OPEN - am I blue? you'd be too

[halloflamer]

Who: Blue Oak and yoooou
Where: Mt. Silver's peak, Heavenly Blanc, and Mortis Lake (maybe Merlaut Apartments later)
When: throughout voidcember!
What: Between Red and Lance vanishing, Ren and Akechi seemingly vanishing, and Mementos, Blue has been having a real Bad Time.
Content Warnings: alcohol abuse, depression


A. Mortis Lake Forest

[When Blue is stressed out, he has a few ways of dealing with it. The healthiest one, thankfully, comes first.]

[Although they may not having all their usual abilities, having his full team of Pokémon back meant that Blue could get back into the swing of a training routine, and that was at least the first step in keeping his mind straight. Mortis Lake was a great place for this- Gyarados chills in the lake waters for a happy soak while Exeggutor sits amongst the other trees next to a meditating Alakazam, watching as Blue directs Arcanine and Pidgeot in Agility training. Eevee is trying to follow along, although even quick as he is, he can't make such powerful single bounds and dashes as the powerful 'windy' Pokémon can.]

Come on, Arcanine! A little quicker! This time, try to make it to that notched tree over there and back before Pidgeot makes it to that treetop and back! [Blue calls, absorbed in his training. He looks... exhausted, almost like he himself has been pushing at this for hours without a break. You'll have to forgive him and his Pokémon if they don't see you directly in the path of their makeshift training arena.]


B. Heavenly Blanc

[Whether it's before the disappearance of his coworker or after, patrons of Heavenly Blanc might find the bar.... less regularly manned than it usually is. At first, maybe one could chalk it up to the strange sleep cycles everyone has found themselves beholden to, but those that catch the bar's usual tender might realize that's not the only reason.]

[Those that knew him well probably knew Blue was a fan of the bottle to begin with, but the way he's slumped over the bar, or in of the booths, or laying spread eagle on the floor probably makes it obvious this isn't just his usual casual, raucous overdrinking. If a patron enters while he's miserably laying about, he'll blink up slowly, squint, and try to roll himself up. Gotta... get back to work...]

Ah, customer... jus' gimme a second...


C. Mt. Silver's Peak

[And when he just can't bring himself to face the outside world anymore, he goes to where's most familiar to him.]

[...It's sort of laughable that it's this place. It hurts, more than it helps; huddled up on the cavern at the peak, Blue looks out over the world of the void that he can see in glimpses between the veils of snow that fall, below the misty cloudcover that swirls this high up. He wonders if Red always looked down over Kanto like this, wanting to return, but unable to bear it. That was probably how it felt, right? ...Who can know what that guy was ever feeling, or thinking...]

[Blue tucks his face into his knees and sniffles, hard and gross, shivering against the warmth of his Arcanine, who whines and nuzzles against him. That idiot.... there was no way of knowing what had happened to him- if he had slipped and fallen down the mountain, if he'd gotten eaten in those terrible corridors full of monsters and mouths- or if he'd simply ...gotten tired of people again, and vanished somewhere. Gotten tired of him again.]

[Well, in the end, as Blue had always supposed back then- he wouldn't blame him.]

Comments

B

[bazooker]

[As much has it hurt knowing how her friends had vanished, she just had to keep on moving. She didn't know where they might have gone but knew she couldn't keep thinking about it. They would be fine, she knew the both of them wouldn't go down without a fight.

Hoping to take her mind off of them, she walked into the cafe to see...someone on the floor? Looking down at Blue, she was in shock! She didn't know what made him go on the floor but she can't let him stay there! Kneeling down, she had get him back up!]

Excuse me, I think you had enough! You must get some rest!

[halloflamer]

Ah-whah....?

[The mess on the floor mumbles unhelpfully, squinting and blinking for a moment as he looks up to whoever was trying to urge him up. Initially, there's a bit of irritation in his glare, but after a moment in which his foggy brain processes that 1) he doesn't know this person, and 2) this person is a cute girl, he nearly jumps away from her with a yelp and immediately tries to stumble to his feet.]

[...With... varying success. He stumbles, he sways, it looks like he might almost go down again...!]

S-s-sorry!! Lemme just...!

[bazooker]

[Despite his attempts, Haru just looked at him with a small smile. She didn't know how much he drank but it was enough to make her worried about him. For a moment, it made her forget about her own troubles.]

Are you sure? Here, hold on my hand. I'll place you back on the bar.

[She said before giving said hand out to him. Hopefully he was coordinated enough to grab it?]

b

[kimihiros]

(going to heavenly blanc is only so that kimihiro cuts the trip down to the market. as it turns out, one does not easily find a path down to being social after such a long time of emotional distance. as he enters, he's got mugetsu, as per always, wrapped around his neck and he holds the changsan so that it doesn't sweep the flo-- what is happening?

he hasn't had that much time to spend with blue, usually he thanks him, takes the bottle, and sits outside so that he can smoke. this didn't seem to be his normal behavior, star-lying on the floor like that. he reeks of alcohol, and all kimihiro can do is to kneel, offering help for blue to stand up by supporting his weight on him.)

I think you've had too much. Is there a place where you can lie down?

[halloflamer]

Nnnn... oh, glasses-boy.

[He waves vaguely- not to Kimihiro, but to Mugetsu on his neck, because cute babby deserves it- and then grumbles and curls up where he lays.]

Why? I'm fine right here.... Oh, but if you wanna drink, I guess I should...

[He squirms, and rolls, and struggles to get himself up. Oh... the world is spinning...] H-hold up...

A

[blue_eyed_obsession]

[As it so happened, when Kaiba emerged into the clearing he was in the direct path of the diligent pokémon and it's training session. With the speed it had obtained there were only seconds to react. Keen eyes assessed the danger to his person, he reached for one of his own pokéballs as a reflex.]

Niwatori!

[Not quibbling over what to call the creature contained inside, he tossed the ball near himself. In a flash of brilliant light one of those Chocobos/Blurrgs appeared. Gripping onto it, the monster darted out of the way taking it's owner with it. By the time it came to a halt, Kaiba had managed to swing his form on top of it. He could tell that his stead, was bewildered, but also that now that it could tell what was going on, it longed to join in the race itself. It took a lot of convincing to keep it steady.

The Pokémon he'd seen before at that meet and greet the pokedweebs had thrown, glancing past it he narrowed his eyes to focus on Blue. It didn't take a medical professional to tell the other male was looking worse for wear, but Kaiba couldn't bring himself to care... much. It was more of a curiosity, also he could relate to driving yourself to the past the point of exhaustion. He'd done that last month, as part of his training.] I'm just going to assume that wasn't intentional... [Not like he needed more reasons to be detest Blue besides]

[halloflamer]

[It happens fast enough that Blue's exhaustion almost keeps him from doling out a command in time- but with a shout, Arcanine dodges to one side, missing Kaiba and his quick-footed monster, skidding to a halt with an immediate snarl in response to the other man and his "Pokémon". Blue's Pokémon were well aware of this man and his unfriendliness towards their trainer, and as Arcanine's Intimidate activates, Pidgeot swoops overhead, his Keen Eye keeping watch over Kaiba in case the other man made any movements towards Blue.]

Unfortunately... [Blue mutters under his breath, motioning to Pidgeot and Arcanine to stand down, despite himself, before raising his voice to his typical, obnoxious tone.] Wellllll! If it's not Mr. Too-Good-For-Real-Pokémon... With another new Pokémon!

B....

[simulatio]

[As always in the Void, it's difficult to tell how much time has truly passed. Nothing looks different compared to the last time Akechi was here, at least, which is both a reassurance and cause for concern. After all, it means they're all still trapped in the same gods-forsaken experiment.

Ren isn't here, which is mildly troubling, but he does recognize that voice groaning on the floor behind the bar. Ah dear. Seems as though Ren's been absent to let things get to this state, hm?]

Not to worry, [he reassures, the corner of his lip edging up into a hint of a smirk as he crosses the threshold, lets the door close behind him. He'd never venture behind the bar of Leblanc, but then, this isn't Leblanc, cursed with the weight of memories both real and literally dreamlike. This is somewhere else entirely, and Akechi did spend some time helping out here, a lifetime and a half ago.]

I'll just prepare some coffee myself, shall I? Don't let me stop you.

[halloflamer]

[It takes Blue a moment to double-take, squinting at the individual passing through the doors of Heavenly Blanc; when his brain catches up, he scrambles to push up onto his hands, and shoots Akechi a most suffering pout.]

A-Akechi-kun...! You didn't disappear after all!! [He looks like he could cry. He probably will. He tries to clamber himself up to his feet, but he's having some trouble with it- oop, up onto his knees, swaying, pushing himself up one foot at a time--]

It's really you, right~? Heeey, is Ren-chan back, too...!?

B

[forethinking]

(Ren is back, bitches.

He wasn't expecting to see Blue like this. Honestly, he wasn't expecting half of the reaction to his disappearing to be like it is.

When he hears the slurred voice, he knows exactly what had happened. The bottles were disappearing each time more, and his trips to the market to refill it were becoming more and more frequent. Ren just shakes his head, swapping his jacket over for his apron.)

Blue, it's me. (He says as he rests a hand on the other's back, gently not to startle.) Let's get you some water.

[halloflamer]

R-Ren-chan....!?

[Blue could swear he was hallucinating. Again, maybe- he squints up at Ren, uncurling from the sniffling ball he'd been positioned in, and gawks at his coworker.]

[His coworker, who'd been missing for days* now (*typical time disclaimer notwithstanding), who'd disappeared and left him behind, just like everyone else--]

[He gives a gross, snotty sniff as Ren urges him up, though he sort of.. sways... Maybe the water would be best before standing.] Where have you beeeen!?

C

[forceofnature]

[Hm. Crying teenagers. Not exactly the ambiance she was looking for, but when you're on top of a mountain, you can only hold very still and pretend not to be there for so long.

She shakes off the snow that had collected around her and turns to head back down.]

Hey.

Don't cry.

Your tears will freeze, and it will stick to your face.

[#nailingit]

[halloflamer]

[Hey!! Excuse you, Blue is a whole twenty one years old! .....Which yeah, may as well be a teenager, especially with his emotional age, but-- look, he can take care of himself! Sometimes!!]

[Just not right now. He's under a lot of stress, alright!? You lose your best friend, again, and then you lose your dad, again, and then you really don't know what to do with yourself except.... to exile yourself to the same place said best-friend exiled themselves to when they had to get away from you for 7 years.]

[Totally normal reaction.]

Th-that's not even true, [Blue sniffles scornfully, arms crossed over his knees as he sops his tears into them.] It's just a lie they tell little kids. Like how your tongue'll stick to a Vanillite if you lick it.

[Don't lick your Vanillite, kids.]

C :)

[rotomphone]

[ though Blue is certainly going through a rougher time than Raihan is, that's not to say that he's fine. it was incredibly worrying that Pokémon trainers have been disappearing without a trace, starting with Red and now moving onto Lance. he's yet to notice Akechi's disappearance, but Ren is a notable missing body from the Heavenly Blanc, and that in itself is enough to make his assumptions even worse.

surely not all of these people had just gotten lost, or something to that effect. there had to be something taking them - the same force that had brought them here in the first place, maybe, or perhaps something different altogether. he doesn't know for sure, and that uncertainty is eating at him. he finds himself wanting to talk to Blue in particular about it, not only to ease his own worries, but to check in on him as well. he was much closer to Red and Lance, after all...

there had been a few places that he had looked for Blue first, but when the idea of Mt. Silver's peak dawns on him, he nearly kicks himself in the head for not thinking of it sooner. the mountain, isolating as its peak was, was a familiar place. he'd retreated to Hammerlocke's ruins for self-reflection before, so why should this be any different?

with a bag slung over his shoulder, he mounts Flygon and directs him to fly to the peak of the mountain. it takes a little motivation once they hit the chilled air and snow of the area, but they press on until reaching the staircase that overlooked... whatever this world was. predictably, at its base, is the man that he's looking for. surprising himself, he lets out an exhale of relief that he didn't even know he was holding in.

hands stuffed into his hoodie pockets for warmth, he hikes closer. ]

Try to let a guy know that you're going somewhere to mope, will you? Almost gave me a bloody heart attack.

[halloflamer]

[Blue honestly isn't expecting anyone to come looking for him. Why should they? Anyone who he could have believed would have cared to bother was seemingly gone now, vanished without a trace- without a goodbye. Not that Blue was any stranger to that; but usually, he was in a position to have some way of distracting himself, some work or training or something to put himself towards.]

[Here? ...Well, there was the bottle. And even then, it was too much to have people discovering him at his worst, the pathetic, true face revealed at the bottom of a glass.]

[So he'd isolated. He understood why Red had done it. It was way better, being alone up here in a place that felt familiar, than to have to face a bunch of people that couldn't understand you.]

[When he hears the crunch of snow and a calling voice, he's shocked out of his bleary on and off sobbing, and jolts to turn towards the tall figure approaching him in the snowdrift.]

Oh, dragonboy.......

[He glances away again morosely, burying his sniffling nose into his bundled arms. It... actually surprises him, a little, that the Galarian Leader had bothered to come looking for him. At least, he... assumes that's what he's doing here, right?]

[...Sheesh. Dream on, Blue. Maybe he had just come across him by coincidence.]

At least one of us is still around, huh?

c.

[bachagain]

[ here to throw blue off the mountain is one leo tsukinaga......

okay, no. but, did you know you can touch the weirdo sky shapes at the top of the mountain? did you know the top of the mountain, while exhausting and annoying to get to, is worth it enough to see the glimpses of something you wouldn't normally? to pull out songs or notes when the world was being a tad unfair, when people you thought would be around for a while suddenly weren't anymore?

because you can. because it is.

and apparently he's not the only one who thinks so. when leo catches the sight of blue, huddled into his d*g*mon... he pauses. ahh, that's the... shoeburn meouch guy, isn't it?

excuse him. ]

Heeey, that looks comfy! Keeping warm? Lemme join in too, okay?

[ for now, he'll pretend he doesn't see blue crying! people would also rather not have near-strangers seeing them sob pathetically into their dogs, but it's not like he can just leave and pretend he saw nothing...

leo'll feel out whether or not he'd rather be alone, first. but, really -- leo knows that most of the time, you don't really want to be. ]

[halloflamer]

[Blue has tried it, once or twice- flying around on Pidgeot's back, he even messed around with using them as targets for the bird Pokémon to do some acrobatic training. Sometimes, trash from the beach started floating up here in the atmosphere with the weird shapes; Blue collected some of them that seemed useful, and left them at the apartments at times.]

[Hey Leo; maybe you should just get good and have a giant flying D*g*mon to ride?? Then you wouldn't have to struggle just to get all the way up here!]

[(You'd think it'd be that easy in the games, too, what gives)]

Huh?? ...What're you doing all the way up here, not-king boy?

[Boy, he sure wasn't expecting to have company up here, and his quick attempt to hide and wipe at his eyes and nose shows it. His fluffy G*r*u*mon lifts his head and eyes Leo curiously, and a little watchfully- he was protective of his trainer when he was in these sorts of moods, but this guy doesn't seem like he means any ill-will...] ...Sheesh, if you're cold, get a coat or something....

B

[begetblue]

Are you okay?!

[ Turing was unlucky enough to encounter Blue while he was making close friends with the floor. They didn't so much care about why that was at that moment; the more important thing was making sure he was okay, and they wasted no time in rushing over there. ]

If it's difficult to get up, please don't force yourself!

[ They gave Blue a little pat on the shoulder. It was better if he stayed on the floor instead of getting up and maybe falling down anyway. ]

[halloflamer]

Uh-hhhuuuh?

[Blue turns over slowly to see a bright blue face in his vision, and he has to squint ans blink to realize what exactly he was looking at. Oh... Oh no......]

O-oh, lil' guy.... Nnngh... [Resting his head back against the floorboards with a slight thud, he does just that- he doesn't force himself, but he does give a small sniffle as he stares up at the rafters.] I-I just, uh.... Probably had [sniff] too much....

[Yes that's definitely the only issue, ignore those welling tears.]

b

[anciently]

No rush! [ The customer in question is Aerith, who enters humming to herself and glancing around to see who might be in the bar today. Her eyes fall on Blue behind the counter, and she smiles, offering a wave. ]

Good to see you again! And much better, since we're out of those caves. [ That...hadn't been a great experience for her. ] Is Arcanine back there with you? I think he'd make a very charming business partner!

[ Not "mascot" - somehow she feels like that could be offensive.

...It's closer to now that she takes real stock of Blue's state, and her smile fades slightly. ]

...I don't really need anything from back there, but...would you mind if I sat with you for a while? I think I need a little company.

[halloflamer]

[Morosely, Blue's cheek is pushed into the smooth countertop of the bar, and he gives a soft, half-hearted chuckle at Aerith's suggestion.] Yeah, he would, huh...? He'd keep things together back here better th'n I would....

[He frowns, and glances to his half-empty glass, and tries to lift his heavy head up so that at least he isn't in such a sorry state when he's got a guest.]

...Yeah, I guess if you want to. [So inviting- he mentally chides himself, and pats the barstool next to him, instead leaning on the counter with his folded arms.] It's a slow day...

B

[wouldntglidingbefaster]

[He saw the word "bar" on the sign and came running... but uh, wow, this is a sorry sight! It's not normally the bartender that's supposed to be drunk on the floor.]

Ahaha... don't worry about it! You just stay there. It looks like you could use the break. [and also: Venti can just serve himself! Since there's no one else here to stop him... what's the harm in giving the poor overworked bartender a break, right?? He's so generous! So thoughtful! So going to find the most expensive-looking bottle on the shelf and help himself to it...!

Ah, but he is still a little concerned about this guy. He's not heartless, of course. He'll grab two glasses while he's back here.]

Seems like you're really down on your luck today. Perhaps a fine etude would be enough to lighten the mood? I don't mean to brag, but I am one of the finest bards in all of Mondstadt.

[halloflamer]

Huh? Who're....

[Blue's eyes squint at the unfamiliar face in the doorway, brows furrowing; sheesh, of all the people to find him in here, he sure didn't expect someone new!]

[He can barely process what this kid is babbling about, but slowly squirms himself to prop up on his elbows, watching as he slides himself behind the bar.] Hey, brat, are you even old enough to drink....? [He grumbles- wait, what were any of those words?? Is this how people feel when he talks about Pokémon?]

[With a ragged sigh, he tries to roll himself up into a sitting position, at least, and rubs at his eyes.] 'sides, it's not me you're gonna have to deal with if you try and drink up the whole back shelf...

Closed to Turing - December "gift" exchange

[halloflamer]

[The snowfall that the apartments wake up to this Non-Denominational Festive Morning™ is not the only surprise the void has brought with it. Indeed, perhaps Turing, new to the concept of sleep in general, doesn't notice anything amiss in their room at first--]

[No, no, that rumbling is probably just a rowdy neighbor. Or the snow blowing against the windows. There definitely isn't a tough, rocky-skinned lizard slowly and woozily unfurling from unconsciousness at the side of the bed or anything.]

[rumble.... CRUNCH. CRASH. RRRRRRAAAARRR!]

[Okay, that wasn't snow.]

[begetblue]

[ Turing was still getting the hang of regular sleep cycles, so they had their work cut out for them. They were all curled up in the blankets--the apartment had mysteriously changed enough to be jarring, but at least the blankets were still the same--but the crunching and crashing was more than enough to jolt them awake. Was Add doing dangerous experiments again, like with the lightning rod? Were they going to have to give him a talking-to, again?

One look at their new guest told them this was not the case. They were indeed in some trouble. Tyranitrouble, even. ]

What--?!

[ They immediately thought better of shouting out of surprise, and then hid under the blankets again. M-maybe Tyranitar would just leave on his own...? ]