#FACADE DAMAGE BUILDS UP OVER TIME

[brownstonerenovation]

4 REASONS FOR FACADE RESTORATION & MAINTENANCE

Facade restoration plays a central role in your external building maintenance construction. Professional facade repair and cleaning can remove built-up damage and protect against future problems. Read our top four reasons why you should prioritize brownstone facade restoration.

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#1: Facade restoration increases property value #2: Help fix weather-induced damage #3: Prevents costly future repairs #4: Identifies important facade priorities Your building facade plays a central role in the aesthetic value of your property. An up-to-date, well-maintained exterior makes a strong first impression that bolsters your reputation and attracts profitable tenants and customers.

By including proactive brownstone facade restoration in your building maintenance construction, you can preserve these benefits while lowering the cost of facade repairs over the long term. Keep reading to find out more about our four top reasons why you should consider facade restoration in Brooklyn, NY.

1. CUSTOM PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE BOOSTS FACADE VALUE

Preventive maintenance for your facade involves decisions about the appropriate cleaning methods and products to use. Because every facility is unique, maintenance should be customized based on a number of factors such as building size and materials, geographic location, and types of property damage to be addressed.

TYPES OF PREVENTATIVE FACADE MAINTENANCE SERVICE IN BROOKLYN, NY Metal restoration brings back the color and luster of assets including anodized aluminum, stainless steel, and copper, and adds a layer of protection against future damage.

Window frames become facade restoration or develop an unsightly chalky appearance. When addressed early, proper maintenance techniques restore the proper color and sheen. High-performance paints can update the appearance of window frames or conceal permanent damage.

Professional glass restoration corrects etching, hard water damage, oxidation, and other problems that cannot be addressed by cleaning alone. Window glass is vulnerable to hard water and moisture buildup, ultraviolet light, extreme temperatures, and precipitation. It also takes abuse during manufacturing, distribution, and construction.

Brownstone facade restoration contractor includes cleaning and sealing to protect against future damage. Other stone maintenance services include power washing, vandalism or graffiti removal, and removing efflorescence from brick surfaces.

2. FACADE DAMAGE BUILDS UP OVER TIME

One of the reasons why facade restoration contractor is all too easy to neglect is that most of the damage accumulates slowly, over months or even years, rather than from a single, dramatic event.

Characteristics of the building, including age, construction materials, and texture Volume and type of traffic patterns The local climate, including hot or cold temperatures, high winds, and precipitation Salt and organic deposits in coastal regions like Brooklyn and New York City Soiling and pollutants build up over time and may include acid rain, industrial emissions, or environmental oxidation

3. NEGLECTING MAINTENANCE NOW EQUALS MORE COSTLY REPAIRS LATER

Extensive deterioration hurts the value of your property and can become a safety hazard. It’s also more difficult and more expensive to fix the longer you wait.

Soiling from dust, dirt, and other debris doesn’t just degrade the appearance of your building. It also conceals structural defects like deterioration, corrosion, fractures, and cracks, so they’re more likely to remain undetected. Harmful water penetration can weaken the structure, increasing the risk of mishaps including falling debris or even facade failure. You may also be held liable for injuries caused by accidents in which neglected damage was a factor.

4. FACADE INSPECTIONS TELL YOU WHAT TO PRIORITIZE

Regular inspections by a trusted service provider are the first step toward making facade restoration in Brooklyn a routine part of doing business instead of something you put off until later.

Look for surface damage such as warping, cracking, loose screws, building settlement or shifting, and water leaks. Check all building openings which could be a source of water leakage, such as doors, windows, and vents. Identify structural damage that could cause leaks or moisture build-up, including cracks, disappearing sealants, and pollutants. Inspect for damage to roof elements including copings and flashings, as well as debris clogging gutters, downspouts, and drains. Keep detailed records of all inspection findings along with the results of prior maintenance and repair activity.

Do you have questions about facade restoration for your facility? Contact Captain Renovation & Contracting Inc Specialty Services today! We have a Great Reputation with three decades of experience as a brownstone contractor providing excellent service in Brownstone facade restoration, masonry repointing, and cornice repair contractor. We also serve related general construction services like Roofing Restoration, Brick Pointing, Cement Plaster, Waterproofing, Stucco Renovation, Kitchen Renovation, Bathroom Remodeling, Conice Replacement, Cornice Repair, And Paint Contractor in Brooklyn, Manhattan, New York.

HERE YOU CAN FIND NEW YORK NEW YORK TOP MASONRY CONTRACTORS WHO ARE THE BEST FOR PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL FACADE RENOVATION SERVICES.

https://captaincontracting.com/4-reasons-for-facade-restoration-maintenance/

[hyperactively-me]

regency era!ghost x reader au (part 5)

Simon stands alone in his study, the soft glow of candlelight the only thing keeping him company. The servants of the house are well asleep, the rain and thunder outside providing a soothing lullaby. The flickering light casts long shadows across the room, highlighting his furrowed eyebrows. His mind is consumed with thoughts of the evening he spent with you not long ago at the ball, the memory of your touch lingering in his mind. 

But why?

You both have mutual contempt for one another.

Simon sighs out loud, admitting to himself that he was rude and presumptuous in his every interaction with you leading up to this point. It wasn’t fair to you for him to be so condescending, especially upon your initial introduction. He had overstepped his bounds time and time again, disregarding your autonomy and treating you despicably. The more he thinks about it, the more guilt he feels consuming his soul. It's a behavior unbecoming of a man of his station, let alone a Duke.

He recalls the sensation of holding you in his arms, guiding you through the steps of the dance. Your face appears, beautiful and doe-eyed. The memory of your touch, the way your hand had fit so perfectly in his as you danced together, haunts him. Confusion gnaws at his heart, mingling with a sense of longing that he struggles to understand.

He had never been one to dwell on matters of the heart, always preferring the clarity of duty and discipline. But ever since that night, he finds himself haunted by thoughts of you, unable to shake the memory of your fiery spirit and unwavering resolve. He knew that he should resist the pull of his emotions, that he should keep his distance and maintain the facade of indifference that had served him so well in the past.

Simon paces restlessly across the room, his footsteps echoing in the silence of the moonlight. He can't help but question the nature of his feelings. Why does he feel this undeniable pull towards you, despite the animosity that had characterized your every interaction in the past?

He rakes a hand through his hair, frustration building within him. It's absurd, uncalled for, he tells himself. He has no place in your world, no right to entertain thoughts of romance or longing. He's an ex-soldier turned Duke, duty-bound and disciplined, while you are a lady of society, born and bred. 

And yet, despite the vast divide that separates you and him, Simon can’t help but yearn for something more. He finds himself drawn to your spirit, captivated by your character. He stops by the window and glances outside, watching rivulets of raindrops trickle down the glass. 

He knows that he should put an end to these foolish thoughts, that he should focus on matters of state and leave behind any notion of romantic entanglements. And yet, try as he might, he can't shake the image of you from his mind.

As Simon grapples with his conflicting emotions, restlessness settles over him like a thick fog. He can't just forget the way you had stirred something within him, awakening feelings he had thought dormant. It's a disconcerting realization, one that leaves him feeling vulnerable and exposed in a way he has never experienced before.

What are you doing to him?

With a heavy sigh, Simon sinks into the nearest chair, his thoughts swirling. He knew he had to mend his relationship with you, apologize to you, beg for your forgiveness until he could no longer stand under the weight of his guilt. But how could he even begin to approach you after the way he had treated you all this time? The dance at the ball was not enough to make up the damage he has done. He refuses to let his pride stand in the way of mending this. 

If he truly wants to make amends and seek redemption in your eyes, he must take action, no matter how daunting the prospect may be.

Lost in his thoughts, Simon’s gaze falls upon the box of stationery resting on his desk. With a start, Simon rises from his chair and strides purposefully towards his writing desk. He picks up his quill, the inkwell glistening in the candlelight, and begins to write. 

At first, the right words are difficult to come by. Each stroke of the quill feels heavy with the weight of his remorse, yet he presses on, determined to convey the depths of his regret. Slowly but surely, the words begin to flow, a heartfelt apology taking shape on the paper before him. 

He writes apologies of his wrongdoing, acknowledging the hurt he has caused and expressing his sincere desire to make amends. He doesn’t hold back, baring his very soul in a way he never thought he could. Every word is written with care, every sentence crafted with the hope of earning your forgiveness. 

Content with what he wrote, he seals the letter with wax and his crest. This letter may be a small gesture, but it is a step towards reconciliation. 

With the letter in hand, Simon stands, making his way through the corridors of his grand estate. Finally reaching the foyer, Simon pauses before the heavy oak door, his hand trembling slightly as he clutches the letter tightly. Outside, the rain continues to patter against the window panes. 

Summoning his courage, Simon steps out into the night, the cool raindrops soaking him to the core as he rides his steed to your residence. His heart rattles in his chest as your residence comes into view, undeterred by his goal. 

As he approaches your doorstep, Simon hesitates for moment; but he knows that he cannot turn back now, that he must face this head on. 

With a deep breath, Simon raises his hand and raps upon the door, the sound resonating into the halls of your home. For a moment, there is only silence, broken only by the distant rumble of thunder.

Then, the doors swing open, revealing a servant. 

“It’s urgent,” is all Simon says. 

With a polite nod, the servant gestures for Simon to enter, his expression a mix of curiosity and bewilderment at the Duke's unexpected visit at such an ungodly hour. Simon steps inside, the warmth of the foyer enveloping him like a comforting embrace after the chill of the rain.

As he removes his dripping coat and hands it to the waiting servant, Simon's heart pounds in his chest, his nerves frayed. His jaw set with determination, Simon follows the servant to the drawing room.

“Please, Your Grace, wait here.” 

Simon nods, then takes a seat on the couch. He doesn’t really care that he’s getting it wet; his mind is consumed by thoughts of you. Each passing moment feels like an eternity as he waits for your presence, his heart racing. 

Finally, the door opens, and you step into the room, just dressed in a nightgown and robe. Your eyes widen in surprise at the sight of a soaking wet Duke seated before you. The moment you step into the room, Simon shoots up from his seat, giving you a quick bow. 

“Your Grace,” you say, utterly confused. ��Uh, to what do I owe the… pleasure of this unexpected visit? And in the middle of the night?

Simon’s gaze never leaves yours as he approaches you with measured steps. 

“You’re soaking wet,” is all you can manage to say when he is only a few paces away from you. His hair is sticking to his forehead, and you can see his dress shirt plastered to his defined chest underneath his jacket. Your eyes flit back up to his face. 

Simon halts in his approach. “Please, forgive the intrusion at this late hour, but I’ve come to speak with you, if you’ll allow me,” he begins, his voice gentle yet earnest. 

You regard him with suspicion and guarded interest, unsure of what to make of his unexpected visit. With a nod, you invite him to take a seat, your demeanor polite but guarded. Simon accepts your offer, settling himself into the chair opposite yours, the letter still clutched tightly in his hand. 

“I’ve… I’ve come to apologize,” he begins, his words measured and deliberate. “For the unkindness I have shown you, for the harsh words spoken in haste, for my arrogance and presumption. I… I realize now that I was mistaken, that I had no right to treat you with such disrespect and animosity. Please, my lady, please forgive me.” 

He extends the letter to you, the parchment slightly damp from the rain, the wax seal bearing his crest glistening in the soft light of the room. You take the letter cautiously, your fingers brushing against his freezing fingers as you do so.

Slowly, you unfold the letter, the sound of the parchment crackling in the silence of the room. Simon watches you intently, his breath caught in his throat as he waits for your response.

With each word you read, you feel a shift within you—a softening of the walls around your heart, a willingness to believe that Simon is truly apologetic. His words are, from what you can tell, sincere; each sentence bears the weight of his remorse. As you reach the end of the letter, you look up to find Simon watching you with bated breath, his expression a mix of hope and trepidation.

For a long moment, you say nothing, the silence stretching between you like a taut rope. You study him, searching his face for any hint of insincerity, but all you find is remorse shining in his eyes. Despite yourself, a flicker of something akin to hope stirs within you—the smallest glimmer of possibility that perhaps Mister Riley is not the cold-hearted Duke you believe him to be. And then, finally, you speak, your voice soft but steady.

"I accept your apology, Mister Riley,” you say, your words measured. "But, know that forgiveness is not easily earned, nor is trust quickly regained. I will give you a chance to prove yourself, but know that I will not tolerate any further disrespect or mistreatment.”

Simon's eyes widen in disbelief, gratitude shining in their depths. "Thank you," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. “I will do everything in my power to make things right, to earn your trust and respect.”

With a nod, you hand the letter back to him. The journey toward forgiveness will not be easy, but for the first time, you allow yourself to believe that it might just be possible. And as Simon rises from his seat, a sense of hope blossoms within you—a hope that, perhaps, despite your history, there may yet be a more peaceful future worth fighting for.

part 4 < what was written in the letter? > part 6

[possamble]

Do you have any headcanons or thoughts about Falin having a crush on Marcille pre-canon? Especially during her later years at the school/the years she was with Laios.

Just full on "awkward and slightly gnc teenage lesbian has a massive crush on the touchy-feely girly girl straight best friend" tropes everywhere. Even better bc it's the "best friend is also the popular girl while lesbian is the slightly ostracized quiet one" dynamic in school. Falin gets so so so good at not having a heart attack every time Marcille gets in her personal space. But she's so resigned to never saying anything bc why would a girl as blinding as Marcille ever like her back. She also doesn't make an effort to get over it either, she's just content to be trapped in that stable dynamic of silently being in love with Marcille while getting to enjoy CLEARLY being Marcille's favourite person. She gets so used to it that it's almost just background noise most of the time-- it would have to be, unless she wanted to be freaking out 24/7 bc Marcille is so goddamn affectionate.

Her feelings also definitely change throughout the time that they're in school together-- at first it was this "whooaaah pretty older girl" puppy crush that you can clearly see developing in the flashbacks we get (I think she doesn't even like... realize her fixation on Marcille is romantic at all until years after it starts, when she's 12-14 ish and all the other girls around her are talking about crushes). But then they get closer, over the years Marcille starts getting really attached and letting down her guard, and Falin gets to see the ridiculous side of her. She gets to calm her down from her tantrums when experiments don't work out, or help her clean up when something explodes in her face. I feel like the progression of her feelings from "schoolgirl infatuation" to "unrequited love" probably almost exactly corresponds to how slowly Marcille goes from trying to keep Falin at a polite but friendly distance (like she does with everyone else) to her facade completely eroding as she becomes her cheerful and ridiculous self again for the first time since her father died.

That's probably the saddest part: Falin knows that she's clearly Marcille's favourite person on the surface level, but she doesn't quite fully grasp the enormity of what that means to Marcille. She doesn't get that she's the person who made the world colorful again for Marcille, that she is the first person outside of Marcille's family to really and truly make her laugh. She just thinks she's the beloved but dinky little short-lived sidekick, one of many that Marcille has had and will have.

Part of it is that, despite Marcille becoming such a clingy and affectionate best friend, I think her initial demeanour already did its damage. You see Falin being super adventurous and weird at first, bringing Marcille berries and other stuff, only to be rebuffed by Marcille exasperatedly saying she's working or looking kind of put off by it. And by the time you see her a little older, shes already quieter and better at masking -- and I'm not saying that that's entirely Marcille's fault (being the weird girl at an all girls academy for almost the entirety of her teenhood must have been brutal, my god) but she definitely learned that she's a potential nuisance to Marcille if she doesn't tone herself down. She learned that Marcille most likely sees her as a weird little kid following her around bc she has no other friends. And for the most part, she was never given any reason to unlearn any of that.

And that all very very smoothly transitions into Marcille being her "first love that was never meant to be anyway" when she leaves the academy. Chapter closed in her mind: she loved and pined from a distance and that was that. Every now and then she'll see another woman with Marcille's build or her shade of hair and be like ":( I miss her..." But then just kinda move on with her day. Same with when she's going through her own spellbook and finds a note that Marcille left her/correction that she made-- she'll smile fondly and reminisce about how much Marcille doted on her, and then move on.

Sometimes she thinks about contacting Marcille but convinces herself that it's too late (she spent too many months focusing on getting Laios healthy again and didn't mean to go no contact, but ah well). It's only when she has a practical reason to be reaching out that would also benefit Marcille ("Marcille is studying dungeons and we need a trustworthy mage to go with us to the dungeons") that she feels like she's allowed/that it wouldn't just be 100% a nuisance.

I almost think she didn't expect Marcille to reply at all, only to get a telegraph (or some in-universe equivalent of express mail, maybe magical pigeon carrier) that's like. EN ROUTE TO ISLAND. LETTER TO FOLLOW. and she freaks out like AAAA LAIOS SHE SAID YES WE HAVE TO CLEAN UP NOW.

I do think getting a response accidentally sparks a little hope in her, judging by the way she acts in the chp 57 flashback-- she's pouty that Marcille sees her as a kid, gets really worked up about being presentable, and then tries to play it cool when she actually meets Marcille (as if she didn't freak out and force Laios to shave while rambling a mile a minute about Marcille). She's an adult now, really and truly, and she's seen and survived things that her 18 yr old self would have never even imagined-- then all of a sudden, the person she was in love with since she was ten years old appears, and she's so desperate to be seen as mature and competent. She's trying soooo hard to impress Marcille with her newfound combat and dungeoneering experience...

Only to fall right back into their old dynamic. RIP. At least she gets the girl eventually, even if it takes dying twice and being the core catalyst behind an almost-apocalypse.

[vaguely-concerned]

I think the most defining thing about kremy as a person is that he desperately wants to be a man with a mustache -- while being physically, biologically incapable of producing hair follicles lol. like no wonder he takes to drag so much, that's basically most of what he's already doing with his outward identity! and the physical aspect of that is smaller, I feel, than what he's got going on psychologically. he's someone who doesn't want to be -- can't be? -- who and what he is, and who can't be what he wants to be because what he wants to be doesn't really exist, so he lives his life somewhere on the border between them. the almiraj might be no mirage, but the perfectly clever and charming and utterly untouchable version of kremy that kremy would like to be -- instead of the vulnerable neurotic mess of longing and fear and striving for control he clearly actually is -- absolutely is, I'm afraid. it's just a shadow on the wall with nothing real to cast it.

(all of this also goes into the many Gender and trans readings of him too, of course! men will say they’re fighting demons and the demons are trying to live up to a very specific brand of toxic masculinity they've sort of invented for themselves lol)  

the one deep down entrenched assumption we see kremy make again and again especially interpersonally is that if he's open with who he really is and what he feels or thinks at any given time, he would be revealed as fundamentally unacceptable and at best discarded and abandoned, at worst endangered. (it's literally spelled out with the cyclops in the witchlight carnival, but you see him go through this process all the time through the rest of the story too! being unable to lie or dissemble was a catastrophic event in this dude’s inner landscape. I’m sure that means nothing) and because he is also frequently kind of awful this assumption may not be entirely off base some of the time lol (deeply affectionate), but I think it comes from a much deeper place than that. kremy is ashamed of where he's from and who he's been -- that dirt poor wide-eyed kid from the swamp who saw all the fancy gentlemen in town and Wanted. wanted to be that, wanted to have that power, probably some confused sexuality want mixed up with it all as well for spice. wanted more than anything, perhaps, to BE something, because next to that he feels like nothing. which means abandoning the earnest kid who guilelessly loved unicorns and his meemaw and cooking without meaning to impress anyone and silly soft things in the swamp he came from while he went off to the big city and modeled himself after men like garou. (and his relationship with garou surely also had some effects on just how shifty he's become at intimacy too, aside from the building a facade of it all, that might be some secondary damage that was not his fault nor in his control at all)

even when he's acting seemingly shamelessly, he is fundamentally a shame-based psychology, is what I'm trying to get at. the only times he lets his thoughts and emotions out into the world unfiltered is when he's brought to a point of frustration where he throws up his hands and abandons manipulation or subtle machinations as an interpersonal tactic -- see: the several times he argues something with frost or gricko and then finally admits 'I literally don't actually care about this! you guys figure it out and deal with this if it matters so much to you I'm going to bed ffs' haha. his depression shines through when he’s too tired to hide it, especially in the later episodes. every open emotion is an admission he really didn't want to make and thinks is tactically disadvantageous for him. (and sometimes when he's being really for real he'll even admit to being worse than people gave him credit for, like when he admits he suspected mr. witch and mr. light were capable of doing something really really bad to torbek and handed him over anyway. kremy being that blunt and open is like. remarkable and also a sign that he's actually taking it seriously, for all that he's also revealing himself to be even more of an asshole than previously suspected lmao. that's not nothing, for kremy. BUT at the same time he is also the person who cried to see a unicorn broken and abused, and who saw something in gideon upon meeting him that no one else did or cared to at that time and offered him genuine companionship and support — as the story goes on he’s starting to admit to more things about himself, the bad and the good.)

all of which of course also is why he's having such a hard time being honest with gideon about how he feels (and the sheer immensity with which he feels it too, probably) -- that's incredibly vulnerable for a person who’s built himself up around the idea of never being vulnerable. ('i'm just a shadow, nothing you do can really touch or hurt me.') And yet if there’s peace and redemption to be found for kremy, if only within his own soul, between these versions of himself, I feel that discovering and accepting his own capacity for loving someone else so much that it transcends all selfishness or fear would be integral to it. (he loves gideon. So much it makes me a bit dizzy you guys)

[sepublic]

People still ask how Belos died from being stomped on when he survived something similar in King’s Tide. People, Belos was still healthy enough to defeat the Hexsquad even when he was being drained of magic; He hasn’t retained any physical damage from the fight until the Collector steps in.

In S3 Belos is dying just from existing and needs a host, he’s still breaking down even when inside the host because he emerges from Raine in a worse state than when he entered;

(At the very least, Raine whistling Belos out of their body whittled down his form even further.)

It’s almost as if the crew emphasized in For the Future what a terrible state Belos was in, with him saying aloud he needs a host, to set up why he can’t survive the same injury he did last time. It’s like these details were here for a reason. Belos hasn’t had a Palisman in two months (something the show emphasizes he needs) and both the Day of Unity and Vee also drained his magic, the former doing it for a decent while uninterrupted no less. He did rebuild himself, but then Belos began to fall apart from starvation; He tried to address it by absorbing Flapjack —the show’s way of reminding you what’s missing— but Hunter stopped him and contributed to Belos’ death.

(So not only did Hunter assert his agency, he helped kill his uncle without having the additional trauma of directly doing/seeing it, and it led to Flapjack’s life force being left to save Hunter; So Hunter got Belos killed, saved himself, and stood up for himself!)

Even if Belos survived being stomped on, he’d just be a puddle of goop but be unable to build himself back up as he continued breaking down. There was nothing around and even if Belos possessed something, he’d still keep degrading the whole time until he dies truly, and at that rate the host might just wait for Belos to perish without needing someone to save them. Belos is dead, he knew he was dead.

People also ask how Belos can turn back into Philip at the end and not only is it a literally paper-thin facade and the curse is there underneath. But they forgot he already did the same thing in King’s Tide by turning his face back around Hunter (but not his whole body, he’s being killed by his draining spell at that moment); But it falls apart fast, esp when angry. Only Palisman essence can fully turn Belos back into a human.

And we see the curse was overtaking him even in that state, and when Belos hides the mold on his face it re-emerges when he’s angry. He’s always had this ability, but it’s superficial and doesn’t last long. Belos can’t even truly hide the mold on his face when he’s human, he couldn’t tangibly turn back into a human when he was fully transformed, and he’s never going to, he can only create a facade. Maybe Belos could’ve briefly turned young, but he always defaults back to his ‘natural’ state, which at first was an old human but over time has become the curse beast.

Finally, why didn’t Belos possess the Titan from the start? I don’t think he even knew he could do that until he had to figure it out during the two-month gap. He didn’t even turn into a monster yet when he decided on the draining spell with the Collector, his eyes just went blue as we see in the memories with Caleb, or his flesh writhed.

Belos always reverted his curse form with Palismen because he loathed and didn’t want to experiment with it. But after S2 his body began to break down, Belos had no other options, so that’s how he figured it out, and then applied that realization to the Titan’s heart in his castle after the Collector reminded him of it.

[animeyanderelover]

Good afternoon this is my second time request here so can I request a yandere muzan and all upper moons x tsunade reader

I did not include all Upper Moons since I'm not comfortable with writing for some of them. I left out Hantengu and instead used some of his other forms and I completely left out Gyokko. Also a little fun fact, Tsunade was my first Anime crush.

@leveyani @kanaosprotector

Tw: Yandere themes, toxic relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional behavior, controlling behavior, stalking, clinginess, paranoia, manipulation, gaslighting, blackmailing, isolation, violence, abduction, death

S/o has abilities like Tsunade

Kibutsuji Muzan

🩸���As someone who has a god complex and sees himself as the nearly perfect being if it wouldn't be for his one single flaw, your mere existence is a punch in the guts for Muzan. He has always belittled your kind for being weak and powerless so your existence and inhumane strength is an experience he refuses to acknowledge. You are so unlike anyone he has ever met with your strength, your speed and even your healing abilities that should be something only a demon possesses. You are frighteningly close to being the pinnacle of your kind and the only consolation Muzan latches on is the fact that despite all of your feats you are still only a human. You are a fading and ultimately wasted potential. He builds his confidence up by focusing on the aspect of your mortality as the demon starts terrorizing you whilst flaunting his own superiority due to his immortal in front of you. Nevertheless, his interest in science is one of many things that earn you his obsession.

🩸​Muzan wants to know how your body works and how you are able to use such strength and regeneration that should be a feat only used by demons. Despite his utter fascination he also feels a much more intense need to have control over such a darling as such abilities will only lead to a rebellious attitude from your side. Your strength outmatches even a demon and your regeneration abilities, although not as quick nor as consistent as those of a demon make you a fearsome enemy. So fearsome in fact that even Muzan tends to shy away from confronting you directly out of an underlying fear to be beaten and to be forever humiliated by you. He starts making excessive use of poison, drugs or abilities from his demons that influence your senses to keep you tame and harmless. He feels much more compelled to turn you quickly into a demon as the lack of a gap in power between you and him triggers him and he hopes to make you more obedient by turning you with his blood.

Kokushibo

🌙​Kokushibo who would normally show more lenience to his human darling despite being very adamant about them following his instructions and rules is forced into a rather unique position due to your own potential which makes him unable to show any restriction. A part of him seems to even take delight upon discovering your potential and he goes as far as praising your abilities and your strength and despite his own attempts to show a bit of mercy, sometimes he goes out whenever you act up and try to break free from the control he tries to submit you to. Such attempted outbursts of yours are seen as less pathetic from his side as he acknowledges that you have actual bite behind your bark and aren't only putting up a mere facade. Kokushibo is very interested in your true potential so it happens that he doesn't go easy on you at all whenever a violent fight between the two of you should happen only to gauge your own abilities in return.

🌙​Yet he stops damaging your body too severely when he comes to know that in extreme situations you shorten your own lifespan to instantly heal all of your wounds. He starts suggesting to you that turning into a demon would be very beneficial for you as your own strength might be amplified and you wouldn't have to shorten your own life even if you would be inflicted with severe wounds. Despite his firm belief that becoming a demon would do good for you there is an underlying fear he holds inside of him. He fears that you may even surpass him in strength when you turn into one of his kind and that he would ultimately lose the control he has somewhat over you completely then. Because his admiration for your strength only holds as long as he can confidently believe that he still outclasses you. If this belief of his should start wavering the insecurities he has buried would reappear and would remove all restraint he has shown to you so far.

Douma

❄️​Douma will give you an headache and not the other way around. He is mirthful and has a damaging delusional streak going on that make it pretty much impossible for you to anger him in most cases. Instead he finds the little quarrels you two have going on very cute and adorable. His little flower has such a short temper and he finds it unbelievably sweet. Only god knows how he can interpret you bashing his skull into pieces with your fists as romantic but he does it either way, commenting on how strong you are as soon as he regenerates. It is never seen as a fight for your own freedom whenever both of you get violent but as nothing but a lovers quarrel where he allows you to vent out some of your angry temper to enable you to cool off again, even if that includes some visible destruction to your surroundings. It is instead much more common for him to be highly displeased whenever one of his followers suggests you to be an unworthy partner for him and you have witnessed him murdering such people gleefully soon after their insults have been spoken.

❄️​Douma allows you to go all out whenever you feel the need to blow off some steam but he also very rarely holds back in such scenarios. Especially your ability to heal your own wounds seems to make him disturbingly giddy and increases his sadistic nature as he loves hurting you only to watch you heal the injury he has given you. He knows that it isn't as efficient as his own regeneration abilities but at times he forgets it and injures you seriously in a rush of sadistic joy. Much to his dismay there are times where he can't spare you and your anger too much time in which case he uses his Blood Demon Art to immobilize you and to render you unable to fight anymore. He expresses genuine unhappiness though when he eventually finds out how you shorten your own lifespan when you have suffered from risky wounds as he would actually like to preserve your humanity for as long as he can in order to enjoy your adorable and fierce personality. Don't shorten such precious time.

Akaza

👊​Akaza usually loves himself a strong opponent and a good fight but there are two factors that majorly hamper any enjoyment he could potentially feel in this scenario. One is the mere fact that you just happen to be his darling which automatically makes him much more mellow and protective over you even despite your ridiculous strength. Another factor will be if you are also female which only increases his uncomfortableness as he doesn't kill any women. It is this lack of euphoria and his own obsession that make your situation easier as he never really attacks you when you fight against him. He only defends himself but you never sense any murderous intent from him as he takes your hits with a conflicted and unhappy look on his face before dodging and trying to restrain you without hurting you. Even your ability to heal yourself faster and better than any human doesn't take away from his resolve to to not injure you and to not fight against you with his full power.

👊​Akaza could be even pressured into a compromise as he usually lets his anger and frustration out on his surroundings or an unfortunate man he comes across and never directly on you. The worst reaction you have ever forced out of him included him smashing something nearby brutally with a clenched fist all whilst veins of frustration popped up on his temples as he gave you a sharp and heavy glare but he never has gotten physical with you. There are limits to how willing he is to compromise with you and if you should truly test his patience until he is at his limit he will find other ways to ground you. Whilst he will keep his hands away from you, if you should have male family members or friends he will resort to blackmail you by threatening their lives just to have something that will help him to keep you under some control. Even if those methods should grearly upset you, he hopes that you will comply with this ultimatum for the sake of your family and friends.

Sekido

😡​Sekido as the manifestation of Hantengu's anger will be probably the worst match you could have. He is constantly in a bad mood as it is but the mere fact that he is as obsessed with you as he is will be only fuel to his flaring emotions and only increase his emotions to the point where even he feels overwhelmed. On the one hand he hates you and wants to see you suffer for his obsession which you didn't even intend to happen but at the same time he is far too possessive to let you leave, even in death. This is already complicated enough as it is yet your own strength and your abilities only make everything so much more worse than it is already. He has a very dominant personality so he expects you to submit to his control and will even use violence to force you into obedience. He wants to enjoy the fear and the power he holds over you with sadistic glee so your own strange abilities only make everything so much worse. How dare you go against him like this?

😡​He is absolutely ruthless as restraint is something he has never shown and Sekido won't start with it now just because you are his darling. He will fight for the control and your submission and he will willingly use methods such as violence and fear if it brings him his desired result. He won't hold back with his electricity, especially when he realizes that you have abilities that allow you to heal and regenerate as it only triggers him to be even more vicious and violent when he battles against you. The injuries and wounds you sustain whilst fighting him are the worst as he constantly loses himself in his anger and only really stops when you are already half dead, trembling and shaking in anger as he barks at you if you have finally learned not to oppose him and to listen to him instead. You will have to use the Creation Rebirth a lot if you want to speed up recovery and escape from the worst damage and true to the emotion he is meant to represent, Sekido will be furious when he finds out that you shorten your own lifespan and insult your incompetence.

Karaku

🤪​Similar to a scenario with Douma, Karaku will be the one who manges to infuriate you constantly as he never seems to get serious even in rather dire situations. Karaku is the manifestation of pleasure and he seems to take everything as just a game. It is pretty much the same when it comes to the morbid obsession he develops for you. It is something he perceives as new, as exciting, as thrilling and that leads him down a path where you find yourself unable to get some time for yourself as Karaku has to constantly monopolize your time and gauge all of your reactions for the sake of satiating his own curiosity. So in the strangest turn of events he even encourages you to showcase all of your abilities to him to feed his own curiosity and to amuse him even further. Be aware that everything you do will only fuel the obsession he has with you though, especially your angry outbursts manage to only enrapture him more even if you should punch a fist through his stomach.

🤪​Everything you do only fascinates and amuses him even more so you can do whatever you want to try to scare him away but nothing will really work. Truly fascinating is perhaps that Karaku actually has a lower probability of kidnapping you as he actually prefers it much more to just to intrude in your own private life. That is the furthest thing from being safe though as he might kill and eat some of your family or friends if he should feel like it only to amuse himself by watching your reaction to it. The only time he will ever actually take you by force would be if you try to escape the terror with green eyes that constantly torments you. Only then will he feel motivated to abduct you but that comes with the terrible situation where you are forced to spend every waking hour with him all whilst he asks you to show him more of your skills. If you try to switch strategies by ignoring him and avoiding him, you will certainly manage to actually annoy him after a while as he despises if you try to keep anything from him, even your daily activities.

Aizetsu

😔​Aizetsu could be almost bearable, but only almost as he is still a demon who has an obsession with you. Yet it is probably the easiest to deal with him as he is calm and collected and won't attack on sight nor will he show any sadistic tendencies. In a way he almost wants to lament about you to you as he knows that the feelings he has gained for you are troublesome yet at the same cruel time he feels even sadder and depressed when he has to distance himself from you. You truly are the greatest pain and remedy at the same time. He is weirdly poetic and eloquent when he talks to you as he expresses his sorrow over his confusing emotions you make him feel and he even expresses sympathy and pity for you as he seems to be somewhat aware that you probably aren't too happy to have him just abducting you like this. He has to protect his own frail emotions though as he seems to be prone to feel insecure whenever he had to watch you expressing affection to someone else.

😔​Despite his abduction, Aizetsu is never really happy when he has to fight you but that is just how his character works. His overall calmness and his preference to analyze your attacks and only attack from a distance give you at the same time quite a bit of trouble as he slowly learns how he can use your weaknesses against you and just like Akaza he isn't above threatening your own family if it should serve his goal of keeping you under control. He will consciously hold back enough to ensure that you don't have to use your Creation Rebirth though as soon as he obtains the information that you always cut your own lifespan shorter by using this particular technique. It would be an unforgivable and eternal regret in his life after all if he would shorten your already limited lifespan even more. You are only a mortal after all, your time on earth is already so fleeting for a being like him. This very sorrowful and dejecting behavior he presents all the time makes it quite interesting to be around him.

Daki

🌺​Daki is a certified diva so any sign of rebellious attitude from your side will only end in a temper tantrum from her side. Just consider that Daki is used to always getting what she wants ever since her life as a demon has begun because not only is she extremely beautiful but she also has her older brother who actively spoils and enables her bratty and arrogant behavior. Honestly, it wouldn't even be that big of a problem for you to have all those special powers under the circumstances that she would like the most. If you would be obedient and sweet, Daki would actually be quite proud to have a darling as special as you. Despite the fact in her mind she will always be above others, which also includes her own darling, she likes to put you on a higher level than all the other humans precisely because you are her lover. You will never be as beautiful and strong as her but you are still better than all the other humans because she took an interest in you and your abilities would wonderfully feed this belief of hers.

🌺​If you should dare to think that you can use those skills of yours to try to escape from her or even fight her, you will very quickly get to know the not so pretty side of Daki. Not only will her outbursts of rage and anger drain you as she verbally insults you but she will also show little restraint when it comes to fighting you. Her Blood Demon Art might just be very useful though as her obi slashes can restrain your movements and tie you up. If you would be able to break free from those though you will damage her core belief that she is stronger than you because Daki has to feel like she is better in order to be kept in a good mood. If you manage to overpower her, she will end up begging Gyutaro for help who won't be happy that you made his younger sister so unhappy. Daki is simply too entitled to realize that perhaps you want more in your life than being her well-behaved doll who simply lets her do as she wants. How can you be so foolish, even throwing away precious years of your life that should belong to her?

Gyutaro

🟢​Gyutaro may not be as childish as his younger sister is but his darling will have to be quite careful with him no matter in which scenario. You have to be careful how you navigate around his sensitive feelings as Gyutaro is very easily angered or mad with everything. He shares the sentience of needing control over his obsession and once again this can lead to quite the violent fights because Gyutaro is not someone who will go easy on you. He is quite aware of how ugly he looks to many and has a naturally bitter and mean personality and he is especially sensitive about your preception of him as he has never been romantically invested in someone before. Any little sign of disdain or even attempts to break free from him with your strength will instantly sour his mood exponentially as he will instantly draw the conclusion that it is only related to his body and his appearance instead of considering that it may just be the fact that he just abducted you like this.

🟢​Gyutaro's overwhelming bitterness and his prone mindset to interpret every negative reaction as something relating to his ugly looks make him quite violent if he should really get into an actual fight with you. He would be even quite rough if you would be a normal human but knowing that you can heal yourself makes him even less hesitant to break your bones and his poison is especially deadly. You probably think that you are better than him because you have such skills despite being a human and think you deserve someone who looks much more handsome than he ever could, don't you? Such thoughts constantly fill his head and the more talented and/or pretty you are, the harder it will be to get rid of such negative thoughts. As soon as he finds out that you shorten your own life when healing all of your injuries in an instant, he is comforted with the uncomfortable feeling of guilt as well as paranoia as he instantly starts getting the wrong ideas again. Is an early death really more preferable than living with him? Is he that repulsive?

[ghooostbaby]

i think something about daniel with armand that makes it work is the way daniel is so combative... he pushes in, forces his way in where he's not wanted, can't help himself, grabs hold of what is thorny and difficult and has to figure it out, get to the bottom of it. that's interesting too in the way in some way he's performing the process he needed to do on his own life, his own memories. he had the impulse to dig aggressively for the truth somehow knowing he was needing that but not knowing to do it for himself. armand is damaged and needs some support and love, yes, but he's never going to let someone see his true wounds so openly and he needs someone who won't buy his bullshit and will push past his facade and interrogate what is really there, what he really wants. and for who it won't be a chore, and maybe even could be seductive...

armand is also the same with the way he pushes, he can't help himself, he forces his way in to something he wants and needs to grab hold of it. but he's going to do it underground, he's never going to reveal himself fully, he will conceal his real desires and work away at grabbing hold of what makes him feel wanted in secret. unlike when louis feels something intense he wants space from it and time and distance ... which is why they just don't work.

i think if armand and daniel decide that the other one is the thing they want to grab hold of and pry open (daniel) / cling onto and hoard (armand) they could have a way of dismantling each others maladaptive self protection strategies... but it will be pretty brutal at the same time. if armand feels unwanted and rejected, i don't think daniel would be particularly good at comforting him ... and actually i don't think armand would ever come out and say "i feel like you don't want me, i feel hurt" as cathartic as it is to write/draw that type of interaction. rather when armand felt like that he'd come up with a subtly manipulative way to force daniel to give him the affection he wants to feel validated by. which works for them just fine actually. bc what daniel IS really good at is unearthing the truth of bullshit masters. he wouldnt let armand build up some grandiose narrative to disguise his real hurt and vulnerability and flaws in (as louis does) and actually would have so much fun picking the lock that is armand and whatever the fuck emotional wormhole he's entered in himself this time, and when he figures it out he'd say something like "armand you were doing all THAT bc you thought i didnt sleep over that night meant i didnt want you, are you fucking stupid??" and actually in everything armand does he wants to be found out and seen and daniel being so fascinated by him with the morbid curiosity of someone investigating a weird bug would feel glorious to him. and they'd be so happy in their emotional hovel

[professional-girlkisser]

Dubai loumand

tw: mention of s*icide and r*pe

I actually, unironically, like Dubai loumand. I looove the aesthetic, from the dark, corporate (?) clothing to the grey, post-apocalyptic, doomed house/ tomb. (one day i will have the words to articulate how much this aesthetic means to me 🤞🏽). Second, I love their fuckedupedness. Their brand of mess is my favourite brand! Third, I don't think Armand has as much control over Louis in Dubai as ppl think.

We see them making decisions together, e.g., what to do with the empty wall, how to handle Daniel/ the interview, etc. Armand doesn't keep Louis locked in the penthouse but he does make it so Louis doesn't want to leave. Or better yet, so Louis doesn't think it's safe to leave.

Armand vehemently opposes the interview but he still lets it happen. And then he hovers around to monitor it. That's how Armand exerts control in Dubai. His control is not total, it's around the edges. Like a parent building a sandbox for their child. This is why it's so fucked up. He's treating Louis like an owned, kept thing. But...I think he's doing it out of some good intention. Out of love (controversial ik).

Armand takes on (more) control of the relationship after the san fran incident. Its implied that before that he mostly let Louis do whatever he wanted - disappear for periods of time, fuck and kill loads of men, get high on drugs - but that incident was the worst of it. Louis tried to commit s*icide and Armand revealed his worst self (the gremlin). So he erased that memory as a fresh start but also to maintain a specific, positive image of himself for Louis (the nurse). I don't think he'd ever erased Louis' memories before this incident idk.

Anyway, Louis does have some independence in Dubai and he does imo voluntarily cede some control to Armand. And Armand is literally on suicide watch. Which is why he controls the env around Louis; to keep out any potential triggers (of which the interview is a HUGE one). We see this in 2x01 when Armand asks Louis to take a break. Louis refuses. Daniel thinks Armand is only asking bc he's hiding sth (which of course he is). Armand leaves them and then later Daniel is like yeah Armand was right, Louis should've taken that break. We also see it in 1x02 when Daniel asks (demands really) for the torn out diary pages detailing Claudia's r*pe (💔). Louis snaps and makes Daniel's hand shake violently. Armand rushes in and places a hand on Louis' shoulder to calm him down.

Throughout the interview, Armand is constantly doing damage control for Louis while making sure it's not too much for him. And Louis does the same thing when they get to Armand's part of the story. They're constantly exchanging soft touches and glances to calm each other down and it's soo fucking cute i could cry 😭

So to summarize, I don't think Armand's control is total or completely out of self interest. He's of course trying to preserve his own self-image as well as this facade of a happy/ functional marriage but I also think he's doing it out of a (*daniel voice*) fucked up idea about love.

[crusty-chronicles]

Is the airhead S/O headcanons over?, I wanna request a Itachi Uchiha with airhead S/O

It's not over necessarily. I just won't be focusing on it as much. But if you guys have any Airheaded requests, more often than not I'm gonna do them.

BONUS AIRHEADED S/O HEADCANNONS: Itachi (Naruto)

He's honestly indifferent towards you.

Doesn't really mind your presence, doesn't really like you either

You are a member of the Akatsuki, after all. He has no reason to get along with you past whatever mission you complete.

That doesn't mean he won't notice you from the corner of his eye.

Irritating Deidara with Tobi during meetings. 

Fumbling your own missions by losing the Intel you managed to get.

Openly spacing out when Pein is giving instructions

But again, you're not his concern. So he leaves you be.

Until he has the unfortunate luck of being paired with you. Kisame temporarily being out of commission.

His indifference slowly shifts into annoyance.

Please stop wondering off because you saw something shiny.

No, he doesn't want to play ‘guess which one is the real me’ with your Shadow Clones.

Wha-where did you get that raccoon????

No you can't keep it as a pet.

Honestly the fact that he has the patience to put up with you is a miracle.

It makes sense why you and Tobi get along so well. (Although he knows the latter is just a front for what truly lies underneath)

When you finally, finally start taking the mission seriously, he's decently surprised.

He likes to avoid fighting if he can, but there was simply no way out of it this time.

He was about to put the enemy under a genjutsu before you stepped forward.

“Cover your ears.” You instructed.

He did as you asked, curious about what you were about to do.

He could feel your chakra build up before you released it in a screech. The frequency making your enemy collapse to the ground in pain.

But there was something more there that he could sense.

A murky chakra making its way to the surface. One that was not yours.

And if it was what he thought it was, then your allegiance with the Akatsuki made a whole lot more sense.

He didn't question you on the way back.

Didn't try to push for information after the mission was complete

But he found his annoyance shifting into something else. Something more sympathetic.

You kept getting paired together and the process would repeat itself.

You'd act like a fool, then you'd defeat who you needed without lifting a finger.

And then, that murky presence would make itself known before disappearing again.

He found himself making small talk with you one day when you'd insisted on stopping to eat 

Saying your jutsu wouldn't work on an empty stomach.

Something he wouldn't admit had a smile tugging on his lips.

“Your technique, who taught it to you?” He asked.

“That? I kinda taught myself. I thought it'd be cool. Plus it does a lot of damage to a lot of enemies.” your answer was not what Itachi was expecting. A reason so simplistic it had to be fake. Perhaps your whole persona had been fake.

“You taught yourself because you thought it was cool?”

“Yeah. Don't you steal techniques you think are cool with your Sharingan ?”

He wanted to correct you. To say he did much more than that with his eyes. But he had a feeling you wouldn't understand it anyway.

He finds out the person you are isn't a facade like Tobi’s on the way back from an intel expedition.

You were a good ways away from the base when you decided to speak.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

The lack of mirth from your voice caught his attention quickly. With a small nod of encouragement, you started spilling.

"I've got one of the tailed beasts inside me. I think that's why they still keep me around.”

And that was exactly what he suspected.

You were strong on your own, but with a tailed beast inside you, you were dangerous. Or useful in the Akatsuki’s eyes.

“It's probably easier knowing where one of them is instead of hunting it down.” then you'd looked up at him with a small smile. One that although looked pained, also held content.

“I don't mind. It's not like I really had a purpose before this.”

Because people had never really been kind to jinchuriki. 

Always ostracizing them from society. Always being cruel. Always treating them like monsters.

He doesn't know why it's him you confide in. Why you feel comfortable telling someone who's a criminal among other criminals.

But you do 

And it makes him finally soften up to you.

Thinking that maybe in another life, you could have lived happily. Without feeling the worst the world has to offer.

He starts to enjoy your presence

Something about it is pure.

Naive in the way of someone who doesn't understand the cruelty they've been subjected to.

He may or may not send a crow out to watch you. Who's to say 🤔 

He just doesn't want you to get in any more trouble than you have to.

He doesn't mind it anymore when you can't stay still for more than five seconds.

Finding you when you've gone to the wrong place you were supposed to meet up with.

Correcting your mistakes in a way that's almost cooing in private.

And maybe, just maybe, he'll confide in you about Sasuke.

He knows you've committed no real crime other than being born to be here.

And for that reason, he trusts you.

You're not like them. And if you were a little bit smarter, you'd be able to see that for yourself.

Itachi doesn't believe he deserves happiness after what he's done. So no matter how fond of you he's become, he won't do anything about it.

Your presence is enough. He won't taint it by dragging you into his own affairs. 

Jealous? You're not together, so he doesn't see the need to be possessive. He can't even see properly

But if Hidan even dares put a hand on you, he better pray his God can save him. 

There are sweet things he'll call you in private though. Names of endearment when you've made a mistake, but nothing that completely gives away his soft spot for you.

Little siren being one due to your technique.

He hopes that you'll find a way out of the Akatsuki eventually.

 Before Madara can complete his plan and you've outlived your usefulness.

What happens after he and Sasuke fight? Not telling.

Nuh uh. Doesn't exist. Fluff only here 👁️👁️🫵

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

MASTERLIST

An: Sorry this took so long. If I'm being honest I've never really sat down and watched Shippuden from beginning to end, so most of what I know about Itachi is from the original series and snippets of Shippuden. Had to do me a little reading for this one.

[tunastime]

A Gear of the Heart, Starting

just a little something I wrote for somebody's (@shepscapades) birthday back in November :3 after I asked what etho and bdubs would've been like shortly after etho's deviation. this is the few times before last life where bdubs realizes etho might be a good friend, and how their relationship changes. comes right before A Gear of the Heart, Turning! (4653 words)

Etho remembers quite a bit.

He remembers the ricochet of the explosion through his left side. He remembers a dozen errors across his vision, showing every unit damaged by the blast, the fractals of fracturing snaking up his arm, the shattered remains of his central programming lingering like a livewire. 

Over and over he can remember the pitch of Bdubs’ voice and had to wonder his own diagnosis at that moment. Bdubs watching his android die in his name—he remembers that, too. Bdubs didn’t even ask for that. It was something Etho gave to him. He’s not sure he could even say why, either. 

It remained a bitter flavor he couldn't identify, even as Xisuma assured him he was okay. Something had happened then, sitting on that floor, thirium in hand. Some movement in his chest he couldn’t place. It wasn’t anything physical, but it felt like some gear of his nonexistent heart had started, turned—rotated. And all he could do was ask himself why. What’s he supposed to do with that?

He doesn’t know. Fine. 

Etho goes back to work at someone’s request. Not even his own request, either, so he has to wonder if maybe Doc put him up to it. Him being Bdubs. Him being Bdubs who shifted back and forth on his feet at Etho’s door—a facade of a base in the process of being designed. If one could even call it a base, yet.

And even though he was increasingly certain that Bdubs had been told to ask—and Etho asked him if he’d been asked to help, and he was adamant about asking by himself, that’s what he said. He said: “You think I gotta be told to ask people for help? I can’t just be doin’ things on my own?” and it had felt so much like doublespeak that Etho didn’t even fight to differentiate his tone. 

But Bdubs had asked if he wanted to help with the horse course. Terraforming—it should be right up his alley, if he’s still into that kind of stuff. Figured he was the expert—or so it goes. Etho had nodded. He wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to do. He supposes he could have easily said no. 

But every part of him yearned to say yes.

So he did.

The dust sifts through his fingers.

Etho perches in the grass, partially hunched as he leans over his line of redstone, shrouded by the hill half-built around him. He’d spent most of the week prior carving out the lines of the track, setting posts for buildings, laying out blueprints for Bdubs to finalize. Today, he lays his line meticulously, dust shifting in his hands. They still shake a bit—nothing a human would notice, nothing that disrupted the flow of his lines, but the overworked gears still shifted in protest as he worked. He could see the faded overlay of the project in his vision if he focused. It crackled, slightly blue-yellow, orange glowing indicators where action was needed, where there were mistakes to be corrected.

It isn’t his redstone to fix. The lines under his hands were—freshly laid by his near-expert technique—but the deeper lines, noteblock announcements, droppers, doorgates, the flourish of the house course, weren’t. Etho smooths out the line he was standing near with his thumb. 

There was nothing wrong with the laid redstone, really. It’s just. Well. It’s not even. It takes up so much space. It lacks the efficiency and tidiness he practiced to a precision. It radiated Bdubs in an overpowering way, one that might turn a gear of the heart—one he didn’t have, of course. Etho’s lines are neat, rigid, conforming to his perfect mental map. 

He lets down his section of dust, drifting over to the dispenser system. He pushes a line further into place, brushing dust back from the side. Further on, where the line crosses, he readjusts it, he smooths them from start to end of line. His hands work where his mind recalculates, looking for errors along the redstone already laid out by Bdubs. Programs bubble up to assist; he dismisses a message, and another as he works. The line straightens from source to sink. 

As he passes, searching for another correction, he hears someone above him. In the corner of his vision, another message notification pings: from Bdubs.

They’re all from Bdubs, actually, now that he notices in full. He blinks, mouth twisting into a frown. Whoops.

He hears someone—Bdubs, he realizes, as he notes the fall of his feet, and the sigh he hops down from his horse, the shuffle of said horse, hooves on grass—clear their throat. Bdubs shuffles around as Etho moves back over to his finished redstone, dusting his hands on the sides of his pants. He lifts the small bag of dust, twisting the tie shut around his fingers as he travels back up the line to recheck the connections. 

“Etho?” Bdubs calls. Etho straightens, just on instinct alone, glancing up at the stretch of sky he can see. It’s bright blue, barely dotted with clouds, and the grass looks warm with sun. He fixes where the dust starts as he sections off the end, tossing the rest of the redstone over to his sling bag.

“Under the hill!”

Bdubs leans over the edge, tilting his head at Etho as he peers into the dark. It takes him a moment to find Etho’s face, partially obscured by black fabric and the fluff of wool around his collar. Etho tilts his head, raising his eyebrows.

“Did you need something?” he asks, arm hanging loosely by his side. Bdubs frowns, too, watching Etho’s expression. As his eyes seem to adjust to the dark, his gaze falls on the lines of redstone. He pauses there for a long moment. In that moment, Etho feels something in his chest grind, almost to a noticeable ache. If he could pull in a breath to settle it, he might have, but the sensation and minute sound passes as soon as he moves his hand to press flat against his regulator. Bdubs is gone when he looks up, reappearing only as he drops into the cavern, catching himself on the wall. He readjusts his cloak around his shoulders, shuffling into the low-light.

“Etho,” he says, still frowning. Etho looks him over. He watches Bdubs set his hands on his hips, but his heart rate stays even and his temperature level. The only thing that changes is the tone of his voice, fluctuating with a pattern Etho recognizes as forcing something. Bdubs takes a long breath in and lets it out. Etho’s eyes find the twitch of his fingers as he folds his arms, rather than the sharp curve of his mouth.

“Yes?” Etho asks. He feels his pump work a little harder. It kind of hurts still, whatever’s stopped working in his chest. He flicks his eyes, recalling a diagnostic, setting it to run in the background as he closes out of the overlays and the world returns to yellowish-grey. Bdubs is still frowning.

“You mind tellin’ me what’s wrong with this redstone?”

Etho blinks. The diagnostic comes up clear.

“What do you mean?” he says, his expression shifting into something copying amusement. He’s trying. He’s at least trying to mimic the emotions he sees. Soon enough it’ll feel natural, he’s certain. “What’s wrong with it?”

Bdubs snorts, which turns into a laugh, which turns into Etho smiling a bit wider, a bit more confusion lingering in his expression as he leans around Bdubs to check his meticulously placed line. Bdubs turns away from him, facing the system, the clock that linked the start gates to the timer below.

“What’s—” Bdubs scoffs, shaking his head. “What’s wrong with it? Etho—” he holds out his hand, waving Etho over. Etho lingers at his shoulder as he steps forward, peering over the curve of it and the moss and small leaves and flowers draped over his neck. “It’s too perfect.”

Etho makes a sound like a scoff now, a caught sound in his vocal unit, a stuttering start to his sentence that doesn’t form right away. He’s trying for surprise, the pitch of his voice rising unexpectedly.

“It’s too perfect?” he asks. 

Bdubs nods. After a moment, Etho thinks he sees his expression shift, the high of his cheek rising. When Bdubs turns his head to look at him, just for a second, Bdubs is smiling.

“Bdubs,” Etho says, sighing, turning away from him, to his bag on the far side of the room. He shakes his head. That something-nothing in his chest flutters and fades and disappears all at once, instead replaced with the urge to smile back. Bdubs laughs, and Etho can imagine him tipping his head back, mouth curved up as he giggles to himself. Etho shakes his head. As he starts to pull away from Bdubs, he feels him catch his sleeve, holding fast to his elbow.

“Etho, wait—” Bdubs giggles. “It looks really good.”

Etho raises his eyebrows. Caught in Bdubs grasp, all he can do is look at him, head tilted, trying not to let the amusement show on his face. Bdubs giggles, face breaking again as he does.

“Etho…” he tries again, fighting back a smile. Etho tilts his head the other way, as if to prompt him further, looking for anything. He stays silent. Bdubs hand lowers slowly, that smile faltering just a fraction. Maybe he thinks Etho’s upset with him. There’s a flicker of recognition in his eyes. “You gonna say anythin’? Or you just gonna stand there?”

Etho smiles, finally. He shrugs a little, glancing over at the fixed lines of redstone.

“I fixed your redstone,” he says cooly, sticking his free hand in his pocket. Bdubs blinks. He jerks away as Etho’s smile grows, shoving him hard in his shoulder. Etho wobbles for a moment, smiling to himself, scrunching up his face as Bdubs’ expression morphs. He does laugh, after a beat, poking Etho in the shoulder as he does. Etho hopes he can see the smile in his eyes. He saves, logs, keeps this moment. He’s sure in the low light that his LED spins yellow for a moment. It feels right. If there���s any feeling to catalog.

Bdubs huffs. Etho thinks he hears him say something under his breath. It sounds a lot like thank you.

It’s out of habit, rather than obligation, that Etho finds himself back at the horse course. Of course he ends up here, his feet moving him about as if his brain-not-brain had no thoughts of its own. Man. Some days, it really felt human.

He wanders across the plain, eyes lingering on fully-built buildings, knowing the schematics and plans, watching as those plans-now-buildings stretched higher above his head, where they nearly threatened to pop the sky wide open. 

Bdubs had sat down with him earlier that week, papers spread out between them. He’d stopped by, actually—worked his way up the mountain to the base Etho had finally finished, papers in hand, looking like he was on the verge of collapse. He’d dropped the blueprints on the largest table Etho had managed to clear, spreading out the designs for huge, complex buildings. Etho watched him explain, listened for the inflection of when to offer suggestions, heard the way Bdubs’ voice grew quieter, almost conspiratorial, as he explained his palette. There was something methodical in the way Bdubs spoke, not only in the approach to his colors, but to his style. As much as it seemed eclectic and strange, he watched the pieces fall together as Bdubs spoke of his gradients. There was something deeper there, a precision that Etho, all of a sudden, in that room, craved to emulate. To write to disk. To save. To do more than just copy. 

He’d built the horse stable first—all to his own specifications. It was Bdubs later who came in to detail, tilling up the dirt around to plant grass and flowers, sectioning off parts of the empty stable. It was almost difficult to compartmentalize that Bdubs was finished with it now. That they’d worked each line of the redstone and Etho had supervised the first steps of building, and now he could look up and see the very top, or almost, if he were to strain, of the spikes above the buildings. 

And in just a few weeks, Bdubs was onto another project. Etho smiles to himself. He can’t help it. There was something rather comforting about that. Something about Bdubs dragging him along to help, pointing him toward the thing he was good at, and asking for help. Bdubs showing up at his door with plans. Bdubs cracking jokes with him, and looking for a laugh Etho couldn’t replicate yet. It’s like something clicked. Or was just on the breach of it. And Etho liked it.

Etho clears his field of view, taking in, instead, the stretch of sky where it met the ocean, along the line of hills and grass and flowers, and further still, to the smudge that looked like Bdubs. He blends in too well—the green of his coat barely noticeable against the field of grass that splayed out from the side of his build. There were still materials strewn about—chests half opened, shulkers stacked waist high. 

Bdubs stands to the side of a dark grey and white horse, one hand placed on its nose, the other digging through his bag. Etho watches for a moment. Bdubs fishes around for that entire second that he lingers, searching for something, until he pulls out an apple. Another falls to the ground, rolling away from him. He holds out the fruit for the horse as Etho clears his throat. 

“Hiya, Bdubs—” he says as Bdubs startles, twisting around to see him. He huffs, an immediate frown coming to his face. Bdubs turns to fetch the dropped apple, holding it high above his head as the grey horse nudges its nose into his empty hand. He pats it instead.

“Etho,” he says, tone thin. He sighs, shaking his head. “Scared the life outta me, you know that? You gotta make some noise when you’re walkin’ around.”

Etho smiles, a nice and easy reaction to the annoyance in Bdubs’ voice. It’s getting easier. At least a bit. The smiling part, that is. The inflection that comes with being happy.

“I’ll try next time,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. His hands find his pockets as he looks around, eyes following the path around the buildings. He’s sure the pollen and moss will be stuck to his clothes for days before he gets them out.

“Mm,” Bdubs hums, unconvinced. “I’m sure you will. Now, what’re you doin’ here? You don’t have anything better to do?”

“That’s a good question,” Etho says.

Bdubs turns back to him for a second, just a glance over his shoulder as he cocks his head to the side. He raises his eyebrows before he turns back to the horse, who’s started to nose at his bag. He drags his hand down its nose.

“You’re tellin’ me you don’t have an objective right now?”

“I never have an objective, Bdubs.”

Bdubs snorts again . Etho steps over, slow, minding the horse. It sniffs as Etho holds out his hand, nosing his gloved palm. He pats the horse's nose, somewhat stilted, smoothing over the soft bridge of his nose.

“Right,” Bdubs hums. When Etho glances over to him, Bdubs glances away, as if he’d lingered as Etho stepped over. He’s not moved from Etho’s side, which. Makes something fit into Etho’s chest in a way he isn’t expecting. He rests his hand on the horse's head, looking over at Bdubs in full.

“I can’t come see how the horse course is looking, now that you’re done?” he asks. Bdubs makes an embarrassed sounding noise, watching the rise of the buildings to their left. The horse sniffs, and Etho lifts his hand away, letting it fall to his side.

“I—I got excited about it,” Bdubs mutters. If Etho leans enough, he can see the beginnings of a flush creep over his cheeks, up the shell of his ear. Something about that, too. Etho looks beyond him, though, studying the rise of the buildings as Bdubs does. He nods to himself.

“I can tell,” he says, amusement slipping into his voice, almost naturally. Immediately, Bdubs whips around again, face twisted in offense.

“Hey!” he snaps. “You makin’ fun of me?”

Etho shakes his head, spreading his hands out in front of him as he does.

“No, no. Not at all,” he says, hoping the smile he’s giving is reaching his eyes. “I’m saying we make a pretty good team.”

Bdubs makes a little huff of a sound, but his posture and expression softens. Etho studies it from the moment it appears, trying to place the emotion behind it. He seems upset—but not from anything Etho said. He almost looks guilty.

“We’ve always made a good team,” Bdubs mumbles. Etho blinks.

“Since when have we been a team?”

“Since—s…” Bdubs blurts, then backtracks, folding his arms over his chest. “Well we’re a team now!”

Etho raises his eyebrows, stepping away from the horse and more around Bdubs’ side. He leans in a bit as he stands by his side, bumping their shoulders together. Bdubs doesn’t recoil. Instead, he pushes back, just for a moment, and they jostle. Bdubs hums, sighing through his nose.

“Are we?” Etho asks. Bdubs nods, short and firm.

“Mhm! ‘Cause I said so.”

Etho nods with him. There’s that thing again, a turning, jostling, in some part of his chest that really shouldn’t turn or jostle. He can feel his temperature tick up just a few degrees, a fan kicking on to settle the temperature, thirium sludging warm to cold through his limbs. A team, huh? He couldn’t beat Bdubs’ conviction, that’s for sure. Maybe it was a bit of guilt, then. Maybe something in Bdubs had realized Etho was much more of a help than a hindrance. Maybe Bdubs wanted a friend. Maybe he just felt bad and the feeling bad got to a point where he had to just do something about it. Etho didn’t know. He didn’t live inside Bdubs’ brain. And picking at Bdubs’ every emotion was a task enough to drive his processor into the ground. He could already feel another spike in temperature, LED glowing yellow-blue. Maybe it wasn’t all bad. Etho sticks his hands in his pockets.

“I’d like that,” he says, finally pushing out the words as his programming jumps into gear, “What’s our next project then?”

Bdubs goes back to jostling him before he turns away, moving from Etho’s side to collect his horse. Gathering the horse's reins in his hands, Bdubs pauses.

“Ooh…” he says, frowning a little. Etho watches the little furrow of his eyebrows—thinking. Bdubs is turning the idea over in his head. Bdubs steps back over with the horse in tow, already walking in the direction of the horse stable. Etho jolts forward, taking several big steps to match Bdubs’ pace. “Well why don’t you come back to the clock and we can talk about it, huh?”

“That sounds nice.”

Bdubs makes an affirmative sound, leading the horse around and into the stable. Etho watches him unlatch the gate, ushering the horse into the pen.

“I can put the kettle on and everything,” Bdubs says. He lifts the bridle out of the horse’s mouth, running his hand along the length of the horse’s nose. Etho doesn’t mean to watch him as he does, but the action is so purposeful. There’s a moment where Bdubs’ expression is unreadable—unreadable as in Etho simply can’t place anything on it. Unreadable in the amount it changes—something softer than he’s seen, something far away. Bdubs’ whole demeanor seems to shift as he stands still for a moment. Etho isn’t sure what to do with himself. He’s just standing in straw and dirt and stones, all of which he can feel under his shoes. He shuffles a bit, back and forth, to make his presence known, before he says:

“You know I can’t drink anything, Bdubs.”

And Bdubs rolls his eyes, squinting over at him, stepping away from the horse to hop the gate.

“Well you can at least fake it,” he grumbles. He folds his arms again, wrinkling his nose at Bdubs as Bdubs leads him out of the pen and into the open field around the horse course. The shadow of the buildings above them hasn’t changed, yet. The sun is still high and warm in the sky.

Etho laughs. At least, he makes a sound that he thinks passes as a laugh. Bdubs laughs too, though, so it must sound pretty convincing. He nods, the smile on his face feeling much more natural than he ever could have expected. 

“I could fake it,” he laughs. “Sure.”

Bdubs grins at him. It’s nice. It makes the walk back to his base a little more bearable.

By the time Etho gets his invitation to the life game, he’s grown accustomed to being at Bdubs’ side again. He wanders around Bdubs’ base like he knows it, makes it a spot he chooses to map, to memorize. Bdubs checks in on him when he isn’t around as much—asks him how his builds are going, wonders if he needs help. Bdubs lingers in his spaces too, like a plant trying to root, gives himself reasons to stand in doorways just a bit longer, just enough to extend their goodbyes. It feels right—in a way that almost gives reason to Etho’s deviation. Maybe, deep down, from their first introduction, Etho had decided to glue himself to Bdubs’ side and not become unstuck. Maybe he’d simply put that decision, his first ever decision, into motion that day. It didn’t matter much as to why anymore.

When Etho gets his letter, he doesn’t open it. He holds it between two fingers, turning it over and over. He doesn’t need to read it to know what it says. There’s a dark red seal on the back, shaped like a heart. He makes a little sound, some sort of click in the back of his mouth, before he stuffs the letter in his pocket, half-folded.

He finds Bdubs exactly where he expects. Bdubs is sitting cross-legged in his garden, hands in the dirt, when Etho arrives at the crescent moon base. If he looks closely enough, Etho can still tell that Bdubs’ own letter sits on his window sill in the kitchen, unopened. But he’s really squinting to notice, so he writes it off for now as a flaw in his own sight. 

Bdubs turns to him as he walks up. His hair is pushed back away from his face with his bandana, and his hands are covered in dirt, and he’s got a streak of black soil across his forehead that Etho tries not to look at for too long. Bdubs shoots him a toothy grin, going back to his bright orange tulips. If Etho looks long enough, he could probably guess the soil mixture, and tell him if it's good enough to be planting orange tulips in, but he doesn’t. Instead, he comes to stand behind him and Bdubs hums in greeting.

“Etho,” he says, looking up again, wiping the dirt from his forehead. “What can I do for you?”

“Oh, nothin’,” Etho says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He forgets who he picked the gesture up from, but it’s become part of his natural body language patterns now, so he won’t be stopping it anytime soon. “I just came to see how you were doing.”

“How I was doin’, huh?” Bdubs asks, amusement trickling into his voice. Etho smiles, feeling his face pull.

“Mhm,” he says. “That’s right. I can’t come and check up on a friend?”

Bdubs laughs, sticking his spade in the dirt.

“Oh, we’re friends now?” he says, still giggling as he turns around. “I thought we were just a team.”

Etho watches him lean back on his hands, legs coming out from under him. He tries to read Bdubs’ expression and voice for any note of insincerity, or play, or teasing, but doesn’t find anything he normally associates with Bdubs. This just feels true.

“I mean, I figured with how much we’ve been working together…” Etho starts, to which Bdubs startles, waving his hands.

“No, no!” Bdubs yelps. “Etho, I thought the same thing! I just wasn’t expectin’ it from you.”

Etho blinks. It feels owlish, small, almost a wrong reaction to hearing Bdubs say something like that. But it’s what immediately happens, before he tries to open his mouth, and no sound comes out. He waits for a moment. He assumes his LED spins, maybe even red, as Bdubs watches him, face paling.

“Oh,” Etho says quietly.

“We’re friends,” Bdubs says, voice much smaller than Etho’s ever heard it. “‘S that alright with you?”

Etho feels like the proper response would be to laugh, if he could really feel anything at all besides every gear in his chest halting and restarting themselves. He makes a noise that sounds almost like a cough.

“Mhm,” he says. He watches Bdubs’ shoulders relax and finds that his own posture sinks with it. 

“Good,” Bdubs says, nodding along. “Was there anything else you wanted to scare me with?”

Etho knows this tone—playful. Teasing. He works up a smile and fishes the letter from his pocket, slightly bent. Bdubs’ eyes flick right to it, right to the red seal pressed into the paper. Immediately, he scrambles up, reaching for the note in Etho’s hands. Etho lets him grab it in his dirt-covered fingers, even as Bdubs tries frantically to dust off his hands as he notices. Bdubs turns it over itself, glancing up at Etho.

“It’s for you?”

Etho nods.

“It was on my doorstep this morning,” he says. “I can see you’ve got one in your window?”

Bdubs snorts, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I haven’t opened the damn thing. I’m excited up until the point I’m not, ‘cause I know I’m gonna lose again.”

Etho hums. As Bdubs hands him back the letter, Etho rests his hand on his shoulder, giving it a hesitant, light squeeze. Bdubs looks quickly down at it, before he’s back to staring at Etho’s face.

“Don’t worry, Bdubs,” he says, hoping his voice is full of amusement and affection like he feels like it is. “You’ll have me there this time!”

And Bdubs laughs, full and warm in his chest, and Etho jostles him around as he does, until Bdubs is smacking his shoulder and wiggling free. He picks up his fallen hat and his tools, and Etho follows him around the side of the house as he puts things away. As he shuts one of the chest, Bdubs says:

“You mean that, though? You wanna be on a team?”

Etho smiles, feeling his eyes squint, forces every ounce of new feeling into his words when he says:

“I don’t think I wanna team with anyone else, Bdubs.”

And Bdubs’ grin in excitement is more than enough to convince him he’s made the right choice.

It’ll be a long two weeks until the death game starts. When he returns home later that night, Bdubs’ plans for success turning over in his brain, recording for later, Etho reads over the letter enough to commit the page to memory. He keeps it safe internally as the letter finds its way to his bookshelf, half-sealed. Through him, like it’s just under the skin, runs an emotion he’s not yet familiar with. He hopes it's a good one, at the very least. He hopes so, as much as an android, a machine, someone just now familiar with the idea of free will, can hope. 

It feels good, though. And something makes him think that everything will turn out just fine.

[bloody-britt26]

Hop - Loser Like Me

This is an older fic that I’m just now cross-posting from my Wattpad.

Summary: He was never able to win against his rivals, and he didn't become the champion. He couldn't live up to his older brother's name. He wasn't all that special, he thought. So, why would Hop ever think that you would ever glance at him? You were that sweet, lovable person that worked day in and day out to help better the lives of rescued pokémon. Surely, you wouldn't be interested in a loser like him.

Genre: Fluff + light angst

Pairing: Hop X Rescuer!Reader (Gender Neutral)

Content Warnings: | Hop’s self-deprecating thoughts | Fear of rejection | Mentions of abused pokemon | Swearing | Reader gets slapped once (not by Hop) | Slow burn kinda | Both Hop and Reader are depicted as adults. |

Word Count: 14,741

Sonia's lab was awfully quiet. At least, that's what Hop thought as he was the only person present in the building. Sonia was out, she had the urge to get out and do a bit of fieldwork for a change. Hop's Dubwool had fallen asleep near his desk quite some time ago.

Hop was seated at his desk, scribbling down various notes about pokémon and the Dynamax phenomenon. Even if he had been studying by Sonia's side for three years now, he still had a lot to learn and discover. There were so many pokémon out there, and there was new knowledge to be gained from them practically every day.

Behind him, the Dynamax readings showed stability, thankfully. Nothing had been out of the ordinary for a long time, but Hop and Sonia had the habit of keeping a close eye on them. Their slight paranoia was understandable due to the damage caused by the actions of Rose and the royal brothers.

Hop's foot tapped away as he wrote, he twirled his pen every so often. Even though Hop had matured quite a bit over the years, sitting still for long periods was still not his forté.

As he finished jotting down the final words of his report, he gathered up all of the sheets to place them in a neat pile. With a sigh, he leaned back to stretch his sore muscles, he had been hunched over his desk for a good amount of time, so it was much needed. Hop let out a small yelp as his computer chair nearly fell back from the pressure he was applying.

Once he stabilized himself, he reached for his Rotom Phone, turning it on so that he could tune into some live battles. He still had a bit of work to do, but he figured that he could take a small break.

He blinked once he saw footage of his best friend in battle. Hop had almost forgotten that today was Victor's exhibition match. Nonetheless, he smiled as he began to watch it.

Victor was battling Bede, and both men were giving it their all. Seeing those two battle it out on the pitch brought back memories from his own gym challenge. After all, the three had been the biggest rivals throughout their journeys.

Victor was a fantastic champion, and perhaps even better than Leon was, Hop thought. Even today, Hop couldn't believe how powerful his childhood friend was, and it seemed as though his strength grew with every passing day.

Victor wasn't just a strong battler, he was inspirational and a good man. He didn't care much about having many sponsors, nor did he go out of his way to partake in interviews. He often donated his prize money to people in need, and he was exceptionally humble.

Even Bede had matured into a decent man. Now the full-time gym leader of Ballonlea, he was a force to be reckoned with for challengers. Although he still kept a facade of toughness, Hop couldn't deny that Bede was much more polite than before. Even if Bede and Hop had never gotten along, Hop thought that it was great that Bede had found his place in the world.

Hop took a glance at his sleeping Dubwool, reaching down to stroke his coat softly. It dawned on him that it's been quite a while since he had battled someone because he was so focused on his studies to become a respectable professor. He hoped that his pokémon weren't too bored with his decision to lessen pokémon battling to focus on research.

However, they seemed to have accepted his choice of career, as did his friends and relatives. Even though being a professor was far from being his original dream, he thought it was fun.

All his life, Hop had wanted to be the champion. He wanted to prove to the region that he was just as good, possibly better than his brother. But that didn't happen, Victor got there first.

He continued to watch Victor's battle on his phone, completely immersed in the confident and enthusiastic energy that Victor displayed. Victor still had five pokémon standing, while Bede was on his last two.

"It's no wonder you became champion, mate," Hop chuckled to himself.

No wonder indeed. Three years later, and Hop had accepted that he never stood a chance of being champion. Not when he was up against Victor. Hop had never been able to defeat Victor, and he always felt like he was lightyears behind his dear friend.

Even today, he felt underwhelming compared to everyone around him. It felt as though his friends, rivals and family were all achieving great success and making names for themselves while he was constantly scribbling notes and watching wild pokémon.

Hop sighed, shaking his head in annoyance at his own thoughts. He knew better than to think so negatively, but the quiet atmosphere of the lab seemed to be the perfect setting to overthink life itself.

He shook his head once more, smiling to himself as a way to convince himself that everything was fine. He was usually so bubbly and energetic, for crying out loud! He loved doing research. It was his new passion, and that's what was important.

Hop grinned as Victor's battle came to a close, ending in a victory for his best friend. Though the outcome didn't surprise him, Hop mentally congratulated him.

As he turned off his phone to get back to work, the door to the lab opened. He didn't fully pay any mind to it as it was most likely Sonia since she was to return around these hours.

"H-Hello? Is there anyone?" A meek voice timidly sounded.

Hop's gaze lifted. That was most definitely not Sonia. He got up from his chair and smoothed his lab coat before heading to the entrance of the lab.

There stood a young, short-haired girl who looked to be more or less ten-years-old. She shyly fiddled with her sweater's sleeves as her gaze was fixated to the ground.

Hop blinked but quickly shook off his surprise to smile at the youngling. "Hi, there! What brings you here?"

"W-Well... is Professor Sonia here? I'm supposed to get my first pokémon today," she said.

Now that Hop thought about it, he did remember Sonia saying something about a girl coming to get her starter today. He had completely forgotten about that.

He looked around nervously, Sonia had most likely lost track of time. It happened to her often whenever she was really into her work, and he really couldn't blame her.

He scratched the back of his head. "R-Right! You must be Annabelle, yeah?"

The little girl nodded in response with a soft smile.

"So, er, the thing is that Sonia isn't here right now..." he said.

Annabelle's smile faltered a bit. "Oh... that's okay. I'll come back. I'm sorry for bothering you," she said.

Hop cringed at the dejected look she had, and before she could turn around and leave, he stopped her.

"Hey, wait! I can give you your pokémon, you don't have to come back later," he said before he could stop himself.

Surely, Sonia wouldn't mind if he took matters into his own hands, right? After all, he felt too bad at the thought of making her wait, he knew all too well just how exciting it was to get your very first pokémon.

"Really? Oh, thank you so much!" She said enthusiastically.

Hop chuckled and motioned her to follow him. "Well, come along. Let's have you meet the little fellows!"

She did as told and followed Hop. He then headed to a shelf where three pokéballs sat. He grabbed them and turned back to Annabelle.

As he called out the pokémon, three familiar faces excitedly made their entrance. Hop couldn't help but smile as the nostalgia hit him as he watched the Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble all pose adorably.

Annabelle seemed absolutely enamoured with them as well as she cooed at their cuteness.

Hop nodded to himself, it was time for him to put his knowledge to good use. This would be a good way for him to evaluate his performance as a future professor.

"Sobble is just about the most gentle Water-type pokémon out there! It can be pretty sensitive and timid, but don't let that fool you, Sobble is a master of camouflage and silent attacks. It never fails to aim for an opponent's weak spot! She's a little girl!" Hop explained.

Sobble wiggled her fin as she covered her cheeks to hide a little blush. It sounded like she was giggling.

"Scorbunny is a very energetic Fire-type! It's always raring to go and up for a good fight. It's a very confident pokémon who will always do its best to impress and protect its trainer! This little guy is a boy," Hop continued.

Sorbunny bounced in the air, pumping his little paw with a wink. He was trying to showboat a little.

"And lastly, we have the Grass-type, Grookey! It's a very peaceful pokémon with a good sense of leadership. It's a very speedy pokémon that can get quite immersed in battles. This one is a boy!" He concluded.

Grookey wagged his tail, chirping happily with a bright smile as he bounced up and down. He grabbed his stick to tap a little beat onto the tile floor.

"So, which one will you take? Choose wisely. This will be your most trusted partner who will stick by your side throughout your journey no matter what," Hop said.

Annabelle's gaze flicked between the three pokémon, but not for long as she had her eyes set on the little Grookey.

"They're all so cute, but I decided that I wanted a Grookey ages ago!" She said as she crouched to the pokémon's height.

"Would you like to travel with me?" She asked, holding out her hand.

Grookey nodded excitedly as he put his little paws onto her hand. Annabelle giggled at the pokémon's cuteness.

Hop grinned. "Grookey, huh? A great choice. It was the pokémon that I chose to travel with along with Wooloo when I first started."

Annabelle giggled softly, picking up her new Grookey in her arms. "I know. That's why I wanted one, Mr. Hop!"

Hop blinked in surprise as he registered what the young girl had said. "I- Really?"

"Yeah! I always watched your battles with my mummy when you did your gym challenge. You were my favourite trainer, and I want to be just as good as you!" She said.

Hop was at a loss for words. Not only did this child know who he was, but she was admitting that she favoured him as a trainer. He didn't think this could even be a reality. He wasn't that special, he knew that for a fact. Sure, he made it through his gym challenge, but he had always been in both Victor and Leon's shadows, and, in his opinion, rightfully so.

His friends, brother and rivals all outshined him by so much. He didn't have their strength, he knew that as he could never beat a single one of them. Not even once. Hop had since accepted that he was destined to be the weakest person of his entourage.

He definitely felt happiness at knowing that someone thought so highly of him, yet he couldn't help but listen to the little voice at the back of his mind, saying that this sweet girl was making the worst mistake of her life by idolizing such a loser.

Hop chuckled nervously as he scratched at his hair. "A-Ah! Well, I appreciate that, but I'm not that gr-"

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Sonia made her frantic appearance into the lab, huffing slightly to catch her breath.

"I am so sorry! I got sidetracked and didn't see time fly!" She said.

Annabelle shook her head. "It's okay, Professor Sonia. Professor Hop gave me a pokémon!" She said as she snuggled her Grookey.

"But I'm not a prof-"

"I can see that!" Sonia chuckled. "Annabelle, dear, what do you say we equip that Rotom Phone of yours with a Pokédex?" She continued.

"Please!" She said, handing Sonia her phone.

"Alright. Hop, why don't you go get some Pokéballs for her while I set this up?" Sonia asked.

Hop nodded. "Of course."

As Hop distanced himself to rummage through some drawers for Pokéballs, Sonia explained to Annabelle the Pokédex's functions. It was just like she had done when he and Victor had first started their journeys.

He found five Pokéballs to get the young girl started on her team, so he headed back to the duo and handed Annabelle the catching devices.

"Here you go. They'll help you get started on your team," he said.

When she took the balls from Hop, he reached into his pocket to grab another one. "Here. This is your Grookey's Pokéball."

"Thank you very much for everything!" She said as she took her starter's Pokéball.

Hop shook his head. "It's our pleasure! Now, get out there and meet tons of pokémon! But remember to stay safe and have fun," he said.

"I will! Thanks again, you two!" She said before exiting the lab with her Grookey still in her arms.

When Annabelle left, Hop sighed in relief, happy that everything went smoothly. He then turned to Sonia, laughing nervously.

"S-Sorry, Professor. I hope you don't mind that I took care of things. I didn't want to make her wait too long, and I didn't know when you would be back," he said.

Sonia shook her head. "No, no, don't worry a thing. I'm glad you did, and by the looks of it, you handled that really well. Proper job!" She said with a grin.

"Thank you... I did my best," Hop said, relieved that he didn't mess anything up.

Sonia glanced at the desk where a large pile of notes sat before turning back to Hop. "Would you like to switch places with me? Arceus knows how much you hate sitting still."

"Yeah, I'll take you up on that. Fieldwork is my favourite kind of work!" He laughed.

Fresh air was definitely needed at the moment. Hopefully, it would help him keep his mind at ease from the negativity that has been plaguing him recently.

~~~~~~

"Thank you for having me over, Magnolia. I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced," you said.

Having decided to take a well-deserved break from work, you dropped by Magnolia's home for a visit. You found her company to be warm and homely, which was something you loved, especially when you needed to sit back and relax.

You sat in Magnolia's plant room on one of the comfortable loveseats as the older woman prepared cups of the finest tea she had in her kitchen. The scenery of her home, particularly the room you were in, had you feeling at peace.

Perched atop your head was your beloved Frosmoth. She could get quite heavy, so she made sure to not put her full weight on you. She absolutely refused to be left home alone today, no matter how much you protested. Thankfully, Magnolia didn't mind the presence of the larger moth pokémon, as she was very well-behaved.

Magnolia stepped into the room, a tray in hand and a warm smile upon her features. "Nonsense, dear. You're welcomed in my home at any moment. I don't get to see you nearly as often as I'd like," she said as she set the tea down.

You thanked her as she handed you a cup. "I know, and I'm sorry about that. I feel bad, trust me."

"Don't. It's to be expected with the kind of work you do, and I fully understand. Just know that you're always welcomed to knock on my door should you need anything," she said as she sat across from you.

You smiled. "Thank you. It's nice to have someone I can trust living nearby."

"Of course! You're practically family at this point!" She said, laughing softly.

You truly appreciated it. Your work required your constant presence at home, so you didn't have much time to go out of your way to make close friends, much less someone you could trust. Magnolia was such an understanding and patient woman, and she knew that you didn't mean anything ill by not dropping by all the time. You had your duties, and she accepted that. She was well aware that you cared even if you weren't always around, and for that, you were thankful.

"Speaking of which..." Magnolia started as she set her cup down, "... my granddaughter should be coming over shortly with her assistant."

"O-Oh! Should I leave then? I wouldn't want to be a bother," you said.

"Don't even get that idea. Sonia will be thrilled to see you, you know she adores you!" Magnolia said.

You chuckled at the woman's light scolding. "You're right. It's been a while since I've seen her, or that she's dropped by my place. She's pretty busy now, huh? Being a full-time professor and all."

"She certainly is, though she loves her work. It seems that journeying through Galar a second time was what she needed to discover her true passion," Magnolia said, fondness for her granddaughter could be heard in her voice.

"Sometimes, I think of having another journey myself, but I think I made the right call with the path I ended up taking," you said.

Magnolia nodded in agreement. "Absolutely! What was your original goal again?"

You laughed, shaking your head. "I wanted to be a gym leader of all things."

"Oh, that's right! You know, you're absolutely phenomenal at taking care of pokémon that I just can't even fathom the idea of you as a gym leader," she playfully teased.

"I know, right? Plans change, but that's okay!" You said.

You shivered when you felt your Frosmoth blow a faint gust of frigid air onto you in an attempt to get your attention.

"Are you hungry, Dumpling?" You asked, chuckling at her behaviour.

She let out a small cry in confirmation. So, you reached into your bag, which rested at your feet, and pulled out a plastic container that held Dumpling's favourite food. You held the container right in front of her, letting her sniff it out. Once she did, she happily chowed down.

As you fed your Frosmoth, you heard the front door open, followed by the familiar voice of Sonia.

"Hellooo! I'm here, and I brought Hop!" She called out.

Magnolia smiled. "We're in here, dear!"

"We?" Sonia said as she stepped into the room in which you were seated. Once she saw you, her eyes widened in surprise.

"Heya, Sonia!" You said with a bright smile.

"(Y/N), no way! How are you, stranger?" She asked, laughing.

You got up from your seat so that you could give your friend a hug. Dumpling flew off of your head to let you do so.

"I'm doing great! It's been a while, huh?" You said, letting go of her.

"No kidding. I mean, you're a hermit!" She teased.

You rolled her eyes. "Pft. It's not just me. Aren't you always buried in piles of research?" You shot back.

"You got me there," she chuckled. She turned to her grandmother. "You didn't tell me that (Y/N) would be here!"

Magnolia chuckled. "Ah... I wanted to keep it a surprise."

Sonia's eyes then landed on Dumpling. "And you've got Dumpling with you! She looks great!"

Sonia gently approached the pokémon and held out her hand in front of her. Dumpling sniffed her hand, and once she recognized Sonia's scent, she squealed happily and nuzzled her hand.

"Hey, you remember me!" Sonia said as she patted the affectionate moth.

"Of course, she does!" You said.

At that moment, someone cleared their throat. When you glanced at the doorway, you saw who you assumed to be Sonia's assistant.

He had an award-winning smile as he scratched the back of his head in a slightly nervous manner. Though he didn't seem much younger than you, he was pretty tall, more or less six feet. His hair was a lovely shade of purple, which fit rather nicely with his bright, yellow eyes. You were sure you recognized him from somewhere.

Letting go of Dumpling, Sonia clapped her hands together as she headed to her assistant's side.

"Right, you've never met. (Y/N), meet Hop. He's my assistant. Hop, this is (Y/N). They’re a good friend of mine!" She said, introducing the two of you.

Hop grinned at you, holding out his hand for you to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

You took his hand. "Right back at you, Hop!"

And then, it clicked.

"Hey, you're the former champion's little brother, right? You were in the challenge, like, three years ago?" You asked.

Hop blinked, a glimmer of surprise flashing in his eyes for a second. "Yeah, actually. You're spot on."

He certainly was not expecting for this stranger to know who he was. Maybe it wouldn't have surprised him if someone recognized him three years ago when he had finished his challenge, but now, he had convinced himself that practically everyone in Galar had forgotten about his existence.

Sonia raised a brow, which made you roll your eyes. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I like to watch the gym battles whenever I have the chance."

Magnolia spoke up. "Hey, now. What are you all standing around for? Why don't you younglings sit down while I go make some more tea? Perhaps some snacks as well?" She said as she stood up.

The three of you nodded in agreement. Hop and Sonia sat next to each other. Before you sat down, you scratched Dumpling's belly and gently guided her to you so she could perch herself atop your head once more.

Hop tilted his head in slight confusion at your interaction with the pokémon, but he didn't question it any further. At least, he tried. He couldn't help but analyze your Frosmoth, blame it on the researcher in him. As he looked at her, he noticed something off about her eyes. A Frosmoth's eyes were usually a deep blue, but yours were somewhat cloudy.

"Is your Frosmoth blind?" He blurted before he could stop himself.

He mentally cringed, hoping that he didn't seem too nosy or impolite by asking such a thing. However, you smiled at him, features clear of any kind of offence.

"She is, actually!" You said, reaching up to pat Dumpling's head.

"(Y/N) takes care of a lot of disabled and injured pokémon. They run their own sanctuary!" Sonia intervened.

At that, Hop's eyes practically lit up with wonder. "Seriously? Wow, that's amazing!"

You chuckled with a light hue of pink coating your cheeks. "Yeah, I do! It's not far from here, actually. Just a few kilometres behind Magnolia's house, there's my house and my sanctuary."

"Wait... really? I didn't even know that there was anything past Magnolia's house," he said, surprised.

"Yeah... it's pretty easy to miss, but that was kind of the point of picking that particular spot. It's just me and the pokémon with little to no disturbances, which is just what these pokémon need," you explained.

Hop nodded at your explanation. He then leaned forward, nearly slamming his hands onto the coffee table excitedly.

"So, what kind of pokémon do you have there?" He asked, eyes shining with interest.

Sonia chuckled, tapping at his shoulder. "Whoa. Simmer down there, Hop."

Hop immediately retracted as he was made aware of his little burst of excitement. He scratched the back of his head, blushing in embarrassment. He felt like a total child.

"S-Sorry about that. I got carried away," he said.

You laughed, waving him off. "No, no, it's totally fine! If anything, I'm glad that you're so interested!"

Taking care of rescued pokémon was your biggest passion, and you had sworn to dedicate yourself to making a difference for pokémon who were in need of a second chance at life. It was your favourite topic to discuss, and meeting people who seemed so excited to hear you speak about your work and experiences was something that made you beyond ecstatic.

You had to be honest with yourself: you were sometimes afraid that people would get bored or annoyed with you since you could never shut up about your sanctuary. You had the habit of always swerving your conversations towards it, and you really couldn't help it.

So, that's why you got along so well with women like Magnolia and Sonia. They were professors, researchers, and they loved to hear about your experiences regarding the pokémon you helped. You could always have great conversations with them.

You knew for a fact that Hop was highly passionate about pokémon. It showed when you watched his battles back then. And to want to become a professor, it took a lot of dedication and love towards these creatures. You were sure that you would get along great with him.

"You see, there are quite a few pokémon that are in my care. They all have their own story, and they are all unique. Every single one of them has a place in my heart, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for them. They're my number one priority in life," you gushed.

Your eyes then widened, and you chuckled nervously as you noticed that you were rambling.

"Ah... sorry. Here I go again, just talking my mouth off," you apologized.

"Wha-? Why are you apologizing?" Hop asked.

Before you could answer, Sonia chimed in. "They're a dummy, that's why. They think that they’ll annoy us if they talk too much about their sanctuary."

"Oh, come on! That's rubbish!" Hop exclaimed. "Can you tell me how you met your Frosmoth... Dumbo, was that it?" He continued.

You chuckled at the way Hop had managed to butcher her name. "It's Dumpling, and I'd be happy to!"

"It wasn't super out of the ordinary, but I met her right outside Circhester when she was just a tiny hatchling Snom, and when I say tiny, I mean it. She was smaller than any other Snom I had seen before, even for a baby. I guessed that she was the runt out of her siblings," you started.

"Oh! That explains why she seems smaller than the typical Frosmoth," he said. "R-Right, carry on!" He quickly added as he noticed that he had accidentally cut you off.

"She was still near her nest when I found her, but her family was nowhere to be seen. The thing that caught my eye, though, was that she was really unstable. She had a hard time walking without bumping into things. I was curious, so I managed to approach her, and she seemed to panic once she sensed that something was approaching, but she was turning in all sorts of directions, and she didn't seem to know where to look," you continued.

"And that's when you understood that she was blind," Hop said, making you nod.

"Yeah. I kept calm and talked to her in a gentle voice. I was really trying to reassure her that everything was alright. When she calmed down, she let me pet her and even pick her up eventually. I tried looking around the route for her family, but I couldn't find them. I guessed that the mother left her behind because she was the weakest, less likely to survive of the hatchings," you said.

You scratched Dumpling's cheek, causing her to nuzzle your hand with a soft, melodic cry sounding from her.

"I just kind of, you know, took her in. I mean... I just couldn't leave her out there. I don't think I would have been able to forgive myself if I left a vulnerable baby out there, you know?" You finished.

Hop grinned. "You should pat yourself on the back, mate! I mean, you gave her a chance, and she looks like she appreciates it a lot."

At Hop's words, Dumpling happily fluttered her wings, little snowflakes emitting from her as she did so.

"O-Oh... it was just the right thing to do!" You said.

"(Y/N), give yourself more credit. A lot of people wouldn't have had the same heart of gold that you had in that situation. It's not everyone who would have wanted to take so much time in helping and caring for an 'imperfect' pokémon," Sonia said, making Hop nod in agreement.

It might have been the first time he's met you, but Hop could immediately say that you were a great person. Lovable, even. His mind raced as he felt that he would love to get to know you some more. You had such a warm and inviting presence that practically pulled him to you.

As you were speaking, he could only find himself being completely pulled into a state of immersion at your words. He certainly didn't miss the way your eyes practically shined with life when you spoke about your meeting with Dumpling. You had so much emotion in your voice, and he found it to be absolutely endearing.

Of course, he knew that his desire to get to know you was most likely one-sided and merely wishful thinking on his part. After all, Hop knew that he wasn't very impressive. He was just an assistant who hasn't done anything remarkable. Surely, you wouldn't spare him a minute.

"Say, Hop," you started, making him snap out of his thoughts.

"How about you come over to my place for a visit whenever you have some free time? I could show you around the sanctuary if you're interested!" You offered.

Sonia nudged him. "You should take her up on that offer. You'll love it, I swear! It's so pretty at her place," She said.

"You really mean that?" He asked.

"Of course!" You said.

Hop was caught off guard by your offer. He didn't expect you to invite a nobody like him to your precious sanctuary. He really hoped that he wouldn't be a waste of time to you.

Still, he couldn't help but grin wildly as he practically bounced in his seat. "That would be amazing! Thanks a bunch, (Y/N)!" He exclaimed.

"Please, it's my pleasure!" You said with a smile. "Would you hand me your phone? I'll give you my phone number so you can text me whenever you want to come over!" You said.

"O-Oh! Right!" Hop said with a light blush.

He pulled out his phone and opened up a new contact page before handing it to you. Hop was definitely surprised, it wasn't everyday that a woman offered him her phone number.

"Alright. Here you go!" You said, handing him back his phone.

"I'm pretty much always at my place, so come on over anytime, honestly. Just let me know so that I don't miss when you ring the doorbell since I'm often outside!" You said.

"Gotcha. Thanks a bunch for the opportunity, (Y/N)," he grinned.

You smiled. Hop's smile and enthusiasm was contagious. You hoped that he would go through with your offer. Hop was precisely the kind of person you wanted to share your work and passion with.

~~~~~~

To: (Y/N) 

12:08 P.M

- Hiya! It's Hop, Sonia's assistant from the other day. I have some free time, and I was hoping to maybe come and visit you, maybe?

From: (Y/N) 

12:11 PM

- Hop, hey! I've been waiting for you to hit me up! I'd love for you to visit. Come on over. I can't wait to show you around!

To: (Y/N) 

12:11 PM

- Great! I'm on my way, like, right now. Is that cool with you?

From: (Y/N) 

12:12 PM

- Of course. See you in a bit!

Hop couldn't help the huge, dorky grin on his face as he hurried along the nearly hidden path behind Magnolia's house that led to your sanctuary.

He was beyond excited to get a feel for the kind of life you had as a pokémon rescuer. Plus, he had to be honest with himself: he was excited to see you again. 

He was definitely relieved that you meant it when you had offered him to visit, he had almost expected for your words to be hollow. He wouldn't have blamed you, you probably had better things to do than waste your precious time on him. Still, he was grateful.

And he couldn't help but re-read your messages. Especially the 'I've been waiting for you to hit me up.' It was simple, yet he couldn't deny that it made him feel like he was desirable, like you actually might be interested in his company.

The path to your home was rather bumpy. There were quite a few rocks and branches along the way. He had to slow down a bit as he kept tripping over the various debris on the road. You had really picked one hell of a spot for your sanctuary.

When he finally managed to navigate the narrow path of debris and trees, he came to a gorgeous clearing. There, he saw what was most likely your home, which was situated between a large fenced off area and a berry garden. 

He could already see many trees planted inside the fence, and there seemed to be a second building connected to the area, most likely an indoor area for the pokémon.

Hop grinned as he accelerated towards your house, completely hyped now that he was there and about to experience something entirely new to him.

Your home was a rather small, white farmhouse. It seemed that there were two stories to your home, and there was a small porch with an outdoor swing on it. It looked cozy, and for some reason, it was exactly the kind of house that he would think someone with a rescue would have.

Now at your front door, his hand froze midair as he was about to ring your doorbell. He mentally groaned, was he seriously having second thoughts about everything? 

It's not that he didn't want to visit you. If anything, nothing could make him any happier than visiting you at the moment. What if he was going to slow you down in your work? Hop didn't want you to put your whole day on hold just for him. 

He knew that you had told him that he could drop in anytime, but what if he had caught you at a bad time, and you were simply too nice to turn him away? The more he thought about it, the more he felt like a nuisance.

"Get it together, mate. You're here to have fun and get to know a sweet person better. That's all there is to it," Hop whispered to himself, attempting to calm his nerves.

When he finally rang the doorbell, he immediately heard frantic shuffling coming from inside your house. Barely a few seconds had passed, and you had already opened the door, greeting him with a big grin. You were holding a little Sobble in your arms, one of its front legs was bandaged.

Hop couldn't help but be surprised at the speed you had just displayed. Had you really been waiting for him to such a point? The thought was quickly lost, though. You most likely weren't. At least, not for someone as uninteresting as he was.

"Hop! I'm so glad you came by!" You said, stepping out of your home.

"I'm glad to be here! You're absolutely sure that this okay with you, right? I wouldn't want to be a bother," Hop asked.

He regretted asking as he wanted to keep the outing positive, but he really couldn't help sliding that question in. 

"Don't be silly. Really, I'm happy you're here," you said.

When your tone was laced with such sincerity, Hop couldn't help but grin at you. Perhaps, you truly would enjoy his company.

"Ah... wait. You've got a few leaves in your hair," you said.

You reached your hand to his hair, gently brushing it and causing Hop to slightly squeak in surprise. You couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction. It was pretty cute.

"Yeah. I... well, I smashed into a few branches on my way here. I was so hyped that I could barely slow down and look where I was going," Hop admitted.

"Hey, it still happens to me!" You chuckled. 

When you were done brushing the debris out of Hop's hair, you shut the door of your home. 

"Well? Ready?" You asked as you beckoned him to follow you. "Front gate's just this way."

Hop nodded excitedly as he walked by your side. His gaze went to the Sobble that you were still holding.

"So, who's this little fellow?" He asked.

"I call him Dizzy!" You said.

"Dizzy?"

"Yeah... he has a neurological disorder that affects his balance and cognition. He's not super stable on his feet and took a bit of a tumble today. Nothing too drastic, though, just a little scrape!" You explained.

"Whoa, alright. Is it curable, the disorder? S-Sorry if it sounds stupid, I've just never met a pokémon with a neurological problem," Hop asked.

"Not stupid at all. You won't know unless you ask. It can't be cured. It's genetic, and it's there to stay. Unfortunately, Dizzy has the worst level of it, so he has to take medication every day, or else he could get seizures," you said.

Hop frowned at that. "That's... poor thing."

You rubbed Dizzy's head, making him purr in delight. "Yeah... but he's been great!"

You came to a stop so that you could open the main gate of your rescue, holding it out for Hop to go first. You followed after him, shutting the gate afterwards.

"Flygon?" You called out once you were in the perimeter.

Almost instantly, a Flygon dived from the sky, landing right in front of you and Hop. Poor Hop nearly squealed in surprise at the large dragon, especially since it was glaring right at him.

"Hey, hey, ease up! Hop's a friend, he's good!" You cooed, which seemed to calm him.

"Could you take him back to the water area, please?" You asked, handing him the oblivious Sobble.

With a happy cry of his name, the dragon nodded and took to the skies in the direction of the area you had told him.

"You okay there, Hop?" You asked, chuckling at the look on his face.

He quickly shook his head. "Y-Yeah! I just didn't expect you to have a big Flygon around," he said, chuckling.

"Yeah... Flygon's a big help around here!" You said.

"That's pretty sweet."

You nodded in agreement before clasping your hands together. "Now, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" You said enthusiastically.

Barely into your rescue, and it was already bustling with life. Beautiful, healthy plants, flowers and trees bloomed all over the area. It was rather grassy, except for the main pathway. 

Hootoots, Rookidees and Corvisquires were perched atop the branches. Hop could also make out a Leafeon peacefully sleeping in a shaded area. A Galvantula was carefully working on a burrow inside of a cavity in the base of a tree. Its web looked like a work of art.

There were even some berry trees, and a sweet Flapple was knocking ripe berries out of the tree so that a duo of Appletun could snack on them. 

Where large patches of flowers laid, there was a group of Gossifleurs, Eldegoss, Cottonees and Whimsicotts hanging together. Combees, Cutiflies and Ribombees happily twirled around the flowers. 

Hop had to freeze in his steps to let a trio of Nickit, Purrloin and Yamper pass as they seemed to be playing a game of chase with each other.

Your place was gorgeous and immaculate. He felt like he was in a pokémon research lab; only this was a much more natural environment.

"Look at all of 'em..." Hop said, eyes shining in absolute wonder.

You couldn't help but giggle at how cute Hop looked. He was truly in his element. 

"There's even more of them too! Some might be hiding, and others are in other areas," you said with a small yet proud smirk.

"Bloody hell... this is so cool!" He said. "So, do these pokémon all belong to you?" He asked.

"Not necessarily. Some are still wild pokémon, but they happen to be in my care," you said.

As the two of you kept walking along the path, Hop noticed that there was a lack of human presence in your area. Not a single person other than the two of you was in sight.

"Do.... do you run this all by yourself, (Y/N)?" Hop asked incredulously.

"Well... yes," you said, scratching the back of your head.

"How?! Taking care of pokémon with particular needs can't be an easy feat!" Hop said, mouth agape.

You laughed. "It's definitely something, but knowing that I'm helping pokémon in need, the fatigue is worth it."

"You don't have a single employee? Not even one?" Hop asked, still barely believing it.

"Nope. The closest thing that I have to employees is my team of pokémon that I raised during the gym challenge. I have some stationed in each area of the rescue, so if there are any problems, they'll come to me. I also have my Flygon, who keeps an eye on things from the sky during day time, and my Gengar is on night patrol!" You explained.

"Wow, mate, you sure have a handle on things," he smiled.

And then it hit him. "Wait, you were in the challenge?" He asked.

"Yeah! I wasn't doing it the same year as you though. I didn't get to the end... I met Dumpling, and I was so focused on helping her out that I just, you know, dropped out. But I'm happy I-"

You were cut off by the happy barking of your Growlithe, who was running as fast as she could towards you.

You smiled and crouched to her level, patting her fur as she rapidly and excitedly wagged her tail all the while snuggling you.

"Nubby, my little girl! How are you doing?" You cooed.

Alright. Hop had to compose himself for a few seconds as he nearly melted into a puddle of feelings at the sound of your adorable baby voice.

The more he spoke to you, the more he realized just how incredible you were. Boy, did he feel blessed that you even considered giving him a second of your precious time.

You were leagues above him in so many ways. The two of you had started off the same way: you had both started your lives as mere challengers. You didn't even finish yours, yet you still had managed to become someone. You had a goal, and you were accomplishing incredible things. Meanwhile, Hop had completed his challenge, but he was still utter rubbish who had not managed to do anything impressive of his life.

Your presence, Hop loved it more and more as the minutes went by. But he knew that he didn't deserve it. You shouldn't be associating with a loser like him.

He shook his head, trying to snap himself out of his thoughts, pronto. It was then that he noticed that the Growlithe was missing her right front leg. Only a little nub remained, which was probably why you referred to her as Nubby.

"So, who's this girl?" He asked.

"This is Nubby! Her leg had to be amputated because she had severe trauma where she suffered from too many fractures to the point where it was unfixable," you explained.

Hop crouched down as well, cringing slightly at the thought. "I'm kind of scared to ask what happened to her..." he added, extending his hand.

At that, Nubby bounced to Hop's hand, sniffing it before barking happily once again.

"Yeah... let's just say that her previous owner wasn't a very nice person," you said, a bitter frown on your face as you recalled the memories.

"That's absolute rubbish. How could someone treat a pokémon so poorly?" Hop said.

Nubby began to lick and nuzzle Hop's hand as she wanted some head pats, which is precisely what he did.

"Aw... but you're such a good girl. You didn't deserve that," he cooed.

"She really likes you, Hop! You're a natural with pokémon," You said, laughing softly.

"You think?" He asked with a big grin. His heart practically soared at the compliment.

"Duh! Why wouldn't I?" You said.

"I mean... I've never been a great trainer like my brother or Victor, and I can barely consider myself a professor. I still have a lot to learn, you know?" He said.

Hop instantly cringed as the words left his mouth. He wanted nothing more than to remain positive for the day. After all, he's been adoring every second with you. Yet, Hop couldn't help but let his feelings pour a bit. You just gave him that sentiment of trust that made him want to confide in you.

But, he felt absolutely silly at having unloaded his negativity on you. You didn't deserve to have his self-pity on your shoulders.

However, you just sent him a soft smile before crawling to his side and gently putting your hand on his shoulder. The touch had his stomach fluttering.

"Give yourself more credit, Hop. While Victor was completely destroying everyone, you were the only trainer to give him a run for his money. And you already know so much about pokémon, so imagine in a few years how much of an amazing professor you'll be," you said.

"I-" Hop stuttered, unable to express himself as he felt his face heat up. "Geez, (Y/N), thanks... you're too kind," he said.

"I'm just being factual," you said, grinning at him before standing up.

"Heya, Nubby? I have to finish the tour. Come find me later, and we'll play, okay?" You said.

She barked and nodded. She licked him one last time before pulling away from Hop.  She then bounced off to play with other pokémon.

You extended your hand to Hop, which he took and let you pull him up from the ground. Hop's mind ran wild as he noticed that you had not let go of his hand as you led him through your rescue. You were so casual about it.

As you brought him to the next area, his eyes widened at the gorgeous scenery—a large pond surrounded by rocks, shrubs and trees. There was even a little trickling waterfall. Aquatic plants were surfacing, and the stones had natural moss growing on them.

The little Sobble from earlier seemed like he was having a blast floating on top of a Lotad's head. Little Pyukumukus were chilling on the edges of the rocks, and many fish pokémon happily splashed about. Even non-water type pokémon were running around the area.

"So? What do you think?" You asked.

"What do I think? Mate, it's amazing! If I were a pokémon, I'd never want to leave. How'd you even manage all of this?" He asked, absolutely stunned.

"With a lot of work. My family and I all pitched in to build, landscape and plant everything," you said.

"Bloody hell. You definitely succeeded!" Hop said.

Off in the distance, he saw a more rocky and sandy area. Larvitars were rolling around in the sand. A Sizzlipede and Helioptile were sunbathing on rocks. Hop could also see a large group of Salandits.

"Whoa, you've got a lot of Salandits," he commented.

"Yeah... they tend to be a pretty common pokémon in the rescue," you said.

"Is it because of the Salazzles? I'm pretty sure some Salazzles are pretty ruthless with Salandits. You know, taking all their food and stuff," Hop said.

You grinned. "You're actually spot on, Hop! See? You do know your stuff!"

He blushed again, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. Hop was definitely happy that you were complimenting him. It was a nice, refreshing change from his usual intrusive thoughts.

"They're all males, and they've been starved to the point of near-death because of overly dominant Salazzles. Nature can be just as cruel as humans at times," you said.

You sat down in the shade of a tree. Hop followed, sitting next to you.

"Definitely. But they seem really ha- huh? Is that a shiny Salandit," he asked with wide eyes.

You followed his gaze, and you smiled once you saw the sweet Salandit that he was referring to. The little guy was watching you from afar, yet he made no moves to come to you.

"It is... that would be Blizzard," you said. "Blizzard, sweetie, come over here," you called out.

Blizzard flinched, but he complied. However, he was taking slow, shaky steps, and his posture was excessively nervous, which didn't go unnoticed by Hop.

"Hey... what's wrong with the fellow?" He asked.

"Oh... well, he's petrified of anyone who isn't me," you said.

"O-Oh... maybe I should leave, then? I wouldn't want to cause problems," he said.

You shook your head. "Don't be silly, Hop. You're allowed to stay."

"Can I ask why he's so nervous with people?" Hop asked.

You nodded, sighing at the horrible story. "I happened to be in the area when it all went down, releasing some pokémon who were fit to go back in the wild. A shiny hunter had been looking for a shiny Salandit for months to add to his 'collection.' When he finally found Blizzard, he was outraged that he found a male since they're incapable of evolving. In his fit of rage, the hunter yelled at Blizzard, calling him a worthless piece of shit and kicked him so hard against a rock the poor thing's skull cracked."

"What the hell?!" Hop nearly yelled. 

"I know..." you said.

Blizzard had finally crawled to your hand. He sniffed your hand before rubbing his head against your hand. Hop noticed a few scars on top of the Salandit's head. 

"He seems so sweet," Hop said.

You nodded as you scooped Blizzard into your arms and your lap. He curled up into a bundle, really cuddling up to you as much as he could.

"Hey... thanks again for letting me come here, I mean, look at this place! It's amazing! I could just sit here and watch the pokémon all day," Hop said enthusiastically.

"Well, why don't you drop by more often?" You proposed.

"R-Really? I mean, I'd love to. B-But I wouldn't want to be a bother!" He stuttered, voice laced with surprise.

"Oh, come on! I really enjoyed your company today. It's so nice to have someone as enthusiastic and passionate as you around. Plus, wouldn't it be good for your research? To come here and all?" You said.

"I.... you have a point. I had fun today too, and well, you know..." he said, trailing off near the end as his cheeks erupted in a cherry hue.

Hop was adorable, and you meant it when you said that you'd like to have him over more often. You hoped he would as you definitely had an interest in him blossoming within you.

~~~~~~

Hop never expected that a visit to Magnolia's home would make him meet someone like you. Someone he felt at peace and ease with, someone who he sought out their company.

He kept telling himself that he shouldn't be such a burden by dropping in on you so often, but he couldn't help it.

He went to see you whenever possible, and he lived for the moments where he did. Hop was always so mesmerized by all of the pokémon you took care of. You brought so much to his research, even Sonia had noticed.

And today was another day where he was racing down to your home to see you again.

Getting to your place, he immediately saw you on the porch, sitting on your little swing. As he got closer, he noticed that you were holding two little Dreepys. Next to you was Blizzard, who was snuggling against your thigh.

Hop also saw two bottles and blankets placed onto the table next to the swing. You were probably in the midst of caring for the little ones.

You heard footsteps approaching you. Lifting your head, you saw Hop heading your way, a perfect smile upon his face as he waved at you.

"Heya, Hoppers! Come sit with me, you've got to meet these little cuties," you called out.

Upon realizing that Hop was here, the Salandit that had been cuddling you scurried off of the swing to hide behind your feet and under the swing.

Hop frowned at that. Most of the pokémon had gotten used to his presence, and they all let him play and pet them. But it wasn't the case for Blizzard. The poor thing was still terrified of Hop. Not that Hop blamed him.

"Shoot, sorry. I didn't mean to scare him off," Hop apologized, sitting next to you.

You waved off his apology. "It's fine. He'll come around eventually."

"When did you get Dreepys, (Y/N)?" He asked.

"Just the other day. Aren't they cute?" You gushed as you wiggled your fingers at the little ones, causing them to squeal happily.

"They're tiny. Babies?" Hop said.

"Yeah... they're practically newborns. Their mum passed away. Someone contacted me the other day saying that he found the babies near their mum's body," you explained.

Hop frowned. "Poor things. I wonder what happened to the mum."

"I'm not sure. The Dragapult didn't seem to have any wounds, so she may have been sick," you said.

"So, are you going to keep them until they're old enough to fend for themselves? Like what mother Dragapults do?" Hop said.

You smiled. "That's the plan! Unless they decide that they want to stay."

Suddenly, the duo of babies was trying to nibble at your fingers, causing you to retract them before you got chomped.

"They're probably hungry. Why don't we feed them?" You said.

"We? But-" 

Hop was interrupted as you handed him one of the hungry babies. It wiggled its paws excitedly in Hop's arms.

"A-Are you sure, (Y/N)? Maybe you're better off handling things. I don't want to mess anything up," Hop said with an undertone of nervousness.

You couldn't help but frown. This was a recurring problem with Hop. You had noticed that he seemed to think rather lowly of himself ever since you first met him at Magnolia's. At the time, you had brushed off his behaviour as pure nervousness, but you were most definitely wrong. 

Hop put everyone around him on the highest pedestal while he put himself down. He was constantly doubting his abilities and brushing off his accomplishments as if they were nothing. Every so often, he would make pessimistic comments about himself.

His low self-esteem was heartbreaking to you. You thought that Hop was great, and you wished that he could see himself the way you saw him.

"This isn't the first time you've helped me feed a pokémon from the sanctuary, you'll be fine!" You reassured him.

"I- well, alright then," Hop said.

You grabbed the bottles from the table and handed one to Hop. You shook your bottle and held it out to the baby Dreepy who immediately latched onto it.

"Don't tip the bottle too much, so the Dreepy doesn't drink too fast and choke. That's all there is to it!" You said.

Hop stared at you as you fed the baby dragon with a small blush colouring his face. You looked so cute when you took care of pokémon. Your passion and love for what you did really surfaced, and it was so sweet.

The Dreepy that Hop was holding nudged him, wanting food as well. Hop mumbled a small apology to the pokémon for making him wait.

So, Hop copied what you were doing to feed the baby. Hop had never fed a baby dragon before, so this was a pleasant experience.

Your Dreepy was already done eating, and he let out a big yawn. You set the bottle down and grabbed one of the blankets, wrapping him in a little bundle.

"It helps them feel more secure. They usually spend a lot of time in their mother's catapults at this age, so they like being bundled up," you explained.

"You'd make a good parent," Hop blurted, which he instantly regretted.

His blush worsened as he processed the idiotic and embarrassing thing he had just said. What the hell was wrong with him? How in Arceus' name did he come to the conclusion that that was an appropriate thing to say?

"I-I mean I- never mind! J-Just pretend that you didn't hear that!" Hop said, embarrassed.

But, all you did was grin at him. "You really think so?"

He blinked, surprised that you weren't mad or uncomfortable. "Well... yes," he admitted.

You nodded, still smiling. You glanced at his lap and noticed that the baby Dreepy was finished eating and had fallen asleep all curled up in his lap.

"And... you'd definitely be a great dad," you said, winking at him as you held out the other blanket.

Hop's mind practically stopped functioning at your reply, and he would most likely have a heart attack if this kept up.

He grabbed the blanket, and although his hands were a little shaky from what had just transpired, he managed to wrap it around the Dreepy.

"See? You did really well with the Dreepy! Thanks for giving me a hand," you said.

"I-It's my pleasure- huh?" 

Hop paused as he noticed that Blizzard was starting to poke his head out from underneath the swing. The Salandit was looking straight at Hop and tilting his head. He seemed to be intrigued in Hop.

Hop smiled. "Heya, lil' buddy."

You grinned at the scene. Although Blizzard wasn't making any moves to come to Hop, he was starting to recognize Hop as a good person, which was a good thing.

Hop leaned down, holding his hand out to Blizzard. Blizzard continued to stare at Hop's hand, but he ultimately decided to back away a little and hold onto your leg.

"Still not passed the 'no touchy' boundaries, huh? It's alright, take your time," Hop said, sitting upright.

"If anything, I think Blizzard likes you. He's never even tried to make eye contact with others," you said.

"Really?"

"Yeah! He must sense that you're absolutely amazing!" You said.

Hop blushed. "I- thanks, (Y/N)"

Hop never expected that a visit to Magnolia's home would make him meet someone like you. Someone he would end up crushing on, even if he knew that you would never glance at him in that way.

~~~~~~

"Hello? Sonia? Hop?" You called out, entering the research lab.

Hop, who was putting away some books on the second story, turned around at the sound of your voice. He grinned when he saw you.

"(Y/N)! Whatcha doing here?" He asked, heading down the stairs.

You hugged him, which he immediately reciprocated. Thankfully for him, you couldn't see the dorky, lovesick smile plastered on his face when you did.

"I was actually dropping off some rare berries by Sonia's request. You know how much she loves making curry," you said, waving a bag around.

Hop took your bag to place it onto the desk for Sonia to grab whenever she came back to the lab. 

He looked back at you, playfully pouting. "Aw... you didn't come here to see me?"

"Well, it might have been an excuse to come and see you," you winked.

You were just joking around, he knew that. You had to be, there was no way you actually meant that. Even if he knew not to put much thought into it, he couldn't help but hang onto the slight sliver of hope that there was some underlying flirtatious message in your comment. 

"But, er, do you mind if I stay with you a bit?" You asked. "I'll leave if you're busy, though," you added.

Hop practically lit up at your desire to stay with him, and he hoped that he didn't seem like such a dork. 

"No, no, I'd be happy for you to stay. I was getting kind of bored any- hey... are you alright?" Hop interrupted himself, smile faltering a bit when he noticed that you looked exhausted.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Perfectly fine," you said.

You mentally cursed yourself for not covering up your fatigued state better. You were completely drained, and that was a big fact, a fact that you tried to push away as best as you could. 

You knew that you needed to rest, yet you were so stubborn and strict with yourself that you continued to work and work until you looked and felt like a wreck. It made you so happy to make your pokémon happy that you had managed to convince yourself that your own health wasn't as crucial as their wellbeing.

The last few days and nights were particularly rough with the baby Dreepys getting up a few times per night. Plus, you had gotten a difficult Toxtricity who was pulled from a sadistic owner. The pokémon was missing an eye, and scars littered his entire body. He was exceptionally aggressive and defensive, and you had spent a lot of time and energy on him to try to ease him up a bit. There was progress, but the rehabilitation would be long.

You had hoped that it would have gone unnoticed by Hop. He was already struggling with his own self-esteem issues, and you didn't want him to worry about you. You wanted him to take care of himself first and foremost. To hell with the state you brought upon yourself.

But, you knew that he wouldn't let it slide. Hop was just as stubborn as you were.

"Have you been sleeping all that well at all, (Y/N)?" He asked.

"Yes!" You said enthusiastically, though your voice cracked as you felt your head pound from how tired you were.

"You should sit down," Hop insisted, gently taking your hand in his to drag you to the couch.

"I swear, I'm fine, Hop," you protested, even though it was apparent that you were lying as you made no effort to stop Hop from sitting you down.

"(Y/N), we both know that's rubbish. I mean, you can barely keep your eyes open," Hop said.

"I... I guess you're right," you sighed, rubbing your eyes and forehead.

Hop put his hands on your shoulders, rubbing them soothingly. "Take it easy on yourself, you poor thing."

You nodded, barely having the energy to even speak properly.

Feeling a bit bolder, Hop wrapped an arm around your shoulders and brought you closer against him. You immediately responded by laying your head on his chest, making him blush at the unexpected action.

"You don't mind, yeah? You're kinda comfy," you said.

"I-It's fine," Hop squeaked.

His heart raced a mile a minute, which you could probably hear. Still, he managed to bring his hand up to your head to run it through your soft hair. He swore that you practically purred at the contact.

"I might fall asleep if you keep doing that," you mumbled.

He chuckled. "Guess I'll keep at it then."

And that's exactly what happened. After a few minutes of innocent cuddling, you had ultimately passed out on him. You seemed so peaceful that Hop didn't bother moving from his spot.

It was also because he enjoyed having you so close to him.

He figured that this was the closest thing to more intimate physical contact he would get with you. So, he wasn't complaining. But he kept telling himself that it was just a coincidence that you happened to fall asleep on him, that it didn't make him special. 

As Hop kept playing with your hair, Sonia had walked into the lab, and the first thing she saw was you and Hop cuddled up against one another.

She stared for a few seconds before smirking. "Well, isn't that just adorable?" She teased.

"It's... not what it looks like," Hop defended rather poorly, cheeks beginning to heat up.

"Oh, right, pardon me. You totally aren't cuddling with (Y/N)," she winked.

"They... they were just really tired and ended up passing out... on me," he said, mumbling the last part.

"I mean... it's not like you're complaining, right?" Sonia said.

"Sonia..." Hop warned.

She ignored him. "Like, you're crazy for them, so it must be a dream come true!"

Hop huffed, red-faced in embarrassment. "Your berries are on the desk..."

"You're not getting out of this that easily," she said.

Hop sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. No, I don't mind having them like this. Far from it, actually."

Sonia giggled, heading over to the bag of berries. "So, when do you plan on asking them out on an actual date?" She said, rummaging through the bag.

He shrugged. "Not now... or ever."

Sonia turned around, looking at Hop questionably. "Why?"

Hop shrugged again, a sad smile overtaking him. "We're just friends, and that's all we'll be. I know they’ll never like me the way I do, so why risk ruining everything, you know?"

"What makes you say that, Hop?" She asked.

"They just... won't. B-But that's fine!" He said, not wanting to pour his feelings of insecurity to Sonia.

She frowned. "Right... well, you should give it a chance. If anything, I've never seen (Y/N) come to the lab as often as this ever since they met you. I think you've got a good chance."

Hop nodded. However, Sonia's words practically went over his head. He would rather endure a one-sided crush than face the reality of rejection. He was convinced that that's what you would do should he try to say anything about his feelings.

Why would you like him? Hop couldn't find a single reason why you would, and it did shatter his heart to pieces.

Even if he would die to have the chance of calling himself your boyfriend, the shattering feeling of rejection and ruining your friendship weren't things Hop wanted to go through.

~~~~~~

Hop was visiting you once more, and he was giving you a hand in handing out food for all of the pokémon. Really, he couldn't have asked for a better way to spend his days; spending time with you, helping you, taking care of pokémon and learning new things.

He was outdoors, near the water and sandy areas of the rescue. You weren't too far from him. He could see you through some trees sitting at a fair distance from your Toxtricity. He could hear you talking about random little things as a tactic to get the pokémon used to your presence.

Glancing at you, he smiled at how determined you looked to get Toxtricity to trust again. There was a small difference in behaviour that was noticeable. The pokémon no longer tried to attack you on sight.

He placed various dishes down for the pokémon that were hanging near the water area, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the little Sobble lose his balance, which had the lizard nearly slip off the rocks.

Hop rushed over to Dizzy, catching him before he could fall and hurt himself. 

"Heya, you've gotta be more careful, mate. You don't want to get hurt again, huh?" He lightly scolded.

Dizzy, still in Hop's arms, tilted his head innocently, not understanding what was going on. Hop chuckled at that and patted Dizzy's head, making him purr in delight.

"Everything alright, Hoppers?" You called out from the trees.

"All good! Just Dizzy being, well, dizzy," Hop replied.

"You sure are a handful, aren't you?" He said to Dizzy. "Not that you mean it, or anything."

Hop set the Sobble back down onto the ground, near all the other pokémon so that he could eat. It was one big, happy family, and all of the pokémon of the area always pitched in to keep an eye on the Sobble whenever possible.

Turning around, Hop blinked in surprise as saw the shiny Salandit slowly crawling over to him. However, Blizzard immediately froze in his tracks when he noticed that Hop saw him.

Hop crouched, holding his hand out. "You have nothing to be afraid of. Trust me, please?"

To his absolute bafflement, Blizzard took more steps forward. They were slow and shaky, but he was approaching Hop nonetheless.

And then, the Salandit sniffed Hop's hand. Going a bit further, Hop rubbed the underside of Blizzard's chin, which he responded by nuzzling Hop's hand, happily wagging his tail.

"See? I'm not so bad, right?" Hop said, making Blizzard nod in agreement.

"Can I help you, sir?" 

Hop stopped petting Blizzard at the sound of your voice, immediately on alert. The tone of your voice sounded very wary, and rightfully so as there was an unknown man in front of you.

You stared at the new presence with caution. Your sanctuary wasn't open to the public, so this man was trespassing.

You didn't like the way that he was looking at you, glaring at you and scanning you with a sneer. He was making you slightly uncomfortable, but you kept your cool. If anything happened that you didn't like, both your Flygon and Hop would be by your side.

And you had a feeling that Hop was keeping an eye on you in the distance. You had noticed how he had started becoming a little protective of you. It was especially noticeable when he scolded you about taking poor care of yourself.

As the man wasn't responding, you spoke up again. "If you don't have any particular business with me, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This is private property."

"I've got business with you," he said.

"And that would be..?" You pressed.

"You the bitch who's got my Toxtricity?" He asked.

Your eyes widened. The Toxtricity you had gotten just two weeks ago, this was his previous owner. From the corner of your eye, you saw the pokémon in question flinch. You were, suddenly, feeling very bitter.

"Oh... you mean the Toxtricity that's covered in scars and burn marks? The one that's missing an eye?" You said.

He smirked. "Yeah. That one. I'm here to pick it up. Just hand it over to me, and we ain't gon' have any problems."

"I don't think so," you said, taking a step back as the man stepped forward.

The air felt heavy as the man kept a glare etched on you. He was tall and rather buff. If he had no issues harming his own pokémon for nothing more than sick pleasure, then what would stop him from hurting you?

"I'm not gonna say it again. Hand the fucking thing over if you don't wanna end up like it," he said.

That was enough for Hop.

"Is there a problem?" Hop said as he stepped to your side.

The intruder chuckled, his tone was full of mockery. "This fuckin' stick is your bodyguard? How cute."

"I swear, mate, leave them alone," Hop nearly growled, taking a step forward so he could be in front of you.

"What the fuck do you expect to do- oh... there you are," the man said, glancing off to the side and noticing Toxtricity.

Toxtricity growled at the man, though you could clearly see the poor thing shaking in absolute fear. 

In mockery, the man chuckled and took a few steps towards the panicked pokémon, causing you to panic a bit.

"No! Don't even think of getting close to him," you yelled.

You tried to hurry to Toxtricity before he could, but before you could, the man had smacked you hard enough for you to plunge to the ground.

This caused your Flygon to dive from the sky, snarling at the man as he shielded both you and Toxtricity. As for Hop, utterly furious, he had decided to release one of his most prized pokémon to come to your aid. That's how the intruder found himself sandwiched between a furious Flygon and a powerful Zacian.

"Zacian, Flygon, pin him down! Make sure that this worthless piece of rubbish can't escape," Hop ordered.

The two pokémon were more than happy to comply, the man never stood a chance as Flygon whacked the man with his tail, causing him to fly to Zacian's side where the legendary wolf kept a paw on him to prevent him from escaping. It looked beyond painful, but Hop didn't care.

"Keep him in place, Zacian," Hop said.

Even with the aching pain you felt, you couldn't help but stare at the legendary pokémon in wonder. You knew that Hop had Zacian by his side, but you had never seen it. And looking at it in person, obeying Hop's commands without a single protest was terrific. Hop was truly a great trainer that deserved every ounce of recognition, but you had never doubted that. Not once.

With that, Hop raced to your side, wasting no time in hugging you tightly before helping you back up on your feet.

"(Y/N)! Are you okay? Shit, that's gonna leave a bruise," he said, analyzing your injury.

"I-I'll be-"

"Shit... I'm so sorry I let that happen," he continued, not letting you speak.

"Hop, it's not-"

"Oh fuck... how could I let that happen to you?"

"Hop..."

"I'm so stupid. I should have reacted sooner. What was I thinking?"

You hugged him tightly, catching him off guard and causing him to finally cease his frantic, pessimistic comments about himself.

"I'm glad you stepped in when you did. If you hadn't, who knows what would have happened to Toxtricity and me. Thank you," you said.

"B-But... you got hurt," Hop muttered, voice cracking slightly.

"It'll heal. It's not your fault. You're a hero, for all I care," you said, pulling away with a smile.

"I... I'm glad you think so," he said.

He turned back to glare at the piece of shit, still struggling underneath his Zacian's weight. 

"Go inside and clean yourself up. Get a bag of ice, sit down and decompress, okay? I'll call the police so they can come to pick up the trash. I'll stay here until they arrive," he said, turning back to you.

"Okay. Thank you. But... can you, you know, come inside with me after? I don't want to be alone after what happened," you said, cheeks heating a bit.

Hop felt his heart skip a few beats at the fact that you were seeking comfort in him.

He nodded. "Anything for you," he said, smiling nervously at his choice of words, but you didn't seem to mind.

As you distanced yourself from the scene, you couldn't help but smile despite it all. You were so thankful that Hop was there for you, and you knew that you could trust him with everything. He was wonderful.

~~~~~~

You stared at yourself in your bedroom mirror, nodding confidently as you felt that you looked presentable. Although you weren't really going for an extravagant look, you looked cute.

There had always been chemistry between you and Hop. Being with him felt natural and right; you had practically instantly clicked. Over the months, your interest in Hop grew and grew until you could confidently say that you had fallen in love with him.

And so, after much consideration and hyping yourself up, you had decided that you would take it upon yourself to make a romantic move on Hop. You were going to ask him on a little date.

You exited your house to head to Wedgehurst, a giddy and warm feeling surfacing. If Hop accepted, you would be the happiest person in Galar.

It's been so long since you've dated anyone, and although you hadn't been actively looking for a significant other, you were happy that you happened to meet Hop.

Hop was the kind of man you'd love to date. He was such a bundle of energy, passion and ambition, which made him stand out from other people you've met. He was such a sweetheart with you, and he obviously cared a lot for you. What more could you ask for?

When you were in front of the lab, you took a deep breath, trying to compose yourself. You were excited, but nervous. You nodded to yourself, it was now or never. Entering the lab, you saw Hop lazing on the lab's couch, watching something on his Rotom Phone. You heard some rummaging noises coming from the back of the lab, most likely Sonia.

Hop lifted his gaze, grinning when he saw you heading his way. He set his phone down.

"(Y/N)! Hi! What brings you here?" Hop asked, still grinning.

"Well, I... I'm not bothering you, right?" You asked as feeble attempt to take your time in asking him out.

"Pft. When do you ever bother me?" Hop said.

"Okay. Good, that's good," you said, already feeling your cheeks heat up.

You came here, feeling so confident in yourself, knowing exactly what to say and how to say it, only to transform into a moron when you were in front of Hop.

"Hey... you feeling alright? Are you sick or something?" Hop asked, concern lacing his voice.

"No, no, I'm cool. I just-" you took a deep breath. "You see... there's this really nice café in Turrfield, and well, would you like to go with me?" You finally asked.

Hop blinked, visibly processing your words before blushing madly. "Wait. Are you... are you asking me on a date," he asked, completely shocked.

You giggled. "Well, yes!"

Hop couldn't believe it. Why were you asking him on a date? Of all people that you could choose, you were going for the most significant failure the region had ever seen.

Hop had been pining for you for so long now, but he had convinced himself that this scenario was improbable, impossible, even. This had to be some kind of sick joke, right?

But, you weren't the type of person to do such a thing, to play with someone's feelings. You were better than that.

And that was the problem: you were too good for him. You deserved better, and he knew it. Hop accepted it.

Meanwhile, your heart was practically pounding out of your chest as you waited for Hop's answer. His silence was making you beyond nervous.

Hop shook his head and cleared his throat. "I... I'm sorry, (Y/N), but I'll have to say no."

Your heart shattered in millions of pieces at that. 

"O-Oh..." was all you managed to say.

Hop cringed at the dejected look you had. He didn't mean to hurt you, but hopefully, this would push you to seek someone better than him.

Or maybe it was a ridiculous thought that he was regretting. He regretted it so much, but he couldn't seem to voice his actual feelings. He was so deep in his low self-esteem.

You nodded, averting your gaze from Hop's. "Right. Yeah. That's totally fine!" You said, trying to remain positive, but it was more than evident that your enthusiasm was fake.

"(Y/N), I-" 

"It's fine, really! You don't have to explain yourself. You have every right not to want to go on a date with me," you said, voice quivering.

Hop didn't say anything. There was nothing more that he desired than go out with you. Why couldn't he say anything?

"I'm gonna go now, okay? I'll go do... stuff. I'll see you, right?" You said, already backing away.

Hop bit his lip. "Yeah..."

And you were out the door quicker than you could have imagined. Feelings of humiliation, frustration and heartbreak were taking over you, and you didn't want to stick around for anyone to see your tears.

Hop stared at the door, running his hands through his hair in absolute horror at what he had just done. He initially thought that this was going to be the best option to keep you from dating an absolute nobody, but he was processing what a colossal mistake that was.

Hop hated seeing you upset, he always wanted to see your eyes shine with life. Now, he had never seen you so broken, and he was the cause of it. That stung on so many levels.

"I outta smack you right now. What in the world was that about, Hop?" Sonia exclaimed, stomping over to him.

"I-"

Sonia interrupted him. "No, you know what? I don't even want to hear your excuses. I thought you liked them!"

"I do like them!" Hop said, flinching at Sonia's tone with him.

"Then, why did you reject them? I don't get it, Hop. They obviously like you!"

"But..."

"No! You are going to take the day off, and you are going to go see your friend, whose heart you just split, and talk things out with them," Sonia ordered.

Hop bit his lip and nodded. Sonia was right, he fucked up, and he needed to make up for his mistake. He needed to open up to you.

Weren't you, after all, the best person that he could pour his heart to? Weren't you the sweetest, most open-minded and trustworthy person he knew and fell in love with?

~~~~~~

Sitting on your living room couch, your Frosmoth cuddled up to you as you cried your heart out. She was trying to make you feel better, and you appreciated her efforts, even if you both knew that your heartbreak wouldn't cure with little cuddles.

You glanced at your front door as someone knocked on it. You ignored it at first, not having the energy to get up, but you eventually caved in as the knocking became more frantic.

You reluctantly stood up, and when you opened up the door, Hop was there, looking as guilty as ever. His eyes seemed glossy, seemingly about to cry himself. You contemplated slamming the door in his face, but you couldn't bring yourself to do that to Hop.

"(Y/N). Can... can I come in?" He asked softly.

You nodded, sidestepping to let him in. The two of you remained silent for what seemed to be an eternity. The air was tense.

Suddenly, Hop tightly wrapped his arms around you, placing your head against his chest. He rested his face in the crook of your neck, and you felt little droplets streaming down your skin.

"I'm... damn it. I'm so sorry, (Y/N)," he muttered. "I'm such an idiot. I just- I didn't want to hurt you like that. I'm the worst."

"I told you, Hop. It's okay if you don't want to go out with me. I'm not forcing you," you whispered.

He pulled away from you, keeping his hands on your shoulders. "But I do want to go out with you."

"Wha-? But you said-"

"I know what I said, and I lied through my teeth," he admitted.

"Why? If you wanted to, then why did you reject me?" You asked, genuinely confused.

"It's going to sound stupid, and it really is, b-but I..." he said, trailing off as he struggled to find the right words.

You took his hand in yours. "Here, let's sit," you said as you guided him to the couch.

You didn't let go of his hand when you sat down, hoping to give him a bit of comfort. You weren't as upset as you were just a few minutes ago, though you were confused and wanted answers.

"I said no because I thought you would be better off with someone else," he admitted.

"Someone else? Why would you think that?" You asked, completely flabbergasted.

"(Y/N), I- damn it. I'm nothing special! You could do so much better than a failure like me. You deserve the best, and I'm not that. I'm talentless rubbish."

Your jaw nearly dropped. It wasn't uncommon for Hop to make small, negative comments about himself, but this was the first time you've heard him degrade himself to such an extent.

"I wanted to be a legend, to surpass my brother and become the champion, but my friend was better than me. Everyone throughout my entire journey was better than me. Everyone is still better than me."

"Hop-"

"I haven't accomplished anything, there's nothing to set me apart from others. I figured that the right thing to do was to spare you from the embarrassment that would come with dating Galar's biggest loser..." he squeezed your hand, "... but it would destroy me to see you with someone else, even if I know that you deserve the world. The world that I can't provide."

More tears streamed down his cheeks as all of his darkest thoughts finally came out of him. It was heartbreaking to see Hop in such a state, to voice what he thought of himself. 

You thought none of the things he had just said, and you thought that you had made it obvious over all the time you've spent together. You were always there to give him reassurance, to hype him up when he didn't believe in himself. Hop looked so broken and lost like he didn't know what else to do or think. You couldn't believe that he thought so lowly of himself to the point where he felt that he didn't deserve anything good happening to him.

"Hop, sweetheart, look at me," you said. "How could you even have the audacity to say all these horrible things about yourself?"

"It's the tru-"

"No. You think you're a failure because you didn't become a champion? Please. I don't care that you didn't win. Don't you like what you're doing right now?"

"Yes..."

"There! That's all that matters. And for the record, you're phenomenal at what you do. You have so much knowledge about pokémon, and you're a natural with them. I should know, I see the way you are at the sanctuary. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: imagine just how amazing you're going to be as a professor in the future when you're already that good."

Hop wiped at his tears a bit. "You... really think I'm doing okay?"

You smiled. "More than okay! You think you're talentless, that you haven't accomplished anything and that you're not unique? Bullshit. Say that to the Zacian, who chose you as one of the heroes. Say that to Victor, who has a hard time standing against you in battle when no one else can. Say that to the insane amount of progress you've made to become a professor. Heck, you might just become one of the youngest professors!"

"(Y/N)... I- you really think that of me?" He asked, hope lacing his tone.

You nodded, rubbing soothing circles on his hand with your thumb. "Yes, and I really like you, Hop. Without even looking at what you've accomplished, I still like you. You could be the most ordinary person, and I'd still like you. You get what I'm saying? I'm attracted to you as a person for all of your amazing qualities and your adorable quirks. I like you because I feel a connection between us, and I just feel comfortable with you."

Hop chuckled, his bright smile returning to him as he blushed madly. He pulled you into a hug, and you immediately clung onto him.

"Thank you, (Y/N). I needed to talk to someone about this, and I just- thank you. I like you too, a lot. So, so much," he said. He pulled away from you. "So.. about that date?"

You laughed softly, leaning in to plant a small kiss to the corner of his lips. That alone made Hop's mind go blank as he chuckled with a smitten look on his face.

Maybe he wasn't Galar's ultimate winner, but why should he care when he already had everything he needed and wanted? Hop would be damned to let a gem such as yourself go, so he'd be selfish just this once and keep you for himself.

Not that you seemed to mind.

[multifandomwhore-003]

Coward

Pairing: Robby Keene x female! adopted! Moskowitz! reader

Summary: Honestly, just the most angsty shit I've written in a while.

Genre(s): angst,angst, and more angst.

Warning(s): I'm only following the show's timeline from season 1 to the first half of season 4. They're Taylor Swift/Billie Eilish/other depressing artists coded, more specifically "No time to die", "My tears ricochet", "I love you", "The Archer", "Afterglow", "Line without a hook", "All too well" "That way", "You broke me first", "The Great war", and the list goes on and on so just pick your poison.

Taglist: @rafecameronswhore @barbiekatz @l-o-v-r-s @kaitieskidmore1 @rosepetalsparks join taglist here

A/N: QUICK DISCLAIMERS, I made the reader adopted bc clearly Eli's/Hawk's family is white so this way the reader can be a poc if that's the case, I started this back when S4 came out and just finished it... what does that say about me? Idk. ALSO, Robby's S4 era will always be superior, Robby from S4 you will always be famous, he was unhinged, hot, a menace, and iconic, in this essay I will-

Gif credits to whom they belong

𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚗

REQUESTS CLOSED

THIS IS NOT FREE USE, YOU CAN NOT USE MY WORK

Reblog if you like

The All Valley's karate rivalry was as old as time, as strong as god's will, and in your opinion, as stupid as it sounds; not to everyone though, especially your brother, the great and mighty Hawk who loved to parade around the city with his new look that carried every piece of confidence he had, unfortunately, now that it was taken away from him, he felt worthless.

You never had a thing against any of the participating parties in this ridiculous dispute, you didn't mess with them, and they didn't mess with you, but you had a limit whenever they attacked your brother, a tiny fine line that went from 'superficial wounds' to 'profound damage' and they crossed it. More like, Robby 'cute face' Keene, crossed it. Even though there was a 98% chance that your brother had brought this on himself, he was still your brother and you'd do anything for your family.

You pushed the glass doors storming into the empty section of the building and hearing them slightly vibrate behind you, "Keene," your voice was stern, no response, "Keene!" 

"Back here!" He yelled from the back room.

The stride of your heels resounded in every corner of the concrete, a strong, dominant, and potent tone that could easily make anyone even slightly fearful. And Robby Keene wasn't the exception, no matter how many times Sensei Reese and Sensei Silver prepared him to be a champion, no matter how many hours he had proven to be Cobra Kai's worthiest inheritor, no matter how much muscle mass he gained by the minute, no matter how many days he spent in prison, no matter how many people he'd fought, no matter how many kids in the valley were scared of him, everyone has a weakness, and you were one of his.

There wasn't something in this world he could hate more than that because it didn't make sense, it didn't make any fucking sense for you of all people to hold so much power over him after everything that happened, there was an evident reason behind esteeming the adults around him, some of the other students even, but you? What else were you if not a lovely face? The most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his life, he knew the answer, a little too well for his liking, and as much as he hated it, the fact that you were so out of reach made him want you more.

But he pretended, okay? Oh, he loved, adored even, to act all tough and cocky around you as if you couldn't break his entire facade into little pieces if you so much as softened your features for him, a minimal act he thought he'd never see again, and still, he'd imagined it, he'd daydream about it almost every time you were near him, which with the new tournament coming up, seeing you became more and more recurrent, and so, it didn't get easier to hate you, in fact, the more he saw you, the harder it got.

If and only if you were held at gunpoint, you'd admit that the boy was attractive, pretty even, mostly because you would be sentenced to death by your family or hanged for treason by your brother's friends, but also because confessing to like him meant confessing you liked the guy who for better or for worse, ended up in juvie, and it was something that you didn't wanna be linked with.

You didn't have to say it to know that after all, you were still genuinely captivated by his physique and attitude, the way he carried himself everywhere he went, his ability to make himself seen without saying a word, how he wasn't easy to overlook; maybe it was just you who noticed his presence so intensely, perhaps you convinced yourself the rest of the world did as well just so you wouldn't feel so pathetic by the fact that you couldn't ignore him. And in the attempt to make your life easier and 'problem-free' by neglecting your feelings, it backfired by raising the complicity lever of your desires.

"What can I do for you, Princess?" he didn’t bother to turn around perhaps you’d go quickly so he didn’t have to train his self-control, not again.

If you were in a different mood, you would've rolled your eyes at the little nickname you despised so much, he gave it to you not only to point out that your economical status was clearly higher than his, but also to remind the 10-month-old age gap between you and your brother, a small amount of time that doomed your life to always be put under him, to your family, he was going to grow to be a King, the one who was gonna inherit every important part of their heritage, and you were stuck to be only that, a Princess.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put your ass back in jail?" You fumed, irritation blurring out your judgment.

"Because legally, I did nothing wrong, and even if I did, you have no proof of it," he grinned.

"Then explain to me what the hell is wrong with you?!” you spun him by his shoulder,  “You really thought you could just casually shame my brother by cutting his hair and I wouldn't come here to defend him?!"

"You mean the same hair that made him think he could be a bully?" he remained calm.

"You know damn well I never agreed with that," you spat, "Do I need to remind you he was suspended for a week because I went to the principal? And regardless of that, you wanna complain about him making others feel less with violence while you do the same?" you scoffed,  "Wow," you stated with sarcasm.

"It's hair, it'll grow back,"

"You humiliated him! You made him nothing! Not to mention you used a barber's blade, idiot, did you think about how fucking dangerous that was? You could've seriously injured him if he made the wrong move!"

"I warned him, good thing he knows how to listen, he’s not as stupid as he looks," he taunted you more.

You shook your head, "You're gonna listen to me Keene, and you're gonna listen to me very carefully," you got close to him, "If you even so much as breathe in his direction before the tournament, I will end you,"

He chuckled, "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"No, only cowards like you and your minions make threats, mine is a promise,"

"I'm not a coward," he clenched his jaw holding back the increasing anger.

You laughed, and somehow said more than words could.

"Says the one who came here when it was all alone knowing that if it wasn't, you would've gotten your ass beaten,"

"By who? Your little friend who's on probation?” you tilted your head with an arrogant smirk, “No, you see, I came here at this time because I'm smart, I mean let's be honest, you've never done anything to hurt me and you never will, because… well," you raised your shoulders feeding the fire in his eyes.

"So what? Do you want me to hurt you to prove that I'm not?" he towered over you.

You nodded, "Yes," you took another step towards him, "But then again, you don't want me to win, do you? Because if you hurt me, then that means you care about what I think,”  your voice got slower, “and what would that say about you? True winners don't have to prove anything to anyone but themselves, that's the difference between all of you and me," you separated from him slightly, "But go ahead, make my day and land the first punch,"

He froze in his place processing your words and just barely he noticed he missed your closeness, he couldn't bring himself to do so, pushing down the consuming rage that, later on, would show up stronger when Silver and Kreese find out about this encounter.

"That's what I thought," you scrunched your nose,  "You karate nerds are so stupid, who needs to get physical when you have words?" you told more to yourself, and right when you were about to make, what you considered, a triumphal exit, your arm got yanked, your chest hit him, and your faces were less than an inch away, "What are you doing?" you whispered.

The vulnerability of your words and the fragility of your look melted him, for a split second he lost track of his purpose, but it wasn't until he remembered your words that he snapped out of the trance, "Hurting you," he whispered back before placing your lips on his.

It didn't take long for his action to hitch your respiration, stun your nerves, fill your veins with adrenaline, whisk your logic, and for you to correspond. It was embarrassingly quick if to be completely honest, but it didn't matter, frankly, you were so unashamed of it that your hands slipped behind his neck pushing the two of you impossibly closer. It was hungry, desperate, and frantic; you finally understood Adam and Eve no matter how much you hated religion, finally comprehended the temptation of the forbidden fruit, sweet, delicious, and addictive.

Instinctively, he gently pushed you against the nearest wall and you felt his fingers getting lost in your hair, "I don't need to use a lot of strength to hurt you," he pulled you away trying to recover his breath, "I'm gonna hurt your pride by making you moan my name,"

"Easy there, snake boy," you managed to gasp out as you trailed your fingertips fastidiously along his jawline whilst slightly lifting his chin, "What makes you think you won't moan mine," you weren't ready to let your guard down, not yet, you then switched positions holding his shoulders against the cement. In an act of pure selfishness, you softly cupped his face somewhat catching him off guard, his nose brushed yours as your top lip created contact that was so minimal it could almost be imperceptible, "Nice try,  Keene, but unfortunately for you, I don't fuck losers," you mumbled, although you could've said it in a more impactful tone, you knew, you knew that the intimacy of it all would make your words burn into the very depths of his soul.

You walked out of the Dojo quite easily with him as perplexed as a Marmol statue, the catch was having to drive around the city to cool off your system and release the tension of it all. However, it didn't work, not even a little bit, not even at all, your mind played every different scenario of the continuation of your reckless actions, it was your fault, and you had to accept it, you went to face him knowing damn well how you felt for him, you went knowing damn well he wouldn't just back down easily, knowing he would've put up a fight one way or another, you knew deep inside you, you knew this could happen, you wanted it to happen. 

It was inevitable, your brother was just the perfect excuse and you used it, you took advantage of it, you abused it even, he begged you not to do anything and you didn't care enough to listen, you just had to see him, you had to confront him after almost a year of holding back. 

You met him while he was still working for the LaRussos, Daniel and your mom had known each other since college, so whenever they began a conversation, no one could stop them or be part of it; on that occasion, you two were invited for dinner, you brother naturally skipped it, but you were forced to go. You couldn't really complain, Sam was nice company at times, and you would mostly gossip about school or complain about teachers, nothing too deep; however, it even amazed you how rapidly you connected with Robby. Was your entire conversation from that night centered on making fun of the adults? Yeah, but you couldn't stop cackling the entire time. After that, whenever you saw each other you two resumed that same chemistry, constantly coming up with inside jokes or witty comments regarding your family, friends, possible love interests, etc. It then patiently evolved into a solid friendship by revealing heavy details of both of your lives; other types of sentiments involved or not, there was a time when all you had was each other. 

But the school fight changed everything, Hawk had a personal vendetta against the person who put one of his best friends in a coma, and you... you were scared, not furious, not bitter, just terrified. Of him, your brother and his friends, Sam, everyone that had to go through the aftermath of it all; you burned all of those bridges, gasoline and everything, changed schools in a different part of town, shut down that part of your life. You couldn't afford to give your family another reason to put you under. 

"Y/N,  could you stop procrastinating and do something productive?” your mother interrupted your thinkings, “I gotta take this call, take care of them for a minute," she pointed at the waiters.

"Oh, yeah, sure, I- I'll watch them," you answered.

She stepped away.

You huffed scanning the restaurant your family proudly called theirs, it was a second home, warm, comfy, filled with known people, and although you couldn’t make sense of it, you’d always perceived the hazy calmness through the chaos. 

There was something hardly recognizable besides the door, at first glance your eyes overlooked it, but as you double-checked your body tensed and your eyes widened so much you were sure they were gonna pop out, he was here.

The last time he showed up at the business was the night before the incident, your parents had conveniently gone to a business dinner and your brother had no intentions on getting out of the house with his hangover, and like every other time he'd been there, you two would steal food from the kitchen, go up to the rooftop and talk about nothing and everything.

Flashback

"And now Mr. LaRusso doesn't wanna have anything to do with me," his voice weakened.

"Oh my god, Robby," you wasted no time in hugging him tightly, "I'm sorry," 

He nuzzled in the crook of your neck sparking something in your gut, you never failed to react to the crumbs of intimacy you always had. His eyes began to water, tears falling into your shirt.

"It's okay, it's okay," you comforted him, both of your torsos gently swinging.

"It hurts so much," he sniffled, "Why does it hurt so much?" it might've sounded a little too melodramatic, perhaps absurd, but he wasn't afraid to be like that, vulnerable, not with you, you never gave him a reason to be.

You pursed your lips, your throat was dry, you were speechless although you'd never been the quiet type, and all you could do was hold him even tighter, a subtle yet relevant symbolism that reminded you that was the closest you could get.

"Why does everyone always leave?" he let the question settle into the breeze although it felt more personal.

It broke you to see him like this, no pain you've ever felt was comparable to seeing he whom you love miserable, there was nothing else you could do but be there, though you didn't think it was nearly as enough as what he needed, "I- I don't know," you couldn't tell if you were lucky to have never experienced such experience, or misfortunate to not have said wisdom to heal him. You cautiously cupped his face, as if one of your movements could hurt him more, he was like stained glass, complicated, fractured, fragile, and yet, his cracks and colors made him the most beautiful soul you’ve ever met "I won't leave you," you ran your thumbs through his cheeks, drying the small showings of his pain.

"You promise?"

"I promise,"

End of flashback

You tried not to draw too much attention to yourself while jogging towards the entrance, "What the hell are you doing here?" you blurted out.

"I wanna talk to you," he seemed happy, probably because of how fearful you, on the other hand, were.

"You- you can't be here right now, I'm not messin' around," you shook your head, you had to react as discreetly as possible.

"Why? Your brother isn't here,"

"It's not just my brother, okay? My family will kill you on sight, please, listen to me," you grabbed his shoulders, "We can't talk, not here,"

"Where then?"

"I-" you looked around making sure your mom was still in her office, "Do we really have to do this right now?" you insisted.

"Yes," he stated firmly.

You pinched the bridge of your nose, "Okay, come on," you pulled his hand with a strength that wasn't necessary.

You entered the tiny meetings room on the other side of the establishment, because of your dad's usual tantrums, it didn't have a camera and it was sound-proofed; you made sure to lock the door and turn off the light so it wouldn't be visible from the bottom of the wood.

"Okay, make it quick, I need to get back to my mom," your words were rushed and stumbling with each other.

"You truly are terrified of your parents aren't you?" he crossed his arms.

"I don't have time for this Robby-"

"Thought I was 'Keene',"

You only began to call him that after in consequence of the Karate outrage, his first name felt too personal, too close.

You shut your eyes in frustration, "Can you stop being an ass for a second and get to the point of whatever it is that you wanna talk about?"

"Why are you so nervous about me being here?" he continued to tease, truth is, he wasn't sure what he was doing there in the first place, all he knew was that here he was, with you.

"It doesn't matter, just- start talking," you pressured.

"Why are you so nervous about me being here?" he repeated.

Your fingers twitched, a manner you developed out of stress, "Because if they see me with you, I'll never hear the end of it, okay?" you fidgeted then with your jewelry.

"If you never wanna be caught in a lie I suggest you stop doing the ring thing," he pointed out, "It makes it easy to tell,"

You halted the action and then shrugged.

"Why are you so nervous about me being here?"

"Because they already filed a restraining order against you, I guess you didn't get it because you're here, but if they call the cops you'll probably end up in juvie and I don't want- If you ever wanna go back to school or get a job is gonna be incredibly difficult,"

He assumed at first you didn't wanna be seen with him because of how much you cared about the reputation of your new life, a valid perspective given how much you made an effort to conceal it all, but hearing you enlightened him, sore him "Don't look at me like that," a small part of his grudge came out.

"Like what?"

"Like you still care about me,"

A choked laugh resounded from your part, "First of all, I'm not apologizing for that, and second-"

"You should," his demeanor abruptly became more defensive.

You tilted your head, "Why?" your energy matched his.

"Because you don't care about me, and acting like you do is very hypocritical of you,"

"When have I ever told you that I don't care about you?" you frowned.

"You don't have to say it, you already proved it,"

"How so?"

"Don't play the innocent part now," he was close to losing his cool,  "You try so hard to hide everything that happened but at even the slightest inconvenience, you go right back where you started, tell me, do your mommy and daddy know you went to see me two days ago? Huh? Or let me guess, you were too scared to tell them?" 

"Oh, fuck off Keene, is that all you got? Is that the only thing that you think will affect me? My parents? My reputation?"

"Yes! Because that's the only thing you care about! You're nothing but a self-centered spoiled brat that doesn't know any better than to run away from her problems! You wanna know who the real coward is here? You are! Some of us don't have the privilege of a new start! Keep pretending all you want, but don't forget, I was your friend and you turned your back on me, I wasted my one phone call on you because you were the only person I had, and you hung up on me like I was nothing! Tell me, how am I supposed to be the coward if I'm the one who got hurt because of your selfishness?! You don't care about anyone but yourself!" as much as he attempted to divert the subject of the conversation, his eyes sabotaged him, quickly covering his face in a salty heartbreaking liquid. "You... you weren't there-" 

You were both stunned by his reaction, you'd think that with everything he's been put through, he wouldn’t snap so easily, so passionately, so emotionally, but no, all of this was a new part of himself that only you made him feel, he’d only allowed you to do so.

"I needed you! I needed you! And you weren't there! And- and then the first time you say anything to me after I got out-" 

If there's something he had while being in juvie was time, precious time he'd spent weaving, machinating; about you, about his dad, about the LaRusso's, about Miguel, about him. Strategizing his next encounter with the world was arduous, but the action of going through with it was the true challenge, and he realized how useless all that time truly was when he heard your voice the first time, suddenly all of it was gone, the effort, the time, the sleepless nights, the daydreaming noons, all of it, turned into nothing, you turned them into nothing. 

"I was happy," he exhaled like freeing himself of chains and shackles, "I was so happy, and I enjoyed seeing you mad so fucking much, seeing you in general," he laughed, "I tried to-" he choked on his words, "I tried to hate you so much because you bailed on me but I can't," every inch him began to feel... lighter, "I can't hate you," he sighed, "I- I just can’t,”

Your body didn’t allow you to move, roughly grounding you, vines of regret holding you hostage against soothing him, stopping him, following him outside, responding coherently to your family’s screams, to forget.  You’d lost count of how many days you’d feel as you were still glued to the wooden floor, completely stuck, dried-out blossoms of hope from your heart, rageful deep thorns clinging to your debilitated frame, daunting poison sinking your head.

—How many times?—

How many times would you have to come up with every pretentious and overly-thought narrative to justify everything? You’ve been silenced by your reluctance, aghast by your idealization, confined by your denial, triggered by tension, frozen by your guilt, and finally steered by resentment. 

You stared at the faint reflection from the glass, you wanted to immortalize the picture, hair slightly out of place, tugged at clothes, blood burst out of the skin, purple underneath the large organ, nostrils flowing with the lack of air, mouth agape. 

—Why?—

  You prepared yourself for the question before anyone else asked it. 

—Why was protecting Robby’s honor against someone as irrelevant as Natalie Dalmasos worth it?—

 You noticed your knuckles finally matching your brother’s.

—He’s never even met her—

Your stomach sunk as if releasing all the ire and digesting it as dread.

—Was it worth it?—

Hammering head.

—Did she deserve it?—

Striking heart.

—You screwed up everything you built—

Trembling legs.

—What did you do?—

Numbed face.

—Why destroy it?—

Streaking neck.

—Why him?—

Overwhelmed.

Then reality came back.

—Shit—

You reached for your phone, quickly texting your mother the first perfectly constructed lie you could think of, you had to disappear at least for tonight, eventually relieved by her believing your sleepover story, you started the car.

—Where else would you go?—

You blankly saw the infamous logo, the white clearness hiding the inside, you took a shaky breath and struggled to get yourself inside the walls, you didn’t have to make yourself known by words, the heavy door did all the work filling it with creaks against the floor for it being poorly moved. 

You saw him cautiously walk out of the dark.

“Robby,” you let out a soft smile.

He frowned as you gradually got nearer.

“I- I um-” you gulped, “I just got into a fight, the party- I-,” there was now a lightbulb over your head.

He rushed, “Y/N, holy shit,” 

“I- I’m fine, I swear,” you chuckled.

“Fine?! You look like shit!” 

“You should see the other guy,” you joked

He shrugged, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that, I’m just-,”

“Shocked?” you interrupted him, “Surprised? Amazed? Astonished? Stunned? fucking… every other synonym there is?”

He nodded still scanning your body, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” he placed one of your arms on his shoulder to then swiftly carry you bridal style to his mattress. You tilted your head observing the side of his jaw.

“I never noticed you had a scar there,” you whispered.

“One of many of my mom’s bad boyfriends,”

“I’m sorry,” you delicately traced it.

He smiled, “It’s okay,” 

You were laid down rather dramatically, or so you thought by the way he treated you like you were made out of paper, you just rolled your eyes and sat up while he went to get the first aid kit. 

“This is gonna hurt,” he wet the cotton.

You scoffed, “Relax Robby, I’m a big girl, this isn’t my first drill,” 

“Right,” he nodded.

You lowly hissed when the chemical made contact.

“Thought this wasn’t your first drill,” he teased.

“Okay, just because I’ve been hurt before doesn’t mean it’s not painful,” you both laughed, “I can still handle it,”

The rest of the cleaning went somewhat silent, just a few mumbled sorries were thrown around, but by the time he had pulled out the bandages, you grew impatient.

“You’re not gonna ask?” you broke the ice.

“Not really,” he admitted. 

“Why?”

“Because,” he raised his shoulders, “It’s too late to go and make ‘em pay for it,”

“Oh god, please don’t, I already did that,”

“What do you mean?” he began to wrap your hand.

“I’m the one who started the fight because they were talking shit,”

“What kind of shit?”

“All kinds, throwing rumors and just- bullshit,”

“About who?”

You licked your lips.

—Really? Now you go silent? You’re already here, fuck it—

“About you,”

“What?” he tightened the cloth too much.

“Ow,”

“Sorry, sorry,” he let go.

“Yeah,” you confessed, “They were talking shit about you and I shut them up,”

“Who?” he was still confused.

“Some girl from my school who thinks she’s fucking… Regina George or somethin’, she’s just a bitch,” you shook your head.

“Why?”

—Why?—

You grabbed his face, and gave him the most mellow and honeyed eyes you’ve ever had, “You haven’t figured that one out yet, have you?” you joined your foreheads as you closed your eyes, “You’re not the smart one out of us anyway,” you heard him giggle.

He brushed his nose with yours, shyly getting closer.

—Are you sure?—

—Yeah—

—Fuck it—

You kissed him for the first time, but held on to it like it was the last, how was it that you could say everything with just that? The most disarming and humble expression there is; the touch of two epidermises, and the completion of dual fantasies. You almost blubber in it, oh sacchariferous little poison of yours, worth every penny, every dime, every tear, every scream, and every dream. 

He paused, taking a deep breath, yet never breaking contact.

You sobbed, “I love you,” you dried his cheeks.

“I love you too,” he whimpered.

[dittolicous]

part 5 of buring rage au, though its more a group of thoughts (last part here)

- the strawhats have multiple encounters with stealth black and the other vinsmokes before sanji burns it all down, none of which ever end happily. the strawhats were hopeful going in the first time, right up until stealth black directed an attack at robin and chopper, which in turn causes zoro to lash out despite luffys commands not to

- they never notice that he only ever sends attacks in the girls direction, never actually making direct, in your face attacks. tbf, sanji doesn't realize hes doing it either. subconsciously hes able to distance himself from the attack when its a broad stroke attack. this is how he handles attacking other kingdoms and communities as well, trying to disassociate the damage with his attack in particular. if they can dodge, its fine...

- this opinion doesnt hold up in the long run, but it only causes him to get worse, lashing out harder and harder

- similarly, his run ins with the strawhats start out almost fun, as they actually gave him echoes of other feelings beyond anger. but this doesn't last as he learns more of the truth and sees how the strawhats keep holding back. they dont hold up to the image hes been building in his mind. and he feels theyre letting their own emotions blind them from the truth that he and the others need to be taken out. and in turn, this makes him even madder because they have everything at their fingertips and they STILL cant make the right choice, whereas he had to sneak and dig out the truth, just trying to make sense if his existence.

- the exception, to a point, is zoro. who appears to be up holding the promise he made in wano, even if sanji cant remember it. but thats the key word, appears. because despite going all out, he can never make killing blows. he tries to deny it, tries to stick to his mind over heart methods, but its rough.

- it doesnt help that hes going directly against luffys orders, causing discord amongst the crew. they only avoid a repeat of water 7 because zoro refuses to fight luffy when he lashes out over attacking sanji. he knows hes technically in the wrong, but he made a promise. he doesn't help his case by never telling the others, but he figures it wouldn’t change their opinion.

- on luffys end, hes barely holding it together. he had front row seats when sanji was initially killed and it triggered him so badly that he froze up (reminding him of aces death), allowing his body to fall into the ocean. as far as hes concerned, everything going forward is his fault as the captain. he does lash out when zoro doesnt stand down but usopp is able to get him to pull back, recalling how things went at water 7, and how he doesnt want to lose zoro either, no matter how badly his choice hurts him.

- the only thing keeping zoro from leaving the crew is luffys refusal to accept it. zoro offered after stating he wouldnt back down, luffy denied it flat out.

- but it doesnt really solve anything either. they still dont agree and know how every encounter could turn into a three way battle, which is just counterproductive.

- robin in particular is actually extremely upset with zoro. he expected nami to be angry, which she is, but robin comes in like a bat out of hell at him. outside of ennies lobby, the others never saw her lose her cool so bad. this is only because shes able to read both sides so well, seeing through sanjis facade (in a way that he himself cant even see) and how zoro is giving up on him. she basically reads him for filth, leaves zoro unsteady, and storms off.

- it feels like a betrayal of everything they did for her, in her opinion, going back on the people they were. she doesnt care if sanji hurts her, not when hes hurting so much worse. she knows that this would upset him were he in his right mind, but she figures theyll handle that when hes safely back with them

- this leaves zoro more shaken then he cares to admit, desperate to deny his inability to uphold his side of the promise. meditating hasnt been helping much lately, either, unable to fully calm his thoughts with the whole crew being so shaken up and his struggle between the promise, the desires of the crew, and the desires he himself has been pushing down, refusing to acknowledge. hes afraid of what follows if he does...

- at the end of the day, he doesnt know what *he* wants anymore. he hasnt been this lost since kuina passed away...

- as such, its extremely tense on the sunny

- it doesnt help that theyre all barely eating. entering the galley is hard, especially after the revelation of what happened to sanji. brook and jimbe are the ones who most often handle cooking meals, thanks to both having handled such loss in the past. which isnt to say theyre ok now, theg really arent, but theyrs keeping it together because the others need them to.

- luffy is a concern as he, in particular, has been forgoing eating. his appetite is in shambles. this in turn impacts his fighting, as hes not in tip top form to handle any big battles. jimbe and chopper attempt to use this reasoning to get him to eat more, but its success varies

- nami is conflicted, oscillating back and forth between agreeing with either zoro or luffy. being in line from an attack by sanji shook her up a great deal. her emotions keep blurring between anger, sorrow, and fear. she doesnt want to lose anyone else and shes afraid of them attempting to bring him back, just to realize their sanji is gone forever.

- usopp is firmly on luffys side, though he does get namis concern and is kinda right therd with her on how terrifying the concept is. but hes refusing to give up until its been proven 100% without a doubt that sanji cant be saved. he couldn't be there during wci, so he'll give everything now - though he could do with less flaming kicks to the head

- robin at one point was able to get a fingernail from sanji during a fight (dont question her, she has her ways) and has it made into vevire card to better track him

- it was extremely unnerving to watch it ignite the second it was completed... at the very least, its not burning *fast* but a clock is clearly ticking...

[gay-dorito-dust]

I have a Yakuza 0 request. Can I please have headcanons about what words and actions would melt Majima’s heart? It can be if someone is in a relationship with him already or not.

This man is guarded as shit, even more so after the events of y0 but since we’re focusing on y0! Majima, he’s sure as shit not letting anyone pass those towering walls of his.

However you somehow managed to slip through the missable cracks in his defences and made your cosy little home in his heart and now he’s stuck with you.

Anyways, on to what would make this man melt like butter:

Genuine tender touches: Majima had rarely -if ever- been given the opportunity to be treated as though he were a fragile porcelain doll on the brink of breaking from it’s fissures, fractures and other cracks.

At first he’d be adverse in letting you touch him but overtime or perhaps by pure accident, Majima would find himself falling apart in your tender touches as the pads of your thumbs would map out his face, feather light caresses kissing his skin that the mad dog of shimano couldn’t help but allow himself to be completely at your mercy.

In that moment you had all the power to destroy him but you chose to nurture, to love, to care for him instead despite knowing all the atrocities he’s committed as a Yakuza. Yet none of that didn’t matter to you as you picked up all pieces and put him back together again.

It was the first time in a very long time that Majima allowed himself to be put into the care of somebody else, uncaring if by the end of it he’ll end up with a knife in his back, for it all would’ve been worth it to know what being cared about felt like.

‘You can stop pretending Majima, shows over, it’s time to take off the mask.”

This would probably occur at the end of Y0 where he goes full mad dog. Which I’ve seen a video once saying that it’s an act Majima puts up as an illusion of sorts from the severely damaged man that laid beneath the violent, borderline psychopathic facade.

So when you say this to him one day, he’s reminded that you could see through his bullshit, see through the illusion and lies he lead himself to blindingly believe, despite knowing himself how full shit they were. So to have someone who wasn’t so easily scared off by his facade made Majima feel relived that he didn’t have to constantly put himself into near exhaustion by masking the truest version of himself.

The wicked grin would fall and his crazed eye would become tired, worn and haunted. His entire posture would slump pathetically as he allowed himself into your awaiting arms, practically half dead from the sleep he’s missed by insomnia and night terrors.

You bring the peace and silence he’s been so desperately yearning for:

You bring calm to his tormented mind and it’s the oasis he so desperately needed; Sure it may not heal all his wounds but he’s take whatever he could get.

So whenever Majima felt his most restless he’d surly find you nearby offering to join him in his late night smoke. (depending on if you do/ do not smoke. If you don’t -like me- your just keeping him company.)

He’d often tell you that your sleep didn’t have to suffer because his was but you discarded his concern by saying you’d rather be of help to him even if it meant derailing your own sleep pattern to do so.

What he doesn’t tell you is that your mere presence silenced his thoughts and cleared his mind without even having to try. You were the one to ward off the demons from his head. Protecting him from the worst of memories and you didn’t even know you were doing it.

When you’ve solidified yourself as his safe place, his home.

Whenever he told anyone that he was ‘heading home’ what he actually meant was that he was heading back to you and the place you two shared. The building didn’t mean shit to him but you being within it certainly did.

The life and colour you brought with you never failed to remind Majima that despite how use to it he was by now, he was still brought back to the very first time he felt that warm and cosy feeling within his chest.

Back then he would’ve approached it with caution but soon enough he’s grown to accept that this was something he only felt with you. Majima was so use to bland walls void of personality and shelves bare of any trinkets or memorabilia of the past. The places he use to occupy looked and felt as though no one lived there, despite evidence of old cigarette buds and the faint scent of his cologne.

Now, his house became a home the moment you stepped through the threshold and decorated it with your personality and trinkets that litter every shelf and even the window sills because there was so much of you to give out.

Majima realised that you became his home when he didn’t feel the need to hide his hideous side from you, or even hide the issues he faced within his head on a regular basis.

Majima realised that you became his safe place when after telling you his entire past and you didn’t shrink away from him or looked at him differently then you did to begin with, understanding and open minded in hearing him out to the story’s conclusion.

Your hand remaining in his own the entire time. Unflinching in your silent conviction to staying with a man as broken as him.

[strawberyaurabya]

Esmeralda Celestine- TOH OC Reference

Esmeralda “Esme” Celestine (she/her) 🩷💜💙

Here’s some old cringe Witchsona content from a long time ago! I plan to continue drawing her and make some comics after I finish up with the doodles. Please don’t make fun of my oc x canon! It may be cringe but I’m happy with it ><“

Age: 31 years old

Height: 161 cm (5’3”)

MBTI: intj-t

Head preacher of the Emperor’s Coven

One of the Emperor’s Right Hands

Has a scar on her left cheek, a result of Belo’s “outburst” and an argument between them

She lacks a sigil on her wrist, as Belos plans to keep her around for information on the human realm.

She dons wings and an avian form, as a result of her palisman’s sacrifice (Reminiscent to Flapjack’s sacrifice for Hunter.)

🤍 More info under the cut!! I might also post more of her backstory if I gain the confidence. There’s quite a bit of writing under the cut, and I’m proud of the effort I put into it. If you’d like, you may take a look; But it’s a little long.

Personality:

Deceptive

Elegant, poised

Calculated, cautious

Stubborn, dedicated towards a cause

Soft-spoken, observant and perceptive

Pious

Her relationship with Belos:

Belos and Esmeralda see each other as potential threats to their plans, but also as “allies”, although they are both aware that they’re an edge away from stabbing each other in the backs. As they grow closer, the two bond over being “lost souls stuck in a place that certainly isn’t home”, and admittedly start to let their guard down. Esmeralda wants to help Emperor Belos on his mission to cleanse the word of witchcraft. As Esmeralda Celestine learns the truth about this mysterious “Emperor Belos”, and the human named “Philip Wittebane” behind the facade, she feels conflicted on whether she should befriend this stranger more, or not all all. The truth about the Day of Unity slowly unravels in Esmeralda’s mind, as she learns about the Draining Spell, Grimwalkers, the assembly of the portal door in his study, and Philip’s hatred of witches. Esmeralda assisted significantly in building the portal towards the human realm, helping to recover the damaged fragments and reassemble them. She initially thought that they would both return “home” to the human realm after the Day of Unity, part ways, and continue their own separate goals.

Her relationship with Hunter:

After her… unpleasant first encounter with the Golden Guard, she admittedly held a lot of grudges, and stayed relatively silent about them. Thank Titan, Esmeralda was glad she did. Hunter was a kind, good-natured boy, who reminded Esmeralda of herself as a child. She’s gentler to Hunter, and aware of his secret palisman. Yet, she stays quiet about it, and will never tell Belos in fear that he will hurt the poor bird. Esmeralda often finds ways to sneak Hunter a blood apple or two, when she finds the time out of duties. He isn’t exactly fond of Esmeralda’s growing alliance with Belos, and knows something is… off. He will open up to Esmeralda, but not fully trust her.

Her relationship with Lilith:

Lilith was Esmeralda’s first ally in the Coven, giving her a tour of the castle and protecting her from stepping out of line. She was also the one to comfort Esmeralda after Belos’s outburst, and visited her in the Healing Chambers, while she was getting tended to by Hettie Cutburn. Esmeralda found herself fascinated by Lilith’s Raven palisman, and admired Lilith for fighting tooth and nail so that her familiar wouldn’t be collected by the Emperor. When Lilith started “waking up” from Emperor Belos’s manipulation and finally betraying him, she left without another word to Esmeralda, which caused her to feel abandoned again. She resented Lilith after that, and brushed her away. (At one point, Esmeralda had a temporary, one-sided crush on Lilith.)

Her relationship with the Collector:

The Collector keeps calling her “Auntie Esme”, and it’s starting to stick… She finds herself intimidated by the little starchild, but often hears echoes and cries for freedom, coming out of the little mirror he’s trapped in. She’s glad Belos is keeping them in there… for now.

Her relationship with Kikimora:

Often jealous of Esmeralda’s high-ranked position, and power, the tiny red demon often stalks her, makes an extra mile to ruin the witch’s day. She has tried 892 different times to kill her. Nonetheless, she’s intimidated by Esmeralda’s power, and will refrain from attacking her in plain sight. She takes a more passive-aggressive approach.

Her relationship with Eda:

Eda had taken care of Esmeralda for a short period of time, when she was younger and attacked by witch hunters. She rescued the dying young witch, and took her into the Demon Realm. When she heard of Esmeralda’s new occupation among the ranks of the EC, she almost choked on her apple blood and burst out laughing. The Owl Lady wasn’t expecting such a shy, skittish girl to become a well-feared and manipulative figure of authority in less than two decades. relationship with Eda:

Eda had taken care of Esmeralda for a short period of time, when she was younger and attacked by witch hunters. When she heard of Esmeralda’s new occupation of “Silver Priestess”, she almost choked on her apple blood and burst out laughing. The Owl Lady wasn’t expecting such a shy, skittish girl to become a well-feared and manipulative figure of authority in less than two decades.

Occupations + Affilations:

Head Preacher in the Emperor’s Coven

Secretly a Witch Hunter, despite ironically being a witch

Never joined a track, because she wasn’t educated in the Demon Realm as a child

Goals:

Return to the Human Realm

Assist with the cleansing of “evil” in the Boiling Isles

Join the secret society of witch hunters in Gravesfield, where she was raised

Recruitment into the Coven System:

When Emperor Belos was informed that there were multiple opening factors into the Human Realm, the first action he took was to send Construction covenants to completely ravage every part of the Boiling Isles. No elaborations were needed, it was merely part of the “Titan’s Will”, the Lord had insisted. His nephew, Hunter Wittebane, was already preparing for his coronation as the youngest Golden Guard, and his only task was accomplishing a deed that would deem him worthy of the Title, and respect from his Uncle, which he had still had to thank for taking him in.

There had been tales of an “angel” in Bonesborough circling around the Emperor’s Coven, supposedly a religious and mythical creature from the human realm which was harder to encounter than a possum. Hunter could practically see the spark in Emperor Belos’s eyes when the information had entered his ears, and automatically knew what needed to be done. This “angel”… knew something about a certain place; where the rain doesn’t boil.

After endless nights of research, spying, and prodding at other members of the Emperor’s Coven, he had found where this mysterious “Esmeralda” had resided, and arrived with a cage, chains, and an army of scouts. Unfortunately for him, Hunter wasn’t the only one who was looking to please the Emperor… Lilith and Kikimora were also desperate for a form of praise from the cruel tyrant, and weren’t willing to back down without a fight. After hearing the commotion outside and losing patience, Esmeralda almost effortlessly outpowered and tricked the scouts, and left Hunter, Kikimora, and Lilith to take her down themselves. After begrudgingly teaming up, they clipped her wings, and dragged her into the gilded cage, a gift and an offering to be displayed before Emperor Belos.

While waiting in the throne room for the Emperor’s arrival, the three fruitlessly attempted to put a sigil on the struggling Esmeralda, until abruptly stopped by Emperor Belos’s refusal to give her a sigil, a simple and authoritative “no.”. Although Kikimora tried to protest, the Emperor explained that he couldn’t give sigils to those he didn’t deem worthy; and further dismissed the members. The true reason that Philip didn’t want to give Esmeralda a sigil, is because she could be useful, and it would be a waste if the Draining Spell killed her off. Plus, he didn’t even know if she was truly a witch. Despite his aloof and cold demeanor, he almost seemed morbidly fascinated in the so-called “Angel”, which he had restrained from moving with magic.

Emperor Belos primarily keeps Esmeralda in close proximity, and his grip on her does not slacken an ounce. If anything, he grows more wary of the witch in what could be mistaken as an overprotective manner. It was already a risk to try to pry information from her on how to get back to the human realm, and the last thing he needs is Esmeralda getting too curious. She already knows too much…

At first, she was kept in her gilded cage as a precaution, often interrogated by Emperor Belos, or another higher-ranking member of the Coven. Emperor Belos found himself enthralled and somewhat amused by her occasional stories, and her connections to other witch hunters. Esmeralda had seemed more… dignified than other witches. Yet, she was rather stingy with the information told, either not trusting him enough to reveal anything to him, or simply not remembering at all. The cage would not do at all, if Belos were to gain her trust. He had to be patient and gentle, as Esmeralda could escape, along with the chance of accomplishing his goals. Esmeralda was unique and strong with magic (She had already taken down a troop of scouts, and had almost defeated Hunter, Lilith, and Kikimora together) had a deceptive, siren-like quality to her voice, and seemed to be pious.. that could be useful, especially for converting Wild Witches into covens, in a more efficient manner. More importantly, she would be easy to break, and fit the broken pieces into his little “game”.

And thus, “The Silver Priestess” was crowned, not long after the Golden Guard. Esmeralda was granted the elaborate title as Head Preacher of the Emperor’s Coven. To both Belos and inhabitants of the Boiling Isles, Esmeralda certainly has the mannerisms of a prestigious soul who is devout in the eyes of the Titan, despite being a witch. She knows that the Titan is dead as a result of spying on Belos.. But that’s okay, she finds it humorous. She will play up to it…

She became cunning and deceptive, often using her clandestine and occult methods of converting wild witches into Covens. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a facade.. A vow of death, behind chants of holy light, feathers, and empty promises of ascension into the In-Between realm. Silent threats are muttered telepathically through the victims’ heads… “Make the heretics suffer.. Play the music of the light until their ears shatter. Make their heads writhe in pain, until they finally repent for what they took away. Break every. Single. One. Of. Their. Souls.”

Esmeralda often holds her ceremonies in the Conformatorium, as a punishment towards wild witches who step out of line. She is occasionally asked to take “safety measures” so the Basilisks stay in line as well. Emperor Belos has taken great care to build The Silver Priestess her own cathedral, aware of her devout beliefs similar to his own. The room is dark and ornate, covered in elaborate stained-glass windows that sport eyes all over them, and many candles. Her ceremonies are often depicted on portraits as “blessings” and “heroic deeds”, when they are truly torture in order to get the “evil” to conform.

Home:

Emperor’s Castle, Boiling Isles (Demon Realm)

Gravesfield, Connecticut (Human Realm)

Bonesborough (Temporarily, while being nursed back to health by Eda after being attacked by Witch Hunters)

Allies:

Emperor Belos (Philip Wittebane)

The Collector

Hunter (Mother-son dynamic)

Lilith (formerly)

Enemies:

Kikimora (Self-explanatory)

Lilith (Felt betrayed once she left the EC)

Emperor Belos (???)

Palismen/staff:

Artificial Magic Staff (Gifted by Belos himself once she joined his ranks)

Serenity (A dove-shaped palisman who she befriended in her childhood. He sacrificed himself to save her.)

Likes:

Apples

Picto-glyphs (Especially light)

Birds

Melancholy songs

Sketching and journaling

Nightly hours

Worship

Dislikes:

Sleeping

The Boiling Isles??? (Starting to grow fond of it)

Loud noises

Confined spaces and cages

Covenless Witches

Abandonment

Stats:

Kindness: 4.5/10

Charisma: 9/10

Patience: 8/10

Integrity: 1/10

Intellect: 9/10

Maturity: (Season 1 and Season 2a) 6/10, (Season 2b and Season 3) 9/10

Courage: 8/10

Humor: 2.5/10

Temper: Depends

[verynormalaboutkinnporsche]

E6 Scene 5 - Lost Day 2: Cooperation

Oh shit this one got long.

Having solved the water problem, the boys need food. Also, Kinn needs to fucking unbend a little, but on that note I need to take a moment to admire what is literally a single second of screen time here because Mile is such a gift.

You're in love, you sap, just get used to it.

One theme I keep coming back to in these notes is the need to get on a similar level. They start out from wildly different places. They're attracted to each other, they want a relationship, but outside of that night at Hum Bar, they haven't gotten to see much of each other as their real selves. They need this set-apart time to negotiate an equitable way to relate.

Kinn has spent his entire life in what is essentially a prison, but it's a prison that comes with a lot of money, status, and guns. The purpose of Hum Bar and the purpose of this forest interlude is to remove those weights from the balance, so the two of them are on an equal footing for connection-building moments. Once the connection is in place, it can withstand life in the Panopticon (where the plot happens), but it has to be created outside of it.

Given the damage done to that connection in the previous episode, they need to do some work before they can move forward. They have to be free to bicker, shove, and call each other a moron without risk of consequences, to trust each other when it's just the two of them before they can do it surrounded by enemies.

They manage to catch some fish.

"Why do you keep your smiles to yourself?" (Oh no, my heart.) He's right, though; up to this point we've hardly ever seen Kinn smile. It's a largely teasing exchange, but it acknowledges how deeply unhappy Kinn is with his life, how much of a facade he maintains. Porsche is finally getting to see more of the real Kinn here, and he's clearly liking that.

(Porsche is a much less guarded character than Kinn; to the extent that he maintains a facade of his own, he uses humor. That doesn't mean that he doesn't have things he keeps back, though.)

A bracing stream bath is in order, which rapidly turns into stream cuddling and then stream kissing. They might not have actually invented onscreen chemistry but they do a damn fine job of it. Very interesting how Kinn breaks off then; they've made progress, but there's still a lot that needs to be said.

Really with the dick size thing, you two literally had sex, were you not paying attention? Back to connection-building with personal information.

This exchange is so, so interesting to me. Porsche's dream is all about personal freedom--to do what he wants, when he wants. This makes sense given both his character themes and his actual history, a life spent in the dual constraints of poverty and responsibility. (Plus one of his frequent minor themes, food. You will never convince me that he hasn't skipped a lot of meals so that Chay wouldn't lack something.)

Porsche's dream has sad implications about the material circumstances of his life; Kinn's side of the conversation does the same for his emotional circumstances.

(This scene is where my love-to-hate-him of Korn achieved self-sustaining fusion for the degree of calculation involved. We see this from him long before we see Gun's more obvious kind of abuse. Given the sliding scale of morality employed by the show, I find it interesting that this is underlined as the worst type of evil.)

Love Porsche here, by the way, for not letting Kinn dodge the question. "If you don't tell me yours, it's not fair"; we are back to the need for equity, for balance.

(They have a pattern of doing things wrong, figuring that out and trying over again. Probably why I find them a compelling ship; they're so stubborn about not giving each other up.)

After the lightening musical interlude, the conversation takes a turn for the truly serious, with Kinn talking about Khun, and then Porsche the accident. We are deep in the connection-building zone now, a layer below dreams and into things that neither of them shares with... maybe anyone, ever.

And then:

"If I could, I would want to erase the things I did you wrong."

(Now that I think about it, Kinn does this more than once. They'll have an exchange that's 50/50 teasing/serious, there's a pause, and then he takes it up a level. Kind of astonishing, given his lack of healthy communication models.)

It's not a complete apology, but it's the first essential step, the acknowledgement of harm. Porsche is so not prepared for this; his body language is all over the place, barely any eye contact, wants to just skate past the whole thing for the moment.

Still; a big step forward.

What we learned:

Porsche is marginally better equipped for this situation than Kinn. Marginally.

Porsche is afraid of ghosts.

Sometimes Kinn wonders if Khun is faking his mental instability

Porsche has a period of amnesia around the car accident that killed his parents, and spent months in the hospital (since there was no car accident, we are left to speculate as to what actually caused his memory loss and also who was taking care of baby Chay? Thee? Ugh.)