#wafery

[j6ce9keds]

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[thatbitchkayla30]

I've eaten 20 mini twix today, I don't have problem you do.

[wolfythewitch]

as a purveyor of christianity, do you think mixing ground communion wafers with a bit of wine and moulding it into a little dough baby would qualify as the second coming?

Well technically I don't have that in my church (at least not regularly) but considering the implications of grounding the flesh and the blood of Christ to form a little wafery amalgamation is a horrifying concept. And no, I don't think it counts as the second coming. That implies that God is only his flesh and nothing else

[jonahmagnus]

Im whatever the opposite of a truther is when it comes to jonelias like peace and love to all of you but their dynamic is so much funnier than that. Time travel aus where Jonah adopts Jon never do it justice because its like if you took Bugs Bunny Sr and Butch Twilight Sparkle in a room together and told them to get along. Its psychological torment. Its physical torture. It it wernt for the thin and wafery veil of bureaucracy that is draped between them I firmly believe that Jon would have had his hands around Jonah's neck. The Magnus Archives is a tragic horror except in season 3 from Jonah's perspective. I hope he fucked the clown when Jon wasnt looking.

[hueberryshortcake]

We're still friends, right? for Scrooge and Della??? My best friends Scrooge and Della?

"Are.... we going to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Della said. She slammed her bag on the counter.

Scrooge leaned back against the island, raising an eyebrow, feeling a little like he was dealing with a middle schooler again; as in all such cases, he was presuming the posture that was most confident without being overbearing, although of course it was an unconscious decision. "I wouldnae say that, you near on lost your head on me back there-"

"I was just feeling the stress of the adventure. I'm fine now." She disappeared into the pantry with much banging and a little cursing, re-emerging with a pack of generic brand Nutty Buddies, the kind they always used to share when she was young. There were two to a pack, and she'd give one to him (sometimes it was prompted, as part of the Uncle Tax, but sometimes she passed it over without either of them mentioning it). Two-packs of cookies were shared in the house - one for each twin, or one for an uncle and one for a child - that was the pattern, familiar and miniscule.

Della ripped open the packaging with her teeth. Scrooge leaned forward instinctually, expecting to receive the second wafer.

She maintained eye contact and put the ends of both cookies in her mouth at the same time. The crunch was magnificent.

[more below the cut]

Scrooge sighed heavily, crumbling a little. "I can't fix things if I don't know what I did wrong."

"If you don't even know what you did wrong," Della said through the huge mouthful, crumbs flying in a wafery mist with every breath, "then I'm definitely not going to tell you."

"Della," he grumbled, but didn't follow up, not sure what to say without losing his temper.

Della ignored him. She threw away the wrapper, then put the two half-eaten nutty buddies directly on the counter. "Okay. I'm going to go lie facedown in the hall for ninety seconds, and when I come back, I can have a conversation like an adult."

She left, shutting the door behind her. She laid facedown on the carpet. She put her face in her arms. She ignored Louie, who was passing by at that moment.

"Uh... you okay, Mom?" he asked, inching past pressed against the wall.

From the kitchen, even through the closed door, Scrooge could hear the muffled sound of someone shrieking half-heartedly into the carpet.

"Cool, love you," Louie said as he left her.

Scrooge looked down at the cookies on the countertop. He wasn't sure if leaving them there had been a power move, or some strange olive branch, or if she'd just forgotten that plates existed.

Approximately ninety seconds later, Della re-entered the kitchen.

"Have a good time?" Scrooge inquired.

"It makes me angry when you don't let me stand up for myself," she said without introduction.

He was caught off guard. "Didn't I teach you to stand up for yourself?"

"Yeah. But today you shoved me aside before I could even start to fight my own battle. That robot was heading right for me and I had the perfect opening. But you took over like you forgot I was there. Again." She wasn't making eye contact. She punched her fist into her palm repeatedly. 'And I tried to be cool about it, but it made me really mad."

"Ah, so that's why you chewed me out in front of the entire Rectangular Table."

"I guess." Della sat on the floor with her back to the island, not bothering to tuck her legs in.

"All the Knights were there." They'd stood awkwardly and watched with varying levels of discomfort and judgement as she almost yelled at him, although she wasn't particularly coherent. "You embarrassed me pretty bad."

"Yeah. It was great."

"I guess.... sometimes I get concerned about you being able to handle things."

"Because of my leg?"

"No-! I think I do the same for everyone. It's easier to keep everybody safe in my mind if I just do it myself. Like how Beakley doesn't let anyone else use the dishwasher anymore. But I forget that you're not little, now. You're a very capable adventurer and a spectacular woman. And no longer a child."

"I can make my own decisions."

"You can." Scrooge sat on the ground across from her, his back to the dishwasher.

"That's what it really is." She picked at her nail. "It's that sometimes I need you to treat me like an equal. I'm your partner. If we aren't on an even playing field we're just going to mess up even worse."

He bit the inside of his cheek. "But we're not always equal."

"Yeah, sometimes I get upset or stuff happens and I need you to take care of me or protect me. And sometimes you get hurt or don't know what to do and you need somebody to take care of you. But not all the time."

He had no idea how to tell when he was supposed to be Uncle Scrooge and when he was supposed to be Scrooge McDuck. But she'd spoken and now she seemed to be done. She got to her feet and got the wafer cookies off the counter where she'd left them.

He looked up at her from where he sat on the floor. "Are we still friends?" he asked.

Della looked down at him. A few expressions flitted across her face before she laughed, breaking the cookies down the intended line and handing him half as she sat back down across from him. "Of course, Uncle Scrooge. Always."

[sleepsleepnotwoke]

April 15.

6:30 : I woke up. Liv was having bad dreams. I had 2 coffees and got dressed while consoling her. I didn't wanna go to work. I grabbed leftover dinner from the fridge, switched my insoles from my rubber adidas to my cheap jordan work shoes, grabbed my backpack and tool bag and went out to my car.

8:00 : I showed up at the office. Its liv's exam week so she doesnt need a lift to school cause theyre all online. I'm always early. Today my drive took me about 10 minutes. I left late and everything. Mondays I go to the office, most other days I just show up where I'm needed. B***** the office lady is taking some time off (I guess), and as usual I show up before the boss. I clock in and clean some old cardboard and garbage from the warehouse. I have a chat with L***, the architect. He tells me about some DJ software he uses and tells me he ran a DJ company for weddings and graduation parties for 26 years. Every time we chat he always reveals something cool like that. After a bit I go out to the front room of the office and hang out with Z**, S*** and N*****. J**** is late, as usual. After a while chatting like that, I check my phone and realize I had a call from my dad (who is also my manager). He says there's a couple of things to do around some properties out in A**********. I like those properties cause nobody is really out there except for R****, the super of the property. He's nice enough but he always talks about stupid shit and doesn't listen back. That's one thing, he's old so I kinda expect that. But if he catches you out by his properties he'll give you all kinds of work that's his responsibility but he doesn't want to do. Luckily, I avoid him as I pull into Building A.

10:00 : Unit 302 has some pretty bad water damage. I throw on the new Super Eyepatch Wolf video to listen to while I work. Above the window is a huge sheet of drywall, heavy, warped, and half fallen out of place. I start by trying to slice it up. I saw and saw and saw with my utility knife. I make a cut about 2 inches into the sheet. No dice. I decide hitting chunks off with my hammer would probably work better. I give it a hard whack and make nothing more than a small dent. Awesome. It looks like the repeated wetting and drying have turned the naturally flaky, wafery drywall to what is equivalent to a solid piece of cement. At this point, my grade 11 and 12 auto shop teacher's words ring in my head. "There are surgeons, and there are butchers. You should aim to be a surgeon, but butchers exist for a reason." I start tearing down the sheet with my hands, careful not to disturb the L-bracket that holds the bad piece of drywall to good ones around the window. From the ceiling falls several dead wasp nests and what appears to be a birds nest. No critters in there. Lucky me. I pack up the debris I've made and toss it in one of the garbage bins around the property.

11:30 : this is why I like a********** properties. Nobody ever does anything around here. At the end of my last little bit of work, I cleaned up the hole I made with my knife. With that solid drywall, my blade broke off like I was trying to carve the hole out of a lemon wafer stick. I just spent the last 20 minutes fucking around, trying to find a new blade. Nobody breathing down my neck or telling me to get back to work. It's kinda nice. Once that's done, I remember I was told to help out cleaning up the properties. Normally what that entails is moving garbage people are too lazy to throw in the garbage bin from the side of the bin to the inside of the bin. At the main hub I go to at this property, the bins are overflowing with junk and there are 4 twin sized box springs, 2 couches and several bags of garbage to the side. Hm. Down the line of houses and apartment buildings on the street, lots of bins that are much emptier. Guess I'm doing some hauling.

11:54 : I've scoped out some empty bins, and I've thrown some couches and shelves into them. I never ate breakfast, so I eat lunch. Today, I will be eating leftovers, a luxury I don't normally have. Normally, I'd eat at Wendy's, A&W, or grab something from the hotplate at the Foodland around the corner. But today I'm eating the Thai chili chicken on fluffy jasmine rice I made yesterday. Saving money never tasted sooooo good. At this point I'm listening to a video from one of my favourite channels, ANIKI, about the history of the yakuza from the 17th century to today. I grab a seat in my car, roll the windows down a crack because it's getting hot out (finally) and chow down.

12:05 : I finish lunch. During lunch, I think about how my car really needs an oil change, and how sometimes the "check coolant" light pops on. With the weather changing, I understand the latter and that doesn't worry me. The former? A little more pressing. There's one mechanic I trust in town. It's hours are the exact same as my work hours. I use my car for work so I can't just drop it off and pick it up at the end of the day. And one of those "half hour oil and tire change" places? Forget it. My mom got one of those a month ago and she's had nothing but trouble with her car since, from them explaining she needs a new fly wheel which she didn't pay for, to a transmission fluid flush that she did pay for, which immediately sprang a leak, stopped working, and needed to be repaired at the garage I trust that I mentioned earlier. I can change oil no problem, I just don't know where to dispose of the old oil. Maybe I should just lean into being scummy and throw it in the lake or just let it drain into some Tupperware and throw them into public trash cans. Much to consider. Much to stress over, more like. But for now, I'm back to slugging around old dirty wet couches and beds. I would ask myself why I don't get a desk job doing data entry and sending emails, but I know I'd be just as whiny and complainy there as I am here. At least here I get some exercise and some sun and a decent wage. My town isn't exactly a hub for business, but this is where I live so I take what gets doled out to me. There's a real meth problem in my city. Everywhere you go, you see people pushing shopping carts full of jumper cables, old shoes missing matches, and pounds upon pounds of sweets, eyes bugged out of their heads, screaming at people, twitching and itching all over. I've been having a nagging thought over the past couple of months that, while that seems less than optimal, I'm kinda at my breaking point. Should I just give up on regular society and run with that society? Or should I finally do what I've been thinking about since I was 15 and just kill myself. I know everyone says life gets better as you get older but I found that hard to believe back then, and I still do today. For now, I haul garbage.

2:49 : moved around as much junk as I could. There's still a couple of couches and a huge mattress by one of the bins but they don't fit in my car and the next empty bin to the one they're next to is about a kilometer away. I still have an hour left at work today so I may drag them over. I may not. Who's to say. I may just hang out. That's the beauty of working at the farthest property from the office. Nobody's gonna say anything! Since I last logged my stuff here, I went out to the D*** road property. It's a lazy Monday, I'm done all my make readys for my move ins next month so I'm not stressed, and I just cleaned up some garbage there. There's a lot less to do over there. One box spring, a couple cardboard boxes, and an old bathtub. All tossed in a bin. I caught one of the cleaners out there and we talked. I'm bad with names, so I can't put it here, even in a redacted form. She's nice though. We just talked about how expensive shit is getting, and how much of a dickhead our boss is. He drives a ferrari. He's a landlord. He's kinda a local villain. He sent me and everyone I work with an email to explain that we wouldn't be able to get in touch with him cause he's skiing in the north pole right now because business is so bad because hamas terrorists killed a bunch of innocent colonizers on the other side of the planet. OK man. I've worked here since the beginning of January and I still haven't seen him. And this is his second vacation of the year. Last was at the south pole. Thoughts and prayers dude, I hope you can crank up rent even higher soon 🙏. During my chat with the cleaning lady my bestie sent me some pics. During high school we were super tight, but their parents moved to Nova Scotia on our last day of grade 11 and they've lived there ever since. But just yesterday they touched down in Alberta for a summer job out in the mountains at some kind of resort. Included in some of the pics they sent me was a trailer park at the foot of some mountains. Doesn't that just seem beautiful? I'm not a man of excess, I'm very very easy to please, I think I could do well in a cheap double-wide with a view. I think I could convince Liv to get out there with me. She's in school right now so it would probably take a year or two. But I've talked about moving all over (even to alberta) so many times this is all just another pipe dream. That being said, best of luck to the homie Llewellyn and all of their future alberta endeavors.

4:00 : leaving work. Didn't do any more cleaning. Just sat around.

4:26 : just got home. Liv stayed home to study for her exams. But she cooked me some Ramen and hot dogs that were ready when i got home. Thank you Liv ❤️. She's watching a YouTube video where some Korean guys bite things in a kitchen, and some of the things they bite may be cake. It's a beautiful warm day out so I put down my tools and stripped butt naked, sat down on the couch, and dug into my food. I think I'm going to play some pokemon quarantine crystal on my phone.

4:54 : changed my mind and changed the TV to something we can watch together. Literally since I made that last entry to now I've been looking for a movie to watch. I settled on hereditary. It took me half an hour to find a movie. I think there's something wrong with my brain

5:15 : Liv wanted to paint so I'm here on da toilet thinking of things to paint

6:29 : I painted a face. I always paint faces. This one came out ugly. That's ok cause plenty of people have ugly faces. I feel ugly so I wanted to make something kinda ugly. I had a beer and now I'm laying in bed. I never nap but I feel like I want one right now. I asked Liv to wake me up in 20 but idk if I'll actually fall asleep at all. Guess we'll see.

6:34 : instagram was always fucking dumb but now it feels extra extra dumb.

8:29 : Liv came in to "wake me up" (I didn't sleep) but she climbed into bed and we held eachother and we had sex. We left bed, she continued painting and I played some Persona 4, which I haven't played in a bit. Good news everyone: Yukiko Amagi is safe!! Me and Liv are going out to get Boba now. Liv's painting is really pretty. A long time ago she painted one really similar to what she's painting now, so this one is kinda an update. A psychedelic bust of a headless pink and yellow lady on a royal blue background. She says she's gonna have flowers busting out of a crack in her chest and her head hole. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

10:04 : it's the end of the day. I took my garbage out and passed my downstairs neighbors in the hall. We said hi. Paper recycling today. I've been slacking on that one. I don't care about recycling, it's just that it tears the regular garbage bags so it's easier to put it in a bin. So it's all outside now. I took a quick shower. I didn't wash my hair because I don't like the way it looks after it's been washed, all poofy and round. I blew my nose in my hand and it was still black from the dust in the unit with the warped drywall. A symbol of a hard day's work. Well, maybe not that hard. Either way, I'm in bed right now. Liv is calling her mom. They're tight. When she hangs up, we'll probably watch some simpsons or seinfeld and fall asleep hugging eachother all soft and warm uwu

[miscling]

Have you ever eaten stroopwafel?

i haven't!

they look very sweet, so i'm unsure about them. i don't have much of a sweet tooth, and wafery textures can be a bad sensory for me, but i'd be willing to try!

^^

[wordsbylianne]

[Creative Writing] God's Not Dead (But Maybe I Am)

This was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for my ENG101 (English Prose Styles) course.

I’ve never truly believed in God. Or any god, for that matter. My experience as a Roman Catholic probably began and ended with my birth certificate. Sure, I was baptized. I took catechism lessons. I ate the bland, wafery body of Christ and drank His blood as part of a ritualistic rite of passage in the holy journey of Catholicism.

But did I want any of that? Not really. You see, the problem with teaching the concept of God to a child is that you’re teaching the concept of God to a child. Kids get baptized before they’ve even grasped the concept of object permanence, for Heaven’s sake (pun very much intended). How are these children, who have very little to no knowledge on the physical world, supposed to understand the idea that there’s an Almighty, Intangible Force that Watches Over Us and Will Condemn Us To A Fiery, Sulphuric Hell If We Don’t Do His Holy Bidding?

Needless to say, we don’t really get along, organized religion and I. As a child it was just something to endure, but as I grew older it gradually became something to antagonize. The turning point was when my older brother pronounced his atheism at the ripe age of fifteen. You know how little siblings do everything their older siblings do out of admiration, and everyone finds it adorable and endearing? Same thing, only what happened was: my brother renounced the existence of God in front of our school priest, the school called my parents, there was a fight, big words (along the lines of enlightenment and separation of church and state) were thrown around over dinner, my brother ran away from home—long story short, now I’m an atheist, too (although nobody found it adorable or endearing). 

Now we don’t have time to unpack all of that. My atheist origin story may have been spurred on by my brother’s folly, but like I said, I’ve always known that I never truly believed. My prayers never held any conviction. I slept through most of the obligated first Friday masses at school. I was only nine years old when the Catholic church asked me to denounce Satan and all his evil ways, and even then I knew I was speaking empty words.

This apathy turned into spite in high school. The ironic thing about going to a Catholic school was that almost no one was religious. Real, practicing Catholics were rare beings that heathens like me and my friends mocked for no reason other than teenage hubris. I revelled in playing the Devil’s advocate in debates on ethics and morality under the Catholic doctrine, mainly because I hated my professor with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. Close-minded, bigoted, holier-than-thou—he was a walking Bingo card of all the worst traits a human being could possibly have. It was mainly because of him that my apathy turned into spite. All his little classroom debates became a playground for anti-Church propaganda, fueled on by me and my friends. Maybe in another life I would’ve respected religion more if I had a professor that, you know, respected people. 

But the summer after high school, something changed. Maybe it was divine intervention. Maybe it was just the existential crisis that comes when it’s summer and you’re lonely so you start realizing truths about yourself that were previously uncharted territories. Maybe it was just because I was drinking too much coffee. Whatever it was, it led me down an intense, religious rabbithole of questioning, a series of events I like to call The Great Spiritual Crisis of 2016.

So for some reason I went over to a friend’s house to watch a religious movie, you know, as one does. Now I know that this movie is important in terms of being the catalyst for the events to follow, but I cannot, for the life of me, remember what it’s about. This is all I recall: at one point the main character, a professor who doesn’t believe in God, gets into a heated debate with one of his students. When the student asks “Why do you hate God?”, the professor, in a moment of rage, responds something along the lines of “Because He was never there for me!” To which the student replied, “How can you hate something if it doesn’t exist?”

The student drops the metaphorical microphone and leaves his professor in stunned silence as he questions his faith—up until he dies in the end, right after he finally starts to accept the fact that he believes in God. Not a very charming ending for any atheists who might be watching, but it must have impacted my subconscious somehow—how else can I explain the deep existential ache that plagued me afterwards? As I trudged home I considered, for the first time in a very long time, that maybe there was a God.

At this point it was clear to me that I didn’t believe in God, but there was a part of me that was starting to wish I did. There is something so comforting in believing in something we can’t fully perceive. I started to envy their conviction that there is Something with a capital S after death, which meant that there was more to life than just this. It is so, so terrifying to think we’re all alone in this universe, and that our deaths signify nothing but the end. Because if that was the case, then what do we live for?

Imagine me, in all my seventeen-year old greasiness, thinking about the meaning of life and the existence of a God at ten o’clock in the evening. I can laugh about it now, but I still remember the urgency I felt that night, like I was running out of something I can’t quite place. In a moment of desperation I started messaging all my friends who believed in God, pleading them to tell me anything that can make me believe.

 It all just kept piling up. Stories after stories about God’s love, basking in His warmth, living with the belief that He will be there for us no matter what. Suddenly the weight of everything was crashing down on me all at once: the intensity that comes with talking about religion, the lingering thoughts of death and the Afterlife, the sorrow, the fear, the confusion, and underneath it all, the feeling that something big was happening at that moment, like maybe I was meant for something more, like maybe this was a Calling—

And then I started crying. It wasn’t just tears streaming down my face—I was fully weeping. Like a child lost in a shopping mall, frightened and overwhelmed by the sudden vastness and unfamiliarity of my surroundings. I don’t remember how long I spent crying in the darkness of my room with nothing but a computer screen to illuminate the picture of despair I must have looked like. I remember this: for the next few days I felt weird about the whole fiasco, like crying over whether or not God existed was a dirty secret I couldn’t bear to share with anyone. I mean, what  kind of seventeen-year old cries over God?

That was three years ago, and to this day I still dance the fine line between believing and not believing. I don’t know if I’m an atheist, or agnostic, or making too big a deal out of all of this. On some days, my conviction that we are completely and utterly alone is set in stone. But sometimes, on days when I have time to sit and think and breathe, I wonder where our souls come from. How, then, do we have the ability to think, to love, and to question the existence of a God, if not for some divine, unfathomable Being? How do we explain the distinction between being alive and living? Why do we even feel in the first place?

On most days I don’t think about religion at all. I have papers to do, and exams to study for, and even though God is omniscient He doesn’t seem like the kind of divine entity that can help me write a thousand-word argumentative essay on whether I’m for or against the death penalty.

If God were real, He’d probably be for it. It would be hypocritical of Him otherwise. 

[super-metroid]

ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ Reminder that you are a funny dude and a great friend, and i hope that you have a wonderful week with lots of big toblerones!

i wish i could get some toblerones tbh theyre really tasty

[fuck-customers]

Shoutout to my desk neighbor who always smells AMAZING, like she smells perfumey in a light wafery way and it smells so sweet, she has different kinds of lotions and recently she's been making hot apple cider in the breakroom & taking it to her desk and it constantly smells like apple pie 🤤

[doubleavenger]

I can't find a better picture because believe it or not neither me nor any other member of my extended family, 99% of whom is Italian, knows the name of the small wafery thing we put on our Gelatos, but it's actually a common thing here in Italy.

Oh really? Thats so cool! They sell those here in the states (I'm pretty sure) but I've never had one lol

[starxscream]

You mentioned recently that you bake. Have you perhaps got a recipe you could share? ¦] /lh

Im surprised you remember that but yea! I love to bake!

Im gonna recommend krumkakas tho JAJDJSJXJ i dont get to make them very often but theyre so so good, a crispy wafery kind of cookie

Sorry measurements are american version </3 too lazy to type out myself so hA

Unfortunately it DOES require a cooking iron of some sort, krumkakas have their own special iron with a pretty delicate pattern on it but any sort of waffle cone (like for ice cream) would work probably!!

All you do is mix your ingredients together (and you can add a little bit of flavoring to the recipe if so desired, i like the plain normal ones tho) and then drop a scoop into the iron and cook for 30 seconds, pull it out, and wrap it around a cone or rod and let it cool so it retains its shape! That's the hard/tedious part lmao esp bc you want it to be cone shaped and not a solid tube (tho not as tight a cone as like, ice cream cone, but rly its all preference JEJDJEJD and if it is a tube amd not a cone...eh who rly cares tastes the same LMAO)

Then there you go! Krumkakas! You can eat them plain or fill them with whipped cream, dip in chocolate, whatever! (Im partial to whipped cream hoohoo)

And obligatory krumkaka photo (that i helped my mom make!) To show what they look like! (Also b warned if u use a metal cone to wrap it will get RLY hot. Wooden is better if u dont wanna have to take breaks so u dont burn ur fingers. Owie)

[naramdil]

I think the 'straw' in the drink photo is a chocolate wafer tube, it is edible and crunchy

Usually it is served with ice cream desserts or milkshakes because it is sweet and 'wafery' which doesn't contradict the taste

Surprised at seeing it used in such a 'watery' drink, tho, but I guess it is so because plastic straws are banned or something

Cheers 🥂 ☺

looking at it, I think that you're right? but also, I thought that drink was a cosmo and I just don't know what place one of those chocolate wafers has in a cosmo lol

[bandit-o-s-usb]

Fucks me up that uh honey comb isn't like wafery or crunchy, and is just lattices of wax.

[just-an-adventurer]

👺📖🙈🧟🦻🍬 sorry if that's too many, feel free to skip anything you don't want to answer <3

Best spooky story I've heard: oooh this one took some thinking. I don't think I've actually heard many spooky stories, but we sang spooky songs way back in camp in elementary school. One was about the Chicago fire and if you say "Fire!" At the end loud enough, the ghost of old lady O'leary was supposed to pop out.

If any of y'all have some good spooky stories though, feel free to share them! 'Tis the season!

Favorite classic Halloween story: Dracula. The romance! The chase! I love it, and I like the way it's written through correspondence and journal entries - I didn't expect that when I first started reading it, and it really adds something. And the movie Bram Stoker's Dracula, while not entirely true to the novel, is fantastic as well.

Do you get scared easily/Fight or flight:  I'm going to answer these two together because they sort of go hand in hand for me - I don't get scared too easily, but when I do, my first instinct is to start throwing punches and nearby objects. 😅

Favorite monster: Okay this is difficult because I love creative monster designs and monsters in general. I am certifiably Big Horny for vampires though, so I'm declaring them my favorite just so I don't spend 2 hours trying to choose just one monster as The Best 😁

Favorite candy: I'm gonna have to go with kit-kats. I love the wafery crunch!

[missusk]

Pecha Berries

A Pokemon Shield Nuzlocke Story.

Chapter 4 - Just Six, but Seven is Fine

[Team Roster: Jackson (Scorbunny), Bella (Yamper), Lacey (Wooloo), Orchid (Bunnelby), Sap (Grubbin)]

Dolly changed out of her uniform as quickly as she could, not wanting to wait another second to enthuse with Hop about what just happened. He must have had the same idea, because they both came sprinting out at the same time and nearly smashed into each other.

“That was wicked!” Hop yelled, pumping his fists.

“I know!” Dolly shouted, jumping up and down.

“Standing there on the pitch,”

“In the stadium,”

“In front of everyone!” he finished, clenching his fists. “I can barely contain myself!”

“My heart’s racing!”

The two blathered back and forth, talking a mile a minute, until two others approached them.

A familiar twirl of dark red and gold flickered, alongside a crisp light gray. Dolly was practically catapulted into the wall by the amount of charisma these two men brought as they walked forward. She had seen them both a thousand times through a screen, but something about the way Rose’s light green eyes pierced into hers made her heart quicken.

Oh boy.

“Seems like the two of you enjoyed the opening ceremony by the sound of it! You must be the two Trainers our Champion endorsed himself,” Rose said with a charming smile. “Welcome, and it’s a delight to meet you.”

He shook Hop’s hand, then turned to Dolly, taking her hand in his as well. Not for a handshake, however, as he placed his other hand on top of hers. His light green eyes met hers as he continued.

“I’m Rose, of course.”

Dolly’s eyes flicked from his eyes down to her hand held within his. She swallowed.

Oooh boy.

He needed to stop looking at her because sweet Arceus were those green eyes mesmerizing. Not this again. Why must she be bombarded with so many charismatic men? Her poor heart could hardly handle it. She swallowed again when Rose turned her hand over and smiled inquisitively.

“Oh, and what’s this? I see you both already possess Dynamax Bands,”

She wished he would let go of her hand before it slipped out from how much she was sweating. Her hand probably felt like a Cloyster tongue. He looked into her eyes again.

“It seems like you’ve been led here by the guiding light of the Wishing Stars.”

Instead of an eloquent and insightful reply, as was her full intent, Dolly’s throat just let out an unfortunate squeak. She could see Hop in her periphery raising an eyebrow at her and boy did she want to smack him. And herself. She thought she was more robust than this, but alas, she was just a wafery napkin that was easily charmed by powerful men.

Rose finally released her hand from his and stood back, smiling at the two of them.

“I daresay this year’s Gym Challenge is looking to be an absolute blast. Very good, very good indeed! The whole Galar region is in for some excitement!” he said. After a quick glance at his watch he gave them a slight bow. “I’m afraid I must be off, but best of luck to you both!”

Tall, handsome, charismatic men: 2. Dolly: 0.

Hop nudged her and waggled his eyebrows as Rose left. She shoved him.

Leon came up next, pumping his fists as she had seen his brother do so often. He explained to them a bit about the next steps of the Gym Challenge, and about something else too, but she only watched his golden eyes sparkle. And his arms when he moved his cape back as it cascaded over his broad shoulders. And his dazzling smile. She wondered if the previous Champion wore their shirt as tight as he did. What was he saying? Dolly felt like she was going to explode when he ruffled her and Hop’s hair and sent them off with some more Poké Balls and potions.

Hop whistled as they made their way to Route 3.

“It’s a good thing I’m going to be Champion and the one working with Rose, huh Dolls? Not sure Galar has enough towels for how much you were drooling. And you know, you’ve got to actually win your way up with Pokémon battles. You can’t just persuade Rose to give you Badges by using…other means,” he said with a wink.

Dolly gasped and smacked his arm.

“What kind of girl do you take me for? Arceus,” she laughed. “It’s not my fault he has hypnotizing green eyes.”

“Gross, girls are so weird," Hop said, pretending to gag. "He’s a tubby middle-aged man. Lee told me Rose picks his nose,”

“He did not tell you that!” Dolly laughed. “Whatever, you’re just jealous he’s handsome and magnetic and intelligent and you’ve got less charm than a brick,”

“What!” Hop yelped, stopping in the road. “I’m charming!”

Dolly continued on, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

“I don’t see any girls drooling over you,”

“I’ll prove it to you with a Pokémon battle, how ‘bout that?”

"Not sure what that has to do with charm, but I can’t stand here with you assuming I’m not going to win again,” she grinned, pulling up her sleeves.

The two Trainers battled in the streets of Motostoke, laughing and mocking one another as they darted about the bricks. Dolly was liking this feeling that continued to burn within her every time she battled. Sometimes it was fire, and sometimes it was a roaring ocean, with waves crashing and resurrecting her soul as she commanded her Pokémon forward.

As Hop withdrew his final Pokémon, he set his hands on his hips.

“Just what I’d expect from my rival! You know what? I’ll even give you one of my League cards! That’s how good I think you did in that battle,” he grinned, plopping his card into her hand. When he did, Dolly laughed again.

“What am I supposed to do with this? Floss my teeth with it?”

Hop reeled back at her comment.

“How dare you! That will one day be a limited-edition collector’s item! Keep it safe and sound and one day it’ll be worth millions,” he said with a decisive nod.

Dolly rolled her eyes as they continued into Route 3. Hop was nearly bouncing around her by the time they got to the edge of Motostoke.

“Just go,” she smiled, rolling her eyes again. “I don’t fancy sprinting everywhere anyway.”

“Great see you in Turffield then!” he beamed, already rushing toward Route 3. “Hello Galar! Meet your next Champion!” he called, startling a few Rookidees out of a nearby tree. “From the sleepy town of Postwick - it’s me, Hop!”

Dolly let out another laugh as she shook her head, meandering into Route 3 herself.

The fresh air filled her lungs as she took in a deep breath, the sun shining brightly upon her. She stretched up toward it, flexing her fingers. She agreed with Sonia when she said it was nice to be on the road - minus her aching feet and aching shoulders and aching back, at least the sunshine and breeze were nice. She was also excited to use the new tent she got in Motostoke instead of using that old fabric shrapnel as a blanket.

She looked about her, tall grass filling in more of the pathway forward. The blades waved gently in the wind as Dolly peered through. A new route meant a new Pokémon to add to the team. She could catch one more Pokémon, she would allow herself one final team member, and now it was just a matter of who it would be.

Her eyes locked onto a bit of brown trudging through the grass. There. She tossed out Jackson and pointed to the Pokémon flank facing away from them. He nodded, prowling closer, ears flat against his head.

In a flash he leaped, chomping down on the Pokémon.

“Nice hit!” Dolly enthused, running up to the two Pokémon. “I think?”

Jackson’s face was flush in the dirt as a Mudbray held it there. He squirmed and shouted a few choice words, to no avail.

“You a Pokémon Trainer?” the Mudbray asked, still holding Jackson down with his hoof.

“Uh, yeah?”

He nodded his head toward Motostoke.

“Saw you and that purple-haired lad battling, saw you could talk to Pokémon. Mind if I come with you?”

“Oh. But, uh” she stuttered, glancing around. “Aren’t we supposed to battle? And I catch you proper?”

The Mudbray shrugged, taking his hoof off Jackson and setting it on the ground. Jackson shot up and gasped, flinging mud onto her shoes.

“You sent out a Fire-type Pokémon. Didn’t want to bother hurting him if I was just going to come with you anyway. Not much to do around here.”

Dolly stuck her lip out in contemplation.

“Well, I suppose that’s pretty considerate of you. I imagined my last Pokémon catch would be a little more... exciting?”

“Yeah come on, I want to battle!” Jackson enthused, hopping around the Mudbray. He threw a couple air-punches, then tripped over a rock and back into the mud.The Mudbray shrugged again as Jackson fussed.

“‘Fraid you won’t get much excitement out of me. That’s why I’ve been looking for a Trainer to follow around, anyway. Name’s Hudson.”

“I’m Dolly. Welcome to the team, then, Hudson,”

He nodded as they continued along Route 3. Jackson kept punching at Hudson who only walked stoically along.

“Come on, Hudson! I’ve got all this energy and I want to battle!” he roared, reaching his fists to the sky. He punched a Zigzagoon, it fainted, and Jackson evolved into a Raboot.

Dolly couldn’t help but chuckle as Jackson sprinted around her and Hudson.

As the trio made their way through Route 3, battling and leveling and chatting, Dolly eventually ran into Sonia, who was gazing out over an energy plant in the distance.

“Heya, Gym Challenger!” she grinned, turning to Dolly as she approached. “You looked real ace out there during the opening ceremony! Oh, but where’s Hop?”

“He went on ahead,” she said, rolling her eyes. Sonia grinned.

“He can’t sit still at all, can he? Guess he really wants to catch up to his brother.”

Dolly shrugged as Sonia continued explaining about the local surroundings. She mentioned a building off in the distance that Rose owned, and suddenly Dolly was much more interested in the conversation.

“Can’t say I really get him, but the chairman seems like a pretty brilliant guy, right? He even endorsed a Challenger this time too, I think his name was Challenger Bede.”

Dolly nearly swooned, thinking of Rose and their interaction earlier. Of course he was brilliant, Sonia. He was brilliant, charming, enrapturing, handsome, captivating, etcetera. She thought back to those dark features, those dangerous eyes, that chiseled jawline.

“Oh, and here, these should help you,” Sonia suddenly added with a grin, holding out her hand. She plopped two revives into Dolly’s hand. Dolly stared at the two yellow tablets for a moment, her eyebrows pulling together.

“Oh, uh...thanks Sonia, but I can’t accept these,” she muttered, looking down and handing them back.

“Wow, look at you, Miss Confident!," Sonia said, letting out a laugh. "Don’t think you’ll ever lose, huh?”

“No, I...I can’t use them. ‘Nother part of the Curse.” Dolly said quietly, still kicking at the ground. Sonia tilted her head.

“What do you mean? Do they have the same effect as throwing too many Poké Balls?”

“Not quite. But they definitely won’t work for me.”

Sonia nodded, understanding dawning on her face. Dolly let out another breath.

“That part is the hardest to talk about, for obvious reasons. I figured you’d think I was selfish and cruel and whatever since I was battling again, risking the lives of my Pokémon like that.”

Sonia paused, scratching her chin again. Then, she shook her head.

“I don’t think less of you, Dolly. From what I’ve seen, you treat your Pokémon with a lot of love, care, and respect. They all seem to like you, too. And hey,” she said with a smile, setting her hands on her hips. “Maybe that part of the Curse doesn’t affect you anymore anyway. I’d say keep battling and moving forward in the Gym Challenge - maybe we’ll both learn more about it as we go along like this.”

Dolly couldn’t help but smile at the woman before her. Even though she wasn’t positive Pokémon fatality was part of her Curse still, it’s not like that was something she wanted to test anytime soon.

Sonia saw her off to Galar Mine No. 1, Dolly trying her best to be subtle when asking more about Rose. Just subtle things like his energy plant and his chairmanship and if he was married or not. Subtly, of course.

Dolly grimaced as she walked into the mine, a layer of grime and dust already forming on her clothes. She peered about, taking in the view of the new scenery before her. It was dirty, dusty, and gross. Little Pokémon darted about, popping up out of the dirt, but she was at six Pokémon, the limit she set herself, so she didn’t bother catching any as she traversed through the mine. After their training, she learned Hudson was quite the powerhouse. He obliterated the first Roggenrola they ran into anyway, so no new Pokémon even she wanted.

As she trekked farther in, her distaste for the mine wavered as she noticed little outcroppings of gemstones sparkling between cracks in the wall. Then she stepped in a Diglett hole, nearly rolled her ankle, and her distaste was right back where she started.

After following the Carkol tracks farther, Dolly could see daylight reflecting off of some of the gemstones in the walls. She let out a sigh, hoping she was getting close to leaving this rubbish mine. Her shoes and ankles were caked in dust and all she wanted was a hot shower. As she followed the tracks to the end of the mine, she saw someone standing in the way of the exit, looking about the room.

He looked to her as she approached. Had she met this guy before? His huge pink coat looked familiar...

“Coming this way? I’d advise against it. Any Trainer with a Wishing Star is in for a beating from me and my Pokémon,” he smirked, shoving his hand into his pocket, tossing a Poké Ball into the air with the other.

Great? She just wanted to take a shower.

“You. You’re the Gym Challenger endorsed by the Champion, aren’t you. What a joke,” he snickered. “You’re aware the chairman is more important than the Champion, correct?”

How dare he pit those two glorious men against each other.

“Uh...do I know you?” Dolly asked, peering around him to the exit of the mine.

“I was chosen by the chairman himself, and that makes me more amazing than you!” he laughed, still tossing his Poké Ball into the air.

A memory of him shoving Hop in the Motostoke atrium flashed through her head. So, she had seen him before. Was this that Challenger Bede Sonia mentioned earlier? What a stupid name to go with such stupid hair.

“Uh. Right. Look mate, I just want to get to Turffield,” she said, trying to sidestep around him. “Not looking for Wishing Stars or the bother,”

Dolly's brow furrowed as he blocked her path, standing to his full height.

“I said any Trainer who already has one is in for a beating,” the boy growled. “Are you deaf, or are you as stupid as the other bloke who the Champion endorsed?”

Her eyebrows raised. So that’s how he wanted to play. She took a step back and lifted up her hands in mock-defeat.

“You’re right, you’re right, my apologies, your majesty,” she said, bowing slightly. “Now, somebody who was endorsed by the most important man in Galar must have an important name, right? What was it again…?”

Dolly pondered, rubbing her finger to her temple. The boy smirked again.

“You’ll do well to remember it,” he started. “It’s B-”

“Brandon...Bryce...Bill…” she interrupted, setting her hands on her hips. She looked up and snapped her fingers. “Ah, I remember! It was Bidet!”

She could practically see the steam shooting from his head.

“Doing the hard work for the hand of Galar,” she continued. “Tell me, Bidet, do you and Oleana take turns wiping the chairman’s a-”

“That’s it!” he fumed, taking a furious stomp forward. “No one makes a fool of me or the chairman. Go, Solosis!”

He chucked his Poké Ball into the space between them and a Solosis’ cry echoed throughout the mine.

She tossed out her Poké Ball with a yawn and her Grubbin appeared before them. After a few hits, the opposing Solosis was down. Suddenly Dolly was grateful for the challenging training in the cave, as it would have been pretty embarrassing to lose to this guy. It only took a moment for Dolly to realize the pattern unfolding before her. That was quite a bit of pink...and quite a bit of Psychic. What a shame that her Grubbin was Bug-type.

It didn’t take long before her opponent was defeated and even more furious. He clenched his fists and took a step toward her. She stood her ground, staring up into his eyes as he glared down at her. After a moment he paused.

“Fine. It’s fine. I wasn’t even trying that hard anyway,” he grumbled, slapping some coins into her hand.

Bede took a step back and looked her up and down. Subtle.

“Well that was unexpected,” he laughed. “I suppose you’re more able than I thought.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Thanks, I guess. Off to Turffield then. Bye Bidet,” she said as she hiked up her bag and exited the mine.

The setting sun shone brilliantly over the fields of wheat unfolding before her. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust, but once she had she took in a breath.

Wheat fields rolled over the hills as far as the eye could see. There were trees dappled throughout the landscape, and giant stones artfully placed throughout. She could see Turffield in the distance, with its Gym watching over the town. This was certainly a much better view than the mine, she thought, as she started towards the route. She took a couple steps, tripped, and landed face-first into a pit of mud.

“Sorry,” she heard someone squeak.

“Who in the bloody he-” Dolly looked up and was met with a pair of big, brown eyes. Her mouth fell open. Unfortunately for her, some mud fell in. “An Eevee! No way!” she yelped, mud spitting on the Eevee’s face.

The Eevee cowered and started scampering away.

“Wait, hold on!” Dolly called, quickly picking herself up out of the mud. “I’ve only got one shot per route, I’m not letting this one go. Go, Jackson, catch that Eevee!”

Jackson took off sprinting. In a decisive tackle both Jackson and the Eevee were on the ground, rolling, tackling, biting. The dust was kicking up as the two battled, peppering the air around them.

“Careful Jackson, not too much!” she called as she caught up to the two of them. Once the Eevee looked just weathered enough, she tossed a Poké Ball, then it rolled three times and clicked.

“Alright!” Dolly cheered, pumping her fist into the air. “An Eevee, what are the odds of that happening?”

She cheered again, picking the Poké Ball up off the ground. Perhaps having seven overall wasn’t so bad? It’s not like she could let go of an Eevee.

“Let’s meet her officially, shall we?” she asked as Jackson came running back to her.

In a flash of light the Eevee was before them again, still panting.

“Here, take this,” Dolly said, kneeling down and holding out an Oran berry. “This’ll make you feel better,”

The Eevee took a cautious step forward, her paw hovering above the ground. After a moment she trotted to the berry and ate it up quickly. Dolly plopped onto the ground completely, crossing her legs.

“Welcome to the team, little Eevee. Do you have a name?” she asked, picking at the mud that was drying on her face.

“It’s Posey,” the Eevee whispered, looking at her paws. “Thanks for the berry…”

“Do you like adventure, Posey? Traveling? What do you like to do?”

“I’m Jackson!” Jackson said, interrupting Dolly as he grinned. He stood up to his full two-foot height and stuck out his paw. “Sorry about beating you up!”

“Oh it’s okay,” she said, a small smile appearing on her face as she shook his paw. “I like battling, and I’m pretty good at it, too.”

Jackson grinned and she looked back to the ground bashfully.

“I’ll say!” Jackson boomed. “Your Bite nearly tore my ear off!”

“Th-thanks,” she smiled, eyes twinkling.

After an introduction to the rest of the team, Posey melded in effortlessly. Jackson seemed to be paying her quite a bit of attention, and Dolly made a sly mental note of that.

After a bit more training, they found a nice outcropping to set up for dinner. Dolly sighed as she took a seat, peeling off her socks and shoes again. Not so blistered this time, she thought as she watched her small Pokémon team playing in the grass. Sap clambered up to sit on her lap.

It had been a while since she lived like this she thought, stroking her now-Charjabug who was emitting sparks in content. She’d never had so many Pokémon on her team, but she did have one once before.

It was before she and her mum moved to Galar. Even then she was pretty lackluster - all the other kids had hobbies like collecting pretty stones or doing crafts, or playing sports or competitive chess. It wasn’t until she met her in the forest near her home when she was looking for Pecha berries to pick. She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old - even then she could talk to Pokémon, but her mum never let her have any. She was outside, meandering in the woods for the familiar bushes. She remembered it was spring, because her Pokémon’s coat was pink - her favorite color at the time. She was reaching in the bushes, but instead of grabbing a berry, she grabbed the flower on her head. From the second they made eye contact, their bond was solidified. Every morning that spring Dolly would ask her mum if she could go pick more berries because ‘she just really loved Pecha jam,’ and her new Pokémon friend would meet her at the edge of the forest. They would play together, splash in the stream in the forest together, tell stories - everything, really, throughout that spring and summer. It wasn’t until one summer dusk that her friend hadn’t come to meet her at the edge of the forest all day that day.

Dolly had wandered into the forest, a flashlight and the fireflies being the only guiding light as she called for her friend. Then, as she was walking along, she heard a familiar cry. Rushing through the bushes, ignoring the branches whipping at her face, she made it to a clearing in the forest. Her friend was surrounded by Unfezants, clawing and pecking at her in the clearing. Dolly had run up, trying to shoo the birds away as her friend cowered on the ground. It was then that she felt that fire within her first spark. When she and her friend blazed in unison and defeated the swarm of angry Unfezants, that was when the fire within her was ignited.

Dolly shook her head to the present and watched her new team hop around their makeshift camp. She had been on the road for a while, and she wasn’t any closer to figuring out her Curse than when she started in Postwick. That voice in the Slumbering Weald...what had it said? Shield of Galar? Overcome the Curse? She remembered that part as much. So someone, or something, knew about her Curse besides her mum and Sonia. But what did that mean?

“Miss Dolly, can you tell us another story?”

Dolly jolted into focus as Lacey trotted up to her, sauce from dinner still sticking to her wool.

“Maybe the one about the nice princess with the fluffy hair?” she asked bashfully, kicking at a rock on the ground.

“No, no, tell the one about the ninja who ate all the bananas!” Jackson quipped, bounding up to her as well.

“Or the one about the secretly courageous accountant and that venus flytrap and the treadmill,” Hudson added, joining the other two to sit before Dolly.

“I liked the ninja one too,” Posey added with a brief glance towards Jackson.

Perhaps deciphering her vision was a task for another day. She let out a laugh as she stood from her spot, setting Sap down and dusting off her leggings and skirt. They needed to get back on the road if they wanted to make it to Turffield before the sun set.

“How about a new story about a Pokémon team who loved washing dishes,”

“That’s lame!” Jackson pouted. “Make something cooler!”

“Alright, alright," Dolly laughed. "I’ll tell one as we clean up. This one is about a Snorlax who couldn’t touch his toes…”

As she wove the narrative for them, her small team cleaned up and set off again. When she finished her Snorlax story, she sent them back into their Poké Balls and hiked her bag up on her shoulders. She started back along the route, picking at the mud that was still caked in her hair. Suddenly she heard a call from behind her.

“Wooloo, where do you think you’re going?”

“I’VE GOT DREAMS TOO BIG FOR THIS PODUNK TOWN!”

Dolly turned just in time to be tackled to the ground by a runaway Wooloo, his wool squishing against her face.

It didn’t take long before someone lifted the Wooloo from her and tossed it to the side. Her vision was filled with the worried face of a man above her, his large sun hat blocking out most of the sky.

“My...Are you okay? You took that Tackle head on…” he said, lifting her to her feet.

Dolly winced as her back pinched when she stood fully. Just something else to add to her repertoire of aches and pains on this journey. She nodded when she saw his worried face.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she grimaced.

“You must be one of those Gym Challengers, right?” the man asked, beckoning the Wooloo to his side. Dolly nodded in response. “Ahh, I thought so. I saw you at the opening ceremony.”

Wow, pretty impressive that he remembered her of all people. She was really hoping no one would have noticed she was there, then no one would notice that she would drop out after this town’s Gym. He stuck out his hand with a friendly grin.

“My name’s Milo, I’m a Gym Leader and rather partial to Grass-type Pokémon. I’ve been itching to see just how good the Champion-endorsed Gym Challengers are. I can walk you down the rest of the way to Turffield, I’m off there with this little guy anyway,”

Dolly nodded and walked in step with Milo as he chatted with her on their way to Turffield. He was pretty friendly, but she wasn’t sure how many of these questions she wanted to answer. If she was just going to quit after his Gym, the less everyone knew about Challenger 052 the better. They made it into Turffield before the sun fully set, and Milo left Dolly with a wave. She grinned as soon as she saw Hop waiting at the front of the town.

“Dolls I thought I already told you, you can’t win by flirting with every important person in the League!”

"Nice to see you too.”

“How do you manage to get so dirty so quickly? There’s literally mud in your hair,” he grimaced as he fell into step with her.

“Gotta do what I gotta do,” she laughed, picking little pieces out of her hair. “Now where’s the Gym?”

She looked about the town as she followed Hop down the dirt path. It was lush and green, with fields of wheat rolling over into the horizon, trees speckled throughout. Little brick houses sat humbly throughout the fields and dirt roads of the town, accented with colorful flowers, shrubs, and artfully placed wheelbarrows. Tall stones rose from the ground as well, marking the end of each path throughout the village. She and Hop made their way through the town, breathing in the crisp air as the sun continued to set. They finally approached a tall, round building, oddly out-of-character for the humble town.

“That’s Turffield Stadium right there,” he grinned, turning to her. “The place is jam-packed with Challengers, though. It’ll be ages before your turn comes up, but I’ve already got my Badge. I reckon I’m just about the greatest when it comes to wrangling Wooloo, I’ve had plenty of practice at it, after all!”

What? Wooloo? Why was he wrangling his own Wooloo? What did that have to do with the Grass Badge?

“Wow, check you out,” she grinned, flipping the Badge over in her fingers. “Leon better get ready for you and Wooloo.”

Is that what he meant about wrangling Wooloo?

“I’m sure you can win this one, too. You are my rival, after all,” he smiled again.

She looked up to Hop, up to his familiar face and his familiar smile. She would miss seeing that smile on the daily once she headed back to Postwick. They could always video chat, she supposed. Dolly let out a yawn as she rubbed her hands over her arms, the cold of dusk biting at her.

“Waiting until tomorrow is fine with me, I’m knackered anyway.”

She waved goodbye to Hop and looked back up to the Gym looming before her. It glimmered in the dusk, with the purples and greens contrasting the dark blue sky behind it. Dolly let out a sigh, picking at the skin around her fingers. Her mind flashed back to her first Pokémon, then back to the present. This could be it, she could lose another one. But, she set out to beat at least one Gym, and that’s what she was going to do. Beat Milo then head back to Postwick...maybe she could persuade her mum to let Munchlax have some friends. Bringing home seven Pokémon wouldn’t be so much more than one, right? Dolly speculated different methods of persuasion as the sun finally set over Turffield.

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