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POSTED ON Aug 29, 2023 1:21:22 GMT

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It had been a while since Temp had been at Fortree.[break][break]

Disguised ad Davey Jones, he smiles at the receptionist as he's led into his Gym Challenge. Slushie is at his side, the Vaporeon a calming presence as he presses against his leg.[break][break]

It hadn't changed much, here. The Sanctuary was still up and running, lots of open space...[break][break]

A deep breath to center himself.[break][break]

He could do this.

[attr="class","tag"]Alexei Ivanov

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POSTED ON Sept 3, 2023 18:45:59 GMT

It just so happened the receptionist at the counter had to recheck the name a few times because…was Ethan seeing this right?

“Wait, this can’t be real,” he backtracked, double-checking the name before he made sure that he had the right person in front of him.

“Are you going to toss me in your locker?” he couldn’t help but crack the joke! Goodness gracious, he idly wondered how many times the other man might’ve gotten that crack from people who saw the name and the ID.

Either way, he sent a message, and it took more or less five minutes for the man of the hour himself to show up carrying an empty bucket (where he’d thrown the bird-handling gloves into) before getting a good look at his challenger for the day…

“Uh. Ethan? I’ll take it from here,” he said quietly as he handed the other man the bucket, with a glance towards the left-side door for him to book it out of there; which said receptionist mercifully did.

This therefore left him alone with the challenger… and unless he was seeing things…

“…been a while,” he began quietly, looking past the freckles. And the hair.

He was sure of his suspicion.

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TAG WITH @temp

POSTED ON Sept 5, 2023 14:27:14 GMT

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"My mom had a funny sense of humor." Tempest smiled, friendly but a bit awkward.[break][break]

Then Alexei Ivanov appeared. Took him away and saw right through him.[break][break]

Tempest debated, for a moment, just lying. Saying it wasn't really him, the gym leader was mistaken.[break][break]

But instead a tense line fell from his shoulders as he sucked in a breath.[break][break]

"... that easy?"[break][break]

A sigh. But Tempest didn't pull off the wig or take out the contacts. Just glanced to the side, away from the other.

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POSTED ON Sept 5, 2023 17:53:18 GMT

One minute Ethan was trying so hard not to laugh at the quip, the next he was holding a bucket before making a run for it to safety—he knew that when Alex gave anyone that knowing look of his, something was up and they had to clear out from where they were.

(And he knew to pass the message on to Claire, who would immediately run toward the security room to keep an eye on things.)

Now that they were alone, his lips were drawn into a thin line, before he sighed.

“You’re too easy for me to read, N—Temp,” he backtracked, knowing how much the other disliked his birth name.

“Still easy to read… especially when you asked me that one time about what drag was, and how I showed you that world,” he continued quietly.

“With the makeup and everything. I know you brought up the difference of how makeup for your culture meant alongside how with drag, makeup completes the look a queen… or a king pulls together before they step out for the evening.”

(He hoped that Ethan would alert Guillermo Marceliño at the least, because he was more than certain Claire was already at the cameras keeping an eye on them.)

“What is it, then? Do you want the badge? Or is it something… else?”

He then moved to go outside, and if the other were smart enough to pick up the cue, follow him outside where the open-air arena awaited.

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POSTED ON Sept 8, 2023 2:17:47 GMT

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There was a sigh from Temp. Resigned.[break][break]

When Alexei Ivanov looked at him, as he pulled off his wig and stuffed it into his pocket, the pensive look on his face would seem almost apologetic. Like he hadn't wished it had come to this. Not with him.[break][break]

"If I was here for more than a badge, I wouldn't have tried to disguise myself." Tried being the optimal word there.[break][break]

He gives the other a sad smile.[break][break]

"You won't let me just try to leave, huh?"[break][break]

Because, no matter what, they both knew where this was headed.[break][break]

You couldn't stand as firmly on two sides of a war as them and remain friends.

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POSTED ON Sept 21, 2023 19:29:01 GMT

“You know I want answers.”

By this time, he turned to face the other—having approached the door that led to the outdoor arena and holding it open, waiting for the other to follow him outside so they didn’t make a mess of the place.

“And I want the real answer as to why you left, all those years ago. Speaking of, I got a letter from Tulio recently, of all things, from out of nowhere, asking about me like it was just yesterday.”

(Said letter he had to hide from his partner because. Well, with a jealous streak like that he was sure the Frog would sink into another mire of self-loathing because of ‘all the hot exes you had before me’. He was more than certain of it.)

“And also answers why you came out here in a disguise, what is up with you?”

Unless…

Unless that ‘game’ he played when it swept through the nation in a frenzy… did it have some kind of a grain of truth in it?

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POSTED ON Sept 21, 2023 20:14:30 GMT

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"My dad's always been too nice. You know how he is." It didn't mean anything. It wasn't as deep as Alexei Ivanov, or his boyfriend, might read into it. It was just a nice old man whose heart was full of too much love for everyone around him.[break][break]

Temp, at least, didn't balk away from Alexei. He allowed him to approach, even when he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and held them there. There was no running from this this time.[break][break]

"You know why." It stings as he says it. Tight, but Tempest isn't backing down from the truth of it this time.[break][break]

"I broke up with you so your reputation as a new Gym Leader wouldn't be ruined by me, Alex." There had always been a self loathing deep in Tempest's chest. A shame at existing. Alexei had even been aware of it, as much as Temp tried to hide it, when they were dating. But this doesn't have the same ring to it.[break][break]

"I joined Rocket right before you earned your spot. I've been in Rocket the whole time." A shake of the head.[break][break]

"I wasn't anyone important till... well, I'm not anyone important now, but I wasn't as deep as I was. I just let them run dirty bets on me at the fight club."[break][break]

His right hand is taken from his pocket, opening to show off the golden wedding band. A luvdisc is carved into it. Simple and elegant.[break][break]

"My husband... well, you might know him as 'Gavin Merlino'."

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Alex / Lexy

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thirty

december 22

Mistralton, Unova

homosexual demiromantic

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POSTED ON Sept 21, 2023 20:54:11 GMT

He was hoping that the game was just, well, that. A game.

Unfortunately, though, the next words the other man says in front of him…

Make him stop and stare. A quiet little stare, at first. And then, the crescendo.

“You…”

The disbelief is clear on his face for a few moments. The silence becomes awkward as it stretches out between them.

“Why didn’t you tell me you did that, N—Temp? What did you get…?” he continued, unable to hide the emotion in his voice. “Did you find…”

The next words didn’t come out, because the sight of the ring confirmed his suspicion.

“…when?”

The disbelief is still clear on his face, but for some reason there was another tinge of emotion in it—

One that screamed of betrayal.

“And what did Tulio say about this, does he know that you joined up… joined up with them? Joined them—for what end? I thought you wanted to preserve your culture! Not destroy it!”

The simmering anger is there. Stoked, but not yet bubbling.

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POSTED ON Sept 22, 2023 1:04:44 GMT

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"About two months before you became Gym Leader." If what Alexei Ivanov wanted to know was when he joined. "We've been married a little over a year." They had gotten hitched before the Meteor happened, just in case it ended badly, if that was what Alexei was after.[break][break]

A nod of the head.[break][break]

"He knows. He's not involved, but he knows. Cillian isn't some maniac who just kills and murders for fun. He's done a lot to help my people. More than the League has ever tried to do." It's bitter, almost. Individuals like Alexei, and so many others, they were the only ones who cared. But even as their culture was dying and being washed away, no one ever did anything to help protect it that actually mattered.[break][break]

Temp could see his culture erased slowly and painfully under the League's uncaring gaze. Or, he could toss his lot in with Rocket and hope that if they took over, they would leave them the fuck alone. He had been willing to roll those dice.

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Alex / Lexy

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thirty

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POSTED ON Sept 23, 2023 9:25:04 GMT

“Is that… is that why you were acting so evasive before we broke up?”

He couldn’t keep the emotion out of his voice; however at the same time the outright admission that him, he had joined Team Rocket without so much as a flippant attitude as to why—

That really set him on edge.

“Of course I’ve heard of your husband,” he continued quietly; his hands in his pockets. Ready in case the other threw something out. “I’ve seen the reports. He’s packing some kind of… warped, twisted guardian Pokémon as their patron.”

(In another life, another universe, another reality if you’d prefer, someone that had a striking resemblance to Alex had once chased after Lugia. Not that he’d know what it was called, then.)

The silence that spread between them was absolute, before he found the next words to say.

“If. If that was what bothered you… why didn’t. Why didn’t you tell me, back then? We. We could’ve worked together to fix it!”

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POSTED ON Sept 29, 2023 16:52:10 GMT

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"It was." A small sigh. It was all coming out to lay on the table, now. There was no sense in hiding it.[break][break]

"I don't think you could have fixed me, Alex. I had... I have, a death wish. I wanted to be punished and kind of hoped that... well, I'm sure you can guess." At this admission, Tempest shifts uncomfortable. Alexei Ivanov would have been able to see the starts of it when they dated. The void in his chest that called for him to die. A type of void that Tempest had ignored and pretended wasn't there for so, so long.[break][break]

If he had never wanted to die, Tempest would have stayed with Alex. Would have never joined Rocket to start.[break][break]

"To be clear, I don't think Cil has 'fixed' me either. I'm just... stronger now. I can ignore it better."[break][break]

A shake of the head.[break][break]

"Lugia. Rocket didn't make her like that, either." But he wasn't here to dwell on his husband's patron or on old gossip.[break][break]

Tempest took a hand from his pocket, showing off a pair of pokeballs in his hand.[break][break]

"I'll leave, without a fight, if you let me. But if you try to stop me, I will fight you. I don't want to fight you like that, Alex." He had, in the end, just been aiming for a fun battle.

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Alex / Lexy

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thirty

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POSTED ON Oct 15, 2023 17:26:41 GMT

☆ kyouya / male / sheer force / sky drop, hone claws, bulk up, tailwind, aerial ace, rock slide, roost

gabriel / male / intimidate / dragon claw, scary face, flamethrower, protect, thunder fang, rock slide

You know that meme where someone is standing at a crossroads that splits into two? One where the outcome is for the better, and the other is for the absolute worst?

That was where he was right now.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down at the other man across him.

“Of course Tulio had something to say about this,” he began in that same quiet little voice. “I’m hazarding a guess he didn’t take it well… neither did your clan, if I’m correct.”

He had to resist the urge to pinch his nose.

“You know that admitting that you’re a Rocket to me will get you arrested when I catch you, because I do have the right to do that, as I’m the Gym Leader around these parts…” he trailed off, reaching for something that hung from his neck—a battered, flecked, metallic bird whistle.

One singular whistle from the object brought two shadows to hover near him—his Salamence and Braviary.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to bring you in.”

The betrayal hung heavy between them, and he knew, somehow—just knew that this connection they had may not survive what would happen next.

(The deception was palpable between them.)

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POSTED ON Oct 20, 2023 18:24:36 GMT

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And so, the choice is made.[break][break]

It stings. But Tempest always knew that, deep down, it would come to this. That clinging to thread of his old life would just hurt him in the end. Would hurt people like Alexei Ivanov, too.[break][break]

But with a steel and fire in his heart, Tempest shakes his head and hardens his gaze at the man he used to love.[break][break]

"You assume you can catch me." Alex grabs for his whistle and Tempest knows he has to act fast. The two pokemon he brought with him today are called out.[break][break]

The Vaporeon and Carracosta stretch out, relaxed, but tense when they can sense the tension in the air. Slushie, the Vaporeon, lashes her tail and bares her teeth at the two flying types hanging behind Alex.[break][break]

Tempest steps back, trying to pus distance between them, and lifts his fingers to his lips to give a sharp and loud whistle.[break][break]

His two pokemon react instantly. Slushie darts forward, teeth bared, and fires off an Ice Beam at the Braviary. Sable, the Carracosta, is little Intimidated by the Salamence- but she still uses her fins to heft a wedge of rock from the ground to try and Smack Down the dragon type.

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Alex / Lexy

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thirty

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POSTED ON Oct 22, 2023 20:09:09 GMT

How fate worked was really strange, wasn’t it…

If N—Temp had told him about being tempted into Team Rocket all those years ago, maybe somewhere—in another reality, another universe—they would’ve still been together and had two distinctly unique sanctuaries of their own; one water and one flying.

(One at Sootopolis, one at Fortree. But that was for another world, another lifetime, another universe. Not here, not now.)

The Salamence then saw the incoming beam of frozen energy, before roaring and summoning a Protective screen to offer cover for the Braviary; who would then whip up the Tailwind behind the two of them on the field!

“Oh, I do not assume…” he trailed off, this steely, hardened glare in his eye.

(For today the swords were drawn, and he was going to take the first step forward.)

Braviary and Salamence are out on the field! Salamence used Protect to block the incoming Ice Beam (but get smacked on the head in the process with the Smack Down, bleh); while Braviary whipped up the Tailwind to boost their speed!

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