golisolation | 💀 MoM IC INBOX 💀

Of course there'd be directions... Not all microwavable food even microwaves for the same amount of time, yo. I ain't no chef, but I'm pretty sure even food that cooks on the stove ain't all the same, neither.

[The fact Guzma's not sure says a lot about his experience with having a working stove. Look, Shady House didn't even have a working fridge, and when you spend most of your teenage life homeless...

Of course he's following after her, shaking his head. She's so ridiculous, but he kinda digs that. After all, he's every bit ridiculous himself. To be fair, some of the clutter being picked up was more his Pokémon (Scizor) doing it, than him.]

Hm? [He's sitting down when she asks, sparing her a glance as he grabs his drink.] Oh, they're around. Golisopod was in the back before I went to the store, Masquerain and Ariados were upstairs in my room, Scizor was in here, but clearly ain't, and Pinsir's in his ball.

[Pinsir does not go unattended. Depowered or not, he's a fucking menace.]

Scizor's probably chillin' with Golisopod.

[in an exhale:] I would like to see them again. They're very cute...

[she blinks after-the-fact, then fidgets awkwardly. thoughts are more easily coming out as statements, and she's not got a trained tongue for drink.]

But, ah. May-maybe later, of course. If you don't mind...of...course.

[her eyes wince, hearing her cadence. maybe she'll just...put the glass down for a bit...]

[He takes a drink of his rum, keeping his eyes on her, that smirk still on his lips as he does. For all her dislike of insects, she's certainly taken with his bugs. He can't deny the differences, but they're still fundamentally bugs!]

I don't mind. They'll probably wanna see ya too. Golisopod and Masquerain especially. Them dudes've really taken to ya.

[He eyes her again, goes to take a drink--and notices a reflection in his glass. He looks up and--]

Heh, s'up Ariados.

[Yep, after hearing some noise down here, Ariados did what spiders do best: snuck along the ceiling, quiet and undetectable. He lets out a soft trill, before his big purple eyes fixate on Lucina.]

[it's very heartening to hear she's being held in good esteem by some of those cute creatures, and it does much to ease some of the tension her worry of oversharing was starting to build up.

but she only gets a moment to look content before Guzma's sudden greeting leaves her confused. she looks around toward the door, toward the stairs, and then--]

YEEP-!

[the sound catches her off-guard, and doubly-so seeing the giant spider above her. she jerks to the side, her instinct to grab for a weapon or something for security -- it just happens to be Guzma's arm.

her grip is...a bit too extreme, too.]

Wh--

[That's about all Guzma gets out before his arm is being grabbed and crushed by that grip. He nearly doesn't activate his carapace in time to fend it off, and there's a stratled and pained grunt in the mix.

Meanwhile, Ariados starles. Letting out an apologetic cry as he scurries back towards the stairs. And in an instant, he's gone. Guzma's left confused and a little annoyed from himself and Ariados being startled, looking to Lucina with a bewildered stare.]

What the fuck was that?

Shit, now Ariados probably thinks he did somethin' wrong.

[Guzma sighs.]

I-I, I-!! [she flusters, trapped between pained sounds and sad-bug sounds. ashamed, she releases Guzma right away and rises just as quickly to her feet -- bad, very bad, her head swims--]

Ouff!! [she flops back down on the couch with a grunt, grimacing.] Gods...damnit! [that just irritates her! she grits her teeth and hops back up, swerving around the coffee table and toward the stairs.]

Wait! Come back! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-!!

[Guzma considers following her, but decides to let her apologize on her own. Taking more of an interest in the state his arm's in after that, good god! It's already bruising from what he can see. Man, he's really gonna have to be on his toes around Lucina and her ridiculous strength, isn't he?

However, as Lucina starts to head up the stairs she'll...be greeted with the sight of some holes in the wall, even the hand rail for the stairs looks a little dented and nearly pulled loose from the wall. Maybe it's from having giant bug monsters in the house? Or maybe it's indicative of something else.

Another thing of note is the webbing along the ceiling. It's certainly not that of your typical spider! But it's something to follow, and if she does, she'll find Ariados in the corner of the upstairs hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom, huddled up and brooding.

He goes rigid when he sees her, looking as if he might scurry if she gets too much closer. He doesn't want to upset her again, after all!]

Edited 2019-10-01 02:49 (UTC)

There you are--oh! No, please-- [she holds up her hands, her eyes wincing.] Please don't flee. I mean only to apologize for my disgraceful behavior! I've brought shame upon my name and my family for such an offense, all for simply being caught unawares...

[she gulps. oh, no! why is this more intense and emotional than it needs to be?! yet clearly it must be so, because it is how she feels in the moment, and that can't be wrong. right?? that's why she braved creepy webs and such to get up here, after all!

she bows low at the waist, wobbling a little with the way it makes her head feel all floaty.]

I...I humbly apologize, but I cannot beg your forgiveness for the slight, as I have not earned such an honor. Please accept my contrition and will to make amends, however!

[all of this is needlessly loud because she is not aware she is mostly shouting it. as you do.]

[As Lucina begins apologizing, Ariados visibly relaxes. Waiting for her to finish before making his move. Once she does, he lowers himself down...with a thread of his webbing, you know, like spiders do...before dropping entirely and landing on the ground. He approaches her, staring up at her with those large eyes of his, before letting out a churring low rumble of his name.

Seems he's forgiven her! Especially with how he's stalking forward to...climb onto her. Nothing says forgiveness like arachnid hugs...]

[thank goodness she was staring at the floor during that bit! but she does lift her head a bit to peer back at Ariados, uncertain what to make of the noise. she needn't wonder long, however, as she finds herself becoming a sort-of tree in which to climb. it is a bit startling at first, uncertain how to interpret this move until she straightens back up and finds she's just. being more or less embraced without harm?]

...Oh, you're...you're very sweet. [she's so moved! absolutely nothing about this exchange was ridiculous at all obviously, and she's well within her rights to give the little guy a squeeze -- without any of that crushing force poor Guzma got -- while letting out a weak laugh of relief.]

I was afraid I'd have made myself a terrible nuisance, reacting so childishly as I did and--

[and...crunching Guzma's arm? oh, dear. hopefully Ariados is cool with the ride back downstairs, otherwise she'll bare the weird kinda-icky feeling of being climbed off of while she half-floats, half trots down the stairs, catching her momentum by the railing.]

Guzma, your arm--did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!

[Ariados seems to enjoy the compliments and the hug back. Likewise, he is also enjoying the ride back down the stairs. Settled and comfortable on her torso as he is, he's content to just watch her. Maybe it's a little unnerving to have him staring at her like this, but he's a curious sort, and he's less familiar with her than Masquerain and Golisopod is.

With her and Ariados returning--little surprise there, since he could hear the whole thing--Guzma's chilling in the same spot, looking at them as he's finishing off his second glass. He puts it down, and waves her off.]

S'fine. Ain't nothin' I can't deal with.

[Just some deep ass bruising, nothing big.]

I see you 'n Ariados made up, huh?

Ah--

[she blinks, looking back down at her passenger before letting out a small, sheepish giggle.]

It seems so...!

[she walks back into the room proper at a more mindful pace, though she stops shy of sitting down for the sake of the creature still hanging on.]

That is...that's how you interpret it? I'm afraid I don't know Pokemon mannerisms as well as I wish I did. [Mightyena is an exception because she's familiar with dogs and Crobat's an exception because he has humanoid-enough expressions to convey his exasperation with.]

[There's something soft in how he's looking at them. He doesn't even realize it himself, thinking he's looking more smug and self-assured than...warm. He can't help it. Not when she dashed off like she did, needing to make it up to Ariados like that. Even if she was scared or bothered, she was determined to make Ariados feel better.

That means a lot to him. After all, his Pokémon are his family, too.

He nods, gesturing with his hand at his own torso, where Ariados is attached on hers.]

Ariados ain't the type to be so out in the open--not one to approach head on or nothin'. They're pokémon who keep to the shadows, waitin' to strike. It's in their very nature to hide.

He only clings to someone like that if he's comfortable with 'em. It's a favorite thing of his, but he ain't one to just do it to anyone.

[Guzma being the main one he does it to, naturally.

Ariados does shift on her, realizing she wants to sit. So, he adjusts to her back, settles for a moment--and then hops off of her to the back of the couch. Perching himself in the middle of it so he's between both her and Guzma.]

Edited 2019-10-01 11:20 (UTC)

[she catches that expression a bit late, but maybe that’s for the best, because even just a little glimpse of that fondness in her direction makes her face warm up and her chest feel rather fluttery. she is grateful to Ariados being able to provide some buffer, letting her collect a bit of herself before plopping back down on the couch. it’s either that expression or the drink that makes her feel so floaty, she figures; it’s not clear to her that it could be both.

her eyes stay on the Pokémon for now, her hands folding in her lap.]

Then I’ll...consider it an honor. To be accepted that way. [she looks up at Guzma without thinking, holding a breath for a beat before self-awareness can get her to look away and let out a little exhale.]

How long have you known your creature-friends...?

[The color to her cheeks don't go unnoticed, nor unappreciated. However, instead of just staring at her, he looks to Ariados, petting the bug as she speaks up--yet pausing when she asks her question. He glances at her, then looks to Ariados.]

A long time. Over a decade. [He continues petting Ariados, who lets out a soft little trill of contentment.]

Caught 'em all during my island trial, except Golisopod. Had him before then. He's my starter.

[Of course the alcohol is starting to affect him now, so he's not thinking about how she has no idea the context of any of this. How she doesn't know what an island trial even is, or what a starter exactly means.]

They've been with me through thick and thin--stayed by my side, even when I ran away. They're good Pokémon, they don't judge, they don't look down on me. They ain't like that--they get your boy like no one else.

[If Lucina wants to see soft looks, the one he's giving Ariados now is king. Utter adoration in his eyes, even his tone is soft and loving. Like how someone might speak of a very close family member, someone they have an inseparable bond with.]

[that certainly is the kind of expression that can stop a heart and set it to a fast flutter, isn’t it? it’s the first time she’s ever been even remotely jealous of a bug before, that’s for sure. it’s the first time she wonders if she’s actually drunk or not, too.

she’s a little jealous of Guzma, too. for having them. such present and close companions. the reaction he’d had when she’d had to collar him makes more sense than ever...and makes it more apparent she has no real right to be here. that clouds her expression with a somber shade that she’s often better at keeping subdued behind her eyes.

softly:] That’s beautiful... I’m glad you have each other.

[she misses Owain so much. her mother and father. the people just for her.]

Yeah...

[He doesn't think much on it, not till his eyes drift over to her and he catches that somber look. His eyebrows knit together, less in agitation, and more in confused concern. Did he say something wrong? Why's she looking like that?

Maybe if his mind wasn't starting to get hazy, he'd realize the guilt fueling that look—the guilt he tried to weaponize against her time and again.]

—Hey, you doin' alright?

[she doesn’t register the question right away, but looks away when she does, shaking her head, reddening again.]

M-my apologies. I just— I only just...know how little I understood. At first. [she makes a point of looking entirely elsewhere and get him out of her peripheral.] And. And now.

[such things to keep to herself, she’d say. yet on her mouth runs to her own ruin. she lets out a pained exhale.]

I’m glad I can see this side of you. But it feels like...something I shouldn’t be allowed to. I suppose.

[Guzma's silent as she explains, and part of him...agrees. A more selfish, vengeful, and ugly part of him. Yet, despite that, he feels as he does about her. Maybe in a weird way, it's partially to blame. It's drawn him to her, and because of that he's gotten to see her more and more...gotten to understand her a little better.

His eyes pull away from her, looking at nothing in particular as they cast downward, and he finds it difficult to find any words of comfort. Something he's not particularly skilled in to begin with, but even less so when it's to comfort someone over some wrong they did him.

Ariados in the meantime looks...confused. His gaze swapping between Guzma and Lucina respectively, trying to piece this tense puzzle together, but the poor bug doesn't know what happened. Doesn't know what Lucina's guilty of—why Guzma looks so despondent as he does.]

What happened...I don't know if it's something I can forgive, not entirely. [He finally speaks up, leveling his gaze at her. It's stern, serious, but there's no hatred or anger behind it.] But...you didn't know. Ain't seeming like anyone knew what would happen.

The impact don't change, but I see you for who you are, and that counts for somethin'. If anyone gets to call the shots on what side of me you get to see, that's my call to make, yeah?

[fool girl. the beat of silence that follows her admission is practically torture, and gods, it may as well, right? Lucina’s shoulders draw up as she folds her arms to herself, likely to fidget more had him speaking up not stopped her both moving and breathing.

that she didn’t know...well, that’s solid fact. but it means a great deal more, hearing it not just outside herself, but from him. she whips her head around, eyes big, as if she could catch some glimpse of a lie, but...

her tensed-up posture eases a bit as she starts trading apprehension for wonder as he goes on, her chest aching with a now-familiar feeling. scary, yes, but not the terrible fright it once was.]

Ye-yes... I would think so. [her mouth quirks.] I guess I didn’t expect...to be much seen at all. As much more, I mean.

[Maybe it's all her little blunders in such a short time, the sort of risk she's taken in having some drinks with him when she's so unfamiliar with it, the fact she's...giving him any sort of chance at all. It's all framed very weirdly in his mind, it makes sense to him, but to someone else it all probably looks like a total mess. Either way, he's feeling more and more comfortable around her, her sheer honesty and genuine nature coaxing him into relaxing.

The booze doesn't hurt anything, either.]

What can I say? Things change. [Things. Always things.] I ain't gonna front: what you did...[he shakes his head, eyes drifting from her to Ariados. Like her, his lips feel loose with the onset of the alcohol. Maybe this is something they've needed, and he accidentally set it in motion. Just his sort of luck, really.] Ain't much has hurt me worse than that—but I ain't sayin' that to guilt you none, so don't get it twisted, but...I hurt you too, didn't I?

[He...he can understand the lengths she went and why. Hell, she might not have done it if she knew—

His eyes snap back to her.]

...If you knew. Had you known—would you have done it still?

Gods, I hope not. [her expression pinches into a pained one as she shakes her head, her shoulders drawing up again.] That kind of effect...it shouldn’t be something anyone can wield. The fact it even can... [it sets a dangerous precedent she doesn’t like to entertain...but has already done so more than enough already.

for someone who so desperately fights for better days, she’s still a very grim and pessimistic person. sometimes keeping her eyes forward is just out of spite of that. other times it’s to not shame her family. often it’s both.

she exhales a little easier, but she still looks troubled as her eyes flicker to her unfinished drink.]

I know how it feels to lose family. I hate the very idea of being the cause of it.

[He lets her say her piece, watching her as she does so. She's so genuine and honest, it's weird to see. He's so used to the fake faces and empty sentiments of his fellow Alolans. Who, despite the clear evidence of harm they have administered to someone like him, revile him without reprieve. Who stare through him, seeing no responsibility for what he's become. What they did to him.

Lucina's not like that. Even after what he'd done, she's shown some level of regret, some scrap of remorse. Well, more than a scrap, but after getting nothing for so long? Even a shred is monumental. Perhaps that's another thing that drew him in. Made him feel as though he could connect with her on some level.

Why he tried to (very poorly) reason with her, forewarn her against believing everything Aegis might tell her, what Aegis might promise. That many people act as if they have good intentions, but often times truly do not. He didn't want her pure and genuine idealism to be tainted by those who would take advantage of it. Those who might betray that trust.

It's unrealistic to tell someone to trust no one at all, because even Guzma trusts. Even if he tries not to, even if he fears doing it. It's why he builds those walls, why he keeps people out—because he bonds too quickly when he lets people in.

That admittance of having lost family...does hit him in a way. His expression distant and conflicted, but there's something akin to sympathy in his eyes.

He exhales:]

Then that's enough for me.

[Yet, there's a weight in his chest, even as he says it. As he reflects on it. He's a vengeful person. Grudge-bearing and hateful, however he can be utterly forgiving in other regards, particularly to those he's let in. To those he's grown loyal to. This is far more his truer nature, something that's been scuffed up and buried under aggressive defense mechanisms and fear-imbued responses.

The key to Lucina, though, and why it's almost easier in a way to let the hurt be thrown to the wayside (even if only temporarily), is because she didn't betray him. The harm she did was not a breach of trust—he hadn't even known her. She was acting out of her own loyalties, and not from a place of cruelty.

It doesn't change the hurt, but it changes the perception of it.]

I ain't gonna promise that I won't feel a certain kind of way at times about that happenin', but I'm guessin' you get that. But, I ain't gonna be tryin' to hold it against you, neither.

After all, you were hurtin' too. I hurt you—even if you weren't my aim. Even if I didn't know you, or that you even knew who Darin was. So—[Guzma's brow creases as he thinks this over, his brain a little bit of a mess, but he's pretty sure he's gonna mean what he says. At least, it's how he's feeling?]—so I say we're even.

[she didn’t come here for absolution, so more’s the surprise in having gotten any semblance of it at all. part of her would be very quick to rush to stifle this talk and keep things under wraps, the way she does so much, but that part of her has been so battered and suffocated of late that she’d been left nearly crumpled on her kitchen floor just by Darin asking if she was alright at all.

it means more than she can realize, him saying that, so far from either of their respective comfort zones. it’s scary how much it means. how much better she feels about having been so caught up in thinking about him — their kiss, the talk, the changes in expression and tone from before... it might not actually be for naught, and that alone is so heartening.

she’s not sure whether to laugh or cry, really.

she ducks her head for a moment, in no way able to keep eye contact for so long without feeling unbearably vulnerable.]

I believe you.

[she peeks back over.]

And...I’m glad I could hear you out. And hear that. From you.

[It's a dual-pronged sort of effect. It's weird in that regard. What's meant to somewhat comfort her, also comforts him, and he's not sure what to think about it. Announcing that they're even, giving himself permission to let some of that animosity go, untangles some of the tension in his chest. It's made even better with how she reacts, that tension that's been built up, finally giving way.

Even as she looks away, ducking her head, he can tell the difference. There's another wave of relief when she says she believes him. A flutter of something warm (not just the alcohol!!) through him as she says the next part. He's not sure what to say, so he doesn't say anything.

Instead he shifts in his seat, scooting closer to her. There's a lot of thoughts going around in his head right now, but all of them seem to keep coming back to the same thing: wanting to kiss her. It's been something on his mind since they ran into each other, but he's ignored it for one reason or another. Ariados even shifts and takes to the wall to give them some room—look, he might be a spider, but he can read a damn room.

He's not even sure if it's called for, or if she's even on the same page as him, but it's come to a point where words are a little hard to express what he's feeling, and this will do better. At least, he thinks it will. He hopes it will. Lifting his arm, he snakes it around her shoulders, drawing her nearer as he leans in, searching those eyes of hers for any revulsion. If she doesn't push him away, or show any sign of disgust, he'll continue, planting a kiss right on her lips. His own eyes slipping closed, while his free hand rests on her knee.]

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