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smash_logs2015-01-14 01:45 am
flowerofmtsilver) wrote in smash_logs2015-01-14 01:45 am
25th bloom; Like a Dragon
Who: Char. Vinnie.
What: Shirtless(?) fighting.
Where: On a roof.
When: Jan 14.
Warnings: Violence, swearing, as many yakuza references as I can possibly manage.
After years of animosity beginning to erode, the Venusaur could almost say that he was coming to respect and understand Char as a person. Not a single moment of it had been easy, either - even once they were past throwing fists and insults at the sight of each other, the boundary between how much either of them was willing to give and take never stopped being uncertain. Slowly, that line began to grow more blurred over time. Vulnerabilities trickled through. Secret parts of themselves that they saw mirrored in the other's life. It was never comfortable, but there was an awkward, fragile, tentative sense of trust between them.
Little by little, they changed. They grew.
And somewhere along the way, it surprised Vinnie to recognize that somehow, Char had become important to him. That the Charizard had not only helped shape who he was, but gave him back something that he didn't realize he missed: his drive, his pride, that fiery independent streak that had always burned inside the Grass-Type. On top of that, it startled Vinnie to learn that he'd also began to truly value Char as a person. That he wanted his respect and maybe, just maybe even admired him a little.
Of course, that all went to hell once he started dating Bulba. In an instant, the spark left Char entirely, and Vinnie was just... ignored. No more fights, no more anything. Just a half-hearted reception of bland apathy. The Venusaur barely existed in his eyes anymore, and Char being Char, it kept going for over a year. It wasn't until both their frustrations were brought to a head by an innocuous sprig of mistletoe that everything exploded.
In the heat of the moment, words was said that couldn't be taken back.
Whatever they even were anymore, it was all brought to ruin in an instant. Vinnie knew that if he didn't fix this somehow... hell, could it even be fixed? Even if he wasn't sure, he still had to try. It wasn't simply a matter of having his rival back anymore, or being acknowledged. No, Vinnie had hurt someone who inexplicably, pain-stakingly had become an integral part of his life.
The question was how to undo such a mistake. This was a Charizard he was dealing with here. Mere words, at this point, were useless. And hollow gestures of apology were at best pathetic, at worst insulting. There was nothing he could offer that would appease the wounded Fire Type when he'd already been figuratively burned too many times before.
Days and nights passed, with Vinnie rolling the words he'd said over and over in his head in regret. How on earth was he supposed to get Char to understand what he actually meant to him? Sure, he was a hard person to respect on the outside, but that wasn't what he thought of him anymore. That was just cheesy, wasn't it - I didn't mean what I said. Still, it was true. Then again, maybe in the end it didn't even matter that Vinnie had changed. After all, who was he to demand anything when he used to blow off the Fire Type completely? Char wasn't obligated to forgive him, and he wasn't owed anything.
Whatever Vinnie wanted, he had to fight for.
That'd always been the way things were with them, wasn't it.
As a Grass-Type though, he still couldn't fully make the leap between his way of thinking and Char's. As much as they were similar, in many regards they were still polar opposites. There had only been one time that Vinnie really felt like he was on the same wavelength as his rival, and that was when he had a fire of his own.
Maybe... if the answer eluded him as a Venusaur, then the key was not to be a Venusaur anymore.
It was a bit of a drastic measure. In hindsight, maybe he should've consulted more people about this idea than... no one at all.
===
Steam rose from his nostrils in the brisk January air. If it was cold today, then Vinnie no longer felt its chill. His preparations had been utterly minimal - but then again, planning with any degree of foresight had completely fallen off his priorities. There was only one thing he wanted right now, and he could feel the need coursing hot in his blood. It left him blind to anything else.
His wing membrane was slightly less mangled than it was the last time, but Vinnie still wasn't in any state to fly - not that he even knew how - and trying to breathe fire brought little success outside a few weak embers. None of that mattered, though. He had a Persim Berry pocketed, and more importantly, he had his pride. Whatever happened today, he was going to see through.
With his dragon instincts reawakened, he walked himself up to the school roof, high enough to see any part of the campus. There was absolutely no way Char would back down from anyone laying a claim on his turf here. Vinnie parked himself dead center and shifted back into Pokemon form. Wings at full span, flame burning bright, neck stretched up towards the sky, he breathed deep and roared.
A challenge. Charizard to Charizard.
What: Shirtless(?) fighting.
Where: On a roof.
When: Jan 14.
Warnings: Violence, swearing, as many yakuza references as I can possibly manage.
After years of animosity beginning to erode, the Venusaur could almost say that he was coming to respect and understand Char as a person. Not a single moment of it had been easy, either - even once they were past throwing fists and insults at the sight of each other, the boundary between how much either of them was willing to give and take never stopped being uncertain. Slowly, that line began to grow more blurred over time. Vulnerabilities trickled through. Secret parts of themselves that they saw mirrored in the other's life. It was never comfortable, but there was an awkward, fragile, tentative sense of trust between them.
Little by little, they changed. They grew.
And somewhere along the way, it surprised Vinnie to recognize that somehow, Char had become important to him. That the Charizard had not only helped shape who he was, but gave him back something that he didn't realize he missed: his drive, his pride, that fiery independent streak that had always burned inside the Grass-Type. On top of that, it startled Vinnie to learn that he'd also began to truly value Char as a person. That he wanted his respect and maybe, just maybe even admired him a little.
Of course, that all went to hell once he started dating Bulba. In an instant, the spark left Char entirely, and Vinnie was just... ignored. No more fights, no more anything. Just a half-hearted reception of bland apathy. The Venusaur barely existed in his eyes anymore, and Char being Char, it kept going for over a year. It wasn't until both their frustrations were brought to a head by an innocuous sprig of mistletoe that everything exploded.
In the heat of the moment, words was said that couldn't be taken back.
Whatever they even were anymore, it was all brought to ruin in an instant. Vinnie knew that if he didn't fix this somehow... hell, could it even be fixed? Even if he wasn't sure, he still had to try. It wasn't simply a matter of having his rival back anymore, or being acknowledged. No, Vinnie had hurt someone who inexplicably, pain-stakingly had become an integral part of his life.
The question was how to undo such a mistake. This was a Charizard he was dealing with here. Mere words, at this point, were useless. And hollow gestures of apology were at best pathetic, at worst insulting. There was nothing he could offer that would appease the wounded Fire Type when he'd already been figuratively burned too many times before.
Days and nights passed, with Vinnie rolling the words he'd said over and over in his head in regret. How on earth was he supposed to get Char to understand what he actually meant to him? Sure, he was a hard person to respect on the outside, but that wasn't what he thought of him anymore. That was just cheesy, wasn't it - I didn't mean what I said. Still, it was true. Then again, maybe in the end it didn't even matter that Vinnie had changed. After all, who was he to demand anything when he used to blow off the Fire Type completely? Char wasn't obligated to forgive him, and he wasn't owed anything.
Whatever Vinnie wanted, he had to fight for.
That'd always been the way things were with them, wasn't it.
As a Grass-Type though, he still couldn't fully make the leap between his way of thinking and Char's. As much as they were similar, in many regards they were still polar opposites. There had only been one time that Vinnie really felt like he was on the same wavelength as his rival, and that was when he had a fire of his own.
Maybe... if the answer eluded him as a Venusaur, then the key was not to be a Venusaur anymore.
It was a bit of a drastic measure. In hindsight, maybe he should've consulted more people about this idea than... no one at all.
===
Steam rose from his nostrils in the brisk January air. If it was cold today, then Vinnie no longer felt its chill. His preparations had been utterly minimal - but then again, planning with any degree of foresight had completely fallen off his priorities. There was only one thing he wanted right now, and he could feel the need coursing hot in his blood. It left him blind to anything else.
His wing membrane was slightly less mangled than it was the last time, but Vinnie still wasn't in any state to fly - not that he even knew how - and trying to breathe fire brought little success outside a few weak embers. None of that mattered, though. He had a Persim Berry pocketed, and more importantly, he had his pride. Whatever happened today, he was going to see through.
With his dragon instincts reawakened, he walked himself up to the school roof, high enough to see any part of the campus. There was absolutely no way Char would back down from anyone laying a claim on his turf here. Vinnie parked himself dead center and shifted back into Pokemon form. Wings at full span, flame burning bright, neck stretched up towards the sky, he breathed deep and roared.
A challenge. Charizard to Charizard.
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