THE DARK HORSE. who would've guessed it'd be you? after all this time, it's really you? when you were little, nobody knew your name. for so long, you've lived as a shade amongst shades. written off, cast aside, overlooked. you did your best work in the shadows. it took you so long to bloom, some thought you would never emerge at all. but now's your time in the spotlight. all the heroes have failed, but you're still standing. in the darkest hour, you came in to save the day. you're our last hope, dark horse! / personality: clever, determined, quiet / counterpart: the killer
" stay still for one minute, " he's just gonna lean against noland a little. he had a long night shift, what about it. hmph.
"nah, man..." as soon as archer allows their shoulders to brush in a shockingly casual display, noland braces, hooking a firm arm around the other, silently but unmistakably encouraging him to lean in further than that — like he means it. when he does, he can better make out the dark rings forming under such light, crystal eyes, and a faint waft of something synthetic that reminds noland somewhat of glue...
"if it was that bad, y'oughta take more than a minute and make yourself comfortable," a golden sunrise has only just begun to peek over the horizon of the sea when the two cross paths in a meeting as limited as the sun and moon themselves. one minute may truly be all that archer can spare before he makes a swift retreat, but, "there's a cot in the hangar if y'need to crash before headin' back."
👫 if, hypothetically speaking, I said that noland is a motor sports star in a pro athlete verse, what would u cook up 🧐
four hcs / always accepting!!
(oh yes, we're in our SPIKE QUEEN era now...🏐)
Lucy and Noland met for the first time during an exhibition showcase in Unova's Big Stadium. The entire Lilycove Lightning volleyball team (who was visiting from overseas) was dazzled by Noland's freestyle motocross skills--except for Lucy, who scoffed and claimed that she could pull off even better stunts. While meeting the team, the hyper-competitive ace said this right to Noland's face, igniting a (mostly) playful cross-sport rivalry between the two.
Lucy abandoned team dinners and other activities to hang out with Noland and his crew, where she was introduced to the world of underground street racing, which replaced the motocross bikes with some seriously souped-up cars. Lucy surprised Noland's crew with her fearlessness, almost beating Noland in a head-to-head drag race. From then on, she would train with Noland's crew and race around Nimbasa--and later, the New Mauville tunnels--with them.
Lucy tried teaching Noland volleyball, once. He received a full-powered serve straight to the nose. They do not play volleyball together anymore.
The Lilycove Lightning loathes Lucy's new hobby, and has made numerous attempts to stop its star from racing (citing justifiable injury concerns.) So when Noland and Lucy meet up, they usually have to do so in secret, away from the prying eyes of team officials and the ever-present paparazzi.
Hey yall! Puri (or Arz if you prefer) here.
I used to be silveratonement/draconicrider/etc. I'm relaunching on here as a multimuse for my OCs instead of a single blog with a whole bunch of sideblogs, after a year-long hiatus.
I'm a novella-style writer who has been around the Pokémon RPC on tumblr on and off for the past ten years, and I really missed siccing my terrible children and their parties of funky daemons on the unsuspecting masses.
Soooo, you know the drill, can yall give this post a like or a reblog if you want to play with my kids? I'd like to get the ball rolling with new threads soon~
Thanks a bunch, it's good to be back <3
"hey, hey, you're actin' like you ain't never seen one of these before," noland snorts as he unhooks the politoed from his shoulders as if it were a backpack and cradles it in his arms. and maybe he hasn't, but that doesn't matter — there's a first time for everything, and politoed is pleased enough with the attention she's been getting today.
"y'ever battle with one before? maybe if that computer is in a good enough mood, it'll decide to let'cha rent one next time. until then, here — " he plops the slippery pokemon into emerald's open arms, and she claps along merrily, "maybe you two can hang. y'can even get a head start on learnin' up on her, yeah?"
a few assorted notes on the general functions and practices of the hoenn battle factory:
this was mentioned long ago on a post on thorton's blog, but to expand on it a bit, the pokeballs used in battle factories must be kept in good repair. if any capsules are noticeably marked or scuffed, it could put battlers at an unfair advantage. so this means that there are routine inspections to make sure none of which need to be replaced.
unfortunately, this involves more than 500 pokeballs, and well, it sucks. this is something that noland always puts off on sergio and the other aides. he's enough of a stickler for detail that he will make sure this is carried out on schedule, but not so much that he is willing to sit still long enough to do it himself.
generally speaking, the pokemon have free reign of the place. noland doesn't bother to keep them all contained when they could be training, socializing, or otherwise, just having fun with their time, exceptions being there's a challenger on the premises and everyone has been put on standby, or for wellness checks. it's not too uncommon for some of the smaller breeds to cling to noland or follow him around during the day. his venusaur has used this freedom to sunbathe day in and day out for years, which has helped her grow exceptionally large.
the computer storage system here is a first of its kind technological marvel! but it's got its fair share of bugs. while noland has the aptitude to maintain the system and make adjustments, he gets so annoyed with having to do any troubleshooting that he is going to give it a good smack first and foremost. he's got a serious love-hate relationship with this thing.
UGGGHH the soundtracks to these games have always been some of my favorites, I need to play this again. I remember 100%ing the second one ages ago and getting so hopelessly stuck on a few levels but not really minding it bc the music scratched my brain just right. nailed it.
"fair enough, I guess ... " at least lance isn't carrying on about the technicalities of writing a paper here ... actually, whatever this is sounds much more interesting.
"so like, if the guy who tried to stab you had formally cited all the reasons why y'should trust him before tryin' to stab ya ... would you be more likely to believe what I have'ta say without the slog of paperwork to back me up? it's borin'!"
sneaking off to a public bathroom to make out, but it's also super obvious because of the lipstick stains left behind. ( I couldn't decide between the two, but the combo is still pretty on brand, I think ... )
kisses 💜 / accepting!! wahoo
An innocuous bet made during Noland and Lucy's afternoon ride across the island quickly prompted a heated rental battle at the Factory upon their return, filled with the usual ultra-competitive banter and unfiltered cursing as the Brains went all out against each other. The sudden-death fight was close as ever (simultaneous knockouts, somehow) with the murky end result ferociously disputed--and fists might have flown between the two, if not for their passion taking on a different form entirely...
As always with this fiery pair of aces, one thing just led to another.
---
Noland groans as Lucy pins him against the tiled wall with a hiss, her sharp teeth capturing his lower lip before she pulls him closer still, her shoulder banging noisily against the stall door.
These cramped quarters aren't ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but convenience is king when needy whims and hasty decisions are involved. It's a moment of fervent catharsis for the pair, but even now--some lingering competitiveness flares up here and there. Noland uses his strategical strength to deftly reverse their positions, and--in turn--the taller Lucy merely tilts his chin up with a teasing finger before leaning in for more. (Her lipstick leaves a numbing tingle on the Factory Head's skin--a sensation attributed to most of her home-crafted varieties...)
And then, in the heat of the moment, Noland's Nav starts sounding off--breaking the spell completely. Lucy merely watches with bemused interest as her ever-dependable friend struggles to rally himself in the stall, his eyes widening with horrified recognition at the flashing screen. Aw shit--I forgot about that meeting with Argenta today! My bad, Luce--hey, I look okay, right...?
And Noland does look fine--save for the smear of purple lipstick hurriedly swiped across his cheek. The Pike Queen's smile widens.
"...You look great. Good luck out there," she nods with a supportive clap on the back. Noland offers her an appreciative nod before tornadoing from the room, his cheek still proudly bearing Lucy's mark. (And in classic Tauros-esque fashion, he doesn't even glance at a side mirror on his way out. As expected.)
Classic. Lucy is definitely going to be hearing about this later--
They’re … they’re ham flavored cookies. Just like Noland asked for.
"whoa ... !" he laughs out the word as he takes the box. of course it had been noland's big idea to put the ham in the cookies, an idea right off the top of his head no less, but he didn't think at the time that it might put him on taste test duty, too ...
as off the wall as the combination sounds, he's not put off of them, really. if anything, he's excited that ree was able to pull it off. he crams a hand into the box to fish one of these cookies out, flipping it over as he studies its crumb and color. so what's that taste like, anyway? they look ordinary enough ...
"haha, thanks, kid!" why not? one applewood smoked ham cookie, down the hatch!
"Don't know about psychic, but he definitely has a second or third secret life that he's living at this point," Lucy muses with a small smirk. "Huh. If I cared more, I'd send Greta on a little spy mission for us. You'd just have to do a couple hundred extra laps for her as payment."
"...In the end, that's just luck for you. Sometimes, you flip eight, nine tails in a row--but it's bound to turn soon. Right?" She leans over, holding up a gloved fist for him to bump, those crimson eyes always gleaming.
" ... mmh," noland doesn't appear too convinced — in fact, he's going to keep a closer eye on his fellow mysterious brain, not that many people tended to see spenser out and about anyway — but lucy is right about one thing, that's just how the cookie crumbles. it only figures that lucy would try ruminating over the possibilities before the fact, and noland, after ...
still, his stone-faced pondering eventually crumbles into a widening grin, his own fist raised to meet lucy's with a solid bump, "yeah, yeah — you bet!"
Final score: New Mauville Mighty Mavens 40, Driftveil Devils 22
And yet another win for Spenser, who--after accepting Lucy's betting money with that gratingly jovial cackle--vanishes back into the forest like the absolute cryptid that he is.
"...Gut was no good either. At least, not this time," the Pike Queen pouts, squeezing Noland on the shoulder. "I should've gone with the Hoenn team."
Oh well. That's fortune for you. A wistful sigh escapes Lucy's lips as she shakes her head, musing.
"...What do you think he spends my money on, anyways?"
"dude's definitely got it stashed away in a dragon hoarde someplace ... " noland is still shell-shocked by the loss. if his gut can't be trusted, then nothing can. and it only stings that much more to imagine spenser living large with his earnings from the night. ouch ...
noland's grumbling drops to a whisper, "do y'think he's like ... psychic or somethin'?"
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