#it doesn't even ryme

[xinmiaos-stuff]

A New Page

[timegears]

i say i prefer the second half of terastral debut but honestly i think they half-ass the tests even more here

[jadeazora]

Preview and episode summary for Grusha's episode! If she's getting him to Terastallize, I'm assuming that Liko's doing a bit better than Roy's first attempt with Ryme. I doubt she'll win tho.

(As an aside, the summary reads like Grusha decided "You know too much about me" and doesn't even wait for the test to properly begin before attacking 😂)

[glaseado-gym-official]

My name's Grusha. I'm an ex-snowboarder. Used to be a pro. Now I'm a Gym Leader.

The service up here isn't that great... But it'd be kinda uncool if I was the only Paldean League member not on this site. Ryme also says having a blog is good for PR... Or something.

Anyways. I'll put some extra stuff down below.

My Pokémon if you're interested:

Frosmoth ♀ - ((Mariposa))

Beartic ♂ - ((Boreas))

Cetitan ♂ - ((Titan))

Weavile ♂ - ((Dulce))

Alolan Ninetales ♂ - ((Aurora))

Altaria ♀ - ((Cirrus))

((Nicknames are listed in parenthesis because they aren't public information at the moment. Grusha doesn't want to be outed as "uncool", you see. I'm adding them in ooc for personal reference, convenience, and tagging purposes.))

((OOC NOTE: Please read before interacting!!

Important note before we get to our regularly scheduled program:

This version of Grusha is disabled. This means that the accident that ended his career as a professional snowboarder, has also permanently disabled him. Because of this, he needs a cane to get around.

I will do my best to accurately and respectfully portray his disability. I will ALSO not be tolerating any sort of ooc ableism. I will be extremely picky about any asks that include ic ableism and will tag things properly.

Okay now back to it-

Hey hey! Welcome to my Pokémon rp blog. On this blog I will be pretending as if the world of Pokémon is 100% real. This being said, I will be including pkmn rp tags in each post that fits that description as a warning.

Friendly reminder that if you try to engage a plot with me or any kind of offscreen rp experience without at least discussing it with me first, then I will likely not respond. Even if you do approach me with something in mind, there is no guarantee I will engage. Also I tend not to interact or engage in any big events. They tend to become overwhelming for me and you’ll most likely never find me becoming a part of them. Please don’t send in asks regarding big events.

If you are looking to interact with my muse, and your muse is tied to some potentially triggering topics, I would prefer if you discussed potential interactions with me first. This is for my own comfort, so please keep this in mind.

Admin is an adult! If this makes you uncomfortable then move along.

This is an RP blog. This means I will be trying my best to roleplay as Gym Leader Grush with the information we have provided on him. I will be including several headcanons of mine regarding this character, though none of them are too drastic.

Please be aware that when I am talking as Grusha, he will often come off as blunt, sarcastic, and rude. If you are uncomfortable with this, it may be in your best interest to move along. If something ever comes off as rude/mean, it does not reflect how I actually feel and is just how I believe Grusha would react.

This blog is SFW, save for vaguely suggestive topics. Anything that is deemed as explicitly NSFW will be deleted on sight.

Another warning. This blog may often be involved in long RP threads. I won’t be using any programs to cut my long posts short. If this bothers you, I would recommend skipping this blog or blocking the tag “long post” or “rp thread”.

This version of Grusha I’m roleplaying is set after the events of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet as well all the DLC.

Also! I follow and like from @ripoff-robbie-rotten.

DNI: Proshippers, TERFS, and NSFW blogs))

[mewtwoandme]

I think we all need to ask some important questions….does Jericho and Sivith pay rent? I mean they are in Lakota’s home eating her food and using her hot water. Do those two got jobs to even pay her? Do they even pay taxes if they have jobs? Does Jericho even know about the IRS? If he did I think he would just blow up the earth if he could.

These are the questions we need to ask, people.

Well, its not like they couldn't get jobs, since in Ryme City, plenty of job positions are available to pokemon, but I think you're forgetting one itty bitty detail...

They're mewtwos

I don't think them going out in public looking for employment would be a good idea or the kind of attention they'd want on themselves. Even online wouldn't be easy, especially for Siv, cause she's not very tech savy. Jericho is, he'd likely be the most successful. However, how long would that last before someone finds out he's going under a false identity and looks into the matter? Even though Jericho is capable and he knows he is, he also knows not to be that risky. Plus, Lakota doesn't expect them to do any of that anyway. After the horrible lives they both had prior? Yeah sure, lets just go push them to go out to work cause they're just freeloading if they don't right?

She gets paid in appliances and furniture getting fixed when broken, chores getting done to lessen her own workload, and Jericho is basically her private tutor for college homework! All this for FREE! She's actually saving more money than spending it having them there. Also, this is the fictional pokemon world, I doubt their economy is as bad as real life, so Lakota most likely doesn't even need to worry about money.

[everest81]

Cookies and Pookies doesn't even fucking ryme

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

01.1 by Timecode 2001 Drum n Bass

Holy mother of god, this thing was fucking magnificent! 🤯 Here we're kicking off the week with another mix from Rob Playford, the owner of top-shelf UK dnb label Moving Shadow, who operates as a DJ under the name of Timecode. Last week, I gave a listen to an excellent prior dispatch by Playford from this same Moving Shadow 'year-decimal' sampler mix series called 99.2, and for years I've also been cherishing 99.1, but with this 01.1 set, Rob appears to have raised the bar by a significant margin.

However, I will say this up front: I actually don't find this mix to be nearly as consistent as those other two. A lot of the first half of this set is just way too clean, simple, and linear for my own liking. Unless we're talking that soul-piercingly jazzy type of atmospheric stuff that people like LTJ Bukem are especially known for excelling at, I tend to like my drum n bass to sound like what you'd imagine the mad scrawlings of a disturbed child in a psychological horror sound like. Like, when the kid just sits in their psychologist's office for an hour and turns in a big, black, and fuzzy circle of absolute crazy? That's the type of shit I'm on. And It really takes a good while for this mix to whip itself up into that sublime state of blind frenzy.

And while 99.2 is a purely steady and fun bounce-fest, this one sees Playford adding a substantial dose of murky and corrosive subterranean grime to his brew. Basically, whatever the polar opposite of a flower needing water and constant, direct sunlight is, in order for it to grow from just a seed in the ground into its fully formed self with unfurled petals and all, is what this mix is.

And nothing in this set will probably fuck your head up more than its rightful and jaw-dropping capper, Dom & Roland's 9-plus minute extravaganza that is "Imagination." This is a patently bonkers track that surrounds its pumping breaks with thick hazes of eerie ambience and wickedly rumbling and dubby, zapping sub-bass. And it has its own drum-less breakdown too, à la progressive trance. Plus, Dom also appears before this one on a tune with Ryme Tyme called "Iceberg," which as a standalone track is actually relatively calm and still; but that then just opens up an opportunity for Playford to sow even more chaos by blending it with a track with a whole lot more action on it: D Kay's "Monolith," which is a song that maintains its vigor with intermittent insertions of dope jungle fills that signify a change in the succeeding bars every time that they're deployed 🤘. Hearing those little morsels of jungle play simultaneously alongside "Iceberg" definitely make for some of the best moments on this mix.

And one final thing before we close out: both 99.1 and 99.2 came with bonus discs that contained extra promotional content for Grand Theft Auto 2 on them. This release doesn't have anything like that, but the GTA-Moving Shadow partnership still continued on with this mix, as apparently you can hear portions of it on the MSX FM station in GTA3, with MCing done on top of the selections by Code:Breaker. And this also wasn't the only videogame series that Moving Shadow was affiliated with, either. "Imagination" actually first appeared on another popular Rockstar title in 2000, Midnight Club: Street Racing.

So maybe you'll impatiently tap your foot and point at your watch for a bit after first starting this thing up, but as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. Just give this one some time, and the radioactive freak will eventually bust out of its padlocked cage and turn you rabid 😌. It's certainly not always the most satisfying set, but when 01.1 gets to where it needs to go, it really is an unbelievable y2k era drum n bass experience 🤤.

Listen to the full mix here.

Highlights:

Calyx - "Quagmire" Rascal & Klone - "Get Wild" Ryme Tyme - "Judgement Day" Rascal & Klone - "The Grind" Ryme Tyme - "T Minus" nCode - "Spasm" D Kay - "Monolith" Dom & Ryme Tyme - "Iceberg" Rascal & Klone - "The Phoenix" Aquasky - "Uptight" Shere Khan - "One Day" Technical Itch - "Crystal" Dom & Roland - "Imagination"

[unfortunatesal]

The Teal Mask DLC for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet fucking rules

So, I haven't mentioned this here, but I genuinely do like Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. It's... deeply flawed for sure. The game is a buggy mess, the level scaling (or lack thereof) is atrocious, the way random encounters are handled fucking sucks with you running into shit constantly and it's just. not very challenging.

But it has a huge, huge plus that to me, makes up for all of that, and it's one that I'm strongly biased towards. Though... it's technically two: the plot, and the characters.

Now, Pokemon has never been bad at character design, really. The characters are always endearing and cool and whatnot. But besides some exceptions like N and Bianca, they're never all that interesting, at least to me. They're not much more than pleasant. But Scarlet & Violet has *great* characters, it's by far its strongest suit. The gym leaders aren't anything deep, but they do have such distinct and memorable personalities that they just... stick with you. Maybe it's recency bias, but I could tell you that Katy is a sweet old lady, Brassuis is a massive theatre kid, Iono is an energetic vtuber, Kofu is a goofy uncle, Larry is a depressed businessman, Ryme is... I guess a rapper, honestly Ryme isn't that interesting imo, Tulip has extremely bad vibes and I do not want to be near her, and Grusha is a jaded cynical twink with PTSD. These are all great!

And those are characters from the "bad" storyline, the one with little to no narrative merit! The Team Star storyline absolutely rules and is just, genuinely really good and the way it slowly unpacks an unflods the actual reality of what Team Star is and what happened with them is just, wonderful. I love the direction it goes in and the message it conveys. And the herba mystica storyline is! Okay! It's fine! People seem to love it but I just think it's kind of okay. I will say that Arven's storyline is general is great, but it only really reached that point when you get to Area Zero which is a whole other thing and is also just, great.

And the rivals, or rival-like characters, are fantastic. I especially love Nemona who is an austistic yandere icon (but only yandere in the Pokemon sense, where Pokemon battles are everything and are considered an almost intimate experience at times in Scarlet & Violet as a whole???)

Nemona is absolutely my favourite rival, or *was*, until the Teal Mask DLC came along and introduced two rivals that, ahem, rivaled her. Both are just massive, massive hits in my book, and... I want to talk about why, because they have been living rent-free in my head and the yare 2 of the 3 elements that make the Teal Mask DLC so great, the third being Ogerpon herself, which I will get to later.

OH BY THE WAY I WILL BE SPOILING THE TEAL MASK DLC SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN IT, DO NOT READ

So, the first notable rival is Carmine. And she definitely acts like a Pokemon rival in the classic, Gary / Silver, huge asshole kind of way. As soon as you meet her, she tells you to get the fuck out of her village and challenges you to a battle. She's kind of a dark Nemona in a sense, in that she takes the tsundere approach instead of the yandere approach. She totally doesn't love battling you or spending time with you or anything, obviously not! There is so much romantic tension between you and every single Scarlet & Violet rival and it fucking rules, especially since it manifests so differently for all 3 of them.

But... eventually, Carmen warms up to you, and you start getting along with her. She helps you out and becomes a reliable partner, and ends up having absolutely no qualms being friendly with you. The thing is, though... Carmen never stops being an asshole. She continues to be kind of a bitch throughout the entire story! She just becomes a bitch in a very endearing and likeable way, and directs that bitchiness in a productive, fun, and even helpful ways, and that's just wonderful. She's pretentious, quick to anger, looks down on everything and everyone, and I love her so fucking much

And then, there's Kieran, Carmen's litle brother and also my precious son. Kieran is kind of the opposite of Carmen. He doesn't seem like a rival at all. He's just a shy and nervous kid who clearly likes you a lot and wants to be friends and get along with you. Just a sweet little kid with anxiety! Extremely likeable, extremely endearing, you can't not love the kid

But then you learn he has a huge fixation with Ogerpon and other creatures that are demonized and treated as outcasts. Still endearing, but gives him a lot of depth! And, oh god, my boy has the BPD and he is absolutely FPing Ogerpon. He gets increasingly upset and incomfortable with you getting close to Ogerpon when he isn't able to, and starts sulking and running off, and man, I've been there. I know what it's like and I feel for Kieran so much.

This all comes to a head when you catch Ogerpon, and add her to your party, thus preventing Kieran from being close to the creature he loves and admires so much. After that, he starts to lose it, and becomes an extremely compelling rival who straddles the line between friend and antagonist. The cliffhanger ending suggests that he'll continue to spiral out of control for the next DLC and god, I am so here for it. I love his story arc so, so fucking much and I cannot wait to see what they do with it

And then, there's Ogerpon. Ogerpon is a precious little creature who was deeply wronged by the village, deomized and cast aside from the start. The mian antagonists of the arc, the Loyal 3, took advantage of her status as an outcast to kill her only friend and steal what was most precious to them, causing her to fight back, and be cast as the villain for centuries as a result. And. Fuck. I love Ogerpon so much. I love her story, I love the way it's resolved, I love how it ties into Kieran's character and the final fight against Ogerpon herself. I used to not know what to say when people told me what my favourite Pokemon is. Now, I know, and I'm so grateful fto the Teal Mask DLC for that.

[writingrenna]

Grusha x GN!Reader

"There for the Fall (Pt. 2)"

Continuity: Part 2 of this story, sequel to "Descent to Reality"

--v-Vv-

"Grusha I swear to you, I saw one! It was over there!"

He looked to where you pointed. You swore up and down you saw an orange Combee in a flower patch, but it was no longer there.

"WHAT-?"

You frantically look around. Yet again, Grusha is out in public with you as you freak out over something. This time, you're in Mesagoza, since it's now close to exam season. You decided it'd be bad to continue your treasure hunt right now, but you missed seeing him in person. He eventually caved and came over to visit.

Well, "caved" is how he'd describe it, but he missed you, too.

"I believe you. You have an eye for weird things."

"Hey!"

You glare at him. He deadpans back before changing the subject.

"So, Tulip's gym is next, right? Think you're ready?"

You nod aggressively.

"Oh yeah, yep! Very ready, but..."

You look towards Falinks with sadness in your eyes.

"...this will be another matchup where these guys can't be used much. Last time, they could only use one move against Ryme's team, and this time, they'll be super weak against Tulip's."

He really does feel kind of bad for you, seeing as though they were certainly your best friends and greatest assets on your team. He closes his eyes and faces down, hands in the pockets of his lighter jacket.

"Ah, well that's too bad."

You smirk.

"Yeah, but don't worry. We'll get good, then we'll march right up that mountain and kick your butt. Right, Drum-Fum!?"

Falinks all hop into formation, letting out a battle cry.

He... found this cute, smiling at you and your little second-through-seventh in commands. Sure, it's nice seeing how in-sync you are with your formation Pokémon, but this realization was kind of different.

He was actually starting to get used to the idea of finding you cute.

"Okay, but remember, I'll be ready for you."

You smile, making a cutesy pose with your hands clasped together.

"Awww, preparing just for me??"

His smile abruptly falls, shaking his head.

"No, just in general."

You notice this, but you don't comment on it.

"I can't wait to get to you! I'll get my last gym badge, challenge La Primera, become the latest champion..."

Your eyes sparkled as you danced around him at the thought. He couldn't help but stare, even if he felt like you were a bit too much of a dreamer. You then stop.

"Oh! And, uh, I'll be sure to use my status for good."

He raises an eyebrow.

"That's a relief."

You glare back at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He tilts his head, hands coming up defensively and eyes closing.

"What I mean is you're the least sane person in Paldea. I'm glad you're not getting stronger for nefarious purposes."

You gawk at him, reeling back in shock (even though it really doesn't shock you in the slightest that he'd say that).

"How COULD you!?"

He just scoffs, refraining from rolling his eyes.

"Well? What can I say? You're kinda crazy."

You get in his face, although you quickly loose the plot.

"I dunno, not... that?"

He's leaning back, staring into your eyes, fighting off the urge to-

"You know what? You're right. Where are my manners?"

He walks a few steps ahead of you before stopping, turning back towards you and bowing.

"Will you PLEASE forgive me, my liege?"

He offers a hand as he peeks up at you, who's trying to suppress a laugh.

"Look who's acting weird in public now!"

And you're right. But you'd never learn why.

"Yeah, and? I'm hanging out with the most insane person in Paldea. It was bound to happen."

And with that, your eyes lit up, widening with realization. He's... unsure of what this means.

"Oh, but- but you still hang out with me, no?"

Eyebrows furrowed, he replies.

"Yeah? I guess so."

You point at him.

"You don't care that I'm weird, do you?"

He doesn't get a chance to respond. You smile at him, doing a weird little dance.

"Youuuuu like meeeeeee! Admit it!"

He looks down to the ground. Damn it.

"Well, your presence isn't as obnoxious as I thought it'd be."

"That's..."

You stare blankly at him for a moment before your entire countenance lights up.

"...so nice of you to say! By your standards, at least. Bet that hurt to admit, huh, 'Grump-a'?"

He groans. It really wasn't hard to get you to like him. In fact, he did absolutely nothing at all, but he still ended up roped up in your... he'd say friend group, but he hasn't heard of any other friends of yours yet. Point is, you just sorta claimed him in an instant despite his initial lack of interest, but then again, he went with it, so...

He looks around. Many people were sneaking glances at him, whispering about the gym leader visiting Mesagoza. Some had even turned toward you, pointing in awe, probably speculating about your relationship together.

He pointedly ignored them, being very used to it all, and decided to simply enjoy the day. He was here for you, a thought he was... slowly growing fond of. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to voice his feelings sometimes, without caveats.

--v-Vv-

"So! How's life been treatin' ya, baby?"

La Primera had invited every public figure in the league to a nice restaurant. She framed it as "team building", but everyone seemed to be gathered in their own little groups. Not that he minded or even cared past thinking 'ironic'. He just sat at the restaurant's bar with Ryme and Larry.

"It's... been." He simply answered.

She doesn't seem satisfied with this response, but she knows he has trouble speaking. He just needs more specific questions.

"Anythin' new or interesting go down?"

At this question, even Larry momentarily glances over at the two of them. Grusha huffs.

"Well, I've learned about almost every formation a Falinks employs and why they do them..." He said, taking a sip from his drink. He's not much of a drinker, but he will sip on something during a social event or meal like brunch from time to time. He was actually on his second (and final) drink of the night, nursing it at a leisurely pace.

"Ah, I wonder, where'd ya get that information from?" She asks, smirking.

"Haha, very funny. You know where."

He refused to look at her. She simply glances at Larry, who looks back at her. He speaks up this time.

"Grusha, it's fine to admit y-"

"No, whatever you're about to say, NO."

Grusha turns, staring him down. Larry's expression doesn't change, but Ryme sneers at him, speaking up again.

"Grusha, it's really alright. You don't have to be so defensive, we're all adults here."

He groans, hand shooting up to sooth his temple.

"First of all, Poppy's sitting nearby with Rika, and you know how she gets with this stuff. Second of all, there's nothing there, so stop overthinking it."

This only implicates him more.

"What did I say?"

He... doesn't remember the exact wording, but he knows she was implying some deeper feelings. Or, maybe it was Larry. Yeah, definitely him.

"I don't know, why do you wanna know so bad?"

"Know what?"

He responds in a mocking tone, "My 'fee-fees'."

She barks out a laugh, turning away from him. Even Larry lets out a snort before covering his face and glancing away.

She calms down, turning back to him.

"Come on, Grusha. I know you can say at least ONE good thing about them. Tell me how you really feel."

He stares out in front of himself for a second before sighing.

"Well, they are great at battling..."

She nods, expecting this answer. He talks about how obsessed you are with your Falinks all the time. Besides, you were able to beat her recently. What she doesn't expect, however, is what he says next.

"And I guess it's cool that they're so passionate about life. And- it's been kind of exciting, waiting for them to come and challenge my gym."

They both stare at him, never getting this much out of him before when it comes to the topic of you. They stay silent, not wanting to throw him off.

"And like, I dunno, it isn't the worst thing having them in my life. Maybe it'd be cool if they stuck around." He shook his head. "But, they're still insane, so..."

Ryme nods. She's heard of your escapades before. He once came to a meeting frustrated at the fact that you tried to climb a windmill to get something a Bombirdier stole from you the day before. He was absolutely steaming the entire time, barely paying attention, which isn't like him. Why he cared so much was a mystery to everyone but herself and Larry. He was happier being around you than he was letting on, and would be devastated if something happened to you.

Larry himself could read in between the lines, too. He knew he secretly appreciated you, even if he couldn't say it. That little extra line about you being insane (while probably true to some extent) was thrown in so he wouldn't seem too 'mushy'. Besides, he's never invested in someone for so long, at least someone not specifically linked to his everyday life in some way if he didn't like them.

Larry glanced at Ryme, who glanced at him. They interpreted what he said in two slightly different ways, but both of them were right. And Grusha knew they'd understand what he was actually saying. He hated this fact, but he felt vulnerable and slightly intoxicated. He knew he could trust these two to keep quiet. Ryme, because she valued the fact that he always felt safe confiding with her, and Larry, because he's no gossip in general. Maybe this would be a good time to practice that voicing his feelings thing?

"It's weird, having someone want to be in your life so bad even when you're being so moody and jaded. I guess I don't hate it as much as I used to."

He then turns to them, a serious look on his face.

"If you say anything, you're dead."

They nod. The threat wasn't needed for them to agree, but he needed to preserve some sense of control over his emotions.

--v-Vv-

"Soooo, yeah! That's basically how it happened."

His eyes were glued to the ground, confusion evident on his face.

"So, lemme get this straight. Your Falinks... caught itself for you? On purpose, no less?"

Your eyes light up, petting each one.

"Yup! We've been inseparable ever since. Might go back and visit the area, actually."

You were all sitting on a picnic blanket somewhere along Socarrat Trail. Your Falinks were all sitting in a circle, halfway asleep, and Cetoddle was sliding down the hill you were on, trilling and running back up to do it all over again.

"Huh, that's... honestly not the weirdest thing I've heard from you."

You abruptly turn towards him, catching him off guard.

"Heyy! I'll have you know they did it because they saw something in me."

That seemed to be true, to be totally fair. Your parents had rented a Grafaiai to help you catch your first Pokémon, only to fail miserably and run out of time. You, in your infinite wisdom, ran out into the forest on your own to try and "brute force" a catch.

He can only imagine how miserably you failed at it.

You were left devastated, ready to give up entirely on your dreams of catching your own partner. It was then that a Falinks walked up to you, pressed its head against the Pokéball you were about to pick up and throw out in frustration, and caught itself.

Grusha can only wonder why they chose to go with you. He can see it was a great decision in retrospect, but at the time? You were running around, wildly throwing Pokéballs left and right, probably losing it as time went on. Why would they (or at least the brass) see that and be moved into joining you?

He feels like he's going to be pondering this for quite a while.

You abruptly stand up, which woke Falinks up, shouting "Ooh, OH! Check this out!"

You sprint behind a hill, Falinks following (fairly) close behind you. Grusha and Cetoddle sit there, looking in your direction, only to be ever so mildly shocked to see you come back showboating and standing atop Falinks as if they were a parade float. They were marching as smoothly as they could manage to keep you from losing your footing, faces full of determination, chanting as they made their way around in a circle in front of the hill. You were able to keep your balance surprisingly well.

"Ha-HAH! SEE!? Imagine me, being carried into battle atop my loyal army!"

He COULD imagine it, which is what worried him.

"But like, not really, right?"

You stop your showboating for a moment.

"Hmm... I dunno, actually!"

He grimaced.

"...well then why would you practice something like this?"

You shrug.

"For fun?"

The two of you stare at each other, Grusha sporting a mean glare, and you constantly needing to turn your head to keep eye contact with him. It was kind of ridiculous, Cetoddle looking between the two of you, a look of confusion on her face as she chirped to herself. You finally ended the moment by clapping your hands together.

"OH! Hey- hey, Falinks! I wanna get down!"

They all stop moving before carefully kneeling, allowing you to get down. You do so, skipping over to Grusha with a smile on your face. He eyes you, not really sure what you were planning on doing. You plopped down next to him, leaning your head to the side to get a good look at him as you spoke.

"Did you know? The first modern Falinks came to be alongside an ancient civilization! Like, they would travel with them and train by watching their armies, but their battle tactics were so effective in the wild, they kept using them even when that civilization fell. It's true! They even started coming up with their own."

He stares at you, silently giving you permission to continue.

"It's been thousands of years, yet they've only gotten better at using those tactics, not dropping them. I think it's neat! Going to Galar, and Paldea, and still being able to fight the same way they did so long ago."

You gesture toward them, all posing with pride.

"Beautiful. Arceus' perfect creatures."

He snorts at that last comment, but he finds it cute how much you love Falinks. Your very best friends. They were just as proud being your Pokémon as you were having them. In fact, he wouldn't be shocked if your mild interest in history started while getting to know your new friends. It would make a lot of sense, actually.

"Huh, that's neat. Be careful about nerding out near Jacq, though. He'd totally take your interest and run a marathon with it."

You grin, suppressing a snicker before turning your entire body towards him.

"Hah! Don't worry! As long as I keep it on the topic of Falinks, we'll be good."

That... laugh... his face flushed a little, causing him to turn away.

"Yeah, probably."

'Keep it short and sweet, Gru.' Even if his affections are obvious, he can keep the extent of it under wraps.

He's staring at the ground in deep thought, eyes darting around a little. He can't deny this any longer. Even the simplest things would throw him into a frenzy. This isn't him. As much as he'd be Ok with it, then deny it, then warm up to the idea again, he was sure this time. He felt... less than convenient feelings towards you. But what does this mean for him? For you? For the future?

His thoughts are suddenly halted by the feeling of you staring at him again. The same one he got at the observatory. Slowly, cautiously, he turns to you, only to see a huge toothy smile on your face. He jumped, hiding himself again by turning his head and pulling his hair to the side over his shoulder, blocking your view of his own face.

"Wh-what's up?"

Smooth.

"Noooothiiing-"

You make a weird breathy noise as if trying not to laugh. He still refuses to look at you.

"Then why are you staring at me like that? Weirdo."

You're about to say something when you hear Falinks cry out. You both turn towards the scene, only to see them already sending a group of Murkrow running for the hills at the sight of their fainted Honchkrow leader. They look to you, eyes wide, as if asking if you're Ok. You give a little thumbs-up.

"Woah, you all really are strong..." He says out loud to himself. If they can take down powerful mons without your help, you all working together can take down tough trainers with ease. You let out a cocky little "hmph", hands on your hips in pride.

"Absolutely, you better remember this moment when I take you down."

This time, he didn't rebuke this, because you were probably right. You could take him down easily at this point.

He turns to you. The sunlight pouring through the forest leaves hit your eyes just right as you flashed a grin at him.

"Ah, I didn't mean too much with that, really! It isn't personal or anything, Iiiii just mean you're my final obstacle before the Pokémon League and I'll absolutely take you down to get there."

You grin again, this time a little more deviously, waiting for his snappy response.

But it never comes.

He's quiet, taking in every little detail he can. Natural light really does wonders...

"..."

"Gru?"

He still doesn't respond, choosing to turn away and let the moment quiet down. To let his heart quiet down. You take the hint, idly nodding and turning away to look out into the distance yourself. He takes a peek at you, too afraid to attract your attention by fully turning his head.

He's fine with this moment, as it is, even if his heart is screaming for more.

Maybe Ryme was right about that symphony thing.

--v-Vv-

"Am I normal?"

You're both standing underneath an awning. It's raining pretty heavily, the two of you obviously caught off-guard while out and about. You even sent Cetoddle and Falinks back into their Pokéballs to keep them dry.

"I mean... what is your definition of 'normal'?"

"C'mon, Gru..." You seem frustrated. "You're always brutally honest, so just tell me. Am I normal? Do I come off differently than other people? Do I... go too far with my weirdness?"

He cringes. Yes, you do stand out, he noticed you before you noticed him, after all. But he didn't see it as a negative. Not really.

"Well, yes. You're right, you would stick out in a crowd if I compared you to most other people."

"I KNEW it!" You said, furrowing your eyebrows and gritting your teeth.

He looked to you, not sure what to say.

"I- hey. Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

You shake your head, refusing to look at him.

"I dunno, I've always felt different, but I never knew why. I still don't! I don't make a good permanent friend, and nobody understands how I think... it's weird!"

You slink down against the building to sit on the ground, defeated.

"I'm weird."

Grusha takes a moment to take in what you just said. He then does the same, sitting on the ground and looking at you, hand on your shoulder.

"Ok, slow down. Did something happen to make you feel this way? Even if it's unrelated?"

You sigh.

"No... people always think I wanna be in a bad mood, but it isn't true! My brain just won't stop- doing things?? I dunno! Like, I'm fine, then I remember baggage from when I was like, 12, and it's like 'that's how it is, that's how it'll always be', I'm not normal! Why... aren't I normal...?"

He's stumped. He knows he can't help, especially since you don't even know where this is coming from, but he wants you to feel welcome with him.

"Well, yeah, you're weird. Probably one of the weirdest people I know, but-" he looks at you to make sure you're paying attention. Your expression hasn't changed, simply staring blankly in front of you, posture slumped a little.

He continues.

"Weird isn't really a bad thing. Not on its own at least. And, I know what it's like, being stuck in your own head. I know you can't just change it. That- that's fine."

He's really bad at communicating what he wants to say, cursing at himself for not being able to just put his emotions out into the world. Words of affirmation will have to be worked on.

"You. The way you are. Don't change that, Ok? Look at me, out in the rain because you're so fun to be around, even when I question your sanity sometimes. That... you... mean a lot, to me."

He turns away. Of all the times to not be able to be brutally honest.

He hears you sigh.

"Thanks, Usha. Sorry, didn't mean to bring the mood down."

He waves one hand up a little, both to dissuade your line of thinking, and to hide the fact that this new nickname made him blush a little.

"Hey, no worries. You didn't bring anything down. Talk to me, when you want to, Ok?"

You take a moment before nodding, still not looking at him.

--v-Vv-

"...why would you keep this to yourself...?"

You turn away from him, tears threatening to spill out once again. The two of you are in Grusha's office at the Glaseado Gym. The weird way you hold your wrist is evidence of something being terribly, horribly wrong.

"I- I didn't- I didn't want to-"

"Dude." He stops you. "Whatever you're about to say? Yeah, don't even bother. Why wouldn't you let me know? Are you actually insane?"

Falinks stand by marching in place, worried out of their minds as Cetoddle watches from her favorite spot next to the window, visibly uncertain about the situation.

"I thought I was better! I thought I-"

"How about instead of assuming things are OK, you reach out to someone? To me, to the academy nurse, anybody!"

You had tried to help him with something, only to reinjure your wrist again, which had apparently gotten twisted in an incident already.

He fixes the strap of a compression brace he put on you, sighing heavily.

"Injuries like these are no joke. Don't let 'em properly heal, and even a treatable one like this can cause permanent damage."

He steps back to look at you better.

"Whatever ego you had in not telling me? Throw it out, now. I'm the wrong person to pull that with."

You're still turned away from him, but you gulp, taking a small peek before responding, voice trembling.

"It wasn't my ego, I swear..."

He looks up at you, looking you straight in the eye the best he can despite your avoidance, eyebrow raised.

"Oh really? Then what was it?"

"... I don't know..."

He groans before turning away and walking toward the door. He stops and points toward the coat rack.

"Grab your coat and come with me."

--v-Vv-

He thought things were getting better.

He told you to a further extent what he went through, how he felt unstoppable, but then he got into the accident, and now he has to live with physical and mental reminders that will never go away.

But of course, things don't really work that way. It would take more than just an impassioned speech to spark real change.

He sighs, picking the Tera Shards up off the ground. Thoughts of "what am I doing..." would frequently flash through his mind, but now that he actually had enough to change his ace's Tera Type, he felt quite sad, as if he didn't want to have so many.

He stared at the glistening crystal in his hand.

'It's only for if things get too far' he thought to himself.

'They made it to adulthood, they wouldn't put their life at risk.'

'I can call it quits on them anytime.'

He didn't notice how bad things were until recently, but surely, it wasn't really escalating, right? You weren't getting worse or anything, he just actually started to give a damn.

But then, it happened. Something he couldn't forgive.

He watched helplessly as you slid down the mountainside, disappearing from view. He ran as fast as he could, falling to his knees and shuffling the rest of the way, only to see you land and start sizing up a Snom. A SNOM. You looked so tiny from so high up. Even Falinks came out without you calling for them to make sure you were OK, their metallic noises sounding so distant.

As Cetoddle helped him up, Falinks made eye contact with him for a brief second. It was just long enough to really see the two of them, not enough to alert you to the fact that they were looking at something, or someone in particular. They then kept their eyes on you as he made his way down the path, softly warbling and keeping your attention away from the approaching young man.

The rest of the day was basically a blur. He went to bed contemplating his next course of action. He wanted the feeling in his stomach to stop.

But it didn't.

So the next day, he went to Medali, slamming the bag of Terra Shards down on the counter of the Treasure Eatery. When the sound of what he just did rang out in his ears, he suddenly felt... empty. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

The chef grew concerned at the man's demeanor. Before seeing what type the crystals had, she asked if these were for Cetoddle. He slowly shook his head, shoulders now shuddering as he hunched over slightly. He pulled out Altaria's Pokéball and slid it on the counter next to the bag.

She couldn't refuse him service even though he was a member of the league. He could technically do whatever he wanted, unregulated or not. She couldn't even confirm if it was for official gym duties or not.

But, in a bid to change his mind, she called for Larry to show up and talk to him.

"You. Are you alright?"

He walked up to the man sitting on the ground, hugging his legs to his chest underneath the counter. He was crying at this point, shivering as he slowly looked up at Larry. He didn't even need to answer.

Larry glanced at the bag, noticing some flying type Terra Shards peeking out.

'...ah...'

He kneels to his level, looking him straight in the eye.

"Tell me why you're doing this."

He took a deep breath before spilling everything, as well as describing the things that prompted him to plan this fail-safe of his. From the little things you did that would make him worry to sliding down Glaseado Mountain without a second thought. All he saw that day was your descent, and then standing down there as if everything was right in the world.

But it wasn't.

He saw you going down. That's it. He didn't see that you were alright, or that you did it in a relatively stable place where you didn't just immediately tumble down, or that you probably felt safe. All he saw, was you putting your life at risk, just to catch a Pokémon.

And he also saw all the little red flags leading up to this moment. A moment where a big risk seemed small, trivial to you.

You don't always do life-threatening or pointlessly dangerous stunts... hell, usually, it's just smaller, but still obviously wrong choices. It's the fact that it seems to be so normal to you, that you never seem to think about the possibility of things ending terribly, no matter how big or small your actions are.

"I... see." Is all Larry could say to this.

He was always a bit more than moderately invested whenever you were brought up, so for him to see you two going through something so... big, worried him. Especially since his solution involved spiting the league in a way.

"I can't encourage this behavior. I can understand it, but in the eyes of the league, this is basically spitting in the face of La Primera, as well as all of your peers."

He groans.

"I know, that's why I'm doing it."

Larry looks around before asking him a question, mind slipping out of business mode for a second.

"Couldn't you just challenge them to a normal battle? They're brash, sure, but they don't seem too unreasonable. You could make your point without La Primera seeing."

Grusha shook his head.

"No way. I gotta make a bigger statement than that. Stay in their mind, remind them that their actions have consequences every time they try and pull some pointless bull."

Larry's eyes softened.

"Well, you're an adult. I can't stop you from doing this. I'm sorry you feel this is your only course of action."

Grusha shakes his head again.

"I've been considering this for so long, so..."

He trailed off, tilting his head and staring right over Larry's shoulder. After a few moments, Larry turns to see what it is, but it's seemingly nothing. He then looks back at Grusha, who seems tired.

"I- won't say anything to La Primera. I'll pretend I don't know what you're doing. Do what's best for you, okay?"

Grusha doesn't move.

He could see why he'd choose this path, in a weird way. His warnings didn't work, you didn't seem too worried about even the immediate future. And as much as he knows Grusha, he knows for him to consider this, he'd need to be pushed pretty far.

But he also knows he's different now.

He's still the same guy he's always been. Snarky, no-nonsense, dramatic at times. But he's also seen him slowly grow to consider your needs as well as his own. How he'd hesitate ever so slightly before answering simple questions about you. He'd hide the gentlest of smiles or look away so he wouldn't see the softening of his icy-cold glare whenever someone insinuates he likes you a little more than as just 'that weirdo'. Larry even remembered first hearing about a potential new friend of his, and the mentions only grew more frequent from there. You're something special to him.

And you're worth the risk to him. He wants to make a big show of it. He wants people to see. He wants you to remember how hard he tried to stop you, to make you more aware of how reckless you are.

To remember how far he's willing to go if it means he doesn't lose you.

Larry stands up, sighing.

"You two are certainly strange." He concedes, adjusting his tie.

Grusha just snorts.

"Yeah. I guess we are. Them because they're them, and me..."

His eyelids momentarily quiver as he continues to stare out in front of him.

"...because..."

He doesn't finish his sentence, but he doesn't need to. Larry simply nods. Grusha groans, running his hand down his face.

"I hope this works."

"As do I." The businessman says.

--v-Vv-

He's sitting on a chair in Ryme's house. His Cetoddle sits on the ottoman in front of him, cooing at him as he grips the arm rests with an intensity reserved for his angriest of moments. But right now, he wasn't angry at all. He felt empty.

The memories of that battle come back to him yet again.

["Grusha... but... is this allowed? ...don't lose your job over this, it's all you have left!"]

He lets out a huff. How could you say that? How could you not see how much you mean to him? What would he do if you still charge so carelessly head-first at life even after all this? He would've lost everything if that were the case. And he didn't want that.

Looking back, he felt ridiculous. His whole job? Did you even know the half of it?

You weren't there to see his career-ending injury. You aren't around to see him agonizing over his position whenever the champion comes along to test every gym leader. You don't know how little he had to claim as his own in his personal life. He didn't have to risk it all.

But he knew himself, and he knew you somehow crept up and became more important to him than his job. He knew, that even though he didn't need to, he wanted to do this. To show you that people can value you, even if you feel like background fodder, going about your life without a single eye on you other than those of your Falinks. That he knew his options were give up on trying to help you and keeping his job, or putting it all on the line to even attempt to get you to see reason.

But, despite how unhealthy it is, he felt as though in showing you you're worth the risk, maybe you'd see yourself as more important than his job, too. That you'd realize, putting yourself at risk meant risking someone he thought the world of. He knew the pressure would come crashing down on him eventually, but he didn't care. He had a reason to put it all out there.

If he could change your mind and stop your more dangerous behavior for long enough to start getting professional help, he'd consider it a win.

Ryme finally made her way back to the living room, silently holding a drink out for him. He takes it, ignoring her worried expression. She then leaves the room again, giving him his own space. He knows what she's thinking, but she doesn't say it. He's thankful for that.

She, despite teasing him regularly, really did love the kid. She knew when to back down, and this is one of those times. Sure, she saw this as somewhat ridiculous. But he's just a dude in his twenties trying to get through life despite everything he's gone through. She has about 40 years of experience he doesn't yet. She won't fault him for that. She only wishes he knew he could come to someone instead of jumping the shark on his own.

But she knows how long he must've been wrestling with this. How many nights he went to bed questioning his insistence on staying in your life despite your poor choices. How he'd always rationalize it as the one thing, even if that one thing might get you hurt someday.

Still, she had hope for you two. You could still have a fairly healthy relationship. You weren't being malicious, you were just... well, from his descriptions and the brief encounters she's had with you, she could tell something was "off". But she knew you were a good person, that you wanted to be the person he saw you as. You just thought differently. Your idea of "low risk" was skewed. And even if you saw the risk, you wouldn't really be deterred by it.

You and your dynamic with Grusha were endlessly fascinating to her. She knows how happy you make him, deep down. She hopes it continues past all this.

--v-Vv-

So much suddenly made sense.

The two of you leave the restaurant and start walking in separate directions. He stops, however, not exactly sure what to do next. Turning around, he sees you stopped as well.

"...so."

You tense up hearing his voice, but you respond, not turning around.

"...so..."

It's insanely awkward, yes, but something needs to be said.

"I know things are weird right now, but it doesn't need to be that way. I'm here for you, you know."

You suck in a breath.

"But, what about you? I wanna be there for you, too!"

He scoffs. He knew he had people, but did you?

"Look, how about we just be there for each other? Full-stop, like friends would."

It pained him to word it that way. Both because he knows you struggle with keeping friendships, and because he still held out hope of being more one day despite everything.

"But... what do friends... do?"

He smirks briefly, letting out a small breath.

"They're there for each other, but they also hold each other accountable when they need to."

"Like what you did?" You say, delivery full of self-loathing.

He grunts.

"Well, I guess. But people usually don't do things like that. Trust me, that's as crazy as I'm going to get."

You don't respond right away, but he can tell you're not thinking anything good, what with Falinks looking up at you with faces full of some sort of rising panic. When you do, you start shaking.

"I know... you should've given up on me already."

His heart drops.

"No." He said without really thinking, his eyes glued to you.

It's only then that you finally turn towards him.

"But... everything-"

He holds a hand up.

"Again, not everything. Besides, La Primera is giving me the chance to prove myself. I don't know if she's just doing it for ethical reasons, but I'll manage. Job or not, I- feel..."

He's suddenly blinking away tears, but he managed to keep any from falling by tilting his head back. He closes his eyes and continues, one deep breath later.

"I'll be fine. Really."

You point at him incredulously.

"Will you be? If you're fired, what will you do?"

He shrugs.

"We all have to make do with what we have."

"But not because someone screwed up so bad you almost threw your whole life away!"

You're trembling. Falinks starts nudging the back of your leg, prompting you to sit down. He waits a moment before walking over, sitting down beside you.

"Hey. We're gonna be okay, you hear?"

You simply splutter a little, a sob escaping you as you hiccup. He holds onto your shoulder, rubbing it a little.

"We- are good. You're good. I don't waste my time on people I don't like if I don't have to."

You nod.

"I know, but..."

You sniffle, wiping your face. He takes a moment to think of something to say, but he really can't. So he makes an offer.

"Hey... I'm currently staying at Ryme's. Feels weird being at home right now. Wanna come over? She's got this sweet game room, we could have a session IRL for once."

A smile flashes over your face for a brief moment, but you don't look up yet, face falling as fast as it lit up.

"Would she want me in her house? Does she even want me around you?"

He nods.

"Oh yeah. It's actually kinda crazy how happy she gets when I bring you up."

You furrow your eyebrows for a second before finally holding your head up a little higher, eyes wide.

"Wait, really?"

He grins. For the first time since all this went down, he feels an uncontrollable smile form on his lips.

"Absolutely."

You consider this offer, looking down again. He waits, patient, yet anxious for some reason. You sit up, finally looking him straight in the eye. His heart skips a beat.

"Ok. Let's do this."

--v-Vv-

Here he was, silently holding your hand on the couch. It's been over a month since you hashed it out at the restaurant. Grusha still technically had his job, but La Primera never formally let him off the hook. He was eager to prove himself, but he's also accepted that maybe things won't go the way he wishes them to, as she hasn't voiced an opinion one way or the other yet. Neutrality was always the most terrifying thing coming from her.

That's what he signed up for, but it still obviously hurt. What didn't hurt, however, was being there after your first therapy session.

He had picked you up earlier, asking you how it went, only for you to awkwardly shrug. Of course, this was the "getting to know you" phase, so it'd take a while before things got super deep. He hopes you won't close yourself off to your therapist or feel pressured to continue if anything feels off.

Sighing, he decided they already accomplished enough that day. He had to do some extra paperwork for Geeta, and you just started your therapy journey. Some rest would be nice. Not wanting to let go, yet knowing you two would need food eventually, he sat up, but not before giving your hand a little rub with his thumb.

He clasped his hands together. "Ok! Nourishment. You need it, I need it, what form would you like?"

You snort, but you do respond.

"I dunno! Maybe we can see where our tastebuds lead us."

He nods, looking out to the side for a second before responding.

"Bringing your Falinks?"

You stand up, laughing a little.

"You best assume I've been replaced with a doppelgänger if I ever say no to that."

He smiles. Of course, sounds reasonable to him.

You call for your partners, who run out from another room. Cetoddle is already headed for the door. He raises an eyebrow at you.

"Ok, ya ready?"

You walk over and grab his hand to hold it again, something that catches him off-guard. His eyes widen.

"More than ever!"

He grins, eyes full of nothing but adoration towards you. Maybe everything will be... a bit more than Ok.

--v-Vv-

A/N

Ended up making the prequel where Grusha gradually comes to like you/notice how dangerous you are to yourself

I like to imagine your relationship gradually becomes one of those "basically dating but nobody put a label on it or progressed passed aggressive cuddling/sleeping in the same space" type deals, might write for it eventually. This is not that yet, you're just at the "openly best friends"/"casually being at each other's houses" phase now. Also, you're still improving in the future, so it'd be fun writing how he deals with that. It'd be pretty wholesome on both sides. The main source of angst has been addressed and is now being tended to

(Feels weird calling it angst when it's a mental health thing, but it's what it'd be called in fanfic terms)

I like to imagine the reader had an apartment in Medali before going to the dorms. Feels right. The other option I gave myself was Cascarrafa, but I made Jacq's expy come from there while putting off posting this, so I put this one in the most normal town in Paldea cause lmao

[duskstarshit]

Yes!!!!! The students start getting into it and she doesn't even suspect them she just thinks they're being nice and they don't want to waste food. And they get freaking sneaky about it too or just straight up guilt trip her. Like imagine she's trying to do gym inspections And a Challenger comes in and the gym leader is trying to be nice and turn it down until after they get lunch and all that and the challenge was like oh that sounds like a good idea I haven't eaten in a while.... And Geeta those full mama mode (Because yes she is the ultimate mom friend She will mom everybody whether they're older than her or not It particularly drives Ryme Tyme and Clavell nuts) and insist on getting them to the nearest restaurant and buying them something to eat and they just straight up guilt trip for like no they can't spend her money like that especially if she's not eating to make sure she gets something too and the gym leader is pretty tempted to give them a badge just for that

Champions are very well loved in their region and—even if in our world that is, sadly, not Geeta's case—i can see Geeta being very well beloved in Paldea.

She is a champion that is famous for taking care of her people and helping them in any case, that pokemon sheltear has low founds? Well, La Primera just gave them 50k pokedollars plus 10k PL.

New hospitals and schools? La Primera was the one who give them the founds.

One of the students suffers because of an abusive household? She will take the case and assure this student founds a new lovely house.

All Paldea knows how much their champion cares for them, in the moment they know how she doesn't take care of herself just so she can help them? Well, its time for us to help her!

(also i wish i was that student i also want to eat with her in a restaurant and show her all my autistic happiness for her-)

[minusgangtime]

Shelby’s face was somewhat obscured in shadow from her long hair,her eyes lacking any kind of energy.)

What do you need beta?

-Shelby

Beta's ears went down as he made a small sigh.

"Me and Pico were talking and.. he just told me I was being implusive when we were back in Ryme City.. I just was so worried about you.. You're the only family I have left and I felt if I lost you, I'll be alone again.. I know this doesn't excuse the way I reacted to what happened, but... I want to try to better myself.. Even if it's scary.."

"And.. yeah.. I understand if you're mad at me.. I know I acted like a jerk back there..."

[anglerflsh]

re: your poetry post, can you give some pointers as to where to learn the rhyming patterns in poetry and the like? i only ever see poetry from the ideas/feelings perspective, but ive never learned the logic and structure behind it lol

I've learned most of it from my literature and grammar classes, it's taught in our school since elementary, so I wouldn't know of any books or manuals that talk specifially about it - but I can give you a rundown of how I do it, anon, if it counts for anything lol

Prefacing that this will be starting from italian poetica because that's what I know best: any poem, but specifically the pre-futurism/1910s ones (A Lot) will have some kind of structure aside from just the ryming scheme; The structure I am most familiar with is accentual-sillabic, so for example any single verso will have its stressed syllable in a fixed potision and occasionally a set number of sillables (eg. an endecasillablic metre means a stress on the tenth syllable, usually penultimate, equally to 11 total syllables), but there are also only accentual, or only sillabic verses, common in French poetry (?), all of which count as types of qualitative metre - as well as quantitative metre, which was more widley used in Latin and Greek poetry and which rather based itself on patterns of syllable weight (something that I know little about tbh; I think it's based on the lenght of pronunciation of the actual syllable).

this, of course, goes without even mentioning free-verse structure and less well-known ones.

Going back to the rhyming scheme, that also comes into play with structure in the sense that ... there are just a lot of them to pick from. The classic is the repeated AABB one, where each verse will rhyme with the one underneath (''kissing rhyme'' in italian), or the alterning ABAB, the crossed ABBA, the 'chained' or third rhyme ABA BCB CDC used for terzine, and plenty more! That's not all the ways to classify rhymes of course: you have plain rhyme between words accented on the penultimate syllable, cut rhyme between words accented on the last, sdrucciola with accents on the third-to-last, bisdrucciola on the fourth-to-last... etc etc

Then, of course, come the classifications in stanza lenghts! Groups of three verses are a terzina, well known for being Dante's favourite number (joke inserted to lighten this infodump), groups of four a quatrina, etc -

and depending on the number of single groups and on the type of verses in them, you have further classification as canzone, ode, madrigale, carme, filastrocca, ballata, sonetto... the latter for example is made of fourteen endecasyllabic verses grouped in two quartine, one in the beginning and one in the end, in crossed or alternate rhyme, and two terzine with any kind of rhyme structre.

this of course doesn't touch on the inner things and games of poem structure like the falling rhyme, spaces in between groups, enjambement, alliteration, allegorical figures, anafore, onomatopee, and all that fun stuff! Essentially when you see a poem look for the number of syllables in each verse, where the stressed syllable falls, how the rhymes are put, how many verses are in each stanza and strofa...

[pokemonleagueofficial]

How do the Leaders and Elite 4/champion handle balancing their day jobs and Battling duties, seems like a lot for almost all of them to have 2 jobs (or in Larry's case like 4)

Geeta also has like four jobs. she's champion and the Chairwoman of the league. these are Separate Positions. she just has em both. she's also the school board president and a queer rights activist. that last one isn't a job but I think it should be said bc she does a Lot of volunteer work when she isn't doing 1 billion other things

it's a little easier to have two jobs in the elite four, they get fewer challengers over all compared to gym leaders. hassel only really teaches because he loves it, and rika works as an interviewer mainly because she's the only one in the league who knows who should even qualify to be a champion who isn't Extremely Busy

iono was a streamer before being a gym leader, and was like oh hell yeah Marketing. which is funny

ryme, brassius, and tulip are all some form of artist so they can move their art around their gym leader duties. or incorporate said duties into their art, in rymes case LOL

katy and kofu do have jobs that require em to have real strict schedules (kofu doesn't follow his. call-out post.) with challengers, but luckily it's not too hard to have sign-ups in their gym so people aren't just waiting around eating the best food in paldea

after grusha's accident, he's had a lot of free time. it isn't for the most FUN of reasons, but he does have free time in spades.

Larry has three jobs because he has a mental illness

[amelikos]

Some character notes and episode notes for HZ052, writing them down for future reference.

The ep starts with the trio working on their reports and observing Pokemon. Liko spots some Ikirinko (and mentions that they aren't exactly like her grandma's! Diana mention!) but couldn't film them properly. Roy was trying to lure in a wild Capsaiji with berries but the Pokemon eventually ran away (it's not easy to get wild Pokemon to relax around them, which is an interesting approach and thing to bring up for their reports, because they really have to be careful and observe their surroundings). Hogator was the one who brought berries to Roy and he was skilled at it (even using Nitro Charge to climb trees), and Kaiden felt competitive and jealous about it and still couldn't fly to reach berries up on the trees.

At night, the trio set up camp and talk about their progress for their reports. Liko shows her video to Dot and knows it looks terrible. Dot thinks it's a shame since white Ikirinko are rare. Dot asks Roy if he found anything and he shows Liko and Dot his recording of Kaiden trying to fly. Roy says that although Kaiden got better at flying, he still has a difficult time and loses control in strong winds and gives up right away (interesting characterization for Kaiden, being the type to quickly give up and get frustrated and jealous, etc). Roy wishes he could make him feel more confident, but isn't sure how to go about it. (Also, the Pokemon were eating during that scene and it was cute. I love these scenes that show how they act in daily life and how they all have different ways of eating, and Kanuchan using her hammer to split a berry in two and share with Terapagos was adorable! Terapagos helped Kanuchan get berries back in HZ043 and now Kanuchan is sharing with Terapagos, and I like how the Pokemon get to bond and look out for each other, etc)

Liko and the others eventually all go to sleep (we get to see them in their tents and the Pokemon have their own sleeping bags which is good, and again, showing them in such everyday scenes is just nice). Kaiden secretly slipped out of the tent to train and fly, but still has trouble in strong winds. Roy eventually notices Kaiden is gone and looks for him. He finds him and proceeds to try and cheer Kaiden up by singing since the latter feels down. It doesn't work and Kaiden still feels down. Roy suddenly hears a strange noise and gets scared. A Pokemon shows up and runs up to him (and it turns out to be a Hakadog). The Pokemon belongs to Ryme (a Gym Leader but Roy doesn't know that yet). She says she heard Roy singing and thought it was passionate. She feels jittery vibes from Kaiden, and says that running away from fear will never get him anywhere. She starts singing (and her lyrics mention that there is nothing wrong with some fear and that it makes one stronger, which is relevant to Kaiden) and Roy thinks she is really cool. Then, the Capsaiji that Roy saw earlier during the day comes out from a bush and Roy thinks it's strange seeing one at night given that this Pokemon loves sunlight (Roy did his homework and studies seriously). Ryme says that Capsaiji is probably running away from the one not of this world. Roy remembers his report and tries to film Capsaiji, and mentions that he is taking a course at Orange Academy. Ryme's interest is piqued and she encourages Hogator before leaving without a word (Kaiden isn't pleased that Hogator gets this kind of attention).

The following day, Roy tells Liko and Dot about the fearsome Pokemon not of this world. They wonder if it really exists and who Roy heard this from. Roy tries to show them the video of Capsaiji, but it was all pitch black because he couldn't take it properly. Dot thinks she should teach Liko and Roy how to use their camera properly. (Liked this moment a lot. It's funny, and interesting to show that just because Liko and Roy are young and may be more used to phones and popular stuff for their age, it doesn't mean they necessarily know how to use technology properly, especially compared to Dot who is a streamer and familiar with this stuff.)

Afterwards, they all go back to observing Pokemon. Liko finds the Ikirinko again and tries to film them, but Nyarote and Terapagos showed up and made them run away (Liko tried to hush them but they thought she wanted to have fun). Dot gets carried away and doesn't exactly focus on her report as she tries to record a dazzling video (liked that she still uses the word "dazzling" a lot because of Nanjamo, and that she has fun with her Pokemon too and gets distracted instead of focusing on homework, she can goof around too).

Meanwhile, Roy is trying to find the Capsaiji from the previous day. Hogator helps a random Pokemon get berries, and also gives one to Kaiden (which is nice, especially since Hogator usually keeps food to himself, so it shows that he is more willing to share now). Kaiden gets pissed and picks a fight with Hogator before leaving. Roy looks for him and spots Capsaiji stuck in a cliff. He tries to help him, but Capsaiji initially doesn't trust him (and even uses Bullet Seed on him but Roy eats the seeds and finds them tasty since he loves spicy food). Roy sings to try and get Capsaiji to trust him (and used Ryme's song and words, he listened to it once and remembered it). Capsaiji eventually does, but Roy cannot climb the cliff while carrying him. Kaiden decides to take this opportunity to fly in order to help. He still had a bit of trouble with strong winds but managed to save Capsaiji. Meanwhile, Liko and Dot arrived at the scene (Mibrim felt something was wrong and led them there) and worry about Roy who is trying to climb back up. Roy tries to reassure them by saying he is good at climbing trees, but he loses his grip and falls. Kaiden immediately dives down to save him and evolves in the process, becoming big enough to carry Roy and flies around with him. They eventually bid goodbye to Capsaiji. Liko and Dot get excited over Kaiden's evolution. Roy is pleased as well, and asks Dot if she caught the evolution on camera (Dot didn't because she was too focused on the scene to pull out her phone, which is a small moment but also feels meaningful because she was absorbed in the moment and didn't reflexively record it). Liko didn't either.

At the end, the trio resumes their journey. Taikaiden seems to get along better with Hogator now and carries him to fly around with him (Hogator really seems to love flying, probably because of Lizardon too, so I wonder if he'll find a way to fly as well upon evolving). Meanwhile, a Pokemon lurks in the mists of the forest (the one not of this world that Ryme mentioned).

Overall, good and fun ep! Good for the characters, good for the Pokemon (Kaiden evolving to save Roy and overcoming his fear was great), and nice interactions between everyone. Also establishes future threads (Ryme will totally be Roy's second opponent for the Terastal course). This was Kimiko Ueno's third Horizons ep (last one she wrote was HZ042, the Mighty G ep). Her first ep (HZ037) was a Roy focused one too, just like this one, so maybe she'll write more Roy-centric eps in the future.

[tierra-paldeana]

// it's always hilarious when i see posts from a year or so ago where people are like. super sus of geeta cause she's so ''villain coded'' or whatever.

and then when you play the DLC. rika just tells you ''yeah she's very scatterbrained''. which confirms that she's. just like that. she's mysterious, very polite in her manner of speech, in a boss position, elegant. but you also realize there's a chance she often doesn't know how she comes across to people. she's well meaning but if her conversations with tulip (and ryme and larry if you squint) in the DLC are anything to go by, there's a chance she has a bit of trouble discerning when people don't like her(?) or aren't comfortable with something she says, even when she means the best for everyone.

this isn't me saying she's not smart btw, and there's a chance i'm grasping at straws/overanalyzing that potential side of her, but she comes across as a well-meaning person who thinks she's doing the best for everyone but then sometimes forgets to take their opinion into account. maybe? i don't know-

[gym-leader-aes-showdown]

Let's get the rules outta the way first!

All polls will be tagged "#aesthetic gym leader poll" and (appropriately numbered) "#round 1 aes gym leader poll"

The participants in this bracket are PREDETERMINED! All Gym Leaders and their direct counterparts of Trial Captains and Kahunas are involved.

REDESIGNS Do not qualify!

The ELITE 4 do not qualify. That's a different bracket to consider! Spare my small, clumsy hands more bracket work?

You VOTE FOR the Gym Leader you think is the most Aesthetic! It doesn't have to be YOUR aesthetic, but you must at least grudgingly acknowledge that they vibe deeply with an aesthetic. A deeply personal choice. Be kind. Vibe together.

Propaganda Period is from Sept 19th to Sept 24th! Send me those good, delicious propaganda! My inbox is open. It will close image submissions after the propaganda period, though their bracket images are already decided.

I have only played Ruby and watched the dub when I was a lil gal. My sibling is super into Pokemon but has a favorite so I decided to run this joint. This makes me as unbiased as possible, as I really just love the color pink.

EVEN THOUGH THE BRACKET IMAGES ARE ALREADY DETERMINED, I WILL PUT SUBMITTED CANON AESTHETIC IMAGES OF THE GYM LEADER IN THE PROPAGANDA BENEATH POLLS!

LIST OF ALL QUALIFIED POKEMON CHARACTERS (Total: 84)

Kanto: Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Koga, Janine, Sabrina, Blaine, Giovanni, and Blue

Johto: Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Morty, Chuck, Jasmine, Pryce, and Clair

Hoenn: Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, Flannery, Norman, Winona, Tate & Liza, Wallace, and Juan

Sinnoh: Roark, Gardenia, Maylene, Crasher Wake, Fantina, Byron, Candice, and Vokner

Unova: Cilan & Chili & Cress (yes they are one gym leader), Lenora, Burgh, Elesa, Clay, Skyla, Brycen, Drayden, Iris, Cheren, Roxie, and Marlon

Kalos: Viola, Grant, Korrina, Ramos, Clemont, Valerie, Olympia, and Wulfric

Alola: Ilima, Hala, Lana, Kiawe, Mallow, Olivia, Sophocles, Acerola, Nanu, Mina, and Hapu

Galar: Milo, Nessa, Kabu, Bea, Allister, Opal, Gordie, Melony, Piers, and Raihan

Paldea: Katy, Brassius, Iono, Kofu, Larry, Ryme, Tulip, and Grusha