¤LOST in JOHTO¤ (preview/prologue)
Alright. It's been quite a long time since I had posted my fic, Sooner or Later, which had ran short on me while I tried to write the fourth chapter. That was months ago, but now I'm trying again at writing OT fics. It is a hard process, yes, but with writing having been my passion for years, I constantly feel the need for some sort of writing to consume my extra time. And with a revival in my obsession with a certain band, I've been trying to mix around and see how I can possibly relate music to my stories while trying to create a blend of fantasy and realism.
Also, a brief explanation of this. Laura Deirdre, the main trainer of this story, has been plagued with problems after a time of calm between abuse in the past and recent events in her life. Feeling no way out, she begins to feel slightly weak due to her dropping self-esteem. This has lead to displeasure in her lover, Michael Silvern, and as a result, he began to have affairs. Unable to handle it, she accidentally set off an argument with him, resulting in the end of their relationship of several years.
With their son, Laura decides to go and make a long forgotten dream possible with a journey, which includes struggle, all in order to try and stop many problems, while making her child happy.
¤¤¤¤
While this preview is rated PG for containing angst, this fanfic might be PG-13 on a whole, due to angst, drug use, mild language, and minor occurances of violence.
Sadness. That was all that lingered in her eyes as she stared forth towards the mountains and hills in the southern direction, her back against the brick wall of what was once her home. A sigh escaping her lips, she lowered her head in shame, glasses with thin rims gently sliding down the bridge of her nose. She thought that coming to Johto would benefit her; however, the events of the past few weeks had told her differently. Old friendships ending, losing her internship, her grandfather’s death, and now, the end of a long relationship with her son’s father; those were the events that had composed her recent life.
Tears enveloped her forest green eyes as locks of dark hair, thick and shoulder-length, created a veil about her face. Remorse seemed to weigh down her soul. Either it was her imperfection, or her former lover’s reputation and ego, which caused their argument. Immediately blaming herself, she seemingly crushed her low self-esteem even further as tears fell down her face to the ground, some staining her olive green sleeveless top, and black Capri-styled pants with chains attached. Trying to hold back the desire to scream, the young woman fell to her knees. However, a young boy, five or six years old, walked over, holding what appeared to be his mother’s black messenger bag which now held supplies for a journey. Looking up, the young woman gazed at her son who greatly resembled her, except for his dark brown eyes.
“Daron,” she whispered, hugging her son close, tears still staining her pale face. She felt fortunate for the fact her young son was still willing to return the love she gave him. To her, love was a thing she considered of great value. As long as she had it, she’d have the willpower to try her hardest to overcome most struggles inside and outside of her mind. Being taught this from her past, she took it into a lot of consideration, in spite of her issues with sexual frustration.
Standing up, the young mother thanked her son as she took her belongings from him. Placing the weight of the bag on her right side, strap resting on the left shoulder, she tried to dry her eyes as she took her son’s hand in hers, taking a few steps forward. Today was to begin a new life for Laura Deirdre and her son, Daron. Having been thrown out of their house by her boyfriend of several years, Michael Silvern, Laura considered this a potential time to start a journey across the savage land of Johto. In spite of the civil war, famine, and disease that had sprung ever since Michael’s father, Richard Silvern, took over as president of the lands of Kanto and Johto years ago, Laura had the feeling that this would eventually end, even if she hadn’t chosen to take action.
As she and her son continued to walk away from the medium-sized house, Laura sighed, trying to ignore the replays of the argument that flashed through her mind. It started over her returning from her grandfather’s funeral that morning, coming upon Michael asleep in bed with another woman, a friend of hers. As a result, an argument was spurred, which had eventually led into the serious matter of the politics involved in their lives; in this case, Michael was the ******* son of Richard, which he began to use to boost his ego.
Using the “power” he claimed to have had, he became a major drug lord in the northern parts of Johto and Kanto. Even during the misery of the current civil war, many looked to him for possible ways out of misery. These people even included a slightly submissive Laura, who had developed a marijuana addiction after the birth of Daron. Even now, as times were seemingly growing worse for her, she felt the need for more of this drug, thinking that it would be a possible escape. At this point, she didn’t care that it made her feel guilty, mainly because she had the feeling that just about nobody cared that she was even around.
Most of her life, she felt like she was merely there, and that nobody had noticed her. Originally believing that Michael was her savior from this angst, she tried to adjust to trying to be happier. However, this recent life for her had crushed her feelings, and after this morning’s events, she began to suddenly feel lower than everybody else. All of these thoughts going through her mind, she began to wonder if she had pushed herself towards these happenings, only wanting pity.
A painful sigh escaped her once more as she approached the small mailbox at the outer boundaries of the property. From what she had known, a piece of mail had already arrived. Curiosity overcame her, and she opened the metallic container, pulling out a piece of parchment embraced by a simple white envelope. Inside was what appeared to be a thick orb. Feeling that the obvious was going to come, she sighed with slight sarcasm, continuing a bit off the grounds with her son. Opening the letter, she quietly read the short message on the parchment to herself.
“Laura,
From what we’ve heard, we understand that life has not been going too well for you. We decided that as a slightly belated present for your birthday, that you should have this Pokémon that is quoted as being ‘rare.’ Even her eyes are considered to be a rare color in her species. Even if you decide to not go on a journey, our dear, feel free to raise this Pokémon to your liking.
With love,
Aunt Kimberly and Aunt Christine”
“Cliché, no?” Laura chuckled to herself, referring to the constantly repeated hyperbole in adventure novels where the main character usually receives a “special” Pokémon before going on a journey due to being late for registration to start their Pokémon journey. After getting a good, quiet laugh, she calmed herself, afraid of seeming neurotic in front of her son. Slipping the letter and envelope into her pocket after taking out the orb, she examined it with slight caution. Indeed, this was starting to become rather cliché, which was obviously a joke set up by her two aunts due to her works in writing, as the PokéBall was even customized.
The sphere’s upper hemisphere was brown with a small green leaf right above its button. Part of her tried to imagine if this was either for the fact she was a slight hippy, or if it were indeed a grass-themed Pokémon. Perhaps both? Confused, Laura pressed the button on the PokéBall in order to enlarge it, only to toss the ball gently to the ground. A softly-glowing light shot forth from the ground, revealing the illumination of what appeared to be a small fox. The light faded, revealing only the Pokémon she had feared for so long to receive as a joke, an Eevee.
“Vui?” The kit questioned, her head slightly cocked. Daron’s eyes widened with shock at the sight of this Pokémon, before looking up to his mother, whose face was already buried in her right hand out of disbelief. Perhaps such a joke was set up to be executed at a wrong time, she thought. Looking up, Laura stared at the Eevee, merely swearing to herself under her breath.
“I guess you’re stuck with me now?” She asked rhetorically, still feeling quite bitter.
“Mom?” Daron spoke quietly, somewhat fearful of his mother accidentally lashing out at him. “What makes you sad about this?” Laura looked over, trying to cover up her resentful expression with a faint look of grief. Feeling as if she were perhaps creating her own drama, she felt guilty of perhaps subconsciously attempting to make her child’s life miserable as her mother had done to her in the past.
“I honestly wish I knew,” she answered, confusion evident in her tone. Glancing down towards the Eevee once again, she immediately figured that the prank was set up at a wrong time on purpose. It was even October, which she felt somewhat justified her assumption, due to her birthday having been the previous month. Shaking her head lightly and closing her eyes, she tried to suppress her thoughts, concentrating on what to do with the situation.
“Hollywood…” She spoke quietly and randomly before opening her eyes again. The Eevee gently walked over in response, only to nuzzle Laura’s ankle gently. A weak smile formed upon her face; perhaps this joke was also a gift in disguise, she thought. Leaning down to pick up the kit, she held her close, a few fingers stroking her head. The fox mewed quietly, happiness in her tone as she approved of the comfort and name she was unofficially given.
“You’ll be named Hollywood,” Laura whispered, still caressing the Pokémon in her arms gently. Daron walked over quietly, hugging his mother gently. Looking down, Laura responded by setting her new Pokémon on the ground, only to hold her child close to her as well.
Feeling a faint feeling of comfort overtaking her, Laura nodded her head gently, wondering what to do now. At this point, she could stock up on items such as PokéBalls and Potions in the village’s market before making her way south to the main part of Johto before going to New Bark Town to update her license as a trainer, which in the past she had never used. After that, she wasn’t sure what she could do, except perhaps train Pokémon and collect badges, which was considered tradition. However, part of her desired to help end the occurring civil war in the country, which had spawned over many issues believed to have been brought up by the president in speeches; she thought she could help with the activists, as well.
“What are we going to do now, mom?” Daron asked, looking up quietly. Stopping her thoughts, Laura looked down and held a hand on his shoulder, only to bend her knees in order to make eye contact with her son.
“I was thinking we should go on a journey, to be honest,” she answered, a faint smile on her face. This caused Daron to smile as well, a look of anticipation for adventure in his eyes. Even though he was clearly mature for his age, he never turned down a chance to do something exciting. As his mother stood back up, he took her hand, his eyes wide with amazement. Nodding her head, the young woman walked south with her son, towards the village and mountainous terrain which separated her current homeland from the rest of Johto. She was prepared to make the best out of her current situation, and hopefully attempt to return peace and happiness in her life.
¤¤¤¤
Note: Crushing clichés are always fun, so I decided to make a play on the classic beginning trainer cliché, as well as parodize the Eevee use, in this opening.
See any flaws and would like to point them out? Read and review? Feel free to do so!
Alright. It's been quite a long time since I had posted my fic, Sooner or Later, which had ran short on me while I tried to write the fourth chapter. That was months ago, but now I'm trying again at writing OT fics. It is a hard process, yes, but with writing having been my passion for years, I constantly feel the need for some sort of writing to consume my extra time. And with a revival in my obsession with a certain band, I've been trying to mix around and see how I can possibly relate music to my stories while trying to create a blend of fantasy and realism.
Also, a brief explanation of this. Laura Deirdre, the main trainer of this story, has been plagued with problems after a time of calm between abuse in the past and recent events in her life. Feeling no way out, she begins to feel slightly weak due to her dropping self-esteem. This has lead to displeasure in her lover, Michael Silvern, and as a result, he began to have affairs. Unable to handle it, she accidentally set off an argument with him, resulting in the end of their relationship of several years.
With their son, Laura decides to go and make a long forgotten dream possible with a journey, which includes struggle, all in order to try and stop many problems, while making her child happy.
¤¤¤¤
While this preview is rated PG for containing angst, this fanfic might be PG-13 on a whole, due to angst, drug use, mild language, and minor occurances of violence.
LOST in JOHTO
Sadness. That was all that lingered in her eyes as she stared forth towards the mountains and hills in the southern direction, her back against the brick wall of what was once her home. A sigh escaping her lips, she lowered her head in shame, glasses with thin rims gently sliding down the bridge of her nose. She thought that coming to Johto would benefit her; however, the events of the past few weeks had told her differently. Old friendships ending, losing her internship, her grandfather’s death, and now, the end of a long relationship with her son’s father; those were the events that had composed her recent life.
Tears enveloped her forest green eyes as locks of dark hair, thick and shoulder-length, created a veil about her face. Remorse seemed to weigh down her soul. Either it was her imperfection, or her former lover’s reputation and ego, which caused their argument. Immediately blaming herself, she seemingly crushed her low self-esteem even further as tears fell down her face to the ground, some staining her olive green sleeveless top, and black Capri-styled pants with chains attached. Trying to hold back the desire to scream, the young woman fell to her knees. However, a young boy, five or six years old, walked over, holding what appeared to be his mother’s black messenger bag which now held supplies for a journey. Looking up, the young woman gazed at her son who greatly resembled her, except for his dark brown eyes.
“Daron,” she whispered, hugging her son close, tears still staining her pale face. She felt fortunate for the fact her young son was still willing to return the love she gave him. To her, love was a thing she considered of great value. As long as she had it, she’d have the willpower to try her hardest to overcome most struggles inside and outside of her mind. Being taught this from her past, she took it into a lot of consideration, in spite of her issues with sexual frustration.
Standing up, the young mother thanked her son as she took her belongings from him. Placing the weight of the bag on her right side, strap resting on the left shoulder, she tried to dry her eyes as she took her son’s hand in hers, taking a few steps forward. Today was to begin a new life for Laura Deirdre and her son, Daron. Having been thrown out of their house by her boyfriend of several years, Michael Silvern, Laura considered this a potential time to start a journey across the savage land of Johto. In spite of the civil war, famine, and disease that had sprung ever since Michael’s father, Richard Silvern, took over as president of the lands of Kanto and Johto years ago, Laura had the feeling that this would eventually end, even if she hadn’t chosen to take action.
As she and her son continued to walk away from the medium-sized house, Laura sighed, trying to ignore the replays of the argument that flashed through her mind. It started over her returning from her grandfather’s funeral that morning, coming upon Michael asleep in bed with another woman, a friend of hers. As a result, an argument was spurred, which had eventually led into the serious matter of the politics involved in their lives; in this case, Michael was the ******* son of Richard, which he began to use to boost his ego.
Using the “power” he claimed to have had, he became a major drug lord in the northern parts of Johto and Kanto. Even during the misery of the current civil war, many looked to him for possible ways out of misery. These people even included a slightly submissive Laura, who had developed a marijuana addiction after the birth of Daron. Even now, as times were seemingly growing worse for her, she felt the need for more of this drug, thinking that it would be a possible escape. At this point, she didn’t care that it made her feel guilty, mainly because she had the feeling that just about nobody cared that she was even around.
Most of her life, she felt like she was merely there, and that nobody had noticed her. Originally believing that Michael was her savior from this angst, she tried to adjust to trying to be happier. However, this recent life for her had crushed her feelings, and after this morning’s events, she began to suddenly feel lower than everybody else. All of these thoughts going through her mind, she began to wonder if she had pushed herself towards these happenings, only wanting pity.
A painful sigh escaped her once more as she approached the small mailbox at the outer boundaries of the property. From what she had known, a piece of mail had already arrived. Curiosity overcame her, and she opened the metallic container, pulling out a piece of parchment embraced by a simple white envelope. Inside was what appeared to be a thick orb. Feeling that the obvious was going to come, she sighed with slight sarcasm, continuing a bit off the grounds with her son. Opening the letter, she quietly read the short message on the parchment to herself.
“Laura,
From what we’ve heard, we understand that life has not been going too well for you. We decided that as a slightly belated present for your birthday, that you should have this Pokémon that is quoted as being ‘rare.’ Even her eyes are considered to be a rare color in her species. Even if you decide to not go on a journey, our dear, feel free to raise this Pokémon to your liking.
With love,
Aunt Kimberly and Aunt Christine”
“Cliché, no?” Laura chuckled to herself, referring to the constantly repeated hyperbole in adventure novels where the main character usually receives a “special” Pokémon before going on a journey due to being late for registration to start their Pokémon journey. After getting a good, quiet laugh, she calmed herself, afraid of seeming neurotic in front of her son. Slipping the letter and envelope into her pocket after taking out the orb, she examined it with slight caution. Indeed, this was starting to become rather cliché, which was obviously a joke set up by her two aunts due to her works in writing, as the PokéBall was even customized.
The sphere’s upper hemisphere was brown with a small green leaf right above its button. Part of her tried to imagine if this was either for the fact she was a slight hippy, or if it were indeed a grass-themed Pokémon. Perhaps both? Confused, Laura pressed the button on the PokéBall in order to enlarge it, only to toss the ball gently to the ground. A softly-glowing light shot forth from the ground, revealing the illumination of what appeared to be a small fox. The light faded, revealing only the Pokémon she had feared for so long to receive as a joke, an Eevee.
“Vui?” The kit questioned, her head slightly cocked. Daron’s eyes widened with shock at the sight of this Pokémon, before looking up to his mother, whose face was already buried in her right hand out of disbelief. Perhaps such a joke was set up to be executed at a wrong time, she thought. Looking up, Laura stared at the Eevee, merely swearing to herself under her breath.
“I guess you’re stuck with me now?” She asked rhetorically, still feeling quite bitter.
“Mom?” Daron spoke quietly, somewhat fearful of his mother accidentally lashing out at him. “What makes you sad about this?” Laura looked over, trying to cover up her resentful expression with a faint look of grief. Feeling as if she were perhaps creating her own drama, she felt guilty of perhaps subconsciously attempting to make her child’s life miserable as her mother had done to her in the past.
“I honestly wish I knew,” she answered, confusion evident in her tone. Glancing down towards the Eevee once again, she immediately figured that the prank was set up at a wrong time on purpose. It was even October, which she felt somewhat justified her assumption, due to her birthday having been the previous month. Shaking her head lightly and closing her eyes, she tried to suppress her thoughts, concentrating on what to do with the situation.
“Hollywood…” She spoke quietly and randomly before opening her eyes again. The Eevee gently walked over in response, only to nuzzle Laura’s ankle gently. A weak smile formed upon her face; perhaps this joke was also a gift in disguise, she thought. Leaning down to pick up the kit, she held her close, a few fingers stroking her head. The fox mewed quietly, happiness in her tone as she approved of the comfort and name she was unofficially given.
“You’ll be named Hollywood,” Laura whispered, still caressing the Pokémon in her arms gently. Daron walked over quietly, hugging his mother gently. Looking down, Laura responded by setting her new Pokémon on the ground, only to hold her child close to her as well.
Feeling a faint feeling of comfort overtaking her, Laura nodded her head gently, wondering what to do now. At this point, she could stock up on items such as PokéBalls and Potions in the village’s market before making her way south to the main part of Johto before going to New Bark Town to update her license as a trainer, which in the past she had never used. After that, she wasn’t sure what she could do, except perhaps train Pokémon and collect badges, which was considered tradition. However, part of her desired to help end the occurring civil war in the country, which had spawned over many issues believed to have been brought up by the president in speeches; she thought she could help with the activists, as well.
“What are we going to do now, mom?” Daron asked, looking up quietly. Stopping her thoughts, Laura looked down and held a hand on his shoulder, only to bend her knees in order to make eye contact with her son.
“I was thinking we should go on a journey, to be honest,” she answered, a faint smile on her face. This caused Daron to smile as well, a look of anticipation for adventure in his eyes. Even though he was clearly mature for his age, he never turned down a chance to do something exciting. As his mother stood back up, he took her hand, his eyes wide with amazement. Nodding her head, the young woman walked south with her son, towards the village and mountainous terrain which separated her current homeland from the rest of Johto. She was prepared to make the best out of her current situation, and hopefully attempt to return peace and happiness in her life.
¤¤¤¤
Note: Crushing clichés are always fun, so I decided to make a play on the classic beginning trainer cliché, as well as parodize the Eevee use, in this opening.
See any flaws and would like to point them out? Read and review? Feel free to do so!