#BRO ROSE TO THE FUCKIN CHALLENGE

[soil-just-needs-water-to-be]

Menswear

Chapter 3

Mention of dysphoria and dysfunctional families

The next morning

I woke up to my alarm 7 on the dot, more startled awake then by choice. George was wrapped up in my duvet next to me, like most mornings. His hair strewn across the pillow just like a halo , like the angel he is. From as young as I can remember he’s always had the most angelic face , one I’ve wanted to kiss for the longest time, the feeling only grew stronger the older I got but I just never knew how to talk about it. Like most mornings when I woke first I just watched him sleep, so peacefully. I watched his eyes flicker, the brown in them starting to make an appearance. “You know you can just take a picture right??, it’ll last longer”, he’s a dipshit but he’s my dipshit. He scrubbed his eyes harshly to wake himself up a little then rose slowly to rest against the headboard placing one hand on my forehead probably to check my temperature. “How you feeling today lad?”.

“I feel a little better, I feel a bit stuffy and my throat feels like razors but really everything else is fine, think I just have a cold”, I was a complete mess yesterday and I know it, I feel bad that the lads had to look after me but I just seriously wasn’t feeling it and something about having someone give you all there attention feels nice even when you don’t want it. “Thanks for yesterday by the way” , I’ve always relied on the boys to help me, I depend on them as sad as that may be.

“Don’t mention it , you’d have done the same for any of us”, I would have yes!, anything for them. “Are you sure your feeling alright though , well enough for school, I know what your like”. He’s not wrong I can be a right idiot at school sometimes if I ain’t feeling right. It’s fine though.

“I’m alright yeh, get your arse up we have to get ready, my mum left your stuff in the dryer , you can go get it and I’ll get dressed yeh?” , I hopped out off bed and began to get my uniform out of my wardrobe, I heard George groan and fall back onto the bed. “Bro you gotta get up”, I picked up a hat from the computer chair next to me and flung it in his direction just missing his head and hitting the headboard. “Come on”

“Ughhh….dude five more minutes”, George is quite the challenge to wake up in the morning, once he’s out of bed he’s raring to go and always full of energy but until that point, nope. Where as I can get up but until I’ve had a coffee I’m basically a zombie. “It’s to late I’ve bonded to mattress, I have become one with the bed, there’s no saving me”

“Come on you fuckin flamingo get up”, I took a minute to look through my wardrobe for my blazer upon not finding it I swiftly ran over to George’s side of the bed and jumped on him immediately tickling his chest and any piece of skin available to me “Get up, get up , get up”, his ever present stupid high-pitched laugh soon enveloped my room and hearing it myself made me giggle with him. His laugh is always contagious. He begins thrashing around begging me to stop but I continue my attack. “I’ll stop if you get up ditwit”

“Fine, fine , okay….stop…I can’t breath…I’ll get up”, I rolled off of him in fits of giggles, struggling to breath for myself. “Your actually a fuckin nightmare you know that right, in the best way possible your a dick”, he flung the duvet off of himself which inturn made it drape over me, and as he stood up he pushed me causing me to roll off of the bed. “ hah stuuuuupid”

“Fuck you , you hobgoblin ”, again we were both laughing, the amount of random names I’ve called George over the years is insane and they still get more and more ridiculous.

Finally though he did leave and I began to get myself ready for the day, binder, shirt, trousers and shoes, still not a fuckin clue where any of my blazers are. Or my tie for that matter. Just as I was tying my shoes there was a tiny little knock on my door “Maffew, are you awake”, Shit we probably woke him up we were being kinda loud.

“Yeh I’m awake kiddo come in”, Louis pushed the door open and stuck his little head through the gap in door and slid in, bounding over the the bed. “What’s wrong kiddo?”

“I have a question”

“Ask away young padawan”, he’ll have no idea what padawan means but I jump at every chance to use that sentence .

“Well , you know how Georgie stays here a lot, does he just live wif us now and does that mean he’s like my big brother now too ?” , I sat myself down next to him after I tied my shoes and ruffled his hair as he giggled.

“No no baby, George is just Matty’s best friend and George and his daddy aren’t friends right now so he’s just taking a little break, but if you see him like a big brother that’s okay”

“Why is he not friends wif his daddy , he’s friends wif our daddy and we are friends wif our daddy, people are supposed to love their daddies” , I carefully pulled him into my lap as I chuckled, loving how his brain works and can’t see the bad side of anything.

“Just George’s daddy is a little bit grumpy and gets grumpy at George a lot and it makes George sad so he just wanted a little break for a little while, like you know when you get a little sad and you get big feelings and you don’t know how to handle them, sometimes grown-ups like Matty and George we have even bigger feelings and it’s even harder to handle so sometimes we need a break”, Louis was nodding along with me as I was chatting looking up at me with his big brown eyes, he always seemed like he knew what I was saying and taking in what I said. He then brung his hand up to his chin and scrunched his face up like he was thinking.

“Well if he needs a big hug and someone to make the big feelings better, I can help right?”

“Of course you can kiddo, well done you for using your big brain, now I think it’s breakfast time don’t you?”, he quickly nodded his head and smiled up at me as he slid off of my lap and made his way back outside, I heard him give George a high five down the hallway, Moments after George came back in tying his tie.

“Is that yours or mine, I can’t find mine”, he finished tying it then began brushing his hair while thinking about it.

“Isn’t yours in you bag with your blazer you took em off on the way home on Friday, why you don’t have more than one blazer I’ll never know but I’m pretty sure there both in your bag, also glasses on your face before we leave please”, George is literally a saviour at this point, always keeping an eye on me, keeping me in line, as does Adam, but if I wanna get up to mischief Rosso is the man to call.

“Alright dad” , I looked at him through the mirror and gave him the cheekiest smile I could muster as he rolled his eyes at me, I did however put my glasses on. “Hey George, do you think it would be weird if I wore my packer at school, I wear it sometimes but I’ve got PE today and I don’t know if that’s a smart idea??”

“Dude if it’ll make you feel good, and comfortable, go for it, Ross is in your Gym class right, so that way if anyone says anything gentle giant is there to help”

“Uh-huh. Em alright, I’ll be back in a minute then”, I picked up my small bag the has my STP (a device that helps trans men use the toilet standing up, it can sit in your boxers and it can also help you feel less dysphoria because it creates the illusion that you have a slight bulge where it’s supposed to be, it’s very helpful), and scurry to the bathroom , in the bathroom I fix up my STP , brush my teeth, apply deodorant, I haven’t had a shower in a while my heads just not been in a good place and having to shower , see myself naked really isn’t something I’ve wanted to be faced with right now. Once I’ve checked that everything looks right and I’m happy with it I head back through to my bedroom, George is now laying back on the bed fully dressed and phone in hand.

“All set”, I mumble a quick “yes” and slide back onto the bed next to him.

“Can I ask you something”

“Go ahead man”

“Well uh…. I know you’ve probably noticed ….so I don’t really know why I’m telling you…but I ain’t showered since like Wednesday night and I know that’s rank…..” I watched George place his phone down on the bed as I started talking and he turned his full attention to me

“Cuz you haven’t been feeling all that great right now, right, dysphoria beating your ass??” He interrupted before I could even finish. Not that I minded.

“Yeh , how did you know?”

George paused for a moment to think about what to say, looking at me deeply. “You’ve just got these little tells I guess, like it’s always pretty obvious , well to me at least , when your feeling like that, I’ve been around you often enough to notice them”

“Really??, like what!?”

“It depends where you are” , he slightly shrugged his shoulders and scrubbed a hand over his face then began talking again,” when you’re at school and it comes on you get really irritable but very quiet you know like , everyone irritates you and you get all hopped up and want to fight everyone”, hearing that causes me to giggle a little bit because he’s really not wrong. “But your like also dead quiet when your around us at school or you just don’t go , but when your at home and feel shitty, you tend to kind of just go off the rails a little and not look after yourself, not sleeping a wink , you don’t eat, and just constantly try to keep yourself distracted but stay in bed all day being really clingy with me”

“Oh , I…uh….I didn’t know I was clingy….I’m sorry”, hearing that I get clingy with George without even realising it makes me feel bad because as I’ve said I hate relying on others to feel good.

“Hey lad ….don’t apologise, I’m just glad I can help, come on, your mum made porridge for breakfast, we can have breakfast and get going, where running late”, George got off the bed, the grace of a gazelle and helped me off. “Anyway where were you going with the conversation, I kind of interpreted you?”

I ruffled my hair again as we left my room , closing my door behind me. “Oh uh , nevermind it’s okay it doesn’t matter, it’s not important”, I pray to every god that he doesn’t continue asking but I know he will he always does.

“Come on , it must have been important if you mentioned it , please come on you can tell me” , we both trundled done the stairs heavy footed , like a heard of elephants.

“ um I was , uh , just going to ask if you could like maybe help me , like shower tonight , I’ll close the curtain obviously but just sit in with me and talk to me, keep me distracted”

“If that’s what you need then that’s what I’ll do, that is important Matty , don’t just shrug off your feelings okay , especially if they’re important enough that they’ll affect your mood okay , please don’t.” , I just nodded as we got to the kitchen and sat down next to each other

[ask-them-bois]

Time Flies When You're Having Rum

TLDR: Ruthless and his quads go out for a fun night. Chaos ensues.

Tw: Drinking, fighting, murder, blood (but in a fun way)

.

Lucina slammed her empty mug down at the same time as Cody, letting out a belch before she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.

"Ready to give in, you piss colored fuck? Ain't much of you left to fucking take this shit. You even got a liver?" She taunted the wasted cyborg.

"Fuckin' try me, leech!" Cody swore, before he hiccupped so bad he looked like he might be sick.

"Ru, are you not going to stop them?" Amadri asked anxiously from the next table, where the seadweller and limeblood were watching the contest.

Erimus shrugged, his cheek on his fist and a dreamy look in his eyes as he watched his wife wave down the bartender. "Cody's the one that challenged 'er. He's gonna learn one way or another that I wasn't kiddin' when I said she could drink the whole crew under th' table." He chuckled, before taking a swig of his whiskey.

"Erim! What's our fucking score?!" Lucina demanded as two more icy mugs of alcohol were set between her and Incoding.

"Yer tied at nine drinks, love." Erimus informed her, before he indicated his swaying, goldblooded morail, "Get his ass."

"Oi! No encouragement for me?" Cody spluttered.

"Why would I wish luck on a bastard that signed his own death warrant?" Erimus shrugged.

"'Cause-" Incoding began, hiccuped, and continued, "-this shit's straight weak sauce, bro."

"Shut your trap, and drink!" Lucina shoved a mug into Cody's hand. They toasted, before they began to drink.

Cody kept stopping, gasping for a breath, and going back to it, as Lucina just chugged, chugged, chugged-

"She married a seadweller, all right." Amadri mumbled. Erimus snorted beside him.

Finally, they slammed their drinks down, Cody's a second behind Lucina's. Cody groaned, and Lucina raised a sharp eyebrow at him.

"You giving in, boltbucket?"

"Yeah, okay, fuck-" Cody hiccuped, "Okay, you win, Lucy. I think I'm gonna be sick. I gotta-" He lurched to his feet, his face pinched in pain.

Amadri was immediately at his side, helping the goldblood towards the ablutionsblock at the back of the bar.

Lucina sat back and watched them go, smug, before she glanced at Erimus. "Ten. I ain't even buzzed."

"I know, love. Wanna have a round wit' me?"

"Aye." Lucina bared her teeth and went to fetch more drinks. She came back, pressing a heavy rum bottle into the seadweller's hand. "Cheers, love."

They clanked their bottles together, uncorked them with their teeth, and drank. Lucina slowly lowered her bottle after a few gulps, though.

"He isn't going to die, is he?" She asked.

"Nah. Ain't nothin' can kill Cody." Erimus waved her concerns away, "He does drugs an' goes breakin' inta highblood hives on the weekends, pretty sure he ain't ever gonna die again at this rate."

Lucina laughed, and Erimus glanced over in time to see his morails returning from the ablutionsblock. "There, see? The fucker lives." He added, waving at his morails.

Both waved back, Incoding looking a little better. He still leaned on Amadri, too full of booze to stand upright. Erimus was watching them approach, when a large blueblood stood up in time to be smacked by Incoding's huge horns.

"Hey!" The highblood yelled, shocked. The two midbloods paused.

"Oh, shit, sorry, man." Incoding said, slurring only a little, "I didn'-" He broke off with a yelp as the cobalt seized his vest.

"That hurt, you pissblooded fuck, I aughta-"

He got no further, as Lucina moved. Faster than the rest of the patrons could track, she was at the colbalt's throat, the knife from her boot pressed to his neck.

"Drop him. I'm the only one who gets to call him that." She snarled. Erimus rose to his feet at the same time the blueblood's party did.

"Lads, you don't want this fight." He called, ready to be the ashen mediator for both groups. "My woman can start and finish a bar fight, I promise ye."

The blueblood looked between him, Cody, Lucina, and his own crew of all highbloods.

"I think we do, act-"

Blood was spurting from his throat before he could finish that sentence, and Erimus just rolled his eyes as the bar descended into madness.

Not one to be left out, or leave his quads to defend themselves, though, he downed the rest of his drink, smashed it, and dove into the fray. His knuckles smashed through noses, his claws ripped through fins and flesh, and he reminded everyone why he was called Deepbite when he sank his massive shark teeth into a purpleblood's jugular.

Screaming, yelling, bottles and furniture breaking, and the stench of booze and blood quickly filled the small tavern. Glancing up from the carnage, Ruthless watched Lucina smash a full wine bottle over another violet's head.

She glanced up, then, and met his eyes, her own glittering like emeralds imbued with bloodlust.

"Ru, I think we should go!" Amadri shouted to be heard from his post by the door, "Drones!"

That word made the whole bar leap into action, scattering for the door and busted windows. Incoding cackled. "Oh, oh! My turn to ssshhow off! Time ta run!" He declared, before he took off, too.

Laughing, the other three bolted after him.

[hawklanthebard]

Trespassing (Fantasy AU)

"Hey, Boss, look what we caught on the perimeter." 

A pair of rough hands released Taka as he was flung onto the rugged soil with a muffled grunt. A feeble effort at getting off the ground resulted in a few crude chuckles above him. The nerve. The absolute nerve. If he was to be their captive, the least they could do was grant him the dignity of letting him walk to their camp with unbound limbs and an unclothed mouth. On top of that, his vinyl white uniform was most likely peppered with splotches now, and after it was perfectly pressed this morning, yet he seemed to be the only one even the least bit concerned. No doubt, these people were indeed ruffians. 

When Taka was able to finally rise to his knees, a pair of unpolished forehooves met his gaze as another gruff voice hovered over him.

"A royal guard, huh?"

Now, in this situation, any human worth their salt would've obeyed their first impulse and kept their head down and pray to whatever god would show them mercy. Taka, as many knew, was a very special case. Never one to take a snub lying down. Never one to refuse a challenge. And certainly, never one to submit. Especially not with barbarians who care not for other's laundry. With unfazed furrowed brows and burning ruby eyes, Taka gazed up at the infamous centaur gang leader himself; Mondo Owada. 

"Well, this is quite a catch," Mondo smirked, earning a few collected chuckles from his fellow thugs. As quickly as it came, his mock interested tone shifted into looming intimidation. Unlatching his diamond-spiked club from his back, he planted the peak of it into the earth just a mere foot away from Taka as if to remind him of his alpha status. Although, it wasn't like Taka was in any position or capacity to oppose him. 

"So, tell me. What's a boot-licking dog like you doing in our territory?" A brief silence, followed by a muffled huff. "Oh right, the gag." With the snap of the leader's fingers, a nearby ruffian removed the cloth from Taka's mouth as the royal guard spat out whatever filth would stain his tongue for the next week or so. 

"I'm not on your territory," Taka huffed, taking in the fresh air as he spoke, "You ruffians are trespassing on our land. And it is my duty as Captain of the Royal Guard to protect the House I serve from any threat."

Mondo rolled his eyes, meeting the same glance from a few members. "Right. And exactly what House do you serve? I think we all should know who we're dealing with if they hired such a...dignified representative." 

As if not reading the obvious insult, Taka puffed his chest and proudly replied, "I serve the benevolent House of Togami." 

A sea of thunderous laughter domed over the camp as the guard's noble smirk vanished. Although his posture remained firm. After what felt like an irritatingly long time, the laughter died down a bit and the leader was able to speak. 

"Wow!" Mondo chortled as wiped away a tear before it could even form. "The Togamis?! You come here all high and mighty, ready to take on the most vicious gang in the world, and you serve the fuckin' Togamis?! Geez, with the way you talk all big 'n shit, I woulda thought you served under someone serious like the Kuzuryuu Clan. I mean, dragons need toothpicks, right? Hah, Togamis. Those pissheaded moneybags think they got what it takes to rule the world, and they hire a fuckin' Boy Scout as their flying monkey..!" 

The longer and louder the gang laughed with Mondo's remarks, the more red Taka's face bloomed. Not with shame, but with something more intense. No way in heck was he going to sit there and let these four-legged ruffians rake his House's name through the dirt. "Oh yeah? Well, I'd rather be a Boy Scout than a weak little filly like you!" 

Stunned silence swept through the camp as if death itself had suddenly made its horrid appearance. Taka glanced in slight curiosity as the previously-stoic members collectively lowered their heads, ears flattened against their heads as they all took a good few steps back with silent clops. Their fearful eyes were either locked on the ground, or on Mondo, although Taka noticed a few quick glances reflecting a look that was given to him many times in his youth when he insulted the school bully; Pity. 

The spiked club crashed down, crushing a few decent-sized rocks underneath the soil. The Diamond leader raked his weapon through the mud as he approached the guard with a wet stomp, towering over him as if his head could reach over the trees, the peeking light of midday behind him creating a silhouette over his face, only (literally) flaming red eyes pierced through the shadow. 

"You wanna run that by me again, Boy Scout..?" he spoke in a much lower tone than before, insinuating that Taka should pick his next words like grapes for wine. 

Such as the noble guard, Taka's firm expression hadn't been swayed by the beast's daunting appearance. He stood his ground...or rather, knelt his ground. 

"You heard me. A weak filly like you doesn't deserve to trot on our land. You'd be more fitting in the stables." 

Faster than Taka could blink, Mondo snatched him up in the air by the collar, their noses pressed against each other. "You little--! You got a fuckin' death wish or somethin'?!" 

"I'm not afraid of a barbarian who has to intimidate others to gain status. The kingdom I serve is blessed with folk who gained their wealth through hard work and punctuality. That's why beasts like you always fall on the bottom." 

As if to fulfill a crude punchline, Taka was dropped back onto the muddy clearing with a wet thud. Mondo's pale violet eyes shifted over Taka and gave a subtle nod to whoever was behind him. Taka mentally prepared himself for whatever torture he'd face for his words, and he'd proudly face it with no regrets. However, his face twitched in confusion as his arms and legs had suddenly been freed from restraint. 

"You wanna show what a fuckin' top dog you are? Then let's go right now." Mondo spoke with vigorous determination and contained anger, like a raging corrida bull before it's released into the arena. 

Rubbing his slightly sore wrists, Taka rose to his feet, dusting off any loose dirt. "A trial by combat to determine our worth to our lands? For my House and homeland, I accept your challenge."

Mondo quickly scanned the guard's body once more. He'd noticed it before, but it hadn't been an issue to bring up. "Where's your weapon?" he asked bluntly.

Taka's hand glided over to his belt and, sure enough, was met with an empty sheath drooped at his hip. "I suppose it must've fallen when I was...captured." He said the last word with masked shame. He didn't want to say it, but there simply was no other word for it. This was truly unbecoming of a royal guard, let alone the Captain. Patrolled the outskirts of the kingdom without backup, captured by the most notorious gang in all the land, and managed to drop his only weapon on the way. 

Mondo saw right through the mask as if it were made of glass. He tapped his finger against the shaft of his club and pondered a bit. He could simply offer Taka to use one of their weapons. But it'd probably be seen as taking pity on him, and there's nothing more shameful than that. Besides, it's better a man uses his own weapon or his own fists in a fight. Another streetwise lesson from his big bro. A fistfight would be more probable. Although, his forehooves still would leave the guard with a disadvantage. Why was doing things the honorable way so gods-dammed annoying? 

"So..." Mondo sighed away whatever of his pride he had left. "How would you go about we do this?"

Taka lifted his head towards the centaur. "You're asking me? But aren't I...your prisoner?"

"All the more fuckin' reason for you to be the one to decide," Mondo grunted in annoyance. "Weapons are a no-go, my hooves outnumber your fists, so it seems we're at a fuckin' impasse unless you decide." 

Taka blinked. This centaur was really letting him decide a fair game. A ruffian with a sense of honor? He felt like he'd discovered another magic-caster outside of House Towa. A husky voice snapped him out of his daze. 

"Well, hurry up! We're losing daylight!" The stomp of the forehoof made it clear that Mondo was starting to regret letting Taka decide. "Tell me I didn't just give a decision-making task to some flip-flop fuck." 

Taka thought and thought and thought some more, occasionally opening and closing his mouth with no words attached, much to Mondo's ever-growing annoyance. What could they do? There really wasn't much around. Just forest, and plain, and certainly nothing in the kingdom that wouldn't get them noticed. Wouldn't that be a fun thing to explain to his king? The shame and humiliation wouldn't be like anything he could endure. Wait. 

"A test of endurance." 

Mondo's brow perked in interest. "Oh? And how do you suppose we do that?"

Taka remembered. He'd pass it several times while on patrol but never gave it any real attention until this very moment. "Just outside the border, there's a bathhouse," Taka gave a strong-minded grin. "And a sauna."

Mondo smirked as if sharing the same singular brain cell as the royal guard. "You're on."  

[dantelionwishes]

I WANNA HEAR D'S THOUGHTS ON JEN'S QUESTION Spill the beans! You've even got me curious now!

“Do you think Rose is a good person?”

I’ll answer not just Jen’s question, but generally thoughts surrounding D and Rose’s relationship!! It’s gonna be long because I think about this a WHOOOOOOLE lot, and I seriously mean a whole lot,,, so read ahead!

btw, if you think Rose is a bad person and D hates him, that’s where you’re mistaken! IT’S MY STORY MY HEADCANONS SO IF U DONT WANNA READ THIS THEN DONT BRO HJASGJHASHJ

PRE-ETERNATUS, CHALLENGER ARC

Ive mentioned before, but D and the chairman had a fairly good relationship!!

In-game, rose is very interested in the player and talks to you a lot, so honestly not much changes here

D, in his challenger phase, is forcibly very loud and flamboyant. being overly animated and confident, he’s able to keep up with rose who likes to chat and banter with him 

When d talks to people, he KNOWS he’s being over-the-top, which is why he feels very awkward doing it (when people point it out, it makes it painfully awkward and embarrassing for them. Point in case: bede and Marnie!)

Rose finds him a very interesting trainer and observes D a lot. Its not hard to notice how hard he’s trying, but rose doesn’t point this out and genuinely moves along with what D’s vibes are as to not make him feel any more humiliated 

D is aware that Rose is playing along with his act, and thanks to this it really builds up trust like!! Oh the chairman isn’t making fun of me and genuinely finds me interesting and strong!!!! the chairman!! What a morale boost!!!!!! 

Again, its genuinely (funny and) awkward when D is being his over-the-top animated self, and its easy to point this out (which most people do, from his rivals to other trainers, to even gym leaders) but the only people who dont actively point it out AND act along would be his mom, hop, Leon, and rose! 

in addition, D has a pretty high-pitched voice so its easy to tell he’s trans?? He was worried he was going to be misgendered by such an all-important person like the chairman, but was surprised when rose immediately was just comfortable with calling him a “young man”

Another cute trivia thing during this stage was that they both are wearing shades for their “incognito mode” and D even gives the chairman some fashion tips for the next time he goes out!

It actually pisses off bede with how much rose and d talk;;;;;;  def one of the reasons why d and bede fight hhhh

The part of the plot where they head to rose tower, D was actually very against it in the beginning, saying that he could actually just try and call up the chairman if he wanted to! He tries and tries, but then starts to panic once he does in fact realise that something isnt right 

Even after storming thru rose tower and defeating oleana, d eVEN TRIES TO INVITE ROSE TO THEIR DINNER (MY BOY IS THINKIN: A DINNER WITH HIS FAV PPL!! HOP, LEON, AND ROSE!! the only one missing would be his mom) ……….but r-rose dismisses it with a smile, saying maybe next time…………..

D is a meek, insecure person who is easily broken down, so he really needs a lot of support to keep moving sO JUST IMAGINE this baby boy who puts trust in someone suddenly goes batshit and you have to defeat them with ur own hands????? Wowza. 

POST-ETERNATUS, NEWLY APPOINTED CHAMPION

OH BOY EVERYONE KNOWS HOW THIS FUCKIN GOES IF THEY REMEMBER MY FIRST POSTS JHASGJHHJAS

Ive already shown this via an illustration + a short Drabble, but its only after the eternatus battle that their father-son relationship is revealed

The game really doesnt show how serious the eternatus battle was, but for me: Leon was hospitalised for quite some time and wasn’t allowed to battle D until he healed up. At the same time, this gave D a lot of time to think about wHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED

I dont mention it, but this is where his gym leader au starts off from the canon timeline!! At this point, D is calling his mom or talking to hop or just locking himself up and is just generally in a panicked state where he feels like dropping out of the challenge, feeling overwhelmed with what just happened

ANYWAY IM HERE TO TALK ABT ROSE AND D but lets just say his Pokemon convince him to continue!!   

at the same time of his win, gossip went around quick and not only is D now very popular for suddenly defeating the unbeatable champion Leon, but is actually the “villainous” chairman rose’s son!??!?!?!??!! 

POOR SON BOY IS OVERWHELMED ONCE MORE, HELP HIM.

He actually escapes to the isle of armour + crown tundra as a way to give him time to think about this more (isle of armour: personal time for himself to think alone, crown tundra: chance to spend time with relatives he didn’t know he had) 

OK GENUINE RELATIONSHIP ANALYZATION TIME:

After becoming champion, he really didnt go see rose at all, feeling a plenty mix of frustration, sadness, anger, betrayal, but!! his feelings dont simply surround the “oh the adult I trusted was actually bad and lied to me“ or “wtf hes the dad who wasn’t there for me and is the reason why mom is alone how dare he” IT REALLY WAS A MIX OF BOTH HGHHGHH

But its BECAUSE he was close to him in the first place that he knows rose wasn’t just….straight up a bad person or a villain

The important part here was that rose and D were close during the challenger part, and our lad had a lot of time to think about how he was simply a good, misguided man

rose is very passionate about the things he cares about, to the point of doing anything and everything for them (ex. Awakening eternatus for Galar’s sake to the point of accidentally getting darkest day, or even working hard for Miriam’s sake to the point of accidentally never being there for her anymore) 

Yeah, d talked to a whole lot of people to think this over. He learned what happened between rose and his mom while talking to her, and D also learned what happened between peony and rose to further understand what’s up!!

In the process, I like to think both Miriam and peony dont hate rose! D was also an important factor in helping the both of them realise and clear up a few things, and at least, in their minds, stay on good terms with rose 

During both DLC arcs, D is silent at first but slowly n surely starts sending small letters to Rose :’))

YAY ACTUAL INTERACTION????

After a lot of thought on his self-journey, its safe to say that D had felt a lot more comfortable, finally talking to rose after the galarian star tournament arc !!

Ive mentioned before, but its not like D has to start from scratch since they had a good relationship as challenger and chairman beforehand anyway

D wants a dad! He does want to meet his dad, and at the same time rose regrets not making time for his lover and future family, so I’d say after pushing away the initial negative awkwardness they do both have the same, genuine goal in mind to talk to each other and build a good relationship with each other!!!!!!

Ive also said before but like ONE OF D’S FEARS IS…..”WHAT IF I MEET MY DAD AND HES TRANSPHOBIC” YKNO???? So knowing that rose already thinks hes already perfect in his eyes, IT REALLY DOES WONDERS TO A YOUNG BOY YKN O ?? ? ? ? ?? 

Uhhhhh honestly I really dont know how jail works and shit sO LETS JUST SAY D VISITS REGULARLY IF HES NOT BUSY WITH CHAMPION DUTIES!!!

Also I have nO idea what oleana means by “WHERE IS CHAIRMAN ROSE” cos like….iSNT HE JUST VIBIN IN JAIL??????? Lets just say he is sdghjjhsdhj

TL;DR

D had a lot, and I mean A LOT, of time to think about Rose. He does not have any ill intentions or feelings towards him, and the two have a hopeful, slowly budding father-and-son relationship. 

[belpheroo]

Title: Untitled Genre: Hurt/Comfort, short bit of fluff. Pairing: Mammon x MC Summary: In which Mammon gets in trouble, Lucifer makes a half-hearted declaration Mammon then takes way too seriously and MC is there to make it better. Notes: I just like taking an insecure Mammon and showering him with affirmations until he cries. - MC Includes some of my headcanons about pact bonds aka emotional walkie talkie and pact marks appearing in the same spot on both MC and the bros. There is a passing reference to my other fic Between the Flash and the Thunder in this one, but you don’t need to read it to know what is going on.

In Mammon’s defense, he had done nothing that he hadn’t done before, so why Lucifer was so angry over some missing dusty old statue was truly a mystery. Lucifer turned a blind eye so often to his petty thefts and insurmountable debts to highly shrewd yet beautiful witches, but for some reason today was different.

He could practically feel the heat radiating off Lucifer’s body, a faint scent of sulfur warning that he could, at any moment, transform. Mammon knew better than to talk back in these moments so instead he waited with his arms crossed over his chest, head ducked down as if he could make himself smaller and unnoticable.

“You gave those harpies a relic of immense value.” Lucifer said, voice teetering between even and ragged, “It was one of the components that protects and seals this House from outside intruders… evidently… we have far worse concerns within!”

His voice raised to a near shout at the end, but Lucifer restrained it back, eyes shut tightly as he composed himself. Mammon felt his pulse all the way to his fingertips, clenching the fabric of his sleeves tight in his fists, focusing on the solidness of the floor beneath him rather than the lightness that threatened to swarm through his head.

“… I-I’ll get it back.”

“No. You will not. I will retrieve it. You can not be trusted to any position of responsibility. In fact, I begin to think I made a mistake entrusting the well being of our human guest with such an irresponsible lout.”

Insults were nothing, Mammon felt the blow of words meant in teasing and in earnest all the time… but this was different. His eyes widened, a breath caught in his chest. He wheezed trying to form words of protest, but Lucifer simply threw up his hand, silencing him.

“These thefts will stop. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah…”

“I will think upon your status as protector. Until then, if you so much as step one centimeter out of line—“

“I got it, okay? …I got it. I’m sorry.” Mammon hurried to change his tone and must have appeared sufficiently abashed because Lucifer’s shoulders relaxed and he turned his eyes away from Mammon. That alone hurt worse than anything his brother had said.

“…okay. Good.”

As always, something softened in Lucifer’s features and Mammon could feel the regret mixed into his anger. It wasn’t like Lucifer enjoyed this shit and Mammon knew that… but thievery was a compulsion he wasn’t likely to kick for good anytime soon. Perks of being the Avatar of Greed.

“You can go back to class.” Lucifer said instead of what else was on his mind and Mammon did.

—

It was nearly impossible not to hide the sharpness in his breath as Mammon half gasped and half panted as he strode down the halls of RAD. Being away from the House was good, it got out from under the oppressive aura Lucifer gave off when he was angry… but in the back of his mind he kept hearing those words over and over.

…I made a mistake entrusting the well being of our human guest…

The thought of Lucifer taking her away from him made his stomach churn. He’d still see her, sure, but her concerns? Her needs and her wants? Those would fall to another brother. He’d be sidelined and unimportant, pushed aside. Would she make a pact with that brother? Who would it be? Asmo? Beel? Most likely Satan if Lucifer could stomach granting such a privilege to him. He was reliable, he was smart.

Mammon growled under his breath, pushing a hand roughly through his hair and tugging, trying to distract himself with the pain.

“Stupid, worthless idiot… shut the fuck up, stop thinkin’ bout it.”

It was no use. His thoughts were spiraling and his chest was prickling with tightness. His eyes stung and Mammon knew then, without a shadow of a doubt, he needed to get out of sight. He found an empty classroom just in time, forcing open the door and slamming it closed as he furiously began rubbing at his eyes with the back of his fist.

Why the hell was he so upset?! He didn’t give a shit about Lucifer being mad! Luci would posture and raise his voice and be rough and then by tomorrow he’d be apologetic … even if Mammon did probably deserve this scolding and worse for having stolen from Lucifer yet again.

But… but dammit just the thought of Lucifer giving her to someone else made him want to fuckin’ scream. He didn’t want them near her! She was his to protect! He was the one she should be comin’ to in the middle of the night, when she was scared of thunderstorms. He was the one who should be taking her around Devildom, the one she was glued to and brought her homework to when she needed “help”… even if they just played on Devilgram the whole time instead.

Mammon was so preoccupied with these thoughts he jolted when the classroom door opened and softly someone slipped in.

“… hey um— so. You like, okay?”

Her voice was quiet and strained, but he knew the human exchange student’s voice anymore. In confusion, Mammon turned and saw in the light that her eyes were red-rimmed and her cheeks blotchy… as if she had been crying. His entire demeanor shifted, brows snapping together as he stood up taller.

“Whose responsible for this, huh? Who messed with ya?”

“Uh? What? Dude. I’m not crying because I want to. It’s you!” She waved back and forth between them, indicating to something invisible.

“Ha…w-what? Me? The Great Mammon? Absolutely not, I would never be all weepy and pitiful and junk.”

She gave him a skeptical look, one well-groomed brow lifting and a smirk on her lips. She reached into the pocket of her RAD uniform and produced a handkerchief.

“Your nose is running.”

He swiped it with a scowl, balling it up and roughly scrubbing his face.

“It’s the pact. I can feel what you feel when you are close.”

Mammon grumbled some reply, but it was indecipherable behind the handkerchief.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“No… man, this sucks. Just stupid really, but it’s gonna mess everything up.”

She nodded, not pointing out he had said “no” and then proceeded to begin talking about it. That was pretty typical Mammon behavior.

“I got in trouble.” He mumbled, looking away from her sheepishly, “…Lucifer said I ain’t responsible enough to be lookin’ after ya anymore. So… guess ya will have to get used to Satan or someone.”

The silence after he stopped speaking was deafening, but he felt something in his chest… a tiny twinge of anxiety similar to what he had felt before but… faded. Like someone speaking through a tin can on a string into his heart. Mammon risked a short sideways glance over to her and found she was standing rigid, fists clenched at her sides. Her glossy lips were pressed tight together, redness spreading from her cheeks down her throat like a lit fuse before she exploded.

“Lucifer can shove it, I’m not taking anyone else! He can’t make me.”

“W-well… I dunno, it might be better cause I ain’t exactly the most reliable kinda guy. Ya probably would be better off if you had someone else watchin’ out—“

“What? What? What are you saying? Like, I can’t hear you over Lucifer talking out your mouth!”

Not what he had expected, he’d give her that.

“Say sike like right now!!!” she demanded.

“Wha- wait?! Why are you mad at me!”

“Because I don’t hear you saying you told him no!” She said, crossing her arms tightly against her chest and huffing, “Because you are standing there talking bad about my best friend… I don’t want someone ‘more’ reliable or whatever. I rely on you just fine. You are…I…”

She struggled to get the words out, the redness in her face having little to do with anger now.

“Mammon, I want you. No one else. I don’t care whether they are better at the job or not, they will suck at it because they aren’t you!”

Relief was immediate, followed closely by sheer embarrassment as Mammon hid his face with her handkerchief, covering his nose and mouth and hoping she wouldn’t notice the flush creeping down his own neck now.

She took in a shaky breath, eyes going wide as her chest rose and fell a bit faster.

“Wow… wow, I can like totally feel that.” She said, voice hushed, “You’re so—“

“Shuddup!” Mammon groaned, tossing aside her handkerchief and dragging her close. With her face pressed into his chest, she couldn’t see his face anymore and honestly… Mammon couldn’t bare to let her see him, pact or no pact.

His embrace was crushing and no doubt not very comfortable, but she softened under his touch and gently her hands came up to soothe over his back.

It was too much. It was just too fuckin’ much.

“…you’re just so happy.” She murmured into his shirt and Mammon swore he could feel her smiling.

“What if I am?! W-what’s it to ya, huh? Human?”

She giggled, arms wrapping around him fully as she squeezed back as tightly as she could.

“You’re so weak… puny human arms. Nuthin’ compared to the Mammon.”

“Ohhh, can you pick me up!? That’d be fun!”

“N-no!”

“Oh, so you can’t? Got puny demon arms?”

Mammon wasn’t one to take a challenge laying down. Her feet lifted off the floor as he hoisted her up, wiggling and giggling with delight. She got her arms up between them so she could wrap them around his neck, hooking her legs behind his own.

“Whee! Much better.” She hummed, looking down at his very unamused face with a smile. She had succeeded in her goal of distracting him and Mammon knew it.

“...I ain’t got puny arms.”

“I know, Mammon.”

“You’re bein’ extra needy, human.”

It wasn’t true. He was the one who needed and needed and needed. Her affirmation, her affection… don’t look at anyone else. Don’t be with anyone else. Mammon was suddenly struck with the knowledge he’d give up every penny in his bank accounts if it meant no one else ever got to have her.

And he didn’t know what that meant, but he knew what she wanted it to mean right now.

“…I’ll tell Lucifer no.”

“Hmm? What was that?” She cooed, voice teasing and light.

“I said I’ll tell um no! I ain’t given ya up!”

She weighed next to nothing with his strength, but still he settled her unto the instructor’s desk, palms flat on either side of it’s smooth surface as he leaned in, caging her.

She kept her legs locked around him, but now she could put them around his waist. Her hands slid from his neck down his arms, coming to rest on his forearms where she kneaded and rubbed at the bare skin where his sleeves were rolled up.

Normally, this kind of position would have Mammon a stuttering mess, but there was something determined and direct in his eyes, as if he couldn’t focus on anything right now but making sure she knew he was in earnest when he said what he said.

“I’m not giving you up either.”

Simple words, and yet she could feel where they pierced into his heart, leaving him half joy and half agony. Why did it hurt him so much when she spoke kindly to him? Mammon craved the words, but something held him back.

“You aren’t stupid.” She whispered, gently lifting her hand and resting it on his neck, watching as the pact mark began to appear exactly on him where it was on her.  Her thumb found it, pressing and rubbing in firm circles until she pulled a groan from Mammon’s throat and he tipped his head forward to bury his face against her neck.

She felt his lips brush her mark, a touch more than a kiss, but a kiss all the same.

“You’re my first guy… you’re my favorite guy. I like you best.”

She knew if she kept it up, she was going to make him fall apart… and part of her wanted to. Part of her thought it was exactly what he needed. Instead, she gently kissed the side of his head with a loud and pronounced “mu-wah”.

“C’mon! Let’s cut class.” She said, gently wiping Mammon’s cheeks with the back of her hand when he untangled himself from her. He sniffed once, refusing to meet her eyes and nodding vigorously as he got himself composed.

“Eh… Lucifer did say somethin’ bout not breakin’ anymore rules today.”

“I’ll tell him I was sick and needed company.”

“You ain’t sick!”

“I’ll tell him it was ‘girl troubles’. That one gets him so quiet you’d think I was the Avatar of Awkward Silences.”

Mammon laughed, rolling his eyes which were starting to look a bit less red and a bit more mischievous as he considered the possibilities of ditching. Taking the opportunity, she slid off the desk with a tiny flourish, spinning to fluff out her skirt before brushing it down resolutely.

“It’s decided! Two hellfire boba teas and chocolate newts are what the doctor ordered!”

She took his hand and he resisted only for a moment so he could relish the feel of her tugging him towards her and the sight of her pouting before she stamped her little booted foot on the floor.

“C’mooooon!”

“Alright, human. You’re buying."

[lovelymaybankk]

Any chance I can get some soft JJ where you guys have a beach day?

request: “Any chance I can get some soft JJ where you guys have a beach day?”

a/n: I love JJ. that's it. I also have no idea how surfboards work so there's that lol. also theres like aftercare type shit but not like after sex yk

w/c: 1.126

tw: swears

The warm sun on the hot summer day only made the couple strip faster. They discarded their clothes onto the towels, shimmying off anything that remained that wasn’t their bathing suits. JJ grabbed the girl's hand, leading her to the water. They chattered to each other, stepping into the ocean water.

Y/N squealed, the cold water slowly reaching her midriff. JJ grinned, “It’s cold,” he stated the obvious, hand playing with the necklace he wore. Y/N nodded, teeth chattering for a little before her body got used to the temperature. There was a change between the hot air and the freezing water, but it was the beginning of summer so what was to be expected. 

“It's fuckin’ freezing,” Y/N sunk lower into the water, her head peeking above the ocean. JJ copied her motion, except he went fully under. As the boy resurfaced and brushed his hair out of his face, Y/N spoke. “You have balls,” she referred to him going under, but JJ took it the wrong way.

“Well,” JJ started, grinning cheekily. “You’ve seen them,” his voice rose, making the girls face flush. She dove over to him quickly, shoving him back under the water. The next moment, JJ grabbed her hips and pulled her down with him. She opened her eyes, the two staring at each other before resurfacing. 

They both wiped their eyes, opening them and seeing how close they were to each other. JJ grabbed the shorter's hips again, pulling her close and closing the gap that was between them. Y/N smiled between the kiss, pulling away and wrapping her arms around the taller’s neck. “Wanna have a snack break?”

Although the two were both pogues, struggling with money, Y/N had gotten a job at The Wreck, and JJ would go with Pope on deliveries to get extra cash. So Y/N had made sandwiches for them while JJ got snacks like chips, soda, and some candy.

They left the salty water, sitting on the towels that they had laid out (and stolen from John B). JJ and Y/N talked aimlessly about what came to mind. Y/N munched on the chips, legs crossing. Her feet laid in the warm sand, without noticing she dug a small hole for her feet to lay in. “So, theoretically-” JJ rambled, Y/N forgetting what they were talking about. She nodded, grabbing his shoulder as a silent way of telling him to shut the fuck up. He took the hint, smiling sweetly before taking one of her chips. 

Y/N gasped, slapping his arm as he ate it. This became a whole war, the two playfully fighting over everything (Stop moving so much- That's my soda- Aye bro that's my thigh-). Ending in a giggling fit, they laid beside each other. Their heads rested on the surfboards they brought, chests rising and falling together. JJ’s hand intertwined with Y/N’s, bringing it to his lips to kiss it softly. 

No matter what anybody else said, JJ was the softest person Y/N knew. They always cuddled, sharing kisses and hugs no matter where. They could basically sense each other's emotions, knowing how the other was feeling based on their stance or the look on their face. JJ was hooked on how this girl made him feel. 

Moments later, the couple sat up and packed whatever they had yet to put away. They stood, grabbing their own surfboards and wiping what sand was on them. “I bet I can beat you to the water,” Y/N spoke smugly, having run track throughout the past school year. JJ rose a brow, almost saying ‘you wanna challenge me?’ They darted down the sand, laughing as they dodged other people who were enjoying their days.

They ran into the water together, steadying themselves as they sat on the surfboards. “I definitely won,” JJ teased, arms crossing as the younger paddled beside him.

“No way! I did!” Y/N gasped, mock being offended.  They bickered back and forth for a while, never coming to an agreement on who won. A wave rose far off, catching both of their attentions.

"Oh shit, we gotta ride that." JJ grinned, pulling himself and of course helping his girl. The wave came closer and they steadied, riding the wave. JJ did a show-off trick, while Y/N stayed more simple. It wasn't long before their legs grew tired, dragging themselves back to the beach.

They dried their bodies using the towels that they brought. Y/N slid on her shorts, grabbing the cooler and bringing it to the van. JJ helped her strap in the boards, both tiredly sitting in the front seats of the car.

JJ looked at her, wavy hair dripping water onto her bikini top and the van seats. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly, getting her attention. She smiled at him, looking back at the ocean and wiping her forehead with her empty hand. JJ drove them back to the chateau, deciding to unpack later.

Y/N carefully left the car, not remembering when she had gotten so tired. They entered silently, hearing nobody else in the house. JJ re-took Y/N's hand in his own, kissing her forehead. She was immensely tired and decided on showering the day that followed. They entered the empty guest room, seeing the bed was made from the morning previous. Y/N looked at JJ, "Can you get me some clothes?" She asked, pulling a puppy face.

JJ rolled his eyes but nodded, going to the dresser and pulling out a change of clothes for both of them. He gently tossed Y/N's to her, changing into his own at the same time. JJ turned and grabbed the wet bathing suit from the floor, going and dropping it into the bathtub so that the water could drain there. When he returned, Y/N was laying on the bed waiting for him.

Y/N was under the blanket, looking at him with bug eyes. "What?" JJ asked, wiping under his eye to see if he had something on his face. Y/N grinned, opening her arms for the boy.

JJ fell onto the bed, cuddling into the girl's chest almost immediately. They both smiled at the same time without knowing it, eyes closing. "I love you," Y/N spoke up after a while. Her words slurred with sleep, playing with JJ's hair.

JJ grinned, "I love you too." His words weren't slurred but were instead quiet, muffled slightly by the fabric Y/N wore.

They both fell asleep not even minutes apart, soft snores coming from both of them.

[thuskindlyshescatters]

Sky Lark and Russel Thrush

*looks up which members of CRDL those are* uh-huh, uh-huh... hm.

Well, I’ll try my best!

Sky

Sexuality HC: With that haircut? Man’s desperately trying to come out of the closet and it’s just not working.

Gender HC: Trans (ftm) purely because I think the concept of him bullying Velvet for being a Faunus (who I previously hc’d as mtf) with the wrong pronouns and then respectfully accepting her correction before carrying on harassing her encapsulates the flavor of fuckboi he would be.

A ship: I’unno, considering you put them in the same ask I’m gonna go with him and Russel? In a “haha jk jk... unless...?” kind of way.

BROTP: Him and his team are the closest Beacon has ever gotten to having frat bros. They are The Boys and Jaune is the Cold One.

NOTP: Idk, don’t do anything weird! I’m not much of a shipper for even main characters, don’t go twisting my arm like this!

Random HC: That big fuckin axe thing he swings around? Yeah, he’s actually the most proficient on his team at killing Grimm. That thing rivals Crescent Rose in levels of slice-n-dice.

General opinion: This is the most I’ve ever thought about him, this post right here.

Russel

Sexuality HC: Ace, without realizing it. He’s surrounded by teenage boys yet was surprised to find that they really do experience sexual attraction and weren’t just messing around for the lulz.

Gender HC: Never picked one, which technically makes him cis, but can you really identify with you assigned gender at birth if you don’t have a sense of self?

A ship: You know all those “bro...” incorrect quotes? Yeah. (See Sky.)

BROTP: See above.

NOTP: *SEE ABOVE INTENSIFIES*

Random HC: He kind of likes that his hair sucks. He wanted to stand out and be acknowledged and he does that by being a nuisance and an eyesore, so hey! Mission accomplished.

General opinion: See Sky.

Anon, you really challenged me here. I applaud that.

[artgurusauce]

So, how was Pokemon Shield?

Before I start, this is going to cover the main game, not post-game. Sorry, no talk about Dickhead Swordward and Shieldbert. Also, if it wasn’t obvious already, massive spoilers ahead. 

IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT READ THIS POST

I’m not going to ramble for hours about this, because to be honest, my thoughts about this are much briefer than they are for gen 7/Alola. Not to say there’s not much going on in this game, just that if you were expecting a super professional and profound review of the game from me, you may or may not be disappointed.

I will do my best to be articulate, though.

I’ll start with the rivals, the most obvious choice the begin with being: Hop.

Hop is definitely not like Hau like so many people were desperate to make me believe pre-release. In fact, while their arcs are similar, there’s a biiig difference. That difference, to me, is their changes in character. Hau had a big ass crash, yes, but his character change was pretty damn gradual. With Hop, after Bede puts him down, well, you can pretty much tell he’s not the same guy right off the bat the next time you talk to him. I absolutely adore Hope and I’m glad he got as much screen time and focus as he did. His arc was fantastically written and beautifully handled all the way to the end. All I can say is, another cinnamon roll for the collection.

Then there’s...Marnie.

Now, I don’t hate her, far from it. I adore her very much as well. The problem is that it seems she doesn’t get much time to flesh out like Hop did. A problem that goes both ways between her and Bede. Of course when I got to the seventh gym and met big brother Piers I actually did like the dynamic they were going for. Buuut I really wish they had given Marnie just a little more time to herself before that. I just didn’t feel like they did enough with her and...that’s a damn shame considering how popular she was upon her first reveal. Of course, again, this isn’t to say I don’t think she’s still just the cutest little punk goth button ever.

Sigh...and now it’s time for me to talk about Bede.

Look, from what I could tell, half the fandom was nuts for him, the other half was sick to death of a generic douchebag rival that adds no flavor to the table. But I’m a little torn on this one. Like I said, him and Marnie share an awful side effect of Hop’s arc being the most prominent...they don’t get enough time or everything that happens in their arcs feels...rushed, by comparison, at least in my opinion. So the thing is, when Bede gets disowned by Chairman Rose, of course my first reaction is “You had it coming, you were being a shit.” But then Opal...takes him in? And...acts as though Oleana manipulated him? I guess I could perhaps see what they were going for here, and, I’ll admit it, I kind of adored their dynamic, albeit a short interaction between them. And I did find it rather cute at the League when he was all flustered about being trained by Opal, having to continue training because everyone was cheering for him. But the thing is...his arc is kind of...broken? Like, I want to feel bad for him, and I want to feel invested in Opal taking him in and showing him the ropes of the Fairy Gym but...it just doesn’t work like it should. Which is odd considering Bede gets considerably more time to flesh his arc than Marnie, at least, that’s how it seemed to me. I do think the general story and Hop’s own arc really just forced the writing’s hand in sweeping Bede’s arc by as fast as possible. He could’ve been an interesting diversion of expectation, but...oh well.

Speaking of gyms, how do I feel about the gym leaders?

Well, Milo is a fucking cinnamon roll, and I do think I’ve settled on shipping him with Nessa because...I mean...c’mon now. Short bean boy, toll ocean gal? Perfect for each other ♥

I don’t really...feel anything towards Kabu. His design is bland, his personality didn’t stick out to me at all, but I guess they can’t all be iconic gems when you think about it.

Then...there’s my baby boy Allister. And lawd, my dudes, if Hop ain’t my new son well then Allister sure as fuck is. I did HC that he was mute like Red before the game came out and, well, his personality and dialogue are pretty good despite not being what I was hoping. I mean, c’mon, how can you not love that adorable little face? Or that he’s so socially introverted he keeps a collection of masks to make absolute sure his face is hidden? I am going to be quoting “Crumbs, that’s aces” forever now.

Opal was an interesting woman, I definitely think there could’ve been more to her relationship with Bede but I already discussed that. My dad thought she was kinda scary and creepy but she reminds me of that old lady from Spirited Away so I ain’t bothered all that much lol. She was nice enough, I do like her humbleness and that she’s willing to admit it’s definitely time for her to call it quits. And yes, I have seen that official art of her when she was younger. She is a fucking QUEEN  ♥ ♥ ♥

Then comes Melony...hoooo boy my lesbian ass is fallin’ so hard it physically hurts me in ways you will never imagine in your life. Wicke wishes she was this thicc. In all seriousness though, I am pretty curious about that son of hers. I heard you can meet him in Sword but I’ll have to wait and see that for myself. Aside from being the newest love of my life, she’s absolutely adorable and wholesome. I know her card reveres her as strict, but, she just looks like a cinnamon roll.

Piers...oh Piers, where do I even begin? His design is fucking on point, for one thing. And his relationship with his sister Marnie is just so cute and so much fun to watch. As unfortunately left field as it was for me, I did like his arc about not being a good Gym Leader and wanting his sister to take over for him. It was sweet and kinda sad but I just love him so much. For the first Dark Type Gym Leader, not bad guys, not bad at all. Also omg Piers slay me with your metal, king plsssss

Finally, there’s Raihan and...omg he’s so great. This mother fucker not only takes selfies in the middle of a match, not only bombards you with weather effects therefore making him a fun and challenging opponent, but this dude is also beefin’ with our head champ? SIGN ME UP, FAM. For real though, like, I loved battling with Raihan the most out of anybody that I fought. I definitely haven’t felt this much fun battling a Gym Leader in years. And I will forever be torn as to whether or not I want to ship him with Leon >3>

Speaking of the chadster, I ain’t talked about ‘im yet. Or Sonia, for that matter. Honestly, they’re both pretty great. 

But Leon is the fuckin’ MVP this gen, I’ll tell you what. He’s such a bro he tells Rose his “Day of Destiny” bullshit can fuck off til our match is over. Of course, I do like his ditzy and dorky sides too. Like his snapback collection or how easily he gets lost seriously Leon it’s just a straight fucking line to your house how do you fuck that up. But he ain’t just a bro to the main character, naw, he a bro to his actual bro, Hop. And I fuckin’ love it. Their interactions are so investing and entertaining and wonderful to watch. It’s almost kind of magical, in a way. I think he is without a doubt my number one favorite Champion of all time now. 

But as for Sonia, well, I dunno...maybe I’m nitpicky or remembering things wrong but she seemed to drop her disdain for researching the legend of the “Darkest Day” like a hat at some point. Granted, I still think her character arc while it wasn’t even needed was very well done. I loved listening to her dork out about the legends, her research, all of it. It was spectacular. And ever since I first found out she was childhood friends with Leon before the game even came out, ladies and gents, these two have dun been my OTP. The only one still challenging that notion is Raihan at this point, lol.

And now...we get to Oleana and Chairman Rose.

Oleana is just...kind of a nothing character for me, personally. Even after knowing about her Garbardor and all that, sorry fam, she ain’t doin’ it for me. She was a red herring so overblown and obvious it has since been laughable that anybody thought she was gonna be this gen’s Lusamine. She is just...some really crazy lady who happens to be passionate about her job. Ok.

Rose, however, is an absolute bastard. And I love it. However, I do have a problem with this, as it sort of connects to my earlier point with Bede. His relationship with Bede is...I don’t even know if I could call it a father-son relationship. I mean, yeah, he basically adopted him, but he disowns him at the drop of a hat. Granted, what Bede did was wrong, but...really? I guess that’s just how much of a dick he is, but, there’s no closure to that. Even after finding out what a horrible, deplorable man Rose is, Bede never talks to him after he’s disowned. Maybe this was meant to be a “Well it’s better he moves on to the next chapter of his life as soon as possible” sort of thing. But his sudden taking under Opal’s wing did not accomplish that feeling with me. So it feels sort of...hollow, to me. There’s no conclusion, follow-up, it’s almost as if Bede didn’t even know who Rose was anymore after Opal scooped him up. And yeah, Bede says “Everything has gone wrong since I met you” but...here’s the problem; That’s as much as he goes into being affected by Rose. It’s not too important, I guess, but it’s something that bothered me, personally. Rose’s motivations seem...ok, I guess. It’s about what I was expecting. Seriously though, his battle theme has no business being that good.

Those are all my thoughts on the characters, at least any that were all that worth talking about. Without further ado: Allow me to introduce y’all to my babies...

As I mentioned on Monday, my team consists of an Appletun, Centiskorch, Greedent, Hatterene, Inteleon, and an Eiscue. And I only just now realize like 5 out of 6 of them have names that start with a “C” lmao.

First up, we have my very first darling: Chastity

There’s a few things one should know about this slick little bitch:

Big shock, she was a huuuge cry baby as a Sobble. Like, mortified of pretty much everybody. Total mama’s girl. But as a Drizzile she was just a total grump goth binch. The only one of my Pokemon in my camp she would give the time of day is her dear friend Chariot, who at the time was a Hattrem. They pretty much grew up together and they’re besties now.

But now that Chastity is fully grown, well...she’s a little...flirtatious. Oh, no, not with the boys on her team. No no no. Every camp we step onto she’s just flirtin’ like a mad woman. She even managed to seduce my dad’s Cinderace who was already a huge playboy

Still, I can’t stay mad at this cute little brat. She’s still a total mama’s girl at heart and I love her to death. Btw, her Snipe Shot is ridiculously strong, though that’s probably because she’s still holding a Mystic Water haha

Up next is our resident lady in waiting: Chariot

I found Chariot in the Motostoke Outskirts and she has always been a picky snob even as a Hattena. She only ate small portions unless it was Whipped Cream Curry. Though nowadays I’m sure she only eats in such small portions to maintain her figure...

As I said before, she and Chastity have pretty much always been best friends. I definitely love to imagine her always hassling Chastity for her less than lady-like behavior though, haha. Chariot was weirdly sleepy as a Hattrem, though. Like...she dozed off a lot. She must’ve been getting plenty of beauty sleep for her evolution lol. 

I used to have a Toxtricity on my team named Ripper before I found an Eiscue for the League, and she seemed quite enamored with him. At least for the long period he was with us, she talked to him 50% of the time when I stopped for a little break. It was incredibly adorable, though I fear what might happen if I leave them alone at a daycare for too long...  <(⚆_⚆;)>

As a grown Hatterene, she’s rather dainty and conversative. I’m actually surprised, lately she’s starting to talk to some of her other fellow team mates lately. I suppose she’s not as stuck-up as she pretends to be, haha.

Up next we have our looonnnggg boy: Mushu

I picked up Mushu at Kabu’s gym. He was pretty shy as a tiny Sizzlipede and often avoided talking to most of his team mates. He was pretty spooked by a lot of them, actually, particularly Ripper for reasons I never quite understood. I guess when Ripper was still a baby, Mushu didn’t understand why he cried so much and was terrified of the loud noises he made lol.

However, he grew into a long boi rather quickly and he’s pulled us through some pretty tough spots in the gym challenges so I like to spoil him with lots of play time. He’s got a Jolly nature and honestly, it shows a lot more now that he’s all grown up. He loves to play and races with his team mates pretty much all the time. Rip Caramel, your utter annihilation will not be forgotten. He’s a very sweet and almost gentle boy and I honestly feel bad for all the battering he’s had to take before because I was a little too eager to take on opponents way out of my league.

A couple of fun facts about him before we move on:

His favorite curry in the curry dex is Smoked Tail Curry, which he always eats in gigantic portions. He freaking loves camping on Route 6 or in Stow-On-Side, I guess he really loves the heat.

Up next is my precious dumpling baby: Caramel

I first caught Caramel on Route 5, and I love love looove my baby apple pie. He’s such a chill and adorkable little dragon and I’m not one to pick favorites but...oh, who am I kidding? He’s totally my favorite.

As an Applin he was just too cute. He was a little slow and none of his team mates seemed to understand him so they tended to leave him by himself. So I ended up having to give him lots of attention so he wasn’t too lonely. And gosh was he just the cutest little baby apple. Of course, he wasn’t an Applin for very long, so there’s not much to speak of regarding his early stages.

However, once he evolved, he became a fucking tank. Caramel can take hits like a freaking champ and since I gave him Draco Meteor he’s practically an unstoppable beast. Of course, by heart, he’s a Lax boyo and enjoys the littlest things in life: Like the nice breezes in the Wild Area, or his Apple Curry, even if it’s snowing something fierce outside he’s all about it. And I just- argh he’s so fuckin’ cute!  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Up next we’ve got the chunky cheeked baby: Peter Griffin Conker

Conker is a Gentle boy who’s been with me since the very beginning at Route 1, and it fits since objectively he’s probably the weakest Pokemon I’ve got on my team. But that’s ok, because he’s definitely scored us a couple of hard gym challenges just like Mushu has. He was definitely useful for buying some time when I needed it, that’s for sure.

He was pretty chattery as a Skwovet, even if some of his team mates weren’t all that talkative looking at you, Chastity. This probably comes as no surprise, but he’s always had a bottomless stomach. Seriously, he’s eaten large portions even as a baby Skwovet and it baffles me. Guess he’s just a really hungy boy, lol.

As a fully grown, chunky Greedent, he’s pretty slow. Like, really slow. Even when he runs it’s like a snail tracking through peanut butter and molasses. And it’s too cute to watch. I really wish I could give him belly rubs tbh, he looks like the type that’d enjoy those, haha. These days he’s best friends with my Eiscue, Cubert. They usually race each other after they have lunch.

And finally, one of my greatest MVP’s: Cubert

Cubert joined us very late in the game on Route 10. And while unfortunately he ended up taking Ripper’s place, I knew he’d be a good addition to the team. I’ve given him Hail and Aurora Veil, which is super useful for battle prep. It’s pretty lucky I was able to find this little guy waddlin’ around up there on my way to Wyndon.

As I said before, he was pretty anti-social with everybody at first. Though I’m sure that’s because he was so new by the time we got to the League. Thankfully, Conker got him out of his shell and they’re best friends. He still seems a little shy around the others, and even myself, but I’m just glad he’s got somebody to talk to. Not much to say about him unfortunately, since he’s so reserved and tends to keep to himself, but I’m sure that’ll change eventually with time.

Now that’s everyone that’s on my current team, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my boy Ripper at all, so, allow me to introduce an old friend who’s been livin’ in retirement for the past few days:

I first picked up Ripper at a Nursery while I was omw over to Hulburry, I believe. So Ripper was with us for a damn long time until I picked up Cubert. Initially I had hoped he’d be a High Key Toxtricity, but I’ll take what I get. Besides, he was more than helpful with quite a lot of battles, especially Opal’s gym.

He was pretty loud as a Toxel, which should come as no surprise. Always throwing tantrums and never really seemed to eat anything bigger than a small portion of whatever curry I cooked, so he was picky just like Chariot was. All around a bastard baby, really. He didn’t really start getting onto the battle field until he evolved, in all honesty.

But once he did, hoo boy, he was killin’ the competition like a pro. I feel pretty bad I didn’t take him into the League with me, but I felt like Cubert would’ve been more useful so I swapped ‘im out. I’ve been pulling him back out of the PC box for some more training lately to help him catch up to make up for it, though. And he seems pretty happy about it, so bygones are bygones I suppose.

And it seems he’s still very much taken with Chariot. Sigh, young love, so adorable. Anyways, respects to the OG madhouse that got me through some toughies, you did good out there buddy. ;w;

Alright, well, that’s just about all I have to discuss, for now. I hope this wasn’t too droning of a post or anything. But before you head out, I’ve got a little surprise. Since this was such an interesting experience, I’m opening a new Tumblr based on my journey that will follow my Trainer OC Luna and her adventures through Galar. If you’re curious to check it out, click here. I don’t really have an upload schedule, so just keep your eye out for any posts in the future. Hope you guys enjoy it!

[calpalirwin]

Night Out

A/N: Remember my post about the high-heeled princess vs the muddy sneakers tomboy? Yeah, this is that blurb.

And away, and away we go!

~~~

“Just a Friday night with the boys,” I told my reflection, my hands gripping the bathroom counter as I tried to slow my breathing.

If it’s just a night out with the boys why are you so nervous?

Because you’ve had a crush on Ashton since you met and now you’re both finally single?

Shut up!

These are your thoughts, you know that right?

I said shut up!

“Just a Friday night with the boys,” I repeated to myself.

Oh, if only that were true.

~~~

I had first met Ashton and the rest of 5SOS at a photoshoot after my friend had called me up asking for extra help when a colleague bailed on her at the last minute.

“Please Y/N?” Katie begged me over the phone. “You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“And you know I’m not like you. I take photos on my phone for fun.”

“Good photos!”

“I’m not a professional like you are, okay? I’ll ruin your business.”

“No you won’t. C’mon, at least let me tell you who the photoshoot is for.”

“Who?”

“5SOS!”

I sighed. She knew that band was my weakness. “Damn it, alright. I’m in.”

“Yay! You won’t regret this Y/N!”

~~~

“So, did Katie just hire you?” the tall man with brown hair and hazel eyes asked me. He had on a white button up shirt with short sleeves and roses on it tucked into fitted black slacks.

“What?” I sputtered, looking around to see who he was talking to, because it certainly couldn’t be me. Only it had to be because it was just us in the room. “Me?” I asked stupidly, pointing at myself.

He giggled. The real-life, not from a video clip, giggle. “Yes, you. Who else?”

“Casper?”

He giggled again. “You’re funny, you know that? Name’s Ashton,” he said, offering me his- very large- hand.

“Y/N,” I choked out, shaking his hand, trying not to drool over how warm and soft it felt despite his rugged looks. The man looked like a god, not a drummer.

“Funny girl with a cute name,” he noted. “So, how do you know Katie?”

“How do you know Katie?” I challenged, my brain forgetting how to work.

“She’s my photographer…?”

“Right… um…”

“Jesus, you are new,” he giggled a third time. “Relax. Loosen up a bit.”

“I am not new. I’ve just never done this before.”

“Think that makes ya new, gorgeous,” he winked.

Oh, God… I was gonna pass out. I reached past him for the water bottles on the table, busying myself with taking a sip, trying to ignore his presence.

“Wow, you are impossible to get to know. I asked a simple question. It wasn’t a rude one, was it?”

“She’s my best friend. I’m just here to help her out,” I said, trying to appear more confident than I actually was.

“Oh, so you’re not like a real photographer?”

“Nope,” I said, popping the “p” loudly. “I’m a writer. Well, I work for a publishing company anyway.”

“Oh, that’s cool. You do know how to use a camera though, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not an idiot.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, just checking. My livelihood depends on you and Katie not making me and my bandmates look like shit.”

“My bandmates and me,” I corrected under my breath.

“What was that?” he asked, leaning down to hear me better. “Sorry, my hearing’s shit.”

“I said that’s impossible!” I blurted, my cheeks flushing as I realized I had just more or less confessed that I found him attractive.

He just giggled again.

~~~

What I thought was just a one time occurrence quickly spiraled into more. The next time Katie called me to help with a photoshoot, she jumped straight to what I needed to hear.

“It’s another 5SOS one!”

“Great, so you want me to make a fool of myself again?” I asked, even though we both knew I was going to say yes.

“Oh, c’mon! Your pictures came out great, Y/N. And the boys liked you.”

“I tripped him!” I said, meaning Ashton. It had been unintentional. I was sitting with my legs kicked out when he had walked backwards into me. He had fallen, then did a weird backwards sort of skip to get his other foot out behind his falling weight to catch himself. “Make all the men fall for you like that?” he had winked.

“Oh, please! It was an accident! That man needs to watch where he’s walking.”

“That man needs to do a lot of things…” I mumbled under my breath.

“I heard that!”

~~~

“You’re not gonna trip me again, are ya?” Ashton’s voice sounded from behind me.

I whirled to see the man sporting short sleeved white collared shirt, similar to the one he wore at our first meeting, only without the roses decorating it. “You should watch where you’re walking,” I said, using Katie’s words as I scrambled to find my own.

“You this flustered with everyone, or am I just special?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

This time, instead of giggling, he smirked.

~~~

“Y/N, I gotta another 5-” Katie started.

“I’m in,” I responded.

This time, Ashton Irwin would not fluster me.

~~~

“I think you were stalking me if I didn’t know any better.”

I narrowed my eyes at the man, whose leather jacket and slicked back hair made him look like a modern-day James Dean. No! His antics of riling me up ended here and now!

“Trust me, I’d rather be anywhere else,” I lied. Well, it was half a lie at least. I would rather be somewhere else- a somewhere else that included him in a bed with our clothes on the floor. But, he didn’t need to know that.

His face fell at my words. “Oh… sorry if I made you uncomfortable…” Long gone was the usual giggle and smirk of a man who knew he made heads turn. In its place was a sincere apology that he had crossed some imaginary line. Even his hazel eyes, which usually danced with mischief were sorrowful.

“Oh, no!” I rushed, feeling guilty my words gave him the impression that he had done something wrong. “I’m sorry. I just… you… friends?” I asked, biting my lower lip. Friends? Really? That was the best I could come up with?

“Friends,” he nodded, a small smile coming back to his features. “You know me and the guys really like it when you work with Katie. We, uh… might have requested you this time?” he admitted, a hand coming to rest at the back of his neck as he dodged my gaze.

“You requested me? I’m not even a photographer…”

“You do good work. Plus, you’re like really chill and easygoing. Now that we’re friends, you should hang out with us sometime.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool.”

~~~

That was when our friendship really took off. 

Ashton quickly became one of my best friends and I got along really well with the other 3. They were my boys and I was their girl. I quickly earned the title of honorary bro, a role that I took seriously, suddenly grateful for a lifetime of being a tomboy.

That being said, I was still jealous as hell when I had to play his wingman, wishing that one day he would see me as one of the girls he flirted with instead of the girl-bro who helped him seal the deal.

To take the sting out of the wound, I dated around myself.

But tonight? Well, tonight Ashton and I were both single at the same time. And I was determined to get my man.

~~~

The night out had been my idea. A lie that I needed a bros night out after a hard week. In truth, I just wanted a night out with Ashton, but was too nervous to blatantly ask him out. So, I was going to hide under the guise of a harmless boys night out, and pray I blew him out of the water.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror: my hair curled, bright red lipstick drawing attention to my lips, my black dress drawing attention to my curves, and my heels giving me just enough height to hopefully reach Ashton’s lips.

“Just a Friday night with the boys,” I said one last time before heading out.

~~~

Calum let out a long, low whistle when I walked in. “You said guys night, not girls night,” he said, wrapping me in a hug.

“I take it I look good?”

“Stunning. Is this for-?” He let his question hang between us. He knew I had a crush on Ashton. They all knew. All but Ashton.

“Damn,” Mike choked from behind me. “Keep me out of your selfies, please.”

“Too much?” I asked, biting my lip, suddenly feeling very nervous I was overdoing it.

“Oh…” Mike said with realization. “Operation Get Yo Man?”

I nodded my head fast, biting further down on my lip.

“Stop, you’ll ruin the lipstick,” both men scolded me.

“Whoa, Cal got a girl already?” Luke asked, rounding the corner. “Y/N?” he gasped once he realized it was me, his blue eyes wide in shock. “I can’t… you look… wow…”

“It’s Operation Get Yo Man,” Mike told Luke.

“Yeah, I can see that. Has Ash seen her yet?”

“He’s not here!” I said worriedly, twisting my hands. “Oh, this was so stupid!”

“Relax,” Calum said, his hands coming down on my shoulders, turning me to look at him. “Ash is gonna flip when he sees you. This is gonna work.”

“Really?”

“You look like a fuckin model,” Mike said.

“Says the one engaged to a model…”

“So, who better to judge?” he asked, his green eyes twinkling.

“Okay, picture!” I said, feeling excited again as I pulled out my phone. “C’mon, you two,” I said when Luke and Mike hung back. “Crystal and Sierra are both well aware of my feelings.”

“Alright,” Luke shrugged, throwing an arm around me, while Mike came to stand behind me, and Calum threw his arm around me from the other side of Luke. “Say Operation Get Yo Man!” Luke teased, my phone in his hand as he had the longest reach.

“Operation Get Yo Man!” we grinned at the camera as Luke snapped a series of pictures.

“Oh, post that one!” Calum said, once we let go and looked at our selfies.

I quickly put the photo on my Insta-

thefaby/n: Operation Get Yo Man with the best wingmen a girl could ask for! #boysnight #operationgetyoman #myboys

~~~

“Really? You took the selfie without me?” Ashton’s voice said as he slid in the booth.

“Sorry,” I shrugged.

His hazel eyes locked with mine, before scanning my body. “Whoa…” he breathed.

“Mate, you knew what she was wearing. You saw the post,” Calum smirked.

“No, I didn’t. I saw that Y/N posted, and i just assumed… whoa…” he said again.

From across the table I could see his Adam’s apple moving as he struggled to come to terms with the girl I normally was in comparison to the girl across from him. Good. He could be the flustered one for once. “Problem?” I smiled.

“No, no problem,” he said, shaking his head, going back to being unbothered. “You look good.”

“I know,” I smirked, taking a sip from my drink, making sure he was watching as my red lips wrapped around the straw.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight, boys?” Ashton asked, drumming his hands on the table and avoiding my eye.

“It’s Operation Get Yo Man,” Mike said, throwing his arm around me.

“Oh, so we’re her wingmen tonight? Alright,” Ashton said, licking his lips and looking around the rest of the bar. “See anything you like so far?” he asked, as simply as if he was asking if I wanted him to pass over the fries.

I drummed my fingers against my chin, drawing his attention to my lips again. “You know what? As a matter of fact, I do. Cal, care to dance?” I said, offering my hand out to Calum who sat on the other side of the booth with Ashton.

To his credit, he kept his face calm as Ashton got out to allow Calum to pass as Luke moved to let me out on our side. “What are you doing?” Calum whispered, wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Trust me. Now put your hand on my lower back. Touch my ass if you have to.”

His arm slid down my back, giving my ass a small squeeze before resting his hand on it as we walked off. I could swear I heard Ashton mutter a “Motherfucker.”

“You know, a lesser man would be mad you’re using him like this,” Calum said.

“You’re not mad, are you?” I asked, turning and wrapping my arms around his neck as he swayed me in time to the music.

His cheeks crinkled with his smile. “Nah. You help me get laid all the time. Glad to repay the favor.”

“Thank you,” I smiled, lifting my heels up to peck his cheek. “Think it’s working?”

“If it doesn’t, he’s an idiot. So, out of curiosity, why Ash?”

“Aw, Cal, are you jealous?”

“I’d be lying if I said you weren’t turning me on right now. But, I’m more than fine with our friendship staying a friendship. If you ever wanna fool around though…”

I placed my hand on his chest and laughed, feeling him rumble with his own laughter. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. But…”

“But, Ash.”

“But, Ash,” I nodded. “He just… he went out of his way to make me feel welcome. You all have. But, he did it first. And I thought he was actually flirting with me whereas you guys were just being nice to me. And just…” I sighed, closing my eyes as I collected my thoughts. “Did I misread everything? Am I only friends with you guys to get close to him? Am I only friends with him because I want something more?”

“Hey, stop,” Cal said firmly. “Whatever the original intentions were, you’re one of us now. That’s not gonna change. Yes, we all know you’re closest with Ash. But our friendships are still real friendships. This doesn’t go away if things with you and Ash go wrong. You know that right? We’re your boys and you’re our girl. End of discussion. Case closed.”

“Thanks, Cal,” I said, resting my head against his chest.

“Anytime, Y/N, anytime,” he murmured against my hair. “Oh, looks like my work here is done,” he said, his chin rubbing at my head as he nodded at Ashton walking towards us. “Hey, mate.”

Ashton nodded his head curtly, his lips pressed tightly together. He was mad. But why? I liked him, but that didn’t mean my feelings were reciprocated.

“Need something?” I asked. I wanted him to want me. But I wanted him to want the real me. Not the girl dressed up who was dancing and flirting with his best mate. 

“Yeah, can we talk? In private?” His gaze shifted from mine to Calum as he asked his second question. 

“She’s all yours, mate,” Calum said, stepping away from me. But not before he placed a kiss on my cheek and whispered, “Get yo man, girl.”

I mouthed a thank you as the darker man strolled off back to our booth, leaving me alone with Ashton. “So what’s up?”

“Stop playing innocent,” he snapped. 

“Excuse me?”

“This act you’re playing. It’s not cute.”

“What act?”

“This!” His hand waved about my whole body.

“I can’t dress nice for a night out with my boys? You’re not my father, Ashton.”

“No, but you’re like a sister to me. And I would hope my sister’s friends would have enough sense to call her out for acting like a… like a…”

“Like a what, Ash? Like a girl?” I challenged. I knew what he was trying to say, but I also knew he respected women too much to ever say they were acting like a tramp. He was all about women being unapologetically themselves. Why was he on my case about it?

“You know what I mean. This isn’t you.”

“Spoiler alert: I can be a lot more than the girl-bro. I can be the girl-girl too.”

“Yeah. But are you doing this because you want to? Or are you doing it to impress someone?”

“What does it matter?” I continued to challenge, even though part of me knew he was right. Either he liked me for me or he didn’t. So why had I dressed up for him?

“Would you quit dodging the question and answer? Is this really a night out with your boys, or is there something more? Operation Get Yo Man? Really, Y/N? Is it Cal?”

“What? No, it’s not Cal. God. You really don’t see it. do you?”

“See what? That you’re crazy?”

“I like you, dumbass!” I blurted. “I liked you the whole time!”

“Oh.”

“Look, I get it, okay? I’m not some tight-skirt, high-heeled princess. I’m the blue jeans and muddy sneakers tomboy.  Both are beautiful. Both are dangerous.”

“Both are you,” he cut me off.

My face flushed. “Both are not me. Look, I get it. I’m not the conventional beauty you normally date. But, I’m tired of hiding. So, I’m putting myself out there. Ball’s in your court, now,” I said. 

“Jesus, took ya long enough…”

“What?”

“Y/N, I’ve liked you since I met you. You’ve got spunk. You’re unapologetically yourself 100 percent of the time. More than that, you’re my best friend. You see me for me. And I see you for you.”

“You like me?”

“Of course I do! God, I was so nervous around you, I literally tripped.”

“You played it off well…”

“That’s because while you make me a nervous wreck, you also instill a level of confidence in me I never knew I had.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“So… where does that leave us?”

“I think it leaves us right about here,” he said before ducking his head down to kiss me. It was soft. It was sweet. It was fierce. It was everything I dreamed it was.

“Here’s good,” I smiled, breathless once we pulled apart.

~~~

The next morning, I woke up in a bed that was not mine in a shirt that was also not mine. “Oh, fuck… what happened last night?”

“You got rip roaring drunk, and ended up in my bed,” Ashton’s voice sounded from where he was lying next to me in bed, shirtless and scrolling through his phone. “Aspirin and water’s right there for ya.”

“Thanks,” I said, quickly swallowing the two small pills with a swig of water. Waking up in his bed with him next to me was nothing new. But, given what I thought I remembered about last night…  “Ash, did we… ?” I asked, both afraid of what I had done last night and what we had done.

His phone clattered on his bedside table and he rolled over to face me. “What’s the last thing you remember, Y/N?”

“Let’s see… dancing with Cal. You and me arguing. Did we kiss?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Then what?”

“Then nothing. You continued to dance and drink, saying that it was the best night of your life. Then you asked me to take you home. You’re a very needy drunk, Y/N.”

I leaned my head in one of my hands and shut my eyes in a wince. “Oh, God… Sorry… So we didn’t… ?”

“Have sex? No,” he shook his head.

“Thanks for not taking advantage.”

“Ew, don’t thank me for doing the right thing…”

I sighed. “We don’t go back to normal after this, huh?”

“Oh, you mean back to before we confessed our feelings for each other, and you ended up safely in my bed, untouched?”

I let out a weak laugh. “Yeah, that.”

“We don’t.”

“Oh, cool,” I fake-smiled. “I’m gonna get an Uber. See ya around, I guess,” I said, offering a small two-finger wave and throwing back the covers.

“Y/N.”

“What?” I asked, the room spinning.

“You can’t just leave.”

“Yes, I can, Ash. I’ve already made enough of a fool of myself. Let me go nurse this hangover in peace.”

He scoffed. “You can barely walk. Get back in bed.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” I said, taking a few unsteady steps forward before falling on the floor. “Ow… Ash…”

I heard his giggle as he got out of bed. “Told ya,” he smirked before scooping me up like a small child and placing me back in his bed.

“Shut up…”

“You’re ridiculous, you know that? Do you know why we kissed?”

“Because I’ve been wanting to kiss you for the past year and a half?”

“Well… maybe. But, it’s because I kissed you. Because I like you.”

“Well, that’s dumb of you.”

“Hey. Be proud of yourself. Operation Get Yo Man was a success. You got him.”

“I do?”

“Honestly, woman. Am I gonna spend the rest of my life reassuring you that I’m into you?”

“Maybe?”

“Alright then. Victory selfie for my hungover girlfriend?”

“You know me too well, Ashton Irwin.”

“Get over here,” he giggled, pulling me to lay against his shoulder, phone already posed for the shot.

I closed my eyes against him, grinning and breathing in his scent, feeling his lips kiss my hair as the camera shutter clicked rapidly. “Perfect,” I said, looking at the picture of us before putting it up on my Insta.

thefaby/n: Status Report- Operation Get Yo Man: successful. #operationgetyoman #successfulmission #myman

[sonic7ischaos]

So Sonic 1...

I’ve gone over what my definition for a Sonic Adventure game is and why 06 isn’t Adventure 3, nor is Heroes or Shadow or Unleashed but I’ve finally crystalized WHY Sonic Adventure is SO different from 06 and Heroes and Unleashed and why every Sonic game done this way is more memorable and long lasting.

See, the thing about the Adventure games and their focus on momentum is that they, like Sonic 2, CD, 3k and most recently Mania, are built on the foundation established in Sonic 1, which, to go over briefly, is a game fundamentally built on using momentum and rolling physics in conjunction with sloped terrain and its effects on your momentum (Downhill = gain momentum, Uphill = Lose momentum). There’s a LITTLE more to it but that and how running works comprise Sonic gameplay at its core. It’s Sonic 1 that established this as its foundation and every mainline game and some portable “spinoffs” (because of their continuation of the main canon, I hesitate to call them spinoffs) iterated on that foundation up till SA2 (and Rush for the spinoffs).

In the same way that Mario 64 to Odyssey are built on Super Mario Bros. core, foundational mechanics and design goals, so too are the Sonic Adventure games. They’re Sonic 1 taken in another direction and iterated and/or improved on. Sonic 2 is Sonic 1 with the spindash, playable characters, and a consistent level design structure that better plays on the strengths of Sonic with it’s greater emphasis on sloped terrain and exploration of paths than the block platforming which plagued Sonic 1. Sonic Cd is Sonic 1 with 2 variations on the spindash, level design with an almost exclusive focus on exploration, a time travel mechanic, and greater worldbuilding focus. Sonic 3k takes the lessons learned from Sonic 2′s level design and makes the different level paths more flowing and less binary. It greatly expands the worldbuilding, characterization, and storytelling from previous entries, add’s new mechanics like the insta shield and flight for Tails and a 3rd character in Knuckles with his own abilities and limitations as well as his own level challenges. STILL, it only does this by building on the rules established in Sonic 1. You’re still using the natural buildup of momentum by running and rolling down slopes for speed and height. The core mechanics and physics are still there and the focus of gameplay.

Sonic Adventure 1 is the first in the series to attempt iterating on Sonic 1′s foundation (it’s directly iterating on 3k, but 3k’s foundation is Sonic 1) in 3d. If you’re attempting to Make a 3d Sonic game this HAS to be your priority or you’re not making a 3d SONIC game. You might be making a 3d game that features Sonic but it’s not the same thing. I could mod Sonic Adventure 2 to include Mario 64′s character model but I’d still be fundamentally be playing with Adventure 2′s rules and mechanics. The boost games are SPINOFFS set in Sonic’s world with its characters (sort of, fuckin’ pontaff) and some of its ideas and mechanics like rings and loops and Super Sonic but it’s still not Sonic gameplay. Modding Adventure Sonic into Generations doesn’t make Generations an  Adventure game. Whether the boost games are lesser or not is a matter of opinion (if you ask me, they are, though they’re still worthwhile outside of Forces....FUCK Forces) but they’re not the same.

Saying Sonic needs to try new gameplay styles so it can get out of its rut and be good again misses the fundamental point, which is that Sonic games were ALREADY VERY GOOD AT THEIR CORE. Heroes? 06? Unleashed? Not built on the core of Sonic 1. 06 is very SUPERFICIALLY like Adventure 1 but honestly if you play it, it plays almost nothing alike, but  that’s a whole other long diatribe topic that I’ve already done a lot.

Sonic the Hedgehog rose to titanic popularity (like, precursor to the pokemon craze popular) in the early 90′s with the release of Sonic 1 and it wasn’t just  the character that did it. Like, maybe close to half of it was Sonic himself but Sonic 1 really was good enough to challenge Mario’s absolute domination of the genre at the time and the series (for a while) only got better on mainline installments. It’s not nostalgia, the fact of the matter is that Sonic fans stuck around after Shadow and 06 and the Storybook games and Free Riders and Boom and Forces for a reason, and it’s because of the goodwill earned in those early days. Understanding how and why they worked is KEY to getting Sonic back to where he belongs, on top, shoulder to shoulder with Mario.

[metalchick19-blog]

The Bowers Gang: Ship #8 - Belch Huggins

Request: I’m really tiny like REALLY. I’m 5’ feet (or 154cm I don’t know if the inches are correct). I’m redhead but not a true one because I dye them. I wear a lot of bands shirts or horror movies ones, and a lot of high waist skirts or dresses with belt and chains and a black hat all the time. My shoes are platforms from the new rock brand and sometimes I wear Santiag but it’s really rare. I always have a leather chocker around my neck with spikes on it. Peoples call me dog because of that but I don’t care because I feel good with it. I wear A TON of makeup (only because I love makeup so fucking much), and that’s usually black lipstick with red eyeshadow and eyeliner that’s all. I also have tattoos on my right tight and on my left arm. I literally can’t live without music and my favs bands are Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses and Slash. That’s so basic I know, but I love them and I always want to dance and sing when I listen to their song, because they makes me feel so happy. I also love witchcraft and paranormal. I do believe so much in magic and ghosts and I love to walk around old abandonned places and talk about ghosts, aliens, demons ect, because for me it’s so fascinating and interesting. I’ve already played Ouija and it worked and I freaked out but loved it. Peoples think I’m a witch actually but I’m ok with that. I love watching horror movies so much, but I hate blood and gore, wich is pretty contradictory I know. I’m also scared easy even if I love all theses witchy/paranormal stuffs. Last thing is : I’m getting angry REALLY (too much) fast, and that’s a big problem because I have so many issues because of this. I do cry so much too because anger makes me cry and shake but I do love cuddles so much (not all the time but that feel good sometime to have someone who can give you hugs, that warm your heart). I do a lot of sex jokes too and my friends hates me for that but hey, it’s funny.

All the guys were attracted to you at some point, because they’re each turned on by different aspects of your style (Henry by your makeup, Patrick by your red hair, and Victor by your skirts/dresses)

But Belch (who knew he had to have you the second he saw just one of your epic band t-shirts) wound up coming out on top, because he’s the only member of The Bowers Gang with a proper respect for the greats

The greats being Axl Rose, Saul Hudson, and Steven Tyler 

All the other guys might pretend to be metal-heads (because bad boy aesthetic), but Belch is the only one who legitimately deserves the title

Seriously - he’s never more confident than he is when he’s talking about his music obsessions (i.e. rock, metal, and the development of those genres), and you’re one of the very few people in the world who ever gets to see him like that

Belch dominates the floor talking-wise, and his entire body language changes; for just a few minutes, he seems to lose all pretense of being meek or uncertain 

Aka: You get to meet confident Belch who knows what he’s talking about, and that’s a friggin’ miracle 

You guys have insanely long, thorough debates as to which current bands should be considered “real” rock bands 

These talks can last for hours at a time (because you’re both just passionate like that), and tend to take place around Belch’s kitchen bar 

The two of you just sit on your stools (next to each other, like the adorable humans you are) and crack open beer after beer, completely losing track of time listening to each other’s rants 

Usually neither of you notice how long you’ve been talking until the sun starts to set through the kitchen window - you’re just that into what one another is saying 

Belch shows you his vinyl collection (over 500 records, all alphabetized) 

This is great because 1.) that collection is Huggins’ pride and joy, which means you’re definitely his person if he wanted you to see it, and 2.) because everything sounds better on vinyl, and you never knew it until he showed you 

You come over to Belch’s place almost every day after initially finding this out, because you need that ear-sex feeling of the music pulsing all around you (*Steven Tyler’s voice pulsing all around you* - definitely a mood)

... And Belch honestly loves it, because watching you dance around his bedroom is literally the highlight of his life 

It was hard to get him to dance along with you the first few times you asked (he would just do a few awkward, timid movements before laughing and sitting down) but he now does it with you almost all the time

And when Huggins dances... he dances hard

We’re talking the robot, the sprinkler, everything 

... Which you’ve explained to him are not moves that should be done when listening to death-metal, but he just keeps saying he “knows you love it,” and persists in doing those moves

... You do kind of love it, though 

What can I say? You’ve led the man to his free spirit (and the world thanks you for doing so)

Belch also takes you to some well-known sites around town that are famous for tragedy (The Black Spot, the Ironworks Factory, etc.) so you can do paranormal investigations there

He actually almost took you to the Neibolt house once on Patrick’s suggestion, but decided to back out at the last minute because it was a Hockstetter idea

... Yeah, even Belch knows better than to trust Patrick with his physical well-being

Typically all the guys tag along for these paranormal activity trips though, because even though Belch wants to look tough for his girl, he doesn’t like the idea of scrapping with ghosties by himself 

... It’s truly a hilarious sight to see

Ghost-hunting missions typically entail you and Patrick being at the front of the pack (you trying to “make contact” as Patrick actively fucks with your process) while the rest of the guys trail lazily behind you 

Henry complains at least once every 3 minutes (”my fuckin’ legs hurt”/”why are we still out here” x10), Victor looks quietly at the scenery, and Belch just tries to look brave (but can’t hide how hard he’s listening to whether or not anything responds to your prompts - he’s silently praying nothing does)

Sometimes things do come through though, and it changes the atmosphere for everybody

... that is, everybody except for Patrick (who would refuse to believe in the occult even if he was levitated by Casper)

All arguing/off-handed banter comes to a stop, and the guys act way more on edge for the rest of the night

Typically involves a lot of mildly nervous looks around on Victor’s part, and flinching in response to loud noises on Henry’s - Belch is a combination of both

After close encounters like these, you all tend to walk back to the car in a much tighter group than before

Henry and Victor press in on the sides, and no one says a word

... Except for Patrick, who makes joke after joke about how big of pussies you all are, and challenges all demons in the near vicinity to fight him 

He’s never been fought, but it sends you all into a frenzy of “shut up!” every time

All the guys love that they don’t have to change their regular movie aesthetic for you

Literally everything they ever watch is some type of horror, so you’ve never been more well-suited to a group of people  

They don’t sit down and really watch things together very often, but they usually have a horror movie and/or violent TV show on to serve as background noise for their conversations (”Tales from the Crypt,” ”Friday the 13th” re-runs, etc.)

Regardless of whether or not you’re with the guys though, Belch always covers your eyes when he knows the next scene of the movie that you’re watching is about to be especially gory

...Seriously.

The dude physically covers your eyes.

He even flung himself across a room once (in front of the gang and everything) just to child-proof your vision before you could see the fish hook scene in “Hellraiser”

Mostly because he knows you don’t like gore, and he tends to remember when it’s about to happen at the very last second - it’s all our teddy bear can think to do to save your innocence

Now, bro - it’s totally fine that you have a temper

I can’t imagine where that would be less of a problem 

Even though Belch tries hard to keep you feeling calm and collected (because he just cares about your inner peace), he’s low-key enthralled by the way you look when you’re angry

... And all the other guys just find it entertaining as hell, because they’ve never met a 5-foot powerhouse such as yourself

You get into arguments often, though.

...Often. 

So often, in fact, that the guys eventually stopped letting you finish.

They tend to let you go back and forth with people you’re arguing with for a while, but if it becomes obvious that you’re not really going to fight the person, they eventually decide to move on with their day...

... at which point either Henry or Patrick will pull you away by your choker.

... Yes, by your choker. Like you’re a little dog. 

Patrick did it first (”Come on, killer! We’ll find you some other crotch to bite later.” *Annoyingly satisfied Hockstetter cackle*), and Henry just followed suit afterwards.

It’s a thing now; you’ll have to accept that. 

Belch gives you the best cuddles that have ever been cuddled 

Seriously - because of your size, you can curl up on his gargantuan male body like a cat 

Pick any cuddle position - you guys can cuddle it better than hibernating bear cubs 

And you’re high-key cuter to watch, too, because your love for one another just rolls off of you both in waves 

Just so wholesome, and so very adorable

Overall, you fit into the group well, and cultivate a refreshingly genuine connection with Belch

He gets to be who he really is with you, and that means more to him than anything 

[betweengenesisfrogs]

OFF THE CUFF HOMESTUCK THOUGHTS #2: RETCON HEIR OR RETCON ARTIST? OR: CHARACTER AND SPECTACLE FAIL TO COLLIDE

DISCLAIMER

IMPORTANT THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

[CHECK THE TAG FOR MORE THOUGHTS]

A lot of people will tell you the Retcon ruined Homestuck, or that it was a lazy way of solving problems Hussie pulled out of his ass at the last minute or something like that.

Nah.

It seems pretty clear to me that the retcon was planned from the start of Act 6, and in fact, in many ways was a huge part of the point of Act 6.

I remember a lot of proto-Saltstuck posts from way back in earlier Act 6. Like, say, right before Game Over. They were something along the lines of “Look, I was into Homestuck previously, but now all Hussie’s doing is delaying things and testing our patience. Everything is just going to shit, and nothing good is ever going to happen. Rose is never going to meet her mom, Dave is never going to sort his shit out with his bro, anytime anything nice like John meeting his friends happens Hussie just cuts away, Hussie is the reason we can’t have nice things, Homestuck will never again be nice things, etc.”

I was really worried about this, too! I was terrified that we would never get catharsis, never get meaningful character arcs, and so much more. This is going to be bullshit forever, I thought.

But when you get to something like Game Over, it becomes clear that feeling was by deliberate design. Up to that point, Hussie was telling the story of how things got fucked up in a pretty major way.  He didn’t show John meeting his friends because that wasn’t the point of what was going on at the moment.

Similarly, with the whole idea of the retcon: you don’t think the fact of John’s having retcon powers was the Chekoviest of Chekhov’s Guns? (He has many. Imagine Chekov flexing. Aww yisss.) You don’t think he spent some time showing us how those powers worked, how they were distinct from Dave’s time powers, because he ultimately planned to use them at a pretty pivotal moment in the story? Act 6 is the story of the retcon. It is written around the retcon.

Read from beginning to end, Act 6 isn’t just ennui and bullshit, like it seemed at the time. That was largely because of the delays we experienced in its telling. But read archaically, it makes a pretty darn reasonable story. It’s the story of how our heroes, after a big moment of victory, went into a decline that fucked things up for them. But they were able to regroup using a weapon that had been heavily foreshadowed earlier, and win the day.

I think the idea of the retcon is integral to the story and in fact a pretty good one. I even think the nature of the retcon (bringing back Vriska) was a pretty good one, although your mileage may vary and I might get into that later.

The trouble, in my opinion, is that Hussie kind of fumbled the ball after that.

The problem with the post-retcon world John creates is that while some characters do get some fantastic story arcs out of the before-and-after, most needed a lot more time in the oven, which is the source of the odd, barren feeling most of us walked away with. Post-retcon HS is rushed, which feels like a weird thing to say about something as huge as HS with so much dialogue and an entire freaking hand-drawn animation at the end, but there you have it. It’s rushed on a certain conceptual level. The reasons for its being rushed are obvious: Hussie had a ton of shit on his plate, and I think it’s really unfair to blame him for that, or act like he didn’t care. Because from the sound of it, he cared a hell of a fuckin’ lot. Despite everything, he got it done. Honestly, his work ethic is something I really admire and respect.

But it is rushed. What’s the main problem?

In a word: while the many dialogues between the retconned characters were enough to establish (for the most part) who these new versions of our favorite people were, we didn’t see them grow afterward. We didn’t see them challenged, we didn’t see them change further! They didn’t have time to demonstrate who they were and what was important about the ways in which the retcon had changed them! If we’d seen those changes, I believe the end of Homestuck would have been much better received. Collide and Act 7 were great in a visual and spectacle sense (seriously, I could watch that shit a million times), but they offered nothing new to the characters, for the most part.

It pains me to say it, but they were very video gamey, in the worst sense, in the sense that the Hobbit movies suffer from: victory is about having a cool fight with the boss and winning, rather than about how you grow as a person. In essence they amounted to John and everybody doing a really cool dance before going off to the new universe.

With some notable exceptions! I keep bringing up Dave. Most people would agree that Dave’s arc was hella great. In part that’s because a lot of time was spent on it before Collide, but it’s also because its culmination was in Collide itself! What better way for Dave to affirm his new understanding of who he was and his growth past Bro’s way of looking at the world than to symbolically cut off the head of his abuser? What better way for Dirk to show he’d grown than to engage in that act of trust? What better way to show that these kids are gonna be all right than to show them learning how to work together?

Trouble is, not many others could boast of having such a culmination in Collide. Maybe Roxy, in that she gets to take down the Batterwitch in this big cathartic moment for her, and fight alongside her mom, but that’s a bit limited in its scope. Calliope, Vriska and Caliborn have some character-significant moments in Act 7 (which I want to talk about later.) But most of it is just boss fighting. No wonder we expected a lot more from Act 7, cool as the animation was.

There’s an argument to be made, I think, that we need to Mind the Gap. A big part of what made Act 6 feel aimless and stretched is the fact that there were so many hiatuses. (Another reason to lament Hiveswap basically sucking out Hussie’s soul.) One big gap, the Omegapause, came between the many retconned retconversations among the kids and the final battles of Collide. Maybe most of the character growth for most characters came in those conversations, rather than the animations.

That’s true to some degree, I think, especially for certain characters (Rose and Roxy especially) but I still say we needed more time. Time before Collide, to say, what were these characters trying to do, other than to win the game? What did our new heroes want? And time after Collide, to say: how did they feel about what they’d accomplished?

Ultimately, despite the spectacle of the final boss fight, we still didn’t know what most of our heroes were fighting it for.

The irony, of course, is that the difference between big heroic, video-game style actions and actual meaningful personal growth is one of the major themes of HS, and it’s easy to wonder if Hussie gave us this kind of ending precisely to engage with that difference.

I lean towards no. Or at least, if he did, he wasn’t able to persuade his audience of it in a coherent way. To do something like that, he would have needed a lot more from his characters. We would have needed to see them thinking about this difference—say, some more skepticism from John about why they were fighting these final bosses.

We could have told the story of twelve kids who needed to fight a final boss, not out of a desire for that fight, but only because of the standards of an arbitrary video game. But the thing is, we would have needed them to acknowledge that was what they were doing.

That said, as I noted, there are a lot of places in the ending where the difference between video gamey/heroic actions vs personal growth comes up, so maybe we can see HS as a work striving toward a conversation around this theme that only sometimes achieves it. Collide being the big crack in its priceless vase full of grandmotherly ashes.

Stay tuned. I definitely want to return to this topic later on.

[macabrecabra]

Awrigh, since im a fuckin SLUT for racin' gimmicks, how's about Hanzo being a street racer and uses his superb driving skills in a game of chicken with Talon and he saves everyone with the cost of ONE of his non-hover Chevy Impala's (spn impala)

I am not a person who knows much aboutcars or what cars are nice, so I will simply go that a Chevy Impalais a nice car XD I'll do my best to give a racing fic, but again, notsomething I know much about outside Fast and the Furious  XD;

For anon!Title: Pulse Racing atOne Hundred Miles Rating: PG-13Relationship: Hanzo/Hanzo'sfancy car; Shimada Bros being bros

Those who thought Hanzo was without hisvices in his youth did not know him well. True Genji had the bigger,more flamboyant reputation as an unapologetic playboy partying everynight away like it was his last, but that wasn't to say Hanzo merelysat at home and contemplated poetry and life’s big mysteries.

He had his vices and truth be told, hishad been a bit more dangerous. After all, it wasn't as if streetracing happened at low speeds in private venues.

Hanzo though had always liked thatabout the illegal sport. There was a thrill of excitement to be had every time he took the wheel and felt the hum of an engine below himand the roar of adrenaline in his ears. All eyes were focused aheadon the street and every nerve alight with electricity as the flag wasdropped and tires began to screech. Of course he never made it publicknowledge. He hadn't even told Genji of what he did in the eveninghours.

All that his family knew was he he hada particular love for rather expense sports cars. Being the son of ayakuza crime boss had allowed him to indulge in keeping a smallpersonal collection of cars, many of them illegally modified to befaster and more durable for racing. Every single one of them thoughhad been off limit to all but himself, a fact Genji had oftencomplained about.

Back then, Hanzo had merely chided hisbrother on spending his money on women, men, and booze rather than anactual car. Still Genji's need for rides to places and rides homealways gave Hanzo the excuse to jump into one of his vehicles and goout and get a few thrills before showing up.

Most of the cars though had since beensold, although one vehicle, his darling Chevy SPN Impala, he stillmaintained. It had been with great reluctance at the Overwatchmeeting he had put forth that he had the vehicle at all for a missionin Japan and that he would be more than willing to drive.

He hadn't expected to have to comeclean with his past though.

“This car is illegal isn't it?”Genji commented from where he sat in the passenger side, head turnedtowards Hanzo.

“Under the hood yes,” Hanzomurmured tersely, “But that is of little importance rightnow,”“You've had this car since I was twenty-one. Younever once let me ride in it,” Genji's shoulders hunched as hecrossed his arms over his chest, “And you said I was the disobedient son, all these years, and here you are in a clearlychanged car. I feel a little offended brother,”“Not nowGenji. We have a mission,” Hanzo growled out, hands gripping thesteering wheel.

“You were street racing weren't you?”Genji asked, the accusation clear in his tone.Hanzo justscowled, keeping his eyes on the road as they moved along, refrainingfrom answering Genji. He was never going to fess up to that. Genjiwould never let him hear the end of it despite the fact there werefar larger and more terrible crimes wrought against him. Attemptingto murder him was fine and good and forgivable, but withholdingsecrets during their youth was a crime which required the punishmentof ceaseless taunting and snide comments until the next little secretcame out.

“That explains why it always took youan hour to come pick me up,” Genji drawled, “My anija was offracing about like he was in Fast and Furious Two,”“No onewatches those movies,” Hanzo growled out, “All you are doing isadmitting you watch trash,”“And you street race,” Genjishot back.

“And you are an insufferable pain!”Hanzo retorted from between clenched teeth.“And youmurdered me,” Genji said, leaning forward just a bit more,shoulders tensed.That single sentence killed any responseHanzo was about to lash back with and he fell again to silence,gripping the wheel. Neither of them were speaking now and the onlysound was the hum of few hover cars sliding by around them and thetraffic above moving. With most vehicles now and days being up in theair, those that still ran on four wheels honestly got around a lotfaster due to the reduction in traffic. Those vehicles still groundbound were often just ignored and the street racing scene had onlygotten more popular because of it.

It also made it far more easier forsyndicate groups like Talon to move things around below the city.Hanzo's gaze flicked to the side as an all black vehicle pulled upbeside his own car as he sat at a red light and it gave a loud rev ofits engine. Hanzo's hands twitched and he could feel Genji's gaze boring into the side of his head as if daring him to take thechallenge.

Hanzo glanced to the vehicle, frowninga bit at the tinted windows. He reached to press a few keys on thedash to bring up the holographic display, “Keiko, scan othervehicle,” He murmured.“You named the AI Keiko? I am soashamed of your lack of imagination,” Genji commented.

The elder Shimada ignored his brother'scomment, eyes fixed on the display before it chimed, loading up theschematics, “Car is modified but does not have a Japanese streetprix chip embedded. No license place. Unknown emblem detected,”The screen flickered and Hanzo felt himself stiffen as a decal of theTalon symbol was uploaded. The car beside them revved again. A flickof his gaze upwards to the light saw the countdown to when it turnedgreen was now about to hit the ten second mark. Hanzo gripped thesteering wheel tight and beside him he heard the click of a seat beltand the grumbles of his brother.

Hanzo pressed the gas pedal down justas the light hit green, the vehicle shooting forward with a scream ofrubber on asphalt. Beside him, the other vehicle sprung forward andsoon both vehicles were hurtling forward.

Genji was gripping tight onto the sidesof his seat as Hanzo floored it, both hands on the wheel as hetook the first turn, drifting flawlessly around the bend. The othercar waffled on the turn a bit, falling behind as Hanzo sped ahead.The next turn though, it seemed his opponent had decided to changethe nature of the race, coming in a bit closer to slam against theside of the Impala and try and force them off the road.

“Does this usually happen in yourraces?! People try to kill you or is it just everyone knows you are adick?!” Genji shouted, now gripping the dash tight, fingers digginginto the frame.“Its called being a sore loser,” Hanzogrowled back, “Hold on,”

“I already am holding on how-”Genji began only to be thrown back against his seat as Hanzo put onthe gas, surging them forward down a long road.Hanzo tried toignore the rents left in the dash by Genji's hands. He tried really,but still a part of him cried out in mild despair internally. It wasjust another mark he was going to have to pay to get cleaned uplater. The dents and scratches on the side of the Impala from thefirst hit were already going to be bad enough. The Talonvehicle was hot on their trail even as Hanzo swerved and took sharpturns without warning, doing his best to try to lose them in the mazeof Tokoyo's long forgotten underbelly. Genji was clinging to his seatas if he was seeing his life once more flash before his eyes as thecar twisted and turned, speeding through red lights to the blaringhorns of angry drivers. “They are a tenacious one, that isfor sure,” Hanzo growled out as he took another series of sharpturns, pulling into a u-turn and moving to drift into a one waystreet.Genji still had his death gri on the edge of his seat,although his head was tilted up towards the rear view mirror, “Lookslike you finally lost them so you can stop driving like amaniac,”“It is not driving like a maniac. I was incomplete control the entire-” Hanzo's words trailed up as the dimglow of headlights appeared ahead, approaching fast.Everynerve in Hanzo's body was alight and he knew, even before the on boardcomputer chimed in the unmarked vehicle from before was approachingfrom ahead. He didn't take his hands off the wheel as he slammed thegas down, hunching forward, “When I say bail, throw yourself outthe door,”Genji was staring hard at him before letting outa grumble and moving to slide the seat belt up and brace himselfagainst the door, “If I wasn't made of metal mostly, I wouldbelieve you were trying to kill me again,”Hanzo let out asnort as he kept his foot on the gas, eyes fixed on those glowingorbs of light even as the speedometer clicked slowly up. One hand wasat his seat belt, clicking it off even as he swallowed the lump inhis throat.

He was really going to miss this car.

“Bail!” Hanzo yelled beforethrowing open his door and diving out. Genji followed suit,although he was able to tuck into a roll quickly and come up on hisfeet due to his enhanced reflexes, one hand on his sword even as heturned to where the Impala raced onward. The Talon vehicles tiresshrieked as they tried to slow down and swerve out of the way but onthe narrow street there was no where to go, no way to avoid theImpala as it collided head first with them. The roar of the explosionhit first as fire flared up from the battered in fronts. The entirefront of the car was smashed in and the vehicle had nearly flippedbackwards into the air.

There was no movement from within thecrash, only the crackle of fire and rising smoke and the lump inHanzo's throat as he eyed the remains of what once his favoritecar.He rose shakily to his feet, wincing as he felt theslight burn of road rash already forming on his left arm. A glanceover to Genji showed he was fine and already coming over with a terseset to his form but one born more of worry than any irritation.“Youokay anija?”

“Been better,” Hanzo grumbled,casting one last mournful look over the wreckage, “I will miss thatcar,”“You are one of the few men I know who cares moreabout a car than his own neck,” Genji let out a sigh as he clappeda hand on Hanzo's shoulder, “No offense though, anija, but nexttime there is a driving mission, I'll take the wheel,”Hanzoallowed himself a quirk of a smile and a curt nod, “Fine but Iexpect only the best,”“I'm going to drive like an oldgrandma, follow all the rules and wait my five seconds at every stopsign after this night,” Genji returned with a shake of his head.This time Hanzo let out a slight laugh, shaking his head.

“If you say so, Genji. If you sayso,”