let the dark take over

[[f2f. follows from flygonera]]

[sophorine]

hattricks​:

“It was worth a shot.”

…

“Would your answer change if I threatened to take your kneecaps?”

“Would yer threats change if I said I’d toss ye in the Lake of Outrage?”

[hattricks]

“Ahem.

“I am here to make an announcement.

“Leon and Raihan? Are HUGE NERDS.”

[sophorine]

hattricks​:

“Give me your lunch money.”

...

“Does that actually work, you wee shite?”

[hattricks]

“Ahem.

“I am here to make an announcement.

“Leon and Raihan? Are HUGE NERDS.”

[sophorine]

“Yes and?”

[sophorine]

Raihan posts a video to his rotogram at 4 am. It's a clutch of goomy, one shiny, all gyrating in sync to some techno music. Leon is in the background flicking the light on and off, with Raihan is (badly) spinning glowsticks. They're *all* wearing shutter shades. Even the goomy.

"Goomy Rave!!!"

[hattricks]

     “dick.”

[sophorine]

"spotted?"

[sophorine]

Raihan stands in front of a single camera. His fingers flex and tighten against a podium emblazoned with the league’s logo. There is no teleprompter to stare at. There are no league officials -- he’s locked them all out. 

Centuries from now, they might describe this as the moment in which Raihan went off the rails. The moment when the league falls apart. He hopes it won’t go that way. 

“Good evening, Galar. I have been your champion for just a week now, but I have been a citizen of Galar for my entire life. It should go without saying that I love this country with all of my heart. And when you love something, you wish to do all you can for it.

“This country is in pain. It’s been brutalized not just by the former chairman, but by the league as a whole. We can stand for this no longer. The league politicizes those who were meant to be the region’s protectors, paying money to the highest bidder for sponsorship, rather than allowing these trainers to do what they do best -- battle and protect our home. The league manipulates its children, turning them into mindless pawns for the sake of monetary gain.

“I will stand for this no longer. As your champion, I promise to work to ensure that our first priority is our people. I will make every effort to make community, not corporate, outreach out responsibility. And above all, I will be implementing new rules with our league to ensure that our children are not being manipulated into being cogs into the capitalist regieme that this league’s board has forced them into previously.

“Staring tomorrow, all league operations will begin shifting to Hammerlocke. As the heart of our region, it is important that we step away from the binds that our previous, unfortunate leaders have wrapped us in. We must remember what unites us as a region.”

Raihan stares at the screen, eyes intense. He lets the message sink in, before stepping back.

“There will be no questions.”

[sophorine]

No-shows weren’t uncommon in the league, not with the young children that made up the league. It was written into the rules that any no show, after 15 minutes, would be considered a forfeiture. And yet, no one ever once expected these rules to well and truly matter when it came to the championship match. 

And yet, as the fourteenth minute became the fifteenth, all eyes fell to Raihan. He’d fought his way to this point. If the incumbent champion had refused to defend their title, then it was only obvious where the title was to go. 

Some balked at the idea. There had to be a match. Some suggested contacting Leon, begging him to return, but Raihan shot that down. He didn’t want the title. But he wouldn’t force Leon to take it back, or Wynne to continue to wear it if they’d run away from it to begin with. 

There wouldn’t be a match then -- let the league worry about what to do about that. But there was a title, and Raihan would have to accept the impossibly heavy crown.

Once more, Raihan made his way down the tunnel. Once more he opened his eyes just outside of the view of the crowds. He thought of Hammerlocke, the home he was sworn to defend. He thought about the gym, and the trainers who were almost, but not quite ready to hold both the title of leader and protector.

His heart ached. His gut twisted. His feet itched to turn tail and walk away as the announcer began to apologize for the delay.

Instead, he made his way onto the pitch.

“Introducing your new Champion -- Raihan Malik.” 

[sophorine]

Raihan is only allowed to remain on the pitch a few more moments.

He can see league staff scuttling about in either tunnel, beckoning him back into the sanctuary. The announcer attempts to call Wynne’s name one more time, before ultimately turning their attention to the perplexed crowd. At last glance, before being dragged back to the locker room, they’d at least managed to keep from turning to anger.

Inside was a different story. Questions were hurled at him -- was this planned, did he know where they went, when was the last you’d heard from them. A few higher-ups were already on the phone with security teams, pulling footage and rounding up security in case the disappearance was more malevolent than anything else.

Eventually, the din of the crowd grew loud enough to be heard beneath the stands. There was anger, boos and jeers alike. Outside of the locker room, the press was clamoring for answers.

Finally, one came.

“They’re gone. They climbed aboard a taxi and left Wyndon.”

[sophorine]

A Champion Time

The locker room is quiet as Raihan brings himself to his feet. The league staff member is already communicating into his ear piece, and he hears enough of the conversation to know that it’s show time. The festivities have died down, the crowd outside is eerily quiet, and he knows that they’re waiting for...

Well. Probably not him. They’re waiting for Wynne. Waiting to know what they do next, if they’ll succeed in defending their crown, or simply be a one-hit wonder. 

Raihan already knows the answer. He knows he’ll lose, and he’s okay with that. Tomorrow, he’ll be back in Hammerlocke, ready to start building his new home outside of the city. 

But he’ll make it a good match all the same

The staffer motions him forward, and he begins the long walk down the tunnel. He closes his eyes, a decade of experience and memory guiding him. It’s only once he knows he’s just outside of the exit that his eyes open. He takes a breath to steady himself, and then steps out onto the pitch.

The crowd erupts into cheers and jeers. It’s a good sign -- Wynne has fans, those that love them despite unseating Galar’s most beloved. They’ll make a good rival. They’ll make a good leader. 

Raihan stops in the middle of the pitch, waving to the crowd. He smiles for a moment, then hunches and bares his teeth to the delight of the crowd. He holds his position as he faces Wynne’s tunnel, waiting for them to show. 

The announcer goes through their dialogue, building the hype. Smoke goes up, fireworks light the Champion’s path. The noise in the stadium reaches a fever pitch, Wynne’s name flashes across the screen.

But no one exits the tunnel.] 

[hattricks]

“I’m getting the strangest sense of deja vu...”

[sophorine]

“Y’said it, not me.” 

[circhester-flair]

"Sh

Should Leon even be out of the hospital yet?"

[sophorine]

“Fine enough to be out and moving, but not enough to be competing physically, the weapon.”

[ballympics]

Preliminaries: Leon

@champiowned​

“Finally, the captain of the team comes to claim his throne! As the Champion of the region, I’m sure everybody’s excited to see how well Leon is going to do!”

“I’m sure it will be a very entertaining watch, if only to see if Leon can remember which direction to run in.”

“I have the utmost faith in him! I’m sure all of you watching do as well!”

Keep reading

[tarakhshaqun]

Leon’s fucking dead.

[sophorine]

Time to go rescue his mans, he guesses. Preferably before Rose does.

[ballympics]

Preliminaries: Raihan

@flygonera​ 

“Next up is the king of dragons himself – the ferocious and spirited Raihan!” 

“Let’s see how he makes it through the perilous obstacles in his path.”

Keep reading

[flygonera]

“Tch. All part of the drama.” 

[hattricks]

          “Who’s trans? Sound off!”

[sophorine]

“Yo.” Raihan is flipping the cis the bird. 

[sophorine]

kibanafuji‌:

“—i mean, okay, fair.”

obviously it absolutely was hot. i mean, come on, raihan is well aware he’s hot as hell and TWO of them? the world may not be able to handle that.

what’s keeping him so… gif of that lady with the math equation overlay is firstly the fact that Two Raihans, Two Of Them, and while he’d gotten fairly used to this ONLINE, he’d hardly had the chance to ease into this in person.

secondly is…

“… okay but like. don’t you have a boyfriend? does this count as cheating?? i don’t know whether i wanna apologize to ‘im or go 'you’re welcome for the daydream fuel’…”

Raihan -- Myhan, which definitely doesn’t sound right when Bede isn’t the one using it -- is thinking way too hard about this. Somehow, that’s all the more amusing for Raijin. 

“Pretty sure he likes when I touch myself --” he says with a rumbling laugh. But, just in case the other him is well and truly uncomfortable, he grants mercy. “He doesn’t mind if I pick other flowers, as long as dandelions are still my favorite.” 

[sophorine]

tarakhshaqun‌:

… He will never forgive Raihan for owning a Leorb.

He was trying to find the spiciest curry for his team and it happened by accident, fuck off ye shite. 

[battletowered-archived]

“PLEASE DO NOT START A LEORB FANCLUB. I HATE THAT STUPID BALL– THERE IS NOTHING SCARIER ON THE PLANET THAN SEEING A GRIMSNARL CHARGING AT YOU FULL TILT WITH YOUR OWN DISEMBODIED HEAD.”

[sophorine]

"I raise you one Flygon flyhumping toward you with the orb."