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Destiny Village ~ Library

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Navar

Professional Mudkip Lover
Location
Brazil
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. swampert
  2. chesnaught-apron
  3. lucario-mega
"I'm tempted to say this body," Shiron said. "I know it's not my own, but I can do so many things that just weren't possible before! But... I'll miss my friends. Haven't got any back home, y'know?"
 

Navar

Professional Mudkip Lover
Location
Brazil
Pronouns
He/Him
Partners
  1. swampert
  2. chesnaught-apron
  3. lucario-mega
"We're pretty weak. Or at least I am," he nodded. "I hope I can make new friends when I get back."
 
R17 - Dave and Mergo

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Weird energy shields, depleting defenses, Knockoff Owen's weird taunts - one way or another, something was up with that fight. Was it rigged? Was there some legendary bullshit going on here, a couple of gods making bets and 'helping' their side along? Either way, not as advertised.

So after the visit from Saltriv, Dave padded along to the library to see if he could find anything on silver barriers. He browsed through shelves, cursing the awkwardness of being a goddamn quadruped, and chewed over what categories he even wanted. Defensive techniques? Legendary powers? Travelers from other universes?

As he rounded a corner past a bookcase, though, he was met with a Gardevoir that looked familiar. Well. Maybe it'd be easier to just see what they knew.
 

MadderJacker

I do not catch bugs
Location
Washington
Pronouns
He/Him
Destiny Village: Sights You're Fated to See was an odd choice for a book to hold in the library of Destiny Village. Mergo suspected it was only there for archival purposes. It wasn't even that good of a read. Stream-of-conscious, excitable dribble that rambled on about location to location, only giving Mergo hints of interest when it dug into history or oddities that the book itself gave little attention to. He'd skimmed most of it for his own sanity, merely thumbing through until he found the page he needed, which he'd remained at for the past few minutes.

The address was right there, underneath the photograph of a sleek, elegant building that oozed with atmosphere. Ivy was woven into a latticed archway with seasonal flowers blooming overhead. It was a large archway, of course, sized so even the legends of this world could come and take their dates. Unprofessional. Maybe now, he could pay that place a visit.

He let out a soft hum and stared at a point between the words, letting his mind wander. Perhaps he didn't notice Dave. Perhaps he had and just didn't care. His head didn't turn in the slightest.
 

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
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she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Dave glanced at the book he was reading. Some sort of Destiny Village travel guide? He raised an eyebrow. "What, never got around to the touristing you wanted back in your Cibus?"
 

MadderJacker

I do not catch bugs
Location
Washington
Pronouns
He/Him
"No," he answered, which wasn't a lie. "There was always work to be done. Catastrophes to avoid. Someone had to make sure that the Blacklight couldn't get the moon involved."

The book closed with an invisible hand, and Mergo glanced over to the Mightyena, regarding him cordially. "Do you need something?" he asked. "I scoured this library quite a bit, so if you're looking for something, I might know where it is."
 

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Dave rolled his eyes at the jab about the moon. Rich from the guy from the team that never figured out Giovanni's big switcheroo.

"Actually, I was here about that dumb show fight we had. Pretty obvious something was up with you people's defenses. Got this silver barrier going on at the start, then later you were practically paper in comparison. Also, your Owen was acting shifty as hell. Know anything about that?"
 

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
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she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Not eager to share, huh. Dave narrowed his eyes at the Gardevoir. "Well, that depends. I don't give a shit about the fight, but if we were roped into it on false pretenses, then that kind of calls a lot of other things into question. Can we trust you? Or, if there were other forces at work, what were they up to?"
 

MadderJacker

I do not catch bugs
Location
Washington
Pronouns
He/Him
Mergo blinked. Had he really just heard that right? Trust? Truly?

Letting out a short sigh, Mergo raised his hands over his head in a gesture of surrender. "Fine, I'll talk. Your gaze is so fierce," he relented. "The truth is, we're allied with a second calamity that's coming in to Cibus. We're called the Dimgray, and we're planning to take the power of the Blacklight to mix shade and radiance into one all-powerful force: Ambiance." He tilted his head to the side as a coy smile cracked the corners of his lips. "And the only reason I'm telling you is because it's too late to stop us. The Gray is already spreading, and in a matter of hours, we'll have all the control we need. Arceus's underbelly is already gray. So is Marshadow. Right under your nose and you haven't even noticed. And soon-"

He started to raise his voice as his theatrics got the best of him, but the walls of shelves around him served as a reminder. He cleared his throat and returned to low, eerie quiet tones.

"And soon, we'll have control of the omni-multi-mega-ultra-super-duper-verse." Mergo folded his hands together and swung one leg atop the other as he tilted his head back to stare down at Dave.
 

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
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she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
Dave snort-laughed. "Honestly that's exactly the sort of cartoon-grade bullshit that would happen on Cibus." He rolled his eyes and sat down on his haunches. "Really, though, what the fuck was the silver barrier about. Was that you, or some fucking legendary running interference and thinking nobody'd notice?"
 

MadderJacker

I do not catch bugs
Location
Washington
Pronouns
He/Him
"It was a performance, yes," Mergo answered, retaining the same pose. "Someone was involved. Could've been me, could've been your handler, could've been one of your own. Their identity isn't important." Which must have been one of the least comforting things he could say in this situation, but he already knew that, and it didn't stop him. "The party responsible put this show on in order to raise the people's spirits. That is all. You have won, you have the cheers of Cibus at your back, and you're ready to go on and take on the darkness."

Only for this issue to strike again on another world, and soon you find yourself enlisted into an omniversal paramilitary entity that goes in to save alternate universes from the same problem an unknown amount of times, he didn't add. Mostly because he didn't want that to actually go anywhere. Mergo already knew a few people would take that at face-value.

"I don't understand why you're hung up on this. Does it matter?"
 

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
"To... 'raise the people's spirits'?" Dave raised an eyebrow. And then frowned. Wait a goddamn minute. Hadn't Arceus said something before the fight about hoping their performance would 'fill Cibus with hope'?

"...Motherfucker. Was this Pop?"

He exhaled through his nose. Should've figured. He'd been overseeing the whole thing, hadn't he? Goddamn it. This kind of nonsense just to 'raise spirits' or 'spread hope' or whatever the fuck sure did sound like him.

"Well, in that case, no, it doesn't matter. Pop just being Fucking Pop, I guess. Big important godly reasons he couldn't just tell us, I'm sure." Dave waved a paw irritably at the air. "And what, he told you he can't possibly have anyone find out about his top-secret plan to raise people's spirits?"
 

MadderJacker

I do not catch bugs
Location
Washington
Pronouns
He/Him
“Maybe our conspirator did. Maybe they didn’t.”

His fingers drummed at his forearm as the skin slowly hardened and calloused. Hints of a black haze materialized as the green on Mergo’s arms turned to a darker green, like the canopy of an ancient wood. The firmer tap they made was comforting by comparison, helping to soothe his thinning patience.

“Why are you upset about this?” Mergo asked. “You allowed yourself to be lied to. Surely you’re used to this by now, so accept it and move on.”
 

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
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she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
"Wow. Genius. If you're a dick, it's not your fault, it's theirs for allowing it. Impeccable logic, right up there with 'Stop hitting yourself'."

What the fuck was happening to Mergo's arms. He peered at the dark haze (shadow?) and the rougher skin. Mergo hadn't done any bullshit transformations, had he? Not that he'd been watching him especially closely, next to everyone else spontaneously turning into legendaries.

"Anyway, I've got better things to care about than Pop's inane little show fight, but maybe if you're being constantly lied to you shouldn't just fucking 'accept it and move on'."
 

MadderJacker

I do not catch bugs
Location
Washington
Pronouns
He/Him
“No. Instead you find someone, and you growl and whine about how they shouldn’t have lied at all. And then they’ll apologize, and you’ll all get together and sing in harmony and promise to never tell a lie again.”

Mergo let out a short sigh. Three out of four had turned out this way now, and he hadn't taken a moment to reset his palate. He was getting weary.

“Lying was an unkind thing to do to you all. I haven't talked much with my compatriots about it, but I know some of them feel bad about this charade. I would have preferred a situation where we could have been honest and upfront," he admitted, and for as even and regulated as his tone had been whenever he spoke, he seemed sincere. "That is not how the cards were dealt. The best option I saw was to lie. You're within your right to be upset, but it won't stop people from lying to you in the future. It won't undo what we've done. And while I am most certainly a bastard, it made it by you all unchecked."

Not that he could blame them. Truthfully, Mergo didn't know if he would have caught it in their position. He would've been suspicious of even more interlopers being pulled into things, but a white lie would not have been on his mind out of all the other possibilities. Mergo would have lost that one, and he would archive it as a possibility in the future.

"The question is," he continued, and his hands stopped to fold together as Mergo leaned a little forward in his chair, "what will you do with this information? Reveal it for what it is?"
 

Dragonfree

Moderator
Staff
Location
Iceland
Pronouns
she/her/hers
Partners
  1. butterfree
  2. mightyena
  3. charizard
  4. scyther-mia
  5. vulpix
  6. slugma
"Oh yeah. Standing there and taking whatever bullshit is slung your way, or sunshine and rainbows and everyone singing kumbaya. The only two options."

What the hell was his deal. Who the fuck thought like this? Even Howard wasn't operating on some kind of philosophy that being a doormat was just the only rational way to exist. At least Mergo's was a novel brand of moon logic.

"From what you said this literally doesn't fucking matter at all. I'm having a real hard time seeing why you even care about people knowing Pop wanted to lift people's spirits. It's not like everyone didn't already notice the fight was off. Why's it even matter to you what I do with this information? Are you picturing some kind of rallying grand reveal of Pop's deception? Because no, probably I'll gripe about it over drinks with Brisa and then continue on with my life." Maybe. Brisa had been declining invitations for drinks lately in favor of other activities, with mixed results.
 
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