victory_road | 119th moon [video]

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119th moon [video]

[Today, on the network, you may behold eggs! A large pile of eggs! Eggs upon eggs upon eggs upon eggs upon-

Ah, wait. Make that eggs upon eggs, the endless reflections of those eggs upon eggs, and a Cecil who has long given up the good fight (also endlessly reflected).]

Would anyone be interested in buying these eggs? The Magikarps and Caterpies cost P500, the others P1500, I offer plenty of deferred payments plans and even a free handmade egg pillow with each delivery. I'm willing to consider egg trades for certain species such as Magby or Espurr; ask for details if you're interested.

[He then sighs, looking over the pile once more.]

Please also note that the Lunar Gym may be closed tomorrow and Tuesday nights, due to a slight... mess in the battle room. Thank you.

[Gee, what kind of mess could it possibly be?]

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I'm two months shy of my eighth anniversary. There are still two or three people left who have been here longer than I, but we are few with such long stays.

.....Eight years....

[She sounds a bit astonished and also....]

Is....that just luck? Did...did you have to do anything to stay here this long?

[Someone never wants to go back home.]

It's luck, as far as anyone can tell. People come and go, whether they want to stay or not, and I remain here waiting, in body if not in soul.

[Waking up after his week spent in a coma was a bit of a disappointment, to say the least.]

[She sighs slightly, thinking it over.]

Figures.

Honestly, I'm surprised I lasted this long. So I guess luck is better then....yeah it's better.

[She pauses because this place/her fate isn't his fault. Plus it seems like he might possibly want to go home so....]

Can I buy a vulpix egg?

Plenty of people spend a few years here. That's... more than some could otherwise expect.

[For various unpleasant reasons.]

Would that be the Fire-type Vulpix, or the Ice-type? I have both to offer.

Well, it's longer then one night so I'm doing good so far.

[She has no idea how long the loop goes after the island before it resets, its easier to go with one night.]

The fire type, thanks. The only fire type I have so far is part ghost as well. Might be good to have a straight fire type around.

[Who won't try to feed on her life force, VLAD.]

I cannot recall anyone who stayed less than one night, but it's nice that you've already beaten your expectations.

[Her apparently very low expectations.]

You've chosen well, then. Vulpix may lack the eerie charm of the Litwick line, but their Fire-type moves are not to be underestimated. Where should I deliver the egg?

Yup. I'm pretty happy.

[And the sad part is, she really is.]

Charm, isn't the word I'd use but I'm starting to get used to the ghosts. They seem to like me .....for some reason.

[You know exactly why.]

Let me check....

Okay I'm travelling at the moment but I should reach Blackthorn on the 9th. Would that work?

That... may be a sign they're planning a prank, I must warn you.

[Do not trust ghosts, for they will cut your hair in your sleep and convince your team to participate in home improvement projects.]

That would work perfectly. I'll send my Altaria to deliver the egg at that time. She'll have no issue finding you, as long as you visit the Pokémon Center.

[She almost sighs there. Right, an actual reason that makes more sense then her real one.]

Yeah....I can see why you'd think that.

But I did check with a woman named Botan. See my starter is a Spiritomb, which given my history is a bit of a dark joke, kind of. And I wanted to make sure it wouldn't try to possess me....given my history as well and they said no. Because....

[She rubs her forehead.]

Back home, I'm not ....really in existence anymore. There were ghosts or spirits that got trapped in another dimension and my friends and I let them out by accident. I had to seal myself in with them to save my friends and now I'm reliving the same night in a loop for eternity. I've only just started to remember the loops and if this place took me from the start of the night I'd have no idea about them. But it didn't.

So I know I'm trapped in that dimension with the other spirits and apparently telling my pokemon that. I named them the Sunken after the spirits. They've decided I'm....just like them.

Which is apparently why I keep getting followed by ghosts, because they seem to think this world just made me semi human and that I'm one of them. ....I think one of them is trying to get me to pull pranks on people actually.

[Help she's been adopted by ghosts.]

I can do that. Thanks

Edited 2018-07-02 19:52 (UTC)

That's...

[An absolutely alarming story, truly, between the ghosts and the looping and the sealing and the repeated amnesia. he barely represses a shudder.]

Well. That's more proof that whoever choses our starters has been watching us before we were brought here. Lovely. I'd like to hope the local ghosts like you enough to be able to help you should you ever return home, but I fear that may be beyond their power.

[Which must be high on the sucky scale for everyone involved.]

Ah, you're welcome. I hope that child will be a source of happiness for you.

Yup, pretty much that. And that's the bare bones version of the story.

[Possession, time travel, messing with time, watching her friends die but not really. The ghosts living eternity over and over and regressing to the point where they have no sense of self and her fear that while she just has the one night that's what will eventually happen to her....everything. But hey the basic version is what everyone gets unless they somehow get the story from her/probably get to know her better.]

And whoever was watching us, has a bad sense of humour. And yeah. I doubt they could help, even if they did come over, there's not much I can do to get out of the dimension. It doesn't matter though. I've come to terms with my fate. I made my choice and it was the right one.

This....this is a vacation that I'm going to enjoy as long as possible. And if I forget everything when I go back? Well it's not like that's new.

[Everything about the situation sucks. She knows that, but she's stated on multiple times to the ghosts, that it's worth it. And she still hasn't changed her mind. Even knowing her recent actions aren't helping her but other versions of herself because we had to involve other versions of our own reality didn't we. At least she can help them.]

I'm sure they will be. Naming them is part of the fun once they've hatched. If they're similar to my friends, I name them after them.

I'm sorry to confirm that we do indeed lose our memories once we leave this world in any way... but I strongly believe that we do not competely lose the bonds we've gained here, even if our minds have forgotten.

[For years he has kept that belief in mind, keeping a part of its source present in this world.]

Naming a Pokémon after a friend is a sweet idea, but be very certain the resemblance is there. First impressions are sometimes misleading, and explaining the name difficult later.

[She shrugs slightly.]

It's fine. Given the time loop, even if I remembered things going back. I would have lost the memories when time reset. This way I don't have to wonder if I'd get pieces of them back as well. Which would probably make the island somehow even more confusing.

What do you mean by bonds though?

[Friendships made here would vanish, but she's old hand at that now, even if she never remembers till the end. Nothing she does back home matters, except for a choice few things and then not for her, or not for long.]

Oh definitely. There was a weird weekend here and....I actually got to see one of my friends. It was one, who...well our relationship is a bit rocky and I introduced her to the pokemon I named after her. She didn't get why I'd named one of my earliest pokemon after her when I had closer friends and ....family I could have named them after. But I just told her the name needed to fit.

Which is why the Taillow is named Clarissa and not the Cherubi. They've both got red, colours I associate with her. But the Cherubi is nothing like Clarissa while the Taillow makes a great namesake. Clarissa seemed pleased that the pokemon dived for my head when we first met so I think she approved of her namesake.

Someone in this world once told that even if we lose our memories of our friendship, our hearts remain connected somehow. Previous experiences have convinced me that she was right, and even if I had no such proof... it's a pleasant enough belief. Even if time loops do complicate matters.

[The friendships may vanish, but they have existed. Cecil often reminds himself of that, when an old friend disappears once more.]

You manage to meet a friend during one of those days? That's wonderful to hear. Just as much as hearing that she approved of your naming choices past her initial confusion, though the reason for that approval is... somewhat alarming.

Huh....that's a nice thought. And I do semi remember things, it's why I get time loops in my giant time loop and so much deja vu as I go through the night, till I remember having done it before. I'm hoping the fact that its getting earlier and earlier is a good sign. ....so maybe there's something to the whole we somehow remember, without really remembering. Like it's in our heads but we just can't reach it, but it's still there.

[She can get that. She sees her brother every time in the loops and those moments are precious to her every time the island sends her back in time. She might not remember them when time resets but believing that part of her knows she's seeing him again, is a nice thought.]

I did. And that's just Clarissa. We have...a complicated history. Honestly I'm lucky she wasn't taken from a point in the night where she just would have insulted anything I said to her. Doesn't matter, everything aside, she's my friend.

Also glad the ghosts didn't hitch a ride with her. They used her for their possession vessel for most of the evening.

That is indeed a good sign. Not only is there a trace of the previous memories that slowly grows stronger, it also cannot be erased or restrained by the forces sealing you. Such power cannot be underestimated.

[How much of an actual effect it can have, though...]

...I'd normally say that those ghosts could never have followed her here, but those strange days tend to bend the land's rules somewhat. Still, at least you would have had your Pokémon to defend you.

Well, fingers crossed.

[She'll take that hope over her fears of slowly losing herself and becoming just like the Sunken. Speaking off.]

Oh, they wouldn't have attacked me. They...well I'd be more worried about them trying to possess other people. The loop I was just in, so it's probably happened more then once. I managed to get through to them by finding all the information on their past a woman had put together. They're not.....evil, though if you asked me that half way through the night I would have told you they were.

It's just....they don't just relive one night. They relive .....everything I guess. It's hard to tell what they mean. They were saying stuff about seeing the start and end of the world, over and over. They're like a hive mind at this point, they act like kids with the sole purpose of trying to escape because they're scared and angry that everyone forgot them. They forgot themselves. I had to remind one of them that they used to be someone called Calvin Gilbert before he could remember.

[She shrugs slightly.]

Of course it all reloops and we forget again. But yeah, they never attacked me. Messed with my head and showed me some terrible things and possessed my friends....they're not good. But they're also just.....

Complicated. And now I'm sorta like them too. ....just without the possessing people thing.

...Such a terrible unlife it must be, to relive everything yet forget yourself over and over, with no hope of ever-

[No. Shaking that thought right out of his head, thank you very much.]

It's good that your physical safety safety is not threatened, but some of those actions are still very unkind. Though I suppose it would be difficult for them to behave properly, considering their circumstances and their loss of self.

Trust me, it's better not to think about it.

[Yeah....just not fun back home for anyone.]

Yeah....unkind is a word I'd use. Also, terrible, cruel, selfish. It's ....well you can probably guess I go through a lot of different emotions throughout the one night. Surprisingly you can feel sorry for people and semi-hate them at the same time. Or at various points in time.

Of course you can. Someone can easily commit terrible acts while being the victim of terrible circumstances. Their actions are not to be ignored or forgiven, but solely hating them becomes... difficult.

Yeah.....that's a good way to put it.

Everything becomes a lot more complicated when you learn the truth sometimes.

Yet the truth is often more valuable than the simplicity that comes with ignorance. Which only complicates your feelings even more.

It really, really does.

Well at least here I get to remember that lesson.

That is one of this world's greatest perks, though we've sadly not yet found a way to maintain it once we leave. But who knows? Should we ever understand what brings us here, that might change.

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