MARCH UPDATE

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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4,402 posts

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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Jul 29, 2022 19:44:15 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]This was a silly idea. There were plenty of other people who he was closer to that could've hesrd his problem out. Hell, he already confided in some of them. But, nonetheless, the visions persisted. Sleep was hard to come by. Days stretched on longer than he should. He still found himself getting jumpy around shadows. It was supposed to get better by now, right? Why wasn't it?[break][break]

Maybe it was best to go to the only other person he knew that had seen a ghost.[break][break]

Isaac's relationship with Ruby was an interesting one. They were hardly the other's favorite person to spend time with. They were infinitely different in so many ways, big and small. They were alike in so many others, too. But that would require them to actually talk for more than five minutes to find out. Still, they survived an impossible adventure together. That was something, at least.[break][break]

Besides. Isaac wasn't going in entireky uninformed here. When Pagliacci mentioned the concept of Pokemon-induced therapy after their little gas leak problem, Ruby had shut the subject down. Hard. At first, Isaac figured she was just wigged out by his Hypno. After all, who didn't get the creeps from those things? But it was more of a lead than anyone else he could think of, so. Fuck it. It was worth a try.[break][break]

He approached her dorm, sighed deeply, and gave its iron door a little knock. "Hey. You there?"

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ruby Garcia

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

October 18

Pyrite Town, Orre

bisexual

"Freelancer" (Rocket)

Elite

102 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

460 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @rubygarcia

POSTED ON Jul 30, 2022 20:01:01 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ruby"]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby didn't like staying in the sub, not when she had a perfectly good apartment in Mossdeep with her sister. But sometimes, she didn't have a choice, like when she had a string of missions lined up that made going home between them impractical. So here she was, lying in her bed in her tiny little dorm room, talking quietly on her cell phone so no one else would hear.

[break][break]"It's gonna be a few days," she said. "You got enough food?"

[break][break]"Don't worry, I have plenty," Jade said on the other end. "I'll make sure the doors are locked, too."

[break][break]"Attagirl." Ruby grinned. "I'll try to get back as quick as I can. Want me to pick you anything up?"

[break][break]"Mm... I'll think about it. Maybe—"

[break][break]A knock on the door rudely cut in. "Hold on," Ruby said into the phone. She opened her mouth to yell at whichever fuck was interrupting her, but then a familiar voice sounded from the other side. Normally, Isaac would have been free real estate for unleashing her verbal wrath on, but something about him sounded... wrong. Ruby scrunched her eyebrows. "Gotta go; I'll text you," she muttered into the phone before quickly hanging up. She hated doing that to her sister, but she didn't have a choice if she wanted to keep her family life and her Rocket life completely separate.

[break][break]She got out of bed and cracked open the door. "What do you want?" she asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

[attr="class","rubytag"]Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","rubypokes"]
♀ water bubble / liquidation, infestation, leech life, crunch, lunge, mirror coat

♂ flash fire / beat up, foul play, flamethrower, smog, taunt, roar

♂ battle armor / toxic spikes, toxic, venoshock, x-scissor, fell stinger, crunch

♀ technician / swords dance, fury cutter, wing attack, quick attack, double team, double hit

♀ sand veil / sandstorm, dragon claw, dragon rush, dragon breath, bulldoze, crunch

♀ blaze / thrash, scratch, lick, leer, fire fang, --

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Jul 31, 2022 6:31:54 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Ruby spoke to him through a crack in the door like this was some kind of shady drug deal. Maybe, if Isaac was the type to medicate that way, it could've been. But Isaac was glad he wasn't. That just sounded like picking a different path towards killing himself, and where would he be if he let that happen?[break][break]

Ugh. He was already having a bad enough day without his mind wandering that route. "Clearly, I just wanted to see that winning smile and sunny disposition," Isaac said. The barb didn't have his usual joyful bite to it. Being fresh off of the usual battery of nightmares tended to do that to Isaac. He could pull himself together through the day, but as the sun set, so too did his enthusiasm. Not even playing another game of Tease Ruby could work it back onto his face.[break][break]

Maybe that was why Isaac was quick to switch from pleasure to business. "Jokes aside, I was thinking about that one night. You know. The complete and utter fucking mess in the sub's lab quarters?" Isaac said. "Hell of a time, am I right? The fact that we were totally convinced we were staring down the other side and all that. God. What the fuck was that?"[break][break]

Ugh. No, no, no. He was stalling here. He gnawed a little on the inside of his cheek, giving himself a jolt of pain to force himself to focus. "You remember that thing Pagliacci was rambling on about after that whole mess?" Isaac asked. "Getting help from Pokemon? You wouldn't happen to know anything about that kinda stuff, would you? Cause I totally blanked out during that lecture."

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]281 WORDS / Ruby Garcia

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

October 18

Pyrite Town, Orre

bisexual

"Freelancer" (Rocket)

Elite

102 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

460 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @rubygarcia

POSTED ON Aug 1, 2022 19:41:31 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ruby"]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby blinked a few times when she'd gotten a better look at Isaac's intruding face. To be blunt, he looked like shit, like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in years. And he didn't sound much better, either, his opening quip lacking any kind of bite. She stood up straighter and opened the door further to hear him out.

[break][break]And she immediately regretted it when he started going on about that night in the lab. Her usual frown twisted into a grimace as the memories of that (possibly literally) hell clawed their way into her head. "What about it?" she snapped, though her tone was mostly for the sake of shaking off those ugly thoughts.

[break][break]And then Isaac went in a direction that threw Ruby for a couple of loops, and she couldn't hide the brief widening of her eyes. Pagliacci had offered to have his creepy-ass Hypno put them to sleep and Dream Eater that "nightmare" away, but Ruby had shut him the hell down and refused to talk further about it. And now here was Isaac, bringing it back up. Bringing back something that Ruby hated knowing so much about.

[break][break]"Why are you asking me and not that clown?" she asked, eyes narrowed again.

[attr="class","rubytag"]Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","rubypokes"]
♀ water bubble / liquidation, infestation, leech life, crunch, lunge, mirror coat

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Aug 1, 2022 20:02:55 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Jackpot. Ruby responded more to the idea of therapy Pokemon than she did to Dr. Pagliacci and his general air of Coach Z-esque discomfort. He was following the right trail here after all. He couldn't help but smile through his pain. Even when he was feeling like shit, he could still play the game with the best of them.[break][break]

"I make it a policy to never be within 500 feet of the doc if I can help it," Isaac said. Most did. Proper infirmary procedure tended to involve making sure anyone but Pagliacci was in before popping in for a visit. Otherwise, you were stuck hearing all of his weird rambles.[break][break]

That explained why not Pagliacci. But why Ruby? "I figured with how strongly you react to hearing about the concept, you'd know more about it than I would," Isaac admitted. "Like, every time someone says the words 'therapy' and 'Pokemon' in the same sentence, you kinda raise your hackles a little. That's not something someone with no opinions on the whole thing would do, right?"[break][break]

He still didn't know why Ruby had such strong negative associations to the phrase. It seemed like such a good idea on paper, too. So why did she always look like she wanted to kill whoever spoke about it? More than she already looked like that?[break][break)

"So, what's the deal, then? Is there something wrong with it, or?" He elected to let Ruby bring her own ors to the table here.

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ruby Garcia

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

October 18

Pyrite Town, Orre

bisexual

"Freelancer" (Rocket)

Elite

102 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

460 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @rubygarcia

POSTED ON Aug 2, 2022 17:19:56 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ruby"]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby frowned thoughtfully at Isaac's reasoning. "Yeah, okay, fair." She didn't make a habit of hanging around the scientists as it was, but with Pagliacci, that was especially true. Not only did he never shut up, but something about him was... unnerving. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she also didn't understand what the hell he was talking about half the time, so she was content to file him away as an enigma she never wanted to deal with.

[break][break]The way Isaac smiled bothered Ruby more right now, though. It was obvious that he was trying to be his usual snarky self, but it just didn't work with the whole "hasn't slept in days" look he was pulling right now. It looked wrong, and Ruby found herself hating it more than his usual look.

[break][break]Right on cue, her grip on the door handle tightened when Isaac brought up her reaction to therapy Pokémon. But this time, the "I'm going to kill you" expression didn't come. She was definitely tense, but after a few moments, she couldn't meet Isaac's eyes anymore. Did she even look sad for a moment?

[break][break]Dammit. She couldn't bring herself to lie about this. The easiest way to get rid of Isaac would have been to say they're crap and then slam the door in his face, but she just couldn't do it. Not when she'd seen firsthand how much they actually did help. And not when Isaac looked so pathetic. It'd be punching downward, and that just felt gross.

[break][break]A frustrated sigh escaped her. "I'm not talking about this out in the hallway." She opened her door fully, a silent invitation into her room.

[attr="class","rubytag"]Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","rubypokes"]
♀ water bubble / liquidation, infestation, leech life, crunch, lunge, mirror coat

close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Aug 2, 2022 17:36:00 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Something in Ruby's eyes was indescribable. There were equal parts sadness, disgust, and some strange, far-off nostalgia etched into her features. She wasn't oitying him, was she? There was nothing Isaac hated more than being pitied. He could take care of himself, damnit (except when he couldn't but like hell he'd ever show weakness.) And it wasn't like he deseved anyone's pity in the first place.[break][break]

No. If there was pity, it was far from the only thing at play here. The absence of her usual reactions, the secrecy in her words, the pain in the facets,of her eyes. These were reactions that could only come from one's inner heart, no matter how empathetic you were. It wasn't just disdain she had for Pagliacci behind this. That much couldn't be clearer.[break][break]

He nodded, a silent acceptance of a silent invite, and stepped into Ruby's room. Part of him wanted to take a look around. One's room was a reflection of one's soul, after all. He had always wondered what the Ruby beneath Ruby was like. However, there was solidarity among the scarred and the vulnerable. His curiosity would need to wait for better days. The fact that he was even being invited in was sifnificant enough.[break][break]

He dared not sit uninvited. Instead, he leaned against a wall some, not realizing how tired he was until his body settled a touch more closely to it than he had intended. "When you're ready, I'm listening," he offered, not wanting to push Ruby with question after question. This was her burden to bear, not his to worsen.

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ruby Garcia

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

October 18

Pyrite Town, Orre

bisexual

"Freelancer" (Rocket)

Elite

102 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

460 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @rubygarcia

POSTED ON Aug 4, 2022 19:49:12 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ruby"]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

There wasn't much to look at in Ruby's room. Calling it "sparsely decorated" was being generous when it seemed to be little more than the generic furniture that every dorm seemed to have: a bed, a dresser, a desk and chair, and not much else. Ruby hadn't bothered with decorating. Why should she? This wasn't home, just a place to put her feet up when she was stuck in Sootopolis. All she needed here were some clothes and a bit of entertainment to keep her from going stir-crazy.

[break][break]She closed the door behind Isaac and sat on the edge of her bed, the covers still wrinkled from when she'd been lying on them a moment ago. "You can sit down," she said when she saw Isaac all but melt into one of the walls. "Chair's not gonna bite your ass or anything." If he chose to take the seat, he might notice the rather large book on the desk. It seemed to be some kind of mythology anthology.

[break][break]"You act like I'm gonna spill my life story or something. Why are you asking about this, anyway? You having nightmares?" The question wasn't accusatory or coddling, nor was she making fun of him for it. It was just putting two and two together, something that even Ruby was smart enough to do. Isaac had specifically mentioned Pagliacci, which made Ruby think of his Hypno and its Dream Eater therapy, and with Isaac looking in desperate need of some sleep, it wasn't hard to figure out.

[attr="class","rubytag"]Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","rubypokes"]
♀ water bubble / liquidation, infestation, leech life, crunch, lunge, mirror coat

close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Aug 4, 2022 20:08:14 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Think I need that," Isaac admitted. He peeled himself off of the wall before they could form a symbiotic relationship, instead easing his way into Ruby's chair. Damn, that was a big book on her desk. She didn't seem like the thick book typem. But she also didn't seem like the therapy Pokemon type, so if his hunch was right there were a lot of hidden depths behind that scowl.[break][break]

Maybe he'd ask more later. He couldn't keep dodging this.[break][break]

Isaac wanted to protest Ruby's word choice. He didn't want to feel like some scared kid running to his mom's room because he saw something spoopy in his sleep. But they really were nightmares of a sort, weren't they? And talking about it with Cygne had done a lot to help him. Maybe trying to bury it was part of the problem here. He wasn't nearly close enough to Ruby to go into the whole story, but . . .[break][break]

"Yeah," Isaac conceded, his voice fragile and a little hollow as he dropped the blustery act. "A mission took a bad turn and I saw something. Something I shouldn't have. Something nobody should have to see. And I've been trying to work around it since, but . . . no matter how much progress I make during the day, the night's all on my dreams. And they're sure as shit not pulling their weight here." Stupid traitors. Why couldn't his subconscious, traumatized mind be a team player?[break][break]

"You ever bump into amything like that? Or are you okay so far?"

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ruby Garcia

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

October 18

Pyrite Town, Orre

bisexual

"Freelancer" (Rocket)

Elite

102 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

460 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @rubygarcia

POSTED ON Aug 10, 2022 18:45:16 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ruby"]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

If this were any other situation, Ruby would have gotten snarky about how Isaac's eyes lingered on the book. Hell, she could already feel the words brewing in her head: "What? Didn't think someone like me bothered to read?" or something along those lines. But even she knew this wasn't the time for that. It'd probably come up sooner or later, and she could save that pent-up snark for then. For now, she crossed her arms (a subconscious defensive position, not that she realized that) and listened.

[break][break]A mission gone wrong. Isaac seeing something that nobody should ever have to see Ruby could probably take a few guesses at what that was, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Isaac was apparently making progress on working through it, but his dreams were being uncooperative assholes. That explained his questions about Pagliacci and his Hypno.

[break][break]Ruby was broken from her thoughts by Isaac's question to her. "Wha—This is about you, not me!" she said, clearly caught off guard. Oh, she'd seen some shit, all right, but that wasn't what she was here to talk about.

[break][break]"Anyway," she continued, eager to get off that subject, "you're looking for something to help with those dreams, right? Dream Eater's obvious, but you can't just get any Pokémon to use it. You've gotta make sure they're trained the right way so they won't hurt you or eat the dreams you actually wanna have." She thought for a moment. "Hypno's okay for that, but I think it likes good dreams more, so it's harder to train. What was the other big one...?" Another pause for thought, and then she snapped her fingers. "Musharna, right. It's not as picky, but you've gotta be careful of its mist if you don't wanna see your own nightmares again."

[break][break]She looked right at Isaac to make sure he was still listening. "You gettin' all this?"

[attr="class","rubytag"]Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","rubypokes"]
♀ water bubble / liquidation, infestation, leech life, crunch, lunge, mirror coat

close tab

played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

awards

4,402 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @isaacmerlo

POSTED ON Aug 10, 2022 19:07:45 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac listened, diligently focusing on Ruby's little lecture. So the two most "natural" Dream Eaters were Hypno and Musharna. One preferred savoring good dreams and honestly gave Isaac the creeps. The other was a more neutral and easily trained Pokemon, but its vapor risked causing flashbacks. Interesting divide. Also, if the training went bad, this could literally get painful. Not surprising, when it was the psychic equivalent of medical leech life practices.[break][break]

"So make sure they're well trained, don't do anything reckless that could get me hurt, and don't let them tur my sleep into a cold, unfeeling void. Got it," Isaac said. Sure, the cold, unfeeling void sounded kinda nice right about now. But even people who claimed not to dream still probably had something hidden in their subconscious, right? The idea of finding out what you saw in true, honest-to-Arceus nothingness sent a shiver down Isaac's spine.[break][break]

With its pendulum and focus on trances, Isaac figured Hypno would be better at commands. Not really Isaac's thing, honestly. But Musharna and its mist? That actually sounded fascinating. "Do you see, literally, what your dreams would've been? Or is it more like a big old cloud of vibe floating around? Does anything happen if you end up breathing it in by accident?" Isaac asked. "And do you know if it works both ways? Sure, they can eat dreams. But can they leave good ones behind instead? Or is that all on me?"[break][break]

So many questions, such little time. But already, the light behind Isaac's eyes seemed to be coming back on. Having something tangible to hold onto and distract him from his pain seemed to be doing wonders.

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]MOBILE POST / Ruby Garcia

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

close tab

played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

October 18

Pyrite Town, Orre

bisexual

"Freelancer" (Rocket)

Elite

102 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

460 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @rubygarcia

POSTED ON Aug 11, 2022 22:32:36 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ruby"]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

"Pretty much," Ruby said after Isaac had summarized her points. "Dunno about the cold, unfeeling void bit, but as long as the Pokémon's well-trained, you should be fine." Ruby had had plenty of nights where she hadn't dreamed, but it was more likely that she just hadn't remembered her dreams; apparently, actually not dreaming was pretty rare. And that obviously wasn't the case with Isaac here.

[break][break]His next few questions had Ruby shrugging her shoulders. "Beats me. I've never used a Musharna before. That's something you'll have to find out yourself. I remember something about not going near it when its mist is dark 'cause you'll start seeing shit, so maybe it's a vibe thing? I dunno, it's something to do with self-defense." She continued: "It should be able to tell the good dreams from the bad ones and only eat what you tell it to, but I guess you can have it show you the good dreams with its mist if it doesn't."

[break][break]Ah, there was some of that familiar light returning to Isaac's eyes. As annoying as he could be sometimes, Ruby preferred that over seeing him look like the walking dead.

[break][break]"Pretty much any Pokémon that can use Dream Eater should work if it's trained well enough. Hypno and Musharna are just the most natural ones, I guess." She thought for a moment. "You planning on catching them yourself or getting them from somewhere? There are training and breeding facilities for service and therapy Pokémon."

[attr="class","rubytag"]Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","rubypokes"]
♀ water bubble / liquidation, infestation, leech life, crunch, lunge, mirror coat

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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POSTED ON Aug 12, 2022 4:04:20 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","skullhover"]

[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skulloverlap"]BUT HOLD YOUR BREATH, GUESS WHO'S RUNNING THE SHOW?

[attr="class","skullbody"]Interesting. Pale mist good, dusky mist bad. Seeing the literal stuff of nightmares sounded like an awful idea, so Isaac made sure not to get that twisted. On the other hand, apparently he could see good dreams when the Musharna was in agreeable state. It was a heavy risk, but, man, the potential. Sure, he'd basically be getting leftovers, but it was still so, so much better than nothing.

"I pride myself on treating my Pokemon well," Isaac said. "And it sounds like, if the results are as good as you say, I might owe them my life. So we're not gonna have to worry about self defense." Honestly, the idea of being cruel to a Pokemon didn't just upset Isaac on a personal level. It also felt like a disaster waiting to happen on a practical level. Why would you want a Pokemon that had access to the inner workings of your mind to hate you?[break][break]

It sounded like there were other options, too. Hell, Isaac didn't even have to find his own. Apparently there were actually centers for this kind of thing! "Shit, really?" Isaac said. "That could actually make this way easier. Though, uh. On second thought, maybe that could end up a whole mess, too. There's probably a lot of screening for this kind of thing, and I'm not sure 'ended up face to face with a dying man' is the kind of thing they'd accept without a fuckton of questions."[break][break]

A pause, then realization.[break][break]

He needed an exit. Something, anything. "You really seem to know a lot about this kinda stuff, huh?" Isaac said. "Did you need to use one in the past? Or is it just personal interest?"

[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","skullinfo"]284 WORDS / Ruby Garcia

[attr="class","skullcredits"]TAIKO!

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played by

Alicia Jewel

she/her

October 18

Pyrite Town, Orre

bisexual

"Freelancer" (Rocket)

Elite

102 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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POSTED ON Aug 15, 2022 21:02:49 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","ruby"]

[attr="class","rubyw"]

Ruby's face perked up a bit in curious interest while still maintaining its usual neutral frown when Isaac mentioned taking pride in treating his Pokémon well. That was always a gamble with her fellow Rockets, how they felt about and treated their Pokémon partners. Ruby always tried to keep her tough appearance up, but she still tried to treat her Pokémon well. For one, it was practical. A trainer and Pokémon who were in sync tended to perform better, and she didn't have to worry about a disgruntled Pokémon lashing out at her with a devastating Flamethrower or Earthquake or something. But more than that, no matter how much she entrenched herself in the criminal underworld, she didn't think she'd ever be able to let go of how she saw the bonds between people and Pokémon. Not after how she'd seen them change lives.

[break][break]He seemed excited about the idea of visiting a specialized facility until he mentioned the potential screening and, inadvertently, just why he was asking about service Pokémon. The corners of Ruby's mouth twitched down further for a moment. So that's what this was all about. Ruby was pretty used to seeing some fuck-up shit out there, given her upbringing, but it seemed that wasn't the case for Isaac. No wonder he was having nightmares.

[break][break]Ruby didn't plan to pry, but Isaac clearly didn't have the same boundaries about Ruby's own past. "Just... something I used to be interested in, I guess," she said, her voice sinking under her regret. She tried to sound more casual as she continued, even adding a shrug of her shoulders, but that ache still sat in her heart. "So a facility's out. That just leaves finding an egg or capturing a wild one, unless you wanna steal one. Don't think that'd make it a very good partner, though."

[attr="class","rubytag"]Isaac Merlo

[attr="class","rubypokes"]
♀ water bubble / liquidation, infestation, leech life, crunch, lunge, mirror coat

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

Short King height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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4,402 posts

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TAG WITH @isaacmerlo