Pokémon Answering Machine

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Hey, it’s Augustine. Haha, oh man, did you really hit on Diantha? That’s hilarious. I wish I could have been there. What’d she say? What’d YOU say? Call me back.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“I went to your cafe today. Did you put a new uniform in place? Nice suits; very ‘80s. Good years, good years. But aren’t the sunglasses a bit strange indoors? Call me back.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“I heard you’ve met my latest trainers. Aren’t they something special? I have high hopes for them. I’ll formally introduce you next time we’re all in town. Call me back.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Haha, you’re so silly sometimes when you get excited. I love that passion! But you say some really bizarre things. I always say you’re a big goofball but nobody believes me! Call me back.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“What’s this I hear about Team Flare? I’m a bit confused. Fill me in sometime. Call me back.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“…Lysandre, is something wrong? I don’t understand your Holo Caster message. You sound so fatalistic. It’s not like you. Call me back.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“I’m headed to Geosenge as fast as I can. Don’t do anything stupid. Call me back.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Please, for the love of God, call me back. Please don’t be…Just call me back!”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“…I guess…I guess that’s it then. That’s what you meant all along, isn’t it? I wish I had known. I wish you had told me… C–…”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“That kid was made Champion the other day. Earlier there was a big parade for all of them, and I personally thanked them for stopping you. It really hurt, too, because I meant every word.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“…I went to Geosenge for the first time today. I ended up just standing there, looking down at the hole. No one wants to excavate it. It occured to me for the first time that you’re really down there. I miss you.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Isn’t this stupid? I’m calling just to hear your voice. I have your last Holo Caster message saved but I can’t bring myself to watch it. I still can’t believe what you did. And I…still can’t believe that you’re…”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“I went to your cafe again today. It’s been deserted ever since. There’s two Flare agents still hanging around in the basement, but they don’t seem to listen to anything I say. I’m going to try to buy the building. I think anyone else would just tear it down.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“I saw Diantha today. The subject of you never came up. No one seems to think about you any more. I’m sure they do, though. You were so popular and well-liked. You had so many friends. And yet you never…I wish you had told someone.”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Every time the Holo Caster turns on, some part of me thinks that somehow you made it out and you were just hiding. But that’s…not what happened, is it?”

***

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Maybe I’m just blathering at this point. But I really wish I could talk to you again. I mi–”

Mailbox full.

 

[K_S]

Overall the piece was a short and bitter sweet work. You can feel Sycamore's warmth twist to confusion in the first few messages, and it's utterly understandable. It's hard to deal with a bad trait in a friend/family member, but someone acting out on their worst impulses and making the world their target must be a special type of torment. And you got that down cold.

When he mentions his "new trainer" I winced a bit. Because isn't that the beginning of the end right there for their relationship? When Sy' slides from concern to panic then goes through the stages of grief shown in these bits and bobs it feels real both to canon and to life.

In the end I was sort of hoping you'd show the other side of the tale. Lysandre listening, responding, or just... not... near the end. Anyways, thanks for the good read.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Aww shucks, thank you so much!

 

[Torchic W. Pip]

Can’t wait to cry from a Kalos fic let’s go

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Hey, it’s Augustine. Haha, oh man, did you really hit on Diantha? That’s hilarious. I wish I could have been there. What’d she say? What’d YOU say? Call me back.”

This is a very lighthearted but I’m gonna cry by the end, aren’t I

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“I heard you’ve met my latest trainers. Aren’t they something special? I have high hopes for them. I’ll formally introduce you next time we’re all in town. Call me back.”

…Well that hits different knowing the ending of these games

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“What’s this I hear about Team Flare? I’m a bit confused. Fill me in sometime. Call me back.”

…Ah shit

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“I’m headed to Geosenge as fast as I can. Don’t do anything stupid. Call me back.”

Ah shit

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“…I guess…I guess that’s it then. That’s what you meant all along, isn’t it? I wish I had known. I wish you had told me… C–…”

AH SHIT

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“That kid was made Champion the other day. Earlier there was a big parade for all of them, and I personally thanked them for stopping you. It really hurt, too, because I meant every word.”

FUCK

You’ve reached Lysandre; leave a message.

“Maybe I’m just blathering at this point. But I really wish I could talk to you again. I mi–”

Mailbox full.

I’m not crying you are

(Okay maybe I’m being hyperbolic but OUCH my heart)

Okay time for more overall thoughts:

The weird thing is that as much as I love Kalos, I’ve only grown on Sycamore and Lysandre as friends/lovers/unrequited something recently. After seeing a lot of content about them, I just… I don’t know, the thought of someone not knowing their best friend/lover/unrequited crush/etc. is evil until it’s too late… maybe even refusing to accept it because they can’t imagine them having such a bad bad side… my heart. It’s such a messy and complicated topic, and there’s no real right or wrong answer to how to cope with it or how to portray it (okay maybe there is, but it’s a nuanced experience that everyone experiences differently). I really, really love the way you wrote it here.

What I love about this story is that it’s able to say everything through one-sided dialogue and nothing else. Sure, context from the games is probably necessary or at the very least enriching, but hey, that’s the nature of fanfiction, is it not? This story expands on the events of the games, expands on the characters, expands on the emotion, until at the end, when we truly understand how desperate Sycamore is to hear Lysandre, to prove that the truth isn’t true. And no matter what their relationship was (romantic, platonic, queerplatonic, reciprocal, one-sided), it really hurts. Non-conventional storytelling is very, very good stuff I love it a lot.

Very good work, Blackjack. Very, very good. I think I have a new favourite Kalos fic.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Aww I'm glad to hear you liked it so much! Even if it continues to rip people's hearts out.