Assorted Random Writings

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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » September 16th, 2012, 11:30 pm

Today, I return to the realm of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. Spoilers through Murky Cave again.
Spoiler: show
Remembrance

You may not remember me, but I remember you.
Oh, you know who I am. If you thought about me, you would remember me.
But you never think about me, do you? That memory means nothing to you.
You want to forget.
What you did.
What you were.
You may not remember me, but I remember you.
I remember the day you found me, when I was a nervous little Ralts and you were a nervous little boy. I sensed kindness in you then. I sensed a good heart.
I remember how careful you were not to hurt me any more than you had to when you caught me.
I remember how you rushed to get medical attention for me afterward, and again whenever any of your Pokémon were hurt.
I remember how much you used to care.
I remember how you changed.
I watched you grow bitter and cynical, the bright hope you once nourished tarnished with despair. I watched you grow callous and cowardly, your concern for our safety replaced by concern for your own.
And yet we stayed by you. Because we loved you.
Because we remembered you.
I remember the day I sacrificed myself for you. I remember watching you run away, and not knowing whether to be sad or happy.
I wonder what happened to the others after that. I wonder what happened to you.
I still watch over you. I am worried about you. Your new friends are not very nice Pokémon. I wonder whether they really care about you. I wonder whether they love you like we did.
I wonder what they would do if you touched a Ninetails’s tail.
So I watch you. I watch you amuse yourself without a care for the unhappiness you cause others. I watch you pay no thought to those you once called your dearest friends.
And I think of that sweet little boy I met so long ago, and I want to weep for what you lost.
You may not remember me, but I remember you.
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby gman391 » September 16th, 2012, 11:42 pm

I like it.

Poor Gardevoir...
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » January 2nd, 2013, 5:35 am

Inspired by the style of The Dresden Files. Contains no spoilers.
Spoiler: show
Nightmares

In stories, people wake from bad nightmares in dramatic ways. Screaming, yelling relevant phrases, sitting up abruptly.
In reality, when you have a nightmare and wake up in the middle of the night, normally, none of that happens. You just wake up, sometimes a little more suddenly than usual, maybe with a gasp if it was a really bad one, and either try to get back to sleep or try really hard not to.
Most of the time, though, you don't wake up. You sleep until the morning comes.
And until then, the nightmares have you.

When you finally wake up, spooked and still with cobwebs clinging to your thoughts, you try to reassure yourself. You tell yourself that monsters are not real, that you are safe at home, whatever it is you need to hear. You do all you can to dismiss your nightmares as impossible.
Sometimes, though, you can't. Sometimes, what you need to hear isn't true, and you can't lie to yourself that well. Sometimes, your nightmares are terrifyingly, painfully possible.
Then you're kind of out of luck.
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby gman391 » January 2nd, 2013, 7:31 am

:sadfriend That makes me sad, good job
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby jgkitarel » January 2nd, 2013, 6:29 pm

Wow, nice bit there.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » January 4th, 2013, 10:00 pm

This is...
I have no idea. This is what it is.
Spoiler: show
Whatever It Is

Sometimes, you just have one of those days.
Objectively, nothing is wrong. Bills are paid, your homework is done, your family is fine, your friends are fine. No one is out to get you, no disasters have recently struck.
And all that quiet, all that peace, gives your doubts time to set in.
You are not good enough. Your beloved will never love you back. You are going to fail your classes. Your friends only stick by you out of pity. Whatever it is you feel anxious about, it creeps up on you as you sleep, and when you wake up it strikes in a wave of dark despair.
And you wonder why you should bother getting up.
Sometimes you do it anyway. You have something to do, and you make yourself get up and do it. Sometimes you just stay in bed. Maybe you had nothing to do. Or maybe there was something, but it just did not seem worth it.
Sometimes doing something productive makes the bad feelings go away. Sometimes it just makes you more tired.
Sometimes you feel better after you rest. Sometimes, you just feel even worse about yourself.
Maybe you wish you were dead. Maybe you even think about making it happen.
But then you remember.
Someone would miss you. Your family, your friends, your dog, whoever. Your co-workers need you to get your work done. You still have a shot at passing this semester. Or maybe you just think of whatever you believe in, and that gives you the strength to go on.
Whatever it is that encourages you, you get up for that. You keep going for that.
For whatever it is that reminds you that you are not alone.
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby jgkitarel » January 5th, 2013, 2:34 pm

A nice and uplifting piece is what it is. Some of the things strike close to home, but my family was and still is there for me.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » May 4th, 2013, 4:04 am

A new offering in the world of Legend of the Five Rings.
Spoiler: show
Empire

The Emperor is hailed as a reformer, a champion of the people, a hero. He is revered and beloved.
He would give all that up if she could have been there to earn the honour.

They were of different clans, he a young swordsman and she a courtier, but they met at the Imperial Court one winter. She was polite and calm and kept her heart deep behind her face, just like every samurai, and he... he was as he always was, polite and humble but with little real interest in anything, there only because it was his duty.
She changed his understanding of what that duty was.


The Emperor sits on the throne of all Rokugan, watching dispassionately as his subjects bow before him.
He would give it all up if only she could take his place.

However, behind that calm politeness lay a spirit of fiery passion, one that came out when she spoke. Every doubt that he had ever buried, every qualm he kept secret in his own heart, she skillfully brought forth, her intensely passionate words a force as irresistable and inexorable as gravity.
"It has to end," she concluded. "The denial, the isolationism, the infighting, the injustice and callousness, all of it weakens us. That is why I want reform."
That was the day he swore his fealty to her.
He would not realize it until much later, but that was the day he fell in love.


The Emperor wants for nothing, not food nor clothing nor marriage proposals.
There is only one he would wish to wed, but he would give up ever marrying simply to have her by his side.

It was poison that took her from him before their work was done. A poisoned scratch from a knife he had been just a hair too slow to protect her from.
She begged him with her last breath, choking on her own blood, to go on without her. To finish what they had started together.
"Promise me... that you will... make our vision... reality..."
What else could he do but swear it?
"I promise, my lady."


The Emperor walks the halls of the palace, and all give way before him.
He would give it up gladly to speak to her once more.

So he did as she had asked. He brought reform to all Rokugan. He abolished the class of the eta, he ended the customs of silence, he brought an end to interclan warring, he established a system of true justice, and he enshrined the code of bushido more fully in the law, including compassion for non-samurai.
Heaven smiled upon him, and although he faced many trials and hardships, in the end the work he still thought of as hers was well-received, and in the power vacuum of the time, he was named Emperor of all Rokugan.
It gave him the freedom and power he needed to finish her work, but he never considered himself worthy, he who had not even dared tell her that he loved her. He who had failed his lady, and then held her in his arms while she died.


The gifts at the Emperor's birthday celebration are the most lavish of gifts.
He would throw them all away just to see her smile one last time.
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby someone » May 4th, 2013, 10:57 am

Would that scene be the start, the middle, or the end?
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » May 4th, 2013, 4:04 pm

It was meant to be a standalone short rather than a single scene; in a sense, it is the end of the story of the Emperor's ascension, with the parts in italics giving a condensed version of the ascension story itself.
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » September 20th, 2013, 11:14 pm

Full-Life!
This one is for Final Fantasy V.
Spoiler: show
The Essence Of

Fire: Courage
It is when Faris, who but an hour ago had no intention of helping them, is the first to strike the monster that attacked them that the other three realize there is more to the pirate captain than there might seem to be.
And when Galuf asks why Faris is helping them, (“You’re a pirate. Pirates don’t help people, that’s not their business”), Faris answers, “The world is everyone’s business, old man. I could own everything there is, but it wouldn’t mean a thing if it all got destroyed. Bein’ a pirate doesn’t mean I want the world destroyed. So if the world needs savin’, then I’m going to save it.”
That is when they realize that Faris is no coward.

“I thought that light said you had courage!” Bartz accuses.
“Your point?” Faris drawls.
“So why’d we run away?”
“There’s a difference between courage and stupidity. You don’t fight something you can’t beat, idiot! Bein’ brave is pointless if it just gets you killed! Courage is only useful if you’ve got sense to go with it! Don’t hesitate to fight if you have to... but know when you don’t have to.”
That is when Galuf, at least, realizes that Faris is far from stupid; that Faris is no forest fire spinning out of control, but one carefully tended -still dangerous, but not reckless. And then he sees that the fire is slowly becoming tamer, quieter, but no less fierce for that.
And he starts to understand why Faris joined them.

Faris notices the shifting from wildfire to hearthfire... but somehow, by that time, it no longer seems like a bad thing.

Water: Devotion
Lenna, Bartz notices, always looks a little sad. Perhaps it is because her father is missing, or it could be because of the sister she mentioned who was lost long ago. It could be because of the constant fighting, or a number of other things.
Or it could be that she just looks sad, whether or not she is. For all her air of melancholy, Bartz has not once seen Lenna weep. She is calm as still water, like a lake so large even ripples will not much disturb it. And yet if no rain falls, from where comes the water?
He is watching for floods.

Earth: Hope
Galuf remembers nothing but his name, except occasional flashes when something reminds him of something else. But still, he feels certain that the four of them are doing what they need to do. And he believes with unshakable faith that things will turn out all right. Even when crystals shatter, even when ships are sunken, even when castles fall, Galuf never loses hope. And that hope is a rock for the others to hold to, in the storm of death and destruction they have found themselves caught in.

Wind: Passion
Bartz is an odd man. Ever wandering, but not seeming to mind. Rescues an old man and a young woman, then wanders away again... then goes back to find them. Sometimes it is hard to say what motivates him; sometimes it seems he is fickle as the wind.
But as the other three soon learn, Bartz is not so hard to understand. He is motivated by his feelings; by love and friendship, by joy and sorrow. He is impulsive, but he sees his decisions through.
Bartz is a steady wind; sometimes a raging gale, sometimes but a whisper... but always there, and always moving.
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby JamestheFox » September 21st, 2013, 1:43 am

... Nicely done. I *Love* FFV, and wish it got a bit more love than I've seen. Thank you.
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby jgkitarel » September 26th, 2013, 2:10 pm

A good break down of their characters by using the elements present in FFV. It is interesting that the only two who are related are of elements which are traditionally considered the other's antithesis, though I would not be surprised if Faris had some knowledge of her relation to Lenna from the start.
Also, I have to punch you, jgkitarel, because I spent a lot of time on the nanoha wiki trying to locate information on mages being trained due to being above a certain rank, only to remember and confirm that you were the one that came up with that. - Phht
Don't forget: Mass Effect is powered by magic space rocks. Evangelion is powered by Your Mom.
From his new fic Long Night of the Harvest

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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » December 8th, 2013, 5:16 pm

This is the beginning of a Pokémon darkfic idea that just kind of struck me one day as I was reading the TV Tropes Wild Mass Guessing page for Pokémon. I do not actually support this interpretation, but I think it makes a good story.
Spoiler: show
Silvergold Sayings

Journal Entry

They have a saying here in Kanto. “Blue like water, red like fire, green like leaves on trees.”
I wonder if it means something or if it's just one of those things people say without really understanding it? Like those children’s rhymes for skipping rope.
It kind of reminds me of that saying from back home. “Heart of gold and silver soul, mind like crystal clear.” But that one does mean something; it’s what a Pokemon Master needs to have. Or at least that’s what they say.
Mother says she named me Crystal because of the three, the last is hardest. I don’t really think that’s true though. I think they’re all equally difficult.
Ah! But I’m getting distracted. The point is that an old man told me that saying, and then he said something strange. He said that years ago he met a boy who said it differently. The boy said “blue like water”, but then he said “red like blood”.
I wonder what that means?



Summit Battle

Crystal entered the summit of Mount Silver, blinking at the relative brightness of the chamber. She walked up a short flight of stairs onto a bridge of stone, gazing around in awe. Slowly she crossed the bridge, thinking she saw something on the other side.
As she drew near, she could see the figure more clearly: a person, standing on a raised platform almost like a natural dais.
Crystal had not expected to meet another Trainer here. After all, Professor Oak had referred to the place as largely off-limits.
“Hello,” she said politely.
The Trainer turned around, clearly as startled as she had been. The expression quickly faded, however, his eyes half-closing as though he were sleepy.
“I’m Crystal,” she introduced herself. “Who are you?”
The boy – he looked only a few years older than her, really – touched his hat.
“...Hat?” she asked, puzzled.
He shook his head and touched the hat again.
Crystal’s second guess was the hat’s primary color.
“Red?”
The boy nodded.
“Okay, nice to meet you, Red. What are you doing here?”
Red shrugged.
“...Red, can you talk?” Crystal asked.
Red shook his head.
“Oh.” Crystal tried to think of something else to say... and suddenly hit upon it. There was one universal language among Trainers, after all...
“Red, you’re a Trainer, right?”
Red nodded.
Crystal could feel a smile working its way onto her face.
“Me too. Let’s have a battle.”
Red smirked, the slight shift changing his expression from apathetic to confident. For answer, he drew out a Pokéball and stepped back.
“Pika!”
Crystal glanced down, startled. She had not even noticed the Pikachu standing by Red’s side.
Name Red. It was not that common a name. A Pikachu standing around outside of its Pokéball, in a place like this...
“You’re that Red?”
Red nodded.
Crystal’s smile widened.
“Well, this should be fun.”
Red threw the Pokéball.


Leader’s Warning

“Hiya!” Crystal greeted Blue cheerfully.
“You look familiar,” Blue said, thinking. “Ah, yes, you’re the one who actually beat me, aren’t you? Why are you back?”
“Just wanted to tell you I found an old friend of yours,” Crystal said airily.
“An old friend of mine?”
“Yeah, Red went missing a while ago, didn’t he? Turns out he’s been in Mount Silver – training, probably.”
Blue froze, gaze boring into Crystal with sudden intensity.
“You saw Red?”
“Well, yes. We battled, in fact.”
Blue’s expression was horrified.
“Are you all right? Are your Pokémon all right?”
“By the end we were all pretty banged up, me from climbing the mountain and them from the battle, but we stopped in at the Pokémon Center as soon as we could and we’re all fine now.”
Blue breathed a sigh of relief.
“How did you get into Mount Silver, anyway?” he asked. “It’s restricted.”
“Professor Oak said the same thing, but he also said I could go.”
“Ah,” Blue said softly, “the professor. Of course.”
Crystal looked at Blue with confusion. After a moment, Blue shook his head and added, “If Red’s there, you should stay out of Mount Silver.”
“What? But I won!”
Blue looked somewhat surprised as he replied, “And that’s impressive, but my advice remains the same. There are more important things than whether you win or lose.”
“Look, I’d think that having an experienced trainer like Red around would make Mount Silver safer.”
“Having an experienced trainer around would. Having a trainer like Red around makes things far more dangerous.”
“Why?”
Blue’s eyes met Crystal’s, and she almost shivered at the look in them. Blue, like Red, was only a few years older than Crystal, but his eyes were the eyes of a man who has lived decades.
“It’s a long story,” he said, “and not the kind that ends with ‘and they lived happily ever after’.”
“Tell it, then,” Crystal replied. “I’ll listen anyway.”
“You won’t believe it. No one ever has.”
“Maybe that’s just because you gave up before you got to the people who’d believe you. You’re not a liar. That’s obvious even to me. Tell me what happened, please.”
“And why should I?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll just go back up to Mount Silver and ask Red. I’m too curious to leave something like this be.”
“Nosy, more like,” Blue scoffed.
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have gotten this far.”
Blue studied Crystal carefully. What he was looking for, she could not have guessed, nor was she certain whether he wanted to find it.
Silence stretched between them, Champion and Gym Leader, for some time.
“All right,” Blue said finally. “Come here tomorrow morning and I’ll you the story.”

To be continued in Blue Like Water.

No one stopped a boy with long red hair sneaking away from the gym. Indeed, no one paid him any mind, for no one had noticed him eavesdropping under the window.


Perish Song

A long-haired boy entered the summit of Mount Silver. He did not stare about in awe. He merely walked straight up to the dais, stopping in front of the silent young man who waited there.
“I need to talk to you,” said Silver.
Red did not answer him.
“You know,” Silver went on, “don’t you? You know, you’ve known for a while, and that’s why you’re here. You’re not training like she thinks. You’re hiding. From them.”
Red simply watched Silver with his sleepy-eyed gaze, and said nothing.
“Say something! Say something, you selfish child!”
That Silver was even younger than Red did not appear to matter to Silver, though the irony amused Red, if the slight smile that appeared was any indication.
“How long have you been here?” Silver demanded. “How long have you been hiding instead of doing anything? How long have you known, and done nothing? What’s wrong with you? If you don’t know what’s going on, then why are you hiding out here? If you do know what’s going on... then why are you hiding out here?”
Red’s expression went from ‘sleepy amusement’ to ‘sleepy boredom’.
Answer me!
Red still said nothing.
Silver clenched his hands into fists, glaring at Red. As he searched for words that would affect the apathetic former Champion, the Misdreavus that dwelt in Mount Silver began to draw near.
The first wail, Silver ignored. But then another and another and another joined it, more and more in a swelling cacophony, and Silver had to put his hands to his ears as he winced with the pain of hearing so many overlapping Perish Songs.
Red just continued to watch him, smiling that sleepy smile again.
The wailing slowly seemed to coalesce into a single voice. A boy’s voice, screaming.
Then, suddenly, it was silent.
Silver looked up just as there was a flash of light, and found himself at the entrance to Mount Silver.
“Hello,” said a voice behind him... the same voice that the wails had seemed to become.
Silver turned around to look at Red. Somehow, Red still wore the same sleepy smile.
“You must be Gold,” said Red. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

To be continued in Red Like Blood.
Last edited by Aldraia Dragonsong on March 3rd, 2014, 2:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » December 10th, 2013, 10:24 pm

Part II of Sayings. I want to especially emphasize here that I do not support this interpretation; I just needed to get the idea out of my head.
Spoiler: show
Blue Like Water

So, you’re here. All right. As promised, I’ll tell you the story. What happened with me and Red.

First Meeting

I don't remember exactly when we first met. It was years before either of us became Trainers. I don't remember exactly what we said. But I remember the gist of it.
We were just wandering around town, two bored children with nothing to do on a nice day. We spotted each other and just kind of stopped.
I think he was the one who spoke first.
He would have said something like, “Hi, I’m Ash.”
And I would have answered, “My name’s Gary.”
He laughed. I remember that. Thought it was a silly name. So he nicknamed me Blue, because that was the color my shirt was that day.
I was kind of annoyed, so I retaliated, “Then I’ll call you Red, ’cause that’s the color your hat is!”
He took the hat off and looked at it.
“It’s red and white,” he pointed out.
“I shortened it,” I grumbled.
Ash thought a bit longer.
“Red,” he repeated, testing the sound. Then he smirked and put the hat back on.
“I like it,” he said, and stuck out his hand.
I shook it.

Yeah. When I first met Red, I liked him. We were friends... pretty good friends, even. There were a lot of things I didn’t know then... and I like to think that Ash was innocent.
Then again, maybe that was the problem. Maybe he was too innocent.
Maybe Red doesn’t understand that others can feel pain.


Second Battle

I remember the battle we had, outside of Viridian City.
It wasn’t our first battle, but the first one barely counted. That first battle, I suspected, but I thought maybe it was just his inexperience.
That second battle, though... I was sure.
Red’s battle style was simple. Efficient. Effective.
But it was like he didn’t care if his Pokémon got hurt.
As long as he won, he didn’t care at all.
He won that time. All the other times too, come to think of it. I’ve only beaten Red once, and that was the last battle I had with him.
Weird thing about Red’s Pikachu -it hates Pokéballs. Doesn’t like being inside one. I couldn’t tell you why, that’s just how it is. Red seems to think it’s amusing, and as far as I know he’s never made Pikachu go in a Pokéball. They’ve always been together whenever I see them.
It makes me wonder. Is Pikachu like Red? Or is it just so loyal to him that it’ll support anything he does and do anything he asks?
They’re both scary thoughts. But anyway, the reason I thought of that is what happened after that battle. Red scratched his Pikachu’s head. It seemed to like the gesture.
I didn’t understand. It was like his utter callousness didn’t mean anything to him. He’d just sent that Pikachu into battle and acted like its injuries were irrelevant, and there he was petting it like he cared.
He grinned at me.
“Good match,” he said cheerfully.
I didn’t answer. I was too stunned by all the contradictions Red embodied without even seeming to notice.
“You know,” he said conversationally, “I just noticed. You’re Blue and I’m Red. It’s like that saying, isn’t it? ‘Blue like water, red like fire, green like leaves on trees’.”
I recovered enough to snarl at him.
“I’ll be blue like water,” I hissed, “but you’ll be red like blood.”
Red laughed.


Third Strike

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have tried to discourage Red. I probably just fired up his competitive spirit. Even back when Ash and I were friends, we were always rivals.
Whenever I ran into Red, I’d challenge him to a Pokémon battle. I was trying to get him to understand... I should have just told him what I meant, but I couldn’t find the words. I couldn’t think of a way to say what I wanted him to learn, not one that would be convincing.
So I tried to demonstrate it.
I don’t think it worked. I don’t think Red’s ever realized that Pokémon are people as much as humans are.

I don’t even remember why I was on the S.S. Anne -oh. That’s right, I heard there was a Cut master on the ship... anyway. What I remember is that on my way out I ran into Red again.
So like I always did, I challenged him to a battle. I wish I hadn’t.
The ship was docked, but it wasn’t perfectly steady. It was just a little bit harder to stay balanced on the deck. That little bit could be important.
I... don’t really like to talk about what happened. I remember it too well.
I used to have a Raticate. That battle is the reason why it’s ‘used to have’ and not just ‘have’.
Raticate didn’t die in that battle. Red... I think that in his messed-up mind, we’re still friends. I think in his own crazy way he likes me.
What happened... looking back on it, it was probably an accident.
That’s what I told myself, what I tell myself, hoping that if I say it enough times I’ll believe it. Because I can’t quite. Red was just a little too calm when Raticate lost her whiskers.
He didn’t look surprised at all, like it was just part of the battle. Then again, maybe he didn’t know any better. The way I remember it, Ash didn’t know much of anything about Pokémon. Red was a lucky amateur, when he started out.
That wasn’t our last battle. And when it was over, just like he always did, Red grinned at me and said, “Good match.”
And just like always, I couldn’t understand how he could treat what he did like it meant nothing.
I don’t remember what I said to him, if I even said anything. I was running on automatic, all my thinking focused on making sure Raticate was all right.
Because I knew, even if Red didn’t, that Raticate need their whiskers.
I rushed to the Pokémon Center. All the others were fine, and Raticate was too, except that... her whiskers couldn’t heal. Her whiskers couldn’t heal, and without them, she couldn’t balance.
I tried to help her recover. I knew she probably wouldn’t be able to fight very well after that, but I thought she’d be able to learn to balance at least somewhat better.
But... she didn’t want to. She stopped caring about anything. Raticate stopped eating, and it was only a few days later that she died.
Maybe it’s silly and stupid to blame Red for that. He couldn’t have known that Raticate lived for battle. He couldn’t have known that Raticate thought she was useless if she couldn’t fight.
Red still doesn’t know that it’s his fault that she’s dead.


Fourth Warning

You’ve been to Lavender Town, right? Saw the Radio Tower there. Stupid “progress”. I’ve wondered for a while if Team Rocket was involved somehow. It seems likely.
That Radio Tower, it used to be called the Pokémon Tower. It was where people went to honor the spirits of the dead.
I went there, after Raticate died. I cried a lot; who wouldn’t? And when I finally stood up and turned around to go, Red was there.
It was a bad time for Red to show up. I was already having trouble staying calm, and well, I blamed Red for what happened. And there he was, looking half-asleep like he always did, vaguely puzzled but nothing else. Red has two basic expressions, confident and apathetic. Neither of those was really appropriate for that place.
It didn’t help that by then I was kind of scared of Red.
I still am. It’s not something I’m ashamed to admit. Red is scary. I think he has some kind of code, but I don’t know what it is and I can’t figure it out. From my perspective, Red can do anything, will do anything. I’m not so much afraid for myself, though, as I am for the Pokémon he comes across...
Anyway, the Pokémon Tower.
I think he asked why I was there. I don’t remember answering. I think I just returned a question for a question -why was Red there?
He was just curious. Wondered what the really tall building was.
I kind of snapped. I couldn’t deal with Red’s indifference anymore.
“Do you know what it’s like to lose a Pokemon?” I practically yelled at him. I wanted him to hurt like I was hurting, I wanted him to lose that stupid zonked-out, apathetic expression he always seemed to wear – like nothing fazed him, like he didn’t care about anything.
Whatever else I can say about Red, he isn’t stupid. Never was. He could take a hint.
He didn’t look sleepy anymore. Or puzzled. He looked kind of shocked, actually... and maybe a little upset. I’ve always had a hard time reading Red’s expressions, and this was one I hadn’t seen before.
It calmed me down a little. Before he could say anything, I walked around him and left.
I didn’t want to pollute my grief with anger.
And I didn’t want to admit that I envied Red's nonchalance.


Fifth Key

The next time I saw Red was at Silph.
You know about how Team Rocket fell around the time Red became Champion, right?
The weird thing is, that wasn’t a coincidence like everyone thinks. Red took down Team Rocket.
I know, I know, he was only ten, but remember: Red became Champion at ten.
And he didn’t do what he did alone. Some of that was me.
Yeah, I know, that doesn’t sound much more likely.
Thing is, the two of us were the strongest Trainers our age – and probably stronger than anyone within two years of us. Red, because when he got focused on something he could exclude almost all else to work on that one thing. I’m pretty sure that from the moment he met Pikachu to the day he became Champion, Red devoted all of his time to Pokémon.
And me... I did it because I knew someone had to be – that I had to be – strong enough to stop Red. Red was getting strong fast; I needed to get stronger, faster.
Since Red always won, I don’t think I succeeded. Not quite... but I was close.

I was the kind of kid who couldn’t stand it when I heard about something unfair. So when I heard about Team Rocket, I swore to myself I’d stop them. Whatever it took. Red was Red... but this was a whole organization.
I asked my Pokémon, because they’d be in even more danger than me. They all agreed.
So we went to visit the offices of Silph Co.
I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks, so I snuck around really carefully. Made sure none of the Rockets saw me. I was just trying to figure out what they were up to. Figured I’d make a plan from there.
Well, Red was never much one for planning. I’d heard he was in Saffron... but it didn’t occur to me that he’d be trying to stop Team Rocket too. It didn’t fit with anything I knew about Red.
I was very surprised to run into him. And when I did, I assumed the worst.
We battled. It wasn’t the last time.
We talked more than usual during that battle. Each wanting to know why the other was there.
Around the end of the battle, we’d finally gotten things straight.
Red said “Good match” like he always did, but it didn’t sound quite right. He sounded kind of distracted. Which isn’t surprising, really, considering he was probably thinking about what he still had to do. He was looking... determined. Really serious... much more awake than he usually did. Like something had finally caught his full attention, and he wasn’t particularly happy about it.
He didn’t look particularly confident, either. Just determined. Like the difference between “I’m sure I can do it” and “I have to do it”.
He said I didn’t have to worry too much about getting out, he’d taken out the Rockets going in.
“They’re such cowards when their Pokémon can’t fight,” he explained.
That restarted my brain. It was such a Red thing to do... go straight forward beating up any obstacles. Subtlety rarely even occurred to him.
Red started walking again.
Red was Red. Team Rocket was a whole other category. Even now, I’m sure of that much. Red’s just crazy... Team Rocket was evil.
“Hey, Red,” I called. He stopped.
“Yeah, Blue?”
“You’re here to take down Team Rocket?”
“That’s what I said,” Red agreed.
I didn’t understand why, but then, I didn’t need to, did I? I still don’t understand why he did it. I’m not sure it matters. What matters is, he did.
“I’ll help you.”
Red turned around, looking puzzled again.
“Your Pokémon can’t fight like that,” he pointed out.
“There’s more to victory than fighting,” I answered. “You can’t defeat Team Rocket just by taking out their Pokémon. They’ll heal and be back again tomorrow. You need evidence, Red. Need to figure out what their goal is and stop that. So you keep doing what you’re doing... I’ll find what we need to find.”
“You’re always making things more complicated than they have to be, Blue,” said Red. Then he smirked and added, “But I’m not going to turn down help.”
I smirked back. Told him to go on ahead, I’d brought medicine.
Red shrugged and went on.

I didn’t find out as much as I wanted to know, but I did learn some things. Enough to get people really serious about getting rid of Team Rocket. They used to be seen as annoying but mostly harmless. Not so much now.
I still don’t know why Red was there, or what exactly he had against Team Rocket. Maybe they did something to that Pikachu of his; he’s always seemed really attached to it, which is another thing I don’t understand. It’s one of those discrepancies that always gets me when I think I’ve figured Red out; I thought he just couldn’t care about anyone, but that’s clearly not quite it. I guess Team Rocket violated whatever strange ethics Red follows.
Anyway, within a week Team Rocket was gone, or at least all the obvious signs were gone. They’d gone underground completely, the ones that managed not to get arrested. The investigation went on for a long time... might still be ongoing. If it isn’t, it was probably reopened, what with the recent happenings in Johto.
But Red and I didn’t stick around for that. I told the authorities what I knew, Red did whatever he did, and we both cleared out as soon as we could. Red because he’s impatient, probably, and me because I didn’t want to fall behind Red.


Sixth Pokémon

It was quite a while after Saffron before I ran into Red again, which was how I liked it. I trained with my Pokémon, traveled around. Took on the Gym Leaders and kept going. I’d found a goal, you see. I was going to stop the things I’d seen. But no one would believe some kid ten years old, saying what I had to say. I’d seen that, too. I needed to get to a point where people would think my word meant something.
I’d made a decision: I was going to be the Champion.
I knew full well there hadn’t been a Champion in years. Didn’t stop me from trying.
And I did it. I defeated all eight Gym Leaders, I crossed Victory Road, I defeated the Elite Four.
And then Red arrived.
I can’t remember all of what he said. Something about the latest match in our competition.
I asked him, “Is that all this is to you? A game?”
And suddenly Red looked serious, awake, like he had at Silph. Only instead of some distant goal, he was looking right at me.
He said that no, it wasn’t just a game to him. There was more to it than that.
“Layers and layers that I can’t unravel,” he said.
Then he said, “So, Champion Blue, are you going to face my challenge?”
Something about Red acknowledging what I had achieved pleased me. It also kicked up my drive to beat him.
We moved on to our traditional exchange of arrogant nonsense, and then we battled.
It was years ago, but I remember that battle so well. So much more clearly than most of the battles I’ve fought as Gym Leader here. It’s probably because that battle was far more important to me.
I started with Sandslash. I was expecting Red to start with Pikachu, since he often relied on its strength to let it overcome slight type disadvantages. Red, however, seemed to have predicted that. He started with Blastoise.
I can’t tell you what happened move for move; I don’t remember it that well. I know Blastoise defeated Sandslash quite easily, which was to be expected.
I won’t bore you with a vague summary that lacks everything that makes a battle interesting to hear about. All that matters is that in the end... I lost that battle, too.
And then... my grandfather arrived.
He gave that grandfatherly smile of his and congratulated Red on winning. Said he had won because of his bond with his Pokémon. And then he turned to me, and said I had lost because I didn’t truly understand.
Hah. It’s just the opposite.
Red won because he doesn’t care.
I lost because I do.
I was too angry to speak, or I might have said so. Gramps turned to lead Red into the Hall of Fame. Red followed him, but stopped just past me.
“He’s wrong, isn’t he,” he said quietly, not turning around. “You really care about them.”
“Yeah,” I said, “I do.”
Red looked back.
“I can tell,” he said. “They love you.”
He turned away, walked on, and was gone.
And once again I was left to wonder at the living contradiction that was Red.

Seventh City

It was a few weeks before I saw Red again. I was in Pallet Town, visiting my sister, when I heard a commotion outside. We went out to look, and saw a bunch of people were coming into town... from the direction of the ocean. From Cinnabar Island.
I headed into the crowd.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“It’s the volcano!” a boy babbled, excited. “It’s gonna blow up!”
I ran for the water and sent out Cloyster. There weren’t enough people, the island couldn’t be completely evacuated yet. I had to help, even if I couldn’t do all that much.
I explained what was going on to Cloyster as we headed south. He understood; he swam as fast as he could. When we got there, I was relieved to see Blaine had gotten everyone organized and was keeping things calm. I told Cloyster to start taking people back without me; it’d be easier on him, and he could take more people, if he didn’t have to carry me back every time.
I was still on the island, double-checking to make sure everyone had gotten word of the impending eruption, when I spotted Red.
He was on the back of his Charizard, with two others behind him, flying north towards Pallet Town.
And I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand at all.
But I didn’t have time to be confused, so I put it out of my mind and kept going.
Just as the last people were leaving, the volcano erupted.
I panicked. Cloyster wasn’t back yet. I wasn’t that great a swimmer – I’m still not. I couldn’t swim all the way back to Pallet Town.
I ran for the shore anyway, planning to jump in the water and go as far as I could, hoping Cloyster would meet me halfway.
Just as I got to shore, I saw Cloyster coming back. I hopped on with relief.
After we went some distance into the water, I turned back to look at Cinnabar. Because come on. Volcano erupting. How often do you get to see that?
And that was how I came to see something very strange.
Red was still there, his Charizard hovering over the island. Watching the eruption up as close as possible, I imagine.
But then... something came out of the water.
That’s... really all I can say about it. It was indescribable. It looked wrong, like it shouldn’t even exist, like it was some kind of cosmic mistake on the part of whoever or whatever created the universe.
Distantly, very faintly, I heard the sound of someone screaming.
It sounded kind of like Red.
And the... whatever it was... split apart and changed.
Each piece turned into, it must have been a Pokémon. One I’d never seen before, a greenish-coloured creature that looked kind of like the head of a woman. And they sang. They sang, and somehow the sounds overlapped to amplify the sound of screaming.
It hurt. The sound was physically painful, and I could tell that it was worse for Cloyster.
And then, suddenly, there was silence.
A little later, Red flew past me, trailed by those strange green Pokémon. As he passed, he looked at me, and he gave me this strange, sad smile.
Then he waved at me, and flew on and away.

Eighth Gym

Not much later, the authorities declared Giovanni officially missing. And a criminal. They’d finally gotten together enough evidence against him. But anyway, with Giovanni unavailable, there was no one to serve as Leader of the Viridian City Gym. I went for it, because it seemed like the best I could do at the time. I needed – need – status, respect, to be someone people would listen to. And I’m close. Maybe a few months, a year more, I’ll be set in enough.
But anyway, only a few days after I got the position... Red turned up at my door.
He didn’t say anything. Just gave me that lazy smirk of his, and held up a Pokéball, tossing it up and down.
“Here for a battle, are you?” I asked.
He nodded.
I obliged him.
It was a strange battle. Red didn’t say a word the entire time. I don’t know how he was communicating with his Pokémon, but he must have been doing something, because they did seem to be taking directions. There was an awkwardness there, though. There were hesitations and confusion, and generally whatever he was doing clearly wasn’t as effective as talking.
In the end, I won that battle. The first, last, and only time I’ve ever beaten Red. It kind of galls me that he had to put himself at such a massive disadvantage to make that possible.
Red inclined his head to me, turned around, and left my Gym.
And I haven’t seen him since.


Ninth Revelation

So there you have it. The story of me and Red. Now do you get it? Now do you see that he’s dangerous?
A question? All right, sure. What is it?
Ah. Right. I suppose I never did tell you what it is I’m trying to prove here.
It’ll sound silly to you. Why haven’t I just gone to the authorities already? Surely they’d investigate.
But the thing is, they won’t. He’s extremely well-respected, and good at hiding what he’s doing. And even if they did, well, he’s good at hiding what he’s doing. He’d make sure they found nothing.
It’s Gramps. Professor Oak, as you know him. He’ll tell you he does research on Pokémon, but what he doesn’t let anyone know is that he conducts experiments without any regard for the well-being of the Pokémon he’s using as test subjects.
He’s torturing them.
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Aldraia Dragonsong
 
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby gman391 » December 10th, 2013, 10:38 pm

hmm I like these. Hope to see things from Red's side soon.
"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."
----Jack Layton
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » January 22nd, 2014, 9:00 pm

Your wish is fulfilled at last! I present Part III of Sayings.
Spoiler: show
Red Like Blood

Let me tell you a story. Several years ago in Pallet Town... no. That’s not where I need to begin.

Analgesia

When I was younger, I didn’t understand pain.
I think that might have been the problem that started all of this.
I remember when I first met Pikachu. He shocked me. I figured it was just a hello gesture, and I laughed.
Blue was horrified.
“Are you all right?” he asked, nearly panicked.
I gave him a puzzled look.
“Huh?”
“It shocked you!” he shouted. Sometimes I wonder if nonchalance bothers Blue. He certainly acts like it does.
Though maybe it only bothers him when most people would have responded.
I’m pretty sure I said something like, “Ah, it’s just a playful greeting,” but I don’t remember exactly.
Come to think of it, isn’t that about when Blue and I started to drift apart?
I always figured it was just because we’d started traveling and didn’t see each other as much. But maybe that was when Blue finally noticed that I wasn’t normal.
If so, he’s the one that took the longest to notice. Maybe that’s why he’s the only friend I had; maybe normal people have some kind of “not-normal radar” and Blue’s was broken.
I don’t know. After all, I’m not normal.
It’s too bad it took me so long to realize that.


Compassion

So how was it I started again? Ah, right. Several years ago, in Pallet Town... you know what, that’s a terrible way to start this story. Doesn’t matter what I do with that beginning, it doesn’t come out right.
So. Let’s try it this way. The point of the story is that you want to know why I’m out here, right?
Well, it has a lot to do with Blue.
Several years ago, Blue and I lived in Pallet Town. We were best friends, but we were the kind of friends who bickered constantly. And whenever we were having an argument, I’d call him Blue and he’d call me Red.
We weren’t born Red and Blue, you know. Those are names we gave each other, and kept using when we left our old ones behind.
Blue did it because he hates his grandfather. I did it because... well, I’ll get to that. First, Pallet Town.
It was when we were... nine, I think. It was the kind of bright sunny day that Blue and I always met up to do stuff on, so I wasn’t at all surprised when he showed up.
I was kind of surprised by his expression, though. He looked lost, and scared, and angry, and something else I couldn’t identify.
I think, looking back, that that something else was hurt. The pain of betrayal.
I must have called him by name, because he turned the anger on me. Insisted that I call him Blue from then on.
I didn’t know why he wanted that when before he’d preferred to be called by name, but I shrugged and agreed. I didn’t really care which I called him, as long as he answered.
I didn’t ask, then, what made him so upset. He didn’t seem to want to talk about it. I still don’t know for sure, but since that’s when Blue started to hate his grandfather... I think he learned the truth. I didn’t until much later.
The name he was born with?
I don’t speak that name anymore. It doesn’t exist for me. He’s Blue, and he’s always been Blue. Just like I’m Red, and I’ve always been Red.
Blue like water. Red like blood.
I misinterpreted that the first time he said it. Thought it was a joke. I laughed then, because I thought it was funny.
I was such a silly child. Maybe I still am.
After all, I still think of Blue as my friend.


Rivalry

Blue and I, we’ve always been rivals. Ever since the day we met, there’s been that silent competition between us to be the best.
Blue never wanted to be worse than me at anything. It’s a desire that’s only gotten stronger as we’ve gotten older, and that ambition is something that I’ve always respected about Blue.
It didn’t matter what we were doing, we’d find a way to turn it into a competition. And if we couldn’t, we’d do something else that we could. It’s really no surprise that Pokémon training was the same way.
After that incident when we were nine, Blue got... I don’t know. Quieter? He’d space out sometimes, and when I tried to get his attention back, he’d apologize but wouldn’t tell me what he was thinking. I didn’t pressure him about it, but I did kind of wonder. That was when he started hating Professor Oak, too. I didn’t understand that at all, and I didn’t try to. Figured it was just something between the two of them, something I wouldn’t get even if Blue explained it.
Blue used to take me to visit his grandfather, but that last year before we left, I’d go to visit on my own and Blue would disappear somewhere. It’s weird. When Blue was younger, he’d always want Professor Oak’s approval. Idolized the man. After that... it was like he didn’t care anymore.
No... it was like he actively wanted the professor’s disapproval. But he didn’t talk about it, and I didn’t ask. I figured that if Blue had something he wanted to tell me, he’d say it. If he didn’t say it, I didn’t need to know.
And then the Professor gave us the Pokédexes and we left Pallet Town. As far as I know, Blue never went back.


Grief

I ran into Blue a few times in the days that followed – outside of Viridian City, outside Cerulean City, on the S.S. Anne. We’d have a Pokémon battle every time we met. It sort of became our tradition.
The first time that tradition was broken was when we ran into each other in Lavender Town.

I honestly don’t remember why I went to the Pokémon Tower. It probably wasn’t important.
The important thing is that I ran into Blue there. He looked kind of upset.
“Hey, Blue, why’re you here?” I asked. I was trying to be a little less blunt than usual, but I don’t know whether I was successful. I’ve never been what anyone would call tactful. Blue used to say it was like I didn’t have any sense of what other people’s reactions meant.
Thing is... I didn’t. It didn’t help that it was like most people were actively hiding their real feelings from me.
I don’t hide what I feel so much as I don’t instinctively act on it. I don’t have that direct impulse to action connection that most people have at least a little of. Almost everything is conscious for me. Blue’s the opposite, I’ve noticed; it’s really hard for him not to act on his emotions. That’s part of why I like him; he’s easy to understand.
Blue didn’t ever answer my question directly. Just turned it around.
“Why are you here, Red?”
I don’t remember what exactly I said, but it was the wrong thing. He kind of exploded.
“Do you know what it’s like to lose a Pokémon?” Blue yelled at me.
I froze up. I had a bad feeling about that question... a really, really bad feeling.
I mean, why would Blue ask that out of nowhere the way he did, unless...
I could hear it in his voice, the way I couldn’t with most people. The rest of that statement, that he’d never admit, because Blue doesn’t say anything when he’s in pain.
Because I do, and it hurts.
And I could hear the accusation.
And it’s your fault.
I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what to say, and before I could come up with anything, Blue walked around me and left.
Still kind of dazed, I walked over to look at the stone he’d been standing in front of. I didn’t want to know, but I had to.
Sure enough, that stone was for Blue’s Raticate. The next time I fought him, at Silph, he didn’t have it with him.
I remember that when we battled on the S.S. Anne, Raticate lost its whiskers. I wrote in the Pokédex, later, that it seemed to lose its balance without them. It didn’t occur to me then that that might be more than a temporary inconvenience.
Did the loss of balance eventually cause Raticate’s death?
I’ll never know for sure, because Blue certainly won’t tell me. But that doesn’t matter.
I’ll remember it as one more thing I have to make up for. Because even then I regretted it. Even then I felt guilty that I’d caused Blue that kind of grief.
Even then I envied Blue’s ability to care so much.

It’s weird. I didn’t learn what grief was on my own. I learned it through Blue. I didn’t feel bad for Raticate, dying... I was unhappy that I’d hurt Blue. Because I hadn’t wanted to. Because Blue is my friend.
I can’t care about people in the abstract. I just don’t think like that. I care about certain individuals, but the rest of the world... doesn’t matter.
Blue’s not like that. Someone he met just a few minutes earlier, he’ll give all he has to protect.
When I was younger, I didn’t even understand that Pokémon were people. But Blue, he’s always understood that.
I wonder if that’s what he was trying to tell me. The lesson he wanted me to learn.
Or maybe the thing he wanted me to learn was regret.


Hatred

It’s been a while. A long time since I’ve spoken, and longer still since I’ve talked so much. Where was I going with this?
Ah. Right, right. In that case, I guess the next thing to talk about is Silph. That was the next time I saw Blue, after the Pokémon Tower.
Team Rocket... I can’t stand them. A bunch of bullies trying to get more than they deserve and dragging people and Pokémon into it who don’t want anything to do with it. They don’t care what happens to anyone else as long as they get what they want.
I think part of why I hate them, though, is because they’re so much like I used to be. Only so much worse. Maybe I’m just afraid that I could have become like them.
Maybe I’m afraid that I still can.

So, I hear Team Rocket have invaded Silph Co. I go in, place is filled with them. They send out Pokémon the moment they see me, of course, but the thing is that most Rockets aren’t good trainers. They’re too busy with crime. It was pretty easy to beat most of them, and without any Pokémon to hide behind they’d talk tough but wouldn’t dare do anything.
Those Pokémon that the Rockets use... I wonder how many of them even know what they’re aiding? And how many of those are willing?
Pokémon don’t think the same way humans do. It’s hard to say, really, whether they’d be willing to do something or not.
Anyway, I’d say the strongest person I fought at Silph was Blue.

“I heard you were in Saffron,” said Blue. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Somehow,” I replied, “I’m not at all surprised you’re here. If we’re going to fight again, can it wait? I’ve got some business with the Boss Rocket.”
Yeah, I know now that I shouldn’t have said it like that. But it didn’t occur to me then that there was more than one way to interpret what I’d said.
Yes, yes, you’d have known better. But then, you’re... It’s different for you. You grew up surrounded by double meanings. I grew up trying to figure out single meanings. You learned to say what you literally meant knowing people’d take it figuratively... I had to learn the concept of figurative speech.
Blue said he wasn’t going to just let me do whatever I wanted, and sent out a Sandslash.
We battled, but we talked too. And by the end of the fight we’d sorted out that we were on the same side.
I was moving on past him when he called out, “Red.”
I stopped, asked what it was.
“I’ll help you.”
It was the last thing I’d expected him to say.
I was, understandably, confused. But Blue wasn’t done talking.
“Victory is about more than just winning the battle,” he told me. “You can’t take down Team Rocket just by defeating them in Pokémon battles. You need to find out what their goal is, and stop them from getting there. And you need evidence, Red. You need to be able to prove that it’s their fault. That’s how Team Rocket always gets away -there isn’t enough proof that it was them who did it.”
“You’re always making things more complicated than they have to be, Blue,” I said. “But I’m not going to turn down help. Come on, let’s get going.”
He told me to go ahead – he’d brought medicine and wanted to use it. He’d find what we needed and I’d deal with the Rockets. I liked the plan.

Giovanni got away that time. He was the Viridian City Gym Leader, so the authorities didn’t believe Blue when he told them what was going on. I’d have thought he’d’ve known better, after what happened with his grandfather... but then, that was in Pallet Town. Maybe he thought Saffron City would be different. Or maybe he was giving the authorities another chance. Blue’s like that.
I backed him up. It didn’t help much. Still, Blue had enough actual proof that they had to look into it, and even what they looked into was enough that it really hampered Team Rocket. Turned out Blue was right – we needed evidence. Seeing as telling the authorities did help, I guess he was right about that too.
Heh. When it comes to people, Blue’s more likely to be right than I am.


Triumph

I didn’t see Blue for a while after that. I did a lot of thinking during that time. As I trained to get stronger and fought Gym Leaders for their badges, I started to wonder about Blue.
Why did Blue hate his grandfather so much? Why had he been acting so oddly since we became Trainers?
And why was he so obsessed with beating me?
Seems a strange question, I know. I mean, we’d always been rivals. But there was something different about this. For some reason, Blue felt like he had to beat me. And I didn’t know why.
I didn’t know why he’d been so mistrustful of me at Silph. Yes, yes, I misspoke then, but time was Blue would have known what I meant. So why had he assumed the worst?
Really, though, there was one question that I kept circling back to. One sticking point that just made no sense no matter how I looked at it.
Why did Blue hate his grandfather, when before he had been so fond of him?
There had to be a reason, a good one. Blue doesn’t just change his mind like that. There’s always a reason. But no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out what that reason was.
I’d asked the professor about it back when it first happened. I don’t even remember what he said, some comment about how Blue was getting older and rebellious or something. It doesn’t really matter what he said, since it was a lie.
But I wouldn’t learn that until much later.

So I kept traveling, and training, and battling, until finally I reached the Pokémon League. I fought my way past the Elite Four... and confronted Blue once again.
“Ready for the latest match in our competition?” I asked.
He returned a question for a question: “Is that all this is to you? A game?”
And I told him, “No.”
“There’s more to it than that,” I said. “So many things I don’t understand. Layers and layers that I can’t unravel.”
I shook my head and smirked at him.
“So, Champion Blue,” I said, “will you face my challenge?”
You don’t care about the details of the battle, I assume?
Didn’t think so.
I won, though. I defeated Blue yet again. I became the Champion.
And yet somehow, it meant nothing.


Understanding

Professor Oak turned up right after the championship battle. Told us that I had won because of my bond with my Pokémon, and that Blue had lost because he wasn’t as close to them.
Which... didn’t make any sense to me. Didn’t Professor Oak know that Blue loved his Pokémon like his own family? Even I could see it, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not terribly perceptive about that kind of thing.
Blue was furious. I couldn’t blame him. He didn’t say anything, though. Maybe he was too upset to speak; that happens to him sometimes.
I wanted to say something, to let him know that even if his own grandfather didn’t understand, I did.
So as I walked past him, I said, “He’s wrong, isn’t he. You really care about them.”
He said quietly, “Yeah. I do.”
I looked back at him then.
“I can tell. They love you.”
I had to keep going; I didn’t want the Professor to notice I’d fallen behind. So I didn’t get to see Blue’s reaction.
But I hope it helped. At least a little.

After that, I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I wandered around for a while, fighting anyone who challenged me. But the battles were always too easy.
Then one day I happened to be in a certain place – I won’t tell you where, you’ll see why in a minute - when I remembered something; a cave I’d seen nearby and been told was too dangerous for me. I was sure it wouldn’t be anymore, so I went to take a look.
It was an interesting place. Full of tough Pokémon. The whole time, though, I had this weird feeling, like I was being watched.
In the depths of the cave, I found the watcher.
It was a Pokémon I’d never seen before. I grinned, planning to catch it.
Then I heard a voice in my mind.
<Don’t you dare, human.>
I nearly fell over in shock.
“Who... what?”
The eyes of the creature before me narrowed.
<What are you doing here?> the voice demanded. <No one ever comes to this place.>
“Who are you?” I demanded in return.
<Typical,> the voice scoffed. <You see me right before you, yet you reject the truth that your eyes behold.>
The Pokémon’s eyes glowed.
<I am Mewtwo,> it proclaimed.
“Mew...two...?” I repeated. The name sounded familiar...
Then I remembered. When I went to Cinnabar Island the first time, I went exploring in this old abandoned building. There were some research journals or something lying around, and I took a look, thinking the Professor might be interested. They’d mentioned a Pokémon named Mew and its offspring... Mewtwo.
This was amazing! I thought. That I’d found it...! I had to tell the Professor, he’d be so excited-
<DON’T YOU DARE, HUMAN!>
The words blasted through my head, scattering my thoughts and replacing them with pain. As I struggled to recover, Mewtwo continued... speaking doesn’t seem like the right thing to call it, but I can’t think of a better word.
<I am not a lab specimen to be poked and prodded and treated more like an object than a living creature,> the voice snarled in my head. <I came out here, where no human treads, specifically to avoid your disgusting species. Because I swore, never again. Never again will I be subject to the whims of your kind. Never again will I submit myself to being commanded by anyone. Never again will I suffer for a human’s curiosity.>
I was confused.
“But the Professor’s not like that...” I protested.
<Ignorant child,> Mewtwo scoffed. <He’s the worst of them all.>
I didn’t want to believe it, I admit. I trusted the Professor. He’d treated me like I was his own grandson, always there with a smile and a kind word of advice.
But Mewtwo saw my doubt – it must have been reading my mind the whole time; didn’t trust me a bit and I don’t blame it – and forcibly dispelled it.
Images bombarded my mind, of the building on Cinnabar Island when it was still intact. Of the scientists who had discovered Mew, who witnessed Mewtwo’s birth in the lab and ripped it away from its … the image I got was of a parent neither mother nor father and yet both. It was confusing. Anyway, ripped it away from its parent the moment it was born, to whisk it away for tests and examinations. I heard their psychic wails and felt, as Mewtwo had felt, the utter indifference that surrounded them. A jumbled montage followed of endless days in the lab, constant experiments and growing bitterness. And finally, I saw as Mewtwo, tired of it all and pushed beyond the limits of its tolerance, showed its full power and destroyed the lab, escaping with Mew in the confusion.
And I realized, as the torrent of psychically projected impressions slowed and came to an end, that Professor Oak had been there in many of them. And there had been glimpses, too, of his thoughts... of evidence that Mewtwo was not the only one to suffer so. Of regret that it hadn’t been able to help them... but fear that to try would only undo its escape.
“W...what happened to Mew?” was the first thing I asked, still trying to recover my balance.
<It still believes there is goodness in humans,> Mewtwo replied, some overtone showing its contempt for the concept. <It wanders the world, as it has always done, seeking amusement and... friendship.>
I rubbed my head, still aching and disoriented, and tried to get my thoughts straight. A new idea was trying to worm its way into my brain, and I was struggling with it a bit in my sluggish state.
But finally I got it.
“...You’re... just like a person, really, aren’t you,” I said slowly. “You keep yourself alone and apart, because you’ve been hurt so badly you don’t think you can trust anymore... but... despite that, or because of it... underneath it all... you’re lonely.”
<How dare you!> Mewtwo boomed. <I am Mewtwo. I need no one. And I am certainly nothing like you filthy humans.>
I nodded.
“You tell yourself that,” I agreed, “to convince yourself that you don’t mind, that you’re content like this... but I felt it, when you threw all that at me. It’s in there, it’s part of you, no matter how much you try to hide it. You’re alone, and no one was meant to be alone.”
And I knew. Oh how I knew. Ever since Blue and I started drifting apart, I’d felt this pain inside. I didn’t understand at first, because I didn’t understand pain. But finally I got it. Finally I understood what pain was. Because I’d finally felt the only kind I can feel: emotional pain.
I was lonely, too.
We weren’t the same, not at all. We’d led very different lives. But for just a moment, I thought I understood Mewtwo.
I turned to go.
“Well,” I said, “if you don’t wanna be found, I won’t tell. But if you ever want to talk or anything... I’m sure you can find me. I’m not exactly the greatest at this stuff, but I’ll do my best.”
<...Where are you going?> Mewtwo asked.
“There’s still some of the research lying around the ruins of the lab,” I answered. “I figured I’d go fix that.”
There was silence for a moment. I started walking away.
As I left, I heard a voice in my mind.
<I will keep your offer in mind... Red.>
I smiled.


Realization

As soon as I was out of the cave, I called out Charizard, climbed on its back, and headed for Cinnabar Island. I’d meant what I said. Bad enough that I’d already told the Professor what I’d found, though he’d probably already known and just laughed to himself after. But if anyone else found it... well, I’m sure you can imagine. At least no one knew where Mewtwo was now, and I certainly wasn’t telling.
So I went to Cinnabar Island, intending to destroy the lab. But on the way, I flew over the volcano, and I saw something that completely changed my plans.
The volcano was about to erupt.
I changed course. If the lab was even still intact after the eruption – not likely – I could come back and destroy it. First I had to warn everyone.
Look, I may not really care about people in the abstract, but you’d have to be a complete sociopath to not even do that much.
Besides... it was what Blue would have done.
So I went in, found Blaine, told him what was going on. Luckily, he took me seriously, and immediately started organizing an evacuation.
I gotta say, I was impressed. Nobody panicked, and Blaine sorted everything out like I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t seen it myself. Charizard and I were recruited into the effort, ferrying people to Pallet Town. I needed to stick around anyway to make sure the lab was destroyed, so I went along with it.
On one of my trips, I saw Blue, helping Blaine keep everyone organized. I wondered what he was doing on the island at all, but once he was there... it’s just like him to dive in and help people.
Finally the island was evacuated; it was just me and Blue left. I saw him running for the shore and I was about to go get him, but his Cloyster turned up just then, so I turned to watch the volcano instead.
As I waited for the explosion, I started thinking. All the way here I’d been focused on what I was going to do. Now that I had no plans beyond waiting, I considered what I’d done.
Pokémon. Mewtwo was a person, really. And thinking about how all the others I’d seen acted – Pikachu and my other Pokémon, the wild Pokémon I’d come across, the way the Pokémon on Cinnabar Island had worked so hard to help the humans and other Pokémon – I started to realize that he wasn’t special, at least not because of that. That they’re all people. I know, you’ve always known that. But I didn’t, and it was a big thing for me to realize I’d been wrong.
Professor Oak. I’d helped him with his ‘studies’, with the horrors he’d brought about.
Blue. Blue hated his grandfather. He must have known, ever since that day. That must be what he learned, what changed everything.
With growing horror, I began to wonder if Blue hated me, too.
The volcano erupted. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something moving, and glanced over.
Something was coming out of the water. That’s... really the only word for it.
I’d seen it once before. I didn’t know what it was then and I don’t know what it was now. I told the Professor about it, and even he didn’t have a clue.
All I can tell you is that it looked deeply, utterly wrong.
Everything came to a head and I just couldn’t take it anymore.
I screamed.
The thing leapt out of the water and flew at me, splitting as it did into smaller pieces, pieces that slowly began to shift form.
I felt Mewtwo in my head. It’d been watching me the whole time, I realized; it’d never stopped watching me, the paranoid creature.
<Interesting,> it murmured.
Well, I thought, still screaming, maybe you could explain what’s going on, because I sure don’t have a clue.
To my surprise, Mewtwo obliged me.
<This creature was born in defiance of reality,> it replied. <It wishes to change its nature, to fit into the rest of the world. But to do that, it needs a piece of a creature who already fits...>
Mewtwo paused for a moment.
<It wants to borrow your voice.>
In the end, I don’t really know what made me do it. A little I was just willing to do anything to get this blight on my sanity out of my life forever. A lot I wanted to make up for the evil I’d aided. There were a lot of reasons, and I don’t know which one made up my mind.
But I thought, Fine.
The pieces of the thing solidified... well, sort of... into ghostly shapes, a bit like a woman’s head. You’ve seen them in here, I’m sure.
And they opened their mouths and they sang and it hurt.
Oh how it hurt, and I could see Charizard and Pikachu had it even worse. They almost collapsed – which would’ve dumped all three of us right into the lava, of course – but Mewtwo demonstrated some tiny bit of not being completely coldhearted and held us up while I revived them.
And then there was silence.
I looked around at the strange ghosts and opened my mouth to say “Hello.”
But no sound came out.
That was when I really understood what ‘borrow your voice’ meant.
I got the feeling that Mewtwo was amused by my discomfort. It might, maybe, have been beginning to respect me some tiny bit, but it didn’t like me. Not then, anyway.
Also, it’s kind of a jerk. So there was that.
Pikachu gave me this worried look, and I tried to pat it reassuringly. It seemed to work.
It took me a few tries and some false starts, but between me, Pikachu, and Charizard, we worked out a way for me to direct Charizard without talking.
As we flew off in search of a place for the new Pokémon to live, I saw Blue, watching the volcano with Cloyster. I tried to smile at him, but I don’t know how well it worked out.

So like I said, we went looking for somewhere for the Misdreavus to just lay low for a while, get used to being, well, Misdreavus. Mewtwo offered its cave – it seems to be nicer to Pokémon than to humans – so I dropped them off there.
Then I went off to wander again.


Defeat

Not much later, I heard that Blue had become the leader of the Viridian City Gym. I was happy for him; he deserved it and he’d do a good job.
It’d been a long time since I fought him, considering how often we used to get into it. I was curious how we’d match up. I was still getting used to fighting without my voice, but my Pokémon and I were getting somewhere.
I didn’t know what else to do with myself. I mean, sure I could report the professor to the police – I might not have been able to talk, but it’s not like I can’t write – but... surely Blue would have done that already. He’d known for years, and he was the one who went on about getting evidence and reporting Team Rocket to the authorities.
So either he’d done it already and it hadn’t worked... or he’d had some reason for not doing it.
Even though I was pretty sure Blue hated me – even now I’m pretty sure he still does – I respect his judgment. Always have.
So I had nothing to do with myself but train.
And what’s the point of training if you never test how far you’ve come?
Blue might not have made Champion, but he nearly did. It was just a fluke that I came along so close on his heels that they never even registered him. He was the best Trainer I knew, and my rival besides. No one better to measure myself against.
So I went to his Gym, and I fought him.
And for the first time in our lives, I lost.
I was impressed. Sure, I’d been at less than my best without my voice... but he’d been able to see that and use it. He’d been strong enough to defeat me.
I inclined my head to him – all I could do to show what I was thinking – and left his Gym.
And I haven’t seen him since.



Silence

I knew then that I needed to train more, to get myself and my Pokémon fully used to fighting without words. For a while I went and hung out in Mewtwo’s cave. It actually let me stay there. Even talked to me sometimes. Civilly. I guess it finally admitted to itself that I’d been right.
I met Mew while I was there. It came to visit its child. Mew’s fun, and not like Mewtwo at all. It pretty much just wants to play, all the time.
But then one day Mewtwo told me it was sealing the cave off, to make sure no one else could wander in and find it, and if I wanted to be able to leave on my own power, I’d better find somewhere else to train.
I’d honestly been expecting to get kicked out long before that, so I took the hint and left. Much to my surprise, the Misdreavus trailed me out.
Well, I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to go out where people could see them, and risk them getting caught before they were... I don’t have a word for this, I guess ‘settled’ will do. Anyway, I was worried that being put in a Pokéball would mess them up. Not to mention I was a liiittle concerned about possibly getting my voice back someday.
That’s when I remembered hearing about this place. Dangerous, off-limits, out of the way... it sounded perfect.
So I came here, to train and wait for the day the Misdreavus would be ready to give my voice back. To my surprise, I wasn’t lonely. I had my Pokémon with me, and I got to know most of the wilds around here. And Mewtwo still calls me up from time to time, though it’s making friends with other Pokémon now, so I don’t know how much longer it’ll do that. Anyway, even though it’s the only one that could talk to me, it’s not like I could talk either, and learning to communicate without words was something I was training in anyway. I missed Blue, and my mother... but that was about it.
But I’ve finally got my voice back. Not sure what I’ll do now. Maybe challenge Blue to a rematch. Maybe try to make things up with him, tell him I get it now. Maybe both. Ask him if he’s got a plan, and if I can help. Like he helped me, way back in Silph.
And what about you? Now that your questions are answered, what are you going to do?
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby gman391 » January 22nd, 2014, 9:16 pm

Well that got dark, but it does give a nice perspective to Red.
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » January 22nd, 2014, 9:31 pm

I told you it was a darkfic.
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Wraith5 » January 22nd, 2014, 9:50 pm

Agreed. An interesting perspective, even if it is rather dark. I always wondered why Red never said anything , even after you beat him. I'm not a big fan of darkfics, but that was an interesting read.
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Ristridin » January 23rd, 2014, 12:27 pm

Huh. The last part didn't feel dark to me at all. Maybe it's because the second part was darker? Red just seems like someone who is learning to understand things based on what he observed from his friend Blue (rather than a danger to everyone as Blue seems to think).
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby MrRigger2 » January 23rd, 2014, 1:55 pm

I'm inclined to agree. It was certainly a good read, but it didn't feel all that dark to me. It definitely wasn't happy go lucky, but it was hardly full of doom and gloom. Though, I guess reading The Sun Soul kind of moved the bar a bit higher for Pokemon Darkfic for me.

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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » May 3rd, 2014, 4:26 pm

With apologies for the long delay, the conclusion of Sayings.
Spoiler: show
Mind Like Crystal Clear

Right and Wrong

“He’s torturing them.”
Crystal was silent for a long moment, absorbing Blue’s words.
The next question out of her mouth was, “What about Professor Elm?”
“I don’t know,” Blue replied honestly. “I’ve never met him. Maybe he isn’t doing anything wrong. Maybe not.”
Crystal was quiet another moment.
“...Thank you,” she said at last, “for telling me.”
“So you believe me?” Blue asked, tone surprised.
“Yes... I do.”
After another moment of silence, Blue said softly, “Thank you.”
Crystal nodded to him and left the Gym.
She had listened to Blue’s story, but she wanted to hear Red’s.

“Now that your questions are answered, what are you going to do?”
Silver, too, was silent for a long moment, considering Red’s question.
“I think I’ll have to talk to her,” he said slowly. “Try again to get her to understand... she has a good heart, she means well. She’s just... so innocent. So naïve.”
He leaned back a little, looking up towards the sky.
“Wish I’d realized that sooner... before I went and made myself look untrustworthy.”
“Who’s this girl you keep talking about?” Red asked.
Silver looked back at him.
“Crystal. You’ve met her. She was up here challenging you not that long ago.”
“Oh. Her.”
“Yeah. Professor Elm sent her out, like Professor Oak sent you.”
“So he’s the same way?”
Silver nodded.
“Stole a Pokémon from him. Didn’t have time to get more... or dare to go back.”
Red stood up and stretched.
“Well, if that’s all, I’d better get going. Got a lot to do, you know. Places to be, people to see, professors to slander.”
Silver chuckled.
“Yeah. Think I’ll stay here and think for a while. Then... well, that’s why I need to think.”
Red nodded, took out a Pokéball, and pushed the release. Mounting the Charizard that appeared, he flew off without saying good-bye.
Silver looked up at the sky again.
“Besides... knowing her, she’ll probably be back.”


Friends and Rivals

When Crystal arrived at Mount Silver, she was surprised to see Silver sitting on a rock just outside the cave.
Hearing her footsteps, he turned his head to look at her.
“...Crystal.”
“Silver,” she said steadily.
“...Come sit with me. I don’t want to fight... there’s just something I need to tell you.”
Crystal hesitated, but in the end, she sat down on the rock next to his.
“My father named me Gold,” Silver began, not looking at her. “I changed my name because I didn’t want any connection to him. Giovanni wasn’t exactly a nice person.”
“I’d heard,” Crystal agreed.
“I stole the Pokémon from Professor Elm for the same reason.”
Crystal stared blankly at him.
“I’m sorry,” Silver said quietly. “I know you like him... but he doesn’t care about Pokémon at all, except as research subjects.”
Crystal sighed.
“I was hoping that wasn’t true.”
Silver nodded.
“I’ve been fighting you because I thought you knew. I thought you were helping him hurt Pokémon. By the time I realized you weren’t... I didn’t think you’d listen to me.”
“If Blue hadn’t told me the same thing about Professor Oak... I probably wouldn’t have,” Crystal admitted.

Blue was preparing to close the Gym for the day when he heard the door open. He turned around, already starting to say, “Gym’s closed for the-”
Then he saw who stood in the doorway, and his voice froze midsentence.
Red smiled slightly, the same sad smile Blue remembered from that day on Cinnabar.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
The greeting restarted Blue’s brain, and he said, cautiously, “Hey yourself.”
Red walked closer, up the center aisle and into the ‘ring’ where Blue met challengers, and stopped at its edge, his Pikachu scampering forward alongside him and stopping exactly when he did.
“Been a while,” said Red.
“Sure has.”
There was a short, awkward silence; then Blue asked, “You here for a battle?”
Red shook his head.
“Nah. Just wanted to talk.”
Blue raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“That’s odd for you. So. Talk.”
“I think I get it,” Red replied slowly. “I mean... you’ve been trying to get through to me, all this time, right? Ever since we left Pallet Town. Trying to get me to realize that Pokémon are people too.”
Blue was struck speechless from surprise. After a long moment, he managed to get out, “Yeah.”
Another brief and awkward silence.
“You’re trying to... fix things, yeah?” Red said finally. “Make everyone see what the professor’s doing.”
Blue nodded cautiously, not sure where Red was going with that.
“I’ll help you.”
It was the last thing Blue had expected him to say.
Red smirked at his stunned silence.
“Just because victory means more than winning the battle doesn’t mean you don’t have to win the battle, right?”
After another long moment, Blue laughed for the first time in a long time.


Hurting and Healing

“So what do we do?” Crystal asked.
“You’re the Champion now. If we work together, I think we can expose him.”
Silver looked at her.
“That is... if you’ll help me.”
Crystal thought for a moment, then held out her hand, palm up.
“For the Pokémon,” she said.
Silver put a hand atop hers.
“Always.”

Red and Blue caught up over an informal dinner of sandwiches.
“So Elm is the same way,” Blue said finally. “I wondered.”
“Yeah. But Silver said he was planning to talk to the girl he sent out.”
“Still... are we going to have to go to Johto after this? We’ll have enough to do here...”
Red smiled slightly.
“I think they’ll be able to handle it.”
Random Scholomance Quote of However Long It Takes Me To Get Bored of the Last One:
“Ancell: respecting personal boundaries to the detriment of his friends since 1993.” ~bookworm702
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Wraith5 » May 3rd, 2014, 4:35 pm

Very nice. Not nearly as dark as the other parts, in my opinion. Quite a bit lighter. Thought the end of the Friends and Rivals segment was very funny.
"Boss, why is it that you always say 'I've got a plan' like a terrorist says 'I've got a bomb'?" - Garrus Vakarian in Razor's Edge: Requiem (a Mass Effect fan-fic)
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Re: Assorted Random Writings

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » May 3rd, 2014, 6:03 pm

Indeed; while the story is dark, I wanted a happy ending, or at least a hopeful one. I dislike stories where things are terrible and there is no hope of change for the better.
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