AUBADE

zev's curry entry

thread summary:
This thread is the culmination of a couple of plots that have finally crossed paths: the development of Zev's relationship with Neffatari Nzingha and the breakdown of his relationship with Caleb Harcourt.

A few days after Caleb stabbed Zev during Postdormitum, Nenet, who had been nursing him back to health, finally confronts him with the question of whether he is a psycopath or a sociopath. And despite—or because of—his answer and the truths that come with it, she proposes they get married.

why is it important?:
Zev's sociopathy is something he works very hard to disguise when dealing with most people. He only reveals this part of himself to members of Team Rocket in situations where he's sure a civilian won't witness it. The fact that Nenet figured out his true nature impresses him; it is a mark of her observation and intelligence.

But what influences him even more is how she accepts it without judgment. She sees through his lies and still continues to care for him, to care about him. Nenet defies everything Zev has come to expect of other people. In the wake of Caleb's betrayal, she is a comfort, a balm, and a reassurance that Caleb is the one who is wrong. That Caleb doesn't deserve Zev's protection and "love" like Nenet does.

By accepting Nenet's marriage proposal, Zev not only accepts that "family" doesn't have to be related by blood, but he actively chooses her as his closest, most trusted companion. This change in their relationship, even if it's just a legality at present, marks a new and unprecedented chapter for the couple.

I look forward to seeing what the future brings for them.

A HELL OF YOUR OWN MAKING

Caleb Harcourt's curry entry

[break]
thread summary:
As part of an ongoing plot around Caleb's capture by BARNABY FINCH at the behest of Zev Harcourt and Team Rocket, Caleb was forced to endure several torture sessions meant to break him. Through them all, Caleb was able to endure the suffering by believing it temporary: after all, this was a direct result of Caleb's actions in the Ultra Deep Sea, where he was goaded into stabbing Zev due to a lifetime of pent-up anger and trauma. Eventually, Zev would consider them even, come to gloat, then let him go. They're brothers, after all.

However, when Zev finally came to visit Caleb in his Rocket prison, it became steadily - and horrifically - apparent to Caleb that he had finally crossed a line with Zev, broken a bridge that could not be mended. Zev rejected him as a brother, as family, a wound far more deadly than any of the physical ones he had thus far sustained. Coming to terms with the depth of his own betrayal of his brother's trust, allowing Zev to gaslight him into agreeing that this was all his own fault, Caleb begged for death. Zev refused to give it to him, slamming the door on such a mercy and on their brotherhood.[break]

why is it important?:
This is a pivotal moment in the saga between these two brothers that has been building and building for an entire year - basically the whole time Guns and I have been writing on this site! Caleb wanted a brother who loved him, who would take care of him, who would have his back for real. Zev wanted someone who would understand him, never judge him for what he is (a sociopath), and never force him to try and love the way he can't. Sadly, these two cannot get what they want from one-another, and never will. This thread highlights that, and closes the door on their brotherhood for good.

What will come next? The brothers will become enemies - in part due to their faction loaylties, and in part because of the grief and anger and betrayal they both feel about one another. Caleb, at least, will realize soon after this thread, that Zev is a monster physically as much as mentally: his Necrozma-blessed powers coming to light for the first time. With that knowledge, Caleb will seek violent retribution, pushing him into a training and development arc that will hopefully allow him to contend with Zev when the time comes, and they face one another again on the battlefield...

Aubade

Nenet's's curry entry

[break]
thread summary: Not expecting Zev Harcourt to show up, Nenet intended to surprise him with breakfast before she departed for her morning shift at the Observatory. Instead, she accidentally confronted a wounded Zev and discovered that despite knowing him for half a year, she really knew very little about his personal life at all.

This thread takes place the morning after their confrontation, during which Nenet finally puts the final pieces of the puzzle that is Zev together. While most would have been off-put by the revelations in the thread, Nenet takes it in stride and instead cements their relationship with a proposal of marriage.

why is it important?: This was the culmination of a year-long effort and I really cannot thank gunsmile enough for her patience in allowing me to write it with her! Nenet's observation and understanding of Zev shine here, and ultimately highlights her willingness to accept his differences from her own.

Nenet herself is no shrinking violet, which has been hinted at in other threads with Zev, so I'm very much looking forward to how they grow together as their eyes are more fully opened to one another.

Ripping Ti(d)es

Eris' curry entry

[break]
thread summary:

"You left Rocket, you know what that means, don’t you?

... a traitor can't be let free, even if it's a kid.”

In the wake of Chu-e's disappearance, Eris has to contend with the reality that she has indeed defected and is now alone in doing so. The consequences catch up to her in the guise of Kouji Matsubara, a surprise visit made in Ever Grande and hidden from prying eyes.

why is it important?:

SPOILER: Click to show

SO! I've been super blessed to have the chance to be part of this whole arc and I was so excited to write this thread when joker approached me with the idea.

Eris and Kouji have worked together for a while in Rocket together and every time it happens, it always seems like she gets that one up on him. This is part of Kouji's whole character arc where he's facing a series of failures after being cocky for a while and through it, the two seemed to have formed a kind of friendship. But friendships like this can't last in the face of betrayal.

For Kouji, this is meant to be his moment - To follow the rules of Rocket, to rightfully kill a traitor. For the first time, he seems to have the upper hand over Eris: Separating her from Reiner and stopping her from calling for help, injuring and finally pinning her down to make the final killing blow. He feels the betrayal from her leaving Rocket, he's uncertain when he takes that first step but that grows to anger when he tells himself to do it. And yet, when he's faced with the final act of having to end her life, he hesitates.

You'd think things would end there, that he'd sink in his defeat and call off the hit. That's where I genuinely cannot be more thankful with how joker allowed things to play out.

Eris, having struggled and denied the chance to call for help, is quite literally feeling the pain. She's feeling the betrayal from their friendship having suddenly crumbled to nothing in the face of factional loyalties. And in spite of everything she's gone through, she's still feeling that overwhelming need to survive.

But it doesn't go the way she'd have wanted it to. She feels that uncertainty whether she'd find peace in the next life, she finds herself questioning why she thought she could just let things end like this. And when Kouji hesitates to kill her, it all culminates in that one last spark of rage towards everything that's happened to her, where she turns things back onto him and lets it consume her as she tries to kill him instead.

She tries to deny reality and distance herself from the notion that she's hurting Kouji, someone who had once mattered to her. She doesn't hesitate like he does, seeming so certain in getting rid of something that tried to hurt her. At least, until she realises that Kouji isn't fighting back, and that she's slowly becoming even bigger of a monster than he is as he inches towards death. She doesn't know of the doubts or thoughts that go on in Kouji's mind, but what she does know is that while she can end him, she shouldn't.

So she stops, but that doesn't change the fact that she's hurt him.

This thread was super fun to write, both from helping joker to set up the next step in Kouji's story to exploring Eris' mental state and how she reacts to extreme danger. This is also a big contrast to the other times she's slipped into such an unstable state, the first being the time she nearly killed Matias Silph and the second being when she fought to hurt Melody Miro. Unlike them, Kouji merely accepts his fate and for the first time, Eris finds that there's no one to stop her except for herself. And it was just really really fun to explore that!

I'm absolutely looking forward to how the dynamic between Eris and Kouji grows from this point out!

NEVER MEET YOUR HEROES

DESIREE BLOOMS's curry entry

[break]
thread summary: Gracing the stage of one of the many attractions of the Magnificent Funtasia, Desiree joins Navy for a little innocent chit-chat about being a Gym Leader which later evolves into a much deeper, crucial even, conversation about the many dangers that cloak Hoenn's landscape and make it a zone of war. Despite her unknowing of these things prior to her move over, through the wonders of blissful ignorance, Navy warns her that she must be careful in this new region she calls her home- that it changes people, taking things that they will never be able to get back. Keeping to herself that she is no longer afraid of what the future has in store for her, the dangers of it all, being in the presence of someone seemingly so experienced in facing tragedy and so serious in his conviction grants Desiree the inkling that more might be at stake than what meets the eye of an ordinary, curious civilian.[break]
Infatuation takes root with the questions that Desiree asks Navy about himself and his motives, even more with the vulnerability Navy exhibits with his worry of not being enough if or when the pieces fall on the board- her perception lets her see that he has a pure-hearted wish to keep fighting, holding the promise he made to his child brother, mentally deeming him a hero in her eyes like the heroes they had spoken of prior. She sees him as being more than enough in her gaze, and though fleeting, she wishes to give the man that had seemingly seen and lived through so much horror bliss for one night.

why is it important?: I had so much fun writing this with Navy! This thread deals heavily with the themes of retrospection, making known of once unknown preexisting conditions of Hoenn in Desiree's mind, preparation against the unknown, hesitation, and the feeling of loneliness. Despite being a quicker exchange than some, I feel like this interaction allows Desiree to truly heed the warning that some of those who are close to her have been telling her; her curiosity about the glimmering unknown can prove fatal if she is not careful, as Navy's came from a place of true concern, as this was their first time meeting. Even with her strange relationship with the concept of her death, being discordant due to her nearly unsuccessful recovery from the attempt on her life, getting to find herself in the presence of one so serious in their determination and experience in tragedy really puts it into perspective.[break]
She once thought that those warnings came from the selfish ideals of others, but it solidifies the fact that those around her truly worry for her wellbeing. Though she still is much more worried about the well-being of others rather than herself, I feel this is going to push Desiree down a path of further curiosity about the implications of what is to come in the future of Hoenn and for the future of herself if she does not exhibit more caution and collect herself. Desiree looks up to Navy based on the things he told her- and this respect may push her to want to achieve more, to contribute more to the protection of her new home in the name of the league. (I also adore Teddie's writing so much overall and in this thread, he is so talented and it really kept my muse flowing for this one. His last post fr made me kinda tear up a bit with Navy's hesitation due to his GG/post-GG plots and his giving in to wanting to satiate his loneliness, was a star sticker on paper kinda quality. Thank you so much for the amazing thread Navy!)[break]
Super looking forward to future interactions between the two!

FAMILY FUNTASIA

izumi’s curry entry ft. Josh Dragomir

[break]
thread summary: a family having the time of their lives when the Funtasia passed by Lavaridge City. Due to both parents being busy with their jobs, a rare weekend comes by and the entire family doesn’t have to go far to have fun and relax.[break]

why is it important?: Not everything’s all action and blood—let’s not forget taking a look at the day-to-day things that happens with a family that has kids! Josh Dragomir takes time off from work, and so does Izumi when the faire came through Lavaridge. They don’t have to go too far for things they forgot, so there’s that bonus too.

(bonus scene: the kids face their fear at the water log ride.)

Parents showing their kids around a faire and throwing games to make them happy? Part and parcel when it comes to raising kids in any universe, just add Pokémon (even if they’re NPCs for the moment) and of course it always ends with a girls vs boys contest (the girls won, of course).

NEVER GROW UP

lars’s curry entry ft. ollie morales

[break]
thread summary: someone’s been in a dour, grumpy mood lately so ollie morales gets the idea to take Lars to the Funtasia—all the way in Lavaridge. Which hilariously is one of the hottest places in Hoenn where he doesn’t exactly mix well due to the heat baking him (hello, mirage on strike) so his frown lines are just. Seared so deep into his face.[break]

why is it important?: Between the two best friends sharing free time while running around at the Funtasia, it’s basically Ollie and Lars as they are: no Head Ranger ranks, no responsibilities bothering them—just the two of them, being guys, having one hell of a time at a carnival.

Between shared food and purchased merchandise, the two share life stories—Lars recounting that one time him and his younger brother claude anderson accidentally wrecked one of their dad Bill Anderson’s yachts because of a Voltorb mistaken for a normal beach ball and Ollie sharing that all their siblings would just leave him and Eva Morales behind while they went on all the big dangerous rides—and Lars leaves a little nibble of a ‘what if’ possibility with one of the merchandise he’d purchased from a balloon stand.

What would’ve happened if he was the patron of the bacon bird harbinger of death instead of the Iceborne Mirage? That’s a story for another day.

This thread is literally a look into two guys being guys, enjoying themselves without having to worry about their responsibilities and work sharing stories about themselves… thank you Milky for setting up such a self-indulgent thread where the two just relax and be. Boys.

CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT?

Elise's curry entry w/ Cadeyrn Osmond

[break]
thread summary: Elise and Cadeyrn go for an evening date of fun and relaxation at the Magnificent Funtasia carnival in Rutstboro. She's getting over her break-up with Amor Rose bit by bit since post Goodbye Galar, so she expresses a desire to move on. During a moment of acting on that desire, she expresses her feelings towards her knight and he actually reciprocates.[break]

why is it important?: Although the thread was a little short, I feel that this thread does show the romantic development that Elise gets post Goodbye Galar with her break-up with her ex boyfriend. She's slowly getting over the break-up that she does want to move on and this mission was a good romantic scenario for her to express that she's not very hesitant to show her vulnerable side to the man she's known since they were children.

I enjoyed writing this cute romance thread where Elise can return to normalcy after the events of Goodbye Galar and with her missing her adopted kids (Wait, does she even remember? Probably, she still has the quill pen given to her from Iris), she finds happiness with making the guy that crushed on her when they were children very happy. It'a also the first step they're taking in dating and I'm very excited to see how this goes!

SUMMER NIGHTS AND CARNIVAL LIGHTS

xiura's curry entry

[break]
thread summary: Xiura Balfaltin goes on a carnival outing with her two very dear friends, Aurelie Lefevre and jack wainwright. Unbeknownst to Xiura and Jack, Aurelie is playing matchmaker to the two of them.[break]

why is it important?: Xiura grew up in a household that was steeped in tradition, but bereft of much love or affection. Xiura loves both of her friends dearly and wants to be loved in return, but the truth of her feelings also elicits concern. She fears how it will affect the dynamics of their relationships with each other--not least of all because she knows her friends are dating one another. This thread heralds the beginning of these three friends' polyamorous negotiations and a host of misunderstandings, especially when taking into consideration each one's separate needs, desires, and boundaries.

Summer Nights and Carnival Lights

Aurelie Lefevre's curry entry

[break]
thread summary: For the past year, Aurelie Lefevre and jack wainwright have been in a relationship—a casual, playful, off-and-on, and non-exclusive relationship, at least in Aurelie's mind. When Aurelie hears that her dear friend Xiura Balfaltin is also attracted to Jack, she invites them both to the Magnificent Funtasia Carnival for an evening of fun, games, treats, and hopefully, budding romance—leading to a few misunderstandings and humorous moments along the way.[break]

why is it important?: First, this thread was a joy to write! I really enjoy the different personalities of Aurelie, Jack, and Xiura and the resulting interactions between them, ranging from friendly and sweet to teasing, confused, or flirtatious. Lucina and Skyline are both fantastic writers and excellent sports who I hope enjoyed the carnival setting and funny outing-slash-date premise as much as I did.

I also relished the opportunity to show off a side of Aurelie's personality that I rarely have the opportunity or remember to write about: earthy, impulsive, generous with her affections, and pretty shameless in romantic situations. She's a pretty inept matchmaker in this thread (especially since she herself finds Xiura attractive as well), but by Arceus, she's trying!

Second, I'm excited about where this thread will lead in the future. I've never written an unconventional polyamorous relationship before, so I'm looking forward to developing and exploring the slowly unfolding dynamics of this trio once all three characters learn of and come to terms with their mutual attraction. It definitely promises to be a thought-provoking, entertaining, and endearing experience on all sides.

HOLLOW SEA

vanilla's curry entry ft. Navy

[break]
thread summary: Navy and Vanilla Kingsley are both sucked into an interdimensional wormhole while out and about inside of Dewford City one day, ending up in the Distortion World. Navy remains on one plane of the ground while Vanilla hangs upside down across from him! Or is she the one that's rightside up? Navy finds himself taking charge once again as Vanilla appears unfamiliar with the environment and begins to panic upon learning that they may not be able to return home. After quelling her worries, the two begin to talk while trying to make their way to one another in this fantastical and strange world.[break]

why is it important?: Vanilla and Navy, while having very few posts interacting with one another, have a pretty clear cut relationship. Navy is that weathered and worn League lapdog that warns all of his gym challengers about the real world outside of the League's challenge. It's a cold, cruel world out with Rocket and if his words to challengers are anything to go off of, he's drilling it into people's heads as much as he can.

Conversely, Vanilla is everything Navy isn't. She's new and naive to the world after being sheltered for so long. Her blind and upmost faith in the League leaves her blind to the tragedy of Hoenn and what the war between Rocket and the League have created. Still, Vanilla looks up to Navy and sees him as somebody who clearly knows what he's talking about, but leaves her conflicted about his apprehension with the League. Even during her battle with Navy, she still pushed herself to become what she thought of as a true Pokemon trainer. She's been through hell and back with being sent to a tomb and thrown 30 years into the future and back, going to Ultra Space several times and battling Rocket grunts.

But in this thread, Vanilla doesn't speak in her usual chipper tone as she normally does. At the middle mark, she spills her heart out to Navy and tells him that she's been quietly unable to process anything she's gone through. Despite interacting with kids her own age, Vanilla just can't seem to connect with them any longer. She's had her life in dangerous several times that complaining about a test or boys at school seems so...trivial. It's a turning point for her, as she's coming to terms over the first hill of stepping face first into the Rocket conflict. Vanilla's grown up too fast, be it glorified by the League and such as an honorable thing, or because of her persistence to find her missing father and risk her own life to visit exotic locations to find some trace of him. She has a miniature breakdown and shows her vulnerable side to Navy, who then offers a chance to forget it all. Retreat back to a life of just worrying about what dish she burns in the kitchen, and not a life or death matter.

As tempting as it is, Vanilla turns the offer down, stating that she's seen too much and experience so much that she wouldn't trade it all back in, even if she's a lone.Navy has a moment of trying to comfort her by sharing that it's not limited just to her. Everyone's had that moment where they realize that loss of innocence in the struggle of Hoenn life. It's a rough journey that Vannilla's had. The road keeps going and going without end. But it's thanks to the people's she's met that she finds the will to still keep walking every single day.

He makes her promise that whenever something happens, she's exercise caution and stand by his side to help get her through it. It's something Vanilla needs to hear, especially from somebody she holds in high regard. She promises not to make him worry and to survive this war so that she can one day see the first sun of a post-Rocket world. By thread's end, the two have had a nice heart-to-heart. Even if she's still too young to understand the ways of the world, Vanilla feels a little better about the baggage she's carrying. She doesn't know what she wants to do, but her goal is clear: she wants to help the people of Hoenn who can't help themselves. Be it being a Ranger or something else, she wants to follow in the footsteps of her late father and maybe surpass him. It's a nice bow at the end of this chapter of Vanilla's tale. She's worn, damaged and maybe worse for wear, but she's still that same plucky teen that set out on an adventure when she left her home in Galar.

RISING WATER

freya's curry entry

because you make me feel alive, in spite of rising water

thread summary: freya goes home to KING WAYLAND and his daughter, delta, after picking up dinner for the three of them. they share a domestic family meal, but something unspoken hangs between them. afterwards, finally alone, freya tells king she's become a councilwoman again. an argument ensues and the thread ends with uncertainty of their shared future.


why is it important?:

a look at trauma

SPOILER: Click to show

freya has made terrible decisions in the past, but the aftermath of the mist has been a focus lately. there are a lot of nuances with this particular plot; she's struggling with having been gaslit, manipulated, and emotionally abused. king helped free her from tapu fini's mist, but she's still never told him the whole of it, or that she blames herself for letting it happen.

she has always found it difficult to open up to people. to 'show weakness.' and she still hasn't been able to do that with king. as he's not a very emotionally available person either, they often bottle things up until the gasket blows.

this thread in particular rides on the coattails of treacherous waves (ft. Elisabeth Fiorelli ) where (for the first time since truly extracting herself from the mist), she realizes tapu fini, the deity that bound her to fernando, is alive. she feels she cannot tell king about the incident because she plans on siding with/protecting fernando and assumes (whether rightly or wrongly) that king won't understand.

later, when they shed their clothes, he'll see the rashes on her sides where the algae pressed against her. the needled teeth marks on her ankles from where her own dragons bit her.

her right hand is crossed with gauze. training accidents also aren't uncommon either, but her fingers flex at his question. the pain is a reminder of all she's yet to tell him, and all she won't tell him still.

king's reaction to the council news is one she'd expected. he's expressed his disgust for the organization. even now, she's still inclined to share his sentiments. two of its most powerful members are FERNANDO SILPH and MATIAS SILPH , both whom have hurt freya and king in very similar ways.

"Ye made this choice without me, but more than that, ye made it so ye can strongarm me into doin' what ye think was right." His jaw flexes, and flares, teeth grinding. "Then ye threw Delta in the mix. That wasn't somethin' I taught ye. They did. Silph did. Regardless of yer intention, ye tried ta manipulate me. I've been manipulated 'fore, ye know that, yet ye still did it."

and since we just finished it, i have to throw sanguine sacrilege here as well. it sheds more light on why she can't forgive herself for allowing fern to have his hold on her.

the devil's in the details

SPOILER: Click to show

though OOCly king still has the purple outline, ICly he has not been involved in rocket affairs for some time. he's not a defect, to be clear. he's a kanto transplant and most of his heinous deeds were carried out overseas; his 'career' in hoenn has mostly been on the fringes and after fernando was captured/rescued from the sub, he's since focused on the bar he owns and rekindling his relationship with his daughter. 

but he's still a known turncoat with blood on his hands and a cell waiting for him by the league. this is touched on in our threads, hinted at in my own when freya feels pangs of envy that she can't outwardly talk about her beloved (a perfect example is in old friends ft. Alexei Ivanov ).

this thread, however, is a turning point in their relationship. freya ultimately does want to take the council seat because she feels she can finally do good for hoenn. but also because it can give king and delta a chance at a normal life. 

her words are measured. "you can protect her until you're taken. what about schooling for her? registering her trainer license? king, you're not going to be able to do these things without getting yourself found."

"You becoming like them won't change the fact I'm a criminal. Ye don't all of a sudden lose yer wanted poster cus yer girlfriend gets a promotion."

and with this, glimmers of king's own self-loathing poke through his anger. just as freya can't forgive herself for the mistakes she's made, king can't either.

a broken mirror can not be made to shine

SPOILER: Click to show

this is just a small piece of the puzzle. freya's step to councilwoman was a harrowing decision. two men with some of the most sway over the region stand at her opposition - one who controlled her for months, another who manipulated and ostracized her partner. her most recent arc of self-discovery and finding peace with rayquaza's decision (and a complicated love for Eva Morales ) is what led her to accept the position. she finally trusts herself enough to make change and do good.

in treacherous waves, she turned down tapu fini. she refuses to be beholden to anyone but herself again. meanwhile, ALEXANDER STONE , freya's best friend and confidant, whose death is what drove her into fernando's arms in the first place, is given the same proposition as freya: join her and tapu fini and bring fernando to justice. (thread: devil make a deal)

though freya has not outright shared her experience with alex, she's hinted at it. unbeknownst to her, however, he received a firsthand look at the events that had transpired between them during his RVL playthrough.

we don't know yet how this will unfold, but freya is going to be horrified to know he willingly accepted the mist.

gratitudes

SPOILER: Click to show

anyway, i want to thank snubis for being such an incredible ship partner. he sees exactly what i'm doing with freya and has helped build so much narrative tension with our threads. king is such a complex character and i appreciate the poignant moments snubis hits me with when i'm least expecting it.

ty to scarlet for letting me have elisa be such an integral part to this arc. she has so many tools at her disposal and is so generously keen on sharing them with folks to weave a fulfilling narrative. she cares deeply for others' stories and it's palpable in everything she writes.

to noodles, for providing what will be such hurtful conflict between the two of them. i'm so stoked to see how it pans out.

to spiral, for writing such a multi-faceted character. (freya never cybered him.) you know i'm hopelessly in love with fernando. (freya never cybered him.) thank you for the opportunity with fini and for continuing to mindfuck my girl. (freya never cybered him.) she'll have her retribution one day.

HOLLOW FOREST

Tsubaki's curry entry

[break]
thread summary: Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki is a Faller who constantly Falls into the Ultra Deep Sea beneath her home on Dewford. After more than a dozen ventures into the Ultra Deep Sea, Tsubaki has become numb to it. She doesn't act like herself down there, is often reckless and makes stupid decisions, getting caught up in the spectacle of it all.

After their last visit there, Navy decides it's time for an intervention. This leads to a heart-to-heart about past traumas, your purpose for living, and what you let define you.[break]

why is it important?:

Turning Over a New Leaf

SPOILER: Click to show

This thread is the crux of Tsubaki's existence on Hoenn so far, coming to terms with her new life. It's essentially the capstone of her first arc, which involves finding purpose after achieving the one thing you've been working toward your whole life.

In Tsubaki's very first thread, Navy saved her from being falsely arrested at customs for a crime she didn't commit. From that point on, she was given a job as his primary assistant and a place to stay, and all the opportunities she needed to live a normal life. Shortly after, the conflict at Dewford forced her to reconcile with her past while fighting for a future she was unsure of. Whatever she was destined for from that point on, it couldn't be normal.

Dragging Tsubaki along with him on another job as a Sheriff, she's lead by Navy to believe that this is another venture into the Ultra Deep Sea. However, when she enters the time-space distortion, she's dismayed that he intentionally lied to her about where they were headed. Once there, Navy chastises her, tells her she's getting caught up in fantasy. She comes to realize that most of what she feels regarding the sea, Eternatus, her compulsion to keep going again and again is just her own delusions.

Her tendency to Fall into the Ultra Deep Sea is psychosomatic, something spurred on by refusing to face reality. Even if it's true to a point, she's living in a dream. Torn between her past as a Rocket and her future as a member of the League, she's unable to reconcile the two because she's beholden to the expectations her adopted father figure places on her.

Navy begs her not to become another version of him, and with the realization that he's projecting himself onto her she realizes what she needs to do. She can't stay in this listless dream forever, afraid of confronting her past because she doesn't want to hurt him. There's only one future for Tsubaki, and it's making right for her past as a Rocket. As much as Navy doesn't want her to become like him or his deceased younger brother, she can't keep running from herself in the Ultra Deep Sea in order to satisfy the desires of somebody else.

This thread is the culmination of that arc, finding purpose in a new life after experiencing trauma.

Finding Meaning

SPOILER: Click to show

So much of Tsubaki's life prior to arriving in Hoenn involved escaping Rocket and trying to be free. So intense was that struggle that she didn't even imagine what her life could be beyond that struggle.

Her threads primarily touch on grappling with that listlessness, the inability dream of something more because for so long she was afraid to dream. She's been spurred to action living alongside Navy, reacting to the various odd and nonsensical things that come about due to the town in which they live being situated above the Ultra Deep Sea, but she's never had a purpose before now because she's been afraid of confronting it.

Navy's given her everything, made her go back to school, and at the end of everything she sees him as a surrogate father figure, the family she never truly had. It's been Navy who's slowly given her a glimpse of a life she could lead. At the same time, because of this lack of clarity in her purpose, she's been told by him again and again that she should just live a happy and normal life.

Navy's been afraid of her becoming like him, or of her ending up like his younger brother, which has prompted her to settle into this conflict with herself in the Ultra Deep Sea because grappling with the one thing in her life that she believes in anymore would hurt someone she cares about.

The Ultra Deep Sea is a lotus-eating machine, a fantasy world Tsubaki can escape into where she can be anything and doesn't have to confront the past or the future. What does that remind you of, members of Hoenn?

Moving On

SPOILER: Click to show

This thread involves Tsubaki finally coming to a realization that living for the sake of someone else's trauma is defining her in a way that isn't true to herself. She can't keep living in a dream anymore, and has to confront what's real.

In a way, though Navy gave her all this opportunity and guidance, without asserting herself she was also stifled by living alongside someone so much larger than life. What he didn't want her to be was the only thing she could accept for herself, and that fed into her running away from reality.

The only future she can accept is one in which she confronts her past, going after Rocket.

She must assert herself as an individual and come into her own, which she can't do when Navy's right there. He's like a star that burns too bright, and her clarity of purpose doesn't yet shine bright enough for her to stand out as an individual when she's working with him. She'll get there, but first she needs to learn how to be an adult instead of a wounded child.

This thread's the final chapter of Tsubaki's story on Dewford, at least as Navy's assistant. Promising to keep her head on straight, she resigns and gathers the resolve to leave Dewford in order to get more directly involved in the struggle against Team Rocket. To that end, she asks him for his blessing in the form of a letter of recommendation sent to freya morningstar .