In which Cass is the anonest anon that ever anon'd

Five times Shootie met Adeku-san, perhaps? (Not shippy! ... look at me, I'm ~so~ anonymous)

1.

At five years of age, Shootie knows what he wants in his life, and it involves being just like Champion Adeku-san and beating Champion Adeku-san and getting Champion Adeku-san’s approval and admiration, and generally, involves Champion Adeku-san’s name a lot.

Mommy laughs and apologizes for her son’s fanboying antics, but Champion Adeku-san says no, no, it’s fine, it’s cute, he’s a great kid, he will be great.

—

2.

At ten years of age, Shootie knows what he wants in his life, and it involves not turning out like Champion Adeku. He will be great and it will be no thanks to this man.

He wants strength, and he wants respect, and he wants to beat this mockery — this insult of a Champion into the dust.

(In a way, he still just wants Adeku-san to remember him.)

—

3.

At ten years and a few months of age, Shootie doesn’t really know anything anymore, but it takes the pressure off, for some reason, to admit that, to shrug off the constant stress of wanting only to be strong, to win, to get better, to deserve something. It feels better to widen his horizon and look around for more possibilities rather than to focus only straight ahead; to look at Jalorda and not really know where they’re going, but they’ll go together, and that’s enough. They’ve come all the way here together, and that’s amazing already.

He still wants to be great, but perhaps that doesn’t mean strength and battles only.

After all, Adeku-san is strong and great.

“I’d like to battle you again in a few years,” Adeku-san says with a wink. “You’re going to be great.”

“You’ll need to remember my name then,” Shootie sighs, but it doesn’t sting anymore and it doesn’t stop him from smiling.

—

4.

At thirteen, Shootie still doesn’t really know what he wants, but he’s fine just going along and seeing what happens, simply cataloguing his life through pictures. Photo albums don’t need a plot. He travels the world and anywhere he goes, there’s him, there’s Jalorda, there’s his Pokémon and the friends he’s made over the years popping up here and there throughout his books — Cabernet is never still for long enough to make good pictures, but he learned to make blur look artistic; Langley is in each of his albums exactly once, as she can only be convinced to pose approximately every blue moon, but Tsunbear has become a pro-level model; here’s the photographers club, Roberto and world-traveler Tooru-kun and Trova-kun from Kalos; there’s Satoshi, some photos he sent himself from his own travels, sometimes in real life because Satoshi goes everywhere, sometimes in magazines or on TV because what the heck why does he make the news so often; there’s Iris when they first met and here’s when he ran into her chasing Rayquaza in Hoenn and here’s when she became a Gym Leader — and that’s enough red thread.

There are many shots of the view from atop the Celestial Tower; it’s his favorite landscape to photograph, the way you can see most of Isshu from there, the differences depending on seasons, weather or time of day, but always serene and peaceful. So when he comes back from Kalos, not sure where to go next and Jalorda having no particular opinion either, it’s the direction his feet naturally take.

For the first time, this time, there’s someone else up there.

“Oh, Shootaro-kun! It’s been a while!”

“It’s Shootie,” he sighs, but hey, being recognized on sight after three years isn’t so bad.

Adeku-san is sitting cross-legged in front of the huge bell and he doesn’t budge. When Shootie approaches and offers a hand, he extends one arm to shake it, but that is it. He considers Shootie in silence, looking at him from below, with that airy distant smile he had the second time Shootie met him, before the Junior Cup. “How have you been doing?” he asks, in a low voice. It sounds almost… careful. “How is Jalorda?”

“We’re both fine,” Shootie replies, replicating the low tones though he isn’t quite sure why. He lets him out to demonstrate; Jalorda apparently remembers Adeku-san, immediately slithering to him to get some petting. “We’ve just been touring Kalos. Well, he hasn’t battled a lot lately, I’ve been focusing on photography…” He gestures at the scenery surrounding them as far as the eye goes — it’s late autumn, late afternoon, and everything seems on fire under the red sun, from the leaves of the trees to the early snow on the peaks of Twist Mountain, to the ocean glinting on the horizon, far to the south. “The view here is amazing, right?”

“Oh! Yes, it is!” Adeku-san laughs, abrupt, open, with all of his broad chest, and yet this too sounds muted and fragile. There aren’t any walls for it to echo, and the sound dies quickly; when it does, Adeku-san is subdued again; he continues petting Jalorda’s nose, but his eyes are far away. Quietly, he explains, “I was worried you might be here for another reason.”

Oh.

Adeku-san’s grin is brilliant, like the sun setting behind him.

“My old partner is resting here,” he says, pointing a thumb downwards, at the floors and floors of gravestones.

—

5.

At fifteen, Shootie is a professional photographer, fairly renowned across the world; after wrapping up a collaboration project with the Viola of Kalos, he’s just coming back home to Isshu to photograph the introduction ceremony of the new Champion. He knows what he wants in his life and he’s got it right now, and he’s thinking of new goals, other options — maybe specializing in tournament photography, since he does still battle and he still likes it, or maybe traveling documentaries (Satoshi’s just about to start one of his journeys through yet another region, that wouldn’t fail to be interesting), or maybe taking a break for a while. There’s many things to do, a lot of ways to show people the world and the Pokémon in it. He’s got time to think about it after this job.

But hey, in the meantime, there’s no harm in fulfilling old childhood dreams, right?

Adeku-san laughs. “I’m not the Champion anymore, you know? You’re challenging the wrong person for that.”

“I know. I’m not planning on becoming a Champion anymore, I just wanted to try beating you again.” He grins. “Jalorda and I have become pretty great, after all.”

Adeku-san smiles, warm as always, and when he looks at Shootie, at him only, there is recognition and pride and sheer joy in his eyes. “I never doubted you would, Shootie-kun.”

Manon & Fleurdelys - AZ's family >>

… welp i’m taking your headcanon that they’re both descendants of AZ + that that family has Issues and manon’s birth family was abusive to her, then

(+ implicitly, the fanon that she’s Fukuji’s granddaughter, I don’t know who came up with that one)

=> TW: MENTION/DISCUSSION OF PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL CHILD ABUSE and this ended up way too long for this meme what. cass your prompts

When Manon walks in, he is already sitting in thechair on the other side of the glass, eyelids lowered, hands linked on hiscrossed knees, noble and princely and pointedly unaffected by his situation. Atthe sound of her door closing, he sighs and opens his eyes, obviously about tolaunch into another one of his big bitter speeches, and stops short at thesight of her.

It’s a little funny, so Manon grins at him. “Didn’texpect me, huh?”

Fleurdelys-san takes a moment to compose himself. It’ssomething he does a lot, Manon noticed: unlike her, who hurries and fumbles andtries to do everything as fast as possible, as much as possible, to compensatefor what she can’t do, he takes the time to think things through so that all hedoes or says is exactly what he meant to. “I must confess,” he finally replies,gracefully. “Thank you for visiting me, Manon. How is your Harimaron doing?”

She knows what he’s doing. He probably thinks she can’ttell, but now that she’s seen his real face, she recognizes it: the jab, the dagger,the poison under the silky handkerchief, the intent to hurt under thebenevolent smile and façade of concern.

She beams. “He’s fine, thank you! He just didn’t wantto see you again, I’m sure you understand. Sorry! Oh, and Alan’s not comingeither, by the way, sorry if that’s who you were expecting.”

“A shame,” Fleurdelys-san comments, with a chuckle.

“But I really wanted to talk with you,” she adds.

“Oh?” There’s still a smile on his thin lips, and theamusement looks genuine, at least. He’s surprised, and he is listening. That’smore than she counted on.

“I wanted to thank you,” she starts, cheerfully. “Notfor Hari-san, since that was your fault, but for taking care of me. You werereally nice to me at that time.”

Keep reading

ALSO how is prefect!Alan these days, with the recent events from XY&Z? :w (Did he still walk on DADA teacher!Lys and Magical Caretaking!Platane sometimes.)

(AHAHAHA……….DOES THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT SOUND LIKE A LEAGUE EQUIVALENT TO YOU?)

“Don’t worry, he’s still breathing,” professor Lysandre says.

Relief bowls Alan over and fills his head with fog; he leans on the ivy wall for balance, finds his own breath again, and it takes him a moment to realize that the professor has not approached Ash’s body, is not doing anything to help either of them calm down, has no reason to be here at the centre of the maze at all. 

The clouds in his brain part.

“It was you,” he says, with fang-sharp clarity. “You put my name in the Goblet of Fire.”

Professor Lysandre smiles. “You honoured my expectations. I only had to help you a little to find those Mega Evolution stones, and you figured out how to use them yourself. I did not expect you to win the first task.”

That’s a punch in Alan’s gut.

Professor Lysandre is the reason why Ash is lying on the ground right now, why Mairin has been in the infirmary for weeks, why Steven’s boyfriend’s almost drowned in the lake, why Alan went through all these insanely dangerous tasks — that hurts, that’s impossible to believe, to accept, but it’s not a slap in the face as much as the thought that the person who did all that is also the one who gave him Charizard’s help back then.

He’s shaking.

“Does professor Sycamore know?”

“Oh, dear, no. Although his knowledge was a lot of help as well. Look,” he says, and Alan recognizes the small crumpled items he takes out of his pocket instantly: the professor’s Garchomp’s torn-off fin, his Charizard’s broken claw.

“Did you know the ritual to awaken the Great Earth Dragon requires the pain of other dragons?”

The ground shakes under Alan’s feet — splits, and the professor smiles.

TSME crew, canon-divergent AU where Lysandre recruits beginner trainer Manon instead of Alain?

She’s pulled out of the sea and onto the beach and, amongst the splashing and through the water running out of her ears, a deep voice asks, “Are you all right, little miss?”

Manon’s clothes are dripping, and the salty water makes her scratched knee kind of sting, but hey! with that sun, she’ll be dry in no time, and she’s not bleeding, and most importantly, she got that Tatsubay. Even as she coughs out some water and gestures at a fussing Hari-san that there’s nothing to worry about, her hand is still clasped tight on the Monster Ball. She tilts her head back, far, in order to grin up at the tall man. “Yes, thank you!”

The man gives her an amused smile back. “Congratulations for the catch. That was quite a fall.”

“Hahah… Happens all the time, I’m tough.”

“So I see.”

She turns to thank his Pokémon, too, hand extended to pet it, and stops short of touching it.

It’s a Gyarados, there’s no mistaking it, but… it’s red, that’s not just the sunset, and it’s larger, stouter. The maw that grabbed her is huge, and it has too many fins, long and wide and sharp. Her fingers hover just a hair’s breadth away from the large dorsal fin that flutters in the wind, flicking off drops of seawater that glitter dark crimson in the sunset.

“Mister?” she whispers, entranced. “Why is your Gyarados so… weird?”

The man is still smiling. “Observant, aren’t you?” He leans in as her fingertips finally touch the slippery scales. “Would you like me to teach you something interesting?”

———

“— and I fell in the water, but I’m fine now, and that’s how I met Tacchan,” Manon-kun concludes proudly. “She’s really strong!”

“Ooh!” Platane applauds, and he’s not just playing along at being a good audience. “So did you take her to the Gym? Although I’m sure Hari-san could take it on by himself — Shouyou City’s Gym is Rock-type, isn’t it?”

“Hahah. Not yet, actually, maybe later. I don’t know.”

Platane blinks. Of all the trainers he’s sent on the road in the past few months, she’s far from the most motivated about the League challenge, but this doesn’t sound like her. And yet, her expression hasn’t changed — she doesn’t look embarrassed nor apathetic. “Manon-kun? Did something happen?” he asks cautiously.

She grins, that brilliant, pure smile that makes Platane think of Alan every time. “Secret! I can’t say anything yet, but… I think I’ve found something really interesting to do. I’ll show you when I’m ready, professor.”

“Is that so?” Platane can’t help but smile back. “I’ll be looking forwards to it, then!”

“Please do!” She scratches her new Tatsubay’s neck, and before she disconnects, he catches sight of something flashing on her wrist and on Tatsubay’s chest — is that a collar? — then the video screen turns black.

Ah, well. He’ll hear from her again soon enough. Time to check up on Satoshi-kun and company.

———

“No,” the kid says, scowling. “I’m busy!”

“Busy with what?” Alan teases. “Do you have a meeting? Reports to send in? Deadlines to meet? Important seminars for ten-year-old user of Mega-Evolution to attend?”

“More important stuff than answering your boring questions,” she snaps back. “And tell your Lizardo to leave Tacchan alone!”

Her Bohmander doesn’t exactly look distressed, in Alan’s opinion; in fact, it doesn’t seem to have even noticed Lizardo’s attempts to impress it with his fire-throwers.

“I’m going,” the kid repeats, her eyebrows knotted and her face that of someone uncomfortable and worried rather than bored or annoyed, and even though Alan has never seen her make another facial expression, this just doesn’t look right on her face.

“Please!” he tries again as she climbs on Bohmander’s back. “Just tell me where you found those stones!”

She groans. “I was given them, okay? Now stop chasing me. Bye.”

Alan watches her fly away, sighs, and adds that to his growing list of questions to pester her with. Her name is still at the top, question mark unanswered, and he tries to ignore the pang of bitterness that squeezes his chest. No progress on learning about Mega-Evolution, and no news about the professor’s vanished pupil with the Harimaron either; at this point, maybe he should just go home.

But there’s something not right about that little girl looking so grave and getting into so much danger… 

“Lizaaa.” Lizardo nudges his hand and Alan pets his head distractedly.

“We keep chasing her?”

“Liza.”

(see also: ry’s take

Fleurdelys + Alan - Hannibal AU ('First Kill')

“Is this not beautiful?” the director whispers.

Alan’s hands are shaking so much it’s sending more splatters of blood on his pants. His throat is clogged up with the bile, with a scream, with a knot, with his stomach trying to hurl itself out of his mouth and his teeth are chattering but clamped together so hard he doesn’t remember how to loosen his jaw, but he wants to say, No, wants to say, It’s the ugliest thing in the world, wants to say, I didn’t mean to, I don’t, I’m not —

(A hysterical, merciless part of his brain is also reminding him, So what? you’ve eaten that before.)

But the director’s eyes are clear and bright, striking light blue contrasting with the red covering his face, and he is beautiful.

Alan + Manon - that Essentia!AU (consequences of 'I can't get stronger with your around', yada yada >>)

She twirls the helmet between her hands, trying to think about this, trying to hesitate, trying to be a sensible and mature girl, but she knows she has already made her decision.

Just to be sure, she asks: “This’ll help?”

“It will make you stronger,” uncle Xerosic promises with a warm smile.

—

“Has Manon-kun visited lately?” the professor asks, concerned.

She hasn’t; Alan can’t blame her.

“I hope she’s fine, there have been a lot of random attacks and Pokémon thefts in the city recently…”

—

She wakes up even more tired than when she went to sleep, and her limbs ache, and her head is empty or full of cotton, and Hari-san is looking worried

but uncle Xerosic says she did great, and the suit is working, and she gave him a lot of data, and she’s a good trainer, a good battler

and she helped.

—

“I know who the thief is,” Pachira says, and then, for some unfathomable reason, she looks at Alan, her sharp smile blunted, embittered. “Someone’s learned from you, kid.”

She doesn’t even need to say one more word for the words, his words in Manon’s voice, to echo in Alan’s mind: I’ll become strong.

—

if I’m with you, Alan, I can become stronger

but if being with Alan is dangerous, and if Alan can’t be strong with us there, then

if I become stronger, Alan, I can be with you

—

He’ll be ashamed of this weakness later, but at the moment, shocked, dazed, grieving because something of Manon has been lost, he lets the whisper escape his lips: “I deserve this, don’t I.”

“Oh Arceus,” Pachira exclaims, rolling her eyes, “boy, this isn’t about you. That girl went to old Xerosic for herself.”

—

It’s only when Alan sees the mysterious thief with his own eyes and recognizes that silhouette for himself, that tuft of messy red hair peeking out of that helmet, that he realizes he got it wrong (again) (of course): she does still care about him.

The thing is he did learn, he’s understood that he had to stop taking on all the burdens on himself, had to stop pushing people away to try to protect them — and Manon knew that, Manon was always smarter than that, but he hasn’t exactly given her a lot of other options, has he.

The professor keeps saying Alan is free and safe now, that his past doesn’t matter, but that’s not true, when it keeps catching up to him and it continues to hurt the ones precious to him.

—

I want to protect you, too

if I’m strong, will you let me?

—

She beats him up and steals Lizardon’s Monster Ball.

Hari-san cries and squeaks at her until she snaps back to consciousness.

Xerosic, unbelievably, repents and lets himself be taken into custody and leaves her the suit and his team of Pokémon. Pachira is satisfied and somehow still not arrested nor fired from anywhere.

Manon and Alan both need a thousand more hugs, but this one is a good start.

Alan & Manon (&Hari-san) - PTSD.

The first night they’re back on the road, all four of them together, none of them sleep (Lizardon still in pain, Alan incapable to relax and stop keeping watch for any possible danger, Manon scared to wake up alone or back in the Fleurdelys labs at Hari-san’s bedside, and Hari-san never wanting to sleep again); so the second night, after an hour of everyone shuffling nervously and nobody closing an eye, Manon sighs and carries her sleeping bag and Hari-san over to plaster themselves to Alan’s free side, squeezing him between them and Lizardon, and it’s incredible of much safer you can feel just from sensing the warm and solid weight of the living beings you’re worried about (Alan can barely breathe when he wakes up with all of them on his chest, but still, this is a thousand times better).

Prompt: Alain finally apologises to Manon. Tears may be involved. (Probably his.)

In the end, he says it across the empty space from his hospital bed to hers, quietly so as not to wake Harimaron (incredible that he can still sleep), and she whispers back “I’ll only forgive you if you make it up to me,” voice serious but eyes teasing, and digs her diary out from the nightstand drawer to show him the plans for years of travel across the world that she’s been drawing while he was away.

uh, hello you ever realized that Alan being at the league is most likely set up LYSANDRE so that Flare can hijack the league since it seems weird that the league is happening BEFORE the Flare climax plus the presence of all those Mega Pokemon.

sure, but why ARE Alan, Ayaka and Louie doing the league?

also there’s nothing in canon or in those scans hinting at it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it’s like saying alan probably apologized to manon or our fervent hopes that Manon’s video about Hari-san moving is trolling/fake: possible, but nothing actually saying or implying it in canon, meta or in universe