victory_road | Event: The Reveal Glass

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Event: The Reveal Glass

Across the Pokémon world, characters may have spotted a falling star last night. Or at least, one would think that's what it was: a naturally occurring phenomenon, rather than a legendary artifact. Specifically, the Reveal Glass fell to earth during a fight among a group of legendaries started by the return of a long-lost family member. But it's probably best to leave them to handle all that themselves, while your characters deal with other consequences.

The Reveal Glass shattered upon impact, and the shards scattered throughout Kanto, Johto, and the Sevii Islands… And made their way into the hearts of your characters. But bleeding isn't the concern here. Instead, the impact will hit when a character first looks into any reflective service. An eerie feeling hits them as they're transported to the Mirror Dimension.

While this realm can be many different things for different characters, one thing is always true: It is a place of honesty, where true selves are revealed. Those struck by a shard will find themselves facing truths they are no longer able to hide, and now must accept. Fortunately enough, even those who haven't been struck will be able to enter the Mirror Dimension during this event via a reflective surface to offer help. By the end of the 29th, things will return to normal. Characters will be back in the usual Pokémon world and their hearts will be rid of the shards, but time is strange in the Mirror Dimension, and the experience may feel like it goes on far longer than a day. Or, maybe that's just the emotional exhaustion.

The Reveal Glass plot is here. You can swing by the event info post for additional details and FAQ, and play out your characters’ enforced therapy on this post. As with most VR events, this plot is entirely optional and your characters don't need to take part at all.

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[Having an arm around him helps, and he instinctively snuggles in closer. He listens in return, not even flinching when Min misspeaks. It's not like the original would have been wrong.]

...I guess so.

[Only because in this dumb mirror world he can't make himself summon enthusiasm like he normally would. But they have to try something. Ryan's pretty sure Min can't keep doing this over and over and over. He'll get frustrated eventually.

Despite that, without his mask on he can't help what comes out of his mouth. Min's wanted him to tell the truth, but it's probably more truth than he really wants - or at least Ryan thinks so.]

Learn what though? ...How to suck less?

What? No.

[That's not truth as far as Min's concerned. Whether Ryan believes it or not it's categorically untrue. The problem lies in trying to get him to see that. That, and how to explain what he really means without sounding critical.

Meeting targets like that has never been a problem for Min. He tries to get things done sooner rather than later, but even putting that to one side he doesn't understand how Ryan's always had such a hard time making deadlines at all.]

Just a few organizational skills. Like... maybe you could get into the habit of using the calendar a bit more? It's not like I remember everything. I keep track of things because I mark them, so I know when they're coming up.

[It's not something Ryan's never heard before. Teachers, his sisters, occasionally even his parents-- everyone's has ideas about how Ryan could keep himself organized, and none of them have ever really worked. Because there's something wrong with him, he assumes.

He glances downward and gently bites at his lower lip. He knows why a calendar alone won't help, but he also knows the reasoning is going to be the stupidest thing Min-Gi's ever heard.

Min wants him to be honest though. And he wants to be honest with him. He does. So, after a long pause and a deep breath--]

Then you just...how do you remember to look at the calendar once it's on there? I'd need another calendar to remind me to look at that one, and another one to remind me to look at that one, and another--

[He twirls a finger in a circular motion - it's a cycle that doesn't actually end.]

Once there's that many it's like, did I even remember to fill them all out? Which calendar was the fill stuff out calendar again? ...Literally no one else has to think this hard about calendars.

[His thought pattern is circling back around from the initial sincere (if unusual) question to feeling like shit for having to even ask it.]

[Ryan can probably feel exactly how baffled he is from the way he stills next to him. He doesn't have an answer to that. At least not one he can say out loud without sounding like a dick.

"You just look at it" is not an answer he can imagine Ryan reacting well to even if that's all it is to Min. It's part of his routine even if he knows he doesn't have anything coming up.

Then again, that's another thing Ryan's always struggled with. Distantly he can recall the chaos of Ryan's mind on the day they'd been able to become one person. It leaves him uneasy even remembering it.]

There's got to be something that works.

[That's about as close as he can bring himself to get to admitting he doesn't think he can help. He doesn't want Ryan to give up and pass himself off as a failure without even trying.]

[This is about what Ryan expected, but at least Min-Gi's being nice about it. He counts off on his fingers as he gives other examples.]

Calendars...To-Do Lists...Planners...Sticky notes...I've even tried writing stuff on my hands but it always rubs off.

[Most of this was before he sort of gave up on school and the idea of getting into college. By senior year the plan was to do just enough to graduate, and then-- well, Min knows the rest of that plan. But it doesn't mean he didn't try before that, and have it subsequently drilled into him that other people don't have this problem and that he's just too stupid to remember things the way everyone else does.]

I'm pretty sure I'm the problem here. ...A calendar isn't going to fix me.

[It's not as though Min-Gi's never seen Ryan try that stuff. He hadn't thought Ryan was stupid because he didn't stick with it. Back then he'd just figured Ryan didn't care about that sort of stuff. He never had the same expectations put on him Min did, so why would he?

It had never occurred to him the problem was those things didn't work. Unfortunately he isn't sure what else could.

He pulls away from Ryan slightly, just enough he can turn his head to look at him. He might not know how to help him, but Min-Gi wants him to understand even if this is something that's a problem for Ryan that doesn't mean there's a problem with Ryan.]

You don't need fixing. That's not what I'm trying to do.

[When Ryan looks toward him, his eyes are a little watery. He isn't outright sobbing, but it was a lot easier to say all of this when he wasn't looking directly at Min.]

Really? But--

[It's not that he wants to doubt Min-Gi - he does, a little, but he knows Min believes it. He doesn't want to come across as sounding too shocked Min believes in him. It's touching that he does. Ryan reaches up to rub at his eyes under his glasses.]

...but. If I don't need fixing, then that kind of stuff should just work like it does for everyone else, right? I know it works for you.

So?

[This is easier to navigate. Convincing Ryan he's not a screw up can be hard when he's feeling like this, but he's listening to him. He's not dismissing him without even listening. It's a good start.]

Just because it works for me it doesn't mean it has to work for you. You don't have to be so down on yourself.

[Ryan can't meet his eyes anymore. He glances downward. This isn't how he wants this conversation to turn, but without the ability to just brush off the fact that he doesn't like himself this way, it's the only way it could possibly go.]

...Yeah, I do. If I'm not, I'll just stay shitty forever, you know? At least this way I know I suck and can try to...to. I dunno.

[He trails off. The realization is hitting him that it doesn't actually work most of the time, but...well. Maybe he's doing this wrong too.]

...Try to do something about it, I guess.

[Like laugh it off. Change the subject. Smile and make sure no one else sees this dark unhappy part that rises up in him whenever he messes up. Disappear to process things alone, so he doesn't drag other people down with him when he's drowning.]

[Min-Gi reluctantly removes his arm so it's no longer around Ryan. Not because he wants to pull away from him, but he needs to be able to look at him. He positions himself so he can be in front of him. Gently he reaches out so he can tilt his head up slightly, discouraging him from looking away.]

There's a difference between knowing something's hard for you and thinking that means there's something wrong with you. You know that, right?

[It's not as though he hasn't had his own struggles there. He knows it isn't always easy to distinguish, but he needs Ryan to see it.]

[This is the sort of question that should have an automatic answer. Ryan knows this. His face is being held in Min's hand so carefully, and he knows the answer that's objectively correct. The answer that Min-Gi surely wants to hear.

But instead, he looks stunned. Struck. He has to take a deep breath and a hard sniffle so he doesn't turn into a puddle right here and now.]

I...no one's said that before.

[Literally no one. Not his parents. Not his sisters or brothers. Not any teachers or exes. He's never really given Min-Gi the chance either way. It just...was a universal truth that everyone else understood, that was drilled into him over and over in every possible way.]

[That's a difficult thing to hear. They've known each other their whole lives. He hadn't understood when he'd been younger. In a lot of ways he'd been jealous. As far as he could see Ryan had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

Now, though... now he knows better, and he wishes he'd realised he needed to hear it sooner.]

Ryan...

[There's no apology, but the guilt is there for someone who knows him as well as Ryan does to see.]

Look, I'm... not sure what would make things easier for you. You already listed off pretty much everything that I would do. But if this is something you want to figure out, we'll try. Like you help me with the things that I find hard.

[Ryan can feel that guilt like it's his own, but the most he can do with his face in Min's hand is glance downward again. Not only did he make Min-Gi feel bad, but if Min doesn't have an answer there might not be an answer.

But Min keeps going, and the mood turns around. He finally returns Min's gaze, cautiously hopeful.]

I...don't usually have to figure it out. You already help like, a lot.

[He's helping right now, just by being there without assuming the worst, or treating him like he could do this on his own if he just tried harder.]

What if there isn't an answer though? What if I'm just like this?

[It still feels like a failing somehow, but...Min's being really patient with him. Maybe he really won't get sick of putting up with him.]

[Min's still pretty sure there is an answer, even if he isn't sure what it is right now. That's not Ryan's question though. He hesitates, unsure how to respond without either dismissing him or putting him down.]

I... don't know.

[It's not an answer he wants to give, but he has to give him something. Even if it's not the one either of them want.]

What would you want? If there wasn't an answer?

[It's not as though he minds being the one in charge of most of their scheduling. But usually it's for things that both of them are doing. Together. They don't do much separately and that's how both of them like it, but that doesn't mean Ryan wants Min-Gi putting pressure on him when it comes to the few things he does do individually.]

I...don't know.

[It's easy to echo him. After all, no one's ever tried to help like this before, so how can he really know what he wants? It's a placeholder answer though; Ryan's still visibly thinking even after he says it.]

Maybe just. Patience? I don't want it to turn into a constant excuse or be annoying about it all the time, but...yeah, patience, I think.

[He lifts a hand up to place on top of Min's, holding it there between his palm and cheek. For the first time in this theater without his mask on, he gives a smile - tiny and genuine.]

And you're good at that.

[He can wait for an answer. Even if it doesn't come now, at least Ryan's trying to come up with something rather than pretend he's okay when he really isn't. It's a start.

Min-Gi isn't expecting him to come up with anything, but it's a pleasant surprise when he does. It's not a solution to end Ryan's problems, but it's something he can do. He nods, returning the faint smile with one of his own. He hasn't always found it easy to be patient with Ryan, but they understand each other better now. That helps. And after all the ways Ryan's been patient with Min...

It's the least he can do for him.]

So are you.

[He leans in to give him a light kiss on his forehead, chaste and gentle.]

Just tell me when you need me, okay? I'm here for you.

[The little kiss is enough to brighten the gloom that Ryan's been stuck in. He loves Min so much, and even this is an immense comfort - one that makes him feel like he can be brave with his feelings in return.]

I know. ...I will.

[For the first time in this conversation, it feels like he really does know. Min is here for him, and he isn't going anywhere. Even when Ryan intensely dislikes himself, Min still loves him. It's cliché, but...it leaves him feeling warm and fuzzy inside.]

[Except, it isn't cliché.

A small but blinding light shines between them for a moment, and Ryan feels it pulling something from him. It doesn't hurt exactly, but he doesn't have time to process how it does feel before the light extinguishes and two things clatter to the ground - the mask he'd been wearing on his head and a sliver of something sharp.

Ryan should probably be relieved, but he stares down at the shard and then feels the spot on his chest where it came from. That was inside him.]

...Is that a chunk of glass?

[Hang on, he's going to ruin the nice moment by lifting up his shirt to see if he has some sort of shrapnel wound left behind (and breathes a sigh of relief when no, he doesn't).]

[Min-Gi falls back at the flash of light, panicked for the moment it takes to clear. Unlike Ryan he's visibly relieved once he can see he's all right. He doesn't notice the glass at first, not until Ryan points it out.

That is alarming.

Min's eyes widen again as he looks at it, eyes darting up to Ryan's exposed chest for any sign of damage. There's none, but he doesn't relax completely. He looks as though he's considering picking up the glass, but he doesn't. Even discounting the sharpness, he's not sure he trusts what would happen if he does.]

Was that inside you?

[His eyes still keep flicking over to Ryan with concern, as though some sign of injury might suddenly appear.]

[Thankfully no injuries are there, not even a bruise or a scratch. Ryan's not totally satisfied with the lack of answer, but he does pull his shirt back down.]

I think so? I couldn't feel it or anything, but something came out of me...[He shudders.] This place is so messed.

[The glass is still there and neither of them really want to touch it. Ryan thinks for a moment and grabs the powerless mask by the chin and after a couple tries he scoops the shard up with it so they can look at it closer. It doesn't look bloody or like it just came out of a body, but it also looks too big to be something that could just sit inside of him without feeling it at all.

Then again, until just a second ago he had been so melancholy that maybe he couldn't have felt it if he'd tried.]

[For a moment it looks as though Min might try to stop Ryan picking up the glass, but curiosity gets the better of him. When it doesn't look like anything is going to happen he leans in, frowning at the size of it.]

Are you sure you're okay?

[It seems like there's a decent chance this place isn't real, so maybe the glass isn't either? It's a reasonable theory, but not one that does much to ease his concern even it Ryan does seem to be physically okay.]

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Event: The Reveal Glass

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