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shirtlesssammy · 3 years

Text

6x21: Let It Bleed

Then:

Dean and Cas broke up

Now:

March 15, 1937

Providence, Rhode Island

It was a dark and stormy night, and HP Lovecraft sits at his typewriter clicking away. He finishes his manuscript, and his door slowly creaks open. He pulls out a revolver and heads to the hallway, but quickly backs back into the room and locks the door. A window blasts open and a shadowy figure is there. He pleads with it --but becomes blood cannon fodder anyway.

Dean continues to dissect what could have gone differently to prevent his breakup with Cas. Sam tries being the logical friend --but there’s no explaining heartbreak, folks. Bobby comes in to tell them that when Cas popped in for his late night tet-a-tet with Dean, he stole a journal. But don’t worry, Bobby had a copy.

Upon reading it, Bobby discovers a mention of HP Lovecraft. Dean doesn’t know who that is --and you’re going to tell me the dude that knows horror movies like the back of his hand and reads Stephen King doesn’t know who the father of horror is? And I know that Dean lies to cover up things he thinks other people would look down on him for, but this would be a weird moment to do that.

Anyway, Bobby thinks Lovecraft knew something about purgatory.

Meanwhile, Ben is chilling in his room reading Cthulhu graphic novels while his mom is watching the sportsball with her new beau. Demons bust in and gut the boyfriend right away. One takes after Ben. Ben gets to his room and calls Dean in a panic. He doesn’t know what’s out there and he can’t get to the shotgun in Lisa’s closet. Dean tells him to jump out his window. It’s too late --Crowley’s there and has both Ben and Lisa.

Crowley tells Dean that no harm will come to them if he backs off from the purgatory plan.

Sam throws some salt on Dean’s wound and asks if Cas knows about this. “We gotta assume that he does.” OUCH.

While Bobby heads off to follow the Lovecraft lead, Dean and Sam set to finding Lisa and Ben. They summon Balthazar and tell him that Crowley is alive. He blinks and tells them Cas already informed him. They then tell him about splitting the souls in purgatory plan. Balthazar knew that too, ahem. He refuses to help find Ben and Lisa.

Sam thinks they should call Cas. “WE’RE NOT CALLING CAS.” This is a man in pain, Sam, he needs time.

Bobby, meanwhile, interviews someone who possesses a large collection of Lovecraft’s private letters. He asks about March 10, 1937 specifically, and the dude wonders if he’s working with the other guy --”trench coat, looks like Colombo, talks like Rainman.” We’re supposed to assume he’s describing Cas, but ?? okay. They’re competitors actually.

The guy tells Bobby that Lovecraft had a dinner party with other blackmagic followers. They were getting together to perform a ritual to open a door into another dimension. He has --or had-- letters describing the dinner. Bobby leaves, knowing exactly how the letters disappeared.

Bobby discusses the case with Sam, revealing that one guest of the party -the maid’s son- didn’t die and has been in a mental ward since that night. He’s gong to interview the man now.

Dean, meanwhile, is lining the demons up and taking them down if they don’t answer his questions.

For Murderous Rampage Science:

Sam tries to get his brother to take a break, but Dean is 100% on an emotional bender and will not stop. Sam then heads outside to pray to Cas --pleading with him to bring Ben and Lisa home.

When Cas doesn’t appear, Sam walks away, dejected. Only Cas is there, invisible to Sam. AND I WANT TO TEAR OUT MY EYES.

Cas confronts Crowley. Crowley was “merely exploiting the obvious loophole.” Cas demands he tell him where they are.

Crowley tells Cas the only way to save Lisa and Ben is for him to find Purgatory.

For Literal Science:

Cas flaps away when Balthazar summons him. They meet in a wooded area, and Balthazar confronts Cas about his partnership with Crowley.

Balthazar confirms that Cas would be the vessel to take on the souls from purgatory. He could explode from all that energy. Cas assures him he won’t (weeps). Cas demands Balthazar tell him if he’s with Cas, and Balthazar laughs but agrees.

Bobby interviews the maid’s son, and discovers Cas was already there. Bobby asks for the story. The man tells what was said at the time, but then asks, “Do you believe in monsters?” He tells Bobby that the door did open that night, and whatever came through took over his mother. Then the others died. Bobby gives his condolences to the man, and he shows Bobby a picture of his mother. Bobby recognizes her.

Dean prepares his Tortures for Demons™ when his foot drags part of the devil’s trap away. The demon immediately gets the drop on Dean, only for Cas to flap in (or turn visible) just in time to save Dean’s bacon.

Dean’s...ungrateful. Surly, even! Cas apologizes about Lisa and Ben, and he’s hurt when Dean doesn’t believe that he had nothing to do with their abduction.

“Dean, I do everything that you ask,” Cas pleads. “I always come when you call and I am your friend - still. Despite your lack of faith in me, and now your threats.” Cas is just asking for backup this ONE TIME. (And you know what? Knowing the crap these Winchester boys have pulled, I always felt like Cas made a good point here.) They lob soulful looks at each other. Cas promises to rescue Lisa and Ben if Dean will just PLEASE stand down and let him absorb every single monster soul EVER it’s NOT A BIG DEAL. This is entirely the wrong tactic, and Dean tells Cas to go back to Crowley and he’ll save Lisa and Ben on his own.

Cas flaps away. Soulfully.

Bobby arrives at Eleanor-the-Dragon’s door. She’s at a little cabin in the middle of nowhere - one of her safe houses. He confronts her with the old photo and demands to know her agenda. “You know, we’re not all alike,” she retorts. She reacts similarly poorly to Bobby complaining about sleeping with her without knowing she was a monster. BOBBY! WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT RIGHT NOW. She tells him that the world’s lucky that she’s who popped through the portal. The professor is on Team Earth. Bobby begs to know the secret of the portal so that he can protect her from Cas.

Balthazar flaps in on Sam. He’s joining Team Winchester because he’s terribly concerned about Cas’s life choices. He flies them close to Crowley’s angel-warded lockup, and Dean and Sam swoop in to save Lisa and Ben.

They split up inside the warehouse - always a sensible plan. Sadly, Sam “Soft Noggin” Winchester gets knocked out IMMEDIATELY. Sam plz. Dean bursts into Lisa and Ben’s prison like a little angry blur of knives and in short order, he’s killed all the demons standing guard. They start to flee, when Lisa holds Ben at knifepoint, her eyes flashing black.

The demon goes all in on the mental torture, telling Ben that Dean’s his real father (JK!) and that Dean is Lisa’s WORST EVER MISTAKE. While Dean catalogues the internal damage, he and Lisa fight. He sheathes the demon blade and starts an exorcism, and I look directly at the camera. Demon Lisa’s got another trick up her sleeve. While the exorcism progresses, the demon grabs a tool and jabs it into Lisa’s gut. Then, she gives Dean a choice: exorcise her and Lisa bleeds out or let Lisa remain animate (but a demon puppet). Wrenchingly, Dean finishes the exorcism.

He makes sure Ben’s armed with a salt-round shotgun and then they head out of the factory. Ben shoots his first demon while Dean shouts at him to “pull it together” and I...just…….

Guys.

I’m just going to box these feelings up and stuff them in my Dean Winchester is a Sad Child attic, while humming Cat’s in the Cradle to myself.

They find Sam and head for a hospital, Dean muttering the whole time that she’s FINE Lisa is JUST FINE she is FINE. Cut to the hospital where Lisa is NOT FINE, but also is not dead! Yet!

Cas flaps in.

Dean refuses his apology. REFUSES IT. But Cas didn’t come to apologize. Okay, he DID, but he primarily came to heal Lisa miraculously. Dean looks up at him like he completely forgot that Cas can heal.

For Healing Cas Science:

In Jensen Ackles your face is a menace news, Dean displays grief, joy, relief, anger, betrayal, sad cat memes, and more in like less than five seconds of screen time. He thanks Cas for healing Lisa. “I wish this changed anything.” Regrets lie thickly between them. Dean asks for one more favor. He wants himself erased from Lisa and Ben’s memories for good.

When Lisa wakes, Ben explains that they were in a car crash. Dean enters, and introduces himself as the guy who hit them. GAH. The shitty things these characters do!!! Excuse me while I hurl knives at the wall for a solid thirty minutes!

“I lost control for a minute,” Dean says, not AT ALL metaphorically about their time together. “And I just want to say that I’m sorry.” He heads out, leaving the Braedens entirely unprotected from future supernatural threats and missing a substantial chunk of their lives. Hope Cas also cleaned up Matt’s body??? And the busted door??? (Side note: does anyone else have weird squid emotions thinking about Cas willfully blanking their memories when his own memories have been tampered with time and time again? I SURE DON’T!)

Dean meets judgmental Sam back at the Impala. Sam, I see your judgment, and I judge thee valid. Dean talks about his emotions in an open and healt----hahaha nope. Dean tells Sam that if he ever mentions the Braedens to him then he’ll break Sam’s nose. He punctuates that with mournful, red-rimmed eyes which definitely deal at least 1.5X damage against Sam’s puppy eyes. They drive off into the sad music.

Elsewhere, Eleanor Visyak leaves her cabin, only to encounter Cas behind her. Cas flaps her away. CAAAAAAAAS!

You QUOTE Miette??!!

Your chocolate's been in my peanut butter for far too long

What’s with the slow burn?

You’re just a man. I’m better off protecting myself

I’m officially on your team. You bastards

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #cas #Lisa Braeden #Ben Braeden #spn 6x21 #let it bleed #supernatural season 6 #bobby singer #balthazar

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glacierbash · 3 years

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i heard something about a lesbian undead cleric 👀

YOU HEARD RIGHT OKAY

uhh if you're a player in the direlight campaign do not read under the read more unless you're the dm in which case. ya know. hi josh

warning it accidentally got long and rambly Whoops

SOOOO okay my girl my undead lesbian where do weee begin

here's a picture I've just finished of her because I wanted to test out a solid line style and i went too far AND I JUST REALIZED I FORGOT TO SHADE THE GOLD ON HERRRRRR

so her name is! Adr Irithyl! She's a Shadar-Kai (bodied) twilight cleric who worships the Raven Queen (who in the world is called Selyn). Before dying and her subsequent revival, Adr was one of many nuns who served to help souls pass on to Selyn, so that the Raven Queen could collect them and sort them. Adr specialized in children (which ALWAYS sounds weird), helping them with a soothing darkness that followed her wherever she walked. She would sit beside them, listening to children tell stories, letting them talk and talk until their lives would end, and she'd usher the spirits back. Specifically twilight, she used the dark as a blanket, blinding the children to what was to happen.

But, one of the children she was around ended up getting her ill. She was only ~150-200 when she passed, refusing to let the others heal her at risk of getting them sick. The only one she allowed was her closest "friend" among those in her specific order, telling her "I do not want my life to go to waste. Use my body as a sign that death is to be welcomed, and not feared, and that reversing it isn't the answer."

And then she died, peacefully, after an agonizing couple weeks of struggling with an illness foreign to her body. She's from the Shadowfell, she's not used to the Material Plane. She passed, and so too did 500 years. Empires rose and empires fell. People lived and she was remembered by her Sisters.

Until she wakes up, 500 years in the future, her body a stitched up, mangled mess, surrounded by corpses of other clerics like her, with no recollection of who she even was. She lays there for over a week, just... Noticing. "I should be starving by now. I should be dehydrated by now. Breathing hurts. I can't sleep."

When she finally moves, she just... Keeps seeing the bodies. Pieces of the bodies, sometimes just skin, sometimes their entire limbs. One of her arms was too long. One had a hand with only three fingers. The stitches on her body hurt, and she was covered with arcane markings she couldn't wash off. Memories would... Sometimes hit her, the strongest being this one woman flashing a smile and offering her...

She could never remember the word. it was warmed bread with some spread on it, but the specifics, she couldn't remember. It frustrated her. It frustrated her so much she went to destroy the entire ruins and kill herself.

When she found a note, on the altar where she had been. It was in a language she couldn't read. And... It called to her. As if it would be an answer to who did this. So, rather than kill herself and return to Selyn, she lead the nunnery, left her sisters, with the strange feeling that she wasn't entirely alone, that no matter where she went, bits of those ripped apart to form her would follow, everywhere she went.

Eventually, she found a town, where a person named Henris eventually befriended her, and she stopped her quest for revenge to work as a researcher in a school of Clerichood, which is where the party will meet her!

The Lesbianism:tm: will be something she realizes throughout the story, as she recalls memories of her "dear friend." They were very much in love, but their devotion and dedication (and Adr being... Scared of that aspect of her) meant that they never grew closer than friends. But without those obligations, without that... Goal? Adr doesn't feel that same "moral" obligation to remain celibate and pure and focused on her prayers. In fact, she can barely even remember the prayers she used to say, relying on an old prayer book found on a body of her sisters.

Originally, Adr had been a soft and kind woman who would give up everything to help others, but now? With the knowledge that, surely, in the eyes of her goddess she's an abomination (a theme among my elf clerics actually, undead clerics who think their gods see them as a monster that sends them hardships to get them killed), she doesn't care. She doesn't care about being soft and nice. She doesn't care about pacifism. She doesn't want to hurt people, but if she saw the man that brought her back and to get him, she'd have to kill one of her party members?

At the moment, I don't think I can say she'd wait.

She's not meant to be some overly grimdark, "oh boo-hoo" character, she literally talks like Miette the cat, regularly tries to eat food that she physically can't since she lacks a stomach, is going to be calling one of the characters "Sea salt" because they're a sea elf (granted they deserve it SMH Cancel Sea salt the Bloodhunter 2021 /j), but... She has that part of her. The fact that she never asked to be alive. The fact that she views death as a mercy. The fact that once her goal is complete, she will kill herself without any hesitation for fear of growing too attached to life.

and yeah im going to give her the comphet I struggled with for years because IT'S MY CHARACTER AND I CAN PROJECT THE STRUGGLES

but all the negative aside she does still adore kids and wears a raven mask (see above) to hide her face so that kids don't think she's scary, she'll give kids rides on her shoulders because she's over 7 feet tall, she'll sit with you all night if you have a bad dream (UNLESS YOU'RE SRIGRALT FUCK YOU SRIGRALT /J), she'll even grant you dark vision if you need it because even if the dark is peaceful to her, it isn't that way for everybody.

But, I haven't even played her yet! I'm switching out my genasi monk for her, and I'm. really excited. Adr is so much more interesting to me because while I made my genasi a really femme woman, I can do! So Much more with Adr! AND I just love playing cleric, like. Hitting inflict wounds on the final boss? MWAH that was a magical moment with my other cleric, and since we don't have dedicated support... I'm not complaining about pulling her out ;)

ANYWAYS thank you for asking me abt her Morgan i have thunked about her a lot, expect an ask abt your githzerai cleric soon because dnd characters are <3

#character study #heeheehoohoo lesbian :)#answered ask #ty again I Care Clerics ;w;#again don't. read if we're in the same campaign please and Thank You #it's weird I can't keep dumping abt her in the tags wild...#BUT that is. That Is Her..#fun fact that drawing was the first time I've put a background to something in months!#tw body horror #tw gore #JUST. to be safe bc the backstory #the drawing isn't bad dw #You can barely even see the [redacted for dirty tag readers]#i ended up just saying words and it alternates between and

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alolanrain · 4 years

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Boundaries

“Can you stop?” Ash turned to Miette who had suddenly grabbed his hands. His long tail slapped against her leg and his and the doberman anthro looked a bit ashamed. “I’m not wanting anyone touching me today.”

“But you let Serena do it.” Miette pointed out and hugged. Dropping Ash’s hands and he brought it up to his chest. Pressing his other fingers into the palm to crack some of his junctions.

“I don’t like it when she does it either!” Ash couldn’t help but hiss. Fur bushing up on his tail as it continued to lash in annoyance. “I don’t like it when Bonnie tries to suddenly brush my tail when I already had brushed it or when Clemont decides to pull in my ears to get my attention when he can just call my name. Respect my boundaries.”

The last sentence must have hit Miette hard because she wilted and pinned her ears back. “I’m sorry.” She muttered.

“You should have already known that.” Ash stated. Leaning back tiredly against the wall and watched through a doorway as Serena got ready for the contest that was about to start soon, the girl completely oblivious to what’s going on behind her. “Respect everyone’s boundaries, not just mine and yours, it’s only the polite thing to do.”

Miette now looked truly scolded and Ash huffed before turning away. Rubbing the bridge of his nose as the thought of another conversations on do’s and don’ts with his friends later on. People of Kalos in general, Ash had found out, where very keen on touches. Which Ash loves don’t het him wrong! It’s just that they can’t take a simple ‘no’ without getting huffy about it.

Serena perked up when she noticed Ash walking towards her. The brown tabby swung her tail over to curl it around Ash’s tail but he jerked his away and wrapped his tight around the leg furthest away from her.

“Ash.” Serena frowned.

“My boundaries, Serena.” Ash looked interesting the mirror and noticed the dark circles under his eyes, pulling at the skin slightly before looking at Serena in the mirror. “How many times have I told you that tail holding is for couples only in Kanto cultures?”

“But your in Kalos now,” Serena frowned, “and friends twine tails all the time.”

“No,” Ash turned to look at her actual face instead of the mirror, “they don’t Serena. Clemont has made comment after comment how weird you kept trying to twine our tails together since we aren’t a couple, even then Bonnie stayed how cute it was, and we aren’t a couple.”

“We could be.” She pointed out. Fur fluffing up in anger and being called out by Ash once again.

“Serena, I’m gay.” Ash hissed. Shocking the girl. “I’ve stated my general likeness for guys and even made a few comments about passing people. I’ve stated my sexual identity by waving a pride flag during the Kalos pride parade last week.”

“I just thought you were doing that to be good ally.” Serena looked frantically as she was metaphorically cornered.

“No Serena, I’m very much gay, but this isn’t about that.” Ash took a step back, “this is just about the tail holding. I’m asking you, for the tenth time, please stop already.”

He didn’t wait for her answer. Moving around until he got back over to where he and Miette were standing earlier and looked back at Serena. “I hope you win still Serena. I have business to do while your gonna be compensating so I’ll meet up with you and Bonnie and Clemont once I’m done.”

Just like that he was out of the back stage room, down the several hallways, and out the doors. Pulling up his phone to see where the next Champion meeting is being held at in the city.

————

He and the gang were helping out at a large day care slash nursery with Diantha the next time he got asked for someone to touch his tail.

“Ash,” Diantha’s smooth voice drifted behind Ash’s back, making the boy turn as much as he can while holding a baby Eevee in his arms, “you have egg shells in your tail.”

“I do?” Ash asked. Tail pulling itself up and Ash furrowed his eyebrows. “I can’t see anything.”

“It’s at the base,” she explained, “I can get them for you?”

“Please.” Ash held still as Diantha’s giant angel wings kinda foulded over her and Ash as she reached down while still holding a baby Chespin to her chest. Both babies cooed at each other, Eevee popping her head over Ash’s shoulders.

It only took like five seconds for Diantha to brush off the egg shells, luckily they were in large chunks. She straightened up and brushed a hand on her pant leg knees, getting rid of anything that clung on like dust or something else.

“Thanks!” Ash perked up. Smiling even wider when Diantha chuckled and nodded. Though as he turned he caught Bonnie’s slightly jealous stare. Ash doesn’t know why Clemont little sister loves his tail so much, she’s got lovely little golden eagle wings to take care of herself.

————

Class in Alola was going good, that is until almost everyone was scared by Ash screeching and his tail flinging something across the room. The mysterious object had almost hit Mallow and Lana if they hadn’t ducked out of the way. It crashed into a podium and Tsareena caught it easily, holding it up into the sunlight so that everyone in class could see it was a carry-on brush.

“Kiawe!” Ash sprung up from his chair and swirled over to the black panther anthro behind him. Who looked to serious and dignified for anyone’s liking. “What the utter fucking hell?!” The curse had slipped out of Ash’s mouth before he had time to process it, though that didn’t matter when Kiawe stood up to to face Ash angrily.

“Ash!” Kukui stood up from his desk. Large gray angel wings streatched a little from behind his back as he tried to get his borders attention.

“You had a knot in your tail!” The panther shouted back. “It’s very rude to come to school ungroomed.”

Ash spluttered at how justified Kiawe sounded, making his fur stand on end even more. “That doesn’t mean you get to touch me without my permission!”

“I was doing you a favor!” Kiawe shouted back. Both of their haunches rose as Ash took a step forward in challenge.

“Both of you,” Kukui got out from behind his desk, “stop now this intsiant.”

“A favor is tapping my shoulder during break time or offering a brush during lunch.” Ash hissed again, “not ignoring the principle of basic boundaries and doing so yourself even without warning me either.”

Before both Kiawe could retaliate, Kukui had opened his wings more and shouted both their names. Making the two flinch and tails curling around their legs as the looked up at the angry teacher.

“Kiawe, go to the east hallway.” Kukui commanded.

Kiawe growled and snatched his brush from Tsareena as he went. Turning to hiss at Ash one more time who stood his ground and puffed his chest out in another silent challenge. Kiawe took a step back into the room in anger.

“Kiawe!” Kukui bellowed, making every student flinch, “hallway. Now.”

The panther scampered out and down into the hallway to go slump against a wall until the Professor came to get him.

Ash didn’t dare give any inkling or look as the cat who caught the green macaw until Kukui turned around and glared down at him.

“North hall,” he swung his hand to point to the opposite one that Kiawe entered, “now.”

“But that’s not-“ Ash started but was drowned out by the Professors own growl. “Alright I’m going! Even though it’s not my fault.” Ash muttered the last part while scooping Pikachu up from his desk and slinking out of the classroom to sulk. At least the north hallway has windows that looked out into the forest and the coast line that he could see from the third story of the building.

Ash slumped down onto a banister and forced himself to watch the clouds roll by and burning the sound of waves crashing on far off shores into his mind. Waiting for the Professor to talk to Kiawe before coming to him.

It wasn’t long, maybe like half an hour to fourth five minutes, Ash doesn’t really know since he lost count after twenty minutes. Ears flicking as he heard Kukui’s heavy steps before seeing the white coat and tan chest in the corner of his eyes.

“I’m not apologizing.” Ash stated. Refusing to look at the Professor and even going so far as to turn his back to the older man when Kukui joined him at the banister.

“Ash.” Kukui sighed disappointingly.

“I have nothing to apologize!” Ash’s voice rose an octave.

“You have to understand though,” the Professor tried to calm himself down so he could explain to his border, “Alola’s, and especially Akala’s, practices and religion are very stricted on grooming and presenting to everyone. Kiawe-“

“But what about my practices and religion?” Ash butted in. Staring at his teacher with hurt eyes and clenched teeth.

“... what?” Professor Kukui paused. Caught off guard by Ash’s sudden burst of anger once more.

“What. About. Mine?” Ash seethed. Looking even more furious. “Kiawe comes from a very different ethic and background from me. He doesn’t know how Kanto does their grooming practices because he never asked, unlike me who actually learned as much as I could before coming to Alola.”

“Kukui was left mouth gapping as he tried to scramble to calm Ash down. “But-“

“Unlike Alola,” Ash continued to truck on, “Kanto’s grooming is sacred. Only for direct family like mother and siblings or mates. Kiawe is niether a sibling, mother, or a mate to me.”

“Well I see where you’re coming from-“ the Professor tried butting in again.

“And that’s besides the point that Kiawe didn’t even ask me first! Instead of just trying to yank my fur out of my tail.” Asb snarled as he started to pace a little up and down the hallway as he ranted. Pikachu looked at his trainer with a complex stare before glaring at Kukui when the man moved closer to the Pokémon. Cheeks sparking as Pikachu bared his own teeth at the Professor.

“My tail is sensitive! It takes me an hour to even comb out the most basic knot without hurting myself. So I’m sorry I didn’t have the time to get a big knot out of my tail before school started, not all of us have short and easy hair like Kiawe.” Ash turned back to the Professor with something close to a closed mout yowl. “It’s not my fault and I refuse to apologize when Kiawe ignored my basic boundaries as a human being and never asked in the first place how my region see’s grooming practices as.”

Professor Kukui’s year sunk deep into his hands. The quiet that insued after was only broken by Pikachus soft coos when Ash returned to his partner.

“Head to Principal Oaks office,” Kukui finally made up his mind, turning around without facing Ash, “I’m grabbing Kiawe and will meet you in there.”

Ash didn’t say a word but he bristled and hissed under his breath at his teacher. Swiping Oikachu up and storming loudly to the principals office.

Principal Oak’s eye brows flew up as Ash and Pikachu came stomping into his office. The boy doing a half-ass bow and a lame apology for being so brash before sinking down into one of the two chairs in front of the man’s desk. Refusing to answer any questions until Kiawe came into the room, escorted by Kukui who looked extremely tired about this whole thing. The man couldn’t help but feel the migraine building up in his brain.

Another yelling match insued only five minutes after both boys were sat down near each other. Two cats anothro’s hissing and spitting vile words that Principal Oak didn’t even know they knew. Kukui looked even more done while the situation escalated.

Principal Oak spread his eagle wings wide, glad for a second he made his office wide enough to accompany his wing span, and growled at the boys to sit down and be quite. The man punched the bridge of his nose and he gathered all of what the three had told him and yelled at each other.

“So, Principal Oak?” the Professor glared down at the two boys who looked far together justified on their behalf, “what’s the verdict?”

Both boys looked at the Principal before glaring back at each other. There was only one thing to do in this situation.

“On behalf knowing both Kanto and Alola’s traditions and practices... Kiawe will be getting one hour of after school detention which he will be learning about as much other regional practices and religion in that hour and a call home to his parents about what happened today.” Principal Oak grabbed a red slip from his desk and signed off on it, handing it to a horrified Kiawe who stared wide eyed at the red detention slip. “On the fact that he disrupted class, ignored another student’s boundaries, and in fact happened to hurt said student even if it was on accident.”

“Mr. Micron will be watching over detention today and I wouldn’t be late since he can be quite harsh.” Principal Oak sighed heavily before looking over to Ash who squared his shoulder and glared right back at the old man.

“I understand that Kiawe didn’t know about how Kanto goes with grooming, but you could have told him before hand.” Oak pointed out.

“He never asked.” Ash bit out. His harsh words made Kiawe’s fur prickle. “None of them asked unlike me who wanted to learn everything I could without defending people, even then my fur is sensitive and it takes hours working out a big knot which I don’t have time for with other things in my schedule.”

Oak hummed knowingly before turning to his computer, pulling up Ash’s school profile and noting multiple doctors scribble and notes about how surprisingly sensitive Ash’s fur is. “You’ll also be staying behind to do detention, half an hour and on an opposite day the Kiawe. Your mother and my cousin will be getting a call to since Professor Oak is also listed as a guardian of yours.”

Ash silently took the red slip, noting his stars Tuesday of next week instead of Kiawe’s Thursday of this week. He chose not to say anything but pet Pikachu between his ears. The mouse Pokémon cranes his head to coo worriedly at his trainer.

“Professor Kukui.” Principal Oak called putting to the teacher. Startling the man a little as he must have been spacing off. “After this you’ll need to find someway into fitting a study section of other regions religious and traditional practices, the sooner the better, since we can’t have this happen again.”

“But sir-“ Kukui looked a bit panicked and Ash couldn’t help the slight vindictive feeling brewing in his lungs even though he tried to punch it down.

“No.” Oak was hard to shut the Professor down. “This is the first time your class had a border amongst their rank, sooner or later this would happen. Though I wished things would have settled outside of class,” he gave both boys a pointed stare, “this would also give your students an edge if they ever wanted to leave Alola to go travel across the world, let’s not forget that Ash took his time to research and respect our ways as much as he can. It’s only good if we do the same.” He looked up at the Professor who stared at him with wide guilty eyes. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Principal Oak sir-“

“Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?”

“... Yes sir.”

“Good,” Oak huffed, leaning back to look at all three before him, “now out of my office and back to class. I’ll be sending you an email explaining what I want happening during that untinfo study Professor Kukui.” All three walked out of the Principals office and Oak can’t help but place his head on the desk. Sighing and near screaming. Wings fluttering behind him in stress.

#wolfy writes #ash ketchum #professor kukui #principal oak #kiawe #mallow #lana #serena #miette #bonnie #clemont #champion diantha #not your average calico!au

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locktobre · 4 years

Text

I finished 3M and I actually didn’t mind it that much this time, maybe I’m mellowing out or maybe I just know there are worse Barbie movies out there.

Anyway, my full thoughts under the cut.

What I like about the movie:

Corinne’s red outfit at the beginning, I’ve ALWAYS loved this outfit. It’s fashionable AND practical. I really enjoy that.

I enjoy the costuming in this movie in general. Louis, Philippe, Bertram, the musketeers and guards, the backgrounders, they all look pretty good.

I like set design a lot. Paris makes me turn my head a bit trying to make sense of it, but it still looks very nice.

I like that Corinne’s mother says, “Being a musketeer is a serious job. And it can be very dangerous.” She’s very right about that.

I love that Aramina insists that Corinne stay with them.

I also love that Renée immediately asks Corinne for rent money. That’s hilarious, and also appropriate considering she doesn’t even like Corinne yet.

The girls’ fake names at the masquerade ball: Lady Barb E. Cue, Duchess Ivana Partee, Abbie Birthday, and Countess Hedda Lettuce. Especially since Louis calls Corinne “Lady Barb E. Cue” on the roof later on, during the fight.

Louis as an inventor is an intriguing concept. Perhaps not well executed, but still interesting.

What I don’t like (some things more nitpicky than others):

While I like the costuming, ironically I don’t care much for the girls’ main dresses, or masquerade dresses. They’re very bright and gaudy, and while it’s normal for the protagonists to stand out, it just feels a little weird. Especially since the other costumes feel much more historical. (Whether they’re accurate isn’t for me to say, I’m not a historian.)

Corinne never wears pants again, not even at the end. I know the point of the movie is to sell dolls, but they couldn’t do dolls with pants? (I think they did, as store exclusives... but those should have been the main, canon dolls.) And as a consequence, at the end it doesn’t really feel like she and the other girls are really a part of the musketeers, it feels like they’re in their own separate Girl Unit which doesn’t even have a matching uniform, since they wear their shorter masquerade dresses. It’s just a shame.

Miette. She really doesn’t add anything to the movie, and I hate hearing her say “mus-CAT-eer” every other word. In a movie that’s otherwise pretty grounded, she’s an odd addition. I guess she’s supposed to be comic relief, to keep things from getting too serious, but the movie is already pretty light, all considered. She could have been written better (DROP the “mus-CAT-eer” thing!) and I wouldn’t have minded her so much.

Other people have said it, but the songs are very modern and don’t really fit the feel of the rest of the movie. I wish they’d kept it to just the score, and one song for the credits.

Speaking of things that don’t fit, this feels like such an odd choice for Barbie adaptation to begin with. It reminds me of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame in that way, although I like HOND better. Like, what made someone look at this and say, “Yes, this should be a children’s movie.” (I know other 3M adaptations exist, many aimed at kids, but I always wonder that, not just at this one.)

Following that, I think “The 3 Musketeers, but girls” is a weird choice for a girl power theme. I don’t think I would have minded it as much if it was in a fantasy kingdom, but since it’s semi-historical France, I get caught up in the real-life aspect of it. That’s my issue but I mean, these are my opinions.

That all being said, watching Corinne’s mother let her 17-year-old daughter go off to join the army is ROUGH. That’s literally what’s happening here, and this is supposed to be a good thing.

Not once, but multiple times they say “Don't mess with the dress!” and it just makes me roll my eyes. It’s just silly and means exactly nothing.

The other girls’ reasons for wanting to be musketeers, particularly Viveca and Aramina. Viveca says “musketeers are so very chic,” so she’s in it for the fashion? Aramina talks about “rescuing the prince,” so she’s in it for the romance? This isn’t to say they don’t seem competent later on, but I wish they had characterized them better, because it seems like they’re in it for the wrong reasons. Renée only says “musketeers rock” so it’s harder to gauge what she’s thinking (they’re cool, and she wants in on that?), but it almost feels like Corinne is the only one to take it seriously--and like her mother said, it’s a serious job.

Speaking of Renée, she’s HELLA whitewashed lmao. Viveca may be, too, but Renée DEFINITELY is. Talk about unbelievable.

The fact that apparently there are only 6 of them on the castle staff. I know the main characters of any given media tend to do everything the plot calls for, but they couldn’t have had some others in the background? Make it feel a little more alive? No wonder Mme de Bossé can’t afford to lose anyone else, they’re trying to do the work of 200 people!

Louis’ character in general is just... not great. I didn’t feel any spark between him and Corinne, not at all. I can also easily see why Philippe would want to kill him and be king instead, since Louis doesn’t even seem to want to do it. Why not abdicate, man? Go off to be an inventor, and let Philippe be king like he wants? Idk.

Speaking of, why did Philippe try to kill Louis now, just a week from his coronation? Why wait, if you’ve already been regent for 13 years? Surely there was a better time to do this!

Corinne telling Philippe to his FACE that she knows he’s plotting against Louis was not smart move, especially since before that, Hélène had said that they can’t trust anybody until they know who’s behind the plot--and they KNOW that musketeers are in on it, so why wouldn’t they suspect Treville? I know he knew Corinne’s father, but he just seems way too close to the situation to just point fingers at the REGENT with no concrete evidence, RIGHT in front of him, to someone who very well may be involved anyway. And it backfires on them spectacularly, so I mean, at least they realize that.

The fact that their training with Hélène takes less than a week, because of the time limit set by the masquerade ball. I wish they’d left it more ambiguous, or made it at least a month. Corinne I might believe, but how would the others have trained? Especially without each other knowing? It’s just hard to swallow, especially with them being so young (at least, Corinne is only 17, the others could be older) and then besting adult men who have trained for YEARS at the end.

Finally, weapon choices. Yes, they fence, Corinne in particular, but Renée getting a slingshot (not even her bow!), Aramina getting fans, and Viveca getting... ribbons? Oof. Again, this has to do with this being a Barbie movie with not too much violence allowed, but that just goes back to why make the movie in the first place? And if you’re going to do it, why don’t they ALL keep their swords, why give them different weapons? All the dolls came with swords! Very... weird looking swords that look more like wands, but still! I just don’t understand that choice, since Corinne managed to conceal her sword just fine at the ball, so why couldn’t the others? I just don’t understand it.

I have some other questions and speculation, but I’ll save that for a different post. Overall, though, I’m surprisingly... neutral. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it, either. I think I used to dislike it more, but as of now I just don’t care much. It doesn’t really spark my interest, and I don’t feel like it has too many questions that I’m burning to answer (although, like I said, I do have a few).

#mel irl #barbie babbles

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atamascolily · 4 years

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Lily reads Star Wars: Red Harvest (part three)

Previously: Sith happens and orchids are snarky, to the point where @threadsketchier dubbed this one “Miette”:

Orchid: “you make me cold??!?1! oh, JAIL FOR MOTHER! JAIL FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS”

Unfortunately, the orchid and its Jedi keeper have been kidnapped by a bounty hunter and are en route to Sith Hogwarts... so of course we cut to Geonosis to meet the Hard-Boiled Jedi Detective who’s going to track her down.

...who also happens to be her brother???

Geonosis: once a hellhole, always a hellhole. We learn that Coruscant got sacked by the Sith a while back, but that’s pretty much it in terms of backstory or context for people like me, who are fuzzy on what’s supposed to be happening in this part of the timeline. Oh, well.

Anyway, there's a belligerent Jedi named Rojo Trace, who is based on Liam Neeson's character in Taken, right up and including parroting some of his dialogue. I'm just gonna call him not!Qui-Gon, because he's basically Qui-Gon but with even more issues, and... a biological sister who is also a Jedi?? How does that even work??!! Suffice to say it will not be explained, because explanations are for losers.

Not!Qui-Gon is grumpy and a loner and Not a People Person, which is HILARIOUS given how the Jedi are supposed to be diplomats and peacemakers.

She stepped toward him, casually brushing his arm with her own. “I have to confess, I’ve always admired the Jedi Order, but I’ve never had the opportunity to get to know a Jedi Knight personally.”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen today,” Trace said.

She frowned a little. “But—”

Before she could continue, Trace moved past her, turned, and jumped straight into the crater.

Yup, definitely Qui-Gon in literally everything but name.

Also, he's a psychometrist by profession:

Trace exhaled, reminded now of other terms he’d heard used to describe the Republic’s role in crash sites like this. The officers might call them investigators, but the enlisted men on the ground had other names. Names like corpse counters and dirt tourists.

The nicknames meant little to him. That was the job; everything else was a distraction, including female officers who wanted to get to know him personally. He was aware of his reputation for being cold and impersonal: it didn’t bother him in the least.

LOL, attachments are for other people. Not THIS Jedi. The only thing that’s missing from the usual hard-boiled detective stereotype is the drinking problems! The only person he cares about is his sister Zo, and he has a vision of her screaming as she's kidnapped, so he's going to track her down and rescue her! Because he's a tracker named Trace! (LOL, I see what you did there.)

What’s his relationship with Zo? Why does he care about here so much? How did they both end up as Jedi? Why did she go to the AgriCorps and why did he take this particular job? What was their training like? How often do they talk? What are Rojo and Zo’s relationships with the rest of the Jedi like? I have so so so so so many questions, none of which will ever be answered in the text.

This character has the potential to be really interesting, but the author provides me with zero personal details to explain why Rojo Trace is the way he is, and how he got to this point, so instead it’s like every action movie Liam Neeson ever made. Strip away the Determinator tropes and there’s not much left.

Meanwhile, Zo comes to in the Whiphid bounty hunter's trophy room, which is full of decaying skeletons and skins and super gross, along with space!dermestid beetles gnawing on the flesh of recent kills. I'm reminded of the Imperial governor in the Truce of Bakura whose desk is one giant tooth and wants Leia's for his private dental collection. And, of course, the orchid macguffin.

The initial process of communication was never easy. At first it had felt almost unnatural. Yet with practice, through countless mornings spent sitting alone with the orchid, she’d soon reached a level of mastery that eased the transitory awkwardness into a smoother and more organic leap.

Are you there?

Within its glass vessel, the plant finally twitched, brightening slightly in recognition of her presence. Zo watched its dust-colored stem inclining toward her like a beckoning finger. At the same time she felt its life essence stirring within her, filling an almost physical void directly behind her breastbone and between her lungs, a place she thought of almost colloquially as her soul. At the same time she heard the first coarse whispers of its voice, gender-neutral, incoherent at first and then becoming clearer, like a foreigner adapting to the nuances of an entirely new language.

Zo? What happened? Are we well?

Zo gave a rueful smile, felt the lump on the back of her head. I wouldn’t exactly say that.

The orchid shares what details it can about their captor:

Solitary, a bloodthirsty species, and aggressive.

Zo waited, processing the comment. The orchid had a gift for understatement, and she couldn’t help but wonder about the criteria for this assessment.

And a flower collector to boot, she told it.

If the orchid had an opinion on this, it didn’t voice it.

The orchid stayed silent. Staring at it, Zo began to realize how her fully wakened presence had already affected the trophy room’s biosphere. The naturally occurring moss on the ship’s ceiling had started spreading at a noticeably accelerated pace, sprawling to swallow up the exposed bolts and seams in the interior walls. There was some kind of switch plate just above her head with a sign written in another language—the Whiphid’s mother tongue, she assumed—but it was already so moss-covered that she couldn’t make out the letters. Scraps of green rot within the skulls had begun extending their first initial tendrils up as well, reaching outward through eye sockets and trepanned holes. Simply by being here, she’d jump-started the growth of the Mirocaw’s incidental flora.

This is so cool, and I wish we'd see more of this, but sadly, we have to go to Sith Hogwarts, which is traumatizing for everyone, but especially the orchid, who is, as we established, A Delicate Flower.

In her arms, tucked against her, the orchid had started to make the same repetitive clicking sound over and over again, as if it were stuck on a thought, a compulsive stammering noise that she didn’t like at all.

Meanwhile, not!Qui-Gon arrives at the scene of the crime and sets to work:

The silver-haired agricultural-lab attendant stood with his hand extended. Trace paused just long enough to give it a perfunctory squeeze, his eyes already scanning the area, taking in everything at once as they walked across the landing bay. The ship he’d commandeered was a generic midsized star skiff, big enough for a crew of eight, small enough to escape scrutiny, retrofitted with ion engines and a Class One hyperdrive for long-range travel. He traveled alone.

OF COURSE HE DOES.*cue “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day*

So here's the explanation of the (lame) reason why Zo can't be separated from the orchid macguffin:

Emmert nodded. “The Murakami orchid is renowned for its Force abilities. It possesses power, but it requires a keeper, someone with an equally high midi-chlorian count, to keep it fully alive.”

How the fuck did this plant evolve? Did someone breed it to be like this? They had to have bred it for this, there's no way this could happen in nature. Why did they do that? Because it was cool? Because they could? Because it’s useful for something besides nefarious Sith alchemy? If it was bred by the Sith, that would explain a lot, but why would the Jedi being growing it if it were a creation of evil? Is the orchid going to become evil? (Please don’t let the orchid be evil!) WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING HERE??

And how far away can its keeper get from it before it dies (or turns into a zombie, given the “fully alive” remark)? Can it switch keepers? What do midi-chlorians have to do with anything? How does that... even... work...?

Never mind, because not!Qui-Gon is also space!Sherlock:

“What’s that?” Trace pointed at the screen, at a series of pale bluish green discolorations along the [photo of the] Mirocaw’s portside. The marks had an oddly phosphorescent glossiness, almost as if that portion of the ship’s outer plating had been streaked with a layer of iridescent oil.

“Carbon scoring?”

“No.” The Jedi Knight shook his head. “That’s Thulian vapor residue—it’s a galactic anomaly, a mixture of post-industrial airborne pollution and crystal fog. You only find it in about three places outside the Mid Rim.”

Emmert gave him a blank look.

“Have my ship ready,” Trace said. “I’m leaving in five minutes.”

At least he's efficient, I'll give him that.

#star wars #star wars legends #red harvest #space botany #space orchids

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hoynovoy · 3 years

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13 Things To Try If You're New To BDSM

So you think you’re turned on by BDSM and kink. You’ve thought a lot about it and maybe you’ve even done some of the things that the experts recommend you do before you get started with BDSM. You’re ready to start thinking about and planning your first “session” but… You’re not totally sure where to start. Perhaps your fantasies are more varsity level than JV and you want to start slow, or maybe you’re just at a loss for ideas because, well, you’re a newbie.

Before we even get into activities, though, I want to take a minute and reassure you a little bit. I know that BDSM and kink can get kind of a bad rap in the media, like it’s some kind of deviant activity that only messed up people are into. BDSM and kink are practiced by all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds — and they play a huge role in the fantasy lives for a large proportion of women.

In fact, the data underscores just how common BDSM is. One article in the Journal of Sexual Health and Medicine found that 46.8% of the population sample, which was based in Belgium, had performed a BDSM-related activity. Twenty-six percent of respondents said they were interested in BDSM, and another 7.6% identified as “BDSM practitioners.”

Let the numbers soothe you: there is nothing wrong with being into kinky sex play and it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. All it means, in the end, is that you’re into kinky sex play!

Good Vibrations staff sexologist and author of The Sex & Pleasure Book: Good Vibrations Guide to Great Sex for Everyone Carol Queen, PhD, tells Bustle that before you do any BDSM play, you have to have some explicit conversations. Starting with what you're interested in because the world of BDSM, Queen says, is vast. And, "if one person is thinking cushy, bondage gear, and dripping candle wax and a blindfold, and the other one is thinking whips and chains and painting, [you] may talk past each other," Queen says. She suggests having a conversation not when you're already getting to it, which can feel like a high-pressure situation, but before.

"It's maybe better to do it outside of that context, like, 'Hey, I was wanting to talk to you about something kind of frisky. Do you have some time to hang out with me and have this conversation with me at dinner? Or do you want to have a glass of wine?'” Queen says. "Not too much wine when you have these conversations, though, because you want to remember what your focus is."

Now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty. As a certified sex educator, I have a million kinky friends (well, maybe not a million, but quite a few) who are happy to share their expertise on great entry-level kink and BDSM activities for those of you who are 100% new to the game. I decided to focus specifically on suggestions made by Miette Rouge, 43, and Jenna, 26, both of whom are active members of their respective kink scenes.

1. Hair Pulling

You might have already started this BDSM 1.0 level play: Hair pulling. A lot of people reach for the hair automatically in the throes of the passion. The journal Sexualization, Media, & Society surveyed nearly 2,000 pornography users and found that 50% of them have engaged in some hair-pulling.

Miette suggests hair pulling as a good way to start getting into kinky play. It’s easy, doesn’t require any toys, and can be as gentle or as rough as you want it to be.

Of course this (like every other type of BDSM play) requires conversation before doing it. Don't just jump in and yank on someone's hair. Queen recommends using a "yes, no, maybe" list before doing anything to make sure you and your partner are on the same page.

2. Light Spanking

Spanking is definitely a common fantasy. A nationally representative U.S. survey titled, “The 2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study,” found that about 30% of respondents had engaged in spanking in their lifetime. So starting with light BDSM is a good idea — with the option of ramping it up as you go, of course. Start with hands and then incorporate toys as you and your partner(s) become more experienced.

“I found it really exciting as a beginner to be told I had to count the number of blows I was going to receive, because it was not only a pain thing, but a power thing,” Jenna tells Bustle.

And spanking doesn't have to just be on the butt. Queen points out that many people like to be spanked all around their genitals.

"Some people love really 'thuddy' spanks, whether it's from a hand or paddle," Queen says. "Because it starts to move around your muscle and fat layer so close to your genitals, it adds sexual excitement to the experience for people who may not have even been thinking about the front of themselves when their spanking started."

3. Pre-Negotiated Language

Miette suggests incorporating aggressive language into your play. Words like “slut,” “whore,” “jerk,” “wimp,” and “f*ck” are all good places to start. Name calling, however, should definitely be pre-negotiated, as one person's turn on may be another person's major turn off.

Queen has another note about language, but it's about how to slow play rather than speed it up: Safe words. A safe word is a word that wouldn't normally come up during sex play, but if someone utters it then it's a signal that it's time to either slow down or stop the scene.

"The safe word typically would be something like red, yellow, and green — like red light, green light, like traffic lights," Queen says. "Green" means keep going, "yellow" means slow down, and "red" means you need to stop everything altogether.

4. Tying Up With A Scarf

A lot of people fantasize about bondage, and scarves are a good place to start because they’re soft and it’s hard to do real damage with them — unlike, you know, rope and handcuffs. That same U.S. survey also found that about 20% of respondents report having been tied up before, so you’re in good company if this piques your interest. And even more people want to be doing it. One Canadian study found that 72% of male respondents and 59% of female respondents fantasized about getting tied up.

However, an inexperienced bondage fan can really mess someone up if they do rope bondage incorrectly, from cutting off circulation to not being able to untie them at all. So stick to scarves if you're just getting started.

Miette’s main tip is to make sure that two fingers can be slipped between the tie and the skin in order to avoid cutting off circulation, which definitely can do damage. Pick one that's strong enough to take a little pulling and have fun.

5. Under The Bed Restraints

Once you’re ready to move on from scarves, Jenna recommends trying out under the bed restraints or “just canvas strap restraints.” These types of restraints, which can be found in most sex shops, make it easier to tie someone down without having to stop and fumble around with knots. They're also quick-release, which means you don't have to worry about knots tightening to the point of being difficult to remove, which is a great plus for a beginner.

“Even if you don't do anything else besides fool around, if you've never done it before giving up control over your body is an exciting intro to BDSM for beginners,” Jenna says.

6. Incorporating “Sir” Or “Madam”

In addition to aggressive language, Miette advises that a “sir” or “madam” can do wonder to set the stage. It’s a simple way to establish roles in a dom/sub scene and keep you both involved in the fantasy.

It's also great because it doesn't cost anything and you don't have to add any gear. Using "sir" and "madam" language is a cheap, easy, and very low-impact way to see if that particular kind of BDSM play works for you and your partner.

7. Biting

Biting is a great entry-level way to play because you can test different levels of pain. It's also, similar to using certain language, something you can do without any gear or any cost to you and your partner.

However, Miette warns that talking about biting beforehand is essential — and part of that talk should be about marks. Some people are into them and some people really aren’t, so make sure you know where your partner stands before you start chomping down.

You should also be clear about how hard you want to be bitten, before the biting starts. You could even make it a fun, kind of silly game with your partner biting you at different intensity levels so that they know what's going to work — and what isn't.

8. Subbing/Topping Role Playing

In BDSM-speak, "subbing" is performing the role of the submissive sex partner, while "topping" is playing the role of the dominant one. (And just in case you were curious, about 22% of the general population has tried role-playing before). But you don't have to jump right to full-on costumes and whips. You can ease your way into sub/top role play with a couple of additions to sex acts you're probably already doing.

Jenna suggests that “something as simple as having your arms tied behind your back while performing oral sex” can be a really hot entry level activity for people who are just getting started. Other suggestions might include begging (for sex or punishment) as well as being put in or putting someone in a submissive physical position.

9. Play With “Pervertables”

Miette is really into what she calls “pervertables,” which are every day objects that can be transformed into toys. She recommends things like wooden spoons, brushes, spatulas and narrow things like canes, thin belts, and rulers with the metal guide on them if you want to make a mark. The best thing about these toys, according to Miette, is that no one but other kinksters will recognize them for what they are. They’re like a kinky secret signal.

Queen cautions, however, that different materials create different sensations. And while some might be really pleasurable for people, others won't be.

"When you're choosing your implements for impact play that some things are going to be thinner or a harder edged material — like say latex would be stingier feeling to the body — and things that are softer material — suede and things like that — or wider wind up feeling 'thuddier.' And some people have a preference one or another."

10. Sensation Play With A Blindfold

Both Miette and Jenna recommend blindfolded sensation play. What does that mean, you ask? Basically, you lightly restrain someone (or are restrained yourself, depending on your preference), blindfold them, and then introduce various sensations with various objects. So maybe you run a feather over them or you pinch them or you give them a spank or tease them to edge of orgasm.

The idea of this kind of play is to allow the non-blindfolded person to have control of everything that’s happening and for the blindfolded person to surrender control to them. And for the blindfolded person, not being able to see what's going on can make each physical feeling even more intense.

11. Floggers

A flogger is a kind of whip, specifically one with a woven leather handle and lots of woven tails. They're used for impact play, which means hitting of some kind. Some people like to use both ends of the flogger for a variety of sensations.

A flogger is more like a BDSM 1.1 step rather than a BDSM 1.0 step, according to Jenna. She recommends to newbies, though, because the pain it provides isn’t very intense but it looks scary, which can heighten your enjoyment of it.

Her second tip when it comes to this kind of pain play? “Leave the cane for once you've experienced a little more, because that sh*t hurts.”

12. Clothespins

Jenna thinks that clothespins — which can be adjusted and removed quickly, if need be — are a good way to start exploring pain thresholds. She recommends trying them out on nipples, stomach, and inner thigh at first as you start to understand your or your partner’s limits.

Queen says that while you'd think the painful part of clothes pin play would be when you put them on, it's actually the removal that creates the most sensation.

"When the blood flows in the nerves are like, 'Wait, what?' and it can be quite painful for people who don’t enjoy intense sensation," Queen says. "Do something distracting at that time when the clip is coming off — like if it comes off a nipple, add sucking or licking to the nipple right away or do something else on another part of the body that can distract them, clitoral touch or some spanking if they like it. That kind of thing. Distracting [away from] that sensation can be a useful technique."

13. Candle wax

Candle wax is another way to play that Jenna says, “seems scary but isn't, isn't that painful, and is an exciting way to intro/explore pain.” Her only warning is that you do some research beforehand about different types of candles, as certain kinds burn hotter than others and those are the ones you don’t want.

If you try out a couple of these entry-level BDSM activities and find that you like it, you'll be well on your way to further exploring kink with your partner. Have fun, be safe, and feep communicating.

Experts:

Good Vibrations staff sexologist and author of The Sex & Pleasure Book: Good Vibrations Guide to Great Sex for Everyone Carol Queen, PhD

Studies:

Holvoet L, Huys W, Coppens V, Seeuws J, Goethals K, Morrens M. Fifty Shades of Belgian Gray: The Prevalence of BDSM-Related Fantasies and Activities in the General Population. J Sex Med. 2017 Sep;14(9):1152-1159. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.07.003. Epub 2017 Aug 7. PMID: 28781214.

Herbenick D, Bowling J, Fu TJ, Dodge B, Guerra-Reyes L, Sanders S. Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 20;12(7):e0181198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181198. PMID: 28727762; PMCID: PMC5519052.

Renaud, C.A. & Byers, E.. (1999). Exploring the frequency, diversity, and content of university students' positive and negative sexual cognitions. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. 8. 17-30.

Style Select styleAMAAPAChicagoMLAHarvard1.Bridges AJ, Sun CF, Ezzell MB, Johnson J. Sexual Scripts and the Sexual Behavior of Men and Women Who Use Pornography. Sexualization, Media, & Society. December 2016. doi:10.1177/2374623816668275

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pkmnjesus · 7 years

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P J a shipper? SHIP-A-THON ‘18

𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒱

My case in Kalos:

AmourShipping / SatoSere (Ash/Satoshi & Serena): Okay I’m pretty sure I don’t even need to say it, but THIS THE MOST CANON ASH SHIP WE WILL PROBABLY GET! When XY was first announced 2013, and read the bio for Serena’s character as a “childhood friend” of Ash’s I WAS STOKED. I said to myself back then, are we actually going to have a traveling partner that has a confirmed crush on Ash? The series definitely did not disappoint on delivering this shipping fan service, especially on Serena’s part, but at the same time I was glad that her character wasn’t fully focused on it as well because of her own development as a Pokémon Performer. Ash’s attitude helped Serena motivate herself on doing better, and never giving up no matter if she wins or loses. Every moment and interaction they had were glorious, and loved every second of it! When an episode of XY starts, amourshippers are always on the lookout! Favorite moment - A lot of moments to mention, but without a doubt my favorite is the childhood flashback scene where they first met at Oak’s Summer Camp. Poor baby Serena scared out of her life with that boo boo, until Ash came along and helped her up! That moment when he had her in his arms, I KNEW THE INTERNET WAS GOING TO EXPLODE. As an active member of serebiiforums during the premiere of that episode, it was definitely the talk of the town under the anime section! Wherever you go there it was an AmourShipping frenzy, and from there started this craze of a ship.

DiodeShipping / SatoShito (Ash/Satoshi & Clemont/Citron): Clemont and Ash is probably my favorite friendship among his male companions. I know I said that Cilan was the best tag team partner, but I feel that Clemont has a stronger brotherhood with Ash. I mean they sleep together in the same tent, Ash always clings his arms to him every time he’s proud of something Clemont does, and Ash geeks out on EVERYTHING he makes despite it exploding later on. Like with AmourShipping, Clemont looks up to Ash and drives him to never give up with whatever trials he may face in order to achieve his goals. They’re either blood brothers or gay lovers...you decide?! Favorite moment - 100% their gym battle! It was fun, intense, and a huge development for both characters. Needs more bro hugs ;D

GeekChicShipping / ShitoSere (Clemont/Citron & Serena): This ship is definitely adorable for its own reasons! You have kind outgoing girl, and cautious nerdy boy who both are struggling with self-confidence in order to achieve their dreams. This ship definitely had its respectable moments when Ash wasn’t around in the group. In fact, it was I, the PokémonJesus, who created the first ever GeekChic thread in serebiiforums back in late 2013. Favorite moment - Instead of a moment, I would like to point out the fact that they both know how to cook?! Clemont makes the main dishes, and Serena specializes in the deserts. They are basically the dad and mom of the group xD Ash and Bonnie would not survive without them!

TinhYeuDichThucShipping (...yes that’s what this Kalos quad ship is called I am not even kidding when I did my research): No offense to Brock, May, or Max, but I definitely to prefer this quad pairing over them. The Kalos quad all have their fair share of interactions (as mentioned above), and I’m pretty sure Bonnie looks up to Ash and Serena as older siblings as well! I was also low-key hoping for her to have like an innocent kid-crush on Ash so maybe she can tease Serena with it, but I’m fine with how they interacted. Clemont being the good big bro he is, and the sisterhood shown between Bonnie and Serena were an awesome dynamic (same goes with Ash and Max in AG). With Ash being the definitive leader for this group (since their really isn’t an older figure or Clemont is just short), the most important trait of all is that the three of them look up to Ash, and they can all learn together from him, cheer him on, and maybe even be as strong as he is. Ash fan club jokes aside, I can see these four living in a small peaceful cabin somewhere in the fine forests of Kalos where they seek new adventures every day and help Pokémon in need (no, I don’t write fanfics).

MarissonShipping (Alain/Alan & Mairin/Manon): Now this is one of the more unique shippings that you don’t see quite often from looks alone. I honestly would not think that the two main characters from the Mega Evolution specials would have much have a bigger role once the XY&Z arc started. Their relationship definitely had a rocky start since Mairin just looked like a stalker following Alain around for no apparent reason. Eventually he softened up to her by Act III (I think?) after Mairin protected him from the Mega Evolution chaos that was happening during their trip in Hoenn. And if you think about it, Alain entered the Kalos League BECAUSE of Mairin and her sick Chespin. If it wasn’t for this ship maybe Ash could have won the League. Mairin is that type of girl that bugs the boyfriend if she can go to her favorite store in mall, and Alain will probably be “oh fine alright” and buys her anything she wants because that’s how much he cares. Alain doesn’t really wanna show his affection much compared to Mairin, but that’s what I like about this cute ship. Favorite moment - The first hug they shared at the end of the 3rd act Mega Evolution. That pretty much sold the ship to me <3

Honorable mentions: As you can tell by my low quality picture collage skills, I do think Serena would make the most girlfriends among her friends/rivals xD Serena and Shauna was a relationship I looked forward to because of how I loved Shauna’s in-game character’s relationship with the player in X/Y. It pretty much as the same vibe with Serena and Aria being performer GFs and taking about how pretty cool they can be when it comes to outfits and stylish performances with their Pokémon. Serena and Miette however is a more aggressive relationship because of them fighting over flirting with Ash. Of course Ash still has no clue whatsoever, but it’s just funny how he’s the innocent little boy in all of this. Serena and Mairin are the best girl power BFFs support to their boys, and wished that they interacted more prior to the Kalos League. But what about Serena’s adorable Pokémon? Before evolving, I always thought that her Fennekin would be more closer to Ash’s Froakie. Would have made AmourShipping even greater! But Serena’s Eevee and Clemont’s Bunnelby were the adorable Pokémon ship for this series. Poor Eevee was scared of everyone’s Pokémon EXCEPT Bunnelby whom she’d hide behind him every time especially when Chespin tries to be friendly xD I can’t remember but I think there were a few interactions of them after Eevee evolved into a Sylveon. Moving on to the gym leader side of things is Viola and Grant’s cute relationship. It wasn’t seen in the games, but it was clearly obvious that these two could be more than just friends. Probably my favoritegmy leader shipping if you ask me. Ash and Korrina had a good dynamic too when she was temporarily traveling with them, and the group even admitted that the two are alike!(maybe just in hunger I don’t know lol) But let’s not forget Shōta’s senpai treatment to Satoshi. I think he is really the first rival that actually looked up to him and wanted to beat him respectfully. This boy has a handful of notes about Ash, and I’m not even surprised if it’s not just the battling styles and strategies found in that little note book of his ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

P J’s ship-a-thon: OS | AG | DP | BW | XY | SM | Others | Non-Pkmn ships

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lattetudes · 7 years

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flirting in french; god, how i would love to be smooth in any language. i’d like to think this is pretty important - as this is part of socializing in any language. flirtation is a very different thing than “picking up.” picking up is a kind of hunting game with a very pointed and invariable goal. flirtation, at least in france, is a totally different thing. it’s a different culture, a different lifestyle. it’s a way of being in everyday life, and unlike picking up, it has no defined goal. sometimes the french flirt because it’s just delightful to do so. think salt to pepper relationship. allowing each one to check, and at different levels, if he or she still has some charm operating.

i would say that simple is always best: merely walk up to your chosen girl or guy and say je vous trouve absolument charmante, or i find you absolutely charming / beautiful. be classy and to the point. with that and mind, read on!

so; why flirt in french?

well, french is a sexy language. not going to lie.

it’s the planet’s most-hyped language of love.

reaching that level of fluency feels amazing.

it gives you that confidence. social confidence.

helps to develop communication skills.

french learning and french flirting

let’s face it: in france, (or in any country for that matter), nobody speaks like a textbook, the president, or a language learning site (i’m looking at you, duolingo). it’s great for memorizing the fundamentals, but lacks that extra step that stands between you and complete fluency.

flirting is part of socializing - and linguistically (i don’t know, it helped with me) it improves retention. it’s also just interesting to learn!

flirting is just well.. fun. even if it doesn’t go anywhere.

a bit of verbal charm isn’t always necessary : but in my opinion, it helps you sound more natural / at ease / friendly.

i somewhat lack verbal charm (i’m very, very awkward in social situations) so i probably need this masterpost as much as anyone else (:

the classics: make love last. this is based upon what i’ve heard at school / restaurants / bars. okay fine: it’s based on the movies i’ve watched too.

j’ai envie de t’embrasser / embrasse-moi - kiss me.. annouce it - make your intentions known! ‘i’d like to kiss you’ - okay, you could just kiss someone instead of letting them know. but i don’t know.. there’s something romantic about it? best with a longing, meaningful stare.

je t’aime: i’m pretty sure we all know this one. best with someone you care deeply for, i wouldn’t say this on a first date - but if you’re the direct type : this can help you get from a to z pretty quickly.

the simple compliments using these with a flirty look / tone of voice can do wonders. play with your expression while practicing these: it makes a difference, trust me. t’es toujours canon toi ou quoi? you can also add trop ( = too). example: trop belle, trop mignon(ne). you can also add tellement ( = so) example: t’es tellement belle! you can also add si ( = so) example: t’es si mignonne. you can also use grave ( = totally) example: t’es grave belle.

t’es mignon(ne).

t’es belle (/beau), toi.

t’es canon. ( = you’re smoking hot).

t’es con. ( = you’re an idiot) - i’ve seen this used a lot flirtatiously.

t’es drôle. ( = you’re funny)

t’es magnifique.

t’es charmant(e).

t'es coquin / coquine! ( = you’re such a tease.)

the ‘social and the flirty’ these can be used as compliments / or flirtatiously. depends on your relationship with the person you’re giving them to.

cette beauté chaton, tu m’ éblouie. ( = you dazzle me with your beauty.)

une beauté divine. ( = a divine beauty or: you’re so divine.)

ouloulouloulouloulou. ( = you really have to hear this one.)

tu brilles de mille feux.

j'te pécho. ( = like the equivalent of ‘to pick up someone’ in english).

bg, or beau / belle gosse ( = hot guy, hot girl).

une petite merveille. ( = a wonder, someone to be marveled at).

une bombe. ( = bombshell, someone pretty - same thing as ‘belle gosse’.)

le petit côté mystérieux femme fatale je kiffe. - je kiffe means i like.

la beauté à l état pur ( = beauty at its purest form).

dingue! ( = crazy, as in crazy beautiful).

j'ai pas les mots.( = i have no words).

wahhh, la classe! ( = classy!)

c’est fou, tant de beauté ( = you’re so beautiful, it’s crazy.)

flirting at a bar or restaurant?

t’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais? the phrase ‘you’ve got beautiful eyes’ pretty much works in any language (though, i think it sounds extra gorgeous in french). the phrase actually comes from a french film called le quai des brumes. fair warning: this is an extreme cliché, : it’s basically the english equivalent of do you come here often? it can be said ironically, if you’re not the cliché type.

je peux t’offrir / vous (formal) un verre ? : can i buy you a drink?

vous êtes célibataire ? mais comment est-ce possible ? - you’re single? but how’s that possible?

vous venez souvent ici ? - do you come here often? classic. a phrase that transcends cultural barriers: “ the sentence could be followed up by complaints — about the bartender, about the clients or about how the bar isn’t as good as it used to be. a french tradition is râler, a sort of complaining. finding things to complain about is a way that many french people choose to bond with new acquaintances. this is not true of anyone.

t’as une miette (you’ve got a crumb) as you pretend to stroke something off of someone’s face, first with your fingers, then with your lips.

tu m’excites ! ( = you turn me on.)

“j’ai une première édition de ‘à la recherche du temps perdu.’ tu veux le voir ?” - i have the first edition of “in search of lost time. (written by proust). do you want to see it?” in france (for me, at least) cultural knowledge is sexy. in America, we often ask if you’d like a nightcap. choose something cultural and intellectual in france, and you’re far more likely to get a oui.

je veux te revoir. ( = i want to see you again.)

quoi de beau? ( = how you doin’ - joey, friends.)

excuse-moi. est-ce que t’embrasses les inconnus ? non ? donc, je me présente. excuse me, do you kiss strangers? No? then let me introduce myself.

excuse-moi, j'ai perdu mon numero de téléphone. est-ce que je peux t'emprunter le tien?“ excuse me, i seem to have lost my phone number. could I borrow yours?

let me know if you’d like to know more! you can never be too charming.

#french #french langblr #studying abroad #flirting #jiyeonstudies #intellectys #biocntes #stvdybuddies #archistudy #tbhstudying #officiallystudying #focusign #bookmrk #lookstudying #obsidianstudy #journalsanctuary #universi-tea #langblrfr

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crywonder · 8 years

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We’re Good - Part 1

PART 1 OF 2

Ship: Champselyseeshipping (Serena/Misty)

Summary: So maybe things didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Just take it one day at a time, and you’ll see -- it’ll be okay in the end. Canon divergent. Two-shot.

FFnet || AO3

A/N: This was originally going to be a crack fic, but it turned into this monster and kept getting longer. It’s canon divergent because I started writing it before the Kalos League and the Team Flare arc, and I didn’t have the heart to change it. It’s a new writing style for me and I’m terrible at romance so I hope it’s alright!

Serena could appreciate a good silence amongst friends. Sometimes nothing needed to be said, and that was okay – it was comfortable, at times even more comfortable than when someone decides to speak up.

This was not one of those times.

Ash was scarfing down his meal, too busy to bring any conversation to the dinner table, so that left everyone else. Clemont was telling Ash’s mother, Delia, of his latest invention, while Bonnie provided her own additions of how they blew up. It was a conversation that she couldn’t find the opportunity to join after she’d commented on Delia’s cooking. So all she could do was eat in silence.

Or start a conversation with Misty Waterflower.

Ash had only ever brought up the redhead once on their journeys, when Bonnie had stumbled across a series of photos of his previous travelling companions on his pokégear. He’d described her as brash, hot-tempered and one of the strongest pokémon trainers he’d ever known. Perhaps that was what had made her the most interested in Misty – Ash wouldn’t have praised her skills as a trainer if she wasn’t worthy of it, and a good trainer was something Ash always had a lot of respect for. This girl must’ve been pretty special.

The redhead sitting next to her seemed nothing like the girl Ash had described. She was strong, sure – there was a clear muscle definition in her arms, and her crop top did nothing to hide her firm stomach. She looked like someone who could be hot-tempered but so far hadn’t shown it. Serena couldn’t speak for her battling skills, but she trusted Ash to at least be a good enough judge of that.

But Ash hadn’t mentioned how pretty Misty was either. It wasn’t immediately apparent, but if you looked closer you could see the freckles that dotted her cheeks and the gentle curves of her lips. Serena was especially jealous of her nose – it was small and delicate in a way that Serena’s nose was not, and hooked over on just the right angle. Serena’s nose was large and protruded too far out between her eyes.

Misty started to turn her head, and she realised she’d been staring; she whipped her head away right on time. She could see the other girl looking at her from the corner of her eye, but she didn’t dare turn back around.

“So,” Misty started, but it was obvious she was unsure how to continue that sentence. Serena didn’t care; she was too busy thinking about how even Misty’s voice was better than hers. She was probably a singer, too.

“Are you thinking of going for Kalos Queen again, next year?” Misty tried again. It caught Serena off guard – she hadn’t expected to actually begin a conversation.

“O-oh, yes,” she said, her voice sounding shakier than intended, “I came so close to winning this time, it doesn’t make sense for me to just give up now.”

Misty nodded. “There’s always room for improvement. Even if you make it to the top.”

“Right.” Serena wanted to say more, but she was at a loss for words. Misty had already spoken about her gym and there was nothing else to be said about it.

“So what will you do after you’ve achieved your dream? After you become the Queen?”

“Well, I’d have to defend my title the next year.” Serena toyed with her food, taking a quick glance around the table to see if anyone was listening. Ash was still engrossed in his food, and Clemont, Bonnie and Delia were still talking. “After that I was thinking … well, I could ask Ash if I could travel with him again.”

“It’s a good idea. If he remembers.”

“What?”

Misty gave her a wry smile. “You’re not the only one he’s left behind, you know.”

Serena looked back at the boy in question, who had caught his mother’s attention to ask for seconds. While he hadn’t quite left her behind yet, she knew it would happen. Coming with him to Pallet Town had been a last ditch attempt to stay with him a little longer. Had Serena won the title of Kalos Queen, she would’ve been happy to join him in Alola, but she had her goals to achieve and he had his. He always found new friends in other regions to travel with, and he may not have a place for her in his journey when she’s finally ready.

“We’ll see when it happens,” she muttered quietly, and Misty pursed her lips.

“If it doesn’t –” Misty paused to take a deep breath. She seemed to be forcing herself to say something. “If it doesn’t … you can always contact me. I know how it feels.”

Serena’s eyes flitted around the table again – no one was paying attention to their conversation. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure you’d understand exactly how I’ll feel.”

“I lent him my handkerchief, too.”

This caught her off guard. She turned to look at the other girl directly for the first time that day. Was that a threat? No, it mustn’t be – Misty didn’t seem angry, especially if she was as hot-tempered as she’d been led to believe. Instead, Serena saw sympathy, understanding … she even looked a little sad.

Serena wasn’t sure how to respond, so she smiled instead. Misty smiled back, and she wasn’t sure if it was the genuineness of her smile or their previous conversation that made the heat rise to her cheeks.

She did have a nice smile.

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

“The thing is …” Serena began, fiddling with the ribbon on her chest, “Now that I’ve finally achieved my dream … I’m not sure what I want to do anymore.”

“Huh?” Ash asked, a little distracted with Pikachu running up his arm and around his shoulder. He moved in and out of Serena’s Holo Caster hologram as they tussled. “You don’t want to perform anymore?”

“No no, it’s not that! I love performing! It’s just that I’ve already achieved everything I want to achieve, you know? I could try for Kalos Queen again but it won’t be as special. Besides,” she sighed, moving her hands away from her ribbon and wrapping them around her arms, “I’ve been Kalos Queen for three years straight, now. And I wouldn’t want to take Miette’s title away from her.”

“Hm.” He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. “Well, it’s okay if you can’t figure it out yet. You didn’t know what you wanted to do when I first met you, and you worked it out eventually!”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Ash.”

“No problem. Hey!” He snapped his fingers. “I just had an idea! You remember those contests I told you about?”

“Yes?”

“My friend Dawn’s about to start competing in the Kanto Contest Circuit. You should go with her! I think you’d do real great as a coordinator.”

Serena wasn’t so sure about that. Coordinating was similar enough to performing that she wouldn’t feel the same fire she did when she used to, for the same reasons she felt she couldn’t do showcases anymore. Besides, none of her pokémon were that interested in the battling aspect of Contests anyway.

“I’ll think about it, alright? I’m not sure I could make such a big decision so quickly.”

“I understand,” Ash nodded. “Just give me a call if you make up your mind, alright?”

“I will,” Serena said. “Thank you, Ash.”

“Not a problem, Serena. You know I’m always here to help you with anything.”

“I know,” she smiled, but it was bittersweet. She knew Ash didn’t mean that romantically – it was something he’d do for any of his friends. Now that she knew him better, and understood the relationships he had had, she didn’t delude herself with thinking he cared about her in that way.

This call had almost been like a final test. She’d been waiting for the moment where Ash would ask her to travel with him again, now that she’d admitted she wouldn’t be performing anymore. She wasn’t about to ask him herself – she was tired of always making the first move. But Ash hadn’t bothered bringing it up, which he would have if he had wanted to. So that was that.

“I have to go …” she started.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, really.” Serena forced a smile. “I think I just need some alone time right now.”

“Sometimes that’s best. But Serena,” he gave her a solemn look, “I’ll be rooting for you no matter what you do, okay? It’s not over for you, so you can’t give up yet.”

Never give up till it’s over. That really made her smile. “Of course not! I have my whole life ahead of me.”

“That’s the spirit! I’ll call you later, yeah? Keep me updated on things.”

“I will.” She hesitated, before speaking up suddenly. “Wait! Before you go, could you give me Misty’s number?”

“Misty?”

“Yes, I just … feel like speaking to her.”

“Sure, I guess.” Ash frowned. “I didn’t realise you two got along.”

“I’d like to try. Is that okay?”

His face cleared immediately. “Of course! You guys are so important to me. It’d be great if you could be friends too!”

The call ended soon after, but she wasn’t about to put her Holo Caster to rest yet. Ash had given her the number to Misty’s personal pokégear, and it was cheaper to call through her own mobile device instead of the landline. Blindly, she dialled the number she’d been given into the touchscreen. She hadn’t intended on calling Misty today – or ever, in fact. But after speaking with Ash …

“Hello?” Misty’s voice buzzed through, pulling Serena out of her thoughts.

“Hi. It’s Serena.”

There was a long pause. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Well …” She clutched the hem of her dress, “I lost the title of Kalos Queen.”

“I heard about that. Are you okay?”

Serena chose her words carefully. “Losing the title didn’t feel as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“You’ve had a good run, haven’t you? Maybe it doesn’t feel so bad because you already got what you wanted.”

“I suppose.” She clenched and unclenched her fist, unsure of her next move. “I … I called Ash just before.”

“That’s how you got my number, huh?”

“Yeah.” She bit her lip. “He didn’t ask me to travel with him.”

“I didn’t think he would. Not because he doesn’t care about you enough,” Misty quickly added. “He’s just never asked. For anyone.”

“But the rest of you always have something to do,” Serena argued, “You’re all busy with something. I’m not.”

There was another long silence. Misty didn’t seem to know what to say, and it was getting awkward, so Serena decided to break the ice once more. “Ash suggested I travel with Dawn and try coordinating. She’s competing in Kanto this season. I was thinking, if I go along … maybe we could meet?”

“Meet?”

“I just …” Serena stopped to take a deep breath and exhale slowly, pushing away the tears that were threatening to fall. “I need someone to talk to. Someone who understands.”

Misty went quiet again, and Serena was almost sure she was going to decline. “I-if you don’t want to, that’s fine –”

“I’m in Kalos.”

“…Wh-what?”

“I’m in Kalos. I’ve been living here for a year now.”

“Wh– how?!”

“I’ve been apprenticing under Siebold.”

Serena took the time to wet her lips. She certainly hadn’t seen this coming – Ash hadn’t said a word about Misty moving so close to Serena, even though he most certainly knew.

Then again, it wasn’t like Misty and Serena were friends.

“Where in Kalos are you staying?” Serena finally asked.

“Lumiose City.”

“That’s where I live!”

“I know.”

“Did … you want to come over?”

“… Send me your address.”

“A-alright!”

The shock of her discovery made Serena forget all her other problems of the day, but when Misty showed up at her door forty-five minutes later with ice cream and red wine, she felt like she was about to collapse. It was like the gravity of things hit her all at once. Maybe she hadn’t expected Ash to have feelings for her anymore, but they were still friends enough that she wanted him to take her back – and yes, maybe the fact that she wasn’t over him had something to do with it too, but the last thing she wanted is for him to push her away.

Which is exactly what it felt like he did.

Misty seemed to sense how she was feeling, because she set her bags down and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The gesture was so similar to something her mother would do that Serena automatically threw her arms around Misty’s shoulders, without even thinking. She was a little cool to the touch, which was refreshing on a hot summer’s day. She smelt of razz berry shampoo and a hint of chlorine. The ends of her hair were wet. Serena was always good at noticing little details, even when she was too busy crying into someone’s neck.

Within an hour, they’d made their way to Serena’s couch, Serena struggling to get through a bowl of ice cream while Misty’s arm was thrown casually around the back of her seat. They’d pulled up some decade-old romantic comedy on Pokéflix, but neither of them were paying attention. At least, Serena wasn’t – she was too focused on the tear tracks still fresh on her face, the ice-cold glass of the bowl in her hands, Misty’s fingers brushing against her arm whenever either of them shifted a little. Misty’s lips brushing her scalp as she turned to look in her direction. Her shoulder jerk when she chuckled.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Misty grinned. “Just … you look like a mess.”

It was probably true. Serena had hardly had the opportunity to remove the makeup she had on for her showcase when she’d called her friends. She’d intended on leaving it on to attend Miette’s congratulations party, but … well.

“Do I have to be pretty all the time?” Serena sniffled.

“I didn’t say you weren’t pretty. But you’re a mess.”

Serena didn’t know how to respond to that, so forced another spoon of ice cream down her throat. It was difficult with the thin film of gunk blocking her throat – what was it called? Was it mucus? She suddenly wasn’t hungry.

“You know,” Misty started, her voice a lot softer than it had been so far that night, “The first time I ever told Daisy how I felt, I bawled my eyes out.”

“You did?”

“Yeah.” She licked her lips. “I didn’t do anything when I first told Ash my sisters were back and he didn’t ask me to join him again.” She laughed bitterly. “He was too busy travelling with May.”

“Aren’t you and May close?”

“We are now. But I hadn’t met her yet.”

“Oh.”

“But I never talked to anyone about it until later. I travelled with Ash for a few days right before he started challenge the Battle Frontier, and after I went home … I just knew that’d be the last time. And I guess Daisy sensed something was wrong.”

“You knew what would happen,” Serena mumbled. “That’s why you came.”

“Yeah. But my sister doesn’t know Ash like I do.”

“Hm?”

“Well …” she shifted, “She gave me that whole speech about how he’s a jerk and he’s not worth crying over … you know, usual breakup stuff.”

“Ash isn’t a jerk,” Serena said immediately. She couldn’t help herself – she still felt the need to defend him against anyone who spoke ill of him.

“He’s not.” Misty frowned. “Well … he can be. But that’s not why he didn’t ask me to travel with him when I could. I didn’t really like the gym back then, but … I think he could tell I was proud of how well I was doing there. And I think he was, too.” Misty smiled almost wistfully, her eyes not really focusing anywhere. “And in hindsight, I achieved a lot more being a gym leader than just going region to region with him. Not that I could have been as good as I am without him, but … I doubt I would be where I am now if I’d just kept going, you know?”

Serena did know. She’d learnt so much when she journeyed around Kalos with him; she wouldn’t be the same person if she hadn’t run into him again. Ash had a way of bringing out the best in people … but he was also very distracting. She didn’t want to admit that working on her showcases without him had felt almost liberating when she didn’t have to deal with the trouble that followed him around, or the gym battles he had to train for, or her feelings for him and whether he felt the same way.

“My feelings consumed me,” Serena realised.

Misty nodded. “You actually did better than I did. I only ever entered one water-type tournament in all three years of travelling with him. You almost achieved your dream!”

“And I couldn’t have done it without him.” Serena bit her lip. “But I don’t know if I could have done it with him either.”

Misty was beaming in a way that made her eyes sparkle. Along with her dimples, she looked years younger.

Serena could understand that.

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

One of Serena’s favourite sounds was the crack of a crème brulée. It was quiet and gentle, yet it still somehow managed to be immensely satisfying. And then she got to eat it, too.

“Okay.” Shauna placed her hands on the table in front of her, “Can I speak now?”

“You can,” Serena smiled.

“So as I was saying,” she said, closing the moleskine sitting in front of Serena, “I’ve hired a few people to help me manage and run the boutique, but I still need someone to endorse my designs. I’m spending a lot of money that I need to make back.”

“So you want me to endorse your clothing line?”

“You and your pokémon,” Shauna nodded. “Could you? I know you’d need to speak to your manager and all that, but I really need –”

“I’d love to,” Serena cut in. She hesitated. “I don’t need to talk to my manager.”

Shauna frowned. “You don’t? Are you sure?”

Serena only responded by helping herself to another spoon of her desert. Shauna raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t have a manager, do you?”

“Well …”

Shauna lips formed a tight, firm line. It scared Serena a little to realise she couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“We’re worried about you, Serena,” she said quietly. “Me and Nini, and Aria too.”

Serena’s eyes widened. “You keep in touch with Aria?”

“She isn’t hard to get a hold of, now that she hasn’t been Kalos Queen in a while. You on the other hand …” Shauna pulled her notebook back to her end of the table. “It’s been two weeks, Serena. I know losing the title was tough, but it’s like you’ve cut us off completely.”

“It’s not that!” Serena said hurriedly. “It’s just that … well now that it’s over … I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Do? There are always plenty of things to do. A lot of former Queens go into modelling.”

Serena shook her head. “I’m not sure I want to be a model. It doesn’t have the same kind of agency that performing does.”

“You could always try showcases again.”

“No, there’s no point. I’ve already been Kalos Queen for three years straight. I don’t have anything to prove anymore.”

Shauna pursed her lips. “It doesn’t mean you have to shut us out. It’s bad enough with Miette being too busy for us now.”

“I wasn’t trying to shut you out.” Serena cupped her hands around her bowl, interlocking her fingers with each other. “It’s just really confusing right now.”

Shauna hesitated, and then placed a soft hand over one of Serena’s. “Okay. But you don’t have to be confused alone.”

“I haven’t been alone … not entirely.”

“Oh yeah?” Shauna withdrew her hand. “Clemont?”

“Sometimes.” Serena played around with her spoon. “Have you heard of a trainer named Misty Waterflower, by any chance?”

“I have, actually,” Shauna said, putting her sketchbook away. “I bumped into her while trying for the League last year. Water pokémon trainer, right? From Kanto?”

“That’s her. She’s training under Siebold, at the moment.”

“I remember. But how do you know her?”

“She’s actually a friend of Ash’s. His best friend.”

“Oh.” Shauna licked her lips, “I see.”

“Yeah.” Serena took a moment to take another spoonful of her crème brulée.

“So does he … are they …?”

“They’re not together. I don’t know how Ash feels about her, to be honest.”

“Serena, I’m really sorry –”

“No, I mean – it’s not that! She’s been visiting a lot.” She hesitated, “She understands it. The effect he has.”

Shauna sucked on her teeth. “That’s an unusual friendship.”

“I suppose. It’s not always comfortable, but … I enjoy our time together.”

Shauna hummed in response. Serena could feel her eyes on her as she dug into her crème brulée.

“I used to have a crush on you, you know.”

Serena nearly choked, the heat rushing up her neck and to her cheeks immediately. “What? I-I mean, you did?”

“Yeah. A pretty big one, too. I always thought you were so poised and beautiful, and so dedicated to your pokémon.” Shauna shrugged. “You’re a really attractive person, Serena. Even if Ash doesn’t notice it.”

“Um …” Serena searched her mind for something to say, but she wasn’t able to come up with anything coherent. “I’m sorry, but I don’t …”

“Don’t apologize.” Shauna waved her comment away. “You were too caught up in Ash for it to matter, anyway.”

“I’m still sorry.”

Shauna chuckled. “I used to have a crush on you, Serena. Not anymore. That’s my point – I moved on. I liked you a lot, but I moved on.” She leaned an elbow on the table, and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “It’s pretty easy to do once you put your mind to it.”

Serena didn’t think Shauna understood the gravity of her feelings for Ash. If it were that easy to move on, she would have done so already. She’d accepted that Ash would never return her feelings, so she had no reason to keep being hung up over him. She didn’t choose this. She didn’t need this.

But she couldn’t stop it either.

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

“Cut!” Clemont popped up from behind the enormous camera lens. “Misty, I’m going to need you to hold that reflector a little lower.”

Misty groaned. “Lower, now? You wanted it higher last time!”

She was standing on the tips of her toes before, just to dull the harshness of the summer sun that had been falling on Serena’s face. The scowl had been a permanent mark on her face from about ten minutes into filming for Serena’s latest pokévid. At first, Misty was happy to help her and Clemont with the filming; now her face was reddening with anger, and Serena had a feeling she hadn’t even seen a slice of that famous temper Ash kept talking about.

“Sorry!” Clemont dived back behind his camera as Misty stood back on her heels. “The sun keeps moving.”

“Then maybe you should’ve gotten a bigger reflector,” Misty bit back.

“Sylvy …” Sylveon groaned, tugging at the flower crown on her head. Misty’s annoyance was clearly starting to get to her.

“It wasn’t in my budget,” Serena said, biting her lip.

Misty’s scowl didn’t let up. “You owe me big time, Paschall.”

“And I owe you big time, Paschall,” Shauna said teasingly, walking up to her with a few makeup brushes in her hand. Her ivysaur and floette followed behind holding the rest of her equipment. “Thanks again for agreeing to endorse my designs.”

“It helps that our styles aren’t too different,” Serena grinned, but immediately relaxed her face as Shauna came at her with a concealer stick. She felt a gentle pressure on the top of her head too, probably Floette adjusting her braid. The attention was odd – Serena was used to doing her own hair and makeup for her pokévids and just having Bonnie point out if anything went astray, but now that her videos were sponsored, Shauna wanted her to look immaculate at all times. Which Serena didn’t mind, but Shauna was a lot more particular than she was used to. And Serena didn’t blame her either – these pokévids were being made specifically to showcase Shauna’s work, so it was out of her hands how she wanted to look.

At least Shauna used brushes and blenders, which were a lot gentler than Misty’s prodding fingers – especially for Pokémon. The redhead was often enlisted to help with odd jobs while Serena made one of her videos. She could be careful when she wanted to be, and applying makeup was not one of those times.

“All done,” Shauna said, as she gave Serena’s braid a soft tug. Ivysaur had finished adjusting the flowers on Sylveon’s crown, making sure they looked as fresh and shiny as possible. As much as fake flowers could, anyway.

“So we’re ready for one more take?” Clemont asked.

Serena nodded. “Let’s do this.”

They continued on for another hour, taking breaks to deal with the changing outdoor light, fixing Serena’s clothes, changing Serena’s clothes, Misty grumbling and Clemont apologising. They finished right before the harsh afternoon sun took over, and they decided to have lunch at Shauna’s favourite café. It was small and had a crowd of customers for the lunchtime rush, but it was air-conditioned and relatively cheap, and Shauna insisted the coffee was amazing.

“I can’t believe Aria went out with you!” Shauna breathed, “And I can’t believe no one ever told me!”

“I-it was just one date!” Clemont laughed nervously, blushing slightly. “Bonnie was the one that set it up, actually …”

“Don’t worry, Clemont, I never expected you to ask Aria out yourself.”

Clemont hung his head, and Serena let out a small laugh.

“He was my date once too,” Serena pointed out.

Shauna scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, before her eyes widened. “That’s right, for Monsieur Pierre’s dance party! But wait, why didn’t you go with Ash?”

Serena felt her smile falter for a fraction of a second. Looking around, she didn’t think anyone had noticed except … Misty. The redhead had barely contributed to their lunchtime conversation. Serena had noticed her from the corner of her eye, diligently going through her galette, sometimes smiling at something brought up in conversation but generally looking pretty uncomfortable.

Like she didn’t belong.

“Well, Sylveon was still an eevee back then and she didn’t feel comfortable enough going with anyone other than Bunnelby.”

“Ash went with Miette instead,” Clemont added. “But I think he was just going to hang out with Bonnie if no one asked.”

“Ash and Miette, eh?” Shauna chuckled. “Of course. Miette used to take every opportunity to get you riled up.”

“Huh?” Serena asked.

“You don’t think she actually liked Ash, do you?” Shauna tutted. “Your crush on him was worse than I thought.”

Serena flushed red again, eyes flitting back and forth between Misty and the others. Misty was smiling a little this time, shaking her head.

“Shauna--!” Serena hissed, but thought the better of saying anything more.

“Oh come on,” Clemont said, waving his hands in front of him. “Ash is an admirable person, it isn’t hard to see why some people would be attracted to him.”

“R-right!” Serena stuttered, “And besides, I’m over him anyway.”

Misty snorted, the least graceful noise Serena had ever heard come out of her mouth. Although the more time they’d been spending together, the elegance disappeared. She could finally see the brashness and strength that Ash had described to her all those years ago. Back then, she wasn’t sure Misty was the kind of person she could ever get along with.

Sometimes she still isn’t sure.

“So, Misty,” Shauna said, taking a sip of her coffee, “Surely you have a lot of stories about Ash from when he was travelling with you?”

Misty blinked. “Um …”

“Yeah, tell us.” Clemont smiled good-naturedly. “What was he like as a trainer?”

“Well, he wasn’t actually a good trainer at all,” Misty started, pursing her lips. “He didn’t know anything about type advantages and weaknesses, or battling, or even taking care of pokémon.”

“Really?” Serena asked.

Misty grinned. “Yeah. That moron tried catching a pidgey with a caterpie, and he tried battling Brock’s rock-type gym with only Pikachu. He didn’t even earn half his badges in Kanto – he just got them ‘cause people felt sorry for him.”

Serena looked around the table and saw that Shauna and Clemont looked as shocked as she felt. Ash had mentioned once or twice that he hadn’t always been as good a trainer as he’d been in Kalos, but he’d always been very vague about it. And between Serena and Misty personally, the water trainer had never brought it up.

“I find that hard to believe,” Clemont frowned.

“You would, because you weren’t there.” Misty had a hint of a smile on her face. “My sisters gave him a badge because he helped stop Team Rocket from destroying the gym. He was about to lose to me, too.”

“And he just accepted it?”

“He accepted them all,” Misty nodded. “In Viridian, the Earth badge fell into his hands by accident. He took it and ran.”

Serena exchanged a look with Shauna and Clemont. “But was he … nice?”

“Not at all!” Misty scoffed. “He was a huge jerk. He never listened to anything I had to say unless I yelled at him. And he’d go out of his way to annoy me, too. And when we got lost, he acted like it was my fault when he was clearly the only one holding the map!” Misty stopped to take a breath. She took a furtive glance around the table, and flushed slightly. “… Sorry. I just … feel very strongly about this.”

“He couldn’t have been all bad, right?” Shauna asked.

“Of course not. He still loved pokémon back then – more than I’d seen anyone do.” She smiled, much brighter and much more honestly. “That part never changed.”

There was a comfortable silence at their table for a few moments. Serena bit back a grin. Sometimes she felt like the Ash she had known and grown close with wasn’t real, because he was so different to the person many of his other friends described. It was nice to see she wasn’t entirely wrong about the kind of person he was.

“I want to hear more about how Ash screwed up,” Shauna finally said.

Serena watched in awe as Misty’s face spread into a deliciously sly smirk. “Where do I begin?”

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

Serena closed her eyes and stretched a hand out into the water, feeling how her skin cooled as it moved up and around her wrist. She’d have preferred to plunge her whole body into the pool to escape the heat, but she wasn’t willing to put in the effort it took to stay afloat. Not today. Not on her day off.

“Isn’t it great to be lazy?” Misty called out, floating past her on a pool tube, drinking rosé straight out of the bottle so she wouldn’t spill it in the pool.

Admittedly, it was. Serena wasn’t good at being lazy – she was a fretter and a worrier, and if she didn’t have anything to do with her time, she panicked. Even if it was something as simple as having a nice dinner, she needed the physical action of leaving her apartment to get it. She spent her spare time doing her laundry or dusting her furniture, baking, creating, anything to keep her busy. Serena didn’t want to lounge around, she wanted to be immaculate, put together and presentable at all times, lest someone – her mother – assume she was anything less than.

She practically had to be forced to do this. “We’re just going to the pool,” Misty had told her, “And we’re not going to do anything. We’re not going to swim, we’re not having any meaningful conversations, and we’re not going to exercise anything. We are floating around and doing nothing.”

So far, Serena was doing well.

“Sure,” Serena hummed, peeling an eye open to see Misty floating right past where her arm was lying. So of course, she that moment to whip her hand out of the water and splash her right on the face, mid-gulp.

“Mmlg!” Misty struggled to stop herself from spitting her wine right out, eyes widening in alarm. Serena couldn’t stop laughing as Misty tipped her tube right over and fell into the water, and she laughed even harder when she noticed Misty still holding her bottle safely above the surface. The other girl swam over and draped her top half across Serena’s legs, waggling her eyebrows. Serena was alarmed.

“No, Misty, you’re going to –”

“I know,” Misty grinned, hoisting the rest of the body on the edge of the lounger, and suddenly they were both under. Serena could barely see underwater, and didn’t care to as she pushed blindly at Misty and kicked herself up above the surface, limbs flying in all directions.

“Hey!” Misty chuckled, “You splashed water in my rosé!”

“Oh, give me that,” Serena huffed, snatching the bottle out of Misty’s hand and swimming toward the pool’s edge, where she left her stuff.

“Where are you taking it?”

Serena ignored her, pushing herself up and onto the dry ground, reaching for a small plastic wine glass she’d left near her bench.

“Arceus,” Misty breathed. She’d swum all the way over now, leaning over the edge. “A glass? Are you serious?”

Serena turned her nose up at the redhead. “I’m a lady.”

“And I’m not?”

Serena laughed softly, placing a hand over her mouth. She could almost see the tic growing at the end of her eyebrow. “I’m only joking, Misty. You’re just as much of a woman as I am.”

“You’re damn fucking right I am,” Misty grunted, flopping down on the bench. Serena felt her face heat up. She had to stop herself from staring. Misty was just her friend, but she couldn’t help herself; she never knew what to do when an attractive person just laid themself down in front of her like … that. All toned stomach and long legs and …

The moment was interrupted by the shrill ring of Misty’s pokégear. It rung once, then twice, but the swimmer made no move to pick it up.

“You’re not going to get that?” Serena asked.

“Nope.�� Misty popped her lips. “It’s my day off.”

“What if it’s important?”

“It’s my day off.”

Serena was almost impressed with how unfazed Misty was – she would’ve dropped everything to answer that call on the first ring. Her fingers were itching to reach for it now, no matter that it wasn’t her call to take.

“Hey, this is Misty, leave a message after the tone.”

Beep.

“Hey, Misty,” said an all too familiar voice, and both girls suddenly sat up straight. “I’m having a problem with this girl I started travelling with and – what? I wasn’t talking about you.” They heard a loud female voice prattle on about something indiscernable. “I’m having a private conversation here, so can you just leave me alone?” The girl yelled some more before her voice faded completely, and there was only a low groan. “Listen, Mist, can you just call me back? I really need your help. Thanks.”

“Pika!”

Beep.

Serena could see the tension in Misty’s jaw and shoulders as she stared the pokégear down. It was still there as Misty leaned back against the back of her bench, staring pointedly up at the ceiling.

“You should call him back,” Serena said softly.

“No.” Misty frowned. “It’s my day off.”

Serena bit back a sigh.

Ash. That was someone she hadn’t thought of in a while – at least, not in a way that caused her to stop what she was doing and just think. And part of it might have been the fact that she was keeping herself busy enough that she wouldn’t have the time, but it was definitely Misty too. It’d been a year since the former gym leader first showed up at her apartment, and slowly but surely, it had helped. She could talk freely with Misty, go right down into the deepest pits of her feelings and still feel like she was valid. And somewhere along the line, they became genuine friends outside of their relationship with Ash. It was unlikely, sure – Misty with her brashness and her temper, Serena with her frills and a much calmer disposition – but somehow it worked.

It worked perfectly fine.

She didn’t fail to notice her heart leap into her throat at the sound of Ash’s voice, though.

“Do you think she’s going to be the one?” Serena finally asked, after a minute of silence.

“No,” Misty said, but she hesitated. “She seems too much like me.”

“He still cares for you.”

“But not like that.”

“You’re not over him, are you?”

Misty gave Serena a look, and then turned on her side, away from her. “It’s not like I haven’t tried.

“It’s okay if you aren’t.” Serena placed a soft hand on her shoulder. “I’m not. And it’s hard, especially when you two are such good friends.”

Misty didn’t turn around, nor did she acknowledge that Serena had said anything. “You wouldn’t understand,” she finally said.

That got on Serena’s nerves. She wouldn’t understand? What was she, a can of pâté? She’s spent all this time trusting Misty because she thought they shared a connection. Their entire relationship was formed on it.

“Try me,” Serena said, much more firmly this time.

“You wouldn’t.”

“And why not?”

“You’re not … well, you didn’t …”

“Didn’t what?” Serena stood up and crossed her arms. “Didn’t have the same kind of relationship as you and Ash did? So I’m somehow less?”

Misty turned around, a fierce look in her eye. “Now you’re putting words into my mouth.”

Serena didn’t back down. “Then what?” Misty refused to say anything, and Serena nearly growled. “You gave me all of that advice to help forget about Ash and you’re not following a word of it yourself.”

“I don’t have to!” Misty yelled, “And I didn’t even want to help you! I only came over because you insisted and wouldn’t leave me alone!”

Serena’s breath hitched, but she acted fast. She shot out of her seat and grabbed her bag and towel. “Enjoy your day off,” she spat.

Misty refused to look at her now, but Serena didn’t care. She wrapped her towel around herself and slung her bag over her shoulder, heading for the showers. She stopped just before leaving the pool area.

“You know, I really looked up to you,” she said carefully. “You helped me a lot. I haven’t thought about Ash in a while, and …” She wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence, so she left. She didn’t even bother with a shower. She didn’t want to stick around and argue with Misty more, because she knew the girl could argue for hours without stopping. Serena didn’t have that kind of energy, and she didn’t care enough anyway.

But she did, she realised, as she lay in bed hours later, staring up at the ceiling much like Misty had earlier at the pool. Neither of them had made an effort to contact each other, and it was driving Serena nuts. Having the time to think, Serena went from anger to sadness and all the way to guilt all in the space of an hour.

And now she was still stuck on guilt.

Serena eyed her Holo Caster. She’d wanted to call Misty for a while, but she hadn’t out of fear of Misty trying to reach her and the both of them failing.

Delphox appeared at the side of her bed with a plate of macarons, left over from yesterday’s baking. She was balancing it very carefully with one hand and placed it right next to where Serena was laying.

“Thank you, Delphox,” she said softly, moving to sit up straighter and reaching for a salted caramel macaron. “Pancham’s not getting up to any trouble is he?”

“Phox,” Delphox shook her head. She’d let her team of three out of their pokéballs for the night. Delphox and Sylveon knew how to take care of themselves, but Pancham still had a penchant for mischief. Most of the time, the other two could take care of him, but there’d still be days when Serena would come home to a broken vase or a torn curtain.

She was pulled out of her reverie when she noticed Delphox place her Holo Caster in front of her. Serena’s face softened.

“I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I?” she said softly. “I should just call her.”

“Delphox,” the fire-type nodded, and Serena placed a hand on its shoulder.

“Thank you again,” she said. Delphox took her leave. Serena stared at the device for a good ten seconds before finally reaching for it and dialling in Misty’s number.

One ring turned to two, then three and four. Serena grew anxious with every single one. She was ready to hang up, when the call finally connected.

“Hey,” Misty said. She kept the hologram off, so Serena couldn’t see her, and her voice sounded hoarse – so different to the more melodic tones she was used to hearing from the girl.

“I’m sorry,” Serena said immediately, before she could change her mind. It made a weight lift off of her chest that she didn’t even realise was there.

There was an audible gulp on the other end of the line. Misty was taking her time to respond, and Serena could feel a sweat coming. This should’ve been easy; she didn’t beat around the bush, she got right to the point and she apologised. And Misty was supposed to accept, because surely an apology was what she’d been waiting for, right?

It wasn’t meant to be this awkward.

“I’m sorry too,” Misty finally said, letting out a breath of air that came across as static over the phone. “I didn’t mean what I said. I was being an asshole. Maybe I didn’t really want to talk to you that day, but that doesn’t matter now because we became really good friends and –”

“I know,” Serena breathed. And she smiled because she was right after all – this was easy.

“And you’re doing well, Serena,” Misty continued. “You’re doing really, really well. And you’re right, I do hold onto things –”

“No,” Serena interrupted her, “Stop. I’m holding onto things just as much as you are. We all take our own time, alright?” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry I pushed you.”

“Me too.” She paused. “I called Ash back, by the way.”

“You did?” Serena reached for another macaron, anxiety averted. Funny, she was more worried about her friendship with Misty staying intact than Misty’s conversation with Ash.

“Mhmm. The new girl just started her journey. She’s only ten, or thereabouts. Ash just needed babysitting advice.”

Serena giggled. “Ash? Babysitting?”

“Right? I can’t wait till he screws up and I can rub it in his face.”

“I’m sure he’ll do fine. He took care of his Noibat really well when we were travelling with him.”

Misty snorted. “Right, fine. A Noibat isn’t an angry pre-adolescent girl.”

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

Misty remained silent for a few seconds. “Nice one. Didn’t know you had it in you.”

“I have my moments.”

Misty chuckled. “You have a dark side, Paschall. Somewhere deep down, you’re pure evil.”

Something in the tone of Misty’s voice when she used her last name made her heart soar. She knew Misty well enough to know that it was now a term of affection, more than anything else.

“So are we good?” she asked.

Serena could almost feel Misty’s smile over the phone. “We’re good.”

#champselyseeshipping #serena #misty #pokemon #i mean it's probably not good this is really not the kind of story i'm used to #but i tried and that's what counts

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ranvwoop · 3 years

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Lore time lore time lore time!! Thoughts?? ( it's fine if you don't have any time to I totally understand!!)

Cryptid!! Hello!!! Lore time!!!!

I'm finally free of those book reports! My time is free for Minecraft and pals. (sports homework looming in the distance: excuse me? you disrespect kinesiology? jail! jail for kin crimes!)

Honestly, I don't know much about c!Tommy centric lore! He's the ""Protagonist"", but I think my first Tommy stream was actually the loose S2 finale and I mainly watch them for other characters. But, uhhhhh, he eternally deserves better, Quackity and Wilbur are both on manipulation arcs, go hang out with Tubbo's new country.

I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THE FACT THAT HES GUILTY ABOUT TECHNOBLADE. I don't think either of them are to blame, but, techno apology??? apology to technoblade ??? reconciliation with technoblade ?????? (... technoblade logging on at all....)

I have the you kick miette meme stuck in my head. Can you tell.

On that note I am Also very excited that Wilbur explicitly disagrees with Phil's beliefs. I have favourites here, okay. I would like to see Phil be stuck in between Wilbur and Techno. It would be a cool source of conflict that isn't miscommunication driven. Especially since Phil believes what he does because of Wilbur! Hhhhh. all i care about is the arctic boys and their families, actually.

I also love Wilbur's acting! Wilbur and Quackity both, really. They both are sly little slippery fools. I didn't actually catch if Wilbur was going to go through with the plan of making a rival to Las Nevadas, but I hope he does, because mm!!!! tntduo rivals good!! I... am uncomfortable with the energy that we've created in the studio today, however, boys. Tommy is very insistent that they're kissing. That's an engaged man >:V (/lh!!!)

But overall! Very good. I also enjoyed some Genuine Crimeboys Content tm, even though it had the air of Ah, This Child's Getting Manipulated Again.

Also?? Tommy knows about torturing Dream???? Who all knows? Why does Tommy know?

ALSO CC!WILBUR SURE DOESNT LET SAYING THAT C!WILBUR THINKS NOBODY CARES ABOUT GHOSTBUR GO HUH. PLEASE. PLEASE WILBUR WHY.

But yeah!

I. I just really want some arctic boys interactions I'm sorry. Wilbur lives there now. Go hang out with your dad, that family friend (the sort that your parents had you call an uncle despite not being their sibling), and maybe the neighbour. I'd say bring Tommy, but that would be 4/4 sleepy boys, and we know that's not allowed.

Also visiting Dream! I also couldn't catch if Tommy did forbid Wilbur from visiting, or if it would be just the one visit, but I am very excited to see how it'll play out if it's just the one.

Oh, I also really like Wilbur's reaction to Las Nevadas. It doesn't seem intentional on c!Wilbur's part but a genuine reaction, but he still really just comes and belittles Quackity. I like, for one, Wilbur being a nasty little boy it's very fun, but also that though Quackity is now in a position of power it still like, comes from all that's happened under the various stages of L'Manburg. The previous powers are just gone now. N stuff. Mhm. That made sense.

Fun time!! I enjoyed!!!

#vwoop.noises #asks #☆cryptid☆#:DDD hello friend #i have nothing else to say ive exhausted braincells. none smart #i know.... notbin about c!tommy #but i sure will take absolute crumbs and think too hard about em!!#also i hope you're doing well :DDDD

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warlordess · 7 years

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Champselyseeshipping (hope I spell right. If not: MistyxSerena) and prompt 52.

Just thought I’d point out (in case you haven’t noticed it yet) that I clearly don’t know wtf a drabble is. This shit ended up being almost 1500 words long. Wtf wtf wtf... I’m so dumb. But I wanted to do this adorable crack!ship justice!

OoO

Champselyseeshipping drabble:“Can I kiss you?”

“So you’re from Kalos, huh?” thered-haired gym leader asked curiously from the Cerulean Gym pool.“And you came here at the advice of your mentor to meet mysisters?”

“Ah, yeah! I was told it had alreadybeen pre-arranged between them that I would be able to come watchsome of the rehearsals for the latest underwater ballet that’sbeing produced here at the gym,” the petite honey-haired girlvisitor responded from just beyond the tile and cement rim, “I wastold it would be good training for me.”

“Yeah, maybe…” Misty said with anagitated huff, wiping a drenched tress of hair out of her eyelinebefore continuing, “Listen, uh, I’m sorry, what was your name?”

“Oh, sorry, I guess I forgot tointroduce myself to you. I… I was a little distracted by your, um…”the girl paused and nodded towards Misty’s odd(ly attractive)choice of swimwear; a red beaded necklace and bejeweled earrings,violet seashell bra, amethyst pearl hairband, and flowing emeraldgreen mermaid’s tail trailing behind her and floating in the water,complete with an ornate decorative starfish patch affixed on her leftthigh, before continuing, “… Anyway, my name is Serena,” sherevealed with a charming flush to her cheeks, “I guess, with anoutfit like that, you must be in the ballet too?”

“Yeah, my sisters always somehowconvince me to help them out with things like this. They’re nothere right now though. They left a little while ago and said theywouldn’t be back until late in the afternoon. So… sorry but Ithink they forgot you were supposed to arrive today.”

[read more]

“Oh… um…” Clearly at a loss forwords, Serena kneeled stiffly over the side of the pool, biting herlower lip, gaze averting left and then right, trying to figure outwhat her next move in this case would be.

“Um, your name is Misty, right? Do…do you mind if I just watch you practice until your sisters comeback? The next Queen Showcase season begins a month from now backhome and I really wanted to take advantage of every opportunity tolearn something new that could help me win!”

“The next…?” the redheaded gymleader tapered off at the rather unfamiliar sounding career path.“Well, I guess you could but… I’m not going to be doinganything special…”

Misty, not having planned to have suchan intimately small and captive audience, felt overcome with a waveof anxiety. She’d waited specifically for her sisters to leave forthe day before deciding to take the opportunity to practice her roleand ballet techniques… and now…

“Well, anyway…” she muttered in aflustered tone of voice as Serena retreated to a nearby bench to takea seat. Then Misty dived swiftly down into the water and rejoined thePokemon who were waiting for her to start them off.

Serena watched the redheaded trainertwirl around a Kanto Pokemon she loosely recognized as a Dewgong,grasping ahold of their front fins and drifting into a wide, sweepingbackwards dip, which ended in a floaty backflip.

By the time she’d righted herselfagain, her next dance partners had come to call. Two Luvdisc driftedover in her direction with lips locked and heart-shaped bodiesfluttering like a set of wings. They separated just as they finishedtheir introduction, swirling parallel around Misty, bubble streamsjetting out behind them and encircling the would-be mermaid in analmost ethereal, magical sequence.

Serena sat in awe for the next hour orso as the Kanto-based native went through the motions of her somewhatsolitary rehearsal. As unfamiliar as the Kalos performer was withone’s ability to act fluently underwater, she could still tell thatthe redhead was good at what she did. The most entrancing part of theentire private show was Misty’s ability to time her resurfacing forbreaths with multiple opportunities to engage with the audience.

When she was under the water, theredhead acted as though it were her own world, nothing else aroundher but murky blue depths and her Pokemon friends. Yet, when sheemerged, she would always catch Serena’s eye and perhaps wink,twirl under an aurora beam water arch combo that the Pokemon hadmanifested with their elemental prowess, and backflip underwater oncemore for another festive round with the other stars of her littleshow.

Serena was positively enthralled by themagnitude of the other girl’s skill, never mind that she’d madeit seem in the beginning as though she were going to endure a boorishchore.

“… Are you okay?” Misty begged ofher some time later between gulps of air.

Serena jumped as though she hadn’trealized the redhead had stopped performing and reappeared at theedge of the pool to stare out at her where she sat, then brushed offher own jerky reaction with a bashful giggle, only just thencomprehending that she’d been clasping both hands tightly to herchest and that her face felt uncomfortably toasty.

“I - I am!” the Kalos performerresponded in haste, leaping from her seat and cautiously edgingcloser to the water to take in the sight of her surrogate tutor,chest heaving slightly, cheeks full with a rosy flush, vibrant hairsomehow both limp from the weight of the water and full of thickwaves as it cascaded down her back, supple muscles in her arms andabdomen tightening as she finally grasped the cement swell of thepoolside wall and lifted herself with ease out of the water.

Misty sighed and stretched languidly,and Serena inched instinctively closer to her and took in the sight.

“Any - oh, sorry, I think I got somewater on you,” the Cerulean trainer said pointedly but herhoney-haired visitor shrugged and murmured something negligible underher breath so she shrugged it off and went on, “Uuh, okay…Anyway, I was going to say that I’m done. I don’t know - I mean,I doubt you learned anything from watching me. My sisters may beflakes as gym leaders but they’re actually really great atchoreographing these dances and scripting their shows.”

“No!” Serena exclaimed defiantly,fists clenched tightly before her, “I - uh - I actually learned alot! You… you’re really great too! I mean, next to your sisters…Well, I haven’t met them yet but…”

Misty quirked an eyebrow at the othergirl’s wild rambling but waited for her to try and pull her ownthoughts together as patiently as she could.

“… But I… feel that you must bejust as capable as them!”

“Oh, well, thanks. Of course, I’vebeen telling them that for years but at least someone sees mytalents!” Misty replied with a confident and flattered laugh.

Serena pursed her lips together, havingdifficulty trying to find the words to explain what she’d feltwhile watching the redheaded gym trainer’s performance. If she werebeing honest, she could admit to feeling similarly to how she hadalways felt towards Aria, and Miette… and Ash.

Aria, her greatest and final challengetowards accomplishing her goal. Miette, strong and stubborn andalways willing to give her best to motivate her into working as hardas she could. Ash, the boy she’d been so inspired by that he’dstolen her heart, hadn’t he?

“Can I kiss you?”

The question tumbled from between herlips before she could justify to herself the sense behind it. Inresponse, Misty paused amidst toweling herself dry, blinking rapidly,mind blown by the sudden invitation.

“I… I’m - what?”

“Oh, sorry,” the Kalos nativeblushed so red that she looked momentarily faint, hands up before heras if trying to brush off her previous outlandish request, “Ididn’t mean… I didn’t think… It was… in thanks. Youtaught me a lot… and I wanted to show my gratitude.”

“Oh… that’s all?” Misty asked,but Serena felt her heart jump at the realization that her advanceshadn’t been outright rejected.

“Well, maybe…”

“Or… maybe not…?”

The was the last exchange between thetwo young girls before the distance between them finished closing.Serena swore she could hear her own heart pounding, felt even moreempowered when a slightly calloused and pruny hand enveloped hers.Some blissful, hopeful part of her couldn’t help but think shecould feel Misty’s equally erratic pulse through the pads of herfingertips.

Serena couldn’t help sucking a breathin between her teeth as they both separated, trying her best todispel the stars behind her eyes and the heavy warmth in her chest.

“So…” Misty began, peeringintensely at her visitor with a glowing smile, “… that was nice.”She paused as Serena’s eyes lit up at the comment before continuingbravely onward, “So nice, in fact, that I think I should thank youtoo,” she finished, grin widening as she leaned in once more.

And so she did.

OoO

Thanks for sending me this request! I honestly adore the idea of these two girls together, I think that Serena would be really taken with Misty tbh. And Misty has always loved cute, French things so… Yuuuup!

Also, wow, I’m pretty sure that this is my first wlw/shoujo ai fanfic. I hope it came out okay. I’m so exhausted from working a 17 hour shift that I was in zombie mode typing this up. I’ll probably beta later after I get some sleep but, uh, enjoy my shitty raw skills as a writer! Lmao.

Also, I’d mentioned it earlier but here’s another heads up; progress has started on another prompt as well, one of the Pokeshipping ones! :-D I will try to finish hand-writing it up tonight and then I’ll type it up some time tomorrow since I’m off work!

#asks #anon #champselyseeshipping #misty x serena #pokemon #fan fiction #drabble #Anonymous

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