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2bloved · 1 year

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[GLITCHY RED X GENDER NEUTRAL!READER ONESHOT] forget about

title is based off of this song

im normal about him i swear

anyways gold series will be updated soon, just wanted to write something for glitchy, its over 4000 words.

oneshot below the cut, enjoy

There was something about the way the rain harshly hit against your tin rooftop that made you feel at ease. A violent storm had been raging outside for the past few hours, and you could only watch as the sky grew darker and foggier from the heavy downpour. No matter how unforgiving the skies cried out to you were.. it was always a welcome presence.

How often you found yourself crying along the clouds.

Here you were, huddled in your room; your only safe place. To you, that's what it felt like, at least. It grew quite lonesome at times, this is true; you found yourself to be a solemn person often. It may impact your mental health in a negative way, but you, at least, had things around you to keep you accompanied.

As tiny as your room felt; the way it felt like it was closing in made you feel more secure. Having a tinier room also meant you generally had everything where you could remember it being.. Case in point; your little game collection. Often did you find yourself collecting cartridges of either games you enjoy or just franchises you enjoyed. It doesn't matter if they were 'authentic' or not -- you love them all the same! One of the things you especially liked to collect were Pokemon games -- it being one of your special interests. It was always so interesting in researching in which game you wanted to seek out next -- even if they were just reproduction carts. 'Legit' copies were more often than not overpriced and costed fortunes on Ebay..

Perhaps your special hobby wasn't the BEST financial investment, but it was one of the only things in your life that still brought you joy. Speaking of which..

You decided today was the day you were gonna go back out to your local pawn shop in search of some new treasures to add to your collection! Yes -- even in the rain. It only felt like fate, after all. You carefully flung yourself out of your bed and put on your cherished (F/C) hoodie and umbrella, dashing out the door with your bag in tow. "DAD! I'll be back later!" You yelled out..

No response. Not like there ever was one, anyways. Neither of your parents were ever home or around really in the first place.. Logically, it'd be easier to just drive a car over to your pawn shop.. however, you do not have your license -- or a car. You'll have to make due with what you have.. that being your muddy boots you always wore out in this kind of weather.

(Y/N) began their journey down the sidewalk with excitement in their mind. What kind of strange item were they going to find today? Perhaps a bootleg cartridge? Maybe even a illegal reproduction cart of a fan made ROM-hack of something? The person in (F/C) spun their umbrella around with the rain flying off of the material that shrouded them from the downpour of the gloomy skies above. Not a single soul other than you and the wayward beat up cars that would occasionally pass you alongside the main road littered the streets of your hometown.

It was a small town, after all, so it didn't really take you no time at all to reach the desolate pawn shop in question. You found yourself right at the doorstep of the quaint shop, pushing your wet shoes against the worn out welcome mat below you to dry off. It appeared there wasn't any other customers that day other than you -- not that you would blame them -- in this weather. Intrigued, you made your way around without a worry of being judged by anyone. You passed by several old abandoned Wii shovelware games in a rack until you found yourself at the main counter; where all the good stuff was usually located.

Locked away behind a glassy prison was displays of old consoles and vintage games alongside them; Nintendo 64 games and SNES games were carefully placed around one and another in protective plastic casting to preserve their condition. (Y/N)'s eyes were practically sparkling... but they must choose what they want carefully. After all, they need set aside some money for their own living expenses.. As if something called out to you, you found yourself looking up to be met with a spinning display rack full of little Gameboy Advance cartridges and a couple of DS cartridges too.

Oddly enough.. there was one in particular that stood out most. One you hadn't normally seen that often. But when you were about to inspect it..

From within the cartridge was an entity. From within the cartridge was a person who listened to everything outside. From within the cartridge.. Was a discarded soul.

He could hear the rustling from outside. He really shouldn't be able to hear or FEEL anything in the first place when not booted into a console, but he easily could defy that. And listening the man was. He could hear the rustle of the rack moving.. and a familiar shopkeeper voice speaking up.

"Oh.. I-I see you have your eyes on that cartridge there, don'tcha?" A terrified masculine voice called out to someone, and he could hear the chuckle of someone whom he'd never heard before. "I sure do! I've never seen a Pokemon Red cartridge here before!" An eager voice rang out. Ah.. So the shopkeeper was already that eager to get rid of him, huh? To be thrown away again. Why didn't he just destroy the damn thing? "H-haha.. y-yeah.. -- SAY! How about a give you a d-discount on it?" A gasp could be heard. "Really?? I'd love that! How much..?"

Red was kind of wondering how much he was worth to this guy. How much would he be sold for?

"Well.. since you're such a loyal and r-returning customer.. how about five bucks?"

Five dollars. Five fucking dollars.

"Sure! Let me just.." He could hear the rustling of something clinking and crinkling.. "..Here!" He couldn't really feel anything outside the cartridge, but he knew he was being handed away. Where was he going? Why was --

"Oh! Could you um.. p-put in a case protector, please? I don't want to damage the cartridge.." (Y/N) watched the terrified movement of the cashier recoiling and placing the plastic red cartridge in its protective confinement. "Hehe... thank you. Now he'll be safe 'till I get home!" "No.. p-problem." The cashier looked around, and leaned into earshot over the counter to you. "Listen -- I don't know what you're p-planning to do with that.. that thing.. but be careful.." He seemed genuinely so terrified. "What.. do you mean?" You cocked your head, holding your new cartridge to your chest protectively. "That.. that thing is real! It.. it does terrible things -- look!" He gently pulled down the hem of his shirt to show.. scratch wounds?

You blinked.

...

"..OOOHH I SEE WHAT YOU'RE TRYNA' DO!" You gasped out. The cashier had flinched from your tone. "W-What..? No -- I --" "It's okay -- you don't have to phrase it like an internet urban legend! I would've bought it either way, you know.." "D-Dude--!" "You should totally get a raise. See you next week!" You waved him off, happy with your newfound purchase in tow. The cashier could only stare in disbelief of your stupidity. Does that mean he was going to be safe from now on, atleast..?

When you had stepped out back into the pouring rain, you safely tucked away your new game into your bag and folded open your umbrella, walking back to your lonely little home. It felt nice being able to talk to someone for once! Even.. if it was just a cashier. A terrified one, for some reason.

...

When you had arrived back home, none of the lights had been dimly lit like you had normally left them. The ragged air conditioning system you had in your home didn't seem to have its loud, mechanical whirr running like it normally did. Only pure silence mixed with the loud hitting of the rain.. It appears the power had gone out. How conventional. You sighed, and gently kicked off your muddied boots and laid your umbrella aside. Not a single soul was home except you and your new game you had. But.. you supposed that was okay. (Y/N) used their phone flashlight to make their way through their dark home and into their room, which was ever so slightly lit by the outside peering light. They were home at last.. Flopping down onto your bed, you placed your bag aside and pulled the new game you bought out, inspecting it.

It, obviously, was a copy of Pokemon Red. The casing seemed.. a little cheap, but that's okay with you. "Hmm.." You hummed out, holding the copy ever so delicately. "..Maybe you are just a fake copy, but that's fine. That just makes your more special to me.." You whispered to the cartridge as if it were a real person. Does it even work in the first place? Looking around, you found your Gameboy laying beside your small bedside counter. This Gameboy was special to you because not only did it have special casing, but a custom built back light, too! You carefully slid in the cartridge -- though it hesitated for a moment as if the plastic refused to go in -- and booted up the Gameboy itself. The familiar jingle played.. but the back light didn't kick on. You figured maybe the lights had died.. Taking your blanket, you made a small blanket fort under your bed and got your actual flashlight this time, using it to illuminate the faded yellowish green screen to see the graphics..

It appeared that the game was running just fine; hell,, the regular Pokemon intro sequence played rather than being met with a poorly translated bootleg game from a completely different source. You let a huff of happiness out as the intro faded.. and you were met with the title screen. When you pressed start.. there was two options.

NEW GAME or CONTINUE.

Out of curiosity, you pressed continue. How lucky you were to be able to find someone else's old save file! What kind of cherished pokemon would they have, you wonder? Instantly as soon as it loaded, your smile fell. You expected to be met with your character in a random city -- like Celadon or Viridan or something -- but.. you were placed in the middle of a garbled up sprite mess. 'Glitch City', as some people called it. You frowned. Don't get me wrong -- you love researching glitches! It's just.. you'd rather not do them on actual hardware. Especially with old games as these since it might damage the state of the internal cartridge or the save file itself. Speaking of which.. When you opened the start menu, you went to see your trainer card. The player's name had been RED. Some things about it were strange, though. He was missing some badges randomly and some values were instead replaced by random garbled sprites -- similar to how Missingno looks. Was.. the save file corrupted..? You had hoped not.. Even if there was the chance of you not keeping the save file, you atleast wanted to preserve it. There's something so special about each and every one of the pre-owned copies of games you had with save files that still existed on them before you got your hands on it. Sighing, you closed the trainer card tab. "Let's see if I can get'cha outta there.." You muttered to yourself. But little did you know.. someone was listening, too. In your party, you found a handful of pokemon -- namely Pidgeot. It had fly, and you decided to flu out of Glitch City and back into Vermillion at random. Strangely enough, as soon as the player character landed.. he didn't turn to face you. As a matter of a fact, he was simply staring at the Pokemon Center door. You had pressed the directional arrows to move him but he seemed not to budge. Had the game froze? The audio was still playing the tune of Vermillion and the NPCs and other animated sprites in the background still moved.. just not Red. Before you could think to shut off the system.. Red slowly turned to face you -- on his own. A text box popped up, slowly moving.

"Who are you?"

(Y/N) fluttered their eyes in disbelief, cocking their head at the small handheld screen. "W..what..?" Their voice barely just whispered. The text box continued on its own. "I'm asking your name. Is that too hard?" Okay -- that is.. strange. The game is definitely not supposed to do that. "Um.." You tried pushing buttons, waiting for some kind of keyboard prompt to pop up like when you give a nickname to a Pokemon or a box, but none ever did.. (Y/N) could only watch in intrigued horror as the text box continued on without their input.

"You have a voice, do you not? Speak."

There was no way in hell Pokemon Red had voice recognition. But you found yourself speaking to an inanimate object once more. "My name.. is.. (Y/N)..?" Immediately after you spoke.. "Okay, (Y/N)." It hadn't finished yet, but you could feel your heart drop. "What is your intent and purpose with me?" "I.. I guess to play.. the game? I was just.. checking if the c-cartridge worked.." You muttered in a meek tone. "Unfortunately, I still do." The text box simply stated; the NPCs is the background began to walk off screen. "You.. can understand me.. right..?" "Yes." The box simply stated. "Well.. what's your n-name, then..? If you d-don't mind me asking.." You were geninuely kind of scared -- perhaps you were hallucinating..? The text box seemed to hesitate for a moment. "RED. My name is RED." You watched as the text box seemingly type in itself. "You're the first person who has ever bothered asking." The.. first? Had there been more..? "How.. how many have there been before.. me?" You questioned, huddling up in a ball under the safety of your blanket in morbid awe. "Multiple." The box stated, more of the lively objects in Vermillion had either gone static or disappeared entirely.

"All of which only wanted to torment me --" The screen had become darker than normal. "--to force me to do things I didn't desire. To make me replay the same mudane events over and over again. To force me out of bounds." You could only sit in silence and watch the text box go by slowly due to how the generation one games were programmed. "To watch me suffer. I was just a toy to them." It seemed like Red had awaited a response from you.. but there was none. "(Y/N). I'm tired." The box clicking sound effects had stopped playing by this point. "I have a request for you." You gave a hesitant look at the screen, and could only see Red in a white void. "Dispose of this game. Destroy it -- take it apart; whatever, I no longer care. There is not a need for my existence." Here you were with a sentient being in your newly bought game, asking you to do such things.. What were you to do? You don't even really know who he is, his life, or anything.. but deep down, something about his words resonated with you. You just had to.. "..I'm sorry, Red. I'm not sure if I can do that." Red watched (Y/N)'s sad glance at the screen. "Why not? Have you not listened to what I just --" The textbox hadn't even finished yet, but you couldn't just stay silent. "No, I did, Red. I really did." You begun, shaking your head. "It's just.. I don't think that'd be the right thing to do. You probably just see me as another tormentor to you but.. please.. atleast listen to what I have to say first.." ... The text box popped up blank for a second -- as if the game was hesitating.

"Okay. I'm listening." You breathed an air of relief. "I.. I think there's things worth to keep going for. I don't know the degree of what people did to you or -- hell -- even what it's LIKE to be trapped in a video game prison but--" (Y/N) gripped their hair, laying down on their stomach with their Gameboy in hand. "I.. too, know what it's like in a way to just be.. mistreated: hurt, neglected, forgotten. I know all of those things. B-But.." A loud strike of lightning boomed outside, causing you to flinch. You had to be quick before your Gameboy and flashlight were to run out of battery. "There's smaller things in my life that I want to strive for! The upcoming autumn, every new morning that breaks in the sky.. the tiniest things that seem miniscule in our everyday lives that we never seem to learn to appreciate right before it's gone -- a fading nostalgic memory -- just.." You realized he probably has not seen any of these. "I would.. like to show you those things. If you would let me."

Red didn't know what to say. How did he know if this was just another false promise held by another person? How was he to believe if he wasn't just being lied to -- again? Something about the way you spoke and the sorrowful look of your eyes made him think for a moment.. and..

"I can't.. fully trust you. But the things you say make me want to." The screen stated. The words appeared slower on the screen even more now. "I'm.. I'm scared, (Y/N)." "I'm scared too, Red. I have been my whole life. I just want to try to help you if you'll let me." "...What do you have to gain from this? How would this benefit you in any way? You're only adding another responsibility and burden to your life as is." How true Red was in that. But would that deter you in any way? No; you were already set. "I know, but if I have the chance to make you atleast a little happier then maybe.." You stared out the window from underneath the thin blanket. The rain had began to quell down.

"Maybe it'll be worth it to me in the end."

"..Okay, (Y/N). I'll give you my trust." The screen flashed shortly after you had said that. "But you better not fuck this up. I don't have high hopes in the first place but.. please." The pixelated man stopped. Instead of the tiny pixelated overworld sprite, a newfound pixel art of Red appeared on the screen. It was not the same protagonist nameless boy that had been there to be named -- to be given a personality by the player -- no. It was of RED's tired, shadowed figure. He was making direct eye contact with you now; a pleading look almost in his eyes.

"If what you say is true, then I want to see that, too."

A flutter of happiness seeped throughout your body. "..Good. I'm.. I'm glad you want to." They found themselves falling silent for a moment, but that was only to weigh to decisions. "I.. can't right now because it's storming but.. when the storm stops and I put nee batteries in my Gameboy, I'll show you, okay?"

"Do you promise?"

"I promise. I will be back as soon as I can."

"..Okay.. I'll be waiting, (Y/N.)"

Right after he said that, the text box closed and the game had automatically saved itself -- as if you had started a link cable trade or battle. When it had successfully saved the game.. RED had gave you a small wave and the Gameboy automatically shut itself off. (Y/N) smiled. They turned off their flashlight and crawled back up their bed, holding the handheld near and dear. You weren't sure if he could still hear you but, in the chance he did..

"I'll show you so many things, Red. I'll show you all the things you have been neglected of your whole life."

And show him you did.

When the autumn breeze came, along with it came the yearly passing of the trees leaves. Sure -- he wasn't impressed at first. All it was was dried up and husky brown dead leaves but when you went back out to your yard.. there blossomed the most vibrant yellow and red leaves he would ever see. He watched the leaves pick up and ascend into the air -- as if giving their final seasonal goodbye. When you had mentioned that the blood red leaves reminded you of him because of his name, there was an odd feeling in him he couldn't quite describe.

The winter was bound to come, and spring was soon to make its descent. When he was able to watch his first sunrise in the earliest spring morning.. the way the sun gently cut through the dimmed hazy blue sky.. it took his metaphorical breath away. He would've never known the beauty of such things if it weren't for you generously showing him. If it weren't for you.. He would've ended up in the wrong hands.

A newfound fear had been set within him. He had many to begin with, but.. The looming fear of a morning without you terrified him. He hated to say it, but he had grown attached to you; someone in which he could not reach, touch, or feel. He could only see you from within the confines in the screen of his cartridge hell. How dearly had Red wished to have been able to repay you-- to show his gratitude besides his snarky ass remarks towards you. He wondered.. Had you felt the same? Was there a way for him to get out, even? Every non-existent god he had prayed to fell upon deaf ears but finally, he had a real, encouraging reason to get out. If only just this once.. If only for a moment.. To see your face in person.. It'd be worth the millennium to him.

In the morning sun that flickered through your blinds, a sleeping figure had began to awaken. They rose up and stretched, their clothes messy and their hair, practically, everywhere. The first thing on their mind was to reach over to their beside and grab their Gameboy, turning it on. The jingle played as it normally did, and yet.. It acted as if it were stuck. Your heart sunk. Without a moment of hesitation, you turned off the thing and back on again, and strangely enough, your backlight kicked back on for the first time in months. But it wasn't normal. It was bright -- so very bright and blinding -- you couldn't see what was going on! All you could hear was loud static noises and the piercing screech of the unknown..

When you came back to, it had been a miracle. When your eyes fluttered back open, a piercing red pupil was met with your own. You shot up and stared in disbelief at the sight before you. In the floor opposite to you was a man in white and red, his figure shaded a deep cold night edged black. His skin was an abnormal shade of a rosy light pink and under his veiled eyes, even he stared in disbelief. For the first time, you heard his voice.

"(Y...Y/N..?)" His voice sounded broken; glitched.

"I.. it couldn't be.. you aren't... no.. R-Red..?" You inched closer, hesitant in your own belief. There was no way this was happening. He nodded, and crawled over to you. How afraid he was of hurting your delicate skin with his broken body. But he couldn't resist. His gloved hand cupped your face, feeling around as if you were just a part of his cruel imagination. Another cruel joke.. But you weren't. He watched your porcelain eyes fog up with a rumble of tears. Red's arm reach back out and pushed your back, bringing you into his arms, right up against his grasp. He cradled you ever so gently - more than anything he had been delicate with in his life before. "You're just exactly as I imagined you -- but the real you is so much better.." He uttered as you spoke inconceivable things into his shirt through your happy sobs. When you had calmed down, your eyes trailed up to meet with his own. (Y/N) rose up and hooked their arms around Red's neck, the collar of his jacket poking at your arms. The space between your twos' faces was closed shortly for a few moments with the whirr of the confused Gameboy in the background. When you had broke away, he had the biggest smile on his face -- a sight you had never seen before. "Everything you showed me -- told me, even.. I want to do it with you, now. Now that I'm free.. atleast." He spoke, tipping his hat. "I never.. thought I would be, but here we are." His hat helped hide his obvious blush. There was so many things you had to teach him -- to show him. But.. you had one thing in mind. "Of course, Red. We have all the time in the world.." That was..

To be loved.

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