Blood on the Moon
Blood on the Moon
By Cori Falls
Alternate Title: You know how I said Falls was better than Claire or Meyer?
I take that back...
TRIGGER WARNING for emotional and physical abuse.
FURTHER TRIGGER WARNING for the author blaming the victim and taking the side of the abuser.
Yes, these fics have hit a new low.
Since Cori Falls neglected to tell us, this is a What You Didn't See of Episode 089: Shell Shock. The only scenes that are canon are the Magikarp-sub scene, the boulder-avalanche scene, the encounter with Ash-and-company scene, and the blasting-off-again scene. Thought you might like to know…
A magenta-haired adolescent buries her face in her hands. "Not again…"
A sandy-haired adolescent scowls at the fic. "Well, let's get this over with."
Blood on the Moon
by Cori Falls
@->->-
This has to have been, without a doubt, one of the strangest days of my entire
life -- everyone and everything has been all mixed up!
Jerry: (Jessie) James was manlier than I was!
In fact, the only thing I
really could count on today was that somehow, all of our brilliant plans
Tom: Huh?
would
go awry, and we'd end up blasting off again.
And I think it had everything to do with the moon. Not only was it full (people
always tend to get a little strange when the moon is full, I've noticed),
Guardian's Song: (Remus Lupin) Do tell.
but it
was red, too! And no good ever comes of a red moon.
Guardian's Song: WTH, this is now a The Legend of Dragoon crossover?
When I was a little girl, my
momma always told me that when the moon is red, bad things happen.
Guardian's Song: (Jessie's Mother) When the Moon That Never Sets turns red, the Moon Child is born, and the Black Monster appears…
"Blood on the
moon," she called it. That meant someone would die...or something that changes
your life forever would happen.
Tom: Death does change yer life f'rever, y'know.
And you know what? She was right....
@->->-
It started out as a typical day -- James, Meowth, and I were hot on the trail of
the Twerp Trio, in hopes of capturing Pikachu, and we had followed them to a
strange new island.
Jerry: (Jessie) And then it turned out to be the biggest Lapras anyone had ever seen…
Once our Magikarp submarine started getting close to land, I sent up the
periscope and saw a huge television crew interviewing a Nurse Joy.
Guardian's Song: I know it's canon, but I love that she says "a Nurse Joy". Has there ever been any definitive evidence that the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies aren't actually parthenogenic Pokémon species that happen to pass very well as humans?
She was
dressed like an archaeologist, and it looked like she was trying to explain
something to the anchorwoman, but the brat and his new friend
Guardian's Song: Ash and Tracey, if I understand correctly.
were hogging the
camera. The little girl was tugging on him and screaming. (As usual.)
Guardian's Song: And that would be Misty.
"Hmmmm...." I said, trying to figure out what was going on.
"What is it?" Meowth asked.
"Those twerps are on the beach with a TV crew," I replied. "I wonder what
they're doing...."
"Well, just because you're watching them doesn't mean you have to stop
pedaling!" James snapped.
I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. James was snapping at me? What was up
with that?! He's the most gentle, even-tempered man in the world! Why would he
be raising his voice to me?
Guardian's Song: Given that it shows actual discord between the two lovebirds, I wonder if that was in canon. Trouble in paradise is OOC for Cori!Jessie/James…
Well, I was good and ready to snap right back at him, but there was just
something about the look on his face. Sure, he was scowling at me, but the look
in his eyes was one of weariness.
Tom: (James) When are we going to get our characterizations back?
We had been pedaling the sub all night, and he
must've been exhausted...and making him do all of the work while I spied on the
enemy sure wasn't doing anything to help!
Jerry: Er, yes, you noticed…
Poor sweetheart, I thought. No wonder
he's yelling at me! Guess I can't blame him for being so cranky....
Guardian's Song: And here we have the Meyer-and-Claire-esque over-explanation of simple social interactions and motivations. *looks strangely at the screen* There must be some underlying reason why they presume the audience is in need of social tutoring, but I can't fathom what.
"Sorry about that, James," I said, resuming my pedaling. "Stupid Giovanni! Too
cheap to give us a motorized submarine!" I added jokingly.
Roy: *twitch* The unnecessary adverbs! Oh, the adverbanity!
James gave no reply, just snorted at me.
Meowth could sense the tension that was growing between me and James.
Jerry: He's not deaf, no.
"So,
whaddaya' think dose guys are doin'?" he asked, changing the subject.
"I don't know," I told him. "Looks like they discovered something...only one way
to find out!"
@->->-
When we finally reached the shore of the island, Meowth and I jumped out of the
sub and began to investigate the area. The news crew, the twerps, and Nurse Joy
were long gone, so we didn't have to worry about catching any grief from them.
"Looks like dey're headin' up into the mountains," Meowth remarked as he leaned
down to study the footprints they'd left in the sand. "Maybe dat's where the big
discovery is...."
But I wasn't listening to him. For some weird reason, James was still in the
sub.
Roy: -missive position. *runs out before the sporkers can throw anything at him*
It wasn't like him to be so unenthusiastic about something like this,
Jerry: (James) Dear, I have a headache tonight.
and I
was starting to get worried. He'd looked so tired earlier, and he seemed to have
a real temper! Was he getting sick?
Tom: - of bein' OOC?
"Hold that thought," I said to the cat. "I've got to see what's taking James so
long."
Meowth nodded and continued to study the recently evacuated campsite.
@->->-
"Hey, James, are you okay?" I asked as I climbed back into the sub.
Roy: *from another sporking dimension* This time, on Really Bloody Weird Fetishes…
"I'm fine," he replied.
After being out in the bright sunlight, it took my eyes a few minutes to adjust
to the darkness, but once they did, I saw James throwing something into a huge
backpack.
Jerry: Whatever it was, it was labeled "Canon Characterizations".
I noticed he had also changed out of his Team Rocket uniform and was
now dressed in a red t-shirt and khaki shorts.
"What's in the backpack?" I asked.
"Stuff," he replied curtly.
"What kind of stuff?" I prompted.
"Just stuff, okay?!"
Guardian's Song: She sounds like his MOTHER. How… romantic.
"What's with the new clothes?" I asked, changing the subject.
"It's too damn hot to wear my uniform in these tropical islands, okay?!" he
shouted. "Quit interrogating me!"
Guardian's Song: Cursing Count: | -
…*looks down*
*jaw drops*
Oh. Sweet. Gad. Oh. My. Gad. What.
Now, I'd been a lot nicer to James in recent weeks -- on the morning after the
Pokemon League Games ended, I woke up in his arms after a night of passionate
lovemaking, and I promised that I'd try to do a better job of showing how much I
care about him. And I really thought that I was! I may have swatted him a couple
times when he was acting silly in front of the twerps, but in private, I hadn't
raised my voice to him or struck him once!
Maybe that was a mistake.
Guardian's Song: …*HORROR*
*rushes up to put TRIGGERING CONTENT notice at the start of the sporking*
Maybe now he thought it was okay to be as mean to me as I used to be to him
because there was no fear that I'd retaliate. How long would it be before this
verbal abuse gave way to physical violence?
Guardian's Song: …Y-you admit that you used to hit him and yell at him on a regular basis. A-a-and now you consider his snapping at you twice, when he was very tired, "verbal abuse".
I - I - I honestly don't know what to say. This… this sounds like how an abuser actually thinks. It TERRIFIES me. I - dear gad.
DEAR GAD, what the HELL was wrong with Cori Falls?!
Or worse, what if the only reason he
had been sweet to me before was so he could get me into bed?
Guardian's Song: At this rate, Stockholm Syndrome is an alternative explanation!
(See, this is another problem with playing everything for drama. Certain slapstick behaviors turn into outright abuse when translated into the real world.)
Now that I had
given myself to him, there was no reason for him to try and win my affections
anymore!
Tom: An' he only intends t' get laid once in his life?
Jerry: *leery look*
Tom: *holds up hands and shrugs* Well, just sayin', even if that was all he wanted…
Guardian's Song: (Also… "given [herself] to him"? What decade was this in, again? The 90's? That's not exactly the 50's…)
My mind flashed back to the night we made love for the first time. Nothing will
ever make me leave you, he had whispered into my ear as his strong arms
encircled my waist and his warm body pressed against mine. But now, as I
listened to him yelling at me and looked at the angry expression on his face,
all of the beautiful things we'd shared seemed so hollow.
Guardian's Song: Good gad, I've been chewed out worse by my FRIENDS. (And with good reason. *winces* Er… maybe I'll grow some common sense by the time I'm thirty?)
…Also, did Cori Falls's parents just never yell at her when she was a kid? Because this is rather tame. (…Given what we know of her through her 'Team Rocket' handpuppets, it would make a lot of sense if she was a highly sheltered nerdy type who'd been bullied in school, but coddled by parents/grandparents. …Well, good for her. *grumble* If I ever get hit with the 'You're just jealous' attack, I'll admit I envy her apparent home life.)
Well, I certainly wasn't going to put up with this kind of treatment! I had to
nip his attitude problem in the bud, and I had to do it now!
Guardian's Song: …D8 Congratulations, Miss Falls, you made me actually cringe in real life.
Sarajayechan, is there a "Double Standard:Female-On-Male Abuse" trope? Because ooooooh gad.
"I wasn't interrogating you," I said softly, giving him the benefit of the
doubt. "I was just worried because you were taking such a long time in here. I
wanted to make sure you were okay."
James said nothing. He was still scowling at me.
"Look, I know I can be really bossy and inconsiderate sometimes, and I'm sorry
about that -- I'm glad that you're not letting me push you around so much
anymore," I continued. "But that doesn't give you the right to be mean to
me...especially when I'm actually trying to be nice!"
"Yeah...nice...." he muttered sarcastically.
Well that did it. Calm and Patient Jessie was being treated like garbage! It was
time to revert to Mean and Short-Tempered Jessie and put him back in his place!
Guardian's Song: *ABUSE ALARM BELLS GOING OFF, ALERT, ALERT*
So, without wasting another second, I walked over and slapped him across the
face. Hard.
"Go to hell, James," I growled as I stormed out of the sub.
Guardian's Song: Let's recap!
James has been pedaling all night, is likely both physically worn out and low on sleep, is hot and sticky, and so wants to go change his clothes and be left alone for a bit. Jessie comes in and starts nagging him while he's rifling around in his stuff, he makes it clear that he's not interested in talking, and she continues to nag him even about his (perfectly normal) clothing - so he snaps at her. She then goes completely insane, terms that "verbal abuse", engages in deranged fantasies about how he's going to start beating her up and only wanted her for her body, and decides it's all because she hasn't been screaming at him and beating him enough.
She then starts in on the passive-aggressive nagging, he makes ONE sarcastic comment in return - and she hits him in the face and snarls at him to go to hell. After thinking that she'll "put him back in his place", of course.
Mrs. Weasley? Thank you.
WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT. WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT. WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT.
*hands back CAPSLOCK**
Cursing Count: ||
You Made Me Hit You: || (one for the above freak-out, one for the actual hitting him in the face)
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| (one for the "verbal abuse", another for the "get me into bed", a third for the passive-aggressiveness, and the fourth for "Calm and Patient Jessie was being treated like garbage!")
I could really add on more counts, but I'm trying to be conservative. The crazed persecution fantasy and the passive-aggressiveness set my teeth on edge enough as it is.
@->->-
"So, what's the hold-up?" Meowth asked when he saw me come back outside.
Guardian's Song: Well, I had to pace for a bit before articulating my issues with the above part because it floored me so, but aside from that…
"Which way did those twerps go?" I asked, trying my best to hide the tears I
felt stinging my eyes.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: ||||
Meowth looked up at me and realized that something was wrong. "Trouble in
paradise?" he quipped.
Guardian's Song: Hey, no fair sporking the fic for me!
"Shut up."
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "It ain't none of Meowth's business...."
He was right -- this wasn't any of his business. Still, what had just happened
was really bothering me, and I couldn't keep it bottled-up inside. "James is
acting like a jerk,
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |
As I said, count-per-sentence.
and I don't know why," I confessed. "I don't think I did
anything wrong, but...."
"Of course ya didn't! Whateva his problem is, it ain't you, Jess," he told me in
all sincerity. "Ya been like a different woman lately, and I can't imagine why
he'd be angry with ya."
Guardian's Song: …I need to start up analysis of "The Abuser's Fantasy" in bad fiction, particularly with respect to the henchmen reinforcing the abuser's persecution complex and self-righteousness, and confirming that the level of punishment he or she dealt out to the victim was just - and, if anything, too lenient. ("Gallant", yea!) Because I'm no English major, and I can't analyze things half as well as Brill does, but this is the one thing that's set me off like nothing else does from the very start.
A tear escaped from my eye and spilled down my cheek.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| ||
"Thanks, Meowth. I really
needed to hear that...."
"C'mon," he said as I rubbed my eyes and tried to keep from crying. "Dose guys
are headin' north. If we take the lower mountain trail, we should be able to
follow 'em without bein' seen...and James can catch up to us when he's good and
ready!"
There was a tight feeling in my throat,
Jerry: That would be the feeling of a sporker strangling you for defaming a certain character's good name.
and I knew that if I said anything, I'd
choke-up and cry.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||
…And you're already crying, you dumb bint.
So instead, I just nodded and followed the cat.
@->->-
We'd only been on the trail for a few minutes when we heard footsteps
approaching from behind.
"Hey! Wait for me!" a familiar voice cried.
I turned around and saw James following us. Apparently, the little "attitude
adjustment" I'd given him had done the trick.
Guardian's Song: OH, SWEET GAD!
You Made Me Hit You: ||| (for referring to hitting him in the face as "the little "attitude adjustment" I'd given him")
Still, I wasn't quite ready to
forgive him yet, so I didn't bother to stop or slow my pace and give him the
chance to catch up.
And apparently, Meowth felt the same way because he stayed by my side and didn't
question me.
Guardian's Song: …"Didn't question me". That's a very interesting way to put it, Jessie. Sounds more like a servant towards his master than a person towards his friend.
No, I don't have a count for that, but I wish I did.
The three of us continued like this for a couple of hours. Meowth and I picked
our way along the mountain trail, always making sure that the brats on the road
above us stayed within sight, and James lagged behind, still carrying that
gigantic backpack. (Honestly! We were only going to be away from the sub for a
day or so! Did he really need to bring along everything he owned?)
Guardian's Song: *snaps* None - of - your - *BLEEP*ing - BUSINESS!
Tom: An' what does she think he constructs those traps with? Duct tape an' natural materials?
Guardian's Song: …You're right - that probably is what he's carrying, isn't it? *facepalm*
@->->-
"Jessie, I'm tired," James moaned. "Can't we stop and take a break for a few
minutes?"
"No, we can't take a break," Meowth, who was still angry with him for being mean
to me,
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| ||||
snapped. "Now hurry it up!"
{snip more arguing}
"Look, I don't know what's wrong with you today, James, but you'd better quit
taking it out on me!" I warned him.
Guardian's Song: …WARNED?
You Made Me Hit You: ||||
"If you think I'm going to put up with this
crap,
Guardian's Song: Cursing Count: |||
you're sadly mistaken!"
James turned away from me.
"Will youse two hurry it up?!" Meowth called down to us.
I turned away from James and headed back towards Meowth without another word.
How could I speak when I was doing my best not to cry?
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| ||||
@->->-
An uneasy silence fell over us as we continued up the path. James was still
lagging behind us, and I was still trying my best to figure out what was going
on with him.
Tom: (James) *deep breath* On the inside… I've always felt like a woman.
Meowth, sensing the trouble between us, was minding his own
business.
Suddenly, I heard screams coming from above. Looking up, I saw boulders raining
down from the top of the mountain.
"RUN FOR IT!!!" Meowth cried.
The cat and I jumped out of the way as the rocks crashed down around us, but
James, who was still encumbered by that giant backpack, wasn't fast enough.
Time seemed to come to a standstill when I heard James cry out in terror and
wheeled around to see him get smashed by one of the boulders. No! No, this can't
be happening! my mind silently screamed.
Guardian's Song: (Jessie) My victiiiiim! Who will I abuse nooooww?!
(Meowth) *silently heads for the hills*
The momentum of the rock was so great that it carried James along as it rolled
towards the edge of the cliff.
Guardian's Song: Uh, if you're playing for drama, he'd be dead. If you're playing for slapstick, he's going to be bruised but all right. Knowing you, Miss Falls, you'll ricochet between the two at record speed…
I reacted as quickly as I could, but it felt like
I was in one of those nightmares where you can't run, no matter how hard you
try,
Tom: (Jessie) *mashing buttons frantically* My B button is broken, and I have my OLD ROD registered to my Select Key rather than my Bicycle! He's doomed, I tell you, doomed!
and I didn't make it in time to save him.
"Oh, this is gonna huuuurrrrrrt!" James cried
Guardian's Song: I suspect this short scene is direct from canon, which is why there's slapstick. I swear, you can probably tell the canon scenes by the absence of swearing and overdramatic whining alone.
as the boulder forced him off of
the cliff. There was nothing I could do but watch helplessly as he fell to his
doom.
@->->-
Once he was out of sight and his screams stopped echoing up from the ravine, the
reality of what had just happened struck me with the force of a falling rock.
"No...." I whimpered as tears began to well up in my eyes.
"Jess," Meowth said softly as he placed a paw on my shoulder.
"No," I said in a louder voice. "No, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOO!!!!!!"
Guardian's Song: George Lucas, you're responsible for this fic too?! Were the prequels not enough for you, monster?!
I cried, my
screams becoming progressively louder until they reached a crescendo. Lacking
the strength to stand, I fell to my knees and began to sob uncontrollably.
{snip crying}
Meowth didn't reply. He just looked up at me with his midnight-blue eyes,
Jerry: Even the Pokémon get purple prose?! I mean… yes, there were Arbok and Weezing in "Two of a Kind", but I thought that was because it was romance…
which
were as full of tears as my own.
"The worst part...is that we were mad at each other when it happened...." I said
in a quavering voice. "He was mad at me...I don't know why, and now I never
will...
Guardian's Song: (Meowth) And maybe… it was none of your business… Did you… think of that?
but I was mad at him, too, and I'll never forgive myself for that...it
was our last day together, and we wasted it being mad at each other...."
Hearing myself say this out loud made me start crying again.
Meowth hung his head. "Don't blame yerself, Jess. Ya didn't know dis was gonna
happen...."
Guardian's Song: It's perfectly reasonable to abuse people if they're not going to die soon? Right, Miss Falls. Riiiight.
"I know," I said. "But it doesn't make me feel any better...."
My voice trailed off, and I hung my head, too. But as I peered over the edge of
the cliff, a glint of white on an outcropping of rocks a few feet below caught
my eye.
Tom: It was an omelette, because that would make as much sense as anythin' in these fics.
Looking closer, I saw that it was a poke ball!
Ariana: *being poked* :( I don't like these.
It must have come loose
from James's belt when the rock hit him!
"Meowth, hold my legs," I said.
He gave me a quizzical look.
"I see one of James's poke balls down there, and I think I can reach it if you
hold onto me," I explained.
Ariana: *tosses poke ball aside* I don't think he would want it back - they're not very fun.
"Ah," he said. With that, he grabbed onto my legs and
Roy: =THIS SCENE CENSORED FOR THE SAKE OF NON-FURRIES=
anchored me to the ground
as I leaned over and picked up the ball.
Jerry: …And you couldn't just ask one of your Pokémon to do it?
Tom: That'd take brains.
There was just something comforting about holding that little poke ball.
Ariana: I don't find it comforting. ): *being poked*
Maybe
it was the knowledge that it was something that had belonged to James, or maybe
it was because it contained something that James cared about.
Tom: (Jessie) His collection of women's clothing!
Jerry: …He's not THAT much of a cross-dresser…
Whatever it was,
it suddenly gave me hope....
"Come on out!" I said, tossing the ball to the ground.
Suddenly, Victreebel emerged in a flash of red light and emitted a high-pitched
squeal.
Somehow, actually seeing James's pokemon made me sure of it -- he was still
alive!
Jerry: What… what do those two things have to do with each other?
This isn't MagiNation! The Dream Creatures are not automatically banished upon the death of the Magi!
He was somewhere down there, and he needed my help!
Guardian's Song: The Sanity Is Not Strong With This One: || (once for here, once for her paranoid fantasy earlier)
"Victreebel! Vi-"
*CHOMP*
"Mmmmph...mmmmph...mmmph...."
Jerry: *shock* The Victreebel is in-character?!
Now, I was enraged. James was in trouble, and all his pokemon could think about
was trying to eat me?
Tom: Victreebel ain't known fer their brains, y'know.
I began to kick and flail as hard as I could, and I felt
Meowth grabbing onto my legs again. Before long, I was free of the carnivorous
plant's mouth.
"How DARE you bite me, you insolent bag of aphids?!" I screamed, grabbing
Victreebel and shaking him as hard as I could. "James may let you get away with
crap
Guardian's Song: Cursing Count: ||||
like that, but for now, I'M your master, and I DEMAND respect! So you do
exactly what I tell you to do, or I'll pump you so full of weed-killer that...."
Jerry: …That would KILL the Victreebel.
Guardian's Song: I could MAYBE see that scene in canon, minus the swearing, but considering that she treats all injuries as Serious Business…
You Made Me Hit You: ||||
(And I am tempted to give that a double-count for threatened murder, but I don't like double-counts.)
"Whoa! Take it easy, Jess!" Meowth cried, prying Victreebel out of my grasp.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, sinking to my knees again. "It's just that...I know
James is down there, and I can't save him unless...." But by then, I couldn't
continue because I was crying again.
Guardian's Song: That's a perfectly good excuse for threatening to pump a sentient being full of a fatal toxin if he doesn't do what you say, amirite?
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |
(Serve her right if, since Victreebel is a Grass/POISON type, it wouldn't kill him, but rather make him stronger. *snerk*
*checks Bulbapedia* CONFIRMED: Poison-types cannot be poisoned. Oh, joy… *nasty giggling*)
Suddenly, I felt something on my face. Opening my eyes, I saw that Victreebel
was brushing my tears away with one of his leaves.
Tom: An' then tastin' 'em. They were delicious.
"Does...does this mean you'll listen to me and help me rescue James?" I asked.
Victreebel made that screaming noise again.
"He sez
Tom: (Meowth) - [UNPRINTABLE].
yes," Meowth translated.
With that, I smiled and got to my feet. "In that case, use your Vine Whip,
Victreebel! Lower me over the edge of the cliff and make sure I don't fall!" I
commanded.
Victreebel wrapped his vines around my waist and held tightly as I began to
climb down the cliff.
Tom: *narrating* Nothin' kept th' VICTREEBEL stabilized, however, an' so he toppled over th' cliff an' fell with Jessie t' her doom. TH' END.
@->->-
Tom: Blast it.
After several minutes of steady descent, I saw another large outcropping of
rocks. And sure enough, James was lying there!
{she wakes him up}
He gazed into my eyes for a moment, as if he were trying to recall what had
happened. Once he did remember, his eyes sparked,
C!Syaoran: *chewing* And this is why you're supposed to take the tinfoil off before eating eyeballs.
and he threw his arms around
me.
"Jessie! Oh, Jessie...." he said as sobs began to wrack his body.
Guardian's Song: (James) I hoped I was FREE of you! D8 *sob, sob*
"It's okay, James. It's over now," I said, returning the embrace and running my
fingers through his hair.
"It's not that," he whispered. "It's just...well, I've been treating you rotten
all day,
Guardian's Song: *BLEEP* YOU, CORI FALLS! (Sorry, Mrs. Weasley. *returns CAPSLOCK OF RAGE*)
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| ||
and you still came down here to rescue me...."
"Like I said, it's over now," I told him as he began to cry again. "It's not an
issue anymore."
I smiled and held James closer as I remembered how he'd said those exact same
words to me after our last big fight. They'd been so comforting to me, and he
needed to be reminded that he wasn't the only one who made mistakes.
Guardian's Song: Like hitting your One True Love in the face because he snapped at you and made a sarcastic comment?
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||
"It is to me," he replied. "Jess, I didn't even HAVE a reason to be mad at you
-- I just was! I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages, I'm sick of pedaling
that damned Magikarp sub from island to island, the heat down here is really
getting to me...
Jerry: …Those ARE reasons to be irritable.
Guardian's Song: Particularly when somebody keeps nagging you when you repeatedly make it clear you're not interested in talking at the moment. I'm sorry, does that sound like a sore spot to me? Because it is.
and I was taking it out on you. I had no right to do that to
you, Jess, and I'm sorry...."
Guardian's Song: And she had no right to HIT YOU IN THE FACE.
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| ||||
I brushed his tears away and kissed him on the forehead. "James, I can't count
the number of times I've felt awful and taken it out on you," I told him. "And
somehow, you've always managed to stay my best friend. So, you of all people
should know that it's no big deal!"
Guardian's Song: …
THE FIC SPORKS ITSELF (HARD): |
"But I really hurt you today, Jessie," he sobbed. "I could see it in your eyes
when I was yelling at you, and I did it anyway!"
Guardian's Song: That's right, a sickening fantasy about the victim of the abuse apologizing to the abuser. He lost his temper, and so she decided to "put him in his place", hit him, and told him to go to hell.
That's it, I avoided it last count, but I must say - I have a line in a (not-yet-posted) fic that sounds an awful lot like this…
“-I’M SORRY, I’M SO SORRY, I’LL BE GOOD, I WON’T BE A FREAK, JUST DON’T -”
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| ||||
"Do you want to know what hurt even worse?" I asked.
He looked up at me, tears streaming down his face. "What?"
"When I saw you fall off the cliff," came my reply. "I thought you were dead,
and suddenly, all of the arguments we've ever had just didn't seem important
anymore. James, I love you, and the thought of you dying...especially while we
were mad at each other was more than I could stand! So, I'm not mad at you
anymore, and I forgive you."
Guardian's Song: You… forgive… him. You… forgive… him.
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| |
"I love you too, Jessie," he said, pulling me into another embrace.
I cupped his chin in my hand and pressed my lips against his. "Come on! Let's
get out of here!" I said.
James nodded. "How did you get down here anyway?" he asked.
"Victreebel. I climbed down with his vines," I told him.
"You mean he listened to you?!" he said in disbelief.
Guardian's Song: (Jessie) Of course. I watered him well.
"Never mind that," I said. "Just grab onto me, and he'll pull us back up."
James put his arms around my shoulders, and I wrapped an arm around his waist.
With my free arm, I grabbed onto Victreebel's vines and gave a tug,
Tom: - an' th' Victreebel crashed right down on top'a them.
letting him
know that I was ready to come back up.
As the vines tensed and we began our ascent, I could feel James trembling. He
was scared!
"James, remember the St. Anne?" I asked. "I will NOT let go! I promise!"
Guardian's Song: (Jessie) I will NEVER let go…
(James) D:
I felt him relax as his green eyes gazed into my blue-violet ones.
Jerry: Why are you noting your own eye color?
C!Syaoran: *inspecting himself in a mirror* To evaluate flavor? Chocolate and blueberry, for my part…
He knew his
life was in my hands once again, and he
Tom: - wet himself.
felt safe.
@->->-
"Hey! Are youse guys okay?!" Meowth cried once the two of us were safely on the
trail again.
James nodded and fell to his knees.
"We're fine, Meowth," I replied as I knealt
Guardian's Song: What IS it with her and that word?
beside James and embraced him.
"Everything's going to be just fine...."
After a few minutes, James recovered from the shock and went to change clothes
and get cleaned up. (After all, we can't face-off against those twerps until we
look our best!)
Tom: An' with yer priorities revealed, it makes a lot more sense why y' never succeeded in yer missions.
Jerry: Hey! Don't blame THEM for the idiocies of THESE OOC imbeciles!
"So, ya worked everything out?" Meowth asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Nothing like a brush with death to put things in perspective."
@->->-
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
Guardian's Song: There's actually disagreement about whether there's a comma after the "Team Rocket", so I'll let it pass. I swear she does pause after the "Rocket", but I guess I might be imagining things.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! Dat's right!"
I can't describe how good saying our motto felt! Especially after what we'd been
through earlier. It looked like things were finally starting to go our way!
And now I realized why Nurse Joy, the brats, and that TV crew were so worked-up
-- the walls of the cave we were in were made of Kabuto fossils!
Oh, wow! Look at all of the rare, extinct pokemon! The boss will give us a
promotion for sure when we bring him these! I said to myself. And as I looked
over at James, I could tell he was thinking the exact same thing!
"Meowth! Dese'll make a great door-stop for the boss!" the cat said, holding up
one of the fossils!
Predictably, the brats started whining about how we couldn't steal the fossils
because it was wrong,
Jerry: And you're going to claim they're noble thieves later?
Guardian's Song: Also, this personally angers me, because I used to have friends who were paleontologists, and fossil theft is a serious issue. …Oh, never mind, why do I even try.
but we weren't going to let them stand in our way! After
the ordeal James and I had just faced, these little pests were nothing to us!
"Here! I've got a present for you," James said, tossing them a flash-bomb.
I couldn't help but laugh. James still wasn't feeling well, but at least he had
found a better target for his foul mood.
Tom: Th' readers?
Watching them get smoked was going to
be fun!
And the show they put on before the bomb exploded was just as entertaining! They
all started throwing it around to each other, like it was a high-stakes game of
Hot-Potato. When Ash caught it, he just sat there with a dumb look on his face
and watched as the fuse burned down.
Guardian's Song: Without re-watching the episode, I'm guessing that this translates "he froze up and stared at the bomb with a panicked face as the fuse burned down".
He tried to throw it away, but it detonated
just as it left his hand, and he reeled backwards from the force of the
explosion.
As an added bonus, the explosion also blasted all of the Kabuto fossils loose
from the walls and blinded our enemies in a white cloud of smoke. Taking
advantage of the moment, James, Meowth, and I grabbed
Elbe: - a properly used Oxford comma! For once…
as many of the fossils as
we could in a large net and made our escape before those idiots could figure out
what was going on!
@->->-
"We won the shell game!" James laughed as our Meowth balloon took to the sky
with all of the Kabuto fossils in tow!
My heart was soaring as high as the balloon as I gazed up at the heavens. The
fading light of day was nothing more than a pink smudge on
Tom: - th' pregnancy test -
the western horizon,
and in the east, the black night sky was illuminated by the red glow of the full
moon. In the back of my mind, I remembered my mother telling me that bad things
happened when the moon was red, but I figured that James's brush with death the entire fic
already had that covered.
"Not even that big, red moon can stop us now!" I exclaimed, daring fate to stand
in our way.
I should've kept my mouth shut.
No sooner than I had said this, the moon began to glow on the Kabuto
fossils...and they started coming back to life!
Guardian's Song: (Oozaru Kabuto Fossils) OOK, OOK!
Before long, the little crustaceans were everywhere -- crawling through my hair,
biting James, and climbing up onto our balloon!
Jerry: She makes them sound like the lice from hell…
And of course, one of them used
its pincers to burst the balloon.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the three of us cried in unison
as the balloon lost all of its hot air and went spiraling out of control.
@->->-
We finally landed in the shallows off the coast of a tiny island several miles
away.
Guardian's Song: I'll remind you all that we're supposed to take ASH'S misdeeds absolutely seriously. Meanwhile, Team Rocket survives a several-mile blast?
"Meowth! I hate bein' wet!" the cat whined once we'd waded to shore. With that,
he stormed off into the woods so that he could get dry in peace.
James went off on his own, too. Blasting off couldn't have been good for his
dark mood,
Jerry: Is there any evidence for this dark mood of his? He's a bit irritable and snappish, and that's about all.
and I guess he wanted to be alone so that he wouldn't take his anger
out on me any more.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| ||
You realize this thing is less than 5,300 words long?
And me? I just collapsed in the sand and gazed up at the moon, reflecting on our
day.
I sat there for about an hour, completely entranced by
Tom: (Jessie) - my own navel.
the red moon. A strange
cacophony of everything my mother had told me and everything that had happened
earlier raced through my mind.
Guardian's Song: You do NOT need to recap each fic in its entirety at the end, Miss Falls. You just don't.
Suddenly, it was broken by the sound of footsteps
approaching from behind.
I didn't even have to turn around to know that it was James -- somehow, I just
knew. And my suspicion was confirmed when I felt the velvety petals of
Roy: O_o Getting graphic, isn't she?
Guardian's Song: That is NOT what she meant, and you know it.
a red
rose brush against my cheek.
"Hey," I said softly, turning to look up at him. James always looked handsome to
me, but the romantic red glow of the moon made him even more so now!
Jerry: Ominous red lighting is ROMANTIC?
"Are you
feeling better?"
James nodded and placed the rose in my hand. "You know, something just occurred
to me," he said. "I never showed you what was in my backpack earlier!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Come on," he said, pulling me to my feet.
Tom: Turned out t' be an armory'a sporks, an' that was th' end'a th' Sue.
@->->-
Tom: Curse it.
Pop-Up Message: Tom cut his own HP and laid a curse on the fic!
Tom: *staggers, having suddenly lost half his HP* HEY!
James led me to a secluded spot further down the beach. When we reached a small
clearing of trees on the shores of a crystal lagoon,
Jerry: (Jessie and James) WE'RE RICH! *dance around on top of the crystals, then promptly crash into the water as the thin layer of crystal splinters and breaks under their weight*
I saw a picnic-blanket
spread out. It was loaded with marinated fish, grilled vegetables, black beans
and rice, and fresh fruit salad, all made from scratch!
Jerry: …
Tom: …
*they look at each other*
Tom: An' where did they GET this from?
Jerry: I don't know, but this really isn't helping the claims that they're dirt-poor.
Two red candles glowed,
illuminating the area.
Tom: (James) Now, sacrifice, stand between those two candles and don't move while I stab you.
(Jessie-Sue) But wait, what's all the food for?
(James) What, you think I'd summon an Elder God without already having its food laid out for it? Don't be ridiculous! That's an excellent way to get eaten! Now, let's see, I have vegetarian, kosher, and organic options…
"James, what is this?" I asked.
"It's what I brought with me in my backpack today," he explained, {The fic is afflicted by the curse!}
"You brought a candlelight dinner in your backpack?" I said dubiously.
Jerry: I know you're a D&D player, Miss Falls, but could you leave out the Bags of Holding?
"Well, no, but I did bring my cooking-utensils," he replied.
Tom: Again - an' where did the FOOD come from?
Jerry: And how did you manage to prevent any of it getting smashed or spoiled when your balloon crashed?
"Jess, here we are
in a tropical paradise, and we haven't even taken the time to enjoy it! I
figured since we'd be away from the sub for a couple of days, I'd bring my gear
with me so that I could make us a nice dinner. That's why I didn't want to tell
you when you asked about it earlier -- I wanted it to be a surprise!"
Guardian's Song: Did it occur to Cori Falls just HOW bad a light that revelation puts Jessie in?
"James," I said, turning around and putting my arms around him. "That's so
sweet."
James wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. "I'm sorry I was
mean to you earlier. Even if I was trying to keep it a secret, I had no right to
yell at you the way I did."
Guardian's Song: And Jessie had no right to hit you in the face and tell you to go to hell, either.
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| |||
*mutters* I really ought to give it a double count, but I'm trying to be conservative…
I reached up and caressed his face. "Even when you're at your worst, I still
think you're the best, James!" I told him.
Guardian's Song: HELLO? WHY is there no acknowledgement that SHE hit HIM in the face?
"So are you, Jess...so are you," he replied as he smiled and kissed me tenderly
on the lips.
@->->-
{The fic is afflicted by the curse!}
{Anyway, they chat a bit after the dinner}
"I wanted to thank you again...for saving me," he said. "Once again, you had
every reason to leave me to die,
Guardian's Song: *SPEECHLESS*
but instead, you risked your life for me."
Guardian's Song: …Getting… into… an… argument… is… every… reason… to… leave… your… lover… to… die?
You Made Me Hit You: |||| | (for James's remark not being dismissed as absolutely ludicrous)
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| ||||
WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT.: ||
I leaned closer and rested my forehead against his. "You once told me that
nothing would ever make you leave me," I said. "....And I want you to know that
I feel the same way. Nothing will ever make me leave you!"
Guardian's Song: (James) D8
"I love you, Jessie," he whispered as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"I love you too, James," I replied, brushing it away.
With that, he took me in his arms and kissed me again. As I returned the kiss, I
slowly sank to my knees and brought him with me.
"Jess, what are you doing?" James asked as I began to pull off his white jacket.
Jerry: …It's not obvious?
"Well, we had a fight earlier today, James," I told him. "And our day won't be
complete until we get to the best part...."
Jerry: (Lickitung) LICKI, LICKI! (THE DESSERT!)
(Jessie) AAAAAGH! Get away, you stupid thing!
James raised an eyebrow as I pulled off his black t-shirt. "Best part? Of a
fight? And what might that be?" he asked slyly.
Tom: T' scatter yer enemy, t' drive him before y', t' see his cities reduced t' ashes, t' see those who love him shrouded in tears, an' t' gather into yer bosom his wives an' daughters.
That's a quote by some famous philosopher, I think.
Jerry: Which one?
Tom: Dunno, but apparently people thought enough of him t' name him after Kangaskhans.
Guardian's Song: *facepalm*
(Genghis Khan - "The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy, to drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes, to see those who love him shrouded in tears, and to gather into your bosom his wives and daughters.")
"Making up, of course!" I laughed as he removed my jacket and tossed it aside.
Our lips met in a passionate kiss once more, and James laid me down in the white
sand. I gazed into his beautiful emerald eyes and ran my fingers through his
soft purple hair
Guardian's Song: -______-;; I've already complained about this elsewhere…
as his body became one with my own.
The red moon was over his shoulder, and as I looked up at it, I remembered what
my momma had told me about it when I was a child -- she said that whenever there
was blood on the moon,
Guardian's Song: - the Moon Child would be born, and the Black Monster would descend to destroy it -
either someone would die or something would happen that
changes your life forever.
And she was right! On that day, my relationship with James had changed.
Guardian's Song: *gibbers*
Once
again, our friendship...our love had been put to the test, and once again, we
Jerry: - had failed, failed COMPLETELY.
had managed to work through it and emerge closer than ever before.
Guardian's Song: …
'M h POKé LM4 MISSINGNO. p T
PkMn 'v X:LC 4B 8 4 8 G'Mp
OPkMn4 .g PkMn n 'Ng'Mp
/PkMn PkMn P 94 94 h C ……
PC4SH PkMnPkMn fPkMnk 4h
7PkMn 'v W G d M p'u
PkMnRPkMn " -PkMn TRAINER
3TRAINERPOKé
_________
|0 ERROR|
Never again would we keep secrets from each other when something was bothering
us. The ordeal we had faced made us forge a new bond of trust,
Guardian's Song: *screaming* What ordeal?!
and it reminded
us why we had fallen in love in the first place!
Guardian's Song: Stockholm Syndrome?!
At that moment, the two of us shared a perfect union -- our bodies, our hearts,
our souls, and our minds had come together, forming one glorious PULSATING, OOZING, AMORPHOUS whole, and I
knew that I would never doubt James again. His love was so wonderful and so
pure, and as he held me in his arms and gazed into my eyes, I could tell that he
felt the same way about me.
Guardian's Song: Yeah, right. You said the same thing last time, and then you wrote this fic…
Yes, our relationship had definitely changed for the better on that day.
Guardian's Song: …Ah, let me pull out the ol' expressing-my-feelings-through-interpretive-dance! Mrs. Weasley, may I please have the CAPSLOCK? Thank you.
*puts on blonde wig and nice dress*
…
*BOOMFLAIL*
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE H-E-L-L?!
I would
love and cherish James forever, and he would do no less for me!
Never would we doubt again.
Jerry: Until the next fic…
The End
Tom: *slurps Hyper Potion*
@->->-
Back to the Library
@->->-
You Made Me Hit You: 6
I'm The REAL Victim Here: 19
The Sanity Is Not Strong With This One: 4 (one for the nonexistent "ordeal" and one for the relationship IMPROVING)
Cursing Count: 4
THE FIC SPORKS ITSELF (HARD): 1, but once was enough
WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT.: 2
=END SPORKING=
By Cori Falls
Alternate Title: You know how I said Falls was better than Claire or Meyer?
I take that back...
TRIGGER WARNING for emotional and physical abuse.
FURTHER TRIGGER WARNING for the author blaming the victim and taking the side of the abuser.
Yes, these fics have hit a new low.
Since Cori Falls neglected to tell us, this is a What You Didn't See of Episode 089: Shell Shock. The only scenes that are canon are the Magikarp-sub scene, the boulder-avalanche scene, the encounter with Ash-and-company scene, and the blasting-off-again scene. Thought you might like to know…
A magenta-haired adolescent buries her face in her hands. "Not again…"
A sandy-haired adolescent scowls at the fic. "Well, let's get this over with."
Blood on the Moon
by Cori Falls
@->->-
This has to have been, without a doubt, one of the strangest days of my entire
life -- everyone and everything has been all mixed up!
Jerry: (Jessie) James was manlier than I was!
In fact, the only thing I
really could count on today was that somehow, all of our brilliant plans
Tom: Huh?
would
go awry, and we'd end up blasting off again.
And I think it had everything to do with the moon. Not only was it full (people
always tend to get a little strange when the moon is full, I've noticed),
Guardian's Song: (Remus Lupin) Do tell.
but it
was red, too! And no good ever comes of a red moon.
Guardian's Song: WTH, this is now a The Legend of Dragoon crossover?
When I was a little girl, my
momma always told me that when the moon is red, bad things happen.
Guardian's Song: (Jessie's Mother) When the Moon That Never Sets turns red, the Moon Child is born, and the Black Monster appears…
"Blood on the
moon," she called it. That meant someone would die...or something that changes
your life forever would happen.
Tom: Death does change yer life f'rever, y'know.
And you know what? She was right....
@->->-
It started out as a typical day -- James, Meowth, and I were hot on the trail of
the Twerp Trio, in hopes of capturing Pikachu, and we had followed them to a
strange new island.
Jerry: (Jessie) And then it turned out to be the biggest Lapras anyone had ever seen…
Once our Magikarp submarine started getting close to land, I sent up the
periscope and saw a huge television crew interviewing a Nurse Joy.
Guardian's Song: I know it's canon, but I love that she says "a Nurse Joy". Has there ever been any definitive evidence that the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies aren't actually parthenogenic Pokémon species that happen to pass very well as humans?
She was
dressed like an archaeologist, and it looked like she was trying to explain
something to the anchorwoman, but the brat and his new friend
Guardian's Song: Ash and Tracey, if I understand correctly.
were hogging the
camera. The little girl was tugging on him and screaming. (As usual.)
Guardian's Song: And that would be Misty.
"Hmmmm...." I said, trying to figure out what was going on.
"What is it?" Meowth asked.
"Those twerps are on the beach with a TV crew," I replied. "I wonder what
they're doing...."
"Well, just because you're watching them doesn't mean you have to stop
pedaling!" James snapped.
I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. James was snapping at me? What was up
with that?! He's the most gentle, even-tempered man in the world! Why would he
be raising his voice to me?
Guardian's Song: Given that it shows actual discord between the two lovebirds, I wonder if that was in canon. Trouble in paradise is OOC for Cori!Jessie/James…
Well, I was good and ready to snap right back at him, but there was just
something about the look on his face. Sure, he was scowling at me, but the look
in his eyes was one of weariness.
Tom: (James) When are we going to get our characterizations back?
We had been pedaling the sub all night, and he
must've been exhausted...and making him do all of the work while I spied on the
enemy sure wasn't doing anything to help!
Jerry: Er, yes, you noticed…
Poor sweetheart, I thought. No wonder
he's yelling at me! Guess I can't blame him for being so cranky....
Guardian's Song: And here we have the Meyer-and-Claire-esque over-explanation of simple social interactions and motivations. *looks strangely at the screen* There must be some underlying reason why they presume the audience is in need of social tutoring, but I can't fathom what.
"Sorry about that, James," I said, resuming my pedaling. "Stupid Giovanni! Too
cheap to give us a motorized submarine!" I added jokingly.
Roy: *twitch* The unnecessary adverbs! Oh, the adverbanity!
James gave no reply, just snorted at me.
Meowth could sense the tension that was growing between me and James.
Jerry: He's not deaf, no.
"So,
whaddaya' think dose guys are doin'?" he asked, changing the subject.
"I don't know," I told him. "Looks like they discovered something...only one way
to find out!"
@->->-
When we finally reached the shore of the island, Meowth and I jumped out of the
sub and began to investigate the area. The news crew, the twerps, and Nurse Joy
were long gone, so we didn't have to worry about catching any grief from them.
"Looks like dey're headin' up into the mountains," Meowth remarked as he leaned
down to study the footprints they'd left in the sand. "Maybe dat's where the big
discovery is...."
But I wasn't listening to him. For some weird reason, James was still in the
sub.
Roy: -missive position. *runs out before the sporkers can throw anything at him*
It wasn't like him to be so unenthusiastic about something like this,
Jerry: (James) Dear, I have a headache tonight.
and I
was starting to get worried. He'd looked so tired earlier, and he seemed to have
a real temper! Was he getting sick?
Tom: - of bein' OOC?
"Hold that thought," I said to the cat. "I've got to see what's taking James so
long."
Meowth nodded and continued to study the recently evacuated campsite.
@->->-
"Hey, James, are you okay?" I asked as I climbed back into the sub.
Roy: *from another sporking dimension* This time, on Really Bloody Weird Fetishes…
"I'm fine," he replied.
After being out in the bright sunlight, it took my eyes a few minutes to adjust
to the darkness, but once they did, I saw James throwing something into a huge
backpack.
Jerry: Whatever it was, it was labeled "Canon Characterizations".
I noticed he had also changed out of his Team Rocket uniform and was
now dressed in a red t-shirt and khaki shorts.
"What's in the backpack?" I asked.
"Stuff," he replied curtly.
"What kind of stuff?" I prompted.
"Just stuff, okay?!"
Guardian's Song: She sounds like his MOTHER. How… romantic.
"What's with the new clothes?" I asked, changing the subject.
"It's too damn hot to wear my uniform in these tropical islands, okay?!" he
shouted. "Quit interrogating me!"
Guardian's Song: Cursing Count: | -
…*looks down*
*jaw drops*
Oh. Sweet. Gad. Oh. My. Gad. What.
Now, I'd been a lot nicer to James in recent weeks -- on the morning after the
Pokemon League Games ended, I woke up in his arms after a night of passionate
lovemaking, and I promised that I'd try to do a better job of showing how much I
care about him. And I really thought that I was! I may have swatted him a couple
times when he was acting silly in front of the twerps, but in private, I hadn't
raised my voice to him or struck him once!
Maybe that was a mistake.
Guardian's Song: …*HORROR*
*rushes up to put TRIGGERING CONTENT notice at the start of the sporking*
Maybe now he thought it was okay to be as mean to me as I used to be to him
because there was no fear that I'd retaliate. How long would it be before this
verbal abuse gave way to physical violence?
Guardian's Song: …Y-you admit that you used to hit him and yell at him on a regular basis. A-a-and now you consider his snapping at you twice, when he was very tired, "verbal abuse".
I - I - I honestly don't know what to say. This… this sounds like how an abuser actually thinks. It TERRIFIES me. I - dear gad.
DEAR GAD, what the HELL was wrong with Cori Falls?!
Or worse, what if the only reason he
had been sweet to me before was so he could get me into bed?
Guardian's Song: At this rate, Stockholm Syndrome is an alternative explanation!
(See, this is another problem with playing everything for drama. Certain slapstick behaviors turn into outright abuse when translated into the real world.)
Now that I had
given myself to him, there was no reason for him to try and win my affections
anymore!
Tom: An' he only intends t' get laid once in his life?
Jerry: *leery look*
Tom: *holds up hands and shrugs* Well, just sayin', even if that was all he wanted…
Guardian's Song: (Also… "given [herself] to him"? What decade was this in, again? The 90's? That's not exactly the 50's…)
My mind flashed back to the night we made love for the first time. Nothing will
ever make me leave you, he had whispered into my ear as his strong arms
encircled my waist and his warm body pressed against mine. But now, as I
listened to him yelling at me and looked at the angry expression on his face,
all of the beautiful things we'd shared seemed so hollow.
Guardian's Song: Good gad, I've been chewed out worse by my FRIENDS. (And with good reason. *winces* Er… maybe I'll grow some common sense by the time I'm thirty?)
…Also, did Cori Falls's parents just never yell at her when she was a kid? Because this is rather tame. (…Given what we know of her through her 'Team Rocket' handpuppets, it would make a lot of sense if she was a highly sheltered nerdy type who'd been bullied in school, but coddled by parents/grandparents. …Well, good for her. *grumble* If I ever get hit with the 'You're just jealous' attack, I'll admit I envy her apparent home life.)
Well, I certainly wasn't going to put up with this kind of treatment! I had to
nip his attitude problem in the bud, and I had to do it now!
Guardian's Song: …D8 Congratulations, Miss Falls, you made me actually cringe in real life.
Sarajayechan, is there a "Double Standard:Female-On-Male Abuse" trope? Because ooooooh gad.
"I wasn't interrogating you," I said softly, giving him the benefit of the
doubt. "I was just worried because you were taking such a long time in here. I
wanted to make sure you were okay."
James said nothing. He was still scowling at me.
"Look, I know I can be really bossy and inconsiderate sometimes, and I'm sorry
about that -- I'm glad that you're not letting me push you around so much
anymore," I continued. "But that doesn't give you the right to be mean to
me...especially when I'm actually trying to be nice!"
"Yeah...nice...." he muttered sarcastically.
Well that did it. Calm and Patient Jessie was being treated like garbage! It was
time to revert to Mean and Short-Tempered Jessie and put him back in his place!
Guardian's Song: *ABUSE ALARM BELLS GOING OFF, ALERT, ALERT*
So, without wasting another second, I walked over and slapped him across the
face. Hard.
"Go to hell, James," I growled as I stormed out of the sub.
Guardian's Song: Let's recap!
James has been pedaling all night, is likely both physically worn out and low on sleep, is hot and sticky, and so wants to go change his clothes and be left alone for a bit. Jessie comes in and starts nagging him while he's rifling around in his stuff, he makes it clear that he's not interested in talking, and she continues to nag him even about his (perfectly normal) clothing - so he snaps at her. She then goes completely insane, terms that "verbal abuse", engages in deranged fantasies about how he's going to start beating her up and only wanted her for her body, and decides it's all because she hasn't been screaming at him and beating him enough.
She then starts in on the passive-aggressive nagging, he makes ONE sarcastic comment in return - and she hits him in the face and snarls at him to go to hell. After thinking that she'll "put him back in his place", of course.
Mrs. Weasley? Thank you.
WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT. WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT. WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT.
*hands back CAPSLOCK**
Cursing Count: ||
You Made Me Hit You: || (one for the above freak-out, one for the actual hitting him in the face)
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| (one for the "verbal abuse", another for the "get me into bed", a third for the passive-aggressiveness, and the fourth for "Calm and Patient Jessie was being treated like garbage!")
I could really add on more counts, but I'm trying to be conservative. The crazed persecution fantasy and the passive-aggressiveness set my teeth on edge enough as it is.
@->->-
"So, what's the hold-up?" Meowth asked when he saw me come back outside.
Guardian's Song: Well, I had to pace for a bit before articulating my issues with the above part because it floored me so, but aside from that…
"Which way did those twerps go?" I asked, trying my best to hide the tears I
felt stinging my eyes.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: ||||
Meowth looked up at me and realized that something was wrong. "Trouble in
paradise?" he quipped.
Guardian's Song: Hey, no fair sporking the fic for me!
"Shut up."
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "It ain't none of Meowth's business...."
He was right -- this wasn't any of his business. Still, what had just happened
was really bothering me, and I couldn't keep it bottled-up inside. "James is
acting like a jerk,
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |
As I said, count-per-sentence.
and I don't know why," I confessed. "I don't think I did
anything wrong, but...."
"Of course ya didn't! Whateva his problem is, it ain't you, Jess," he told me in
all sincerity. "Ya been like a different woman lately, and I can't imagine why
he'd be angry with ya."
Guardian's Song: …I need to start up analysis of "The Abuser's Fantasy" in bad fiction, particularly with respect to the henchmen reinforcing the abuser's persecution complex and self-righteousness, and confirming that the level of punishment he or she dealt out to the victim was just - and, if anything, too lenient. ("Gallant", yea!) Because I'm no English major, and I can't analyze things half as well as Brill does, but this is the one thing that's set me off like nothing else does from the very start.
A tear escaped from my eye and spilled down my cheek.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| ||
"Thanks, Meowth. I really
needed to hear that...."
"C'mon," he said as I rubbed my eyes and tried to keep from crying. "Dose guys
are headin' north. If we take the lower mountain trail, we should be able to
follow 'em without bein' seen...and James can catch up to us when he's good and
ready!"
There was a tight feeling in my throat,
Jerry: That would be the feeling of a sporker strangling you for defaming a certain character's good name.
and I knew that if I said anything, I'd
choke-up and cry.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||
…And you're already crying, you dumb bint.
So instead, I just nodded and followed the cat.
@->->-
We'd only been on the trail for a few minutes when we heard footsteps
approaching from behind.
"Hey! Wait for me!" a familiar voice cried.
I turned around and saw James following us. Apparently, the little "attitude
adjustment" I'd given him had done the trick.
Guardian's Song: OH, SWEET GAD!
You Made Me Hit You: ||| (for referring to hitting him in the face as "the little "attitude adjustment" I'd given him")
Still, I wasn't quite ready to
forgive him yet, so I didn't bother to stop or slow my pace and give him the
chance to catch up.
And apparently, Meowth felt the same way because he stayed by my side and didn't
question me.
Guardian's Song: …"Didn't question me". That's a very interesting way to put it, Jessie. Sounds more like a servant towards his master than a person towards his friend.
No, I don't have a count for that, but I wish I did.
The three of us continued like this for a couple of hours. Meowth and I picked
our way along the mountain trail, always making sure that the brats on the road
above us stayed within sight, and James lagged behind, still carrying that
gigantic backpack. (Honestly! We were only going to be away from the sub for a
day or so! Did he really need to bring along everything he owned?)
Guardian's Song: *snaps* None - of - your - *BLEEP*ing - BUSINESS!
Tom: An' what does she think he constructs those traps with? Duct tape an' natural materials?
Guardian's Song: …You're right - that probably is what he's carrying, isn't it? *facepalm*
@->->-
"Jessie, I'm tired," James moaned. "Can't we stop and take a break for a few
minutes?"
"No, we can't take a break," Meowth, who was still angry with him for being mean
to me,
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| ||||
snapped. "Now hurry it up!"
{snip more arguing}
"Look, I don't know what's wrong with you today, James, but you'd better quit
taking it out on me!" I warned him.
Guardian's Song: …WARNED?
You Made Me Hit You: ||||
"If you think I'm going to put up with this
crap,
Guardian's Song: Cursing Count: |||
you're sadly mistaken!"
James turned away from me.
"Will youse two hurry it up?!" Meowth called down to us.
I turned away from James and headed back towards Meowth without another word.
How could I speak when I was doing my best not to cry?
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| ||||
@->->-
An uneasy silence fell over us as we continued up the path. James was still
lagging behind us, and I was still trying my best to figure out what was going
on with him.
Tom: (James) *deep breath* On the inside… I've always felt like a woman.
Meowth, sensing the trouble between us, was minding his own
business.
Suddenly, I heard screams coming from above. Looking up, I saw boulders raining
down from the top of the mountain.
"RUN FOR IT!!!" Meowth cried.
The cat and I jumped out of the way as the rocks crashed down around us, but
James, who was still encumbered by that giant backpack, wasn't fast enough.
Time seemed to come to a standstill when I heard James cry out in terror and
wheeled around to see him get smashed by one of the boulders. No! No, this can't
be happening! my mind silently screamed.
Guardian's Song: (Jessie) My victiiiiim! Who will I abuse nooooww?!
(Meowth) *silently heads for the hills*
The momentum of the rock was so great that it carried James along as it rolled
towards the edge of the cliff.
Guardian's Song: Uh, if you're playing for drama, he'd be dead. If you're playing for slapstick, he's going to be bruised but all right. Knowing you, Miss Falls, you'll ricochet between the two at record speed…
I reacted as quickly as I could, but it felt like
I was in one of those nightmares where you can't run, no matter how hard you
try,
Tom: (Jessie) *mashing buttons frantically* My B button is broken, and I have my OLD ROD registered to my Select Key rather than my Bicycle! He's doomed, I tell you, doomed!
and I didn't make it in time to save him.
"Oh, this is gonna huuuurrrrrrt!" James cried
Guardian's Song: I suspect this short scene is direct from canon, which is why there's slapstick. I swear, you can probably tell the canon scenes by the absence of swearing and overdramatic whining alone.
as the boulder forced him off of
the cliff. There was nothing I could do but watch helplessly as he fell to his
doom.
@->->-
Once he was out of sight and his screams stopped echoing up from the ravine, the
reality of what had just happened struck me with the force of a falling rock.
"No...." I whimpered as tears began to well up in my eyes.
"Jess," Meowth said softly as he placed a paw on my shoulder.
"No," I said in a louder voice. "No, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOO!!!!!!"
Guardian's Song: George Lucas, you're responsible for this fic too?! Were the prequels not enough for you, monster?!
I cried, my
screams becoming progressively louder until they reached a crescendo. Lacking
the strength to stand, I fell to my knees and began to sob uncontrollably.
{snip crying}
Meowth didn't reply. He just looked up at me with his midnight-blue eyes,
Jerry: Even the Pokémon get purple prose?! I mean… yes, there were Arbok and Weezing in "Two of a Kind", but I thought that was because it was romance…
which
were as full of tears as my own.
"The worst part...is that we were mad at each other when it happened...." I said
in a quavering voice. "He was mad at me...I don't know why, and now I never
will...
Guardian's Song: (Meowth) And maybe… it was none of your business… Did you… think of that?
but I was mad at him, too, and I'll never forgive myself for that...it
was our last day together, and we wasted it being mad at each other...."
Hearing myself say this out loud made me start crying again.
Meowth hung his head. "Don't blame yerself, Jess. Ya didn't know dis was gonna
happen...."
Guardian's Song: It's perfectly reasonable to abuse people if they're not going to die soon? Right, Miss Falls. Riiiight.
"I know," I said. "But it doesn't make me feel any better...."
My voice trailed off, and I hung my head, too. But as I peered over the edge of
the cliff, a glint of white on an outcropping of rocks a few feet below caught
my eye.
Tom: It was an omelette, because that would make as much sense as anythin' in these fics.
Looking closer, I saw that it was a poke ball!
Ariana: *being poked* :( I don't like these.
It must have come loose
from James's belt when the rock hit him!
"Meowth, hold my legs," I said.
He gave me a quizzical look.
"I see one of James's poke balls down there, and I think I can reach it if you
hold onto me," I explained.
Ariana: *tosses poke ball aside* I don't think he would want it back - they're not very fun.
"Ah," he said. With that, he grabbed onto my legs and
Roy: =THIS SCENE CENSORED FOR THE SAKE OF NON-FURRIES=
anchored me to the ground
as I leaned over and picked up the ball.
Jerry: …And you couldn't just ask one of your Pokémon to do it?
Tom: That'd take brains.
There was just something comforting about holding that little poke ball.
Ariana: I don't find it comforting. ): *being poked*
Maybe
it was the knowledge that it was something that had belonged to James, or maybe
it was because it contained something that James cared about.
Tom: (Jessie) His collection of women's clothing!
Jerry: …He's not THAT much of a cross-dresser…
Whatever it was,
it suddenly gave me hope....
"Come on out!" I said, tossing the ball to the ground.
Suddenly, Victreebel emerged in a flash of red light and emitted a high-pitched
squeal.
Somehow, actually seeing James's pokemon made me sure of it -- he was still
alive!
Jerry: What… what do those two things have to do with each other?
This isn't MagiNation! The Dream Creatures are not automatically banished upon the death of the Magi!
He was somewhere down there, and he needed my help!
Guardian's Song: The Sanity Is Not Strong With This One: || (once for here, once for her paranoid fantasy earlier)
"Victreebel! Vi-"
*CHOMP*
"Mmmmph...mmmmph...mmmph...."
Jerry: *shock* The Victreebel is in-character?!
Now, I was enraged. James was in trouble, and all his pokemon could think about
was trying to eat me?
Tom: Victreebel ain't known fer their brains, y'know.
I began to kick and flail as hard as I could, and I felt
Meowth grabbing onto my legs again. Before long, I was free of the carnivorous
plant's mouth.
"How DARE you bite me, you insolent bag of aphids?!" I screamed, grabbing
Victreebel and shaking him as hard as I could. "James may let you get away with
crap
Guardian's Song: Cursing Count: ||||
like that, but for now, I'M your master, and I DEMAND respect! So you do
exactly what I tell you to do, or I'll pump you so full of weed-killer that...."
Jerry: …That would KILL the Victreebel.
Guardian's Song: I could MAYBE see that scene in canon, minus the swearing, but considering that she treats all injuries as Serious Business…
You Made Me Hit You: ||||
(And I am tempted to give that a double-count for threatened murder, but I don't like double-counts.)
"Whoa! Take it easy, Jess!" Meowth cried, prying Victreebel out of my grasp.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, sinking to my knees again. "It's just that...I know
James is down there, and I can't save him unless...." But by then, I couldn't
continue because I was crying again.
Guardian's Song: That's a perfectly good excuse for threatening to pump a sentient being full of a fatal toxin if he doesn't do what you say, amirite?
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |
(Serve her right if, since Victreebel is a Grass/POISON type, it wouldn't kill him, but rather make him stronger. *snerk*
*checks Bulbapedia* CONFIRMED: Poison-types cannot be poisoned. Oh, joy… *nasty giggling*)
Suddenly, I felt something on my face. Opening my eyes, I saw that Victreebel
was brushing my tears away with one of his leaves.
Tom: An' then tastin' 'em. They were delicious.
"Does...does this mean you'll listen to me and help me rescue James?" I asked.
Victreebel made that screaming noise again.
"He sez
Tom: (Meowth) - [UNPRINTABLE].
yes," Meowth translated.
With that, I smiled and got to my feet. "In that case, use your Vine Whip,
Victreebel! Lower me over the edge of the cliff and make sure I don't fall!" I
commanded.
Victreebel wrapped his vines around my waist and held tightly as I began to
climb down the cliff.
Tom: *narrating* Nothin' kept th' VICTREEBEL stabilized, however, an' so he toppled over th' cliff an' fell with Jessie t' her doom. TH' END.
@->->-
Tom: Blast it.
After several minutes of steady descent, I saw another large outcropping of
rocks. And sure enough, James was lying there!
{she wakes him up}
He gazed into my eyes for a moment, as if he were trying to recall what had
happened. Once he did remember, his eyes sparked,
C!Syaoran: *chewing* And this is why you're supposed to take the tinfoil off before eating eyeballs.
and he threw his arms around
me.
"Jessie! Oh, Jessie...." he said as sobs began to wrack his body.
Guardian's Song: (James) I hoped I was FREE of you! D8 *sob, sob*
"It's okay, James. It's over now," I said, returning the embrace and running my
fingers through his hair.
"It's not that," he whispered. "It's just...well, I've been treating you rotten
all day,
Guardian's Song: *BLEEP* YOU, CORI FALLS! (Sorry, Mrs. Weasley. *returns CAPSLOCK OF RAGE*)
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| ||
and you still came down here to rescue me...."
"Like I said, it's over now," I told him as he began to cry again. "It's not an
issue anymore."
I smiled and held James closer as I remembered how he'd said those exact same
words to me after our last big fight. They'd been so comforting to me, and he
needed to be reminded that he wasn't the only one who made mistakes.
Guardian's Song: Like hitting your One True Love in the face because he snapped at you and made a sarcastic comment?
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||
"It is to me," he replied. "Jess, I didn't even HAVE a reason to be mad at you
-- I just was! I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages, I'm sick of pedaling
that damned Magikarp sub from island to island, the heat down here is really
getting to me...
Jerry: …Those ARE reasons to be irritable.
Guardian's Song: Particularly when somebody keeps nagging you when you repeatedly make it clear you're not interested in talking at the moment. I'm sorry, does that sound like a sore spot to me? Because it is.
and I was taking it out on you. I had no right to do that to
you, Jess, and I'm sorry...."
Guardian's Song: And she had no right to HIT YOU IN THE FACE.
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| ||||
I brushed his tears away and kissed him on the forehead. "James, I can't count
the number of times I've felt awful and taken it out on you," I told him. "And
somehow, you've always managed to stay my best friend. So, you of all people
should know that it's no big deal!"
Guardian's Song: …
THE FIC SPORKS ITSELF (HARD): |
"But I really hurt you today, Jessie," he sobbed. "I could see it in your eyes
when I was yelling at you, and I did it anyway!"
Guardian's Song: That's right, a sickening fantasy about the victim of the abuse apologizing to the abuser. He lost his temper, and so she decided to "put him in his place", hit him, and told him to go to hell.
That's it, I avoided it last count, but I must say - I have a line in a (not-yet-posted) fic that sounds an awful lot like this…
“-I’M SORRY, I’M SO SORRY, I’LL BE GOOD, I WON’T BE A FREAK, JUST DON’T -”
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| ||||
"Do you want to know what hurt even worse?" I asked.
He looked up at me, tears streaming down his face. "What?"
"When I saw you fall off the cliff," came my reply. "I thought you were dead,
and suddenly, all of the arguments we've ever had just didn't seem important
anymore. James, I love you, and the thought of you dying...especially while we
were mad at each other was more than I could stand! So, I'm not mad at you
anymore, and I forgive you."
Guardian's Song: You… forgive… him. You… forgive… him.
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| |
"I love you too, Jessie," he said, pulling me into another embrace.
I cupped his chin in my hand and pressed my lips against his. "Come on! Let's
get out of here!" I said.
James nodded. "How did you get down here anyway?" he asked.
"Victreebel. I climbed down with his vines," I told him.
"You mean he listened to you?!" he said in disbelief.
Guardian's Song: (Jessie) Of course. I watered him well.
"Never mind that," I said. "Just grab onto me, and he'll pull us back up."
James put his arms around my shoulders, and I wrapped an arm around his waist.
With my free arm, I grabbed onto Victreebel's vines and gave a tug,
Tom: - an' th' Victreebel crashed right down on top'a them.
letting him
know that I was ready to come back up.
As the vines tensed and we began our ascent, I could feel James trembling. He
was scared!
"James, remember the St. Anne?" I asked. "I will NOT let go! I promise!"
Guardian's Song: (Jessie) I will NEVER let go…
(James) D:
I felt him relax as his green eyes gazed into my blue-violet ones.
Jerry: Why are you noting your own eye color?
C!Syaoran: *inspecting himself in a mirror* To evaluate flavor? Chocolate and blueberry, for my part…
He knew his
life was in my hands once again, and he
Tom: - wet himself.
felt safe.
@->->-
"Hey! Are youse guys okay?!" Meowth cried once the two of us were safely on the
trail again.
James nodded and fell to his knees.
"We're fine, Meowth," I replied as I knealt
Guardian's Song: What IS it with her and that word?
beside James and embraced him.
"Everything's going to be just fine...."
After a few minutes, James recovered from the shock and went to change clothes
and get cleaned up. (After all, we can't face-off against those twerps until we
look our best!)
Tom: An' with yer priorities revealed, it makes a lot more sense why y' never succeeded in yer missions.
Jerry: Hey! Don't blame THEM for the idiocies of THESE OOC imbeciles!
"So, ya worked everything out?" Meowth asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Nothing like a brush with death to put things in perspective."
@->->-
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
Guardian's Song: There's actually disagreement about whether there's a comma after the "Team Rocket", so I'll let it pass. I swear she does pause after the "Rocket", but I guess I might be imagining things.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! Dat's right!"
I can't describe how good saying our motto felt! Especially after what we'd been
through earlier. It looked like things were finally starting to go our way!
And now I realized why Nurse Joy, the brats, and that TV crew were so worked-up
-- the walls of the cave we were in were made of Kabuto fossils!
Oh, wow! Look at all of the rare, extinct pokemon! The boss will give us a
promotion for sure when we bring him these! I said to myself. And as I looked
over at James, I could tell he was thinking the exact same thing!
"Meowth! Dese'll make a great door-stop for the boss!" the cat said, holding up
one of the fossils!
Predictably, the brats started whining about how we couldn't steal the fossils
because it was wrong,
Jerry: And you're going to claim they're noble thieves later?
Guardian's Song: Also, this personally angers me, because I used to have friends who were paleontologists, and fossil theft is a serious issue. …Oh, never mind, why do I even try.
but we weren't going to let them stand in our way! After
the ordeal James and I had just faced, these little pests were nothing to us!
"Here! I've got a present for you," James said, tossing them a flash-bomb.
I couldn't help but laugh. James still wasn't feeling well, but at least he had
found a better target for his foul mood.
Tom: Th' readers?
Watching them get smoked was going to
be fun!
And the show they put on before the bomb exploded was just as entertaining! They
all started throwing it around to each other, like it was a high-stakes game of
Hot-Potato. When Ash caught it, he just sat there with a dumb look on his face
and watched as the fuse burned down.
Guardian's Song: Without re-watching the episode, I'm guessing that this translates "he froze up and stared at the bomb with a panicked face as the fuse burned down".
He tried to throw it away, but it detonated
just as it left his hand, and he reeled backwards from the force of the
explosion.
As an added bonus, the explosion also blasted all of the Kabuto fossils loose
from the walls and blinded our enemies in a white cloud of smoke. Taking
advantage of the moment, James, Meowth, and I grabbed
Elbe: - a properly used Oxford comma! For once…
as many of the fossils as
we could in a large net and made our escape before those idiots could figure out
what was going on!
@->->-
"We won the shell game!" James laughed as our Meowth balloon took to the sky
with all of the Kabuto fossils in tow!
My heart was soaring as high as the balloon as I gazed up at the heavens. The
fading light of day was nothing more than a pink smudge on
Tom: - th' pregnancy test -
the western horizon,
and in the east, the black night sky was illuminated by the red glow of the full
moon. In the back of my mind, I remembered my mother telling me that bad things
happened when the moon was red, but I figured that James's brush with death the entire fic
already had that covered.
"Not even that big, red moon can stop us now!" I exclaimed, daring fate to stand
in our way.
I should've kept my mouth shut.
No sooner than I had said this, the moon began to glow on the Kabuto
fossils...and they started coming back to life!
Guardian's Song: (Oozaru Kabuto Fossils) OOK, OOK!
Before long, the little crustaceans were everywhere -- crawling through my hair,
biting James, and climbing up onto our balloon!
Jerry: She makes them sound like the lice from hell…
And of course, one of them used
its pincers to burst the balloon.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the three of us cried in unison
as the balloon lost all of its hot air and went spiraling out of control.
@->->-
We finally landed in the shallows off the coast of a tiny island several miles
away.
Guardian's Song: I'll remind you all that we're supposed to take ASH'S misdeeds absolutely seriously. Meanwhile, Team Rocket survives a several-mile blast?
"Meowth! I hate bein' wet!" the cat whined once we'd waded to shore. With that,
he stormed off into the woods so that he could get dry in peace.
James went off on his own, too. Blasting off couldn't have been good for his
dark mood,
Jerry: Is there any evidence for this dark mood of his? He's a bit irritable and snappish, and that's about all.
and I guess he wanted to be alone so that he wouldn't take his anger
out on me any more.
Guardian's Song: I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| ||
You realize this thing is less than 5,300 words long?
And me? I just collapsed in the sand and gazed up at the moon, reflecting on our
day.
I sat there for about an hour, completely entranced by
Tom: (Jessie) - my own navel.
the red moon. A strange
cacophony of everything my mother had told me and everything that had happened
earlier raced through my mind.
Guardian's Song: You do NOT need to recap each fic in its entirety at the end, Miss Falls. You just don't.
Suddenly, it was broken by the sound of footsteps
approaching from behind.
I didn't even have to turn around to know that it was James -- somehow, I just
knew. And my suspicion was confirmed when I felt the velvety petals of
Roy: O_o Getting graphic, isn't she?
Guardian's Song: That is NOT what she meant, and you know it.
a red
rose brush against my cheek.
"Hey," I said softly, turning to look up at him. James always looked handsome to
me, but the romantic red glow of the moon made him even more so now!
Jerry: Ominous red lighting is ROMANTIC?
"Are you
feeling better?"
James nodded and placed the rose in my hand. "You know, something just occurred
to me," he said. "I never showed you what was in my backpack earlier!"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Come on," he said, pulling me to my feet.
Tom: Turned out t' be an armory'a sporks, an' that was th' end'a th' Sue.
@->->-
Tom: Curse it.
Pop-Up Message: Tom cut his own HP and laid a curse on the fic!
Tom: *staggers, having suddenly lost half his HP* HEY!
James led me to a secluded spot further down the beach. When we reached a small
clearing of trees on the shores of a crystal lagoon,
Jerry: (Jessie and James) WE'RE RICH! *dance around on top of the crystals, then promptly crash into the water as the thin layer of crystal splinters and breaks under their weight*
I saw a picnic-blanket
spread out. It was loaded with marinated fish, grilled vegetables, black beans
and rice, and fresh fruit salad, all made from scratch!
Jerry: …
Tom: …
*they look at each other*
Tom: An' where did they GET this from?
Jerry: I don't know, but this really isn't helping the claims that they're dirt-poor.
Two red candles glowed,
illuminating the area.
Tom: (James) Now, sacrifice, stand between those two candles and don't move while I stab you.
(Jessie-Sue) But wait, what's all the food for?
(James) What, you think I'd summon an Elder God without already having its food laid out for it? Don't be ridiculous! That's an excellent way to get eaten! Now, let's see, I have vegetarian, kosher, and organic options…
"James, what is this?" I asked.
"It's what I brought with me in my backpack today," he explained, {The fic is afflicted by the curse!}
"You brought a candlelight dinner in your backpack?" I said dubiously.
Jerry: I know you're a D&D player, Miss Falls, but could you leave out the Bags of Holding?
"Well, no, but I did bring my cooking-utensils," he replied.
Tom: Again - an' where did the FOOD come from?
Jerry: And how did you manage to prevent any of it getting smashed or spoiled when your balloon crashed?
"Jess, here we are
in a tropical paradise, and we haven't even taken the time to enjoy it! I
figured since we'd be away from the sub for a couple of days, I'd bring my gear
with me so that I could make us a nice dinner. That's why I didn't want to tell
you when you asked about it earlier -- I wanted it to be a surprise!"
Guardian's Song: Did it occur to Cori Falls just HOW bad a light that revelation puts Jessie in?
"James," I said, turning around and putting my arms around him. "That's so
sweet."
James wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. "I'm sorry I was
mean to you earlier. Even if I was trying to keep it a secret, I had no right to
yell at you the way I did."
Guardian's Song: And Jessie had no right to hit you in the face and tell you to go to hell, either.
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| |||
*mutters* I really ought to give it a double count, but I'm trying to be conservative…
I reached up and caressed his face. "Even when you're at your worst, I still
think you're the best, James!" I told him.
Guardian's Song: HELLO? WHY is there no acknowledgement that SHE hit HIM in the face?
"So are you, Jess...so are you," he replied as he smiled and kissed me tenderly
on the lips.
@->->-
{The fic is afflicted by the curse!}
{Anyway, they chat a bit after the dinner}
"I wanted to thank you again...for saving me," he said. "Once again, you had
every reason to leave me to die,
Guardian's Song: *SPEECHLESS*
but instead, you risked your life for me."
Guardian's Song: …Getting… into… an… argument… is… every… reason… to… leave… your… lover… to… die?
You Made Me Hit You: |||| | (for James's remark not being dismissed as absolutely ludicrous)
I'm The REAL Victim Here: |||| |||| |||| ||||
WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT.: ||
I leaned closer and rested my forehead against his. "You once told me that
nothing would ever make you leave me," I said. "....And I want you to know that
I feel the same way. Nothing will ever make me leave you!"
Guardian's Song: (James) D8
"I love you, Jessie," he whispered as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"I love you too, James," I replied, brushing it away.
With that, he took me in his arms and kissed me again. As I returned the kiss, I
slowly sank to my knees and brought him with me.
"Jess, what are you doing?" James asked as I began to pull off his white jacket.
Jerry: …It's not obvious?
"Well, we had a fight earlier today, James," I told him. "And our day won't be
complete until we get to the best part...."
Jerry: (Lickitung) LICKI, LICKI! (THE DESSERT!)
(Jessie) AAAAAGH! Get away, you stupid thing!
James raised an eyebrow as I pulled off his black t-shirt. "Best part? Of a
fight? And what might that be?" he asked slyly.
Tom: T' scatter yer enemy, t' drive him before y', t' see his cities reduced t' ashes, t' see those who love him shrouded in tears, an' t' gather into yer bosom his wives an' daughters.
That's a quote by some famous philosopher, I think.
Jerry: Which one?
Tom: Dunno, but apparently people thought enough of him t' name him after Kangaskhans.
Guardian's Song: *facepalm*
(Genghis Khan - "The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy, to drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes, to see those who love him shrouded in tears, and to gather into your bosom his wives and daughters.")
"Making up, of course!" I laughed as he removed my jacket and tossed it aside.
Our lips met in a passionate kiss once more, and James laid me down in the white
sand. I gazed into his beautiful emerald eyes and ran my fingers through his
soft purple hair
Guardian's Song: -______-;; I've already complained about this elsewhere…
as his body became one with my own.
The red moon was over his shoulder, and as I looked up at it, I remembered what
my momma had told me about it when I was a child -- she said that whenever there
was blood on the moon,
Guardian's Song: - the Moon Child would be born, and the Black Monster would descend to destroy it -
either someone would die or something would happen that
changes your life forever.
And she was right! On that day, my relationship with James had changed.
Guardian's Song: *gibbers*
Once
again, our friendship...our love had been put to the test, and once again, we
Jerry: - had failed, failed COMPLETELY.
had managed to work through it and emerge closer than ever before.
Guardian's Song: …
'M h POKé LM4 MISSINGNO. p T
PkMn 'v X:LC 4B 8 4 8 G'Mp
OPkMn4 .g PkMn n 'Ng'Mp
/PkMn PkMn P 94 94 h C ……
PC4SH PkMnPkMn fPkMnk 4h
7PkMn 'v W G d M p'u
PkMnRPkMn " -PkMn TRAINER
3TRAINERPOKé
_________
|0 ERROR|
Never again would we keep secrets from each other when something was bothering
us. The ordeal we had faced made us forge a new bond of trust,
Guardian's Song: *screaming* What ordeal?!
and it reminded
us why we had fallen in love in the first place!
Guardian's Song: Stockholm Syndrome?!
At that moment, the two of us shared a perfect union -- our bodies, our hearts,
our souls, and our minds had come together, forming one glorious PULSATING, OOZING, AMORPHOUS whole, and I
knew that I would never doubt James again. His love was so wonderful and so
pure, and as he held me in his arms and gazed into my eyes, I could tell that he
felt the same way about me.
Guardian's Song: Yeah, right. You said the same thing last time, and then you wrote this fic…
Yes, our relationship had definitely changed for the better on that day.
Guardian's Song: …Ah, let me pull out the ol' expressing-my-feelings-through-interpretive-dance! Mrs. Weasley, may I please have the CAPSLOCK? Thank you.
*puts on blonde wig and nice dress*
…
*BOOMFLAIL*
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE H-E-L-L?!
I would
love and cherish James forever, and he would do no less for me!
Never would we doubt again.
Jerry: Until the next fic…
The End
Tom: *slurps Hyper Potion*
@->->-
Back to the Library
@->->-
You Made Me Hit You: 6
I'm The REAL Victim Here: 19
The Sanity Is Not Strong With This One: 4 (one for the nonexistent "ordeal" and one for the relationship IMPROVING)
Cursing Count: 4
THE FIC SPORKS ITSELF (HARD): 1, but once was enough
WORSE. THAN. TWILIGHT.: 2
=END SPORKING=