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I guess I should make a thread for this! I'll be dumping all my bingo prompts, drabbles, and scrapped scenes (that I still love and want to post) here for anyone who wants to take a gander. These are going to be largely unpolished, stupid episodic works containing my OCs and the canon characters I've decided to give personalities. If you decide to read, I hope you enjoy!
Heavy inspiration for this piece was taken from this video so give it a watch and support the creator because he's funny as fuck.
Canon: Hau, Plumeria, Guzma OC: Odette
When Plumeria, Odette, Guzma, and Hau agreed to partake in a game of SORRY!, it seemed like a good, fun idea at the time.
“Let’s take it a step further,” Plumeria suggested. “Losers have to pay out $20 each to the winner.”
“Oh, I like that,” Hau gasped, holding his hand over his mouth. “Cash in my po-cket.”
“Yeah, lord knows you need more funds for that tree habit,” Odette cracked, earning her a shove to the shoulder.
It had seemed fun, for sure. Until, at least, the former two were rudely reminded why it wasn’t.
Plumeria and Odette sat on their side Guzma's kitchen table, occasionally exchanging aggravated looks. Odette sent a disdained glance down toward her red pieces, once again reminding herself that none of them were in her home space and that she was nowhere close to winning. The cards had not been kind to her this game.
She also looked at the yellow pawns Plumeria had decided to go with, and despite her having one in her safe zone, she was still lagging severely behind Hau and Guzma.
Both boys had managed to get three out of their four pieces into their home bases and were now fighting between their final ones, as indicated by their current argument. It was at least the twelfth one they’d had since they sat down to play, and it made Odette want to shove screwdrivers into her ears.
“On gods, I’m gonna win, and that $60 is mine,” Hau declared as he drew another card.
“Okay, keep tellin’ yourself that,” Guzma said flatly. He was slumped against the backrest of his chair, nodding slowly.
“Nah, nah, don’t give me that, don’t be a sore loser, you’re just–”
“--okay, Hau, keep talkin’ all that shit,” Guzma huffed.
“Hau,” Plumeria interjected. “Read your goddamned card and move your goddamned piece before I move it for you.”
Hau responded at first by sticking his tongue out. “You’re. Just. Butthurt.”
“Your butt’s gonna hurt when I beat the shit out of it,” Odette chimed in.
Rolling his eyes, he read his card, which was just a simple four-space advancement.
“Ohhhhhhhh, look at me go,” he cheered as he moved his green pawn.
“Just keep that up,” Guzma said, the sarcasm leaking from his tone.
“Stay salty, Marie Antoinette lookin’ ass.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Gods, just end me,” Plumeria whined, putting her face in her hand. “Someone win so I can fucking leave.”
“Seconded,” Odette grumbled.
“Whew lad, look at that. Right there at the end,” Hau snickered, gesturing wildly to his piece, a mere three tiles from the entrance to his home space. His eyes shined proudly. “So much for neck and neck, I’m bouta smack you on your damn neck for trying me this whole time,” he said, turning his head to look at Guzma. “This is what you get for talking mad garbo, you hear me? This, right here.”
Guzma was still nodding. “Right, mhm. Ok–”
“Nah, don’t say another word,” Hau cut him off. “You’re dirt. You’re doodoo butter.”
Guzma opened his mouth to respond but decided to hold it in. It was his turn now, so he silently plucked the next card from the top of the pile.
“Stay. Ma–”
The former Skull boss remained quiet as he slapped his draw in front of Hau. The ‘SORRY!’ logo was all too clear on the face of it, along with the short paragraph indicating Guzma now had the power to bump an opponent back to start. It was enough to stop Hau mid-sentence as his entire body stiffened.
The smugness wasn’t yet clear on Guzma’s face, but it was evident in his tone. “What’s that say?” he asked.
Hau’s silence was golden. Nonetheless, Guzma continued. “Hm?” he pressed, angling his body so he was facing him straight on. “What’s that say, bro?”
When Hau still failed to conjure a response, instead seemingly preoccupied with trying not to sweat out his ego, Guzma began to thumb his chin. “Huh, we’re quiet now. Lookit that y’all, we finally gotta moment of fuckin’ peace, huh?”
“Oh no,” Odette said through clenched teeth, shifting her weight in her seat.
Hau’s eyes hadn’t yet moved off the card, and they remained trained in place even as he raised a hand to scratch his temple. “I was foolish,” he said nervously. “Perhaps I took it a little too far.”
“Nah, you good,” Guzma snapped back, leaning forward so his nose was hovering barely an inch from Hau’s cheek. Now, he was smirking. “Answer the question.”
It was several seconds before Hau could work himself up to make eye contact with his aggressor. He slowly turned his head, something of a sheepish grin upturning the corners of his mouth.
“Truce?”
Guzma’s response was to pick Hau’s piece up, move it back to the start, and place his blue piece down in two very dramatic motions.
“Nein, bitch!” he shouted. “Get fucking shit on!”
He followed up by standing and throwing his arms in the air, releasing a few guttural victorious whoops as he did so. Hau slammed his head on the table in defeat, causing some of the pieces to shift, and once more, Plumeria and Odette found themselves sharing looks.
Ninety-four million miles away, and a dead fucking aim.
Clovis was just trying to enjoy his breakfast. Cruise lines always knew what they were doing with their food, especially around breakfast time. He wasn’t sure why his body had decided to have him up so damn early, but when he couldn’t fall back to sleep, he figured he’d have nothing to lose by indulging in some morning pastries.
However, when he sat down in the mostly empty dining room, he wasn’t expecting to find himself face-to-face with the rising summer sun.
As it peeked over the horizon, its mischievous little beams had no issue shooting themselves straight through the port hole his table was situated in front of. It’d have been perfectly fine if they’d angled themselves just a smidge so they went around his head or aimed down at the table itself. But no. They had to go right for his eyes.
“Gods dammit,” he grumbled as he took a bite out of a donut. As he chewed, he raised his hand to block out the light.
“What is it?”
On the table in front of him, his glaceon partner Love lay loafed up, enjoying a light nap while he ate. She wasn’t awake enough to want anything for herself but was a good enough friend to accompany him so he wouldn’t be talking to himself. At the sound of his expletive, she opened one eye to look at him.
“Nothing, just the sun being an asshole,” Clovis replied.
Love picked up her head and glanced over at the port hole, then began to stand up and stretch, yawning as she did. “You say that as if the sun has a vendetta against you and rose today specifically to spite you,” she sighed. "But, we shall move." She angled herself to jump off the table.
“No,” Clovis whined. “I’m so comfy here.”
Really, he’d sat down over twenty minutes ago and had no interest in getting up again. He’d gotten quite cozy in the plush leather seat and had grown used to his surroundings in that particular area. Moving would fuck all of that up. Re-warming an otherwise cold chair and getting his bearings back? And having to move his plates? That wouldn’t do.
Love quirked a brow at him, cocking her head questioningly. “You're frustrated about the sunlight but don't wish to move?” she asked.
Clovis squinted through the light to get a better look at the port hole. Despite the ornately decorated dining room, there were no curtains on the window. How the hell was that logical? The ship designers spent all that money on massive crystal chandeliers, satin tablecloths, big leather seats, and intricately woven carpets, but they couldn’t spare a dime on curtains? Bullshit.
“Nothing to block it out with,” he huffed.
Love sighed deeply, sitting back down. “It would take us two seconds to move one table over.” She nodded toward an empty table directly to their left, totally and completely out of the sunbeam's line of attack.
“No, Love,” Clovis snapped, “it’s the principle of the thing. You have windows, you put curtains on them. Now I’m definitely not moving.”
If he moved, the designers won. And again, he had no interest in re-comfying himself. So he’d have to figure something out.
Wait. They were on Oceanic Operetta Cruise Lines, no? He knew the owner personally. And the captain of this ship, specifically.
Pursing his lips, Clovis lazily wrestled his cell phone out of his pocket. He had to stare at his buttons for a moment before remembering what the number to the captain’s quarters was, but it eventually came to him.
The phone rang three times before someone picked up. “This is Captain Moreau,” said a male voice on the other end.
“Captain, good morning,” Clovis greeted, trying his hardest to push a cheerful tone through his post-sleep cotton mouth. “It’s Clovis LeClair. I hope I’m not catching you at a bad time.”
“Oh, good morning Mr. LeClair! I’m free at the moment. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Clovis began scratching his nose as he momentarily mulled over how he wanted to word his question. “I have a…small request,” he said. “Would it be possible to perhaps…angle the ship a solid…” he trailed off, squinting his eyes toward the damned window and doing the math in his head.
I’m on the forward port side; ship’s going east toward the Olivine port, so we could stand to take a slight angle and still get there…
“Ehhhh…forty-five degrees northeast?”
There was a long silence on the other end. Clovis didn’t feel too deterred. He’d get this to happen, one way or another.
“Is there a specific reason you need me to re-angle the ship, Mr. LeClair?” Captain Moreau queried dubiously.
Yes, I’m going to go blind at this rate, Clovis thought bitterly. He slumped down in his seat, still trying to find some solace from those fucking sunbeams. “There can be two thousand reasons in your bank account in the next five minutes if you don’t ask questions.”
More silence. Then a sigh. “I suppose I can stand to make a slight adjustment.”
“You’re a saint,” Clovis said through a yawn. “I owe you big time.”
“Surely,” Moreau replied. Clovis took that as a sign to hang up, so he did. He set the phone down on the table in front of Love, who was staring at him with narrowed eyes.
“And now, we wait.”
Sure enough, within a few minutes, the ship began to make a slight yet calculated turn. The sun rays slowly but surely moved off of Clovis's eyes, providing him the relief he was looking for.
“Thank gods,” he said, throwing his head back in repose. He relished in the lack of annoying summer light on his person before returning to eating. However, he paused as he caught Love glaring daggers at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Every time I think you can't get any lazier, you manage to shock me further,” she chastised him, earning her a scoff in response.
“I’m not lazy, I just used my critical thinking skills to solve the problem,” he insisted. He took a defiant chunk out of the gourmet glazed donut, then nestled back into the leather as he chewed it joyously. “Besides,” he managed after swallowing, “I didn’t want to get up.”
Merely a few seconds after she spoke, the ballroom erupted into flickering lights, accompanied by the soft strumming of an acoustic guitar. It didn’t sound deep enough to be live, so she had to assume it was a recording. That, however, wasn’t the part that caused her breath to hitch.
Hundreds upon hundreds of candles ignited, creating an atmosphere that was as calming as it was surprising. Odette peered around, her eyes catching on every flicker of fire that had been stacked along the room’s perimeter, up the staircase, and even along the barricading banister of the second floor.
“What on earth,” she murmured.
“Okay, okay, okay.”
Clovis’s voice bounced off the domed ceiling and spread across the polished floor, creating an echo that made it hard to pinpoint where he was coming from. However, the tapping of hard-bottomed shoes prompted Odette to direct her attention to the staircase, where she saw him making his way down in urgent haste.
“I know this looks really extravagant and kind of overkill, but I can promise you, I didn’t buy all of these at once. We definitely had them on hand. We know a candlemaker, a big one at that,” he said, sounding rather defensive. More defensive than he needed to be, given she hadn’t spoken a word yet.
She raised a brow at him as he approached her, keeping that same hasty stride in his step. He only slowed when he got closer. “They’re also not all scented, so you don’t have to worry about whatever stink might come about from meshing multiple smells together.”
To that, she scoffed. She broke her gaze on him to do one last visual sweep of the ballroom before returning to his face. He’d now come to a complete stop mere feet in front of her.
“My question is how you lit them all so fast if I’m being honest,” she said, crossing her arms and shifting her weight onto her left leg.
Clovis pursed his lips as he slowly shoved his hands into his pants pockets. He held them there for a while before releasing one of them to rub his cheek as he looked away from her. “It was Ange’s idea,” he shot back. “He was feeling deprived of his fire usage, I think.”
“That’s kind of believable,” Odette replied.
“And all of these candles were just going to go to waste, so I figured, you know, why not?”
“Uh-huh.”
Silence swelled between them. All that could be heard for those few seconds was the soft vocals that joined in with the guitar strumming.
“I also…” Clovis spoke again, nervously this time, raising his hand to rub the back of his neck. “I also…think I’m trying really hard to impress his trainer.”
He slowly, but oh-so surely, looked back at her again. The collective fires did remarkably well in illuminating the tender gaze he was giving her now.
Odette felt whatever sarcastic remark she had on stand-by get caught in her throat as her smug expression softened into something a little more thoughtful. She found that all she could do in response was blink while the cutieflies in her stomach began to do a waltz.
“Because,” Clovis continued. “She said, as a joke, really, that she’d never had a candlelit dinner before,” he explained. “And this isn’t really dinner, per se, but I felt a candlelit ballroom was more her speed because she’s kind of a good dancer.”
That waltz in her belly very quickly turned into some sort of aggressive jive, which only picked up tempo as Clovis unhurriedly closed the space between them.
“I know it’s a little Phantom of the Opera-esque,” he chuckled awkwardly, averting his eyes down to the floor. “But, uh…I thought it looked rather nice.”
It was really odd seeing him so blatantly timid like this—Clovis, the man who walked like he owned the world, who held himself with a striking air of confidence, who said every goddamn thing that came to mind—now reduced to a nervous heap, spouting nonsense and barely able to keep eye contact because he was blushing too damn hard.
It was precious.
“I played Christine in Phantom of the Opera once,” Odette said delicately.
Clovis snickered, his half-smile growing two sizes as he looked back up at her. “I’m shocked.”
“Our set wasn’t nearly as nice, though. We just used fake candles. Secondary school students and a thousand candles don’t mix, usually.”
He began to rub his chin. “Do two tired adults on a newly polished dance floor and a thousand candles mix?”
“They do, actually.” It was her turn to smile.
The guitar recording began to pick up, now featuring a light percussive backing. Odette rolled her eyes up to the ceiling as if trying to find the speakers the music was coming out of before scraping her foot against the floor.
“Newly polished, huh?” she asked.
Clovis responded by holding his hand out to her. “That’s what I said.”
Without much hesitation, she took it. He smoothly pulled her close, loosely locking his arms around her waist. Odette draped her arms around his neck, allowing her head to fall against his chest. She could hear the rapid sound of his heartbeat, but the longer she stood there, swaying with him, the more it slowed. Likewise, her cutieflies tired out and took a break.
For the first time in quite a while, things truly felt peaceful.
These are all lovely! You really capture character dynamics very well, in a way that feels natural and human. The dialogue is delightful
The snark and shenanigans in Sorry were hilarious, and the candlelight 'dinner' was adorable.
Also I recognize the reference for Mathematical, kek. Classic. Feels like a very Clovis thing to do, to turn the entire ship just because he doesn't feel like moving. Nice
The raging roar of a thunderclap jolted Odette from her slumber. She could vaguely hear the sound of Solene squeaking in fear through her groggy head fog and the sound of Maman’s shushes.
“Sh, sh, sh, it’s okay,” Maman was saying. “Come on, come with me.”
Odette was still rubbing her eye when she felt Maman pick her up, still wrapped up in her blanket. Another growl of thunder shook the bedroom, and Solene started squeaking again.
“Solene, it’s just thunder…” Odette mumbled, letting her cheek fall against Maman’s shoulder as sleep threatened to take her again.
“It’s okay, Solene, I got you,” Maman said as she picked the gothita up as well. The shivering ‘mon wasted no time in wrestling herself back into the crook of Odette’s arm.
“I-it's loud. I-I need earmuffs,” she sniffled.
As Odette was about to doze back off, she suddenly realized Maman was taking them out of the bedroom and down the hall. She picked up her head just in time to watch, through droopy eyes, as a flash of lightning lit up the darkened house. She couldn’t quite see without her glasses on, but she could tell even there wasn’t a single light on.
“Where are we going?” she asked through a yawn. “I’m sleepy.”
“I know, Swanna,” Maman replied softly, raising a hand to push her head back down.
“Is something wrong?”
“We’re just going to spend some time in the basement.” They were suddenly going down the stairs. “It’s raining a lot right now.”
Solene whimpered, and Odette instinctively tightened her hold on her. As a trainer, she had to protect her Pokemon, even when she couldn’t do much aside from hugging her a little more.
“Why do we need to go into the basement for rain?” she asked. Maman laughed a little, though Odette wondered what she said that was so funny.
“It’s a lot more rain than you’re used to, baby.”
As they made it down into the lower room, Odette realized just how loud the rain was. It sounded more muffled from the basement than it had when they were running through the house. The walls and furniture shook as thunder rolled, and Solene still squealed, but she sounded quieter now.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Are we gonna sink?”
Maman set her and her partner down on the couch that was in front of the TV, which was off, and took to rewrapping them in the blanket she’d picked them up with and putting the glasses (which Odette hadn't seen her grab) onto Odette’s face. She was moving faster than she normally did, and now that Odette could see her, she could see that she had a wrinkle on her forehead, and her eyebrows were lowered.
Something was definitely wrong.
“No, baby, no, we’re fine,” Maman said. “I’m going to go help Nana and Grandpa grab some things. You and Solene stay down here and don’t move.” Maman spoke nicely but had the same edge she usually had when she was mad.
But how could she stay there when something bad was happening? When Maman looked so nervous?
“I don’t want to,” Odette said, sitting up. She felt bells going off in her head, and the thought of leaving her mother’s side right now was not one she liked. “I want to help. What do I do?”
Another thunderclap echoed through the house, this one louder, and it caused Odette to flinch.
“T-take us with you!” Solene cried in fright.
The next thing Odette knew, Maman grabbed her by her cheeks, forcing her eyes to look at hers.
“You’re both helping me plenty by staying down here and protecting each other. I need you both to do that one thing for me, alright?"
“I don’t want to stay here, I want to stay with you,” Odette said. She didn’t like how shaky her voice sounded, but she kept talking anyway. “What do you need me to do? I can help.”
“I won’t be more than five minutes, baby.” Maman kissed her hard on the head. “Please stay here.”
She didn’t get a chance to respond before Maman let go, and jogged back across the carpet and up to the main floor, skipping steps as she went.
Odette didn’t know what to think. Maman was saying nice things, but she looked the opposite of nice. She looked more panicky and completely ignored her questions. Didn’t even acknowledge that Odette had wanted to stay with her.
It made Odette angry. Why couldn’t she help? What was so important about staying in the basement? What was wrong in the first place? She and Solene couldn’t be useful by sitting down and waiting for something to happen.
Grunting, she kicked off the blanket and lowered herself to the floor before stomping over to the stairs, ignoring her partner’s shrill protests.
“Wh-where are you going?” Solene whined. "She said to sta-ay here!"
“No,” Odette said defiantly. “I want to see what’s wrong!”
She continued moving toward the bottom step, her hands slowly balling into fists. As she neared, she could hear voices and other noises over the sound of rain beating on the house above.
“Vienna, you have the flashlights?” Nana’s voice said.
“They’re down there already; so is the first aid kit. Thea’s grabbing Odette’s medicine and some stuff out of the cupboard,” Maman said.
“Bernard!” Nana yelled. “The radio? Get that family picture too!”
Grandpa’s voice said something back, but Odette couldn’t hear him very well. She could hear footsteps, along with some more shuffling.
“Maman? Nana? Grandpa?” she yelled.
“Stay in the basement, Swanna!” Nana’s voice shouted.
A thunderclap caused Odette to jolt, and on top of her growing fear, her anger spiked as well. Gritting her teeth, she began the trek up.
“I don’t want to! I want to help! What’s wrong?”
“Odette, if you come up those stairs, you’re going to be in big trouble.” That was Maman. Now the anger was making her hot. Everything she was looking at now was red.
“You can’t make me be in trouble for wanting to help!” Odette screamed.
Maman made a loud noise. “I can, and I will! Don’t fucking move!”
As Odette rushed the rest of the way up to the door, the sound of glass shattering startled her so badly, she tripped on one of the last steps. She could hear Nana, Maman, and even their Pokemon partners hollering, all different noises and curse words. Then she could hear a lot of hissing and whistling. It sounded like fast wind.
Odette felt her chest start to hurt, as what felt like a hole opened in her belly.
Oh, no. Had she done that? Was she not fast enough? What was happening?
“Maman?”
“Downstairs, now!” Grandpa’s voice yelled. It was loud enough to break through all the other noises.
Everything happened fast. Nana came down first and picked Odette off the stairs as she ran. Behind her was Maman, her gardevoir partner Thea, Nana’s lopunny partner Arielle, and Grandpa’s arcanine partner Toulouse. Grandpa was holding the door for them, and he closed it as they made it down into the den. It was dark, save for the glow of Toulouse’s fur as he began to let loose some light.
“Fucking hell,” Nana breathed. “So much for hurricane proof; I guess that’s different from castform proof.”
“Are you alright?” Grandpa spoke.
“We’re fine,” Maman said. “Just the kitchen window, nothing big.”
It was there that Nana set Odette down on the floor and kneeled down to her eye level to push some of her messy curls out of her face. “I did almost trip over you, though,” she said. “Didn’t your mother tell you to stay on the couch? Why weren’t you listening?”
Nana sounded angry. Odette was also angry. So she found a way to respond rather quickly.
“Because I didn’t want to!” Odette snapped. “If you’d have just told me what was wrong, I could have helped! But you just left me and Solene down here and didn’t say why!”
Now she was shaking all over, and she wrenched herself away from Nana’s grasp. Another crash of thunder forced another shiver through her body, and she reached up to rub her eyes to stop the red vision from spreading.
“Hun, who are you yelling at like that?” Nana questioned, evidently shocked.
“You! All of you! That was mean! And I’m fucking mad at you!”
Odette turned and kicked the side of the couch for good measure.
“O-Odette!” Solene chirped as if she were chastising. It didn’t sound nearly intimidating enough with the stammer in her voice.
“Hey!”
Every adult in the room seemed to speak at once. Odette knew she wasn’t allowed to say that word or disrespect their belongings, but she didn’t care anymore. Nana, Grandpa, and Maman said that ‘fucking’ word a lot when they were really mad, and she was really mad. It only felt fair.
“Odette Harmonie,” Maman said, kneeling in front of her next to Nana. She waved her hand, and that made Nana stand up and step back. “Don’t ever say that again, you hear me? That’s a grown-up word, and you’re not a grown-up. You’re six. Six-year-olds don’t say that.”
“Is that why you wouldn’t let me help? Because I’m not a grown-up?”
“Okay, girls, Vienna, let me talk to–” Grandpa started to say. Maman held up another hand, and he stopped talking.
“That’s exactly why,” Maman went on angrily. “I’m supposed to keep you safe, and I determined that the safest thing for you and Solene was to stay in the basement, and you deliberately did not listen to me. You could have gotten hurt, and we needed to get down here fast.”
“But why? You wouldn’t tell us why. I just wanted to know why, and you weren’t answering me. And you got mad at me for wanting to help!”
The corners of her eyes stung, and the hole in her belly felt big. Her body still shook, but she wasn’t cold. She was mad, but she wasn’t sure what she was mad at specifically because she was happy Maman, Nana, Grandpa, and their partners had come down. Her head was a big mess, and she didn’t like it.
But, she hastily raised her hands to rub her eyes. Only babies let their eyes sting like that, scared or not.
However, it seemed Maman noticed the threatening tears despite Odette's best efforts to rub them away. She looked like she wanted to say something else but didn’t. She suddenly looked sad, and her shoulders lowered.
“Swanna,” she said in a deep breath. “Honey, I’m sorry. You're right, I was ignoring you. I was trying not to scare you and Solene, but it seems it ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Odette kept a tight grip on her fists to keep her eyes from getting watery again. She didn’t quite know what those last words meant, though. “What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t tell you what was wrong because I didn’t want to scare you, but that only made you more scared, didn’t it?” Maman said. That made more sense.
Nodding, Odette let her fingers go a little. “I kept asking, and you wouldn’t answer me right. I wanted to stay with you because you wouldn’t tell me.”
Saying it out loud and watching Maman nod made the hole start to fill up.
“I know. And I’m sorry, baby. You’re allowed to be upset with me for that. And for yelling at you.”
Odette felt her hands loosen entirely, and she shot a look over her shoulder at Solene, who had her head poking out from under the blanket, still on the couch. However, Odette couldn’t say anything to her because her body suddenly felt heavy, and her throat felt scratchy.
She was sleepy all over again and started rubbing her eyes as a yawn clawed up out of her dry throat. She didn’t like the sleepiness, but she preferred feeling sleepy rather than mad. And sleepiness always meant the mad was done. For the moment, at least.
“Is there water?” she asked timidly. Drinks usually helped her feel better.
She wasn’t sure when Maman got a water bottle, but she presented one to her rather fast. “There sure is. Here you go.”
With a couple of small gulps, the grogginess faded away, and now Odette just felt normal again. She very nearly dropped the bottle, however, when a piercing thunderclap shook the basement walls. Maman had to reach out and balance it so it wouldn’t make a mess.
“It’s okay, you’re alright,” Maman promised, closing the bottle and putting it down. She then held her arms out in front of her. “We all are. Can I have a hug?”
Nodding, Odette shuffled forward and pressed herself into Maman’s big chest. The hug felt nice, and definitely made her feel safe. The tugging in her belly and chest was gone now, and she chalked that up to the hug itself. Maman was always good at hugs.
“That’s my girl. I’m sorry for freaking you out and getting angry before, okay? But you know you’re not allowed to say those bad words or kick around our things, right?”
“I know,” Odette said. “I’m sorry too.”
Maman was playing with her hair now. “Good. Then I’d say we’re square.” She sounded happy when she said that, and Odette confirmed that by pulling away and seeing the smile on her face. There, another hand landed on her head, and she looked up to see Grandpa kneeling at her side, offering a half smile.
“I also want to apologize, Swanna. I kind of rushed everyone and told your mum to get you out of bed quickly. So she might have just been trying to do things too fast to sit and talk to you at the moment, you know?”
That also made sense. “I understand.”
“And that doesn’t invalidate how you felt. You had every right to be upset. But, for us, your safety comes first always, so sometimes, we forget about feelings when we’re in a rush to make sure you can’t get hurt,” he continued.
Grandpa shook his head and leaned down to kiss Odette’s cheek. “It’s all fine. We’re down here with everything we need, and we’ll be safe.”
“But what are we being safe from?” Odette queried, tilting her head questioningly. “The thunder? Is it a big storm? It was really loud. Did the window really break?”
“H...how did it break?” Solene chimed in.
Grandpa didn’t immediately answer, so Odette peered back at Maman. She had a response ready. “How about we get settled, and I’ll teach you and Solene about the castform mating season.”
***
Maman apparently kept a lot of her big adult books down in the basement because she had one on hand that was all about elemental Pokemon. That was good because it meant she didn’t have to go upstairs. Toulouse had to use more of his light so they could see because, apparently, the power had gone out, which is why it was so dark in the first place.
Odette sat in Grandpa’s lap while Maman nestled in next to them on the right side and read the book. Thea was next to her, looking over the book as well. Nana was laying her head on Grandpa’s left shoulder, with Arielle next to her repainting her nails. Toulouse curled up on the floor between the couch and coffee table, and Solene had dug herself back into the crook of Odette’s arm.
Odette realized it was one big cuddle pile and had no complaints. The thunder that continued to rock the house had nothing on her and Solene when they were safe with their family.
“The castform mating season occurs at different times depending on the region,” Maman read from the page, “and can result in numerous and oftentimes unpredictable changes in the weather.”
“So what happens in Kalos might not be what happens somewhere else? And the castform might not even be mating in another region right now?” Odette asked.
“Exactly,” Vienna said. “Every region has a different climate, so how castform affect the climate here might not be how they affect the climate in say, Sinnoh. Or Alola.”
Odette was nodding along in firm understanding. She was thoroughly enjoying learning about the little weather Pokemon, although she was disappointed to learn that it was in no way, shape, or form, a ghost type.
“But why are they causing all the weather to be crazy in the first place? What does them having a mating season have to do with that?”
“Well, you know what Pokemon mating seasons are, right?” Maman asked.
“Yes. It’s when Pokemon make a lot of babies at the one time.” Maman had taught her about mating a little while ago. Odette remembered how nervous she’d seemed to do it, and to this day, she still didn’t understand why.
Maman’s smile this time around was proud. That let Odette know she’d gotten the answer right. “Uh-huh. Since the castform are coming together to make babies, they have to show off reasons why other castform should make babies with them. And that comes in the form of big,” Maman held her hands out to show just how big she was talking, “shows of weather to prove that they’re powerful enough to start families with. Castform really like other powerful castform, because they want their babies to be powerful too.”
“Oh, I understand,” Odette said.
“So right now,” Maman said, turning the page to a big map of Kalos. Odette didn’t get what all the shapes, numbers, and lines that were printed across it meant, but she could see the name ‘Brackish Town’ marked. That was home, and that’s where Maman pointed. “There’s some castform in our area that are trying to show off, so they made a big rainstorm, and they caused some really fast wind and a few things called tornadoes.”
“I know what a tornado is,” Odette insisted in a whine. “We learned that at school.”
“Yeah, but they were pretty scary...” Solene said.
Maman giggled. “You’re clever girls. Tornadoes can damage houses like ours; sometimes, fast winds might do the same. A gust of big wind broke our window in the kitchen, that's what you heard before. So the weatherman on the TV told us we needed to hide in the basement because the heavy weather can’t harm us too bad when we’re down here.
“But is our house gonna be okay?” Odette asked nervously.
“Yes, no tornadoes have been spotted near our area yet, but the wind was picking up a lot, so we’ll be down here for a little while.”
“What about Grandpa’s police car?”
Grandpa laughed that time, but he somehow didn’t sound happy. “Chances are one of the little buggers might make a tree fall on it. But I’ve been too scared to look,” he said.
“You’re scared?” Odette asked in a gasp. That didn’t seem like it was possible. Grandpa was never scared of anything.
“I don't believe it,” Solene said as well.
Another laugh, and he sounded a lot happier. “Well, my police boss might not be happy that it gets ruined in the storm. But it can’t be helped.”
“Are you gonna get in trouble if it gets broken?”
“No, but the taxpayer dollars might,” Nana commented, and Grandpa nudged her with his leg.
Odette tilted her head questioningly. “What are taxpayer dollars?”
“Nothing you need to worry about for a long time, kiddo,” Nana said. Odette still didn’t follow, but it sounded too boring to understand. So, she let it go.
The loudest crackle of thunder that had been heard in a while rumbled through the boards of the room, and Odette’s breath hitched in spite of insisting she was no longer panicky. Solene squeaked as normal, and she felt Grandpa’s arms tighten around her.
“They’re being very rude with that thunder loudness,” Odette said gruffly.
“I agree,” Maman said.
“Why can’t you go outside and tell them to stop? Don’t Pokemon Professors do that?”
Maman was shaking her head ‘no’ before she spoke. “Unfortunately, that’s not my jurisdiction, baby. I deal with magical types like Solene and Thea, and castform aren’t that.”
“That’s dumb, ‘cause they look like ghosties.”
“They sure do look like ghosties," Maman said, giggling. "And besides, it’s not that easy. Wild Pokemon are sometimes very hard to reason with.”
As Maman said that, a weird thought occurred to Odette. “Does that mean that this might happen again?”
A shiver shot through Solene, and she ducked lower under Odette’s arm, whimpering. She didn’t like the thought of that any more than Odette did.
Maman had said they’d dealt with castform mating seasons every year, but Odette didn’t remember one where they had to hide like they were. Just a lot of rain and snow at weird times. There was one time Odette had gotten a really bad sunburn because the sun came out when it wasn't supposed to, but that was less scary than the wind blowing windows out.
“It might,” Maman declared. “They’ve been really rowdy this year. But…”
As she trailed off, she put a hand on Odette’s knee, prompting Odette to make eye contact with her.
“If it does, I’ll be the first to tell you two. And we’ll come down here together and sit like this until it goes away, okay?”
In spite of the scary prospects of having big winds and possible tornadoes ruin her home, something about that made Odette feel very…warm. She smiled slightly, happy with that answer. She glanced down at Solene to ensure she was on board to, and Solene responded with a timid nod.
Heya! I've been meaning to check out your stuff for quite some time and what better way than to catch up on the drabbles I missed over fourth anni? Word of warning, I am no good at reviewing and it's also midnight here so this'll is very stream-of-thought/live reaction. I'll be covering all of them as a whole here, since they're quite short individually and all four of them combined *basically* amounts to a chapter, soooo...
Straight up, I have to say that your characterisation is pitch fucking perfect, Sorry! especially with the Alola Gang. They all have such a clear and vibrant chemistry with one another, which makes it super easy to make out their personalities and their relationships despite the briefness of each piece. Guzma in being a definite standout to me (no, I am not biased, shut up).
Your sense of humour is something that I also greatly enjoy and I think it shines brightly in this collection. The aforementioned interactions in Sorry! are a great example but I have to give special mention to Critical Thinking Skills. The absolute level of petty that Clovis stoops to so that he doesn't have to move is nothing short of *delightful* and again, brings a wonderful insight to his character. Who knew that comfy only comes at the low, low price of bribing the ship captain. Unfortunately, I must dock points for the anime-cries. 0/10 literally unreadable 😤 (affectionate).
I definitely like the imagery present in Phantom of the Opera-esque. The way that you describe Odette's feelings as dances which acts as a prelude to the end really adds to the vibe for me. I also generally enjoy the variety found in these drabbles and how each one offers something different, really shows your range as a writer.
The final, and longest one here, A Stormy Understanding is probably my favourite of the bunch. Obviously its length means that the character dynamics is a lot more fleshed out than the others but I also really enjoy the setting and vibe of this one. For one, I really appreciate how the PoV really sells as a young child full of amger. I also love how her rage here is described, which makes for a very nice allusion to her state as a vessel for Venira - it adds a wonderful flavour to the drama.
Again, your character writing was a real treat here and it really got me thinking of the circumstances. Gonna go full conspiracy mode here but I get the vibe that something is really off here. It's not made super clear what the issue here for good reason given that the adults are trying to keep Odette wilfully ignorant but the adults very clearly know that something is wrong which makes it super apparent that this is more than just castform doing the do, with Vienna's desperation and the noted oddness making it clear that the "mating season" is just a cover up to the reader.
Or maybe I'm just tired and am reading into it too deep :V
Don't have much more to add here beyond the fact that I enjoyed my time with these and hope to read more of your stuff in the future! Thanks for the read!
Somehow I totally forgot you ha so a drabble collection?? So I am here to review all of these. Making a collection for little short stories/companion pieces to a main fic is actually a great idea, because sometimes you have all these ideas but nowhere that they would really fit or be relevant to the main story! It’s genius, I should totally make one myself sometime.
As always, your writing shines the most in dialogue and character interactions. And the first entry, “Sorry!” is a perfect demonstration of both. 😂 It’s probably my favorite out of all the entries in here, because I think we’ve all been there when a very classic and mundane board game gets WAY too real. I blame Plumeria for adding money to the stakes. Girl, do you KNOW who you’re playing with? 😂
The snippet with Clovis and Love is also delightful, giving some insight into the dynamic between the two. I’m curious about how many Pokémon Clovis has; I know he has Love the Glaceon and uhhh…Donut? The Snom? Does he have others? I’m assuming Love is his starter, but I could be wrong there. I’m also curious if his Pokémon were apart of his ice skating career, or if they didn’t come into the picture until afterwards.
Anyway, Love reminds me of Solene, in a way, being like a disappointed mother in her trainer when said trainer decides to be a petty snot. 😂 Clovis is so ridiculous here, but in a very amusing way—after all, his request for accommodation doesn’t hurt anyone, nor does it put a strain on the captain, so I guess he can get a pass. He’s still quite extra, but, I mean…that do be a mood sometimes lololol
Speaking of being extra—the third entry. 😂 It was cute how above and beyond he went, and then clearly had second thoughts about the whole thing as he felt the need to explain and excuse himself to Odette. My favorite part is that she just. Lets him ramble for a bit, not bothering to stop him. 😂 She definitely gets a kick out of seeing him get flustered and trip over himself, but considering how poised and controlled he seems to be 90% of the time, I’d probably let things play out and enjoy the spectacle, too, lol. At least for a little bit. And she’s right, it is very endearing to see him like that; it shows just how much he cares, which is very sweet.
The fourth entry, being the longest, was so dang COZY it made me want to curl up and take a nap. I love crazy thunderstorms just so I can bundle up and feel cozy indoors, lol. Though admittedly, this wasn’t just any old thunderstorm. Tornadoes are freaking terrifying, man. And I think her grandma mentioned hurricanes, too? So they live in a place that gets BOTH?? All thanks to some horny castform?! Heck nah, man, I’d hate that. 😂 Actually, what does one do when a hurricane hits? I know for tornadoes you go to the basement, but hurricanes? Do you just bunker down and hope for the best?
Anyway, this one ended up being very sweet despite the initial stress and chaos. Big props to Maman for not escalating and for meeting Odette in the middle and apologizing for not explaining. Though, that said, I don’t blame her for not doing that—they were in a rush and she probably felt she didn’t have time to give a lengthy explanation. I wonder if even simply telling Odette “I don’t have time to explain right now, but stay here and I promise I will tell you in five minutes when I’ll be back” would have helped? Would that have been an okay response for Odette, or would she still have insisted on finding out what was happening? I dunno, but I’m glad they managed to clear things up and they communicated with lots of love and understanding afterwards.
Also, the fact that this was caused by freaking castform mating season is just too good. I thought it was just a one-off line when I read it in WSBS, but no, it causes ACTUAL TORNADOES. Horrifying yet hilarious. I have no idea how you came up with the idea but I love it. 😂
I have to admit that I did find Odette quite frustrating in this one, though. I know she’s a child, and a frightened child with anger issues at that, but seriously, her actions could have gotten someone (or herself) hurt. She ended up slowing down everybody’s retreat to shelter, and I know she wanted an explanation, but her mom did tell her she’d be back within just a couple of minutes, and it’s not like she was alone—she had Solene, who was already in need of comfort and who seemed much more afraid than Odette was. Maybe it’s because there was a lot of emphasis on Odette immediately getting angry and not as much on the fact that she was scared, and that it was her fear that was the driving force behind her anger. Instead, it came off a little like she was just mad her questions weren’t getting answered RIGHT NOW, and she ended up complicating things unnecessarily. It felt less like “scared child” and a little bratty. I don’t really think her mom or grandparents were in the wrong for being upset at her over this. And as a small child, especially in an emergency, you really do need to learn to just trust your guardians and follow their lead sometimes, even if they aren’t (or literally can’t) taking the time to explain everything.
That said, though, I do love the communication afterwards. I just wish there had been more emphasis on “I’m sorry I scared you, but if we ever have another emergency, I need you to trust and listen to us, okay?” After all, they were just trying to keep her safe and prioritizing her safety above their own—as one should for small kids!
It’s a relief that the worst thing was only a broken window, at least. And everybody got to have a little cuddle pile in the basement, hehe. That was very sweet. You also did a great job depicting Odette’s young age through the narration and her dialogue. I hazarded a guess at around six before it was explicitly stated, and I was right on the money! Excellent job tbh—writing kids, especially really young ones, is so dang hard a lot of the time.
Anyway, these were delightful! I hope you add more, because I’m so here for the little slice of life moments that can’t quite fit into a main story. They’re my bread and butter, and you write them so well!
Odile crawled through the rain-soaked leaves, her hands padding toward Odette’s limp body. It’d been 7 minutes since she felt a heartbeat; she knew. She knew. But she couldn’t accept it.
“Please, no. Please, please, please, no. No. No.”
Odile’s words felt thick against her tongue. Each one tasted of bile and blood and pain and panic and fear and loss and guilt and anguish and emptiness and the realization Odette was getting cold and wasn’t breathing and was actually truly gone.
As her shaking hands fell against Odette’s skin, exsanguinated and whiter than she ever wanted to see it, Odile’s human-shaped lungs screamed for breath she couldn’t get enough of. With each gasp that clawed up her throat, she felt herself sinking further and further into an abyss of fear.
She never thought she’d find herself back there again—not since she escaped Arceus’ reign, then the ball—but the thought of Odette being gone brought on a fear that was far worse than what she’d ever felt under the Father’s thumb, or trapped in Gulattive’s prison.
It was a fear that physically hurt. Her stomach lurched. Her mouth watered. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to throw the feeling up all over the ground, and watch it seep away into the dirt; no longer able to ruin her. But she knew that that wasn’t how it worked. The feelings were too real. As real as Odette’s lifeless face, now ashen and gray with a full 7 minutes of onset death.
No longer were her cheeks that shade of pink that Odile had fallen in love with, and no longer were her maroon eyes wide with logical thought and a longing for sweet justice. No longer did her chest rise and fall with each stubborn breath, and no longer did her lips move with one sarcastic quip after the next.
She was still. She was dead. Dead. Dead.
Odile couldn’t speak anymore. All she could manage were breathless, agonized squeaks as she pulled her vessel up into her arms. Odette was too cold; she’d never been this cold. It had to have been the lack of blood in her veins, but Odile figured if she could just get a blanket on her, then maybe—
But, there was no maybe. No blanket could undo death.
“N-no,” Odile wheezed. She wasn’t sure when she’d begun to cry, but she could taste her tears on her swollen tongue now. “Odette, you can’t. You can’t. Why did you—“
She was expecting a response. Something. Anything. She dragged her hand down the side of Odette’s grayed cheek, willing her to open her eyes and curse her out for being so sappy. Willing her to take a breath.
She was too still.
She was gone.
Odile’s scream felt vile. Unnatural. For a being who relished in bloodshed, and who was once a beacon for unearthly malevolence, she’d never made a sound like the one she was making now. She never had a reason to.
She’d never felt real grief until that moment. It hurt more than any physical strike, any weapon, or any betrayal she’d ever been subjected to. She’d suffer at the hands of Arceus for another ten-thousand years if it meant she never had to feel this grief ever again. And yet, she knew that wouldn’t be enough to bring Odette back.
But it wasn’t too late. Seven, maybe eight minutes now?
There was still time. She wasn’t too late. It wasn’t certain, but she had to try.
Her human form was racked with shivers, and what was left of her soul screamed in protest as she set Odette’s body back on the ground. She didn’t want to let her go yet, but she had to if she wanted to do this right.
Odile rolled Odette onto her stomach, and using her claw, she tore the fabric of her shirt away from her back, exposing the bloodless skin. She could do this anywhere on her body, but if Odette lived through this, then she likely wouldn’t want to deal with the unsightly scars, and—
Odile was thinking too hard. If she took too long, the less of a chance the ritual would work.
Odette hadn’t wanted to do the ritual when she was alive. She’d been staunchly against it. The thought of her fierce opposition to it made Odile cringe, and a sob shook her core as her claw hovered mere centimeters over Odette’s back.
Was respecting Odette’s wishes worth it if it meant the difference between bringing her back or not?
Eight minutes now. Probably nearing nine. She had to make a choice.
“I’m sorry,” she croaked. “Forgive me. I’m so sorry.”
Odile sunk her claw into Odette’s skin, carving away the shape of the ritual runes she’d grown certain she was never going to have to use on her. Odile’s human-shaped stomach flipped with a carnal horror at just how easy it was to carve into exsanguinated skin; something she’d done a thousand times over in the past. What was once a chore she enjoyed now left her wishing she was doing anything else.
Her tears almost made it too hard for her to see, and her sobs made her hand shake uncontrollably. But she had to get this right. She had one chance.
Swallowing another sob down, she blinked back her next round of tears and steadied her breathing just enough to speak.
“By blood we bond,” she said, “by life we seal, I beseech mine will to the will of this mortal.” She dug her claw into the shape of another rune, cringing at the feeling of her nail getting caught on on a vein. “In return, this mortal becomes mine.”
She forced another breath, willing herself to keep going despite the new deluge of tears that soaked her face and neck. “In the name of the Blood Mother, I submit myself to the lifeblood of this mortal forevermore.
“Let my dark power fuel their every need, as their sanguinity fuels me. Let my vitality serve them as their essence serves me. Let my power become theirs as their power has become mine.”
She was on the last rune. By that point, her anger had started to build. Why did this need to happen? Why did this need to happen to her?
Why didn’t she fucking listen?
None of that would matter if Odette didn’t come back, though. Gritting her teeth, the final words came out in a shrieking yell as she forcibly carved the final shape into Odette’s shoulder blade.
Odile withdrew her bloody claw, her breath hitching as she waited for something to happen. Seconds passed, and all she could hear were some fallen leaves rustling in the breeze, which was way too fucking calm. She felt her frustration spike, and the force of her grimace knocked more tears loose.
“Please,” she whispered to nothing. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and hovered over her vessel’s body, eyeing the gaping runes as if that would somehow make them work.
“PLEASE.”
She spoke to her handiwork. The ritual was her own fucking ritual. She’d coined it; she’d made it a thing. Thousands of other blood types had done the same rite with their beloved vessels, and it had gone off without a hitch. What kind of sick joke would it be if it didn’t work for her the one time she did it herself?
She hovered her face down toward them, gritting her teeth so hard that she was certain she’d snap a fang.
“I’m so, so, so, so, sorry,” she wept. “It’s gonna be okay. I promise, I’m gonna make it okay. Please, please, please,” she whispered. She watched her tears drip down her nose and pool on the dip of Odette’s spine before she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Let me make this okay. I can’t lose her. I can’t. I can't.”
As if the universe heard her pleas—for once—the runes began to glow.
Oho, this is NOT the direction I expected you'd take the "blood pact" prompt.
Really fun to see the tables turned on Odile here. It's so rare for her to be able to admit to anything like caring or affection (I mean, tbf, that would just be bad for her image!), so it's a lot of fun to watch her forced to confront her feelings here, and how far she'll go to protect Odette in the end. I particularly enjoyed the ritual itself: the gruesome nature of what Odile has to do in and of itself, and also the way she struggles with it in a way she ordinarily would never have to--when in fact she'd usually enjoy it.
And of course, this drabble sets up the potential for some fun continuation once Odette wakes up and finds out what Odile's done. Good stuff! Looking forward to what you do with the rest of the prompts, if you end up writing for them!
Hi! Finally here for my catnip review for "A Stormy Understanding" from the beginning of the year. Sorry I took so long, stuff got extremely hectic and then my computer broke last month. I got a laptop working, though, so I'm here to review!
Ever since learning of the term, I always thought "maman" was a fun way of saying "mom", even if I never used it myself.
I really sympathize with Odette here. Thunderstorms are still scary, even as an adult.
Oh dear. Is there a tornado happening? Those are always extra scary. Guessing this is Odette's first time experiencing a tornado warning.
Maybe it's a hurricane? It's definitely some sort of severe weather, at least. Seems like Vienna is scared too, judging by how quickly she's moving, but she's trying to stay calm for Odette.
Always love it when Pokemon communicate with their trainers, and it's nice seeing Solene talking to Odette here! Judging by the stuttering, Solene is pretty scared too.
I started tearing up around the part where they all rush into the basement, and read through the rest in an invested frenzy, so the rest of this review won't be first reactions. I hope you'll still enjoy it though!
First of all, Vienna swearing at Odette, while heartbreaking, made sense, Both of them were extremely stressed and worried, so it made sense that they would lash out. I'm glad that they made up afterwards, though.
Secondly, I was right! It was a tornado! Or, well, sorta. Strong winds from a tornado-causing storm. Very interesting how Castform can create such severe weather. I wonder if Castform could create hurricanes, or even potentially hypercanes?
It was cute seeing the family cuddling together to try to calm each other down. Platonic affection my beloved.
Overall, this was a lovely little story! Gives a bit more insight into Odette's family, and was a great read in its own right.
