To the Elysian Fields

Barnaby's Curry Entry

Thread Summary:
Barnaby was preparing to have a quiet night in when, out of the blue, he's alerted to someone at his door. He's expecting a lost drunk just trying to find their way home, but is met instead with the sight of a bloodied Martín del Mar lying on the floor.

He rushes Mars inside and does his best to to help, thinking at first the admin is suffering from some sort of physical wound. It's soon obvious that Mars' struggle is more mental and emotional rather than physical, though.

Barnaby has never seen Mars in this state and it comes as a complete shock to him. For reasons he's not totally sure of, his first instinct is to comfort and reassure. Meanwhile, he's internally struggling to process all that's happening and what this event means in multiple contexts:

• Prophecies from God-like creatures?
• Warnings about ruin and death?
• Their relationship going forward?

While it started on a disastrous note, the night ends with them holding one another in Barnaby's bed and confessing things that would likely have stayed hidden otherwise.


Why is it important?:
I also chose this thread to enter into the curry alongside Azul because of MANY reasons, but the most important being: I. Had. So. Much. Fun. Writing. This.

I was able to explore sides of Barnaby that I've never gotten to before. He's usually confident and charming to a fault, but here we see him in a situation that has him floundering. He's saying and doing things that are both selfless and selfish that he wouldn't normally. It's confusing, but he pushes those thoughts aside as exemplified by this quote:

But why? What compelled him to make such a promise? To act so tenderly? To give comfort so easily?

In truth, Barnaby wasn't sure. The sentiment came from a guarded place deep within him... a vault that had started to form small cracks the second that elevator door slid open.

It was too muddled a thing to worry about in the moment. For now, he was simply speaking on instinct. No reservations, no calculations.

This thread marks the beginning of something distinctly different for Mars' and Barnaby's relationship. Where before they kept their friendship rather surface-level (fun, flirtatious, light), now they've delved into an intimacy wholly unexpected... but strangely not unwanted, at least in the confines of this thread and on this one night.

It'll be interesting to see the repercussions of this thread played out over time. Will they regret opening up so much with one another? Will this cause a rift as they try to protect themselves from vulnerability, or will it bring them closer? Barnaby's interest has definitely piqued in regards to Mars' family and his backstory, but will he ever feel confident/comfortable enough to ask about it? Will Mars ever share this information freely?

I'm excited to explore all this and more because I think these two characters have a simply wonderful chemistry between them! Little breadcrumbs were mentioned throughout the thread that hint at something more possibly developing in the future, so I look forward to seeing what happens between our boys ♡

It was dramatic, it was emotional, it was sweet - just, *chef's kiss*

Azul is an amazing RP partner who puts so much effort and thought into every one of her posts. She was the first person to really inspire me to become more active on Hoenn, and I'm so thankful for that! On a whim she decided to take my first open DW and now look where Mars and Barnaby are today! Mars is a wonderful character, she's a wonderful friend, and I'm really lucky to be able to share this creative space with her.

Thank YOU for the incredible thread, Azul ♡

Peace Lilies

Georgette's curry entry

thread summary: When Elisabeth Fiorelli requested that Georgette accompany her to Kalos to visit the gravesite of her now-deceased parents she could hardly say no. Gigi goes as emotional support, during which she gets a hint of how the local town views Elisa's history, which she has little idea about. [break]
why is it important?: This thread cemented the friendship that sprouted between Elisa and Gigi in their first mission together, Beneath Star-Kissed Wings. In this, we get the first hint of a juxtaposition between the two. In response to learning Elisa has lost her parents already, by the end of the mission Georgette calls her own mother with an undercurrent of urgency - what if she lost that connection? [break][break]
So when Peace Lilies rolls around Georgette is determined to comfort her friend through what is sure to be a trying time. This thread highlights the depth of friendship that has grown between Gigi and Elisa, and is a pivotal thread for future interactions. In some ways it allows Georgette to project her own feelings vicariously through Elisa. Her friend has already lost her parents, while Gigi has not. Will someone be there to comfort her as she has been for Elisa? She hopes so. [break][break]
Scarlet is an old and dear friend, so when she asked me to do this thread I honestly couldn't wait to dust off my angst skills. While she navigated Elisa's emotional trauma, I was able to explore the depths of Georgette's fierce compassion. I had such a wonderful time exploring Georgette through her interactions with Elisabeth!

Airdropped Yakuza

Klaus's curry entry

thread summary: After what seems to be a decent date with Amber Lenoir, Klaus's last date of the date ends up being rudely interrupted by yoshiro shioda. [break]
why is it important?: The thread is short, but it really highlights the depths of Klaus that have only been hinted at before. He's a mess at social interactions, something deep-seated and inate to him that he's allowed to fester. Now, however, he's trying to do better, and branch out. So in this, we see Klaus go from nervous, to surprised, to anxious, to livid. [break][break]
Klaus wrongly assumes that Yoshiro wants his phone to determine some of his smuggling for Rocket, not knowing that instead she wants him to stay as far away from Amber as possible because she's actually in love Amber. We see Klaus go from meek and nervous to a man with a spine, who has definitely seen and participated in things that are less than savoury. Someone who routinely flaunts the law has to have some sort of steel in them, or be some sort of adrenaline junkie, so through this interaction we get the first glimpses of Klaus's suitability to his smuggling operation.

HEMISPHERE

gavin's curry entry

thread summary: A meeting between Gavin and Tempest Quinn's father, wherein Tulio teaches Gavin how to make Temp's favourite dish in preparation for his planned proposal.

why is it important?: I wanted to put the actual engagement thread but it didn't finish in time, so instead this is the precursor to the next step in Gavin and Temp's relationship! It's been really important to the growth of his character, including the final steps of him drawing a line between his loyalty to Rocket and his dedication to his loved ones.

Those loyalties might be called into question if the situation between Lulu Flint and Walsh ever comes to a head, and it's setting up Gavin to side with her in spite of his fears.

It's also just really cute, and I'm bad at summaries.

ECLIPSE

matias' curry entry

thread summary: best friends matias & eris run into each other again, this time in petalburg woods where there are lots of flammable objects!
why is it important?: it's a continuation of their complicated dynamic which has been outlined here.

for matias, it further fuels his hatred towards rocket and all they stand for, as well as furthers his belief that Eris Halla is beyond saving. and it's incredibly amusing that a member of the elite four is beefing with a twelve-year-old rocket.

have fun seeing out of one eye, binch.

DISPLACEMENT

Alexei's curry entry ft Guillermo Marceliño

thread summary: To keep things as short and direct to the point as possible: a ‘distortion’ manifests in the Petalburg Woods and someone here decided to explore it, to get a better understanding of how these things work (so that he’s prepared on how to handle these things should they ever manifest close to Fortree).

However, things don’t exactly go to plan and said someone almost ends up dying again due to what happened within.

why is it important?: (warning, long self-indulgent explanation ahead in the spoiler):

SPOILER: Click to show

For one thing, I finally get to explore the impending doom of Alexei’s mortality more often now—considering his condition which most of Fortree knows as their ‘open secret’ (it’s no surprise the last time he came so close to death he was shanked in an alleyway in the same city that he now calls home) is manifesting more often.

Try as he might to keep this quiet for as long as he can, something’s gotta give, and unfortunately a surprise encounter with Guillermo Marceliño brings that all crashing down (for it is Memo’s Skarmory that sliced him open like a watermelon and made him bleed).

He literally crossed the rubicon there, so to speak, and has come to terms that he really isn’t meant to be long for this world considering that those who have his medical condition have it for their entire lives. It just so happens that Alex is the stubborn kind of guy who only takes things into his own hands when the situation gets really fucking dire (like what happened here).

Also, the chance encounter with Guillermo Marceliño, who he’s been corresponding with, has brought—things—to his attention. Things that are starting to freak him out, because (at the time) he was dealing with being lost in his thoughts all alone and trying to cope with being one half of a missing whole.

(Plus the fact that me and ceej have been screaming about these two in DMs most of the time is just AAAAAAAHHHHH, Alex, what are you getting yourself into!!!)

Ceej is such a blast to write with, here’s to more!!!

lonely hearts club 💔

mint's curry entry

thread summary:

Mint gets fucking sloshed at like early in the afternoon, meets up with Felix Gallagher and he is convinced he had to babysit him. They both end up in a karaoke room and Mint convinces Felix to get fucked up with him, they jam, Mint uses it as an emotional outlet and Felix asks him about it. Mint continues to have exclusively homoerotic friendships.


why is it important?:

This thread it important for Mint because it's Mint accidentally stumbling into a deeper friendship with Felix. Whereas before he only really considered him an acquaintance, or someone to go out to eat with I think how he's more open to talking to Felix about his feelings, and opening up that conversation for Felix as well. It's just nice because Mint is friendly and has a lot of surface level 'friends', but he's only ever had one very intimated friendship and he's still grieving the loss of it, which he's also responsible for.

This thread is important for Felix because according to Cap, its Felix acknowledging that he's actually friends with Mint. He's stuck with Mint now for good or bad lmao.

tl;dr they're fucking friends and its soft to me thank you for coming to my ted talk.

andrina

andres' curry entry

thread summary:

Andres damn near does performance art to woo nina larson and hopefully get her number. He is trying so hard he thinks she's really pretty even if she's a little awkward.


why is it important?:

From what I gathered its Nina's big first OUT THERE event since her accident? It's important for Andres cause doing a speed dating event is a little new to him. He's very used to just shooting his shot and getting rejected before moving onto the next person, and I think a speed date forced him to be a little more gentle in his approach with people he wants to hook up with as well as patient. LMAO.

tl;dr andres trynna bang and nina is super cute

paxton refuses to get shipped with calem

paxton's curry entry

thread summary: paxton and calem eye hate fuck in public, and calem kisses pax in the process.


why is it important?:

i dont want to write 40 paragraphs on them even tho i could cause its funny. pax and calem were each other's 'the one that got away' ( derogatory ) during the kanto civil war. both thought they landed a death blow on each other and both have scars the other one inflicted. paxton hates calem so much he literally will hunt him down and kill him he has the guns and the bullets and the lack of will to live.

calem just thinks its hilarious and might? fuck him? its a toss up and hilarious to only me.

none of this is exaggerated i s2g they are that dramatic

kenniel

kenny's curry entry

thread summary: kenny goes on a speed date and its one of the better ones she had to deal with. actually gets a score for her company, although she is awkward about it. #the grind never stops

why is it important?:

Kenny is a deeply awkward and silent character. She's very much used to being independent and is completely comfortable being alone. Even in a business setting she's still a little cold and awkward, but she's doing her best and getting over her fear of crows and the outside. She's set in her new life and she's even a little proud of her interaction with Remiel Calcifet . This is just a personal win.

Lonely Hearts CLub

Felix's curry entry

thread summary: Mint, heartbroken and weeping, dragged along the normally stoic Felix for some drunken karaoke fun! While the night started out lighthearted, it eventually took a somber turn as Mint decides to open up and Felix struggles with figuring out how to respond.

 why is it important?: In most of my threads, Felix is, for the most part, a silent, to-the-point kinda of man. He doesn't fiddle with emotions, or really grow many attachments to others, as it's generally been years since he's had the space and time to grow genuine connections. However, during this thread, Felix is bluntly confronted with the desire to actually reach out and break out of that old reclusive habit of his. Its hard-- as he doesn't understand what to exactly do-- but he manages in his own awkward way. And, at the end, he ends up with something he hasn't had in years: an actual, genuine friend. 

Monkey Business

beau's curry entry

thread summary: Beau Fontaine and Georgette Bluebottle leave their Thwackey and Deerling, respectively, to socialize at the daycare while they take care of important Trainer-ly things. Their pokémon do not appreciate this and devise an ill-conceived jailbreak.[break][break]why is it important?: While this was not necessarily the most conducive to Beau's growth as a character, owing to him not being involved per the nature of the thread, this was enormously fun to play with exclusively from the perspective of one of Beau's pokémon. Gigi is truly delightful to write with, and I think we both enjoyed going off the rails a little to play around from the perspective of the pokémon themselves, different means of communication, et cetera. Just really a different conceit from any of the other threads I've participated in up to this point that I'd honestly like to see more of!

SILPH X CHENE

Luka's curry entry

thread summary: The Roasting of Luka Chêne

why is it important?: After being hyped up by being casually commissioned by kyle lopez to arrange a league sponsored event, and getting some inspiration from her friend Lux Defort, Luka approaches FERNANDO SILPH with an idea for a cutesy event to help some Pokemon and hopefully aid in the recruitment of new rangers. He completely tears apart her plan and ruins her day.

Luka is good hearted, kind and optimistic, and I think these are all good qualities in her. But she still remains very naive and so far, no one has really challenged her worldview. Even though she's faced a few dangers in Hoenn she has yet to fully grasp the scope of the danger that the region is in, and doesn't realize just how badly the League is struggling in the face of it all. She wants to help, but everything she's done has been at a very surface level: fluffy feel good events and PR that might help increase the League's popularity, but doesn't affect any real change.

Fernando completely dresses her down in a very cold and analytical way, while remaining polite all the while. It makes his arguments impossible to dismiss on the surface level of 'well, he's just being a jerk'. Instead Luka's forced to confront the issues with her plan and simplistic way of viewing the world. Personally I enjoy it when my characters are confronted like this— I like bullying them, basically. And Luka definitely needs a kick in the butt if she's going to actually impart some change in the League and help to combat Rocket in any significant way.

The conversation has sparked a lot of doubt in herself, her abilities, and the goals and techniques of the league as a whole. I hope to explore and expand upon this in further threads, especially now that my schedule has cleared up! Thank you Spiral for bullying my gal for me and I hope this can lead to some exciting developments down the line!