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animosity

POSTED ON May 7, 2024 7:20:57 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphtxt"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphicon"]

something tells him navy has already made their choice for when the time comes. all that's left to do is wait. but, again, matias has done all he can for the man. with warnings delivered and reiterated again, what follows is on navy's hands.

"i'll be fine."

he waves his hand, though oddly not as dismissive as it should've been.

"keep groudon between us, the council, and the commissioner. the majority believe i am no longer bound to it."

though his eyes do not narrow, he watches navy closely.

"i want to keep it that way."

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Navy

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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wartime efforts | past

POSTED ON May 7, 2024 7:16:58 GMT

VIRIDIAN, WARTIME

his precious home is already burning and it will continue to burn; he isn't foolish enough to believe otherwise; but he refuses to go down without a fight.

"many of your kind have tried to kill me, and yet, here i stand."

magmortar tanks the SOLAR BEAM and does its best to fight through the damage. up close, its eyes pulse in a CONFUSE RAY to try and take the CHARIZARD out of the battle, allowing it to focus on the BLAZIKEN — a LOW KICK follows.

"what makes you think you'll be the one to finally take me down?"

dorian westcliff
MAKE IT DOUBLE

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submission

POSTED ON May 7, 2024 7:12:54 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphtxt"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphicon"]

kanto haunts him the same way she so eloquently describes. his mind often wanders back to relive the fights to try and imagine what he should have done, if anything, to ensure kanto survived and that they won.

but they didn't — they failed then — but this is different and he needs her to know that.

"you didn't fail."

his head shakes in gentle defiance, challenging her words.

"i never wanted any of that to happen, you know. but the truth is, i didn't try to stop it from happening. i gave into my desires even if it ended up hurting the people i love, and i did it knowing i could use groudon as an excuse."

he pauses, shrugging.

"that's how it started, at least, and when i realized i was no longer in control, it was too late to do anything."

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Eva Morales

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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POSTED ON May 7, 2024 7:03:50 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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"a cost i never wanted to pay."

but the decision had been taken away from him; perhaps it was never his to begin with; and all he can do now is accept, process, and move on from the guilt and grief that weigh so heavily on his shoulders.

"but i imagine kyle had a reason for doing what he did. i don't know what yet, haven't been able to figure that out."

he's never been particularly good at reading kyle lopez. it has always been the opposite; his thoughts and feelings would be known and made clear to him even before he's had a chance to realize it.

"any ideas?"

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Elisabeth Fiorelli

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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clarity

POSTED ON May 6, 2024 8:49:17 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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what is meant as a vague promise is taken as an added barrier, a slight rise to the walls she has enacted with everyone else that for whatever reason are not as high when with him. he wonders, as he watches her step away, if those walls are higher now.

would advancing only force them higher?

"okay, but you don't have to close yourself off, you know."

if that's what she's doing, which he suspects she is. it's what he used to do, too, when wanting to avoid confrontation.

"don't push me away, anna."

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]annalise henderson

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rights and wrongs

POSTED ON May 6, 2024 8:16:27 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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it is not a smirk of belittlement, no, more so relief that despite all the turmoil they've been through, josh's optimism and childlike wonder hasn't diminished. if anything, it might even have flourished.

"your faith is admirable."

foolish, perhaps, but who is he to judge what empowers others.

"i hope it stays that way. really, i do. but i'm sure you can feel it too."

he pauses.

"there's a fight coming. i can feel it, the same i felt in kanto."

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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POSTED ON May 6, 2024 8:09:27 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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[attr="class","retiredsilphicon"]

the pandemonium would feel insurmountable, he imagines, not only for the league but for what remains of the silph brothers. once avatars torn asunder by team rocket. by the same person, in fact. the realization makes him chuckle.

at her question, he bows like a showman, showing little to no effort as his arms are raised to his side.

"i'd show you if i could."

he follows it with a nod.

"but yes, it is."

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Elisabeth Fiorelli

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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clarity

POSTED ON May 6, 2024 8:00:09 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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"it's not anyone's fault."

fault would imply blame which has no place here as neither of them did anything wrong. they simply followed their wants in a time of vulnerability. and yet the guilt feels palpable — why?

"anna, it's fine, really."

he stands up, showing fight and a semblance of urgency as she looks for her altaria.

"will you stay? it's still early, and—"

—and i want to spend more time with you.

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]annalise henderson

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POSTED ON May 6, 2024 7:06:34 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphtxt"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphicon"]

perhaps his resentments aren't there at all, muted under grief and guilt where he would've once misplaced them. he eyes WO-CHIEN behind her, though pays it no other attention besides the occasional glance to meet its gaze.

"you can blame kyle for that. but you did achieve one thing."

his arcanine sits, still tall enough to have its head petted by its trainer. his fingers tap against the fire-type's head, bouncing in repetition as he speaks.

"my ties to groudon have been severed."

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Elisabeth Fiorelli

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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clarity

POSTED ON May 6, 2024 6:53:37 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphtxt"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphicon"]

guilt looms over him, too, reminding him of the man who'd given up their life just so he could be here today, free of the shackles that once bound him to his patron. what has he done to repay them since? what good has he done? what does this achieve except satiating desires and loneliness?

with time, he will process that this is perhaps different. what he refuses to realize and accept is that it may be different only for him, and not her.

his arm shows no resistance as it's pulled away from her body.

" — wait, i'm sorry." the tremble in his voice is gentle. kind. "i shouldn't have done that."

even if he so intensely wanted to.

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]annalise henderson

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POSTED ON May 6, 2024 6:43:36 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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his grin lingers through the chuckle he exhales not out of disbelief — her responses do little to surprise him, falling in line with what he has come to expect from her — but out of relief, almost, that nothing seems to have changed. there's some sort of comfort to find in that.

"no, i listened. i just didn't care."

the primal markings that taint his body run the side of his neck and across his face, now appearing smoother than they did previously.

"i guess this means you knew the red shard was corrupted."

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Elisabeth Fiorelli

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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POSTED ON May 6, 2024 6:11:57 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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[attr="class","retiredsilphicon"]

it's almost sad to see how futile her defenses are should he actually be here to claim his revenge. the thicket of thorns that stretch out to keep her safe would be her undoing. he'd burnt through bryan delarosa's all the same when there were far fewer stakes.

"i'd argue the opposite."

there's too much left unsaid. but now, with the mist binding them in place, there's nowhere left to run.

"did you know?" he questions but he does not accuse.

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Elisabeth Fiorelli

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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POSTED ON May 6, 2024 5:57:14 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphtxt"]

[attr="class","retiredsilphicon"]

"if i wanted you dead, elisa, you already would be."

if he truly was the unforgiving monster she made him out to be, he would've announced his presence with an EARTH SPIKE through her ankles to stop her from fleeing. then, he'd press forward, goading and toying with her to make her pay for what she'd done.

instead, he raises a hand and runs it along arcanine's fur, stifling the embers that quickly fade. the fire-type nudges its nose into matias' palm, then nods.

after smiling down at his arcanine, he looks back at the underboss.

"can we talk?"

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Elisabeth Fiorelli

[attr="class","retiredsilphpkmn"] asilo (m) flash fire - solar beam, teleport, dragon hammer, extreme speed, crunch, play rough, burn up

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deficiency

POSTED ON May 6, 2024 5:53:04 GMT

[attr="class","retiredsilphbg"]

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she would be wrong. he does worry, evident by how quickly his gaze falls to the brace around her ankle. it's hard to discern the degree of her injury from that alone, so he doesn't wince. instead, he asks, pressing forward where he otherwise wouldn't have before.

"what happened?"

the comment about his instability goes ignored. he had been stable, he simply requested not to receive any visitors.

[attr="class","retiredsilphtag"]Delilah Silph

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