#[[gonna go ahead and switch out of para for now]]

[mariinara]

FOR GOD, LIBERTY, AND LOVE. (Sam Drake x Reader) ANGST |PART 1|

A/N: Well, this one-shot is late. BUT HERE IT IS, FINALLY. I hated writing this :,) I feel awful.

Request for: @samdrakeftw (ENJOY!)

Tags: @missdictatorme , @the-drakeboys , @the-winchesterboys , @hrgnm , @purplezebra68

Prompts: "Don't die on me." + "Don't make this harder than it is."

Warnings: Angst, death.

Word count: 2,416

(Part 2 here!)

"There she is!"

You quickly whipped your head towards the source of the voice and the sounds of multiple, heavy footsteps, startled, "Oh, shit.."

You glanced down at the Shoreline soldier, whom you stabbed to death and, quickly, you ripped a part of his t-shirt away, took his Para .45 gun, and sprung back on your feet, starting to bolt towards a plausible refuge. 

'This was a bad idea..'

You thought to yourself just when bullets of different calibers started to rain behind you, causing you to flinch and duck away as you ran, losing balance a little and stumbling onto your feet but, luckily, your strong desire to survive carried you and you continued your sprint through the ship graveyard. Your feet were sore and the gushing bullet wound through your hand was not helping you. 

As much as you attempted to maintain a tough facade, you felt terrified. There you were, running away from an entire army of soldiers, who seeked you to avenge their fallen comrades. 

It was because of you that so many Shoreline soldiers were taken down, and you reckoned that Nate and Elena took down their own, generous share of them, which was why Rafe was pissed and sending more guns behind you.

But you were on your own.

You'd parted ways with them to cover more ground to find Sam and, after a long argument with Nathan, you were able to bolt away, with only a switch-blade, a revolver, and your will to both save Sam and punch him into oblivion.

And there you were, teasing death with your absolute perseverance, your feet padding strongly on the ground as you rippled through shipwrecks. You were thinking about nothing else but your own survival. 

'You're gonna be okay..'

You assured yourself, heavy breaths escaping your parted, cut lips as you vaulted over a stack of piled wood, barely avoiding the bullets that ostensibly came at you from every direction. 

Your eyes scanned the environment and, when you saw a coming turn, you decided to take it, slipping a bit when you made the sudden shift. But in no time, you were on your feet again.

"Here!" 

You quickly whipped out your gun just when the sniper aimed right at you and took your shot, clean through his forehead. For a second he looked stunned and he fell over, and when you wanted to take a large step forward to take the sniper gun, more men appeared in front of you, stopping you in your tracks.

Your eyes flickered in both directions, back and forth, and it seemed like you were trapped for a good couple of seconds. There was no way through the ship next to you, but there was a small opening that you could squeeze through.

Without wasting another second, you inhaled deeply and squeezed yourself through, breathing heavily and wincing when your wounded hand made contact with the splintered wood and gunshots fired incessantly, putting holes in the ship, but you ran through it, ducking your head away. 

'Just breathe.'

You reminded yourself. God, why were you doing that in the first place? Why did you think, for a second, that this was a good idea? You were mad at Samuel for lying and putting your lives at risk, yet there you were, throwing yourself in the face of danger for the same man who'd broken your heart.

But you couldn't bear to lose him again. 

Not after you'd just gotten him back.

And that was your only drive. The incentive that was so strong that it controlled your body for you. You'd stabbed and dodged and parkoured your way through Avery's bullshit, and sometimes, you'd be so stunned at your own actions that you'd ask yourself: "How the hell did I do that?" 

You had no clue that you were capable of inciting such chaos– to elicit such rage, frustration, and desperation from Nadine and Rafe to the extent that they'd be so threatened so as to send a whole battalion after you.

And as much as that brought you satisfaction, you'd wished that it was all over. You just wanted any sign that Sam was safe and sound, and once you heard guns blazing from a distance and saw that he was there, alive and well and making a beeline from Shoreline, you were instantly back on your feet to retrieve him.

But, oh, how could that ever go according to plan with military men being at every corner?

A loud groan came from you when you jumped on a lower cliff, right below the shipwreck you were running through. 

Ahead of you, a battle cry could be heard just as a soldier rounded a corner to surprise you and swing the back of his shotgun to knock you out but you quickly dodged him and ducked, pulling out your switchblade and plunging it into his jugular. 

He stopped struggling and fell to the floor, allowing you to take over his weapon. After strapping it to your back, you continued your sprint and, you couldn't deny it, you were pretty sick of yourself.

You'd left this career for a reason.

Inflicting harm upon others had become more of a nightmare to you. For days, you wouldn't sleep properly when you'd remember how you so effortlessly slashed someone's neck or riddled their body with bullets.

You loved treasure hunting but everything came with a price and this was one you were no longer willing to pay.

With a loud grunt, you slammed your entire weight against yet another wrecked ship, getting your body through the moldy wood easily. You caught yourself when you nearly fell over and your eyes skimmed your surroundings. 

'There. I can take cover there.'

You quickly jumped behind a pile of excavation boxes and sat down, your back propped against them. You tried to stop shaking and quickly pulled out the cloth you'd ripped from the soldier earlier, tying your hand with the flimsy fabric.

You let out a soft whimper as you applied pressure to your wound, clenching your fist when the cloth was secured around your palm, "Ah, fuck.." You whispered to yourself, resting your head back and trying to catch your breath, swallowing to dampen your dry throat.

"Careful. Lots of hiding places out here."

They were coming closer. And if you didn't get yourself together in the matter of less than a minute, you were going to be a goner. 

'God– What was I thinking!?'

You mentally scolded yourself whilst reaching for your thigh holster for your gun, which you pulled out and checked for ammo. 

'One bullet. Perfect. Might as well put it in my own head.' 

You quickly pushed the magazine back into the handgun and unwrapped your shotgun, adjusted the safety, and clung to the weapon with tight, shaking hands and closed eyes.

"You check over there. I'll stay here to lookout. She can't have gone too far."

"Roger that."

Your eyes snapped open again as the men separated to cover more ground and your guard was up again. You sat in a crouching position so you'd be able to bolt away if you wanted to easily.

You held your breath as you heard footsteps approaching the boxes you were behind. Slow, careful ones, as if the soldier just knew you were there. As if he knew that just the slightest, wrong move from him could trigger a reaction from you that he might not like.

Suddenly, and out of nowhere, gunshots could be heard, and the men's attentions were diverted elsewhere, but you flinched at the flying bullets, ducking your head behind the boxes and holding your head in your hands, not daring to peek lest you lose your head.

You'd had enough. Your lungs were filled with the suffocating humidity and you were trying so hard to keep it together but you were sure you were about to lose your mind. You've been fighting your way through Libertalia on your own for a long while and all the assaults, the attacks, the bullets, the punches, they all left both physical and mental scars in you.

There. Was. A. Reason. You. Quit.

But, for Sam, you were prepared to go through just about anything and you'd often wondered if he'd do the same. If he even felt the same. 

You were such a coward. 

You could handle yourself, hold a gun, shoot people and impale them with ease, but you could never bring yourself to look him in the eyes and tell him what you've wanted to all those years back. 

That you loved him. That you always have and probably always will. He died and left you to wallow in your misery for fifteen years and now that he was back, it was your chance for a redo. 

But, once again, you couldn't do it and you just didn't know what it was about him. His intense, yet warm gaze was probably it. It made you shake with fear. The fear of not being adequate enough for him. You've seen what type of women he hooked up with and you were nothing like them. A voice would tell you that it was probably a good thing. That Sam was actually waiting for someone like you to impact his life. To cause that dramatic shift within him. To make him wonder what life would taste like with you, tucked in his arms.

But another voice told you "Don't. He's not looking for anything." 

And you'd changed your mind. You'd shaken your head with a thin smile and a soft 'nothing..' before turning away from him, leaving him confused yet intrigued. And that was the last time you had any interaction. After that, his lie was exposed, and you didn't know why, but as much as your heart broke because of it, you couldn't find it in you to be mad at him. 

Sure, punching the daylights out of him was a priority, but at that moment, you just wanted to find him and never let him go. 

Startled, you let out a loud scream after being taken into a pair of strong arms. You struggled, feeling the person turn you, saying things that you couldn't quite hear over your low growls of resistance.

"Let me go!" You yelled, trying to push them away. You couldn't see anything except the blur of your own tears. You didn't even know why you were crying.

"Hey!" The person's sharp voice came and something in your brain clicked. That voice. It was so familiar and it slowly brought you out or your trance. You were breathing heavily, your stamina suddenly feeling low, "It's me.. It's just me.." He comforted, cupping your cheeks in his hands and tilting your head up, wanting to look at you.

You stared at him for a couple of seconds, studying his deeply concerned expression. You were overjoyed. He was right there, holding you. And it'd dawned on you that the bullet sounds ceased completely. That you could only hear the heavy winds and you and Sam's erratic breathing.

When he realized that you were back to him, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled, making something burst inside of you and you felt the tears rushing to your eyes. The contortions your face suddenly made hurt every deep cut in your skin and you couldn't help but wince before letting out a sob.

Sam knew that reaction was coming and he knew you. He knew that you were relieved to have him right there in front of him. He knew that you came after him alone and as much as that worried him sick, he was sort of glad he had you there. And yet he had no idea what he'd done to deserve that. 

Gratefulness suddenly overcame him and he took you into an embrace as you cried and all you could do was surrender and close your eyes as your face pressed into his chest. One of his hands was holding the back of your head, his fingers deep into your hair. His other arm was around you, and he let out a soft sigh of comfort, just basking in your presence.

"It's just me.." He repeated, his voice barely above a tired whisper, "It's okay.."

Slowly, you started to calm down. Your sobs were no more and you only started to sniff and hiccup lightly and Sam pulled away, only to look at you. Your beautiful face. The face that he so dearly loved. You had the ability to make him feel warm and it was almost embarrassing how many times he'd catch himself staring into your observant, curious, lively eyes. 

And your smile.

Oh, what he wouldn't give to see you give him a smile and one of your coy laughs. You were such a blessing.

But, much like you, he was a coward. He couldn't bring himself to look you in the eyes and tell you how you made him feel. He wanted to tell you that he's imagined you jumping into his arms and kissing him on more than one occasion but he just couldn't and he too had no clue as to why he felt so timid around you– it was extremely out of character for him.

"You okay?" He asked you gently while wiping away your tears with his thumbs, staring into your lost eyes.

You nodded with a small hum, feeling yourself unable to form the words just yet, like you were brain-dead. If you'd even opened your mouth, nothing articulate would come out.

"We gotta go, alright?" He spoke gently, tucking stray strands of your hair behind your ears, his hazel eyes warm, assuring safety. Quickly, you nodded. After that, his hands left your cheeks so he could reload his gun, "Stay close." He instructed, jogging ahead already. 

You stared at him as he did, your shoulders sagged in defeat and your eyes still welled up with tears. You wondered just how much you truly loved him. You let out a shaky breath when you realized that it hurt when he wasn't cupping your cheeks anymore or playfully quipping. 

You remembered how hard it was to live for such a long time without him. 

And you knew that, as long as he was next to you, there was nothing you couldn't do. That thought alone pushed you to jog and catch up to him, feeling your stamina get back to you.

_____________

[mateoweston]

PATIENCE → PARA

who: mateo weston, rory flanagan ( @switch-it-up-rory​ )

when: february 7th

where: mateo’s room

warnings: first sexy scene! smut!

Mateo Weston

He was excited. He was for most scenes but as evidence had proven, hanging out with Rory was always interesting to say the least. Mateo usually liked to think of himself as good at reading people and went into most scenes with a general idea of how his partners would react. With Rory, he wasn’t so sure. There was a big chance he’d be true to his declaration and be patient, but Mateo was mostly curious to see what it would take to change that. By the time Rory knocked on the door, Mat had long finished setting up and easily waved him into the room. “We’ll take this to my room this time,” he pointed out, grin tugging at his lips, as he led the way there. Cuffs were already attached to the head of his bed and a variety of implements and toys were laid out on it. Some extra lengths of rope. A cock ring. Lube. A vibrating wand with a masturbator attachment. He wanted it all on display so Rory could get a look ahead of time, be it to give him a preview or give a chance to voice if he wasn’t into something after all. Closing the door behind them, he strolled over to perch against the edge of his desk for now. “So, you brought all that patience of yours?”

Rory Flanagan

The more Rory was getting to know Mateo, the weirder things were. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, per se, but Rory was used to being the one with all the surprises up his sleeve, to be the one to catch people out with his random anecdotes of his life before Florida, and general quirks of his personality, and varied interests. But Mat seemed to have Rory beat almost every time, and this new revelation about more explicit scenes was definitely something. The Irish lad never cared what was going on with people, as it was their own shit to figure out, and he'd keep this secret to the grave, but he was definitely curious for what the Dominant had to offer. They had stepped into the Dominant's bedroom, and Rory curiously looked around the space, eyebrows raising at everything was laid out. "Very prepared, Sir," He commnted, pointing to the bed, "Or like do you just have your shit lying about like this?" At Mateo's question, he shrugged, because he didn't know how to answer questions he didn't really liked being asked. "To show, like a famous ogre, I have more than one layer. A patience layer or some shit, I don't know."

Mateo Weston

The smile on his face turned into more of a grin as Rory talked. He truly thought it was impossible to be bored in his presence and while that was always entertaining, it also intrigued him. Especially now that he’d gotten to see a little more of Rory, he was curious what other layers that onion was hiding, to go with the presented metapher. “Well, I’m looking forward to testing that patience, then. Either way, we’re gonna have a good time,” he promised, gaze travelling down Rory’s body and then back up. After a brief moment of consideration, he pushed himself off his desk and slowly closed the distance between them, hands settling on Rory’s hips. “Tell me your safeword,” he requested, thumbs rubbing slow circles against the other’s hipbones. He knew it, of course, but wanted to bring it to both of their attention before they really got into this.

Rory Flanagan

Rory acknowledged that this was different than before, in the intimate privacy of Mateo's bedroom, feeling the Dominant's eyes on him in a way he hadn't previously felt, and Rory actually felt himself feeling a little hot under the collar. "A big promise to make, Sir," He found himself saying with a grin, gulping when he felt the Dominant's hands on his hips, completely forgetting what his safeword was, only thankful that today he decided to wear the dungarees that had the least amount of buttons to mess with. "Radish?" He guessed, even though it was his own safeword and technically it could be whatever he wanted. "Radish." Rory then repeated with some sort of confidence, though he didn't know where that came from, entirely too distracted by the feeling of Mat's hands tracing circles on his body, and he didn't know if he'd be able to say much more than that now, not that it was a word he wanted to say at all in this moment.

Mateo Weston

Mat was about to ask whether Rory was telling or asking him, but hummed in appreciation when he seemed to almost read his mind. "Good boy," he praised softly. "Use it if you need to." Another pause to let that sink in before he went on to explain his plans. "First of all, I'm gonna get all these clothes off you," he paused briefly to move one hand up from Rory's hips, his index finger hooking under the front of his dungarees for emphasis, "and you're just gonna stand here, relax and be good for me." With that, he slipped the one dungaree strap off his shoulder, letting them both hang around his hips. With the obstruction out of the way, his hands moved to the hem of his shirt, dipping under it for just a moment to rest against his stomach. Somehow keeping a close, literal skin-to-skin contact, felt important. "Arms up," he ordered, fingers curling against the hem of his shirt to lift it up and over his head. "There we go," he hummed, hands finding Rory's now bare waist, pulling him close while the other hand slowly trailed up his chest. "All good?"

Rory Flanagan

"Don't worry Sir, I think that'll be the last time you'll hear the word." Rory promised with a wink, knowing it was extremely bold to promise something like that, in a brand new scene where a lot more could go wrong than intended. But something stopped Rory from thinking such things as he registered the other man's words. It was the idea of Mateo, in a more serious Dominant mode than Rory had ever seen him, being all seductive and in charge, having to remove his dungarees, that almost set Rory off, and although he managed to contain what he was sure would be a big laughing fit, a little chuckle escaped him, but the laughter choked with a hitch in his throat because, somehow, Mat did make somewhat alluring, flicking off the straps of the outfit, and the Switch managed to do exactly what was told of him, watching him like a hawk. Rory's fingers twitched whe he felt Mat's hand come in contact with his stomach, wanting to touch him in return, but he just lifted his arms up, goosebumps raising on his arms as his not-so-bare skin was exposed, letting out a pleasantly surprised huff when Mateo pulled him in close again. "Yeah," Rory agreed, "was a bit stifling, in all those layers. So....are you gonna strip next, Sir?" He smirked, "Tit for tat and all that?"

Mateo Weston

Admittedly, there might have been something a little amusing about trying to make the removal of dungarees sexy. But then again, it had been Rory's idea to wear them in the first place so he decided the humour of it was entirely on him -- even if he couldn't help the grin on his own face in return to the other's chuckle. At his question, he hummed, the hand on Rory's waist sliding lower in a subtle attempt at finding where these damn pants had their buttons hid. Fortunately, they turned out to be rather easy to locate and so he shook his head as his fingers trailed over them. "No," he settled on after a moment, fingers slowly moving to pop the first button. "I want to see you first. And you were gonna be patient, remember?" he grinned, popping the second button and causing the dungarees to begin slipping. Besides, he'd always found the difference in state of dress to add something to a scene, at least for a little while. "Step out," he ordered, moving back a little to give Rory room to get the rest of the way out of his pants. "And then I want you on the bed, on your back."

Rory Flanagan

The reminder of Rory's patience made him rasie an eyebrow, slightly embarassed that he forgot about that part of it all. "I am very patient," He countered, fingers curling to stop his hands from tracing against Mateo's as the other man undid his buttons, "I just like knowing what's what, you know? Making a schedule and all tha'." When in doubt, he supposed, talk shit. He shimmied out of the dungarees that pooled to his feet, thin fabric of his underwear being the only thing preventing his heavily tattooed body being fully exposed, feeling weirdly vulnerable. He had been in various states of undress with various different people, but something about Mateo being involved, a man who had very particular views on scening, made him feel like it was almost taboo to be in his boxers in his bedroom. Rory however did what was told, laying on the bed, ignoring every instinct to pick up the toys laid out on the other side and play with them, not wanting whatever scene Mateo had in mind to veer into punishments. "Comfy," He commented, patting the bed spread as if it were a pet.

Mateo Weston

Mat made no secret of the way his gaze followed Rory as he laid down, travelling over the expanses of skin exposed by now. And he had to admit -- he was a real pretty sight. In a very objective way, of course. It wasn't until Rory had settled down that Mat reached for the hem of his own shirt, tugging it up and over his head with little ceremony. His focus tonight would not be on himself, so this was mostly for hopefully making Rory feel a little more comfortable in not being the only one exposed. "There you go," he muttered as he finally followed suit, one knee on the bed as his hands nudged Rory's knees apart to make enough space for him to fit between. Leaning over him, he ran one hand up his chest, stopping only when it had reached his chin. Thumbing over the vague stubble there, he cupped it, keeping Rory's head in space when he spoke. "Good boy. You're doing great," he reassured, a little softer than he might have usually been. After a brief pause, he moved, sitting back enough so he could actually use his hands and find Rory's wrists. He pinned first one, then the other wrist above his head with one of his and leaned back in, his body weight pressing them into the mattress. His free hand was back on Rory's chin then, tipping it up for no real reason except that he could. Moving in closer yet, his thumb brushed over Rory's bottom lip. "And do you know what good boys get?"

Rory Flanagan

Rory wasn't aware that he wolf-whistled at Mateo taking off his shirt until he could hear the tune echo in his ears, and he merely smirked to cover up for the flush on his cheeks. He wasn't blind, he always knew the Dominant before him was an objectively attractive male, but something about his shirt being off really cemented it in that Mateo Weston was a ride. He let out a weird gasp-like noise at the feeling of Mateo nudging his knees apart, that his body allowed as if he was on auto-pilot. He gulped when Mat traced his face, feeling any smart comment he might have had leave his brain. "Thank you, Sir," He answered thickly, though he wasn't really sure what he had done so far to count as being good, though he didn't mind the phrasing this time around, in fact wanting to hear it again. He didn't even resist when Mat picked up his wrist, letting out a small gasp at the sensation of their bodies pressing together. "A prize?" He asked, hopefully.

Mateo Weston

There was something about seeing Rory like this -- all flushed and gasping instead of full of the usual witty remarks -- that got to him. It was part of what he'd always enjoyed when playing with someone who pushed back a little: that moment when he managed to topple the bravado. It was a thrill that never got any less exciting. "That's right. A reward," he returned, small smile on his face as he leaned in. His lips pressed against just the corner of Rory's mouth, then to his jaw, his neck. When he'd made his way there, there was a brief pause before teeth dug  into sensitive skin -- lightly at first, to test the waters -- before his tongue soothed over the spot. At the same time, he moved one of his legs up higher between Rory's, mercifully providing at least a little bit of friction. He deserved a reward, after all.

Rory Flanagan

It wasn't like Rory to be frozen or tongue-tied, but it was like Mateo had some sort of hold over him, and he was under his spell, determined to wait patiently and be good for him, to listen to him and do exactly what he was told. A small groan escaped him when the Dominant's mouth moved from his own down his jaw, and throat, letting out a pant when he felt his teeth sink it, hissing out in pleasure, shifting at the feeling of the friction Mateo's legs were providing. "I thought this was a reward, Sir," Rory gasped out, somehow finally finding his voice again, "but it seems like you're just teasing me." He grinned as he made his comment, giving away that he perhaps didn't mind being teased at all, but he wouldn't directly admit that, of course.

Mateo Weston

Mateo hummed as if he was genuinely considering Rory's words, the vibrations of it meeting the other's throat where he'd decided to bite down a little harder this time. He had a thing for marks. "Something tells me it's pretty rewarding for you." he commented, moving his leg up against him a little for emphasis. Speaking of teasing, though, he did have further plans. Pulling back and sitting up a little, he brushed some hair our of Rory's face. "But I do think I'mma need two hands for the rest of this. So let's get yours nice and tied up." With that, he attached both of Rory's wrists into the cuffs already hanging from the headboard. Rope was nice but the cuffs were quicker to both put on and take off if needed be. And especially for their first time sceneing together, he wanted that option. "There," he proclaimed, clearly satisfied at his work once he was done, and sat back on his knees. Damn if he wasn't pretty, all spread out like that. This time, his hands settled on Rory's knees, slowly travelling up his thighs. While one hand continued up over his stomach, the other one hovered before giving in. Brushing the back of his knuckles lightly over the shape of Rory's cock in his underwear, he clicked his tongue. "Did you enjoy being teased?"

Rory Flanagan

Normally Rory would feel somewhat embarassed at how quickly it took for him to be turned on, but somehow with Mateo he couldn't quite bring himself to care. He wanted the Dominant above him knowing how much he got to him, as sad and desperate it may have seemed.  "Oh, really?" He managed to say, with a playful eyeroll, "God I wonder what gives you that impression." He noticed when he seemed to relax more, when he wasn't so on edge, he could still be himself, though Mat was still managing to find ways to shut him up with each new touch on his body, and all he could was look up at him as he brushed his hair out of his face, a gesture so weirdly soft and intimate in the general weirdness of this whole scene, but definitely a good weird, he decided. He smirked seeing the handcuffs. "Last time I was in a pair of these it was a much less enjoyable experience than I'm sure this will be, Sir," He menitoned, moving his arms, the cuffs sliding along the bedframe, stopping when he realised it might get him into trouble, and also, because Mateo's hands were on him again, moving slowly to where Rory was aching to be touched. He gulped thickly, before nodding. "I did, Sir." He said, the attitude from before gone from his voice again, replaced by the lust that was a thick cloud in his head.

Mateo Weston

“Trust me, it’ll be enjoyable alright,” he teased in return. He’d gone into this still fairly careful, Fauna’s words of caution ringing in his head, and while Mateo wasn’t about to dive straight into the deep end of the most intense stuff he could think of, he was starting to relax more. Perhaps Rory didn’t have much experience -- but their banter remained easy and unless Mat was really reading the room wrong, he seemed fairly at ease, too. “I’m gonna have to keep that in mind, then,” he mused, as if the thought of teasing him further had only just entered his mind and wasn’t the entire theme of this scene. His fingers kept moving, feather light over Rory’s cock while the hand that had moved up to his chest paused to lightly pinch at a nipple, just to see what kind of a reaction he’d get. “I think we should get rid of this, don’t you?” he mused after a moment, hand moving from Rory’s crotch to the waistband of his briefs. Fingertips dipped under for a moment before he grasped at the piece of clothing. “Up,” he ordered, waiting until Rory lifted his hips to pull it down all the way. Discarding the item somewhere off to the side, he moved back on, hands hooking under Rory’s knees to bend and spread them to make room. “Such a good boy,” he praised, voice soft again, as his palms settled on either side of Rory’s hips. “All good?”

Rory Flanagan

A small moan escaped him as Mateo's hands brushed along his cock, taking advantage of being able to shift against him in an attempt to feel some relief, because there was no rule about him not being able to move. "You better not be getting any ideas, Sir," He said with a cocky smile, that was quickly replaced by a whine, arching his back as the Dominant tweaked his nipple, sending ripples of arousal down his spine. It wasn't even something that could have been considered painful, but it reminded Rory that he really enjoyed pain. He did what he was told, lifting his hips and helping Mat to the best of his ability wiggle out of his briefs, shivering slightly at the cold air on his now exposed half-hard cock, waiting with anticipation on what Mat would do next. "You love to man handle," He commented, before he could stop himself. It wasn't in his usual teasing tone, nor was it a criticism, just stating a fact, looking up at the Dominant with a curious expression, because he couldn't admit to himself he enjoyed that aspect a bit too much. "All good." He confirmed.

Mateo Weston

"I started this with ideas. Why'd you think I said we'd test your patience?" he returned, his own expression easily matching Rory's in cockiness. Which, admittedly, might be a little easier to do when you weren't the one tied up. At Rory's observation on his love for manhandling, he shrugged a shoulder and pulled Rory's hips towards himself a little as if on emphasis. "It's nice to make someone do something just by saying so -- but it's also nice to not give them the choice, sometimes." He took a moment to just look, gaze trailing over the seemingly dozens of tattoos covering at least some of all body parts. As he reached the one just above his crotch, he had to stifle a grin. God, it was all so in character. Considering his options for a moment, his gaze finally returned to Rory's face and he waited until he was looking at him to raise his palm and lick broadly across it. "So," he started, almost too casual, as he wrapped his palm around Rory's cock and began stroking -- too slow to really get anywhere, but enough to tease. "Here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna get you nice and close and you're gonna tell me when you get there. You don't cum without permission. And if you're good, I'll make it very much worth your while. Understood?"

Rory Flanagan

"Because you have no faith in my ability to be patient," Rory murmured, the cocky tone in his answer being lost in the breathlessness of his voice, though he was thankful for the reminder that he simply had to be patient for Mat, so he could prove the Dominant wrong. That's what all of this was about, after all. The Switch had some smart comment on the tip of his tongue regarding Mateo and free-will but he'd only managed to get out "It seems like --," before his hips were pulled forward and the rest of the sentence was lost in a gasp, falling out of his head as his brain could only think about Mat's hands on his skin. He felt even more naked at the way Mateo's eyes seemed to linger on his body, a blush forming on his face as each tattoo seemed to be studied silently by the Dominant. He grinned almost sheepishly when Mat made eye contact with him again, trying to focus on his words, but let out a low groan when his cock began receiving some much-needed attention. "Hmm, yep, completely understood Sir," He said with an eager nod, almost wanting to ask him to pick up the speed a little, but not wanting to seem impatient.

Mateo Weston

It was almost comical, how responsive Rory was and how every comment died on his tongue with the touch of Mat's hand. And beyond that, it was nice to spend some time with someone he got along with so easily, whom he could push and pull with and still have a pretty good grasp on how this was going to end. Once he had Rory's confirmation, Mat leaned back in, teeth first against the skin near his collarbone, then further up his neck. He wasn't quite as careful this time, now that he'd had a chance to gage Rory's reaction. After a moment he paused, lips hovering just underneath Rory's ear and the hand that wasn't holding him up still working Rory over just a tad slow. "Good boy," he murmured, thumb swiping over the head of his cock as if to make his point. "Such a good boy."

Rory Flanagan

Everytime Mateo praised him, called Rory a good boy, the affirmations went straight to his cock, and in addition to the teasing touches by Mateo's hand, the Switch wasn't sure how long he could be patient for. He let out a groan at the feeling of the teeth grazing his collarbone, the delicious sensation of the pain sinking into his skin. "Sir..." He tried to say, blushing when it came out more as a whimper, pulling against his restraints again in an effort to silently ask the Dominant to go a bit faster, without having to actually beg for it and prove his point he wasn't that patient after all.

Mateo Weston

"Yes?" Mateo inquired once he'd finished leaving a mark low on his neck. He pulled back a little so he could look at Rory, one eyebrow raising. His free hand travelled across his chest, fingers pinching at a nipple again. This time, he payed a little more attention and time, twisting slightly as he kept his eyes on Rory's face. "Tell me what you want. Maybe I'm feeling nice."

Rory Flanagan

"Fuck," Rory groaned in response, half tempted to bat Mat and his smug expression away, letting out another groan when he realised he was still tied up, hissing when his nipple was once again pinced. "I want you to stop being slow, Sir." Rory said, "And go a bit faster, if you can."

Mateo Weston

"Such a good boy," he praised softly, the sweet words a perhaps stark contrast to the way his fingers continued to twist at his nipple. Still, he was true to his words and sped up at his request, wrist twisting each time he got to the head. "You tell me when you get close though, remember."

Rory Flanagan

It was like a wire had crossed in Rory's brain, because all he wanted to do was be a good boy for Mat, and he couldn't quite believe it. But everytime the Dominant praised him, it went straight to his head, and all he wanted was more. He let out an appreciative groan when Mat sped up, the twisting motion making the Switch bite his lip and wriggle against his restraints. "God that won't take long," He panted, "When you keep doing that," Rory tried to shoot a pointed look to Mat's wrist, though he couldn't really focus, and he knew he probably looked more desperate than annoyed right now.

Mateo Weston

"Good, that's the plan," Mat commented with a grin, pointedly twisting his wrist a little more now that Rory had brought it up. He wanted to see him let go, watch the bravado melt away and let him relax. It was part of the reason he liked playing with brats the most -- not only was it real rewarding when he finally broke through that shell, but it was also really nice seeing them actually giving in and letting themselves be taken care of. Shifting, he moved his free hand off Rory's nipple and down his body, nails scratching lightly over his skin as he went. Finally, gentle fingers cupped Rory's balls, squeezing slightly while his other hand kept up its motion.

Rory Flanagan

It was taking all he had not to groan and shift too much, because he didn't want to give Mat the satisfaction. But it was clear he was extremely stimulated, and a moan escaped him when Mat began to lightly scratch down his torso, whimpering when his balls were squeezed slightly. The knot in his stomach tightened, and he shifted his hips up. "Fuck, I'm close, I'm close," He panted out, voice more desperate than he intended.

Mateo Weston

As soon as Rory spoke, Mat's hand stopped stroking, squeezing around the base of his cock instead. "Good boy. Breathe for me, relax." His voice was soothing now as his free hand slid up and down Rory's thigh. He waited for him to settle down enough that he could be relatively sure he wasn't a second away from the edge anymore before he moved again, grabbing the cockring from the side. "Let's make sure you don't accidentally go over, hm? Would be a shame," he narrated as he fit it onto Rory, tightening it enough for it to be useful but not painful. "And now," Mat began, reaching for the vibrator with the attachment and the lube, "Let's make the second one a little more fun, hm?"

Rory Flanagan

He let out a gasping breath, following Mat's orders, willing his body to relax. He managed to calm himself down, his heart rate slowly, focusing on Mat's calming voice. He closed his eyes for a bit whilst he took a moment, and when he opened them, he was greeted to Mat holding a few toys, a shudder rippling through his body when the Dominant attached the cockring. "Oh, fuck," He murmured, eyes widening at the vibrator and lube. "You're going to be the fucking death of me."

Mateo Weston

"I'd hope not, that would be very hard to explain to people," he joked in return. Meanwhile, he took his time to get some lube, stroking Rory a few times to get him slick. With that done, he began to slowly work the cock-sleeve attachment onto him, giving him enough time to get used to the sensation without any further stimulation. Only once it rested around the base of his cock did he tap Rory's thigh to get his attention. "Rules stay the same, you tell me when you're close. I suspect it'll be a bit faster this time." And with that warning, he flicked the vibrator to the highest setting and began pumping it up and down his cock.

Rory Flanagan

“That sounds like a you problem, Sir,” Rory gasped out, though his brain forgetting whatever half attempt at conversation they were having as he stroked him with the lube, cock twitching with interest at what was happening. The feeling of the attachment was one he could only describe as weird and unfamiliar, but not necessarily bad, and truthfully he was excited to see what would happen next. He shifted a bit at the tapping on his thigh, biting his lip to stop a whine from leaving him. “Yes, Sir, I understand —,” His voice cracked when the vibrator started and he let out a groan. “Oh god, oh fuck,” He moaned.

Mateo Weston

If he'd thought the noises Rory had been making before were gorgeous, the ones the vibrator pulled out of him were music to Mat's ears. "Such pretty noises," he praised, the near shit-eating grin on his face definitely evident in his voice. The hand that wasn't operating the vibrator clasped over Rory's hip to keep him pinned to the bed, just in case. "Maybe I'll do this for a little longer than I planned -- now that you just sound so pretty, stopping sooner seems like a waste."

Rory Flanagan

Rory let out a moan that was half pleasure, half frustration when Mat kept him pinned down to the bed, his hips still thrusting upwards despite the obstacles. “I...” Rory gasped out, feeling himself close to begging for Mat to give him some relief, the stubborn part of him not wanting to give in just yet. “I think you should stick to your original plan, Sir,” He eventually managed to say, his the cracking in his voice giving away just how aroused he currently was.

Mateo Weston

“Unfortunately, that’s not really your choice right now,” Mat hummed playfully, thumbing over Rory’s hipbone as he moved the vibrator up to the head of his cock and paused there to watch the other twitch or a while. Still, his gaze was pinned to Rory’s face, watching carefully. As much as he liked to tease and push, he also didn’t want to push too far and have Rory go over accidentally. He wanted him to succeed -- it would make the reward in the end so much more pleasurable. “Are you close yet?” he questioned, free hand brushing over Rory’s balls and continuing on, rubbing absently over his perineum.

Rory Flanagan

If Rory was in the headspace to argue, he absolutely would, but he couldn't focus on a cohesive argument when he was trying to calm his body down against the vibrator and the attachment, to not much avail. He did let out a barked laugh at the question, looking at Dominant as if he were mad for asking something so obvious, but then he took a deep breath. "Yes. Yes I am very fucking close Sir." He whined.

Mateo Weston

As soon as Rory spoke, Mat turned off the vibrator and moved it back down towards the base of his cock to let it rest there for a moment. "Good boy. Take a deep breath for me," he soothed, one hand on Rory's thigh, the other one rubbing slowly from his stomach up to his chest. "You're doing so well. Relax." He kept the touches gentle and the words just as soothing as he let a few moments pass, hopefully enough to get Rory at least a bit more away from the edge. "One more edge, then I'll let you cum, alright? Can you do that?"

Rory Flanagan

Even though Mat asked for a deep breath, it took Rory a couple of shallow pants, as if swallowing the air without really inhaling it, before he breathed as instructed, letting his body relax into Mat's reassuring touches, letting the praise was over him. Once his body calmed down, he glanced back up at Mat. "Yeah, yep. I can do that, Sir," He promised, glad that Mat was checking in to make sure he wasn't pushed too far.

Mateo Weston

"There you go, that's it. Such a good boy." With how well Rory seemed to respond to praise, it was easy to lean into that, to allow him to relax into the knowledge that he was doing well. "Good," he chuckled at Rory's eventual answer and, with that, reached for the dial on the vibrator to flip it up to its highest setting once more. For now, let let it rest around the base of Rory's cock and ran his hands up his thighs. "Next time, we'll make it four."

Rory Flanagan

It felt like he had barely any time to recuperate from the edge when he heard Mat's chuckle, eyebrow's raising with curiosity at what he was about to do. When he switched the vibrator on again, a loud groan left him, his body feeling like electric shocks were jolting down his spine, wishing his hands were untied so he could move it off his cock, precum leaking onto his stomach, twitching at the sensitivity, back arching at Mat's hands moving up his thighs. "You're fucking killing me, Sir," He gasped out, voice cracking in what almost sounded like a sob.

Mateo Weston

The noise of the near-sob went straight through Mat, making his skin prickle and his heart beat a little faster. A part of him wanted to be meaner and tease Rory, ask whether he was going to cry for him. And with someone else, he just might have. But Rory's apparent inexperience with d/s was enough to make him tread a little carefully, lest he step over some line even Rory didn't know existed. "It'll be worth it," he promised instead, grabbing the vibrator to begin moving it up and down his length once more. "Just imagine how nice it's gonna be when you get to cum."

Rory Flanagan

If Rory could focus on both trying not to cum, and being snarky back to the Dominant hovering over him, he would have rolled his eyes and asked if it was worth it, really. But with each pulsating motion of the vibrator going through his oversensitive nerves, arms going dead from where his tied wrists had managed to grip the headboard, he knew truly, it definitely would be worth it. "I can't imagine, Sir, or I'll actually cum," He admitted with a pant, "Please, fuck, fuck I'm so...close, I can't anymore." All previous bravado had faded, and he was just a blabbering mess, half desperate to cum just to feel relief, and half desperate to not to, his urge to be a good boy for Mat more powering than anyhing else in that moment.

Mateo Weston

It was a very pretty display, the second that Rory broke. All the snark melting away for good, every muscle in his body pulled taught as he strained against his restraints. Mat truly hoped he'd get to see it all again. "You're doing so well," he praised again and, after brief consideration, moved the vibrator off Rory's cock and discarded it off to the side once it was turned off. He wanted to use his hands for the last part. "I'm going to count you down. 10 seconds, you can hold on that long." With that, his hand wrapped around him again, picking up speed easily and twisting his wrist with every stroke as he began the countdown. At two, he popped the cockring open and let it fall to the side. "One -- well done. Cum for me, Rory. You can let go."

Rory Flanagan

He didn't know how long he could last, and the countdown seemed to be almost mocking him, though he knew deep down it was to keep ihm steady and grounded for a few more seconds, to give him a sense of time. He groaned heavily, and though he doubted he'd admit it to his face, Mat's hand around his now throbbing cock was a much preferred sensation over to the vibrator, and not just for sensitivity reasons. He moaned heavily when the cock ring popped off and the extra pressure was gone, and the moment the command fell from Mat's lips, Rory let go, coming hard with a collective of curses, body shaking, feeling the cum fall warm onto his stomach. "Shit, fuck, fuck," He panted, giving himself a moment to breathe. "Wow." Was all he said, remembering they were in a scene, and he turned to Mat. "Thank you, Sir."

Mateo Weston

Mat continued to stroke Rory through his orgasm, stopping only when he seemed to be all done. With someone else or at another time, he might have continued just a bit for fun but he wanted this to be a well-rounded and wholly fun experience for Rory. So he just ran his clean hand up his side for a moment, wanting to keep the skin-to-skin-contact. "Good boy," he praised, then leaned to the side to grab some wet-wipes from the bedside table. Doing more of a quick than a thorough job to clean up first his hand and then Rory, he discarded everything off to the side and then moved up Rory's body. Experienced fingers undid the ties on his wrists and carefully brought his arms back down. "You did so well," he reiterated as he carefully massaged at one of Rory's forearms, wanting to make sure no harm was done. "How do you feel?"

Rory Flanagan

It was admittedly nice to just say there, whining slightly at cold feeling of the wet-wipe on his skin, but refreshing all the same. He groaned when his arms, stiff from being in that position for so long, were finally free, and though he was tempted to shake them around like a particularly aggressive game of the hokey-cokey, Rory thought it was best to leave for Mat to check over him. "Like I've been fucking tortured and used," He snarked, but he couldn't help the grin that came over him, partly from the post-orgasm endrophins pumping through his system, "but also good, satisfied, happy I achieved a task...patient." He laughed, letting out a hum at Mat massaging his arm, "How do you feel?"

Mateo Weston

Mat merely raised an eyebrow at the snark, a playful smile playing around his lips. The addition Rory brought on a moment later made him hum in appreciation, switching to his other arm in the meantime. "Good. You were very good for me, so you can be proud of yourself," he pointed out, fingers passing over Rory's skin to make sure he was all good. "I feel really good. Glad I made you feel good, proud of how good you were." Satisfied with Rory's arms being fine, he reached for one of the water bottles on the nightstand and handed it to Rory. "Have a few sips."

Rory Flanagan

Though he'd be quick to deny it, Rory was actually happy to hear that Mat was proud of him, and that the Dominant enjoyed the scene as much as Rory did. He took the water gratefully, making sure to sip gently rather than chug it as he was tempted to do. "Did you know it's the Superbowl today?" He suddenly asked, wondering if they could have a normal conversation, or if Mat would try and divert it back to scene talk. "I wonder if we missed the half-time show."

Mateo Weston

The laugh Mat let out at the sudden realisation sat somewhere between amusement and surprise, head shaking slightly. Of course this was where this conversation had suddenly gone -- there was always something unexpected with Rory, it seemed. "I do. I'mma catch the rerun later," he said, deciding not to reveal that he'd ended up cancelling on a superbowl party for this scene. That made it all sound a lot more grave than it was and maybe was a little weird. "But we could definitely see whether we can catch half-time show and the second half," he added with a glance towards the time and grabbed for the remote -- and a chocolate bar, offering the latter to Rory. "Eat that, gotta get your blood sugar levels back up."

Rory Flanagan

It would take Rory a few days to really accept the fact he enjoyed this scene more than he thought he would, and he took the bar of chocolate gratefully. If these were the bonuses, in addition to the endorphins pumping through his system, it might be something he could consider in the long run. "Hey maybe watching the Half-Time show could be my aftercare, Sir?" He suggested, with a cheeky grin. And really, though he wouldn't admit to Mateo who seemed too big for his boots about this kind of thing, scening with him wouldn't be so bad after all.

[spencer-quinn]

Dinner & Diatribes (2011)

6.4 k words of Spencer trying and failing to combat his trauma with a cocky attitude. (This para is BIG sad and there could be triggering stuff so I’ll mark those parts with an asterisk) Sorry for typos but it’s literally 4am and I had to call it quits.

-------

He's sweating.

He must be sweating because his shirt is drenched at the front and when, on the way out of the building, he used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, his knuckles slid right over his upper lip.

Spencer is shivering though; a constant, condensed convulsion that leaves him unable to keep still, locked onto a diminutive tremble, but then paralytic in long intervals. His jaw is stiff, teeth clenched together as his nails dig into his palms.

"You're lucky," the man mutters -warns?- as he squeezes Spencer’s thigh before the light changes from red to green and he's gone again and the uneven road shakes the car. "Imagine if your old man knew about this -- Lean forward."

Spencer doesn't reply. Just stares at the backs of his eyelids (or the back of his head, he's not sure) and focuses on the cold air coming through the slit of the slightly open window.

He remembers getting to the club, looking for Jordan, finding a stranger instead… They were having fun, he thinks, but a few drinks in and a few miles out of his depth and the next thing he knows he’s sitting on the ground in the bathroom as a man with ‘security’ written over his chest talks down to him.

But now he’s in the car he’s been in so many times, except it feels smaller now and he doesn’t remember how this came to be because it’s the last place he’d choose.

He's gonna throw up. He tells the man this before he closes his eyes and takes a long, audible breath through his nose.

"What?"

"M'gonna throw up," he thinks he says.

"You're not making sense, Spencer." He sounds frustrated. "Those aren't words."

The boy takes a deep breath through his mouth this time before he repeats himself.

Spencer can’t lift his arms anymore, never mind completely recenter himself. He tilts his head further back because it feels like it’d help with the sickness and he can hear himself breathing, short wheezes within each breath, and then a near-whimper shakes through an exhale when his shoulders stiffen up again as he fights off nausea.

"Open your mouth. You're mumbling I c--"

Spencer gags and it gets his point across.

"Lean forward," the man says again but Spencer can't move and, in his next moment of recognition, the door to his right is open and he’s being tugged out of the car and pushed to the ground. The man kneels at his side, fist in Spencer’s hair as he chokes on liquids and stomach acid. “What did you take?” Spencer’s not in a position to reply. “Spencer I need to know what you took so I know if you need to go to a hospital.”

“No.” He chokes again, doesn’t know what he’s choking on and doesn’t particularly want to. “No, no, no. No, ‘m okay. I’m okay.”

They kneel there for a long while, on the damp grass by the side of the road until the nausea has lessened enough to give them time to get home.

Home. Spencer’s not going home.

“‘M not going home,” he slurs, and the man scoffs.

“Damn right you’re not going home.”

—

“I’m tired,” he manages to get out as he’s tugged out of his clothes. He’s laying on his back on the bed as the man attempts to work around him to remove his jacket. “Oliver, I’m-“

The man shushes him.

“Denim can’t be comfortable,” he half-explains himself as he drops the jacket onto the ground, and Spencer opens his eyes just in time to watch him glance down to where he knows his jeans are hugging his hips.

“Don’t,” he sighs and arches a little. “Just… Tomorrow. I’m tired.”

“So close your eyes.”

*Spencer’s hands meet Olivers on his fly and he repeats himself yet again. He’s tired. The man doesn’t even need to bat Spencer’s hands away because his fingers aren’t working right anyway. He presses his palms against the man’s working hands limply for a while before he decides that it’ll take more effort to try to stop him than it would to just let him get on with it, so Spencer lets his hands rest at his sides as Oliver’s work on tugging his jeans down his legs. He gets them around half-way down his thighs before he guides Spencer to turn onto his stomach.*

He watches the room sideways-on with his face against the pillow. Both of the doors are open and the en-suite light is still on. The faucet is dripping but Spencer can’t see it, can only hear it. The vertical blinds that hang over the bathroom window sway lightly and Spencer guesses it’s open.

The other door, of course, leads to the hallway and the door at the opposite end of the hall is shut. Behind it, he knows, is another room with a double bed, the room his brother would sleep in whenever they stayed here. Two doors to the left, but out of sight, is where his parents would sleep. His own room is just next door to this one. Spencer remembers hearing footsteps at night when he was young and wondering if it was a ghost or his father’s best friend.

He remembers how this very room felt so intangible yet so terrifying back then.

Oliver says something like, “so good,” or “that’s it,” or “it’s a good job you’re on this other side of the house - everyone else is sleeping already and—”

Both of the doors are open and the en-suite light is on.

—

The water runs from his hair and into his eyes, so he closes them and tilts his chin. His legs are crossed as he sits in the bathtub and his arms sit limply in his lap. Every thirty seconds or so, his body convulses in a shiver like the ones from the night before, and he feels warm for a while -for at least a few moments- before his skin prickles again and the next shiver starts to build up, freezing and cramping his muscles until it releases and starts again.

Oliver takes one of his hands and Spencer, self-conscious and exposed in the empty tub (the only water being what falls from the shower above him), looks straight-ahead at the droplets that slip down white tiles as the man uses a nail brush and cleans his hands.

The en-suite is cold, the window left open all night, and the blinds still tremble against the glass as they push and pull atop the windowsill. It doesn’t help the shivers - the room an uncomfortable kind of cool, made worse by the warm water that reminds him just how unpleasant the air really is.

He shivers again and, when his fingers tense around Oliver’s, he squeezes back.

“I think we’re done here,” Oliver announces, his voice gentle as he runs his hand through Spencer’s hair. It’s the first time either of them has spoken since last night. The shower is switched off, and then Spencer is wrapped up in a white towel, still sat in the tub. The man’s fingers curve over his thigh beneath the towel. “You—“

“I’m so tired,” he interrupts, his voice small as he watches the backs of his eyelids. “We should watch a movie.”

Even now he’s sober his words are lazy and slurred, something still not quite right. Not to mention that he bit his tongue last night - in the car before he began to gag. It’s not bleeding now but it throbs around the edges and doesn’t seem to sit right between this teeth.

Oliver helps him out of the tub and dries his hair with a smaller towel.

“Oliver,” he mutters through his teeth. Opening his mouth is exhausting. “Oliver, we should watch—“

“Okay,” the man huffs, laughs under his breath as he moves on to dry the back on Spencer’s neck. “We can watch a movie.”

They fall silent again and, when Spencer’s hair is no longer dripping, Oliver moves the towel from around him and begins to dry his chest. It feels too intimate, but maybe the man notices too, because he drops the towel to one side, curls his hand around the back of Spencer’s neck like he does, and pulls him into a rough kiss like they do.

Oliver’s other hand lands on the boy's chest just to touch as Spencer’s lands on the man’s to nudge him back slightly.

“Sorry ‘bout last night.” He feels his neck heat up at his own words - at what little memory he has of the previous night.

Oli just shakes his head and ducks into the kiss again. He says “you were drunk. We’ve all been there” into the kiss, and even if that’s what Spencer had meant, he’s pretty sure it’s not true.

His hand slides behind Spencer, between the boy and the sink as their tongues move together. He always kisses messily; slow but deep and intentional. The kind that has Spencer arching, quite literally bending over backward for him. Spencer doesn’t mind it when he’s not trying to speak. He tilts his head to the side and the man’s attention shifts to his cheek, then his jaw.

“No I mean-“ He’s momentarily distracted, wandering hands causing his breath to catch. “F-f--” A shiver. “For passing out on you. When we got back here and y—“

“Didn’t even realise you did.” Oliver’s lips trail back up to Spencer’s ear where he catches it between his teeth gently before he says, “turn around.”

Spencer’s not sure if he believes him, and he’s not sure if that makes it better or worse, but he does as he’s told regardless.

—

Spencer can’t find his phone anywhere. Oliver says he didn’t bring it out of the club, but he remembers the security guard handing it to him. He remembers now, how he’d handed the man his phone because his fingers weren’t cooperating. He said, “call Oliver”. He remembers that and he remembers telling him the password, listening to the man speak, then getting it back and putting it into his jacket pocket, and now it’s gone.

It must have fallen out of his pocket when they got out at the side of the road. Shit, his dad’s gonna be so pissed off, they’ve not spoken since—

“You think I haven’t spoken to your dad?” Oliver sits up and moves over to sit beside Spencer, his leg pulled up and tucked beneath himself as he faces the teenager. “I told him you’re here and he told me you’d argued. He’s not expecting you back any time soon.”

How long is soon? Spencer had zero intention of remaining in this house an extra day, let alone the single night he’d stayed. He has school tomorrow. Shit, he has school tomorrow. He’s an extra twenty minutes out of the way. He voices all of this, and the man is still fucking laughing.

“Calm down.” A familiar hand finds its place on the back of his neck. “Your dad will be here later with your uniform and enough clothes to last the week. You’ve got nothing to worry about; it’s all taken care of.”

“I think I’d rather just go home,” he snaps and crosses his arms, feeling exposed in Oliver’s oversized undershirt.

“I’ll buy you a new phone and your father doesn’t need to know about last—“

“I’m seventeen. Stop making decisions for me.”

“Calm down,” he repeats. His mouth is on Spencer’s shoulder and the boy’s skin crawls. “We’ll have fun. What d’you want to drink?”

Fuck, he’s been out drinking every night since Friday. Today might actually be the longest time he’s had to feel a hangover before he’s managed to drown it out with more alcohol. He’ll settle for water if he’s gonna make it through school to at least lunchtime tomorrow before sneaking out again.

“You’re not having water; we’re having fun. Vodka and Sprite? I think I have some Pepsi too, or—“

“It’s 5 o’clock on a Sunday. I have school tomorrow. I’m not drinking.”

“I’ll see if I have a few beers in the garage.”

—

And that’s how the week begins and how it continues.

He thinks that maybe Oliver is trying to prove something. Trying to tell Spencer that he’s cool and laid back and the teenager can do whatever he wants. He wants to go home.

He takes Spencer to school the next day, and when the boy leaves at 3:35, he’s there, too.

They drive home and sit out back on the lawn. Oliver only drinks one beer but by the time they’ve finished speaking, Spencer’s had two. Oliver has a lot of questions about school, about what subjects he studied today, who he hangs out with, what he does during his breaks, “can you leave for lunch?”

It feels all-too familiar. He remembers the first time he stayed alone with Oliver for a night, right after he lost his virginity. He remembers drinking too much scotch (too much meaning any at all) and trying to watch the TV. The man’s lips against his neck and needing to go to bed. I should go to bed. And then going to bed and getting fucked for the second time ever and feeling better and so much worse.

“I’m gonna head home tonight,” he says instead of replying. “I have a test on Friday and I’ve not studied at all. You’ve been distracting me.”

Oli seems to see the humour, because he chuckles, almost looks flattered. The man reaches across to curl a hand over Spencer’s thigh and, with a comforting smile, says “I’m not sure your father is prepared for that just yet, are you?”

They go back inside and drink red wine until Spencer throws up, but they have sex anyway and he’s out of the shower just in time to get four hours of sleep before school.

—

“You feel better today?” Stevie looks concerned or confused or both. Behind the bike shelter, the ground is littered with cigarette butts and wrappers, and Spencer can’t remember why he brought him here other than it’s quiet. “You look less… Zombified.”

“Yeah, mostly. It was weird,” he replies, rubbing his face sleepily as he takes a deep inhale. “Somebody definitely slipped me something on Friday.”

Stevie asks, “and you really still think your dad would be mad at you for that?” Spencer shrugs. “Just call him, Spence.”

“No way.” He doesn’t say ‘he didn’t take it well the first time it happened.’ “Anyway, I lost my phone.”

Stevie huffs, hand in his jacket now as he digs something out. “Have you tried calling it?”

“Oliver did.”

“And?” Stevie produces a phone from his blazer pocket and holds the device to his ear. Spencer leans in to listen too.

“And nobody answered, obviously. I dropped it at the side of the—“

“Hello, Oliver Shaw’s phone, Natalie speaking. Can I take a message?”

—

“Yeah, I’m his Godson. Listen, he has my phone, I was wondering if I could—“

“Oh, so you’re Spencer.” The woman is beaming as if she’s blind to his scowl. She sounds like Natalie. “Gosh, you’re older than I pictured.” He remains silent, staring her out. “Oh, of course, I’ll call through to him. Take a seat.”

The plan was for him to get a cab back to Oliver’s place after school. He gave him the cash and trusted him to do so, but even before Spencer knew the man had his phone, it was never his plan to go back. He’d have gone home or met with Richie or Dan or something.

Now though, he’s six floors up in a building he didn’t even know existed. It’s not exactly extraordinary - it doesn’t go much higher than this, but all of the walls are windows and he watches dozens of people in the next room typing silently or talking in hushes on the phone, a distant buzz of activity only barely carrying through the glass.

He’s left waiting forever and he’s felt sick all day. He thinks fuck it as he folds up his blazer and uses it as a pillow, laying across the plush couch whilst he waits. He closes his eyes and breathes through his mouth to pass through the nauseating feeling.

A few people at the other side of the glass steal curious glances his way but seem too preoccupied to pay him much mind. He watches one of the men on the phone, pointing at nothing and nowhere as he yells into the line; he’s the only voice Spencer can hear semi-clearly as he demands, "I was told I’d have these emails three days ago! Get them to me by close of business today or we’ll cancel the campaign. Am I clear?" He hangs up before he could possibly have heard their reply. He thinks of that book, The Wolf of Wallstreet by Jordan Belfort, and guesses it isn’t just stockbrokers who act like animals in the office.

“Spencer. You should be at school.” Oliver’s voice catches his attention. He doesn’t seem mad as he leans with his shoulder against the doorframe, but he speaks in a hushed tone so as not to be heard by his colleagues. “Come on, follow me.”

Spencer sits up, glares at him for a while but otherwise doesn’t move a muscle from there. The man looks impatient, tapping his fingers against his bicep; crisp, white shirt scrunched up where he grips his arm. He looks good and it’s so frustrating. He looks impatient too, probably too busy to be eating time staring a sulking seventeen-year-old down.

“Don’t be dramatic, Spencer,” he hisses. “Get up.”

Oliver kept him waiting, has fucked him around for three days. He had his phone the whole time - literally lied and isolated him. He is not being dramatic. He’s just… God, is he being dramatic? He never knows anymore. You spent so much time playing the victim, you forget how it feels to actually be one and how to tell when you are.

He scowls, then pushes himself up from his seat, swinging his bag over his shoulder and folding his blazer over his arm.

“Good boy,” Oliver huffs and steps back into the office. His whole demeanour is proof enough that, just as long as he’s in this building, he’s got the keys. Spencer keeps his mouth shut, lets Oli soak up his power-trip as he walks confidently through the bustling office.

The man that was previously arguing over the phone calls Oliver's name now, yells “I’m starting on the new campaign in case those morons don’t pull their fists from their...” But the words die in his throat when he notices Spencer trailing behind.

Oliver says, “nice one, Charlie,” gives him a thumbs up like it’s really not as big a deal to him as it is to his… Employee? Spencer’s not sure.

They reach a door perfectly opposite to the one they entered through, and Oliver holds it open as Spencer steps inside. As the man circles the room to twist the blinds shut, Spencer heads for the chair behind his desk, claiming leadership now they’re in the privacy of his office. Oliver can control anyone else in the building, but not Spencer. He’s been the boss of him for three days too long.

“I lied to you about your phone,” he says calmly as he covers the last window. Yeah, no shit. He takes his stand at the opposite side of his desk, hands tucked into his pant pockets, but he seems less composed and more like he’s trying to paint the picture of calm. “I apologise. Alright? I’m sorry.”

“Apology not accepted,” Spencer speaks without a beat, slouching back into the seat and it leans to accommodate the angle of his body. “Give me my phone, then drive me home.”

There’s a seat right behind the man, but Oliver’s pride doesn’t allow him to use it, to accept the submissive position. Instead, he rounds the desk and perches on the edge of his desk before Spencer. Silently, he opens the drawer to his left and reaches inside, presenting Spencer’s phone without as much as an explanation. Spencer snatches it back anyway.

“Take me home.”

Oliver scoffs, shakes his head. “Take a seat— Over there.” He points towards the couch beneath an internal window. “I have work to do here. We’ll leave at five o’clock.”

“But I—“

“But nothing, Spencer. You have my word.”

They stare each other down for a little while, and Spencer is half-expecting Oliver to make a move, still sat on the edge of the surface with one hand against the wood and the other on his own thigh. But he doesn’t. He waits for Spencer to stand, still sulking as he drags himself across the room and drops onto the couch. Oliver pauses before he reclaims his seat, eyes instantly glued to his computer monitor as he picks up wherever he left off as if he was never disrupted.

The wait is painfully dull. Spencer spends some of it back at the other side of the room, peaking out between the blinds to watch the people work. Two of the women spend more time gossiping than they do working, but the men aren’t much better, constantly switching screens to social media and sports news. He could text somebody, tell them to pick him up, but Richie’s in Boston, his parents are still angry or upset and Dan can’t know about this. Besides, it won’t be long now.

Every so often somebody will cross the room and Spencer will draw back before they spot him watching. They’ll knock on the door and open with, “I’m sorry to disturb you,” and linger in the doorway as they speak with Oliver.

Spencer’s laying flat out on the couch when the third person knocks, and Oliver groans right before the door opens. A young man steps inside to ask about a briefing and he barely looks old enough to be out of high school himself.

Spencer’s sick of waiting and is hardly listening but says, “wait,” just as the man is about to leave and then turns his attention to Oliver to ask, “aren’t you gonna introduce me to your handsome young friend?”

Oliver scowls, says “Richie,” as he motions to the man and “Spencer,” as he nods back over to the boy.

“Hm, I know a Richie. Maybe you have more in common… Have you ever—“

“Thank you Richie, you can leave,” Oliver interrupts before Spencer can finish because he’s heard all about Spencer’s Richie.

The man nods politely, steals a glance back towards Spencer before he leaves, passing Natalie outside on his way out.

Oliver manages to say, “watch your mouth,” right before the woman enters the room, pulling another groan from the man.

“Here she is,” he calls and Oliver drops his pen a little too forcefully as he raises his head to shoot the boy a glare. Spencer ignores him, letting out a long whistle wearing him down.

“Oliver,” she addresses. “PR still needs numbers for tomorrows event. Jack still hasn’t—“

“For fuck— I’ve sent the email twice. If Nicky can see it, he can too. Tell him to check his goddamn junk mail. And tell everyone else not to disturb me again today. I’ve got so much shit to—“

“Hey, Natalie,” Spencer cuts in, and both pairs of eyes land on him where he’s still laying comfortably. He gives a sweet smile and says, “I love that blouse. Such a pretty colour on you.”

“Enough, Spencer!” The man stands, slamming his laptop shut and snatching his bag from the ground. “If anyone needs me, tell them it can wait until tomorrow,” he snaps at the woman as he begins to pack up. She nods and fumbles out of the room.

They leave the office in silence and nobody attempts to intervene. In the elevator, they run into Charlie, who seems oblivious to the cool atmosphere as he greets them.

“Spencer.” He offers a hand as he gives the boy a once-over and Spencer shakes it without a lot of thought, just wants to get out of here. “Pleasure to finally meet you, pal. You look like you’re about to set up shop here in the office,” he then adds, a comment directed at the boy’s shirt and tie.

“I—“

“Spencer goes to a private school,” Oliver boasts, but it’s in the kind of tone a mother would use to tell her gym friends about her kid’s awful kindergarten painting and Spencer feels a little patronised. So Oliver hates him until it’s time to showcase him to his friends? Or maybe it’s less about showcasing him and more about hiding how underwhelming the boy really is.

“It’s not technically a private school. More just a—“

“Well regardless, you look smart. And older than I’d expected.”

Spencer frowns as the two men exchange a look, but it’s not predatory, it’s just… Smug. Or maybe mocking. Spencer crosses his arms tightly, impatient as he hugs his blazer to his chest, but then the elevator stops, the doors open and Oliver says, “we need to get going. Good job on the new campaign; such a quick turn-around. Tell those other guys to kiss my ass. We’re dropping them.”

A hand is on Spencer’s back, leading him out through the reception and across the parking lot.

Spencer says, “I’m not fucking your marketing bitch,” as Oliver starts the engine.

“Spencer,” the man hisses, disgusted. “Don’t be so crude.”

Oliver seems cold again after that, driving with a tight grip and angry, scrunched eyes.

“Just keep my clothes ’til some other time. I don’t need ‘em,” Spencer mumbles, and then, a little louder, “hey, this is the wrong way.”

---

They’re both mad at each other now. They sit in the lounge in a chilling silence that night after an awkward dinner, watching a documentary about the war on TV whilst Oliver flicks through papers from work that he hadn’t had time to finish before they left early.

Spencer would have called his father himself but Oliver already had. Said his father needed more time ‘by the sounds of things.’ So he buried himself beneath a blanket on the couch and now watches Oliver more than he does the TV, frowning and humming down at his paperwork. Spencer can’t fucking take this anymore. The silence is insufferable. Oliver’s paid him no mind at all; he may as well be alone.

“You looked good today,” he mumbles, desperate for acknowledgment, and his voice is rough from hours of abandoning it. He jumps up into a seated position, pushes the blanket away as he faces Oliver’s profile. “In your suit, in your office. Not as good as Richie…” He teases. “How many of those guys are you in charge of?”

The man sighs, impatient. “On that floor? All of them,” he grumbles, eyes trained to his papers.

“Natalie’s pretty hot. Have you fucked her?” Not reply. “And Charlie. Did you hand-pick your employees based on appearance alone? Because Charlie—“

“Enough.”

“He really wanted to fuck me, huh?” Spencer then adds, and he’s not completely sure what he wants from him, but stirring the pot will surely make for an evening more exciting than this. If he’s lucky Oliver might even want to get rid of him by the end of it. “I’m not sure what he wanted more: your dick or my ass.”

The man rubs his eyes like he’s frustrated, shakes his head. “Don’t be stupid.”

“I’m anything but stupid. That’s how I noticed that look you gave him… I look older, huh? I got a lot of that today. How’re you selling me, Mr. Shaw?” He feels smug but tries hard not to show it, hiding his pride with sickly coyness. He leans further into his space. “You been talkin’ about me?”

“Spencer,” he warns, still focusing primarily on his work - or trying to.

“I was wondering what it’d take for you to pass his number onto me. Y’know, with me having my phone back and all.”

“What can I do to make you shut up?” The man finally turns his head toward Spencer.

“Take me home.”

“Your father—“

“I don’t care about my father. You’re boring me.”

“It’s not my job to entertain you!” The piles of work are chucked onto the coffee table, pen slamming on top of them. He stands and heads for the kitchen and Spencer listens as he slams cupboard doors open and shut, then hears liquid pouring. He pulls himself up from the couch and follows the sounds, grinding his teeth in the doorway as Oliver tells him, “got to bed.”

“I don’t want to go to bed,” he grits.

“I can’t stand you tonight.”

He kicks the open door, frustrated, and he doesn’t mean to but he screams when he says “then take me home!”

Oliver doesn’t answer, just drinks the scotch from his glass and then fills it again. He’s ignoring him. Spencer doesn’t accept that.

“You’re such a fucking loser,” he tries again. Still nothing.

“Is this what you have to do to get some decent company? Leave them no choice but to stay? I’m not—”

He barely takes a breath before Oliver’s turned on his heel. The slap is harsh enough to have Spencer’s head turning, loud enough for it to ring out into the minimal, under-furnished room and have the silence that follows feel even sharper than the slap itself.

He manages to catch the gasp before it escapes him as Oliver says, “go to bed, Spencer,” and he does.

His cheek is pink as he watches himself in the mirror upstairs, brushing his teeth roughly as frustration builds up in him. He’s claustrophobic in his company.

None of the beds in the spare rooms are made up. He gets comfortable in Oliver’s bed which isn’t his first choice but he can live with it, feeling more like he’s had a domestic than like he’s in any kind of danger. He’s furious, too angry to keep his eyes shut for long enough to fall asleep. Instead, he watches the wall as he plays the day back, then thinks about tomorrow, how to get himself home before it’s time to come back after school.

He must have dozed off though because he’s awoken again sometime after to Oliver pressed to his back. Nothing is said, no apologies are exchanged, but Spencer lets him fuck him like that as Oliver presses his fingers against his tongue. And maybe Spencer bites a little harder than he needs to, his teeth digging unnecessarily into the skin, but he feels some of the frustration drain when Oliver says how good it is -how good he’s being- and Spencer’s too pre-occupied with moaning around his knuckles to argue.

After that, Spencer is awake long after Oliver is, wrapped tightly around him from behind as he breathes deeply against the back of his neck.

---

He felt pretty okay until the next afternoon. He texts Richie, mostly passively at lunchtime, says ‘pick me up after school. Everyone’s out’ because he’s been subtly trying to pull information from Stevie all day on whether or not Richie would have a free house and he’d discovered that he would.

‘I’m in Boston. Tomorrow?’

Spencer can’t quite accept that. He replies with ‘Today. Come home,’ without an ounce of shame for how fast his response is

‘Sorry Q.’

So he calls him and, honestly, he was fine. It’s just that sometimes he gets things into his head, sets his heart on something and when it doesn’t play out like he’d hoped or like he’d convinced himself it will, he just… Can’t accept it. He sits at the corner of the football field when he makes the call. He calls four times before the man actually answers.

“Spencer, I’m in a class. Stop—“

“Richie, please,” he chokes. He doesn’t know where it comes from. “Please, I need to get out of here, it’s all fucked up. I can’t get home. Please.”

“You’re not making any sense. None of this means anything to me.”

“I’m stuck with… With some guy. He’ll be here after school Richie but I can’t go home with him again.” He’s being allusive in his own favour (maybe Richie will think he’s in danger - that should do it) but he’s hyperventilating whether it’s because he’s in danger or not. He can’t go back to that fucking house. “Look, just—“

“Who is he? Are you safe? What are you talking about?”

Spencer sneaks past Oliver’s view when school ends, across the far end of the car park and through the open fence where he used to meet Richie. He sits silently in the passenger seat as the man watches him expectantly. He asks, “Q, are you alright?” But Spencer just shrugs, nods and Richie is one of the few people that would accept that as a response after driving an hour to pick him up. They get pizza and hang out at his place and it’s good and casual and they’re talking about how to get away with him staying overnight (without Richie’s mom and their dad catching them when they get home this evening and get suspicious about Stevie’s friend hanging out with his brother) when there’s a heavy knock at the door.

Spencer sees Oliver's car through the window, mutters “fuck,” as he collects his things. Not much else he can do, and it occurs to him then that he’d expected this to happen all along.

“Who is that?” Richie’s following Spencer into the kitchen where he’d kicked off his shoes as Richie made coffee. He pulls them back on hurriedly. Hiding would be so unnecessary and juvenile, he decides. They had a good evening together and he accepts that it’s come to an end. “Spence?”

“My Godfather,” he mumbles, shrugging his coat on now as another knock shakes the door, harder than the last. He grumbles as he paces down the small hallway and swings the door open. “I’m coming,” Spencer huffs and Oliver looks furious.

He ignores this, turning to Richie to say, “thank you for today,” and presses a closed but lingering kiss to his mouth before he mutters, “I needed it,” with full intentions of Oliver overhearing.

Spencer wants nothing more than to run back inside and lock the door but he feels Richie’s eyes on him and he isn’t about to let Richie watch him play cat-and-mouse with his Godfather. Spencer only takes one step towards the door anyway before Oliver has a hand wrapped around his bicep in a vice grip, arm held up and bent at an awkward angle as he’s dragged away from the house with enough force to give him whiplash. He stumbles behind the man and falls into the passenger seat compliantly when he’s pushed inside.

“How’d you find me?” Spencer acts calm, propping his feet up as he asks the question, biting his nail as they pull away from the street.

“Your brother.”

“Of course. Shoulda known he’d—“

“Shut the fuck up and take your feet off the dashboard,” Oliver snaps and his hand darts out the strike the back of his hand against Spencer's leg, which he pulls back down hurriedly but instantly regrets his own haste. Hates to give Oliver the satisfaction. “You’ve made a lot of people angry.”

Spencer scoffs, glares out of the window as he watches the suburban houses fly by. “No, you have. Whatever you’ve been telling them - that’s what’s made them angry.”

“You need to know when to stop talking, Spencer.”

“What so you can shit on me whilst I sit and take it? No thanks, I don’t th—“

The car stops suddenly and Olivers palm slams against the steering wheel. Spencer whips his head to the side, pulling his eyes from the window and the man is red in the face as he screams, “I will not be disrespected by a child!”

“Then don’t—“

“No!” And suddenly the man’s hand is gripping his face, a crushing vice of his chin keeping his eyes trained to the man’s as he continues to shout: “I have taken care of you, I’ve fed you and given you a place to stay, I’ve listened to you go on and I’ve watched you get drunk and senseless and embarrass yourself every night for the past week. You will not speak to m—“

“I don’t want any of that!” He’s screaming now too, but only because Oliver never seems to hear him otherwise. “I don’t want your food or your fucking bed!”

“How dare—“

“I don’t want to have to fuck my dads best friend for security! I’m tired. I want to go home you fucking moron—“

Oliver hits him and the screaming shatters into silence.

The car continues down the road and Spencer reaches up to touch his face, the man’s ring still burning against his cheek. He’s not broken the skin. He’d only slapped him last night to silence him. He struck Spencer today because he is angry.

The rest of the drive is painfully silent, and Oliver reaches over to turn on the radio. Spencer watches the rows of houses slowly dilute until large properties become acres of trees. He goes back to chewing on his nail as he holds his breath for most of the remaining journey.

When they pull up in the driveway, Oliver says, “it’s like you’re punishing yourself,” and soothes a hand over Spencer’s knee.

He doesn’t know why it makes him cry, but he’s wiping the backs of his hands over his cheeks until Oliver draws him a bath that evening and washes his hair with a jug and his face with a cloth and his hands with a nail brush — although his nails are all bitten down now.

Spencer’s left feeling guilty and exhausted.

That night, laying on the sofa with Oliver pressed along his back, arm wrapped around his waist, Spencer’s just dozing off when the man whispers, “you’re dad’s picking you up from school tomorrow,” and leans over him to press his mouth to the cheek he’d stuck earlier that day. “I just don’t know how to get through to you sometimes.”

[nuzblog]

November 2nd, 2017

Hey there everyone. So... how about that failure, right? It disheartened me a bit, but I'm fine, I'm back at 'em, I'm ready to rumble! I did transfer everyone, living and dead, to my Pokemon Bank. By the by, the theme was South Park characters. Not sure what made me pick that, but it worked out fine.

I restarted yesterday, and I also got to Cerulean again yesterday, so we're gonna be rushing through things. A lot of it was pretty uneventful, but even still there's a lot to cover, so let's get going! But first, I do want to say that while the ruleset hasn't changed yet, if it does prove too difficult yet again, I might just end up changing it. "No healing items in battle" is a popular one, and it is definitely the healing-related rules that have been the biggest obstacle for me. We'll see how it goes. If you have any rule suggestions for the event of a fourth failure, send them in!

I named my player Arthur. Why? Because I was watching a Potter Puppet Pals video when I did the restart, and wanted a name that wasn't like, immediately identifiable as Potter-related, but was still. So I named him after Ron's dad. My rival, on the other hand, is named Dingus, because... he's a Dingus. I dunno if I like the whole thing of like, naming the rival an insult, but at least Dingus is relatively innocuous. And I... am bad at thinking of names!

I rolled my random calculator and got a Squirtle, who I named Minos. As before, if anyone catches onto the naming convention, you can get one of the Pokemon from the run!

Same ol' routine as ever. Potion, parcel, a level up on Route 1, heal at home, deliver the parcel, get the dex, then back up to the Mart for balls relatively uneventfully. Once I have balls, I decide that captures are gonna be top priority, starting on Route 1, which yields a Pidgey! Aaand... I killed it. This bodes well. Oh well, there are other Routes!

Route 2 yields... another Pidgey! This one, I caught. Its name is Horus.

Route 22 yields a Rattata. Oh well. No Nidoran for me! I name the Rattata Pincho, and get grinding on Route 1.

Whoops. I was spacing out, not really worrying about grinding, and, well. Pincho doesn't quite make it. Oh well! I'm sure I'll see another Rattata somewhere. Not that I really need one.

Speaking of spacing out while grinding, I may have done it a little much. Both Horus and Minos ended up being Level 12 here, which is... quite a bit more than Dingus' Pidgey or Bulbasaur who I still haven't fought. Curious, I decide to head up to Viridian first, to catch something there, exhausting my options, since 2 Pokemon isn't much.

In Viridian Forst, I catch a Metapod, whose name is Xuth. Now, the thing about Metapod, is that it only knows Harden. This guy is Level 5, meaning I need to get it to Level 10 to evolve it using the switch out method. This... takes a while. I do try for it, first by grinding in the grass, and then, frustrated by how long that is taking, I decide to go fight the trainers in Viridian Forest. My free Antidote from the tree is depleted pretty quickly, and while the XP haul is pretty solid... in a battle, both Horus and Minos get poisoned, and me with no Antidotes. I count my steps carefully, using the first of my two Potions on Minos before even leaving the forest. Horus had more health left, and it was my hope that it would survive on the way to the Pokemon Center, which I also didn't want to use, since I had hoped to have it still unused before Giovanni, but we don't always get what we want, right?

Unfortunately, Horus was at one health just outside of the Center. It was pretty hilarious, but it also meant I had to use my other potion, depleting both of my Potions AND my Pokemon Center heal from Viridian City. Pretty bogus!

When Xuth does hit level 10, it evolves into Butterfree... and I realize that Butterfree learning Confusion at Level 10 wasn't the case until Yellow. In Blue, it still only knows Harden for two more levels. Not patient enough for that, I go ahead and box Xuth up to fight Dingus. Who... crumples like paper to my way overleveled Horus and Minos. Welp! No problems there. Better than losing, anyway.

Since I've already cleared out the forest, heading back up through it to Pewter is no problem at all. I grind on Route 2 (Pewter side) until Xuth learns Confusion, I heal in Pewter City, I box up Horus, and I face Brock. Who... I also crush with no effort. Again - overleveled, a little. I don't even need to heal again afterwards - I just go right through Route 3, easily tearing apart trainers on the way.

Speaking of Route 3, I do get to encounter another Pokemon there! It's a Spearow! Normally, this wouldn't be particularly exciting, but in this generation, I could trade a Spearow for a Farfetch'd, so I'm pretty down to catch it... and then Minos crits and murders it. This is the downside to being overleveled - everything is cardboard, even the stuff that I don't WANT to kill.

I heal outside of Mt. Moon, and head in. My catch there is, of course, a Zubat. (Someday I'll hit that 5% and get a Paras...!) I name it Vlad. I'm... probably just plain not gonna use it? It's so garbage. I carry it with me but I don't grind it or train it at all. It's still at the level 7 I caught it at.

Mt. Moon is Mt. Moon. Again, I'm overleveled, so it isn't giving me very much trouble. I do go back to use my Brock heal before facing the fossil nerd, but that's more because Confusion was out of PP than anything else. While in Mt. Moon, since out of the 7 Pokemon I could have, I only have and am using 3, and they're already high level, my team stays ahead of the curve. Minos evolves into Wartortle, and Horus evolves into Pidgeotto.

I pick the Helix Fossil this time, but again - I'm not reviving any Fossils. I still want to do... Things, with Cinnabar Island.

Leaving Mt. Moon on the Cerulean side, I do catch a Spearow on Route 4, making up for the last one I killed but also depriving me of that sweet sweet Sandshrew. Ah, Leopold... we hardly knew thee. Oh well! Spearow's name is Lanius. As I said, I'm probably gonna trade this for a Farfetch'd in Vermillion City. I actually am shocked I caught it, given that it also took the brunt of a critical Tackle, and ended up holding on with one health.

In Cerulean, my team consists of Vlad at Level 7 who I'm probably about to box, Lanius at level 12 who I'll be trading but I'll use until then (actual flying type moves are nice!), Minos at level 18, Horus at level 19, and Xuth at level 19. Like I said - overleveled.

How's that for pacing? From start to Cerulean in one day!

Next time: Rival, Bill, maybe Misty? Also captures on Routes 24 and 25!

November 3rd, 2017

Just kidding. It's actually this time. I kept playing after I wrote that, but didn't actually make enough progress to make into its own post.

After the briefest spark of grinding, I potion up, shove Vlad into his home in the box, and head for Nugget Bridge, preparing to fight my rival. My plan at this point: Start with a Pidgeotto vs Pidgeotto, no items, final destination, sending out Horus at the lead. Switch to Lanius to mooch XP off of Abra. Rattata has the strongest base power attack here, with Hyper Fang, so Minos, with the highest defense, goes next, and then for type effectiveness, Lanius goes up against Bulbasaur until it's too weak to risk, and then switch to Xuth. Nice, safe plan... right?

Well, while it would be good storytelling to have such a plan go horribly wrong, things do not always work out quite so poetically when documenting true events. My plan was executed, with Horus's weakening to 8hp in the process of battling Pidgeotto as the one point of concern in an otherwise easy battle. Abra is, of course, of no worry (yet!), and Rattata goes right down in one hit. Sweet litttle new-to-the-team Lanius, shockingly enough, holds its own, not even needing to fall back to Xuth to finish the job on Dingus' starter.

Nugget Bridge is, from there, pretty easy. I'm past a point where money is hard to come by, and I have no qualms with spending the vast majority of funds at this point on potions (although I do stock up on repels, in the event that they become advantageous for trying to get certain Pokemon as first encounters, or for protecting my ass from death). As such, I'm going through Nugget Bridge a lot smarter. Also, having both Peck AND Confusion in the party made the still imposing Level 18 Mankey a piece of cake. For that matter, much the same strategy holds for Route 25.

Speaking of the routes, on the other side of Nugget Bridge, I make sure my first step is to enter the tall grass, before fighting any trainers. First, I avoid the Jr. Trainer to get in the grass further towards Cerulean on Route 24. My encounter here is an Abra! Alas, my kingdom for a Great Ball. I take the chance of throwing a ball at it, and of course it fails amd Abra teleports away.

I head right over to Route 25's grass, behind the hiker there. It's... ANOTHER ABRA. CHRIST. I throw my ball, and because of the consistently EXTRAORDINARY luck of this run through, it of course doesn't miss.

Also hey, what's the deal with dual-encounters in this run? Route 1 Pidgey killed, Route 2 Pidgey caught immediately after. Route 3 Spearow killed, Route 4 Spearow caught just on the other side of Mt. Moon. Route 24 Abra ran, Route 25 Abra ran. Weird stuff!

Anyway in retrospect, my chances would probably have been better if I had Xuth in front to use stun spore. Sigh. Not that they would have been good chances anyway.

Still, hurts to not have that Bellsprout for Misty.

Anyway, Route 25 ends up taking enough out of me PP-ways that, as I had already expected, I needed to use my Cerulean City heal. But, unlike last attempt - no disastrous loss of party here. All good, all around. I get to Bill no problem and I clear out the route no problem. Then, I get going on grinding a bit, making sure to hit the gym trainers. Lanius is now Level 19, just one below Xuth's 20, which is itself just below Horus and Minos' shared 21. This is a much better level situation to be in than last time. I use my heal from defeating Dingus...

And pause there, before fighting Misty. I do teach Minos the TM Mega Punch, though. My current plan, when I resume play, is to use Minos and Horus. But I'm gonna make sure I get this out FIRST. Like as in I'm gonna post it right now.

[sterlingfitness]

Stretch // Jeff&Rachel Para

Who: Jeff Sterling and Rachel Berry @peculiarberry What: Jeff and Rachel stretch and talk before class When: August 11th Where: Studio 8 Notes: -

Rachel walks into the dance studio and her eyes immediately dart around the room to find Jeff. She knows it is good for them to branch off and partner up with other people, but she really enjoys Jeff, and thinks they have a lot of chemistry. When she spots him, she walks over to him, hugging him from behind. "Wanna warm up together?" Sadly, they hadn't had to pair up for any partner dances, but Rachel isn't all that surprised considering it is their first week back, she just hopes she won't have to separate from Jeff too often.

Jeff was stretching his arms over his head when he was suddenly hugged from behind, arms wrapped around his waist. "Hey there. I was wondering if you had forgotten about this class," he looked behind him with a smile before bending at the waist so he could raise Rachel's feet from the floor from that position. It wasn't like he didn't know anyone else in this class, but he just enjoyed Rachel's company much more. Finally standing up and turning around, he nodded "Yup, but go easy on me, I might rip something if you try to push me to a split," he joked before motioning behind him "My bag is back there, if you want to drop yours."

Rachel gasps at him, "When have I ever forgotten about a class in my life. I'm offended you would even think that!" She giggles happily when he lifts her up off the floor. "We have got to work on your splits though, maybe later, not with everyone else around?" She raises an eyebrow, happily going to drop her bag next to his. "I've been feeling pretty tense today so I definitely need to stretch. I don't want our professor to yell at me too bad." She knows she isn't the best dance but she enjoys dancing and for the most part takes to direction well, she also has Jeff on her side, who makes dancing so much better. "Did you do anything fun last night? It was thirst Thursday after all."

Jeff grinned playfully "I know, just messing with you. I'd be worried if you did skip one," he pointed out before whining softly "They're not so bad, but I confess I didn't work on them most of the summer. I could impress the boys with only my abs, didn't need to pull the splits," he joked playfully.Truth was, Jeff just didn't find time to practice. Between spending time with his family, that he hadn't seen in forever, he had little time to focus on the little things. He knows with Rachel around now, she'll push him to get to his usual fitness. "Yeah, I was a good person and didn't get wasted," he laughed, sitting down and stretching out one leg "I just went out with a couple of friends, nothing much. Was in bed by midnight."

Rachel "Same goes to you mister." She waggles her finger at him, laughing. How could someone be so funny? He really does lighten up her life. "Well, we'll get you able to impress the guys with many things, not just your nice abs." She goes down into the splits, to stretch herself out a bit, making sure to lean forward as far as she could. "Well, that is very responsible of you, but I'm not all that surprised. I had Marley come over and we watched Grease and had a sing along, which was a lot of fun."

Jeff laughed "Don't worry, I won't leave you alone unless I am bed ridden," he promised, before chuckling "Yes, can't show off the abs here, it's cold." Jeff playfully pushed Rachel to side as she got down into the splits next to him "Showoff," he scoffed dramatically. While everyone around them was nice, there was a just competitive vibe around them, but with Rachel, it was different. Maybe it was because both of them were just Dance minors and weren't trying to make it as dancers, but with Rachel he could focus on being his best without stressing out. If they always managed to get good grades, well... they were just that good naturally.

Rachel smiles softly at him, feeling reassured. "Good. I don't think I could handle a class without you." A pout forms on her lip as she rolls her eyes. "I do like showing off. It is probably one of my best talents." She lifts herself up out of the splits and stretches both legs out, "Do the same. I have an idea!" She wiggles her eyebrows at him, "Do you trust me, Jeffy?"

Jeff wasn't fond on skipping. He is sure he never skipped a class, specially a dance class, unless he was really sick, which didn't happen often, so Rachel had nothing to worry about. Jeff chuckled "Oh, I know. But if you got it, flaunt it," he looked up at her and raised a brow "Not with that eyebrow wiggle..." still, he slowly spread his legs and did his best, which wasn't so bad, but he still had to lean on his hands a bit. Give it a couple of weeks "This is a far as it goes."

Rachel reaches for his hands happily, and laces their fingers as their feet touched. "Okay, I'm going to let you stay in this position for a little bit so I don't make you rip your pants." She jokes, "But when you're ready I'm gonna pull you forward so you can stretch out, just tell me when you are ready." She wiggles her hips a bit and motions for him to do the same. "We should do a yoga class together!"

Jeff chuckled as he realised what she was doing, squeezing her hands back. He took a deep breath and nodded, preparing for the hamstring stretch as he wiggled his hips as well, feeling the burn "As long as it's not those boring yoga classes you barely do anything, count me it, I probably need it." he agreed before nodding "Go ahead, I'm ready."

Rachel "I'm far too restless for that. I can see the benefits from meditation but I couldn't do it for a whole hour. We'll have to check out what is available, there is all types of yoga now a days." She giggles as he prepares himself, but with his reassurance, she slowly begins to pull him forward. She feels the stretch in her own body and she's happy that they able to do this stuff together. "More? Or do you want to switch for now?"

Jeff nodded "The only meditation I am down for is sleeping. I'm great at that," he chuckled "We should do hot yoga. There might be some cute guys around, for you and for me," he said before starting to lean forward as she pulled him "See, I don't remember this being so hard," he let out a shaky laugh, before slowly leaning back and helping Rachel stretch. Leaning back was easier on his hamstrings, but he could still feel the stretch.

Rachel "Hmmm, that would be quite nice wouldn't it. We could go on double dates and then eventually have a joint wedding," She jokes, biting her lip as she stretches forward, she's pretty flexible but there is a slight burn. "Do you have a class after this?" She looks up a bit, before going back down to try and touch her chest to the floor. "We could do lunch or something, if you wanted."

Jeff couldn't help but chuckle "Let's be honest, would you share the spotlight in your own wedding?" he questioned with a raised brow as he helped her stretch as much as she could. "I have a free period after, then my human behaviour class." he said before humming "Yeah, I am starving, we can grab a bite," he said as it was his time to stretch, this time being able to go a bit lower, not pulling so much on his hamstrings. "You have classes this afternoon?"

Rachel "Who am I kidding. I absolutely would not share the spotlight on my day. I don't even know if I'm okay with sharing a face with someone." She of course loves her sister but they'd never been all that close and she isn't sure they ever will be. "Great. I'm pretty hungry myself and I'm sure it will only get worse once class starts." If she's being completely honest with herself she knows she is so hungry because she hadn't been eating all that much, it's what happens when she has so much energy. "Hey, that's better, trying going even lower!" She tries to be encouraging. "I have a class this evening but have a few hour break after this one."

Jeff smiled softly "Well, you can't change that. Unless you get so much surgery you look more robot like than human like... Please don't do that." Jeff chuckled softly. To be honest, he never heard Rachel talk much about her sister, which seemed weird, since they were twins, but he never wanted to pry. "Shhhh, give me a moment," he chuckled, touching his forehead against the floor before trying to actually straighten his back and do a proper split, before slowly sitting up "I'm done after 3. Early weekend for this guy."

Rachel scrunches her nose at him, "No surgery for me." She says seriously, grinning as he goes into a full split. "Now, if you do that three times a day you'll be so comfortable in the position you will just always be in a split. You could even do a shirtless split so you show off your abs too!" She's happy he is willing to get something to eat with her and she looks to him as their teacher walks in. Rachel pulls him along to the bar for the lead stretches, but knows they probably won't be standing together much longer.

Jeff nodded "Good, because you look great like this." said honestly, smiling as he finally got into the full split "I know, I have to get back into dancing mode. That includes training the splits. Thought I'm not sure I should do that in front of my roommate, so I'm taking it to the gym," he said conversionally before chuckling "Give me two weeks until I master them again and I'll start showing off during class," he promised with a wink before looking up at the teacher, taking Rachel's hand and following her to the bars, standing behind her.

Rachel The teacher leads them through some stretches, before having them pair off into small groups, Rachel pouting when she has to leave Jeff's side. She knows it is silly and she ends up enjoying the task they had to perform in their little groups. When the class is over Rachel quickly makes her way back to Jeff. "Do you wanna go shower first or just change? I just know I'm very hungry."

Jeff finds those next stretches more easy to do, as he's used to warming up before he hits the gym, and he actually enjoys the relaxation it brings. When they are separated, Jeff playfully blows Rachel a kiss before focusing on the task they had in hand. It would be much more fun if he had Rachel in the group, but he still does his best with what he has. He can't always get what he wants or work with who he wants. After the class, Jeff picked up his bag and picked up Rachel's to give to her as well "I mean.. I don't stink." he raised his arm and sniffed for a second "And I'm hungry, so I guess food over showers," he chuckled, reaching into his bag and taking his deodorant and quickly spraying under his armpits "There. You want some? It has a neutral smell, none of that Axe shit.""

Rachel "You are so gross!" She teases, sniffing the air, she can smell sweat but it isn't them, so she feels comfortable skipping out on the shower too. She happily takes his deodorant and sprays some on herself before linking arms with him. "I have the best place to go, c'mon!"

[linaofthemyscira]

The Quest for the Lost Treasure (Part 2)

Pairing: Adventurer!Jason Todd x Adventurer!Reader 

Word Count: 2395 (this is usually how it’s gonna be) 

Prompt: In university, you discover that an ancient treasure supposed to have been “found” was actually still lost. Determined to be the one to find it, you set off on a journey to find it, and run into Jason Todd and his adventurer posse. With Jason’s expertise of the land, and your natural talent for adventuring, you two are the perfect mix. Will you find the treasure smoothly? Or will you fail and lose a friendship? 

Warnings: foul language, mention of rape, jackasses 

A/N Here is where our favorite batboys come in :) hope you like it!

Reader POV

“What?! Are you kidding me? ¡¿Qué quieres decir con que no estoy en Colombia?! ¡¿Dónde estoy?!” I yell at the concierge.

“Desculpe, senhorita, mas você está no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro.” he says. Portuguese. I’m in Brazil, he said. I’m in Rio.

“¿Como isso aconteceu?” I switch to Portuguese. Not the first time I’ve been to Brazil. It’s a long story.

“Não sei, mas estamos investigando.” he says. They’re investigating? Oh my god, at this rate, I’ll never make it to Colombia.

“Preciso ir para a Colômbia. ¿Como vou para a Colômbia?” I ask.

“Todos os nossos voos para Colômbia são reservados. Podemos dar-lhe um lugar para ficar gratuitamente como compensação para este inconveniente.” he says to me. I nod my head and gives me a few papers and sends me off. I sigh in frustration. I put my papers in my backpack and pick my duffel bag off the ground.

Brazil. How the hell did I end up in Brazil? How am I supposed to get to Colombia? I pull out my phone and call Maya.

“Y/N? How is Colombia?” Maya answers.

“I wouldn’t know, Maya, I’m in Brazil,” I say.

“What? I thought you bought a ticket to Colombia! Why are you in Brazil?” She asks

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I have to find a way to get to Colombia. I can’t stay in Brazil too long.” I say as I look around the bustling airport.

“Where in Brazil are you?” Maya asks.

“The Amazon rainforest. I’m in Rio, Maya, Rio! Rio freaking de Janeiro!” I yell.

“Well you know my grandma lives there. You can stay with her until you figure it out.” Maya offers.

“Thanks Maya, but the airport gave me a free place to stay so I’m gonna take advantage of it. I’ll call you when I get settled in.” I say.

“Okay. Let me know if you end up going to my grandma’s house. Good luck,” Maya says and hangs up.

“Thanks. I’ll need it.”

So, the hotel that the airport said I could stay at for free was literal shit, so I did end up going to Maya’s grandmother’s house.

“Hi Mrs. Caixeta. Thank you for letting me stay here.” I say as I step into her house. It’s honestly incredibly beautiful, like a palace.

“Ah, no problem, Y/N. Anything for granddaughter’s best friend,” Maya’s grandmother says with her portuguese accent.

“I promise I’ll be out of your hair soon. I’m going to have make some calls to the airline company and see if I can get tickets to Colombia. Like I was supposed to,” I say with annoyance.

“If I can help in any way, let me know,” Mrs. Caixeta says and walks away.

“Will do. I’m gonna put my stuff down and head out for a drink! Be right back!” I yell out. I put my bags in a guest room and leave the house to go to a local bar.

I’m gonna need way more than one drink to deal with the airline tonight.

Jason’s POV

“Hey hey, how about her?” Tim nudges me. I take a glance at the girl Tim points out and shake my head.

“No. Tim how many times do I have to tell you? I’m not interested in anyone right now. Just that treasure. La Corona.” I take a swig of my beer.

“Fine. I’ll go talk to her then.” Tim sticks out his tongue and saunters over to the girl.

“He’s not gonna get her number,” Dick turns to me with another beer.

“Don’t I know it,” I say sarcastically.

“Look Jay, I know you’re really interested in La Corona, but tonight, just relax. Go talk. Dance. We’re in Rio, let loose for one night,” Dick tells me.

“Can’t. My eyes are on the prize. And they’re not coming off anytime soon,” I look around the bar. But I spoke too soon. For a second I forget about the crown as I spot her in the crowd of sweaty bodies. She looks distressed, but her E/C eyes are still sparkling.

“Oh really?” Dick asks as he follows my gaze.

“Yeah,” I say absentmindedly.

“Then you won’t mind if I go to talk to that girl over there,” he points to the girl I saw seconds ago.

I give him a hard glare.

“No. Go ahead,” I say. He raises an eyebrow and gets up from his bar stool, strolling over to the girl.

This is gonna be great.

Reader POV

“Uma margarita por favor,” I tell the bartender. A minute later he comes back with my drink.

“Bottoms up,” I say and begin chugging my drink. I put the glass on the counter and look at the bartender.

“Outro,” I say and he prepares another margarita for me.

“Here let me get that for you,” a voice behind me says. I turn around and a man with black hair and piercing blue eyes is standing nonchalantly with a beer in one hand. He’s handsome, but something tells me he’s not my type.

“Thanks but I can pay for my own drinks.” I smile and turn back around to get my drink.

“Aw come on. A free drink? Who can pass that up?” He asks me.

“I can,” I say before chugging this margarita down as well.

“What about a dance?” He keeps asking me.

“Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?” I respond. He puts a hand over his heart and a fake hurt expression comes over his face.

“Wow, I’m so offended,” he tells me.

“Good,” I roll my eyes. “I really hope my rejection doesn’t make you keep pestering me.”

“Nah I get the hint, I’m just trying to converse with you now,” the man smiles and drinks his beer.

I raise an eyebrow.

“I’m Y/N,” I say and hold out my hand.

“Dick. Dick Grayson. Explorer, Adventurer. Archaeologist.” He shakes my hand. I sit up a bit.

“Adventurer?” I ask.

“Yeah I know, but it’s really fun,” he shakes his head.

“No no no, I love adventures too. I’m actually supposed to be in Colombia looking for La Corona de la Tairona. But my flight ended up here and I’m trying to get tickets tonight so I can leave tomorrow.” I explain. Dammit. Not a good idea. Now he’s gonna go look for it.

“Seriously? My team is looking for that right now! Maybe you could join us.” Dick says.

“Oh I was planning on just going by myself.” I admit.

“Aw come on, it’ll be fun,” Dick makes puppy eyes at me and pouts.

“Sorry, Dickie, but as tempting as that sounds, I’m doing this by myself.” I give him a smile.

“Alright, Y/N, then may the best adventurer win,” he winked at me and took a sip of his beer.

“A little friendly competition…okay. I’ll see you in Colombia then.” I cross my arms. I hop off my bar stool and put some brazilian reals on the counter.

“Now, if you excuse me, I have to go buy a plane ticket to Colombia.” I salute Dick and leave him sitting at the bar as I make my way to the exit.

When I finally get outside, it’s dark. It’s weird, it only felt like I was there for 10 minutes. I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.

I begin walking home and it’s eerily quiet as my boots click on the cobblestone road. Weird.

As I turn into the alley I came through the first time, about 4 men come out of the shadows. Oh shit.

“Oh shit,” I say under my breath. They creepily inch toward me as I back up but someone stops me. Another man.

“Com licença, mas eu só preciso passar por aqui.” I say in Portuguese, hoping that I sound authentic enough to pass off as a local.

“You aren’t from here,” one of the men says in a thick accent.

“Uh, quê?” I continue.

“If you were from here, you’d know that this alley is dangerous, senhorita,” he continues.

“Okay, you got me. What do you want?” I ask.

The man behind me takes my hands and roughly holds them behind my back. The leader, I suppose, approaches me and holds my chin so our eyes meet.

“You,” he snickers.

“You’re sick,” I growl. He tells the man behind me something in Portuguese really quickly and the next thing I know, someone is lifting up the hem of my shirt.

“You little shits. I didn’t come to South America for this.”

Jason POV

“Definitely, I mean she seems like she could’ve helped us,” Dick tells me as we leave the bar.

“Well it’s her loss, not our fault she’s stubborn,” Tim sticks his hands in his pockets.

“It doesn’t matter; we don’t work with anyone but ourselves,” I roll my eyes. It’s dark out, but lanterns lit up the way.

“Well still, we could use a determined person like her on the team,” Dick says.

As we approach an alley, I hear a shout and strings of curses follow.

“Get your nasty ass hands off of me!”

“Shut her up!”

Out of instinct, I run to see what’s going on. As I stop in front of the alley entrance, what I see surprises me.

The girl from earlier at the bar is fighting off Brazilian thugs. Four of them. She was throwing well executed punches left and right.

“Woah,” I say in awe.

“Jason! What’s going…on?” Dick and Tim catch up and stop behind me.

It isn’t until she falls backward and one of the guys is about to capture her that I decide to step in.

I quickly walk up and punch him in the jaw in one swift move and then he’s out.

“Leave her alone for fucks sake,” I spit. I cross my arms over my chest and look down at the girl who’s looking up at me with an expression I can’t read.

“Like something you see?” I raise an eyebrow. She closes her mouth and narrows her eyes. She slowly gets up from the ground and dusts herself off.

“Good joke, it’s been a long time since I heard one,” she mirrors my stance. My jaw falls open at her back talk.

“Oh I see. You’re one of those girls,” I shoot back.

“And you’re one of those guys,” she counters.

I narrow my eyes. She narrows hers too.

“I just saved your ass, don’t you think I deserve a thank you?” I ask.

“I was doing just fine without you,” she replies.

“If you consider almost getting raped ‘just fine’, then yeah I guess you’re right,” I chuckle.

“Whatever you pompous asshole,” she rolls her eyes. My eyes widen in anger.

“Pompous asshole? Who are you calling a pompous–?!” I start.

“Hey hey hey! Guys you finally met! Jason, this is Y/N. Y/N this is the team leader, Jason Todd,” Dick comes running up, Tim trailing behind him. Y/N. So that’s her name.

“Uh I would say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but I’m not a liar,” she scowls at me.

“Likewise,” I return the scowl.

“Glad you guys are getting along,” I hear Dick mutter.

“I’m Tim Drake. The historian, or as Jason says, ‘the nerd’ of the group.” Tim introduces himself.

“Nice to meet you Tim.” She shakes his hand.

“We should get going. We have to leave tomorrow,” I turn to Dick.

“At least offer to take her so she doesn’t have to spend shit tons of money on a plane ticket,” he whispers.

“No.” I respond.

“Jason…” he says.

“I don’t work with outsiders. We’ve been over this,” I growl.

“Really? Wow that’s amazing! Thank you!” I hear Y/N say from behind me.

“Hey it’s no problem.” Tim replies. I turn around and furrow my eyebrows.

“What? What’s no problem?” I ask sharply.

“You’re taking me to Colombia. Thanks,” Y/N gives me a smug smile.

“No. No we’re not. Who said that?” I walk over to her and Tim.

“He did,” she points to Tim, who waves sheepishly at me.

“Drake, I swear…” I turn to him.

“I had to offer. It was the gentleman thing to do,” he shrugs.

“We’re not gentlemen. We’re explorers.” I hiss in his face.

“Jeez lay off of him. You’re just gonna take me to Colombia and then we can part ways. It’s not a big deal,” Y/N intervenes.

“It is a big deal, Y/N. You see, you just so happen to be hunting for the same treasure we are. I want to be the one to find it. I don’t like sharing. And I certainly don’t like letting a little girl like you get a step ahead in the game so she can get the glory. So yes. It is a big deal.” I say, getting in her face.

“Excuse me can you repeat that? I think I heard some sexist bullshit in that logic. Do you seriously think that me, a ‘little girl’, shouldn’t be able to get the glory of finding an ancient treasure? Some nerve you have. I don’t like sharing either, Jason, but at least I’d have the decency to help a fellow explorer out.” She spits back.

“The sexual tension is real here,” Dick mumbles to Tim.

“Shut up, Grayson,” I hiss while not breaking eye contact with Y/N. She doesn’t budge. Suddenly, she grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me down to her level so our faces are centimeters apart, which completely catches me off guard.

“If it really means that much to you, I won’t tag along. But know this: you’ve crossed me, so don’t expect me to help you if I see you out there, suffering and desperate. Good luck, Jason. You’re gonna need it,” she says with venom dripping from her words. She lets my collar go and picks up a bag and disappears into the alley.

Silence falls over us for a few minutes as we stand in shock.

“Wow.” Tim finally says.

“Definitely.” Dick agrees.

“Shut up. Let’s just go home.” I say and turn back around. I lead my brothers in the other direction back to our place.

Something tells me this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing Y/N.

Glossary:

Qué quieres decir con que no estoy en Colombia?! ¡¿Dónde estoy?!– What do you mean I’m not in Colombia? Where am I?!

Desculpe, senhorita, mas você está no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro–

 Sorry, miss, but you’re in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro.

¿Como isso aconteceu?– 

How did this happen?

Não sei, mas estamos investigando.– I don’t know, but we are investigating.

Preciso ir para a Colômbia. ¿Como vou para a Colômbia?– I need to go to Colombia. How do I go to Colombia?

Todos os nossos voos para Colômbia são reservados. Podemos dar-lhe um lugar para ficar gratuitamente como compensação para este inconveniente.– All our flights to Colombia are booked. We can give you a place to stay for free as compensation for this inconvenience.

Uma margarita por favor– A margarita please.

Outro– 

Another.

Com licença, mas eu só preciso passar por aqui.– 

Excuse me, but I just need to pass through here.

TAGGING:

@redhoodshood @crazyfangirl1810 @its-scarlet-witch-bitch @carryonmy-assbutt @4evahevah

[gothchic6]

Silver’s Skater Girl Chapter 14: Buggy Boy Battles

Now to revive an old tradition!

JP: I guess I'm doing the disclaimer this time. *Ahem* *Turns on megaphone* gothchic6 doesn't own Pokémon. She owns her Ocs!

***

*Calypso's POV*

I wake up to Maizie screaming, "CALYPSO! WAKE UP! GRANDPA MADE BREAKFAST!"

I sit up erratically, accidentally pushing a sleeping Cyndi off of me, and onto the floor.

'What the hell,' She exclaims indignantly.

"I'm so sorry, Cyndi, I didn't realize you were snoozing on me."

'It's okay,' She murmurs grumpily.

It takes me ten minutes to get out of bed, and change out of my pajamas. Surprisingly, Cyndi is my only Pokémon awake right now. Normally, Zellie and Forest are among my early risers.

Cyndi and I walk down Kurt's hallway, passing Kurt's room on the right, and Maizie's on the left. When we get to the kitchen, Kurt greets me with a small smile. "Good morning, Calypso."

Maizie pulls me by my wrist into the seat she chose for me. Setting a bowl and a spoon in front of me, she says excitedly,

"Grandpa put Berries in the oatmeal today, so it's gonna be super yummy!"

Before I know what she's doing, Maizie grabs my Poké Belt, and lets out all of my Pokémon.

Forest and Zellie look happy to be awake, while Dusk and Spirit seem like they want to kill multiple people.

All of them but Dusk are overjoyed when Maizie puts down bowls of Oran Berries in front of them. Dusk won't eat the berries, despite Maizie's sad face. I beckon her over.

"Hey, don't worry Maizie, Dusk doesn't like normal Pokémon food. You know the feeling you get when you're scared? Well, Dusk eats those feelings."

Maizie's eyes go wide, and for a moment, I think I'm in trouble. But then she says,

"That's so cool! She scares people and eats it all up!"

Laughing, I reply, "Yep, pretty much. I'll probably feed her later when we're exploring the forest."

After everyone is finished with breakfast, I pack up the rest of my stuff. "I think I'm going to challenge the Azalea Town Gym today."

"Good luck, Calypso," Kurt encourages,"With Pete's blood in your veins, I'm sure you'll do well!"

"Yeah!" Maizie agrees.

"Before you leave, Calypso, did you want me to turn any Apricorns into Poké Balls?

I pull out two Black Apricorns. "Here, could you make these?"

"Okay, it'll take a day to make you your Poké Balls. You can come back later for it."

Maizie grabs onto the bottom of my shorts. "Hey, Grandpa wants me to give you his phone number," she says as I input the number into my phone, "He'll tell you when the Poké Balls are done."

"You can also call me whenever you need my help, Calypso. I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you so much, Kurt!" I give him a hug, and he tenses up. After a moment, he relaxes, and hugs me back. Maizie makes it a group hug, and wraps her arms around the two of us. After a minute of squish, we all let go.

"See you guys later! I'll call you after the Gym Battle to let you know how it went," I offer to Kurt and Maizie.

"Sounds like a plan," Kurt accepts, while Maizie cheers me on, "Go Calypso! You can beat 'em!"

I stop by the Poké Mart on the upper right side of Azalea Town to stock up on healing items. I made some decent money from battling the Union Cave Trainers, battling Anthony, and from kicking Team Rocket's asses. Added up all together, I made 3784 in earnings.

I used a lot of Potions in Slowpoke Well, so I buy enough Potions so I have ten in my bag. Azalea Gym is full of Bug type Pokémon that like to cause status problems, so I buy two each of Antidotes, Parlyz Heals, and Awakenings for good measure.

I see a Super Potion, and I wonder if I need it. Cyndi, Spirit and Zellie all have enough HP to need a Super Potion, so I go ahead and grab three of them. Just in case.

Now that I'm properly stocked up, I walk over to the Azalea City Gym. I put Zellie in the front of my party so she can train. We walk into the building to the lobby where the Gym Guru greets us. He gives me some advice about Bug Pokémon that I already know, but I thank him anyway. We pass by him, and into the main room of the Gym.

The first thing I see is a giant chasm in the middle of the floor. There is a spider-themed transportation system over the chasm. I can pick one of three spiders; they each will take me to different places. I see a Bug Catcher on the far right side of the chasm. I step on the spider in the middle, hoping it will take me to him. To my surprise, it does!

"Hey, if you're looking to defeat Bugsy, you have to beat me first," Bug Catcher Al shouts at me. He sends out a Level 12 Caterpie. Zellie runs forward to battle it.

"Caterpie, use String Shot!"

The Caterpie pumps out a shitload of white silly string, and attempts to wrap Zellie in it.

"Zellie, counter with Water Gun to break up the string," I suggest.

Zellie unleashes a large amount of water onto the Caterpie's string shot, removing its stickiness. The Water Gun also barely hits the Caterpie, which lowers its HP by a fourth.

"Caterpie, use your Tackle attack!"

The Caterpie rushes Zellie, and hits her in the chest. It doesn't do much damage because of Zellie's defense.

"Zellie, use Sonicboom!"

The sound wave hits Caterpie, and almost knocks it out. Bugcatcher Al makes one last desperate attempt to stay in it,

"Caterpie, use Tackle!"

I yell out, "Zellie, use Water Gun!"

The Caterpie charges Zellie again, but it never makes contact because Zellie's Water Gun sends it flying.

When Caterpie hits the ground, we see that's it's fainted. Al recalls Caterpie.

"You can do it, Weedle," he says as he sends out his Level 12 Weedle.

"Zellie, use Water Gun!"

"Weedle, use Poison Sting," Al cries out.

Weedle moves faster than Caterpie, and manages to dodge Zellie's Water Gun. However, Zellie isn't as lucky, and she gets poisoned. The Poison Sting drains her HP to 3/4ths. Then, the poison status reduces it a bit more.

"Zellie, use your Sonicboom!"

The Weedle goes to dodge it, but Zellie changes direction, hitting the Weedle straight on.

"Weedle, Poison Sting, one more time!"

"Zellie, Water Gun!"

Zellie's Water Gun hits first, knocking Weedle out. Zellie dodges the Weedle's Poison Sting by inches.

"Zellie grew to Level 10. Zellie can learn the move Pursuit. Did you want to get rid of a move to replace with Pursuit?" The Pokédex asks us.

"I'd like to replace Water Sport with Pursuit," Zellie requests.

"Zellie forgot Water Sport, and Zellie learned Pursuit!"

Wow, I guess you won..." Bugcatcher Al says as he recalls Weedle. He hands me 192.

I heal poor Zellie with an Antidote and a Potion before we ride the spider back to the start.

We choose to ride the spider on the right, but it takes us to a dead end. So back to the start we ride. The left can't be the wrong choice…

We finally reach the middle platform, and we have to cross the path of Bug Catcher Benny to ride the next set of spiders.

"Hey! Bug Pokémon are strong because they evolve quickly! I'll show you!"

Benny sends out a Level 7 Weedle. Zellie, now fully healed, takes it on.

Zellie has no problem taking the Weedle out with her Water Gun after dodging Poison Sting. Benny recalls Weedle, and sends out a Level 9 Kakuna. I'm starting to see a pattern here...

"Kakuna, Poison Sting!"

Zellie gets hit again from an unexpected Poison Sting. It affects her HP a tiny bit, but luckily it doesn't poison her again.

"Zellie, use Sonicboom!"

Zellie's Sonicboom hits the Kakuna, and it reduces the Kakuna's HP by a third.

"Kakuna, use Harden!"

Kakuna heightens its Defense. But that doesn't concern me…

"Zellie, use Water Gun!" Kakuna's Special Defense isn't as strong as its Defense, and it goes down. Benny recalls Kakuna.

"Zellie grew to Level 11!" The Pokédex says. I congratulate Zellie before recalling her. I know what's to come, so I gotta be prepared for it…

"Go, Beedrill!" Benny shouts as he sends out a Level 12 Beedrill.

"Spirit, I choose you!" Spirit looks a little bit annoyed to be battling, but she's well rested, so she decides to give it a shot.

"Beedrill, use Poison Sting!"

"Spirit, fly up to dodge, and then go in for a Peck!"

Spirit is just slightly faster than Beedrill, so she avoids the Poison Sting by inches. She flies behind Beedrill, and goes in for the Peck.

It hits Beedrill directly on the back of the head, reducing its HP by a little more than a half.

"Beedrill, use your Fury Attack!" Beedrill comes after Spirit with its massive stingers. Spirit fends off the first two attacks, but Beedrill breaks her Defense. He hits her three times in a row, reducing her HP by a fourth.

"Spirit, knock Beedrill out of the sky with a Wing Attack!" Spirit soars towards Beedrill, wings out stretched.

"Beedrill, use Harden!"

Beedrill ups its Defense by a level right before Spirit strikes, but it isn't enough to keep it from fainting. Benny recalls Beedrill.

"Wow! You might be strong enough to defeat Bugsy!"

Benny hands me 192. I heal Spirit with a Potion and switch her to the front of the party before continuing. I can see Bugsy on a platform directly across from us, but I doubt the puzzle will let us get there easily.

The second part of the spider chasm puzzle is much more complicated than the first. There is only one spider, but there are several ways the spider can go. There is a blue level switch on the right of the spider. I decide to flip it. I see the blue colored path bend weirdly.

Spirit and I step on the spider, and it takes us to the upper right corner, where a Bugcatcher awaits us.

Bugcatcher Josh only has one Pokémon, a Level 13 Paras. Spirit decides to make it quick.

"Paras, use Stun Spore!"

"Spirit, dodge it and go in for a Peck!"

Paras shoots a large amount of stunning yellow powder into the air, creating a golden cloud of paralyzing static. Spirit can't help but fly into it, just because of how big it is. She twitches every few seconds because of the paralysis, but I can see the murder in her eyes. We vastly underestimated Paras's status moves, but it's not a mistake we'll make again. But if we can make one super effective hit, I know Paras will go down.

"Spirit, you got this! Use Wing Attack!"

"Paras, dodge it, and use Scratch!"

Spirit puts all of her power into charging the Paras, wings outstretched. Just as she's about to plough into him, Paras uses Scratch on Spirit's left wing. His claw hooks onto her wing, and she takes off into the sky, freaking out because he's hooked onto her.

"Paras, use Leech Life!" The Paras uses it's grip to reach up and bite Spirit, draining her HP by a small amount. Spirit freaks out even more. I look everywhere, trying to decide what to do to get it off of her, when I notice a tree to our left. I decide to take advantage of our environment.

"Spirit, use Wing Attack into that tree!"

Spirit gets what I'm getting at, and to the great shock of Bugcatcher Josh, she throws the Paras into the tree with her Wing Attack. I'm right; It only took one hit.

Bugcatcher Josh picks up his fainted Paras, and says, "You are a monster! Look at poor Paras!"

I can't believe this kid. Spirit went through hell to win that battle.

"Look, kid, you're a Gym Trainer. You chose to play the game. You played, and you lost. Now, I believe you owe me money?"

Bugcatcher Josh growls at me, and throws the money at me like I'm a stripper.

'What a sore loser.' Spirit comments as we ride on the spider back to the middle platform.

"You're not kidding. Hey, come here. I'm going to use a Parlyz Heal on you. Do you need a Potion, or do you think you're okay?"

'I only lost a tiny bit of health, so I'll be okay for now,' Spirit says as I spray the Parlyz Heal on her. I can tell it's working when she stops twitching.

"All right, I'm going to flip the switch back so we go on another path. Are you ready, or do you want me to switch you out?"

'I'm okay to fight.'

So Spirit and I flip the switch back to the original path, and the spider takes us to the upper most left corner. A pair of twins make eye contact with us.

"Hey, you have to battle us if you wanna get to Bugsy," The first twin, Amy, says.

"Yeah," finishes the second twin, Mimi, "With two Pokémon!"

"Wait? A battle with two Pokémon," I ask confusedly.

"Hey, Mimi, this is her first double battle! We should show her how it's done!"

"You said it, Amy! We're each going to send out a Pokémon, and you gotta send out two. Go Ledyba!"

"Go Spinarak!"

Each twin sends out a Bug Pokémon, both Level 10. My Pokémon have never actually worked in sync before, so I'm a bit nervous. The first two Pokémon in my party are Spirit and Dusk, and somehow, I think that combination will work.

"Go, Spirit and Dusk!"

Spirit and Dusk bewilderedly look at each other, then at me, and then at the Bug Pokémon.

"It's a double battle. You guys gotta work together to win the battle."

They both look at each other for a second before silently agreeing to cooperate.

"Spinarak, use String Shot on Murkrow!" Spinarak tangles Spirit in white string, lowering her speed.

"Ledyba, use Comet Punch on Murkrow while it's slow!"

"Dusk, use Astonish on Ledyba to stop it from hitting Spirit!"

Dusk's Astonish gets a 1.5 type bonus, and it lowers Ledyba's HP to a little less than half. It causes Ledyba to flinch like I hoped, so it can't go after Spirit.

"Spirit, use Wing Attack on Spinarak!"

"Spinarak, hit it with your Poison Sting!"

Spirit dodges Spinarak's Poison Sting, but Amy calls out, "Ledyba, use Tackle!"

Ledyba launches itself towards Spirit, attempting a Tackle, but it epically fails because it tackles itself straight into Spirit's Wing Attack, knocking it out instantly.

Mimi tries to save the battle, "Spinarak, use Poison Sting on Misdreavus!"

"Dusk, dodge it and counter with Psywave!"

Dusk's Psywave pushes back the Poison Sting, and when the super effective attack hits Spinarak, it faints.

"Spirit grew to Level 18. Dusk grew to Level 17." The Pokédex says. I praise both Spirit and Dusk before recalling the latter. Spirit flies up to perch my shoulder.

"Awww, our Bug Pokémon lost," says Amy disappointedly.

"And to a Trainer who never had a double battle before," Mimi finishes.

The twins hand me 320 in winnings. I see a blue switch to the right of them, so I flip it. I see the blue path shift again. Spirit and I ride the spider, and it takes us to a small platform right behind the one with the twins. There is a red switch there, so I flip that one too. The red path twists weirdly.

By now I realize that I've beaten all the Gym Trainers. I heal Spirit and Dusk with a Potion before switching Spirit out with Cyndi as my battling Pokémon. Spirit chooses to stay perched on my shoulder so she can witness the Gym Battle. Spirit, Cyndi and I step on the spider for hopefully the last time.

The spider finally takes us to the Gym Leader's platform, where Bugsy is waiting for us. I make eye contact with the softest pair of lavender eyes. I can't really tell whether they're a boy or girl, but then again, you can't really tell with me half the time either. My chest sticks out more than theirs, so I still don't know.

Either way, Bugsy is really easy on the eyes. Their hair is the same shade of lavender as their eyes, and it's kinda shaggy like mine, but a tiny bit longer. They're wearing a green polo shirt and shorts with a yellow tie, while white socks and brown shoes adorn their feet. A genuine smile rests on their lips, unlike Faulkner's smug smile.

I feel a beak on my left ear, and I realize that I've been staring. I'm so glad Spirit knocked me out of my trance; I have to remember to thank her later.

"Hi, I'm Calypso, and I've come to challenge you for the Hive Badge," I introduce myself to Bugsy. When they speak, I realize he's male.

"I'm Bugsy! I never lose when it comes to Bug-type Pokémon. My research is going to make me an authority on Bug-type Pokémon! Let me demonstrate what I've learned from my studies."

Bugsy sends out a Level 17 Scyther that's honestly terrifying. But if anyone can handle it, I know Cyndi can.

"Cyndi, use Quick Attack!"

"Scyther, dodge it and use Leer!"

Scyther glares at Cyndi harshly as Cyndi charges her, lowering her Defense. Scyther tries to sidestep her Quick Attack, but Cyndi's accuracy doesn't fail. It reduces Scyther's HP by a fifth.

"Cyndi, set Scyther on fire with your Ember," I call out to her.

"Scyther, don't let it hit you! Use U-Turn on Quilava!"

Scyther moves away quickly, but Cyndi's Ember catches on one of Scyther's wings. It lowers Scyther's HP to slightly less than half. Scyther does a stop, drop, and roll to get the fire out, and then she rushes Cyndi, hitting her with U-Turn. Despite Cyndi's lowered Defense, it only does a sixth of her HP in damage.

Bugsy recalls Scyther back into her Poké Ball because of the U-Turn. He sends out a Level 15 Metapod instead.

"Metapod, use Tackle!"

"Cyndi, dodge it and use Ember!"

Metapod tackles Cyndi, knocking on her butt to Cyndi and I's surprise. It reduces Cyndi's HP to 3/4ths. Who knew a Metapod could be that strong?

But Cyndi doesn't let Metapod get away with her assault. She fires up an Ember attack and shoots it straight at Metapod. It doesn't take long before Metapod is engulfed in flames, and after a moment, we see that she's fainted.

"Metapod, come back," Bugsy says as he recalls her, "You did a great job out there. Now, Kakuna, I choose you!"

Bugsy sends out a Level 15 Kakuna. Since his Metapod was able to use a damaging move like Tackle, I'm almost betting that Kakuna will be able to. But since Weedles never learn Tackle, I'm gonna have to deal with Poison Sting instead. As long as Cyndi is able to hit it with an Ember, it'll go down. But he'll be expecting that, so I'll try something different...

"Kakuna, use Poison Sting," Bugsy calls out.

"Cyndi, use Smokescreen!"

Cyndi discharges a large cloud of black smoke from her mouth. Kakuna's accuracy is cut by a level, so Cyndi manages to dodge Poison Sting. Bugsy yells out a command,

"Kakuna, don't let it get away! Use Poison Sting again!"

"You can dodge it, Cyndi! Now use Ember!"

Cyndi uses the rest of the smoke cloud to hide herself from Poison Sting again. Then, she pinpoints Kakuna's location in the smoke before hurling a fire ball straight at it. When the smoke finally clears, Kakuna is fainted on the ground.

"Kakuna, come back! You did a great job," Bugsy says as he recalls Kakuna.

"Cyndi grew to Level 20. Cyndi can learn the move Flame Wheel. Did you want to replace a move with Flame Wheel?"

'Yeah, I'll replace Tackle with Flame Wheel!' Cyndi says excitedly.

"Cyndi forgot Tackle, and Cyndi learned Flame Wheel!"

At this point, Bugsy only has Scyther left to battle with. She has less than half her health left, so Cyndi and I are hoping for an easy finish.

"Scyther, use your Quick Attack!" Bugsy says, hoping to get a few hits in before Cyndi can attack.

"Cyndi, use your new Flame Wheel attack!"

Scyther is quicker, and she gets a solid hit on Cyndi, reducing Cyndi's HP to half.

"Scyther, use Focus Energy! You need a critical hit to take Quilava out!"

Cyndi takes a second to recover, but she starts charging her flame until it's that bright blue color that let's me know she's ready to end this.

"Now, Cyndi, use Flame Wheel to end this battle!"

Cyndi starts dashing for speed before rolling into a blue flame covered wheel heading straight for Scyther.

"Scyther, dodge it and use U-Turn,"Bugsy attempts one last command, but it has no effect because Cyndi is too fast.

"Quilava!" Cyndi squeals as she rolls directly into Scyther, causing massive super effective damage. Scyther sprawls out on the ground, fainted.

"Aw, that's the end of it..." Bugsy says as he recalls Scyther back to her Poké Ball.

Spirit and Cyndi watch in excitement as Bugsy pulls out a badge, and says,

"Whoa, you're amazing! You're an expert on Pokémon! My research isn't complete yet. Okay, you win. Take this Badge."

Bugsy hands me a badge that resembles a ladybug.

"Thanks, Bugsy, the team and I trained hard for this," I smile warmly.

"Do you know the benefits of the Hive Badge? If you have it, Pokémon up to Level 30 will obey you, even traded ones. Pokémon that know Cut will be able to use it outside of battle, too. Here, I also want you to have this."

Bugsy pulls out a TM and hands it to me. "TM89 contains U-Turn. It let's your Pokémon attack, then switch with the next Pokémon in your party. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll find a way to work it in to our strategy," I assure him.

"Anyway, Bug-type Pokémon are deep. There are many mysteries to explore. Study your choices thoroughly."

"I will. I'm heading towards Goldenrod City for the next Gym Badge today. But not before I take my team to rest at the Pokémon Center."

So Bugsy and I exchange goodbyes before Spirit and I start to leave the Gym. Riding the second spider out, I feel Spirit's beak on my neck again.

"Hey, what's up," I ask, "You don't normally nudge me unless you need to talk or you want something."

Spirit chirps in slight annoyance at my comment, but replies,

'I was wondering what happened when you first saw Bugsy. You just kept staring at him, and it was almost like you were in a trance.'

I step out of the Gym before I say the next part so no one hears me,

"I guess I was staring because I thought he was cute, okay? Are you judging me for having functioning eyes?"

'Hey, no need to get so defensive! I just didn't want it to look like you were ogling him. Although it's crazy to think you'd ever find someone attractive. You used to hate people,' Spirit comments thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I've found that not all people are shit. Maybe just Gran and almost the entire population of Cianwood City. Anyway, I have people I can confide and believe in now! And, at the very least, are nice to me. PG, Professor Elm, JC, JP, Kurt, and Bugsy… even Silver has more to him than meets the eye."

As we walk towards the Pokémon Center, I keep hearing rustling in the trees near the Azalea Gym. The rustling even startles Spirit at one point, but we walk along, both just hoping it was a Pokémon.

We finally make it to the Pokémon Center after our brief conversation. I recall Spirit into her Poké Ball so Nurse Joy can heal her and the rest of the Team.

After they're healed, I glance at the time on my Poké Gear. 2:00 pm. There's still enough time to have a small lunch and still explore Ilex Forest before it gets dark.

I move to a corner booth and let my Team out of their Poké Balls. I feed all of them their standard Pokémon food, except for Dusk, who will feed herself while we're exploring the forest. I then recall all of them except for Dusk, placing her at the front of my party.

I take a second to say goodbye to Kurt and Maizie before continuing on towards Ilex Forest, Dusk floating at my side. I start to hear the trees around us rustling again.

"Did you hear that," I whisper to Dusk on my left, "That was happening earlier when Spirit and I were leaving the Gym."

The trees rustle again aggressively. 'I'll check it out!' Dusk squeals as she flies into the woods towards the rustling.

It only takes a few seconds before I hear yelling coming from the woods. About a minute later, I hear heavy footsteps heading towards me. All of a sudden, a disgruntled Silver falls out onto the path in front of me, a giggling Dusk hanging onto the back of his flaming hair. Dusk lets go of Silver's hair, flying over to float on my left side.

'It was Jerkface,' Dusk squeaks in amusement, 'He was spying on us from the woods, so I spooked him, and ate it all! It was so yummy! This is payback for when he kidnapped us in Violet City!'

Silver picks himself off the ground, brushes himself off, and then says indignantly,

"This isn't the first time I've had to tell you to keep your damn Pokémon on a leash!"

I roll my eyes at his typical statement. "I didn't listen the first time you said it, what makes you think I'd listen the second time? You can consider this payback for when you kidnapped us back in Violet City. Anyway, we know it's been you who's been sneaking around the woods all this time! Silver, you creep!"

Silver pauses for a moment before replying dryly, "Humph… whatever… Tell me something. Is it true that Team Rocket has returned?"

I shift my hands to my hips in annoyance. "Huh, way to change the subject, but, yeah, those sleazeballs were in Slowpoke Well cutting off Slowpoke Tails to sell! So the Team and I creamed Proton and his crew—"

Silver interrupts me boldly, "What? You beat them? Hah! Quit lying."

Narrowing my eyes in fury, I growl, "Believe me, Ginger Head Man, I kicked the crap out of Proton and his team. Hell, I even broke that fucker's nose!"

"Are you serious? Then let's see how good you are," he says as he pulls a Poké Ball from his belt, summoning his Gastly to battle.

"Well, Dusk, I guess we're doing this! Use Confuse Ray!"

"Gastly, dodge it and use Lick!"

Dusk's Confuse Ray hits Gastly first, and he's having a hard time figuring out what to do. After a second, he hurts himself in his confusion. His HP reduces by a fifth.

"Gastly, you waste of space, use Curse!"

Dusk's HP reduces by a fourth due to the Curse. I gasp not only at the use of the move, but at Silver's horrible insult towards his Gastly. It's lost more than half it's HP in that one move alone!

"You know, insulting him probably isn't going to make him any less confused!"

"Shut up, brat," Silver snarls in reply, "Gastly, use Lick, NOW!"

"Dusk, dodge it and use Astonish!"

Gastly manages to see through his confusion, and he licks Dusk straight on the face. Gross! And, unfortunately, super effective. Dusk's HP goes down by a third. Lick also has the unfortunate side effect of inflicting paralysis half the time, and Dusk got the wrong half.

Dusk twitches due to the paralysis, but she still goes in for an Astonish. Silver and Gastly weren't expecting her to be able to attack, so Gastly has no choice but to watch as Dusk makes the finishing move. Gastly faints.

"Return," Silver says stonily. I sigh to myself in relief; I'm glad that he didn't verbally abuse his Pokémon this time.

Silver sends out a Level 16 Zubat to battle next. I recall poor paralyzed Dusk, and I send out Spirit, my confusion-dodging expert. Silver makes the most predictable move ever,

"Zubat, use Supersonic!"

"Spirit, dodge it and use Faint Attack!"

Spirit soars like a bullet in the air, getting far enough away that Zubat's Supersonic doesn't hit her. Then, she disappears into her black cloud, and reappears behind Zubat, striking him powerfully. The hit lowers Zubat's HP down to a little less than half.

"Zubat, use Leech Life!"

"Spirit, finish Zubat off with your Wing Attack!"

Zubat and Spirit dash towards each other, each trying to make a hit that will make the other faint. I see a sparkle in Spirit's eye, and I know she's up to something. As soon as Zubat comes within range of her, Spirit bitch slaps him down to the ground with her Wing Attack. Am I surprised? No. Am I proud? Hell yes.

Silver growls menacingly as he recalls his fainted Zubat, "Say, you've got a lot of nerve, coming here..."

I glare at him and respond, "And you've got a lot of nerve saying that when you've been the one spying on us!"

Silver looks like he wants to commit my murder, but he sends his massive Level 18 Croconaw out to take his anger out on my Pokémon instead.

Spirit did an awesome job taking out Zubat, but she's tired, so I recall her. Despite being under-leveled, I decide that Forest is the best one for this job.

"Croconaw, use Bite," Silver bellows.

"Forest, dodge it and use Sleep Powder!"

Croconaw is too fast, and he bites Forest on his leafy arm. It reduces his HP by a little less than half. Thankfully, this puts him in range so Forest can use Sleep Powder. It hits Croconaw, who quickly dozes off.

"Get up, Croconaw! This is no time for sleeping!"

"Now, Forest, you got this! Use Wrap!"

Croconaw stays asleep, to Silver's frustration. Forest extends his vines to wrap tightly around Croconaw, slowly squeezing him for a small amount of damage. It also reduces his HP again due to Wrap damaging him for 2-5 turns.

"Croconaw! Come on, open your damn eyes!"

Croconaw still won't wake up, and I'm just wondering whether Silver forgot to buy any Awakenings. Hey, it's working to my advantage.

"Now, Forest, use Vine Whip!"

Forest uses the vines he has wrapped around Croconaw to lash at him violently. It's a super effective move, and it reduces Croconaw's HP to a third. Then, another round of Wrap reduces it to a fourth.

"That's ridiculous! There's no way I could lose to a wimp like you," Silver starts to lose his composure, "CROCONAW, WAKE UP AND USE BITE!"

Croconaw finally awakens, and is quite displeased to find Forest squeezing his vines around him. Croconaw starts struggling to wriggle out of Forest's hold, because he can't bite something that's wrapped around him.

Forest inflicts one more round of Wrap damage to Croconaw before he gets thrown off by the overgrown croc.

"Croconaw, use Bite one more time!"

I am surprised by Croconaw's speed as he charges Forest. To my horror, he picks up Forest's already bitten arm in his mouth, and dangles Forest from his mouth. It reduces his HP to almost none.

"FOREST! ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"This battle is over," Silver states arrogantly. I narrow my eyes in disbelief, and reply,

"Not quite yet, Ginger Head Man! Forest, you can do it! Use Vine Whip on his face with your other vine!"

Forest musters up all the strength he has in order to reach up and whip Croconaw directly in the eye. The super effective hit causes Croconaw to collapse on the ground, fainted.

"Forest grew to Level 15. Forest can learn the move PoisonPowder. Did you want to replace a move with PoisonPowder?

'Yes, I'll replace Growth with PoisonPowder,' Forest replies weakly.

"Forest forgot Growth, and Forest learned PoisonPowder!"

Forest is able to lift his injured vine out of Croconaw's mouth, and I hope there isn't lasting damage. My Team will definitely need another round at the Pokémon Center after this.

Silver recalls his fallen Croconaw while saying grudgingly, "...Humph! Useless Pokémon! Listen, you. You only won because my Pokémon were weak."

Yeah, I don't believe it. Silver's just trying to blame his shortcomings on his Pokémon.

"Yeah, right. Your Pokémon are fine. You're the only one on your team that's weak."

Silver's eyes bore into me with hatred at my statement, and out of the corner of my eye, I see him pulling something out of his pocket. Probably his knife…?!

I hastily pull Grandpa Pete's pocket knife out of my bag. But before I can take a fighting stance, Silver notices my knife and rolls his eyes. Then, out of nowhere, he pockets his knife. I'm so confused. Wasn't he about to stab me?

"I hate the weak. Pokémon, Trainers. It doesn't matter who or what. I hate to see them hanging around. That goes for Team Rocket, too. They think they are big and tough as long as they are in a group. But get them alone, and they're weak. I hate them all."

He stares boldly at me again. "Stay out of my way. You won't be an exception if you get in my way."

He then stalks his way into Ilex Forest, disappearing into the green of the woods.

'That guy is worse than Quinn,' I hear Forest mutter weakly from behind me.

"Forest, you okay, bud? We need to get you to the Pokémon Center. You fought a rough battle, and I'm worried about your vine. Do you want to go in your Poké Ball, or would you rather have me carry you?"

'Could you carry me? I'd like to talk to you on the way there,' He requests.

"Sure," I confirm as I carefully cradle him in my arms so I don't crush his injury as we start walking to the Pokémon Center. For a few seconds, there is silence, so I break it by asking,

"So what did you want to talk about?"

'That Silver guy… he reminds me so much of Quinn… the thirst for power… the complete unrealistic expectations of his Pokémon… the loneliness. It's bringing back some old memories...' Forest trails off, closing his eyes.

"Silver has a pretty tragic backstory, Forest. His mom died when he was a toddler, and his dad abandoned him when he was nine. I can see where a lot of his hatred comes from."

'He's also like Quinn in that he hates anything and everything that he perceives as weak. But that's where his weakness lies. There is potential in everything if you work hard towards it.'

"You and the rest of the Team are evidence of that. But, if you ask me, I think Silver has something going on that he hasn't told any of us about. I'm wondering if it's something really bad for him to want to hide it so much," I speculate.

'He seems very secretive as a person, which Quinn wasn't as much. Quinn let everything hang out in the open.'

"Yeah, and normally I wouldn't care about a random part of somebody's life like this, either. But Silver's interesting. He's been in the woods, spying on us, and I want to know why. And I also want to know what he's been hiding from me, JC, and JP."

'That's for him to know, and for us to hopefully to find out,' Forest says after a comfortable silence. I notice that we've finally made it to the Pokémon Center. I was so distracted by the conversation that if you told me I had flown there, I would've believed you.

As Forest and I go inside to heal the Team, I only have one thought clouding my mind,

"What are you hiding from us, Silver?"

[sevshell]

Como Tocar Guitarra

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[gotripses03]

BANTER IN TENERIFE!

[Music] hi I’m Josh and I’m from Singapore but i’m currently on holiday in Queenstown New Zealand and you’re watching fun for Louie boo good morning guys it is like beautiful day today in the Canary Islands check this view out this is ridiculous this is our film crew let they’re following us taking oh they’re gonna be filming us today guys I just picked up my phone somehow one day into buying it I have cracked my phone horridly look at that but how do they even happen Steve did you smash my phone broke well you didn’t know me lastly get you back so we’ve arrived our first stop and basically we are here in the Canary Islands and today in the Tenerife helping the Tourism Board shoot a big promotional video so we’ve got this crew with us these guys out and our first activity today it’s we are going to be power gliding up here I Steve what stanbow excited thing is unlike an adventure but my adventure is more like let’s sit by this pool and read this adventure book samira steve again interviewed it’s not an interview oh there it’s on the intro for their video basically we’re just going to be chillin here chatting about being in the Canary Islands and the fact that we’ve never been before chatting about some of the activities we do in the next couple of days Louie and Steve back together again [Music] one-take wonders mate boom right let’s get on our let’s go on all the harnesses bro and jump off this mountain yeah so we’re not going solo we’re doing the tandem paragliding Josh and Jake have never done this before josephson he’s a little bit terrified by I’m not massively excited about Trump jumping off this mountain about you leaving Mike director we even don’t we we actually unfortunate because of San Luis Steve VIPs they get the para gade as we just have to jump off the mountains go ahead so when I paragliders so again we’re not going to do now the paragliding yeah we’re going to do now we’re going to go into the mountains and we’re going to do the road bikes because the condition oky edition is it too windy it’s too windy and also the direction of the wind is not ideal for us because we want to go with a wimp out that way out there know it’s there exactly you’re gonna take a spiking yes okay so we have arrived we’re just driven almost to the other side of the island and we’re going to be getting on some bikes now and just cruising down hill this is so epically beautiful isn’t it this is all volcanic guys this whole place just came out of the ocean these are our these Rusty’s yeah my baby yeah guys I just got my 360 rig and one of these guys has like a clip to put it on the bike so I’m gonna try and ride with this often fight bike hey Steve saw your hair out rough so what your hair out we’re trying to do a photo let me try to do a photo shoot Steve now okay why we’re trying to stick a pole out the front to put a 360 camera on efficiency to come up with a genius plan the Alpha tape saves a day boys this might be a weird angle to watch 360 you’ll be the Condor fight you’d be looking up at me basically my chin you’ve got nice chin there me although my face is gonna be down here it’s here so are you going to be looking I like you should have just asked me I would have ridden like this we’re ready to go guys we are ready to roll I thought I was gonna go on the bike we’re ready to roll we’ve got a 360 camera let’s do this Steve boom let’s do this yeah [Music] probably been rolling for like five minutes and this going well it’s going well I’m eleven yeah I’m loving it and Steve’s been riding with the GoPro in his mouth the whole time he just switched up yeah you mount it on the front down yes just to change up the foot yes brother high waist and speak Steve just completely cut me up I almost fell like were back we have slid out many keeps keep up right yeah you get too excited [Music] like still a thief we made it we’ve made it to the bottom three fair we that was like pretty easy because we just went downhill so it was just a taster of road biking I what you’re saying we’re on an Instagram mission state this is unreal this is it’s gonna be so nice exciting news guys we just found out the wind has now changed and we’re ready to go paragliding so literally driving straight back to where we were this morning and hope you jump it up the mountain back at the paragliding we’re having a little bit of trouble getting the van up the hill [Music] [Music] how beautiful is it right you just say you can’t believe we’re in the canary island yeah I call me live I’ve never been it I know that’s thing I was like what guys I’m attempting something quite ambitious I’m going to try and do a 360 video whilst we’re paragliding now I don’t know how this is gonna turn out way it could be pretty awesome you’re gonna get some sweet GoPro angles I think I think that’s the right angle yeah so Steve’s going up first you strapped in ready whoa and that’s my go why is the instructor shall we go [Music] [Music] [Music] here we go yeah got it got it I just landed after a breath taking her prince taking flight hopefully I’ve been able to include some of this footage I’ve been shooting a 360 so it might not work but I’m going to try and include a few little clips into a normal video so you see how that looks just where were you bro to record my landing they are just chillin apparently they were watching some other hot guy they were like that same that’s Louie I wouldn’t even see your boots I swear I saw your beats as I feel you’ll see it on the camera hey that was amazing I was sick or not so good so that’s why put it there bro yeah right Disney chisme boys to an awesome day in the Canary Islands tenerife great way Hurley we’ve got a pretty early start tomorrow because we’re flying to gran canaria which the main island and we’re going to be doing some mountain biking and I don’t know what else we doing climbing it should be pretty fun but I’m gonna get some sleep I catching the morning peace out enjoy life lift the adventure [Music]

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[nuzblog]

October 26th, 2017

I have come before you tonight with dreadful news. One member of my party will not make it out of this entry alive. This very sad fact makes me very sad, and it will make you very sad when it happens.

But before I can tell you that story, I must first tell you this story.

Mt. Moon, as you may be aware... is a difficult dungeon for Nuzlockers. I go ahead and do the obvious thing, walking inside back and forth for a little bit. My first encounter is not nearly as lucky as the Jigglypuff or Weedle. No matter how much I could be hoping for Paras (the pre-evolved form of my favorite Gen 1 Pokemon), Zubat is what I get. Still, it's not as though I dislike Zubat. I go ahead and catch it. I name it Kenny. By the by, my nicknaming scheme has been guessed correctly. I won't say it here, in case anyone else wants a chance to guess - you might also get one of the Pokemon from this journey when it's over! At this point though it's pretty obvious, I think.

Randy only knows Leech Life, which is not yet a useful move, but IS one of the 3 damaging Bug moves that exist. This comes in pretty handy, actually, despite its low power.

Anyway, now that I've got a full team of 6, I go ahead and... grind! For like ever. I walk all the way back through Pewter, then Viridian Forest, then south to Palett, to heal at home... and then walk back to Route 3 where strong enough Pokemon to grind off of are. I do this like 3 times over, to where my two new guys are Level 10, before I start to venture a little further into Mt. Moon, fighting trainers, still going back home whenever healing is needed.

I collect the TM for Water Gun. Shelley could learn it, but she's gonna learn it from level up soon anyway. Lemmy could learn it... but so could Randy. And Randy's movepool is pretty limited right now. And he's lower leveled, so could use the anti-Geodude weapon, to keep more XP for himself. So I teach it to Randy.

I later collect the TM for Mega Punch. This also goes to Randy, filling his moveset out to a full 4. Around this time, Lemmy learns Hyper Fang - both moves have 80 base damage, when previously, my highest base damage was 40 on moves such as Quick Attack and Pound, so this is a pretty huge boost for my two Normal types.

Speaking of moves, can we briefly talk about the move Wrap? It might not be too bad in this game, since Ekans isn't wild (unlike in Red), but in Generation 1, moves such as Wrap, Bind and Constrict are... very silly. Whereas in later games, being squeezed in that manner is essentially identical to things like Fire Spin or Sand Tomb - inability to escape, and recurring damage at the end of each turn - Gen 1 makes them also prevent either you or the opponent from moving. Even though it makes sense to be able to bite someone who's grappling you, in the Pokemon World of Red, Blue, Green and Yellow, when you are constricted by a snake, your only hope is that its incremental damage will be low and it uses Leer on its next turn of action, or it will simply rewrap you. The one Rocket with an Ekans in Mt. Moon was pretty annoying as a result.

I also found a Moon Stone, and had a bit of a debate with myself on whether or not to use it on Randy now. I looked at its level up movepools between both Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff in Generation 1, and learned that Defense Curl (useless), Body Slam, and Double Edge (which is a TM) would be unavailable to me. Body Slam isn't a huge loss, and TMs can pick up the slack, so I go ahead and evolve Randy, giving it all 3 of these nice items I've found in Mt. Moon.

I walk past the Rocket I recall has a Raticate, since Raticate Rocket is a real rapscallion who ravaged my previous party.

At the end of Mt. Moon, there is a Super Nerd who has a Koffing, Voltorb, and Grimer. (My name in Pokemon Go, which is my Trainer Class and then as much of my name as would fit, is SuperNerdSter. Irrelevant, but also... relevant.) I would like to take this opportunity to discuss sprite oddities in Gen 1, since Koffing's sprite here has the skull and crossbones above its eyes, which is different from the classic Koffing design. In general, these earlier games took a lot more liberties with the designs. For my favorite example, you can look no further than my own party - Kenny's evolution into Golbat will also give it a huge, actively slobbering tongue to go with that enormous mouth, as well as squinty eyes that make it look both creepy and like it is bothered by light, both of which are slightly better than the regular eyes it has now, but still far far worse than the no eyes that its pre-evolution has. I feel that if Golbat had no eyes like Zubat, and still had its tongue, it would be one of my favorite ever Pokemon, instead of just one that I think is fine. Maybe not surpassing Parasect, but coming close.

Another notable sprite change is in a Pokemon I've encountered a few times before as well, Kakuna. In Gen 1, it has ARMS! The arms are still there in later generations, but are constantly flush to its body and no longer seem to have any range of movement. Which is a bummer! I loved Kakuna's arms.

Anyway. I chose the Dome Fossil, which I like, but I'm not gonna use it. I have... other plans, for Cinnabar Island. ;)

By the time I get onto the other side of Mt. Moon, my team is level 15. I could progress from here to Cerulean...

But first. I have some unfinished business.

I go ahead and walk all the way home again - for the last time. until after the Diglett Tunnel. And then I go back... to finish off the completion for Mt. Moon. I pick a fight with Raticate Rocket and his illegal Raticate, who murdalized my guys last time I fought him. This time, he is not so lucky.

Anyway. Back to progress. Unlike the two sides of Viridian Forest, the entrance and exit to Mt. Moon are on different Routes! Route 4 is new, so I hop down, now unable to return home, and run around, finding a... drumroll please... Sandshrew! I've never actually used one of these before, except I might have in one of my millions of Emerald playthroughs, where they are pretty plentiful in the desert. I also can't find one to save my life in Pokemon Go, since I started playing after they were removed from eggs. So I'm pretty jazzed to see this little fella. He's also Level 12, which is the maximum for the route, and pretty close to the rest of my team! His name is, after much debate, Leopold.

I add him to the party and heal at the Pokemon Center, setting Lemmy in the PC for now. I might as well take this opportunity to lock in a rule addendum I've been adhering to, but not specifically mentioned, so I no longer have the potential to weasel out of it. I did say these rules might be changing a little as we do this first game.

Rule 4c: At any given Pokemon Center, that Center's heal comes before any outstanding Notable Battle Heals that haven't been spent yet.

So for example, healing here at the Cerulean City Pokemon Center is the Cerulean City Heal, and not the Brock Heal. Got it? Good.

Now, I go ahead and have a pretty unsuccessful grinding session, on a similar "until I need healing" basis to one of them previous grinding sessions. Leopold gets to Level 14, and Randy gets to 16, but it's otherwise not great. Ah well. I heal again, since I have no way of progress without making another Notable Battle happen and I don't want to waste a heal. (In retrospect I could have knocked down some gym trainers, maybe gotten better XP than the grass gave.)

And then, I head North to Nugget Bridge, ready for yet another face off against Ash. I do like how frequently you encounter him in this game. Later Pokemon Games have a steadily shrinking rival presence, and a steadily more nonantagonistic role for the "rival." Like, the last 3 generations, your rival is actually just your friend who likes to fight Pokemon sometimes.

Unfortunately... I am underleveled. Pretty badly, looks like - Pidgeotto is Level EIGHTEEN. Whoops. I head into combat anyway, switching out when things look hairy, starting off with my two powerhouses, Randy and Lemmy...

Sadly, and tragically, an unexpected critical hit knocked just over the edge of Randy's health. Randy... is dead.

October 25th, 2017 - October 26th, 2017.

Poor Randy. We barely knew ye. And we funneled a bunch of resourced into ye that have now been wasted and are unrecoverable. :,(

Pidgeotto goes down fine after that, though - next is Abra, who only knows teleport, so I take the opportunity to use my last two Potions on Lemmy and on Shelley, whose high defense was the difference against the Pidgeotto. I then use Kenny's super effective WAIT SHIT AS I'M WRITING THIS I LITERALLY ONLY JUST NOW REALIZED I BROKE RULE 3.

Um. Whoops.

In all fairness, looking at HP and PP totals, I never actually used Windy or Bebe during that fight, so technically I did only use 4 Pokemon, but I did forget to box two of them. Boy, rules are hard to remember!

Leech Life. It's the super effective one. Remember how I said it would be useful? It was.

Then came Rattata, who I fought with my own Rattata. My Hyper Fang caused a flinch, and dropped it low enough for Quick Attack to finish it off.

After that, I switched back to Kenny, because thanks to Bug being weirdly good on Poison, Leech Life is Double Super Effective on Ash's Bulbasaur. Victory, despite being underleveled, with only one casualty.

And that's where I am - I'm at the Pokemon Center, in front of the PC, where I've swapped the deceased Randy for the extant Leopold.

Ah... poor Randy. You shall be missed.

[nuzblog]

November 29th, 2017

MORN

At 4:30 in the morning, I healed my team using the fight against Bugsy and headed West to Ilex Forest, to be confronted by my rival, Luster, with IndieCindy switched for Rainwater.

Rainwater's Mud Slap took out Gastly with no issue. Rock Star's Rock Throw does similar for Zubat.

And then... well, I already knew thanks to the fishermen on route 32 that I've been having issues with water types, and unfortunately, the answer to that problem is on the other side of this battle.

Luster's Croconaw one-shots Rainwater. As they say in the business... "oh fuck." I switch to DrinkyBird, trying to get SOMETHING going, but she gets critically low on health, and Rock Star is 4x weak. I get stuck just using potions over and over, but I'm either gonna run out or he's gonna crit and I'll be done for, so I make a snap judgement and switch to Rock Star. As expected, he does down, but it gives me that extra turn of healing, and it lets me reset his Leers.

At this point I notice that he's using Leer and Scratch instead of the STAB Water Gun he's got, because he knows that my Special Defense is my highest stat. I Growl him down and try to survive as best as I can until he changes gears and starts using Water Gun instead, healing when I can. I use a found X Attack, and keep attacking and healing, trying desperately to hold on, at one point being dropped all the way down to 1 hp but managing to survive... and after an awful slog of a battle, losing two dear friends, I beat him. This was very nearly a run-ender.

Ilex Forest is my next stop, for a Pokemon capture and Farfetch'd herding. Now, my initial plan here was to enter at night, where I would essentially either capture an Oddish or a Paras, both of which would cure my Water problem, and then also get Headbutt and be able to potentially catch an Exeggcute, which would do similar but would also be a Pokemon I haven't used before.

Of course, I entered in the morning, so I got a Weedle. Which, is fine, it just means I can DEFINITELY get an Exeggcute from Azalea Town. I name it "KnifeFight" and, with a lack of anything else I particularly want to teach Cut in the party, I start backtracking to collect berries and grinding it to level 10.

Speaking of grinding, the level curve in this game is already bothering me. Why is the highest level Pokemon encountered in Ilex Forest at Level 6? We are two gyms into the game, have fought Level 16 Pokemon with trainers behind them, and yet, the wild Pokemon aren't even level 10. They're 2-3 levels higher than the ones found on the first route of the game. This is dumb! Why is it this way???

Anyway grinding takes six eternities but whatever, eventually I have a Beedrill and I can teach it cut and actually progress through the game. I also get to knock out some of those cut trees from earlier in the game, which mostly just makes the walk easier.

Back in the forest, but not for long, I grab Headbutt and re-exit to Azalea Town, find a nice tree and start butting it.

After 6 Weedles, followed by a Beedrill, followed by 11 more Weedles and a Kakuna, FINALLY, some eggs fall out of the tree. I mean, an Exeggcute. NOW I can progress through the game! Its name is "Deliver", and...

Hm. I hadn't actually checked its movepool until now. It might not be as useful as anticipated. The TMs for Psychic and Giga Drain are both in Kanto, and while it'll get Confusion in just 9 levels, the first and only STAB Grass move it gets by level up will be... SolarBeam at Level 43.

My only other option is Mega Drain... which is an egg move. Well, fortunately, I am about to be at the Pokemon Daycare... so, I guess that's what I'm doing - catching a Sunkern at the National Park during the day, hoping that's my first encounter, and hoping it's male so I can breed it with my thankfully female Exeggcute. That's a lot of hopes. And, to muddy the issue, I then stopped playing for the day, and the next day was Thursday, which means the Bug Catching Contest is on, which if my understanding is correct, would have prevented me from catching a Sunkern.

November 30th, 2017

MORN

I drop Deliver off at the daycare, and head for Goldenrod, where the Name Rater lives, allowing me to change the name of my Hoothoot from DrinkyBird to T.I.M.E.

Speaking of time, just do be extra safe, I decide to play around with it a bit. I set it exactly 36 hours forwards, putting me in the daytime of Friday, and safely outside of the reach of the Bug Catching Contest. I do this by holding Down, B and Select at the title screen and inputting a password that is generated from my character's name, ID Number and current money total. Thanks, PsyPokes.com!

I head to the National Park ASAP, and... yes!! The Sunkern I need is exactly what I get! I name it Sundial, shove it right into the daycare, and go attend to some business in Goldenrod. I grab the Bicycle, I fight some guys without meaning to... actually, can I say some stuff about the dialogue in this game? One guy said he gave his Pokemon a haircut, which would make sense cause the haircut place is right there by him... but then he sent out a LICKITUNG. Which, if it has hair... I super duper don't want to know where. Also, one trainer said "Behold my graceful BALL dexterity." Like, capitalized like that, because of this game's weird thing with capitalization. (Seriously, how did it take until Gen 5 for them to fix the antiquated adventure game CAPITALIZATION of KEYWORDS?) Which is just hilarous.

Anyway, while waiting for my eggs and seeds to breed, I run to some freshly available routes and catch some new boys for my team.

On Route 34, I find a Drowzee, who I name Nightmare. Again, this is a Pokemon I used recently, so... boxed.

On Route 35, I found a Male Nidoran! I name it Showdown, and since it has Double Kick, I'm definitely at least gonna use it for Whitney! Speaking of, that's a whole dangerous thing. She's well known as being a difficult fight. As I collect andrun around to grind and hatch the egg, I think about my strategy. I also backtrack for berries while trying to hatch it, and rematch Hiker Anthrony while I'm at it.

Eventually, the egg hatches into more eggs, which I name Fine, and I'm grinding it from Level 5 to something usable! And yes, it has Mega Drain! I use both my heals in the process of grinding, the one in Goldenrod and the one from the Luster fight at the beginning of this post. Also, wow, they are REALLY pushing the Game Boy Printer in this game, huh? Like, wow.

NITE

I slept, and kept playing when I woke up! I fought the gym trainers, and backtracked ALL THE WAY to New Bark to heal, and then went back to Goldenrod, and... sigh, bluh, FINE. I go ahead and fight Whitney.

The really dangerous thing here is that since she only has two Pokemon, well... so do I. Showdown and IndieCindy accompany me, while the full-health T.I.M.E. and Fine (and the essentially obsolete KnifeFight for that matter) are boxed, and I head for the leader herself.

As with most gym leaders, their non-ace Pokemon are basically meaningless. Clefairy goes down quick and easy. Miltank, though... hff. I lead against it with IndieCindy and get off two Smokescreens before his health got too low to keep going. I switched, healed, used Double Kick, and was disappointed by how much damage it did. Showdown (who had evolved in the process of grinding) was infatuated, so I switched back to the restored Cindy and got off some more smokescreens, and so it goes. Friggin' Milk Drink... such garbage.

Showdown got killed by a critical Stomp, which leaves me one Pokemon away from the end of the run, yet again. Ember burned Miltank, but I was infatuated back. It could be a simple war of attrition thanks to the burn, if not for Milk Drink making it last way longer.... but I did, EVENTUALLY, manage to do it!!

I lay Showdown to rest. He wasn't with me for long, but he served his purpose very well. I pull TIME and Fine from the PC, and head off towards Route 36, to fight that Sudowoodo!!!

Rock Throw takes down a solid half of Fine's health. That's less than ideal. I manage to put it to sleep and heal, and drain its health, catching it handily! I name it Wiggles. Since I'm close enough, I run back to Cherrygrove, and heal there, finally.

On Route 37, after 3 Hoothoots, I run into a Stantler! But... I ran out of balls trying to catch it.

While exploring Ecruteak, Luster appears, catching me off guard. Fortunately I match his team size (4 to 4) but I'm unprepared for the battle.

I mostly get through it alright. T.I.M.E. evolved into Noctowl. And Fine... well. Fine died. Which sucks, and means I wasted a lot of time, but also... I have an infinite supply of fresh Mega Drain Exeggcutes. I run back to the daycare after talking to Bill in the Center, retrieving another egg egg, and in Goldenrod I visited Bill's house, and he gave me an Eevee, which I named Furries! Which also means I can't get a Pokemon from the Goldenrod Game Corner. :P

You may notice that “Furries” doesn’t lead to a link to the song in question there. That’s because the official video from Neil’s own Youtube channel featuring that song has been wrongfully taken down based on a false copyright claim, despite it being Neil’s original mashup work. If you want to listen to it, it’s track 3 on the freely available album Mouth Silence.

I catch Pokemon in the Burned Tower (a Koffing, named Fuzzy) and on Route 38 (Meowth, named Cat Hacks) and box them both before going to work... and then I put off writing this for nearly a week! But I did that, so I'll be playing again soon.