#...can't believe i have to use that tag again

[reallyromealone]

Title: idol

Chapter: 4

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Fandom: Kpop demon hunter

Genre: omegaverse

Warnings: omegaverse, male reader, angst, fluff, reader gets mad

Notes: ooooo first time committing to a tag list

Summary: things take a turn

Tag list: @robbin-g @heinzsqueezebottle @sooobiinn @sfxtiebee @kittenwerewolf @gh0stied3ath @strangebarbarianbarbarian @0eye0 @barrythestrawberry041

🌜🌛🌜🌛🌜🌛🌜🌛🌜🌛🌜🌛🌜🌛🌜🌛🌜🌛

(name) didn't know what to expect, a big tiger sitting in his livingroom batting a bottle of water while a magpie with a little hat watched curiously "uhhh..." (Name) Was confused at the two demons before him and they turned to look at him and then returned to trying to keep the water bottle up and (name) gently lifted the bottle up and kept it standing "can... Can I help you two?"

The tiger stared at him before blinking one eye at a time before opening his mouth and revealing an envelope "uh... Thank you?" (Name) Tentatively took the wet envelope and opened it "for your protection?" What would be protecting him? The tiger and bird?

He doubted it honestly.

"You're too stinking cute to be a threat, aren't ya?" (Name) Smooched the demons forehead and rubbed his large cat ears and watched as the creature thumped his big hind leg "oh you're just so cute!"

"Kaw!"

(Name) Glanced at the bird and huffed a laugh, gently catching the back of its head and smiling at the bird puffing up happily "for demons, you two aren't all that spooky, you have a very cute hat by the way" he complimented the bird who seemed very proud of himself "I made it for the tiger but he kept stealing it" Jinu spoke from behind him and (name) straightened up "it's been a while" (name) mumbled and the demon smiled softly "I had things... I had to take care of"

"Like stealing souls" (name) mumbled, he looked outside and saw the red that slowly took over the Hommoon and glared back at him "I want to trust you Saja boys... But I can't forgive this..." (Name) Hissed out and stepped towards him "you promised me you would try and get your soul back! I-I don't understand why you keep hurting people!" (Name) Said with a tremble in his voice, stepping closer to the beautiful alpha whose eyes looked at him calculating "do you really think, a demon like me could get redemption for what I have done? What all of us have done?" Jinu hissed out and stepped towards (name), face growing a bit more demonic.

"Then explain to me, what is it that you did!"

"I ABANDONED MY FAMILY, I LEFT THEM TO STARVE! WE ALL DID HORRIBLE THINGS TO THOSE WE LOVE AND FRANKLY IT WAS FUCKING STUPID FOR YOU TO BELIEVE WE COULD GET OUR SOULS BACK!" he screamed at (name), voice bellowing through the apartment and his eyes glowed like a fire, staring at (name) who didn't back down.

"I believe you deserve redemption" (name) said seriously "you all do, my soulmate is the one who was made perfectly for me, you are all made to be the perfect match... You all have a chance to be better"

"Us be better? Or you go to our level" Jinu said methodically and (name) glared "I would never." He would never betray his sister and Jinu got very close to him, leaning close to look him in the eyes perfectly "but you already betrayed her the second you let us in your life, you are a traitor to your family"

"I'm not!" (Name) Yelled, eyes wet with tears and Jinu went to grab at his throat but was shocked to see a white arrow pressed against his Adams apple, (name) equally shocked to see himself holding a white spectral bow "what the.."

"So this is how it will be?" Jinu mumbled "I see..."

"Get out." (Name) Recovered quickly and kept the bow directed at him "I never want to see you or the Saja boys ever again" (name) mumbled with a wobbly voice, the scent of heartbreak and pure rage heavy in the room and Jinu just stared at him like he was nothing.

Like he never mattered at all.

"Oh well, you could have been so fun... Shame"

And with that, Jinu was gone.

(Name) Felt the bow and arrow vanish and quickly walked to his room and looked at the nest and the stupid saja boys clothes "fuck them! They are so fucking awful!" (Name) Tripped a bit as he fell down infront of it and began ripping out the pieces of clothing from the nest until the entire thing was destroyed.

Sitting there he breathed heavily and the reality of what he did set in.

He was going to that idol award ceremony...

And he was going to make those assholes regret fucking with HUNTR/X and (name).

-

He couldn't figure out how to get the spectral weapons to show up again and... He wasn't ready to tell his sister and the others everything...

He just needed to support the three as best as possible.

Even if it meant killing his soulmates.

But... He couldn't be selfish, he had to put his feelings aside and help save those around him...

God he was terrified.

-

"(Name)? Isn't it like the dead of night for you?" A young voice spoke through the speaker of his phone "Hey Jentry... Long time no speak" (name) said softly and the girl chuckled "yeah, it's been a year since I left... How's everything?"

"Could be better... Hey when you figured out your spectral powers, how did you like? Uh hone it?"

"Oh that? That was a nightmare! I kept setting things on fire! Why do you ask?"

"Uh, no reason... Just doing some shrine stuff"

"How is the shrine? Still keeping it prestine?"

"You know it, I gotta go brat... Behave at school yeah?"

"Oh shut up!"

When the call ended, (name) stared at the screen a bit longer before pocketing his phone and began walking to the Idol awards, ready to support his sister.

Even if it meant breaking his promise.

-

What was happening...?

(Name) Watched in horror as his sister and Zoey harassed Rumi, standing up to go figure out what was happening and when he saw it...

The marks.

"A demon?" (Name) Mumbled... Horror in his eyes and he rushed down, ignoring the fans and everything that was happening but froze when he heard Jinu speak over the intercom and saw it...

"He really did it..." (Name) Mumbled and shook...

"Did you really think you could change them? Make them better? When you can't even help yourself?" A voice spoke in his ear and (name) froze "you're a pathetic waste who leaches off his sister"

And with that... His world turned black.

[screamlet]

reunion cuddles? 👉👈 (also yay you're working on layla and bailey)

a happy one!!! my god!! in this economy!! (and layla and bailey are chugging along, can you believe difficult conversations are difficult to write? surprised the hell out of me) anyway: 850ish words of post s8 fix-it. inspired by @rcmclachlan's recurring tag "a three-minute conversation could fix them." this is like. idk. seven to eight minutes max.

---

As Buck and Tommy unpack their flea market and garage sale findings, Buck looks around his new apartment. He's been here a month and a half and it already looks so much like a home, a place where he wants to spend his time.

He knows in his gut that's because he can see so many pieces of Tommy here. The dark teal vase he said looked better than a navy one. A pair of framed sketches of backyard bugs, where Buck had found one and Tommy had dug around for its match, finally found it for him.

And there's the most obvious: Tommy standing in his kitchen gently cleaning a new vintage serving dish they'd found that Buck can't wait to cook in. Fuck, this is—it's what he wants.

Buck has been thinking and staring long enough that Tommy's finished drying off the dish. He catches Buck's eye and smiles. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, kinda." Buck moves into the kitchen and stands across from him on the other side of the island. "Can we talk about something?"

He can see the way Tommy's shoulders immediately tense. "Yeah, of course. You can tell me anything."

"I know, but as I want this to go both ways," Buck says. He waits until Tommy's done drying the dish and Tommy's done when he realizes Buck isn't talking until he is.

"So what's up?" He looks so terrified already that Buck wants to back off; he doesn't want to be responsible for putting that expression on his face. But the only way out is through, and Buck has to get this thing moving.

"I want to try again. Us. Being together. Dating." Buck doesn't look away. "Would you want that?"

Tommy looks at him like there's a catch and, honestly, he's right to do it. There's lots of catches, Buck's going to make sure of that. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

They say it in unison: "What's the catch?" Tommy rolls his eyes, smiling, and Buck can't help tilting his head to follow his smile.

"We have to talk to each other," Buck says slowly. "I want to know you, Tommy. All of you. I mean it."

He can tell that a dozen self-deprecating jokes want to punch their way out of Tommy's mouth, but he's holding them back. He's digging. They might actually do this. Buck really hopes so.

"I think," Tommy says, "that when you scratch past all this, you're gonna find a whole lot of nothing."

"Yeah, well. Let me decide, would you?" Buck tries his best not to look away. "Maybe what you call nothing means more to me than everyone else's something."

Tommy nods, still unconvinced. Buck asks, "What do you want? What do you need? I want you to stay with me. What can we do to make that happen?"

The silence stretches out and Buck lets it. He can do this—he can make space for Tommy. He's just relieved that Tommy's trying. He's trying to try. He's digging and that's all Buck wants. He wants more Tommy.

"I listen to you, Evan," Tommy says, "and I think you're used to letting your words roll off people's backs. I'm not like that. I hear you. I take you seriously, so you have to watch what you say. You have to think about what you're saying before you say them to me. And if you promise to do that, then I'll promise to stay. I just—" Tommy drums his fingers nervously on the counter. "If I show you my feelings, I don't want them to get hurt. So don't hurt me with things you don't mean."

Buck nods. "Okay. Okay, I can try to do that."

"Okay." He's going to drum the kitchen island to pieces at this point. "And you have to give me time. Like." Tommy laughs and motions to himself. "The excavation process here? It's a long one. A long one. So just. Let me." Tommy smiles. "Like you're doing now. Like this."

"Okay. I can do that." Buck smiles back. "I like hearing things about you. I can listen, Tommy. I want to hear you. So talk to me."

"And we have to talk," Tommy says. "I don't want to bury things because I think you'll leave. I don't want to leave because I think you want me to bury things."

Buck nods, then grins. "I'm getting a notepad. We should write this down."

Tommy laughs. "Really? You can't remember this?"

"Now? Yeah. When we need it, in the moment? Maybe not! So: terms and conditions."

The only paper Buck has is a 5×5" notepad with a crate of vegetables printed in the corner. Tommy shakes his head as Buck comes around with a pen. "Okay, so."

"Come here," Tommy interrupts. He hugs Buck, his hand resting at the nape of Buck's neck. "We're doing this?" he asks quietly.

Buck hugs him back tight, pen and paper in one hand as he sways in his arms. "Yeah, we are. As soon as we finalize our contract."

Tommy hugs him tighter. Buck sighs with relief, the newest piece of his new life finally in place, exactly where he wants him to be.

[thesylenttreatment01]

Broke Sylus??!!?

Okay, so this is a literal weird shower thought I got while listening to Elton Johns "Your Song" but like... what if Sylus, our known Mr. Rich-don't-look-at-the-price-tags, got his assets frozen?

Something happened, someone got a tip, several forces teamed up together, he forgot his banking information, but for some reason or another Sylus can't access a large portion of his funds and can't use any of his many bases. He has no money or very little-- nothing but the stylish shirts on his back and his ingenuity.

I think that this idea could be wonderfully delicious because while he is trying to fix the issue to regain control of his fortune- Sylus needs to live frugal.

AND who is the only trusted poor person he knows who lives in a small shoe box apartment in Linkon? Ah, its you.

He tries to hide it at first I think-- phrasing it like he just misses you sweetie, and does he really need an excuse to come see you?

But then one night turns into two, then three, and so on. Its been a week or two and he still hasn't gone home. And, its not that you don't like having Sylus around, on the contrary, its kinda nice to have his stupid body heat curled up to you at night.

But he just seems out of place and uncomfortable... Definitely irritated.

That cabinet that hit him? Its back with a vengeance.

Your kitchen? Apparently inspires claustrophobia.

Your Plushies? Always in graphicly morbid or obscene positions when you get home.

That was another thing, Sylus seems to be going stir crazy in your apartment. While he tries to busy himself with figuring out how to get his fortune back, it can only fill so much time in a day. Every time you got home? Sylus was on you. Physically almost suffocating you sometimes with touches, hugs, kisses, and literally just laying his entire weight on you (not the worst way to go you reckon).

But anytime he wasn't physically connected to you, he was doing something. Making food, cleaning the apartment, trying to make repairs around the house (key word trying: this man assembled an entire crow mechanically, and has built and created multiple types of advanced weapons... but that goddamn Ikea table that wabbles. He swears to god, as soon as he gets his fortune back he will be refurbishing your apartment )

It wasn't bad per say, You appreciated him. But this was a far cry away from the man who would sit and read. Who's apathetic smirks and smug expressions were instead laced with a level of hyperactivity that was making YOU itchy for him.

Finally you sit him down and ask him about it. You ask him why he isn't at his many bases, why he wasn't insisting that YOU come to the N109 zone like he always had.

He deflects, getting irritated as to why you had so many questions. Weren't you the one always complaining about the commute sweetie? He was simply returning the favor. Did you not want him there?

You feel irritation as he starts to lash out at you. But you know Sylus. You know the man you've been literally bound to. He wouldn't be this angry if there wasn't something going on and you remind him of such.

He grows quiet. Too quiet. You can see the adam's apple in his throat start to bob as he clears his throat. He can't look at you. Not in the eyes.

Finally, he scoffs, “Your cabinet hit me again this morning. I think it’s developing a vendetta.”

His coin falls into his palm as he mindlessly starts flipping coin tricks as if by instinct.

“And your plumbing,” he continues, as if giving a battlefield report. “ -- it makes this sound at exactly 2:47 am every night that I can only assume is a call to arms , or possibly a mating call. I'm still waiting to hear if the sink reports back"

He gestures vaguely toward the kitchen. “The refrigerator bulb flickers like it's trying to communicate in Morse code. I believe its saying 'Miss. Hunter, please put me out of my misery' And your thermostat? I’ve seen war zones with better climate control.”

His voice is dry, but there’s something strange underneath it-- some tightness. Like he’s actively trying to keep something from slipping from his lips.

“It’s been weeks, and I still can’t tell if your oven is broken or just rebelling.”

Then, with a humorless smile, “But no--sweetie I'm fine. Everything’s just charming.”

You open your mouth to retort, getting sick of hearing about how screwed up your house was, but he talks right through it.

“I can’t access my funds,” he says, casually, like he’s noting a change in the weather. “Every account, every asset, frozen. My bases flagged. My name redacted from half the databases I built myself.”

He turns to face you finally, but still won’t meet your eyes.

“So unless your couch has a pension plan I’m unaware of, I’m currently surviving on your instant ramen and the slow erosion of my dignity.”

And there it was. The bombshell. The pin that finally dropped to the floor as the grenade was cast across the room. Finally it all made sense. The frantic nature, the endless sleep over, and the bitter remarks and irritability. Sylus wasn't irritated. He was scared. Maybe for the first time in his life, control had been taken from the man who controlled it all.

You tried to meet his eyes, but he still refused to meet your gaze. The silence stretched out, with three seconds feeling like hour. Finally, after a moment of respect. You don't say a word. Sylus starts to feel the tension burn in his chest, like was about to explode in anger, in shame, in fear, in regret and --

the sound of your heels thumped against the wood floor. Suddenly, a rush of pressured wrapped around around his shoulders as you hung from him, embracing him. You knew there wasn't anything you could say to make Sylus feel better. In fact, you were pretty sure words would only irritate him. But now you knew. You knew this secret that he had been probably carrying around for weeks alone. The pain and the fear that he had probably felt for the first time in a long time. So you don't say anything. You don't fill the room with empty words and apologies. You just embrace him you pull him down slightly to your level as you try and rest his chin on your shoulder and you run your fingers through his hair.

Sylus stiffened under the sudden pressure. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from you. In fact frankly, he half expected you to start yelling at him. Maybe an apology or two. But this.

This was just what he needed. He needed you.

He slowly relaxed as he bent down further into your arms and nuzzled into your shoulder. He could try for the rest of his life, but he didn't know if he could ever really express to you how much he needed that hug. You stand there together for a few moments. Time froze as the unspoken words that he dared not to say were finally voiced, and that fear of the unknown, the endless possibilities of your reaction: rejection? Of anger? Of fear? all moot while he was in your arms.

From that point forward, you decide to help Sylus learn to live more on the cheaper side of things. Sylus, now learns that to him, your just Miss. Hunter. But to others? You are known as Miss. Bargain Hunter

First rule of living cheap: Brand names are off the table. Any time you can find Honey Nut Loops instead of Cheerios is a good day. ("sweetie, I'm broke, not dead... but I'm certain anything that calls itself a loop will kill me")

Second rule of living cheap: Just because something is on sale, doesn't mean its cheap!!!! ("SYLUS?!!?? YOU CANNOT BUY A 300 DOLLAR JACKET!" "Kitten, aren't you always telling me I have to look for bargains everywhere? Use my opportunistic nature? This was originally a thousand dollars, that's basically as predatory as it gets. Besides, you needed a new coat" *proceeds to bonk some sense into the crow*)

Third rule of living cheap: If you craving something to eat? Keep your Crimson eyes headed towards the door. Anything they can make in a restaurant, we probably have at home (this one Sylus doesn't seem to protest as much. Sylus actually popular to the contrary enjoys cooking meals especially if you two do it together)

Despite the challenges, Sylus adapts fairly well even though he bitches the entire way along. With a little more penny pinching, a lot more coffee, and endless nights spent trying to break his way back into his own bank account, Sylus might come out of this yet.

However, despite the fact that Sylus was no longer hemorrhage cash, he was still bleeding pretty badly from what he would tell you. So one night you pull open an spreadsheet and have him pull open his credit card reports to go through his spending habits to see how you could fix it.

You’re sitting cross-legged on the floor of your tiny apartment, surrounded by receipts, statements, and a near-empty bottle of wine sitting between two glasses. Sylus is sprawled on the couch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he uses a neon yellow highlighter to mark one-time expenses

“Okay,” you say, tapping through the PDF print outs. “We’ve got your emergency backup account, which has… wow, just under $11,000. Honestly better than I thought. You’re doing great.”

He grunts, seemingly unconvinced.

“But there’s a recurring expense. Thousand bucks a month. You didn’t mention that. What’s it for?”

Silence.

You glance back to the couch from your laptop. Sylus seems to be reinvigorated and suddenly very interested in highlighting different things (totally not drawing you as a kitten yelling at him).

“Sylus,” you say flatly.

“It’s nothing important, Sweetie” he mutters.

“You’re bleeding money, Sy. If it’s not important, we need to cut it.”

“No.” The word snaps out sharper, final, much more commanding than he means it to. “It stays.”

You blink. “You’re literally broke and you’re protecting a thousand-dollar line item?”

He exhales slowly, hand dragging down his face. “…It’s for Luke and Kieran”

You pause, staring back at him.

“They’ve got a small place. I’ve been covering it since this mess started.” He finally meets your eyes, expression unreadable. “I sent them to check on a threat to one of our investment facilities. I told them I was working off-grid and not to contact me unless it was urgent. They think I’m fine. I want it to stay that way.”

You stare at him a moment longer, heart twisting.

“So while you’ve been sleeping on my couch, eating dollar ramen and trying to murder my cabinet… you’ve been making sure they were okay?”

He shrugs, too casual. “Well, Kitten, as glamours as your lifestyle maybe, I didn’t think you had room for three freeloaders.”

You had wondered about the twins. You feared to ask, Sylus has been extremely secretive about this entire incident and you feared that asking too many questions might cause Sylus to shut you out again. Since Onychinus still seemed to be up and working, you had figured that the twins were okay, probably still employed but working for someone or somewhere else. You figured it was a touchy subject.

But you had no idea how touchy it had been.

The realization washes over you. No, it doesn't wash over you, it crashes over you like a tidal wave as his words settle on you. Sylus, the biggest and baddest criminal almost in the world-- he always took care of everyone else.

Here he was, cutting back on expenses, buying off-brand oatmeal (you couldn't convince him the cereal was safe), swallowing his pride, sacrificing his privacy and comfort and did all of this silently. He was sitting here worried about his finances and growing tired with stress but held it all together that the people he cared about, and dare I say loved, wouldn't worry.

And that realization coils low in your stomach, heat curling around your spine with unsettling precision.

Because, of course.

Of course he would still be taking care of someone else.

You close your laptop and push it gently aside as you shift toward him. You climb into his lap without hesitation, your knees bracketing his hips, sliding your arms around his neck.

He looks up at you, slightly startled, until your lips graze his with a feather-light touch.

“You’re insane,” you whisper against his mouth.

Before he can counter with some dry or snarky, you press a kiss to his lips--slow and deep, like you’re trying to memorize the shape of his mouth all over again.

His body melts slightly as he leans into your touch, exhaling into it, hands already finding your waist, grounding himself in the only thing he doesn’t feel like he’s losing.

As you break for just a moment of air, your teeth grazing the bottom of his lips you gently push back with your finger over his lips

“I'll let you keep your monthly expense,” you say firmly. “ But only under one condition. And you won't argue with me about it. Because I will win.”

His lips curl up into an amused smirk. “Kitten-"

“Half, Sylus.”

You meet his gaze dead-on. “If you're keeping them housed, I'm paying half. You don’t get to carry the world alone anymore.”

Silence. Then that familiar twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll start sending the money directly to Luke and Kieran myself, and let them know why.”

He groans, grabbing your hand and pulling you flush against his chest, “Emotional blackmail. You’re learning the ropes quickly Sweetie”

“You maybe a great teacher,” you murmur, leaning in pressing a small kiss to his lips. “But I'm a better student”

You decide that you had done enough budgeting for the night as you both find... some completely free activities to engage in that evening. You even tease Sylus reminding him that some of the most fun a person can have can be free.

It took time, frankly more time than Sylus expected, but he eventually recovered access to his funds. Bit by bit, the pieces of his life were restored--falling back into place piece by piece: his accounts reopened, his assets unfrozen, and his name returned to the networks that once again feared to whisper it.

He never said much about how he pulled it off, and you didn’t press. Whatever strings he had to pull, cut, dislocate, or blow up....those were his business.

But something had changed.

He still grumbled every time you dragged him to discount stores and held up two nearly identical sweaters asking which was cheaper. He still looked personally insulted by off-brand anything.

But, despite his looks, his groans, and little sarcastic comments.

Sylus never forgot that strange, cramped season of his life, when the world stopped listening to him, but you never stopped holding him.

And if he ever hadn’t gotten it all back?

Well.

He figures he would’ve been just fine. He is adaptable. But more importantly, it was because even in a shoebox apartment with store-brand cereal and flickering lightbulbs, he’d had something money couldn’t buy.

You

The fierce protection of Miss. Bargain Hunter

This was fun!!! Idk why, but I really love the change in dynamics and the idea of Sylus having to learn to live like a commoner XD XD but yeah XD have a good day

[lockeswoodss]

The Crimson Glow Chapter 4

Word Count: ~3,000

Taglist: @nocturnalro , @silas-aeiou , @mischiefsemimanaged , @wolfbc97 , @pocket-of-possibilities , @midnight-dixon , @qardasngan , @chaostwinsofdestruction , @thedamnqueenofhell , @li22ie2017 , @sabi127 (If you'd like to be tagged please comment ^_^)

A/N: I can't believe it's been just over a month since I last posted. I know I was busy, but I do want to try to post more before I start my fall semester at college.

Warning: Brief talk of amputation, cancer, mention of food, probably inaccuracies about art therapy stuff, and mention of sex, but no smut yet (hang in there, bestie, we're getting close)

alotta soft!Jack in this one

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You jolt up before you’re even able to process the deafening sound coming from your bedside table. Through bleary eyes, you roll over and see the Find My Device screen on your phone. You grumble when your phone doesn’t recognize your face from the lack of light. You let out a sigh of relief when the sound stops after punching your pass code in. You were allowed a second of peace before Alibi, and an unflattering picture of your twin brother pops up as an incoming call. You were tempted to immediately decline him, but knew that he’d only get more annoying.

"Oh, look who's finally done getting dicked down long enough to talk to their brother. You remember me, right, sis? Ben, your twin." He huffed on the other side of the line.

"Ben, it's only 6 in the morning here," you whine, before sighing, “also no one is 'dicking me down'"

"What, why not?" He responded, genuinely confused, "Two DILFs not enough for yah?"

"Jesus Christ," you sigh, now fully sitting up in bed, running a hand down your face, "I had work, and they also had work."

"What are they not your type?" He asked, still stuck on the fact that you hadn't had sex yet.

"No, fuck, it's got nothing to do with that. We're not in our twenties with no responsibilities that allow for the luxury of immediately fucking" you sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. You'd slept like shit after having to go back to sleeping alone with the knowledge of now knowing what it felt like to be held and loved by your soulmates.

"Then why were you MIA?" he asked.

"Again, I was busy," you replied.

"You couldn't take half a second to text me?" he asked, accusingly.

"Yes, there's a lot going on," you once again sigh as you swing your legs over the edge of the bed and stand up, "I also would love to point out that I couldn't get a hold of you for over 72 hours after you met Dante; and I didn't have the ability to track your location."

"Well, yeah, we can't all be prudent, like that." He replied.

"You guys barely left his bed for four days." You pointed out, as you got dressed in some lounge clothing.

"Well, yeah, I understood the assignment." He replied simply, like it was the only option.

You huff a laugh as you pad down your hallway to your kitchen. Outside of the Thai food filling your fridge, the only things in your kitchen were your electric kettle and tea. Sadly, you only had teabags for now, but you’d seen some local farmers markets that had loose tea vendors that you’d hope to visit this weekend. You put Ben on the speaker phone as you filled your kettle and searched through the totes labeled for the kitchen for a mug.

“How’s Atlas?” you asked.

“Oh, no, you won’t be using my son as a distraction. I called to talk about you for once.” Ben replied,

You hated that he knew you so well. You’ve never been great at being the center of attention. A quirk that most likely contributed to you becoming a therapist. You were happy to sit and listen to others. Honestly, one of your greatest joys in life was experiencing someone’s face light up when they talked about something they were passionate about. You just hated unearned attention. Growing up, you were more than happy to let Ben have the spotlight on birthdays. You only really craved that kind of validation after you accomplished something.

“Ben, what is there to say that you don’t already know from your snooping?” you asked, clicking on the kettle.

“I don’t know, maybe like questions like: Are they treating you well? Are you happy? How’s the vibe of your new job? The kinda stuff I gotta pull teeth to know.” He replied,

“Everything’s fine,” You dismissed, finally finding a mug wrapped in a dish towel. You rinsed it off with the hottest water your sink would allow, before drying it off and making a mental note to buy dish soap and other kitchen essentials. You plopped a green tea bag in your mug, waiting for Ben’s response.

It was now his turn to sigh.

“What have you been up to since you’re not fucking?” he asked.

You gave your phone an unimpressed look out of habit of always having him by your side from birth to twenty-one, even if he would never see it.

“We had dinner together and established boundaries for work-since we all are at the same hospital, I slept over at their apartment, and Jack made me breakfast before my orientation yesterday. Robby walked me home, and then I was woken up by some jackass who hacked into my account to make my phone alarm go off at its loudest volume.” You huffed.

“Hacked feels like a strong word, using Grandma’s maiden name and our birthdate is not the most secure option, yah know?” Ben replied, before continuing, “Also, why didn’t you sleep over last night?”

“Jack works nights,” you answered,

“And that matters how? We already established you’re not fucking, is he that jealous that physically sleeping together is an issue?” Ben asked, confused.

“Fuck, no, it’s just,” you sighed, “I want them, like carnally, and I don’t know if I’d have enough self-control to not act on that when I’m alone with either of them. It’s just-fuck, it’s just complicated, I don’t want either of them to feel left out, but at the same time I’ve never been this attracted to anyone.”

“Have they been together?” he asked,

“Presumably? You responded.

“Does that make you jealous?” he asked,

“No, they didn’t know me yet.” You replied, “It’s just different, they don’t like to do PDA. So, outside of the time we spend in our apartments, there hasn’t been any additional affection.”

“I understand being professional at work, but they’re not giving you any public affection? Like not even hand holding?” he asked exasperated, “Wait,” he paused, causing you to freeze in response, the only audible sound is your kettle clicking off. You didn’t move as he said your name firmly,

“Are they out?” he asked seriously.

“Define out?” you reply sheepishly.

“Bitch, you better be joking,” Ben’s agitation was clear in his voice.

“It sounds worse than it is,” you replied.

“Oh? How so? Cuz it sounds like they only want to be with you conditionally. Those fuckers better want and love you unconditionally as a baseline. You deserve the best.” He huffed, “This better not be like when you’d fall for straight girls.”

“Ben, I haven’t fallen for ‘straight girls’ since high school, give me a little credit. I just met them, it’s a lot to ask anyone to come out without knowing their situation.”

“Sis, I get that to an extent, but you’ve got a history of being way too fucking nice to the point that it can harm you.” He replied, concern clear in his voice, “I just don’t want to see you getting hurt on any level.”

“Ben,” you take a breath, “I just think they need time to adjust, fuck, I need time to adjust. I’ve never been in a relationship with more than two people.”

“Fine,” he huffed, “but if it takes them longer than a month, I’m coming there and kicking their asses in person.”

You didn’t have to question if he was serious or not, Ben’s always had your back, no matter if you wanted it or not in the moment. You take a deep breath and top off your mug with boiling water.

“How was your orientation?” Ben asked, and you let out a grateful sigh that he was letting you move on.

“Good, I only got three-fourths through my orientation before they needed help with a lost child who only knew BASL.” You replied, keeping it purposefully vague.

“When did you learn BASL?” Ben asked, confused.

“Oh, I only know a little bit, but I connected them with my old coworker; you remember Malik?” you asked.

“Oh! Is he the one who set you up with his weird cousin?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you laughed, “he knows BASL, so I was the middleman yesterday. I still have to be shown around the Behavioral Unit before my orientation is technically finished.”

“So, do you have any idea what department you’ll be in the most?” he asked

“It’s looking like I’ll mostly be in PEDs because of my past experience with children. I’m going to have around 18 patients for now and two group art sessions in the behavioral unit. I’ll have a few patients from the inpatient rehab, but I may be shifted to be more hands-on in rehab or the behavioral unit, depending on patient needs. They cycle through our staff for the daily group art sessions in the BU. It’s the same as my last hospital where I flex wherever needed, j-just, just not Oncology…” you trailed off.

“I know you hate that you can’t work in Oncology, but it says a lot that you know that limit. I know Gram would be happy you’re not pushing yourself too far.” Ben said reassuringly.

“You really think she’d be proud that I can’t help those who are in the position she was in?” you replied skeptically.

“I think she would be proud you’re able to set a professional limit to prevent potential mental harm from pushing yourself too hard,” Ben replied automatically. This was far in aways from the first time you’ve discussed this. The first time was when you were still in grad school and found out the hard way that you were not ready to work with those who were receiving infusions. Despite all this time, you were still triggered by your grandmother’s passing from cancer the summer before your junior year in high school.

“Anyway, I have three PEDs patients today and one patient in the rehabilitation unit.” You said, glancing at the clock, it was just after 7, both your threads were a dull red, pointing in the same direction. Robby must have gone to work while you were busy talking to Ben. Hell, he might have even been woken up by the blaring of your phone at 6. One of your threads started to gradually darken, most likely Jack on his way back home from work.

“At least you know what you’re getting into,” Ben said.

“Yeah,” you agreed, “They even use the same charting system as my old hospital.”

You take a sip of your green tea as your conversation with Ben devolves into Atlas’s latest developments. He was still rolling over and just started to be able to sit up with support. He had also recently started to babble. Ben and Dante were in a race to see who’d he would call da-da first. Atlas had been experiencing both Sicilian and English since he was born. While you wanted the best for Ben, you knew realistically Dante would most likely win since he was a stay-at-home dad. You had just finished off your mug of tea when you saw Jack’s thread brighten, initially stopping at your door for a beat, before he walked back to his door, and then paced down to your door again.

“-and his doctor said that Atlas can start on solids soon. So, Dante’s been reading everything he can get his hands on about how to integrate food the best way.”

“Hey, sorry Jack just got home, and I wanted to stop by before I have to leave for work.” You interrupted,

“K, I get it, your soulmate’s more interesting than your nephew’s preemptive diet change.” Ben sassed.

“I mean most things are,” you joked, laughing at Ben’s fake gasp.

“I’ll talk to you later, love you.” You said,

“Love you too,” Ben signs off, just as Jack begins to once again retreat to his apartment. You quickly stride to your front door, peaking your head out, string gleaming red. You find Jack with one hand on the door handle and the other holding a Trader Joe’s bag to his chest; flowers sticking out of the top. He freezes as you make eye contact, he quickly evades his gaze, giving you a once-over.

“Hey,” you said softly, seemingly snapping him out of his haze.

“Mornin’” he replied firmly, now turning to face you. He quickly closes the gap as you start to step fully into the hallway.

“If you need to put away your groceries, we can go back to your place.” You offered.

“Oh, they’re actually for you.” He replied.

“Oh?” you replied, surprised. You stepped to the side to let him in. You bit your lip as you observed him walking, specifically his favoring his left leg, and almost wincing with every step on his right.

“I noticed you didn’t have any kitchen stuff the other night, and I know you only have takeout in your fridge.” He said, placing it down on the counter.

“You got me flowers?” you asked, walking over to where he was leaning against your kitchen bar.

“Yeah,” he started rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m sorry for how I reacted to the news of the attempted assault last night.” He sighed, “I wasn’t mad at you, just frustrated that I wasn’t there when you needed me, or that Robby conveniently left it out when he was updating me about how you were doing.”

“Robby was updating you?” you asked with a quirked brow.

“Uh, yeah,” Jack hesitantly replied, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay, the updates gave me enough peace of mind to sleep.” You nodded understandingly as he continued. “The flowers and breakfast are my attempt at an apology… If you’ll let me.”

“Okay, I accept the apology, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you cook for me after you got off a 12-hour shift.” You said firmly, “I’d also prefer to get you out of your prosthetic first, I can pop over to yours and grab your crutches while the pancakes are cooking.”

“I’ll be fin-” Jack attempted, before you placed a firm hand on his chest,

“Sit,” you said in the same firm tone. You and Jack hold each other’s gaze for a moment before he breaks eye contact, sensing you won’t back down.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he sighs, taking a seat at your kitchen table, after turning the chair to face you.

“Do you want me to grab your crutches first?” you asked, not wanting to leave him without access to any mobility aid.

“Yeah,” he nodded after a moment.

“’Kay,” you nod, as he hands you the keys, “Do you need anything else, while I’m over there?”

“Yeah, I have some lotion that cools chaffed skin on my dresser.” He answered hesitantly. You nod before striding out of your apartment and down the hall. You make quick work of grabbing Jack’s stuff before finding yourself back in front of Jack.

“Is it okay if I help?” you asked softly, standing between his legs, “I can wait in the bedroom if you want some privacy.”

You gently cupped his jaw while he hummed in thought, his arm sneaking around your waist, pressing you against him as he palmed the small of your back.

“It’s okay, you can help,” he nodded, pressing a kiss to your palm. You leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, nose, and then lips. Before you could even think about pulling back, he cupped your face and deepened the kiss. He sighed into it, relaxing against you, letting you control the kiss as his exhaustion from his shift surfaced. You panted lightly when you finally pulled away, your forehead resting against his.

“Fuck, I wish I didn’t have to go to work,” you sighed, standing back up.

“Call off?” he suggested with a small smirk, looking up at you lovingly.

“Honestly, if it wasn’t my first day, I’d seriously consider it.” You said, running a hand through his hair as he leaned into your touch, “But we have a little over an hour before I have to leave, so how about we get your prosthetic off, breakfast, shower, and then I’m gonna have to head out.” You list.

“Is the shower an offer?” he asked with a smirk,

“If I didn’t have to work, maybe, but I fear we still have a talk before I want to do anything more with kissing,” you sigh. Jack gave you one last final squeeze before letting you go. You quickly grab a wet, warm, soapy washcloth and a dry one from the bathroom before kneeling before Jack. He had already removed his prosthetic and rolled up his pant leg.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” He said, giving you an out.

“As long as you’re still okay with it, I don’t mind,” you promised, hand resting on the edge of his liner. With the nod of his head, you ease him out of each layer of his liner. Once his stump is bare, you wipe it down thoroughly with your soapy washcloth before drying him.

“So, do you want to know?” he asked, gazing down at you firmly.

“Know what?” you asked, uncapping the chaff relief balm.

“How I lost it.” He replied.

“Do you want to tell me?” You paused, sitting back on your calves to look up at him properly.

“I mean, it’s pretty easy to surmise.” He answered.

“That doesn’t answer my question. Jack, I’m not going anywhere, whether or not you tell me how you lost your leg isn’t going to change anything.” You reply, matching his firm gaze with your own.

“Okay,” he nodded after a moment, “I’m exhausted, so maybe not today but-”

“You don’t have to set a date, I’m ready whenever it feels right. Okay?” you asked.

“Okay,” he nodded with a small smile. After rubbing in the balm you shared one last kiss before settling into your morning routine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N:

Thanks for taking the time to read ^_^

I'm planning on working on a couple of asks before starting the next chapter. I'm not working in any particular order for the asks since they all came in on the same day, and that's less restricting creatively.

Last Part: here

Masterlist: here

[accio-victuuri]

i am enjoying going through this tag on weibo #王八好好吃饭大赛# or turtle eating contest. it’s basically cpfs sharing cpn/candies/rumor. it’s a common expression among us that when there is a good cpn shared, comments will say something like : “i have eaten well.” so that’s where the tag comes from. i have to agree with the posts on this entry, it’s a paradise for cpn lovers.

i’m gonna share a few on here for everyone to have a good meal. i picked out more of the fake rumor kind of things, cause that is the majority and in shorter form that i can compile it. tho some did share proper cpn posts with explanations and all but i feel like i already have shared those here over the years. i can’t possibly put everything in that tag here, so i shared the web link for others to visit it too. ✌🏼

so anyway, enjoy! 🍚

⬇️⬇️⬇️

• When I graduated in 2021, my roommate went to Beijing for an internship, and their company took on an event and had contact with Bo. One day, she tagged me in a group of friends that she heard Bo send a voice message: Baobao, I'm going to work first, I'll call you after I finish (in a while)~ Then my roommates didn't believe it, because Bo was very cold on the surface, and then I dug out the behind-the-scenes footage: “Then you have to be nice to me~” and our group exploded.

• My friends, I brought it up again 😈 The original picture is from (2020) years ago, I can't stand it anymore - but I can't directly post the original picture of gzry sister, so I will just transcribe both pictures and relay them in text:

Wang Yibo is so bad. He was talking on the phone with Xiaozhan during dinner, and he deliberately turned on the speaker of his phone to play the game, and he was eating and teasing Xiaozhan.

Xiaozhan didn't know where he bumped into something, and he was still complaining to his husband on the phone when he was feeling uncomfortable. He was in a daze and had no idea that he turned on the speaker. Her voice was soft, and he spoke to Wang Yibo like a spoiled child: "It still hurts, it hurts so much"; Wang Yibo said: "I'll blow it for you", but Xiaozhan was still unhappy, and said directly: "Then you can't come..." His tone was even roundabout, and the rest of the staff who were eating lunch boxes at the table didn't dare to breathe.

This is exactly the daily complaints of gzry on both sides, hahaha [Too disgusting] [I really can't stand it] [Whoever wants this job can get it] [Ten thousand points of harm to single dogs]

FYI: for those who don’t know what GZRY means ⬇️

• W bought a new car some time ago. But X used this brand when he was working in Shanghai. The same car. It is not clear whether W bought the car for his wife.I'm going abroad to travel and temporarily give the car to my wife.

( basically saying that when WYB was away, XZ used his car for work. ya know. married behavior. also, it’s OP who used “wife”. I don’t see XZ as a wife. )

• Let me tell you an old story first. My best friend's friend (not a fan, just a good friend, but knows her best friend loves him very much) family is very powerful, living in the area where my IP is the highest level, just happened to be with that super famous host, everyone knows him, if Chong Er wants to release it, please help me to blur his name, otherwise this information is too directive, and you can tell who leaked it at a glance...

They are neighbors for many years, and the two families have a good relationship. One day, the host (this specific event should also be coded), invited this woman's family to a dinner party. This woman was curious because her best friend kept talking about it, so she couldn't help but ask the host if BoXiaowas really together, and then the host smiled, nodded to show affirmation, and said that their relationship was stable and they were living well now (2021 at that time). (I feel that the host probably thought she was a fan. At that time, because of the aftermath of the previous year, the situation was actually a bit subtle, at least not as good as it is now, so the host also specially comforted her and said not to worry, they are very happy now... Oh, I really feel bad for you again.)

• My good colleague told me that she had taken over a project and had a good relationship with one of the junior leaders of that project (they often worked together).

The project filmed an advertisement with Bobo. The young leader was standing not far from Bobo during the filming. He saw Bobo replying to WeChat messages, raised his phone, took a selfie and sent it to. The young leader saw that the WeChat note of the person Bobo was chatting with was Zhan Ge.

He said he knew something, but he signed an NDA. But he said, you can chase stars now.

• XZ makes cupcakes for WYB.

• My roommate's friend used to intern at a TV station and accompanied an artist (artist's name is sk) to record a program. My roommate asked her what was going on with Bo Jun Yi Xiao. The friend didn't support it, and replied very calmly, "Oh, no need to ask about them, it's true." Then the roommate asked her if Bo Jun Yi Xiao was a secret show. The friend said it was actually quite obvious, and everyone in the circle knew it.

• XZ cooks for WYB, and he shows it off among circle of friends. like the one below, it’s clearly for two people. caption is “do it yourself and live a comfortable life”

• XZ really likes WYB’s look in LOF. He often asked WYB to send videos when he is doing something on set and send it to him.

• I remembered another one. I was browsing Xiaohongshu and saw someone took a photo of a motorcycle on an elevated road in Beijing. Many people said it looked like Wang Yibo. I looked through the comments and there was a reply that said it was not Wang Yibo. Many people asked why you said it was not Wang Yibo. The blogger of that comment said that the license plate numbers of Wang Yibo's two motorcycles did not match. Then some people went to his homepage and found out that he was a CP fan (in fact, he just posted a human-shaped stand of cql). The person’s homepage looked very rich. Some people said that the sister was stupid and had a lot of money, but she still supported this kind of CP, which was obviously fake. The sister replied that she was sick. Who would support the CP of their colleagues? Bao Bao, think about it carefully.

Another one is a stalker I followed before who only had a few fans. His Weibo location was also in Beijing. He had previously sent a bouquet of flowers saying that it was received by XZ on Chinese Valentine's Day. Later I checked and found that the flower shop was less than 1 km away from Wang Yibo's home.

( the OP is implying that these fake accounts are yibo. especially the 2nd one. )

• Last year, I was in charge of operating their Weibo account ( company name redacted ) . My mentor once noticed that I was wearing the same short-sleeved shirt as Wang Yibo and asked me if I was his fan. I said that I was not only his fan... He immediately understood and said that what you like is quite accurate, and that he has a really special relationship with that person (XZ) . I got excited and asked him why he said that! He said that he only jumped to it in 2023, and had been there before. He also participated in the interview for The Untamed in 2019, and he even found a picture of him and Bo Xiao in the same frame and showed it to me. During the promotion of the drama, their colleagues discussed their relationship with each other. A male colleague who had been in the group before said that they had dated, but he didn’t know what happened afterwards.

• I'm here! Although it's not very direct information, I just want to talk about the semi-publicity of the two of them in the industry.

I used to work in the industry. Because I was in an art school, many of my classmates were in the industry. I first knew about them in 2019, which was relatively early. At that time, 9xue was on the hot search, and I clicked in to take a look, but I didn’t think that their relationship was bad, I just felt it was weird. We even discussed in the dormitory whether this was a good relationship or not, and finally concluded that they couldn’t be pure colleagues. After a while, my college roommate went to an internship at a production company. After a period of internship, he came back and suddenly said to me: My God, do you know who is real with whom? I said, are you crazy? She said it was the producer sister of their company who said it, and she directly said that they lived on the upper and lower floors (now I think it should be jmf) Then I was very curious because I really hadn’t seen a real gay in the domestic entertainment industry. I watched the materials all night and officially fell in love with it.

Later, I found a job in the industry. I can only say that if you reveal your fan status a little, someone will suddenly say to you in casual conversation: "Oh, you like him, hey, did you know that he and that person are really together?" "Did you know that they were really dating?" "Did you like them before you knew they were really together?" There are so many things like this.

• When Xiao Zhan was on the set of The Untamed, Wang Yibo brought out a box of self-heating hotpot to eat. Xiao Zhan was afraid of getting fat and didn't dare to eat it. Wang Yibo prepared a box and was ready to eat. At this time, Xiao Zhan took Wang Yibo's chopsticks and said he wanted to taste it. Wang Yibo asked Xiao Zhan if he was hungry and if he wanted him to get a box. Xiao Zhan said no, and then you and I ate half of Wang Yibo's box of self-heating hotpot... In the middle, Wang Yibo said that he would gain weight~ Xiao Zhan pretended not to hear it. At the end of the meal, Wang Yibo wanted to drink the soup. Xiao Zhan said don't drink it because it's too oily. In the end, the two of them ate it all.

( lol this one is funny 😂😂😂 )

• Aren’t there a lot of bugs in the crew? I like to play with bugs. One time, Bobo ran and said, “Take it away, take it away.”

XZ said to WYB as a joke: "If you say that, the little bug will also feel sad."

In fact, hus tone was obviously teasing, and WYB was stunned for a moment, thinking. Seeing that WYB was stunned, XZ quickly said to him, "Okay, let's let it go back. Do you want to say goodbye to him?"

Then WYB said: Goodbye (waved)

XZ smiled and said, "Don't you have anything to say to it?" WYB: "Then you better not come tomorrow."

( WYB is so cuteeee 🥹🥹🥹🥹 )

• My friend is doing postgraduate study at China University of Political Science and Law, and her classmate is doing internship at a small court. A few days ago, I found out that her brother and younger brother sued the same company together and used the same agent. Since it's not an online infringement case, I guess XZS and YBO won't issue a statement.

• They were all from Day Day Up in 2019. I had a sister who was an agent. She was familiar with gzry from Mango TV in 2019.

Then they said that the two of them were very sweet backstage, and the gzrys commented that it was filled with the sweet atmosphere of bringing a wife home. At that time, it was said that Wang Yibo twisted the bottle of mineral water for Xiao Zhan and handed it to him, and many people were cheering. Then it was said that after the rehearsal, Wang Yibo took Xiao Xiao for a ride on a small motorcycle. That motorcycle had only carried Han Ge before.

• My sister is an advertising employee. It should be in 2020, when her colleague was sending products, she found that Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan’s external delivery address was the same (they were not endorsements in the same period, and when sending to one person, they found that the address was duplicated and sent to another person)

• they have been playing tennis together in a club in Beijing. Also played badminton. It's not this year, it's the first half of last year.

sources: one and two

[meanbossart]

Is there any chance of you doing KCD2 fan art? 👀 Also how are you feeling about Hans and Henry?

Whenever I figure out how to draw them. I've gotten way too used to drawing pointy people 😂

[BEWARE, SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM COME 2 BELOW]

I haven't finished the game yet so please no spoilers beyond the bits that I mentioned, but I was actually very surprised to find out that Hans is a genuine romance option for Henry!? I've had two or three dialogue choices so far that had that little romantic symbol attached to them, though the lines themselves weren't that explicitly romantic. It's worth noting that I haven't played the first game at all, so I can't take their history into account, either.

My opinion on them as a couple is going to depend on how the game develops it moving forward, but at least for right now, I do see a lot of potential, and I think the story is doing a great job of foreshadowing it and sort of leading you to that conclusion - I was sold on pursuing it after the monologue Istvan does on top of the tower, where he keeps drawing comparisons between himself and Henry - a rich writing decision to make right after it is hinted that Istvan is in some sort of love affair with Erik, his own page of sorts.

And then there's that freakout that Erik has after finding out about Istvan's death, which I found pretty reminiscent of Henry's desperation whenever he believes Hans to be in a life-or-death situation. I know it's all meant to be taken more as a deep friendship, since there isn't (as far as I know) a canonical romance, but it IS all awfully poetic. And quite tragic. So far I definitely read Henry as pining, but Hans seems totally oblivious to it.

...Of course you have to also take the era into account. Unlike BG3, this game clearly grounds itself very firmly in history (with the given creative licenses - otherwise this would probably be a much, much more miserable game, lol) homosexuality existed, but in a completely different context to today. It's possible that for either Hans or Henry (but especially Hans) the thought of having romantic feelings for another man wouldn't even seen possible, let alone worth pursuing. I don't usually like to delve into stories that involve this kind of stigma since real life gives me enough of it, but I will admit - thinking about it in the context of the 14th century Europe or whenever the game takes place has been really interesting; the scene with Bartosch made sense - it was secretive, fleeting, and never mentioned again - that was just lust, and I'm sure there was plenty of that going on back then... But on the long term??? With a noble????? I'm fully expecting to have my heart broken.

Again feel free to leave your thoughts below/in the tags, but please warn about spoilers!

[sunny374940]

WIP I'm Late Again

Thank you @notyourmamasdeerbat and @starfleetteddybear for the tags <3 I always love to see what you're working on.

I found the emmrook sickfic I started writing way too long ago :D

Emmrich was carrying him across the courtyard and Rook squeezed his eyes shut against the horrible light. And Emmrich must have noticed, because he started walking faster. Why did he have to be so thoughtful all the time? It only made Rook fall for him more, which was very unfair, since he had no chance with him. They entered Emmrich’s study and Emmrich did something to a bookcase, which slid open to reveal a bedroom. Rook squinted around. The space was dim, daylight just barely penetrating the drawn curtains. There was a dresser with a skull on top of it, because of course, Emmrich probably couldn’t fall asleep without at least one skull around. The bed was made, bedsheets smoothed down immaculately, but they didn’t stay that way for long. Emmrich set Rook on his feet next to the bed and threw the covers back in a careless flick of a wrist. He seemed to be in a hurry. Did Rook look so bad? Yeah, probably, since he could barely keep standing even with Emmrich’s other arm holding him around his waist. Emmrich helped him sit down. “Do make yourself comfortable while I gather some necessities. I will be but a moment.” And he left the room. Rook flopped onto his back. There wasn’t much choice, his everything was too heavy. And he started shivering. Where was the blanket? He patted blindly around until he grabbed something and dragged it on top of himself. His feet were still on the floor, but moving didn’t feel like something he was capable of right now. The door clicked shut again. “Oh, Rook,” Emmrich sighed. There was a cool hand on Rook’s forehead again and he leaned into it a little. Just because the cold felt so nice against his burning skin, no other reason. “May I help you into bed?” Emmrich asked. Rook nodded.

And I am being absolutely annoyed by the next chapter of shadows, because I have to solve a plot hole I didn't notice until the last moment. But there are drunken shenanigans again.

“See this? See this?” Rhys asked his audience as he held onto a bookshelf to gesture with his crutch towards the shop at large. Finn barely ducked as the crutch passed over their head. Their reflexes had been dulled a little by the liquor, it seemed. “This is what father left for us when he kicked the bucket. So that's what I've been stuck with since the tender age of…” he had to pause to count on his fingers, but didn’t seem to have enough, “eighty two.” That didn't sound right.  “Twenty eight, you dork,” Tristan corrected. “Yes, thank you. Twenty eight. Eight years ago. You were eleven when the bastard dropped dead, did you know?” Tristan got a very offended look. “The bastard loved us,” he said.  “Yes, but he didn’t have to go and die when you were still a little girl. Boy. Child.” “Did he take good care of you?” Finn asked Tristan from where they were still lying flat on the floor. “He can't cook for shit.” Rhys gasped at the insult. “That's not true!”  Tristan laughed at him, which was quite mean. “It is true and you know it. Why do you think that I took over the cooking?” “Because you were kind to your hardworking brother who had his hands full managing this very shop?” “Yeah, and also because I didn't wanna starve to death.” Rhys left those two to their giggling about his lack of cooking prowess and stopped by Ciaran’s pillow mountain to poke him in the leg with the crutch. “I believe I have made my opinion on you doing this rather clear,” Ciaran grumbled and tried to move out of the way, which resulted in him rolling off the pillows. He stretched languidly, as if he was now exactly where he intended to be. “I apologize, my dear. I only wished to get your attention.” Ciaran frowned at him. He looked very adorable. “Do you have to call me that in front of people?” “I am certain that nobody heard me,” Rhys said, waving the crutch around. All three of them were watching him for some reason. “We heard you,” Tristan said. Finn nodded their agreement next to him. Holly smiled at him. “And I think that you two are very cute together.” “Thank you,” Rhys smiled back. “See? It's alright, darling, we're being cute,” he told Ciaran, who grabbed a pillow from his hoard and threw it at him.  “Ow,” Finn said. “What was that for?” “Direct your complaints at the one-legged bastard,” Ciaran told them. “I'm gonna steal your leg if this happens again,” Finn threatened.  Rhys gasped. “You wouldn't dare.”

No pressure tags for @spinfins, @redheadsramblings, @mercars-musings, @tinygameralec, @themontess, @bygonesigh, @hedwigoprah, @thedissonantverses, @andthekitchensinkao3 <3

[nayiitopia]

Miitopia Sprunkis! ✨️

YEEE I FINALLY FINISH TO CREATED ALL THE SPRUNKIS CHARACTERS ON MIITOPIA YIPPEEE (been like many days until today bc of school awee!) :'>

BONUS: Miitopia Sprunki Nayla! 🐮🩷✨️

I also did my sprunki sona on Miitopia too bc why not whee?! :3

___

(If some have Miitopia and y'all wanna use this characters, is not on the old one, is on the new one: 272KJC6)

[cupcakewebkinz]

You know, I was thinking about an idea I had then realized just how angsty it would be on one side and how much fluff it would be on the other and I'm curious about other people's ideas too ngl

So like, I was toying around with the idea of Shanon coming back to Gardenview and snatching up the loser lesbians and bringing them home with her to save from... Whatever happened. Shanon has no idea, she was never allowed to know, so she just has two VERY traumatized toons now. She'll know how to keep Shelly entertained and happy, she was ALWAYS with Shelly, but I highly doubt she'd know how to keep Vee in check at all.

Vee would probably quickly spiral into a mental crisis about it too, as now everything has been destroyed in her eyes. Nobody remembers her gameshows because they ended years ago, nobody remembers her because Gardenview closed years ago, nobody's interested in learning about her as she's outdated technology to them now. She'd be alone, only able to quiz Shelly now, but she's heard all her questions and knows all the answers by now. She'd probably start self isolating because she just doesn't know what to do with herself, lashing out at Shanon because she genuinely doesn't understand why people aren't fans of her anymore and wants to blame someone except herself. She would be such a wreck and probably have major beef with any new technology Shanon brings home because it replaced her in her mind. Vee is now just... Vee. She's not a celebrity any more, she's not loved by anyone except the toon handler who took her in and her now popular dinosaur girlfriend, and she would not have a clue what to do about it.

Shelly would most likely have the opposite problem, she looks like a living toon just wandering around like she's a common sight to see - of course people would notice! Kids would ask her about fossils and she'd happily tell them all about what she is and their minds would be blown by how much she knows, she'd probably be asked to play by kids who think she looks really neat and be dragged to the sandbox to 'fossil hunt' whenever Shanon takes them to the park. Shanon very much would hide plastic fossils in there too just to see Shelly smile, like she used to before her museum shut down. She'd be such an interesting sight to see that she'd get stared at, often asked what she actually is, and probably would be the talk of the town for a while. Eventually everyone would know that Shelly is just there to have fun, don't bother her too much, but at first everyone would be so shocked by a living breathing toon they'd swarm the poor thing! I'm sure Shelly would be just a little irritated by the constant unwarranted attention and stares, but so happy she's no longer forgotten.

Their roles would reverse is what I'm getting at here. It gives so much Vee angst to work with and Shelly comfort... I am brainrotting over this idea if that's not obvious

[purpurussy]

i need dan to come to the gay bar in my hometown so me n my girls (gn) can teach him how to smoke weed and talk to him about gender

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Broke (2016): BBC Sherlock is a phenomenal piece of media and anything that seems like a flaw just hasn't been fully explored yet

Woke (2020): BBC Sherlock is an incredibly flawed series run by an egotistical writer, it never deserved the hype and is actively bad on so many fronts (especially representation)

Bespoke (2024): BBC Sherlock is flawed and bogged down by increasingly poor writing, which many fans refused to see while it was airing, leading to hugely misplaced expectations (particularly for the final series), AND it has the seeds of some compelling characterizations and portrayals, some genuinely solid performances, and touches--albeit imperfectly--on complexities that are still being discussed today (particularly as it relates to the relationship between Sherlock and John). The huge cultural impact of the show has created a massive pendulum effect in its public perception, leading to most people today remembering a caricature of the show (whether positive or negative) rather than appreciating its nuanced merits and failings...that being said Season 4 sucked

[ghostfiish]

Happy ten years to transcendence au and almost as long to Brian the organ duck! How time flies...

I haven't drawn anything for this au in ages but I did remake the 8tracks playlists on Spotify if anyone uses that. Before Brian shows up, imagine Dipper and Mabel are discussing songs to add to the answering machine playlist (which. that's. Did I mean hold music all this time? lol)

[sovamurka]

ship so good it forced me to write fanfiction again -> *writes timebomb's in-between story that was cut and several au one-shots*

[etrangeres]

one other thing, though, is that there was Something In The Water when Sugisaki was working on 1001, because so much about her artistic sense shifted after finishing it. a lot of that got utilized in manismare onward in dnangel to give it some of the most impeccable vibes ever, and i see a lot of that still lives. it’s the rough brush strokes, or intentionally unclean line, and a kind of dappled or patchwork shading that makes things feel so soft.

[necrotic-nephilim]

Any ships you don’t like in the batfam fandom that is popular?

OOOH this is such a fun question because I have quite a few

StephCass - i'll be honest this is one of those ships where the fandom ruined it for me. because 2000s StephCass is an elite dynamic, they care for each other so deeply. but the fandom has been intent on defanging and purifying this ship. i don't know *why* but StephCass seems most popular with the anti-Batcest crowd who get very mad if you compare it to ships they deem Batcest. i have an entire meta commentary on this in my drafts I'll likely never post discussing why the only reason StephCass gets the pass for not being Batcest ties directly into misogyny (because the women of the Batfam need to exist as love interests first, not family members so Steph was never going to truly get to exist as a "full" Batfam member so long as she could remain a viable love interest for Tim, and the same can apply to Babs, Helena, and even Cass in some cases) and that just sours me to it. like if i want yuri in Batfam i think there are far more interesting/fucked up ships for Steph like Babs/Steph or Helena/Steph. and when it comes to what i'd actually like to see in canon, i don't want to see Steph relegated to love interest of a Batfamily member, even if it's queer. let her date and exist outside of Gotham the way every other Batfam member gets to, DC *please*.

Bruce/Selina - i can't fully articulate why this ship isn't my thing, it just isn't. i think i just can't conceivably agree with Selina letting go of so many of her fundamental morals and beliefs for the sake of a man, even one she loves such as Bruce. ironically, i think that's one of the few things Gotham War got right about these two. the only canon love interest i like for Bruce is Zatanna and i mourn we'll never get much of that.

JayRoy - i will admit when i was newer to DC the first comics i picked up for Jason were all New-52 and i shipped this. but now that i'm a pre-Flashpoint truther and i've actually read well-written Roy Harper comics, i only see the flaws in this ship. ngl if ppl were actually fun and interesting with it, playing with the idea of Roy knowing Jason as Robin and still seeing him as just Dick's little brother who's gone a little mental, it *could* be fun. but this Red Hood & the Outlaws (2011) and Red Hood/Arsenal (2015) dynamic *butchers* the fuck out of Roy and strips him of everything interesting. and even as a Batfamily stan, my number one pet peeve is when other DC characters get *butchered* in a Batfamily character's book just for the sake of propping up the Bat as some kind of savior. free Roy Harper from this mans.

Bruce/Oliver - we could be here all day if i listed all the Bruce ships i don't like, but i figure this one has to be included. because oh my god either the people shipping this *really* don't understand Oliver Queen or they just hate his ass because why would you subject Oliver to this man. he can't *stand* Bruce. i really hate the popular BruOliie shipping dynamic of like "oh they were boarding school besties" because if you want that, you *should* like Bruce/Zatanna, not these two. Oliver just always gets butchered in these fics and i won't stand for it.

Tim/Bernard - the ESSAYS i could write on this ship and why i dislike it. the fucking *fear* DC (and most popular media tbh) has with depicting queer relationships as anything other than totally perfect and cute for fear of accusations of homophobia has stripped this ship of *any* real grit. Bernard is a non-character in Tim Drake: Robin, he exists to cheer Tim on and prop him up and just be The Boyfriend. we occasionally get glimpses of an interesting character with really interesting trauma and nothing is *done* with it bc at the end of the day, Tim and Bernard must be perfect and cute. what's fun about Tim is he is the *worst* boyfriend alive. that boy is *ass* at dating. all of his relationships are rich with conflict and yet the moment he dates a guy suddenly all of his flaws vanish? i hate it. i mourn what this could've been if we kept messy Tim Drake and had a Bernard who was actually informed by his trauma. DC please let gays be messy again. also of all of Tim's 90s/00s friends to bring back as a love interest, Bernard Dowd was just a *bizarre* fucking choice. Sebastian Ives was *right* there come on now.

Any Crossover Ship - look if crossovers are your cup of tea i'm happy for you but oh my god if i have to see that little green ghost boy or that ladybug girl in the Batfam one more time i think i may explode. i have a lot of thoughts on *why* i think specifically Danny Phantom and Miraculous Ladybug get crossed over as often as they do with the Batfam, but i don't think anyone wants to year that. my only exception to this is Jason/Bucky Barnes, but it *has* to be comics!Bucky. like. Judd Winick's Jason and Ed Brubaker's Bucky would hatefuck and that i wish to see it. any other crossover ship (especially the Peter Parker ones that seem to be rising in popularity) just do *not* do it for me.

honestly besides that i don't think i dislike many ships. (aside from being super opinionated on Bruce ships, but that's mostly bc ppl will use him to butcher the character they ship him with) there are some ships i'm neutral to because i simply do not know enough to have an opinion (like Dick/Wally). i guess the only Batcest ship i'm not particular to is Bruce/Damian, but I wouldn't say that one is popular nor would i say i dislike it, just that it's not my cup of tea. most Batcest ships click for me in one way or another because i like their Weird dnyamics. i guess i could also say i dislike most ships that have come out of Young Justice (tv) because. oh my *god* why were those group of characters put together on a team. it's baffling. but even then it's not disliking those ships, it's moreso disliking that show's depiction of those characters so. everything is really dependant on the canon context for me!

[kalosian-woods]

haii :3

i am here to cash in my "what are your thoughts on the Kaalos Gym Leaders?" voucher! either in this au or in general lol,

Waheyy, I'm so glad you decided to visit this humble abode and present the question that is so big that it cannot be contained in 3 maxxed out AO3 comments heh <33 I hope you enjoy your service in this super long ask and have fun at my exceedingly insane takes :P

Okay, so I'm just going to bounce around everywhere here because I have such a love for characters that ends up blurring the line with what we got in canon and what we can further extrapolate/build upon (in the AU verse), as well as bring up stuff I've already said beforehand for more cohesion + also gamesverse and maybe teraleaks as well, so it's going to get crazy around here. BUT such is the price of taking up a big project lol

Probably under the cut? Under the cut lol.

(Also because Tumblr hates me, I've got to cut this into three seperate posts so I don't clog up everything. Would just rb this but that'll ruin the surprise lol. Also it takes ages to make an individual post like this ngl)

So, of course, Kalos is the first/only region where we get focus on the resident travelling Gym Leader companion that actually has a connection with their Gym, as opposed to Kanto-Sinnoh where Brock was breaking free from that lifestyle and Unova where Cilan is presumably taking a break (presumably). With Clemont, his journey technically starts with his expulsion from his own Gym, which forced him to actually go beyond the limited and controlled enviroment of Prism Tower and see the outside world. And it so happens that he stumbles upon Ash who is rushing towards the Gym Battle and saves him from his own recklessness with his (Clemont's) own preparedness (the inflatable bag).

And honestly, I feel like that's such an amazing way to display both of their weaknesses and even a little bit of their strengths. Clemont is forced to walk around the place he was removed from/frozen by a sense of apphrension, Ash is forcing himself into a challenge he isn't ready for/blinded by passion. Clemont always being prepared while Ash is always active. The way that the anime highlights that in the two-parter by then having Clemont actively trying be complicit, little by little, in Ash's rescue of Garchomp by unlocking a side door to Prism Tower, then try to climb up to where Ash is, really shows how much he has went through in that initial meeting. Would Clemont from a day ago try to climb up Prism Tower to help save a crazed psuedo? No, but Ash's influence pushed him in ways that he never expected... even if he did freeze up at the end when Ash fell.

(the holy Clemont square of ep 2 and 3 lol)

So Clemont is deciding that Ash is the paragon of courage and that he needs to learn off him. It's interesting that 'courage' is the quality that he latches onto, because (as we learn later on) we learn that his particular problem is that he was unable to return to his Gym after getting kicked out by the robot that he built. But it wasn't that simple, was it? That robot was Clembot, a Gym Leader robot, and it utilised his own Pokemon against him-- of their free will-- to make sure that he stayed out.

Ash in relation to Pokemon and courage. These are all things that Clemont thinks are key to solving his problem. That's the reason why he takes up this journey alongside Ash, and it's his (self-perceived) failings as a Gym Leader that truly drives this reason along, because he can't face Clembot and his entire Gym Team with nothing, with an 'inexperienced Bunnelby' (literally his words), with just himself as he is.

Now this is where the AU is going to kick in because MAN does he just resolve that mini-arc/start of a greater arc so quickly (ep 9 my beloathed): Clemont avoids the Gym for some time and makes sure that everyone else does as well. He lies by ommission, because at the start the truth doesn't serve him, and then later on he's scared of their reaction, because they are one of the few people (Ash and Serena) who he's actually formed a good bond with. Despite starting this journey to discover courage that will help him take back the Gym, Clemont finds friends instead-- friends that will do anything for him, people and Pokemon. Because yes, it's not only Ash and Serena that he's found, right? It's Bunnelby and Chespin too (PLEASE WHY DOESN'T CHESPIN AID IN THE GYM TAKEBACK ;w;) (Serena could've maybe done a little more as well ngl). All of them, in conjunction, help him take back the Gym in the end. Clemont doesn't take back the Gym on his own, but with all of his friends by his side, and I think that's what really mattered at the end-- beyond out-of-the-box strategies and a malfunctioning robot. And I think that's such a beautiful lesson, that the best solution to your problems can usually be helped with teamwork and with others (courage in its own way).

(this is so beautiful fr.... :'D) (also yes the gif quality sucks here just take it pls)

Another pivotal moment in Clemont's (barely existing) Gym Leader arc is, of course, when he's getting ready to face Ash himself with the fifth badge on the line. XY EP62 / 'The Future Is Now, Thanks To Determination' is pretty light with the details, but listen I will take anything right now. And the fact that Clemont is wondering about his status as a Gym Leader and whether things should change because Ash is a friend, a friend who has taught him a lot during their journey together? Wondering if he can even face someone like Ash, who he has learnt is unpredictable, insatiable, and never stopping? And the way that he decides to take some time off to train up for it, because he remembers his promise to make it 'a Gym Battle he'll never forget' and he honestly, truly, wants to give Ash that???? He even returns Ash's call to beat him at the end by saying that he's going to win in the end PLS

Because, seriously, I'm so intrigued about the fact that he questions if it's okay for him to challenge Ash as an 'ordinary Gym Leader', and then follows it up with if he has gained enough skills to even be worthy of it. You'd expect that being an ordinary Gym Leader isn't that high with the word 'ordinary', but the way that Clemont feels like he's not worthy of it in comparison to Ash's progress?? And then he asks himself is there anything he can offer Ash as a Gym Leader???

(okay but seriously WHY didn't we go into this more???)

Ngl, the only continuation we get for this is the actual Gym Battle ep itself, which is sad because as you can see from my Clemont + Sawyer snippet, he could've done so much at the Gym. He was reflecting what it meant to be a Gym Leader independent of Ash and everyone else (which is so cool and such a nice parallel to the start where he had to get his Gym back with the power of friendship), so why didn't we see him actually interacting with other challengers? Helping them learn how to battle? Guiding them like he has seen other Gym Leaders in his journey? Finding a bit of his own groove with this whole buisiness, while also brushing up on his Pokemon's skillsets and getting ready for Ash himself. Yeah, we got Bunnelby learning Wild Charge and the whole trying to program Clembot to an Ashbot (so many implications that I'm not getting into rn), but we could've gotten so much more from that. Even the fact that Clemont is alone again has so much potential, as he's always been with Bonnie at the very least. Show us how that affects him!! And also show us him interacting with his father, his Gym Pokemon and also Clembot too now that he's finally back in Lumiose for an extended amount of time.

But even then, the fact that the Gym Battle is a continuation of their first ever battle is pretty cool lol, especially with the plot twist that Clemont throws in to throw off Ash. Not going to go through the whole Gym Battle but just,,, urgh, why didn't we get more of this?? Why didn't we see Clemont go through his reflection time thinking up of ways to stop Ash, throwing out plans and scribbling up machines to help perfect his strategies and idk maybe even take some of that creativity that Ash has (because dang it anime, Clemont is creative!! How else does he make his machines sans the names themselves??) and actually blend it with his analysis?? And for him to get a little obessessed over winning before realising through his own challengers that it isn't about winning or losing that makes the Gym Battle great or memorable, but the fact that the challenger has given it their all?? Because it feels like we got the Sparksnote version of it imo and I really like delving into cool issues like this, especially since it concerns a major aspect of one of the main characters here (no matter how much the anime wants me to forget).

OKAY, now onto other Gym Leaders because I can't keep yapping about Clemont unless I get another post (or an ask) (can you believe this is all from the anime, and specifically only at two points from S1 and S2 respectively??)

(also can I say the 'Gym Freaks' quotes on Bulbepdia never fail to get me laughing?? The games has the weirdest yet funnest scoops on Gym Leaders for sure lol)

VIOLA

Man, it's going to be hard to talk about her without getting into her relationship with Grant (in anime makes me scream, wdym they only have two appearances together???) or her relationship with Alexa (which isn't as touched upon in canon... or in my fics so far?? need to fix that) but can I just say I love this madwoman of a person fr.

I keep thinking about how dang tough she was a first Gym Leader (if we're going in order, in which most people in Kalos aren't??), with the use of ice to combat Flying Types as well as mons on the ground and Psychic as a busted move. We know that she also goes around the Battle Chateau enough to have risen to Duchess, in which wow girl you passed your in-games self and also ARE YOU OKAY???

(proof of how busted she is in the anime, fr -> going by maths she must've won around, if not at least, 227 matches by the time we see her in the anime, ready to ascend to Grand Duchess-hood) (also why is this so blurry it's not just me, right??)

Anyways, she's very competitive and I feel like that bleeds into her Gym Battling style, really challenging new Trainers (either that or really hamming it up). On one hand it's pretty harsh, but also it really gives you that sense of accomplishment and good experience/EXP yes I've got the Sawyer syndrome.

(fun lines part 1: i've noticed, even in dub, how worked up she can get in gym battles. dw girl we all know you're op, no need to kill him ^^')

But also we know that she takes breaks from the Gym (ep 1, when Alexa called ahead and had to break it to a very hyperactive Ash the bad news), can really take some stunning pics with only a fracion of her works lining the foyer of the Santalune Gym and is known as a Bug Type photographer (which I would imagine would take a lot of patience and finesse with how finicky that Type can be), and idk but I love this detail in the games where her hair barrette is a birthday gift from Valerie and her camera is another one from Alexa (she is loved!!! 🥺🥺🥺). All of these details really do lend a more comprehensive view on Viola as a person with her own interests and her own life, which is so good to have in the Pokemon anime.

We never really get to dwell on her too much AU-wise so far, but I'm thinking of a small detour way later where we meet up with her again and all that lol. She has so much more to give the group beyond a rematch and a badass showing at the Chateau-- I feel like her eye for detail with photography would work so well with Serena and possible Pokevision shenanigans (especially since Alexa is very much Like That :/ with Serena as it were), and her connections with others really gives her more chances to show up around the place and feel more grounded as a person with interests beyond destroying peoples dreams battling. Imagine a whole clothing collection Valerie made based on an album Viola filled out and gifted? Or her trekking over to a place that Alexa has scouted that is full of cool/rare Bug Types and taking her own pictures? The fact that photography relies a lot on the right place at the right time, with so many factors coming into it like lighting and angle, and how it's all condensed to singular pictures that can be interpreted differently with different people?? And the whole evanescent nature of it all can lend really well to XY themes overall just hire me writers (jk I've got the AU to scream about instead).

We've seen her in the heat of battle, so maybe the next time we see her it's in a more relaxed state where she's indulging in her own hobbies. Balacing life and work. And giving that little realisation to Ash, who was pretty bitter after the first loss, that, idk, it wasn't personal. That she has her own things going on, her own problems and her own life beyond the Gym and that battling isn't everything. Also because we deserve more casual Viola please :P

GRANT

Okay I've got to preface this by saying that yes, Grant has to have also won more or less 227 matches in the Battle Chateau exclusively in order to have been at the rank he was at the start of XY EP20 / 'Breaking Titles at the Chateau!'. They're both insane. They're both battle fiends. They both probably spent some nights over at the Chateau just battling everyone within view without taking breaks.

I mean, the WAY that we are introduced to him in the anime is so refreshing and new!! He's in a battling enviroment but not in the Gym, not in his own 'carved' out area but in a communal space where chivalry is valued above all else (why no Wikstrom here it's perfect for him ;w;). He's hanging on a wall; like seriously what a WAY to really showcase how a character is like. And Viola walking in and noticing him and he notices her and waves first?? Just what is this guy /lh

I guess this is a good place as any to really get into the infamous Grant and Viola dynamics, but dw, we'll get into Grant as an individual later. Since I love to abuse dot-points to break up the monotony of paragraphs:

The way they are so casual with each other never fails to astound me. We rarely, if ever, have Gym Leaders that know each other-- Sure, there's E4 Flint and Gym Leader/E4-adjacent Volkner, the family relationship of Champion Lance and Gym Leader Claire, and Gym Leader Juan and his mentorship with Gym Leader/Champion Wallace (and everything for the memory links in the BW2 games), but we never really get explicit relationships between actual Gym Leaders on-screen, especially in the anime!! Even in XY (help me). So the fact that Viola and Grant readily know each other is so, so good to me <33

Speaking of casual, their banter!! Please!! Viola has had enough of his wall talk but still indulges in it anyways, she doesn't even have to look at him to know he was the one who fell, and he has no shame in just brushing off the incident and just harping on about the many intricacies of walls overall. Like, c'mon, what is this:

(get a room you two /j)

They can both get serious however, and the way that he takes her word for how gutsy Ash and his Pokemon can be (with a pinch of salt heh) is pretty cool to see. Again, we don't get to see Gym Leader interactions in the anime much, so seeing how they would react to a potential challenger moving across the region is fun! Although idk how legal it is, considering how Brock once said in S1 how he can't rat out another Gym's team/type... I mean, get yourself a rival/competitive bestie/whatever they are who is just as willing to bend the rules as you are!

Their battle. Where to begin. We've seen Champions (Cynthia) go up against E4s (even in Unova... hi one and only appearance of Caitlyn in the anime, at least you actually showed up ;w;), and Gym Leader (Skyla) against idk what Cilan was doing, but woo boy do NOT skimp out on these two Kalosian Trainers. While, yes, the Type match-up left a lot to be desired, I feel as if they both got their very unique battling styles from going toe-to-toe against each other, constantly improving their techniques and working with strengths/weaknesses in mind. That's how Viola was able to react so quickly against Grant's versitile Rock Tomb, and how Grant based his whole strategy to countering her speedy attacks by pulling in Rock Polish (and that cool Rock Tomb, seriously that was so fun to see!!). Honestly, it feels like Viola might have won their last match by the way that Grant has so many countermeasures against her, but it was a very close match this time regardless (just check out the way their Flash Cannon and Signal Beam cancelled each other out!!).

(the way that they read each other... it really speaks to their experience of the other's battling style)

We get a heck-ton of it in the Battle Chateau ep, but that isn't the only time. DESPITE me being blind to the fact that people really ship that particular moment (??) the Kalos Crisis really showed how even with the burning passion to eviscerate the other in battle, they watch each others back when trouble is ahead and would even...

Ahhm. Yeah. Sacrifice themselves. XY loves people jumping off stuff, evidently lol. But seriously, even with me and the rivals/competitive besties goggles on, you can tell that they really value and care for each other!!

About Grant himself, well, he's definitely a character and a half with his... okay I'm going to stop thinking about walls, lol. He doesn't actually get introduced as a Gym Leader until the very end of this episode; initially, Ash (and the gang, yes, that includes Clemont for some reason) is led to believe that he is just a strong Trainer by the COTD and Viola, and he doesn't correct them. He only-- just barely, may I add-- remembers to tell Ash that yes, they will meet again in Cyllage, and that's what clues them into his actual status. Which is interesting in the way that a lot of the Gym Leaders in Kalos are just met as ordinary folk-- Viola was just taking pics of Ash before following up after him, and Grant was just having fun at the Chateau (and Clemont was wandering around Lumiose is he okay?? /j). We've come a long way from just meeting the Gym Leaders straight up in their Gyms in Kanto, that's for sure.

And his Gym?? Immaculate. The famous rock-climbing wall (which he made optional!! It has no ill effect on the way your challenge is accepted!!) is such a cool way for him to connect with challengers, showcasing his love for (Rock Type) Pokemon and giving Trainers a new view, so to speak.

(also check out the gangs faces 5 seconds after lol VVV)

The way that he gets them to experience the wall so he can use it as an apt metaphor for what challengers should do is so (>///<); his whole strategy really is to just focus on what's ahead, always climbing up, never staying in one place. This really appeals to Ash, who obviously takes this lesson in full-heartedly, but it's also such a good lesson in life (and for everyone else in the gang as well). Don't look back. Keep moving ahead. There is no wall you can't climb.

And Grant?

Well, he's a wall too. And he wants you to go at him full-throttle, with all the Pokemon that you've got and the experience that you've gained, to overcome him. To show, with every fiber of your being, down to the very skin of your teeth, that you are ready for the League. That you've got what it takes to take the rest of the Gym Challenge on. That you, at 100%, can scale that wall and make it out of it just fine.

It's a hell of a way to battle, I'm sure (Just like with Viola; why are all of the Gyms so dang hardcore lol). But this is the guy who made it to the top rank of the Battle Chateau advocating that there is always something more to climb. He can walk that walk for sure lol.

The thing that I love about the later Pokemon series (and especially earlier XY imo) is how they handle the Gym Leaders, with all of these extra details that we never knew we needed beforehand that really build up their character. They're no longer 'random mentor figure that I've got to beat to show my worth', they're actual people with their own interests, their own lives outside, their own struggles and their own growth. They're not static. They're not just obstacles. And super fun eps like the Battle Chateau and arcs like Korrina's really do help in humanising them and making not only the wins more worthy and memorable, but also giving us new people to love and root for all the same.

Also I know this is supposed to be about them but just one (1) thing I want to touch on about the Battle Chateau:

C'mon. It has so much potential. It's literally spelt there. WHY DIDN'T CLEMONT DO ANYTHING HERE PLS :'((( Or even Serena!! It would be a nice place for her to go her own pace and try battling without the stress of... Viola or Grant lol. More ideas for me ig.

For the AU, well, we've already seen quite a bit of Grant lol. Transferring my romance-blind ass onto him and magnifying it was so fun lol, I feel like it goes so well against Monsieur Skittish at the top there/Clemont and Madame Very Intense At Time/Viola. It even said in the Teraleak how there are a bunch of ladies that like him but he thinks they're a nuisance like DAMN okay, I get it heh, you like your space. His love for walls is perfect, no notes or additions lol. He can handle social situations well, it's just that the nuance in relationships frequently fly over his head in a 'will-spam-your-phone-at-1am-if-you-missed-an-appointment-and-you've-only-met-once' sort of thing. What can I say? That's just his way of caring. And his Pokemon team reflect that in a way-- he plays with them just as much as he trains with them, and that's how he gets all of these cool moves. Amaura slides around on ice a lot and Onix can't really keep up, so that's how he learnt to counter her speed in such a way. Tyrunt hates ice though, so using moves that trains up its legs so it can break the ice or jump away from it, since its speed isn't the best, are some of the ways that Grant decided to do after training Tyrunt against Amaura. And Amaura is a very skittish Pokemon ('hey, she's kind of like you, Clemont!' 'stop it!') so Thunder Wave can stay lol, to boost her confidence.

Carefree and reckless and in a way, going for broke himself. A very fun guy who enjoys life to the fullest, and dang if I can't respect that. I've got to stop talking about him ONLY but just, argh, he's so interesting to me!! We'll definitely be seeing him soon with his Gym (many fics later... which is soon enough ig heh), and even afterwards, so I'll probably have more coherent thoughts there (this goes for every character I write about here because my opnions and thoughts always change around every day and while it allows perspective it is so tiring lol).

Also it's not just me, right?

(grant words coming out of previously-skittish kid, more at 7)

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Extra Parts because Tumblr hates my images: 2 | 3