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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 16, 2022 12:30:51 GMT
"Are you sure you know who that thing works?" Ollie said, peaking his head around the corner for the fifteenth time. They were only about half a block away from the school so having Procopius out of his V-Pet and struggling to activate the holosuit was making him nervous. All it would take is one of the very busy people walking down the street this morning to turn their heads slightly to the left and they would see the black plastic dinosaur standing there fussing with the device that they had purchased on their first jaunt into the digital world.
"Keep your shirt on, I'm figuring it out." Procopius said, holding the instructions they had been given in one hand and fiddling with the device in the other, like someone who was too stubborn to admit that they had no idea what they were doing. Someone began to approach hugging the wall that lead into the alley and Ollie's heart sank. He looked between the approaching person and his struggling digimon. The looks became even sharper and more frantic as the unaware pedestrian began to quickly close distance between themselves and the alcove Procopius was struggling in.
"AH!" Ollie desperately shouted as he threw up his arms and jumped in the line of sight of the person walking past, trying with all his might to keep Procopius from being discovered. it was at that exact second there was a sparkling buzz just behind him, like an old TV finally bringing the picture into focus. The person walking past looked down the alley to see Procopius standing there, a perfectly normal human.
He looked into the alley to see the normal looking older teenager, then down to the young boy that had jumped out in front of him who was now blushing bright cherry red. He swapped his looks between them for a few seconds before simply moving on his way, most likely mumbling something about young people being totally insane.
"I told you I would figure it out." Procopius said, walking out from the alley and placing his hand on Ollie's shoulder. Ollie finally turned up to look at his partner. He was a tall young man, though not towering it did give some weight to his presence and movement. He had messy, dark hair that hung down over his forehead in a short cascade and was tied up in a short ponytail toward the back of his head. But the most striking thing about him were the piercings, four in each ear and one in the lower left hand side of his lip with a chain connecting the lip piercing to one of the rings inset in his right ear.
"Wow! You look so cool!" Ollie said, oblivious to anyone passing by who might be able to sniff out Procopius' Digimon nature or see his Digivice hanging from one of the straps of his backpack while they were just standing there talking in the middle of broad daylight. Procopius smiled, blushing a little at Ollie's reaction. Though he tried to hide it.
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Post by ricochet10-Blackjack&Harmony on Aug 16, 2022 22:08:05 GMT
Unaware of Ollie and Procopius' issues regarding a holosuit both Blackjack and Harmony made their way to school. Occasionally the pair would get looks most of them were those of curiosity so the pair brushed it off. The two of them did take on fairly attractive human forms with their holosuits but Harmony's clumsiness, though her walking was much improved, would on occasion cause her to stumble especially when they had to come to a sudden halt.
A sudden shout caused both Blackjack and Harmony to suddenly halt causing Harmony to stumble but Blackjack caught his older twin sister helping her back to her feet. Looking in the direction of the shout they saw a person walking past an alley mumbling. Curiosity peaked both twins headed for the alley to find out what was going on finding a fairly short teenager and a tall one with striking piercings but there was no mistake. The tall one was definitely a digimon in disguise.
When the shorter boy called out that his companion looked cool and Blackjack said "Wow. He sure does." He and Harmony were now standing not far from the pair so there was no doubt they would be heard.
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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 17, 2022 12:27:48 GMT
Ollie was flushed up to his ears, bright cherry red from his "intervention" of having to try and keep someone from noticing Procopius in his Digimon form right as the Digimon actually figured out his holosuit. Even making a total stranger think he was totally crazy made the little man steam with embarrassment.
"Eh don't worry about it. That's guys a nobody anyway. Seems like we've got real company though." Procopius said, placing his hands on the shoulders of his partner, turning him to face the duo that was approaching them so casually. "I like to think I have a unique enough style." Procopius said with a grin, though from the way he was gripping Ollie and the look on his face that had his smile not quite reaching his eyes it was clear that he didn't quite trust the pair that had appeared before them so suddenly. He wasn't itching for a fight but he was prepared for one should it come to that.
"H-hi." Ollie said in a small voice, casually waving at the pair of disguised digimon that had approached them to pay Procopius a compliment. Ollie wasn't paying that much attention, he didn't now whether these were digimon who had sniffed them out or just two more random people on the street attracted by his embarrassing behavior.
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Post by ricochet10-Blackjack&Harmony on Aug 17, 2022 21:01:39 GMT
Blackjack exhibited the briefest and faintest of smirks from seeing Ollie blushing until his sister firmly nudged him in the ribs with her elbow which caused the faint smirk to vanish. Harmony shook her head at her brother but knew he meant no harm.
When Procopius mentioned having a unique style but the twins could read the room as it was clear he didn't trust them and was trying to protect the smaller than average teen that was clearly his tamer. Knowing it was wise not to approach any further they stayed where they were and Blackjack said "Nothing wrong with having a unique sense of style but my sister and I mean no harm to your friend so calm down. We are just on our way to school. I get the feeling you are more like my sister and I then your companion." Then his familiar roguish grin appeared as he said "You are a digimon aren't you friend?" Harmony shook her head knowing it was a matter of time before the information got out and decided to go with it.
When the short teen said hi, Harmony gently smiled and said "Hello. My name is Harmony." She then indicated to her brother before she continued "And this is my twin brother, Blackjack or Jack in this form."
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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 18, 2022 12:16:56 GMT
Procopius was being territorial, that much was true. He probably wouldn't have outright attacked the pair if they got much closer but he saw that kind of attention that Ollie usually attracted from his classmates and as such was already prepared to go to bat for him should these two have been part of one of the multiple groups that made life hell for Ollie within the school's walls.
"I'm Procopius, this is Ollie." Procopius said, handling introductions which seemed to take some of the tension off of Ollie's shoulders. Having Procopius able to play social defense for him even in the human world seemed like it would do the shy boy a world of good.
"Y-yes. Procopius is my partner." Ollie said, not wanting to blush in silence through the entire conversation as easy as it would have been for him to do. Procopius was shoving him forward on the road of basic social competence one step at a time and it certainly didn't come easy to the young man
"What's it to ya?" Procopius said, still standing in a way that he could leap out in front of Ollie at a moment's notice but relaxing his stance at least a little. They'd met more good tamers and digimon than bad at this point so better to give at least part of the benefit of the doubt.
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Post by ricochet10-Blackjack&Harmony on Aug 18, 2022 22:25:17 GMT
At least Blackjack and Harmony knew not to push their luck with territorial digimon. This is a lesson many digimon learned young if they made it past the first encounter in one piece. The small teen also seemed shy so that explained his partner's near overprotective nature.
"Shame not all humans are as adorable as Ollie seems to be." Harmony said with a smile. It seemed as another tiny adorable lifeform herself that Harmony had a soft spot for smaller than average humans as well. It was clear that Ollie was very socially awkward as well but that was no big deal for her or her twin brother.
At Procopius' response and slightly relaxed stance, Blackjack said "Easy there, Procopius was it? My sister and I mean no one any harm. Not even Ollie. Do you have issues with fellow classmates picking on the little fellow? I understand that given Harmony and I are small for even rookies in our true form."
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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 19, 2022 12:24:01 GMT
Any blush that had faded from Ollie's face came rushing back in an instant as Harmony called him "cute". Even now knowing that she was a digimon did little to change the fact that he didn't have much experience with pretty girls calling him "cute"
"A problem? Yea, i guess you could say I have a problem with it." Procopius said with a growl on the edge of his voice. He and Ollie hadn't been together that long but even still he had endless memories of waiting quietly in the young man's V-Pet and just watching as gang of students made the little scholar's life hell
"Procopius? You promised me that you'd leave well enough alone if we got you a holosuit." Ollie said, tugging on Procopius' sleeve to pull him out of his private revelry in the idea. Procopius looked down at Ollie and placed a firm hand on the top of his head, rubbing it back and forth and smiling a reassuring smile, though very distinctly not actually answering Ollie's worries.
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Post by ricochet10-Blackjack&Harmony on Aug 20, 2022 8:57:53 GMT
Harmony couldn't help but smile as Ollie's face seemed to be attempting to imitate a tomato. Actually it was a convincing imitation which made Ollie even more adorable in her opinion. "I guess you aren't used to getting compliments from pretty girls. Sorry about that, Ollie." Harmony said.
Blackjack didn't take the growl personally as it was clear that Ollie was regurlarly bullied which didn't make sense seeing as he seemed to be a nice kid. "People who bully others really disgust me. Maybe if we come across those bullies they should be lucky I am usually a nice guy." Blackjack said before his roguish grin returned and then said "Perhaps we can get one over on these people without hurting anyone."
"Blackjack!" Harmony growled causing her brother to snap his attention to her before she continued "If we do that we would be no better than those bullies. Besides if Ollie does get in danger all any of us have to do is separate Ollie from any bully with minimal need for force."
"Yeah. You're right, sis. Sorry." Blackjack said but took notice of how quiet Procopius had gotten. "Maybe we should all continue to school." he then suggested attempting to possibly distract Procopius from what may be troubling him.
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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 20, 2022 12:17:44 GMT
Harmony pointing out the fact that Ollie was embarrassed by the compliment only did that little bit extra to dye his face crimson but he didn't seem to take it personally. He simply nodded at the apology and didn't openly confront it. Unlike the whole bullying thing, being shy and reserved was part of his nature so he didn't begrudge people for pointing it out, even if it did make him steam just that little bit more around the cheeks.
"Oh? I'm listening..." Procopius said as Blackjack pointed out that maybe there were other ways to get the bullies what they deserved without just smacking them over the head. He turned to see Ollie yanking on his sleeve and shrugged, "abandoning" the idea for the moment, though the sparkling grin that he flashed Blackjack showed that he was still more than open to the idea.
"Y-yea, we don't want to be late after all." Ollie said, sighing. Despite being self evidently smart, his performance in school was just a little past mid range at best. His teachers didn't like him for a lot of the same reasons that his bullies didn't like him.
Procopius turned to start walking with Ollie, his head on a swivel back and forth, scanning the entire street while Ollie just kept his eyes pointed at his shoes.
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Post by ricochet10-Blackjack&Harmony on Aug 20, 2022 18:03:26 GMT
It seemed being shy was part of Ollie's nature but that didn't bother her or Blackjack very much. Procopius seemed to be interested in what Blackjack had to say but Ollie quietly found a way to stop his partner by tugging on Procopius' sleeve so Harmony said "See, Blackjack? It seems Ollie doesn't want any trouble either even if he didn't say anything about it."
"Yeah. Ollie seems to be a decent guy at heart." Blackjack said as he looked at Ollie and then said "Sorry if I may have upset you, Ollie. I just can't stand the thought that some kids are picking on you."
As the group walked both Blackjack and Harmony noticed Procopius was glancing back and forth likely keeping an eye out for Ollie's tormentors which made sense. "So, Ollie, I find it interesting that you and Procopius appear to be like total opposites based on what I've seen before. Not that there's anything wrong with since humans have a saying that says opposites attract. Seems quite true on the scientific level too."
"I get the feeling that the story of how you met is an interesting one." Blackjack said and continued "As for Procopius I'm sure if his holosuit is anything to go by then his true form is probably at least a strong looking digimon. Though it would be wild if he were the same species as us."
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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 21, 2022 12:24:36 GMT
"Ollie doesn't want any trouble" was a good enough way to put it. The boy just wanted all of the "attention" he usually got to pass over him for once in his life. He knew that Procopius' heart was in the right place but the last thing that the shy boy wanted was to draw more attention to himself from the people who hated him so much for such stupid reasons.
"Opposites is one way to put it. Though we have at least a couple of the important things in common. I grew up on the street in a rough part of Terminal. ended up finding a little gang that I helped shape to take care of each other." Procopius said, gritting his teeth. He still had every intention of making it back there. He was supposed to be the one protecting that little gang of misfits and he would be damned if he was going to leave them in the lurch just because he happened to be dead at one point.
"Mmhm, I'm an orphan too. I don't know the first thing about my parents so I was raised in the system learning to entertain myself. I did that with books. Learning things. Not that it's helped me in school all that much." Ollie said, hoisting his absurdly heavy backpack on his shoulders, audibly jostling a legion of thick, heavy books that he was carrying in it.
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Post by ricochet10-Blackjack&Harmony on Aug 21, 2022 16:02:31 GMT
"Sounds like you two share something in common with Harmony and myself." Blackjack began before he continued "Sure we hatched in the Village of Beginnings but we didn't stay there long. Shortly after we were born we snuck out of the village and had been living by wit alone. We don't know if we have parents or if we were reborn digimon but I never thought about it before."
"I'm sure you will meet up with your friends in Terminus, Procopius. Heck maybe they also might become fond of Ollie." Harmony said with a reassuring tone. Then she looked over at Ollie and said "So you are the scholarly type, huh? That's pretty cool. As for grades, I've learned it isn't always a judge of how smart a person is. Even someone with bad or average grades can be exceptionally intelligent maybe even to the genius level. Who knows, Ollie, maybe you could be a genius and not know it."
"As for my sister and I we aren't really scholarly types. We're professional gamblers and donate money we don't need to help those in need." Blackjack said before he continued "We seemed to have a natural affinity for gambling generally preferring games like Poker and Blackjack which basically is how I chose my namesake."
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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 22, 2022 12:27:12 GMT
"His grades are bad because his teachers are bigots." Procopius muttered, though clearly he was intentionally speaking the word loudly enough that he didn't want them to go unnoticed.
"Procopius." Ollie said in response, though he couldn't actually disagree. Just as many of his teachers hated and looked down on him for being an orphaned gaijin as students did for the same reason. Many of the reasons that he ended up with less than stellar grades were just straight up unfair and Ollie was too shy to confront anyone about it. he simply accepted the grades he was given even though he knew that he had a perfectly good grasp of the material "I already made you promise when we picked up that holosuit that you wouldn't use it to cause trouble-" He was cut off by something flying through the air, his voice turning into a yelp as a rock collided with the side of his head, topping him over into a garbage can half tucked into an alleyway.
Procopius instantly turned like a wolf catching sight of fresh meat, seeing a gang of half a dozen schoolmate's of Ollie's all cackling to themselves as the young man picked himself up out of the pile of garbage he had fallen into, a thick trickle of crimson blood rolling down the side of his head.
"W-wait! Procopius!" Ollie shouted but it was far too late for that, Procopius was already bolting hard toward the group who, with a stricken look of fear on their faces were equally running away from him, turning down into a forgotten alley. "Stop him. Please. He's gonna kill somebody." Ollie said, turning desperately up to the gambler twins as he wiped a handful of blood from the side of his face before it got into his eye.
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Post by ricochet10-Blackjack&Harmony on Aug 22, 2022 21:39:08 GMT
Both Blackjack and Harmony caught Procopius' words and Harmony said "You know the teachers are more of a problem when they are just as ignorant and nasty as any of the children. They are adults so they should at least know better than to keep those ignorant issues out of their jobs."
"Procopius, it sounds like you and Ollie are far better people than his tormentors. Seeing as not even the teachers have a sense of empathy seeing as Ollie is an orphan makes me sick." Blackjack said as Ollie tried to reason with Procopius.
When a rock wizzed through the air barely missing Harmony and hitting Ollie in the side of the head sending the poor little guy tumbling into a garbage can, Harmony moved swiftly but clumsily over to the young teen checking him over before she said "Ollie, you should sit down. That looks pretty nasty." She moved Ollie further into the alleyway and just out of sight of the six schoolmates of Ollie's and helped the teen into a seated position. This injury needed help and though she didn't know she deactivated her holosuit revealing her true appearance as a blue and white Cardmon. It seemed she was going on instinct from that point. While Ollie was pleading for either her or Blackjack to stop Procopius before he kills somebody one of Harmony's invisible hands touched his cheek as she gently shushed him before she quietly said "Cardmon-c2 digivolve to...Cardmon-u2." Though still softball sized she now had two cards swishing behind her instead of one.
Meanwhile Blackjack moved into action running after Procopius before catching up and grabbing ahold of his shoulder. "Stop this, Procopius. If you kill them you will be worse then they are. Not only that it would raise attention you don't need seeing as we digimon are trying to avoid being discovered."
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Post by ollieandprocopius on Aug 23, 2022 12:23:08 GMT
Ollie couldn't do much more than squirm and wince at the treatment of his wound. Forehead cuts look bad but generally aren't, just dumping a whole lot of blood over his face that made him whimper a little with the pain throbbing through his entire head. It wasn't just the cut itself but the impact of the flying stone that left him with a piercing headache like hot needles being driven into his brain.
Procopius didn't even miss a beat as Blackjack reached out to grab him, throwing his arm back to elbow his new friend in the chest and slip out of his grip. What happened next was too fast for even his fellow digimon to fully stop. Procopius managed to catch up with the kid who had thrown the rock. Grabbing him by the back of the collar he slung him backward into the base of a telephone pole. He leapt up and landed on him with both knee driving into the boy's stomach as he blubbered and tried to hold his hands up. By the time Blackjack could actually start trying to stop him again, Procopius was wailing on the boy, landing blow after blow onto his face until the sickening crunch of something in the boy's nose rang out.
"Stay. Away. From my. Brother. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" Procopius snarled. This was his gangster spirit coming out in full force. He took care of his own and any step over the line would be met with overwhelming violence. By the time he was actually pried away the kid was a sobbing mess on the floor, clutching his face and soaking blood through his fingertip. Whether Procopius would have kept going if he hadn't been stopped was a fair question that hung in the air. The look in his eyes though didn't inspire anyone with the answer.
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