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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @noah

POSTED ON Dec 1, 2020 8:00:05 GMT

bellchime trail is quiet. just the rustling of autumn leaves and the whisper of shoes against short grasses. in the distance, should one listen closely, the golden melodies of the ecruteak dance theater are kept in time with soft footfalls of kimono girls.

a cool wind picks up enough to cast noah and kyle's hair around their faces. ahead, the bell tower stands above the regal swirl of forest.

"you've probably already been here before," noah says, holding the other's hand stubbornly, "but there's value in doing things twice, right? like, you come in with a new perspective and shit."

he tugs him closer to the tiered tower.

kyle lopez / vacation mission nov

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Dec 13, 2020 0:38:20 GMT

FERNANDO SILPH likes this

the johto breeze reminds kyle that the climate over different regions doesn't come close to hoenn's temperate temperatures. he wishes he brought thicker clothing when he got out. he's content with noah's hand as his source of heat, however.

"it still... looks the same as the last time i went here..."

despite his complaints, kyle can't help but crane his neck up and stare at the tower. the new perspective is limited to him not expecting to fall unconsious and die in his dreams again. he made sure he's well-rested this time, with noah as a failsafe.

he brings out an old bell from the past, having kept it from his previous expedition to the place. it's the first time he's brought it out since then, since it barely qualifies as a good luck charm given what it did to him last time.

"i got to ring this on the top before," kyle tells noah, grinning to denote an unsuccessful attempt to brag, "it's like the thing of legend... or something"

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TAG WITH @noah

POSTED ON Dec 23, 2020 9:15:32 GMT

"it's a protected site, duh dude. it's supposed to look the same. forever. unless it burns down."

the steady beat of an aged drumskin can be heard in the distance. as leaves eddy around their feet like golden spirits, noah shivers too. he's grown accustomed to the hoenn climate— and is startled at his heightened sensitivity.

noah swings behind kyle as they walk. sensing that kyle would be cold too, noah's hands find kyle's arms to rub them vigorously. he rests his head on the other's shoulder. curious eyes train themselves on the bell as noah tries to snatch it out of kyle's hand.

"did anything happen?" noah asks. "when you rang it. you know, i could use a bell like this to order you around. like calling for a butler."

kyle lopez / vacation mission nov

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Dec 27, 2020 18:32:00 GMT

the bell gets away from his hands to noah's. "oi, don't get too rough with it. i like keeping mementos." he keeps on going, too used to noah's shit to give them his usual responses.

"you know the entei that kept visiting the garden that i told you about?" it seldom showed itself to noah as far as he's concerned, though he wouldn't know if it did show itself to noah when kyle wasn't there. "it brought its friends with him at the top. it's kinda neat, though i think i collapsed or something afterwards."

he blames it on the amount of work he had during those times despite not being a hardworker at all. it's only bit a little over a year and a half, but it feels like forever with the amount of things that has happened in his life lately.

kyle turns his head to look at noah afterwards. he'd rather not let him get away with those words despite imagining himself look good in a buttler outfit, maybe as a surprise for the holidays. the thought process leaks to his words.

"how about the other way around? you'd look good in a butler or a maid outfit, whichever you prefer."

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Kanto

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TAG WITH @noah

POSTED ON Jan 1, 2021 8:13:18 GMT

noah feigns fumbling with the bell— but is dextrous enough to keep play from devolving into ruin. it rings lightly against his palm. as kyle recounts his story, noah returns the bell to him lest it summons ill will.

"sounds wild, man." noah says. "glad you're obviously okay."

kyle's reversal is quickly swatted away by noah's nonchalant confidence. he straightens his back. posture is perfected momentarily. a stiff tower before burning into his usual lackadaisy as he says, "sure. if you're buying the clothes."

they reach the tower. a worker sees people in from their booth. shoes are off, placed in plastic bags and then cubbies.

"well, if you collapse again this time," noah speaks smugly, "i'll be sure to catch you."

kyle lopez / vacation mission nov

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Jan 4, 2021 1:34:47 GMT

at least online shopping is a thing now so he doesn't have to worry about looking like a weirdo in public by browsing maid outfits.

"do you want me to do the same?" he continues the conversation while he takes off his shoes. "maybe the bell's cursed and since you're the last person who touched it, it's your turn."

eventually, they are able to enter the premises of the tower. the bell remains held by a string that kyle wraps around his finger as they walk further in. he sees the stairs they have to scale and stops just before the first step as he preemptively shudders at the effort needed to climb up.

"don't worry, i'll be sure to catch you," he repeats with an equally smug tone, stalling for a bit of time before they're forced to go up.

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TAG WITH @noah

POSTED ON Jan 13, 2021 5:30:23 GMT

"guess i'm fucking cursed." noah shrugs alongside a sigh, his arms raising as his breath leaves him. "i can't believe you did this to me."

the woody scent of the tower is pleasant. almost herbal or fiery. it's hard to place.

"aight." noah shoots back quickly as he ascends the stairs first.

occasionally, the stairs would creak, the sound a warm echo of some consecrated past. noah pauses. with one foot on a higher plane than the other, he poses awkwardly in the midst of transition.

"i think the curse is getting to me already. you might have to carry me all the way up with your strong arms, oh noooo." noah says.

kyle lopez / vacation mission nov

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Jan 17, 2021 14:53:28 GMT

kyle continues moving up the stairs as if he had not heard anything. eyes straight ahead and up towards the towering staircases that lead to the uppermost floor, he keeps the conversation going without reacting to noah's baits outside of verbal communication.

"don't worry. there's gotta be first aid somewhere down the ground floor if you ever fall all the way down."

outside of that one day he visited this tower a year before, there were never instances of the bell being distinctively useful. he had tried ringing it by their home before, but nothing much outside of his entei coming by happens.

he's pretty sure that the entei would've come regardless though since it's been weirdly attached to his home since then.

"for real though, do you want to try ringing that bell when we get to the top?" he asks. "maybe you'll experience the same thing."

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Kanto

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TAG WITH @noah

POSTED ON Jan 22, 2021 6:18:28 GMT

"i'm gonna ring the fuck out of that bell. there's like, no reason being here if we don't, y'know?"

noah begins climbing the stairs. the staircase is surprisingly steep— and even to noah, who has navigated these kinds of stairs before, it comes as a surprise. he grasps the railing when he can and allows his hand to linger and lag as if to lessen the gap between them.

eventually, they reach a floor. effigies of ho-oh surround a fenced pillar that sways slow. the sun shines through, soaking the wood with rays and heat. the warm aroma settles with each intake of breath while greeting the tired soles of their feet.

noah pulls out his phone. its camera is quick to flash, the simulated sound of a shutter announcing the thievery of kyle's image. "alright, so here's the plan. when we get to the top, we can enjoy the view. do some kissing. take some pics for your social media, yada yada yada. then we ring the bell. sound good, man?"

kyle lopez / vacation mission nov

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Jan 23, 2021 19:18:35 GMT

without any warning, kyle lunges forward and pushes his lips against noah's. it lasts for a second or two before he pulls away. a tinge of regret comes when it ends too early, though he tells himself that he already committed to the decision to keep things snappy and cannot back away from it.

"people only follow my account with my dogs anyways," he argues, foregoing the social media pictures. "the pics can come later."

he holds the bell out for noah to take, dangling it before him like a bait, except it was him that wanted to ring it instead of the other way around. his face was of purely impassive, but kyle being excited still leaks from it regardless.

"come on. just think of it like some sort of superstition or something?" he rings it on his own as he waves it back and forth in front of noah.

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Kanto

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TAG WITH @noah

POSTED ON Jan 30, 2021 9:31:12 GMT

the kiss comes suddenly like a renegrade wave crashing onto shore. surprise ebbs into warm complacement- but it is altogether too quick. too fleeting. noah, too used to being the one to initiate in public, is left burning.

noah laughs the cinders away, his voice curling at its end, "okay, kyle. bit early in the schedule, but i'll take it." he pockets his phone.

enticed by the chime, noah takes the bell. he moves in close and kisses the other's cheek before swiveling to press his back against the other's chest.

"now that i think of it, the bell's kinda freaky." noah frowns as he rings it. "you really remember like, nothing, yeah? did you feel any different? coulda had a concussion if you fell hard."

kyle lopez / vacation mission nov

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Feb 7, 2021 20:14:35 GMT

there's little to no reaction to the kiss since it's to be expected. what would have normally got him flustered has him completely unabashed, if only because he cares less when it's noah doing and if he's preoccupied with something more important-- sharing conspiracy theories with his significant other.

"yeah, this bell's like ancient according to that one guy i talked to," he shares. "maybe it's haunted since i took it from a safe instead of just a display case too."

the fact that he almost admits that he took it from someone else's property eludes him, though he does have valid reasons should it get questioned.

"well, it was during the peak of the league's attempt to reclaim slateport from rocket so i guess i was overworked and stressed." it would make more sense if kyle wasn't so quick to default to those excuses when he can though.

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shiv

the machampion

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Kanto

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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @noah

POSTED ON Feb 9, 2021 7:24:41 GMT

"you ever worried that something like that would happen again?"

slateport smoke falls from a small frown. the bell rings faintly through the fog of his sigh.

"actually, forget about that." noah turns to face kyle once more, firm arms draping over his shoulders lazily. his hands cross loosely behind the other's neck.

the bell dangles carefully between a pinch.

"we're on vacation. and 'sides," noah leans in to kiss him, "if you're ever overworked, you got me now to destress."

kyle lopez / vacation mission nov

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TAG WITH @kyle

POSTED ON Feb 14, 2021 10:49:57 GMT

the assurance to noah that he's never worried never came out, but a thankful smile that conveys the same message happens nonetheless. his hand slides off to the side of noah's face before his expression shifts to something more playful.

he responds to noah by returning the gesture, wrapping his arms around his waist once they let go.

"are you trying to tell me something? you're trying to tell me something, aren't you?" he points out immediately afterwards.

he's usually the one making accidental blunders, and when noah's usual straightforwardness gives a hint of it, kyle is quick on the draw to tease him for it. whether he denies it or not, kyle feels like he'd be satisfied with either reaction.

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shiv

the machampion

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Kanto

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i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @noah