ohmyarceus | Test drive meme

The More Things Change

[Angel has been here before. Several times, in fact. She doesn't even startle as she emerges from blissful black to bustling brightness. Mom isn't her Mom, but she's grown familiar enough that she even throws a hug around those shoulders before heading out.

Yes, her legs are weak. Yes, her mind still feels a little foggy. But for all intents and purposes, she is home.

A little tree is found before she hunkers down. She fishes around in her bag a few times before alighting on the Pokeball she's been offered.]

Okay, let's see what we have!

[She presses the button, and, well... Suffice to say, she doesn't expect quite as many teeth to pop out. She startles immediately, shrinking behind the tree before gradually easing out.]

Alright. This is... fine.

[Angel's tamed a raging Alpha Braviary once before. Surely she can manage a Mawile!]

The More They Stay the Same

[Once she and her new companion are settled, Angel doesn't hesitate to pull out her PokeGear. This, like much everything else, is a familiar enough motion. It's probably why she's practically beaming as she opens up her Gear and fixes it on her face.]

It has been awhile, hasn't it? [A hand lifts in a delicate wave.] I expect there has been a lot that I've missed. Anyone willing to give me a rundown?

[She pans around her current surroundings.]

Maybe a ride to the nearest warp?

[Louie can't recall a time he ever spoke to Angel before... But he knows who this is. And given his recent employee/housemate/friend situation with Armin - which is of course how he knows - he's happy to see she's back.]

Some new Pokemon have been showing up. Some of them were worms that caused a lot of trouble, and that wound up getting the Legendary Seekers started on their stuff again. Oh! And prom didn't go horribly wrong last time.

I'm Louie, by the way. Welcome back. I went back and ended up here again, too, but that was months ago.

[They might not have ever spoken directly, but Angel had at least seen Louie around from time to time. And any familiar face is a welcome one at this point!]

Worms? Is everyone okay? [And then - laughter, outright.] You're joking about Prom, right?

[Has Prom ever gone right for her? Probably once, but that was about it.]

It's great to meet you, Louie. I'm Angel. I used to spend a lot of time out at the Pelagic gym with Armin.

[It's a tentative feeler. Is Armin still there? Or has he gone home after all this time. Even the thought makes her uneasy.]

Uh, well, it got pretty bad with them. They were making messes of buildings, and they were tunneling everywhere, but I didn't hear about anyone getting badly hurt.

[Her laughing disbelief about prom makes him laugh, too.]

No, really! Nothing went wrong. But I can't blame you for not trusting it, I definitely didn't. There was a vote during prom, for a new elite four member. I think that Will guy left? He ended up being replaced by a kid named Bede, who trains fairy pokemon.

[His smile grows when she mentions Armin and the gym, and he shrugs a little.]

I'll be honest, I know about that. I've been living there since Armin offered me a job with the gym. He's going to be really happy you're back.

[The picture in Angel's head of innocent little worms is rapidly replaced with the ones endemic to her home. The grimace she offers likely reveals just how troubling that thought seems to be.]

I'm glad everyone fared well enough physically but... I'll have to see if there is anywhere I can help in the meanwhile.

[Aaand once again she's perking right back up. She's never been the type to be interested in challenging the league but Fairy Pokemon? That's a different story.]

What's he like? And what about his team?

[At the mention of Armin, particularly the fact that he's still there, a lingering tension in Angel's shoulders seems to ease.]

I'm glad he's still here. That he's okay. [And moving right along.] How have you liked working at the gym?

Oh, well, I know a lot of the buildings have been looked after and fixed up. [He's not sure what button got pressed there, but the change in Angel's expression is clear. Maybe she's one of those super-nice people who just needs to help out whenever there's trouble?] The Legendary Seekers might need help soon, though? They've found something in the tunnels, I guess, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's another adventure they rope all of us into.

Bede? He's... I don't know, some people didn't like him, and I get it, he's a rude guy. But I actually think it's really cool someone younger is the new Elite Four member, you know? Although, I haven't done any looking into his team or battles yet. [He gives a thoughtful hum under his breath. Louie's been focused on Pokemon breeding, and even now that he wants to get back into battling, he's still putting breeding first... But it couldn't hurt to know. Maybe he'll pick up something useful to know.] I guess I ought to. The fact that he actually seemed interested in using strategies was part of why I voted for him...

[Louie's smile returns as Angel relaxes, but he's not at all bothered by her continuing right on. Armin and Angel may not qualify for an "old people romance," something Louie is always quick to express distaste for, but relationship talk in general is still sappy for him.]

Oh, the work's actually great! And I am not big on doing work! [A snicker.] I run the gym's social media accounts, so it's a lot of posting pictures and information to get more people interested in challenging Armin, or help with the Laprases, or just to visit the aquarium.

Never a dull summer, I suppose. [At least she can breathe an internal sigh of relief. The damage might have been extensive, but at least the repairs seemed to have happened quick enough. Probably, definitely not worms in the way she was thinking.]

I can understand being put off by an... abrasive personality. [But listen. Listen. Fairy Pokemon. Very important topic.] I'll have to take a look at it myself. Not that I was ever much of a battler. Or in possession of a team capable of battling that hard.

[Maybe if she made her way to the ranch? But that would take some time.]

The Laprases are well, then? I'm glad they're getting more attention. [And not just because she helped take care of them.] And I'm glad you're able to give them the love they deserve. It seems like delightful work!

[Who knows how Armin found out about this. Maybe he just checked the network himself, maybe Louie informed him. Maybe Angel even send him a message herself after hearing he's still around.

In any case, of all the things he had been expecting to do today, seeing his fiancee's face on the network (if she is still that, does she remember it all?) was not on the list.

For a moment, his lips just work wordlessly, too stunned to speak. And when he finally does, it's with a crack to his voice, and a slightly roughness as his throat grows tight.]

A-angel?

[There were a few reasons that Angel had hesitated to reach out directly to Armin. Most primary of them is the fact that she didn't want to find that his information no longer existed in this world. She's lost a great many people to the passage of time — she doesn't want Armin to be one of them.

But here is both his face and voice, and despite having not felt the passage of time since her departure, she can't help but feel that it's been months since she saw him last.]

Hi, Armin. [Her voice wobbles at the edges.] I am sorry it's been so long. Did you - Have you...

[She takes a deep breath.]

Are you doing okay?

I'm--

[Is he doing okay? He hadn't been for a while. Those first weeks after she had gone had been rough. Things had slowly gotten better, but only as long as he didn't think about it too much. Whenever he did, the pain flooded back in fresh as ever.

But, did that matter now? She is back now. She is back. She is here now and she remembers and--

Armin has always teared up far too easily for his own tastes, but right now, he's absolutely not even trying to fight the tears brimming in his eyes. Instead, he smiles through them, wide as can be.]

Better now I can see your face again.

Welcome home.

[Every time she's come back to this world, she's felt a pervasive sense of guilt. It wasn't, couldn't ever be her fault for leaving, but she can never seem to shake the weight of it. It's exceptionally true now that she's left Armin behind. How could she not feel that way, when she'd agreed to tie her life to his and then simply... vanished.]

I'm home. [If nothing else, the warmth of that word combats the heaviness of her shoulders. She is home. And while she doesn't believe for a second that she won't ever leave again, she can rest easily knowing that she has time. That they have time.

Nevertheless, there is one thing that still needs to be said.]

I am sorry. I'm so sorry. You should not have been left here alone.

No-- No, don't apologise!

[It comes out in a rush.]

It's not your fault. Please, I don't want to hear you apologise.

[Being the one left behind is not easy, but it had never been Angel's choice to leave. And each time she did, she had as much to lose as him. Armin might have mourned, but at least he had still been here. He had still been alive. Each time Angel was pulled from this world, she went back to non-existence; and each time she was returned, she had to rebuild so many things all over again. To hear her apologise for something that was so far beyond her control -- it gave Armin no comfort.]

I wanna see you. Are you-- New Bark Town, right? Please, I'll come as quickly as I can.

[Even if he has to switch between several flying pokemon and take so many warp pads he's puking up his kidneys, he's going to get there!]

[Angel knows he'll rush to get here, and part of her manages to feel guilty even for that. She feels for his poor Pokemon, is all. Never mind how dizzy and disoriented he'll surely be by the time he arrives. But the moment Armin volunteers it as an option, she finds herself nodding almost frantically. She hasn't exactly missed Armin in her absence, but that was only by virtue of not feeling much at all in that time period.

Now that she's here, though... That's a different story.]

Please. I will wait right here.

[She pans her camera around, showing off the space where New Bark ends and Route 29 begins. She's almost certain something similar had happened the last time she had arrived as well.]

Just... be careful, okay? Don't go falling off of any Pokemon.

I will. I'll be there as soon as I can.

[He's too close to being able to see her again, touch her again, to go and break his neck falling off a pokemon. It wouldn't kill him, but it sure would put a crimp on their reunion.]

I love you.

[Definitely not the first time he's told her that, and if he has his way, it won't be the last time she'll hear it in the coming days. He's gone too long without being able to tell her. He needs to make up for lost time.

Tre trip there is as chaotic as it promised to be. Armin doesn't take any neck-breaking risks, but its certainly a far cry from the more sedate pace he usually flies at. Instead, he pushes his flying pokemon to their limit, apologising against their feathers the whole way there. He switches between them too, allowing them some time to rest while the other flies, until he gets to the first city where he can take a warp, and take them he does. Thank god for dramamine because else he'd probably be too dizzy to do anything.

Finally, just the last leg of the journey remains, the last flight along Route 29 to New Bark Town. He directs Amadeus down when he spots the familiar shapes of the buildings, nearly tripping in his haste to get off his pokemon. For a moment he just stands there, wildly looking around until he finally spots a familiar shape.

Oh, she is so thin again, her hair choppy once more. And she is still the most gorgeous sight for sore eyes.]

Angel!

[Between the half a dozen warps, the way his muscles had locked up slightly during the flight and the tears blurring his vision, he stumbles more than he runs, knocking both of them over into the grass when he tosses his arms around her in an embrace.]

[It doesn't matter how long it takes, Angel rarely peels her eyes from the sky. She paces this way and that from time to time. Occasionally, she even offers tales of Armin and her other friends to the Mawile that toddles after her. But for the most part she waits in anticipatory silence.

Eventually, she's rewarded with the steady sound of wingbeats, and the sight of a bird coming into view. Most people don't have reason to navigate back to New Bark, and so she thinks she's pretty sure she knows who's coming her way. That suspicion is confirmed as she just barely manages to pick out the faint features of what is almost certainly a Noctowl. She follows his descent, and isn't far from Armin when he lands.

If Armin hadn't been the one to tackle her, she would have done the same in reverse. It probably would have had less of an impact, more akin to a kitten attempting to pounce, so really it's much better this way for the drama of it all. She falls back into the grass, oscillating between laughter and tears as she cards her fingers through his hair.

She might be weak, and tired again. Her hair might be in dire need of a cut. But it doesn't matter. She's home, and Armin's here too.

So naturally she steals a messy, teary kiss. It doesn't last long, because she's winded from her efforts, but she thinks it's plenty.]

I missed you.

[Once they are in the grass, Armin at least has the presence of mind to roll them over so she is sprawled out on top of him. He might not be the heaviest guy in the world, but compared to Angel's slighter frame, this is still going to be far more comfortable.

His fingers, meanwhile, run ceaselessly over her face, through her hair, brushing away her tears before mapping the contours of her cheeks again. He can barely believe she is here again --in the back of his mind he wonders if this is just a good dream, but if it is, he doesn't want to fret about it and wake himself up-- and touching her helps. She feels real under his fingers, warm and soft and everything that he remembers.

He steals a kiss. Then another one. Then just settles for pressing light kisses to ever inch of her face, across her forehead, her nose, her eyelids.]

I missed you too. So so much.

[He's crying and really doesn't care that he is.]

Angel?

[Oh this is amazing. It... might be the first time someone who's left has ever come back, in her time here, and even better, Angel remembers.]

Oh, it's so good to see you!

Edited 2023-08-06 15:53 (UTC)

Test drive meme - July & August

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The More They Stay the Same (video)

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Video