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

I MISSED THIS

[halloflamer]

[If Blue was in a less hungover state, then maybe he'd be able to appreciate the music a bit more.... as it is, he kind of just blankly endures it with a slight squint, eventually struggling himself into one of the booths at the side of the bar. Curled up atop the booth table is Eevee, who had reluctantly been watching over his troubled trainer's bender with minimal ability to intervene.]

....Yeah, sure; maybe the bar could use a performer, now and then, [Blue relents half-heartedly, and he waves Venti off to continue his drinking while his head thuds softly down next to Eevee.] I'll cut you off.... later.....

[Eevee, who is at least grateful that the new guest has interrupted Blue's drinking, gives a low mewl and prods a paw atop his head.]

Someone needs to be cut off here and it ain't that guy.

[Only one of them probably heard that.]

[forceofnature]

Oh, I've been using my mystical nature mind-link this whole time! The doggy says that you're a tolerable master. He wants more treats, though.

[she has not
she is a liar]

...No, I've talked to a lot of your pets already, and I'm... satisfied enough. What do you think, doggy? Do you want more treats?

[everybody always wants more treats]

Who's Red?

[rotomphone]

[ though Raihan is about as tall as the Dark-type (give or take a few inches), he knows better than to cross a rampaging Tyranitar without being extremely careful. that goes tenfold when Duraludon is out with him - the two species are natural enemies in Galar, and the way the steel dragon growls threateningly only proves that. ]

Those are big words for a trespasser on my territory. Stand down.

[ a far cry from his usual calmness, Duraludon looks posed to fight. clearly this trespasser has already caused enough damage, and must be dealt with. though he can't decipher his partner's words exactly, Raihan knows him well enough to at least be able to understand the situation. ]

Easy, mate... we're not here to pick a fight.

[ slowly, he reaches into his hoodie pocket to take out an Ultra Ball that he had drawn from the Shibumenosaki gachapon. if this Tyranitar is wild, he might be able to placate it with some distraction... ]

[halloflamer]

Rrrr...

[Arcanine makes a flat sound, looking more doubtful than annoyed, although now that she mentions it- he would like some more treats. He turns his look to Blue and barks once with a couple wags of his tail, and Blue sighs.]

[Well, it's his own fault for spoiling them...] He gets plenty of treats! [He grumbles defensively, though he still reaches into his pack to grab more of the jerky he's taken to making in this place.] Fine.

Um, as for Red.... You ever meet a quiet guy with a baseball cap? Has a yellow rat following him everywhere? [Blue taps his shoulder, thinking of how Pikachu was always riding along there.] ...Well, he disappeared a while ago now. And he mostly avoids talking to people, so I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't, anyway.

[forceofnature]

Never met the guy.

[A slight pause.]

His name is Red? [a longer pause] And your name is... Blue.

[There is a disapproving stare at this.]

Humans are so weird.

OK, so you're sad because Lance and your primary color counterpart went home to be with - I presume - your third sibling/friend/team member, Yellow, and that's why you're moping up here with your dog.

[halloflamer]

[Blue groans the moment she repeats their names, interrupting her stare with waving hands. He knows. Everybody always says it! He knows!!] Look, our moms were nerds, okay? Don't start.

Anyway-- what? No, there's no Yellow, [Blue grumbles. Not in his universe, anyway--] So what? You got a problem with that, you can leave me alone!

[Snapping, Blue reburies himself into Arcanine's fluff, who looks torn between comforting the upset Blue and continuing to be exhausted at both of them.] Honestly! Even in the middle of Furreting nowhere I can't even get some peace...

[anciently]

Animals can be tamed, sure. I still get the sense it's...a little different from your world. [ They're not always considered such close partners, for one thing, and certainly don't compete in huge tournaments using magic powers! ] The monsters aren't really the tame type. Most of them are just wild, and sometimes even corrupted into being worse than usual.

[ thanks, SHINRA ]

Vanishing? [ Her smile fades a little, replaced with a quizzical look. ] Not that I know of... [ The implications are potentially troubling, though. Or...potentially encouraging? ] But, if you know that's happened, then...that could really mean a lot in figuring out what this place is like. How it ferries people between this world and...others.

[forceofnature]

You should find a third friend and force them to change their name. ...Ooh, then you can mate with her, and your kids can be named Green, Mint, and Seafoam! And you know, all the other combinations.

[perfect plan from a perfect goddess]

I mean, if you had just opened up about your problem in the first place, we could have skipped to the end a lot faster. Now that I finally know what's wrong, I can give you advice!

Ahem: humans are terrible, and you don't need human friends.

[...........................................]

OK, fine, fine.

People are going to come and go through your life all the time. The important thing is what you do with the time you have together.

There, is that better?

[blue_eyed_obsession]

How about you stop looking for additional ways to tick me off? It's not in your best interest.

[Just saying, that and Kaiba was attempting to draw attention away from his highly prized duel disk. It was much more than the 'hunk of plastic' it had been reduced to here. In fact since it was the model he crafted personally for himself, it was the best of the best. Without it being functional it remained on his arm more out of habit...] I didn't think you could ever admit when I was right about anything. [.. but he mercifully left it at that]

[Upon being gazed at the chocoblurg bobbed once on his muscular legs, fanning it's crest of feathers out some. If looked briefly between Kaiba and Blue, ultimately deciding that if it was to get it's point across as to what it wanted it was going to have to act. Breaking away from Kaiba, it raced across the land in the route the pokemon had taken before, then it raced backwards, coming to a sudden stop and squawking]

What is it.... [doing? We don't have time for this]

[halloflamer]

Tamed isn't exactly the word I'd use, so I guess so. I mean, it's taming in a sense, but... [Blue's mouth twists. He never liked calling it that; befriending Pokémon was different from the implication that they were somehow savage things before they chose to accept a trainer.]

[But.... corrupted? He definitely didn't like the sound of that at all. Corrupted by what? Does he want to know? Somehow he thinks he doesn't, but he'd also like to understand better why people around here treated the monsters so warily.]

...My friends, they disappeared one after the other recently. It's not like them to just get hurt somewhere, and even if Red wandered off, this place isn't that big. [Blue hands shift from his glass to run through his hair, skimming through the spikes and clenching stressfully.] But it was like they vanished without a trace. I just wanna think that maybe they found a way to get home, but what if they-- what if something happened? Like in that underground place....

[When he had met Aerith down there, things had been... tense enough. And searching for them in the midst of it...] I don't know what to do, now. Without them here, I don't....

[halloflamer]

Hoh?

[A gleam shines in the corner of his eye as Tyranitar turns to face them again, piqued by the challenge. He's wary of the human.... but the Pokémon was another matter. Tyranitar was never one to turn down a challenge.]

I don't care whose territory this is, but think you can beat me?

[Stomping his rock-solid legs one after the other like a sumo wrestler taking position, Tyranitar thuds his heavy tail against the floor and causes a rumbling shake through the hallway; thank Arceus they were still on the ground floor, because who knows if the upstairs hallways could handle the stomping tantrum of a Tyranitar.]

[He raises his arms out from his body, mirroring Duraludon's stance before starting a slow, thudding charge towards them.] Bring it on!

[halloflamer]

We have a friend, she's named Leaf-- and I'm not 'mating' with anyone! [Blue sputters, now turning a deep shade of-- well, red.]

[(And anyway, Red and Blue's fanfic-child's name would be Violet, obviously, DUH!)]

[Blue snatches up a handful of snow into a hasty snowball and pitches it directly at Viridi; it's a wonder he isn't literally steaming.] Thanks for the advice. [Not that he necessarily disagreed with it, at one point in his life; but he's not quite that brooding, holier-than-thou child anymore, and he knows himself a lot better.]

[....But somehow, that advice- true or not- wasn't very satisfying, especially in a place like this. Wiping off his cold, wet hands, he goes back to sulking into his dog.]

...I know all of that. But, some people are more than just-- coming and going. Don't even you have someone you've known since you can remember? There's other Legendaries, right?

[halloflamer]

I don't know, it's doing me pretty well so far.

[For his amusement, anyway. As for the other remark, Blue simply shrugs- it was one of his grandfather's most important lessons, and one he'd worked hard to learn since he was a kid. Not that he wasn't surprised Kaiba at least understood that much.]

Hey, a broken clock is right twice a day. Anyway, it looks like your Pokémon wants something from you.

[Blue reaches out to give it a pat, cheerfully fawning over it the same way he had the Girafirig-like monster, before.] Hey, pal! You wanna race, or something?

[forceofnature]

Ooh, Leaf. ...Maybe she's Green. [a faint pause] Well, that's no good, blue and green just make like... blue-green. I guess you could call it cerulean.

[you're welcome for naming your babies
viridi casually side-steps the snowball in a smooth motion]

Well. Yes, but we don't really get along. ...Unless you mean my generals. They're more... demi-legendaries. I suppose I'd be upset if they left me.

That's why I revive them every time they die!

[...there is clearly a barrier to mutual understanding here]

Anyway, is this a love problem? It sounds like a love problem. OK, new advice: if you're heartbroken, that's just something you have to work out on your own.

[that's not even advice]

Love is what it is exactly because you're feeling what you're feeling now!

[halloflamer]

Cerulean is-- no, forget it, I hate this conversation.

[It's not his fault his whole region is themed!! Blue groans and musses up his hair in frustration. Maybe an immortal being wouldn't really understand this kind of fleeting love-and-loss thing, after all....]

[The callout is pretty devastating, though. He gives her a beady-eyed look that says it all.] You're not very good at this. [And then, sullen and still giving her a bit of a glare, he purses his lips and decides to shoot back.]

Back to your dad, so that's Chaos or whatever, right?

[Viridi, you fool, you said too much and now this brat is going to latch right onto that.]

[forceofnature]

What a terrible attempt.

[Viridi snorts.]

Got it in one, didn't I? Don't get bent out of shape. It's one of the quintessential human life problems, right up there with 'I'm 35 and I still live in my mom's basement' and 'it's 8pm but I'm too lazy to make myself food.'

I'm not joking.

I don't really feel love, exactly, but the purpose of love is to bond people together so intimately that they never wish to be apart. It promotes social harmony and the advancement of a species. What you're feeling is an unfortunate side-effect.

But! What it also means is that you've found somebody who cared deeply about you and whom you cared about so much that you're willing to risk this pain. And isn't that the true measure of the human experience?

Besides, you're just going to end up back home sooner or later anyway. It's not like they're dead.

[halloflamer]

[Being told not to get bent out of shape, unsurprisingly enough, has the opposite effect- but then again, she's got him so pegged that he can't really say anything to that if he wanted to.]

[...How does she know about the 8 pm snacc....]

[He is listening, despite his petulance. Whatever other personality "quirks" this nature guardian might have, she's lived for eons, right? ...So it isn't like she's speaking out of a lack of experience or observation, even if maybe things of this nature (hah) didn't usually concern her.]

Shockingly scientific appraisal, coming from you. [He tries to be acidic about it, as pointless as it likely is. Underneath that all, though, what she's saying isn't.... wrong. And it's not even necessarily that he doesn't know- but knowing logically what causes the hurt, and actually coming to terms with living with it, was what he'd spent half his life struggling with.]

Do we really know that? That we're gonna get out of here. That we're gonna go home. [It was the most obvious assumption, maybe, but... He wasn't sure there was any way to be certain.]

[forceofnature]

Of course I'm scientific! [Viridi looks disgruntled.] I'm the Goddess of Nature. I invented the birds and the bees.

[so probably, this is her fault. viridi will redirect blame to the off-screen goddess of love, though]

Not really. But I have no intention of sticking around. As soon as this place finally recognizes my divine power, it's going to be wham, bam, let's blow this popsicle stand.

[...A pause.]

Oh. I guess you might die of old age. Eh, it's probably fine; they haven't gotten to aging yet.

[blue_eyed_obsession]

That'll end. Trust me.

[A throw away remark, but one that Kaiba very much intended to enforce later. Despite his words, there might have still been times where he struggled to find the right balance between human and creature. It's not as if he ever cared for a real animal before, he just had his monsters and based his interactions more on that. There wasn't another creature real or fictional that he respected more then his dragons afterall.]

Unless it's digital. [Just saying..] It's not a- [Trailing off as he watched the bird take off. When it returned it was pleased to receive the attention, and it nodded to what was said.]

Well, anyone could have guessed that!

[rotomphone]

Dunno. Haven't thought about it too much, to be honest.

[ mostly because that means assuming more time spent here against their will, which isn't a super awesome thought. it's not that this place isn't nice, or that the people here with them aren't good company... but the biting annoyance about the lack of information about their situation nearly makes everything else a moot point. ]

I think we're the kind of guys that people would look for if they went MIA, don't you? [ it's not as if either of them are particularly low profile, and that's putting it mildly. ] So I figure they'll just keep looking. It's either that, or like a bad kid's movie where we'll just come back and nothing will have changed. Like magic.

[ he wiggles his fingers for half-hearted emphasis. clearly there's more comfort in the latter prospective, but he isn't really sure what to think. ]

[halloflamer]

[...Maybe that exposes the differences between the two of them just a bit, Blue thinks to himself a bit morosely. How could he not think about it? Without Pokémon, or battles, or... much else to distract him, much of his days were spent sitting behind the bar and contemplating the slow-moving world they'd all found themselves in.]

[Raihan has a point about them being reported missing, but that only meant something if the ones looking for them could even reach this place. Without any way of knowing whether they could be found, they might as well not hold onto that hope.]

[Well, that was what he thought.] What, you don't like that kind of ending? [Blue cracks him a struggling grin.] You wanna remember this place?

[wouldntglidingbefaster]

[This lukewarm response kind of stings. Alas, some people just don't know how to appreciate good music... or Blue truly is too drunk to hear him properly. Yeah, let's just go with that one.

And as much as he'd love to just take that as a free pass and get drunk, it's a bit difficult to enjoy himself with such a depressing atmosphere. He watches Blue and his friend for a moment, sighs, and then starts rifling through the shelves again. Surely they must have something here that's non-alcoholic...]

You won't be cutting anyone off if you keep wallowing away like this. Maybe your friend should be the bartender instead, he seems to have a better sense for it.

[halloflamer]

...I guess you've got a point, but nature in this place isn't exactly-- er, natural, is it? And if you don't have any control over that, you don't really have any divine power, huh?

Not sure what makes you think you're gonna be recognized. [Now he's just bitter, and being a brat. Will he regret this if Viridi does regain her powers? Probably. But that's a problem for future Blue!]

[Speaking of...]

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die of boredom before I die of old age, [Blue grumbles, fashioning another snowball. This time, apparently bored of target practice, he starts making a tiny snowman to sit next to himself.] My Pokémon can't even battle, and I can't train the new ones, either. What the Furret am I supposed to do around here if I can't even train or catch Pokémon?

[The only two options, obviously.]

[anciently]

That's what I mean: I think your Pokémon are really unique. [ Aerith stresses lightly, cracking another smile. ] That's why I'm jealous you have them! It really seems like...an incredible gift.

[ Not that she gets the sense that any of the Trainers she's met don't appreciate their partners. Lance, Blue, and Raihan all showed great love and care for the Pokémon they worked with. She has no doubt that part of the reason they're so good at what they do (based on what they've said, anyway) is because of how they think of, and treat, their Pokémon. ]

Red...I remember you were looking for him. [ The smile fades. She hasn't at all forgotten the tunnels, or the experiences they offered. ] But...I want to tell you something, okay? I don't think anything happened to them in the tunnels that took them away. I saw a lot of bad stuff down there, but...your friends are all right. [ The smile returns again, expression one of a soft, encouraging hopefulness as she peers across the bar at him. ] They might not be here right now, but I think that just means they're back at home, safe and sound. And...until they come here again, or you go there with them, you're not alone in this place. Even if those two were the only ones here you considered friends, I know there are people you've met that care about you just because you work in this bar and see people all the time! We're...our own big, weird family, here. Not just in Heavenly Blanc, but out there, too. [ She gestures vaguely to the door, eyes a bit brighter as she goes. ] That's why everything's mixed up with a little bit of everyone's memories all jumbled together. It's a message that we're stuck with each other while we're here, so...you can feel free to lean on us while you're not with Red, until you can see them again. Will you do that?

[rotomphone]

[ hooooo boy. there go Duraludon's territorial instincts... while Raihan could recall him to avoid a fight, that probably wouldn't be the safest thing to do in the long run. a raging Tyranitar is bad news whether it can use its attacks or not, and Duraludon is likely the best equipped to at least keep it at bay. ]

I know I can. And when I do, you'll leave this place!

[ and there he goes, clanging his arms together in a threat display before charging to meet the other Pokemon in a wrestling grapple. knowing better than to get between them, Raihan presses himself against the wall and quickly moves to get behind the Tyranitar. he's about to take out his prepared Ultra Ball when he looks to the room that the Dark-type clearly rampaged out of...

shit. this is Turing's room.

leaving the Pokémon to duke it out, he slips into the room and immediately darts his eyes around to see if he can spot the ROM anywhere in the room. ]

Turing? It's Raihan - are you in here?