#i think hes more farm strong than gym strong

[hcnnibal]

asking the truly important questions… how much does a2 bench?

prolly like 405 or something

[ninyard]

The Scriptures aka towning according to nin. (subject to change)

can’t do this without acknowledging the descriptions of them by @rekikiri which are just perfect plus some more stuff on them here and this wonderful background by @tara-the-star

(I owe everyone like a million socmed posts just for putting up with my shit re: this. enjoy!)

austin michael browning

- southern boy. has a soft southern accent. i was thinking something like southern georgia, but his parents have a stronger accent than he does. he didn't want to be known as the sweet darlin' southern boy when he moved to virginia for his FBI training, so he tried his best to speak a bit more neutral

- it didn't last long

- 6’2, soft brown hair, beautiful brown eyes. he’s covered in freckles and has the most gorgeous warm skin with some terrible tan lines. when he tans, he tans.

- he’s quite built but you can only tell when he takes off his suit jacket or he’s wearing just a shirt/t-shirt. if he could’ve gotten an a+ on the fbi fitness test he would’ve. he’s incredibly strong and goes to the gym most mornings (at like 6am. he’s a real early bird)

- has a bachelors degree in law/criminal justice

- was a detective for two years in georgia until he went to quantico. worked on criminal intelligence cases, but occasionally worked on juvenile crime cases. he had one particularly difficult case involving both departments (organised crime involving a minor) which inspired him to work for the FBI.

- has four siblings. he's the middle child with two older sisters and two younger sisters.

- he’s a somalier without being a somalier. literally knows anything and everything about wine. always has the right bottle of wine for any occasion or meal. recommending wines and opening his favourite wines is his love language.

- his family live by strict traditional values - two of his sisters were married by the time they were 22, and the other two followed suit at 21 and 23. he has a couple of nieces and nephews that he doesn’t get to see too often but he’s their fun uncle. he had a lot of pressure to find a nice girl and settle down, and always brushed off the girlfriend question (he even made up a fake girlfriend when he was in college, just to get his parents off his back) ((they didn’t “date” for very long))

- his dad worked on a farm his whole life and his momma has always been a housewife. his sisters were the only ones his mom taught to cook and clean. he had to teach himself a lot of life skills in college. he still occasionally ruins his clothes by washing them wrong but he’s learned to get his work suits dry cleaned. it’s much cheaper to do that than have to get new ones when he inevitably shrinks them.

- his mom never teaches him how to cook/bake, but she gives him a handwritten book of recipes when he moves to maryland for work. it sits on a shelf in the kitchen of his apartment but he’s never used it

- (until towns visits his apartment for the first time and tells him that he has to make him some of his ‘momma’s recipes’ someday. browning falls in love, naturally, and tries a couple dishes and treats)

- he didn’t really know or acknowledge that he was gay until he was in college. he’d had a few “girlfriends” here and there in highschool but he always felt like he was forcing himself into liking them. he kissed a boy for the first time when he was 19, and everything made sense for him, but even still he buried it down quite deep and focused on his studies instead of relationships.

- his family are not accepting at all. He grew up around a lot of homophobia and slurs and disrespect of lgbt+ people, and so that made it really hard for him to come to terms with his sexuality. he started to distance himself from them when he went to college, and the weekly phone calls with his mom turned to once a fortnight, into once or twice a month, into whenever she eventually didn’t take no for an answer and kept calling until he picked up.

- the only person who knew that he was gay was his oldest sister, who he came out to when he was in the third year of his degree. she was honest and told him that their mom and dad wouldn’t be supportive of him, but she wasn’t going to tell them either.

- she always changed the topic when the “girlfriend” conversation came up when he would go home for thanksgiving or Christmas or some other occasion. he appreciated that a lot

- started smoking cigarettes in college and struggled to give it up. he barely smokes anymore but every now and again on a tough case he finds himself reaching for a packet of cigarettes (towns hates it)

samuel arthur towns

- new york new yooorkkk. he was born somewhere in new york that i haven't figured out yet.

- 5’11, mixed with a white dad and a black mom. he wears glasses. he’s not as big or strong as austin is, but he’s in really good shape. he has gorgeous dark brown eyes and spends way too much time on his hair.

- has a tattoo on his thigh.

- he’s an only child to his absolutely amazing mother and father. they’re SO supportive of him and have always trusted him to make good choices in life - he tells his mom everything. he calls her almost every other day and visits home as often as possible.

- has a double bachelors degree in psychology and law from Columbia

- was a backliner on his high school exy team but never had any intentions of becoming an athlete/going pro. he was a TOTAL jock back then

- when he graduated college he pretty quickly knew he wanted to do something good that wasn’t necessarily becoming a cop. he waited until he turned 23 and on the day he finished his two years of working in an attorney’s office, he applied for a job with the fbi

- came out as gay pretty young. his parents have always been fairly liberal (his mom was a hippie back in the day) so he came out as a teenager and they’ve always been cool with it

- right when he was in the middle of his FBI training in quantico, he was dumped by the man he’d been dating for like two years. he had to put it to the back of his mind to focus on the academy, but it was one of the things that made him and austin first start speaking

- he’s kept journals since he was a kid. he has a full shelf of journals and sketchbooks from the age he was 10 or 11 until the present. he always carries a little black notebook with him and writes down his thoughts and little sketches. (its full of doodles of browning)

- his parents also have books and boxes full of photos of him from birth. it’s like an INSANE number of photos. their attic is just full of boxes and boxes of pictures. (austin’s favourite is one they have on the wall in the living room of sammy as a teenager in his exy gear)

- in turn he’s really into photography too and always takes photos. he shoots on film, so he has loads of boxes full of photos too. his dream is to have a dark room in his home.

- his mom really is his best friend. she’s his biggest fan, and the reason he studied psychology. she’s a holistic therapist, and gives the BEST advice. his dad is a food critic.

- when he was younger a friend of his was killed after because he became involved with the wrong people and ended up in a gang. it totally changed a lot for him, and seeing the way the case was handled really inspired him to get into law/want to go into the fbi. he saw all these young black boys from underfunded and underprivileged backgrounds finding themselves caught up in gangs and when things would happen to them - it was clear the effort to stop the feuds and the violence was not as important as if a young white man had been killed, or indoctrinated because he had no choice.

- his mom was worried when he told her that he’d applied to be in the fbi. they had a very long conversation about the realities of what he would see working with the fbi, why he wanted to do it, what it would mean for his future, and the things he couldn’t do. he knew all of it already, having researched it all as soon as he realised it was the career path he wanted to go down, but she really wanted to be sure he knew what he was getting himself into. it scared him, for a little bit, but he knew it was the right choice for him.

- he has a license, but doesn’t drive that much. he didn’t really need to drive much living in new york, and 90% of the time, in maryland, austin drives him around.

- he’s partially deaf in one ear from a crash that happened during a car chase a few years into working with the fbi.

- the hardest part about working where he does was learning how to shoot a gun. he hates it. like he’s good at it and smart with it but he hates having a gun. the first time he shot a real person he held it together until he got home later and was practically in shock. (he wasn’t sure if telling his mom broke confidentiality or not, so because he was on the case with austin, he invited him over and he ended up staying the night just to keep him company)

- austin and sam only lived in seperate apartments for about six months when they moved to maryland until they decided to move in together. austin was already renting a two bedroom apartment, whereas sam was in a studio, and it just made more financial sense for them to move in together. ("financial")

- he started crushing on austin so early on in their friendship, but he had no idea that austin was pretty much the same.

- austin and sam met when they both started their training in quantico together. they were roommates at the academy but didn’t really interact too much. they only really started talking after one of the first weekends they were allowed to leave the campus - towns went home to visit his boyfriend on the Friday and came back trying to hide the fact he was a wreck on Sunday. he tried not to talk about it, because they’re judging their emotional maturity in the academy, but when browning asked if he was okay, he spilled a little too much.

- even after that, they weren’t really friends. they talked, of course, about their classes and the academy itself, but that was mostly it. towns didn’t know browning was gay, because he never mentioned it, even when towns told him he was gay. most evenings austin would sit at his desk with headphones on while studying, and sammy wouldn’t usually interrupt.

- then one time when they’re both at the gym at the same time, austin notices sam working out, and his form isn’t quite right for the work out he’s doing. austin corrects him after telling him he’ll hurt himself working out the way that he is, and he helps him through a couple of other sets that he does himself. they go to the gym together most days after that, spotting each other when they’re doing weights. they start running in the mornings, too.

- during the course of training there’s a couple of occasions where students at the academy are expected to wear business attire. they’re both getting dressed up in their suits, and austin is kind of embarrassed because he doesn’t really know how to properly tie a tie. his dad usually tied them for him, and for some reason even though he swore he knew how to do it, he’s just really struggling. sam offers to help and austin ends up talking a little bit about his family, but not giving away anything about how shitty they really are.

- one of the weekends they’re allowed off campus, later on at their time in training, towns asks browning if he wants to go out for dinner and a drink. it’s not a date, and neither of them think it is, but neither of them were going home for the weekend and they both wanted to do something. austin ends up picking a restaurant based off their wine list, and they talk about their lives outside of quantico for a little bit. they can’t exactly go out and get drunk - or they’re both afraid to do so in case they get kicked out of the academy - but they sit and talk and share a bottle of wine.

- they get closer, and when they graduate, towns’ mom and dad show up, and browning’s family doesn’t. they take pictures together (one of towns’ favourite photos ever) and sam introduces austin to his mom and dad. they’re going out for a celebratory meal, and sam’s dad invites austin along so he’s not celebrating by himself. he refuses, but when they insist, he comes along.

- oh and it’s SUCH a nice evening. he fills any rare awkward silence by explaining his wine choice to sammy’s dad, while sam’s mom nudges her son and raises her eyebrows like oh, he’s cute.

- they exchange phone numbers before they both head home to wait for their offers.

- (austin spent most of those 18 weeks smiling because of how close him and sam got. sam spent about half of that time thinking damn. am I falling for another straight guy?)

- austin calls sam first the day they find out where they’re being stationed. they tell each other on 3 that they’ve both been stationed in maryland and oh my god. Austin didn’t even know he was going to feel so relieved but he’s like holy shit. I didn’t even realise i was secretly really hoping that we were going to work together.

(there’s more but. I have to stop myself. The brain rot is setting in deeper and deeper)

[miupow]

okay have to ask about *your* dad!txt thoughts since you've been in my askbox hehe

-ari

omg my dad!txt thoughts... i have so many but i will try to keep this short (i didn't)

txt as dads~

dad!soobin

╰⪼ has four or five kids, and none of them were planned TT they're all close together in age too, one after another.. soobin just can't keep his hands to himself when it comes to his wifey ><

╰⪼ certified girl dad omg but he'd have both... twin girls then a boy, then another girl, and then another boy hehe and they're all so sweet and shy like him :(

╰⪼ his kids walk all over him!! he just can't say no to them when they whine and pout :( gets them whatever they want and will do whatever they ask him to. tea parties and makeovers? nerf gun battles and dramatic storybook readings? doesn't matter he'll do it cos he loves spending time with his kids :>

╰⪼ he's just such a family man TT he loves his little ever-growing family sm and makes it known every day :(

dad!yeonjun

╰⪼ two kids cos he's a single child and wants his kids to have siblings :3 two girls, both spoiled absolutely rotten! they eat his credit card for lunch omg but he doesn't care, anything to make his baby girls happy ^^ they're such brats tho i know it TT have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers

╰⪼ even more of a girl dad than soobin oml... his daughters are his princesses and he'd move mountains for them if he had to!! literally melts anytime his daughters ask for something, he has to get it cos then they'll cry, and he can't stand to see his babies cry...

╰⪼ such a protective dad :( always holding them close, freaks out any time they fall or get hurt, even if it's just a little scrape. swoops them up in his arms n coddles them >< omg if kids were being mean to them at school or something.. full rampage on the poor teachers

╰⪼ always covered in glitter or has bows in his hair, carries their baby photos in his wallet, always running home as fast as he can every day so he can spend time with his favorite girls ;(

dad!beomgyu

╰⪼ he's such a boy dad nothing can convince me otherwise.. honestly that workman episode just solidified it for me. i think he'd have just one son, his mini me :( literally identical in every way, they even dress similar TT

╰⪼ his son is a little hellion tbh but it's okay cos he's cute.. just so energetic 24/7 and never seems to run out of energy TT somehow beomgyu manages to keep up with him.. i know the house is a mess

╰⪼ gyu has such a deep connection with his dad and i feel like it would be the same for him and his son :( they do absolutely everything together, with his son riding on his shoulders

╰⪼ i think beomgyu would be the least prepared to be a dad but i think he'd be such a good one :( before his son was born i think he would have a lot of anxiety about it :(

dad!taehyun

╰⪼ girl dad taehyun hits different im ngl, but i think he would have both a girl n a boy, two kids like yeonjun. they're both so polite and softspoken like their daddy :( n they both have his big brown boba eyes... crying

╰⪼ his kids would definitely be the most well behaved and respectful TT he would make sure that they behaved themselves and had good manners! they'd have good grades and play soccer and just be so intelligent.. he'd just have the best kids

╰⪼ science experiments and ant farms and bottle rockets :( his kids are so curious and he loves to watch them learn and grow <3 he always helps them too, his favorite way of spending time with them. they climb all over him like he's a jungle gym but he doesn't mind cos he's strong enough to hold them both even when they're older :>

╰⪼ like yeonjun he'd be so protective over his son and daughter, always wary about them getting hurt. he's that helicopter dad at the playground who wont take his eyes off of his kids lol. if anything ever happened to them he'd be absolutely beside himself

dad!hyuka

╰⪼ oh hyuka ;( two boys and a girl, opposite of him and his sisters. he'd be such a good girl dad because he grew up around girls but i think his sons would be such mini mes always following him around.. the huening gene is so strong they would look just like him :( he and his sons would be so protective over their daughter/baby sister too

╰⪼ just loves his kids so much :( he'd be such a good dad i can't even put it into words omg, would dedicate his life to them from the moment they were born. the fact that he was a dad would be the most important part of his identity from then on

╰⪼ i think he'd have kids later than the other boys so he'd be a lot more mature when they come into his life, a lot more prepared for the responsibility. omg that's all he would do is prepare when his wife told him she was pregnant, obsessed with learning as much as he can so he can be the best husband/father he can be

╰⪼ just dad hyuka. literally haunts me every waking moment

[trivorowo]

So guess who got invested into an indie game from a Dev which I have strong mixed feelings on again~

So I've been playing punch club 2 recently, which is a odd thing for me to do, considering that the last two games I played from this developer, Lazy bear games, were the first punch club and graveyard keeper.

Punch club 1 was an interesting fighting management game, mired by the fact that your stats decayed over time, leading to a negative feedback loop of keeping your stats high enough to keep up with the game. I only beat it when they added an easy mode where the stat decay is removed, which makes the game absolutely trivial with that removal.

Graveyard keeper on the other hand is a farming esque game centered around managing a graveyard and accompanying church. It is a 40 hour grindset which I don't have the time to dissect, but suffice to say I never wanted to touch it again.

As such, I was cautiously optimistic going into punch club 2. Here are some thoughts:

- Stat decay is gone! A major improvement, and it's built around it this time round, which each stat now having a tonus bar, a separate resource for each stat which is spent on more powerful skills when fighting, but has to be recharged before gaining stats when training.

- it might just be me, but I think I understand the fight mechanics a bit better this time round.

- The first act was a small grind, but it worked as a way to get used to the overall mechanics.

-There's no negative feedback in comparison to the first game, or at least not as much. You can always stop taking fights and focus on working and gaining money - plus, since working still gives you some stats, it doesn't feel as big of a waste.

-the references are a bit...brazen? Like in the first one it was a cheeky one letter off situation, but in this one there's just Goro Majima, looking like how he did in Yakuza Kiwami 2. It feels very odd.

-Currently on act 2, where the game becomes more...organised. You always have a fight one day, being a trainer at a gym the next, then being a cop the next, then repeat. Money becomes a non-issue at this point, due to shenanigans on my part, and since I was opting for the classic training method, rather than the neuro training method, which was quicker but required more money.

- I have also kinda cheesed part of the second act. With the league you're in, anyone below you has to pay you to fight, and vice versa. So I just fight Goro Majima, with the amount I get from him increasing with the higher difference between our ranks. This wouldn't do much in gaining ranking, but there's a second factor. You can hack your fights to increase the amount of ranking you would gain or lose in fights. That ranking increase appears to be a flat 100, no matter what, and winning the fight gives way more than the cost of hacking the fight.

-I am breaking this game in half, so god help me.

[a-tale-of-legends]

@weliveinapokemonworld okie dokey! This is related to me asking y'all just to give me asks about a canon character btw! I wanted to ramble so I shall~

Nessa Murray, beloved gym leader, model and girlfriend to Sonia! It's been a long time since I thought about her, so let's get some hcs going.

Bulbapedia speculates that Nessa's love for water types come from her dad being a fisherman and her mom working at the market place, which I find really cute honestly. Especially with her parents, since now I'm imagining them being such a duo when it comes to both in marriage and in work. I think Nessa got a really good example of a healthy relationship growing up.

Unless it gets confirmed in pokemas, I actually don't think Milo was in the gym challenge in his youth. He doesn't exactly seem like the type in all honesty. So how he and Nessa met is probably when they both became gym leaders. Being as competitive as she is, as well as Nessa coming from a fishing market town vs Milo's farming market town, AND the fact that Milo specializes in a type stronger than hers, I think Nessa thought would have been a worthy opponent to be considered her rival. It's completely one sided though, but Nessa is insistent on the two being rivals. I think it bugs Nessa how lax Milo is when it comes to his battling. As in him not having the heart to crush weaker trainers if he wanted to. Cause he could. She knows he could, she got her ass handed to him before, so she knows that Milo is super strong. So she just wishes he would stop worrying and go all in, give trainers a hard pose of reality that'll push them to greater heights. Of course, Milo doesn't see it that way, which bugs her even more but .....she does respect him a lot. Enough to not push her own way of thinking onto him, especially when he's already going pretty well. That being said she gets very defensive when people criticize him in front of her. Rivarly aside, that's her friend and co-worker and she will not have him be disrespected.

I feel like all the gym leaders of Galar have perfected the mask they have to put on for their audience, but I think no one does it like Nessa. The only one that I think matches her in that aspect is Leon himself. Given that she works two jobs, each demanding a certain skill set and way of thinking, she often has to bring to versions of herself to her jobs. I think gym leader Nessa is where Nessa really shows her competitive side that she wouldn't be able to show as a model. And as a model, she gets to show her serenity, so to speak, something she can't really do as a gym leader. Both jobs are still ultimately her, just her prioritizing one part of her over the other. When she's with Sonia or any of her friends, she gets to show both sides to her easily. Also is much less tense lol.

Going back up to the fact that her parents are a fisherman and a market worker respectively. I think this tells me that Nessa, much like Leon, didn't grow up with much. I feel like she was decently well off, but the market place is fickle, so money isn't always the most consistent. And fishing isn't always consistent either. Nessa becoming a gym leader and a model was probably a blessing to her- being able to support her family more. Again, given how Hulburry seems to be a fishing community, they are able to make a good amount of income. I'm just thinking, for Nessa's family specifically, there were some high highs and low lows. Gym work and modeling made things more consistent.

Some smaller things: Legendverse Nessa wears braids. This is important. I also wish I could accurately show her eye color change but alas. Just think of her current eye colors and swap it. That.

At one point, there was a small plan for Nessa and Raihan to fake date for the public ( there's a better sentence for what I'm trying to say here, but it's lost on me. Just know it was all business). It was honestly short lived though. It's something that Raihan likes to joke about now and again and it's something Nessa loves decking him for.

This is probably me trying to read one piece + my Pirate! Nessa agenda, but I think Nessa would be good at making maps, or at least charting the weather. She learned from her dad, knowing when's a good day to fish and why. She also knows how to work around a market and sell a product, thanks to her mom. Carol learns a lot from her. ( Again, blame one piece for this lol)

also I found this in Bulbapedia

So I guess my hc that Hulbury and turffield has or had some sort of rivarly is probably on the money heh.

That's all I have for now though! Hope you enjoy!

[mylesobando]

My first post

I would define social media as a tool to connect with the world. I think that it was made with the intention of making people closer with others and helping realize that we in fact are all just as human as anyone else. It unfortunately did not end up that way. In a best case I think the most it could be was a place for people to just be funny online, and we have that. We have a big network of people “riffing” with everyone else for all of eternity. 

What social media is in actuality is a cesspool showing up the worst of what humans can be, and the extent others will go to use it to control others. How some will use it to manipulate and control a narrative. Build “communities” that are essentially just echo chambers where they can scream their hate speak and everyone else there will agree or blindly follow. It is a place for most to go fully numb in their head and consume an amount of information the human brain was never meant to take in. It is a place for us to endlessly doom scroll and take in our slop as it is presented to us so we can interact with rage bait or see something that can make us laugh but in 4 scrolls we forgot we ever saw it. Being on social media is the closest those of us living will ever get to being in purgatory, because even if hell is hot it doesn't have AI generated jesus engagement farming on facebook. 

As a social media user I am fairly active. I definitely have more time on it then most people my age I feel. I was lucky to be born when I was so I did not have to navigate the people who are marketing misogyny and to young boys and saying that's how you get women because I was really dumb and would have fallen for it. I feel like I am not quite “chronically online” but you have to be a certain level of online to even be aware of that phrase. I am an amount of online where making connections in person is hard because most sentences start with “did you see that post on (social media site) about (dumb/angering/political/funny thing)”  and if they say no then it feels like an impromptu staring contest. 

I feel like I am pretty strong at identifying some trends and reading between the lines of internet speak. I can also read things with an appropriate amount of skepticism knowing everyone wants to make themself look like the good guy who just did a superhero landing in a marvel film, you have to read posts from many different perspectives to really feel you have the full story. I would say I am fairly weak out of my bubble however. If it is things about welding or gym rat behavior I am out of the loop and would not be able to clue people in. I am strong within my cliques but outside there are many things I know very little about.

For this class beyond of course the credits I think being more informed on things I use but know little about has always been interesting. I have been on social media since I was very young and yet I know nothing about it beyond what the 2010 film The Social Network told me. Elon bought Twitter for more money than anyone in my gene pool will ever see within their lifetime but why, what value did it have to him? Joe Rogan may say he needed to and is saving humanity by doing it but I think he is just a very rich bored guy with autism because if I had a lot of money I would also buy things I did not need because I am also autistic and bored. I feel this class can potentially teach me the value social media can have and how we can use it most effectively. I also feel like this would be fun for me because before I changed my major I wanted to be a social media manager. 

[docnomore]

Thinking about the differences Mrs. Doc and I had to work through over the years. Our childhood years were dramatically different. Her father was the VP of the wealthiest bank in the US. That translates to, a father never present. Up before dawn, gym bag, brief case and suit in hand. Home by 5, locked away in the study, drinking martinis and doing paperwork. Unavailable until 8 PM when he was sufficiently numb and time for bed. He did everything he’d been taught: he was a great provider. Mother, went to school, got her M-R-S degree, did finishing school and all of that. She graduated to become the consummate, bored to tears housewife. Always dressed in pearls, always at the ready with starched shirts, impeccably clean house and the meal at the last minute when he’d call to inform he was bringing a client home. Mrs. Doc did the private school, the riding club and country club with the parents. She and her friends hung out at the pool. Mrs. Doc from an early age would slip into her father’s study and eat the very “wet” olives from the martini. By 9-10, she was an alcoholic. Mother decided she wanted more. Took up stage acting. That was not befitting a banker’s wife. They soon divorced. She met and married a Harvard man. A socialist, Kennedy man. Given her options, Mrs. Doc chose to stay with mom over dad. That essentially cost her her inheritance from her father. Mom left an inheritance of $2 million but step dad remarried and divided that up between the new wife and her brood. Mrs.Doc’s step brother being the executor saw what dad had done and made attempts to make things right. She received nearly. $70,000. Staying with mom also meant moving as a late teen to Colorado with the whole John Denver movement. She married and her alcoholism caught up to her. She married a second time to a guy who was a total manipulator. He was a long haul truck driver. Together, they had a daughter. Not exactly sure, but there’s a strong possibility that he molested her. By this time, Mrs. Doc was a recovering alcoholic but still had her vices - namely cigarettes and work. She was managing a corporate chain restaurant and was averaging 12+ hours a day. Closing one day and opening the next. Her daughter in tow, the child had no idea what stability was. That marriage failed and then came me.

Six months older than Mrs. Doc, she came from one side of the state, I came from the other. Dad was illiterate and always searching for work. He had many jobs. A friend from school got him a job as a pit crewman on an Indianapolis 500 race team. They won in 1949, 1951 and again in 1952. He also worked a printing press, driving a fire truck and as a TV repairman. Things were always tight but they managed to make it work. Mom had a mental illness and could never tell the truth. We grew up believing we were direct descendants of frontiersman Daniel Boone. Dad continued to work Indy for several decades and as soon as we boys were “old enough”, would take us to the track. People with a little money, do crazy stupid stuff. And at Indy, the infield gets raunchy and wild. Dad would take us around the track and taught us both to drive race cars there. I’d been driving since the age of 12 on the neighbor’s farm. They had a Volkswagon Beetle with no doors. When it was time to bring the cows in, we’d drive them in using that car. In ‘75, things got really hard. A fire retardant known as PBB was mixed in with the cattle feed and everyone’s herds had to be Slaughtered. Using a bull dozer, someone from the government would order a trench dug. The cattle were herded in and we sitting up on the sides would open fire. We were paid 22 cents a bullet. Dad was working a factory job and that factory closed. More government policy gone bad. Literally, we were left to starve. Mom had a job at a doctor’s office. It wasn’t enough to keep the creditors at bay, they lost everything but the house. As kids, we hung out in the back pastures, having bonfires and a keg of beer until the cops showed up. It would always turn into a free for all of underage drinkers wildly driving through corn fields trying to lose the cops. More of dad’s driving lessons put to use. Come the next morning, the chief of police would show up at the coffee shop, lay an ear of corn in front of dad and tell him hame had to go square up with the farmer whose field we tore up the night before. I was a lousy student, in part because dad never allowed homework to be done at home. “School is for school work. Home is for home.” He would say. Report cards would go home and mom and dad would have their arguments. Mom would slap us around a bit and life went on. Like my sister and brother before me, I graduated to essentially nothing. I worked as a dishwasher, a banquet porter, room service and as a cook. Factory work had left the state and farmers had lost their farms. I floundered for a few years then ended up in the military. I’d never been “college material”. In the military, everything is premised on rank and rank is premised on the amount of education one has. Having nothing more than a high school diploma and ranked at the bottom of the class, I was literally little more than cannon fodder. I began as a deck seaman on an ammunition supply ship sailing the Pacific. I got orders to attend Hospital Corpsman school while docked in the Philippines. I still wasn’t much for education, but sitting in a classroom for 13 weeks sure beat working Deck. I and another guy teamed up with a merchant mariner expat living in Manilla. He had a van, and we chipped in for gas and we drove across Luzon to get from Subic Bay to Clark Air Force Base. We hopped a C-141 to Travis AFB. Somewhere over the Pacific, that plane blew an engine and we found ourselves on Guam. We talked our way into first class tickets aboard a PanAm 747 to San Francisco. I attended HM school in San Diego, where my immaturity nearly go the better of me. I’d skip out of school around noon, change into a swim suit, grab a cooler full of beer and a surfboard and would spend the day and night surfing and getting drunk. Hung over, I graduated and they sent me to Camp Pendleton where I learned how to work with the Marine Corps. After that, Chicago, where I met a girl and married her. We hardly knew one another. Soon after, she was pregnant and she lied to get out of the Navy. That marriage failed.

[ruth-posts-pokemon]

Well, guess I should introduce myself but like, a little more in-depth than I did in my bio. Sooo, pinned post time!

My name’s Ruth! I use she/her and they/them pronouns, and I’m an ace demigirl. I’m from southern Unova, and have only been a trainer for a few years, but I’d like to think I’m at least a halfway decent one. I’ve kiiiinda tried the gym challenge but it’s not a huge priority of mine, I mostly just wander around wherever and then stuff and things happen to me. Isn’t that just how life is? Anyways I’ve got ADHD and also am not the best at doing the whole being a normal person thing, but I’m still happy to chat and answer questions and stuff when my executives are not being dysfunctional. I’ve only been lurking for, what, 3 years…

I have more than six Pokémon, but I’ll go ahead and introduce the usual party I have with me.

Red Tide: Dhelmise that showed up while I was minding my own business tossing pokébeans into a saltwater canal and then followed me even after I ran out. Technically my starter since they were the first Pokémon I ever caught but as you can imagine the situation was far from the usual planned or scheduled or otherwise not spur of the moment sorta deal. Something something insert comparison to Ponyta girl movie trope minus saving a farm. They’re pretty docile and don’t seem to have much interest in battle, but apparently they’re really old and really strong?? Certainly saved my behind a few times, I can say that much… Oh I should also probably mention they’re the red Dhelmise in my profile picture. No, I still don’t really know how they were holding that toy. Red Tide does what Red Tide wants.

Lumen: Chandelure, but I caught her as a Litwick. Basically I was hoping to get a birthday gift for my mom and found her terrorizing a Bed Bath & Beyond by trying to burn all of the actual candles. Decided I’d try to do the employees a favor and ended up having to spend most of my cash on candles to convince the little arsonist to follow me, and then she didn’t stop following me even after the bait candles were destroyed, and the rest is history. Nowadays Lumen is only mostly a little shit(affectionate) who I can somewhat trust not to do arson if left to her own devices. On one hand it’s nice that her mischief isn’t destructive, on the other you have no idea how many times I’ve been woken up because SOMEONE decided to use the smoke alarm to get attention. At least she quickly figured out trying to pick on Red Tide was a great way to get a liquidation to her whole self.

Soul: Aegislash, I found him as a Honedge at a Renaissance Faire looking really confused and lost. Er, well I mean he kinda found me and I just didn’t notice for a while... Might’ve started hanging around when I visited the booth selling replica swords, he would’ve blended in perfectly there. Almost had the world’s worst high-five when noticing Red Tide’s little shadow, but things worked out and I guess the two liked each other enough for him to want to join the team. Or maybe they were doing the Dewpiderman pointing meme at each other over being red. Anyways, he’s always been shy, even after evolving, but he’s definitely not nearly as timid as he started out. Still tends to hide behind anyone or anything he can in unfamiliar situations, though. And also definitely didn’t get his name from a final boss in a game series I really like on account of them both having similar colors and one eye. Lumen doesn’t terrorize him anymore but I don’t think they have much of a bond either, just tolerance.

Kazoo: I and everyone around me always expected I’d be a bug trainer, but it took all the way until finding Kazoo to have my first bug type. He’s a Galvantula now, just kinda showed up in the house one day and kept unplugging my 3DS to feast at the outlet, and like. What was I supposed to do, kick out a little Joltik in the middle of a hailstorm? Just a little creacher whos only crime was being hungy and not knowing what an electric bill is? Send him out to get conked in the head by ice chunks almost a fifth of his own size? I simply could not do it, and that’s how I ended up with funny little guy who probably has one or two thoughts throughout any given week. He didn’t even care about being held like burger! What a guy. I don’t think any of my Pokémon don’t get along with him— Soul actually warmed up to him really fast, even— though Red Tide does sometimes get tired of having their wheel used as an inconvenient perch that spins around. He used to help me save on dryer sheets by simply eating the laundry static, but now I have to deal with a spider who really wants his mandated warm laundry basket bed time and long story short be careful what you teach your Galvantulas as Joltiks. Small price to pay for Kazoo.

Barque: Lapras, and the only core team member I actually battled to capture— that situation was what actually got Kazoo to evolve. Red Tide needed an ocean buddy, fully evolved Lumen needed to be kept under control, and I needed a Pokémon that could use Surf and actually move faster than a walking pace. She’s probably the most interested in battle out of the gang, even more than Lumen, and uh… They don’t really get along, but that’s mostly because local chandelier likes causing problems on purpose and local boat animal likes stopping her from causing problems on purpose. For better or worse. It’s not on sight anymore thankfully. She gets along great with everyone else, and seems to do a good job of keeping the peace when everyone’s out of their balls. Out of curiosity a while back I had some testing done, and apparently she’s all the way from the coast of Galar! Quite the trip to have made.

Cheerio: They are a Meltan and I found them in the trash. Legit had no idea what they were at first because my ‘dex didn’t recognize them, but folks online were able to give me the important info. If Kazoo is baby, then Cheerio is like, mega baby. Creacher with a baby license. Fittingly, they’re best pals with Kazoo, and it’s really cute to watch them hanging out. Soul seems suspicious of them, and Red Tide used to be(and I think is still a bit intimidating to the lil fella on account of being hugelarge), but they were quick to figure out what metal is off limits so I don’t see any problems arising there. Barque is actually a bit protective of them and Lumen wasn’t even given the chance to try and pick on them like she did Soul, but I get the feeling even she wouldn’t have really had it in her to bully what is more or less a metallic blob baby. When not in their ball Cheerio likes hanging out under my hat or on Barque’s head. They’re heavier than you’d expect, but then again they are made of metal, so… Anyways if anything happened to them I’d KO everyone in the room and then myself.

Aaand that’s the gang. One of these days I’ll get around to sharing pictures of everyone, and maybe talk about some of my other ’mons, too. Spoiler alert: Barque is the only one who doesn’t fit with the theme of just showed up in my life one day and made themself at home/catching them was somewhat of an impulse decision that worked out/I didn’t know how else to check if I was about to make a new friend or get murderized to death by a wild animal. You know how it is in Unova.

[heademptie]

Cecil Finlay Vaughn

The Thot, Scott, Parent Friend (TM)

WARNINGS: Strong language, mildly suggestive language

   “Normally I’d be flattered by ye getting all hot an’ bothered by the accent, but cuid ye keep it in yer pants while I yell at ‘em for their fucken idiocy.”

   ***   ***

   Born April 7th in a town right by Loch Ness, Scotland, Cecil lived in a lighthouse with their great aunt during the winter and with their father on a farm the rest of the time. Cecil never fit into the stereotypical masculine role they were expected to as a young boy, and was pretty fluid with their gender expression, officially transitioning to nonbinary at the age of 29, however had been using neutral pronouns since they were 17. 

   ***   ***

   “Screw your stereotypes, I look fucken good in a skirt. Stop thinking about what’s in my fucken pants, ye perv.”

   *** ***

   At the age of 19, Cecil left Scotland to go travelling through Europe and expanded that area until they ended up in America at 22 and began studying there with a scholarship. Despite their carefree and adventurous attitude, they were dedicated to their studies but knew how to balance school and life. Cecil enrolled in cultural studies and excelled at the class. 

   ***   ***

   “What’s the point of there being a whole world out there if I only care about my section of it? What good is that gunna do?”

   ***   ***

   Cecil had many partners throughout their early adulthood, but were mainly one night stands with the occasional repetitive partner. Men, Women or otherwise, Cecil was open. Many tried confessing their affection for the Scottsthem, but were always turned down and Cecil would no longer engage sexually with them. When they were almost 26, Cecil labelled their romantic orientation as aromatic. Though they didn't announce it, it spread quickly and opinions of Cecil were mixed, some confused or annoyed, others accepting and eager knowing there would be no strings attached, and few remained indifferent.

   *** ***

   “I cannae love you the way you want me to, and I daenae feel like changing meto fit your fantasy. And if you loved me like you think you do, you wuidn’t ask me to.”

   *** ***

   After graduating, Cecil began travelling again and put their degree to use by visiting a range of cultures to learn from the source. Through their travels, Cecil made many friends across the world, some more powerful than others, and became well connected to a number of groups of people. Cecil eventually settled back in America at 33, specifically New York, and worked in a museum in the archives. 

   ***   ***

   “Let's fix the errors in here, shall we? Get rid of some of that nasty toxic patriotism.”

   ***   ***

   Cecil met a man named Jedidiah Fallon when they were in their late 30s, and began to hang out with him. Their friendship developed semi quickly and became quite strong, eventually becoming a romantic love on Jedidiah's side. When he confessed to Cecil, he was understanding of Cecil's feelings and knew that the same type of love would not be reciprocated, however felt that Cecil deserved to know of his feelings. Cecil decided to accept Jedidiah's confession. They later got married. Cecil loves Jedidiah and Jedidiah is in love with Cecil.

   ***   ***

   “I will love you for the rest of my life, you are my family, you are my soulmate. And maybe in our next lives, I'll be able to fall in love with you the way you have with me. But for now, in this life we live, I hope my affection is enough for you.”

   ***   ***

   Cecil is currently in their mid to late fifties and works part time at Jedidiah's gym to help with management and equipment care. They helped in raising Jedidiah's child but are not considered a parent to them, however is still family. Cecil, when not working at the gym, lectures at a local college for their major

Taglist: @nobirdsex

[thinkatoryprocess]

I could see Keefe and his grandparents living on a farm. Maybe Keefe’s grandad is the one that got him into woodworking. His mama comes and goes when she feels like it. She’s always wanted more than her parents lives. She’s never been good at staying put. She loves her son and her parents but she’s just always been kind of immature and selfish and she’s gotten into drugs more than once. Her parents tell her she could just come home and they could all be a family together and sometimes it works for a little while bit it always falls apart somehow. She can’t live with their rules and perceived judgment. Keefe’s biological father is out of the picture and has been since Keefe was a baby. She’s always talking about how she’s going to get a place for her and Keefe ignoring if he even wants that and disappearing for weeks at a time. Until the day she shows up with a new husband with a good job and a life waiting for her in a different state. And of course Keefe is going to go with her. No he CANNOT just stay with his grandparents for his last 2 years of high school. He’s HER son, not THEIRS.

Sold. This is it. Keefe as hardworking farm boy really works for me. It strikes me that the hard living in S2 didn't seem to bother him that much and he's objectively a strong dude. I totally buy him going to the gym, but if he values that kind of thing especially because hard discipline on physical work was instilled in him at a young age, I dig that. I think he probably loved working on the farm, too, and would've stayed even after high school.

Keefe does not trust his "stepdad" at all, too, he gets bad vibes, and he does not feel safe with either of these people. He's not even 16 and he feels totally trapped. There's no way to get away with staying at the only place that feels like home, so he has to find somewhere else, no matter how hopeless it seems.

Honestly, even when he's in Hong Kong, he doesn't actually regret leaving his mom's house. He's not happy he's there, but he also knows he would have turned into a total raging mess if he'd had to spend two years or more with her and him. There was no winning.

[thebarefootcajun]

John and Abe, a Love Story

Asleep in my arms I heard him breathe heavily

His heart beat only for me a rhythm that spelled love; four pumps and then a kiss

At least that’s how I interpreted that beautiful deep purr

Almost like a male cat purring pushed up against me on a cold night

Content

Our bed was hand hewn, John was a master carpenter

He’d studied as an apprentice at a local shop in the little village about five miles from where we lay our heads each night

John and I have been together for nineteen and one half years

The year is 1959 and our love is hidden, a gem more precious than the rarest pearl found at sea

We met in high school gym class in the shower

One look at John and I was hooked

I’m Abe by the way, telling the story

It was the first day of our eleventh year of school

John was a football player, first string, defensive player

He was a burly bear of a man

I, on the other hand, more of a basketball player

And I did play during each game

I was quite good

Thin and wiry, toned and strong

My body was defined by all of the work I did on our family farm

John was muscled as well, he was more of the lifting weights type of guy

We started hanging out together

Both of us lived so far away from civilization, so to speak, that we spent all of our time together

John was a hunter and preferred the cooler temps

I, on the other hand, loved to fish and preferred warmer weather

It was the perfect marriage if I might be so bold to say that

We were so smitten with each other that many of our peers and family remarked that they’d never seen friends as close as the two of us

Not unnatural in a rural area where we were so isolated

Our lives are wonderfully lived on the South Louisiana Cajun Prairie

Both of us are fluent Cajun French speakers; it’s our preferred language

After graduation John studied carpentry

I decided to become a small patch former

Together, we pooled our resources and bought an older farm with nice fertile land rotated each year

And the farmhouse and barn were both modest and in fair condition

Excited to live together John and I began our love journey in a new way as roomies on the outside, but on the inside as two individuals committed to a deep abiding love

Only the two of us knew the depth of our relationship

Of course we were attracted to each other sexually

But it was the love that bound us

Certainly, long term committed relationships are hard enough to make work

Ours was a bit of work, but we felt there was no other way for us

We had to be one under the same roof

Aging together is beautiful

We’ve become more natural with each other

We’ve become better lovers in experimentation and always relying on what works for both of us

We pooled all of our resources together and became very supportive of each other’s work

John is stirring now

He usually knows when I’m process thinking as I am now

I hug him

I kiss him

Tell him that I’m holding him tight

With a kiss I send him back to his cat purrs

And I’m in love anew each moment with John in my arms

Barefoot Cajun, a prairie hopeless romantic sharing love with his husband of twenty-nine years

[tuliptyper]

Oddly Specific Thomas Hewitt hcs;

TW mention for canon typical violence/cannibalism but also mentions of mental illness, suicide, bullying and general poor mental health. also nasty gross nail gunk

also these are long and wordy and not proofread sorry hehe

- neurodivergent, probably ADHD but it manifests in a way that he constantly second guesses his diagnosis bc people say he doesnt 'act like it' (projection? huh? idk her)

- dry asf hands because he cleans them a lot because he doesnt like feeling dirty but doesnt have much time to wash his face/shower. he hates his nails bc he doesnt know how to get the gunk out and accidentally stabbed his nail bed tryna clean them with a tooth pick

- loves his mama but he wishes she understood him better. growing up mute and being bullied by pretty much everyone, hes grown so fragile without even knowing it. sometimes he wishes he could peer into his mothers mind and tell her how he truly feels.

- i think he has some sort of relationship with self punishment. not really sh in the typical sense but he feels he deserves to be overworked to the point of sickness, he doesnt like to rest or treat himself. he gets tense when things are peaceful for too long and he feels the need to bully himself relentlessly. its awful :(

- living in an environment where hes essentially the breadwinner, bodyguard AND punching bag with no refuge to run to is incredibly hard. if it weren't for the guilt and his dedication to his family, he..well...i think you can guess the rest. (someone go get this guy some prozac)

- if he was introduced to them, hed love fairy tales. even though he was pulled from school and had very litle encouragement to persue his hobbies aside from sewing, hes a curious man who enjoys learning. fairy tales give him insight into past culture (and they also satiate his desire for romance. sigh ❤❤) ((call him your prince, he would actually get light headed from all the butterflies))

- should he ever get a taste of freedom, be it a particularly good experience with some strangers or seeing some pretty scenery on the road, he will chase that high Forever. he craves normalcy in its most wholesome form; saying hello to coworkers, picking up groceries, maybe taking his dog out for a walk and getting take out when hes tired. Hoyt knows this somewhat and makes sure tommy doesnt persue that desire with some nasty words and manipulation. ((literally grab his hand, run away into town and dont come back. discreetly send a check to mama with a small house on her name a few blocks down and leave the other old coots to rot))

- i gotta agree with the metalhead hc, he would love stupid ass nu-metal! dad metal, if you will. 2000s era heavy rock and anything with some angry lyrics. hates headbanging though, simply bc he loses his balance more than hed like to admit and also knots are fucking annoying to comb out with his curly hair. BUT ALSO his guilty pleasure music would be really sweet piano music or film soundtracks,,,its his inner romantic

- Thomas has like...hot dad personality..HEAR ME OUT omfg he finds puns funny, twirls his keys like a DAD and DIYs everything. he makes a lot of furniture, clothes and miscellaneous trinkets in his spare time. he needs an etsy shop ASAP

- but also hes such cute goth boyfriend material omg, he'd let you play with his hair, even braid or dye a strand if youre lucky! matching outfits kill him because he loves being yours. your hot goth husband. hell, he'll wear the bedazzled 'His/Hers' t shirt you got from the flea market, at least it fits him!

- dont send him to the gym, hes either the reason membership sales skyrocket or skydive ( they either see him and think 'i want to be him' or 'ill never be him' LMAO). unintentionally, hes a menace at the gym bc hes just generally so strong from all the physical labor back at the farm house

- i think he'd go vegetarian aside from those ready to eat rotisserie chickens you get from the supermarket (listen...i smash a whole chicken with a side of rice and corn like nobody's fuckin business)

[floral-poisons]

Relationship HCs for epel please? 🥺

hi anon!! i'm happy to provide relationship head canons for our sweet farm boy epel!! i have already done 2/3 of the pometrio so it's only natural to finish the group!

epel wasn’t exactly looking for a relationship. it just...happened. with you of course. but he wasn’t looking for one. you just happened to enter his life and be amazing.

it was really unexpected. you guys got paired together in gym class and were basically inseparable since.

you weren’t one for exercise. half of the time in your home world you skipped gym. epel on the other hand was used to physical activity. despite his delicate appearance, he was extremely strong. and he was not going to fail the class because you didn’t show up.

so he dragged you to class and helped get your grade up. it was tough but epel was right. it was important that you build up your strength. in fact, you even learned that working out was a great destressor (which you desperately needed because holy shit was being at nrc stressful).

what also added to the relationship between you two was that you first met epel in gym. and he was a monster. so you didn’t see him as the delicate pomefiore student that everyone else sees him as.

“great seven...” you mutter. “i do not want to mess with him.” you told ace as other students were running as fast as possible away from epel. it was kind of funny actually.

to be fair all of pomefiore has the reputation of being full of drama, themselves, and beauty.

you knew that epel was the opposite of that and you got to see him for who he really was.

plus you were down to earth. you were a lot better than the other students here.

you made him laugh and that was the best part about being with you. you were funny, made a lot of funny jokes. and his laugh was so cute. it was full and hearty and the snorts only added to his cuteness.

your relationship just happened. you guys kissed, decided to date, and proceeded to be a couple afterwards. it happened so quickly that everyone missed it.

rook and vil had dropped their tea cups when epel just called you his significant other out of nowhere. it just...happened.

“yeah i’m going on a date with (y/n). see you guys.” epel shoved a brioche bun into his mouth.

“what!” the third years exclaimed.

“monsieur cherry apple, since when?” rook raised an eyebrow. “when did this happen?”

“it’s been like a few weeks since we started dating. okay bye.” he runs.

you do wish that you could spend a little more time with him but epel has lessons with vil.

but after the lessons are the best part. he goes to you and he lays his head on your lap. he gets to complain and vent out his frustrations while you give his shoulders a massage, you rub his temples, and brush through his hair. it’s calming to just be in your presence. you provide a necessary ear.

“sometimes i don’t get it! why do i have to keep dancing even after i did it perfectly!” he sighs.

“well, i think vil just wants you to be your best self.” you brush his hair. “he understands you’re inherently different from the other pomefiore students. so he wants you to catch up with them so you aren’t left behind.”

“i guess that’s right.”

the entirety of nrc also sees you two as a cute couple. and it’s all you guys need honestly.

[pechaberrii]

How about the gym leaders and Leon trying to make up to their s/o after a fight?

HELLO ANON I DID MY BEST FOR THIS I AM SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO WRITE THIS PLS FORGIVE ME

edit: read more under milo’s!

milo

milo is very easy going, he wouldn’t says he’s a full on people please but he’s definitely a go with the flow kind of guy. but there’s moments when milo has his mind made up about something and won’t change it at all. he’s a bit stubborn but it’s very rare

which is why when you two had a slight argument about him actually using his full strength in battles to land him a better spot in the gym challenge, he was set on making his point that he was fine where he was

but with neither you or him backing down, the argument lasted longer than either of you would like. it ended with you both exasperated with each other and him leaving to spend the day on the farm

he hates it when you two fight. it rarely happens but when it does it feels like a raging storm has come through your shared home. he loves you and hates seeing you upset, especially with him. he thinks about how to say sorry the entire day, his work almost forgotten as he stares at all the wooloos in the field

it’s dark when he comes home, you’re already in bed, he can see your back when he opens the door. he believes you’re already asleep and that he’ll have to wait until tomorrow to say sorry until you shift backwards towards him a bit when he gets in the bed

he wraps his arms around you, pulls you closer to him, and kisses your shoulder. “ ‘M sorry. Didn’t mean to upset you earlier. You have to see it from my view. ‘M more than happy to be at the beginning, to have the new challengers, many who have just started, beat me in battle so they can continue on. I don’t mind it one bit.”

you’re quiet as he talks and when he finishes you roll over to look at him. “I just know you could be higher in the ranks. You’re so strong, why not show Galar your potential? You could be champion.” he laughs at the last sentence and after a few seconds you laugh with him, “Okay maybe not that last one. But still, why hold back?”

milo kisses your forehead, “Because someone has to let the trainers taste the beginning of their dreams.”

nessa

you thought of yourself as a lucky person. lucky to have a team of pokémon that loves you. lucky to be able to participate in the gym challenge. and lucky to be dating nessa

you often wonder how the two of you got together. nessa was absolutely amazing; gorgeous, kind, a fiery spirit that left those around her touched with warmth. she constantly made you happy and you thanked your lucky stars that you accidentally stumbled into her at the lighthouse one night while on a walk

nessa was grateful for you; she felt like you made her a better person. you were her reason for waking up in the morning every day, the reason why she pushed herself to give it her all in and out of pokémon battles. she doesn’t know what she would do without you

you had joined the crowd at hulbury’s gym to watch nessa’s coming up battle. showing the gym’s staff your pass that nessa had gotten you for special access, you made your way through the back halls of the gym until you came to the locker room. you found nessa and a camera crew in the room, a reporter asking her questions about her battling and her modeling while the camera recorded it all. you patiently waited for them to finish up so you could approach your girlfriend and wish her good luck. but even after the camera shut off and was put away, the reporter continued to speak to her

not wanting to be rude and interrupt, you continued to wait while they chatted. the reporter must have been telling nessa jokes or a story because she started to laugh with him at something. you smiled at her laugh, it was always so sweet to hear. but then you noticed the reporter place his hand on her arm, laughing yet again at something. it was then you noticed his blush and awkward stance. why he was still talking with her and trying to make her laugh even after the camera was gone. he was flirting with her

you shifted from one foot to the other, anxiety starting to seep in. she wasn’t flirting back with him right? you knew she wasn’t the type of person to flirt with another while currently in a relationship but you couldn’t help but notice how big her smile was while she spoke to him

you tried to will the bad thoughts away. nessa loves you! you know she does! even if she might seem happier talking to someone else. someone who might be able to treat her better

it wasn’t until nessa broke away from the conversation, telling the reporter that she only had a few minutes before the battle started. she made her way over to you, kissing you quickly, “Hey, baby.” she noticed your lack of response, “Is everything okay? You don’t look so good.”

you smiled, “I’m fine! You have a battle to get to, don’t you?” nessa notified that you didn’t wish her luck, didn’t give her a good luck kiss, and didn’t do your lucky cheer for her. something was wrong

“Baby, you know you can tell me anything right?” nessa gently placed her hand on your shoulder but you shook your head. “I’m fine, Nes. Please, drop it. You’re about to be late.” you placed your own hand on hers, intent on removing it from your shoulder but her grip tightened as she knew what you would do

“No, I won’t drop it. Something has upset you and I want to make sure you’re okay before I go. I don’t care if I’m late, I care about you. Please, what’s going on?” she wasn’t harsh with her words and her grip was tight enough to hang on but you still could have removed her hand. but hearing how concerned she was, seeing the look in her eyes as she asked what was wrong had you spilling your fears to her

she took your hands in hers and kissed them each, “You have nothing to be afraid of. I love you, and only you. There is no man or woman on this entire planet that could possibly take me away from you. Not even Arceus could make me go away from you. You are my rock in the raging waves of life. Where you go, I go.”

you smiled at her and kissed her. neither of you noticed the gym employee that was sent to retrieve nessa for the battle. not until they awkwardly coughed to get y’all’s attention. you both broke away from each other, embarrassment evident from you both. but nessa held your hand as you both left the locker room and made your way to the hallway before the battlefield, the warmth of her hand a constant reminder that she was never leaving you for anything

gordie

hates fighting with you. it basically physically pains him to argue with you. unfortunately, it happens

you understand that as a gym leader, gordie is going to have fans. and you understand that these fans love any and all interactions with gordie, just like how he loves interactions with them. but there are times where you want quality time with your boyfriend when he goes out to meet and greets

that’s what the argument was about- how much time he spends with his fans when he could be spending it with you. gordie hated that you felt this way and wishes he could spend more time with you, but he had an obligation to his fans. he tried to have you understand this but you only take it as him saying he would rather spend time with them than you

you leave without another word, leaving gordie feeling helpless and upset

he’s depressed the rest of the day. his mind thinking of nothing but you and the fight. he wants to go back and say he’s sorry, properly sit down with you and talk, but he’s busy with his fans and can’t abandon them

they can tell something is happened. gordie is not as upbeat as normal, barely talking to them as he does pictures and autographs. when they confront him about it, he tries to laugh it off and tell them nothing is wrong but his fans know him too well. they encourage him to take the rest of the day off for himself, to spend it with you to make him feel better

he almost starts crying upon hearing his fans say this to him. after confirming they are okay with him leaving, he immediately goes home to find you on the sofa reading

before you can look up to see who opened the front door, gordie is kneeling on the floor in front of you, arms wrapped around your waist and his head buried in your chest. you start to ask him what he’s doing until you feel his tears seeping through your shirt

book thrown in what you hope is the direction of the side table, you wrap your arms around him, your own tears falling down your cheeks

it’s quiet for the next few minutes, the only sound being the two of you crying. “I’m sorry,” you breathe out, “I was being selfish and stupid. I understand if you want to leave me, but please know I’m sorry.”

“Never!” gordie picks his head up to look at you, tears still in his eyes. “I was too harsh, I didn’t know how lonely you were. I was trying to be a good idol to my fans but I was being a bad boyfriend to you. I’m so sorry.”

you two spend the rest of the night in each other’s arms, talking about how sorry you both were, how you both were going to change, and how much you meant to each other

piers

piers is such a sweet boyfriend, always putting you first and taking action if anyone has wronged you. people tend to think that piers is lazy and doesn’t care about much but they’ve never seen him when he’s with you

fights between you two are rare, they happen but are rare. normally little things like getting annoyed at each other for not doing the dishes but this fight- this one was the worst

it was your anniversary, five years to be exact. you were so happy, your life with piers meant everything to you. you wanted to do something nice for him so you booked a reservation at one of Galar’s best restaurants. but you wanted it to be a surprise so when you approached him that night, you asked him to take a walk with you, to wander around until you two could walk no more and found somewhere to sit (which would, surprise surprise, be the restaurant). but piers turned down your request, instead offering his own if you two staying in for the night

you shouldn’t have continued pushing him to say yes. you should have just told him what you were planning. but you let your own emotions get the best of you and soon enough, you and piers were yelling at each other. you called him apathetic for not showing interest in what you wanted to do and he called you selfish for only thinking about yourself

after hearing him say that, you stopped talking. you panted for air, your yelling made you breathless, as tears filled your eyes. you realized he was right. you were only caring about what you wanted to do, only thinking about yourself

you didn’t say another word to him as you walked past him to your shared room. the door closed softly behind you and you crawled into bed, tears falling as you thought back on what piers said and how right he was

you awoke to the bedroom door opening and closing. you must have fallen asleep at some point. “Doll?” piers’ voice called out to you in the dark room. you thought about not answering him, pretend to be asleep. “I know you’re awake, I can see you moving around.” damn. you could hear the smile in his voice too

you turned around to face him right as he slid into the bed with you, “You hate me.” he shook his head, “I don’t hate you. Very much the opposite in fact.” before you could say anything else to him, he was holding something up for you to see

it took a few moments for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. he was holding a ring. black metal elegantly designed and curled around a white diamond at the top. an engagement ring

you started crying again when you realized he was proposing. piers pulled you close to him, hand lightly stroking your back, “There is nothing in this world that could ever make me hate you. No fight, no action, no reason. Nothing. You are my soul and I don’t ever want to be without you.”

you obviously said yes

raihan

you knew what you were getting into when you first agreed to go on a first date when raihan asked you out. and you loved every second of it! there was nothing more you loved than every second with your boyfriend. but maybe it wouldn’t kill him to post so much about your relationship online

you were never one to have an online presence and you didn’t mind. there were better things you could do than spend hours upon hours in your rotom phone scrolling through social medias. but raihan was basically a celebrity online. offline too but his fan base online was bigger than one would think.

you didn’t mind him posting pictures of you two on his social media, you found a lot of the comments his followers would leave very sweet. they were all supportive of your relationship and raihan was happy that his followers liked you, not as much as he liked you but no one could ever top that

it wasn’t until raihan posted a picture of you two in bed one morning after a rather intimate moment. the bed sheets covered everything from your chest down so there was nothing explicit to see, but it didn’t take a nuclear scientist to figure out what had happened prior to the photo being taken

you couldn’t bring yourself to dive into the comments on the photo. you were utterly embarrassed. how could raihan post something that was only to be shared between the two of you with no shame whatsoever? and when you approached him about it, he just laughed and said it was something he wanted his followers to see too

“Raihan, it was an intimate moment between us. Us. Not to mention what had gone on just before that photo is easy to see in the picture.” he shook his head, “It’s alright, babe. I don’t mind them seeing our relationship. Besides, my followers are all chill, they don’t mind seeing some slightly sexy stuff every now and then.”

you were starting to lose your patience with him. “You don’t understand, Raihan. That’s not the point. The point is that I don’t want our relationship all over the internet, every second of every day. Every date and every kiss. A few things are fine but not how much you post.”

“What? So you don’t appreciate what I have fun doing? You don’t think that I get to have fun doing things that aren’t battles with other trainers? Why can’t you be a good lover and be more supportive of me?” and before you could say another word, raihan walked out of your shared apartment

you wanted to go after him, explain things to him so he would understand, but there was an even bigger part of you that was so fed up with things that you couldn’t bother with him anymore. you groaned and flopped on the couch, flipping on the tv and simmering in your anger

when hours had gone by and not a single text from Raihan, you were starting to get a little worried. you were constantly checking your rotom phone to see if you had missed a text or to see if he had posted on his social media but everything was silent with not a word from him

after the first hour, you had started to wonder if you were being a bit overdramatic. raihan had done nothing extremely wrong, the photo could have been cropped to hide the bites and marks and it would have just looked like a lazy morning picture

you were still worrying about everything when raihan came back home. you almost didn’t notice him, too caught up in your own mind, until he sat beside you on the couch and placed his head on your shoulder

“Sorry for not being a good boyfriend.” raihan sounded tired, you could hear it in his voice. “I should have asked you if I could post that photo before I did. I never meant to hurt your feelings, babe. I won’t do it again.”

‘he went and talked to nessa’ you smiled and shook your head, “No, I was in the wrong. I overreacted a bit and I didn’t see that you just wanted to show your followers our relationship. I should have talked to you normally about it before going off on you. From now on, let’s talk about these things through, okay?”

you felt him nod in agreement before he placed a soft kiss on your neck. you laughed at his sweetness and wrapped your arms around him. you two weren’t perfect, either on screen or off of it, but you both loved each other and worked together to better one another

leon

leon is a busy, busy man. if he’s not doing work with chairman rose, then he’s doing promotional shots or videos for his sponsors. if he’s not doing that, he’s battling the few trainers who actually made it far enough to be able to challenge him. and if he wasn’t doing that then he was doing interviews and autographs. leon was always busy, no matter what

and more often than not, on his days off that he gets to spend with you he’ll get called in for something. you hope that he’ll tell whoever it is calling that he’s spending time with you and that he won’t be able to come in. but leon always leaves you alone to go finish up whatever work needs to be done

it hurt, having your boyfriend chose his work over you, his significant other. but you understood that as champion of galar, there was always something that needed to be done. but what about you? what about your desperately needed time with leon?

you were not having a good week. every trainer you came into contact with wiped your team out in seconds despite all your training, your friends decided to make plans without you at the new cafe that opened, and your boss was hounding you for your upcoming deadline. you needed a break from it all. you needed to spend time with your boyfriend and not worry about anything for the next few hours

so you were happy after you texted leon to see if he was available to spend time with you later that day and he said yes. you were looking forward to just spending time in his arms as the tv played in the background while you two talked about any and everything. but when you showed up at his place and he was getting ready to leave, you were a bit confused

“Oh, Y/n!” leon basically bounced over to you and kissed you gently. “I know we were going to spend the evening together but I have to go meet with Rose for a bit. I should be back in a few hours, okay?” he grabbed his signature hat and his rotom phone but before he could make his way to the door, you had snapped

“No, it not okay!” you startled leon and yourself with how loud you were. you didn’t mean to yell but all of it was building up and you couldn’t keep the lid on any longer. “You always do this. The moment we make plans to be together, something comes up and you decide it’s more important that us. Than me.”

leon was shocked, he had no idea you felt this way. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I would never chose something else over you.” leon walked over to you and put his hand on your shoulder only to have you shrug it off. oh

“Of course you would say that. But what are you doing now? Leaving me behind to go work.” you shook your head, “It’s fine. Just... go. I’ll be fine by myself. I always am.” and with that, you picked up your bag and walked into the guest bedroom

you didn’t expect leon to come after you. you expected him to leave for work, allowing you to simmer in your emotions at having him drop you the moment work called. but leon surprised you by walking into the room and sitting next to you on the bed. you glanced at him, “Don’t you have to leave for work?” he grabbed your hand, glad that you didn’t break contact with him again, “You are way more important. I really had no idea you felt like I was favoring my work. What can I do to make it up to you?”

you felt tears in your eyes, whether from all your emotions coming out or from how genuine leon was being. “I just want to spend time with you.”

leon nodded and kissed your forehead, “Done.” he called rose and told him that he would be unable to come in and that they would have to reschedule for a different time

you two spent the rest of the night laying in bed together, tv playing idly in the background as you two talked about whatever crossed your minds

[oioinanami]

routines. (ushijima wakatoshi x f. reader)

word count: 1.9k

synopsis: ushijima had never considered himself to be a „relationship person“ - until he met you.

contains: fluff, acquaintances to lovers, very slight sexual suggestiveness if you squint

Ushijima Wakatoshi had always considered himself a stoic and reserved man. He lived and breathed for volleyball. He went running every morning, ate three meals a day, showered twice. He had his routines and he liked it like that.

But then came you - and everything suddenly changed. It was his best friend Tendou - charming, loud and fun Tendou - who introduced you to one another, probably not even thinking about Ushijima ever falling for you, or anyone really, it just seemed too ridiculous, too far fetched. Of course Ushijima had his fair share of sexual encounters, but never anything serious, and all of those were mostly just for him to blow off some steam. He had never felt the need for a real and stable relationship before. But you - you felt different to him; like a breath of fresh air on a stuffy day, like rays of sunlight gently warming his cold face, like a soft and sweet scented breeze on the first day of early spring.

The first time he ever had the pleasure of meeting you and seeing you smile up at him, eyes bright and honest, he was absolutely helpless against the blush spreading over his cheeks and entire face until even the tips of his ears had turned red. As soon as his best friend Tendou saw the crimson color on his captain’s face, he suddenly sported the biggest smirk Ushijima had ever seen. The stoic volleyball player immediately knew that he was in trouble, in big big trouble. But it was too late - Tendou’s brain was already beginning to come up with a plan to set you two up.

So to Ushijima, it wasn’t the biggest surprise when Tendou began to invite you to all their volleyball matches, and being the sweet and supportive friend that you simply were, you actually tried to attend as often as possible. You cheered for the entire team, even though you were mostly acquainted with Tendou, knowing the others' faces and names, but none of them personally. Ushijima always tried his best during any game, no matter who was watching or not, but Tendou still noticed the way his best friend and team captain was trying maybe just a tad harder whenever you were present during a match. Should the team win while you were there, which was more often than not these days, Tendou literally dragged you with him to join the team for their celebratory dinners afterwards. Somehow you always ended up sitting beside Ushijima, slowly getting used to his stoic and calm presence, and beginning to try and make him smile by cracking an almost ridiculous amount of jokes around him. More often than not, your sarcasm went straight over his head, and once he even inquired if you were going to therapy after you jokingly said you were ready to kill for another of the extremely tasty Onigiri being served that evening. You only realized he himself was joking when you saw the tiny, private smile tugging at his lips. Maybe that was the moment you began falling for him, and you never stopped tumbling since.

After a few weeks of helpless pining, or as he called it “making sure his feelings were sincere”, Ushijima finally decided to ask you on a date. He just didn’t know how; he knew other people considered him blunt to the point of rudeness, and he never wanted you to see him in that way, he didn’t want to scare you off - even though you had never seemed to mind his directness before. Asking Tendou for help was definitely out of the question, because Ushijima knew his best friend literally didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut in times of need, so he’d probably just instantly tell you everything and Ushijima couldn’t have that.

But as fate would have it, he didn’t even need Tendou’s help - because a situation presented itself, so perfect, at least in his eyes, that Ushijima still smiled about it years afterwards. It was the last and therefore most important match of the season, and Shiratorizawa had not only won the first set, but was also currently in the lead for the second one. Only one point and they’d go to the nationals again. Naturally, you were pretty much at the edge of your seat, one closest to the field, all thanks to Tendou shooing away some younger girls before the match had begun and, unknown to you, making sure Ushijima had the perfect view of you cheering him on. You were currently biting your lips until you tasted blood, knees bouncing nervously while your eyes followed the boys on the field, more often than not landing on Ushijima. By now, you probably should have gotten used to him looking way too handsome in the team’s uniform, but even after months of seeing him wear it, your heart still skipped a beat whenever you attended any game. “Please, please, please, come on, boys, you can do it.”, you were muttering under your breath, the girl beside you giving you the side-eye but you just ignored her, heart beating twice as fast while you watched the game. Both teams were fighting for dominance, no one wanting to back down, the atmosphere thick with anticipation and nervousness. And then, it happened - Tendou’s quick eyes followed the ball, asserting which angle to use to best set it for Ushijima, who was already running towards the net for one of his incredible spikes. Rarely if ever could someone withstand the sheer power of his left hand, so no one was completely surprised when, a second later, the ball hit the ground with a loud smacking noise, resounding around the gym. Time seemed to stand still for a few seconds, before happy yells rose all around you and loud music suddenly started blasting from somewhere behind you. You were out of your seat in a split second, running towards where the team was hugging and high fiving each other on the field. “Ushi, that was amazing-”, you stated proudly, almost breathless with happiness, but were unable to complete your sentence because suddenly, there was a pair of strong arms around you, literally sweeping you off your feet and twirling you around once. You yelped, heart fluttering like crazy while you stared up at Ushijima, who had just set you back down on your feet again, the corners of his lips curling upwards into the tiniest of smiles. “Thank you, Y/N. I really appreciate your support.”, he said, deep voice rumbling in his chest, and you swore your knees were about to give out right there and then. You knew he wasn’t just being polite - he was being honest, his words always truthful, and it made your heart swell to know he liked you coming to his games. You had long learned to love his directness. Other people called him blunt, you called him honest, which was something not a lot of people could say about themselves, not in the modern times of Snapchat filters and Snow Apps. Ushijima cocked his head to one side, looking at you for a few seconds, his greenish-brown eyes almost unreadable, before he took in a deep breath. “I would really like to take you out on a date, if that’s something you’d want too.”, he then stated, and you just blinked a few times, before your face split into a huge smile, which made Ushijima’s heart burst and a deep blush creep onto his cheeks. It was the smile that had made him fall for you in the first place, the one he would never ever get used to - even years from now, when he was nothing more than stardust left behind, every single atom that once belonged to his body would still remember your smile, forever branded into the inner core of his soul, he was sure of it. And then you finally answered him, making his heart soar and his chest puff out: “I would love nothing more.”

For your first day date, Ushijima took you to a farm to pick the first strawberries of the season, shyly asking you to call him “Wakatoshi” by the end of the day and blushing madly once you did. You couldn’t help but stand on your tiptoes to press the softest of kisses against his cheek, feeling his slight stubble and hot skin under your lips, suddenly finding yourself blushing as well. When he took your hand, interlacing his strong calloused fingers with your smaller, softer ones, you knew your heart was long lost, forever his. But the soft, pleased smile he gave you, made you hope that maybe you weren’t the only one feeling like that.

That was just the first date of many, many more to come. Soon, everyone was already used to always seeing you two together; the stoic tall volleyball player and his much louder, much smaller girlfriend, an odd pair that somehow still just fit, like two puzzle pieces finally put back together again.

Ushijima quickly grew used to your constant presence in his life, and now, it almost feels like you’re part of him. He loves all your little quirks and antics - that you cling to him every morning, jokingly trying to keep him from going on his daily run and leaving you alone in bed; or how you confidently sing along to every song, drawing soft smiles from his lips whenever you mess up the lyrics and laugh at yourself; or that you like to speak to your plants, your green children as you like to call them, convinced it will make them grow quicker and stronger; or the way your eyes light up whenever he enters the room, reaching for him with one hand and making his heart swell twice its size; or your breathy moans and the quiet yells of his name whenever he touches your soft, flushed body in the darkness of your shared bedroom - honestly, there’s just so much to love about you, he sometimes gets a bit overwhelmed by his own feelings.

Ushijima Wakatoshi still considers himself a stoic and reserved man. But you have managed to melt some of his hardness away, your softness settling over all his angles and edges like sunlight reflecting on a still and deep lake. Yes, he still lives and breathes for volleyball - but now also for you, always and forever you. Yes, he still goes running every morning, still eats three meals a day, still showers twice. But now he runs much later in the day, spending the early hours of the morning with you in his arms, soft and warm body pressed flushed against his hard one, nose buried in your sweet smelling hair. His three meals a day are often prepared together nowadays, you singing loudly along to a song playing on the radio while chopping vegetables, smilingly observing him marinating and grilling the meat, sometimes standing on your tiptoes to press a gentle kiss on his cheek like you did on you first date, oh so many years ago. Even his showers are less lonely - all in the name of saving water and the planet of course, or that’s what you always say whenever you join him, happily spiking up his hair with shampoo while he just looks at you, the corners of his lips curling into one of those private smiles he reserves just for you, making you blush at the way his eyes shine with love and adoration for you, even after years of being together.

Yes, Ushijima Wakatoshi still has his routines, but now he always makes sure to incorporate you into them - and he very much likes it like that.

a/n: this is my first ever haikyuu imagine and also the first scenario on this blog - feedback and reblogs are appreciated, requests are open.

© oioinanami 2021 | masterlist

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

Can we please have April introducing their friend, the reader, to each of the brothers(separately). Like they were on a lead about mutagen being distributed to some shady people and they would’ve almost died if it weren’t for the turtles. When asked who were those guys, April sets them up to meet one of the brothers as to not overwhelm them. Besides a bit of hysterical laughing and self rambling “Giant ninja turtles. Okay sure!” They take it all like a champ. Sorry if this is too much. 😅

I think I understand this one and it’s not too much at all, just sorry if I misunderstood and get it wrong

Leo

Obviously, April introduces you to Leo first

you had snuck into one of the shadiest places you think you’ve ever been in order to find out who was distributing this mysterious mutagen which had half of the city looking like animal farm and the other half scared out of their wits

but things took a turn when you asked too many questions

that was always your mistake, bad guys don’t ask questions.

But Leo was the one who helped you up from the floor when you hid behind the sofa

they’d blown the lights out before they came in so you didn’t really get a good look at them other that noticing they were big, big boys.

so before April introduces you she warms you that they’re not..of the human variety.

You didn’t understand until she opened the door and sat at the breakfast nook was a very large turtle man wearing a blue mask

“Holy fucking shit. dick, fucking fuckery” you say in a low, almost expressionless voice

you’d gone full circle from being so intensely surprised that your voice came out as bored

Leo looked up at you 

“I’m sorry” you say “that was rude, what I meant was: holy fucking shit, dick, fucking fuckery” but this time you say it with feeling.

Leo gives a kind smile and a small chuckle. it wasn’t the worst reaction he’s had from a human before but it was one of the funniest.

that’s when the mumbling starts.

“I mean if you’d said giant turtles I would’ve- well, no, I wouldn’t have believed you but come on how is Kachhapa over there even real I mean seriously and is that? Ye-yep that’s a sword, he’s a giant turtle with a sword. Not sure if that’s cool or irresponsib-LOOK AT HIM!”

then you just start laughing, which gets a nervous laugh from everyone else in the room before a long silence

Leo finally talks

“...Well, I’m glad I could see you again in such different, less dangerous circumstances. I hope you’re staying out of trouble”

April decides you guys should leave it at that, if you’re gonna be weird then you should see Mikey next

Mikey

Leaving Leo to go see MIkey you mumble “What does he mean ‘stay out of trouble’ he’s not my dad”

so April hurries you along faster

you stop her before she knocks on the door to Mikey’s room

“so there’s another one? Of them? Ok just let me gather myself”

you half attempt some prayer hands together yoga pose thing before April just knocks anyways

when you walk in, you don;t know what you were expecting but somehow are surprised all over again that another mutant is in front of you

but you keep it together this time

Mikey is so cheery and happy to have company that isn’t April or his brothers

he waltzes up to you and does a little half bow with a small “Hey there, lovely. How’re you?”

all you can do is turn to April and ask “The turtles flirt?”

 she widens her eyes as if to say “Stop fucking acting this way” 

you sigh, look back at Mikey and smile

“Hi! Thanks for saving my life before, really appreciate that and all, being alive is-is kind of my jam so .....”

he beams at you, now he remembers you

you exchange a few more sentences out of politeness before excusing yourself to use the bathroom

Inside the bathroom you give yourself a much needed pep talk in the mirror that starts with “you dumb bitch, act casual!”

when you hear a voice from outside the door say “Normally pep talks are supposed to be motivational, not self deprecating but go off, I guess”

Donnie

That voice belongs to the one and only: Donnie

you open the door and immediately just say “holy shit, I’m so sorry you had to hear that”

he’s so nice about it, though

all smiles and “It’s ok, we’ve all been there. Who are you trying to act casual for? If I may ask”

You explain that this is kind of awkward, but being around mutants isn’t really something you grew up accustomed to so this is a whole new world for you “And I called your brother Kachhapa!” you blurt out

which makes him really laugh

“Don’t worry, I bet that reference was lost on him” he reassures 

you compliment his glasses

because that’s what normal people do, right? Point out stuff they like about each other

this one has a more calming affect than Mikey did and you appreciate that so much, but he warns you about his final brother

says he’s a hot head and you should watch what you say a little

finally April finds you “So I see you’ve met Donnie now” then leans in closer to you “Hope you’ve got all of that out of your system before you meet Raph”

you reassure her that you’re a perfection functioning human being now and both Donnie and April walk you to the gym to see Raph

Raph

you get to the gym and the biggest turtle of them all is bench pressing the biggest weights you’ve ever seen

you gulp

mental pep talk time since the purple one interrupted your last one

“ok, he’s big, he’s strong, he could rip you in two so easily. why does that sound kind of good right now, though? stay on track, brain! Ok, just tell him like a gym pun or something?”

“Hey!” you call over to him, Donnie and April widening their eyes at your boldness “you hear about that guy who asked the receptionist at the gym which machine he should use to impress women? She pointed to the ATM”

he cracked a smile!

you couldn’t believe it!

this big badass guy who you could see as you got closer was lifting 450lb cracked a smile at a dumb gym joke

you soon discovered he didn’t say much but at least this wasn’t anywhere close to the interaction of fire and death you had pictured when Donnie and April talked about how ... Difficult this brother is.

eventually Mikey and Leo come join you in the gym and now that you’ve become accustomed to these oversized turtle men, not being weird is getting easier, you even got invited round for dinner the next night to meet their dad 

April leaned in and told you their dad is a giant rat and all you replied is “of course, why wouldn’t he be?”

in the end, They all commend you on taking this meeting like a trooper and not freaking out entirely

even though you feel as though you could have been a lot cooler than you were about it