Relationships - Tabitha Morgenstein

Major Relationships

Aerik Hargraves

While she doesn't know Aerik THAT well, she does feel a certain kinship toward him, especially since Aiden referred to him as "boy Tabitha". One of the times they spoke, she listened to him talk about his stresses and was one of the factors responsible for convincing Aerik to confess to Felicity. He seems to be kind and has a really good heart, and she really does see a lot of herself and Aiden in Aerik and Felicity--so of course she's hardcore rooting for them. Tabitha has immense respect for him due to his heroic efforts during the Reversal Mountain arc. There's not a lot of real heroes in the world, but Tabitha would say that Aerik was one, without a doubt. Plus, the guy knows how to throw a party. That's almost as important as the hero stuff. 

Aiden Kobayashi 

Aiden was not the easiest person to get along with, even for Tabitha. He was rude, aggressive, confrontational, arrogant, and even cruel and responded to even her casual attempt at small talk with terse, dismissive comments. He was too serious and he honestly drove her nuts. She was prepared to just ditch him at one point--she's so, so, so glad that she didn't and accepted his mother's offer for tea. 
It was watching Aiden with this family, particularly with his younger sister Haru, that Tabitha really understood him and saw him in a different way. Yeah, he was a jerk but he was also a doting son, a wonderful brother, and a selfless person who gave everything to improve his family's lives and kept nothing for himself. When they finally started to bond, it was no surprise that Tabitha would eventually fall for him. 
Tabitha loves Aiden more than anything. She's had relationships before--several, in fact--but nothing that even compares to this. Aiden is her hero, her best friend, and her absolute favorite person in the world. He understands her and sees her on a level nobody else does. She can be herself with him and he accepts her--both the good parts of her and the bad parts. He supports her and while he's protective of her (she honestly loves that about him), he also respects her autonomy and capability to take care of herself. What they share is something she never really thought was possible; he is stable, caring, truly loving, and even a little bit fun when he wants to be. She loves his smile, as rare as it is to see, and getting him to smile is enough to completely turn her day around. 
Before Aiden, Tabitha's relationships were all pretty toxic, centering around drug use or convenience. She was always a very physical person, and she isn't used to physical intimacy being anything but impulsive or even transactional. Relationships were unstable, short, and explosive. She's been cheated on, and even did the cheating once or twice. That was just the way things were, right? Well, no. Aiden helped her see that. From the second he kissed her back, she couldn't imagine anyone else she'd want to kiss, or anybody else she'd want to hold her at night--or in the daytime for that matter. She'd never thought that settling down with one person for the rest of her life was something she'd ever want but she does with Aiden. Even though she's terrified at the idea of parenthood, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about that with him. Stability was never something she saw in any relationships growing up, especially not with her parents, but once again Aiden completely changed the game. 
As it turns out, relationships are a lot easier when they're built on love, respect, support, mutual trust and understanding. Aiden is her rock and her hero, and she knows that she can depend on him no matter what life has to throw at them. Likewise, she strives to be that for him, too. She wants to make him happy, and to feel as loved, seen, and safe as he makes her feel. Tabitha can't imagine life without Aiden at this point, and any future without him in it doesn't interest her at all. 
Aiden turned her a free-wheeling party girl into a sappy romantic seemingly overnight. He'll probably never realize the impact he's had on her, or how much he genuinely changed her life. Nevertheless, she plans on spending the rest of her life showing him how grateful she is for him. 

Felicity Brannon

Felicity is Aerik's girlfriend, and probably one of the more difficult people that Tabitha's had to deal with. If she was being honest, she did not like Felicity when they first met. Or for like, the first few days? But she did notice a certain gentleness in her, starting with the orphaned Teddiursa and then again whenever she was with Aerik and thought nobody else was watching. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't actually giggle to herself when she realized that the person Felicity reminded her of the most was Aiden. She and Ryan talked about it--he agreed with her, and started calling Felicity "girl Aiden". 
Throughout the Reversal Mountain Arc, Tabitha and Felicity often butted heads. They bickered and disagreed, and both found it difficult to work with the other. Tabitha understood Felicity to an extent, and she even found herself kind of fond of her sometimes. But still, Tabitha would often snap at Felicity when the other girl was going off on some tirade. But there was a moment, after Lynette teleported to Heatran's chamber, taking Aerik and Aiden, with limitations forcing Felicity, Tabitha, and Lynette to remain behind. Tabitha and Felicity were both exhausted and scared and in immense pain, but had been enduring for the ones they loved. Then they teleported away, and both Tabitha and Felicity felt the same crushing sense of helplessness and terror at the thought of never seeing the ones they loved again. 
After that, it seems the two girls sort of understood one another more. They still bicker from time to time, but Tabitha wouldn't hesitate to say that Felicity was a genuinely good person, nor would she hesitate to say that Felicity was her friend. 

Hanako Kobayashi

Hanako is maybe the sweetest lady on planet Earth? Tabitha loves the crap out of Hanako and Hanako seems to like her, too; by the end of Tabitha's initial stay with her, after earning the Aero Badge, she started to insist that Tabitha simply call her "Hana". 
Tabitha sees Hanako as generous, kind, empathetic, and selfless. She has a big heart, and has spent many years working tirelessly as a single mother for her two kids. Tabitha's own parents left a massive something to be desired, so seeing someone who loved their kids so entirely and was willing to devote her life to taking care of them was touching. If Tabitha ever had kids, Hanako is the kind of mom she'd want to be. 
Tabitha also feels immensely grateful to Hanako for another reason--if it hadn't been for her inviting Tabitha to tea, then Tabitha and Aiden wouldn't be together.

Haru Kobayashi

Haru is a great kid. Tabitha's heart immediately went out to Haru the first time they met, and it really made her heart full to simply talk and play with her and see what a bright, compassionate, and freaking adorable little girl she was. Haru has a big heart and bid dreams, and Tabitha wants to do whatever she can to help those dreams come to fruition. 
She's protective of Haru, almost as protective as Aiden himself. When she was taken by the cult in Ecruteak City Tabitha volunteered to help Aiden find and save her without a second thought, despite the immense danger. During the fighting in the ruins, Tabitha ran to Haru and held her close to keep her safe from Spiritomb.
The two bonded quickly and their friendship is one of the best parts of Tabitha's life. She always looks forward to getting letters or phone calls from Haru, and when they're together Tabitha often just sort of hangs out with Haru as a sort of "girl time" thing. Haru seems to adore Tabitha as much as Tabitha adores her, expressing more than once that she wants to be like Tabitha when she grows up. Tabitha is deeply humbled by that, and works hard to be worthy of that and to be the person Haru thinks that she is.
Tabitha's been clean for almost a full year, and while she doesn't think about it as much as she did when she first left Silver Town, she does occasionally struggle with cravings--but thinking about Haru is enough to remind her what she stands to lose if she ever turned back to that. Tabitha is intent on being a good role-model for Haru, and to be someone the younger girl can depend on and trust. 

Henri

Tabitha has...mixed feelings about Henri. On the one hand, the guy is weird as shit and tends to act like she's not there when he talks to Aiden. Additionally, seeing Henri usually means something bad or dangerous is about to happen. On the other hands, despite his weirdness, he IS one of the few people who Aiden seems to think of as a friend (they exchange tea recipes over text. He doesn't always text Tabitha back). He also seems to be genuine, if a bit mysterious, and his heart usually seems to be in the right place. They wouldn't have been able to save Haru from the cult in Ecruteak City without him, and it was because of Henri that Ryan didn't just outright die during that same incident. 
Overall, she doesn't dislike Henri. But there's still something about him that feels off and keeps her from fully letting her guard down around him. 

Kendra Gasper

Once upon a time, Kendra was the most important person in Tabitha's life. She was confident, cool, and tough, and she didn't take shit from anybody. Tabitha was almost immediately enamored with her, and Kendra would be the person who made Tabitha realize that she even liked girls like that. She and Kendra would have a tumultuous and toxic relationship for about two years. Tabitha truly felt that she loved Kendra, despite how miserable drama with Kendra made her. While Tabitha would casually hook up with a number of people during the time they were together/not together, Kendra was the one of the only people that Tabitha would say she genuinely loved. Tabitha even got a shitty tattoo of the letter K on the bottom of her wrist. 
Today, Kendra has come to represent what she left behind. Tabitha feels that she was a worse person with her. She doesn't have much lingering affection for her, and she doesn't regret the ways things ended, and has since turned the K on her wrist into an asterisk. Kendra's a ghost in her past, but one she has laid to rest.  

Ryan Fairchild

Ryan Fairchild, better known by some as Ryan the Bugcatcher, is one of the stranger friends of hers but one that she deeply cares for. He's a sweet guy with one of the biggest hearts she's ever encountered. While he can be a little much for some people, Tabitha recognizes the loneliness that has more or less made him that way. Ryan has a lot of love to give, and he is extremely loyal to his friends. A natural chatterbox, Ryan has a tendency to talk endlessly, often very fast. This is a trait that most people seem to quickly tire of. Tabitha doesn't really mind, though; she will happily listen to him prattle on and on endlessly about Bug Pokemon, about a movie he saw once, or really anything else while they travel. She thinks that it's sweet how much he wants to share and connect with his friends. He's a little social inept, sure, but his heart is always in the right place. 
Most people who know Ryan tend to hate him. He's even mentioned in passing that someone punched him in the face one time that it almost knocked him off a truck. He's never told her the name of the jackass who did it, though. But stories like that don't seem all that uncommon with Ryan and that makes her really sad. He's such a kind and compassionate person and the only thing he wants is to help and to keep people safe. Maybe he's weird and maybe he can be a little annoying sometimes, but Tabitha is grateful that they're friends. She often gives him support and compliments him, just so that he knows that not everybody thinks he's the worst--and that some people actually like him just the way he is.

Viola Rousseau

Heh, Viola rocks. Tabitha and Viola got along pretty much right away. Both are free-spirits who love to have a good time, though paradoxically Viola seems both more wild and more put together than Tabitha. Regardless, Tabitha admires Viola's laid-back and "I don't give a shit" vibe, as well as her artistic passion, and her dedication to her craft. On top of that, Viola's a good person. She didn't have to risk her life during the Reversal Mountain Arc, but she did--and Tabitha knows that it wasn't just for "the perfect shot". Viola loves her sister, and would go to the end of the world and back for her. Tabitha admires that dedication. 
Of all of the people they've met in Unova, Viola is easily Tabitha's favorite and the two have become good friends. They text back and forth. They don't talk about anything super deep, but that's fine; not every friendship needs to be that. Sometimes it's just nice to have a friend you can exchange shitposts with.

Minor Relationships

Barnabus Rhames

The motorcycle riding "Heartbreaker" is one of the first friends Tabitha made on the road. Most of her early journey was spent on her own, until she met Barnabus in Vermillion City. Apparently he'd lost to Lt. Surge before and it destroyed his pride. But now he was back! Then he lost again. Tabitha helped Barnabus train. They went to the Diglett Tunnel in the hopes of capturing him a Diglett, but a cave-in resulted in them getting trapped down there for a few days. They managed to work together enough to keep the hungry Diglett at bay long enough to escape thanks to the last-second assistance of a ranger named Connor Mackenzie. Tabitha would go with Barnabus to Surge's gym and cheer him on as he finally defeated the Thunder Gym on his third attempt. 
The two would travel together for awhile, making their way to Celadon City. There, Barnabus fell head over heels in love with one of Erika's Disciples. Tabitha helped Barnabus with a number of schemes and attempts to get her to notice him. In the end, Barnabus just had to talk to her. The two rode off into the sunset together, and Tabitha bid Barnabus a fond farewell! This would be the same girl that would break up with Barnabus in Barnabus the Heartbreaker (IC052), which Jenn and Mige tried to help him with (though Tabitha didn't know about any of that). 
She thinks Barnabus is a nice guy, if a little strange and....d e n s e. Also, he didn't seem to recognize her at the Indigo Plateau and that kind of hurt her feelings? 

Brick

Brick is a member of her old crew; he was a bit older than most of the others being the same age as Nathan. Tall, broad, and muscular, Brick was usually the group's muscle if they needed it--and was usually the reason people usually try to mess with them. He was someone safe for the whole group, and he looked out for everyone. He was also gifted in hotwiring cars and with the "the ol' smash-n-grab", as he put it. Tabitha always liked Brick, who was one of the few decent people in the group. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd been so wasted that she couldn't stand and Brick carried her back to their space to sleep it off. The two were really close for awhile until they hooked up--Kendra's resulting freak out caused Tabitha to avoid him for the rest of her time in Silver Town. She regrets that, mostly just because Brick was genuinely a cool guy that didn't deserve to get ignored after being such a good friend to her.  
Out of everybody in the crew, she still occasionally thinks about Brick, hoping that he somehow left them and is living happily somewhere else. Probably not, all things considered, but you know. It never hurts to hope. 

Corrin Grey

Okay, Tabitha doesn't really have any reason to dislike Corrin. He's fine, probably. He fought Team Rocket, so you know. He's fine. But he beat Aiden in the League, something that's still a kind of sore spot for him, so Tabitha dislikes Corrin on principle. 

Corrine Shelby

So you know that whole thing about Tabitha having a soft spot for kids? Corrine doesn't count. Sure, she's not as young as she looks but still. Corrine sucks, dude. No it's not just because Tabitha holds a grudge against her for their fight in the Indigo Conference, or that Tabitha's still really embarrassed at being the girl who lost to fucking Corrine Shelby. That's not it. Corrine just sucks in a general, undefined way. 

Darcie Summers

Tabitha thinks Darcie's sweet! She hasn't known her long, but she actually thinks the girl is pretty cool. This is mostly due to the fact that Ryan seems to be quite taken wit Darcie--something she's never really seen before--and she seems to be taken with him, too! They're really cute together, Tabitha thinks; she thinks his bugs are interesting and they share a love for dumb dad jokes. On top of that, she's also very organized and good with people. Tabitha's never seen someone swoon over Ryan the Bugcatcher, but she is so happy that it finally seems to have happened. She's doing her best to subtly talk Ryan up when Darcie's around, and also trying to slyly support Ryan.  
With her and Aiden leaving Ryan to go back to Kanto to follow Aiden's promise to Lynette, Tabitha feels so much better knowing that someone like Darcie might be there for Ryan. It helps to curb how bad she felt about leaving in the first place. 

DJ Mary

DJ Mary is Tabitha's hero. She grew up idolizing the radio personality, and even took inspiration from DJ Mary for her sense of style (a similar love of pastel colors and cute things). Not in a creepy way, just in the way that one might do when they really look up to someone and emulate certain traits. She used to listen to DJ Mary religiously as a kid. When she left Silver Town, she started to listen to her again when she could. It was a nostalgic experience and Tabitha took comfort in knowing that DJ Mary was still out there doing her things. 
She hopes to meet DJ Mary one day, something that is on her bucket list.

Elijah Vail

One of the only 2020 Unova Starters that she interacted with--or at least the only one she actually remembers? Still, she doesn't remember him for any flattering reasons. The guy's a total rube and she swindled him out a hefty chunk of cash in poker.
Heh. What a doofus. 

Jade

Jade sucks. She's Brick's sister and another member of her old crew. Jade was catty and jealous, and really over-protective of her brother, despite being younger than him and less than half his size. Jade was always very unpleasant and seemed to hate Tabitha from the word "Go". In retrospect, she supposes that Jade probably had a thing for Kendra. Either way, Jade was always extremely mean to Tabitha, and was always either starting or trying to start drama with her. 
In a way, Jade is partly responsible for Tabitha leaving for a Pokemon journey. She is Munna's original owner, who abused the poor Pokemon in an effort to make it fight for her. Tabitha intervened, stealing Munna in the night and skipping town. Out of everyone back in Silver Town, Tabitha probably cares about what happened to Jade the least. 

Jenn Greene

So Tabitha doesn't know her super well, aside from the fact that she was clearly super in love with Mige Fjord and that she is the person that Mige called Ryan to help save when Reversal Mountain erupted. Saving Jenn was their entire reason for getting involved in the Reversal Mountain Arc. While a part of her grew just the tiniest bit resentful toward Jenn by the end, Tabitha recognizes that as being petty and unfair. In Nacrene City, Tabitha went out of her way to talk to Jenn and try to bond with her, lending her clothes and listening to Jenn air the confusion and frustration that she felt toward life. 
Jenn's a pretty great girl. She's kind and smart, and she's really dorky in an adorable, endearing kind of way. The two have become friends, and Tabitha is happier for it. 

Kia Masuda

Kia's great! She's got a good sense of style and good taste in music, and she's very passionate about photography. The two talked for awhile during their stay in Nacrene, and Tabitha feels that Kia's the type friend she could just low-key hang out with by wandering around town and grabbing a coffee. 

Lily Waterflower

Lily is cool, glamorous, and super beautiful. Tabitha actually met Lily the night before her battle at the Cascade Gym; they met at a club and danced together, hung out, and ended up hooking up. Tabitha had no idea that Lily was one of the local gym leaders. Both hurried to the gym for their appointments the next morning, and were mutually shocked when they saw their opponents. It was an...awkward gym battle, but Lily didn't hold back and neither did Tabitha. Honestly, it just made Tabitha like Lily more afterward. She and Tabitha hung out a few more times before Tabitha left Cerulean City, and the two actually got to be pretty close. While they haven't seen each other outside of a passing "hey, how are you" in the Indigo Plateau, Tabitha fondly remembers Lily and her time in The Floral Lagoon City.

Lynette Hargraves

Tabitha is still getting used to Lynette. The teleporting psychic just showed up with Aerik and Felicity, and she just said cryptic, weird shit and sort of...lurked away from the others. She didn't dislike Lynette but she didn't get her. Inside the volcano, Lynette started really getting on Tabitha's nerves, and she even snapped at her once. When Lynette vanished after the night at the hot spring, Tabitha had a bad feeling about her. She was pretty convinced that Lynette was some kind of traitor, even after she showed up again to conveniently save the day. 
In the end, there was always a reasonable explanation for things. Aiden vouched for her, and for the most party Tabitha accepts that judgement; she trusts Aiden. He doesn't approve of many people, and as protective as he is, saying that Lynette isn't a threat is as good as a guarantee. However, Lynnette seems to have struck a chord of some kind with her boyfriend, who has abruptly announced that he's dropping their whole journey with Ryan through Unova to help her prevent some visions that she may or may not have actually had. 
She supports Aiden and will go with him, of course, but something about it just feels weird. She hates that they're just dropping everything, she hates that Ryan is clearly hurt by it, and she feels like they're abandoning him. She hates that Aiden just trusts everything she says at face value, she hates how much Lynette seems to trust Aiden, and more than anything, she hates how important her plight is to Aiden. That's awful, she knows that. But a small part of her feels a little threatened by Lynette, in terms of Aiden's attention. She trusts Aiden entirely, but a part of her can't help but feel a little threatened and maybe even jealous. It's not rational, but not everything someone feels is rational.
Tabitha isn't saying anything about it right now, though; Aiden feels strongly inclined to help Lynette and Tabitha supports him, so for now she's staying quiet and just doing what she can to help.   

Mige Fjord

Mige is a decent dude. She doesn't know him well, though they both fought Team Rocket together when they attacked the opening ceremonies of the 2020 Indigo Conference, and were also both part of the eleven trainers who fought Ares at the end of that whole thing. He's brave and kind, and he's a damn good battler. The thing he pulled off with his Pidgeot was also extremely impressive. Ryan has nothing but good things to say about Mige, and for that reason more than any other, he's alright in Tabitha's book.  

Nathan Gasper

The de-facto "leader" of her old crew in Silver Town, and Kendra's older sibling by about a year. Nathan was level headed and scary smart, though he had a ruthless side that scared Tabitha sometimes. Still, he was like an older brother to her for awhile and they got to be friends after a time when Tabitha was with Kendra. Still, Nathan was never quite stable and his bouts of intense anger were explosive and terrible, and to this day have left Tabitha a little jumpy sometimes when people yell. While a part of her hopes that Nathan got help, she knows that's not likely. 

Quinton Pear

Sweet Quenton Pear only ever wanted to be Tabitha's friend. The two met when they were nine and they became fast friends. For a few years they were inseparable, with Tabitha more or less staying at his house most nights. The two would play video games, especially Dance Dance Starlight Recital. Every weekend they'd go to the second-run theater and watch four movies back to back with handfuls of candy. He was Tabitha's best friend, and the first person to ever really treat her with any real kindness and respect. He didn't judge her for the fact that her family was poor, that she wasn't always able to shower or have clean clothes, or for the fact that her parents were drug addicts. He was just a sweet boy that liked her for who she was. 
She used to imagine that she and Quinton would always be friends. That didn't end up happening. They fell out of touch a bit before she started using and they didn't see each other for almost two years before Mr. and Mrs. Pear took her in. She feels so ashamed about what she did to the Pear family; she hates herself for stealing from them, and she really hates herself for what she did to poor Quinton. She just used him. He was comfortable, and kind, and had always been a sweet boy. She knows that she was his first. She betrayed them all, especially poor Quinton, and she hates herself so much for how all of that turned out. 
She's just over a year clean, and it's been a while since that happened. But it was such a horrible situation that she can't bring herself to even send him an IM on social media. She wants to apologize and try to make up for what she did to him and to them. But she's a coward and hasn't been able to do it. That's one of the parts of her history she hasn't shared with Aiden. She knows he'd understand, but...she also knows he'd encourage her to write them and apologize if she feels so bad about it. She's not sure if she can. 

Sammy Albright

Tabitha met Sammy during Indigo Conference Victors. They weren't friends or anything, but she was seen in Peace at the Plateau (ICV013) swindling him out of some money at the start of the scene centering of Aiden, Ryan, and Tabitha.
She thinks Sammy's a dumb rube. 

Tessa LeBlanc

Tessa is super cool, and Tabitha really enjoys talking to her and hanging out. Tessa's really smart and seems to have a deep love for and understanding of filmmaking. Tabitha sees a lot of her younger self in Tessa--which is both endearing but also a little concerning. Tabitha hopes to maybe help Tessa avoid some of the same choices that she made when she was younger, but is being careful about how to approach it. 

Wynn Masuda

Wynn is...another kind of difficult person. She doesn't really know what to make of the guy. He's clearly brilliant, and he's brilliant in the way that makes you an antisocial weirdo. He's actually really mean to Ryan, though, so he's currently on Tabitha's shit list. Apologizing to Ryan would go a long way, but that initial introduction made Tabitha not really like Wynn very much.