[What do you look like?]

Hey, Tony, you wanna introduce me to your friend?

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(02:16:07) Islanzadí: WE'RE GOING DOWN DOWN
(02:16:08) Kyoyo: How the fuck does that happen?
(02:16:13) Chuckles: YES IT IS
(02:16:14) Islanzadí: ...
(02:16:22) Chuckles: i like that song
(02:16:31) Islanzadí: please tell me i'm getting it right because i am trying so hard right now
(02:16:33) +Xaynar: IN AN EARLIER ROUND
(02:16:43) +Xaynar: yes, you are go go
(02:16:44) Islanzadí: AND SUGAR WE'RE GONING DOWN SWINGIN'
(02:16:48) Islanzadí: going.
(02:16:51) Khayne: hi
(02:16:57) +Xaynar: I'LL BE YOUR NUMBER ONE WITH A BULLET
(02:17:01) +Ikaru: meanwhile I can only think of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswWoO3Utxg when I hear that song now
(02:17:03) Chuckles: A LOADED GOD COMPLEX
(02:17:08) Chuckles: COCK IT AND PULL IT
(02:17:10) Islanzadí: LOADED GOD COMPLEX COCK IT AND BLOW IT
(02:17:13) Islanzadí: fc
(02:17:15) Islanzadí: i cant
(02:17:15) +Xaynar: PFFT
(02:17:15) Islanzadí: why
(02:17:18) +Xaynar: PFFFFFFT
(02:17:18) +Ikaru: oh silver.
(02:17:20) +Xaynar: MY RIBS
(02:17:21) +Xaynar: DYING
(02:17:22) Chuckles: what
(02:17:25) Chuckles: SILVER NO
(02:17:27) Chuckles: NOOOOOOOO
(02:17:28) Islanzadí: i didnt mean to
(02:17:28) +Xaynar: IKARU, HOLD ME
(02:17:29) Islanzadí: type
(02:17:32) Islanzadí: thAT
(02:17:34) +Xaynar: PLEASE
(02:17:35) Chuckles: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

[Hello my Reborn family!!!]

holy fuck

[What do you look like?]

She refuses to sleep in her bed

I got a cat. Her name is Corinna.

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(22:33:39) +Kaito: *exhales*
(22:33:50) +Kaito: Finally got that out...
(22:34:39) *** Amethyst hands Kiri a tissue ***
(22:35:00) +Xaynar: ....
(22:35:06) +Xaynar: Ame, did you just make a masturbation joke?
(22:35:15) +Kaito: ... Clever girl. XD
(22:35:22) +Xaynar: exceedingly clever
(22:35:24) +Xaynar: A+

[What do you look like?]

beard game: hella strong

scarf game: on point

candy game: tangy

Better picture cuz the scarf isn't spilling out of my jacket.

idk i guess i look alright? i like my jawline at least.

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(22:54:00) Leona Kamui: guys
(22:54:12) Leona Kamui: guess what my new desktop background is
(22:55:12) Huggy: dicks
(22:55:20) Leona Kamui: No
(22:55:36) Huggy: dick dragons
(22:55:40) Leona Kamui: I don't wanna be looking at dicks every time I wanna do something at my desktop
(22:55:46) Leona Kamui: There's a time and place for dicks
(22:55:48) Huggy: true...
(22:55:51) Huggy: tits
(22:56:03) Leona Kamui: Not tits either
(22:56:09) Leona Kamui: Not to brag but I can just look down
(22:56:13) Huggy: fred?
(22:56:37) Leona Kamui: Holy shit you just go further and further with every guess
(22:57:00) Huggy: default background #4
(22:57:19) Leona Kamui: Nope
(22:57:23) Leona Kamui: I'm not using the beach
(22:57:35) Huggy: i like the beach...

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(03:58:18) Pocky left the channel.

(04:02:24) Godot left the channel.

(04:07:51) Renzo left the channel.

(04:12:34) Renzo joined the channel.

(04:17:13) Renzo: A man and his son
(04:17:20) Renzo: The two survivors of SU
(04:17:32) Renzo: Papa-sama
(04:17:36) Renzo: Oh God
(04:17:42) Renzo: A joke too far
(04:17:47) Renzo: TOO FAR
(04:18:01) Renzo: '~'
(04:30:33) +Xaynar: oh hey
(04:30:35) +Xaynar: im alive
(04:30:38) +Xaynar: i forgot <<
(04:30:52) *** Xaynar hugs ***
(04:30:54) +Xaynar: don't worry, son
(04:30:57) +Xaynar: i'm here for you
(04:31:01) +Xaynar: we will survive
(04:31:26) +Xaynar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_izvAbhExY
(04:31:55) Renzo: <<
(04:32:01) Renzo: Might as well listen
(04:32:03) Renzo: Fucking hell
(04:32:06) +Xaynar:
(04:32:09) Renzo: Damn you RJ
(04:32:11) +Xaynar: STAYIN' ALIVE
(04:32:13) +Xaynar: STAYIN' ALIVE
(04:32:19) +Xaynar: i'm laughing so hard right now
(04:32:27) Renzo: So am I
(04:32:45) Renzo: STAYIN ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
(04:32:48) Renzo: IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
(04:32:50) Renzo: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
(04:32:53) Renzo: IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
(04:33:26) *** Xaynar disco dances ***
(04:33:44) Renzo: Good thing it's just us
(04:33:53) Renzo: Or else this would be QB'd hardcore
(04:33:57) *** Renzo disco dances ***
(04:34:01) +Xaynar: bro, i'm qb'ing the fuck out of this
(04:34:04) Renzo: Fuck

[Happy Birthday, you sexy son of a bitch]

holy shit you're my age now

[What do you look like?]

For those of you who don't follow my tumblr, this is my new favorite hoodie.

Hood up.

Hood down. I really like my hair like this. Fun to play with. Side note: Beard game's been strong lately.

No, I will not apologize for not smiling. You all know the drill by now and that second one was me actively attempting to smile by thinking happy thoughts.

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

Best story n/a 10/10 would read again

[What does Ame think of you?]

hello, sweetie

[What do you look like?]

Can I be Danny?

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(23:25:14) +Xaynar: Matt, put on the dress
(23:25:19) +Xaynar: you're the closest thing to a girl in this channel
(23:25:23) +Xaynar: and I know Ame probably won't wear that.
(23:25:26) +Nyrias: but Ame's a gir-
(23:25:32) +Xaynar: We're going out doing fancy things
(23:25:35) +Xaynar: possibly killing people
(23:25:38) +Mashew: WHY AM I THE CLOSEST THING WTF
(23:25:45) +Xaynar: That is precisely why.
(23:25:49) +Nyrias: I think Ikaru's the closest thing
(23:25:50) +Mashew: JUST CAUSE IM GAY
(23:25:53) +Maelstrom: duh.
(23:25:56) +Xaynar: No, because you're pretty.
(23:26:04) +Nyrias: oh
(23:26:06) +Ikaru: um
(23:26:07) +Nyrias: then nevermind about Ikaru
(23:26:07) +Mashew: I was gonna say something sexual then you said Im pretty
(23:26:08) +Maelstrom: xaynar says the sweetest nothings.
(23:26:08) +Mashew: Im down
(23:26:09) +Ikaru: ...
(23:26:13) +Nyrias: LOL
(23:26:20) +Xaynar: \o/
(23:26:28) +Nyrias: rest in peace in peace ikaru
(23:26:29) +Ikaru: i mean whatever

[What do you look like?]

Hush, squid man, you know what I mean.

[What do you look like?]

Rin, why do you look older what the fuck.

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(17:44:31) +Xaynar: Rotation battles are fun tho
(17:44:34) +Mashew: inverse rotation sky battles
(17:44:35) Eclipse: rj
(17:44:39) Eclipse: rotation with me
(17:44:43) [ÆoR]Rooreeloo: i will come back later i believe
(17:44:43) Eclipse: or are you scared
(17:44:46) Eclipse: huehuehue
(17:44:46) +Ikaru: do you rotate the opposite direction???
(17:44:48) +Xaynar: did PO even code those yet?
(17:44:49) +Nyrias: you know, we have a rule, that's called being respectful.. and calling someone "slave" isn't very respectful
(17:44:52) +Nyrias: no
(17:44:55) +Xaynar: I rotate in ALL the directions
(17:44:56) +Nyrias: they never coded rotation battles
(17:44:57) +Ikaru: are inverse sky battles diglett only??
(17:45:00) +Xaynar: ^
(17:45:01) Eclipse: ^
(17:45:09) +Ikaru: ????????
(17:45:10) +Mashew: diglett and dunsparce
(17:45:12) Eclipse: ??????????
(17:45:19) +Nyrias: diglett, dunsparce and ekans
(17:45:27) guest924: juan
(17:45:28) +Mashew: no man snorlax
(17:45:30) [ÆoR]Rooreeloo: you can only use anything but flying types/levitate
(17:45:33) Eclipse: um obviously sky battles are steelix only
(17:45:35) Eclipse: scrubs
(17:45:41) +Nyrias: no
(17:45:42) +Xaynar: bitches, please
(17:45:42) +Nyrias: lapras
(17:45:44) Eclipse: inverse*
(17:45:45) +Mashew: you nub its electrode only
(17:45:46) +Xaynar: sky battle magikarp only
(17:45:50) Eclipse: rj wins
(17:45:51) Roo The Fush: any pokemon that can dig :I
(17:45:52) Eclipse: goodbye
(17:45:56) Eclipse: shitting down
(17:46:00) +Nyrias: shitting down
(17:46:06) storm: chalenge
(17:46:06) *** Eclipse was shit down ***
(17:46:06) +Xaynar: LOL
(17:46:09) Eclipse: shit
(17:46:09) +Xaynar: silveritis is hilarious
(17:46:10) +Mashew: thats so
(17:46:11) Eclipse: i meant to /d
(17:46:11) +Mashew: gross
(17:46:15) ~~~ Eclipse broke a Pinkie Promise and was banished forever. ~~~

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

Is it worth it

Let me work it

Put my thing down

Flip it, and reverse it

Did you just quote a Diplo mix?

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

Persona /d's are the greatest

(01:27:28) +Drunken Sailor: time to
(01:27:29) ~~~ Drunken Sailor's futile exi~stence had no meeea~ning ♪ ~~~
(01:27:45) +Nirvash: Following in my master's footsteps, I
(01:27:45) ~~~ Nirvash was thrown into the TV. ~~~

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(17:09:30) +Phoenix: oh shit I'm working on your b-day
(17:09:42) +Nirvash: get him a ps4
(17:09:50) +Nirvash: and a super-advance preorder of FF15
(17:09:55) +Nirvash: he'll love you forever.
(17:10:07) +Phoenix: I'll get him that when he learns how to do a reverse cow girl
(17:10:15) +Alciel: ... A what?
(17:10:19) +Nirvash: But he's not gay.
(17:10:20) +Mashew: ..
(17:10:21) +Mashew: Shhh
(17:10:23) *** Mashew pushes Fred ***
(17:10:24) +Mashew: shhh
(17:10:25) +Nirvash: I mean.
(17:10:29) +Nirvash: Matt or Colin could teach him
(17:10:31) +Nirvash: Lexii, even.
(17:10:33) +Nirvash: But
(17:10:40) +Nirvash: I'm not sure he wants to learn that particular skill.
(17:10:43) +Mashew: google can too
(17:10:43) +Mashew: >:c
(17:10:45) +Alciel: What's a...
(17:10:48) +Alciel: You know what.
(17:10:50) +Alciel: Nevermind.
(17:11:07) +Nirvash: Fred, you know when someone says "she was riding my dick" they might mean that literally, right?
(17:11:19) +Mashew: thats cowgirl reverse is where her ass faces yo-
(17:11:20) +Mashew: you know what
(17:11:21) +Mashew: <<;
(17:11:33) +Alciel: Oooh.
(17:11:37) +Alciel: Got it.
(17:11:44) +Nirvash: I can't believe we have to be teaching you
(17:11:47) +Nirvash: this
(17:11:48) +Nirvash: of all things
(17:11:51) +Nyrias: wow fred
(17:11:53) +Nirvash: matt and i are younger than you
(17:11:56) +Nyrias: such uneducated
(17:11:56) +Nirvash: and Matt's gay
(17:12:03) +Nyrias: i'm much younger than fred and i know what a reverse cowgirl is
(17:12:04) +Nyrias: >>
(17:12:19) +Nirvash: chances are he'll probably never do that/never do that again in the way it's intended to be done if he has already
(17:12:22) +Alciel: I don't really look into this stuff. ^^;
(17:12:28) +Nirvash: it's common knowledge!
(17:12:55) +Phoenix: and knowing is half the battle
(17:14:08) +Nirvash: the other half is using what you know
(17:14:43) +Phoenix: I'll get the wheelchair
(17:16:06) +Nirvash: what for?
(17:17:09) +Phoenix: I'm gonna use what I know
(17:17:23) +Nirvash: to d--
(17:17:28) +Nirvash: I see what you did there.
(17:17:32) +Nirvash: and I respect it.
(17:18:11) +Nyrias: LOL
(17:20:34) +Nirvash: colin gets it

(17:23:08) +Phoenix: someone is about to get it

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

Immediately before that:

(22:31:23) *** Amethyst hugs Nirvash ***
(22:31:36) +JinX: ew
(22:31:41) +Haruka: ew it's ame
(22:31:45) +Alciel: Hi Ame. ^^
(22:31:46) *** JinX sets RJ on fire ***
(22:31:48) +JinX: gotta cleanse you
(22:31:59) *** Nirvash is fireproof ***
(22:32:02) +JinX: Does that sound racist?
(22:32:07) +Nirvash: bring in the holy water
(22:32:11) +JinX: Setting a black man on fire after a witch hugged him
(22:32:16) +JinX: ...That sounds like a movie, actually.
(22:32:18) +Nirvash: that's super racist
(22:32:30) +Nirvash: that actually sounds like a superhero origin story
(22:32:38) +JinX: srs
(22:32:55) +Nirvash: from this moment on, I am
(22:33:05) +Nirvash: someone give me a superhero name
(22:33:09) +Phoenix: I will end you
(22:33:11) +Alciel: Chocolate Thunder?
(22:33:17) +JinX: THATS racist
(22:33:20) +JinX: considering I set him on fire
(22:33:23) +JinX: why would he be thunder
(22:33:24) +JinX: n00b
(22:33:31) +Nirvash: Goddamn it, Fred.
(22:33:38) +Nirvash: you know
(22:33:43) +Nirvash: you're not the first person to give me that nickname
(22:33:46) +Alciel: ....
(22:33:47) +Nirvash: John Pinar in 9th grade
(22:33:49) +Alciel: That's scary. xD
(22:33:53) +Nirvash: Right?
(22:33:57) +JinX: Is that a penis joke, fred?
(22:34:08) +Nirvash: well, that IS what I call it.
(22:34:12) +Alciel: More of a porn star one, actually.
(22:34:14) +Haruka: penis jokes are my favorite
(22:34:16) +JinX: Im so done
(22:34:20) +Nirvash: I win

[~The Reborn Quotebook~]

(21:36:02) Thinder God Eclipse: The official star of fall is the 21st
(21:36:06) +Nirvash: oh, wait, that technically is summer
(21:36:09) +Nirvash: my derp
(21:36:11) Thinder God Eclipse: yeah
(21:36:23) +Nirvash: by then most everything is dying anyway
(21:36:29) +Nirvash: which is sad
(21:36:32) Thinder God Eclipse: I'm the very last "summer" birthday I've ever known
(21:36:43) +Nirvash: I forget when MAtt and Colin's birthdays are
(21:36:56) Cowtao won against [Reborn]Shade.

(21:37:16) Thinder God Eclipse: Tyler's birthday was actually supposes to be February 29th
(21:37:29) Thinder God Eclipse: but he shoved himself out a week early
(21:38:05) Thinder God Eclipse: ...actually I was a pr- WHAT THE FUCK OH MY GOS
(21:38:10) Thinder God Eclipse: I JUST REALOZED
(21:38:19) Thinder God Eclipse: MY DADS BIRTHDAY IS JANUARY 16TH.
(21:38:23) +Nirvash: and?
(21:38:28) Thinder God Eclipse: I'M A PRODUCT OF BIRTHDAY SEX.
(21:38:36) +Nirvash: LmaO
(21:38:42) +Nirvash: OH MY GOD
(21:38:43) Thinder God Eclipse: I'M GONNA CRY
(21:38:50) Thinder God Eclipse: I'M SO DONE
(21:39:03) +Nirvash: IM DYING
(21:39:05) Thinder God Eclipse: RJ HELP ME
(21:39:05) +Nirvash: SILVER
(21:39:06) Skitty|playing GF: o3o?
(21:39:08) +Nirvash: THNAK YOU
(21:39:09) +Nirvash: I CaNT
(21:39:11) Thinder God Eclipse: I CAN'T BREATHE
(21:39:12) +Nirvash: BREATHE
(21:39:24) +Nirvash: DYING
(21:39:38) *** Thinder God Eclipse BROHUGS ***
(21:39:44) *** Nirvash brohugs ***
(21:39:48) Thinder God Eclipse: IM NOT ABLE TO
(21:39:54) Thinder God Eclipse: I can't comprehend

[Ranting ahead.]

I find that Philip DeFraco gif you have in your sig to be really ironic because you seem to be doing the exact goddamn opposite of what it preaches. You're spending your time actively spreading misery with your fatalistic outlook and yeah, I'm gonna say that because I'm not as nice a person as Ket is.

So what if the generation before ours set us up for an onslaught of shit they didn't teach us to deal with? Doesn't mean we're fucked; we're human. This is what we do. We don't see a problem and lie down and accept demise. We fight. We adapt. We see a problem and, when offered no solution, we come up with one of our own. It might be crude. It might not be the most well executed plan but it fucking works and it's a stepping stone for progress and, honestly, I see that as something miraculous. I don't know what you see when you're out in the world but it clearly isn't the limitless potential that I see and that honestly makes me sad for you.

Auth Mode Engaged:

I understand the forums are a place for open debate but blatant insults and clinging to your opinions as fact are not what entails what is commonly referred to as "debate". It's rude and ignorant and we'll have to ask you to kindly stop. You're being a dick.

EDIT - Hoodvash Mode Engaged:

Yo who the fuck are you to be criticizing anyone's life choices? You don't know them. You ain't know their struggle or what they been through or their philosophy or anything like what Ket previously stated. And you sure as HELL ain't got some kinda free pass to call someone and their friend "fucking morons" for making a decision that you in YOUR mind would not make because the second you do that then, well, my dude, you just unleashed the motherfucking kraken because "do unto others as you would like done to you" actually applies to real life. Welcome to the jungle, ya punk bitch.

[Multichromatic: How I Learned to See In Color]

A White 2 run by yours truly, more of a side project to help me get my writing muscles back into shape for Succeeding Solomon. Hopefully, this'll be fun (it looks like it, judging by all the ones we have here) and perform its intended duty, as well as give you guys a taste of what my writing style is like. Here we go!

-------------------

Before we start, there are a few things you should know about me. First and foremost, the most basic information: I'm Azur Thompson. I'm seventeen years old, from Aspertia City in the Unova Region. Secondly, I am a man of logic and science; I consider myself fairly intelligent and don't often make time for things that dwell in the irrational (or as some like to call it, the "supernatural") world. And thirdly, I am, I admit, a cynical person but I try not to let myself be pessimistic, and I extend the same courtesies to everyone.

The first and last traits (or flaws, depending on how you perceive it) of mine have gotten me all sorts of flack over the years. I've been compared to crotchety old men and told to lighten up and smile more often but that's just the way I am, I guess. But one of the more interesting comments I've gotten was from a good friend of mine, one whom I never really thought of as a friend until recent events. He told me that I always see the world in black and white. I construct distinct categories in my head and I try to simplify the world by deconstructing it and fitting it into those categories, and whatever I can't fit into one of my categories gets disregarded. He followed up by saying that I'm "stubborn like that" and that I'd "never learn to see the world in color and for what it really is" if I kept on like that. Well, he was right about me.

And I'm kind of glad that he was.

If not for him, I'd never have realized that about myself or even made the effort to change. My friend Hugh is the reason I'm not the same as I was before. The reason I've met the people I've encountered on my journey. The reason I have such a strong bond with all of my Pokemon. The reason I was even able to grow up to begin with. And the reason I'm even telling you This story right now.

My story.

Multichromatic: How I Learned to See In Color

Written by: Nirvash

Rating: T (for Language, Violence, etc)

Chapter 01: Our Reluctant Hero, Azur

Oh, yeah. One more fact about me before we really start: I HATE being woken up. I really do.

On the night I began my journey, I vaguely remember hearing the door creak open, a pair of shopping bags thud to the floor and my mom chatting loudly on her Live Caster with someone. By the sound of her voice, it sounded like an old friend of hers. She'd woken me up a little and, naturally, I was really friggin' irritated, but in a few seconds I was on my way back to my blissful sleep. Or at least I would have like to have been but then Mom's shoes tumbled messily into the leg of the dining room table and jolted me awake. I shot up in bed in the push-up position, a thread of spit connecting my face to my pillow, my eyes bleary and my senses and hair in disarray. As my brain booted up, I felt my mouth twist into a scowl.

"She kicked her shoes off again," I growled inwardly. I let my face hit the pillow and groaned loudly into it. "She knows I hate it when she kicks her shoes off..."

"But she was supposed to be here earlier today, Aurea. You know, when the sun was still in the sky?" Mom said to her friend on the other line. She wasn't even bothering to keep it down anymore; she knew she'd woken me up. "I swear, you always pick the ditzy ones. I wonder why that is; do they remind you of yourself?" she teased. I'm not sure of this, but I'm pretty sure I heard her friend curse at her. I made a note not to call her a ditz if I ever met her.

"Mom!" I shouted, irritation peaked. "Really?! I was sleeping and it's --" I paused to check the digital clock by my bed. "10:30 at night! What the hell?!" Paying me no heed whatsoever, Mom went on with her conversation having finished laughing at the rise she got out of her friend.

"Yes, that was him," she said airily. "He really hates being woken up; so much like his father. ...And like me, I suppose," she added under her breath no doubt to Aurea's karmic amusement. "But if your girl's here in town, I guess I should just do it now, huh? You are doing me a pretty huge solid."

Well, I was awake by this point so I could really only give into consciousness and get out of bed. As I did, though, I really couldn't help but wonder exactly what the heck she was talking about. Mom's coming home late is nothing I'm not used to but she's usually too dead tired to even try holding a conversation with anyone. The most I'd ever get out of her would be unintelligible groans and muttering peppered with some rather *ahem* colorful words, so for her to actually be functioning was rare on its own. But I crossed the dining room and sure enough, there she was sitting at the table rocking back and forth on her seat's hind legs with her cardigan thrown over her shoulder. We locked eyes for a second and I felt a chill run down my spine.

That look in her eye. The one that reminds me of that mischevious little shit Purrloin Hugh's sister used to have. Nothing ever good came out of her having that look in her eyes. I learned that much was guaranteed.

I went back into the room chugging the last of a carton of chocolate milk when she finished her conversation. "Right. Okay, let her know he's on his way." I raised my eyebrow at that. The only other person that pronoun could apply to was me and there wasn't any way on Arceus' green Earth I was going outside at 10:30 at night. "Bianca, right? Blonde with a big green hat? ...Got it. Thanks again, sweetie!"

Mom made a kissy face at her Live Caster before hanging up and looked me full in the face, those devious eyes of hers accompanied by an equally devilish grin.

"Why the look?" I asked cautiously. "Do I have a chocolate milk mustache or something?"

"Pack your bags," she said simply. Not one to just follow orders with no reason, I asked her why I should, and she said, "Because I'm kicking your ass out."

A silence passed between us that rivaled that of a graveyard. She has to be joking, I thought. She just had to have been. This is way too cruel a bomb to drop on me; I'm only seventeen. I'm still in junior college studying to try and figure out what I'm gonna do when I grow up. I barely even have a job to keep me occupied and a steady source of income flowing into my wallet. There was no way I was gonna be able to make it out there on my own; no way in Hell. My mother may be a whimsicott in human form but there was no way she could ever be that callous to her only son.

I looked at her.

She looked at me.

I raised my eyebrows at her and she shrunk her grin to the most evil smirk I've ever seen anyone wear to this very day. And in that moment, I knew.

"Oh, good lord, she's serious. She is really fucking serious."

No. Nu-uh. No way, no way in HELL. I needed to argue this and I had to convey that argument to her as eloquently as possible. She had to hear me out if I did that! But when I opened my mouth, well... My words kind of failed me.

"What."

"What?"

"What."

"I think I'm being pretty straightforward, Azur."

"No, Mom, You don't understand what I mean."

"Then your meaning is what?"

"No, not "what?". I mean "what.".

"...What."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"Oh, to hell with it! Mom, you can't kick me out!"

"I can. I will. I am," she said forcefully. She stood, pointed to my bedroom door and repeated herself. "Pack your things. But leave enough space for what's in those shopping bags on the floor. Trust me, you'll need them." Stood there mouth agape like a magikarp's, I tried to process what was going and I failed bitterly. Where the hell was this coming from? What did I even do wrong? There had to be a reason to this! In the midst of my panic attack, Mom's lucario walked into the room with my messenger bag in hand. He dumped it on the floor and nodded, satisfied with himself even under my scathing hateful glare.

"Sylvester!" I scolded him. "What the hell?!"

"Ah, good boy!" Mom cooed as she pet the pokemon behind the ears. "That saves us the time, now doesn't it?" I tried and failed one last time to get my mom to hear me out but she wasn't having it. She shepherded me into my room and told me to change, leaving Sylvester outside of the door to make sure I followed her commands. Reluctant and furious, I showered and put on some random clothes from my dresser -- a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to my elbows, a blue short sleeved zip-up with a high collar and worn gray jeans -- along with my red and black running shoes. I looked myself over in the mirror. My brown hair was in total disarray as usual, and my heavily freckled face was warped into a snarl. My eyes conveyed my anger best, though. They were green like Mom's but when I remembered that, I only got angrier.

I don't remember much of what happened after I left my room. My gaze was turned down at the floor because I couldn't stomach looking my mother in the face in the midst of all that was going on. She said something about it being time for me to grow up and experience life while she had Sylvester pack the things from the shopping bags into my own. I drowned it out as best as I could. I didn't wanna hear it. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep. The door creaked open and I felt her push me lightly through it. Then she grabbed me by my shoulders and made me look her in the eyes like she did when she had something important to tell me. From that point until the end of our talk, it felt like the world were confined to what was illuminated by our porchlight.

"Azur," she began softly so as not to set me off. "Listen. You may hate me for this right now --"

"Gee, whatever gave you that idea?" I snapped, but she kept on as if I'd stayed silent.

"--but trust me, I'm only doing what's best for you. The way you are now, you don't know the first thing about the real world. And you never will if I don't do this now." And then it clicked for me. I knew why she was kicking me out.

I seethed. "Mom, this again?" She knows I hate it when she brings this up. Every time she does, it always ends badly. "A Pokemon Journey?!" Her answer was short and simple.

"Yes."

Throwing her hands off my shoulders, I half-shouted, "It's a waste of time! There isn't anything I can learn out there that I can't learn in school! I don't even like battling! Or coordinating! Or any of that! Why is it so important that I do this? I don't have to be like you!"

"The answer you're giving me now, Azur, is exactly why I'm making you do this," she answered evenly despite my tirade. "You're smart. That much is undeniable. But you're still naive. "There isn't anything I can learn out there that I can't learn in school"; that kind of answer..." She drifted off then, lost in some faraway place in her memories. Then she continued, "This world is so much more than what you see in books or on the Internet or in lecture slides, Azur. It's not as simple as that and you need to learn that now. So I need you to do this for your mother."

Mom backstepped through the door and had Sylvester bar me from following her. She grinned, infuriating me, but she didn't show any signs of caring that she did.

"Up on the lookout, there's a girl named Bianca -- blonde and wearing a big green hat. Go meet up with her. She has something for you."

"Mom, I don't want to--!"

"Get out of here," she said softly. "See the world, or at least the region of it we live in. Grow as a person. You'll never learn anything worth knowing if you keep yourself cooped up in Aspertia City. I don't want you to go your entire life being ignorant about how the world and the people in it really are, Azur. I failed to teach you that lesson growing up so this is my last hope for you. Make me proud."

And with that said, she shut the door in my face and locked it. At the time, I couldn't even be bothered to try and read into what she had said to me, or even think about why it might have been important. I was too hot under the collar to even attempt thinking straight. I mean, can you blame me? I was just kicked out of my house with little to no explanation. Anybody would be pissed. I didn't know anything.

Well, that's not true. What I did know was that Mom was serious about this and when she got serious, there was not a force on this earth that could get her to change her mind. So I was stuck doing this whether I wanted to or not and DEAR ARCEUS, did I not. But it's not like I had any choice at this point so I did the only thing I could: I headed for the lookout.

"This is ridiculous," I spat under my breath. "What does she think this'll accomplish? Having me wander around town in the middle of the night I can't even..."

I'm gonna spare you the boring parts and skip to where I met up with Hugh. A little backstory, though; Hugh's my friend now but before that, we were kinda like close acquaintances. See, his dad went to college with my mom and I think they had dated or something at one point but that's irrelevant. Hugh's about a year and a half older than me and he's got this really annoying big brother complex. What I mean by that is that he sees it as his job to watch over everybody younger than him. Parents loved him for it and he made some pretty decent cash babysitting. Hugh Ignatius Jacobs is everything I'm not. Where I'm analytic and cautious, he's headstrong and gutsy; where I'm cynical, he's an annoying optimist; I like to keep to myself and he goes out of his way to know everyone and where I'm usually calm and collected, he just doesn't stop moving. It's like there's a tiny nuclear reactor where his stomach should be and his parents fed him a uranium fuel rod when he was a kid.

Hugh just doesn't make sense to me is what it is. He wasn't a bad guy but all the same, I found myself unable to stand his presence for more than a couple of hours at a time. But that was enough for him, I guess, since he considered us to be friends. I never understood why. Still don't. Why does he go out of his way to be so nice to me when I give no indication I even want him around?

Anyway, when I met up him, I had wandered into his part of the neighborhood and he was sitting on his porch with his pokemon partner, an oshawott he took to calling Masamune after the legendary swordsmith from Johto. That oshawott's been with Hugh since we were kids but it never evolved into dewott after all this time. Not too many trainers make a point of stopping through Aspertia City. When he saw me approaching, he grinned and took a hand out of the pocket of his red and white zip-up to wave at me.

"Yo! Azur!" he said happily. "What are you doing out this late?" Masamune squeaked a hello at me, too. I scowled and responded with,

"Could ask you the same. It's nearly midnight and you're the only one awake on your block. What's your deal?"

Hugh laughed off my animosity and helped his pokemon onto his shoulder. "Eh, I'm just stargazin'," was his light and happy answer. Lacing his fingers behind his head, he approached me and leaned in a bit to get a better look at what I was wearing. "And you? You still didn't answer my question, y'know; that's kinda rude." I scoffed.

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you? Nosy little..."

"Well?"

"Are you that dense or can you just not take a hint?" Hugh called Masamune back into his pokeball and gave me some space, smile shrinking just a bit. His expression turned to one of genuine concern.

"What's got you so riled up?" I turned my back to him, loath to talk about what was angering me especially not with the likes of him. But there was nobody else around and he wouldn't leave unless I told him why so I relented and explained.

"...so basically I got kicked out and now I'm going on a..." I sighed deeply and forced the phrase out. "Pokemon Journey... Ugh."

At that, Hugh's face lit up like a raichu's. He thumped my back, happy as all shit for whatever reason and pumped his fists victoriously. "Dude, seriously?! So am I!"

"...I'm sorry, what."

"Yeah, man! I'm supposed to go meet some Bianca chick on the lookout first, though, but yo! I can't believe you of all people is getting outta this town."

"And what's that's supposed to mean?!"

"Well, you hardly ever leave your house for one thing," he explained jovially. "And for another, you're not exactly all that fond of pokemon if I recall right. I mean, you don't hate 'em but at the same time..."

I wanted to retort but I couldn't. Had to give him that point; it was a well known fact in Aspertia that out of all the kids in my generation, I was the odd one out. I never asked for a pokemon for any of my birthdays and whenever the kids would start battling or showing off with theirs, I'd have my nose in a book or be daydreaming out of sheer disinterest. But then I caught on to something Hugh had just said.

"Wait, you gotta go talk to this Bianca girl, too?" He nodded an affirmative. "Why?"

"Dunno any specifics. Just that she's got somethin' for me that'll be really worthwhile on my own journey. I was supposed to leave earlier today at, like, 10AM, but apparently she got lost on the way to town." He chuckled, unbothered by the fact that he'd been made to wait for more than 12 hours to leave. I grew up with this kid so I knew the one thing he never shut up about was becoming a strong trainer. "What a ditz, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," I muttered. I debated silently with myself about whether or not I should tell Hugh where I was going and who I was going to meet. Finally, I decided I probably should. He'd been waiting all day and whether he's showing it or not, Hugh's always really impatient about things. He had to go see Bianca, too, and bringing him along to talk to would make me forget about how angry I was. So I told him and together, we walked the half-empty streets of the city up to the spot Bianca was going to be waiting for us.

On the way there, Hugh wouldn't stop talking about how excited he was to be leaving town and how surprised he was that I would be, too. Again, couldn't blame him. I had always thought I'd spend my entire life in Aspertia City studying in order to become a doctor or a psychologist or something like that. I hadn't put much thought into what I wanted to study but never in my wildest fantasies did I ever think about leaving town, at least not in the manner I was right now. Hugh went onto speculate about the kinds of pokemon and trainers he'd meet on his journey. Said something about always wanting to catch and raise a Dragon-type Pokemon or at least a Pokemon foreign to Unova.

Okay, so it was kinda cool listening to him talk.

Don't really know anyone as passionate about anything as Hugh is. To be honest, I kind of envy that about him. No matter what he does, he always puts his all into it because he knows it's something he wants to do.

"So, hey," he says to me after walking me through a rough outline of where he plans to go after meeting Bianca. "Can I ask you something?"

"As long as it isn't stupid and obvious, sure."

All of a sudden, his voice lost that childish wonder it'd carried up until now and picked up a soft but determined quality along the way. When he spoke, he spoke with purpose and, honestly, that kinda threw me for a loop. "There's another reason I'm going on this journey."

I tried to sound disinterested. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It's a secret for now, though. It's just..." Hugh's gaze went skyward. "There's something I gotta do, but I need someone I can trust besides my partner, Masamune. It's really important and I figured since you and I are starting at the same time --"

"Oh, Hugh, please don't," I protested quickly.

"-- would you wanna maybe help a guy out?" Hugh was grinning hopefully at me. We stopped under a streetlamp and he punched my shoulder playfully. "You've got good instincts! Y'know, when you choose to follow 'em. What do you say?"

"Look, Hugh," I sighed, "thanks for the, er...compliment, but I'm really not interested."

"Why not?" he pressed. "Come on, help me out. It's a win-win situation for the both of us!"

"Don't drag me into your personal struggles, Hugh; I'm not interested!" I shot back a little too hotly. "I don't even want this." A couple walking by averted their gazes from the two of us but it was obvious they'd been eavesdropping. Rather than be angry or even a little offended by my words, Hugh smiled and shook his head like he knew something.

"The hell's that mean?"

"Nothing, it's cool. I won't ask again."

Hugh kept true to his word and didn't say another thing about it. We reached the Aspertia City overlook and lo and behold, there was a girl stargazing all on her lonesome. She was a little taller than me, (Okay, so I'm not that tall. Shut up.) blonde and wore an orange jacket and big green beret. No mistaking it. This girl must be Bianca. Hugh deigned to stay back and pushed me towards her.

"What? You're not going first?" I asked, puzzled. "You've literally been waiting all day and I don't even want to talk to her. You go." I tried to switch places but he was insistent. I started to get a little suspicious but Hugh only smiled and nodded in Bianca's direction. Screw it, I thought. No point in arguing with him. Might as well go introduce myself...

---

Feedback appreciated! Taking bets on who Azur starts with starting now!