Lately, it felt as though Penelope's thoughts were entirely held up by a single piece of string. Only when they were called upon could reel them back in. [Break][Break]

"Hm?"
[Break][Break]
Her eyes blinked slowly. She'd been caught drifting again, lost to the fog.
[Break][Break]
"Oh, sure, yeah."
[Break][Break]
Slow to react, her limbs oiled themselves loose, one after another, starting with her arms, then her legs.[Break]
[Break]
Only after freedom had been reclaim did she realize how easily his words escaped her.
[Break][Break]
"Sorry. What did you want to do again?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","littleollie"] penny's thoughts might have been held up by a single piece of string, but ollie would do his darndest to hold steadfast to them no matter what. like wrapping around a string of balloons before they could fly away.

[break][break] smiling warmly, he pulled the councilwoman into a half-hug and then posed at the camera. click. just like that, he posted a selfie of the two of them to social media before pocketing the device.

[break][break] "to have fun," he chuckled, lips twisting into a smile. "we've been so busy lately. we deserve it!"

[break][break] but it was also an excuse to run away from their responsibilities. because ollie had never been in the position he was currently in, and if he were to admit it to himself, it was suffocating.

[break][break] tugging on her hand, ollie dragged her towards a booth. he paid off a vendor and handed her a handful of balloons. they all depicted the legendary bird trio: moltres, articuno and zapdos.

[break][break] "aren't they cute?"

[break][break]

Buy a Balloon Pokemon.

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]
firework flings [break]
mauville city

[break][break] • magnificent funtasia

☉

Ollie was sunlight. Bright and all-consuming, his jovial nature seared through all, ironing out even the stars from the sky.
[BREAK][break]
"We have been busy," she agreed, lips forced into a smile. [BREAK][break]

If nothing else, she wanted to try to be happy. At least for this moment.
[BREAK][break]
To the balloons, her fingers laced themselves between the thin strings, claiming them as her own. The one that resembled Moltres earned itself a proper shudder from her.
[BREAK][break]
"They're definitely cute."
[BREAK][break]
She persed her lips.
[BREAK][break]
"Hey, why don't we get something to eat. I'm starving."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","littleollie"] "you got it, councilwoman!"

[break][break] it's easy to fall back into the flow of things when he hangs around PENELOPE LIVY. that's the thought he clings onto as he drags her through the crowd and towards one of the food booths.

[break][break] as they sift through the crowd, his eyes catch upon the DUGTRIO RING TOSS. the sounds of laughing children echo in the air, two children at the forefront. both blond, both giggling gleefully as they challenged each other to the ring.

[break][break] his mind flashes with a memory — two kids running around the castle square, a warm-lipped queen telling them not to run too fast or they'll trip.

[break][break] ollie blinks for a moment. 'what was that?' but he pushes through the crowd anyway, looking at penny.

[break][break] "what do you want? a corn dog? a burger? cotton candy?"

[break]

[break][break]

Mention Dugtrio Ring Toss

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]
firework flings [break]
mauville city

[break][break] • magnificent funtasia

☉

"Mmm..."
[Break][break]
Ollie's question dug its nails into the air, effectively clutching onto both herself and all the importance still left hanging around a fairground. She gave the monumental moment its time, debating each option with the roll of her head, until finally settling on one.
[Break][break]
"Corn dogs," she smiled. "Haven't had one in a while."
[Break][break]
Last time she did, they were still together. Young, youthful, and brimming with life. It's a wonder if their relationship could ever return to that sort of vibrance. Or, whether their new positions and onset of history had forever tainted the water completely.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","littleollie"] corn dogs.

[break][break] his eyes lit up immediately.

[break][break] the last time he'd had corn dogs was when they had them. it was a memory deeply buried, one hidden after years of hardships between them. it was a small thing, a tiny thing, but he wanted to gravitate towards it anyways. just like he wanted to gravitate towards her.

[break][break] "okay! you got it!"

[break][break] ollie dragged her over to the booth, paying for a treat for the both of them. he hands it over to her, just as he breaks into his own. the sweet warmth of the treat billows into his mouth.

[break][break] "god," he mentioned, offhandedly. "they never had these in galar."

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]
firework flings [break]
mauville city

[break][break] • magnificent funtasia

☉

Ollie's sheer exuberance was biting. It was such a stark contrast to the shadow the councilwoman had become to embody the months following Galar. [break][break]

He made it look so easy, as simple as breathing in 'n out, or counting to ten. He moved through life with the gait of a man who saw no hardships, no reasons for doubt. While Penelope sluggishly followed, exemplifying the exact opposite school of thought.
[break][break]
"Galar?"
[break][break]
Fingers clamped around the stick of her corndog, Penelope paused blowing to respond with a sidelong glance, punctuated by an arch brow. Her face nearly contorted into a grimace.
[break][break]
"You're mentioning that place at a time like this?"
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","littleollie"] oh.

[break][break] galar.

[break][break] he'd brought it up with freya morningstar, that one time. ollie wasn't sure when it happened, or how it happened. the memories from that time kept fluctuating, in and out of his thoughts, like a time loop.

[break][break] "sorry," he said hastily, swallowing around a bite of corndog. "i guess, i didn't really think about it."

[break][break] he mulls over his next thought, chewing on a piece of the doughey treat. "do you... remember it?" the thought had circulated ever since his interaction with freya morningstar on that beach, then at the bar. did everyone who was there remember it with the same clarity as her? or were they like him, forgetting and remembering, in the same heartbeat? again and again?

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]
firework flings [break]
mauville city

[break][break] • magnificent funtasia

☉

The conversation elbowed her gut, hard, and it took everything not to recoil physically from the pressure of it all.
[break][break]
"No," she replied curtly, mouth setting into a prompt frown. "I try to forget pointless things."
[break][break]
It wasn't like she ever tried to forget them or remember them for that matter. They were just conveniently omitted since the beginning. As if someone raked through her memories and drew a giant X across everything in relation to that crystalized memory.



[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","littleollie"] pointless things?

[break][break] "oh. right. 'course not."

[break][break] ollie smiled, though it was a pained sort of smile. he wasn't exactly sure why — couldn't quite place the feeling that made his heart squeeze at her words. it was like a part of him had crawled up, tried to find it's way out, and she'd just kicked it all the way down.

[break][break] splash. down the wishing well of his heart.

[break][break] he blinks.

[break][break] some children laugh, and he realizes belatedly that one of them ran straight through a puddle. two blond kids, a pair of green and amber eyes. he blinks again, and they vanish like ghosts.

[break][break] when he turns back, ollie gives a short laugh, biting into the rest of his corndog, as he tugs her through the park.

[break][break] "well, anyway, it's not like i remember much either." he gives a complacent shrug. "i'm really excited for this carnival, though. it's been a while since we hung out like this."

[break][break] he glanced at her, eyes hopeful.

[break][break] "what if we go up the ferris wheel?"

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]
firework flings [break]
mauville city

[break][break] • magnificent funtasia

☉

It had been a while. More than Penelope liked to admit. Whether that was for better or for worse was still up in the air, especially as the mention of a ferris wheel fluttered between them.
[Break][break]
"How about something else?"
[Break][break]
Ferris wheels reminded her of days filled of pens, paper, and stories. They also reminded her of paxton concordas, and the first dance across moral boundaries they'd taken together.
[Break][break]
Yuck.
[Break][break]
"How about..."
[Break][break]
She gave herself a slow spin, soaking in the available options, from the food stalls, to the games, to the thrill-seeking contraptions that edged the line between 'safe enough' and 'certified death trap'.
[Break][break]
"We do some carnival games?"
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]

[attr="class","littleollie"] disappointment fluttered on his face, like a butterfly in the breeze.

[break][break] "oh, yeah, sure!"

[break][break] but ollie was a man who could roll with the punches. with a grin, he tugged the councilwoman away from the creaking ferris wheel and through the throngs of the crowd. he led them towards the carnival game booths, lining up behind one of them that involved some hacky-sacks and glass bottles.

[break][break] "do you want me to," he said, leaning towards her suddenly, whispering in her ear. "win you a prize?"

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] PENELOPE LIVY [break]
firework flings [break]
mauville city

[break][break] • magnificent funtasia

☉

Ollie was terrible at masking his feelings.
[break][break]
At least to Penelope.
[break][break]
Doubt, happiness, anger, envy, fear - she could see through the barricades and his thousands of forms of misdirects, meant to dissuade and distract, without issue. She knew him like her own heartbeat, like she knew her own favorite color, like she knew that fires burn and water soothes.
[break][break]
So when disappointment flitted over his expression, it was well within her power to probe the stitchings of his mask.
[break][break]
But she doesn't.
[break][break]
"If you can," she challenged, her words wielding an edge to them. "Don't worry - I'll win you something either way."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] ollie morales[break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-ditto"]