03 🐣 HYJ: Late January - February Catchall

[monsterdaddy]

Who: Yoojin monsterdaddy, open and closed prompts
When: Late January through February
Where: Hearthsong Salon/Stag's Rest Lounge (Castle), in or around the barracks (Castle); other locations TBA.
What: Help Yoojin figure out his gay feelings while he prepares for Budwake, meet a small pink child, show off your illusions for the Meramancers Wanted quest; other prompts TBA. One of them will definitely be a talk with Bulat on 2/7.
Warnings: Will warn in subject headers if the topic of how Yoojin ended up with a small pink child comes up! Also, as always, folks can opt into or out of Yoojin's annoyingly many skills, including the one where he sees your character sheet, here on his permissions page.

Comments

[monsterdaddy]

He's trying to keep everyone safe. If people learned about me, or other things Dad can do... we could get killed.

[More specifically, Yoojin could get killed. At this point, though, that would also end Changeling's existence. His calm expression scrunches more as he realizes what he's saying isn't very assuring.]

I'm not dangerous. I, I can't hurt anyone. I was only born to help Dad. But... he feels bad about creating me, I think. Because he didn't know I would be a person. Or a child. But, but, he didn't do anything wrong...!

[stormkingofshepherds]

[Oh. It really is like him and Brinda, isn't it. After a moment, Nathaniel kneels down, slowly reaching out a hand towards Changeling. He doesn't want to spook the boy, but he looks like he could really use some comforting.]

I believe you. And that's...not as unfamiliar a story as you might think. You remind me of my own kid back home, actually.

[monsterdaddy]

Your kid...?

[Changeling stops shy of reaching out in return; he hasn't interacted with other people very much at all, and Nathaniel isn't someone he "met" while he was forming in his father's chest. But some of the tension in his face and shoulders eases out. He didn't mess up. He hasn't gotten his dad in trouble.]

[stormkingofshepherds]

[Nathaniel nods quietly.] How...how much do you know about my world? About Legendary Pokemon and the God-Hunters?

[monsterdaddy]

[He shakes his head.]

I only know about Earth... and a little bit about some other places. If you told Dad about your world, I didn't hear. Being here makes me sleep really hard.

[After a pause, he sits on the floor to listen, neatly cross-legged.]

Is a Legendary Po...Pokémon like a Legendary-ranked monster?

[stormkingofshepherds]

[Nathaniel sits down as well, legs sticking out as Macy settles down next to him.] In terms of strength, probably. But...your dad mentioned that monsters were new in his world. Pokemon have always been around in mine, for generations and generations, and humans are used to them. Almost everyone has at least one Pokemon companion.

And Legendary Pokemon...there's usually only one of each at a time, and they're important for the balance of the world. Normally...when one of them dies, they're reborn as an egg. But...the God-Hunters wanted to break that cycle. They managed to kill so many Legendaries, and none of them were being reborn. And so many other people and Pokemon were hurt. [He places his burn-scarred hand over his heart, memories of Brian and Ninda flashing through his mind. Macy places a leaf over his hand, looking concerned. After a moment, he glances over, suddenly realizing that this might be a bit too much for Changeling.]

Sorry...is this too scary? [It's been a fact of life, since he was ten years old. He's not sure how scary it is, to someone who doesn't know.]

[monsterdaddy]

[Again, Changeling shakes his head.]

Where we come from, things that die... don't come back at all.

[Again, he looks at his dad. A complicated sadness beyond his apparent age--and even further beyond his actual age--weighs his lashes down. He sighs, pulls his knees up to his chest instead, and wraps his arms around them.]

They leave pieces behind, like bodies or fragments, that can become other things... but they don't come back. I know that, and I've seen Dad fight and get hurt so he won't lose anyone else. So I know what it's like, and it's not scary to listen to.

[He thinks about it gravely another moment.]

I'm sure it was scary to live through, though.

[stormkingofshepherds]

[Nathaniel inches a bit closer, reaching out to gently place a hand on Changeling's knee.] ...it was. Most Pokemon can't come back like Legendaries do, and...Macy was the third Pokemon to join my team, but now she's the one who's been with me the longest.

And...even Legendaries don't remember everything when they reincarnate. My team helped a bunch of scientists who figured out a way to bring back Legendaries who were supposedly permanently dead, and they managed to bring back Zapdos. They...they imprinted on me, so I ended up being the one to raise them. And more recently...they figured out how to take human form, just so they could call me "dad."

[monsterdaddy]

[Changeling's wings flutter slightly as he looks up, surprised by the soft touch.]

...Did you... think of them as your child before then?

[stormkingofshepherds]

...not quite. [He has to admit it. He knew they were smart, and he cared deeply for them, and he wanted to raise them well, but it was still more of a trainer-Pokemon relationship.] They were dear to me, of course, as the youngest member of my team. I was shocked, to hear them call me that. But at the same time...it hasn't felt like that large of a change. I'm glad, to have them in my life, to be their dad.

[monsterdaddy]

...I want Dad to feel like that about me, too.

[He turns his face politely into his elbow to cover a yawn, blinks a couple times. Eepy.]

I was born to grant his wish. He created me with the power to do it. But when I was finally ready, he put what he wanted aside and asked me to protect everyone instead. So now... I have to find other ways to make him happy.

What do you think I should do?