People always craved the light. They were drawn to it, they felt safe in it, and because of these feelings, they allowed themselves to be blind. They pretended, claiming nothing bad ever happened in broad daylight. They feared, taking quick steps beneath the street lights at night. They lied.
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Not many were able to embrace the dark.
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Not many saw through all those lies.
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Mars knew this, and perhaps, it was this very knowledge that compelled him to watch the one who stood at the park that Summer night. So calm, so quiet, so at ease; barely even more than a silhouette made out of sharp shadows cast by nearby fluorescent light, yet still one that could tell so much to those willing to ask it. Why was he there? Why did he look so at home in the night?
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There had really been no intention to take a picture, but the camera was raised before he even realized as much – a single moment captured for eternity, frozen in time. There was no flash, there was barely even the click of a shutter, the camera relying solely on ambient lighting yet still somehow capturing a small yet perfect smile. Was that some secret Mars had just stumbled upon, or did he always smile like that?
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Ever a slave to his curiosity, it is upon grass that the man steps this time, approaching oh-so-casually and pausing once he is close enough – camera still in hand. ”Oh… I didn’t think I’d run into anyone here this late,” he lies smoothly, acting genuinely surprised and even casting his own perfect, radiant smile.

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+ jayden cross | MISSION

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Quiet. Is that really why they are both here so late at night, because they have been drawn by this silence that is usually so absent in Martín’s life otherwise? Mauville City never sleeps, but it seems like not everyone out there is bound to fall victim to the charm of its endless walls and the neon lights within.
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”Hah… It is. It’s nice, isn’t it?” A simple question, a harmless one, but one that comes with reason and intent. Asking directly has never been the best way to learn people’s motives, after all, and the man isn’t about to let his curiosity go unquenched.
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He maintains the smile though, and he even laughs lightly and casually when asked if he is a photographer, his gaze wandering down to the camera as if he were evaluating it – considering what was the proper answer to this inquiry. When he looks up again, eyes of warm and welcoming brown met those of cold violet, the words coming as if they are the most obvious thing he could have said: ”Not really, but I think everyone can become a photographer if they have a handsome enough subject, no? You’d make a great one, for example.”
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He just can't help himself, but while there is a slight smirk, even then he follows these words with both a lie and a sprinkle of honesty. ”I was taking pictures of pokémon, I prefer those that come out when no one’s around. Like yours over there.” He refers to the ghosts, of course.
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Would he ask what the other is doing at such a place? Perhaps, but not just yet. Charming answers out of people is a delicate game.


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+ jayden cross | MISSION

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

What kind of life must someone lead in order to enjoy the company of ghosts and find comfort in the darkness of night?
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The question comes as a single piece of a huge jigsaw puzzle; one where all of the others are still unknown and picture-side down. One where, if someone is to ever care enough, they are to flip and discover every single piece – carefully organizing them and putting them together in order to form the bigger picture that corresponds with this stranger’s life.
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On this night, at this park, Mars doesn’t care enough.
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However, there is still the curiosity that comes with familiarity, since this question, this puzzle piece, happens to align with so many of the broken pieces that form the complex mosaic that is his own life. Ghosts, silence, the dark. Three constants that, no matter how much he tried to fight them in the past, will always be there no matter what. Three constants that, as much as he would have once hated to admit it, were both habitual and mundane to someone like Mars...
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The other says something that catches his attention, and this series of thoughts escapes his grasp.
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“Live… I can see that, but pictures can also be nice, right? A good way to remember the past… or to get to see things you may have never seen otherwise.” There is a smile, raising the camera and pressing a button in order to bring it back to life. ”A friend of mine has been looking for unusual pictures of pokémon, and I thought it would be a good way to pass the time.”
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This is no lie. For, while most people would have thought sleeping was the best way to pass the time at night, Mars usually tried to avoid doing exactly that.
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”Here, come have a look,” he offers, placing the camera at an angle so the other can also look at the display screen if he approaches – also making sure to have selected the first picture he took that night and not the most recent one.


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+ jayden cross | MISSION

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

There are so many things he wouldn’t remember if it weren’t for photographs.
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The gentle smile of the mother who died so he could live. Sunny places of childhood happiness of which his memories lay faded and shattered, victims to the more tempestuous years of his life. Days spent with Cosima when they were younger; when she didn’t know about the horrors he suffered at the hands of his family. His father… No, there is no photograph that could fix the memory of this man, nothing that could wash away the spilt blood that taints every joyful moment Mars spent by his side.
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’Which one’s your favourite?’
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”Hmm…” Mars allows the question to ground him in the moment, looking through the pictures in the camera. There are some he skips by the moment they turn up on the screen, while others he stares at for a few seconds before moving on to the next one. He stops at the one with the Cutiefly. ”Probably this, because I don’t think I’d ever pay much mind to a pokémon like that during the day, you know?... See the way it flies so calmly in the night? And how the wings kind of shimmer and reflect all those colours under the moonlight? It’s nice.” There is a slight smile, but he knows he’s not being entirely honest here. It’s not that he likes this picture in particular, it’s that he knows she would have liked it more than any other.
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”Oh. There’s another though...” This time, he skips through to the last picture he took that night, and on the display screen of the camera appears the boy who now stands by his side. Even as close up, the shadows of his ghost pokémon dance around him as he lays still; leaning down towards an awaiting Thievul which fur he caresses affectionately, and he smiles, both faintly and gently. It may not have the best composition out there or the best lighting, but it’s a good picture indeed: one true, honest, candid.
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”I think that’s a really nice smile.” His own words are suddenly quieter, as if he thinks the picture itself is worthy of calm and silence. ”Oh… But I can delete it if you want me to, I feel kind of bad for taking it without permission.” A short laugh, turning to the other and offering one of his own bright and all too dashing smiles.


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+ jayden cross | MISSION

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

’I don’t smile often’
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Cold, violet eyes. An expression that isn’t disturbed by emotion. The dead calm waters of a still ocean. How long would someone have to dive into the darkness of those waters before they reached the bottom?
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”Then this must be one of those pictures, huh? The ones to remember the good times.” In his own way, he understands. There have been times when he himself has not even bothered to find a reason to smile. Times when he has found no joy in this world that is cruel, merciless, and harsh. This night is not one of those nights, for they all have long since passed. To the lords of strife, every aspect of their existence is a war, and out of all them, Mars long ago learned that his own happiness is a valuable tool in his arsenal – his smile a weapon.
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Sometimes one used for good, sometimes not.
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On this night, it’s a beautiful dagger, but it’s sheathed and its edge lies dulled.
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”Tell you what… How about you come develop it with me? If it’s a special picture, then you should be there when it becomes everything it’s meant to be.” Not many people would take such an offer from a stranger, Mars knows this. At the same time, not many people would have told a stranger who took a picture of them without their consent to keep it and give them a copy. It was intriguing. He was intriguing.
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Holding the other’s gaze, a hand was outstretched, his smile never fading away. ”I’m Mars, by the way.”


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+ jayden cross | MISSION

[attr="class","pokeclass"]