Avatar of Mictlan93

Status

Recent Statuses

4 yrs ago
Current Anybody wanna read a sloppily planned YA fantasy about a demigod that discovers the concept of love and family in a world that literally bends over to hate him? No? Yeah, me neither ;_;
3 likes
5 yrs ago
Yuuuuuup, definitely back in.
1 like
5 yrs ago
Oh, and D&D.
5 yrs ago
...Think I’m getting back into RPing now!
7 likes
5 yrs ago
Would probably get back into RPing if I wasn't writing my own stuff. And working.

Bio

A 30 yr. old Engineering graduate named Phil carves out his own piece of the pie in his home of N.C. while dodging babysitting, anxiety attacks, and the lows n' very lows of the industrial manufacturing industry.

Most Recent Posts

“Aw man, Ezzie would have a field day with these two.” Ezra held a grin as he watched the comedy routine play out between the grandfather and his grandson. Between Gary’s brash attitude and Professor Oak’s eccentric qualities, he couldn’t help but imagine his sister taking in a loud laugh at the whole display, much like the tired-eyed blonde girl with the egg and the Budew.

There was a lot to take in for the boy in a short amount of time, what, with the extra trainers and the Pokedex bundled with instructions for the league challenge. Some of the girls held pokemon that Ezra didn’t usually get to see.

“Huh, that one girl’s got a Litwick, cool. Also...she got a bit of a goth thing going on, huh? I can dig it.” He made mental note of the pale, pierced female, failing to catch her name. He made a quick, quiet “Thanks” as he collected his Pokedex, a little surprised to receive what looked like a fairly sophisticated device for free. Even if he ultimately bowed out of the challenge halfway through, he could show off the ‘dex as a bit of a souvenir from the adventure.

...Unless he had to return it. Would they have to return them at the end?

Fary collected her device after he took up his, and he pondered on the rules on Pokedex ownership as he examined it. Quickly, he was snatched out of his thoughts as he watched Lizbeth’s phone zip about her person and cooperate with the Pokedex.

Following suit the best he could, Ezra brought his own phone forward, bringing it close to the Pokedex. Through the marvels of modern technology, mere contact of the two devices caused a reaction, a sudden prompt on his phone asking to download the app. Naturally, he did so.

“Gotta say, Lizbeth, I’m really vibing with your phone!” He said to the girl as she scanned her Impidimp. Brie overheard the pink imp chuckle and shuddered.

“Oshhaaa." Dear Arceus, the weird demon laughs. She failed to hide her discomfort.

“I could really use something like that. My family’s always making video calls, so something hands-free like that would be perfect for me!” He took his eyes off of his devices for a second and they both vibrated with notifications. “Huh?” At that moment, they acquired information about his partner, Brie.



“Ohhh-sha!” Hey, that’s me! Brie perked up as she looked over the entry. Ezra raised an eyebrow as he muttered over the information. “Huh, her shell’s officially called a scalchop...the more you know.” He turned his attention back to Lizbeth.

“Are they only available in Galar?” He continued on about her phone. “Would probably be killer on import costs…” Pondering aloud, he subconsciously began following some of the girls out of the lab and signaled for Lizbeth to do the same. He overheard the one in the long skirt make mention of leaving the professor to his own devices, picking up her calm disposition and a strong accent. The situation sat in his mind for a second.

“I suppose our next move is to travel north, then? Perhaps as a group?" Almost seemed like the girl was reading his mind, or at least they were on the same wavelength.

“Are we...all going the same way?” Ezra asked while trying to properly identify the girls. “Uhh...Hana? Right?” He pointed to the girl in the long skirt. It seemed like a dumb question in hindsight, it was clear they were all partaking in the challenge. Considering the environment, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume the path ahead was simple and singular.
Ezra found himself awestruck. His eyes almost bugged out of their sockets as he took witness of the legendary pokemon professor. In hindsight, he kicked himself mentally. He was in Kanto partaking in the Indigo challenge, of course he was going to encounter him! It’s one of the few things most trainers do when taking on a region challenge, it was only natural.

Ezra himself encountered Kukui a couple of times during his life, though never in this context. It was usually through family terms, outside of his lab. Ezra's mother and father usually brought up a casual conversation with the professor and his wife. Esmerelda was the one who did all the fighting, so she would’ve been the one to approach him about taking on the league or something similar. Ezra was usually just there for support, but not much else. This scenario was new to the boy, and he found himself in rarified air. Rare in the sense that he was in the presence of an amazing man, and also in the sense that he found himself in stunned silence.

...Also, Gary was there.

Ezra wanted to overwhelm Professor Oak with questions, reminisce over his nature documentaries and television appearances, compliment him on his flashy-yet-intelligent sense of style and fashion, maybe even obtain a slice of his limitless wisdom alongside an autograph or a picture. But before the boy could open his mouth to speak, the good professor shouted down the punk-clad Lizbeth with an interesting query.

"HELLO LITTLE GIRL! Are you here to get your first Pokemon?"

The peculiar outburst surprised the boy as much as it did Lizbeth. He was loud and moved faster than Ezra anticipated, and even spooked Brie. The tall trainer found his eyebrows raised and mouth slightly agape, prepared to make a dumb reply. Instead, he found his balance shifted slightly once the frightened redhead yanked on his bag to cower behind him. Like a Sawsbuck in headlights, Ezra was also petrified by the happenstance, and could only look on as the younger Oak reined in his eccentric grandfather.

On his opposite shoulder, Brie tracked the punky trainer burying herself into the boy’s duffel, taking notes on her clear and present panic attack. Professor Oak vanished from the scene and, like the world’s most interesting tornado, left everyone to comment on his ways.

Lizbeth spoke up, and in the moment, Ezra was able to properly identify her accent. “She’s from Galar! I knew I've heard it somewhere before!” He thought, noting the accent as one he’s picked up from movies and tourists visiting Alola.

He lifted his arm and twisted a bit to get a look at her, but she began to recover and took a step towards the gym leader.

"I'm sorry, I actually didn't catch any of what you just said. That old man scared me too much for me to hear what you told us..." Her voice was the clearest it seemed since she introduced herself. Sobering words that brought Ezra back to the moment.

“Heh, yeah, me too. He kinda caught me off guard with that outburst…” He backed her up bashfully, getting a hand lost in his hair as he chuckled and grinned. He probably could’ve asked about local lodging opportunities, but was too busy recovering mentally to think about it.

“What the heck-? This is crazy…” The circumstances of the situation were finally beginning to take hold in the boy’s brain.
Ezra looked on as the scene he thought ended continued to play out in front of him. The clumsy redhead was approached by another girl, one that was ahead of them both. Once he realized the road was more active than he thought, he figured he should’ve opened his eyes just a little more.

The blue-haired girl seemed pretty eager to help the red-haired girl, and just couldn’t help but air out her whole life’s story in the process. Ezra had no problem hearing Fary Nitashi (the name she called herself), but the other girl was fairly soft-spoken in comparison. The exclamation the redhead made earlier was a noticeable difference next to what Ezra could only assume was her natural speaking voice.

All the while, Fary’s helpful incentive left the boy with a tinge of guilt in the process. She reminded him of his usual attitude, how he would’ve been if he was home or working at his fitness studio. He thought he was being courteous and respectful by keeping his distance. But, what if he wasn’t? Maybe he should’ve acted first? What if she was really hurt? Would he have just stood by and watched? For a flash of a second, some of his darker thoughts broke to the front of his mind. He wondered if coming out to Kanto was a good idea.

He stared into his phone as he tried shaking away the negativity. Brie, on the other hand, found herself overtaken with curiosity. As Ezra slowed down, the Oshawott sped up, jumping down from his duffel bag to get a closer look at the unique Pokémon on display.

The pink goblin disappeared underneath the redhead’s hat, but the little black beast on Fary’s shoulder was out in full display. Brie got as close as she could to the two girls, practically jumping on Fary’s heels as she waved down her Pokémon.

“Osha osh-a! Oshawott!” Whoa, you're a Zorua! Haven’t one of you guys in a long while! She exclaimed, surprised to see another Unova-native pokemon in this strange new land.

Ezra perked up in a bit of a panic as he heard Brie’s cries in the distance. Looked like she was trying to introduce herself. “Wuh-oh.” He mumbled some before starting in a light trot to close the distance between them.
“Adorable…”

Ezra was too encompassed in his phone to notice the murmurs of the girl glancing in his direction, but Brie certainly caught the claim.

“Osha osh-osh, wott.” I think she just called you cute, Eazy. Brie replied, tugging on the boy’s hood to acquire his attention. The young Oshawott almost recoiled at the sight of the weird pink imp trying to get its trainer under control.

“Huh? What’s up, Brie?” As he looked up from his smart device, the girl from the airport went red in the face in an attempt to get away from him. He hadn’t even realized she was so close until just now. “Is she-?” His personal trainer mode was taking over. Considering the two seemed to have arrived from the airport at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was feeling some extreme case of jet lag. “She could be overexerting herself. Not good for the body in the long run.” Instinctively, Ezra slowed his gait as she sped up, to better assess the situation.

“Oh no!”

Then she dropped her wallet in her attempts to speed walk. On reflex, Ezra practically jumped at the chance to help, but she was in better control of the situation than he anticipated. “What’s that accent? Is she from-?” As he thought, he caught a quick glance at the contents spilling out of her wallet. Looked like a pair of cards. One had a black-haired girl with a cool side cut that racked the boy’s brain. “Swear I’ve seen that one somewhere before. Online, I think? Or on a magazine or something…”

Quite quickly, the girl recovered from her spill and carried on. Ezra and Brie both raised curious eyebrows at the scene. “Oshawott?” She’s a weird one, huh? Brie muttered.

Seemed she had no problem traveling along the incline the path was quickly turning into. As Ezra looked on, He noticed they both were heading towards the Professor’s lab. “Guess I’ll ask about her condition when we reach the top of this hill.” He continued up the paved road, sure to stay a couple of paces behind the girl. If she got too tired to go any further, he’d figure the least he could do was offer his help.
“Easy, Eazy! Why the tears, love? I won’t be gone for long. I’ll be here when you get out, okay? Go on, learn your teacher’s name, make some friends, find a crush! I’ll be back before you know it, okay?”



In time, the two arrived at their destination. Ezra was quick to pay his fare and the driver was nice enough to point the boy towards the wharf before taking off. He didn’t really have the time to take in the sights of Vermillion city, only making mental remarks of what laid in immediate sight. By the sound of things, the ferry he needed to get on was already getting ready to leave. He didn’t want to wait any longer than he needed to, so he scooped up Brie and broke into a light jog to make his way to the water.

He paid his fare and hopped aboard. As the big boat took off, Ezra and Brie felt free to roam the deck. Not for long, at least. Eventually, Ezra found himself keeping his Oshawott from hopping in the water for a swim. He picked her up and pointed into those murky depths.

“Check that out.” He told, his finger pointing towards the curious Gyarados lurking about the boat’s edges. “You won’t be sea monster food today, Brie.” He smiled at the Oshawott, but his tone remained flat and cautious.

“Awott osha wo.” She replied, crossing her flippers in some disappointment.

As she sulked, Ezra brought forth his own phone. He figured Esmerelda might’ve only been in the middle of her flight, so he opted to call up his father instead. The older gentleman picked up the video call immediately, and instantly Ezra could hear a commotion filling in the background. Something between crying, shouting, and general shenanigans drowned out old Ezekiel as he tried communicating with his eldest son.

“Sounds like everyone’s awake.” Ezra greeted, smiling at his father’s appearance.

They are, sure. Me? I’m ready to go back to bed.” Zeke replied, panning his phone around their Alolan home to give Ezra a glimpse of the chaos. Eli was enjoying a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table, while Tawny chased a shirtless, whining Elena around the living room. Esther sat at her father’s feet, crying in distraught. As Zeke lowered his phone closer to the youngest sister, her cries were loud enough to ring throughout the boat.

Ezra felt the need to pacify the situation before anyone began staring. “Esther? Esther!” He called through her cries, instantly gaining her attention.

“Eeeeeeazy! Come hooooome!” She sobbed loudly, easily melting the boy’s heart. He probably would’ve canceled the whole trip right then and there if he were any closer. The remaining siblings quickly crowded the phone once they realized the youngest was talking to their oldest.

“Yeah! Come back right now! Who said you can leave?!” Elena shouted. She was always more articulate than her twin sister, and she never hesitated to let anyone know.

“How’s about you put a shirt on first?” Ezra chuckled in reply, giving his brother a chance to do just that.

“Hey, Eazy.” Tawny casually greeted, wrestling his sister into the holes of the blouse. “See any cute girls yet?” He asked.

“Nope, I just got here. Where are my keys?”

“Uhhh…”

“Don’t you lose my keys, pipsqueak. Find them, and put them up until you need them.” Ezra’s tone lowered, and Tawny ran off. Eli played the background, pausing mid-bite once the camera fell on him.

“Eli, help Dad, please. Get Esther dressed.”

“Kay, Eazy. Imma finish eating first!” The twin brother replied with his mouth full. Seemed the oldest brother killed the commotion with some simple commands.

“I could’ve done that, y’know.” Zeke replied, bringing the phone back to his face.

“Wasn’t downplaying ya, Pops, I just wanted to help.”

“Yeah, I appreciate it, Eazy. You talk to your cousins, yet?”

“Yup. Zapp was supposed to come through, turned out he had an interview today.”

“So how’re you getting around?”

“I’m on a ferry right now. I guess I’ll be walking the rest of the way.”

“Make sure you find the time to take a break when you can. No need to run yourself ragged.”

“Oh yeah, no doubt. I’m sure the first soft cushion I come in contact with I’m collapsing into.” Ezra chuckled.

“Hey.” Zeke got serious. “Y’know you can talk to me about anything, right? I’m here if you need me.” He would’ve put a hand on his son’s shoulder if he could.

“I know, Dad.” Ezra appreciated the sentiment, but really felt it was the wrong time to make it known. He diverted his gaze in that moment and realized the ferry was nearing land.

“We’re getting ready to dock Pops. I’ll catch up with you guys later.” Ezra concluded the conversation. Zeke frowned a bit, but the two shared a wave before ending the call.



The duo soon proceeded down the wharf. With their brief trek successful, the next step looked to be to find the Pokemon professor’s lab. “Guess the quicker we get this show on the road, the better, huh?” He asked Brie.

“Wotta wott.” Brie, tired of being cradled, transitioned across his shoulders to ride on his backpack. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the girl from earlier, posing with her phone and some sort of pink goblin on her shoulder. Her floating robot-phone-thing snapped a couple of pics of the two, no doubt documenting the journey the two were embarking on. Ezra was too focused on finding the lab to make any real observations on the girl’s peculiar style and Pokemon.
A compact sedan carefully traveled through a packed parking deck, the bright orange fluorescence of outdoor lighting created a searing ambiance contrasting the twilight of a humid Alolan morning. Within the aged car, two siblings worked in tandem to find a suitable parking spot, one looking near while the other looked far. In time the search bore successful fruit, after seeming like they could’ve circled that deck an innumerous amount of times. The sister backed her little red car into the parking space, and the brother began collecting his things.

“You got all your stuff? Phone, wallet, keys?” Esmerelda Daly doted as the sibling pair transitioned from the drab parking lot into the airport’s expansive lobby. Ezra Daly quickly replied in kind, patting down his overly baggy grey sweatpants for the listed items. Patting progressed to his equally baggy grey hoodie to continue the search. His long gait slowed to a stop as his hands quickly moved about his person to locate the items. He began to break into a bit of a goofy dance to find his stuff.

“Has- to- be- here- some- where-” He assumed a wide stance as he patted to a rhythm, causing Esmerelda to notice.

“Seriously, Eazy? I know you ain’t leave that stuff at home.” Her serious tone undercut the smile stretched across her face. As she chuckled, he procured two of the three items.

“Phone and wallet, check.” He smiled back.

“Keys?”

“Y’really think I’d need them? I gave ‘em to Tawny. If we’re both gone, they’re gonna need them to get in if dad’s at work.”

“I’m just saying you coulda kept yours since I gave mine to Eli.”

“...Oh. We probably should’ve discussed this beforehand.” Ezra suggested with a formal tone. With a shrug shared between the two, they continued into the airport. The boy rummaged through the wallet as they walked.

“Passport card...spending money...the joint account debit card~”

“That you’ll only use in emergencies~” Esmerelda sang back. “Swear to god Eazy I better not see that hit account the red, it’s supposed to be for both of us-”

“Speak for yourself, Ezzie!” Ezra raised his voice, feeling attacked. “I ain’t gonna let you and Sammi just go on a shopping spree in Goldenrod.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The girl feigned ignorance in defense. The conversation died down as the two crossed a threshold of large sliding doors, greeted by a large gust of wind as they entered the bright, clean lobby. Ezra made a verbal thought of getting to the right terminal, and the two were sure to head in the correct direction.

“...Think Dad can handle the kids without us?” Ezra eventually brought up.

“Well, he handled us, didn’t he? Besides, the boys are old enough to handle the load of the girls.” His sister rationalized.

“They’re gonna be so sad when they wake up…” Baby sisters Ester and Elena reminded the boy of himself at their age, always reduced to a whining, crying mess when a parent was out of sight for too long. He knew they weren’t going to be too happy once they realized he and his sister would be missing from the picture.

“Just make sure to call when you can. Put us all in a group call.”

“Yeah, you already know.” Ezra nodded back with a smirk. He’d probably call on the flight over, but he knew he’d have to wait to hit solid ground again before he could do so.

The conversation went quiet again as the two traversed the massive establishment. Even at that time of the morning, the place was busy with employees, commuters, tourists, and security with their service pokemon in tow. Ezra was sure to not get too distracted before he found his flight. He read over the printed boarding passes once more, double and triple-checking the letters and numbers of his assigned gate.

“E6, dead ahead,” Esmerelda announced, bringing his attention forward. Sure enough, a big blue placard hung from the ceiling, emblazoned with the location the two were searching for.

“Siiiiick.” Ezra sped up his walk, the jostle of his duffel bag making noise as it jiggled about on his back. Esmerelda was quick to get ahead of him before his excitement gave him tunnel vision.

“Now I know you ain’t gonna leave without saying goodbye.” She stopped him dead in his tracks.

“‘Course not.” He replied with a hug that was immediately followed by an elaborate handshake, complete with no less than three fistbumps, some pattycake, a little synchronized jig, and other elaborate hand gestures. The two quickly stopped and chuckled once they realized a line was forming behind them.

“I’ll touch base when I make landfall, and meet up with Zappollopher. He said he’ll meet me in Celadon.” Ezra added lastly, having to leave his sister behind as he crossed the metal detectors.

“And I’ll call when me and Sammi get to Aunty Dalia’s!” Esmerelda called back, the quickly moving line creating distance between the two siblings.

“Bet! I wanna see how big Charlie’s gotten!” The brother loudly replied as security examined his bag and person. A couple of feet between the siblings almost felt like miles. Esmerelda stood by and watched her brother move through processing. As he reached the end of the line, he got a brief chance to look back to his sister in waiting. He found her waving at him over the crowd.

“Have fun, bro! Love ya!” She practically yelled, almost creating a bit of a scene.

“Love you too!” He yelled back, showing a toothy grin as he waved himself. In time, he merged with the crowd to another side of the airport, and Esmerelda disappeared from view. The family always shared loud, lengthy farewells. Today would be no different. Under other circumstances, the whole clan would’ve been present to see him off, creating a commotion of excitement and happiness and sadness all along the way.

Those feelings were still there in this case of separation, naturally. Ezra took a quick breath as he found himself alone. Pokemon wasn’t allowed outside their balls unless they were performing a service, so Brie would have to wait until they reached Kanto before she could come out. The boy’s quick breath turned into a seemingly troubled sigh as he found somewhere to sit. They got to the terminal pretty early, he knew was going to wait a while before they could board the aircraft.

Hours later, Ezra shuffled with the rest of the boarding crowd onto the plane. His duffel bag was just big enough to stow under his seat. He was was grateful to get to his window seat without any hiccups. The formalities of flight proceeded without a hitch, attendants capturing the attention of the travelers and instructing them on the rules of flying.

In time, everyone got seated, and the plane began down the runway. Ezra brought forth his phone, seating his earbuds comfortably as he gazed out of the window. He put on a favorite playlist as the plane took up speed.

The first song came on, an oldie-but-goodie about a woman soulfully reminiscing about times past, reveling in old love and family and friends that came and gone, sad for the times passed but grateful for the times spent and shared. An emotional number Ezra couldn’t help but softly sing along with. Such a song sent the boy on his own path down memory lane. It was his mom’s favorite song, after all.

Briefly, his gaze shifted downward as he let out a regulating exhale, the edges of his lips curled in a small, wistful smirk. He succumbed to the lyrics and got lost in the music as the airplane took off.




In about nine hours, the plane successfully landed in the Kanto region. Ezra was sure to stretch his legs as he made his way off the flight, following the crowd into another bout of extraneous processing.

With all that said and done, Ezra couldn’t help but feel like a stranger in a strange land. He was easily towering over the average pedestrian as he proceeded out of the small airport, most of which did well to give the boy a wide berth. Ezra failed to notice such trivialities, however, as he was quick to bring his phone forth. He quickly rung up his cousin on video chat, eager to let him know he had arrived in the region.

The call rung several times before going to voicemail.

“Seriously, Zapp?” He muttered, opting to call one his cousin’s sisters. Franny’s call went straight to voicemail, but he managed to get ahold of Kelly.

“Kells? Hey. I made it to Kanto. I thought Zapp was meeting me at the airport? He’s not picking up his phone.” Ezra quickly explained as he surveyed the hustle and bustle of his surroundings, watched what looked like a pointy red phone zoom out of a girl’s bag and hover around her.

“Uh yeah, he was supposed to…” She explained. “Me and Franny are at work, so he doesn’t have much of a choice.” The two were interrupted by another call. Ezra added the tardy cousin into the conversation.

“Where you at, Zapp?” The two asked at the same time.

“Shit Eazy, I forgot all about picking you up!” Zapp replied, his husky voice taking on a tinge of panic. “I’m at an interview right now, got offered a gig at the Safari Zone in Fushia!” The panic in his voice was quickly replaced with excitement.

“You’re doing the league challenge anyway, right?” Zapp added. “All I would’ve done was escort you to Pallet Town. Catch a cab to Vermillion, and from there you can ferry over to Pallet. The docks are pretty big, so you shouldn’t miss ‘em.” He explained.

“You seem pretty quick to brush our cousin off, Zapp,” Kelly replied through gritted teeth. Ezra’s expression stretched into a grin of opportunity.

“Don’t sweat it, Kells. It shouldn’t be too much to find my way.” He was already flagging down a taxi. “I’ll meet you guys in Saffron, okay?” He signed off as he entered a vacant cab.

As he told the driver of his destination, he released his young otter from her capsule. The Oshawott yawned and stretched as her settings faded into view.

“Wott…? Oshawott?” She asked through another yawn. He had no idea what she was saying, but a bipedal pokemon such as herself gestured enough to make most intentions known. He figured she was asking if they had arrived.

“Yup, we’re here. Sorry for the wait. S’gonna be a short drive, then we gotta hop on a ferry, then we’ll be in Pallet.” He caught the pokemon up to current events.

“Osh osh.” She quietly confirmed, gripping at the sleeve of his hoodie to stave off disorientation.

Me, reading this: 2011 was nine years ago?

x_x


2021 is next year
I wanted to get this up and out before the week rolled over. No pic, unless I can be guided towards a character template that I can actually use.

© 2007-2024
BBCode Cheatsheet