fallers_ooc | Test Drive Meme - December - Merry Christmas and a New Year!

Test Drive Meme - December - Merry Christmas and a New Year!

December has arrived! And it's a festive, very festive time for the people of Alola. You'll find that many local businesses are doing well this time of year as there's brilliant lights being strung up, in preparation of people, both tourists and people. The doors are open, the Christmas Spirit is in the air, and Delibirds have arrived to start taking letters to Santa! Mallow in particular has been a chief advocate of getting your letters into Santa, as this is the second Christmas Vacation coming up for the Fallers, and soon you'll be off school for Christmas Break which starts on the 18th.

You'll have lots to do, but soon, there'll be a aura of business as Christmas begins to loom closer and closer, as a sense of urgency starts pushing forward as the Delibirds seem more and more urgent...

A. Arrival

Another wave of Ultra Holes have opened up over the Island, alarms have appeared and the Ultra Guardians as well as Bewear has come into play. This time, the Fallers have been asked to intercept the literally Falling people who are coming out of the holes and brief them and bring them to the Pokemon Center, ie Immigration to get checked in. Wicke is there to answer questions but a few volunteers may be there as well. The experienced Fallers can get you up to speed.

B. The Alola Community Visitors Plaza

A venue usually for tourists, new Fallers are given a chance to see the main tourist area for Alola, in order to orient and familiarize themselves with the nature of Alola and Pokemon in general. A far cry from the disorganized mob that was originally there, this time, there are people set up in the stands, ready to receive tourists and Fallers alike. Pamphlets, interviews with locals and tour guides, Ride Pokemon to take you around the island, and various other places are available. Please look around, the choice is yours. This month it is decorated for the Festival of Lights, aka Christmas.

C. The Hau’oli City Markets

This is where the marketplace stands, full of fresh fruit and food. Those who are hungry can be treated to a delicious taste of Alola. Not once, not twice, but more times than they can imagine. Your coin is good here, even if it’s alien in nature. Even if you don’t have coin, you’ll be fine. Ohana. No one is left behind or forgotten. We’re not about to let people go hungry in this world. Nature’s bounty is for everyone, humans and Pokemon alike. There’s no need to steal, just ask the marketplace for some food if you are very hungry. Even if you’re shy, Miss Anela will offer you a snack. There's a lot of holiday treats.

D. Job Board

Odd Jobs have been posted here right now, thanks to the efforts of the people who have decided to help the Fallers out, and it’s also a help wanted board for those who want to earn some coin in the middle of the week before the beginning of the school year. Tasks such as bucking crates of Juice off a truck, to doing some simple paperwork in an office for a few days, and even tending Pokemon in a farm on Akala Island. The choice is yours. Get out and explore. There's a lot of decorating jobs right now.

E. Exploring the entire island chain

If you wish to explore Melemele, it is a big island, and there is plenty to see. There are Forests, Honey Fields, Hot Springs, Beaches, and many other places. Melemele boasts one of the biggest cities Hau’oli City, and is the capital of Alola. Here, up at the top of a large plateau is the challenge area where Hala offers the Grand Trial. The caves are full of Pokemon, and your Pokemon are eager to prove themselves in a Trial. There's plenty to see now, with Akala island, Ula'ula Island and Poni Islands also opened up for tourism.

F. Grand Trials

The Four Kahuna are accepting challengers once more. Those who wish to participate in the sacred trials are allowed to participate in the Grand Trials once more, to earn the right of the Z. With the goals in mind, you may undertake a Trial to earn a Z-Crystal first, and then take on a Grand Trial for a Z-Ring and a Z-Crystal. The choice is yours which to tackle first.

G. Festival of Lights

There's actually two Festival of Lights this time around! The Boat Festival where there will be several boats on the water displaying gorgeous lights which shine on the water, and the festival where the land shines with twinkling lights on the seventh. The first is on the 13th. There seems to be a wonderful time coming up.

H. Melemele General Hospital

Even Angela is working extra hard to make sure everyone's prepared for the winter, and that makes time for checkups, and other such things. If you've got the sniffles, this one is for you. But also, come chat with Angela, and meet some of the more colorful visitors from Overwatch Earth.

I. Aether Labs

Come review the brand new information that makes the Ultra Guardians go on the offensive. Which means, Aether Labs is open to the science community! The scientific community heads can now access the labs, and the resources within. Under the guidance of Wicke, Faba and, Burnet, you're allowed access to Aether's resources to build and invent and upgrade and repair your own equipment.

J. Alolan Steel Guitar Festival

Come listen to the native music of the people, leading into the city. You can listen, try out one of the steel guitars, dance, the choice is yours! Your world is yours to explore!

K. Lighting of the Banyan Tree

In the middle of the city there's a massive tree being erected. This is the Banyan Tree, and on the seventh during the Festival of Lights, it will be lit up! Come check it out!

L. Wildcard

If you haven’t found a prompt that suits you, make it up!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Anzu saw that, yes." Zahra rolls their eyes. At least he seems to be getting it slightly faster than their own Jonouchi. Slightly. "And before you ask again: I'm not Anzu. I'm not Atem. They're me, but I'm not them. Hell, I'm not even a woman! I'm like... woman-lite. Woman La Croix. My gender was open in a room with a woman once." okay that was a little confusing actually "...sorry for getting tetchy, Jonouchi." They sigh, running a hand up their forehead. "I've had to explain this to people from my my world several times even when they've had months to process this information, and I'm getting very sick at having to explain myself."

Zahra shrugs at his comment about Ra. "I don't think it was on purpose, really. Just the lead pipe that broke the camel's back as it were. The more shadow power Anzu and Atem were exposed to, the closer-knit they got, and... well. Getting hit by Ra in a shadow game is a HELL of a lot of shadow power."

"Uh." Very smooth. "....'s cool. Wasn' gonna ask act'lly, y' are who y' say y' are and all..."

Look he's seen enough Everything to not question shit, least of all shit he has psuedoexperience with.

Boy is it weird hearing Ra's power referred to as 'Shadow' power though. "This 's..." Hmmm. "...Yer talkin' w Malik righ'? Th' finals? ...Or...."

Was...this back when they were protecting Mai..?

...God this is depressing. The ponyta gives a whinny, pulling him from his thoughts. "Oh uh- Righ'! Zahra, th's 's Kaseri. Kaseri-" ....the ponyta isn't responding. "Nyyyhh...K...Kasuriine..."

"Niiii!"

"Man 's not ev'n what I named y'...."

"It was twice, actually." Zahra looks down and away from Jounouchi, biting their lip. Even counting all the times they were nearly killed by living monsters in the Doma-dominated world, getting hit by the God Blaze Cannon still counts among the worst experiences that they've ever had. "Once during the semifinals. Shizuka was trying to snap Mai out of it before she got hit with the God Blaze Cannon, and Anzu bought them time by throwing herself in front of it. After that, I was me for half the time through the finals, and getting hit the second time is what got me - us - stuck."

Okay, everything else aside, that Ponyta is adorable. Zahra kneels down a bit to look Kaseri in the eye and cocks their head to the side, smiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kasuriine." The Baltoy whizzes down to look at the other Pokemon, and Anzu idly pats its head. "I don't really know what to call my Baltoy yet. I'm thinking Jigsaw, but I'm not quite sure yet..."

It takes a good long moment for Katsuya's brain to properly reboot from hearing 'Shizuka' and 'Ra's attack' in the same sentence. Long enough that he doesn't even quite process Zahra going with 'Catherine' over 'Kaseri'. That's cold. But more than that he sits up- stands, almost, his eyes wide with a terror that comes only with experience as he resists the urge to grab her shoulders.

"Sh...Shizuka," he repeats, his voice trembling. "What th' hell was Shizuka doin' on tha' sta- no..."

No- more importantly, if this was a scenario where Shizuka for what ever reason was filling his role... "...Did my sister fight Malik..."

He looks as if the very thought would make him cry, and not for any foolish reason.

Mere mortals such as they, did not oft survive the wrath of Ra.

"And she would've won, too, if..." Zahra bites their lip, clenching their fists and tearing their gaze away from Jonouchi. Those few moments had been among the most painful in their life. "If that crazy bastard hadn't cheated with his shadow game. She was so close! She'd managed to endure her monsters getting destroyed by the God Phoenix three times before... she was one syllable away from winning, too."

Zahra rubs their arm, lost in reminiscence. "At least she managed to claw her way back to consciousness after a few minutes. I don't know she did it, it took me hours and..." Mmmmaybe they shouldn't mention how they and Shizuka shared a passionate embrace for five minutes after she woke them up with a kiss to Jonouchi, "...everybody working together to revive me."

He can practically hear it in his ears, and his face is white with the growing horror and realization. His breathing is heavy in his chest- and he clutches at his front and at his shirt like it's a safety net as he looks to the side, dog tags finding their way in the grasp despite having nothing to do with the matter.

Kaseri the ponyta whinnies worriedly. She presses her horn, glowing, against the blond repeatedly, as if one could heal choking shock.

'Zahra' is still there (and it's so easy to just use that name, because this obviously isn't Anzu, doesn't even look like Anzu in so many ways, and in so many ways the same could be said about the 'Other'...about 'Atem', as he's apparently known), but he needs to think- no, he needs to not think, if anything, shuddering breaths leaving him trembling at the knees.

"I." ....

"...G...Gimme a sec'." She woke up after minutes. Woke up. Woke...

Breathe... "'S... Jus' a normal-" Not normal, "...'normal' hit fr'm Ra then," he mutters, practically to reassure himself. "Jus'..."

Every time he stops to think, he just sees his little sister staring up at Ra. He squeezes his eyes shut as if he could banish the memory that way, and it doesn't.

"Phhhhhhhwwwww..."

"NnNnniii..."

"As normal as it could be for her, at any rate. Her connection to monsters, it's... it's beyond even what I have. She talked and they listened, but the trade-off is that she felt every blow like it was real, even outside of shadow games.

"...you're really lucky to have such an amazing sister, you know. She kept fighting, even when her own monsters attacked her through that damn mirror, even when she was burning in the Phoenix's flames. You should be proud."

Edited 2019-12-12 17:44 (UTC)

"STOP TALKIN'!"

Katsuya is crying.

His eyes are watering and his breathing is shallow, and the ponyta whinnies anxiously to try and calm things down. He's dropped the tags- dropped everything only to grab his head, eyes wide as he shakes.

"Jus'....stop..."

Proud? He can be proud later. When he's not imagining blood on the field and cries on the air (did those happen maybe? can he see things from other worlds? Don't think about that)

But he never wanted this curse on his sister. "I know...fr'm what yer sayin'...she had t' pull through, and live...but please..."

Zahra's eyes widen as they watch Jonouchi collapse. No, no, no, they didn't mean- not like this- not again, not again, they couldn't hurt him like this again, not after th- h- s- they, damnit (and Anzu and Atem) spent so long trying to undo what they all did to him-

They step back, hand over their mouth as they fight back memories of the look on their friend's face from so, so long ago now, after they nearly sent him to hell.

Then, breath shuddering, they all step forward in unison to hug Katsuya. "I'm... I'm sorry."

Deep breaths. He can hear mutters from his bag, and the ponyta as well. Deep...deep...

"...I know... ...I know she's strong. I know she c'n duel," he adds, quietly. "...an' I know...'f there was a world where she entered tha' tournamen' herself...'f there was a world where she didn' have t' think she'd be blind f'rever, tha' there'd be no money for th' surgery, she could've gone real far..."

"...But tha' tournamen'... ...tha' thing tha' was only goin' t' buy time for escape..." He takes a shuddering breath. "...'s bad 'nough, imaginin' her in my shoes w' what happened...but y' add all that..?" he asks, voice breaking. "You're tellin' me, we all watched her bleed up there?"

A few minutes, they said.

He swallows. "...guess it pays," he manages. "...not havin' monsters w' gian' swords pointed f'r yer lungs..!"

oh

"...she was cured in your world?"

Wh

W

"....y..." No.

"She's still blind..?" He can remember how it felt for a few days. Only a few days.

He can remember imagining what it would feel like for a lifetime, and the horror that followed. "How's she....why..."

That one. That's the one. "WHY..?"

"After we got to the Duelist Kingdom quarterfinals, Shizuka explained to Anzu that she was fighting to get the cash to repair her eyes," Zahra explains, sighing and shaking their head. As much as they love Shizuka, their girlfriend was way too selfless for her own good. Until she wasn't, and then she got very, very scary. "Once Atem beat Shizuka in the semifinals, Anzu vowed to give her the prize money after they took down Pegasus. Only instead of using it to fix her eyes...

"...Shizuka spent it all on a lawyer so she could get you out of your dad's custody."

Edited 2019-12-12 18:18 (UTC)

Katsuya is frozen.

"...m...me...." Wh-

"No....no, I'd 've told her no, I'd have told her..." Nonononono- "Why! I only had a few years, I could've gotten out myself! I could've moved, 'f I was still there where yer from..! Why would she give forever f'r two years..!"

They're desperate cries. They don't even count for him not really, he doesn't live with his dad (he's made that clear), he doesn't have a blind sister (they know that now) but...

"What th' hell 's this 'other' me doin', huh?" He's proud of his sister, certainly.

But he's ashamed at 'himself'.

"Even if he wasn't busy nursing several broken bones from being tossed down the stairs by his dad, he..." Zahra breaks eye contact. What happened to Katsuya on their world was all of their part - Atem's, Anzu's, even themself to a certain extent.

They'd have to explain it to Katsuya eventually, so Zahra might as well break the bad news now. "You remember how you used to act really skeevy around Anzu? And how Atem got tetchy about anyone so much as looking at his host wrong in the early days? And how he was trigger happy with the Penalty Games back then too?"

Edited 2019-12-12 18:26 (UTC)

Hey. "Hey." Hey. "I broke m' arm once, an tha' was the stairs more than him," he insisted, scowling. But....

He does grimace. "...I...probably would've been spendin' some time at Honda's tho', yeah..." Definitely, definitely... "Guess Kaiba's way differen' in yer world too then..."

Carrying on -!

Katsuya frowns, and raises a brow. "Yeah, like once, when High school jus' started. An' then y' gave me a right hook an' we started callin' y' Mazaki until Yugi-" Wait.

Oh no. "..." A grimace of mild disgust comes over his face. "...Th' hell did I do..." No,

No wait. He pales, remembering all too well what it looked like outside peering in with some of the 'Other Yugi's penalties. "...What did they do..." he manages slowly, blood draining from his face once more.

Zahra cocks an eyebrow. They remembered things a little differently from how Katsuya recalls it (although the right hook definitely still happened, it was quite satisfying even though Anzu didn't have any training at that point), but that might just be a difference of perceptions.

"Atem challenged you to a game of pack wars. He won, of course, and the Penalty Game was 'Foil Tomb' or something like that; you were supposed to think you were sealed up in a Duel Monsters pack and were getting mauled by everything in it. Anzu tried to stop it, but the game ended up... I don't know, pausing? After that, every time you touched a Duel Monsters card, the game started again until you took your hand off it.

"...getting your soul stolen by Pegasus probably didn't help you get over it any earlier, honestly."

Hahaha UH

"Can we back up t' the part where I had t' do somethin t' get t' tha' point..!?" he yelps, the idea of being mauled by duel monsters fortunately so dangerously near to his recent reality that it flies over his head.

(He may, admittedly, be desperately not thinking of the Duel Boxes)

Uh

"...th' hell'd he want w' my soul, didn' you jus' say I was still livin' w my dad?" Well that just brings new questions bud

tonight really is just zahra's duty as the exposition fairy huh

They might as well just start writing an autobiography at this point and handing it to people who ask a lot of questions. Call it "Skjaldmaer" or something like that.

"After all our climbing equipment was stolen by Keith on the way down from the third duel spot, Anzu was talking to Shizuka about dropping out of the tournament entirely. She didn't have any stake in it besides the prize money, after all, and she was pretty sure Shizuka could get that herself. Pegasus somehow overheard and decided to capture you for a little extra incentive to keep going."

............................boy this is awkward.

"....You." Wh-

"...you... Were duelin'...f' me...."

FFffffuuuuu... Katsuya drags his hands down his face, sucking in a breath. "Fffffuuuuck..." God. Why is everything so... "I though' shit was differen' enough already man what the fuck..."

Well at least he's...maybe calmed down a bit? The pony is certainly confused.

Zahra rolls their eyes. Katsuya can be such an idiot sometimes. "Of course Anzu was dueling for you, dumbass! Even if you used to be a creep sometimes, you're still our friend. Here and everywhere else."

Edited 2019-12-12 19:05 (UTC)

"Nyhh-! Don' say it like tha's why I'd be surprised..! I ain't that much 'f a prick..." He grumbles further, frowning deeply.

Yeesh though. He can't tell if he does or doesn't have questions. Would he...want the answers? Man...

"...So..." So. "...How long 've y' been her"

"It's a bit more accurate to say that she's been me, but..." Zahra stares into the distance, contemplative. It's hard to say. Brief flashes of completeness, nearly-shattered wholeness, hundreds of moments of near-being; it was all difficult to keep track of.

The moment that it all crystallized, though... "A bit more than two years ago, after the finals at Alcatraz." They touch their lips, smiling. "When she kissed me."

For a minute Katsuya is extremely confused. Anddd then...

"Nyh...A...act'lly I was askin how long y've been...her'n Alola," he asks, pointing at the ground. And then the last thing Zahra said hits and.

"Wwww...w...wait you an'...My sister k..." Wh

Wh

"...MY SISTER'S DATIN-" Actually hold on considering who Zahra is the sum of... ...He blinks, and quiets down. "...I guess...tha' would work out..."

"Two days. Spent the first recovering, and-"

Zahra blushes as they realize that they accidentally let that slip. Their own Katsuya was such a pain about it when he caught them kissing; he gave Zahra three separate completely ineffectual shotgun speeches before he was finally okay with it.

At least this one is more reasonable. "I'm glad you're taking it well, at least. You wouldn't believe how badly my Katsuya reacted- not like that! Just... extremely overprotective."

Test Drive Meme - December - Merry Christmas and a New Year!

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