Dream

Ft. Yuina Higashi

He snorted as she tried going back to sleep, reaching over to flick her forehead— she was up and hovering over him before he was even halfway there, though, drawing his gaze elsewhere.

He smiled at her she stared at his face, lightly tilting his head and winking as he gathered his hands underneath his neck.

"Wow." He said, staring right back...-ish. "Don't matter how many times I see'em— Impressive as ever."

Jokes were his coping mechanism.

He shrugged his shoulders at her question, dragging his gaze back up to her eyes.

"Not super sure. I'm either havin' a really nice dream, or..." He paused. "Having a really nice inter-dream. You're looking beautiful, by the way."

Like she hadn't spent even a day in prison.

---

TL;DR:
-Doug immediately has ideas of how to use their time in Dreamland.

Lost little lambs

"Watch your f*cking language." Came blaring out of an alleyway.

What? They were 14 now. They were old enough for that joke.

"Hey!" Doug said as he approached the shorty squad, materializing out of the hazy, low mists that prowled the streets. "Good to see ya, runts! Are you real, or am I still in the brainwashing room?"

He was kidding... but also, given how he had woken up to Yuina Higashi, there was certainly enough wish fulfillment going on that he couldn't dismiss the possibility entirely.

---

TL;DR:

Dream

Ft. Yuina Higashi

A warm, soft bed. A faint breathing against his chest. A familiar, comforting softness and warmth laying atop him; a heart, beating strong against his own.

He knew these things.

And the first tell that something was off was the bed. The cot in their prison cell was neither soft nor warm.

"Huh." He uttered as he stared at an unfamiliar ceiling, then at unfamiliar windows, and unfamiliar bookshelves and nightstands, and felt unfamiliar sheets.

The only some-one familiar there was—

"Yuina." He mumbled softly as he stared at the crown of brown locks rested atop his chest, reflexively reaching down to peck it with his lips.

Oh, no mask.

...

Hohohoho...!

---

TL;DR:
-Doug immediately has ideas of how to use their time in Dreamland.

Strong

ft. Lucia Aldrete

He had to focus. Find something.

Nothing in Hoenn happened at random— everything had a reason behind it, no matter how out of the blue it may appear.

Specially dreams.

But what, exactly, was he looking for...?

There was no shining beacon. No unfamiliar sensations reaching out to him. It was him and the city and the megalopolans and the other inmates—

He stops short in the middle of what might've been a townsquare, squatting low to rub at his temples.

Ugh, for once I wish I were actually smart.

Rewriting History

With Yuina Higashi

Perhaps the clearest sign of his genuine love for Yuina was the fact that she could talk about ancient tentative™ history, inside a dark, empty museum, for several hours, and still make him cling unto her every word as if for dear life.

"Woah..." She was so... smart and scholarly. Looked the part, too. He laughed. "When ya said ya worked at a museum, I think ya might've undersold yerself."

That was on him. He wasn't smart or acquainted enough with the scene to picture anything beyond an adorable museum tour guide.

She looks so happy.

Ba-dump.

Perhaps speaking about her research made her feel closer to her forgotten past. Or maybe she was just happy to be able to speak freely without being thought of as a looney.

Ba-dump.

Or maybe she just enjoyed talking to him.

Ba-dump.

Or maybe... Dear god, he couldn't think right while she was looking at him like that. Would it be rude if I kissed her without warning?

"I, ah... I didn't know know you wore glasses, by the way." He said after a moment, scratching at his reddening cheek as he gave a small smile. "It— they look really good on ya."

---

TL;DR:

daybreak

With freya morningstar

Doug slept like a baby and rose like a glorious king.

Life was at its best when shared with your other half, he had recently found out.

And beds were a lot more comfortable after a stay in Ultra Hell's prison.

All that was to say— where Freya was understandable tense, Doug was very much not as the doors leading into the emergency ward swung open, revealing the refreshed looking young man.

"Good day, Ms. Morningstar!" He chirped, holding his clipnote against his shoulder as he grinned at her. "Ready? Cuz I sure am. Follow me!"

He half turned with military precision, a marching soldier with far too much pep in his step as he led her towards the surgery room.

Well, at least his confidence couldn't be questioned.

---

TL;DR:

LESSER MEGALOPOLIS: JY

Ft. Yuina Higashi

"Cozy." He said as he took in the... dark.

And the occasional, distant, silhouette of a behemoth structure on the horizon.

As far as the league knew, this was his first time in Megalopolis.

That wasn't entirely accurate, however.

"Huh. Looks about the same as last time." He commented idly, before kicking a pebble of concrete on the floor. "Only... even shittier."

He turned over to Yuina, reaching over to palm her back spiritedly.

"Look alive, Cadet!" He said, grinning. "We've got our objectives, and we've got our expert."

He winked.

"So first things first— let's make camp." He said, the weight of their equipment still on their backs. "Lead the way, love."

---

TL;DR:15-search for suitable locations to set up camp/base (e.g. an abandoned building).

Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

If only they knew.

"I try to be polite." He said in response, before snickering. "Hope you two have fun. Tell him I said hi."

Hopefully, MATIAS SILPH would be able to drop the crazy man act and just be himself again with his family.

FERNANDO SILPH aside.

Unfortunately, family matters eventually came around to him. Worse yet, he had little to report.

"No. When I arrived to Hoenn, it was just mom, dad, and grandpa. Never had any siblings." He said, turning his eyes to his drink briefly. Very briefly— his eyes were back on her before any silence settled. "But my family as a whole ended up being very unlucky after Rocket came into the picture— both in Kanto and Hoenn."

He was technically 27 years removed from his traumas by now. He had processed them, for the most part. Discussing them wasn't too much of an ask, even with a new acquaintance. Not as much as it used to be anyway.

The Spider and the Fly

With Yuina Higashi

Yuina was screaming for help.

Nuclear option it is.

"I'm sorry, forest." Doug muttered darkly as he returned Lucci back to her ball, the poor flier all tangled up in sticky webbing.

Well, that wouldn't be a problem for the next one.

"Nice cooperation— but I gotta split." Doug said, patting Basara on the traps. "See you at the top."

He proceeded to push off the axe-bug's back, putting some minimal distance between them before beginning to rapidly descend.

Boy, trees sure were tall in Hoenn.

"Mothra— don't kill everything!" Doug ordered as swung his pokeball down— releasing his oversized Volcarona beneath himself, the huge moth spreading its wings wide as it suddenly found itself on freefall, feeling a familiar weight settle upon its back. "But don't hold back too much, either. We're going up NOW."

Fire danced around the Volcarona as its wings flapped, ascending towards the canopy. Any webbing in her path combusted upon contact with her body, the searing heat and raw speed carrying them through until they came blasting through the leaves and into the Spidops' nest.

"If y'all think I'm above pinning, ya got another thing coming!!!"

---

TL;DR:

PRISMATIC PENITENTIARY

He's insulted quite harshly by some. But stick and stones, all that jazz.

He pays it little mind, keeping his eyes on the crystals and counting the time until the images of the other wards are taken away.

"Hm. Hm." It doesn't feel great, but nothing good ever came from stewing in the desire to throttle something.

The wardens' time would come.

For now... Shit. They had screwed over the dummies. If they were lucky, those guys would never find out it was them.

He was never lucky though, so... he could only hope this wouldn't come back to bite them all in the ass later.

Not that their asses weren't well chewed already.

He marches up to Michael Navidson after the man's gotten the crap beaten out him, squatting down in front of him and... other guy Uh. Spiney. Doug didn't really care about that one— or did he? The guy had stood his ground besides Navy in front of the guards— but he had also been spineless in front of the other inmates earlier.

Eh. The dichotomy of man, he supposes.

"Get up, you two." He says, reaching out to try and help Navy and Spiney back to their feet. "You'll get dragged along if ya linger."

There was something wrong with Navidson— but Doug didn't have the tools or means to treat any sicknesses in prison... yet. Hopefully, it wasn't anything serious right now.

Hopefully.

They are flown into the 'chamber of desires'.

It is not a comfortable flight.

They're being lugged around by the neck into an opium chamber, and worse yet, he bangs his shin on a metal panel on the way there.

The hall seems to go on forever.

He closes his eyes and continues counting the time.

Eventually, they come to a stop in a circular chamber. There's a crystal mask at the center, lodged into a machine.

Their masks pop right as they land. For a brief moment, he considers putting it back on, but if the warden doesn't take issue with it, he's sure his inmates will.

He considers doing it anyway out of spite.

Oh hey, this does look like a brainwashing room. He notes dully as noted General Velmos marches up to them and begins to extol the virtues of opium at them.

He doesn't pay the guy any mind, looking around instead and finding the same guy who threatened him... wait, was he the same guy? The woman besides him certainly looked like the same one.

He looks like the King of Hammerlocke.

Whatever, who else was in this shit hole?

Some faces he knew, lots of faces he didn't.

FERNANDO SILPH. freya morningstar. luka chêne. Michael Navidson. People he had actually spoken with.

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki. annalise henderson. People whom he knew of by reputation.

And—

Oh, shit... he really let himself go.

Shock and awe— spiney was former Infinity Energies CEO oscar clayton!

Unfortunately, that was were the good news ended.

There were a few rockets he knew about, and likely a litany more he didn't.

And of course, the most important person—

He squeezes Yuina Higashi's hand, smiling her way despite their circumstance.

It's the most they're afforded in this hell hole— but he's glad to see her face again,

Speaking of faces, though. His turn to look into the mask arrives.

There's a trifecta of asshats awaiting to beat his ass into the mask if he resists, so he steels himself for what's to come instead and steps forth.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

---

He steps away from the mask unsure of what he just saw. Was that his desire? Kind of mundane... if not entirely unpleasant.

The same couldn't be said about what came next.

They're shoved into communal showers.

He sheds his clothes without protests.

Almost scalding hot water poured periodically unto them.

Almost burning doesn't mean much to him anymore. His pain receptors barely worked after being overstimulated for so long.

No, the real problem was figuring a way to shield Yuina from this mess.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to figure out.

He could only hold her hand more firmly and try to stand between her and the rest of the inmates' line of sigh.

---

5GeW8FnJ

TL;DR:
-counts time.
-sees dream.
-dice roll.
-salac x2

2 AM

An evening with Yuina Higashi

He was a grown ass man. He was not one to be giddy.

The smile on his face was to be completely ignored. Shut up.

"I... think that can wait." He said.

It was pretty difficult to make Doug willing to put off his medical duties, but...

"I wanna stay like this for as long as we can." He said, reaching over to grab her hand.

This time, he would allow himself to sleep in. For once, Hoenn could wait.

TL;DR:-Doug is awake.

2 AM

An evening with Yuina Higashi

He leaned into her hand, eyes shutting as a smile tugged at his lips. He felt the warmth of her breath against them and felt a flutter in his chest as the initiative was swept right from under his feet, Yuina claiming their second kiss... well, their second innocent kiss.

He offered her a soft, toothy smile, reclining his head unto his bicep as he cupped her cheek, thumbing her lips.

"It'll never go away. S'long as I'm breathing." He said softly, his lips pressing gently against her forehead. "There'll always be a home for ya with me."

TL;DR:-Doug is awake.

2 AM

An evening with Yuina Higashi

3:57 am

"Says who?" He mumbled after a moment, kissing the crown of her head whilst snickering. "Maybe I just wanted ya play contrarian."

It certainly had been a 'do as I say, not as I do' kind of situation, given how all over her he had been the entire time. Looking back... a couple of hours ago, it was actually a little embarrassing how unsubtle he had been.

They really had gone and done... it. After 40 years, he had begun to believe he might just not be interested in anyone in that way. Maybe his desires had just... disappeared alongside her.

Turned out, they were just waiting for the right person.

He began pecked her head with kisses furiously, face flushed red.

Her warmth that pushed away the the night's chill, the peace of mind that having her at his side brought him... he couldn't imagine living without it; not anymore.

He turned on his side towards her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Yuina."

He paused, face growing red as a tomato as his mouth opened and closed, at a loss for words.

"I-I... Stay with me."

The words were difficult to say still— but he would say them before the day was over.

TL;DR:-Doug is awake.