The Cost Of Freedom

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park

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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
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3,860 posts
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TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 6, 2023 20:57:30 GMT
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And thereupon, was the snag he was hoping she’d avoid bringing up.

“Okay, see,” he began as he let out a whistle through pursed lips.

“I can get in touch with one of them easy,” he continued as his thoughts wandered to . “He’s the easier of the others that I can talk to. The other, though…?”

He had to bite back a cringe as he remembered that had ascended to the position as well.

“I’m going to need some help talking with them, see, because of ah… because of something that happened.”

Not everything was alright in paradise, apparently.


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Senpai

Eli
She/Her
24
May 10
Rustboro City
Bisexual
Ranger
Verdanturf Ranger Captain
Single and Ready to Mingle
Available
170 CM height
170 CM height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
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1,636 posts
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Elinor Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 13, 2023 9:40:30 GMT
Elinor Anderson Avatar

Lars's words did not spark confidence. It sounded like this entire plan of his hadn't even been suggested to the others.

Elinor released a small tired sigh as this began to sound more like a coup than an above board separation.

"Sure, I can talk with them. But for this plan of yours to have any chance of working all three of you need to be in agreement about it."

Anything less would make it a futile endeavor.

"So, what is this thing that happened between you two?" She wanted to know just in case it might be a landmine for whatever conversation she was about to have.


TAG:
LOCATION: Upper district - Slateport General Hospital
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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 13, 2023 14:41:26 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


“I’ll be getting to that,” he cackled as he furtively looked around and made sure there were no cameras around—before pulling out two cans of sparkling spiked soda from his inner jacket pocket.

“Are you allowed this?” he showed her one of the cans. It was one of those nice, fancy-ass Johtonian flavored drinks—none of that Charja-Cola or Zapsi stuff; this was the real thing from somewhere in the region that had a strong lemon flavor.

“Okay, so see—here’s the thing.”

He then wondered if it would be better to give her the entire tale or the cliff notes version.

“You want the whole story or the cliff notes, annotated version?” he confirmed with her. “Because this is going to get fucking long.”


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Senpai

Eli
She/Her
24
May 10
Rustboro City
Bisexual
Ranger
Verdanturf Ranger Captain
Single and Ready to Mingle
Available
170 CM height
170 CM height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
1,636 posts
part of
TAG WITH @elinor
Elinor Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 13, 2023 15:03:29 GMT
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At least Lars seemed willing to share. But first a gift to go with the food.

The cheeky question brought the semblance of a smile to her lips. “They’ve not explicitly said I couldn’t…” And with that she reached out for one of the cans. Grabbing it gently and opening it the moment Lars relented the beverage to her. With a small sip she tasted the strong lemon flavor.

And while she was coming to terms with the drink, Lars would offer her two choices. The details or the abridged version. There was only one answer to that question.

“Give me the whole story, all the details.”


TAG:
LOCATION: Upper district - Slateport General Hospital

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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 13, 2023 15:59:20 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


Good.

He was more than certain hospital food was bland and tasteless, so having some flavor in the diet was always a welcome change. That and the pizza hopefully made up for all the soggy hospital food she’d been subjected to!

“Okay, so.”

He then popped his can open with just one hand, and took a preliminary sip.

“You’re familiar with the Desert ruins just outside Mauville, right? Word came up that there was something down there. A small team was sent to investigate—I distinctly recall there were several locations—and all of them were somehow connected. The underground part of the Desert Ruins being one of those places.”

He then took another sip before picking up the pace.

“So it was me, , , , and who went down there. The two lovebirds obviously going for the treasure. Kath was there for… something else.”

Oh, shit. He then cringed as he remembered what happened next.

“There was a fucking trap right from the start and we all fell down, and what made this worse? We all got separated from each other—I ended up with Razz, who at the time I had no idea was already being ‘courted’ by to work for him.”


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Senpai

Eli
She/Her
24
May 10
Rustboro City
Bisexual
Ranger
Verdanturf Ranger Captain
Single and Ready to Mingle
Available
170 CM height
170 CM height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
1,636 posts
part of
TAG WITH @elinor
Elinor Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 13, 2023 16:10:05 GMT
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Elinor nodded, she was familiar with the Desert Ruins, though she lacked hands-on experience.

And as Lars began to tell his tale. She continued to eat, making sure to eat the crust and all while easing it all down with some of that beverage.

First there was the usual introduction, setting the stage and all that. Elinor listened as well as she could. But her focus intensified as Lars reached the point of separation.

“Right, he did work for him…” She muttered.

She had a bad feeling about this.

TAG:
LOCATION: Upper district - Slateport General Hospital

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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 14, 2023 18:10:23 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


“Alright, so.”

He took another sip of the can in his hand.

“The lovebirds went off somewhere, I have no idea where Kat went either; and it was just me and him going in blind through the ruins. No map, no nada, no nothing—and I remember, very faintly, that there was a room obscured in pink light.”

He didn’t know, at the time, of the insanity that would be happening when they touched the light.

“As it so happened we got caught in a… a trap. This happened. I think after we tried to enter the room with the ominous pink glow.”

Oh, boy.

This was where things were going to get a little complicated.


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played by

Senpai

Eli
She/Her
24
May 10
Rustboro City
Bisexual
Ranger
Verdanturf Ranger Captain
Single and Ready to Mingle
Available
170 CM height
170 CM height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
1,636 posts
part of
TAG WITH @elinor
Elinor Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 16, 2023 6:55:43 GMT
Elinor Anderson Avatar


Elinor sat in silence, or at least as much silence as the motion of chewing on pizza and drinking the beverage would afford her as Lars regaled the tale.

Pink light? Traps? Almost sounds like a weird game show.

She kept quiet as she looked expectantly toward Lars. She was clearly not going to interrupt his little tale.

TAG:
LOCATION: Upper district - Slateport General Hospital
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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Aug 21, 2023 3:17:45 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


He couldn’t suppress the shudder that raced through him as he thought back of that moment.

“Shit. This entire room where me and were just… came crashing down on us and… we both got stuck in an extremely dire situation.”

If she would notice, his gaze would become empty, distant as he was hyperfocusing on some point beyond the can he was holding.

“…I thought we were both going to die, the way I was trapped under those rocks.”

(Don’t get him started on the Gallade, either. That was one hell of a fucking trauma in and on itself, too.)

There was something he hadn’t exactly mentioned yet; he wondered if she would pick up on that.


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played by

Senpai

Eli
She/Her
24
May 10
Rustboro City
Bisexual
Ranger
Verdanturf Ranger Captain
Single and Ready to Mingle
Available
170 CM height
170 CM height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
1,636 posts
part of
TAG WITH @elinor
Elinor Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Sept 3, 2023 6:21:44 GMT
Elinor Anderson Avatar


If Lars were trying to suppress the shudders, then he failed. Elinor certainly noticed them, but made no comment on it. For now she was listening to a tale well told.

Worried surprise began to cover her face as it so often does when one worries about the protagonist in some story.

“Must’ve been awful.” While she had never been caught beneath the rubble of anything, the crushing sensation of captivity was something she could relate to all too well.

“How did you get out of that?” Elinor asked, though she immediately went for the assumption that he had brought a Pokemon capable of Teleportation or in some other way move said rocks.

TAG:
LOCATION: Upper district - Slateport General Hospital
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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Sept 10, 2023 18:40:41 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


And there it was, again, the landmine he didn’t want to touch. It was…

He felt his throat go dry like sandpaper the moment she asked how the hell he was able to get out of there. He took a deep breath, bracing himself as he gathered his thoughts. He couldn’t lie in front of family, after all.

“Y-you see,” he began quietly after a potentially awkward bubble of silence passed between them.

“Me and… me and one of his Pokémon… his Gallade… got trapped under the falling r-rock. I. I thought I was g-going to die… well… you see me here, right now.”

The rest needed no further explanation.


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played by

Senpai

Eli
She/Her
24
May 10
Rustboro City
Bisexual
Ranger
Verdanturf Ranger Captain
Single and Ready to Mingle
Available
170 CM height
170 CM height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
1,636 posts
part of
TAG WITH @elinor
Elinor Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Sept 10, 2023 19:14:04 GMT
Elinor Anderson Avatar


The Bubble of silence was awkward, but telling.

“I do see your hear.” Elinor acknowledged. She also saw what he didn’t say.

“I presume his Gallade wasn’t as fortuitous?” Was this the crux of it?

TAG:
LOCATION: Upper district - Slateport General Hospital

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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Sept 10, 2023 19:42:10 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


“…pretty much,” he breathed out as his gaze stared off into the distance, before a visible shudder coursed through him as he forced his panic that had almost burst out back down.

No, no, no, no.

“But then… things happened during the expedition and he kind of took it against me.”

He sighed.

Ugh, people really did drift apart after all…


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played by

Senpai

Eli
She/Her
24
May 10
Rustboro City
Bisexual
Ranger
Verdanturf Ranger Captain
Single and Ready to Mingle
Available
170 CM height
170 CM height
i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.
awards
1,636 posts
part of
TAG WITH @elinor
Elinor Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Sept 22, 2023 11:53:26 GMT
Elinor Anderson Avatar


Now THAT was unfortunate, and honestly she hadn’t thought Razz would be the kind of person to hold a grudge. But, she supposed that just went to show how much she knew him.

“So there is more than just the unfortunate loss of a Gallade?”

She hoped the answer wasn’t yes. One Pokemon death was handleable, but more than that and it might be a bit tricky.


TAG:
LOCATION: Upper district - Slateport General Hospital
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played by

Ven

Lars
he / him / his
thirty-three
july 26
alto mare, johto
don’t know, don’t care
ranger & courier
ex-head ranger
tonight
is gonna be the loneliest
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
6’2 hair down, 6’4 hair up height
nessuno vince.
awards
3,860 posts
part of
TAG WITH @lars
Laurence Anderson
The Cost Of Freedom
POSTED ON Sept 23, 2023 19:45:37 GMT
Laurence Anderson Avatar


It was prickly, but the ugly truth was there.

“You… could say that, yes.”

He sighed.

He wondered how and where was, because out of everyone who was present down at the ruins that time, the two of them had a suspicion—no, an inkling that turned out to be correct in the long run—that there was something down there.

And how someone had taken everything in an entirely misconstrued manner.

“…Razz thought I was going to attack a ‘civilian’. But see, the thing is… this ‘civilian’? Is also a fucking avatar like me, just… hidden.”

He then felt something cold settle in his stomach.

As to the avatar of what, would he reveal it? Maybe.


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