Zeb stared after the stampede for a moment.

Subject: Zeb stared after the stampede for a moment.
Author: Iximaz
Posted on: 2015-03-01 15:27:00 UTC

Then he turned and went back into Rudi's, slowly making his way back to Rina's and Alex's table. He sat down and let his head hit the table with a thunk.

"What's wrong, Zeb?" Rina asked, alarmed.

"I just met the 'mon of my dreams," Zeb mumbled, "and he likes females."

"Wait, Pokémon can be gay?" Alex blurted out, yelping when Rina kicked him under the table, hard.

"Aw, Zeb, don't be upset," Rina said, slowly reaching out to him. He nodded at her and she began stroking his mane. "I know it sucks, but it can't be as bad as the time I was about to ask this one girl out and she suddenly asked me for dating advice about guys."

Zeb gave her a long look.

Rina's mouth fell open. "Don't tell me that's what just happened to you," she said.

Zeb nodded miserably. "Does it ever get any better?" he asked.

Rina shrugged. "Depends, I guess," she said, scratching behind his ears. "But don't let it get to you, okay?"

Zeb just sighed.

((I was kind of surprised at where you went with this, because that was almost exactly what happened to me once. It was heartbreaking.))

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"O-oh..." by Iximaz on 2015-03-01 02:42:00 UTC Reply

Zeb's heart was no longer bursting; it had just shattered into a million pieces. He wanted to go back to his RC and curl up in bed and mentally berate himself for being so stupid as to get his hopes up.

With a pang, he realized Maxwell was watching him expectantly. He put on a brave face. "Well, I don't have much experience with... with females, but my partner says the most important thing about meeting a girl for the first time is to be yourself." Arceus, what are you doing?! Stop it! "As for where you can find them, I don't know. Maybe Rudi's? From what I've heard and seen, it's fairly popular." He turned away. "Actually, this pool thing was a silly idea. Let's head back." I need a drink.

((Aww Zeb baby... *cuddles*))

"What, going back already?" by SeaTurtle on 2015-03-01 02:58:00 UTC Reply

"Aww, that sucks. Oh well. Lead on, man." Maxwell happily fell into step beside Zeb. "And thanks for your advice. I'll be sure to follow up on that. Oh yeah, one last thing: what's up with your face? It looks like someone stole your dessert or something."

"Or something," Zeb muttered. by Iximaz on 2015-03-01 03:10:00 UTC Reply

He felt his tail droop, dragging on the ground behind him. Just my luck, he thought. Like blowing up wasn't bad enough on its own... He sighed heavily. "It's nothing, Maxwell," he said gloomily. "I've just had a bad day."

"Wanna tell me about it?" by SeaTurtle on 2015-03-01 03:27:00 UTC Reply

"It's what friends do, right? Be there for each other? 'Cause if there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it! And that's a promise!"

"Not... not particularly..." by Iximaz on 2015-03-01 03:31:00 UTC Reply

"I don't think there's really anything you can do." Zeb peered through the walls. "Rudi's is just around this corner," he said, half-relieved and half... he didn't know what.

The two PokÃ©mon rounded the corner... by SeaTurtle on 2015-03-01 14:34:00 UTC Reply

...and nearly walked into a small stampede of DIA agents running down the hallway. As a protoss and a Earth pony barrelled past Maxwell, a woman wearing a grey tunic over black pants and a long-sleeved shirt skid to a halt next to the Jolteon. She briefly adjusted her navy blue hijab, looking at the Lightning Pokémon. "Maxwell! There's trouble down in one of the Reality Rooms. Let's go!"

Maxwell looked at Zeb. "Er, I think duty calls. Maybe we could look for the pool another ti--"

"Maxwell! Return!"

A red bolt of energy hit the Jolteon before he could finish his sentence. The little 'mon evaporated into a stream of energy that was quickly absorbed by a Nest ball held by Benoît. Once Maxwell had safely returned to his Pokéball the Kalosian man pressed the ball's centre button to collapse the capsule device and stowed it in a pocket on his bulletproof vest.

"How bad is it, Meryem?" asked Benoît, tightening his belt so that it wouldn't move around so much.

"Bah, some agent team dumped a group of Judoon into a Reality Room to get them off their trail. We have to explain what happened to them and return them to their canon world. No biggie."

"But they called Taldaris and Fire Flash! That's the textbook definition a biggie!"

"They're a particularly... uh... determined bunch of mercenary police officers," said Meryem. "Things could get messy if we get in their way. Taldaris can do energy shields and Fire Flash can do the talking. We're there for backup."

"Still doesn't sit right with me, but whatever. Let's move."

The two DIA officers took off in pursuit of their colleagues, leaving Zeb alone in front of Rudi's.

Zeb stared after the stampede for a moment. by Iximaz on 2015-03-01 15:27:00 UTC Reply

Then he turned and went back into Rudi's, slowly making his way back to Rina's and Alex's table. He sat down and let his head hit the table with a thunk.

"What's wrong, Zeb?" Rina asked, alarmed.

"I just met the 'mon of my dreams," Zeb mumbled, "and he likes females."

"Wait, Pokémon can be gay?" Alex blurted out, yelping when Rina kicked him under the table, hard.

"Aw, Zeb, don't be upset," Rina said, slowly reaching out to him. He nodded at her and she began stroking his mane. "I know it sucks, but it can't be as bad as the time I was about to ask this one girl out and she suddenly asked me for dating advice about guys."

Zeb gave her a long look.

Rina's mouth fell open. "Don't tell me that's what just happened to you," she said.

Zeb nodded miserably. "Does it ever get any better?" he asked.

Rina shrugged. "Depends, I guess," she said, scratching behind his ears. "But don't let it get to you, okay?"

Zeb just sighed.

((I was kind of surprised at where you went with this, because that was almost exactly what happened to me once. It was heartbreaking.))

((Oh snap.)) by SeaTurtle on 2015-03-01 15:51:00 UTC Reply

((It appears that I've accidentally become Feelsman, inducer of feels.

Although I have to admit this sort of situation never happened to me. This is... odd.

Also, what did you think I was talking about when I mentioned unrequited love?))

((Pfft, I don't know.)) by Iximaz on 2015-03-01 16:04:00 UTC Reply

((I guess I was expecting Maxwell to just ask for dating advice, not go all 'you're a good looking 'mon, surely you know where to pick up chicks'. ^^;

And nah, it's fine, it was a couple of years ago and I have Darkotas now, so it's all good. :D ))

((Awesomesauce.)) by SeaTurtle on 2015-03-01 16:58:00 UTC Reply

((That reminds me that I have Plans for Gaspard's backstory-- including that time where the only time a girl asked him out in his entire life was actually a dare.

Totally not based on a real-life experience, no sir. Nope.

*hugs pillow and tries to forget the past*))

((I know what that's like.)) by Iximaz on 2015-03-02 02:16:00 UTC Reply

((Wanna hear another story about my Trajek childhood? Make yourself comfortable, because this is a long one.

I attended a very small school, maybe 30 kids to a grade, from Kindergarten to sixth grade. I only got along with one other person, since I'd managed to alienate everyone else back in Kindergarten by being the weird kid who preferred books to anything else and never shut up about Harry Potter.

So, back in sixth grade, there was a guy I had a huge crush on. Like, major, Legoluster-type crush. I was nuts about him. I told my only friend about it, and she accidentally told someone else. By the next day, everyone in the grade had heard about it. I was mortified... until that guy came up to me, and told me he thought I was cute and had never been able to work up the courage to ask me out.

We 'dated' for a week. And then, the night before the school dance, he dumped me in front of the rest of the grade and laughed in my face. "Like anyone would want to date you," he said. A group of girls who were particularly nasty individuals had convinced him it would be funny to set me up like that. I punched him and gave the ringleader of the girls two black eyes the night before the dance. I got several detentions for that, but it was worth it. Of course, the bullies got off scot free.

Let's go get internet-drunk and cry together about our experiences.))

((At least you gave them something to remember!)) by SeaTurtle on 2015-03-02 04:46:00 UTC Reply

((Honestly, in your situation, I would've gone Full Beta and just taken it lying down. I'm not much one for fighting or even provoking situations.

Well, you shared a story, I'll tell you some of mine.

Do you know how much it sucks to be "hapa"-- mixed race? You get racism from both sides of the spectrum: to the white kids, I was chingchong chinaman and made fun of. To the rest, I was some sort of über crackermode white infiltrator who was trying to (not very convincingly) pass off as Chinese. Imagine straddling a line, knowing that you're not welcome on either side and that there's nobody like you in the entire school.

Anyways, this one girl in grade school really had something against me. She was the big bully on the playground and I was her chew toy. She'd spread rumors about me, push me around, and just generally make me dread going to school. The best part about it was that as she and her cronies (they never have the gall to bully someone alone, do they?) would shove me around they'd know I'll never raise a hand against them-- after all, she was simply a girl playing a little rough but I would be branded as a boy who hit girls if I retaliated. What else could I do? I have to hand it to her, she played her cards very well. If there's one positive thing that I learnt from that period it's that I have a massive amount of patience for bull$hit. Or maybe I'm just some sort of carpet. Whatever.

And then there was the time in middle school where some of the girls in my class wrote mean things in my yearbook. The best one went along the lines of "you're going to have to bio-engineer a new life form if you ever want to get married". Another girl told me that I was gonna die alone. I literally can't make this up.

...but here I go again. Look at this thread derailment. This post is a mess. I always feel that when I'm talking to people that I'm turning everything I say into a gigantic pissing contest to prove that I deserve people's attention or pity or something.

I hope I'm not coming off as some sort of overly dramatic and angsty super-entitled goblin. I just wanna talk about some cruddy things that happened to me once.))

((Oh, no, not at all!)) by Iximaz on 2015-03-02 11:10:00 UTC Reply

((Oh, there's nothing wrong with a little thread derailment now and then. Sometimes we just need to vent, you know? *offers hugs* At least that's all in the past now, right? {:-) (Also, be very glad you didn't go to my school. There were six kids total who weren't white, and I know all of them were discriminated against, even by the teachers.)

I had some girls in middle school steal my yearbook and write similar things, though it was more along the lines of, "If you ever want to get f**ed, you'll have to become the world's ugliest whore." She used a pink glitter pen to write that, too.

I can't help but wonder how many other Boarders have had similar experiences...))

((You guys need hugs.)) by Desdendelle on 2015-03-02 18:42:00 UTC Reply

((And tea. Lots and lots of tea.
I guess I have sob stories to tell, but they're not really interesting or anything. Standard shy nerd fare.
So Internet-tea and Internet-cookies for everyone.
Oh, and Bach. Bach is good.))

((Thanks for the tea.)) by SeaTurtle on 2015-03-03 03:03:00 UTC Reply

((You're a real champ.

Yeah, being a shy nerd sucks. Suddenly everyone is making fun of you because you're somehow different, which makes you withdraw from social life, which then leads to them branding you as a creepy loner, which then cements your fate.

...or at least that was what happened to me. Me deciding that it was better to be lonely instead of potentially attracting more ridicule by opening up probably didn't help either. It's better to do nothing than to do harm, right?))

((That sounds quite familiar, yes.)) by Desdendelle on 2015-03-03 08:17:00 UTC Reply

((In this regard, I'm very lucky we have obligatory conscription here. Being in the army helped me become a lot more sociable, and I met some really good people in the various places I've been in. I'm a lot less shy than I was before the army - at least where dating and similar stuff isn't concerned.))

((Sorry to interrupt with a hijack...)) by Iximaz on 2015-03-03 16:28:00 UTC Reply

((...but I left a message on your user talk page, Des. I figured I'd better let you know anyway, because who actually checks those, amirite?))

((Nobody checks them.)) (nm) by Desdendelle on 2015-03-03 17:35:00 UTC Reply

((Sure, I'll take a cup of tea.)) by Iximaz on 2015-03-02 19:36:00 UTC Reply

((*sends it to her younger self* Thanks, Des. Younger Me would be happy to know that she's got people looking out for her in the future.))

((After stumbling across this thread again...)) by Darkotas on 2015-03-06 03:51:00 UTC Reply

((Sorry to kinda jump in abruptly here, but I felt I had to say something.

Iximaz, reading about the experiences you've had in years past just broke my heart. I know you've told me about these things before, but it wasn't quite as detailed. Having people say and do those kinds of things to you is all sorts of messed-up, and you don't deserve it. You're the best girl I've ever met, and I am truly blessed to have you in my life. I only wish I could have known you sooner, or that I too could tell your younger self that it does indeed get better. You definitely have people looking out for you, and I know that you are going to go on to do great things someday. Don't stop being the awesome person that you are, okay?

Ugh, I'm just mad that someone would even consider writing things like that in your journal... Have an internet hug until I can give you one for real. Hang in there!))