#aqua and jessie watch

[magmaaqua]

HARDENSHIPPING: A PRIMER

you’ve probably heard of hardenshipping before. even if you’re new to pokémon, the posts about maxie and archie’s hardly ambiguous relationship have probably crossed your dash before. but just who are these two old men? and how does one find out more about them? can one even get into a ship from a game that’s almost twenty years old now? (yes! please do! there will always be at least a couple people still enjoying the ship, and what with the streams of new content constantly coming out and being pulled away almost immediately, it’s a real breather to take a look back at the things that’ve come out in the past.)

the key players

hardenshipping is the ship between maxie, the leader of team magma, and archie, the leader of team aqua. they debuted in pokémon ruby and sapphire in 2003, with maxie starring as the villain of the first game, and archie starring as the villain of the latter. maxie’s goals as the leader of team magma are to expand the landmass of the world – making more room for growth and development by the humans that live there. archie, meanwhile, desires the opposite – as the leader of team aqua, archie’s sights are set on the ocean. he wants to engulf the world with water, making more room for the pokémon that dwell beneath the hoenn region’s vast seas. while in ruby and sapphire, the team not cast as the villain works as your ally, the enhanced emerald casts them both as villains and you as the intermediary.

in the remakes, omega ruby and alpha sapphire, maxie and archie’s roles are upped to eleven. while in the original games, maxie and archie were somewhat similar in terms of personality (even using the same dialogue at times), the remakes gave them more distinct personalities and loads more lore. maxie became more of a calculating, cold character – a professional with a short temper and no mercy when it comes to fighting you. on the other hand, archie’s love for the sea and pirate persona gained prominence, and although his goals are still those of a supervillain, he treats you more as a rival, even calling you a little scamp with a big grin on his face. we learn more about their backstories as well – maxie and archie used to be on the same team once upon a time, and both end up harboring a desire to make things right with one another by the end of the game. even seemingly aloof maxie keeps a telltale boat model in his hideout, with not a speck of dust to be found on it. between archie talking about maxie’s bony backside and the soft song that plays as they reconcile, there’s ample room to think that yeah, there’s definitely something going on between these two.

why are they called that?

pokémon ship names have been written differently than your typical name-fusion ship name for a while, and often the first part of the ship name will have something to do with the characters involved. (for example, jessie and james from the anime are called rocketshipping.) when lava meets water, it hardens. hence, hardenshipping. magma and aqua.

are they canon?

depends on what you mean by canon. the heart-shaped valentines’ card posted circa 2016 by the pokémon official twitter (complete with cards called “maxie’s hidden ball trick” and “archie’s ace in the hole”) certainly leaves little to the imagination. you don’t have to consider them canon, of course, but it’s safe to say there’s at least a bit of evidence pointing directly at the idea.

how do i play the games?

i would personally recommend oras first, but the original games can very easily be emulated by looking up roms and a gba emulator online (i remember there being a post with pokémon emulation resources going around a while back, so i’ll add that on if i find it). if you have a 3ds and a friend who’ll lend you a copy, you could play oras like that, but although you can find the games for their original sales price online, you can also easily watch a playthrough without commentary on youtube (there are TONS) if you can’t or are just looking to catch the story bits. (i’m not an expert on 3ds emulation, but that’s always a supported option, too. it’s a bit trickier than gba emulation but it works.) the game’s about four and a half hours through and well worth it, especially for free.

what about other stuff?

there are lots of different iterations of canon when it comes to pokémon. maxie and archie come back in ultra sun and ultra moon as their ruby and sapphire selves, pulled forward from a timeline where their plans succeeded. the manga takes a darker turn with their characters, and although i’m not personally a fan, it might be up your alley if you prefer your villains less …supervillain (and your enemies to lovers heavy on the enemies part.) i haven’t watched much of the rse anime but while it hasn’t followed the game characterization for characters like cyrus too closely, it’s always an entertaining watch. and sometimes people post screenshots from the mobile game, but i suggest looking up those on youtube as well, as they’re not too long nor hard to find. the mobile game and usum are tied to/inspired by game canon more directly, but the manga and anime are their own separate interpretations, and not generally considered part of the main “game” canon.

tldr: these two are really great! consider them if you've got the time!

[geminibsworld]

flower

summary: fb!tom tries not to fall for his fwb

warning: NO MINORS, 18+ sexual content, pinv(girl is on bc), cussing, tension, maybe mentions or use of drinking and smoking, angst, fluff, mostly sexual lollll, romance obvi, mental health/meds, slow burn, slight violence, slight tw, daddy!kink (sorry lol)

part 2 is called princess peach (there will be many parts) check my masterlist

the rain smacked against the windows. she sighed, staring ahead whilst listening to suic*de boys. the windshield wipers squeaking loudly, she sighed again. her lilac hair sat on her back, her aqua eyes bright as she stared ahead waiting for the light to turn green so she can start her day. she blew air from her mouth to change the song to superman by Eminem.

the light changed green, she pressed on the peddle and the car moved forward. she thought about how her boyfriend didn't make her feel the way the song made her feel. she wanted to feel the way this song made her feel. she wanted to feel wrecked, withering, ANYTHING. instead her boyfriend was plain vanilla, didn't care if she finished or not. it was quite boring to her. her long manicured nails tapped against the wheel while she was waiting to pull into school. the butterflies and stars tattooed on her hands stared at her.

she pulled into the sad parking lot and parked her car in the back, away from everyone. she didn't have friends, she had a friend and a boyfriend. people didn't like her often enough, everyone says she's a bitch. sure, she could be friendly but people have ruined her spirit for years. her family, old friends, old lovers, these people have ruined things in her life that's made her hate her existence. her white vans below her as she waltzed into the high-school, everyday everyone stares at her. they call her a whore, a slut, cock eater, etc whatever anyone could think of it's been towards her. she was taken out of thought, when someone tall bumped into her and her airpod fell to the ground. the music stopped and she looked up, a tall man with the bluest of blue eyes she's seen and brown wavy hair. she didn't realize she was gawking at him till she heard a laugh.

"I said, I'm sorry. are you alright?" he asked her, eyes peering into her.

she grabbed the pod and mumbled a quick, "yes, thanks."

"how come I've never seen you before?" he asked smirking down at her. she rolled her eyes, of course, she thought.

"I don't know, and I don't care, now excuse I'm going to be late and you've done enough already." she sighed, his brows furrowed his lips parted, his eyes watching her.

she went to walk away, but tom grabbed her wrist and said, "ya know, you have a fat ass right?" he was smirking at her, his plump pink lips parting slightly.

"fuck you, and next time you say something to me I'll fuck you up. don't think I'm scared of no man." she sneered at him, he raised his brows.

the bell went off signaling first period was starting. she cursed under her breath walking away from him. he stared at her imagining what it would be like to be closer with her. he watched her hips sway as she walked, her long lilac blonde hair went down to her ass, he imagined what it would be like to touch her hair. wrapping it around his hand, pulling her head back while plunging into her from the back, her fat ass bouncing against him.

*

it was lunch, skye sat with her boyfriend and her best friend. she stared ahead as that boy stared back at her from the other table. the chatter going on around her, her boyfriend and best friend going on about the new hunger games movie. his blue eyes pouring into yours, she felt a feeling she'd never felt before. it was in the bottom of her stomach, warm with butterflies.

"skye? you good?" you snapped out of it. she looked up to see her boyfriend, Jessie, staring back at her, his dark brown eyebrows furrowed, brown eyes staring at you.

"yeah, why?" she sighed, blinking. she looked and saw, that boy was gone. she didn't know who he was or why he was staring at her but she wanted no part.

"girl, you're all spacey and shit." Elizabeth, laughed. she flicked her black hair over her shoulder, her tan hand tapped skyes.

"I'm just chilling, why are yall worried? I'm good, just shit on my mind. not important, don't worry." skye grumbled, crossing her arms and leaning back.

"are things bad again? are you off your meds again skye??" Jessie spoke, concern and annoyance lacing his tone.

here we go again. skye sighed, loudly and laid her head down on the cold table. she closes her eyes, and breathes.

"please drop it. I'm fine." skye said in annoyed tone.

suddenly, skye sat up. grabbed her tray of food she barely touched, and walked away. she dumped the tray, and grabbed her airpods. sublime playing as she walked to her next class.

she walked down the hallway and turned a corner, once again bumping into a tall man. both pods fell out, and she looked up at him. he towered over her, she was short already but this made her feel even smaller.

he smirked down at her, noticing her taking all of him in.

"we've got to stop meeting like this, flower." his voice, smooth like honey.

skye scrambled to grab her things whilst ignoring him. she stood up, and began to walk away as he grabbed her uncovered wrist. his large hand warm and calloused. she slightly gasped but cleared her throat to cover it up. she yanked her hand away, and glared at him.

"I don't wanna 'meet you' at all, whoever you are, which by the way, I don't give a fuck. so get out of my way or I'll fuck you up." she began to back up and move around him, going to the left side picking up her pace.

"hey, woah woah wait up!" she heard behind her,' go the fuck away' she grumbled to herself.

he came up and pulled her hair from behind, the feeling it gave her was out of this world. it hurt mostly definitely, but felt so good at the same time. right amount of pressure. his large hand wrapped in her hair, her aqua colored eyes and pink cheeks staring back at him, her pink plump lips a gape.

"huh, interesting." tom let out a laugh, and let go. she cleared her throat, embarrassed.

"d-dont fucking touch me again or I'll cut off your fingers." she cursed to herself noticing the stutter. she had this feeling in the pit of her stomach. she was aching, she'd only know this feeling when she started having sex. that aching, burning, wanting, feeling. she never gets that with Jessie. never, ever.

"you didn't seem to mind all that much, flower." he smirked down at her, he admired how small she was. she was thick where it counted that's forsure, he thought to himself.

skye ignored the feelings she was having and rolled her eyes at him.

"don't fucking call me flower," she seethed, angry he made her feel that way. her boyfriend should make her feel that way, but he doesn't but that doesn't mean she's going to do whatever she wants.

"well, flower," he smirked, "I'm tom blyth, and I think you are so fucking attractive."

she stared blankly at him, then walked away. he followed her, closely. why is he following me? skye was getting annoyed because she made it clear she wasn't interested and dude doesn't get it.

suddenly tom was taken out of a trance, her ass stopped jiggling, and he was looking into skyes eyes. she was upset, aw how cute he thought. they were outside the classroom, the problem was the door was locked. she couldn't escape him, she's going to have to make him go away on her own.

"what the fuck do you want? I've made it literally crystal clear I don't want to know you and I'm definitely not fucking interested in you. I have a boyfriend, and I don't like you." she was clearly pissed off, but tom was too busy scanning all over her.

"unbelievable." she scoffed, "of course you're not listening."

tom laughed, his smile bright, his plump lips etched into a grin.

"of course I'm listening. I heard every word you said, I don't care if you have a boyfriend, flower."

she wanted to hit him, punch him, scratch him, push him, etc. skye has anger issues, no one knows where they came from. she goes into a rage so easily, and she releases it physically. getting off was her favorite way, but unfortunately she's never done it to herself and her boyfriend only helps slightly. skye has pent up rage, she bottles herself up and explodes rather than talk about how she's feeling.

"i hope you get hit by a car when you walk out the school," skye said, anger lacing her voice. she was basically spitting at him.

he leaned forward, his warm breath on her ear, she shivered ever so slightly so he couldn't see, but he still noticed. he smirked before saying, "you can hit me with your car, it would be an honor."

she cleared her throat, seeing the teacher finally headed their way. she stepped back, glaring at tom. he chuckled, putting his hands in his Grey Hoodie pocket.

"Hi, Mr. Garfield. how are you this fine day?" tom asked, smiling kindly at the older man.

"m'okay, how about yourself, Mr. blyth? you're not bothering skye right?" Garfield let out a dry laugh, unlocking the door. skye rushed in finding a seat in the back, away from everyone.

other students began filling the room, tom and Garfield still talking till the bell rang. his tall frame exited their classroom before taking one more glance at skye. her name was skye, I'm still going to call her flower, he thought to himself smirking.

*

she threw back the shot of tequila, wincing at the stinging. she's at a party with her friend, Elizabeth, she forced her to come to this. skye doesn't mind as long as she can get fucked up in peace.

she threw back a couple more shots, feeling good enough, she made her way to the floor holding Elizabeth's hand. once she pulled her to the middle, they were dancing to some indie song. she Levi shorts riding up higher as she swayed her hips,her hair flipping everywhere. she was laughing and staring up at the ceiling, the floor vibrated and she was alone in the world again. her flannel fell off her shoulder, she whipped her hair around as she danced.

Elizabeth ran off with some guy leaving skye alone. she walked upstairs, to find a bathroom. she climbed the stairs, looking over the railing she saw tom. he was laughing with a bunch of people she'd never seen before. he must be a grade older, she thought.

tom felt eyes on him, he looked at her as skye looked away and scurried up the stairs. she looked hot tonight, very Tumblr looking. suits her hair, he thought.

"I'll be back, gonna find a bathroom," he told his friends, they nodded and continued on as he went up the stairs. he didn't see her anywhere, he passed people and knocked on every door. almost every door locked, when he found one unlocked, he turned the knob and opened it. he had found her, she was sitting on a bed staring out the window, at the night sky.

her flannel was gone, he looked as the wind caused goosebumps on her porcelain skin. he wanted to give her goosebumps, in every way. he wondered what the rest of her looked like, he imagined her porcelain tattooed skin in the sunlight, waking up next to her after making her cum all night. her swollen pink lips, letting out small breaths, her lilac hair eyewhere, spread out on the pillow in knots from his hands.

"leave me the fuck alone" her voice snapped him out of his trance. he almost laughed out loud, she doesn't know him.

"why? you gonna cut my fingers off, flower?" he sneered, his gaze pouring into her. she stared back at him, she had to feel this burning feeling too right?

she blew smoke from her vape out of her mouth.

"I'll cut something off, yeah" she grumbled turning away. he laughed out loud this time, she snapped towards him.

"not joking, asshole," she breathed, annoyed she wasn't alone and wasn't drunk anymore.

"I'd let you do anything you'd want to if it meant you'd touch me," he smirked, "I've heard rumors about you. you're a good fuck and suck, I've heard."

she stood up and put back on her flannel, suddenly feeling embarrassed and needed to cover herself. she crossed her arms, and marched up to him. suddenly, her hand flew to his face, punching him in the eye. she gasped, as he immediately groaned and almost fell.

"oh my God, I-I am s-so sorry," she breathed crouching down in front of him. he sighed holding his right eye mumbling under his breath.

skye immediately felt bad, she hadn't been physical with anyone in a very long time. she goes to therapy for her anger. she never wanted to hurt anyone, ever. she blacks out, and it's not pretty.

"I am so sorry tom," skye sighed, placing her hand on his. he glared at her, before sighing and standing up.

"you know my name?" he asked, looking curiously at her. he pulled his hand away, there was a small bruise by his right eye. his wavy brown hair a mess, slight shadow around his mouth making his lips look even more pinker. she could smell him, he smelt intoxicating. suddenly, she realized she was just breathing in his scent not saying anything.

"u-uh, yeah. I heard at garfields," skye finally breathed out, feeling that feeling again. she wanted nothing more than to have him take her right there, but she couldn't.

he noticed the way she was blushing staring at him. all he could think about was how she smelled like cherries, and vanilla. he wanted to inhale her, in everyway.

"nice to meet you, skye," he smirked, she nodded at him.

"what happened to flower?" she slightly smirked at him, he moved closer to her wanting to touch her ever so slightly. the tension in the room was thick, they both felt it. he leaned down to her ear and said, "which one do you want, princess?"

cold chills spread across her whole body, her lower body started pulsating. she was so turned on for no reason. she wanted him forsure, and he definitely wanted her. but she could never, maybe in a different scenario. but God damn, she was turned on more than ever. her breathing was unsteady, as she took in his smell and how he said princess. she wanted him to take her right then and there, as hard as he could, she had heard rumors that he had a big cock. she got wet at the idea of it, she shook her head.

she stepped back, 2 steps. leaving a safe amount of space since she doesn't trust herself at the moment, she itched her head with her nails before walking towards the door. she looked back at him out of breath, he was watching her. taking all of her in.

"I'll be thinking about those pretty little hands on my cock later," he said, nonchalantly smirking at her reaction.

her eyes widened, before she could respond her cheeks went red. she was soaked, she couldn't help it. she hadn't had sex in weeks, and her boyfriend doesn't satisfy her. he's slow and soft and gentle, not her style at all. she gulped turning towards the door, opening it and running out.

*

Monday morning. she left the gym in a rush, her legs aching. today was leg day, her shorts rode up her thighs exposing some small tattoos she did herself. she pulled her large hoodie over her, and quickly decided to switch to leggings hefore heading inside the school. she couldn't help how she felt about tom, he is possibly the prettiest man she's ever seen. she touched herself to him all weekend, she quite literally couldn't help it, probably.

tom jerked off every night thinking about her. his large calloused hands, rubbing his cock thinking about the image of her. her body spread out on his bed, imagining what her pale body looked like. he knew her ass was fat, that was obvious. she seemed to have a small chest, and a very tight waist. from what he could tell, she was extremely fit and took care of herself. he liked that. he thought about her face, her plump fat pink lips, letting out small whimpers as he touched her. 'daddy,' she would cry out, he cums at the thought very fast.

he sat in the back of class thinking about her. his cock getting hard, bulging in his sweatpants. "fuck," he mumbled, adjusting himself. he pulled out his phone, scrolling aimlessly to distract himself. he found her on Instagram, he decided to stalk her, just slight stalking the normal.

"insane", he smiled to himself.

"fuck cancer"

"ur mom"

he sighed, she's so gorgeous. her lips would look so pretty around his cock he thought. he turned off his phone before, getting up and leaving the classroom. the bell rang not even a second later, he needed to talk to her .

she sighed, seeing as tom was coming to her and she couldn't do that right now. she's had the worst anxiety all day, she just wants to be alone. he smirked at her, she gulped pink spreading across her face.

they made their way to each other, she kept her face low, hiding with her hood up. he stared at her, she seemed off.

"flower, you seem down today. what's wrong?" his brows furrowed, concern spread across his face. his blue eyes searched hers, for some type of response.

"this is the first time we've talked all day. do you think I'm stupid? please don't act like you give any of a shit, we know you wanna get into my pants," she stated, staring at him with no emotion. he scoffed, why is she always like this?

"I'm trying to check on you, you don't have to be a bitch 24/7" he snapped, skye rolled her eyes walking away. he followed her of course.

"yeah I do, people leave me alone that way," she mumbled, before turning walking out the doors.

he still followed her, he wanted to make sure she was okay.

"I don't want to leave you alone," tom breathed, she leaned against her car, his right arm above her and he looking down at her. she breathed in, his intoxicating smell taking over once again.

he noticed her eyes closing ever so slightly.

"you okay flower?" he asked, his warm breath fanned over her face. she sniffed, before nodding.

"yes, now please move. I want to leave," he obliged. she got in her car, smiling tightly at him before driving off.

*

she was drunk again, worse than last time a real fucking mess. she was wearing a short black dress that barely covered anything, and ripped tights. the room was spinning and she kept drinking. she was dancing her heart out, when she bumped into someone. she recognized that scent anywhere. it was tom, she turned around.

his fluffy hair in messy waves, the hair had grown in more on his face making him look older. she searched him everywhere, he wore a button up with 4 buttons undone, black jeans,and black converse. his sleeves rolled up at his elbows, she looked at his arms and hands, so veiny and large.

"hey flower," he smirked down at her. she gulped she couldn't do this, not now. she couldn't control herself.

"H-hi," she breathed out finally, he laughed. the room colorful with the speakers shaking the house. she enjoyed seeing the colors, most of all she enjoyed seeing him.

suddenly before the conversation ended, she felt a hand on her back. Jessie, of course.

"Hi baby," you felt lips on your cheek, you watched tom. he didn't react.

"who's this?" Jessie asked, his breath smacking your ear.

"tom, meet Jessie, Jessie meet tom," you gestured to each other, Jessie stuck out his hand but tom ignored him. his eyes stayed on skye for a moment before he smirked and shook his hand.

"nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you," tom smirked, teasingly. Jessie didn't even notice, he really thought that could be true.

Jessie beamed, wrapping a protective arm around her waist, she didn't move. tom noticed, he laughed before saying, "does anyone want a drink?"

"oh I would love a drink," skye slurred slightly, tom laughed and decided she'll be fine with no more. he wanted her safe.

"okay anyone but skye," tom smirked again, Jessie laughed.

"man just get her something to drink, shes more relaxed for later," Jessie, smirked, winking at Tom laughing slightly. Tom's chest tighted.

"huh??" he asked, Jessie let go of skye so tom could hear him. Jessie stepped forward Tom's frame much bigger than his, Tom's nostrils flared at this thought.

"she's more relaxed when we have sex, usually when she's drunk I don't even need to ask. I just do," Jessie smirked, laughing. tom didn't think that was funny at all, his flared nostrils and his blue eyes now angry. he stared at Jessie, he wanted to hurt him.

*

she picked at her ripped jeans in class, anxiously tapping her leg on the ground, her nails scatching her skin slightly, leaving marks. she woke up to Jessie trying to touch her while she was passed out drunk, she screamed and kicked the shit out of him and dumped him on the spot. she was definitely sad but anxious and done.

tom found out about the break up, tom decided to beat the shit out of Jessie after school today. tom decided to ask Jessie to come look at his car, said something was wrong with it before shoving Jessie into the car and kicking his stomach several times finally spitting on him and calling him scum.

he caught skye on the way out, she looked like a mess but she's still beautiful of course.

"hey flower," he smirked uo at her, she nodded.

"Hi tom," she said, blankly. he stared at her, he just wanted to Hug her and make her okay.

"would you like to come over today and watch movies?" tom asked, hopeful it sounded innocent enough. he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I guess, let me go home and change," she said with a tight lipped smile, he smiled to himself.

"cool, here's my phone for your number so I can text you the address or I can come get you?" he said the last part like he was asking her, she took his phone and put in a number.

"I'll drive, don't worry about it," she breathed, leaning her head back against the car seat. tom smiled and nodded.

*

she pulled up to an apartment, I guess his family and him live in an apartment she thought to herself. she drove to the building number before turning off her engine. the snow crunched beneath her feet when she walked to his building. his door was on the first floor, she sighed and knocked on the door.

the door swung open, stood there was tom, in a red hat and underwear. tight black underwear. it's cold outside, why is he still huge?

she didn't realize she was staring at him till his hand waved in front of her face. she looked up at his, standing there he leaned against the door on the left side, arms crossed, smirking and admiring her for totally checking him out,

"flower," he smirked, the hair around his mouth barely peaking through, his wavy hair peaked out from underneath the hat.

"tom," her heart pounded, she wanted to be pounded by him, so bad.

"come on in, flower," his voice smooth, she nodded going inside his warm home. the first thing she noticed was that smell, and that feeling was happening all over again. she felt dizzy, but in the best way.

"can I take your coat?" he asked her, eyes burning into her. he had pants on now, but still shirtless. his body was truly so beautiful, his waist was snatched and his chest and arms were so large. she shuddered her thoughts away.

she nodded, giving him her coat and leaning down to take off her shoes. she watched him from behind, his back flexed barely moving to put her coat up on a coat hanger.

"what are we watching?" she asked, looking around his home. it a studio apartment, a red brick wall on the right side, his TV sat in front of it. plants spread out throughout his place, his curtains a white see through, his couch was a dark brown sectional. he had paintings spread out on the other wall, they were all nature scenes.

his large bed sat in the corner, very messy not made in the slightest. two pillows sat on one side with a black sheet only. the sun shined down through the windows on the bed, skye blinked before thoughts could invade her mind.

"uh, I figured we could watch a horror movie," his voice echoed, as he came walking out of the small kitchen area. he stared at her as she looked around, she felt her eyes on him.

"sure,"

*

the tension was so thick in the room, skye felt like she was hyperventilating. they sat close, their thighs touching, arms at their sides.

"so-uh, where is your family?" skye asked, startling tom. he was in deep thought, thinking about what it would be like to tease her and please her. he looked up at her, their eyes met.

"well, I'm of age so I don't need them," he laughed, his eyes bright staring into her.

skye nodded, she stared at the screen again.

"so I have a proposition for you," she looked at him, him smirking at her once again.

"obviously you notice the tension here, why don't we ya know do something about it? if we like it we can do it again?" skye stared at him, mouth slightly agape. he laughed, a very melodic sound.

"are you joking?" skye voice, laced with annoyance. he still smirking at her, he turned his body towards her. she gulped, ever so slightly and turned towards him.

"never," chills erupted on her skin, she shook her head. I mean it wouldn't be terrible, and it would be a one time thing if so, I can't imagine I'd enjoy it that much. he is right, she's touched herself to the thought of him almost everytime she has time, she's soaked now just sitting next to him.

his eyes bored into her, his hand slowly coming up to her face. his large hands calloused, and warm, grabs her face on both sides. she gasped, that familiar feeling bubbling up. her cheeks began to pink, he knew what she was feeling because he felt it too. he leaned forward and kissed her. just once, just a taste.

his lips, soft and plump pressed against hers. she pulled away, as far as possible. she sighed and shook her head. looking away from his gaze, she could feel him staring at her.

his eyes watched her, she won't look at him. that feeling, he wanted more. he was hungry for her. she was too, and they both knew it.

edit: part 2 is princess peach and part 3 is blue Jean baby

[hypocriticaltypwriter]

"𝐂𝐫𝐲… 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫… 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫."

(The Lost Girls AU)

"Shit..." Stephanie slams her bedroom door shut, looking towards her friends at the same time, her brown eyes locking with Jessie's hazel ones. "Shit..." She utters out again, louder this time, bringing her trembling hands up to look at the deep, crimson stained on them, along with her clothes, the glittery hue dancing against the dim light reminding her that it wasn't human blood spilt across her body along with her friends.

"Was... Is that it?" Jessie asks, her voice cracking a little due to screaming in horror just minutes earlier. "What did we do? Dear God, what have we done?" The panic begins to rise as the adrenaline begins to slow, running her hands through her ginger hair, gripping at her scalp as her already pale complexion almost drains completely, making her look dead.

"We haven't done wrong... We... We didn't do anything wrong!" Meg says, though the shouting doesn't help in reassuring, her pacing stops turning to look at Jessie, pointing a bloodied finger at her, hints of her aqua nail polish along her nail still visible.

"We killed someone, Meghan!" Jessie screams back, storming toward her and pushing her finger into her friends chest. "We killed a living person!"

"We killed a vampire!" Meg corrected, dark eyes narrowing a bit as she mimics to accusatory poke at her friends chest, harsh enough thus time to make Jessie stumble back from her close space. "If we didn't do it, it probably would've killed five actual living people in the span of a night!"

"There's more of them... What if they find us?! They'll spill our guts all over your aunts shag carpet!" Jessie looked to Setphanie, who still had her glazed over gaze slowly dart between her two friends, an unreadable look of dread on her face.

"I don't want to die... I-I don't want to die!" Jess is practically screaming at this point, exhaling loudly as her lip trembles, and she backs herself into the wall, clawing at the sensation of drying blood on her hands, stuck in between her rings.

"We aren't gonna die, Jesus Christ!" Meg snaps, biting down on her lower lip as she grabs at the tangled curls in her afro, taking a deep inhale, a slight tremor in it. "We can leave... We can leave this town in under an hour in my van -"

"We can't leave now. It's night! You're putting a damn target on the back of our necks!" Jessie states, which only makes Meghan throw her hands up and growl.

"Well then what am I supposed to fucking do!?"

"Will you two shut up?!" Stephanie exclaims, finally vocal after minutes if silence while watching the two argue. She took a step forward to either defuse or push herself into the screaming fit.

The sound of harsh wind and clattering of her guestroom window sliding open instantly turned the three girls heads to the sound- trying to see through the flying curtains along with their hair blocking the view of the figure now standing in her room.

"Were dead!" Jessie nearly cries, letting out a quick scream as she cowards back into the wall, gripping at the closet hinge as if it'd protect her of sorts. Meg had resorted to standing in front of her ginger haired friend. Even if she looked just as terrified, she stayed in a protective stance, ready to sheild and defend.

But Stephanie didn't move. Stephanie didn't retreat in fear. As her black hair calmed back onto her shoulders, her mouth sightly fell open. The churning dread and fear building in her stomach left in one word as she gazed at the figure standing at her open window.

"Chris..."

The blonde vampire gazed at her, a look of alarm, and something akin to pain danced behind his dark green eyes, but his face was unreadable, like it was unable to shift or change into what he was feeling in that moment.

His eyes scanned her appearance. Specifically, the blood poured on her hands and stained into her tanktop and leather jacket, sticking to her figure in discomfort. His eyes fall, and his grip on the window seal slumped back to his side.

"It was you... Wasn't it." He spoke, but it almost wasn't a question. It was though he was speaking fact. He didn't have anger or betrayal in his voice. It almost sounded as though he was in pity, heartbreak.

"I didn't mean to do it, Chris. I'm sorry..." She takes a step toward him, her eyes going glassy as all the emotions and realizations began to fall on her shoulders, making it feel impossible to make it across the room to her weekend lover without the guilt crushing her. "I'm so sorry, Chris."

"You did it." He accused softly, but he didn't move as she got closer. "I didn't know, Chris, I didn't know." Stephanie states, her voice cracking and falling to a whisper as her hands shakily come up to his chest, nervously fumbling with the necklaces around his neck, her eyes never leaving his. "I'm so sorry I..."

"You killed my sister..." He spoke again, the look and impact slowly shifting onto his face as she brought her soft hands to the sides of his face, shaking so uncontrollably he gripped her wrists with his own, the strong scent of blood filling his nostrils making his lungs burn.

"It wasn't supposed to happen. I'm sorry." She utters, the look on his face breaks her heart, unable to fight the singular tear that falls from her eye down her cheek, mixing with the glittery substance splattered along her jaw.

"You killed Tiff." Chris's voice falters, letting go of Stephanie's hands as he turns his head in a way to get her to remove her hands from his face, which she hesitates to do, but does, still holding them in the air in front of her, lingering against his cold touch.

"Forgive me. Please, Chris, I'm sorry. I promise, you gotta believe me... It wasn't supposed to happen." She pleads - no, begs.

She would get on her knees in front of this boy, kiss his feet and cling to his legs while crying for pity if it meant for her to hear him laugh again, or spend one more night on his motorcycle, or feeling the passion of his lips on hers. Feel a warmth she never got from his body, but from his heart.

Which she had learned stopped beating a long time ago.

"You need to help me and my friends, if we're killed -" Stephanie chokes, glancing back at her friends, seeing the fear and awkward casts to the ground.

"You're sisters will kill us, Christopher... You need to help us."

"I can't." Chris says finally, he seems almost helpless. He wants to help this girl, this girl he's only known for a week, but he feels stole his heart the second she traveled into this town. But he can't. He knows he can't. Because he can't stop them. He can't stop vengeance. He can't stop the revenge.

The lights in the room flickered - sparking for a second of life before the house fully goes black. The radio faint in the background slowly and clicks off. The air goes still, and the wind outside goes quiet and calm, ceasing the small flow in the curtains.

It went quiet. So quiet Stephanie could hear her heartbeat, starting to feel the sudden quickening in its pace as it dawned on her what was happening.

"Besides..." Chris voice goes silent, right in Stephanie's ear, as though he himself is afraid to speak, afraid to reveal where exactly in this room they were, like even blinking would give away where the four teens had huddled.

"It isn't my sister's you should be afraid of."

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Be My Own

Fandom: Grishaverse: Six of Crows Summary: Inej has had her freedom in the form of her invisible wings and her ship for quite a while. All it takes is one hand in the wrong place from the wrong person for her to feel it all being taken from her. Warnings: Past sexual slavery, past kidnapping, PTSD, flashbacks, self harm, and dissociation Word Count: 4,814 Ship(s): Inej Ghafa/Nina Zenik/Kaz Brekker/Matthias Helvar/Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck

Archive link!

A/N: I know that this is pretty similar to the one that I wrote for Kaz but I tried to have Inej dissociate more than have flashbacks necessarily. I also tried to be as respectful to Inej's trauma as I could be while also drawing from my own experience with sexual abuse, so hopefully this comes off okay. This one is pretty heavy, so be warned before you go in. Heed the warnings! Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

The sea breeze always whipped the edges of her hair back in a mad frenzy. It reminded her of what it was like to walk the highest of high wires, the ones that she had strung up between the silos all those years ago. She found it a little endearing that her hair was the only part of her body that she wasn’t able to command like a Grisha. No matter how many times she smoothed it back into increasingly elaborate braids and cages, the smaller strands around her face escaped so that they could grasp her ears and cheeks.

The smell reminded her of both of the homes that she had known before she had come in possession of the Wraith. Back in Ravka, her family had moved along the coast very often when they were going between cities. The beach had been one of her aunt’s favorite places, so the uncle that was married to her would try his best to persuade the family to stay and practice there for as long as they could. The sea there had smelled crisp and fresh in a way that she had only experienced when she was out sailing on it. Back in the other home that she had known, in Ketterdam, it smelled almost black and foul with the heaviness of the trade that happened there. The crisp bite of the saltwater was tainted by boats and the fish that they carried from deep within the sea.

That was the scent that they were approaching now, but they were still far enough away that she was drowning in memories of being a child. She could let her heart sing back to the place that had taught her everything she needed to know for scaling the crows’ nest to spot land before they hit it and watching for other ships, while staring dead ahead at the place that had taught her how to take down slavers without so much as giving them a second thought.

She walked from the prow of the boat over to the side, where she folded her arms and leaned heavily on the railing. She watched as the dark blue water turned aqua and then white, lapping at the paint that spelled out the name of her boat. They would have to repaint it soon, just so that every slaver and druskelle ship that they encountered knew who was taking them down.

Inej was jerked from her thoughts when another body joined her. She turned and smiled when she heard the familiar voice say, “Captain.”

“First mate,” she greeted with a gentle head tilt in reply. Jessie was a young boy but he was the best sailor in the entire crew. Allegedly, his mother had chosen to give him up and abandoned him at one of the sea master's houses with a note pinned to the front of his baby blanket. Even he himself didn’t know if that was actually the truth or if that was just the romantic nonsense that was left over after years of it being passed around. He was taller than Inej by a head and covered with the same wiry muscles that her brother and cousins had been. He was also the only sailor on her ship that got to sing the Song of the Drowning, which was an old Kerch song said to bring misfortune to those that hadn’t survived a sunken ship if they were to sing even a note from it, inland or not.

“Are you excited to be back in Kerch?” Jessie asked, kicking at the desk with the toe of his boot. He reminded Inej of Jesper in that way, he always had to be moving. She assumed that it was because he had grown up on boats and the constant motion had been a necessity, but it might have also just been a Fabrikator trait.

“Of course I am,” she beamed. They were heading back a little ahead of schedule because they had come across a stream of slaver ships and their decks were full of the people that they had helped rescue. Most of them were Kerch Grisha who wanted to return to their homes despite the risk that came with that. Inej respected the freedom of choice from every single person that she and her crew rescued, even if she knew that she was bringing them back to certain death. They had left a double handful in Ravka which meant they were a little less crowded for space, but there was no way that they could complete their mission and possibly load more people onto their boat. “Are you?” Inej asked, watching his posture.

“Yeah,” he gave a decisive nod. “I feel like I haven’t seen Katie in forever. I’m going to ask her to marry me one of these days, when I have enough money to buy her a proper Kerch ring. I wanted to make something but I just don’t think that I’m good enough.”

She sized him up for a second, trying to figure out what would soothe him best. She knew that Katie was the girl that was always waiting back for him in the harbor, the one that Kaz knew was the best at growing and making poisons in the entirety of the Barrel and maybe even Kerch. That was how she had found out about Jessie in the first place, and it was just luck that he hadn’t picked a crew after his last one had been swallowed by the waves when she wanted to recruit him. “When I proposed to my girl,” she started, watching him again to see what his reaction was. The rest of the crew was aware that she had a partner of some sort, someone she always returned to when they went inland, but none of them had ever bothered to pry to find out who it was.

“You have a girl, Captain?” he asked, raising one of those mischievous teenage brows at her.

“Is that surprising to you?” Inej couldn’t help the smile that was spreading across her face. She desperately wanted to be able to find her brother, but Jessie reminded her enough of him that it soothed the ache during the long voyages while they were saving other people.

Jessie stood back and looked her over like he was trying to solve a particularly interesting puzzle. “Nah, I don’t think so. You look like the type to have a girl, I just never thought of it before.”

“Where did you think I was always rushing off to when we docked?” she laughed.

“I guess I just assumed that you had a large collection of pet snakes that you didn’t want to leave on their own for too long,” he shrugged.

She snorted and then knocked their shoulders together. He grinned back at her and leaned against the railing of the boat like she was. They were quiet for a bit before Inej said, “When you propose, don’t worry too much about the ring. Do it some place that you both find romantic and speak to her from your heart. If she really does love you then it won’t matter what kind of jewelry she gets to wear around her neck while she’s working.”

While she spoke, she brought her hand up to the earrings that decorated her left ear. It was a tradition of her people, since they worked with their hands, to pierce the ears when they took partners. Inej had one for each spouse, which she had gotten after she had proposed to them or they had proposed to her. Legally she was only married to Kaz, but spiritually she knew that her Saints had acknowledged her relationship with all five of them. She hadn’t proposed with any jewelry because there were different customs for each of them, even Kaz and Wylan had grown up in completely different circles. Instead they had gone out and picked what they had thought fit them best.

Matthias had given her something that was made out of steal, hard but still shiny and beautiful. Kaz had given her something that looked like a talon and was made out of silver, refusing to buy gold. Jesper had given her something that he had made himself, shiny and a little lopsided and made from stone. Wylan had given her something that was made from a chemical compound and hung off of her ear like a water droplet that would never fall. Nina had given her something close to a ring that she wore at the very bottom of her ear. She cherished every single one of them and only took them out when she needed to disguise herself or clean the jewelry.

She let out a little sigh when one of the other members of her crew called Jessie away so that he could help with something. They were nearing the harbor faster than they had been before as the wind picked up with an oncoming storm, which meant that it was going to be all hands on deck sooner than she had anticipated. She let her thoughts whisk her away as she fell into the steps that she had so many times before, working with her crew the same way that she always did when they were pulling into dock.

The refugees were shuttled over to whatever embassy they needed, escorted by lower ranking members of her crew, and Inej was free to leave them. Jessie and Katie had already found each other again because she always had the almost uncanny ability to tell when he was coming back home, even when they were off schedule.

Inej was excited to be back in the arms of her own lovers, so left many of the things that she would want back in her cabin to collect later so she could get back home sooner. She stuck to the shadows and checked out every single building that she walked by like she always did when she was back in Ketterdam. When she was on her ship, it became the Wraith, the known danger and threat that hurt people who abused their power, but when she stepped off of it she took that spirit back into her.

She was apparently distracted enough with the conversation that she had with her first mate and thoughts of her spouses to not notice that another body was barrelling towards her. She only became aware of it when a hand wrapped around her waist and a broad chest that she didn’t recognize was pressed all the way up her torso to the point where it echoed over her head.

The hairs on her arms stood up while every muscle in her body shifted into a rigid, totally inflexible state. She was frozen in place like her feet were unable to move, to help her get away from the feeling that was spreading out from the deepest point of her gut. She was trapped in place, in her body, even though she had long since learned how to be free. Her jaw set and her eyes stared down at the ground. It felt like a million little bugs had come awake just underneath her skin and then had begun skittering and moving around so that nothing felt like it was under her control anymore.

Inej felt her soul seize up in her body until she felt it recede back into the dark place in her mind that she had utilized when she was working back in the Menagerie. It had been years and years since that had happened, but that space was always lurking in the background to bring her back into its comforting arms.

She stayed back in that place in her mind even after the body hurriedly moved off of her. It was like she was watching the entire world move around in through a screen, unable to reach out or scream or get the help she needed. She jerked slightly when the body moved off of her and her hand instinctively reached down so that she was gripping the handle of one of her knives.

“I’m so sorry, I thought that you were my wife, the two of you are about the same height,” the man that had reached around her explained. He looked like he was being genuine, but the part of Inej’s brain that was swamped with panic and hurt and pain was struggling to believe him. She only just barely registered that he was speaking in Suli and his ear was pierced with the same kind of earrings that she wore for her own partners.

Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth and her heart even heavier in her chest. She gave him a once-over and then turned back around. She didn’t know what she would do if she kept looking at him or if their conversation ended up dragging out. If he had actually mistaken her for someone that had given consent for that to happen, which she deeply wanted to believe because that meant that there was still good in the world, then it would be wrong of her to hurt him.

Her body was moving completely on its own without any input from her. She remembered back to when she was working at the Menagerie, when she had been nothing but another pretty or expensive ornament on the wall. She had played the part and tucked herself away in the little black void that she was sitting in now. Something else had been driving her body so that she could work and stay alive without the pain of the whips and fans that Heleen used to beat her girls when they misbehaved. She had believed back then that it was her Saints, helping her out of her mind and her body so that she didn’t have to face the trauma that she endured, driving her limbs for her.

She didn’t know if it was the Saints now, the ones that were guiding her nimbly through the streets of Ketterdam, but she felt just like she had back then.

Inej barely even registered it when she unlocked front gate of the Van Eck mansion and then walked through the front door. Wylan and Jesper were in the front office, talking to one of the other members of the Merchant Council. Nina and Matthias were likely out on a date since it was the day after the full moon, which was always when they went out. Kaz would be in one of the properties that he owned while dealing with some business himself.

She was glad for it, this once, because she wasn’t sure that she could actually face any of them at the moment. She loved them with her entire heart but she couldn’t bring herself out of her mind and the thought of being touched or ogled or perceived made her want to stop being.

Slowly, she trudged up the stairs to the floor where they stayed. She saw Marya out of the corner of her eye and half registered her name falling from the older woman’s lips but she couldn’t bring herself to turn. She felt like she was a walking zombie, the dead brought back to life by the bastardized power that rested in her wife’s chest.

She wanted to be back on her boat, on the freedom of the seas with the wind whipping her hair and her crew surrounding her. She wanted to be sheltered in the Slat on the window seat that Kaz had made especially for her. She wanted to be anywhere than where she was right now, replaying the moments that she had felt like this before.

She found herself standing in the hallway, motionless and stuck the same way that she had been when she had stopped feeling like herself. When she heard the door downstairs open, she rushed to the bathroom as quickly as her feet would take her. She wasn’t elegant and silent as she had been before, but awkward and uncoordinated and scared.

The door locked behind her and she began to strip herself out of her clothing as quickly as she could. She had always worn something that was form fitting, it worked better for the aerial stunts that she had done as a child and then again when she needed to be silent and hidden while working with the Dregs. Now she couldn’t stand the thought of the fabric clinging to her body the same way that the man had. 

She turned on the faucet to the bathtub and got in before it had even begun to fill the basin. It was as hot as it would go and when it touched her, it almost felt as though her skin was boiling off. She whimpered as the pain echoed through her legs and up to her already aching soul, but she stayed in it. She had to burn off the feeling of hands she didn’t know and didn’t want crawling over the skin and body that was meant to be hers.

Inej didn’t know how long she had sat in the bath, but at one point she had turned the faucet off so that it didn’t overflow. She must have been in it for hours because by the time that her thoughts snapped back to the present, the water around her was cold. Her skin was tender both from the reminiscent feeling that was creeping over her and the exposure to the increasingly hot temperature of the water.

The thing that snapped her from her thoughts as a knock at the door and then the voice of someone she cared for deeply. “Inej?”

She tried to open her mouth to say something but the only thing that came was a sob. She felt more out of control and panicked than she had before. It was like the last bit of control and safety that she had gained through the lock on the door and the heat of the water slipped through her agile fingers. Her mind barely even registered who was speaking to her, unable to put the deep baritone in its place, but she knew that it wasn’t going to help her now. She curled forward on herself after clasping one of her hands over the lower half of her face and began to cry. Her entire body shook with the force of every single sob that tore its way out of her throat and into the open air around her.

The next person that came and said something to the door was different, they felt safer for a reason that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Inej, beloved one, I want you to get up and open the door for me, please. I won’t come in or look if you don’t want me to but I have to make sure that you’re okay.”

Inej struggled out of the bath but didn’t bother to stop any of the tears racing down her face. She grabbed one of the towels from the linen closet beside the huge basin and then wrapped it around her frail body. She sniffled slightly as her hand fumbled on the lock, another wave of tears echoing out over her when she finally got it open and revealed herself to Nina.

“Sweetheart, what happened?” Nina asked, reaching out to place a hand on the other woman’s face. Inej stepped back as though she had been burned, terrified that the itching and crawling feeling she had just barely gotten to go away would come back and overwhelm her if someone touched her again.

Instead of getting upset like she had half been expecting the other to, Nina just put her hands up so that Inej could see them both. “Can I come into the bathroom?”

“No,” she answered, her voice hoarse from crying. One hand grasped onto the towel that was covering her nudity and the other was clutching the doorframe. “I want some clothes.”

Nina looked her over and then nodded, her face infuriatingly neutral about the whole situation. She carefully stepped back and then walked down the hall so that she could get the requested items. 

Where she was locked back in her own mind, Inej was furious. She was screaming at her body to move and speak and feel the way that she wanted it to. She hated Heleen and the men that had first grabbed her for making her feel like that in the first place. She resented her parents and the rest of her family for not protecting her like they had promised her that they always would. She resented every single kruge and being that stepped through the door of the Menagerie to take another part of her sanity, of her ability to love her spouses, of the very being that she was.

She didn’t move from the doorway the entire time that Nina was gone. She only jerked back when she saw the other return, her arm moving from the doorway to grab the clothing before she snapped the door shut. The towel fell away from her body and she refused to turn her head towards the mirror to see what she looked like. 

If it had been any other day, she would have seen the mornings spent giggling while writing silly messages with Jesper in the steamed glass, or the afternoons spent peacocking with Nina while they got ready for a date, or even the evening that she had made Kaz truly look at himself so that he could see that he wasn’t a monster. But it wasn’t any other day, it was that current day, and she knew that if she looked in the mirror and saw herself looking back then she would never be able to step back into her own body.

The massive white shirt that she had been given certainly didn’t belong to her. Based on the way that the cuffs were frayed over the buttons, she was guessing that it had belonged to Matthias. All of Kaz’s shirts were frayed but darned, Jesper’s were frayed all around the cuff from worrying them, and Wylan’s were neat because he rolled them up when he worked to avoid them getting dirty. Nina’s would have had lace, which Inej was actually grateful that she didn’t have to deal with.

It went over her head and then fell down over her naked body without a single issue, billowing around her like she was a ghost in a play. When she didn’t have to worry about her nakedness being on display, she slipped the pair of smalls on underneath it so she didn’t feel exposed.

Inej grasped the edge of the counter as she sunk down into a squatting position. She did the tricks that she and Kaz had worked on during his panic attacks to try and bring herself back. She didn’t want to feel like this, she didn’t want to give more credit to the people that had hurt her and tried to destroy her.

So instead she focused on the way that the woven material of the rug felt under her left foot compared to the cool of the tile on her right. She flexed the muscles of her hand and felt the sharp edge of the counter digging into her fingers. She could feel the way that her smalls were grinding against her guts because she hadn’t quite tied them right in her hurry to be covered. She could feel the way that the wetness of her hair clung to her forehead and the back of her neck. She could feel the way that the billowing cotton hanging from her shoulders creased and folded on the top of her legs.

Eventually, she felt the inky blackness that had wrapped around her slip away so that she was filling out her legs. Each of her fingers and toes were back under her control, her eyes and ears fully belonged to her. Her body was no longer under the control of her Saints, who were only trying to protect her, because she was enough herself that she could do the protecting.

Inej rose and then collected her clothing and the towels. She placed them into the laundry shoot after she had fished out all of her knives and her shoes. She walked back to the door with them still clutched in her hand and bowed her head shamefully when she saw that her wife was still standing out in the hallway. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she tried hard not to start crying again.

“You don’t have to apologize, Inej,” Nina shook her head. “I think you’re actually incapable of doing anything wrong. But I am worried about you. Did something happen on your trip?”

She shook her head. She stepped out of the bathroom and the two of them began to walk down the hall, towards the master bedroom. Inej knew that she was pushing it a little bit by going there so quickly after coming back to herself, but she wanted to prove that Heleen had no hold over her anymore. “My trip went fine. The problem came because I was distracted while walking to meet you all. Someone mistook me for their wife and he touched me like the guys used to back when I was working at the Menagerie. Suddenly all I could think about was how I felt back then and I guess my body went into fight or flight.”

They had arrived at the bedroom, so Inej carefully placed each of her knives where they went on her vanity and then tucked her favorite shoes back where they belonged with the others. Nina was sitting on the edge of their grand bed while squeezing the life out of her skirts, “Did I help?”

“You did,” Inej nodded. She swallowed down the anxiety that raised at the thought of being touched again, reminding herself that she was safe. “Would you braid my hair?”

The elation that lit up Nina’s face was worth any feelings of panic brewing just underneath her heart. Inej walked over to the bed with her comb and brush, which she handed over as they got into their position. It was something that they had done often when they first got together and only increased in frequency after they were married. It soothed Inej to have someone that she loved pulling at her hair, guiding the strands to be apart from others and then to be twisted in the way Nina saw fit.

After they finished, they both crawled underneath the covers of the bed and tucked against each other. Wylan and Jesper came in a while later, hanging back while they checked that it was okay. Inej gave them the same explanation that she had Nina, which made her giggly when she saw the anger that crossed Wylan’s usually soft features. She felt herself melting into happiness when she was wrapped up in their arms. 

Matthias joined a while later, Axel dozing by his feet despite their constant promises that the dog wouldn’t join them in bed. They had been trying to find Trassel, the wolf that Matthias had trained with back when he lived in Fjerda, but it was hopeless after that much time had passed. Matthias had mourned a little bit more and then gotten another puppy that he could train and love. Axel was a massive wolfhound, enough dog that he could pass in public but enough wolf that he had stolen Matthias’ heart immediately.

“Inej?” Kaz asked from the end of the bed almost twenty minutes after she had started dozing.

“Yes?” she hummed, rolling to look at him.

“Did I hurt you earlier? When I knocked on the door to the bathroom?” he asked. He sounded every bit like the scared teenager she had first demanded a lack of armor from. She hated it when he got like that, but she also knew that the worry would be soothed easily.

“You didn’t. I was scared and not myself. Will you come to bed?” she asked, patting the blankets next to her where Jesper was doing his best imitation of a murder victim in his sleep.

“Not today,” he shook his head. He removed his glove and reached across the space to her, allowing their bare fingers to linger against each other for a while before he tucked himself away. She knew what it was like to have a bad day, she was having one herself, so she didn’t push it that time. He had essentially told her that he loved her, and that was all she could ever really ask for.

Heleen and the slavers had taken so much from her, but they would never be able to take away her resiliency or her love.

[honestlydarkprincess]

get to know me!

tagged by @monsterrae1, @hippolotamus, @folk-fae, @spotsandsocks, @barbiediaz, @diazass, @cowboy-buddie to do this and i was tagged in like two versions but my brain is smooth so i'm combining them

nicknames: jess, princess, jester, beech (me n my older brother call each other beech), jessy (family only, mainly my parents n my abuela)

zodiac: gemini

height: 5'4

favourite music: i pay more attention to the song than the genre tbh, b u t i'll tell you that my favourite band is sleep token and i have sleep token brain rot >:)

sweet/savoury/spicy: savoury or spicy

relationship status: single

followers: 2.3k

following: 1.6k

do you get asks: sometimes! i do forget to answer quite a few im so sorry i think about you every day i'll never answer but i think about you

amount of sleep: since being prescribed sleep meds i'd say about 7-8 solid hours

what are you wearing: clothes ;) black leggings, black n white striped shirt, and mismatched socks

dream job: librarian

languages: english and i'm learning spanish

random fact: ummmmmmmm i hoard books :) i have probably 500 or so rn i think

aesthetic: i have no clue, someone who knows me pls describe it to me i'll kiss u on the mouth

last song: aqua regis by sleep token

last film: RWRB

currently reading: the last time i lied by riley sager

currently watching: criminal minds for the 9089080482048204 time

current obsession: stardew valley, writing for kinktober

last thing you googled: ancient seed code stardew (i be cheatin')

tagging: @loserdiaz, @bigfootsmom, @911onabc, @theyarnmaidstale, @stagefoureddiediaz, @chimneygoestotherapy, @chimneysrebarscar, @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy, and @holdmygum

[cassioppenny]

hits you with the milesverse beam. do u have anything on any of the evil team admins 👀 IF NOT i would like 2 hear more about the b2w2 kids.....................

hmmm for evil team admins im planning to have the gen 2 rocket admins show up during rgby. they won't be like major characters or even the main recurring rocket guys (jessie and james are already taking that role lol) but like they'll cameo a couple times. like the nugget bridge guy is the purple disguise guy

ariana is silver's mom and mars is his older sister... i want to give the magma and aqua admins more screen time idk what exactly i'll do with them though yet... the flare scientists would probably be doing evil science things on serena or something... that's basically it so far

ANYWAY B2W2 KIDS!!!!!! rosa and nate are ideals and truth aligned respectively but more of them representing absence of truth and absence of ideals. kinda like how black is the absence of light and white is the absence of color!

rosa is a compulsive liar who is constantly lying to everyone she meets. she's scared of people finding out the truth about her so she hides behind a million facades. her parents are big ghetsis fans so rosa ran away from home to get away from them.

she stole her snivy from bianca and ran off to go on a pokemon journey like a normal kid. hugh chased after her because she stole a pokemon and after rosa and hugh battled bianca just let her keep snivy and told hugh to go with her and be her friend. hugh was pretty against this at first because he thought she was with team plasma but they eventually become best friends :3. rosa is scared about hugh learning about her past because she doesn't want to lose her first friend.

also also rosa LOVES movies. she was a sheltered kid but watched a ton of movies as a kid using a laptop she stole that she filled with a ton of pirated movies. because of this her perception of what is a "normal kid's life" is a little skewed lol. she wants to become a movie star thinking that her becoming famous will make her a "normal kid" (it won't). she meets yancy and she learns that being a famous movie star isn't going to make her a normal kid like she wanted to be. also lightpinkshipping sweep or something

nate lives in his older sister hilda's shadow basically. she's a pretty well known competitive pokemon player that people love watching the battles of. nate looks up to her and thinks that in order for people to like him he needs to be just like her. he has no real dreams of his own and just wants to do what his sister does.

he befriends rosa and hugh in nimbasa and decides to go travel with them so he can train his pokemon. during b2w2 he learns to find his own dreams and make his own identity separate from being hilda's little brother

hugh doesn't give a shit about truth and ideals he just wants his fucking cat back. he also wants to figure out what rosa is hiding from him....

[complete-idiot-inc]

A list of Pokeparents

This is a list of the people I’ve chosen for my Pokeparents series of one-shots.

Edit: updated the roster, and fic can be found here

Kanto

Drake - Drake attempts to get his Dragonite used to his son, and he succeeds wildly.

Diamondshipping - An average day in the life of Giovanni Ketchum, a husband, a father, and a mafia boss.

Koga - Ash & Janine train in their ninja skills, the problem is they use it to mess with their neighbors and their dad has to do something about it.

Johto

Valerie - ash and his mom are moving away from their home.

Morty - a young couple struggles to make some ends meet, luckily Agatha can be nice.

Silver (Anime) - Silver takes his son to the sevii islands for the first time, Montress says hi.

Hoenn

Archie - team Aqua + Ash and Delia go to the beach, and Ash learns why not to swim out too far.

Juan - Juan introduces his son to his protege, and the two aren't all that different.

Steven Stone - Ash’s surprise part 2: hand-cut from the mountains of Kalos Steven put the tiny gem into the white band.

Sinnoh

Cynthia - Cyn picks Ash up from school and takes him home for a surprise. 

Sir Riley - Aura training becomes a battle between the Ketchums and the Tougans.

Fantina & Byron - The recently reconstituted Togan family has to deal with Byron’s smarmy brother.

Unova

Lenora - Ash brings his girlfriend home for dinner, and Lenora talks to her.

Ghetsis/N - N rescues his brother from their evil personification of a father and returns him home to Kanto.

Subway brothers + Drayden - Grandpa Drayden and his sons are tasked with watching Ash and Iris for the week, none are prepared for what’s in store.

Kalos

Gentryshipping - Sycamore and Ash are invited to Diantha’s next movie premiere, chaos breaks through when Zygarde tries to invite ash on a crusade against team flare. 

Malva - running away from Lysandre and team flare with her son in her arms.

Wulfric - Wulfric takes his son camping at the pokemon village, and both find an unexpected surprise.

Alola

Kukui & Burnett -  Ash accidentally calls Burnet “Mom” in the middle of class, and neither hears the end of it. 

Skullshipping - Kukui has to talk to the parents of his new student from Ula’ula, he wasn't expecting one to be his old friend.

Nanu - “I leave for 5 minutes and already there’s a hole in the wall!”

Galar

Melony - Ash gets sick and refuses to accept the fact, then it's a good thing Melony is a great (s)mother. 

GardenoasisShipping - The Ketchum family has a Christmas (?) party, and things go south when Rose shows up.

Leon - a lesson on why impulsive adopting an orphan is not always a smart decision.

Paldea 

Tulip & Dendra - Dendra decides to give her class a demonstration of how moves can be used in more than just battles, featuring her wife and son. 

Larry & Katy- “take your kid to work” day doesn’t gel well when your son is rather high energy.

Miriam (& Iono) - my little bro battles me at my gym!? (not clickbait, gone wild!!)

Hisui

Cyllene - Of the many things Cyllene expected to occur in Hisui, becoming a mother to a kid who fell from the sky was not one of those things. 

Lental & Pasio

Mirror & Bellis - the Pokémon world’s oddest couple and their even odder child.

Various 

Jessie & James - TRio finds an orphan, James takes him in, unknowingly creates a found family.

Big thanks to @alolanrain for Peony x Delia's ship name.

[otnesse]

An article came up defending Ruby and Sapphire, claiming it changed the anime for the better: Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire Changed Pokémon For The Better (msn.com)

I disagree. If anything, it changed it for the worse ultimately, for a few reasons.

First, in regards to Pokemon’s fans not stop watching if the core cast was changed, that was proven false, as a lot of people either left the series precisely BECAUSE of Misty being removed (or at a bare minimum HOW she was removed), or otherwise were convinced not to return after getting some hints at what it entailed (in my case). And not just in America, either, even Japan had that problem as well. Not to mention Japanese ratings during that time indicated that, if anything, that actually caused the ratings to up and out tank, meaning it not only drove away fans, it even had a negative enough impact to prevent NEW viewers from starting to watch and replacing the ones who left in sufficient numbers. Literally the only time the show had even a slight increase in ratings was during DP, with there being evidence that the main factor behind that, for better or for worse, was Paul’s introduction as Ash’s rival (and even THERE, it was short term ultimately), and the ratings continued to tank despite everything.

As far as keeping things fresh and relevant with the cast changes, I disagree vehemently regarding that bit, particularly relevancy. Max for example didn’t really get much in way of development largely thanks to his being underage, and May was just a mess regarding character development (I’m sorry, but Lillie from Pokemon Sun and Moon did her character arc of initially having negative views of Pokemon before growing to like them FAR better. Someone like May who hated Pokemon in the first place has NO business being a trainer while she still hates Pokemon. Didn’t help that her hatred came across as completely contrived due to her being the daughter of a Gym Leader, one who she ultimately had a far better relationship with than Brock, Misty, or even Jessie ever did. At least he actually WAS in her life, unlike their parents who ditched them for a variety of reasons). Plus, I fail to see how Pokemon Contests were even relevant at all, especially when they were a minigame in the games at best, not any different from Base Building (which got only ONE episode at most), with the closest to any real relevancy being evolving Feebas into Milotic. Even less so when unlike Ash whom they always made sure was in the series, they had no qualms replacing May with Dawn just for the latter to rehash the former’s goal anyways. And I wouldn’t agree that there wouldn’t have been ways to keep Misty for example very relevant in the story had she been kept, either: Hoenn was the first region to be primarily composed of Water, and in fact Water Pokemon played a fairly major role in the RSE games, from having one of the mascot legendaries be a Water-Type (in fact, purported to be the God of the Ocean), to having a Water-based villain team in Sapphire. Let’s not forget Misty’s goal, the one Hidaka robbed her of when kicking her to the side (yes, it was Hidaka who insisted Misty be removed. Shudo if anything was more forced to comply even WITH his love for Team Rocket) was to become a Water Pokemon Master, which would have been a MASSIVE boon for her story development wise as she’d have loads of opportunities to interact with Water Types, plus it would allow her some degree of conflict on whether or not to support Team Aqua, the aforementioned Villainous Team since on the one hand they like her do love Water Types, but on the other they are also extreme in their methods. And let’s not forget we also had a Water/Bug type, Surskit, which would have also further aided Misty’s character development by having her possibly learn to accept Bug Pokemon to a degree, maybe even ELABORATE on why exactly she had a fear of Bug types. And then we get into how Sinnoh had at least one aquatic Pokemon that had two different variants depending on which side of Sinnoh it was on, plus how Palkia, the Legendary Pokemon of Space, was a Water Type, which would have helped with Misty overall. The introduction of Togekiss would also have helped to give MORE development to her Togepi as well. There’s also a few other aspects of later regions that would have actually WORKED for her had she been allowed to stay on the show rather than unceremoniously dropped. And personally, I felt Ash still being presented as an underdog despite going through multiple regions (including Orange Islands, which WAS technically a Pokemon League) was one of the anime’s worst mistakes. It sabotaged any true character development and if anything came across as even MORE contrived regarding his wins as a result (Thunder Armor comes to mind, which BTW also occurred in AG). I’d rather take “power creep” if it means Ash keeps his Character Development. And BTW, characters regressing in skill and development is one of the major complaints about the Sequel Trilogy of Star Wars.

On the subject of power creep, if we must act like that’s a true negative, AG was most certainly guilty of this by an obscene amount. Of all the times he faced a Gym Leader, only ONE entailed him actually losing to said Gym Leader, Brawley (Norman hardly counts since that was more of a contrived way to force Ash to go the route of the games). The rest, he beat easily (made even worse from Flannery onward where he explicitly used rookies to fight them and hand them their butts even though they are supposed to be rookies. Roxanne I consider an exception solely because at least with her, she strictly lost to Pikachu, an established veteran, the ONLY veteran on his team in fact, thanks largely to the whole fresh start thing). In fact, it was thanks to AG that the Gym Leaders looked like trash and were complete jokes, little different than Jessie, James, and Meowth (whom, if I must remind you, were so easily beaten by Ash since Episode 3 against a near-dead Caterpie despite the advantage that a running joke was that beating JJM was not really considered an accomplishment to brag about), which Best Wishes managed to make them look even worse after Ash was made even MORE of an idiot than usual thanks to taking fresh start to the extreme. And to top it all off, he doesn’t even increase in rank at the actual league. In fact, pretty much his only genuine accomplishment after all of that was the Battle Frontier (and even THAT ended up being treated as a complete joke by the end of AG and most of DP, namely losing to Gary and the latter’s Electivire despite Gary outright retiring from being a Pokemon Trainer to follow his grandpa’s footsteps by that time, not to mention Pikachu being utterly humiliated by Paul’s Ursaring despite the latter literally being caught at the beginning of Sinnoh). And quite frankly, as I mentioned earlier in the post, the fact that ratings plummeted hard during AG would point AGAINST the idea that it was getting a fresh group of viewers. Besides, Pokemon the Movie 20 had a pre-release poll of all the companions they want to see return, with the top three being Brock, Misty, and Serena (not in that order, though). And said poll was given not just to people who were there since the show started, but even to the most recent viewers. The fact that Misty and Brock got third and first place, respectively, blows a hole in the idea that fresh viewers were a factor, as the fresh viewers preferred Misty over May, Dawn, or Iris (Serena got second place, though that was only because she was the most recent of the traveling cast who departed). Besides, they can always access internet forums and just buy DVDs to watch old episodes to catch up.

[princesssarisa]

Character ask: Barbara ''Barbie'' Millicent Roberts

Favorite thing about them: She's a great outlet for a little girl's imagination. I loved playing with my childhood Barbie dolls! She's appeared in so many different roles and careers, which lets kids use her to explore all those different ways of life. She lets them explore the art of fashion and hair-styling and different visual aesthetics. She can have any personality or any adventures you imagine. She's starred in some excellent direct-to-video animated movies: although I've never watched them myself, I've seen their devoted following. And because she's a grown woman, she lets girls explore all their wildest dreams of adult life – that was why Ruth Handler created her, as an alternative to baby dolls to let girls do more than just play house and pretend to be mommies. There's a lot to love about her.

Least favorite thing about them: I'll admit that she can potentially send negative messages of unrealistic beauty standards, gender conformity, and materialism to girls.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I'm fun-loving.

*I like pretty clothes (and if I had a figure like hers, I'd probably enjoy wearing them much more).

*I love kids and animals.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I don't have an hourglass figure.

*I'm not blonde.

*I'm not nearly as fashionable or socially active as she is.

Favorite line: From Toy Story 3:

"Jessie’s right! Authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force."

brOTP: All her various friends and siblings.

OTP: Ken.

nOTP: Any of the villains in her movies (and that includes Lots o' Huggin' Bear in Toy Story 3).

Random headcanon: Despite not "looking it," she's half Jewish. Her father's family originally had the surname "Rosenbaum," but they changed it to "Roberts" to assimilate when they came to America. In the real world, her creator, Ruth Handler, and her namesake, Ruth's daughter Barbara Handler, were both Jewish, and in 2003 the dolls were banned in Saudi Arabia not only for wearing immodest clothes, but for being "Jewish"! Let's embrace her heritage!

Unpopular opinion: I think both the praise and the criticism she gets in pop culture is valid.

Song I associate with them: "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. Even though it mocks her, it's irresistibly catchy.

Favorite picture of them:

[zponds]

AG 124 - “The Ribbon Cup Caper!”

Recently, me and Blazing Emerald AU (blazingemeraldau.tumblr.com) had a little discussion on this episode, where the new version of this episode reveals the backstory of Brodie, who goes by two nicknames... “The Man with 1000 Faces” and “Brodie the Phantom Thief”. Also, this episode is Blazing Emerald AU’s favorite episode. ^^

And the plot is just below, so I hope you all enjoy it. ^^

Ash and his friends are aboard the S.S. St. Flower, a luxury cruise liner, on their way to Slateport City after May has won her fifth and final Contest Ribbon. May makes an "expedition as a "news reporter"”, as the heroes are sailing to Slateport City, which has finally been rebuilt after the Groudon VS Kyogre crisis which happened a while back. May shows a lot of places inside the ship, claiming it is as if a city moved onto the ship. Ash smiles as May shows them around, as he secretly admires May pretending to be a news reporter. May reminds the others if it weren't for her, they wouldn't even be here, as she is a participant of the Grand Festival, but was able to bring her friends along. Afterwards, they head to the ship’s very own Pokémon Center, and they come to Nurse Joy, seeing the cruise ship has its own Pokémon Center. They greet her and while Brock flirts with her, he is pulled by Max. May wants her Pokémon to be watched over, so Joy asks if they want to exercise or to relax, for they have also the playroom. May decides that her Pokémon needs to relax first, then to play. She sends all her Pokémon and waves goodbye to them, then goes to see other parts of the ship.

As they walk, they spot Officer Jenny with her Growlithe. Brock also flirts with her and is again pulled away by Max. Ash and May ask if there is trouble, but Jenny has seen no crimes yet, but has heard of Brodie, a member of Team Magma, is on the ship. Max and the others quickly realize they encountered Brodie back at the Weather Institute, as he disguised himself as Millie and stole data from the Weather Research Institute about Kyogre and Groudon. They do wonder if he still is in here, since he quit being a member of Team Magma. Team Rocket, dressed as cleaners, spots the twerps. Jenny adds that Team Magma and Team Aqua have both been disbanded and no longer exist following the Groudon VS Kyogre crisis, as the two Teams realized that they couldn't control Kyogre and Groudon. Although without a team, Brodie has decided to become a master thief on his own. Team Rocket is very thrilled as they heard Team Aqua and Team Magma have disbanded. Jessie and Meowth tell James it is because of them they are destroyed, but James recalls they were no where in the Groudon VS Kyogre crisis when it happened. Jessie tells him it matters not, as both Team Magma and Team Aqua are no more, so she and Meowth tell James that they think they need to tell it to their boss; Giovanni, that they defeated the two criminal organizations, thinking that Giovanni will be extremely pleased by the news and Team Rocket will be able to fill the void in power left in the Hoenn Region, and thinking that they’ll be promoted.

May and her friends visit an exhibition, presenting the Golden Cup of the Grand Festival: the Ribbon Cup. May imagines herself holding the Ribbon Cup. As the group admires the Ribbon Cup, Munchlax comes running into the room being chased by a guard. With Max's help, May manages to get Munchlax under control after getting it to eat a "May's Pink Surprise" Pokéblock. However, Ash discovers that the Ribbon Cup has a broken handle, possibly caused by Munchlax when it ran into the case. The head judge of Pokémon Contests and Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee, Raoul Contesta, comes by to inspect the damage, and May takes full responsibility for what happened. Mr. Contesta is happy to accept that it was simply an accident. However, he notes that something is wrong because the Ribbon Cup should have never been able to break so easily. On closer inspection the official seal of the Contest Committee is missing, so Raoul declares that the Ribbon Cup is a fake. A card falls from the bottom of the cup, which turns out to be the signature of Brodie the Phantom Thief. The group alerts Officer Jenny to the situation, Mr. Contesta very begrudgingly decides that the Hoenn Grand Festival must be canceled because there's no Ribbon Cup to be awarded to the winning Coordinator. May pleads for another option, but Mr. Contesta sadly points out that there is no time to make another Cup, so canceling the Grand Festival is his only option. However, Officer Jenny points out that Brodie must still be on board, so hopefully they can recover the Cup before they get to Slateport City. With this hope in mind, everyone gets ready to find Brodie. Team Rocket listens in from an air duct, and set their sights on stealing the Ribbon Cup from Brodie himself.

The group realizes that they will need to find some way to force Brodie out from hiding after even a guard was tricked by his disguise. Officer Jenny has an idea and paints a normal Poké Ball gold. The plan is to put it on display as the extremely valuable second place prize in the Grand Festival. Ash and his friends then begin spreading the word everywhere they can, hoping that Brodie will hear at least one of them and decide to steal the Poké Ball. The group reconvenes back at the same place where the Cup was stolen. They then hear someone coming and hide. Team Rocket, disguised as bell hops, try to steal the Ball, but are caught in the act. They then reveal themselves only for Pikachu to send them blasting off. Ash and the rest of the group are shocked and dismayed that the thieves were not Brodie.

Suddenly, the captain appears and tells Officer Jenny that Brodie is attacking the Pokémon Center and stealing all of the Pokémon there. May remembers that all her Pokémon are at the Center and everyone rushes away to the Pokemon Center. However, in another corridor, the captain encounters them and is very confused, saying that he just came from the Pokémon Center and that all is well. The captain is left alone and ominously smiles. The heroes come down and see the captain again. Max tells him he told that Brodie is stealing the Pokémon, but the captain replies he recently came from the Center and everything is in order. That leads to belief that the captain upstairs is Brodie. Realizing that the first captain was actually Brodie in disguise, the group immediately turns around and races back to the room with the golden Poké Ball. The fake captain is about to steal the Poké Ball, but before he grabs the Ball, Brodie is caught on spot by the group he notes how quick and persistent they are, so he takes off his disguise when Jenny orders him to stop and reveal himself. Officer Jenny states he is under arrest. Brodie immediately calls out his Golbat and it uses Haze, temporarily blinding the group with the smoke and allowing him to get away with the golden Poké Ball.

The group knows that they cannot fool Brodie the same way again, but Officer Jenny points out that it is not a problem as she placed a movement tracker inside the Ball. They follow the tracker to the dining room and it leads them to a woman eating alone at a table. She asks if there is something wrong as the tracker is pointed at her. Officer Jenny then states that she is really Brodie in disguise. Brodie affirms his identity before fleeing with Jenny, Ash, and company running after him. As the group turns a corner, Officer Jenny finds a discarded disguise lying in a corridor and guesses that he must have changed again. They all follow the tracker into the kitchen. Brodie's next disguise works at first, but the truth is revealed when the "master chef" leaves the room and then immediately enters in again through another door. Deducing that the first master chef was Brodie, Jenny and the others give chase again. Unfortunately, Brodie figures out how they are tracking him and abandons the Golden Poké Ball. Ash wonders how Brodie is so good at disguises, then a crew member; Derek, tells them everything about Brodie: Magma Leader Maxie hired Brodie, to disguise in order to infiltrate and gather useful stuff for Team Magma; as Maxie saw the extreme potential that Brodie had with his master ability at disguises. Ash and May wonder how Derek knows so much about Brodie, and Derek reveals that he was once a grunt of Team Magma, hence why he knows much about Brodie. Ash and the group thank Derek for the useful info on Brodie. After that, Max thinks Brodie is heading up to the deck; as back at the Weather Institute, he came on the top of the building and activated his jet pack to fly away, so he be going to the deck to escape the same way.

As the group scour the upper deck, two Officer Jennys come face to face. Both claim that they are the real Jenny and that the other one is an impostor. Everyone is confused, except for Brock, who uses his exceedingly amorous behavior around beautiful women to determine which Jenny is real and which one is Brodie in disguise, as Brock tells the one on the left is fake. Brock explains when she speaks to the one on the left, he sees an enemy, while speaking on the one on the right he sees a woman with whom he is in crush and wants to spend the future together. On closer examination, Brodie decides that the Ribbon Cup isn't quite as valuable as he thought, so he tosses it back to Officer Jenny. Unfortunately, the Cup is snagged in midair by Team Rocket. Brodie just laughs and takes off in his jet pack before anybody can stop him. However, Officer Jenny does not plan on letting all of the thieves get away and has her Growlithe use Flamethrower on Team Rocket. Jessie sends out Seviper, which dodges the attack and uses Poison Tail. Ash retaliates by having his Walrein use Ice Beam on Seviper, at which point James joins the fray and sends out his Cacnea. Cacnea uses Needle Arm while Seviper uses Poison Tail again. Though Growlithe counters with Flamethrower and Pikachu with Thunderbolt, respectively. Ash orders his Walrein to use Blizzard, and Walrein uses Blizzard on Team Rocket, freezing them in an ice block shaped like a Poké Ball. After that, Pikachu and Growlithe send Team Rocket flying off with Iron Tail. 

Later that evening, with the Ribbon Cup safely retrieved and put behind the safety glass, the Grand Festival is no longer canceled and Raoul is pleased and wants May to compete, which she accepts. Everybody relaxes as the ship begins to pull into Slateport City. May is confident to enter and win, being prepared for what is to come. 

And that’s the new version of “The Ribbon Cup Caper!”. I hope you all enjoyed reading this. And stay tuned for more posts like this one, where I go over the new version of an existing AG episode. ^^

[paulinawoodpecker]

i wanna watch the world burn sung by team rocket, team magma, team aqua and Tiffany:

All: We wanna watch the whole world burn!

Tim: Oh my god, what the heck is going on?

Jessie: I brought the Gasoline!

All "We wanna watch the whole world burn!

James: EVERYONE TURN MEAN MEAN MEAN MEAAAAAAAAN!

Meowth: MEAN! AND WE WILL WATCH YOUR POKEMON BURN TOO!

*citizens with anime crying faces were running around panicking*

All: We wanna watch the whole world burn! We wanna make the whole world BURN!

Giovanni: So mean...

Pickles: Oh heck no!

Pickles: I did not become a CIA agent for this!

Maxie and Archie: Meean!

Tiffany: WE WANNA WATCH THE WHOLE WORLD BURN!

(after the song)

Giovanni: Look at the kanto citizens fighting each other! XD.

Tiffany: I tortured the whole world with anger and misery

Pokemart clerks were seen punching each other

Orion: Why can't we just get along?

[orangeoakleaves]

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ABOUT ME ! ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

hello! my name is lou, she/her, european, wlw, pisces sun - libra moon - gemini rising, infp - 9w1

genshin — ar59, eu server, xiao & kazuha main, feel free to ask for my uid!

˗ˏˋ LIKES ! ´ˎ˗

games — genshin impact, kingdom hearts, final fantasy vii, the legend of zelda, life is strange, tell me why, ace attorney, tales of arise

anime/shows — my hero academia, hunter x hunter, jujutsu kaisen, demon slayer, bungou stray dogs, attack on titan, avatar the last airbender, arcane, heartstopper, stranger things

music — the warning, simple plan, sum 41, nickelback, linkin park, band-maid, halestorm, evanescence, avenged sevenfold, the summer set, avril lavigne, lady gaga, mxmtoon, angèle

others — concerts, rock music, video games, watching twitch streams, animes, drawing, editing, wolves, winter, coffee, lotuses & lilies, dark colors, the color burgundy, anything retro

˗ˏˋ DISLIKES ! ´ˎ˗

discourse — i've read all sides of it and tbh i'm done. i don't care if you partake in the discourses and drama, just don't drag me into it or expect me to willingly participate. i don't have the time nor patience for it.

bigotry — i do not tolerate any form of hatred towards minorities. i will block you on sight. this is a safe space for anyone who wishes to hang out.

kazuha and xiao ships — just saying now, i am not a huge fan of kazuha's and xiao's popular ships, especially beikazu, kazuscara, heikazu, xiaoven, xiaother and zhongxiao as these ships are personal discomforts for me. i don't necessarily have anything against people who ship them but i do not like seeing these ships so i will be likely to block you if you make content about them.

others — nicotine, spiders, bugs, heights, hot weather

˗ˏˋ FAVORITES ! ´ˎ˗

genshin impact — kazuha, xiao, beidou, sara, ei, yelan, shenhe, yoimiya, venti, nahida, razor, itto, heizou

kingdom hearts — xion, sora, kairi, riku, aqua, ventus, roxas

final fantasy vii — aerith, tifa, cloud, jessie

the legend of zelda — zelda, link, midna, mipha

ace attorney — miles, phoenix, maya, mia, franziska, apollo, trucy, klavier

tales of arise — shionne, kisara, dohalim, rinwell, law, alphen

my hero academia — kyoka, momo, shoto

hunter x hunter — kurapika, killua, leolio, gon

jujutsu kaisen — nobara

attack on titan — sasha, armin, hange, levi

avatar the last airbender — katara, zuko, sokka

ships — i do not consider myself a multishipper and i am mostly a rarepair enjoyer. some of my favs are kazuxiao, ittozou, heisara, beiguang, ittoheisara, zelink, narumitsu, franmaya, leopika, and aerti

[smallersocksx]

Why the Wallace Cup Arc is one of the best returning character arcs

Introduction:

For those who have been following the Pokémon Journeys anime, know that Dawn was one of the latest former cast members to return the series for a two-episode arc. As I admitted in my episode 74 review (I’m contemplating reviewing episode 75 as well), should know I hadn’t really been keeping up with the anime up to that point as I felt all the issues, I had mentioned in one of my previous posts all culminated and I needed to take a break as I wasn’t enjoying the series. It felt more like a chore to watch the Journeys series rather than a pleasure and I felt horrible feeling this way about a series that I had loved for such a long time. However, if you’re enjoying the series, that’s great and I’m glad you find some enjoyment watching it.

Nevertheless, those that have read my posts or know me personally know DP is one of my favourite Pokémon series and I absolutely love Dawn, her Pokémon and Contests to pieces. So, when they announced she would be appearing for two episodes, I knew I had to watch. However, after sitting on these thoughts for a couple of weeks, I had to admit overall I was a little disappointed. This is a shame because I absolutely love Dawn but the reasons, I felt disappointed were:

The pacing/length – in both episodes, I felt like some areas were really slow and could have easily been cut out which in turn caused the areas that should have been slower and more fleshed out to feel incredibly rushed such as the battle with Matori Matrix. I felt like another area that could have been sped up was the exposition/discovery of Darkrai and Cresselia’s symbiotic relationship, don’t get me wrong it was interesting but I feel like it could have been handled better. I think if this DP arc had been four episodes long like the Sword and Shield arc, the pacing could have been better, we could have explored Ash and Goh’s side of the story more and we could have actually seen some Contest action. Additionally, it would give us a break from the episodic and slightly disjointed nature of the Journeys series and engage more with the story.

Chloe’s development – Now for those that have read my previous posts, should know that I like Chloe and I’m interested to see where they go with her development. Especially considering she’s meant to meeting an Espeon and Umbreon trainer in the upcoming episode. However, it kind of felt like the only reason they brought Dawn back was to help Chloe develop. It would have been nice to allow Dawn and her other Pokémon to shine more. Also, as  I mentioned in my episode 74 review, the argument between Chloe and Dawn felt completely unnecessary to me. In my opinion, one of the ways Chloe had subtly developed under Eevee’s influence was that she learnt to relax a little bit and not take things so seriously. This is why I was finding her behaviour in episode 74 to be a little annoying.

Also, it would have been nice to at least see Chloe attempt to participate in a Contest and at least try something out once even if it's not for her. Considering, Pokémon is an anime tailored towards children, it's better to send out the message of at least trying something even if it's not something for you in the end. This was something I would have liked to have seen with Serena, as before discovering Pokémon Showcases, she didn’t really try to find her goal/path. However, judging by the preview, at least the writers are acting on the idea of Chloe meeting other Eevee and Eeveelution trainers.

Dawn and her Pokémon – As I mentioned previously, it kind of felt like the only reason Dawn was brought back was to contribute to Chloe’s development. Whilst, it was nice to see Dawn and her Piplup again it would have been nice to have seen Dawn’s other Pokémon outside of a flashback. We did have that brief scene where Dawn gave Chloe a demonstration of a Contest Performance but outside of that we hardly saw anything else to do with contests. They could have done something similar to the Darkrai film and show the contest in the end credits as a one-off/special ED. Or if the arc had been longer, they could have devoted more time to the contest aspect and we could have seen Chloe and Dawn participating in the Eterna City contest. It just would have given Dawn a better opportunity to shine and show off her skills as a Coordinator.

They could have featured the rest of Dawn’s Pokémon in the beach scene at the end of Episode 75. I just wanted a Buneary and Pikachu reunion ToT

Apologies, for turning this into a critique of episode 75/this mini-arc. However, it brought me back to this point and I’ve seen people always make this comment or have made videos on it when critiquing Journeys. The problem Journeys has is that any returning characters have basically been treated as fan service that the older fans including myself have eaten up. But when you think about it, it's honestly doing these characters a disservice, and they deserve so much better. Take Korrina and Iris, Iris, in particular, they had hyped up their returns to the series and it ends kind of falling flat as they both lose to Ash to help him to further his goal (which contributes to Journeys pacing issue). Nevertheless, their losses end up diminishing all the development they built up to that point, particularly with Iris’ Haxorus, this was a Pokémon I would have loved to have seen develop more on-screen and when we see him fully evolved as he has always dreamed it was sad to see him lose.

This brings me to this point that I’ve made and so have others, that the Wallace Cup arc has arguably been one of the best arcs/methods of utilising a former main cast member. And it’s due to the reasons, I had listed were the latest DP arc fell short:

The pacing/length

May and her Pokémon

Dawn’s development

The setting

I feel like the setting, in particular, was one of the main reasons why the Wallace Cup arc was so successful. If you’re still reading this, thank you and sorry for the incredibly long introduction.

The pacing/length:

I feel like these two aspects go hand-in-hand so I decided to place them under the same bracket. Now I don’t know whether some count the Wallace Cup arc as five episodes rather than four as May does briefly appear in Our Cup Runneth Over! But I count it from A Full Course Tag Battle! Nevertheless, whether it be four or five episodes, this arc didn’t feel like it dragged on or rushed, it was the perfect length in my opinion. A Full Course Tag Battle! Was a great way to re-introduce us to May and her character, to learn of her progress/struggles in Johto and to see some of her Pokémon again. This episode had helped integrate May back into the main cast perfectly as we learn she keeps in contact with Ash and they both still have their halves of the Terracotta Ribbon and we see that May and Dawn develop a fast friendship through their shared interests and current hardships. In addition to this, I like the call-back to May’s Kanto Journey, with her fire-water combination in the Tag battle as well as the food-loving aspect of her personality (same May same).

The following episode, Staging a Heroes Welcome! Showed off one of my favourite aspects of Contests in the anime, the Performance Stage. In addition to this, it allowed us to see May’s new skills and style in a Contest setting. I really enjoyed May’s performance, as we learnt her timid Squirtle had evolved into a confident Wartortle (one of my favourite starter Middle Stage evolutions) and I loved their simple performance, it reminded me of a pebble/stone skipping across the water and you couldn’t take your eyes off Wartortle. I really enjoyed Ash’s performance, it’s not the first time he’s competed in a Contest but I love the fact he competed with Buizel, who wasn’t that interested in Contests under Dawn’s ownership. Additionally, I love the fact Ash used Dawn’s feedback to help with the performance but it honestly felt like an Ash performance, just showing off his and Buizel’s love of battle.

Finally, it’s getting closer to Dawn’s turn and naturally, she starts to have doubts, causing Piplup to launch a Bubble Beam at her face. It was a short but cute display of Dawn and Piplup’s relationship and how they support one another especially as Piplup tried to gently encourage Dawn throughout her slump. In this case, he decided to be a little more forceful. Despite a little stumble, Dawn and Ambipom ultimately delivered a simple and clean performance taking on Zoey’s advice. Ultimately being rewarded with a place in the Battle Stage. Overall, this episode was a brilliant way to introduce to the Wallace Cup, the beginning of Dawn re-gaining her confidence and seeing the Hoenn cast of characters.

Pruning Passel of Pals! Personally, this is the weakest episode of the arc, just for the fact it has the least amount of battling but we expand on DP’s main plot with the Lake Trio as Ash catches sight of Azelf and we expand on the Sinnoh lore. We also get a cute Team Rocket moment, where James and Meowth arrange for Jessie to act as a TV commentator for the competition, their sense of comradery is so cute (also if Jessie’s happy they’re happy). I liked the fact we got to see Dawn’s first battle of the competition after renewing her confidence and I did enjoy the battle, as we hadn’t seen Buneary in a Contest battle for a while. Up to the Quarter Finals, we mostly got still-shots or brief cuts of the other battles which is what makes this episode weaker in comparison to the others. However, it allowed us to see May’s Skitty and that her Bulbasaur evolved all the way to a Venusaur.

Once, we reach the Quarter Finals, we see Ash battle against a Coordinator named Kyle. Sadly, Ash ultimately loses the battle and is eliminated he didn’t entirely lose out as he and Buizel are more in sync and the Ice Aqua Jet that Dawn couldn’t perfect with Buizel under her ownership was finally successful. However, Kyle brought up an interesting point during his battle with Ash that stuck with me, that in these types of contests such as the Wallace Cup and the Grand Festival, varying your Pokémon is vital so your opponents can’t figure out all of your strategies. This was what led to Solidad defeating May in the Kanto Grand Festival as observed May’s tactics and battle style. I just found this observation interesting and it was something that stuck with me.

Finally, my favourite episode of the arc and probably one of my favourite Contest episodes ever, Strategy with a Smile! Now, this is how you conclude a Contest arc! There was plenty of action, the first Semi-Final Battle we have is between Kyle and Dawn, what I loved with this episode and subsequent battles was seeing Dawn confident once again and having faith in her skills re-using the spin tactic, she developed in Oreburgh City and combining it with Bide causing Piplup to glow purple and turn his opponent’s attacks against them.

Then we have May vs Zoey, which allowed us to see May’s new skills and battle style on full display. We also get to see May’s Beautifly again! One of my favourite Pokémon. Once again, we got to see, why Zoey is one of Dawn’s toughest rivals utilising the pool to electrocute Beautifly. However, I liked the way May turned the tables on her, something I don’t think we saw too often with her in previous Contests. But she didn’t give Zoey the chance to counterattack either. I just really enjoyed seeing this new fierce style, May had developed during her time in Johto.

However, the next battle had to be one of my favourite Contest battles of all time. What better way to conclude the Wallace Cup arc? Then having our two main Coordinators go head-to-head, DP was the series when the visuals for Pokémon began to increase in quality and I really loved the visuals throughout this battle. Not to mention we got to May’s newly evolved Glaceon shine in a Contest Battle as we hardly got to see it in action as an Eevee.

Some fans were upset at the fact, May the more experienced Coordinator had lost to Dawn and I’ll explore factors and reasons why this could have happened. But I felt the need to hammer this point, Dawn only won by half a point and Contests aren’t about strength, the winner is the Coordinator who best displays their Pokémon’s traits in a Performance and Battle. And say if May won, either way, both Coordinators would have had a positive experience, it would have been similar to the conclusion of Dawn’s battle with Maylene. Despite the loss, Dawn still would have regained her confidence but I think her winning the Aqua Ribbon gave her that extra sense of affirmation, as Dawn won a Contest that attracts competitors from all over the globe. I can’t think of a better way of renewing a character’s sense of self-confidence than in a setting such as this. All in all, it was a great way to conclude the Wallace Cup arc.

It felt like every episode set out to fulfill the job it was meant to do and succeeded. Naturally, they couldn’t show off every battle in the competition and it’s the same in other Contest episodes, utilising still-shots. But I generally enjoyed every battle they chose to focus on and the way the pool battlefield was utilised throughout the competition. In addition to the character development featured throughout this arc, we had some progression to the overarching plot of DP. This section ended up being an episode-by-episode review of the arc but I hope it gets the point across!

May and her Pokémon:

The issue I’ve been having as of late is that it kind of felt like the only reason former main cast members were returning was to help develop a current main cast member and that just doesn’t feel right. These characters deserve to shine and we want to see how they developed. This is why one of my favourite aspects of the Wallace Cup arc is that we truly got to see May shine and see the progress she’s made from the naïve beginner trainer she was in AG to the fearless Coordinator she is now. In addition to May, we got to see all of her Pokémon shine in their own way at least once (yes, I’m including still shots). Which is why I’m glad we had the Full Course Tag Battle! The episode gave us the chance to see her Blaziken, as using a fire-type in a contest that celebrates water-types in a battlefield with a pool probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

One of my main reasons, May split off from Ash, was because she felt like she was imitating his battle style and she wanted to develop her own. And we got to see that in the Semi-finals and the Finals of the Wallace Cup, where May defeated Dawn’s toughest rival, Zoey by utilising her own tactics against her in a very Ash/Drew-like style.

Nevertheless, we also saw that old habits die hard, as to some extent as May still relies on luck-based moves as shown in the final where May had Glaceon use Secret Power which worked the first time and paralysed Piplup however, the second time it backfired and ended up making Piplup shine more in comparison to Glaceon.

All in all, we also learnt of May’s progress in Johto we essentially got to see it for ourselves, which is something fans who have followed May’s journey appreciate all the more.

Dawn’s Development:

As I mentioned in the previous section, it felt like as of late former main cast members was being brought back to help develop members of the main cast. What I love about the Wallace Cup arc, was that even though May was the more experienced Coordinator, at the time they were going through a similar experience and were both on losing streaks. In Dawn’s case, she needed to regain her confidence after two consecutive failures in the Performance Stage, the second time in which she over-compensated for the previous loss.

However, from this experience, Dawn didn’t just regain her confidence, she learnt that simplicity is best and can allow her Pokémon to shine and be the focus. This can be seen in her later Contest performances and in Arriving in Style! In which her Pokémon do something as simple as spinning or jumping whilst uniquely utilising their moves and remaining the focus of the audience.

Moreover, many fans were upset that May, the more experienced Coordinator had lost to Dawn in the Finals. All things considered, Dawn only beat May by half a point, Dawn could have edged May out at several points in the battle as Contests aren’t about strength, the victor is who best displays their Pokémon strengths. With May, having relied on luck-based moves too much, to Dawn utilising previously used tactics such as Piplup riding his Whirlpool (from Dawn’s second Contest) to using May’s water curtain tactic from the Semi-Finals against her.

To this day, this is still one of my favourite battles from the Pokémon anime, not only because I love Contests, seeing our two main Coordinators going up against one another but seeing Dawn having the confidence in her own tactics but being influenced by those around her as well.

The setting:

As I mentioned in the introduction, I believe the setting is one of the core reasons why the Wallace Cup arc was so successful. Having May’s return be featured in a Contest setting just makes so much sense. Not only that, but it allowed us to see May’s growth alongside Dawn. However, we also got to see Ash and Buizel’s relationship develop and to see Ash successfully execute one of his best strategies for the first time with the Ice Aqua Jet.

Conclusion:

Overall, in my opinion, the Wallace Cup arc is one of the best narrative uses of a former main character. As it not only allowed our current cast to develop but it allowed us to see first-hand, May’s growth and aggressive battle style that she’s developed in Johto, especially those who had been following May’s journey from a naïve beginner trainer to the fierce Coordinator she is today.

Dawn’s growth was great from re-gaining her confidence and not allowing it to become over-confidence. Learning simple is best, and that tactic allowed her Pokémon to shine the most. Ash developing new strategies and bonding with his Pokémon. And some slight plot progression to the overarching narrative/story of DP.

The pacing and length of this arc, was just right, as it didn’t feel too long or too short and every episode fulfilled the job it had set out to do. It's nice to experience short story arcs, as it gives the audience a chance to be gripped to a story/narrative and I enjoy having that sense of focus in a story.

Honestly, I think the writers had hit the nail on the head, with this arc and it's sad they couldn’t really replicate the success of the Wallace Cup arc with future character returns. I have seen over the years that the Pokémon anime is capable of some great story-telling and amazing character arcs as shown by this entire post. This is why, I’m finding some aspects of Journeys frustrating, that they set up some amazing plot lines or potential development and fall flat on the delivery or don’t even act on it.

I don’t know if it’s just me setting my expectations too high or I’m being overly critical. I would like to think it's healthy to have some criticisms of a series rather than to just blindly love it. Initially, I did enjoy Journeys but after the episode 60 mark, my enjoyment began to wear thin which makes me sad as I genuinely love to watch the anime alongside playing the games. Anyways, I feel better getting this off my chest and if anyone actually read the entirety of this post thank you! I’m thinking of making another post possibly focusing on why I’m not enjoying the episodic formula of Journeys but that might be another day!

[nightsnaps]

1-25 + your favorite color

1 - What’s on your oldest playlist?

My oldest playlist that I still have is from September 2014, and includes songs like Collide // Howie Day, Our Song // Ron Pope, Sing // Ed Sheeran, & Alone Together // Fall Out Boy 

2 - Make a 5 song playlist of guilty pleasure songs

1. That’s How You Know // Nico & Vinz 

2. Jessie’s Girl // Rick Springfield

3. The Lucky One // Faith Hill

4. Last Train Home // Ryan Starr 

5. Unwritten // Natasha Beddingfield 

3 - What are 5 songs you would do a lip sync to?

1. All Star // Smashmouth

2. She (For Liz) // Parachute

3. All Summer Long // Kid Rock

4. Anywhere But Here // Hilary Duff 

5. You Belong With Me // Taylor Swift 

4 - What’s the playlist you most recently listened to?

My study playlist, which is called “I am once again asking you to please start studying” with that Bernie Sanders meme as the cover because I’m hilarious lmao 

5 - Top 5 breakup/sad love songs

1. World Spins Madly On // The Weepies

2. Chasing Cars // Snow Patrol

3. Amnesia // 5 Seconds of Summer

4. Wind & Anchor // The National Parks 

5. Keep Breathing // Ingrid Michaelson

6 - 5 songs you would do Just Dance to

1. Just Dance // Lady Gaga 

2. Dynamite // Taio Cruz 

3. Shut Up and Dance // WALK THE MOON

4. Hips Don’t Lie // Shakira 

5. Stitches // Shawn Mendes 

7 - List all the songs you like in another language

All of them??? Good lord. The only one popping out right now is Vivir Mi Vida by Marc Anthony LOL. Oh and Bailando by Enrique Iglesias lol

8 - Which song is stuck in your head? Oof. One of these I guess. Haven’t gotten one REALLY stuck yet. 

9 - Spotify or Pandora? Spotify. No contest. 

10 - 5 songs for being in love and pining

1. Watching You Watch Him // Eric Hutchinson

2. I Don’t Dance // Lee Brice

3. I’ll Be (Your Crying Shoulder) // Jeremy Kay 

4. Here With You // Jake Nauta 

5. Give Me Love // Ed Sheeran

11 - Top 5 songs from a musical or movie

1. A Million Dreams // Greatest Showman

2. One Day More // Les Miserables

3. Scream // High School Musical & Zac Efron (don’t @ me, this slaps)

4. I’m Still Here // Treasure Planet 

5. Don’t Give Up On Me // 5 Feet Apart

12 - Currently if you could listen to 3 songs forever what would they be?

1. The Call // Regina Spektor 

2. Can’t Behave // Courtney Jaye 

3. Love Ain’t // Eli Young Band 

13 - Make a playlist of 5 songs that evoke memories

1. Young Volcanoes // Fall Out Boy 

2. American Kids // Kenny Chesney

3. Uptown Funk // Bruno Mars

4. Compass // Lady Antebellum

5. Little Wonders // Rob Thomas 

14 - What are 5 songs you know all the lyrics to, and would go hard to if they came on?

1. Move Along // All-American Rejects

2. Night Changes // One Direction

3. Paper Rings // Taylor Swift 

4. 1234 // Feist 

5. Some Nights // fun.

15 - What musician do you like that your friends would probably have no clue even exist? LOL Jake Scott. No one’s ever heard of that musical genius. 

16 - Make a playlist of 5 songs that came out the year you were born

I’m not confident I can think of that many so I had to look up ‘97 hits lol. 

1. Anywhere for You // Backstreet Boys

2. Midnight in Chelsea // Bon Jovi 

3. Love Shine a Light // Katrina and the Waves

4. Tubthumping // Chumbawamba

5. Barbie Girl // Aqua 

17 - What are your top 5 “Oldies” jams?

I made the executive decision that oldies qualifies as any song that came out prior to my birth. 

1. 867-5309/Jenny // Tommy Tutone

2. Message in a Bottle // The Police

3. Come On Eileen // Dexys Midnight Runners

4. What I Like About You // The Romantics

5. Livin’ on a Prayer // Bon Jovi 

18 - Make a playlist of the top 5 covers of songs

1. Still Into You // Michael Castro (OG: Paramore)

2-5. anything by boyce avenue really lol I don’t listen to a ton of covers

19 - Earbuds or Headphones? Headphones. 100%. 

20 - Make a playlist of the last 5 songs you can remember listening to

Really it’s just a combination of songs I’ve mentioned here hahaha

21 - What are 5 songs that you would put on a movie score?

1. Marchin’ On // One Republic 

2. Dancing in the Dawn // Tossing Copper/Jake Scott

3. Love You ‘Till The End // The Pogues

4. Hear You Me // Jimmy Eat World (this is so cliche but good lordy I love it)

5. Bright // Echosmith

22 - Which song have you heard everywhere lately? I honestly don’t feel like there’s been a specific song I keep hearing everywhere lol

23 - 5 friends and the song you associate them with

1. Dream for You // Jared

2. Anything by the Eagles // Abby

3. Westworld Soundtrack // Michael 

4. Cheerleader // Brooke 

5. It’s Alright // April 

24 - Concept playlists evoking an aesthetic or mixes of recent favorites?

I’ll give you 3 recent faves lol

1. Gaslighter // The Chicks

2. Cuss a Little // Kylie Morgan & Walker Hayes

3. One of Them Girls // Lee Brice 

25 - Would you let your parents listen to all your music? I think so, yeah. They’re pretty chill about it. They might not like everything though lol. 

26 - I’m adding this because here’s some other songs that didn’t fit in the categories above. 

Back to You // Twin Forks

A Lot to Learn // Copperlily

You Broke Up With Me // Walker Hayes 

Bruises // Train

Hear You Me // Jimmy Eat World 

Scarecrow // Alex & Sierra

Castle on the Hill // Ed Sheeran

Life is Short // Butterfly Boucher 

One Chance // Tim Be Told 

Breathe (2AM) // Anna Nalick 

The Men That Drive Me Places // Ben Rector 

&& What’s my favorite color? 

My favorite color is burgundy :)

[eyebeastposts]

Fan Fiction Road: The Altar of EyeBeast

SUGGESTION PHASE CLOSED

   Driving down Fan Fiction Road in the dark of night, your car suddenly  breaks down as you pass through a thickly wooded area. Devoid of phone  service, you find yourself drawn to a strange light in the tree line.  Pushing through the bushes you find yourself standing in front of an old  church. The pictures and strange runes along the walls do not appear to  come from any known religion. Peeking up at the stained glass window,  you see a glimmer of the light that first drew you in. Steeling your  nerves, you push open the imposing set of doors and step inside.

    Your nose is assaulted with the scent of heavy incense. You find  yourself in in the center chamber where dozens of hooded figures dressed  in black robes are gathered. They don’t appear to pay much attention to  you, even as the door shuts loudly behind you. The reason becomes  evident as you look at the thing atop the grey, stone altar.

    Its shape mimics that of a singular, human eye blown up to the size of a  hot air balloon. Its grey sclera counteracts the void of black making  up its glowing pupil and iris. The eye shifts gradually, to both observe  its followers and maintain a glimmering cloud in the center. Mesmerized  by the thing’s strange aura, you take another step forward to look into  the anomaly.  

    Upon a closer look, you see dozens of images pass through the cloud.  The images depict characters from various, popular franchises going  through strange and unusual sequences. As off-putting as some of the  scenes are, you can’t help watching out of either curiosity or genuine  enjoyment. A tap on your shoulder brings you back to reality.

     Turning your head, you are met with the soft gaze of a woman with a  shaved head. The eye creature is drawn on her forehead in ink,  surrounded by the same symbols from outside. “Hello traveler,” she says  in a low voice. “I see you’ve stumbled upon our little gathering.”

     Without a word, she leads you deeper into the crowd. “We are the  followers of the All Seeing One, the deity you see before you. Their  power is immense, able to alter space, time, and various realities to  create pocket dimensions for its own amusement. From time to time, it  gives us certain request. In return for providing a list of acceptable  candidates, it demonstrates its powers to us by recreating the scene  using the choices agreed upon by its followers.”

     As soon as she stops talking the image at the altar disappears, making  the rest of the hooded figures turn towards you. “If your mind is open  and your desires forthcoming, feel free to join our group of worship  under the eye of the All Seeing One. However, if you reject our offer we  will have no choice…but to politely ask you to leave.”

     Someone in the crowd purposefully clears their throat. “After you’ve  helped yourself to the food table of course,” she adds. “Especially  Stephen’s snicker-doodles, they are just divine.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For the past few years now, I’ve made it a tradition to have people  vote on what kind of fan fiction story I write next. Typically, I would  pick a subject (weight gain, transformations, etc.) and have people  suggest various characters and scenarios that fit the subject. While I  have enjoyed the previous sessions, I want to shake things up a bit in  terms of how things are done and what kind of stories I get to write.

  If you’ve read the above story, it sets the stage for what I want to do.  I’m going to provide five different scenarios, each of which is a  different request from the All Seeing One. For two weeks, your task will  be to suggest offerings (characters) that will fit the criteria for  each scenario. Once the suggestions are in, there will be a survey that  will determine which stories you want me to write and with which  characters. And yes, I said stories.

  My plan with this session is to suggest ideas that can be told in  relatively short stories. Using this method, I should be able to do  multiple stories going in order of popularity. I can’t promise that I’ll  do every single one, but I’ll try to do most of them. If you want to  get involved and become a member of the Church of EyeBeast, take a look  below at the guidelines and scenarios. Please read carefully.  

Guidelines:  

To suggest a character/characters, send the name of the character,  what franchise they’re from, and which scenario you want them in. You  can either use my ask box or message me directly

Regardless of method you use to suggest a character, no names will be  attached to the candidates.

You can submit as many suggestions as you wish until I close the submission phase.

You are free to suggest any characters you want, but if you want to   suggest one from something I know, you can refer to my media sheet: https://www.deviantart.com/eyebeast.....heet-819010665  

NO CHILDREN  

I will be looking just for characters, not scenarios.  

The same character can be suggested for difference scenarios as long as they fit the criteria.  

During the suggestion phase there will be no cap on how many  characters can be suggested for a scenario. However, once the polls are  made I will be narrowing down the character pools to no more than 10  entries each.  

The suggestion phase will last for two weeks, ending on JULY 15TH.  At that time, I will open up the survey for people to vote. After   another week, I will close the survey and announce the results.  

Scenarios:  

A) Couple’s Feast- We have an issue of too many leftovers from our last  meeting. The All Seeing One wishes to give them to one lucky couple. For  this one in particular, they will be looking for one male and one  female.

-General Idea: Male and female mutual weight gain.  

-Criteria: Any male and female couple.  

1. Joker (Persona 5) and one of the girls based on a poll

2. Breath of the Wild Link and Zelda  

3. Andy and Mai (KOF)

4. Hiro and 02 (Darling in the Franxxx)

5. Chris and Jill (Resident Evil)

6. Tharja and Male Robin (Fire Emblem)

7. Shuichi and Kaede (Danganronpa)

8. Mulan and Shang (Disney)

9. Vincent (Catherine) and either Catherine or Katherine based on a poll

10. Kimihito (Monster Musume) and a Monster girl based on a poll

11. Ryu and Chun-li (Street Fighter)

12. Izuku and Ochako (My Hero Academia)

13. Ed and Winry (Fullmetal Alchemist)

14. Makise Kurisu and Houoin Kyouma (Steins;Gate)

15. Male Reader and Doki Doki Literature Club Girl based on a poll

16. Male Reader and Huniepop Girl based on a poll

17. Hisao Nakai and Katawa Shoujo Girl based on a poll

18. Joey and Mai (Yu-Gi-Oh)

19. Inuyasha and Kagome (Inuyasha)

B) Princess Makeover-The All Seeing One wishes to gift someone who is of  lower class or rough around the edges a taste of the high life,  specifically what it’s like to be a princess. They will be given an  extreme makeover, giving them the curves, bountiful hair, and regality  befitting someone of royalty. Gender of tribute does not matter.  

-General Idea: Extreme hourglass expansion, hair growth, princessification, and, if applicable, gender swap.  

-Criteria: Any character that could be described as being against  traditionally girly things. Things like a tomboy, a warrior, etc.  

1. Samus (Metroid)  

2. Ryuko (Kill La Kill)  

3. Sakura (Street Fighter)

4. Chie (Persona)

5. Korra (Avatar)

6. Aladdin (Disney)

7.  Lady (Devil May Cry)

8. Tracer (Overwatch)

9. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) poll to decide between classic and reboot

10. Kazuma (Konosuba)

11. R. Mika (Street Fighter)

12. Rotty Tops (Shantae)

13. Ganondorf (Zelda)

14. Amara (Borderlands)

15. Asuka (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

16. Shinobu Jacobs (No More Heroes)

C) Royal Reversal- The All Seeing One wishes to teach humility to the  upper class. The offering shall be given a complete reversal for their  life. Skinny to fat, clean to dirty, intelligent to idiotic, male to  female and vice versa. Obviously the offerings we are looking for must  come from royalty or are suitably upper class.  

-General Ideas: Weight gain, IQ loss, slob, and gender swap.  

-Criteria: Royalty or upper class. Things like kings, queens, princes, princesses, and the fabulously wealthy.  

1. Karin (Street Fighter)  

2. Wonder Woman (DC)  

3. Satsuki (Kill La Kill)  

4. Sonia (Danganronpa)

5.  Lucina (Fire Emblem)

6. Midna (Zelda) poll to decide which version

7. Hilde (Soulcalibur)

8. Peach (Mario)

9. Parasoul (Skullgirls)

10. Mary Saotome (Kakegurui)

11. Malty Melromarc (Rising of the Shield Hero)

12. Catarina Claes (My Next Life as a Villainess)

13. Emelia (Re:Zero)

14. Risky Boots (Shantae)

15. Starfire (Teen Titans)

16. Jasmine (Disney)

D) Pig Deity-The All Seeing One wishes for an ego boost. Provide to them  the name of a god or holy person to wallow in the mud and become the  patron saint of hogs.  

-General Ideas: Weight gain and anthro pig transformation.  

-Criteria: A holy person, either a deity or someone very religious.  

1. Palutena (Kid Icarus)  

2. Aqua (Konosuba)  

3. Crim (Interspecies Reviewers)  

4.  Tiki (Fire Emblem)

5. Panty (Panty and Stocking)

6. Rosalina (Mario)

7. Azazel (Helltaker)

8. Venus (Huniepop)

9. Sophitia (Soulcalibur)

10. Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

11. Hestia (Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)

12. Holo (Spice and Wolf)

E) Pokemon Fusion- The All Seeing One has become aware of a world  inhabited by creatures called Pokémon. Its interest has piqued  concerning the everlasting bond made between the creatures and their  trainers. A test must be performed to see if we can further this  connection by combining the two beings.  

-General Ideas: Transformation and other effects based on the Pokémon chosen.  

-Criteria: A trainer and a Pokémon, preferably one that they have some kind of connection with.  

1. Roxie/Koffing  

2. Whitney/Miltank  

3. Bea/Hariyama

4. Flannery/Magcargo

5. Melony/Lapras

6. Sabrina/Slowbro

7. Nurse Joy/Chansey

8. Pokemon Breeder/Ditto

9. Fantina/Driftblim

10. Hilda/Scolipede

11. May/Slaking

12. Cynthia/Garchomp

13. Dawn/Spiritomb

14. Kiawe/Salazzle

15. Jessie/Arbok

16. Hex Maniac/Gourgeist

17. Officer Jenny/Arcanine

18. Lusamine/Buzzwole

19. Iris/Zekrom