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bridgescribble2023-01-05 11:26 am
shitglasses) wrote in bridgescribble2023-01-05 11:26 am
Entry tags:
don't be afraid,
COMPROMISE OR DIE
CIRCLE is a 2015 film about 50 people waking up in a room with no memory of how they got there. Slowly they realize they have to choose who lives and who dies if anyone is to escape. Only one can walk away.
Fifty people is too many for a thread, so how about two?
SUDDENLY, you wake up in a strange dark room with another person. Maybe you know them; maybe they're a total stranger. There's no way to escape and only one way to survive. You find nothing of use, no doors and no windows, just a note etched into the wall: DECIDE WHO LIVES. IF NO DECISION CAN BE MADE, BOTH DIE. YOU HAVE ONE HOUR.
Ready, set, go.
[well, they are *monsters* that vary from animal-like to human-like or even youkai-like~]
At being asked how she was, Lillie continued to smile and Snowy waved her tails.
“We’re alright, thank you for asking.”
“It might sting… a lot, but it stops the bleeding, too, usually.”
Lillie sprayed on the antiseptic. It should do a good job of stymying the blood flow, closing up the smaller parts of the wound entirely, but as for the more damaged points, well… that was best to leave for the professionals.
Lillie frowned a bit after applying it. “With smaller cuts, they usually disappear in seconds… ah, I have clean clothes here, so…”
She took out a fine nightgown, made of pure silk, to use as a bandage.
“Silk is supposed to be very good for skin, so I think this should do, until you get to the hospital, mister.”
She isn’t very good at wrapping bandages, it isn’t her forte at all (it’s much more Brock’s, who went to medical school!), but she did her best.
“Is the person coming for us, um, Present Mic?”
She was too shy to tell Shota she’d forgotten his name, but the importance of contacting Present Mic, should something happen, seemed to have kept it afloat over the other memories, lost in the fog.
point!
He blinked at her as she wrapped the silk around his arm, blood immediately staining the material. Shota didn't know much about fashion or luxury items, but he could tell the nightgown would be expensive. And she had been carrying it around and used it for a bandage like it was nothing. Meaning she came from money and most likely had people looking for her. It would make it easier to reunite her with her family and meant there would undoubtedly be a lot of attention from the media when they learned about her abduction. At least that might help with shutting down the whole operation.
Shaking off the surprise, he huffed quietly at her question. "Yeah. He'll probably be one of them."
Once his friend heard that he'd gotten into trouble, he'd insist on coming to see that Shota was still in one piece. It was unnecessary, but he would. Thankfully Lillie didn't need to follow through on what he'd asked her, and Mic would never need to know what he'd considered.
"Once we get out of here, I'll make sure you get home safely." He could come back to help with the investigation once she was back with her family.
[if you prefer to keep their universes separate, ask, and she can just teleport away o/
It was either very foolish to abduct her or very worrying—those behind it might wield even more power and wealth.
At hearing Shota’s suggestion, Lillie looked mortified.
“Home?! Oh, please just take me back to Alola—ah, um, since you didn’t know Pokemon, I think you’d know it as Hawaii…? Please don’t go all the way to our home, mother will make such a fuss.”
It might’ve been the most childish thing out of Lillie’s mouth thus far, but she really did seem embarrassed by the idea and stubbornly opposed. Little did she know that “making a fuss” was exactly the conclusion Shota was hoping for!
it's good thanks, I enjoy a good canon mash-up
Even if she thought nothing of being away from her family, he couldn't leave her alone like that. The promised 'fuss' was just further motivation to return her home. Besides which, if she had been in Hawaii - Alola, whatever one called it - that was where she'd been abducted from. Returning her there would put her at risk again, whereas her family could almost certainly afford good security to keep her safe from further attempts.
[sorry for the loooong delay, Ramadan just ended here, aha]
"... do you know exactly where we are now? It might be possible for mother and father could come here, or send a plane for me, unless it's still unsafe?"
The more she thought about it and looked back at the captured men...
"Never mind, silly question. Alright..." Lillie sighed again. "Our home is in Hau'oli City on Melemele Island, but my family also owns Aether Paradise—a sort of artifical island and reserve— and my mother works most of the time, so she's usually found there..."
no worries at all! happy Eid(?)
"We're near Shizuoka prefecture." Shota hesitated, searching his memories, then, "Kanto region, I think you'd call it."
Before he could argue against a plane being sent - which cemented her wealth, if there had been any doubt - she looked at their captives and relented. And further demonstrated the family she came from. Shota was not looking forward to encountering her mother. As much as he wanted her family stirring up trouble, he was sure it was also going to be troublesome for him, one way or another. But if it meant putting a stop to the group, he'd handle whatever response they had.
"Alright. When my colleagues get here, I'll talk to them about organising a flight home for you. I'll come with you." Lillie might not appreciate the economy class flight he anticipated, but the important thing was getting her home safely.
[thank you very much, yes, you're right, it was just 'Eid! ^^ Lillie flying economy is hilarious!]
"All there is to do now is wait, I suppose..."
Snowy padded around, watching and waiting, staying alert for allies or enemies.
haha, I'm sure it would be something! did you want to wrap there or jump ahead?
"While we wait, you can tell me about your friend and how you met." Between him and Snowy, they'd be able to pick up on anyone approaching, and the distraction should help Lillie from focusing on all that had happened.
[oh, I was fine with it ending earlier, but jumping to meeting her folks’d b something!!]
Telling stories certainly helps! Ash seemed to be the catalyst of many things, from inspiring the creation of an Alolan league, to helping Lillie overcome her fear of touching Pokemon, which would later help her complete a forgotten project of her father’s and find out where he is.
(It seemed her broken family has only very recently been reunited, so, yes, the fuss over what nearly destroyed it once more will be much more than Shota would want to deal with! It also seemed being abducted and nearly killed or nearly having all her memories erased is… a recurring theme in Lillie’s life, whether by creatures from other dimensions or by a shady man from her mother’s workplace… but she’s overcome many of her fears!)
haha, excellent! not sure if you want to skip the flight or not so here we go
Said friends arrived with the emergency services as he'd demanded, keeping an eye on the local police while they arrested the culprits and began investigating the facility for leads. Lillie's presence thankfully stopped them from making too much fuss over the fact he'd been kidnapped, and it wasn't long till the pair of them were packed into a car and being driven to the nearest police station to give statements. From there, they were allowed a short break, but there was pressure to get Lillie home quickly, so it wasn't long till they were being driven to the airport.
Shota had at least had time to change into a clean hero suit, and Lillie's ruined nightgown had been replaced with a few neat stitches and a proper bandage, so he wasn't facing the almost eight-hour flight wearing bloody clothes. But as they boarded the plane with Lillie, he wasn't looking forward to being crammed in the tiny seats and surrounded by other passengers for such a long time. Hopefully, they could both sleep through most of the trip.
[it'd be funny/cute, so I did!]
She wasn't going to complain, though. But all the little things kept confusing and surprising her. No fresh fruit juice? (Lillie declined any drink, looking dubious of the quality.) No hot towelettes?
It was all so strange, Lillie couldn't sleep, because everything was so strange. There isn't, of course, an in-flight movie. She's just going to sit and see what else might happen, feeling like it's a very surreal little adventure, until she eventually did get tired enough to doze off.
I love it! And yes I did google what is served on Hawaiian Airlines flights...
He came back to alertness when the attendants came around to get himself a black coffee that tasted awful, as expected, but he wasn't drinking it for the taste. Lillie got a brief glance at her refusal of all the offerings, but he wasn't going to prod her over it yet. It would be worse when the meals came. He knew she would have been offered something to eat at the police station before they left, but presumably it had been the same cheap take-out the officers had given him, and whether or not she would have accepted that was the question.
Regardless, she didn't seem distressed, so he left her to occupy herself and dozed off again, a featureless ball of black fabric and hair, until several hours into the flight when the attendants came around again, handing out meals. Uncurling himself, Shota accepted the trays, handing Lillie hers and nudging her awake if needed. Peeling open his own to reveal what the menu claimed was Hawaiian loco moco, Shota wordlessly began to eat, keeping half an eye on Lillie in case she turned up her nose at it. He didn't know when she'd last eaten, so no matter what she thought of the offering, she needed to eat at least some of it.
[this is so cute!! I just looked up the length earlier, fff]
She was cold and quickly falling ill. A downside of a delicate constitution, certainly.
She didn’t protest at being given a meal, but certainly went very, very still as she stared at the ugliest, flattest sunny side-up she’d ever seen. It was a rather insulting locomoco. At least the vegetables looked good. But when she reached for her utensils, she looked sickened and started to tear up a little.
She lifted the egg to see meat patty and quietly pushed the food away, Snowy questioning, sniffing at her food, then nuzzling her.
Pokemon trainers generally didn’t eat meat! Perhaps always being around very sentient creatures put many off of the idea of eating other creatures…
ha, yeah not a fun flight especially in economy!
That wasn't the only problem, it seemed. He didn't let her push the food far, nudging back with a quiet admonishment. "You need to eat something. We've got another five hours before we land. Unless you're allergic, you need to have some of it to keep your strength up."
With how quickly everything had been organised, there hadn't been an opportunity to ask for special dietary requirements, so he was hoping that she wasn't actually allergic and just didn't care for the look of it.
[no doubt about that!]
It was hard to say anything, because she didn't want to sound ungrateful, but she couldn't bear to eat meat! She did eat the salad, though, and realized after she'd begun eating, how hungry she really was!
no subject
The rest of the meal would hopefully be fine once the meat was gone, but he put his tub of salad on her tray as well, just in case. Going hungry wasn't such a concern for him. There was one other member of their group whose diet also hadn't been considered though.
Gesturing at Snowy, he asked, "Or will she eat it?" The fox-like creature certainly looked like she should be carnivorous or omnivorous like a fox.
no subject
She certainly could eat it!
"I usually carry Pokemon food in my other bag, but yes, Snowy could eat it," Lillie brightened up a bit, thinking it wouldn't go to waste like that—if it'll feed a Pokemon, it's fine! "Thank you for sharing your food... um, you can have the vegetables or the egg, if you'd like."
She finished eating her salad and began eating part of his too, but soon slowed down, stopping at only half of it, so he'd think she's full and not offer her anything more. He needed to eat too, after all!
Lillie placed the meat in a napkin, where Snowy happily licked at it, but didn't seem very good at ripping it. Lillie proceeded to cut the meat up for Snowy. Omnivorous though she might've been, she didn't do much in the way of hunting or ripping into meat on her own, used to kibble-like meals! She had the hunting instincts for it, though, which was why she'd been able to sense what was underground so well...
no subject
He quickly finished off his own meal, watching Lillie feed the meat to Snowy with a quiet amusement in his eyes. Like this, she reminded him a little of a spoiled housecat. It was completely different to how well she'd defended Lillie and helped him with their captors a few short hours ago. The Pokemon was attracting some attention from the other passengers, too, with a few comments on how well-behaved she was.
Curling back up in his seat, he closed his eyes, prepared to doze off again. One eye cracked open as he told Lillie, "Wake me if you need anything." Since after seeing her shiver, he suspected she wouldn't disturb him otherwise, even if there was a problem.
[after they disembark, they’ll be just a phonecall away~]
Lillie, too, would hold Snowy close and rest after both had finished eating.
The flight would be safe and uneventful (mild turbulence at one point aside) until landing.
I'm sure this will go just fine...
Once they landed, he'd gotten Lillie to call her home so they could be picked up. He didn't know whether it was her parents or a driver behind the wheel of the car that pulled up in front of them, choosing to stay, waiting quietly behind her and Snowy to see who came out and what she had to say to them.
[1/2; things for Shota to come across during his reading--with perhaps too much detail, sorry!]
They are quite wealthy, owning at least two mansions on record, as well as private jet, ship, helicopters, and various other vehicles, as well as trained Ride Pokemon. They employ an entourage of maids on their estate, headed by an elderly butler who also acts as Lillie's caretaker in the absence of her parents.
As Lillie had mentioned in her story, an accident with an Ultra Hole led to the disappearance of her father years ago, who was assumed dead until he was recently found by Lillie and her family, as she'd explained. A second Ultra Hole was kept secret from Lusamine and nearly being drawn into that one by a Ultra Beast trying to prey on her caused Lillie's trauma, but when the staff member responsible who had apparently commited such crimes as stalking, breaking and entering (into then-runaway Gladion's home), and tried to use a Pokemon's powers to erase Lillie's memories when she'd recovered them as they incriminated him, he was to be punished, but Lillie had formally and publicly pardoned him. He lost his position, but was kept working at the Aether Foundation, doing rather menial tasks and repetitive paperwork. He continued to design and experiment with various things in his own time, once testing out an experiment on Lillie and her friends when he was sent there by Lillie's mother as a guest lecturer, although it went a bit awry unintentionally. Otherwise, he has comitted no further crimes, although he had reason to begrudge Lillie.
There had been an incident where a greedy land developer (President Viren of Rainbow Happy Resorts) tried to cheat a family out of their land, using underhanded tactics, although the victim of a fabricated deed was a native Alolan classmate of Lillie's at her school; a boy named Kiawe whose family runs a farm on Akala Island, Lillie and her friends helped Kiawe's family. Athough the land developer had been arrested for fraud and forgery, reported by Kiawe's father, and was caught red-handed while trespassing and attempted to destroy the farm, it's unclear if he remains imprisoned. Before his imprisonment, his company had expanded in suspiciously short time and their underhanded tactics were infamous, but could never be proven with hard evidence... Kiawe's family was not his only victims and were, comparatively, luckier than his previous targets.
A grudge against Lillie personally is possible, as she and Kiawe's friends banded together to protect the farm when he tried to have his men bulldoze it, right before the police arrived... or perhaps, he was also after her family's land.
There is a (technically disbanded) gang of wayward youth who previously caused much havoc in Alola, although they haven't caused any crimes for quite some time. No personal grudge against Lillie or her family.
There is a very lazy and corrupt police officer who is, nonetheless, holding the respected role of Island Kahuna, chosen by the island's guardian deity... rumours of a connection with the underworld, but nothing concrete. A pathological liar and almost terminally lazy and avoidant of any kind of responsibility. No personal grudge against Lillie or her family.
[2/2; things for Shota to come across during his reading--with perhaps too much detail, sorry!]
The very moment the car arrived, the worried mother ran out, tears streaming, crying for her baby, which clearly embarrassed Lillie somewhat, but she was also clearly in need of comforting and clung to her just as tightly. The father seemed a bit unsure on his feet, looking quite dazed and overwhelmed, yet also relieved to hold his family. The boy simply drew closer and stared suspiciously at Shota, as thought trying to determine if he were a suspicious person standing to benefit from this situation. It seemed Shota was right to think his appearance didn't exactly inspire confidence in anyone unfamiliar with his deeds.
no subject
The list of possible suspects wasn't all that long, and there was an easy first choice to look into in the developer Viren. Given what they'd seen of the organisation, he seemed to most likely suspect. In tracking him down, Shota would need to speak to the police officer as well so he could see if the Island Kahuna warranted further digging as well when he did.
It had been a while since Shota had done this sort of work, given how much of his time was taken up with teaching. He was eager to put those skills to use again - and to find whoever would send a child off to die and show them how much of a mistake they'd made.
That was all for later. First, Shota had to ensure Lillie was safely reunited with her family and inform them of what had happened.
He stood back silently, watching the reunion. Meeting her brother's eyes impassively, his face half-hidden behind the coils of his capture weapon. He didn't care if they thought little of him; it wouldn't be the first or last time he was dismissed based on his appearance.
After giving the family a few minutes to reassure themselves that Lillie was unharmed, he stepped forward and spoke up, offering a shallow bow in greeting. "Your daughter is unharmed, but I need to speak to you both about the events leading to her disappearance. My name is Eraserhead; I'm a hero from Japan. Lillie was kidnapped and smuggled over as part of an operation I have reason to believe is still present on the island. That's why I'm here."
He had no intention of telling them the whole story - particularly his intended role in their daughter's fate - but a broad overview would surely be enough to get them on board with finding the culprit.
[enter Lusamine, self-absorbed childwoman, but!!! Genuinely loving mother trying her best now]
While it would be very hypocritical for such a punk-looking teenager to judge anyone's looks, Gladion was mostly suspicious because he was deeply protective of his sister. He listened with wide eyes to Shota's story.
Lusamine's tears stopped rather quickly and she clapped her hands together, standing straight up, giving poor Lillie a bit of whiplash. With childish joy, Lusamine squealed, "A hero!! That's so cool, I've heard of you!!! You're not as flashy as the other heroes—"Lillie looked mortified by her mother again, Gladion blinking and burying his face in his palm, Mohn's relieved, but dazed, expression didn't change—"Can I take your picture?!"
Lusamine was incredibly childish and whimsical. Yes, a lover of (decidedly more theatrical) superheroes.
"Mom, Lillie?" Gladion said, irritably, as he joined his, at this moment, abandoned sister.
"Ah... right! Oh, you're so right, Gladion, how did I get so easily distracted...?"
ha, alas I don't know he'll have too much patience for her but maybe we'll get there
Parents were always the worst part of both his jobs, whether they were his students or someone like Lillie's. He'd happily never meet any of them if it were possible. Lillie and her brother were equally exasperated by the outburst, so this was nothing new, it seemed. Good thing he hadn't brought along one of the flashier heroes, or who knew how much worse it would be.
Lusamine at least remembered what was important after her son prodded her in the right direction. Sighing, Shota tried again, interrupting her. "As I said, your daughter was kidnapped and smuggled out of the country. I suspect the main operation is based in Japan, but there are collaborators on the island I need to bring to justice. I need your help in identifying how they were able to access your daughter so I can track them down."
He hoped Lusamine and her husband didn't need him to spell out that Lillie could still be in danger until the culprits were caught. She needed to be careful until the danger was gone, but he didn't want to completely ruin her sense of security in her own home, that would already be suffering after being kidnapped.
[Lusamine can be a bit more serious when it calls for it!]
and she cares about her kids so that counts for a lot!
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[... yet another, MUCH longer delay, sorry!]