MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON Jul 5, 2023 15:04:42 GMT

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[attr="class","gunner2"]

[attr="class","text"]

A light breeze ruffled Gunner's hair as he walked down the pier toward the two ships owned by skyler dross. His Umbreon, Laudine, trotted at his side.[break][break]

After the battle at the Ancient Tomb, the special agent had been surprised to receive an email from the ship captain. Prior to that day, they had only exchanged correspondence related to work. This time, however, they'd agreed to meet to talk about what had happened.[break][break]

Gunner and Skyler already had something of a friendship before the battle. But afterward, he felt an unexplainable sense of familiarity toward her. Though he hadn't mentioned it in his emails, he did hope that their conversation could shed some light on that feeling.[break][break]

"Skyler?" the man called out from the docks. Standing in the shadow of her warship, Sotally Tober, he craned his neck to look up at the deck. "It's me."

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]skyler dross

[break]

NOTES

⬥ Mission: Post Goodbye Galar

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Umbreon ♀ (Laudine) | Synchronize | Dark Pulse, Double Kick, Iron Tail, Moonlight, Psychic, Springtide Storm, Swift | Fairy Tera

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POSTED ON Jul 5, 2023 16:56:25 GMT

[attr="class","skyler"]

More often than not, visitors (and the occasional mailman) were left confused at the foot of Skyler's behemoth of a ship, wondering just how to announce their presence. The captain, perhaps on purpose, did not make it easy.

Two fluffy ears pop up from the other side of the ship's railing, revealing a scarred, though-looking Lopunny. Its one pink eye (the other's hidden under an eye-patch) regards Gunner Graves sternly before moving away.

The special agent doesn't need to wait long; there's a suspicious thump, and then a wild, unruly mass of curls greets him.

"Gunner!"

She had clearly been doing some sort of ship maintenance; sweat pools in the hollow of her throat, and when she wipes her forehead a dark smear is left behind.

She grins. "Come on in, it's too hot to be standing outside like that."

The invitation feels familiar in her mouth, like it'd been said countless times before even though she's pretty sure Gunner had never actually stood on Sotally Tober.

The dissonance has her blinking, and her grin falters for a heartbeat. Blink, and you'd miss it.

"Come on, I pilfered some of Angelo's homemade snacks just for the occasion- or would you like to go out?"

Gunner Graves

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POSTED ON Jul 5, 2023 17:51:27 GMT

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[attr="class","gunner2"]

[attr="class","text"]

Skyler's invitation to come inside felt nostalgic, a jarring emotion considering Gunner had never set foot on her ship before. However, what he could only describe as muscle memory took over as he started up the ship's gangway.[break][break]

Despite the fact Skyler was clearly in the middle of work, Gunner did not ask if it was a bad time for his visit. He had a strange sense that he'd interrupted her work before, had even helped her with it.[break][break]

So instead, he asked, "I am feeling a bit hungry. What'd Angelo make this time?"[break][break]

As if he'd ever eaten one of Angelo's homemade snacks before.

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]skyler dross

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NOTES

⬥ Mission: Post Goodbye Galar

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POSTED ON Jul 5, 2023 19:08:17 GMT

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[attr="class","skyler"]

The Sotally Tober apartment is as small as it is messy. Skyler expertly leads Gunner past haphazard piles of clothes and shelves creaking with the weight of what could've either been knick-knacks or priceless artifacts.

Knowing the couple who inhabited the place, probably a little bit of both.

"Some Alto Marean snack. Can't pronounce it." Her nose wrinkles, and she skirts around a pile of pillows atop which dozes a peaceful-looking Galarian Meowth. A malevolent yellow eye fixates on Gunner. "Aranini? It's delicious- just wait a minute."

What Angelo would consider a dangerous amount of clatter arises from the kitchen. There's a hissed curse, then '-I'm not cookin- I'm not. I just want the b- okay, okay!-' as Skyler is spit out of the kitchen.

A plate of fried dough balls is placed on the table, hiding a delightfully cheesy interior. With a sigh, Skyler passes Gunner a beer before slumping down on the couch and cracking open one of her own.

She takes a big, long swig before speaking.

"Something's changed, hasn't it?"

Gunner Graves

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POSTED ON Jul 6, 2023 11:50:25 GMT

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[attr="class","gunner2"]

[attr="class","text"]

"Arancini," Gunner corrected without thinking, a habit of his few liked but friends tolerated. Upon uttering the word, he recalled the taste of freshly fried dough, crispy on the outside, soft and piping hot inside. They were always stuffed with a savory combination of cheese and pork, or sometimes oil and vegetables.[break][break]

Had he eaten them before? Try as he might, he couldn't remember.[break][break]

Sitting next to Skyler on the couch, Gunner cracked open his beer bottle with practiced ease. He took a swig of his own before replying.[break][break]

"Yeah." He picked up one of the arancini balls but did not bite into it yet. "I don't know that I ever considered you a friend. Acquaintances, definitely. Friends, though? Not yet. Not really."[break][break]

He took a bite and chewed pensively, then offered a portion to his Umbreon. Laudine took a delicate bite of the snack before ducking back under the table.[break][break]

"But now I feel like we've been friends for a long time," Gunner continued, glancing sidelong at Skyler.

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]skyler dross

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NOTES

⬥ Mission: Post Goodbye Galar

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POSTED ON Jul 6, 2023 18:17:39 GMT

[attr="class","skyler"]

Skyler doesn't display the same temperance that Gunner does. She leans forward and pops a single Arancini into her mouth, biting into it with gusto.

"I don't know. One more drink in you during New Years, Bond, and I'm sure we would've been friends for life." Wasn't that how most of her friendships started? Inebriated and wholly absent of common sense? Nevermind that they'd been surrounded by the enemy back then.

Despite the playful curve of her mouth, Skyler's fully aware of this strange proximity. She has to make a concerted effort not to lean into it.

The captain leans back against the couch, fixing him with a quicksilver gaze from beneath dark lashes.

"I tend to follow my gut on stuff like this. Hasn't steered me wrong yet, but it's-" Lines crease the skin between her brows, frustrated. "-it's like chasing a ghost. There, and always out of reach."

She reaches for a ring around her finger and presents it to Gunner.

"But I know it was real. Whatever it was."

Engraved within the round band are the words: 'Circhester - 20 years'.

Gunner Graves

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POSTED ON Jul 7, 2023 14:34:26 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","gunner2"]

[attr="class","text"]

Gunner chuckled at the memory. The New Year's party in Sootopolis seemed a lifetime ago at that point. "You're probably right," he conceded.[break][break]

He ate his arancini while listening to Skyler describe, with surprising accuracy, what he also felt. Some memories were crystal clear, especially moments with Summer Atreides. Other memories were mere wisps of fog. No matter how much he tried, he failed to grasp them between his fingers.[break][break]

Gunner peered at the ring she held out at him, at the words engraved on its surface. His brow furrowed with confusion. "That's so strange. I have a ring, too, but it doesn't say anything on it."[break][break]

He removed the silver band, which he wore on his left index finger, and compared the two pieces of jewelry. His was made for a man and totally blank.

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]skyler dross

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NOTES

⬥ Mission: Post Goodbye Galar

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POSTED ON Jul 9, 2023 11:18:55 GMT

[attr="class","skyler"]

"Looks like a wedding ring, Bond." Skyler peers curiously at the simple silver band, poking at it with a calloused fingertip. Next to the wood-and-steel ring that she'd found hanging from her own necklace, it's downright plain. "Not that I'm an expert or anything." Her and Angelo had never decided on rings, prefering the simple woven bracelets they'd made for each other.

Except that they do have rings now. They just don't know why or how.

"This one is a match for Angelo's. Maybe you ought to try and find the match to yours?" Or maybe not - some things are better left unearthed.

Her brows furrow, the rusty gears within her mind struggling to lead her towards some sort of resolution. "I feel like I remember a wedding, but it's all very foggy. I definitely remember dinners. Lots of food and drink. Laughter. A deep connection with a small group of people."

She doesn't need to say it loud when the knowledge hovers silently between the two: that Gunner had been part of that group.

"We've looked up Circhester - maybe you should too. Might trigger some memories."

A mistreated laptop beckons from the coffee table nearby.

Gunner Graves

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POSTED ON Jul 10, 2023 0:14:11 GMT

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[attr="class","gunner2"]

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Gunner shook his head and slipped the ring back onto his finger. "You know I'm not the marriage type," he said, though he couldn't recall ever talking with Skyler about marriage or his love life.[break][break]

But her mention of a wedding triggered deep memories in his psyche. Like hers, they were hazy, snippets of food and drink and laughter the only parts he could remember. GIDEON GRAVES had been there, he knew.[break][break]

But his brother was divorced, and the memories of his actual wedding differed from the one Gunner could barely remember.[break][break]

His eyes followed Skyler's to the laptop on the coffee table. While he appreciated her offer, he had access to more information at headquarters.[break][break]

"I thought about rooting through the database at work to see if I could find anything," Gunner admitted. "No one who was there at the Ancient Tomb has been able to patch everything together into a single, all-encompassing, coherent report."

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]skyler dross

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NOTES

⬥ Mission: Post Goodbye Galar

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POSTED ON Jul 19, 2023 21:23:44 GMT

[attr="class","skyler"]

Skyler tilts her head, a small kernel of curiosity sharpening the silver in her eyes. "No one? Out of all the League personnel present?" Memory problems aside, someone should've been able to find a common thread in all the narratives being told.

Then again Skyler herself felt mildly confused about the last, what - twenty years, according to the ring? Sometimes the memories felt vivid and real, other times they made themselves distant and out of reach. Like remembering a dream.

"Y'know what? We should meet with whoever we remember from our time there." Skyler kicks her feet up on the table, finishes her beer somewhat distractedly. "I remember more when I'm with Angelo. S'like we keep each other from forgetting. Reminding each other."

She wonders if they'd forget it all by allowing themselves to stop thinking about it.

Only the tense muscles of her shoulders betray her attempt at nonchalance when she turns to Gunner Graves . "What exactly do you remember, Bond?"

Gunner Graves

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POSTED ON Jul 23, 2023 2:34:07 GMT

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[attr="class","gunner2"]

[attr="class","text"]

"No one yet," Gunner said in correction before finishing off another arancini. He washed it down with another large swig of beer. "We'll piece something together soon. Trust in the Bureau."[break][break]

Which seemed useless to say to a woman like Skyler, but technically, she and angelo vestri had agreed to help the League as Avatars.[break][break]

Gunner tilted his head, considering her suggestion. "Not a bad idea. Do you know who all should be involved, though? You, Angelo, my brother Gideon…"[break][break]

He hesitated in the middle of counting names off his fingers. Summer Atreides had been there too, but other names slipped from his mind like slippery fish from his hands. The agent had a strange hunch that Serena Malcolm was important somehow, but he couldn't figure out why. He'd have to talk to her, too.[break][break]

Gunner dropped his hand to the couch.[break][break]

"I broke up with my then-girlfriend. The one from this world," he said, the gravity in his tone indicating its relevance to the conversation. "We had a screaming match. Months later—yes, months—she miscarried. We fought over that, too."[break][break]

Another gulp of beer followed that painful admission.[break][break]

"And then I avoided her for years, but I couldn't do it well because she was… someone important. Not to me, but to… other people. To everyone."[break][break]

Gunner's face scrunched up in open skepticism. "I know that sounds really sketchy. But I get the sense we made up and became friends."

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]skyler dross

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NOTES

⬥ Mission: Post Goodbye Galar

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POSTED ON Aug 22, 2023 18:47:07 GMT

[attr="class","skyler"]

It takes more than she's willing to admit to not snort at Gunner Graves 's affirmation. Trust in the Bureau? A tall order for someone who'd witnessed its incompetence first-hand. But she does trust in Gunner, and in the end that's enough for her.

(The juxtaposition of simple acquaintance and trusted friend still give her vertigo sometimes.)

The story he tells next isn't an easy one despite its casual delivery. "Shit. That- fuck. I'm sorry." Skyler is seldom this somber. Then again, she doesn't find herself the recipient of such painful admissions very often. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that." A pause. "For whatever it's worth, I'm glad you two managed to grow a friendship out of it."

Grief and heartbreak isn't something you can physically fight, or outpace. It'll remain embedded with you while life grows around it.

Skyler reaches for her next beer and nearly downs it in one go. That too, she feels is appropriate for the moment.

"Do I know her? I mean, I must've. We were all together in this apparently. Me, you, angelo vestri . GIDEON GRAVES . And Raziel Beckett . And..." Skyler furrows her brows. "P-pinkie?"

Why does she vaguely remember there being two of them?

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POSTED ON Aug 23, 2023 12:19:03 GMT

parker jones likes this

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[attr="class","gunner2"]

[attr="class","text"]

Gunner accepted Skyler's condolences in silence, unsure what to say. The miscarriage hadn't happened, not really. When they "woke up" back in Hoenn, mere minutes or hours after being transported to Galar, Summer had still been pregnant.[break][break]

The baby was gone, now.[break][break]

"I never want to go through it again. Not here or in any other world or dream," Gunner said, voice quiet, gaze cast down at his beer.[break][break]

He finished his drink while Skyler tried to recount who else had been with them in their collective dream. At the mention of Pinkie, two fuzzy faces flashed in his mind's eye, but he couldn't make out details.[break][break]

"There were two women with pink hair," he confirmed with a frown, "but I don't remember their names or what they looked like."[break][break]

Gunner shook his head. "But no. My ex's name was Summer Atreides." He looked at Skyler. "Do you know her?"

[attr="class","ooc"]

[attr="class","tag"]skyler dross

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NOTES

⬥ Mission: Post Goodbye Galar

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POSTED ON Aug 23, 2023 16:36:10 GMT

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[attr="class","skyler"]

The mention of Summer Atreides doesn't immediately bring forth an epiphany; they hadn't known each other in Hoenn, and all that Skyler had been left with was a series of hazy recollections barely cobbled together.

"I don't know her, no." She presses her lips together, willing her brain to somehow cooperate. "Though... I'm pretty sure we were in a boat somewhere together. Fighting... things. Drinking. Having fun?"

She blinks away the images, amused. That checks out.

"I know one of those pink-haired women though." And here she hesitates, because she knows for certain that parker jones is neither League nor civilian. The protectiveness that claws its way out of her ribcage, and the intricate knot of feelings therein, surprises even her. "I've met her a couple of times while going out for a drink or two."

Liar.

Not a lie, she tells herself, not entirely.

It just wasn't the whole truth.

Gunner Graves

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