You cannot make Remembrance grow ❀

Chief of the International Police's UB Task Force. Independent & selective RP blog for Anabel from Pokémon Sun & Moon. Please read the rules before engaging. AS OF 24 MARCH 2017 THIS BLOG IS INACTIVE.

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[Inactive Blog]

I am dropping my RP blogs. 

Keep reading

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[Inactive Blog]

I am dropping my RP blogs. 

Keep reading

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[Inactive Blog]

I am dropping my RP blogs. 

For the kind people who have stuck around and bothered to write with me: it’s been fun! I did have a great time writing with and talking to you. 

Unfortunately my motivation to log in and write here has been low for a couple of weeks and drama has made it even lower. I love Anabel to pieces but I don’t need an RP blog to write her; I can write fanfic at any time.

Huge apologies to @rocketbcss, @secret-agent-man-looker, @sxnborn, @shieldarchitect, @balsamina, and @devonsrocknerd. Our threads are awesome and I’m sorry to end them like this. I had every intention to stay in this fandom longer but...I just can’t.

And not that it matters, but SnK S2 airs soon and I know I’ll be eyeballs deep in meta for it on my main blog, maybe even dragged back to my rp blogs for that fandom (though I rather hope not), so I’d rather not wait to leave.

If anyone wants to stay in touch, you can find me on my main blog, @julystorms, or on Skype and/or Discord, which I will happily hand out privately (I’d prefer if you messaged my main blog since I’ll be logged in there).

As with all things, it’s hard to say if I’ll come back, but please do feel free to unfollow this blog. Thank you all for the kindness you’ve shown me in this fandom and I wish all of you well on your future RP endeavors.

Love,

Manna

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sxnborn:

lookerisms:

“Ah, yes…no distraction whatsoever—I assure you!” He smiles, holding open the door to the building for both women and then letting it slow-close behind him. The building is little more than a gateway to the landing pads, and Looker flashes the woman at the desk a grin; she remembers him, of course, and returns his smile only to bury her face back in her book—an excellent way to pass the quiet hours of the morning when nothing much is happening.

It only takes a moment to cross through and then they’re in the parking lot. There are only a few cars there, several belonging to employees; most people are apt to be parking in the main lot, after all. He heads toward a nondescript-looking sedan and reaches into his coat pocket, eventually fishing out the keys.

“Now, let’s see if I can fit this monstrosity in here,” he teases as he pops the trunk. “The drive, it will be a couple of hours… So if you can, I suggest getting comfortable. Shisha can join us, too.” Mitsuko might like to use him as a fluffy little pillow, after all…and Looker can’t blame her. It will be sunrise before they get to the motel, and while he managed to catch a nap earlier in the day, he knows the chief and Mitsuko have not.

Still flustered, Mitsuko doesn’t respond. Or maybe that’s the exhaustion taking its toll on her once again. She yawns at the receptionist without meaning to, making her yawn back. “Oops, sorry,” Mitsuko laughs softly. 

Mitsuko’s surprised to see any cars at all out in the parking lot. Do people really do that thing where you park far away to get a little more exercise in? I thought that was a fad. Maybe they’re fanatics for the cold air? 

Mitsuko shuts the trunk for Looker once he finishes playing tetris with her luggage and the other items in the back. “Well, I was going to try and stay awake to see Sinnoh but now –” she cuts herself off with another yawn that she covers with a hand, “ah, see? I think I’ll end up falling asleep no matter what I do.” A shiver trembles through her body despite her best efforts to prevent it. “The car does have heating, right?” 

Anabel doesn’t bother waiting; she tries the passenger side door and, finding it unlocked, opens it all of the way and takes her seat, closing the door behind her again. She can hear the conversation through the trunk, though it’s slightly muffled, and tunes it out—just to close her eyes for a moment, of course, and try to work out the rest of the evening in her own head.

The trunk slamming closed startles her eyes open again, but the few moments were enough to gather her senses—and to realize that, sitting in the cup holder on the driver’s side of the center console, is a thermos. She hesitates less than a second before snatching it up and trying it; it’s coffee, clearly not made to her taste though she didn’t expect it would be. She tries not to make a face and drinks a little more of the cream-and-sugar-tainted mixture before she twists the top to closed and puts it back—and just in time, too: the back door opens, and she folds her hands in her lap.

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balsamina:

“Yes,” said Lusamine, sounding pleased. “That is exactly right. We refer to the source dimension, this middle zone, as Ultra Space. It is believed that this is where the Ultra Beasts naturally reside– unless, of course, the wormholes bring them to other dimensions.”

Her explanation was punctuated with the slow, steady click, clack of her heels across the floor as she strode back to the table. Daisy did not follow her, but turned his head to watch her carefully, as if waiting for her to give him an order. She didn’t, and instead quietly gathered up the folders and straightened out their contents.

“In a way, yes,” she replied without looking up. “What we want is to understand exactly what happened to you, Anabel, so that we may better understand how the wormholes and the Ultra Beasts function… That will be beneficial to you as well.”

Both folders in hand, she returned to where Anabel sat, kneeling before her again. She opened one of the folders open just enough to glance through the page in the front, careful to keep it out of Anabel’s sight.

“Of course, no records of what Ultra Space might be like exist as of yet… But it can be assumed from what we’ve gathered about UB-01 that it is an especially harsh environment– one that the Ultra Beasts evolved in order to survive in.”

Lusamine made a good point, though Anabel wasn’t…entirely sure how knowing any of it would benefit her. Perhaps if they knew, she could have her memories back? Did she…want them? A moment of thought was all it took to conclude that she did, at least in theory. Having a hole in her mind was uncomfortable—made her feel naked.

She shifted slightly when Lusamine brought back the folders, watching carefully.

Well, if this was the only way to get the rest of her memories back, to know for certain what had happened beyond the vaguest idea of what must have been the end of the world—her world?—then so be it.

She lifted her hand from the floor, curling both arms around her knees.

“I-I don’t remember this… Ultra Space,” she said, and wondered if perhaps the reason was because it was so very harsh; was it a place so terrible her mind refused to let her relive it, not in image or in sound? She suppressed a shudder, goosebumps rising on her arms, making the light hairs stand on end. “But I will do my best…if you think it will be beneficial to—to research purposes… To others, too…like me, perhaps…?”

They must exist, she thought. I cannot possibly be the only one. The only one unfortunate enough to have experienced it, she wanted to think or say but couldn’t quite put the vague understanding into words.

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devonsrocknerd:

Yes, unbeknownst to Anabel, such a bond was not unheard of between Trainer and Pokémon, but the one that linked Metagross and Steven was not so. Mega Evolution had enhanced the Steel-type’s psychic capabilities, most of all the potency of its telepathic link to the former Champion. Normally it merely allowed one-way mental communication to Steven, who would talk to Metagross verbally, but with the boost from Mega Evolving, it had been strengthened enough to allow the man to send his own thoughts to the Pokémon, at the cost of making him feel the pain of every attack landed on Metagross. Years ago, when Steven was still at the pinnacle of the Hoenn League, they had trained to soften the mental blows. Time and other activities, however, had undone almost all the work they had put into it.

He sat there for some long moments, waiting for the impossible chance that his starter would rise and put an end to his pain.

But it never did.

His chest heaved with sobs as he put a shaking hand to his belt and pulled a Poké Ball off its clip. It took all his focus just to hold it in a straight-enough line, but eventually the fallen Metagross vanished from the arena, and Steven sighed in relief as the agonising pangs cleared from his mind.

After resting for a few moments, he wiped his eyes on his shirtsleeve and used the ropes of the ring to help himself up. Time for round two, only now, without a mental link tying him to his other Pokémon, he could be ruthless.

Lack of battling may have done in his starter, but surely he could take down everyone with Aerodactyl. Why, he had done it many times before.

If only he could remember those strategies.

It took Steven what felt like an agonizing amount of time to get to his feet, but when he did, he clumsily withdrew his metagross. So, it wasn’t get back up, then. Aerodactyl, however, looked ready to take on the world. Houndoom’s trainer threw out Musharna.

That made for an interesting group; Aerodactyl, of course, would be immune to Rhydon’s Earthquake, and it was fast, which, if nothing else, meant both the advantage of attacking first, and dodging any slow-moving attacks.

Rhydon’s eyes rolled to the side to observe the new additions to the competition as Miltank finished shaking off the last attack.

Seeing that Steven looked to be slowly recovering his sensibilities, she relaxed slightly in her chair.

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prizefought:

The Night Slash was a direct hit, fortunately, and it appeared to leave a hell of a mark on the lamia. [Weavile,] Breloom started, noticeably quieter this time, [I’m getting the feeling this thing’s a Ghost-type…]

As such, knowing her Mach Punches wouldn’t have any effect, the marsupial instead went for a barrage of Bullet Seeds, aiming to overwhelm the foe through sheer firepower. Except… she was taking pretty good shots from those, as well. […hey, uh… judging by the whole ‘turning our trainers to stone’ thing, do you think she might be a Rock-type, too?]

Weavile shot back out of the way, twisting her body as she flew to avoid Breloom’s assault on their enemy. She landed next to her ally and ducked around almost behind her, half-crouched, claws up.

“Rock? Well, that would make sense…a lotta sense…” Well, there was only one way to know for sure, wasn’t there? It seemed to be suffering under Breloom’s Bullet Seeds, after all. “I’mma try somethin’,” Weavile said, darting back to the wall to try and get around behind the foe. Hopefully Breloom would be able to keep it busy until then. A good solid Brick Break ought to do the trick: if it was effective, well…they had a typing at least.

Not that it would matter. But it was nice to know, just in case. And if it was effective, well, maybe Breloom could get in closer without fear of type weakness.

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balsamina:

According to Mohn’s research, Nihilego’s body was composed of a flexible, almost glass-like substance that could theoretically make it capable of changing shape. Altering its size was not out of the question, but none of the recorded specimens had been any larger than four feet from the bell to the end of the tentacles. They were certainly not several stories tall.

Nihilego had been designated “UB-01”– only the first confirmed Ultra Beast. Mohn had theorized about others, explored the validity of reported sightings of other, similar creatures, but…

Several stories tall. Surely, that tidbit would throw him for a loop.

“You remember the wormholes I described to you before, don’t you, Anabel?” asked Lusamine. Judging by the way she promptly continued, that question was meant to be rhetorical. “You aren’t the only thing that has travelled through them. Occasionally, strange creatures have been seen appearing from the Ultra Wormholes… What you saw in that photograph is one of them. There is still much we don’t know about them– that is why they must be studied– but it is believed that they might populate the source dimension of the wormholes much in the same way Pokemon populate our world. Not just that creature, but many different species, in countless numbers… They are analogous to Pokemon, but materially separate beings. For the sake of clarity, we call them Ultra Beasts.”

She glanced back at the table, where the folders (holding a decent collection of similar images and pages of research notes) still sat, abandoned and waiting. She got slowly to her feet and straightened to her imposing height, apparently intending to retrieve something from them.

“Again, this research is only just scraping the surface, in a manner of speaking, but reports from those who have seen this beast have enabled us to begin to understand its biology and behavior…”

“S-So…you are saying that…this creature…” She hesitated, trying to recall Lusamine’s words again just to make certain that what she was saying made sense. “It lives…in the wormhole? Or a-a zone on the other side…?” It sounded absurd but not altogether impossible. She tried to imagine it, but couldn’t, her mind all but refusing to consider the theory as anything more than mere words. “So wormholes…do not extend from one dimension to another directly, but connect to a…m-middle space? Where these creatures live like pokémon…”

It still sounded strange, but almost more plausible. After all, considering some of the pokémon that supposedly existed, was it really too much of a stretch? Perhaps not.

Suddenly it hit her—in a way it hadn’t before. Perhaps the words Lusamine had chosen made it possible. “That is why I’m here.” The statement was soft, almost pleased-sounding. “You want a…report. From me.”

But she didn’t know how she was supposed to give it, considering she didn’t really remember them, not directly.

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sxnborn:

lookerisms:

“Ah, but Chief, you are forgetting that the alternative may be preferable!” Looker can’t help but take the other side, mostly in a playful bid to outthink his boss. “Mitsuko will be unable to hold onto little Shisha, that is true, but he will be able to carry her around, yes? Arcanine are fairly big… Six feet? I cannot recall if that is at the shoulders or the top of the head, but they are as tall as me, at least, and weigh more than twice what I do. It would be no trouble for him.”

The mental image is an amusing one, but it seems perfectly plausible. Mitsuko is rather small—she and the chief both. A pokémon as big as an arcanine would be able to carry them around with ease, though perhaps not as well as, say, a rapidash, but still quite suitably.

“Perhaps,” he adds, coming up on the building through which they have to pass to get to the far parking lot, “you will manage to find a stone soon. That would be nice for you and Shisha both. Hmm…but now that we know you are looking for one, the chief and I will most assuredly keep our eyes open for one!”

Perhaps it is a bit rude of him to make assumptions like that about Anabel, but he feels certain she’s on the same page as he is. He can’t imagine where they might run into a fire stone, but…anything is possible.

“No, I probably couldn’t hold him, you’re right. He might think he can still be held though, which will be a problem!” Mitsuko laughs, picturing the scene in her head. A huge Arcanine a foot taller than herself attempting to be held in her arms… It’s the sort of thing you would see in a Saturday morning cartoon.

“Yeah, that was actually the plan! I heard about the Rhyhorn racers in Kalos and was inspired to do the same with Shisha! Not competitively, though. Just for fun! I have a Scolipede I want to try riding someday, too, like an ATV. In theory.”

Wait, Looker offered to help? Mitsuko stumbles. What an offer! “O-oh, you don’t have to do that! They’re so rare, and I don’t want you guys distracted from your work for my sake.” 

Anabel can’t imagine riding a scolipede. As far as pokémon battling goes, it’s a surprisingly good choice; it definitely has its advantages on the field. But when it comes to being up close and personal… Well, Anabel would just…rather not… Riding a scolipede sounds terrible to her on a personal level, but she’s not sure how it’ll work otherwise. Bug pokémon tend to have a different skeletal makeup to them, after all; perhaps they’re actually better suited to serving as transportation than creatures whose only real support structure is in their spine. Tauros, for example, is a strong pokémon, but weight settling wrongly or too heavily on its spine can cripple it; perhaps a pokémon like scolipede would not have that issue…

But Anabel’s certainly no biologist. She’ll leave that information up to people who actually know what they’re talking about…and she trusts that Mitsuko will have done her research.

She’s so lost to her own absurd thoughts, she almost misses her younger friend’s protestation, and has to mentally backtrack to recall the reason.

“Oh,” she says when she’s figured it out, “I’m sure Mr. Looker only means we’ll keep an eye open for an opportunity to acquire one.”

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prizefought:

[Got it!] And so, Breloom opened her account with a lightning-fast Mach Punch straight at the creature… with the small problem of not making any contact. Turned out it must’ve been a Ghost-type… which meant…

[Weavile! Try using a Dark-type attack on it!]

Weavile had spent the better part of Breloom’s straightforward attempt to attack coated in shadow, trying to sneak around behind the terrible beast; the element of surprise was hardly likely, all things considered, but there was a chance it was better than nothing. Besides, Weavile was strongest when her opponent couldn’t see her coming...or didn’t realize she was even there.

But at Breloom’s shout, Weavile’s cover was all but blown, anyway, and she darted up the ancient ruin wall and then kicked off for an assault from a higher vantage point, teeth bared as she raked her claws down the creature’s face--or what appeared to be its face--in a Night Slash.

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balsamina:

The unsaid implication of that statement seemed incredibly obvious to Lusamine, but she gave it a voice anyway, continuing to delicately help Anabel reshape an identity for herself. Most people were not very attuned to Pokemon body language…

“But you are.”

As if on cue, Daisy pushed his head under Anabel’s hand with a short squeal, welcoming her to pet him. Watching with a small but fond smile, Lusamine allowed herself a moment to reminisce.

“Yes… I thought that might have been it as well. He wasn’t exactly used to sharing my attention with other people– or other people doing things like kissing me, for that matter.” Laughing under her breath, she reached out to stroke Daisy’s ears. “Just unforgivable, hm? Oh, that Mohn… What a terrible man, kissing his girlfriend! But you showed him, didn’t you? You little monster.”

“Chu?” said Daisy, blinking as if to say, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Lusamine chuckled.

The relatively lighthearted atmosphere promptly faded as Anabel, surprising Lusamine, dared to bring the subject back to the photograph. Lusamine paused, grave eyes centered on Anabel’s face as she carefully planned how to proceed.

“Yes,” she finally said. “You must. And I think you have an idea as to why. Think, Anabel…” A pause. “What was it that you said attacked your tower? What was it that brought about the end of the world?”

Lusamine’s amusement over Daisy’s behavior during her early relationship with her husband went almost entirely unnoticed by Anabel, though of course a small part of her was aware that the other woman was talking, intermittent words piercing through her own thoughtful fog.

At Lusamine’s careful questions, Anabel shook her head. “I-I don’t know... Things...? They were not...” She hesitated, her thoughts stalling momentarily. Not what? “Pokémon,” she murmured, the word uncertain-sounding as it left her mouth. “None that...that I’ve seen...” Which didn’t mean much. There were no doubt a great many of as-of-yet undiscovered pokémon, not to mention all of the ones that existed and were not well-known.

“I...cannot really...picture them, b-but some were...very large, I think. Several...stories tall...?” That seemed right. “I don’t remember th-the one in the photograph, b-but that does not mean it wasn’t there...” With all of the holes in her memories, it probably had been. “There were so many there... May I ask...what you know of it...?” 

Perhaps more information would remind her of something important...

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sxnborn:

lookerisms:

He raises an eyebrow at the chief’s words, eyes flickering over to Mitsuko for a moment, just long enough to see her cuddling with her fluffy canine friend. “I see.” There is no reason to dwell on it, though he can’t help but wonder if she really believes they’ll need the help…or if she’s just trying to do something nice for someone else. She’s always been a little awkward about showing affection…like she thinks the actions have to be somehow justified for work-related reasons. He’ll leave it alone—at least for now.

“Well, let us not wait around in the cold,” he says, quite cheerfully, and reaches for the luggage before Chief’s hand can make it halfway to it. He grins triumphantly at her and puts his free hand on her back, turning her slightly in the direction he’s about to head, and then turns his delighted smile on Mitsuko. “I am quite fortunate today, I think—getting to travel with not just one amazing woman, but two.” He can almost hear Anabel’s eyes rolling behind him, and tries not to laugh, a bit of one escaping anyway. Offering Mitsuko a conspiratorial wink, he takes the lead, glancing behind him only once to make sure both women are keeping pace. “Heh…! I take it this luggage is yours, then,” he says, head tilted slightly in Mitsuko’s direction. “I’m glad I emptied the trunk of the car earlier. So, who is your little friend? Does he have a name? A story?”

She shrugs at Anabel’s assurance, saying “You already did a lot to bring me along on this trip, the very least I can do is let you have your own coat!” She hugs her Growlithe closer to herself, still cold, and gives the chief a belated thank-you for carrying her luggage. “I hope I can do my reputation justice and help you guys… What’s the word… Adequately.”

Mitsuko’s cheeks redden at the compliment. He reminds her of her dad, back when she was a kid. She buries her head in Growlithe’s fur to conceal the blush as giving Growlithe another hug. She jerks her head up, startled when Looker mentions the Pokemon - did he notice her embarrassment? Well, what would it really matter if he did…?

“Oh, Shisha?” At the mention of his name, Growlithe’s ears perk up. Mitsuko grins. “Yep, that’s you! I brought him over with me when my mom and I moved from Kanto to Alola. I haven’t found a fire stone to evolve him yet, but I hope to someday. I think Shisha does too!”

Anabel smiles slightly, almost to herself. “You won’t be able to hold him like that if he evolves,” she points out, but she’s always been the sort of person—at least, she’s pretty sure she has been—who likes when her pokémon are at full strength. As much as she loves her team, none of them are really pets…not in the traditional sense, anyway. Of course, it’s up to the pokémon, too; she can’t imagine forcing anything on them, least of all evolution. She’s always felt it was more than possible to give them… Well, she’s not sure what the word is for it off-hand, but the last thing she would want would be to make her pokémon feel out of place in their own body.

So of course, if Shisha wishes to evolve, too, so be it.

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sxnborn:

lookerisms:

Looker had been been a little confused, at first, to see someone besides the chief disembarking from the helicopter; he had assumed her text message was referring to…well, her pokémon team, perhaps. But no, she had been speaking of another person! As the smaller shape draws closer, he recognizes her and has his arms open before she manages to barrel into him at top speed.

He pulls her into a big hug—obviously her goal, anyway—and lifts her up off of the ground for a moment before settling her back on her own feet. “So it is you,” he says, laughing as he adjusts the coat that is now hanging lopsidedly over one forearm, “who is the other part of ‘we’—from the text message, I mean!”  

He looks up to see the chief still trailing behind and almost imperceptivity lifts the arm her coat is draped over; having sent all her luggage with him, of course, her coat had come also, and he’d thought maybe she’d like to have it sooner rather than later. He hadn’t counted on another person’s presence, obviously.

At Chief’s expression, and the very slight tilt of her head, he grins and turns his attention back to Mitsuko, unfolding the coat and holding it up, a silent offer to help his young friend put it on. “Hmm… You look as though you could use this,” he tells her, eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement. His own coat is buttoned up most of the way, the attire underneath lacking a suit jacket, his tie loosened considerably. “How is it that this has come to be? I take it you were in attendance at the charity ball as well?”

Mitsuko grins and clings to Looker tightly while he sweeps her off her feet in a rather parental hug. She’s confused for a moment at the mention of “we” but remembers after Looker clarifies. “Oh that! Ahh, I gave it away didn’t I?” Wincing, she smacks herself in the forehead, exasperated at the mistake. “Anabel asked me to send you a message while she - uh, while she was occupied. Man, I was really hoping for it to be a complete surprise… Oh well, it’s great to see you again no matter the circumstances!”

She considers accepting the coat, but decides to turn down the offer. “We’ll be in the car soon, right?” Hopefully with a working heater. “I can manage. I don’t want to deprive Anabel of her coat, besides. Thank you though!” Despite the refusal, she finds herself hugging her arms around her midriff to keep warm. “Yeah, I was at the ball! The founder, Gladion, invited me and I bumped into Anabel there.” The Chief herself had caught up to them now, so Mitsuko prompts, “Here, she can probably explain it better than I can.” 

Shivering now, Mitsuko grabs a PokeBall from her belt and calls out her Growlithe. He barks happily, chases his tail for a moment, hops up on both Looker and Anabel, and finally jumps into Mitsuko’s arms. Much warmer.

Anabel is just in time to hear herself volunteered for explanation. She shakes her head and touches her gloved fingertips to Mitsuko’s arm. “You needn’t feel badly about taking my coat,” she says, assuming that was the reason for the younger woman’s refusal. “I am wearing more layers than you are.” But it is cold, and she hopes the growlithe helps, at least until they can get to the car.

She turns her attention to her subordinate as the little fire-dog jumps up against her leg. “Good, ah, morning. Yes, I ran into Mitsuko at the ball… We talked for a little while and she expressed an interest in seeing Sinnoh…so I took matters into my own hands.”

She offers him a smile and lets go of Mitsuko’s luggage, leaving it upright, so that Mr. Looker can help her into her coat—not that she needs his assistance, of course, but she learned long ago that to argue about something so trivial with him is a waste of her time. If it makes him feel useful, there’s probably no harm in it.

“It was short notice,” she continues, coat on properly now, “but we managed well enough.” She turns again to face both of them, fingers fumbling a little with the zipper before it catches. “My thought process was something along the lines of: if she is interested, it could not hurt us to have a strong trainer and ally close at hand… Anyway, I will take care of everything.”

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balsamina:

Lusamine lifted her hand and, on all fours, Daisy moved closer, his nose pointed toward the floor, toward Anabel’s outstretched hand. As Anabel spoke, he glanced up at her, ears upright. When her finger twitched, so did he– only to lower his head and give that same finger an experimental lick.

“Kaa,” he said, peering up at her again.

Lusamine chuckled. “Do you suppose that’s a ‘yes’?”

Daisy was being remarkably docile, she thought. But, despite his ornery moments, he had always been sweet with Gladion and Lillie both– and she supposed some Pokemon had a bizarrely keen sense for the quality of a person’s character. After a moment, the Pikachu dared to shift even closer, nuzzling Anabel’s wrist.

“Oh, would you look at that…!” Lusamine cooed. “He’s being so darling with you… It took him weeks to get to this point with my poor husband, you know.” Remembering Mohn’s frizzy blonde hair and dizzied expression, punishments for daring to try giving Lusamine a quick kiss between classes, she tittered.

When Anabel met her eyes, Lusamine looked back with a patient smile at her lips. She could tell that those words– an apology, accompanied by a promise to do better– were little more than a feeble attempt at winning her favor, but she could appreciate them nonetheless.

“No need to apologize, Anabel. As I said before, you’re doing very well.” Yet again, there was a twinge of pity; she considered apologizing herself, but only briefly before deciding against it. Instead, she tilted her head and continued to smile. “Feeling a bit better now?”

“...I think so, yes.” She supposed it was a relative question, but she didn’t feel the fear as strongly anymore, and that had to count for something. 

Daisy’s gentle nuzzling against her hand and wrist made her want to pet him, but he might not like it, and she didn’t think she had much left in her to begin with, let alone the constitution to handle an electric attack if he decided she was not worth his time. He wasn’t giving her any vibes of delight or love--only cautious optimism. It was a good thing, certainly, but it didn’t make her invincible. 

“I think...most people are not very attuned to pokémon body language,” she said, softly, letting Daisy choose whether or not he wanted to rub his face against her hand. She didn’t know why she said it, really, but there was a flicker of dawning realization: she was attuned and knowledgeable about such things. Somehow. For some reason. It was too puzzling a thought to dwell upon. “Your husband...even if he was good at reading pokémon... Perhaps Daisy was afraid he would take all of your time from him...” The thought managed to bring a small smile to Anabel’s face. Pokémon could feel jealousy, after all, and new people could have been perceived as a threat in that way.

She pushed it away again, determined to get back on track, and glanced away from Lusamine to stare at the wall, instead.

“That thing...in the photograph...” She swallowed hard. “I-I don’t know it, I just... I must know it, though...”

[agentcatman]

                         " Pokémon tucked up in their Poké Balls, Team Skull locked                         up in their little town… I wonder if either enjoys the experience?“                                                   PERSONALS DO NOT REBLOG.

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agentcatman:

❝ Best be careful around here. The higher ups aren’t one to forgive easily. Which include… me. ❞

“Y-Yes...of course. As I said...it will not happen again.”

[remembranceless-blog]

balsamina:

“Very well,” said Lusamine, automatically stepping forward and lowering herself into a crouch, effectively joining Anabel on the floor. She somehow managed to make even this look elegant. Golden hair fanned across her back as she extended a hand to offer the cup of water– again, with cautious slowness, as if anticipating that any sudden move would send Anabel into a tizzy. “Here you are.”

Finding the floor suddenly much closer than before, Daisy took the opportunity to hop down from his perch on Lusamine’s shoulder and, once again, began to investigate Anabel for himself. He stood briefly on his hind legs to sniff at her before inching closer, giving another vaguely concerned squeak.

“Ah-ah,” Lusamine scolded gently, stroking her hand down the Pikachu’s striped back. “Manners, love. Anabel needs her space, hm?”

She didn’t expect Lusamine to join her just to hand her the water, but wasn’t really in a state of mind to examine the thought closely. She took the water carefully in both hands, most of her focus centered on not dropping the cup.

She didn’t drink much--just enough to keep her throat from feeling dry. “He’s all right,” she murmured, setting the cup on the floor next to her where it was least likely to spill. Tentatively, she put one of her hands on the floor, stretched out toward Daisy, but not close enough that it was forced. If he wanted to investigate, he could, and if not...well, that was his prerogative. “He’s just curious...and the only way to get answers to curiosities is to seek answers.” She made her voice even softer. “And you are seeking answers, aren’t you, little guy...?” One of her fingers twitched unvoluntarily, her arm unhappy to be posed at such an angle for longer than a few moments.

Anabel lifted her gaze to Lusamine, though the physical action was more difficult than she liked to admit even to herself. Maybe it was the pressing ache in her head that was to blame. Still, if she gave up, if she stopped being useful...it might take her even longer to leave this place. She would need to try harder if she was ever to make it on her own, anyway.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “for earlier. Thank you...for the water. I will...try to do better.”