"Damn, these people are insane." Mumbled the pinkette lowly to himself while leaning back against his seat, his lip curled into a worried downwards slope, his gaze was tilted downwards to bring the rim of his green top hat over his eyes.
His usual clothing had been discarded in favor of more '
appropriate' threads. Or so had Leavanny claimed anyways.
His gloved hands squeezed at his knees, his tongue clicking. As he sat there, all dressed up and 'ready' to perform for a massive audience, he couldn't help but feel silly.
His hands reached down for the shorts he was wearing, trying to tug 'em further down. How had he allowed Leavanny to bully him into them? He preferred 'shorts', yes, but ones that hung at his calves, not barely past his damn
mid thigh
.He had decided to participate just to give an acquaintance he thought
might show up (and she had indeed shown up) a surprise, maybe see if he could find out what everyone liked so much about the entire thing, but now was starting to get cold feet, ironically despite the knee high boots.
Maybe it would be best if he just walked out now; he had signed up under an alias he had made on the spot, evaded his acquaintances and hadn't told his parents or friends he would be participating. If he just left, nobody would ever know...
No wait, he had already contacted and worked with a friend for this; he couldn't just leave her hanging after all the work they d-
"
... It was an amazing spectacle to remember!" Suddenly blared in the voice of the announcer, making the boy nearly jump in his seat. Wait, was the other contestant done already? Had he missed it?!
"
Our next contestant is a young coordinator making their grand debut for the first time!" Followed the announcer soon after, essentially shoving a boulder down the boy's throat.
It landed rather solidly at the pit of his stomach, and he found himself unable to force his legs to move despite his efforts.
The entire world seemed to slow down to the boy, the announcer's words slurring into incomprehensible prattle as he found himself trapped in his own body.
Fuck. He was gonna go out there and look ridiculous in front of an entire stadium. Why the heck had he tried to be funny; he should have just stayed at the bleachers and shouted his lungs out until they gave out-
"
-Without further ado, let's welcome the rookie with a strong round of applause!" Ah
Fuck. "
Ladies and gentlemen! I give you, N!"
Almost automatically, the boy jumped off his seat, dusting himself before giving a stoic nod at the rest of the contestants. He was as surprised as the reader. Had he crapped his pants so hard he shat the boulder?
"
Showtime." His voice came out sharply, his hands reaching to fix his top hat, dragging a gloved thumb over the golden spider badge attached to it before tugging at his tie firmly.
The fuck-
His body was moving on automatic, and he wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing. On one hand, it was helping preserve his pride by not choosing the little bitch way out; on the other,
it was walking him into an stadium packed to the brim, demanding to be entertained
.
The crowd was wild in the wake of the latest performance, charged with energy and passion and all too ready for the next big show. Needless to say, failing to deliver would not go over well.
He resisted the urge to tug at his short mantle cape down self-consciously, keenly aware of the not so pleasant sight of his scarred forearms. Then he remembered he had make up and body paint all over them.
He grasped both of his pokeballs, breathing in deeply once more to calm his nerves.
The lighting of the stadium began to dim. The mechanical echo of the machinery at work reverberated all across it as the roof began to close.
It spiraled into itself, multiple pieces closing in together and slowly drowning the light of the stadium, projecting a circle of light slowly shrinking towards the center.
As the boy finally stepped into the open stadium, a trio of spotlights was shone on him, and the crowd went wild, screaming their lungs out for someone they had never even seen perform in their life.
Whether they continued to cheer him on or booed him out of the stadium was up to him now. Breathing deeply, the youth turned his gaze slightly towards the side, nodding towards his musician.
A single girl sat in front of a grand piano, soundly popping the air pockets in her fingers before giving the boy a grin. He grinned back weakly, before turning his gaze away.
For a moment, the boy closed his eyes, slowing down his breathing and trying to clear his head of his worries.
He had rehearsed this, despite his embarrassment in doing so. He had planned this along with Leavanny and one of the best (and few) pianists he knew.
Just do what you rehearsed, and have fun.
As the first keys began to be played, the crowd slowly fell into silence, the melody beginning to resound across the stadium.
The spotlights that shined on him began to dim as he made his way towards the center of the stadium, seeking the sole source of light. As his steps carried him towards the light however, the trail the boy left in his path became clear to the audience.
His steps left shining footprints, a vibrant neon green that slowly spread over the floor, shining in the darkness as it slowly became greenery, as if the boy left a path of plant life in his wake.
It illuminated what was otherwise completely shrouded in darkness, casting a somber light underneath the boy, who's expression was hidden by his hat.
He came to a stop right underneath the source of light; by now, it was almost minuscule, the circle projected on the floor barely larger than the boy was wide.
The greenery spread outwards from the plant of his feet, turning the white circle into a vibrant green, and spreading further outwards.
Silently, the boy raised one hand. The audience waited with baited breath, and were awarded with a gasp as light suddenly began to shine over his palm.
What appeared to be a shard of energy hovered over the boy's palm, glistening as the light shone down upon it. As it solidified, the rays of light suddenly refracted from it in multiple directions, casting stray beams of light all over the stadium.
The boy then raised his
other hand. Light began to shine over his palm once again;
actual light. This one did not refract; it shone a strong, ever changing myriad of colors under its own power, contrasting strongly with the other shard.
Without a word, the boy brought both of his palms together, drowning the light of the shards as he trapped them between his two hands. For a second, it looked as if he was praying, his gaze and thoughts once again hidden underneath his hat.
Then a loud
crack thundered across the stadium.
As the boy pulled his hands away, the remnants of the shards dotted his right hand, seemingly grind into dozens of shining, small pieces together, each and every one shining and refracting light in every direction.
The boy's other hand reached for the brim of his hat, before tugging it off his head gently. The boy had slicked back, light
green hair to match the rest of his ensemble, and not a blemish in sight dotted his face.
The wonders of hair dye and make up.
He held out the top hat's insides towards the audience, making a show of the seemingly empty contents like a stage magician, keeping his face carefully blank.
He then threw the shattered shards into it.
For a second, nothing happened, causing the little life-bringer to purse his lips, making a show of trying to peer impatiently into his hat.
The moment he did, he almost immediately was forced to snap back.
A flurry of bubbles suddenly burst out from the hat, spearing through the air like a beam. The light shining down upon the boy caught onto the bubbles, projecting their reflection all over the stadium.
Their
Rainbow-like reflections.
A strange phenomena occurred as the bubbles spread all over the stadium, away from the sole ray of light. The bubbles
shone on their own like floating neon lights, little stars in the night.
They weren't just bubbles; at their cores, they shone and refracted brightly, multiple colors dancing underneath the see through, curved surface, projecting outwards a blend of hues that turned every surface and person within the reach of its refraction into a canvas of rich colors, ever shifting and flowing like water.
Still not quite done, the boy crouched at the pillar of light, gently placing his upturned hat at the center, before standing up and spreading his arms wide. A screen of light appeared in front of him, and as the boy slowly brought his arms together, making a show of straining as he did, it shrunk, until the boy's hands clasped together, and he closed his eyes.
Once he again, he seemingly prayed, before slowly kneeing in front of the top hat and placing the now minuscule screen inside. He then reached for one of the few, rainbow bubbles hovering around him, touching it softly with his gloved fingers, gently pushing it so that it hovered over the hat.
And then he popped it.
Its contents seemingly fell into the hat, glistening water falling into it without making a sound.
It was slow at first; the insides of the hat began to shine a myriad of colors, and began to push out. Then it exploded outwards; a flowing horde of butterflies, the mass of multiple of colors flying through the air, rainbow-colored wings flapping wildly as they flew.
Infestation was not usually beautiful for anyone involved, but at that moment, it did not look like sickly locust to the boy. To him, it was almost like staring at a swarm of small, shining Beautifly, the hues of their wings shifting and morphing as the lights projected by the myriad of bubbles shone upon them.
The swarm flew up towards the air, spreading over a section of the ceiling in all their multicolored glory, until it had been turned into a painting of a starry night.
'We are done.' He breathed with relief as he raised a hand over his head, and snapped his fingers. As if on cue, a single white star swiftly raced over the starry painting like a shooting star, dissipating into white dust just as the last key of the piano was played.
For a moment, silence reigned in the stadium; and the boy was not eager to wait to see what would happen. Instead, he crouched, grabbing at his hat, and reaching into it, pulling out a black silhouette just as another, rounder one flew in tiredly from the darkness to join them.
With a tug, the flying silhouette managed to pull part of the black bodysuit off its face, revealing a red and cream carapace; a Ledyba. The other one simply chewed through her mask until her Dewpider features became clear.
Still holding the Dewpider in one hand, the boy folded the other over his chest, the Ledyba mimicking him tiredly as all three of them bowed to the audience.
Ledyba nearly faceplanted in the process, getting caught by the boy, before the child began exiting stage left.
"Tired?" he muttered, receiving a '
you think?'
look from his pokemon. "Yeah. Sorry. Stupid question." He mumbled as he made his way through the halls. "You guys did amazing. Who says beauty is beyond insects?" He said, smiling down at Dewpider. "Your
infestation and
Bubblebeam were definitely the star of the show back there; right from the beginning." He muttered, remembering the 'greenery' left in his wake.
"Don't feel ignored, dude. We couldn't have done any of it without you." He didn't have a lick of Psychic power in him; those light screens and reflects were not him, to say the least. He placated the other pokemon before it even got a chance to protest, winking weakly. "That
Swift at the end really sold the 'painting', didn't it?"
As he advanced, he came across his awaiting Pianist, the girl leaning against the wall and looking at her shoes casually the entire time.
Her gaze shifted to him when she heard him, a smile tugging at her lips shortly after. "Nice show,
N. Is what I said if I hadn't been focusing on the keys the entire time." She said sheepishly, scratching at the back of her head.
The boy responded by bowing low.
"Thank you. For all your help."
✖ character development > winning contest lmao
