reve is glad artemis has all he needs for the snow — he wouldn’t let him go out into it without, of course. he smiles at the warm feel of artemis’s hand in his — he can feel it even through his gloves. maybe it’s the contrast of the cold.

reve allows himself to be pulled out into the snow, grinning at the scene around him, and the person before him.

“hey!” he teases lightheardly, at artemis having pulled him, “so impolite.” he can’t help but laugh, though. he could never actually be mad at artemis. it was artemis, after all.

the purple-haired man looks as at-home as a seal in the snowy cold. adorable, reve thinks. artemis looks adorable. with his bundled up self, all ready for the cold in his gloves and coat. reve feels disgustingly fond, almost like he might melt into the snow himself if he were to get any fonder.



reve, on the other hand, does not feel nearly as at-home. the man is used to bright beach days and sun, not frost shivers and the white glow of cold. but he wouldn’t let artemis know this, of course.

one look at artemis and it’s enough to make any cold worth it. [break][break]

---

[break]@artemis reve is gay

reve smiles at artemis’s request, none the wiser to his evil plan. glancing back to look outside the apartment at the snowy, powder-white scene just outside his window.

“...looks really cold,” he hesitates, “but i’m up for it.” artemis was asking him to do something together. how could he say no?

he drops the blanket onto paws, who’s laying across the couch, and reaches for a coat. “you have everything you need?” reve asks, “if we’re going out?” he knows it’s likely artemis does, considering that he made it to reve’s place in the first place, but still; he wants to make sure.

he wraps himself up in his heaviest coat, glad he can finally put it to use, and pulls out a pair of gloves and a scarf from a drawer. maybe it was a bit much, but reve wasn’t used to the cold. if the temperature got barely colder than summer reve would find himself shaking each time a breeze went by.

“let’s go,” he says, smiling. [break][break]

---

[break]+@artemis

• player/ooc name: labyrinth
• character tags: reve zajac @maude @venus
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): n/a
• ic posts for characters: reve maude venus
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments:

reve is bundled up in a blanket when he opens the door. “artemis!” he feels his heart pounding slightly harder; he’s excited to see him, as always. it’s artemis, after all. he moves to let him past, enthusiastically chattering at him. “artemis, did you see? — wait, of course you did, you just came from outside, but. snowing!”

he knows it’s nothing too special. he knows he shouldn’t be so visibly excited; certainly it would embarrass him, as used to snow as artemis must be. considering that he’s from snowpoint. and yet he can’t mask his excitement — reve, being from sunyshore, has never had the chance to see snow before.

he pulls his blanket tighter around him. recently, he’s learned that his apartment gets cold when it’s cold out. “blankets on the couch if you want one,” he offers. he moves back to the window where his vulpix lays curled up on the windowpane to look out at the beautiful, snow-covered landscape, gently petting the fluffy creature.

“it’s so pretty,” he says, in wonder. “isn’t it?”[break][break]

---

[break]
+@artemis

tw: gore , body horror

Reve is terrified. There’s not an ounce of doubt about that — he’s nothing but terrified, and hurt.

But there’s no time to be that. @artemis is in trouble. Artemis needs his help, and so does the one Artemis loves. He has to be there for them. What sorry excuse for a friend - or whatever Reve is to Artemis - wouldn’t be?

It takes a second for Artemis to come back into view — has he really been pulled so far by his desires? It had hardly felt that far. Regardless, he was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid Reve, going like that. Being pulled away like that.

Artemis is with a companion — mint frost , it appears to be, at first. One step closer, though, and he can tell it’s not.

This Mint is falling apart at the seams. Or all over, really.

The horror doesn’t set in for a few moments. A few precious moments where he could have been rushing to Artemis, could have been taking him away from this, are poured away by the slow breaking of horror. The observations tricking in one by one: the hair in Artemis’s hand, the decaying flesh, bones rotting to the surface.

“Artemis!” He tries to cough out. It’s quiet, but it’s there. He starts running, determined not to let Artemis be alone with a decaying corpse any longer.

Finally, after too long, he reaches him. He reaches, almost desperately, for Artemis. Wrapping a hand over his shoulder, he attempts to pull him away from the horrific bag of skin and bones before them.

Now, to find Mint. The real Mint, because surely if his Artemis hadn’t been the real thing, if the Artemis here existed outside of the Artemis there, the Mint here must not be the true Mint.

Reve would make this right. He would find Mint. For Artemis.

“It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay,” he tries to tell Artemis, who is certainly as terrified as him. More terrified than him. He has not pulled himself from his nightmarish scene. “I promise. We’ll find Mint, true Mint, this will all be okay. I’m sorry I left you.” He rambles. An pathetic attempt to reassure the one he hasn’t been there to protect.

He’s already turning, looking to find the Mint Artemis holds so dear. Pleading with the world that he’ll be nearby.

Just barely, he thinks he might see someone. He’s unsure, though.

“Artemis, we need to go,” he tries to readjust his hold on him to be more forgiving to the purple-haired man.

reve tries to sink back further into the couch.

“mmgh. maybe? i do want to try, someday maybe. could be fun.” reve is thinking about it now. artemis doesn’t seem the most enthusiastic, which is slightly discouraging, but reve is sure he could convince him to come around. the possibility…

an image comes to mind.

artemis sitting at his computer, writing an article. reve is there, going through photos, deciding which would be the best to accompany, writing the captions. them discussing for hours what each move by rocket could mean, doing work to warn the public of the insidious organization.

his heart warms, and he can’t help but lean a little closer to his beautiful friend.

“could be useful.”

then artemis signs again, and reve deflates. they don’t seem to believe it could possibly have any effect — which is fair, reve supposes, the likelihood of two journalists being able to contribute anything is low. but it isn’t zero, and reve can’t help but still hope artemis would give more consideration to it.

“i don’t know. they might, they might not. maybe they won’t even realize we’re looking into them, if we’re good enough.” he hurries in an attempt to justify his thoughts. “i mean, who’s going to suspect two random reporters, right? especially when one of them is artemis chary. if you write the articles anonymously... no one would suspect you of aiding rocket, warning the public, because it would be too ridiculous. you're too famous to be involved. could be able to use your regular self against them.”

reve hesitates. “i know it's not likely, but. could make a difference. we could make a difference.”

maybe he's pleading a bit too hard, now. he needs to tone it down, probably, he's getting too passionate, too carried away. he can't let them know exactly how deep his hatred of rocket runs. not yet.

---

@artemis

    Reve shudders at the touch — a moment, and it’s gone. He has no time to dwell on it though. There are more important things for his focus to fall onto.

    Such as the fact that Artemis now appears to be panicking, signing rapidly for… for Mint.

    “. Mint? Mint is okay, Artemis, I left him — he was out of the mist, last I saw, I don’t think. Unless he followed us in or it spread…”

    It stings, just a little. Artemis’s concern over Mint, despite the fact that he may not even be in the mist and yet —

    No, this was stupid. Of course Artemis’s concern was fair after what’s been happening, and. Even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter. He pushes this feeling down, deep into the corners of his mind he promises himself he’d only plunge into if he ever worked up the courage and funds for therapy, and calms himself.

    “Artemis. Mint is okay, I don’t think — would anything have happened to them? No, no, of course not. It’ll be alright,” he tries to soothe, because Artemis doesn’t deserve or need to be panicking right now. No, what he deserves and needs is to get out of this odd place so Reve could make sure he was safe and happy and well and probably leave him with Mint and then go home or something because wow he needs to get home — he is so tired.

    Then he hears another yell. This time, it’s distinctly not Artemis’s voice, but rather that of the purple-haired man’s dance partner. Mint, the very one Artemis has been calling out for.

    “Artemis? You hear that? Mint, it’s Mint. It’s alright, they’re okay, see?” He takes a moment before turning to try to face the direction he believed the voice to have come from. “Mint?” He yells. “It’s — It’s Reve. Obviously! I-” They’re cut off by Mint’s assertion that these are —

    His thought is interrupted by that hand. It’s back on his shoulder. He finds himself spinning rapidly to find…

    Them. In the flesh.

    He’s frozen, he can’t move, they’re gone, they’ve been gone for what has felt like forever, and, and yet there they stand, smiling at him with that look of soft love he’s been craving for what has felt longer than eons. The one he had once believed to be his life partner, until theirs was cut short.

    His voice is weak, “My ruby,” the words just faintly escape his lips, “lovely? Beautiful?”

    “The one and only,” they speak, smiling ever-so-softly. “Come back to bed, beautiful. Your lavender is waiting to cuddle — he’s impatient, you know this.”

    “I do?”

    He notices a third has joined. From behind them, he has stepped out. Artemis Chary, in all of his beautiful glory stands before him, signing, ‘you made me get up to get you,’ he lightly teases. ‘Come with us, back to bed.’

    Reve chokes out a sob. He wants nothing more than to do just what Artemis is saying, to go and curl and cuddle up and stay like that forever. They love him, he can see it in their faces. It’s a well-worn expression upon that of his old love, and a new, strange one upon Artemis’s. Each makes his heart flutter.

    He is loved.

    This is all he has ever wanted.

    He believes he might cry.

    Of course, a creeping feeling has to rise to his gut. Because no one would ever love him genuinely, not again — he had his chance, and he had lost it. So this... something is wrong, something is off. Artemis was just standing behind him, and he most certainly has never known them. They preceded him in Reve’s life, Artemis didn’t even know they had existed. So this situation, this... this dream. Surely.

    It's not real. None of it is real. And he needs to get to his Artemis, the real one, and he has to save him. He has to get him out of here, and he must make sure he is secure and safe with Mint, and then the two of them can be happy and he can go home to cry because as much as he wants this he must resist. For Artemis.

    He turns back around, glancing over his shoulder to where he knows Artemis is.

    He is met with a view of Artemis. And he is turning away from Artemis. The Artemis that he is turning away from, he.

    The hand on his shoulder tightens, “lovely? What are you looking at?”

    “Artemis,” he speaks quietly, hurriedly, answering mindlessly.

    “Oh, you’re seeing things again, lovely. Artemis is right here. Your lavender.”

    “But —”


    “Oh, dear. You’re ill. Sit down, I’m making you some tea.”
    

    “No, I.”


    “Sit.” He is forced into a chair.

    They stand before him, soft and smiley as ever. They turn to the Artemis, the… the new one, and he hands them a cup of tea. He doesn’t know where they got it from.

    They crouch before him, raising it to his lips. Suddenly, he can feel the steam. The heat. He tries to protest. This will burn him, surely.

    “No, no, dear. Beauty. Beloved. Drink your tea now,” they have raised it to his lips and he has no choice but to drink. It burns. It burns his tongue, his throat, his mouth — saying it all hurts is an underestimate, and he thinks he would scream if he could.

    He is in tears, there’s no doubt of that. If there was any chance of it, it is gone as soon as he feels the harsh rag rubbing at his eyes to dry them. His chin is tilted upwards by a hand on it, and he is laughed at.

    “Look at you, you’re hilarious. Little Reve Zajac — oh, don’t look at me like that, you can’t be that surprised.” They crouch before him. “Oh. Oh dear. Did you think that was actually going to help?”

    A smile is upon that Artemis’s face. As if he is amused by Reve’s distress.

    He reaches. He tries to sign to the Artemis. ‘Love?’ He is confused, and he is desperate.

    The Artemis just shakes his head. He looks to Reve’s past love, who nods. He strides forward, kneeling before Reve. He signs, ‘There is no love for you, Reve Zajac.’

    That, Reve thinks, is what breaks him. He chokes out a sob, and that is it. He is painfully, stunningly numb. If his mind were not so occupied, he thinks he would be worried. He stands from the chair, pushing the hands of his, well, his not-loves off of him.

    And he runs. He runs for the real Artemis. He has to get him, get Mint. Get them out, and make them safe.

---

Reve is searching. He’s searching for — he’s searching for Artemis, of course. Who else would he be looking for?

For the moment, all of the earlier heartbreak and sadness washes away in favor of one feeling: fear. They liked the unknown, but not when it was some strange mist that had appeared from the sky.

Reve could not hope enough that this was just oddly, bizarrely, dense fog. He hopes his dearest friend hasn't wandered into anything dangerous. He hopes on everything.

Not that it matters much now. He had seen the direction Artemis had gone into the mist, and ran forward in after him. They're here now regardless of what it is, he supposes.

“Artemis!” He yells out, desperate. “Artemis!” Some part of them is hoping Artemis will suddenly turn around, stop right in front of them so he could take him into his arms and they could leave this. Stop this. Go cuddle or something, in Reve’s home, with his dogs, and maybe he could try to leave behind the events of the night —

He thinks he can hear distant calls of his own name for a moment, and turns to face behind him for just a moment. No, that wasn’t Artemis. Artemis didn’t call out for people.

He braces himself for a moment before beginning to sprint in the general direction he had seen Artemis go in. He was never the fastest runner, but he’s desperately hoping to everything that there might be some chance of finding his closest friend.

At last, he sees the purple-haired man not too far in front of him. Allowing himself to untense slightly, he hurries towards him.

“Artemis? Artemis, what is this?” He’s worried — terrified, even. He doesn’t know what this place is, or what it may mean.

He thinks he can hear a voice again, this one different from the last. He tries to ignore it. This one, still unbeknownst to him, he is right to try to ignore.

From the distance comes a “Reve? Where are you, friend? Come back, it’s movie night. Your boyfriend is going to be missing you while we allllll pile.”

Reve shudders. He doesn’t — he doesn’t have a boyfriend, of course.

“Let me take you out of here?, Artemis,” he pleads, watching them carefully for a response.

It's barely a moment before he feels a hand on his shoulder.

---

@artemis mint frost

reve sighs. “...kind of an awful thought. yeah. maybe.”

he waits a moment, considering. “i hate that we don’t know. rocket could be anyone, anywhere. if you’re right, maybe others feel the same way. just leaning into the fear. can’t even really blame them. it’s kind of scary, don’t you think?” apparent neutrality is becoming more difficult to maintain, and that’s also scary to them.

they consider artemis close. he’s his dearest friend in hoenn. but they aren’t sure if they’re close enough to purposefully let him know what he really thinks of rocket. he doesn’t know why, but fear runs through him at the thought. maybe it's the idea of letting someone get intimate enough to know his worst tragedy. his weakest point.

he should trust artemis more, really. he’s his best friend. they care for each other. and artemis has no reason to care what reve thinks of rocket — that much, reve trusts entirely.

he doesn't want to consider the lack of trust in his best friend. that was something to bring up in therapy, if he ever got it. his thoughts shift back to the anonymity of rocket. he hates the thought of it. rocket being perfectly hidden away, kept from the knowledge of the public. for a moment he wonders if it’d be worth it, to side with rocket for safety from their hidden numbers.

no. definitely not. not after what they did to…

he has to stop himself at that, electing to do more constructive things with his thoughts. like consider how adorable the pokémon sitting close to him is. he smiles at estella, a bit tensely. just a little creature.

he keeps speaking, though. “that sucks. considering my guess isn’t any good.” he doesn’t know why, but he had hoped artemis could have more information. know something they didn’t, something that could help. but again, in order for him to have that, he’d have to be caught up in everything — something he could never hope artemis to be.

“maybe we should start covering rocket stories,” he almost jokes. almost. he intends it as one, but after he says it, he isn’t certain it’s entirely a joke — part of him thinks that perhaps, it would be his chance to do something about everything they’ve done to — to the world. “i snap the photos, you write the words to accompany them. we could figure them out together, i think. we’re a good team. who knows, maybe we’d even figure out who they are.” maybe they’re getting a bit carried away, but they can’t help it.

the thought of him and artemis working together, bringing down rocket, one article at a time… it’s lovely.

---

@artemis

Reve nods at the anxious comment. “I understand the sentiment.” Reve had been a bundle of nerves himself when he had arrived. Now, he figures he no longer has any need to be — quite possibly one of the worst things that could have happened here, in his opinion, has already. They pet Gelato carefully, a hand on the soft fur. “Gelato is a good name for him. And it’s nice to meet you, Mint. I'm Reve.”

He feels the bump of a small head on his other hand and glances in the direction of the pressure to find Solaris. He attempts to smile at her in greeting and moves to also carefully pet her. Was he really so obvious that not one, but two Pokémon have come to comfort him? It’s more than a little embarrassing.

As Mint reaches to wipe his tear, he finds himself looking anywhere other than at Mint. The action feels odd, for such a new acquaintance. He’s not upset about it. He’s only truly upset about one thing right now, and that one thing stops him from being too confused about it either.

Reve hesitates at Mint’s suggestion. He looks to Artemis, who is now standing on the side of the room alone. His heart pangs to see him standing there on his own — he isn’t sure why Mint had come over, but he hopes he hadn’t disrupted Artemis’s dance.

“Ah, I’m not sure. He doesn’t…” Normally, Reve would love nothing more than to keep Artemis company. He had originally come here to do that after all, hoping it would end in a dance with Artemis, but he suspects neither of them would be completely in love with the idea of that right now, as much as he yearns for it. Artemis is here with Mint, and Reve’s mind is… elsewhere.

He can’t stand seeing them alone, though. So after a moment, he makes up his mind. “Okay. I’m just going to go talk to him, I think. You’re… welcome to join us at any time, unless you’re sure you don’t want to come.” He doesn’t give them much of an opportunity for answering, and starts on his way across.

Just then, his attention is drawn upwards. The meteors — they had never expected them to look so close. He doesn’t know how space works, but it’s mildly distressing at best, to say the least. His feelings are only confirmed when one strikes the courtyard, and fear falls clear through his body. They hadn’t seen an explosion, or any truly dangerous things, but all it takes is one falling in the wrong place or way and — well, he isn’t exactly familiar with these sorts of things happening, and it never hurts to be careful.

His primary instinct is to get to Artemis. To make whatever attempt to protect his friend he can. Even if these meteors continued to simply fall into mist, he would know he would have been there if something had happened. That he hadn’t left his closest and dearest friend on his own.

He’s hurrying across to get to Artemis as the announcement rings out, and so focused is he that he hardly processes it. It seems to go in one ear, out the other. His gaze remains focused on Artemis, so he believes he might reach him before anything happens.

“Artemis!” He tries to call out to them.

---

POST 6 for @artemis and mint frost 

tl;dr:
- picking up where mint left off
- reve continues to be comforted by gelato and solaris
- reve introduces himself to mint, who tries to get reve to go over to artemis
- reve agrees and heads over because he hates seeing artemis alone
- he gets scared by the meteors and mist and rushes to artemis out of concern for his wellbeing

Reve feels the ninetales lick his hand, and tries to refocus his attention — he really does. He focus his eyes on the creature, smiling at him gently in an attempt to forget about the current circumstance. He takes only a moment to attempt to wipe his eyes, instead focusing on holding a hand out to pet Gelato with. He’s careful as always; even if he’s hurting, he could never forget to be cautious.

Between the task at hand and the thoughts and feelings rapidly attempting to push their way to the front of his mind, only to be rapidly ushered to the back corners again, Reve finds himself borderline unaware of the world around him. To him, for a moment, the world is nothing more than him and whatever exists in front of his face, and if he could think to be, he would be almost grateful for it. He only looks up once he hears a voice near enough to him that it could be conceivably talking to the ninetales. Reve glances up to the source, to see mint frost standing there.

It takes a moment, but he recognizes them as the one Artemis had been dancing with. Reve hadn’t noticed that they had broken away from him. They’re pretty, he supposes — he can’t blame Artemis for having taste, as much as it hurts. And not only are they pretty, but they seem bright. Like someone good for Artemis. Instantly he knows this is someone he would have to try very, very hard to hide his emotions from. He isn’t about to cry in front of Artemis’s dancing partner. The fact that he’s about to cry at all is embarrassing enough, truly. Reflective of a pitiful hope he had based his entire vision of the night upon.

Being Reve Zajac is humiliating.

“No, no,” Reve says, attempting to keep the shake from his voice. Whether he is successful or not is debatable at best. “He hasn’t been a bother whatsoever. He’s been quite sweet, and I like ninetales. Gelato, you said his name is?”

---

post 5 for mint frost and @artemis

tl;dr
- reve is briefly comforted by gelato
- a conversation with mint begins

Reve is watching Gelato as he nudges against his leg, but he’s unsure of how much his attention is truly on the fox pokémon. His mind is elsewhere.

Artemis is in love with someone else already. He has no chance, never had. He feels a pain, and knows suddenly why love and infatuation is so often compared to being wounded.

Some part of him wants to believe he’s still overblowing things. Normally, he doesn't like jumping to conclusions. But this was hardly jumping — more like taking a gentle step over a tiny gap which was rapidly being bridged. There really isn’t any other way to take it, he thinks. The look in Artemis’s eyes… he hasn’t known Artemis for too long, but it’s been long enough to know that Artemis does not look at others in that manner. It’s an expression Reve has never even seen him wear before.

A ridiculous thought. Of course he hadn’t seen it. It was reserved for this stranger, who is holding Artemis close. Not for him. 

Ignoring the feeling of eyes on him suddenly, he kneels on the ground beside Gelato, holding a hand out for the critter to sniff. He wants to pet him, he thinks distantly, suddenly feeling bad for half-ignoring the creature. He hopes he may allow it. It’s a side thought, the hope barely even registering amidst the heartbreak, far in the background of the main stream of thoughts running through his mind at the moment.

He tries to ignore the dancers, it rubs the wound. He had come here wanting a dance, after all. He supposes that no longer could be the case, considering… well. It looks like his afternoons of watching dancing video tutorials online, desperately trying to mimic the movements and grace, would be afternoons wasted on a fruitless hope. He couldn't even put the practice to use with another — not like he knew anyone else to dance with, after all.

Taking the place of that desire was the wish to disappear, he is finding. He wishes he hadn’t come, so perhaps he could have lived in his ignorance a little longer. At least then maybe he would have simply dealt with the feeling of a crush slowly fading, unknowing of the fact that not only were his feelings unrequited, but Artemis had found someone better.

He could have spared himself the embarrassment of tearing up, too. Humiliating himself in front of others. Crying was unlike him, he wasn’t — Reve didn’t cry. He always wore a goofy little grin, so letting himself cry in front of others felt like a betrayal to his own personality. He could only hope Artemis, or his partner, had not seen him.

He wants to leave, he thinks, but finds himself frozen in place. He kicks himself mentally — his legs were not cooperating.

Soon, though, it’s too late. He can still feel those eyes on him, and can’t shake the feeling that someone is getting closer.

---

POST 4 for @artemis and mint frost  

tl;dr
- reve is still sad. berating himself. emo little dude. #justrevethings
- he is embarrassed.

Reve had been right, that is @artemis! He smiles, glancing between Gelato and Solaris before looking back at the purple-haired man. It looks like they’re dancing, though he can’t tell much else. He tries moving closer, to see if he can maybe wave hello, but at the same time he isn’t going to ignore Gelato — the ninetales had asked them to follow him, so he would do so.

It’s still difficult to catch sight of Artemis’s face, and he doubts he can be seen from where he stands. Damn. Depending on where the ninetales is leading him, seeing Artemis may have to wait a bit longer...

...Nevermind. He ends up leading him closer. From a distance, Reve can see that Artemis is being held… extremely close. Very close. He shrugs this off — he’s dancing, he reminds himself, that’s to be expected with that sort of thing. People hold each other close when they dance. That had been part of the reason he had shown up, after all, he had been hopeful for a dance where he could be held close.

He watches for a moment more, and just barely, he snags a glimpse of Artemis’s face.

When he finally manages one, his first thought is that Artemis looks beautiful. As always. He's elegant, put-together. Heart-wrenchingly handsome. Typical Artemis.

His second thought is not as pleasant.

With a realization hitting him, he feels his heart sink. The expression he sees upon Artemis’s face... well, Reve isn’t stupid.

Whoever they’re dancing with… Artemis is looking at them with love. A lot of it. He tries to shrug off the rising sense of sadness. It would be stupid of him to be upset! It really would. Besides, Artemis looks so happy, from what little he can see of them, and even if it’s not with him —

This isn’t about him.

It never is. He shouldn’t insert himself where he does not belong, he knows. Being upset… it’s stupid. Artemis isn’t his. Never has been, and…

He pushes aside his feelings, tries to ignore that tears are almost rising in his eyes. He tries his best to still his expression, make it neutral, but he finds it difficult. Nearly impossible. There’s not a way at least some of his emotions aren’t showing, which he berates himself for.

This is dramatic, he thinks to himself. Stupid, idiotic. He needs to stop. Resigning himself once more to stand on the side watching, he tries to tear his eyes away from the happy two, instead electing to look over to the ninetales that led him closer. At least this time he has some form of company.

---

POST 3 for @artemis mint frost

tl;dr:
- reve sees artemis and mint dancing
- he realizes artemis is very much in gay little love with mint
- he tries to repress