Perhaps he had said something awkward. The lack of response is enough to indicate as much. Though he understood at the very least the man was listening to him. He bit the inside of his lip not wanting to say anything. Not about how this felt like a hug, or how much he enjoyed said weird hug. IT felt like a gesture of mid comfort but…he liked it more than he should’ve. Once again, he’s reminded that those had also been scarce before. But he’s nervous, and this is a job. And the last thing he wants is that kind of affection confusing him when he’s getting used to his job, or worse: destroying his already weak resolve when it came time to negotiate his terms and conditions. [break][break]

If Lana is anything, it’s patient. He doesn’t rush Victor, leaning against him once more and looking up at the night sky. He mulled it over for a moment, sighing quietly as he tried to put together something insightful. It eluded him. Form what he’d gathered the man was just…he dind’t know what he was yet. He’d assumed lonely or desperate, but Victor seemed more put together than that. “So this w-was…j-just another date t-then?” Like the Sauna too, and he supposed the aftermath of the casino. Perhaps this fell on his shoulders as well. “S…Should I t-take you s-somewhere next, t-then?” McDonalds. No. “



[break][break]

+ victor evans hehehe post #16

tl'dr [break][break]

- john mulaney-WE DONT HAVE TIME TO UNPACK THAT RIGHT NOW.GIF [break]
- OOF BUDDY lets discuss our jobs[break]
- making conversation [break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

There’s a reason his laughter earlier was a surprise to both him and his pokemon. Victor always sounded so…serious. Tired maybe. He hadn’t spent enough time with him to pin it down. Whatever it was, it added to his intensity. Despite seemingly mild mannered, it flared up at times. Like when dealing with @elliott earlier. That’s not enough to scare him off. After all, it wasn’t like he’d laid a hand on him. He had no reason to be scared of that either. “Ok…t-then…good job?” he snickered unsure what to say. Technically…that was Victor’s job during this endeavor. He provided, and, well, Lana entertained. Whatever the hell that meant. [break][break]

He shook his head, knowing well enough a few bonbons Mike had retrieved for him wasn’t exactly what Victor had in mind when he asked for a full meal. “W-What I had was good.” He explained with a shake of his head. “But…i-it wasn’t much.” He shrugged lightly. In his defense, he’d been a little too nervous with the pretty clothes and Elliott to really concentrate on eating. It had mostly been watching Victor and Elliott and then…watching Victor so he wouldn’t follow up on him. “I-I’m not that h-hungry though…so i-it worked out.” He paused once more, blinking slowly as he formulated another thought. “W-What was your p-plan? For b-bringing me here I m-mean?” Was it really that much fun just showing him off? He dind’t really get it, but if he was doing this long term he wanted to understand a bit more.


[break][break]

+ victor evans hehehe post #15

tl'dr [break][break]

- john mulaney-WE DONT HAVE TIME TO UNPACK THAT RIGHT NOW.GIF [break]
- OOF BUDDY lets discuss our jobs[break]
- making conversation [break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Nothing about this feels real, and yet it is. Not just the sky and the lights. The party, the clothes, the food. The company. Paid or not, he never would’ve thought he’d ever be somewhere like this. Not even a month ago he was scrounging up pay by snatching quarters off the dirty floor of a casino after doing petty cleaning work for them. Now, in just a couple of weeks he had more money than he knew what to do with, and anxiety that followed. Where would he go? What would he do? He would become dependent on it, he knew this. It was so easy to. [break][break]

It felt like he’d died and swapped places with someone else. Someone with a completely different life from him. The only sense of gravity for him was Garbage Baby, his beloved smelly partner, and the group of ghosts that tailed him and helped him. His team held him together far better than any family member ever had. So, when Victors hopes that he, a dumb poor kid from deep in the suburbs of a small town, he lets out a laugh. Not something shy or bashful. But something hard and sudden. It’s baffling really, that’s he’s here, watching this moment, with this person next to him. He’s utterly undeserving of it, having never imagined something like this and that’s why its funny. Was it irony? “N-Nothing could make me forget t-this.” He said trying not to snort. “A-All things considered…I-I’m enjoying myself.” He confessed. “Thank you.”


[break][break]

+ victor evans hehehe post #14

tl'dr [break][break]

- yo im scared [break]
- come get this twink help [break]
- lbr lana started from the bottom now we here [break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Before he can hear Victor's reply, the announcement rings out and soon enough the sky is streaked with the Litleonids. It starts out like a small shower, and soon enough the downpour hits. Even if the light had been turned on, there’s nothing that anyone here would’ve missed. It’s absolutely breathtaking, and Lana’s left awestruck, taken by the sight. It’s like the first time he experienced hail, but 10 times cooler. [break][break]

He’s dazed in the experience, red eyes glued to the sky, head craned upward. His grip on Victor loosened, and when the man finally spoke the trainer could barely nod in response. He doesn’t realize he is right to be cautious, to be careful of the honeyed trap he found himself in. Lana’s wish radiates out of him into the universe, the same as it has always been. He just wants to be happy, in the barest sense of the word. No screaming, no fighting, no ambitions, no struggles. Only peace. In this exact moment, held by a man he barely knew and spoiled by the skies above, he etches into his memory this fleeting piece of joy to last him the rest of his days. Inarticulate as always, he replied softly, “Yes.” long after Victor had said anything to him. “D-Don’t tell me what y-you wished for..” he whispered, trailing off.


[break][break]

+ victor evans hehehe post #13

tl'dr [break][break]

- we lay the foreshadowing on thicc today [break]
- articulate convos with victor [break]
- endeavour: use 'breathtaking' [break]
- endeavour: make a wish [break] [break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

For now, he’s glad the man dropped the conversation and focused on the meteor shower. Lana’s eager, almost smiling as he waited, just barely giving Victor a glance before he felt himself grow unstable as his patron easily lifted him off the ground, confirming his suspicions that he really could throw him if he wanted to. “O-Of cou-” Ruslan is barely able to stutter out as the older man so effortlessly held him up. [break][break]

Even in the dark, when everyone’s attention would be on the meteor shower, Lana still felt a hot flash of embarrassment as he grabbed onto Victor for support. He wasn’t used to being carried. He had barely been carried around when he was younger. The moment he learned to walk they’d stopped. It made him emotional, but that wasn’t the worst part. He dind’t like how easily the man had managed the feet. Either Victor was far stronger than he’d imagined the tired man could be, or Lana was…emaciated. The brush of fingers that weren’t his own set tingles through his scalp and he almost felt himself lean into it before soft warmed bloomed through his neck, radiating from the kiss. Eyes wide as saucers, heart still in its cage, Lana opened his mouth to say something before tensing up as he felt something wet replace that warm fuzzy feeling form before. “Victor!” he hissed, unable to understand what exactly he was feeling in that rush of emotion. [break][break]

Especially after being handed what amounted to a blank check. Part of him is still gaging, trying to understand what it all meant, and then the other part of him was simply buzzing with energy and creating white noise that scrambled all coherent thought. Thankfully, his date accounted for that, moving right along. Lana’s all too stunned, wide eyes staring at Victor’s silhouette. What should he do? What could he do? He needed to calm down for starters, the was messing with him. Clearly. “I-I will.” He assured, him, voice shaky. He was already making a list for the invoice. Ruslan is a coward, and he does not have the convictions nor the experience to pulls something as forward as Victor had. But he still has something. Growing warmer with each passing second in Victor’s grasp, he simply tried to act normal, turning his attention back to the stars and resting his head on Victor. Aside from the steady but painful beating of his heart, he’s able to articulate something. “C…Can w-we come back h-here? When i-its less crowded?” he asked, more or less leaning towards Victor’s ear to whisper it. "Y-You can do t-that again if you d-do." he added, glad it was dark so Victor wouldn't see the dark red blush setting his entire face aflame.



[break][break]

+ victor evans hehehe post #12

tl'dr [break][break]

- IM NOT FREAKINGGG OUUUUT [break]
- BUT IT FEELS LIKE TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!! HOW DID THIS SHIT COME ABOUT!??!! OOOOOoooooOoOoOoOoH!!![break]
- lana is chilling with Victor [break]
- chilling is an over-simplificaiton but he's not upset at least [break]
[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

At least Wren doesn’t snap at him again, but they do look annoyed when he looked over their outfit. At least they were listening to him. After a minute or two, Lana slide to sit down by the tree roots, looking up at the blonde quietly, and trying to catch up with the melt of his snow cone. He crunched through cherry flavored ice in silence. The Litten settled itself between the two, licking at its paws and trying its best to keep cool as well. When Lana’s dessert dwindled to mostly cold juice, he set the little plastic bowl in front of the Litten letting them have it. [break][break]

Lana frowned a little, before beginning to carefully reapply sunscreen on what already looked like a developing sunburn. “No p-problem…” he replied, dark red eyes on his arms and legs as he rubbed in sunscreen on anything exposed to the sun. “T-The Litten…is it y-yours?” he asked, looking over that the happy cat and then up at the blonde once more. “T-They led me t-to you.”
[break][break]


[break][break]

+ wren rourke [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Lana stared up at Victor, blinked slowly as he processed this new and strange information. Even when he still had a permanent home he’d never had much of a routine. When he thought about it, he’d never really had any pride in his appearance…at least not until the person that he saw in the mirror became more and more gaunt and greasy as the years went on. “I-Imagine that…” he murmured eyeing his patron before asking, “Y-You’ve worn s-silk shirts, right?” He might’ve touched that. [break][break]


He tried to smile, but there’s no real emotion there. He simply wanted to avoid admitting Victor was right. He didn’t need a morning routine. “A r-regular place to shower e-every week is f-fine.” He replied. Many would say he wasn’t taking advantage of this whole relationship, but he was also trying to be cautious. They just started this, it felt wrong to be greedy off the bat. “’Sides, c-can’t have a routine i-if I only d-do it once or twice a w-week.” He added with a small shrug. Ultimately, consistency and routine was the point, and Lana’s life was currently the farthest thing from that.

AJFNRBLT [break][break]


718 - 99 = 619

[break][break]

+ victor evans [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Lana flinched a little as she snapped at him and almost took a step back, ready to book it. But it didn’t go further beyond that thankfully. “S-Shouldn’t you have worn s-something….less…?” He trailed off there unsure how to finish that sentence and still make it sound polite. He doesn’t resist when she snatched away the extra snowcone. Instead, simply watched before turning around as the Litten began to paw at his feet and begin to make its way towards a couple of large trees with plenty of free shade right now. His partner is close behind the cat pokemon. [break][break]

Lana waited, awkwardly gathering the courage to speak up and gesture at there the pokemon went. “C-C’mon then, lets get y-you out of t-the shade.” He said struggling to keep his voice normal. “Sun! s-Sun!” he corrected quickly, turning away from Wren and moving robotically to join the other pokemon. Under the canopy of leaves, the world was 10 degrees cooler. Coupled with half melted frozen cice and syrup, he was feeling better already. As Wren approached, he set his dessert down, eyeing the Litten and Dusclops with a warning before checking his small bag and pulling out a half empty bottle sunscreen. Yes, he had totally stolen it from a family on his way in. However, he had to protect himself form the heat and this was one way to do it. “D-Do you need some, maybe? You look…d-damp.” [break][break]
[break][break]

“Hey….do you want this?” he asked offering up his Dusclops’ snowcone. [break][break]


[break][break]

+ wren rourke [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Lana perked up again at how easily Victor agreed. He hadn’t even set the terms on his side of things yet. It made him feel wary even if this was the ideal situation for him. This was far less stressful than earlier. Contracts were good, Ruslan. Not that he knew that much about it, but if he was setting the terms then he’d make sure he could read it before agreeing to it. He felt himself blush a little, glancing back at the Minior, at the stars, at anything to avoid making eye contact. He played with a piece of his hair as his mind immediately went the unspoken and unaddressed conditions of their agreement. A few things he was aware of, if only slightly, but had purposefully ignored. [break][break]

“I-I…I’m not s-sure the extent of w-what you want with me, but regardless, I w-want b-bonuses for…e-every…” No. Nope. Not here. He couldn’t say this out loud. He’s more frustrated than anything, his eyes flaring red and his shoulders hunching up. He could barely hold a conversation much less address business like this. “Victor,” he finally deigned to look up at his patron once more. “I-I’ll write s-something up later…” he said more or less dropping the conversation at the moment. Ruslan fidgeted under his date’s gaze perking up only after hearing Dr. Holo’s announcement. He heard something go off, and the lights began to dim. Instinctively, he moved closer to his date’s arm, eyes moving towards the sky with barely hidden excitement. “It’s starting soon.” Lana said quickly, his voice clear for once as his attention locked in with what was happening. The embarrassment of talking about his work disappearing instantly.


[break][break]

+ victor evans hehehe post #11

tl'dr [break][break]

- MY BOY READ 3 GOOGLE SEARCHES AND SAID 'I CAN DO THIS NO SWEAT' [break]
- chilling wiht victor [break]
- endeavour: play wiht hair [break]
- endeavour: reference incoming meteor shower [break]
[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The silence lingered, and while to most that was unnerving, for Lana, it calmed him down. Silence was always easier for him than speaking. He lacked the tact or charisma many other coordinators possessed. His only real quality was hard work that occasionally sparked when something caught his interest. There’s hesitation present as he forced himself to look away from the Minior and up to his patron. ‘Our arrangement.’ Was a weird way of putting it but he couldn’t think of any other way to describe it either. He wasn’t dumb, he knew how these relationships were typically supposed to go and how it hadn’t yet. He’d been careful though.
[break][break]

He quietly thought to the tentative contacts he had on his phone. How he’d been beginning to siphon cash flow from other sources if only because of the fragility these relationships usually had. His eyebrows knit together as he thought it over. Victor was a big enough weirdo, but maybe…something about Elliott earlier had rattled him. “It…mmm..” He tried to speak up before holding back. As nice and easy as this had been Lana had to remember he had nothing. No home to go back to, and no way to survive. He had to be careful. “If it’s a-alright with y-you…can I-I get that in w-writing before I agree?” he asked. “I-I didn’t k-know…you were s-so picky.” He added, attempting to add a little humor with a wry smile. If he could get a written contract, he could protect himself. Theoretically. That’s how people protected themselves form verbal arrangements right? “Sorry…I-I didn’t realize h-how serious y-you were about t-this?” he continued.


[break][break]

+ victor evans hehehe post #10

tl'dr [break][break]

- heehee hoohoo pretty miniors! [break]
- stfu getcho bag ruslan [break]
[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Garbage Baby, while sometimes smelly, and unable to shake the moniker of his name, had grown up spoiled and lazy. IF someone was willing to give him attention, he’d take it. He didn’t move at all, and when Casey reached to pat his belly one of his hind legs began kicking. “Y-Yes. I think t-that’s the case f-for me. Ah…um…i-it’s been that w-way since childhood. M-Mainly just…ghost t-types.” He said looking down at the water and picking under dirty fingernails. [break][break]

Not everyone liked ghost types, just like not everyone liked bug types. But he found that often times the more mischievous ghosts had a bad reputation…and they just made him seem gloomier than he already was. He didn’t resent it though. After all, aside from the Linoone by Casey, they’d been his only friends growing up. He sort of owed a lot to the ghosts back at home. [break][break]

As Casey told his story, Lana tried to meet his gaze, awkwardly flinching away every so often. But the story made him smile, laugh even. It was kind of sad but also kind of funny in an ironic way. “Gross…how does h-he feel about y-you almost eating h-him?”

jBBCv8y4 [break][break]


920 - 59 = 861

[break][break]

+ Casey Fincher [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]