

“Let’s see the items first, then,” Ingo moved to drop down beside her on the log, the dry bark creaking to accommodate him. Let dinner settle a little, first.

“Alright, here’s something I found skewered on the back spikes of a rhydon,” Akari explained, pulling something soft out of the stash. “Hopefully some kid’s not missing it too much!”

Ingo blinked at the item. It was clearly a plush toy of a Pokémon, but he didn’t immediately recognize it as one from Hisui… it didn’t help that there was a large puncture in its face, with stuffing poking out of it.

“Do you recognize this Pokémon?” Akari handed the ruined toy to Ingo, and he held it in his lap, handling it carefully as he took his time looking it over.

It was quadruped, light grey and black. Big head, tiny legs. Small, natural holes decorated the armor on its face and back, as opposed to the unnatural puncture that had destroyed one of the plush’s two big blue eyes.

That one was more like the holes that littered Ingo’s mind.

(Aron). A Pokémon that was brought to the (Battle)(Subway) for fights (on)(the)(lines), and would (nibble) on the (Subway’s)(rails) if they were of the wild variety.

…

A Pokémon that was brought for fights, were they of the wild variety.

…That didn’t seem entirely right.

“I believe the memory of this Pokémon can’t quite reach the station, yet,” Ingo rubbed at the back of his scalp with a hand, where a small aching was beginning to bother him. “But it’s halfway there.”

“It’s an aron,” Akari tried to help the memory the other half of the way. “Likes to eat metal? Evolves into lairon, then aggron?”

Ingo’s frown only deepened at the remark; the characteristic and names were faint sparks in his mind, but nothing more - he could not get a visual image of the evolutions, or even remember the typing for them. It was the exact same feeling he got when he glanced at one of the many voltorb in the highlands… or even his own sneasel.

He handed the damaged toy back over to Akari. “Ah, still not quite there, I’m afraid.”

“No, it’s ok,” A consolatory phrase. One that Ingo had grown accustomed to hearing from her every time she showed him something, anymore. Akari took the plush, and set it back in the pile, before pulling out the next item, and holding it up to him. “What about this? I found this one hanging off a cliffside!”

It was a small, plain shirt; tattered and dirty, there was a print of what almost appeared to be a braviary on it - it was hard to tell with all of the rips littered across the black fabric, though.

Nothing came to mind with this article of clothing at all, aside from the fact that he had recognized shirt designs like this were common where he came from - a realization that was a couple months old at this point, but one that had been special to Akari. It only solidified the idea that they were from a similar, if not the same, time period - she had arrived to Hisui in a plain printed shirt as well, after all.

However, nothing new sprung up at the clothing. Not even the tell-tale aching in the back of his skull, flaring whenever he managed to touch a locked-up memory that was infected with holes.

And why would it?

Ingo suspected Akari knew that more than likely, the mundane article of clothing wouldn’t be familiar to him at all. But he knew she had since resorted to bringing him absolutely anything he hadn’t seen yet.

They had already gone through a lot - Akari had told him about Pokemon gyms, about contests, and competitions. About Pokemon native to her home that she couldn’t find here, as well as others from different regions. About Pokemon centers and Pokemarts, and TMs and HMs. Everything she could think of. And it did bring a considerable amount of information back.

Of the world he had left behind, at least.

But what of his friends? His family? His personal life? How could Akari help lead him back to that prior track, when she had never been a part of it?

Questions never worked, asking about his life or loved ones, no matter how specific they got.

He needed connections.

So what else could she do, besides hope a ruined toy would unlock a memory of a potential close companion of the same form? Or that a ripped shirt would remind him of a friend or family member that had possibly happened to wear the same article of clothing?

It was all she could do, and Ingo knew it just as well as she did. At this point, she could only show him random relics left behind by the distortions.

Hoping it would somehow click.

“Anything?” Akari’s arms began to lower, looking over the top of the shirt at Ingo with cautious hope in her eyes.

“Ah, nothing of significance, I am afraid.” Ingo locked his fingers together, regret in his own gaze; he hated to disappoint her.

“Hmm…” Akari turned to fold and stuff the shirt back into her satchel. “...It’s ok.”

The same consolatory remark again. It was hidden deep, hidden well, but Ingo noticed it sounded… not exactly sadder, but more… disheartened.

She was not obligated to subject herself to such disappointment.

“Miss Akari,” From under the brim of his hat, Ingo’s eyes watched Akari’s hands, putting the shirt away. She paused to glance at him. “My apologies if this is, well, a discouraging process. I am doubly appreciative for your efforts to assist me, but I am aware the tracks are unfortunately slow… and I apologize for that. If you would rather take a break from this, I would understand.”

“What? No, no!” The shirt was forgotten entirely as hands went up, emphasizing. “It’s not! …Something I want to take a break from, I mean! I don’t want to!”

Ingo must have shown a little of his surprise on his face at her enthusiasm, because Akari noticed it.

“I just… I really want to help you get your memories back.” The teenager relaxed a little. She confined her hands to her lap, so they would not fidget with her scarf as she focused on her words. “I think about my mom a lot, and my friends, and my home. I mean, yeah, it's hard sometimes to think about, but I’m really glad I have them. I want you to have that too.”

She knew Ingo wanted it very much; she could see it in his features whenever he listened to her talk about her memories. Not jealousy or envy, but a specific type of sadness. He was able to hide it well, but his eyes would always give him away.

“It doesn’t bother me, even if it takes a while.” She kept going. “It’s not your fault either, but… I don’t look at it like that anyways. I just want to help, any way I can. Even if it takes time.”

The things Ingo had done for her during her time in Hisui went through her mind. How he had led her, accompanied her through the mountains to his noble. How he encouraged her, and appreciated her company. How he taught her how to do certain things, and did his best to guide her when she felt confused. How he made her feel less lonely in a way her other friends couldn’t here in Hisui, the only other person in this world that had come from a previous one before, just like her.

But these things didn’t leave her mouth.

“You’ve done a lot for me.” She simply summed up, instead. “I’d be happy to do something back for you.”

She turned away, back to her pile before Ingo could possibly try and assure her that really, it was alright (but in doing so, she missed the look of appreciation that found its way into his eyes). The sound of shifting fabric was replaced with the crinkling he had first heard earlier.

“Ok, snacktime. Here, try this one first.” Akari held out a small bag to Ingo, wanting him to take it. “You haven’t had these before, right? It’s popcorn, I think.”

The bag was a bright blue, featuring a pair of Pokémon he couldn’t quite recall - small brown bodies, with large fluffy heads. One had a pair of curled green horns, the other blue.

Popping the bag open, Ingo could see the popcorn inside; white and yellow puffs that resembled the Pokémon’s fluffy cotton, and covered in an orange dust.

“You’re correct, as you oftentimes are with these,” Ingo offered the opened bag to Akari as he always did, and she grabbed a messy handful of the puffs to munch on. Ingo took a handful himself, popping them into his mouth one at a time as opposed to Akari, who shoved it all in at once.

Hmm…

Definitely stale.

Just like how they always were in the (vending)(machine) by the (Battle)(Subway). Stale. (Emmet) liked them, but he didn’t know anyone else who did.

…

Just like how they always were. Stale. Someone liked them, but he didn’t know anyone else who did.

Well, that was a lot of nothing, but he shouldn’t be surprised, seeing as how he apparently never really touched the stuff to begin with.

“I think this bag was a little old,” Akari commented with a full mouth, rubbing some of the cheese dust from off her face.

“I believe they’re just like that,” Ingo finished off the popcorn, before neatly flattening the empty bag and handing it back to Akari - he would have simply crumpled it, but he knew she liked to keep and collect some of the packaging to later show to Rei. “But unfortunately, that is the only memory that’s returned to the station; my apologies.”

Once again, Ingo could sense the modicum of disappointment that she couldn’t quite hide with the rest. She took the bag back and folded it neatly, slipping it into her satchel. “No! It’s ok, Ingo, really.”

The warden couldn’t help but feel bad again. Ingo was sort of hoping that was the last thing she had, so that he wouldn’t have to disappoint her for a fourth time tonight. But apparently, she wasn’t done.

“Alright, last thing, I promise,” Akari picked up a small, stocky jar. “I think it’s a drink. Maybe a protein shake, or something-“

She paused as she got a better look at the item in her hands. It was much easier to identify things when she wasn’t swiping things from off the ground, going thirty-something miles an hour from atop Lord Wyrdeer’s back.

“Wait no, nevermind, it’s not a drink. Well, for people, at least. It’s um, a jar of carbos,” slightly surprised, Akari took note of the matching blue cap and triangle symbol on the front - it had been hard to notice with all the dirt that covered it. “Vitamin mix for Pokemon. There are other types too, like Zinc, and Protein… I don’t think I’ve found any of them in a distortion yet, though. I know it’s a long shot, but maybe… see if it reminds you of anything?”

She held the jar out to Ingo. Another offer for him to try again. To try one more time. For her.

A deep breath. Scared to disappoint her again. Ingo reached out, taking the jar in his fingers. “Alright.”

The warden brushed some of the dirt off as he inspected the item more thoroughly. The plastic container was covered in little scratch marks, probably banged up from when it fell through the distortion. The blue triangle on the container stared back at him, a label that didn’t hold much meaning or significance to him. It stirred weak familiarity as a jar of vitamins though, riding off the words of explanation Akari had given.

Out of habit, Ingo turned the carbos over in his hands, his eyes following the label strip as he turned the jar, until-

There was a sticker on the back of the container, stamped over the labeling. Ingo squinted at it, reading over the words - The writing was not Hisuian, just like everything else Akari would fish from the distortions. It was thankfully Galarian, which he could read, but it still took a moment. The scuffed state of the sticker didn’t help either, but Ingo could eventually make out:

CARBOS - 1BP

THANK YOU FOR RIDING THE BATTLE SUBWAY. ENJOY YOUR PRIZE. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU RIDING THE LINES AGAIN SOON. FOLLOW THE RULES AND DRIVE SAFELY!

-INGO AND EMMET

Ingo blinked.

Emmet had come up with that message himself, believing the words of support on the prizes would be appreciated by the trainers. Emmet had run a few variations of the message by him when they were still adjusting to their top positions in the place.

This was a BP exchange item from the Battle Subway. It cost exactly 1BP, and would raise a pokemon’s speed. Valuable, but essential to trainers who wanted to help their Pokemon reach their full potential. Which is why Emmet wanted to lower its cost from 10BP to 1BP.

Emmet always told him he’d start putting this stuff in his coffee, to make him finally start moving faster in the mornings. And he actually did it, once.

There were no holes in these thoughts.

These disconnected, jumbled recollections simultaneously shot like an arrow through Ingo’s brain, a quick, sharp stab before all the pain - all the realization - caught up with it, and bloomed out. Ingo could barely process the memories flooding back.

Emmet. That’s who he was - that’s who the man in white was. Emmet. His brother, who he ran the Battle Subway with.

Emmet’s actual appearance was still just as murky, as were any experiences with him outside of the limited information that was attached to this jar of carbos. But Ingo had something.

His brother was encouraging, to think of putting messages like this onto prizes for trainers, and trusting to come to him for approval on it. His brother was considerate for making prizes like carbos more affordable for trainers, and he was, well… apparently a bit mischievous for putting the nasty stuff in his morning coffee.

He was a good brother though. A brother that he loved dearly, and a brother that loved him back just as much. Ingo knew it. Why else would such a surge of emotions be connected to these sparse memories? His mind could not explain his feelings with memories, but his heart could remember them all the same.

It reassured him, even if he didn’t understand it.

A confused sound left Ingo’s throat, a deep heave in his chest as he tried to keep his head above the rising waters. He looked up to Akari, who was watching him intently, in hopes that she would extend a branch and help him stay afloat.

She blinked at wide grey eyes. “Did you-?”

“My brother-” His fingers were loose around the plastic container, the carbos practically forgotten in his hands. “I have a brother. His… name is Emmet. He works in the Battle Subway, as did I.”

He held up the jar in his hands, now remembered, and turned it around for her to see the sticker - the confusion on her face had been immediate, wondering how he got all of that from a jar of carbos.

“This is a prize item that could be obtained from the Battle Subway, something that could be exchanged for BP. I can’t quite recall what BP stands for, but it was treated as currency for our system…”

As Ingo went on, Akari studied the scuffed sticker on the jar, still in his hands. When her eyes drifted over Ingo and Emmet’s names, her expression lit up, eyes bright as she smiled wide.

“Oh, Ingo! this is great!” Akari jumped up, hardly able to sit still with the excitement buzzing in her chest, making big gestures with her hands. “This is- this is a big thing! You remembered something! You have a brother! And you remember him! And your job, too!”

Akari’s infectious enthusiasm spread to Ingo, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards into a smile as she continued to talk. He did remember. He took another glance down at the worn sticker on the carbos, as if reading Emmet’s name again would bring back more memories.

“You work at the Battle Subway!” Akari kept going, talking a mile a minute. “Which means you’ve got to be from Unova! When I was really young, my mom and I would go there for contests she was in! We went on Gear Station’s subway lines too! I could have already met you and not even known it! Ingo, wouldn’t that be great? I mean, just-!”

Clearly, the prospect of not only living in the exact same timeframe, but also possibly having already met before, was exciting Akari beyond belief.

But as she went on, her words only turned to static in Ingo’s ears.

It was entirely unintentional - he would never purposely tune her out like that. But it was hard not to do it when the third line on the sticker had snagged his attention in its entirety, working its way through his mind as another set of gears started turning in his head.

FOLLOW THE RULES AND DRIVE SAFELY!

Ingo ran his thumb over the rough texture of the scuffed sticker, over the words.

A familiar phrase to him. That was what he always said. He always said that when initiating a battle at the training grounds. Because it always felt right to say so.

But, Emmet was the one who had written the message on this sticker.

These were Emmet’s words.

It was a deep feeling in his gut. They were not his own. They were his brother’s. His dear brother’s. Those were Emmet’s words that had stuck with him, and remained in his heart.

Had he always been saying Emmet’s phrases? No wonder they always filled him with such will. Such determination. They were the words of his brother. His encouraging, trusting, compassionate, mischievous brother.

Emmet’s words had left him with a will to keep going when he had been separated, even if he didn’t realize it until now. But what had he left Emmet with?

Did he leave him with anything at all? Did Emmet know where he was? That he was still alive?

Did he leave Emmet all alone, for all this time?

Ingo could not recall any of the answers, but a deep, nauseating bubble of grief filled his chest at the questions before it could go any deeper.

His heart could remember what his mind could not. He did not understand the intensity. And this time, it terrified him.

Grief only hurt like this when something you dearly cared about was wronged.

Something had happened before he had departed from his previous station, to this one in Hisui. Something terrible, and he knew it involved Emmet.

What if he couldn’t ever get back to him, and fix it? What if he was stuck here in Hisui permanently?

The new, upsetting wave of emotions in his heart welled up out of his chest, unable to be contained, forced down deep the way tried so hard to maintain sometimes. They filled his eyes, blurring his vision, until they began to stream down his face.

“...My mom said that on the first trip, when I was really little, I got lost at the station,” Akari continued on, oblivious. “And that staff helped her find me! What if you had talked to my mom? Or your brother did? Or even-”

Any further words died in Akari’s throat at the sound of a sniff, and her excitement followed her words as she turned to see Ingo. One hand still held on to the carbos jar, but he was rubbing his eyes with the other, catching tears with the heel of his palm.

…Was he crying?

“Ingo?” A foreign, novel anxiety sprang up in Akari’s chest, cold and uncomfortable.

Ingo does not cry.

“Are… you ok?”

A glance up from under the brim of his tattered hat, eyes heavy with tears.

“I am alright, Miss Akari,” Ingo sniffed, “It’s just that…Emmet, I don’t- I believe something happened, before… and I am afraid that I’ll be unable to-“

The confusing emotions kept pushing. The tears kept falling. Ingo shut his eyes tight, which only squeezed out a few more fresh ones. A deep breath around the swell in his throat.

He did not want to burden Akari with this. He was the adult, and she was a child, she shouldn’t have to-

“…Please excuse me,” Ingo sniffed again, wiping at the tears with his sleeve as he looked away. They wouldn’t stop coming. “I- I don’t wish to… I can’t seem to-“

It was all he could get out before his voice cracked. He stopped hopelessly attempting to form a sentence, and relented to simply choking back a sob. It was quiet, in a way. He suppressed himself so as not to openly weep, but each stutter of breath was still agonizing. Leaning forward to hide his eyes under the brim of his cap, the tears came down.

Akari was struck with a cold shock, unsure what to do. She had never seen Ingo like this. He had never cried, regardless of whether it was simply misty eyes, or relentless tears being shed. And the sound of him sobbing was so foreign to her; it felt so wrong. So sad.

At least, she had never seen him do such things.

Her heart clenched at the possibility that perhaps it was different when it came to times of solitary, when he was alone and no one was watching.

But what if it wasn’t like that either? He could have just as easily been bottling these feelings up inside, consciously or subconsciously, letting things grow tighter and tighter in a fragile heart, until the pressure shattered it.

Both thoughts made Akari all the more appreciative that they were out in the wilderness, away from any prying eyes and attentive ears of the Jubilife villagers. She was sure Ingo felt doubly grateful. Because either way, it was obvious he needed to get it out.

Ingo restrained a few more sobs before he slumped forward into his hands, elbows propped weakly against his knees. Perhaps it was out of grief weighing heavy on his shoulders, or it was simply to hide his face, and the tears that rolled down it. Either way, Akari’s heart ached, squeezing so hard in her chest that she almost felt nauseous.

She had never seen him like this.

Akari moved to sit back down on the log next to Ingo. She was still for a moment as his shoulders jolted with each stifled choke, before hesitantly reaching around his middle as best she could in a hug.

She said nothing as she leaned against him, embracing him - what could she possibly say? Ingo continued to sob. She knew he probably couldn’t stop now even if he wanted to - containing such strong and built-up emotions after letting them out was comparable to fitting a steelix into a pickling jar. But a heavy arm moved, shuddering, and he turned his torso to better accommodate her efforts, and embrace her back.

Akari readily took the opportunity, and buried herself into his warm front, securing her arms around his back. She felt his arms settle around her in turn, holding onto the comfort she was offering. The way his chest stuttered, bouts of sporadic breathing interrupting an otherwise-smooth cycle, only made Akari settle further against him, practically in an effort to ease it.

He was hurting.

And he probably had been for a long time, even if he didn’t realize it.

Akari had always assumed Ingo’s amnesia was a curse. All it had ever seemed to do was cause strife - Ingo would doubt himself on many things due to it. And he never spoke about it out loud, but Akari could tell he would occasionally question subjects pertaining to himself and his previous life that she didn’t want him to even entertain.

What was he like before Hisui - as a person? Were people as wary to trust him in his own time as they are here? Did they have reasons not to trust him? Was his morality previously… tarnished? Did he do something wrong - something wrong enough to land him here in Hisui?

It was a very slippery slope of bad thoughts that Akari always wanted him to dismiss. She hated the thought of them, but how could one not at least wonder about it from time to time, if they had no memories of the person they were before?

But now, Akari believed it had been a blessing. He couldn’t miss the things he terribly loved if he didn’t remember them. He couldn’t worry over loved ones he didn’t remember, or ache for home if he couldn’t recall what home felt like. He couldn’t torment himself over the events leading up to his demise, or think of what he could have done differently, if he didn’t recall what had happened before. He couldn’t lament his previous life progressing without him if he didn’t know how good he really had it. He couldn’t question if there was a plan for him like there were plans for Akari, if he didn’t realize their methods of arrival were vastly different.

He could not beg for a ticket back home if he didn’t know enough about what home actually was, and what unfinished business he left behind, to consider it terrifying that the trip might possibly be a one-way deal.

His amnesia had been protecting him from some terribly distressing feelings, and she had dug them back up.

All with a jar of carbos.

Akari felt her throat tighten uncomfortably as blurry stinging welled up in her eyes. Ingo’s tunic caught a tear as it fell; an infectious action in turn from a cold wetness spreading on her shoulder, his own continued tears.

She had never seen him like this.

“I’m so sorry,” Akari’s voice was muffled against his tunic. She continued to feel the sporadic heaves of Ingo’s lungs, stuttering around his sobs; he said nothing in his current state, as she didn’t think he even could. But the shakey, reassuring squeeze he gave her told her that he appreciated the gesture.

He had always been there to comfort and ease her. To tell her that things were ok, and that he would fix whatever was wrong to the best of his abilities. Several times, she had admittedly cried to him about her homesickness, and her mother, and her friends. And he always listened. Always reassured her. Always indulged in her good memories, and spoke well of her friends and family that he had never even met.

It felt almost jarring to be in such a position now, the other way around where she was the one comforting him over such things. She sometimes forgot that he was really only around twice her age, three times at the most. That he was not only just as lost in this world as she was, but even deeper in the thickets than her… and yet he was always trying to push her forward, closer to the clearing and out of the woods.

He was such a sturdy, supportive foundation in this unstable reality for her, that she oftentimes (and shamefully) forgot he was just as scared of the uncertain future, and his place within it, as she was… if not more.

A distressing recollection might have been the catalyst for the tears, but she knew more was pouring out than just that. Months of built up stress, and confusion, and worrying-

He needed someone to tell him it would be alright too.

He missed home, just like her.

She hugged him tighter, squeezing.

“You’ll get back home. To Emmet. And everyone else who cares about you. I’ll fulfill my purpose here, I’ll earn my way back, and, I-I‘ll take you with me.” Akari spoke against his chest. The wetness continued to spread over her shoulder. “I won’t leave you here. No matter what. You… you’re going to see them all again.”

The tears kept coming from above her. Akari’s unspoken words of appreciation from earlier welled up in her heart - why did she never say them to him?

“You’ve helped me so much,” she let the words flow. “You spend time with me, and you care about me, and listen to me, and… I miss my mom a lot, but I don’t feel so alone here when I’m with you. It would be… very different without you here. And I… I know Emmet is feeling that. I know he wants you back. I’m taking you back with me, and you’re going to see him again, and whatever happened will be fixed.”

Ingo had needed to hear that. A deep breath shuddered as he slumped forward. Another gentle squeeze in his arms as he continued to quietly cry. Broken heaves of breath through restrained sobs.

Akari remained leaned against him, head resting close to his aching heart.

She would not leave him in this place.

They sat like that for a while, the cold darkness of the wilderness surrounding them. Ingo continued to cry, and Akari let him.

She had never seen him like this, because he had always tried his hardest not to let anyone, especially her, see him like this. He did not want to burden her with his stressors. But she did not see it as a burden at all.

She was going to complete her purpose. She was going to earn her way back home. She was going to take Ingo with her.

She would not leave him in this place.

Things would be ok.

#submas #Ingo #warden Ingo #Akari #Pokemon akari #emmet #subway boss Emmet #subway master Emmet #pokémon legends arceus #Pokémon legends #Pokemon legends arceus #Pokemon legends #pokemon #pokemon fanfic #pokemon fanfiction #snacktime au #waywardstationfanfic

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 1 month

Note

Hello! Is it okay to request Reader in Pokemon Legend: Arceus?

Reader is Clan Leader, not in Diamond or Pearl, Clan named the Platinum Clan and that worhips Giratina

This Clan used to be the original (and probably oldest) a conflict happens that now split in two and that is the Diamond clan and Pearl Clan.

The Platinum clan has now forgotten at the current age of the Hisui yet its still standing and hidden away

Reader's has the Disney belle like personality, caring and knowledgeable, and their the same age as Adaman and/or Irida.

-Tales and rumors were scattered around Hisui about a group, much like the Pearl and Diamond Clans that operated, serving as wardens, protectors against Pokemon that were too wild for normal people to handle.

-Very few knew more than a rumor or two, and many believed they were just that, rumors and stories, but those few who knew more told of another clan, the one that gave birth, to put it simply, to the other two clans, the Platinum Clan.

-The Platinum Clan originally existed years ago, long before the age of the Hisui of today, worshipping a powerful Pokemon, one they revered as a god, Giratina.

-The clan was the birthplace of the largest conflict known to history, at least to those who knew the history, when opposing individuals in the clan argued over their lord, and with it, they disbanded, becoming the rivals of today.

-There was one who knew of the Platinum Clan very well, knowledge that had been passed down from generation to generation, as the current leader of the Platinum Clan.

-You worshipped Giratina, much like your ancestors, making them proud, leaving him offerings and praying to him. It didn’t matter to you if you were one of the few in your clan, you kept the old ways alive, you wouldn’t let their memory die out.

-You were a courier, working between the different clans and Jubilife Village, working mainly for the Galaxy Expedition Team, you handled delivering letters and reports, as well as supplies between the different areas of Hisui.

-Many regarded you as odd, as you would go out into that dangerous world, where wild Pokemon could easily attack you, without a guard or even a Pokemon to call your own!

-You didn’t mind, as the wild Pokemon were friendly to you, most of the time, as you respected them, you treated them with kindness, minding their space if they wanted space, and many knew of the witchcraft you performed in the form of head pats and scratches!! Many told tales to their other Pokemon friends, and they wanted to try it for themselves, so it wasn’t that odd to see you surrounded by Pokemon at any given time, but you were never worried or scared.

-You were walking along, traveling to a meeting point with both Adaman and Irida, where the three of you planned to meet, when you slowed, coming across a cemetery, one that had been reclaimed by nature, being long forgotten.

-This was another thing that many thought you were odd for, always going to and exploring cemeteries! And to do it with a smile on your face made everything worse in the eyes of others!!

-You pulled your pack off, finding a large tree in the center of the cemetery and pulled out several berries you had, most of them were gifts from Pokemon, payment for their affections they so adore.

-You prayed quietly to Giratina, wishing for others to be safe, and for him to guide the souls of those who were lost to where they needed to be.

-As you took off, hurrying so Irida wouldn’t scold you for being late again, you missed a distortion in the tree, as if something was peeking through, as the berries almost instantly vanished.

-It had seen you before, watching you grow, from the shadows of an alternate universe, the one that it called it’s prison. It saw how hard you worked, and how hard and devoted you prayed to him, and your selfless prayers, to help others, made this being grow soft, such a kind human was worthy to protect.

-You had no ideas that only a week later, a massive rift in space, above Mount Coronet appeared, altering Hisui as everyone knew it.

#pokemon #giratina #hisui

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dragonofthedepths · 2 years

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Neutral wardens AU 15.5.22

The Wardens of Hisui belong to neither Diamond Clan nor Pearl Clan, they are sourced from the clans yes, but upon accepting the position they cease to be members of either.

This was not always the way things were, once the Wardens were split between the clans. But when you live far away from anyone save for one other person who you see most frequently, it is hard not to grow a companionship with them.

And when in the last war between the clans, one side decided to attack a Warden of the opposing side, this companionship was tested and proven, the combined fury of the Wardens, regardless of Clan, was turned on those who would harm one of them.

Following that it was understood by all parties that the clans would hold no power over the Wardens. That their duty attending to the sacred Nobles acknowledged by both clans as blessed by Almighty Sinnoh's power, was above any disagreement as to what Almighty Sinnoh's nature might be.

The Wardens serve the Nobles of Almighty Sinnoh, and the land of Hisui. Attacking any one is not an explicit offense to either clan, but to all ten Wardens and Nobles, and they will not hesitate to respond viciously.

The Galaxy Team makes a mistake when searching for people to blame for the breaking of the sky.

(Melli arrives at the head of the pack, Lord Electrode at his side as Lady Sneasler shows them the way. Kamado comes to regret a lot.)

Day (340/100) of my #infinitedaysofwriting @the-wip-project

#Subway Boss Ingo #Warden Melli #Wardens of Hisui #Ingo and Melli are friends #Pokémon Legends Arceus #highlandsshipping #not exactly but it could be read that way #all shippers feel free to interact the entirety of my blog is a very pro shipping space #Kamado imprisons Ingo #Pokémon #Warden Ingo #Lady Sneasler #Lord Electrode #Nobles of Hisui #Commander Kamado #∞daysofwriting #scribblings from the deep #fix tags later #Submas

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grismavessel · 1 year

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Idea for your vessel au with Ingo being the vessel of Zekrom either the present or the one from Hisui's time

ive been thinking about this for a while because I love the idea of there being more vessels and also it gives me an excuse to draw an emmet version <3

(time to ramble about the au <3<3)

The theory that 'oh ingo and emmet must be the two brothers of ideals and truths' works really well with this since Ingo is stuck in the past until further confirmation!

The vessel au was mostly just centered around the creation trio but I like the idea that other legendary pokemon can have this effect on people too. I mostly intended for it to be a very unpleasant experience, strange at best because it's not a natural thing to become almost a puppet of a legendary pokemon.

But then I thought about how some legendaries aren't at war with one another constantly. Like Lunala and Solgaleo, they're chill right? Zamazenta and Zacian?

Reshiram and Zekrom are meant to be a balance of two things that oppose one another. Truth versus Ideals. But they still work together, having once been just one dragon. So I think they'd be pretty chill.

For the au I think the purpose of the duo needing to find a human to make into a vessel would be just to solely find a set of humans that resemble their fabled trainers from their legends, the two brothers that took care of them. One who favored Ideals and one who favored truths, that way the legendaries could maintain balance no matter what. Each would have their trainer again, each would have insight into their region/domain, and protect either's respective duty.

The twins represent that the most since Emmet smiles even when he isn't supposed to, but he's honest in his words of choice, he tells the truth and seeks the truth. Ingo is expressive in everything other than his expression, he seeks ideals because he cannot show it physically. (if that makes sense) and it goes hand in hand with the theory that Ingo and Emmet are the original brothers.

So Reshiram and Zekrom live comfortably with the twins since in the usual story of the au, neither host or pokemon live in harmony which causes side effects. Of course the twins look do change, Emmet gets whiter and a little more smokier than usual and Ingo gets darker hair and sparks that emit from his eyes and a few scales since Reshiram looks more feather/cloud/smoke like and Zekrom looks more made of metal/solids and they both get almost yin yan like halos

BUT

If one half of the duo/balance gets yeeted into the past and suffers from memory loss, there could be dire consequences.

Ingo loses his memories via in the process of traveling through time and space or through some injury upon arrival, it would cause his mind to break in a sense, which also affects the legendary that's made it's home in his mind.

In this au of an au of an au Zekrom would be amnesiac like Ingo too! Only, it doesn't take it very well. If you are a being made to be apart of a balance, a duo, and you are missing that other half, but no longer know why/who/what that other half was suppose to be you would also lose a sense of purpose as well. And for a 'God' that would be very distressing.

So it would lash out, giving Ingo the typical good ole' vessel au side effects of headaches, fatigue, and even more warped features.

In terms of how Gris and Ingo would interact if they were to find out Ingo was also a vessel would be sort of bittersweet?

Ingo and Gris both get to bond over a strange thing happening to the both of them, but also both would know that neither are doing well with the fact that neither can physical handle having their minds so full of angry/distressed god pokemon.

And Zekrom would be able to recognize Arceus and Giratina's presence in Gris, it gets scared while on the other hand, Giratina couldn't care less about the minor god. Arceus however knows there's even more mess to clean up.

#I AM SO SORRY I TOOK FOREVER TO ANSWER #LIFE HIT ME WITH A STICK #IT HURTED #anyways I love your asks and your art as always and I wish I could draw faster <3 #vessel au #zekrom #unova #ingo #submas #emmet #subway master ingo #pokemon black and white #pokemon bw #ingo and emmet #reshiram #rambles #answering asks #writing #also sort of a ref for emmet's hair because boy do I not draw the other half of the submas twins that often

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kiyfra · 1 year

Text

The third and final chapter of Katatsumuri is finished! It can be read here or on A03. Pokerus AU belongs to @monsoon-of-art.

"A creature given to melancholy. I suspect its metallic shell developed as a result of the mucus on its skin reacting with the iron in Hisui's water."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Gaeric’s tent was still coated in ice, a thick sheet of it forming a few days ago. The warden’s remaining hand had fallen off just as his arm and leg had, this time during the clan’s communal dinner. A loud crack was heard through the dining hall and the hand shattered like glass upon hitting the ground, drawing everyone’s attention. Gaeric had solemnly gotten up and announced he was going to bed, managing his crutch as best he could and ignoring his concerned clan mates offering to help. He kept his head down and headed to his tent with a thousand yard stare.

A heavy snow storm raged that night and come morning the tent was cocooned in a dense layer of ice, separating it from the outside world. Neither fire nor steel could put a dent in it; a complete black box where Gaeric was presumably undergoing the final stages of his metamorphosis.

Shouts asking if he was alright hadn’t produced a response, indeed nothing could be heard from within the ice chrysalis. Even if Gaeric was attempting to ride it out as stoically as possible, he would have wanted to reassure his worried clan members. Either he couldn’t hear them or he couldn’t answer, neither was comforting. There was an eerie stillness in the air as the clan waited.

Lian almost envied the solitude. He spent most of his time in his tent, withdrawn into his shell, hoping to blot out the world around him. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this, slimy, immobile, unable to fulfill his duties as a warden and completely dependent on others.

He had been transformed completely into a sliggoo, the painful process finally at an end after so many weeks. It had felt like a Fox resided in him and took delight in tormenting him. Lian could imagine sharp claws slowly dragging organs into place, muscles being stretched and molded. His entire body being rearranged as it saw fit, heedless of his cries begging it to stop. A metallic shell grew out of his skin, spiraling around his lower half as his legs atrophied.

With his transformation complete the thing had gone dormant, evidently satisfied with the new arrangement. Enzymes had finished dissolving his skeleton, his flesh was gluey to the touch and muscular tissue affixed to the absurdly heavy shell.

Lian just didn’t want to think or feel anything. Not the vicious cycle of his body excreting acidic mucus when he was stressed, then the awful disgusting feeling stressing him out more. Not about how he couldn’t keep being Lord Kleavor’s warden and how he’d be stuck like this forever. If he kept trying to retreat further back and concentrate on the smooth curved interior of his shell, he could pretend he didn’t even have a body.

People still came to bring him meals and check on him before Lian quickly dismissed them. He knew if he didn’t he’d have to endure awkward attempts at conversation and answer unwanted questions.

“How are you doing? You really shouldn’t spend all your time moping. Why don’t you join everyone else for dinner?”

What was he even supposed to say to that?

The clan respected his need for space and Lian knew he wasn’t the only one suffering. Very few across Hisui had escaped the bizarre infliction turning people into pokémon; PokéRus, as the Galaxy professor called it. Those that worked closely with pokémon turned first, meaning the wardens and clan leaders, but it soon spread to everyone. Snovers, bunearys, piloswines, sneasles and an assortment of others at differing stages of transformation became a common sight at the settlement.

It wasn’t much fun turning into a quadruped, losing opposable thumbs or gaining bizarre new dietary needs. Many had been trying to ignore their newfound desires to eat grass or raw meat. Lian himself found that anything with salt made him violently ill, so that meant he couldn’t eat any of the clan’s cured meat they had stored. He had mostly been eating soup, the liquid diet being the easiest on him since his teeth fell out.

A bowl of mushroom stew sat uneaten by his bedside, having gone cold an hour ago. Lian couldn’t stand the goopy squelching noises that came from him when eating. Eating sounds had always bothered and disgusted him, but were now unbearable. He was repulsed by the urge to let his own acid dissolve the food before eating or needing to use a chitinous tongue to eat anything solid. He could barely bring himself to eat the meals brought to him, only doing so at his partner’s insistence.

Goomy hadn’t left his side since he was brought to the settlement, frequently leaning against him in an attempt to comfort him and kicking up a fuss if he thought Lian was letting himself waste away.

He knew it was wrong to worry his partner like that, especially after the stunt he pulled in the mire lands. It had given him and Calaba quite a fright when Lord Kleavor started bellowing outside Calaba’s tent, carrying him by the scruff of his tunic, half-conscious.

His partner abruptly perked up, noticing someone approaching the camp briefly before Lian did. A small dewott treaded through the Pearl Clan settlement carrying a heavy satchel. They were beating a path directly to Lian’s tent, the physical details filled in long before they approached the door. Black nub ears poked out from a head-kerchief and a long scarf was wound snuggly around their neck. The locks of hair adorning both sides of their face like mock lop ears couldn’t have belonged to anyone else but Dawn.

She had clearly been swimming recently; water droplets still clung to her fur and her scarf was frozen stiff. Snow stuck to her fluffed up coat and ice crystals formed at the end of her whiskers. She was still pretty, even as a dewott.

A small paw rapped on the door to his tent. “Lian, can I come in?”

He really didn’t want Dawn to see him. He spent several seconds trying to think of a response, some way to send her away that wasn’t rude before she asked, “Are you okay?”

He didn’t dignify that with an answer. She seemed to realize her mistake and followed up with, “Right, that was a dumb question.”

There was an awkward pause as Dawn deliberated on what she should say or do next. No one in the Pearl Clan would take kindly to someone entering their home, their sacred space, without permission. If Lian told her to leave, there was nothing she could do.

After some deliberation, she decided to just go for it and state the reason for her visit.

“I brought you something,” Dawn announced, lifting her waterlogged satchel up. She clearly went out of her way to see him and there was no polite way to tell her to leave. Besides, Lian would be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued by the gift and what she went swimming in the ice lands for.

His curiosity won out. “Come in.”

The dewott opened the door, shaking herself to clear the water and snow off before entering.

It was completely dark inside his tent save for the afternoon sun pouring through the now open door, giving his living space a depressing atmosphere. He was resting on the floor next to his bed, peering out over the edge of his shell self-consciously, with his partner Goomy beside him. He still wore his hat, without it he’d feel completely naked.

Lian’s tent had fallen into a state of disarray with his Pearl Clan uniform tossed carelessly onto the bed that could no longer support his weight, blankets strewn about on the floor and neatly arranged shelves of stones and minerals gathering dust. A lantern that hadn’t been used in some time sat upon a table next to his uneaten lunch.

Dawn closed the door behind her to avoid letting the heat escape, once again plunging the tent into darkness. She strode towards him before stumbling, her foot caught on one of the many blankets he had left lying around for his makeshift nest.

“May I put on a light?” the girl asked, clearly not wanting to impose.

Lian had no need for a light source in his current state and his partner was unbothered by the dim living space so it failed to occur to him that his guest would need one.

“My apologies, the lantern is on the table,” Lian said, mentally kicking himself for his lack of consideration.

Dawn stood on tip toes as she lit the lantern, the orange glow illuminating the cluttered abode.

“Please do forgive the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.”

She brushed it off as not a big deal as she sat down cross legged beside him, setting the satchel down on her lap. Goomy was happy to see her, sidling up and clamouring for attention. Dawn laughed as she pat his head. “Sorry, I didn’t bring anything for you.”

She returned her attention to the gift and opened her satchel.

“I went diving for rocks for your collection.”

He hadn’t expected that. Nobody really payed much attention to his lectures on minerals or the importance of stones. He was used to being politely tolerated when he tried to share his knowledge about ores and later admonished for boring people with long winded speeches.

“I thought there might be some interesting ones underwater you couldn’t find on land,” she explained, looking for a stone she deemed a good one.

Under normal circumstances Lian would have been stoked. He’d always wanted to investigate underwater rock formations and having a friend to spend the afternoon with, speculating about their composition and formation would have been the cherry on top.

It almost seemed cruel the opportunity would come now when he couldn’t fully appreciate such a gift with the loss of his eyesight. Never again would he be able to see the subtle flecks of mica in a sun stone or the deep blue of a water stone. Lian hoped his despondency wasn’t too apparent; it was a very thoughtful gesture and he didn’t want to come across as ungrateful.

“This one came from Heart’s Crag. I found it on the way over here,” Dawn said, passing one of the rocks over to him.

He accepted the gift and turned it over in his hands. It was a flat disk shaped stone, one that had been smoothed out by erosion at the bottom of a riverbed. A pleasing streak of quartz ran through it with a small pocket of crystals that hadn’t been worn down in the center.

Was it a pale grey, a dark black or perhaps a ruddy red? Would he forget what those looked like with time?

“So, what do you think?” Dawn asked, looking up at him hopefully.

He considered his response for a long minute.

“Thank you for the gift and for taking the time to visit me. I truly do appreciate your concern.“ Lian said finally, sounding too careful, too rehearsed.

He didn’t seem inclined to say much more, but Dawn wasn’t giving up that easily. Ignoring the implicit rejection, she searched her bag for another rock, one she brought specifically for this purpose.

Time to bring out the conversation starter.

“You know, I think I actually found gold!”

Dawn removed an ore from her bag and Lian’s senses informed him of the rigid cubes composing its shape, immediately guessing the girl’s mix up. She handed it to him for appraisal, confirming what he’d already suspected.

“This is pyrite, fool’s gold. The most obvious giveaway is the cubic structure, but if you look closely you can see striations on its surface,” he lectured his impromptu student, pointing to the parallel lines covering the exterior.

“Wow, you can tell all that just from touching it?” She sounded genuinely surprised.

“Sure I can, that’s child’s play! But this...“ he picked up the river stone to gesture with it. “I can’t tell you much besides that it’s probably igneous. The weight and density means it’s unlikely to be sedimentary and a cavity like this wouldn’t remain if it was metamorphic.”

Lian brought the stone in front of his face and squinted as if straining his eyes would cause them to miraculously start working again.

“I’d wager that a gas bubble was trapped in the quartz vein while it was still magma and a slow cooling process allowed larger crystals to form.”

It was clear from his tone that he didn’t consider the observation impressive. The girl looking up at him with wide eyes evidently disagreed.

“If you call that not knowing much then you must be a genius! It’s no wonder Lord Kleavor made you his warden!”

If the praise were coming from anyone else he would have agreed without hesitation. But praise from the girl turned dewott sitting cross legged in front of him caused his face to grow warm and he mumbled about how it wasn’t that impressive with uncharacteristic modesty.

Dawn rooted through her satchel again and brought out a handful of rocks. “What can you tell me about these?”

The two of them spent a solid hour going over the various stones collected from around Hisui, Dawn listening attentively as he lectured her about composition, formation and any other noteworthy facts.

Lian had a considerable base of knowledge to draw upon, but it was an interesting test of his abilities to identify minerals without visual information. He’d explain what he could discern about the rocks he had never seen before and account for how years underwater changed the ones he was familiar with, adding a new layer of complexity. He was surprised that he found himself enjoying the challenge.

Crystalline, gritty, porous; the shapes and textures told him a lot about their makeup and the environments they were formed in. He would speculate out loud and Dawn would interject with questions he was all too happy to answer.

A thought occurred to him. Did she deliberately choose stones that would be interesting from a tactile perspective? She’s so kind and intelligent...

Dawn finally brought out the last rock, a hunk of limestone embedded with many tiny shells. “They kind of look like helix fossils, but way smaller.”

“I wonder if they might have been juveniles of the species,” Lian pondered.

“No, baby omanytes are nowhere near that small,” Dawn said, recalling when Lucas bred one of his omastars and Professor Rowan’s lab was overrun by a swarm of the cute little buggers.

Lian looked at her incredulously. “How would you know?”

“Back home there were researchers that studied fossils. They could tell a lot about the pokémon they used to be and I was helping a professor with a research project.”

Dawn was careful not to mention she had live specimens to study. Explaining she was from a place where people had figured out how to revive species from fossils would sound far too suspicious, never mind telling anyone she was from the future.

Lian wasn’t wary or distrustful of her like some people were. There was already an amnesiac skyfaller that had been part of his clan for years, but Kleavor’s warden could still be rather prickly. A lot of people in Hisui were highly superstitious and Kamando had made it clear her place in Jubilife was conditional. No, the fewer people that knew, the better.

“I used to spend a lot of time in the Underground and I’d find a lot of fossils to bring back. I think you’d really like it there!”

Lian listened, enraptured as Dawn talked at length about the massive tunnel system that ran under her home region and how plenty of people built secret bases and went treasure hunting there. She spoke of rare evolution stones, rocks with mysterious effects on the weather, ores valued by collectors and fossils she sought after for her research.

“I’ve never found a skull fossil! My friends find them all the time, but I’ve never found one!” Dawn ranted, throwing her hands up in frustration.

Lian swung his head towards her, his eyes narrowing gave the impression he was staring straight at her.

“Didn’t you say you lost your memories?” he blurted out, his tone probably sounding more accusatory than he meant it to.

“Well, er-“

In her excitement, Dawn had forgotten she was supposed to be playing the role of a poor amnesiac girl.

“I- I started remembering some things recently!” she hastily explained.

A flash of inspiration struck her. “After my first battle with Ingo I started recalling some things about my home. Battles have been jogging my memory lately.”

Lian’s expression didn’t change. Dawn wasn’t sure if he believed the lie or not; either way he didn’t challenge her on it. It’s not like he could prove she was lying.

Itching to change the subject, she asked, “Actually, I’ve got a question. Obsidian is formed by volcanoes right? But I’ve seen scythers and gravelers carrying pieces of Black Augurite. So how does it get all the way to the Fieldlands?”

“There are large deposits in the Obsidian Fieldlands.” Lian accepted the change in topic, eager to discuss anything relating to his passions with such an inquisitive student. “That’s actually where it gets it’s name! My current theory is that they were picked up and moved by glaciers during the ice age.”

Goomy had started to doze off, content to leave the two of them to their geology lesson. A thick bubble of snot formed, expanding and deflating with his snores.

“But not all obsidian is Black Augurite. Every warden to a Noble Kleavor has to learn how to distinguish the evolution stone from regular obsidian.”

Lian had extended pretty far out of his shell, drawn up and excitedly gesturing for emphasis.

“Of course, I learned long before anyone ever considered me for the position. It was only natural Lord Kleavor recognized my aptitude and chose me to be his warden.”

He already had several pieces stored away for when the Lord of the Woods chose his heir. Lian was quite familiar with the largest and most powerful of his children, an alpha scyther that he allowed to share his territory.

They were quite an impressive specimen with a sturdy carapace and serrated scythes who the Lord wouldn’t even considered for the position, for the usual reasons alphas were passed over. Far too aggressive and preoccupied with their own standing, they held little appreciation for the duties and expectations the Noble title conferred. Lord Kleavor and his warden would just have to keep an eye on his offspring to determine which of his children was a worthy successor.

Would he ever ever get to present his Black Augurite to an heir? Lian tried to imagine tending to his Noble as a sliggoo and nothing seemed right. How could he possibly gather the plump beans for Lord Kleavor and his children, let alone present offerings covered in cold snot? A sliggoo couldn’t socialize baby scythers and get them used to humans.

Lian retreated back into his shell, his eyes barely visible from under the brim of his hat. “I might have to give mine away...” he said, his voice tiny.

“What? Why?” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise and worry.

He took a deep breath, hoping his words would convey his conundrum and testiness wouldn’t creep into his voice. “I don’t believe I can continue being a warden in my current state. Lord Kleavor deserves to have a warden that can properly tend to him.”

Dawn stared at him quizzically. “Because you turned into a pokémon? I don’t know who you think would replace you then. Everyone has been infected.”

“Someone who wouldn’t offend Lord Kleavor with offerings covered in mucus!” Lian would have grit his teeth if he still had any, feeling a surge of irritation at her failure to comprehend his predicament.

She blinked. “Then wear gloves!”

Dawn had stood up to shout, startling Goomy awake, his sleep bubble bursting with a loud pop.

Lian was running out of patience. “I have to fill and bring a basket to Grandtree Arena at least twice daily, often more. How do you expect me to carry it?”

“You can work something out!” She let out an exasperated sigh. “Lian, what exactly is your plan here? Are you just going to spend the rest of your life sulking in your room?”

By now Lian was fuming at her, gripping the edge of his shell and wishing she could feel the rage that must be coming off of him in waves, lest he say something he would later regret.

Dawn continued. “Look, I don’t know what’s going to happen, maybe you can’t be a warden anymore. But there are problems of yours that you can solve.”

He had half a mind to yell at her to get out. This sort of discussion was exactly what he didn’t want and why he had turned everyone else away. Had she planned this from the start? Lian felt a sting of betrayal at her entering his home to talk under such false pretenses.

“All of this is easy for you to say when you’re still walking around, on two legs I might add, with all your senses working just fine and your skeleton intact.” Lian started, venom dripping from his words.

Goomy shrunk in on himself, trying to look as small as possible knowing this was going to turn ugly.

“But some of us have to face the indignities of not even being able to get out of our beds or homes without assistance. Do you know that when I have to relieve myself I need to have Paulina carry me away and bring me back? So don’t lecture me on what I should be doing when you had it easy!”

Dawn stared at him in stunned silence. He wasn’t sure if his rebuke had sounded as poignant as he intended or if he had sounded petulant to her.

“I had it easy? My mom and my friends don’t know where I am and probably think I’m dead and I’ll never get to see them again!”

Lian knew he screwed up. His anger quickly fizzled away and was replaced by an uneasy regret, but Dawn wasn’t finished yet.

“The Galaxy Team decided that I had to risk my life to save your Nobles and people still think that I’m to blame for all this! Do you think I can just mope around in my room? No, I have to work my butt off every single day if I don’t want to be left to fend for myself in the wilderness! And I've got to do all of this while knowing I’m never going to go home and I don’t even get to be a human!”

Dawn stood there with her hands balled into fists and shaking, looking like she was about to cry.

If Lian thought his ire was palpable, her rage could have incinerated him on the spot. He wanted nothing more than retreat into his shell to hide in shame.

“I’m not going to stand here and argue with you over which of us has it worse. But don’t you dare tell me I had it easy!” Her voice cracked as she finished her tirade.

Lian struggled to find the words that could properly express the guilt prickling at him. How could he have said something so blatantly disrespectful to the girl that had calmed his Lord and scoured Hisui for gifts to cheer him up? It was several agonizingly long minutes before he found the ability to speak again.

“I’ve allowed my frustrations to get the better of me and I spoke out of turn. You have my sincerest apologies for such unwarranted hostility.”

The mechanical sounding apology seemed horribly inadequate and Dawn remained impassive. He made a point of turning his face towards her to create the illusion he was looking her in the eye.

“I lost my mother too, several years ago. I understand what it’s like knowing you’ll never see someone again.” He pulled down the brim of his hat. “I’m sorry.”

Dawn sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her paw as she sat back down. “Neither of us wants things to be this way, but they are and there’s nothing we can do about that. Why don’t we focus on what we can change?”

She opted not to mention her studies with Volo into the myths of Hisui’s legendary hero or both of their search for the plates. The merchant believed something similar happened long ago and the plates held the solution to Hisui’s current predicament. While Volo was convinced and Dawn was inclined to trust his judgment, she remained cautiously optimistic without much else to go off of. She didn’t want to get Lian’s hopes up in case that didn’t pan out.

“What would you have me do?” Lian asked.

Goomy squeaked for his trainer’s attention and drew itself up as tall as possible, swaying slightly before tucking his head down and performing the slowest somersault one could imagine.

Lian understood what he was suggesting. He had seen sliggoos rolling on the sides of their shells like a wheel as their primary means of traversal. It was such a bizarre form of locomotion and seemed so disorientating. How were you supposed to stop or steer?

“That’s a great idea Goomy!” Dawn agreed with his partner. “Lian, why don’t we spend the rest of the day figuring out how you can roll around? It would probably help you feel better about yourself.”

Previously, he would immediately shut down at the idea whenever he considered his mobility needs, a sheer gut punch refusal to entertain the notion. But he needed some way to get around. What other choice did he have? Besides, wardens don’t sulk.

He let out a beleaguered sigh. “Sure, might as well roll down to Avalugg’s Legacy. That seems like a productive way to spend the afternoon.”

“I’m just trying to help...” Dawn looked away, hurt in her voice.

“I-I wasn’t being sarcastic!” he clarified. “I appreciate your help and I truly am sorry for acting like such an ingrate.”

She cheered up immediately. “That’s okay!”

The dewott girl marched over to the door and swung it open, a gust of cold air sweeping through the room.

Wait, right now?

“Don’t worry, you’ve got this!” Dawn grinned as she gave the thumbs up with both hands.

Now wasn’t the time to get cold feet. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he gripped the edge of his shell and hoisted himself upright in one motion, balancing precariously on his side.

Lian had no idea what to do next and remained there, paralyzed by indecision until he felt himself starting to tip over. He gave an alarmed shout and flailed uselessly before Dawn and Goomy rushed over to catch his fall, Dawn straining under the weight as she tried to push him over with her back and shoulder.

It was clear he couldn’t balance on his side and he needed momentum, so he withdrew into his shell and took a guess, throwing himself against the inside of the shell to roll forward. He moved forward slightly, and feeling encouraged, tried again.

He started to pick up momentum as he rolled towards the door, the weight lifted off of Dawn and Goomy. He felt like he was starting to get the hang of it as he tried to time his forward pitches, his friends cheering as he gained speed. With an air of confidence, Lian rolled straight out the door and into the frigid afternoon air of the camp. As the winding path through the settlement and tents dotting the hill stood before him, he realized his mistake.

The boy panicked as he slowly rolled over the crest of the hill with no way to stop or slow down. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion at the precipice and gave him plenty of time to understand what was going to happen next. One moment he was barely moving, then all at once his heart plunged as he rapidly gained speed and was sent barreling through the camp.

Lian shouted as hard as he could to warn anyone that might be in his path, his voice echoing inside his shell deafeningly. Pearl Clan members in various stages of metamorphosis looked up from what they were doing, eyes widening in alarm and diving out of the way of the steel juggernaut heading their way.

More voices joined in the panicked shouting as he smashed through a water barrel and a clothes line, scattering clean laundry to the wind. It barely even slowed him down as he whirled past clans folk exiting their tents to see what the commotion was.

His brain was swiftly processing every bump and dip in the terrain, but he had no idea what to do with it. There was no way he’d be able to follow the footpath that wound back and forth, instead his route to the camp’s exit would take him over several harsh drops and dangerously close to many people’s tents.

Experimentally, he tried to lean to the side to turn. When that threatened to tip him over, he over corrected and added a dangerous wobble to his trajectory, swerving wildly back and forth.

The pandemonium went unnoticed by a snorunt boy only a few years older than him who was preoccupied with chopping firewood. A bolt of panic went through him and he screamed at the top of his lungs for him to get out of the way, terrified his warning wouldn’t be heeded in time.

The kid looked up and dropped his axe before throwing himself against his tent, just barely clipped by the five hundred pound armoured wheel barreling past him. The kid screamed as they narrowly avoided being flattened.

The spike in adrenaline from the close call caused something to shift in Lian’s brain, some pathway that was previously closed was now open. Lian gasped as claws raked through his mind like those of a Fox, or something equally as angry and spiteful. They gripped and dug into him to tear him away from his body, to leave something else at the helm.

The world faded away as those claws dragged him down, made him small and rendered him a passenger in his own mind. Lian tried to scream but no sound came out, his voice and psyche swallowed up by the darkness.

----------------------------------------------------------------

It all made sense now. He knew exactly how far to lean in order to turn, how to compensate for every irregularity in the terrain. How to work with the momentum and how he could stop on a dime. His shell wasn’t a ball and chain restraining him, it was freedom, it was movement itself. Just as his legs had been before, his shell was a natural extension of himself; a self-contained world, a shelter, a shield and a weapon.

With his mastery, he’d see prey driven before him. Unable to escape in time before he chased them down, painful squeals as their bones cracked, bursting open and steam rising from the entrails as they were crushed. Delicious meat would spill out onto the ground then he and his odd pack would feast.

His kind were not avid hunters, typically feeding on plant matter and carcasses left behind by other predators. But he was no ordinary sliggoo, he was part of a pack of alphas, larger and more voracious than other members of their species.

He’d learn to hunt and hone his skills as a predator to prove he deserved his place amongst them. Dragging back the large kills dripping with viscera would show everyone that he wasn’t a runt that constantly needed to be looked after. Tearing and battering, he’d bloody himself fending off their rivals as many times as he needed to until they never looked down on him again.

And he’d do it because he loved them.

Because he wanted to provide for his kin, to be able to protect them when needed. His body flushed with warmth at the thought of his pack feeding from his kills, growing stronger from the meat together.

And he’d do it to the impress her.

The mighty huntress whose prowess in combat dwarfed that of even the Nobles. A warrior that presided over an enormous pack that brought so many alphas to heel and a roaming territory that spanned all of Hisui.

As he matured into a proper alpha, he would approach her looking to be accepted as her mate. Already she had brought gifts for him to decorate his nest; she was considering him as a potential suitor, he was sure of it.

They were both juveniles, but had already proven so much to their respective packs. Fearless, they defied expectations and met challenges their contemporaries shied away from, ascending the ranks.

What had he done again? It didn’t matter; he would kill and kill again until everyone had their fill, then he would start his courtship.

He would need to bring an appropriate gift to demonstrate his caliber as a mate; fresh meat from a hunt would display his aptitude as a predator and show he was worthy of being consort.

He could start with the dewott that had wandered into their territory...

“WATCH OUT!”

The shout from the Survey Corps girl snapped Lian back to reality, with such alien, animalistic thoughts already fading from memory and leaving a cold uneasy dread in their place.

He had no time to ponder what happened as he was still steamrolling through the camp, now on a collision course with Gaeric’s tent.

The frozen obelisk was fast approaching, the boy rattling inside his shell with the ground becoming more uneven. Lian remained petrified as he rocketed over a large bump and he was suddenly launched airborne. He helplessly sailed through the air like a shot put, spinning head over tail as he braced for impact.

He ricocheted off the pillar of ice with a loud clang and landed hard some distance away on the packed snow, the crash knocking the wind out of him.

Dawn trotted down the slope towards the crowd that had gathered, carrying Goomy in front of her with two paws.

“-ian! Lian, are you alright?”

He was still too dazed to process what she was saying and was busy trying to understand the strange gap in his memory. There was an odd jump where one moment he was on the foot path towards the camp’s entrance, then the next he was careening towards the ice chrysalis.

“Lian?”

Right, he needed to answer her.

“I’m okay. It just stunned me.”

“No kidding! You got quite a bit of hang time!” she exclaimed, setting Goomy down beside her.

All things considered, Lian supposed that could have gone much worse. Already he was thinking of what he could have done better. The boy turned sliggoo now had some understanding of what proper direction and movement would entail, more than his practice session alone could have taught him.

Deep down, Lian knew that if he looked inside himself he’d find all the information he needed. His body would no longer feel like a stranger to him and he would be free to use any move he had at his disposal. Everything about being a sliggoo would become second nature.

Such a deal would come at a terrible cost, one he’d never willingly accept, but Lian was beginning to suspect that he frankly didn’t have a choice in the matter.

There was a loud crack that rang through the camp that sounded like an ice sheet breaking. Lian and the rest of the Pearl Clan immediately went on the alert, always vigilant for such a sound as it signalled the possibility of an avalanche.

The mountains surrounding the camp and their slopes were shaped in such a way that they usually directed avalanches away from the settlement, having been sculpted by a Noble Avalugg long ago. The camp was not at risk of being buried, but even the small ones that came down the settlement’s side could be dangerous.

The gathered clan members were trying to locate the source as they rounded up children and elders, prepared to evacuate them to safety until a girl with buneary ears shouted “Look!” pointing to a large fracture in the ice encasing Gaeric’s tent.

D-did... did I do that?

As the minutes crawled by, more tiny cracks spread out and bits of ice chipped and broke off. Though a slow process, the shards that fell off melted supernaturally fast, gone in a matter of seconds.

Any thought of spending the afternoon on practice was long gone as the Pearl Clan gathered, barely daring to breathe as they waited to see what emerged.

----------------------------------------------------------------

“It has trouble drawing a line between friends and food. It will calmly try to melt and eat even those it gets along well with.”

#pokemon #pokerus au #body horror #writting #pla #pokemon legends arceus #warden lian #pla lian

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squidthesquidd · 11 months

Note

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#susubmas #gem au #submas #diamond clan #pearl clan #steven universe au

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bellafragolina · 2 years

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Imagine Ingo and/or Adaman with an S/O who could do magic! Like, they came to Hisui through a portal, but the version of the world they came from has witches and wizards. Maybe they're not very skilled, or maybe they're extremely powerful. Either way, what would the boys think when they find out?

Ooh, magic in a world that sees Pokémon attacks like a form a science! It’s an interesting topic, for sure!!

🍓🍓🍓

Ingo:

Ingo watches you conjure fire into your palm to light the campfire you've set up, and he is floored. He doesn't say anything at first, watching you go about your business. You're exhausted, he knows, so are you unaware that you're levitating things in front of him? He assumes so, so he waits for you to bring it up

He's not opposed to your magic, not like how you feared this new world would react. He's actually very interested in it, and would love to know more. What all can you do? Are there limits to your abilities? What's your world like? Does everyone have magic? Did they train you in a school, or did your parents teach you how they taught you to walk?

He listens intently as you answer his questions. You summon light into your palm, and he marvels it, alongside his Pokémon that try to bat it from your hands. You create flowers with a flourish of your hands, and Ingo blushes as he takes them. He asks you about love spells, and your smirk lets him know that he fell for yours whether you actually casted one or not. After all, not all magic is entirely intentional, and you've always made him feel spellbound

Adaman:

Adaman discovers your magic as you're wandering caves, covered in darkness. Your Pokémon are exhausted, so they can't help, but you create a ball of golden light from your palms. Adaman boggles the magic you created, his shout echoing through the caves. You wince, and sheepishly explain to him that yeah, you're from a place where people do magic

Adaman is all over you. He wants to know everything about your magic. How does it work? What spells can you do? Can you levitate him? Please levitate him, please (don't he will get air sickness). Most importantly, though, he wants to know if you can teach him. You're not sure, but figure that maybe it could work here. Pokémon technically do magic, after all!

It's a fun bonding activity, showing him how you do your spells. Adaman learns a lot about your life from before you came to Hisui, and he comforts you through your sad nostalgia by fumbling the words to spells and incantations (all on purpose to make you laugh, of course). Whether he manages to do magic or not, he has a lot of fun with you, and falls deeper in love with every new thing you reveal to him. He's enchanted by you, and he uses that cute line a lot

🍓🍓🍓

I love writing about magic, it's always so fun!! I love figuring out the nitty gritty details about the laws and regulations and how a society would be with magic threaded through it. So fun!!

Hope you enjoyed it, love! Have a great day!!

~Renee

#warden ingo x reader #ingo x reader #submas x reader #adaman x reader #pokemon imagines #pokemon x reader #i love magic #love me some magic

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singular-yike · 1 year

Note

Hi uhhh can you tell us about Clause?

Oh, Clause! Well, I'll try, I'll try~

Eternal Senselessness Bearing the Alias of "Chaos" who Manipulates Gravity at Will — Wilhelm von Clausewitz Halcyon HISUIMARU

Name & Title

We don't actually know Clause's true name, "Wilhelm von Clausewitz Halcyon HISUIMARU" is a pseudonym. It's so long that apparently, no one cares to remember it in its entirety, and we've ever only seen people refer to them as "Clause".

The name "Wilhelm von Clausewitz" possibly comes from Prussian lieutenant general Wilhelm Benedikt von Clausewitz, or rather, points to his more famous younger brother, Carl von Clausewitz. (More on them later.)

Halycyon and HISUIMARU are believed to both refer to kingfisher birds, Halcyon being a genus of tree kingfishers.

Depicted below: The woodland kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis)

Hisuimaru (翡翠丸) literally means "jade" (翡翠 hisui) and "orb/round" (丸 maru), although "maru" is likely used as a common suffix in names here, and not for a specific meaning. Additionally, "hisui" (翡翠) is also a word for kingfishers in general.

Depicted below: The common kingfisher.

So, it would seem, from this pseudonym at least, that Clause has a bird's name. Although the efficacy of a self-granted bird's name is yet unknown.

Basis: Physics & Astronomy

Clause is quite heavily based in the scientific field of modern physics, along with the field of astronomy.

Most obvious is their ability to "manipulate gravity", but this connection to physics and to the cosmos can be found in a number of other places as well, here I'll go over a few examples:

The spell Divine Punishment "Five Planets" references the 5 planets visible to the naked eye, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, on which astrological divinations are often based

The spells New Star "Supernova", Super Star "Hypernova" references supernovas and hypernovas

The spell Pluto "Lost Fame" and their birthday on 24 August, which reference when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet

The dots and squiggle on their pants, which reference the wave-particle duality

Potential Inspiration: Carl von Clausewitz

As mentioned in the name section, Clause likely references, in some small part, the Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz, who developed the concept of the center of gravity in a military context.

Depicted below: Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz.

His theory was presented in an unfinished work named "Vom Kriege" (On War), but is said to be presented in a way too abstract for most ordinary soldiers to follow, making them see only its surface meaning and not Clausewitz's true thoughts on the matter.

In addition, the way he constructed his argument leads to frequent modern misinterpretation due to exploring various (often opposed) ideas before reaching the conclusion, such confusion about what he meant may have inspired Clause's unique way of speaking.

Halcyon Mysteries

Obviously, there are quite a few mysteries surrounding Clause, so let's take a look at some of them here

Loaded Clause?

Like most of the EE outsiders, we don't actually know much about Clause's background, but interestingly they might be absolutely loaded, or at least have a rich family

In BPoHC Scoundrel vs. Clause, they demand that the Shitodos take them to Fumikado's estate, and will in return give them a reward.

BPoHC Scoundrel vs. Clause Clause "Now! [...] I ask that you guide me to "the one"!" Kuroji "...Huh?" Aoji "Do you think you're Emperor Jimmu or something?" Hooaka "Then we oughta just hurl 'em into the sun." Clause "Kehehehe... Be "patient", now... I will be sure to "pay" you a "suitable" "reward"." Kuroji "Now that's what I'm talking about." Hooaka "How much should we charge?" Aoji "We should ask for a mansion!"

Curiously, all three siblings immediately take a much more pleasant tone upon hearing this, with Aoji even going so far as to demand a mansion. And it's the fact that even Kuroji immediately turns around seems to me that they associate Clause with riches.

Additionally, in their AWTIF False Spirit Account, they're said to enjoy "mysterious rituals", jewels and silver, which all sound like fairly pricy hobbies as well.

Finally, their incredible ineptitude at self-care, as shown by how they were on the verge of death before being adopted by Garaiya, may also point to a cushy life back in the Outside World.

Suzumi Knowledge

Interestingly, Clause seems to have knowledge about Suzumi's multiple souls, as well as the fact that there are actually restrictions on when they use their ability.

In BPoHC Secret vs. Clause, they seemed to have revealed themself to Suzumi because they knew that they couldn't kill Clause at that moment, making good use of their observation.

Minor Theory

In AWTIF's False Spirit Accounts, they're said to like both astronomical observation and people-watching. Since Suzumi's souls seem to be named after constellations, perhaps this is an allusion to Clause having observed Suzumi enough to notice all this?

Clause's "Sickness"

There are several hints that Clause has some sort of "sickness":

Clause's bandages(?) around their legs, which they retain even in their Santa Clause form in BotC

Tsubakura telling them to "just go back to the hospital" in EE

JynX's comments that they "wanted it to express a feeling of sickness" in the EE music room

Suzumi telling them to "bear your own standing in mind" and to not "keep walking when you're already at your limit" in BPoHC

Their seemingly poor self-care skills, which may have resulted if they were often sick and needed to be cared for

The thing is that it's unsure whether these are supposed to point to some actual illness, or just a jab at Clause's chuunibyou tendencies to act as a "chosen one" and have some grand fate ahead of them.

Connections to Tenkai

Strangely enough, Clause actually seems to have some sort of connection to Tenkai Zuifeng:

Most BPoHC neutral stage 6 conversations are related to the boss they encounter somehow. For the Preschool Team, they were discussing Tenkai's past in the outside world when they suddenly run into Clause, which seems to surprise Tenkai for some reason.

The intros to Tenkai's themes, Present World Overhaul and Burst Overflow, share a similar phrase to Clause's BPoHC theme, Empire Power ~ Big Star. As an extension of this, the official OST uploads on JynX's YouTube channel seem to support this connection too.

Tenkai's two themes and Clause's BPoHC theme are the only ones that don't have a solid colour fill over the portraits, and instead have a unique pattern. Additionally, the videos' colour schemes for the two are inversions of one another too.

Below: The Empire Power ~ Big Star video + Burst Overflow with colours inverted.

Below: The Burst Overflow video followed + Empire Power ~ Big Star with colours inverted.

Finally, there's this peculiar exchange:

Peing - 3 February 2019 Q: Is there any connection between Clause and Tenkai? A: Oh oh!!! There's a newborn chick over there!!!! 🐣

It all certainly seems to point to Clause having something to do with Tenkai's past in the Outside World, oh but what could it have been~?

And that I think is all I have on Clause right now, nothing concrete no but very interesting. Even this silly fella apparently has a role of their own to play, so let's look forward to that!

#len'en #len'en project #len'en lore #wilhelm von clausewitz halcyon hisuimaru

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autumn-sweet-fae · 2 years

Note

Rereading through your Wanted AU makes me just want to wrap up Emmet in a soft blanket, give him like 10 shiny joltiks, and get this boy the therapy he (rightfully) deserves.

Just…Ingo finally being home is not going to fix the plethora of anguish this poor man has gone through. Boy went through hell with his bro's disappearance. Media bombardment, spiteful conspiracies, keeping up the subway on his own on top of taking care of nearly two full teams of pokemon by himself. And that's just what was happening on the outside! (Don't get me started on the mental aspect 'cause I could write a thing or two let me tell ya. I won't because this ask is long enough as it is and I don't want to butt-in a bunch of angst headcannons for an AU that's not rightfully mine.)

And even when he's finally home, Ingo has changed. He's not the same twin anymore. He's grown in ways Emmet hasn't and in some ways Emmet was kinda left behind(unintentionally but still) or just left to stay the same while getting frayed at all ends. Which is going to add just another layer of mental torment.

Ingo thought it was a curse when he forgotten everything about his home and his family and friends and left to struggle for memories, but Emmet kinda hates him for that comment because forgetting would have been a blessing for him. (He'll never say that out loud because he knows what Ingo went through was just as bad but my dude deserves to lash out in this AU once!)

Just…may I punch Arceus for this man? I'm gonna punch Arceus for this man for letting Volo play god and just letting it play out before sending a child to fix what it should have in the first place.

You! You get it! I love all of this! 💖🌈✨

Oh I promise you this boy has had some thearapy before, Elesa would have dragged him to his first appointment if he hadn’t gone willingly. That said, he’s now got connections to get himself and the others all the therapy they are going to need after all this mess.

So I will say, after all the miscommunication and trouble Ingo’s amnesia has caused thoughout this story and also what he later sees Ingo struggle with, Emmet would fully agree that it is a curse. And as painful as those three years are for him, he’d never want to forget his brother or his pokemon. I see Emmet as someone who likes order and to loose oneself in that way is very chaotic.

Also! While I totally understand the anger and the urge to blame Arceus, I’m pretty neutral on them. I’m also of the opinion that humanity/pokemon kind Does Not want Arceus stepping in themself. They are too powerful for dealing with something so arguably small in the grand scheme of things without royally fucking something up. Them handling it themselves would be like using a sledge hammer to chisel the finer details of an ice sculpture.

The reason I believe this is due to the number of lesser gods that Arceus created so to create the world and it’s inhabitants for them. They themselves can directly make powerful beings like Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina, or the three lake spirits. But a Bidoof?? No way.

This is why they chose humans to handle a matter that takes place on a human scale. They trust the power of the bonds between humans and their Pokémon to be what saves the day. And also humans learn better by watching another human befriend a Pokémon, as opposed to some great giant godly Pokémon telling the people of Hisui to go make friends with that aggressive Shinx.

In my fic Arceus is the one to send Ingo back to Hisui, as evident by his xtransceiver becoming his arc-transceiver. Arceus didn’t want to be the one to do it, but Dialga is the one that was frenzied in my fic so they have to be the one to do it.

You know that scene at the very start of the game when you see Arceus all golden and shining? That was the true face of god. Something no living being should ever look at if they wanna keep their memories. At least Ingo still remembers his name.

So basically, the god of the Pokémon world is a GOD, and you never want their direct attention. That’s why they give Ingo and Akari tools like they’re devices to help guide them instead of ever speaking to them directly. Gotta keep the divine exposure to an absolute minimum.

(This is generally how I always write gods. They are all just too big to fit in the doll house themselves, so they gotta send in Paladin Barbie to achieve their divine quest for them)

#submas wanted au #emmet #Ingo #Arceus #submas #pokemon

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leggerefiore · 1 year

Text

Ghost

cw: long, not overly romantic, Volo being himself, platonic cynthia, unrequited love at first

pairings: Volo/Reader,

summary: Volo disappears after you defeat him. Your unrequited love for him leads to you leaving Hisui for modern times where you make a friend who reminds you of him.

----

Volo was a beautiful man.

It was hard not to notice such an obvious trait when he first introduced himself to you not long after your forced landing in the lands of the past. His golden strands caught the light beautifully, while those stormy eyes held such a variety of emotions. To say you got a small crush on him from his looks was embarrassing, but it was the truth. When he acted kindly towards you, no matter how much of a farce you came to know it as, you fell deeper and deeper in love with him. It was why his sudden shift into the man who stood opposed to you at the Temple of Sinnoh caused heavy tears to escape your eyes.

His disappearance completely wrecked you, naturally.

Your confession of love to him during your battle staggered him a bit, but he shook his head and chose to declare your affections untrue unless you gave him the plates. Even your pleas for him to stay after your battle only led to a terrifying glare from Volo. Your hand reaching for his own desperately went entirely ignored. He left you desolate on the freezing top of Mt. Coronet.

Everything that happened to you in Hisui, led to a change to the modern day when the Alpha pokemon returned you to your own era. Your final attempt to find Volo saw you before Cogita, convinced she knew exactly where he was. No matter your pleas, she continued her carefully feigned ignorance. It hurt enough to simply see your returning home. Bidding all your newly made friends farewell stung. Their deaths would come without your knowing and leave you unable to speak to any of them in your modern days. That, naturally, included the man who left you.

Readjustment was not as difficult as you thought it might have been. Returning to previously understood rules versus learning something new was always going to see a victory from the former. A trip to Sinnoh was in order after you felt settled back in. Your friends may have questioned your sudden trip, but you needed to see the region you left through a modern lens. At least, if not to pay respects to your departed friends, too.

It was during these travels throughout the cool region that you found an eerily familiar face. Her long, blonde hair that fell over her left eye and a pendant heavy on her chest made you swallow. Volo had certainly lived on to have a child, it seemed. You nearly jumped when the woman approached you with a curious expression. “Are you curious about the ruins, too?” she asked with a friendly smile, “You are eyeing them up pretty intensely.” You realised she had noticed you staring at her.

“… I had a, er, friend who used to love these sorts of things,” you lied, “He was a bit mad about them.” Volo's descendant having an interest in the very thing that sent him into his madness was a bit unsurprising, honestly. She gazed back to the walls covered in the language of the Unown.

“... Were you curious about my pendant?” she continued. Your cheeks flushed at the realisation that she had caught you staring at her. While you were, it was not like you were ignorant to its meaning. It was more than obvious when both Cogita and Volo had worn their own in the past.

“It means you are descended from the ancient people of this region, doesn't it?” you replied with a question. Her eye went wide as her attention returned to you. The smile on her lips was strikingly familiar. Perhaps, it was the nature of the Celestica people to carry the history of Sinnoh.

“Correct, actually,” she stood before you, her tall height almost as staggering as her ancestor's own, “I'm Cynthia, an archaeologist and a trainer.” You nodded along at her words. “Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee? I feel like we have a lot we could talk about.”

You were not going to turn her down.

Cynthia was a fast friend, admittedly. She was kind and genuinely caring, while a powerful and strong person. In many ways, she was the best of what Volo had to offer. Even challenging you to a battle and being amused when you beat her. The team she chose… All except one pokemon was the same as a Volo's choices. It was obvious how much she enjoyed your company, too. Endless conversations about history and random little things.

The blonde trainer worried about her image a bit. Everyone was always so nervous to approach her and made her feel the need to act a certain way, so your presence was entirely welcome in her life. You would admit it was nice to be around her, as well, but the lingering feeling that you were using her to replace Volo always remained heavy. Their similarities were completely undeniable. She was not him, however. Your heart clenched at the thought of his eyes and the madness mixed with pain they held. What led him to such a horrible fate?

Your attention returned to Cynthia's words as she finally ended a phone call she took. She had asked you out to a café again. It was not long after your meeting that you moved to Sinnoh, so these meetings were quite commonplace in your day to day. She took a sip of her coffee and looked over some notes.

“So, there are these ruins I plan to investigate these ruins between Sinnoh and Johto,” she explained and moved the paper before you to show an old map, “The old verses my grandmother had mentioned this area, Sinjoh, as being similar to 'Hisui,' the old name for the Sinnoh region.” You stared at the map curiously. The old verses, as you recalled, were handed off to Cogita by you after collecting them all. Something about them felt as if they belonged to her.

“Do you think your ancestors may have settled there as well?” you asked her, wondering about whether Volo knew of this place. She nodded.

“Both the people of Sinnoh and the people of Johto are said to have met and blended their cultures here,” Cynthia explained, “I find myself fascinated with the information it may hold and how it could reveal more about the nature of certain features in Sinnoh.” It had caught your attention, too, admittedly. From how the Kantonian Galaxy Team had spoken, it almost felt as if the Hisuian people had little connection with them before their settlement. Cynthia gave a chuckle at your expression. “Would you like to join me then?” she offered, “You almost look more interested in this than I do.”

You gazed at her with big eyes.

“I'd love to,” you agreed, “I actually find the Johto region's history just as interesting.”

Sinjoh was isolated.

The ruins themselves laid at the top of a snow covered mountain top, with little reprieve from the chilly weather. The moment your eyes landed on the structure, you felt your hand reach toward the illusion of Arceus that you had captured after accepting the deity's challenge. Something told you bringing it was needed. Cynthia found herself immersed in the information she had gathered, while you felt an ominous call.

Thinking back on it, Cogita had said she had been waiting an eternity for you. What was she? You wondered if these were things you should have discussed with your friend instead of hiding it in fear. The old wooden pokeball almost sweetly whispered your name to release the pokemon. Your sudden change had not gone unnoticed by the champion, either. She gazed at you as you sat on the cushion nervously.

“... You seem like you are in a situation,” she said while placing a cup of tea in front of you, “What's wrong?” Your nervous demeanour strengthened. Would she hate you? You knew she would not, but the thought of telling her it made your mouth dry. It was needed, however. It was currently just you and her in the cabin. Her hand even softly rubbed at your back.

“I – I was brought to Hisui by…” you felt it impossible to say the word Arceus, “… By a strange portal. I knew your ancestors. I had to stop one of them!” It all came pouring out into the poor woman's chest as you recalled everything you had been through in Sinnoh of the past. Even your feelings towards Volo were spoken of in your desperation to finally share the event with someone who could understand. Cynthia was stunned at first, but slowly shifted into quiet understanding. By the time your tale came to an end, you held the wooden pokeball out nervously to her with tears stinging your eyes.

Her expression was gentle and sympathetic. There was no judgement anywhere to be found, just simple curiosity and concern. “… I see,” she finally said, “I feel the need to apologise for his actions.” Cynthia took the pokeball away from you to place it on the table. Her hands held yours tightly, warming the now chilled skin. “Thank you for telling me all of this,” the blonde's soft smile calmed you down, “I am completely apologetic you experienced such things at the hand of my ancestor.” You shook your head.

“It's not your fault, Cyn,” the nickname just came out naturally, “… I miss him, actually…” She shook her head. The hug she pulled you into came completely unexpected. It was warm and the scent of old parchment stung your nose. “I think I need to bring my piece of Arceus into the ruins,” you told her. She nodded.

“According to an ancient document, time, space, and antimatter, or what combined we call the world, shall be born when Arceus stands on the Mystri Stage,” Cynthia spoke with a strange eagerness, “That is, if Arceus stands alone in the stage inside the ruins, perhaps another legendary pokemon of Sinnoh could be created.” You swallowed.

“… Well, let's go, then,” you were confident as long as she was at your side, “I'm sure we both want to see what this brings.” Both of you readied yourselves as you took the pokeball alone into the ruins. A mysterious, yet powerful air ruminate in the ancient room.

The triangular stage stood in the middle of the room, with runes engraved into its dark stone flooring. Snow dusted the room, having blown in from outside. Cynthia watched in amazement as the runes glowed with ominous colour. A deep blue, a vibrant magenta and a frightening crimson all apparent. Statues of ancient guardian pokemon stood in line as you approached the stage. You felt energy coming from the pokeball as you called out the power of the deity inside. Even just a small portion of the Alpha pokemon could be terrifying with its staggering height.

Cynthia gazed at the stage curiously. “All my study of ruins and Pokémon mythology in Sinnoh may have been to bring you up on this stage here today…” She murmured to herself. Easily, she explained what each pattern represented before standing behind you. “Which will you choose?” The champion asked. Your eyes could certainly stare a hole in the stone where Giratina's symbol lied. You took a step towards it. Cynthia cocked a brow curiously at your choice. As you stood in the middle of Giratina's pattern, a light broke out and darkness overcame your mind. Dancing visage played past your eyes of many things.

At the end of it all, the ruins came back into view and a bright light hovered above your head. It floated down to lay in your hands as a singular egg. No difference laid between it and any other pokemon egg you had observed, yet what laid inside was like no other thing that would hatch. “An egg?” Cynthia was at a loss for words, “I see… An Egg is the cradle of every being. The planet itself is an Egg in a sense…” Before her mumbling could continue, footsteps echoed into the ruins.

“… It has been a century since I last had anything catch my attention,” your blood ran cold at the voice. It was impossible. The egg still flush to your chest, you turned around with lightning speed. Through the wash wintery winds heavy with snow stood a single man with a large pack on his back and a heavy winter coat. A hat laid on his head. Cynthia immediately took to stand on guard against the strange man. “Finally, I have my curiosity quelled,” those stormy eyes and a familiar pendant left you completely at a loss, “To think, it would be you again.”

“Stop right there,” Cynthia ordered him, “Who are you?” She demanded of him. Her expression may have been stiff, but you could read her confusion towards the man with ease. Having your long dead ancestor stand before you would make anyone tense, after all. Volo paid little attention to her, instead having his gaze remain on you.

“… That is not the real being a seek standing behind you yet, however,” Volo stopped just before you and Cynthia. You nearly ran towards the man. Tears poured from your eyes, unrequited feelings of love and an odd feeling of camaraderie bubbled in your chest. “You still haven't changed I see,” he said with little emotion, “Will you confess your undying love to me once more as I attempt to kill you again?”

“Who are you?” Cynthia demanded, clearly unhappy with everything he was causing, “You are no one in my family that I am aware of.”

“I am Volo,” he answered her, if only to quiet her, “I am your ancestor. May I speak with my old friend?” Cynthia stood back at his words. You gave up on pushing back your feelings and rushed towards him. The minute your hands made contact with his body, you felt more feelings pour out. He was real; Volo truly stood before you alive. The grin on his lips should have terrified you, but you grasped on to him desperately. Unexpectedly, he allowed an arm to embrace you, too.

“How is that possible?” Cynthia demanded, before rushing to pull you away, “Records show your death in the early 1900s.” She held you behind her, clearly not trusting anything lying before her.

“Mistress Cogita still lives if you can believe that as well,” his words were directed at you, “… Her reasons are different from mine, naturally.” Cynthia called out her Garchomp as Volo dared to take another step towards you both. He easily responded by pulling out his pokemon. Togekiss fluttered her wings high above him. “… She told me how desperately you sought me out,” he continued, “I was foolish then. I realise that now. I rejected you in my jealous that Arceus had chosen you over me.”

Your heart clenched as your thoughts were confirmed. Before everything had gone down at the Temple of Sinnoh, you felt at least some minor sense of friendship from him. At least, an understanding of not belonging. He and Cynthia fell into a battle, but Volo quickly emerged victorious. Age and who knows what else would win in the end. “Even when I found another, I still failed to find what I was searching for,” he remained still despite having won against her, “… I cannot be deigned worthy by Arceus, no matter how I try. I am cursed to walk this earth for an eternity to repent for my actions.”

You gasped while Cynthia finally seemed to accept that her ancestor stood before you both. “Why are you here?” she asked. Volo shrugged.

“I heard that the champion of Sinnoh and a friend of hers were going to investigate ruins related to Arceus,” Volo replied, “When I saw who that friend was, I figured something would happen.” Cynthia nodded. You wondered many things as you gazed at the man. Cursed to walk the earth for an eternity… How lonely must he have been? He was already a loner in Hisui, you could not imagine how he handled the changing ages and his time and people being truly forgotten.

“Volo,” you finally spoke, “I…” It was honestly difficult to speak with him. Clinging to him, pretending he was the same man who left you on Mt. Coronet alone, that was wrong. “Cynthia, can I be alone with him?” you asked her desperately. She gazed at you carefully before turning to the other blond. Her eyes closed for a moment.

“Yell if you need help,” she said simply, “I still do not trust him.” The champion walked out of the ruins, leaving you alone with the impossible man. You took a step towards him again, still in partial denial he was truly there before you.

“I… I still love you,” what had been a century for him had only been a year for you. You could not even meet his gaze during your confession. Volo made his way towards you, grabbing your chin, forcing your gaze to meet his. Those eyes which many emotions still had yet to change. Gloves covered his hands and his attire may have been changed, but Volo still remained. The kiss that followed knocked the air out from your lungs. It was long and staggering; it was something that had clearly echoed in his mind many times.

When he pulled away, your heart raced more. “I will not pretend to be a better man,” he said simply, “I still envy and despise how Arceus chose you, but I also have come to realise there's more to my feelings than simply that.” His hand moved to cup your cheek, his eyes stared down at you. “I love you,” he said easier than you expected, “I have made a terrible mistake once, please allow me to amend that now.” You nodded and buried your face into his chest. His slow heartbeat calmed your racing one.

Finally, you and Volo had come together, and neither of you planned to let the other slip away.

#volo x reader #volo/reader #pokemon x reader #pokemon volo x reader

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